Taara's Blog

Don't cry because it's over. Smile because it happened.

scumedia@gmail.com (Taara Khalilnaji) — Thu, 18 Jun 2009 12:00:00 PST

Dr. Seuss’s words. So appropriate.

I guess this is it. My last blog!

I’m in Santa Clara right now. I’ve been working nearly eight hours a day at the Finance office since I got here on Monday. Juan’s there every day too. Jake just started working 20 hours a week there as well.

My brother and I drove from Sacramento to the Bay area on Monday. It was our first time making the drive. And now, I have the car with me for summer.

I couldn’t get internet while I was at home. Then once I got here and finally had internet connection, I couldn’t think of what, exactly, I wanted to say in this blog. Hence, its prolongedness...

I don’t think it’s hit me yet, that Freshman year is over. Honestly, I don’t think it will. I’m going to miss room 118, and I’m going to miss the essence of everyday of my first year at Santa Clara. And I KNOW that the next three years won’t be anything like it. It’s bittersweet, though. I’m sad of course, that it’s over. But I am so excited for the next few years. I’ve grown so much, and I’ve learned so much about myself and life. So I’m excited to continue growing, and learning, and embrace the lessons.

Since making lists has worked out well for me in the past (and because it is one of Alex’s favorite things to do) – I am going to make a list of all the wonderfull-ness of my freshman year at SCU. It’s in no particular order/ranking. (Except number 1 is definitely NUMBER ONE!)

1)      My WONDERFUL friends. Seriously. So much love. So much unconditional positive regard. So much honesty. I’ve made best friends for life, and I couldn’t be more thankful.
2)      Watching Ting sleep in cars.
3)      Thai food.
4)      Temporary tattoos.
5)      Piercings. Of the ear and tragus sort.
6)      Professor Susan Frisbie. My English 2 professor. She reinforced my drive to write, and inspired me to get involved with the Santa Clara Review.
7)      Our day at the beach in Capitola.
8)      My birthday in San Francisco.
9)      Good ol’ 118.
10)   Francis. Wonderful CF, wonderful friend.
11)   Random trips to Berkeley with my dad.
12)   Frozo’s.
13)   Studying at Frozo’s.
14)   Not studying at Frozo’s.
15)   MISSY AND BRYAN. Inspirations for life, FOR SURE.
16)   Babysitting Duchess.
17)   Discovering the AR room in the Library. You can see O.S.C.A.R. And there’s a bed-like thing in there.
18)   Baking cupcakes!
19)   PALUPA!
20)   Sex and The City, Grey’s Anatomy, Gilmore Girls, and The Real Housewives of (insert city name here)
21)   Going to Andrea’s house in Livermore.
22)   Going to Buca diBepo with Andrea’s mommy!
23)   The St. Mary’s basketball game.
24)   Lupe.
25)   GYM CLASS HEROES.
26)   Cramer’s Bagels.
27)   Meeting new people. Randomly.
28)   OUR ADVENTURE IN SANTA CRUZ WITH THE AUSTRALIANS.
29)   Andrea’s birthday weekend was pretty epic.
30)   Shower parties.

There. There’s my freshman year. Okay. Not really. But it’s a fair summary of it. In list form.

I hope you guys enjoyed my blog. I definitely enjoyed doing it. Always always always feel free to contact me at TKhalilnaji@scu.edu.

Thanks for tolerating my randomness and occasional incoherent thoughts.

I’m ending this by attaching three pictures. One, of me and Michelle on my birthday, one of Andrea and I (the best roommate and friend I ever could have asked for), and finally, a picture of Kate, and Alex and I on the beach in San Francisco on Kate’s birthday.

Goodbye Freshman year!!!!

Infinite x’s and o’s
Taara

We Have To Party All Night...

scumedia@gmail.com (Taara Khalilnaji) — Wed, 29 Apr 2009 12:57:59 PST

The Gym Class Heroes concert was so much fun! Sadly, the turnout was about half, or less than half, than that of Lupe. Still, it was so much fun! Travie even jumped into the crowd and everything (pictures from Andrea’s camera phone are attached!) It was a really good time. They were really great performers. Some band whose name I forgot opened for them. They were decent, though it wouldn’t be fair for me to judge, since we showed up so late. Three of them were Broncos, though. Hell yes for them opening up for Gym Class!

Yeah so homework was a no go last night. And probably tonight as well, considering I’m hanging out with my Dad tonight. Honestly, I’m completely unmotivated this week in terms of school, because I’m just too darn excited about this weekend! Mm…okay, I guess maybe I’m a little scared too. Considering I’ve never been to New York City, and I need to get myself from the airport in the Bronx to my cousin’s dorm in Manhattan. Oh dear. Lol. Fortunately, there’s this amazing website called hopstop.com that gives you details on transportation to anywhere in major cities. It’s really cool. (I’ll probably chicken out though, and just take a taxi….if I can manage to flag one down!)

So NY has me excited and a little nervous. I’ve also gotten a job! Yep! Next week I start working at the school’s finance office. Francis, being the good guy that he is, hooked me up working there. This job is something that I’d be doing this summer as well. So…another concern that’s hovering over me is finding a place to live this summer. Tomorrow, I’m going to the Office of Student Life for a list of apartments/houses that are available for sublease over summer.

Bah! So much to think about.

-Taara

Just Another Tuesday...

scumedia@gmail.com (Taara Khalilnaji) — Tue, 28 Apr 2009 05:37:21 PST

Question:

Did I neglect to mention that SCU is hosting a concert by The Gym Class Heroes tonight? Oops.

Well. We’re going to that tonight! And next Monday, BJ Novak from The Office will be here. Unfortunately, I won’t get to see him, because I’ll be on a flight back here from New York.

Oh man, I’m sleepy. Tell me, why must sleep be constantly interrupted by like, life? Like, classes, and homework, and papers, and responsibilities? What? I don’t understand. Someone needs to explain it all to me.

Until then, I have to continue being efficient and productive and such. Oy. Haha.

For my psychology class, every student must participate in research conducted on campus. So in about half an hour, I have to go to Alumni Sciences and participate in a study on college motivation. Yay….. I wish I’d done the study Andrea and Alex went to last week. Theirs was some sort of study on memory, and had to learn Swahili for about an hour. Fun, right?

-Taara

Ballers and the Beach

scumedia@gmail.com (Taara Khalilnaji) — Sun, 26 Apr 2009 03:27:23 PST

It’s Sunday, 7 pm, and I’ve yet to start my homework or studying for my French midterm tomorrow. Oh snaaap.

This weekend has been…different. Alex left for a family event in Palm Springs on Friday. That evening, Andrea and I spent some much needed/long overdue time together, talking about things we both needed to get off our chests, crying, and just being open with one another. It was unbelievably relieving. I mean, I don’t talk about a lot of the personal things I’ve been going through in my blogs. There’s a lot of my life that I feel I must not mention. So I guess those really depressing blog entries I’ve written on occasion (like the last one) seem really random and unwarranted.

