i work to travel

home is where the heart is

2012-01-16T22:40:00.000-08:00

here i am back in san francisco after a crazy month of packing, traveling, unpacking and now finally getting settled in. i tried to pack my last month in new york full of activities...going to the met, watching wicked, going to a jazz club, central park walks, etc. needless to say, there were still a list of things that i wish i had had time to do. the hardest part was saying good by to my friends there the last night-even harder leaving to go to the airport.

i flew straight from new york to london to visit tony and caroline and unknowingly watched friends with benefits as my first movie on the plane. from saying goodbye to my roommates and my friends, i was already full of emotion and parched from crying. for those of you who havent seen the movie, the first part of friends with benefits is mila kunis showing justin timberlake around nyc so there are shots of all the scenic awesome places in new york.....yeah another tear fest!

my blog about my trip to paris and london will have to wait until tomorrow!

turning a new leaf

2011-11-22T21:58:00.000-08:00

it's been three years since i moved to this crazy city and after all the whining and griping about wanting to be back in san francisco, i am finally making the move back. it's funny that when the opportunity was given to me, i actually went back and forth and was mentally tormented for days. i made lists of pros and cons and i talked to everyone and anyone about it. the bottom line was that i was literally handed the thing i wanted most on a silver platter and i needed to take it.

i have a lot of mixed feelings about leaving this city. i think my first year and a half i was hating it and really wanted to go home. then i started to meet more people and hang out with certain people consistently and felt more comfortable with the city and my job. although i don't yet feel that i'm ready to leave, a part of me does wonder when i would exactly have been ready (if ever). i have yet to figure out what more i wanted out of the city in order to make me "ready" and i will not be able to find out....and i think i am content with that.

regnar socal

2011-05-01T20:15:00.000-07:00

a few weeks ago i did this crazy race called the regnar relay. picture this: 12 people, 2 vans, 200 miles...TWO DAYS. and i basically got 2 hours of sleep the whole time.

whats crazier is i cant wait until next years race!

nola

2011-04-19T20:04:00.000-07:00

so it doesnt look like i have anymore room to take pics everyday and post them! how unfortunate....buuuut that doesnt mean i cant still write!

so in my previous post i mentioned that i had just gotten back from new orleans. it was my first time there and i had the time of my life! it was never a place i desired to go but boy am i glad i did.

i traveled with my good friend hana to go to jon kong's wedding. i had met hana through jon and jon i met through monica. the two of them were child hood friends back in toronto. monica, jon and a few of his friends and i met in vegas in 2005 (or was it 2006?) and then again when we went to austin, tx and when he would visit sf.

first off, new orleans (aka nola) was HOT and humid. i did a lot of sweating and smelling but stupidly only brought one casual outfit and three dresses. packing fail on my part....

day 1-we checked into the hotel and headed out to EAT. jon had told us about a restaurant called stanley's that had the best soft shell crab po' boys. we ordered one of those and soft shell crab eggs benedict. both were super yum but semi heavy. the best part about the meal was the hot sauce! (crystal's-official hot sauce of the new orleans saints btw). for a linner snack we headed to a place called mother's. it reminded me of katz deli but with soul food. i tasted my first bowl of grits and debris (nola dictionary: debris is the meat and fat drippings off of a roast beef) among other things. that place was awesome-especially for their homemade rasberry jam and biscuits! for dinner we headed to the rehearsal dinner for an authentic crawfish boil! hana and i got there a little late and it was already dark. by that time there was no more carbs left-just a ton of crawfish poured out onto a table. we just ate and ate and ate and there were still a ton of crawfish left! i got to meet hana and jon's uw friends at the boil and we headed out to bourbon street with the promise that jon would come meet us later that night.

wow bourbon street was so crazy awesome it deserves its own paragraph. it totally reminded me of dublin with people all over the place. it was even crazier because there was music blasting from the bars and people on the balconies above throwing beads. (dont worry, no boobs were shown by me and anyone around me) oh and did i mention that alcohol was CHEAP? there were shops that sold hurricanes (=red death) and grenades (=neon green death) and others that looked like a slurpee store but all the slurpees had different types of alcohol in them. so so fun and so so crazy! we ended up at an irish bar with an outdoor area for the night which was a little less crazy.

day 2-nursing my hangover. just kidding! hana and i headed back to mother's to try more of their awesome food. this time we tried the crawfish etouffee even though you would THINK we were sick of crawfish from the night before.

after lunch mon and i decided to go for a run to help us train for our relay race. lemme just tell you that 2 miles in humidity feels like 10 miles. my priss ass is so used to running in the gym that i simply couldnt run the 2 miles! i ended up going to the gym at the hotel to run more and then immediately jumped into the pool (one of the best feelings in the world!)

around 530 we headed to the W for the wedding. it was gorgeous and so was the bride! and true to new orleans fashion we paraded with a jazz band down to the reception dinner restaurant (paul k's which is the number one caterer in nola) i cant rave enough about this meal. it was the best meal ive had in a while. hana ordered the fried green tomatoes and crawfish etouffee. i had the crab cake and the blackened drum. holy crap just thinking about the food makes me salivate. and not to mention the BEST bread pudding for dessert. oh...and it was open bar top top shelf. talk about an awesome wedding.

then it was back to bourbon street and surprisingly back to the same irish bar as before. it was just that fun!!

overall nola = awesome (and way better than vegas) i want to go back. like NOW.

at least one resolution followed through

2011-04-13T05:08:00.001-07:00

ive been so blessed this year - its only april and ive been able to travel to cabo, dublin and new orleans! not only that, i can check off my new years resolution of "travel to two new places". how exciting!!!

ji kang ga nai

2011-04-06T21:09:00.000-07:00

sometimes i wish there were more hours in the day for me to do stuff besides work. it seems like the few hours after work are so freakin precious and time passes by way to quickly when i dont want it to. meanwhile, i can spend minutes at work just staring at the time or typing away and it seems like FOREVER but its not!! argh.

btw, how the heck is it already april!?

a life without smart phones

2011-04-03T19:34:00.000-07:00

today i was in line with my friend grace at whole foods and she asked me if i would be able to go back from a regular phone to a smart phone. i told her that i think i might be thankful for it. i seriously think we are addicted to our phones. im constantly checking it and using it as a "im bored" fix. are our attention spans just getting shorter?

it also REALLY annoys me when im at dinner with people and they are always on their phones. ugh it would be so nice to just have a meal with friends and not worry about who is calling or that email or blah blah. i remember when people used to talk about blackberries and joke they were crackberries. umm...ALL SMART PHONES ARE LIKE CRACK.

cant someone write a column on social etiquette about cell phone use and cant it become taboo to use your cell at dinner? pleeeease?!!?!?

recognition

2011-03-31T21:13:00.000-07:00

i got promoted this week. it's good to know that i get recognition for having two all nighters and working my butt off last year. it's time to make this next year a crazy one and work even harder.

this is just the motivation i needed to keep myself busy and working hard for busy season which is just around the corner!

yay me!

nice to meet you kelly o'shaughnessy!!

2011-03-30T19:49:00.000-07:00

i finally get to write about my dublin experience! unfortunately our trip was cut one day short and we spent one night innyc but that's what happens when you travel on standby....i call it EXTREME traveling. luckily the hotel did not charge us for our cancellation since we were still staying two nights.

so after work on thursday amish, meeks and thomas meet me at penn station and we head to jfk to our aer lingus flight. did you know aer lingus charges for alcohol on international flights? NOT COOL. they also dont provide an overnight kit with an eye mask and stuff to make it a comfortable flight. i only slept 3 hours on the 5 hours flight because i was watching easy A (movies were still free!) and the stewardesses were going around the entire flight selling duty free items. another NOT COOL thing about aer lingus!

friday morning the four of us arrive bright eyed and bushy tailed (NOT) into dublin and take a cab to our hotel. we stayed at the central hotel which was exactly that-right smack dab in the center of everything. the only time we had to take a motor vehicle as transportation was to and from the airport. otherwise we were able to walk everywhere.

first stop was lunch at cornucopia. apparently it is the oldest vegetarian restaurant in dublin. second stop was THE GUINNESS BREWERY! this building is a must if you head to dublin. not only do you get to see how guinness is brewed, but at the end of the tour you end up in this amazing room withpanoramic views of dublin and of course a free pint of guinness. we were so so lucky to be in dublin that day because it was sunny and gorgeous!

next stop is the best place for fish and chips in dublin-burdock's! we found a little grassy area and had a little picnic action!

fastforward to night time when we decided to do our very own pub crawl! another cool thing about our hotel is they had this bar called the library bar with huge chairs and books lining the walls that served awesome irish coffees. we of course started there and proceeded to hit up at least 5 other bars and didnt sleep until 4 am! one of the bars had the best sampler platter (which they called "after work nibblers") my fav on the platter were the chicken wings...id have to say they were one of the best ive ever had! while on our pub crawl we encountered gypsies begging formoney which made me and meeks so angry and in our insobriety yelled at them. that was basically when it was time to head home to eat halal food that we discovered and introduce the boys to the writing game.

the next morning amish found this brunch cafe at the top of a clothing store which reminded me a lot of anthropologie. we had heard that the national leprauchan museum was a must see so we ventured there. in my opinion it wasnt worth the money....end of story.

then we decided to go to this shopping street called grafton street which reminded me a lot of the 3rd street promenade in santa monica. lots of street performers and cute boutiques! that night, which was our last night, we went to a pub where the tables have beer taps in the center. SO AWESOME but so dangerous. we stayed there for a long time and ate traditional irish fare (bangers and mash and guinness beef stew) and watched them do some irish dancing. oh, did i mention we played the writing game AND kings? (btw by the time we were finishing up with kings we had gone through almost 12 pints of beer among the four of us.) a rule that was made during kings was that we had to make up irish names for ourselves (mine was kelly o'shaughnessy) and everyone had to use that name for the rest of the night. the next rule that was made was we had to SING the person's name.

basically....we left the bar to roam the streets of dublin singing each other's irish names. SO. MUCH. FUN.

dublin was hands down one of the best places ive been to. everyone was super friendly (except the gypsies), their accents are super cute, and the city was so incredibly chill. i definitely want to go back in the near future!

next stop....paris? barcelona? amsterdam?

apocalypse?

2011-03-30T05:34:00.000-07:00

its the end of march and its still cold as death in nyc! is this global warming or what? this summer better not be scorchingly hot....i dunno if i can handle that!

2011-03-28T20:52:00.000-07:00

today was the best monday ive ever had. EVER.

2011-03-22T15:15:00.000-07:00

i feel like im constantly tired. it doesnt help that i have issues sleeping too! so today i stayed home from work and ended up sleeping 10 hours! weird thing is, im still so so tired but i have all this work to do!

a friend suggested i take vitamin c and zinc everyday. time to go buy that stuff and stock up on it! i seriously get sick too much =(

anyways, this pic is from saturday after me and james took a hip hop class at alvin ailey dance studio. we tried to pose in a dance move but dunno if that turned out so well!

did i mention i like to dance?

2011-03-18T22:31:00.000-07:00

anyone heard this song? its freaking hilarious!! youtube it NOW and learn to do the dance in a sweatsuit!! hollaaaaa

he also has another song where he goes..."how you like your eggs, fried or fertilized"

anyways....today james and i went to eat korilla food truck. while in line, i got spat on by a homeless. ive never seen james get so mad before since ive known him. it was cute how he wanted to defend me by getting crazy korean on a my den bum. i told him it wasnt worth it because that guy was a bum and a loser. but i still heart james for being so mad for me.

and then......he and i went karaoke at this awesome bar. we spent two hours there and had the time of our lives. james says his favorite song was "just a friend" oooh baby youuuuuu got what i neeeeeed. my favorite was "picture" cuz i got to sing with james.

after karaoke we walked to ktown and had some makori and some snacky snacks. im so proud of james because he walked so much today....it had to have been at least 5 miles. granted his feet are smelly and sweaty but so are mine. misery loves company and i love james. =)

st pattys!

2011-03-17T20:53:00.000-07:00

today we celebrate st pattys! not sure why we celebrate it or who he is, but it seems like the nyc tradition to be drunk during the daylight hours and to get CRAZY.

hit up my fav bar landsdowne road tonight and all we did was drink. i really just wanted wings and some nachos!

james is passed out next to me. he had one too many car bombs! isnt he so cute?!

fabio visits!

2011-03-16T20:16:00.000-07:00

james came to new york this morning! strangely i was nervously checking my phone and waiting for him to arrive this morning...i think i was worried that it was raining and the poor boy had to walk from the subway and drag his suitcase in the rain.

we didnt get to hang out during the day but we discovered this awesome bar nearby via scoutmob. where was a skeeball machine right next to our table, our bill was only $16 and the food was awesome! (did i mention there were tater tots?) i cant wait for the rest of the good eats and fun during the rest of his visit!

bump in the road

2011-03-15T20:19:00.000-07:00

im badly craving sweets! last night i had a dream that i stuffed four cupcakes into my mouth!! i hope the crazy cravings go away soon. i cant avoid that candy bowl at work for forever!!

it truly amazes me how some people cut stuff completely out of their diet for their entire life. i think at some point the cravings stop but i cant even fathom the thought of not wanting to eat sweets or meat or dairy ever again.

to me i never worried about what a certain food would do for me, whether or not things were organic or grass fed or blah blah but i wonder if i should. i always thought that life was too short to not enjoy what you love!

maybe if i learned about where things come from or what they are doing to my body i would think otherwise. problem is, i know that sweets and sugars are horrible for my body and i know how they make me feel after BUT I STILL EAT THEM. here i am trying to teach people about their well being when i cant even practice what i preach.

lent

2011-03-14T20:35:00.000-07:00

this year i decided to support james this year by giving something up for lent. we talked about what to give up and decided on cuss words...then i decided to add more and have us give up sweets. sweets has actually been easy. its cuss words that im FAILING in. i have to put $1 in the jar each time i cuss and im basically already broke!!!

effort

2011-03-10T20:21:00.000-08:00

when i first moved to sf i was a bit of a hermit and hung out by myself a lot (ie i watched a lot of south park online). it wasnt until i found a good group of people that i liked that i started going out more and actually making the effort to get to know people and going out. moving to nyc i missed them so much and reverted back to being a hermit. well now, since ive decided to turn a new leaf, i feel more social and think i am actually going to make an effort to meet up with people. my calendar this week has been packed just like it was back in sf! lets see if i can keep this up!

fat tuesday?

2011-03-09T05:37:00.000-08:00

another goal of mine is to try to learn about religious stuff. not that im saying i want to become religious, i just think that a lot of american culture and events is based around christianity and i have always wondered what they were for! i JUST learned what fat tuesday was for a few days ago!!

pinched nerve

2011-03-08T05:48:00.000-08:00

having the internet makes it so easy to google symptoms and self diagnose! maybe im becoming a hypochondriac but i was so afraid of a tumor or chronic headaches again! i keep getting headaches that start from the top of my neck/bottom of my head and when i try to move my neck, it hurts so bad! not sure whats going on but gonna treat myself to a massage this weekend to try to help it out. yeah massages!!

second chances

2011-03-06T07:16:00.000-08:00

yesterday was the day of second chances. i started off with trying bikram yoga again and had an amazing experience. i felt super prepared mentally and physically and didnt feel like passing out this time. i think im definitely gonna start going more often!

i felt so good from yoga that i also decided to go to circle again. i seirously havent gone since my bday in 2009 and for some reason was traumatized. this time, however, was a blast!!!!! dunno if i will go more often but i will definitely remember circle as a good experience now. i felt like a grams there tho....maybe it was cuz i wore my cardigan the whole time?

wellness

2011-03-03T19:28:00.000-08:00

at work we help our clients improve the quality of health of their employees. i think about it and wonder how much the wellness programs actually affect people. i honestly think it takes a lot of work to get people motivated and active in these programs which is why a lot of them dont see an roi until a few years past implementation.

when i first started i wanted to introduce a walking competition but got the message that the culture of the office was going to make the program not successful. luckily when company decided to do a small walking competition last year, i was one of the people who got to suggest it and actually help it get into action. it was really exciting at first but then when i saw the low participation and total apathy for physical fitness, i was again discouraged.

today i had the idea to start a walking club or a running club at work. not much, just a few laps around the good ol neighborhood or a run after work. im afraid it might be a long shot and no one will want to join, but i think ill put a sign up sheet in the kitchen or send an email around to see if anyone will want to join me.

with obesity rates and bmis (and not to mention diabetes and heart disease) skyrocketing, i dont understand why people dont care about their health more!! its pretty upsetting to me even though im not vegetarian or vegan or blah blah, i think i take care of my body for the most part by exercising, eating lots of vegetables and getting my routine checkups. everyone else should too!!!

work to travel, run to eat

2011-03-02T19:39:00.000-08:00

today was my first day back in the office after being away for almost 2 weeks! man, it sure is hard to get back into the groove!

after being in sf and then cabo, i was not looking forward to coming back to nyc. thank goodness the weather was mild today....im hoping spring comes soon!

my week at home was spent cleaning out my mom's house. i unearthed way too many notes and pictures that needed to stay hidden and gave away a bunch of clothes! im seriously not buying anymore clothing!

this weekend i went to cabo and to sum it up, it was awesome! i tanned, gained 6 lbs, went ziplining, repelled off a 180 ft rock, jet skiied, and snorkeled, and oh did i mention i gained 6 lbs?!?! we stayed at an all-inclusive resort with most meals being buffet style. i didnt even drink that much but ate to my heart's desire!!

this weekend made me think of a new life motto....work to travel, run to eat!!!

cannot wait for my next trip to dublin!

im on vacation

2011-02-23T10:33:00.000-08:00

being on vacation in california is perfection. besides the coldness of my mom's house and having to wake up at the crack of dawn so im not stranded all day at her place, being at home is awesome!

im sitting here with my grams learning how to make vietnamese style pickles and chatting about living in new york back in the 50s. i think she knows more about the city than i do.

will return to blogging next week when im back in nyc!

happy day

2011-02-17T19:19:00.000-08:00

today has been a great day! the weather was fabulous, i got to meet a client and have a great lunch, i PASSED MY EXAM, and i got laundry done!!

man it feels so good to be able to pass this exam. i feel motivated even though there are still 7 exams left. i really hope i have time to continue taking exams!

here i am with my first learning guide!!!

i love to walk

2011-02-16T19:52:00.000-08:00

i would have to say that my favorite past time is walking. i think itstarted in middle school when sharon and i used to take walks around saratoga pumping our arms and squeezing our butt muscles to try to get a work out...you remember that dont you sharon?

in college it was simply a matter of me not wanting to take the bus so i walked everywhere. i hated being on someone elses schedule (the bus was free btw)

when i lived in sf mon and i ramped it up a bit to urban hiking because the hills were so brutal! i think some of the best times ive ever had were urban hiking with mon and just chatting and enjoying each others company.

in ny i think walking is a necessity. some people think im crazy for walking the three miles to and from connies place but when im not on a time crunch (which is more times than not) its the best and most relaxing thing. i can catch up on my phone conversations, listen to music or just people watch. on a night like tonight it was perfect!

i have A LOT of pics to post up cuz james came and we did awesome stuff like eat chicken wings on vday. its great to have him around and totally looking forward to his next visit!

this first pic was taken on monday as we were getting ready to go to landsdowne! we basically had food coma after the meal cuz we ordered a ton of wings, our favorite pulled pork nachos and then hit up holey cream for a donut ice cream sandwich. what a great way to spend valentines day!

on tues after work james and i went to meet up lu at ginger man and had some of their home made ginger beer. i seriously havent been been to ginger man since i met hana there two years ago! sadly, james and i drank before eating and got pretty darn tipsy after two beers each. we successfully passed out at 9 pm and woke up a good 11 hours later. (well, i woke up 11 hours later. i think james woke up 13 hours later!) strangely enough i was still really tired today and felt groggy at work. super annoying.

his flight just left a few hours ago and its always hard for me to fall asleep without him after hes been here for a while. hopefully my walk will make me fall asleep asap!

surprise surprise!!!

2011-02-13T20:19:00.000-08:00

today was the bestest day! i was woken up by someone coming into my room at 9 am and almost screamed because i didnt know who it was! then i recognized the hair and realized IT WAS JAMES!!! that sneaky boy came all the way from CA to surprise me for valentines day! im such a lucky lucky girl =)

first impressions

2011-02-10T17:59:00.000-08:00

ive heard that my first impression to people isnt so great. the first time james met me he was not a fan at all! and thats in a social setting. in a professional setting what makes you give off a good first impression? i think its the way you talk, the way you shake hands, the way you make eye contact, the way you sit. i need to make a conscious effort of that next time i go to a client meeting...

i think way too much

2011-02-09T21:14:00.001-08:00

im pretty sure i think too much about certain things. theres so many times that i am in a situation and i churn my thoughts over and over in my head to make sense of them but always get back to the same conclusion. today when i was running i tried to zone out but kept going back to the same issue and conclusion. its only when i talk to someone close to me like james that im able to fathom another conclusion. its strange how the mind works huh?

i'm getting old....

2011-02-08T19:19:00.000-08:00

seriously i'm not making this up but i am going GREY! jackie just pulled out a bunch of hairs and i know i have more but the lighting was bad! i know i'm gonna go grey by the time im 30....i should do more woo-sahs or something!

today was pretty uneventful at work. i definitely took advantage of it today and finished another section of reading for my exam.

i had dinner at this awesome south american/peruvian restaurant today...freaking delicious! but the weather was dreadfully cold! that wind chill really kicked me in the butt! i had this plan to go to the trader joe's in chelsea then to grab a taxi home. but i got ambitious and thought i could carry my groceries and walk. needless to say i got 2 avenues and gave in cuz it was so so cold!!

it's amazing how much has changed since i moved to nyc. when i was in sf and went grocery shopping, i would buy the world. but now, i can only buy what i can carry. a couple of weeks ago i went crazy at trader joes and spent $45 and could barely carry it my 3 bags home. today i spent $30 and had 2 bags that were easily manageable. does that mean that each bag at trader joes fits $15 worth of stuff?!?! veeeery interesting!

blog ideas

2011-02-07T21:12:00.001-08:00

so sometimes during the day i have these awesome ideas about what to write about but then when i get here at night i cant remember any of them! how weird (and annoying) is that?

well, since i dont have much to say today, id like to wish my boyfriend a happy birthday!!! it's already february 8 eastern standard time so its OFFICIALLY his 30-1!! yay james!!!!

and in honor of james....he also gets a pic!! whoohoo!

no more!

2011-02-06T21:27:00.001-08:00

ok it hasn't even been a month and i have not been able to keep my resolution up of no drinking on the weekdays. this has got to stop!

i've been pretty good about studying everyday and running but starting tomorrow, i need to up the running and begin eating healthy for this race. i think i also want to sign up for the brooklyn half.

looking forward

2011-02-04T19:39:00.000-08:00

it was really bad of me to start off the new year with such negativity. today i am much happier!

work last year i have to say was crazy. this year started off a little crazy but this past week has been so chill that i have plenty to be happy about! i started studying for my CEBS (certified employee benefits specialist) exam. i'm taking exam 1 out of 8.....it's going to be a long journey! the first two exams i think will be cake because they cover a lot of information that i have learned from work. the second two cover retirement (which i know nothing about) and the third two cover compensation (which i also know nothing about). then i get to take two electives of my choice. i think i know what i am going to take already but we will see!

i'm excited for this journey ahead and to work towards this certification!

my tet part 2

2011-02-02T19:22:00.000-08:00

it's almost time for my favorite holiday...lunar new year or as we viets call it...tet!

most people look forward to christmas, but when i was kid i always looked forward to tet cuz it meant $$$ and lots of it! thinking back on it now, i remember having to go to all the adults and individually wishing them a happy new year and listing all the things i wished for them in the new year to get my red envelope (all in viet, mind you). i would give anything to be near my family and doing that right now!!

on new year's eve my mom does a lot of superstitious things. at the stroke of midnight she makes sure that she is the first person who steps in the house and that my grandma always calls to "start the year off with good luck". on new year's day we aren't allowed to do a lot of things because how we spend the first day of the new year is an indication of how lucky the rest of our year will be. so no showering (washing luck down the drain), no cleaning (sweeping luck out the door), no spending money (throwing away all your money) etc. im not as superstitious as my mom but i do believe it is good to try to do good things as it is an indication of the rest of the year!

i was really irritated yesterday because i kept seeing all these facebook status with people wishing a happy chinese new year. i was this close to posting a snarky comment but refrained because that just isn't cool. so instead, i will rant about it here.

seeing comments about chinese new year makes me angry for several reasons. it is not chinese new year, it is lunar new year. by using the term "chinese new year" it makes it seem like only chinese people celebrate it and that just is not true. it is a big holiday for vietnamese and koreans as well (among others). i don't think it's cool to use the term chinese new year because then non-asians and other asians will think it's just a chinese holiday. and if among us asian people we don't know about each other's cultures, then how do expect non-asians to know about our cultures? i always hear stories about non-asians not being able to tell different types of asians apart and that ignorance makes us mad. just not knowing that there are other asians besides chinese who celebrate such a big holiday in my eyes is the same kind of ignorance.

then again, my anger (be it legit or not) probably comes from my alice 97.3 incident back in 2007 (refer to post "my tet" 2/16/10 and also from my childhood. i grew up around ALL taiwanese and chinese people. all my friends spoke mandarin and when i went over to their houses their parents thought i was chinese and spoke mandarin to me. heck, i dunno if i blame them, my last name sounds chinese and apparently i look chinese. but....I AM IN NO WAY CHINESE. people freak out about taiwanese versus chinese so i think im pretty justified in getting finally pissed that people think im chinese.

so the point of my rant is that it pisses me off that i feel that this holiday is all chinese. everyone only knows the chinatown festival, the firecrackers, the lion dance, blah blah blah. yes, vietnamese culture is in many ways similar to chinese culture but we are very very different and do distinct things on tet. for example, we eat certain types of cake that are only made during tet. one of the cakes is called banh trung and we eat it because it is made from all simple vietnamese ingredients and it's in the shape of a square to signify the earth. (i used to know this story really well because i told it during my pageant speech)

ok im going to stop ranting because it's almost midnight and i'm going to be happy! chúc mừng năm mới.....Vạn sự như ý

Happy new year!

2011-02-01T19:55:00.000-08:00

today was one of those days that i was just ANNOYED! good thing i had james to calm me down and talk it over with me!

ok, short ass post today, but here are pics from yesterday and today!

be my guest

2011-01-31T19:37:00.001-08:00

we have a guest in my pics this weekend!!! i headed back to sf on friday to celebrate james' bday this weekend. it's horrible but this was the first bday i celebrated with him....i resolve to celebrate more with him! we had a wonderful dinner at kan zaman with 20 of our friends then headed to milk to partay. it holds a special place in our hearts cuz that's where we shared our first kiss!

saturday i had dinner with the girls in sf at barbacco which was awesome! too bad sf was rainy and poopoo and i was feeling poopoo that i couldn't enjoy more of sat night in the city. i did get some awesome qt with james though. we fell asleep at midnight haha.

sunday i spent all day traveling so pictures from that day ARE NOT ALLOWED!

it's been one LONG week

2011-01-27T19:18:00.001-08:00

i think my weeklong sickness is finally over! last night was BRUTAL. my ears are still pretty plugged but at least i can't hear semi normally. today was the first day in a week i managed to go to the gym. sweating it out really does help....but so does sudafed, theraflu and lots of other drugs.....

off to CA tomorrow!! whoohoo!! i'm packing now and listening to my new fav pandora station called "dance pop" it's the BEST station to run to and dance party to!

celiac disease

2011-01-26T20:19:00.000-08:00

so a few months ago i was telling my boss that i have chronic headaches and she suggested that i might be allergic to gluten. i kinda shrugged it off because i thought my headaches would go away with proper use of my mouthguard. unfortunately, the mouthguard hasn't made the headaches go away completely.

a few weeks ago i decided to try going gluten-free. i've been doing a lot of reading on celiac disease and one of the blogs i follow did a piece on it so i decided to write about it too. i'm planning on going to my doctor in the next few weeks go check it out but man eating gluten-free is HARD. thank goodness i'm asian and can eat lots of rice and know of about all of the gluten-free noodles. not eating bread is REALLY hard. not eating baked goods is even harder but it's awesome that they do have gluten free bakeries and mixes out there! (check out the gluten-free brownie mix at trader joes!) it's even harder to not drink beer....but thank goodness whiskey and scotch are gluten-free.

i'm hoping my blood panel comes out negative for celiac disease but for now...gluten-free is the way to be for me!!

under the weather

2011-01-25T20:40:00.000-08:00

today was my first full day out of the house. it was a HUGE mistake to leave today because the weather was on crack. it snowed like crazy this morning and then it was sunny and then on my walk home it was semi warm. i have to admit work was pretty painful and i left early with a maaajor headache and amidst multiple fits of coughing!

do i have to go back to work tomorrow??

2011-01-24T18:28:00.001-08:00

i havent blogged because ive basically spent the past three days cooped up in my room sick. cute outfits coming soon...

2011-01-23T16:02:00.000-08:00

last night the roommies headed to tree nyc for a farewell dinner for diane. we all had our first taste of rabbit pate which was AMAZING!! we also had really good entrees and yummy desserts.

i got sick friday night and am one of those rare cases where i eat and eat and eat when im sick. i guess good thing about that is that i enjoyed the meal last night so much!

just one of those days

2011-01-22T10:38:00.000-08:00

usually on friday nights im so exhausted from the week that i dont want to do anything but sit at home and watch netflix. friday was so ridiculously busy and stressful that i decided to reach out and go out with people....i even offered to go to hiro. yes, the AZN club that i went to and got so drunk that i fell trying to get into the cab TWICE.

luckily we didnt end up going to hiro but had a great wine and cheese night and then hit up maru in ktown. there we saw james' doppelganger....the dude had long hair but he wasnt as hot as my james!!!

organic....orgasmic!!

