Spicy Cabbage What?

The Ragamuffin Gospel

2011-08-16T11:47:00.000-07:00

Jury duty, it turns out, is good for one thing. It forced me to finally finish The Ragamuffin Gospel. My goodness, I started this book in April! It has taken me four months to finish it. *ashamed*

In my defense, I've been working since May. And we all know how low my energy level is when I work :P

Do you remember how I used to share all these passages with you from the book? Sadly, I only have a few passages that I bookmarked this time around. Blame it on the low energy level. I felt very strongly about these passages--they forced me to look at myself with a critical eye and, I have to say, I did not like what I saw. I still don't. I need to change, with God's help. Except... like the second passage I will share with you, I have been putting it off. And, like the third passage, I am a procrastinator. What does that say about me and my spiritual life?

Anyway, enough about me. Here are the passages I wanted to share with you. Hopefully you get something from reading these passages.

"The call asks, do you really accept the message that God is head over heels in love with you? I believe that this question is at the core of our ability to mature and grow spiritually. If in our hearts we really don't believe that God loves us as we are, if we are still tainted by the lie that we can do something to make God love us more, we are rejecting the message of the cross." (pg. 159)

"There is one barrier to love that deserves special mention because it is so crucial to the second call of Jesus Christ--fear. Most of us spend considerable time putting off the things we should be doing or we would like to do or we want to do--but are afraid to do. We are afraid of failure. We don't like it, we shun it, we avoid it because of our inordinate desire to be thought well of by others. So we come up with a thousand brilliant excuses for doing nothing. We put things off, waste the energies of life and love that are within us." (pg. 169)

"Procrastination is perhaps the worst, the most damaging failure of all. We who believe in Jesus, who hope in vindication, who proclaim the love of the heavenly Father, waste our time trying to avoid the things that are most important. How much faith, how much hope, how much love does the perpetual procrastinator really have?" (pg. 170)

I hope you have enjoyed my posts about The Ragamuffin Gospel. I'm not sure when I will start my next book, or even which one it will be (out of the large stack currently sitting on my bookshelf). But please stay tuned for when I do start it :)

Summer X Games XVII

2011-08-01T13:53:00.000-07:00

The Summer X Games have come and gone. I've been too sick and tired to even think about seeing any of it live on TV. Oh, my poor TV. I haven't turned that thing on in months.

Anyway, here's the usual recap video that I post:

And here are their top stories: Top X. Enjoy!

SDCC 2011: Covert Affairs + Ringer Panels

2011-07-21T15:01:00.000-07:00

Since I didn't take too many notes on either panel, I've combined my notes on the Covert Affairs and Ringer panels into one post.

Ballroom 20, 11:15-12:15 Covert Affairs
For the first time, TV's sexiest spy show, USA Network's Covert Affairs, comes to Comic-Con! Spend some time with stars Piper Perabo (Annie Walker), Christopher Gorham (Auggie Anderson), Sendhil Ramamurthy (Jai Wilcox), Kari Matchett (Joan Campbell), Anne Dudek (Danielle), and Peter Gallagher (Arthur Campbell). Executive producers Doug Liman, Chris Ord, Matt Corman, and Dave Bartis also join the panel, moderated by the one-and-only Oded Fehr. Fans will get an insider's look into the action-packed world of Covert Affairs. Besides having questions answered about the exciting current season, fans will view exclusive video content featuring a sneak peek at upcoming episodes. There will also be surprise giveaways for audience members!

Moderated by: Oded Fehr
Panel (from right to left): Chris Ord, Matt Corman, Doug Liman, Piper Perabo, Chris Gorham, Anne Dudek, Sendhil Ramamurthy, Kari Matchett, Peter Gallagher

I missed the video at the beginning to stand in the uber-long line for the loo, but I came back into the panel just after the cast introductions so I was there for the actual panel part.

FACTS/TRIVIA FROM PANEL
-- Auggie is partially based on a friend of Matt Corman's
-- Santiago Cabrera (Heroes) will be in the next episode that they are about to shoot
-- Memorable Quote: "You know what I'm proud of? That they used my eyebrows on the Comic-Con poster." --Peter Gallagher
-- They had us search for a "spy" among the attendees. The person sitting to the left and right of her received a free iPad.
-- Oded kept on making comments throughout the panel about Chris Gorham (his six-pack, his body, etc). Such love ;)

Ballroom 20, 1:45-2:45 Ringer
Sarah Michelle Gellar makes her highly anticipated television return in the gripping new thriller Ringer, as a woman who, after witnessing a murder, goes on the run, hiding out by assuming the life of her wealthy identical twin--only to learn that her sister's seemingly idyllic life is just as complicated and dangerous as the one she's trying to leave behind. Be the first to see an exclusive sneak peek at the new series about family secrets and stolen identities, followed by a panel discussion with series stars Sarah Michelle Gellar (Buffy The Vampire Slayer), Ioan Gruffudd (Fantastic Four), Nestor Carbonell (Lost, The Dark Knight), Kristoffer Polaha (Life Unexpected), executive producer Pam Veasey (CSI:NY), and co-executive producers Nicole Snyder (Supernatural) and Eric Charmelo (Supernatural).

Moderated by: Kristen Baldwin from EW.com
Panel (from left to right): Pam Veasey, Ioan Gruffudd, Nestor Carbonell, Sarah Michelle Geller, Kristoffer Polaha, Nicole Snyder, Eric Charmelo

TRIVIA FROM PANEL
-- Ioan (37 years old) had never heard of the CW before this
-- Ioan is excited to be wearing modern clothes and play a present-day character
-- Kristoffer actually met Sarah Michelle Geller over a decade ago, when he auditioned for the part of Riley in BtVS. That was his very first professional "gig." The part was down to either Marc Blucas or him, and they went with Marc Blucas. (Can you imagine what it would have been like if they chose Kristoffer?)

Watch with Kristin also did a recap of the panel if you would like more info:
Ringer Scoop From Comic-Con! Sarah Michelle Gellar Comes Home

SDCC 2011: USA Network Panels: Psych

2011-07-21T13:50:00.000-07:00

THE PANEL I WAS LOOKING FORWARD TO THE MOST :D

Ballroom 20, 12:30-1:30 Psych
Calling all Psych-o's! USA Network's Psych is back at Comic-Con with another hilarious panel featuring the stars and producers behind one of cable's most popular shows. Moderated by Psych's resident morgue-dweller and fan favorite, Woody the Coroner (acclaimed actor Kurt Fuller), the one-hour panel will be full of surprises and face-time with series stars James Roday (Shawn Spencer), Dulé Hill (Burton "Gus" Guster), Maggie Lawson (Juliet O'Hara), Tim Omundson (Carlton Lassiter), Kirsten Nelson (Chief Karen Vick), and Corbin Bernsen (Henry Spencer). Joining the cast are Steve Franks (creator and executive producer), Kelly Kulchak(executive producer) and Chris Henze (executive producer). The cast and creative team will share secrets and stories from the set as well as answer questions about the show. Expect exclusive videos, surprise giveaways, live performances, and an extended preview of Season 6 episodes screened only for Comic-Con fans!

Moderator: Kurt Fuller
Panel (from left to right): Timothy Omundson, Kirsten Nelson, Corbin Bernsen, Maggie Lawson, Dulé Hill, James Roday, Steve Franks, Kelly Kulchak, Chris Henze

Their Awesome Intro Video: {embedded below}
Comic-Con 2011: William Shatner Surprises 'Psych' Fans With Special Message (Exclusive Video)

They then showed us a preview of Season 6. One scene that everyone loved starred Danny Glover, with his famous "I'm too old for this sh*t" line. They also showed a scene afterwards from the upcoming season, with Shawn taking a lie detector test with Lassie. It's sweet because he blurts out that he loves Juliet. But then Lassie asks the key question: "Are you psychic?" As Shawn looks at everyone in the room (Lassie, Gus, Henry, and Juliet), Gus takes off his SBPD consultant ID and replaces it with his Central Coast Pharmaceuticals ID. As Shawn continues to debate what to do, Henry tells him that "you have to answer this one." But before he does, the clip ends.

TRIVIA/FACTS FROM PANEL
-- Lassie hates Shawn, and yet has an odd affection for him. He knows that Shawn has a very good "batting record" for solving cases.
-- Juliet has always believed that Shawn is psychic.
-- The musical episode will be the Season 7 premiere. Dulé will tap dance in it.
-- At one point during the fan Q&A, Dulé was so busy tweeting that he didn't hear the question and made the fan repeat it.
-- The cast is always trying to crack up whoever is on camera at the moment. Dulé is definitely the biggest prankster. Henry always tries to block Dulé's entrance into scenes.
-- There will be no serial killer this season. However, something creepy and shocking will happen at the end of the season.
-- They would like to bring Freddie Prinze Jr. back if his schedule works out
-- When asked about joining Twitter, James said that it would happen "when the time is right and the planets align and there is a lunar and solar eclipse."
-- Dulé is really excited about Twitter. On seeing Dulé's excitement, Maggie noted, "You have problems, Dulé." He replied, "This I know."
-- Henry's testing of Shawn stopped after his divorce and Shawn moves out.
-- James' favourite scene was when Shawn was Chad.
-- Steve's wife was in the panel audience, as was his mum (who was attending Comic-Con for the very first time)
-- Dulé said that the psych-outs started when he and James made a song during the pilot episode. He and James then sang "Stuck on You"
-- Kirsten was asked what her dream case would be if she was on CSI Miami. After jokingly saying that CSI Miami isn't the "real CSI," Kirsten proceeded to tell a very detailed beginning to a case, only to back out in the end and say she had no idea.
-- They joked that we would see Chief Vick's husband this season, and it would be Pitbull.
-- During the Q&A, Kirsten kept on saying inappropriate words and was called out for using such language around children :P

Memorable Quotes
-- "The first time Corbin and I worked together, we still had hair." --Kurt Fuller
-- "The Mentalist may have more fans, but we have the best fans." --James Roday
-- "Shawn and Gus complete each other." --Steve Franks

Q&A
(They gave everyone who asked a question a free DVD. I got in line to ask a question, but I was too late and was turned away.)

Q: What does Gus find most annoying about Shawn?
A: Shawn stealing his credit card.

Q: How has Juliet's relationship with Lassie changed now that she's dating Shawn?
A: Juliet has Shawn as #1 in her life, but Lassie remains #1 at work.

Q: If there is one Psych episode that you can put in a time capsule and blast into space, what would it be?
A: Timothy: "This Episode Sucks" (upcoming vampire episode)
Kirsten: "Game, Set... Muuurder?"
Corbin: the upcoming Hangover episode
Maggie: "Scary Sherry: Bianca's Toast"
Dulé: "American Duos"
James: "Dual Spires"
Steve: "Indiana Shawn & the Temple of the Kinda Crappy, Rusty Old Dagger" (which they will start shooting on Monday, featuring the return of Despereaux)
Kelly: "Pilot"
Chris: tie between "Pilot" and "Dual Spires"
Kurt: the upcoming Hangover episode

Q: What is your favorite Gus alias?
A: Dulé: Silly Pants Jackson
Timothy: Gee Buttersnaps
Kelly: Nick Nack

Q: What happened to the two Easter eggs that Henry hid six feet under? Will Shawn ever find them?
A: Corbin doesn't remember anything about this. Steve mentioned that they were under corrugated steel, and that was the hint, but then they questioned whether Henry actually hid Easter eggs or just said that he did.

Q: Who is Steve's favourite character to write for?
A: While Lassie is his favourite character to write for, Shawn is definitely the easiest.

At the very end of the panel they showed a music video promo for the next season:
Exclusive: Watch the New Psych Music Video for "Don't You (Forget About Me)"

SDCC 2011: USA Network Panels: Burn Notice: The Fall of Sam Axe

2011-07-21T11:23:00.000-07:00

Ballroom 20, 10:00-11:00 Burn Notice: The Fall of Sam Axe
For fans of USA's hit series Burn Notice who've always wanted to know what happened before Sam Axe (Bruce Campbell) teamed up with Michael Weston and Fiona, Comic-Con attendees are invited inside the USA made-for-TV movie Burn Notice: The Fall of Sam Axe, debuting on DVD exclusively at Comic-Con! The Burn Notice prequel chronicles what turned out to be the last military mission of former U.S. Navy SEAL Lieutenant Commander Axe and the expedition that took him from the jungles of Colombia to sunny Miami Beach. Go one-on-one with Bruce Campbell, star of Burn Notice: The Fall of Sam Axe, and Burn Notice creator, writer, and executive producer, Matt Nix.

FACTS LEARNED FROM PANEL
-- Shot in Columbia because Fox TV Productions had a relationship with a Columbian studio (from previous projects)
-- This is the largest production that a Columbia crew has done there in their history
-- They were unable to import gunpowder so they had to use propane
-- Bruce had a police escort everywhere, even when he went into a tanning salon :P
-- Bruce was in a t-shirt for the entire shoot, even though it was freezing, so Matt said that they used to say "el gringo es macho" about him in Columbia
-- Matt watched a lot of EVIL DEAD movies in his youth
-- Matt now hears Bruce's voice in his head
-- Jeffrey won't be able to attend SDCC until Matt writes him out of an episode of Burn Notice
-- In Guadalajara, Bruce was pulled over for a ticket and offered the police officer his fine and asked the police officer to pass it to the judge for him--aka "extortion." It happened twice. But his Spanish is still not very good.
-- They want to explore Fiona's backstory at some point. It will happen a bit within the TV show, but they would love to do it through a movie (like Sam). However, this is up to Fox TV Studios.

Matt Nix: Sam is the "best older brother there ever was"
-- Sam is very sincere, straight-forward, and cares for everyone
-- VS. Michael Weston, who is more conflicted and struggles with his dark side

Bogota is at a very high altitude, which led to a tragic story, which they filmed a documentary for: THE FALL OF JEFFREY DONOVAN
-- They showed us clips from the documentary (or should I say "mockumentary"), which is included in the DVD

Bruce reenacted the time when Jeffrey Donovan brought up his interest in directing the movie (including a hilarious reenactment of Jeffrey's "death stare") in addition to an example of Jeffrey directing.

Bruce passed out (well, tossed into the crowd) t-shirts (as well as the Burn Notice tote bag that it came in) along with DVDs.

Q&A TIME

Q: Did Bruce Campbell talk to Navy Seals to prep for his role?
A: "I did two things to prepare for the role of Sam Axe: jack and shit." --Bruce Campbell
(Matt clarified that he and the writers did consult with Navy Seals for the show)

Q: How did Matt come up with the premise for Burn Notice?
A: Matt has always been interested in espionage. Not so much seeing spies running around the world, but "spies as people."

I Will Follow

2011-07-17T20:27:00.000-07:00

Our praise team introduced this song last week. I love this song. I pray that these lyrics will be true of my life...

Chris Tomlin, "I Will Follow"

Where you go, I'll go
Where you stay, I'll stay
When you move, I'll move
I will follow...

All your ways are good
All your ways are sure
I will trust in you alone
Higher than my sight
High above my life
I will trust in you alone

Where you go, I'll go
Where you stay, I'll stay
When you move, I'll move
I will follow you
Who you love, I'll love
How you serve, I'll serve
If this life I lose, I will follow you
I will follow you

Light unto the world
Light unto my life
I will live for you alone
You're the one I seek
Knowing I will find
All I need in you alone, in you alone

Where you go, I'll go
Where you stay, I'll stay
When you move, I'll move
I will follow you
Who you love, I'll love
How you serve, I'll serve
If this life I lose, I will follow you
I will follow you

In you there's life everlasting
In you there's freedom for my soul
In you there's joy, unending joy
and I will follow

Where you go, I'll go
Where you stay, I'll stay
When you move, I'll move
I will follow you
Who you love, I'll love
How you serve, I'll serve
If this life I lose, I will follow you
I will follow you

Joyous Weekend

2011-06-20T20:45:00.000-07:00

{Doing the A-Clap}

This was a jam-packed weekend! But before I get to all the events from this weekend, let's go back and review the week...

On Tuesday, like I mentioned before, I had lunch with a few EAs at work. Then I had dinner with Judy and the girls since it was Priscilla's birthday. I can't believe she's two years old! She is so adorable. I completely forgot to bring Priscilla's birthday present so I went back on Wednesday and had dinner with them again. I love them so much ♥

{Happy Birthday Cilla!}
A colleague also treated us to lunch on Wednesday. We went to Gindi Thai, which is a Japanese/Thai fusion restaurant. Yum! Got treated to Starbucks afterwards as well. And then later at work we had a surprise bridal shower for Cynthia. With cake! So much food...

{Sweet California Roll from Gindi Thai}
I ate at the ** Cafeteria again on Thursday with Alex, Andy, and Duvien. And then that evening--my family from Korea arrived! It was so good to see them again after two years. And my aunt looks pretty good, considering. It was quite a happy reunion. Filled with gifts, kekeke.

Friday was our first "EA Lunch". Not a lot of people showed up, but a decent number. It was nice hanging out with other EAs and getting to know them a little bit better.

Then came this weekend. My aunt's 70th birthday is tomorrow, so we celebrated with lunch on Saturday (since that was literally the only time I had) with my family and a couple of family friends at Shogun. I'm so glad that my aunt is here and that she is (relatively) healthy and in good condition :)

{Happy Birthday to my aunt!}
Later on Saturday was Cynthia's wedding! It was at our church and I hung out with Jae and Debra the entire time, as well as a few coworkers who also attended. The reception was downstairs, and Cynthia and Sam did a great job of making the place look really nice. It was a beautiful wedding and reception, albeit very quick. It started at 3PM (also technically it started around 3:30PM) and we were out by 6:30PM. So I went home and had dinner with my family. And my aunt gave me one of her birthday gifts since she knew I would like it :D

{With the beautiful bride, Cynthia}
Yesterday I drove to Emily's house where I met up with Mandy and Lina. Emily drove us all up to Newark, CA where she had booked us a hotel to stay at. Emily was quite the trooper--she drove the entire time. We stopped a couple times, once to eat lunch at Jack in the Box and once to get gas at Casa de Diesel. While we were getting ready, Maria joined us in our hotel room. It was great seeing her again. And then we all headed over to Ariana's wedding reception, where we met up with Tasha, her mum, and her cousin. The wedding reception was really nice! The venue was great, Ariana and Imad looked amazing in their outfits, and wow, Indonesian weddings are pretty spectacular. We had delicious appetisers as well as a great Indian buffet, and the wedding cake wasn't bad either.

{With the beautiful bride, Ariana}
Today we had complimentary breakfast at the hotel before we left. Mandy drove a bit and then Emily took over for the rest of the drive. We stopped by Casa de Fruta on the way and I had a complimentary wine tasting there ;) We then went to McD's for lunch. Man, the ride down was pretty hot! The car showed that it was 100+ degrees outside the entire ride down. I didn't even drive on the way down, but by the time I got home, I was exhausted! So I took a nap. So glad I took today off from work :D

This was some weekend. Congratulations to Cynthia&Samuel and Ariana&Imad on your marriages! I'm so happy for you ♥

Familiarity

2011-06-13T19:37:00.000-07:00

I've been pigging out a lot lately. At work there's always some sort of free food, which I always take advantage of, and then at night I continue with the pigging out.

This past Tuesday I had dinner at Messob with Christina, Abby, Lois, and Tiffany Chin to celebrate! We each had something to celebrate: Christina and I both have new jobs, Abby graduated from law school, Tiffany just finished her second final exam, and Lois had her birthday (and a new job too). It was a great night--full of delicious food, yummy wine, great conversation, and many laughs. I love you ladies!

{Honey Wine (with Tiffany in the bg}
Yesterday I went to ktown plaza with my mum and we had donkatsu in the food court. The serving size has always been big, but now it is GINORMOUS. We almost died trying to finish all the food.

In addition to pigging out, I've also been watching a lot of TV and movies. On Monday I watched Young@Heart. And in the past week I've watched 10 episodes of TV.

{Young@Heart}
I've also been busy organising the house. And my room. Returning items to Lowe's and Home Depot since our house renovation is now on hold with my family coming from Korea soon. Our house looks a lot different now from the inside and I love it. Change can be good sometimes. Very refreshing :)

But sometimes it's good to return to something familiar. I've been feeling frustrated at work since I never get to see most of the people that I talk to and email with. I'm not used to working for a company with thousands and thousands of employees scattered across a huge studio lot and in various different buildings. Since both of my bosses are out of the country on a business trip, I don't need to be chained to my desk the entire work day. So I decided that I would bake a small token of appreciation for all the EAs that I work with and distribute them, giving me a chance to finally meet them face-to-face.

So yesterday I baked. Martha Stewart's Cookies & Cream Cheesecakes. (I must say, it felt so good to bake something again. I miss baking.) Something I've made on several occasions before, except this time with a slightly different flair. I garnished them with crushed Oreos and then added an arts&crafts twist. I cut out "circles" to put on toothpicks and I wrote each EA's name on one. I am not talented in anything arts-y or crafts-y so this took a long time last night. But I think it was worth it.

{Cookies & Cream Cheesecakes}
I braved the heat today and spent almost three hours going from building to building, getting lost down various hallways, to meet almost 2 dozen EAs. A few were out of the office and a couple weren't at their desk, so I plan to do this again someday in the future. But it was so nice to finally get to meet these people that I harrass on a daily basis and show them my appreciation for their cooperation and kindness.

{Personalised cheesecakes}
Everyone was really touched by my gesture. I'm going out with a couple of the EAs tomorrow for lunch, and on Friday we're going to have our first large EA gathering at lunch! Things are looking up :)

Life Changes

2011-06-05T14:21:00.000-07:00

A lot has happened in the past week. I entered into my second month of employment at **. A colleague retired. A close friend had a bridal shower. The remodeling on my mum's bathroom was finally finished. Chapters closing, new chapters beginning.

Last Monday was a total coach potato day, except for the fact that I wasn't sitting on a coach. I watched 10 episodes of TV. I got my oval table back from Joyce. And I watched La Femme Nikita, finally.

{La Femme Nikita}
On Tuesday I had lunch with my HR recruiter. I love her. Without her, I would have never gotten employed. THANK YOU. Lady#2 gave me a red velvet cupcake from Porto's. Yum. Then I spent the night pigging out on food and drinks with Christina. Such a great night. Thank you Yelp Elite! (Although, my glasses did break that night, so not everything was sunshine and roses. Sigh.)

{My broken glasses}
Wednesday was my colleague's retirement party. She had been with ** for 10 years. That is so great--I hope I can stay with ** long enough to retire someday. And on Friday I drove down to Irvine after work to stay with Tasha. She gave me my birthday present: Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog--the Book! Thank you Tasha! We went to Berkeley Dog for dinner. That was fun :)

Yesterday was Ariana's bridal shower! We had appetizers, games, Mad Libs, delicious food, and more. It was a great bridal shower with such a lovely and sexy bride ;)

{Sexy LibrAriana}
Tasha and I went to dinner at CPK afterwards and I found out that another friend of mine got engaged! CONGRATULATIONS JOYCE ♥

I drove back last night. And do you know what I did this morning? I took a shower in my mum's newly renovated bathroom! YAY :D

Havana Nights at La Descarga LA Elite Event

2011-06-01T19:59:00.000-07:00

{Christina and I enjoying our first Yelp Elite event}

Last night I attended my very first Yelp Elite event! I brought Christina as my date and we had a blast ;)

The night started off at her BF's apartment, where we loaned each other clothes to wear to the Cuban-themed event. She drove us to La Descarga where we stood in lines and got our names checked at the door. We walked in through their cool secret entrance and immediately ordered drinks. We had the Starr Daquiri first but later moved on to the Starr Stealers, which we preferred.

{Our Starr Daquiris}
We also met several really nice Yelpers there, which I thought was so cool! Usually when you go out you just stick to your friends, but these Yelp events really bring people together. Christina and I met up with a couple of other Arcadians, and we actually continued the night with them after the event at Alcove Café & Bakery. There Christina and I both ordered Amore Tea (organic white tea with roses, lavender and mint) and shared the cinnamon apple bread pudding. Yum.

{Our order at Alcove}
What a great night!

{Christina and I with Patrick and Jenn at Alcove}

Happy Food

2011-05-29T16:24:00.000-07:00

{May 2011 AHS Potluck}

Last night was our AHS potluck! And, as you can see, Abby's back! It was a very happy reunion for all, since it had also been a long time since I had seen Candace as well :)

But let me back up for a little bit first. On Friday, as I mentioned before, we got out early. I ended up leaving around 2:40PM, only to be hit with an hour's worth of traffic. Swell. After watching an episode of TV (oh woe is me, I am so behind!) I finally cooked something! Well, it involved baking, but this time it was not a dessert. It was an actual entrée. Aren't you so proud of me? I made mini versions of smitten kitchen's adaptation of Martha Stewart's macaroni & cheese for dinner, using my (new even though I bought them months ago) Le Creuset ramikins. Yay! That used up the time I was going to use to either nap or work on my pictures. Oh well. It was worth it.

Yesterday morning we had our home consultation from 3 Day Blinds. In a couple of weeks, we will finally have coverings for our windows! We will finally be able to turn the lights on at night! Very exciting future XD It was really expensive, so thank goodness for the Groupon I bought. I love Groupon :)

We were starving after the home consultation so we went to McD's for a quick lunch. Then we did more home improvement store shopping and ended up buying a bunch of stuff from Lowe's. Then we checked out the Burbank Costco. I am proud to say that we bought nothing but we did eat a lot of free samples. Including an entire popsicle. I must say, the Burbank Costco seems a lot more generous with samples than the Azusa one, haha. Then we stopped at Bed, Bath & Beyond and headed home. But did we rest? No. I had to start clearing out the half of the room that will be under construction. And then I had to quickly throw the large casserole dish of mac&cheese I had prepared the day before into the oven. And then I headed over to Crystal's for the potluck.

Yep, it was at Crystal's house. Because mine is.. a mess does not even begin to describe the state that we are in. Stupid remodeling.

But it's okay, because I was quickly greeted by lovely friends and delicious food.

{Crystal's sangria. Sweet, light and refreshing.}

{Our entrees. Candace provided smitten kitchen's tomato sauce and curly noodles. In front is my mac&cheese.}

{Crystal's snickerdoodle blondies.}

{With a perfect scoop (by Abby) of her creamy soy vanilla ice cream from Trader Joe's}
It was a great night, full of laughter, odd stories, and carbs. So many carbs. Mmmmmm~

After the potluck was over I showered at her place. I didn't feel like heading over to 24 Hour Fitness at 11:30 at night.

