Little Unexpected Rays of Sunshine

Got a second campus job doing data-entry and I am having so much fun. My employers are amazing people.

First job as assistant house manager at the Mondavi Center is still going awesomely well. I think its the best campus job ever since people are paying hundreds to see world famous acts like Yo-Yo Ma and Joshua Bell, and you are getting paid instead to watch it.

Also managed to snag a dental internship right here in Davis. This is such a huge blessing because it goes by a lottery system and I was fortunate enough to be given an early sign up slot so could pick the limited available slots for Davis and not have to travel out of town to other clinics on a weekly basis.

Made a commitment to get more involved in my local campus christian fellowship and met many new amazing people.

Yes, on top of my studies, this leaves me virtually no time for frivolous stuff. But on the upside, I have become way more productive heh.

A new guy recently moved into our place and so the landlord-housemate of mine decided to lower my rent to $240 and still keep his offer of covering all utilities and internet etc. I am still in disbelief because there is no way you can get such incredibly cheap rent for such an awesome cozy fully furnished place like this. I was totally expecting only a $25 decrease since its only the bathroom I would be sharing but omg $60 less? And the rent itself was already low enough to begin with. Plus he still buys us dinners and goodies every now and then. Do I have a great housemate or what.

With the addition of my second job, which I got because I was worried I wouldn't have enough money silly me, I now have more than what I need. And so I think its time to give back and bless others ♥

Because everything is better with hot twins

So I recently got myself the Devil May Cry HD Collection and have been crying and cursing in frustration at how difficult the game is and srsly why do I put myself through such torture till this cutscene appeared and I remembered why....

alsdkjaklsdjalsdka *spazzes*

the mother of all jackpots, period

Damnit, my fangirly soul is now yours Capcom.

Then again, I think you already owned it since Phoenix Wright.

New Beginnings

So what can I say?

This year is vastly different from the last and could very well be the year according to my friends.

I didn't blog much last year cause while there were a few blessings in between every now and then, it was mostly hellish thanks to demanding unreasonable boss lady (who I later forgive cause she became very nice and understanding towards the end) and spiteful housemates who got what they deserved in the end.

I personally think they have low self esteem issues they need to deal with, since they can never stop bitching and gossiping, because until you can love yourself, you're gonna hate on others forever because you think they are better than you and you can never be the same when you damn well can if you just throw away all those negativity and do something about whatever you're unhappy about.

Looking back, I find it amusing how all the malicious plans they came up with kept backfiring upon them instead. And this is why, girls, instead of bitching with other girls, you should be reading up on the laws, plan 5 steps ahead of people and speak to authorities. And stay as innocent as doves in the meantime and not do anything that can implicate yourself. That is how you win.

Long story short, they lost everything thanks to justice.

Which I don't feel the slightest bit sorry for as 2nd sis and I had offered them many ways out but they chose to reject them all in favor of finding ways to make us suffer. Moreover, we had been nothing but nice to them the whole time, sharing all our stuff which was 90% of the house, but instead of being thankful, they got jealous and wanted to control it and keep us from using our own stuff and later deluded themselves into thinking it's actually theirs, oh the absurdity of it all. I will forever remember that day where our patience finally snapped and got our friends to haul everything out and left, leaving them with an empty house and a serious slap back to reality where they realize that life don't always play out like stupid 'Mean Girls' movies cause some people ain't got time for all that stupid passive aggressive games. I always thought settling things the 'animal kingdom way' made much more sense than 'girl world' anyways.

Nevertheless, hellish as the year had been in the later months, one thing of importance to note was that despite it all, He was always there. When obstacles kept coming up, He never failed to send the right people and right things we need at the very moment we desperately need it. I know people always like to ask 'if He loved you so much, why make you suffer?' but that is not it. Humans and our sinful nature causes sufferings but it is Him who redeem us all. The question should be 'if it wasn't for His unfailing love and mercy in this dark world, imagine how much worse life would be?'

