End of Swimming, Start of a New Life

Well guys, I'm sorry for not updating for quite a while. It is hard to juggle living your real life with writing down the things you do for the future. Sometimes I just get mixed up in the present that I forget about the past or the future, but that needs to stop.

I'll recap. These couple of weeks have been crazy. Swim season just ended for me and that means the end of everything that I have centered my life around for the past four years. I have been in that pool for so long that it is really sad and depressing leaving behind that big part of my high school career. If there is anything that I am going to miss about Rowland, it is going to be swimming.

I placed 3rd in my 200yd im, 5th in my 100yd fly, and 3rd in the 400yd freestyle relay at League Finals. I am glad that I got one extra medal this year, even though I would really liked to place top 3 for my butterfly. It is okay though. Life is life.
Swim banquet was very fun because it was potluck and there was so much food there. To be honest, I am quite disappointed that I did not get Golden Raider this year because I got Golden Raider for the past 3 years in swim, and it sucks to not get it my last year. I just got a Senior Appreciation Award that every senior gets. I think Coach Mike is a jerk this year. It is not cool at all to not give me anything. I am glad I got top honors like 1st team All League though.

On a side note, now that swim has ended, I just want to say that a lot of people seriously need a reality check on life and they need to earn to respect people or else they will not get respect back. It is very annoying when people don't treat others with the respect that they deserve. If someone is hard working, it is just not right to treat them like they're dirt or like they don't try hard in life. Those who do not try hard in life, I can understand, but it is just not right to treat others without respect.

Prom was very very very awesome. I can't help but to smile ear to ear when I talk about it. I got ready early in the morning at around 11 and I went to Wayne's house. After, I went home and chilled until about 3. Then I went to pick up the corsage and buy Susan a bouquet of glittery roses for our 53 monthiversary. Then, I picked Susan up from Franceska's house and we went to TaiPei La for our picture appointment. After, we drove to Puente Hills Mall where we picked up Tara and Bobby and then we drove to Disneyland where we arrived an hour early so that we could take pictures and just sight see. We were going to go into Disneyland, but it wasn't really worth it because we only had half an hour to get there and I didn't want to risk rushing and getting stressed out, which would jepordize our special prom night. We got to Prom nice and early so everything was very relaxed and very calming. I liked it though, because we got to really soak in the atmosphere and settle into each other. The food was pretty good, better than I expected. Then, Susan and I danced the night away until I drove everyone back to Franceska's house where we ate and sung kareoke for the rest of the night.

I just want to say that I really love me and Susan's relationship because it is going really good. I really like we finally have time for each other now that both drumline and swimming is over. The two extracurricular activities that we had to compromise over for the past four years are finally over and now we can just enjoy time with each other. It really just feels good to be with her each and everyday <3.

I will update next time. Right now, I am preoccupied with my two video projects and with scholarships. Peace!

College Decision: UCI

Well I submitted my SIR to UCI today. I cannot believe that all of this is over. It is actually quite sad how I started this whole college application process with a QuestBridge scholarship program, extensive UC essays that I started in the summer, a dream to go to UCB, and a dream to even go to a private college.

To summarize, I got into UCSD, UCI, and Cal Poly: SLO. All of these schools have outstanding engineering schools and it was really a tough decision. UCSD is probably the best out of the three when it comes to engineering if you are looking at rankings. UCI is ideal for me because of location, the wide range of course offerings, and the school itself seems ideal for me. Cal Poly: SLO is a great school, but it is an entirely different location and academic program.

Let's get down to the nitty gritty though.

UCI vs UCSD

location: UCI is located in Irvine, California. It is ideal because it is close to Anaheim, Orange County, Huntington Beach, and Irvine itself is a very nice and safe community.

UCSD is located in La Jolla, California. Everyone talks about the beach and how much they love it at San Diego. For me, the beach is a plus, but it is not a main reason to choose a campus. I would get annoyed if I went to the beach everyday. Something about cold water and windy weather is not appealing to me. I like a mix of suburban and beach.

