Joey and Audrey

The title says it all. Two of the coolest people I know. LOVE YOU GUYS!

I'm Alive!

Hi! It's been a million years but I decided to revive this thing. I don't even know why I stopped. 

Here's a picture of cute manatees because they are my favorite animal. They're so bomb. 

Hope anyone who is reading this is having a good winter break. Christmas is near! :D

Spring Break

Hey all, as the title says, that is what I am currently on. I am full and rested...mainly because all I have been doing is eating and sleeping. Sounds good, huh?
Anyways, two quarters have now passed by and I am very excited for spring quarter! There are a lot of exciting things that I'm looking forward to. I'll be sure to try to get pictures up or at least describe them.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HHdc6YOAEZs 

Posted above is a song I wrote today. It's pretty raw but I basically was inspired to write this when I had a conversation with a close friend about how he wanted to be closer to God after being in college these past few months.

Shall properly update soon. :)

Merry CHRISTmas!

...Wishing everyone a blessed and wonderful Christmas. Thanks for being in my life and I hope you all have a beautiful day full of wonder and whimsy. God Bless!

First Quarter of College [check]

Fall quarter is done and now winter break is here! So far all is well with school and the first season of marching band at UCLA is now over (sadly). Needless to say, I really can't wait until next year. I'm planning on taking hip hop classes at the John Wooden Center and possibly do symphonic band...looking forward to an exciting winter quarter.

However, after one quarter, I've come to really fear midterms and finals. They are indeed extremely stressful and it scares me that I have 42343243 midterms and finals left to take at UCLA. Luckily there are a lot of places to study around the dorms and on campus so basically I just have to study a lot to do well right? Hopefully! Anyways, it sure pays off to take a break once in while. For instance, my building (hedrick summit) held a Furry Friends for Finals event where they brought dogs for us to play with during finals week. Mmmm, I love me some puppies. I did really miss my cat Julius while I was away for those 3-4 months down in LA.

Ahh, so what to do with all this time? Men's basketball game gigs is what! I realized how much more I know about basketball compared to football (although both are very fun). Four winter break games - I'm so there. I guess the only bad part would be driving down to Westwood and back but luckily I'm SoCal so I should not complain. Let's go Bruins!

I've also joined a wonderful Christian ministry at UCLA this quarter called Grace on Campus, commonly referred to as GOC. Every Friday we have worship as a student body and then every Sunday GOC drivers (usually upperclassmen) bring the dormies to Grace Community Church in Sun Valley. Ahhhh, I've met really great people at GOC and I can't wait to partake in my small group next quarter (and hopefully be more involved!).  I've also learned a lot more about the Bible and the sermons at GOC are very convicting. I definitely am grateful for being part of this wonderful ministry brought together to worship such an awesome God. :)

On a random note, I noticed in my diary (yes, I have kept a diary since 5th grade) that I didn't write as much during high school, give or take a few entries. I realized that was when I started up a blog (so really it makes sense).  I just can't write stuff here that is like super top secret...but then again I don't really have secrets to hide. (...or do I? haha)

I am getting rather sleepy so I will keep this post rather short. I wonder how many people from UCLA read this...I doubt anyone even knows I have one. Regardless, blogging is definitely my catharsis sometimes.

P.S - If you're in the AV area and you have nothing to do this winter break, hit me up! Please. :) I sadly have to go back by January 3. (I have a feeling that will come faster than I hope)

Feeling Good

WOW. It's been a few weeks now in college and needless to say, I am LOVING it. I would have to say marching band has been a major highlight so far and football games at the rose bowl are incredibly fun. On top of all that we are doing a MUSE show (one of my favorite bands) and a cartoon show on top of a pregame show. Spelling out UCLA in block letters and the script (in cursive) is one of the most prestigious things I have ever done haha. Just in case anyone is interested I'm in the C in block UCLA and in the U in UCLA script. It's the best feeling ever.

I love the UCLA uniform. What more can I ask for? There's a freaking gold cape for crying out loud and the band looks great on the field and pretty much everywhere. I also really, really like my clarinet section and the people in it. I just wish I could talk more and NOT be so shy but hopefully with time it won't be too hard. I mean...I can honestly say I have met my closest friends through band so I doubt this would be any different from high school. I don't think anyone from UCLA would be reading this but I just wanted to know I appreciate all the clarinets very much. :)

Football games are either in the afternoon or at night so the afternoon ones are extremely hot. It's quite ridiculous how much the heat can get to you but luckily band serves a good enough distraction. :)

Classes have been also really good and dorming is great (I enjoy my roommates)...a lot of reading but the math is pretty easy and the GE classes are interesting. I'm getting more and more used to the walking, hills, and endless amount of stairs here in UCLA but all in all it's very much worth it. (good exercise right?)

This weekend is our band trip to CAL! I am so excited to go there and see Cal for the first time on top of going to an away game with the band. I hear USC is going to Stanford at the same time...hopefully I run into Josh with a couple of my clarinet friends so we can bully him around. ;) December 4 is the USC vs. UCLA game so if anyone is in town and wanna see what all the fuss is about in the coliseum by all means GO. :)

This is officially the first blog post since I got here and so I hope I can update more. I have been singing and playing guitar but haven't had a large enough block of time to record a video for youtube. Hopefully, when things settle in more I can find time to update that. At any rate, I am always up for anyone wanting to visit me or in need of a tour. There are so many things to do here - dining halls (yummy food), cafes, campus events, walking, and of course Westwood. I'm really enjoying all of what UCLA is offering thus far and I can't wait to explore more. 

So I will end here for now and find more things and pictures to use next post. Fact: The squirrels here are beastly. They are NOT afraid of you.

Hope you guys have a happy October. 

The Last Thing on Your Mind

All right. I have 12 more days left. I cannot wait to start my new life at UCLA.

Anyways, I figure I will be a little more informal here and just use this blog to jot down thoughts I may have from day to day. I will certainly try to do this in college and hopefully put up some pictures of my dorm. That would be cool. The only thing I have packed are my bedding stuff and towels but other than I just have to bring my clothes, guitar, ukulele, my Bible and my mac.  That's all I really need. (:

Recently, I have been listening to this singer/songwriter by the name of Lights. I have developed an acquired taste for her songs and so far my favorite would have to be the acoustic version of her song "The Last Thing on Your Mind." I actually just learned it two hours ago. I love singing it ha. 

Other than playing guitar and being on the computer, I also have been conversing with my cat Julius more. Needless to say, I will him miss a lot when I'm gone. Even though he ignores me and walks away when I call for him, he's still my favorite cat and will always buy him two kinds of treats when I go to the store (because one is just not good enough haha). Maybe I should buy him some UCLA paraphernalia - like a new collar. Yeah, that sounds like a nifty idea because someone stole his previous one. -_-

I feel like eating Cheerios right now but I don't have any. Bummer...well until next time, hope everyone has a happy September. (: