One great day!

For three reasons:

1. I got my phone. Woohoo! It's an icy blue LG Chocolate. I paid $110 out of the total price, and my parents subsidized the remaining $50. Apparently the phones here are cheaper than back home. Number's (215) 817-4578 :D

2. I met my roommate today. And I absolutely love her! We ate at Pod, a Japanese restaurant within University City. The restaurant itself was super cool, modern with flashy lights and great interior decor, but the company was out of the park. Kristen and her family are such wonderful people! We got along from the very first moment, and it was funny how we finally met. Her family and mine arrived at the restaurant at exactly the same time, and I was looking at her like, "Okay I know this face and I thiiiink this is her" and apparently at the same time she said to her mom, "Mom, I think this is her I think this is her" and then we both laughed (while still far apart), walked towards each other and greeted each other with a big hug. Everyone shook hands and exchanged hugs and names and it was so, so warm from the very beginning! I love her parents; they're both so nice. They're both Armenian, but the dad (Mark) grew up in the US so he's more Americanized than the mom (Silva) who was raised in Armenia. Mr. Santerian has a Tony Soprano vibe in that he looks Italian and is tanned and super chill; it's fitting that his family business is running golf courses so he's on the green all day everyday! He's cool because he's laid back but at the same time really involved in the lives of his kids. Yknow how some dads are quiet a lot of the time during social gatherings? Well he, my dad and Kuya EJ were talking all throughout dinner and it was so comfortable. He's awesome. And Mrs. Santerian is the sweetest thing. She has that southern charm (hospitality), so she was super friendly and offering to help me if I ever need anything, whether a place to go for the long breaks, a nice home-cooked meal, or a shopping buddy. She's pretty conservative values-wise, so she and Kristen were reassuring me and my mom that we wouldn't have any problems like bringing boyfriends into the room or whatever. It turns out Kristen and her mom did exactly the same things as me and my mom when we found out who our roommate was going to be -- check Facebook to make sure she's not scandalous or gothic or anything horrifying :)) Anyway she's so cute; I'm happy I have a mommy in Philly! And Kristen is just great. She has the values of her parents, is so grounded and has her priorities straight, but at the same time she's not boring or a religious zealot at all. She's so fun to talk to, girlier than me but not maarte, and we have a lot in common! Actually it turns out our families have a lot in common. Our brothers are exactly alike in that they're HS juniors who are happy not to be like their sisters (grades-wise), the creative type that detests studying and enjoys computer games or X-box, maloko, pilosopo, street smart and malambing. Her mom comes from a family of three and her dad from a family of five, just like my mom and dad. Both our dads run second generation family businesses. Pretty much the same values system all around, and a whole lot of other things I can't remember. The only differences that came up all night are: JV loves to read and Mark Jr. doesn't; Kristen's mom cooks and mine doesn't. We're so unbelievably compatible it's almost creepy haha but it's not -- it's really, really nice; and it makes me so excited for the year ahead! What an amazing night. I discovered a totally chic place to eat, met an absolutely wonderful family and found out that, thanks to the Santerians' connections, a) Kristen and I can get a suite at the Sheraton during exam week in case it gets too noisy on campus, b) our laundry can be picked up directly from our room free of charge and c) an interior decorator is fixing up our dorm. BOO YA! :))

3. I'm moving in tomorrow -- I mean later! I'm so so so so exciteeeeeeeddd :D