Ugh, Never again..

So this weekend has been pretty eventful, but definitely at a cost.

Last week, I knew that I had two tests and a research paper all due on Thursday the 3rd, my last day of undergradate classes ever. So I planned to get a lot of studying done this weekend so I could focus on writing my 10-15 page research paper. But guess what I did instead?!? I partied.

On Friday we surprised Jun for her birthday and then I came home to spend the night with my baby for our 1 year and 8 month. Then on Saturday I skipped out on the weiner dog races in Buda, Tx (DAMNIT!) to sleep, and then went to the mall to spend, spend, spend. I only spent around $200 ish, which is really surprising for me. I thought I would spend more like $500 but I guess I really have become thriftier (is that a word??) over these years.

Then came formal, where I began drinking as soon as I got there. That lasted about 4 hours and it was extremely surreal because it was my last formal ever as an undergraduate. I may attend formals again in the future but I know it definitely will not be the same.. And the senior speeches were sad and I still can't believe how far some of us have come and that we are
parting ways so soon.



Then, already nursing a buzz, I headed down to 4th street with good company and had drinks at Saba, Cuba Libre, and finally Foundation. I really like 4th street a lot better; the people are classier/older because the drinks are more expensive, and the bars are definitely more friendly. For example if you go to the popular bar the Library on 6th, you might wait 15 minutes just to get the bartender's attention, and then he gets your order, and charges you for it. Sounds like a pretty normal transaction, no?

Well at Foundation, Bao and I waited about 10 minutes, and the bartender kept apologizing for "making us wait" and felt so bad that she paid for our round of 3 patron shots and a Malibu pineapple!! (I know that had to be a LOT..) mm I can't wait to go to 4th street more. It is so me..

So after 4th street I got home around 3am, ate some food to soak up the copious amounts of alcohol in my system, and passed out around 4am to wake up for work at 9am. And that I did, but I was still DRUNK!

And then I had the WORST day at work ever. Never again will I go out the night before work. I couldn't calculate numbers or even type in birthdays right at the pharmacy this morning. It was horrible!

Oh well. Cheers to pharmacy school and UT Graduation! :)

UPDATE: check out this awesome $5 dollar picture we took at the foundation! HAHAHA check out everyone's poses, HAHAHA esp JOY!

Impromptu speaking.

I never realized how much we speak 'impromptu' on a daily basis. And yet, it's true. Common and frequent situations include any time a friend puts you on the spot, running into an old peer after not seeing each other in months and finding common ground to communicate, ordering food at a restaurant when the waiter asks you about a preference, etc. The list goes on and on and on...

But this past week I had an assigned impromptu speech. So this impromptu was rather a planned impromptu. I got nervous before the day came and I began to think of topics I could talk about. Immigration...the Virginia Tech tragedy...racism...passion.. all these thoughts came together and I began to make main points for each of these possible topics that would be on the never-seen-before list on Speech day.

I especially wanted to talk about one topic I knew well, and that was the consequences of our actions. I sincerely believe that our actions, believe it or not, have a ripple effect. That ripple spreads in a manner of consequences which we will never find the end to.

"The situation we always live in is like that of the wise Chinese farmer whose horse ran off. When his horse returned the next day with a herd of horses following her, the foolish neighbor came to congratulate him on his good fortune. Then, when the farmer's son broke his leg trying to ride one of the new horses, the foolish neighbor came to console him again. When the army passed through, conscripting men for war, they passed over the farmer's son because of his broken leg. When do we expect the story to end???" - Buddhism Plain and Simple, by Steven Hagen


Ultimately, our actions affect others in ways that never end, so taking a step back to look at the big picture, we are ALL interconnected in some shape or form. So it is in our best interest to respect others and treat everyone to the best of our ability.

So next time you are at a fork in the road and considering which pathway to take in actions, it's good to consider the immediate consequence, but just remember: each action creates a huge ripple effect that has no end..

Mannerisms.

My dog, Tequila, is the sweetest dog you'll ever meet. She's a good size, easy to snuggle and cuddle with. She is a pretty bright dog too, considering she learned her name as an adult in less than 3 months. She will let you hold her, pull her tail or ears, and blow in her ear, and she won't bite you. All she wants is for you to pet her...

Sounds like a pretty perfect dog right?

Not exactly.

Since we got her she's been developing aggression towards other dogs. Additionally she will go crazy on a leash when outside and ignore all commands to hunt like a wild beast. Just today we tried to take her to Town Lake for a calming walk around the beautiful scenery, but that attempt was cut short due to Tequila's atrocious manners and disregard. I am contemplating taking her to a dog manners class, because I really hate a non-social, aggressive, leash-tugging dog that I can't take anywhere public. Bao argues that it's innate, because she's a wolf inside. But if it was innate, why aren't all the other dogs at Town Lake acting like this too??

