A Brighter Future

Great. On the day that I plan on going into the city, it rains. Why couldn't have it rained YESTERDAY? Seriously...

Anyways, recently I've been getting good news from many of my friends. My friend Dylan, with whom I volunteered at The Tech, is now a realtor!! He works for Prudential and has his own office. It's been a while since I spoke with him and he im-ed me on Facebook to tell me the news. To think that he's practically the same age as me and he's already working professionally while still in school( majoring in electrical engineering). Maybe I should take the test to get a realtor's license.

And this morning, my friend Sophia im-ed to tell me that she's going to South Africa for study abroad. She had been put on the waiting list and was expectantly waiting to hear back. She was determined to go and was planning to apply through the university. I guess she found out this morning and is leaving in mid-July. How exciting!! It's hard to imagine studying and living in another US state let alone a foreign country... considering I've lived in the Bay Area my entire life, and now that I'm going to college here as well. It would be nice to have a change of environment maybe for just a couple years.

Hearing the news from my friends make me excited for them, but at the same time disheartened for myself. I'm struggling to keep up with school and can manage little else besides school. My hope is that things will change in the near future and I'll be able to get back on track. Many important decisions are coming up. Most of them are short term, but still are very important for me.

It's the start of a new month. And April is when I will find out whether or not I'll be able to make the next leap to a different future. But in the meantime, there are still next year's classes and housing to figure out! Here's to hoping for a brighter future!

The Next Big One

On October 17, 1989 at 5:04pm, a slip along the San Andrea fault in the Santa Cruz Mountains caused a fateful 6.9 earthquake that would be remembered for years to come. There were 57 deaths as a direct result of the quake and thousands of injuries. The most deaths occurred on the Nimitz Freeway (Interstate-880) where the upper deck collapsed on the lower, killing 42 people. In addition, a 50-foot long section of the Bay Bridge collapsed resulting in one fatality. An estimated $6 billion of damages occurred, which at the time was the most expensive natural disaster in the history of the United States.

As the 10th anniversary of the Loma Prieta quake passes, let us remember the deaths that occurred as a result. And with the next big one's imminent arrival, be prepared so we can minimize the damages and respond accordingly.

Luck of the Draw

Last Wednesday after finishing up my ochem midterm, I decided to trek it over to the city and take the day off. I thought I might as well lotto for Wicked since I would already be around the area. Promptly at 5:30pm (since it was an 8pm show), I headed over to the theater, got my slip of paper and filled it out. All this time, I was on the phone with my friend Christina, informing her of what was happening. (She had won the lotto a week and a half earlier.) I placed my slip in the box and lingered until 6pm rolled around.

The time came and the usher drew out the names one by one, pausing for several minutes in between each pick. The lucky people bought two tickets each and soon only single seats were left. Many people refused the single seats because they wanted to sit next to their friends and family, but I didn't mind. It gave me one more chance of winning. All of a sudden, I heard the usher call my name. Christina had told me to let her know if I won. Without thinking, I yelled out "I WON THE LOTTO!" and jumped up and down to some laughter and chuckle, but I didn't care. This was my first time lotto-ing and I had won!! My mind was totally unprepared since I wasn't expecting to win the lotto.  I paid my $25 and received my ticket. It was mind boggling to think that I would be watching the show that night. Most of my friends had all seen the show the previous weekend because of the July 4th discount, and this was my chance. I had seen the show for the first time back in March with my two friends.

The show was still spectacular the second time around. My seat was L 21 in the side orchestra. I wasn't able to see the action in upstage right, but then again, not much action occurs in that area. This time I saw the Teal Wicks as Elphaba and Glinda standby, Natalie Daradich in the lead roles. Last time it was Kendra Kassebaum and Vicki Noon. In addition, the understudies went on for Madame Morrible (Fiama Fricano) and midwife (Laura Dysarczyck). I like how Natalie has a higher voice than Kendra, but Kendra's a little more perky and "blonde" as Glinda. Teal was a great Elphaba; she has a fantastic voice, but I prefer Vicki. I don't know if it's because I saw Vicki as Elphaba first...

After both our experiences lotto-ing, Christina and I came to the conclusion that there's a phenomenon known as "solo luck". She lotto-ed for many times in groups for Wicked, but never won. However, the one time that she lottos out of the blue by herself, she wins. The same thing happened for me; I lotto-ed without any plans in mind and happened to win. So we think that there is a force or luck that helps you win when you go alone. This is just our speculation, but I don't know how well our theory holds up. :)

Did I mention that I received a button that says "I won the WICKED lottery!" for winning the lotto?