Anyways. I love her.

Saturday, Andrea, Stephanie and I went to Vaishali’s home in Fremont. We chilled there, went to the mall, had Chipotle and frozen yogurt and just hung out. That evening Andrea and I chilled with Ting and our friend Danny. Andrea had to go to the tide pools in Santa Cruz this morning at 4:30 am…so she stayed up all night. We all entertained ourselves until around 4, when she left and I went to bed. Then 8 am it was time to get back up and get ready for the Beach Volleyball Tournament in Santa Cruz, a charity event hosted by Sigma Pi. Andrea (the trooper!/baller!) got back at 9, and we were off to the beach. Def a good time. We were exhausted though.

And now we’re at the library. Attempting efficiency and productivity.

-Taara

Sad Face

scumedia@gmail.com (Taara Khalilnaji) — Tue, 21 Apr 2009 12:50:37 PST

I’ve been spending a lot of time alone this quarter. And I guess it’s not anyone’s fault. I have a different schedule, and conflicting priorities.

I don’t know what to make of my freshman year. Each quarter has been unique. Fall quarter was chill. And I was fun. Winter quarter was fun. And I was more chill. So far, spring quarter has been really….sunny –and I haven’t been very fun at all.

Sorry about this one. I think we all deserve the right to be a little depressing once in while, no?

Keep on keepin’ on,
Taara

Chester French

scumedia@gmail.com (Taara Khalilnaji) — Mon, 20 Apr 2009 10:13:45 PST

I never thought I’d be happy about it being Monday. The weekend was a series of failures. Friday night, we failed to have fun, as our friends at Sigma Pi were busy throwing a party for a girl from Alpha Phi. There wasn’t much else going on, so we ended the evening early. On Saturday, Ting was supposed to drive us to Santa Cruz around 1 pm. He ended up not being sure if he was actually going to go or not, so Stephanie, Alex, Andrea and I gathered our things and made a mad dash for the bus stop. Unfortunately, we were late by barely a minute, and had to watch the bus drive right by us. The next one would have arrived too late for us to catch our connecting ride to the beach. Defeated, we walked back to campus.

Saturday night we spent about an hour or so just sitting at the Bronco, waiting for people to tell us of anything fun going on. But again, all our friends were otherwise engaged. Sad. To be honest, Sunday was the best day of the weekend – we did homework. I read Bread Givers for my Immigrant Jewish Writers class from start to finish. Good times…

But it happens. We’ve had enough good weekends to keep us satisfied, and more fun will come our way!

We’re outside the third floor of the library right now, on the balcony. The sun is setting, and today’s ridiculous heat is subsiding. Our view is of the purple sky, tree tops, the hills, and Swig. This was a refreshingly enjoyable Monday. I got the second highest grade in the class on my Calculus midterm, which was really exciting to learn! I’m not afraid to say that I’m proud of myself! It was a nice lift to this hot day. I’ve also been listening to “Chester French” the entire day, and have thoroughly been enjoying their music.

OH. . .

Something I should inform you of:

I’ve decided to be a little spontaneous and frivolous –on May 1st, I’m flying to New York City for the weekend! Random, I know. I’m going to be visiting my cousin at NYU, and a friend from Maryland will be coming up to hang out. It’s not costing me too much though, because I found a really good deal with Jet Blue. I’m a little nervous though, since this is such a random decision, and because I’ve never been to New York before. But I’m hoping it’ll be worth it!

Hope you prospectives enjoyed Preview weekend,

-Taara

I Made a List.

scumedia@gmail.com (Taara Khalilnaji) — Tue, 14 Apr 2009 11:38:54 PST

BAH!

Where to begin…

I’m going to make a list out of this one, okay? I need to be organized in my thoughts or else I’ll never say everything I need to.

1) The weekend before last, I was at UC Berkeley, attending the Fourth International Conference on the Iranian Diaspora. The event was hosted by an organization I am affiliated with, or at least, know people in, Iranian Alliances Across Borders (IAAB). Students as well as professionals came to show their support for IAAB and the Iranian Community. The two day-long event played host to speakers who shared their stories, research and thoughts on the state of the worldwide Iranian Community and the diaspora, as well as workshops, and a concert. It was really nice to see my friends who work for the organization, and whom I never see. The event itself, of course, was great. I sort of wish I’d blogged about it before hand so you all would have known about it and showed up!

2) Thank goodness I took Calculus in high school. I’d be so lost in my Math 12 class right now. My Professor, Professor Alexanderson, is the oldest, thinnest, funniest, tallest, and quirkiest man EVER. And he’s clearly brilliant. The thing is, we’re not equally intelligent. His lectures seem to not have anything to do with the homework. Not to mention he gives them at rapid speed. I get a little frustrated because after each lecture, I feel like I could go up there and teach the same thing to the rest of the class, but in a much simpler manner. Whatever! I’m not dying in that class. I have a midterm on Friday which I intend to aaacceee.

3) I love my girlies. Every day, I’m dumbfounded over how lucky I am to have such amazing friends.

4) We hiked to Walgreens today. Long trek.

5) This past weekend, immobile due to illness, I think I actually enjoyed myself. I caught up on sleep. Which was, as sleep usually is, delicious. Once I was feeling a bit better, I spent some much needed time with Ting, who’s been busy with his new job working at the Adobe Lodge. We watched family guy, Saturday Night Live, and then Rush Hour on SCU’s movie channel. That was quite nice, to just chill.

6) High school students have been crawling all over campus for a few weeks now. If you 12th graders are interested in Santa Clara, and want to visit, just shoot me an email (TKhalilnaji@scu.edu), and I’d be happy to offer you a private tour of the campus, answer any questions that you have, and even give you an inside look at dorm life (yes….you’d actually get to see Room Awesome!). Please, don’t be afraid to contact me. I’d be more than happy to help you guys out and show you around.

7) If you all are indeed, interested in SCU, you should go to www.sculife.com. It’s a new site, created by students here, that provides you prospectives with info that the school’s website doesn’t. It has a rate your professor section, insider details on athletics, as well as real, substantial information on SCU social life. Check it out. Post a question. Meet current students.

8) I think I’ve forgotten anything else I wanted to talk about.

9) I want to end this at number 10.

10) Hahahahaha.

Later!

Taara

Sleeping Beneath the Flowers

scumedia@gmail.com (Taara Khalilnaji) — Sun, 12 Apr 2009 10:43:18 PST

I know, I’ve been MIA.

Classes have got me caught off guard. This quarter is going to be way more difficult than I expected. Some good news is, however, I’ve been sleeping way more and way better than I have been all year. Especially since Thursday, when the Santa Clara virus (strep throat) caught up with me again. I’ve basically been in bed for four days. It’s been rather relaxing though. And the solitude that’s been derivative of everyone going home for Easter weekend has also been surprisingly refreshing. I’ve been able to think, reanalyze things that have been stressing me out, and readjust myself. I think I’m about to be in a really really healthy state of mind again for the first time in a while.

