With a new month, I am BACK FROM THE DEAD!
So, I finally got over whatever combo of illnesses that were plaguing me last month in October (I have a strong suspicion that the flu that I was afflicted with was the Swine flu. And mono. AT THE SAME TIME D:)
I have just started up my life again with work, and it’s been how I’ve remembered it so far – CRAZY BUSY. That being said, I’m just happy that I’ll be able to make money again (Thank God I still have a job). Unfortunately, because I’ve been gone for a whole month, I won’t be able to get my first paycheck until the end of the month…and I already have a growing list of things that need to be paid off…
However, God has been good to me, and my health has been fully restored. AMEN to that. That’s praiseworthy right there.
I think my coworkers haven’t seen me for a while, or I must have done something right – because they all have said that I’ve gotten slimmer. (One of the perks of being deathly ill, hahah). Also, my body constitution has changed…if I eat really rich or greasy foods, I get physically ill. Which is a good thing, I guess…? It’ll force me to eat healthier. Hurray for forced healthy eating!
Monetary-wise, I need to save up my money for the Spring semester. I looked into my bank account and my spending report, and I nearly had a heart attack. I spend so much money within one month, it’s absolutely ridiculous. Especially on food and little things – it really adds up. I need to pack my food for the rest of November, to spare me the change. Plus, I’m aiming to have 1,200 dollars by January 25th to help pay off the tuition. If I can save at least 440 dollars a month – I’ll be able to meet that goal… Oh man. I really need to plan this carefully. (Especially with Christmas around the corner.) Remember, this is me we’re talking about here – the girl who is horrible with money. I’m trying to better myself. Really.
Anyhow, enough money talk. I’ve recently launched a new personal project, and have once again created another blog for it. It’s called the Creative Collaboration Catalog Project – and it can be viewed here. I’m actually pretty proud of this idea, and it has been getting some good responses so far. I’m hoping that we’ll be able to follow through with it. 
Anyhow, that’s all for now. Take care everyone!
Yes, that’s currently happening to me right now.
I don’t think I’ve really had mono before, and no, I have not kissed anyone to receive this disease. It started on October 2nd, and I found out after I took a trip to the emergency room. (It wasn’t horribly serious, but I was honestly exhausted and suffering at the time – 103.7 temp, classic flu symptoms, etc.)
After they took 5 vials of blood, they did the tests, and the doctor said this: I either have a really severe case of the flu, the swine flu, or mono, or a combination of flu and mono. Beautiful. The temperature went away after 2 days. The lack of appetite stayed though.
In my opinion, mono is more annoying than anything. I have a constant supply of phlegm stuck in my nasal cavity that doesn’t want to go ANYWHERE. Blowing my nose alleviates the irritation, but it quickly fills up again, and it clogs my nose when I try to go to sleep. Also, there are times when I feel close to 75% better, and then suddenly, without warning, I get a wave of nausea and exhaustion, and I feel like just lying down and staying there. The 75% quickly drops to nearly 25% to 15% percent on the wellness scale. And it could be when I’m not doing anything – just standing there, minding my business, and BAM – I feel ill. Severely ill.
Also, waking up is really hard to do. My body feels like it’s been cemented to my bed, and I have to chip myself away from it to get up in the morning.
I suppose the only upside is that I honestly have no appetite whatsoever. I can go the whole day without eating and I’d still feel fine. The only way I can tell if I’m hungry is if my body gets really weak, and then I stuff it with something to make it feel better.
And just this week, I’ve decided to go back to school to catch up with all the work I have to do. I know I’m supposed to rest and whatever, but..I already paid for half of my tuition, and I don’t want to withdraw for the semester. I’m going to try and stick it out.
So, my dear friends, I hope your fortunes are better than mine. Stay well!
So, the first week has come and gone. I’ve survived with a few injuries, but I think the classes are going to be swell. It’s a pity that I was not able to get into that computer art class, but perhaps this is for the best, since I feel that my intro to rendering class is really going to kick my ass, if you pardon the rhyming expression. My character design and illustration class are going to be challenging but tons of fun, and the professor for my History of the Italian Renaissance is a phenomenal lecturer, so I’ll have an awesome time there as well, but…the rendering class is extremely technical. And I really don’t like technical drawing. Oh man.
