FIRES

For all those who have been watching the news, you have heard about the "Firestorm" in Southern California. The air is really smoky and ashy down here in San Diego, and the climate is very dry. I took a shower 15 minutes ago, and my hair is already dry! School has been canceled for the entire week here at UCSD, and actually in the whole of San Diego County. The fires are pretty close to the campus in the surrounding towns, but there is no immediate danger of harm to any of us here. Actually, there are only 5 of us left out of our floor of 20, because everyone panicked and paid ridiculous amounts to run home, even though they would be perfectly safe here. The campus is shut down, but the food dining commons are still open as well as the health center and the psychological and counseling centers. It is in a "state of emergency"
For more information about the campus, visit Tritonlink
For now, everything is fine, and my roomates and I are enjoying ourselves, having time to relax and hang out, as well as catch up on studying before midterms next week. We have our shows that we watch on TV, and watching my Netflix movies.
Don't worry, I'm okay! : )

The only bad thing is... since we are missing a week of school, we will most likely have school extended into winter break, to make up for lost time.

it's another tuesday!

Life here in UCSD is, as always, very studious, but a blast. I just got home from my literature class, did some dishes (I think the maintenance lady was getting sick of seeing my neon IKEA dishes everywhere!) and did some light housekeeping. I used to think I was a messy person, but then I moved here. I'm actually cleaner than some of my roomates! Our suite tends to look like an explosion sometimes... but it's so much fun, and I've learned that girls can definitely be messier than guys! I'm still figuring out my camera, but above are some pictures from the suite.

Mmmm... studying!

So, tonight has been my night to do lots and lots of homework. I had Third World Studies again today- Literature of the Indian Subcontinent- both the lecture and the discussion. The discussion was taught by an ACTUALLY good TA- it's her 7th year of teaching, and she specializes in Latin American Studies, and she seems to have the gift of teaching. Should be a good situation. After class, which ended at about 1 pm, I walked down the giant hill to Black's Beach. It was such a beautiful warm day today, with all sun and no clouds. I saw lots of people surfing, but for the most part I had my section of the beach to myself (and the curious little seagulls). The ocean was so georgeous! I was able to catch up on my literature readings as well as finish the homework for next week --- all on the beach!! Gosh... I feel so lucky to be living and going to school in this environment. UCSD is pretty awesome. After getting back from the beach, I napped and then tackled the Calculus homework as well as chemistry, where we are practicing conversions of units and kinetic and potential energies. I should probably get back to studying, but more news will come later for the flamily~!

TM-P-502

Good evening all! It is officially my first crummy night in the dorms. Everything since has been absolutely amazing, but for some reason I seem to have caught a bug. : ( Ah well.... today was the first Monday of real classes. I had Calculus in the morning, then an English lecture, a chemistry lecture, and a chemistry discussion. It was a pretty big day! I have to leave my "house" at 7:15 just to make it to class in order to get a seat for the morning lectures. People are very competitive, and a small percentage always are there 45-1 hour ahead of time! This college experience is awesome, though. My suitemates are really great girls and something is always going on! We have sampled the various dining halls since the time that I've been here, and some of the food is quite tasty, but overall... well, it's cafeteria food! ; ) I have fallen in love with this coffee shop that has a few locations on campus, Fairbanks Coffee company. They have the BEST mochas! ( sorry Peet's!) but really, these mochas are made with Ghiradelli chocolate and whipped cream and are just sooo yummy. here are some pictures from the suite life of Building P, room 502:

My 18th birthday celebration!The living room all decorated


Chello. Please come in?My lovely room!
And the requisite mini-fridge, with red microwave on top!