Currently :: April

MAY you stop, Father Time? Pause a little now and then? & I'll stop right there because, well, I'm starting to sound like a Furby who keeps chattering on and on and on even after it's powered off and the batteries are tossed far, far away. Nowwww, let's talk about April, my favorite month of all thanks to the fact that birthday calories never count, don't you dare tell me otherwise.
In April, I've been ...
Watching :: Movies! I'm usually more of a TV girl, but it's taken a major backseat. I'm in this really cool class where we watch a film every week and then discuss the psychological/developmental themes. So far we've done Brave, Juno, What's Eating Gilbert Grape, and Whiplash. Holy incredible films. Plus I watched Interstellar and had my mind completely blown.
Eating :: ... if I tell you that a dozen Krispy Kremes disappeared literally in the span of fifteen minutes between three people - one of whom may or may not have been me - would you promise not to judge? No? K, it didn't happen. I'm on a diet, duh. (Winks.)

Planning :: weekends in May and early June. I totally realized that our free-to-do-anything-anytime days are numbered, and that we really need to be taking advantage of them. Thus ... on the schedule: Napa/Sonoma, beach(es), Los Angeles, Bay to Breakers, Santa Cruz.

Reading :: short stories authored by people in my fiction class. First of all - our instructor wrote a book that Obama included on his Christmas list, so - ha, hopefully he never stumbles upon the atrocious writing plastered all over Perpetually Caroline. But these stories that we're workshopping, man... SO good. I'm always so in awe of my classmates here.
Enjoying :: the acceptance that comes with knowing everything's going to turn out okay.
Saying :: "you are so, so brave" to friends far braver than I, and "imma miss the heck outta you" to my sissy because she's leaving me for Seattle. 

Needing :: to make some bank. Everything comes with a humongous price tag at the moment. I won't tell how much money I spent on senior formal, but it ain't pretty. I also need some Bill Gates level cash to fix my camera lens, buy a Europe wardrobe, book AirBnBs/trains/planes/hotels/random tickets for the summer, and I mean there's that whole little thing with paying rent and all in three months and counting.
Learning :: Serbo-Croatian. When was the last time you learned a completely new language? I dabbled in Spanish in high school, but here's the vocabulary I've retained: hola, enchilada, taco, queso, burrito, mas enchiladas, gracias. Fluent.
Feeling :: like I'm coming to terms with graduation. I'm still unbelievably sad about having to leave, but I'm also starting to feel just a little ready. Does anyone want to teach me how to drive or turn on a stove, please? #NotSelfSufficient
BONUS - Thanking :: all of my beloveds for doing such a great job of celebrating my birthday all throughout April. Y'all are the real MVPs. 
To May and beyond! What's on your plate, friends?

9

Senior Formal in Six Word Stories

Have you guys heard of six word stories? Here's a pretty great collection of them for you to skim – and you should! Some of them are seriously powerful. A couple weeks ago, we tried to write some six word stories in my fiction class, and just this weekend, a few friends and I played around with them some more. A very addicting exercise, y'know?

Senior Formal was last Friday at the San Francisco Exploratorium, and while I have sooooo many things I'd like to say about it (and I have ... in my journal... "thank goodness," you say), I thought I'd make a poor attempt at summing up the grand event in short form here. ("You're welcome," I say.)

Ready? *clears throat*

Whiteboard's bought and ready to blog.

What are the sunglasses doing there?

That was my warm up, okay? Okay. For real now.

Should we go? Shouldn't we go?

Can I borrow a dress please?

A party bus is HOW much?!

Splurged on blowout. Now addicted, oops.

Be ready in an hour!? HELP.

My feet hurt. They really hurt.

Looked to right. Saw Hollywood sign.

IDK how to contour, someone help.

My feet REALLY really hurt alot.

New friends, old friends, best friends.

Challenge: take enough pictures. Challenge failed.

Tacky Louis Vuitton adorned party bus.

Slippery floors, loud music, fast highway.

Crank up Beyonce! CRAZY IN LOVEEEEE.

Stopped at Denny's to pee. Yikes.

Got there in a flash. Party!

Beautiful friends, cherished memories, open bars!

