Don't know what a Weekly Wednesday Snap is? Click HERE.
As you can see from the date that I'm posting this, this week's WWS is a Thursday snap. I was a little busy yesterday and wasn't able to post this for you, but to make it up to you, I've included two snaps!
This first snap was taken on Sunday when my family went on a nice Easter hike at the Oakoasis Preserve. This is the what we saw as we were hiking up to the scenic viewpoint. You can see the lake (I think it's a lake) in the distance.
Here's a view of the lake at the top of the trail we went on. Isn't it pretty? It was a gorgeous sunny day on Easter. The hike was fun! It wasn't too hard, had lots of nature, and I went with people that I love. What more could you ask for from a hike? I have a couple more pictures on my Instagram too, if you'd like to check that out.
Don't know what a Weekly Wednesday Snap is? Click HERE.
Like last week's WWS, this snap might not look too exciting, but it's a peek into my week nevertheless. On Sunday, I did some laundry in the dorms. I actually really enjoy doing laundry in general. I usually put on some music while I fold clothes and have a grand ole time. It doesn't really feel like a chore. I'm like this with washing dishes too. I know, I'm weird.
In college, I have to leave my room to do laundry, which is actually good because it forces me to do homework. Woot. Productivity. I have a little sack of quarters for the machines and some Tide Pods to put in for each load. At home, I use liquid detergent, but when I'm at the dorms, the pods are easier. Above is my arrangement of belongings on a table in the laundry room. I have my laptop, laundry materials, homework, and stacks of folded clothes. Laundry takes roughly an hour and a half so I'm able to do a good amount of work while I'm there. With my headphones, I play some music and like at home, it's grand ole time.
Hope your week is going well! What are your thoughts on doing laundry?
Don't know what a Weekly Wednesday Snap is? Click HERE.
This week's WWS doesn't look super exciting, but it's a quick look into something fun I did last weekend. This picture was taken last Friday, when me and some of my floormates decided to go bowling on campus. I was really lucky when I was placed in my dorm because my floormates are the coolest people. I'm on a themed floor, so most of us share similar majors and interests. We all clicked really well from the beginning and it's kind of like living in a big house or living in a community where all the neighbors are friends. Everyone hangs out with each other and we have a good time. I'm really gunna miss the dorm life next year and seeing their faces every day. Granted I'm not close with all of them, I've made some great friends that have made my freshman year of college awesome.
Happy Tuesday! I hope you're all having a great day.
Like I mentioned in my February Favorites, I've recently been loving Halsey's music. I also said that I'd write a blog post about some of my favorite songs of hers, so here's that post!
After seeing Zoella write multiple "Top 5" posts on her favorite beauty products, like the one she did on drugstore lipsticks, I thought five would be a good number of items to share my thoughts on some of my favorite things, such as music. It also helps that Halsey is relatively new and has a smaller pool of songs to choose from, in comparison to an artist like Taylor Swift (who I also love), who has multiple albums. Without further ado, in no particular order, are my Top 5 Halsey songs:
New Americana
Like I said in my February Favorites, "New Americana" was the first song that got me interested in Halsey. To be honest, the lyric, "High on legal marijuana," was what made me pay attention to the rest of the song. This led to me Googling the lyrics, which are actually my favorite part of the song. "New Americana" is in fact not a song about legal marijuana, but a song about the aspects of a new kind of generation, probably describing millennials. The songs makes you feel like you're a part of that new generation as she sings, "We are the new Americana."
I love the second verse in particular. I just feel like it so cleverly captures the struggles of LGBT youth, while still telling a short narrative about a gay character. The second verse goes like this, "Young James Dean/ Some say he looks just like his father/ But he could never love somebody's daughter/ Football team loved more than just the game/ So he vowed to be his husband at the altar." Ugh, it's just so great. Well done, Halsey. *clapping emoji" (you know the one)
Roman Holiday
While listening to all the iTunes previews for the songs on "Badlands" before purchasing the album, "Roman Holiday" was one of the songs that I immediately liked. I remember thinking that if I was going to buy at least one song from the album, it would be this one. I adore the imagery of this song. I envision someone recalling a road trip that she embarked on with someone special, where she felt the freedom to go on whatever adventure she wanted. This song gives me a sense of escape from everyday worries.
