One week in paradise: Oahu and Big Island 2017

Tuesday

When I arrived in Honolulu to meet my mom, I landed an hour late because they had to fix the cargo area’s vent system after we had boarded. Unfortunately, her flight had arrived EARLY so she was sitting around at the car rental office for over two hours. Yikes! Our first stop was the Honolulu Cookie company near the airport. We bought our coworker gifts right away, so we wouldn’t have a deal with it later (great decision). Next, we visited Lin’s Hawaiian Market near Ala Moana. The snack selection was ridiculous! Karen recommended their furikake mix, so I bought three bags!! I also got some lilikoi flower, garlic chip, and spicy olive snacks. All very interesting. We had some time to kill, so I ordered melon snow. We shopped at Ward Center before heading to Aunty’s house for a wonderful, welcoming, Hawaiian dinner. She served lau lau, poke, poi, kalbi, and sweet bread with lilikoi butter. I was shocked at how well poi tastes when paired with kalbi. I was stuffed!

Wednesday

We ate breakfast at home, and had a nice chat with Aunty and Uncle. I had a local granola for breakfast—something healthy! We picked grandma up at home and ran errands with her. At the grocery store, we found li hing pineapple. It was REALLY delicious. For lunch, we ate at Fresh Catch. We shared three types of poke, crab stuffed ahi roll, and garlic chicken. The best poke of the three was a wasabi flavor. I liked it so much that I think it’s one of my favorite pokes!

After dropping grandma off, we shopped at Windward Mall. My mom checked out the farmer’s market and bought me some fresh papaya!!! I bought a few tank tops from Cookies, Know1, and Local Motion. Love those stores! We headed back to Kailua, where Cindee had arrived with her family for dinner. Aunty served hibachi steak, spareribs, and veggies. For dessert, we had haupia cake. So much good food.

Thursday

We ate breakfast at home again, which was the fresh papaya from the farmer’s market and some apple banana! We went to visit grandma, before heading to Ward Center for more shopping. I bought a cute one-piece bathing suit for my water adventures over the weekend. I was so fat, I couldn’t fit into any of the bikinis that I had at home. L My mom wanted to go to Barnes & Noble, so we stopped by Ala Moana and ended up browsing. For lunch, I ate Poke & Box. Their two-poke lunch is such a deal! And they have tempura ball toppings, which I had never seen before. I wish all poke places offered that topping.

We went back to grandma’s house for dinner because she had prepared a wonderful roast stew. Uncle Douglas brought Sicilian pizza and cannoli, and Aunty Edith brought more poke from Fresh Catch. Grandma showed us an old photo album, which I had never seen. There were a lot of great photos of my mom and everyone else! It was truly a delight to spend so much time with grandma this trip, and really sit down and chat with her about the past. I can see that she gets tired faster now because her attention fades after a few hours. It makes me appreciative that we could make the trip, and I can’t wait to visit again soon.

Friday

I flew to Kona bright and early! Yep, this trip was from Kailua to Kailua-Kona. We had a delicious breakfast and Frenchman’s before picking up dessert at Holy Donuts. We ordered a dozen and they were all good, but the real gems were the crème brulee donuts! Andrey had to work, so we had lunch in Waimea at Luna. Best zucchini pizza I’ve ever had. The crust was buttery and light. I LOVED IT! Andy and I ventured down the coast to Hilo. We stopped at Waipio Lookout and Laupāhoehoe Point to check out the scenery and take photos. We found a market on the way to Akaka Falls, where we ate the most delicious cinnamon bun ever. It was made with Hawaiian sweet bread! At Akaka Falls, we decided to jog about halfway through the hike. The drop was really impressive, and there were so many different types of gorgeous trees!!

After the long day of sightseeing, we had dinner in Hilo at Hawaiian Style Café. The wait was over an hour, but it was worth every minute. We shared a surf and turf dish, poke nachos, and tripe stew. There was SO MUCH food that we were stuffed! The mauna kea coffee was really yummy. After dinner, we drove through torrential rain down dark and deserted freeway to get back to Waimea. We still had time to kill when we go to Waimea, so we wandered around the KTA store. I loved walking through each aisle, especially at a new store! There was McDonald’s nearby, so we tried the guava pie. After Andy ordered it, he went to the bathroom and I opened it to take a bite. After my first (delicious) bite, the pie dropped back into the pie box and came out through the bottom. MY PIE WAS ON THE FLOOR!!!! I was laughing so hard that I almost peed in my pants. I told Andy what happened on my way into the bathroom, and by the time I came back out he had already bought a second one. HAHA. He didn’t like it, so I got to eat the rest. We finally picked Andrey up and headed home. Exhausting day!

