remember always.

1. Don’t try to read other people’s minds. Don’t make other people try to read yours. Communicate.
2. Be polite, but don’t try to be friends with everyone around you. Instead, spend time nurturing your relationships with the people who matter most to you.
3. Your health is your life, keep up with it. Get an annual physical check-up.
4. Live below your means. Don’t buy stuff you don’t need. Always sleep on big purchases. Create a budget and savings plan and stick to both of them.
5. Get enough sleep every night. An exhausted mind is rarely productive.
6. Get up 30 minutes earlier so you don’t have to rush around like a mad man. That 30 minutes will help you avoid speeding tickets, tardiness, and other unnecessary headaches.
7. Get off your high horse, talk it out, shake hands or hug, and move on.
8. Don’t waste your time on jealously. The only person you’re competing against is yourself.
9. Surround yourself with people who fill your gaps. Let them do the stuff they’re better at so you can do the stuff you’re better at.
10. Organize your living space and working space.
11. Get rid of stuff you don’t use.
12. Ask someone if you aren’t sure.
13. Spend a little time now learning a time-saving trick or shortcut that you can use over and over again in the future.
14. Don’t try to please everyone. Just do what you know is right.
15. Don’t drink alcohol or consume recreational drugs when you’re mad or sad. Take a jog instead.
16. Be sure to pay your bills on time.
17. Fill up your gas tank on the way home, not in the morning when you’re in a hurry.
18. Use technology to automate tasks.
19. Handle important two-minute tasks immediately.
20. Relocate closer to your place of employment.
21. Don’t steal.
22. Always be honest with yourself and others.
23. Say “I love you” to your loved ones as often as possible.
24. Single-task. Do one thing at a time and give it all you got.
25. Finish one project before you start another.
26. Be yourself.
27. When traveling, pack light. Don’t bring it unless you absolutely must.
28. Clean up after yourself. Don’t put it off until later.
29. Learn to cook, and cook.
30. Make a weekly (healthy) menu, and shop for only the items you need.
31. Consider buying and cooking food in bulk. If you make a large portion of something on Sunday, you can eat leftovers several times during the week without spending more time cooking.
32. Stay out of other people’s drama. And don’t needlessly create your own.
33. Buy things with cash.
34. Maintain your car, home, and other personal belongings you rely on.
35. Smile often, even to complete strangers.
36. If you hate doing it, stop it.
37. Treat everyone with the same level of respect you would give to your grandfather and the same level of patience you would have with your baby brother.
38. Apologize when you should.
39. Write things down.
40. Be curious. Don’t be scared to learn something new.
41. Explore new ideas and opportunities often.
42. Don’t be shy. Network with people. Meet new people.
43. Don’t worry too much about what other people think about you.
44. Spend time with nice people who are smart, driven, and likeminded.
45. Don’t text and drive. Don’t drink and drive.
46. Drink water when you’re thirsty.
47. Don’t eat when you’re bored. Eat when you’re hungry.
48. Exercise every day. Simply take a long, relaxing walk.
49. Let go of things you can’t change. Concentrate on things you can.
50. Find hard work you actually enjoy doing.
51. Realize that the harder you work, the luckier you will become.
52. Follow your heart. Don’t waste your life fulfilling someone else’s dreams and desires.
53. Set priorities for yourself and act accordingly.
54. Take it slow and add up all your small victories.
55. However good or bad a situation is now, it will change. Accept this simple fact.
56. Excel at what you do. Otherwise you’ll just frustrate yourself.
57. Mature, but don’t grow up too fast.
58. Realize that you’re never quite as right as you think you are.
59. Build something or do something that makes you proud.
60. Make mistakes, learn from them, laugh about them, and move along.

the perfect life?

at this very moment, life is perfect. i don't think i could have asked for a more perfect schedule. i currently have wednesdays and saturdays off. and while it is hard to fit in weekend trips, when i don't need the full weekend to do things i love having a day off in the middle of the week and on the weekend. i usually get bored by the second consecutive day off so this schedule is perfect for me right now. and typically, by wednesday i'm completely over seeing my co-workers.

