Name:E. Mariko Country:United States State:California Metro:Los Angeles Birthday:1/29/1985 Gender:Female
Interests:people, bball, music (hip hop, soul, r&b, anything with a beat.. head-bob-able or even just booty-shake-able..), movies, dancing, singing (poorly), and just "hanging out." :) Expertise:hmm.. bobbing my head to a good beat, talking/playing/arguing about bball, eating food and then doing the happy dance. Occupation:Student
So I know I'm kinda late to make the switch to Wordpress.. but all the cool kids left the Myspace lunchroom table and headed over to trade snacks with the Twitter kids. I got lonely.
I've been off of my blog game for almost a month now.. mostly because December is when the three F's own my life: Finals, Family, and Food. Those all call for 3-dimensional interaction with life.. hence, the e-absence.
Resolutions for 2008: 1. Don't lose touch with friends - B+ 2. Take advantage of my semester off - B+ 3. Be completely honest with myself - C for January to March, A- afterwards.
2008 Recap: This year was full of highs and lows.. in the world, in the music scene, in the sports world, in my life.
Family time Heartbreak Funerals Raheem DeVaughn - Love Behind The Melody Supportive friends Birthday Party New Amerykah Healthier lifestyle Giants win Atmosphere Gnarls Barkley - Odd Couple Juno March madness QN5 family time Goodbye, Kuma Rising Down Candace Parker Iron Man Trip to NY Kiyoshi's a doctor Hello, Remix Reggae/JazzFest Seeing Sounds Grad school Lots of homework Wes graduated Lakers lost Nas - Untitled Justin owned the ESPYs Barbecue Bernie Mac Michael Phelps Usain Bolt I shook Kweli's hand Vegas.. twice Little Brother show Wayne Brady is amazing AO retreat Raphael Saadiq is soulful Wicked Foreign Exchange = beautiful Obama Prop 8 Kanye West - 808s and Heartbreak Looooots of studying and group projects John Legend - Evolver T.I. has the swagger of a college kid Finals Good talks make all the difference Christmas family time Tuition bill for Spring 2009... yikes
Resolutions for 2009: 1. Keep in touch with the people I care about 2. Love like I've never been hurt 3. Say "yes" to new opportunities
All in all, 2008 was interesting. It was definitely a "transition" year.. a "building" year.. a year for life lessons, lost love, lost friendship, and new possibilities. Basically, all of the groundwork has been perfectly laid to make 2009 the best ever. Let's goooooooo!
You know you have a good group of friends if you can grow up without growing apart.. even when you're geographically apart. And if you can still get along when you finally get back together.. well then you're set for life. I reunited with a bunch of my high school girls on Wednesday for dinner and game night.. and again on Friday for Porsha's 2nd Annual Hammered Holidaze party. These girls are basically THE reasons that I survived Brentwood without punching anybody in the face. (I punched one girl in the gut, but that was 5th grade and I was still adjusting to the private school world)
Big Bird and Action Jackson.
Diversity shot: me, Shauna, Porsha.
Porsha, Alana, Joy.
Jennifer had the bootleg version of Jenga, called Jumbling Towers. The blocks are NOT evenly sized.
Shakari dropped her drink RIGHT after this pic.
Dealt a poor hand like this.. and Alana and I STILL won.
In case you were wondering why Porsha calls it HAMMERED HOLIDAZE.
Not just grown.. we're grown grown. And drinking punch punch. (Larissa, me, Porsha, Ashley, Alana)
Noel, me, and Veronica (a.k.a. Mrs. Claus)
The unstoppable trio. Joy, Veronica and I used to RUN things.
Seeing these lovely ladies twice in one week reminded me of how blessed I am to be where I am and to have what I have.. but also how huge a role WHERE I'VE BEEN really plays in my life. I love you girls!
"We don't stop playing because we grow old; we grow old because we stop playing." --George Bernard Shaw
I've been slipping on the blog posts.. you know how things get during the holidays. Anyway, here are some pics from Chad's photoshoot, as promised. He needed studio shots for his final project for a photo class.. And these were the final three that he used.
A ball, a hoop, a heart.. nothing fancy.
No one believes me.. there is no superglue or photoshopping in this picture.
True Laker fans bleed purple and gold.
How awesome is Chad?? Plus, now I can say that I've been a "model." Yesssss, all my dreams are coming true, haha.
So my last final was on Friday morning... which means I'm officially done with this semester. This weekend was jam-packed with celebrations:
Celebration 1: Mark's birthday at Yardhouse and Dave-n-Busters.
Yes, we really drove all the way down to Irvine to celebrate with a guy who stays in West LA. Surprisingly, it was still well worth it. Plus, I rode with Chad because I was already in Torrance, helping him with a photo shoot. More details to come, I'm sure. Anyway... photo recap.
This guy is officially as old as two bar mitzvah kids put together. (and I'm holding an imaginary pint of beer)
I too dream in color.. and in rhyme.
Giggles.
Yayyyy no more finals!
Jager bombs = rarely ever a good idea.
Onion rings. Yes.
Get to steppin', son.. that's NACHO CHEESE.
California rollin'.
Kristen and I have known each other since Summertime Girls had it going on.
Laughter.
Celebration 2: Jacque's "Black in LA" get-together.
Lots of beautiful people, all in the same room.. it was almost overwhelming.
The beautiful hostess.. and Hance!
DJ Shady and DJ Koko.. play that funky music.
Tunj and Salim, immaculately polished.
Doris showed up!!
Celebration 3: Megan's birthday at Rosen Karaoke
Julie has the most magical voice ever.
"Waaait.. my hair!"
She's so lucky, she's a star.
Yes, yes we did.
In short, it was the most exhausting yet excellent way to start off my Winter break.. I'm so lucky to have such caring, fun-loving friends. Let's make this a December to remember!
I'll be on Winter break by about 12 noon tomorrow, yessss.
I'm about to get back to studying for Med Lectures, but first I feel like posting the last few videos I've watched.. (because who can study without flipping to youtube every few minutes?)
This is how randomly my brain works when I'm deep into nerd mode.
Let's rock this joint.
Anything less would be uncivilized.
Hahahaha I used to groove to this.
This would totally sweep me off my feet.
Okay, now I'm ready to get back to studying.. mostly because of this last video. Thanks for the inspiration, Dean.
(I punched one girl in the gut, but that was 5th grade and I was still adjusting to the private school world)
