Sam's Blog

Link: http://universalurban.com/nore/

I felt guilty this weekend. I was partying it up in Las Vegas while tons of people had to evacuate their homes in New Orleans. I saw the footage and it didn't really register in my head. It took me a while to process all of the information. Hurricane Katrina's wrath is all over the news. The broken levy didn't help matters and there are tons of people homeless with no food or are on top of their apartment buildings and homes waiting to be rescued. It feels surreal to me still. I have been watching coverage at work this week and it seems like its getting worse. My heart goes out to those people and their families and friends. I feel so helpless in situations like this. It saddens me that people couldn't afford a flight out of the city a few days before or some were stranded because they didn't have cars. Either way we look at it, we have an emergency on our hands. Bush is finally spoke to the people today. It sickens me to hear his voice for more than 5 minutes. I say that its about time that he is finally saying something. Makes me wonder where he will get more National Guard and more people to help out considering that most of them are in Iraq. I want to donate things to the relief effort. I hope you guys can give something as well. Go here and find out what you can do.

Wow, I am so exhausted still from my trip to Las Vegas this past weekend. So many crazy things happened, but I have to remember the motto: "Whatever happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas." I uploaded some pictures on my Flickr account, so check it out. I am so glad that I was able to hang out with all of my old friends from high school. These girls know me so well even though some of us don't speak too often. We all have known each other since junior high and some from even elementary school. It was so much fun and we are all going to try to take a trip like that at least once a year from now on. The only bad thing is that I feel like crap right now. I haven't felt well all week. I lost most of my voice and sounded hoarse on Monday. I started to get a sinus headache and built up sinus pressure that day too and it's still continuing to today. I've had a hard time sleeping because I can't breathe through my nose and now it's stuffy and runny at the same time. My immune system feels weak. I am hoping that it is allergies because I am not feverish or anything like that. I hope that some R & R will help my condition and that way I will be energized for my trip to San Francisco this weekend. I haven't been in over 4 years. That's crazy!! I don't know where to go or what to do there because the city is entirely different once you turn 21. I am glad that Dan and Gavin and other friends are helping me out with great hang out spots. It's not too far from LA and yet I never go there. Shame on me!!

Anyhow, the weekend was wonderful and tiring. It all began on Friday. I got off work early because I only worked a half day and no one was really around either so it was cool. I went to Costco to get some supplies for the trip, mainly alcohol. I can tell that there is a distinct difference in our tastes and that we have all grown up because they all requested top shelf products. I got a huge bottle of Grey Goose and a bottle of Patron. We were gonna live it up hardcore in Vegas with quality alcohol! I grabbed some Malibu and drink mixers and we were set. It took me and Jamie and I seven hours to get to Vegas. It was crazy. We arrived around 9 o'clock and got ready to go to the club. Marita, the birthday girl, was just arriving and we were set to go to Rain, the nightclub in The Palms. The last time I went to Vegas, we tried to get in to Rain, but for some reason, we ended up going to the Ghost Bar, their other bar at that hotel. Rain was a great club. Being with 4 other girls had its advantage. We were able to go to the front of the line and we didn’t have to pay. Sweet!! The only problem was the small dance floor that people desperately tried to get on. When we danced, fire would shoot out of the ceiling every hour and ten minutes (Marita timed it, not me!) and it made the place hotter. I was sweating so much. But the music was pretty good and the people were really nice…some were too nice. Anyhow, we left the club around 3-4am.