Monday is Labor day, so I’m planning on hauling my crap to Oceanside again to draw animals! <3 I also have a furlough day the day after, so I should be free. However, another important thing I forgot to mention is that my mom’s birthday is also this Tuesday. Whoops.
I still don’t know what to get her, but I think a good trip to Disneyland is in order .
And speaking of expressions, I believe that I am seriously dyslexic. Or at least slightly impaired when it comes to speaking the English language.
Which is kind of a problem, since it’s my only language.
I have a tendency to mispronounce words. Most of the time I take a stab at it with utmost confidence (and I get pretty close – with hilarious results), but sometimes the words I say are way off the original sound or meaning.
Here’s an actual conversation I had today with my friend Erin.
—–
Me: “I think my favorite memory of our Anatomy class was during midterms. We were all delirious and cracked out, and we had the craziest conversations.”
Erin: “Yeah, but I think you were tired even on normal class days too.”
Me: “True. I always dragged my carcass to class on Friday, late and exhausted. Jamie just didn’t even care anymore, haha. I would get there and then sleep anywhere – the model stand, the closet, or the hallway, and then after 15 minutes, I’d get up and draw. She was so nice, hahah.”
Erin: “I remember that – but didn’t Ashley have a hard time sleeping too?”
Me: “Oh yeah – that poor girl is an insomniac. She said that sometimes she only gets 2 hours of sleep a night. When I last talked to her, she was taking medication that helps her get at least 5 hours of rest.”
Erin: “That’s awful. That poor girl.”
Me: “I know. I’d feel angry if I only got 5 hours of sleep a night. My aunt is like that too – she says that her brain won’t stop working even when she tried to go to bed. And actually, her daughter also suffers from the same thing.”
Erin: “Really? I also had a friend who suffered from the same condition. She mentioned something about her brain not shutting up.”
Me: “Yeah. I guess it must be heretic.”
There was an awkward pause while we were walking. And then I realized what I said.
Me: “I MEAN HEREDITARY!”
We both had a hard time breathing afterward, since we were laughing so hard.
—–
Another thing for me to be happy about: The cost of my art supplies thus far. It has been remarkably cheap this semester, but that is probably because I’ve accumulated so much over the past couple of years. So far, on art supplies alone, I’ve only spent 100 dollars – which is amazing, considering I have three art classes. My books were not that expensive either – only around 100 dollars again (total). So, I’ve been fairly proud of myself.
I’ve also been doing pretty well about not eating out every day. I still splurge on snacks (frozen yogurt has been calling me, and it’s a new store at CSULB called “YoGo! Creations” – very good!), but other than that, I’ve only bought one meal at school. Go me~!
Now, I have to do my homework for all my classes. I have to do 5 thumbnail sketches for an obituary, draw 20 realistic and cartoon hands (so, 40 total), and render a smooth, non-fuzzy, non-reflective, non-mechanical object for my rendering class.
But first, a nap. 
(P.S. In case you didn’t know, somnambulist is a fancy term for an insomniac.)
I ended up giving away the cockatiel. 
It was very hard parting with the bird.
I woke up early and immediately went downstairs to see it, hoping it would be a little more at ease. Unfortunately, it was more frightened than ever before, and pecked me considerably harder than yesterday. Still, I let it perch on my shoulder (it didn’t even wait for me to place it there – it flew onto it and clung so hard, I thought it would rip a hole in my t-shirt).
My mother commanded me to donate it to the pet shop – she was definitely not interested in being the new owner. Sadness and pity filled me, but I knew it would be better this way. We weren’t exactly a pet-friendly family; she would only allow another living being in the house if they don’t smell, don’t make a mess, and are low maintenance. Heck, even I don’t fit those standards (of being clean and not being smelly) and get in a lot of trouble for that.
So, we have a pet fish. And as far as my mom was concerned, that was enough.
I took the cockatiel in it’s giant blue tub in my car. I placed it in the passenger seat, and started to drive out.
It started to freak out considerably. It had no grip in the tub whatsoever, so it was sliding around, and kept on flapping its wings to stay still; on top of that, the water bowl was sloshing around, and whenever I made a turn, the poor bird would sort of slide and thunk, hit the side of the plastic bowl. It was a soft hit, but still uncomfortable, I could tell.
Finally, after 2 minutes of this, I put my hand in the bowl and allowed the bird to sit on my shoulder. It scurried over and sat squarely on my car seat. We drove like this all the way to petco. Some pedestrians saw me and were talking and pointing at the yellow bird perched on my car seat. I was praying that it wouldn’t freak out again and fly across my face while I was driving.
