Catching Up

So I kept postponing blogging in the hopes that my thoughts would somehow become less disorganized with my time but now I've just built up so much to say that I'll probably be far more scattered in this post...oh well...I tried...well here goes :) Two weeks ago I returned from the most rewarding and amazing trip to Honduras EVER. I'm not sure it's even describable how life-changing and powerful the trip was and though it sounds cliche, I think it's really something that everyone needs to experience once in their lives. I went there in the hopes that I would be able to help others but I gained so much more than that while I was there. Living life as simply as they did with no hot water, no electricity past midnight, and unusually large insects everywhere was actually not that difficult to get accustomed to in a week. We saw approximately 2,500 patients in four days and had the opportunity to play with kids in an orphanage as well. Even seeing the smile on one person's face made all the work put in to the trip worth it. Can't wait to return next year!

The week after, however, was slightly less pleasant. Leaving Honduras was super difficult. In just a week I had gotten so attached to the group I went with, the place we stayed, the people we met, and just the escape from reality. Upon returning, I promptly picked up some bug and ended up not going to class for nearly a week (I guess that part wasn't too bad :P) but I'm now recovered!

All in all, I have to admit that I am beginning to enjoy UCSD much more than I have for the past two quarters. It's a busy quarter but I'm definitely starting to enjoy the people, my classes, and clubs and orgs as well. In other news, I got to go home to good old Palo Alto this past weekend to surprise my daddy on his 60th birthday which was lots of fun! Home cooked food never tasted better, I had quality family time, and welcomed a new baby cousin into the world! Life is looking pretty good right now :)



On the way back home, I was early to the airport and decided to pick up a book to read. I wanted some light reading after hours of studying and writing a paper the night before, so I decided to get The Last Song by Nicholas Sparks. Cheesy, I know. I finished reading it at home last night at 3 am and was BAWLING by myself in my room for at least the last one hundred pages of the book. I wouldn't buy it but I thought it was actually worth reading once.



On the fashion side of things, I need to find two things: a cute semi-formal dress for an event at the end of the month and a classy tote bag that I can use for school....any suggestions for cheap but good places to buy these things?

Also, everyone check out the new Urban Outfitters catalog! I want it all!!!!



Fashionably Yours, Nisha

p.s. Songs!!

Orange Sky ~ Alexi Murdoch
Rich Girl ~ The Bird and the Bee
Wake for Young Souls ~ Third Eye Blind
Don't Let Me Fall ~ B.o.B.
Riddle In London Town ~ State Radio
Everything's Not Lost ~ Coldplay
Dancing In the Moonlight ~ Toploader

Lovely Chloe Ads

Every time I post I feel compelled to talk about about fashion, because of the namesake of course.

I think the Chloé ad campaigns have been gorgeous throughout the years...they really convey the spirit of the house perfectly.

I am loving the sunshine these last couple of days. Finally some real Californian weather, right in time for Spring Break. I DID get the TWO cards from Nisha, and I read them with a huge smile on my face. Reading something that I can hold in my hand, in that amazing handwriting is so much more real than email or perhaps worse, Facebook. I had not checked my mail in like a month, so thanks for the reminder too! I got a magazine "Popular Science" which probably belongs to the last person who lived in my room. What can say, what a HORRIBLE magazine, not nearly as interesting as your letter!

Instead of Studying for Finals...

...I am listening to music, cleaning my room, and staring at this shirt designed by the 12-year-old Style Rookie which I really want to buy but is a little out of my budget right now....what's new? Finals week, also known as hell week to many at UCSD, is here :( And with my nearly nonexistent immune system, I have been sick for the bajillionth time this quarter and am SO behind in my studying....so I probably shouldn't be blogging right now but whatever. So I was looking at the Style Rookie blog and found that this 12 year old child GENIUS designed this really cute shirt inspired by Yves Saint Laurent and I really like the black print or the metallic copper...thoughts? (It's on the right side of the page) Anyhow, I cannot WAIT to go home to PA!!!!! I miss it SO MUCH SO MUCH SO MUCH!!! And then off to Honduras! Fun, fun, fun! :)

I hope everyone remembered to set their clocks ahead and sprung forward this morning! Most people grumble and groan about this daylight savings because we lose an hour of sleep, but this is my favorite time of the year! It means we get to have longer sunny days which means more time to go to the beach and more time to wear summer and spring clothes!

