TIEN BEAT: a periodic account of thoughts and notable happenings in the life of Tien.
I've been back in Los Angeles for a week, trying to get everything in order for next semester, finding a place to live, talking with my academic advisors and all that. Maybe I haven't told you yet, I decided to delay Semester at Sea until a later term. The plan is to go to school this spring, chip another bunch of courses off my graduation requirements, work to save up some money for the trip, and reconnect with my life on the left coast. Sounds easy, right?
One thing I realized during this brief visit is that my friends at USC are amazing, especially my band, a-capella group, and fraternity. Not only are they doing great things but they have also been very supportive of me. All of that good stuff means that I must continue my involvement while I'm at USC, even though my course load is going to be really intense. Looks like I'm going to be really busy, come January. Busy is okay as long as it's stuff I am passionate about.
I'll be back in Maryland either Wednesday or Thursday, and I hope to see a bunch of you high school buddies that I haven't seen in a while. Happy birthday Ross! I'll be up in Vermont for the Fitzgerald Holiday Spectacular from roughly December 20th til 28th; hopefully I'll have time to see everyone before I go back to USC in the beginning of January (school starts on the 14th).
Looking forward to:
playing with Dayplayer
singing with the Trojan Men
expanding my mind with philosophical explorations
being creative
my new apartment/loft/roommates
Christmas in Vermont
seeing old friends
meeting new friends
Random Thoughts:
One of the coolest things about my extended stay in Maryland has been getting to know my two little second-cousins-once-removed, Alexander and Calvin, aged 3 and 1, respectively. I didn't even know they existed until a few months ago, and now they are two of my favorite people. Alexander loves dinosaurs. Calvin drools profusely and with aplomb. I'm pretty sure Alexander speaks better Vietnamese than I do. Anyway, you get the point, I love them for all the reasons that we all love babies. I'm really excited to meet Annabelle Margaret Maggs, the newest member of the Fitzgerald clan.
I met my philosophy advisor for the first time, and he recognized me from when I used to street perform in Santa Monica. Well, it took a little while to affirm that it was me, since it was a while ago. He said he remembered seeing an Asian kid perform who had an nice voice and looked like he was in high school. I'm pretty sure I'm the only one out on 3rd street pulling that gig, but who knows, maybe I have a doppelganger.
Being nice to strangers is important. A little girl blurted "Hi!" to me when I was in the mall today, and after returning the greeting, I felt like the world was a better place. Sounds very idealistic, but honestly, I've never met a happy cynic. Really, I think they're all alcoholics.
But there's always hope!!! <-idealism
Dayplayer was written up in an online magazine ... this was pretty exciting for me, we've already gotten some messages on our myspace page as a result.
That's all for now, have a wonderful holiday, sending my love to all of you,
Tien
I've been back in Los Angeles for a week, trying to get everything in order for next semester, finding a place to live, talking with my academic advisors and all that. Maybe I haven't told you yet, I decided to delay Semester at Sea until a later term. The plan is to go to school this spring, chip another bunch of courses off my graduation requirements, work to save up some money for the trip, and reconnect with my life on the left coast. Sounds easy, right?
One thing I realized during this brief visit is that my friends at USC are amazing, especially my band, a-capella group, and fraternity. Not only are they doing great things but they have also been very supportive of me. All of that good stuff means that I must continue my involvement while I'm at USC, even though my course load is going to be really intense. Looks like I'm going to be really busy, come January. Busy is okay as long as it's stuff I am passionate about.
I'll be back in Maryland either Wednesday or Thursday, and I hope to see a bunch of you high school buddies that I haven't seen in a while. Happy birthday Ross! I'll be up in Vermont for the Fitzgerald Holiday Spectacular from roughly December 20th til 28th; hopefully I'll have time to see everyone before I go back to USC in the beginning of January (school starts on the 14th).
Looking forward to:
playing with Dayplayer
singing with the Trojan Men
expanding my mind with philosophical explorations
being creative
my new apartment/loft/roommates
Christmas in Vermont
seeing old friends
meeting new friends
Random Thoughts:
One of the coolest things about my extended stay in Maryland has been getting to know my two little second-cousins-once-removed, Alexander and Calvin, aged 3 and 1, respectively. I didn't even know they existed until a few months ago, and now they are two of my favorite people. Alexander loves dinosaurs. Calvin drools profusely and with aplomb. I'm pretty sure Alexander speaks better Vietnamese than I do. Anyway, you get the point, I love them for all the reasons that we all love babies. I'm really excited to meet Annabelle Margaret Maggs, the newest member of the Fitzgerald clan.
I met my philosophy advisor for the first time, and he recognized me from when I used to street perform in Santa Monica. Well, it took a little while to affirm that it was me, since it was a while ago. He said he remembered seeing an Asian kid perform who had an nice voice and looked like he was in high school. I'm pretty sure I'm the only one out on 3rd street pulling that gig, but who knows, maybe I have a doppelganger.
Being nice to strangers is important. A little girl blurted "Hi!" to me when I was in the mall today, and after returning the greeting, I felt like the world was a better place. Sounds very idealistic, but honestly, I've never met a happy cynic. Really, I think they're all alcoholics.
But there's always hope!!! <-idealism
Dayplayer was written up in an online magazine ... this was pretty exciting for me, we've already gotten some messages on our myspace page as a result.
That's all for now, have a wonderful holiday, sending my love to all of you,
Tien
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