February's topic: "Why do you love your online friends?"
I didn't start becoming active in the social side of the interwebs until ten years ago. It started with the early social networks of friendster and MySpace (where I met J), and then I started a blog. The initial purpose of my blog was to keep a journal for myself and to share it with friends. It soon flourished into something different for me when I started meeting people online who came across my blog and vice versa. Some of which are still friends to this day. Others just came and went.
These days, I'm somewhat active on other social sites. But hands down, my favorite place to be is on Plurk. My day is not complete without saying hi to these guys and partaking in the latest mischief.
We've become this close-knit group; it's awesome! We're all from different places and of different backgrounds, but we all seem to click. I love it. Our personalities are different, and that's what I love about this group. We accept each other for who we are, whether we share the same beliefs or not, or agree or disagree. I think that's what makes this little group of ours work, you know? It's been almost three years since Plurk took off, and I consider you guys to be some of my closest friends. To others, it might sound absurd to describe online friends as close friends. But you know what? You guys are. And so, to each of you: You have become an integral part of my day. You make me laugh and smile when I'm feeling down. You know some of my secrets and fill me with encouraging words when I'm upset or lost. You share my love for different things, and you've opened my eyes to new and wonderful things that are a part of your life.
I remember when TOA was just an idea, and then it materialized into the real deal during TOA 2010 when several of us from different places got together in San Francisco. It still blows my mind when I think about it. I hope to see them again soon and to finally meet the rest of the Plurk gang. Online or real life, we're all friends just the same. Thank you for all the laughs and good fun! Love you guys!
Monday, February 28, 2011
Sunday, February 27, 2011
58|365: Repotting Plants
58|365: Repotting Plants, originally uploaded by Rho.
This is one of just a few indoor plants we have. I'd love to have more, but that cats like to gnaw on the leaves.
We finally got around to repotting our indoor and outdoor plants that have outgrown their pots. They haven't been looking too well, and I'm hoping this will help them flourish again.
Saturday, February 26, 2011
57|365: Caffe Grecco
57|365: Caffe Grecco, originally uploaded by Rho.
One of my favorite spots in the City.
Friday, February 25, 2011
Thursday, February 24, 2011
55|365: Cuddly Cat
55|365: Cuddly Cat, originally uploaded by Rho.
Sera rarely curls up on my lap, and it made me smile.
Wednesday, February 23, 2011
54|365: Something Good
54|365: Something Good, originally uploaded by Rho.
I whipped up a quick batch of garlic noodles for tomorrow's potluck at work.
53|365: Cat's Toy
53|365: Cat's Toy, originally uploaded by Rho.
A few weeks ago, a client and I were talking about our cats, and she had mentioned that her daughter ordered a set of these rubber balls for their cats. She says these toys are a hot commodity in their home (the cats tend to lose them) because it's their favorite. She promised to give me the link of the website where her daughter ordered them. Instead, she brought one in for me, and said, "This is for your babies."
Monday, February 21, 2011
I'm Wishing...
For February's "unofficial" topic, G suggested we write about our first love. Or was it true love? I decided to repost four entries I wrote in 2007 when J and I got engaged.
One of the things J and I like to do is go to Disneyland. We go at least once a year. This year, we flew down for our annual trip the first weekend in June.
We usually get the two- or three-day park-hopper tickets for both Disneyland and California Adventure. This year was different since we decided to get the Annual Passholder tickets. Now you're probably thinking, "Do they really go down there that often?". We figure that if we go to Disneyland one more time on the pass, the tickets pretty much pay for themselves after that second visit. Air fare can be cheap if you find the right deals, or making the five hour drive to Anaheim isn't a problem, either.
A couple of weeks later after the first trip, I find out that I'm off for the 4th of July, as with J. He suggests we drive down to LA on the afternoon of the 3rd, when I get off from work.
I thought it was a crazy idea. I rationalize quickly to myself: I work on the 3rd (though I'd work the earlier shift), and I'm due for work on the 5th. Was there even enough time to make the trip? Oh, what the hell, we have the passports anyway.
So we make our plans accordingly.
July 3rd came before we knew it. I started work at 5:30am. I was wearing a short, summer dress that day, and one of my co-workers asks me, "Aww...do you and J have a secret lunch later?"
