Navigating

Allow me to offer a more detailed explanation of who I am as a person. These are, of course, the basics, as a more advanced series on my behalf would require a greater understanding of the complexities that swirl within me and present themselves before you

My name is Lily. I am a junior majoring in civil engineering with a structural emphasis at the best school in the world (in the West Coast, at least), the University of Southern California. I could not imagine myself happier in any other school than this one. In fact, when I graduate, I will be living in southern California. I hope to call it my home

I am a very avid reader. I enjoy all prose, but refuse poetry. My favorite book is The Stranger, by Albert Camus, but I have also read a high number of novels, including Anna Karenina, Lolita, The Master and Margarita, The Adventures of Kavalier and Clay, An Interpreter of Maladies, A Tale of Two Cities, Ulysses, A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man, Brave New World (but surprisingly I have yet to read 1984, attempting twice but failing both times due to utter frustration with the novel's text), Snow, The Sun Also Rises, and many more. While I am at school, I do not have time to go to the library to borrow books, but I borrow plenty during the summer. In addition to novels (I have read minimal non-fiction), I also subscribe to the newspaper and read Time. There was a time in high school when, trying to learn as many vocabulary words as possible, read the San Francisco Chronicle, Time, Newsweek, and the New Yorker weekly

I believe that reading is a dying trend. There was a recent study released finding that at least one third of all adults stop reading for pleasure upon graduation of college. Reading is crucial for mental processing and learning. More to come on the internet era

I have a taste in music that spans across the entire spectrum. I'll pretty much listen to anything short of Gregorian chanting and gospel music. I have a large number of artists whose albums I have particularly enjoyed. My recent rave list includes Timbaland's Shock Value, Hellogoodbye's Zombies! Aliens! Vampires! Dinosaurs!, Under The Influence of Giants's self titled EP, Just Jack's Overtones, and all things Matt Costa. My favorite song of all time is "Champagne Supernova" by Oasis. I like to listen to entire albums at a time rather than repeatedly play the single because the album speaks to the whole artist

Yes, I really did used to work in a zoo. I was a Junior Zoologist at the San Francisco Zoo Animal Resource Center for five years. I learned animal handling and husbandry skills. Over the years, I learned to handle an alligator, hawks, snakes, a wallaby, a porcupine, an owl, a hedgehog, a bearded dragon, and much more. Yes, I picked up animal defecation. One time I ate monkey chow and it tasted disgusting. I also learned how to gut an animal, as well as how to gas an animal. I watched a mouse asphyxiate; it was not a pretty sight

Yes, I am deactivated from facebook. Facebook is THE premier web destination for college students. I started my account the summer after graduating from high school. I was very surprised to see random people from USC adding me as their friend. It was nice though, I suppose, but I view facebook strictly as a medium intended for a social triviality based on the true friendships and relationships made in person. It is not a substitute for the quintessential human relationship and interaction, and as such, I will remain off the site until needed

I am the president of the Alpha Omega Epsilon chapter at USC. Alpha Omega Epsilon is a social - professional engineering sorority at USC. While we are a small group, we do activities that are pretty fun and good for bonding. This semester, I have been working on a professional event for the Women in Engineering Program, Alpha Omega Epsilon, and the Society of Women Engineers. We are throwing a dinner and having past alums come in to speak and give advice. Also, this semester we are planning a formal dance on a boat

Finally, yes, I really did spend over three hundred dollar in one sitting on two pairs of denim. This was over winter vacation, and while the pants were very expensive, I enjoy wearing them very much, and would have made the same decision know as I did then. I am glad that I am interning, because this gives me a chance to save up on the money I earn

I hope that gave you a more better understanding of who I am as a person, and to understand where LAdventures come from (for the record, "LAdventures" is a play on many things. My initials are LA. I am currently living in LA. I have many adventures in Los Angeles. Therefore, LAdventures." The adventure begins