It\’s my sister\’s birthday today! :D Big (or actually younger – 14 months younger) lady is 21 today! Go wish her a happy birthday! (even if you don\’t know her) YO LADY!

This is the first time that I have come down to San Diego specifically for her b-day. Last year, I was too occupied with my internship to get away from the Bay Area. :( So far I have gotten her a creme brulee set, something that she had been wanting for the longest time.

Another story of sisterly bonding that I don\’t remember (just like last year\’s – I guess I am good at blocking \”bad\” memories from myself):
When I was 6 years old, my sister put boogers into my hair and I didn\’t notice. My mom and grandmother then washed my hair. Then when I was finished, my sister put more boogers in my hair while I wasn\’t watching. I was apparently easily oblivious to things around me. Then my mom asked my sister whether she was the one who did it. Being quite innocent, she said, \”I didn\’t do it.\”

Sniff, true sisterly love!

Pink Taco! Besides the people who know what I mean by these two words, what kind of image does it evoke in your mind? And what kind of person would use such combination of words? (Not including me of course, I use it to make fun of people. tee hee!)

I AM MEETING ANOTHER PERSON THAT I MET ONLINE TODAY! AT STARBUCKS! AROUND 6:30 PM!

After last few witless times that I met an \”online friend\”, I have became slightly tired of how much effort this really all takes. Initially, meeting people I knew only in text or jpgs used to be so exciting. Would their offline personality match their online personality? But after the last four years (plus my offline friends all criticizing how I get myself in WEIRD and DANGEROUS situations), I think I have gotten weary. Online friendships and offline friendships are no different. But one requires more effort than the other. This is especially true because I have gotten the habit of thinking everyone is busy online and thus I rarely im them.

The only person I have yet to meet is…LELE. And E!

For the first time ever, I was on a DELAYED flight on southwest. But unlike my experiences on America West and other airlines, the flight attendants kept us entertained. They made jokes about the entire thing. One attendant said outloud, \”Anybody who can guess why we are delayed gets a free drink.\” Meaning a cocktail. One guy said outloud, \”You\’re waiting for a flight attendant!\” And that was true!

In fact, we were delayed because a previous plane took very long to takeoff and blocked the gate for 30 minutes. Then the flight attendant apparently came from another plane and we had to wait.

So instead arriving at 8:25 pm, I arrived more than an hour later. My poor sissy almost got a parking ticket because she didn\’t want to waste gas by circling. Pat lady!

so now, I am sitting on the floor of my sister\’s room. Things about San Diego always amaze me. NICE APARTMENTS. A single room for less than $600! And everyone drives. And boba! Even though it\’s probably my fifth time to UCSD, all these little things.

Thanks to my sissy Doreen\’s bf who gave recently gave her season one of Sex and the City. Then suddenly (after downloading all of season six) she had an epihany to my question of platonic relationships. \”What does a friendship really mean between a guy and a girl? Does it mean you are led on or leaned on?\”

I am leaving for San Diego tomorrow evening! To visit my sissy! Her 21st b-day!

Sometimes when people say \”Internet is down\”, it means that even if I ask them if they checked if everything is plugged in, I will arrive and find out that an ethernet cord had fallen out of the hub. So I put it back and Internet isn\’t down anymore.

Also \”computers are broken, everything is down!\” also means \”the printer is out of toner, bring a replacement cartridge part q1338a\”.

I never liked cowards.

I remember my former best friend who was so afraid of everything. She was afraid of getting a bad grade, afraid of not achieving her goals, afraid of authority, afraid of disobedience, afraid of seeking her independence, but most of all, she was afraid of…being kidnapped. Years later, I think that I probably projected everything I disliked about myself onto her. So is that why, she grated on my nerves so much at the end of our \”friendship\”?

Anyway, I thought about today how I always thought the nuances of new people I meet were just…very \”cute\”. How one person would laugh at almost everything. How one person would swing their arms like hitting a baseball. How a person\’s voice would squeak when they get excited. But these are only at first, some of these things get so annoying later.

One of my friends commented a few months ago how my mom didn\’t seem like the typical passive Chinese woman. It was obvious to her that my mom was the assertive type. And surprisingly after decades of my omnipresent social anxiety, I am very assertive too. Sometimes to the point of controlling. I would hate the idea of having to be dependent on anyone. The idea of relying on someone to drive me to places is so appalling that I know I would rather walk or take public transportation. I don\’t want to be that someone who is afraid of those big bad cars.

By the way, today must have been the 1000th time I heard someone say \”I don\’t know anything about computers\”. :(

In just over a month, I\’ll be leaving for Pittsburgh, PA to start the next phase of my life at CMU. Sometimes I imagine myself like Holden on top of a hill (perhaps at the Big C), trying to figure out a way to say goodbye to Berkeley. Then run down wildly down the hill, because I felt like it.

There are so many places we leave never knowing that we may never return. It\’s also the same with people, a polite \”see you later\” may just mean…a \”i see you never\”. There will be some people that I will miss seeing and there are those that I wish to never see again. So it goes, right?

After such a long time struggling to figure out my place, I feel like I almost found it this summer. Even though it\’s not everything I wanted, it\’s ok for now.

I got two debit cards (why two?) from the new account I opened in Pittsburgh this week. I also received a bill from CMU for a total of more than $15,000 for the fall. My checking account barely breaks 8k now. :(

Did anybody notice that I accidentally whacked my nose on my laptop monitor yesterday? Nobody commented on the red mark I have at the top of my nose. It happened when I was too excited at work. I had stood up. Then in a futile response, I just bent my head forward and hit my nose on my laptop. Do I need a rhinoplasty?

Interestingly during the summer, I have too many things on my to-do list: