long multi-holiday weekend

i can't tell whether or not i'm in work mode.  yes, i am productive (as usual), but i'm taking my time between finishing up some stuff and cleaning up.  this is my last week, and i'm excited, even tho today just feels like an ordinary day.  three days left.

a lot went on this past weekend - chinese new year, valentine's day, and president's day.  i went home early on friday, too, so that made it feel even longer.  my babe and i took a stroll around old town, did a bit of shopping, and ran into my lil bro (what a surprise!).  saturday was all about chinese new year.  from spending a couple hours grocery shopping (my first time spending $300 at the asian market) to prepping dinner and family time, it was good.  since chinese new year was all about family time (altho a couple ppl didn't show up), i stayed up in the av til 11pm.  i didn't make it to join my babe at his friend's wedding reception (since it ended at 11 as well).  overall, it was great.  mike drove down from norcal to join, which made it feel more altogether, the way this holiday should be celebrated.  everyone had a great time (even tho the mother and younger sis didn't show up).  lots of laughs and reminiscing.  on sunday, even tho it was vday, i was drained from the previous day.  we ended up just staying in lounging and watching the all-star game.  crazy crazy crazy stadium!  vday was just an ordinary day for us, which we were fine with.  but yay for the vday purchases.  =)  sleeping in yesterday felt really good.  we made our waffles (a norm for the weekends when there are no plans) and watched some tv.  we were supposed to go to the huntington library but ended up not going.  that will be saved for another day.  instead, we walked to old town.  why go back when we had already went a few days back?  all monday morning, i started browsing for shoes.  i got ATTACHED to a pair of heels i saw on the kenneth cole website.  since i wanted comfy heels to wear (for outings and occasionally to work), i wanted to buy them.  fortunately, there's a kenneth cole store in old town.  ahh, what a coincidence!  heh.  so yes, we went straight there and made that purchase!  we then went to the paseo and browsed some more.  we went home w/ a pair of gorgeous heels for me and a shirt for my babe.  now i want to go back to macy's to purchase a cardigan.  once i have that, i'm all set for my new job!  work pants - check!  work-appropriate tops - check! heels - check! cardigan - almost check!  =)

a few things to wait to happen - pasadena half, job transition, cleaning, celebration... this has been a busy month.  busy yet exciting.  =)

i love my babe.

go away, it's not my day

not in a good mood today, so leave me alone.

not even in the mood to eat

not even in the mood to drink

not even in the mood to smile

not even in the mood to chit chat

not even in the mood to listen to ne-yo

yes, it's one of those days.

i'm unhappy

i'm ugly

i'm super fat

i'm upset

i'm pissed

it's not my day

i've made my choice, and that ain't changing.

not my thing, and it never will be.  i can keep trying, but it won't do anything, i'm sure of it. f*ck no.

childish ways

ppl could be so immature and childish in handling situations.  i just can't wait til next friday.  this is just lame.

bye bye january, busy busy february!

january went by pretty fast.  i have been focusing my attention elsewhere, away from training.  i really need to get that in order.  i will.  soon.  after i hear the good news.  i know that i've been unhappy at the workplace, and it just doesn't help when i get home.  that mood, lack of motivation, is from the blah day at work. 

my babe and i had an early vday celebration, mainly because we wanted to make use of dinela week.  oh boy, we were stuffed!  aside from the ugly traffic we dealt w/, dinner was great.  

so now comes february.  it started out w/ such wonderful news!  on thursday, it became official!  i received a phone call from julie to offer me the senior analyst position over in the dean's office.  of course, i said I ACCEPT!  i'm soo glad that this great opportunity came my way.  it really helps to have good support, for ppl to see and appreciate all the hard work one's done.  i will start my new job in 2 weeks.  i'm super super super excited!  thanks babe for helping me and pushing me to believe this could happen for me!

this morning was the surf city half.  all i could say is that i survived!  i walked a lot of it cuz my legs were in extreme pain.  i'm just glad i finished.  i didn't care about the time.  sigh, two weeks will be the pasadena one.  i can't wait for that one to be over, too.  yes, i will train for the one in july.  now that i might have a bit of extra time when i start my new job (work hrs will be different).  i can't wait!