2011-01-20T21:06:00.001-08:00

i've been so good at not wearing the same clothing over and over again....i dont think ive repeated an outfit just yet!

tonight was one of those nights where i was pleasantly surprised by a place that i had eh first feelings about. sf fun club introduced me to scout mob which gives discounts for restaurants and boutiques FOR FREE. it seems like tons of these sites/apps are popping up lately, but that's for another day's blog! anyhow i headed to spring street natural tonight with my girlfriend hana. she chose the restaurant and at first i saw the menu and thought....oh dear...GRANOLA STATUS! i personally am not too keen on organic this, grass fed that which is why i was eh about the place at first. boy was i wrong!! don't wanna bore anyone with a "yelp" review so let's just say it was yummalicious.

btw hana and i have weekly dinner dates. we have a list which we literally refer to as THE LIST that we treat like a netflix queue. its actually quite awesome!

restaurants in nyc...and a bunch of other random thoughts

2011-01-19T19:49:00.000-08:00

man, the weekend really killed me for posting! my good friend steven was visiting nyc this weekend and grace, ck and i took him to dinner on friday night. we went to this super cute french restaurant in the les and lucky for us we were the first patrons there!!! unlucky for us, several other tables got seated shortly after we arrived and when it came to ordering and receiving food, we got the last laugh. literally two other tables who got there after us finished eating before we even got our food. to make things worse, the meal was a little pricey and the food came out cold and blegh. the thing is, nyc is full of these hit or misses. there are so many restaurants that some of them have got to suck!and the most annoying part is, sucky or not, they are bank and require a wait. w.t.f.

speaking of which, i cannot rely on yelp. someone please make a menu based review site because most yelp reviews are LAME. i dont care if you had just gone to buy shampoo at the drugstore around the corner and stumbled on this gem of a restaurant with your stupid boyfriend who only likes to eat well done beef. TELL ME WHAT YOU ATE AND TELL ME HOW GOOD IT WAS. thanks!

and now for a bunch of pics from this weekend....all of me of course!

im cheating because this first pic was from august of me wearing the same outfit. its funny that im ranting about new york restaurants because when i last wore this outfit, i was headed to le bernardin. yes, that is the eric ripert restaurant with 2 michelin stars. it was also a sad sad disappointment. it was asian fusion...aka fish simmered in udon soup and very very blegh. for that much money i expected to be BLOWN AWAY. it was the most expensive meal ive gone to too! i cannot wait to go to per se and have thomas keller blow me away. please impress me!!

on saturday i was headed out to soho and thought hmmm...ill try to be a little creative today! once i got dressed i ran out to the living room and asked diane "do i look crazy??" she immediately said yes and i was gonna go change but then i thought...thats ok if i look a little crazy!!

sunday i was semi hungover. saturday night was spent drinking wine from eataly (one of my most fav places in nyc) and playing kinect. luckily i was headed over to connie's for sunday night dinner and preparing pho which was a great hangover cure! sadly my new white turtleneck (which i got for $5.99 the day before at uniqlo) got food all over it and the rest of my outfit smelled like fish sauce, but whatever...im vietnamese...fish sauce is our life source!

i didnt leave the house monday...so no picture. this pic above from tuesday make me look like a choir girl...what we used to wear in middle school choir looked EXACTLY like this! NCAA (not cute at all)

sometimes i dunno why i think its ok to leave the house with my hair looking crazy. ever since i got it permed, my hair has been BIG. im afraid too big! hopefully i wont look back at my pictures and grimace the same way we grimace when we look at pictures of hair from the 90s!!

ok that was a way random bunch of thoughts and pictures. i will get better at blogging EVERYDAY now!

hustlin

2011-01-13T19:38:00.000-08:00

last night i listened to a webcast from this dude named noah kagan who was talking about hustlin'. while most of his video was annoying because after a while his voice got nasally, there was also a ton of rude comments from people who were also watching the cast. yeah, i thought he was annoying but im not gonna talk smack about him while he is taking his time out to talk to people. if they didnt like him they should have closed the box and not watched him!!

anyways, he was talking about hustin' in life which is basically just getting out there and DOING something. stop talking about stuff you want to do, and do it. i like the message the more that i think about it and want to keep it in mind instead of complaining about my life.

my way of hustlin' is getting myself to work so i dont complain about being poor, getting myself to the gym so i dont get fat, and then reading about health insurance laws so i can pass some exams and get myself more moola.

so this outfit i wore to work today was totally the cheapest outfit ever. grey pants that ive had since college and bought at forever 21 for $19....and a black turtleneck that i cant get enough of that i got at target for $8. and that bling....that's courtesy of hana lim and juicy couture!

speaking of hana, we booked our tickets and hotel to new orleans in april for jon kong's wedding. im so excited to travel to a new place!!! now its time to book dublin in march!!

preparing for the storm

2011-01-12T19:56:00.001-08:00

man, the news totally overhyped this storm. too bad last night when i looked outside it was barely snowing and this morning it wasnt snowing AT ALL. funny thing is no one was at the office today because of transit issues but jackie and i were able to walk to work!!

i got this shirt at jcrew for only 20! what a steal for jcrew!

2011-01-11T20:13:00.001-08:00

i dont think people know how incredibly stressful my job is. when there is a client meeting or a deliverable, its ridiculous how intense it is. man, i feel like the grey hairs in my head are growing exponentially!

my hair looks so much better after being washed...the salon people told me i couldnt wash my hair for TWO days!!!

sunday night dinner

2011-01-10T20:47:00.000-08:00

trying to organize sunday night dinners at stuy town every week from now on...if you're in nyc and would like to join, lemme know! yesterday was the first one we had and i slaved away making spaghetti and meatballs. i have to admit my concoction was quite awesome. who knew mixing a packet of cheese from the mac and cheese box would make spaghetti sauce so awesome?

and i got a late xmas gift from my fav which i wore to work today!

so i got this sweater at anthro at a highway robbery price of $40...it's warm as hell but does it kinda look like a robe?

Another Perm

2011-01-09T08:18:00.000-08:00

Headed to chinatown to get another perm yesterday. My first digi perm and my hair stylist kept dissing on my baby hair! =(

It was ridiculously cold yesterday and after grocery shopping, having awesome malaysian food, and grabbing to-go banh mi for my roommates, i headed home and didnt leave again until diane and i went out at night. chinatown is way too cheap. tell me why hainan chicken and rice was $5.50??? the banh mi was still bank at $3.75 fo

r ca standards, but for ny its also a steal and super delicious!

diane and i headed to this lounge called naked lunch in tribeca/ctown last night. at first it wasnt too crowded but after a while i felt like i was back in college at an azn club being herded like cattle! because we went out, and i had been watching youtube videos to make a smokey eye, i experimented with some eye shadow....too much maybe?

you always want what you dont got

2011-01-07T20:56:00.000-08:00

today is my last day of having straight hair. ive been wanting to try a digi perm for forever because the past two times i got my hair did, i had maaaajor split ends. a digi is supposed to be betta fo the hair and because it makes your hair curlier when drier, its perfect for this weather! its crazy how staticky (?) and dry it is right now!

funny how i have super straight hair and want it curly while most people i know with curly hair just want it straight! the people who made straight perms and digi perms are geniuses for making money off people like me.

i literally bought this dress two years ago and this was the FIRST time i wore it. diane said i shouldnt have wasted it on work but i have had no other time to wear it!!

day one of training

2011-01-06T19:51:00.000-08:00

meeks sent out an email about the regnar socal race in april earlier this week and asked for participants. it's basically a 24 hour race with 12 people per team and each person running 3 legs each of approximately 3-7 miles. i went to the website and looked at the training schedule for a beginner and im already 5 weeks behind!!!

it band...PLEASE HEAL FULLY AND DONT GIVE ME ANY PAIN!!!!!!

today i had an 8 am meeting (yay!) but was late because i couldnt figure out what to wear!! i hate mornings like that.

trouble sleeping

2011-01-05T19:50:00.000-08:00

im still having trouble sleeping. last night i tried reading and turning up the heat and couldnt fall asleep until 2 am! tonight...melatonin!!

hola, 2011!!

2011-01-04T20:00:00.000-08:00

i know people make resolutions and they always break them (especially me) but this year, i've got myself 10 that i will attempt to fully dedicate myself to:

1) no drinking on the weekdays

2) start up my clothing blog again

3) move home!!

4) read before bed instead of browse online

5) max out my roth (thanks sai for the idea!)

6) have a certain amount saved up (undisclosed amount)

7) get promoted

8) complete my CEBS

9) pushups everyday

10) travel somewhere new

first pic of 2011.... at bar basic before i spilled 7 layer bean dip all over my new dress!!

hop, skip and jump across the pond

2010-11-15T16:35:00.000-08:00

it's been a while since i did some long distance traveling. the majority of my trips this year have been home which don't count as vacations!

this weekend meeka and i were fortunate enough to head to london for a few days. i've never had much of a desire to go but when meeka suggested it, i thought i should keep an open mind and just head there.

although we were not there for long, i think we hit up most of the hot spots in london and had a memorable experience! some high level take aways i have are that in general i did not the british people were nice. everything is overpriced and the weather was boo boo. the food wasn't even as bad as everyone said it would be....one of my favorite meals was in the pub!

the high of my trip was walking around notting hill. the streets varied from a main street with tons of chain stores to smaller streets with REALLY cute shops and restaurants to residential (and very bourgie) streets which reminded me a lot of pacific heights in sf.

the low of my trip was dining at an indian restaurant and getting gyped.

while on our trip, it was so funny because we were already planning our next trip to dublin. i joked that we should write a book about short trips and mastering them but we will see once we hit up dublin and hopefully paris.

speech

2010-08-04T21:54:00.000-07:00

it's so hard for me to put into words how i feel. meeka and young's wedding is in three days and i still haven't been able to write my speech. why is it that speeches are always so generically annoying? i hated listening to graduation speeches, and am afraid my speech will become one of those wedding speeches that just try to be funny.

im so frustrated!

