Seattle Seattle

I don't think I fully understand the meaning of "vacation." From what I can tell, the vacations that other people take are very relaxing and therapeutic. But my vacations seem to send me home absolutely exhausted!

On Friday evening, Brian & co. drove me to the airport, where I could have missed my flight if it wasn't delayed 90 MINUTES! Thanks for small blessings? Anyhow, even though the airport was swamped with other delayees, it could have been worse. I met a couple on their way to Portland and had a hilarious conversation with them during our eternalong wait for a Pastrami Reuben. Which is a terrible choice of food for the airport - way too messy. Earlier in the day on Friday, I got some troubling news. And the extra time at the airport helped me shake it off a bit. I didn't want it to ruin my trip, and even though it lingered a bit I was able to put my thoughts in order while I waited to board.

I finally did get to Seattle. And when I landed I was totally wired because I had coffee on the plane LOL. Victor picked me up! :) And I couldn't stop talking! But we had to wait for the girls from Switzerland to land because their flight got delayed too. :( By the time we were all pickeded upped, it was too late to go anywhere crazy. We ended up at a Korean bar where we ate and drank, and everyone knew Victor's name LOL. Two of his friends that I'd met when he was here in San Francisco showed up shortly after. We didn't stay that long though, and I was so glad to get back to the house and just chill. We ended up drinking more and staying up super late, and I was def glad when it was time for bed.

On Saturday we had dim sum, and then went back to the house to hang out. The girls were speaking Swiss German. Man, there is something about German that just sounds awesome! After catching up on Jersey Shore, we went to the Space Needle and to Westlake for touristy things. The girls went shopping while Victor and I went to eat, and then we all went back home. For dinner we had Thai food - the Thai food in Seattle is a lot better than the Thai food I've had in SF. King of Thai is SO garbage. Blehk. We ended up being too tired to go out (not my fault), so we stayed at Vic's place and people came over to party. There was a whole fiasco about trying to get alcohol, and I will probably never like the idea of government-controlled liquor. I guess I'm spoiled by my easy access to alcohol. <3 SF. We played one of the Kinect dance games, OMG SO FUN!! GRREAT workout! I want ~

Sunday we had lunch at Vic's parents' house. For the very first time in my life I wrapped a spring roll - I'm pretty much a natural. We went shopping again after, spent a lot of time wandering around this store called Fireworks? Or Fireflies? and it had all kinds of cool knick-knacks. I WISH WE HAD THOSE HERE!!! We dropped the girls off at the airport, and drove around for a bit. We stopped to get Trophy's cupcakes and FRAN'S CHOCOLATES!!! YUM yum :D Later for dinner, we ended up at a cute little neighborhood joint called Lynn's Bistro. I ordered swordfish, which I DON'T like but I always order because it sounds cool. I think this happened at Bouchon in Vegas last time. Sigh. Anyway, everything else was really good :) Chicken Liver Pate nommmmmmmmmmmmm. We had a cozy movie night and I FINALLY WATCHED TOY STORY 3! The movie was soooo well written, I laughed and smiled and giggled. The new characters are absodorable. I see why it's up for an Academy Award!

Monday was a lazy Sunday. We went to lunch at Elliot's. O, M, G. The food was SO good! The spicy crab and corn chowder...... ... .... UuUuUUber delicious. That might have been the favorite segment of my trip! The rest of the day we just hung out. I was exhausted! Matt came over for a bit and it was good to see him again. The last time I saw him he was rolling around in a melted chocolate bar!! By 7 I was off to the airport, and I got home around midnight. GEEZ it was hard to wake up for work today. The trip was fun, although I wish I hadn't been so tired. I'll blame it on PMS and stress. Seattle isn't as gorgeous in the winter as it is in the summer, but it still kind of is. Lots of good eats, lively company, smiles all around.

Reno, Vegas Junior.

Over the past few weeks, people who had originally confirmed for Reno began to drop like flies. And so, by the time Friday came around it was only Alex, My, Ya and myself heading East. This weekend I was really looking forward to line-dancing, gambling, and working out in Reno. As it turns out, we did little to none of what I planned for.

When we got to Reno on Friday, we stopped at Walmart to pick up party supplies before checking in at Grand Sierra. Upon arrival, we settled into our cowboy-themed hotel rooms and the party began. We were supposed to go to the Mustangs Dance Hall that night, but as it turns out it wasn't a club at all. No, it was a stage in the Johnny Rocket food court. What a BUST! And to top that, their line-dancing night was Thursday.. go figure. We ended up having a super-crazy pretzel party in my room, and it was SO fun. I don't even think line-dancing could have topped the pretzel party. Insanity. We also wandered around the hotel and visited another room before ending up in the casino. While the others went to the tables I sat down at a slot machine nearby and started jamming buttons. I put in $20 and ended up with $38. It was already 3, and I was exhausted, so I called it a night.