Inner peace

Ever since I took the writing class last summer on Buddhism, I have always been a fan of quiet meditation to calm my thoughts and find inner peace. I remember when I was younger, I was brainwashed by Christians and thought Buddhists were merely shaven-head incense lovers. Oh, how I was wrong.

And it's funny now, because I am completely the opposite. I am Christianity's biggest enemy. Well, maybe second biggest, because I'm not a Satanist, but I really do criticize and put down Christianity at any possible given chance that I can. I am a person of science, evidence, and material proof, which is, coincidentally, something that Buddhism preaches.

The Buddhists claim to not merely believe in something that someone higher has told you, but instead to discover the theory at hand for yourself - question it and gather data to prove it wrong or right. And after you have done that, you may choose to accept or reject that theory. Doesn't that sound like a lot like scientific method??

Although I cannot say I live the Buddhist lifestyle, I deeply respect it. I just probably don't have enough discipline to live it. But one thing I have been wanting to do for awhile now is yoga. Too bad I can't find anyone to do it with me. I am too scared to go in alone, because my flexibility is just about nilch.

I can't even do a back bend right now; I have no idea how I survived 8 years of ballet!

These couple of days..

These days have definitely have been a big blur, with bits and pieces of crystal clear moments that make life all the more enjoyable. My hard work has finally paid off, my future is (almost) set, and I have been getting shitty almost every night that I could since last week. I've taken up my favorite pastimes before I became a diligent nerd again and it just makes me appreciate life all the more.

I do not know how to describe this feeling that has overcome me. It is like I can actually breathe again. I can settle in my own skin and just relax finally after all these stressful years. I know this euphoria is only temporary, but I'm going to definitly enjoy it to its fullest while its here.

What else could I ask for?

My parents want me to make a list of desired vacations, fully financed by them as my graduation/getting into pharmacy school present. My elder brother wants me to make a list of potential graduation gifts. My family wants to shower me with congratulatory gifts, and usually I'd have a list full of wonderful, unnecessary items that I don't need to add to my growing collection of excessive luxuries, but so far it is empty and I cannot think of anything that I want.

Over the years I have either a) already bought the little things with the budget my dad gives me, b) bought it by saving up money and then splurging, or c) financed wisely with my paychecks from work + the monthly budget my dad gives me, or d) stupidly put the whole purchase on a new credit card only to pay later.

So today I sit here wondering what else I could ask for. I'm content with my life right now. I'm fulfilling one of my life-long dreams -- to go to pharmacy school, and the COP at UT of all schools.

I have my basic necessities, and of course more would be nice but I guess now I want more things that money can't buy. Those type of goals/dreams seem much harder to reach, but more rewarding in the end anyway. It seems like any artificial, shallow desire I have that is material results only in a temporary satiation that leads to wanting more luxurious, more artificial, more expensive, etc.

But one that's grounded in something money can't buy that I have to work hard for just makes me feel better inside. Soo..I guess I'll just work towards fulfilling those goals, and being happy in life. :)

A big fan of the Happy Hours..

So now that school is really done for me, I can relax, sit back and kick it for awhile. And to do just that, I've decided to check out Austin's hottest Happy Hours one by one. So far I have only been to 219 West, Saba Happy Hour, and Benihanas. My list must grow now that I have nothing to do between the hours of 3-7 on weekdays. Cheap drinks and cheap food all for fun! Here I come.

One by one, I will conquer them all with different friends. Anyone care to join?

That's one good thing about Austin: the upscale but awesome happy hour deals in the warehouse district. It makes me feel all grown up and pre-professional. :)

Topic: Why do people use drugs?

It was been well documented and even more well known through firsthand experience that humans use drugs. The question at hand today is why. There are several answers to WHY someone might use a drug, and the reason of why may differ from individual to individual.

The first case is a person who has a chemical imbalance of some sort that a chemical drug may fix. For example, a diabetic patient may need special insulin injections to ensure proper sugar levels. For another example, truly chemically unbalanced depression patients might need a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI for short) such as Prozac, Paxil, Zoloft - just to name a few, to balance their serotonin, aka 5-HT, molecules in the system. This category of patients is the first and foremost because it is the largest. The majority of people who use drugs are because they want to cure something or alleviate sypmtoms, whether it be an a fungal infection, bacterial infection, hypertension, diabetes, HIV, and the list goes on and on.

The second and more unfortunate type are people who do not need drugs, begin a therapy for that particular drug, become habituated to the drug, and then when trying to wean off of the therapy they find they are 'addicted' to the drug. By "addicted" I mean the body has changed in response to the drug that it cannot function properly with out it. A good example of this is young kids who are misdiagnosed with ADHD, formerly known as ADD. Most kids don't need the drug adderall to calm them down. They are kids. They are SUPPOSED to be hyper, and if the kid is over hyper it is really just a discipline fault on the parents' behalf. Anyway, the parent takes the child to the doctor, and the doctor prescribes the child a prescription of Adderall. The child begins to take the medicine even though he does not need it. He continues to take this drug until he is a teenager. It's time to get ready for college. Money is short and he can barely afford Adderall. He tries to study without the help of Adderall but his mind is jumping here and there, and he can't focus. He NEEDS Adderall just to read a simple assignment. And here, we have created an unfortunate problem from a pseudo-disorder with the help of pharmaceutical formed speed. Of course, this category of people is rather low, as there are not many drugs that make you dependent on it in a manner such as Adderall.

