Failed Photoshoot

So you may remember the last time Karina and I did a photoshoot... actually don't remember. Because I just read over that post that I wrote a year ago and cringed. So- don't click on that link!!

And if you do, well. I warned you.

Well, there is a reason I named this post the "Failed Photoshoot".
It's because I fail at being photographed.

The evidence:

Karina told me to "strike a pose" like Madonna, and of course striking a pose means doing what I'm doing...
not.

Ten minutes after picture 1.
Still going strong...

Oh goodness. Stop, just stop.

You may be wondering about the whole getup- it all started with the glasses.
I won a pair of glasses in Amanda's blog giveaway a while ago, and once I received them in the mail I (of course!) had to show everyone, apparently through a photoshoot.
The dress happened because we decided to be "ironic". Hence the red pumps, the dress that I look like a child in, and the hair on the side. And the glasses.

I've decided since then that I can't do "ironic". Only size 00's can.

A change of outfits and- oh gosh, back to the laughing. DOES SHE EVER STOP??

These are just getting more and more flattering.
Before you ask- no, I do not do that unconsciously. (That being sticking out my tongue and goofing around.)
I admit it. I am a ham.

I do not even know how I made that face... I literally went into the bathroom in front of the mirror and tried.
It is impossible. And UGGLLAAAYY.

I think I may have actually been reading the book at this point. The Odyssey, if anyone was wondering.

I'm going to pretend this is supposed to be an uplifting picture with a motto or something attached.
"Reach for the stars..."
(Yes, I did just see Toy Story 3. Yes, Woody's string-pulley does say that.)

Nothing like swinging in someone else's slightly-too-big 5 inch heels.

And on that high note...

Monday Melodies II

This week's song/artist now has an even BETTER place in my mind because of a little event that happened last week.
Mindy Kaling, of The Office, e-mailed me telling me I was awesome after her I sent the names of some of Mika's fun songs. Yeah, no biggie. I'm basically have connections in Hollywood now, so um... yes.
(This is me using my Penelope from SNL voice and stroking my hair, something I do for fun with Karina that often infuriates our friends, probably because it's extremely annoying unless you're doing it yourself.)

Back to the music- if you like fun music that makes you want to run and jump and sing man's falsetto, Mika is the man for you.

This is one of the first songs I heard of Mika's, called "Grace Kelly" and it's super addicting, like, you'll listen to it nonstop for days. And then anytime someone mentions "Grace Kelly" or "brown", "blue", or "violet sky", you'll burst out into song.
No joke.

Helping Haiti

It's sad to think that the tragedy of Haiti still affects its citizens every day. So many people were injured and killed, so many buildings were destroyed, and yet life still continues.

Many Americans have forgotten about Haiti, not on purpose, but because the Haitians' lives are so far from theirs- we're not exposed to their hardships on a daily basis and therefore forget.

I admit, I have done the same.
It's so easy to live with our "blinders" on, looking only straight forward and not paying attention to our sides, to other people's problems.

That's why I was so grateful to actually help this week.

A team of 10 doctors, one of whom is from my church, are heading to Haiti this week and needed help packing all their supplies and pills in suitcases to take with them. I volunteered to help pack, because I want to have a physical role in helping, even if it is from another country.

We opened thousands of packages of pills, counted them out in groups of 30 and 60, and bagged them up in Ziploc bags so that the doctors could give each Haitian in need a month's supply of a medicine.

It took nearly 3 hours just to pack the latter half of the medication, with over 15 people working together and forming assembly lines to hurry the process.

We had a few bags at the end just filled with empty bottles of pills; the doctors wanted to take as much medicine possible so they could treat as many patients as they received. They would try to take 30+ patients a day so they could help as many people as possible!

It was so amazing to look at our work at the end of the day and see the many suitcases all lined up, each with thousands of pills and medications that we had packed that would go to help someone in need. Even though it was tedious work, it's nothing compared to the hardships some of the Haitians are going through right now, not at all.

Please keep the Haitians and this team of doctors in your prayers!

An Almost-Senior's Guide to Colleges [Part 1]

I guess it's only fair to put all the college mumbo-jumbo into two huge posts so that it's not TOO horrible to read, so here goes.
Several colleges, presented in the order they were visited, starting out with....

UCSB: University of California Santa Barbara
So basically, UCSB is gorgeous. Which is kind of funny, because at the time I was visiting, I was totally not feeling it all. Now, I'll just attribute it to the massive headache and lethargy I get when I'm in the sun sometimes because the pictures my mom took don't really show UCSB in a bad light. At all.

