Merry Christmas!

So this year, we had the privilege of going to Boston for Christmas to visit my sister. I'm still there, actually, and it's Christmas today. Anywho...It's been a good couple of days so far. So yeah...

Merry Christmas! Celebrating Christ's birth on the other coast.

Walden Pond 

A Myth Retold

Reading Till We Have Faces reminds me why I love C.S. Lewis as a writer. I've read Lion, Witch and Wardrobe, this one was a full on novel more for adults than children. Lewis retells the story of Cupid and Psyche from the perspective of Psyche's older sister Orual. Set in what feels like an ancient near eastern civilization called "Glome." One of the major themes of the book is beauty and ugliness paralleled with pure and profane love. According to myth Psyche as beauty that surpasses even the beauty of Venus (Cupid's mother). Though this was the main plotline in the original myth, it wasn't even addressed in the novel. Anyway, coming back to beauty and ugliness. Psyche is beautiful and Orual is ugly.

The novel follows Orual as she becomes queen of her own country, a queen that keeps her face veiled because of her ugliness, but by her actions and behavior legends arise telling of how she is veiled because she is so beautiful beyond what anyone can handle. So there is this struggle where Orual tries to reconcile herself to make up for her ugliness as well as her love for her sister Psyche.

I don't have a good segue to this next quote (granted English class is 4 years ago, but here is the title written into the story:

"When the time comes to you at which you will be forced at last to utter the speech which has lain at the center of your soul for years, which you have, all that time, idiot-like, been saying over and over, you'll not talk about joy of words. I saw well why the gods do not speak to us openly, nor let us answer. Till that word can be dug out of us, why should they hear the babble that we think we mean? How can they meet us face to face till we have faces?"

Guppy's

So there's this Cerritos place called guppy's. It's tropical themed that serves xiao chi (little eats) like shaved ice, popcorn chicken, boba among other things. But the thing about guppy's is their shaved ice is GINORMOUS. Check it out.

 

So there's this thing called the guppy special. It comes with a small shaved ice (shown above), an order of popcorn chicken and an order of brick toast which is shown off to the side. Notice the strawberry, mango and redbean toppings. If you think the small is huge, check out the large. This split between four people after dinner resulted in "OH MY GOODNESS I'M SO FULL" and having to go #2 just to make room. Too graphic? But yeah. This place is pretty fun. Oh the guppy special comes out to about $17. Split among four people... we barely finished it all.

 

Notice the unfinished popcorn chicken that had to be taken home. But dude, this is ultimate bingeing food. And it's so good.

I'd go back again, shoot.

Comfort

Dude, check this out. $5 on sale at Old Navy. I'm going home to LA this weekend. We're gonna have good food, relax, go do Christmas stuff, hang out with friends. It's going to be an awesome, VERY comfortable weekend. :)

Thinking about comfort, I recently discovered how to make pork and preserved vegetable noodle soup. So good.

The simple comforts like warm slippers and warm noodle soup make me so happy. But I constantly think about that very Christianese saying "get out of your comfort zone." I think a lot about not being comfortable for the sake of my faith and wonder if I'd be willing to give that up, all the things that bring happiness shouldn't compare to the ultimate joy that comes from knowing God. I dunno, just thots.

I got to go to the circus!!!

Last Friday was my first taste under the grand chapiteau. Kooza, the new Cirque du Soleil show that came to San Francisco is so awesome. My favorite act? The wheel of death.
These guys are DANG impressive. The photo doesn't do justice to the crazy acrobatics that they did. It was pretty dang awesome.

and... KOOZA may be coming to a city near YOU! (ahem....boston, san jose...)

Unashamed

I have not much
To offer You
Not near what You deserve
But still I come
Because Your cross
Has placed in me my worth

Oh, Christ my King
Of sympathy
Whose wounds secure my peace
Your grace extends
To call me friend
Your mercy sets me free

And I know I'm weak
I know I'm unworthy
To call upon Your name
But because of grace
Because of Your mercy
I stand here unashamed

I can't explain
This kind of love
I'm humbled and amazed
That You'd come down
From heavens heights
And greet me face to face

Here I am at Your feet
In my brokenness complete

Starfield

Feeling special. :)

 

Do you not know?
Have you not heard?
The LORD is the everlasting God,
the Creator of the ends of the earth.
He will not grow tired or weary,
and his understanding no one can fathom.