There are so many important updates I need to thrill you guys with, and stories to get you caught up on.

I really must do some homework first though…

-Taara

Well, If it Isn't Spring Quarter!

scumedia@gmail.com (Taara Khalilnaji) — Mon, 30 Mar 2009 10:50:56 PST

Yeah. I didn’t write over the weekend. I was too disillusioned by my shockingly pathetic state of depression, resulting from my loneliness --which really should not have been so shocking, considering it was, indeed, still spring break. I started to feel sane once Vaishali and Alex came back on Sunday. My world was fully intact again once Andrea arrived.

The first day of spring quarter has been busy! I woke up around 8, had a little breakfast, decorated Vaishali’s door while she was in class (it’s her birthday!), and then went to the gym. I showered, did my hair, didn’t have time to have lunch, and went off to my first class at 11:45. It was General Psychology II with Alex. We really like our professor so we’re excited for that class. Next, I headed off to my 1 o’clock Math 12 class, in O’Connor 104. I sat down, and about twenty minutes later I realized I was in a Math 7 class. You’d think not having my name be called during roll would have hinted that there was something wrong… Anyways, I never found out exactly where I was supposed to be. I’m not worried about it though. I’ll figure it out. Next, I grabbed an iced dark mocha and walked to Casa for French 100. After class, I bought fruit and milk from the cellar, ran into Alex, Andrea, and Stephanie tanning on the lawn outside Benson. We chatted, then I bid them adieu for my English Practicum –a one unit course, one day a week, dedicated to creative writing and reviewing and reading articles and fiction pieces, which we help determine whether or not should be included in the Santa Clara’s Literary magazine.

Right now, Andrea and Vaishali are in their 6 pm Psych class and Alex and I are in her room watching Gilmore Girls. Yes, I think we’re still on break mode. When the girls return from class, we’re going to have Pie in honor of Vaishali’s birthday, after which we’re going to the library where we’ve reserved a room, to watch Twilight (don’t judge me! I’ve never read the books..and I’ll always be a Potterhead at heart. Edward Cullen will never have a place in my heart the way Harry does).

Okay, my laptop is running out of batteries, and Christopher has just arrived to escort Rory to the DAR’s Debutant Ball.

Bientot!

-Taara

Noruz with Michelle

scumedia@gmail.com (Taara Khalilnaji) — Fri, 27 Mar 2009 12:50:21 PST

Last Friday, Michelle spent the night with me at SCU. It was great having her since everyone else was gone. It was also nice because Friday was Noruz, the Persian New Year. It would have been rather depressing spending New Year’s night all alone in a dorm room.

The next day, my dad picked us up and we went to Berkeley, where we all had lunch with my brother, walked around 4th street, and then finally, Michelle, Saba and I caught the Amtrak back to Sacramento. On Sunday, Michelle went back to Scripps.

Spring break has been very different from Winter Break because not everyone’s in town at the same time. I really haven’t been stressing trying to see everyone, because not too many people are around for me to see!

As a whole though, it has been a good week. I knew it would be before I got here, actually. Because last Wednesday I got a fortune cookie that read “You have a relaxing vacation awaiting you”. Nice, right? Haha.

Despite how good it’s been, I think my brother and I are leaving tonight, to spend some extra time with our Dad. Honestly, though, I just miss Palupa and want to see him again as soon as possible.

Right now, I think I’m going to go cook breakfast. Again, I’ll write more tomorrow since I probably won’t have anything better to do.

-Taara

Sack Rah Ment Oh

scumedia@gmail.com (Taara Khalilnaji) — Thu, 26 Mar 2009 12:44:06 PST

Despite how beautiful Santa Clara may be, there are some things about Sacramento that just don’t compare. In my opinion, at least…

The trees here are so rich in character. I know, that sounds weird. But there’s so many of them, and so many different kinds all over town, and they all seem to have something to say, or something, always, to smile about. Trees in Santa Clara are peaceful. The trees here are outspoken. There are three birch trees right outside my bedroom window. They’re my favorite. They’re the most friendly trees I’ve ever seen. Their favorite thing to do is dance. The world sings, and they dance.

Sunshine is different here too. It’s still bright, and warm, and nonsensically pleasant, but it’s way more….golden. Yes. The sunshine here is more golden. And the air. The air is also sweeter.

I feel as if I have come to appreciate my hometown too late. I don’t live here anymore. Since September, my presence here has been and will continue to be just a visit. I suppose though, becoming grateful about something is better than going on not appreciating it all.

-Taara

Week 8

scumedia@gmail.com (Taara Khalilnaji) — Wed, 25 Feb 2009 11:21:07 PST

I’m listening to Joshua Radin right now, and it’s making my life.

This week has been so hectic. I’m terribly exhausted (what else is new, right?). Hopefully, I can finish my studying earlier this evening so I can sleep. Oh…lovely lovely sleep. I don’t get enough of that loveliness. Nope. Not enough at all.

The past weekend was Parents’ Weekend. Mine and Andrea’s didn’t come, since we both live relatively close to Santa Clara, and have recently seen our parents. Alex’s entire family however, flew in from Spokane! It was so great. Friday night Alex’s parents treated her, her brothers, sister, Andrea, Ting, Vaishali and I to dinner at the Cheesecake Factory. Which was AMAZING of them. Then Saturday night we hung out at their hotel with them for a little while (went swimming at Embassy Suites!) and then Alex, Andrea, and I took Alex’s little sister Molly to her first meal at an In N’ Out. She loved it (obviously!).

Since then I’ve been swamped with work, which is typical as we’re nearing the end of the quarter. Friday morning, in fact, I’m registering for classes for Spring Quarter.

The quarter system is so…weird. It’s so FAST. Just when you get to used to your classes, your professors, and just when you start to like them, it’s over! For example, I’ve only recently discovered that Madame Couplan-Cashman has quite an amusing sense of humor (today, actually, when she asked me –in French –if I was “tripping”) Honestly, though, I feel like students benefit more from the quarter system than those on semester. Quarters don’t give you time to be lazy. Nor any time to forget the material before finals. Which is nice.

Okay, well, Andrea is having a really intense phone conversation with her friend right now so I’m going to continue to bore you all with the un-eventfulness of my life another time.

Caught off guard by some of Mr. Radin’s lyrics,

Taara

Listening to Coldplay All Weekend = Bliss

scumedia@gmail.com (Taara Khalilnaji) — Mon, 16 Feb 2009 02:49:15 PST

Last night I was thinking about that blog I wrote when we were trying to buy that house by Safeway, and how I discussed regret. I mentioned the word popping into my mind –regretting not buying the house, or regretting doing it and then hating our living situation.