So I recently attended this Excel Leadership Conference at our school and there was a professor from Colorado who spoke to us and it was really quite inspiring and I thought I could maybe post about his speech but sadly I don't really remember what he talked about...I should really take better notes seeing as how my memory resembles that of Dory from Finding Nemo (best movie ever by the way)! Anyways he did mention that 7 key points about living our lives...I'm not entirely sure of what he meant by all of them now but here they are anyways:

FOUNDATION, PRIORITIES, VIRTUES, HUSTLE, FIGHT, LISTEN, LAUGH

Make what you will of those 7 things...He also showed us a video clip which I haven't seen in a while but immediately brought tears to my eyes and I even saw some frat guys tear up! Most of you have probably seen this already since it's not new but I think its worth watching more than once. It's a great reminder of what we are capable of as humans with motivation and determination. The end up the video is the most inspiring when everyone comes together to cheer Jason on. Enjoy :)

Tears streaming down your faces yet?

Well that's all I have for now! Can't wait to go home in 3 days! Tenny, when are you going to be home? I'd love to see you before Honduras or on a weekend when I come home after Honduras! Email me! Also did you get something in your mailbox? :)

And here are my song obsessions for the day:

Mona Lisas and Mad Hatters ~ Mandy Moore
Fast Car ~ Tracy Chapman
Wedding Dress ~ Matt Nathanson
Ma Belle Evangeline ~ Jim Cummings

Fashionably Yours,
Nisha

Gummy Bears, Protests, and Other Things

Okay I realize I've been bad about posting lately but it's only because I had nothing to say. But now I do :)
So today, March 4th, UCSD is having a huge protest and my class was cancelled!. There's people with signs, helicopters, media, megaphones, and its kind of intense (nowhere near as intense as Berkeley's protests though, I'm sure!). They're protesting the recent fee hikes and I even heard that some students are embarking on a two week walking journey to Sacramento from San Diego (kind of insane if you ask me...)!

Ok isn't this just like the coolest thing you've ever seen?! It's a chandelier made out of gummy bears. My new life goal is to get one of these in my house when I own a house. It's called a "Candelier" and is made by a company called Jellio. There's 5,000 gummy bears strung together! :)

So my mom sent me this video and it's INSANE. Their timing is SO precise and perfect. I wish I was this amazing.


Not much else has really been happening here...my rainbows finally came (the right ones)!...Oh and I'm super excited to go to Jhoomti Shaam this weekend at UCLA! Other than that, not much else to say but here's some music for you all:

Dancing Shoes ~ Gavin DeGraw
More Than This ~ Missy Higgins
Valentine ~ Kina Grannis
Make Her Say ~ Kid Cudi
Don't Stop The Music ~ Jamie Cullum (this is super cool!)
Brave ~ Leona Lewis
Ashes and Wine ~ A Fine Frenzy
Miss Invisible ~ Marie Digby
Healing Hands ~ Citizen Cope

Fashionably Yours,
Nisha

P.S. Congrats to Berkeley on the PAC-10 win!!

Go Bears!!!!!!

WE FINALLY WON ANOTHER PAC-10 CHAMPIONSHIP, AFTER 50 YEARS

62-46 Cal-Arizona State

I must have started Cal in the right year, because we beat Stanford in the Big Game in November, and now this. So hoarse from yelling right now, in my excellent seat, I must add. I saw super clearly the players, the Chancellor, Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson, who played here, among others. I had all these old alumni sitting around me screaming and jumping up and down, I was worried they were going to have a heart attack at points. 

Not everyone was seated at tipoff, but Haas was sold out and eventually packed with blue and gold; apparently previous games have not been met with this much support, which is a shame. Because it was the last home game of the season, it was also senior day. We saluted Patrick Christopher, Jerome Randle, Theo Robertson, Jamal Boykin, and Nicola Knezevic. But it was sophomore Jorge Gutierrez who picked up the team in the second half which led us to a significant lead.

Everyone rushed out as the clock hit zero and confetti was everywhere. Every person was standing, despite the students' complaints that alumni usually don't stand. Alumni around me were crying and hugging each other. I guess I'm not old enough to understand that kind of emotion yet.

The players then cut the net to commemorate their victory and time on the team.

AND Coach Monty cut down the entire net, who was as cute as ever when he did a little victory move on the ladder. 

GO BEARS!

