~ 1 Year Ago In London

About one year ago, Mich and I were in London.

With everything that has happened lately, it's hard to believe that the city we see in the news is the same cosmopolitan gem we visited last year. London was so very exciting. It was our first real trip out of the country, no parents or family, just us, free to explore anywhere and everywhere we pleased. We took in the usual sites, Trafalgar Square, Buck Palace, Tower of London, The Eye, etc. but what proved most fascinating to me was people watching. I loved dissecting whatever cultural differences there were bewtween English and American lives down to candy options, what was in fashion, mannerisms and accents (people are SO much more polite there)...even their subway systems. Very good times, although also very ludicrous exchange rates! I always tell people how I paid $10 USD for a Burger King Value Meal half the size of the American version. Ugh.

I was looking at old pics tonite and came across this one taken while on a Thames River tour. We were happily rolling along the river absorbing everything we could on our last day in the city. Then when we turned around to make the return trip everyone gasped because upon making the turn we realized we were going straight into a storm. The skies turned black and heavy and you knew you better find some shelter and FAST. Finally the skies opened and down fell the rain but it didn't matter. We plugged along and I found that a rainy day in London has a special charm to it anyways. Before long the sun broke through and all returned to normal. That's kinda what I feel about the whole present London situation. Madness exists right now but brighter days are ahead. You have to plug through the storm first before it can get better. But enough of the cheesiness - just wanted to say hope everyone's doing ok across the pond.

Don't Get All HR On Me

Today I accidentally touched my boss's boss's (I know grammatically incorrect) behind. Not in an entirely creepy way...totally by accident I swear! Well I guess whenever anyone touches your behind how can it not be a little bit creepy? But anyways that was not my intention! I needed something in the bottom cabinet next to the person in question. He was about to pour a sample into a jar when it starts to wobble like it was going to fall. Me, not balanced in a semi-squatting position so that I could get to the bottom cabinet, put out my hand to try to stop the jar from falling. Only thing is I kinda fell off kilter and my hand went...elsewhere... Inwardly I'm thinking "OMG...did that just happen? Crap!" and all I could say was "Ummm...sorry..." and I quickly got out of there. How fitting tomorrow I have to go to a corporate seminar on harrassment. What a day.

Signature Songs

Do you ever hear a certain song that triggers your memory so clearly that you remember every detail of a particular situation like it was yesterday?

Happens to me all the time. Songs are actually how I tell time.

Like whenever I hear Torn from Natalie Imbruglia I remember spring semester my freshman year in college when me and Karen S. were chillin' in my room on a lazy Friday watching videos. All of a sudden she pops up and remembers she has to drop off a paper like RIGHT NOW to make a deadline. We jumped up and made a mad dash from FAR to the Quad, running like hell so she could make it. We must have looked like mad women but it was oh so fun and spontaneous at the same time.

I can't stand listening to Bruce Springsteen to this day because in the summer after my sophomore year, I worked side by side with my dad's boss who would play Springsteen's greatest hits CD hour after frickin' hour for days on end. Now you know why I say "Turn that crap off!" when I hear the first few notes of Born in the USA. When he wasn't listening to Springsteen, it was 93.9 Lite FM and In the Arms of an Angel was played every single hour I swear. To this day, when I hear the first few piano chords I immediately feel ice cold because my dad's boss kept the room practically freezing to keep the computers functioning "correctly".

When Mich and I went to San Fran, Pharrell's Frontin' was the signature song. We heard it all the time! Everytime the radio was turned on it was Pharrell! Great song though, totally fit the Cali mood and when I hear it now I recall driving by the coastline on a sunny day watching the waves of the Pacific Ocean crash on the beach. Always brings a smile to my face.

Good times...(well except for Springsteen of course). So many more that come to mind but I'll spare you the pages I could write from my endless memory. What are your signature songs?

Quick List

1. Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
A bit on the weird side but gets a thumbs up from me.

2. Making a quick switch from Love (see previous post) to the much anticipated Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince. Tried to wait but was convinced by Josh to do otherwise. Seeing as it's supposed to be the hottest weekend of the year, I might stay in and try to finish it off in a couple days...

3. Random rant: I hate when passive aggressive individuals take their crap out on me. Please don't try to make me feel bad about myself so that you feel better about yourself. Especially when I am trying to be nice to you when no one else will. It's really annoying that you think I'm too dumb to know what your real intentions are. Take your insecurities and STUFF IT. Thank you.

