Day 170

June 28, 2009.

SAO love.

Day 130

May 19, 2009.

Nic Walder rules the world from his homebase at S.A.O.
Studying for finals.
Which I happily finished this morning. Now I'm off to swim and then to a 6-hour long red-eye flight home.
Excited!

Day 128

May 17, 2009.

Dim-sum love, for Jesse (above) who's graduating and Alice, my roommate returned from abroad. I bussed it out to meet them in Oakland Chinatown. The food was okay, but the atmosphere and people made it what it was. I rarely see generations of families together, from grandchildren to grandparents, and somehow Chinese restaurants fill with them. It comforts me, surrounded by college students all day.

The photos: I meant the first shot to appear like an ad, where two unsmiling models stare at the viewer, working their message without expression. The second provides a contrast, where actual personality expresses itself apart from the clothes or people.

The bottom one shows S.A.O. members after a full night of tabling, handing out donuts and talking to random strangers. Nice. 

Three final papers down, one to go. Yet I still love college somehow.


kb

Day 127

May 16, 2009.

Studying has its perks, such as an exponential increase in value of all my non-study time.
After waking up at 8:30, writing till 12, then eating PB&J (How I miss real food!) and locking myself up in S.A.O. to write some more, I left campus feeling pretty satisfied with my six page almost-final draft.

So I went to ping-pong. This is Denise. She is very small. But there is a lot to love, still. She always patiently serves the ball to me, and runs to pick up the ones I miss, even after my many rounds of missed hits. I usually fear that my teachers (all kinds) will give up on me, get too frustrated and just leave; Denise doesn't seem to mind the misses, and just keeps serving it back. It's nice. I like practicing that way.

The two pictures below are from the S.A.O. Financial Aid Division reunion dinner, in the Mission District at La Traviata. The house looked fascinating from across the street (especially with its melange of colors blending with the sky) and the guys are Tim and Ajay, who match. I'm now very inspired to help build S.A.O. up next year, and even excited to join the post-college crowd. I thought life lost its color after graduation, but these S.A.O.ers surprise me with their vibrancy. I can't wait to become one of them too.

Day 126

May 15, 2009.


Friday in the S.A.O. Always makes me feel better.



kb

Day 125

May 14, 2009.

This is my housemate, Tiffany. She is very photogenic, but fears the camera. Passing by a bloom of white flowers, I had to picture her (looking like a flower herself, with her white chemise!) with them on this beautifully warm day.

Below I demonstrate again my love for S.A.O., the Student Advocate's Office. This picture shows my first ever ad, created for our publicity event today. Considering we ran out of donuts in the first hour-and-a-half shift, I consider it a success and will be sure to use it for future events.

I feel a bit guilty for not studying all day today. But I still have three pages down of a seven-page paper; perhaps all is not lost. I have some incisive ideas for SAO next year, which I hope to implement. And suppose that I will be able to finish the other four pages tomorrow, in between breakfast and lunch.


Best,

Karen

Day 117

May 4, 2009.

Flyering in Wurster Hall.


kb

Day 116

May 4, 2009.

There's much beauty in the world, we just need to know what and how to see.

For me, I find beauty through my senses, both visual and visceral. That means when a piece of cheesecake enters my mouth I savour every drop of cream, milk, flour, sugar that went into it; I live it. When I see something green, something flowering-- I love it. I don't feel happy all the time, and yet I don't think that's our goal. Instead, I love the world around me and trust it, so that even when I feel nervous, awkward, anxious I just need a bite of cake or a glance around to locate myself back in this world of ours and out of my own nervous thoughts.

...

The photos above are from the Student Advocate's Office (Financial Aid & Residency division) annual brunch, with the Student Outreach director of Financial Aid on campus. We had exquisite food at Cafe Rouge on 4th Street, and even more sensuous dessert.

On the way home some roses and mushrooms caught my eye. Their brightness contrasted with the dull gray sky, and I had to preserve the sight. They are below.

Day 114

May 1, 2009.

Rubik's cube success! I learned how to make a "white cross" and repeated the act on the bus going home. Another success for today was getting through SPIN class (cycling) without keeling over--the first time since I got asthma. That's enough successes for today. Coupled with some good life discussions over good food at Le Cheval, I'd say I got all I could ask for from a rainy Friday afternoon.

Day 107

April 24, 2009.

I like the many faces to a person. Photographs show an instant in time, but if you take enough of them they show change, motion, life. This is my friend Isaac from S.A.O., the Student Advocate's Office. He came in and looked statuesque in his somberness, so of course I had to pull my camera out and begin capturing shots. Hopefully placing them next to each other creates a sequence, and you can see the move from somber, to laughing, to posed. : )

The two photos below make me happy. The first is my friend Mona putting the hijab on me yesterday (so I'll be a hijabi), while I fidget and distract her. The next is from my trek up to the Haas Clubhouse, and shows the Campinile standing alone with mountains in the background.

  

Day 63--SATURDAY

March 7, 2009.

S.A.O. (Student Advocate's Office) retreat to Santa Cruz. This is the boardwalk. I did not take the picture (I'm in it!) and I forgot my camera at home.

Day 50

Feb. 22, 2009.

这张不是我照的，不过很好玩。这是我在Berkeley的家，我们的客厅。人呢，是S.A.O.的一组。今天是我请客，原本我们是因为下雨所以取消retreat；我觉得太可惜了，就请了大家过来，我炒了三杯鸡给他们吃，另一位带了沙拉和蛋糕，再另一位带了印度餐，可见我们吃得很丰富。


最近还是不太舒服，很爱睡觉，集不起精神来复习，申请实习等等活动。希望这个礼拜过得轻松一点，不过我肚子已经开始痛了，但愿是忧虑的原因而不是食物！