And as if I didn't pig out enough yesterday, I totally pigged out today. After church, my mum and I went grocery shopping in Little Tokyo and then I forced her to take me to Young King. I was craving it. Especially since I had raved about it to Candace and Crystal last night. So we went there and I just inhaled their jjajangmyun and spicy friend shrimp. SO GOOD. It made me so happy *^^*

Everything

2011-05-29T16:06:00.000-07:00

I love this praise song. Our praise team performed this today and I feel like it resonated with me more than usual. I think with my new job and new (and old) stresses, this is really something that I need to constantly lift up to God in prayer.

Tim Hughes, "Everything"

God in my living
There in my breathing
God in my waking
God in my sleeping

God in my resting
There in my working
God in my thinking
God in my speaking

Be my everything
Be my everything
Be my everything
Be my everything

God in my hoping
There in my dreaming
God in my watching
God in my waiting

God in my laughing
There in my weeping
God in my hurting
God in my healing

Be my everything
Be my everything
Be my everything
Be my everything

Christ in me
Christ in me
Christ in me the hope of glory
You are everything

Christ in me
Christ in me
Christ in me the hope of glory
Be my everything

You are everything
Jesus, Everything

Week Nummer Fire

2011-05-26T20:54:00.000-07:00

(That's in Danish and Norwegian. Why? Because I like the word fire.)

I know it's not the end of Week Nummer Fire yet, but I had to come and share with you what I bought today:

{WATCHMEN Limited Run 7" Vinyl Pictures Disc Singles Box Set}
*Squeeee!*. Isn't it awesome? You can buy it yourself if you want at their online store, but you will have to pay $49.99 plus shipping and handling. I will not disclose how much I paid for it (although I will say it was a lot less than $50) since I bought two to gift one to a friend :D

This week has been crazy busy. On Sunday, I had my first class for Pathways: Strengthened in Christ. It seems like it will be a very enlightening class so I look forward to it. We also got free Porto's, which is always a plus. After church my mum went to Home Depot to buy stuff for my bathroom, then I spent a ridiculous amount of money online, and then I finally watched Superman/Bathman: Apocalypse so I could return it to Netflix since I had put my account on hold. Good movie, but I liked Public Enemies better. I didn't have time to watch the last episode on my Lie to Me: Season 2 disc but I returned it anyway since our library has it. Or will have it once someone returns it...

This whole week, starting Monday and ending today, our contractor has been working on my mum's bathroom. I had such high hopes for them but they have disappointed me. Greatly. SIGHHHHHH.

But let's focus on the good things. Apart from picking my health plan, I am now all done with all the mandatory paperwork/acknowledgments/courses that I had to complete within 30 days. I feel so official. I am also now officially part of the Yelp Elite Squad of 2011. Yay!

On Monday I bought more stuff for my bathroom from Home Depot. On Tuesday I extended my two DVD leases for another week. I also had my first monthly staff meeting. I have now been officially welcomed by the team. I also got my Amazon shipment--I had (finally) ordered a fitness ball (although it's still sitting untouched in its packaging in my room) and a small compact (pink!) Bible. Along with a hardcore flashlight just in case. And I showered at 24 Hour Fitness for the first time ever. I had to since my mum's bathroom is out of commission. I also showered there tonight. And while I think their showers are kind of gross, I am grateful that they exist. Because otherwise, where would I shower?

Yesterday I attended Atlantic Records' CD sale. They have it twice a year, with proceeds donated to charity. And wow, the prices are so awesome! I bought two CDs for $1 each! :D I also had lunch with the director of the communications committee in a business resource group I joined at **. She is SO nice and I'm glad to have met someone outside of my department at work! I'm excited to join her committee~

I also had dinner with the lovely Joyce and Crystal last night. We went to Moffett's so we could have some yummy "old people food," as Crystal affectionately calls it. We got the vanilla ice cream with chocolate syrup for dessert this time and it was a much better choice than the apple pie. Good times :)

Today, in addition to making my awesome purchase, I also had lunch with Andy and Alex. Mini-YF reunion, haha. It was really nice catching up.

Tomorrow I get out of work early at 2:30PM and then it's the long weekend! I'm really looking forward to some R&R, although the entire time will probably be spent stressing out about our remodeling and trying to clean up the house a bit...

{So happy about my purchases}

Week Rhif Tri

2011-05-21T21:54:00.000-07:00

(This time it's in Welsh, just because.)

Time just FLIES by nowadays. I don't understand it! Where has the time gone? I can't believe I've already finished my third week of work. It feels like I had just started...

This week has been full of work, work, work. And home improvement. Going to Lowe's. Getting new windows. Getting new doors. Shopping for window treatments. Going to Home Depot. Going to another Lowe's. There was also a lot of boxing up and packing and moving and cleaning and covering. Who knew remodeling (just some parts of) the house would be so much work?!

On Tuesday my coworker MD introduced me to our company's video library! It's just a small room with a few bookcases full of DVDs, but still! It's a library of movies that I have not seen! So I have put my Netflix account on hold. Just until I go through all the movies that they have that I want to see ;) I rented La Femme Nikita and Young@Heart. You rent them out for a week at a time. I have not yet managed to see them yet. Uh oh.

{My library card!}
Tuesday was also our long-awaited EAP reunion dinner! Ariana was back in town so we all gathered to meet up with her. We ate at Versailles--but the one on La Cienega! It was my first time to that locale, but we chose it because it was more convenient for the majority of us (myself included). I got their signature chicken dish, of course. Which I also ate for lunch the next day.

{Group picture}
On Wednesday I finished up the season of Mad Love. Which also meant that I finished the series, since it was not picked up for a second season. Saying goodbye to so many shows...

Thursday I met up with JoeMac for dinner. It was nice catching up with him--I had not seen him since last year's SDCC. We had Chipotle in Downtown Burbank and then we explored the Burbank Town Center. It turns out I had been there before, but sadly I have issues putting two and two together so I didn't realise it at first.

Today, on top of going to various home improvement stores, I also went to the mall and did some personal shopping at Victoria's Secret and New York & Co. I finally have a new bag! My mum is very happy XD

{All the stuff that is in my bag...}
We also redid the layout of my room (along with a couple other rooms in our house) so I'm pretty happy about that. My back isn't at all, but I am. Yay for new beginnings.

Week Uimhir a Dó

2011-05-15T13:46:00.000-07:00

{Tofu Pesto Burger with Sweet Potato Fries and a Tamarindi}

That's week "number two" in Irish according to Google Translate. (In honour of Boss #2, although technically he's Scottish...) And the end of my first week on my own! It has been quite a week.

I spent most of the previous Saturday just trying to catch up on my Google Reader, various sites, tumblr, etc. So crazy how much I fell behind.

Last Sunday morning was all about food. My mum was responsible for bringing "breakfast" to her weekly meeting, so she made egg salad sandwiches and brought Sunny D. Yum! Dan (who is on host team with me) was nice and bought kimbab and ddukbokgi for the team. More yum! And then I also split a donut with my mum. Good times. I then treated my mum to a Mother's Day lunch at Kang Nam. It was disappointing. But my mum chose the restaurant so it was not my fault :P

On Tuesday I had lunch with AW who is also a former-YF'er now at **! We had misunderstandings about where we were supposed to meet up though so that got our lunch off to a late start, haha. I still have a lot to learn about locations at my company~ And then on Thursday I was treated to Morton's The Steakhouse by Boss #1 and Boss #2! I got their Tenderloin Al Forno with Spinach Fettuccini Alfredo. It was good.

{Is it nerdy that I brought this back just so I could take my Project 365 picture?}
On Friday I got my first posters from work! Boss #1 was kind enough to let me have a HP one and a Green Lantern one. Yay! I also brought home the clotted cream fudge that Boss #2 had brought back for LL since it was a commemorative edition :P

{It's Kate and Will!}
Yesterday was quite a busy day. I went with my mum in the morning to ktown for her acupuncture appointment. Then we stopped by Koreatown Galleria before heading to IKEA. It was around 3pm by then so we pretty much inhaled the Swedish Meatball Combos that we ordered (delish as usual) before browsing the window treatment section. Fail. So then we headed to the Lowe's in Burbank, which is in an awesomely ginormous plaza. Love it! But then it was time for me to get to Jinwon's so we rushed back home. (Where I also got a very upsetting letter from my internet provider. SIGH.) Jinwon and I went to Pure Luck for dinner since they are going to close at the end of the month. It was a bit disappointing since we felt that the quality and quantity went down, but I am still very glad we went one last time. We then crossed the street to go to Scoops afterwards, and I got one scoop White Chocolate Tea and one scoop Orange Vanilla. Delicious. It was a great night :)

And today my mum and I went to Costco and we shared a hot dog and pizza slice. Good times.

{Posing with my last Pure Luck meal}

Freedom From Fear

2011-05-14T17:04:00.000-07:00

I read a few chapters today of The Ragamuffin Gospel and passage after passage just blew me away. Let me share with you some passages from the chapter entitled "Freedom From Fear". I make a few notes, but I want you to really read these lines and ruminate on them and what thoughts they stir up in you.

"The question has not become 'What does Jesus say?' but 'What does the church say?' This question is still being asked today." (pg. 141)

While I trust that my church makes an active effort to make sure its teachings/attitude/etc are based on God's word, I do think this is an important distinction for people to make.

"The Kingdom of God is a kingdom of freedom. Jesus invites and challenges us to enter this kingdom, to walk the royal road to freedom, to be set free by the Father's love. He calls ragamuffins everywhere to freedom from the fear of death, freedom from the fear of life, and freedom from anxiety over our salvation." (pg. 141-142)

"We accept grace in theory but deny it in practice. Living by grace rather than law leads us out of the house of fear into the house of love. 'In love there can be no fear, but fear is driven out by perfect love: because to fear is to expect punishment, and anyone who is afraid is still imperfect in love' (1 John 4:18)." (pg. 142)

This is definitely one of the most difficult issues for me. As a person plagued by anxiety, paranoia, and several different phobias, I live in a world of fear. I'm constantly stressed and anxious and questioning, "What if?" The problem is, I don't know how to stop. I don't know how to overcome this. It is something that I cannot do on my own; I need Him to help me. But I wonder.. is my paranoia and anxiety keeping me from letting God take those very things away?

"Home is not a heavenly mansion in the afterlife but a safe place right in the midst of our anxious world." (pg. 143)

"Home is that sacred space--external or internal--where we don't have to be afraid; where we are confident of hospitality and love. In our society we have many homeless people sleeping not only on the streets, in shelters or in welfare hotels, but vagabonds who are in flight, who never come home to themselves. They seek a safe place through alcohol or drugs, or security in success, competence, friends, pleasures, notoriety, knowledge, or even a little religion. They have become strangers to themselves, people who have an address but are never at home, who never hear the voice of love or experience the freedom of God's children." (pg. 143)

I seek safety in other things, things that cannot give me what I want. I want to have more than an address--I want to come HOME. (Is it weird that now I have the chorus from P. Diddy's "I'm Coming Home" now stuck in my head? I'm coming home, I'm coming home, tell the world that I'm coming home, let the rain wash away all the pain of yesterday. I know my kingdom awaits and they've forgiven my mistakes, I'm coming home, I'm coming home, tell the world that I'm coming)

"Freedom in Christ produces a healthy independence from peer pressure, people-pleasing, and the bondage of human respect. The tyranny of public opinion can manipulate our lives." (pg. 146)

"In Christ Jesus freedom from fear empowers us to let go of the desire to appear good, so that we can move freely in the mystery of who we really are." (pg. 147)

"Living by grace inspires a growing consciousness that I am what I am in the sight of Jesus and nothing more. It is His approval that counts." (pg. 149)

I know all of these things. But it's hard to put it into action. Especially when I am such a people-pleaser...

This following passage on prayer was a REAL comfort to me. I think it's a really good analogy and I hope it can be of comfort to you too:

Brennan states on page 150 that "A little child cannot do a bad coloring; nor can a child of God do bad prayer." He then follows that up with a quote from pages 68 through 69 of Centering Prayer: Renewing an Ancient Christian Prayer Form by M. Basil Pennington: "A father is delighted when his little one, leaving off her toys and friends, runs to him and climbs into his arms. As he holds his little one close to him, he cares little whether the child is looking around, her attention flitting from one thing to another, or just settling down to sleep. Essentially the child is choosing to be with her father, confident of the love, the care, the security that is hers in those arms. Our prayer is much like that. We settle down in our Father's arms, in his loving hands. Our mind, our thoughts, our imagination may flit about here and there; we might even fall asleep; but essentially we are choosing for this time to remain intimately with our Father, giving ourselves to him, receiving his love and care, letting him enjoy us as he will. It is very simple prayer. It is very childlike prayer. It is prayer that opens us out to all the delights of the kingdom."

"Jesus' tenderness is not in any way determined by how we pray or what we are or do. In order to free us for compassion towards other, Jesus calls us to accept His compassion in our own lives, to become gentle, caring, compassionate, and forgiving ourselves in our failure and need." (pg. 150)

Note: All quoted material in this post are from Brennan Manning's The Ragamuffin Gospel, published by Multnomah Publishers, Inc. I'm not sure what the rules are on how much you can quote from someone else's literary property, so please let me know if I need to take some passages down. Thank you.

Week Numero Uno

2011-05-06T20:37:00.000-07:00

{Porto's Mango Cheesecake Slice}

I have been employed for a full week now. It has been quite an interesting week. Full of ups and downs.

Monday was orientation. Full of sizzle reels that made me really excited to be working at **. But there was also a name card that listed me in a certain department.. and I did not know that I was in that department. This is what happens when you don't ask questions during the interview process. Or you do and they answer them in vague terms. Anyway, moving on. Orientation was great. We got a free lunch. I got my company badge. I got a bag of swag. I was excited to learn about benefits and 401(k)s and more. And then the day ended with a VIP studio tour! That was awesome. You can see pictures HERE.

{This was a *SQUEEE* moment for me}
What you don't see in my pictures is the Chuck set. We got to go in it, but no cameras were allowed. But we saw the battling cage that's in the back of the Buy More and we walked into the open area inside the apartment complex. And I actually got to step inside of Casey's apartment. Awesome! We also saw the Mike & Molly set, which used to be the Friends set. We went to various other places as well, but the most important place was the "museum." The first floor had costumes and props from various movies, and the second floor was entirely dedicated to Harry Potter. They had the sorting hat. And I got sorted into Slytherin! Awesome. The day did end on a sour note though because I got a "traffic violation" slip on my car since I had parked on the wrong floor. Apparently if you do that 3 times you lose your parking priviledges O.O

{VIP Studio Tour!}
Note: Let me know if you want to go on it. It's 2 hours and 15 minutes.
Normal admission price is $52, but I can get you the employee price of $40.
Tuesday was a day of disillusionment. I found out that a lot of things were different than what I was told they were going to be, or what I expected them to be. So it was a struggle trying to deal with that. But I think I'm okay with it now. Going to think positively~

Tuesday was also my first day of actual work! Well, this whole week has been more about "shadowing" than "working." I'm replacing a lovely lady named LL, who I got along really well with, and she taught me a lot. I do not know what I'm going to do without her next week.

{Plate #1 from LL's farewell breakfast party}
But I did not need any help to start pigging out at work immediately. On Tuesday Boss #1 brought in a box of goodies from Porto's. So I had a cheese roll and a slice of mango cheesecake. Yum. On Thursday LL treated me to Starbucks, where I got a vanilla latte, when we went to the Lot (we're in a building two blocks from the Lot) to meet with a few other EAs that I would be working a lot with. And on Friday, we had a breakfast party for LL's last day. So I PIGGED OUT. LL brought in a couple boxes of Porto's (as well as a special slice of mango cheesecake just for me, pictured at the top of this post); one lady made carmalised upside-down monkey bread with walnuts (so unfortunately I couldn't have any); another lady made a veggie quiche and a ham quiche; Boss #1 brought in fresh bagels with various cream cheeses; another lady brought a platter of fruit; and others brought orange juice, vanilla scones, mini Krispy Kreme donuts, mini glazed donuts, croissants, and a platter of crackers with ham, salami, and two cheeses. And then for lunch, I went to Avon Grill with LL and a few of her friends! Good times.

So that has been my first week. And as a result, I am so behind not just on TV, but on my RSS feeds and all the sites I read on a (somewhat) daily basis. I checked my Google Reader and ZOMG, I have over 1000 unread items. GAH. It looks like it's going to be a long night.. O.O

A Lot of Firsts

2011-05-01T15:53:00.000-07:00

{A New Career}

I'm experiencing a lot of firsts in my life right now. For example, I wore my grey pleated skirt for the first time today. I actually bought it when I was in England in 2005. It took me a little under 6 years, but I'm finally wearing it. And as you can see from the picture above, I will be embarking on another first. My first career at a company I only dreamed about working at. (I refuse to write the name since I have a fear of Big Brother.) I can't believe I'm starting a new chapter of my life. And odds are that it will be a good one. HOPE. Real hope. It's amazing to have.

Anyway, it's a new month everyone! It's May! When did this happen? Can you believe it's been exactly 3.5 months since I was laid off? I feel like time passes by so quickly now. It must mean I'm getting old :P

On Monday I finally baked again. Not really since I used a box mix, but it was still better than nothing. I miss baking. It really is a passion of mine. Then I went out and celebrated my birthday (yes, the celebration is still going on) at Cost Plus World Market. They sent me a $10 off coupon for my birthday so of course I had to take advantage of it before it expired. I used it to buy my first bottle of wine! And then I went to DSW to use my $5 off birthday coupon. Bought my first pair of Coach shoes. (See? A lot of firsts are happening).

{Stella Rosa}
Tuesday was a day of frustrations since my computer refused to cooperate with me. It breaks my heart whenever it does that. But life quickly became much brighter when I got a call from a certain HR recruiter with a verbal job offer. AWESOME! It's only for a year, but it's still a year with an amazing company. And I will have benefits. For the first time since I graduated from UCLA. Life is exciting. I did my online onboarding the next day and on Thursday the hard copy of my offer letter arrived! I have it signed and ready to bring with me for orientation tomorrow :D

Wednesday was also when my mum and I used our Groupons for Wi Spa. That place is niiiice! We were there for a little over three hours and it was great. Next time, though, I really must get a massage. My body is dying for a massage.

Yesterday was a crazy day of shopping. My mum took me to Ontario Mills with a singular objective: to buy a nice Coach bag. Why? Because she thinks my $20 bag from Target is embarrassing. I think it's awesome. I mean, hello, it's $20. And it's a very durable bag too. But I've actually been wanting a Coach bag ever since Keri and Christina got one, so I wasn't complaining. And, of course, that's the one thing that I didn't get. They didn't have the style that I wanted. And I am not paying that kind of money for a bag I am not 100% happy with. So we went around to the other stores. I actually ended up buying stuff from a few stores so that was nice. Then we headed over to Victoria Gardens. Afterwards, had a quick stop at McDs before going to Costco. 9 minutes after they had closed. Who knew Costco closed so early on the weekend? (They close at 6:00pm) So we sadly headed home. But there was a present waiting for me when I arrived! My prizes from Small Screen Scoop's Tangled giveaway! AWESOME. I took pictures. And then I crashed and napped for a couple hours. Man, shopping wipes me out!

{Tangled prizes!}
So that's been my week. Looking forward to what the next week brings!

Beautiful Hope

2011-04-26T22:04:00.000-07:00

I mentioned on Sunday that our praise team performed "Beautiful Things" by Gungor.

They uploaded one of the performances to Vimeo. Not only do I love the song (and our praise team's rendition of it) but I think the video presentation is pretty awesome too. And it features our staff (and their kids!). Take a look:

Beautiful Hope from YNCC on Vimeo.

Amazon Customer Service = Awesome.

2011-04-25T18:35:00.001-07:00

{Amazon Cloud Player}

I mentioned yesterday that I bought Gungor's "Beautiful Things" MP3 album online through Amazon.com. What I didn't mention is how awesome their customer support is.

I've never bought an MP3 album before. Or MP4 since I think that's what iTunes uses. Not even one song (although I have downloaded songs before, but they were always offered for free by the artist). I'm a fan of buying actual CDs. In physical form. That you can hold in your hands. That have booklets that you can flip through.

But Amazon had emailed me a couple times about how they were doing a sale on their MP3 albums. If you bought any with your Amazon Rewards Visa card, you could save 20% using their code MUSICOFF by April 30th (it used to be by April 20th but they extended it). I really wanted to buy Gungor's album, and their MP3 album was $5.00 compared to the CD's $8.99. With the 20% discount, it would be $4, which means it would be over 50% cheaper. Plus, as a Cloud Player user, my free 5GB would automatically be bumped up to 20GB for a year with the purchase of a MP3 album.

So I decided, fine, I will buy the MP3 album. Then I won't have to wait to hear all of Gungor's beautiful songs.

Except, like I mentioned before, I had never done this. I've never bought any "digital items" from Amazon. Only actual tangible items that would be shipped to me. When you buy items like that, you enter the discount code in the middle of checking out. After you had added all your items to your cart and decided to check out. So I clicked on the "Buy MP3 album with 1-Click" button, figuring that I would enter the code later.

WRONG.

Apparently you enter the code before you click on the buy button. Under that button (and the gift button) there's a link that says "Redeem a gift card or promotion code & view balance." You click on that first, enter the code, and then it will notify you that the code has been applied. Then you click on the buy button. Since I had failed to do this, I found that I had bought the album for the full price: $5.00.

I searched for a way to cancel the order, but since it was a digital order, I couldn't find a way. They had already given me the MP3 album in my Cloud Player. Uh oh. What to do now?

I found their Customer Service page and sent them an email, explaining my error and asking for either the 20% discount ($1) to be applied to my account or a return so that I could purchase it with the discount. The website says that they should respond within 12 hours.

They responded within THREE hours. And they refunded me the entire $5.00. I thought maybe that meant they chose the second option I offered, which would mean that they took back the MP3 album so I could buy it again. But I checked my Cloud Player--the songs were still there! I decided to give it a day.

So I went online today and checked my credit card account. The refund had been issued. I logged into Amazon and checked my Cloud Player. The songs were there (and I've been listening to them all day). HOW AWESOME IS THAT???

I don't know where I can review Amazon.com's Customer Service, so I decided to take to my blog to tell you about them. They are awesome. They just made me love Amazon.com even more, which I didn't even think was possible.

So if Amazon.com isn't already your most favourite store in the world, it should be. Because they're awesome.

Happy Easter!

2011-04-24T15:14:00.000-07:00

{Gungor}

Happy Easter! Hope everyone is rejoicing today :D Our praise team performed Gungor's "Beautiful Things" today and it was awesome. Just bought their MP3 album on Amazon :)

Last Sunday I had my last birthday meal. Dan (who is also in second service host team with me) treated us to kimbab and ddukbokgi since it was my birthday. Thanks Dan! I really love our church's ddukbokgi. I don't know what they put in it, but it tastes awesome. Especially combined with kimbab. Perfect meal. (Although I must say, no one does ddukbokgi as well as my cousin-in-law. Hers are perfection.) That night I watched TV, on my TV, for the first time in ages. All because of USA Network's The Fall of Sam Axe. Can't wait for Burn Notice to return!

This past week was pretty chill. I did some organising (yay for being productive) and watched a LOT of TV (39 eps since I last blogged!). I'm still behind on TV though. How sad is that?

On Tuesday I had lunch with my mum at Souplantation. They had sent me a coupon for my birthday and that was the last day that I could use it. It was awesome going to Souplantation for lunch. We got there right at 11:00AM, when it opened, so everything was fresh! And clean. I stuffed myself, as usual. My mum says she can't take me to Souplantation anymore. It's sad because she used to say that when I was little, since I didn't eat a lot back then and she felt it was such a waste of monies taking me to a buffet. But now she is saying the same thing again, except this time it's because I eat too much and she doesn't approve of my stuffing my face so much. I just can't win.

My t-shirts that I bought from the vendor at the Monrovia Farmer's Market finally arrived that day. He had called me the previous Friday to tell me that he wasn't going to the farmer's market that day so he would just ship me the shirts. Yay!

{Horsie}
My mum and I went to IKEA on Wednesday. I love IKEA. I love eating at IKEA. Although now I can tell you that you really shouldn't get anything besides the Swedish Meatball Combo. I strayed and tried the Pasta Meatball Combo. Ugh. Not good. And their prices have gotten even cheaper! It's a bit worrisome because when the meatball combo is $3.99, it makes you wonder if it's real meat. But hey, it tastes great, so my brain can just shut up. (I also went to AAA again, but I'm so tired of going there, not even going to talk about it.)

{Tickets to hitRECord at the Movies}
Yesterday I went to ktown with my mum and we had lunch at The Dragon Restaurant. The interior is a lot nicer than Young King, definitely, but it fails in all other aspects. Not going back there again. Then I took a nap, since I'm old like that, and at night I went out! Crystal and I went to hitRECord at the Movies with Joseph Gordon-Levitt. It was at the Vista Theatre, which is really nice. Although the golden head statues in the theatre are a bit over-the-top. And creepy. But it's still a really nice theatre. And spending 90 minutes with JGL and the hitRECord crew? Pretty awesome. We got to see a lot of short films and hear tiny stories. Great night. JGL even sang for us. I uploaded two videos to my YouTube account. It would have been a perfect night had we gotten to meet JGL. I had my camera ready and had also brought my (500) Days of Summer DVD for him to sign! (And I had four Sharpies in my purse). But no. It was not to be. It could have been, except for one pesky security guard. Sigh. We waited over an hour afterwards to try to catch him when he left, but we failed there too. Oh well. It was still a great night.

{hitRECord!}

Self-Sabotage

2011-04-23T15:37:00.000-07:00

I started reading The Ragamuffin Gospel the last time I went to the gym, but I only read a few pages. And then I stopped going to the gym. So I stopped reading. But today, I finally started reading The Ragamuffin Gospel again (although I have yet to go back to the gym. Horrible, I know). It is so nice to be reading again. I forget how much I miss it until I start reading a book again, and then I fall in love with reading all over again. (Did I just use the word "again" way too many times?)

So, no surprise here, there are a couple passages that I wanted to share with you.

In the first passage, Brennan Manning is discussing faith. Nowadays, he points out, people tend to "define faith as belief in the existence of God" (pg. 28). But this was not always the case. God's existence used to be taken for granted; instead, it was "one's relationship to God--whether one trusted in God" that defined faith (pg. 28). That makes such a difference: whether faith is believing something exists or whether faith is trust in God. He then continues...