"No," I say, "But we are going to Disneyland!" And if you know my co-workers, they all love going to Disneyland, too.
My shift ended at 2:30pm, and I walk out to the front of the building where J picked me up. In no time at all, we were driving down Hwy 101. Traveling during this time of the afternoon meant no traffic, and fortuntately, we didn't run into any holiday traffic. Going through Pacheco Pass was uneventful, until we dropped down to Hwy 5. There were more cars and 18-wheelers than we would have liked. There's a Lexus next to us, with a youngin behind the wheel who's weaving in and out of traffic, but not getting very far.
"They must be hurrying to make their dinner reservations in LA," J comments. I have no idea what he's talking about. "We better haul ass, too, to make our reservations."
My brain goes on overdrive, thinking, "What's he talking about? What reservations?" So I ask him.
"Reservations? To where? Blue Bayou?" Just to backtrack a little bit, we've never been able to eat at this restaurant when we're at the park, much less been able to make reservations in the past.
"I'm not saying," he says. I really thought nothing of it, so I didn't push the issue.
By the time we went over the Grapevine, we hit traffic. At this point, Sinta gets a little frazzled and says, "We're not going to meet our reservations."
"Huh? We really do?" I say.
"It's past 7. We're not going to make it. Our reservations are at 9:10."
"I knew it! We have dinner reservations at the Blue Bayou!" I exclaim.
"Maybe...," says J.
"Can you call them? Maybe they can push down our reservation for a later time," I say. He doesn't respond. We sit quietly as we drive into Burbank. Traffic was rather heavy, but J manages to skillfully work his way out of it into a faster lane. I start to get nervous, looking at the car's clock every two minutes. The traffic gradually lightens and we sail onto the on-ramp to the Disneland exit.
By this time, it's about 8pm. We made good time.
Before going in the park for dinner, we stop by the Disneyland Hotel to check-in and drop our things off. I take the extra time we had to freshen up after that five hour drive.
Then there was a knock at the door. Confused, I watch J walk up to the door to open it. In comes a guy carrying this huge, but beautiful vase of flowers! I walk to the vase, admiring the orchids, gerber daisies, roses, lillies, and dahlias that made up the colorful bouquet. I couldn't figure out why J surprised me with this, but I was feeling pretty special nonetheless.
"What's this for?" I ask him.
"I just wanted to pamper you," he says. Not a minute goes by, and there's another knock at the door. Utterly confused, I look at J, and for some reason, I back away towards the other side of the room. Maybe I didn't want to see what was coming up next? At the same time, I was curious with anticipation.
"Hmmm, I wonder what that could be?" J says in a voice that told me that he knew exactly what was going on. I peek around the corner, and in comes another guy with a bucket of chilled champagne and two flute glasses. My heart jumps, and the sight of the champagne next the the flowers on the table sends my head in a spin. I become nervous.
"What's the champagne for?" I ask.
"I just wanted to surprise you, that's all," J responds.
"This is a nice surprise," I tell him. "Thank you." Is this it? Is he going to ask me? If tonight's not the night, then it's okay. I'm still admiring the bouquet of flowers when I playfully ask him, "So...are there going to be more surprises tonight?"
"Nope, that's all the surprises for tonight."
I would be lying if I said that I wasn't just a tad disappointed, yet I still had a feeling that there was more to come that night.
We leave the bottle of champagne untouched to save for later since we still have reservations to make. We make a beeline for the monorail (thank goodness our hotel was next to the station) that drops us off at Tomorrowland inside the park.
By this time, people are situating themselves for the laser show, and we had 15 minutes left to fight the crowds to get across the park to Blue Bayou. J takes my hand, and we run.
Needless to say, we get to the restaurant on time.
After a quiet and romantic dinner at the Blue Bayou, J and I leave the restaurant into a warm and moonlit night. It's close to eleven o'clock now, and we're strolling, my arm locked in his. I'm excited to be in Disneyland, and I ask him what he wants to do and what rides he wants to go on.
"Let's walk our food off," he says. "We had a lot to eat, and we'll be here tomorrow anyway." He has a point. After all, we do have annual passes to the park.
The park starts to quiet down as some of the guests make their way toward the main gate after a long day at the Happiest Place on Earth. We walk towards Sleeping Beauty's castle, and J leads me down a path that winds to the right of the castle.