Closeness vs. Farness
Honestly, UCI is only 30 minutes away from my present location and about 20 minutes away from Susan. Whereas, UCSD is about 1 hour and 50 minutes from my present location and 1 hour and 30 minutes away from Susan. UCI is not too close while UCSD is far enough to not come back for any little reason. However, I am choosing to dorm at UCI solely because I need a dose of reality and independence. I refuse to live at home for a lot of reasons. I don't think I can be patronized and looked after anymore. I need to branch out and do what everyone does, find their calling.

So, in conclusion, I have to give UCI the edge when it comes to location.

Academics
UCI is less stellar when it comes to academics than UCSD. However, UCSD is predominately a science and medical school. At UCI, most majors are in biological sciences, history, and English. At UCI, only 3.7% of majors are in computer science and informatics. This translates into approximately 800 students in the entire Computer Science department. This is very good so that the ratio of faculty to student at UCI is smaller than UCSD. This allows for smaller classes and better interaction.

Honestly, great and rigorous academics at a good college only goes as far as a person is willing to work. If one is a bad student, going to UCB does not do much. If one is a good student, then going to UCB will definitely enrich and enliven one's experience.

When it comes to academics, it is really true on what they say, that college is "what you put into it". I believe that I would give a better effort at UCI, by taking honors rather than falling behind in the masses at UCSD.

Maybe going to a less stellar school will make me stand out more, as bad as that sounds.

Gut feeling, destiny

As cheesy as this sounds, we all do this. We all have that gut feeling where we are supposed to go and where we belong. You can call it a calling or you can call it destiny. I had a dream that I went to UCI and I was very successful with very intellectual and friendly people. I had a dream the same night when I went to UCSD and it was very dark and frightening. It really all boils down to what your gut tells you to do. After multiple coin tosses, UCI is what God told me. I cannot disappoint.

The only regrets I have about UCI is that I passed down a better offer when you look at it at a objective standpoint. However, if you look at it subjectively, UCI is the better place for a student like me. I am competitive, but not to the point where things get too cutthroat. I am incredibly loyal to friends and family, and I definitely need that support system closeby (Susan and family).

One Hectic Week

Well this week was very hectic, particularly on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday.

On Wednesday, I had a swim meet at West Covina and I decided to be bold and drive myself to Edgewood High School. However, I was supposed to take a right on Sunset Blvd, but it was closed due to construction, so I had to wander for almost an hour looking for a detour. I finally got to the meet right when it started. I didn't drop any time for my 100yd butterfly. My goal is to make CIF for 100yd butterfly, which is :56 seconds, so we shall see if I can make that goal. *Sigh, but I will keep trying.

On Thursday, I had to go with my dad to the Asylum interview. Basically, I watched my dad pour out his heart to some korean little girl who was the interviewee. Anyways, I am crossing my fingers in hopes that she will grant us asylum so that I can get financial aid for my second year at college. GOD HELP ME.

On Friday, it was Sadies! I had lots of fun because Susan and I went to take pictures at Cue and then we went to eat at Banana Boat. The dance was pretty fun because the DJ was very good and there wasn't any stupid songs like at Winter Formal. Overall, I was able to just dance the night away like how I wanted. It was a very magical and wild night.

On Saturday @ 7am, I had to go to the Raider Invitational. There was over 6 schools there competing, amounting to over 400 swimmers. I got 1st in my 200yd medley relay, 3rd or 4th in my 100yd butterfly, 1st in my 200yd freestyle relay, and around 5th in my 100yd backstroke. After my swim meet, I had to rush home and go to Susan's prelims competition @ 3:15 until 11:00 because we went to Denny's after. Overall, the whole SCPA process was very unfair and I think that Rowland deserved to go to finals because I honestly don't understand how they cannot. They had a really good show and very little mistakes, plus a good show concept. I guess the world is not as perfect after all. It is always destiny though.

Today, Sunday, I went to Prom Fashion Show at 9:00am until 2:00 pm. We just basically finished up the entire show and I am crossing my fingers that everything goes according to plan. REMINDER TO SELF: get somebody to record and take pictures on Wednesday!

Next week is the last week ebfore I go on spring break and I have never been more happy. i am looking forward to celebrating my last spring break with friends and Susan of course :).

The End of the Infamous College Application Process

Well it is over guys. The infamous stressful and nerve-wrecking college application process for me is over. It has been a very difficult and anxious time for me. All in all, I can honestly say that..I am not happy about my college options. ALTHOUGH people can say that I have good options (UCSD, UCI, Cal Poly SLO), they could have been better. I am not a person to take denial very well.

HOWEVER, I've learned from this whole process a very important lesson about life. I've learned that it is not about the effort that is important, but rather, the product. Nobody cares how hard you worked to achieve that A in APUSH, but they do care that if you successfully obtained that A. If one tries hard in something, but ultimately fails, people don't celebrate that hard work. They only celebrate the success of the product. SO HOW DOES THIS APPLY TO COLLEGE? Well, nobody cares what one did to get into UCLA, UCB, or whatever college. They only care and admire that you actually got into that college. There is no IF's, AND's, or BUT's in an admission acceptance or rejection. There's no gray matter (except UCB's appeal process).

Now, I'm going to concentrate more on producing a successful finished product rather than just merely "working hard". There are plenty of times where we all work really hard, but just come out short of being successful. TAKE FOR EXAMPLE, I worked super hard in swimming, by swimming on both Trident and High School. HOWEVER, a loss is a loss. A win is a win. It doesn't matter how hard one tries, but the true victory.

Well, no matter if I like it or not, I have to accept my college options. I have to weigh my options and consider ALL possible factors. I'm teetering on the edge between UCSD, UCI, and Community College. Even though San Luis Obispo is probably the hardest school that I got into, it is just really inconvenient to go there. I would be isolated like crazy. At least if I went to cc, UCI, or UCSD I would be in touch with a few of my friends and be remotely able to visit Susan. If I went to Cal Poly, I don't know how I would survive. I'm sure I can get a good education while being close to the things that I love the most.

UCSD is just really far (around 150 miles) from Rowland Heights. If I went there, I would have to dorm or rent a room in the nearby neighborhood. However, apparently their engineering program is top ranked in the nation. Plus, I would be at a pretty prestigious school where I think I would enjoy the extra-curriculars on campus, what with a division 2 swim team and the number one surf team in the nation. I think I have grown accustomed to being around water from swimming all 4 years of high school. Also, that is probably why I got accepted into UCSD in the first place.

DOWNSIDES: UCSD is far. I won't be able to visit Susan everyday, but I think I might be able to visit her every weekend if I drive early in the morning to avoid traffic. It really hurts to be away from home and Susan though. I can't imagine doing so. That is a BIG factor that is deterring me from UCSD.

UCI: Apparently, people have been telling me that it is a great school, but I don't like the fact that almost half of the school is enrolled in computer science and that almost 90% of the school is asian. I will not appreciate having more than 30 people in my junior and senior classes. Nor will I appreciate all of the competition from the overachieving asians at Irvine. Definitely not an enjoyable environment. HOWEVER, UCI is close and far enough so that I can enjoy life on my own. UCI is a good school. I've come to the conclusion that it doesn't matter what college you go to, but it is what you make out of the college.

For example, I went to John A. Rowland High School, which I am not the most proud of. It is not a great school, it is not a bad school. But, I managed to make the most out of my experience at Rowland by taking AP and Honors classes while enrolling in the extra-curricular activities (Swim and Water Polo) offered as well as extra-extra curriculars such as a Swim Club. Now, I am blessed to be even offered admission to UC's. Especially with my situation. HOWEVER, that doesn't mean that I wouldn't like going to a good college because it still would be nice to have the resources that an IVY league has. Plus, bragging rights is always a plus that boosts any man's ego.

Gah, my eyes hurt. I will write more later. I love you Susan :). I'm glad I went to your Temecula Drumline Competition today :). Good Job!

Super Recap

Whats up peeps? I'm terribly sorry that I have not been updating in this for a while now. Life has been incredibly busy, but don't think that I forgot about all of blogspot. After all, I need to make sure that I will be able to reflect back on this blog twenty years from now and relive my days when I was 18.

I will just touch on some main points that happened these couple of weeks.

Kyle's Birthday - was pretty interesting and we all went to John's Incredible Pizza which was INCREDIBLE! I loved their pizza and their games. It is like Chuck E Cheeses times 20. The place was really big and they gave out free tickets every couple of hours or so. We played musical chairs and limbo with Kyle. Dang, I really missed those games when I was little. I drove there with Susan so that was a first too. I'm still here aren't I?