2010-07-07T21:36:00.001-07:00

poll: do you know what a pedometer is?

2010-06-14T19:13:00.000-07:00

im on my way back from my fourth weekend in a row in california. yes, fourth. im very much looking forward to staying in new york for the next few weeks. its crazy how much i miss my bed. i dont think im cut out for this coast to coast lifestyle.

another one bites the dust

2010-06-03T15:29:00.001-07:00

if anything my clothes experiment has taught me is that...im still a starter. its june already and i think i gave up on my experiment months ago. how sad am i? i seem to always blame my inability to complete tasks on some stupid excuse or several stupid excuses.

#1 fan

2010-04-11T15:05:00.001-07:00

i am virgin america's #1 fan. these are most of the boarding passes i have accumulated since 8/8/09.

a new home

2010-04-06T21:06:00.000-07:00

i have settled into a new home. after 15 months of living in a very bad place, im thankful that ive been able to find a place where i feel comfortable. its been a month since i moved, but here is to new beginnings and a house full of love and laughter!

my tet

2010-02-16T19:48:00.000-08:00

i am back from another trip to california. this time, i was only able to go for 24 hours (yes, im nuts). it was probably the best 24 hours ever. i didn't leave on saturday until the evening so i was able to hang out friday night and saturday during the day with my visitors. then, i got to fly main cabin select with all free movies, food and booze! i also had a nice conversation with the lady sitting next to me. because of the short length of my stay, monica came and visited me and meeka's place (im very spoiled).

sunday i went to my grandma's house and helped her prepare the altar for tet. she made an awesome cheesecake and my favorite shrimp dish! i didnt get much lixi but its not about that at all anymore! it was just really really nice to be able to hang out with my family and watch old videos, look at old pictures, and just chill.

btw tet is the vietnamese name for lunar new year. chinese people are not the only ones who celebrate it and it should NOT be called chinese new year. stop calling it that people. vietnamese and koreans also celebrate (sorry other asians if i have left you out).

now let me tell the story of once upon a time when i used to live in sf and drove to concord everyday to work. this was around 2006 when i commuted 45 min everyday to work at my first job. this one morning i was going to work and turned on my regular morning show "sarah and no name" on 97.3. i listened to this show EVERY morning religiously. it was lunar new year that day and they mentioned it (of course they called it chinese new year) and were curious about what people do on that day. they asked for callers to call in and talk about the customs from their family. so genius me decided to call in and inform them that it wasnt just chinese people who celebrated it and in fact it is a huge celebration for other asians. here is kinda how the call went:

*ring ring*

hello this is the sarah and no name show

hi, i was calling to talk about chinese new year

are you chinese?

no, but other..............

sorry youre not chinese. bye

*dial tone*

ugh i was so mad at those ignorant jerks i vowed to never listen to them again....and i still have not tuned in to them since...

clothing update

2010-02-10T18:18:00.000-08:00

my im convo with norm today spurred an update on my clothing experiment. since i obviously do not have pictures of myself each day because well, i dont think i have that much to write about in my life, i decided that i will combine them all in one so it'll be a modelish montage. yes...get ready for petite model madness!

i think that i've become much more aware of the amount of things i own and have been busting out articles of clothing that i haven't worn in quite some time. i'm very proud of myself! i also think that because i have so little closet space here, i feel super guilty for having so much stuff. maybe when i move and get a larger apartment i will feel like i don't have enough clothing because i will have more space and buy more? for some reason i thought about that children's story about the little kid (i think it was thumbelina) who was really small and wouldn't grow and her parents were really worried about her. so they took her to a doctor and the doctor said she wouldn't grow because she had no room to grow in her bed (she slept in a little shoe box). so the parents bought her a regular kid's bed and she grew to be a normal child size.

wow that was a total tangent but i think it makes sense. what if i buy more stuff to fit my new large closet?!?!

ok not going to count my chickens before they hatch. i'll have to rant about my apartment search situation sometime soon. but for now let me let out a disgusted UGH!!!

i am an addict

2010-02-08T21:39:00.001-08:00

i started season 5 of lost last tuesday. it is now 6 days later and i just started season 6. man, i have issues.

suzy homemaker

2010-02-03T22:10:00.000-08:00

today i tried my hand (again) at embroidering. for some reason i think ill miraculously get better, but it never happens. i think the first thing i tried to make was back in the day during kdphi times when i got into making pillows. i think i made a pillow for mon and embroidered it for her when she crossed. that was 8 years ago and i still havent gotten better. is there a class for these things? or should i just get a machine like the ones meeks has??

you cant see the yellow, but i wanted to make the threading blue-ish and gold colored. btw these are burp towels and i made them for my boss' baby. his initials are GRB and his dad went to cal, so i thought ooh since i went to cal, i could embroider cal colors! yeah...fail. epic.

ode to la

2010-02-01T21:12:00.000-08:00

this past weekend was hopefully one of my last to la. im not sure what it is about that city that makes me hate it so much. wait, im not sure what there is about it that i would like....sorry im a hater.

anyways, james and i had a nice weekend together eating and chillin in places in la that we haven't before. i also got to take some good shots with my camera, and him with his new fisheye.

we started off the weekend on saturday by going to claremont to see jma and eat lunch with james' college roommate, aren. we thought it was funny because jan was my longtime roommate in college, and aren was james'. jan was awesome enough to give us a tour of her 'hood.

on sunday, james and i hit up his local bruncherie, auntie em's where we got the biscuits and gravy, and also an open faced turkey and egg sandwich. while waiting to get seated, i also took some shots of my hot date....asian fabio.

then we hit up this soda pop shop in eagle rock. this place had aisles and aisles of obscure sodas. james and i spent almost an hour in there taking pictures and trying to decide on which soda to try. i finally settled on a rootbeer and a flavored pellegrino and he got a fruit punch and a double cola....yumm!

we also hit up the farmer's market, melrose and then finally the long awaited sprinkles. we had been meaning to go there for the past few months but never made the trek out to beverly hills. i have to say that im becoming a new york elitist and think that everything here is just better. for cupcakes, new york cupcakes are DEFINITELY better than sprinkles. and i had to wait in line for these cupcakes...nonono.

girl, obsessed

2010-01-28T18:03:00.001-08:00

lately i have been obsessed with talking to people about my apartment drama. it's like word vomit and i dont necessarily want to talk about it, but i always end up doing it. last night, i wrote up a blog documenting all of the issues with this place. today i sought free legal aid. i need to move NOW.

i am not talking to someone about my apartment drama in this picture...but i really am on the phone at 8 am when i took this.

going going back back

2010-01-26T20:17:00.000-08:00

this weekend i went back to california to do some bridesmaid dress shopping. i feel like this post is going to sound like a yelp review, but my two experiences bridesmaid dress shopping have been at priscilla of boston in sf with melissa and i never thought that it would be so painless. its one of those things that everyone says will be horrible, and on saturday, knowing there would be 10 bridesmaids, i was a little anxious. luckily we were only there for less than two hours.

i also got to hang out at the wuk house, and do some of my favorite things with my favorite people: cook, and present the food! we made

delicious tonkatsu, cabbage, curry and rice!

the redeye home and work monday were brutal. i didnt even get a chance to go home and change before work....but it was worth it! no picture from yesterday since

i looked like death, but i was delirious that i didnt think about taking a body only picture.

i think this is my favorite sweater of all time. AND i got the cami this weekend at t-t-t-t-t-t-t-T-J-MAXX!!!! mon, meeks and i spent 2 hours there the other night. best store EVER.

damned if i do, damned if i dont

2010-01-26T20:03:00.001-08:00

i usually have a pretty sunny outlook on life, but some days i get into these moods where i think im screwed no matter what i do. i was talking to mon today about how nothing in life is ever perfect. it's either your job, relationship, or some other type of drama that always seems to make life imperfect.

my mood today makes me think of alanis morisette's song, "isnt it ironic?" and especially the line about that guy who never went on a plane and when he did, it crashed. well maybe not exactly...im thinking more along the lines of someone never ever smoking a cigarette in their life for fear of lung cancer, and then getting it. ok that sounds messed up, but you get my drift.

ive been wearing less eyeliner because im scared of pulling my skin too much and getting more wrinkles. instead, ive been wearing mascara everyday. unfortunately, two days ago i noticed that when i am opening my eyes to apply the mascara, im wrinkling my forehead and now im trying to debate with myself whether or not eye wrinkles or forehead wrinkles are worse.

my parents always used to tell me to eat my carrots to make my eyes better, and to not read under the covers with a flashlight. i said fuck it and never ate carrots and probably read all of fear street and sweet valley high series under the covers and i have 20/20 vision. maybe it would be best to fuck being afraid of what could happen and just live.

my picture today is from my outfit on friday. i actually havent worn any of the stuff this year so im proud of myself that i busted the ensemble out!

what i do

2010-01-21T19:56:00.001-08:00

yesterday jan (i know youre reading this too! yay!) asked me to read an article she was editing for the zine she works for because it was about health insurance. basically it was written from a graduate student's point of view and she was comparing the options they have at the school. while she definitely did her research, i can also totally see how people learn to hate insurance because sometimes, it may seem more practical and cost efficient to not have it.

it got me thinking that 1) maybe if people knew more about it, they would know that it's really trying to help you and 2) on the opposite side of the spectrum, maybe only in theory it really does work.

let me elaborate first on thought number 1. there are many stories of origin of health insurance (ppos, hmos, etc) but i think they were all based on one concept. "i pay a little bit every month into a pool of money with a bunch of other people and w

hen anyone of us has to go to the doctor, we can somehow afford it. the chances of all of us getting incredibly sick is really low."

make sense? then it grew to this group of people going to certain hospital and saying "hey we promise that we are all going to go to this hospital and your doctors when we get sick and in return, you guys will give us a cheaper rate than other people who are not in your group."

seems like a good idea right? right. it statistically, and financially makes sense. yes, it was created to HELP people financially!!

now somehow in those many years since the health insurance industry started, we are here in the present where health costs are too high, insurance companies are perceived as the devil, and people think its just not worth it to purchase health insurance. i admit that as a patient myself, it is frustrating to go to the doctor and see them

for 20 min but still have to fork out that 20 copayment. but, i also know that those office visits cost SO much more than your 20 and you are in fact, getting a major deal.

the problem is, is that outpatient doctors arent even the ones that are driving the high cost of health care. it's the hospitals and the inpatient services that get you. do you think that when you go the ER and pay that 50 copay or so, that service was only 50? think about how many people work with you: nurses, doctors etc. those people make a lot of bank! that equipment is worth a lot of bank! if anything, i think doctors and nur

ses should make MORE. they put in hours and hours into the hospital and only make max a few hundred k.

and this is why i said statement number 2. maybe it should only work in theory because it is expensive since i believe doctors and nurses should make more money.

maybe this post didnt make a lot of sense to people. ill probably read it again tomorrow and think it makes no sense as well. i think ill probably write a few more on some basic concepts, terms, and other things. i offered to help my friends during open enrollment season, but no one seemed to need my help. maybe someone will read this and want me!

i dont have a pic today of myself, but i do have this pic of the ny subway....my fav and cleanest place ever.

necessary goods

2010-01-20T19:44:00.000-08:00

is there anything that i could not possibly live without? i thought about the routine that i go through everyday just taking for granted that everything is so easily accessible to me. do i really need all this stuff? like my face lotion, my electric face washer, my computer? i guess life would be much less comfortable. i think the only thing i could not possibly do without is my chapstick. or maybe i only say that because ive misplaced my favorite one which can only be bought online. ive been using this same kind for over 5 years and nothing else seems to do the trick!

not to be vain, but i had to post both of these pictures...

runner's high....i want it now!

2010-01-20T19:37:00.000-08:00

its crazy how much i am fiending to run. when i am able to run i feel like its a chore and drag my self out to do it. it isnt until im halfway done with the run and finishing up that i feel damn good. it actually depressed me to go to central park the other day because i saw so many runners. i remember running that damn 7 mile route every other day. i would do anything to be able to do it now even though i know i am slowly on the road to recovery. today i walked on the treadmill and was in NO pain. whoo!!

i really havent worn this vest in a looong time. this may be tmi, but i wore just this and a jacket to work yesterday. my jacket was sooo warm that when i took it off, my arms were sticky and wet from the sweat. sexy huh?

being a tourist

2010-01-19T18:38:00.000-08:00

my only female cousin alex (short for alexandra) is here visiting from the oc. i think this was my first full three day weekend in ny thanks to her and i got to experience some badass touristy things! first off...there was LION KING!!! which ive been dying to see since i moved here. i have been seriously deprived from the musical scene and havent seen one in probably 7 months. and this is the same person who saw jersey boys four times in that same time period!!

i also got to go "shooting" as she calls it in central park, brooklyn bridge, and the top of the rock. its crazy how new york looks even better through the lens of an slr. she also introduced me to the lomo fisheye. i am jockin that like crazy and cannot wait until mine comes!!

family

2010-01-19T18:27:00.001-08:00

i know ive written about this before, but im so thankful for my family. i had a situation where i really needed my mom (yes, 26 years old and needing my mother) and im lucky enough to not only have her, but also my extended family to fall back on. my mom and step dad are lucky enough to be on sabbatical right now so they arent in the country. i felt happy that they were gone so my mom wouldnt be calling me every few days asking about my safety in this big ol city. but on saturday i actually felt the void of my mom not being around! it was a weird revelation but a good one nonetheless.

anyways, its also from my family that i get this damn pointy chin!

bourgie bourgie

2010-01-18T18:23:00.000-08:00

friday jan 15-why are there so many bourgie bourgie places in nyc? i swear, i went to this lounge place and not only did they charge 15 a head for entrance, they charged 20 for drinks. isnt that ridiculous?? when we first got there, there was a group of girls who literally spent over an hour takings pics of their ugly asses.

from now on i vow to no longer go to bourgie ass places. only bars and non pretentious places!!!

ok i didnt wear this to that lounge/club. maybe if i nixed the pants it would be appropriate! some of those girls in there were wearing shit so short it showed their you know whats!!

job hierarchy

2010-01-14T20:17:00.000-08:00

d and i are on the hunt for an apartment. unfortunately the ads on craigslist are never put up by the landlords. instead they are put up by shady agents. agents have to be just about the lowest lowest scum of the earth. like seriously? i went to see one today who even though i gave them our budget, he pushed us to look at an apartment over 200 over our budget. and then when we didnt want it, he didnt give us the time of day.

why are people in new york such assholes?!!?!??!

paranoia

2010-01-12T19:57:00.000-08:00

when i was in japan i read the screenplays for before sunrise and before sunset. they come highly recommended by two good friends of mine. when i read books i usually like to write notes on the side that help me to remember what i thought when i read it. the weird thing is, i didnt write anything down when i read the screenplays.

before sunrise the movie just came to me on netflix and im now finally remembering a lot from the screenplays. i remember that i liked before sunrise a lot more because of the innocence and purity of their relationship. it gets all messed up in before sunset.

in one of the first scenes celine talks about her paranoia about death. it was amazing how well i could relate to her when she was describing it. she talks about how she is constantly thinking about death-not that she is afraid of it, but the few seconds right before when you know for sure you are going to die.

i dont mean to feel morbid, but dude im like that all the time. on the subways in ny i am always terrified that there is going to be a bomber. but somehow i still get on the subway. on my many flights, i think about what would happen if someone were to get up and announce they were going to blow up the plane. on my flight back from japan (this was after the nigerian tried to blow up the flight to detroit) i couldnt sleep because i was suspicious of all these people on the flight. but i somehow get on planes. i once walked off a bus because i was paranoid.

i wonder what it is that makes me feel like this. do i watch too many movies? and what is it that makes me still get back on the bus, plane, subway even though im terrified?

eh

2010-01-11T19:56:00.001-08:00

i just got back from watching avatar. am i whack to say that i was just eh? why do you people have to hype it up so much and say its the best movie EVER? the effects were cool, and the plot was ok, but 3 hours? and.....9 ft avatar stroking the face of a 6 ft human? to me, it wasnt touching....it was eh

biggest loser part III

2010-01-09T14:24:00.000-08:00

starting yesterday, steven and i are competing once again to see who can lose the most weight in 3 months. i know it sounds like i was cheating, but last week i ate so much food! i managed to gain 3 pounds when my trip to japan did not make me gain anything!

now that i got into the nyc half marathon, im more motivated than ever to run and lose weight. i just need to get through physical therapy and make my leg better so i can actually train.

this is the break-even competition since steven won once and i won the second. this time i am going to perfect my two pronged approach: 1) diet and workout

like no other and 2) bake fatty food and send it to california

in other news, i am baking my first banana bread. problem is, i am only really using one ripe banana.

its freaking cold outside. i walked around wearing 5 layers and i was still freezing!

slr + jdc

2010-01-08T17:49:00.000-08:00

the beginning of 2010 has me super excited. i am doing physical therapy, i got into the new york half marathon, i finally got myself an slr, and most of all, i have some awesome cookbooks to try out! it's friday night and im not at all sad that im sitting at home and reading about momofuku and the d5000. all im thinking about is going to buy ingredients tomorrow to make some food, and learn how to take pictures of it. dont worry...i wont make this a food blog. that is not what im into. im just excited to see what my slr and my julia child/david chang combination can do!

this picture is not to repp delta chapter lambdas btw. i was trying to find inspiration for my model pose today and remembered my trip to taiwan with sandy. we had met some random japanese fobs at a club when linkin park came on. they proceeded to get into this pose and moved it back and forth as the song played. yes...it was an awesome dance move. try it at the club next time!

people who surprise you

2010-01-06T17:31:00.000-08:00

yesterday i went into b&h for the first time. that place is amazing! no wonder it is a world-famous store! its so organized and everyone is super knowledgeable about the products. i went up to slr section and expected to get a hacidic jew, but i instead was helped by an african american man. he seemed kinda thug and blegh...even mean at one point that i didnt wanna talk to him anymore. but then something changed in the conversation and man he was SO helpful. i love it when people are just not what they seem at first and i end up really liking them. not only did he help me research cameras, he taught me about camera terms and printed out reviews for me. wow b&h is awesome!!! i really recommend everyone get their stuff there!

anyways, ive been experimenting lately and not wearing eyeliner. it looks a little weird, but i think its better for my skin. im not getting any younger and if i keep stretching that skin everyday, i know im gonna get mad wrinkles!!

if this outfit looks familiar...it is! i told you i wear the same shit all the time! but man, i was having a good hair day!

dmv

2010-01-05T20:18:00.000-08:00

i was lucky enough to go to the dmv over winter break and spend an entire hour there! i stupidly lost my id sometime during halloween and have been lugging my passport around since! i did try to go to the new york dmv and get a replacement license, but i had complications, so i just decided to go to california and get a license. i got back on monday, and my appointment was on wednesday and my mom would not let me drive until i got my license. soooo i decided to lug my ass to the dmv on tuesday so i could drive. it really wasn't that bad, but i kept getting flashbacks of my time there 10 years ago when i was taking permit tests and doing those darn behind the wheel exams. at 16, the privilege to drive seemed like it was everything huh? well, at 26 it is still is. anyways, i got a license AND a new picture taken and today i also wore exactly what i wore to the dmv.....hopefully i still dont look 16?

catch up

2010-01-05T20:13:00.000-08:00

silly me forgetting to post clothing from before my trip!

im obviously trying to practice my fob pose for japan here!

nippon, aishiteru

2010-01-03T15:50:00.000-08:00

im on the way back to nyc after a two week long vacation. in my visit in sf, we couldn't help but reminisce about japan. once again, it was an amazing trip! so i decided to include some of my fav pics! (these are in no way in order...sorry)

we ended up spending christmas in kyoto. young got us a room in a baller hotel inside kyoto station and this shot is of the inside of the station. it was multi-leveled and HUGE. in japan, christmas is apparently a couple's day where everyone eats...KFC! behind this ginormous xmas tree are tons of steps where on christmas day, couples just sat and cuddled and watched the twinkling tree.

