disappointing delta song

Spent most of the day in an airport or on a plane. I flew Delta Song for the first time in my life. . overall, I was not impressed. Although I appreciated being able to check 3 bags and free headset, I felt that the airline was trying too hard to be “cool” and not hard enough at being efficient. They also took away my blanket before we even landed! The regular Delta flights are much better organized, serviced, and managed.

My original flight was cancelled due to bad weather in New York, which I found hard to believe. Next, I was transferred to the next flight to New York. At first that flight was delayed by a half hour, then an hour, then two hours, then a half hour again!!!

In any case, I arrived at my friend’s apartment around 9 p.m.. After lugging 4 suitcases (3 large and one carry on) up four flights of stairs, we walked to a nearby Vietnamese restaurant for a late dinner. My dish, lemongrass flavored beef skewers with rice rolls, was pretty good.

It was a nice evening. We stayed up until 2 a.m. just chatting.

busy week

it's funny, one of my friends told me for someone that doesn't have a "job" i sure do keep busy.

on top of tutoring, i've been doing some editing work for one of my grad school friends. meanwhile, i'm also in the process of packing up, selling my stuff, and finding a new apartment. i'll be back east from the 16th-25th looking for a new pad and don't know how internet access and time will be. . so if you don't here from me for a week or so, don't panic.

and for my LA friends, don't despair. i'll be back to hang out and finish moving for a couple of weeks and will find myself back in sunny so-cal at the end of oct, mid-nov, and next june.

locked out

i slept well. very well. 9 hours. that's is abnormal for me but i'll take it on the rare occasion that i do.

groggily (before my morning cup o joe), i made my way over to the kitchen and scanned the mess that i had left last night. i spent the evening organizing my recipes, looking through magazines, and doing some research. so gathered up the trash and decided to take the trash out. i grabbed my keys and trash bag and headed out the door. made my way out to the garbage cans out back of the apartment.

walked back up to my apartment and had a sinking sensation. i had forgotten to put the housekey back on my keychain!!! ARGG. i debated what to do. jiggled the handle for a few seconds. then decided to knock on a few of the neighbors' doors. no one answered.

then i realized that although i didn't have my cell phone and couldn't call my landlady (i have very few numbers memorized), i did have my car keys. i drove over to my friend's apartment and used her phone to call my former roommate. luckily she still had my landlady's phonenumber.

long story short. i called my landlady, stopped by her home, borrowed her set of keys, and got back into my apartment.

lesson to self: memorize landlady's number and never ever leave keys inside!

bummer

i had to cut my run short today because i was late for my meeting with the girl i am tutoring for. so after i finished tutoring, i decided to go for a walk, get some sun, and get a little more exercise.

because my clothes had no pockets and i didn't want to bring a bag, i grabbed my housekeys, ipod, and on a whim, stashed a $20 in my shoe. there's some cute japanese shops and grocery stores in walking distance to my apartment.

and off i went for a brisk 45 minute walk. weaving up and down the streets to the rhythm of the beatles. halfway through, i realized that i could no longer feel the bill in my shoe. i felt around for it for a bit.

seriously bummed.

20 bucks would have bought me the makings of a nice dinner or some cute new gadgets from the tokyo outlet store. . .eventually, i decided to let it go. and hey, i probably made someone else's day, right? no longer in a spending mood, i dug out some frozen fish and veggies and had a less than great meal at home. (sigh)

echo park and silver lake

just got back from e's. we met up this evening and decided to walk around echo park. it's got a beautiful park with a lake in the middle. the major attraction of the town. . what was even better was one street (douglas?) lined with rennovated victorian homes. finding it took some work. first we parked and attemped to walk it. after walking up and down some steep hills and circling around the same streets, we decided to get back in the car and find it by driving.

it was well worth the effort. some of the color schemes made me raise an eyebrow (shades of purple on one, dark forest green on another, etc) nonetheless, very beautiful and very east coast. made me forget that i was in LA.

