Dec 31

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


Celebrating New Year’s with the boyfriend

February 2009


Alan and I at the Killer’s Concert

March 2009


Rodeo, Austin, TX

April 2009


Selina’s Birthday

May


Celebrating Sae’s law school graduation

June 2009


Cindy and me at Grand Lux Cafe in Houston

July


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

October

November


Having hot chocolate at Ren Fest.

December


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.

Dec 9

If you missed the previous entry, you can read it here. It’s a quick introduction to our progressive lunch in Houston.

So I met Thomas and Willis (of Skissors Eats) for lunch the day after Thanksgiving. Willis was originally supposed to introduce us to Little Bigs, a sliders eatery and I said something about how I want to eat the world. I often say how I want to eat the world. Willis suggested we add three more places and that he had three more places he’s been craving. (He lives and plays in Houston, unlike Thomas and me). Willis wanted to go to Kolache Factory to eat their special flavor of the month: turkey and stuffing kolache. Turkey and stuffing in a kolache? I’ve been to Kolache Factory but usually in the early morning when I’m half awake and never thought to stray from my usual sausage, cheese, and jalapenos. So this is where we started our food trek.

We each ordered one and then shared a Philly Cheesesteak kolache. The Philly Cheesesteak one was sub par but the turkey and stuffing one rocked our socks off.


This photo taken by Thomas.

So here are the ingredients we gleefully discovered as we chewed through our kolaches: cranberry sauce, turkey, stuffing, and gravy. Doesn’t it look gorgeous? I must remember to come back next year. In hindsight, we should have kept focused on our goal and not order that Philly Cheesesteak kolache. Our bellies were hurting by the time we finished our back to back eating extravaganza.

Here’s a video that I love. Willis was being a little shy (surprisingly) and I was prying to get him to give me a better introduction/reaction to the kolache. Wait for Thomas’s interjection.

Nov 30


Reunited with Kayli, Chris’s sweet and chill dog.

I’m back in Austin from Houston! I ate WAY too much, had a handful of great and overdue reunions, saw the parents, and I come back happier, fatter, and a little more tired. Hope everyone had a great weekend.

Nov 26

When you eat your pumpkin pie, think about this picture!

I’m heading to Houston today for a long weekend.

I do not have steady internet access in Houston but have scheduled a few posts to publish. :) Enjoy and have a wonderful and safe Thanksgiving!

P.S. Check out Twitter for live updates during the weekend!

Nov 26

I got to Alan’s from work at 10:30 PM. We’re both leaving for our respective hometowns after we wake up in the morning and pack. At midnight I had just gotten out of the shower and was lounging in just a towel while Alan was working in his office. I was pretty damn hungry since my dinner at work was a mere pudding cup and 2 bags of chips. I tiptoed into his kitchen hoping that he still had some tacos left over from dinner yesterday. No tacos. His fridge is bare, bare, bare. I looked in his freezers. He had tater tots, wings, and garlic bread. I opted for a snack of tater tots, preheated the oven, and then waited patiently for 20 minutes for the timer to ding. Mmm. Back in college, I lived with Laila and Aishah and I remember we used to make snacks of just tater tots. Aishah and I would have them with mustard. This was the happy memory I was nursing as I waited.

Halfway through my snack, Alan came out. He noticed I’m just in my towel.

“Put some clothes on!! It’s been an hour!”

I didn’t know what the big deal was. I’m in a towel. So what?! He practically PUSHED me into the bedroom. “Put some clothes on!!”

I humored him and was putting on a sweatshirt when the light bulb came on. THE MANIPULATIVE BOY WAS DISTRACTING ME FROM MY OWN SNACK! By the time I got back, my tots were gone!!

Thief!! I should have known better after him ninja stealing my organic lollipop last week while I was in the shower.

We went back to the freezer and decided a meal was in order. Out came the rest of the tater tots, the garlic bread, and the frozen buffalo wings. It was an impromptu feast.

