Thanking good graces in cold and rainy places

So every year, my Thanksgiving reflections are a little bit different - this year I'm thankful for the people in my life and the good luck I've been blessed with these past few months.

The transition from the city that I've always known and loved, to the new and exciting city that I'm quickly discovering, has been nothing short of flawless.  I'm most thankful for Victor, who has introduced me to almost everyone I know here in Seattle and has been key in the foundation of this new chapter of my life. I'm also thankful for my room mate Matt, who is another form or variation of myself, and probably better qualifies than anyone else I could have found to live with. His consideration, respect, and welcoming nature are far more than I could have asked for.  I'm very thankful for my new friends in Seattle, who have accepted me and shown me nothing but kindness.

Secondly, but more importantly, I'm thankful for my friends and family in SF. When I first moved I was prepared to fade into the backs of everyones minds, and I thought I'd need to return shortly to vacate my room at my moms place. I'm very grateful that she hasn't asked me to clear out yet and continues to let me stay at home when I visit! Her support and love is invaluable, and I truly cherish the random emails she sends me with updates of thoughts about her everyday life.  My friends, another extension of what I consider my family, have not forgotten me! And I'm SO glad to know it. I love being included in happenings and drama even though I'm not physically there. I appreciate so much that they made the trip to visit recently and I always look forward to spending time with them when I get back, especially my beloved Al pals.  I miss them so!

Lastly I'm thankful for not one, but two sources of income during such a financially risky time in my life. First, for the awesome boss who took a chance on a girl out of California and pays me double what she was expecting to when she originally posted to the listing. She's really the nicest boss ever and its a whole different experience from the jobs I've had in the bay.  Second, for my last employer who liked me so much they gave me a laptop and invited me to work remotely around my own schedule. This is probably the best situation possible for someone moving two states away and is still undecided on a permanent career.  I truly am lucky in all regards.

There are so many things for me to be thankful for, and words couldn't describe how lucky I feel. Considering that everything could have fallen apart when I moved, or worse yet I could have stayed in SF and continued to live with the same demons that were consuming my happiness, life has been excellent recently.  I've grown emotionally in this experience in so many ways, and in this different environment I'm learning more about myself every day. I even made yams for Thanksgiving dinner this year! :)

Happy as a clam, no complaints here - I wish everyone I know this very same feeling. Happy Thanksgiving y'all.

Gypsy Souls

As pop music makes a painfully slow and awkward transition from hip-pop to house-pop and dubstep mashups, I find myself only able to enjoy the lyrics of country songs. They are so sweet, simple, sad, and basic. I love the raw emotion and the references to a more humble life than so many artists out there try to project.

But yeah, I do love me some of the high energy house. And the Old School Lunch on Kube93, during which Matt and I text each other selections from our fave high school jams (that ghetto shit). Though, at the end of the day, a little bit of country helps me unwind.



Speaking of colder weather, the Seattle temperatures are dropping and the end is nowhere in sight. It's exciting! The other day I was driving and got caught in traffic during the hailstorm, and I was thinking -- if it starts snowing I'm screwed, why didn't I get 4wd again? LOL. It's okay, heated seats and 10+ settings on my windshield wipers have helped tremendously thus far.

Come on winter, GET AT ME BRO!

Halloween: A San Francisco Treat!

Last weekend was such a shit show.

Thursday afternoon, Charles and I flew into San Francisco with no delays or anything - great start to a trip! Ryan picked us up at SFO and we headed back to my place to drop off luggage, then downtown so Charles could check into the W. By the time we got to dinner it was already getting late, maybe 8 something? We ended up at San Tung. WORTH THE WAIT. And since it was the first time for Charles in San Francisco (and California) we had to take him to the best Chinese place we know. Duh. Later at night we went to see Shiny Toy Guns perform at the Rickshaw Stop. It was pretty good, but I liked the show at Ruby Skye the first time I saw them better. Anyway, super packed and very exciting! We stopped by at Holy Cow afterward but everyone was too exhausted to enjoy. We did see Latina fight though, pretty awesome.

Friday afternoon, Charles and I sort of slept through lunch time. We did wake up in time, though, to get ramen at Himawari! I had to get my ramen fix, since there isn't any good ramen in Seattle. We went to Blue Bottle Coffee for a pick-me-up and mmm mm that New Orleans Iced Coffee surely hit the spot. Charles got to see the Octavia/Hayes way of life also. Everyone just hanging out on the sidewalks, chillin'. Gorgeous weather. We picked up some viet sandwiches for dinner, then we went home to get ready for SKRILLEX!!!

Chad drove his van and picked us up at my place. When Charles came over that night I was laughing so hard at his joker costume, he looked freakin' homeless. I was literally in tears, clutching my stomach. It was a great moment. Our costume theme was a hit, we got lots of compliments! The concert was fantastic when Skrillex came on, his visuals just blew my mind. Hearts galore. I had tons of fun! Maybe not as much fun as Tiesto or Kaskade, but still lots and lots of fun. OH, THE ENERGY! After the concert, we migrated to Sugar Cafe and continued on dancing. As we were leaving, I made a special request to be dropped off before everyone headed to Brian's. Thank goodness I did, I couldn't wait to get to bed - so exhausted!