Such is the faith described by Paul Tillich in his famous work The Shaking of the Foundations: "Grace strikes us when we are in great pain and restlessness. It strikes us when we walk through the dark valley of a meaningless and empty life.... It strikes us when, year after year, the longed-for perfection does not appear, when the old compulsion reign within us as they have for decades, when despair destroys all joy and courage. Sometimes at that moment a wave of light breaks into our darkness, and it is as though a voice were saying: 'You are accepted. You are accepted, accepted by that which is greater than you, and the name of which you do not know. Do not ask for the name now; perhaps you will find it later. Do not try to do anything now; perhaps later you will do much. Do not seek for anything, do not perform anything, do not intend anything. Simply accept the fact that you are accepted.' If that happens to us, we experience grace."

And Grace calls out: you are not just a disillusioned old man who may die soon, a middle-aged woman stuck in a job and desperately wanting to get out, a young person feeling the fire in the belly begin to grow cold. You may be insecure, inadequate, mistaken, or potbellied. Death, panic, depression, and disillusionment may be near you. But you are not just that. You are accepted. Never confuse your perception of yourself with the mystery that you really are accepted. (pgs. 28-29)

How does that make you feel? It boggles my mind.

A few chapters later, he asks a question.

The question which the gospel of grace puts to us is simply this: Who shall separate you from the love of Christ? What are you afraid of?

Are you afraid that your weakness could separate you from the love of Christ? It can't.

Are you afraid that your inadequacies could separate you from the love of Christ? They can't.

Are you afraid that your innate poverty could separate you from the love of Christ? It can't.

Difficult marriage, loneliness, anxiety over the children's future? They can't.

Negative self-image? It can't.

Economic hardship, racial hatred, street crime? They can't.

Rejection by loved ones or the suffering of loved ones? They can't.

Persecution by authorities, going to jail? They can't.

Nuclear war? It can't.

Mistakes, fears, uncertainties? They can't.

The gospel of grace calls out: Nothing can ever separate you from the love of God made visible in Christ Jesus our Lord. (pg. 86)

How about all of the above, and more? I feel like I am my worst enemy. I feel like I, with my never ending thoughts, am the one thing that stands between me and God. I have the brain knowledge that that is not the case, but it's hard to get that knowledge translated to my heart. Do you know what I'm talking about? So it's comforting whenever I read that I am wrong. That despite me doing everything I can do to sabotage myself, the love Christ has for me can never be sabotaged.

Buon Compleanno!

2011-04-16T15:27:00.000-07:00

{Birthday lunch at CPK}

I am now 26 years old! I can now say that I am in my "latter 20s." And how did I celebrate? By stuffing my face. Again and again. For free!

Last Saturday, I had lunch with Joyce at Wood Ranch BBQ & Grill. It was my first time there and I must say that it's pretty nice. She treated me *^^* Thanks Joycie! Afterwards we walked around the mall and chatted. It was really nice hanging out with her since it had been a long time since we last hung out. Later that day, I cooked. I made Pioneer Woman's Sour Cream Noodle Bake again. Shouldn't have done that since I spent the past week racking up leftovers. Oops. I also watched Brotherhood of the Wolf. It's a good movie but it left me totally creeped out. Vincent Cassel can be really creepy when he wants to be (with the help of the amazing makeup department).

On Sunday, after runnings errands with my mum after chuch, she treated me to my birthday dinner! We went to Gale's in Pasadena since it was something I had bookmarked for a while. It was nice but somewhat disappointing. But they made up for it in the end with a complimentary crème brûlée for my birthday! Yum.

{Birthday Crème Brûlée}
Monday was the one day that I did not eat out. Which is good. I had a great birthday present in the form of winning SSScoop's autographed Tangled poster giveaway! Thank you SSS! And Crystal dropped by at night to give me my birthday present: Pioneer Woman's cookbook! AWESOME. It is beautiful. I love it. Thanks Crystal!

{Birthday presents}
I turned 26 on Tuesday. P.Dan and Judy treated me to lunch at CPK for my birthday. It was fun and delicious and I really enjoyed it--thank you! I ordered the Hawaiian BBQ Chicken Pizza and got their Red Velvet Cake for dessert. Yum! I stuck around for a couple hours afterwards to play with Annabel, who gave me lots of birthday presents (a sweet card, a beautiful necklace, and a wonderful painting!). For dinner, I met up with Keri, Gardy and her sister Jackie. We went to Malbec in Pasadena. I am not a fan of steak, or red meat in general, but I really wanted to try this place since it sounded so good on Yelp. Man, we ate SO MUCH FOOD. We had refills of our complimentary bread, two appetizers, four entrees, and three desserts. By the end, I couldn't even stand up straight. I was way too full to be comfortable. As a result, I stayed up til 2AM since I didn't feel comfortable lying down before then. But apart from my stupidly stuffing myself beyond reason, it was a GREAT birthday. Oh, and Keri also gave me a rolling pin and an offset spatula for my birthday. I won't have to be so ghetto in the kitchen anymore. Thanks Keri!

On Wednesday, I went to all-you-can-eat-kBBQ at Road to Seoul with Fluffball and Duvien (their treat! ..because I made them ^^#). It was pretty good--this is the place I will recommend for AYCE KBBQ from now on! We ate so much meat. And dude, we stank afterwards. Thank goodness I brought a change of clothes. And sped home and Febreze'd everything. And then wore a new outfit. So I don't think I smelled like kbbq at my interview, thank goodness. It was my second interview so let's see how it goes!

{Sweet Wines}
On Thursday I met up with Jinwon and we went to Il Tiramisu Ristorante & Bar in Sherman Oaks. Dinner was delicious. I love butternut squash in pasta. And I discovered my new favourite wine! Braquetto, Stella Rosa (Piedmont). AWESOME. I felt a little bad for Jinwon because she treated me but she didn't enjoy her meal as much. I definitely had the better meal, kekeke. Afterwards we went to see The Three Sisters at the Skirball Cultural Center. It's a pretty nice place, although we didn't get to really take a look around since we were running late. Running in boots with an injured ankle = not fun. It was actually more of a reading for public radio. So there were no sets or outfits. Just microphones. And a talented sound effects guy and his team. But I still enjoyed it. It was a great cast: Sarah Zimmerman, Jennifer Westfeldt, Tessa Thompson, Jon Hamm, Josh Cooke, Reid Scott, Rebecca Mozo, Robert Pine, Josh Clark, Dan Donohue, Marc Halsey, and Pamela Dunlap. I would definitely like to come back here again.

{The Three Sisters}
Yesterday was my date with Williana. We met at Elements Café for lunch. It was good. We then headed to Carmela's for dessert and I fell in love with them even more. This time I had a scoop of Brown Sugar Vanilla Bean and a scoop of Tangelo Sorbet. Delicious! We then spent the rest of the day walking around Old Town Pasadena. In the heat and sun. So I'm still a bit red from yesterday. I then came home to find out that Tokyopop is closing their publishing division. So I guess that sinking ship has finally sunk. Goodbye Tokyopop.

So that was my week of complimentary birthday meals. Seven meals in six days. So much food. My mum says my face now looks like a full moon because I've gained so much weight. Wonderful. I need to go back to the gym but this stupid ankle just won't go back to 100%...

Anyway, today was a break from tradition. Usually when I finish one notebook of my Bible writing my mum treats me to breakfast at McD's on Saturday morning. But I guess two years of doing that was more than enough for my mum. So she requested that we just go somewhere for lunch instead. One of the parents at Kumon had recommended Capital Seafood so we went there. Meh. Monterey Park is definitely the way to go for dimsum.

I also started my Project 365, where you take a picture every single day for an entire year, on my birthday. Hopefully I remember every day. I still need to take my picture for today. But it's so hot and I feel so lethargic... Well, I hope you enjoyed my story of constantly pigging out! Hopefully I haven't gained too much weight...

Why I Can Never Leave L.A.

2011-04-08T20:59:00.000-07:00

It's simple. I'd freeze my arse off anywhere else. Have you guys gone outside tonight? IT IS SO FRIGGIN COLD. The drama queen inside of me is telling you that I could have died from frostbite. It is April, what is going on?! I am grateful, however, that it didn't rain like it was supposed to. Whewt. So Crystal and I went back to the Farmer's Market today so I could pick up my tees and we could get the gourmet french fries. But the t-shirt vendor was not there! Turns out he was under the impression that the farmer's market was cancelled because of the rain, which is fine, except that was why I gave him my number in the first place. So he could call me if he's not coming. So I'll have to go back again next week. Ugh.

But Crystal and I still got our "gourmet french fries". I ordered the garlic parmesan fries and Crystal ordered the pizza fries. We got sundried tomato ketchup, but it wasn't very good. Disappointing. The fries were good, but because it was SO DAMN COLD, the fries became cold in what seemed like a matter of seconds. It was painful eating the fries because our fingers were exposed to the cold and started to freeze. If I feel like I'm going to freeze to death in Arcadia, in April, how would I ever survive anywhere else?

After we ate the french fries we quickly walked to Starbucks where it was warm inside, yay. I used my gift cards to get a vanilla bean frap (yes, it's cold, but I like it) and a lemon square. I also treated Crystal to a vanilla latte (warm) and a mini peanut butter cupcake. We were both happy with our purchases. Once we were all nice and warm, we again battled the cold to walk back to my car. Stupid cold air. Cannot handle. Hopefully next Friday will be much better.

{Starbucks}
On Sunday I drove down to Irvine after church. I ended up driving down later than planned because I ran into Paul at church, which was an unexpected surprise. He's visiting from Korea for a week so we ended up chatting for about an hour. Good times. Tasha took me to Jalapeno's for lunch so I could try their potato tacos. Two for under $5! Nice. I like potatoes in my tacos. Then we headed over to the discount theatre to watch Tangled. In 3D. OMG I LOVE THAT MOVIE. It is just so awesome! The characters, the story, the animation--all wonderful. LOVE. We then headed over to The Counter for dinner. It was great. I loved my burger and it is always wonderful to hang out with Tasha and have good conversation. We finished up the night back at her place watching an episode of Psych (of course) before finally heading to bed around 2AM.

{My burger at The Counter}
On Monday we watched the previous night's episode of Breakout Kings before heading to Lee's Sandwiches for lunch. I got their BBQ Pork sandwich and I am a fan. Can you believe that this is my first time to a Lee's Sandwiches? I regret not having come more often. Cheap and delicious. I then watched The Hangover at Tasha's (yes, I know, I am so behind everyone else). Good times. Finally left right around rush hour and got home at 6PM.

On Tuesday I had an interview. And Keri stopped by later to drop off some homemade cinnamon buns (with frosting) and avocadoes. Thanks Keri! They were delicious :)

And on Wednesday I baked again. Baking is like a drug to me. After it's been a couple days I get the itch to bake again. And when I do bake again, it makes me so happy. Well, I'm kind of stressed out while I'm doing it, but afterwards I am happy. I love baking. And these cupcakes made me happy.

{Orange-Vanilla Bean Cupcakes with White Chocolate}
Yesterday I had another interview. I really liked it. I hope they call me back.

Two Steps Forward...

2011-04-01T22:57:00.000-07:00

And Three Steps Back? My ankle is getting worse now, it seems. I think it's because I keep on forgetting to treat it more nicely and then it gets pissed off at me. Sigh. And since I haven't been going to the gym, OY. I have been gaining weight. My pants are getting much tighter. And it doesn't help that I have been stuffing myself silly. Especially today.

{Shrimp Wrap with Fries}
In the morning I went to AAA (again, but hopefully for the last time) to report my mileage again. My annual mileage went down one more category so I will be getting a check in the mail.. someday. Yay! Then I picked up Duvien and we had lunch at Foxy's Restaurant. Stuffed myself silly with complimentary bread, clam chowder, half of a shrimp wrap, fries, a few bites of lemon cake, and most of an apple cobbler. Wow that was a lot of food. Then, after watching a couple TV eps, I picked up Crystal and we went to Carmela's for dessert first. SO GOOD. I got two scoops and loved it. I should have just stopped eating then. But no, then we went to dinner at Las Maria's. And guess who got a huge combo burrito? I did. I ate half and spent the rest of the night regretting it because I was too full. Not comfortable. We went to Monrovia's Farmers Market and I bought two graphic tees from this one vendor, but he didn't have what I wanted on hand so I have to go back next week to pick them up. Which is great because there's a gourmet french fries vendor that I want to try out. That's right, even when I'm stuffed past the point of comfort, I still notice food vendors. Sigh. But to make this night perfect, I found out my federal tax refund was deposited today! Direct deposits are AWESOME.

I had interviews on Monday and Tuesday. I think they went well. I'm not really stressing out too much because 1. I like unemployment and 2. I trust that God will place me where he wants me to be. So I'll try my best to get interviews and do well on them, but the rest is in his hands. Which is great because then I don't have to worry about it! See? Unemployment is good for me. Except there's still something bothering my subconscious since I have really stressful dreams (which I can never remember when I'm awake). Tempted to go to a therapist and get hypnotised or something because this lack of restful sleep is really getting to me...

Anyway, on Monday I received my very first wedding gift. Yes, you read that correctly. I received a wedding gift. A close family friend came over on Monday for dinner (we went to Young Dong Tofu House) and she brought me my wedding gift. I used to tell my family years ago that I was going to get married when I was 24. So a few years back, my mum's friend bought a wedding gift for me because she didn't want to be unprepared for my actual wedding. After holding on to it for a few years, she decided that it was high time to finally just give it to me. Which is great and all, except I don't even have a boyfriend. So... that was a little awkward.

{Marilyn Burger}
On Tuesday Jinwon and I tried out Hamburger Hamlet in Pasadena. I am impressed! Nice ambience and decor and great food. I must come back here sometime for their happy hour. Afterwards we went to Regency and watched I Am Number Four. While the action and the special effects aren't bad, there are SO many plot holes. SO MANY. It boggles the mind. What's the point of basing a movie on a book if you're going to take out almost all of the information? Save your money and time and don't watch this movie. Thank goodness it was just $2 for us. Tuesday was also memorable because Amazon launched their Cloud Storage and Cloud Player! AWESOME :D

I baked on Wednesday. I love baking. And I love white chocolate. These cookies are pretty damn good.

{Salted Oatmeal White Chocolate Cookies}
I cooked yesterday. I made my chicken and rice dish that I hadn't made in a while. It's nice to cook every once in a while. I also finished reading a manga series. That felt good too. And I watched All-Star Superman. Not bad. I am very excited for Superman/Batman: Apocalypse. Must move to top of my Netflix queue.

Tomorrow will be running errands with my mum. And on Sunday I'm going to go down to Irvine to visit Tasha! Fun times will be had :)

Getting Back to Normal

2011-03-27T14:18:00.000-07:00

Last night was the March AHS Potluck. It was a slightly smaller gathering than usual, but still fun as always. And I made not one, but two dishes!

{Our entrées}
Our entrées consisted of my sour cream noodle bake and Elaine's pork fried rice and edamame. Helen bought split pea and ham soup from Fresh & Easy, but we all know I'm not a fan of anything involving peas. Although I did eat them in Elaine's fried rice. With ketchup! :P For dessert I made guava lemon cream cheese muffins. Helen brought strawberries, which complimented them nicely. Elaine also made pistachio pudding, but I obviously did not partake of it. Ew.

My ankle has definitely been getting better, but it's still pretty uncomfortable. For the most part it's okay if I'm just sitting, but today it gave me some grief even then. I'm so tired to limping around. It makes my other leg hurt -_- But I bought Bengay cream last Sunday and have been applying it twice a day, so hopefully my ankle will be back to normal soon.

Last Saturday I went to McD's with my mum to use one of our coupons. I got their crispy chicken club sandwich and I must say, it is not bad! I might get it again sometime. Impressive, McDonald's, impressive! I spent the rest of the day catching up on videos and articles that I was unable to watch/read while I was at "work." And then I napped because I was so tired. In addition to watching six TV episodes, I also napped on Sunday as well. I love taking naps.

Monday was exciting because I had a meeting with a HR recruiter and did some testing. She seemed pretty impressed with the results and promised to submit me to several different job openings. I am so grateful for her (she's already lined up two interviews for me this upcoming week)! Ran errands afterwards, which included paying my auto insurance. OUCH. In case it's not obvious to you, DON'T GET INTO AN ACCIDENT. You will pay for it for the next three years. Literally. And it's not fun. I watched He's Just Not That Into You that night. Guess what? I'm just not that into that movie. End of story.

And I baked on Tuesday! It was so exciting because 1. I was baking, 2. I was baking a cake and I've never baked a cake before, and 3. I was using my new springform pan! I made THIS. Crystal picked up a couple slices that night and I gave a couple slices to Duvien the next day. We went to Elite Restaurant for dimsum with Ha. It was my first time going to a dimsum place where they didn't have the carts going around. I liked it! It was much easier to just look through their menu (which thankfully had pictures) and check off the list which items we wanted. It was a bit pricier but I enjoyed it.

Apart from baking on three different occasions this past week (loved it!), this week was a lot of organisation. Going through my files. Organising my room. And oh my goodness, I finally filed my taxes! I went to Income Tax Express on Friday and it is finally done and over. I paid more than I expected to pay this year, but that's my fault since I procrastinated so much. But they were really nice and helpful and I'm getting more monies back than last year so I can't complain. And for the first time ever it was e-filed so I'm getting monies direct deposited! I am so excited for that. Is that really lame of me?

Yesterday I had lunch at McDonald's to use up our last coupon. Good times. And today, in addition to blogging, I also updated my food blog's look! So go over and check it out~ :)

{Group picture!}

Say No to Boredom

2011-03-18T20:28:00.000-07:00

{Grilled Chicken Sandwich}

I'm free!

Today was the last day of my temp assignment. The company and people were great, but it just wasn't for me. It could be because this past week was apparently really slow for them, but I was bored out of my mind and couldn't handle it. But the past week or so hasn't been bad at all.

So last Friday was my first day there. I got the tour and introduction, bought a pesto chicken caprese sandwich for lunch, and drove back home after work and went to bed early.

Saturday was my mum's birthday! Happy birthday mama! We unfortunately had to start the morning off at Wells Fargo because I got more letters regarding my credit and home loan application. What is going on?! The lady I spoke with promised to look into it and contact me later. It turns out it had to do with this home buyer class that my mum attended. Oh mother.. *shakes head* Afterwards we went to my mum's friend's house to check out her renovations. And then I took my mum to Maria's Italian Kitchen for dinner. It was an interesting experience. Was a bit disappointed with them. But my mum enjoyed her food and that's what is important.

Did you remember to turn your clocks forward on Sunday? A lot of people missed first service because they forgot. But not me! :P

Monday was day #2 of my temp assignment. After work I went to Target, bought milk for dinner, and headed over to Christina's. We watched House with Ron as we all ate cereal for dinner. And on Tuesday we watched Glee and Raising Hope together. And we shared the bed at night. Thanks wifey for sharing your bed with me ;)

On Wednesday I went to Target to buy supplies/beverages/snacks for the office. It was great getting out of the office. And they cut me my check just a couple hours later! Awesome. I also finished reading the manhwa Archlord. So temping was good for something. I rushed home afterwards to have dinner with Gardy and Keri. We got In-N-Out and hung out at my house. And had Keri's coffee creme brulee for dessert. Yum! Thanks Keri!

Yesterday was St. Patty's Day! Did you know that the original colour for St. Patrick is blue? So I celebrated wearing my blue sweater. After work I picked up Christina and Melody and we went to Overland Café for dinner. I got their grilled portobello mushroom sandwich, except I had the mushroom replaced with chicken. On paper, it sounded great. In reality, not so much. The sweet potato fries that I ordered were also a bit disappointing. Soggy and not very flavourful. But it was still a good meal nonetheless. And Christina treated me to a glass of White Zinfandel. Which actually isn't white. But pretty! Thanks again wifey :) After dinner we walked to Scoops. I got one scoop brown-brown bread and one scoop green white chocolate. Delicious! Very good night :)

Today was great since it was my last day of temping and now I'm back at home! Today was not great because I twisted my ankle this morning and have been in pain for most of the day. Strangely enough, my ankle was fine for about three hours. It didn't start hurting until around noon. So I iced it while I was at work and now I have a Bengay patch on it. Hopefully this gets better soon...

Self-Improvement

2011-03-10T21:38:00.000-08:00

{Coffee Jelly}

I used my Le Arbre Groupon today with Jinwon. I loved their Coffee Jelly when I went there the first time, but now.. not so much. Everything there has gone downhill in terms of taste and quality. I blame it on the fact that Elaine is no longer there. She was the magical touch ;) So long Le Arbre. It was nice knowing you.

Afterwards I went over to play with Annabel! I brought Cilla these tiny hair pins and she looked so adorable with them :) I also brought (Korean) Micky Mouse puzzles for Annabel and we spent the rest of the day doing them together. And for dinner Judy made us Vietnamese spring rolls. Healthy and delicious~ So today was a very good day.

The past week has seen a lot happen. On Saturday, I went to Wells Fargo because I received a letter with my credit score and a note "for the home loan applicant." I never applied for a home loan. WTF? It said it was prepared for Wells Fargo, so I asked them about it. They said they don't know anything about it and there's nothing in my account about a home loan. They opened up a fraud investigation for me and so I left. I had breakfast at McDonald's with my mum before we headed to Koreatown Plaza for their semiannual sale.

Kiehl's hadn't been working out for me so I went to Amore to see if they had any options for me. Turns out that there are several lines within the Laniege line so I bought the skin care regimen that followed the one that I had been previously using. Hopefully this one works out. The new bakery also opened up on the first floor and they sell the popsicles that my aunt used to buy me in Korea! I was feeling nolstagic (and thirsty) so I bought one for me and my mum. Yum! We also won a couple things later: my mum won a $5 gift certificate to the bookstore and I won a package of microwaveable rice. Later we went to the mall and I found this cute chick salt & pepper set at Hallmark. So my mum bought it :)

Sunday was Young Nak Presbyterian Church's 38th anniversary so we got free food! Afterwards I went to the Borders in Pasadena since I knew they would be closing. Wow, it was MAYHEM there. The whole store was 25-50% off and everything was a mess. Shelves were empty, most books were not in the right section, a lot of the books were damaged since no one was taking care of them, etc. I ended up buying a cookbook and a CD and left after a couple of hours. I wanted to buy a couple more books, but it turned out that even after the applied discount they were still cheaper on Amazon. Listening to the CD made me nolstagic so I watched Lady and the Tramp that night. Love my childhood Disney movies~

Monday was just gym and errands. On Tuesday I met up with Duvien, Rene and Ha at our mall's food court. I got Hot Dog on a Stick, of course. It was great hanging out with them and catching up. Good times. And at night I watched The International. Meh.

Yesterday was crazy. I had an interview scheduled in the morning, but that's also when hotel reservations were opening through SDCC! So my mum drove me to my interview while I tried to reserve a hotel over the phone. FAIL. I ended up submitting a form through my BB, but later I found out I submitted a blank form. Oops. Thank goodness Gardy was able to successfully do it on her end. After the interview, my mum treated me to lunch at Chosun Galbee. Meh. We then went to the dentist for my cleaning. Success! In and out in under 20 minutes and no pain or complaints. WHEWT. Now I only need to go every 6 months. So happy! I also finally got my front teeth whitened. Dude, laser whitening is so expensive. But my mum couldn't stand looking at my stained teeth any more. It's definitely gotten a lot better so yay :) Apparently it's going to continue to whiten for a week so hopefully my teeth will look even better next week. And now I'm paranoid about staining them so I'm brushing my teeth after every meal.

Tomorrow I start a temp assignment through Ultimate Staffing. We shall see how that goes...

Searching for God Knows What

2011-03-04T17:27:00.000-08:00

I finished reading Searching for God Knows What by Donald Miller today.

BRILLIANT BOOK. I love Donald Miller's mind. The way he sees things, interprets things, analyses things.. it's amazing. I know I haven't shared any passages from this book before, but it's hard to really lift any of them out of the context of the rest of the book. For example, below is one passage that I wanted to share while I was reading:

"And then I started thinking about my own life, how I need people to love me and like me and how, if they don't, I feel miserable and sad and how I am tempted to believe what they are saying about me is true. It is as though the voice God used to have has been taken up by less credible voices. And when I think about this I know that Genesis 3 is true; I know without a doubt I am a person who is wired so that something outside myself tells me who I am. I am not trying to say I have some kind of terrible dysfunction or anything, it's just that other people's opinions, after the Fall, have become very important, and if everybody says that Saab cars are cool, then I want a Saab car, and if people say that a certain kind of music is cool, then I am more likely to listen to that kind of music. And all this made me realize that the alien was right, and that Adam and Eve had it a great deal better before they ate the fruit." (pg. 95)

Isn't it a great passage? It is so true. But why does he mention an alien? Well, you'll find out when you read the book. He shows us a couple different, yet similar, ways in which to interpret humanity/life/the world and it's really eye-opening. It's all been right here in front of us the entire time, but I never really thought about things this way. Near the end of the book he presents Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet in a way that was mind-blowing to me. Maybe not to everyone else, but to me it was whoa. The whole book is like that. He takes everyday life and reveals the truth behind it, if that makes any sense.

Anyway, I highly recommend it.

I'm tempted to continue on my Donald Miller reading journey, but I think it's time to also give some other books I have a chance. So the next time I go to the gym, I will be bringing The Ragamuffin Gospel by Brennan Manning with me.

Quite a Productive Week

2011-03-04T15:36:00.000-08:00

I have done a lot this week. I saved money on car insurance (but not with Geico), cooked meals, read a book, used Amazon's VOD for the first time, visited Tasha, watched a movie, went to the gym, and watched a decent amount of TV.

Since it's been almost a year since I bought my new car (can you believe it?!), it's time to renew my auto insurance. I received the documents in the mail and wow, it was still pretty high! I mean, it's less than half what I paid last year, but c'mon. Two accidents are now off my record so.. I had issues with the amount I was being charged. So I headed over to the local AAA office on Monday with my mum and met with an insurance agent. Who was SO unhelpful. And told us to go to the claims department. They were a bit frustrating at first but finally became helpful. But we had to go back down to the insurance department. Thankfully the agent we met with this time was so much nicer than the first one. It turns out that AAA put down my accident last year as 2 points when it should have been 1. My 100% trust in AAA has been slightly shattered. I still love them, but.. now I will always question prices. So they fixed it so it's 1 point, which saved me some buckaroos. Then I told them that I was laid off my major commute job, so my annual mileage will be a lot lower. The guy said I would need to bring in my car so they can verify mileage so I said I would and we parted ways.

