Worst Adult Ever...

          Yes, I said it. I am probably the worst adult ever. Never had to be one, then after college happened. No job lined up and no place to live. It's not like I was lazing around doing nothing, I just sucked at living life. Not only was there no after graduating dream job for me, there weren't even any psychology related jobs positions open (don't even get me started on communication related jobs, that was probably in the negatives). So I started my summer, like anyone would, clinging on to the internships I already had. Now, you may ask why didn't I just stay on? Well, there is this think called grants. Without grants, you don't have money. Without money, you can't afford to pay your employees. Lucky for me, the 2 internships I had did not have money to keep me past summer. So, that led to job hunting.
          Now while I was job hunting, my lease was also ending. Normally, signing for a place is not a big deal in Davis, however Sacramento was another story. My boyfriend and I had been looking for a place all summer, and probably shedded out more than $50 worth of application fees just so the owners could pick a more "qualified" tenant. I call this a HUGE scam! If I remembered their names, I would list them. One of them was an agency too! So then, things hit the fan, and I couldn't cohabit with my boyfriend, but I was still without a place. To put it in perspective, up to a week before my lease ended, I still had not found a place to live.
          Needless to say, I finally found a place to live 3 days before my lease ended. Yes, I know cutting it close! So found a place, but still needed a job after my internships ended. Did multiple interviews, and when I was extended an offer, I declined for a possible Junior Specialist position. Knowing my luck, I was not offered Junior Specialist position. So back to square one. Now you are also wondering, why I declined the first offer that I had. First off, it was 40 minutes away from Sacramento. Second, pay was above minimum wage, but only barely. Honestly, I was making more hourly at my internships than I would have been at this place. Thirdly, they could only guarantee my 24 hours a week, so it was basically a part-time, barely above minimum wage job. That definitely does not cover the bills.
          As I was scrambling to find a job before my schedule terminations, fate decided to just put an obstacle in my way and break my bumper off of my car. Funny thing is, it just fell off. No, I did not run into a curb or an animal or a child. It just fell. So one extra bill to pay. Now before this turns into a big sad story, it all worked out in the end. The reason I tell this story is for the irony. The irony of all this is, my former roommate went through it all probably 2 weeks after it all happened to me. Yes, scrabbling to find a job, then scrabbling to find a place, then her bumper fell off her car (really). Needless to say, we make the worse adults ever. However, she got her life together pretty quickly as she now works for Genentech. Took me some time, but that happy story is for next time as it is still working itself out.

Until next time..
-Cindy

My Expensive Piece of Paper

          So I have debated on how this blog will go. There is so much I would like to share, but some of it will take some back tracking. However, it's not like my life just takes a pause so I can update this blog, but as I debate on how to get my story out there, more of my story is created. It's a vicious cycle. Anyways, after reading "The Curious Case of The Dog in The Night-Time" by Mark Haddon, I have decided this blog will follow a similar pattern as the narrative in that book. You will get current blurbs and past blurbs and it will all come together to form a coherent story (hopefully)!
          Now, to today's blog. After 4.5 months, I finally got my diploma! Finally, I can prove I got an education.

Ta Da!!

          It is by far the most expensive piece of paper I own and it doesn't even have gold or diamonds on it! (Just saying UC Davis, I'm a little disappointed-- just kidding!) Not only did I get this very expensive piece of paper, I also found out I graduated with highest honors in Psychology! Now I know what you are thinking, "Wouldn't you know if you graduated with honors?" Well, not necessarily. You see, in the college I was in, you could graduate with honors with your GPA easy, however, to graduate with high honors or highest honors you had to do a Senior Honors Thesis.
          What is a Senior Honors Thesis? Well, it is a thesis in which you brainstorm up then test (aka do an experiment). After you do this thesis, you write it up, then turn it in. After that, it gets sent to reviewers (mostly professors) and they decide whether your thesis merits high or highest honors. They could also straight out hate your thesis in which you will still graduate with honors, but no high or highest attached to it. Let me tell you, a Senior Honors Thesis is not for the faint of heart. For mine, I recruited 15 people for 3 conditions. Yes, 15 is not a lot, but just wait. For each participant, they were required to come in for 4 sessions, 2 did 5 sessions. Each session was 1 hour long, equating to 62 hours of participant testing in 8 weeks. On top of that, I was a full time student with 19 units and doing 8 hours at my student assistant position at the MIND institute. Let's just say I had many 12 hour days. Then after all that, I come to find out my thesis was due a week earlier than I thought and was told the wrong turn in date. So needless to say, I rushed my written thesis in basically 3 days instead of the 14 days I thought I had (and during finals week no less). Months later, I come to find out it paid off!
          Though I worked hard for the Senior Thesis, I also worked very hard to get my degree. Many nights in which I got only 3-4 hours of sleep, which is very brutal on your body. I probably aged 10 years, no scratch that, I did age 10 years. School is completely hazardous to your health, but I did it because I have a dream that needs accomplishing. They say the things you are most proud of are the things you work hard for, and this is probably the most proud I have been of myself. I wish everyone had the luxury of going to college and getting a degree, because it is most satisfying. Hopefully, somewhere in the future, I will be able to help others go to college and achieve their dreams. Until then, this is just fuel to my fire. I want to feel this way again, and hopefully, next time it will be with my Ph.D.

