i need a dollar, a dollar is all i need.. or 21 cents?

Photos of the week!

It rained over the past week, and as I was walking back to my humble abode, I was lucky enough to have my camera with me when I saw these leaves with rain droplets on them. 

A vegan masterpiece. My roommate got a little creative when she brought home a packet of triple layered Oreos and mint single layered Oreos. And yes, Oreos are vegan.

Some nights when I'm walking home from the library or other parts of campus, the moon looks simply captivating. I tried to capture it in this photo. It didn't turn out too well, and it also gave me a double of the moon, but hey whatever. Here it is.

And an update in the life of meadow on a ledge...

I looked up the balance in my bank account today. And what did I find..? Once I make my tuition payment tomorrow, I will have exactly $0.79 in my checking account, and a little over $10.00 in my savings. I saw this.. and laughed. Funny thing is, I am not freaking out too much. My next paycheck is in a week; let's see if I can make it until then without shopping. 

I was just reminded of this song by Aloe Blacc - I need a dollar.

I need a dollar dollar, a dollar is what I need

hey hey

Well I need a dollar dollar, a dollar is what I need

hey hey

And I said I need dollar dollar, a dollar is what I need

And if I share with you my story would you share your dollar with me

Bad times are comin and I reap what I don't sow

hey hey

Well let me tell you somthin all that glitters ain't gold

hey hey

It's been a long old trouble long old troublesome road

And I'm looking for somebody come and help me carry this load

Bridge:

I need a dollar dollar, a dollar is what I need

hey hey

Well I need a dollar dollar, a dollar is what I need

Well I don't know if I'm walking on solid ground

Cause everything around me is falling down

And all I want - is for someone - to help me

I had a job but the boss man let me go

He said

I'm sorry but I won't be needing your help no more

I said

Please mister boss man I need this job more than you know

But he gave me my last paycheck and he sent me on out the door

Bridge:

Well I need a dollar dollar, a dollar is what I need

hey hey

Said I need a dollar dollar, a dollar is what I need

hey hey

And I need a dollar dollar, a dollar is what I need

And if I share with you my story would you share your dollar with me

Well i don't know if i'm walking on solid ground

Cause everything around me is crumbling down

And all I want is for someone to help me

What in the world am I gonna to do tomorrow

is there someone whose dollar that I can borrow

Who can help me take away my sorrow

Maybe its inside the bottle

Maybe its inside the bottle

I had some good old buddy his names is whiskey and wine

hey hey

And for my good old buddy i spent my last dime

hey hey

My wine is good to me it helps me pass the time

and my good old buddy whiskey keeps me warmer than the sunshine

Hey Hey

Your mama may have, bless the child that's got his own

Hey Hey

if god has plans for me i hope it aint - written in stone

Hey Hey

because i've been working working myself down to the bone

and i swear on grandpas grave I'll be paid when i come home

Hey Hey

Bridge:

Well I need a dollar dollar, a dollar is what I need

hey hey

Said need a dollar dollar, a dollar is what I need

hey hey

Well I need a dollar dollar, a dollar is what I need hey hey

And if I share with you my story would you share your dollar with me

come on share your dollar with me

go ahead share your dollar with me

come on share your dollar give me your dollar

share your dollar with me

So.. I needs 21 cents, 21 cents is all I need!

This past weekend was 4-day!! It is part of the Whitman students' vocabulary, which is our mid-semester break. For some of us, it is a four day weekend, and for others, it is a five or six day weekend depending on our class schedule. For me, it meant a four day weekend filled with relaxation and friends. :)

This weekend was absolute bliss, and I wish it was longer. Don't we all? It was awesome, all the things that I was able to accomplish during this weekend. I was able to hang out with friends, watch a ton of movies and tv shows, walk downtown, make several kites for my theta babies, relax, work at my jobs without stress, work on my china and ra applications, and simply just live in the moment! So... when is my next vacation?

Mom, I'm not so sure how you are going to take this if you're reading my blog, but as of Sunday, October 9, 2011, I am going to try a vegan diet. That Sunday was my first anniversary of being vegetarian, and coincidentally I watched a movie, Forks Over Knives, that day which inspired me to take it to the next level. Both of my roommates are vegan, so I pretty much eat vegan anyway. We will see how the diet goes, and I will make sure I get protein from legumes and grains. While I am home, I'll eat whatever you eat and/or make; this is just when I am away and cooking for myself. 