So on Tuesday I brought my car in. He took a picture of my odometer and I thought that would be it. But no, apparently they needed a service receipt that showed previous mileage. So we had to call Longo Toyota and have them fax over my latest receipt. Which brought me down to one bracket lower in mileage. So combined with yesterday, I saved almost $300. Which is a lot!!! Thank goodness I questioned the amount. This goes to show you should always verify that you are being charged the correct amount. I am also going to bring my car back in 30 days so that my annual mileage will be even lower and I can save more monies, yay.

On Monday I also attempted to make pasta rosa. I *love* pasta rosa whenever I get it in restaurants and I figured I could just recreate it at home. But.. it wasn't great. I think part of the reason why is because my mum forced me to use old spaghetti noodles she found in a cupboard somewhere. I don't like spaghetti noodles so.. yeah. Next time I will use penne and hopefully that works better. I did try to liven it up with chicken and sundried tomatoes. It's okay. I eat it for lunch every day with pickles. Not bad. Monday was also when I received The Twits in the mail (through swap.com). The Twits is my favourite Roald Dahl book so I immediately started and finished it in one reading (it's short). Good times. I also realised that my $5 credit for Amazon's Video-on-Demand would expire that night so I used it to buy three Psych episodes. Thanks Tasha for your help in which episodes I should buy :)

{Dinner at Tasha's}
On Tuesday, after saving monies at AAA, I headed down to Irvine to visit Tasha. Her mum had visited her the previous week and made food for me! She made aloo tamatar and muli paratha and we ate that for dinner along with cabbage (bongobi)/apple side that Tasha made. Delicious! And we watched Prince of Persia. Jake was only shirtless in one scene so that was disappointing. But because we went in with such low expectations, we both thought the movie was not bad. Low expectations are great. The next day I ate cinnamon muffins that Tasha's mum made for breakfast. Delicious! A great cook and and awesome baker. I wish to be like Tasha's mum. We had lunch at Corner Bakery and then I came back home.

I went to the gym three times this week. I am getting frustrated with my progress because I'm consistently going to the gym 2-3x/week and I try to burn around 400 calories per visit, but nothing seems to be happening. I have been stuck at the same weight this entire time! I am grateful that I'm not gaining weight, but seeing as I'm eating less at home and going to the gym, I feel like I should be losing weight. But I am stuck. It's very frustrating.

The 83rd Academy Awards

2011-02-27T21:09:00.000-08:00

{The King's Speech}

Congrats to The King's Speech! I am so proud of it. And now I really need to watch it. I realised tonight that I've only seen one film out of the 10 nominated for Best Picture: Inception. So of course I was rooting for that film to win all the awards. It won four, so despite not getting the nom for Best Director, I am very happy for it. And I am SO happy that Christian Bale is now ACADEMY AWARD WINNER Christian Bale. About damn time.

Earlier today I tried to recreate the magic of Wednesday, but in Burbank. I looked through my Yelp bookmarks and saw that a couple of them were on Magnolia Street, so I Yelped what was nearby and figured out a total of six places that I wanted to go. And they looked like they were relatively close to each other on the map so I figured we could park at one end at one place I wanted to go to and walk around to the other ones. Wow. I am an idiot. And my feet are proof of this.

Also, no offense to that area of Burbank, but wow. My mum and I walked by so many empty buildings it was really depressing. So we started off our journey at Full O'Life Grocery. We had lunch there and it was a pretty good start to our journey. It's a really cute little health food market with great products. We then walked down to MindfulNest. WOW. MindfulNest was farther away than I thought it was. It was 0.5 miles, which doesn't sound like a lot, but it was. It was okay, but the prices were way too high. Rocks & Runes was right next door, disappointing. Stopped at an antique store on the way to Unwind, which was also disappointing. Skein in Pasadena is so much better (but why is there a second Yelp page?). But stopping at Porto's for a couple of potato balls made us feel a little better. And I got a dozen cheese rolls. I ate my last corn muffin for breakfast this morning so this upcoming week will be cheese rolls for breakfast! We had parked on the street and our two hours were nearing so when we went to Yummy Cupcakes I just got their Red Carpet Velvet to go. We got the car 5 minutes before our 2 hours was up and went to Handy Market, which was really disappointing. Their meat does not look any better than your average market. In their defense, we weren't there for their Saturday BBQ and we didn't partake in any deli sandwiches. Also doesn't help that we were both in a not-so-great mood after having walked almost 2 miles (I don't know what my mum's excuse was but mine was that I was in boots and developing blisters on my feet. Ouch.)

So overall that was a bust. So much for trying to discover the small shops of Burbank. Any ideas for what our next adventure will be?

I haven't done much since I last blogged. Went to the gym a couple times and desperately tried to catch up on TV. I watched 21 eps of TV since then but am still 16 eps behind. Sigh.

{Red Carpet Velvet cupcake}

The Beauty of Downtown LA

2011-02-23T19:19:00.000-08:00

{Bunker Hill}

I am an Angelino born and raised. And yet there are so many places I have not explored within Los Angeles. Thankfully, my mum and I discovered a few places today. We went with the objective to go to four places (which I had Googled and Yelped yesteday): Pershing Square, Angels Flight, Grand Central Market, and the Bradbury Building.

We left the house around 10AM and headed over to the Sierra Madre Villa Metro Gold Line Station. Parked, purchased one way tickets (just $1.50 each) and got on the Gold Line to Union Station. This is the second time in my life that I've ridden the metro. It's pretty nice. We then bought tickets and hopped onto the Purple Line to Pershing Square.

{Pershing Square}

The station is just across the street from Pershing Square so going there via metro is very convenient. You can read my Yelp review for my thoughts on it but I was happy that there was a farmer's market when we decided to go. Killing two birds with one stone! Unfortunately there really wasn't anything to buy at the farmer's market. So we headed north to Angels Flight, which Jinwon had told me about when she participated in the LA version of "Amazing Race." Angels Flight Railway is pretty cool. Where else can you ride a trolley car in LA for 25 cents? My mum and I took it up to Bunker Hill. I don't understand why it's called Bunker Hill. Is it a tribute to the original Bunker Hill in Boston? Anyway, it's a really nice place. Much nicer than Pershing Square. I love the fountain here! We walked around the area--there's MOCA, some nice hotels, a lot of businesses and restaurants--until we decided to head back down to Grand Central Market.

{Angels Flight Railway}

I bought a burrito from Grand Central Market to eat for lunch and then we headed back up to Bunker Hill since my mum didn't want to eat there. This time we took the stairs, since I wasn't going to be going to the gym today. That was a workout! A bit of trivia: these are the stairs that Benjamin McKenzie's character on Southland was running up in the season premiere. You also pass by Angels Knoll on the way up to Bunker Hill, which is a small grassy area with a few benches. Apparently it's a big deal to people who watched (500) Days of Summer but since I'm not one of them, I just walked on by. Don't worry, I will watch it someday. My mum got lasagna from Johnnie's New York Pizzeria (which I ended up splitting with her after eating half of my burrito) and we sat by the fountain and had lunch.

Afterwards we headed to the Bradbury Building. The interior of that building is SO NICE. It blew me away. I want to live there. It's so beautiful. I took a picture with Charlie Chaplin there :)

Since it was only 1:30PM and there was still half an hour before the farmer's market would end, we headed back there. Bought a small bag of kettle corn and a couple veggies and that was it. Then we took the Purple Line back to Union Station and the Gold Line all the way back to Pasadena. We had been out for five hours but it was exhausting. So I crashed when I got home and took a nap. That was nice.

I'm really glad my mum and I did a "tour" of downtown LA today. I can't believe I've lived my whole life here and never knew about these places. I definitely want to go back to Bunker Hill in a couple of months when it's full-bloom spring, I imagine it will be even prettier then.

{With my friend Charlie C}

Tonight I laughed.

2011-02-22T23:32:00.000-08:00

{Sugar Sammy}

I smiled. I frowned. And I laughed some more. I went to The Improv tonight with Jinwon for their show Full Throttle Comedy. From the site page, you would think that Sugar Sammy was the headliner. His video is at the top and below that, under Also Performing, is Michael Kosta and Ari Shaffir. But what did I find out? Sugar Sammy was not the headliner. It was Michael Kosta. Michael is funny, don't get me wrong, but Sugar is hilarious. And he's the reason we went to the show (Jinwon's been a fan of Sugar's for a while now). So you can understand that we were somewhat disappointed when it turned out that Sugar was not our main act. I really enjoyed his performance. He is one funny man. And I love the fact that he is multi-lingual. Michael Kosta and Ari Shaffir were quite funny as well. They all made me laugh. The other comedians mostly made me smile. And I frowned because my food order was wrong and I was not happy. But thanks to Sugar it was a good night.

Today I also went to the gym. I did not go yesterday. It was President's Day! And I ran errands with my mum. And read a book from my childhood. And watched TV. All good reasons to not go to the gym, yes? On Sunday my mum hosted a dinner party at our house for her church group so the past few days were all about cleaning the house. On Wednesday we went through the bookshelves in our family room and organised them. Now my DVDs are all nicely displayed. And we found old picture albums. Of my mum and her family back in the day. It was so interesting looking through them and seeing my grandmother (who I have no memory of) and my aunts and cousins when they were younger! What a blast from the past.

That night I watched Valentine's Day. It's great having low expectations of movies because they never disappoint. So I liked it more than I thought I would. And on Thursday I watched Death Race 2. I was shocked to find out that the Asian guy in the movie was 50 years old. Asians really do age well. I also made more corn muffins to use up my buttermilk before it expires.

Friday was another interview. That, after the interview, I decided I did not want. That seems to be the story of my life now. But seriously, why would I give up the good life to go to the job that I know I will despise? Not that I would despise this job necessarily, I think I would just have a stroke at some point. But after the interview I got to hang out with Annabel! I went over to drop off some corn muffins and had the good fortune of being in time to see her gymnastics class! It was fun watching her :) Then I went home and made more corn muffins. Stupid large container of buttermilk. This will be my last batch for a while.

On Saturday I treated my mum to breakfast at Carl's Jr. with a coupon I had. I thought their breakfast burrito might be their one saving grace. But no, it was not. Carl's Jr, I will never eat at any of your establishments ever again. You only have yourself to blame. Sunday was church, prepping for the dinner party meeting, and watching TV. I am proud to say I have watched 31 episodes of TV since I last blogged. And yet I'm still behind. What is going on?!

Happy Valentine's Day

2011-02-15T13:15:00.000-08:00

{Eel Avocado Roll}

Look what my mum made for my lunch today! This was waiting for me when I came back from the gym. Going to the gym (and living at home) has its perks *^^*

So after I made buttermilk biscuits on Saturday, I watched Peter and the Wolf. I am a very visual person so when I heard the song when I was younger, I thought it was really nice but I had a hard time visualising what happened. I figured watching this well-reviewed movie would help. It did. Except the stop motion characters are kind of ugly. But watching the special features (yes, this DVD actually has special features!) made me really respect the people who work in stop motion. They do SO much for just a couple of seconds of screen time. Imagine how much work they had to do for the half hour film--it boggles the mind! I also finished Series 2 of Law & Order: UK which is all Netflix has to offer. Thankfully I have downloaded Series 3 on my computer so I can continue my Jamie Bamber love.

On Sunday my mum and I ran errands in ktown after church and then we went to our mall. She bought me a top that I wanted for Valentine's Day. She is so sweet. On actual Valentine's Day, I went to the gym in the morning and then we ran more errands. Which included coming back to the mall, where I got Hot Dog on a Stick. We also bought some stuff from Borders before it's too late. I don't know if they're going to close down the one in our mall but I know they're closing a couple hundred down now that they're declaring bankruptcy. Sadness.

Happy Birthday Annabel!

2011-02-12T18:37:00.000-08:00

{Cutting the cake}

Tomorrow my precious Annabel will be turning five! How time has passed--I still remember when she was a little baby! We celebrated her birthday today and the theme was My Little Pony. I am proud to take full credit for this theme. I had bought her a My Little Pony activity/colouring book from Michael's as a present before and I made sure to tell Annabel that I loved My Little Pony when she was younger. And like magic, she requested it for her birthday party! KEKEKE. Unfortunately for her parents party supply stores apparently don't carry My Little Pony so they had to order everything online. Not my fault though! It's easy enough to find presents--Target has an entire section for My Little Pony :D

{My Little Pony!}

The party was a blast. It's always slightly awkward to be the one person at the party without a child, but it wasn't a big deal. It was fun to see all the kids running around and all the parents were really nice. The snacks were great and the cake was delicious. And Annabel was just SO adorable. I love her so much.

{Annabel and Priscilla going down the slide}

I also made buttermilk biscuits today. Yum.

Progress

2011-02-11T16:50:00.000-08:00

Like the new Blogger template? It's way past autumn now so I decided I should change it up yesterday. I really like Gisele Jaquenod's designs. They are so cute! I think this template is very clean and refreshing. I hope you feel the same way.

{Love & Other Drugs}

Monday was a day of discovery. I met up with Williana at the Regency Academy Cinemas. How could I have not known about this place sooner? Movies are $2! Well, during the day. At night they're $3. But that's still so cheap! Dude, it's cheaper than what I pay per DVD on Netflix. We watched Love & Other Drugs. I liked it more than I thought I would. Mainly because I'm a fan of Anne Hathaway and her playing someone with Parkinson's tugged at my heartstrings. And because Jake Gyllenhaal has an amazing body! I don't care much for his face but his body is niiice. Williana then introduced me to the Mission Street district in South Pasadena. Most of the crafts shops were closed but we were still able to look at a few places. I got frozen yogurt from Menchie's and a loaf of cheddar garlic bread from Great Harvest Bread Co. Good times. Later that night I also watched Get Him to the Greek. I would be okay with that movie if it wasn't for all the throw-up scenes. Ugh. But something that really irked me is that now the DVD menu actually lists all the special features. But when you click on them, you get a screen telling you that you need to purchase the DVD and that the rental disc doesn't have this particular option. Which is even more annoying than when they just didn't have the special features option on the DVD to begin with. Damn studios.

Tuesday was just gym and TV, as usual, but on Wednesday I had an interview! With F.S. I'm too lazy to come up with clever nicknames to fool Big Brother so I'm going for initials. The only good thing to come from the trip was that I am now able to put a face to the name/voice of my temp agency lady. Thursday was another interview somewhere else. I may be too picky, but after I go on these interviews, I don't want the job. Is that horrible? I made literary progress on Thursday: I finished reading Blue Like Jazz! So at the gym I started on another Donald Miller book, Searching for God Knows What. Nothing much to say about today except I went to the gym again and I painted my nails! Something I haven't done in a long time. I bought nail polish from Michael's for $1 when I went there with my mum this past weekend so I finally put it on. It's very obviously cheap. I doubt it's going to last more than a couple of days but I'm happy right now with my bright pink nails.

Apologies, Love, and Prayers

2011-02-09T18:09:00.000-08:00

Lately I've been bringing Blue Like Jazz with me to the gym. I can't really read it when I'm on the elliptical--although I did try once, and it worked until I accidentally dropped the book on the floor--but I read it afterwards when I'm on either the recumbent bike or the treadmill. I was inspired after seeing some older people reading while using the bike and decided it was a brilliant way for me to fit in my "daily reading". I bookmarked a couple passages to blog about yesterday because they really spoke to me. I seriously love what Donald Miller says in this book! (as if you haven't been able to tell from all my other blog posts :P)

In one chapter, Donald discusses the metaphors with which we think about relationships. Value, invest, bankrupt, priceless. These are all economic metaphors. This made him realise that we think of love as a commodity; we use it like money. But that's not how it works. God did not create love for us to trade like currency. Instead, as Donald writes, it should be "a free gift metaphor or a magnet metaphor. That is, instead of withholding love to change somebody, I poured it on, lavishly. I hoped that love would work like a magnet, pulling people from the mire and toward healing. I knew this was the way God loved me. God has never withheld love to teach me a lesson." (pg. 220)

I DO THAT. And by that I mean that I judge. I know, I know, we're not supposed to judge, and I try not to, but I can't help it. I do. I don't judge so much by social status symbols (I hope!) but more along the lines of grammar and etiquette and snobby things like that. I use love like money. I don't lavishly pour it on everyone. If you use your when you are supposed to use you're, you can be certain I will withhold my love from you. I am actually pretty stingy with my love now that I think about it. Why?

I AM SO SORRY. I am sorry for all the times I have not treated you with love. I am sorry for all the times I judged you and withheld my love as a result. I am sorry.

The chapter ended with this passage:
"When I am talking to somebody there are always two conversations going on. The first is on the surface; it is about politics or music or whatever it is our mouths are saying. The other is beneath the surface, on the level of the heart, and my heart is either communicating that I like the person I am talking to or I don't. God wants both conversations to be true. That is, we are supposed to speak truth in love. If both conversations are not true, God is not involved in the exchange, we are on our own, and on our own, we will lead people astray. The Bible says that if you talk to somebody with your mouth, and your heart does not love them, that you are like a person standing there smashing two cymbals together. You are only annoying everybody around you. I think that is very beautiful and true.

Now ... when I go to meet somebody, I pray that God will help me feel His love for them. I ask God to make it so both conversations, the one from the mouth and the one from the heart, are true." (pg 221)

This kind of reminded me of something I learned at church. There are four different types of communication: the actual words that we are expressing, the tonal voice we use to express those words, our facial expressions and our body language. We may say things that sound like they're full of love, but our facial expressions and our body language will reveal our true feelings (at least according to Lie to Me on TV). I want to be someone who is sincere in all ways. I want my surface conversation to match my heart conversation. And I pray that God will make it so.

"And so I have come to understand that strength, inner strength, comes from receiving love as much as it comes from giving it. I think apart from the idea that I am a sinner and God forgives me, this is the greatest lesson I have ever learned. When you get it, it changes you. My friend Julie from Seattle told me that the main prayer she prays for her husband is that he will be able to receive love. And this is the prayer I pray for all my friends because it is the key to happiness. God's love will never change us if we don't accept it." (pg 232)

I pray that I will be able to receive love. I pray that you will be able to receive love. Amen.

Baking Milestones

2011-02-06T18:15:00.000-08:00

{Guava Swirled Cheesecake}

Guess who finally baked using a water bath? ME! Up until now, I have refused to make cheesecakes (apart from the cookies and cream cheesecakes that didn't require a water bath) and other such goodies because I am terrified of water baths. Terrified. Unfortunately, my stupidity got the better of me. Thinking that since the cookies and cream cheesecakes didn't require one that the raspberry marble cheesecakes wouldn't require it either, I went ahead with my plans to make guava swirled cheesecakes. Things were going well until I hit the part in the instructions where it called for a water bath. OHEMGEE. But have no fear, Esther pulled it off. And all with my mum out of the house. Be proud! She came back and nearly had a heart attack when I told her what I did. So I'm forbidden from doing a water bath on my own because she's convinced next time I'm going to end up burning something. Most likely my feet. Since I was carrying a casserole dish full of boiling water from the kitchen counter to the toaster oven.. while barefoot in the kitchen. Yes I am not smart. But I pulled it off. Although I do have to admit I burned my hand a little. Just an uber mild burn. So it's still a success! But I am somewhat traumatised by the whole thing and will not be attempting another water bath anytime soon.

So that was Monday. Monday was also gym and watching Red. Which had no special features. I understand why studios do that, but I absolutely hate it whenever I get a movie via Netflix and there are no special features. It pisses me off. But I felt better after watching three more episodes of Star in my Heart.

On Tuesday, I was pleasantly surprised by receiving a Kung Fu Panda poster in the mail. I was so confused why anyone would send this to me until I realised it was my thank you gift from Paramount for participating in every one of the stupid online surveys they asked me to. Cool. I also finally went to Co-Op to interview and test with them. And since it was like 10 minutes away from the YF office I stopped by there. Which is why I had made the guava swirled cheesecakes the day before, to give them out. It was interesting to see the changes that had happened since I left. Everyone said I looked much more relaxed :P

On Wednesday I met up with Jinwon for lunch at Jamba Juice. Did you know Jamba Juice offers lunch items? Apart from smoothies? I got their chicken wrap and it was surprisingly good. I used up all of my Jamba Juice gift cards on that and a smoothie and ended up paying 55 cents out of pocket. Success! I then went to the gym.

Thursday was not a good day for my mum. Her car stalled in the morning and she called her daughter to pick her up, except my phone was off. So she had to get AAA to come. Oops. But I accompanied her to Longo Toyota so they could fix her car. And drove her back to work. And then I went over to play with Annabel for what was supposed to be just a couple of hours but turned into four. So I was late to pick up my mum after work and take her back to the dealership which.. was not good. But all's well that ends well, right?

Friday I went to the gym again! Three times this week. Yay me! To reward myself I got In-N-Out for lunch. I had been craving them for a long time so it was so good.

Saturday was more baking! YI was holding a YF BBQ that afternoon so I made corn muffins. For the first time! This week is all about milestones in baking. I made two dozen, which took a long time since I baked six at a time. I went to YI's BBQ and had fun. He always makes so much food. It was great seeing former colleagues and hanging out with them. I stayed for a couple of hours and then headed home. Where I watched TV, as usual.

Today I gave some corn muffins to the praise team and one to Williana. I had only brought 18 to the BBQ and I had a couple left over from that as well. After running errands after church my mum bought me lunch at Young King. We tried the spicy fried shrimp this time with our jjajangmyun and it was DELICIOUS. I love that place so much. ♥

Winter X Games XV

2011-01-31T16:02:00.000-08:00

One thing that hasn't changed with my unemployment is that I still miss out on the X Games. I think it's because I've pretty much stopped watching TV on TV and instead download/Hulu everything. So instead of watching the X Games when it airs live, or even catching reruns at night, I just wait for it to be over and content myself with reading the wrap-up article and watching the accompanying video.

So here it is.

2011 Winter X Games: WX15 in Review - ESPN
Put a double cork in it: Winter X 15 draws to a close, and what a week it was

Watching these videos always amazes me. The stunts that these athletes pull off are just incredible. But the video also makes me sad because I remember how I used to be before--actively passionate about the X Games and actively following them. Even for the summer one I bothered to look up more articles and information but this time.. just the wrap-up. I don't have the energy to care for any more. Sigh.

Walking Down Memory Lane

2011-01-30T20:32:00.000-08:00

{MBC's 1997 drama Star In My Heart}

For Christmas, Gardy got me Star In My Heart. I absolutely LOVE this drama. I watched it in junior high and both Grace Yang and I were head over heels for Ahn Jae Wook. You wouldn't know it from that picture, but he was so muhsheesuh in the drama. This is where I fell in love with him. So I begged and Gardy got it for me. And I finally started watching it last night. Three episodes. LOVE.

I'm going to be watching three more tonight. So excited! I did another walk down memory lane in that I went through my old accounts and tried to get rid of them. I am so ashamed that I signed up for so many various accounts online.. and with my main email address! I am such a retard sometimes. It's quite embarrassing. And what is with so many websites not having a delete/cancel account option? I had to email several of them and I'm just giving up on others for now. It gave me such a headache.

In other news, I am watching a lot of TV. I finished Season 1 of Lie to Me yesterday. I need to add Season 2 to my Netflix queue. But I've also been productive. I made more quesitos de guayaba yesterday. And, like I said I would, I went to the gym on Friday. And photo edited. And Yelped. See? Unemployment = productive Esther! Now I'm off to relive my junior high crush on Ahn Jae Wook~

"Evangalism"

2011-01-29T12:21:00.000-08:00

I read a bit more of Blue Like Jazz yesterday and wanted to share a couple more passages with you. Donald Miller is an amazing writer. By sharing his stories, he makes me really think about things that I've never really thought about, or maybe never wanted to think about. I'm not even sure what to think about some of the things that I read, but they just call to me and I want to write them out here because I'm not sure how to respond to them.

"[Rick] didn't really see evangalism, or whatever you want to call it, as a target on a wall in which the goal is to get people to agree with us about the meaning of life. He saw evangalism as reaching a felt need. I thought this was beautiful and frightening. I thought it was beautiful because I had this same need; I mean, I really knew I needed Jesus like I need water or food, and yet it was frightening because Christianity is so stupid to so much of our culture, and I absolutely hate bothering people about this stuff.

So much of me believes strongly in letting everybody live their own lives, and when I share my faith, I feel like a network marketing guy trying to build my down line." (pg. 114)

As a Christian, I've always been told that it's my duty to evangalise and spread God's word to the world, but I've never been sure how to do that. I feel about evangalism kind of the way I feel about sales. I know I probably have a weird skewed vision of sales (because when I worked in sales it was really nothing like this), but I imagine a salesperson to be someone who's trying to shove a product down your throat. You may not need this product or even be interested in it, but they need to sell it so they're going to be pushy and aggressive and downright annoying. And that's kind of how I feel about evangalism. Which isn't fair because God isn't an unnecessary product, but in this PC world where we respect everyone's views and beliefs, I have just never been comfortable bringing up my beliefs and shoving them in people's faces. I know that's not what evangalism is actually about, but that is just how it feels to me.

Some of it probably has to do with my need to please people, and "Christianity" is not something that pleases a lot of people. Most of my non-Christian friends (if not all of them) have had unpleasant experiences with Christianity at one point or another and it's not something that I want to bring up and defend. The passage that I want to leave you with addresses this a little and I think it's a beautiful passage just to think about. It's definitely something that has been on my mind ever since I've read it...

"In a recent radio interview I was sternly asked by the host, who did not consider himself a Christian, to defend Christianity. I told him that I couldn't do it, and moreover, that I didn't want to defend the term. He asked me if I was a Christian, and I told him yes. 'Then why don't you want to defend Christianity?' he asked, confused. I told him I no longer knew what the term meant. Of the hundreds of thousands of people listening to his show that day, some of them had terrible experiences with Christianity; they may have been yelled at by a teacher in a Christian school, abused by a minister, or browbeaten by a Christian parent. To them, the term Christianity meant something that no Christian I know would defend. By fortifying the term, I am only making them more and more angry. I won't do it. Stop ten people on the street and ask them what they think of when they hear the word Christianity, and they will give you ten different answers. How can I defend a term that means ten different things to ten different people? I told the radio show host that I would rather talk about Jesus and how I came to believe that Jesus exists and that he likes me. The host looked back at me with tears in his eyes. When we were done, he asked me if we could go get lunch together. He told me how much he didn't like Christianity but how he had always wanted to believe Jesus was the Son of God." (pg. 115)

Commando

2011-01-27T16:12:00.000-08:00

{Commando}

I finally watched Commando last night. Apart from the first two Terminator movies, The Expendables (which really doesn't count), and Batman & Robin (which I'm sure he'd rather I forget), I have not watched any of Arnold's movies. Tasha, being a huge action movie buff, thought this was ridiculous. I had added Commando to my Netflix queue a while back, but after watching this YouTube video I knew I had to move it up. And it finally came in the mail earlier this week! And since I'm unemployed, I decided to go down to Tasha's so we could enjoy the movie together.

