Eric is Here!

Kids, what do we do two weeks before finals?

We...

This is probably one of the greatest guilty pleasure ever. Okay, this is the second greatest guilty pleasure after I lied to my high school faculty that I went to LA for a week to have an appointment with my future university.

The fact is, I went there for *duh* vacation.

Well, just two weeks before my finals, Eric dropped by in LA for a visit. Just so you know, Eric is my friend from Cupertino and he came to LA for his spring break vacation. I really curse my school for their peculiar academic calendar when I found out that Agnes, who goes to USC, also actually just started her spring break. Meanwhile I would be having finals in two weeks. The plan of meeting up with him and Agnes at that time period would be dubbed as suicidal plan. But anyway, after Agnes mentioned that we were going to have Korean BBQ for dinner with Eric, who could say no?

I met up with Agnes in one corner of USC after switching trains from Pasadena. After the incident of getting lost while driving in downtown last time, I thought it would be wise for me to just take public transportation. It was a pain, especially I had to switch trains. Well, Eric said that he was interested in having a tour around USC, so Agnes took us around USC. We walked from one corner to another. When we reached one of the entrances, I was intrigued by this sculpture.

That sculpture looks pretty, doesn't it? I adore the stacking technique that it has...until Agnes told me that the Trojans name this sculpture The Middle Finger. Not sure if it's the real name but this sculpture does have that middle finger gesture. Fun fact is that it's not just a middle finger pointing at nothing, but rumor has it that actually points in the direction of USC's rival school in Westwood. Ookay...

Down to the heart of USC! The campus center!

Too bad the campus was quiet by the time we were there. Duh, of course it was. USC was on a break. I just wish I could drop by during their normal school days so I could really feel that regular university campus vibe that I don't honestly feel in my enclosed private art college campus.

Walking down the Steps of Troy. I feel like a Trojan now lol

We spent some time chilling in one of the cozy outdoor benches and couches across the campus center, which happened to be the coziest couch I've ever sat in any campuses. Damn, USC students, I envy you now.

And of course, a visit to USC with Agnes is not complete without a visit to the architecture department building. The studio was super quiet and again, of course, it's because USC was having a break. The studio was a large confined space in the basement with small linear window across the room. The window became the only source of sunlight to the room. However, we saw some guy was sitting at his desk listening to music and working on something. That guy was the only working person spotted in the studio. I wondered what he was up to in this quiet, large confined room all by himself when other people would surely be having fun. Agnes explained that even in the weekends during school days, people would be pulling all-nighter in the studios.

A visit to an architecture studio will also not be complete without taking a look at some intriguing 3D models, especially this studio kept a collection of models made by first year students. The 3D models and designs were so interesting and they were all created by different kinds of material. I was going to have a 3D abstract model final project coming up and I thought those architecture models that I saw were enough for references.

Someone who made this must have been in deep stress.

 After the visit, it was decided that we would all go straight to Korean BBQ for dinner. It was 7.00 pm, but the bright sunset made an impression that it was still late afternoon. I didn't even feel like we were having dinner yet with that bright sky.

Sizzlin'!

The restaurant was so far one of two of my most favorite Korean BBQ restaurants in LA. Aside from the affordable all-you-can-eat price, this restaurant has fine bulgogi (or dubbed as marinated beef). The three of us couldn't stop asking for more bulgogi (We surely couldn't spend $9.99 for nothing, could we?).

Our activity ended at Agnes' most favorite park, Grand Park, as usual. We took pictures of the infamous pudding fountain that constantly changes color.

The Bloody Fountain. Neh, just kidding.

What makes this visit to the park different from the previous visits, is that we explored the upper side of the park. That side of the park is located between three adjacent buildings with fancy fountains whose water constantly goes up and down. Apparently, there was some sort of an event that night and some guests were spotted checking in near the fountain. Eric, Agnes, and I couldn't help but thinking that we could've sneaked in...if only we wore fancy evening gowns and suits.

When I looked around in this part of the park, it came to my realization that I went to this place before back in 2009. Back then, I came to US merely as a tourist, who was so amazed with all the glamour and beauty that LA offered. Now, that I live in LA, it feels weird to go back to that park. It's almost hard to feel the same sensation that I felt four years ago (Damn, it's already four years???)

Well, our day ended soon because I needed to go back home immediately to catch a train. Before that, we dropped by at Mr. Boba in Koreatown to get our boba treat.

Okay, enough for blogging for this week. Enjoy your weekend!

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By the way, I started working at school today. Today was just the training though but we already had a lot of fun!

To wrap things up, I'd like to share this version of La Vie en Rose performed by C'est L'amour. I've been crazy about listening to French jazz music since the soothing sound helped me do my homework in spring term. This is probably the best instrumental version of La Vie en Rose. Bet if you listen to it, you just want to teleport straight to Paris.