Saturday morning was less painful than it should have been, thanks to hydration! On our way out of the casino, Alex and I realized that everyone on the trip with us was in couples! And to top that off, we ran into Jimmy and his girlfriend in the parking lot. While it was coincidence, it wasn't surprising - I totally called it! The night before, I said I BET WE'RE GOING TO SEE AT LEAST ONE PERSON WE KNOW HERE!

For lunch, we went to Hiroba sushi buffet! There we spotted Anh Yong from Arrested Development! I tried to secretly take a picture of him but I couldn't get a good one. The sushi was delicious, and totally worth the wait. I felt guilty because we wasted about 2 rolls, totally over-ambitious. After sushi, we went to get more party supplies - PRETZELS! When we got back to the hotel room we caught the "Hole In The Wall" tv show and it was freakin' hilarious. We made a run to Costco to pick up some things and then it was time for dinner.



We had made up our minds to try Zozo's Ristorante, but when we got there they were completely sold out for the night, WOW. We have to go the next time we're in Reno. Instead we had Kinders BBQ, which was still yum. After Kinders, we went to Nu Yalk pizza because we passed it on the way to Zozo's and we thought the name was funny. That was THE BEST PIZZA I'VE EVER HAD. Alex described it as "pizza on a cracker" - the crust was paperthin and soooo crunchy, I looove thin-crust pizza and that was the thinnest crust I've had to date. Stopping there was a great idea.


When we got back to the hotel, other folks were just going to dinner at one of the restaurants downstairs. I'm glad we didn't go as they ended up having a terrible experience. Anyhoo, to kill time we played the "who do you think is most likely to..." game and that was pretty fun. Later, when the others finished their dinner, we went to Jewell's room and started partying. I ended up not being able to hang with the big kids, and went back to my room to sleep around midnight.

Sunday morning we checked out. We were heading to some bakery/breakfast place in Reno, but we turned around when we decided to eat Boiling Crab instead. On the freeway, we saw a billboard sign for Tahoe Burgers. A few minutes later, we exited to get gas and ended up right next to Tahoe Burgers. We decided to try it! The burger and curly fries were tasty, definitely a step up from what I would normally consider fast food. We hit the road, and two hours later we were at Boiling Crab in Sacramento. It was what I'd expected it to be, delicious! I love me some whole shrimps, shell and all :) We hit the road again and hours later (traffic) we were back in the Bay Area. We stopped at Church's Chicken when we dropped My and Ya off, and then headed back to the city.

In summary, this trip was everything I didn't expect it to be. I didn't do any of the things I was planning to do but I ended up having a fantastic time. There were SO MANY funny moments, in the car ride there and back, that I will probably remember and giggle at years from now. Alex and I had some really interesting conversations at the hotel and on the way back to the city. Even though I ate a lot instead of working out, the food was well worth it. This trip ended up being spontaneity at its best, from the pretzel party to the Nu Yalk pizza, to Tahoe Burgers and everything in between.

Good deeds, good health.

I feel like a million bucks.

This morning, Andy and I woke up at 7-something AM and dragged our asses to volunteer at the Edgewood Center for Children and Families. I remembered, painfully, how much I do NOT miss waking up before 9:00AM on Saturdays. This was my first time doing volunteer work voluntarily (other times I've volunteered for events were actually requirements for clubs in high school) and I think it was long overdue. Though I'm not entirely to blame - I wanted to volunteer before but I used to work Saturdays at BMW!

Anyhoo, the Edgewood Center is a system for abused/troubled adolescents and they offer a plethora of supportive/reformative services. The organization is celebrating 160 years of service, and it was a great feeling to know that I participated in such a well-established, life changing program. The work was much less labor-intensive than I'd expected - I had anticipated an assembly-line type setup. But actually, we were split up amongst cottages so I only worked with Andy and another lady volunteer. We had a big, sunny kitchen to ourselves where we prepared eggs, hash browns, toast and fruit for breakfast.

I had quite an outstanding time preparing the oranges and toasting the toast. In fact, I can't think of any better way to have spent this Saturday morning! When breakfast was served, we were encouraged to interact with the children. This was a new kind of social interaction for me (children), and I didn't know how to connect on their level. One of them though, was pretty excited to tell me about the Tony Hawk game and Karate Kid 3 - neither of which I know anything about. He also told me that I look like a snowboarder girl. It was certainly an interesting conversation, if not a successful one?

I'm going back when my schedule permits, it was an incredible experience and I'm glad I could spare a few hours of my time to help disadvantaged children.

Also, I went to the doctor yesterday and got my annual check up - everything is all good in the hood (although I have been feeling a strange numbness or poor circulation in my feet). And speaking of hoods, Klaus also went to the doctor yesterday and got his 15k service. He too is all good in the hood. We're all good. In the hood.

I must say, this New Year, and also Chinese New Year have both gotten off to a spectacular start.

