year of the rabbit

Chinese new year was last thursday. i actually celebrated it this year with my vietnamese friend, amy. she had justin and i over for some yummy food that made me miss my mom a lot. growing up my mom never really taught me much about my heritage, but i have loved learning from amy (who grew up with both parents being vietnamese and having the culture around her) about the other half in my blood.
My parents told me last week they bought tickets to go to vietnam in about a week and a half. i have to admit i am extremely jealous and hope someday i will be able to go and meet my family on my mom's side. this sounds cheesy, but the thought of never knowing them makes me really, really sad. I hadn't ever really felt a strong need to go over there until after i joined the church. someday i will go there!

i always knew i was born in the year of the dragon so i decided to look up my characteristics and it was surprising how accurate it is. haha. everyone should look up their year for fun!

Personality

Occupying the 5th position in the Chinese Zodiac, the Dragon is the mightiest of the signs. Dragons symbolize such character traits as dominance and ambition. Dragons prefer to live by their own rules and if left on their own, are usually successful. They’re driven, unafraid of challenges, and willing to take risks. They’re passionate in all they do and they do things in grand fashion. Unfortunately, this passion and enthusiasm can leave Dragons feeling exhausted and interestingly, unfulfilled.

While Dragons frequently help others, rarely will they ask for help. Others are attracted to Dragons, especially their colorful personalities, but deep down, Dragons prefer to be alone. Perhaps that is because they’re most successful when working alone. Their preference to be alone can come across as arrogance or conceitedness, but these qualities aren’t applicable. Dragons have tempers that can flare fast!

Health

Considering their hard-working nature, Dragons are healthy overall. They do get stressed and suffer from periodic tension/headaches, likely because they take so many risks. Dragons could benefit from incorporating mild activity into their lives. Yoga or walking would be good as these activities can work both their minds and their bodies.

Career

Dragons prefer leading to being led. Jobs that allow them to express their creativity are good choices. Some good careers include: inventor, manager, computer analyst, lawyer, engineer, architect, broker, and sales person.

Relationships

Dragons will give into love, but won’t give up their independence. Because they have quick, sometimes vengeful tempers, their partners need to be tough-skinned. Dragons enjoy others who are intriguing, and when they find the right partners, they’ll usually commit to that person

Earth Dragons – Years 1928 and 1988

More rooted in the ground, Earth Dragons make better decisions because they act more rationally. Earth Dragons are level-headed and able to control their behaviors. They’re more supportive of others, but they prefer being admired by others.

tell me what ya know about dreams.

great version of a great song by kid cudi. performed by lissie. makes me happy inside.

these are my friends. they left me to go on tour. you should like them.

track season has begun.
another semester of school is in session.
my focus is trying not to freeze in the arctic tundra that is logan, utah and not get lung cancer from the country's worst air.
i am enjoying being happy and having true friends that care.
so so done with the fake ones.
eating healthy when i am lazy is hard.
not eating out when i am lazy is hard.
i don't know how people "forget" to eat during the day. i feel like my life revolves around my next meal and when/where/what i will eat.
things are great. so very great. i love life and everything in it.

Obsession.

sorry you are gonna have to pause the music on my playlist to watch this. but it is. so. worth. it.

want slash need

I can't believe i hadn't seen this movie before. it was way ahead of its time and i found it extremely fascinating. it reminded me a lot of wes anderson's films.

remember how great cubbies were in elementary?