So I drove down yesterday afternoon. There is no longer any need to wait for the weekend when you have no job! I had a very good phone conversation with Ariana on my way there. It had been too long since we last had a good chat. We are going to both try to lose 20+ pounds by this summer. I must be motivated! Let's hope it happens. I really need to lose the weight. Of course, that didn't stop me from pigging out. Tasha and I went to Sagaar for dinner and then we picked up carrot cake from Trader Joe's for dessert. Quite delicious! We enjoyed it while watching Commando. Wow. That movie is HILARIOUS. Such great lines.

Today we went to IHOP for brunch. I got their international crepe passport combo with strawberry banana crepes. Not bad. I did some photo editing and Yelping after coming back home and now I'm off to watch TV~

I also went to the gym today! I have to admit that that was the first time this week. I was busy running errands with my mum on Monday so I didn't go. I did use the "lateral thigh trainer" (LTT) at home, but it was literally for a couple of minutes. The exciting thing about Monday was that I received my unemployment documents and claim form! Yay for funded unemployment. I used the LTT again on Wednesday before I left, but that was for five minutes max. But have no fear--I will go to the gym tomorrow so I can say that I'm going at least twice a week. I need to keep my deal with Ariana and lose weight!

The Human Experience

2011-01-24T17:16:00.000-08:00

I started reading Blue Like Jazz by Donald Miller last week. One of the (many) perks of being unemployed is that I finally have time to read. Actual books. It's pretty amazing. I should have read it in college, when everyone else read it, but I just never made the time. I read a couple more chapters today, and a couple passages really spoke to me. I hope you don't mind that I share them with you...

"I think I was feeling bitter about the human experience. I never asked to be human. Nobody came to the womb and explained the situation to me, asking for my permission to go into the world and live and breathe and eat and feel joy and pain. I started thinking about how odd it was to be human, how we are stuck inside this skin, forced to be attracted to the opposite sex, forced to eat food and use the rest room and then stuck to the earth by gravity. I think maybe I was going crazy or something. ... Life no longer seemed like an experience of freedom." (pgs 98-99)

To be honest, this is something that I struggle with a lot. It was a relief to see it in writing, to know that someone else struggled with the same thing.

"I imagined him looking down on this earth, half angry because His beloved mankind had cheated on Him, had committed adultery, and yet hopelessly in love with her, drunk with love for her." (pg 100)

Brilliant imagery. Makes me want to say "Poor God," that he can't help but be in love with people like us.

"I know a little of why there is blood in my body, pumping life into my limbs and thought into my brain. I am wanted by God. He is wanting to preserve me, to guide me through the darkness of the shadow of death, up into the highlands of His presence and afterlife. I understand that I am temporary, in this shell of a thing on this dirt of an earth. I am being tempted by Satan, but I am preserved to tell those who do not know about our Savior and our Redeemer. This is why Paul had no questions. This is why he could be beaten one day, imprisoned the next, and released only to be beaten again and never ask God why. He understood the earth was fallen. He understood the rules of Rome could not save mankind, that mankind could not save itself; rather, it must be rescued, and he knew that he was not in the promised land, but still in the desert, and like Joshua and Caleb he was shouting, 'Follow me and trust God!'
...
I lay there under the stars and thought of what a great responsibility it is to be human. I am a human because God made me. I experience suffering and temptation because mankind chose to follow Satan. God is reaching out to me to rescue me. I am learning to trust Him, learning to live by His precepts that I might be preserved." (pgs 100-101)

AMEN. Something to definitely keep in mind.

Quite a Productive Weekend

2011-01-23T23:13:00.000-08:00

{We are the Imaginary Housewives of LA County}

I had a hard time deciding whether to title this weekend productive or food-filled. Yesterday was spent pigging out pretty much the entire day, but overall I would like to say my weekend was productive.

Yesterday morning started off at McDonald's with my mum for breakfast. It is our tradition to have breakfast at McD's on Saturday mornings after I have finished one notebook of my Bible writing. Since I finished this past Thurday, McD's was the place to go for Saturday breakfast! The pigging out then continued at lunch. I met up with Brian at Kyochon so we could use my Groupon ($7 for $15 worth of food). You can read about it on my Yelp review (and I also added a couple of pictures). It was really nice hanging out with him and catching up, and afterwards we even had a pleasantly unexpected random run-in with Suzan! She was at the pho place next door with her bf so we chatted with them while they had lunch. It was great hanging out :D

Last night was also our very first AHS Potluck of 2011! I decided to make quesitos de guayaba again (you can read about it at Foodie Love) so I spent the rest of the day dedicated to that. And the rest of the night pigging out to delicious food!

{My table is set and ready for the potluck}

{Melody's homemade guacamole}

{Christina Fong's Gemelli with Sundried Tomatoes and Spicy Sausage}

{Christina Chiang's Kalua Pig and Macaroni Salad}

{Our desserts! You can see my pastries in the background and Tiffany's Cream Cheese and White Chocolate Chip Fudge Brownie with Strawberries in the foreground}

The food all looks awesome, right? It all tasted awesome too! So much deliciousness~

There wasn't much pigging out today, but there was productiveness! I finally went to Kinokuniya today and bought refills for my black Signo pens! I've been meaning to do this for a while since I used up all the refills my cousin bought for me in Korea but I never got around to it until today. The refills were $1.60 each so not too bad! I bought a box of 10. Yay!

I also attended a meeting at church today regarding missions and that was really nice. Going to try to get more plugged into the church and be more supportive of missions. Apart from that, my weekend has been full of TV watching. Finally finished Life Unexpected (very nice series finale), started Fairly Legal and Spartacus: Gods of the Arena, and watched episodes of Bones, Southland, and The Mentalist. Good times.

I Am Unemployed

2011-01-21T23:46:00.000-08:00

And loving it!

It is so nice to wake up when it's light outside. It is so nice to not have to sit in 3 hours of traffic every day. It is so nice to not work. It is so nice to be able to do things that I actually want to do.

So it didn't really hit me on Monday since it was a holiday anyway. Even if my temp assignment hadn't ended on Friday, I still wouldn't have worked on Monday. So I went to the mall, ate Hot Dog on a Stick, and actually made some purchases! For the first time, I shopped at Express. I bought a couple things from there on sale. And then I decided to try out Kiehl's starter set. My skin has not been responding to the Laniege line that it loved for the past several years and it also doesn't seem to care for the weird snail-gel-whatever stuff my mum got so we're going to see if this will work. My poor skin.

But on Tuesday, guess who got up at 9AM? ME! That was so awesome. I spent the entire day pretty much watching TV. And Salt. And reading a bit of manga, but that was frustrating since my internet at home is pretty slow. I don't think I'll be reading manga at home. It's too frustrating.

On Wednesday the productiveness began! I actually started editing my pictures (I have six years' worth so this is going to take a LONG time) and--wait for it--I went to the gym! I also started reading Blue Like Jazz. And I watched SEVEN episodes of TV. I am getting caught up! Thursday was more of the same.

And today I continued my gym streak! Three days! Be proud *^^* I also went to church tonight with Jinwon. YNCC is starting a new thing this year: every third Friday of the month they will be holding a praise revival night. I love praise so I convinced Jinwon to go with me. It was really good. I'm so glad we went. And afterwards we went to Starbucks to hang out. I used my gift card to get their Caramel Apple Spice. See? I'm using my gift cards! I need to be frugal now that I have no income :P

All in all, I must say this has been a great week.

Changes

2011-01-16T21:20:00.000-08:00

{Jamie Bamber from Law & Order: UK}

A LOT has happened in this past week. Changes.. and new beginnings.

Monday: Worked, watched an episode and a half of Runaway: Plan B, and started the first series of Law & Order: UK. Jamie Bamber is so hot.

Tuesday: YF LAID OFF ALMOST HALF OF THE COMPANY. That's right. Almost half. Guess what? That comes out to be around 500 people. Isn't that crazy?! And a lot of them were my friends, or at least good acquaintances. I was really shocked about a few of them. Some people did get put on "transition" in that they'll be working for 6 more weeks. It was quite an.. interesting day.

Wednesday: Just any other day. Had a company meeting re: the layoffs. Just a bunch of bull.
Thursday: Went to an interview, yay!

Friday: MY LAST DAY AT WORK. Yep, you read that right. I also got "laid off" (except I'm not laid off since I'm a temp). Found out in the morning from HR, finished up my work, packed up my stuff, and spent a couple of hours going around the building saying goodbye. I have worked in that building for two years and eight months. It boggles the mind. I'm sad to say goodbye to the friends and colleagues that I've worked with for almost three years, but it is time to close this chapter of my life. I went home and escaped life by watching The A-Team. Bradley Cooper is hot (but Jamie Bamber is hotter).

Saturday: I met up with my second service host team ladies! All three who have ditched me and are no longer with second service host team. We went to School Food and were fobby together :) I continued my fobbiness by watching a Korean film, M, that night.

{Second Service Host Team Ladies}

Sunday: After church, I went to Costco with my mum and we shared a hot dog and a slice of cheese pizza. It has been a long time since I've eaten at Costco (other than the samples I always try when I go). I then met up with Grace, Jinwon, and Stacy at Dave & Buster's in Westfield Santa Anita. Since I had already eaten I just ordered their dipping fries. They were eh. It was fun playing there though! We embraced our inner children. My inner child spent $17 but didn't get many tickets in return so I will have to go back :P I also started watching Lie to Me.

I don't think it's really hit me yet that I'm jobless. Well, temp-assignment-less. It's funny--I told my mum on Friday morning that I was so happy I didn't have to work on Monday, and guess what? Now I don't have to work, ever! Well, at least for the time being. It will be nice--I never took a single day off the entire time I worked there so this will finally be my vacation :)

GREEDY

2011-01-10T12:39:00.000-08:00

(Look at the date! 1/10/11. 1+10=11! Yes I'm nerdy like that.)

{Greedy poster}
This past weekend has been amazing. I wasn't sure how amazing it was going to be, but it was DAMN AMAZING.

I ran errands on Saturday morning. Dropped off my boots at the shoe repair store--alas, they will not be ready for pick-up until Thursday. How sad! After a short nap, a quick shower, and some last minute packing, I headed down to Irvine to meet up with Tasha. She let me recover from the long drive (which thankfully only took around an hour) before dragging me on an errand. But I was made happy after that because we went to Crepes de Paris and shared their Normandie crepe (read my Yelp review). YUM! We went upstairs to the sticker picture place but their offerings were pretty disappointing and the one machine we wanted was broken so.. forgetaboutit. I wanted to go to 85 Degrees and finally try their Sea Salt coffee but WHOA that line was long. So we just left. We spent the rest of the day watching old Psych episodes (which I had never watched), eating the Curry Chicken and Yam rustica from zpizza (yum), and then watching the beginning half of SNL with Jim Carrey! Very enjoyable Saturday afternoon/night.

Yesterday morning I drove back to LA with Tasha and we attended church together. Afterwards we met up with Christina at Urth Caffe in downtown. (And wow, a lot of YNCCers go there for lunch!) I ordered the Egg and Prosciutto Panini with tomato dipping sauce and it was pretty good. We shared the Matcha Tiramusu for dessert--that was amazing. So delicious. It was really fun hanging out, the three of us--we had not done that in a really long time. We parted ways with Christina and headed back to my house in Arcadia. Watched an old episode of The Pretender together and then I watched the last episode on my disk of Dirt while Tasha showered and got herself pretty for James. We headed over to Zelos for dinner and got their corn and potato pancetta. Hello deliciousness. Then we zipped off to El Centro Theatre for a performance of GREEDY.

OH.EM.GEE. That was such an awesome night! We got to the theatre around 7:15PM and they let the audience in at 7:30 (the performance started at 8). It was creepy because we passed by what looked like a statue on the way in, but it turned out to be one of the characters! Who has the amazing ability to just stand still and not move. At all. The play was definitely a lot different than what I had thought it would be--but definitely for the better. It was dark and shocking and twisting and captivating and just blew me away. Great performances from the entire cast--I thoroughly enjoyed the performance and would love to go see it again.

Afterwards we waited outside the theatre and managed to eventually get everyone's autograph! They were SO NICE. I cannot say that enough. SO NICE! I also got pictures with Kurt Fuller (who was very appreciative that I watch and enjoy Better With You), Brad Raider, Maggie Lawson, and a group picture with James Roday (taken by Maggie!). Maggie was such a sweetheart--she apologised to me twice for making us wait to talk with her! I also unexpectedly got a picture with Diego Klattenhoff and Patch Darragh! They were shocked that I knew who they were and had enjoyed Mercy. Very sweet, both of them. John Landis was even there too! But I was too intimated to ask him for anything.

{Group Picture: Sara, Natasha, James and myself}
All in all, it was an AMAZING NIGHT. I look at my autographed playbill and I am filled with overwhelming happiness. ♥

A New Year

2011-01-06T22:07:00.000-08:00

{Happy New Year!}

It's a new year: 2011! As is now our tradition, Gardy and I spent NYE together. But this time we were productive! We made Quesitos de Guayaba. And we watched Sweet Lies. It was a good NYE.

My New Year's Day, however, wasn't so great. It was mostly all wasted at my mum's friend's retirement home. Yeah, not fun. I ended up napping because I was so bored. The good news is that I finally finished reading Get Off Your Knees and Pray by Sheila Walsh. Once I got home I continued my Korean film watching and watched Fate. And then Bambi II. Which was surprisingly not bad.

On Sunday, I met up with Gardy and Keri at Starbucks so I could finally get their Caramel Brulee Latte again. Used one of my gift cards. I'm determined to finish off my gift cards this year! We then went to Souplantation for dinner, where I used up my Souplantation gift card. Success! (Although, to be honest, it was actually my mum's). But something did not sit right with my tummy because I suffered throughout the night and all throughout Monday as well. So work was not fun.

Apart from that, however, work was pretty good this week. I rediscovered manga :D But I could barely read any (I am so behind!) since people are constantly walking by my desk. But at least I read some, which is an improvement over none. And on Wednesday night I made carrot cake cupcakes. I've always felt bad about never being able to give CG any of my cupcakes since he's severely lactose intolerant and, let's face it, I never make anything without at least one dairy product. So I finally asked him what he wanted and he said carrot cake. So I made carrot cake cupcakes with vegan cream cheese frosting. And everyone liked them, yay!

Today I brought some of my stuff home from work since there is a layoff a-coming soon...

{Carrot Cake Cupcakes}

Psych! A Twin Peaks Gathering

2010-11-30T12:44:00.000-08:00

Last night I attended Psych! A Twin Peaks Gathering at the Paley Center. They showed us the upcoming episode of Psych, "Dual Spires", and afterwards was a discussion/Q&A with the cast of Psych and Twin Peaks moderated by Craig Tomashoff from TV Guide Magazine.

Cast of Twin Peaks in attendance (who also guested in "Dual Spires"):
Robyn Lively: Lana Budding Milford --> Michelle Barker
Catherine E. Coulson: The Log Lady --> Woman with Wood
Lenny von Dohlen: Harold Smith --> Sheriff Andrew Jackson
Sheryl Lee: Laura Palmer --> Dr. Donna Gooden
Ray Wise: Leland Palmer --> Father Peter Westley

There were two other Twin Peaks alumni who were in the episode, but they were unable to attend:
Sherilyn Fenn: Audrey Horne --> Maudette Hornsby
Dana Ashbrook: Bobby Briggs --> Robert Barker
He is apparently very sick with the flu and was unable to fly from New York.

Cast of Psych in attendance:
James Roday
Dulé Hill
Maggie Lawson
Timothy Omundson
Corbin Bernsen

Producers Chris Henze and Kelly Kulchak were also there along with Andy Berman. Co-writer of Dual Spires, Bill Callahan, was in the audience as well.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The evening started off with the screening of the episode, of course. And because this episode is James' love letter to THE love of his life, Twin Peaks, the episode is actually longer than any others! Psych's usual running time for their episodes is 42 minutes, but this episode is 49. And when it comes out on DVD, it will be the director's cut and clock in at 56 minutes! I can't wait to see all those additional scenes, which James had hyped up for us :)

It was so great watching the episode with this audience because I was able to pick up what bits and pieces of the episode were homages to Twin Peaks. Everyone applauded every time a Twin Peaks alumni first appeared on screen, and there was always unanimous laughter anytime something Twin Peaks-y happened. And even for someone like me, who ashamedly must admit had never even heard of this show before James revealed his obsession with it, it was such an enjoyable episode. Seriously.

Afterwards the moderator came up and introduced the cast as they came up and took their seats. He then led the discussion, asking questions about how this episode came about, what was it like working on Twin Peaks versus "Dual Spires", etc. Obviously most of the questions were Twin Peaks related and usually directed to the Twin Peaks alumni. Every now and then someone would poke fun at James for being so utterly obsessed and in love with the show, but it was clear that the Twin Peaks alumni were grateful that someone like him existed -- and pulled something like this off.. successfully. The TP alumni were full of praise for the Psych cast and crew (and made me extremely jealous of everyone that gets to work with them).

[group picture]
I was really lucky and was in the front of the line, so I was able to get a really good seat! Middle of the third row, yay! :)

The chemistry between the cast members was wonderful. They all got along so well and were laughing the entire time. But Ray Wise and Sheryl Lee pretty much stole the spotlight. Hearing the audience's reactions to the TP parts in the episode and witnessing the TP alumni interact with each other and discussing TP, it almost makes me want to watch the show. Almost. I have too many TV shows on my plate to add this one. But I have a very positive outlook on it despite my ignorance.

Sheryl shared the story about how she was cast. When TP happened, she had never acted in TV or film, just theatre for a couple of years. But David Lynch apparently saw her headshot somewhere and decided that she looked like a dead girl. Isn't that a lovely compliment? So they had Sheryl come in and meet with him, and she was so nervous that she had to sit on her hands so he wouldn't see them shaking. She answered a few questions and that was it. Done. She's the dead girl. They shot the pilot, a couple months passed, and then he called her asking her to move to LA. She didn't understand because, well, her character was dead. But he told her to not worry about it, he would figure it out, she just needed to come to LA. And the rest is history.

Catherine had quite a different story. She and David had worked together on a film years before TP and somehow he came up with an idea for a film revolving around a log. I no longer remember what the title was going to be, but it was long and funny. Something about the log.. of wisdom? I could be making that up. Moving on, it was going to be about her taking this log around with her and finding out information about the log. She would take it to the dentist, who would place the blue "bib" thing around the log, and use his instruments to investigate the rings and find out information about the log. Sounds interesting, no? But nothing happened. Then one day she gets a call from David, saying that he shot the pilot for Twin Peaks and he wants her to be in the TV show. And lo and behold, you get The Log Lady. Catherine actually owns The Log now. They gave it to her after they shot the last episode and she has kept it ever since, despite getting several requests to sell it.

Ray had a completely different story to tell. He shared the story about how he found out [SPOILER ALERT! Does it still count as a spoiler if the TV show was from 20 years ago?] that he was the killer. It was the night of the Emmys (which Ray was quick to point out TP did not win, although Corbin did with L.A. Law) and David called Ray and Sheryl into an office. An office with no furniture. But apparently it had brown carpet. David (and someone else, I don't remember who) was sitting on the floor, cross-legged. Ray and Sheryl joined him. Then David reached over, put his hand on Ray's knee, and said, "It's you. It has always been you." Ray was horrified. He had a young daughter, two years old, and he couldn't fathom being someone who had killed his daughter (on TV). But David convinced him that the reveal scene (which they were going to be shooting in a couple of days) was going to be great. So there you go. Ray's the killer.

Later, when fans got a chance to ask questions, a guy brought up Fire Walk with Me, which was a film prequel to the show that came out a year later. He asked Ray what it was like filming that film since it was much darker than TP and Ray admitted that that was really difficult for him as a father. So give the man props for doing such a great job with something that he really struggled with.

We also learned that the cast occassionally attends Twin Peaks festivals -- and that there are hardcore Japanese and European fans! Awesome. Catherine had just come back from one in Europe. So if you want to meet them, go check out those festivals. You are bound to see a TP alumni someday. And if you see them, send them cherry pie. Apparently that happens a lot to the TP alumni.. except for Sheryl.

There were not many Psych-only questions so there wasn't much to learn. Dule did say, however, that the show is not going to end with a Shawn-Gus wedding. Darn.

After the event was over, the cast stayed behind a while for photos and autographs.

[Picture with James]
Third picture with James! *^^* I missed Dulé however, he managed to elude the crowd and disappear. Such a Jackal.

[Picture with Tim]
He noticed my shirt! :)

[Picture with Ray]
Awesome.

And that's all folks! I do want to say, however, that watching this episode made me really want to eat that cinnamon pie. They make it seem so full of delicious flavour. Would anyone like to make one for me?

X Games 16

2010-08-02T00:00:00.000-07:00

Even when I *know* when the Summer X Games is happening and is aware of it both before and during, I still miss out on it. Why was I so busy this weekend?! Ridiculous.

So I must console myself with looking at (some of) the highlights and reading articles about what happened. Lovely. Someday.. someday.. someday I will watch it live.

Brown wins second Skate Big Air gold
Pastrana wins seventh X Freestyle gold
-- Travis is just awesome. Awesome.
Cam Sinclair FMX Best Trick Gold
-- This is just amazing to watch because Cam almost died when he was practicing this trick. He ended up in a coma for a full week and had to relearn how to walk. And yet here he is, pulling this trick off!
Bestwick earns first BMX Vert four-peat
PLG makes it three
Daniel Dhers BMX Park Gold Medal Run
Sheckler wins third X Games gold
Pedro Barros wins Skateboard Park gold
-- He is only 15 years old! The youngest competitor there...
Reynolds goes three for three
-- Sweet run. Check it out.
Chad Kagy wins BMX Big Air Final
Tanner takes two
-- This was a bit sad to watch because Brian ended up getting disqualified when he makes a wrong turn :(
Pastrana wins X16 Speed & Style
-- Have I mentioned how much I love Travis? This was awesome. Especially the bit at the end with Nate *^^* You should definitely check it out :D

And of course, the video that always makes me sad/jealous that I missed out, the wrap-out video of X Games 16:

An Evening with Psych

2010-04-22T23:26:00.000-07:00

{With James Roday.. or Shawn Spencer?}

WHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAT?!

I went to the Paley Center tonight to spend "An Evening with Psych." I came close to not being able to go, since tickets had sold out, but luckily for me one ticket-holder was unable to go and posted about it on the Psych forums. Tasha forwarded it to me and I contacted her and managed to buy her ticket. Yay!

Our host for the evening was the lovely Jimmi Simpson. He started off by letting Steve Franks have the podium. Steve introduced us to a gag reel and then we got to see "A Very Juliet Episode." I was really happy about this because, to be honest, I had not seen that episode before. So that was great for me :)

Then the cast and crew came out!

{The cast and crew, minus Jimmi Simpson (not pictured here)}
James Roday, "Shawn Spencer"
Dulé Hill, "Burton 'Gus' Guster"
Maggie Lawson, "Juliet O’Hara"
Timothy Omundson, "Carlton Lassiter"
Kirsten Nelson, "Karen Vick"
Steve Franks, Executive Producer/Writer
Chris Henze, Executive Producer
Kelly Kulchak, Executive Producer

Jimmi had a very laid-back approach to the Q&A and it was nice to see him interacting with the entire cast and crew. We learned more about the future for our beloved characters, how strongly Shawn feels for Gus, and how the actors played their characters. It was quite informative. Afterwards was a Q&A with the audience. And at the end? A mad rush of fans to the front to try to meet their celebrity crushes.

I was lucky enough to get pictures with almost everyone! Only Chris and Kelly escaped me. But don't worry, there will always be a next time! ;)

I'm ending with my picture with Kirsten Nelson because she is such a total sweetheart. But you can see my other pics HERE.

{I love Chief Vick}

New Chapter

2010-04-18T18:13:00.000-07:00

{Celebrating my birthday with Annabel}

Ignore the pudge and layers of fat you can see in the picture above. Focus instead of Annabel. Look at how cute she is. Look at how I managed to fobbinise her, even if only for a moment. Look at the birthday cake and cupcakes that Judy made. That's right. I am loved.

I love my birthday. I love it because it's the one time every year that I get an outpouring of love from everyone in my life. I feel special. And I get a lot of free food. And gifts. What's there not to love? The number doesn't really bother me. I don't feel like I've suddenly gotten older. I mean, c'mon, even my own mother says I'm 80 years old inside. It's a lost cause there.

Anyway, my 25th birthday was spent in style. I had to go to work, but I went to work wearing my Hello Kitty tiara headband. Damn straight. And my coworkers got me Panda Express for lunch! With my favourite orange chicken. It's so delicious when it's fresh :D After work I met up with my mum and we opened up a life insurance account for me. Should I be worried about this since she'd benefit from it if I died? o.O She then treated me to dinner at Jin (can't find it on Yelp, strange). It was disappointing. Don't go there (SW corner of 6th and Kenmore in ktown).

{Posing with the Panda Express}
On Tuesday, I met up with Joyce after work and she treated me to dinner at The Golden State. I got their burger with sweet potato wedges, delicious. And ended the meal with two scoops of their brown bread gelato. I am a fan! We walked around a bit afterwards and then hung out at her apartment. Good times. Thanks Joycie! And on Thursday I went out with the AP team to Souplantation for lunch and Maricela treated me! Thanks chica :)

{Cheers!}
Friday was when I had dinner with P.Dan and his family. Annabel was so sweet--she made me a bunch of stuff for my birthday! And, of course, Judy was so sweet in baking all the yummies! We were actually celebrating two birthdays: it had been Priscilla's 10 month "birthday" the day before.

Yesterday was quite the eventful day. JoeMac treated me to a day at Wizard World Anaheim Comic Con! And he got me a birthday present on top of that. And bought me a present at the con (he paid for half of Absolute Watchmen). It was pretty nice--we got to see quite a few celebrities while we were there and there were a lot of cool things for us to look at (great comic artwork, cool movie cars, etc). (You can see pictures HERE). We then walked over to Downtown Disney for lunch and ate at Ralph Brennan's Jazz Kitchen (I chose this place because I had just watched The Princess and the Frog). It was pretty good! He treated me to a shot of mixed vodka (sweet and yum), shared mixed appetizer, and their Shrimp BLT Po-Boy. Delicious. Then we went back to the convention for one last look and saw this:

{Batman Flies}
So it was a pretty awesome day (thank you so much Joe!). I then read the entire Absolute Watchmen when I got home. Although there were a lot of extras, so I finished those today. LOVE WATCHMEN.

All in all, I'd say this new chapter of my life is off to a great start.

The End of a Quarter Century

2010-04-11T18:46:00.000-07:00

{At LA Gun Club}

Tomorrow I will be turning 25. The end of a quarter century of the life of Esther Kim. Well, it's definitely ending on a happy note.

On Thursday, I went to Longo Toyota after work for their "new car owner" event. It was okay. My mum and I got free dinner. And they talked to us about good maintenance of our new Toyota vehicles. Not a bad night. On Friday my boss told me that I have approximately 2-4 weeks left before my assignment ends. It looks like I'm ending more than one chapter of my life soon! The company hosted a "Chats" in the afternoon and provided tacos and margaritas. Gotta love free food at work :) I came home and crashed, probably because I knew I had a busy weekend ahead!

On Saturday, I met Joy the Baker! That was a great morning. Afterwards my mum and I walked around Surfas--that place is awesome. The specialty food items are way too expensive for me, but I love that place anyway. My mum and I then ran errands in ktown and went to Curry Hyang for lunch since she read about them in the paper.

Today, Grace was so nice and brought me a tray of pastries for my birthday! It's my fault because I guilt tripped her about getting Jae a tray for her birthday ;P

{Birthday Cakes!}

After service Grace, Jae, Debra, and Willi treated me to lunch at T.O.T. Thanks ladies! Jinwon showed up after lunch was over so I made her treat me to LA Gun Club. I am nothing if not a queen of guilt trips, kekeke. We then went to Genki Living afterwards for crepes. I got a crepe with vanilla ice cream, strawberries, and bananas. And Jinwon treated again! She is so nice to me :) After that we came home and watched The Princess and the Frog together. Ummm, I love Disney and I am so glad they returned to handdrawn animation, but... this is not like our childhood movies. Voodoo is creepy. And the soundtrack was very disappointing. I want Alan Menken!!!

Nevertheless, I had a great weekend and am looking forward to a new chapter in my life!

Happy Easter

2010-04-07T19:49:00.000-07:00

{I made Peepshi}

Today we had our Easter potluck at work. I made Peepshi. Jeanine's brother made fish ceviche, which was a huge hit. Fluffball brought tostada chips for it along with tabasco sauce. Duvien bought bruschetta bread and dip from Bristol Farms while Tim bought potato salad. Bristol Farms actually provided a lot of the food: HS bought salad, RT bought chicken, and CG bought apple pie. Meanwhile, Jonas made pasta and PA made Filipino friend rice. MR made corn, rice, and beef; AS brought sparkling cider; and KC brought cookies. And Ha brought cute dessert plates and homemade vanilla and strawberry cupcakes!

{My dessert plate}

Last Sunday I went with Gardy to another baking class at Williams-Sonoma: Pies & Tarts. Then I was off to church, where I went in MY NEW CAR! It was nervewracking driving on the 110S. Hate that freeway now. Anyway, so I helped out with the rest of 2nd service and attended 3rd service. Afterwards I had lunch at Curry House with Jinwon, Grace, and Rim. Good times :) That night my mum had her monthly church meeting, but she forgot to bring the birthday cake that she had bought from J.J. Bakery! So I brought it to work with me on Monday *^^* Last week was great since we got Friday off for Good Friday. So on Thursday Fluffball ordered us pizza and wings from Pizza Hut for lunch and sent us home at 5PM. And on Easter Sunday, my mum and I went to Corner Place for lunch after church. Yum!

I also watched a lot of TV this week. But I am still so behind! I also watched Ghosts of Girlfriends Past (again, no special features, ugh) and New York, I Love You. And I watched the miniseries that launched Battlestar Galactica! That's right, I'm finally starting that series. It must have a devoted cult following for a reason, and it has Jamie Bamber and Michael Trucco! Well, it has Michael Trucco starting season 2. How can I resist?

My New Car

2010-03-27T18:35:00.000-07:00

{My new car *^^*}

I GOT A NEW CAR!!!

Exactly a month after I crashed my beloved, I am now the proud owner of a new 2010 Toyota Corolla S. Yes, I got the exact same car. Except instead of being an '01 it's now a '10. And it's purty! And it only has 15 miles on it :D It actually only had 7 when I left the dealership but now it's 15.

So earlier today I returned my car rental. I had done the extra insurance with them so I actually had to pay quite a bit out of pocket. But it's okay, better safe than sorry. Then afterwards my mum and I went to Corner Bakery and got their breakfast panini since we had a coupon. We got their Chicken Apple Sausage and I added avocado. Because it ain't breakfast without avocado.

This past week has been pretty busy. On Sunday, I went to another baking class at Williams-Sonoma: Cakes and Cupcakes. A little bit useful, but not as much as I'd hoped it would be. Along with several eps of TV, I watched The Chronicles of Riddick: Dark Fury that night. Eh. On Tuesday, Jeanine and I met up with RH, who treated us to lunch at Coupa Café. We shared the empanitas, which weren't bad. I ordered the pesto chicken crepe but swapped out the mushrooms for sundried tomatoes. But I still didn't like the crepe. Sadness. And then Jeanine and I got the tres leches to go since we loved that dessert when we got it for Restaurant Week last year. Alas, it was not so good this time. On Thursday we had an All-Hands Meeting at work, which meant kettle corn! And ice cream and cookies. And on Friday I got to take a bag of kettle corn home since we had so much left over. SO GOOD. CM also brought me guava candy from Columbia! Love that candy, it's so delicious~ I also watched Mission Impossible that night since I had never fully watched it.

As for my being sick, it's not getting better. I threw up on Wednesday and Thursday. Not fun.

The First Day of Spring

2010-03-20T20:56:00.000-07:00

{AHS Potluck aka Date with Tiffany}

Today is the official first day of spring! I hope you spent it well :)

I went to get acupuncture today. It was painful. I got it in my wrists, ankles, chest, and back.. and I bled. But apparently I will feel better after a good night's sleep. I don't even know what a good night's sleep is anymore. Then my mum and I went to Verizon to exchange my BB since the battery was dying way too quickly. And then we went and got propolis. Yuck. We'll see if this helps me.

Tonight was the AHS Potluck. It was actually more like a date with Tiff ;) She made corn souffle and an apple tarte, and I had my roasted banana cupcakes. That, unfortunately, doesn't really make a dinner. It is a good thing that earlier today I had bought frozen entrees from the market! According to Tiffany they are "cheong fun" and "har gow". So we had a nice date :)

Today may be the first day of spring, but yesterday was Pancake Day! Did you know that? Well, it didn't matter, because I didn't go to IHOP. I did, however, go to Souplantation for lunch with MR, RT, and Jeanine. Good times.

{My dessert plate}

Happy St. Patty's Day!

2010-03-18T20:06:00.000-07:00

{Roasted Banana Cupcake}

I threw up today because I coughed too hard. I hate being sick -_____-;;;
(not the intro you were expecting after that picture, ey?)

So last Wednesday I went to the 24 Hour Fitness in West Hollywood with Jonas after work. I decided that it would be smart to gym after work nearby so that way I'll be more motivated to go and I'll also avoid traffic. I thought I was so smart. So I took Jonas with me since I thought I could use my guest pass on him. Nope. They made him take a membership tour and he actually ended up signing up because he felt so pressured. Not cool, 24 Hour Fitness, not cool. Since I hadn't gone to the gym in a long time, I decided to take it easy. But even that was really hard on me! And I was really hot, so I didn't put on my jacket until after I had been outside for a minute. Big mistake. I came home, changed, and went to Souplantation for dinner with Gardy and Keri. They then came over afterwards and we chatted until past midnight. After they left, I realised what a mistake the night was. I had overexerted my body at the gym and then exposed it to a sudden change in temperature, and a much lower temperature at that, in its weakened state. And instead of resting at home and curling up with some warm soup or tea, I was out eating with friends and stayed up late chatting. So my body was pissed. I woke up at 3AM freezing in a fever. Thankfully the fever broke before morning, but it was a rough night. And I've been sick ever since.

By the weekend I had started coughing a lot. And by Monday it got so bad I could barely move. I was really sick and I was also exhausted because I couldn't sleep due to my constant coughing. So my mum decided to drag me to an acupuncturist/herbal medicine person in Garden Grove. I got acupuncture and they brewed medicine for me. It took a long time so I had to take the entire day off of work. My first day off of work ever and I couldn't even enjoy it. We did go to South Coast Plaza while we were waiting for the herbal medicine to be brewed and we got lunch at Corner Bakery. But when you're sick, food loses its flavour so it's not like I enjoyed it. After I got home I napped and watched TV. And the medicine does not seem to be helping because now I'm throwing up since my cough is so bad. Lovely.

But the past week hasn't been entirely miserable. I've watched a few movies: Gamer (do not watch this), The Musketeer, Law Abiding Citizen, and The Invention of Lying. Last Friday we had an event at work so everyone got pizza and beer. I worked an hour OT and then took my mum out to Young Dong Tofu House for dinner since it was her birthday. On Sunday I took a free baking class at Williams-Sonoma with Gardy. It was on cookies and it turned out to be much less interactive than I thought it would be. We basically just stood around listening and watching the instructor bake and explain what he was doing. But we went to McD's afterwards for lunch so that was nice. And yesterday, to celebrate St. Patty's Day, I held a potluck at work.

I made roasted banana cupcakes. Jeanine made bow-tie pasta with kalamata olives and sun-dried tomatoes. Jonas made chicken pesto paninis. Duvien bought pita chips and hummus and spinach dip from Bristol Farms. Tim bought Samoas ice cream from Ralphs. HS bought sweet potato salad, a veggie tray, and pretzel bread from bristol farm. MR made rice, beans, potato salad, and chilil. PA made egg roles and pancit (Filipino noodles). They were really good. RT made chicken teriyaki and rice. MY made "fantastic drink" out of sherbert and Sprite. HL made fruit salad. AS made salmon and dumplings (well, the dumplings were store-bought). And we also had Fluffball, CG, YK, and ES attend as well. So it was a very good potluck :)

{My first plate at our work potluck}

Now if I could just get better...

The Oscars

2010-03-07T20:41:00.000-08:00

DUDE. I need to watch The Hurt Locker. I can't believe it won so many awards tonight! Avatar lost Best Picture and Best Director to it! (Although it did amuse me that James Cameron lost to his ex-wife...) Which is ridiculous to me since I absolutely loved Avatar! I need to see why The Hurt Locker is so great...

Changes may be in my horizon. My boss called me into a meeting on Tuesday and basically called me out on not wanting to be there. Which I couldn't argue with. But he's a really good person--he's willing to help me go to wherever I want to go in YF. I told him that I'm more interested in moving to the lot, and he said that he actually has a good friend who works in HR over there and to email him my resume when I got home. Which I did. On Wednesday he talked to one of the ladies in HR at YF for me too. And on Thursday he said there might be a position I could apply to at the lot. I am grateful that he is so supportive of me.

On Friday Fluffy came over and treated Jeanine and me to lunch at Sushi Mac. Good times. He then took us to Yogurtland, but did not partake in its deliciousness. Today we had the iServe fair at church so I served at the booth during first service. After church my mum and I went to ktown. We went to Young King and got our usual: jjajjangmyun and sweet and sour pork. Delicious. Then we went to Koreatown Plaza where they were having their floor sale. We won a Lock&Lock container, which is not a bad prize to win. Went to a couple of car dealerships today to see what I want my next car to be. Sadly, I think I will be getting another Corolla. I was thinking about getting a Civic, but the salesman at the Honda dealership really irked me so I don't want to ever go back there. And then, of course, the Oscars. The one award show that is a must-see for me.

Before I leave you to go watch Gamer, here is another picture from the Community panel. Such a great night.

{With Donald Glover}

PaleyFest 2010: Community

2010-03-03T23:34:00.000-08:00

{With Joel McHale!}

TONIGHT WAS AWESOME.

Jinwon and I attended the Community panel for PaleyFest 2010 tonight. It was at the Saban Theatre in Beverly Hills. We got a pretty good seat: second row in orchestra rear, row G, and I made sure to get an aisle seat so I would be able to run to the stage after the panel was over. The panel was AWESOME. It was moderated by some guy at EW.com and we got to see tomorrow night's episode! SO GOOD. Nude Joel McHale. Need I say more? We also got to see an old clip of Chevy Chase, classic. Then the cast came out. Unfortunately, Alison Brie and Yvette Nicole Brown were working so they could not attend. And Danny Pudi was nowhere to be seen. Sadness! But the other cast members more than made up for their absenses. Chevy was all about physical comedy tonight. First he trips over the moderator's chair on his way to his (he had the end chair so he was the first one out). Then he falls backwards in his chair later in the panel. And he spent the entire panel making faces when others were talking. Good times. Ken Jeong sat next to him and they were so cute the entire time. Ken kept on mocking Chevy's age and bad hearing. Actually, everyone mocked Chevy. But it's okay, apparently Chevy mocks Dan Harmon all the time. Ken is also very easily amused and cracked up a lot during the panel. Dan Harmon and Donald Glover were like a couple on stage, constantly complimenting each other. Gillian was the most serious, she was very grateful for Community and said this was her first comedic opportunity since she always played drug addicted prostitutes. Poor dear. Overall, it was SO FUN to just hear the cast talk and interact with each other. They have such great chemistry together.

After the panel was over I immediately ran down to the stage and managed to get autographs from everyone in the cast. Believe me, this took a lot of begging and pleading on my part. But it was worth it. I also managed to score pictures with Joel, Donald, and Ken! SUCH A GREAT NIGHT. (You can see pictures HERE.)

{With everyone's autographs}

Out with a Bang

2010-03-01T19:46:00.000-08:00

So... February ended with a bang. And I mean that pretty literally. I crashed my car on Saturday. Yep. You read that right. Crashed. My car.

But let me back up. Saturday morning was all about spending monies. I had a dentist appointment in the morning and had to get two fillings. Sigh. $300 down the drain. Then I went to the Verizon on Olympic/Vermont and upgraded. To a smartphone! The Blackberry Curve. I was so happy--I could finally get email and use the internetz! I also got my mum a newer model of her phone. I came home, made California Roll, took that and a bottle of champagne and headed off to a potluck dinner with friends in dtown LA.

Except.. it had rained that morning. And I was on the left lane on the 110S. And it was a curve. A dangerous curve. And there was a pool of water on the left side. So guess who lost control, hydroplaned, spun in a circle and slammed into the right wall of the freeway? ME. That was so terrifying. But I have to say, God was really watching out for me. Because no one got hurt! There were cars around me but somehow I never hit any of them. And no one hit me, even afterwards! Chances were that a car coming around the curve wouldn't see me but somehow they all managed to avoid me. Which didn't stop them from honking angrily at me however since I was stuck at a diagonal and blocking two out of the three lanes. Thankfully one of the drivers pulled over and came to help me. He comforted me and took me to a gas station nearby so I wouldn't be in harm's way. He stayed with me while I called AAA, he stayed with me while I waited for the tow truck, and he even bought me a drink from McDonald's to calm my nerves. He was an angel and I am so grateful to him. It turns out that CHP actually towed my car before I could get there with the AAA guy, but the CHP officer was nice and took me to the impound lot where my car was. I chatted with the impound lot owners, who informed me that my car suffered serious suspension damage and should be considered totalled, and then my mum came and brought me home.

So it is safe to say that Saturday night went a lot differently than I thought it would. But I am so lucky. I walked away. Without a scratch. Although I am really sore in my neck and shoulders. But that's nothing compared to what could have been.

Yesterday my mum treated me to lunch at a Sino-Korean restaurant in Glendale and then we went to Hertz. Rented a Prius. We'll see how that goes. Bought Bengay patches last night since I'm still really sore. But I managed to escape my reality for a few hours by finally watching Avatar in theatres yesterday. It is such an amazing movie. I am in awe of James Cameron. So brilliant.

Anyway, that was how my February 2010 ended. With a bang. And a crash.

Free Food

2010-02-26T19:45:00.000-08:00

{Italiano}

I cried on the way home from work today. I know I'm being melodramatic but I am suffocating with misery. In my head I know I should be grateful for my job but somehow the message doesn't quite make it to my heart.

Anyway, moving on. This week was actually pretty good. Well, I made a financial error on Monday and ended up spending a whole lot more money shipping something to my uncle than I should have. I am a real world n00b. It's embarrassing.

But on Tuesday I got treated to lunch! Jonas treated Jeanine and me to lunch at Toast. I love that place. I got the Italiano with sweet potato fries. And then we got the banana pudding to go because I absolutely love their banana pudding with vanilla wafers. SO GOOD. I watched Duplicity that night and even low expectations could not save that movie. On Wednesday I treated myself to free cereal at work! Yay for free cereal. And today Jonas treated me to lunch at Bossa Nova. He is too kind. Thank you Jonas for always being so nice to me! I got their pink sauce gnocchi--yum!

Yesterday was awesome because Crystal K. came to visit! We had dinner at my house (California Roll) and then she treated me to Yogurtland on Duarte. We walked around the area and found Cue! I never knew we had a sticker picture place on Baldwin. So we took sticker pictures *^^*

{Sticker picture with Crystal}

Addicted to Crack

2010-02-21T20:08:00.000-08:00

{AHS Potluck: Valentine's Day Edition!}

Last night was our February AHS Potluck. A roaring success! To start us off, I provided guacamole chips and mango salsa. Our entrées were Candace's "cat ears" and Christina's pineapple chicken and cabbage. Christina actually did not attend the majority of the potluck. She dropped off her dishes and had dinner with her family, but then came back later for dessert. A true friend. For dessert, I made cookies and cream cheesecakes. Candace had also brought vanilla and chocolate macarons from Trader Joe's. And Tiffany made Momofuku's Crack Pie.

{Our entrées}

{Our desserts}

{My Cookies and Cream Cheesecake!}

So the Crack Pie. Wow. It is so good. But also you know the minute you bite into it that every bite is taking off years of your life because it is so unhealthy. But you just can't help it. I guess that's why it's called crack pie, because it's addicting and unhealthy like crack (but you know, probably not as bad as crack). Tiffany read an article in the LA Times about it and was inspired. Apparently it's Jay Leno's favourite pie and sells for $40 each! Isn't that ridiculous? But it is addicting...

This whole week has been about food. And TV. And, sadly enough, stomach pains. They plagued me all Monday and Tuesday. But that did not prevent me from going shopping at the mall with my mum on Monday. Bought some clothes and ate Hot Dog on a Stick. I actually ended up taking a nap on Monday because I felt so horrible (thank goodness we didn't have work!). On Tuesday I managed to survive work even though I still felt bad but on Thursday I got a lot of free food at work. Jonas was nice and bought me a breakfast burrito in the morning and then during the day we had our All-Hands Meeting. Where we got catered food: "Cajun" food and Ben & Jerry's cookie dough ice cream. Which I got seconds of.

Today was Grace's confirmation! Congratulations Grace! ♥

And in addition to all the TV I've watched this week, I watched Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs today. Not a bad movie.

Grace is 25!

2010-02-14T15:24:00.000-08:00

Not only is today Valentine's Day and Lunar New Year, but it is also Grace's birthday! We went to Frida today (at the Americana) after church for her birthday lunch with Williana, Stacy, Jae, Debra, and Grace's friend Orman. I got the Burrito Frida with al pastor (or did I get their Burrito de Carnitas?) and a side of guacamole--not bad. And Grace got a really nice complimentary dessert since it was her birthday!

{Happy Birthday Grace!}

It has been a crazy weekend. After work on Friday I rushed home so that my mum and I could go to Palm Springs. I ate McD's in the car to save on time and we went to the Desert Isle of Palm Springs Resort. It's very nice! I managed to watch the latter half of the Winter Olympics. Yesterday, we went to the Riverside County Fair and Date Festival, which was why we had gone to Palm Springs in the first place. I had only gone to the Date Festival once, when I was a child, so this was exciting. Until we got there. It was so disappointing. It was mostly a county fair and a tiny bit date festival, which was sad. I tried a date shake and did not like it. But we bought two boxes of dates, so that was nice for my mum. I borrowed a copy of Mary Poppins from the front desk--I had been itching to watch the movie after seeing the musical. It was awesome. I forgot how much I loved the movie! Good times. We came back to LA this morning, so it's been a busy weekend.

Last weekend was also busy. On Saturday, as I had blogged before, I watched Mary Poppins. On Sunday, my mum and I went to Glendale Galleria after church. We shared a burrito from La Salsa--it was very huge and filling! And then I actually went shopping--successfully! Bought a jacket from Banana Republic on sale, made a purchase at VS Pink, and bought a nice versatile bag from Target for only $20!

Monday was pretty crazy because I worked OT until 9PM. Which meant that I was coughing a lot on Tuesday. Luckily the rest of the week was pretty calm. Worked, watched TV, same old same old. Now it's time for me to go and watch some more TV!

I would also like to point out that yesterday was Annabel's fourth birthday. She is getting so big. Happy belated birthday love!

Mary Poppins

2010-02-06T23:38:00.000-08:00

{Mary Poppins}

I went to see Mary Poppins tonight! It's playing at the Ahmanson Theatre but tomorrow is the last night. I normally prefer to go on closing night, but the original plan had been to go with Tasha. Except I'm sick :( And Tasha's immune system is weak, so she decided to be practical and stay far away from me. So I went with Jinwon. I love Mary Poppins so I was really excited for the performance tonight. It was weird, however, because they totally made up some parts. And those parts were a bit o.O if you know what I mean. But the scene with the chimney sweeps tap dancing was AWESOME. The actor playing Bert (Gavin Lee) even walked up the side to the ceiling and then tap danced on the ceiling upside down! And it was cool to see Mary Poppin's last exit take her out over the audience. Apart from the scenes and songs that were not in the movie I grew up with, I enjoyed this performance.

I haven't been able to do much the past couple of days since I got sick. I started getting sick with a sore throat and cough on Wednesday and on Thursday I was completely sick. I had a bodyache, a runny nose, and a cough that would not go away. Yesterday was especially horrible. I finally couldn't handle it anymore and asked my (new!) boss if I could leave at 4PM. I still didn't get home until 6PM, but it was still better than trying to survive at the office. Thankfully, since I pretty much slept all day today, I wasn't too horrible at the performance.

Before I got sick however, I made sure to eat a lot! On Sunday I met up with Annie, Diana, Jessica, Jinwon and Williana at Chado for lunch. I got my usual: two sandwiches with salad and a scone with clotted cream. Delicious and filling! Hung out with Jinwon afterwards and later I watched Crank: High Voltage. On Monday RH came by the office and I helped him with finishing up papers and his expense report. And then on Tuesday I had my date with Christina! We went to RockSugar for dineLA and then I slept over. It also served as a chance for me to clear out the remainder of my stuff. But I think that's also when I got sick since I stupidly stayed in a short sleeve t-shirt for most of the night at her apartment. Tsk tsk me. But hopefully I will get better soon...

Winter X Games 2010

2010-02-01T12:43:00.000-08:00

As you all know, I am a huge fan of the X Games. But for some reason, I almost never watch the Winter X Games. I don't know why. But that is the case. And so, of course, I missed it again this year. But I don't know if it's because of the Winter Olympics coming up, but someone at PopWatch blogged about it! Well, about one event in particular, and I thought it was awesome so I wanted to share it as well.

Shaun White won SuperPipe Gold.

What is so exciting about that, you ask? It is, after all, his third straight one. Should we even be surprised? No.

But he did a Double McTwist 1260! After literally slamming his face into the lip of the pipe attempting it in practice (that seriously looked really painful). And he has the Olympics in two weeks! So I think it was awesome that he tried it again and pulled it off.

Here's the video:

Awesome, yes? Can't wait to watch the Winter Olympics!

Pigging Out

2010-01-30T13:40:00.000-08:00

My life is all about food. And eating. Isn't it grand?

{Quesadillos de Camarones}

Today I went to Acapulco with my mum since we had a coupon and hadn't gone there in a long time. Wow, their shrimp quesadilla is awesome! So unhealthy but so delicious. Of course, this comes to bite me in the arse pretty much because I went shopping with my mum afterwards and I had to go up a pant size. Blargh.

Yesterday also involved a bit of food. After work I met up with JoeMac at our usual plaza and we had dinner at the lounge upstairs. Tried out their rabbokgi and was very disappointed. I know that no one can ever compare to my cousin-in-law's, but dang, this fell way short. So we drowned our sorrows in lemon soju and Hite. We then took sticker pictures and karaoke'd. Could we get more Asian? ;) I really enjoyed karaoke last night because I got to sing Sechskies, H.O.T. and Ahn Jae Wook! Talk about a walk down memory lane...

Thursday was even more unhealthy food! After work I met up with Ariana, Emily and Miloni at Cafe 50's. That place has the most awesome Southern Fried Mac and Cheese. It is so sinfully delicious! We also got the Green Bean Fries. I didn't think I would like them since I don't like green beans but these had me singing a different tune! I really do love anything as long as it's fried :P On top of all this, I got their Orange Dreamsicle Shake and their Breakfast Burrito (without bacon and bell peppers but with avocado). The shake was awesome, of course, but the breakfast burrito was not. Our cafe at work may be ghetto, but they do make a great breakfast burrito. I unfortunately did not take any pictures this night--sorry!

But my week was not all about food. On Monday I went to Apple One in Pasadena to sign up with them. Interviewed, tested, etc. Unfortunately this branch doesn't deal with Disney. I need to sign up with the Glendale branch someday... I stayed last at work until 7PM since I had come in late. Apart from that, the rest of the week was business as usual. Worked and watched TV. Story of my life. Tomorrow will involve even more eating since I'm meeting up with the girls from church for lunch afterwards. Let the eating begin (again)!

Food and Friends

2010-01-24T17:26:00.000-08:00

{January AHS Potluck group photo}

Our first AHS potluck of the year was last night. Fluffy actually attended this one so that was nice. Although I think we disappointed him since we weren't as cool and sophisticated as he expected us to be. He brought Riesling, champagne, Stella Artois, cheese, crackers, cherry tomatoes and poppyseed dressing. I want to go to the parties that he goes to!

But our potlucks are awesome too. Crystal brought meat potato balls (not from Porto's though), Tiffany made banana pudding with vanilla wafers, and Candace made lemon mint cake with simple mint syrup and chocolate hazelnut meringues. I actually made an entree (with the help of my mum): chicken teriyaki drumsticks.

{Crystal's beef potato balls + my chicken teriyaki drumsticks}

{Our desserts: Tiffany's banana pudding with vanilla wafers, Candace's lemon mint cake (syrup is off to the side) and chocolate hazelnut meringues}

It was a great night. A little awkward for Fluffy, but it was still really nice to hang out with friends. Crystal even stayed afterwards to chat and we watched an episode of Law & Order: SVU together. Friends are awesome. Even today I bonded more with my second service host team ladies. Over food, of course. Grace was generous and bought us nachos from Carnitas. Yum!

This made for a really nice ending to a not-so-great week. It seemed like this week was going to be pretty great since it was only four days long, but what a four days it was! Tuesday wasn't bad--Jeanine came back from her Europe trip and RH was nice enough to let us leave the office a little early. But Wednesday, oh Wednesday. RH was laid off! My boss was laid off! It wasn't really shocking, but it was unexpected. So Thursday our department moved down a couple of floors and on Friday we met our new boss. He seems like a nice enough guy, but I can't really tell what he's like since he was in meetings all day. It will be interesting to see how things change now...

But Friday was nice in that Fluffy treated me, Jeanine, and Jonas to lunch at Sushi Mac! And we even went to Yogurtland afterwards. Thanks Fluffy!

TV is also a comfort to me. Started a couple new series this week: Human Target and Spartacus: Blood and Sand. Both look good. On Friday I also watched (among others) Parks and Recreation, which is actually not a show I follow, because Justin Thereaux guest starred in that episode. And now I'm off to watch more TV!

Do Not Be Anxious

2010-01-19T20:08:00.000-08:00

Lately I've been having yet another life crisis.. #50 probably? It's a culmination of many things, but I think the most obvious trigger is the fact that it's been two years since I've returned from New Zealand. TWO YEARS.

And what have I done? I haven't left Southern California in all that time. I've barely left Los Angeles County! To make it worse, it seems like everyone else is travelling. One of my coworkers went to Scotland for a couple of weeks. She visited Glasgow, Edinburgh, London, and Paris. A former coworker travelled throughout Asia last year for a few months, and is now travelling through South America. Elaine is in Amsterdam. Nancy will be going to Japan next year for a year. Paul's going back to South Korea for his third year. Lina just came back from a year in Australia, and will go to Africa next. I'm sure I know more people who are travelling. And yet I am stuck in LA.

I would probably feel better about having my damn wings clipped if I had something to enjoy at home. But I just have work, and that is worse than nothing. YP is a place of bitterness, anger, and misery for me, and it's wreaking havoc on my soul. I desperately want to work in the entertainment industry, but it seems like an impossible goal.

I had a couple breakdowns this past weekend about this, but I feel like God is really trying to help me through this time. I felt like the passages last week for the daily journal I'm doing with YNCC last week were aimed at me.

A couple passages were about the condition of the heart. Even if we didn't actually commit any sinful actions, thinking sinful thoughts was also a sin. I may not actually do anything bad, but you can be sure that my mind has gone to some very dark places. Whether it be triggered by road rage or some stupidity that I'm forced to endure at work, my mind thinks some very sinful thoughts, and I need to put a stop to that.
One of the reasons why I've been bitter about work is because I feel like everything that I'm doing is pointless. I work my arse off at work, and for what? I pay close attention to invoices and try my best to make sure our company isn't paying for something that isn't our responsibility or paying more than we actually should. And yet no matter how hard I work, nothing happens. I'm never going to get a raise, get promoted, or even get hired. So what's the point in my working so hard? But another couple of passages from last week addressed this. They talked about doing things in secret: praying, giving, etc. If we do these acts in public and receive praise/approval, then that praise, that admiration, is our reward. But if we do these things in secret, so that only God sees them, then he will reward us in heaven. So I should stop being so bitter about my lack of immediate reward for my hard work, but rest assured that God does see it and appreciate it so it is not all in vain.

And then came today's passage. I have been so anxious, so worried, so worked up about my present and my future. I'm in such a rut and I feel like I need to do something to get out. I want to get into the entertainment industry. But how? Should I quit my job and hope that my temp agency can find me a gig with the studio? Or should I join another temp agency? Or should I shut the door on my passion for the entertainment industry and instead follow my passion for travel? Should I move to San Francisco, since that's the closest city that I want to immerse myself in? Or..? So many thoughts and 'what if's' constantly fill my head.

But then I read this:

"Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life? And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? Therefore do not be anxious, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?' For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.

"Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.
-- Matthew 6:25-34

That is the truth. God will provide for me. He always does. I seriously need to stop worrying and just focus on Him, and everything else will fall into place. Being anxious does nothing for me. And today is more than enough for me--no need to be anxious about tomorrow as well. Well said, Jesus. You rock.

Ten Inch Hero

2010-01-18T20:44:00.000-08:00

{Ten Inch Hero}

Today was awesome. No work. Slept in. Watched a lot of TV (six episodes!).

And Gardy came over and brought me.. TEN INCH HERO!!!

I love love love this movie. I still remember how happy it made me when I watched it in theatres. I cried on the way home because I was so happy. And grateful to the cast and crew of this movie.

♥

Maria's Italian Kitchen

2010-01-17T23:20:00.000-08:00

Doesn't that look delicious? I had dinner with Jinwon today and we went to Maria's Italian Kitchen. We shared the BBQ Chicken Salad and the Chicken Rosa. Yum! And really filling. I love Maria's--the food is delicious and the portions are enormous! But we still went to Starbucks afterwards, just to chat some more, and I got their Caramel Brulee Latte.

This week has been quite eventful. Wednesday was pretty busy at work and I ended up working around 45 minutes OT. My printer finally arrived so that was exciting. Until I had issues installing it on my desktop. I've given up on that so we will only be printing from the laptops. But I am excited that I got it to be wireless! On Thursday I finally met up with Lois! We haven't hung out in a long time so that was really nice. We stopped by Coffee Bean first so I could get a free Sunrise Smoothie and then we headed to Zankou for dinner. I love that place! Friday I got to leave work an hour early (thank you RH!) and I had dinner at Souplantation with my mum. Yet another place that I love. Yesterday my car had some work done--oil change, new transmission oil, changed the windshield wipers and air filters--and then my mum and I ran errands. And we went to Rubio's for lunch where we sharred a burrito and enchiladas. And today, Joe bought the host team kimbab and ddukbokgi! So nice!

I have also watched a lot of TV. Since I last blogged, I have watched 24 episodes of various TV shows! I was happiest about watching Supernatural. Despite my endless love for Jensen Ackles, I can't watch that show. It creeps me out too much. But this episode had nothing creepy or scary--they did parodies of different TV shows! So I was able to DL it and watch it and be happy :D I also watched the Golden Globes tonight. I am so excited for MLK day tomorrow because it means no work!

Public Enemies

2010-01-10T16:22:00.000-08:00

{Public Enemies poster from IMDb}

Yes, it's been half a year since the film came out in theatres, but I just got around to watching it yesterday. I enjoyed it, of course. How could I not, when it has three actors that I love: Johnny Depp, Marion Cotillard, and Christian Bale! I love Netflix. How did I ever live without it?

2010 has been off to a pretty good start. On Monday, Jeanine and I went to Westfield Century City for lunch to meet up with Fluffy. Got treated to Pinkberry, which was nice. And it's always nice to get out of the office and spend time with people. And on Friday, Jonas bought me a burrito from Ralph's for lunch so that was really nice of him. And RH let me leave the office almost an hour early! Traffic sucked, of course, but I was so happy to have my Friday end a little bit earlier than usual. Yesterday I got to have lunch at McD's and go to Costco with my mum. I love going to Costco since they always have samples for me to eat! And today we had Panda Express when we went to Pavilions.

Apart from that this past week has been all about watching TV. Among others, I watched Modern Family yesterday (yay for Benjamin Bratt!) and the series premiere for White Collar (Matt Bomer is so hot). Good times.

Happy 2010!

2010-01-03T21:56:00.000-08:00

{Happy New Year!}

Gardy and I started a new tradition at the end of 2009: spending NYE together! We started off the evening together after dinner, went to Starbucks, and just hung out for the rest of the night chatting. It was really nice :)

Of course, since we were chatting until 5AM, I spent the rest of my New Year's sleeping and then watching TV. Yesterday I went to Red Lobster for lunch with my mum. That was the second time I've been to Red Lobster in my life. We got several different shrimp dishes and they were so delicious! But so explicitly unhealthy. I am not allowed to come back here for at least another year. Ran some errands, napped, and watched some more TV. I love the weekend.

{Katie on the swings}

Today I met up with Gardy, Keri and her daughter Katie! We grabbed lunch at Corner Bakery, where I got my usual: combo with the chicken pomodoro panini and tomato basil soup. So delicious. We then went to Eisenhower Park, which is literally down the street from my house, for a photo session with Katie. She is so cute!!!

Afterwards I helped my mum with some Kumon stuff, did my devotional, and watched an episode of IRIS. It is going to take me forever to finish this drama at the rate that I am going..

{Good times at the park}

Happy

2009-10-07T13:05:00.000-07:00

Heard this on the radio last night as I was driving home from work. Some of the lyrics really resonated with me.

Leona Lewis, "Happy"

Someone once told me that you have to choose
What you win or lose
You can't have everything
Don't you take chances
Might feel the pain
Don't you love in vain
Cause love won't set you free
I could stand by the side
And watch this life pass me by
So unhappy
But safe as could be

So what if it hurts me?
So what if I break down?
So what if this world just throws me off the edge
My feet run out of ground
I gotta find my place
I wanna hear my sound
Don't care about all the pain in front of me
Cause I'm just trying to be happy
Just wanna be happy

Holding on tightly
Just can't let it go
Just trying to play my role
Slowly disappear
All these days I feel like they're the same
Just different faces, different names
Get me outta here
I can't stand by the side
Watch this life pass me by, pass me by

So what if it hurts me?
So what if I break down?
So what if this world just throws me off the edge
My feet run out of ground
I gotta find my place
I wanna hear my sound
Don't care about all the pain in front of me
Cause I'm just trying to be happy, happy

So any turns that I can't see
I'll count a stranger on this road
But don't say victim
Don't say anything

So what if it hurts me?
So what if I break down?
So what if this world just throws me off the edge
My feet run out of ground
I gotta find my place
I wanna hear my sound
Don't care about all the pain in front of me
I just wanna be happy
Ohh, yeah, happy, ohh, happy
I just wanna be,
I just wanna be happy, happy

A Loss of Heart

2009-07-10T12:44:00.000-07:00

My friend just posted this on Facebook and I wanted to share it here:

Starting very early, life has taught all of us to ignore and distrust the deepest yearnings of our heart. Life, for the most part, teaches us to suppress our longing and live only in the external world where efficiency and performance are everything. We have learned from parents and peers, at school, at work, and even from out spiritual mentors that something else is wanted from us other than our heart, which is to say, that which is most deeply us. Very seldom are we ever invited to live out of our heart. If we are wanted, we are often wanted for what we can offer functionally. If rich, we are honored for our wealth; if beautiful, for our looks, if intelligent, for our brains. So we learn to offer only those parts of us that are approved, living out a carefully crafted performance to gain acceptance from those who represent life to us. We divorce ourselves from our heart and begin to live a double life.

On the outside, there is the external story of our lives. This is the life everyone sees, our life of work and play and church, of family and friends, paying bills, and growing older. Our external story is where we carve out the identity most others know. It is the place where we have learned to label each other in a way that implies we have reached our final destination. Bob is an accountant; Mary works for the govt; Ted is an attorney. The Smiths are the family with the well-kept lawn and lovely children; the Joneses are that family whose children are always in trouble. Here, busyness substitutes for meaning, efficiency substitutes for creativity, and functional relationships substitute for love. In the outer life we live from ought (I ought to do this) rather than from desire (I want to do this) and management substitutes for mystery. There are three steps to happy marriage, five ways to improve your portfolio, and seven habits for success.

There is a spiritual dimension to this external world in our desire to do good works, but communion with God is replaced by activity for God. There is little time in this outer world for deep questions. Given the right plan, everything in life can be managed... except your heart.

The inner life, the story of our heart, is the life of the deep places within us our passions and dreams, our fears and our deepest wounds. It is the unseen life, the mystery within--what Buechner calls our "shimmering self." It cannot be managed like a corporation. The heart does not respond to principles and programs; it seeks not efficiency, but passion. Art, poetry, beauty, mystery, ecstasy: These are what rouse the heart. Indeed, they are the language that must be spoken if one wishes to communicate with the heart. It is why Jesus so often taught and related to people by telling stories and asking questions. His desire was not just to engage their intellects but to capture their hearts.

Indeed, if we will listen, a Sacred Romance calls to us through our heart every moment of our lives. It whispers to us on the wind, invites us through the laughter of good friends, reaches out to us through the touch of someone we love. We've heard it in our favorite music, sensed it at the birth of our first child, been drawn to it while watching the shimmer of a sunset on the ocean. The Romance is even present in times of great personal suffering: the illness of a child, the loss of a marriage, the death of a friend. Something calls to us through experiences like these and rouses an inconsolable longing deep within our heart, wakening in us a yearning for intimacy, beauty, and adventure.

This longing is the most powerful part of any human personality. It fuels our search for meaning, for wholeness, for a sense of being truly alive. However we may describe this deep desire, it is the most important thing about us, our heart of hearts, the passion of our life. And the voice that calls to us in this place is none other than the voice of God.

We cannot hear this voice if we have lost touch with our heart.

The true story of every person in this world is not the story you see, the external story. The true story of each person is the journey of his or her heart. Jesus himself knew that if people lived only in the outer story, eventually they would lose track of their inner life, the life of their heart he so much desired to redeem. Indeed, it was to the most religious people of his time that Jesus spoke his strongest warnings about a loss of heart.

It is tragic for any person to lose touch with the life of their heart but especially so for those of us who once heard the call in our heart and recognized it as the voice of Jesus of Nazareth. We may remember him inviting us to a life of beauty, intimacy, and adventure that we thought was lost. For others of us, when he called, it felt for the first time in our lives as if our heart had finally found a home. We responded in faith, in hope, and in love and began the journey we call the Christian life. Each day seemed a new adventure as we rediscovered the world with God by our side.

But for many of us, the waves of first love ebbed away in the whirlwind of Christian service and activity, and we began to lose the Romance. Our faith began to feel more like a series of problems that needed to be solved or principles that had to be mastered before we could finally enter into the abundant life promised us by Christ. We moved our spiritual life into the outer world of activity, and internally we drifted. We sensed that something was wrong and we perhaps tried to fix it--by tinkering with our outer life. We tried the latest spiritual fad, or a new church, or simply redoubled our commitment to make faith work. Still, we found ourselves weary jaded, or simply bored. Others of us immersed ourselves in busyness without really asking where all the activity was headed. At one point in my own spiritual pilgrimage, I stopped to ask myself this question: "What is it that I am supposed to be doing to live the spiritual life in any way that is both truthful and passionately alive?"

...continued in The Sacred Romance by Brent Curtis & John Eldredge

"We are half-hearted creatures, fooling about with drink and sex and ambition (and religious effort) when infinite joy is offered us, like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in a slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday at the sea. We are far too easily pleased."

--C.S. Lewis, The Weight of Glory

Monsoon

2009-06-15T13:27:00.000-07:00

I've always meant to check out Tokio Hotel, mainly because MTV Buzzworthy blogs about them a lot, but I never got around to it. But thanks to Christina, I can't get their song "Monsoon" out of my head.

She brought Guitar Hero over after the potluck on Saturday and we played that for a few hours. It is depressing how bad I am at it. Thankfully Christina found easy songs for me to play so I could go on the difficult and expert levels for bass! She even found easy songs for me to play guitar for. She rocks XD But eventually my fingers got too pained and tired so I opted for singing. This is the song that Christina and I rocked out to (her on expert guitar, me on medium vocals) and we earned almost $300! *^^*

I really like this song. I think it's quite beautiful and touching.

I'm staring at a broken door
There's nothing left here anymore
My room is cold
It's making me insane

I've been waiting here so long
But now the moment seems to've come
I see the dark clouds coming up again.

Running through the monsoon
Beyond the world
To the end of time
Where the rain won't hurt
Fighting the storm
Into the blue
And when I lose myself I think of you
Together we'll be running somewhere new
Through the monsoon
Just me and you

A half moon's fading from my sight
I see a vision in its light
But now it's gone and left me so alone
I know I have to find you now
Can hear your name, I don't know how
Why can't we make this darkness feel like home?

Running through the monsoon
Beyond the world
To the end of time
Where the rain won't hurt
Fighting the storm
Into the blue
And when I lose myself I think of you
Together we'll be running somewhere new
And nothing can hold me back from you
Through the monsoon

Hey! Hey!

I'm fighting all this power
Coming in my way
Let it take me straight to you
I'll be running night and day
I'll be with you soon
Just me and you
We'll be there soon
So soon

Running through the monsoon
Beyond the world
To the end of time
Where the rain won't hurt
Fighting the storm
Into the blue
And when I lose myself I think of you
Together we'll be running somewhere new
And nothing can hold me back from you
Through the monsoon

Through the monsoon
Just me and you
Through the monsoon
Just me and you

21 Guns

2009-05-23T23:24:00.000-07:00

Green Day, "21 Guns"

Do you know what's worth fighting for,
When it's not worth dying for?
Does it take your breath away
And you feel yourself suffocating?
Does the pain weigh out the pride?
And you look for a place to hide?
Did someone break your heart inside?
You're in ruins.

One, 21 guns
Lay down your arms
Give up the fight
One, 21 guns
Throw up your arms into the sky,
You and I

When you're at the end of the road
And you lost all sense of control
And your thoughts have taken their toll
When your mind breaks the spirit of your soul
Your faith walks on broken glass
And the hangover doesn't pass
Nothing's ever built to last
You're in ruins.

One, 21 guns
Lay down your arms
Give up the fight
One, 21 guns
Throw up your arms into the sky,
You and I

Did you try to live on your own
When you burned down the house and home?
Did you stand too close to the fire?
Like a liar looking for forgiveness from a stone

When it's time to live and let die
And you can't get another try
Something inside this heart has died
You're in ruins.

One, 21 guns
Lay down your arms
Give up the fight
One, 21 guns
Throw up your arms into the sky,
You and I

WHOA

2009-05-20T13:24:00.000-07:00

Remember my post a few days ago? Wow. Stray really does love me.. A LOT. As do the people who read my post and went on to use my discount code!

I just received another email from Stray yesterday, and guess what? It was for $150NZ!!! Which translates to $90.12US. How amazing is that?! I feel like I just won the lottery. Thank you so much whoever used my code!!!

** In the hopes that I get more wonderful emails, here is my code: EK1323 **

Now I just need to figure out how to spend my money. I have so many things on my Amazon wishlist, but I feel like I should really use this money for something important. I feel like it must have come to me for a reason. Is that silly of me? Should I spend it on baking stuff? I am contemplating a career in baking.. I don't know. Very conflicted. But yay for monies!!! *does happy money dance*

.. But Currency Conversion Does Not

2009-05-15T13:15:00.000-07:00

Do you remember my post "Stray ♥s Esther" back in September 2008? Go read it to refresh your memory if you don't.

Like I said, I was horrible with advertising my Stray Mate discount code, so I didn't expect to get any more emails from Stray about it. But surprise, surprise, I got an email yesterday! Apparently someone else used my discount code! YAYYY!!! :D

** In the hopes that I get more wonderful emails, here is my code: EK1323 **

So why do I say currency conversion does not love me? I was already shocked that my Amazon gift card for $50NZ had been reduced to $35US in September, but guess what it's been reduced to now?

$29.69US! Wow. Now, I would never complain about free money, but I'm just saying.. currency conversion is not so kind to Esther. But yay for the money! Now I have even more money to spend at Amazon.com (thanks to my reward card, I got a $25 gift certificate a while back). Thank you whoever used my discount code--you rock! :D

Jury Duty

2009-05-08T13:03:00.000-07:00

Esther is not very smart.

So near the end of March, I received my jury summons in the mail. I followed instructions, filled in the bubbles, and called the number to register my answers. I would be on call the week of April 20th. Got it.

But then my aunts came at the beginning of April. And the jury summons got covered with other various documents on my desk. And so I totally forgot about it. Even though I knew Gardenia had jury duty the week before mine and she even came to visit me the day she had to report!

It finally occurred to me this past weekend. I think I was with Natasha in the car when it hit me. OH SHIT. I forgot to call in that week. Uh oh. But Christina had never called in one time, and she got away with it. So I thought, maybe it's okay, maybe I'm safe.

Until yesterday. When I got home to find, sitting on my table, my jury summons. With an angry all-caps letter in the back saying I had failed to report for my jury summons before and that if I do that again, I could be held in contempt of the court and even fined. Great. It's not like I did it on purpose.

This time it's not even an option to call in. I have to report to the Pasadena courthouse on Thursday, May 28, at 8:00 AM. There's also a little note saying that if you're called to report on a Thursday or Friday, you might also have to serve jury duty the following week.

Just my luck.

Master Cleanse: The Aftermath

2009-02-23T13:26:00.000-08:00

Quitting:
So I quit the master cleanse after Saturday night. I was so sick and tired of drinking and being nauseous, and the nausea only got worse that night. I figured it's not worth it to be so miserable so I decided to quit. Yep, I'm a quitter. My mum thinks it's a bit pathetic. She already thought it was bad that I shortened it from two full weeks to 10 days, so imagine her disappointment that I stopped after seven. So Sunday morning I did my very last SWF and I was done. THANK YOU LORD. I had survived a week on the master cleanse.

Easing Out:
I have been drinking OJ since yesterday. Since I haven't eaten solid food in a week, I have to get my stomach ready. So yesterday was all OJ and today as well, until dinner, that is, when I will have some soup! I am looking forward to it :D And I must say, OJ is so nice after all that SWF, "lemonade," and laxative tea. And I'm not forced to drink quarts of the stuff, yay.

Master Cleanse Information:
So yesterday Greg sent me the Master Cleanse PDF, which would have been really helpful had I had it before I started the cleanse. It explains what the cleanse is about, what it's for, what it does to your body, etc. It also has more detailed instructions, which is nice. If you ever want a copy, just let me know and I'll send it to you.

Reflection:
Reading the PDF made me realise that the reason why I had such a difficult time on the cleanse is because I have a lot of toxins in my body. I would have eventually gotten better had I stuck to the cleanse for a longer period of time, but I just couldn't handle it anymore. I can't believe that I am so unhealthy, but it does make total sense.

One thing that I learned from doing this is that food is not as important to me as I thought it was. Because I love food so much, I was afraid I wouldn't last more than a day on the cleanse. But the "lemonade" was actually quite sufficient for my body. I think my hunger was more mental than physical, as I would think about foods such as In-N-Out or Paco's chimichanga and be tortured by my want. But after a few days I didn't really care so much (although I still threatened to kill anyone who even thought about eating In-N-Out without me). The difficulty with the cleanse, for me, was all the drinking I had to do (I consumed 3.25 quarts of liquid a day!) and the nausea that I would feel. People say they would never be able to do this because they cannot live without food, but that is actually not true. Who would have figured?

Future:
I do think I will try the cleanse again in several months, maybe closer to the end of the year, but only for a few days (3-5 days, like Jae). I feel that the master cleanse is good, I just was unable to handle it because I'm so unhealthy and weaksauce. Until then, I plan on trying to eat healthier, which was my plan after the completion of the cleanse anyway. Although I hate vegetables and don't see myself eating a lot of them, I am going to try to eat salads a lot more often. And also cook more often so I don't eat as much fast food. Hopefully this will help me become healthier and lose some weight (or at least keep 5.5lbs I lost during the cleanse off). I am also going to try to eat smaller portions. No more overeating and expanding of the stomach! I didn't suffer so much and make my stomach smaller all for nothing! Wish me luck!

Master Cleanse: Day 7

2009-02-21T22:07:00.000-08:00

Oh my goodness. Every day gets harder and harder.

Seriously. I'm just sitting here staring at the tea on the table. I can't even go near it because smelling it makes me so nauseous.

Everything makes me nauseous now. First it was the SWF. Then the cayenne pepper. Then a couple days ago the lemonade started to become harder to drink and make me nauseous. And now I can't even go near the laxative tea. ARGHHHHHH.

I. Must. Drink. It. I need to go to bedddddd~

[insert picture]
Day 7!

Master Cleanse: Day 6

2009-02-20T22:58:00.000-08:00

Two weeks?! What was I thinking?! Just thinking about it made me want to kill myself.

The Master Cleanse is technically only for ten days. But Christine had told me she did it for "a couple of weeks," which is why I decided that I too would do it for two weeks. It also worked out nicely because that meant I would do it until the end of the month. I asked her about it today at work, and she confirmed that she only did it for ten days. THANK GOODNESS.

Which means that I am also only doing it for ten days now *^^*

Yes, it means I'll end on a Tuesday so that'll be a little weird, but it's okay. Besides, you must also take into account the time it takes to ease off into real food.

My mum is very disappointed in me though. She sees it as quitting. But I can't help it. It makes me so nauseous. And I hate being nauseous.

[insert picture]
Day 6!

Master Cleanse: Day 5

2009-02-19T22:50:00.000-08:00

[insert picture]
Day 5!

Master Cleanse: Day 4

2009-02-18T22:39:00.000-08:00

Getting harder to drink that damn SWF. I still use the straw, but I just gulp it down in the end because by then I'm too nauseous to handle anything. And besides, I also need to use the bathroom..

[insert picture]
Day 4!

Master Cleanse: Day 3

2009-02-17T22:37:00.000-08:00

Day 3. Greg said this would be the worst day. Does that mean that tomorrow will be better?

I threw up this morning. I had the SWF and then the cayenne pepper shots, and I was just so nauseous. I thought I could handle it though. But as I was walking down the stairs from my porch to the driveway, I was overcome by an overwhelming wave of nausea and just threw up on my lawn.

Wow. Didn't see that coming. I felt much better afterwards though. And I didn't take any more cayenne pepper to replace it, hahaha ;)

So today was actually a pretty good day. I'm still thinking about food, but I'm actually fine. I just take some maple syrup when I'm feeling hungry and it's all good again. It's amazing how I can be such a glutton and yet be so fine without food. Amazing.

[insert picture]
Day 3!

