Birthdays | Curious Notions

Category: Birthdays

27 Life Lessons I’ve Learned by age 27

July 28th, 2010 · Linda · Birthdays 19 comments

photo credit

Today is my birthday. :) My birthday gift to you is this list.

27 Life Lessons I’ve Learned by Age 27

Parents don’t always know best, but for the most part they do. The good parents at least.
There is comfort in routines and growth in change.
Forgiveness can squeeze out more years of a wonderful relationship.
We hear this all the time, but really, sometimes the right thing to do isn’t the easy thing to do.
Spend less than you make.
Have an emergency fund.
It’s okay to let people know they hurt you.
You cannot put the inside of a crock pot on the stove top. It will crack or worse, explode.
Read recipes all the way through before starting.
If you tell someone something, he or she will inevitably tell his/her significant other.
You can’t go on little to no sleep like you used to.
Cutting a pineapple isn’t that hard as it initially looks. Most tasks are not as hard as initially perceived.
Do not engage in battle with buffoons. Even if you win, you lose.
If you can help it, don’t burn bridges. Even if you have to walk away from a relationship, do so cordially if possible.
Sometimes you have to give yourself your own closure.
Reading outside your comfort level and truly ignoring a book’s cover can take you to some surprisingly wondrous places.
Treating someone respectfully does not guarantee equal treatment from them. That said, this does not mean you should withhold respect.
You don’t have to like everybody. In turn, not everyone will like you.
Your friends are your safety net when shit hits the fan. Invest in your relationships with them.
No one can make you do anything. You can’t make anyone do anything.
Spending money on experiences brings you more joy than material things.
Ask for help when you need it.
Apologize as soon as you realize you’re in the wrong.
You do not have to splurge on a plane ticket to get to know another culture.
However, whenever possible, responsibly splurging on plane tickets is worth every penny.
New experiences and people broaden your perspective.
I know we are an appearance centric society, but it behooves us to invest in our insides. Be virtuous, be educated, be interested, be passionate, always be improving your inner self. You’re boring otherwise.

What life lessons have you learned recently?

How Have You Changed in the Last Five Years?

July 19th, 2010 · Linda · Birthdays, pursuit of happiness 12 comments

The above image is from a blog I subscribe to entitled Thought Questions. I thought as my birthday is next week, it’s a perfect question to reflect upon.

5 years ago I was just about to turn 22. My first serious relationship that had lasted four years just ended minutes ago. It was an ugly breakup. I was feeling pretty raw, disillusioned, and exposed. Thus far, it was the hardest year I’ve experienced but the most rewarding. The next five years, I’ve reinforced the friendships I managed to salvage from that breakup and made some really great new friends. These strangers kind of rallied around me despite not knowing me and haven’t left ever since. I’m not as sweet as I was before but I’m nice enough. I do more of what I want even if it means doing it by myself. I speak up a little bit more. I try to not publish private happenings online. I’m emotionally tougher than I was at 22. I’m no saint but if I were, I’d be the patron saint of broken hearts. I have a new empathy for loss of first loves I didn’t have 5 years ago and have taken many a broken heart under my wings. In 5 years, I’ve grown to be more confident, despite being aware of more shortcomings, and more forthcoming, despite cultivating public reservation.

I wasn’t aware while it was happening, but in the last 5 years I’ve grown a lot.

How have you changed in the last 5 years?”

Happy Monday

July 12th, 2010 · Linda · Birthdays, still-frames 6 comments - Tags: Birthdays, party pics, weekends

Hope you all had a lovely weekend. I had a fantastic weekend and last night slept almost 7 hours which is amazing. Saturday I had lunch with an old friend and spent the rest of the day helping set up a surprise party for my friend Liliana. I’ve known Liliana going on 9 years now and have not once made it to her birthday. This kind of thing happens when you share a birthday with my mom. This year though, mom came up to Austin! Giving me a chance to finally celebrate with Liliana.

Sunday, I spent the day with my parents. We had lunch and Alan finally got a chance to meet them. Then we dillydallied and had dinner. My parents rarely have the time to come up (the last time was 2 years ago!) so it was awesome to have them. Sunday night was spent on the couch w/ zee boy watching True Blood and feeding my crush on Eric.

