Welcome to Teresa's World!

This is my oldest blog - I now have several other blogs/websites for different areas of my life, different ways I think. You can check out old posts on this blog for glimpses into my life from long ago, or else check out newer posts at my various other blogs and websites for more insight into my current life and thought patterns...

Dream Big, Play Big - my personal development & life-hacking blog

Read With Teresa - the books that have been filling my head lately

MultiPassionate Coaching - living life with 'too many' interests and passions

PhysArt - dancing, moving, body-hacking

Me on OkCupid - my thoughts on relationships and such

and of course, my main personal website...


Or if you want more up-to-date stuff about what I'm doing, and things I'm interested in, come subscribe to me on Facebook.


Wednesday, September 24, 2003

I've been really busy; well, really busy in my head. I've had so much to think about lately. This past Saturday, I found out that my old boss Patti is selling the dancewear store that I worked at for a year and a half. I've always kind of thought that I would buy the store from her when she got bored with it, but I didn't think that would happen for another two years or so when I would be done with school and my parents would be more apt to lend me money. But it's happening now, so I'm stuck with the decision of trying to buy it now and fulfill that dream or sticking with the old plan of going to school (which would make my dad happy) or trying to do both. What I would like to do is both (school and the store), but I wonder if there's enough time in the day for school, the store, home life, and friends. And of course, the eternal question of money; mainly how to get the money to buy the store. Patti has said that she would finance part of it, and I'm in the middle of writing a business plan to submit to my parents, which will hopefully convince them that I'm serious about this and that it's a profitable idea. I'm hoping that they (and maybe some other family) would lend me the rest of the money, so that I don't have to deal with banks.
Anyway, on the other note that I've been thinking a lot about: school, classes start tomorrow. I thought they started Monday, so I went to UCSD and was confused by how many open parking spots there were and by how empty the campus was. And then I realized that while the quarter did start on Monday, classes don't actually start til tomorrow (Thursday); something about making up time for Thanksgiving vacation. But while I was wandering around campus, I was thinking about classes, and figured out which ones I wanted to take (and they're also ones that are open :-) ). And it works out that they're all on Tues/Thurs, so I only have to go to school two days a week. I just hope that I don't have to go to section or lab on M/W/F.

Saturday, September 20, 2003

We just got back from the zoo. We saw the pandas, although not the new baby panda. He and his mom aren't on exhibit yet.

Friday, September 19, 2003

Another happy day! I decided to wake up today with a smile on my face!
So I'm weird and I buy greeting cards even when I don't have anyone to give them to at the moment. A few years ago, I bought a ton from the same company, with really cool quotes on them. I just saw them again in Barnes & Noble. Check them out... www.quotablecards.com

Thursday, September 18, 2003

Today continued to be a very good day. I went to Barnes & Noble for the afternoon, and just read. It was sooo nice. Sometimes I wonder if I'm too nerdy in that way, but going to a bookstore for an afternoon is so calming and yet invigorating. And I found a ton of websites mentioned in magazine articles that I want to check out. And I bought a little journal. I've been on the lookout for a little journal ever since a day back at Caltech, when I saw a cool one at the local new age store. But of course I didn't buy it then, and I haven't seen one like it ever since. The one I got today isn't actually all that much like the one from the new age store, but this one is smaller and can fit in a pocket or my purse without taking up too much room. I started writing and decorating it tonight. :-)
I'm feeling good today. Mai and I woke up early (early for me anyway), and walked Malaysia to school. Then we jogged back, and did sit-ups once we got home. And I took my vitamins, and I'm wearing my new clothes! Today's a good day! :-)

Wednesday, September 17, 2003

Ever feel like right after you learn about something new, you see it all over the place. Like you learn a new word, and then all of a sudden everyone is using that word. Or someone recommends a restaurant that you've never heard of or seen, and the next day, you happen to drive past it. Sometimes I wonder if these are signs of some sort, or if really is all just coincidence. Anyway, what got me thinking about this: I'm reading Emergence by Steven Johnson, and in one chapter he mentions a movie called Powers of Ten, where it starts with a person on a picnic and then zooms all the way out to the end of the known universe, and then all the way back in to the atoms on the person's hand. The coincidence part is that Mai, my dad, and I just watched that movie at the Museum of Science & Industry last week.
I hate bureaucracy and stupid people. Last spring, I had a whole long fiasco with UCSD admissions before they finally admitted me for Winter 2004. And then I thought I was done with it all. But I just got an email today saying that I need to submit more transcripts. I hope it's all just a formality, and that it's not going to turn into another fiasco. But either way, it's going to cost me 30 bucks: 24 for CollegeBoard to send them my AP scores, and 6 for UCSD Extension to send my transcript across campus. Anyway, I'm off to go mail my letter to the CollegeBoard because they need a written statement before they'll send out my scores.

Tuesday, September 16, 2003

Went shopping today at Mission Valley. I don't shop for clothes very often, but my mom and grandma gave me some money while I was in Chicago, so I figured I'd treat myself to some new clothes. For the past few months, I've been searching for "Buffy boots"; basically knee-high boots like the ones Sarah-Michelle often wears in Buffy. I finally found a good pair today at a somewhat reasonable price, so I'm very happy. :-)

Monday, September 15, 2003

Got back from Chicago on Saturday night/Sunday morning. It was a really nice trip. I got to see my parents, my aunt and uncle, my grandma, my other uncle, and my old neighbors. Mai and I went walking downtown, and went to the Museum of Science and Industry with my dad.
Today I taught classes. The classes are filling up a bit, which is good. I don't want them too full or too empty. The girls are so excited to be dancing, especially the ones in the ballet/jazz class.
I feel like I have a ton to say about Chicago and life and such, but it's late, and my mind isn't forming coherent sentences; oh well, later.
I'm back!

