Tis The Holiday Season

Even though I typically cringe at seeing holiday decor springing up earlier each year, I was actually excited to see the halls decked for Christmas yesterday. As Alex and I shopped for his friends' birthday presents yesterday, I sipped a Peppermint Latte and took in all holiday window displays and shimmering lights that adorned the Pentagon City Mall.

Then today, my roommate and I decided to match the winter weather outside with winter decor inside. We put up the Christmas tree, strung the lights, and hung the ornaments. We also filled our apartment with the smell of the holidays: home cooked food. We had some law school friends over for a "last hurrah" potluck and sipped peppermint flavored drink concoctions.

I might not be ready for finals, but I am definitely ready for Winter Break.

Momma Doan

Happy Birthday Mom! See you next week for a fondue celebration.

California Dreaming

Last night my roommate and I were watching the Real Housewives of OC, an addiction and guilty pleasure of many of my friends and law school classmates. As we watched all the women with bleached blonde hair, tanning-bed tinted skin, and heavy black eyeliner (both the 'housewives' and their daughters) drive around in their Hummers, I asked myself why I was moving back to California.

Then this morning I walked outside. Pouring rain, gusty winds, and dark skies. Waiting for the bus, which was 10 minutes late, I remembered why I am moving back. I can control the people I am surrounded by, but I cannot control the weather (or public transportation).

Just a few days left until California, sun, and Thanksgiving food.

All Looks the Same?

Every day my bus passes by the construction site of a new embassy. Last year, someone mentioned that the workers were building the Japanese embassy. I thought that was odd because there was already a Japanese embassy. Then, I looked at the map behind the bus station, and the map seemed to indicate that the Singapore embassy was in the location of the construction. So we all thought the building was for Singapore for the past few months.

Riding on the bus last week, my friend and I started talking about the embassy. I said something about Singapore and he gave me a confused look. "They are building the Chinese embassy!" I did get some grief from people about not knowing that the workers were Chinese, but I am horrible at telling different Asian ethnicities apart. Singaporeans versus Chinese, would you know?

Honestly though, I do not feel guilt about my inability to identify people's ethnicities. It is not necessarily that all Asian people look the same. Rather, people within each Asian ethnic group vary so much. I do not look stereotypically Vietnamese, and neither does my 6'2 brother.

...but, we do fit the "nerdy" Asian stereotype, at least when we did dressing up as Star Trekkies (you asked for it, and today my dad sent this to me without request).

Favorite Things....

These are some of my favorite (rainy day) things...

• Waking up and realizing that it was only 6am and I could sleep for another hour.
  
• Getting to wear my trench coat.
• Having a good event about the situation in Burma.
  
• Lunch discussions about Street Fighter.
  
• Rewatching the Spring Sing Jump Roper v. Juggler reenact Mortal Combat

• Getting a shout-out from my favorite professor during 1st Amendment.
  
• Watching UCLA basketball dominate
• Knowing that the yellow "C" on the UCLA jersey signifies 100 national championships.
• Seeing John Wooden.
  
• Getting kudos at journal meeting for publication.
• Candy at journal meeting.
• Going through the law school facebooks with my roommate.
  

Veterans Day

You would think that attending a school called The American University, the school would not have classes on federal holidays. Wrong.

Our school is in a city named after Washington, yet do we get Washington's Birthday/President's Day off? No. Our school is in a district named after Columbus, yet do we get Columbus day off? No. Our school is in the same area as the Department of Veteran's affairs, memorials to veterans, and Arlington Cemetery, but did we get today, Veterans Day, off? No.

Long gone are the days of public schooling and getting all federal holidays off. Now I just live in a city where we in private schools and the private sector glare at federal employees and wait to get random Jewish holidays off like Yom Kippur.

Kidding aside, I actually am appreciative for the veterans out there. I never thought about it before, but I guess I do come from a military family. Both of my grandfathers were in the military fighting with the United States during the Vietnam War.

So thank you veterans. Going to school on just another Monday is hardly a sacrifice.

Pet Owners Gone Wild

After our trip to the zoo today, Alex and I stopped at Petco to buy some things for the cat. I am not a huge fan of Petco because it is overpriced and I once saw a mouse running across the floor. But the cats needed toys.

As we were checking out, the woman working at the cash register was having some problems starting up the machine. Then we realized that one of the cat toys did not ring up half-off as was advertised. As Alex was pointing to the discount bin where we picked up the toy, the normal-looking man behind us in line clinched his teeth at me and silently growled. I was going to say something or nudge Alex, but I think I was so taken aback, especially since I looked up again and the man did it again.

Perhaps he was joking, but he actually looked like a mean spirited man. Just imagine Mr. T's face on a 30-something very Aryan-looking man (this may have contributed to the intimidation) buying fresh cat nip.
I think we will be sticking to Pet Smart in the future: cheaper prices, no rogue mice, no crazy pet owners (yet).