i shouldn't judge, but...

I currently live with two other roommates T and N, both of whom are frantically preparing their personal statements to send in with their med school applications.  T unfortunately does not write very well...  Tonight, she asked another friend and myself to read her draft and offer opinions.  I'm no expert, but even I couldn't help thinking it needed lots of work...  Anyway, during the session, she referred to two sample personal statements from two other people, both of which were undeniably more polished than her own.   I realized that one of the essays belonged to N, so I asked if they were helping each other on their statements.  I was a little surprised because they hadn't really been talking to each other much about med school at all.

No wonder.  Our other friend let slip (probably to T's dismay) that N did not actually know T had a copy of her essay.  T had basically stolen it off her laptop one day while no one was at home.  She justified it by saying that she was freaking out at the time because she hadn't started writing anything and needed to read someone else's stuff to "get inspiration".

As a friend, I suppose, for the most part I'm expected to be supportive and all that.  I didn't say anything about it then and there, but I couldn't help wondering if she's ever rifled through MY things, or violated MY privacy in any way.  If she could do it to one roommate, she could also do to the other, right?  I was rather shocked, although I do remember one time last year when she admitted she's stolen from multiple clothing stores on multiple occasions.....  The other girl wasn't as shaken by what T did, but I might be judgmental because I've personally been on the other end, where I have had personal files deliberately taken, by someone I really trusted, for malicious purposes.  So it's become a sensitive issue for me.  Not to mention I don't approve of what she did... it's just not cool, it's like cheating kinda.  :( 

Oh well, not my place to judge...  learned something more about T tonight that still shocks me even after the 3 years that we've grown close.  I will simply keep it in mind and be very careful of my belongings....  even this post, I must remember not to keep my blog open.....haha, half kidding.....

vegas weekend 4.23-4.25 :)

This past weekend, for a friend's 21st birthday, a few of us went down to Vegas to celebrate with her!  This was our crew in a few of my favorite pictures out of 150+  (can you spot me?  hint-  I'm in every picture hahah).  We visited a club each night (XS and Tao) and it was fun because one of our girls was close to a promoter, so we automatically got onto guestlists and never had to wait :)

 For the first time, I really understood the meaning of "getting free drinks".  I've never actively tried to get anyone to buy me drinks, and I don't frequent bars or clubs alone or without some guy friends, so I didn't know what it was like.  On our all-girls trip, we practically spent no money and we got invited to tables and drinks all night.  Yay for free stuff!  Hahaha.

For the weekend, we stayed at the Trump tower  :D !!  We split a suite, and we had booked the room early, so we each only paid $40 to stay in this baller suite for the entire weekend!  (It was also complete with a kitchen, a second huge sofa bed, 3 showers, and a bathroom/makeup room as big as the living room!)  It was complimentary valet as well, which was cool for my car (I drove us all there and back)  :]

I did have to spend the whole next day working for my professor, and I do now have to disappear off the face of the earth in order to study for my midterms coming up next week, but it was a great weekend :)

laugh factory 4/20

Tonight, W and I went to our first show at the Laugh Factory (a stand-up comedy club in Hollywood).  We got to sit quite close to the stage, so it was pretty cool, seeing Kevin Nealon and the other comedians up close and personal just a few feet away.  (But I don't think any other celebrity encounters so far ever really matched up to the experience of having Kobe Bryant walk up to me and friends at our gym.  Not cuz he wanted to talk or anything, of course, but we happened to be standing unwittingly beside his gym bag, hahah, and THEN we got to talk to him).

For the most part, it was a nice night.  I got to check off another item on my things-i-want-to-do list.  We did however have a few troubles:

FIRST
We were both hungry because we didn't grab any dinner prior to the show, so we ordered a sandwich with our drinks.  It was very good, but you know, not really satisfying, so W decided to go for another, and this time he picked a different one.  The 2nd one was awful - whoever made the sandwich decided to go trigger-happy with the spicy sauce, which we didn't even order on it.  I wonder what it was.  It had the effect of wasabi (that stuff hurt my nose so much) but tasted kinda like mustard?  Anyway, it just ruined our appetites.

