home + a little catching up.

james and i made it home at the beginning of the month after my block B exams, but the weekend went by way to fast. we barely had time to see anyone or do much of anything. we are home again now for thanksgiving, and i am really glad. :] he spent the day with his brother and parents in carson, while i am here in reno with my parents. it's been a super relaxing day to say the least!

as far as other updates go, school is moving right along. in another month i will be 1/8th of a pharmacist. haha. last friday, i had a rotation in a community pharmacy, and i really enjoyed it. i actually felt like a pharmacist for the first time, and i didn't mind the way it felt. i still have doubts about whether or not pharmacy school was the right choice, so that was a good feeling. plus, i just have to remind myself that there are a lot of options i will be able to pursue when i am done. my grades are not perfect, but i am trying to take part in other opportunities as they come along. i started volunteering in my school's student run health clinic, which has also been a good experience. it's still in the beginning stages, so there are growing pains that come along with that. but i think it will eventually be a pretty good resource for people in my area.

what else... we had some friends visit a few weekends ago, and i took a letterpress class in san francisco. it was really fun learning how to letterpress. it's so much work. i'm not sure i would ever really want to do it seriously, but i could see doing some smaller projects in the future if time ever permits.
also during that weekend, we went to our first NFL football game. it was crazy. the stadium is just so much louder than you can really imagine. my ears were literally hurting to the point where i had cover them. ha. we didn't really have a strong preference for either team, but it was still exciting to see the 49ers win in overtime. [on a side note, i think that since james has moved to the bay with me, i have watched more sports than in all the years of my life before this. ha.]

also back in october, there was a big pharmacy conference in san francisco that i decided to attend. i got to be part of the quiz bowl team for my school, and we won first place for the second year in a row! we beat more recognized schools like UCSF and UCSD, which is pretty exciting for my school. we also came in first place in the clinical skills competition and tied for first place in the poster presentation. i still get a lot of blank looks when i tell people the name of my school, so when things like this happen, it's really great for my school... and in a way for me too. :] here's a touro group shot with the clinical skills competition winners:
that's about all i have for now... the weather here is freezing, so i think i'm going to snuggle up in my covers and watch a few episodes of friends. i actually have a couple of layouts that i made earlier this month to share, but i need to find the time to take photos of them. i've also been trying to update my tumblr account every so often... so you can always check in there if you are bored. it's really just a bunch of randomness that i share there, but it's kind of fun.

ok. i hope you all had a wonderful thanksgiving!

grandpa.

i'm way behind on blogging and my camera battery has been uncharged for about a month now... so i don't really think i will be able to catch up. but i want to write about my grandpa james hendry griffith.

he passed away after a seven year battle with cancer on thursday, november 18th. i knew it was coming, but i still wasn't ready. i'd heard reports from both sides of the spectrum. my dad was forever optimistic about his dad making a recovery from his last blood infusion and being able to regain function in his legs and return home, while my sister was more convinced that it was time.

as i mentioned, he lost the function of his legs, and since he was unable to move about much, he decided it was time for hospice. but there were reports that it was only temporary and he would be back home. unfortunately, he didn't recover, but only got weaker. he was in a considerable amount of pain, which they tried to control with morphine. unfortunately, that meant that he was basically put into a coma. my sister and grandma were both there with him when he took his last breath, and my dad was on his way.

