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TheDAO
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Name: Kim Dao
Country: United States
State: Colorado
Gender: Female
Interests: Dancing, Yoga, Reading, Writing, Music, Skiing but occasionally snowboarding, Swimming, Sleeping and most of all.....EATING!!!
Expertise: Procrastinating...
Occupation: Student
Industry: Other
Message: message me
AIM:  anelasyz
Member Since:
11/25/2003
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| I wanted to blog this experience in my life because I want to remember how much fun I've had out here and how I'm living my life to the fullest NOW! I am happy to say that I will have absolutely no regrets in the future...looking back on the past and I won't need to say "I should have...."
It's been such an interesting transition coming from rural Pagosa Springs to urban SD/LA back to back. There are sooo many differences that exist between these two worlds! I was just in LA/OC visiting Ngoc and we went up to LA-Hollywood area where we hit traffic EVERY time we've gotten on the road! It is sooooo irritating! There are a lot of things to do and see in California, but just being around so many people makes me want to hide out in a little hole and be by myself sometimes. I believe Colorado is the perfect in-between...I've been having so much fun in San Diego that I was seriously considering moving out here- I think it's because SD is very similar to Denver. LA is too much for me, Pagosa is too slow for me, and anything in between is perfect; but of course when I get older I'm sure I'd want something slow like Pagosa- but while I'm young LA/OC and SD are good cities to experience.
Ngoc and I have been going out and exploring Southern California together. It's so nice to have a companion to go and do things with! We go all out and I can honestly say I get worn out!! I went out to party in Huntington Beach on Friday night, went to sleep at 5:30am because of staying up to talk to Ngoc then woke up at 10am to hit LA/OC and went out again Saturday night until 2:30am....my head hit the pillow and I was knocked out! It was the best sleep I've had in a looooonnnnggg time! I woke up refreshed- it felt like I closed my eyes for only a minute and woke up 7 hours later. It's the best!! I would like to have that type of rest everynight....and I realized I haven't had much sleep while out in SoCal! I'm running on tired...it seems as if there's always something to do and not enough time to do it. I need 7 hours of sleep- I like waking up without an alarm clock, it hasn't been happening in SoCal lol. I start to appreciate what I have in CO =) sleep, husband, house, family....
Although I am having a blast out here, I am starting to get a little home-sick. I am starting to miss being at home- miss being bored or finishing projects. As I mentioned earlier, I was seriously contemplating moving out to SD someday because I was having a lot of fun and it's different than Denver. Then I realized after some time that the novelty fades once you get used to things. Granted there are a lot of things that can be experienced, however it's the people around you that make it fun too. Meeting new people is the best part of this experience I think. In the beginning I was hanging out with Danny and his roommate Neda a lot...and then they had stuff to do on their own, and I realized I started to miss hanging out with them! I will miss them once I get back to Denver. And my sister and Andrew are leaving on Tuesday for Sergeant course training so they're leaving SD to go to 29-Palms about 5 hours away. It's also easy to see how people can feel lonely in such a populated city (LA). I've been hearing from a lot of people that it's hard to meet people...I am lucky not to have experienced that here because I have friends and friends of friends that have been really cool to hang out with. I now call them my friends =)
It's getting late now, I should get to bed and plan out what I need to do tomorrow....there's a lot I could do tomorrow: 1)workout 2)get my TB test/read 3)eat 4)clean 5) get ready for the Bronco/Charger game!! 6) work on Portfolio stuff.... I guess I could do all those tomorrow if I get an early start!
k, good night- will update soon! | | |
| Hello!!