Swim Season 2009 - Swim has been alright so far. I have a bad habit of showing up to practice late. Sometimes it is not my fault and sometimes it is. I have to go after 7th period and I have to drop off Susan and her brother so I get back to school at 3:30 or so and practice starts at 3:00. So far, I can make my 100yd butterfly on the 1:02. However, I need a :55 in order to qualify for CIF. Will I make CIF this year? I sure hope so.

College Acceptance Letters - This is a biggie for me because this has been the source of my angst and my anxiety ever since I submitted my applications back in November. To recap, I applied to CSU: Fullerton, Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, Claremont Mckenna College, Yale College, Pomona College, UCSD, UCLA, UCI, UCB and Mt. Sac for good measures. So far, I have been accepted into CSU: Fullerton, Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, UCI, and UCSD. I should know where I stand by the beginning of April. That leaves me with approximately 1 month to decide where I want to spend the next 4 years of my life. God help me to make the right decision.

Susan's Drumline Competitions - Well I've been going to Susan's drumline competitions for mostly every weekend now. They have been pretty cool because I get to spend time with my lovely girlfriend while watching intense drumline performances at the same time. It would be one time to accompany my girlfriend to something like a book club or something boring like that. But it is exciting and fun each time I go on a drumline competition with her :). It makes me feel like when I was in 8th grade. Good stuff.

Tuesday, (March 17, 2009) is me and Susan's 51 monthiversary :). I hope she asks me to Sadies and I hope that we get to do prom fashion show together and I hope I don't suck at it. Well I love her so much and I am prepared to support and be there for her every step of the way.

I will try to update more, but that is all for now folks.

Valentine's Day 2009 + Week of February 9-15

Why, hello there! :) I shall tell you of my dainty little week of February 9 through 15. Overall, it was a pretty wet and cold week because it rained on and off, but when it rained, IT RAINED.

Monday - Susan was not feeling well, so she went home during lunchtime. I walked her to the office and waited with her until she left :(. Then I went to College Algebra and Yearbook, feeling lonely as heck. She didn't go to practice that night because she was really sick. Poor girl. I went to practice though and the pool was really steamy.

Tuesday - Susan did not go to school because she was still sick. I felt incredibly sad and lonely in all of my classes. It really makes a big difference because Susan is in three of my classes so it hurts when shes not there :(. I don't have my emotional support there or that smile to keep me happy. Anyway, Tuesday was a pretty straight-forward day though. I just went to all of my classes and went through the daily routine. School seems even more boring without mah love :(.

Wednesday - Susan's back! Yay! :) Bad news though.. I talked to my counselor during lunch time and asked her about AB540 and she told me how I did not qualify because I am not a "undocumented immigrant", basically an immigrant who does not hold a visa. It is really ridiculous because, why would immigrants who came here LEGALLY not be able to apply for in-state college fees when ILLEGAL immigrants can? What the heck.. Good news in the evening though. I got accepted into CAL POLY SAN LUIS OBISPO. Even though San Luis Obispo is incredibly far, it has a very good engineering program. I cannot imagine going 200 miles from LA though. I'd be homesick and Susan-sick, more Susan-sick than anything :(.

Thursday - Same old same old. I prepared for Valentine's day by buying flowers, baking a gigantic heart cookie, cooking lasgana, and typing her Valentine's letter :). I forgot the stuffed animals at home though, d`oh.

Friday - VALENTINE'S DAY! Yay :). Well I gave Susan her glittery blue flowers in the morning. Stupid me was a bad liar and told her to open my locker because my hands were cold and when she opened the locker, the flowers were there :). Then, we both got our Valentine's gram from each other. We're so funny :). Anyways, then I gave her my cookie in AP Economics and pretty much, we were overflowed with balloons, flowers, and chocolates. It was pretty crazy. Then, we both ate my lasgana during lunch time and watched the Valentine's video that I made in yearbook :).
After school, it was pouring so I hung out with Wayne as we played halo3 online mostly.

