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What about you? Looking back

Hmm...I actually got a chain email that I was interested in reading and responding back to.
Why? Cause it's all about me, a subject that I am well informed in *cheeky grin*. Thanks Vivian!

HOW MUCH HAVE YOU CHANGED

10 years ago
1.) How old were you?:
15

2.) Where did you go to school?
Coconut Creek High

3) Where did you work?:
Just a year shy of working at Spring Garden restaurant

4) Where did you live?:
S. Florida

5.) Where did you hang out..?
my solitary room. or, if i felt adventurous, biked to the local nature park or bookstore.

6.) Did you wear glasses?
yep

7.) Who was your best friend?:
still today, abra.

8.) How many tattoos did you have?:
0

9.) How many piercings did you have?
ears

10) What car did you drive?:
dude, i'm 15.

11.) Had you been to a real party?
nope

12.) Had you had your heart broken?:
not yet.

5 years ago

1.) How old were you?
20

2.) Where did you go to school?:
Univ. of Miami baby!

3.) Where did you work?:
for that summer, San Jose Mercury News. wow that was a long time ago.

4.) Where did you live?
miami, fl

5.) Where did you hang out?
school: tae kwon do club, kung fu club, aasa...

6.) Did you wear glasses?
that and contacts.

7.) Who was your best friend?:
abra.

8.) How many tattoos did you have?:
0

10.) How many piercings did you have?:
1

11.) What car did you drive?:
Toyota Corolla

12,) had your heart broken?
yes. but i broke it off. then i fell madly in love with my current beau.

----------------2 years ago-------------------

1.) How old were you?:
23

2.) Where did you go to school?:
University of Miami

3.) Where did you work?:
At a newspaper

4.)Where did you live?:
Miami, Florida

5.) Where did you hang out?:
south miami, lincoln rd,

6.) Did you wear glasses?:
yeah...once you wear'em you're stuck for life...

7.) Who were your friends?
abra, tara, olivia, vivian, nick jordan...friends i saw in the area after my crazy work hours

8.) How many tattoos did you have?:
0

9.) How many piercings did you have?
1

10.) What car did you drive?:
Corolla...

11.) Had your heart broken?
nope. dating seriously then.

12.) Were you Single/Taken/Married/Divorce?:
Single

--------------------Today--------------------
OK I got annoyed by these repetitive questions so i started deleting them

1.) How old are you?:
25 - i am so old....

2). Where do you go to school?
I'm a working stiff now.

3.) Where do you work?
Still at the same place.

4.) Where do you live?
At home


7.) Where do you hang out?
at my bf's apartment. barnes & nobles. target. lincoln rd. at a pool. oh, and facebook.com and yelp.com

8.) Do you talk to your old friends?
of course

9.) How many piercings do you have?

11.) What kind of car do you have?
rav 4

12.) Has your heart been broken?:
nope, still going steady!

13.) Are you Single/Taken/Married/Divorce?
I prefer single but seriously dating. Taken sounds so chauvinistic.

randomness

http://www.newgrounds.com/portal/view/195918

song homages

wow, alanis did a great cover of "My Humps" by Fergie/BEP.
listen to it yourself! love canadian humor.

also for Ben Folds Five lurvers, try their remake of Dr. Dre's "B*tches ain't sh*t"

Geek Out!

Man, I wish I could rock out with my school pens like these guys do, I can only do one twirl and kaput, haha.
Rock on, dudes, rock on.

San Francisco

Long time no see...I've been keeping myself busy in my personal life but nothing to write home about folks.
I did go recently to San Francisco and decided to give everyone a lowdown of how it went, what I did, etc.
I needed time to escape, get away from work, spend quality time with the bf, and remind myself what I really want from life.
San Francisco and the surrounding Bay area is a place that's always been special to me. I got drunk off of San Francisco and my stay over there.
Here's what I did:



DAY ONE: ARRIVAL
We took the AA flight from MIA to SFO and arrived early around 1030am PT. We took the BART subway into the downtown San Francisco hub near Union Square and walked to our hotel. It was a beautiful sunny day outside and people were out-and-about, pounding the city pavement. Already, I felt overjoyed with remembering how my memories matched my surroundings.

1. We went to Japantown and immediately found the best Japanese noodlehouse: SUZU. I had barley tea for the first time and it has an incredible umami flavor to it. I also had my first soba dish. It was nice but you know what? I like pho better!
Checked out Kinokuniya's Bookstore and I realized I no longer had an obsesion with Japanese fashion mags nor stationary. Sadness for a brief bit, I realize that my tastes have evolved and my habits have changed.
2. Went back to Union Square and chilled out there for a bit. Decided to tackle Coit Tower and took a walking tour to it, via North Beach and Chinatown. Walked up the most steepest residential neighborhood to get to this but the views were worth it!
If I lived here, I would have killa' quads, I note to myself. Nick is determined to get some Ghiradelli chocolate at Fisherman's Wharf, so we walk out there from Coit Tower.
3. Are kaput at this point. Day gets chillier, we walk back, me with my trendy white coat and pink plaid scarf, and we found a problem at our hotel. Our toilet's broke so I have to change 2 rooms before I ask the hotel for an upgrade due to our situation and unsatisfactory room transfers. They give us a room facing Powell St, bigger bathroom, bed, iPod stereo, etc.
Niiiiiice, as Borat says. We're too tired to go to a recommended eatery so we eat at this Union Square restaurant. S'ok.



