February 2012
12 posts
I’ve started conscientiously forcing myself to do things that scare me, whether big or small. At first I admittedly regretted signing up for theater class this quarter, but after that final performance of that assigned play, I felt an addictive jolt of euphoria and accomplishment—that once-familiar feeling of pushing one’s boundaries and succeeding.
So I’ve started asking...
More self-reminders:
Suck it up
Do something that scares several things that scare you every day
Don’t overthink
There is a difference between “can’t” and “shouldn’t.”
“Can’t” implies that a task is impossible.
“Shouldn’t implies that a task is feasible but that one has a choice as to whether or not to pursue it.
Don’t you love vague posts? Me too.
I’ve realized that I’ve had the wrong mentality towards this quarter and that I’ve got to go into all my commitments with everything I’ve got.
This post is a reminder to myself that…
Being positive
Putting effort into everything I do
Acknowledging my limits
Pushing those limits
Perceiving mistakes as opportunities for personal growth
…will get me farther...
I want to be a kid again, just for a day
…or at the very least devote a week to nothing but ’90s/early ’00s shows marathons—Rugrats and Hey Arnold and Doug and Boy Meets World and Rocket Power and All That and basically everything my parents told me to stop watching so I could finish my homework.
And maybe drink some Capri Sun while stacking the pepperoni high on my Lunchables pizza crust while twisting the tops...
January 2012
5 posts
3 tags
So I bought night-vision binoculars on Groupon
and I’m trying to find non-creepy/legal ways to use them.
Small acts of kindness
Last week, I got a ride home from a driver who stopped after I fell hard while running (some people are telling me this was a potentially dangerous situation, I guess, but I’d like to think there are some trustworthy people in this world)
A woman offered to share her umbrella with me when she saw the rain was drenching me as I was waiting for the bus today
A cashier gave me a free cookie...
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Thoughts on 2012 thus far
Worrisome part of growing up: reassuring a parent about his/her worries as opposed to vice versa. And consequently inching, ever inexorably, into a position of responsibility and accountability. Also, I don’t like being called ma’am.
Bright side of growing up: spontaneous adventures courtesy of Groupon. In other words, flying lesson. In other other words: I flew a plane for about an...
December 2011
9 posts
2012 2012 2012 2012
TICK-TICK-TICK-TICK
GRA-DU-A-TION
—
Get a job!
And wear a suit.
Or don’t—but you still have to follow our rules.
—
I have six months, or twelve, if I push back grad a quarter…to try as hard as I can to escape this supposedly inescapable paradigm.
Keep ya posted.
Biggest pet peeve: frequent misuse of the word “literally.”
“Literally” is not a synonym for “actually.”
Unless what you are referring to has both a figurative and literal connotation, you are not being literal but merely grammatically incorrect.
Ex. 1: “This was literally the hardest test I’ve ever taken.” So your test paper was made of...
On occasion I find myself lost in the dark cavern of life, fumbling in the darkness for some semblance of clarity as to where I am headed.
Good friends are like the pair of hands gripping the rope that supports you, tightening their grasp despite the calluses that may arise, lending their unwavering support.
On another note, drenching your writing in elaborate analogies is a cheap way of making...
So.. I seriously think I’m going to go back to school sometime in the future to get a physics and/or astronomy degree.
I’m nuts, but I guess that’s never stopped me from doing anything.
Biggest lesson this year: life is good, life is bad, life is clean, life is messy, life is controllable, life is uncontrollable. Life just is, and sometimes you just gotta let it be.
For you Christmas music aficionados →
“While other popular tunes arise from passion or desire, heroism or defeat, the Yuletide songbook is a catalog of modest thrills and postindustrial neuroses. A quick survey turns up portraits of manic stress release (“Jingle Bells”), overwrought hallucination (“Do You Hear What I Hear?”), complex Freudian trauma (“I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus”), desperate midlife lechery (“Baby, It’s Cold...
November 2011
11 posts
Degrees I would have liked to obtain, had I enough time:
History - Knowing where humanity came from is awe-inspiring.
Design - Doing layouts and picking fonts is so invigorating to me.
Animation - I like the idea of having fun for a living.
Marketing - Learning how to manipulate people into buying things is cool.
Studio Art - I almost did this, but like I said, my dad talked me out of it.
...
Random Talks - Office Hours
“I don’t know what I’m going to do after I graduate,” I said. I have interests in the public sector and private sector, and my resume is all over the place.”
“What’s your major?” my professor asked.
“Political Science,” I answered, “with a minor in film. I started out interning in congressional offices and ended up dabbling in...
Multilingual
I resolve to relearn Cantonese so I can ask my grandma about her life experiences growing up in China and moving to Vietnam and flying over to America all while supporting five kids.
I resolve to relearn Vietnamese so I can ask my grandpa how he became a self-made man with a lucrative bicycle shop before the Communists took everything away during the Vietnam War.
I resolve to relearn Spanish so...
i cAnt beliEVE i uSed to typE lyK dis
What an abomination.
There is a haunting beauty
in uncertainty
where you ask
if things will end splendidly
or messily
—
On a less cryptic note, I immediately started analyzing the structure of my writing the second I finished it, and for this I blame high school honors English.
October 2011
9 posts
Writer's Block
Lately I’ve been feeling as though the words aren’t flowing as naturally, aren’t coalescing into coherent thoughts of their own accord; they are scattered across the vast recesses of my mind and must be coaxed into expression. What thoughts are conveyed on paper, I’ve pieced together with much effort.
Whereas my efforts at visual expression have experienced...
I am going to be less cynical
(after midterms.)
While we’re at it, I’m also gonna stop eating chocolate for breakfast.
Random Talks - The Cashier
It was August of last summer, my first in D.C. I was nearing the end of my internship and had a couple of weeks left in the city. More importantly, it was also lunchtime.
I entered the Department of Energy cafeteria building as I did a few times a week, and filled my tray at the hot buffet (note: if you have a federal badge, you can enter any federal government cafeteria). Then I paid for my...
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There are a million Steve Jobs posts right now, but I just wanted to say: I want to do something big with my life while remembering to be good at heart and kind in spirit.
13 tags
September 2011
4 posts
Vote for me in the Adobe Imagination Challenge! →
I’m a finalist, and would love your vote. One-time registration required, but you are entered to win a $50 gift card. My entry is under ‘nataliequach.’
Bonus: karma points, plus I may or may not draw you a picture/design shiz for you in the future :)
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