sk8erangela2

 I have always wondered why girls forgive their guy friends way quicker than their girl friends...I am not generalizing because it is even a common motif in many tv shows and movies...I mean I have even done it once.  In conclusion...girls just suck.  

And so does school.  I play these mental tricks on myself that ultimately screw me over when it comes to school work.  For instance I have this 5 page essay due tomorrow by noon.  I convinced myself that 5 pages is nothing, which it is! and so I kept on putting it off day by day, hour by hour, minute by minute merely b/c it is ONLY 5 pages.  And so I thought I had got it in the bag.  Then I find myself starting on it at midnight, 12 hours before it is due whereas if I had just worked on it when I should have, without playing those mind games on myself, I could have been long in bed by now.  

I do that with news articles too.  I put off writing articles till 2-3 in the morning even though I could have finished it a day or two before because I convinced myself I am wasting my time starting on it early when I could start on it late because it takes almost no time to complete.  But then I find myself up at the wee hours of the night, stressing.  

Anyways school has been going on with full force, now ending its 5th week.  This semester has been really really good so far.  My classes seem better because the professors seem a lot better (last semester I made an 89.31 in one class and in another class I had to do a grade appeal which went through.  Talk about shittiness).  I'm working for the OU Daily Newspaper and I got promoted after a week from being an unpaid intern to a paid reporter!  It's a lot of work since I have to write about two articles a week, but I'm getting the hang of it.  When I wrote for The DePauw I think I had written about 10 articles in a timespan of a year working there due to the fact it was more laid back since it was a biweekly paper.  Because the Oklahoma Daily is well, a daily paper, I've already written 10 articles in a 5 week span and so it's just crazy to note how a small difference between a biweekly paper to a daily paper can actually feel like a major difference.

Well I'm off to sleep so I can wake up and start work on my paper at 8 a.m.  My reasoning this time to put off my essay even moreso now is because I need some sleep and a fresh pair of eyes to work on it some more.

CIAO!

So school this semester hasn't really been all that golden. I feel like the snow days in the beginning threw everyone all off. Anyways the transition from private school to a state school has been hard. Driving to my classes and getting stressed from finding parking let alone getting to class on time due to it really isn't my cup of tea. At DePauw I'm so use to leaving my apt or beta (har har) 7 minutes prior to class starting and still managing to get to class with ample time to socialize with my friends (which is another thing I lack here). Here I have to leave probably 35 minutes before class starts, drive for 7 minutes, find parking for 10-15 then finally start walking towards class which takes up another 10-12 minutes. It really is stressful but I guess I could just eliminate all of that by taking the bus to school like I use to do, but I hate sitting in that awful sardine can on wheels.

Plus I definitely do not know many people in my classes. And they're kind of rude. Once I emailed everyone in class if I could photo copy notes for $15 because I missed some classes and no one responded really except for one dude because I had answered one of his questions he had asked. I just feel very detached from the school I guess mainly because I'm not really living on campus, I don't know many kids there, and the professors are kind of distant as well. And OU hasn't been really helpful to my cause being a transfer student and all. Like today I didn't know it was bad luck to walk underneath the clock tower by the library! Apparently you will graduate late! No one told me of this.

So for this year's Lent I made myself give up eating out in general. It was very difficult and for the first time I finally knew what it felt like to be a good Catholic. But it sucks to not be able to eat out especially if you're a college student. I would be on campus all day and literally feel myself starving and slowly my stomach eating itself. So as of last week I modified my Lenten resolution to just giving up fast food (McDonald's, Taco Bell, etc.) But now I'm having the difficulty of defining which restaurants are fast food or not, such as Chipotle or Jimmy John's. Would you guys consider those fast food? Most wouldn't but what makes those places different from let's say from these places?
Especially Subway?



So this week hasn't been really good. On Sunday I got into a minor car accident, my fault. Rear ended someone. Damages weren't that bad, especially for the other guy. He literally had nothing wrong with his car. Perhaps his bumper was a little loose I don't know. So we get a call from our insurance agency saying the other party claimed $1800 in damages. Please tell me people if this warrants for $1800 in damages...



