A Day at Getty Museum

When certain things are within reach, I find myself taking them for granted. One example would be the Getty Museum. It’s quite close to where I used to live, yet I’ve never step foot into it, until two weeks before my departure from the place I called home for the past 4.3 years. But at least I finally went there with some friends. Here are some of the pics. 
Just another day to some others, but to me it was a beautiful day that filled my heart with layers of emotions as I counted down to my departure.

A vantage view.  Don’t know how to get rid of the glare. (Brandon help!)

If the parking fee wasn’t so expensive, (and if I weren’t leaving the city for good), I’d go there every week. 

Ladies in green.  
Life would be much simpler if I were just a little fish in the sea. 
No, actually, I’d like to be a whale- so that my life wouldn’t be too short. 😛
Nothing to do with the above picture though. Hah. 

Instead, I’m trapped in a maze, and I can’t seem to get out. 

Odd looking plants. I suppose they’re some form of cacti. 
10 minutes to three. In the afternoon, of a certain Sunday in January.
It was. It will never be again.
I miss. 

Another Chapter

It’s the end of March! Already! When I was four, everything was a drag I couldn’t wait for time to fly by faster. Now I would give anything for time to slow down a little.

Past few months have been crazy. It’s been a roller-coaster ride, and it’s downward all the way. Sometimes life is so unpredictable, all you can do is just hang in there and ride out the storm. Now that I’m done being despondent and dispirited, I’m back to writing and fighting. I should always look at the big picture and remind myself, my problems are petty compared to what has happened to the Japanese. I should consider myself lucky to be alive.

I will try to be a better person. I will try to be a happier person. Heck I’m not going to just “try”! I’m going to fucking make it happen. I refuse to surrender to all the curveballs life threw at me. I’m better than that.

Reflections on 2010

Two thousand and ten was, for me, a great year. I completed most of the things I said I would do, I visited a few places, I’m one step closer to my dream, had quite a few revelations, made quite a few good friends, met interesting people, but most of all, I had a few surprises thrown at me that I never thought would’ve happened in my lifetime. I am reminded, once again, that life is so much more than what our senses tell us, that there is something bigger going on in this universe. It sounds vague, but only because it is. We mortals only know so much about the universe, which is paltry compared to the vast amount of information yet to be learned.
I’ve learnt so much over the past year- not just concrete facts or information I learned in the healthcare courses, but something more abstract. Sometimes I can’t help but wonder, what would’ve happened if I did one thing different in any point of life- just one, for all it takes is just one, single event to change everything. My life would have taken a different course, no doubt. And yet, I am sitting here typing this, instead of doing or thinking about anything else. As one who never believed everything was just a series of random occurrences, I’m convinced that there is a set of laws that governs life (and beyond), and this set of laws which is more commonly known as Fate, or Destiny, (or God?), continues to intrigue and humble me. 
I stepped into 2010 with very realistic expectations, but came out of it with a handful of surprises, and with a bagful of lessons. I am, if I may say so, a little wiser than I was in 2009, and my heart is filled with gratitude and humility. 2011 will be a life-changing year for me, and I will be starting a new chapter of life. How it will turn out I have no idea, but I’m hopeful. With luck, I’ll be able to embark on that road for which I’ve waited so long. Whatever it is though, I will embrace every moment with my open arms, and continue my journey learning and exploring as I go. I wish everyone the best in this new year to come. 🙂

Sand Brain

They say the texture of the brain is like tofu. Tonight though I feel that mine is like a pile of sand held together by water, which really isn’t working. Every grain of sand tries to adhere to one another but attempts are futile because they aren’t meant to be that way. My mind, alas, remains scattered all over the place; and I, for once, will just let it be. Tomorrow when the sun is out and the weather calm, I will sweep up them all up and mold them into one again.

