Happy Moments in Life

Falling in Love.    

Laughing so hard my face hurts.










A hot shower.

Getting mail.

Seeing smiles and hearing laughter from your friends.

Hearing my favorite song on the radio.

Lying in bed listening to the rain.

Waking up and realizing I still have a few more hours of sleep.

Chocolate milkshake.
Chocolate.

A long distance phone call.

A bubble bath.

Sweet dreams.

Giggling.

A good conversation.

The beach.

Laughing at myself.

Running through sprinklers.

Laughing for absolutely no reason at all.

Having someone tell you that you're beautiful.

Friends. Laughing at an inside joke.

Making new friends.

Spending time with old friends.

Song lyrics printed inside a new CD so I can sing along without feeling stupid.

Getting butterflies in my stomach every time I see that one person.

Making eye contact with a cute stranger.

Holding hands with someone you care about.

Running into an old friend and realizing that some things (good or bad) never change.

Discovering that love is unconditional and stronger than time.

Hugging the person you love.

Watching someone's face as they open much-desired present from me.

Watching the sunrise.

Getting out of bed every morning and being thankful for another beautiful day.

Captain

"Welcome aboard, ladies and gentlemen. This is an American flight ### service to Columbus. I am Captain blah blah...."

This is the message that we hear from the captain as we wait for the airplane to depart.  I heard it again, as usual, on my flights from LA to Columbus as I was flying back from my spring break. I am very used to this announcement because I'm used to flying, but today, this familiar message from the captain didn't just pass through my ears. A new thought came into my head: Why haven't I ever heard from a female captain?

Every flight I've been on, the captain has been a man. I've seen plenty of female and a good number of male flight attendants. But never a female voice make the captain's announcement.

Then I started to ask myself some questions: Is this job not preferred by females? Is it because this job requires a lot of time away from home and women don't want to leave home, away from their family and kids? But there are many female flight attendants in the same position who probably leave home for days at a time. Why?

It might have a very simple answer to it, and I might have been over thinking it.  But I spent the whole time the captain was making this announcement thinking about it--why aren't there any female captains? A very random thought, but also pretty interesting to think about...

Rainy Day

Sometimes, on a rainy day like today, I picture this to get through the day.

The fitful alternations of the rain,

When the chill wind, languid as with pain

Of its own heavy moisture, here and there

Drives through the gray and beamless atmosphere.

- Percy Bysshe Shelley

How To Get Out of a Funk

1. Dress up. Not in the Saturday-night-going-out outfit, 

but something that requires a little more attention and effort to wear.

2. Karaoke in my car on the way to the mall.

Today's selection included Biebster's "Baby", 

Katy Perry's "California Gurls" and 

"Ain't No Mountain High Enough".

3. Get an iced drink from Starbucks. 

My top 2 choices: tall iced mocha, no whip or grande iced black tea. Classic.

4. Buy workout clothes.

5. Day dream.

Picture myself looking fierce and sharp in the new workout clothes for my new obsession, 

Mike Nicholson's Hiphop class!

6. Buy work clothes.

7. Day dream, part II.

Picture myself looking fashionable and charismatic in the new work clothes 

like Miranda Priestly from "Devil Wears Prada."

At the end of it, I don't even remember that I was in a funk!

Woman's Logic

I bursted out laughing when I saw this because I knew I was guilty of it...

First day of real real snow!

It's "wrap myself in a blanket with hot-chocolate" kind of night!

Jan. 10, 2012

On my way to work on Tuesday, Jan. 10, 2012, I found myself driving towards this perfectly round Moon.  It was getting ready to hide itself for the day, right near the horizon.

It looked like a faded white stamp of a circle. Yet, there was something romantic about it. Only seen in the middle of winter. 

This is one of many reasons why winter is my favorite season.

Move, Learn and Eat

I ran into one of these videos a few months ago, and I've run into it again.  This time, there's not just one; there are THREE, each titled: MOVE, LEARN, and EAT. 

Once again, I'm inspired to be adventurous and explore the big, wide world!

MOVE

LEARN

EAT

New Year's Resolution

Eat healthy food. Get fit. Get a better job. Save money. Take a trip. Be happy.

Typical new year's resolutions. These were some popular ones I found when I googled "new year's resolution."

Oh, No.
These are too common and too general!

I've written my own (during my train ride from DC to NY on Dec. 30, 2011), a set that I actually felt pretty confident that I would be able to accomplish in 2012.  Originally, I came up with 15. Yes, I was feeling a little too confident.  But I've reduced the list a little bit, and I made sure that my goals are more specific than "be happy." The most important part about my resolutions--the part that I am very happy with--is that each of my goals has a reason it made on the list.  These resolutions were not included just to have a solid-looking list (A list of 5 does look better than a list of 2).  They were not included so I can say that I have new year's resolutions. I've carefully thought about my resolutions and I feel that I can accomplish these by pushing myself throughout the year.

So here it is. My New Year's Resolution for 2012.

1. Keep a journal

There are moments that I want to remember.  At those moments, I tell myself that I'll remember, but how many of those do I remember from 2011? Can't even begin to think about them.  So the best way to guarantee that I'll remember those small moments is to keep a journal and write in it.  I did it as a kid. My second through sixth grade teachers made me do it.  Now as an adult, I will write on my own, for my own, because I want to write in my journal.

2. 5k

I started working out when I moved to Columbus in September.  I've slacked a little bit with the holidays and my nye trip.  But it' time to workout/run with a specific goal, and I've decided on a 5k!  I used to run for my school when I was little. Well, the runner me is back in 2012.

3. Read 50 books

One book/wk seems like a good goal.  I won't restrict myself further by specifying which 50 books I'm going to read. There are many good lists out there that I can choose, but I want this list of 50 to be based on my interests. *Children's picture books don't count. Some children's chapter books are ok.

4. Keep up with current events

Probably by reading the newspaper/articles or magazines.  This will already be hard for me (as it has been for the past several years) so I'll gently remind myself daily without saying "read the news every day."

5. Study a (new) language

Spanish is ok. It'll be smart of me to choose Spanish since I have 4 years under my belt.  This is another one of those goals that I've been keeping on my list, but haven't been able to accomplish. Well, it's on the list again, and this time, it's happening. For real.

6. Pick up a new hobby

It doesn't matter what it is.  I want to try something new.  I'm assuming it'll be related to food--something like food photography or finding/keeping/trying new recipes.  Since I enjoy eating, and cooking has become a new, fun part of my daily life, this would be an easy way for me to enjoy a part of my day with a little more focus and a purpose!


There it is, my core list.  I have more, as I always have too many things I want to do. However, I don't want to overwhelm myself with a full list of 15.  This will push me forward and I will still have to challenge myself.

(One resolution I've cut already: cut sarcasm/silliness.  I asked for some of my friends' opinions. They think my personality will be gone if I cut silliness.  My intention was to be a little more adult-like and mature. But I'm thinking that I can be mature in different ways. I can be silly and be mature. Right? We'll see how this goes this year. I'll reconsider this for future years to come.)

Bring it on 2012!

Home

This winter break (lucky me to still get to call this "winter break"!), I'm spending my Christmas in Columbus.  When I decided not to go home, which happened about 2 months ago, I didn't think too much of it. I thought I could handle it--no problemo.  I actually thought it would be great to have a white Christmas and feel the holiday spirit to the max!  Well, things didn't go as I planned. As I sit in my apartment and look out the window, I see rain falling, not snow!

A few days ago, I heard on the radio that there is 23% chance of Columbus getting 1 inch of snow, and 0% chance of 5 inches of snow.  Since then, I've been feeling low. I checked flights last minute to see if I can go home.  I clicked the refresh button on weather.com several times hoping to see the chance of snow magically increase.  But nope, I had to settle with rain and no family for this winter break--at least for the first part.

Hence, I'm pretending to be at home in California. Good thing that I'm pretty good at imagining things!
First stop, San Francisco!

And my final destination, Southern California/Home!

Merry Sunny Christmas!

Cappuccino with Extra Foam

There are days when I want to scoop up foam from my cappuccino with my finger before drinking the coffee.  Especially on a rainy day, when I want to sit down, take a break, think about random things, or just watch the rain come down, cappuccino with extra foam is my best friend. 

Sometimes, I'll ask for foam on other drinks--like a peppermint mocha with extra foam. It truly tastes like winter! 

I'm not sure how I'll feel tomorrow morning. But just because I know it'll be raining all day, I think I'll pick up a grande cappuccino with extra foam on my way to work.

The Function of Music

Every morning, I drive 15 minutes to work.  I enjoy my short ride to work without any traffic.  And usually, it's right when the sun is rising or as soon as its risen so the sky is beautifully painted with several pastel colors.  But sometimes, I wish my commute was a little longer, just so I can listen to music a little longer and take in as much morning colors as I can.  I love listening to music (and/or singing) while driving.  It lets me enjoy the drive as is.  It helps me free my mind.  The combination of driving, music, and sunrise is just a great way to start a day!  Maybe, one of these days, I'll leave early and take a longer route to work so I can enjoy the beginning of my day with music that frees me from "the tyranny of conscious thought!"

Oh Car!

My car has reached it's 100,000 mile mark!  (I thought about naming my car a few different times, but never was able to find the perfect name for it. So, I'm just going to call it--Car.)

I was with Car since it came to my family in 2004.  Car and I have been to many many places, short and long distances.

Car and I have been to 14 states: California, Oregon, Nevada, New Mexico, Colorado, Arizona, Utah, Texas, Kansas, Oklahoma, Missouri, Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio. Car and I shared a 2,500 mile trip across the country--3 times.

Car and I have been to places that drop to -30 degrees and places that reach 117 degrees. Car and I have seen beautiful sunny days in California, a sizzling hot weather in Arizona, and snow and hail in Ohio.  We've also experienced our first hydro-planing in the Rocky Mountains in Colorado.

Car and I have seen crazy people and crazy drivers all around--many honest people and many liars.  As a result, Car has gone through several reconstructive procedures. Nothing serious, thankfully; just some plastic surgeries.  Although there were some unexpected expenses for me to invest in Car along the way, Car never died on me.  Car has always been a very reliable friend.

100,000 is a big number, but Car is so young and healthy.  Car and I have a long way to go together and I cannot wait for our adventures that await us!