Saturday, September 25, 2004
so much has happened that i don't remember as much as i would like. first of all, ra training was fantastic. i thoroughly enjoyed every bit of it. second, i am dead tired. i had to finish seven bulletin boards before 8:30pm tonight (9/24, so technically yesterday), and you've no idea how long this task takes until you have to do it yourself. i never knew that brainstorming/making/changing bulletin boards could be so difficult. i used up so many staples and tape today it's not even funny. it's always interesting to see things from the "other side". when i was a resident of the dorms, i never fathomed how much time my resident advisors dedicated to our community. i knew my resident advisors did a lot, but this is the first time i am being exposed to the technical things that come with this job. it's a new kind of respect. sometimes, it's too late to realize that kind of respect. i'm glad that i never took my former ras for granted. you two rule. and for those of you entering college and living in the dorms: please enjoy the school year, and get to know your ra. they are a major resource in terms of knowing where to go for what reason, what number you should call if you want a certain kind of information... they are there for you, seriously.
my second year in college starts in less than a week (six days, to be exact), and i am going to have no downtime whatsoever. my residents arrive on sunday, and it's going to be chaos and anarchy from daybreak. i'm going to try my hardest to try to find myself some "me time", but i am concerned about it. i'm hoping everything works out. optimism somehow works in these situations. when things can't get any worse (but of course it can! lol), you just need to relax and think positively.
oh, by the way, i need to thank you. i'm so thankful for your understanding nature. you are my saving grace.
i finished twilight by anna deavere smith, and i learned so much about society. there was a workshop for this book during training, and one of my coordinators said this amazing quote that i would like to share with you all.
"the answer is not in tending to the wound as quickly as possible, but in observing the cut closely to decipher and define what kind of wound it is, then finding its appropriate solution."
and we think, "yeah, well duh...", but so few of us do this. we find a problem and we want to get rid of it right away. if it doesn't go away, we want to leave from it. we usually do not look closely to the root of the problem or what the problem is. and i thought this quote was so evocative. i could write for hours analyzing this quote. it's been such a while since something has stimulated my mind in such an intellectual way. i love it.
wish me luck for sunday! :)
+++++
Sunday, September 19, 2004
i wish life were simpler.
i wish you hadn't told me.
+++++
Friday, September 17, 2004
in two hours, i learned much more about myself than i thought i knew in the past year. in two hours, i learned so much about eight peers than i thought i could ever know. in short, i am loving my ra training thus far.
i applied for this ra (resident advisor) job last year. i applied because i cherish new meetings and helping others. for those of you who don't know what i'm talking about, i am a peer advisor who oversees the incoming freshmen on campus. i live with them in the dorms and assist them with their every need. when i had first met my staff last spring, my feelings fluctuated. am i really going to enjoy this job? am i going to get along with all these people? but today changed everything.
i reflect back on the past two hours and i know i've learned more about myself and the other people on the staff. these days, no one has the time or care to reflect back on themselves, see where they stand in their life, what their beliefs are now (in comparison to the past), what they have learned, what they need to work on. we did not intend for our training to be emotional, but evidently, it was. as i shared my two cents, i realized how similar we are, as well as how different we can be. it just made me think of all the times that i had categorized some of the people i had met, without even thinking about what those people were going through or how their past has been. it was literally a slap in the face. i believe most of us have our sensitive side, but it seems that we are only sensitive to topics that are important to us, that include us. anything can be important. just because something doesn't fit your standards and needs, does not mean that a certain topic is not important to someone else. respecting all values and view, accepting differences, strengthening similarities... there are a ton of people out there, and there are infinite angles to look at a specific topic. i've learned that those voices are what add color to what would be a rather boring world. if everyone thought the same thing about every situation, life would be so boring. diversity is wonderful.
let go of familiarities. you'll be surprised at how much you can learn about the world, others, and yourself.
+++++
Wednesday, September 15, 2004
nostalgic... that's perhaps the best word to fit me right now.
+++++
Tuesday, September 07, 2004
it's a sad feeling when you can count the number of remaining days (in anaheim) with one hand. it's going to be another short year.
i realize i haven't been writing much on my site. it's kind of a melancholic feeling, i suppose. but on the good side, it means that i haven't had much of an emotional hell-ride these past couple of months. so that's good, right? (or so i've forced myself to believe...)
here are some things i can add to the previous list of words/phrases that has made my time here in anaheim great:
23. tcby
24. supermex
25. random visits
26. "fashionably late" (ahem, kevin, ahem.)
27. moose (yay rossy-pooz!)
28. housework
29. awesome bedsheets
30. filipino food (-drool-)
31. "that's hot."
oh, you know you like it.
+++++
Wednesday, September 01, 2004
yay for some anaheim time. woot.
instead of narrating the events of the past 15 or so days, i'll just list words and phrases that, i hope, will at least outline my stay at anaheim thus far.
1. "hi mai!!!"
2. "you're anemic."
3. dump truck incident on the way from lax
4. awful tan lines
5. busy
6. music
7. lunches i can look forward to
8. yelling
9. emotional rollercoaster
10. "camping"
11. hugs
12. filipino get-togethers (oh, they are the best)
13. marching band
14. sushi
15. promises
16. friendships
17. beach
18. smiles
19. 403
20. reunions
21. goodbyes
22. hellos
woot. go anaheim.
+++++