"out of all the times we did stuff together, did we ever actually do anything legal?"

probably not.

i've never really been much of the type that likes to do what i am supposed to do. which is probably why my dad calls me everyday and tells me how much he DOESN'T want me to go on a mission in hopes that i WILL go on one.

dear dad,
reverse psychology doesn't work if you tell me you are using reverse psychology.
love,
kimberly

in other news,
life is good. i heard this quote i really liked today (heard: i was facebook stalking and read it from some girl's quote box). it went something like......"every sixty seconds you spend upset is another minute of happiness you'll never get back." super cheesy, i know. but it really resonated with me when i read it. i think because it helped me to realize I have control over how I decide to react to situations in my life. I can choose to be angry/annoyed/hurt or be happy and learn to not put myself in those situations i don't want to be in.

i picked up a new hobby cause i was bored friday:











obsessed with this song

i am loving this weather. it seems like mother nature has all her seasons mixed up this year however. the heat from last week and the rain this week has the leaves on the trees confused. they are finally starting to do their thang now though.

fall means layers. lots of layers. fall is my favorite fashion season.

it also means pumpkin flavored goodness: pumpkin bread, muffins, cookies, seeds, etc.

as well as, good television. more specifically another season of america's next top model. thankyoutyra.

this has become the semester of doing things outside my comfort level. i'm not much of a natural leader, i'm not very vocal and i am not good at telling people what to do. so naturally those are the positions i have been put into this year. team captain, natural resource pr/publicity person, and sunday school teacher. my weaknesses will be made my strengths right? i hope so.

they played mumford and sons on last weeks greys anatomy. it made me cry a little inside.

i started out hardcore spinning on cardboard

another year of school is here. the thought still makes me sick. summer seemed too short. especially the end. which was the best part. hmmm...

things are already in high gear it seems. back to school. back to running. back to procrastinating. same old same old.

but some things are new and better this time around.

relationships

friends

longer hair

more meaningful classes

team

faster legs

dr. mario

jersey shore party numero dos

i guess i am supposed to call myself a senior (even though i have two more years of this). its strange to feel like i am supposed to be growing up, but also feeling like i am nowhere near being there. people around me seem to be getting that down. maybe. i don't necessarily think being married = grown up. but what do i know?

this summer has brought an unbelievable amount of changes to me. it ended with me feeling pretty content and okay with myself and where i am at. its good and i am excited for this year. but i have to say some goodbyes to summer oh ten.

goodbye:

hyrum dam at midnight

meeting halfway

sports bra runs

sparklers

spontaneous dance parties

watching hours of arrested development

i will miss you. till next summer.

i am severely disappointed. maybe i have just been naive, but i always have had some faith in people... that underneath everything people are naturally good, caring and want to help others. it is very disheartening the way people treat each other.... the way a grudge can be held for decades and now no one even remembers why.... but no one is going to do anything to stop the cycle of fighting.
i just feel like even when someone wrongs you sometimes the best thing to do is let it roll off you. cause it's normally not worth the fight. don't get me wrong... i don't like it when people are passive. i respect people who tell you what they are upset about and try to deal with it then not hanging onto it forever.
this past week i have watched how my dad and his siblings interact with each other. i guess that is what as sparked my thoughts on this. i don't know how they could treat a stranger the way they treat each other, let alone their own brother... but they do and it makes me sad. i wish we could all have a bit more love and understanding for each other. but i suppose that is too much to ask for.

rip the earth in two with your mind, seal the urge which ensues with brass wires

favorite band of the moment: mumford and sons

heard them on npr a couple of weeks ago. they are my new obsession. i like to go on long walks and have them playin on my ipod. i can't help but dancing as i listen to them. each song applies to some part of my life. love it when that happens.

i would like to just sleep for a good month and a half and wake up to find my life all sorted out. yes i would like that very much. sometimes it really bothers me that my dad won't make my life decisions for me anymore. i try to trick him into making my decisions but he won't. he just keeps reminding me that i need to hurry up and make them. and i agree, but i just get so distracted with this warm weather and playgrounds calling my name.

two of another, none of a pair

this warm arizona weather has gotten me antsy for summer. six more weeks and i can put into action my epic plans for the summer of twenty ten. it seriously can't come fast enough. school just gets in the way of things sometimes. summer is all i can think about and all that is getting me through the next month and a half.
my summer plans are at last becoming finalized. looks like i am staying in logan, working for the forest service, and going to have weekends full of cliff jumping, otterpop eating, tree climbing, canal floating, bubble blowing, and water balloon throwing.