Saturday

We began our day looking for food! After a few failed attempts and a trip to the chocolate store (where we had delicious chocolate turtle samples), we ate melona bars and butter mochi for breakfast in the car. We also stopped at Matsuyamas and picked up poke-stuffed inari. Legit hiking food! We drove to Rainbow Falls to check out the gorgeous views, and then we made our way to another scenic fall. I didn’t feel comfortable taking the local trail, but the guys convinced me to do it. The path was muddy and steep, the rocks were slippery, and by the time I got to the stream crossing I just decided that I wasn’t going to go any further. Andy and Andrey got to enjoy the rest of the waterfall hike while I sat in the stream. In retrospect, that probably wasn’t a great place to park my butt. Especially because that’s probably not a great place to be during a flash flood.  

We drove on to Hilo and picked up strawberry mochi from Two Ladies Kitchen. The strawberry mochi was even better than I expected, and I had some really high expectations due to the number of people who highly recommended it. For dinner, we ate at Café Pesto. The ginger calamari was very good, and the steak, fish, scallops, shrimp, and risotto were all delicious. After some wine, we stopped by Ross to pick up a blanket. Andy and Andrey ended up buying these matching shark shirts, but they didn’t have any in my size. DISAPPOINTING!

When we got to the Volcanoes National Park, we rented bicycles and poncho’ed up. Andrey shared a tandem with me, but the gears on the tandem bike didn’t work. So we had to pedal a whoooole lot. The ride up was not so bad, even though it was a bit windy. When we got to the top, we could see this beautiful, billowing blob of lava red. The shape was ever-changing and morphing as the lava was hitting the water. It was beautiful and almost emotional. Walking on the lava was also an interesting experience. To know that you’re walking on something that was LAVA is perplexing and makes you really think about how cool nature is. The ride back down actually had more uphill areas, and the rain really started pouring sideways. The wind picked up and it was so loud that I felt disoriented. I pedaled as hard as I could, and I was honestly miserable toward the end. I started thinking about Forrest, which I guess is my happy place? By the time we got to the bottom, I was totally beat. That was one of the most physically challenging things that I’ve experience in my adult life. We grabbed some food at Ken’s House of Pancakes, and the saimin made me feel a bit refreshed. We decided to head home and call it a night.

Sunday

We started the day with breakfast from Peaberry & Galette. The croissant sandwich was so freaking delicious. We drove to the Captain Cook area and rented our kayaks and snorkeling equipment. I was nervous to go out on the water because I can’t swim, I’ve never kayaked before, and I’ve never been out on open water without a boat before. The waves were crashing against the rocks, and it was really intimidating. Luckily, Andrey was in my kayak and he is basically a water angel. Once we got started, I realized that I LOVE the rowing part. I insisted on rowing all of the way, even when we didn’t need to row. When we turned the kayaks and started moving sideways with the waves, I felt seasick. I didn’t really have any options so we kept going to the snorkeling area by the Captain Cook monument. We stopped because we saw a group of dolphins! They were playing, spinning, and splashing around us. I got into the water to float with them, and we heard the high-pitched noises of the dolphins communicating. It was one of the most beautiful moments of my life. I’ve never felt as close to nature as I did right then. Andrey really got close to them and started singing in the water. Dolphins are so cool! Andy and I both did not snorkel. I’m glad we went anyway because being with wild dolphins in sea water is probably not something I’ll get to experience again. For post-kayak food, we ate Da Poke Shack and it was glorious. By sunset, we were heading up to Mauna Kea observatory. Watching the sunset from mid-mountain was amazing and colorful. The higher we climbed, the colder it got. I was happy to buy a sweatshirt and t-shirt at the observatory store just to keep warm! The Asia tourists with their phone lights and cameras were annoyingly disruptive when we were trying to stargaze. If I could volunteer anywhere in Hawaii, I would work there to scold the tourists. Anyway, there were so many stars that I don’t think I’ve ever seen before. The night was crystal clear and we even saw Venus in one of the fancy telescopes. After the stargazing tour, we drove back to Kona and ate tacos at Oceans. I had a li hing margarita, which was my first alcoholic beverage of the trip. That must be a record!

Monday

Andy made eggs for breakfast, and we ate them with taro sweet bread. We headed to the pier, where we boarded our Big Island Duck Adventures tour! I love duck tours because they’re fun, comfortable, exciting, and you learn so much. This tour was sooo windy that I could barely keep my eyes open at time. Even with sunglasses on! We played trivia and our team, the geminis, certainly did not come close to winning. HAHA. The tour was fun anyway, and my favorite part was seeing the partially restored pond wall. The guides told us about how there was only one person who still had the skill of placing stones. I think that is something I would enjoy, like stuffing envelopes and grouting bathroom tile. After the tour, we headed to Waikoloa Beach to look for sea turtles. We eventually saw one!!! He was playing in the water by the shore. We went shopped the King and Queen shops, but Andrey was the only one who bought something. HAHA. Well, I did buy a melon icee. After checking out the beaches nearby, we had dinner at Holukoa Café. The dinner was bittersweet, because I knew I would be leaving shortly after. I had a spectacular time on the Big Island because Andrey was a fantastic host and Andy was obviously the best travel buddy. I usually feel stressed, rushed, and overwhelmed on vacations with big groups. Our trio was the perfect arrangement to enjoy everything at our own pace. This is THE MOST wholesome and active friends vacation I’ve ever taken. I can’t believe we experienced so much in so little time. I love how much they pushed me outside of my comfort zone. We made so many memories! I lava it. J

Contact 2015, New Years, visitors, and SNOW!

The week after Christmas, we went up to Vancouver for our very first CONTACT festival! I really and truly loved the venue, and despite the ultra low temps I had a great time. Even though I said no more festivals after this year, I'd definitely consider attending that one again.

After the drive home, we were so exhausted. But we had to get ready for our visitors - Andy, Alom, and Gary! They stayed with us three nights, and it went by way too quickly. We brought them to Burnett's for BNO, and Matt took them sightseeing the next day in Seattle. For NYE, we got a table at Aston Manor and it was the BEST IDEA EVER. We were the first ones to book the brand new enclosed area right next to the stage, and we had an awesome view of the DJ and crowd. Bottles and bottles later, we were all having a wonderful time, and certainly a happy new year. 

The week after the guys left, I got extremely sick and ended up sleeping for two days straight. YUCK! Hopefully that was my sickness for the year. That flu or whatever it was really hit me like a wall. I'm wondering if it was the cold weather, because we did actually have some snow that week. Forrest got to play in it! 

So far, this year has been great! I took a writing class with Chelsie already, and work is going well as usual. I can't wait to see what else 2016 has in store for me. I really have to shed my winter coat soon though -- boy, I layered up thick this holiday season! HAHA

Corinna's wedding + mini high school reunions

On Friday evening, I had dinner with Anita, Cindy, Kanomi, Lauren, Lisa, and Anna - most of my closest girl friends from high school. Aside from catching up with Anna and Lisa over brunch, and running into the others at weddings, I haven't seen much else of them! Witnessing Kanomi, Lauren, and Cindy as mothers was wonderful and eye-opening, and it really hit home that most of us are in that next phase of life (married or kids, or both). It's hard to catch up on ten years of life, but I'm so glad that we had dinner. Kanomi suggested that we get a private room reservation, and the Izakaya Kou tatami room did a pretty good job of containing the children… and hopefully muffling some of the screaming. LOL. We parted ways after dinner, and I met up with Andy, Matt, and Alom at Andy's place. We headed to the Castro, to meet up with Charles and Angie. It was a crazy night at Beaux, and Matt's first time in the 'stro - and WHAT a first night it was. After clubbing, we stopped by Brian's place to hang out with the Cotopaxi participants, and the craziness continued. A night out in the Castro always means a painful morning to follow.

I look forward to weddings, because I love to witness the happy moments. Corinna's wedding happens to be especially meaningful to me, not only because she was one of my close friends in high school, but also because I was still close to her at the very beginning of her relationship with Jon! Nancy was my hot date for the wedding, and I couldn't have asked for a better one. We had SO MUCH fun catching up and she had me cracking up all day and all night. Corinna's ceremony, venue, and outfits, were all flawless. The weather in San Rafael was perfect for the outdoor ceremony, and it ran like clockwork. Even Corinna's dog walked down the aisle - it was the CUTEST thing watching Race drag the little kid around. From Corinna in her stunning dress, to the details on the flower petal bags, and the lush greenery, it was absolutely picture perfect.