counting down...

is it friday yet???

memories of the 2000s

something i thought about this morning - significant moments that happened in the 2000s:

2000 - best year in high school/friends found out i was moving =(

2001 - moved to simi/transferred high school

2002 - robert saved me

2003 - entered college (UCLA baby!)/fam got evacuated from our house due to over 100k acres burned

2004 - my fam (except for mike, robert, and me) moved to texas

2005 - my dad passed away

2006 - reunited w/ my fam (they moved back to cali)/ucla beats usc (football... i actually cried that night)
2007 - graduated from UCLA

2008 - met the love of my life

2009 - moved in w/ my significant other

2009 gone, welcome 2010

2009 has ended, and boy was it a long year.  here's a recap of 2009:

emmanuell met my mom (last person to meet in my family)

v-day wknd in sd

sd wild animal park

drenched in champagne on my bday

lil bro and 2nd bro's graduations

sequoia national park camping trip

ne-yo w/ keri hilson concert

met emmanuell's parents and extended family/first east coast trip

channel islands

moved in w/ emmanuell

one year anniversary

lbc half marathon (w/out training!)

first time going to karaoke

death valley camping trip

promise ring =)
first thanksgiving together

geminid meteor shower

winter xmas holidays in the east coast/first xmas together

i stole this survey from jeannie (hehe, thanks!):

1. What did you do in 2009 that you'd never done before?
went to the east coast & met my significant other's family.

2. Did you keep your New Year's Resolutions from last year and will you make any for 2010?
i don't think i made any resolutions for 2009.  for 2010, try to be cc debt free.  oh, i guess to make sure i work out (since i have a few half-marathons i've registered for)?

3. Did anyone close to you give birth?
close to me? nope.

4. Did anyone close to you die?
no one i could think of.

5. What countries did you visit?
none, never been out of the country =( 

6. What would you like to have in 2010 that you lacked in 2009?
a better job

7. What date from 2009 will remain etched upon your memory...and why?
10/6 - our 1 year anniversary <3

8. What was your biggest achievement of the year?
finishing a half-marathon w/out training.  i guess some would think of it as stupidity instead of an achievement. =/

9. What was your biggest failure?
not working out as much as i wanted to - commuting is draining. =(

10. Did you suffer illness or injury?
i am severely anemic (and have been for a while). 

11. Did you take any risks this year?
does job hunting count? 

12. What was something that you celebrated in 2009?
sandy and triet's wedding (finally!)

13. Whose behavior made you appalled and depressed?
no comment.

14. Where did most of your money go?
my debt

15. What did you get really, really, really excited about?
receiving a promise ring from my love 

16. What were some of the best things you ate in 2009?
rei do gado brazilian steak house in sd, fresh delicious berries from arroyo chophouse, home-made sweet potato pie from one of emmanuell's aunts

17. What fears did you conquer in 2009?
meeting emmanuell's family and getting their approval.  it surprisingly went very well, both he and i were surprised!

18. In what way were you pleasantly surprised this year?
we went to watch the geminid meteor shower.  since the city lights and the storm clouds made it difficult to see the shooting stars, we drove around for over an hour to find a spot.  we ended up somewhere off the 14 freeway (still la county), and i saw a dozen shooting stars!  even though the clouds were still in the way, i was surprised to see that many.

19. What were your favorite new TV programs of 2009?
flash forward

20. What was the best book you read?
i only read one book in 2009 (which i started on nye) - dear john by nicholas sparks

21. What did you want AND get?
a warm jacket & mbt shoes 

22. What did you want and NOT get?
a new battery for my laptop (gonna wait til i pay off my cc bills)

23. What was your favorite film of the year?
i have two fave films of the year - up & avatar

24. What was the best thing you bought?

the drawer chest for emmanuell's bday.  my clothes are stored in there (while his clothes are in the big dresser).  it was the last drawer chest available in stores (which was the same model as our bedroom set), and we got it! =)

25. Quote a song lyric that sums up your year:
just get back up when it knocks you down, knocks you down

i'm hoping 2010 will be a better year w/ happiness & more smiles.