Finally, we made it to Petco. After some convincing (and some more pecking on its part), I put it back on my shoulder again. We walked inside, and I walked straight over to the cockatiel enclosure. It was delighted; it screamed its hello to the other cockatiels. And all the other cockatiels screamed back in unison. This went on for a good minute, until I decided that I couldn’t hear out of my right ear anymore, and walked around the store, with it still perched squarely on my shoulder.
I saw in the corner that there was a Cockatiel starter kit on sale for 50 dollars. I was sorely tempted to buy it and say, “Mom, they wouldn’t take it back. And fancy that – there was this cage on sale, and I just picked one up. You know, for our convenience.” But then that would be lying, and I’m sure I would have to return everything anyway.
Finally, after a call to my sister, I mustered up my guts and walked over the cash register. I explained my situation to the guy.
“Um, this cockatiel was abandoned at the park across from my house, and I was wondering if you guys take pets back.”
The guy looked at me and the bird. I pointed to my right shoulder – the cockatiel was still perched there, alert and charming.
“Yeah, we adopt animals back. Let me call someone over.”
He radioed for one of the staff to come and take a look at the bird. Meanwhile, he took the cockatiel off my shoulder, and it immediately flew to his shoulder.
Another guy walked towards us. He had a green parrot on his shoulder, and my goodness, he had stunning blue eyes. And he was good looking. I was sorta weepy over losing the cockatiel, so it was only after the fact that I realized how good-looking he was.
“Hm, she seems pretty healthy.” He tried to take the cockatiel from the other guys shoulder and got pecked and hissed at. Apparently it liked the taller guy better. And it sure as heck wouldn’t come back to me – I tried to get it off of him earlier, and it scurried away from my hand. Hmph, freaking traitor.
The blue-eyed man took a glove out of his pocket and gently grabbed the cockatiel off the guy’s back (actually, it was now his neck). He examined it closely, and then said, “She’s a healthy bird. Where did you say you found her?”
“Oh, it’s a girl?”
“Yeah. Girls have paler cheek patches than guys.”
“Huh, never knew. Well, my mom saw a woman place the cockatiel in a tree, place food with it, and then drive off. She never came back.” I felt like I should explain myself, since we were technically the ones who rescued it, yet were giving it away. “We can’t take care of the bird, so we were hoping that you could take it back.”
“Sure. We won’t sell it, but we’ll put it up for adoption.” The cockatiel now jumped onto the blue-eyed man’s shoulder, and started to pick a fight with the green parrot for the spot. The poor parrot was a bit bewildered by it, and just sort of nudged away towards the other shoulder.
“You just need to fill out the customer information.”
“Okay.” He handed me a piece of paper. I read the rights, and filled out the info. I had to write my last name twice, because my handwriting was so bad. The part that said “I relinquish all rights I had over this pet and agree to change ownership to Petco” really stuck to me for some reason. I didn’t want to relinquish all my rights over the bird.
After some hesitation, I signed and dated it. I handed the paper back.
He looked over it. “Didn’t name it, huh?”
“We just found it yesterday.”
“Haha, I know.”
I looked at the cockatiel. It was baring its beak at the green parrot, and the green parrot nervously moved away to the other side. “Is this it?”
“Yep.”
I turned around and walked out, my shoulder a little lighter. I called my sister back immediately after the exchange. I told her about the parting – she gave me heartfelt words of comfort.
I’m going to miss that bird.
We have a new addition to the family.
Earlier today, I went to Costco to go purchase some medicines for a Laotian doctor that my family has had the honor of meeting. He is a very quiet, humble man, but my goodness, hearing his story really moved me. You can just tell that this man was a wonderful person, and I felt compelled to donate to his ministry; he gives all that he has, and only receives 50 dollars a month from the Laotian government. His hospital is able to survive somehow, but he really needs to medication like Advil and Aspirin for the poor people that he treats near his house. Yesterday night (well, consider that two nights ago, since it’s technically Friday already), we had dinner with him, my uncle and auntie, and another gentleman named Grant. It was really cool hearing his stories – he used to work for the army intelligence back then, and had to do covert missions in Laos.
Anyhow, after I picked up a couple of bottles of medicine (and olive oil for my mother), I drove back home, with full intention of going somewhere else right afterwards, so that I could run my errands.