Not found: buffet table. Total disappointment.

Forgot to play with exhibits. Fail.

Danced and laughed and was merry.

WHERE IS THE BUFFET TABLE? ANYONE?

Never left photo booth line ever.

"I haven't seen you in forever."

Take a picture with me please!

Had to leave too, too soon.

Couldn't find bus. Ran in rain.

Pouring rain, it made me happy.

Too tired to dance on bus.

Can I take my shoes off?

My feet hurt. Seriously they do.

Will you make me taquitos please?

Let's run home in the rain!
Calzone. Pizza. Mozzarella. Water. Water. Water.
Is it bedtime yet? Is it?
Heart my bed most of all.
Spent all weekend recovering from formal.
It's come full circle, hasn't it?

2

Coffee Chat: Blue Bottle, Bonfires, and Being Busy

Isn't this the most blogger-friendly scene you've ever come across? It's the new Blue Bottle location in downtown Palo Alto, and I'm so obsessed. If you think this outside area is darling, you'll go absolutely ga-ga over the whole concept – Blue Bottle Palo Alto actually serves as a part of Hanahaus, which to my understanding is a startup-esque rentable workspace for entrepreneurs. Think Google offices, but for people who work for themselves or small businesses. Genius, right?

I thought it'd be the perfect location for a catch-up over coffee for us. It's certainly been awhile. Yesterday, my roommate and I set our alarms for a quick afternoon nap ... and woke up three hours later. On Mondays, Tuesdays, and Wednesdays, I have zero time for anything but classes, homework, club activities, and work. So on Thursdays, I crash. 

Needless to say, things have been busy. I constantly seem to be one step behind my schedule. My Bloglovin' reader is backlogged for days (probably the most devastating thing, in all honesty). But I'm not complaining because it feels like the good kind of hectic.

My house had a bonfire tonight over by the lake. Bonfires... well, bonfires simply are nostalgia and reflection, aren't they? It's hard not to get a little sentimental whilst your hair and clothes absorb that smoky smell, the chocolate and marshmallows melt tantalizingly betwixt graham crackers, and indie songs croon away in the background. You're overwhelmingly in the present, but just on the verge of the past and the future at once.
My friends and I made the last minute choice to attend Senior Formal tonight. The past couple of days have been a frenzy of visiting friends across campus to borrow dresses, making appointments for blowouts, picking shoes that pinch our toes the least, and deciding which party bus to board. It'll be at the Exploratorium, which you MUST visit if you're ever in SF. The coolest place of all time. I'll report back on Monday, I'm sure.
In other "things are sort of wrapping up" news, I'm speaking at an overseas studies panel today to an audience of new admits and their parents. Four years ago, I sat in the auditorium listening to students speaking at the very same panel. In fact, I vaguely remember the faculty advisor (who I work closely with now) making the exact same joke that he likes to make at every event. Oh how full circle it feels. Wish me luck in all things public speaking and charm, please! 
I'm off to have a few moments of calm before the crazy starts back up again, but I hope your Friday is just as fun and full as mine will be this week! Or you know, maybe you're due up for nothing but Netflix and to that, I say SOS TAKE ME WITH YOU.
I'm curious... what have you been up to these days?

3

The Birthday Formula

So I spent my birthday in my birthday suit.

Wait, wait. BACK IT UP. Let me explain. Recently I've developed this little theory that I like to refer to in my head as The Birthday Formula. No it's not the formula that the hospital made you feed on on the day of your actual birth. That was a stupid joke, and I'm sorry. Rather, The Birthday Formula is a list of nonnegotiables that make your birthday the best day of the year. When you're young and naive, you might think that the optimal Birthday Formula includes a pinata or a Barbie cake, which I actually won't argue with. But for my early twenties, my Birthday Formula consists of:

Ringing in the new year with the closest of friends, multiple renditions of Happy Birthday, and taquitos. Two to send the old year away, one to welcome the new one.

