Booking It

Today started off like any other day...



Studied in the library, had a snack...



Hungry again but hit the wrong button on the vending machine :(



There was also a LA County Festival of Books on campus. By the time I came out of the library, the it was almost over but there were still a lot of people.









I have to say, I'm excited to actually walk around and check it out tomorrow. (They were giving away free Ben and Jerry's!)

For dinner, I met up with CR and TL at La Barca. It's literally the best Mexican food around USC that doesn't drain your wallets. Delicious chips and salsa, wonderful margaritas, and huge portions.



I decided to try something new and go with the flauntas. I guess wikipedia puts it under taquitos but to me, it was like a Mexican spring roll. So good!

Taste of Freedom

I continued to cram in some last minute studying at Doheny while munching on an Odwalla bar.



This bar was delicious! It tasted like a soft chewy cookie without being too sweet.



Feeling pretty prepared, I came out of the test with a strangely satisfying feeling. In a good mood, I called everyone that I have been missing for the past few days and made dinner. Today I kept it relatively simple with a 90% lean burger protein style with a slice of tofu and a spring mix salad with Asian Sesame dressing.



Oh yeah, and just a taste of one of the strange events around campus...



Farewell to semi-boring posts about studying! The rest of the week is going to be exciting events!

A Fresh Start

I woke up this morning regretting not finishing my OChem lab last night. Although it only took me 30 min to finish, waking up to OChem is not my ideal way of starting the day. So I made an oatmeal, spinach, yogurt, apple and milk smoothie to power me through this morning.





The day progressively got better as the weather warmed up and seeing KE after she came back from Cochella!


A few hours later, I wanted to much on something so I boiled an egg with a side of wheat thins and apricots.





Today is going to be filled with studying, studying, and more studying for my Wednesday test. At this moment, I simply cannot WAIT to start my summer with my family and friends. I've actually already started to gather things to bring back home with me (which is less than a month away!)


By tradition, this is the time I start my Summer Diet. But this time, it won't be a restrictive diet, it's going to be a health diet. In the past, I haven't treated my body the way I should have by tormenting it with crazy fad diets. I was way too obsessed with counting calories, planning meals, and it was becoming too much of a struggle to think about anything else but weight loss.


But this time it's going to be different. Why? Because I'm not aiming to become thin anymore-- I'm aiming to become strong and healthy. If weight loss is part of that equation (which I really hope it is lol) then it'll be great. 


Thus... I made a list of 15 diet commandments to follow:





Hopefully these will keep me on track to become healthy and fit! No more desire to be skinny. No more desire to "look good in a bathing suit". Just plain ol' healthy and happy :)

Construction

For the past few weeks, Tuscany has decided to repaint all interior and exterior walls to reflect the new change in management. Apparently for next fall, we will be getting a new gym, new sauna/spa, pool connecting to the lounge, and a lot more upgrades!


Then again...when I signed for Tuscany last year, they also promised me the spa/sauna plus personal trainers. So...we'll see. But in their defense, my leasing manager did say no one was using the personal trainers and they might not rehire them for the subsequent year. Honestly, who wouldn't take advantage of free trainers?


Back to painting... so my bedroom window was sealed for the past few days so the workers would be able to paint without ruining the panels.





It was a little bit of a drag since I love fresh air and sunlight. So I was elated they removed the seal the morning and I was finally able to recirculate my room with fresh air.





It was a bit awkward when I was sitting at my desk while the painters were removing the seal. We were literally 4 ft apart and only separated by a window! For some reason I don't think they saw me....but maybe they were just trying to ignore me (like I was doing) so things won't be even more awkward.


Anyways, onto more delicious things... I woke up super early today (6:30!) and was only in the mood for...you guessed it: a smoothie. Today's breakfast was made with oatmeal, spinach, carrot, banana, milk, and peanut butter topped with granola. 


I finally realized that adding 1/2 cup of milk prompted the perfect consistency... but next time I'm going to try even a little less milk since I love almost ice-cream like smoothies.





This "super" smoothie was exactly what I needed to focus on my Cinema paper. I was so happy when I was able to crank out the entire outline and the first page by 8 am this morning! Doesn't seem like a lot of work? Let me tell you, I had to rack my brain to even get the paper started.


After this, I went to the library to study for OChem and biology. I also packed a snack for my studies: pitted dates, wheat thins, walnuts, and a slice of cheese. 





And a note about why I got up so early. I recently downloaded this app called Smart Alarm Clock for Android. Check it out! http://blog.smart-alarm-clock.com/


Basically, I set a desired time to wake up and simply lay my phone somewhere on my bed while I sleep. Because the sensitivity of the motion detectors in the phone is very high, it'll be able to sense my movement throughout the night and calculate when it was the best time to wake up. 'm not sure of the exact science of it... there's more information on the website but sure enough, I am more awake than ever! (which is very hard to do when you wake up as early as 6:30) 


I'll definitely try this again tonight and see I feel the same way tomorrow!

Early Morning

I found  that the only way for me to wake up early is to leave some unfinished homework until the next day. So this morning, I got up at 7:30 am to finish my Chinese homework. During this time, I also filled up on a fairly decadent smoothie: oatmeal, banana, milk, and peanut butter.





I love getting up early. I feel so energized and I love the fact that I'll get to "live" much longer. 


After my first class, I had two hardboiled eggs as a snack...





And ate my lunch during OChem lab lecture (which only 20 out of 200 people attend). Today I packed a very nutritious and wholesome meal: Whole Wheat English muffin with ham and cheese, and a spring mix salad with walnuts, raisins, and ginger Asian dressing. 

Gloomy Morning

Gloomy morning in LA today. All I wanted to do was hit the snooze button and fall back asleep...





But gathering up all my willpower, I crawled out of bed and blended up another morning oatmeal smoothie-- this time with strawberry, apple, yogurt, and a splash of milk.


It was actually just what I needed to re-energize!





As for my mid-morning snack, I packed a walnut-raisin mix with a banana.




Plans for today: ochem test in the afternoon, concert committee meeting at night (Spring Fest is this Saturday!), finishing my response to Silence of the Lambs for my film class, and prepping for ochem tutoring session tomorrow.


On another note, I got a little taste of "I Love You Phillip Morris" last night starring Jim Carrey and Ewen McGregor.




Good movie so far! I don't think it met up with my high expectations (based on reviews and the fact that I simply love both Jim Carrey and Ewan McGregor), but I am definitely looking forward to finishing the rest of this movie!

Time Machine

After pressing the snooze button for an hour, I finally woke up at 8:00 and am made myself a morning smoothie: oatmeal, orange, strawberry, yogurt, and milk.




Prepared my morning snack-- 2 hard boiled eggs-- and I'm ready for Chinese!





Nothing super exciting planned for the day but last night before bed, I started watching a part of Hot Tub Time Machine hoping it was going to be hilarious...





Actually it was quite horrible....LOL don't think I'm going to finish it any time soon.