And right there is a wishing well that I never knew existed.
"Let's make a wish," he suggests.
I look into the well, and I hear Snow White singing in the background: "I'm wishing (I'm wishing), for the one I love...to find me (to find me) today..." I dig in my purse for a couple of coins for us to toss into the well. And knowing us, J and I are always making wishes--in fountains, on wish bones, fallen eyelashes. It's all in good fun. After a few minutes of pilfering through my purse, I find two quarters. I hand one to Sinta, who's looking at me with a blank expression.
We take a few seconds to make our wishes, then we throw our quarters into the wishing well.
"I'm hoping (I'm hoping), I'm dreamin of...the nice things (the nice things) he'll say (he'll say)..."
J turns to me, and asks, "What did you wish for?"
"I can't tell you!" I tell him playfully, "It won't come true!"--a canned response that we say to each other after making wishes. "What did you wish for?"
"I'll tell you in a minute," J says. Now, that's a statement he would never say. What he just said replaced the usual "I can't tell you! It won't come true!" My heart starts to race as my mind spins in confusion. Is this it? J takes my hands, and turns me towards him.
"I want to spend the rest of my life with you," he says softly. My knees start to buckle, and the night's surroundings become surreal in an ethereal glow.
"I want to spend the rest of my life with you, too," I say to him.
J gets down on one knee, looks up at me, and opens a maroon box. My eyes well up with tears, and my hands flutter with excitement.
"Will you marry me?"
There was no doubt in my heart and in my mind that I want to spend the rest of my life with this man.
One of the things J and I like to do is go to Disneyland. We go at least once a year. This year, we flew down for our annual trip the first weekend in June.
We usually get the two- or three-day park-hopper tickets for both Disneyland and California Adventure. This year was different since we decided to get the Annual Passholder tickets. Now you're probably thinking, "Do they really go down there that often?". We figure that if we go to Disneyland one more time on the pass, the tickets pretty much pay for themselves after that second visit. Air fare can be cheap if you find the right deals, or making the five hour drive to Anaheim isn't a problem, either.
A couple of weeks later after the first trip, I find out that I'm off for the 4th of July, as with J. He suggests we drive down to LA on the afternoon of the 3rd, when I get off from work.
I thought it was a crazy idea. I rationalize quickly to myself: I work on the 3rd (though I'd work the earlier shift), and I'm due for work on the 5th. Was there even enough time to make the trip? Oh, what the hell, we have the passports anyway.
So we make our plans accordingly.
July 3rd came before we knew it. I started work at 5:30am. I was wearing a short, summer dress that day, and one of my co-workers asks me, "Aww...do you and J have a secret lunch later?"
"No," I say, "But we are going to Disneyland!" And if you know my co-workers, they all love going to Disneyland, too.
My shift ended at 2:30pm, and I walk out to the front of the building where J picked me up. In no time at all, we were driving down Hwy 101. Traveling during this time of the afternoon meant no traffic, and fortuntately, we didn't run into any holiday traffic. Going through Pacheco Pass was uneventful, until we dropped down to Hwy 5. There were more cars and 18-wheelers than we would have liked. There's a Lexus next to us, with a youngin behind the wheel who's weaving in and out of traffic, but not getting very far.
"They must be hurrying to make their dinner reservations in LA," J comments. I have no idea what he's talking about. "We better haul ass, too, to make our reservations."
My brain goes on overdrive, thinking, "What's he talking about? What reservations?" So I ask him.
"Reservations? To where? Blue Bayou?" Just to backtrack a little bit, we've never been able to eat at this restaurant when we're at the park, much less been able to make reservations in the past.
"I'm not saying," he says. I really thought nothing of it, so I didn't push the issue.
By the time we went over the Grapevine, we hit traffic. At this point, Sinta gets a little frazzled and says, "We're not going to meet our reservations."
"Huh? We really do?" I say.
"It's past 7. We're not going to make it. Our reservations are at 9:10."
"I knew it! We have dinner reservations at the Blue Bayou!" I exclaim.
"Maybe...," says J.
"Can you call them? Maybe they can push down our reservation for a later time," I say. He doesn't respond. We sit quietly as we drive into Burbank. Traffic was rather heavy, but J manages to skillfully work his way out of it into a faster lane. I start to get nervous, looking at the car's clock every two minutes. The traffic gradually lightens and we sail onto the on-ramp to the Disneland exit.