When I first started listening to this song, I was curious about the meaning of a "Roman holiday." The first definition I came across on Google said that it was "an occasion on which enjoyment or profit is derived from others' suffering or discomfort," and I thought oooh, maybe I don't like this song... But then I looked again, this time on Urban Dictionary, and found the second entry on the page, which states that a Roman holiday is, "when someone decides to take a break from their usual lifestyle as a Roman Catholic to see what they have been missing out on." I like that definition better. My love for this song is based on that definition, rather than the first one haha. The second definition connotes feelings of adventure, exploration, and freedom.
Colors
I love when artists use color as a metaphor for different emotions. My love for these types of songs arose when Taylor Swift released her song, "Red," which describes the different emotions she felt with a person in a past relationship by associating each emotion with a certain color. "Losing him was blue like I'd never known/ Missing him was dark gray all alone/... Loving him was red." Troye Sivan's "Blue" employs color as a metaphor in his lyrics as well. "I want you/ I'll colour me blue/ Anything it takes to make you stay." I feel like color in itself is subjective and when you pair that with emotion, which is also unique to each person, and put it all in a song, you get a fascinating look into someone else's perspective on such universal elements.
Halsey sings, "Everything is blue/ His pills, his hands, his jeans/ And now I'm covered in the colors/ Pulled apart at the seams/... Everything is gray/ His hair, his smoke, his dreams/ And now he's so devoid of color/ He don't know what it means." There's just so much imagery in those lyrics. And of course, the iconic bridge where she says, "You were red and you liked me 'cause I was blue/ But you touched me and suddenly I was a lilac sky/ And you decided purple just wasn't for you," is great. At first, because she speaks the lyrics in the song, I thought it was weird, but I've grown to love it, and I look forward to reciting the lyrics whenever I listen to the song.
P.S. Regarding the music video, I appreciate that it had a story and I liked the plot twist at the end (I'm pretty critical of music videos), but I feel like the video didn't fit the song.
Strange Love
This one is just really fun to sing to. There's a lot of the F word, so it's a bit vulgar, but fun nonetheless. Also, the fact that she sings about the "beauty of a secret" makes me think of "Pretty Little Liars."
"I don't have to fucking tell you anything."
Is There Somewhere
I love slow songs. This song is the closest that Halsey has to a ballad, so I really like this one. It's again, full of imagery, which again, I love. I also feel like the lyrics, "I'm sorry but I fell in love tonight/ I didn't mean to fall in love tonight/... Could you pretend that we're in love tonight?" illustrate how I feel when have a crush on someone.
Honorable mention: Gasoline
This is my one of best friend's favorite Halsey songs. I wanted to mention it because I love the way that she references herself in the song. She makes a reference to her song "Hurricane" (which is great), in the second verse with the lyric, "Do you call yourself a fucking hurricane like me?" She immediately follows that line with the sound that starts "Hurricane." I just thought it was a nice little gem in the song that I noticed one day while listening to it. Sneaky, clever Halsey. *slow claps* The interrogative nature of the verses is also interesting to me and like "Strange Love," it's a kind of a crude song that I find fun to sing to.
Obviously, I love to analyze my music haha. Halsey, you're great. Keeping making awesome music.
Do any of you listen to Halsey? If you do, lemme know about your favorites down below! I'd love to hear your thoughts on her songs.
A couple weeks ago, I had some of my best friends visit me at school and it was all kinds of fun! Me and my friend Sara go to CSUF and live in the dorms, so our three friends stayed with us for the weekend.
Our weekend started when I took the bus alone (Sara had a meeting) from campus to the train station in downtown Fullerton to pick up my friends, Erin and Jennifer (our third friend, Kirsten, came later). I arrived at the station just in time to see them get off the train and ran to hug them. I remember feeling so excited to see them and just having them in the same place as me felt nice. Our "squad" all went to high school together, but then went to separate colleges. We all still keep in touch though and hang out all the time during breaks when we're all at home.
Anywho, after we left the train station, we took the bus back to campus to meet up with Sara, who also gave them running hugs upon seeing them. We proceeded to drop off their stuff in either Sara's or my dorm room and gave them a quick tour of housing. After that, we showed them around the Fullerton Arboretum, which is basically a mini forest connected to campus. Walking back and forth from bus stop to bus stop and around campus, all of us were a little hungry. Me and Sara then decided to take them to one of our favorite food spots in Fullerton, 85 Degrees Bakery Cafe, which I simply shorten to "85." 85 is basically a cute little Asian bakery that makes pastries, cakes, cookies, bread... all the delicious carbs, as well as serves drinks such as tea and coffee. I go there every Sunday for breakfast... including today haha. Unfortunately, I don't have any pictures of us there, but maybe I'll do a blog post on 85 in the future. After taking our little break at 85, we split up. I went to go back to the train station to pick up Kirsten, while Sara went with the other two to hang out in her dorm.
Here's me and my best friend, Jennifer, at the Fullerton Arboretum. Happy smiles :)
When the five us were finally reunited back on campus and Kirsten dropped off her stuff in the dorms, we headed to eat dinner at the Gastronome, which is the cafeteria on campus. Following dinner, me and our three friends hung out at my dorm, while Sara went off to go to an event for her sorority. To pass the time, we played this card game that Kirsten brought, called Exploding Kittens, which was actually really fun! I'd describe it as a cool mix between Go Fish and Uno.
These are a couple cards used in Exploding Kittens. (Source)
Late at night, perhaps around 11 or midnight, we all decided we were hungry again. Me and Erin wanted In-N-Out, Jennifer and Kirsten wanted McDonalds, and some of also wanted milkshakes from Sonic. #health. We went to Sonic first, where I got the Oreo chocolate shake, then split to get our respective fast food before meeting again at In-N-Out, where I got animal fries. I repeat, #health. Sara's sorority event ended around the time we were finishing up our midnight snacks, so met up with her at Sonic (where she and a couple of her sorority sisters went after their event) and walked back to campus. We called it a night after more hangs and went to bed.
Behold a selfie of the five of us. From left to right: Me, Erin, Kirsten, Sara, and Jennifer.
The next day, we met up and walked to Panera for breakfast. We ended up staying for a couple hours there, talking about who knows what and adding to our Snapchat stories. Well, at least they did haha. They're very active Snapchatters. I just like to watch their stories. Many laughs were had and snaps were taken. After breakfast (brunch at that point, really), we took the bus to the mall. We walked around for a couple hours and me and Kirsten got some new sunnies. I now realize I should have taken more pictures if I was going to blog about it. Belated New Year's resolution: take more pictures. I always end of screenshotting Snapchat stories or asking people to send me pictures rather than taking the pictures myself. In my defense, I like to live in the moment when I'm with the people I love, they can do the documentation. I do love pictures though, cuz of the mems. *sighs* Ah, the mems.
Popbar triangle!
After lots of walking, we decided it was time for dinner. I suggested the Anaheim Packing District, which I like to describe as a "classy, hipster food court." We all got good food and for dessert, a few of us treated ourselves to Popbar, yummy gelato popsicles. I got green tea half-dipped in dark chocolate, topped with hazelnuts.
Our "ice cream" creations. Mine is the square wafer one in the top left. A masterpiece, no?
At the mall, Erin and Sara got these Popin Cookin kits for food that you make by mixing various powders and water. It's basically magic. There was an ice cream one, a sushi one, and another one (not pictured) that I can't remember. We took turns mixing and making our food. The ice cream one (top) had good wafers, but the icing that was the "ice cream" wasn't the best. Granted, I don't think these kits are meant to make delectable treats. It's the experience of making them that makes it fun haha. The sushi one was deceptive. I was a little apprehensive at the thought of sushi that came from powder, but they actually tasted more like candy. The "rice" was pretty good, while everything was kind of sickly sweet with a weird texture.
Our "sushi" creations. Mine was the fish one on the red circle. Looks like sushi, but it doesn't taste like it.
After "cooking" up a good time, we played some more Exploding Kittens, some Cards Against Humanity, and listened to music together before we split up for the night. Me and Jennifer walked back to my dorm and got ready for bed before watching an episode of "Lucifer," which I mentioned in my February Favorites. She was the one that introduced me to the show. Following the episode, we had bestie talk... until 4 AM. That worked well in the morning when we had to wake up five hours later to meet the others for breakfast later that morning... But I wouldn't have had it any other way. If you're reading this Jenn, thank you for being you. I love you.