He gives strength to the weary
and increases the power of the weak.

Even youths grow tired and weary,
and young men stumble and fall;

but those who hope in the LORD
will renew their strength.
They will soar on wings like eagles;
they will run and not grow weary,
they will walk and not be faint.

How powerful is that? It's impossible to even fathom what the LORD does even when we're asleep. Being sick this finals week, this passage has been especially meaningful. Youths will grow tired and weary, young men stumble and fall. But those who HOPE in the Lord will renew their strength. This strength doesn't come from me, but it's from the Lord. All I want to do now is finish well. This quarter's been hard, but I'm praying that I'll do this for Him. That I'll finish well.

Burnout

I feel like I've been constantly studying for the past 2.5 months. This quarter thus far has been the academically hardest, most work intensive quarter in pharmacy school thus far simply from the sheer volume of information thrown at us since September 13.


But considering how things have been going compared to previous quarters, things have been pretty darn good. I need to force myself to see the silver lining even when I can't seem to think about anything but the test tomorrow.

Something that was so encouraging this morning was this: as I was waking up, I thought, I just need to trust God. I, Roz can fall apart at any moment and believe me it's happened. But I can't possibly hold myself together. It's God that lets me fly on wings like eagles. It says in Isaiah, that youths grow tired and weary, young men stumble and fall. But those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength.

That thought made the day so much better and it's my hope and prayer that it carries through the next few weeks.

On another note: Major congratulations to KEVIN and CONNIE who got married this past weekend. :)

GO BEARS

John David Booty is not a name.

Well... not a name that won't be made fun of.

CAL-USC.... lacklustre?! Whatever, ESPN.

Go Bears

Rosalyn is....

going crazy. CRAZY~~!!! ;adlskfj a;lfkj ;dlaskfj a;sdlkfj a;sdlkf j

Posting in Class

I'm posting because I can and I want to.

So, new Zagat restaurants: Rotee and Conservatory at the Ritz, Half Moon Bay.

Rotee

We kind of serendipitously fell upon the restaurant whilst rushing to Berkeley to go sailing. (More on that later). It's on the corner of Haight and something in the Lower haight. The naan is really good (I like bland foods, so that is to be expected). One thing that I didn't really like was the service. EXTREMELY slow. We tried the Curry Grant. It's a little watery for my taste, but I saw the Tikka Masala which looked sooooooo creamy good that I wanted to order it in addition to our meal. At any rate, I would want to go again, just to try out the other stuff.


Conservatory Lounge at the Ritz

This actually is NOT listed in the Zagat Guide and there's a reason. For the price, the food is only ok. But of course, we didn't go for bruch (which I hear is quite good). But basically what you're paying for is the environment/ambiance. The Ritz is BEAUTIFUL. Like seirously beautiful. I enjoyed our walk around the hotel grounds better than the food. (that says something about the food).

Along the same weekend, we went sailing with the Cal Sailing Club (FOR FREE!!!). I want to learn how to sail now, but going out there even though I got a little dizzy from the boat was extremely beautiful and very restful. I'm a swimmer, so there's something about water that's very soothing.

More than Fine :)

When I wake in the morning,
I want to blow into pieces.
I want more than just ok, more than just ok.
When I’m up with the sunrise
I want more than just blue skies.
I want more than just ok, more than just ok.

I’m not giving up, giving up, not giving up now.
I’m not giving up, giving up, not backing down.

More than fine, more than bent on getting by.
More than fine, more than just ok.

When I’m wet with the sunshine.
I want more than just a good time.
I want more than just ok, more than just ok.

I’m not giving up, giving up, not giving up now.
I’m not giving up, giving up, not selling out.

More than fine, more than bent on getting by.
More than fine, more than just ok.
More than fine, more than bent on getting by.
More than fine, more than just ok.

More than oceans away from the dawn.
More than oceans away from the dawn.
More than oceans away from who we are
More than oceans, more than oceans, yeah.

Switchfoot

Evolution of the Cheesecake

Little did this pumpkin know, that BEFORE I bought it from the pumpkin patch, it's demise would bring satiety (sort of) to a lot of people.
 












