Travel

Travel
Travel

San Francisco

San Francisco
San Francisco

Laugh With Me

Laugh With Me
Laugh With Me

Currently Craving...

Summer's so close I can almost taste it! I'm currently craving color, the beach, easy clothes, and of course those muggy Houston nights. Other things I'm craving in my life right now...

1. Fluorescent orange shorts - I went from wanting highlighter orange skinny jeans to the same color in shorts. There is just something so versatile about these quirky color - I can imagine wearing this anywhere: with a colorful bathing suit to the beach, in various white tops to hang out around the town, with lace and crochet to music festivals, and on and on and on. I'm obsessed!

2. bumble and bumble surf spray - texturized, beachy, wavy hair. It's the ultimate souvenir of summer! It completely embodies the more laidback, easygoing, carefree, without-a-care nature of summer. I want, I want, I want.

3. Ice cream sandwiches from Diddy Riese - I've long heard about these famous ice cream sandwiches. Two amazing cookies, a scoop of ice cream, all for the price of $1.75? I'll take as many as you have, please. This is extra exciting though, as we just planned an impromptu trip down to LA and you bet your finger-lickin' deliciousness I have this as a must-visit spot!

4. Playdate by Essie - I had this color on my nails over Spring Break and I am absolutely obsessed! It's bright and fun and summer-flirty, but not obnoxious at all. Must purchase immediately.

5. Jayne dress by Yumi Kim - I've always been a fan of Yumi Kim prints and colors. They are so loud and brilliant, but sophisticated at the same time. Her cuts and shapes are extra flattering, as well. This dress is perfect for the summer - it's easy, bright, and versatile. Pool parties, BBQs, shopping trips... There is no limit to the places you can wear this too!

6. Country music - Especially Luke Bryan's Tailgates and Tanlines album. I can so imagine blasting this album while driving down that neverending Texas freeway or while suntanning at the beach. Every song is perfect on this album. So in love <3
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The Melt

The dining-out streak continues!


Cassandra, Joan, and I woke up in a starving rage this morning. We were literally screaming in our room about how hungry we were and were begging everybody who walked in to investigate the noise level to take us to In-N-Out since we woke up too late for the dining hall brunch (typical). Nobody had a car today and nothing on campus sounded good, so we biked to the mall for some much-needed grub. This all happened at around 3pm. It's a holiday weekend for a reason.

We ended up going to The Melt, which is this trendy new place at the Stanford Shopping Center. The whole concept is very simple. Just grilled cheese sandwiches and soups. But, like, hip.


I went with these crazies. Of course we would leave without even getting properly dressed. Reppin' Stanford University, woo! [PS. Stanford students get a free drink - just flash your SUID!]


The Melt is a really fun place to eat, with lots of neat and creative ideas that make the experience of eating there very unique. A couple of my favorites: the Order Board, which tracks your order as it's being made, and the soda fountain - a little bit of old-school cool in this obviously hip and trendy restaurant.


The easiest option is to order a Combo. The menu is very easy to understand and everything on it sounds tantalizing and amazing. I ended up ordering The Parisian sandwich [apple butter and melted brie on white wheat bread with smoked bacon] but switched out the Creamy Mushroom soup for the Two Tomato Basil.

The combo comes with a handful of chips and a pickle. The sandwich itself was so delicious - the addition of the apple butter truly made it outstanding. It provided the perfect balance of slight sweetness with the smokiness of the bacon. The texture was thin and crispy, everything a grilled cheese should be. The soup was not as creamy as I like my tomato basil soups, but it was decent, especially when you dip the sandwich in it!

*Bacon and tomato are free add-ins for any of the sandwiches.

The portion size is substantial, the environment is great, the food is delicious. All in all, it was a fantastic experience!
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Friendship Dinner - The Creamery

This weekend has brought me so much contentment. It's been so needed, and I am incredibly thankful for all the fun times we've had so far this holiday weekend (and we are only halfway done!).

I had several long talks with close friends, met a few people that I've been dying to meet for a long time (Hi Joan and Michelle, you're so fun!), had such entertaining nights, ate lots of great food (we ate out two nights in a row - score!), and was just basically surrounded by the people that I love at all times. Spring Quarter has been so busy and hectic for everyone, so it was really nice to have a couple nights where people just sat around and chilled together like we used to.

My closest friends and I started a new tradition. We decided that for next year, we are going to have biweekly or monthly "friendship dinners" - standing dinner dates with our large group of friends so that it can be a time for us to touch base and catch up. And if somebody can't make it one day, there will be so many more for them to participate in!

We started the tradition a bit early and it was So. Much. Fun. Our group dynamic is just amazing - everyone was laughing and talking like the great pals we are. The food was absolutely wonderful and the conversation was just so familiar and uncontrived! It's so nice knowing that this is just another way for us to all consistently see each other next year.


Our restaurant of choice was the Creamery, a diner-like place with really famous milkshakes. It's located at the Stanford Shopping Center, which is about a thirty minute walk and a ten minute bike ride from campus. We had some hilarious moments at the beginning because Karen, Annika, and I decided to walk while everyone else decided to bike. The guy we talked to on the phone had a lot of stipulations for such a large group and one of them was that we couldn't be late at all. My roommate Cassandra was absolutely losing her marbles because we [the walkers] were 3 minutes late. Amusing.


We use any slight-special occasion to get slightly-dressed up. Putting on real clothes is such rarity! What fun!  But in all honestly, people, the milkshakes were so good. Thick and frothy and cold and lovely. The rumors are true.


I had the turkey sausage lasagna, but there were so many great options to choose from! I wanted OOE (a goal of mine in life is to order OOE - one of everything [on the menu duh]), but was very pleased with my choice. It came with buttery, crispy bread and a pear and arugula salad. I'm not the biggest fan of arugula, but I did like how the sweetness of the pear balances out the bitterness of the arugula. And the lasagna was pretty great!


I absolutely, one hundred and twenty nine percent, with all my heart and soul, with my ten fingers and ten toes and every ounce of my being... love everybody at this table. 


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Same Old Same Old With A Sprinkle Of New

We found out where we will be living next year!

Suites. 

*Cue burst of cheers and excitement and other forms of exuberance.*

It's so exciting as it was our first choice. We each get our own room, plus a big living room area. It's relatively close to the main part of campus - aka classes. (Actually, just kidding, it's not close at all. Oh well, maybe I'll have to actually use my bike next year.) It's a great community with a good balance of social-ness and quiet-ness. The food is apparently really good and if not, we are close to a variety of great food sources. I get to live with two of my best friends and two other girls who I absolutely love! Minor problem: we don't know who our sixth person is going to be, but hopefully that little detail will work itself out.

But right past 5pm when everyone received their housing e-mails, everybody in the dorm began to talk about where they were staying next year. And that's when it became really real.

In a matter of weeks, we'd be split up and spread far and wide. We'd be all over campus as opposed to all under one common roof. To be realistic, many of us are not likely to keep in contact next year. It's a scary thought.

But tonight at midnight, we randomly decided to go on an adventure-- famous words around here-- and took two Zipcars and went to In-N-Out (somehow we always end up there). We were there for an hour, just talking about nothing. Then in the parking lot, we sped around in circles, all crowded into one car and blasted music and sang and made the most of 5 minutes.

Those five minutes were all it took. It's still going to be the same old, same old around here for a just a few more days. Let's just make the most of it. And next year, when everything is new and shiny and scary... We'll still have these people to turn to. Always.
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The Art of Living (With People)

The inspiration for this post: I just heard a low buzzing from down the hall and I knew exactly who was walking towards the bathroom: Austin.

I promise this will not be as creepy as I just made that sound. Let me explain myself.

I knew it was him because he always goes to bed around midnight and right when he prepares to go to bed, he walks up and down the hallway in his towel and electronic toothbrush. (That's where the buzzing comes from, in case you didn't figure that out...)

And besides the fact that I'm making myself sound like a psycho stalker, I'm just trying to communicate what I realized tonight: I have gotten to know the living styles of my dormmates so extremely well that the accumulated total of it all has become some sort of personal background noise.

The muffled drone of mathematical equations, as one person explains to another why you need to separate out certain variables to get to x or y or z. The constant click-clack of typing, as someone always has their laptop out. In the morning, if I'm working in the hallway at around 7am, I hear successive screeches and songs and beeps awaking my neighbors. The blasting of Call Me Maybe thunders from the other end of the hallway. Then, as I walk by a few rooms, I hear the distinct guitars plucking Jason Mraz or John Mayer songs. Some people are bouncing balls against the wall (most annoying thing ever), doors are always opening and closing, opening and closing, opening and closing. Our little maybe-ghost pours cereal at 3:15 AM every single night. The unmistakable shouts of pain as people try to maneuver through our obstacle course of a room {most attempts are unsuccessful}. The banging at the side door because somebody forgot to bring their key card. Raucous, outrageous laughter from some room or other. Various profanities from the rooms underneath us - boys playing FIFA can get pretty intense. The particular rowdiness of the first floor, the comfortable silence of the third, and the perfect mix of the two of the second. And of course-- Cassandra's window-shattering laughter resounds through the entire dorm every sixteen point nine minutes or so. It's basically my favorite thing ever.

It's not just the sounds, either.

It's the smells. The aroma of greasy chicken tenders or quesadillas from Axe & Palm. The fragrance of my favorite perfume that I get from Paige's room every night. The too-strong scent of the lavender air spray we use to cover up the stink of our refrigerator. Dirty laundry. Fresh laundry. The different colognes and perfumes that certain people use... So-and-so uses Axe. So-and-so uses Chance by Chanel. No judging.

It's the sights. Our room - the messiest room in the world. Maybe literally. The half-eaten plates of grilled chicken all around the hallways. The remnants of the RF's twins' daytime fun. The different furniture arrangements in the lounge according to who was working there when. The different room arrangements that Cassandra and I inspired (or so we tell ourselves). The Super Mario Brothers stickers plastered on every wall, as evidence to our house theme.

It's the intuition. I know who is opening the outside door based on how hard they yank it, how loud their keys jangle, and what their first words are when they walk in. I know exactly who is outside my door at all times, even if they are whispering. I know where everybody is at any point during the day, based on getting to know their schedules through a long quarter.

Everything I've mentioned above, I didn't try to learn intentionally. It's just become a part of my own life and schedule. It's come from living with these people for eight months and slowly acclimating to the way they live their lives. We've all melded together as one, and it's weird to think that in less than a month, it's not going to be like this anymore and we are going to have to get used to different sights and sounds and smells. I'm going to miss this.




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Summer Bucket List

For those of you out of school already (so like 96% of all students), lucky you.

I still have 25 more days to go until I hop on the plane that will take me back home. Of course, it's intensely bittersweet. I don't want to leave this dorm, don't want to leave Stanford and my friends here for three whole months. I don't want to give up that freedom I've come to take for granted. But I'm also extremely excited.

For the past six or seven summers, I've been in China. I go to visit my family and sometimes I travel a little bit. But I've missed out on a lot of summer plans/adventures. I've never had that stereotypical summer-summer.

Now, however, this summer is my opportunity to have that and I'm holding on tight to it. Several things that I want to do this summer:


  1. BEACH days. I live forty minutes away from Galveston for a reason.
  2. Watch the sunrise/set by the ocean.
  3. Go horseback riding on the beach. 
  4. Crawfish boil!
  5. Get my actual driver's license. <-- long story there, but it'll happen!
  6. Spend a whole day at the bookstore.
  7. Go to a cafe and just write for hours.
  8. Stargaze. In the bed of a truck filled with pillows and blankets. 
  9. Go camping on the beach.
  10. Get unfinished things finished.(stole this from Brina, thanks girl.)
  11. Get a job.
  12. Shop. A lot.
  13. See my friends. A lot.
  14. Leave town for the day.
  15. Get really tan.
Get ready!
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What I've Been Up To, Part IV

Last part, I promise!

Two weekends after I came back from China, I flew to that great concrete jungle - New York City! NYC is by far one of my favorite favorite favorite cities and I've been lucky enough to have been there twice in the past two months. This little birdy was more than happy with such a paradise island.

Somebody was bitten by the NYC bug!


{ Brooklyn Botanical Gardens }

I was there for my sister's graduation from Columbia Business School (what a smarty-pants) and also for Mother's Day! My mom is a lover of all things nature - trees, flowers, gardens. That's her thing. We spent the day at the Brooklyn Botanical Gardens-- so beautiful and lush! Of course, I spent half the time avoiding bees, but it was definitely a treat.


Of course I had to make a pit stop at Magnolia Bakery. If gardens are my mom's thing, cupcakes are mine.I could spent twenty thousand hours (and dollars) in there and not get bored (but I will get poor).


One of the items on my NYC Bucket List (I think it's warranted that I have one, given the fact that it seems like I'm almost always there...) is to eat chicken and rice from the Halal Guys food cart. 

Mission accomplished! The chicken and rice was delicious-- especially the white sauce that I doused it with! Definitely a must-visit if you are ever in New York. It's one of those little things that just completely embodies the spirit of New York like nothing else can. We also had dinner at a tiny Thai restaurant that was yummy, but not memorable. Street vendors for the win.


Sunday was the graduation, which was actually decently short. My absolute favorite part of graduations is the processional when Pomp and Circumstance is played. Those notes just give me shivers. You can count on one hand the number of times that song is played for you specifically. It represents all of the hard work, tears, laughter, and accomplishments of various stages of school. Gets me every time. Afterwards, we went to brunch at the Faculty Club in celebration - great views and great foods! I had macarons for the first time and goodness gracious, they are all things good and right in the world!

I am so proud of my big sister and am so lucky to have such a lovely family!


In other news, back in San Francisco, my friends and I attended a Giants game. America's favorite pastime is maximized in fun and greatness only with the associated greasy grub! I had so much fun and am actually enthralled with baseball now. Quite the news flash.


Breakfast at Coupa - Eggs Benedict (my fave!) with a chai- is the perfect precursor for a psychology midterm. No matter the outcome, at least this made me happy :)


The dining hall for my dorm is notoriously bad. But we had Spring Faire last week and all of the dining halls actually made us really, really good. I just don't understand why this kind of food can't be consistent.


For Cinco de Mayo, my friend Lauren and I went to the Pi Phi house for a fiesta and got delicious burritos with a second of nachos. And then even though we were stuffed to the max, we proceeded to go get pomegranate froyo. Just because we could. I pick my best friends well.

{ tszatziki with pita, sokolatina shared with Lauren, saganaki, and pasticio }

My friend Allison turned 20 (halfway to 40!) and for her birthday, we went to Opa!, an extra charming Greek restaurant. We feasted on all types of goodies, and had so much fun there. I love Mediterranean food!

Now that we are all caught up with my extra-exciting (emphasis on the sarcasm) life, we should be good to go!
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What I've Been Up To, Part III

The pointless food pictures beat goes on and on and on...

Just kidding, I have somewhat valuable things to say every once in a while. Especially in this post.

A couple of days after my birthday, my parents called me at seven in the morning, which is a warning sign in itself because they know I can't physically wake up until it's past the AM. They told me that my grandfather was in critical condition, in the ICU, the whole family was summoned in the middle of the night, and that they were booking plane tickets for the next day.

BAM. BAM. BAM.

That's literally what it felt like. After the emotional roller coaster of my birthday, this was just one more slap in the face. I was mindlessly running around all morning doing who-knows-what. Sobbed to my RA, tried to figure out my passport/visa/ride situations/e-mailing professors/trying not to go insane. The whole day was a blur-- lots of hugs and words of condolence, shocked looks when I casually said "I'm going to China tomorrow!"