After cocktail hour, we moved indoors for the reception. The hall was HUGE and well-lit with wonderful floral pieces (which we later found out were arranged by Nixon!). The party favors were Asian snacks and adorable fun fact cards with all different statements about the bride and groom. The ONE TIME I didn't order the steak at a wedding, it was actually decent. I did enjoy my mushroom ravioli, though, so I wasn't disappointed. I loved that Corinna and Jon asked for volunteers to demonstrate kisses for the crowd, and that they then duplicated the kisses in an adorably mocking way. What a great idea! The reception flew by as fast as the ceremony did, and before I knew it we were dancing with Corinna to some awesome throwbacks. We actually stayed after everyone else had left, and spent some more time with Corinna before heading to karaoke.

We got back to the city after midnight, and Amy, Nancy, Drew, and I went to DO RE MI. LOL. Regina met us up there too, and I think we were karoke-ing for 3+ hours. It was so fun that I don't even know where the time went! We even ran into Kirby there, and he sang with us too. I thought about how great it would be to move home, and every weekend could be as awesome. And then Sunday morning rolled up on me and I re-thought, boy I'd be hungover every weekend if I moved back. HAHA. Growing up in the city was rough at times, but as I look back at my formative years I appreciate every person and every experience more than ever. I had some really good times, with amazing people that still invite me to their weddings after 5+ years of not seeing each other. That is really something special. And during dinner, Nancy recalled that her most vivid memory of me was when Danny was getting ready to defend me (which I can hardly remember the details of). Through the night, a few other people mentioned Danny too, and it reminded me of how much I regret not attending his funeral. Even though we ended up having our differences later in life, he really was so very dear to me those first years in high school. Had I been a more mature person, I'd have known better than to miss it. That's one regret I'll never be able to shake. 

On Sunday we hung out with everyone at Dolores Park for Lisha's birthday. Lots of people came out and I tried to be as social as possible even though I was exhausted and hungover. I think the best part was when we sang happy birthday to her in the middle of the park, in front of a gazillion strangers. How cool! I don't know if anyone got that moment on video, but I hope someone did. Before we flew out, we watched Babadook with Andy. O, M, G, creeeeeeeee-pyyyyy.

The T-Wick Wedding

The long-awaited and much-anticipated wedding of C+T finally arrived! And if there ever was a whirlwind of a wedding... THIS WAS IT!

The Holly Farm in Carmel was ab-so-lute-ly gorgeous. I was thinking it would be a rustic, drought-stricken farm (LOL), but it was actually much more like a lush jungle. Very Jurassic Park-esque.

The Seattle people arrived late to the celebrations, and missed the Thursday BBQ (as well as the bubble soccer early Friday). WAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH. We flew into SJC on Friday at noon, happened to lunch at Chez Sovan becuase of a last minute rec from Alan. HOLY moly, the amok (fish wrapped in leaves) was so tasty! We actually showed up after they had closed for the day, which was my bad because I didn't check the hours, but the owner was SO nice he seated and served us anyway. We ended up getting to chat with him and he was super friendly with tons of jokes. Such a treat.

The drive to Monterey wasn't bad, but the traffic after we had settled in to our hotel was. So we stayed at our hotels until dinner, and met up to dine Nan for her belated. The food at Jeninni Kitchen & Wine Bar was hit or miss. I did love the eggplant fries, a whole lot. I didn't love the steak. And their customized cocktails made with wine (but tastes like classic liquor mixes) were really good. The Mule. MHM! After dinner, we headed to the farm where I was so happy to see everyone!

I spent more time catching up with people than getting trashed -- thank goodness I stayed sober enough to drive back to the hotel! Running around on the farm, at night, in the darkness, and getting lost between sections, was pretty exciting. The farm is a crazy cool wedding venue. And EVERYONE was there! The first night was my favorite night, even though it was probably the shortest night.

On Saturday morning, Matt was hungober, and I got up late... as usual. We got dressed and headed into town to get some coffee. I wanted a quick manicure, but I was out of luck - no last min walk-ins! When we got to the farm, we had some beers and hung out while Nan curled my hair. We eventually got seated for the ceremony, where C+T married under a gigantic mystical tree. It was so Fern Gully! Gary was a great officiator, and T looked so freaking happy. I cried, of course -- I couldn't not.