Monday, September 08, 2003

I went up to LA for the weekend. It was really good to see Michelle, and catch up with each other's lives. The weekend was pretty mellow, just talking mostly. But it was soo hot up there, that I really didn't want to do much more. On the way back, I took the 15 down instead of the 5, like I usually do. It was really nice to see the mountains. Sometimes I wonder what it would be like to live off in the mountains, away from the city. Part of me thinks it would be really cool, but another part of me thinks it would be lonely.
I got back last night, and Mai and I fed Gizmo. He's soo cute when he eats. He stalks the crickets and then pounces, almost like a cat. And because we have to coat the crickets in white vitamin powder, after Gizmo eats a cricket, he gets white powder around his mouth, and it looks like he just ate a sugar-coated donut. :-)
Today I'm busy doing laundry and getting ready to leave for Chicago. I'm also teaching my first classes of fall session at the Kroc Center. I hope I have a good number of kids in my classes. Last week, there were only like two kids signed up for each class. Oh well.
I'm off to put stuff in the dryer and prepare choreography for my classes!

Thursday, September 04, 2003

Took two finals today (Developmental Psychology & Discrete Math). I think I did well on both of them. I had A's going into the finals, so hopefully I'll get A's in the classes.
Summer session is done!!! I'm glad I've got a little bit of vacation now. Relax now and get psyched up for fall quarter. :-)
Yesterday was a day of new stuff. I got new contacts and a new pet. :-) My new contacts are gas permeable, not soft lenses, so they're going to take some getting used to. I still blink a lot when I wear them. But I can see more clearly (when I'm not blinking), so hopefully the blinking will decrease as my eyes get used to them.
Yesterday I also got an albino leopard gecko. I've been wanting a turtle or a lizard for a while now, and yesterday I finally went to the pet store to look at them. Apparently turtles require cleaning like every other day, so X-nay on the turtle. There were these little cute rock dragons, but they grow up to be big and kinda evil looking, so NO on the rock dragon. But then the pet store owner showed me these little geckos; one was brown and tan (regular color) and the other was white and tanish (albino). They were both really cute, and I couldn't decide which one to get. But then a little kid came in and bought the regular color one, so the little albino came home with me. I haven't named him yet, waiting for inspiration to strike. He's still kind of skittish, but he seems to like his new home, especially his little cave that he can hide under. Supposedly when leopard geckos get older and used to their owner, they'll sit on the owner's lap or shoulder and just watch. The pet store owner said that one woman lets her leopard gecko go for a ride on her vacuum whenever she cleans.

Tuesday, September 02, 2003

Classes today. Last day of lectures before finals on Thursday. I'm ready for summer school to be over, ready to have some vacation; although it will only be two weeks, and I'll be in Chicago for one of those weeks.
I was reading random books in the UCSD bookstore before class. There are so many books that I want to read. All sorts of interesting ideas about interactive media and how it can be used with kids and education. I think I'm going to try to program a little learning game. I took a programming class in Java earlier this summer; didn't learn that much, but I can learn some more and make a little game. Still gotta decide what kind of game though.

Monday, September 01, 2003

Lately I've been reading Secrets of the Young & Successful - How to Get Everything You Want Without Waiting a Lifetime. It's been fairly inspirational and motivating. It doesn't have much new information (all the books tell you to set goals, network, learn outside of school, etc.), but I mainly read motivational books to get motivated. Most people know that you should set goals, but few actually do. Good motivational books make me start setting (and carrying out) goals. My new weblog helps with two of my goals. First it gets me writing more, which is something that I want to do. Also it helps me stay in touch with people (assuming that other people will read it). I know that I'm bad about staying in touch with people, whether they be old friends or family. I want to get better at it. I'm hoping this will help. Not the actual weblog per se; this isn't keeping in touch. This is just posting my life on the web. But hopefully as I'm writing, I will find things that I want to tell people, and then the next part of my goal is that I will actually tell them, by email or phone or whatever. And perhaps people who are reading my posts will find something interesting in my thoughts and ideas that they want to discuss with me, and then they will tell me, by email or phone or whatever.
My very first blog. Not very sure what to say. I hesitated at creating a weblog because I didn't feel like I wanted, in a sense, my diary to be public. And while I still don't want all of my thoughts and wishes to be public (I'm still keeping my hand-written journal notebook), there are many things about my life that I would like to be public, or at least public to the people I know, like my current friends, old friends from Caltech and Prospect, and my family. Lately I've been thinking about sending out a weekly broadcast email about my life to the people I know, but I think this will be better. People can come read if they want, and won't be bothered if they don't care about my life. (And I get a record of the ongoing saga of my life, which will be nice to look back on, and I also get the chance to write more, which I've been wanting to do for a while.)
I'm in the middle of looking through the classifieds in the Union Tribune. (Despite the fact that I'll going to school full-time and teaching dance in the fall, I still look through the help wanted ads every now and then, just to see if there's anything interesting). I always see so many jobs that sound cool. Even though I finally think that I know "what I want to be when I grow up" (an educational software designer), I know that it will only be one of many careers/jobs for me. In looking at the classifieds, sometimes I wonder if I should go into a medical area; there are always so many openings for dental assistants, and medical assistants, and nurses, and nursing assistants. Eh, I don't think I could handle the blood and guts. I'll help people in other non-invasive ways, like teaching and psychology. :-)