finals

1. My computer does not work
2. I have a 10 page research paper due in less than 48 hours. I have written one paragraph
3. I have a final on Wed. to study for
4. I have to work tomorrow
5. I have been feeling like I am going to throw up all day

Gotta love finals week.

Not cut out for public speaking...

So last night I had to give a speech in my recreation class. For our final, we have a 10 page paper due on something relating to recreation & leisure, and how it will change or be affected by the year 2028. But we also had to give a 4 1/2 minute speech on our topic. Not really a difficult speech...not too many requirements and just the history of our subject, why we are interested, and our prediction for the future.
I did my topic on high movie ticket prices and movie pirating. I was freaked out about the speech all day...I DO NOT like public speaking. I took a speech class freshman year, and loved it. I think it was easier because that class was probably a third of the size of my rec class, and we all got to know each other really well. I signed up to go second, and when I started talking, I just felt my face turn beet red. I was burning up, probably from the 50 sets of eyeballs burning my face. As you can probably guess, I don't like being the center of attention. My hands and voice both shook, and it felt like my brain was not working with my mouth...but rather that my mouth was just spitting out words. I am not entirely sure how I did, because it was almost like I blacked out during the speech...can't quite remember it. So if I did bad, I will just have to rely on my writing skills to compensate.
Sounds like a whole lot of freak out over 4 minutes and 30 seconds doesn't it? Well, I can promise one thing: I will NEVER EVER pursue a career which involves much if any public speaking.

Golden Gate Park

For my final project in photojournalism, we have to do what is called a photo story. Over the course of 6 weeks, or the equivalent of 16 hours, we have to shoot either a person, a place, or a topic, and have a finished product of 12-20 pictures that tell a story. I was struggling with what I wanted to do, because I wanted to do something really different that no one was doing, and also something that I was interested in and would enjoy shooting. She showed us a bunch of examples of stories people have done in the past...a firehouse and following firemen, the Burning Man festival, an animal shelter, someone recovering from a stroke, someone dying from cancer, etc.

My initial thoughts were along the lines of something in the medical field...following a nurse or following a paramedic/EMT. This failed, due to patient confidentiality and problems with access. Then I thought about shooting behind the scenes at a winery in Napa, also shot down. Equestrian center? Too far away.

Running out of time, I decided to just go with Golden Gate Park. I was not thrilled about it because it did not sound very interesting and kind of felt like a cop out. But I started researching a bit, looking into all the events happening weekly as well as the different activities available, and it turns out it is a really interesting place!! I have only shot a few days so far, but it is a really fun place to explore and shoot and I am happy with my decision.

On the weekends it gets packed with families picnicking, bikers, rollerbladers, and all different kinds of people and activities. I was there on Sunday, and it was a gorgeous day. Monica tagged along, here is a picture of us in front of the Conservatory of Flowers. At the end of the semester I will have my final photo story up on Flickr.

My camera and lens used that day: roughly $1000
Monica's Polaroid camera: $40
This one exposure: $1.60
Price/gallon for my gas to drive to GG park: $3.98
Sunny day in SF that I can get out and enjoy: PRICELESS!!!!!!!! :)

Sad Mac

So my laptop has been having issues for awhile now. It will not turn on unless it is plugged into the wall, and lately it seems like it is either reaching its last leg, or maybe I have to just replace something. Right now, I am on Kelly's laptop as I wait hopefully for my computer to boot up. It goes through a cycle of a white screen, a screen of jumbled up letters, the startup screen with lines across it, and just a rainbow of colors. Fail after fail after fail.

Meanwhile, I keep replaying the episode of sex in the city where Carry's laptop dies, and the sad face she saw before it crashed was called a "sad mac" which meant her chances of recovering anything were grim...and she ended up losing EVERYTHING. I have a PC not a mac, but all I can think about is how ALL of my music, pictures, and some documents are all on that stupid piece of hardware that I am pretty much inseparable from. I finally got it up, and then it died again.

It is one giant time bomb, and if I do not get an external hard drive or something soon to transfer all my stuff, I am worried that I will lose everything and face the equivalent of a sad mac. I hate computers, yet I cannot live without that thing. And figures this would happen at the end of my semester when all my projects and papers are due........

If anyone wants to offer any words of hope or suggestions, I would not mind...kind of freaking out here.