Although it was a meal made of default items already in the freezer, it made me happy as technically, we’re spending the first few hours of Thanksgiving together and we broke bread.

Nov 25

Tomorrow is Thanksgiving. Before I head home to Houston, I’m going to squeeze in a third Gratitude list.

If you missed the first two here they are:

- 10 Things I’m Currently Thankful for
- 10 More Things I’m Currently Thankful for


Another 10 More Things I’m Currently Thankful for

  1. A full time job! As I mentioned once or twice before, I landed a job and will be working at my Alma Mater. I start next Tuesday.

    I went to the lab to talk about the job offer last week and as I was hanging out I saw one of my old professors. It’s kind of a funny thing to see professors after you graduate and be inundated with academic memories. Some not so good ones! I had to suppress an urge to shrink away. Anyway, I digress. I gots a full time gig after not having a full time gig since June.

  2. Reunions over Thanksgiving! I have a handful of friends I haven’t seen in months and I get to see some of them in Houston this weekend for Thanksgiving. Although, it’s going to be challenging to time budget between friends and family in just 3 days, I think it’s not too shabby of a problem to have.
  3. My car.


    My first baby.


    My baby Civic

    I bought my car summer of 2007 after getting in a car accident. Ever try to imagine your life without your car? I wouldn’t be able to get to work (my current part time position is 45 minutes away by car.) I wouldn’t be able to drive to Houston to visit. No fun trips to restaurants, etc. Austin isn’t a pedestrian city. My car makes it possible for me to play, work, and explore. Yay car!

    I’m also grateful I didn’t play around and paid off my 5 year car loan in 1.5 years. This made the last 5 months of unemployment easier without having an extra 200 dollars a month to expense for a car payment.

  4. My Washer/Dryer. I remember the days of hauling my laundry to the laundromat and setting aside hours at a time to get laundry done. I’ve filled up COUNTLESS journal pages people watching as I think it’s extra interesting to see what people wash. Heehee. I haven’t had to use a laundromat for years now. I had a roommate 2007 with a washer/dryer. In 2008, Miss Jamie let Alan and I borrow her washer and dryer and we helped her “store” it. When I moved to my own place last year, I thought I’d forgo fun purchases and spend almost a thousand on a set. It was money well spent. There’s freedom in owning your own washer dryer.
  5. Trip to San Fran and Boston! I’m incredibly lucky to be able to travel a little bit this year considering my stint with unemployment.

    I took a trip to San Fran with Alan right before putting in my notice at my previous full time position. It was kind of a celebration of a new beginning for me and was also the first trip Alan and I took together. San Fran is one of my favorite cities now. I was also extremely blessed to have such a loving BFF/FFB who gifted me her flight miles to go see her in Boston. I hadn’t seen her in Boston for a few years and it was good timing for us. I can’t wait to go back to see her new house! :)

    I’m always thankful for any kind of travel I’m able to swing.

  6. Those who read what I write. I’m thankful for my regular readers (mostly friends and boyfriend). I’m thankful for the comments you take the time to write and just over all taking the time to read my humble little blog. I’m thankful for the mentions you make when we chat, for the followers, and the subscribers. I’m thankful for you!
  7. Yesterday, Today, Tomorrow. I’m thankful for great memories and hard lessons from my past. I’m thankful for the photos and the journals that help me not to forget.

    I’m thankful for today and being alive. I’m thankful for the possibilities that lie in the future and my capacity to dream and plan.

  8. Friends.

    It would take me all day to name them all by name but I’m thankful for them all. I come from a small isolated family. We hardly have any extended family. My friends are my extended family. They want the best for me and are my cheerleaders in life. I’m forever thankful.