And I wonder why, at that time, I thought about regret, because I’ve always tried to never feel it. I don’t believe that it’s a sentiment worth wasting thought or sorrow over. As college students, we are bound to make mistakes, do things we’re not proud of, or simply have unfamiliar and often uncomfortable experiences. So we’re constantly told “Don’t do anything you’ll regret”, and you know, that’s fine. It’s good advice. No one wants to get hurt, and it’s smart to protect yourself from that. But even if something does happen, or you do something you end up feeling remorse over –move on. Learn from it, grow, and get over it. Don’t waste your time wishing it hadn’t happened. Just don’t let it happen again, or go about whatever it was with more awareness next time and that’s all you can do. That’s what I believe, anyways.

I know, all of that must seem really random. The subject of making mistakes however, has come up amongst my friends from home and I, so I’ve been pondering.

The second, and last, long weekend of the quarter was nice. It’s been raining most of the time, but I’ve felt that the weather was mildly refreshing. I caught up on a lot of sleep, which, obviously, was glorious. Actually, it was more than glorious. It was splendid and magnificent. It was gloriously and splendidly magnificent.

Alex’s friend, Nicole from Spokane flew in on Friday and left on this morning (sad!). On Saturday, all of us single ladies got dressed up, and went to Valley Fair Mall where we shopped all afternoon. From there we walked to Santana Row, had dinner, did a little more shopping, ate at the new Pinkberry, and then went to see “He’s Just Not That Into You”. SUCH A GOOD MOVIE. The six of us were squealing and holding hands by the end of it.

Right now we’re at the library doing some work for the first time in three days.

Happy post-Valentine’s Day!

-Taara

Come See "Iran: Hot Tea and Cool Conversations" Thursday, 6 pm

scumedia@gmail.com (Taara Khalilnaji) — Tue, 10 Feb 2009 02:43:08 PST

A surprising discovery about Santa Clara and college life that I made at the beginning of Fall quarter, was that I got a good night’s rest here. Since about senior year of high school, I’ve had awful sleeping habits. Actually, I guess my habit was more of an inability to sleep. I’ve never been able to take naps, and during that last year in Sacramento, I got little rest at night. There was never any particular reason for it –I wasn’t busy, or sick, or anything. It just took me hours to fall asleep.

So naturally, I was excited to start a new life here, and realize, that finally, I could sleep.

But it’s over now. I’m not falling asleep again, and I can’t stand it. For weeks, every day now, I’ve just felt exhausted. I’m tired of being tired. Last night, I just laid there, in my bed, listening to Andrea’s breathing while counting sheep in my head until 4:30 am, when I finally drifted off.

Boo.

Despite my fatigue, I’ve been productive. Although, that has more to do with the necessity of productivity, as opposed to motivation or a miraculous boost in energy (because both those are nonexistent!). Today, I think I did well on my Chemistry test, and tonight I have a paper to write for English. Then Friday, I have another test in Religion.

I’m excited for the weekend, though –that might be what’s stringing me along this week. Alex’s friend from Spokane is flying in on Friday to visit. We’re going to show her a goodtime Friday evening, and then on Saturday, we plan to get dressed up and spend the afternoon/evening at Santana Row, eating, going to Pinkberry, shopping, and seeing “He’s Just Not That Into You”.

Also, on Thursday evening, I’m going to the Communications Center (the Arts and Sciences building) to go see a documentary called “Iran: Hot Tea and Cool Conversations”, hosted by the newly formed club, United Middle East (UME). Yep, Santa Clara’s Iranian Student Organization and The Arab Culture Club have combined forces to create UME, a group which I am proudly a member of….as of last week. I’m really excited about UME, and especially for Thursday. I need my fix of Persians.

Bisous,

Taara

No One in the Corner Got Swagga Like Us

scumedia@gmail.com (Taara Khalilnaji) — Mon, 09 Feb 2009 12:56:25 PST

The Grammies last night. Ohmigosh. Coldplay and Jay-Z. A very pregnant MIA on stage, with Kanye, Lil’ Wayne and T.I. The Jonas Brothers and Stevie Wonder. Oh myyy.

But who were those two random people who won the biggest awards?? I’d never heard of them before. Sigh.

I am pleased to report that I had a very good weekend. It was definitely not a weekend typical of us –we didn’t have too much down time. Friday night we were with friends, but also met some new people (which I’ve been craving to do, so that was nice). On Saturday morning Alex, Andrea, and I got ready to go out to lunch with our floor mate and friend, Nicole. She drove us to Santana Row, where we ate at Wahoo’s, which is a really great, laid-back Mexican restaurant. After that, the four of us explored Valley Fair Mall.

When we came back, we chilled for a little while, and then Alex, Andrea, Vaishali, and Ting I went to the basketball game against St. Mary’s! (SOME ADVICE TO PROSPECTIVE STUDENTS: sign up to be a Ruff-Rider at your Freshman orientation. It’s worth it. Just $50 for every sports event for four years is SO worth it. I never signed up and to get tickets to this game I traded $100 in meal points to a friend of Andrea’s –which is fine since I have extra. But still. It’s so much more convenient. Don’t be silly like me and say “I’ll just do it later”, because you won’t. Later is busy.) The game was so much fun. The Levey Center was packed and our boys played brilliantly. We won 70-52, I believe. Yay!

Sunday we had plans to go have dim-sum (Chinese brunch) with some of Andrea’s friends from Livermore. That was a lot of fun. And the food was amazing. The rest of the day was spent at the library.

Quite a satisfactory weekend, I’d say.

-Taara

Like, WOAH

scumedia@gmail.com (Taara Khalilnaji) — Mon, 02 Feb 2009 12:58:08 PST

It’s amazing how a couple penicillin can make a person feel so much better. I’ll admit, for a few days there I was having a ball raving on and on about my swollen lymph nodes –but I’m completely fine now.

I realized today that I neglected to inform you all about how Alex’s death in assassin two weeks ago was completely and utterly my fault. It’s a good story.

So I think it was like the second or third day of the game, when Alex and I were busy being non-productive and paranoid in my room. I decided to go to the lounge and see if I could find anymore distractions. Frank, Nick, and Katelyn from upstairs were there, doing homework, eating, and playing with Missy and Bryan’s adorable dog, Duchess. So we were sitting there, talking, when a few more people came in and joined the conversation. Then –really really loudly—I shouted “Oh no! I left Alex alone in my room!” I ran to my room, grabbed my keys, locked Alex inside, and went back to the lounge. We all continued talking and Katelyn excused herself to go to the bathroom. She came back a few minutes later, and resumed her homework, about the time that I decided I should start to get something done as well. I went back to my room to find Alex, on the phone with her mother, laughing hysterically and holding up her arm to show me green ink marks.

Katelyn had killed her. I had revealed that Alex was alone, made the mistake of coming back, and then Katelyn went to my room, pretending to be looking for me. I killed my friend.

Makes you want to shake your head and say “Oh, Taara…”, doesn’t it?

Anyways, the game’s not as fun when you’re not playing.