People should know insurance fraud is illegal.

It's been exactly one month since I have consumed an alcoholic drink as of today. I don't know whether to be proud or sad. I know it's good for me, but I don't feel like my old self anymore.

Today was also the first time i've been to the gym in...8 months. HEY at least I skate on a regular basis. I'm so glad I went today though, I need to strengthen my muscles and I can't really without lifting weights.

I decide this summer I'm not going to find an internship and just study for the LSAT and just get my butt into law school already. I know there is no rush, but it's kind of hard when everyone around me is getting their shit together and I haven't yet. I do want to work more before I go to grad school, but I think my parents are afraid of themselves getting too old and unexpectedly die before I am fully self-sustainable. So I will live out my parents wishes and finish school hopefully before they retire. haha

I start at OU next week. I'm excited, I can't wait actually. It's no DePauw but I will consider that a good thing. State schools are the polar opposite of the D3 school I went to for the past 4 years. It will be a different perspective and one can always learn from that.

I start with a new coach tomorrow! His name is Boyko and he was an Olympian in the '88 winter olympics. Can't wait!

The past couple of weeks I went on a vacation with my family to the west coast! My first time out in the western frontier! The weather was nice but it was a bit chilly, even moreso than Oklahoma which I found a bit disappointing and simultaneously odd. It rained quite a bit which was upsetting when it did on Christmas Day while we were at Disneyland. Anywho I like California a lot. Needless to say there was a lot of sightseeing and shopping to do. Let me clarify, A LOT better shopping. And this is coming from an Oklahoman, where we don't even have a Norstrom, let alone a Burberry store. I fell in love with the Carlsbad outlet shopping mall while n San Diego, but only because it had a Ralph Lauren and Barney's outlet store which are both conveniently displayed on the opening webpage.

http://www.premiumoutlets.com/outlets/outlet.asp?id=66



We also went to Las Vegas which was amazing. Surprisingly it was very family friendly during the holiday season despite it being known as "Sin City". There was a lot of asians there. Actually just a lot of asians in general in the west coast. My favorite photo I took while there:



I really love my new camera. It's not even a digital SLR even though in my opinion that photo looks like it was taken with one.

After spending 9 whole days with my parents and my brother I'm proud to say my Vietnamese has almost returned back to it's original state, back when I use to live with my parents in high school before I left for DePauw. I have gotten so Americanized over the past four and a half years that whenever I start arguing with my parents in Vietnamese, it becomes a struggle to argue back with quick and proficient Vietnamese. But now I am proud to say I can almost argue with my parents with as much adeptness as they can. Well almost.


Anyways, I'm going to recap my 2010. It was truly a tumultuous year. I graduated from college, lived in three different states (Greencastle, IN, Moore, Oklahoma, and Evanston, Illinois). Have traveled all over the US (Cleveland, Chicago, Indianapolis, Panama City, Daytona, San Diego, Los Angeles, and Las Vegas). and finally got my first job! A lot better than 2009 in some ways. 2009 was nice because I got to go overseas a lot and experience life to an extreme, but there was a lot of serious drama which made my life a lot more difficult whereas with 2010, it was nearly drama-free. I mean there was of course drama, when is there not with a group of constantly drunken college kids? However the drama in 2010 is not worth my attention as I recapped 2010.

2011 resolutions (basically the same resolutions I've had the past...oh four years)

The usual "lose 10-15 lbs".
Find an internship/job this summer not in Oklahoma.
Pass my freaking Juvenile moves and freestyle for once (I was suppose to pass it last year but a snowstorm then little 5 got in the way).
Land all my double jumps and start working on my triples!
Stop spending so much money on frivolous things and start saving!

Anyways to those who know me well and are reading this, if you haven't noticed I didn't include "stop blacking out" or "drink less" on the list. What can I say, I have changed/grown up so much (not by choice) since my DePauw stage. I mean I did stay in on NYE night and read a book...

After...3-4 years, I'm going to admit it.

