a can of acadamia nuts

Thanks to the multiple occurences in which I've been asked this question, I am now very well aware that my college life is over and I've got nothing but the real world to look forward to from this point forward.

Thank you, I didn't notice.

Why yes, I did graduate from UCLA. What did I study? Geography, urban planning, and public policy. What am I doing now? I'm working for the transit department of Santa Monica. Do I want to go to grad school? Eventually.

After answering those string of questions exactly in that order and with the exact same responses for the 20th time in the past 4 days, I felt like the next step I would need to take would be to type out my answers onto a business card and just hand it to anyone who wanted to make that conversation with me. But since I secretly enjoy tooting my own horn at my accomplishments, I figure I'll probably hold out for just a little while longer.

But another question that is consistently posed to me is whether or not I miss undergrad life. Do I miss going to school yet? Do I miss UCLA yet? Am I getting sick of work yet? Really, it's a long answer yes with an 'and,' and a short answer no with a 'but.'

In actuality, the only thing I really truly miss about undergrad life is being able to sleep in till whenever I'd like. Other than that, I rather enjoy life after school. I like the job I'm at right now, since I think I've learned more relevant practical skills in the past few weeks than I have in the past few years in college courses. I'm making a decent amount of money (goodbye crippling credit card debt!). I love free time, so I absolutely don't mind coming home after work and spending the rest of the evening watching old re-runs of John and Kate plus 8, I Love Money, Blind Date, Southpark, the more obscure untelevised Olympic sports such as judo, shooting, or trampoline, and working on developing my beatboxing skills thanks to Biz Markie:


All that, and I'd like to believe that every day, my stock is rising (that's right, baby, I'm a college graduate with a stable job, and I'm only getting more beautiful by the day).

I mean, that's not to say I didn't enjoy undergraduate life. Hell, I've had the most fun I had ever had, ever in the past four years. I've gained a multitude of friends I'll have for years, I've expanded my tastes in music and my collection of it, I've learned life experiences I would have never had otherwise, and I've created memories I'll have for years. I mean, how many people can say they
-played in the band at UCLA
-MC'd a banquet for 100+ people on a yacht
-participated in UCLA's undie run (research it, for you who are not aware of it) not in my underwear, but in a gorilla suit
-have driven back and forth between the Bay Area and Los Angeles at least 97 times
-one of those drives was in the middle of the night, in which the tire blew out resulting in the car spinning out of control in the middle of highway 5 at 4am, forcing the rest of the drive to be done on the spare tire going no faster than 50 mph
-got high, cooked dinosaur shaped chicken nuggets, and watched the Land Before Time
-open up a bottle of Andre ($3 champagne!) and watch Russell Peter's only good stand up every other night
-had a roommate who would leave notes on the door asking to stay out because he's having a "serious talk with his good friend," who happened to be a guy
-walked in on the above
-had a roommate who didn't shower often, or ever
-played a role in putting together conferences for 300+ high school students
-mix pancake batter, stick in the oven, and call that dinner
-open up a can of pork and beans, open up a soda, and call that dinner
-threw parties in which there were at least 50-70 people crammed into a single roomed apartment
-got trapped in a tiny elevator with 2 other guys and a huge laundry cart flowing over with stuff, on the last day your friend is spending in the neighborhood
-completely furnished a living room for free, thanks to the many nights spent driving around the neighborhood searching for furniture left on the streets

...and oh so much more. I think an extended list of this will call for another entry.

I mean, I see why people would want to extend their stay in the college lifestyle. I visited campus today for the first time in a while, and already I had run into two people I knew. The campus is beautiful and full of beautiful people. There are still winter, spring, and summer breaks, and the living is usually easy. It's very, very convenient.

But it's got to come to an end eventually. It's been fun, it's been memorable, but all good things come to an end. College is so...temporary. Relationships are limited to the time until graduation, jobs are menial and usually don't help much for the resume, and metabolism slows down exponentially after finishing undergrad (I sense another entry topic).

So for the time being, right now I will say that I do miss undergrad life to a point, but at the same time, I know that my time has come and gone. But feel free to ask me again in a few months or so.

Total laps swam so far, 8/26/08: 60 laps x 25 meters = 1500meters
How much in shape am I feeling: The fact that I wasn't getting winded after one lap is a good sign. Unfortunately, I've taken a 6 day break as well.

"a pick and roll? a pick and roll? I fucking play football, I don't know what the fuck a pick and roll is!"
-KF

oh one more thing, how are you all digging the new layout?