time to say goodbye

Playing: Somewhere Only We Know-Keane
Reading: The Honor Code by Kwame Anthony Appiah

It's hard to believe it's been three weeks, since I visited Berkeley. I really love it up there. It feels both more urban and more rural there in a way than where I live. A complete paradox, but the gardens are less tame and the trees grow higher yet there is absolutely nowhere to park your car, which is the case in most cities. Another perk about Berkeley is its cute stores and markets, which are mixed with Berkeley's more famous laid back, anti-authoritarian spirit. (For example, my brother lived a block away from an indoor Swedish ski resort style food court that was next to three medical marijuana stores in a row.)

The reason why I visited Berkeley was to attend my brother's graduation from UC Berkeley. Yeah, that's how smart my brother is-he survived all four years at the sixth best university in the world, according to Times Higher Education. It's weird to think that I won't be heading up in that general area for a long time, since my brother won't be there.

I have several friends that turned down UC Berkeley for UCLA and I really wonder why. I know that UCLA is in a nice neighborhood and that it's known for good looking people, but you can't beat Berkeley's atmosphere. Some of their dorms look like English boarding schools and the town itself is so great.

Talking about how great the city is, Berkeley honestly has the best food. Not only do they have your standard American food, they have revamped versions of almost every country's cuisine. Joshu-ya serves up some amazing Asian fusion dishes such as this pork belly soba, which is fatty, spicy, and refreshing all at the same time. Not to mention, there's also a creative noodle bar, the best Italian joint ever (at the best price ever), a Brazilian hut that focuses on amazing sandwiches, and a Pacific Cookie Company, which sells the craziest, most delicious cookies called Cherry Bombs. If nothing else, on your next San Francisco trip, you should stop by Berkeley for all the food.

New York Photo Diary: Part 2

Playing: Hard to Explain-The Strokes
Reading: Brave New World by Aldous Huxley

Other than spending inordinate amounts of time shopping and eating, I did manage to fit in a trip to MoMa and the Guggenheim. MoMA is definitely worth visiting, while the Guggenheim can be rather dull other than its fun spiral design. Pictured above are 30 Rock (where Holden Caulfield went ice skating with Sally Hayes), a church near Washington Square Park, a raspberry cronut from Mille Feuille, and some shots taken at MoMA.
In case you were wondering why I was in New York, I was out there visiting NYU, which I will be attending in the fall. That means that I will be moving to the city that Alexander Wang, Marc Jacobs, Simon Doonan, Anna Wintour, etc. call home, which is pretty exciting. If you could give me tips on how to survive winter time, it would be much appreciated. What clothes do I wear? Is it possible to look cute in a puffy coat? Am I going to survive? Will I get stabbed on a subway? The world may never know, but maybe you can help.

other plans

Playing: Doses and Mimosas-Cherub
Reading: Turandot by G.Adami and R. Simoni

Originally, I was supposed to go to Coachella to see the Drowners. However, my Coachella plans fell through pretty quickly. Consequently, when I heard they were going to be at the Observatory, I begged my parents to cut our New York trip short so that I could meet them. Lead singer Matthew Hitt is one of my favorite male models and I brought him a copy of my favorite novel, The Catcher in the Rye, which happens to be one of his favorite novels too. (Who knew? He even quoted it.) When guitarist Jack Ridley III heard I flew back from New York to see them and that I might be moving there, he told me I could hang out with the band, which is an offer I'm hoping is semi-serious.

In other news, it's been over a hundred degrees in SoCal for the past few days. Coupled with the fact that I'll be spending a month roaming Japan, I figured I needed a few skirts to flesh out my summer wardrobe. This white skirt from bar iii is really light and I like the curved seam going across the front. Since Macy's was having a crazy 25% off everything sale, I also got this Marc by Marc Jacobs backpack for college.

Left to Right: Sarah, me, Tina and Christine

Like I said before, it's been unbearably hot lately. Therefore, after our AP Gov test, I took off to Crystal Cove with Sarah, Tina, Christine, and Sophie. The AP Gov test only took up three class periods, but the attendance office excused us for tutorial, fourth period and lunch too, so we had almost two hours to go to the beach and celebrate the near end of our AP testing. Definitely a sporadic trip, but I guess that's what made it so great too. Other than Christine, we're all moving out of SoCal for college and it's kind of sad to know that we'll no longer be able to go to the beach whenever we feel like it. Seriously though, how much more stereotypically SoCal can this trip get and how are we gonna survive without this?

New York Photo Diary: Part I

Playing: Anna Sun-Walk the Moon
Reading: Forrest Gump by Winston Groom

New York has always been one of my favorite cities and I've always had this dream of moving there one day and working there before getting married and moving to Los Angeles. One of the things that I love about the city is how busy it is and how it has pockets of history hidden between sleek skyscrapers. New York makes you feel important when you're there unlike LA, which as much as I love it, can feel a bit suburban at times due to the fact that LA is spread out over a vast area of land. Over break, I had the chance to visit New York and pictured above are a few of my favorite shots of buildings I took and the ricotta pancakes at Maialino, a cute albeit pricey cafe.