I like Kanye West. Even though he was mean to Tay Tay, and she's my girl, I like Kanye. From what I can tell he mainly produces music and he produces it well and I think his newest album is a testament to that.

My favorite song on the album



With "My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy", I feel that it is a lot less pop than his previous albums (with the exception of his first two albums). He incorporates gospel, r & b, electronic into his songs and essentially creates a new genre in this album. You can tell a lot more time and thought was put into each song. Songs weren't just written or produce just for the sake of writing or producing them. That was what happened with his last two albums with only 2-3 good songs coming out of each. With this album it is indicative from the first few seconds of a song, that they were written and produce as works of art, perfected until it sounded fit to be added to the album. All the notes, rhythm, and tempo for all the songs fit together like a puzzle. He still auto-tunes his voice, but tastefully and doesn't overdo it like 808 and heartbreaks. Plus he does a good job reinventing old songs, such as the above youtube video of Bon Iver's song "Woods". I mean pitchfork did give it a 10. A bit of a ridiculous rating, however I truly believe he has reached his musical apogee once again.

I don't know what's going on but I woke up sore today. It was definitely from skating yesterday but I thought that phase is over. To further clarify what I'm talking about, usually when I return to skating after a considerable amount of time off, I am usually sore for the first few days, normal for anyone returning to strenuous exercise after a significant hiatus. However, I've been skating for the past...4 weeks so I should not be sore after practice any longer. Either 1. I'm working out too hard or 2. I'm getting old. I just really hope it's not the latter. So instead of going to practice I stayed home making potato skins and mac and cheese. Because that's all I know how to make.



These aren't the potato wedges I made today, but a few weeks ago for Patrick and his mom. I knew I forgot to add onions today!

All right. So what is a blog post without elaborating on one's personal qualms. So onto the next chapter of my life...unemployment and not in school. But wait. Do they consider the service industry as a form of employment for a recent college grad from an elite private liberal arts school (as pretentious and sarcastic as that sounds, yet still holds some weight)? Right now I'm currently employed at Applebee's. The coworkers and management there are very nice. However there are some who get on my nerves, even moreso than the customers if that's even possible.

When people ask if I'm making money there, if they had asked while I was working during the summer I would have replied no. But for some reason or another, I'm making decent money. Either, 1. I'm a better server now (I do notice a I incur a reduced number in mistakes and accidents ) or 2. People are more giving during the holidays.

Anyways I'm just scared this bad habit of working in the service industry will be hard to break and that my worst nightmare will come true. I'll be 40 and still working at Applebee's. I need to find an internship or a real part time job since I'm going back to school this January. It sucks because all my coworkers on the congressional campaign are getting REAL jobs, such as constituent work or chief of staff, except for me. My parents just won't let me find one. They just want me to be in grad school so I can supposedly land myself a better job (aka better salary), but it just sucks because I feel as if I have not advanced in life when everyone around me is. I want to start being my own person and make my own money. I understand they are just looking out for me and don't want me to live pay check to pay check. But I don't want to live with them either!

And this segue to my final qualm of this blog post: with this abundance of free-time comes an abundance of time spent with my family and being driven into insanity by them. After four years of living on my own, Indiana, Spain, and then Chicago, I have no idea why I'm back living with my parents. Oh wait, because it's free. But who says freedom isn't cheap...

Oh hey everyone, it's been awhile. My life has been so jammed pack and busy. I am now back in the good old state of Oklahoma, where the wind comes sweeping down the plain. Chicago was fun, but whenever anyone ask me how it was, I respond, "eh, it was ok, I'm not a big fan but I'm just glad to be back".

That city is too big for my liking and too freaking dramatic when it comes to parking tickets. Driving there gave me major anxiety. I remember just returning home and just being weirded out from the state of being back, feeling very unfamiliar to my home and even my own bedroom because so much had happened since I was last there. Just a roller-coaster of emotions and events in those three months when I was away made me forget home. Now it is the other way around, the opposite. Now in retrospect it seemed like that job was FOREVER ago. The same exact sensation that occurred when I came back from studying abroad from Spain. I guess the extreme difference between Oklahoma and Chicago or Spain makes me feel like the latter never happened.