Such cruel, disastrous woman! Why doth thou cut through me with a cleaver!!!
 












I am now but a pumpkin cheesecake with a gingersnap crust...
 

Kite Running and Citizen Thai

  We flew a kite this weekend and it was so relaxing. Stressful because I didn't want to let to and afraid that the string would snap, but relaxing seeing the kite being carried by the wind.
It makes me think a lot about how I handle life situations. I tend to worry about things and want to keep them tied down with a string. I want to keep control and I'm scared that things will fall apart when times get tough. But at the same time, I know the wind is carrying the kite. I can't see the wind, but I see the effects of the wind. I know that with God, certain things don't require such an effort to make it take flight, but He just carries it. I need to constantly be reminded of it. Just as at church on Sunday, while singing the hymns. Every day, I need to tell myself the Gospel and Jesus' loving sacrifice or else I'll lose sight of the central issues.

In other news, we ate with a bunch of friends at another Zagat Rated Restaurant: Citizen Thai and the Monkey. Located in North Beach, this tops Osha Thai and Marnee Thai on style and ambiance. It's an amazing place for a party. There were at least four large parties there. This two story restaurant has a downstairs bar/dining room along with a full upstairs. They offer a seasonal menu which includes things like Pumpkin and Chicken curry served in the pumpkin. Their appetizers were very good. The Chef's Sampler was huge and included lots of fried stuff, mango salad with a sweet oil and peanut sauce on the side. I ordered the Scallop with Yellow Curry and tried the Pad Thai. The scallops were fried and served in the curry so they turned out to be a little too soggy for my taste, but all in all, the yellow curry was just spicy enough and just sweet enough to eat with plain rice. (I know, I MIXED my food, it's a big step). This is also a good date place if you wanted to spend time in North Beach but not in the mood for Italian Food. But I think it's better and more festive for large parties.

Opera in the Ballpark

Friday I did a once-in-a-lifetime act. I stood where Barry Bonds hit his record-breaking homerun, ran around to the bases and sat on the UBER soft grass that is ATT park.

Why?

Opera in the Park. Samson and Delilah were having their closing night at the SF Opera House and they decided to simulcast to ATT park for free. It was pretty awesome. What was even more awesome were these:
 
YES THAT'S RIGHT. Gilroy Garlic Fries. Highly recommended. So Good.

There's

activity going on in the empty lot across the street from my house.

YOU KNOW WHAT THAT MEANS...

PUMPKIN PATCH!!!!!!!!!

ergo...

PUMPKIN SWEETS TO GO AROUND!!!!!!!

::claps hands::

Symmetry

So I decided to buy a pair of new bookcases because I have a BUTTLOAD of books and other stuff to store. So of course, only having 1.5 years left here at UCSF, I decide to go with the cheapest possible option: Ikea Flarke Bookshelves ($20 ea). After four hours, the dust has settled, carpet vacuumed and all parts more or less put together.
 
The symmetry is breathtaking isn't it?

New pictures on Picasa. Check it out.

Classes

I have a problem. That's usually first step when dealing with problems, right? I have a problem. What's my problem? Not going to class. So far this quarter we've had 15 hours of class and I've missed 6 of them.

Today I had class at 8 and I ended up getting go class at 10. went to 2 hours of class. My reasoning for today's miss was that all of the classes have lectures of the audio. And I have a long day today with class, work and all of that.

But I've come to realize that I overestimate what I can do efficiently without getting stressed out. I've effectively become on "school" mode and automatically on school mode, i'm five hundred billion times more stressed than "work" mode or "summer" mode. I need to evaluate why that is. But anyway, my point being is that I have a limit to all the "stuff" I can do and multitasking may not be one of my strengths, either is trying to maintain a sane demeanor during school and having to "preform."

At any rate... we're going backpacking this weekend. Needless to say, it's going to be beautiful. :)

Beauty in the Brokenness

City Church has this special ministry called "Open Forum." And tonight it was a conversation with artist, Makoto Fujimura at the DeYoung Museum. It was the artist's reflections on September 11th. He lived three blocks from ground zero and his studio is 9 blocks. I'm once again reminded to stop and reflect before moving on from something. An event that he had with another japanese artist after the terror was this idea of a Japanese Tea Room. It was a place of "shalom" as he called it, a place for dialogue, for learning and an exchange of ideas over tea. A place for someone to express themselves, to engage and to process what they've gone through, what God has taught them. I think people need that. I especially think I need that.