The weekend was weird. I don’t know what else to say about it besides weird. I don’t even know why it was weird –it just was. Saturday…we slept. We slept until around 2 pm. Then we ate. Slept some more. Watched a little Grey’s Anatomy. A little Sex And the City. Bought some frosting. Ate some frosting. Then slept ‘til Sunday. On Sunday, my mom paid me a surprise visit. She and I went out for lunch, and then it was goodbye mommy, hello Super Bowl. Alex and Andrea made some salsa and Ting, Vaishali, and I ate it. Then I did homework while watching the game. Actually, I have to admit, though I “watched” the game…I still have no clue who won.

Then, at 7:30 Ting and I went to Gombei –a Japanese restaurant –for dinner with some friends. It was yummy.

I think something that contributed to the weird-ness of the weekend was that I actually got all my work done. Like today, after my 8 am, and before my 1 o’clock, I had nothing to do but go running, shower, eat, and enjoy that good ol’ sunshine. T’was strange indeed.

I am slowly starting to perk up in my religion class, actually. At first, it was a struggle to go to class, let alone stay awake once I finally dragged myself there (The fruit parfaits that the Café only sells early in the mornings have been a huge incentive). Now, I’m just beady-eyed in class, though fully alert.

Want to know something crazy?? We’re already half-way through the quarter!!! It’s mind-blowing, really. Like, WHERE have I BEEN? Vaishali grabbed a course guide from Kenna Hall today, to select her classes for next quarter, and I was just like WOAH WHAT? NO. I’m a little concerned. Last quarted seems like it lasted a lifetime, while apparently, this one is just blowing right on by.

I don’t approve.

-Taara

Oy

scumedia@gmail.com (Taara Khalilnaji) — Tue, 27 Jan 2009 02:09:46 PST

I have strep throat.

Apparently, a person who doesn’t have tonsils can still get strep. I didn’t know that.

I started feeling really awful last night, and my wonderful friends kept trying to get me to go to bed and take care of myself, but I was being stubborn, trying to stay up and study for my chemistry test. But Andrea tricked me into eating a Benadryl, and within a half hour, I was out.

Oh yeah, and I died yesterday.

I was in the lounge alone, wrapped in a blanket and shivering, when a girl from my hall came in. I knew why she was there. I considered putting up a struggle. But I felt too weak and fatigued. I just stuck my hand out and she killed me.

Oh well.

-Taara

Panic! At the dorms

scumedia@gmail.com (Taara Khalilnaji) — Thu, 22 Jan 2009 11:13:47 PST

Well, turns out, we didn’t have to make a decision about the house the other day after all. Those four girls who had originally backed out, wanted back in, so we were out.

Oh well.

We’ve been house hunting, though. We called a few places yesterday and this afternoon we saw a couple houses. It’s really fun, I must admit. The whole being an adult, looking for a place to live thing.

But as of last night, there are more pressing issues on my mind.

Like, my LIFE!

Unity is playing Assassin. 70-80 students from both Walsh and McLaughlin have been assigned to kill each other. And once you kill your target, you have to take on the task of killing the person your victim was supposed to assassinate, and so on. The person with the most kills/whoever is still alive at the end of the quarter wins. YEP. This thing is going to take WEEKS.

Here are the rules, written up by Francis:

1.      To take out your assignment:

a.      ONLY on the arms(below shoulders to fingertips) and feet(knee to toes)

b.      No witness (meaning the no one can see when you mark your victim)

2.      Only washable markers can be used!!! If you stain someone’s clothing you will be disqualified.

3.      The two Cf’s Joe and Francis are Judges so they are not witnesses.

4.      Honesty is the best policy. If you got assassinated fairly be honorable and admit it

Safety Spots/times:

Benson: Getting food

Gym/Pool any place in that area.

In the Restrooms

On your way to and from the shower

At work for the DRs. On their way to work they and coming out of is fair game. Not while on the job.

In Class

NO assassinations between 3:00 AM and 8:00 AM!!!!!!

The game began at 11:59 pm last night.

Since 11:59 pm, I have been paranoid. Andrea and I were ridiculously jumpy as soon as midnight hit, and both of us refused to leave the other’s sight. I’ve been walking Alex to her room, and she’s been sticking her head out of her door, spotting me as I sprint back to mine. What doesn’t help is that the guys on our floor keep freaking us out, coming at us with markers, or hiding behind corners and jumping out. Juan, our across-the-hall neighbor, had killed two people before 1 am, sporting a beanie and gloves. Intense, right?

Alas, my roommate died today, around 1:45 pm. It’d been barely two minutes since I’d left the poor girl to go to my class in Kenna Hall when I got a text from her, saying Lorenzo (Juan’s roommate) had just killed her.

It was my fault, really. I shouldn’t have left her alone in our room with the door propped wide open.

Andrea’s at the library now, Alex is doing some business thing, and I’m alone (with the door locked and chained!) in my room, about to get started on the tear-inducing amount of work I have to do.

So I’ll update you guys later…

….if I’m still alive!!!

-Taara

Oh, Hello California

blogSCU@scu.edu (Taara Khalilnaji) — Mon, 29 Dec 2008 12:51:19 PST

I woke up this morning, and for the longest three seconds of my life, I had no clue where I was.

And then I remembered.

I was in my bedroom. At my house. In Sacramento.

For the past 15 days, I’ve been on the East Coast visiting family and friends. I got back last night, and it felt WEIRD. Not only had I just gotten used to seeing people I hardly ever get to spend any time with, but I haven’t been home since Thanksgiving. Crawling into my bed wasn’t as comforting as it has been in the past. It was unfamiliar.

I never updated you guys on when I left, or how finals went, or anything. For that, I apologize profusely!

Finals were fine—and they’re finalized –and it’s all final. I checked my grades online while I was at my cousin’s house in Virginia and I’m satisfied. I think I earned the grades I deserved for the amount of work I put in for each class.

I turned in my last paper that Thursday at around 3 pm, and then things got depressing. You’d think I’d have been relieved and happy, right?

WRONG. The goodbyes began. See, this is when winter break throws you off balance. It deceives you with its appeal –no school, home cooked food, holidays, and New Year’s parties. But then you realize that you’re going to be separated from the people that you haven’t spent more than a week apart from since September. The people you’ve spent an overwhelming majority of the last three months with.

Anyways, Saturday morning I boarded a plane that arrived at Dulles Airport in Washington, DC at around 5 in the evening.

I had a really wonderful time. I have a very different relationship with my Persian friends than I do with my friends at home or from Santa Clara. Culture definitely has a lot to do with that. It was incredibly nice to see them all, hang out with my cousins, and meet even more new people.

I’ve been to DC countless times in the past 18 years and every time I go, I love it because of the people that I surround myself with while I’m there. But I also learn to love California even more. DO YOU REALIZE HOW GREAT OUR WEATHER IS HERE? It’s only when I’m in Maryland in the summertime, cursing at the humidity, or in Virginia in the winter, trying to get back the feeling in my toes and fingers, that I really appreciate the mild warmth of California sun, and the air’s subtle chill.

