you pay when you press the "snooze" button

I only had one class today but it happened to be a 9:05 class. I have 9:05 classes from Monday through Thursday. I usually "wake" up to 4 alarms: 6:00, 6:40, 7:17 and 7:30. However, on some mornings, I set a fifth alarm to 8:00. Today was such a day and I had to pay for the 1/2 hour of sleep I stole from my morning "preparation."

My usual routine: I usually like to get to class 10-15 minutes earlier. Thus, I must leave my apartment by 8:40. It takes me 15 minutes to wake up from my wake up because I play with my i-phone. So I'm usually in the shower by 7:45-8:00. It takes me 15 minutes to shower and dress, 10 minutes to dry my hair, 10 minutes to straighten my hair. So I'm already at 8:20 on my best days after these steps. It takes me 10 minutes to disguise myself (i.e., put on contacts and apply makeup). 8:30? I have to pack my bag and turn the heat off and put my breakfast (pouch of Capri-Sun) into my bag. I leave my apartment by 8:35ish and make it to my classroom by 8:50.

Today I had to skip all the steps after drying my hair from my regular routine because I woke up at 8:00 and managed to get into the shower by 8:10. So my hair was clean but was flying everywhere! I skipped putting on contacts and applying makeup and had to wear my thick glasses which make the size of my eyes look like tiny little peas to others. I wore my crappiest clothes and set out to learn the magic that is Corporate Tax.

Today, Prof. Logue said so many witty things. I jotted them all down but unfortunately left my notes in my locker (I will become better about this). He brought us bagels from Panera and posed the question, "is this a taxable event?" Yes...he's a tax geek(god). People rushed to get the bagels and said "no, de minimis"! He said, "you can't go to de minimis first. Lets say...it's a tiny refund of the tuition you paid." I thought that was hilarious...but now that I typed it up...I realize, I have a very low threshold in the morning when it comes to finding things funny. I didn't eat a bagel because not only was I very ugly for class...I am an ugly eater. I don't like eating in front of strangers and people I admire. I eat fast...it looks like I'm shoving food into my mouth. Also, I'm very sloppy. So I try not to eat in front of people I'm unfamiliar with. That's why I lose weight when I have to eat with strangers (lawyers club dining hall - 1L year) or in front of people I may be attracted to in some shape or form.

At the end of class, there was some discussion about a recent decision that allows tax professors to testify in court about the law, and he said another witty thing like..."if I was able to make $1,000 an hour, that would change a lot of things. If my wife asked me to vacuum...I would be able to say...do you really think that is a good use of my time to vacuum for 20 minutes?" Haha, loved it. Again, my threshold isn't that high. I find Prof. Kahn funny on Monday and Tuesday mornings.

So, since I was looking very ugly today...as soon as class ended, I rushed home to avoid running into anyone I knew. And of course...since I live off of a popular street, I ran into everybody and their moms. I met Barry and Linda...who recognized me...and it might have been my imagination but they so smirked at ugly me. I smiled and hurried away. And then I saw Matt Veenstra. But the sad thing was he didn't recognize me and walked past me! So even though I was very ugly, I turned back and called him (I call him "ajuhshi"...his Korean is very good). He was like..."oh, it IS you! I didn't recognize you. You're in disguise!" Oh no...fail. Without straightening my hair, putting on contacts, and putting on makeup...I am in disguise?! Hahaha. I must go drop Sally off the airport and proceed to disguise myself from my disguise.

Random thought: blogging is invading my thoughts. I no longer think to myself...but to a blog audience. I am constantly blogging in my mind throughout the day. I literally ran into my room to blog and Sally was unimpressed.

so much chocolate!

Haha. So Sally is leaving to visit NYC this weekend. Tina is also gone this weekend-- attending a wedding in Houston. So, I'm all alone on V-day weekend. I will get a lot of work done. I promise my huge readership. I skipped my morning class today. I woke up really early but just didn't feel like going because I knew I wasn't as prepared as I wanted to be. I hope Professor Kahn doesn't hate me.

Today I received two packages for both Sally and me from Liz. She sent us gourmet chocolate!! When Sally came home, she semi panicked and went to her room and brought another box of chocolate for me (an identical one that Liz got us). She had meant to leave it for me when she went to NYC so I wouldn't be so lonely.

<3 Last time I exchanged chocolate was in 2007 when I was a small group leader. Each member of the small group had another girl...and we gave Godiva good business. Their truffles are amazing. What a commercial holiday. Bear with my bitterness. :) The chocolates I received today are amazing! I won't lament too much on Valentine's Day. I promise. I have much to lament about tomorrow...but that is for tomorrow. P.S. When I pick Sally up from her Patent Law class...I always park at the handicap spot...(but I'm inside the car). Wonder if that is a violation...

finding old friends on facebook

I used to move around a lot when I was a kid -- I can't keep the dates straight or the order of places I lived in straight. I can't tell you if I went to all grades of elementary school. I was born in Queens Hospital in Flushing, New York. At that time, my parents were living in Queens but would move to Brooklyn before Sally was born. When I was around five or six, my parents moved back to Pusan, Korea. I went to international school there -- this is where I met my first best friend in life, Tuulia. When my parents separated (the divorce took awhile...like five years?), I went to a different school which was affiliated with the U.S. army in Pusan. That was my first good-bye. The next year went by in an odd manner-- where I remember going to Korean elementary school but the details are fuzzy and the three of us were wanderers. Then, my mom took my sister and me to Florida for a little less than a year. I think I was either in third-grade or fourth grade. We went back to Korea and I went to Korean elementary school again (a different one) where I met my second best friend in life, Yuh-ah (I found her about a year ago on a Korean-facebook type thing). Spending a little less than a year, my mom took us back to the states-- this time, San Francisco. I was in 4th grade. I made many friends (and found one of them on Facebook!). Then, she took us to San Diego. This is where I spent three years. After three years, I would move to Buffalo, New York.

Yesterday, I found on Facebook many of the people I remembered from San Diego including my seventh-grade teacher! I had tried to look for them years ago but none of my closest friends were on Facebook. What was interesting that I discovered from friending them was that -- while my life in San Diego was a neat chapter that ended with us four being bffs and me leaving...their lives in San Diego continued. The two girls were still inseparable. But one of the girls that used to be in our "clique" was missing in all of their pictures. I found her on Facebook and saw that they had gone to different high schools. The two girls weren't even Facebook friends with the third girl!

It's interesting how while time with those individuals for me stopped back twelve years ago...for them, it continued and changed. Life went on without me for the three girls who used to be my best friends. Of course my life without them went on as well. I don't know whether it was a good thing for me to have moved around so much. Probably not. Not a single time was the good-bye a little easier just because I had done it before. But I'm not sure if I'm the type of person who is able to live in one place for too long. While the good-byes are hard, the hellos with the new people are pretty wonderful. I like change. I like meeting people from different walks of life. I don't think I can live in one place for more than five years. I might scream. Or maybe it's because I've never done it before. Maybe I can do it.

Side-note: Kind of corny but I was probably never truly lonely during the wandering since I always had my sister.