• The Brothers Karamazov by Fyodor Dostoyevsky
• The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald
• The Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad
• Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy
• Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen

• Guerneville & the Russian River (10 years old?)
  • I recall renting these old-timey-looking inner tubes and floating around the river. I was worried that fish would touch me but they didn't. The riverbank had lots of stones that heated up really quickly in the sun, so it felt like walking on coals at times.
• Maui (13 years old)
  • My sisters were way too young to appreciate Hawaii, so we mostly stayed at our fancy hotel and swam in the pool. Except I was on my period the whole trip and didn't. All I wanted to do was to climb a volcano, but no... Fiona got in trouble for petting a sea turtle. We ate at restaurants a TON--so much so that my mom began to get super frustrated. It wasn't very fun.

• Watch Toy Story 3
• Watch Scott Pilgrim vs. The World
• Eat soup--chicken noodle & tomato
• Eat Milk & Honey drops
• Buy one of those gel eye masks
• Drink cucumber water
• Stay in my PJs whenever I'm in my room
• Eat well
• Read Middlemarch
• Do my homework in small bits
• Take a day off of rehearsal
• Paint my toe nails
• Ignore anyone I want

• When an older man in the OCC student lounge said my feet were swollen and tried to give me a foot rub.
• Any experience where a guy has asked me if I have a boyfriend randomly in the middle of a conversation. I feel like it's happened at least three times while at OCC.
  • Once I was working on a dance piece/short film and this guy I was paired with (who was like 21-22) told me about his daughter and then asked me that. Uhh...
• Being given a really stupid note in 8th grade saying that the guy wanted to "play board games in bed" with me.
• When a security/parking guard, who hours earlier had seen me run into someone's brand-new Mercedes-Benz and cry about it, asked me for my number as I was trying to leave the structure around 11 pm and I wa...

• XKCD - It's stick figures with a lot of math/programming jokes but it's sincerely hilarious!
• Subnormality - Very wordy, very detailed, and very observant.
• Hark, a Vagrant! - Quirky, often featuring historical figures. And also, Nancy Drew. Love it.
• Abstruse Goose - Similar to xkcd, similarly funny!
• Basic Instructions - Office humor in an advice-giving format.
• Big Fat Whale - Hysterical political allegory.
• Garfield Minus Garfield - Exactly what it sounds like. Depressing but highly amusing.
• The Invisible Hair Suit - Really interesting art style, quirky, unexpected.
• Hyperbole and a Half - Illustrated blog posts of the funniest chick on the Internet.
• A Softer World - Thought-provoking and a little melancholy.

• last kiss: in the summer
• last hug: Dusty as his Valentine from him to me, haha!
• last thing I ate: chocolate-covered strawberries
• last thing I drank: grapefruit juice
• last thought before I fell asleep: "This book is too hard to read before bed."
• last book read: Middlemarch by George Eliot (who is actually a chick!)...but I'm currently reading it, so Naked by David Sedaris
• last song listened to: "What I Did For Love" from A Chorus Line
• last text sent to: Josefine
• last person I said "I love you" to: Julia
• last show I was in: Equus. Yikes.
• last list I made: "I've been a member of the following"
• last class I went to: Intro to Theatre le...

• Fuzzy blankets
• Kitten fur
• Babies' hair
• Fingers
• Clay
• Peaches
• Marble
• Granite countertops
• Charm bracelets
• A big bowl of candy
• Sticky rice (with a big spoon)
• Smushy, semi-melted chocolate
• Books
• Heavy paper
• Warm water
• Shaving cream
• Marbles
• Boxes and packages
• Heavy, old-fashioned skirts

36 assumptions about writing plays

• Good playwriting is a collaboration between your many selves. The more multiple your personalities, the further, wider, deeper you might be able to go.
• Theatre is closer to poetry and music than it is to the novel.
• There's no time limit in writing plays. Think of playwriting as a life-long apprenticeship. Imagine you may have the best ideas on your deathbed.
• You write because you want to show something. For instance, you write "to show that the world is shit." "To show how fleeting love and happiness are." "To show the inner workings of your ego." "To show that democracy is in danger." "To show how interconnected we are." Each "to show" is active and must be personal, deeply held, and true to you.
• We write plays in order to organize despa...

• ANSWER: Christina Aguilera
  • In 4th grade, I became a huge fan of Christina Aguilera and decided I wanted to sing just like her.
  • In 5th grade, I sang her version of "Reflection" from the movie Mulan for the talent show. That year, I also signed up for my first singing lessons. I also learned to love Mariah Carey.
  • In 6th grade, I joined choir in middle school as an alto. I auditioned for our school's show choir and didn't get in.
  • "Moulin Rouge" and "Chicago" came out--I became interested in musical theatre.
  • In 7th grade, I noticed a pattern: both Christina and Mariah had parents who were professional opera singers. I started opera lessons. Audition #2 for the show choir: Success!
  • In 8th grade, I was in show choir and I a...

• Always step back to look at your relationship from a subjective angle when things get confusing.
• Don't tell anyone who you're interested in unless you're really invested. Because you will get bombarded with winks and nudges and it will get old. Fast.
• Watch who you text lest you embarrass yourself.
• Don't get in a relationship unless you have free time to spare.
• Date when you're young because the people you know in high school & college will scatter like dandelion seeds when it's over.
• Kissing people onstage doesn't make kissing less romantic with someone you like.
• If you eat garlic, feed it to your date, too.
• The best kind of guy will take you as you are. It helps to set the bar low.

• The first whiff of jasmine rice as you open the steamer
• A cup of earl grey while reading a novel
• Wearing a flower in my hair
• Petting my cat when she's asleep
• Building a blanket fort to read in
• Sliding on a wooden floor with socks on
• The act of eating a grapefruit
• Tapping without tap shoes
• Cooking--specifically, stirring a pot
• Running my hands through my hair after I've blow-dried it
• Stretching in bed
• Pirouetting wherever I feel like it
• Swishing full skirts
• Playing with a cattail
• Acting out musical theatre songs in my mind while walking to class or rehearsal
• The act of putting pajamas on
• Folding clothes warm from the dryer
• Bundling up before going into cold weathe...

• how Julia always comments on my things and I read them and smile even though I'm terrible at replying! :)
• their generosity
• how each one has a very distinct personality and mindset
• their awesome, varied senses of style
  • Julia - her soft, nostalgic color tones and put-togetherness of her outfits
  • Val - her effortless mix of formal (a cute dress) with casual (knee socks and converse)
  • Rachel - her unpredictable color palette and experimentation
  • Chelsea - her hand-knit scarves and trademark accessories
• the Fab Four notebook
• To be continued... I'm quite tired.

• My unwillingness to compromise myself for people who don't truly support or understand me
• Showing restraint and tact where it really counts
• The fact that I'm universally loved by babies
• My increasing maturity
• My good listening abilities, even when they get me into really annoying situations
• The talents--no, skills--I've worked hard to develop
• My sense of humor, which comes in handy when things go wrong
• The friendships I've nurtured in my life
• My strong work ethic
• Gaining the ability to rinse away my guilt by being truly sorry and saying so, even if it's embarrassing or hard
• My perseverance in tough times

• "She's dead, but she was hilarious. Let's party."
• "I'm gonna have the Caesar salad recipe at Souplantation named after her."
• "She could sexy-dance like no other."
• "She was so awkward, Michael Cera had to slap her to her senses."
  • At which point I hope it'll degrade into "Yo mama" jokes, except about me. That would be awesome.
• "I guess Rosebud is just a... piece in a jigsaw puzzle... a missing piece."
  • Note to self: Make sure last word is "rosebud."

• ✔ Give my UCSD friends holographic V-day cards just like in 3rd grade
• Bake a king's cake for Mardi Gras for my apt! :)
• See "Superior Doughnuts" at San Diego Rep
• See "Little Miss Sunshine" at La Jolla Playhouse
• ✔ Eat chocolate-covered strawberries at a dining hall on campus 2/14
• ✔ See "Hedda Gabler"
• ✔ Go to Disneyland with UCSD friends
• Have a Fab Four sleepover! :)
• Ditch class with Josefine to visit a museum

• Go to the San Diego Zoo!
• Heck, Balboa Park, period. There are like thirty museums.
• Visit the Museum of Contemporary Art (downtown SD)
• Wander about the Gaslamp District. Mardi Gras is supposed to be epic.
• Eat delicious pizza in Little Italy.
• See an awesome play at La Jolla Playhouse
  • Or the Old Globe Theatre
  • Or the Lyceum
  • Or Cygnet Theatre
  • Or Balboa Theatre
  • Or San Diego Rep
• NOT almost get killed crossing the bridge to Coronado
• Go to SeaWorld (which isn't as fun as the zoo)
• Shop at UTC Mall by USCD or at Horton Pla...

