Tsaichu's Adventure

Matterpie made me a game. =] A present in the best adventure of them all! (And if you're curious, the secret words made an acrostic of my name =P)

Merry Christmas! ☆

Let it Go

You know what? I have a week and a half after break to do work. I'm going to stop stressing myself out and just relax.

Frozen was amazing by the way. =]

Being Home

It's been almost a week, and honestly, while I've loved being home and hanging out with friends, I'm also insanely restless. I've been trying to study but not getting anything done, and just being more stressed as a result.

And I think it's honestly impacting the rest I get - my dreams have been chock full of people trying to kill me. And I've been sleeping a lot if not through the entire time... I generally fall asleep by midnight and don't get up until like 10am...

I don't remember it being this hard last year. I don't know what's going on.

One More Day

Feeling a bit melancholy that most of my friends have left already. On one hand, it's nice to not have to fight through the snow to get to the airport, but on another, I'm rather lonely... Even the snow is making me a little sad - what's fun about snow if you don't have friends to go sledding or have snowball fights with? Even building a snowman yourself just seems a little sad...

On the bright side, had a nice brunch with Christie this morning, and I'm going to chill with Evan/Marisa/Daniel tonight! Grab dinner, hopefully see Catching Fire, and just relax. Skyping Matt later tonight too. =] I'm already feeling like I need to use all my time and start doing work, but let's be real...

Excited to go back home and see family+friends. Visit school and Amgen and just chill. Heard Cal had an early acceptance to Stanford!

In a bit of an emotional turmoil right now. Happy about some things, sad about others. Anxious about work but really just wanting to sleep and relax (it's the first day of break for Pete's sake!).

Ah well. Winter break shall be a good one.

Edit: Mostly done packing now - just a few things to pack tomorrow morning, namely my computer and uke. Found this little guy chilling in my suitcase. =] Bringing him back to Cali with me! <)

On Snowball Fights and Staying Safe

Woke up to a campus absolutely blanketed in snow, and snow still falling. I love the snow, so it was absolutely amazing. =] This campus is sincerely gorgeous normally, and absolutely stunning in the snow.

Classes went normally - classics was pretty amusing. We were supposed to have a superquiz and he gave us the option of voting whether to take it. Obviously everyone voted not to, and it turns out he hadn't prepared one anyways. Gotta love Glenn.

Had a huge snowball fight with Hansen, Michelle, Allen, Christie, Matt, and Brian during late meal. =] Pretty amazing, though now my jeans and sweater are soaked haha. Hopefully they'll dry off by tonight? Got the first dose of the meningitis B vaccine too! Here's to staying safe!

Hoping to go sledding later... Apparently Whitman lawn's pretty much out of snow, but maybe we can find some other hill? -crosses fingers-

Snowfall!

First snow today! It's absolutely beautiful outside. It's since stopped snowing though, and tomorrow's supposed to be warmer, so I doubt it'll last. =\ At least it's beautiful now. =]

Schedule Strugs

I was not expecting two of the classes I wanted to take to fill up before sophomore registration even started. Especially not MOL328 - I completely didn't realize it was such a popular class... 

I guess I'm aiming to take Dev Psych to replace MOL and fulfill my EC, then just some LA. There's a chance I can still get into Kiddie Lit, but I might honestly just take DAN 209... It's PDF only, which would take some stress off my mind, and I could potentially squeeze in Kiddie Lit senior year if I wanted (and even PDF it under the right circumstances).

Eusebius, Church History

I think I'm learning infinitely more about the depths of sacrifice to which Jesus calls us than I am whatever I'm supposed to be learning from reading this... Not a bad thing of course, but interesting.

An A at Harvard

“I can answer the question, if you want me to.” Harris said. “The median grade in Harvard College is indeed an A-. The most frequently awarded grade in Harvard College is actually a straight A.”'

~ The Harvard Crimson

Actually insane. Guess there's more truth to the whole "would have been an A at Harvard" sentiment that exists at Princeton than I thought.

In a way I'm thankful for my Bs and such though. I mean, I would much rather have an A in the end, but having to have the experience of struggling so much for a grade, and still not getting an A... It's really humbling. It really makes me realize that not everything can be done in my own power, nor should everything be able to be done in my own power. That maybe, working your hardest sometimes really isn't enough. It's a pretty miserable truth but one well worth knowing.

Of course, that's not to say I wouldn't appreciate the 3.71 that GradeDeflation.com says I would have had I gone to Harvard... xP

Eventful Days

Car crash on the way back to Princeton yesterday. No one was hurt, thank God. People are still recovering from minor concussions (headaches and such) but nothing seems to be serious. And a huge blessing from Kaite's dad, who showed up to drive us the rest of the way to school!

Gas leak at school today - all of Wilson was evacuated and Frist for a while as well. It was inconvenient as I couldn't get back into the dorm, but again thank God that no one was hurt. And I was able to pick up stuff from my dorm right before class at 1:30pm, so my day wasn't even much impacted!