Day 2: I AM A TOUR DE FORCE
Woke up to cloudy weather, decided to change our itinerary a bit.
1. Rode the BART to Tartine Bakery, the best bakery I've ever been to in my life as recommended by foodies/Yelp! It was in the Mission District and we found a line nearly outside the door when we went. Had a mushroom/fennel seed quiche, bread pudding with fruit, latte and it was the moist EXQUISITE meal, the flavors were dancing in my mouth. We walked around the Mission but it was so early, everything was closed. We then went to SFMOMA and checked its exhibits. Later found at the Moscone Center a Gamers Conference so we gawked at the developers present. Then we went to Haight/Ashbury and I showed Nick all the unkempt, disheveled hipsters there. We discovered a gourmet hotdog place that was awesome.
Visited San Francisco's Golden Gate Park, which is similar to Central Park, but does not have the Golden Gate bridge nearby. The landscaping here is tremendous and gets to show you the hillier aspects of the cityscape. The Japanese Tea Garden is a must, I got to take a photo of myself next to a japanese pagoda. Much posing was done here. Got back on the MUNI Bus with 50 elementary school children, screaming and shouting, lotsa good fun all around :)
We hit up the Pacific Heights neighborhood for an intimate Italian dinner where Nick later educated me more on the finer aspects of what makes italian food so good. Afterward...we hit up the Comedy club, Punchline, where we found some cali-humor. Nick says I exhaust him.



Day 3: OK, LETS GO
Sunny day.
1. Slept in today. We went to the Ferry Marketplace for a foodie perspective of what people sell around here. Hot damn, lotsa amazing food stalls. I wish Miami had one. We ate breakfast bought at various stalls overlooking the Bay Bridge. Nick and I part ways, he checks out the location of the car rental agency while I peruse the posh stores on Union Square. I hit up Louis Vuitton, Gucci, Chanel, Longchamp, Neiman Marcus, Marc Jacobs in about a half an hour. Didn't see anything except this $1700 nylon Prada bag at NM. Am proud of not batting an eyelash when the sales clerk announced its price. Nick and I later reunite with my old friend, Trisha and her bf, at Union Square. She shows me the Westfield food emporium, the best food court I've been to. We talk about life, work, leisure activities. She motivates me to do more with my life as she and her bf are super-accomplished and do more things in their downtime then I do in my week.
2. Visited Berkely.
3. Crash at the hotel. We decide to go see the 300 at the Sony Metreon Center, opening night. Arrive, see all tickets are sold out for nearest times, we book the 1020 showing, kill time, show up at 9pm and there's a block-long line. 300 was fun.




Day 4: CALIFORNIA, LOOOOOOVVVVEEEE....
Sunny day. God loves me.
1. Wake up at the crack of dawn to hustle our road trip on Hwy 1. Nick picks up the car, I cross the street to the 24-hr Starbucks to pick up food/coffee. He arrives in a Pontiac GTO and we bust out of the city. The road was our's for the taking at 8am on Sunday. Minimal traffic, lots of staring at the Pacific Ocean panorama, wide open skies, craggy mountain landscapes, and beautiful desolate beaches. I see a dead bear on the side of the road. We jump out of the car alot to take beautiful, artistic, emo photos. We arrive at Santa Cruz for lunch, I show him the Boardwalk/Pier and it wasn't what I remembered before. We blow Santa Cruz to get to Monterey and crash 5 min out of town to get a 30min nap. We visit the Monterey Aquarium and it was everything I wished for. Huge tanks filled with kelp, sharks, big tuna, seals...lots glass displays to peer through, right on the monterey bay. I fell in love with California even more. Needless to say, the Monterey Aquarium's cafeteria was super gourmet--is there no bad food out here??
We drive back...I share a meal with my bf at IN-N-OUT Burger. Damn these are good burgers. We later get into San Francisco too late to drive across the bridge. We eat at Japantown, again. We walk Chinatown to get a special dessert I wanted, by the time we come back, its like midnight. Snooooore.



Day 5: Last day...
Sunny + Hot. Awesomeness all around.
1. We are determined to see the Golden Gate Bridge and take 2 buses to get there. We stay for 1.5 hours and take lots of photos. People here really like staying fit, I see joggers everywhere on the trail. I, on the other hand, am out of breath, grasping the stair rail, dying. We later go back to Union Square where I can get some shopping done. So sad, I run out of time! Restaurants and shops close super-early in SF, like 9:30pm! Some restaurants close at 10pm but it's amazing how nightlife shuts down at 2am here for clubs/bars! We later score some korean bbq at Westfield's Food Emporium and we crash at the hotel, watching Deal or No Deal and Stranger then Fiction on my laptop. Then we had get on our flight the next day.
Sadness! California I will be back!

Asobi Seksu

Another band that I am enjoying.
Asobi Seksu - "Thursday"
Download the single and have it be your weekend soundtrack.
Fyi: Asobi Seksu is "playful sex" in Japanese. The band is based out of NYC.

Update: Found the band's record label site and found more goodies.
Hi-res poster photo of the band here:



Also another enjoyable single, aptly titled, "New Years"