i guess i should focus on getting through the next six weeks. or even the next couple days. i have been feeling a little trapped in this hotel room.

i wonder if i will ever stop feeling like i need to get out of the place i am in. constant restlessness.

counting all the ideas drifiting away, past and present, they don't matter now the future's sorted out

i have never felt so completely myself in clothes as i did this night.











the boots, the hat and the shirt are all a part of my job attire anyways. i think i could be happy dressing like this for the rest of my life. also, this is how blake dresses normally. it's pretty dang sweet.


i have decided to stop trying to explain my life to people around me when they ask. it's too complicated to send in a text or explain in a conversation that takes place while passing by in the tsc. they don't need to know. it doesn't matter anyways. i love life. life hurts sometimes but that's okay cause that is how we grow. that is all anyone needs to know.

learn from your mother, or else spend your days biting your own neck

i actually sat in the same place for more than an hour tonight and did homework. this is quite an accomplishment for me.

now i need to learn that it is okay to be in my apartment more than one hour a night (other than sleeping). i always feel bad for the people i live with cause i'm never home and we rarely associate (this may be seen as a good thing to them?).

today i:

offended an 18-year-old girl that just got engaged

gave thumbs up to a couple that just got married while waiting at a red light (cause i knew what they were going to do next)

resisted the urge to eat at cafe rio

started learning how to play a stupid cheesy love song that i can't get out of my head on my mandolin

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1koDmMSfi0M
anyone that knows me, knows why i love this video so much.

our shadow by day and our pilar by night

just a warning, i am going to get churchy in this post.

i am just amazed as a result of this past weekend. i know my heavenly father knows me and loves me, but it just surprised me so much how much he really does know me. i don't know how i would have survived this weekend without the many church events that went on saturday and sunday: saturday evening stake conference, sunday morning stake conference and a ces fireside. in each of these meetings every speaker touched on something that i really needed to hear at this time. all the testimonies that were shared really touched me and gave me a much needed extra strength. i was asked on the spot to (once again) share my testimony at stake conference. i'm pretty sure people are sick of hearing from me by now, but it still felt great. i have a really hard time verbalizing my feelings, sometimes i feel like it is just a series of grunts and random noises that come out of my mouth. as i listen to the testimonies of others i sometimes can't help but feel a little inadequate, that they are so much more eloquent than i am. but i figure maybe my testimony can speak to those out there that are less eloquent and can see that someone as shy and awkward as me can get up there and feel so passionately about this church. that is my hope.

i dig.

http://www.myspace.com/chinesematteomusic
not just because i am asian. but because they are great.

this past weekend was probably the best weekend in a really, really long time. The work i have been putting into my running the last two and a half years of college has finally paid off and i am completely and utterly happy. :) i know it might be hard for people to understand why this makes me so happy. i guess i just look back on all the illnesses and injuries i have had to go through, early practices, getting out of bed early on a saturday morning to go run in a snow storm...... all that great stuff, and i just realize.... this is why i did it. for this feeling i have right now, for the smile that i can't wipe off of my face. :)

i am so very proud of my team. we finished 2nd in the conference which has never been done since we joined the WAC. they all worked so hard and it was amazing to come together at this meet and put everything we had into it.

i love running with a passion. it is something in my life that i feel like i have control over. whatever i accomplish in it.... no one can take that away from me, because it was my decisions and my hard work that got me there. it has blessed my life in so many ways, the friends i have, the places i get to go, the education i am receiving. my life would be a completely different story without it. i am so grateful for the people in my life that are always so supportive of me (especially the ones that come to practice at 7:15am, and push me through workouts where i am on the verge of tears because i didn't get any sleep the night before and can't hit the paces!).

i am grateful to the amazing artist that sent these to me when they knew i was stressing out about my races.

notice how i am doing the asian peace sign. the explanation behind the girl trying to pick up the quarter is that one of my new favorite pastimes is super gluing quarters to the ground and watching people try to pick them up. :)