Fall 2010 Highlights

As the year is coming to an end, I'd like to share with you a few highlights from this past semester (in no particular order).

IM Frisbee Championship

Seriously, I thought I would never see the day where ACF would be IM Fribsee champs. Nor did I ever expect to be on the winning team. I can graduate happy :)

Photo credit: Jerelaiah

Human Foosball

See last post for description. I enjoyed the creativity of the game and feeling connected to my teammates, especially since we're actually connected (holding hands). In addition, successfully passing and blocking the ball with a bajillion people in the way was quite satisfying.

March of the Penguins

Every winter Sunday at 2pm, if the temperature is below 50 degrees, the St. Louis Zoo will let a few penguins march around a segment of the zoo. Here, they can walk up to humans and enjoy being outdoors. They waddle up and flap their wings in excitement, much like little toddlers. Let me tell you, the cuteness level was off the charts! This made me fall even more in love with St. Louis Zoo.

Photo credit: Jerelaiah

CSA/TSO Formal (aka Yule Ball)

This marvelous formal was actually my first formal in college (excluding the DSP one last year). Formal was held at Maggianos, one of my favorite restaurants.

Unlimited quality Italian food = win.

Spending it with good friends = double win.

Dance Marathon

Whoever came up with the concept of a dancing marathon for charity is brilliant. Last year was the first year we had an ACF team. This year, we tried to go all out by changing outfits for the theme hours (e.g. Seven Dwarfs for Disney hour). Our team had one of the top ten most spirited teams of the night! :)

Photo Credit: Lils. My RA staff :)

Wal-Mart Game

See last post. It's a really fun game to play when you're bored at 3am with nothing to do. What I liked about it was the challenge of 1) being creative enough to think of items that are hard to identify where they came from and 2) being knowledgeable enough about random products and the layout of Walmart to be able to put things back.

Where do you think this should go?

Girl Getaway

We played this Duck game where the person in the middle is blindfolded and has to place a pillow in someone's lap. The person being sat on must quack and the blindfolded person must guess the identity of the "duck." You get three guesses before you have to move on to another person and start all over again. One of my friends moved on three times, and then accidentally went back to the original duck, failed, and went to the second original duck, failed, and almost the third. OH man, so great.

Apple Picking at Ekerts Farm

I'm in the largest DSP family in our chapter's history. We have biweekly events to bond and hang out. However, this apple picking trip was my favorite family event because of the intimacy of the small group of four of us and the beautiful fall air.

WU Slam

This just reminded me of how talented people are at WashU. There was one slam poet in particular who performed an amazing piece on the Arabic language. "Do you control fear or do you let fear control you?" EPIC. Words are beautiful... I wish I were as witty as the slam poets.

Fun New Games

Today was the most epic fun night this semester. After coming back from the mall, we played human foosball at ACF, the life size version of foosball where we have to kick the ball into the opponent's goal. Each team has three rows: defense (goalies), middle people, and offense (scorers). Everyone in the line must hold hands with the person next to them and can only move left and right. OMG this will definitely one of the most memorable times at ACF... I hope someone took a video!

Later, around 1 am we went to play the Walmart game, which I just learned about tonight. First, two teams go around the store filling their carts with ten random items. Then, they switch carts and have to put the items back where they belong. The team that has the least amount of items left after a certain time period wins. Things I learned tonight: Walmart sells machetes and hides their tables behind treadmills. Vita, or herring in wine sauce, can be found in the refrigerated seafood section and does actually exist.

I love being done with finals :)

Feeling a Little Home Sick

Two more weeks till I get to go home! As I study late into the night, I often find myself thinking about food and the exciting things I get to do when I go back home.

• Legit Japanese ramen
  
• Korean tofu soup (soon doo boo)
  
• Pho!
• Chick-fil-a
• Reunion with high school friends at Flying Biscuit
  
• Take pics at Georgia Aquarium with my new D90!
• Read & play games with my bro under a fort made of blankets
• Watch Narnia with the fam :)

SO excited to go home!!

