Thursday, November 26, 2009
Cute stylish clothes for a great price!
So one of my favorite shops online is Shop Ruche, you should go check it out! They've got great accessories, clothing and shoes!
Thursday, October 22, 2009
current moment
.jpg)
sitting in a coffee shop, feeling slightly productive since i finished my finance homework, chatted to some people and just thinking about how lucky i am.
life is good. right here, right now.
Saturday, October 03, 2009
things I remember about my mother's funeral 6 years later
My cousins all surrounding my brother and me.
The white sweater and pin striped pants I wore that day and then donated because I couldn't bring myself to wear them again.
The man taking photos of the entire event.
Looking up and seeing that my friend and ridden in from out of town to be there for me and feeling grateful just for his presence.
The wreath of flowers Karen ordered and put everyone's name on. Constantly hugging. Feeling completely numb.
The couch at the funeral home, the couch at the hotel.
The reception at the hotel and people standing up to tell stories as a photo slideshow played against a backdrop. Someone talking about her yellow suit.
Everyone in our hotel room, drinking a bottle of alcohol worth ridiculous amounts of money that was supposed to be drunk at my wedding or a happier occasion, laughing, crying, telling stories.
Struggling to fall asleep while my dad falls into a drunken, grief-stricken, sleep. Knowing my brother had to go sleep at home due to some Buddhist superstition.
...somehow it's been 6 years, I will always miss her, I will love her forever and it is her love that makes her loss easier to bear. thank you mom.
The white sweater and pin striped pants I wore that day and then donated because I couldn't bring myself to wear them again.
The man taking photos of the entire event.
Looking up and seeing that my friend and ridden in from out of town to be there for me and feeling grateful just for his presence.
The wreath of flowers Karen ordered and put everyone's name on. Constantly hugging. Feeling completely numb.
The couch at the funeral home, the couch at the hotel.
The reception at the hotel and people standing up to tell stories as a photo slideshow played against a backdrop. Someone talking about her yellow suit.
Everyone in our hotel room, drinking a bottle of alcohol worth ridiculous amounts of money that was supposed to be drunk at my wedding or a happier occasion, laughing, crying, telling stories.
Struggling to fall asleep while my dad falls into a drunken, grief-stricken, sleep. Knowing my brother had to go sleep at home due to some Buddhist superstition.
...somehow it's been 6 years, I will always miss her, I will love her forever and it is her love that makes her loss easier to bear. thank you mom.
Friday, October 02, 2009
Wednesday, August 26, 2009
Cute vintage stuff!
Okay so I'm trying to win more stuff, hey poor grad student's gotta do what she can! :D
Check it out, this person is so nice, she's giving stuff away for her birthday!
http://lessapathymorecake.blogspot.com/2009/08/happy-birthday-to-me-its-giveaway-time.html
Check it out, this person is so nice, she's giving stuff away for her birthday!
http://lessapathymorecake.blogspot.com/2009/08/happy-birthday-to-me-its-giveaway-time.html
EAD and Stinkerpants giveaway
Check out this cute contest from Elizabeth Anne Designs and Stinkerpants!
They're super cute cards designed by Stinkerpants. I'm hoping I can get some cards of me and Morgan the dog. :D Check out EAD's site for cute design ideas!
They're super cute cards designed by Stinkerpants. I'm hoping I can get some cards of me and Morgan the dog. :D Check out EAD's site for cute design ideas!
Thursday, August 20, 2009
It's the moments...
when the night before your best friend's funeral you're friend sleeps next to you so the loneliness won't hurt so much
Saturday, August 15, 2009
Thursday, August 13, 2009
It's the moments...
when I was sick with the flu and in college, missing my mom terribly, unable to move. I opened my eyes blearily and saw you putting water and Tylenol on my desk. thank you.
Sunday, July 26, 2009
the key to my heart knows one day it will be found
A friend found this key in a store in England.. LOVE IT! :)
Tuesday, July 14, 2009
put it away
sometimes you put things away, thinking you've let them go, only to suddenly be reminded of what you're missing
guess that's life, one cycle after another. i'll keep moving forward because any sadness felt only means happiness is that much more appreciated.
guess that's life, one cycle after another. i'll keep moving forward because any sadness felt only means happiness is that much more appreciated.