Our final hours together that weekend were spent at Denny's and then at the train station downtown. Kirsten left first on her train, followed by Erin and Jennifer on theirs. As we waved goodbye, I felt the feels. It was a good weekend.
Sorry this was such a long post, but I wanted to talk about and reminisce on some good times. I hope you've all had a great weekend! :) If you want, tell me about it in the comments below!
Hope you all have had a wonderful Wednesday! If you followed this blog back in December of 2014, you might remember my Blogmas Snaps, where I posted a picture every day in December leading up to Christmas day and blogged about it. I thought it might be nice to do weekly snaps to get me back into the blogging world, if not just to take a quick look back on something fun or interesting that I have done or seen throughout the week. So behold the first Weekly Wednesday Snap (WWS)! Actually there's two today, so lucky you, you get a bonus snap! Lol.
Every Wednesday, hopefully earlier than I'm posting this snap, (it's nearly midnight, so it's almost a Thursday snap) I'll post a new picture giving you a little look into my week. The pictures that I'll share with you will have been taken since the last WWS. I will be taking them on my iPhone 5S, so they should be of better quality than last time haha.
This snap I actually took today. While I was walking around campus, I came across this brick wall near our water tower and saw writing on the wall. Someone had written the words, "Live and let live" on the bricks in chalk. I just thought that it was a nice pick-me-up or feel-good message that basically means that in life, things are what they are and that we shouldn't complicate things further than we need to. Stop stressing about things that won't matter in the long run... Apologies, didn't mean to get too deep on you.
Then, I walked a little further along the wall and found numerous words with positive connotations to them, such as "smile," "beauty," and "passion," again written in chalk. I'm not sure if it was just one person who decided to write these words down, but I just thought it was a little gem on campus for people to find. It's not creative street art or anything, but I found it to be a charming little discovery.
Have you found any little gems around your campus or neighborhood?
It's already a couple days into March, and it's been a long time since my last favorites post in August of 2014, so I'd thought I'd share my February favorites with you all.
First up, I wanted to mention Halsey. One of my really good friends introduced me to Halsey's music one day when she came over to my house earlier this year and I remember thinking her sound was so unique. I didn't really get into her until early February when I listened to iTunes previews and eventually bought her album. I was obsessed. I played it on repeat all day every day for the first couple weeks of the month. If you like Troye Sivan, I like to think of her as his female counterpart. They both create artistic, electropop music that I adore. I especially love Halsey's lyrics. Her voice is very distinctive as well. I like her so much that I'm seeing her in concert in July with two of my friends. I. Am. So. Excited.
P.S. I feel like Halsey is such an interesting person. Also, I think she can rock any hair length or color. Girl, slay.
Tying in to my favorite artist of February is Halsey's newest album, "Badlands." It's awesome. Again, love the lyrics and her sound in general. Some of my favorites from the album are "New Americana," "Roman Holiday," and "Colors." I plan on writing a blog post on some of my favorite Halsey songs, so look out for that soon.
"New Americana" was the song that got me interested in Halsey. Here's the music video:
I also wanted to give some love to Christina Grimmie's new EP, "Side A," which is titled in a way that she can write another "side" for more music, if not just for simplicity. I've been watching Christina Grimmie on YouTube for years, but I haven't really gotten into much of her new music. I loved her early originals like "Liar Liar." I feel like this EP brought back the Grimmie that I really liked in her first album, while exploring new sounds. I like all four tracks, but I think "Snow White" really stood out to me when I first listened to the EP. I really like her vocals and her ad libs towards the end of these songs.
Listen to "Snow White" here:
Song
"Work From Home" by Fifth Harmony
This song has been on repeat since it came out on February 26. I was so excited for new Fifth Harmony music. I was absolutely obsessed with "Reflection" and I cannot wait for "5/27," their upcoming album. I waited until 9 PM the night before (usually when the east coast clock strikes midnight, music on iTunes is released on the east) to purchase it as early as possible, but it wasn't up until the next morning (aka when it was supposed to come out... tragic for impatient me). When I woke up, I immediately bought the song without listening to it haha. It's great. Though I don't mind the repetition in the chorus, I do find the timing of the release of the single to be odd, since Rihanna's "Work" also repeats the word throughout her track as well. Nevertheless, I love the new song and its accompanying music video. The video is super sexual, but the girls are slaying the game. Werk.
