breathe.

This is me, all day every day, either studying or watching tv:


Finally mine:




I feel as though I can't study anymore. The LSAT is a week from tomorrow and I'm not where I want to be and yet I am stumped, unfocused, and frustrated. I keep studying but it still doesn't come naturally to me, and so now I just feel that I'm not getting anything out of the hours spent prepping and why should I waste my time? Gah! Hopefully I'll get out of this funk by tomorrow; I need to get re-energized so that I can focus and show this exam who's boss. I'm just in a slump with everything, and I need to snap out of it. I don't know why I'm feeling like this, I've got a lot coming up: eight days until I'm done with the LSAT (hopefully), eighteen days until my mom and brother are here, two months until I (hopefully) go home for a week, three months until my brother's bar mitzvah and school starts again and all my friends are back in Berkeley, four months until Band of Horses plays in Berkeley and five months until I'm twenty-one. So much to look forward to, but today I'm going to settle in with the Bartlet administration and forget about the real world for a little bit.

the west wing.

I bought myself an actual present for doing really well this semester; The West Wing: The Complete Series box set! I got an amazing deal on Amazon and I think it was an excellent use of my last paycheck of the semester. I'm watching in-between doing practice LSAT sections, and it's encouraging me to study more so I can go to law school like Josh Lyman! Just kidding...it actually makes me think of how I want to write for television more than anything in the world. I don't want to grow up because I don't know what I'm supposed to do yet! I guess I'll just get through the LSAT and go from there...still, it's starting to get really frustrating being torn between two really different career paths.

northwest apartment.

My new apartment is amazing. Because I'm the Apartment Assistant (or AA, which is the same as an RA) I get my own room and my own bathroom! I share a kitchen and a living room with two other girls who are absolutely lovely. Here's a quick peek into my new digs!



























Not pictured are the common areas, my private bathroom, and the view from my window of the Campanile! Obviously, it's much larger and nicer than the typical dorm room, and even a step up from the apartment I lived in last year. I didn't realize how little space I had in my last apartment until I moved into my new place! It's so comfortable, and I think that if I stay as organized as I am right now it's going to be a really great place to get work done. I'm really excited to be living here, and to live with awesome people, and to be an AA. Here's to a good year!

shine a light.

It's been awhile since I've updated, and I'd love to say it's because I've been out enjoying summer but that would be a total lie. Basically, all I've been doing is studying for the LSAT and catching up on tv...I've watched the entire sixth season of Grey's Anatomy and the first two seasons of Skins so far. Pathetic? I guess. But you've got to remember, I haven't had time off in ages, and I can only do logic games for so many hours at a time. And, since it was the first week of summer, and the only week before summer school started, pretty much everyone went home, leaving Berkeley a ghost town, and so it was a good week to stay in. In any case, I've studied a lot, I've made a huge dent in my "must-watch" list, and I've started to catch up on my sleep, so hurray!

However, that doesn't mean I didn't go out at all...! I went out to brunch with Morgan last Wednesday and spent the day in San Francisco with Misha yesterday.


Morgan's breakfast.


My breakfast! My obsession with french toast is getting slightly out of control; I've come to the conclusion that it's one of the best meals for college students (easy, delicious, cheap, and nutritious) and so I've been making it a lot more frequently. However, this cinnamon brioche french toast blows mine out of the water by far.


And on to San Francisco! First stop, the piers outside the Ferry building. That's the Bay Bridge!


I don't even know what this is, but it's awesome. Located in Ferry Park.


Close-up.

SO! Fun story. We were in Ferry Park, walking around, and we see that there's a production of Peter Pan occuring. We approach the ticket booth to see how much the cheapest tickets are, when we're approached by a lady selling her tickets and we end up spending $20.00 each on seats that were originally $125.00! Not only that, but their location was perfect, we got free drinks, programs, and audiobooks, AND the show was super cool. One of the best spontaneous decisions I've made in awhile!


One of the best deals, ever.


Programs!


This was the Lost Boys home on the stage. The set was amazing...I didn't really get any good pictures of it.


Luckily, there was a picture in the program!


After the play we walked through the city.


I love love love living next to a big city. The buildings are so impressive!


Cool lion in Chinatown.




Chinatown.


We found a Banksy!






Nothing like bad grammar to make me smile, haha.


Their intention was noble, but their execution was questionable.


Another Banksy!