After Chicago, I went to Cleveland to visit Cristina and the Mansilla clan for four days. I think I can safely say that was the further east I've been in the states (and notice I say states since I've been to Ontario). It was good to finally meat Oscar and Stinky (Cristina's pride and joy of felines) and see her home.



Then she and I went to DePauw for the highly anticipated school event, MONON. Whenever I try to explain to a non-Depauw or non-Wabash student what it is, I tell them, "it's like a Texas/OU or Michigan/Ohio State game, but D 3..." Hah. Anyways when I was there I felt like I never left, however at the same time really sad because I wasn't a student there anymore. It hit me while I was there that it sucked that a place where I called home for the past four years is not home to me anymore. I wasn't sobbing or crying like the first time I visited but I felt like I had this dark cloud hovering over me the whole time. A drunk, dark, hovering cloud to be exact. Don't get me wrong though, it was loads of fun. Did not black-out, so that goal was accomplished. Also bought a keg, caught up with friends, tail-gated, and most importantly fratted it up. What more can a 22 year old girl ask for (maybe some downtime to actually catch up with friends, but beggars can't be choosers)? My coworkers in Chicago kept telling me I need to come to terms I'm no longer a college student, but can't I just enjoy it as if I am still one?



I think the problem why I can't let go of college just yet is because I became friends with people I honestly love too much.

My family and I definitely did Black Friday this year but not to the extreme like previous years where we would come home with TVs and laptops. This year was more relaxed. We woke up at 7 instead of camping out in front of Best Buy for hours starting at midnight. I bought the missing season 3 pt 2 to complete my Entourage collection. I also bought season 1 and 2 of Mad Men. Never seen the show, but heard great things about it and with only $10/season I thought to myself, "Why not?"

Another thing my family decided to celebrate for the first time this year was THANKSGIVING! It was fun. I guess my madre was in the holiday spirit. I was in charge of the mash potatoes (box style of course) and salad (you know, emptying it from the box into a bowl). For some reason or another, when the family gets together we start fighting. Or more like my dad and the siblings start fighting. My dad does this annoying thing and schedule family vacations without checking to see if they work with our schedules. He just expects it to work. He's just so aggravating. He tried to pull our chains, telling us we will never have another chance like this to go to Vietnam in our entire lives. Yes never.



My three month stint in Chicago is done and over with. It was fun but did quite a bit of damage to my bank account, with a total of 5 parking tickets and 2 traffic tickets. Yeah it makes me seem like a very bad and reckless driver but, hello, I've only had one traffic ticket prior to Chicago and that was having my brights on. In addition, my engine service light came on while I was in Chicago. My dad took the good old Camry to the dealership and came back with $600 of damages brought upon on my behalf. Chicago was not kind to me or my car to say in the least.

Election day was crazy. I drove a company rented Yukon for the entire day. I felt so ballin' driving it the whole day. Put 200 miles on it from that day alone, driving from the staging location to the various polling locations, picking up and dropping off volunteers. My right leg was so sore by the end of it all, driving from 5 a.m. - 7 p.m. Hey at least won, 2-1. Victory party was still a bit depressing since the democrats lost 60 seats in the house, but we still partied. "We" as in the campaign staff.

I'm glad I went through the whole experience. I felt as if I was used though. Making me work every day with shitty pay, but I learned to understand that is politics. It's not a money-making, glamouous lifestyle, I have come to terms to that, but also a bit forbidding to pursue a career in.

The subject for my past blog entries have been about work because well...that's all I do. In the mornings if I'm feeling motivated and awake enough, I begrudgingly would make my way to the ice rink for 8:00 a.m. practice. But usually I can't make it because I'm still trying to recover from working 14 hours the day before and try to scrape in a extra hour or two of sleep. I did go a few days ago and it felt good. Got the endorphins running and I was on a high the remainder of the day. My footwork sequence is getting better, my moves are as well. I had a coach during my time here in Chicago named Jola. She's no longer with me because she had to fly to Poland (one thing I've learned about Chicago is the large population of Polish people it has) to tend to her parents. But during my short tenure with her my moves have improve drastically and I can skate the basics a lot better now with more grace, stability and strength. Before her I could just jump and spin and hobble around in between. Oklahoma thinks they know skating but after taking lessons in Chicago, there is no room for comparison. The girls here skate so well, so maturely but I think that because I compare them to Oklahoman skaters. Chicago knows their ice and takes it seriously.


