I finally got an Ohio Driver's License today.  When I first went there at 8:30am I forgot to bring my SocSec card and proof of OH residency.  So I drove all the way back (6 miles) w/ many detours b/c my GPS is 4+ years old and there are many freeway interchanges (possibly worse than LA).  So finally @ 10am I got to hold my new license in the palm of my hand.  And when I first saw it, my first thought was, "Man, the new digital camera picture quality is really good these days." b/c I saw my face w/ my pimple X/ aaaaaaa  I'm 24.5 now and I still get pimples, but the pictures don't have to show (pout) them.  On the brighter side, I'm very thankful for the extra 30 min of studying I got, b/c that helped me pass. You have to get 30 out of 40 questions right.  Once you get 30 right, the test is over.  So my score was 30/36 mainly b/c I didn't know DUI consequences.  I admit I was a little nostalgic as I relinquished my CA DL.  It has a total lie about my weight (haha) from when I got it at age 17.  It was correct at the time, but there's now a 20-25 lb. difference now.  And I had longer hair; the hair I shaved before going to SA.  Alas, I get to make new memories with this piece of plastic now

New hobby these days: read road signs w/ different accents.  haha, I'm horrible at them and they kind of end up similar, but not as bad as Brandon's one-voice-fits-all :p

I think I'm going to be a chef for Halloween this year.  Last year I was an Incredible from the Pixar movie.  My roommate has an awesome costume planned: Cool Runnings bobsled team.  Her and 3 other med students bought black spandex clothing and taped it with the Jamaican design.  awesome!  maybe I'll be a kung-fu chef...

I've also begun listening to Rick Holland's "Rethinking Relationship" 2005 series .  It's been quite interesting, very Bible-based, & enjoyable so far.  Check it out if you're interested in all that Christian "protocol" on dating stuff b/c it goes beyond that.  Also, remember to apply the actions to your life after personal analysis b/c if the knowledge just goes in but doesn't get expressed, then it doesn't get allowed a chance to turn into wisdom of any sort.

What doesn't kill you makes you stronger, debilitatingly weak for a very long time, or in this case: cut up.

I discovered the scratches on my legs today after I unknowingly reached down to scratch an itch.  It was an odd itch, and when I looked down, that's when I noticed the three red one-inch-long scab lines on their way to healing on my legs.

It first I couldn't remember how I got them.  "hmm, maybe I'm just clumsy", but that excuse is usually for bruises and wear-&-tear on items.  Then I remembered the barbed wire fence my friend and I climbed over on Saturday to get out to the street instead of going an unknown route around the area after running on a very nice chill Autumn day in Ohio. 

Therefore, lesson for the kiddies: If you're going to climb over a barbed wire fence, don't wear loose, thin clothing if you don't want to get scratched.  Also build a good core (abs, back) and work on the usual strength (arms, back).  But next time, maybe it's better to go the longer way around than wonder about tetanus risk...

Well, after ~2,200 miles of driving (3 days, 12-13 hours, trading off with dear ol' dad), I'm BACK in OHIO!
We took mainly I-40 (route 66 :D)
I thought it would be quite painful, but it WASN'T, praise the Lord!
Arizona & New Mexico are actually quite scenic w/ mountains and desert rocks.  Oklahoma is REALLY FLAT, it was cloudy so I could imagine a tornado just descending into our path quite well.  Maybe I watch too many movies...  And I didn't get to be bored by cornfields until hitting Illinois & Indiana.  whew!  Oh yeah, I also got to pass by the St. Louis Arch in Missouri.  It's cool to  finally see another monument I read about in the textbooks in secondary school.  I'm glad I went on this roadtrip :)
One of the things that helped me drive was books-on-tape!  I borrowed 3 from the library: The Bonesetter's Daughter by Amy Tan, Hannibal by Thomas Harris, Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen.
Yep, they had to be tape b/c my car has no CD player, I don't even know what radio station is playing unless the DJ announces it.
Unfortunately TBD tape didn't work all the way, so I only got through 1 out of 8 tapes.
I finished Hannibal, and let me tell you it is quite weird and sick in a weirdish gritty way.  I've never seen the movies or read Silence of the Lambs so... uggh... I didn't like the ending, but then again, it's one of those types of novels... I'm referring to dramatic violent ones with some sexuality in it.  Yes, Irene, what kind of books do you read???
I couldn't fully appreciate the Austen book, so I stopped listening.  I like to read her b/c she has such subtle sarcastic undertones that sometimes can only be caught while reading and for the reader to interpret for themselves.  I have a marked up copy of Pride and Prejudice I used for high school, and it's so funny to read my notes in the book to see how I reacted to the words back then, and to find new insights in the book and write those down.  hahaha, pride and prejudice is so GOOD that's why it's been redone so many times!
Ohio is surprisingly COLD!  I came back 2 weeks earlier last year and it was muggy.  I usually don't mind cold, but was totally unprepared for this.  I didn't even use thick bed covers last year until after New Years. 

I also miss ICA and other Cal(ifornia) peeps.  What once was, can never be again, so all I can do is make new memories while old ones continue to give me happy feelings.