Until next time..
-Cindy

Get to Know Me! Part 2

          So I'm back with better get to know me questions!

What's your name? 
Cindy Dao

How do you spend your days? 
Work, eat, sleep, natural waste, youtube, hulu, read

Have you always lived in X? 
So currently, I reside in Sacramento, but I grew up in Fresno/Clovis (California)

What are some of your hobbies? 

What's the best meal you've ever had?

Grilled Cheese from The Rind. YUM!

If you could vacation anywhere in the world, where would you go?

Europe!

What's the best gift you've ever given?

Urban Decay Naked Palette to my sister 

And what's the best gift you've ever received?

Beatrix Potter The Complete Tales

What ability or skill do you most wish you had (that you don't have already)?

I wish I could program, and speak all the languages of the world.

What is/was your favorite subject in school? 

Math and Psychology. I liked math because it was formulaic and predictable. I love Psychology because it's interesting and there is still so much to learn about it.

Where did you go to college?

University of California, Davis

What did you study in college?

Psychology, Communication, minor in Human Development

What's the biggest problem facing the world right now?

Intolerance

If you alone could solve it, how would you do it?

Send my mom to smack them into place! Haha, no. There's a lot of people in the world that choose not to understand or empathize. The only way to help those people is to try to show them the truth. 

What's your dream job?

I would love to be a professor, but any job that makes me happy and satisfy my needs will do. 

If you had to choose only one: cat or dog? 

Dog

What's your favorite movie of all time? 

Titanic! Hands down.

Aside from food, water, and shelter, what one thing could you not go a day without?

Clothes... I can't be naked. 

In everyday life, what is your number one pet peeve? 

How inefficiently some administrations/companies run their office.

Where do you see yourself in 5 years? 

Hopefully as a Ph.D. candidate 

Where do you see yourself in 20 years?

Happily married with a happy family. :)

Who am I?

          Well, I guess if you are reading this, you would be asking me "Who are you?" And to that I say, "I will let you know me with the Get To Know Me Tag!"

Get To Know Me Tag:

1. How do you pronounce your username ? 
Cindy... like Sin "D"

2. How old are you ?
21, but only for 17 more days :(

3. What Nationality are you ? 
Chinese and Vietnamese

4. What grade are you in ? 
0? Haha, I just graduated with my B.A.S. so technically I am not in a grade.. until grad school :D

5. Do you have a job ? 
Yes, currently I am a Student Assistant in a lab at UC Davis.

6. What is your eye color ? 
Brown

7. What is your natural hair color ? 
Dark Brown

8. What type of skin do you have ? 
Extremely light brown? No, just tan, with a yellow undertone

9. Do you have freckles ?
No

10. Do you / Did you have braces ?
I did, for 5 years in high school. Definitely added to the awkward adolescent period.

11. Whats your favorite perfume to wear ? 
Flirtatious! by Flirt!

12. How long does it take you to get ready in the morning ? 
20-30mins.. depending on how late I want to sleep in and if I need to rush because I slept in. :)

13. Whats you favorite color ?
Purple!

14. Heels or Flats ?
Heels, but I can't wear them everyday. In a dream world where heels don't hurt and are practical, I would!

15. Gold or Silver ? 
Silver

16. Do you have a boyfriend ? 
Yes, his name is Alex and he's a musician. :) He also has a near perfect GPA, aren't you all jealous? I am!

17. Do you have siblings ?
Yes, one sister at UCSD.

18. Do you have pets ? 
No

19. Have you ever been out of the Country ? 
Nope, never left California.

20. What is something that makes you nervous ?
Failing in life...already feels like I am. *sighs* Actually, I really don't like public speaking or speaking to people with authority. It's not a phobia, because I'll do it, however, my heart starts to beat real fast and I just vomit words out without thinking about it.

          So after completing this tag, I realized you have learned quite a bit about me personally, but not scholarly. I will hunt down another tag with more academic and scholarly questions!

Until next time..
-Cindy

Follow Me...

...on my journey to grad school. Like many recent graduates who graduated hoping to find a job, but are still jobless months later, I thought to myself, "If 4 years isn't enough to get a job, then another 5-7 years of school will!" So thus, begins me journey to grad school! Actually... it's a little more complex than that, but I have all the time in the world to tell you about it. Hopefully, you will join me on my journey and maybe it will inspire you to go on your own journey, whether it be grad school or another dream. Right now, grad school is my dream, and hopefully I would reach it by 2015, or else there might be a crying fest at my place in 2 years. We shall see. 

-Cindy