alone time.

this is the first weekend i have spent alone here, and it's feeling strange. i went to target twice just to kill some time. ha. i am so glad that target is only about 10 minutes away. today, i took care of some last bits of cleaning that i've been putting off, and waited around for the washer and dryer to finally be delivered. the only problem is that the wrong power cord was ordered for the dryer, so i still can't do laundry! it's pretty annoying. so i decided to get more cupcakes and check out the outlet mall in napa tonight. it's a smaller outlet mall, but i like it. the size makes it totally manageable to explore in one evening, and it has most of the stores that interest me.

school is moving along... but i am not really keeping up with it. eeek. the thing is, it has been all review for me so far, so i have a tendency to drift off during lectures. i should just pay more attention so that i don't have to review it on my own time, but that is easier said than done. some of my classmates like to ask a lot of questions. i mean a lot. way more than necessary, and usually pretty irrelevant. very annoying. it's not that i am opposed to questions, i just feel like sometimes the question sessions get really out of hand, and it has been causing all of the professors to run out of time and not finish their lectures.

i have also identified one professor who i do not like. she is the only person so far who seems like she does not really want us to succeed. just the manner in which she talks to us, the material she presents, and the way she teaches are all unfortunate. luckily, we don't have her very often. all of the other professors so far are pretty great or at least good. :]

last friday james, sarah, and howie came to visit for the weekend and mike and tiffany joined us on saturday. it was so nice having familiar faces around.

friday night, we had dinner at what has come to be one of my favorite local spots. it's an asian place called princess garden. they have a mongolian bbq option, or you can order dishes off the menu. i've done both, and been satisfied each time.

after dinner, we headed to berkeley to see what it was like. it turns out... it's not that cool. definitely worth the extra little drive to go into the city. a classmate had mentioned this one pool hall/bar that we checked out, which was actually pretty cool. but it's probably the only cool spot in berkeley because it was completely packed. the wait for a pool table was over an hour. we eventually found this small pub that was pretty calm, so we just hung out there for a bit.

on saturday morning, i slept in and james took howie and sarah to a breakfast place that thu told me about called momo's. james said it was the best huevos rancheros he's had. :]

that afternoon, we headed to san francisco. our first stop was at this pork place howie wanted to find. it's actually in this cool market in the ferry building. i will definitely go back there. they have a cheese place that is really amazing, a bread place with delicious rolls, a patisserie with the best chocolate shortbread cookies i've ever had, and lots of other cool little specialty shops.next, we headed over to the haight. james wanted to find some shoes, but howie and sarah ended up finding shoes instead. haha. go figure. as we were walking back to the car, we passed a hat shop that was having a party. it was pretty silly. howie and sarah each found hats they liked though, so i guess it was worth the stop. after that, we went over to north beach to meet mike and tiffany at the stinking rose. i've eaten there several times because it's semi-famous, so everyone always wants to try it. honestly, i am not a big fan. i feel like there are much better places anywhere along columbus street, but sarah really wanted to eat there thanks to the hype. so we did. hopefully next time, i can convince them to eat somewhere else. ha. after dinner, we did some bar hopping, and stumbled on this super packed dance party.it was pretty fun. i think everyone managed to have a good time that night. :]

the next morning, i suggested another spot for breakfast called the red onion. i had eaten there on thursday with thu, jason, will, and his fiance after our trip to get cupcakes [which was a success]. i noticed they served breakfast, so i made a mental note to come back and try it. i think everyone was pretty happy with the food. i got a little too full considering the next item on the agenda was to head to six flags and ride roller coasters. i'm glad that sarah wanted to take this photo too. i hate being the only one bothering people for a group shot. plus, during a class trip in 6th grade we took a photo on this whale, so i think it's fitting to have another one. :]
after two rides, i called it quits and went to look at animals with sarah who wasn't super into the rides either. usually, i am more of a trooper, but not that day. it all worked out though... i think everyone got to do what they wanted to do and ultimately enjoyed the day.
i had just eaten frozen strawberry lemonade that was soooo good, so my lips are a little extra red here, but this is probably my favorite photo of james and me in a long time. we were getting bored watching the killer whale show. i think the whale was having a bad day because the announcer kept telling us to watch for something, and nothing would happen. ha.
the dolphins were a little more into their performance though. it was nice to sit in the shade for a bit during these shows too. it was really warm, and i felt a little silly because i told everyone to make sure they had a sweater because it's been chilly here lately. it was seriously the first warm day since i moved here. go figure.

i was pretty sad for everyone to leave. it hits me kind of hard sometimes, and that night was one of them. the adjustment to being here alone is taking longer than i thought, and it's also harder than i anticipated. james is working out his plans to move here hopefully next month, so i am really looking forward to that. i have made some good friends through school, but i can't rely on them to keep me company all the time. haha.

i guess that is all for now. tomorrow my school is hosting a big event for big brothers big sisters, so i will be staying busy most of the day. :]