Adult Life

With all of these happening in one day...the reality kind of set in that I really am not a kid anymore. This is pretty obvious, I know, being 20 years old and living on my own for the third year. But facing the not-so-fun aspects of growing up, well...it just made me feel kind of strange for some reason.

• working on TAXES (never done this before...and I felt completely out of my comfort zone)
• Renewing my car registration
• Paying almost $500 for car insurance
• Talking to an RN about my healthcare plan in regards to my upcoming surgery and asking about a living will??

They are little yes. And for most of you this is old news. I am not complaining by any means- I don't necessarily mind all of these, just all in one day?

As my 17 year old cousin said recently..."I don't want to be an adult because that means you have to do taxes and get colonoscopies." Maybe I am not yet in need for the latter, but I know what she means!

Cheers to being an adult. It is a love-hate relationship :)

This spring break...

is not off to a great start. I intended to go to Folsom to visit my best friend Liz who transferred to Boston College this semester for the nursing program. That is where she is from, and is on her break. I planned to go Friday and Saturday, but over the course of last week, I was not feeling well. Friday I woke up and my sinus pressure was worse, my cough and cold were also worse, and there was NO WAY I could go out there...I felt terrible. I was hoping maybe I would miraculously feel better Saturday and could go out for the day. NOPE!!! I woke up with an ear infection, only the 2nd in my whole life, horrible sinus pressure and headache, unbearable cough, and could not breathe. It was so bad in fact, that I had to go to the urgent care center at UCSF. Good thing I went, because I had bronchitis, an ear infection, and a sinus infection, and if I hadn't gone it would have just gotten worse. So I am on 4 different medications, and slightly better, but still feeling pretty lousy.
:(

everyone is 21! (except me)

Well it seems that we are just celebrating birthdays left and right!! 4 friends have already turned 21, and there are about 5 in April. CRAZY!!! It has been a ton of fun celebrating, but equally as exhausting and pricey (dinner, presents, etc.) We celebrated Monica's a couple weeks ago, having a party for her and then going out to dinner for sushi.

Me and the bday girl

Everyone together for Moni's dinner

The following weekend, Brittany rented a limo for her birthday, we had dinner in SF and just went out around the city. It was really fun, and something different to do! We got dropped off at 11, so we went to our friends' St. Patrick's Day party afterward.

Kelly, Kasey, Brittany & I, with Britt's
boyfriend and friends from the East Bay

Rockin' the green for St. Patty's day...
Chelsey, Julie, Kasey, Chelsea

Tired.

After an amazingly fun weekend celebrating Monica's 21st birthday which involved not much sleep, then MTW of not being able to sleep until 3:30 AM then waking up at 8 or 9, I am pretty dang tired. I am working on my second latte in the hour and a half I have been awake, trying to finish up some homework. However, it is pretty impossible to write the group paper that of course I ended up having to do because my group mates are not doing anything, without them sending me what I need. Well, this is going to be one heck of an espresso-filled day :)

Fridays are my days off...with no work and no school. I got really lucky and it was a super nice day, and I wanted to take advantage of it. When we were in New York, April took us to this little cafe called Think cafe. It was such a cool little place with really high ceilings, hard wood floors, plenty of places to sit including a bar, comfy couches and armchairs, big tables, booths, work from local artists on the walls, amazing coffee, staff with a lot of character, yummy sandwiches, bagels and soups, good music, and always flooded with NYU students since it is in the heart of their campus. It got me thinking that living in city like San Francisco, there has got to be some cool places like that where I could hang out, study, and meet new people. Don't get me wrong, I do enjoy Starbuck's and Peet's coffee, mainly because it is convenient, reliable, and they know how to make good coffee. But I want a place with more character...somewhere unique that I would actually enjoy being for study time.

So yesterday I tried a new place in the inner sunset called the Beanery. My vanilla latte was excellent, the staff was friendly, but there were only about 6 small tables inside and 4 outside. It is tiny and not really a place I could hang out with friends, but it was perfect for the "me" time I hoped for. I sat outside and soaked up the sun while I wrote some letters to people. After that Monica and I went shopping for a bit on Haight, then hung out at home. Last night we all went dancing which was really fun, but I feel like an old woman now because we went to bed at 5 so I am still sleepy, not to mention the fact that it looks like I need a walker with how much I am limping. Maybe dancing isn't the best activity for someone with bad knees? Hmm..

