routine

I used to dread routines, and the feeling of treading down a beaten path or going through the daily grind... being stuck in a rut, too comfortable in the same environment and never moving forward.

But now that I know my life is about to drastically change in mere months, I'm starting to savor the daily routines (cue gasp)! Funny how people work, huh?

I used to think my job was a routine, until I realized just how much flexibility it entails compared to other jobs, and how wonderful my boss is, and how nailing down routines like a G has given me so much more free time on the job, allowing me to post in this blog while pigging out on free cupcakes, web-surfing 7 different websites while gchatting and oh yeah, if I have spare time maybe I'll draft a few proposals and manipulate some excel files. BOOYAH.

Routines can be comforting. Like me going home every weekend to hang out with my mom (and by hang out I mean going to Target and Costco and getting a million free samples and free groceries :) And taking walks with her at parks and watching old 90s movies and kicking back with a few margaritas because alcohol runs in my family's blood.

Also, high school reunion parties are another routine/tradition I cherish. Like every Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Years, July 4ths, or any major holidays, the usual MPK gang gathers round for some good clean fun and catching up. Amidst all the craziness of life, it's nice to be around people you are happy and comfortable with, and share memories of young, innocent, simpler days with.

A routine I will dearly miss is running from my apartment to Santa Monica Pier in the mornings when the neighborhood is just waking up and the air is crisp and perfect... I'm already counting down the days to when I can't do it anymore!

Routines like Brew Co $3 Wednesdays, and Maloneys followed by Dream Fries from Buck Fitty's and Taco Bell in Westwood, will forever hold a place in my heart :)

And since Mike is much more a fan of the familiar than I am, i.e. once he finds something that works he sticks to it forever, and since I have to hang out with him sometimes, we inevitably fall into some routines.

For example, Mike goes to Peet's EVERY MORNING. And he orders the SAME THING. And his requests are so specific *ahem high maintenance*, that now every single Peet's barista recognizes us, and begins making his order even before he walks through the door. I have to say though... special requests pay off! His lattes are EXTRA foamy and its kind of nice to walk into a coffee shop and receive friendly greetings from familiar faces!

Also, I'll never get tired of this one everyday:

Mike: Steph, I love you.

Me: I know. I love me too.

Ok, sometimes I say it back when he's lucky.

Every couple, family, and friendships have a billion little quirky routines that become endearing with months of usage and collective history piled on top of it... it's beautiful how routines and idiosyncrasies evolve into some kind of standstill memory. And it's even more beautiful to be able to constantly create more routines and traditions.

I think it's easy to fall into a deadlock if you aren't aware, monotonously carrying out days, waiting for time to pass. Life can become a chore if there is no challenge to push forward. But if you consciously embrace a routine you love, there's nothing horrendous about the familiar, the usual, the comfortable and everyday...

In the end, the 'same ol's' are what make life charming and endearing. In the end, those are the days, routines, quirks and traditions I will look back on in moments of nostalgia, when I'm in another place and time.

Get ready for some exciting news...

My iPhone holder came in the mail today!!! It's red and it holds my iPhone perfectly while I run, so that I can track my run times, take pictures, listen to music, make calls, all conveniently at once! :D Score!!!

ALRIGHT, of course even more exciting is the fact that...

I AM ACCEPTED TO COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY'S SCHOOL OF INTERNATIONAL AND PUBLIC AFFAIRS (SIPA), GRADUATING CLASS OF 2013!!!

Columbia University is my dream school, not only because it's the only school that offers a Dual Degree Journalism Master of Arts program, as well as the Masters in International Affairs, combining two subjects that I love!!! Oh, and did I mention that it's in New York City, the city I was BORN TO LIVE IN?!?

Here's how it happened:

I woke up naturally at 7am in the morning on Monday, and for some reason I felt extremely refreshed and awake, which NEVER happens. I'm NOT a morning person, just ask Mike who puts up with me every morning when I wake up and yell, "WHYYYYY?!?!?" and then snooze the alarm 10 times at random intervals. ANYWAY, I had a teeny tiny feeling that admission decisions for SIPA were going to come out today... it's that intuition thing I was talking about. But probably also because I've been waiting for decisions to come out since last week!