All in all it was the perfect balance between friends, family, sleep, activity, myself, boyfriend, etc. I’m quite pleased with myself. I close with pictures from the surprise party. Birthday girl claims she was surprised. :) We’ll take that as success.

How did you spend your weekend?

Brittany’s Bingo Birthday Bash

June 22nd, 2010 · Linda · Birthdays, misadventures, still-frames 4 comments - Tags: Bingo, Birthdays

BBBB was the most stressful birthday party I’ve been to. I don’t know how the bingo pros /elderly do it. I had one sheet of 9 cards and that’s pretty relaxing and laid back but when I decided to take one of Brittany’s 9 card sheets to help her out, I felt like I was back in elementary school doing SPEED MATH. Minus the math… At the big bingo hall in Austin, on your birthday you can buy 27 cards and a computer game for one penny. I don’t think Brit’s doing 27 cards again.

How do you make bingo classy?

You bring your own minature bottles of wine!

We managed to get Alan to come even though he swore after his first time, he’d never go back. This time he learned his lesson and stuck with a relaxing 9 cards. I love how in the following picture he looks like he’s going to stab the shit out of his bingo cards.

So you can buy yourself fancy bingo bags on the internet. For instance, this one I found on Amazon.

Or you can make your own!

The bingo bag we made last night

Time to go to work :) I’m taking half a day today off so I can face one of my biggest fears. Kayaking. Wish me luck.

Friday 7 Quick Takes (vol 8)

June 4th, 2010 · Linda · 7 Quick Takes (Fridays), Birthdays, in passing, lists, on the nightstand, savory, silver screen, the not so single life 5 comments - Tags: Babies, Birthdays, books, flowers, lasagna, movies, pineapple

1.

Last night had date night with zee dude. Alan was pretty sweet and accommodating to go watch a documentary on babies (aptly entitled Babies) with me. The documentary followed 4 babies from different corners of the world, San Francisco, Namibia, Mongolia, and Tokyo. It’s ALL babies, the documentary. No narration, hardly any other dialogue save the gurgles, baby coos, and baby teary outrages for an hour and 20 minutes. We laughed out loud a few times and I enjoyed it but it was a little slower than I was hoping. My rating is 3/5 stars. See trailer below.

When we got home, Alan reattached his manly bits by watching first game of NBA championship series. ;)

2.

Our fridge at work has pictures of current lab members. The photos have to be humorous and non-serious. I thought I could go unnoticed without a picture up but it has recently been threatened that if I don’t put a picture up, someone else will take one of me and post it. I value my autonomy so I cropped myself out of this photo taken from the weekend.

Photo courtesy of Jason’s facebook

3.

I finished listening to Julia Child’s My Life in France (Ten fricking CDs). It inspired me to buy her first Mastering French Cooking book. I think I’m going to make my 2nd quiche from that book this coming week. If you don’t know how to read or speak French or even sound out French words, I recommend getting the audio book to listen to instead of the actual book to read. It’s fun to repeat after the reader and laugh at yourself as you drive to and from work.

4.

I finished this book at the end of February and much to Martin‘s chagrin, I still haven’t done the book review. As much as I wanted to. I just didn’t quite understand the ending. But up to the ending it was a very humorous story about a Fup, duck (named for “Fucked up”), a grumpy but hilarious Grandfather, and his grandson, Tiny. Written in the early eighties, the story was outrageous and makes you want to own a pet duck with as much character as Fup. (She enjoys chick flicks and bullies the dogs and if memory serves, she also drinks alcohol religiously.) I’m afraid I can’t offer that much of a review, but lucky for you Martin wrote a thorough review on his blog.

5.

So last week’s 7 Quick Takes, I shared that I made my first lasagna and how excited I was. Lasagnas aren’t too terribly exciting but I’m not a skilled cook and the most mundane cooking skills (making lasagnas) are new and wondrous to me. Intimidating at first sight but fulfilling when accomplished. And I’m always surprised when things turn out well. I was surprised that the lasagna was edible and Alan’s even told me he could eat it again and wish he had more. This week’s mundane to others but intimidating kitchen skill I tackled was ZEE PINEAPPLE! I’ve always steered clear of buying a whole pineapple and cutting it myself. I’m a give it to mom to cut or buy it already precut kind of girl when it comes to this tropical fruit.