When I walked inside, I was greeted with the mercifully cooler air, and my mom. “Come and look at what someone did.”
“What’s up, mom?” I thought she was going to show me something on the computer. It was not a rare thing for her to be watching her Korean Dramas at this time.
However, when I stopped by the computer room, I was dismayed – she wasn’t there. “Mom, where are you?”
She called over from the kitchen: “Over here!”
Oh, I guess she’s using her laptop then. I walked over to the kitchen, placed my stuff on the table, and looked around – I still couldn’t find her.
“Come look here.”
I walked over. She was sitting on the floor, behind the couch, leaning over a blue bin. I was curious as to why she was sitting on the floor, and then I glanced inside the bin.
“Wait- a BIRD?!”
A cute, yellow and grey cockatiel looked back up at me.
“Yeah, some lady abandoned it at the park across the street, and I had to rescue it, because it would die if I didn’t.”
I looked at it again. I was bewildered.
“When did this happen?!”
“Oh, about twenty minutes ago. I saw a woman park her van across the street, and take out a ladder. I was curious, so I stopped and watched her from the window. Then I saw her take a yellow flapping thing out. She saw me, and stared for a long time – and didn’t move. Then she placed bird on the branch, put some seeds at the tree, took her ladder, and drove off. She didn’t come back.”
I was immediately heartbroken.
“That woman is sure ugly inside to do that to her pet.”
“Can we keep it mom?”
“I don’t know. I was thinking of returning it to the pet store.”
“Let’s keep it!”
My mom shrugged and we dropped the matter. She doesn’t really like having pets around the house, I know. I searched online on how to take care of a cockatiel – they didn’t seem to be too hard to take care of. And they live for 15- 20 years! Whoa.
All of my plans for that day came to a crashing halt. I tried very hard to have the bird like me. At first, it pecked the heck out of my finger, and hissed at me, but eventually, it got used to me. I don’t know if he likes me yet, but it has only been the first day – and I don’t think he knows that he was abandoned…
I wonder what will happen next?
In case you were wondering, I honestly did see this sign when we were leaving the park today. I was sorely tempted to buy an ostrich egg, but I don’t think I’d be able to finish it all in one day. So friends, in case you are wondering where you can get fresh ostrich eggs, make your way down to Escondido!
—
I finally made it!!!!
In this hot and bothersome weather, I have just returned from a much anticipated trip to the San Diego Zoo’s Wild Animal Park. And, in my opinion, it was the BEST trip I’ve had in a long while. (And when I say a long while, I really mean it. My social habits are much like the Hobbits in J.R.R. Tolkien’s stories – sure they go out and drink every once in a while, but they usually stay inside their holes, keep to themselves, and don’t pay any attention to the bigger folks out there.)
I have never been to the Wild Animal Park. I’ve been thinking and talking about going there for nearly a month (and even posted it as my facebook and twitter status), but with a 6-day work schedule (and a weekly supervisor meeting scheduled on my only day off), I scarcely had any time to make the trip. I needed the money to buy important things, like new art supplies, half of my tuition (which CSULB already raised twice this year, thanks to the steep budget cuts California has made to the CSU system), gas, food, computer repairs, and, uh…other things. (ahem)
After working every day for the past two and a half months a lot, I started thinking, “Heck, it’s my summer vacation, I need to at least do SOMETHING artistic, and I need to do it soon since it’s already August.” In addition to these thoughts, I had set a couple of self-inflicted art projects that I wanted to finish before my summer vacation was over. The problem was, I haven’t even started on them yet, and the impending start of fall semester was looming over me like a dark cloud.
So, I scheduled my days off. Yesterday was used to rest and recharge. Today was the day that I marked for this trip.
The day started early for me, at 7 o’ clock in the morning. I was so excited that I had trouble sleeping; my dreams were restless and flighty, filled with visions of elephants and antelope. (Yes, it’s pathetic, I know.) Once I heard my alarm rang, I got up and took a shower, packed my sketchbook and pencils, and made breakfast.
I forgot to mention that my mother also decided to accompany me.