Getting pampered with my sister. This year, we decided on pedicures and a voyage to a Korean spa. This is where the birthday suit thingamajig comes in. Imagine ... hot tubs, cold plunge pools, saunas. Buttttttttt (pun intended), clothing discouraged. It's also completely single-sex though, so that's not a huge issue, but still. Pret.ty. awk.ward. However, the treatments were so insanely amazing that braving the awkward is more than worth it. A scrub, massage, facial, head massage, and hair washing later, I was completely transported to a parallel world where my entire being was clean and relaxed and soft like a baby's butt smothered in butter. That good. Oh, take me back.

NEXT. Noodles. Noodles are highly ranked on my Birthday Formula because I'm Chinese, and therefore we eat noodles on birthdays because long noodles = long life. Don't question the system.

Sushi's also a huge priority. It's my birthday cuisine of choice, always. This year, we went to Maruya. This was some next level sushi, so we chose to go with omakase, which is every indecisive human's dream come true. The courses were many, but the standout moments for me were: the gold flake atop the something-or-other because it made me feel like a rap star on his day off, the sea bass because sea bass, and the uni! Uni uni uni!

My Birthday Formula also consists of intermission activities, such as picking out a cake at BiRite, watching terrible movies, napping, grabbing burritos with oozy cheese, writing last minute essays on my phone while getting a pedicure, and arranging an outrageous cupcake tasting.  

Also critical within My Birthday Formula is the fact that a birthday needs to be prolonged as long as possible. To make this happen, you need to start dropping hints to people that they need to divvy up the two weeks sandwiching your birthday and keep the party goin' figuratively and literally.

Lauren's really good at picking up those hints.

She planned a whole day (again, every indecisive human's dream) of brunching until combustion, oohing and ahhing our way through Anthropologie, manicure-ing, napping, and then study dating at Starbucks before a quick and easy dinner. I've trained her well. 

And then, always always always, a birthday needs to end like so ^^^^^

No exceptions. 

What's your Birthday Formula? What are your demands?

7

Let Them Eat Cupcake // $500 Ultimate Cash Giveaway

Oh, my. My, my, my. I had the loveliest birthday – we followed my tried and true Birthday Formula® (more on that later this week!) to much success, and I am one happy 22-year-old little lamb. Thank you, blog folk, for all those sweet birthday messages too – to those who say making friends on the Internet is sketchy, I say pffffttttt!

As some of you know, my big sister is getting married in October, so I've been over here bugging her for tasks to be in charge of. Pick me, pick me!!! I wave a hand in her face, as she goes over invitations and photography and music and a guest list. Nope, nope, nope, aaand nope.

But girlfriend did throw me a bone. I was given strict instructions to find dress boutiques (where she managed to find her wedding dress at the first place we visited BOOYAH POINT FOR CAROLINE), and to plan the cupcakes. Basically, I'm in charge of the most important parts of the wedding, this shouldn't be an issue at all *hyperventilates*

And with a bit of mental math, I figured that Birthday Weekend + Wedding Checklist Task = I'm Allowed To Eat More Than My Fair Share Of Cupcakes. So began a day of running around town collecting cupcakes from Susiecakes, Sift, Pretty Please Bakeshop, and Kara's. All strong contenders. We gathered six adults, two itty bitties, and two cats (who abstained because they weren't allowed to vote for a catnip cake...), and after some solid discussion as well as a major sugar coma, I think we have a good idea of the ultimate champion. Me. It's me. I'm the winner here.

---
To celebrate, I thought I'd take part in this giveaway. Please buy at least one cupcake with your winnings, or you will have failed me.
(If the Rafflecopter's not working, check back at 3pm PST!)

GIVEAWAY DETAILS

Prize: $500 Cash (via Paypal)

Co-hosts: Jenn's Blah Blah Blog • Memoirs of a Clueless Woman • Mommy on the Money • Prim and Propah • Lush to Blush • Michigan Saving and More • Dividing by Zero • hellorigby! • Laura Jane Atelier • Motherhood Through My Eyes • Blog by Donna • A Pocketful of Polka Dots • The Together Traveler • Girl Meets Bow • Classy Yet Trendy • Perpetually Caroline • Virtually Yours • NYC Recessionista • Toto's Life & Style

Giveaway organized by: Oh My Gosh Beck!