But that aside, it was a really fun day with absolutely no stress.
(Post about NY coming soon.)

Spring '08

My school schedule could not be ANY more different than all my previous semesters. I have had all very challenging science based schedules combined with other G.E. classes that require quite a bit of work. I have never had room or time to take fun classes outside of my major, but this semester I am actually doing just that. Done with all my nursing prerequisites I just have some other requirements to fill. So that being said, my classes are as follows:

• Photojournalism
• Historical and Contemporary Aspects of Food, Beverage, and Culture in America
• Leisure & Contemporary Society
• Theatre Imagination

Photojournalism is so fun. I have wanted to take a photography class for as long as I can remember and I am FINALLY doing it! The teacher is hilarious and very knowledgeable, we get fun but challenging assignments, and I am actually learning everything about my camera finally.
The Food/bevg/culture class is really interesting. We are all in different groups (Ex: Italian, Latin, Indian, etc.) and with our group we have to make a food sample and bring it in for the class to try. I signed up late and I am in the African American food group...not entirely sure what that means? But it will be fun. We are also required to go to a restaurant and try 3 dishes we have never tried before and write a paper on our experience.
The Leisure class is interesting as well but it really does just feel like leisure. We learn about different forms of leisure, how to make time for leisure, etc. In the middle of the semester we have a talent show and potluck, we do a couple group projects...enough said.
The theatre imagination class is basically a theatre appreciation class...we read different plays, learn how to watch plays, theatre history, and 4 times during the semester, instead of meeting for class we go see a play. And the teacher is hilarious.

So anyway, I am very much enjoying the classes this time around! I have class W and Th, and Work Sat, Sun, M, T. Not bad at all...2 days on, 5 days off-a reverse weekend! I am trying to find a good volunteer position right now though. I want to shadow a nurse, or help somehow in surgical. Spring 2008. Good semester-I can feel it.

I love my girls.

awkward dates are so awkward..

Telling my roommates about my date tonight, I think I used the work "awkward" at least 50 times. Brandon is a guy that I went to middle school with, and last year he found me on facebook, turned out he goes to Berkeley. We went on a few dates, but, as much as I wanted to, I was just not attracted to him...there was just no chemistry. He seemed to think otherwise. Last semester he wanted to get together many times, but between my crazy schedule and my attempt to let him know I was not into him, we didn't see each other. When I got back from NY, he contacted me, and I didn't really know how to get out of it...I felt bad for blowing him off so many times last semester, so I told him I would meet him downtown SF. If figured he had to realize there was nothing between us, and that we could just hang out no problem as friends, right? WRONG.

From the minute we met up, it was weird. We said hi, hugged, stood there awkwardly until I just said we should get coffee. Walking to the mall, we were making small talk about our break and it wasn't too bad. We got coffee, sat down and just talked. I told him a little about my trip to NY, he told me about his trip to Colorado, then silence. Ohhh awkward awkward silence. This just happened the entire time we were together. I would search my brain ("come ON Chelsea just think of anything to say..ANYTHING!") we would have another short little conversation, then silence again. Oh it was awful. We decided to go see what movies were playing. This thrilled me because that meant no speaking for 2 hours. As we were walking toward the escalator he says (and really sarcastically) "those are some interesting boots you've got there." Ok. These are cute new boots I got in NY...nothing weird about them, dark gray leather with 3 buttons on each side. I just wanted to be like alright...next time I will just wear sweats...screw looking cute for you...oh wait...THERE WON'T BE A NEXT TIME!!!!! I mean what kind of guy says something like that to a girl he likes? Weird. Anyway, we saw Cloverfield (I don't think I would recommend it), we walked out in silence. Yes, awkward silence. We talked about the movie a bit, then just decided to get dinner. We sat there eating, and did not say much. I just looked down at my food, said anything that came to my mind just to try to diminish the silence a little, but without much luck.