When I heard that she wanted to come, I nearly fell over in shock. My mom never wants to go out. And I really mean it – even going out to get groceries is somewhat of a chore. Under rare circumstances will she be adventurous and try something new and different – like, a new fruit, for example (when she does go to the grocery store). Just to clear any misunderstandings, I DO NOT think that she is lazy (Heaven FORBID!). The logic behind this is that if she can make a decent meal without going to the grocery store, she won’t. While this frugality is something that I can definitely learn from, sometimes the results can be slightly dangerous. Case in point: we just had stir-fry with shrimp and imitation crab, a conglomeration of vegetables, and Thai curry and spices. The food was amazing as usual, but the special focus should be made towards the imitation crab. It had been in my aunt’s freezer for SIX YEARS.
I kid you not. I can give you a testimony that yes, those preservatives really do work, and yes, if you freeze your meat, you can surely use it again. When I asked my mom why on Earth is she keeping the imitation crab if it expired back in 2003, she responded lightly, “Well, I was a little worried too, but then I thought – if they can thaw out wooly mammoths and cave men from glaciers and have them still be fresh, I’m sure the crab meat will turn out just the same.” I balked but didn’t say anything, and ate it anyway. It was delicious and I’m still alive, so I guess her theory is a sound one, although I won’t be dining on cave men and wooly mammoths anytime soon.
After eating breakfast (I wolfed down three eggs and two slices of toast), we were finally ready to take off around 9 o clock. My mom stepped outside to get the car started, then quickly walked back inside, shaking her head.
“Hey, it’s so hot outside. I think we need to wear long-sleeved shirts to keep cool.”
I just stared at her. She decided to try and convince me further.
“You know, how those people dress in the desert? Where they are covered from head to toe to protect themselves from the sun’s heat? I think we should do the same.”
I took a glance at what I was wearing. Because I don’t have shorts, I was already wearing jeans. And, to make sure my flat feet can last the day, I was putting on thick socks and my running shoes. My shirt was the only article of clothing that would keep me cool today, and that was in danger of being replaced. “No thank you.”
“Well, I’m going to go change. It’s too hot to leave your body unprotected from the heat”.
I stayed quiet while I waited for her on the stairs. I knew she was right, but there was no way I was going to don on a long-sleeved shirt in this kind of weather. After a few minutes, she came back downstairs, carrying a light button up. “Just in case,” she replied. I nodded, hiding my laughter, and we finally left the house.
My lack of exposure to the sun and morning sky made me into a chattering idiot while driving down the 5 freeway. I kept on commenting on how beautiful the weather was (while a mask of grey smog lined the horizon), how blue the sky was, how marvelous the clouds were (there were only three), and goodness, will you look at the Ocean?! My mother just sort of looked at me with pity, and said, “You must have really needed this day off.”
The air was cool near the ocean, but once we hit the 78 freeway, we headed towards Escondido. I’m not too sure if it’s in a valley, but it was dreadfully hot. The long sleeve shirt was obviously a very bad idea, so my mom left it in the car. There was a HUGE hill we had to walk in order to get to the entrance. We were both stunned at how hot it was; I saw some people walking on the street with their umbrellas, and I thought: “Wow, they’re smart. I wish I had a pink umbrella too.” But then I realized that it would get in the way, since I wanted to draw at the same time. So, I opted for the next best thing:
I made sure I had all the important parts covered.
This hat was like an umbrella on my head. It was an absolutely beautiful discovery; I’ve already lamented on this blog about how I have a large head, so I usually cannot wear hats, but geniuses at this facility realized that there were people who possessed fat skulls and provided the appropriate sizes. I was extremely pleased. And honestly, I know it looks dorky, but I was desperate.
The first thing you can do when you walk inside the park is to go into the African Aviary. They have this huge tent set up made with nets, and when you walk inside, there are literally birds EVERYWHERE.
Note the impressive trail of bird poo lining the rocks.
Beautiful birds. They didn't mind us one bit.
Some of them were so used to people that they would walk right up to you and stare, then dawdle off to do some other business they had to attend to.
This guy walked right up to me, sized me up, and then walked away. I've never disappointed a bird before.
Anyhow, we walked down the Kilimanjaro Path, and came across some more beautiful birds.
They were all flapping their necks. I think because it was so hot.
They smelled awful, but it was fun to look at them all the same. I was able to get some pretty good sketches, but I felt bad for my mom who had to wait in the stench, so I moved on quickly. We walked all the way to the southern part of the park. It was really neat to see all the different types of wildlife interacting inside really big enclosures. Sometimes they were really far, but other times, you can see them RIGHT UP to the glass, like the lions in the Lion Camp exhibit.