Stella ❤

Slept on the ride back instead. =P But yesterday was lots of fun - we played MarioKart and Telestrations and just hung out really haha. I got to finish my chem pset too, which was nice if not exactly fun. xP

Went Black Friday shopping today! So many stores to go to - didn't have too much time though (or money, all things considered). Bought two sweaters at Old Navy, and working on a pair of boots from DSW. But favorite purchase was definitely a ukelele. Yup, I got a uke! She's super super pretty and I have no idea how to play a uke, but I'm going to learn! Named her Stella. =] Wayyy too excited for the (lack of) time I'll have to learn haha... But it'll be fun!

A couple more days of rest, then back to Princeton! But then just two weeks until winter break. Jeez, time passes by so fast...

A Turkey Thanksgiving!

Had an absolutely wonderful Thanksgiving full of food, friends, and fun games. =] Bit tired and getting up for shopping tomorrow, so I'll write more tomorrow (perhaps on the drive back?). I've been so blessed to be able to spend this Thanksgiving with Matt's family, if not my own. God is wonderful.

Conversations and Thanksgiving

I've only recently realized how much I've talked throughout my life without actually saying anything. I really do crave deep conversations, I just sort of suck at them. But if anyone ever wants to talk, please pull me out of my comfort zone!

On another note, while talking to Christie today, I really just was overwhelmed by the sheer magnitude of things I have to be thankful for in any given day. A warm bed, food and clean water, a loving family and supportive friends. A wonderful fellowship and a great university, being able to pursue something I love, the convenience afforded by technology and the comfort of home away from home. An absolutely amazing boy whom I love and who loves me back. And above all, a gracious and merciful God who knows me better than I know myself and who will always provide for me as long as I ask (and who answered my prayers with a decent/average score on biochem and a 10/10 on a physics quiz I felt unsure on!).

Sending off a letter today to thank a family for funding my financial aid, grabbing some late meal, then just chilling and watching a movie with friends.

What a wonderful way to start off a Thanksgiving break.

Bonfire: Round 2!

Once again, it was freezing. Unlike last year though, I stayed away from the front to avoid having my face melt off.

Last year seemed more exciting with the effigy and such, plus it was the first time in a while, but it was still pretty awesome. =]

Voiceplay

These guys are on Season 4 of the Sing-off. I know who I'm rooting for in addition to the Footnotes now! Eep they're so good ❤

Recovering

The biochem exam was pretty horrible, and I haven't studied for math or physics on Monday. But despite all of this, I'm happy. =] Treated myself to some Naked Juice (and roasted seaweed!) and brought some over for Matt and Jeremy too.

Seems like a pretty good way to recover from bad exams - I think I'll just do this in the future. Treat yourself, then treat someone else. =]

Thank you God for getting me through this and helping me to not dwell on my mistakes or what I perceive as failures.

Classes

Somehow, I always find myself in classes that aren't my major, that I don't technically need, and that are filled with students from the major to which it corresponds. I mean, with ECO202/ECO310 it makes sense, since those are required from econ majors, but I found out recently that Civil Liberties is generally full of WWS/policy students. Makes sense now, considering how talkative some people in precept were.

This also partially explains why my semesters have been rough - that is, my taking classes for my major (so thus with the premeds and engineers), and also taking random classes in other people's majors that happen to be popular for said major... Well that, and my lack of time management/study skills (derp), and the fact that I'm a chem major (which is actually thought of as one of the hardest majors - what?).

In any case, academic advising with Professor Kelly tomorrow - tentative schedule for spring below! Yay for 8:30am classes again... At least my Thursdays and Fridays look nice?

Up late biochem cramming, but nothing is being absorbed. I should go sleep. Derp.

Bonfire #2 Secured!

Bit late, but =D!!! Two years, two bonfires! And an Ivy League Championship this year!

On Phone Calls

"I just don't like phone calls because people can bother me whenever they want."

In a way, it's a valid point. I get annoyed if my phone rings while I'm in the middle of the pset. I get annoyed sometimes when someone I haven't heard from in a while texts asking for help.

But on the other hand, it's a blessing to be bothered. It means people trust you, that they want your help, and that they believe you're there for them. Most of the time it's not that they think you're at their beck and call, but just that they know you'll be there to help if they ever need it.

It's special being trusted. And honestly, I sort of miss phone calls. Texting gives way to multi-tasking and not really paying attention to the conversation (not that calls don't also have that problem, but a 15 minutes lull in texting is generally acceptable whereas a silence of that period on the phone would be... awkward).

Phone calls seem a bit dead - they don't come around much unless it's for business or from parents. It's a bit of a shame, really.