Emboldened by my conquering the lasagna (and recently the quiche), I finally conquered my silly fear of cutting a pineapple. It’s not very hard. You cut off the top and bottom, and shave off the skin. Then cut in desired pieces. All that fear for nothing. The pineapple recipe I chose was from my Steamy Kitchen cook book. Involved grilling the pineapple, drizzling coconut rum chocolate sauce on the top and sprinkling coconut flakes on the chocolate. The combination was a hit or miss with our Memorial Day pot luck crowd. Brother hated it, Brittany loved it.

6.

Recently, I’ve noticed I’ve taken an interest in nature and green surroundings. I credit this to working at a job that requires me to walk about 20-40 minutes from and to my car. The University has great landscaping. Also, I’ve never been the kind to take leisurely walks outside unless it’s an outlet mall but Brandi and I have been walking more in our neighborhood. 6 months ago, I wouldn’t ever think to myself, look at those leaves! Those leaves are different shape from the other leaves on the tree. Or lookit that flower! It’s practically the only flower on that tree!

But it’s happening. I like flowers and leaves that are not delivered to me in a vase (those won’t ever get old, just to be clear :p).

cell phone picture from one of our walks

7.

I always run out of things to share by 7. 2 of my closest friends turned 27 and 26 yesterday and today. So happy birthday Will and Jen T. My brother got accepted into a PhD program in San Antonio. Congrats to him.

Happy Friday to everyone who reads my dribble. Thanks for that by the way. Reading. Say hi or something :).

Lego Art Inspiration in Honor of My Brother’s Birthday

May 3rd, 2010 · Linda · Birthdays, in passing No comments - Tags: Birthdays, brother, Legos

My younger brother’s birthday is today. I’ve been saving these pictures I’ve taken at the Lego Store in Houston to post on his birthday. Why? Because he’s a Lego artist himself. (Exhibit 1, Exhibit 2)

Case of the Mondays

March 15th, 2010 · Linda · Austin, Birthdays, misadventures, new thing(s) of the week, Personal Finance 4 comments

I’m groggy. I’m cranky.

So I’m trying to budget OUT 400 dollars a month to engage in a weekly activity I think may be beneficial to me. Hence the trying to bring lunches and dinners to work. Extra 400 is kind of tough with all the other miscellaneous expenditures (yes, I really needed those Conan tickets and yes, all weekend celebrating my roommate’s birthday IS necessary, dammit. Finally, I DID call my dentist to make sure they take my new dental insurance but they ended up charging me for that visit anyway.) Needless to say, I had to cancel next week’s appointment til further notice.

On to happier things, some happy photos from this past weekend.

Blowing out her candles off the dilapidated cake I made her.

We went to the Bacon Takedown yesterday! As part of my birthday gift to her.

Happy Ides of March, ya’ll. How was your weekend?

7 Quick Takes Friday (vol 3)

March 12th, 2010 · Linda · 7 Quick Takes (Fridays), Austin, Birthdays, lists, misadventures, new thing(s) of the week, on the nightstand 6 comments

1.

Today is Brandi’s birthday. We have a full weekend of birthday activities planned that include a bacon SXSW event and maybe rock climbing! I’ve had some pretty amazing adventures with Miss Brandi (can’t beat skydiving) and have enjoyed living with her this year. Lots of roommate bonding that may or may not include lots of ice cream, episodes of Ally McBeal, extremely candid conversations, and beauty nights! Sadly, she’s moving to Dallas after our lease is up :(

2.

Brandi’s a cake decorator. She’s made a couple of birthday cakes for me. Pictured below are my 24th birthday cake and my 26th birthday cake.

I was feeling the pressure when making her cake last night. I’m a complete novice. I had her help me shave the top of the cake off for me so it was even to ice. Then I experimented with my first piping experience. Brandi has all sorts of tips in her cupboard of baking supplies but intimidated, I thought I’d just cut a hole in a bag and use that.

Ummm. It’s not as effortless as people (namely, Brandi) make it look! I just never got full command and control over how the icing would come out. The lettering looks as if I’m still learning how to write. Poor Brandi!

3.