THEN
Towards the end of the show, both W and I started feeling sick.  I suspect it was the horrible sandwich, or maybe the drinks?  Or both?  Whatever it was, we couldn't even really enjoy the ending because I felt soooo bad that I had to get to the restroom just to be safe.  It wasn't the usual alcohol-induced nausea/discomfort, it was... more intense for a much shorter period of time.  No, I didn't end up puking or anything, instead I actually got better after a few minutes.  But still, it was an odd sensation I'd not like to experience again.

SO
Because W was queasy for the last 15 minutes or so of the show, and I was in the restroom at the very end, we didn't even enjoy the ending.  In my case, I didn't even get to see it.  :(

AND FINALLY
We were the very last ones to get our car driven back to us by the valet.  The issue with that was that we were still not at our best, but there we were, shivering like crazy as we waited outside.  AND, even after waiting at least 15 minutes and after it felt like everyone else was gone, when we finally decided to bother the head valet person about it, they told us they'd forgotten about ours and eventually brought it around.  Fortunately, the troubles ended there, and I drove us both home while W just lolled around in the passenger seat dealing with his discomfort.  I think he's okay now.

All in all, it was an okay night, with a net effect of leaving me feeling neutral and very tired.  Meh.  I hope I don't get a cold from the wait we endured...  Anyway, here is a post again, finally :)  Hopefully more to come.  Thank you RicAdemus, just wanted to give you a special plug!

what's been up + piece of me (march 2010)

Last weekend, I got a bit of a scare when I got a text from my brother saying that my dad underwent surgery.  It was pretty unsettling because he hadn't mentioned it to me beforehand, and that had me worrying that it was due to an emergency.  It also didn't help that I was unable to reach him on his cell phone all weekend.  But, it turns out that it was just a small, benign case of skin cancer on his hand which he got removed, and I hadn't been able to reach him because he spent that weekend at business meetings.  Definitely glad he was okay, and it was also something of a reminder to think about him more...

Hmm to update on the internship, I performed well at my last shift in the office, flying solo  :D  I got a good ole pat on the back, no joke.  It is too soon to feel like I got the hang of things though, knowing how inconsistent the boss is.  Just hopefully she'll teach me more.

T and I went to Jeff's place Friday night to see him and to celebrate with one of his friends, Max, who had just gotten accepted into grad school here (he's smart).  It turns out that Max knew a lot of people I did!  Including my first ex, a few of my high school classmates, and my roommate.  Such a small world.  I had a good time that night, it felt like we all bonded, and I hadn't laughed that much with people other than my close friends in a long time.  We ended up staying there until about 7, saw the sunrise pretty much.  Mm... I was just thinking again about my future.  Not that I am really in a position to do anything about it, but Max is probably my type of guy.  He was slightly interested but... it wouldn't happen right now....

Okay, getting tired so I'm wrapping this up:
.....This month....
I like:  that spring break is coming.  I'm not really sure yet how I'm gonna spend it, but it will be a very welcome break.
I don't like:  that I don't have my credit card on me (it got stopped b/c it was suspected to have been stolen, when really I had just spent just a tad too much for the month >.<)  I won't be getting the new one for maybe 2 weeks...  not that I want to be using it or anything, just feels a little more reassuring to know I had it if I had to use it.
I want you to know:  I've been watching the new season of The Amazing Race!  Haha, just in case you might want to join in, it's only aired 3 episodes so far.
I've planned:  to spend less, study hard to finish this quarter strong, and to not buckle under stress
I want to say to someone special:  I am very sorry for the hardships that are going on around you right now, and I'm surprised but happy that you want to give your support.  I hope that someday you could openly extend those kinds of feelings towards us too, because it would really encourage the family...

4.5-hours of monopoly with who?

Last night, after hitting the bar (F.O.) with W, I pulled out the Monopoly box from under his bed and started to play with him.  Our gameplay attracted the rest of his apartmentmates.  Apparently, W and I had been "playing by the wrong rules all along", Brian announced indignantly, so we started a new game, with the rest of the audience.  And with that, yes, we played Monopoly vigorously and in an intense-cutthroat manner for nearly 5 hours until 3 in the morning.  We actually didn't even notice the time pass.  In the end, we were rather ruthlessly destroyed by Alex, who was ironically the one person who had never ever played Monopoly in any form in her life.