A Miles Davis Kind of Day

Listening To:
It Never Entered My Mind
By: Miles Davis Quintet

Have you ever heard this song? Total ear candy... From the first dreamy roll of the piano keys to the lush and emotional saxophone it sucks you in, transporting your mind to a world where nothing exists except that moment. Time slows once this song plays and you can't help but feel every pleasurable melodic second.

That's the kind of day it's been. After lunchtime the skies turned dark with the coming storms. The offices were abuzz but as soon as the rain started to fall, it quieted down and by each desk everyone had their mellow playlists on. I called my sister to check on my package (the camera finally came today! yay!) and she had fallen asleep. Later on the rain had cleared but left the air heavy with humidity. The three of us went to run errands, but when we returned home the setting sun along with the damp air cast a yellow tint on everything. It was like seeing the world through sepia lenses. It felt so very still like something was about to happen any second. Very strange moment. Nothing did happen but we felt compelled to run with the mood. Felice was playing Moonlight Sonata on the piano while I quietly did the dishes. My dad didn't claim his usual tv time and instead listened to the music as well. Afterwards I retreated upstairs and put on some Miles and Norah to put the finish on this quiet summer night.

She Likes Me Better Than You

So me and Pepsi were at Target yesterday. She was looking for some black flip flops and while trying on a pair, this little girl is sitting in a cart next to us, watching our every move. Cute little thing and I always smile at babies so I smiled and she smiled back. Then Pepsi flashes her a smile and her face turns all stony mean . We were both like dang!...Apparently she wasn't liking the little sister. So while we're walking away I turn around and smile at the baby again and of course she smiles back. I turn around with a satisfied look on my face and now it's Pepsi who looked stone cold mean at me.

I love when stuff like that happens.

In One Month

I will be 26.

AHHHHHHHH!!!!!

Bibliophile

Currently reading:
Love in the Time of Cholera
by Gabriel Garcia Marquez

I miss reading so very much. I used to devour books. I loved getting so lost in the story that I couldn't put it down, not even to sleep or eat. Let me tell ya, my poor eyesite is most likely due to reading in bed with dim light so my parents wouldn't know I was still awake. As I got older, my appreciation for not only a quality plotline, but also language grew. My tastes started to include books that were intimidating to me before because I had difficulty grasping the lush language used to describe an otherwise everyday situation. You can tell when someone's words hit a nerve when in reading a particular sentence, you feel like that is the most original and undeniably truthful thing you've ever heard.

Now with work and all, I barely have time to finish a magazine, much less a book. But when I was browsing the Borders store on Mich Ave. last weekend, I passed Love in the Time of Cholera and was immediately drawn to it. I was told I must read Love after I tore through 100 Years of Solitude by Marquez earlier. I was lured in by his passionate language and thought I have GOT to read another book by him. So I picked up the paperbook with a new resolve to be a consistent reader again. I'm not reading anywhere near the rate I used to but I'm feeling the way I used to as a kid and I'm LOVING it. Sooo as soon as I hit "Publish Post" guess what I'm gonna do?

Words

"When a person really desires something all the universe conspires to help that person to realize his dream." - Coelho, 'The Alchemist'

Do you believe this to be true? Or do you believe that the universe has a way of working oppositely of what you want? Perhaps it seems that way because you think you know what you want, and it really isn't what your true desire is?

I'm thinking about this because...because I always think of stupid stuff...
Well that's true too, but today I was going through the motions of my daily routine and I thought: so this is it...this is what my life is...this is it?!

I have always made the safest choices.
I was always concerned with what others might think.
Always had to make someone else happy.
Quite the typical asian chick scenario.

And now it's catching up to me.

So that brings me to the above quote. Maybe all the stuff going on right now is the universe conspiring to wake me up. With small changes, I feel like I'm reclaiming pieces of me I forgot about. Some days I feel like I'm destined for great things, others I feel like I will eternally be Bridget Jones without the happy ending. Eh, that's life. But with each step, puzzle pieces of my "true desire" is coming closer to fitting together. I can't make out what the big picture is yet but I'm getting there.

Response from an older friend:
Putting the pieces together is where the thrill lies.
Welcome to your 20's.

I Have Decided

This is it.

I just couldn't wait...besides some of those Ebay-ers looked so SHADY to me.

This sis is going to get this.

Let the good times roll.

Summer in the City

I love Chicago in the summer.

The sun was out. Perfectly high 70's. No humidity. People everywhere with smiles on their faces. No obligations to waste the day away with.

