Posts Tagged ‘ucla’

365great Day 146: Facebook

laelene Posted in 365great,Tags: , , , , , , ,
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Learn more about 365great here.

365great challenge day 146: facebookThe social media network that started it all. I remember back in 2004, I was getting ready to start college in the fall and there was this new thing called The Facebook trending. I ignored it at first, figuring it to be some silly fad, but when I got an invitation from a friend of mine who doesn’t do frivolous things, I decided to give it a chance. Before I knew it, I had found (and messaged) a ton of people set to take the same classes as me in fall quarter. Some of them replied and we struck up a friendship in the lonely month before school started when all my other friends had already started at their universities. UCLA is one of the last, if not the last school system to start up. From there, I started finding old friends from many of the other states I’d lived in, including childhood best friends all grown up. I loved Facebook for that, since when I was younger, every move meant losing contact with my entire social network. Back then it was either pay for long distance phone calls or write letters… so of course we did none of that – too expensive and too much effort! Over the years, my use of it has evolved from making sure I didn’t lose track of acquaintances to sharing all kinds of fun pictures. It’s nice that I can check in on friends at my leisure and get an idea of what they’re up to. For keeping us connected without constant effort, I value Facebook and it has always been my favorite social media site. It connected me back to a childhood I’d lost! Isn’t that great?

June Favorites 2013

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I’ve been meaning to put together my June favorites for quite some time, but I kept putting it off because I wanted to try creating a cool professional-looking collage with Polyvore. Alas, many of the items didn’t come with pictures or had ones I didn’t like, so I decided to just make my own collage with Picasa. I can always try again next month, right? So anyway, here are some of the things that I really loved using/doing throughout the month of June.

collage of june 2013 favorites including nyc new york color glossy lip balm, trade/swap, spring sing tank top, juice beauty lip gloss and hydrating mist, seabuck wonders facial cleanser and cream, cat it senses feeding maze and play circuit, and graze snack container

1. NYC New York Color Glossy Lip Balm – This came in my Influenster Spring VoxBox and I’ve been using it frequently! I love the light apple scent, the slanted design, and the cute apple design creating a two-toned lip balm. It’s my go-to lip product now and I’ll definitely look out for another one when I finish this one. I’ll probably go for a slightly more subtle color though, since every time I put this on, Panda can tell and I don’t want it to be that obvious!

2. swaps/trades – My newest addiction, thanks to Ipsy, is trading or swapping products. It all started when I decided to subscribe to Ipsy, but found that they sent me my least favorite color nail polish. In the hopes of trading it for the purple one I so desired, I began to explore trade forums and groups. I also had a ton of things from other subscription boxes as well as items I’ve accumulated that I didn’t plan on using, so I decided to create a trade list. Now I’ve done over a dozen swaps and I’m loving all the products I get to try!

3. Spring Sing tank top – When I heard that there was going to be Spring Sing apparel, I got pretty excited. I’m a sucker for anything branded with UCLA-related stuff (<3 my alma mater!) and I didn’t have a Spring Sing item. Then I saw it and fell in love even more! I love the design and that it’s a tank top. It didn’t look so great on the racks, but gosh once you put it on it’s perfect! I just had to get it when I was at UCLA for Alumni Day and I have been wearing it all the time. It’s exactly what I needed for lounging around on the hot summer days. I hope they keep making more designs each year so I can start up a collection. 😉

4. Juice Beauty lip gloss & hydrating mist – I believe it was through subscription box bloggers that I first learned about Juice Beauty. Something about the brand caught my eye and they quickly made it on to my wishlist. When I found out that Juice Beauty lip gloss was being offered in the May Ipsy bag, I really hoped I would get it! Unfortunately that didn’t happen, but I did manage to get it in a trade. It smells wonderful and goes on well. It’s not too gooey and just the right amount of glossy. Then there’s the hydrating mist, which I thought would be nice to have whenever my skin needed a little freshening boost. There’s something very relaxing about spraying yourself (particularly your face) with a gentle, soothing mist.

5. SeabuckWonders facial cleanser & cream – I won these from a blogger’s giveaway and I’m really glad I got to try them! I love a nice scrub and you need so little of this one to cleanse your face that this will last me a long time. I’m also fascinated by design and the spout of the facial cream is so cool! I love the way it pumps out the cream and you barely need to press it to get plenty for your entire face. I was already obsessed with sea buckthorn products and this has just fueled the interest.

