i walked past a barber shop today.
feeling impulsive, i walked inside and
chopped off 4.5 inches of my hair
(& got a student discount!)

OVERWHELMED.

@______@

*2 weeks*

SAN FRANCISCO 
i went to the de young with

dominique & the havc department today.

we saw Vermeer's "The Girl with a Pearl Earring"
(aka the "dutch mona lisa").

her uncle met us for lunch.

he was super nice and impersonated julia child.
("neeeverrrrr apologize!!")

then he bought us baklava & showed us around sf a bit.

!!sourdough croissants!!

this is domi's "dutch fish platter."

i also saw a photo exhibit documenting

the US invasion of iraq.
the photographs really affected me.

this is what an iraqi visa looks like.

 the sudden shift in exhibits was kind of startling.

here's a peruvian mosaic figurine.

and some rothko.

i forgot to get a picture
(because i was so mesmerized)
 but my favorite piece was by
an Australian aboriginal artist of The Dreaming.
just imagine a simple faded black
background with hundreds of little white dots
flowing across space. undulating, like currents.

pathways; some breaking along the way.
like these lives we live..

today, a homeless woman at a thrift store offered

to help me look for clothes that i
"would look so cute in!"

i accepted her offer but then
decided it wasn't working out because
i would never wear any of what she held up :(
(but i appreciated her generosity). 

then she turned to me and said very seriously,
"i'm supposed to meet my friend here, but he's not here!

do you think he got arrested?"

CHIA SEED FRESCAS

after going to Bruce Ames' talk on
nutrition, synthetic chemicals, government, & cancer,
i realized that i wanted to start cooking a lot more.

santa cruz county is one of main producers of
fruits & vegetables in the country
(for example, watsonville's strawberry industry
alone totaled $198 million last year)
so i need to keep taking advantage of all this local stuff!

today, nadya and i met up at farmer's market

and sniffed, touched and inspected everything.

then i came home and made myself a big lunch:
panko fish, quinoa, various leaves, mozzarella,tomatoes,

chickpea salad & brussel sprouts.

ISABEL ALLENDE IS COMING TO SANTA CRUZ

TO TALK ABOUT HER NEW BOOK.

BUT I AM NOT GOING TO BE HERE :(

i found a roommate for seattle!

well, she found me actually.

we talked on the phone for the first time
and discussed a potential apartment.
it has a SUN ROOM :D
(hopefully, there will be at least
some sun sometimes.....)

i'm in california, she's in wisconsin.
we have never met, are 2,000 miles apart
and apartment-hunting together
for a dwelling in washington.

"Linda is going to Graduate School, and Ryan is going to live in a trailer in Montana. They have somehow figured out a way to leave school way before graduation..They (we) want to hang out with all of you cool good awesome best-est ever friends in a happy stress-less scenario. Please come hang with us!"

HAPPY EARTH DAY!
spring babies 2013
johnny jump-up violas, lobelia, feverfew!

my grandma taught herself how to read & write
when she was in her 20s.

before that, her life consisted of:

-sustaining herself off of tree bark & grass,

-taking care of her 10 siblings & their offspring

-and war.

autumn wolf (her nephew) showed up one day unexpectedly.

he took the train from the north to come ask for money.

i couldn't help but stare at this man

(his yellow eyes, broken hand, ragged clothes).
he stared back.

he's related to me but looked like

he was from at least two centuries ago

from some ancient chinese legend.

once during summer school,
mr. mallice screamed at a girl

asking why she was so ignorant

and didn't make any effort to

understand what's going on in the world.

he probably shouldn't have yelled at her

in front of everyone (she started crying)

but if that what it takes to

get people to WAKE UP,

then i am all for it.

 

the only way things are going to

get any better is if people start caring.

maybe some people just feel

compelled to care more to make up

for the lack-of care they sense all around them?

~1 cup white sugar

~1/2 cup butter
~2 eggs
~2 teaspoons vanilla extract

~1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
~1 3/4 teaspoons baking powder
~1/2 cup milk
~nasturtium petals

*cream together these ingredients,
mix in these ingredients, stir in milk,
bake at 350 for 35 minutes*

i was told by someone at the bbq:

"your cake matches your personality."

“I go to school, but I never learn what I want to know."

witch craft yum yum?

(no, but really, voodou is 
super interesting & misunderstood)

"Autistic Girl Expresses Unimaginable Intelligence"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BVaT-VkCs0k

^so inspiring^

there is so much we don't know.
getting a glimpse into something like this
 opens up a whole universe of possibilities.

"science without humanity is one of the root causes of violence."

having time to make a meal is one

of the best things in life!

( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)
once i was helping nads with her
application for a summer program in syria.
we frantically researched cultural/historic sites
that she's "*always* wanted to visit"
such as the Umayyad mosque.

it worked!

she had a grand time in damascus
working with refugee youth
(then crazy things happened).

D I Y  P I Z Z A   N I G H T!
at around 9, my roommates and i

decided we should make pizza.

**maryna made a heart shaped deep dish,

**theresa made a tiny one smaller than a petri dish.

**and i made one that i sprinkled with some

green bell peppers for ~contrast~

the last time i made a pizza was

in christchurch. we were road tripping

through new zealand's south island and stopped to get

free stuff/food at university of canterbury's

orientation. they had a clay oven in a garden

and handed all the students beer.
*~cheers~*

springtime~*~
maryna and i went to the farmer's market today.

i got a kale, a basket of strawberries & 1 artichoke
(and a tray of lime chicken & rosemary potatoes!!)
she got radishes, lettuce and a mango agua fresca.

so many beautiful places.

so many new adventures!

"here's to opening and upward,

to leaf and to sap"

fo0o0o0o0d
lotus pods are the best summertime snack.

za jiang mian (one of the
best things i have ever eaten).

in the streets of beijing, you can get
your zodiac animal made from sugar for you.
they blow it into a balloon while it's still hot,
then pinch a nose here, pull a tail there
and voila!

diego, may and i biked along highway 1 to

wilder ranch state park! we stood

at the edge of a steep cliff and

threw rocks and shells into the sea.

then we reflected how lucky we are to have:
ocean, farms, hills, forest, meadows
(all nestled into each other too).

"HOW TO BUILD A PIZZA OVEN OUT OF
A TERMITE MOUND IN UNDER 2 HOURS"

 ^we also made these shakers at a brazilian music event.

bikers, wear a helmet please.

today, i witnessed a horrible

hit and run car-bike accident.

i ran to help a girl lying face down

in the middle of the intersection,
called the police (for the 2nd time in my life!)

and after she was taken to the hospital, i met up with

hallie and we got sandwiches & visited the MAH.

we also searched for kitchen gadgets and i finally found

an enamel cup + spork for backpacking trips!

i'm entering a landscape photo contest for
study abroad returnee students.

which two pictures of new zealand
should i submit?

1. Lake Taupo

 2. Nelson

3. Abel Tasman National Park

 4. Tongariro Alpine Crossing

"in a gentle way,

you can shake the world."

a fluffy little dog who accompanies a human

to manufacture e. coli cells at midnight.

"santa cruz in the springtime is the best thing ever."

the scent of flowers at the farmer's market,
the streaking clouds,
the sunshine flooding everything in light,
 the gophers, kittens and stellar jays,
all the smiling faces and
redwoods swaying in the warm breezes.
i'll never get over all this.

 S E A T T L E , W A S H I N G T O N.

graduate school,
here i come!