Highlights of The Past Month

The past month = 8 Christmas dinners and parties (not including Christmas Eve or Day), 1 huge wedding, 1 job promotion followed by 1 job resignation, nearly 1 month of train and subway rides to 1 new job on the 18th floor of 1 big tower. Deep breath...

Here are the highlights (though the wedding deserves its own big post, later)!



End of November - Some old coworkers/friends from UCR and I reunited over an overpriced Italian dinner. Gabi (center) came all the way from London to visit, and we re-hashed old memories and talked about our new lives. Gabi and her British boyfriend have promised to introduce me to all of their single British guy friends when I visit next year - by then I'm sure I'll be ready to let someone sweep me off my feet!



End of November - Over the past year, I've shared with you my joys and my trials when it came to my job. I shared with you my desires to move on, branch out into new forums, and possibly a new company. After a lot of interviews and prayer, I now share with you my deepest gratitude for State Farm, and all of the opportunities that the company has afforded me, as I close the year with a permanent goodbye. The photo above was 1 of 5 farewell lunches I had with my favorite coworkers. My emotions during the last week on the job were indescribable. Resigning from the company was one of the hardest and most thought-out decisions I've ever had to make; but also the smartest and best decision I could've made for my career (and my sanity). It felt as though I was breaking up with a long-time boyfriend: it felt awkward, I felt unsure, but the decision was right. I was sad to go, but so ready to move forward.



Early December - I started my new job just in time for all of their holiday festivities! Our company Christmas party was a black and white masquerade ball at The Biltmore Hotel. People were pickled by 5:30pm (drinks were free), the food was okay, old people were getting jiggy on the dance floor, and the guitarist in the band was smokin' hot! Yay, proof that I work with corporate big-wigs now!



Jackie (above) is one of the ladies in my department (and also the lady training me for my new gig). Unfortch, I wasn't able to take any pictures of our department Christmas lunch at The Crustacean, where they make killer 1.5 lb crab dishes! I had to sip my wine slowly, as every time it hit a certain point in my glass, the waiter would refill it as though it were water. Man, these people live to wine and dine! The entire first week on the job, it was one expensive restaurant after another - and I didn't have to pay once!



December - My good friend Lamar had a Christmas dinner at his home, where my team kicked his team's ass at Catch Phrase - 4 times! Just like how the Lakers kick Denver's ass every time they play too. Mwahaha!



Late December - This was my 2nd to last pre-Christmas dinner celebration. I (again) reunited with my good friends from State Farm... See Eva, I told you there would be no such thing as a goodbye between us.

So... that sort of lets me catch up on my story telling. I have so many blanks to fill in - with tales of crazy people on the subway, the ex-love of my middle-school life who rides the same train to work, and the bills I drop while shopping on my lunch break (Express and Macy's are downstairs, crap). Stay tuned!

August Highlights - My 24th Birthday

I'm not quite sure why people dread the steadfast approach of aging. I suppose I've learned to appreciate life in all its stages (either that, or the peace of mind that comes with knowing that my parents look 15 years younger than they actually are). It seems as though every birthday celebration gets better with every passing year; and if that's an omen to how the next year will turn out, then I sure have a lot of good things to look forward to. There are always new friends to invite into my life, and new beginnings to undertake. I've always taken my birthday as the point of year in which to reflect, re-evaluate, and re-charge. After all, it is "my" new year. With that said, I've already mentally listed my resolutions and goals for this new year of life.

My actual birth 'day' (August 24th) was a blast. After all, I only turn 24 on the 24th once in this lifetime. Ayana and I took the day off from work - which was a gift all in itself. She treated me to a very entertaining morning/afternoon at Glen Ivy Hot Springs. The amenities were "okay" - but we agreed that the entire experience is highly overrated. But we still had a blast.

Then came an interesting dinner with my closest friends. See, I lead a very compartmentalized life. Each segment containing a handful of friends - all of whom I never intermingle on a consistent basis. See, I like my segmented life... and the only time the worlds intertwine is on my birthday. It's interesting to see how everyone interacts with one another. What topics they choose to chat about, or what stories they highlight in order to introduce themselves. They're an amazing, and very good bunch of people. I am so lucky to have such endearing friends.

Thanks to everyone who called/texted/e-mailed me on my birthday. A special thank you to my family and friends who actually celebrated the day with me. I love you guys! And now, a picture overload!


Photo: Glen Ivy Hot Springs


Photo: With Ayana @ Glen Ivy


Photo: On our way out.


Photo: Post-nap & Pre-dinner


Photo: My faves! Ayana, Christy, Helen!