We woke up a bit on the early side at 9am. We took our time getting ready and chilled for a while. We hit the Rio buffet. Yum yum yum! Much information was disclosed between each other at that one meal. Me, Roni, Marita, and Kristy were the only ones there, but it was great that we can talk to each other about anything in our heads. It’s quite comforting to know that even though we only see each other a few times a year. I have a feeling that after this weekend, we will see each other more frequently. Marita and I took a short nap while the rest of the girls and Jamie went to the pool. We got ready to go to club Pure, the nation’s #1 club apparently. Alison and Myra arrived into town and got ready as well. We were worried about big crowds and long lines so we got there early. We stepped out of the cab and saw a really long line outside of Caesar’s Palace. Since there were now 7 girls, we walked up to the front of the line, which was way longer than I expected. Once inside, the line wrapped around like an amusement park waiting area and it went on and on. We walked to the VIP section. Apparently, the taxi cab driver in the other car took a fancy to one of my friends and gave us VIP passes on our way to the club. The thing was, they weren’t the right VIP tickets, but we sweet talked our way in there for free (instead of paying $25). The club was amazingly beautiful with a rooftop bar that played electronic music and a downstairs area with a bar that played hip hop music. It was attached to the Pussycat Dolls Theater and they opened up that area after their show. There were so many people there and it was really crowded. There were tables that had bottle service all around. The only thing that I didn’t like about the club was the people. They were either really annoying or pretentious. It was okay for a while, but it became annoying. We lost Myra around 1am and couldn’t find her for the rest of the night. At the end of the night, around 6am, we found Myra, ate a late late snack and went to bed.

We woke up around 12:30 and we went to the pool. We were supposed to leave early on Sunday, but we couldn’t wake up in time. At that point, we were just gonna wait for a while until traffic died down. The pool was relaxing and fun. We played volleyball, which was a lot harder when water is in the equation. But it was a nice relaxing time. We had a late check-out and grabbed dinner at a surprisingly fantastic Thai restaurant. We shopped for a while and checked out the new Wynn hotel. It was more fabulous than I had imagined and had the best stores in them, including Manolo Blahnik and Chanel and Jimmy Choo. Too bad I’m not filthy rich to be a patron. Well, time went and we didn’t leave until 11pm and got back into LA at 3am. I was the only one that had to work on Monday, ugh. That was a hard day.

Link: http://www.vegas.com

I am going to Las Vegas tomorrow! Woohoo! I haven't been there in so long. I can't wait for the mimosas and buffets and shows and clubs. I am excited to see all of the lovely ladies that I went to high school with. I love reunions! I just hope that I can leave early from work tomorrow so we can beat traffic.

Link: http://www.secondthought.co.uk/fsol/

I didn't have much time to do anything productive this weekend like clean, do laundry, do my nails, read, or anything of that sort. I did, however, go to Hollywood a lot. I think that it's becoming a trend for me. I guess it's not surprising since about 2/3 of my friends live over there now. There are so many places there to explore. I am sure that I will be able to eventually…it's not like I'm leaving this city anytime soon. I am actually one of the very few people that like it here. I guess other cities will be fun to live in…New York, San Francisco, DC, Boston, Chicago, San Diego, London, and Tokyo to name a few of the cities that I have considered living in. But really though…I can't ask for anything better than LA right now. My friends and a majority of my family are here. It seems counterintuitive to leave here at this point in my life. Every city has its cons, whether it is traffic, cold weather, humidity, wind, high cost of living, no sunshine, etc. but to me, I guess I am comfortable here. It's a nice feeling to belong somewhere. I've been here for almost 7 years since I started college. I can't believe it has been that long. It feels like I am still finding shortcuts around town and little bars and restaurants all around this big city. In any case, if I get a strong desire to want to move somewhere else, I will have to really think about it and weigh my options.

I am so tired today. I didn't get a chance to catch up on any sleep this weekend or this week, so I am kinda running on empty. The weekend was fun-filled. Friday night we celebrated a belated birthday for Andrea at the lovely St. Nick’s Pub. For some reason that night, the place was dead. It was fun though. Nate got her a really cool 90s music compilation called Whatever. It has so many great songs on it! I so want to get it soon. Anyway, on Saturday, Josh, James and I went to the Malibu hills for a party that their former boss was throwing. His house was absolutely gorgeous and way way way at the top of the hills. It had a breathtaking view and the sunset was spectacular. We had a yummy dinner and his boss made great margaritas. Afterwards, we went to Big Wang’s, a sportsbar in Hollywood in celebration of Alexis and Nate’s birthdays. It was fun. Cheap drinks and good chicken wings, but the patrons there were being obnoxious and drunk. I’m not a big fan of that. Overall though, it was a cool place and I would like to go back eventually and hope that the annoying guys aren’t there again. It was very cool meeting Alexis’ coworkers and finally seeing Jon and Erica again. Those crazy kids are always hit and miss these days.