What I'm Thankful For

- Taking x3 longer on my reading, but still having time to play Settlers of Cattan & Spades
- Not being stuck in a tower my whole life because of having magical healing hair
- Being in the b-school to legitimately eat at the Olin Thanksgiving Lunch (CANDIED YAMS!)
- Not crashing my car during our White Thanksgiving in STL
- Parents who are getting me a Nikon D90! (and their love and support in general)
- You reading my blog :)

Lessons from the DJ

CSA/TSO Formal Nov. 20, 2010 @ Maggianos

Highlights:
- Love is in the air!
- I was reunited with my beloved Rigatoni D after a long 24 hours apart
- MY HOT DATE ;)
- Dancing and fist pumping with the people I love
- Secretly discovering the identity of Big Baller

I learned a lesson from the DJ tonight. You see, this DJ is talented and knows how to use his turntable. However, he was a HORRIBLE DJ. The songs he selected would not have been songs that people would request at a dance; he didn't actually play people's requested songs (including my Party in the USA); he would randomly slow a song down and speed it up; he would stop the song abruptly so there would be silence for a second. Worst of all, he actually played good dance songs at one point but mashed them all up into "*mumble jumble* BABY BABY BABY OHHHH *mumble jumble mumble jumble* TIK TOK *mumble jumble*". This goes to show that having skills/talent does not mean anything unless used appropriately.

Epic Weekend

Last year we were worried that ACF intramural sports would die out this year because most of our dedicated athletes would graduate. Who would've knew that both our Co-ed Frisbee and Men's Football would make it to the finals? AND that our IM Frisbee team would be CHAMPIONS?! AHHHHHHH. I never imagined that I would get to leave WashU with a IM Championship t-shirt. Didn't even put it on my bucket list! So. Great.

This is a good reminder that God can equip even the weak to be strong.

Yesterday was also our second time participating in Dance Marathon. Last year we didn't really know what to expect, but this year we were semi-prepared for the theme hours. Basically every hour there's a musical theme (Disney, 80's, country, etc) that teams have the option of dressing up for spirit points. One of our goals is to be more of a presence on campus, so we decided to dress up this year. Consequently, we were in the top 10 most spirited teams!

Mm. Another great weekend.

Yeah, that passage.

I went to Bible Study tonight planning to leave early to study for a quiz and exam I have tomorrow. When I got there, we started going over the passage where God tells us not to worry, but to seek first His kingdom and He'll provide everything else. GG. So I stayed for the rest of small group.

And guess what?! I finished studying before midnight even though I stayed longer for small group. YAY thanks God :)

Fall Break 4.0

This was the best Fall Break of my four years here at Washu, hands down.

- Apple Picking at Eckerts Farm
- Drunken Fish Happy Hour
- City Musuem
- Pho @ Mai Lee's
- Boot shopping @ the Galleria
- Watching Pacman friends run the Halloween 10K in <1 hr
- Clayton Coffeehouse and Creperie

AND it was productive studying-wise. What a great Fall Break.

Oh, and did I mention that the weather was PERFECT? Yes, God is good.

Thinking

The way you think determines the way you feel, and the way you feel influences the way you act.

Repentance in Greek literally means to change your mind.

- The Purpose Driven Life Day 23

Senior Year STL Bucket List

WashU Events
- WILD (Oct. 9)
- Bauhaus (Oct. 30)
- Dance Marathon (Nov. 6)
- Diwali (Nov 13)
- LNYF (Feb 4)
- Black Anthology
- Relay For Life
- Mr. WashU
- Stereotypes Concert
- Aristocats Concert
- Mosaic Whispers Concert
- Visions Gospel Choir Concert
- WU Slam

St. Louis Sight Seeing
- City Museum
- Laumeier Sculpture Park
- Grant's Farm
- Cohokia Mounds
- Anheuser-Busch Brewery tour
- St. Louis History Musuem
- Casino
- Mardi Gras in Soulard
- Float down a river

Restaurants
- Pi Pizza
- Drunken Fish
- The Melting Pot
- Scape Bistro
- Niche

Poor

If time were money, I'd be facing the Great Depression right now. My disposable time is running low...

Scavenger Hunt

The Holy Spirit is crazy!

56. White squares. Heels against pavement. Who would've thought...

Twenty-two?

22. It's a palindrome. It's also a reminder of how old I am.

I've decided, 22 is the first legit year of being old. Twenty-one says I-just-became-legal-so-I-am-still-kind-of-a-youngin'. Twenty-two is when adulthood is set in stone.

This birthday has been particularly great. It was the simple things like trying new restaurants, having deep one-on-ones, and playing sardines that I really enjoyed. I love spending time with my RA staff and also with ACF. And I finally got a Camelbak Nalgene water bottle from some residents. I will die of dehydration no more!

