things not to be forgotten

My apologies for skipping recaps of Week 6 through Week 9! I've been busy just about every single day for the final half of this whirlwind of a quarter, and even though I'm currently on Thanksgiving break, I feel like I need to use my time off to sit down and breathe (and nap) more than I need to write every single thing out. I really wish I could reach into my brain, make a copy of every memory I've made this past month and just stick it in a blog post and call it a wrap, but alas, technology has not advanced to such a stage. So, please bear with me — I'm simply going to list out the little things I don't want to forget (and I've probably forgotten many things already). Honestly, I'm not even sure if any of this is in chronological order, but I'll do my best:

KAA Clue Night/Reveal • AMAZINGNESS. I feel so lucky to have two bigs: a kuya and an ate who are two of the coolest people I've ever met. We're all so quirky and a little awkward but in a fun-loving, sweet and wonderful way that makes me feel like sunshine is radiating from within the depths of my tummy/existential being. (*cough* Forgive the dreadful metaphors, I'm lying in the dark on my bed typing this out without really doing much editing. I think I'm feeling a little hungry, too.)

Spam Musubis • Made 167 spam musubis with APSU board! Our original goal was to make 300, but boy, I was so sick of spam by the end of the night. I was kind of dizzy, too. It was really fun though! It made for a successful fundraiser, too. $$$$$

PCN Casting • Believe it or not, I tried out for Barkada's Pilipino Cultural Night. I haven't done a choreographed dance in almost three years, but I was drawn in anyways. I'd missed out on parts of the dance lessons, so I went early to re-learn everything. So tired afterwards (I was the second to last group to audition) but I think it was still a fun experience. Can't wait to find out which dance I've been sorted into!

Pride and Prejudice • The theatre department put on an adaptation of one of my favorite Jane Austen novels! Of course I went to watch it. It was wonderful. Mr. Bennet's performance was spot on, as was Mrs. Bennet and, of course, Mr. Darcy. Much applause for Mr. Bingley, too! On another note, I really envied Mr. Bennet's lovely monk strap loafers. Mmf. Get in my closet.

Working in the library until 2 a.m. during Week 9 • The library closes at two, and not until Dead Week will it be open 24/7. Reasons for staying so late: history paper thesis and research, CTW essay draft, studying for Latin midterm, and painting the banner for Barkada's Typhoon Relief fundraiser. All noble efforts, and not a single regret. I got to spend good time with my ate, too (':

M helping me buy new taillights and teaching me how to install them • M is probably the most independent, fierce, intelligent, sassy and all-around badass woman I've ever befriended. Seriously. She's so warm and caring all at the same time. So grateful to have her as a good friend. It rained pretty hard last week, and I had stupidly decided to ignore the fact that my taillights were out until the very last minute. M didn't want me to be in danger so she went and bought new bulbs for me and showed me how to install them. So much gratitude and love.

I've definitely missed a lot of things, so I will come back and add more if anything comes to mind. Thanksgiving Break shenanigans will go in a separate post, hopefully with more pictures than this one. That's all for now!

xx

friendship, spuf, dtd

"We got a gift for you, we got a gift for you!"

Okay, so I'm procrastinating on my essay (the draft is due on Monday night, #sendhelp), but then again I've also been procrastinating on writing this post about Friendship Games, which took place last Saturday, October 26, at CSU Fullerton. It's been almost an entire week since then so I definitely won't be able to convey everything in full detail, but just know that it was most definitely a very memorable weekend.

Friday • Normal morning and afternoon: went to class and then met up with Barkada at Shapell at 5:30 pm. Our car (finally) left around 7 and we ate at In-N-Out. Eventually left the parking lot a bit past 8 and headed down to LA! I didn't know the people in the car I rode in but I got to know them better throughout the weekend and I have to say that it's not even a competition — we had the best car. We arrived at around two in the morning and I stayed in a room with six other girls. We bonded while cutting our Barkada shirts and didn't "sleep" until four.

Saturday • Woke up at six to get ready for the big day. Stopped by McDonald's for breakfast and headed straight over to CSUF for the games! The whole event's vibe really reminded me of Key Club and Fall Rally. I can't say I miss my Key Club days, but FG was definitely a step up in terms of spirit (which is honestly saying a lot). Our club is relatively small and we didn't have extravagant costumes (like the school that dressed up as the Fire Nation or the one that dressed up as cavemen), but everyone still had a really great time! Our theme was pirates so our SPUF (stands for Spirit Pride Unity Friendship — basically the spirit cheer/performance that you do when you "SPUF" other schools) involved releasing the kraken (and seamen) as well as lots of pirate booty (rock it everywhere!). Around intermission (i.e., siesta time) I went with a group to eat at Pieology. AD and I created a magnificent pizza. It was sooo delicious — herb butter, pesto, sausage, mushrooms, tomatoes and pineapple. I want it again! (Pieology is like the Chipotle of pizza.) I think there's one in SJ so I'm going to go again when I have the funds (or when my craving for pizza becomes unbearable). I played two games: Alpine Green and Tidal Wave (and I'm too lazy to type out a description) and those were fun! After the games ended (we were so exhausted by the time we left) we went back to the hotel and showered. Left around seven in the evening to go to J's family's house in LA for dinner. They had a caterer come and make amazing tacos for us! Afterwards some people went to the FG after party at a club but the rest of us went to Downtown Disney. It was my first time there and it was nice, but I think I was too tired to be overly excited. I wanted to buy socks but they were too expensive. Our pizza from Pieology costed less than the cheapest pair I could find! Went back to the hotel and ~partied~ (not really — everyone was too tired) and basically knocked out from exhaustion.

Sunday • Our car wanted to go eat at Blu Jam Cafe, but when we finally found it we saw that there was a huge line and decided against it. We ended up going to IHOP and were back on the road after noon. The trip back home is a blur now, but after we got back (a bit past 7:30 pm) I went straight to the library to study since I had a Latin midterm the next day. I ended up acing it, so no worries :)

Scurvy Britches • I actually want to dedicate a little section to our car — or "ship" — the Scurvy Britches. I actually didn't really know anyone in the car until Friday, and needless to say I was a bit nervous, even though my friends told me they were all super cool and nice people. I didn't doubt what my friends said, but our car really ended up being the best! I'm really thankful to have gotten to ride with them. From playing ratchet music (with brief Ghibli soundtrack interludes and lots of throwbacks to the 90's and 00's) to rolling down the windows and blasting "Beverly Hills" while driving through LA, from the group making sure I got the "full experience" of DTD to random Snapchats on the road, we made some great memories and I'm happy they've been including me in their recent shenanigans too.

What I've written here doesn't quite cover everything that happened, but I hope you guys can get the gist of how happy I was to be there! It was exhausting, but every hour of sleep I lost was worth every smile and laugh I got to share with some of the most fantastic people ever.