By this time, it's about 8pm. We made good time.
Before going in the park for dinner, we stop by the Disneyland Hotel to check-in and drop our things off. I take the extra time we had to freshen up after that five hour drive.
Then there was a knock at the door. Confused, I watch J walk up to the door to open it. In comes a guy carrying this huge, but beautiful vase of flowers! I walk to the vase, admiring the orchids, gerber daisies, roses, lillies, and dahlias that made up the colorful bouquet. I couldn't figure out why J surprised me with this, but I was feeling pretty special nonetheless.
"What's this for?" I ask him.
"I just wanted to pamper you," he says. Not a minute goes by, and there's another knock at the door. Utterly confused, I look at J, and for some reason, I back away towards the other side of the room. Maybe I didn't want to see what was coming up next? At the same time, I was curious with anticipation.
"Hmmm, I wonder what that could be?" J says in a voice that told me that he knew exactly what was going on. I peek around the corner, and in comes another guy with a bucket of chilled champagne and two flute glasses. My heart jumps, and the sight of the champagne next the the flowers on the table sends my head in a spin. I become nervous.
"What's the champagne for?" I ask.
"I just wanted to surprise you, that's all," J responds.
"This is a nice surprise," I tell him. "Thank you." Is this it? Is he going to ask me? If tonight's not the night, then it's okay. I'm still admiring the bouquet of flowers when I playfully ask him, "So...are there going to be more surprises tonight?"
"Nope, that's all the surprises for tonight."
I would be lying if I said that I wasn't just a tad disappointed, yet I still had a feeling that there was more to come that night.
We leave the bottle of champagne untouched to save for later since we still have reservations to make. We make a beeline for the monorail (thank goodness our hotel was next to the station) that drops us off at Tomorrowland inside the park.
By this time, people are situating themselves for the laser show, and we had 15 minutes left to fight the crowds to get across the park to Blue Bayou. J takes my hand, and we run.
Needless to say, we get to the restaurant on time.
After a quiet and romantic dinner at the Blue Bayou, J and I leave the restaurant into a warm and moonlit night. It's close to eleven o'clock now, and we're strolling, my arm locked in his. I'm excited to be in Disneyland, and I ask him what he wants to do and what rides he wants to go on.
"Let's walk our food off," he says. "We had a lot to eat, and we'll be here tomorrow anyway." He has a point. After all, we do have annual passes to the park.
The park starts to quiet down as some of the guests make their way toward the main gate after a long day at the Happiest Place on Earth. We walk towards Sleeping Beauty's castle, and J leads me down a path that winds to the right of the castle.
And right there is a wishing well that I never knew existed.
"Let's make a wish," he suggests.
I look into the well, and I hear Snow White singing in the background: "I'm wishing (I'm wishing), for the one I love...to find me (to find me) today..." I dig in my purse for a couple of coins for us to toss into the well. And knowing us, J and I are always making wishes--in fountains, on wish bones, fallen eyelashes. It's all in good fun. After a few minutes of pilfering through my purse, I find two quarters. I hand one to Sinta, who's looking at me with a blank expression.
We take a few seconds to make our wishes, then we throw our quarters into the wishing well.
"I'm hoping (I'm hoping), I'm dreamin of...the nice things (the nice things) he'll say (he'll say)..."
J turns to me, and asks, "What did you wish for?"
"I can't tell you!" I tell him playfully, "It won't come true!"--a canned response that we say to each other after making wishes. "What did you wish for?"
"I'll tell you in a minute," J says. Now, that's a statement he would never say. What he just said replaced the usual "I can't tell you! It won't come true!" My heart starts to race as my mind spins in confusion. Is this it? J takes my hands, and turns me towards him.
"I want to spend the rest of my life with you," he says softly. My knees start to buckle, and the night's surroundings become surreal in an ethereal glow.
"I want to spend the rest of my life with you, too," I say to him.
J gets down on one knee, looks up at me, and opens a maroon box. My eyes well up with tears, and my hands flutter with excitement.
"Will you marry me?"
There was no doubt in my heart and in my mind that I want to spend the rest of my life with this man.