The China application is due tomorrow, and the RA application is due on Friday! Once they are turned in, I will just have to pray and hope for the best!

photo of the week & updates in the life of meadow on the ledge

I have decided that I would like to post at least one photo on my blog a week. It may be a photo of something that caught my eye, or it may just be silly. Regardless, I hope to share at least one picture a week with you all.


And so, here are the photos of the week!

I took this shot while I was sitting on a rock that jutted out from the stream of water. It was so peaceful to  be out there, with water surrounding all sides of me. The sound of rushing water completely filled my head and brought such a sense of calmness into my body. For this photo, I was messing with the shutterspeed, and this is what I got without using a tripod.

I have a foot fetish when it comes to taking pictures of my or other people's feet. I don't know why, but I have such a fascination with them. Maybe it's because they have been so many places and have taken you to so many paces. Well, this is a photo of my feet while I was sitting on the rock in the middle of the stream. My feet were really dirty from having gotten back on a short hike up a hill. You can still see some of the dirt in between the lines of my skin. This picture reminds me of the story of Jesus cleaning his disciples feet with such humility and love.

Now is a little update on my life here in Walla Walla.

The weather has finally changed and it is currently raining right now. Up until now, the weather has been beautiful, with the sun shining and the air warm. And with the weather change, I have caught a nasty cold. My head is all congested, I have a headache, I can't really breathe, and I can't really hear; but my sore throat is finally gone. I just made a trip to the store and bough myself an endless supply of tea, soup, and vitamin-c. They all sound so wonderful to me right now. Unfortunately, I have a huge organic chemistry exam tomorrow night and it is hard for my to concentrate when I can't exactly breathe through my nose and have a headache. Anyway, once the exam is done and over with and I finish lab at 4 on friday, I have a wonderful 4-day weekend that I have been looking forward to for so long! 

Besides being sick, I am a mode of "zen", as my friends put it. It feels so good to not be too stressed about anything and knowing that everything is taken care of. This past weekend I went to an Intervarsity conference with my school's Whitman Christian Fellowship group. Though I had 3 exams to study for that weekend, I would have to say that it was probably one of the greatest things I've done at Whitman so far. For the past year or so, I've felt sort of lost without a strong community to support me and my faith. Over the weekend, that is something I found, a sense of community, which I believe is so so important for helping my faith grow. I even wrote an Encounter's paper last year talking about the importance of community in order to live in the novel Beloved. For that, this weekend was so so good. Through some talks and self-reflection, I've also come to a few self-revelations that I won't bore you with. I am still struggling and trying to survive each day at a time, but for the opportunity that I was given to go to the conference and get away from campus for a weekend has been such a blessing for me.

And for some other big things in my life, I'm applying to be an RA for the next two semesters. I will be graduating an semester early, in Dec. 2013, and I will not be studying abroad. I am, however, applying to the spring break silk roads trip to China this spring!

And now, it is time to sniffle and study some organic chemistry :)

sleep is precious

One thing that I have learned over the past few weeks is that sleep is truly precious. And so is coffee. 

I also have a few photos to share!

Right outside of Coho are planted sunflowers from the Asteraceae family! I was lucky to get a picture of them when the bees were most attractive to them. Look at all that pollen on its body!

I am just so impressed by the sunsets we see outside of our window that I wanted to share it with you. The sunset truly is pretty. And it definitely adds to the beauty of the Travelodge and the Conoco gas station.

I took this for one of my photography assignments manipulating aperture.

Theta love.

The sophomore class.

And, the incoming freshman (with some sophomores) class! They are awesome and I am so glad they are all in Theta. For the past two weeks we have been recruiting the incoming class, and it has been a busy yet exciting process.

It has been a long week, and I am so looking forward to just relaxing this weekend with me and my homewooooork. 

back to the land of walla walla sweet onions

It is so good to be back in Walla Walla! It is hot, it is sweaty, and it is full of college students and friends. I arrived on Friday around 2PM at smallest airport I've ever been to in Walla Walla. As I was flying over Washington, it was beautiful to watch the landscape change from ocean to lakes to mountains and then to gregarious amount of wheat and agricultural fields on the east side of Washington. The wheat fields were one of the most amazing sights I've seen, as the tractors, from rolling over the fields, etched such intricate designs seen from above into the fields.

