Sweet Summer.

I'm back!

As much as I wanted to write regularly, this blog has turned out how I kind of imagined it to turn out -- neglected and unkempt.  While I'm disappointed in the infrequency of my blog-writing, I'm glad I still have an outlet for personal rants, anecdotes, and random observations and musings.

Much has happened in the past couple of weeks, and much hasn't happened in the past couple of weeks.  To summarize, I would say:

(1) Summer is here!  I'm excited about the more than warm weather and the boosted level of weather-induced happiness.  The refreshing feeling of eating fresh fruit and salad.  Wading in water.  Wearing t-shirts and shorts.

...But not much playing.  The truth is, it feels like I haven't done much playing since school ended, though I had a lot of time off; my usual visit to California during break hasn't happened, and I haven't gone on any real vacation so far.  Given the planned schedule, it looks like summer 2010 won't be terribly exciting, at least until the end of August.  But it'll be worthwhile.  I've been so stressed these past couple of months because of the lack of calls and e-mails I received from domestic/international internships I've been applying to.  School ended in mid-May, but I still had no concrete position.  Even the few weeks thereafter, nothing.  I was trying to compromise in my head that I could just play this summer in carefree bliss and find a part-time internship for the fall semester (completion of an internship is required by my program).  But thank God -- I got an e-mail a couple of weeks ago notifying me of an acceptance in the city!  Yayyy~  Maybe this internship will be one of the determining factors of the path I want to take.  Hm.  More to come.

(2) I've been having a lot of trouble with one of my teeth this past semester -- tooth #15.  Before this past winter break, tooth #15 got chipped while munching on some chips.  I went to the Student Health Service Center, and they told me that the student medical insurance doesn't cover for this kind of dental injury.  No separate dental insurance -- what was I supposed to do?  I waited.  I signed up for dental insurance in the beginning of spring semester through my school and made a dentist appointment.  I found out I actually needed a root canal for tooth #15.  I got a root canal.  Then I needed post-root canal treatment.  It turned out that the office I was referred to for post op was very... ugh.  The biggest problem I had was the staff -- the staff was not friendly; they were all abrasive and disingenuous.  For various reasons, it took me a long time to change to another office.  I finally got part of my post-op done last week.  The dentist told me I needed my wisdom tooth out (tooth #16) to properly fix tooth #15 and finish the post-op treatment.  So I got my wisdom tooth out this past Friday. (It wasn't that bad, surprisingly!) The moral of the story is:  (1) sweet tooth = dead tooth.  (2) Get a good insurance plan.  I'm convinced I signed up for the worst available dental insurance plan; pulling out one wisdom tooth alone, with dental insurance, cost hundreds.  At one point, I wanted to wave my fist at this insurance plan that my school endorses -- 'What do you cover??'

(3) Most significantly, I've been realizing even more the importance of relationships.  I thought I had sufficiently recognized this, especially during these past couple of years.  But I'm realizing more and more how broken I am and how I am in need of investing in something greater than personal ambition. The process of embracing.  The process of letting go.  The process of pursuing.  The process of trying.  The process of sacrificing.  The process of consciously making decisions. 

These past weeks have been a kind of abrupt and gentle reminder of this.

Family.  I miss my family.  I miss the entirety of my family.  Something aches when I think about my parents.  It's not even the past togetherness that I miss; it's the reality now and the seeming perpetual state of this state that ache me. 

I was reminded today that my mom used to sing hymns while awkwardly playing the piano.  I was reminded today that my dad once waited for me for more than an hour after school because I was running late in journalism class, only to greet me with a gentle smile on his face.  I was reminded today that I once bought my brother a blue V-neck shirt that he never wore.  I was reminded today what a sassy goof my sister is.   

Hahh.

Sweet summer.