I thought for sure this was the end of this hell...but when I was walking toward the muni station, he asked if I wanted to go to the music store with him. I am a bad liar, panicked and agreed because I could not think of an excuse to get out of out. I was screaming inside of my head. I was MISERABLE. It was painful. And the weird thing is that it was almost like he did not sense the akwardness because if he did he would not keep prolonging it. He is a very intelligent guy-always was in middle school, and now he is an engineering major at Berkeley. But maybe he just has no smarts when it comes to the ladies? Maybe all his dates are this awful and he just doesn't know any different and thinks this is how they should feel? Who knows. Well from here it did not get any better. I basically just followed him around the store, and we would just point to artists and ask if each other had heard of them, or reminisced about groups back from middle school. We went to the second floor and it was just the same thing. I was dying...I have not felt this uncomfortable in a LONG time, but I didn't know how to leave!!!!

So then we walked up toward union square, and he saw a DSW shoe store, and he said he needed dress shoes for his internship. So I sat on a bench and watched him try on a few pairs...it was thrilling. Then we went to Starbucks and got something to drink, and sat down in Union Square, and I just sat with my hands between my legs and looked straight ahead...if I looked at him it was only for a second, because I know he wanted to make a move. After a few minutes of talking about extremely boring an pointless topics, I said I was cold and FINALLY got to go home.

Just had to share my misery. Oh man it was SOOOOOOO awkward. Awkward awkward awkward!!!!

study overload

I think all this studying is absolutely frying my brain. Test after test, never ending studying...I think my brain can only take SO much!! The other night after a few hours of studying, I walked out of Starbucks to go home, and literally stood there like an idiot for about 30 seconds because I could not for the life of me remember where I had parked!! So I feel like it is at the point where I can name and locate every single bone, muscle, landmark, organ, etc. but I can barely remember my name or address? Scary.

Last week, I was studying all day at Starbucks. With my handicap placard, I can park in metered spots without having to pay. So I parked across the street from Starbucks where I could still see my car from where I was sitting. After being there a short time, I looked up and saw a meter maid writing me a ticket. So I ran outside assuming the ticket was for the meter not being paid. After I frantically told him I had a placard so did not need to pay the meter, he looked me up and down and said "is this your car? You have a handicap placard?" I said yes and then he asked if I could prove it. I was SO caught off guard that I wish I would have said something back to him, but I just got the proof out of my car and showed it to him. Then he said "ok, well that is not why I wrote you the ticket...I wrote you the ticket because you did not turn your wheels." And I began to explain to him that I was not aware this was actually a law and thought this was only a recommendation-not that I could actually get a ticket for it. He asked if I had a California driver's license, obviously I said yes, and he said "well that is one of the first questions they ask you when you get your license. With tears in my eyes, I asked if he could just let me off with a warning, and he said no and walked away. I then got in my car to turn my wheels so I would not get another ticket, and I was SOO mad that I somehow got out of my car and locked my keys in the car WITH MY CAR STILL RUNNING. So luckily my roommate Kelly was on her way to work in about an hour, and so I met with her on her way and got my spare key. This did not add to my stress level with all the stuff I had to do.

For the record, I always turn my wheels when I park on a hill. However, this was NOT a hill. It was a SLOPE. So I didn't think it was necessary to turn them. I was telling my aunt this lovely little story and my uncle, who is an engineer, did some research on the subject. It turns out, it is only a San Francisco law, not a California law.

California Vehicle Codes related to Parking

Parking on Hills
22509. Local authorities within the reasonable exercise of their police powers may adopt rules and regulations by ordinance or resolution providing that no person driving, or in control of, or in charge of, a motor vehicle shall permit it to stand on any highway unattended when upon any grade exceeding 3 percent within any business or residence district without blocking the wheels of the vehicle by turning them against the curb or by other means.
San Francisco Traffic Code
Article 3 Section 58 (a) PARKING ON GRADES REGULATED.

It shall be unlawful for any operator to stand or park any vehicle upon any grade or slope exceeding three percent without effectively setting the brakes thereon and blocking the wheels of said vehicle by turning them against the curb or by other means.
Curb Parking
22502. (a) Except as otherwise provided in this chapter every vehicle stopped or parked upon a roadway where there are adjacent curbs shall be stopped or parked with the right-hand wheels of such vehicle parallel with and within 18 inches of the right-hand curb, except that motorcycles shall be parked with at least one wheel or fender touching the right-hand curb. Where no curbs or barriers bound any roadway, right-hand parallel parking is required unless otherwise indicated.