Clinton: Don't Major in a Minor

 

I just got back from President Bill Clinton's lecture, which was a very inspiring and eye-opening experience. I am so glad I was lucky enough to get a ticket. His main objective was just as the title of the talk describes, how the private citizen might turn his or her good intentions into action. The main conduit would be through non-governmental organizations (NGO), ones you may know include the Red Cross, World Vision, and Amnesty International. These groups have grown tremendously around the world and seem to be able to effect a lot of positive change while creating low profit margins.

Clinton's three problems of the modern, interconnected world are:

1. IT IS TOO UNEVEN. Both between rich and poor countries and within a single country. 

2. IT IS HIGHLY UNSTABLE. Financial collapse rippled through the world. The instant communication available to terrorists.

3. ITS PRODUCTION/CONSUMPTION OF ENERGY IS UNSUSTAINABLE. This is a fact, now stop bickering.

Keeping those in mind, he also talked about the rise of communitarianism, the idea that after recognizing the interdependent world, we have to share the responsibilities or pay the price. No matter what political affiliation you have, communitarianism applies in today's society.

One of my major takeaways was when the President said, "We all major in the minors instead of majoring in the major." Given the university setting, the context was obviously appropriate, but what he meant was these global issues seem to be on all our minds. But they are like a second thought, a supplement to whatever we deem as most important. It's time to forget that mentality and consider the world's challenges as THE problem. The role of the private citizen is to participate in some way -- whatever way and with whatever skills and resources he or she has -- in the NGO revolution. Because governments can only do so much. But he stressed that does not render the government secondary or useless in anyway. His justification? Not enough time to go there during the talk, but I'll believe him.

We live in a great time. Back when he was elected President, there were just 50 websites on the internet and the average cell phone weighed five pounds. With the technological revolution, comes both challenges and opportunities. The problem is the spread of a mass media not out to inform but to upset and unsettle, and thus render its viewers dysfunctional in the face of the world's issues. But here is also a chance to integrate and innovate to create better, cheaper products and services, and in turn, more jobs.

Here is the U.S., three major areas needing reform are health care, education, and energy. In all these cases, and I won't go into detail about the stats Clinton discussed, the major obstacle to change is, simply, a rigidity. An unwillingness to change because what's here is already established. We need to move past this stubbornness. It's not that we don't have the capacity -- we simply don't want to go there. And so it is the same in wealthy nations like ours. But it is the opposite in poor countries like Haiti. Those people have all the ability just as we do to change their state of life. But they lack the structural capacity that we are blessed with and refuse to use. 

Look. The major public health issue in America is childhood obesity. The major issue in Haiti is basic sanitation. The difference is clear. We have the resources and the structure, yet we are applying them inefficiently in our health care system. How else are we ranked so low on overall health? Why can't we adopt preventative measures to combat a thing like obesity? Haiti, on the other hand, wants to help its citizens but cannot without the aid of other nations. It has a more pressing, but in a strange sense, more straightforward problem to solve than we do. (I'm not saying it's easy, however). They need funds and organization. We need to get over the establishment and revolutionize out existing system.

So whether we are confronting our own challenges in the U.S. or those of third world countries abroad, we must always keep a few things in mind: how the world is connected, the gravity of those challenges, the context of those challenges, the importance of a willingness to change.

My friend Nisha is traveling to Honduras to improve medical conditions there, and she totally exemplifies what Clinton said. She is turning her intent into action. And she should be so proud of it. I only hope I will be as proactive as she and be able to attend a service trip in the near future. For now, I need to go find myself a worthy cause in Berkeley to commit to.

Photos dailycal.com

Spring 2010...Ready or Not, Here We Come!

So despite the bipolar, dreary weather over here in San Diego which is killing my immune system and causing me to lose my sense of smell and sound like a man, I feel so cheerful after looking at all the spring 2010 ready-to-wear collections. Seeing all the vibrant colors as well as the creams, whites, and pastel colors made me so unbelievably excited for spring! Here were some of my favorite looks (there were too many so these are just a couple...)

Bibhu Mohapatra

Chanel

I can't wait until the sun actually comes out and we can actually wear clothes like these!

Anyhow, I bought the Rainbows! They are being shipped to my dorm next week because they didn't have the 'Espresso' color I wanted in the wide straps, but I'm super excited to finally get them!

Well I'm going to clean my room now (my favorite thing to do in my free time...yes, I'm really cool)

More Later!

Fashionably Yours,
Nisha