i will always remember his quite cheerfulness. he was soft spoken, but long winded. he was forever looking to give compliments. on a day when i was feeling subpar, he would [without knowing my own feelings] comment on my outfit or my hair or something to make me smile. i never heard him say anything mean or negative about anyone or anything. ever. he was a hard worker and certainly old fashioned. although my grandma started using a computer and the internet many years ago, he preferred the library and traditional letter writing. he was a geologist for mobile oil, but he liked to do research of all kinds and was very interested in our family history. he even made a few trips to ireland to do some genealogy research. when he got back, he told me a story about hitch hiking in the countryside and getting a ride from a family who invited him for dinner. when they were finished, he noted that they didn't wash the soap off the dishes, they just let them dry. haha. he had lots of funny little stories like that to tell. that also wasn't the only time he had hitch hiked that i know about, which often made my grandma worry. but i don't think he saw the danger in it. he and my grandma used to come take care of my brother, sister, and me when we were little so that my parents could go on vacation. my sister and i used to put on these silly little dance performances to entertain them, and he would always oblige us by watching. he used to quiz me on geography using a big atlas that my dad has, and he would always comment on how smart i was. he was always sure to let me know that he was proud of my school work and my accomplishments. he was a handyman. he was independent, but so in love with my grandma. he loved to garden. we used to visit them for the summers sometimes, and he always had an impressive vegetable garden with carrots, potatoes, tomatoes, etc. as he and my grandma got older, the gardening got reduced, but even during my last visit to see them, he was still going out everyday to check on his string beans and pick any that were ready to be harvested. he liked to be active and even talked my grandma into doing a 100 mile bike ride with him. during those childhood summer visits, i remember going on lots of bike rides with him and to a nearby park to play. there was also a gymnasium [as he would call it] in denver that he took my sister and i to one time. i am pretty sure that he did gymnastics throughout school. he taught me how to play corquet in their backyard. he liked to try to plan at least one education activity whenever he knew i was visiting... sometimes to the aquarium or the museum of nature and science. he wasn't big on tv or movies, except for the occasional action movie as far as i know. i remember that he used to play "day o" by harry belafonte, and sooner or later my sister and i would request to hear it every time we visited.

gosh. i can't believe he is gone. i can't help but think about the things that he will miss that i wanted to share with him. but at the same time i am so thankful that i had the chance to know him and make memories with him. he will be forever loved and missed.

fall break review.

during fall break, i split my time between denver and reno. i don't have any photos or exciting updates from my time in reno because i was sick, so i did very little besides rest. but my mom had some surgeries, which she is still recovering from. she had her first post-op yesterday and there seem to be no complications. my dad said she still needs a nap most days, and it has been a slow healing process, but hopefully she will be at 100% soon.

while i was in colorado, i also did a lot of resting and relaxing, but it was a treasure to spend the time with my grandparents. it was especially sad leaving this time. my grandpa said "i suppose there is no certainty, but we hope to see you again soon." that brought tears to my eyes for sure, but i tried to hide them. he has good days and bad days. fortunately, while i was there he was doing pretty well and seemed very happy.

my sister decided that we should go to pikes peak during my visit. here are a few photos from that excursion:

we stopped when we were about halfway up at this beautiful lake. it was really an ideal time of year for this trip because some of the leaves were changing color, and it was such a pretty contrast with the pines.
we stopped to see this little fox, who a local told us is named bart. he slowly crossed in front of the car and did not seem too fearful of people. i was tempted to get out and try to approach him, but i didn't. :]
sooner or later, we got up to the timberline. it's pretty funny how drastically the scenery changes when you get up so high. it's very desolate and rocky compared to the dense forrest that you find below the timberline.
jamie told us that this road has not always been paved. it was scary enough driving on the paved road, but i cannot imagine driving on it when it was just slippery dirt. there were a few times when my heart was just racing from the sketchy road.

when we made it to the top, we stopped into the little shop they have up there. i suddenly remembered that i had seen a little feature about pikes peak donuts on the food network, so i had to have a donut... which turned out to be a $4 mediocre donut. ha.

it's very rocky and pretty scary in some areas at the top, but i tried to be brave and go out a little way to explore. i'm honestly amazed that there are not more accidents up there, although i did not inquire about how many there are... so who knows.