52|365: University of California, Berkeley
52|365: University of California, Berkeley, originally uploaded by Rho.
Spent the afternoon in Berkeley.
51|365: A Very Important Meeting
51|365: A Very Important Meeting, originally uploaded by Rho.
I Skyped with some of my favorite online peeps. This was before Jen joined us. Hopefully, we can get everyone together at the same time soon.
Saturday, February 19, 2011
50|365: Holy Name Wins
50|365: Holy Name Wins, originally uploaded by Rho.
My BIL coaches a 6th grade basketball team, who went undefeated this season and won the championship game today.
49|365: Fun With Play-Doh
49|365: Fun With Play-Doh, originally uploaded by Rho.
We have family visiting from LA, and my MIL bought Play-Doh and building blocks for the two little ones. It turned out that we adults were having more fun with the Play-Doh than the boys were. It had been years since any of us played with it, so we just let loose like kids and made little clay creations.
Thursday, February 17, 2011
Wednesday, February 16, 2011
47|365: Cheese and Pork Pupusas
47|365: Cheese and Pork Pupusas, originally uploaded by Rho.
A co-worker ordered this Salvadoran dish called pupusas to celebrate another co-workers birthday. These particular ones were stuffed with cheese and pork. Not pictured here is the usual accompaniment to the pupusa called curtido, which is a tangy cabbage relish.
Tuesday, February 15, 2011
46|365: Not Yo' Mama's Banana Pudding
46|365: Not Yo' Mama's Banana Pudding, originally uploaded by Rho.
I made this decadent, but simple, dessert tonight. Half of it will be coming to work with me to share with my co-workers. Thank you, Ms. D, for sharing the recipe.
Here's the recipe, courtesy of Paula Deen:
2 bags Pepperidge Farm Chessmen cookies
6 to 8 bananas, sliced
2 cups milk
1 (5-ounce) box instant French vanilla pudding
1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese, softened
1 (14-ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
1 (12-ounce) container frozen whipped topping thawed, or equal amount sweetened whipped cream
Line the bottom of a 13 by 9 by 2-inch dish with 1 bag of cookies and layer bananas on top.
In a bowl, combine the milk and pudding mix and blend well using a handheld electric mixer. Using another bowl, combine the cream cheese and condensed milk together and mix until smooth. Fold the whipped topping into the cream cheese mixture. Add the cream cheese mixture to the pudding mixture and stir until well blended. Pour the mixture over the cookies and bananas and cover with the remaining cookies. Refrigerate until ready to serve.
45|365: <3 Day
I came home to a bouquet of flowers this afternoon. The tulips look droopy in this pic, but after sitting in water for awhile, they look great.
Sunday, February 13, 2011
44|365: Latest Obsession
44|365: Latest Obsession, originally uploaded by Rho.
I've been treating myself to blended mocha drinks a lot lately, and not just from Starbucks. Hands down, the best one I've had so far is from our neighborhood coffee shop.
43|365: Drying Bowls
43|365: Drying Bowls, originally uploaded by Rho.
I made a green salad and homemade honey-dill vinaigrette dressing for tonight's potluck with the family. The dish rack was full, so I set the big bowls on the counter to dry.
Friday, February 11, 2011
Thursday, February 10, 2011
41|365: Mango Juice
41|365: Mango Juice, originally uploaded by Rho.
I spotted this sweet tropical goodness at Costco yesterday, and I just had to pick up a case. I chilled a few cans in the fridge, and took one to hula class tonight. Yum!
Wednesday, February 09, 2011
40|365: Blooming Sakura
40|365: Blooming Sakura, originally uploaded by Rho.
This is what I look forward to as early as February, the sweet blossoms of spring. It never fails to make me smile when I see them.
Tuesday, February 08, 2011
39|365: Veggies
39|365: Veggies, originally uploaded by Rho.
I whipped up a quick veggie and chicken stir fry tonight.
Monday, February 07, 2011
38|365: Baldie's No. 3 Special
38|365: Baldie's No. 3 Special, originally uploaded by Rho.
I wanted to have one of my favorite breakfasts on my last day of vacation.
One Week Break
Today is the last day of my one week vacation. Tonight, I go back to my usual work routine of ironing my work clothes and preparing my lunch for tomorrow. This is the first time in a very long time that I was able to take some time off and do absolutely nothing. Well, we did go to Las Vegas for a few days, and even then, we were able to relax and unwind.