Master Cleanse: Day 2

2009-02-16T21:58:00.000-08:00

I could not stop thinking about food today. Oh my goodness. FOOD! How I crave it~ I actually Google'd pictures of paninis today because I was craving them. I am such a masochist.

Today was thankfully better than yesterday. Whewt. The tweaks are helping. And the laxative tea + SWF really works. Went quite a bit in the bathroom this morning. Whoo~

SWF: Half cup SW is so much better than a full cup. But it is still so difficult to force down!
-- I take this by the bathroom sink so I'm already there in the bathroom when the *ahem* urges hit. It's also good because the entire time I feel like I'm about to hurl, so I'm comforted by the fact that I'm facing a sink in case I actually do throw up.

Lemonade: I took shots of the cayenne pepper today. That almost made me throw up but thankfully I was able to keep it down. And it made the lemonade so much easier to drink! Yay~

Laxative Tea: Not much to say here. Still okay with it. And it makes me happy because it means that the day's ordeal is over. Yay!

[insert picture]
Day 2!

Master Cleanse: Day 1

2009-02-15T21:55:00.000-08:00

Started the Master Cleanse today. I had gotten suggestions/advice from Suzan regarding the master cleanse, and you can see them below. I think I will tweak them a little more so that it's a bit easier for me tomorrow.

SWF: Use 2 level teaspoons to 1 quart of lukewarm water. Drink this with a straw or else you will get burpy/sick. You can also just drink the salt mixed in 1 cup of water and the final 3 cups of pure water immediately. That makes it more bearable. Since it mixes in your stomach, it is just as effective. Drink this every morning.
-- My thoughts: This is seriously so nauseating! Tomorrow I'm going to lower the actual salt water dose. 1 cup is still too much! Tomorrow: half cup SW and 3.5 cups water. But other than that, loved Suzan's directions! Although I must say, drinking with a straw is difficult since it takes time.

Lemonade: For each bottle, use 2 lemons, 1/4 cup of Grade B maple syrup, 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper, and fill the rest with water. If it's too spicy, do shots of cayenne pepper mixed in a tiny bit of lemonade.
-- From what I read online, you need to drink at least 60oz of the lemonade a day, but no more than 120oz. Each Nalgene bottle is 32oz, so drinking two of them yields 64oz.
-- One recipe I found online called for 12tbsp maple syrup, 12 tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice, and 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper per 60oz of pure water.
-- A second recipe I found called for 14 tbsp maple syrup, 14 tbsp lemon juice, and 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper for each 60oz of lemonade.
-- My thoughts: Cayenne pepper and Esther do not go together. I actually mixed everything together today and that was a MISTAKE. It took me forever to go through the two bottles as a result. So much for my ambitions of drinking three bottles a day. Tomorrow: doing the shots of cayenne pepper that Suzan suggested.

Laxative Tea: Laxative tea is senna tea. Smooth Moves takes the best (there's some licorice root in it). It's a nice end of the day treat! You must do this every night.
-- My thoughts: Suzan was right! I like this Smooth Moves. I don't know if it's because of the traumatising salt water and cayenne pepper, but this is quite nice.

[insert picture]
Day 1!

Master Cleanse: Day 0

2009-02-14T23:59:00.000-08:00

So like I said, I will be starting the Master Cleanse tomorrow.

So what is the Master Cleanse? I never heard about it until Christine told me about it last year. She had just finished one of her cleanses and so I asked about it. Turns out several of my friends had done it, and they all had really high opinions of it. Other people might have heard of it in the news (I know Beyonce's done it).

There are several online resources regarding the Master Cleanse:
TheMasterCleanse.org
-- They have directions, FAQ, comments sections, etc.
The Raw Food Site
-- From the author of Lose Weight, Have More Energy & Be Happier in 10 Days
Wikipedia

From what I know, the Master Cleanse is not a diet. At least not in the traditional sense. You don't go on this for the express purpose of losing weight or fitting into tight clothes. This is for DETOX. It helps rid your body of poisons/toxins that it has accumulated.

I decided to go on the Master Cleanse for several reasons:
1. Cleanse my system
I know I haven't treated my body well in terms of food (and exercise too), so I'm sure there are way too many toxins in it. I want to cleanse my system out for my body's sake and also so I can start fresh afterwards with a healthier eating lifestyle.
2. Lose weight
Yes, it's not the purpose of the diet, but it's still a really nice plus! My friends seem to have lost an average of 10lbs during the diet and then gain back maybe half afterwards once regular food consumption is resumed. Five pounds isn't a lot, but it's definitely a good start.
3. Get rid of digestion problems
I have been getting indigestion really easily in the past year and it's worrying my mum to no end. Not to mention that it's very bothersome. Hopefully, by cleansing out my system, I can also get rid of these problems.

I was originally going to start this on January 1, but somehow it just kept on getting pushed back. But no more! I am definitely starting tomorrow! And I will be doing it for two weeks, until the end of the month. The normal time period is 10 days, but I feel like two weeks should be doable, so that is what I am aiming for.

I went to Trader Joe's and Whole Foods with my mum earlier today to prepare everything I would need for the cleanse~

Supplies: (already had at home, yay)
Two Nalgene water bottles (each one is 32oz or 1quart)
-- I actually only had one 32z one, but I did have a 16oz and a different water bottle that was 18oz
Lemon Squeezer

Ingredients: (remember, everything has to be organic)
Salt - bought organic sea salt from Trader Joe's
Water (have filtered water at home, yay)
28 organic lemons (2 per bottle) - bought from Whole Foods
Organic Grade B maple syrup - bought from Trader Joe's (had to buy several of these)
Cayenne Pepper - bought from Whole Foods
Senna Tea - Suzan recommends Smooth Moves, sold at Whole Foods

I was going to take a picture of everything together, but I forgot. Oh well. You can just look everything up if necessary. I will include the "recipes" in tomorrow's post. HWAITING! Wish me luck! :D

Happy Valentine's

2009-02-14T23:55:00.000-08:00

Happy Valentine's Day! ♥

As usual, I've been up to a lot of TV watching. A LOT. What else is new? Also been watching a few movies. I watched Summer of Shred, which made me happy since I love extreme sports. It's about extreme mountain biking, has quite a few awesome riders who performed a lot of cool tricks and stunts, and took place in several different countries, including New Zealand! Sweet as! I also watched Wicked Minds since it stars Andrew W. Walker, who I'm a fan of. Unfortunately, I'm not such a fan of the movie. Watched Nicholas Nickleby (yay Charlie Hunnam!) and Max Payne as well.

I also ate a lot, again.
-- Wednesday (2/4): Lois was in town, so I picked her up from the library (she doesn't have a car here) and we went to dinner at Paco's! We shared the chimichanga and so managed to grab dessert. Yum!
-- Sunday (2/8): Remember that gourmet dinner Keri prepared last month? This month was Gardenia's turn, and she also went all out! She had spaghetti, roasted roma tomatoes with cheese, parmesan twists, and cinnamon buns! Goodness gracious, they are determined to make me look horrible when my turn comes next month! But it was all very yummy and good so thanks Gardy!
-- Monday (2/9): EAP dinner at Versailles. This would be Lina's last one since she's leaving us for Australia! *cries* It ended up being me, Lina, Ariana, Emily, and Mandy, with a very late showing by John! We all ordered a pitcher of their sangria and I ordered their famous Versailles garlic chicken and asked for more plantains instead of beans, and it was absolutely delicious.
-- Wednesday (2/11): Met up with Dena for lunch. We went to Susina and loved it! I got their gypsy salami panini with apple juice and it was very delicious. Also ordered the banana cream pie to go. When I got back to the apartment and tried it with Christina, oh my goodness YUM! It was very delicious~

Some other stuff to note from the past couple of weeks, which also includes a full day of gluttony~

Sunday, February 1: It's never good to come to Palms late. It took me 35 minutes to find street parking. Esther was not very happy TT_TT But I caught up on a lot of TV, and then Christina made me do the exercise video with her. I should be grateful that, because of her, I do at least a little exercise.

Monday, February 2: Since I got to work at 8AM and was going to be driving home, my boss boss let me leave a little before 5PM. He is so nice! So I was able to go home and watch Chuck in 3D! Which wasn't very wow, but the episode was great, so I was happy.

Friday, February 6: My boss boss was kind to me again and let me leave around 4:45pm since it was raining. Yay! I managed to make it home safely ^^

Saturday, February 7: This was the Esther-is-a-gluttonous-pig day. Since it would be Crystal's birthday on Sunday, we went on a lunch date to Zelo to have their delicious pizza. We tried three slices: corn, eggplant, and their potato special. All were very delicious and quite filling. Candace was also hosting a dinner party for Crystal, but I decided I wasn't going to go. Joyce, however, was stubborn and managed to bribe me into going. So we went to the dinner party at Vertical Wine Bistro. It was a lot of fun, a lot of food and wine, and a lot of good times. Thanks again Joycie for treating! *^^*

Tuesday, February 10: I finally watched the last episode of Time of Dog and Wolf. Wow, I dragged this drama on forever. I just didn't want it to end! But damn its bittersweet ending! Although wow, Lee Joon Ki was so hottttt~

Friday, February 13: Friday the 13th! Somehow got lucky again and got to leave 10-15 minutes early and got home in one piece. And then I watched the series premiere of Dollhouse! I love Joss Whedon~

Today was also quite a busy day! This morning I picked up balloons for Annabel at Party City (it was her 3rd birthday yesterday!) and then dropped off my car at the auto shop (e-brake light issues), where my mum picked me up and then dropped me off at P.Dan's. I helped Daniel and Judy decorate the apartment, the party took place (a few of Annabel's friends came over and yummy food was had), and hung out until a quarter past 1pm when my mum came to pick me up. Went to the auto shop where I found out that they had to replace everything brake-related since my car was getting old and give it an oil change. After stopping by the house, I went grocery shopping for the master cleanse (separate post) and then it was time for the potluck! (UPDATE: I posted about the potluck HERE.) After the potluck was over Crystal stayed to rewatch Dirty Dancing: Havana Nights since we both like the movie ^^

So it's been a busy day. I can't believe today's the last day of real food for me (for the time being). But that is the price I pay for my gluttony~

From the Inside Out

2009-02-03T12:35:00.000-08:00

Hillsong United, "From the Inside Out"

A thousand times I've failed
Still your mercy remains
And should I stumble again
Still I'm caught in your grace

Everlasting, your light will shine when all else fades
Never ending, your glory goes beyond all fame

Your will above all else,
My purpose remains
The art of losing myself
In bringing you praise

Everlasting, your light will shine when all else fades
Never ending, your glory goes beyond all fame

My heart and my soul, I give you control
Consume me from the inside out, Lord
Let justice and praise become my embrace
To love You from the inside out

Everlasting, your light will shine when all else fades
Never ending, your glory goes beyond all fame
And the cry of my heart is to bring You praise
From the inside out, Lord, my soul cries out

I haven't been able to stop singing this song since I heard it on Sunday~

Gluttony

2009-01-31T23:37:00.000-08:00

So many things have happened since I last blogged. Most notably? President Obama's inauguration. LEGEND--wait for it!--DARY. I was lucky enough to be able to watch it live on my computer at work. Yay! :D And yesterday was Christian Bale's birthday! Happy belated 34th birthday, my love! ♥

I've also watched a LOT of TV and quite a few movies as well in the past couple of weeks. I watched Marathon (Wiki), a Korean movie featuring Jo Seung Woo (Cho Seung Woo), with my mum. I also watched A Love (Wiki), another Korean movie, which features Joo Jin Mo (Wiki). I love him so much. And I cried so much! Which was actually a relief for me because it meant I was not heartless (I haven't been crying in movies lately, which was getting me worried). A coworker recommended After the Wedding so I watched that and it was really good. Alice rented Get Smart so I got to watch that, and Christina bought Pineapple Express so I finally got to watch my beloved James in that too ^^ To show my Channing Tatum love, I watched She's The Man and Step Up 2. Step Up 2 was better than I thought it was going to be! And Robert Hoffman (who was in both of them) is pretty damn hot too. I also watched The Eleventh Hour (mehhh) and flipped through Jude Law's Breaking and Entering. And tonight I watched My Best Friend's Girl. Wow, I watched a pretty good number, yes? Unfortunately most of them were not my Netflix movies. Oops.

As for my complaint about gaining weight, I haven't really done much in that area. Although Christina did manage to get me to work out to an exercise video with her once this month. That's good, right?

But then I also went out to eat.. a LOT.
-- Saturday (1/17): Went to Farmer's Market with Brian and Jae. We ended up grabbing a late lunch from The French Crepe Company. Good times :)
-- Wednesday (1/21): Dena came by to have lunch with me! We went to La Provence Patisserie, a cute little place with yummy food! I want to go back someday to have more of their desserts~
-- Sunday (1/25): Despite the fact that I had been battling stomach pains all weekend, I was still able to go to In-N-Out in Glendale for lunch with Diana after church. What can I say, I was really craving it ^^#
-- Thursday (1/29): DineLA Restaurant Week! In honour of the occassion, I went to Taste with Christina and Judy. SO YUM.
-- Friday (1/30): Went out for Restaurant Week again! This time with Ariana, Emily, and Lina to Akasha. Good times.

And that isn't even all of it! Read through some other events from the past couple weeks and you will see that I really never stop eating~

Sunday, January 18: Like I mentioned before, this was potluck day! I cooked sweet potato pie--be proud *^^* You can read more about it at my foodie blog. After the feasting, we played Apples to Apples again, and this time I won! Go me.

Monday, January 19: Yay for Martin Luther King, Jr. Day! After picking up Ariana and dropping off my stuff at the apartment, I drove down to Irvine for Tasha! We went to CPK for lunch (yum!) and then went back to her apartment to watch Psych goodies. I may not watch the show, but I am a fan (although Tasha argues that I am not) so that was fun. And dinner was at Chakra, of course! I missed that place. Stuffed myself silly. And then we watched HIMYM before coming back to Palms.

Friday-Saturday, January 23-24: These were painful days. I had really bad cramps at work which turned into unbelievably painful stomachaches once I got home. I even found out that the Winter XGames had started (I'm so horrible, they were Jan 22-25 and I didn't even know!) but I was in too much pain to care. We busted out a small heating pad for me to apply to my stomach and I took Pepto Bismol and finally some ibuprofen so that I could fall asleep. Saturday was pretty much spent in bed either sleeping or watching TV shows on my laptop. The pains were getting better, but then they kicked in around 1:30am again so I couldn't sleep all night.

Sunday, January 25: This is not 100% for sure, but Jae and I think that we saw Tim Kang (from The Mentalist) at church! She's pretty convinced and I'm maybe 75% sure. If only I had the balls to approach him..

Wednesday, January 28: THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA! In case you didn't know, it is at Pantages from January 21-February 21. Jinwon got tickets the day before, so I picked her up after work and we went. Got dinner at Togo's (I hadn't been in so long) and then we finally watched it! I have to admit, it was a bit disappointing. John Cudia, who plays The Phantom, was absolutely amazing, but I didn't really care for the rest of the cast. Neither did Jinwon. I also thought the musical was a bit awkward or abrupt in a lot of places. But for the both of us, John Cudia made the night worth it.

Thursday, January 29: I had an interview at church for their admin position. Pretty short and uneventful. I'm not even sure if I completely want it, but I would be happier there, yes? Still thinking about it..

And today was a lot of errands. Finally got my smog check required for my vehicle registration. Good times. For lunch? In-N-Out. I love In-N-Out. And then more TV. The story of my life. Sorry for the long blogging. Hopefully it was worth it for you~

Yay for Holidays

2009-01-16T12:57:00.000-08:00

This weekend is going to be a three day weekend! Yay for Martin Luther King, Jr. Day.

Last Wednesday I finally watched Black Hawk Down, thanks to Christina bringing the DVD to the apartment. It is a really good film! I'm glad I finally got to watch it~ Unfortunately, that has been the last movie I've seen so far. I got sick on Friday, so I spent most of my free time on the weekend sleeping. And since I've been commuting from home this week, I lose so much time! No time to watch movies. Sigh. Hopefully this weekend will be different.

On Friday we celebrated a coworker's birthday. A man who I affectionately call Fluffy. So we had lots of yummy food ^^ But I left work pissed off because I noticed that someone had messed with my cubicle wall! I had a couple stickerbooth pictures pinned, with the pins on the sides so the actual photos wouldn't be damaged, and someone took out the pins, took one pin, and stuck it THROUGH both of them! WTF?! Why would someone do that?! First of all, why are you messing with my cubicle wall? No one has any reason to go there. And secondly, if you need a pushpin, or accidentally knocked the photos down, leave them on my desk. Don't push pins through the photos and ruin them! UGH. That was very upsetting, if you couldn't tell TT_TT But I went home and watched TV and so have numbed the pain ;)

Saturday was lunch with EAP people, as I mentioned before. Ariana went home and Lina didn't know about it, so it was just me, Emily, John, and Mandy. We ate at El Morfi in Glendale. And then I went home and napped for hours. It was very nice.

On Sunday I napped some more after church, keke ^^# In the evening I went over to Keri's house with Gardenia to eat the delicious gourmet dinner she prepared for us! She made us meatloaf and garlic mashed potatoes with vegetables on the side, and she plated it so beautifully. It was as if we were in a restaurant ^^ And then she gave us Costco banana cream chocolate pie for dessert! Good times~ Thanks Keri! And then I rushed home to watch the Golden Globes.

This week has basically been a mixture of trying to get over my sore throat, commuting and spending hours in the car, working working working, and watching TV either actually on the TV or on my laptop. Watched Gossip Girl, How I Met Your Mother, Top Chef, Eleventh Hour.. and have a lot of shows to catch up on.

But last night I went over and had dinner with Judy and Annabel! I love hanging out with them, they always bring a smile to my face ^^ And Annabel's getting so big! She's going to be turning 3 next month~

I'm getting really big too TT_TT I weighed myself a couple nights ago and OH. MY. GOODNESS. I am the heaviest now than I have ever been in my LIFE. Which means, yes, I weigh more than I did when I was diagnosed with obesity. My goodness. It's a HORRIBLE TRAVESTY.

And yet what am I going to do? Continue eating. But only until the end of February (after Lina and Paul leave the country). And then it's time to cut back and really watch what I eat. Because this is beyond ridiculous. Seriously.

Tomorrow I'm going out to lunch with a couple church friends, and Sunday is going to be the AHS potluck (we changed it to Sunday especially for Lois this month). And Monday is going to be Tasha Day, which means that I will be eating a lot. She indulges me ^^ Oh how I look forward to the weekend~

365 Days

2009-01-13T13:17:00.000-08:00

It's been a year since I've been back. I returned on the second Monday of January in 2008, so my one year mark was yesterday. Or, if you're doing it by dates, I returned on January 14, 2008, so my one year mark will be tomorrow. Either way, it's been a year since I have returned from New Zealand. Have I made any progress? Have I grown at all?

I have grown fatter, hahahaha. It's not funny, really. It's actually really depressing. You know you're fat when your "long piano fingers" are now becoming stubby. And everyone jokes that your "baby" is in its third trimester. And none of your clothes can truly hide all your fat. Sigh.

But all jokes aside, I don't know if I've grown much.

I do feel older. Not wiser. Just more.. realistic. And yet I cannot entirely give up the lie that is optimism. I want to believe that 2009 will be a better year than 2008. But will it? I thought 2008 was going to be better.. and then it wasn't. But 2009 will be, right? Oh the lies I tell myself..

Hello 2009

2009-01-07T13:43:00.000-08:00

Can you believe it's been 2009 for almost an entire week now? How the time goes by.. but it's been a pretty eventful week~

Wednesday, December 31: New Year's Eve! Got out of work around noon and met up with Keri for lunch at Mamma's Brick Oven Pizza. They have really yummy food~ We hung out and chatted there for around three hours! And we finally exchanged Christmas gifts. She got me The Boondock Saints and The Princess Bride! Thank you so much Keri~! After going home, unpacking, and taking a quick nap because I was so tired, I headed over to Christina's house to celebrate the new year. Judy came over with her high school friends, and we all hung out and played Cranium and Taboo. And ate. A lot. Seriously. I brought brownies; Christina made mini red velvet cupcakes, chocolate macarons, pumpkin butterscotch bundt cake, and frosted grapes; and Judy and her friends brought chocolate covered strawberries, cheese and crackers, chips and guacamole, alcoholic beverages, etc. Good times.

Thursday, January 1: Happy New Year!!! We turned on the TV around 11:55pm to see the ball drop at midnight. Fun times! Ended up playing games until 2pm-ish. I opted to sleep over instead of drive home. We slept in quite a bit. And then Christina's mum made me a tamale for breakfast! Thanks! Went home, watched the Rose Parade for a bit, and then I crashed. I pretty much spent my entire New Year's in bed sleeping. No exaggeration.

Friday, January 2: Decided to be a bit more active today so I spent the day organising my files and moving things back and forth between my various hard drives in an attempt to open up some space. It was slightly successful. And I had Boondock Saints on in the background. Love that movie! They're apparently going to make the sequel soon so that's exciting ^^ For dinner I met up with Jessica, Diana, Jinwon, and Williana to eat dinner at DISH and then hang out afterwards at Jessica's house. Good times, good times~

Saturday, January 3: Errand day! Went out with my mum and we went everywhere: Koreatown Plaza, Glendale Galleria, Nordstrom Rack.. and then to the hair salon so I could get a hair cut for the new year. Busy day. Watched Jailhouse Rock at night with my mum. I heart Elvis Presley~

Sunday, January 4: The first Sunday of 2009! So many people came out. And I ran into Jenny and Moo Young from Korean class! That was a very delightful surprise ^^ After service I went to lunch with Diana, Jinwon, and Paul at Paco's. Mmmm, chimichanga goodness. LOVE. Back at the apartment, Christina and I went into James Franco marathon mode and we watched James Dean and The Great Raid. He is so hot *drool* And talented! He is perfect~

Monday, January 5: First day back at work. Fun. But at night, new episode of Gossip Girl! I love Chuck and Blair. And then Judy's friends came over and they had rented Burn After Reading. So I got to finally watch that. I love George and Brad. Brad was so cute in the movie! *squeee*

Tuesday, January 6: Christina and Judy used to have a roommate named Michelle while we were all at UCLA, and her birthday is today! So we went out to dinner last night to celebrate. Ate dinner at Overland Cafe, very yummy food, and then went to Ugo for dessert. Good sorbet. Judy and Christina treated, so it was all free! Thanks guys~ *^^*

So that has been my 2009 so far. Man, I am going out way too much. Four times already! And I have no monies! GAH. And I'm going out again on Saturday to lunch with EAP people.. Oy. But food is so good and yummy~

I hope you all had a great New Year's Eve and are enjoying 2009 so far! This is going to be a great year (especially in comparison to 2008)! Happy 2009! ♥

Goodbye 2008

2008-12-31T11:18:00.000-08:00

Monday, December 22: As the holidays have started, work has become dead so we are now leaving around 5pm so that we don't kill ourselves out of boredom. I came home to find my wifey waiting for me (she came with her brother) and we went to eat dinner at Gloria's Cafe. This time I got the taquito plate. Unfortunately, they were not the crispitos of AHS. What were those crispitos?! We went for a walk afterwards since we were stuffed and I finally went to Famima!! It was quite nice ^^ Then we walked back to the apartment and watched The Red Violin. Good movie~

Tuesday, December 23: Finally watched a couple of movies I had on my laptop! Yay! I watched Tony Hawk's Secret Skatepark Tour 2 and Dragon Hunters. Good times~ (I did write a little more on this at Kimchi Gratitudes)

Wednesday, December 24: Christmas Eve! Not only did I get to leave work early (noon), but I didn't have to clock out until a couple hours later! Yay. Thanks boss boss! *^^* At home I ran some errands with my mum before watching Yobi, the Five Tailed Fox (a Korean animated film) and some TV. What a way to bring in Christmas.

Thursday, December 25: Merry Christmas! Or Happy Christmas! *^^* I slept in, which was really nice. Oh how I love sleep. I then watched Wanted along with the special features. Whoo, James McAvoy is so hot~ I really liked the movie :D I also finally watched Assault on Precinct 13, which wasn't so great. But it wasn't bad either. And did I mention my mum made really yummy baby back ribs for dinner? ^^

Friday, December 26: Went to the mall. Wow. There were so many people! Especially as we were leaving. Craziness. Tried to do some last-minute Christmas shopping. Not so successful. Oh well. Took a nice nap at home, and then I finally watched 3:10 to Yuma, which has been on my laptop forever, so that was yay. I heart Christian Bale!

Saturday, December 27: Nancy came over to play! Yay! And Joycie did too (thanks again for Iron Man!). We went to lunch at Dumpling House, good times. We then got drinks at Genki Living. I seriously need to go back to that place--their crepes looked really good! After Crystal popped by to say hi, we went to the mall with Adalon (minus Joyce, who had to go back to her apartment). Again, lots of people. Then I had to bid adeiu to both of them. Oh Nancy, I miss you! Later that night was the AHS Christmas potluck, which you can read about at Foodie Love.

Sunday, December 28: Good times at church, followed by yummy lunch at Kabuki with everyone. We had Williana, her two cousins from Korea, Jinwon, Paul, Diana, and Grace! Paul and Jinwon came over to my house afterwards to hang out and catch up, which was really nice. We also watched The Dark Knight, which was Jinwon's Christmas present to me. Oh how I love that movie~ Then I went back to the apartment and watched Music and Lyrics with Christina, Alice, and Alice's sister, who was sleeping over. That was such a cute movie! And I love the songs! "PoP! Goes My Heart" is aweeesome *squeee*

This week has been even more dead than last week. It took me under 15 minutes to get to work yesterday! Amazing. Lately I've been rediscovering my love of YouTube, where I can watch the hotness of my hubbies, such as Jensen Ackles and James Franco. And Matthew Goode. Goode times ;) (Was that lame?) Yesterday I finally watched Who Are You?, a 2002 Korean movie that I've had on my laptop for ages. The apartment and these non-new-TV times are good at making me catch up on old movies. Yay! So I'm both excited that TV shows are returning next week, and also dreading it because that means I won't be able to catch up on media on my hard drives anymore.

Anyway, it is now New Year's Eve, signalling the end of 2008. I will not miss 2008. It was full of unemployment woes, pain, depression, hysteria, and just overall bad times. 2009 is the year of the ox. It is my year. And it better kick 2008's arse.

December 31, 2007, I went on a LOTR tour and did my 134m bungee jump. I ushered in the new year with alcohol in my tummy and fireworks at the Queenstown pier. Somehow I feel that tonight will not be able to compare..