P.S. Me and my floormate are both obsessed with this song and want to learn the choreography as seen in the music video haha. When Ariana Grande (our favorite artist) released the music video for "Focus," we learned the choreography for that. Maybe you'll see us dancing on my Instagram in the future.
My best friend insisted that I watch this show, and I don't regret listening to her. Basically, it's about the devil, who decided he wanted to take a vacation. So, he leaves hell to party it up with us mortals. Tom Ellis' portrayal of Lucifer is so charismatic and he just makes me laugh. Though he is an incredible factor in my newfound adoration for this show, I love that the female characters are intelligent badasses who keep him Lucifer in check. They're just great in general. If you are a fan of "Merlin," "The Vampire Diaries," or "Hawaii Five-0," you'll see a number of familiar faces. Tom Ellis himself played Cenred in "Merlin."
Right now, while the show is developing its plot and its characters, it is in the format of a procedural crime drama. Though it's fine for the time being, I'd like to see it eventually move away from that and explore Lucifer's past in a different way. Anywho, Lucifer only has about six episodes out so far, but it's shaping up to be an awesome show. I highly recommend it.
Last, but most certainly not least, is the one of my favorite websites, Hypable. I've been using Hypable for years. I visit Hypable many, many times on a daily basis. I mean, just ask my roommate. He sees it on my laptop screen every day. Hypable is essentially an entertainment news website. It follows a vast multitude of shows, including "Lucifer," as well as movies, books, and well, everything really. My favorite part about the website is the features that the Hypable writers do on my favorite shows. They write about and analyze aspects of my shows that I would have never caught on my own with completely different perspectives from my own. They definitely make me think (in a good way) and make following my favorite shows more interesting.
What were your February favorites? Lemme know down below and maybe it'll be one of my March favorites!
Whoa. It's been a while since I've typed up those words and talked to the internet on this little space. Sorry I haven't been blogging for over a year. I guess life kinda got in the way. Lemme give you a quick update on what's been going on in my life:
I graduated high school. Woot!
I turned 18. Ew, I'm an adult.
I am now currently attending a university, majoring in Communications. I'm still in sunny SoCal, but a couple hours away from home. I'm also loving college life. I'll probably talk about this more in a future blog post.
This is a selfie I took in my dorm room on my first official day of college. Look at me, being a grown-up.
Those are three of the major changes that have happened since I last blogged. Also, before I move on, let's reflect on some of those 2015 New Year's Resolutions, or rather, things that I'd would've liked to have achieved, that I set last year.
"Get a job before going off to college." Yeah, uh, that didn't happen. But I hope to get one over the summer and definitely next fall when I get an apartment for my sophomore year of college.
"Blog at least twice a month." Clearly, this didn't happen either. But it will happen... at least until May! I'll explain this more in a little bit.
"Complete a school project at least a week before its due date." I think this is one of the goals that I actually achieved in 2015. Perhaps it didn't happen in high school, but during my first semester at my university, I think I completed a project for my Music class at least a week before it was due. I remember feeling pretty accomplished.
"Step out of my comfort zone and say yes to more things." I am very proud to say that this goal was definitely achieved. I had one of the best summers of my life in 2015, being very social, participating in activities, and hanging out with my close circle of friends back at home, known affectionately as "squad." Lol. Additionally, I've had to step out of my comfort in college because a lot of things around me are new. I've had to meet new people and adjust to living in a new area without my parents. It's been going great and I have made some fantastic new friends and have had at least a handful of new experiences.
Alright, so while I would like to say that I've come back to this blog simply because I wanted to, I will admit that I have decided to return because of an assignment for my Communications class. This semester we are to create a blog (or continue a previously existing one) and basically establish our presence on the web. So although the assignment is what stirred my interest in coming back to this blog, please know that I am very excited to be back in the blogging world. I will definitely be around until at least May, when this semester ends, but after that, who knows, maybe I'll keep it going into the summer and beyond.
Okidoki, this has been a lengthy enough post to give you a little update, so for now, I bid you farewell. Have a great day and I will be back soon with another post.