And the next day, I met my sister at the SFO airport and flew to Hong Kong. We met our parents there, went through the sketchiest process getting to the mainland and to my uncle's house.

{ dimsum in the Canton region - nothing better. }

There was an exaggerated attempt at normalcy - going to the restaurants that we normally go to, shopping and doing the things that we usually would. We visited my grandma everyday, as we always do. But there was something missing. Something big. My grandfather's armchair was always empty, he was never there to welcome us, smiling and clapping. I never heard him tell me that I gained weight [lovingly, of course], never heard him ask about school. I never felt him squeeze my hand when I reached for his, never got to write a message to him in my chicken-scratch Chinese handwriting on his white board. And it was intensely painful.

{ Peking duck, "mouth-numbingly hot fish," beef noodle soup, egg tarts }

We could only enter the ICU for an hour every day, and only two people were allowed in at once. Seeing him was hard. Connected to a million machines, bloated from fluids, obviously in discomfort, his skin parched, so immobile unlike his usual active self. He just wasn't the grandpa that I knew. But it was also seeing him like that that eventually helped me prepare for the inevitable. I didn't want him to be in pain, didn't want him to be in that state. 

That one week in China held innumerable profound moments for me. I learned so much, hurt so much, accepted so much. I had so many realizations about life. Cried so many times, dealt with more than I ever had to, matured emotionally. It was one of the biggest life lessons that I wish I didn't have to have.

{ fancy dinner with my mom's childhood best friend }

I had to leave a week after I arrived because of school. My grandpa passed away two days after I came home. I was fortunate enough to say goodbye. It was the hardest thing that I have ever had to do. The only hope that I held onto was that he would know that we were there, that we love him, missed him. I held onto the knowledge that he was someplace much, much better and that he finally wasn't burdened by his paralyzed leg. I imagined him playing sports and being active as he always wanted to be. When I received the horrible news, I went outside by myself after receiving many hugs, and stared at the stars, which were especially bright that night.

{ yummy meals }

I was thankful. For the time I had with him, for the chance to say goodbye, for having such an amazing man as a grandfather, for having such a figure as a role model. It was a reminder to live life to the fullest as he did-- to love with all your heart, to make the best of every situation as he did, to be silly when you want to and serious when you need to, to be kind to everybody, to take risks, to love noodles. 

{ a sister date at Hui Lau San - my favorite dessert place in China! }

And frankly, it's still weird that he's not here. It is strange to think that he is a lot farther than a phone call away now. I was thrown a completely new perspective in life. We had dinner with two of my parents' childhood friends and to hear them reminiscing about the time of their lives growing up, to hear them talking about situations that sound so weirdly familiar to my life now... To hear them say all of that, but to also see how different their lives are now-- it's insane. Life is insane. It moves forward so quickly and you try to hold on to what you can, but it just slips away from you too easily.

{ going to the HK airport on a ferry by myself }

Time's a fickle thing. Life's interesting. And fate-- fate is the most complicated of them all. I honestly believe that my grandfather and I were fated to have had the experiences that we had together. It was fate that threw us together as a family. I was so lucky to have had him in my life and will honor his memory for as long as I live.

{ the sky clearing after a stormy morning at sea - profound. }

Rest in peace, Grandpa. I miss you. I love you. 
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What I've Been Up To, Part II

... Other than plumping it up at Taco Bell and Starbucks like I was just now, that is. Sometimes you just need that fast food fix after a long, hard day of napping being productive.


I turned 19 years old on April 17 and that was a strange day to say the least. I was showered at midnight-- Stanford tradition. Then we partook in some minor festivities in the 2nd floor girls bathroom before going fountain-hopping. Carl, Alex, Lauren, Cassandra, Karen, Kylie, and Annika all came and it was wonderfully freezing in the fountains that we visited. Then we went back home and chilled in Annika's room until 4 AM. My favorite kind of night.