6. & 7. Cat It Design Senses feeding maze & play circuit – Once I got my Amazon gift card for participating in a focus group, I immediately ordered these two cat toys for my furries. The feeding maze is fun because it makes your cat work for their dry food and you can change the difficulty to help control portions. Unfortunately it seems that their overall laziness is not enough to overcome their hunger so they stopped using it after a few days. The play circuit can be assembled into a circle or other squiggly shapes and Missy has really enjoyed playing with it. It’s nice for her to have something to be active with indoors so hopefully she doesn’t go out as much.

8. reusing Graze containers – For a long time, I’ve needed something I could place tea bags on (or in) in between steeps. Once I started getting Graze boxes, I found that they made the perfect little container! I could place my tea bag there without worrying about it staining something, drink my cup of tea, then reuse the bag for more steeps! It was just the right size to hold the tea bag without being too large. Then I started to use some of them for my solid shampoo and conditioner bars, as well as soaps. Once my bars start breaking into little pieces, I keep them all in a Graze container so they don’t go to waste. I love it!

So those are some of the things I’ve enjoyed most in June. Stay tuned for a new July list once the month is over! Have you tried any of my favorites too? What would your June list consist of?

Job history: college summers edition

laelene Posted in general blog,Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
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If you missed the first two parts of this series, you can go read about the jobs I had in high school and the jobs I had during my college school terms.

I was one of the students who didn’t take summer school, but used that as a chance to land internships and try to figure out my career path. Even though I double majored, I carefully planned my classes from the very first quarter so I wouldn’t need summer school. I did end up taking an extra quarter, but that was because I didn’t realize that studying abroad limited how many classes I could take. Apparently they don’t take well to overly ambitious plans for education abroad programs, even if you are learning in your native language. But I digress. I certainly took advantage of those summers to try out some pretty diverse jobs!

As my first year of college was wrapping up, I had my eye on getting an internship. I tried a bunch of things, but everything was so competitive and very few companies would even look at a first year student. Ultimately, I was able to land an internship with a small film company about to film a low-budget movie. With all this entertainment industry influence around me in Los Angeles, I figured I should see if it was something I’d want to get into. I started off doing administrative work during pre-production. I looked through Craigslist to find housing for actors and I even found a dog to be in the movie. I helped book things and plan things and manage things. I also got to go out scouting a few times, driving around all parts of LA looking for that perfect spot for this and that scene.

filming messiah's castle scene of wristcutters with lots of extras

One of the scenes in the movie, in which I got pulled in to be an extra extra (har har).


Once we started filming, I took on even more, constantly managing the changing grips and electrics, getting second meals (a ton of fast food after a long day as we’re wrapping up for the day/night), wrangling extras, running lines with actors occasionally, and going around doing all that production assistants do. I enjoyed seeing all the behind-the-scenes stuff and running the operation was fitting for my skills. I learned a lot, met a lot of cool people, and even got to put my cat in the film – hence my credit as cat handler. I was probably in there somewhere as well, but only in scenes where you can’t even find me. Oh, and one time I found they’d used my car for a scene… we were very low budget. (The film’s title is Wristcutters: A Love Story, by the way – in case you want to watch it. :))

When it came time for my second summer internship, I wanted to explore a different industry. Since one of my majors was economics, I decided to see if I might want to pursue a career in finance. I landed an internship at Smith Barney with a duo who managed the financial portfolios of mostly aerospace employees. They’d carved out a niche for themselves so they could be one of the most knowledgeable in that area of expertise. Very smart! I spent my time there learning how to cold call, prepare financial portfolios, do financial research, and run a small portion of an office. They taught me how to read the financial portfolios, shared with me how they strategized, and being in that office space showed me what it was like to work in a big office high rise.

working at whole foods demoing food

The only picture I have from my food demoing days.


That same summer is when I found a job to do on the side, since my internship only required 8 hours a week. I became a Product Demonstrator, going to various grocery stores in the LA area, setting up a little table, and giving out samples of food, drinks, and whatnot. My employer was a third party company that represented many brands, so I got to demonstrate everything from ice cream to health bars to tea. I mostly went to Whole Foods to share the products, but sometimes I got sent to other grocery stores as well. For one brand, we actually did our work in Costco! I was pretty good at this job since I love interacting with people and I always carefully read and memorized all the selling points of the product. I did this job on and off for about two years because it was so flexible and I enjoyed it a lot.

ucla live events wall collage of images from event pamplets

I didn’t think to take many pictures so this is all I have – the collage on the wall from programs for the various shows.


When I returned from my year abroad, I interned with UCLA Live! (apparently renamed the Center for the Art of Performance at UCLA), which organized live performing arts events affiliated with the university. I was to help with their marketing, which I figured would be a good way to explore my other major, which was in psychology. I did a fair share of warm calls and emails to help promote the upcoming lineup of events for the season. I also had some cold calling to do to try to increase the database of potential attendees. While I didn’t help with the marketing strategy much, I did learn about it and did what I could to push it along.

Finally, when it came to my last summer – the one after my fourth year – I decided that I wanted to do something for myself. Every summer before, I’d gone out and done an internship. It was probably expected that I’d do one more since I was coming back for a final term in the fall and it wasn’t quite time to secure a job yet, but I wanted something else. I was suddenly reminded of my dream to be an Orientation Counselor. Back when I attended orientation, I had such a good time and saw the counselors having such a fantastic time that I told myself I wanted to become one someday. I then kind of forgot about it as the years went on and I learned so much. But then, somehow the idea crept back into my mind (or maybe it was in my subconscious the whole time) and it was now or never. If I was ever to be an OC, it had to be that summer, so I went for it. I was pretty nervous when I went to pick up the notification letter from the office. It was just a tiny letter so I couldn’t tell if it was good news or bad. I was pretty thrilled when I read “Congratulations!”

group of students standing on janss steps at ucla with counselors telling stories

Part of the job was giving tours of the UCLA campus, where we shared many urban legends.


All of spring quarter, the orientation staff met twice a week to train. It was basically like taking another class, since it had quite a bit of homework and a big test at the end. We learned so much about the academic requirements for incoming freshmen vs. transfers, all the cool resources available to students, tons of students groups for so many interests, and just about every aspect of life at UCLA. Don’t worry, we had fun too! I made some great friends and even met Panda there. Serendipity brought us together! (More on that another day.) Once the summer started, it was intense fun and hard work. Session after session of students came and went, we helped them choose majors and pick classes, we took them on tours of campus, and we even performed some pretty amazing skits. On our days off, counselors had various bonding activities planned including a trip to Vegas, hanging out in the middle of the night to watch the Beijing Olympics opening ceremony, and just plain enjoying each others’ company. I had a fantastic time!

That wraps up everything I did while I was an undergrad at UCLA. Stay tuned for the “real world” job experience I’ve had so far!

What did you fill your college summers with?

What kind of proposee are you?

laelene Posted in general blog,Tags: , , , , ,
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When you imagine “the perfect proposal” what do you see?

Or, what do/did you hope will/would happen?

I’ve read a bunch of bloggers’ proposal stories and very few of them appeal to me. I’m not into crazy fanfare or an audience, so any of them done in public are pretty much out. I also don’t want to be tired or sweating, so those that involve a lovely nature hike or otherwise active day are also disqualified. Sooo… actually, come to think of it I can vaguely remember only one lady saying it was at home before going out to dinner, but she glossed right over it like it was just “meh” and the dinner was more exciting. I guess none of the stories I’ve heard speak to me an my own preferences.

proposal at uclaYou see, I like to be in control. Surprises are nice, yes, but if you were to take me to Disneyland and pop out a ring, I’d be kinda sad. First, why did you drag me to Disney in the first place? I’m not really a fan of the place. Second, it’s so cliche. Third, there are all these strangers watching us kiss. Wait, no, let me correct myself – we will have an awkward “kiss miss” or a lightning fast one because I don’t want people staring. Now let’s say you decide on a nature trail hike instead. That would be quiet and private, which is good, but we’d probably be in workout gear and maybe even sweating/panting a little bit. Not exactly a moment I want to memorialize with a proposal. Ok, so maybe a quiet, dark booth in the recess of some restaurant? I dunno, while I love eating, I just don’t imagine a restaurant to be the best place.

My ideal proposal would probably be at UCLA when it’s basically deserted. It’s where we met and it’s our alma mater that we hold close to our hearts. Plus, it is a gorgeous campus – have you seen it? So for the location, the sentiment, the memories, and the beauty, it would be great. Funny, because I started drafting this post just two weeks before my proposal and it turned out almost exactly as I would have imagined. Short, sweet, simple, and while it was during a busy season on campus, everyone was so absorbed in their own picture-taking that I doubt they noticed us. I’m also very glad that his parents were there to help take some photos. 🙂 I think the only thing that could have been better was if my parents were able to be there too. Alas, they had last-minute business and couldn’t be there, but that couldn’t be helped. So basically, it was perfect.

What elements would you incorporate in your perfect proposal?

Back to Bruin

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I enjoyed a lovely day back on campus with Panda and a ton of other UCLA alumni today for Alumni Day 2013! It’s the first time most of us have ever seen or been in the new Pauley Pavilion and wow, it is nice. Our day started off by checking in outside and getting our reusable tote bags with the programs inside. We had nice large name tag lanyards displaying our graduation year. Inside Pauley’s food court/concession stand area were a bunch of stations filled with food options! The Chancellor was about to speak inside the arena, so we rushed to grab some breakfast before heading in. I got a couple of quiches and Panda got a parfait.

inside newly renovated pauley pavilion concession stand area on ucla alumni day 2013

It’s bright and beautiful in here.

We sat down just as the Chancellor was introducing the keynote speaker: Guy Kawasaki. One of our friends happened to notice us and beckoned us to join her. We then settled in to learn the art of enchantment from Guy (and I was so enchanted that I totally forgot to take a picture or video to commemorate the event!!). We learned that crow’s feet are good, you’ve got to accept people, you should have a “yes” mentality, you should find something small in common to start building a connection, and so much more. When he was done speaking, we returned upstairs and found all kinds of tasty treats awaiting. We got some dessert items and a cup of Jamba Juice, but weren’t hungry enough for the hot dogs, nachos, churros, etc.

crowd of ucla alumni climbing up stairs inside pauley pavilion

I can’t believe I didn’t take a picture until we were leaving Guy Kawasaki’s speech.

ucla alumni day 2013 desserts including diddy riese cookies, macaroons, blue velvet cupcakes, and chocolate truffle pops

smiling with chocolate on teeth, lips, and mouth from eating chocolate truffle pop

I’ve got chocolate all over my teeth and lips but I don’t mind!

ucla alumni day 2013 speaker lounge in pauley pavilion

Speakers had some couches to hang out at, where we could find them to chat.

We then split up for the smaller sessions, which were about 20 minutes long. Each time slot had three options of topics to choose from and to cover the most ground, Panda I chose different ones so we could learn the most. I started off listening to the co-founder of the Nom Nom Truck talk about change, but I arrived late and kind of missed too much of the presentation to get much out of it. Then it was off to hear from Mike Flynn, co-founder of Opportunity Green, who told a fun story about his own path of growth. Then I heard from a guy who helped launch Startup UCLA, which is sort of an accelerator program for startups that UCLA students and recent grads work on. I actually know two people who participated in the program and worked on two different companies!

mike flynn speaking at ucla alumni day 2013 in james west alumni center

I used to work with Mike, so I had to go support him and listen to his speech!

ucla letters made with photo collage

A cool display in the James West Alumni Center.

ucla pavilion club in basement of pauley pavilion

Some of the presentations were in the Pavilion Club. Looks fancy!

For the last presentation of the day, I went to hear Sue Enquist talk about Coach Wooden’s impact on her and advice taken from him for living a better life. I actually ran into a girl from my high school prior to heading in and got a chance to catch up with her as we went in to the session. Once we got out, I caught up with Panda and we got a chance to explore the store at Pauley, as well as some of the many booths and tables that were set up around the area.

sue enquist speaking at ucla alumni day 2013 in pauley pavilion

Sue Enquist sharing Wooden wisdom.

sign in store at pauley pavilion with ucla fight fight fight incorporated with adidas logo

I love how our 8-clap meshes with the Adidas logo.

By 2, everything within Pauley was wrapping up and many alum were already heading out, but Panda and I went to the SAC pool to enjoy a boat race put on by engineering students! It was a grand old time watching the students putting their cardboard and duct tape creations to the test of staying afloat as someone rowed it one lap in the pool. There were some pretty hilarious sinking moments that seemed to happen in slow motion and there were a few runaway successes too!

zoya crystal nail polish blue with gold flecks on fingernails in sunshine

When I saw a blue and gold nail polish I just had to get it (and of course wear it to alumni day!).

ucla engineering students in cardboard boat race at sac pool

The two-person team in the first heat actually did the best despite the additional weight!

limp wet cardboard boat being dragged off after failing in pool

One of the poor creations that got soaked and ruined in the water, now retired.

guys sitting in sinking cardboard boat during boat race in pool

Even as the boat sank, the students kept rowing…

After all the fun was over, I got a chance to peruse the UCLA Store. It’s one of my favorite stores in the whole world, probably because of all the cool clothing they have with various UCLA messaging on them. I love anything related to my alma mater! I tried on some things and got a chance to purchase my favs. The rest will go on my wishlist. That hat? Not so much. And I was so surprised to find Hello Kitty as a Bruin! Lol.

collage of various ucla bearwear items at ucla store

I browsed a ton of great clothing items at the UCLA Store! I’m a sucker for anything with my alma mater.