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10

Playing Birthday Hooky

Last Friday, I skipped out on this gig because I completely forgot. A huge goal of mine in 2015 was to keep strictly to a MWF posting schedule, mostly because I wanted to challenge myself to find inspiration and write, write, write even when my brain doesn't think it can come up with anything whatsoever. And it's become a part of my routine on Sunday, Tuesday, and Thursday nights to put something together for the sake of, well, writing. I bolted up in bed at 3am thinking "I FORGOT TO BLOG" in a panic, but then promptly fell back asleep.
This Friday – today – is different. As you're reading this, I'm holed up in a Korean spa somewhere in the middle of San Francisco (#prayersplease), likely still ... (not) giddy ... from midnight celebrations, and preparing for a whole day of pampering with the big sis. Today's playing of hooky is brought to you by my 22nd birthday, so
PEACE OUT GIRL SCOUTS.

9

So This Was 21

Roger: "Oh ... no. Oh no."

Jerry: "Not again. This woman. This woman with the cameowra just won't quit!"

Here I am at bedtime scrolling through my Facebook feed. Today's count is: 3 engagements, 2 gender reveals, a trillion anniversaries, some toddler birthdays, and a single case of Caroline dropping her phone on her face. My high school compatriots are birthing and raising children, discussing mortgages and family cars, and I'm over here coming up with mediocre captions for cats two days away from my 22nd birthday. SMH.

Roger: "Calm yourself, woman. Seriously."

Jerry: "Stop."

 – 21 In A Nutshell –

// 3 THINGS I CAN DO BETTER

Doing, over thinking. I'm a dreamer. I have quite the collection of notes tucked away in the nooks and crannies of Google Drive and Blogger and iPhone Notes about plans and visions and ideas. The hard part for me is putting words into actions, because those nooks and crannies are dust- to the -ty. Homegirl ain't the biggest fan of organizing, you'll learn.

Edumacating mahself. When your sole job is learning, learning can be exhausting. But I never want to stop. TheSkimm has been tremendously illuminating, but here's to utilizing more and more resources other than Buzzfeed Pets as reading material. First up: The Onion. Right?!?!

Connecting. Um so IDK, but I suck at replying to texts and Facebook messages and e-mails.

// 3 LESSONS I'VE LEARNED THE HARD WAY

Saying goodbye will always be hard. My grandfather's the third grandparent I've lost in three years, and it hasn't gotten easier. Missing them all every single day.

There are silver linings always, no matter how faint. Cherish those silver linings, because they've come at great cost.

Sometimes what comes next won't be clear. The not-knowing is hard, the uncertainty is a struggle. But more often than not, everything will be just fine. And if not ... well, 21 means you can head straight to the bar.

Roger: "Seriously?"

Jerry: "What even is this thing anyway? Actually, put it away. I don't care."

// 3 THINGS I'M PROUD OF

I'm self-sufficient, but I want that support group anyway. Be it in the form of a dad who flies with me out to NYC to move me into my internship apartment and analyzes the subway map for the most efficient route, or a mother to whom I go wailing at the first sign of sickness, or a sister who somehow can always tell when I need help, or friends who know just the right thing to say or do ... I don't want to make it all by myself. I want them all with me.

I'm unapologetic about what I want to do. AKA tonight and most nights are for my default mode: Netflix, a candle, and catching up on blogs. Don't convince me otherwise.

That I challenge myself to challenge my beliefs and attitudes. This is an ongoing process, but I hope never to hold so steadfastly onto any single belief. Sure, having strong values is important, but I hope to always hold myself accountable in never closing my mind to others' opinions and perspectives.

// 3 OF THE BEST ADVENTURES

Roadtripping the PCH with my roommate. Breathtaking views, eom.

Interning in NYC this summer. NYC, eom.

Taking a spontaneous pre-senior year trip to China for a week with my sister to spend some time with the fambam. Food, family, and fancy schmancy hotels, eom.

Jerry: "Don't make me tell you one more time, young lady!"

// 3 REASONS I'M OVER BEING 21

The expectation of hitting up bars, clubs, and all things social all the time. Like, no. Like, sure that's all fun every once in awhile, but gimme chocolate bars, Club Monaco, and social media stalking.