after that, we drove over to silverlake. silverlake is a lot of fun. quite hip, bustling even on a sunday night with interesting shops and restaurants. we stopped at the "kitchen" for dinner. a smallish restaurant with only ten or twelve tables but pretty packed. we had a bottle of red wine left over from the hollywood bowl ($3 corkage fee!), shared a spinach salad with goat cheese, grapes, and walnuts tossed in a citrusy vinagrette. for an entree, i had the tri-tip beef stewed with onions over garlicky sauteed spinach and mashed potatoes. e had a soy-sesame marinated flank steak with wasabi mash and stirfried veggies. both were excellent. mine was tender and very flavorful. and the marinade on e's entree was suprisingly good. i've had similar dressings on seafood, but with steak it has a much more unique flavour. all in all, a delicious dinner without breaking the bank.

last of the summer days

growing up on the east coast semester system, labor day is a mark of a new school year. . perhaps because i have never really been out of school, i still think of september as the start of a new year and may as the end. . . but i'm still in LA and have grown accustomed to the quarter system where classes start the last week of september. . so i'm making the most of my time in california and remaining summer days.

right now, i'm waiting for e to come pick me up to go to the hollywood bowl. . i think it's amazing that i've lived in LA for 3 years and have never been! tonight is a "night with copa with pink martini and bebel gilberto"!!! we're bringing a couple of bottles of wine and stopping for some take-out from thai town. should be a great, relaxing night!!

http://www.hollywoodbowl.com/tix/performance_detail.cfm?id=2225

tomorrow i'll be running errands but have an apartment warming party to look forward to. and sunday i plan to drive down south a bit and go bask in the sun. if it's warm enough. . .if not, there is also the LA county fair which could be interesting.

if there's time, i'll stop by the farmer's market and get some fresh produce to make dinner for my lovely friend a. she's had a rough summer with comps, etc. but come monday, she'll be a free woman again and we can party like it's 1999.

virtual window shopping

i love the internet. . you can browse, find reviews, buy anything you want (with expedited shipping for those birthdays, anniversary's, etc too).

i've spent the better part of the evening looking at digital cameras online. . .the canon sd20 and sony cybershot dscp200 have caught my eye. . hmmm. . .

anyways, here's some great sources for reviews on various high tech gadgets recommended by my crazy CT friend.

http://www.steves-digicams.com/

http://www.cnet.com/

selling it all

in the spirit of moving to new yawk and starting a new life, i decided the best thing for me to do is to sell, give away, or donate all my old stuff (except clothes and things with sentimental value) and buy new (used) stuff once i get there. today, i made a list of all my possessions:

car
ikea coffee table (standard issue)
(pimpin) black leather sofa
bed with no box spring or real mattress
blue lounge chair
two rocking woven recliners
dining room table with 4 chairs
t.v.
v.c.r.
dvd player
t.v. stand
two desk lamps
one halogen lamp
one metallic lamp
two cd racks
ironing board/iron
cookware, dishes, etc
shoe rack
3 bookshelves
2 barstools (expertly assembled by former best roommate ever)
various framed prints, wall-hangings
lanterns
clock/radio
dresser
desk chair

hmmm. . . kinda weird that at 25, that's all i've accumulated. . .but then again, the most valuable things are the photos, the cool decorations i've bought traveling to other countries, and the experiences and friendships i've made. i guess i'm feeling a little nostalgic.

taking the plunge

the past week or so in so-cal have been wonderful. i've been enjoying the nice weather, one-on-one time with my friends, great food, etc. . . and while the idea of living in venice beach was really appealing, the idea of hanging around, feeling stuck in limbo, and putting my life on hold, so to speak, is not.

knowing that my goal is eventually to pursue a career and new life in new york, waiting until the spring or summer or fall of next year, somehow seems silly. furthermore, one of my good friends is actually in need of a roommate right now, so it seems like a good opportunity to take the plunge and move cross-country once again. it's 99% decided in my mind, and now i just have to start thinking about the logistics of moving (i HATE moving).

i am both sad that my days on the west coast are drawing to a close and excited about a new start on the east coast is on the horizon. i will miss my west coast friends dearly, and hope they make there way back to the east too. but in the meantime, there is much to do, the hollywood bowl, korean bbq, chinese theatre, mexico, etc.

labor day

last night was a blast.

we went to asanebo in studio city. it was my first time having omasake at the sushi bar. the chef was superb! the sushi was AMAZING, melt in your mouth fresh, and the subtle touches made all the difference in the world (e.g. lime zest on toro). it was a seemingly endless feast of spanish makeral from japan, toro, yellowtail, blue fin tuna, squid, kanpachi, etc.