Vegas was a last-minute getaway. We were looking at other destinations, but the hotel and flight rates were too high. I looked at Vegas just for the hell of it, and well, how can you say no to room rates that cost $35-$55 a night. And that's for hotels on the strip. It was so cheap that our cats' kitty hotel stay was more expensive (but their's included food and TLC time)! The flights were another story, and I wasn't ready to fork over $700 for our airfare. We decided to make the 9-hour drive, which really wasn't that bad. Even though, J and I split the drive, I probably would've been able to do it by myself. Driving to LA, which is a little more than half the distance to Vegas, wears me out. Perhaps, that can be attributed to the horrendous traffic you meet entering the LA area.
Anyway, Las Vegas has changed since we were there four years ago. There were a lot of new buildings, and hotels and casinos, most of which we checked out, as well as visited some of our favorite ones. We pretty much ate our way through the trip. We ate at a tapas place called Fleur by Hubert Keller, had a multi-course meal at a Russian restaurant called Red Square, and ate junk food in between. We met up with my childhood friend and her family, and they treated us to a buffet dinner at the Rio, as well us hooked us up with tickets to see Mystére.
The day after we came home, we celebrated a late Chinese New Year dinner with my in-laws, and that always involves delicious food and great company.
The nice thing about my mini-break is that we were able to squeeze a lot of events in, and still have time to relax. Tomorrow, I go back to the daily grind.
Vegas was a last-minute getaway. We were looking at other destinations, but the hotel and flight rates were too high. I looked at Vegas just for the hell of it, and well, how can you say no to room rates that cost $35-$55 a night. And that's for hotels on the strip. It was so cheap that our cats' kitty hotel stay was more expensive (but their's included food and TLC time)! The flights were another story, and I wasn't ready to fork over $700 for our airfare. We decided to make the 9-hour drive, which really wasn't that bad. Even though, J and I split the drive, I probably would've been able to do it by myself. Driving to LA, which is a little more than half the distance to Vegas, wears me out. Perhaps, that can be attributed to the horrendous traffic you meet entering the LA area.
Anyway, Las Vegas has changed since we were there four years ago. There were a lot of new buildings, and hotels and casinos, most of which we checked out, as well as visited some of our favorite ones. We pretty much ate our way through the trip. We ate at a tapas place called Fleur by Hubert Keller, had a multi-course meal at a Russian restaurant called Red Square, and ate junk food in between. We met up with my childhood friend and her family, and they treated us to a buffet dinner at the Rio, as well us hooked us up with tickets to see Mystére.
The day after we came home, we celebrated a late Chinese New Year dinner with my in-laws, and that always involves delicious food and great company.
The nice thing about my mini-break is that we were able to squeeze a lot of events in, and still have time to relax. Tomorrow, I go back to the daily grind.
Sunday, February 06, 2011
37|365: 80 Degrees
37|365: 80 Degrees, originally uploaded by Rho.
I opened the windows this morning to let the warm breeze flow through the house. I think the cats were happy, too, since they got to enjoy it at their usual spot at the window.
J and I took a short walk to get our daily dose of vitamin D. Little buds are starting to sprout on the plum trees in front of our house, and I'm patiently waiting for them to bloom. I can smell spring around the corner.
36|365: Chinese New Year Dinner
36|365: Chinese New Year Dinner, originally uploaded by Rho.
This year, we opted to order in and have CNY dinner at my in-laws house.
Friday, February 04, 2011
35|365: Mirage In the Mojave Dessert
35|365: Mirage In the Mojave Dessert, originally uploaded by Rho.
34|365: Gung Hay Fat Choy
34|365: Gung Hay Fat Choy, originally uploaded by Rho.
*Photo taken on February 3.
At the Bellagio Hotel & Casino.
33|365: Mystére
33|365: Mystére, originally uploaded by Rho.
*Photo taken on February 2.
It's been a wonderful birthday so far. We met up with a childhood friend of mine. She and her husband got us tickets to see Mystére.
Tuesday, February 01, 2011
32|365: Wind Turbines
32|365: Wind Turbines, originally uploaded by Rho.
Seen driving through Tehachapi Pass.
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