I went out on a romantic dinner with none other than Janet :)

Oola's on 12/30/08:

-Oysters
-Ahi Tuna
-Short ribs
-Mac N Cheese
-Seabass
-Milk chocolate ganache tart
-2 glasses of wine
-2 gin n tonics

We girls can put it away. Made even better by using a $25 gift certificate I purchased for $2. Awesome.

This time every year one of the managers buys us holiday scratchers as a fun holiday card/gift.

I won $2. Woo hoo.

So I went downstairs and purchased another scratcher.

I won another $2.

I think this is how people get addicted to this stuff.

I'm going downstairs. haha.

Oh yeah.

Rocky mountain oysters?

Not that bad.

Could have used some tabasco, though. :)

Recap of Colorado:

-I've never been so cold in my life. When the day starts off in the negatives and it "warms" up to the teens and twenties... it's still pretty freakin cold.

-Being able to walk to the lift is pretty sweet.

-My right contact cracked on our second night there. My options at that point were to either board with my glasses or take Danny's spare contact lens. I went with the second, although my right eye is about 2X worse than his. I figured I couldn't really see because of the snow anyway...

-I definitely need to recruit more women if I go again next year.

-Vail is HUGE. And has the nicest lodge I've ever seen. But a lot of flat spots.

-The baggage claim for snowboards at the Denver Airport is pretty cool. Definitely tempting to jump in.

-Sunday service on top of Keystone. OUTSIDE.

-I was amazed that I didn't have to pull out my pass everytime for the lift. They can scan it through your jacket.

Overall a very fun time. I heard Tahoe got some good snow this past weekend... :)

I'm going to COLORAAAADOOOOO TOMORROW!

WOO HOO!

I went to check out the Academy of Science over the weekend with my mom. Very crowded and very cool.

Inside the Rainforest:











Inside the Aquarium:







The Living Roof:

Today marks my 5 year anniversary here at work.

I know. I'm pretty amazed myself.

This weekend our church hosted a Korean Christian group called "Soriel." This is my obligatory cd signing/picture from the weekend.

Happy Birthday

Hollywood Bowl

 

Light Sabers at the Hollywood Bowl
 

Back from Yosemite. If you guys have never ventured outside of Yosemite Valley, I promise you the extra drive out to the east side is worth it! We stayed in Tuolomne Meadows and it's beautiful out there.

Riding bikes in Curry Village



On the hike up to Cathedral Lakes


Cathedral Lake


Swimming in Tenaya Lake (aka, our shower for the weekend)


Tuolomne at Sunset


@ Olmstead Point to gaze at the stars. That's half dome in the background. We got to lay out on the rocks and saw thousands of stars come out at night... even some shooting stars!

The Olympics are bad for my sleep schedule.

I stayed up last night watching the men's gymnastics.

My heart/stomach always turns when they let go of the high bar to do a trick.

I love the way the Chinese gymnasts give each other high fives.

Bonus: Have you seen Kevin Tan? We had some kids from church over for a bbq on Saturday and several of them commented that he looked like Danny. haha.

I had a moment of weakness.

I purchased the most expensive pair of shoes ever. Not EVER as in, the history of mankind. But ever, as in the history of my shopping experience.

I'm still debating whether to keep them or not. I've been walking around in them at home going through the pros and cons. More like trying to justify it to myself.

Giants vs. Braves (4-2)

With the HS girls

Do you watch So You Think You Can Dance?

I <3 Joshua

Next week is the finale. Watch it!



On a different note... the Controller's group is holding a little ping pong tournament at work today and tomorrow. Now the 2 of you that read this know that I've won my fair share of olive oil and trophies. So I decided to sit out on this tournament.

They set up a table in the conference room right next to me and it's LOUD. Nothing like ping pong to bring an entire floor together. :)

I RAN OVER A PIGEON ON SATURDAY.

ICK, ICK, ICK.

I've been asked whether I actually play more than work because I've been all over these days. I assure you, I'm a very hard worker (despite what some people might say). :)

Pictures from my recent trip to the Pacific Northwest.

Biking around Stanley Park, Vancouver



Pike's Place




Gasworks Park


Mt. Rainier

I was reminded that this time last year, I was here:







What was I thinking??

Talking about ringtones with a friend today...

This was a few years ago when my dad got a new phone. He asked us to download a new ringtone for him.

Being a PASTOR and all, we went to the Christian section and played for him selections such as "Hallelujah chorus" and "Amazing Grace." He flat out rejected all of them.

As we were browsing, my brother got a phone call and my dad requested the same ringtone as my brother.

The result?

"I love it when you call me Big Poppa"

:)

Sadly, no pictures of me holding a gallon of olive oil this year.

Yesterday was the annual ping pong tournament among some churches in the Bay Area. Although my partner has moved to Hawaii and left me to defend the title alone, I had high hopes because my new partner was doing pretty well. We won 3 games in a row and lost in the semis. Sad, because we could have played better. There's always next year.

The loot from this year? Fly swatters. :)

I'm off to Seattle at the end of the month. Hopefully I'll have some new pictures up here soon.

Can I just say that I freaking hate the smell of microwave/movie theater popcorn??

Some of you may already know, but right around 2:30 - 3pm in the office, someone pops a bag of nasty popcorn and stinks up the entire floor. Gives me a headache.

UGH.

Back from Hawaii. Sadly, no noticeable tan but I'm happy to report that I didn't get burned.

Just a few pictures:

Hiking up to the lighthouse. The color of the water is amazing.


Hiking near Ashley's house. Those leaves created this curtain. Can't really tell, but it was cool to walk through it.