Thank you for an amazing night yesterday. ❤

Still have two tests and two quizzes to start studying for, and an econ pset to finish. But somehow, I feel almost at ease. It's wonderful. =] (Come tomorrow though...)

Frozen

Our fountain has frozen. It's so cold that moving, spurting water has frozen. I punched through the ice in the pool and it was at least an inch and a half thick.

So yeah, it's cold. I don't remember feeling cold when I had three layers on last year, but I guess it was a semi-mild winter last year too. In any case, sweater, coat, mittens, scarf, hat. Winter is coming (or, you know, it's already here).

Piece By Piece

The more I look at this super tentatively planned schedule for my remaining time here at Princeton, the more certain I am that I can do this. I'll undoubtedly feel differently once I'm in the class (physics is honestly *killing* me right now, and I have biochem and linear tests coming up that I'm super worried for), but I can do this. I'll have space for more electives too, even with the random classes I'm already planning on taking.

Typical me though, worrying about stuff for next year while not being prepared for the stuff next week. And honestly, all of this could change so much - just two weeks ago, I was set on getting a finance certificate. Wherever God takes me. Piece by piece, and peace by peace. =]

Who am I in a crisis?

Do I focus on what others did wrong, or do I think about what I could have done to make it right? Do I think about the consequences for me, or for others who are affected?

Who I am in a crisis is who I really am, no mask or painted details. So who will it be?

Figuring Out My Life

I've actually decided to PDF econ. Bit of a bummer, since I didn't want to use a PDF so soon again, but judging from my midterm grade and how rough the homework is going, and how crappy the final is supposedly going to be... Probably a good idea in order to keep myself sane and not hate econ completely. Plus, looking at future courses, it looks to be more investment banking oriented as opposed to business-oriented, which was why I would have gotten the certificate in the first place.

Going to check out COS and GHP certificates - definitely want a COS one, and the GHP one looks pretty relevant and also interesting (and more akin to what I would have wanted from the finance cert, except less math-y).

A big thank you to God for bringing me through this rough past week. Now just to *pass* econ and bring all of my other grades up (especially physics).

And I definitely can't forget this...

MAEGAN IS HERE!!!

Got woken up at 8am by her haha. It was definitely the best surprise of the year and made my whole week so much better. And she brought cookies! I've missed her so freaking much. Super happy right now. =]

A rough, bumpy, broken road.

I am loved.

Regardless of what I can do, and what I can't. Regardless of any right or wrong decisions I might make. Regardless of how worthless, stupid, and hopeless I feel. Regardless of whether I feel loved, I am.

And at the end of the day, that's what I'll try to remember.

I am having a perfectly bad day.

Cornell!

It's been lots of fun chilling here with Matt, Faith, and their family. It's super pretty - I wish I had more time to spend... So much open space and grass and nature haha. I personally still like Princeton more (Cornell is *huge*) but it's pretty wonderful here.

I can't believe fall break is pretty much over... So much I wanted to do that didn't get done. And so much I should have done that ended the same way. Woops. But I guess this always happens...

In any case, time for some pictures!

Half Relaxing, Half Frantic

Break has been nice, but also insanely busy at the same time.

Been relaxing a lot (read: sleeping a lot), but also trying to do work and sort of failing (and subsequently freaking out about work). Went up to NYC and saw Chris, visited the Intrepid museum, had some yummy ramen. Went pumpkin picking today too! Hoping to get a bit more done before the start of school, but with going up to Cornell, we'll see how that works out.

Excited to see Faith and Ellen and Natasha though. =] Eh, we'll see what happens these next few days. Meanwhile, have a few pictures!

How Wonderful Are You

Thank you God, for holding me through this week and showering me with Your love. For being so patient when I was frustrated and angry, and for loving me when I felt worthless. Thank You for the beautiful autumn leaves and the crisp air, for woven sweaters and cookies and hot tea, for the stars in the night sky and late mornings spent curled up cozy in my bed.

Thank You for giving me this life God, for all of the amazing people I have met, and for all the beautiful things in the world.

People love me. Isn't that crazy?

I can't math, I can't physics. I definitely can't econ. Judging from my chem grades, I can't chem either. What am I doing here?

Completely drained. Two more to go.

Life is such a rollercoaster right now. Day to day, hour to hour, even minute to minute sometimes. I can't wait until this is over.

Not to be the better person, but to be a loving person in all regards.

I get so self-centered when I'm stressed or frustrated, and it's something that I really need to work on. Everyone's got their exams and other problems. What do they have on their plate today? How can I help?

Currently sitting in a room of econ, math, physics, and despair.

I feel so amazingly idiotic and unaccomplished sometimes. But then I think, this could go two ways. I'm either actually not that stupid, which is pretty nice, and/or I've somehow managed to be friends with so many amazing and intelligent people despite my obvious faults.

Loving Through the Stress

I can get so frustrated and I hurt those I love most... Please God, help me fix this. Help fix me.