Tuesday, July 07, 2009
It's the moments...
when you sometimes feel so desperately lonely and it feels even more so because something reminded you after you had forgotten what you were missing... it's also knowing that will pass.
It's the moments..
It's the moments..
Saturday, June 20, 2009
give me nature
I've realized that I would love to live somewhere untouched. Where I can wake up and smell water, see trees and greenery and revel in it. Bath in the light and gaze upon the colors of sunrises and sunsets. Lay in a canoe or raft and see nothing for miles around me.
Of course you've got to give me some internet access. But I think I can live without Target and tons of people around and cars. All I'd really need is internet and probably TV and I'd be a happy girl and of course the dog's coming along.
Anyone care to join me?
Of course you've got to give me some internet access. But I think I can live without Target and tons of people around and cars. All I'd really need is internet and probably TV and I'd be a happy girl and of course the dog's coming along.
Anyone care to join me?
My first Africa experience - pt. 1
I've always said I'd want to visit Africa, I thought it would first be through Morocco or Egypt, instead it turned out to be through Zimbabwe and Botswana. What an introduction to the continent that was! Absolutely amazing, breath taking, and refreshing. Granted we were on a luxury safari and staying in 4/5 star places (even at the bush camps), but hey...a girl can spoil herself once in awhile.
I knew we were in for long flights, SFO-JFK (6 hours and 3 hour layover), JFK to Johannesburg (12.5 hour flight and another 3 hour layover), Johannesburg to Victoria Falls aka Vic Falls (2.5 hour flight). So yeah, 30 hours later we were there, sitting that long and not sleeping much created so much pain in the lower half of my body, I was in tears from the pain by the time we got there. Thank goodness for Advil and some icy/hot type of patches.
We were the last ones through immigration, you have to pay $30 for a visa to be in Zimbabwe. Luckily our chartered ride didn't leave without us, they almost did! We were the last ones to be dropped off at Victoria Falls Hotel. A hotel rich with history and stories, animal heads, hides and skulls (complete with antlers) adorn the walls alongside photos of the hotel and residents from different time periods.
It was built in 1904, a simple wood building that looked like an old school train station. Today it's a grand hotel with a new wing and a spectacular view of the falls. We were greeted warmly, porters immediately picked up our bags, check-in was quick and we were given welcome drinks, some kind of citrus juice with grenadine and a cool, sweetly perfumed cool towel. It was a welcome refreshment after the long trip and the heat. We took quick showers and headed out to see the falls, it was about 3pm by the time we left.
We got lucky, our guide told us later that the time we went was the best time of day to go. Early afternoon, because in the morning and at sunset the mist is so high that you can't see any part of the falls and the rainy season typicall ends in May (typically...more to come about rain later). As it was, I was covered in water pretty much the entire time (because in my tired state, I didn't think I'd need my waterproof windbreaker).
We headed back to the hotel and had dinner on the veranda, exhausted we could barely keep our eyes open. I had a burger and it was delicious, the meat was very fresh, local beef. My friends tried some of the ostrich and beef steak - would have been good if it was more tender. Then it was off to bed, I fell into a quick, dreamless sleep. The next morning I realized I set the alarm wrong and we raced to breakfast because we were supposed to be picked up at 7:30 for our overnight camping/canoeing trip...
They were an hour late, I was worried and we quickly found out it is the luck of the draw to try and call out of the country. All the numbers I had for our service providers were for offices in South Africa, out of the 8 calls we made to three different numbers, only 1 made it. Zimbabwe is a country and has gone from being an up-to-date country to one that is starting over due to political unrest. At one point their currency was facing such awful inflation that while waiting for lunch, the price would go up between the time it took to order to when it was received. Bills in the hundreds of billions were printed - with EXPIRATION dates on them!
The company finally called the hotel and said they'd be late, they were already 45 minutes late. African time, we quickly learned works a lot like Asian time. :) We got everything ready, changed clothes for canoeing and were driven into Zambezi National Park. We were so excited and passed some impala, waterbuck, elephants, and baboons on our way to the launch site. We didn't realize we'd see these animals again and in a closer setting so we were snapping photos like crazy.