today as usual, i've done everything on my to do list to avoid doing the last item--finishing my financial aid application. i just have one more profile/application to fill out but i can't get myself to open it up. i've perused countless fashion blogs (cupcakesandcashmere.com to be exact for at least 2 hours now), spent time stalking on facebook, and updated my planner. i just can't get myself to do this last thing. other than completing my list of things-to-do, i have had the most relaxing day. i woke up insanely early at 6am thanks to my work schedule. i went for a run, found the perfect mushroom-asparagus risotto for dinner with my returning loves, laid out by the pool, caught up with mindy (who was also laying out at her pool) and planned a lunch at a cuban cafe for wednesday. i also painted my nails and cleaned my bathroom. i love clean bathrooms and the smell of windex.

lately, i've been dying to go to new york. looking at my schedule i don't know if i'll have time or money to go but hopefully my planned trips to sf--two, to be exact--in the next couple of months will suffice. if you know me you also know i love to plan things. so next on my list is a vegas trip, an otero suite 203 girls reunion, and a going-away party. wee! happy may!

things i have learned.

so this is coming from a place of procrastination and a slight bit of welcomed boredom.

my year off has been pretty significant to me in ways that most people will never know. for me, i just wanted to document the things i have learned that i don't think i would have if i didn't take a year off from school.

1. i am emotionally stronger than i thought but i am not immune to emotional breakdowns.
2. this year has taught me to keep pushing myself. it took alot for me to go through the application cycle again without any guarantee that i would even get in anywhere but i'm so glad i did.
3. i have learned to budget, manage, and save my money more. i am one of the lucky few who have not had to rely on student loans for my undergrad but i know i am looking forward to being almost $160,000+ in debt after school. i really wanted to test myself and see how much money i could save. i have successfully saved almost $3,000. woo!
4. hard work will always pay off.
5. i will really miss dancing.
6. i love my parents so much. alot of family and family friends my parents' age are starting to croak. and i know this is a little morbid but every time i hear about another death or terminal illness, the first people i think about are my parents and what it would be like to lose them. it makes my stomach turn every time. i hope that whatever income i make as a pharmacist will allow me to take care of my parents.
7. i am really excited to go into pharmacy. i know my current job gives me a taste, but it's become a little robotic. i know i'm good at what i do but i'm looking for something different. i know i don't want to go into retail immediately--maybe, clinical work or pharmaceutical research. i know there's so much more to learn and i can't wait. i feel beyond blessed that i've found a job and a career that i love.
8. i miss studying and learning.
9. i am attached to my life in irvine. it hurts a little to think about letting it go.
10. my friends back in simi valley aren't the same anymore & i don't know if i fit in anymore.
11. patience is a virtue.
12. "if you don't have anything nice or worth saying, don't say it all." my mom has told me this over and over again and i've applied it more this year than ever before.
13. i don't work well with lazy people.
14. sometimes i take myself too seriously.
15. i still have some letting go to do.
16. i am still scared to live alone.
17. i don't know how i ever lived without tea and coffee before.
18. i've been thinking about going into some area of teaching or management after i get my Pharm.D
19. i don't have good luck with cars so i've decided i need to live in a place where public transportation is accessible.
20. i am excited for a wardrobe change--both in a casual and professional sense.

i love oprah.

"The whole point of being alive is to evolve into the complete person you were intended to be. Passion is energy. Feel the power that comes from focusing on what excites you. The more you praise and celebrate your life, the more there is in life to celebrate. I know for sure that what we dwell on is who we become. Breathe. Let go. And remind yourself that this very moment is the only one you know you have for sure." -Oprah.

i am going to be a pharmacist.

i feel like this last year has been the ultimate test of my patience. i am not the type of person who likes to wait for anything. actually i take that back, i can handle waiting for my food, my hazelnut latte, or holding on the phone for a prior authorization representative to help me with a patient's insurance problem. but life-changing decisions, i'm not a big fan of waiting for those. i've had moments of complete weakness and self-doubt that maybe this wasn't meant to happen but now the wait is finally over and i can finally breathe a little. i am going to UCSF SCHOOL OF PHARMACY in september. i cried for a good five minutes when i opened the letter. i really tried to imagine how i would react if i got accepted or rejected and this is definitely not what i imagined. i just cried and said OH MY GOD repeatedly at least 100 times. the call to my parents after was filled again with many "oh my gods" and "is this really real?" i don't know if i'll really believe this is real until i am actually there.