Oh and it gets better. He was able to pinpoint the exact place I was parked, and determine the grade. So the law states that you have to turn your wheels if the hill is of 3% grade or more. Guess how steep the "hill" I was parked on was? a whopping 2%. So, I can fight this stupid thing, but it is just the hassle of the matter and the way this man treated me. It really bothers me that just because I don't look physically disabled, that people assume they know me. They don't know what I have been through or the fact that I probably experience more pain daily with my knees than they even understand. Some people are so rude and just clueless, and I have no sympathy for them.

Perfect food, perfect weekend, and the best company.

I think I have eaten so much the last few days that I am STILL sleepy. I got 8 hours of sleep today, took a half hour nap, had a huge latte, and I am still struggling to study for my midterm.


But it was definitely all worth it. My dad, his girlfriend, my brother, aunt, uncle, and cousin drove up here from SLO, Carlsbad, and San Clemente. My other cousin (who now lives in SF) and I met them at my grandparent's house in Mountain View, about 45 minutes south, close to San Jose. The funny part about it was that my grandparents were not even there...they were with our family in Oregon and it just worked out for us to use their house. Kind of silly! But it was a nice change to avoid the horrendous drive down south. I really felt like cooking this year, so along with the turkey, mashed potatoes, cranberry pie, sweet potatoes, and asparagus everyone else made, this was my contribution:

• Bourbon sweet potatoes (with a wonderful brown sugar/pecan/butter/spice topping)
• Georgia's amazing cranberry-orange sauce
• Pecan pie
• Ciabbatta bread stuffing with roasted chestnuts, rosemary, Parmesan, pancetta and other Italian herbs and ingredients
• Brussels sprouts with brown butter and sage

I had a blast cooking and everything turned out wonderfully. We played games, drank wine from SLO, stuffed our bellies, relaxed, told stories, and they even came out to San Francisco Friday night. It was sad when everyone left because that meant I would not see them for awhile since I will be in Idaho for Christmas, and also because I had to face my daunting study guide for anatomy. Gross. But I have a ton of leftovers, and believe it or not, I only have 3 1/2 weeks of school left!! My wanted my brother and I take our Christmas picture, and on the left is the one I picked. Below is the gang without my dad...he was taking the picture and telling us to act like animals! My family is so amazing...I couldn't ask for anyone better, wouldn't change any of them, can't imagine my life without them, and I miss them every day.

Thanksgiving is definitely my favorite holiday.

Not a birthDAY but a birthWEEK

Well my celebration has been over for some time, but it was a good week. On Saturday, I went to a friend's Halloween party that was really fun, and felt like I was kicking off my birthday week. Sunday night, the girls (my roommates) took me for ice cream at Joe's ice cream on Geary. Monday, my actual birthday, I had class all day. This included the gift of being able to dissect a cat (note the sarcasm). Pretty awful, but makes for a good story I guess? and treated myself by ditching my night class! My best friend Elizabeth and our friend who goes to Berkeley took me out for sushi and then for an amazing cookie/ice cream/hot fudge/whip cream delicious sundae at Ghiradelli Square.

My roommates had class so they couldn't come, but I they sang to me and enjoyed the caramel apple pie I asked Kelly to make me! I opened some cards and gifts I received, which is always fun.

Wednesday, which was Halloween,
I went camping at Mt. Tamalpais with Liz and Pat (the two in the picture) & some other friends from Berkeley. We dressed up in our costumes, and it just enjoyed getting away for a night. For the party on Saturday night, Liz and I were both 80's aerobics instructors and Pat was a gay lumberjack (Flannel shirt, a beanie, an ax, and cut off jean shorts-VERY classy.) For the camping trip, Pat and I had the same costumes, but Liz was a runner. Oh yes, and the mustache was just floating around.

Friday, my roommates and our friend Brittany from Walnut Creek took me to dinner at BJ's. Delicious food AND they gave me a free pizookie!!! If you don't know what that is, it is a huge freshly baked cookie (I always get chocolate chip) with ice cream on top. After dinner, we met up with more of our friends in Pacifica for cosmic bowling. It was a great night!


All in all, it was a great time. 20! Seems like a weird kind of in-between age. I think my favorite birthday party I had was a miner themed party. I think I was 7 or 8, and everyone dressed up as miners, I had a ice cream cake from Baskin Robbins that had a miner on the top, we mined for fools gold, and had some other fun party games. After that, I had some other fun themed birthdays but there always seemed to be some stupid fight between some of the girls!