I am currently sitting at Higher Grounds Coffee Cafe in Pagosa Springs, CO trying to finish up a Drug Information Question report. I've seemed to gather all I need for the question, however I am not motivated to finish the darn thing...that is exactly why I am blogging =) This week is my last week in Pagosa for the 3rd rotation at Jackisch Pharmacy doing Disease-state management i.e running a diabetes service. I've been telling people I have been learning a LOT from my time here in Pagosa- mostly about life and not too much about pharmacy. So that I don't forget the life lessons learned here, I would like to write it down so I will come back to it and never forget my experiencee. It was hard at first to try and settle in this rural town of 1,744 people (from city-data.com). I was born and raised in Denver, CO and I never thought Denver was a "big" city because I've been to so many other cities that are bigger than Denver: LA, New York , Chicago, etc.... I've never really been to a rural town like Pagosa and so to set up camp and live here for 5.5 weeks was quite the challenge and took some adjusting.
I started my rotation at the pharmacy and it was going great, the store is beautiful and the co-workers are really nice. Except they are at least twice my age or have grandchildren that are older than I am! There weren't many people around I could hang out with like I did in Denver and in college. I was getting really really lonely and even invited people on facebook to come visit me in Pagosa because I didn't have anyone to hang out with. I accompanied Susie, my semi-retired, 60 yr-old host to an Episcopalian Church on Sunday as an effort to meet new people and get out of the mobile home. I took several rides in her mountain-worn Lexus complete with a cracked windshield and a clock display that did not work through Pagosa's roads. It was peaceful and tranquil here, life ran at a snail's pace and people were perfectly patient (albeit most of them are retired and don't have anything else to rush off to do).
Pagosa is mostly a rancher's town, there are cows, horses, and deer everywhere! Not to mention bears come around every so often and are seen frequently at the town's dump/landfill. In fact the first night I came into town, Susie took me to dinner then drove me to the dump to go looking for bears...yea...definitely something I wouldn't have thought of doing myself! Anyway, I wouldn't mind living here when I'm retired, it's just that Pagosa really is about an 8-mile stretch of stores and ranches 8-miles deep. It takes about 15 minutes to get from one side of town to the other. There is no mall here, no Wal-mart or Target, and only a handful of fast-food or chain restaurants: Mcdonalds, Sonic, Taco Bell/KFC, Subway, Quiznos and Pizza Hut. In an effort to save money, I restrained myself from going out to eat too often since a meal is about $7-8 each.
Anyway, I should get into what exactly it is that I've learned/life lessons reinforced:
1) Things don't change much when you're 25 or when you're 70 years old, what changes is your attitude about life and of course physically, things don't work as fast or efficiently.
2) Even when you're surrounded by the most beautiful things either natural or material/man-made, life has little meaning if you have no one to share it with.
3) Save money and be smart when you're young, don't depend on social security. Retired people who were smart when they were younger have what they want and can enjoy what they want without having to work and live paycheck to paycheck, SS check to SS check.
4) Health is one thing you DO NOT want to lose when you get older. To prevent sickness, illness, etc, we MUST exercise and eat healthily! I've seen too many people who have made bad decisions in life and make excuses for not changing these bad decisions- you WILL pay for it later!
5) Youth is what you feel inside, not what you look like outside.
6) I have appreciated my husband more and more being away from him. I've had time to think about how the small things don't matter in our disagreements, what matters is that we have made a commitment to share our lives with each other and will support each other in everything we decide to do.
7) There are a LOT of multiple divorced people here, the image of the old cute couple still sooo in love is VERY rare and for those who have that, they WORK at it and Angela has said, "before you pick a fight with your husband, ask yourself if it's really worth it to fight about- because if you have that fight, it might never be the same between you two again".
8) From the Dalai Lama's The Art of Happiness (paraphrased): Everyone wants to be happy and to not suffer, if we recognize this in everyone, we can relate to them and all the differences between you and "them" will disappear and you will be surprised at how much you learn from someone whom you would've never thought you would talk to otherwise.
9) From Randy Pauch's Last Lecture: If you wait long enough, people will surprise you.