  9. Living in Austin. Did you know this year we hold the accolade of least stressful city in the US? I love living in Austin. I love how pretty it is with the lakes and hills. I love the events hosted by us. I love our downtown area. It’s a wonderful, fun, smart, and young city.
  10. Books

    I cannot wait to own my own place and have my library set up! Books and bookstores are foolproof sources of comfort for me. I grew up around a lot of books so they conjure up a feeling of youthful awe. I also grew up seeing my dad with a book EVERY NIGHT, and every moment he had free and anything that reminds me of my dad also releases a lot of dopamine in my noggin. All the positive memory associations aside, books nourish me. They’ve molded my philosophies in life, provided understanding, clarity, education, inspiration… the list goes on. I love books. I’m thankful I’m in a country that limits censorship and that my parents raise me to value and appreciate the written word.

Nov 18

Last week, in the spirit of my 2nd favorite holiday, I shared 10 things I was currently thankful for. Here I am a week later and thought I’d share ten more and then I’ll do it one more time NEXT week, which is aptly one day before Thanksgiving.

  1. My mom.

    She’s been really excited about me coming home for Thanksgiving since I haven’t seen her since July. She’s calling me daily asking me what is it I want her to cook when I come home and what dishes I want to bring back to Austin. She likes to fill up coolers of food I can freeze and have when I want. She spoils me!

  2. Google. I’m so connected through Google I bet you I could just have a Grateful Google List. First and foremost, Gmail. Gmail not only keeps me connected through Gchat, AIM, and email. It is also the best notebook ever. I don’t know how many times Mary Ellen and I dispute about whether we talked about something or other and the Gmail search has never failed us in mediating. When I’m applying to jobs and cannot remember which positions is which, I Gmail search. When I want to find out the date of an event or even gossip details, I GMAIL SEARCH! GMAIL SEARCH IS AWESOME.
  3. Fine, I’m breaking up Google into GMAIL and all other Google applications. I have 5 different calendars under Google’s Calendar application. I have a social calendar, a “grown up/yucky” calendar, a health calendar, a cooking calendar (so I can keep track of when I made what), and a birthday calendar. All color coded. My social calendar text messages me my plans a day in advance. I also have a growing list of documents in Google Documents that range from old school work, to resumes, and to shared documents with friends. I have a private blog with Google’s Blogger. I have an Adsense and Analytics account through Google. I just recently signed up for Google Friendconnect (see sidebar and follow me!). I’m enamoured with Google.

    P.S. Orlando just so sweetly invited me to Google Wave. I haven’t quite figured Wave out yet.

  4. Dad’s journals.


    A cellphone picture of a old picture. That is my dad, my mom, my half sister, half brothers, and some of his friends on the boat they used to escape Vietnam.

    A few years ago I bought my dad a leather bound journal so that he could put into writing the story of his life. He finally finished one and is starting another one. When I go home for Thanksgiving, I cannot wait to borrow the first filled journal to begin to transcribe. I had no idea my dad has such a knack for telling a great story. His life is so amazing to me. Fighting in a war, being on the losing side of a war, being detained in a reeducation camp, escaping a communist country, possibilities of pirates. It’s a hell of a story. All the crazy drama aside, there is romance and humor. He writes of his first experience of Kentucky Fried Chicken and his crazy passionate love for my mom. Sigh. I cannot wait to borrow the first volume.

  5. Health. I’m thankful for my health, my family’s health, my friends’ health, Alan’s health. I’m happy to have everyone alive and well.
  6. My camera. Have you read my blog? You can get by just scrolling and looking at pictures. Haha. That’s what Alan does anyway. I am very thankful for my camera. So it goes without saying, I’m also very thankful for my photos. I need to get on printing them out. I have about a year and a half worth of photos to print.
  7. My part time job. Goodness, it’s taking me a lot longer than I expected to find a job. This also is why one of the reasons why I said I was thankful for Brittany in my first list, she was the one who referred me to this job. I’m happy I have at least this job. It slows down the dwindling of my savings by covering my rent. Whew.
  8. Lunch date with Bing and Deesh yesterday.


