i'm taking back december

You all know from previous blog posts that I have struggled my whole life with losing weight and regulating my eating habits. There's no harder season for me to deal with those things than the holiday season -- from Halloween to New Year's, all bets are basically off. I just say SCREW IT and figure it's impossible to lose weight/stay sane throughout the holidays anyway, so why even bother trying?

Then I stepped on the scale this morning and saw a number that I wasn't really happy to be seeing. Basically I've gained 10 lbs in two weeks. But this isn't even about a number. I feel worse, bloated and tired. I come home from work limping from the strain of carrying the extra weight around all day -- something that I've never experienced before. I'm busting out of all my clothes, guys, and not in a sexy, Pussycat Dolls way.

Then I stumbled upon this -- Fatty's 10-lb Challenge. Here's what it boils down to:

And so, starting today, I am going to spite the Winter Weight Gain god (his friends call him “Melvin”). I am going to use the (nearly) four weeks between Thanksgiving and Christmas to lose ten pounds, instead of putting on another five.

And I’d like you to join me. The solidarity will help.

I'm not officially signing up, but I will be participating on my own and blogging about it here, because it's important to be accountable when it comes to stuff like this. Here's what the weigh-in schedule looks like:

• November 29/30: Initial weigh-in
• December 6: First week weigh-in
• December 13: Second week weigh-in
• December 20: Third week weigh-in
• December 23: Final weigh-in

So, my initial weigh-in was this morning and the results were pretty disappointing. I'm up to 164.2, a number I haven't seen since May. Unless I want to nudge that weight any higher, the time for change is now.

So how am I going to do it? Along with cutting out all the fast food I've been eating, drinking more water, and eating breakfast, I'm going to be eating mainly grains, fruits, vegetables, and lean protein. I'm also going to dust off my old Pilates DVDs and incorporate 3 core workouts per week, plus at least one trip to the gym per week, for cardio. And so I don't strangle someone when my mom starts making cookies and pies, I'll allow myself one anything-goes meal per week. Based on my previous experiences with this kind of stuff, I anticipate a really big loss of around 3-4 lbs the first week, then a steady loss of around 1.8-2.0 lbs per weigh-in after that. Et voila!  At least 10 lbs gone by Christmas!

OK, it looks easy on paper, but it's a tall order. I've never dieted during the holiday season; in fact, that's usually when I fall off the wagon. But I'm going to try, and if I fail... well, you guys will be the first to know :P

Too soon?

So two weeks ago one of my co-workers caught me lusting over engagement rings online.

This was her reaction: *crazy grin* UH OH!!!
This was my reaction: *quickly minimizes all windows* I DON'T WANT TO TALK ABOUT IT! I DON'T WANT TO TALK ABOUT IT!

But I do want to talk about it. I just didn't want to, you know, talk about it with my co-workers. I allowed them to ask ONE question: How long have you been dating? (Answer: 3 years.) They nodded and seemed impressed, but I could have sworn it was the amused, affectionate kind of impressed that really just means they think I'm adorable, all fantasizing about big-girl things like COMMITMENT and DOMESTIC BLISS.

Then my mom stumbled upon what probably looked to her like a guest list because... well, it kind of looked like a guest list (it was really just a list of all of the people we know, though) and according to my sister, thought the whole concept was all sorts of hilarious. Fabulous.

So, Discretion FAIL on my behalf, because I keep on browsing wedding blogs at work and leaving wedding-related stuff all over my house and telling every damn person I know that IT'S ON THE HORIZON. Even though it's not really on the horizon because it'll most likely be another two years before we actually tie the proverbial knot. Maybe I should just keep my mouth shut until it's a done deal.

my blog's name: a mixed-media project

Who says I can’t get stoned? 
Turn off the lights and the telephone
Me and my house alone
Who says I can’t get stoned?

Who says I can’t be free
from all of the things that I used to be?
Re-write my history
Who says I can’t be free?

 ****

So now you know EXACTLY why I chose that name for my blog.

J/K. I'm not sure I even know exactly why I chose that name for my new blog. I know it has something to do with the lyrics and how it spoke to me on my birthday, because I realized then that I'm still a huge geek and a goody-goody and an all-around Nice Asian Girl but amongst those things there's this new other part of me who went to college and learned about other religions, about issues of gender and class, about terrible things that we allow to happen in other cultures, and who let the light of knowledge turn her hard and jaded. This part of me who doesn't believe in heaven or God but still has to go to church every Sunday. This new, patchwork girl who wishes for many things but oftentimes finds herself wishing she still had access to good weed. Or any weed, for that matter.

