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Ask any of us and we’ll tell you that it’s been difficult transitioning back into work. Training was so much fun; the reality of worklife is slapping me in the face.

I actually feel stressed, though I really shouldn’t. I don’t know what it is … like Elaine, I feel so incompetent. This feeling sucks!

I hope things get better soon. It usually takes me a few days to pick up the pace, but I don’t have much time out on this client so I better get my stuff done and done well. GR.

Riordan Fellows interview tomorrow … wish me luck!

Second Year Training: Vegas & Scottsdale

I finally had a chance to detox/recover so now I can recap about the insanely HOT (pun intended) week.

I’m sure everyone’s liver is destroyed at this point, but wow … who knew accountants could have so much fun? This definitely tops new hire training. I can’t believe that we’re going to be semis and I can’t imagine what next year’s training is going to be like. The auditor lifestyle is so unhealthy/stressful that it gives us so much motivation to party like rockstars! Next year, fosho!

A few highlights:

Staying at the Venetian … SUITES.

Catching up with Stephen, Kent, Ali, and Neil at CASINO ROYALE after TAO.

Landing our own room in PURE. Thanks Tiff for the hookups!

The ridiculousness of Scottsdale (SANGRIA, MICKEY’S, AXIS RADIUS).

LAST DAY in SCOTTSDALE. See you again next year!

Thanks everyone for making Vegas/Semi-training awesome! Shoutouts: Julia, Bernice, Yvonne, Ham, Neil, Brian, Ross, Steve, Walter, Jason, Tiffany, Chase, Takushi, Nori, Kerry, Stephen, Kent, Ali, Brandon, Joel, Dane, Maria, Akemi, Koodae, Niho, Errolyn, Sunny.

3 am post

wow, tonight was amazing. just ridiculously amazing.

i loveeeee my coworkers! one of the best nights by far!

see you next year, axis radius!

Untitled.

The drive back home is the best part.

Wait. Or was it the conversation?

Or dessert?

Or just the laughs?

I’m whizzing down the 10 at 10 and I can’t help but feel elated. I want to spread the joy across the four lanes and into each speeding car.

I want to say,

Hey. Look at me, I’m happy!

College Summit

The last four days have been the most exhausting but rewarding experience that I’ve had in years.

I had the opportunity to volunteer as a writing coach for College Summit at the University of Redlands. During the day, I led an intensive writing workshop for 5 students from Sylmar High School in the Valley, and at night, we prepped for the next sessions. The hours were painfully long (7 am – 11 pm) and I barely slept, but the constant fatigue was well worth the pain. Reading their complete personal statements on the last day made me feel so proud! I actually felt like I did something. As Elaine would say, I had purpose.

My students – Nancy, Andrea, Israel, Zaki, and Chris - each have such an amazing story to tell. I feel like my obstacles in life (see Memoir tab) are nothing compared to what they’ve had to go through. Each of their stories have a “heartbeat,” as we say in College Summit terms. Just to list some themes and topics covered, my students wrote about their experiences with life/death situations, war, young parenthood, and becoming the “bigger person.”

What’s remarkable about these kids is that they’ve encountered serious challenges to furthering their education. Some of them screwed up their freshman and sophomore year and turned around their junior year by getting straight As. It’s incredible how they can go in a completely different direction  – I just hope they keep their focus and not lose sight of their ultimate goal: going to college.

Okay, so that was my mature recap. Now, for some miscellaneous observations/comments:

So I got to meet some really cool and different volunteers at the program: Celso, Kim, and Matt.

• Celso: trojan alum so i naturally love the guy. hilarious because of his chicano impersonations (“i like-ed-ed it”). super chill and in touch with his community. he goes clubbing in alhambra so we’re gonna have to meet up!
• Kim: “who says white girls can’t dance?” this girl can outdance me on another floor! i love her spunk … she’s just great.
• Matt: oh matt. he’s my students’ english teacher, but damn, he still acts like he’s 20 when he’s really 40. we got to hang out and talk a lot, which was great. but because the kids always saw me with him, they said i was part of the “old crowd.” OLD CROWD! can you believe that? speechless.

Most memorable parts of College Summit:

Meeting my team for the first time, clubbing in Redlands with Celso, Kim, and Matt (holla!), reading the kids’ personal statements during the banquet, helping them one-on-one in the computer lab, realizing that they actually took my comments into consideration and produced a work that is absolutely wonderful, and the closing circle, of course, where I did plenty of crying.