    Deesh and Me, Halloween 2007

    I was on campus yesterday for a Psych research study that involved alcohol. Deesh was going to help make sure I made it home safe in case I was randomized into the alcohol group. Aww. So I met these two boys up at school for lunch. It was nice to be back on campus with Deesh. Deesh was a classmate in A LOT of my classes during college. I’m on campus often enough to use the gym with Nisreen but this was the first time I was on campus with Deesh since I graduated. Brought back a surge of memories of my younger self. I remember being worried we wouldn’t be friends after we graduated, but lookit! We’re still friends and I graduated 4 years ago.

  9. Online Streaming and DVR. I remember one of the reasons Jessica, Brandi, and I started our weekly “Joy Luck Club” dinner club four years ago, was to be able to socialize and yet also catch our favorite show at the time, Grey’s Anatomy. This is before DVR and online streaming. I remember scheduling my life around Grey’s Anatomy. Now! Now, thanks to ABC.com and lovely DVR, we are not held hostage by our shows. I also remember working during business hours and never being able to catch my lovely, Oprah. The last couple of years I was able to catch her thanks to DVR. Ah :) such joy.
  10. My Five Senses. My neighbor is blind and often times our apartment leaves fliers or notifications on his door and it just piles up. I remember he had a package notice left by the apartment and I left an awkward message at the office explaining that neighbor has left his notices on his door because he’s blind. I had another neighbor last year who was deaf and used to have me call their pizza orders in for them. I’m thankful for these neighbors because they remind me that I’m so blessed to have my five senses. I can eat and blog about the tasty foods I eat. I can hear the phone ring and the door knock and see my loved ones and treasure my photos. How lucky are we to have our senses?

    11. Your turn! What are you thankful for these days?

Nov 11

In the spirit of Thanksgiving, my second favorite holiday, here are ten things I’m at this very moment thankful for.

  1. Online conversations. I’ve been having more lately as I’m on the computer more often this week so I’m catching more people online. Kim kept me company a few times as I watched girly movies or shows on TV. Deesh and I chatted about college memories and we tried to piece together the tapestry of our shared college courses for a while late last night. I cannot remember the last time we had a conversation online. Apparently I dropped McCord’s chemistry twice (two different courses). Kym and I are bumping into each other more often too. I know I used to be a letter writing kind of girl but I’m thankful for the ease of Gchat.
  2. Chocolate . I got a box of truffles from my old coworkers for my birthday. I finally remembered where I hid them and broke into them. Nom. Truffles.
  3. Random dinner invites last two nights. Deesh grilled up some chicken 2 nights ago and last night Jesse made us burgers with spinach and Alfredo sauce. Thanks for feeding my scavenger self!
  4. Lunch date with Alan. I enjoy dates with that boy. Who doesn’t like dates? There’s a different light that shines on us when we’re outside our respective apartments. I’m a mush. Alan treated me to North yesterday. Ever since I tried Young’s order of Strozzapreti the first time we went there, I don’t get anything else. Though, we have only been to North three times. Did you know they have happy hour?

  5. I finally got a call for a job interview. Wish me luck tomorrow. I absolutely hate living off of my savings.
  6. Brittany! I don’t know if she’ll read this. Brittany is Deesh’s girlfriend. She has been doing some great looking out for me and it has humbled me with gratitude. I find her pretty enchanting too! I have a creepy-girl-platonic-straight-crush on her. Haha. Now I hope she doesn’t read this.
  7. Roomie bonding. I have a part time evening job that kept me from seeing Brandi for a bit. This week since I’m not working, we’ve managed some time together. Cooking, baking, eating. Today we plan on finally checking out the Cathedral of Junk!
  8. Checking out a new eatery. Yesterday after dinner, a group of us tried a new yogurt place. I haven’t checked out a new eatery in a while so it was nice! I’ll tell you about the yogurt venue next time.
  9. The thought of Houston. I miss my parents dearly. Mom reminded me that I hadn’t seen her since July. I cannot wait to go home for Thanksgiving. I get to see them, eat momma food, see Thomas, see Kim! Maybe eat at a few new places too (I haven’t forgotten about you, Jess). Such anticipation!
  10. My bed and delicious sleep. I have had friends tell me they never want to leave my bed when they lie in it. Trust me, it’s awesome. I’m about to go have some sleep. It’s currently 3:30 AM on Nov 11. This is due to post at 10am. I’ll be setting my alarm for 8:30am. I have some business to take care of!