I had brunch with Lindsay on Sunday. Lindsay and I have not seen each other as often as we like to. I have a feeling that it’s going to be this way for a while because she will be starting school soon. She had just got back from vacation and seemed to be doing well. I checked out her new apartment and talked and talked about life and stuff. It’s always nice to do that with her. She is awesome. After brunch, we went to Nadja’s apartment for a BBQ for her twin brother, Jacob, because he is leaving for graduate school this week. Mike and Matt and their friend Chris entertained us all night. They were a fun bunch.

Monday was difficult because I was really tired that day. Everyone in my department at work was back from vacation, etc. and we had tons of work to do. Work’s been a bit stressful lately, but not nearly as much as my old job. I really like it there and am slowly picking up a few new things here and there, which keeps me on my toes. I’m learning the hard way with some things, which is not the best for me personally, but hey, you live, you learn. After work that day, Josh, Kurt and I went to watch a new Korean film called Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance. It had its violent moments and a keen sense of emotion (or lack thereof). It is not for the faint of heart, but it is an interesting movie.

Last night I went over to Matt’s apartment to watch Bride and Prejudice. I have wanted to watch that film for quite sometime. It’s not that I expected it to be good, but I was interested to see how they would adapt it from the book and see how good the dance sequences were. They were both ok, borderline cheesy, but it was highly entertaining though. We wanted to order in Indian food before watching the movie, but we didn’t know of any good Indian restaurants that delivered in Matt’s neighborhood. Instead, we went to Palms Thai restaurant, which is arguably one of the best Thai restaurants in LA. I love it and I hardly ever go because it’s in Hollywood. It moved right down the street, within two blocks of Matt’s apartment. We were delighted. I got their papaya salad and BBQ beef. Yum. Just thinking about it makes me hungry. I need to go there more often as well. I had a pleasant conversation with Vanessa, whom I haven’t seen in a really long time. She just started law school and is very far away now. So sad. I miss hanging out with her and going to Whole Foods for lunch. She seems to be doing well and I am happy that she likes her classes.

Today was a pretty good day. It felt a lot longer than most days, but I blame it on work. Work wasn’t bad, but it had its moments. I was, however, happy to order the office supplies, which didn’t take much time at all, but it did give me some pleasure. I met up with M and we got manicures and pedicures. It has become a social event now and its fun to go with someone else. Except, I snagged my thumb on my purse and messed a part of it up. Whoops, my bad. We went to Houston’s for some steak, but the wait was a really long time, so we went shopping in the meantime. I spent an obscene amount of money at Ann Taylor, but I got a lot of cool shirts. I’m excited secretly because I honestly don’t have much else to wear because I haven’t done laundry in so long, so I guess they will buy a few more days. The steak was wonderful and the conversation was great. M started school again, so we moved our dinners to Wednesdays. But I am thinking about taking an extension class through UCLA for work and it is on Wednesday, so we may have to change the day again. So sad. The most important thing is that we see each other though. So I don’t really care if it’s an off night or a weekend, I am sure I will see her at least once a week. That thought makes me happy.

SATC Quote of the Day:
Carrie: Bet you can't get steaks like this in your little Napa village, now can ya?
Big: Where do you think this cattle comes from, a ranch on Canal Street? (Season 6 - The Domino Effect)

Link: http://www.siamusic.net/home/

Another awesome show comes to an end. R.I.P. Six Feet Under. That sentence is so ironic in many ways. Recently, I noticed that everytime a great show ends, there is nothing as equal to replace it. Sadness. The very last song that ends the series is a song by Sia. The song sounded familiar to me. I couldn't place it at that time. I had heard it before but couldn't remember when. Then when I looked it up, it clicked. Jon, Nate's friend, had showed us the video to the song, "Breathe Me" about over a year ago because it was such a cool video. I thought it was neat that they used that song. It was very appropriate and fit so well. I really am going to miss that show. I just wish that there will be a show that can fill the empty void that it left. Looking at the programming for this fall, I highly doubt anything will come close, sadly.