my sister and i both made pretty poor shoe choices for the day. i had tennis shoes in the car, but i forgot to change. so yeah. it was definitely slippery.
and then thanks to my shoe choice, i ended up embarrassing myself in front of several people waiting to take photos here. one of my shoes flew off [you can see it in the photo] which complicated my landing to the point where i stumbled around and pretty much fell. not one of the highlights, but it's funny to me now.
on the drive back down, we got to see several goats. well. i think they are goats? haha.
jamie put my jumping photos to shame here.
and finally, a sister picture.

here are a few other photo highlights from denver:

my sister and jamie went to san diego a couple weeks before i was there, and my sister discovered pinkberry. she is officially in love. haha. so we went to downtown denver one day to get a snack there and do some window shopping.
after our snack, we drove by a bunch of disappointed broncos fans leaving a game.
we ate at a thai restaurant one night, and i thought it was pretty hilarious that they had "pineapple chicken" on the menu. it turned out to be pretty much the same as standard sweet and sour chicken. not exactly traditional thai food, but it was really good. and the heart shaped rice scoop made me smile.
we also had cupcakes on the last day i was there from a place near my grandparents house.

the hat that my grandpa is wearing was passed down from my grandma's side of the family. he has a really hard time staying warm, so he wears a hat most days... i loved this hat in particular. it's hard to see in the photo, but it's like an old beaver hat. :]

my sister came to reno two days after i left denver to help my mom since i had to go back to school two days after her surgery. since i knew she was coming to reno, i wasn't planning to go to denver, but then as my break was getting closer, i just decided that i should go. and i'm really glad that i did. :]

fall?

yikes. i sure have been a bad blogger.

i'm battling a bad cold right now, but i wanted to stop by and say that i'll be posting sometime soon.

my fall break is just finishing up, and i am sooo not ready to go back to school on monday. this break felt just a little too nice. even if the weather has been a little warm on the warm side. i guess it will be cold soon enough. i went to denver to see my grandparents, and then to reno to be with my mom, who had surgery today. she is recovering at the hospital still. because i have this miserable cold, i couldn't go see her today. hopefully she will be coming home tomorrow, and hopefully i will have kicked this cold by then too.

when i woke up in my bed here in reno today, i got really sad about the thought of going back to vallejo. i guess the adjustment is one of those "one step forward, two steps back" kind of situations. i need to get back into the grind of school soon too because my next block exams will be here before i know it i am sure. while i survived the first round, it didn't go as well as it could have... not just in terms of grades, but in terms of how i handled the stress and anxiety. but i now that i know what to expect, i know how to prepare better. i wanted to have a strong start, but i pretty much knew what i was doing to myself when i put off studying until the weekend before my exams. that kind of thing just doesn't work out well anymore for me. i've never really had to pay a price for my procrastination... and it's hard to change habits when you don't pay a price. but it's definitely time to start working harder.

ok. well. i think it's time for bed now.

and by the way... october, you came way too soon!

lush review two.

there is a lush right across from the apple store in emeryville, so i've had ample opportunities to stop in there during the past few weeks. the first time, i bought two bath bombs [butterball and keep it fluffy, which is the purple one below] and got samples of two different hair products. the second time, i got summer pudding soap, a sample of karma kreme, and the ickle baby bot bath bomb. it's [obviously] the one shaped like a little robot. i've been resisting it forever, but i finally broke down and bought it. i haven't tried everything yet, but i have tried a few items, and i think i have some older reviews to post as well.

i first tried the butterball bath bomb. [not pictured. oops!] i've always heard good things about it, but i am not really a fan of this one. it's supposed to be very moisturizing, which i guess is what you could call it. while it felt pretty nice during the bath, it left my skin feeling funny afterwards. it left a waxy residue that was no bueno. it also left a residue all around my bathtub, which i am not a fan of either. so i don't think i will buy this one again, unless i am in need of a seriously moisturizing bath, which won't happen while i am still living in the bay. my skin is so different here compared to nevada. i don't have to use nearly as much lotion anymore.