I Don't Understand

Honestly, this is my midterms jam.

Honestly just exhausted.

Midterms week. I don't even know anymore, I'm just tired.

CLA - I should be fine. Hopefully.

CHM - No midterm during midterms week. One after fall break. Not on priorities list at the moment.

ECO - I literally have no idea what is going on in any regards to this class.

MAT - Someone save me.

PHY - Maybe? Maybe. Maybe not.

-sighs-

Since this is the happiness and joy that God provides me, should I not try my best to show others?

This guy.

This is the fifth flower I've gotten this year. I can't even believe him. I love you dear. ❤

If I needed any evidence that God does not abandon, today was it.

And if he tells me it's okay to cry, that He's there to comfort me, that He IS my comfort, then who am I to hold back?

Walls

There are only so many times you can break through the doors, wear down the walls, coax your way in, before everything is reinforced with steel. Before the door I had expected, wanted, to open is barred and barricaded. And maybe now is the time. Peace and happiness. That's all we wanted. Maybe I was chaining you down. Maybe you were chaining me down. Maybe it was both. Either way, we weren't set free to pick those chains back up again.

A deep-set sadness. And one I won't let myself be dragged into again.

Dear God,

Thank you for giving me today to chase after you and no one else. For giving me today to wait for you and no one else. For giving me today, and giving me freedom.

My mom sent me kiwis and cranberries and a honey bear and congee and Godiva chocolate and I'm actually crying right now.

It's tempting to just stand outside in the rain and feel as though everything is being washed away.

Oktoberfest: Candy Apples, Beer, and Rubber Duckies

Went out with friends to get some Charter points. Basically stood around eating apples and caramel for half an hour. It was a good way to get my mind off of things though.

But now back to biochem.

God, please.

Grandparents ❤

Bouncing Back

Woke up at 11:30am, proceeded to devolve into a state of frenzy because I had completely missed my 9am econ precept, 10am physics precept, and was about to overshoot my 11am linear class. Plus we were getting quizzes back in both physics and math. Basically had a panic attack (funny how those seem to be related to school for me...).

But everything turned out okay. Econ precept never really helped me all that much, since he basically just goes over the solutions from last week's pset, which are posted online. I'll be copying physics notes from a friend, picking up my quiz in precept on Friday, and the wonderful Matthew Wang has offered to help with physics, which he always does anyways. Attended the 12:30pm section for linear, taught by the same professor, and picked up my quiz then (which I did pretty poorly on, but it could have been worse).

Have *so* much to study for biochem, but going to get through classics notes and hopefully WebAssign before then, and then meet up with Evelyn and Tiff late tonight to try to work things out.

Here's to a wonderful rest of the day.

Heal my broken spirit; mend my broken soul.

10/7 Today

I've made a decision and I'm going to hold myself to it. And if it so happens that I have to do this, I will, because in the end, it'll be better for everyone involved. It just sucks, because I never thought I'd have to consider the possibility.

I thought I was prepared. I thought you would care more, or that you would understand. I guess I'm just wrong about everything today.

Clubs

Been thinking a lot about clubs lately... I'm part of quite a few. And recently, I've had to miss a few meetings and delegate some tasks because I've been sick and feeling overwhelmed with upcoming tests. Danielle really reminded me on Thursday to let my yes be yes, and my no be no. I made a commitment to these clubs when I joined, and I have to keep that commitment. And if I can't, then I can't continue under the illusion that I will.

Honestly I can't really imagine not being a part of these clubs; not when I've met so many great people and felt like I've really been able to help. TASA, PEF, WCC, CCA, Innovation, PUCS, and of course the guard I'm trying to start... But I guess I'll challenge myself to list them in the order of importance to me, starting with the one I'd be least likely to give up. Hopefully it never comes to this, but if it does, I'll have a record of having thought about how much each one needs me, and how much I want to be involved in each, in case I do have to cut back on them next semester (especially since I'll be joining a lab).

PEF
TASA
Tiger Guard
PUCS
WCC
Innovation
CCA

On the sort of bright/future side though, WCC is a frosh/soph thing, so I am guaranteed not to be in it next year... God really blessed me when he didn't make me chair of the council - it would have been too much on my plate to handle. I'm really wondering if I want to run for presidencies in the spring. I absolutely love my clubs, but will I be able to give them the time, attention, and care they deserve?

Please pray for me.

Guess who's penciled in to join MacMillan's group in the spring?!

This made my day so much better. =]

An Hour of Sleep

Running off of an hour today. Not too bad physically surprisingly, but today was rough mentally.

The morning just started off horribly wrong. Horribly, horribly wrong. But I'm going to move past it. 
Went to physics, got my lovely 5/10 quiz grade back. To be (sort of) fair, the majority of the points I missed was for not showing enough work, which sucks, but at least means I know my physics...
Feeling screwed for the math quiz next week. This weekend's going to be fun cram time.
Missed tons of questions in biochem woop. Just like normal.
At least classics was fun. Roman emperors are insane.