Dealing with Deceit

I've been watching Lie to Me, the series about lie detection and the like. At first I thought it was really interesting, and I was drawn to the concept because I felt like I would become better at figuring out when people are lying. The trouble with that is, I do have instincts and I generally don't trust them - I think the ratio is about 50/50 for that being a good or bad thing. However, after finishing the first season, maybe this series is just making me more paranoid. I already have unsettled trust issues, and I think I've good reason to justify that. And some people tell me to trust my intuition, while others tell me to drop the inhibitions to give everyone a chance. All I know for sure is that I've played with fire too many times.

The show brings up deeply-seeded feelings of empathy for the people who are deceived, betrayed, torn apart and devastated. I've been in or damn near tears with this series much moreso than any others -- I can't tell if this is healthy for me or not but after the developments of recent years, of this I am sure: I would rather not love at all, than love and fall. And I thought of that all by myself during a conversation with Chad - yeah, we were pretty impressed too.

Gone Country

So after the holidays things have definitely calmed down *PHEW*, but still lots going on. The weekend before last, Victor came to visit from Seattle!! I always wondered what it would be like to host visitors from another city and I had previously thought that I'd know exactly where to take them. Nope. Turns out, it's harder than it looks. I took him to some of my favorite places to eat! And we went to Medjool, Redwood Room, Rogue, Holy Cow, and a few of the other regular spots. It was a kind of a crazy weekend, and we didn't get to go to the Sharks game, but I think he and his friends had fun! I know I did!! :)

I also started a NERT class last week with the Al Pals & co. I've already learned a lot of things I feel I should have known about safety, how to react, and useful tips for emergency disaster/awareness. Even though sitting through class for hours is super tiring after work, it was nice to be "learning" again and in a lecture environment. I miss school! And I am SO glad we're taking this class, I know we'll be so much better off ... just in case..

I've been going out lots and soaking up as much time as I can with my wonderful friends, I even went to my first dog birthday party on Sunday! It was entertaining to say the least, I just love staring at dogs. I drove Bear to the dog party and thankfully he didn't try to eat or paw Klaus. Everything has been awesome thus far, almost three weeks into the new year and I'm lovin' it!

I think I'm starting to outgrow hip hop. And I'm definitely tired of hearing Katy Perry, Bruno Mars, and Kesha, over and over again on ALL of the radio stations. I've started listening to COUNTRY! And I will close with a few of my new fave songs :)

New Years Resolutions

I think I started 2011 off right, for once in my life. In the past, I've gone into celebrating new years with high hopes - the search for "the" dress, fancy clubs with expensive covers, and some small part of me secretly hoping to magically meet a super hot guy from which I will elicit the most perfect new years kiss.

In my years of celebration, this has NEVER happened. Far from it actually -- I generally go home the first day of the new year dearly disappointed. And maybe that's why the past few years have been tainted with disappointment, let-downs and broken expectations. From the lies and deceit, being betrayed by the closest person to me this past year, and learning to forgive someone who never deserved my trust to begin with a year before, I've definitely been doing something wrong.

This year will be different though. I think I've evolved as a person and learned not to overly-invest myself -- you know, keep it simple. This New Years Eve was indeed simple and unplanned. I went to lunch with my parents Friday afternoon, then went to a bar on Polk street with my closest friends at night. I wasn't even sure if I was going to go out at night, I was truly content with staying home and relaxing. Although, I am glad that I did go out because I ended up having a good time. The night was short, and I did not have enough to drink -- and even though it doesn't sound like the best New Years celebration, it really was.

Because I started off the New Year with Alex and Andy, the Al Pals who always have my back and I care about soooo much. Because I wasn't plastered and didn't NEED to go home early. Because I didn't care who I met or where I was. Because the dress I wore to the bar I found when I was looking for something else. Because nothing was planned, nothing at all was certain. Because there were no expectations and no false promises culminating in my subconscious. Because even though I wasn't expecting it, I ended up getting a new years kiss.

Because of all of these things, my New Years celebration was ab-so-lutely perfect. I couldn't have had a better time and if this is ANY indication of what the next year will be like I am VERY excited for what is to come. Over the past years, I've learned how to appreciate the most important things in life. And not only have I FINALLY learned to be genuinely happy alone, I've also learned how to gauge who I can trust and who should truly matter.

Consequently, I don't really have any specific New Years resolutions this year. For 2011 I know that I must better myself and expand my horizons on all fronts. I will take life each day at a time and push myself in my career and social life. I've already signed up for community service events in the coming months, so I'm well on my way to helping others. If I continue to try my best at everything I do I know that everything else will fall into place.

And to be thorough, my resolutions from last years post:
1. Read more
2. Drink, and go out, less
3. Take more pictures
4. Eat healthier and stay in shape
5. Be less of a flaker for social events

I can proudly say that I've made significant progress in all 5 areas through 2010. To all of my friends and anyone who is reading this, I wish you all the best for the new year and success in any and many endeavors. Here's to 2011 --