Link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0146882/

So Josh’s new car is used, but it’s quite smooth and drives incredibly well for being so old. I do miss his old car, but there are so many upgrades in his new one. There are little quirks here and there, but it just adds to the character of it. The only thing that we complain about is that there is no CD player in the car. Seeing as though it only takes an adapter and a portable CD player, it’s not too big of a problem. Except we haven’t gotten an adapter yet and so we are therefore stuck listening to the radio. Or are we? On our way to St. Nick’s on Friday, I grabbed some of my cassettes that I had lying around on my bookshelf in the living room. I had no clue what was on them. One tape was titled “Alternative Bands.” We put it in and I instantly remembered when I made it. It was circa 1997. Sweet. It by all means was not a good mix tape, it just brought me back to some high school memories. Most songs are played on KROQ’s 90s weekends and sometimes I would randomly hear them on the radio on JACK FM. But it just reminded me about how deprived I was when growing up. The best alternative radio station KDJK was taken out of Modesto right around the same time Kurt Cobain died, which was in 1994, I believe. So we were deprived of all of the good alternative and hard rock music from then on. It is reflected in my song choices for the mix tape. Songs from artists like Bush, Live, Nirvana, Third Eye Blind, Foo Fighters and Sublime were on there. Very pop-rock to me. I loved these songs so much in high school. Prodigy was in the mix as well only because my brother was a huge fan at the time and there was that huge uproar with their music videos on MTV. But it was a cool treat to listen to the tape that I listened to back in the day. Brings back great memories. It also made me realize that most of my music schooling was all done in college. Thank you Napster. And thanks to Metallica, I was banned from Napster. And so ended my mix tape days once college started. They were fun while they lasted. I am sure I have a few more tapes on my bookshelf that I will have to listen to eventually.

Link: http://www.islandrecords.com/thekillers/site/home.las

Yay! Josh and I have been working on the Deep Thoughts on the top of this website for a while and I finally uploaded it. It has a new quote every time you enter the site. Its fun and I have yet to even start on the quotes. There’s a lot that Josh put on there from his site, but I still have to think of more quotes to put on here.

Geesh, this week went by fast. Work dragged, but the evenings flew by. Dinner with M on Tuesday was great. It’s sad that we are going to have to change our weekly dinner days. We went to a different place in Venice called, The Library Alehouse. I wanted us to try something new. Jon introduced me to this small cozy restaurant a few months ago, but I wasn’t too hungry at that time and only got fries. The place had so many beers and it is a shame that I don’t enjoy drinking beer because I am sure they have great ones there. I should take Josh there sometime. I think its right up his alley. Anyway, she seems a lot more happy and stable, which is very awesome. I love the time that we spend together, even though it’s only one night out of the week. We went shopping afterwards at 3rd Street and I bought a whole bunch of stuff. Much fun was had. I saw Brandon Davis there, the guy that’s been on-again-off-again with the lovely and very talented star of the smash Fox hit, The OC, Mischa Barton. He was not as cute in real life as I was hoping. Ah well. I’m crying on the inside.

On Wednesday, Josh and I rounded up some people to watch 2046. It was a lot better on the big screen and for the second time. Josh and I had seen it a few years ago when it first came out in Hong Kong and we had to watch it on his computer due to regional issues or something like that, I don’t remember. But anyhow, it was visually beautiful and the story is very interesting. The main character, Tony Leung, is one of my favorite actors of all time. He kinda reminds me of my brother and it creeps me out sometimes. Kurt said that it was hard to become emotionally invested in the character, which is very true and intentional, but even so, I kinda felt more for the female characters than the main character. After the movie, we went to California Vegan down the street from the theater. They just opened a location on the West side. The food is always yummy. And as I say to Kurt, as long as it tastes like meat, I’ll eat it. Though the idea of vegan shrimp kinda scares me. Anyhow, it was nice to see Shahab again. I have a feeling that we will be seeing him less because he moved to Oxnard with Emily. Hopefully we can coordinate our schedules in the future so we can all hang out with him. He’s still relatively close by. We ran into Navid, Negin’s brother, and his girlfriend at the restaurant. So random, but it was nice that they joined us for dinner.