There’s a superstition on the University of Texas at Austin campus that if you see an albino squirrel, you’ll have success on your next test. I’ve never come across one as an actual college student but I had my second sighting since working on the campus this week. Both sightings were on 24th Street. The first time I scared it away with my camera. This time we practically had a photo shoot. Here are my two favorite pictures.

4.

It’s also Thomas’s birthday this weekend. We’ve been friends going on 10 years now. Since graduating college, he’s lived in Taiwan, Dallas, and now Los Angeles. He hasn’t lived in Austin for about 5 years now and I’m so thankful that we still manage to remain great friends despite being miles apart. You might also notice, I use a lot of his photos on my blog. Happy early birthday to him too!

5.

I was getting my afternoon coffee on campus when I saw this post-it on the wall.

I like the message and I think it’s true for everyone. There are people who would kill for your job. Your family. Your health. Your friends. The fact that you have a car. No matter who we are, we all have blessings worth treasuring.

6.

As always I keep my reading plate full. Currently am reading One for the Money (This month’s book club selection), How to Save Your Own Life (because I really love Erica Jong), The Last Lecture (because it was 5 dollars at Half Priced Books), and still working through Stumbling on Happiness (because Nam recommended it ages ago).

7.

On a whim, I signed up for my first food blogging workshop that is part of SXSW. I did this without looking at the roster of attendees and boy after studying the roster, I have to say I’m intimidated. I feel like the lowly water boy who dreams to be good enough just to warm the bench! That said, as nervous as I am and as much as I feel like I’m out of my league, I’m excited to soak in these big food bloggers energies.

2009 in Review

December 31st, 2009 · Linda · Big Brothers & Big Sisters of America, Birthdays, holidays, Houston, lists, love, memory, misadventures, music, new thing(s) of the week, Personal Finance, savory, still-frames, the grind, the not so single life 17 comments - Tags: Austin, Boston, chocolate, Christmas, cooking, desserts, family, Friends, growing pains, halloween, Houston, Hugos, Killers, party pics, San Francisco, Thanksgiving, Valentine's Day, weddings, weekends

In comparison to 2008, 2009 was awful! The one thing I can think of that 2009 had over 2008 was that I read more than double the books I read in 2008. I’m anticipating the fresh feel of a new year that is 2010. In the meantime, here’s a review of how my year has gone with heavier emphasis on my blessings verses my misfortunes.

Note: All links open in a new window.

January 2009

Celebrated New Years with Alan and his friends.
I worked a lot. Logged a lot of hours.
Saw one of my favorite movies of the year, Slumdog Millionaire.
Kim sent me Tiff’s Treats at work to cheer me up about something.

Celebrating New Year’s with the boyfriend

February 2009

Alan took me to my third Killer’s concert as a Christmas gift.
Tried out Joe Dimaggio’s for the first of three times this year. Went as a Valentine’s date with Alan.
Got flowers from Alan at work.
Alan, his roommate, and I all played Bingo for the first time.
I worked a lot. Logged a lot of hours.

Alan and I at the Killer’s Concert

March 2009

I worked a lot. Logged a lot of hours.
Went to my first rodeo with some work friends and Brandi.
Ate at Mighty Fine for the first time, now my favorite burger joint of the year.
Celebrated Brandi’s birthday at Pete’s Dueling Pianos.

Rodeo, Austin, TX

April 2009

Went to Houston for my daddy’s birthday.
I worked a lot. Logged a lot of hours.
Was supposed to be Jamie’s date for a wedding. We got lost in West Austin and ended up exploring Salado, Texas instead.
Celebrated Selina’s birthday at her house on same day Jamie and I almost went to that wedding.

Selina’s Birthday

May

Worked a lot; logged a lot of hours.
Visited San Francisco for the first time and went with Alan. It was our first vacation together and we ate very very well.
Put in notice at my Clincial Research Job and thus ending that career path (for now at least?)
I finished out May working at that job and I stopped logging too many hours.
Celebrated Sae’s graduation from Law School.
Kim visited from Houston for Memorial Day Weekend.
Katambra introduced me to a snowcone stand that I frequented often in the summer.
Saw Star Trek in IMAX, was surprised to love it.