I know it's a bad shot, but you can see how close this guy was to the glass. And in the reflection, the amount of people clamoring for his attention.
I have always loved looking at the big cats. They’re really fun to draw! They have the most amusing expressions, even while they’re sleeping (which is what they do most of the time). Another really fun thing about going to see the big cats is to hear the reactions. I don’t really understand why parents find it necessary to point out if it’s a male or female, but without fail, I hear it every time I go to the zoo.
Here’s the general gist of the conversation:
“Mommy! Look at the cat! She’s sleeping – she’s so big!”
“No honey, that’s a boy cat.”
“How can you tell mommy?”
“By the architecture down there. My, it’s certainly big.”
“What’s big? What architecture?”
“It’s nothing, sweetie. Come on, it’s time to move on.”
And so forth. Sometimes the husbands are egging their wives to move on while rolling their eyes.
Anyhow, after the African Lion exhibit, my mom and I went on the Journey into Africa tour. It’s a shuttle ride that travels around their largest enclosure; it was neat to see how many animals they could pack into one place.
Dunno what these guys are called, but they had plenty of them.
Giraffes feeding!
A shot from the shuttle we took
The extremely rare north african white rhinocerus. They say there's only 7 in captivity, and they cannot find any in the wild.
The highlight of the tour was at the end, when we saw a trainer with three cheetahs.
A trainer is demonstrating the feeding time for the cheetahs she's in charge of. It was pretty neat, because she threw a piece of meat to have a cheetah face towards us at the end.
By the time the tour was finished, we were both pretty tired from the heat and the amount of walking we had to do. After a short detour at the Elephant viewing patio, we went through the Tembo Stadium and into a restaurant called the “Mombasa Island Cooker”. I wasn’t really expecting much, since I knew zoo food was bound to be expensive, but it was pretty decent. My mom was simply happy with the fact they that they had an Asian menu with rice. When we sat down to eat outside, these two ducks started to inquire about our meal.
This guy liked my mom the most.
Clearly, none of the park guests have obeyed the “Do not feed the Animals” sign, but when you see them doing this:
Isn't this hilarious?
You cannot but help and be charmed.
It was pretty neat too, since we were eating on a patio, we had a kingfisher sit right next to us, and in the middle of the pond, there were a variety of exotic birds there for our viewing pleasure. The smell wasn’t as bad as the other place, but they did have these scarily huge gray birds there that looked like something out of the Land before time. I think they were nearly three feet tall.
He was spying on us too.
I should also mention that, thanks to my Mom, I got a healthy appreciation of the various exotic plants that they had growing there. My mom knows them especially well, since she grew up around them in Cambodia, and made sure to point out if they were edible or not. I say this with utmost seriousness: she pointed out the plants she used to harvest and eat the entire time we were walking throughout the park. Even while we were eating our meal, she turned and stared at the vine growing on the patio and said, “I bet we could steam that and eat it with jeaw.” (Dear relatives, I know I really butchered the spelling on that one, so please bear with me. To everyone else who doesn’t know, it’s hardcore traditional food – something equivalent to meatsauce – and it’s usually eaten with plenty of vegetables).
Just to clarify, this plant is not one of the vegetables she used to eat back in Cambodia.
Anyhow, after we finished our meal, we went all the way back up north and visited the Epiphylium house (it had rows upon rows of hanging plants), and the Bonsai garden (they even bonsai’d a grape vine. I was really tempted to eat the grapes). We walked up another hill to see if we could go see the Elephants, found we were going the wrong way, and finally arrived near the Elephant enclosure.
An elephant doing her thing.
It was a good thing that we arrived when we did, because the trainer’s were just starting to feed the elephants with treats. One particular elephant had a huge fondness for these tiny pellets, and was poking around the platform for them.
My love of the movie Dumbo came flooding back.
So cute! Gosh, I love elephants
We stayed there for a long while, and then went over to Condor Ridge. We saw parts of Dino Mountain, a Thick-billed Parrot and a roadrunner who wouldn’t shut up, a porcupine, a burrowing owl, two Bald Eagles, a western Harris hawk, desert bighorn sheep, and finally, the condors.