***

"And it starts with singing this to yourself: 'who says I can't?" Fill in the blank, everybody. Who says you can't? For most people, nobody is saying you can't be yourself. If you put something on and look in the mirror and you like it, go out in it. And when somebody looks at you and they say, 'why are you wearing that?', don't even look down. Be like this: 'I like this, why are you wearing that?' Watch them run away. They'll never bother you again. 'Cause the world is full of bullies. Stand up to bullies." - John Mayer

***

For years I censored my true self for the benefit of others. And I'm still doing it, in real life, biding my time until the day I can stand in front of my parents and more conservative relatives and friends say, I'm pro-choice. I support gay marriage. I don't believe in God right now, and though I think Jesus was really groovy, I sure think the things people do in the name of Jesus can be offensive and just plain stupid. I think recycling is important. I don't eat meat anymore, and when we have ribs and chicken and beef stew  for dinner, I feed it to our dog when you're not looking. 

But here I'll never censor myself. This is my place to be who I am. Because I said so. 

***

the one where i talk about myself for like forever

Remember that award I got, like, a week and a half ago? Welp, I'm finally finishing up the fill-out-the-survey-and-pass-it-on part of the the process. So, without further ado.

The Super Panda Comments Award!

The Rules:

1. Thank person who nominated you. [Check. Totally did that in the afore-linked post.]

2. Copy the award. Paste it in your blog. [Check. Did it twice, in fact.]

3. Link to the person who gave me this award. [Check, but I'll do it again for good measure: Heather's awesome. Go read her blog, stat.]

4. Answer the 10 questions that come with the award. [In progress. See below.]

5. Nominate of few of your favorite bloggers for the award. ['Bout to happen, fool!]

Attention:

Angel from Nerd Angel (who is my soul brother in nerdiness!)

Julie from Roads Are Made By Traveling (whose comments always make me smile!)

Angela from High On Life (who is my blog fairy godmother!)

YE BE TAGGED.

And now, THE MEME. AKA the best part. AKA this took me two days to fill out. AKA ok I'll get on with it.

1. Why do you blog?

Because it's part of me. I've been blogging in some capacity since I was fourteen, in a bunch of different locations. At this point, chronicling my life on the Internet is not so much something I choose to do, but instead more like a compulsion. I couldn't stop if I tried.

2. What are your 3 best memories?
In recent memory: Scotty and Jewel's wedding. So many amazing things happened that weekend, so many friendships were made and re-kindled and so many grievances were aired and forgiven, and there was an abundance of amazing food and there was so much booze and so much laughter.
From my childhood: The summer that my aunt, uncle, and three older cousins from the Philippines came to stay with us for two months. If memory serves me right, it was like a party every day. There was always someone to talk to, something to talk about. I cite this summer as the reason that I love to be surrounded by friends and family and have sort of a phobia of loneliness and solitude.
Ever: Biking with my friend Katie in the Aran Islands in Ireland. The beginning of the bike trail was uphill, and so the second leg of the trail was all downhill, and I decided to tackle the last hill by just letting gravity take me all the way to the end. I don't want to make too big of a deal out of it but suffice to say that I'd been through a very hard year, and I really needed to feel like life as I knew it had a point, and that one amazing ride down that very scary hill basically saved me from spiraling into depression.

3. If you had to change your real name what would you change it to?
In high school one of my friends used to call me "Keiko," after the actress who plays Lane on Gilmore Girls. It got so widespread that kids from younger grades actually thought my name was Keiko. I actually think it suits my personality pretty well!

