LauraLee

As the semester is coming to a close, as finals are taking over my life, and as friends part ways for a month - I have been too busy to cook my own dinner. So recently we've been going out a lot to eat.  These are the times when I realize how fortunate we are to be in a city such as Los Angeles.  There is such a plethora (I hate using that word but it seems so fitting here) of food choices around the city.  Last week we went to Yang Chow, an AMAZING chinese food restaurant in China town.  It is always packed so if you go you MUST get reservations.  But the food is very authentic, a little bit spicy but not too spicy, and absolutely delicious.  Then a few days later we went to eat Cuban food at Versailles, for my friends' 22nd birthday.  Versailles is one of my favorite restaurants in LA.  Its reasonably priced, huuuuuuge portions, a low-key place, and the food is sooooo good. I had never tried Cuban food before I came to LA and now I'm obsessed. I love plantains and could eat them with every meal. The shredded pork with a mojito is my fave.  And then to bring my trip around the globe to a close, we had to make a stop at El Cholo for the best Mexican food around.  El Cholo is the USC hotspot, you're always bound to run into someone you know and whats great is that Sunday-Thursday, USC students get 1/2 off all the entrees! El Cholo has been around since my grandma lived in LA, and as I've heard from her the food is still just as good. I looove the food there, and the shrimp fajitas are me favorite :-)  

And tomorrow we are going to get some classic American hotdogs at Pinks, the Los Angeles famous hot dog stand in Hollywood. Yummy! So before Christmas I need to make a stop at an Italian restaurant, Thai, Japanese, Greek... wow I have some eating to do ;-)

Wow that is a frightening concept. I cant believe that I am already 1/2 way done with my senior year. I dont know where the time went. I never fully grasped the concept that someday I would be the mature senior about to graduate into the real world, looking for jobs, and too cool to go to the freshmen frat parties and not getting excited about every rebellious skipped class.  Looking back over my blog entries from this semester though, I cant really complain about anything.  I have had a great 4 years and this past semester has been great. Though all the tests and interviews weigh down on me every once in awhile, I have still had a great year. From all the football games, to the weekender, taking my mentees out, my trip to Nashville, birthday parties, and random trips to Cal Poly... it has been memorable. It flew by so quickly though and I feel like just yesterday I was a scared freshmen moving into the dorms and getting lost on campus.  I have definitely grown wiser over these past few years but now I will soon be entering a world that I know little about and will once again be at the bottom of the totem pole. In the next week I have a lot of decisions to make about my future, what job I accept, where I will be living, and my career plans; but I know that my past experiences have all been bringing me to this moment and I'm ready.

For all of you reading this, let me know who you are. Give me some feedback on my blogs thus far, any questions or comments you have, topics you want me to cover, etc. Happy Holidays!

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The USC vs. UCLA game is so much more than the game. It is a week long event at USC.  Even before Thanksgiving break, Tommy Trojan was wrapped up in bubble wrap and duct tape to make sure that our cross town rivals didnt do anything to him.  Then the week of the game, a student organization called the Trojan Knights, guard Tommy 24/7.  Its so cool to walk by on your way to class and see people "guarding" Tommy Trojan.  Then Thursday night was CONQUEST, our huge rally before the game.  This was my last one as an undergraduate :-( it was so sad because I've gone every year.  It was sooo much fun.  There are vendors (I bought a new pair of jeans), food, the football team speaks and pumps everyone up for the game, Pete Carrol spoke, the Dance Force, Song Girls, and Band all performed... and The Bravery performed. It was amazing. I really like The Bravery and they were awesome live. They got really into it and invited some of the band members up on stage with them to perform.  And the highlight of the night- the Bruin bonfire.  We burn down this giant bruin and then there was an amazing fireworks show. Every year on the night before the UCLA game, my brother's fraternity throws a party called "Troy" in honor of the game. So I went to that with all my friends (a little bit too cold for togas this year).

And to believe that is all before the game! Now its gameday. My roommate and I had people over to our apartment starting at 9am to get ready for the big game!! When we made our way over to campus, tension was flying! Its all in good fun, but there was a lot of trash talking and stares.  I met up with some of my friends from UCLA (it was hard being seen with them in public). We took our time getting over to the stadium so our seats weren't that great. We were pretty high up but it surprisingly gave us a great birds eye view of the field.  This game meant so much more to me than just beating UCLA, it was my last game as an undergraduate. So as the football seniors ran onto the field, I could totally relate to them. It was weird walking into the Coliseum for the last time as a student. Obviously, I plan on returning for as many games as I can :-)

 To top off the weekend, it was wonderful beating the bruins to go on to the Rose Bowl. I've never been to a bowl game so I am going to find someway to get myself to that game... BEAT ILLINOIS!!