Tomorrow is my first day of work. While I am very excited to finally have a job this summer (and a source of income), I do lament the free time that will be lost.

The way that I spend most of my free time varies, most of it consisting of me staying at home and doing things around the house— simple chores like dusting, washing dishes, or more time consuming chores like cleaning out desks/drawers with years worth of materials stored in a small space. I just recently dumped a trash bag with three years worth of high school binders, which was relieving.

Other times when I stay at home, I take it easy. I lounge around the house, watch TV (most of my TV time recently consists of the World Cup), and dog sit my bundle of joy. This is who I am referring to:

This past week has been relaxing. I read two books. The first one is Amsterdam by Ian McEwan and it is about these two friends and how their lives continue after the death of their former lover. The second book is a biography on Catherine the Great (queen of Russia in the late 18th century) by Robert K. Massie. I personally found the second book more enjoyable than the first one, probably because the characters in McEwan’s novel frustrated me and I wanted to sympathize with them but failed to. But that’s enough ranting for now.

On Thursday, I met up with a friend who is currently taking summer school classes at UCLA. I tagged along primarily because I had to go to the federal building located nearby, but also because I have a tendency to live vicariously through my friends as a UCLA student. After her classes ended we grabbed lunch at In-N-Out, which is familiar to me just as it is to every Californian. It was my first time going since I came back from Tufts and let me tell you, that an In-N-Out burger with a chocolate milkshake never fails to make my day.

As for today, I met up with another friend and we went to the local burger joint near our house: Tommy’s. Tommy’s isn’t like your typical fast food burger joint where you sit down and enjoy your meal. You eat standing up or you take it to go. They are also famous for their chili, which can be eaten alone, with your burger/fries/hot dog, etc. However, I do not go to Tommy’s for their famous chili (shocking, I know), but because I have a burger joint nearby, which is wonderful and convenient. Here’s a picture of my burger and fries. They were delicious.

Anyway, I look forward to this upcoming week. Although I will have less free time to lounge around/do my own thing, I am excited for whatever experience I will obtain from my new job. And at the end of the day, I am sure I will always make time for myself, my family, my friends and whatever I have in mind/want to accomplish throughout this summer.