the chef was also friendly, not snobby at all, and carefully instructed us how to eat each piece of sushi. no soy sauce. soy sauce. all in one bite to savour the mixture of flavours and textures.

omasake is definately the way to go when you have some cash to spend. it was such an enjoyable experience to be able to eat slowly and interact with the sushi chef.

ahhh. . seriously the best sushi i've had in LA, perhaps ever, actually.

after dinner, we drove to the rumba room in studio city. salsa classes started around 8:15 p.m. and the band started playing at 9 p.m. i switched partners some during the lessons, but mostly danced with my friend. after the lessons, some random guy asked me to dance.

and he was g-o-o-d. too good. while i had a good grasp of the basics, i felt like i could barely keep up with him. it was non- stop spinning, swirling, and fancy moves. but it was oh so much fun. after a few dances, i was beat. we watched some of the expert dancers for awhile. . the nice thing about the rumba room was that there was a wide range of ages and skill level so everyone felt at home.

now i have to finish preparing for my tutoring session. maybe i can squeeze in a run before the bbq tonight.

slow morning

so, i made all these plans for the morning, but it's already past noon and i still haven't really gotten going. i'll eventually (hopefully) feel motivated and start preparing for my tutoring session. tonight i'm going to studio city for sushi and to take some free salsa classes. i'm really excited, it's been on my to-do list f-o-r-e-v-e-r, and i love to dance!

yesterday was fun. my friend and i drove to newport beach and walked along the boardwalk. then we had dinner at the university center in irvine. i'll be going to her wedding at the end of next month. it's a huge wedding, over 500 people invited with 400 expected to attend. most of the guests are the groom's family and family's friends. i am debating on whether or not i should bring a friend. one on hand, it's a good opportunity to meet new people and make new friends. . on the other hand, everyone probably knows each other and then i may be left alone. . hmmm. . i guess i have a month to decide how brave i want to be.

coffee junkee

last night was a restless sleep. i know entirely motivated by the excessive amounts of caffeine. . officially, i went to bed around 3 a.m., mostly scanning various apartment listings on the web. even so, it was a shallow sleep.

Yesterday, after dinner and getting back to the apartment, i had set up the coffee machine. .right before my head hit the pillow, i considered changing the timer, but (1) i thought i could sleep through it and (2) i was being plain lazy.

so this morning, after a scant four hours of sleep. my beautiful coffee machine began to drip drip drip. and then the aroma of brewed coffee wafted towards me. . and like a coke addict, i couldn’t refuse it’s siren call to me.

thus, i am sitting in front of my computer at 7:30, with a big mug of coffee almost ready to start my day. will be ready after i finish the cup of joe. today should be fun, after the post office and some cleaning, i’m headed down to the OC to meet up with a friend. we’ll hang out on the beach or maybe go kayaking or for a hike. i’m excited to see her, she’s getting married in a month. . so there’s a lot to catch up with.

tutoring gig

my friend’s apartment doesn’t have a coffee machine so the past few days i’ve been feeling off kilter. probably driven by caffeine withdrawal, I made the mistake of having coffee at 2 p.m. and an espresso macchiato at 5 p.m. . consequently, it’s 1 a.m. on saturday morning and i’m totally wired!

earlier on this week, i got an email from an undergrad looking for a tutor. the girl got a low score on her mid-term and needs help to pass the final. the exam is in a week and a half and the girl sounded like she needed a lot of help. . at $30/hr, i couldn’t pass it up.

we decided to meet in the afternoon to go over her “problem areas”. . . after talking for a few minutes, it became evident that the main problem was that she hadn’t really been studying and putting in enough effort (her words, not mine). the girl was a 3rd year student, doubling in econ and political science and was unconcerned about her GPA. it’s always shocking to me to meet students that are so ambivalent about learning and about their education.

in any case, i think i’ll definitely have my work cut out for me.

afterwards, i went to the promenade with a friend to pick out a birthday gift. walking along the oceanside and across the pier just reminded me how nice it is to live in los angeles. it will be hard to leave this place. i’ve come to really enjoy and appreciate many aspects of living in California. a friend from college was asking me where i was considering re-locating to. she suggested chicago. there are a handful of cities that i would seriously consider living in, los angeles, new york, seattle, san francisco, and d.c. but the idea of moving to starting over completely, both in terms of career and friends, is too daunting.

after our walk, we went to get dinner at the counter. a laid back restaurant on ocean park. they make burgers to order. i had 1/3 lb of ground meat, grilled onions, sautéed mushrooms, roasted red peppers, roasted chilis, and baby greens with roasted garlic aioli! with a side of onion fries and washed down with stella beer, it totally hit the spot.

relaxing night out

went to a hole in the wall restaurant last night called tlapazola with two good friends- e and c. first thing we notice is that our party is probably about 15-20 years younger than the rest of the clientele. nevertheless, the food was quite good. advertised as a fusion restaurant adding california twists to traditional mexican cuisine, the chefs do not do anything too daring. we shared a masa pancake appetizer with shrimp, essentially pancake stacked with greens in a light sauce and broiled shrimp. i ordered the chicken chile relleno (i’ve spent the past 3 years looking for chile relleno as good as the one i had in new mexico) and my friend ordered the lobster and cheese enchilada (excellent), and Alaskan halibut in two sauces- a mole sauce and caper sauce (also quite good). then we topped it off with caramel flan.

over margaritas, i tried keeping the conversation light or at least off of me. . honestly, i am starting to get tired of explaining what happened with the ex.

so instead we talked about the economics department, about my friend’s 5/6 year long-distance relationship with her boyfriend, etc. after dinner, e and i dropped c off, she had to get up early. then we went to downtown culver city to a cozy hotel bar and spent two hours nursing cocktails and talking about relationships, about falling in and out of love, and taking risks.

an interesting question regarding personal philosophies regarding love arose. is it better to play it safe and stay in a relationship for the sake of commitment and compatibility or should one take risks and hold out for that love of your life? each path has its rewards and drawbacks. probably to some degree, the path one chooses is determined by how risk-averse he or she is. i’d like to think that the latter is possible for everyone, but it requires patience, enduring more pain along the way, and probably luck doesn’t hurt.

i think the reality involves some combination of the two. i think there is some one out there that i will believe to be the most amazing man in the world, with which there is chemistry along with compatibility. but to make the relationship be truly successful, I think you need all three: chemistry, compatibility, and commitment. . ha ha, I guess the three c’s.

checking my list

today has been a busy but productive day. i can tell because almost all of my items on my “to do” list have been checked out. yep, i’m one of those type-a people that likes to make lists and schedule her week in advance. i have a bad memory so this helps me be not too scatterbrained.

cancel contracts with wedding vendors. check.

call landlady and have locks changed. check.

lunch with friend. check.

copy friend’s house keys. check.

rob a bank. check.

groceries and drug store. check.

and so on.

i am going to start looking for a new apartment soon. probably a studio or one-bedroom. honestly, my last roommate spoiled me, we got along fabulously and i don’t think i’ll find another roommate i’ll gel with as much. . .
i’ve had a problem with runner’s knee the past couple of weeks. there are some exercises you can do that are supposed to help, but i think diversifying my workouts would also be good. . to that end, one of my friend is offering to give me his old bike, the only problem is that one of the pedals has to be replaced. another friend has gotten into swimming this summer, so i’m going to start going once or twice a week with him.. . .can’t wait. . should be lots of fun.

crashing with a friend

right now i'm staying with a good friend. . while i love being at home, playing with my a-dorable niece and nephew, running errands with my sister, and keeping my mom company. . .i was starting to go a little awol.

my friend has a good way of putting it, basically when you are at home, you are on family duty 24/7. it's nice to just be responsible to myself. maybe that's a bit selfish. but i think i need it.

in any case, there have been some new developments to the hampton roads scene. a few centers with non-chain restaurants, cute coffeeshops, nice stores, etc. . i guess families with more money are moving in and there seems to be an economic shift towards more high end tastes. while i can't see myself ever moving back to newport news, i'm excited about the changes and the opportunties they will bring for my brother and sister who live near my parents.

dog street

yesterday i met up with two of my college friends in williamsburg. we went to the cheeseshop (which still has the BEST veggie sandwich i've ever had), dessert at baskin robbins, and a walk down dog street.

williamsburg seems quaint now, maybe i didn't appreciate it enough as a college student. . but there is something a bit surreal about going to school in a tourist town, especially one that is a living history museum. there are some fond memories too.

we walked by the old shops where people are dressed in colonial clothes, dressmakers, a bakery, a silversmith, etc.. one summer, i actually worked as a hostess in one of the taverns. shields tavern. i had to wear the whole outfit. full skirt, a long white shift that i tucked into the skirt, an apron, and a white bonnet. black shoes and long socks completed the outfit.

one memory has always stuck by me. . it was an afternoon and a couple of tourists walked by. i was hanging out by the gate, waiting to seat customers in the back patio. one of them came up to the gate, looked at the menu that was posted up, then proceeded to look at me up and down. . then commented, "didn't realize there were asian folks back in the colonial times"

looking back, i wonder if the man realized how stupid his comment was. . . did he seriously think he was being funny? or that i would say, "gee, your right, maybe i should go get a job at a chinese restaurant instead." of course, i needed the money and couldn't really tell the guy off. .so i just smiled politely.

anyways, there's some exiting news hitting the burg. . .this past summer colin farrell was filming the movie "columbus" and now it seems there will be an HBO miniseries about john adams (a tom hanks production http://www.dogstreetjournal.com/story/2629) there. . . i am glad to hear that there will be some more money and business pouring into the town. . . hopefully it'll spillover to the college.

hanging out with the clan

so i have a large family. very large family. my brother is the fifth of a family of eight children. most of the brothers and sisters have had at least two children. needless to say, i grew up with lots of cousins.

a fond memory is of our "band", aptly named the "third generation". my brother and i had matching red leather jackets and i recall lipsyncing along to thriller and other jackson hits. it was a good time and probably the last time in the past twenty years that all of us have hung out together. as with many asian families, there have been moments of drama, conflict between siblings, etc. we've all grown up and sadly apart: some have married and have children *the fourth generation*, gotten jobs, some have moved away and others moved back to the good ol VA. but recent tragedy (the death of my grandfather) have seem to brought everyone close together.

last night, after the funeral, we all made plans to meet up at the rivah cafe in yorktown beach. our clan literally took over the bar. over martini's, sambucca, wine, and good crabdip, we laughed, talked, and caught up on each others' lives. it was really a wonderful time and i hope that it is the beginning of closer family ties.

new beginnings

fate has a funny way of throwing you curve balls. . .i left los angeles in june as an affianced woman, planning on getting a lot of research done on my dissertation in china. and i will return to los angeles as a single woman (for the first time in five years), with a lust for life, eager to rediscover myself, and excited to find and pursue my passion.

i think somewhere in the early part of my twenties, i began to lose myself in a relationship. i suppose that is easy to do, perhaps especially as an asian woman- often eager to please and give into another person's preferences. what i had not realized, is that i was no longer pursuing a career or life that i was interested in. . more importantly, i had forgotten just what that was. in general, i try not to regret anything in life and believe that everything happens for a reason. during the past five years with my ex, i have learned a lot about myself, about relationships, and about life. we had a lot of great moments. and i will treasure those and try to learn from my mistakes.

i have decided to take a year off of graduate school. . . and figure out what i want out of a career and decide what steps are necessary to get there.

while i have grown to love life in LA, i am not sure how long i will stay here. . i think the east coast is beckoning me, and i have always dreamed of living in manhattan. . .but i think i'll just play things by ear, see how life unfolds, and share my stories with you.

i suppose that the new blog is somewhat symbolic. . a fresh start. . .once things settle down and i have time, i will upload all the posts from the previous blog here. until then, be patient while i get this blog up and running.

MIA

to all my readers, sorry for being MIA these past few weeks. . and for those that have emailed me, thanks for your concern. i am a-ok and will fill you in individually, through email or in person.

i'm back in the states, a bit prematurely, to deal with some issues on the home and personal front. i will not be back in beijing this fall. *sorry for my readers that find my life in beijing more entertaining than my one in sunny so-cal*

i'm on the brink of making some big decisions and while this is a confusing/trying time in my life, i am excited by the potential and promise ahead. sorry if this sounds a bit mysterious or vague, i'm just a girl trying to figure things out, so bear with me.