Had dinner with Kurt again last night. I have seen him so much more lately. It’s nice. We went to Real Food Daily this time. They have the best vegan tacos. I’ve had a lot of vegan food this week and I realized that it’s not that bad. I used to freak out because I love meat so much, but it is healthier and probably good for the environment or something. Josh and I went to Barney’s after dinner in celebration of Nate’s birthday. His old ET friends were all getting together there for old times sake and for a good time. He was totally drunk and it was so funny because it takes so much alcohol to get him to that state. I took some pictures there and they are classic.

This weekend looks to be very busy and fun-filled. I’m excited. It feels like I have so much to do…I need to make a list or something. Oh and I talked to Alison today and she got me all excited about Las Vegas next weekend. Woohoo!!

Happy Birthday Nate! And happy early birthday Alexis!! I probably won’t post tomorrow, so might as well say it now.

Link: http://www.missy-elliott.com/

This weekend was so short. I spent every night in Hollywood. I am slowly exploring it more and more. It’s quite nice, but it’s so far and takes a long time to get there on most nights. So Friday was nice because I was able to leave work early. I am going to miss summer Fridays in a few weeks. Alexis and I wanted to hang out because it really has been over 2 months since we’ve seen each other. I don’t even remember our last encounter to be honest. But we went to The Well in Hollywood and we called up Tripp to hang out because he lived right down the street. I hadn’t seen him in a long time too! We walk in and I see my boss and some coworkers there. What are the odds?! It was a bit weird, but not really. My boss was very nice and treated us to drinks throughout the night. We didn’t stay long because we were all tired. So sad to leave early on a Friday night, but we are getting old I guess.

Saturday was fabulous because I spent a majority of the day reading Harry Potter with Josh. We got through a majority of the book and I’m anxious to see how it ends. After milling about and reading all day, I went with Jamie to Spundae to see DJ Keoki, one of our favorite DJs. I haven’t seen him since high school! It was fun, a couple of random freaks were bothering us, but overall, it was fun. He didn’t come on until around 2:00am, so we were basically dancing for hours and waiting around for him to spin. He was awesome and definitely worth the wait. The DJ that went on before him did an awesome remix of Nirvana’s “Lithium.” Keoki was in good form and he had so much energy. The club was pretty packed but I was happy because the air conditioner was on full blast. I really do love that venue. I wish more people would use it. We left towards the end of his set because, as I said earlier, we are old and we got really tired.

Sunday started off great because I met up with the gang for brunch. It had been a little over a month since we’ve all been together, so it was wonderful to hang out with them all. With all of the birthdays coming up, I am sure I will see them more frequently. It was such a beautiful and sunny day. Quite perfect actually. That night, we went to the 4100 Bar on Sunset (which was a very cool bar) in celebration of Kurt’s birthday. We had tons of fun. Kurt loosens up a lot more when he’s had a few drinks and I have a lot of fun teasing him about everything. We talked quite a bit about the past year of his life because I haven’t really talked to him about it in a long while. I am glad that he is happier in life because he totally deserves it. All the while, we found out that we had a lot of talented people in our party and we had lovely and interesting conversations. The pictures speak for themselves. All in all, it was a great night and I had so much fun, despite having to work the next morning.

Happy Birthday Kurt!

Link: http://www.rollingstones.com/home.php

Woohoo! New website colors. I hope it bodes well for the readers. The white text may be a problem, let me know if it is harsh to the eyes.

I have been listening to an insane amount of music since working at my new job. There is a TV set behind/above my desk and there is one a few more feet away. They are everywhere. I am more in tune to the most recent popular songs and if I get my way, I get to watch VH1 Classic, which is probably the best music channel on TV right now. So I get to listen to 60s, 70s, and 80s music all day. Yay!! It makes me happy.

I had dinner with Lisa and Aussie last night. I miss Aussie! She just got back from the homeland and had a horrible experience. But I am glad she is back here. I am glad that we make some time for each other. Their company is excellent and comforting. Good food, sangria, and friends. Lovely.