The final case are people who use drugs for recreation. Why use a drug recreationally? Well, to have fun of course. Often times however, these type of people may use the drug so much because it's fun, but then when the drugs run out it's hard to have fun without it again.

I am not condemning or scolding people who fall in the final case, because I know many friends and almost all my peers have fallen to this category at least time or another in their lives. And honestly, so have I at one time or another in my life.

So the bottom line: We use drugs because we have to, because we think we have to, or because we become addicted to them.

And as a future pharmacist, I don't feel good about some of the cases, but in other cases where drugs save a person's life, makes my future job more worthwhile.

I LOVE THE KILLERS EVEN MORE!

..Is that even possible???!?!

Tonight was one bad ass fuckin CONCERT!!!!!


The front man, brandon flowers is fuckin bad ass!!!!

They sound BETTER live than they do on CD! That is REALLY REALLY hard to find in bands. long live the killers!


Yes Brandon, sing out your heart to me please! :)

Also, tonight was an extremely hectic night. After RUSHING home and frantically calling around to find a ride home because my CAR WAS TOWED for the first time in 4 years that I have lived here, I had to find another ride to the Erwin center. I called taxicab and they was a one hour wait, so I said screw that. It was 8:15 and the concert doors had already opened at 8:00! I had to find a ride FAST. Finally Kevin my sib rival finally came to the rescue and delivered us to the Erwin center, and we got there JUST in time - like 5 minutes before the killers came on!

Craziness I tell you. And I had happy hour with some lovely ladies today and I really miss drinking / eating cheap food with them! We must do it again sometime soon. I can't wait until the crawfish boil tomorrow, mmm!

Pharm school update.

Still no word from Houston yet, so it seems like I am destined for UT Pharmacy..

Which isn't a bad thing of course. UT and UH...my desire to go to either one is split down the middle: 50/50.

So i'm hoping that UH will just make the decision for me, say no and decide for me, because it will be the hardest decision of my life. All in all, I am very grateful that UT and TT both have accepted me. I would have gladly gone to TT (except that it's in Amarillo), but prefer to go to UT now because I would rather not uproot to a desolate, unpopulated city where I know absolutely nobody.

My fate is on pause..... .and I hate waiting.

it seems like with each new school acceptance, the worse i suffer from senioritis.

skipped first class today, contemplating skipping another.

and using the fact that i have a test in the third as an excuse to skip the first two...

and really it's an invalid excuse bc instead of procrastinating this weekend and last night, i should have prepped for the test. oh well...i guess that is what senioritis is all about!

Note to all: TRY GOLD PEAK GREEN TEA.

it is the SHIT! mmm, mmm!

it's my new cocaine, or heroin. i can't stop drinking it! and i look weird buying like 10 bottles of this stuff at the grocery store but i don't care! it's so good.

trust me :) find and get it if you can.

oh yes, STRIDE peppermint gum is also really, really good.

that is all.

2/3, whee!

Congrats to me, *pats on back to self*, I have just been accepted by anoter pharmacy school, bringing up the count to two of three.

UT Pharmacy e-mailed me today around 5 PM and I honestly thought it was j ust a letter from Texas Tech confirming that they had received my letter, but it was one from UT saying I had been accepted!!

Ahhhh, Now all I have to do is wait for UH to say yes or no.

Now considering all three say yes, what am I going to choose? I know I ranked the three schools by how I felt at the time but now that UT actually said yes I almost want to go to UT more than Texas Tech just because of familiarity/rank, even though I know I would be a hypocrite and that they really did fail to impress me the most at the interview.

But really, the thought of being in Amarillo, population 200,000 for 2 years really turns me off..
The campus was really nice though..
And what about Houston: the familiar suburbs and Asian food + the Galleria that I have missed so dearly these years...

*sigh.......

Flip a three-sided coin I say.

YES!! One out of Three..

YES!! I made it into one of the three schools I applied to! Texas Tech University at Amarillo! :) I got the letter in the mail today, and it was stuffed with confetti. Cute. I also got the coveted Dallas campus assignment after 2 years too so that sounds good.

My number two choice accepted me! Yes!! Now I just have to wait to hear back from my number one choice (Houston)...

And it doesn't really matter if they do or don't accept me because irregardless I'm going to pharmacy school next year. I would be satisfied with going to Texas tech. In fact I think Texas Tech would be my first choice if it weren't for the isolated location of Amarillo. The campus is the newest and they are updated with technology and offer a crapload of clinical experience, which is the field I prefer to go into.

Steady career and finance, here I come. :]