"i got pets today. they kinda disgust me."

tcdance (usc's traditional chinese dance team) had our first performance tonight at the lunar new year night market. we performed three dances: fan, peacock, and handkerchief. these are my new friends green eggs (the smaller one) and ham (the bigger one) that i got from one of the booths.

uh oh

Crowded Meeting of Residents Postponed - Daily Trojan
I couldn't make it to the public hearing about the planned USC off campus overlay district that was set to take place last night, due to another commitment. I guess I didn't miss much except concerned, angry and irritated neighbors...probably rightfully so. It is upsetting to hear that the public hearing was so poorly planned.

reunion

Group photo from the first annual CAIS(Chinese American International School) alumni party back in December.

back to school

i arrived back in LA last night after a bit of a delay with the shuttle, in time for the start of the spring semester and my floor's weekly "Cookies with Carly" get together. I had half of my new classes today, all of which i enjoy thus far. i had:

Crisis of Planet: geology course. which is all about planet earth and the environment and the destruction of man. i'm glad to be in the class because i didn't get the chance to take APES at UHS.
Digital Tools for Design: learning the technicals to InDesign, Photoshop, and Illustrator
paired with
Design 2, Graphic Design: about typography, researching/reaching target audiences, magazine/promotion/web design, and functional design. crits are definately going to be harder this time around. i don't think i can "sell myself" verbally, which might be a problem. i have a feeling that i'm going to be in the computer lab a lot this semester.

i also picked up photos from my sculpture class last semester. these are some of my favorites.
emily's cast of splintered wood in wax
hallie's shark and samona's cityscape

the other half of my classes tomorrow!

overlay district?

As a resident of USC off-campus housing, I recieved a notice in the mail recently from the LA Planning Department proposing an USC off-campus housing overlay district. there seems to be general confusion about what that technically means and surrounding city plans. It would be great to have more of a school presence in the area and a more college friendly neighborhood, but how exactly is the city/ USC planning to gain such a large area in regards to private rights and such? Will school housing be dispersed through out the district and private property? I hope that it doesn't resemble the 32nd St. Market to Superior Market switch that happened in the fall semester. I also don't understand how such a proposition could be considered "city initiated." I guess I will have to go to the public hearing to find out more. I searched online, but only found residents with similar concerns.

How would it affect preservation/architecture related things? I've looked a little on the internet and on the City Planning Homepage, and can't find anything explaining what this type of District means or how it affects buildings, residents, etc. or what it even means? Does it give USC some sort of weird power over buildings and residents as the name so implies? The area described in the map as part of the mailer is huge, between Normandie and the Harbor (110) Freeway, from the 10 Freeway to Martin Luther King Blvd. in the south. Has anyone heard of any other "off-campus overlay districts" or have any idea what that means?!?

(the USC campus is the big pentagon shape near the middle, and the dotted line is the proposed overlay district which currently consists of small corner shops, stores, private housing, churches, temples, and schools.)

i feel like this sometimes

especially in san francisco.

Jean-Jacques Sempé

some really good nougat

my aunt brought some golden boronia original crunchy nougat home from her trip to Sydney and i'm hooked. it is the best nougat, ever. it tastes like the smell of fresh waffle ice cream cones, but so much better. i'm sad that i'm out.