We went to this record store in North Beach that was ridiculously awesome. I really wish I had a record player because their selection was amazing, gahhh.








I ended up getting these posters to decorate my apartment next year, and one for my brother. I'll give it to him when he comes up with my mom to visit at the end of June, hurray!


I really love walking around San Francisco...so much to see and discover. I want to try and spend a lot of time there this summer, if possible.


After a long day exploring, I got back to Berkeley in time to watch the LOST finale! I know I've never really written about it, but it's one of my favorite television shows (coming in second after The West Wing), and so I wore my LOST shirt proudly. After sleeping on it, I've come to the conclusion that was an amazing finale to a brilliant show, and I'm really content.


My nail polish collection! I realized that I have most of the rainbow...and a new addiction? Ahhhhh.


This is relevant only because I bought a new color ("Suzi Skis in the Pyrenees"), which is a dark charcoal gray, to celebrate me getting STRAIGHT A's this semester!

Anyways, things are good. The LSAT is challenging but it's keeping me busy. I'm catching up on a lot of unwatched television, which is relaxing, and I actually bought a novel to read for fun. I'm also trying to work on a script that I've been writing this past year...I don't have that much done, but the ideas are all there. I really want to bring it to life, and for the first time in a year I finally have time to just sit down and write; hopefully something good will come of it. And! I just found out that I get to move this Wednesday (instead of after the LSAT) which makes me ridiculously happy, and today my mom scheduled a trip up in which she and my brother will come visit me for the first time! I'm so excited to see them because I miss them SO MUCH. I miss my dad too, but he's busy working, sadly. Hopefully I'll go home in July for a bit, but I have to talk to my boss about it first. As for now, time to go back to my LSAT lesson book...the exam is two weeks from today! Time flies by so quickly, it's ridiculous.

i'll be there for you.

We go to college to learn, to better ourselves, to meet new people, to grow up and learn to stand on our own two feet.

My first semester at Cal was about assimilating to Berkeley, learning to live on my own and take care of myself. I was trying to figure out the pace of this school, and trying to figure out what I wanted out of my time here. And really, just trying to take the time away from home to find myself. I grew up a lot during fall, but something was missing.

This semester, I found what the fall was lacking--amazing friends. People I could call at two in the morning if I needed something, people who could understand what I was thinking just by looking at me. Friends who could finish my sentences and who would stand up for me if I ever needed. I had friends my first semester, but not like the ones I have now. The four people in the photos above--Katie, Johnny, Sam, and Morgan--they're four people who I can say with full certainty have changed my life, and I just wanted to put it out in the universe that these are four of the most wonderful, amazing, creative, kind individuals I've ever had the honor to meet. Katie and Johnny are CalTV folk, and I met Morgan and Sam on Birthright. Two of the most significant parts of my Berkeley experience, and I have come out of them so much better because of the people I met through them. They have been the best friends I could have ever asked for, and they became my family away from home. From drinking boba to cafe hopping, to exploring Berkeley's finest eateries, most of my best memories in Berkeley have come from having these friends this semester. Honestly, it's hard to remember what Cal was like before having all of these crazy kids in my life...but I can say that life at Berkeley would definitely not be as amazing without them.

school's out for summer!

Today was the longest day I've had in a long time: waking up early to study, my last final of the semester, a quick trip to San Francisco for an internship interview, back to campus to finish my LSAT reading and catch up with Katie, LSAT prep class for three and a half hours, and finally getting home, only to eat some of the sourdough bread I got in SF (see: picture above) and catch up on How I Met Your Mother. Ridiculous day, but it was really productive. Even though I'm exhausted, I'm content.

I just finished my first year at Berkeley, and my junior year of college. Holy shit.

Hello, summer!

strawberry fields forever.

I hate finals. They're stressful and mean. As a result, I've been having a pretty lame couple of days...I promise updates will be more interesting once I'm done with these silly exams. Until then, here are some pictures of food that I have consumed within the last couple of days. It's pretty sad when the highlight of your day is eating but eh, what can you do? It's finals week!



Is there anything better than enjoying the sunshine on campus with some boba?



Strawberry Shortcake from Bakesale Betty...absolutely AMAZING.



The strawberries were fresh and sweet, and the whipped cream was homemade.



Oh, you wanted a close-up? Here you go.



Cheeseboard, again. The pizza of the day was Roma tomatoes, onions, mozzarella and feta
cheese, garlic olive oil, lemon zest, lemon juice, & cilantro.