=) i know i know, i should be writing my statement of purpose... i should START it. but gosh... i just took a step back to see what a creation blogging has become. who knew? it's a chain reaction. so may new people blogging, it's really nice to see people utilizing this format to vent, identify, and learn more about themselves. i know i haven't been as good about it as of late, but it's not an easy thing to keep up with. i've never been good with keeping journals for very long. props to everyone who can!

but my point. at the APSA meeting this past week, my ice breaker group went around introducing themselves. for some weird reason, as many of them announced that they were first years, i just got this weird feeling inside. call it sadness, nostalgia, heartache... i don't know. "hi i'm ____ and i'm a first yearm." how simple and insignificant it must have meant to them, but i felt like they were so lucky. they have a clean slate on their college career, a fresh start... and here i am finishing off my last year in college. where did 4 years go?? how can i be leaving so soon? honestly, i don't think i'm quite ready to leave just yet. if i don't get into any of my grad schools, i really would not mind hanging around another year and taking on another minor (or even a major). *sigh* but then again, who knows, perhaps in a few months' time i'll have the sense of closure and by then be ready to leave UCSD...

at any rate, i'm so happy for all the people who make such good use of blogging. i'm also happy for those who are just plain happy. =) it gives me a deep sense of calm, knowing that things are going ok for these people. i don't know... i guess i just feel like i haven't truly made the most of my college experience. i feel i have so much yet to do, but it's time for me to leave. my future students await me, and i will take on the challenge with head held high. i do have faith in myself, but first i must get myself into a school!

now... focus on grad school apps. what to write about? what is my purpose? why education? hmmm... can i just turn in 4 words? "It is my passion."

oh hey look, ucsd grad school apps are due tomorrow. =/

stress makes u do strange things:
doRkYjaNeT: i have a pet fly
Max Strling: pet fly?
doRkYjaNeT: i had a glass sitting on my desk, and a fly just fell into it from my window ledge, and then i turned the glass over just now
doRkYjaNeT: and now it's trapped, it's my pet
Max Strling: oh
Max Strling: hahaaaahaaa
Max Strling: dork
doRkYjaNeT: it's kinda big
doRkYjaNeT: ewie
doRkYjaNeT: and i can see it's mouth suction straw thingie
doRkYjaNeT: it's gross
doRkYjaNeT: should i keep it there to look at or should i throw it out
doRkYjaNeT: i think i should throw it out it's kinda grossing me out
Max Strling: ewee
doRkYjaNeT: i'm weird
doRkYjaNeT: should i torture it??? >=)

GRAD SCHOOL SHIT IS SCARY
this is turning out to be a lot more work than i expected. applying to undergrad schools was so much easier, cuz u had all your other friends to turn to, u know all the deadlines for stuff, u know what tests u had to take and when, etc.etc... NOT THE CASE THIS TIME. i have to run around everywhere trying to find answers for different things, fetching paperwork from 10 million different places, including my high school, the registrar, letters of rec, official score reports from at least 3 different instit.... aahhh!!!! and a million different essays to write and a hundred things to sign and a gazillion photocopies to make!!!! WHY?!?!?!

=( i'm exhausted. and i'm still not done. i need to have everything by THIS FRIDAY for ucsd. *sigh* and i got two tests this week among the regular homework i have... =( but.... ugh. i can do it. i will do it... =|

=) had an amazing weekend at the uci apsa mammoth retreat!... well, for the most part...

let's see... i left friday nite with my roomie davy to go to irvine. we packed up in jason's car and took off for mammoth around 8:30pm and got to sleep around 3:30. =P the next day we got up around 7 and got ready for a spectacular day of boarding!!!.. or so we thought. =P
BOY was it windy. it was the worst i've EVER seen mammoth. i couldn't believe mammoth could be so shitty and windy and icy and crappy. but nonetheless, jason, davy, john pv, and i stayed for the whole day. call us crazy but that's what we did, despite the swinging lifts, closed lifts, ice pellets attacking us, u name it. but the cool this was that we got a half lift tix voucher back, so i suppose that compensates for it somewhat, eh? =) when we got back to the cabin, we realized that the 4 of us were the only crazies who went boarding the whole day. everyone else went on one run, got their money back, and got nice and comfy back in the cabin.