Although I want to say I enjoyed a rare night with everyone home, it is hard to describe how I actually felt with Alex being around.  Initially when we first met, it was weirdness, because she was such a close friend of my boyfriend's - and somehow we weren't able to talk to each other very much.  Then, it was some competition, because T, who she now dates, used to have a thing for/with me.  Also, I think we are both the kind of girl that's not the type to get buddy-buddy with people right away, and so it's hard for us to get past this awkward "I-acknowledge-you-but-don't-know-what-to-say-to-you-now" phase.  And lately, it's just... I don't even know.  (Although last night I was rather pissed at her because she was playing Monopoly so stringently against everyone even tho she was already in the lead and didn't have to suck the fun out of the game.)

Alex and I are the only two girls who spend the most time over at the guys' place (because our boyfriends are apartmentmates).  She actually lives an hour away, but will come to spend every weekend here, without fail.  It is sad, but the guys other than T have very poor impressions of her, saying she is annoying or loud when she laughs or too PDA or whatever else there is... It makes me wonder what kind of an impression I leave on them too, being another girl that's always around.  I live on the same floor as they do, so I technically could be around a lot more, although I'm not because I make sure I have time for my own friends/work.  W and I don't go crazy with affection around them, and I try to talk to everybody else in a non-intrusive way so as not to make them uncomfortable with me.  I feel like I'm more conscious of all this because I hear how they feel about Alex, and I hope that they are okay with me and not as bothered by my presence.

Maybe it's the way I was brought up.  It's always been important to me (sometimes too important) how I come across to people...   *shrug*  =/

to be or not to be the peacemaker?

This past weekend, I was invited by my new apartmentmates and roommate of two years, T, to a club/lounge in Hollywood for a fun night out. Initially, I was shy, being unfamiliar with the new girls, but I had not been out clubbing in MONTHS and I guess I was feeling in the mood for some grooving.... so I agreed and we had a great time. [note to self here: I really need to go shopping, there were so many cute styles I'd like to own!] Besides when I almost fainted once towards the end of the night (I only had time for a dinner of a small bowl of cereal before we had to head out), I had a pretty good time, got to let loose :)

>> That's me on the right, wearing for the first time that crazy sparkly top I bought last year.

Yesterday, I was told by J (a close friend of mine and T's) that she had really wanted to come to the event also, but that she did not because she had been lied to. I was not aware, but apparently, T had denied her an invitation to come along with the excuse that it was pretty exclusive. It was not actually exclusive at all. In fact, T brought along 2 other random friends, who asked to join us only an hour before we set out, which only made J more pissed. Sounds like some silly girl drama here, as I type this all out.... and I'm the one person close to the both of them with the position to help patch things up. J has asked me to say nothing, as she's hoping T will bring it up on her own like she should. Eh. The 3 of us have been good friends for a long time now, but would it be selfish to say that right now I really just want to sit this one out? Getting involved in other people's business is always a tricky situation, especially when told not to. Still, just cuz I'm their friend, I wonder if I should go ahead and drop some hints...

Okay, on a different note, I love chocolate. No matter when, where, why....of course, it's not the most slimming food. But I've found that I can get my chocolate fix AND a few servings of healthy fiber with these AWESOME chocolate chip oatmeal cookies. We made a large batch two weeks ago. Killed it all within a few days. The recipe is pretty simple. Oh gosh, I am already itching to bake some. Maybe tomorrow.

who the hell is shannon davis?

I guess this blogspot will now be the official place for which I unload the many things that my head thinks about. I had a blog over at this website for about 10 years, but recently I lost my domain due to my inactivity :[ I wish they would have let me pick up my old posts and stuffs before doing the cut....

Anyway, today was an eventful day.