I’ve attached a picture of a group of us in front of the Smithsonian Natural History Museum and a picture of me with a giant squid from the museum’s new Ocean Exhibit.

I’m going to be blogging a lot this week. So try to keep up.

Missing my SCU family, and wishing you all holiday bliss,

Taara

Oy Vey

scumedia@gmail.com (Taara Khalilnaji) — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 12:08:46 PST

I know, I know. I didn’t write again when I said I would. It’s just that I promised myself I wouldn’t write another blog until I could re-size my photos to post up some pictures for you guys. But I don’t have Photoshop and anyone who’s tried to help me has only experienced failure. UGHH. It seriously shouldn’t be this difficult, right?

I’ll figure it out. I swear.

Alex, Andrea and I spent the weekend at Andrea’s house in Livermore. It was so nice to be in a HOUSE, as opposed to a dorm (not that we don’t love our room!).

But coming back to campus after being away was really nice too. I’m seriously going to miss SCU over Thanksgiving break next break. As the quarter comes to a close, I am starting to feel more and more anxious. I have this sense that I have been here for such a long time, and therefore I only have a short while left. I can’t fathom that there’s still a ways –years – to go. Instead, I keep trying to save every little moment, out of fear that it will escape me, and that in the next second, it will have disappeared.

I hope that it’s normal to feel that way.

I registered for classes on Wednesday, and was lucky enough to get every class that I wanted. Poor Andrea is fighting get a spot in her biology and chemistry classes. It’s a strange process, registration. Unusually stressful, in my opinion.

Regrettably, I must keep this short. I have a paper to write tonight and Alex’s nineteenth birthday to celebrate (although I’m not sure if that’s actually going to happen because she has had an awful fever all week).

Until next time, when I have hopefully figured things out in terms of photos.

Taara

Can You Say EPIC?

blogSCU@scu.edu (Taara Khalilnaji) — Wed, 05 Nov 2008 11:55:04 PST

I don’t even know where to start. The weekend was rather nice, I’d say. Since Alex and Andrea wanted to spend the two days at home, I decided to leave SCU this weekend as well, because none of us can survive a weekend without each other. So on Friday, around 3 in the afternoon, Frank took me to the train station from where I headed to UC Davis, Alex took a bus to the airport to fly home to Spokane, WA, and Andrea’s boyfriend and his mother picked her up and took her to Livermore.

Being at Davis and seeing my friends was incredible. Yes, the rain did put a damper on things (HAAH), and ruined a pair of my shoes….but it definitely also made sitting in a warm dorm room drinking hot tea with four friends all the more wonderful.

But I’m not going to lie, Davis also made me appreciate Santa Clara more than I already did. The amount of students was RIDICULOUS. And the food was much easier to quickly get tired of.

I was supposed to return to school Saturday evening, and I did just that. Except, instead of getting off the Amtrak in San Jose, I decided to be a little adventurous and hop off at Berkeley –which is about an hour away from Santa Clara.

I called my dad and brother and we met up for dinner in North Shattuck. We went to one of my brother’s favorite restaurants –Barney’s. This place has basically any type of burger imaginable. I don’t remember the name of my order, but my burger had eggplants and zucchini inside, with melted provolone cheese, and a Mediterranean-style pesto sauce with sun-dried tomatoes. Yummy.

I finally made it back to campus by eleven that night (courtesy of my dad’s Volvo). It was weird. Being at school without the people I normally spend every second with. It was a nice to have privacy, in a way, but I feel as if I’ve had enough privacy in my life. High school was all about locking yourself in your bedroom for hours at a time, right? It was the whole teenage-angst thing? Well, I did that growing up. And I think I’m done with “alone time” for now. I crave people.

I dubbed Sunday laundry day. I woke up late, walked down the Alameda to “Wrap This” with Ting (that’s Michael Ting, only, I never call him Michael) and our friend Vaishali for lunch, then did laundry in between watching Meet Joe Black and Law and Order: Criminal Intent.

Then my lovelies came home and all was right with the world again!

I’M GOING TO SKIP TO TUESDAY NOW BECAUSE MONDAY DOESN’T EVEN COMPARE ON THE AWESOME-SCALE.

TUESDAY. Andrea and I woke up early and exercised.

….

EXERCISED OUR RIGHTS!

Yes. We VOTED. We walked to the nearby polling place on Lexington and cast our ballots! It was exciting. How lucky are we to be able to say we were a part of such an historic election?!

We then sat through English class more antsy than usual (though we do love that class!) and finally went to lunch and came back to our room and flipped on CNN. I was definitely more excited/nervous about the outcome of the election than many others. It’s not that I don’t like John McCain…it’s just that I REALLY LOVE BARACK OBAMA.

Around 6 that evening, a few of us who have been attending our Resident Minister’s discovery group every Tuesday, went out to for Thai food with she and her husband. Last night actually was actually the first time I said grace before eating. It was a really great dinner. The food was wonderful, the company was amazing, and it was nice to not have food from Benson for a change.

As we were leaving the restaurant (it was called the House of Siam – near the Pavilion. Go try it!) a few of us started getting texts from friends. I know I got about 10 all saying the same, or similar things: Obama!!!, Obama wins, BARACK, and OMG YESSS.

I was thrilled, to say the least.

The rest of the evening was spent singing Karaoke in the basement.

I’m still so full of joy and excitement. Sure, I have a paper due tomorrow, but life is great!!!!

I know I keep promising to put up pictures of my room soon, and I will. IT’S COMING. In the next blog, I promise.

And if there actually are people out there reading these blogs, please leave comments or email me at TKhalilnaji@scu.edu. Or if there’s anything in particular anyone would like me to talk about, or any questions that need answers – let me know!

Until next time --- (which will be like, tomorrow)

Caio,

Taara

MAH!

angel462@sbcglobal.net (Taara Khalilnaji) — Thu, 30 Oct 2008 11:04:43 PST

Crazy midterm Halloween week.

I want to spend Halloween at UC Davis with my friends. To do so, I need to catch a train to get there.

In order to catch the 3 o’clock, I need to miss French class. Hahaaaa….

On Tuesday, I emailed my professor and told her that I’d be missing class, and requested that I take my midterm early. She emailed me back in a couple hours and said that I could take it the next day.

I spent the rest of the night studying. The test went well. Really well. In fact, I’m happy I took it early because now the only thing I have to stress about is my midterm in Ethnics tomorrow.

I’ve actually had a ridiculously good week. I’m doing well in my classes. I am having fun here, and I can’t get over how much I like my room. I’ll put up a picture of it soon. It’s sooooo soothing to just BE in. When I got back from Sacramento, I saw that Andrea and Alex had put up Christmas lights all around our room. SO PRETTY.

I’m almost sad the quarter will be ending (CRAZY!) I’m just starting to really like going to class every day, my teachers are just starting to get to know me, and I feel like there’s a lot more that I could learn from them. I guess I could just take their other classes?

