this is who i spend my days at home with:

my little old man cat Leo

newport beach

I've spent the past three days in Newport Beach, visiting Cameron. These pictures are from the porch outside of his house on the bay. We had just gotten back from a great dinner where I had some of the best ravioli ever : cheese, corn, summer squash, butter and bacon - what's not to love?!
I spent most of Wednesday driving down South (I don't think I can ever live in LA - the traffic is unbelievable), and got to Cameron just in time for his dad's amazing home-made pesto chicken pasta. Then we saw Captain America in 3-D in a movie theater that sat over 1,000 people.
Thursday we slept in, went to the beach (where Cameron swam in the ocean and I read my book), rode bikes to the pier and swam in the bay.
Friday we woke up early and I got on my way back home.
The trip was just what I needed, to get out of the house and out of this marine layer. I loved getting to spend time with Cameron -- there just wasn't enough of it!

shoes and a book

Today — after months of worrying that my tennis-shoes just won't cut it in a London office — I finally found a pair of shoes I can wear to work! I can now check "classy shoes" off my list of things to worry about before leaving in September. I'm going to forget about the fact that London is cold and damp and stormy, and that I might need some more substantial footwear. For the time being I am completely content with my little red heels.

I also got my first London travel guide. Guess what I'm going to be doing for the next couple of nights?? Yep, that's right — reading through every "neighbourhood," memorizing street maps and starring places I want to visit, places I want to eat and stores I want to shop in. 

I'm getting excited!!

a night out in Berkeley

I couldn't ask for a better night out with great friends: Jupiter's amazing homemade pizza and mind-blowing spinach artichoke dip, the final Harry Potter movie, and a bit of craziness to end it all.

placement meeting

This is what I looked like at 8:30 Tuesday morning as I was anxiously awaiting my Skype interview with the intern-placement company in London:

And then I got a phone call, and proceeded to do the interview over the phone. Not on Skype. My make-up and careful cleaning of the spots of my room that would be visible from the computer's camera were all for nothing.
All in all the interview went well, and this is what Kate (she's a self proclaimed London-er with a British accent, she will place me in my internship position, she has a great laugh) and I came up with:

CAREER GOALS: 
I hope to be able to integrate my Anthropology background and my love of
writing into a journalism career, preferably for a print magazine where I
will be able to write feature pieces. I would love the opportunity to travel
for my work, and would appreciate extended time in collecting information
and understanding the individuals behind a story before producing a written
piece. This internship will allow me to see what working for an established
news institution looks and feels like and will help to narrow my scope of
preference when looking for a career in journalism after graduation.

POSSIBLE PLACEMENT FIELDS:
Journalism
PR
Film/TV Pre Production

DETAILED INTERESTS:
Genre wise likes entertainment, culture, fashion, beauty, travel, news,
hobby based
Writing very important but less so than genre.
Prefers magazine setting but open to newspapers

SKILLS TO DEVELOP:
gaining confidence in a professional setting
contextualizing academic experience
general exposure to a new field
Networking

I have no idea what kind of company I'm going to end up working for in September. Hopefully my placement meeting helped give both Kate and I an idea of what I'm looking for!
Now we just wait and see.

my little attic room

After a long day, coming back to my little attic room is always a comforting feeling.

Today I : heard a story about wasps, drank the best hot chocolate of my life, did a crossword (until I got stumped), played some cards, looked at babies, bought a t-shirt, rode a bus, ate thai food and all the while hung out with a close friend.

But coming home to my cozy space, even after a great day, sure is wonderful.

(what is not so wonderful is my make-shift closet, which I only have to put up with for another week or so before I'm moving back home before my London adventure. see below.)

as it stands now

This is where I live:

This is my home:

This is my favorite flower:

This is the craziest thing I've done:

And this is my love:

some stolen thoughts

"The world is a book and those who do not travel read only one page.” St. Augustine


"To travel is to discover that everyone is wrong about other countries.” Aldous Huxley


"And by the way, everything in life is writable about if you have the outgoing guts to do it, and the imagination to improvise.  The worst enemy to creativity is self-doubt."  Sylvia Plath