Lately I've been feeling a little distant from Kiet, and as much as I would like to keep telling myself that perhaps I'm way too sensitive and it's just all in my head, it's obviously apparent that he has been trying to avoid me. And I, through my loneliness and sadness, has come to a realization. Ever since I met Kiet, and especially after we moved in together, I've been spending all my time and energy on him. What happened to the Clement who values all his friends and always enjoyed the company of others? Ever since I met Kiet, I've felt content. I've been neglecting all my other friends and missing out on all the bonding opportunities with others. So, I've decided to take the effort and initiative to hangout with my other friends more often, and it started with my little brother, Daniel. I invited him to hangout yesterday afternoon, and we watched Ice Age 2: The Meltdown, which we both enjoyed very much. Afterward we went to a tapioca cafe and talked about a lot of things. It was really nice, and he suggested I should really go out and catch up with everyone else; making up for all these time I've neglected them, not for them, but for myself.
I took his advice, and went clubbing in L.A. with Dan, Tri, Alwyn, and Josh last night, which by the way, turned out to be the best clubbing experience I ever had. For some reasons, finally getting away from Kiet made me feel relieved emotionally. Halfway through the night, while we were all dancing on the stage, this Asian guy who was dancing with a girl friend of his started dancing with Alwyn. Not long after, he slowly approached me and took off my shirt, and started dancing with me. I was so shocked and happy at that moment. I thought he was cute too, but knowing myself and how unconfident I'm, I would've never even considered anyone could possibly be interesed in me, especially in a club situation where there are plenty of way more attractive guys than me. In the past, the idea of dancing with other people totally scares me, but that night, my own bravery surprised me. Perhaps it was the loneliness, or was it my desperate attempt to let go of Kiet by looking for someone else? I'm not too sure, but we danced together topless for rest of the night. He didn't have his cellphone with him, so I got his number and took the initiative to text him on my way back down to San Diego. At the end of the night, all I know about him is that his name is Brandon and he is Vietnamese, but still it felt like a dream come true. For the first time in my life, I've found someone I'm interested who is also interested in me.

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I talked to Kiet last Sunday night, and he told me he needs some space away from me. He said he just can't hangout with one person for a long time. His reponse made me angry and resentful. I just feel like this shouldn't be the way one treat their friends. I feel like all these time we spent together and the friendship we have doesn't mean anything to him. But then again, if it was someone else, I would probably not react to it as much. I do take my own affection for him into account. So, this week I've been trying to give him space, and like I was saying in the last entry, trying to catch up with my other friends before it's too late.
The DLP t-shirts were done on Tuesday, so I asked Chris to go pick them up with me. They turned out really good and I like it a lot. Wednesday I went with Dan to Costco and finally got an eye exam for new contacts, but the optometrist told me that I've a scar on my left eye, and I need to go back for a follow up to get an accurate reading next week. He said the scar is only superficial so it should heal quickly. That explains why my left eye has been so irritated lately. We then spent the rest of the day going shopping and I bought a couple jackets that were on sale. Thursday night I went to Denny's with Max and his roommate Alan. We talked until 1:30 in the morning about a wide range of things. It was very enjoyable and I'm so glad I took the time to get to know Max more. Friday night was a fraternity social event at Andy's, but not many brothers were there, so we just had dinner. Alwyn and I then went to get boba with Mickey, a friend I haven't talked to for a while. Afterward we came back to my place and attempted to watch The Chronicles of Narnia. I said attempted because they both felt asleep not even half an hour into the movie. I ended up inviting TJ over and watched Sliding Doors with him.
This was a relaxing week but I felt so tired. I tried so hard to avoid Kiet and to hangout with my other friends that it's to a point of tiring. It's tiring to be angry at someone; it's even more tiring to be angry at yourself. But I'm glad I did it. I needed to do it for myself.

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Last night I finally got the flyer design for this year's Day of Silence done, and I'm totally loving it myself. I started out with no idea or whatsoever how I was going to do it, but it just happened, and I really like the end result. Everyone likes it too. They said it's way better than last year; more energized. Check it out and let me know what you think.
Today was a great day! I went to a job fair on campus yesterday and gave out a few resumes, and I got an email today from Veoh for an interview next week. I'm totally excited and nervous. My first REAL job interview. I guess it's a good start, getting an interview a day after I started looking for a job, right?
Then Brandon called me this morning. Yes, the Brandon I met two weekends ago at GameBoi. We had been talking almost every night last week, but since past weekend we kind of stopped. So I was so surprised that he called me out of the blue today. He told me that he's actually coming down to San Diego with a few friends this weekend. I'm soooo thrilled I can't wait 'til the weekend. I'm glad I decided not to go to the DLP Western Regional Conference this weekend at the last minute. I would've totally missed him if I were to go.
Today just made my week so much better. At least now I've something to look forward to. A weekend with Brandon, a job interview next Wednesday, and yes, new contacts and glasses are coming in next week too. I feel like my life is coming together. At least at this moment it feels like it.

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So, I had my first ever real interview for a full-time position this morning at Veoh. Dan gave me a ride there and Chris drove me back. I think it went pretty well. The company is located in Mira Mesa, several streets away from where I used to live last year. It's pretty good location wise. One of their engineers, Mary first interviewed me, going through my portfolio and asked me a few questions. Then the Product Manager, Joseph, who was also the one who recruited me at the Job Fair on campus, interviewed me. He asked me to critique the company's current website, which was something I wasn't expecting for the interview. But I think it went well. At last, Melissa, I assumed to be the HR person of the company, interviewed me and gave me a small scope of where the company is at. Honestly, I think the whole interview went pretty well, except for the last question that I asked Melissa. Basically I mentioned about my current F-1 student visa status and my OPT work authorization, and hinted at the possibility of getting a sponsorship for a work visa from the company. Her response was the company hasn't hired anyone in such circumstance before, and for a startup company, it could be a challenge but if I was the perfect candidate they want, it wouldn't be a problem for the company. That was the only part that I was a bit uncomfortable with during the entire interview. I should be hearing back from them sometime midweek next week, so we'll see how it goes.

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I got a call from Melissa from Veoh today. She said the company would like to invite me back for a second interview, and there are a few more people who would like to interview me, including their main web designer Wendy, and possibly their Chief Scientist Dr. Ted Dunning and their CEO Dmitry Shapiro. That totally freaked me out. But I guess it's a good sign? I schedule the second interview on this Friday morning. Let's hope it all goes well.

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The interview was great this morning. Well, only the main web designer Wendy and another programmer interviewed me. I've only met and talked to the CEO Dmitry Shapiro briefly. He was too busy he didn't have the time to interview me. All he said was if I would like to work here and if everything is fine with Wendy, he's fine with it. I just got a really good vibe from them.
So, I think a few hours after I left the interview, Melissa called me and extended me an unofficial offer over the phone. The problem is the company would like me to start ASAP as an intern while I'm finishing up my last quarter and switch me to a full-time position once I graduate. However, I'm under my F-1 status, and my OPT work authorization is still in progress, and basically I just can't get any paid position off-campus. I told her I would look into academic internship possibility and get back to her. But honestly it's not looking too well. They basically have given me a job offer already but due to my lack of work authorization at the moment I just can't take it. It's so frustrating, and I'm so stressed out I don't even know where to begin.

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