Thanks to each of my students for their openness and trust in me!

Writing Team Linda: Me, Chris, Zaki, Nancy, Israel, Andrea

You guys rock!

And finally …

To add to the already great weekend, I got selected for an interview for the Riordan Program so I’m really excited. I hope it goes well. Updates later.

Four days for the Fourth of July

I was supposed to post this a few days ago, but got caught up with work. I can’t believe how busy July is … 

Anyway, as you can tell from my previous post, it was an excellent weekend packed with lots of friends and family. 

 

The Fourth :: Kung Fu Panda-ness

Like any holiday, the Kim family celebrates with a big bbq, Cambodian curry, friendly gambling among relatives, and lots of kids running and screaming around the house. This year, my cousin Kelly and I decided to switch it up by bringing our nieces, Guistinna and Anita, to watch Kung Fu Panda at the theatre. The movie itself was good but the best part was taking my young relatives to the mall – I felt like a good auntie! I can’t wait to be a cool mom. 

Being cool. What what.

Saturday :: Reunion @ Manhattan Beach.

Despite the fact that I got my first parking ticket, the event was a success! We camped out at a great location by the pier and volleyball courts and had 20 people show up at one point or another: Paula, Judy, Elaine, Ying, Caroline, Amy, Dan, Ken, Kevin, Allen, Bak, Tony, Louis, Tiffany, Allen, Larson, Cecilia, Nora and Brendan. Now who’s a great planner? That’s right. It was nice to see everyone together again – it’s only been FIVE years since we’ve graduated high school. Amazing to think that I’ve known these people for almost a decade now. 

The majority of the group.

View from the beach.

Afterwards, we had dinner at Macaroni Grill, frozen yogurt at Nubi, and Rockband/Daniel Henney at Elaine’s. 

Sunday :: Day my face turned into a map of zits

I was actually quite tired from the beach and decided to take it easy. My mom thought it would be a good idea for me to finally get a facial and get rid of all the zits that have been attacking my face. But the facial did the opposite of what a facial should do: it basically destroyed my face. Now, my face looks like a map of acne. As if someone took a crayon and drew red circle dots all over my face. It’s so frustrating because now I have to go back to using a ton of acne treatment which dries up my face and causes more redness and acne to form. It’s a never ending cycle. x.x

 

Back to a more positive note: College Summit at Redlands University begins this Thursday! I am really excited and nervous at the same time. I hope I’m a good writing coach and that the students will feel inspired to not only share their story with me, but also their peers, family, and college admissions staff. I’ll let you know how it goes!

Happiness.

I feel genuinely happy right now.

Saw my best and closest friends from home. Hung out at the beach and had good food and conversation. But to top it off, I talked to David after I got home. And that was the icing on the cake. Friends – each of you do wonders to enrich my life. Thank you

When did three year-olds get so smart?

Anita: Yee Linda, where’s your boyfriend?

Me: WHAT? I don’t have a boyfriend.

Anita: Yes you do. Where is he?

Me: I don’t have a boyfriend. Who told you I had a boyfriend?

Anita: I know you have a boyfriend!!

Me: *ROLLING OVER LAUGHING*

Yes, the above is an actual conversation that I had with my 3 year-old niece. Oh, she’s quite something.

And then, she did this:

Yes, that is my black Calvin Klein strapless bra that she’s posing with. My goodness, she learns quickly! Haha!

Anyway, I am so happy for the long weekend (thank you Uncle Sam and Uncle D!). Finally went with Ken to visit Allen at CVS. Aw, it’s so cute to watch Allen actually work … I feel so proud that he’s growing up and getting sucked into the real world (yes, another victim to join me and my misery)! We all had lunch at Kim Fung Restaurant where I got to practice my terrible TeoChew and Mandarin and order some yummy seafood noodles.

I’m also really excited for the beach outing that Paula and I have been organizing! It’s gonna be an AHS reunion at Manhattan Beach this Saturday. I’m ready; got my cute bikini, jelly sandals, beach bag, and earrings all for under $40. What a steal, huh? I’ll be sure to post pictures of the fabulous event.

Tomorrow: curry (ga-lee) at my house with the big family, Kung Fu Panda with my cousins and nieces, and 4th of July bbq at Amy’s. It’s gonna be a good weekend. I can already tell

Happy 4th friends!