It seems as if this entry is also a short one. I’ll write MORE, a lot more, later, but for now, I need to study. I promise these will get more exciting!!!!!

Home?

blogSCU@scu.edu (Taara Khalilnaji) — Sun, 26 Oct 2008 09:56:19 PST

I just read over my last post, and noticed how I said “home” about four times. And the last time I said it, I referred to SCU.

I got back from Sacramento a couple hours ago. I thought that being there was going to feel really strange, but it wasn’t at all. It was just…familiar. If that makes sense. I don’t know how to describe it. I miss my house, my favorite restaurants, the bike trail by the river, and the trees. But being there, I stopped missing it all. And it wasn’t because I was there, and thus, I felt satisfied, but because I felt like it was over, and I was okay with that. My first thoughts when getting off the train in Downtown Sac were simply “Well, here I am.” And that was it.

Despite how happy I was to see my mom, eat her home cooking, and shower without flip-flops on, I wanted to be back at school.

So here I am. Home.

I have my last two midterms this week, which I plan and hope to do really well on.

This week is going to be a crazy Halloween week. OY VEY. I honestly haven’t done Halloween since like, 3rd grade. And don’t know what I should be. UGHHH. I hate making decisions like these.

Maybe I’ll just wear my footie pajamas on the 31st and be done with it. (Please excuse my lack of enthusiasm!)

-Taara

Ps. Also excuse these short blog posts. But you know, Sex and the City calls.

TGIF

blogSCU@scu.edu (Taara Khalilnaji) — Fri, 24 Oct 2008 09:55:31 PST

I was able to manage getting four hours of sleep last night. I had my first midterm today, in Music in American culture, a paper due in Enthics class, and a French presentation on Cameroonian musicians and writers.

I’m thrilled it’s the weekend. In about two hours, I’ll be on the Amtrak towards Sacramento. Yep, I’m going home this weekend. Originally, my brother was going to come home too, and we were going to celebrate our birthday with my mom at home. But I guess there’s a Cal football game he doesn’t want to miss? I guess that means I’ll be spending quality time with my mom, watching movies, going shopping, and finally getting a manicure and a pedicure! Andrea, Alex, and I do our nails pretty much every day here…but it’s just not good enough.

I’m also really looking forward to visiting my high school friends and my old Mock Trial team. (It’s so weird…6 months ago I was still on the team. Now, I’m an “alumnus”).

I’m actually going to miss SCU while I’m gone. I call it home now. (Don’t tell my mom I said that!)

Happy Birthday to Me

blogSCU@scu.edu (Taara Khalilnaji) — Tue, 21 Oct 2008 12:17:08 PST

The past weekend was so eventful, I feel like it didn’t even happen.

Saturday was my 18th birthday (yeah, yeah, I’m only just turning 18). On Friday, for a pre-birthday gift, our CF, Francis, took Alex and I to the basement of the building next door (Walsh, the other Unity residence hall) where we watched the Lion King while eating dinner. I’d been wanting to see the movie again for a while, so Francis arranged it for me! We sang with Timone and Pumba, laughed at Ed the hyena, and cried for Mufasa. It was an evening well spent, I’d say.

Then Saturday was like, Birthdaypalooza! I woke up to a sign taped up outside my window, saying “Happy Birthday, Taara”, as well as a card sitting outside my door. The plan for the day was to go shopping in San Francisco. As we were getting ready, Frank comes downstairs and presents me with a Beta Fish! Andrea and I now have a pet! We’ve named him Palupa, because we couldn’t decide between Peter Petrelli or Chalupa.

Anyway, Andrea, Alex, Michael Ting, and I pile into Frank’s car and we drive to the city. The second we get there, Andrea swears she needs a coffee from Borders. We go to the café and I see one of my best friends, Michelle, who goes to school in LA.

It took me awhile to realize she wasn’t there by coincidence.

I was so surprised, and so happy and so thankful to have amazing friends that would arrange something so sweet. The six of us had lunch at a place we didn’t expect to be so expensive, and then just walked around Union Square because we weren’t in the mood for shopping (shocking).

After Michelle left we went down to Pier 39 to see the seals. There were a lot of seals. A lot of angry, sleepy, cold seals. After laughing at the sea lions for a good 30 minutes, we went down Lombard Street before returning to Santa Clara.

But the excitement didn’t end there! Back in our room, Andrea pulls out a Camp Rock picture frame from Target, with Joe Jonas plastered all over it. (I love the Jonas Brothers, in case no one got the hint.)

On top of that, she also pulls out three pairs of footie pajamas; one for me, one for herself, and one for Alex, so that we match our onesie-wearing friends upstairs. We went to dinner in our new pj’s and watched Inside Man.

Sunday was just as eventful, but in a very different way. Andrea and I woke up at around 11, and decided to do some cleaning before doing homework all day. As she was drying a coffee mug she had just washed, the mug randomly broke and the handle dug into her wrist. She immediately put the dish towel over it. We laughed at first because we didn’t know what to do. Luckily, we found Francis. He saw how deep the cut was and called campus safety. We ended up going to the hospital. We were there for about two hours before Andrea had finally stopped bleeding enough to get stitches. I held her hand and tried to sing to her while they did the procedure, but she still turned horribly pale and threw up.

But the time we came back from the hospital, it was around 4. We finished cleaning up, and Andrea had some visitors from her hometown over. At 6 my dad came to take out for a birthday dinner. I felt awful and sad the entire evening, because I had just left Andrea alone, and pale, sleeping in my bed watching TV. I think that I was just a little shaken up and stressed out.

Ultimately, the weekend made me realize that I am starting to really love my friends here, and my life. It’s wigging me out actually. I never expected to like it here so much nor did I expect to be so liked.

I’ll post again very soon!

Tissues, Tutoring, and Ting

blogSCU@scu.edu (Taara Khalilnaji) — Mon, 13 Oct 2008 12:15:15 PST

I’m sick.

Everyone in my building is sick.

Despite the sunshine, the air outside has suddenly turned frosty and for a couple days now a cruel, icy breeze has caused my chest and lungs to catch fire. I’ve been putting the plethora of scarves in my closet to good use (I LOVE scarves.)

Andrea’s taking good care of me, though! She’s making sure I drink Airborne and tea and won’t let me stay up past midnight.

Monday was our first day of Arrupe. I mentioned it before, but never exactly explained what it was. So, for our Intro to Race and Ethnicity class, we need to choose an Arrupe placement to go to for two hours a week. It’s like volunteer work. We choose a something to do based on a list of placements that our teacher has approved of and would be relative to our class. After eight weeks, at the end of the quarter, we turn in a ten-paged paper about the experience. Andrea and I are doing the same placement. We’re tutoring for an hour on Mondays and Thursday s at a local charter school called Downtown College Prep (we rent a car from SCU and drive over). It’s a relatively new high school where teenagers who have previously received F’s in any class can attend and learn in an environment specially designed for them. The school’s aim is to get every one of its students into a college.