Matt's on crutches. Poor guy. Kicked a tree and pretty much bruised his foot... =\ Praying for him and hoping he gets better soon.

Reading

I've been reading so much lately - classical history and biochem mainly - for classes, but I've been neglected to read what really matters.

At least half an hour before bed every day. I promise.

Book Sale!

I swear, when I actually grow up and have a job, and a home, and a family, the two things that will kill my wallet apart from the kids are food and book sales.

But then again, book sales aren't too expensive. I just get wayyy excited and carried away haha. But $21 for like 10 books, some hardcover and all in pretty amazing condition! Matt found like a half-dozen Redwall books today too, when we went for the bag sale. And I found Quidditch Through the Ages. =D

So much happiness.

BOOKS!!! ❤

Best Suite: 1927 Hall 132

There are some really awesome dorm rooms in our Prince article! And one of them is ours! They completely missed the awesomeness that is the upstairs bedroom though... This picture is really just a picture of my desk and the stairs. And me, sitting at my desk, hole-punching what are undoubtedly MOL lecture notes.

Had physics lab today. Absolutely horrid. But met some cool people! Ran a study break tonight from Infini-T. Mary is absolutely amazing and her scones are delicious - I definitely gorged myself on them and cranberry acai tea.

Also got an email back from Professor MacMillan! Attending my first lab meeting next Wednesday. Super excited but also nervous haha. Hope I don't come off too naive and ignorant, even though I'm sure I will be...

Had a pretty rough day today in terms of mental... sanity? It's been really rollercoaster-ing these past few days. But at the end of each, God is good, and he's blessed me with more than I could ever imagine, and more than I will ever realize. Really excited for PEF tomorrow, and Outdoor Prayer and Praise if I can make it! Also TAStork is tomorrow - can't wait to meet Alex and Annie and all of the other frosh! Plus I love physics precept and math/chem lectures. Call me weird, but you already knew that. =] Tomorrow will be good.

When I was little, I loved the idea of being independent: living by myself, buying my own things, making my own schedule. But now that I'm older, how blessed am I that I have someone to go to at all times, who will answer my every call?

He gave his life to fix me.

Who We Are =]

A New Day

I sincerely just thank God so much for what He's already done today. This morning was nothing short of a miracle. 

Started off the day (well, sort of...) with a beautiful sunrise and a Wa hoagie shared with the wonderful Matthew Wang. =] Which was followed promptly by more sleep haha.

Eisgruber's installation ceremony is today! Passed by on my way back from CVS haha. Looks pretty awesome, but I have wayyy too much homework to go. Probably going to the concert just because they have Nomad Pizza and Bent Spoon though. =P

Now for *all* the work... =\

Sick Day

Today is a day that I actually would have skipped high school to stay home and just sleep. That's saying something, coming from the girl who had perfect attendance and never missed a day of school barring competitions and field trips. Sadly, I'm not in high school anymore.

I am actually so sick right now that all I want is for someone to hold my hand and sing me to sleep.

The First Week

Pretty busy, had all of my classes and met up with a lot of clubs.

I like most of my professors which is promising. 

We got a decent number of guard signups too! Still need funding though, so we'll see how that pans out. 

Feeling pretty sick today. Praying that I get better before lawnparties tomorrow or at least class on Monday. 

Busy busy. So much to do!

Back to Orange and Black!

Not going to lie, I'm a bit stressed out with all of my classes and clubs already. There's so much to do! But it's good. I'm working myself back into the flow of things, and after the first week or so, things calm down...

My arm is still bruised... =[

And I still feel as though I'm waiting for something that will never come.

The Last Traces of Summer

As of today, Command Center is officially closed. We moved everything from the center to the office today, OIT is getting rid of the phones if they haven't already... Return day was ridiculous. In the stadium from 1pm to 12am with an hour break from about 10:30-11:30pm. Everything went pretty smoothly except one bus with a flat tire though.

It's so crazy having people back on campus. It's suddenly so much louder with so many more new faces... Classes start in 3 days. Wow.

Highlights of the end of Command:
~ Jump-shaking Hansen's trip

~ Elan gave me his robot light pen =D

Daria: "May one side of your bacon just burn."
Kevin: "That is too far. OUT OF THE COMMAND CENTER!"

Elan: "Who knows the bagel song?!"

Elan: "We're going to have a stuck bus, a temporarily lost bus..."
Kathryn: "Elan! Think happy thoughts!"
Elan: "Those *are* happy thoughts!"

Aoi: "I can't believe the freshmen are coming! There are going to be more freshman on campus than regular people!"

Elan: "Wait, what are we putting in the Support packet besides one sheet of paper?"

Elan: "If you need some rocket boosters for that last mile, Epipen!"