4. What are five things you can't live without?
I assume that "food and water" don't count, nor do "a car," "sleep," or "oxygen." Even though that would be the truth. Hmm... let's see.
- Books. This is quite literal. Yeah, I read to enrich my mind and to be moved and stuff, but I also rely on books to put me to sleep at night. The few times I've been without a book at bedtime, I tossed and turned almost the whole night. Without books, I wouldn't sleep, and without sleep, I would probably die. I think that's how it works.
- My glasses. I'm insanely nearsighted. I can't see very far at all. If glasses suddenly stopped existing, I'd probably last about five minutes before I fell down the stairs and broke my neck.
- Music. I know this is a cliche, and so I almost didn't include it, but then I imagined what my world would be like without music. And that is a really scary thought.
- Social interaction. I get really weird and sad if I spend too much time by myself. I do like some time to myself to recharge and clear my head, but most of the time I just want to be with my friends.
- Sunscreen. ::jumps onto soapbox:: Every. One. Should Wear. Sunscreen. End of story. ::jumps off soapbox::

5. What are the 4 best books you've ever read?
Young Adult: Paper Towns by John Green
Juvenile: Coraline by Neil Gaiman
Graphic Novel: Watchmen by Alan Moore
All Time: Alice Through the Looking Glass by Lewis Carroll.

6. Tell me something unique and interesting about yourself.
I have a pet hedgehog, and he's like an adorable cactus. His name is Huxley, but he came pretty close to being named Bruce Quillis. (He wasn't bold and daring enough to be named after my favorite action hero of all time, unfortunately. Maybe next time?)

7. What do you love best about yourself?
My signature thing has always been my laugh. I'm told it's infectious. My laugh is like a deadly virus! Moooohoooohaaahaaahaaaaa! (My evil laugh is coming along swimmingly, by the way.)

8. What is the best movie ever made?
Ummm. I don't know if I'm qualified to answer that question. If you asked AFI, they'd say it's Citizen Kane, which makes me think that AFI is on crack, 'cause I've seen Citizen Kane and while I understand how it revolutionized movie-making, I think it's straight-up boring.

What I am qualified to tell you is that my favorite movie of all time is The Wizard of Oz and that in my opinion (disclaimer disclaimer disclaimer!), The Dark Knight was the best movie of the past decade. But that's just me. 

9. If you had a "freaky friday" experience who would you trade places with and why?
I'd trade places with Scarlett Johansson solely for the opportunity to do unspeakable things to Ryan Reynolds. No question.

10. What's the best part about being a woman?
We... get prettier-smelling perfumes? (Seriously, I feel bad for guys for having to wear cologne and body spray that smells the way it smells. Also: Axe makes me want to vomit my lungs up. What is the appeal?)

And thus ends my longest blog post to date. Wasn't that fun?

Prom: a comparative study

My sister's dress:

Grecian-influenced, a lovely color, figure-flattering -- shit, dye it white and I'd wear this now as a wedding gown. I'm so insanely jealous that this picture is how my sister gets to remember her prom. 

On the other hand:

OK, first: CAN WE TALK ABOUT THE SCHOOL BUS. My prom group wanted to be "different" and also cheap (we had 12 couples) so they hired a big yellow bus to drop us off at prom. I don't want to talk about it.

Second: the more I look at this picture, the more I dislike my dress. There's nothing particularly offensive about it, I guess, it's just "meh." Plus, it pinches my under-arm flab and makes me look stumpy. Its purchase was the result of a harrowing day of unsuccessful dress shopping. When you've tried on dozens of dresses and all of them look terrible, you'll settle for anything. Even a $14.99 dress from the clearance rack.

My sister's hair and makeup:

She got her hair done by my stylist Jen, who is a genius. I love that it's soft and not over-styled and yet it's formal enough for a special occasion. Her makeup looks really natural and blended, her eye makeup opens her eyes up like crazy, and the colors are awesome for her complexion. And I swear I'm not just saying all that because I did her makeup :P

On the other hand:

Clown City. What is UP with lip liner? I don't even want to talk about the eye makeup. As you can see, my best friend is suffering from a similar problem (we got our makeup done at the same place), but she looks a little better. My hair is just pathetic. The woman took one look at my short haircut and basically gave up. Then she was like, here, I'll curl it and pin your bangs up. And I was like ARE YOU SERIOUS. THIS IS WHAT MY HAIR LOOKS LIKE EVERY DAY. 

Also, the matchy-matchy choker necklace was such. A bad. Idea. 

(Also: ugh, the UNDER ARM FLAB. Why didn't anyone tell me about that when I showed them my dress?!

My sister's experience

As far as I can tell, she had a pretty good time. They played all of her favorite songs and she got to dance around like a crazy person with her friends and the food was awesome. Her texts from the afterparty weekend down the shore ranged from pleased to giddy. She came home content, with a hoarse voice from all the talking, laughing, and singing. I'm sure it wasn't the best weekend of her life, but it seemed like she hadn't really expected anything but a moderately good time anyway, so she wasn't disappointed.