So, along with Mr. Suave we checked out the Art Institute with a stop at Argyle for some pho. If you're new to Chicago, you have to check out the city through the trains - I think it's one of the best ways to really explore the corners of the city. Of course I checked out the photo exhibits while at the AIC. Currently on display: Spirit into the Matter: The Photographs of Edmund Teske and A View With a Room which showcased the the photographs of Abelardo Morell. Very neat to see Chicago in vintage in Edmund Teske's exhibit. Even though my knowledge of photography is small, it is growing, and I came to appreciate the effort physically and creatively that it took to produce some of these fascinating images. You must check it out.

After AIC was a bit o' shopping on the Magnificent Mile (this pic was taken on the bridge over the Chicago River) and ice cream at Ghiradelli. Yum! Also checked out the new Hershey Store. Kinda weird not seeing the old Loyola shop but overall I was underwhelmed by the whole thing. I mean it's not like you can't buy that candy at Dominicks or something. And apparently Felice was looking for me downtown and I misunderstood and we completely missed each other :/

Long day but we still checked out Dark Water. My view: wait til video. Not bad but not great either. The ending is totally whack and I think they could have cut out at least half an hour. Eh.

Sunday my first "long" drive. Hehe I drove all the way from Oshkosh to Chicago! OHHHH!

Lomo-licious

I'm so excited! I love my little Canon S410 but I've gotten bored lately with my trusty little point and shooter and was looking for something to change it up a little bit.

So I'm thinking my new weapon of choice is going to be the Lomo Kompakt Automat or the lc-a.

I want to experiment more and am really diggin the vintage dreamy look of lomography. The lc-a is not at all like modern digital cameras. It's quite the opposite. With Russian origins,the lc-a has a plain black plastic frame and uses regular film. Yup that's right, I'm gonna use a film based camera again. Gasp! But I think it's worth it. One plus lomo cameras are considerably cheaper. However when you consider how low tech it is, it better be cheap. My first stop was lomography.com and there was where I first saw the lc-a. Apparently it is the thing to get but the price was a sticking point for me. Although I spent more for my digicam I wasn't willing to shell out $300+ for another camera I was experimenting with. Using amazon.com I considered buying a Holga with a starter kit or a Colorsplash, but according to flickr peeps the lc-a is the one to get and to get it from Ebay. I took a peek and it looks like it's $100 or less so it's much cheaper than lomography.com. Sooo that's where I'm gonna start...ohhhh! I can't wait!

Life Is What Happens When You Make Other Plans

What a weekend! In the span of three days we've got an engagement, a pregnancy and unfortunately a death.

Sunday at Samantha's BBQ, Yone says "Oh and by the way we got engaged last weekend."
To which the girls say "Whaaaa?? Let me see the ring Kenzie!"
Beautiful ring, even better proposal story. Looks like I may have two weddings to go to next year.

Monday, two old family friends randomly stop by our house to ask about my godmother's passing. We were so utterly clueless because we didn't even know that she had passed away. The weird thing is, my mom and dad had tried to visit her in her nursing home Saturday and the receptionist cruelly joked about her passing away. So not funny - but here we were trying to find out details about her actual death. Sad but no one even knew when she had passed only that it had happened.

And today, Tuesday, I get an email from Nirups in my work account. As soon as I saw it, I had a feeling this was going to be something big. Lo and behold she's 13 weeks along! Crazy! I'm thinking about back in the day when the all the girlies first met in high school and here is the first one of us to have a little one of her own.

Wow...

A General Mishmash of Things

Fourth of July Weekend! As I write this fireworks are going off intermittently in anticipation for the big day on Monday. Strange to think that it was only a week ago that I came back from Mexico extremely brown and brimming with stories. I miss it already. For a week I was surrounded by beautiful clear water, lush trees and flora, with no cares in the world. The itinerary: Monday - Chichen-itza, Tuesday - horseback riding through the jungle, Wednesday - Xcaret, Thursday - Coba and a Mayan Village, then Friday - a day at the beach. So happy 'cause this time around I brough an extra flash card, extra camera battery and a journal. Tip for newbie travelers: bring the above three items. You will sorely regret it later if you don't.

I know I will go back one day.







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On another note...I am now I proud car owner!!! Yes I FINALLY bought me a car. And I LOVE it! Most people have buyers remorse once they bite the bullet and buy the hunk of metal but I've been wanting this for a while and it's everything I hoped it would be. And yeah, it's a girly car, a 2005 Rav 4, but I don't care and don't want to hear anything from any haters out there. If you happen to be in the market for a Rav4, you may want to wait for the 2007 model. I hear it's supposed to be bigger, have an extra row of seats, be a V6, and may be a hybrid version. Damn I really wanted a hybrid too. Oh well I love my car anyways!