Ashley Truong – Editor in Chief
English and Asian American Studies Majors / Second Year
“Hello, this is the editor-in-chief of Pacific Ties speaking.
The most important thing to know about me is that I operate in a constant state of grumpiness and stress. My range of emotion goes from “mildly grumpy and stressed” to “I will tear your head off and then cry from stress.” My alternate modes are “bitter” and “judgmental.”
Okay, I kid. In actuality, I am capable of a rich range of emotions, and even if my main operating mode is “grumpy,” the underlying mode is always “passionate.” I care deeply about a lot of things: books. Comics. Movies. Media. News. Social justice. My community. Pacific Ties.
I love spotting Asian Americans in entertainment and media; yelling “Superheroes!!”; having Too Many Feelings about superheroes; having Too Many Feelings about things in general; applying race, gender, and queer theories to every movie I watch and every book or comic I read; complaining about why I watch Glee; and sleeping. Sleep is very, very important to me.
I could list my hobbies, or a list of other miscellany about me. But if you’re interested, you can always just ask. I’m actually quite harmless.
(Really).”
Ray Luo – Arts & Entertainment Editor
Neuroscience/Graduate Student
“He composes mad rhymes with the clock ticking in his inner eardrum. He sits on a giraffe over-looking the barren landscape of the sub-Sahara, wondering “how did the Songhai irrigate Kikuya?” He talks even to squirrels. A few years earlier, he invented the left-handed can opener with the help of a self-balancing Klein bottle. Now, he’s parlaying his collected works of poetry into subjects of rigorous scientific scrutiny. He dreams undreamt dreams. He recycles the tag that holds the plastic wrapping of a Cracker Jack toy together. Ray Luo, he writes your Hallmark cards.”
Jimmy Zhou – Online Editor
Biology Major / Third Year
“Hi I’m Jimmy Zhou and I manage the website for Pacific Ties. I’m a third year biology major. In my spare time I do research at the Semel Institute by inserting people into MRI machines and then taking awesome pictures of their brains. I like eating dimsum, kbbq, sushi, and fancy Italian pastas. My favorite type of music is Kpop and my favorite groups are KARA, IU, SNSD, Younha, Girl’s Day but my #1 is KARA because they are just that awesome. Oh, also at the moment I’m watching shows such as A Game of Thrones and all the old episodes of Star Golden Bell. I also love sleeping, eating, and hanging out with friends. Thanks for stopping by and I hope you enjoy Pacific Ties!”
Priscilla Yap – Copy Editor
English Major / Second Year
“My life is a jar of jelly beans. I am a premed English major, straddling the North and South of UCLA. I’d love to curl up on my bed with my books all day (especially when it’s raining), but I have labs and LS lectures to go to because I need to ensure that I have a future someday. But for now, I am a starving college student living a 10 minute walk off campus with friends. I live off chai tea. The Freshmen 15 was never an option for me, but I am learning to cook (check out my food blog!). At home, I sit criss-cross-apple-sauced with a guitar in my arms. At night, sometimes I write myself to sleep. I love to be around people. Always. Laughing, singing, hugging, kissing. My eyes are brown and my hair is black. Shorts and flip flops are the way to go. I was born and raised in San Diego, sitting right on the border to Mexico and dipping my toes in the Pacific Ocean. I love swimming. If I could, I would flood the earth, have everybody grow some gills, and we’d all blissfully swim and float from place to place. I know of no one who has flatter feet than I, except Donald Duck. I trip once a day (no joke). Hence I hate running, except when there’s something worth chasing. So I play Ultimate Frisbee with my buddies every Friday night at Royce Quad until the early hours of the morning. Powell doesn’t chime at midnight, did you know?
But in the end, none of that really matters. Because in everything, Christ is my walking, my living, my breathing, all that I have and ever will be.
Oh, and I happen to write for Pacific Ties.”
Jonathan Carmona – Design Editor
“It definitely takes me a while to write about myself; I can honestly it is one of the hardest things you could ever ask of me, and that in itself should say a lot already – I cannot do it. I definitely think that if you ever wanted a clear understanding of the type of person I am, in all aspects, Urban Dictionary probably has a better definition than I could ever give you. In fact, in know this to be true. Except, it probably will not tell you I was born in Orange County, by the “happiest place on earth,” or that some of my hobbies include photography, finding new, exciting places to dine, painting, drawing, dancing for a collegiate team, and of course writing a thing or two. Other than that, Urban Dictionary has me figured out pretty well. From “always finding ways of being significant, not just successful” to “dorky shyness” to “possible dry-humor” to “sensitive” to “tries to be there for others, even if he finds the world on top of his shoulders” to “the most thoughtful, boring person you will ever meet.” Though, now that I think of it, there are a couple things in there I don’t agree on, the more explicit, vulgar definitions, but that is beside the point – I think.
I read this on Urban Dictionary: “See that Jonathan over there? I love him.”
It made me smile.
PS I am not, in any way, promoting the definitions provided by Urban Dictionary, as wonderful as some of them might be.
HAVE A GOOD DAY, EVERY DAY!”
Carol Lee – Story Editor
Biology Major with English Minor / Third Year
“I’m one of those people sitting quietly in your lecture with my coffee and corner seat. I seem to be paying attention until I suddenly whip out a crossword puzzle or fall asleep, my lolling head being a dead give-away. Sure I’m just your typical south-campus major at first but once you get to know me, I explosively emerge from my shell. I love writing movie reviews, book reviews, poems, and essays (no, not really). I’m a huge movie-goer and will gladly talk about film any day! I watch a ton of TV and currently, I’m into vampires (yes I admit it… don’t judge!) HOWEVER, I must be absolutely clear that I HATE TWILIGHT. I’m weird, crazy, and hopefully, funny (I try). I love PacTies!
A list that sums up who I am: noodles, sushi, fries, pasta, seafood, tea, boba, iced coffee, chocolate, Chipotle burrito bowl, movie nights, lazy days, rain, cloudy days, friendship, love, family, cats, Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings, fantasy, shoes, purses, jewelry, weekend trips, snacks, fun-reading.”