One advantage of not working is I get to see the cats in their element.

I finally uploaded the tons of photos from graduation as well. They're all on Flickr.

Other than doing errands around the house, I've been looking at some apartments in the neighborhood. Sure, I don't know what's going on with job stuff, but it doesn't hurt to look, right?

The views from the office

Chinatsu Ban. Maquette's H I J Kiddy Elephant Underwea

The union takes on The Plaza

It was kind of nice working on 56th St. and 5th Ave, where I could see all the tourists during my lunch break and raid The Strand's half price setup by the park, but I guess I wasn't meant to be a temp. I got replaced half way through. Apparently I wasn't a strong enough person on the phone. Anyone who has ever met me in person can feel free to laugh out loud. I haven't been called quiet since high school.

Oh well, at least I was able to make a very promising interview yesterday. Cross your fingers for me. In a week I should know if I snagged the most awesome job in the world.

Walking The Dish is a tradition at Stanford, so I decided that Sam and my parents had to check it out for themselves. The top photo is of a sculpture that Tom Otterness created. Last time I was up there, it was under construction and people just thought they were bales of hay. Pretty neat.

I know everyone has been eagerly awaiting them, but sorry, still no pictures. Much to my annoyance, my roommate could not find my battery charger in my old room, so I had to buy a new one for a nice $40 at J&R. I really have no idea where it could have gone. So Monday evening was spent charging the battery, and then yesterday I finally downloaded the photos, but then fabulous Amy came over for dinner and I forgot that I hadn't edited or posted anything until this morning. And now I'm at work, temping for the next couple weeks.

Which is great - decent money to answer phones and look pretty at an office with an amazing view, but being employed is kind of a bitch. I mean, last week, I could take off to go to my parent's weekend house any time I chose, but now I have to work until 5:30 on Friday. But at least this way I won't feel quite as guilty about blowing our savings on plane tickets. Or guilty about sitting on the couch watching The Food Network for hours on end.

I just booked our plane tickets for the Honeymoon. Thailand, here we come!!!

So we made it home in one piece, with all ten bags (total abuse of Jet Blue's 3 checked bags per person policy). And my mom dropped off the three bags my parents brought back for me too. Add that to the boxes from the wedding gifts that have started to arrive and the bags of stuff Sam is getting rid of to make room for me and the apartment is a game of Twister.

But at least we're together.

Graduation was great. Steve Jobs spoke and it was by far the best graduation speech I've ever heard. Everyone else seems to think so too. It just seemed fresh and unique, rather than other speeches which seem like the same speech given for the 10th time.

And I had a great time showing my parents around. It wasn't their first time visiting SF or Stanford, but the last time they were there was over Christmas Break a while ago, so it was definately a different feel.

Much warmer too, though nothing like it is here. To think I was complaining about how cold it was at night in the Bay Area. At least you could sleep comfortably!

Anyway, I will have photos eventually, but I have to find the charger for my camera battery first. Hmm, which bag is it in. I have a sneaking suspicion it may be sitting in the outlet of my old apartment.....

The car is gone, boxes are shipped. All that's left in my apartment are clothes, which I'll work on packing in the next half hour before heading over to graduation.

See ya'll back in NYC!

Let the packing extravaganza 2005 begin.

By the way, I really wish I could figure out why my body decided it needed to wake up at 6:05 am. I mean, seriously, I haven't woken up this early in weeks!

My parents have a great story on how they met. It amazes me to no end. Some people are not as amazed by it as much as scared, which is why I stopped telling guys I dated about them until quite a while into a relationship. Mom and Dad, forgive me if I tell the story wrong.

One day, about 34 years and 4 months ago, my mom was walking across campus with a girlfriend of hers who was in the architectural school. My dad, being a fellow architectural student, stopped to say hi and was introduced to my mom. And apparently, it was love at first site.

My dad asked my mom out on a date, and she accepted. However, he got German Measles in the mean time, and had to break out of quarantine to see her. The date went so well that within two weeks of their first date, right around my mom's b-day in February, my dad popped the question. My mom, being the practical lady that she was, went away on her previously planned girlfriend b-day weekend, thought about it, and then said yes.

Apparently, she then called up my grandparents and told them that she was going to get married to that Israeli she had a date with a couple weeks ago. This cracks me up. I wish I could have been there to see my grandma's reaction.

My mom was a senior in college and my dad was in the 4th year of a 5 year program, so my mom quickly withdrew her applications to graduate school up north and decided to stay on at Tulane another year and do her master's there. Boom, done.

4 months later, my mom skipped gradation in favor of a wedding. (Wearing snazzy white platform embroidered boots at that!) And they've been happily married for 34 years.

So in case I run out of time to call you before my final, Happy Anniversary Mom and Dad. I hope that in 34 years, someone can be saying the same thing about me and Sam.

This is the most relaxed I've been during finals period ever. I didn't stay up past midnight working on either of my papers due last week, and I doubt I will studying for my Econ final tomorrow either. Its not until 7pm, so I have plenty of time.

I'm sure in a matter of days I'll be completely stressed with the whole moving thing, though. Moving always stresses me out. However, I've found that having a final coming up is an excellent motivator to start the packing early.

Grad school is all about free food. This is a known fact. But this week seems to be free food to the extreme. Tuesday there was pizza at a presentation I went to for some the class project of some classmates of mine. Tonight there was pizza AND cookies for some other end of term presentations. Last night was free food at the Hillel center where I work, as always. Tomorrow, snacks at my presentation for my GIS class. Saturday, snacks (probably more pizza) at a review session for my Econ final. And that doesn't even count the study break snacks. There should be some Krispy Kreme donuts waiting for me tonight, as well as Sunday back at the dorm. And I even passed up free In-n-Out in favor of the pizza tonight (not because I prefer pizza, but because I didn't want to miss my friends' presentations).

Now that the school year is coming to a close, I realize that there might be more to life than free pizza.