    11. Your turn! What are you thankful for these days?

Dec 27

January
- Kim came up for New Years. We celebrated downtown with Alan’s couple of friends and Jon and the boys.
- Kim and I wrote on two balloons on New Year’s Day. One balloon of our regrets and things we’re letting go. The other balloon our desires for 2009. Then we ever so poetically, released them on my balcony.
-I went to San Diego for the fourth time. I made it to the zoo and stayed at the same hotel as Jon and Kate plus Eight when they went to San Diego on their way to Hawaii.
- Made Jambalaya for the first time.
-Ate a lot of food with Jon while he was visiting Texas.



At Paradise Pointe Resort in San Diego.

February
- Spent my favorite holiday with Jamie.
- Did my own taxes for the first time
- Found a new hair stylist of of Sixth Street after asking her for a kiss for Bing for his birthday.
- Sent out Valentine cards and packages.



Celebrated Bing’s birthday on Sixth Street. The night I met my hair dresser.

March
- Watched a lot of movies and cooked a lot of dinners with Alan.
- Cindy came up to visit. Introduced her finally to Flip Happy Crepes.
- I got about 3 hours of sleep a night.
- I go to San Diego for work yet again and stay at a hotel that had sex toys in their mini bar available to purchase.
- I search for a Madam Mam’s replacement. (Never found it)
- I celebrated Brandi’s birthday with Jessica. This is the 2nd time in 2008 we managed to spend some time together. We went downtown for her birthday and ate at Hula Hut.



With my girls, celebrating Brandi’s birthday. I wish this year we saw each other more. There was a time a year or two ago we saw each other once a week at least.

April
- I go to Second Chance Prom with Neville. Sweet since I didn’t have a date to my highs school prom. Well.. Liz was my date :)
- I meet my little and take her to celebrate Earth Day at Republic Square.
- I take a fabulous vacation to NYC (originally suppose to include Boston too and visit Mary Ellen but her paper got accepted into a conference). I got to see the Jennifers and Jon. Jon was my lovely host. (entry, entry, entry, entry)
- Had my first Brazilian Wax. Yikes.
- The father of two of the kids I’ve babysat since both of them were born, died.



Jon and I in NY.

May
- My brother graduates college! My parents came up to see him walk.
- Alan and I didn’t renew our lease and I started to mourn the apartment. I was in love with our location and view.
- Continue to babysit for the boys who lost their father. Started with the night of the memorial service and then the funeral.
- Selina asked me to be her bridesmaid.
- My brother turned 23. Making me feel old.



Our view.

June
- Go to funnest book signing I’ve been to with Si Nae and her boyfriend. We went to see Chuck Palahniuk promote Snuff. He threw out blow up dolls.
- I worked a lot.
- I saw a lot of movies with Alan.



Si Nae, her boy, and Chuck Palahniuk!