We stopped at our launch site, the guides inflated the canoes and off we went! We had to watch out for hippos and they told us not to stick our hands in the water for too long or crocs would come. There's supposedly 1 crocodile every 300 feet. We canoed for over 10 miles (I like to include the times where we paddled in circles trying to get the canoe in the right direction). There were small rapids and lots of beautiful scenery. 2/3 of the way through we stopped for lunch consisting of crocodile, potato salad, bread rolls, eggs, salad, sausage and soda/beer. So delicious after canoeing all that way.. it's a lot harder than it looks!
After canoeing we got driven to our camp site and the guides and other staff set up the entire thing for us - complete with cots, bed rolls, blankets, sleeping bags, and a satin pillow. Granted everything smelled like camp and it was so freaking freezing we slept in every piece of clothing we could put on. There was an outhouse but it smelled so bad and was so dark, I ended up peeing outside like the animals anyway. Dinner was some yummy Chicken curry, rice, and butternut squash (we had our own cook too!). Life's good on a luxury camping trip - they even heated up water next to the fire and we had warm showers to take! After bedding down, we put our lamps outside the tents so the hippos could see us and wouldn't attack the tent if they accidentally ran into it. It was still so cold, we woke up every few hours and finally just got up to see the sun rise..
After a yummy breakfast of eggs, bacon, corn fritters, toast, and roasted tomatoes we headed back into Victoria Falls. One more night at the Falls and then it was off to Botswana - that'll be part 2.
I knew we were in for long flights, SFO-JFK (6 hours and 3 hour layover), JFK to Johannesburg (12.5 hour flight and another 3 hour layover), Johannesburg to Victoria Falls aka Vic Falls (2.5 hour flight). So yeah, 30 hours later we were there, sitting that long and not sleeping much created so much pain in the lower half of my body, I was in tears from the pain by the time we got there. Thank goodness for Advil and some icy/hot type of patches.
We were the last ones through immigration, you have to pay $30 for a visa to be in Zimbabwe. Luckily our chartered ride didn't leave without us, they almost did! We were the last ones to be dropped off at Victoria Falls Hotel. A hotel rich with history and stories, animal heads, hides and skulls (complete with antlers) adorn the walls alongside photos of the hotel and residents from different time periods.
It was built in 1904, a simple wood building that looked like an old school train station. Today it's a grand hotel with a new wing and a spectacular view of the falls. We were greeted warmly, porters immediately picked up our bags, check-in was quick and we were given welcome drinks, some kind of citrus juice with grenadine and a cool, sweetly perfumed cool towel. It was a welcome refreshment after the long trip and the heat. We took quick showers and headed out to see the falls, it was about 3pm by the time we left.
We got lucky, our guide told us later that the time we went was the best time of day to go. Early afternoon, because in the morning and at sunset the mist is so high that you can't see any part of the falls and the rainy season typicall ends in May (typically...more to come about rain later). As it was, I was covered in water pretty much the entire time (because in my tired state, I didn't think I'd need my waterproof windbreaker).
We headed back to the hotel and had dinner on the veranda, exhausted we could barely keep our eyes open. I had a burger and it was delicious, the meat was very fresh, local beef. My friends tried some of the ostrich and beef steak - would have been good if it was more tender. Then it was off to bed, I fell into a quick, dreamless sleep. The next morning I realized I set the alarm wrong and we raced to breakfast because we were supposed to be picked up at 7:30 for our overnight camping/canoeing trip...
They were an hour late, I was worried and we quickly found out it is the luck of the draw to try and call out of the country. All the numbers I had for our service providers were for offices in South Africa, out of the 8 calls we made to three different numbers, only 1 made it. Zimbabwe is a country and has gone from being an up-to-date country to one that is starting over due to political unrest. At one point their currency was facing such awful inflation that while waiting for lunch, the price would go up between the time it took to order to when it was received. Bills in the hundreds of billions were printed - with EXPIRATION dates on them!
The company finally called the hotel and said they'd be late, they were already 45 minutes late. African time, we quickly learned works a lot like Asian time. :) We got everything ready, changed clothes for canoeing and were driven into Zambezi National Park. We were so excited and passed some impala, waterbuck, elephants, and baboons on our way to the launch site. We didn't realize we'd see these animals again and in a closer setting so we were snapping photos like crazy.