Food Critic

Ever since moving to San Francisco, I've wanted to sample the UBER-good cuisine the city has to offer. I had my eye on the Zagat Restaurant book but never bought it until last week. So here's the first of many potential reviews of restaurants.

I guess I'm a foodie at heart.

A16 (Chestnut Street, Marina District)

All I gotta say is this is one of the most Yuppy restaurants I've ever been to. It's basically a restaurant of twenty-somethings and those young at heart craving some good Italian Food especially from the Campolino region of Italy. I wanted to come here because it's near my work and everytime I pass by it (even during the day) it's full of people and yesterday we had an occasion to. Well not really, but it was fun. All I gotta say is their homemade pasta is amazing. It was in this proscuitto base tomato sauce topped with grated mozzarella cheese. The noodles had enough gluten in it such that when you bite into it, it doesn't fall apart, but it's just the right level of chewy. We also tried the Marguerita Pizza. It was a little charred for my taste, but the thin crust and everything together was still pretty good.

The ambiance is nice and the waiters are trendy. All in all, I think it's a really good date place. (Winnie, I know you, Debbie and Yoona still doubt my standards of what constitutes as "date-y" but I'm sure this one is. :D)

Clean White Porcelain

 
Yes that's right. Our pink, squishy, germy cesspool of a toilet seat is gone.

And the replacement? A clean, cool, white toilet has replaced it.

Our bathroom is good, finally. :)

Photos

Hi.

Photos posted from my summer:

Vacation in China

Central Asia!!!

Quotations

"In a word, live together in the forgiveness of your sins, for without it no human fellowship, least of all a marriage, can survive. Don't insist on your rights, don't blame each other, don't judge or condemn each other, don't find fault with each other, but accept each other as you are, and forgive each other every day from the bottom of your hearts." - Dietrich Bonhoeffer.

Friends

One of my favorite pictures.

Dude, I'm freaking Jetlagged.

Yes that's right. So recounting the sleep cycles.... slept on Saturday morning at 2am, got up at 7am, went back to sleep at 1pm, got up at 5pm, went to bed on Sunday morning at 1am, got up at 6am, went back to bed at 12pm, woke up at 8pm, went back to bed on Monday at 1am, got up at FREAKING 5:41 AM.

that's NOT what i'm freaking talking about. shooooooot.


THIS is what happens when you slide down a mountain on your butt. Oh well, now I have a more expensive pair of jeans (according to abercrombie and fitch) and a memory out of it.

In case you didn't know...

Kyrgyzstan is here.

My new "special" friend.

Issy-Kul, Kyrgyzstan

Coming Home

Living abroad is a very interesting concept. My roots are not in the place where I am inhabiting, and yet I've gotten into a routine and have made friends and found my niche (more or less). It is unfamiliar, yet a place where I am forced to adapt to. I am here being stretched to fit into a mold that I've never tried on.

I feel like that's a lot like how we Christians should approach our lives. I heard somewhere that our home is not of this world. That we are merely pilgrims here. We are born, we live and we die for one purpose: God. I guess those are all the thoughts in my head right now (besides the prospect of sleeping in my own bed with my baby blanket, talking to friends without having to worry about the cost and seeing familiar sights).

At any rate, in about...17 hours familiarity shall return. :)

In 8 hours

I will be leaving on a big boeing 777 probably... maybe 747 to fly across the pacific ocean to the big closed country in Asia for 2 weeks and then a smaller country in central asia for 4 mo.

Pray for me.

In the last week or so.. it's been a whirlwind from finals to preparing to actually leaving.

So for the next 6 weeks, I'll be taking a brief hiatus. But on that note, I'll leave you with a beef wellington. Hopefully that will be interesting enough to look at for the next month or so.

Coming to terms...

I'm coming to terms with the fact that I really do like the color pink.
I'm coming to terms with the fact that I'm a girl and I get emotional.

Coming to terms...
About 10 months ago, I posted this.

But his delight is in the law of the LORD,
and on his law he meditates day and night.