July
- Alan and I moved out and stopped being roommates :( But it was a good move for us :).
- Went to Florida for the first time to get Mary Ellen married. Flew in a few days early and I joined her clan in cooking, building, bitching, bonding, all in the name of love and the most beautiful wedding I’ve been to yet. It was pretty much a DIY wedding and you can see the labor of love in everything. The baby food jars around the garden sheltering tea light candles, the fireworks/crackers, the dance floor her uncles and aunts built, the cascading fruit basket one of her uncle fashioned at 3 in the morning the night before the wedding, etc. SO many details that were not only beautiful on its own, but also in the labor and thought and love that it represented.
- I take a Thursday off of work and Brandi and Jessica and I hang out for the third time this year. They treated me to a trip to Schiltterbahn for my birthday. Last year it was Sea World.
- Turned 25. Jen T who normally only comes once or twice a year happened to be in town for my birthday :). Si Nae dropped by flowers. I had a pretty birthday cake in the shape of a snow globe. I celebrated with friends. Felt special. Alan took me out to a romantic dinner and bought me a cell phone. It was a good birthday. Though I hate that I’m now 25.



Birthday celebration.

August
- Lily teaches us to make sushi.
- Alan introduces me to Mikados. I mention this because now we go here fairly often for sushi. I’ve yet to take him to Musashinos.
- Cindy comes and stays with me for almost 2 months for her pharmacy school rotation.
- I take my little to her first play. Jack and the Beanstalk.
- Nisreen and Nino get engaged and Nisreen asks me to be one of her bridesmaids.



Sushi making night

September
- I take my certification test and am now certified in clinical research.
- I go to the Domain with Nisreen to study for that test. We go just looking around for her wedding dress and we actually FIND it at St. Thomas.
- I fly to Orlando for work, wishing Alan had gone.
- I take my little to her first UT football game.
- Cindy and I try to learn about football.



So it wouldn’t just be for me why I wanted Alan in Orlando with me. Lookit the golf course!

October
- To my surprise, I’m taken by UT football. Really taken after watching OU game. I thought I had burnt out on football forever, but it’s really quite addicting.
- Alan takes me to see UT/Missouri game.
- Alan had a birthday.
- I dress up as a Hula girl for Halloween.



Kissing Meatwad.

November
- Ran my first 5k with Nisreen, Katambra, and Melissa.
- Jessica has a birthday, so the three of us (Brandi, Jessica, and I) reunite for the fourth time this year. FOUR times. That’s so sad. We go to Pete’s Dueling Pianos with plans to go to ren fest again but Brandi got struck with hives.
- I practically live at work.
- My brother breaks in his apartment by hosting a Thanksgiving meal. He makes his first turkey. Delicious!
- I take my little to the Paramount theatre for the first time. We see The Hungry Caterpillar. Then I have a mini high school reunion.
- I take Thanksgiving week off from work and spend a week in Houston.
- I see fireworks with Kim and kind of Chris.



Nisreen pours everyone a double shot of bourbon at my brother’s Thanksgiving dinner.

December
- I finish paying off my car :) One of my New Year’s Resolutions. I bought in July 2007. Not bad, if I do say so myself.
- I spend Christmas in Houston.
- On the 26th of December, Kim and I for the 2nd time release balloons for New Years. We’re stunned that this time around, we do not have any regrets to write on that regret balloon. Instead, we write what we want to stay away from. Good times with Ms. Kim.
- I get to see my best friend, Mary Ellen. Second time this year. First time being for her wedding in July.
- I go back on Saturday (today) to get some work done and to spend NYE in Austin. With friends and beau.



Our balloons. Purple = wishes. Pink = what we’ll stay away from. Since we didn’t have regrets this year.

It’s been a good year. I read 10 books, ate a lot of Pho, and laughed a lot.

Nov 24

I’m leaving for Houston as soon as I post this and will not have internet til I get back which will be Saturday. Hope everyone has a safe and happy Thanksgiving. It’s a great holiday.

This past Saturday my brother made us a turkey and hosted dinner. We came bearing sides. Here’s a photo dump to last til next time.


Green bean casserole


corn bread dressing


Britney’s cheese biscuits


The before. Bourbon and Honey.


Mmm!! Creme Brulee


One of my brother’s lego creations


This picture makes me laugh out loud.


Little rascal and me.


The after.