Celebrating Sae’s law school graduation

June 2009

Ate at a lot of happy hours with old coworkers, with Alan, Sae, and his girlfriend with new free time.
I took a certification class to become a teacher
I went to Houston for Father’s Day
Kim and I tried out Feast, voted best new restaurant in Houston by a handful of magazines.
I saw Thomas in Houston and we ate at Fufu’s.
Went on a lot of double dates with Sae and Young. (Here’s our first time at North)

Cindy and me at Grand Lux Cafe in Houston

July

Celebrated Fourth of July with Brandi and her boyfriend at Zilker Park..
Went on a lot of double dates with Sae and Young.
Went to Houston for my mom’s birthday.
Saw Cindy in Houston and we ate at Classic Kitchen.
Kim and I discovered Hugo’s, hands down my favorite restaurant in 2009.
Moved in with my current roommate, and long time friend, Brandi.
Celebrated my birthday with tons of great people at Trailer Park Eatery.
At one point, had 4 bouquets of flowers delivered at our apartment and they were all to me from different people. Felt very loved.
I took and passed my state certification test to become a middle school teacher for science.

Brandi and me on Fourth of July

August

The first two weeks of August, I tried to squeeze in as much time as I can with Alan because he was about to leave for Korea for up to 4.5 months.
Starting, August 16, I started counting days Alan was gone.
Kim came to visit the weekend of the 22nd and we saw Wicked.
I saw 500 Days of Summer three times this month, in theatre, of course. This is the first movie I’ve done that.
Jon visited from NYC.
I got a part-time, part-time (yes you read that right) job, thanks to Brittany dropping a good word for me.

Alan’s last night out with friends before going to Korea.

September

Hosted the first Alphabet pot luck. We started with the letter P.
Wrote a blog entry about my journals, surprisingly my favorite blog entry of the year.
Friends and I got dressed up for Deesh’s brother’s wedding reception.
Visited Mary Ellen for a long weekend in Boston. First time I’ve gone to see her since 2005. Had best breakfast ever at Mike and Patty’s and most interesting hot pot.
Alan surprised me by coming home from Korea early.
Went out for Selina’s Bachelorette Party.

October

Celebrated Alan’s birthday at Joe Dimaggio’s. Was very happy to have him back in Texas and to be able to celebrate his birthday with him and take him as a date to weddings. He had good timing :)
Stood in Selina & Ryan’s Wedding and witnessed strong love.
Realised I don’t really want to be a teacher.
Threw 2nd Alphabet Potluck.
Dressed up as a cow girl for Halloween.

November

Went to Wurst Fest with friends.
Went to Cathedral of Junk for the first time with Brandi.
Texas Renaissance with Jessica and Brandi
Had a wonderful Thanksgiving in Houston where I reunited with people I don’t normally see! (Willis, Thomas, Kim, Shane, Kelvin, Chris, Aishah, Kym, Hillary, Alex)
Had my second progressive meal this year.

Having hot chocolate at Ren Fest.

December

I started my new full time job and kept my part time night job.
I struggled with what it means to be someone’s family.
I struggled with what it means to be someone’s friend.
I made truffles for the first time!
Saw Avatar in IMAX opening night. Awesome.
Attended and witnessed proudly, Bing graduate from college
Attended annual Christmas Party for Big Brothers, Big Sisters of America with my little and her family.
Jennifer from Philly is in town and I introduced her to Teucsher.
I went home to Houston for Christmas break and was able to see Mary Ellen, Aishah, Pinky, Cindy, and Kim of course my lovely family.
Had hot pot on Christmas day twice. Lunch with Mary Ellen and her mom and dinner with my own family. Hot potted out! (Blog entry to come.)
Released balloons 4 days early as part of a New Year’s Tradition with Kim. (Blog entry to come.)
Tonight, most likely will be going downtown for New Year’s and spending it with Alan.

After party in the car.

I’m a blessed girl. Instinctively, I’d tell you my 2009 was pretty awful but when I write it all out like this and focused on the good rather than the bad, I can see now I’m still quite lucky. Farewell, 2009.

Tell me how your year went. Or better yet, if you have a year in review entry, I’d love to read yours.

Happy Birthday, FFB!

November 27th, 2009 · Linda · Birthdays, still-frames 2 comments - Tags: FFB

My FFB (Friend from Boston) BFF has a birthday today! She’s my brain and she lives in my heart. Aw. Happy birthday, Mary Ellen. I love you and can’t wait to see you this Christmas.