life moves pretty fast

long time no see, blog. it's good to be back. WARNING: this post is going to be very long. sorry. not really.

for this particular post, i am reminded of this iconic quote:

life indeed does move pretty fast, mr. bueller. my life is moving pretty quickly too. i have so many things to talk about! 

first off: the getty. i absolutely loved the getty. it's such a magical place. it's so beautiful and isolated. i honestly wish i could live there. i didn't get to spend as much time in there as i wanted, but getting a taste of it was enough.

the picture i chose to write about for my paper (that i got over 100% on) was sunrise (marine) by claude monet. have i mentioned how much i love monet? 

impressionism RULES!!

while i was standing in front of sunrise and taking notes on it, a smiling woman came up to me and asked me if i was an art history major. i grinned and said "no, but i want to be." she replied, "well, you're in the right place!" then smiled and walked away. it was a moment of complete validation. i honestly can't describe how happy that made me.

in the same gallery sunrise resides was irises. god, there were so many people in there. there was a special guard next to the painting that told my dad off for taking a picture with flash on. she also told off a lady whose kid was getting too close to the painting. that's my ideal job.

i didn't realize how big irises was--it's pretty big. and so colorful and vibrant. for a painting from the 19th century, it's quite vivid. the actual painting was under glass, but you could totally see the impasto underneath. there were a ton of people clamoring for a picture in front of it, but standing there and looking at it made me feel at peace.

i also went to lacma with a friend, her friend, my friend's sister, and her mom. it was pretty casual and fun. i find that i don't enjoy a few hours at lacma as much as i enjoyed one hour at the getty. i did get to see some pretty cool stuff, though. i saw a couple of van goghs and etc. post-impressionists and expressionists, as well as a warhol, a pollock, a rothko, and a picasso circa his blue period. oh, and i also saw this gem:

cold shoulder by roy lichtenstein

i looooove lichtenstein. i don't give a damn if some people think he's a thief. i did a group presentation on him for that art history course i was talking about, so this was a treat.

next order of business: VEGAS.

our vegas trip was probably the chillest and most down-to-earth family trip i've ever taken. everything about it was low-key.

the 4 hour drive to was pretty uneventful. we got breakfast at mcdonalds about halfway through the trip. i got starbucks. same old, same old.

at about 10/11 am the city was already burning. the car thermometer was definitely past 100 degrees. so, my parents dropped my dog off at the daycare and we went to the venetian first because i had insisted on visiting my shop. but when we had gotten there, the shop i had wanted to visit was closed and replaced with another store :-( oh well. c'est la vie. at least i got to see the venetian again.

i've always wanted to ride the gondolas

afterwards, we were getting hungry, so at my mom's insistence, we went to this tiny little fish and chips place that we had gone to before that was in new york, new york. we also got ben & jerry's. it was a highly enjoyable experience, mostly because food is my life. actually, talking about this makes me really hungry....

after that, we walked (EXCRUCIATING--the heat was ridiculous) over to the grand canyon experience where i bought a crewneck and a snowglobe. tourist lyfe. we also went to the coke store where i bought a couple of men's shirts to complete my "put together but not too put together/i care about how i look but i don't care too much" aesthetic. my parents and i also took a picture with the coca-cola polar bear. it was so cute that my parents caved and bought the picture.

we then picked up our dog and went home after our little adventure. the rented house we were staying it was pretty large and very clean and mercifully air-conditioned. our dinner was wendy's because my parents got too lazy to go to dinner.

the next day was pretty much a lazy day. i spent all day in my air conditioned room, napped, and watched netflix. my parents were outside sunbathing.

near late-afternoon, though, we went out. after returning and exchanging an ill-fitting shirt at the coke store, we went to the bellagio to eat at their glorious buffet. it was amazing. before i start waxing poetic about food, though, i gawked at fiori di como by dale chihuly (again) in the lobby. i learned about chihuly in my art history course.

oooh...ahh....

the buffet was insane. it wasn't as expansive as the one we had gone to in the mirage a few years back, but the quality of the food was certainly better. at $33.99 per person we better had been getting good food, and we were. i gorged myself on various foods that i don't want to describe lest me dying of hunger.

on the third day, we drove home. didn't i tell you it was chill? we didn't even see a show or anything. although, next summer, my mom wants to come again. she says we'll save up in advance so we can watch cirque du soleil. hopefully, we'll see o at the bellagio this time.

aaaand exhale. i hadn't realized how detailed my description of the vegas trip was....moving on.....

there honestly hasn't been much else. my art history class is going along smoothly. the final is tomorrow (actually, today, as i'm writing this at almost 1 am), but i'm not worried.

last sunday, my mom forced me to go to church with her at 7 am. it was brutal. but she paid me back by way of souplantation and visiting bowers museum in santa ana since it was a free day. 

my summer is filled with museums...just how i like it. my life feels like this now: 

(i promise this post wasn't supposed to be about ferris bueller's day off. i promise.)

anyway, bowers was pretty small, but cool. they had a lot of non-western art, much of which was from antiquity. not my cup of tea, but i could still enjoy it. 

for some other news, school is right around the corner. by right around the corner, i mean a month away, but that's pretty much the same as it being next week, considering how fast my summer is going. my mom is picking up my registration packet in the morning. i have mentoring training on the 18th, freshman orientation (which i am required to go to as a mentor) is on the 26th, and registration itself is on the 19th. what a life.

i've started in on my summer assignments. i haven't gotten too far but, to be honest, there isn't really that much. 

also, my parents say that we're for sure moving in november when our lease ends. good lord.

and that's pretty much it, i say as you, the reader, sighs and yells "thank god!" to the heavens. 

just kidding. kind of.

coming soon: san francisco (in exactly a week!!! that post is going to be MASSIVE), seaworld, and back to school shopping. ay.

see you around,
angela