christmas eve day we rented bikes in kyoto and rode around to look at all the temples. we made it to two.

december 23 (the emperors bday) is one out of two days of the year that the imperial palace in tokyo is open. we got up too late to be able to tour the inside, but were able to take a picture outside!

i dont remember what day this was, but this was taken outside of the uniqlo t-shirt store called UT. it was also taken in the middle of an impromptu bunny bunny game.

i have tons of other pics, but they're mostly model pics....ill post in the next one since im on the plane and uploading on virgin wifi isnt the fastest

japan 2009

2009-12-28T22:34:00.001-08:00

ok going on vacation made this blogging business super difficult. the fact that i was staying in hotel rooms with other people also made it hard for me to concentrate on morning model shots. i do have tons of pictures from the trip that i will put up AND i knew i wouldnt have much time to take pictures so i carefully wrote down all of the items of clothing i packed just in cases.

japan this time around was a gajillion times different and better than my trip last year. its so different traveling alone, then traveling with 8 other people. i can sum up my trip in three words: FAT FOR LYFE. everyday there was breakfast, snacks, lunch, snacks, dinner, drinks and snacks, then late night food. yes...9 days and nights of drinking and eating huge meals and buying miscellaneous goodies from the convenient stores. i think 7-11 and family mart became our best friends!

it was a great great trip and the best thing is that im still on vacation for another week! i tried to make myself eat salad today but umm it was at a buffet.....

good deals in nyc

2009-12-14T21:06:00.000-08:00

today my friend hana found the best deal EVER. monday nights seem like the times to dine about town in this city at lower prices in the nicer restaurants. we headed to paris commune for a ginormous steak, french fries and salad for....

....

$12.95

...........wtf right? i was saying that i couldn't even get a steak at chili's or applebee's for

that price! AND we each took half of our steaks home. madness i say!

wow, this sounds like a yelp review, but it's so not. i don't think i have even posted a single yelp review since i got here.

before i talk about my monday, let me talk about my sunday (or lack thereof). it rained all day and i left the house only to hit up morton williams to do some grocery shopping. at home i cooked, baked, cleaned and packed. it was the best sunday ive had in a while. since i didnt leave the house, i didnt wear anything but sweat pants and it was perfection. sorry, but i dont have pictures of my perfection. id be too sexy and irresistable.

i left work super early today because my reservations at commune were at 7 and i had a few things i needed to get done today:

1) buy conductive thread

2) go to uniqlo

3) find presents

i was productive enough in an hour and a half to get all of those done. keep in mind that i only relied on my legs to get everywhere too.....im super woman!

i hate how cold it is in ny and i cant use my phone without taking off my damn gloves. so i looked online for those iphone compatible gloves. to my dismay they were almost $30...not to mention i would have to wait for them to ship and who knows when i would get them during this holiday rush. i did more google research and found out i could make them with conductive thread! the only problem was that i needed to find where conductive thread was sold but finally found it at the nyu computer store. when i got home tonight i tested t

he thread on my own pair of gloves and IT WORKED! friends with iphones and touch screens, be excited because ill be spending my 14 hour plane trip on friday sewing for you!!

sweater: club monaco

tank: wet seal

pants: express

hats! hats! hats!

2009-12-13T10:51:00.000-08:00

i used to never wear hats in california. to me, only the stylish could pull it off...and i so was not the stylish. hats became a necessity in my winter move to new york and now i cant get enough of them! i always seem to buy the same types of hats, however.

i was wearing a hat during the day but i decided to change it up and take a picture from a dressing room. i think this is one of my most risque outfits where i try to be stylish.

top: BCBG

jacket: kensie girl

pants: leggings from strawberry

in the evening i finally hit up butter lane and paradis in the east village. paradis yelpers raved that their chocolate cookies are the best. the cookies were HUGE and when you bit into them they were still slightly raw. pretty darn good but still NOT a specialty's semi sweet. ive been hearing about butter lane for a while and have been meaning to go there because you can choose the cake and frosting and they make it in front of you! i must say that they were pretty bomb and is now one of the higher ranking cupcake places in ny.

i brought the desserts over to connie's where they were having a korean pork belly party for "good foods and good friends". i ended up leaving there smelling like delicious meat and probably 5 lbs heavier because the kim chi and mushrooms were fried in the pork belly grease. the only reason i changed was because i decided to go to a bar and didnt want dogs chasing me down the street.

the color purple

2009-12-11T22:28:00.000-08:00

when i was in college, our sorority colors were purple and white and i was sooo not a fan of purple at the time. it wasnt until after college that i fell in love with purple: purple eyeliner, eyeshadow, clothes, SHOES!

i had two holiday parties to go today (lucky me...free food all day!) and for some reason i decided to wear purple all day!

here i am trying to give you a little peep show....of my tank! i wore this to work and to my holiday part. it was the closest thing i could get to the "festive" gear the coordinators suggested.

top: backspace (this amazing boutique on divis in sf)

camisole: aritzia (i wear this alot)

pants: xxi

the quality of this picture isnt too great but i used this dress to seduce connie at her holiday party. i should have gotten rid of the camisole inside to show some more skin hehe. that extra layer very much helped me.

dress: zara

camisole: wet seal (yes, wet seal)

tights: somewhere in japan? theyre argyle...you cant see it

lmj

2009-12-11T22:10:00.001-08:00

my good friend caroline used to nickname me FML because i used to say "I HATE MY LIFE" or "F My LIFE" all the time. i would like to start using more positive sayings like, "I LOVE MY LIFE" and now, i have LMJ which is "I love my job"

today was my company's holiday party where we celebrated 70 years in business. what inspired me the most is that our 93 year old founder came to the party and gave a speech. he is the cutest man ever and surprisingly at his age very mobile and still super clever. listening to especially him speak made me pretty happy that i am at a great company. not only that, several previously higher up people also spoke and talked about the history of the company. i found out that the nba originally hired us in 1964 to start their pension plan! we also have other sports associations such as the nhl, mlb and nfl. dope-alicious!

outer sweater: H&M (bought when i was a tourist in ny in college!)

sweater: cashmere turtleneck from .....COSTCO!

pants: banana republic (i wear them a lot...they were $20)

in other news, it has been getting majorly cold up in this city. yesterday it was 30 degrees, and today was 20 with a windchill of 11. i am so so glad i invested in a long puffy jacket. i cant believe i didnt have one last year!!! but yesterday when i was wearing this AND the puffy jacket, i was sweating balls. BALLS!

you cant always get what you want, can you?

2009-12-10T22:07:00.000-08:00

so im watching the season finale of glee and this song pops up. it seemed only appropriate to use it for the title of my entry today. since ive moved to new york, ive had a lot of trouble really living in new york. ive complained countless times to james that i felt that i am living a half-life here and that the only thing that keeps me here is my job. it made sense to me. nothing can always be perfect. you cant always get what you want, right? in san francisco, i had my entire extended family within 30 minutes driving distance, an amazing group of friends, and young man named yong suk. everything was pretty fabulous except i dreaded waking up everyday to go to work because i hate my job so much.

moving out east i have finally found a job i love, but i have gone through the year unhappy and wishing i was at home. i felt the friends i made here were not comparable to the ones at home. today i realized that im just a little brat. and that i DO have friends. sometimes its just hard for me to appreciate things! its totally possible to get what you want....

this is my outfit from wednesday which im super proud of because the whole outfit cost less than $20!!

dress: BCBG

tank: XXI

tights (not shown): dkny

i also have to mention that this is one out of 5 black and white dresses i own. they're all different patterns, but patterned nonetheless. i would have never thought of myself as a patterned dress person....but maybe i am?

sickness

2009-12-08T19:13:00.000-08:00

wow ive been pretty bad at posting. my weekend was a little crazy to say the least. here is my outfit from saturday during the day.

sweater: fcuk cowl neck

pants: black leggings

pictures of saturday night will soon be up. mon definitely pulled through with some model poses!

im a little too embarassed to post what i wore on sunday and monday cuz well, they were the same thing. sexual...

when i could finally get myself back to work, i couldn't help but fall back on my usual

sweater: banana republic cardigan

cami: banana republic

pants: rampage plaid slacks

it seems that this year the change in weather has made me especially susceptible for getting sick. the way i get sick is i get halfway sick several times a year. when i was in california, i would get very sick once a year. which is worse?

it's christmas time in the city

2009-12-04T20:11:00.000-08:00

christmas in this city is madness. its only december 4 and 5th ave is full of tourists! today i saw a line to go into abercrombie, and a mob around rockefeller center to watch the snowflake light show at saks, to name a few.

luckily work during this time of year is pretty chill so i left a little early to do some christmas shopping. living here has definitely put me in the xmas spirit and given me cheer. walking down the street was to me reminiscent of that christmas song silver bel

ls! well, except for the "meeting smile after smile" part, maybe because i wasnt smiling at anyone at huffing past the slow ass walkers. xmas cheer, my ass!

at the end of my journey was columbus circle where i went to sephora to see if i could pull off the red lipstick. the salesperson at sephora AND one at A/X said i could. since i was rockin the red, i thought i'd try to rock a model pose too. yay or nay?

sweater: nordstrom rack

tank: xxi

pants: banana republic

can't predict the weather

2009-12-03T20:51:00.000-08:00

today i woke up and as usual checked the weather. it said 67 and possibly rainy and i got excited to change up my wardrobe and wear a dress. when i left work i realized what a noob i was. it was windy and cold and there was i walking around the city in a dress, a thin ass trench and ballet flats. it was probably 50 degrees with a crazy wind.

in college when jan and i were brainstorming about our website, we knew we had to factor in the wind to help with our recommended wear. how did i forget about wind chill today??

other than wind chill issue, i think ive gotten better at knowing how a certain temperature feels, and what to wear. and i definitely know that at a windy 50 degrees, i SHOULD NOT wear a dress!

dress: banana republic

i didnt put up a picture from yesterday, but i went to a concert yesterday and felt super preppy.

i think it was the button down shirt. or it was the grungy asses at the concert haha.