One random cool thing I learned in the past week from talking to my Jewish friend observing Rosh Hashana: the word "Holiday" is derived from Holy Day. I have to admit, I've lost reverence for many holidays and tend to enjoy holidays for my own selfish desires. One great example is 9/11. Though 9/11 technically isn't a holiday, I had completely forgotten about what happened this day in history because I have become so self absorbed with my birthday celebrations. Hrm, no good.

I need to get back to the heart of things. Let's start with... God, thank You for my birthday not because of the attention or gifts that I receive, but because You have graciously given me another year to live. Thank You for the lessons You've taught me, and thank You for where You've brought me these past 22 years. Today is not a celebration of what I've done but of what You've done in and through me. Praise Jesus.

Convocation 2010

"The next time that your whole class will be behind this sign is in four years at your graduation."

These words from the chancellor echoed through the field house just as it had my freshmen convocation in 2007. Goosebumps ran up my arm as I imagined my own convocation quickly approaching in May. I can't believe this is it, I'm a senior!

Regarding my GPS

According to my friend...

"I would say it's an abusive relationship.

Garmin always tells you what to do, even if he's wrong

and you keep pushing his buttons"

hehe.

Baby

Baby, you've been great to me these past two years. You've been with me every step of my journey from Atlanta to St. Louis and also to New Jersey this past summer. You were the one I looked to when I was lost. When I went down the wrong path, you pointed me in the right direction. The times that you took me to nice restaurants around the city were my favorite. I love you.

Recently, you really gave me a scare when you injured yourself. I don't know if you remember, but you fell and hit your head. Because of the concussion, you blacked out for a few hours, and for those few hours I didn't know what to do. I felt so lost, but God told me not to worry and that things would work out in the end. You finally did wake up, but things never returned back to normal.

Today, I decided... well... there's no good way of putting this, but you've been replaced.

One day, I hope that I can find a man just like you, Garmin.

Spiritual Warfare on the Road

These past two days I've been on the road traveling from New Jersey to STL. The first day's drive to Cleveland was not bad at all... about 11 hours total.

Today, on the other hand, was a crazy day. There were a lot of unfortunate things that happened that Satan threw at me. First of all, I have these hard contacts that I sleep in that remold my cornea every night so that when I take them out in the morning, I have 20-20 vision. Last night, when I opened my lens case, my left eye's lens had broke in half. Consequently, I drove with a bit of a blurred vision today. Secondly, MY GPS BROKE! :O The suction kept slipping, so the GPS would fall on the dashboard, then the ground. Bad news bears. I am heavily directionally challenged. Finally, a metal strip on the side of my car door has been falling off, and today it bent to 90 degrees and other cars would honk at me. To ensure that it didn't poke other cars while driving, I had to rip it completely off my car.

Fortunately, God is good and totally watched over me. I remember my friend telling me "well, just take 480 East, 71 South and 70 West and that'll take you straight to St. Louis." Ha, I remember thinking, oh, it's okay, I have a GPS so I don't need to remember this. For some reason, I was able to recall those directions and actually get to St. Louis without the help of my GPS even after it revived. For those of you who have driven with me, you know this is quite the feat and can only be attributed to the grace of God.

Today's trip was budgeted to start at 7:30am and end at 9pm with all the meals and rest stops included. For some strange reason, I arrived in STL at 5pm!!! That's four hours ahead of schedule.... how does that even happen? Praise God!

If our God is for us

Then who could ever stop us?

And if our God is with us

Then what can stand against?

"RIP MOM"

My children are going to school on Monday and I can't afford to buy basic school supplies. I heard the City of Refuge down the street is giving away backpacks and school supplies today.

Today a bunch of the college students from my church in ATL went to help out at The City of Refuge. They cater to the most dangerous zip code in ATL where there is a lot of drug dealings and prostitution. Today was The City of Refuge's Back to School event where they threw a giant party for the neighborhood kids. There were inflatables, bubbles, hotdogs, a speaker, and school supply giveaways. To be honest, almost all the parents brought their children there to get the free backpack.

My part in this whole event was to help with registration and crowd control. There are 3 memorable events from today.

1) As I was cleaning up the registration area of litter, I saw the word "Gang" written multiple times with chalk and also a heart inscribed with "RIP MOM." Wow, what brokenness...

