so the COUNTDOWN begins...

It's been a while since I've had anything to write about. Partly because I've been concerned with finishing my thesis. Partly because my life is (on a whole) pretty boring. In any case, the countdown has begun for Tran's homecoming! 9 days till I'm out of my current residence. 24 days till I'm back in CA, for an indefinite period of time. It's a happy/sad sort of time.

Many things planned for the upcoming weeks. Anni is visiting, and hopefully the rest of her trip will be sans any more mishaps (she missed her connecting flight last night in SLC, and so had to spend the night in the airport). Mani/Pedi at Animare Aveda. One day at Busch Gardens. One day at the BEACH (weather permitting). Colonial Williamsburg (but no outlets - alas.. the poor life of a poor graduate student). Pack/label/ship ALL my stuff. Sell what I don't want to take back. Help Ben move into Jeremy's. DC!!! Date auction (where Karen will be sold off to the highest bidder).

I'm sure lots of other activities will be interspersed between those listed above. It should be an exciting time. I'm excited to be heading home, but also very sad that I'll be leaving Ben and all of my friends. Of course, they'll always be there for me to come back and visit (or perhaps hang out with if I get a job back this way), but the future for me once I get back to CA is so hazy at the moment. And, if I do end up getting a job out here, I'll once again be leaving all my family and friends back home. It's quite a dilemma, knowing people that you enjoy being around who live on opposite sides of the country. I suppose the dilemma will be solved (hopefully) in two months, when I have a job and need to settle somewhere.

For now, I guess I'll just have to not think about it, and remain concerned with completely finishing/defending my thesis and getting all my stuff back home.

Love,
Tran

An Open Letter to a Car

To my dearest Camry,

We had some good times, didn't we? It's always sad to see your first car go off to a new owner, but I know you're in good hands. I may not have always treated you with the respect you deserved (e.g. not keeping you properly clean, always waiting an extra 1000 miles before changing your oil, etc.), but I always loved you more than those other cars. I can only hope that my next car will be as good to me as you have been.

After leaving you, I stepped into a new car, a cousin of yours actually. Gaetano's brand new Toyota Yaris, which I have dubbed as Guiseppe, was not nearly as fun to drive as you. He lacked cruise control, power windows and locks, and didn't give me that wonderful feeling that I had driving you. Sure, Guiseppe has all that extra storage and is a breeze to parallel park, but who wants that when you look like a clown driving him around. No one will ever compare to the way your clear-coat started to peel, or how you stopped letting me listen to CDs. Remember when that idiot of an ex-boyfriend left your tire iron in the grass at his friend's house? Or that one time when we had a huge $700 surgery to revamp your engine? Man, those were some good times.

You will be sorely missed.

Love,
Tran

GRAB BAG TIME!

So, even on a budget, a girl has to take time to buy herself a gift, right? Well, how can any girl pass up a deal like the one from Puella: 10 items packaged in a cute little tote for only $150 (+ S&H). That's only $10 a piece, and there's a chance for cute tops and dresses and whatnots. Anywho.. here's what it came with:

• ivory seersucker shorts
• navy blue tank
• lime green tank
• ivory tank with golden leaves and blue squares
• short-sleeved henley with red checker print
• sailor tank tunic with yellow flowers
• v-tank dress in light green
• v-tank dress in yellow checker print
• elbow sleeved bibbed tee in sky blue
• navy blue tunic

It was a good surprise to see all the things they put together. Can't wait to try everything on, which I will do... NOW!

Love,
Tran

Grandma says, "No food for you!"

I love my grandma to pieces. She's the greatest grandma a girl could ever ask for, and a damn good cook, too. Unfortunately, no one at home is allowed the pleasure of her cooking until I return to California. It's rather sad. She has six other grandchildren living within close proximity to her, and she won't cook anything special for them. Just the usual fish and rice for dinner. Makes me feel kind of special. Now, I'm just counting down the days till I (and everyone else) get to taste grandma's home-cooking. mmMMMmmm.

In other news, the thesis is coming along slowly, but surely. I'm working on my first round of edits, with one chapter down, hopefully another chapter done today, and a third chapter done by the beginning of next week. Then I'll have two chapters left before having to submit a second draft to my advisor, which will undoubtedly result in a second round of edits. Hopefully, two rounds of edits will suffice. Then I can submit and work on my presentation, and then present in early September. Man, this is passing by really quickly. Before you know it all my west coast friends will be welcoming me home, and all my east coast friends will be mourning my departure (sorry guys!). And then the endless jobhunt can go full-steam, rather than the half-assed, no result effort that I've been giving it lately. ::le sigh::

Hope everyone else is doing GREAT!

Love,
Tran