We gathered for photos with groups, with friends, and even had an aeriel drone shot. Go technology!

Cocktail hour was AMAZING with a wide variety of hors deourves. Lots more photos and chatting, and so much merrymaking.

At dinner, our table was the last to be called. And by the time we were called, I wasn't even hungry anymore. I ate some mac 'n cheese and a few roasted veggies. but that was about it.

And then after dinner and the heartfelt speeches, came the dancing!

And after the dancing, and before more dancing, came the DESSERT!!!! Ice cream and waffles and topping and OMG. That was my favorite food of the wedding.. HAHAHA. Saturday was a long day, but it was so much fun. A gazillion awesome pictures were taken and happy moments were made. C+T looked ecstatic. And relieved actually, as the night wound down.

On Sunday, we checked out of our hotel and went to Sante Adairius Rustic Ales in Santa Cruz. Freaking Charles asked Nan to get Thai food, which took like 40 mins (instead of just agreeing with sandwiches which take ten minutes tops LOL). The beer that I sampled from people, was ok. I didn't drink because of the long drive ahead. I didn't want to stop every 30 minutes.

When we got back to the city, we ended up just getting ready at Nan's because we had our luggage anyway. Nan did mah hair again! Off to SSF we went, to Grand Palace which was not grand at all. Not one bit. The dishes were so dirty. The employees weren't nice. BUT THE LION DANCERS WERE SO COOL!! And they played the 'who is more _____' game where the couple sat back to back, which is always interesting. They did really well, which isn't surprising! I also got to see Andy's sister's baby. Such a cutie. And Andy's mom, who I haven't seen in at least four years! And then, after the dinners many courses, there were sesame balls for dessert. YES!!!!!! Way better than red bean soup!

And the dancing. Oh the dancing. People got a little wild, Chad's dad was tearing up the dance floor. So were many others. It was exciting! I wish more people had stayed to dance, but I suppose it was a Sunday night.

People cleared out early, and we went to In 'n Out to get some more food. It felt like old times!! I used to go to In 'n Our and Carl's JR. in Daly City all the time... when I had better metabolism. HAHA. We went back to Nan's place and hung out for a while longer.

Monday flew by so quickly. Matt and I got ready, picked up lunch at Cafe Darwin (per Nan's rec, and what a great rec), and then picked up my mom from work. She and I ate at home while Matt went shopping with Charles and Alom. I was worried about  my mom, that she's getting older and her health is deterioriating; however, I was pleasantly surprised to find that she's doing just fine. We gossiped about my friends and her current language student. It was not as long of a lunch as I wanted, but she had to go back to work for a meeting. It was so nice though!

When we were taking hte AirTrain to the terminal at SFO, after dropping off the rental car, the train door closed on me. I was like in the door, and it closed. DO THEY NOT HAVE SENSORS. And Charles laughed at me. BOO!!!!!! If he had walked FASTER then I wouldn't been in the door on time. Luckily I jumped into the next door that was just closing. So stressful.

What a great trip, and to see everyone together and have a nice long weekend with them... I couldn't ask for me. I thought Kay was the happiest bride I've ever seen, but I think T rivaled her.

See? 

And it's not even my birthdayyyyy (yet)

The birthday festivities started early this year...

Andy is so good at giving meaningful gifts! He sent me a CD album from Striking Matches, with a really cute note. And he totally nailed it, as usual, because I can't even decide which song from the album is my favorite. I've been listening to it every day!! I also got a super glitzy card from Menie, LOL. I love it. =)

Matt gave me a bunch of thoughtful gifts that I definitely needed for my gardening, hiking, and working out hobbies. I'm already planning to use my new HydroFlask, SOL Republic ear buds, and hiking pack on Saturday morning for Poo Poo Point! The seed set will probably need to wait until fall, since it's been so freaking hot! I've also been wanting to paint more, so he also got me an acrylic set for canvas art projects!!

AND my coworkers took me to London Plane for lunch, AND Jill baked me a brownie cake. It, is, so good. AND Marissa even got me birthday bubbles. This is the best birthday ever.

And, of course, my mama and brother gave me especially generous gifts this year. I am so lucky!