Because there are better things ahead. I hope! '21' sounds like the shiny, new year of the 20s. Everything's exciting, you're faced with so many possibilities, and it's all a bit of a cluster. '22,' in my mind, you start to really sink into the 20s cushion a bit, get comfy, get down to business. Doesn't sound like a bad deal to me!

'Cuz I'm feelin' twenty-twooooooooo. (On Friday, at least!)

// AND 3 REASONS I'M KINDA SORTA NOT

You only get to be 21 once. I'm a heck of a nostalgic person. I get sad thinking I don't ever get to be 16 again, or 18, or 21. I spent my whole childhood and adolescence reading stories and watching movies and listening to songs about these ages and formulating an idea of what they might be like, and in the blink of an eye – poof! I'm there! and poof! Now I'm not!

There were not yet real consequences. Okay, I mean, yes. There are. But, in a way, I can spend my money frivolously, I can spend my weekends any which way I want to. If I pull an all-nighter, the worst thing that happens is I make the choice to skip class the next day. If I have a falling out with a friend, she lives 5 minutes away and things are easily patched up. Next year, I have a feeling things won't be so easy anymore.

METABOLISM. Mine's already betrayed me, but I know it's only going to be downhill from here. Please send help.

Roger: "THAT'S IT, I'M CONFISCATING DIS."
// 3 OF THE MOST EXCITING THINGS WAITING FOR ME AT 22.
Graduation. Only VERY recently (since last Friday) have I finally started thinking about graduation in positive terms - as a chance to begin anew for the last true time. I'm excited to have the opportunity to get to decide where my life is going, and to actually apply everything I've learned in the past four years.
Europe. Two-and-a-half months in London, Paris, Florence, Rome, elsewhere in Italy, Croatia, and Greece. The real post-grad escapism technique.
Standing next to my sister on her big day. Nothing could be more special to me.

11

Senior Spring, Oh Senior Spring

Don't mind me as I'm over here in total confusion as I'm wondering where all the time has gone. And I don't say this in a "I can't believe another year has gone by!" way that every one of us do around holiday time as we get all nostalgic and whatnot over spiked ciders and Christmas trees. No. I'm legitimately bewildered that we're on the third Monday of this last quarter of college, because I don't know what I've been doing with all that time.

Scratch that. I kind of do.

There's job-hunting, and then the panic attacks that come with job-hunting. Then, there are classes. On Tuesdays, I spent three hours in class. (Watching movies like Brave and Juno, and then chatting to the writers and directors and creators of them, WHAT.) An hour after that, I was in another two hour class. (Having group conversations about life experiences and communication.) And on Mondays and Wednesdays, I'm in two hours of class as well. (Writing fictional short stories.) AND on Wednesdays, I also spent two hours at night in ANOTHER class! (Learning Serbo-Croatian, yeah this one is a total wild card.)

Productive, as you can see. Really contributing back to the world and all with these skill sets. 

But what about all of the time outside of these academic endeavors? I haven't had but two naps in three weeks, that's unheard of! I must be doing something!

I guess there was that whole afternoon Cassandra and I spent making an expedition out to In-N-Out and boba and hey, why not, Nordstrom Rack.

And there's also those sweet, sweet times when I run into friends by happenstance, but then decide to make an impromptu lunch out of it and a chat out of it and welp, there goes one good chunk of time!

There are the mid-week brunches that I make Lauren pencil in to her calendar (because it makes it official!). And to drag that out, I convinced her to drop by the new Blue Bottle downtown and we spend an extra hour conversing over iced coffees. Necessary. And THEN, I insisted on walking the forty minutes home instead of taking the bus or an Uber because we have allllllll the time in the world, yes we do.

This weekend, too, was pretty happenin'. I hopped on a train right as my morning class ended, met my sister for a wedding dress fitting where she looked like such an angel princess bride, cuddled with the cutest cats in the world, indulged in bananamisu (so good!), and tried on bridesmaid dress after bridesmaid dress after bridesmaid dress. Getting in and out of those dresses itself took, like, six years. Zippers, man.

All events that I'm happy to forego a nap or two for. But still. Time needs to calm down and breathe a little. You're starting to freak us all out.

6