2) When typing in a child's name and parent's name, I discovered that an 11th grader had a daughter in kindergarten! That means she became pregnant at age 10. And it was common to find a mother with children from three different fathers. Some parents didn't even know how to spell their child's name...

3) These children were SO thirsty for physical contact. Many of the girls came and held my hands or jumped into my arms without even knowing who I was. They wouldn't stop hugging me.

I had to remind myself, we live in a fallen world where sin has destroyed relationships. God, how we thirst for the hope of your restored Kingdom! The Kingdom where there is no death nor darkness, and where life and love abounds plentifully.

Time Flies

This week, I feel like I've flipped a few pages ahead in the book of Time.

I come back to ATL and everybody's grown up! My freshmen church babies from my days in youth group just had their Senior Night celebration tonight. They've stepped up, served as role models in the youth group and are now bound for college. Dang, I feel old.

Not to mention my baby brother is growing up too! He finally got a facebook. (I feel like that's the modern day coming-of-age ritual.) Also, he's gone to Duke TIP and has come back more independent, in tune with pop music, and cooler. And if you can believe it, he joined a band and plays the electric guitar... whoa. AND IN THREE MONTHS HE CAN DRIVE! WHOA WHOA!

Reality has also been hitting me hard. In these next few months, I need to decide where I want to work post-graduation. Financially, staying in Atlanta would be the best choice because I could live at home and take care of the family. However, my heart is really in New Jersey, and I would love to spend my 20's with the people there. But who knows where God will lead me? As a friend put it, "Joy, I can't believe you're starting your adult life!"

I'm growing up and feeling old... man, time flies.

What I've Accomplished in NYC

(Inspired by Melody's Shadowing post)

1. How to read when it's safe to cross the street, part the sea of people walking my way, and avoid being hit by a taxi.

2. How to use the subway system (except the annoying ACE line awef;lkndejfa).

3. Know what TriBeCa stands for - Triangle Below Canal. Also SoHo - South of Houston.

4. Seen three celebrities!

5. Walk through Midtown without tripping over a tourist's suitcase.

6. Have a French person tell me, "The Statue of Liberty is our gift to you."

7. Navigate my way around Port Authority Bus Terminal.

8. Walked around the Bronx without getting shot.

9. Worked for the world's largest department store.

10. Tackled most of my NYC bucket list with friends <3

I'm satisfied :)

Community

A wise friend told me my sophomore year, "Joy, I like how you think a lot and process what's going on, but sometimes you just gotta live and enjoy the moment." With all seriousness, I asked him, "How do I do that?"

In the past few years, I would analyze every situation that I was in, my motives, the ideals, the failures. My life became a strategic game that I had to maneuver through. Soon, I became burnt out by all the disappointments from when things didn't go the way I had planned.

This summer, God really stripped away things that I could control. Consequently, this left me with few things that I could have expectations for or analyze. As a result, this summer was rather spontaneous and carefree, but in a good way. For once, I was able to "live and enjoy the moment." I can't believe it took me this long to figure how to do that.

It all came down to building genuine relationships where people really cared for each other. That's what my church in New Jersey taught me, whether they know it or not haha. I have to admit, whether I was in ACCCN or ACF, I used strategy to manage my relationships to try to create the ideal community. In the end, the relationships that were the most meaningful were the ones where we just hung out a lot and walked through life together.

Now to take this lesson back with me to WashU.

A Good Week for Food

In this past week, I have probably gained back all the weight that I lost this summer from walking around NYC. Boo. Was it worth it? Hmmm, my taste buds say yes, but I don't know if my arteries agree with that.

Grand Lux Cafe in Garden State Plaza. Pasta Carbonara.

Grand Lux Cafe. New Orleans Beignets.

Shrimp Pad Thai from Pongsri in Midtown

Crab, Avacado and Mango Sandwich from MacarOn Cafe

Apricot Macaron

Macy's Chocolate Fountain Day for employees :)

Ippudo Ramen
Shiromaru Hakata Classic
'The original tonkotsu' soup noodle with pork loin chashu, kikurage, menma, 1/2 boiled egg, red pickled ginger, sesame & scallions

Grasshopper Cupcake (Mint Chocolate Chip) from Crumbs

Photo Dump

I haven't blogged in a while due to a combination between busyness and laziness. But these last final weeks here have been great and I'm really starting to have mixed emotions about leaving.

Bryant Park.

New York Public Library.

Shaved ice + mango + bananas + boba.