the next day many of us were very skeptical about conditions. i called to find out how the day would be, and the recording said that it would be a "far cry from yesterday" verbatim. well, still a skeptic, i didn't want to miss out if it DID turn out to be a nice day. so after much mumbling and deliberation while lying down in bed, i finally convinced the guys to go again that day. how long did it take? well, we didn't leave for the slopes til like 9:30. =P lucky for us we actually went! it was a BEAUTIFUL day. i am SOOOO glad i didn't miss out. =) too bad jason decided to SKI. =P blah! i know, what was he thinking? hehe.. anyway, there was hardly any wind and the runs were actually pretty clean. u couldn't go exploring between trees and stuff though, still quite icy. the first half of the day we went freeriding all over the left side of the mountain, and after lunch we spent all day in the terrain park. oh my gosh, i swear it was the power drink i drank, but i was on some sort of high. i felt invincible and confident after a few hours, and i just went balls out through the park. i conquered the huge tabletop jumps that intimidated me earlier. snowboarding is SO psychological. that day i was just ON. doing grab after grab and catching nice air... the kind where u take off and everything goes silent all around you, and all you hear is your landing. i'm especially proud of the grab where i cleared the height of this one photographer dood standing at the top who must have laughed at me earlier when i didn't even get enough speed to go past the kicker. =P how embarrassing. but i think i redeemed myself, and it's always encouraging when u hear stranger's positive comments. NOT a good thing when ski patrol closes off a jump because you're lying there from a fall. oF COURSE THAT DIDN'T HAPPEN TO ME YESTERDAY ON A QUARTER PIPE. =/ well, in any case, sunday was DEFINITELY my day._=) jason was very proud of me, and he was hitting up jumps looking all cute. hehehe! i hope i have another one of those days... i think i'l drink that drink again. OHHHH oHh1!! how could i have almost forgotten??? i tried to hit a 180 grab, and ALMOST did it. =) =) =) just fell short of a full half rotation, and made like.. a 160 grab. =) yay janet. yay mammoth!

=) =) =) "i'm sooo excited.. i just can't hide it..."
yayyyy MAMMOTH! we shall be reunited soon! =) everyone have a happy holiday weekend and please do remember the honorable Martin Luther King, jr.

i'll resume worrying about all my grad school stuff when i get back... =P *sigh*

but in the meantime!!!... i'ma have some FUN. like yesterday when i actually went out for the first time in a long time. like OUT out.. went clubbing in downtown SD for the first time in my life. yes. i'm NOT a square! check out some pix my roommate took: http://photos.yahoo.com/davewu226 =)

dood i live with some WEIRD boys... =/

=) i'm done with MSAT, the absurdly inhumane test i sat in for over 6 hours! and i'm done with all the other tests to become a teacher. wheeee~!!! no MORE ETS!! i hate u guys!!! ahhh!!!! booo!!!

happy happy new year~ =) wheeee!!

what an eventful break... found out so much about myself and my family. wow.
and two back-to-back road trips!!!

1st road trip w/ jason:
day 1 (fri/sat) - drive north, nap at my best friend's place in berkeley, continued up through portland oregon and spent the nite there.
day 2 (sun) - sightsee in portland, shopped here and there, got gas pumped for us, went to olympia, saw the capital, went to seattle and sightseed/sawed?, and got to vancouver and slept
day 3 (mon) - hellooooo whistler blackcomb!!!! for only $41 US dollars u get two HUGE mountains with AMAZING snow, runs, views, conditions... wow. and damn fast lifts. nothing beats whistler. NOTHING!!! *droool*
day 4 (tues) - christmas!!! got to open gifts wheeee~!!! muahaha~ ok. well we went sightseeing in vancouver, but that was kinda hard to do cuz so many places were closed =( were thinking about going to whistler again, but my being sick really didn't allow that to happen...
day 5 (wed) - boxing day in canada! crazy sales, crazy shoppers. went sightseeing a little more in vancouver. took off for cali!!!
day 6 (thurs) - drove through seattle again, ate dinner at the marketplace, slept in reno nevada after i lost $10 and jason won $55.
day 7 (fri) - boarding at northstar. freakin rip off. and it was raining. and my monthly visitor didn't help the situation much. nor did all the ppl there... in 2 hours we got it 2 runs. booooo!!! headed for home and got there and konked out. poor jason =( drove so much....over a dead deer too. ah~ but we had lotsa fun!!!

then the day after i got back i left for another road trip....
2nd road trip with family!
day 1 (sun) - left for vegas, just drove through, slept in boulder city
day 2 (mon) - sightseed at hoover dam and zion national park in utah. slept at bryce
day 3 (tues) - NEW YEAR!!!! sightseed bryce canyon, and we were the first ppl of 2002 to be at the summit! saw lake powell, and the grand canyon (south rim) and slept in williams arizona.
day 4 (wed) - sightseed sedona and phoenix, left for home... exhausted!!

and am i sick of being in a car after all that? not really. =) i love road trips. wheeeee~ now it's time for school and such. =/ *sigh* i've not studied for my MSAT yet either. and it's THIS SATURDAY. no really i don't know what i'm thinking. and it's nearly $300 to take that godforsaken test. O_O and they want ppl to become teachers? that's hardly an incentive to me. =P

anyway... well i wish all of you a wonderful new year's!!! =)