On the other hand:

I had never been to a formal dance before, and the only exposure I'd had to prom was what I saw in She's All That and Ten Things I Hate About You and Pretty in Pink. Naturally, it seemed to me that prom was supposed to be this magical night where anything was possible, where latent romances bloom and friendships are defined. I expected nothing short of the best time of my life. 

What I got was a group of catty girls who wouldn't compliment one another, a date who was a dud, a shitty DJ (not that any of my friends would dance, anyway), an early departure (we left after 2 1/2 hours) and a rainy weekend down the shore. It was kind of the exact opposite of a magical night where anything was possible. Sure, we were a coed group of eighteen teenagers living in an unsupervised shore house for the weekend, and that fact alone should have created some kind of uncontrollable vortex of drama. But nothing happened. Nobody hooked up, nobody had any heart-to-hearts, there wasn't a wild, debaucherous party, and there was nary a poignant moment to be had. The weekend was at its best, ordinary, and at its worst, completely and mind-numbingly boring. We wouldn't have made a very good episode of True Life: I'm Going To Prom, is what I'm saying.

But now it's just part of the past. I even feel like it shaped me, in some small way, by showing me that sometimes our expectations prove to be to much to live up to, and that it's always better to focus on your friends rather than Boy Stuff. It's one of the times in my life that I look back on with equal parts bitterness and nostalgia, if I look back on it at all. But seeing my sister pose with her friends and pin a boutonnière to her date's lapel and ascend, smiling, up the stairs of the limo bus brought all of the memories flooding back, good and bad. It was a fitting start to a weekend that had me looking back on a lot of good times, and looking forward to making more.

geeky. girly. SPAAARKLYYY.

 I got the best award ever from Angela a couple of days ago.

The Geek Girls Unite Award! 
[For girls who are proud to be geeks.]
[Isn't it awesome? And SPARKLY?]

And here are the rules:
List ten geeky facts about yourself and...
Pass this award onto your favorite female geeks!
That's all you need to do!

My geekiness is my favorite thing in the world to talk about, so let's do this!

Top Ten Geekiest Facts About Me:

1, I used the phrase “Joss is Boss” at a dinner party. Everyone stared at me.

2. I read Terry Pratchett.

3. I get all teary-eyed when I hear the Shire theme.

4. I depend on Digg as my primary news source.

5. I own an album called This Machine Pwns n00bs.

6. I read so. Many. Webcomics. For instance,
Basic Instructions
cyanide and happiness
Girls With Slingshots
Questionable Content
Sam and Fuzzy
Saturday Morning Breakfast Cartoons (click the red button!)
Subnormality
Super Effective
Today, Nothing Happened
xkcd

7. I know what Howl’s Moving Castle is.

8. I know what the fifth element is. In chemistry AND in the Bruce Willis/Milla Jovovich movie.

9. And I know what sectumsempra would do to you.

10. My nerd boyfriend and want to get a Corgi puppy and name him or her Einstein, after the genius dog in Cowboy Bebop.

Whee! That was fun. I'm passing the torch to [drum roll, please...] Caity of caity.nu! She's one of my favorite girl geek bloggers. On her front page alone you've got a birthday picture of her in a Nintendo t-shirt, a sweet picture of her Kindle, and a blatant plug for Flight of the Conchords. That's so much awesome I can barely stand it.

Feel free to nab this and pass it on to your friends, as well. This is a really cool award and I want to see it all over the blogosphere.

Have a great weekend everyone, and DFTBA.

looking for a song to sing

Thing One: If you were a senior in high school and you had to sing a song dedicated your peers and teachers, what song would you pick? Rules that we invented:

1. No songs from musicals or rock operas or anything with a storyline. Songs out of context = the devil!
2. Something that can be accompanied by a live piano or guitar -- no tacky karaoke tracks (not appropriate for the venue).
3. Nothing that conveys overt hostility towards yours peers/teachers. "Good Riddance (Time of Your Life)" by Green Day is OK, "Fuck You" by Lily Allen is not.
4. It's a relatively mellow event, so nothing too lively. "Dancing Queen" or "Tik Tok" are probably out of the question.