Top of the Empire State Building.


MOMA.


Statue of Liberty from the Staten Island Ferry.


Xi'an Famous Foods run by a recent WashU alum!

The Highline, an old elevated railroad track converted into a park in the city.

The Uncomfortable Bus Ride

Because I got out of work early today, I took a different bus than the one I normally take in the evenings. Who knew that a four hour difference on the same route could be that different?

I took a seat, crossed my arms, and put on my shades. Nap time! Smelly disheveled man sits next to me. Or not. I firmly grasp my purse, cover my nostrils and turn the other way.

"What would Jesus do?" the voice inside my head asked.
"He would talk to him and care for him."
"So what should you do?"
"The same."
"So why aren't you?"
"Because I'm scared he's going to be like the man on the airplane and not stop talking to me and eventually try to follow me home..."
"Jesus didn't fear discomfort or physical harm."
"I know, I know."

The homeless man pulls out an index card with phone numbers and starts dialing the numbers on his cell phone. "HEY GEORGE! Hey ummm if you need me for anything, let me know. I'm in desperate need of a job, I'm having a really rough time. Help a brother out, yeah? Just give me a call."

[Okay, since when did homeless people have cell phones? Man, America, you really are something. (Apparently homeless people can earn up to $200/week!) That could also explain where he got the money to ride a bus to New Jersey.]

I began thinking of ways that I could help. He needs a job. Yesterday, we had our corporate give back day and volunteered at the Jericho Project in the Bronx, where we painted two stories of a transitional house for the homeless. Ah ha! As I was about to tell him about checking out the Jericho Project and how they could help him find a job, he pressed the STOP button to get off at the upcoming stop. I missed my chance. :(

As I was about to nap again, these rowdy teenage boys run onto the bus, and the leader of the pack sat next to me.

"Hey, I like your belt. Where'd you get it?" his friend asked.
"It was free," the boy next to me smirked as he put a lighter in his mouth.
"Where'd you get your shoes?"
"It was free, too."
"What'd you do? Just slip them on and leave?"
"Nah, I just stuck 'em in my pack. Hey, let's go to the back of the bus and light one."
"No man, what if we burn the whole bus down?!" the third kid chimed in.
"Oh never mind, here's our stop!"

They ran off the bus and I let out a sigh of relief. I am definitely not as versatile in different cultures as I thought I was, or as loving as I hypothetically thought I could be. Jesus, fill me with your strength to be able to love people who are different than I am.

Desert Song

This is my prayer in the desert
And all that's within me feels dry
This is my prayer in the hunger in me
My God is a God who provides

It was almost midnight when my bus pulled up to my bus stop coming back from the city. As the bus screeched its wheels and drove away, a noise still echoed in the air. It was coming from the woman ahead of me who was sitting on her lawn talking on the phone. She quieted as I walked past her to cross the street. When I was halfway across the street, she began to wail and weep for some unknown reason. Her cry pierced my heart and I really wished there was something that I could do. What could I say? "Are you alright?" Obvs not. "Can I help you?" What could I do? Continuing to walk, I prayed that God would comfort her.

Even though she was a hot mess, I believe that's when God finds us the most beautiful. As we cry out in our desperation and brokenness, God looks upon us with compassion and mercy.

And this is my prayer in the fire
In weakness or trial or pain
There is a faith proved
Of more worth than gold
So refine me Lord through the flames
- Hillsong "Desert Song"

Third Celeb Sighting

Friday, after work I went to try a restaurant in Little Italy called Bonito II. Their eggplant parmigiana was really savory, and the lunch special was only $7.99.


Met up with some WashU folk in Union Square where I spotted T.R. Knight (George O'Malley from Grey's Anatomy) kissing his partner :O We then went to check out the Financial District, where unfortunately, we didn't get to see stressed out ibankers or NYSE brokers get out of work. Though, we did see a bull and some boa constrictors, who would've guessed?


Then Saturday, another WashU friend and I went to the American Musuem of Natural History where we spent the majority of our time in the Oceanic Life exhibit.


The museum closed at 6pm, so we had an hour and a half to kill before our WashU reunion dinner. We went to K-town to get some froyo, but there was a huge line out the door at Pinkberry so we settled for some Red Mango. Soon after, we went to a place called Tribecafe for dinner. I ordered a Mentaiko Spaghetti, which is spaghetti with squid and spicy coe rod topped with shiso and nori seaweed. Om nom nom.