You know, I think this is the 5th place that I’ve seen condors get a flashy campaign. They have one at Monterey Bay, at the Orange County zoo, the L.A. Zoo, and oddly enough, one at Disney’s California Adventure. Conservationalists always emphasize the fact that the California condor was almost completely wiped out from the California coastline, but thanks to protection and effective breeding programs, they have made a recovery. They put up these interesting facts about them, make a sculpture to see how big their wingspans are, and want people to appreciate the fact that we saved them from our own stupidity from nearly wiping out one of God’s creations from the face of the Earth. Now I mean no disrespect to any of the aforementioned subjects, but my goodness, condors are ugly. I really can’t find anything cute about them. They have these large, hulking bodies covered with black feathers, fleshy pink bald heads, and these awful screeching noises that make your blood run cold. They’re nature’s grim reapers, and they need all the help they can get for their public image. I think that’s why they’re emphasized so much, to force people to like them. The bald eagle is endangered too, but you don’t need all the flashy gimmicks to make people like them because they’re really cool to look at. (Being the Nation’s bird helps too).
(I didn’t even draw nor take a picture of it, it was so ugly. Sorry.)
By 4 o’ clock, my mom and I were exhausted. The heat was getting to be too much, and the trekking up and down the hills was sapping the last of our strength. In desperation, I bought a bottle of Powerade for $3.25, and reasoned that since this place was a non-profit organization, it’s okay to charge an obscene price for 20 ounces of flavored water.
Our last stop was the Sumatran Tigers exhibit. When we came across the path, I was sorely tempted to turn around and go home, because this was a steep pathway. It even says so on the map – it’s labeled “steep slope” in curving red letters. The sign beforehand said, “Warning: this path is not suitable for motorized vehicles or wheelchairs. Please use caution when traveling.” They should have added “This path is not suitable for people either”, but I went down it anyway. I imagined that if anyone in a wheelchair would dare take this path, they’d have the time of their lives. They’d go flying down faster than you can say “Sumatra” – but would end up crashing into the fence and bamboo at the end of the slope and go flying into the tiger exhibit. I guess that’s why they also had these signs: “Warning! These animals will bite!”.
This last exhibit was slightly disappointing. I could only spot one tiger from far away, and the other two cubs were yet to be seen. The only really interesting thing to see was the bloody gnawed up ox bone that was sitting on top of a table. I think even the tigers were disappointed with life too. Apparently, they were 21st, 22nd, and 23rd tigers to be bred in captivity at the park, and boy, did they look it. We stayed there for a brief moment and decided to go back home.
After climbing back up the steep slope, my mom and I were both so winded that we both had to take a rest at the top of the hill. In a zombie-like trance, we stumbled back to the car and drove back home. I was tired, but still in awe of what we had experienced.
My awe quickly wore off, though, when I realized how tired I was. I was sleepy as heck, and halfway through the trip back, I had to stop and get coffee, or else I’d be careening all over the 5 freeway. After getting what I call my “Final’s Survivor” Drink (An Iced Venti Starbucks Doubleshot – comes with 5 espresso shots), we made it home safely.
All in all, it was a really epic day, and I”m really glad that I survived it .
Good news! I have been successful in saving up a grand for tuition, right before the deadline for my payment. I know a grand isn’t actually a lot, but given my past record, this is certainly worth celebrating. I also feel a bit proud, considering that I had to survive through two birthdays and father’s day, (and I usually like to go out on those sort of things). Now, I’m going to stay on track with my spending and move onto my new goal – losing weight. Well, it’s an old goal, but still. This time, I want to be more specific – I want to get down two sizes before I turn 23. It’s a lot, but…I think I can do it.
And speaking of Father’s Day, I have to say that there is nothing more satisfying than shooting at targets a good 35 feet away with a 5 1/2 foot blowgun, handcrafted by my dad. It was the best fun that I’ve had in ages.
I was contemplating putting a more simpler title, such as “The Aftermath of 2 weeks of Hell”, but then I figured that I needed to lighten up a little.
I somehow made it through finals, and I am finally embracing summer vacation by working full time. If things go well, I’ll be able to save up to a thousand by the end of this month.
Let me backtrack a bit – I have really, really, REALLY horrible spending habits. Case in point: in the month of May alone, I spent around 300 dollars on food. IN ONE MONTH. I mean, that’s freaking ridiculous, considering that I only get minimum wage. And that doesn’t even cover the other stuff I spent it on (although, when I look at it in retrospect, I spent it all on necessary things for school). Now, my goal is that I want to at least save a thousand by the end of this month so that I can ease the burden of my tuition on my parents. I know I’ve proclaimed my goals before and I’ve fallen short of them (running anyone?); but I still want to try.