This survey is to benefit my younger sister, who has been hard-pressed to pick a song for Senior Solo Night, which is in a week. She had a relatively great high school experience, and so I think she really wants to pick a song that shows her appreciation for and warmth towards her friends and mentors. I gave her some good suggestions, most of which she nixed (I can't imagine WHY she wouldn't want to sing "I Shot The Sheriff") some of which she initially liked but then she couldn't find good enough sheet music. So I turn to you. Help me, internets. You're my only hope!

Thing Two: Unlike a lot of people, I basically loved high school. I found my niche early on (band geeks FTW) and stuck to it, and the social structure of my massive public school was too chaotic for a stifling clique-y heirarchy. Everyone basically left each other alone. I had my four best friends who accepted me for who I was (and still do!). I had teachers whom I respected and looked up to (and some I didn't of course). And there were a surprising amount of good looking guys when I was there, so had tons of eye candy to feast upon every. Single. Day. (Something you should know about me is that I was completely boy crazy for all four years of high school. If I wasn't lusting after a classmate, it was some celebrity or a guy I saw at a random Starbucks on my way to a flute lesson.)

Obviously I do look back and roll my eyes at a lot of things, cringe at my attitudes and actions, and sigh with relief that I don't have to wake up every morning at 6 and go be somewhere for seven hours, five days a week. I'm not trying to romanticize it. I think.

I guess what I'm trying to say is that while I'm glad high school is over, it wasn't exactly torture for me. And this whole thing with my sister's Senior Solo Night got me thinking about what I would have chosen to dedicate to my friends and mentors. I can't say for sure, but I like to think it would have been this:

I'm awake, you're still sleeping
The sun will rise like yesterday
Everything that we are now
Is everything we can't let go
Or its gone forever, far away
I hope tomorrow is like today
Don't you go away tomorrow
I don't think I could handle that
You're probably dreaming that you're flying on
Then you start to fall
But then you rise
and shine forever
Don't go away
I hope tomorrow is like today

Tell me what your experience was like! What song would you have chosen as your big fat farewell to high school? And you don't have to follow the rules I set above -- you can be as passive-aggressive (or just plain aggressive) as you please!

Thursday Five: Smooth Sailing

It's been one of those pleasant, busy weeks where Some Things Go Wrong but, by and large, Things Are Pretty Good. Nothing groundbreaking (no graduate school acceptances, no Publishers Clearing House knocking at my door with a giant check) but nothing too devastating either (no funeral services to attend, no dogs bringing baby bunnies into the house as a gift). Just smooth sailing, small pleasures, and personal victories. It's a good week to participate in MannLand5's Thursday 5 for the first time.

The graphic:

Did I ever mention that I love daisies? They're my favorite wild flower.

The rules:

Today's the day where we (those of us that want to) post 5 things that have made us

Joyful

Giddy

Excited

Thankful

Jubilant

or

Just plain ol' happy this week!

And then you link back to Keely, of course. (whose blog I just discovered via this meme).

And here's my five.

1. So I feel kind of like a fraud for being excited about this, but THE FLYERS ARE MAYBE GONNA GO TO THE STANLEY CUP WHAT. Being Matt's girlfriend basically necessitates becoming a Flyers fan, so I've started to really warm up to the sport over the years. The playoffs have been really fun to watch, and it feels weird to suddenly be a sports fan, but the more I think about it, the more it's just another branch of geekdom. At least that's how I'm going to look at it.
2. Ever since I started listening to Book One of Harry Potter on audiobook in the car, I actually look forward to driving around. I haven't re-read any of them in years, and I've forgotten so many of the details and how straight-up good it is. It's honestly like I'm reading the series for the first time.
3. My Very Geeky Friend from the library just turned me on to Fables. I really love fairy-tale retellings and anything having to do with inserting characters from mythology and classical literature into modern-day settings, and from what I can tell so far, that's what Fables is all about. So I'm really excited. Also, same Very Geeky Friend invited me to her weekly True Blood/Buffy Night -- it starts in June when season 3 of True Blood starts ... so I have until then to get completely caught up on the series, I guess...
4. I have one sentence (...fragment): Neil Patrick Harris guest starring on a Joss Whedon-directed episode of Glee. Ultimate win.
5. I found out that I got an award from the awesome Nikki of City Soliloquy! Thanks Nikki, if I could give it back to you, I would. I'll be passing it on to 5 more bloggers tomorrow. Hooray for spreading the love!

perseverance and patience

I'm feeling much better about life now that I've dropped the piss-poor attitude that resulted in my last post. I feel like everyone has a right to occasionally lose all perspective and indulge in straight-up wallowing, but I'm reading it back over and feeling kind of silly for writing all that stuff about how I am not a unique snowflake and how I'm lazy and bad at video games. That's not really a fair representation of my life right now.