I am glad Josh is back. We are still chugging along on the new Harry Potter and are definitely enjoying the summer together.

Link: http://www.hbo.com/sixfeetunder/

I woke up late this morning. Weird, I haven’t done that in a really long time. I slept through my alarm. It happens, but very rarely. I couldn’t figure it out. I rushed into the shower and got ready. I guess it didn’t matter because my bosses were all on business trips anyway, but it totally ruins my morning running around like a crazy woman and rushing to get to work. I was driving and then the answer came to me. I’m not used to sleeping alone anymore. It’s not only that, but I know that Josh is a light sleeper, so I always wake up when the alarm rings and turn it off right away or hit snooze. But since he wasn’t there, I guess I subconsciously slept through it knowing that he wouldn’t be affected by it. So strange. Angela and I were talking about it last night. Randy is in New York and I think that we have become so dependent on their presence that it’s hard for us to sleep or wake up normally when they are gone. I guess that’s when I know that I am used to living with him. It’s a nice feeling actually. But it is sucky when I wake up and he’s not there. It just doesn’t feel right. But I am so glad that he is back! We can finally watch 2046 together in the theaters. (Yay Alexis! The website for the film looks awesome. Great job!)

I went to see UCLA Alums Raining Jane and Sara Bareilles at the Troubador last night. (If you go to Sara’s site, it has a poster of her and Raining Jane. Eva and I were lucky enough to get one that was autographed by all of them.) It was an awesome show. And though the venue is small, it’s still one of my favorite places to watch bands. It was sold out and sooo crowded. But it was great to see so many come out on a Monday to support them. They are both going on tour and I am happy that Sara finally was able to get signed by a major label. It was nice to see a lot of old friends there as well. The girls were there, Kristy, Lindsay, Beth, Kaplan, and Jesse. I even saw Purdy with his new wife!! I still can’t believe that he is married. Awesome show with awesome company, you can’t get any better than that.

Today was very mellow. I know that it will be the calm before the storm. It’s going to get really busy at work soon, I can feel it. I will be attending my first client dinner and I am a bit nervous. Don’t know why, but I am. It’s always weird to meet people after you’ve spent so long emailing each other back and forth about business. They are almost always not what you seem and it throws me off sometimes. Anyway, at work, I had to sit through Business Code of Conduct Training and a Sexual Harassment Prevention Training. Fun fun! At least I won’t have to do it again for 24 months. Sweet.

I had a lovely dinner with M tonight. I had a lot of things running through my head about her. I love her to death, but given the new information about her relationship, I knew that we had to talk about it. I felt like an older sister in many ways. It was nice to speak openly and honestly about her predicament and help to try to find the best solutions for them. Her sister was in town this past weekend and attended a transfer Orientation session and she hated it. That sucks because I have so much faith in the program, being an alum and all. It’s just a shame. I hope that things will work out for her. She will be moving to LA sometime soon. Yay! I will have my own little sister.

So I wanted to wait for Josh to get back to watch Six Feet Under, but he was really tired and didn’t mind me watching it first, so I did. I [heart] Nate on the show. I cried and cried uncontrollably for a while. It’s just realizing everything that the show has gone through the past 5 seasons makes it so much harder to watch it, especially since it’s coming to an end very soon. I think that I will have to organize a party for the last episode because I am not sure if I can watch it alone. Once it’s gone, nothing will be good on TV. I am hoping that Arrested Development starts soon because I hear that Scrubs got pushed back to January and The Sopranos will start in March, as will Curb Your Enthusiasm. No more good shows left really. Sigh.

Amy will be arriving in New York around the same time I wake up for work. Crazy to think that she will be there almost permanently. I will miss her dearly. Amy - you, me, New York: New Years. Sounds like fun!! And Kate will be there too!! Woohoo!

Eek! Time for bed.

