Life as a UCLA student

Things to Blog About...

2007-08-11T18:15:00.001-07:00

07.29.07 -- Getty Center
07.31.07 -- Newport Beach
08.02.07 -- CA Science Center/Hollywood
08.03.07 -- 3rd Street Promenade/Santa Monica
08.04.07 -- Wat Thai Temple
08.05.07 -- Huntington Beach
08.06.07 -- Ontario Mills/Victoria Gardens/Jamba Juice/In N Out
08.09.07 -- Farmer's Market/The Grove/Beverly Hills
08.10.07 -- Irvine Spectrum/Huntington Beach/Great Park

Laguna Beach: 07.27.07

2007-07-28T17:09:00.000-07:00

Another 3 day weekend for me after a horrendous week in the stock market. The stocks have been on tremendous rocky trading sessions for the past week. With the Dow Jones, S&P 500, and Nasdaq going on a downward spiral, people are losing money -- the specific number is about half a trillion dollars.* Since the stock market took a dive on Thursday, I couldn't watch the stock market on Friday, in fear of another drop. I decided to head on a trip to Laguna Beach. It was recently mentioned on the Travel Channel as the 9th best beach in California. The beach was absolutely beautiful. I advise people not to go to the main beach since it's very crowded. I recommend going to the other "hidden" or smaller beaches nearby.

Laguna Beach is a very interesting community -- very relaxing and very friendly. The waves were absolutely great and the water was clear. For those hard board users (skimboards/surfboards) the smaller beaches are for you. They have a dedicated skim/surf area dedicated so they won't harass each other for being in their way. Weather was great, there was nothing but blue skies and a few clouds.

For a late lunch, we decided to head on out to the main town to check out what's good. We ended up going to Johnny Rockets. The place was pretty empty for around 4pm. I had half rings/half fries and a Route 66 burger for about $10. It wasn't the most affordable food for most people, but it was pretty decent. I really wish I had pictures for you, but I totally forgot about snapping food pictures. It's no fun to read a food blog without pictures. I'll be sure to take pictures next time I decide to dine out. The overall quality of the food was pretty good, fresh fried onion rings and fries; the burger was juicy and well seasoned. I definitely would not consider dining there again for that price.

Directions to Laguna Beach:

From LA:
Take the 5 or 405 South to 133 South
Go South on the 133 until you hit PCH

From San Diego:
Take the 405 North to 133 South
Go South on the 133 until you hit PCH

Johnny Rockets
188 S Coast Hwy
Laguna Beach
Tel: (949) 497-7252

**Call for directions/hours
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References:
* http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/070728/wall_street.html?.v=4

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Pictures:

Corona del Mar: 07.20.07

2007-07-21T21:04:00.000-07:00

It has been quite an interesting week for me to say the least. Stocks weren't going my way and stuff. I decided to take the day off on Friday and decided to head out to Corona del Mar with a few friends. Traffic wasn't too bad on the way there and it got pretty bad on the way back. Took about 40 minutes to get there and an hour and a half to get back.

Corona del Mar is a very interesting community and the beach was kind of small. The complaint I had was that the waters had a little too much seaweed in it. I had a blast boogieboarding and for the most part the water was great. Definitely a lot better than staying home and watching the stock market collapse. The weather was great and the people at the beach were fairly nice in regards to letting others borrowing their stuff (i.e. shovels, buckets). None the less, it was a great time to spend a Friday with friends and mother nature.

As I previously mentioned, the main purpose of this blog is to blog about food. We had lunch at a local burger joint, at the corner of East Coast Hwy & Marguerite Ave. I ended up getting a cheeseburger combo -- which included a cheeseburger, fries, and a large drink. (Thank you, Mike for paying for my lunch.) The combo was definitely not a bargain for $6 + tax. I mean, sure you get the "personal" feel when you order the food, but the only thing that holds this place back is the fries. I found myself dousing it with more salt and pepper as I am eating. Never had that problem with In N' Out fries.

Directions to Corona del Mar:

From the 5/405:
Take the 73 South to MacArthur
Go South on MacArthur for 3 miles
Make a left on PCH
Make a right on Marguerite Ave.
Make a right at the end of the street
Parking can be free if you feel like walking down Inspiration Point, or $8 (weekdays)/$10 (weekends) for ground-level parking.

Gary's Deli
3309 E. Coast Highway
Corona del Mar, CA 92625
Tel: (949) 675-2193
**Call for hours and directions.

Untitled: 07.16.07

2007-07-16T16:40:00.001-07:00

Intraday Chart of Portfolio

Hot! That's probably the only adjective I can use to describe the weather in California right now. It's perfect weather to head on out to the beach and have a wonderful bonfire at night.

Other than that, it's been an uneventful day in the life as a UCLA student. I just had a random thought today and the question is: Should I join a fraternity or not? I'm pretty sure the benefits outweigh the consequences. If I should join one, which one should I join? I'd like to join a social fraternity, not the professional ones (yet).

Looking forward to a few things in the near future:

Beach bonfire -- this week?
Cousins coming over from Texas in 2 weeks
still 2 more months of summer vacation left

Portfolio: -0.87%

It Ain't a Scene, It's a Blog Post...

2007-07-14T20:10:00.000-07:00

It's been a while since I've been involved with the blogging scene. I thought it was cool back in the day, however, I just couldn't manage to ramble and do homework. What can I say, I'm easily distracted!

In the past two weeks, I have been so lucky to deal with class enrollment for Fall quarter at UCLA. I will be taking 18 units this quarter. Hopefully I'll be on track for a 4-year graduation. However, I'm not too sure that I want to enter into the third chapter in life, the real world -- working in the corporate workplace.

With that said, I am currently unemployed. Perhaps, I should enjoy the fun-filled summer vacation while it lasts? I am pretty sure that I can't get 3 months off during the summer when I first start working. Stay tuned for more updates, I guess, if I remember...