The World is a Beautiful Place

The World is a Beautiful Place
by Lawrence Ferlinghetti
The world is a beautiful place
to be born into
if you don’t mind happiness
not always being
so very much fun
if you don’t mind a touch of hell
now and then
just when everything is fine
because even in heaven
they don’t sing
all the time

The world is a beautiful place
to be born into
if you don’t mind some people dying
all the time
or maybe only starving
some of the time
which isn’t half bad
if it isn’t you

Oh the world is a beautiful place
to be born into
if you don’t much mind
a few dead minds
in the higher places
or a bomb or two
now and then
in your upturned faces
or such other improprieties
as our Name Brand society
is prey to
with its men of distinction
and its men of extinction
and its priests
and other patrolmen

and its various segregations
and congressional investigations
and other constipations
that our fool flesh
is heir to

Yes the world is the best place of all
for a lot of such things as
making the fun scene
and making the love scene
and making the sad scene
and singing low songs and having inspirations
and walking around
looking at everything
and smelling flowers
and goosing statues
and even thinking
and kissing people and
making babies and wearing pants
and waving hats and
dancing
and going swimming in rivers
on picnics
in the middle of the summer
and just generally
‘living it up’
Yes
but then right in the middle of it
comes the smiling
mortician

Labor Day Weekend in Baltimore

ask me now and i’ll tell you i seriously have no recall of how my July and August passed by. the conscious mind of course will tell you it was all work work work. FDA audit at work gave all of us loads of stress but we couldn’t really do “real” work. after the audit is when the real suffering began- we had to catch up with clients’ orders; all the testings were backlogged and everyone worked over time for as much as we’re allowed to. even now, and we’re still sort of behind. not as bad, but still. that is my official excuse of not blogging for the past few months hahaha. but no, really, it was a lot of work, and when i had free time, all i want to do is just sleep. or hang out with friends.

so on labor day weekend, first weekend of September, S invited me to her sis’ house in the east coast and i took it without much thought. i decided i deserved a break from this hectic work-life. it was well worth the trip, for i met the cutest little princess with almond eyes and am forever smitten by her. :))

look at her! so cute i wanna bite her. 😛

good genes run in the family. 😉
K and princess.

princess’ brother, smartest boy i’ve ever met. 
first day he saw us he told us all about dinosaurs and bombarded us with big names. i felt so stupid after! 😛

mr. cho, aka our seanie boy, who’s studying in my dream school right now. 🙂
oh and of course- the good food. Ethiopian.
barbeque-ing satay! 🙂
hehe.
ze dream school’s hospital.
quack.
where politicians congregate and decide how we should live our lives.
where the commander in chief resides. the oh-so-famous 1600 pennsylvania ave.
world war II memorial. where a bird shat on me. -____-||

didn’t do much over there, but it was fun to play with kids, and not having to worry if i’ll be late for work the next day. will need to go back to Washington DC cuz i barely got to see anything. some other time, definitely.

The Birthday in July

i am back-tracking.

for the sole reason of none other than my deteriorating memory, i am jotting down the little things (or big things) that happened prior to this moment, so that i can look back and remember what i’ve done during my time in LA- for soon, i will be gone from here, and what is left will merely be memories of this place and the people i’ve met. but even then, memories are nothing more than traces of thoughts in our mind that can so easily be tampered with, modified, or forgotten. and so, this little virtual space will be a tool to help me remember the good times.

now, on to the back-tracking process. 🙂

 geisha lips. hah! use your imagination. 😛
ingredients- tuna, shrimp, crab, avocado, Kaiware sprouts & orange tobiko, wrapped in cucumber. no rice though. 

geisha house, the place where we went for lil’ K’s birthday dinner, is a contemporary jap restaurant, serving sushi of course, sake and some other main entrees like lamb chops and such. the atmosphere is mysterious and sensual, just as they described on their website, and the fact that this place is right there on hollywood blvd yet look like just another shop from outside is, to me at least, amusing. kinda like a hole in the wall place that no one would go, unless they heard it from someone or somewhere. so for decor and atmosphere, i’d give it a 4.5 star (out of 5), but the food was alright (3.5). tasty, yes, but still slightly overpriced.
seaweed-cucumber salad. loved the crunchy seaweed part.

fried calamari karage style.
with sea salt and creamy sauce on the side. seemed ordinary but i liked it lots.
 uhm, i think it’s lamb.yah should be.
it’s the grilled mongolian lamb chop, with creamy sesame and cucumber salad on the side.
grilled filet mignon steak. with soy, garlic and sesame dipping sauce.
can’t decide which was my favorite. both are so good.
ooh, this is called octopussy. 😀
ingredients- diced octopus, spicy cream sauce, scallions, tobiko, topped with avocado, spicy tuna and tempura flakes.
hot chicks- sheena and birthday girl kenna.
doing the half-pout pose lol. 😀 
our only group picture there. 
went to Besos for desserts. they were to die for. :))
ice cream and cookie? i think. can’t remember the fancy name for it. 
the coffee i ordered, without knowing there was xo patron in it. omg it was so strong i felt like i was gonna be drunk after a few sips! too bad couldn’t really enjoy it because i had to drive after. 
 chocolate mousse with whipped cream on top. and some choc shaves around it. 
just heavenly. 🙂
that’s about it. dedicating this to lil’ K, albeit it being 3 months late. thanks for being such a great friend all these time! much love, and hopefully we’ll get to spend many more birthdays to come with you! 🙂