Anyways, this fall we moved to another place where rent is cheaper and utilities are all taken care of and its only me, 2nd sis and this other dude (who's the owner and practically Ouran worthy minus the looks sadly) and so its all nice and quiet ♥

Got accepted back into school as in-state students finally and so everything is covered by financial aid :)

Got a car too!

Meet Betty Cooper.

Yes, Betty Cooper (Archie comics) because its a mini cooper hence Cooper and Betty cause she's depicted to be awesome at fixing cars in the comics.

We're super happy okay because a car has been on our list for a long time but for some reason it just couldn't happen even though my sister bf wanted to lend us his dinosaur of a manual car and now I can see its because He had something better in store for us all these while and we just had to wait patiently. The church member decided to bless us by selling it to us for $2500, which is less than half the market price, instead of making a profit by selling it to others.

I am so in love with it because it's the first small car I'd ever driven. My large family of 6 made it impossible for us to have sedans so it has always been big four wheel drives and vans that made my parking experiences an endless nightmare, oh the stories I could tell you about how I always never fail to get stuck in compact parking spaces and have people get utterly fed up of me :C

This car is simply perfect ♥

Lastly, I got a new job! On campus too! No more working for minimum wage!

It's an assistant manager job which I'm quite apprehensive about since the requirements are so high but hey, for some reason I was chosen for this position and rejected for all my more favored easier clerical ones so I guess there must be a reason I got this job. It's definitely going to require a lot out of me but at this point I'm starting to realize that when has life ever been easy for me? And honestly, I kind of like it. The challenges it bring where I'm forced to constantly learn new things at a much faster rate has helped me so much in getting what I want in life and become more focused. The feeling of being thoroughly independent and the freedom it brings is also euphoric.

I don't know what else He has in store for me this year but I'm sure it will be good :)

Masquerade

So here I am, deciding to pick up blogging again coz I can never really let go of this 6 years worth of memories online journal thing. Plus I actually edited a crap ton of pics way back but never go around to actually writing the posts and being OCD lil me, its been forever bugging me like an unchecked list buried way back in my brain.

So, DCF masquerade party.

Do I ever love my new fellowship group for all their utterly fun events ♥

In case you didn't know, I am in love with masquerades. Not the debauchery stigma attached to it ok but the glorious dresses and fancy masks and the classy glamorous mysteriousness of it all. This could also be attributed to the fact that I am in love with all things Victorian or something like that. I have no idea if masquerades are from that period but you get what I mean. Old England/Europe whatever. And medieval times. I am a secret history/ancient days nerd kays.

Anyways, we were supposed to design these flexible plastic masks but bloody things were being all discriminatory by fitting only caucasian and hispanic features. Cheekboneless, low nosebridge and narrow eyed asians like me doesn't stand a chance in it. I look like some hillbilly alien in it and nearly killed 2nd sis with laughter when I wore it.

So I decided to use makeup. And youtube. And google image for blatant copying inspiration. I may have some makeup skills ok but artsy imagination I do not have. Am a boring science student.

First look I experimented with to decide if I wanted to go with makeup or buy a mask off ebay:

Decided that I could wing it at any rate so makeup it is.

Got even more adventurous the night before and went with a whole different design instead:

I cannot claim credit for the design as I copied it from this amazing girl here.

I used NYX black bean eyeshadow pencil, both black pencil and liquid eyeliner pencil for the black parts and NYX white eyeshadow pencil for the white and as a base for the yellow which is a mixture of a bunch of different yellow and golds from various palettes. Before topping it off with Hard Candy golden glitter eyeshadow to give it a glittery look and adding rhinestones. Also set both the black and white parts with eyeshadows respectively. I outlined my face with a white eyeliner pencil first in case you're wondering. Easier to erase if you make a mistake.

It looks really realistic from a distance and many people didn't know it was makeup till they were in my face.

Also super attention grabbing coz every single guy that night kept staring at it and compliments were endless.

Which was surprising to me coz I never expected them to notice, being the clueless species they are, and actually did it for the girls? Because I wanted a conversation starter with them ok since I'm fairly new and wanted to befriend them so we can ramble about makeup and stuff.