He is like a tree planted by streams of water,
which yields its fruit in season
and whose leaf does not wither.
Whatever he does prospers.
(Psalm 1:2-3)

This passage has been on the forefront of my mind this past year. It was my goal, it was something I wanted God to change about me and I prayed for it every night.

I feel like God has answered so many prayers this past year and taught me what it is to live abundantly abiding in Christ.

I remember in August, I was feeling really down. It was hard just to get out of bed in the morning. That feeling sucks. That hopelessness. But I think it was necessary for me to feel that way in order for God to teach me about his unconditional Love and what grace is.

I think fall quarter was all about working through and throwing out all of the skeletons in my closet. Any old shame that I was carrying, anxieties that have plagued me since childhood. But through all of that, there were good moments. In those moments, I felt like I was breathing oxygen for the first time. I could see and feel the warmth of the sun and I didn't have a care in the world. But they were just moments at a time.

Winter quarter was the transition. Moments of joy turned into days and weeks with sadness peppered within. I found community that was joyful and settlers. Haahaa, settlers is fun. I think everyone should play. It wasn't just that the game was fun, but it was the environment we had, the community. THAT was when I laughed until my side hurt. :)

Spring quarter was SO GOOOOOOOD. Now I feel like my default is joy and contentment. God is good. He's blessed me with so much and sometimes I can't help but smile and remember how good God is. I hope I never loose that. I never want to take God's power, love and grace for granted. I never ever want to take advantage of the people close to me. I want always to be thankful.

Psalm 1 was the theme of this year and it's been a good year.

Done and done.

I'M DONE I'M DONE! EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!! :D

1) San Tung with the roomates tonight!
2) Biking to Sausalito tomorrow!
3) Big Red next week!

yayayayayayayay!!!!

Reflections to come shortly.

but... ::dance dance:: I'M DONE~!!

Chinese food? Really?

I have nothing interesting to say, except...

I CAN MAKE METH NOW!

So sad. So easy. That makes it even sadder.

Sunny Days

it's june already? what the heck?

time travels fast. sometimes i feel like as i age, time passes a lot faster, scary but exciting at the same time.

I have nothing really substantial to say just because I've been cramming my brain with information...

The upperclassmen were right, Farm school gets harder with each quarter. It's not the fact that the concepts are hard, but the sheeeeeeeeeeeeeer volume of information that we need to learn and retain is a little unsettling.

mreh... i need to keep the perspective that I'm doing it all for God. and all of this is a gift from God, NOT to be taken for granted.

Oh Crap! Finals are in a week!

!!!! >_<

from the Weekend

 

FoodTV

I love being home because I can sit and watch FoodTV all day. Like right now. I'm watching All Star Grill - South Beach. OMG...grilled bruschetta, Parsley Spice Rub over Chicken, Chocolate chip cookie s'mores, grilled pork tenderloin with coconut/tomato salad, grilled artichoke with parsley sauce.

One of these days... I'm going to make a full on Italian Meal: appetizer, entree, dessert, the whole 9 years.

Another thing that I love about being home is sitting in front of the piano. Like all good Asian children, I took piano lessons growing up. All two years. Granted, I'm not grade 10 in CM or whatever, but I love just sitting in front of the piano with just me, worship song chords and my voice. It's the best time of worship. I find that more often than not, these are the times of sweetest worship when I'm just by myself either in front of the piano or with just my guitar. It's even cooler when my parents come and sing along, too. Very informal, very relaxed, very uninhibited. I love it.

I <3 Torrance

Why?

because my parents are there
because it's 5 minutes away from the beach
it's familiar
there's a park across the street

and i'm going there this weekend.

so blessed, I am.