Now that my work days are longer, I never get to see my host family anymore. The only chance I get to see them is if I go to practice in the morning while they are getting ready for work/school. But since I am never motivated enough to go to practice I don't see them. I come home now around 10-11 p.m. and the kids and wife are usually in bed by then. The husband, Pete Giangreco, usually doesn't get home till midnight since he works on a campaign as well. Anyways, when I am home and with the family I do try to make the most of it. The three kids seem to never be in the house all at the same time, and for some reason or another I hang out with the middle son and youngest daughter the most. A few days ago Gracie (the youngest, she's 10) and I went on the trampoline for an hour playing slam ball (basketball but with pushing and shoving which takes place all on a trampoline) before a debate between my boss and her opponent I had to go to. Today I came home and watch about three episodes of Jersey Shore with Nick and his cousin. Moments like this I truly cherish.

Election day is coming up in 9 days. It's scary and flying by all too quickly. As the stress level and workload increase, so do our opponent's mudslinging and attacks. He's just a real prick, now making claims my boss is using voter intimidation (in reference to her rally's to get people to vote...http://www.youtube.com/user/PollakForCongress#p/u/8/Km3gMoDnJew). Seriously it's sad and pathetic the things he thinks up. Intimidating voters to go vote?

Some of my boss's DC staff flew into Chicago to help her out with it. The campaign headquarters is now always crowded with volunteers and works and also messy with lists, literature and laptops. I use to like to work out of there because of the energy and I get to see all my fellow coworkers. Now I just want to leave because I get so claustrophobic and I start to get headaches from all the activity. Once I get to my field offices out in Chicago, I can finally let out a sigh of relief.

Speaking of my field offices in Chicago, the areas of my boss's district I'm in charge for campaigning wise, I'm well, no longer in charge of anymore. It turns out my areas are very organized and the committeemen and women run a very well oiled machine out where I am stationed. They have been handling things their way on Election Day for years and therefore does not need a recent ambitious college grad to butt in or even worse, take over. Therefore they just scoff at me when I try to discuss Election Day plans with them. But still if I were my boss I would want to make sure things are running smoothly for me out there and that I got someone to make sure it is. But since these committee and chair people got it under control, now all I can do is report back numbers to the high bosses. And so basically I went from having two offices, an assistant, and two interns to 0 offices, no assistant, and two interns. Interesting to say in the least.

So living with a host family has some of its perks.  When I was living in Spain it was nice letting my host mom do my laundry and cook all my meals for me.  Here they don't do any of that since I'm always at work...but it still has some perks living with them.  They have this cleaning lady that comes in once a week in which she does actually make my bed and clean my room, but usually she doesnt touch my clothes or personal belongings.  So I learned that since she mainly makes my bed, I've now put things on my bed which forces her to clean that stuff as well.  Mwhahaha....So basically if I leave all my washed laundry on my bed, they would have to fold it all for me whereas if it wasn't on my bed, they wouldn't even touch it.  

It was kind of funny b/c one of the people in the office today was telling the 49th ward Alderman how I lived in a nice house...and to thank Barack Obama for it. But literally...I should thank Barack for it.



Isn't Teddy adorable.  Real smart dog too.


My boss was on Rachel Maddow's last night.

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

And then our opponent and his annoying listen-to-my-fake-accent-wife made a commercial the other day about how they're friends with Nelson Mandela...but I'm not going to post it.  Instead I'm going to post another commercial they made that basically makes a mockery of the US government...



The reference he is also making in the title "Flip my ride" is that by running for congress he's trying to "flip" the district by running my boss out of office.