• scuba-diving
• compose a song...or an entire musical
• conduct a choir
• be a producer for a tv show, film or play
• grow my own fruits & veggies
• be someone's interior designer
• spend a whole day without seeing a clock or the time on a phone
• ask a guy out instead of the other way 'round
• throw an elegant dinner party
• learn japanese
• geocaching
• travel by myself
• travel with friends
• sailing
• volunteer at a zoo or aquarium or animal shelter
• teach a dog how to play dead
• perform stand-up comedy

Theme: Asian-Fusion!...my imaginary studio apartment

• Living/bedroom
  • White walls
  • Low-pile white carpet
  • Dark brown kotatsu (Japanese coffee table with heater underneath and white futon cover)
  • 4 kotatsu cushions with colorful prints
  • Little, fun-shaped mirrors on the walls
  • White desk facing a large window
  • Sheer white curtains
  • Turquoise desk chair
  • Small, white bookcase
  • Colorful cat bed
  • White carpeted cat tree
  • White and dark brown shoji screen to separate the living and sleeping areas
  • Fluffy, fold-up futon (alliteration?)
  • Turquoise quilt

• Seagulls that choose to sit directly over you
• Sharp, rusted metal
• The crazy DJ music rave things that sporadically happen on-campus
• Mini-skirts
• Negative people
• Moving vehicles
• Brown recluses
• Delicious baked goods
• Non-Trader Joe's grocery stores
• Random doodads that are animal-shaped and intriguing
• My own negativity
• Urban Outfitters
• Restaurants, dining halls and fast food places

Did everything on this list, too. Booyah. My fro-yo was delicious; however it was spoiled by the worst TA ever giving me a B on my paper I worked hours and hours on. He shall face my wrath for ruining my fro-yo.

• ✔ Write 14 more pages of my play by Thursday somehow!
• ✔ Write character descriptions for my play
  • ✔ Then submit the darned thing to UNPF by Fri evening
• ✔ Read Fuddy Meers
• ✔ Re-read Rabbit Hole
• ✔ Start writing conceptual paper for Intro to Theatre
• Tidy up my room
• ✔ Read The Cherry Orchard
• ✔ Return my library books
  • ✔ Renew Middlemarch

I DID EVERYTHING ON MY LIST YEEEEEEEEEES.

• ✔ Rehearsing my dance for "Like Zis/Like Zat"
• ✔ Memorizing all of my lines
• ✔ Writing my Hedda Gabler response paper
• ✔ Finalizing the thesis for my paper on triangular relationships
• ✔ Writing an outline for said paper
• ✔ Reading "Rabbit Hole"
• Writing at least three pages of my one-act
• Organizing my room
  • Eff it.
• ✔ Washing my dirty dishes by the sink
• Vacuuming the living room
  • Also eff it.
• ✔ Figuring out where the heck I'm gonna live next fall

• Picking my split ends when I'm nervous
• Completely lying when I made excuses for things, even if I didn't need to
• Eating when I'm not hungry
• Saying exactly what I feel without evaluating the situation or who I'm talking to
• Procrastinating on replying to long e-mails
• Avoiding people I know when I see them walking near me
• Letting my room become a disaster
• Having long, internal dialogues of what I think a person would say to me instead of approaching them
• Not controlling my facial expressions when appropriate
• Not drinking enough water
• Listening to people who blather on and on and can't see I'm uninterested
• Trying to be funny instead of having a really thoughtful conversation when around ...

• Taking AP tests
• Finding no one to come to my 18th birthday at Disneyland
  • Curse you, Disneyland, for forcing me celebrate it ON my actual birthday. I should've had a low-key party at home on a different day. :P
• Crying in front of all of the teachers last summer at SCR because I was stressed and felt under-appreciated/unhelpful
• Leaving high school early to go to community college
  • Surprisingly easy transition. Highly recommended for anyone who feels stifled by high school!
• Being cast as a bear in our school musical
  • My mom came and we laughed about the situ...

• Getting away with screaming randomly in a public place
• Going to Chuck E Cheese's and eating as much pizza as I want
• Being able to fit in those tubes at fast food playgrounds
• Doing fun art projects for class instead of essays
• Playing pretend in the field behind my elementary school
• Pizza Hut Day at school!
• Eating Lunchables
• Jump-rope rhymes
• Dancing for PE
• Jump-A-Thon
• Getting those huge popsicles after the Jog-A-Thon
• Playing with toys--my favorites were figurines I collected!
• Having lots of free time
• Building blanket forts