Leavin' on a Jet Plane

Spring Break 2011 has begun. In fact, it began for me on Wednesday at 2:30 p.m. I can't believe this is my fourth and last Spring Break ever. I'm growing up. I sent out my first two job applications in class on Wednesday. Wish me luck, please! Last night, I was up in the middle of the night searching for film related jobs in New York City. I bookmarked at least thirty jobs, so on Monday, I will be sending out cover letters and my résumé. It's still quite early to find a job, since I don't graduate till late May and my OPT doesn't begin until June 13th, but I want to be proactive. I know rejection is part of the process of job hunting, so I better get used to it now and build some thick skin.

Last Friday, Shy took me to Trader Joe's for the very first time and I fell in love. I always thought Trader Joe's was expensive like Whole Food's, but I was so mistaken. I bought berries, blue tortilla chips, salsa, pesto, prosciutto, goat cheese and vegetable chips and my lovely plant Amélie. I can't wait to go back next week. I really want the potted herbed plant; the rosemary smells divine. Afterward, Shy helped me design my résumé. Thank you so much! She was so patient and understanding and she helped me design the most perfect résumé. I'm so in love with it. It's so clean and all the types are perfect. She was designing, I was giving her instructions and we were talking about everything. Suddenly, she brought up this play she had performed at high school. She googled it and found it, it was Sure Thing by David Ives. She read it out loud the first time and it was amazing. The characters even mentioned Woody Allen and at that moment, I decided it would be my favorite contemporary play. We read it together the second time and it just made me miss acting and boarding school so much. It was such a splendid night. It was a perfect day.

Throughout Wednesday, I had this awful migraine and it was pestering me all day. It was kind of ruining my day, I made some food but it didn't help my head. Shy came over and I was editing photos for the Woman in the Hat outfit post. We were listening to Florence + the Machine and she was intentionally singing out of tune, it was hilarious, but it made my head hurt! Jonalyn came over and we caught up and then we went to OSHA for dinner. Afterward, I didn't feel motivated to pack, so I didn't pack until 3 a.m. I was looking through my suitcases and found two journals I had written in 2008 and 2009. It was like reading a time capsule, those memories were immortalized by my writing and returning to those memories and thoughts was such a trip. I was so naïve and I'm just glad I'm so much stronger now.

I'm glad my flight was at 1:00 p.m., so I booked the shuttle for 9:40 and woke up at 8. I lazed around and showered and packed the last minute things. I took a few photos of the essentials and decided that this is Kitty's first real trip in a long time. I decided to start my own traveling gnome series with Kitty. Although a week ago, I had every intention of buying my own Clonette doll from Facteur Shop, recommended by Adeline of Lady Croissant who is the owner of Ada the globetrotting doll (whom I met with Katrina of Pugly Pixel last June). But I decided against it and wanted to wait until I got back from Spring Break.

When I was on the shuttle on the highway, looking back at the city diminishing in size, I started to feel emotional. This is the second last time I will be leaving the city, next time I will be leaving for good, or at least for a very long time. I'm going to cry so hard when I actually leave, after all, I did spend the last four years in San Francisco. After I get back from Hong Kong, I'm going to do everything on my to do list and take lots of photos for my traveling gnome series!

After I checked in, I decided to just take a peek at the SFMOMA Store. I was looking around and something blue in the corner of my eye caught my attention and then I realized it was a clonette doll. It was destiny (and I don't believe in destiny), but it was definitely serendipitous. The moment I saw them all lined up, I knew I wanted the sea foam green one, although if they had had one in dusty rose, I would have picked dusty rose over sea foam green, but I love her, because she goes so well with Kitty and my suitcase. It was such a pleasant and delightful discovery! I bought her and named her Chloë. Although, it was between Arielle (like Little Mermaid with -le and the color of her tail) and Chloë, but I thought Chloë is a cuter name for a doll. So Chloë is a new addition to the family and my traveling gnome series. When I move to New York, I won't be alone, because I'll have Kitty and Chloë. They will visit Empire State Building with me! I'm going to be one of those crazy doll ladies (I don't mean crazy in a negative way though), but I don't care, because they make me happy! It was just the perfect way to say goodbye to San Francisco for Spring Break. On the plane, I had the most delicious cheeses, Manchego and Muenster. I'm such a cheese fiend.

Have a safe, fun, adventurous and memorable Spring Break 2011!

Movies I watched on my fourteen hour flight: Love and Other Drugs (2010), Megamind (2010), Clash of the Titans (again) (2010), Tangled (2010), Morning Glory (2010).

Songs I can't stop listening to: Between Two Lungs and Cosmic Love by Florence + The Machine, Samson by Regina Spektor