After arriving in the airport, the next many many hours were spent transporting my belongings from 3 different places into my new room. And it wasn't just a few boxes. However, with a dolly and the help of my roommate, I got it all into my room, which left the room a mess of boxes and luggage everywhere. it is still not all cleared out and unpacked yet.

I love where I am living, in an on campus housing called College House. It is a large white stucco building with apartment style rooms. There is a kitchen, a bathroom, a living room, and one bedroom. It is a triple, and so far how we have it set up is that the three of us are sleeping in one room and have our desks in the other. I love that I can cook for myself when I want and what I want. It has made me realize how much you really do not need to eat. I no longer have to eat at 11:30AM and 5:30PM on the dot to secure a spot at the dining hall and get good food relatively quickly. Not having to do that, has made being here just that much better. I love that I don't have to wear shower shoes in the shower anymore.

The downside to living here, however, is that since I am in a corner room, there are streets on two sides of the building, just outside of our windows. So, the traffic noise is not the greatest, but its not so bad.

Anyhow, school starts tomorrow. I cannot believe it, and I cannot believe how fast the some has gone by, once again. I say that every summer, but it just gets faster and faster the older I get. My schedule is not quite complete yet, so I'm a little uneasy about that, but hopefully it will all get figured out soon. I already had calc II homework, and I already cannot do it. I'm a bit nervous about that, as it has been a while since I've done calculus.

I've taken pictures of my room to show to my family and friends what my new home is like! Welcome to my humble abode.

 This is, obviously, my door. I'm living with two of my best friends, whose names are on the door.

As you walk in, to the left is the bathroom. It even has a tub! What luxury.

I've finally finished decorating my study space. I am missing my painting in Sweden because it is in a MIA box in the mail. Hopefully it will arrive soon. 

The kitchen is through the doorway on the left. The living room is where my desk is.

This is out living room! Boxes are stilling being unpacked and everything. It won't be this messy, I promise. Soon, it will be spotless. 

Opposite of the bathroom is our room! We've managed to fit three dressers and three beds in it. I'm on the top bunk for now, and we'll rotate every so often to make it fair. I got it first, as I'm already used to being on the top bunk this summer for 3 months.

This is the kitchen. It came with a table and three chairs. We've added an extra for company. In case you were wondering, that is a Martinelli's bottle.

This is our overly stocked kitchen. We pretty much have everything and can make anything you could ever want with the appliances we have.

And finally, I'd like to end with this picture. Last night we cooked our first meal together.  For the dinner, we picked some greens at our school's organic garden and steamed it. Apparently, we didn't catch this little guy, so sadly got steamed in the process. My friend surprisingly discovered it on her dinner plate. 

wishes and goodbyes

If I were on a grand adventure walking along Crystal Cove and I peered inside one of the nooks in the cliff to find a magical lamp sticking out of the sand, I would rub it and get a single wish from a magical genie. You know what I would wish for? I would wish that my family could come visit me up in Walla Walla. They are the one thing that I really miss when I am at school there. Well, them and also Asian food. But, really. I love coming home, not because it is Irvine (because let me tell you, there is not much here but shopping shopping and more shopping), but because my family is here.

As much as she may not believe it, I am going to miss this goofball. 

Last year I had thought that going up to school in Washington wouldn't be so difficult, and really it wasn't. I transitioned very easily, made friends, and had a great time. Freshman year, I came up by myself with 3 huge bags on the airplane and that was it. I was completely fine and happy to finally be there, but as I saw everyone's family moving them into their dorms, getting a tour of the school, and saying goodbye, there was a little part of me that wished my family was there, too. Someday, they will finally see my new world and it will be extra special.


Anyway, life moves on and I am all packed and ready to leave tomorrow morning on the plane at 8am. I have one layover and should be arriving around 2pm. Am I excited? Yes. Am I nervous? Yes. Life is just so different there than it is at home. And when I am back on campus, I will be running around to a million places picking up keys, packages, my bikes, several boxes from storage, and of course my babies, my plants.


Well, as for my last day in Irvine, I am really enjoying spending my last hours with my fammmmmblyy. We went lap swimming and shopping for Asian food to bring with me. Now we are baking some treats. And later we will be having spring rolls for dinner and making my last trip to Yogurtland! And to top the night off, we'll be watching my favorite movie and book, The Lord of the Rings. :))))))


Goodbye Irvine, for now. I'll see you again soon.

the big harvest.

I have a week left of summer vacation. How bittersweet it is.

Last weekend, my little brother and I spent the weekend with my grandparents. Visiting them is always so precious and I always have a great time. My time was spent mostly relaxing, but also just enjoying their company. Also, my grandma makes the best food. On the downside, I gain probably 10 pounds because we are fed so much, but its all from love. 

A while back, my older brother who traveled from farm to farm in Canada, started a vegetable garden in my grandparent's backyard. And now, being summer, it was harvest time! What happened to a lot of the vegetables was that he had planted so many seeds that the density of the growing vegetables was too high, making many very small vegetables. Anyhow, we were able to harvest some very small, unproductive corn, many great fat carrots, a bit of broccoli, lots of red potatoes, some unripe green tomatoes (which we were hoping to fry), and lot of small beets. It was so much fun working out in the garden, and I really loved it. If I ever live in a house of my own, that is one thing I will have. Gardens are also fantastic, as you are sustaining your own food supply right from your very own ground. Sometimes I dream of living on a completely self sustainable farm.

Some of the large and fat harvested carrots! Success!

Harvested, washed, and cut.

My grandma found this before I came to visit, but it was growing in the garden! It's a giannnnt zucchini! I feel like you could put two eyes and a mouth in it and call it Larry (I know he is a cucumber, but Larry looks good as a zucchini too),

The next day after our harvest,  we took a trip to the L.A. National History Museum right by USC. It was a great museum and I always love seeing animals and insects, even though many were stuffed. 

A butterfly in the museum's new butterfly sanctuary.

DINOSAAAAAURS! This was the museum's newest exhibit that just opened in mid-July that attracted many of the visitors. It was an exhibit dedicated to the dinosaurs. I have decided that my favorite dinosaur is the triceratops or one that lives in the water.

Now, this is for all you biology nerds. I thought that this was really entertaining. The latin name is Gorilla gorilla gorilla. So, the genus is Gorilla and the species is gorilla gorilla. 

We happened to be in LA on the same day of the 3rd annual Tanabata Festival in Japanese Town. The whole festival was just such a great experience. Unfortunately we couldn't stay for the parade that was in the evening, but I certainly got a taste of the festival. Many people were raising money for the earthquake/tsunami victims of Japan. There were people dressed as samurais and warriors, anime characters of all kinds, cute characters, and there were also people dressed in the traditional kimono. It was cool being there, knowing that I am Japanese and that I do have an ancestral connection to this heritage and culture. Almost everything about the Japanese culture fascinates me. And of course the food is amazing.

People write wishes on pieces of paper and tie them to bamboo. During a certain time, (this festival perhaps?) the bamboo is burned, which burns the wishes with it. When this happen, it is thought that the wishes will all come true.

Some of the funniest ones were about getting boyfriends or getting someone to like them and silly things like that. Others were quite serious and very meaningful.

Don't you just want to hug him to death?

Characters asking for donations. I like the guy on the right the best.

And so, after my time with my grandparents I came back home. My older brother and his girlfriend came down from Berkeley the next day, and so my family has been spending time with him. 

Today, I dropped off my three boxes I am shipping to Whitman at the post office! And I am getting all ready to go!

And so, my adventures continue into the last week that I am here. Tomorrow, I go visit my other grandma for lunch and then I'm going to see the movie The Help with her. Saturday, sadly, is a funeral for my papa's cousin who recently passed away from cancer that had infected her liver. It is very sad, as she was very young and left behind a young daughter. I never liked funerals, but it is a part of life. Tuesday, my best friend is coming home from Germany and I will spend the day with her! I am sooo looking forward to it. And that is all for my plans so far. Hopefully I will make it to the beach before I leave. 

eighteen days.

I haven't written in a while, as there hasn't been too much to write about in my very adventurous life in Irvine. As for my summer to-do list, I can check off most of the things I set out to do. It has been quite a productive summer; you can accomplish quite a lot when you're not doing anything else. I've read, painted, made kubb, scrapbooked my time in Europe, watched countless hours of television, sold things on amazon and ebay, cleaned, babysat, and taught swim lessons. This is how I keep myself entertained, alongside thinking about my life and other pointless things. But it's about time; I am very ready to go back to Walla Walla.

I have 18 days left until I leave. Though I am excited to go back, I also want to savor what I have left of my relaxation in California. There will probably never be another time when I will be as relaxed and duty-free as I am now. These days will be filled with swim lessons, babysitting, reading, netflix, camping (hopefully) and hiking, a visit to my grandparents, dinner with my grandma, and lots of family time.