{ cold and wet and happy }

The rest of the day wasn't as great. I had an emotional breakdown or two about the strangest things. Not being with my family or friends from back at home. Seeing Facebook birthday wishes from people I don't even talk to anymore. Realizing I'll be 20 next year. Panicking about next year- being here but not here here at Serra, not being with the dorm that I love with all my heart, having everybody scattered all across our large campus.


But later that night, when there were only a couple of hours left of my birthday, my friends took me to Lag Late Nite for brownies and ice cream and other greasy foods. All throughout the day several of my other friends dropped in just to hang out. Throughout the week, gifts and packages came in. I had midnight talks, wandered across campus with people, just did cool things with people I love.

And then it hit me like the bird kept on hitting the window in my IHUM class today.

Everything was going to be okay. Life is good, I'm surrounded by people that I love and admire, I'm at my favorite place in the whole entire world, living my dream. Next year, being so spread out across campus just meant having more places to crash at night, more dining halls to eat at, actually investing in friendships instead of allowing convenience direct our relationships. I am so lucky to have such amazing people in my life, people who have listened when I needed them to, been with me when I felt lonely, and laughed with me when I wanted to cry. That thought gave me immense comfort and such an epiphany (and let's be honest-- the brownies) saved my birthday.





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What I've Been Up To, Part I

I always have the best intentions.

I'm going to keep an insightful blog, update it daily with pretty pictures of the glamorous, adventurous life I live. Problem #1: Classes, midterms, friends, and a date with my Chinese soap operas prevent me from updating daily. Problem #2: My life is just not very glamorous or adventurous.

Nevertheless, I am going to try and be more consistent with my posts because oh, the surprise-- I actually really love blogging!

My month-long absence was prompted by a series of events hitting me one after another. My birthday, panic attacks prompted by housing decisions and everybody's busy schedules, news of my grandfather in critical condition and then flying out to China the next day, spending a week in China with my family, hearing of his passing, flying out to NYC for the weekend for my sister's graduation/Mother's Day, and then midterms. Needless to say, the past month has been quite taxing emotionally and physically, but I am ready to make the most of the month left in my freshman year!

My life in the past month according to iPhone pics (where would I be without Diptic/CrossProcess/Instagram?):

{ survived this month thanks to multiple emergency froyo runs - the lychee and peach flavors at Pinkberry are awesome! }

{ Coupa smoothies, too, have kept me sane. Perfect for a rainy day! }

{ Ike's Place is by far the greatest food place on campus. Best sandwiches ever. }

{ I love my roommate so insanely much and cherish our roommate dates so much - this one to CoHo for a grilled cheese + tomato soup + iced chai was perfect }

{ a Fab Five outing to CoHo for chai and salmon filet, just because Lauren and I can't not have the same thing when we eat together. And a comfort trip to Cold Stone was just what I needed, but I would still give anything to have Marble Slab! }

{ one night, Carl, Ryan, and Alex somehow convinced Cassandra and I to go to In-N-Out at midnight where we told growing up/hometown stories and noshed on cheeseburgers and shakes }

{ my weekends are spent watching a game or two of my [Pac-12 Player of the Week] roommate's softball games; late-night rendezvouses with my crazy dormmates; lovely trip to the mall with Kylie and a beautiful day; and the paranoia Assassins forced upon all of us }

{ nighttime walks with friends. my walks with Paige have been an endless source of comfort and insight - she is an insanely radiant, amazing, wonderful person }

What does it even say about me that 98.23408% pictures are of food? I'm sorry I'm such a hungry person all the time!
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Short Update

In April, I went through hell and back.

It was definitely one of the hardest months I've been through, but also one of the most profound and eye-opening. I want to think that I figured out a lot about life, but was in reality, I was thrown even more nonsensical and confusing questions.

Among the other less important (but still frustrating) things that happened in the past month, the most notable was my beloved grandfather's passing. And although I've come to terms with it, it hasn't become any easier and I haven't missed him any less. But I know he is in a far better place and that thought alone makes me feel a million times better.

I will update more next week-- just wanted to drop in and say hello!

In this case, may the old saying ring true: April showers bring May flowers.
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