anyway. the hair product samples that i tried were interesting. first was curly wurly shampoo. it smells like coconut and even has little chunks of coconut in it. i let my hair air dry afterwards to see if it really worked any magic with my curls. sadly, it did not. my hair was actually less curly than usual. so i don't think i would buy this as a curly hair product. i also tried the coolaulin conditioner. the sales lady said that this would be better as a leave in product, or something to smooth out my curls. i used a small amount of it after i got out of the shower, but i had to wash it out because i did not like the smell. so again, i'm afraid this was not a winner in my book. i have heard really good things about lush hair products, but sadly, i have never had much luck with them. i guess i will have to do some more research and try some other options.

i am happy that i finally bought a lush soap because now i don't have to take a bath to use lush. :] i really like the summer pudding soap. yay! a happy review. :] i cut off a small chunk to take into the shower so that my whole piece wouldn't melt away before i could use all of it. based on my research, this is the best way to use their soaps. i enjoyed the smell, and was happy to find that it wasn't too overpowering. it smells a little bit fruity, but in a good way, a little bit almond-y, a little bit vanilla-y/spicy. i don't know how to really describe it. there are ground almonds in the soap to exfoliate the skin, but it's pretty gentle, which was good because i tend to have sensitive skin. i will probably try a different soap next time, but i will get this one again eventually. oh and i don't use it everyday. i'm probably going to use it once a week or so because i don't need to exfoliate that often.

the karma kreme lotion is so so. i prefer the helping hands lotion because it has less of an oily finish on my skin, and the smell is a little more subtle. the karma kreme is supposed to contain lush's signature scent according to the sales guy. it has a little bit of a citrus/pine smell, which is nice, but i don't really like the patchouli part too much.

a while ago, i tried what i think is the floating island bath melt. i still have half of it left, so i will be able to refresh my memory about it one of these days, but i remember that i really liked it. it left my skin feeling moisturized, but not waxy like the butterball.

i've also been using the comforter bubble bar (in fact, i used it last night) and i still really like it. it makes the water super pink, which is fun, and i've been using maybe 1/6 of the bar and getting so many bubbles! my skin feels nice and soft today, which makes this product a winner in my book.

i guess that is all i have for right now, but i'll do another review once i've tried more products. :]

disillusioned.

block exams are coming up monday-thursday, and i'm lacking the motivation to study for them. so today, i bought myself a watch as a reward to start studying. yep. a reward to start studying. talk about one of the biggest disillusions ever. yikes.

i don't feel like i have very much to update about, but i guess i have more than just a new watch to discuss.

i am still struggling with my adjustment. i get lonely multiple times a day. i miss my friends, family, james, and old classmates. i feel tired a lot. i don't feel like studying ever. i doubt myself and my decision to come here everyday. but everyday it's also getting a little tiny bit better, so i'm sure over time i will fully adjust.

school is not hard, but i have not kept up with it. now that it's time for block exams, i am feeling really overwhelmed with the amount material i need to review.

i finally got to go home last weekend, but i didn't get to enjoy it as much as i had hoped because my group had to give a book report on tuesday. the "book report" consisted of a written summary, a 30 minute presentation/skit, and a quiz to give to the class after the presentation. although i made a point to tell my group that i would be leaving on friday, they decided to meet on friday to discuss everything. i was beyond angry when i found this out, but there was nothing i could do about it. i also made the mistake of volunteering the fact that i am a pretty decent writer. so during their meeting, they decided that i should be responsible for writing the whole summary. and hey, why not make me write the quiz too. the best part was that they didn't tell me. i didn't find out until i asked someone how the meeting went. grr. on monday, i left reno early so that i could make it to the second group meeting where i expected that the presentation and skit would be ready to run through. wrong. no one was prepared. i started throwing out ideas about what should be done and said, and the two "narrators" asked me to write everything down for them. ahhhh. moral of the story: i don't like group projects. especially when i don't get to choose my group members. on tuesday, i was expecting the worst, but thankfully, the presentation was not as much of a disaster as i had anticipated.