Time Square! I have yet to see a Broadway show...

My summer in New York has been getting significantly better after tackling my bucket list with friends. A friend from church said, "It's not about the job or what you do, its about the people you're with." I've been realizing how true that really is. My experience isn't defined by the places I go to, but by those who keep me company. Thankfully, God has blessed me with lots of friends in the city :)

New York City Bucket List

Here's a list of places I want to go before I leave New York at the end of the month.

Places I've been
- Time Square
- Flushing
- Brooklyn Bridge & Ice Cream Factory
- Soho & New Museum
- Lombardi's Pizza
- St. Marks & Xi'an Famous Foods (run by a WashU alum!)
- Flushing & Joe's Shanghai
- American Museum of Natural History
- Ktown
- Chinatown
- Financial District & Wall St.
- Union Square
- Bronx
- Tribeca
- Bryant Park
- Grand Central Station
- Central Park
- MOMA
- Staten Island Ferry & Statue of Liberty
- Battery Park
- The Highline

Places I want to go
- Coney Island
- Met Musuem
- Broadway: Wicked

July 4th Weekend

This past weekend was amazing! Saturday, I went to Hofstra New York Summer Conference for a day to listen to Peter Ong (from Chinese Mission Conference 2007) and Greg Jao (from Urbana 2009). I wish I could've gone for the whole 5 days to get the full experience, but alas I wanted to see the fireworks (see below)! One thing that I got out of it is that there is no such thing as good news unless there is bad news.

Then on Sunday, I hung out with some church folk and had a very nice BBQ then went to watch the Macy's fireworks from Hoboken, New Jersey. We learned the hard way that it is not wise to leave at 8pm when the fireworks start at 9:20pm. We arrived 15 minutes after the show started just to find that our view of the fireworks were obstructed by tree leaves. It was quite disappointing.
Today, a couple WashU kids and I went on a day trip to Wildwood Beach in Southern Jersey. It was really great getting to catch up with these friends and enjoy the cool beach water on this hot hot day.


Along the boardwalk, there's this place called Lime Rickey's, which had waffle ice cream! We got the cookies and cream and mint chocolate chip ice cream, which tasted amazing with the warm Belgian waffle. I'd recommend it.

Second Celeb Encounter + Fun In the City

After four weeks of not really exploring New York, I decided to create a bucket list and tackle it. (Bucket List to be posted later.) One of the only food-related goals was to try New York style pizza. A few of us from WashU went to Lombardi's in SoHo, which was apparently the first pizzeria in America. It was delish! We ordered a large with mushrooms, spinach and sausage.


After Lombardi's, we went to check out The New Museum, also in SoHo. The current exhibit is Rivane Neueschwander's stuff, which isn't too crazy and is pretty fascinating. When we were on one of the floors, we saw Sandra Oh (from Grey's Anatomy) walk off the elevator! At one point, she was less than a foot away from me and I totally didn't know how to act or what to say. So I just admired her hair.

Anyway, one that I thought was particularly awesome was the ribbon exhibit called I Wish Your Wish (picture below). Basically, other people's wishes are printed on these colorful ribbons, and you can take one to make it your wish as well. In return, you replace it with your own wish on a sheet of paper. The one I took said, "I wish to find pleasure in things as much as I used to as a child."
Next, we walked across the Brooklyn Bridge and tried the famous Brooklyn Ice Cream Factory's strawberry and chocolate chocolate chip, which was super rich.
Afterwards, I watched a jazz band play in front of Central Park. I <3 jazz!! Also, I don't know if you can tell, but that dude is playing two instruments at once!

Finally, I met with a new friend, who is also from WashU and is working in NY this summer. We got some curry katsu from Go! Go! Curry! USA on 38th St. and 8th ave. It's a small hole in the wall, which equates to deliciousness. Turns out she's going to be an RA next year too! Craziness.

The end of my glorious day in New York!

Memo to self:

Don't talk to the male species on the plane/bus. They will mistaken Southern hospitality for something else and try to stalk you.

Will post more later.

Later...