I need to snap out of feeling like I failed. So I lost direction in college and failed a couple classes. Shit happens. So I'm just now figuring out what I want to do with my life. Well, at least I'm taking steps to have the life I want. So I live at home and haven't started earning a salary yet. So what? Who says you have to be financially independent by 23? By 25? I'm the only one who's been putting pressure on myself to move along faster than I have the means to move.

 My parents are insane for letting me live with them for as long as I need to, but they've insisted on it so I'm not going to argue with that. In the meantime, I'm doing everything I can to create an adult life. I've set my sights on my career path and I'm speeding off in that direction. I have a job I love and a cool boyfriend and my best friends are awesome and I get to live with my hilarious sister. And that's a lot.

These are the things I have to remember when I'm feeling inadequate. This needs to be my manifesto for the times I feel like I haven't done anything worthwhile in these past 23 years. Because while my life might not be remarkable, it's not forgettable. Instead of feeling like shit for having a boring life right now, I should remind myself that this is just the part where I lay the foundation for the outrageously awesome life I'm going to have soon.

And the rest is just perseverance and patience.

make my dreams come true

[First things first: Happy Cinco de Mayo! I am celebrating by cleaning my room, watching BBC's Life, and eating cookies. Later: Work! Olé!]

So here's what happened yesterday:

I got into graduate school.

I realize that I have never mentioned in this blog that I had any ambitions whatsoever to go to graduate school. So let me explain.

No, there is too much.

Let me sum up.

I want to be a librarian. More specifically, I want to be a youth services librarian. And I've been taking a lot of steps to achieve that goal. Many of those steps entailed getting as much hands-on experience as I can working in public libraries and school libraries. But the biggest step I took was applying to graduate school for my Master of Library and Information Science (or MLIS). Experience is important -- really important -- when it comes to getting hired as a librarian, but the MLIS is the golden ticket. It's basically the prerequisite for every library job beyond support staff.

I applied in December to just one school. In retrospect, that could have been a huge mistake, putting all of my eggs in one basket like that. And at first, it really seemed like I had fucked myself over majorly. Because the deadline for admissions decisions came and went, and I hadn't heard a thing back from my One and Only School. No acceptance. No rejection. Just dead silence.

I was convinced I'd overestimated myself. I started having tons of negative thoughts: How could I have been so stupid to just apply to one school and assume it was in the bag? This university is ranked #6 in the nation for overall library science -- #3 for youth services. They wouldn't want me, a fresh-from-undergrad wannabe whose GPA barely met the admissions standard, whose GRE scores sucked balls. 

Fed up, I turned to the Internet, and I found some forum where people who had applied to library school were discussing their school decisions. I found out that the people who'd applied to my program had already received their acceptances via email. It hit me like a train. I'd been snubbed. I hadn't even gotten a rejection letter.

I was so embarrassed. All of my fears about my shortcomings were true, apparently. I got really upset. Then I got mad. Then I started trying to figure out a Plan B.

This was all about a month and a half ago. Since then, I'd been struggling with where to go next. I half-heartedly filled out another application to another popular MLIS program whose deadline hadn't passed. I looked in vain for more support staff positions in public libraries. And I became more and more panicked about how my career was going to fall into place.

Then yesterday happened.

I was eating breakfast and watching Sabrina the Teenage Witch, waiting for my computer to start up and wondering how it is I never realized what a horrible show Sabrina the Teenage Witch was. I absentmindedly checked my personal e-mail, the address that I can't give out to employers because it's from when I was 15 and thought "liketotally" belonged in an e-mail address.

Then I logged out of that account and signed into my "offical" e-mail, the one I put on my resume and give to stores because I'm too embarrassed to give them the other one. I chomped down on a strawberry and bit my tongue and cried out in pain. Then, dabbing at the inside of my mouth, I glanced at my email and I saw it.

[Fancypants] University MLIS wait list - space available for you this fall

My jaw dropped. I blinked. I read the line over and over and over. I clicked on the subject line.