Sharks Stadium Series game + Real Escape (Time Travel) + Seattle takes over SF

Quite the whirlwind weekend in San Francisco! Matt and I flew in Thursday night, and got to join Beer Club with Alex and Andy. Nan and I also had a secret club meeting. But the first rule of secret club is you do not talk about secret club. We tried a few beers and chatted for a bit before heading home.

On Friday, Matt and I walked downtown to shop for clubbing clothes. Matt actually ended up buying a lot of clothing but nothing for clubbing! I couldn't find anything for clubbing either, but I bought a pair of jeans and a jacket. Meh, not bad. We had Sushirrito not once, BUT TWICE that day. I've been waiting forever to try it, and it was everything that I had been dreaming of!!!

Round 1:

Round 2:

In the evening, we met people up for dinner at Playground. This is basically our tradition to prepare for escape games, but I'm not sure how effective it is. The Time Travel Lab was not a success, unfortunately. But we were close to escaping again! We were on the last clue. YET AGAIN. This game was really exciting, and required more physical activity than the Mysterious Room game. I think the third time will be the charm. And we need Alan. And we probably shouldn't drink soju beforehand. 

We ended up going to Temple afterward. There was some kind of crazy traffic/street closure happening downtown and it took me FOREVER to get there via Lyft. My driver was really interesting thought, and we were chatting about hockey! It was pretty awesome. I actually wasn't sad to be late, LOL. Menie and Charles (and everyone else) were at Temple! It was SO FUN to party with everyone again... and I'm glad we went there because the music was on point. After the club, we headed back to Alex's to hang out. The Seattle people left early, but I ended up napping and then waking up to join the SF people in the AM. We didn't go home until around 6:00 AM. I don't know how they do it...

On Saturday, Alex and Andy picked me and Matt up to head to the STADIUM SERIES GAME!!! However, before we got to the freeway, Andy decided he didn't feel well enough to go. So we dropped him off at home. And then we headed to the STADIUM SERIES GAME AGAIN!! We tailgated for a few hours and caught the very end of the rally. 

It was so cold at night! And when we realized we were sitting in the section where the wind cuts through the stadium, we knew we had to buy more clothing. The game was relatively boring and low scoring, and sadly the Sharks lost. I did have tons of fun hanging out at that gorgeous Levi's stadium though! And of course, I was in great company. The celebrity performances during the breaks were... dated... but entertaining in their own ways. 

A photo of the newest Sharks fan in my life, in his new gear. 

And a photo of the oldest Sharks fan, in his old gear LOL.

By the time we got back to the city, we were just tired and hungry. We went to Tonight Soju and watched k-pop videos!!! What an awesome way to end an awesome day. I really wanted to see Sharkie at the game, and that was the only thing I was disappointed about. Oh well, next time.

On Sunday, Sean and Sarah came to Hayes Valley to meet us at Chantal Guillon. OMG their macarons are the best I've ever had! I got some for my coworkers too because I knew they'd enjoy them just as much. In retrospect, I wish I had bought more.

We also stopped by Blue Bottle to get my favorite iced coffee. Mmm! And the sun was shining, and all was good in the neighborhood. These are some of the moments that make miss San Francisco so much. 

The next stop was Japantown, where we had lunch at Ramen Shalalala. It was okay, I didn't love it. I don't think I'd eat there again. Before we left for the airport, we stopped by for some BBQ and QT at Alex's. It was really nice to sit down and chit chat with everyone before the weekend was over. I even got to see BEAR!! All of the Seattle folks looked exhausted. And I think we all were. Too much fun!!

Nan + Alex + arugala

Nan and Alex (and Charles) came to Seattle, and we just kept eating... and drinking... and eating more. And all of the weight that I lost in the past month and a half... IS BACK WITH A VENGEANCE! *sob*

The notable meals were Bear and the Bee, Walrus & Carpenter, Red Cow, Serious Pie, Stoup, and Reuben's (beer is a meal right?). For partying, went to TIA LOU for Nick's belated birthday. Two bottles and a few long islands later, it was everyone's birthday... especially David's. Oy vey, cleaning up the apartment is a nightmare. Probably won't have people over for a while. We also did our usual food spots like Brouwers, Boiling Point, and Menchies. I think they had a good time. I think they must also feel fat...