To wrap up, Panda and I wandered around campus a bit to enjoy the sunshine and each other. Then it was off again, with both of us returning to our respective parents’ homes. As we were walking out, Panda realized we hadn’t done a single 8-clap all day (what?!?!) – that’s pretty much unheard of at a UCLA event, so I did one in my head. 😉

standing over janss steps' sixth step

I respect the story of the sixth step. If you don’t know what I’m talking about, ask a True Bruin.

set of four jets flying by ucla's janss steps

Those four jets seemed to be practicing maneuvers over UCLA.

ucla alumni day swag including bag & button, ecos products, whitelines notebook, ucla anderson items, raytheon notepad, and wooden usb

Check out all the cool free things I got!

What a great day in terms of goodies! Not only was there tons of food (I later got a salad and sandwich that I brought back home with me, as well as chips and soda), but I got quite a few other treats as well. It started off with the reusable tote and my badge with lanyard. Then there were buttons and wooden USBs for the taking. At the UCLA Anderson table, I got a nice booklet with various sizes of post-its inside and a shiny pen. At the networking area, the engineering table had fun Raytheon post-its for the taking so I got some of those. Towards the end of the day, I went to chat with the people of Ecos and the VP generously offered me one of the full size products they had on display since they were leaving soon! I had already gotten a nice sample of their laundry detergent so I picked the stain & odor remover. And finally, in the UCLA Store, there was a shelf with Whitelines that were FREE. LOVE IT!!!

And to wrap up, I couldn’t resist spending some money on my alma mater. I acquired a sweet Spring Sing top to wear it loud and proud for our awesome musical tradition. I acquired a cool UCLA Fund t-shirt for donating money and participating in the North vs. South campus competition. Lastly, I acquired a lovely aqua sweatshirt with the UCLA seal on it in glittery screenprint. I’m so excited about each of these items and can’t wait to wear them excessively. 🙂

collage of ucla shirts from alumni day including spring sing tank, ucla fund t-shirt, and ucla seal sweatshirt

365great Day 65: alumni day

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365great challenge day 65: alumni dayAlumni days are a great way to bring back the alum of your university and have them reconnect with their alma mater. I enjoy returning whenever I can and this year was my third time. UCLA is a fantastic institution with a beautiful campus and amazing programs. It’s always nice to return, see some familiar places and buildings, and enjoy the talks that have been arranged. This year, I especially loved the endless supply of food! More on that in my next post. For now, let me just say that I think every school should have these days. I bet you’ll get a fair share of donations while you’re at it, and your alum network will be so much stronger. Today I had a great time at my own alumni day!

365great Day 64: Spring Sing

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365great challenge day 64: spring singTonight is the 68th year since Spring Sing first debuted at UCLA. It is a longstanding Bruin tradition that celebrates performing talent year after year. For the most part, it is a singing competition and it has seen the likes of Maroon 5 (back when they were Kara’s Flowers) and Sara Bareilles. However, to call it merely a singing competition is not fair – no, it’s an entire night of entertainment ranging from musical-style performances to hilarious comedic scenes, plus some judging and award-giving too. You want to see famous people? Check. You want to hear great singing? Check. You want to laugh your pants off? Check. You want to watch skillful dancing? Check. You can get it all in this fantastic event that started back when fraternity brothers would serenade sorority sisters. As for the singing itself, genres range across everything imaginable – a capella, acoustic, pop, rock, indie, soul, and so on. While I didn’t get to attend this time around, I did take advantage of the tanks that were designed and got one for myself! I’ll be wearing it proud over the years, for as the back of the shirt says, Spring Sing is “UCLA’s Greatest Musical Tradition” (and really I’d say it’s one of any university’s greatest).

Trigger words

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The actual topic of this post delves into a sobering subject. If you are not comfortable with that, please do not read on.

Are there certain words in your life that evoke a strong, intense emotional response? Sometimes they crop up in the most surprising places. I happened upon one today as I was entering some giveaways. It was for gift baskets of food and/or personal care products like lotions and they asked you to share which one you liked the most. I chose the Ghirardelli Springtime Chocolate Sampler and in the comment section, as I was sharing why I liked it the best, I nearly used the word “decadence.” And that’s my trigger word.