So, that’s my short term goal – get a grand, and then see it disappear. Well, that’s life I suppose.
On another note, I’ve started a project with my sister, that I’m really excited about. I’m a bit concerned about my capabilities to illustrate it, but I have been practicing with my color usage. I foresee a lot of experiments. (I really envy people who can use color well…)
This entry is short today. I’m tired.
Currently, I’m listening to an awesome song called “Girls on the Dance Floor” by Far East Movement. It’s a total club bumper, but I AM LOVING IT RIGHT NOW. BWHAHAH – and, I love the fact that it’s made by Asians. GO ASIANS!
Anyhow, the last month is here, and its officially crunch time. I don’t realy know how I’m going to fare, but I hope I make it out alive somehow. I still have to do a life-sized self portrait for my anatomy class, a poster for my typography class, get a bunch of beeper motors for my 3-d class, research for my asian studies class, and perform a skit for my Japanese class. Wow.
Ah, the most annoying thing happened to me on Monday. My partner decided to be an irresponsible bastard and gave me the script for the skit at the last minute, even though I told that I would work on it with him, and checked on him several times. (He offered to do it on his own the first time around, and although I told him I’d rather work on it together, he insisted.) I had to memorize the skit…WHILE I WAS DRIVING TO CLASS. I was about to scream – I kept on asking him to send it to me earlier so that we could rehearse, but he apparently had more important things to do.
It was a horrible experience, and he got screwed over in the end, but it was still really infuriating.
Anyhow, that’s done and past, so it’s okay.
It is now officially my birthday month!
Which is great and joyous in all retrospects, but I can’t help but feel the sinking weight of time. It seems like being 21 makes you ageless and fearless for a year, and then 22 is the sobering aftermath. Now that the number is nearing by in three weeks, I feel like a sack of bones. I understand that this is extremely immature for me to say, since I will only be turning 22, but those are my honest thoughts. (Heaven forbid when I look back on this post. I’m sure I’ll be laughing at my current mentality.)
Looking at 21 in retrospect, it has been pretty hyperactive. In all honesty, I haven’t really spoilt my liver in partaking the unwritten rule of “being legal” since I’ve only touched alcohol on a handful of occasions (and I can count those on one hand); instead, my emotions are the ones that have been going through radical changes. People who know me should already know what I’m talking about, but for the sake of brevity, I’ll mention these things: October, my two encounters with infatuation, and the humbling conclusions. That’s all I’ll mention about those episodes, but it has been really…um, educational. Probably the most unromantic description ever, but I’ll leave it be.
Today, while walking through campus, suffering with an unparalleled fatigue that I have ever experienced, I thought about two things:
Wow, I’m really tired.
and
The campus is a lot brighter than I remember.
The last thought struck me particularly hard, since it affected my physicality. Here’s why, in brief:
I have a large head.
Because of this, it is very difficult for me to find sunglasses that can fit around my cranium, let alone make me look decent. My latest pair of sunglasses cost me a whopping 350 dollars, and even still, they don’t fit my head that well, but my vanity declared them the right pair for me. As a result, I usually only wear them while driving, but I am uncomfortable walking around campus with them, since they will give me a headache (and I’m also notorious for losing things, so I put them away quickly.) However, with spring break come and gone at CSULB, there have been a few changes to the campus. A welcoming change is that the smaller trees are in full bloom with pink, carnation-like flowers that cling onto the bare branches like beautiful flames. A not-so-welcoming change is that the larger trees have been aggressively trimmed, allowing more sunlight to permeate down to the student masses below. While I’m not entirely against a brighter world, it is a bit of a strain on my eyes, which forces me to choose between two discomforts – do I wear the sunglasses and live through the headache, or do I put them away and go to my classes haphazardly, squinting my eyes so much that I’m practically walking with my eyes closed?
I chose the first option.
Another thing that I was doing while I was walking was mentally writing out this blog. Honestly, I was imagining a more happy, less caustic tone about spring, but it sort of spilled out this way. I think it’s influenced by the influx of caffeine that I had earlier to keep me awake, and the fact that I’m sitting through a research demonstration by a librarian who sounds like she’s ready to punch babies.
I hope you all have a wonderful day. I will try to do the same.
heliodus