On my way back from Atlanta to New York, I sat next to a dark haired, dark skinned man. He was really fidgety and sweaty, so I became very paranoid all of a sudden that he was a terrorist. (Fear is irrational, unfortunately leading to some prejudice). I offered him a piece of gum and started making small talk to try to figure out where he was from and what he was doing in NYC. From Peru, auto mechanic in Ohio. He's clear, not a terrorist (though I don't know what would be characteristics of a terrorist). Anyway, he got really excited that I was talking to him, so he continued to talk to me, which eventually got annoying because he kept nudging me and smiling at me. I tried to stop the conversation by working on the Sudoku in the back of SkyMagazine, but he asked me to teach him. After he figured it out, I let him work on it and told him I was going to take a nap, which I did for the rest of the trip. When I woke up, he asked me where I was going, how I was getting there, and if he could follow me since he had nothing else to do while waiting for his connection. :O Really?! I gave him a weird look, quickly got off the plane and hid in the bathroom till everyone on my flight had passed.

That is why I cannot talk to the male species on the plane anymore.

friend: http://www.amazon.com/SABRE-Compact-Pepper-Spray-Release/dp/B000UVTDLG/ref=pd_bxgy_sg_img_b
me: why are you showing me this?
friend: i read your blog. this has high reviews
me: LOL
friend: i read through some of it and thought it could be useful for you

Karate Kid

Being still and doing nothing are not the same thing. - Jackie Chan

To My Rock

Refuge, you're my refuge

When the world is shaken and nothing stands

I will hold on to Your hand, Refuge

The Game

For my friends back home in STL.


Also, there's always a (relatively) huge line to buy lottery tickets.

First Celeb Encounter

Once every week, we get to change out of our work outfits into casual clothes and go on field trips around the city. The first time we went out, I wore jeans and my DSP hoodie. Some interns that I was with forgot to bring a change of clothes and just wore their work clothes.

Anyway, as we were coming back from the field trip, we saw Clinton Kelly passing us on the subway steps. For those of you who don't know, Kelly is one of the hosts on TLC's "What Not to Wear." He's also one of the representatives for Macy's.

Some of the interns next to me yell, "Clinton! Clinton! We work for Macy's, we love you!"

He glances at us, and in his hilarious commentary says, "You two definitely look like you work for Macy's." He looks at me and says, "Sweatshirt, not so much."

Haha, pretty sweet. I didn't even need to go on the show for Clinton Kelly's fashion advice :)

Brooklyn Bridge and Body Builders

Macy's brought us interns on a field trip to the Brooklyn Bridge today. It really is a beautiful place and I would love to just sit there and enjoy the calming atmosphere.


Other random exciting observations:

1) Saw a Toyota Prius Taxi! (sorry for the blurry pic)


2) Saw some ripped body builders working out on a signpost on 34th and 7th. They did pull ups and used a rubber stretch band. The other one (not shown) is on the side doing push ups.

WashU NY Summer Party

The career center at our school organizes reunions/networking events in large cities throughout the summer, and today it was at New York. A bunch of us went and there were still a lot of friends that I didn't know were in NY this summer. Many of my brothers from my business fraternity were there, so it was good seeing them again, especially the graduates.

Afterward, we got gelato at GROM, which is this premium gelato joint with really fresh and full flavor gelato. I highly recommend it, especially the coconut flavor.


For the first time on the commute home, I talked to a stranger for the whole bus ride. She told me about all the jobs she has to work while being a single mother - working a wholesale job during the week and night shifts at a diner during the weekend. Then she told me about how she just divorced her husband a few years ago and how she shouldn't have been in that marriage in the first place. To be honest, she married him after two weeks of getting to know him, so it was bound for failure. It's strange that she'd agree because she's obviously a smart woman (graduated from NYU). What I learned from her is to not jump into relationships too quickly or else there will be consequences.

Craziness

A taxi almost ran me over this morning. I was legally crossing the street along with everyone else and the taxi across the intersection decides to run a red light and almost hits me. Oh New York.

Then for lunch, a friend and I meet up at some eating areas outside. We both packed our lunches because we're getting poor from eating out so much. I packed this beautiful mixed greens salad with strawberries, almonds and balsamic vinaigrette. This was the first legit salad I've ever made. I took a few bites as my friend makes her wrap. As she finishes making her wrap, I see a black woman walk straight for us and before I could say anything, she takes out a bottle of brown water and dumps it all over my friend's lunch and proceeds to drench my salad. She left as quickly as she had come. My friend jumps up and starts following her in an uproar, "Ma'am! Ma'am! EXCUSE ME." The crazy homeless lady continued to walk away without looking back.