oh. our book was written in 1925 and not available at any nearby public library or the school library. we bought a copy on amazon and had to take a photo of every page [it was over 300 pages long] then turn it into a pdf. i'm so glad that little adventure is over. and i have granted myself a vacation from responsibility of future group assignments. the next few are going to have to be someone else's responsibility. [easier said than done, i know.]

on friday, before i found out that i was responsible for the basically the whole book report project, i went to a bbq with james and got to see some of our friends.
i just think the next photo is funny.
sadly, that was the only time the whole weekend that i got to see them. but i also made time to enjoy the rib festival with james and my parents a little bit. so yummy!
aussom aussie ribs are always my favorite.
we ventured out this year and tried some different vendors. we found that texas thunder was pretty good too.
on monday, james and my dad brought ribs home for us. they both decided to try the beef ribs... which apparently have meat the size of a small steak on each rib. crazy!

oh. i forgot to mention that the week before last week, i started having computer problems. well. the hinge on my laptop broke. i took it to the apple store and found out that they could fix it, but needed to order the part. the nearest apple store is right by the bay bridge, so i went and met thu and jason in s.f. for the evening. we didn't do a whole lot because they were just exploring pier 39 when i got there. but after they left, i drove up to coit tower.i really enjoyed it. it was the first time i've made my way up there, and i am definitely going back soon. i was afraid to actually go up into the tower because it was dark, and i was by myself. so i am looking forward to that. the views in the little parking area are great too though.

last week, i got to take my laptop to be fixed, which meant that i was without a laptop while i was in reno and supposed to be working on the book report. i decided to get a new one because i am super dependent on having a computer now for school. i went with the macbook pro, and i love it so far. :] i got the repaired macbook air back this tuesday, so now i have it as a backup, which is good because i get really stressed out when technology doesn't work for me! i am not good at troubleshooting. ha.

what else... oh. today was james' last day of work in reno. woot! he is going to be in reno next week, and then move down here after i am done with block exams. i'm so happy that he will be here soon to keep me company and help me cook [hahahaha. and by that, i mean cook for me.] and go for walks with me, and visit cool places, and keep me on track with school stuff. he is still trying to sort out the job situation here, but he has a couple of leads, so hopefully something will pan out quickly.

this has been a pretty random update. i guess it's time for me to get back to studying. bummer.

eta: i just realized that i have not blogged in a long time. so coming soon: an august update and a lush review! :]

wise words.

have you seen the taylor swift cards at target? i had to use some serious restraint to prevent myself from buying all of them. :]

bbbs event.

aside from getting a nice sunburn in the traditional farmer's tan pattern, i enjoyed the big brothers big sisters event that was hosted by the pharmacy students at my school on sunday. i volunteered to work the spin art station or macaroni art station, and i was assigned to spin art with thu. sadly, the turnout wasn't that great... we had over 100 pharmacy students hosting the event for about 20 kids. ha. that meant that thu and i got to do a little experimenting with the spin art machine. it was semi-dangerous because it didn't have a cover or a good way to secure the paper into the spinner... so occasionally the paper would fly out of the machine. one little girl got pretty scared by it, but not scared enough to prevent her from requesting to do it again. :]

because of the low turnout, it was almost like a pharmacy social instead of community service. a few of our friends came to hang out at the spin art station because their own stations had plenty of workers and no participants.

on the left of the next photo is amy ngo, who is a second year student, and on the right is amy ng, who is a first year and also happens to be in my small group. it's always fun meeting other amys... and since i am terrible at remembering names, it helps with that too. :]

amy ngo was working at the macaroni art station, and she brought this little masterpiece to me. haha.

anyway. that was basically the rest of my weekend. i'm glad that i was able to get out and socialize a bit... even if i am suffering from a sunburn now. ha.

my first quiz is tomorrow in our biological science track. all of the information so far has been so simple that i have zero motivation to look it over, but i suppose i should make some effort. i hope you all enjoyed the weekend!