You are the next person on the wait list for the [Fancypants] University online MLIS program so we'd like to offer you the opportunity to begin your online studies this fall if you'd like.

My heart started pounding. I couldn't believe what I was reading. I'd been on the wait list the whole time? Why hadn't I gotten a letter or an email letting me know? Was this real? Or was it spam? Or maybe a cruel joke from the admissions department? I read on.

The new student orientation will be in late August at the [North Fancypants] campus ... Please let me know ASAP if you'd like to join the fall 2010 cohort so we can help you get registered and send you detailed information about orientation. Classes begin Wednesday, September 1st.

Oh my god. This was real. This was real and I was accepted. I am accepted.

I am going to graduate school, to attend one of the most high-ranking and well-known MLIS programs in the country. I am going to be a youth services librarian.

Of course, I ran around my house screaming and I called my mom and my dad and I frantically texted my sister and my best friends and Matt. Then I went to work and told my co-workers and they were so excited for me. I'm so excited for me. I mean, soon the boring stuff sets in: applying for a loan, registering for classes, learning to deal with bullshit university bureaucracy.

But today I'm not thinking about any of that. Today I'm just basking in the warm glow of Getting What You Wanted. Today, this is me:

it's a magic number

Memes are one of my all-time favorite things. When I was 12 and the Intarwebs was new, I was that person who filled out every goddamn chain-mail "get to know me!" meme and proceeded to spam all of my little 7th-grade friends. I can't believe AOL didn't ban my account. Anyway, I have a couple saved to my desktop but I wanted to start with this one. I nabbed it from the awesome ethony. (Even though I wasn't tagged. Is that proper blog-iquette? Well, it is now.) We're gonna call it... The Power of THREE. (Charmed reference, anyone?)

Three Names I Go By
Melissa
Melly
Asian Sally (...but that's another post.)

Three Jobs I’ve Had
Stock girl at a bargain-basement type housewares store (UberSuck.)
Math and writing tutor for rich kids (AKA a glorified babysitter)
Assistant Youth Services Librarian (that's my current job)

Three Places I’ve Lived Traveled To [I've lived in NJ my whole life, soo...]
Madrid, Spain
Galway, Ireland
The Philippines (I was 12 and we visited family, so I can't remember exactly where we went.)

Three Places I’d Like To Go
The Grand Canyon
Middle Earth. I mean, New Zealand.
Toyko

Three Favourite Drinks
Starbucks Iced Mocha (seriously, they're like crack)
Plain Old Water
Malibu Bay Breeze (nothing like three or four of these to knock you on your ass and have you deciding it's a good idea to take the glass home in your bag and the waitress tells you you can't do that so you cry and then you go into the bathroom and you're not sure but you think you started singing along to the music while you were peeing.)
(....What?)

Three TV Shows I Watch
Mythbusters (see previous post)
Futurama
Platinum Weddings. I CAN'T HELP IT.

Three Favourite Old TV Shows
Boy Meets World (I watched this earlier today, and I'm telling you it stands the test of time. It was brilliant.)
The Twilight Zone
Nickelodeon's Roundhouse. Please tell me someone else watched this show. I need to believe that it was real!

Three Favourite Foods
Macaroni salad (I know, who am I, the Barefoot Contessa? But seriously, I can't live without it.)
Arroz Caldo, which is, as I know it, this awesome delicious rice porridge that my awesome Filipino mom makes on New Year's Day and when I'm sick.
Carrot Cake (I know, who am I, the Barefoot Contessa? Whoa. Déjà vu.)

Three Make-Up Products I Can’t Live Without
Urban Decay's Primer Potion
Bare Minerals Mineral Veil
Benefit BadGal LASH Mascara

Three Things I’m Looking Forward To
This weekend, cause I'm visiting my college campus with my friends Cait and Katie
Tonight after work, cause Matt and I are going out to watch the Flyers/Montreal game and probably drink ourselves blind.
February 2011, cause that's when I'm going on a cruise of the Western Caribbean with my best friend Lindsay and we are gonna go sightseeing and eat until we burst and probably drink ourselves blind.

Three People I'm Tagging
Matt. You need something to blog about.
Amber. You're hilarious and I want to see what you do with this.
Kara. I like you.
And Angela, because I get one more for good luck. And because I like you.