After abouta 2 week hiatus, the blog is finally being updated.

What have I been doing while this thing has been lying around neglected? Well, I took about a week off to go down to LA to check out some colleges and hang with my big sister. Things got off to kind of a bad start when I realized I would have almost 2 hours to kill after greatly overestimating how long the security checkpoint line would be. It was a good chance to get some breakfast in me, but it would still be a while before I could get on the plane. The worst part was that because of security measures and the fact that I was traveling alone, I would have to carry my backpack and my heavy bag with me at all times. It sucked.

Actually, it wasn't so bad since I managed to stay at the newsstand for most of the time, looking at such publications as GameNow, EGM, Tips n Tricks, and Maxim. I also bought a copy of Blender, cuz it came with a free CD. Also, my sister subscribes to Rolling Stone, so it would have been pointless to buy one of those. After overstaying my welcome there, it was finally time to get on the plane. Since I was practically the first one to check in, I had an A-class boarding pass, giving me (and like 30 others) the first chance to get on the plane and pick seats. I exchanged some friendly banter with someone who jokingly claimed that this was "discrimination", telling him not to hate me just cuz I was better than he was :P It was a nice exchange, we and some other had a small laugh, and ironically I ended up sitting with him and a pretty hot woman. Funny how the world works.

Landing was weird. For some reason, I was simply unable to get my ears to pop. It was very irritating and the pressure on my head was starting to get to me. It really hurt, until I finally started rocking back and forth in my chair while turning my head left and right. Getting off the plane was simple enough, and I had been to LAX many times before, so it really was no problem. My sister was not there to pick me up, but after a 15 minute wait that went by pretty quickly, she arrived, we hugged, and we departed. Yay.

Sadly, I had failed to tell my sister that the first college tour (on the same day that I had arrived) was at 2 PM, which was in two and a half hours. We quickly dropped off my stuff at her apartment, got our bearings straight, confirmed with my parents that I was still alive, then went out to get some lunch at In N Out. It was absolutely delicious. I had not had In N Out in the longest time, and they are all over the place in Southern California. I would be in heaven if I lived down there....(drools)

Anyway, I'll do my standard critiquing of stuff now. This time I'll talk about the various colleges I went to and the restaurants I ate at.

Cal Tech: AWESOME SCHOOL!!! Before I came to this school, all I knew about CalTech was that it was super hard to get into, it specialized in technology, and only dorks went there. While this still may be true, the campus tour and information session did troves to better my impression of this school. The campus is nice and small and comfortable. It looks like an excellent work/study environment. While my sister claimed that the dorms were kinda dark and depressing, I thought they were alive with personality. The walls were covered in murals and paintings, ranging from impressionism and surrealism to the Simpsons and Calvin and Hobbes. (If I go there, I'm definitely putting a tribute to anime on those walls :P). Plus, the people we met (not many, but still...) and the staff seemed very friendly and helpful. The general education workload seems daunting, but it also seems to definitely prepare you for life and educate you for everything that the world can throw at you. I really loved what I saw, and I would definitely not mind attending this school at all

UCLA: Wow......It's....BIIIIIIIG.......
I mean, this place is HUGE

Seriously, that is the main thing that sticks out in my mind. The tour guide for UCLA was probably the worst out of all the schools I went to. She didn't get in depth into a lot of things, and it seemed like she was rushing so we could see everything. While UCLA looks like a great school and I'm sure has a great program, I definitley didn't get the BEST impression of the school on this tour. Still, I liked the fact that UCLA is overflowing with opportunities and extracurricular programs/activites. Plus, the dorm life seems really cool. My sister warned me that I could almost waste away my entire college days just crashin in the dorm halls talking about nothing with my neighbors...It's too bad we didn't really get to see a lot....

USC: As opposed to UCLA, this was the best tour guide we had of all the schools we visited. USC also seems like a great school. It seems like UCLA, but on a smaller campus. It was not as small as CalTech, but definitely smaller than UCLA. The campus is nice, but the surrounding area was not quite as nice as UCLA's (no Westwood village here....) Heh, UCLA and USC are rivals, and my sister, a UCLA alumnus, took great pleasure in pointing out that none of the students seemed to know where they were going or were just wasting their time playing games (though to be fair, she admitted later that most of those people were probably freshman). Also, I was especially impressed with the interior design of the main library and the cool fountain outside. A minor detail, but sometimes it goes a long way.