Thanks God :)

Checklists

So I've told a number of people that I have a list of things to do in San Francisco before I graduate. And another person asked if I had a list of things to do before I die. And another person asked if I had it in writing. Ok here goes:
Things to do in SF before I graduate:
1) Climb Half Dome
2) Run bay to breakers at least once more
3) To do this
4) Go Sailing in the Bay
5) See fireworks from Teasure Island
6) Go to Suite 181
7) Legion of Honor
8) go Camping somewhere...real tent, real campsite.
9) Buy something from the new Bloomingdales
10) Go to Fillmore Jazz Festival
11) Run Nike Women's Marathon (maybe half marathon...)
12) Go to Vegas and play as a legal adult, none of this under 18 stuff

Things to do before I die:
1) Read and finish Modern Library's Top 100 Models
2) Tour Italy
3) Snowboard in the Alps
4) See AnkorWat
5) Sleep the whole night in a hammock
6) Raise a kid well
7) To save a life somehow

I'll think of more stuff later. :)

Last Weekend

Roz for Choice

No, I'm not advocating a woman's right to choose, but I've come across a very interesting epiphany this past weekend. I can choose. I have the choice on how I react to certain situations even though sometimes I always thought i was "made" to react a certain way. I can choose my future husband. Even though it feels counterintuitive to me, I have the choice to say yes or no instead of thinking that any guy that "chooses me" is a keeper. That's what's been my downfall in the past. I have the choice to accept things and I have the choice to be joyful.

This is what free will feels like. Kind of liberating.

But you know how you know there's organic vegetables, but you still get the cheaper vegetables? You still don't get the organic vegetables (even though they might be better) because you're comfortable with the cheaper vegetables. I feel that way sometimes with this newfound freedom. I'm still in the habit of not choosing... not even considering my choices. That's an interesting habit to break.

God has brought me such a long way from that bad place, but this past weekend, he's reminded me that I'm not fine yet. That i'm still a work in progress and I definitely can't provide my own joy. It's funny how amazing His timing is.

Quick Case!

RC is a 24 yo female who comes into your office complaining of dizziness, tingling hands and feeling "cold". She appears to be lethargic, her lips and conjunctiva is pale. upon physical examination reveals everything in normal limits. She has a history of irregular menses. The latest cycle started today. She also donated blood yesterday.

What do you recommend?

Yup, that's me.
Current therapy includes:
Liberal Amounts of Fluid
Ferrous Fumarate 86mg. (27mg elemental FE)

Anything else I should do?

Worst Joke Ever

But I still laugh EVERY TIME.

 

Representative Conversation
Roz: Hey.. my mom left some updog in the freezer, what to try some?
Person A: What's updog?
Roz: Oh, nothing much, wanna go to the beach?
Person A: LAAAAAAME

dude... gets me every time.

Invisible

I've felt invisible so many times before, but these children... are truly invisible. Abducted in their homes, schools, and trained to fight in the LRA. I can't imagine having to walk 10 miles every night just to find a safe place to sleep.
I was looking at the bracelet campaign and one of the bracelets is about a girl named Rosalyn. It's eerie to know that someone with my name has been abducted, raped or even killed because of this war.

Walking Contradiction

So I'm walking along Parnassus Ave. and at the bus stop, I see a man dressed in jeans and a T-shirt that says.. "Trust me, I'm a Doctor." and he's smoking.

Pharmacists are supposed to have really good memories. Mine sucks. 2 weeks ago, I forgot my keys THREE TIMES that week. THREE TIMES, I had to call one of my roomates or landlord to let me in. Now I have a sign in the stairwell saying "Keys, Wallet, Cell Phone" to remind me.

Early Alzheimers?

Learning Impaired

::vent::

I DON'T KNOW ANYTHING FOR THERAPEUTICS!!!

a;lsdkfj jk;a lkdfj

so frustrating.

::end vent::

Loneliness

I feel my loneliness more acutely when every member of my family is more than 2000 miles away.

Today, I went to class (well, some of it), went to work and came home. I did most stuff by myself, not really talking to anyone. But i've been feeling it since yesterday night when my family scattered all over the rest of the world.

Even though i was still kind of far from everyone before yesterday, I still felt like there was a connection.

Anyway...on a more positive note, if you want a prayer letter for my summer endeavors, let me know.

picture post part quatre

From the biggest m&m store in the world. They have this machine that "deciphers" your color mood. I think mine is pretty accurate.









FAO Swartz. Unfortunately, we only spent like 6min in the store and the giant keyboard was closed. but the Patrick the Pups were available, so we take a picture. The lighting in this picture is amazing. Good job!









WHEN YOU CAME?!!?!!?!
is the motto of this trip? Why? I dunno.. maybe 'cause we're travelling in NYC... FoB sTyLe~!!!