On Saturday, we explored Haight with Alex and Ryan (after first driving around Sunset to pick up Alex's ticket and viet sandwiches/boba!!). We saw the Painted Ladies, but honestly we didn't even know which house was the Full House house. LOL. On the corner of the block there was the remains of a haunted house party and we somehow wandered in uninvited. Luckily the people inside didn't mind us peeking around. The house was very spookily decorated. It looked like they'd had one hell of a party!

For dinner, Charles wanted to have sushi, so I took him to the second best spot I know - Ryoko! We waited over an hour but it was worth it, of course. We had a pretty interesting and random conversation over dinner, and the music as always was a compilation of all of my favorite songs. How do they always know! We headed back to my place to meet up with Cindy, Albert, and Calvin. By the time we all were ready to go to Polk street, it was super packed at all of the bars with ridiculously long lines out the door. We decided to go to Rendezvous instead! I saw a bunch of the old DNC people there, and I met up with all of the Deadmau5 people there also. It ended up being a good time, great company! And it was nice to dance to hip hop instead of house for the first time that weekend. :)

On Sunday we tried to go to Lime but we had a pretty big party and the wait was a few hours. Instead we had burgers at Super Duper, and then went to the beach. AH THE BEACH! I miss the beach

Overall I think it was a fantastic trip. Charles fell in love with San Francisco, as everyone should, and I think in the four days that I had with him I was able to show him most of my favorite things! Then again how could he not love SF, my friends are all so cool!

SF Visits Seattle

Visitors!!!!

But first, a few other exciting things that happened last week. First, I got a haircut on Wednesday! And second, I got a new phone on Thursday. I ended up with the Galaxy S II even though I had a tough time between that and the HTC Amaze. The galaxy definitely is a better looking phone but I wish it had a better battery life, or the ability to disable 4G.

Thursday night we went to The Last Supperclub where we met up with Andy, Brian, Chad, David, Priscilla, and Kevin. We drank and danced the night away, I was so excited to see them again! The club was dead, but that almost made it better - private dance party!! Everyone seemed to hit it off really well, and all of us who thought we would be leaving early that night failed.

The next day, I took the day off and Matt and Victor didn't make it to work. We slept in to recover and Victor and I left in the afternoon to try and surprise our guests! Thanks to the Groupme chat, I knew they were downtown somewhere so we drove around Hotel Five where they were staying ot try and catch them. No dice! I ended up just calling Chad and asking where he was. He and David had separated from the group so we were able to surprise the others at Pike Place Chowder.

Yummmm, chowdahhh. The seafood chowder was delicious. We walked around Pike Place after eating to check out the different flowers, foods, meats, and more. Four of the guys decided to go scootering so Victor and I took Priscilla and Andy with us back to the house to hang out. We watched parts of movies and some Kevin Hart, but Andy and P mostly napped. Later we left to meet Charles and Matt for kbbq in Lynnwood. Then after dinner, we headed back to my place to regroup.

More of the guys came over before we left again to go to Hotel Five then Trinity. The SF people really seemed to like Trinity but the Seattle guys wanted to go to PNK. I thought Trinity looked fun but I didn't really care where we went. We migrated to PNK and WOW it's a really nice venue. Super high ceilings and tall windows, photobooth outside against the high rises, awesome music! I really really like that place, so glad we ended up there. Everyone was having a great time dancing and before we knew it, it was last call. We went to Honey Court in chinatown for post-club nourishment and everyone gobbled up the panfried noodles before I got any! I was sad. Other than that though, it was a fun night.

On Saturday it was hard to get out of bed. Charles and Nick had slept over so we all went to get Pho down the street - well, except Charles who couldn't get out of bed. I think everyone was still drunk, most of the meal was loud giggling. And everyone looked like crap. After our breakfast we went back home and Matt and I went back to sleep. I got up an hour later to head out and meet up the SF'ers. We stopped by the Space Needle to take pictures and Alex and Lina went up. Everyone else either dropped off their scooters or went to Pioneer Square. We ate at Jimmy John's then did the Underground Tour. I am never doing the Underground Tour again.

For dinner we ate at Elliot's, YUM! And afterwards they went back to their hotel and I went home to drop off my car. I headed to The Garage for Eric and Lorraine's birthday celebration. The SF people came too! It was pretty fun but I was absolutely exhausted. Victor didn't feel well so we left earlier than the other folks and took Priscilla to get Javier's. We finally said our goodbyes and got home around 2, Matt and Charles arrived shortly after.

The weekend was SO EXHAUSTING, but I'm glad everyone came to visit. I hope they come back, in smaller groups for sure. I was most excited to see my Al Pals, I really miss them so. Halloween in SF will be excellent!