We stopped at our launch site, the guides inflated the canoes and off we went! We had to watch out for hippos and they told us not to stick our hands in the water for too long or crocs would come. There's supposedly 1 crocodile every 300 feet. We canoed for over 10 miles (I like to include the times where we paddled in circles trying to get the canoe in the right direction). There were small rapids and lots of beautiful scenery. 2/3 of the way through we stopped for lunch consisting of crocodile, potato salad, bread rolls, eggs, salad, sausage and soda/beer. So delicious after canoeing all that way.. it's a lot harder than it looks!
After canoeing we got driven to our camp site and the guides and other staff set up the entire thing for us - complete with cots, bed rolls, blankets, sleeping bags, and a satin pillow. Granted everything smelled like camp and it was so freaking freezing we slept in every piece of clothing we could put on. There was an outhouse but it smelled so bad and was so dark, I ended up peeing outside like the animals anyway. Dinner was some yummy Chicken curry, rice, and butternut squash (we had our own cook too!). Life's good on a luxury camping trip - they even heated up water next to the fire and we had warm showers to take! After bedding down, we put our lamps outside the tents so the hippos could see us and wouldn't attack the tent if they accidentally ran into it. It was still so cold, we woke up every few hours and finally just got up to see the sun rise..
After a yummy breakfast of eggs, bacon, corn fritters, toast, and roasted tomatoes we headed back into Victoria Falls. One more night at the Falls and then it was off to Botswana - that'll be part 2.
Friday, May 29, 2009
It's the moments...
like when you see your friend's 8 month old after a month or so and she giggles and reaches for your face because she remembers you, that or she thinks you're funny looking because your cheeks are as big as hers.
It's the moments.
It's the moments.
Saturday, May 09, 2009
#Barkhunt
I didn't realize I was very competitive.. well to a point. But if you put me on a scavenger hunt I turn into a different person. I LOVE them, it's so much fun doing the search and taking photos. I don't care that much if I don't get the prize, but I want the answer.
Granted the prizes are fantastic!! But Morgan did remind me (after I got frustrated because he wanted to play during #barkhunt) that he doesn't care if I win, he just wants my time. That's more valuable to him than anything else. Although I doubt he'll complain because this time around I won him some treats and toys from @baskersdog and @bestbullysticks, two of his favorite treat stores! You can check out @bestbullysticks through Morgan's website (if you purchase through that link, we get credit towards more treats!).
Anyway, it was another fun night last Thursday, hopefully you'll join in on the next one! Check them out at www.barkhunt.com. You must be on Twitter to play, and if you do play, tell @askspikeonline that @jadeheart sent you. :D
Check out Morgan with his prizes from the first hunt of the season. The furminator we're actually going to donate and use on the Furry Friends Rescue dogs.. some of them are shedding A LOT. Morgan thrilled it's being donated, he hates being brushed. :P
The Best Bully Sticks Chews he's perfectly happy to keep.
Granted the prizes are fantastic!! But Morgan did remind me (after I got frustrated because he wanted to play during #barkhunt) that he doesn't care if I win, he just wants my time. That's more valuable to him than anything else. Although I doubt he'll complain because this time around I won him some treats and toys from @baskersdog and @bestbullysticks, two of his favorite treat stores! You can check out @bestbullysticks through Morgan's website (if you purchase through that link, we get credit towards more treats!).
Anyway, it was another fun night last Thursday, hopefully you'll join in on the next one! Check them out at www.barkhunt.com. You must be on Twitter to play, and if you do play, tell @askspikeonline that @jadeheart sent you. :D
Check out Morgan with his prizes from the first hunt of the season. The furminator we're actually going to donate and use on the Furry Friends Rescue dogs.. some of them are shedding A LOT. Morgan thrilled it's being donated, he hates being brushed. :P
The Best Bully Sticks Chews he's perfectly happy to keep.
Wednesday, May 06, 2009
Adopt a Duck! Support WVCS in the Silicon Valley Duck Race!
What's another name for a clever duck? A Wise Quacker!
Dear Family and Friends!