Milan-Torino at Bear and the Bee

The spread at Boiling Point.. Alex got the Taiwanese spicy one LOL

Red Cow gave us smoked trout for their 1 year anny

The oatmeal stout nitro from Reuben's

Awesome wall decor, also at Reuben's

And Stoup!

Bottle service!!

 Bottles all gone! 

Not pictured... the seven pizzas we ordered at Serious Pie. And they were SERIOUSLY GOOD! But Matt and I ended up taking the leftovers which didn't help... with the feeling fat. In fact, I felt so fat, that I actually cooked today. And we're really into arugula right now because we had some at Serious Pie.

And more arugula. Save me, arugula! From all the gluttony I have committed!

SnowGlobe + Tahoe cabin trip!

On Monday morning, Chad, Gary, and Tiana came to pick me up for Tahoe! We did a caravan with Alom and David, and picked up Susan on the way. In Vacaville, we had some surprisingly delicious burgers, and it was a nice break in our morning drive. When we finally got to Tahoe, we picked up our SnowGlobe bracelets at Montbleu. Thank goodness Alex and Nan were already in line and we cut them! We saved ourselves about an hour of wait time by showing up at the right time. :) Getting up the icy hill to the cabin was scary, even with snow chains on. Our van was clearly not equipped to handle icy roads and we spent about 20 minutes trying to make it up the first stretch. We eventually did, but got stuck halfway up the incline. In the end, we walked all of the luggage up to the cabinand left the van in the driveway of the vacant house. And omg, walking up an icy hill in sneaker wedges was a NIGHTMARE. Of course I was carrying the pot of raw meat and had no free hands either. Ugh! After settling in at the cabin, we had a nice hot bowl of bun rieu (courtesy of Susan) and we got ready to go. Tiana brought metallic tattoos for us!!!!

The poor organization of the SnowGlobe event became quite obvious when we showed up at the designated South Tahoe Middle School parking lot, which we had all purchased passes for, and no attendants were around. Also, the parking lot was closed even though we could see that spaces were still available. BOO! We ended up parking on the street and trekked over to the venue. The walk was longer than expected but it got us nice and warm so I didn't mind. Because we showed up later in the night, getting in was a breeze and we were at the bar in no time. We had back to back shots and then saw Skrillex! He was good, and played some good ol' hip hop for us. YES! It was a short night, and we went back to the cabin to drink more. I don't think I realized how much alcohol I was consuming, because it was cold! There were also TONS of Sharks fans. WOOT! And quite a few Seahawks fans as well.

On Tuesday, I woke up with some combination of altitude sickness and a hangover. I got up late, and everyone was already eating breakfast. So I ate that, and made a bagel. Over the course of the three days, I would eat a whole bag of bagels LOL. After breakfast, some people decided to take shrooms, and it was PRETTY HILARIOUS. No one really freaked out but watching them stare at objects as a group discussion was interesting. We found a shelf of VHS tapes in the game room, and watched Home Alone! After people sobered up and got ready, we headed to day 2 of SnowGlobe. The wait was much longer to get in, because we arrived earlier, and the walk to the venue was so icy! The second night was much colder than the first. This was my first time seeing Flux Pavillion, and I was really excited to hear Cracks. I thought Flux Pavillion did a great job. Porter Robinson's set was okay, not too exciting. Everyone was pretty cold so we left before Porter's set ended. When we got back to the cabin, some people stayed up to chat and a few people kept drinking. I decided to take it easy, for fear of another hangover.

Wednesday morning's breakfast was SLIDERS! And more bagels for me. :) We watched movies and hung out at the cabin before heading to day 3 of SnowGlobe. It was cold again, but less icy. And we made it to see Zedd!!!!!!!!! My fave of the week. We snuck sandwiches in, and I think I ate all of them, LOL. The rest of the night was ok, and I went back to the cabin to poo in the meantime. The port-o-potties were not that bad at the festival, but still. Gross! Matt came back to the cabin with me, and I snuck in a power nap before we returned for Flume. Unfortunately, I wasn't a fan of Flume's music, but I did think that the fireworks at the countdown were AMAZING. Like, the best fireworks that I've ever seen. They had a lot of the bursting circle fireworks with multiple colors, which are my faves. Before this, I wasn't sure how I felt about the SnowGlobe experience, but at that moment I was sure I was glad that we went. It was a really nice way to start the new year with Matt, surrounded by friends, and watching the most exhilarating fireworks show! Back at the cabin, it was a calm night. I watched Sandlot with Tiana and Chad, which I'd never seen before.