it's times like these that make me appreciate all the things around me. every time i think about how unreal it is that i will be going to ucsf and moving to san francisco i get overly excited and do a little happy dance inside my head. but my happy dance is also followed by a wave of sadness because there is alot i'm leaving behind in irvine and simi valley. my family, my friends, my returningloves, my KM, my pharmacy. it's alot and i know there is a bigger future for me in sf but there is a bittersweet sadness that lingers whenever i just take a moment to take everything in.

this year off has taught me so much. it could be a whole other post and i will save that for another day. but for now all i can say is that i am beyond content with life. nothing can top this feeling and i thank God for this opportunity. i just feel really really blessed. i don't know if anybody questions this but how is it that this can happen to me (or you)? like it sounds really selfish of me to even question but for the most part i've gotten everything i've ever wanted. i've been told by alot of people that i have "the perfect life." i really don't believe that i have the perfect life. but one thing i do believe is that hard work does pay off. and to me, this is just another example of hard work paying off. a very surreal example--somebody pinch me.

to add to all this good news, the cole haan bag i've been saving up for months now is finally on sale, such perfect timing it's bananas. it will be my gift to myself.

homebody.

today i literally spent all day in bed. i didn't really get out of bed until about 6 to clean my room a little bit. and i only left it around 1 to make some food. after the craziness of last week i feel like i'm allowed to be this lazy and enjoy the "me" time i so missed out on last week. today was the perfect day to catch up on all my tv shows, watch sex and the city the movie for the 15th time, and satisfy my every little craving brought on by the lovely pre-menstrual cycle. it was also the perfect day for alot of thinking. i usually hate being left alone with my thoughts but today was so needed.

i spent monday night with an old roommate and friend. it's always fun catching up with mindy because i know she always has a good story to tell and hot man stories to share. she is living the single la life i could only dream of. i don't think i would ever have the balls to pull off half the things she can but i love her more for that. in any case, she shared her fortune cookie that she got one day that read "behind every able is man is another one." for some reason it really resonated with me and it left me with some sort of peace or hope that everything will be ok. the reality of the situation with me and anthony is that we weren't meant to be. we have become two very different people and i'm happy to say that i can let that part of me go now. i am genuinely happy for him and he deserves someone that will make him happy.

so it may have been the fact that i watched sex and the city again but i swear everytime i watch the movie i get inspired by the fashion. i also spent part of the day going through a couple different fashion blogs and i can't even begin to tell you how inspired i felt from all the different design aesthetics. its like this secret little happy place in my heart that comes alive from beautiful clothing, art and design. if i didnt love science so much i would love to explore the world of fashion. once i am settled financially, i dream of having a closet as fabulous as carrie bradshaw's.

this blog is all over the place. but so are my thoughts today. and i don't apologize for that. today i thought alot about my km newbies. our year as the newbieloversof09 is over. i love my class. i look forward to every time we get to hang out and share a meal together because i know it will always include laughing so hard it hurts, good food, good company, and good talks. if i could only show you my mental list of pros and cons to auditioning again for km you would see my class in bolded caps at the top of the pros list. i would not have made it to the end of this year without them and the thought of not being there with them in the future breaks my heart a little bit. so for now i have decided to audition again in hopes of keeping our class together for as long as possible.

my chocolate cravings are out of control right now.

works in progress.

i am pretty bruised and sore and it's only day 2 of practice. the set is starting to look amazing already. it blows my mind the level of talent and choreography on this team, even to this day. the set is definitely a work in progress and it seriously is some of the best choreo i've seen from our choreographers. but anyways, i just felt the need to blog and tell something or someone that i am happy. happy with where i am at this very moment.

i may not be in happy in a couple minutes when i head to work and it's guaranteed to look like a bomb went off, but i am happy. my days are challenging but they are so worth it at the end. when you work this hard, you seriously get the best sleep. the h1n1 vaccine is killing our store but i am hoping this is just because the vaccine is new and everyone is trying to work around the set protocol i put in place. everyday i just try to think of any way to make the administration go smoother but that too is just a work in progress.

many things at the moment are a work in progress. the preparation for my interview is a work in progress. i am dying to get my hands on the outline of the health reform bill, but all i can find are small articles with minor details and reminding me of the fact that the bill is close to 600+pages. i am ready to jump back into learning and reading and studying. i miss it.

i hate to rub it in people's faces that i am happy, especially if they're not. but this is the kind of happy you have to tell someone about. 2010 you're proving yourself to be a good year. time to kick some ass at work. =)