10) I will find something else I have learned while I'm here to make it a full 10...=)
Well, I gotta go meet with Kathy (60+ y/o), the pharmacy technician who's former husband was killed randomly by some guy at a Dunkin Donuts store at night about 6 years ago. We are headed out to Durango, I have never been there so she offered to take me there and show me around =)
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| I can't believe I remember my password to this blog. I am glad I do remember it cuz all the blogging i've done in the past documents the major/important events in my life. I like the way xanga works because it's really timeless...my life is documented and recorded here. On facebook, I put in what I'm feeling at the time, but once I change or update things, it's gone. The only thing that remains from the past on facebook are my photos and picture albums. I've actually spent the last hour or so looking at all my webpages I've had i.e. facebook, myspace, and now xanga. And I end up looking for people in the past too. I wonder what they're up to...I wonder what they are doing with their lives and if they're happy.
Everytime I log on, I have always provided an update so here it goes:
I'm only about 9 days away from my last didactic semester of pharmacy school!! I should be studying for my verbal and written exams coming up next week (on Tues!!) but I can't focus. It IS a Friday night after all  I should get to sleep soon though, I have a meeting with the baker at The Market to discuss wedding cake pricing, details and such at 7:30 am on a Saturday morning!! I'm planning my wedding as well as trying to finish up with this 3rd year of pharmacy school..it's quite tough but I wouldn't say unbearable or unmanageable. I think I've had to tackle a lot more than this during my undergrad years! Anyway, wedding planning has been going well, I've gotten most of the important things out of the way and you know what is cool about wedding planning? I get to see the end result at my wedding!! I'm kinda glad I didn't hire a wedding planner because the wedding is a personal and spiritual celebration of two people "uniting" and I wouldn't have wanted another person to take care of the things that matter the most to me. I am quite proud of what I've done and how much time i've put into wedding planning. People say it's so stressful to plan a wedding and that brides turn into bridezilla's...but honestly I really enjoy planning it. It does get crazy at times because there's hardly any time to plan while still doing school, but it's sooo worth it! It's a lot of fun too! I've also heard how many many brides have always dreamed of their wedding and how they wanted it, but for me, I don't think I've ever dreamed of a perfect wedding. All I wanted was a great man! That's really all that matters! I could care less about how the wedding celebration goes, just as long as everyone enjoy themselves!
Sigh, life is funny. It really is. I recently went back to read/listen to The Alchemist by Paolo Coehlo (sp?) and I remember a line in there that struck me. It went something like "when you [want] something, the whole universe conspires to help you reach your goal/destiny" And when I experience random things that go on in my life, it comes true! For example, I needed to work up a patient case for a class and I hadn't done the case because I was doing wedding stuff so I wasn't prepared at all! I had 4 hours before the class to work-up the case but ran into a good friend Greg O'Malley and he forwarded notes from lectures in the past that really helped me with the case. This is just the most recent event, there have been sooo many other events that lead me to believe the universe is on my side This reminds me of a conversation I had with another good pharmacy friend, Mark, about relationships and how people can live their lives miserable with people they don't "fit" with. I believe most people are unhappy because they don't really know exactly what they want. Perhaps people just settle because they think it won't get any better. Or people kind of know what they want, they just don't have the guts to go out and get it. I could be talking out of my ass right now, but perhaps that's why people are unhappy...hmmm I really miss random blogs like this. I miss just releasing my thoughts, my emotions, my free-flowing consciousness.
Right now, I am happy. I am content and although daily stressors in my life still exist, I find ways to control them. Although I do have my faults. I get angry at myself when I don't live up to my expectations. I get angry when I don't make myself complete things that need to be done such as dishes (right now I have a pile of dishes waiting for me in the kitchen!) Ok, I really do need to get to bed, I'm starting to feel really sleepy and tired.
I will come back and update later. Hopefully earlier rather than later i.e. w/in 6 months! Well...to the loyal Xanga subscribers still (VINA!! hahah) I hope you are doing well and if I haven't talked to you in awhile, please comment so I know how you are doing and catch up! And keep blogging away...I read the subscriptions I have Goodnight, and wish me luck on my verbal and written exams, I really need it!!