Saturday - My mom went out in the morning so I had to stay home and mow my neighbor's lawn. Long story short, I couldn't get the lawn mower to start so I just gave up. Turns out that the outlet that I plugged the lawn mower into just didn't have power. So I had to mow the lawn while calling Susan's mom to "confirm" so that we could go out. Bad luck again, Susan's mom did not return any of my calls. Bad luck again, it was already 12:30 and my reservation at Buca Di Beppo was at 1:00. Bad luck again, Susan's mom called so that she could talk to my mom. Bad luck again, my dad lost his glasses at the liquor store. So, my mom, my sister, and I all went to pick up Susan at 1:00 and we all got to Buca di Beppo at around 1:10.

Good luck though. Susan was hungry and Buca di Beppo gives a lot of food. We mostly just muched on their bread with olive oil :). Then we ordered fried mozarrella sticks, which were very yummy :). Then, we ordered the Buca Small Lasgana. For some reason, we ate lasgana twice for Valentine's Day :). Anyway, it was good so it was all good :D. I used my $10 gift card so the bill came out to $15, which is very good :).

After we went to Gamestop and checked out the games. Then we went to Chuck E Cheese with my sister, which was really fun because that place makes you feel like a kid, which is always a good thing :). Susan and I played Basketball against each other :). I won though (sorry hun, I had an advantage because I'm tall :)). Anyways, I had a lot of fun because my mom and my sister was okay with everything and everything was fun and chill :). Good stuff, good stuff.

Sunday - Well I woke up today and I tried playing Dynasty Warriors 6, but it did not really work out because I had to cut trees and make dumplings with my mom. Then, I went to Anaheim with Elina, Wayne, and Susan to ice skate :). I'm happy because I never ice skated before, but it looked like fun. If you minus the falling, the painful sores on my ankles, then it was really fun. Next time, I go, I'm going to be a pro :). I just need to bring really long socks so that the skates don't rub up on my ankles again. Gah, that hurt, but fun, but hurt :(.

Then, we all went to Downtown Disney to eat at Rainforest Cafe. We ate outside on the patio, which was okay due to the heaters everywhere x_0. Susan and I got our free quesdillas and the Pot Roast, which was not very good, to be honest because it was only a little bit for $16 dollars. Boo at Rainforest for that entree :(. Oh well, it was very fun because Susan was there :). WHENEVER Susan is there, it is always fun for me :), even if we go to Disneyland a million times :)

GAHH this was the longest blog, I feel like I'm getting carpool tunnel x_x. I should split up my blogs into twice a week

Week of February 2 to 8

February 2 (Monday) - it was okay. As seen before I had a family dinner with my parents at home to celebrate my 18th birthday :)

February 3 (Tuesday) - Totally awesome 18th birthday! I really want to thank all of my friends and Susan for making me feel special at school. I loved the Chili's dinner with Susan and I especially loved the xbox 360 present from all of my caring friends :)

February 4 (Wednesday) - Back to the daily old grind. I think I skipped practice this day because it was raining really hard.

February 5 (Thursday) - The week was getting really hard and I had 3 tests for Friday so I mostly studied and went to practice.

February 6 (Friday) - Turns out that I did not have an English essay, but I did have a Physics test (60/66) and a Econ test. After school, I went to practice from 3-6. Went home and played my xbox :)

February 7 (Saturday) - Thank You Party! I invited Jeff, Marc, Daniel, Kyle, Susan, Elina, Cliff, Brendan, and Wayne over for a thank you party for buying me my xbox 360. My mom was really nice about the whole thing and made a lot of food! She made short beef ribs (basically Korean bbq), sliced beef, sushi, oranges, chocolate covered bananas, strawberries, eggrolls, salads, fried shrimp, and we bought pizza and I made pasta :). Overall, it was a really really fun day because we just played wii, xbox 360 and Brendan brought over his xbox 360 and little television too. So basically, we had a game fest going on in my living room. It was really funny though because Juliette was owning everyone on Sega Tennis and complaining about Wayne's poor performance :). Good times though.

February 8 (Sunday) - I stayed home the whole day and did my homework like a good boy. Other than that, I just ate all of the leftover food and pigged out like a fatty. It was really cold today too because of the rain and wind :(. I miss sunny days because they make me feel nice and warm :).

Until next week!