Random frosh: "Bye Control!"

Me (referring to the climbing wall): "I do like a 5.1, maybe 5.2..."
Horia: "Are we talking about GPAs?"

Saving Lives

Got to donate blood today! Well, sort of. Apparently my veins are barely the size of the needle, and they're surface veins since my arms are so small, so when I squeezed the little stress ball thing, it caused the needle to slip out and my arm to basically spurt blood everywhere. Awks. They got a little bit though, so hopefully they can still do something with the blood I *did* give.

Nurse (after the pre-check): "We have another contestant!"

Me (on donating blood): "So it's either going to be awesome, or it's going to suck... Like my life."

Me (on drawing blood): "That seems really monotonous."
Nurse: "What, doing the same thing over and over again?"
Me: "Yeah."
Nurse: "-deadpans- Yeah."

Emptied trucks into the storage room today. Pretty tired. We got to practice the audio of our "Call Me Maybe" version though! Super super fun. May I just point out Elan is surprisingly good at it (he sang a practice round with Kathryn and me). xD

Kevin: "Sorry for the embarrassing level of cleanliness in here."

Daria: "I can give you cancer!"

Kevin: "They gone rogue; they're now leading a bunch of Yale students."

Kevin (upon getting a call from a van): "There *is* a frosh trip god! Hey Van ---! How's it going? ...No accent?"

Kevin (talking to the same van as before): "Van ---, we meet again."

Kevin: "You must have me on speaker phone. I can hear everything I'm saying because it's coming back into my earpiece. That's why I'm pausing, and listening to myself."

Elan: "You see this robot? -projects picture of the Android robot onto a notepad using a Google pen light- He's going to be very sad. -turns pen upside down-"

Elan: "This pen is pretty useless because someone shoved it into the wrong cap. -tries to open the pen, basically pulls it apart, leaves room to get a new one-"
Tyler: -grabs pen, opens with no problem-

Call Us Maybe!

We're making an OA Command version of "Call Me Maybe."

It's going to be epic.

We're All Going Crazy Here

Ridiculously tired today, so I'm sure I missed some memorable moments. Ah well. Got a package from my mom and a replacement suitcase from Randa (since the handle broke on my virtually new one). But now I just have two essentially identical luggages. Going to try to sell one during this year; otherwise, I might have to store it or ship it back or something.

Here's a shout-out to Chris since he's sad he's not on here yet (be funnier gosh).

Highlights of today:
Rick: "You're breaking up... you're breaking up... breaking up is hard, isn't it?"

Nick: "You haven't heard that song? (to the tune of Kiss Him Goodbye) Na na na na, na na na na, it's Daniel, Yeboah. He's from Ghana, real Ashanti, it's Daniel, Yeboah."

Elan: "It's like Princeton people revert back to wait on me mode."

Kevin: "Now that you have the evac, you thought ooh, now we have another potential evac, we might as well take advantage of the setting! ...No? Okay."

Tyler: (waves frantically at Kevin)
Kevin: (looking everywhere except at Tyler) "Was someone flagging me?"

Elan: "All this time I thought I was special!"
Cordelia: "Well you thought wrong!"
Elan: "But my frosh trip dreams are canceled!"

Elan: "Did they feed it [a bear]? Did they clip its nails? Did they pull its ears?"
Kevin: "They're currently braiding its hair."

Rick: "Lights... Camera... FOOD!"

The Butterfly Circus

"The greater the trial, the more glorious the triumph."

Day 3 in the "Outbacks"

Got my fridge today! A big thank you and I love you to Matt for insisting on carrying it back to my dorm for me. Going to set it up later tonight and then I'll have cold drinks and be able to keep my leftovers! Need to head up to Labyrinth and get some books, then meeting up with Lawrence tonight for a game of pool with Matt. =]

Didn't realize classes started next Wednesday - thought for some reason that it started the week after that. Woops. Totally not ready. Gah.

Command reports thus far (apart from medical issues/evacs): bear-bagging rope lost in tree, broken trowels, fake British accents, requests for soy sauce/cheese/apples/olive oil... The list goes on. We're also assigning stars and emoticons to vans for how much we like them.

Highlights of today (afternoon shift):
~ A trip left extra cheese with a support van, and now wants the cheese back

~ Telling Hansen (actually Hansen this time) that he doesn't get water again (this time because they chose to cancel their support drop)

~ A trip forgot how to use Aquamira and only used Part B

Me: "If you're not crying, you're not doing it right."

Elan (regarding my blog): "The tone of your posts changes dramatically as I become either more human or more clown-like in your eyes."

Elan: "We can't leave our chickens without sheepdogs!"

Kathryn: "OA Command, this is Kathryn."
Hansen: "This is H2."
Kathryn: "HANSEN!"
Hansen: "Wait, who is this?"

Rick (on the phone): "Yeah, and he's a real jerk. You don't want to get tied up with that guy."

