"You don't have to have a plan and if you do, it doesn't have to be a good one but you have to be willing to be redeemed and you have to be willing to accept grace. Try things, some will be good, some bad, and God will redeem them all. Apply wherever you want and you'll be surprised how well everything works out if you have a humble and open heart about it... You should worry less about not having a plan and focus more on giving God room to work (that is, giving Him options to choose from!)"

My Current Feel Good Song

EAT.
SLEEP.
SKETCH.
PAINT.
READ.
LAUGH.
PRAY.
REPEAT. 

In just 7 days...

I'll be seeing this lovely trio live in San Diego. 2 tickets secured, but I still have no idea who I'm going with. This is what happens when Kimly impulsively buys tickets without friends who can commit to concert dates.

Other Upcoming Concerts: 

(i)  March 2, Kishi Bashi
(ii) March 4, Free Energy

(iii) April 12, The Postal Service


The list grew. 

New App Idea:

Allows you to block certain people on your phone if you know you're about to get drunk that night and are prone to drunk texts (e.g. boss, exes, parents).

Can we talk about how I totally called it with Vine? I need more engineering friends...

I loved this.

"Things to worry about: 
Worry about courage
Worry about cleanliness
Worry about efficiency
Worry about horsemanship

Things not to worry about: 
Don't worry about popular opinion
Don't worry about dolls
Don't worry about the past
Don't worry about the future
Don't worry about growing up
Don't worry about anybody getting ahead of you
Don't worry about triumph
Don't worry about failure unless it comes through your own fault
Don't worry about mosquitoes
Don't worry about flies
Don't worry about insects in general
Don't worry about parents
Don't worry about boys
Don't worry about disappointments
Don't worry about pleasures
Don't worry about satisfactions"

-F. Scott Fitzgerald, letter to his 11 yr. old daughter (1933)

A Pep Talk from Kid President to You

Chances are that everyone has seen this already. So this is for future Kimly to re-watch and enjoy when she's having a rough day.

You're welcome.

Sincerely,
Past Kimly 

"Konstantine"

I'm one of those people who always feels that there is typically that one song that almost perfectly describes how you're feeling at a given point in time. And these past few weeks, I've just been trying to find a song that could best capture my current state. Then this played on shuffle for the first time in months.

"People spend too much time worrying about what will happen, rather than finding out."

-newest friend over 2,000 miles away

Consider the following:

Monday: 2
Tuesday: 2
Wednesday: 4.5
Thursday: 0
Friday: Not yet applicable

The numbers above indicate..
(a) The number of girl scouts I've chased down for cookies
(b) My hours of studying each day
(c) My hours of sleep I was going on that day
(d) My total cups of coffee each day

There's actually a high correlation between the amount of sleep I have gotten each day and how many cups of coffee I've had on a given day.  But, of course, correlation does not imply causality. This would, in fact, go against any hypothesis I would form, since I would expect the number of cups of coffee I consume to have a negative relation with the amount of sleep I've been getting. (This post, in fact, is quickly become the lamest post I've ever written ever and has a high probability of being removed after the shame and embarrassment I'm sure to feel after rereading this a week from now.)

But in all seriousness, all I can think about is going to bed by 9:30 on Friday night while I currently avoid the many, many hours of studying that lay before me.  Okay, I'm way behind schedule, so I'll end with my highs from the last two days:

1. Took my first steps in finding an adviser for a special studies opportunity.
2. Officially applied to my first post college job as of 12:23 PM.

Answer: c

"You are a comma whore. And a preposition whore. And sort of a 'thus' whore."

The things I'm told when friends edit my papers...  I really am a comma whore though.

If I never read another economic paper again,

that wouldn't make much sense considering my current career choice. But seriously, if I don't read one for a least another few weeks, I'll be okay with that.

Newest Addition to the Family Van

So my overwhelmingly boring Saturday of studying was kindly interrupted by the announcement that my sister-in-law was in labor, which led to my prompt departure back to Orange County. And over 12 hours later, at 9:47am, we were blessed with the opportunity to welcome Annabelle into the world at a healthy 6 lb. 8 oz. Here are just few pictures from the afternoon..

Isabel's a big sister! 

Okay, back to reading about voluntarily separable repeated Prisoner's Dilemma with reference letters...

Friday Lists

Things to do in the next week:
[x] Job application due Jan. 31st
[x] Work on cover letter
[x] Study for cognitive psychology midterm
[x] Study for monetary policy midterm
[in progress] Study for linear algebra midterm
[in progress] Homework for linear algebra
[x] Homework for game theory
[ ] Read a chapter for macro honors section
[x] Paper for experimental economics

Just looking at the list makes me tired. I gotta be honest, there are moments in the day where I completely zone out and lose focus on everything that's around me. There are still moments when I re-evaluate all of the decisions that were made real in the last couple weeks, wonder if they were for the best, and doubt.

And then I remind myself how incredibly blessed I am and that through all of its struggles, life is beautiful. So with that said..

Life's current perks:
-my roommates back from DC, so the house is less lonely
-making new friends (okay, it's sort of just one.. Still fun though.)
-liking the new church I've been going to
-gonna welcome another Phamvan into the world in less than a week

Updates in blue (as of Thursday, Jan. 31st) cause I'm actually quite impressed with how much I actually got done.

Yet through all of this, there will be peace in all of my wandering because you helped show me how to find it.

Matthew 6:34

Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.

"We mourn, we cry, we regret a little, but we don't give up."

-Sarah Kim

"Oh my gosh, you're such a list person." -le roommate

• Walked downstairs to coffee that made itself in the morning
• Had only Econ classes (with the exception of one math section)
• Got work done for the internship
• Climbed for 2 hours and completed my very first v2 route EVER
• Went to Bible study for the first time in weeks
• Got the chance to get to know new and awesome people better
• Now, just looking forward feasting on Korean bbq tomorrow

Ladies and Gents, my perfect day. 

Kim..Ly?

I have the name that, without fail, gets misspelled when I order food or coffee, so much so that I have resorted to going by Kim. It's the name I must repeat whenever meeting someone new, explaining that it's Kimberly without the "ber." The name that has lead people to ask, "Why do people call her by her first and last name together?" The name that people never fully know how to correctly pronounce, while my friends (I'm just gonna be blunt and say it's my white friends.) fear it's incredibly offensive when their parents pronounce it as though it's two separate words.

Revelation: My name is originally supposed to be separated into two one-syllable words (like all other Vietnamese words: Kim Ly).

And in honestly, I really don't mind how you pronounce my name.
(As long as it's not Kimry, cause I could go on a whole rant about the racism behind that. I don't think that stereotype should ever be applied to me considering I couldn't pronounce the "r" sound until 8.)

This is another one of my pointless posts. And after hearing my name said out loud far more times than I could ever be comfortable with in a span of three hours, I just felt like writing..

I am quite the garrulous person.

So I sat down and started reading The Beautiful and the Damned, and it shames me how often I need to pull out a dictionary.