The view from UCSB. Yes, it's right next to the beach. Apparently people go there after classes with their swimsuits and study in the sand. And possibly swim, too. Not bad at all...

A typical campus building on the UCSB campus. One thing I appreciate about these colleges is that they understand the importance of nature. I'm glad it's not all cement and brick, but there are trees and flowers and strange red statues! Interesting.

The dining hall at UCSB- basically, it looks like a mall. No joke- you go in, and there's a Panda Express on your right, a burger joint on your left, and a huge dining area in the middle. This isn't the typical dorm dining hall, though, rest assured- it's a place where you can spend extra money to get "better" food- which translates to "a place where I would never eat because it's probably too expensive". But that's okay. It's pretty.

Pepperdine
I feel like I'm going to sound like a broken record "this school is gorgeous, this school is gorgeous, this school is gorgeous" but I can't help it. They're all amazing! So here it is again. Pepperdine is gorgeous. We didn't even get a guided tour on this one, but we didn't need one for our jaws to literally drop when we saw the Malibu-residing campus.

The view of the gym/sports center. Yes, that's a football field, tennis court, and Olympic sized pool (that was actually used in the Olympics) on the valley next to a Malibu hill. Speechless.

Pepperdine is a Christian school and fittingly has a church on campus (with crazy-pretty stained glass). If I went here, I'd probably be distracted during services all the time with these windows.

One of their quads. I love all of their palm trees, fountains, and lovely buildings- and their views of the beach, too.

USC: University of Southern California
One of the things I loved about the USC tour was that our tour guide was very amiable and told us a whole bunch of stories about his experiences at USC, including the hilarious traditions.

According to Anthony, the week of finals are hell. As to be expected, of course, but all USC students like to have a little fun during all that stress and at the stroke of midnight (or was it at 3 o'clock in the morning?) music is blasted in the quads so students can dance for 15 minutes, and then some of the crazier students all jump into the fountain.
And then they all return to studying.

Lots of beautiful brickwork on campus, in addition to plentiful palm trees and fountains! Huzzah!

The library of USC. I KNOW.
Our tour guide told us it was like Hogwarts because there's a lot of marble, a lot of books, and chandeliers and stained glass everywhere. CRAZY.

UCLA: University of California Los Angeles
UCLA was very similar to USC in that all the buildings were made out of bricks. I definitely love the feel of both the campuses because it feels like you're at a castle or something! In fact, some of the halls at UCLA were designed after great Italian churches- so they're gorgeous.

Right? Say I took out that little lamp post that says "Schoenberg Hall"- it'd look like I was in Europe or something.

Another thing our tour guide told us about was the CRAZY rivalry between USC and UCLA. Things aren't as bad now, but back in the day they did things like:
1. USC filled UCLA's fountain with red dye and detergent which led to a flooded-with-bubbles quad. Which had to be shut down and majorly repaired.
2. UCLA cut off Tommy Trojan's arm (USC's mascot and a bronze statue).
3. USC let a psychology course worth of crickets into UCLA's library. On finals week. The library had to be closed down for all of that week.
4. UCLA filled a water-holding helicopter with "blue poo"- a mix of blue paint and animal manure- and released it all over USC's campus, soaking the students and buildings.

On a happier (but as interesting) note, UCLA has been used as a set for Harvard in more movies than Harvard has itself! (Think "Legally Blonde".)

And that is why I was considering not posting this- there is SO MUCH to tell! This is only even Part 1...

Monday Melodies.

Hey, again! (Even though "hey" is for horses.)
It's Allison, who's not dead, but just has been college-touring for the past week, and was too overloaded with information that she couldn't blog, for fear the only thing posted would be about average SAT scores and dorm pricing.

Anyways, I've decided to add a new feature to my blog titled (as you can probably read underneath) "Monday Melodies" in which I share some of my favorite (and more eclectic) song choices with you! Huzzah!So, Joy Williams has basically the most gorgeous voice ever. I love her quirky style that you don't hear too often in today's music and her songs just make you want to smile and/or dance around the room with your hairbrush hoping to look half as amazing as she sounds (but probably really down-ing your attractiveness level in the meantime).

Joy Williams- What Can I Do (But Love You)

Plus, she apparently writes music for the little show "Grey's Anatomy". Ever heard of it?
(Just a little sarcasm. In case you couldn't tell. I don't live under a rock, really.)