On Thursday, we packed up the cabin and got the cars ready. By the time I packed my stuff, most of the cleaning was done. Thank goodness for responsible friends! The drive back to Seattle from Tahoe was not as bad as I thought it would be. We finished the Serial podcast, and I was fighting to stay awake because I didn't want to miss a thing! I ended up missing chapter 8, but had to keep going because everyone else wanted to continue. I think Adnan is innocent, but because Jay knew where the car was I feel sure that he was involved. I'm really curious to see what happens with the DNA tests!

Home for the holidays part 2

Friday was another day of catching up and reminiscing. My brother and I had lunch with dad at Doobu, our default spot, and I finally remembered to take photos of and with them! We chatted about life, work, Seattle, and it was great. My dad seems as lively as ever and my brother also seemed to be in a really good mood. I didn't want our lunch to end!

When I got home, I cleaned out my closets and threw away things. I found my photo box and there were some REAL GEMS in there. I also found my journal, which I skimmed through, and was so embarrassed by the way I thought. I was SO DRAMATIC. I threw it away. I'm not necessarily ashamed of who I was before, but I like my adult self so much better now. I don't know if I'll ever regret dumping my journal but I honestly wouldn't want anyone else to ever know my deepest thoughts at my most vulnerable times. In fact, it was almost painful to read about my weak moments.

I brought Saori and Manu over to Alex's briefly before dinner and we all played 1-4-24! I've totally got the hang of the game now and it's so fun! For dinner, I met with Albert and got to try Suzu in the mall. The service was disappointing but the spicy shio ramen was good. Albert is the one person that I thought would never change. We were best friends for so many years that I thought he would be the one that I would return to year after year and find that we could pick up exactly as we left off. Obviously that isn't realistic, but I don't think I was prepared. He says he's finally found direction in life, which is fantastic!! But he also seemed almost defeated to me. In the time that we ate and chatted I probably didn't get a thorough read, but I do truly wish him the best and I feel sad that I haven't made enough of an effort to keep in touch with him since I've moved. I will do better now, for sure.

Saturday morning I had an early brunch at Elite Cafe with Christine, Anna, and Lisa! I remember how fun and goofy and awesome they were in high school... and I'm so glad that they are still all of those things and more. Anna and Lisa are all about the married life and I'm so happy for them, they deserve to have only the best! Christine is more in the same place as me... in a relationship, still living away from "home" and undecided on a future timeline. I'm really looking forward to hanging out with them next trip home, and I would love love love to visit Christine!

I got a manicure after brunch, and they had Chanel polishes (ooh la la!). I didn't know they existed, but I got a gorgeous light olive shade. The chair where I sat to dry my nails was facing the street, and the salon was in Pac Heights, where I grew up! I watched a family supervise young children playing on the sidewalk, while cars tried to park and others tried to drive past. I watched the mail woman and FedEx delivery trucks make their stops. I saw an Asian guy my age, wearing a new era hat, driving a new s4, double parked in front of the fancy barber shop across the street to chat with his friend. It was the perfect place to people watch. And I thought about how lucky I was to grow up there, in a safe yet bustling neighborhood where so much happens. I used to walk down those streets with my parents on the weekend. I used to draw on the sidewalk with chalk in the summers!

I watched the Sharks game at Alex's that evening and we ordered dinner from Palmyra. We talked about growing up, our futures, work, and all kinds of catching up. After the game, we watched Robocroc and Bait. It was clearly bad movie marathon night on the Syfy channel.. and we were hooked! Before I moved away, we used to hang out and watch games and movies all of the time. Totes miss that!

On Sunday, Charles accompanied me to Cindy's wedding, and it was totally a high school reunion. At first, because it was a vineyard in Pleasanton, we weren't sure what to expect. But the venue was gorgeous, almost as gorgeous as the bride! I got to meet baby Addie, and catch up with many friends I haven't seen in a decade. I couldn't ask for a better night. I am so, so happy for Cindy and I loved every second of her celebration. I even caught up with Alan, who was working the photo booth! How wonderful! To top it off, the food was even delicious and the bartenders were awesome. Dancing at the end of the reception was amazing, of course! Derek, Mike, and I did a hand holding twirling routine and tore it up on the dance floor!