cardigan: urban outfitters

button up: club monaco

pants: xxi

i love cardigans

2009-12-01T21:11:00.000-08:00

as i was deciding what to wear this morning for work, i made two observations:

1) i think i will end up wearing the clothing that i keep in my room more often. if you havent been to my apartment yet, you will be surprised (or maybe appalled) to know that d and i dont have closets in our rooms. the only closets are in the living room and btw are teeny tiny. therefore i have to keep the majority of my clothing in storage receptacles in my room. if i want to wear the stuff in my closet, i usually have to run across the living room....no fun

2) my pictures on my work days will all look the same because i have a ridiculous amount of cardigans....as in at least one in each color. this reminds me of my obsession in high school with russell sweatshirts. maybe when it gets warmer ill throw in some cute dress action. cuteness + model poses = sexual. too bad we'll have to wait through this horrid winter to see any of that! i can sense that ny is at the verge of winter. i think it must have been sub 45 degrees today and i felt the urge to bust out my new spanx today (thanks pooks!)

sweater: madewell

tank: aritzia

pants: banana republic slacks

happy anniversary SNL and NYC

2009-11-30T17:29:00.000-08:00

it's hard to believe that one year ago today i got off that flight from sjc to jfk and made the move to new york. i always thought people were such pansies for crying at airports but when i was in sjc last year i was stuck to my mom sobbing like a little kid! i think ive come a long way since then and my skin has gotten damn thick.

so as promised here is day one picture.

recap in case you just started reading. i have too much clothing and am doing a little experiment to see how often i actually wear the stuff i buy. sooooo i chose to start taking pictures of what i wear everytime i go out and tallying it up. (its crazy, i know) if i don't wear something for 6 months im gonna either take it home or give it away.

the funny thing is that over the thanksgiving holiday i proved even further why i need to do this little experiment of mine. some background: most of my clothing is at my mom's house in los gatos zipped up in vacuum sealed bags. i basically have two closets full, and few more bags under my bed there. when i went home i looked through my clothing and found a bunch of things i forgot i had. i thought i had lost my fav A/X jeans but they were there the whole time!! i also found a grey turtleneck in my closet when i had JUST bought one a few weeks ago!! long story short i started to do inventory on my clothing. i have an excel with color, description, brand, size, and in which bag the clothing is (yes, even more crazy). i havent finished yet, but ill finish over christmas break. i am also starting an excel with the tally counts of what i end up wearing. excel is so awesome....expect some monthly and quarterly reports to see which articles of clothing are the winners!!

im excited to see how this will turn out for a few reasons:

1) obviously to see how often i wear the stuff i buy

2) to help me curb my spending

3) the possibility that i could use this blog as a simpleton start to mine and jan's website idea from college

sweater: Martin and Osa

cami: Banana Republic

jeans (not in picture): Ann Taylor Loft

ps. sorry for the not so good quality of my pics...

bailamos

2009-11-20T20:44:00.000-08:00

in middle school when we first started to have dances, no one ever really danced. the most we did was slow dance *cue flashback of dancing in circles, boy's hands on girl's waist, girl's hands on boy's shoulders. entire arm's length away*

in high school people started to dance but mainly in groups (circles, to be exact) and all i really remember was *step, clap, step clap*

when i started dating han he was super into dancing, and we would always go to clubs (18 and under ones) and raves. considering that i had so much experience dancing, i was super confident in busting a groove with him. it didnt help that the more uninhibited he was, the more inhibited and self conscious i became. it wasnt long before we didnt go dancing at all.

in college and most of post college, the only dancing i did was drunk dancing. for some reason we would always go clubbing (hitting up zebra lounge more than once a weekend....check) but i think i went mainly to drink and hang out with friends.

post college, i was introduced to and fell in love with the art of making up dances. acting a fool always had some type of name associated with it (see my first post with the reasoning behind the name of this blog).

i think it was this that caused me to realize that the reason you dance IS to act crazy, be uninhibited, and just HAVE FUN. and lately because i injured myself running, i found that having dance parties in my room at night is an awesome workout. i cant believe how much i love (LOVE) turning up my speakers and just jumping around. now all i need is a full length mirror to practice dancing like britney....

home is where the heart is

2009-11-16T13:56:00.000-08:00

i have the best friends and family a girl could ask for. i know a million people say that it sounds super lame, but its true. in the span of 48 hours, i was able to spend time with the majority of the people that i care most about...including qt.

highlights: 1) friday night sai told me that "you know you are friends if you are friends even after being mad at each other" truuueee

2) learning the "i got a feeling" dance with meeks, recording ourselves, then giggling like two little school girls

3) getting driven to the airport with 2/3 of my best friends

travel destinations

2009-11-13T18:52:00.000-08:00

there are so many places that i want to go and i think its time to start seriously planning this out! here is my top 5 list of places i need to go to STAT (in no particular order)

1) Costa Rica

2) Burma

3) Greece

4) Eastern Europe

5) Iceland

the nyc marathon

2009-11-01T20:37:00.000-08:00

i experienced my first new york marathon today. no i didnt run....i was merely a spectator. carol and i met up at 96th and columbus and walked on the traverse to 97th and 5th ave where a bunch of spectators were (this was at about mile 23). the whole time i tried to track koo's number online but the site wasn't loading but carol said he was on mile 21 when we first left so we would probably see him.

it was pretty amazing to see all of the runners and all of the spectators who were so into it and so excited to see the runners go by. when we arrived we saw the runners at a 4 hour pace (6.5 mph pace) and i was surprised to see that the majority of them were not young and there were SO many countries that were represented. a few people were dressed up in costumes, and as some ran by, they tried to get us to cheer, or cheered themselves....remember this was at mile 23! so awesome. other memorable people we saw: a blind man running with two of his friends who led him while all holding a walking stick, a man running and pushing his friend in a wheelchair, a couple holding hands while running, and a man with no arms. i was so so inspired by these people i think i got choked up a few times. again.. AMAZING.

on the downside, i saw some sad things such as an older woman who was bleeding down her leg and a man with blood spots on his nipple area from chaffing.

carol and i finally decided to head down to the meeting point on 70th and central park west in hopes of seeing koo. the whole street was blocked off and there were people walking around everywhere! there was an announcer on the speaker talking in several different languages. there was actually a lot of foot traffic (of course) and we finally were able to spot our friends!

poor koo looked so tired and was just munching on a nasty looking bagel. keep in mind while during his marathon training he has lost so much weight! regardless, he needed two of his friends to help him up and couldnt walk very fast at all.

the cutest part of the event was when one of his friends fed him some almonds. koo had those post marathon capes around him so his hands weren't free and his friend just opened up the bag and popped a handful into his mouth. ok i guess describing it it doesnt sound very cute but i guess you had to be there.

the way out was pretty crowded...there was tons of foot traffic but no one seemed to be caring. it must have been the runners high! i definitely need my injury to go away so i can run a few halves next year. super inspired!

halloween in nyc = nye in vegas

2009-11-01T18:03:00.000-08:00

i heard that halloween in new york was crazy. i heard about the parade and how it was impossible to get anywhere in the city. i didnt worry about it at all because i was headed to tavern on the green which is only 15 blocks from my house. lucky me! NOT. i should have listened to everyone and not thought i was invincible to the hell this city throws out at people.

8:30 pm - i leave the house to go to stuy town to meet connie (she has my cowboy hat and cowboy boots). i take the M11 bus down 9th ave and get off on 14th street. it seems pretty crowded in the area for me to take the crosstown bus so i decide to walk. first of all, it started raining and then at 7th ave it started to get crowded. by the time i hit the subway stop, i am stuck in shoulder to shoulder foot traffic. by the end of the block, i turn into a back grazing skank as i am so close to the people around me that as i push past from person to person my boobs graze everyone's back. as i try to walk closer to 6th ave i realize that the parade is on 6th ave so i try to turn around and it gets even more crowded! there was no way for me to turn a right and go south so i tried to turn around and back track. the way back was even worse and people kept pushing me to the point that i almost fell over. i was so close to people that i couldnt even breathe. at one point a large woman yelled at everyone to stop pushing or else i was going to get squished! bless her heart.

9:30 pm - is the time im finally able to get out of the crowd. i was so traumatized that i yelled to all the people walking towards 6th to turn around because theyll regret the experience. i then thought that it would be smart to walk around the parade. every street was basically blocked off by the parade UNTIL HOUSTON. keep in mind it was really coming down now and i was soaked and i made the decision to try the subway. luckily the station gave me access to the red line or to the L. i tried to get to the L but it was so crowded that i just got on the 1 train and went straight back home. i was drenched and had to change the shirt from my costume and was so stressed that i had a glass of jack on the rocks. (yes, pregamed alone)

11:30 pm - i finally head to tavern on the green. this place is FULL of people in some pretty awesome costumes. only problem was that all those people were headed to the tavern. ok well no that wasn't the only problem. the first was that we couldnt find the rest of our friends for the longest time. the second problem was that there were SO many people trying to get into the party. the third and worse was that new yorkers are new yorkers. let me elaborate....the party ended up getting shut down because a few over eager and impatient partygo-ers decided to whack the tent entrance and tear it because the party doors wouldnt open.

ok thats enough because the night just ended up getting bad and worse then finally at 4 am it got better.

start to start

2009-10-24T06:20:00.000-07:00

i am very much a starter. i have a million projects that i want to do in my head. once i start them, ill get SUPER into it for a short period of time, and then my interest will fizzle.

example 1 - drawing/painting - when james first came to visit me in ny in april, we decided to draw and paint on canvases which i eventually put up in my room. soon after, i bought a sketchbook and more canvases to paint on. i had sketches of my additional paintings that i would do, and now, six months later, i still haven't gotten to it

example 2 - baking - this is what im currently on and i think it has gotten a little obsessive. i started last friday and since then have used at least 6 sticks of butter and an entire bag of flour and bought tons of other ingredients to make cookies with. ive made so far 6 different types of cookies and tried several recipes for granola. i even bought posterboard and put together my own handmade boxes and decorated them to send to people. i wonder when ill get over this phase?