Why? Because it reminded me of a sad, sad song from my past. I couldn’t quite remember the lyrics or who sang it, but I did remember it contained the word “decadence” and alludes to the subject of rape. So of course I did a quick search and eventually found with the song: Wash Away Those Years, by Creed. I don’t know why that single word stood out to me in this song – perhaps because it is rarely used in songs – but suddenly I found myself melancholic.

Whenever I think of rape, I think of the cathartic time I spent one summer in a darkened Broad Auditorium at UCLA, crying to a slow, sad version of Precious Things by Tori Amos. I was an Orientation Counselor and as part of the Orientation Program, we showed incoming freshman a video/audio presentation with slides of sobering facts about rapes on college campuses and of young adults in general. At one point, the lights came back on and the audience was asked to stand if they or someone they knew had been raped or sexually assaulted. Many fellow counselors and a sizable portion of students stood as we all looked around to see just how many of us had been affected.

When I attended my own orientation before starting at UCLA, I probably saw this presentation, but at that time it didn’t stick because I had no emotional connection to the subject. By the time I became a counselor I’d experienced attempted rape myself and then the presentation suddenly struck a chord with me. The first time we were shown it was during training, and I’m pretty sure I wept. It was so unexpected that I was struck to my core. I’d gone through the emotional healing process and put it behind me; it wasn’t something that I had to think about so I’d moved on. But suddenly it came rushing back to me and I found myself having to deal with all the sadness again.

And so, I spent many a time sitting with the newest batch of students and those fellow counselors, wondering if they thought I cried because I knew someone, that I was a sensitive soul, that I felt the pain of others… or if they thought that I might have experienced it too. I doubt I’ll ever really know what they thought (or even if they noticed), but that’s fine. I remember that one counselor had revealed her pain during a time when we were sharing a lot of personal stories. I had wanted to, too, but it just didn’t come out. So when it came time for that presentation, I let my emotions get out. I don’t think I could ever sit through that presentation without shedding a few tears, no matter how much time goes by.

Luckily, the hurt, the trauma, the confusion… that has faded. Every now and then I’m still deeply affected by thinking of that time, but I recover much more easily than before. Tonight (well, early morning technically) was the first time since that summer nearly 5 years ago that I got a rush of the old emotions again. It’s a reminder of a scar that may never go away. And sometimes, randomly, I’ll be reminded again because of a trigger word like “decadence” when I think of yummy chocolate.

Odd jobs

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Have you ever tried to get a bunch of odd jobs?  I just joined Fiverr and posted some “gigs” on the site yesterday in an attempt to get more traction for my sales, but also to see if I can get some extra income from doing random tasks.  For now the only thing I’ve come up with that doesn’t involved selling a product is teaching people origami.  I’ll have to keep thinking of what else I could do that’s worth $5 but not too much effort on my part.  I was going to do a Chinese name translation, but there are a lot of those out there so I’m not sure if I should compete…

Awhile back, I became fascinated with community marketplaces.  I had considered trying to become a TaskRabbit and provide services like pet-sitting, but I don’t really have a strong skill in those sorts of things that I could really do well.  It’s always a challenge trying to pinpoint my expertise in things like that – a concrete skill that I can do better than most that people would want to have done for them.  Then I came across Vayable, which I thought was really cool with its community-powered tours.  I have considered doing a UCLA tour through that, but have yet to organize an awesome tour that I would be proud of.  Luckily, I have a head start since I’d led tours for summer orientation, but I also want to include more cool historical facts and some updates since the campus has changed so much.

Most recently, I learned about Lyft, which is a community-powered transportation service.  That’s something I think would be really cool to do, since I’ve often driven my friends around, but I live too far from the central areas of Los Angeles to be of much use right now.  Such a pity, since I enjoy getting out and driving around (and hate finding parking) so this would be a great way to earn some money.

Under construction, like always

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Bruins should know that UCLA stands not only for University of California, Los Angeles, but also Under Construction, Like Always. And so it is, with never-ending construction projects going on somewhere on campus at all times.

part of a building being demolishing on ucla campus

Look at that tangle of cement and metal!

large pile of rubble from the demolition on ucla campus

That is quite the pile of rubble!

the lone tree left standing in the construction zone

Whatever the plans are, apparently they decided to leave this one tree standing.

two cones on top of some pipes coming out from the ground in a construction zone at ucla

Just making sure there is no water explosion!

view of the construction zone on the hill at ucla

So much greenery gone! Are they really putting a building there?!

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