Photo: She got me baroons!


Photo: She wore her hair curly for me. She never wears it curly!


Photo: My bff and his wife (she's also a close friend).


Photo: Justin, my "play" boyfriend.


Photo: My coworker/friends Vineet and Dan.


Photo: The birthday people and Justin.


Photo: Smooth talkin Helen got the waiter to give me a badge.


Photo: Group


Photo: Yardhouse


Photo: Birthday girl and boy.


Photo: They made fun of the ribbon I made him wear. Sigh.


Photo: My men.


Photos: My bests.


Photo: Cheesin.


Photo: Right before Justin got schooled by security.

LA Bound?

Doing dinner is great. It's even better when you're surrounded by a heaping of close friends, with whom you have absolutely no reservations.

Our good friend Travis (and Ivy League bloke from Harvard Law), is home for the summer - and Norma, Sandy, and I had a blast re-hashing old stories from London 2004. The best story being the time we were watching TV in our flat, to find that the boys upstairs (Travis and Mikey) had stuck their vacuum hose extension out of their window, and into ours - in the funkiest attempt to try and vacuum our carpet. Several seconds later, the hose detached and fell 4 stories down onto our lovely English garden. Or the time a soapy dish slipped out of Mikey's hand as he was doing dishes... 4 stories down onto our lovely English garden. I tell you, it's not wise to have an open window directly in front of your kitchen sink.

Anyway, our quaint patio dinner at Zip Fusion was followed by drinks at the Cha-Cha lounge. And in the early AM's, when everyone jetted off into the night sky, Norma and I went to the hood for Sopes - a place where drunk Mexican men began to harass and blow kisses at us. I even saw a roach crawl up the wall! But the Sope was delish - and time with Normatron is the best. She even played Justin Timberlake for me the entire ride back to Little Tokyo. What a good friend (and soon-to-be re-roommate).

Happy 24th Birthday Helen

Photo: LA Food Show, Manhattan Beach


Photo: Blow!


Photo: Cat and Helen


Photo: Pubbing with one of my faves. Hey, we have no boobies!


Photo: The guys... and Ethan's the token whitey in the back.

Side note: LA Food Show was delish. Wine was great, crab cakes were pleasing to the pallet (though a wee bit overpriced), and everyone seemed to go gaga over their dishes. A definite stop for those of you who like the posh eateries... and waitresses that are dead ringers for Jessica Alba. Not even kidding. Dead ringer.

Vancouver BC, Canada

Photo: Vancouver BC

Two weeks ago to-date, Lisa and I went on holiday to Vancouver British Columbia! After a nice short flight to Seattle, we jumped into our rented Corolla, and drove our way through the border. I've got to admit, driving on foreign soil made my palms sweat a bit - but after two days of maneuvering past blinking yellow lights, we knew that city like we'd been there for eons.

The trip started with the typical tourist attractions: the West End and the Capilano Suspension Bridge... but once we got all the nature-walking out of our system, we parked the auto and made our way to Robson Street... and what a feast we had! The highlights of our eatery-overload include CoCo Rico (panini platters!), Cin Cin (where we had a $106 schmancy dinner for deuce), and The Elbow Room (where they're known for their no-nonsense customer service). All exceptionally delish! And being that I'm very, very loyal to Starbucks, it was to no surprise that I found their espresso shoppe, Blendz, to be a bit below the bar.

Once the sun fell, it was hours of walking and observing Canadian night life. I would say that Vancouver is the perfect hybrid of all things European (Accessorize, Toni & Guy, Le Crep, etc) and all things American (they had a freakin' Red Robin for crying out loud).

I was quite impressed with the compact living arrangements and multitude of glass condos that encompassed the concrete jungle. It was very clean for such a large city. Overall, definitely a great first trip out of the country for 2007. I'll definitely be going back.

Luna Park and Heart Throb

Photo: Reception at the Merry Karnowsky Gallery

March has already proven to be an unexpectedly entertaining month. Sandy, Helen, and I had a quaint dinner at Luna Park over the weekend, followed by a romp through Heart Throb with Norma, my favorite. We capped off the evening at JP's Sports Bar in West LA. The fun never ends every time we get together (missing from photos: Jodi, our now Arlingtonian).

Post-script: I highly recommend Luna Park. Helen's Mac-n-Cheese dish was delish! And Sandy was absolutely correct, they make excellent Mojito's and Sangria's!

Post-post-script: I am SO art-galleried out. I've had my fix for the next couple of weeks (months?).

Photos: Norma, Sandy, Myself, Helen