Elan (after me telling him a trip is on the line for him): -deadpan monotone- "I'm so excited to talk to them."

Kevin: "You aren't playing Ultimate Frisbee; you don't have enough people to be playing Ultimate Frisbee. You were just running after it."

Van Troubles

Pretty busy day in the morning, lots of van issues (flat tires, broken tail lights). Running over nails, backing into trees... Not to mention a huge storm in the Harriman area, which means a lot of trips are revising routes. On one hand, it was nice because then the remapped route could be mapped near water, which would help with the impacted water drops because of the van situation, but still pretty stressful.

Two flat tires on different vans, two people at the hospital... Lots of code yellows, and we got our first code red today. Allergic reaction to a bee sting, so an Epipen was used. Intense.

It's been absolutely hectic.

Highlights of today (thus far):
~ Telling Hansen (or rather, his co) he can't have water (because a van has a flat). We were joking about that before he left, but actually

~ A van ran into a tree. I will just say that I know the drivers of said van, and the scenario is sort of hilarious

Elan (on a revised route): "That's more palatable."

Elan: "Yeah, it's someone's birthday... I want to give them a shuttle to the falls." (Awhhhhh)

[[Following relayed by Kathryn]]

Kevin: "I can't hear you; I can tell you're trying to communicate."

Elan (while talking to a support team with fake British accents): "Did you happen to get lost and end up in the British Isles?"

Kevin: "All the little chickees are tucked in their beds, with wonderful tarps over their heads." (another 7 verses followed)

Elan (while trying to find my/this blog): "Okay I have an idea. I'm going to try every other username on her page."

This is Madness!

I'm going to stick with the brief summary, highlights layout throughout Command. It works pretty well haha.

Woke up at 5:30am. Felt absolutely horrible. Might be coming down with a cold too, which is saddening. Checked in all of the trip groups (asked tons of questions and took valuables boxes) except I was so tired I kept stumbling over my words. Finished check-in, moved valuables boxes to Forbes (new lobby is pretty nice, though weirdly modern). Headed over to the office and spent the next 5 hours frantically answering phone calls and making logs, and calling vans and groups to confirm arrival at dropoff points.

But honestly, this is a *ton* of fun. This is what I signed up for. And Elan's honestly super awesome. He's hilarious and just super awesome to work with. =]

Highlights of today:
~ A girl storing a fishing pole and Ziploc bags in valuables boxes

~ Aoi fighting to get all the phone calls

~ Accidentally calling 911 because a support van gave a bogus cell number starting with a 1 (you have to dial 9-1 before a non-609 number)

~ Elan prank calling Aoi with a group trip called "Indoor Farming"

~ A trip losing their bear-bagging rope in a tree. How do you even *do* that?

~ And a trip requesting a support drop for soy sauce

Me: "Does everyone have three full Nalgenes?"
Leader: "Some only have two..."
Me: "Can you go get more from gear distribution so that everyone has three?"
Leader: "They don't want to carry three..."

[As told by Kathryn] Elan (half talking to himself): "I'll just eat mine [my lime] even if they dissolve your teeth..."

Kevin (overheard on phone conversation about a camping stove): "Well, sometimes when you put Humpty Dumpty back together again, he's not quite the same..."

Freshman Escort Service

Sincerely exhausted. I haven't been this tired by 11 (or as tired as I was by 10, or 9) since... elementary school. It was a good day though, super productive, pretty fun. Have to get up at 5/5:30 tomorrow though, so not too much time (but actually not enough brainpower) to write a full post tonight. Should get better by Monday... Sorry!

Anyways, memorable moments time!

~ Eisgruber coming to talk, us giving him the "OA" cheer and him looking completely confused

~ Rick and Elan singing "40's going to be a great Frosh Trip"

~ Playing all of the OA games (Captain's Coming, Little Sally Walker, Fleas Flies Mosquitoes, Entourage, Bananas) with the OA leaders and being the awkward purple shirt in a sea of red

~ Welcoming the freshmen! And seeing Frank! And finding out that he's in my jurisdiction haha

~ Buying tons of stuff I wasn't planning on getting at CVS because I kept getting coupons

~ Jump-shaking Elan and him actually doing it super dramatically around 10:00pm when we were all super tired

Me: "Our Freshman Escort Service only has one customer."
Kathryn: "I guess we're not that attractive in our sweaty and disgusting clothes."
(Background: The unfortunately named "Freshman Escort Service" is basically Command helping late-arriving freshman find their OA groups.)

Rick: "Erica has melted into the floor."

OA Leader: "So we have a backpack without a brain..."
Me: "Oh, it's okay. I hiked without a brain [last year]."

Kathryn: "When in doubt, we don't count."

Sleeping Bag Mountain!

An actual 12-hour day today. Didn't have a non-Command related task at all the entire day.