West Valley Community Services is proud to be one of this year's Silicon Valley Duck Race Duck Buddies! Each year the Duck Race sells out of its ducks and agencies receive the money raised from these sales.
On Sunday, June 21, 2009, exactly 15,000 numbered ducks adopted by people like you will race down Vasona Creek. Some of those lucky people will win prizes, and one might win $1,000,000!
Come out and join us at this extremely family friendly event! This year's race will be bigger and the festival will be greener (all the ducks are free from phthalates)! The festival will offer food and entertainment for the whole family! Even better, all proceeds go to local charities. What a great way to celebrate Father's Day!
GO here to ADOPT a DUCK TODAY! - http://www.siliconvalleyduckrace.org/adopt.html
Ducks are $5 for one duck, $25 for a Family of Ducks (Adopt 5, get 1 free), $50 for a Club of Ducks (Adopt 10, get 2 free), and a Flock of Ducks for $100 (Adopt 20, get 5 free)!
Please make sure you put WEST VALLEY COMMUNITY SERVICES down as the TEAM NAME so we can get the credit. TEAM MEMBER is Vicki Yang.
It's great event, lots of fun, and helps support WVCS! So Adopt a Duck today! If you have any questions, please visit their website at www.siliconvalleyduckrace.org or if you want more information about WVCS visit www.wvcommunityservices.org.
Thank you,
Vicki Yang
Monday, April 27, 2009
Highway 9 Clean Up
The Area 8 Rotary Clubs (Campbell, Cupertino, Los Gatos Morning, Los Gatos, and Saratoga) did a big clean-up day along Highway 9 between Saratoga and Los Gatos Blvd on Saturday, April 25, 2009. I volunteered to help out since many of those Rotary clubs have helped support West Valley Community Services in the past or presently are!
It was definitely an interesting and fun experience. We found weird plastic things, lots of cigarette butts, a number of floss/toothpick things in one area, evidence of *intimate* activities, and lots and lots of glass... people! come on now.. just find a rubbish bin for crying out loud! Is it that hard?
Monday, April 20, 2009
Ohana Mama's Giveaway!
I found Ohana Mama through 23Monkeys and it's another cool website by another cool mom with stuff to give away for Earth Day!
Check it out the giveaway information on her blog entry.
She's giving away a Sigg bottle from buygreen.com. I switched to Sigg's after some discussion with my friend High Entropy. They're really great bottles when it comes to cool drinks (don't put anything hot in it because it passes through the aluminum really easily. But they're sturdy bottles and good for the environment (they're recyclable and reusable)! They do dent easily but I dont' really care, after all that stuff about plastic I think switched was a better idea. I still use my Nalgene's but I'm careful about where I put those, supposedly if you put these things in the sun and it heats up that's not good. Plastics will leach things into your drinking water.
So go check it out and help celebrate Earth Day by making a few more changes in your life!
Other things I'm moving towards to help the planet:
1) switching my cleaning products to green/organic stuff
2) switching my bath products to green/organic stuff
3) trying to learn about composting more! :D
Things you can do really easily right now:
1) Use reusable bags (the giveaway Ohana Mama is doing includes one!)
2) Use biodegradable trash bags
3) Reduce, Reuse, Recycle!
Check it out the giveaway information on her blog entry.
She's giving away a Sigg bottle from buygreen.com. I switched to Sigg's after some discussion with my friend High Entropy. They're really great bottles when it comes to cool drinks (don't put anything hot in it because it passes through the aluminum really easily. But they're sturdy bottles and good for the environment (they're recyclable and reusable)! They do dent easily but I dont' really care, after all that stuff about plastic I think switched was a better idea. I still use my Nalgene's but I'm careful about where I put those, supposedly if you put these things in the sun and it heats up that's not good. Plastics will leach things into your drinking water.
So go check it out and help celebrate Earth Day by making a few more changes in your life!
Other things I'm moving towards to help the planet:
1) switching my cleaning products to green/organic stuff
2) switching my bath products to green/organic stuff
3) trying to learn about composting more! :D
Things you can do really easily right now:
1) Use reusable bags (the giveaway Ohana Mama is doing includes one!)
2) Use biodegradable trash bags
3) Reduce, Reuse, Recycle!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)