A lone pic of the night which I stole off someone's facebook coz I didn't take any. It is very uncommon to camwhore here ok unless you own a camera phone (mine suck) which is more acceptable to whip out coz its a phone I guess? Or if its a dslr. Anyways, this post went on longer than it should. Only 82131293 more backlogged posts to go. hum de dum.

Goodbye 2011, Hello 2012

If one were to ask me how I felt on the last day of 2011, I would say that it was a good year.

Although if I were to probe deeper, it was also probably one of the most depressing years ever but as long as it ended well, its all that matters right? :D

Top 5 best decisions made in the year 2011 that turned the year around:

1. Quit school after winter quarter.

Back then, that decision seemed like 'the end of the world' for I was already behind most of my peers and a one year break would only leave me further behind in the dust. But looking back, honestly, what is a mere few years. If I intended to stay on, I might graduate in time like every other of my peers, but who's to say that would guarantee success? Maybe that year the DAT would be extremely hard. Maybe there would have been a huge influx of aspiring dental students and limited seats. Maybe this and that and the list goes on.

What I do know now, after having to pay back my student loans for the time being, is that I'm glad I quit. Why should I waste so much money on out-of-state fees for the sake of keeping up appearances when I could just patiently wait a year and get the rightful full scholarships I'm entitled to for all the hard work I put in. In fact, looking back, I wished I quit right after Fall. Could have saved me a couple more thousand in debt T_T

Anyways, like my dad said: "In life, it doesn't matter how soon you'll get there. It is about how long you can stay there."

So true.


2. Left Koinonia.

Won't elaborate much on it except the fact that not all things meant for good are good for you. I'm glad it helped many others find a better and happier life and good wishes to them. But leaving all those verbal abuse (which I didn't know was abuse until I left and could see clearly for once) was the best thing ever.

Found DCF and DCA instead where the environment is like what I grew up with all my life. Unconditional love and very family based :)


3. Moved to Davis.

Made the decision to keep the lease in Davis and moved there together with my sister despite not being in school for the moment. A very good decision made after much prayers and it only gets better and better each passing day. Got a steady job there that gave me a taste of living independently and able to help provide for my family back in San Diego too.

The year off from school also meant that I have time to play Martha Stewart and decorate our house as prettily as possible and get to fully enjoy it, unlike my other housemates who are always too busy writing papers to do anything else.

Our place is currently the envy of all our peers and I like it hurhur. Just because we are college students doesn't mean we have to live like one. I have the time and money and by jove, I will make good use of it before I have to resume school.


4. Bought a Kindle.

Because materialistic decisions can sometime turn out to be one of the best too. The world's libraries at my fingertips. So convenient and totally re-kindled (ohhh, no wonder its called kindle. I see it now....) my passion for reading.


5. Bought a PS3.

Something I've been putting off since forever because I never had time for games when I was in school as the effort put into getting straight A's always left me wishing for more time.

But I don't have school now do I! :DDDD

And dang, it really only does everything. Games is only like the tip of the iceberg. How the heck did I manage to live without one for so long I have no idea.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

And there you have it. The ones that I can list off the top of my head. The decisions that were also blessings in disguises and if I were to make a list of blessings, it would take forever. The most important thing I learned was to always trust in God. Yes, yes, I supposedly learned this a few years back but and I probably did but not to this extent. Apparently I had to sink to rock bottom and lose everything to see it or something like that.

But seriously, if you would just let Him take the reigns, especially in your darkest moment where it seemed like He abandoned you which He never did btw, I highly doubt you would regret it. You might not see what good it does you in the beginning but as time goes by, you would see the wisdom in all the transpired events and go 'ahhhh, twas good I listened and obeyed'. I know because that is my life story. I lived it out.

So here's to 2012. A future I cannot predict and have since stop predicting and mapping out coz life can really change without a moment's notice. But what I know is that God is never changing and forever the same and I may not know what the future holds but know that as long as I entrust my future to Him, it will never go wrong :)