It was an EXTRA slow day at work. Hmmm... uneventfulness contrasting the upcoming ruckus?!?

BAM! 3pm hits and I get an e-mail saying decisions were posted online, and to check the website. I almost give myself a heart attack, literally. I was on the phone with Mike, and for 10 minutes I refused to open the file, and I asked Mike at least 50 times, "But what if I didn't get it? What will I do?!? What will happen Mike?!? What should I do? Should I open it?!?" "Do you want me to check it for you?" "NO!!! NO WAY!!!! I'M CHECKING IT!!! ...BUT WHAT IF I DON'T GET IN?!!!"

I finally summon the courage to open the file, and it takes me about 30 secs to coherently read the letter and register:

3/3/2011

Dear Stephanie Chang,

I am pleased to offer you admission to the Master of International Affairs (MIA) program at the School of International and Public Affairs for the Fall 2011 term. This year’s applicant pool is of extraordinarily high quality and you can be justifiably proud of your opportunity to enroll. Your offer of admission is for full-time study only and you will be required to maintain full-time enrollment throughout your course of study.

On behalf of the SIPA community, I extend our congratulations and wish you great success in the pursuit of your graduate degree. As a new SIPA student you will join an exceptional group of talented and motivated individuals from around the world focused on acquiring advanced training in international affairs and public policy. We look forward to welcoming you into this distinguished community.


Sincerely,


Matt Clemons
Director of Admissions

YES, I WAS ACCEPTED!!!! That was followed by 20 minutes of continuous screams and heavy breathing and jumping up and down around my office walls. And then I ran to my car and called my mom and sister and screamed for about another 10 minutes. Then I went back to work, shut the door to my office, and screamed "eeeeeek!!!" to myself in the office for another 10 minutes.

I was pretty much exhausted for the rest of the day.

I feel completley back to normal today, as if nothing life-changing has happened at all. I think it's because, at the end of it all, I know that I am just a very, extremely, extremely lucky person. I wouldn't say that I'm more talented, intelligent, or "special" than any other person who has a dream they want to pursue. Maybe more enthused, that's all. I work hard for what I want, but I certainly do enjoy myself a lot too. In the end, I have nothing to feel but gratefulness, because I am extremely blessed and lucky. Maybe me being admitted was a fluke or glitch, but I wouldn't spend any of my time not exploring, pushing, maximizing all of the precious opportunities I've been given to their fullest potentials, and cherishing every moment of it. But I know that I am not any more deserving of a spot at Columbia as the next person who wants it, is.

In all honesty, I have some second thoughts about going to Columbia. For many reasons, including tuition, and the fact that the average student age is 27. ...not that I'm intimidated or anything PSH! What? You have 2 years in the Peace Corp under your belt and you started a non-profit sheltering and educating abused women in Afghanistan? ... Hmm does giving $5 to a homeless girl by the side of the freeway compete with that? All doubts aside, even though it's been my dream school for a whole year and a half, I am speaking to a bunch of different people and entertaining the possibility of attending a different school, in a different city!

Anyway, we'll see if I even have any other options! I'm getting ahead of myself :) I'm still waiting to hear back from every other program as well... But that was pretty exciting, huh?!

I'll let you in on a little Angeleno secret...

PIANO BAR IN HOLLYWOOD!

Sure the neighborhood is filled with crackheads and the streets smell like hobo’s urine, and the bar has about 5 decades worth of grime covering it, but it houses the best small-venue live music band I’ve ever heard!!!

The band that plays every Sunday at 11pm, Big Sal's (I think?) is a mix of groovy jazz and funk, and the guitarists are siiiiiiiiiiick. The singer/pianist has a voice so dirty it rivals the sticky bar counters :] If you can't make it to New Orleans or time-travel back to the Harlem Renaissance during the Jazz Age, being inside Piano Bar with this band literally feels like you are witnessing some of the best musicians of the era. Yowza!

Best of all, IT’S FREE.

Cheap alcohol too (so I’ve heard, I didn’t drink)! Some things are worth driving through the horrible traffic engineering of Hollywood to get to. Oh, and it's also on the same block as Hotel Cafe. WHO KNEW?!?! I am in love with this place!!!