Taco Tuesday & Tailgating

Over the past few weeks, we've really started to get to know our neighborhood. The teriyaki place nearby is pretty good, Ezell's chicken is... not very good, and the sushi place is REALLY GREAT! On Friday after playing a few tiring games of Hole in the Wall (best game ever btw) we found Toyoda on Yelp and ventured over, definitely a fantastic find.

But Tuesdays, Tuesdays will be taco nights. Yesterday when I came home during lunch, Matt asked me if I wanted anything from Target. And I don't know what made me think of tacos (maybe it was the T in Target), but I suggested that we make tacos for dinner. BEST IDEA EVER. It should be tradition - I love love love tacos. They're like nachos but don't get soggy as fast. And I EXTRA LOVE nachos! <33333

This past weekend, I went to my first Seahawks game and we tailgated from 9am. It was actually supposed to be 8am but our car didn't get there until 8:30 or something. I usually don't like picnics because they're boring, so I didn't think I'd like tailgating. But I actually had fun! The chili was amazing and the cornbread and steak were really good. I wanted to take a nap in the car but I didn't want to be rude, I usually don't get up until 11:00 or later on Sundays! The game was a hoot, I don't even remember watching the teams. I think we spent most of the time drinking and wandering the stadium. The day went by REALLY quickly and after dinner at Genki I think everyone went home to sleep. Some people came to Victors to drink more, but everyone was exhausted. Good times, and a great experience.

Labor Day in the Bay

Last weekend was my first visit back home to the Bay!

Friday morning and afternoon I mostly spent packing. I flew in at 5:00p and Julian picked me up from the airport. He drove me back to SF to drop off my luggage and pick up our concert tickets, and then we headed south to HP! We got to the Taylor Swift concert pretty early, seeing as how we didn't care for the opening acts. We ended up catching one and it was meh. Then Taylor came out and it was magical, enchanting, and enthralling - everything I knew it would be. Watching Taylor perform gives me chills, and I can't decide which tour I liked better - this year's and last year's both had amazing moments.

As expected, Taylor came to the small rotating stage on the other side of the arena about halfway through the concert. I didn't even realize it until we got there, but Julian and I were sitting in the section directly behind! It was pretty awesome, to be so close to Taylor! I had a great time, and it was extra exciting for Julian because it was his first concert. What a great first concert to experience!

Saturday I went to ID at Shoreline with Brian and Loan. We met up with Andy, Gary, Joanna, Kyle, and some new friends! In the beginning I wasn't very excited but as I started getting into the music I found myself having a fantastic time. The weather was gorgeous and the frozen margaritas were too tempting. About five hours in I started to feel sick, probably from dehydration and inebriation all at once. I guzzled Rockstar Hydration because it was free all day at the booths, and then I ate a kbbq burrito. I felt better in about a half hour, THANK GOODNESS! I spent the next four hours completely sober and happy as a clam! We met up with Chad, Ryan, Tiana, Steph, and I forget who else. The Aoki and Kaskade sets were absolutely overwhelming. Loved the energy and the song selections. Most fun sober ever, and that means more fun than Tiesto in Vegas! I found myself dancing my ass off, not even caring who was around me, with the biggest smile on my face.

On Sunday I went to the Reno rib cook off with Brian and Loan. We met Kevin, Bui, and Alex there. It was hot as hell! The ribs were delicious. I especially loved the beef rib from Porky and Beans. THOSE WERE MY FAVE! We got Willingham's again, which was my top 3 pick from last year's ribs. I didn't get any Bone Daddy this year, but I remember that being my abso fave last year! This year we went into the Marlboro Experience and took pictures in the free photo booth, got free t-shirts, and bought $1 packs of cigs. I brought mine back to Seattle and gave them to Matt, such a nice roommate I am, LOL. We also played Bingo in Reno, and I couldn't have ever been prepared for how fucking intense it is. Like seriously, my brain was hurting only three rounds in!!!! Reno took up most of the day, I was exhausted by the time I got home.

Monday was family day. Woke up and had breakfast with my mom and brother, and Wendy and her family joined us. Rey cooked a wonderful Filipino breakfast that was UBER SALTY but soo tasty! After breakfast we talked a bunch and I went to check out my bro's new apartment. The roof was amazing. Very Vegassy, I loved it! Actually, I loved it so much, that when I finished packing my luggage and had an hour to hang out with Andy, we decided to go to my brother's place and hang out up on the roof. We picked up sweets and milk along the way so we could havea tea party! Super relaxing, and it was pretty cool hanging out with my bro and Andy at the same time.

Overall the weekend was a great handful of events, and I was glad to see everyone again. I still don't miss SF yet, but I'm sure I will in the next few months when my life starts slowing down with the colder weather. October should be fun because everyone's coming to visit me in Seattle!! SO MANY ACTIVITIES!!! For now, I'm enjoying the gorgeous Seattle summer and having absolutely no complaints.