Link: http://www.cocker.com/Menu.html

So Modesto was really HOT. I forgot how hot it gets over there. I can’t believe I grew up in that weather. I feel like such a wimp when temperatures get over 90 degrees. I guess I am spoiled living in LA, especially near the beach. Despite the extreme 102 degree heat and sweaty-stickiness, the weekend was a great success. One of our family friend’s daughter (who is a few years older than me) threw a “I passed the BAR exam and am opening up my own law firm” party. It was nice to see old friends and a lot of family, and those who I learned to call “family” throughout the years. My dad was so happy to see everyone again. It’s been a while since he’s been back and he missed everyone. It’s just not the same now that he is living in Southern California. But we had a lot of fun and it was very tiring.

I helped out with the party all day Saturday. I was under the impression that it was going to be a small function, with just a few family and friends. But apparently, I found out that day, that it was going to be a banquet/wedding style party, with about 250 people going. Eek! It was a huge event. And no Cambodian party is complete without Hennessey. We went to Costco and spent about 1K on just Hennessey. It’s crazy. But it’s expected that it would be there at every party. (Luckily, we had some extra, so I was able to snag a bottle, though I don’t even like Cognac.) We blew up balloons and ran around like crazy. But it was fun. I was finally able to catch up with everyone while doing the balloons and it was nice to talk to Keo, Po’s brother, who I went to high school with for 2 years (he transferred to Modesto High after his sophomore year) and I got to know his wife more. Po’s family are always hospitable and loving and welcoming. They spoil us every time we visit. Many thanks to them for a great weekend. I still can’t believe time has passed so quickly. Po’s sister (who is my oldest sister’s age) now has 4 kids! I remember when the first one was born and now she is 9 years old. Crazy and exciting all at once. I really am proud of Po and am so happy that she is able to start her own law office. She is helping out so many Cambodian people in the community. It needed someone like her to help and I am sure she will be very successful in this endeavor. The fact that she is practically my age and she’s doing this is so amazing to me and I admire her willingness to put herself out there. It feels like everyone is slowly starting to grow up.

I forgot how much of a small town feeling Modesto had. Its weird seeing “hicks” around all of the time, either at gas stations or in the mall. It’s also weird that they still stare at me, as if they’ve never seen someone of my “color” before. I mean, Asians are in all parts of Modesto, but since we were visiting family that lived in Ripon (which is rumored to be one of the strongholds for the KKK) I was a bit weary about the stares. But it didn’t matter because I don’t live there anymore. I really don’t miss it, well not as much as I thought that I would. I was just there in May, but this visit was different because we were seeing family. I think that my sister and I arrived at the same conclusion: We are thankful that we grew up and were raised in this town, but we are so happy that we don’t live there currently. I don’t think that I will ever live there again.

I should’ve posted this on Friday, but better late than never: Happy Birthday Andrea!! I hope you had fun in Denver with the fine men in that town. See you very soon!! Speaking of Colorado, I got a postcard from Amy while in Telluride. I can’t believe that she is moving to New York soon.

I miss Josh. But he'll be back from Texas soon. Yeehaa!

S&TC quote of the day:
“When you're a teenager, all you want to do is buy beer. But once you hit 30 all you want to do is to get carded.” – Carrie (Season 3 – Hot Child in the City)

Link: http://www.4ad.com/artists/catalogue/pixies/

I can’t believe its August already! Wow!! This time last year, I was getting ready for Josh’s brother’s wedding and I was so stressed out with life at that time. Crazy! A year later, I am so much more carefree and just plain happy for once. Sometimes you don’t know you’re happy until something bad happens and looking back, you realized that you were happy. It’s very rare I think for people to actually know that happiness is within their own little bubble of a world. I know that there are always little things here and there that may compromise it, but overall things are going great. I will be going to Modesto this weekend and then to Vegas in a few weeks. The weather is cloudy, but hot, so it’s still nice, especially when the sun decides to poke it’s rays out between the clouds.

I saw Wicked on Friday night and it blew me away! It was fantastic. Great voices, great fun story full of laughs and tears. I really liked it and it gives you such a different perspective on the story, The Wizard of Oz. Such a creative write and it was adapted to the stage wonderfully. It makes you question the definitions of good and evil and right and wrong, etc. Lovely! Thanks M!