The first week was okay. Most of the students are too shy to ask for help, though a few of them have warmed up to us. We were surprised to find that no one introduced us to the kids. We basically just walk into the main office, ask to sign in, and then head over to the homework center and sit there until some students show up.

Aside from tutoring, the week was busy. Homework for all my classes is mostly massive amounts of reading, which I try to get done on time. Everyone has had, or is about to have midterms. I just had my first quiz in Music in American Culture. It was SO intimidating. I took that class thinking it would be like an interesting history lecture. But I’ve never had any training in music or anything of the sort, and I had to be able to distinguish between soprano, alto, tenor, and baritone saxophones and stride piano and piano comping and a bunch of other things that all sound the EXACT SAME! I think I did alright though. I hope.

Thus far, weekends here have been relatively slow. A bunch of my friends keep going home, or are busy with events for the sororities and fraternities they’re rushing for. I’m not rushing, and probably never will. One of the people that I hang out with most during the week –Frank, a sophomore who lives in the room directly above me –has left us every weekend so far to go paintballing with his friends in LA. He sends me picture messages every hour to keep me updated.

OH, that reminds me. Funny story. On Wednesday, Andrea and I went to bed at around 1 am (so technically it was Thursday morning), and I kept hearing noises from upstairs. I text Frank saying “shush!” and apparently, that irked him and his roommate Nick. They decided to lift up their rug and slam a chair repeatedly into the floor. Andrea woke up thinking there was an earthquake. Tired and annoyed, I went upstairs and gave them a piece of my mind. They laughed at me as I walked in all pouty and angry. When I went back downstairs, I tried to get back in my room, but my key wasn’t working. I was confused and half asleep. I pounded on the door and yelled for Andrea to let me in. My poor, sleepy neighbor opened the door. It wasn’t my room.

I’m in the laundry room now and am about to take my clothes out of the dryer. A large portion of my time seems to be spent in here. Today, Andrea and our friend Michael Ting are going to do some shopping at a couple local boutiques, and then come back to the dorms and do our homework. We’re good little students

Hug me, hug me

blogSCU@scu.edu (Taara Khalilnaji) — Fri, 03 Oct 2008 11:33:28 PST

This second week of school has gone by so quickly, it’s a little ridiculous. The first week was fun and new and felt like a lifetime. I guess I’ve just suddenly gotten used to it all.

A lot has happened though, since I last wrote!

Let’s see, on Monday, Andrea, our friend Alex, and I decided to do laundry in the basement after our classes. So we got our clothes washing, and then went into the room next door to do some homework. Alex was sitting on the floor, so I decided to go grab her a nearby chair.

It was a heavy chair.

I dropped it and one of its legs landed on my foot. I couldn’t stop laughing when it happened, but I also really wanted to cry. It hurt sooo badly. So now there’s a blue-green golf-ball sized bruise on my left foot.

I perked up later that evening when I found out that our only class on Tuesday was cancelled. Andrea and I slept in until 11 am the next day. It was bliss. The rest of the day was spent doing either nothing, or a little bit of studying.

Wednesday was a tiring day. I have Introduction to Race and Ethnicity in the U.S, Music in American Culture, and French 21 on Mondays, Wednesday s, and Fridays. (On Tuesdays and Thursdays, I have English 1: Composition and Rhetoric). After three classes yesterday, I had to go to my orientation for Arrupe, which is required for my Ethnics class. Then, as soon as I got back on campus, my dad, who lives in San José, picked me up and took me to UC Berkeley, where my twin brother goes to school. We had dinner in Berkeley because my dad is going to Europe for a business trip for a while and wanted to say goodbye. When we dropped my brother off at his dorm, I said a quick hello to some of my other friends there, and then my dad and I drove back to Santa Clara.

The rest of the evening was spent watching Sex and The City with some friends. No homework got done.

Now, I have so much work to do, I just want the week to end.

I am happy to report, however, that Andrea and I get along beautifully. I honestly couldn’t have asked for a more perfect roommate. We’re opposites in a lot of ways, but we’re also ridiculously alike. We have two classes together, and are doing the same Arrupe project, which is a blessing for both of us. We miss each other like crazy when we’re apart. Some people find us rather odd, because we are practically joined at the hip, but we find that adapting to a new life is always easier when there’s someone you can depend on.

Plus, she gives me hugs. I don’t think anyone realizes how sad life would be without hugs, until one’s in an environment when no one knows each other well enough to feel comfortable giving hugs. Being in a hug-less environment for a prolonged period of time can lead to sad nights alone in a dorm room. Thankfully, I haven’t had any of those.

-Taara Khalilnaji

Hello, SCU

blogSCU@scu.edu (Taara Khalilnaji) — Wed, 01 Oct 2008 10:38:48 PST

It’s 9:30 and I just pulled myself away from a group of people playing Catch Phrase. I’m writing this laying down in the hallway outside of my room because I locked myself out and I’m too lazy to go ask my roommate for her keys.

I’ve survived my first week of college. It feels so strange. In a way, I feel as if I have been here for months, and yet I keep trying to hold on to every second because I feel as if this is all about to end any second now. And I don’t want it to.

Classes and teachers and homework and responsibilities seem completely unreal. I’ve already spent the majority of my evenings up late studying or reading, but it wasn’t as torturous as one would think, because I was doing it in the hallway with my floor mates, or in my dorm room with my roommate, or after having gone on a walk across campus.

I already feel as if I have found a family here. I’ve made amazing friends, which, I’ll admit, I didn’t expect to do so quickly. The CF (community facilitator) on my floor is probably one of my favorite people here. A bunch of us spent Monday night in his room watching Gossip Girl then two hours of the Heroes season premiere. I’m lucky enough to have an awesome roommate, Andrea, who I love and who (I think!) loves me back. In fact, our room is the most visited room in McLaughlin. Come and see us. Room 118. We’ve dubbed it “Room Awesome”. There’s a sign. You can’t miss it.

Last night was the Lupe Fiasco concert. It was EPIC. I seriously cannot even explain how amazing it was. Sure, my judgment is based on the fact that I love Lupe, but, I have good taste, so it’s not a lie. My good friend from UC Berkeley came to the concert as my guest and having her there made the night that much more wonderful. I introduced her to some of my friends after the concert, we all hung out, and then four of us went back to mine and Andrea’s room for a little sleepover.

I decided to write my first blog entry now because…meh….well. I don’t really know why. Besides the fact that I really wanted to get started. I’ll make this a short one because I have a tendency to talk and write way too much and if I am going to get anyone to read this, I can’t be boring and annoying in my first entry. Plus, my back is starting to hurt, and my elbows are developing carpet rash. I’ll post again very soon, and when I do, I’ll talk more about my classes, this past week, and of course, ME.

Be excited.

Taara Khalilnaji