mamegoma bruin

although technically, in the world of san-x, it's rilakkuma who's the bruin (:

a lot of things have been happening, all which have nothing to do which each other, but it would take too much effort on my part to attempt to find a connecting thread so i'm just going to spit them out:

UCLA orientation was ... overwhelming, and not in the intimidating-intellectual way you'd think. it was way less organized than you'd expect (or perhaps just i'd). way too many things we were supposed to be doing + too little time + too large of a campus, combined with little to no organization/directions. i understand we've been given a UCLA map, but considering the size of the campus, couldn't there have been at least some direction signs? also had insomnia for the last 3 nights leading up to orientation so by midday i wanted to vomit or die or both.

as a tutor for two years, i've had some pretty interesting insight into the variety of perspectives people have on education (for their kids). i've held different types of tutoring positions, so my observations have come from classroom settings, playground settings, and the family home itself. i have a lot of analysis and social commentary on this subject, which deserves a whole post to itself... so i'll save the spiel for later. but basically, this summer i tutor for a certain family. and it's plain sad how even the parents don't take their children's education seriously (constantly rescheduling so he can go to the beach/hang out with cousins/rest from being tired from school). the kid is rebellious and resistant, but that's kind of expected -- the parents, though, definitely need to get it together. even worse is the way they constantly forget their tutoring appointments. uhuh. no call, no text, no notification that they're not going to be home -- until i drive all the way there, ring the bell twice, knock on the door, wait around, call the mom's cellphone twice and get voicemail each time. this has happened more times than i can count. i don't charge for these incidents but i'm beginning to feel that i feel that i should, because it's just sooo inconsiderate. like, once or twice, understandable. but 12+ times you're doing this to me? and being inconsiderate is utterly UNCLASSY, no matter how many carats you're wearing in your ears.

ew i totally said i wouldn't rant but i kind of did.

on a lighter hearted note, my momma and i planted iceberg roses in our front yard. (: i love white iceberg roses! i love it in landscaping, which is highly convenient because around the south cali area, all the landscapers seem to love iceberg roses too (: they're very durable and easy to care for, while looking pretty elegant (: since ours are newly planted they're a little weak, but i'll update on their progress as they come along (: