feels like san francisco

both my parents are at work right now. as my little sister and i were sitting on the couch, browsing etsy for crochet robots, our house began to shake. i figured that it was just our washing machine going on overtime, until everything in the house started rattling and some car alarm went off outside. yup-- i just experienced my first earthquake!

according to the radio, it was a 5.9 quake. and even though its center was in virginia, it was felt all the way from north carolina to toronto!

immediately after the earthquake, i called my parents and then logged onto facebook. i thought that i was quick to grab my computer, but i guess that others were quicker! my news feed was already flooded with people screaming "EARTHQUAKEEE"! i can just imagine people posting frantic facebook statuses during the earthquake.

when i went upstairs, i found my poor cat hiding under the bed. apparently, she is smarter than ella and me. while she instinctively ran for cover, we just sat on the couch in shock, gripping each other's hands for dear life.

at least everyone is okay! my mom heard on the radio that people were running out of buildings screaming... oh my... the only negative result of the earthquake, for me, was that two of my mom's hats fell out of the closet and i had to pick them up.

my life as the paparazzi

my mom, ella, and i went to the university of maryland gym yesterday. there was a sign that said the indoor pool was closed on thursday and friday. as we walked up the stairs, we looked through the huge window to the indoor pool. there were lots of cameras and lights set up. my mom thought that they might be taking photos of the umd swimmers. we found it really strange that the athletes had to be hosed off in speedos before being photographed in front of a tile background... we guessed that they were probably going for the "just-out-of-the-pool" effect.

but, after running on the track and swimming in the outdoor pool, we took a closer look at the photo shoot. my mom and i were telling each other, "wow, he looks a lot like michael phelps! you know, with the long face and the broad shoulders." then, a man came up to us and said, "that's because it is michael phelps. he's shooting a head-and-shoulders commercial!"

of course, i went crazy with my mom's camera phone until it ran out of battery. today, when i went running again, i brought the real camera with me! here are some of the many photos that i took. with all of them in series, it's like a storyboard:















so, now you all know what michael phelps looks like when he takes a shower! this was my first "celebrity" sighting, and luckily i managed to get tons of pictures to commemorate it.

retain your excitement

yesterday, I GOT MY BRACES OFF!! the two years of pain went by so slowly that i thought the day would never come!

to my horror, ella literally can't wait to get braces. apparently she did not hear me constantly complaining about the sore gums and sharp wires.

i went to the appointment anticipating a lot of pain. a while ago, they replaced a single bracket and it felt like they were attempting to pry my tooth out. so, to my surprise, it didn't hurt at all when they pulled all of my brackets off in series. perhaps it helped that i took a dose of tylenol beforehand.

once all the brackets were out, i ran my tongue over my teeth. bad choice. it was extremely slimy! after seeing the disgusted expression on my face, my orthodontist assured me that it was just glue. eek, i hope he was right.

then came the worse part: the drill. my teeth are sensitive! i had to clench my hands together the entire time to keep myself distracted. even worse, my gums got really sore and bloody because they practically drilled right into them. i hated having to inhale the drill fumes; even my orthodontist was wearing a mask to block it!

maybe it was worth it, though, because i was then rewarded with a water bottle full of candy. score! they probably thought i had refrained from eating candy (and countless other "banned" foods) for the past two years... *looks from side to side with shifty eyes*

after my appointment, we went to california tortilla for dinner. the restaurant is filled with big mirrors, so i took this picture of my braceless teeth.

now that my braces are finally off, i am just dreading the next stage of orthodontics: the retainer. dun dun dun.

summer of music

last week, i went to the orchestra camp at the university of maryland, called SYMC. i have loyally attended the camp for five consecutive summers now!

this was the first year that ella could do the camp, and it was also my last year. so, sadly, this was our only chance to go together. we got to have orchestra rehearsals and world drumming class together! plus, ella got me to carry her cello around...

as always, they had spirit days every day of the week. i will never be able to top the crazy hair day from my third summer at SYMC! it attracted so much staring and pointing... i have a picture of it in this post! i was only 12 years old!

after the auditions on monday, i found out that i was the concertmaster! it was an amazing way to end my time at the camp. i was a little nervous for the concert, since i had a solo in one piece, but it went really well and i was relieved!

here are some pictures of me and ella at the concert.

and here is a recording of one of the songs we played, which has my solo. it is called celtic roots by soon hee newbold.