• 1050 am - I caught the shuttle, hoping to have shaken off the annoying girl living on my floor, but she made it onto the same bus and I had to walk to class with her
  
  
• 130 pm - got hit on while walking back from said class for 10 minutes by an African American college athlete who drove by but turned around and pulled up to holler because he thought "my legs were nice". He DID drive a really slick new Jaguar though........ (just playin')
  
  
• 5 pm - annoying girl on my floor came over for the bajillionth time, complained as usual about her life, then left when she realized I was uninterested
  
  
• 630 pm - gathered up my courage and called my professor who was offering me a TA position and possible internship
  
  
• 645 pm - got off the phone with professor, feeling discouraged, because it seemed like too much of a time commitment and I am ridiculously bad at time management
  
  
• 650 - 730 pm - finally got convinced through several friends' opinions that I should just take the job and work harder. poop
  
  
• 750 pm - sent confirming email. Now to wait and see if I got it for sure.
  
  
• 820 pm - remembered and decided to step foot on my blogspot page again for the first time in months. so here I am. :]

I found the time this past weekend during my visit home to grab lunch with Mar from my frat. We've been really close friends, so I was one of the few to find out that weekend that his girlfriend, whom I also know, faltered in a moment of weakness and cheated on him with her ex while in Japan. They've broken up since, but I was shocked that it was Mar's idea to lie about the real reason for the breakup. He had just gotten his heart broken by someone he says he loved, but to protect her from criticism by their mutual friends, he decided to keep the hurt to himself. And I thought, there are still kind people in the world. Granted, she may not have deserved it, but he didn't want to hurt her back.

Granted I did not deserve any special honors, my ex didn't seem to be able to spare any thoughts. Long story short, when we broke up due to his problem with one of my white lies, he decided to proclaim our breakup to the world, slander me to our mutual friends as well as my own, and proceeded to date a girl within our friend circle just to see me wither away in pain. So yeah, I thought it quite chivalrous of Mar to do away with the bitterness.

Anyway, this exact same past weekend, that ex of mine texted to ask some stupid questions that his current gf (the same one he got with after breaking up with me) or anyone else of Chinese ethnicity could have answered. This is not the first time he's attempted using some lame way to start talking to me again out of the blue. I don't feel anything for him, as I neither like him nor do I want to be friends with him, and yet he seems to think that, 2 years later, doing this somehow "patches things up between us" and allows us to "keep in touch".

I have been cynical ever since the rough breakup. So it was pleasantly surprising that there are still guys like Mar who act upon sincere, gut feelings rather than upon revenge and image. Love is a weird thing.

Ciao~

SD weekend w/ Chris, my roommate, W, and puppies

Finally got the chance to write againnn :)

This past weekend was really nice. It was my first time visiting my friend (and first ex) Chris at his place in SD, and I met a lot of his friends (including his latest girlfriend). He's still the same as ever.... it's been quite a while since the last time he and I actually hung out, but I was so happy that we are still the close friends we are. I always feel high on life whenever I rediscover a friendship. And I realize Chris will probably be a best friend that I hope to never lose.

I don't really feel like writing everything about how W came and spent a day with me this past weekend... but basically, over the weekend, he made it clear to me that he did like me and wanted to know if I felt the same. I told him truthfully that I still didn't know.... but at the end of the day, I was actually almost half convinced I did NOT want him as a boyfriend... I feel like I have certain things I look for in a guy, and W did not exhibit a lot of those things. And when he wouldn't do some things I expected.. his points started going down. Maybe I am too picky? Or too high maintenance? Half the time, he's just the right kind of cutesy - and then the other half of the time, I feel like he's not my type. ahhh??

W said he is going to wait. I feel a little bad just because I am testing the waters with him (hanging out, taking naps, etc), and yet I am capable of suddenly turning 180 and telling him that I think we should just be friends. I don't want to give him the wrong idea and have him think that I am starting something with him when ultimately I am still unsure about him. What should I do? Should I hang out with him less or keep a distance? Although at the same time, I feel it is necessary to "test-drive" him as a boyfriend to see if he fits.... He says he doesn't mind, but I mean, if I want to be friends with him in the case it doesn't work out, shouldn't we be more cautious?

My tests are coming up soon, in just 2 weeks. I haven't started studying yet... and this is gonna be a note to myself to get my ass on it. I want to do well this quarter. I know I can study better, so I'm gonna try to make this happen. I'm starting tonight, with my study buddy (and pseudo older brother) M. W is gonna have to deal with hanging out with me less. And I can't afford to play so much anymore..... TWO WEEKS, Kimmy, cmon. but don't worry I will still blog :D