Pretty tired, so I guess just a brief summary of the day and some highlights and memorable quotes. Packed a lot of food boxes, called a lot of people (got to use the walkie-talkie!), made signs, handed out Epipens, sorted out gear... It was a pretty busy but also fun day. Lots of bonding over stuff like chucking oranges into a box haha.

Highlights of today:
~ Gave Elan three hugs! =P

~ Getting to say "Erica for Elan. Over." and calling/sending Support vans everywhere

~ Making food signs and decorating them with polka dots and tiger stripes

~ Getting a Crazy Creek! Well, sort of. Have yet to pick it up (but thanks Elaine!)

~ Pulling sleeping bags out of other sleeping bags and essentially jumping on and collapsing into a really soft mountain of sleeping bags

~ Chilling with Rory, Richard, and Ryan in Trap's new and *huge* room!

Elan: "Have any of you driven a Prius before?"
Aoi: "Well, it's Japanese, isn't it?"

Rick: "So if you've never used disc brakes, they stop really hard, really fast."
Elan: "It's the opposite of Rick's car."

Late to Sleep and Early to Rise Makes Erica Tired

Oh Command. So physically and mentally taxing.

Spend a few hours testing satellite phones. The signal absolutely sucked on campus - I sincerely hope (and I think) it's better in the woods, or else absolutely no one is going to be able to communicate using them. Ran sims in the Command Center too, which was... interesting. And got our OA shirts! They're purple for Command. =]

Highlights of today:
"Can you confirm that the cheese has been located? Over."
"Rocky is the one that's particularly Hogwarts-like, and Mathey is the one that's... less Hogwarts-like."

Command Center

Stressful, super busy, but pretty fun. The people are awesome, and it'll be interesting to learn what happens not on the trail during the trip. =]

I am a bit frustrated with the seeming lack of organization though. Stuff would go so much faster if I was actually told what I was supposed to be doing. And in my opinion we spend too much time sitting around in anticipation of someone needing help, but never actually being needed.

But after pre-trip, the actual trip should be more interesting. Setting up meetings, talking to leaders... It'll be fun!

Also, did I mention I'm in charge of Hansen's group? =P

132 1927 Hall

It's a sick room. That's all I have to say.

Going back, going back, going back to Nassau Hall!

It's been an absolutely amazing summer. Working with some of the coolest people I've met, being part of a wonderful family at GrX. Had enough time to hang out with most of my friends too, even though we were about an hour apart.

Now for Princeton Part II!

Farewell Interns

Grabbed one last dinner with the remaining interns. As always, Andrew Yelped the place.

I'm really going to miss everyone. I'm probably going to cry again.

The Boss

The last day of a 12-week adventure today. 

Joshua P. Taygerly: one of the chillest, funniest guys I have ever met, and an absolutely amazing person to work for. I still remember how, in the first week, he told me to take days off to go to the beach if I wanted, took me out for 2-hour lunches, bought me a $600 modeling kit, and briefed me on where to get free food.

I've had so many amazing memories from this summer. The project I was working on, of course, which was pretty exciting and allowed for a lot of interdisciplinary exploration. Snapchats of him going slightly crazy at 3am in lab during scale-up. Discovering that some Sharpies are double-ended. Learning that to commit to something is possibly the worst thing to do, and that laziness is an art. Walking me through pretty much everything I did this summer with tons of patience and just as much enthusiasm.

It's sincerely been amazing. I still can't believe I'm done. But off I go, with some new experience and new friends, and I know our paths will cross again someday. I've been so wonderfully blessed.

Take Me Out to the Ball Game...

Giants v. Pirates today! We lost but saw some great innings (sadly, most of those weren't in our favor...). It was a wonderful night though!

Last day of work tomorrow. Wow. Such bittersweetness. It's honestly been incredible. I couldn't have asked for a better manager, coworkers, mentors... I've learned so much and thoroughly enjoyed myself. I guess it's back home for a few days then off to reenter the Orange Bubble!

Beauty for Ashes

I had such a wonderful time of worship tonight with brothers and sisters from GrX. Just singing and worshipping... Sharing our fears and praying for one another. It was beyond words.

God has blessed me so much with this family. He's doing wonderful things in my life. Praise the Lord.

"Wait! ...I forgot my shoes."

And Then There Were Five...

It's so lonely in the apartment without Lucy! It's absolutely ridiculous.

Had a really nice lunch out today at Specialty's! Dragged Paul along too haha. All of the guys were there, it was pretty awesome.

I can't believe it's my last week already! Insane to think about... And I'm flying out three days after my internship ends. It seems so rushed... The summer actually flew by. At least I was sort of prepared for it to do so. It's been truly amazing, and I'll definitely cherish all of the time I've spent here, and the four days I have left!

Andrew and I are definitely cooking dinner together this week. Cooking for two's a lot easier than cooking for one haha. =]