(mandatory list making)

• iron clothes
• make a DIY leather case for portable electronics
• attempt to install wordpress for personal site only to discover that current hosting service paid up until march 2012 does not include a SQL database >:(
• thus, tumblr will continue to be my primary blogging medium until march 2012…
• html5 templates?
• logo drawing?
• hang out with seattle loves :)
• finish ongoing books
• buy more books (i found hector and the search for happiness + julie and julia for $6 total at walmart’s bargain book bin. ohohoho~)
• new year’s resolutions
• finally replace trusty black jeans
• attempt to knit a circle scarf only to discover that two skeins of yarn is not enough (should’ve researched that better) and the store is sold out of that particular style and color. grr
• just buy a circle scarf instead. who says money can’t solve problems?

random happy things of late

• personalizing my cubicle
• downtempo music when i’m in the zone
• colored post-its and colored pens
• “weathering the storm”
• “elegant in its simplicity”
• lunch outside on beautiful sunny days
• beautiful sunny days
• fresh flowers on my desk :)
• pocket notebooks for more lists, planning, quotes and thoughts (i think i’ll get a moleskine, because the one i got from daiso is falling apart)
• dressing down v. dressing up effect ;)
• never-ending slew of groupon-like sites and deals
• finally watching/discovering the hype of cult tv shows: friends, firefly
• old friends and new friends
• new perspectives
• reading on the bart
• golden sun for DS on the bart
• adapting my body to long days, sans naps!
• making brunch on weekends
• and etc.!

It occurs to me that I haven’t tumblr’d anything substantive in a long time. SAD PANDA. 

Here’s a long-overdue post with some text! The new theme inspires me to write something. 

I’m not sure where to start. Life has been going through substantial change, and I’m not very good at keeping track of notable thoughts when they come to mind. 

It’s a beautiful sunny day in Pacifica. I’m looking at my long to-do list and trying to figure out how much I can realistically accomplish today, v. what I originally planned. I’ve moved on from the recent trauma of standardized testing, and starting to carve out new paths. The short term has gained clarity, but the long term is still annoyingly murky and conflicting. My problem in a nutshell—being a generalist by nature and academic trade, it’s hard to just choose something (to specialize in) and run with it. Part of this stems from lack of informed experience. It’s like that plot-driving force in movies and TV shows—answers beget more questions and search for the truth continues. I’m more and more self-aware with each new experience, but arguably more and more confused about what I ultimately want to do. 

This year, my resolutions all revolve around the concept of applying discipline to self-improvement and enrichment. I basically laugh at my old self with the old level of resolve, because my new self has moved so far away from that state of mind and rationalization.

If time is a luxury, then I’ve been living in the lap of luxury :) Much of it has been spent with friends, consuming reading material, cooking on a regular basis, and sleeping. I know this lifestyle doesn’t last forever…the 9-5 monster is coming soon, and I must prepare myself! Haha. 

I have pictures and media reviews to post too, so that’ll be next on this get-blog-fully-updated initiative.

• I’m disappointed by Playful Kiss, so it’s being put on hold unless the reviews get more positive. Flat acting is really hard to tolerate.
• This also applies to Twilight: Eclipse, which I finally saw on Satuday! Kristen Stewart just isn’t convincing as the object of love/obsession for a werewolf AND a vampire. Taylor Lautner’s rippling pectorals must have save it from bombing at the box office…that and, “I kissed Bella…and she broke her hand…punching my face…total misunderstanding.” ROFL!!
• Too much “productive” procrastination?
• Back to funemployment! (this term was from Val…makes me laugh)
• Roughly 4 weeks until the LSAT…! So many things to look forward to after October 9th! Especially China :)
• Just bought a $17 diploma holder from the Cal student store for my brand new diploma!
• Freaknomics was brilliant. Time to buy Super Freakonomics. 

We needs it! Even more so going through major life changes and transitions. I may have had some sort of minor quarter-life crisis…but it really didn’t last very long. ^^ 

[这辈子的路还长着呢。。。]

Time to sleep & tackle another Monday, and then roughly 4 weeks of haggard existence. LSAT class overlapping with my internship = extra 24-36 hours of class and homework time that I’ll have to magic into being somehow.

Meanwhile, getting back into some favorite pastimes: tennis & reading~!

• Excel is my best friend, and probably will be for a long, long time to come
• My curved utility function for sleep: happiness decreases exponentially as a negative function of hours slept, with the greatest difference between 7 and 6 hours
• There is a 9-5:30 norm here that people rarely deviate from
• It’s also rather quiet…
• GCHAT, FB CHAT AND MEEBO ARE ALL BLOCKED
• I’ve developed a system for optimal caffeine consumption: 4-1 ratio of coffee to green tea/diet soda, which mitigates true addiction and the possibility of withdrawal through gradual quantity reduction, in addition to enhancing the power/effectiveness of concentrated espressos on days when I really need it
• Hooray for corporate perks and free stuff!
• My cubicle name says “Michele Tang” and I’m too lazy to ask for a correction
• It’s true: Mondays are universally hated as much as Fridays are loved…great topic for small talk, outside of weather