Hello Again (Pearl of the Caribbean – Part 2)

well, well. i stopped writing for so long i don’t even know where to begin! so much has happened, yet nothing has happened that shouldn’t have happened. does that even make sense?! it’s almost the end of september, i’m running out of time. but i guess since i’ve been away for so long, there is no hurry in writing any updates. here are some pictures from puerto rico, where i left off the last time.

first day we were there, and it was pouring cats and dogs. 
no matter. no amount of rain could have dampened our excited spirits anyway. 😉
my travel buddies and our host. 

my powderpuffs. <3s.
i suppose paying a visit to the historical fort should at least be accompanied with a picture of a cannon like this. so here it is. 🙂

after-rain. cloudy sky and colorful buildings.
vibrant smiles.
cheeky faces.
i’m so glad i have them in my life, that’s all i wanna say. 🙂
chillin’.
shaky hands, pardon me. but i have to show you the decor of ben & jerry’s. it’s terribly cute. 

couldn’t make up my mind what i wanted to order. ended up ordering a cup of mocha, 
and an ice-cream cone (with double scoops of ice-cream). yummm. 😛
 always been intrigued by miniature objects that portray our daily lives. 
some day i’ll have my very own collection of miniature kingdom. 🙂

Sweet as Honey and Warm as Sunshine

I promise you, these videos are of the cutest little kids I’ve ever seen, the first one reciting a poem – Litany, by Billy Collins, and the latter, a french girl telling her cutest (albeit a little morbid) fairytale that tickles your heart. if you’re having a bad day, spend the next six and a half minutes to watch this, it will cheer you up. 🙂

Uhm

omg i completely abandoned the blog for more than a month now. this is terrible. unbelievable! if you’re wondering, i’ve been too busy at work, and catching up with friends when i’m not. here are a few pics as proofs. puerto rico pics will be up when i get my other more important stuff done! priorities!! 😛

workplace fun 🙂

korean bbq with friends. but i think i loved the potato pancakes and all the side dishes more! 😛

a day at Farmer’s Market in LA and The Grove. i wanna own a 3-storey bookstore like this when i grow up 🙂

santa monica fun and funny faces!

Marxism

When we look at someone (an angel) from a position of unrequited love and imagine the pleasures that being in heaven with them might bring us, we are prone to overlook a significant danger: how soon their attractions might pale if they began to love us back. We fall in love because we long to escape from ourselves with someone as ideal as we are corrupt. But what if such a being were one day to turn around and love us back? We can only be shocked. How could they be as divine as we had hoped when they have the bad taste to approve of someone like us? If in order to love we must believe that the beloved surpasses us in some way, does not a cruel paradox emerge when we witness this love returned? “If s/he really is so wonderful, how could s/he love someone like me?”

~ Excerpt from On Love, by Alain de Botton.

The Pearl of Caribbean – Part 1

A friend commented that I seemed to be living a life of constant flux between my hermit-ville and the party lifestyle. I wouldn’t say it’s exactly true, only because I don’t reckon the second part of it as the “party lifestyle”. But yes, in a way I do live in two separate worlds- one of my own and another of the socializing and getting together with people. Two weekends ago I checked out from my hermit-ville and took off to the self-acclaimed Pearl of the Caribbean, Puerto Rico, visiting my dear friend Jeanie, and meeting up Jessoms and Chris there. It’s been a while since we spent quality time together, and the weekend was definitely a treat for all of us. Despite it being too short, it’s definitely the trip of the year (for me at least). Pictures below were from Jessoms’ camera, mine still needs a little touch-up. Will post them up soon. 🙂

Robbie Rivera in da house! We’re taking a break from the dance floor- Heading back in!

Random guy who wanted to take pictures with us!
Reckon it’s the alcohol that does crazy things to the mind… 😛

Seeing and hanging out with my girls always warm my heart 🙂
Reminds me of how much I missed them on normal days. This little ‘reunion’ is much needed-