Muahz,
KimDao DANG (will change to Collier soon  )
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| Hello!
I've been living with my fiance for about 6 months full-time now and I would have to say it's amazing. I love being at home with him. I guess when we do tie the knot next year in June (June 6, 2009!) it won't be much different except I'll have his last name and a combined bank account...and I will be able to say he's my husband. I still can't believe it. It's all really a dream come true =) Anyway, i'll stop being all gushy, it's just that i've been putting a little more time into the planning of the wedding. Our engagement photo shoot is coming up in about a week and I'm quite excited! I'll try to post them up if they turn out well.... So that's that with my personal relationship life, as for my education, school has resumed and i'm frankly doing much better this semester. I'm hoping to keep up with exercise as much as I want to, but sometimes i've found that fitting in exercise and being on a healthy diet takes quite a bit of time and planning. I'm trying my hardest to do what I think is healthy. Sometimes I get so angry at myself when I don't accomplish what I wanted that day, but I need to remember that I just need to relax and time manage better next time and to not beat myself up too much if I don't get stuff done. I've got to get ready for work now....working at the Louisville Walgreens from 10-6pm this Saturday. I actually love the store because I'm not stressed out and I help people out =) I can see myself here in the future! Ok, I really have to go!
Til next time!
Dao | | |
| Wow...another year of pharmacy school over and done with. If there were things I could change, I would definitely study more. Honestly, I think I spend so much more time online than I do studying! Anyway, it's been unreal, I think I've "grown" a lot from this semester. I have never been such a bad student, and it made me question myself, self reflect...I think I've finally adjusted to being out of my "happy place" as an undergrad in boulder surrounded by friends and inspiring teachers and friends. That was then, and this is now. I have to "grow" up. It's funny because I've always thought I was more mature than my years, but now when I'm actually "grown up", I feel the reverse! I guess the rest of the pharmacy students actually have their head in the right place, I think mine was still daydreaming about having fun and doing whatevers... REALITY check, I think I was testing my limits to see what would really startle me and wake me up from my daydream, maybe a fail? what would that matter right? Would I be super sad if that happened? See, I think what scared me most was the fact that I probably didn't care as much as I should have. In undergrad I could have both worlds, the good grades and a lot of fun! And in pharmacy school, it feels like I have to choose one over the other- either I go have fun, or I study, study, study. What did i do most of the time? Have fun of course! Do I regret it? not really, but I do feel really bad about not getting my good grades. I have one more year left to really do well and gosh darn it, if I put my mind to it, I will do it. I just need to know I want it, BAD. I will be more like my little grade-school self who always missed recess to help the teacher. I remember I had special privileges because my grades were good, and I guess I took the extra perks for granted. I vow to do well no matter how hard I have to work....because gosh darn it, I CAN!
Now onto what's in store for me this summer!
May 25th- Suong's Engagement party
May 26th- Memorial Day BolderBoulder 10K road race
May 27-June16- Wedding planning
in between dates I work at Walgreens (and plan wedding)
June 17- Depart for Korea!
June 29th- Minji and Gi's wedding in Korea
July 2- Depart Korea back home
July 4- Independence day!
And I want to also fit these into summer as well!:
Read a couple good books
Paint the house
Visit Kris and do her Killer steps up a mountain
Hike 14'ers
Learn how to cook good asian/korean/viet food
Ah...the sky's the limit! I can do whatever...when I'm not working...lol. But you're either "making money, or spending money" and I need money to spend it!
I'm so excited for summer...I'm already getting dark and tan. Craziness...i like
So computer, I've gotta let you go for awhile and get out and be active cuz that's what truly makes me happy!
Hit me up anyone who wants to enjoy life in the Colorado sunshine/rain/whatever weather (you know colorado).
laters
Dao
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