I hung out with Josh a majority of the day on Saturday and the weather was beautiful. We took a walk around the neighborhood and got frozen yogurt. It was an awesome feeling not having to do anything that day or have any pressing matters. We had dinner with Règis and Ramona (who just finished taking the BAR exam and was visiting from the Bay, congrats and good luck!) at Hurry Curry (I [heart] Japanese curry).

She and I went out with her friend, Dena, and we went dancing. We went to The Space because Dena knew the bar manager and they had a 70s cover band performing that night. They weren’t too shabby. Ramona took off her shoes and put it at our table and started dancing on the dance floor. But the security guards wouldn’t let her dance without shoes so she went back to get them, but they were gone. She was really mad because they were new shoes and very very cute. She began frantically looking for them all over the club. She told the security guard and it seemed like he didn’t care. A few moments later, another security guard came up with her shoes and she got pissed at him and an argument ensued and we got thrown out of the club. I guess it would’ve been different if the security guard was being genuinely nice about it and was actually looking for the owner of the shoes, but it seemed like he purposely took them to show her a lesson or something. I say, he should try dancing in heels and see how fast he would take them off. Anyway, it would have been so much easier if he didn’t have a mightier-than-thou attitude, because really, he’s just a security guard and he doesn’t even get to carry a gun. I mean, any guy that treats ladies like that is a jerk. It is even worse because I remember that guy from the past couple of times when I went there with other friends. He was trying to get up on me and my friends and was being touchy-feely with us. I didn’t like it one bit. It’s just creepy. Anyway, we went to Aaron’s place afterwards to get rid of the negative energy. Aaron is a sweet guy. I’ve met him a few times, every time Ramona visited, he would attend the outings. But he was really cool for hanging with us, especially since we woke him up in the middle of the night and pretty much forced our way into his apartment.

I spent a majority of my Sunday with Lisa. We had brunch at the Omelette Parlor and went shopping all over West LA to search for bathroom items for her bathroom. After hours of shopping, she ended up with a very cute towel set and brushed metal bathroom accessories. Very nice. I got a new black skirt for work and some Capri’s. (I used to hate Capri’s, I am still not overexcited about them, but they’re okay. I like that I can wear them to work.) I got home and decided to totally reorganize my closets and drawers. This was a greater feat than I thought it would be. I set aside all of the clothes that I don’t wear or fit anymore and it ended up filling 3 huge department store handle bags. Even with all of the clothes gone, it still feels as though my closet is full. I don’t know how that works, but at least I have room to hang up my work slacks. I think that was my original intent before undergoing the extreme reorganizations. It is nice though. I bought some huge storage containers to temporarily pack my sweaters in and put them above the closet. It’s so nice. I know, I’m becoming boring now. I’ll stop.

So I realized that I probably will not be a good housewife, well at least at this time in my life. I am not an adamant cleaner. I eat out all of the time. I barely pick up my laundry, and I hardly cook. Lucky Josh. I know that it will change after perhaps a life changing event, like maybe when I have kids or something, but I really don’t think this will change much until then. Even being married won’t really change it, I don’t think. The reason why I am rambling is that I noticed that Josh cooks for us way more than I ever did. I like it because it’s convenient and cute. But I know that it will all change when he starts school again, but I am enjoying it for the time being. I have to try to balance it eventually though. I know that I have it in me somewhere. But we are chugging along with the new Harry Potter book, we’re about halfway done. It’s becoming exciting. Speaking of exciting, Six Feet Under is at its best, which is really hard to believe because it is such an awesome show. If you haven’t watched it, I say don’t bother watching the next few episodes because it will be their last ones. Watch it from the beginning. It is amazing and I’ve been hooked for years now and I can’t imagine it not being on after this season. Nothing good is on right now, which is probably for the best because I really don’t have time for television anyway.

I didn’t post yesterday, so this is a day late: Happy Birthday Michelle!! I hope you had a wonderful day! There's so many birthdays this month! Woohoo!!

S&TC quote of the day:
“Meanwhile, uptown, Charlotte wondered when relationships had gotten so complicated. She yearned for the time when dinner was followed by dessert, not lubricant.” – Carrie (Season 1 – Valley of the Twenty-Something Guys)