Same trail. That tree was doing some gnarly things.


Lookout at Kauai


Hiking along the Napali Coast in Kauai


Hiking in Waimea Canyon in Kauai


I know some of you guys might think I'm crazy for going on these hikes on my vacation. But I was able to see things that I wouldn't otherwise be able to see. (I know, I know, someone mentioned a helicopter ride... so I guess it is possible). What I'm trying to say is, totally worth it. :)

Been in Hawaii since Monday. The weather has been great. So far.. one of the favorite things I've done?

Ocean kayaking

(and then getting shaved ice after) :)

The color of the water is amazing. And there's nothing more exciting/exhilarating than reaching the island after MULTIPLE close calls with waves breaking. Seriously, I thought we were going to flip over more than once.

I'm off to Kauai this weekend. Yay!

I went to the Giants game yesterday. Sadly, I didn't stay til the 11th to watch them win. You don't understand. It was F-R-E-E-Z-I-N-G.

Anyway, I have a little theory that their wins are directly correlated to my financial support of the team. The day of their first win? I went to the dugout store and purchased a jacket. Yesterday's win? I purchased additional game tickets for next week. Coincidence? I think not.

The thing is, of course I want my team to win. But I don't have that kind of $$. Also, I don't know if my 'purchase = win' theory has a $ limit. I'm thinking I might just buy a pin when I go to next week's game. A part of me is a little scared I might end up with one of these by mid-season:



And you know what that means... a fanny pack, a rolling bag containing a seat cushion and game scorecard is not far behind.

Giants fans, start sending me $.

I have a friend in Korea that randomly IM's me from time to time... this was too funny

Friend: 서진아..
Friend: ^^
Friend: 잘 지냈어?
Chris: hi~
Friend: 오빠 결혼한다..ㅍㅎㅎ
Chris: what????
Chris: congratulations!!!!
Friend: ^_____^
Chris: were you set up?
Chris: how did you guys meet?
Friend: thank you
Friend: no guy
Friend: girl...
Chris: hahaa.. i know.. it's an expression
Chris: you guys
Friend: ah....^^

It's going to be a rrrough season.


James, I don't want to hear it.

27


Who knew this is what my life would look like at 27? Definitely not me. I think about what I thought life would be like at 27. Silly me.

I have no complaints. I'm enjoying life and I'm excited to see where it leads. After all, if things happened the way I had imagined, sure, things might have been great, but I'm not sure I would have the friends and adventures I'm lovin' right now.

Thanks, everyone

I opened up my gmail this morning and I see this ad running across the top of my inbox:

Fire Ben Braun - www.firebenbraun.com - Save CAL Basketball from Mediocrity Volunteers Wanted


Now I haven't been following college ball at all. I just hear snipets of complaints here and there. I had no idea it was so bad that they had a website dedicated to this.

And doesn't gmail offer targeted ads? I find this odd because there has been no talk of Cal or Berkeley or basketball in my emails lately...

My Mom is into American Idol.

Her pick: Michael Johns.

She says he has the purest voice. I secretly think she's just into the accent. :)

My pick: David Archuleta.


Good Son-Family time bonding over AI.

Tahoe.... YES!




I will not get hurt this time. I will not get hurt this time. I will not get hurt this time. I will not get hurt this time. I will not get hurt this time. I will not get hurt this time. I will not get hurt this time. I will not get hurt this time.

:)

When it comes to reality shows, I love American Idol and So You Think You Can Dance. I think most of my friends know this about me and roll their eyes at me, but secretly tolerate it. I think deep down I wish I could be a superstar.

It's a new season of American Idol and I haven't been able to really keep up with it too much. I've attempted to record it (I'm old school. I record on VCR... blame the korean videos, and I don't watch enough tv to want a DVR). But I've found a buddy that enjoys American Idol just as much as I do! So I'll try not to bore the rest of my friends about that show.

I don't love the show so much that I'd buy tickets for their tour. BUT, I got someone to agree that if I JUST so happened to come across some free tickets, I'd have someone to go with. :) So I'm not requesting someone go out there and buy them for me... I'm just saying, if you come across some tickets that you need to unload, you can send them my way. haha.

Life has been fun these days. :) It's always nice to catch up with old friends.




picture courtesy of James

On our way to the rock climbing gym in Adam's VW van. :)

 

I know this post seems a little lame... but those 2 pictures are probably the most exciting things on my camera from this winter.

I promised exciting pictures from Tahoe, but after my first trip, I fell pretty badly and bruised my rib. And that was supposed to be the "warm-up" trip. Ashley came all the way from Oklahoma to go on a snowboarding trip with me the following weekend, and because of the bruised rib, I stayed in and made snowmen and told her to go on and board with my friends. I felt a little bad for ditching her, but she made many new friends, so win-win. :)

It's been 3 weeks since the fall, and I feel almost 100%. I have to go back to Tahoe at least once more this season to redeem myself. Plus, I hear the snow has been amazing. Can't miss out on that, now can I.

I can't believe it's already February. But this month is going to be fun! I have friends visiting from Seattle and LA. Let the party begin.

 

 

Happy New Year!

I've been lazy about my updates. But I haven't gone on any new adventures, and therefore, no new pictures to post up.

New Year's Eve was pretty uneventful. I had service at church and came out of it relatively unaffected. I was expecting to hear a lot of "advice" from the adults (like I normally do). But this year, I just got a few winks and "you know"s. haha.

Friends, it's a new year. Please come visit me (and keep me company) in the Bay Area! I miss my gf's.

Off to Tahoe this weekend so hopefully the next post will contain pictures.