UCSD: Um.....this school is kinda weird.... They have a weird college system where you basically belong to one of six sub-colleges within UCSD. It's kinda hard to explain... You can earn all degrees at each college, but each college has a different class system and has a different "personality", so to speak. While one college may emphasize more on general education, another college may give more leeway on classes you choose for your major. It's up to you to apply for the college that best suits your own character. I'm not sure if I like it......the campus was really great though. I especially loved the architecture of the Geisel library (you gotta see it, trust me).

Man, it's gonna be difficult choosing colleges, especially since I have other choices to consider. (sigh) Senior year is not going to be fun at all...

Restaurants:
The Cheesecake Factory: Believe it or not, I had never been to one of thse before. And all I have to say is DAMN! Their menu is a fsckin CATALOGUE! They have everything you could possibly want to eat there, and then some! They have about 5 pages on drinks alone, and I couldn't count how many entrees they had. I chose the Jambalaya over rice, which was excellent, but also could have used a bit more seasoning. Oh yeah, and the cheesecake is to die for. My sister, cousin, and I split a peanut butter cup-fudge cheesecake which was definitely one of the best deserts I have ever had. (drools) I wish I could go back.....I want more cheesecake!! CHEEEEEEEEESECAKE!!!!!

Roscoe's Chicken and Waffle: Soul food at its finest. I would reccomend gettin Scoe's Special if you ever go there. It is the quintessential meal there: chicken and waffles, just like the name of the restaurant says. The atmosphere is a bit surreal, as there seems to be a red glow in the rooms at all times. However, the food is worth any discomfort (if any) you feel. The Scoe's Special comes on two plates: one plate of THE MOST DELICOUS waffles you'll ever have (their own recipe, comes with butter and syrup) and another plate of fried chicken drenched in gravy. While the combination might not seem very appearling, somehow it goes together. It doesn't matter whether you are eating the waffles of chicken (though a good strategy is to alternate plates per bite), it is goooooood stuff.

Paco's: Mexican goodness. All the tortilla chips and salsa you can eat, plus a gigantic plate full of South-of-the-border goodness. I ordered a combo plate of a chimichanga and a taco that comes with a plate with mexican rice, beans, and lettuce. Also, the tortillas are hand-made at the restaurant, so they are warm, fluffy, and soft. You'll never make fun of the Mexicans again after eating here :P Forget Taco Bell, this is where you wanna eat.

Other events:

Getting drunk?: No, I didn't actually get drunk. I sampled some alcohol at various restaurants. However, at Paco's, my cousin and sister ordered mango margaritas, and surprisingly enough, the waiter poured me my own glass. I was a bit hesitant at first (not cuz it was alcohol, but cuz I don't really like mangoes), but eventually I ran out of water and was really thirsty, so I took a sip of my glass. It wasn't bad, and I could barely taste the tequila. After about 4 fairly large sips, something started happening. My pelvic area felt lighter than ever. It was almost as if that part of my body was completely gone. It was quite literally chest, stomach, nothing, than my legs. It seemed like fun, but I was in a pretty packed place, so I decided I'd better lay off for now (yeah, yeah, I know...pansy)

Christina: One of my sister's old roomates moved away while I was still down there, so she was looking for a new roommate. Christina was one of these prospective renters. Although I didn't actually interact with her in any way, apparently she was not the ideal renter. She came to look at the apartment still in her clubbing outfit from last night and apologizing for being hungover. Furthermore, she apparently was a bit of a flake who didn't really know where she was going in life (she wanted to act.....or maybe produce music, despite having no music background AT ALL). The final straw was that her mom was basically coming down in a couple of hours to get her stuff and she needed to know right at the moment if she was getting the apartment. Needless to say, she didn't. I should've interacted with her more. She sounded like a fun person! :P

3rd street/Venice Beach: Both are shopping districts quite unlike each other, and yet very similar. 3rd street is a more modern shopping venue with trendy stores such as Old Navy and Barnes and Noble. Venice Beach has many more stores, but all are privately owned shops that are very modest and usually specialize in one thing (Tshirts, shoes, paintings, etc.) However, the street perfromers are what make this place come alive with personality. You can find anything and anybody on these streets, from breakdancers, to violinists, to Chinese acrobats, to spray-painters, to a guy playing a fiddle with a 2-liter Coke bottle, to singers, to a guy frantically flailing his arms while shouting out nursury rhymes. Places like these are why I love LA :P


Well, I've typed more than enough, so I'll stop. I'll tell you about what happened after I got back (not much) afterwards :P

Quote of the day: "I think my boobs are getting bigger!" -Naru Narusegawa, Love HIna