A few weeks ago, the pastor at Ourpour Church preached about loving the poor. "Don't you wish all poor people were perfect poor people? The nice, funny ones? Well, those are almost impossible to find." I wish that lady were a nice poor person. But the trust is, she was rude, out of her mind and had no social awareness.

We found a cafe and split a sandwich and prayed for her. Love your enemies. Pray for those who persecute you.

But man oh man, New York City is crazy.

Weekends

I don't think I've ever appreciated weekends as much as I do now.

Working in New York and commuting from New Jersey is just... exhausting. I wake up at 5:45am and catch the 6:30am bus that arrives in New York at 7:40am. After walking about 15 minutes, I start work at 8am and don't leave until 6pm. Then I don't get home until 8pm. By then, I have no energy to do much else.

Thankfully, we get summer Fridays, which means we only work from 9am-1pm. Hallelujah! This past Friday afternoon was super relaxing and was totally what I needed.

Also, today I went to a college/career fellowship BBQ from noon till 10:30pm. So fun! It was surprisingly refreshing to be around nerdy Asian people again.

Oh! And random observation: I was riding the bus in the morning and thought, "You know, there are a lot of different types of people who ride this bus. White men, Asians, African-American women... but its always African-American women who sit next to me." Right after I thought that, a white man looks at my seat and walks past. An Asian woman walked past. And an African-American woman sat next to me. "Good morning!"

Lay Down Your Life

I've been meaning to post a dream that I had a few nights ago, but haven't gotten the chance until now.

In the dream, I'm standing there and all of a sudden I see this black bear run towards me. I honestly thought I was going to get hurt or die, but it just ran past me. If I remember correctly, it passed me because this bear trainer/park ranger had distracted it and drew it to himself. The bear started suffocating him and the ranger couldn't breathe. Because I was too scared for my own life, I didn't try to help the ranger. He died.

I woke up and was severely bothered by this because I realized that I don't think I can lay down my life for others yet :(

My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends. John 15: 12-13

First Day of Work

Being the control freak that I am, I practiced the commute to work on Saturday so that I wouldn't get lost and be late for work today. This morning, I arrived at the work site ten minutes before 9am. Then I get a message from my HR rep asking if I got lost. Apparently, they had sent out an email saying that we were supposed to start at 8am at the other job site down a few blocks. Unfortunately, WashU just switched email servers and emails to that account didn't make it through, so I didn't receive that email.

Goes to show that no matter how prepared I think I am, nothing is ever certain. Perhaps this is another lesson about trusting God.

On another note, I'm really stoked about the internship. The internship will include a lot of time on the job, a lot of time in training, and some fun time in the city. All the interns seem really great too and my team is really friendly. Can't wait to see how the rest of the internship unfolds.
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Checked out this placed called Alice's Teacup for dinner. It is based off of Alice in Wonderland and has this platter called The Mad Hatter (for two) which includes two pots of tea, three scones, two sandwiches, and cake. It was such a cute place with really delicious scones. I recommend it.

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I was riding with a friend on the subway, and as we got out, this tall guy with brown hair runs out of the subway and taps my friend on the shoulder and gives her a yellow sheet of paper. He runs back into the subway and looks at her and smiles. We read the sheet of paper which says, "I need to write this quickly because I think you're about to get off at the next stop! I normally don't do this, but I think you have the cutest smile I have ever seen. I'll never have the chance to tell you this if I don't give you this note, but perhaps you can look me up on facebook? lol" He gives her his email address and signs his name. I feel like this is something WongFu Productions would make a short about. It's such a cute short love story.

Except, I think it would be very creepy in real life. She agrees, so she's not going to contact him. But man! I thought these things only happened in the movies. I guess everything becomes reality in New York.

Road Trip to the East

STL, MO --> Cincinnati, OH --> Columbus, OH --> Philly, PA --> Paramus, NJ

Approximately 1000 miles in 20 hours.

This road trip was lots of fun and went by rather quickly. Thankfully, a friend from STL was able to accompany me last minute and keep me awake while I drove. She birdman-ed strangers and they asked for our number, but we escaped by driving to a rest area. We also learned some Cantonese from a tape. Ney sik mm sik teng guang dong waAah? We also collected maps from each state and took pictures of the "Welcome to..." signs. AND SAW AMISH PEOPLE.

Also, another beauty about this road trip was that I got to see friends at every city above. We spent the night in Cincinnati where we ate the most delicious raspberry chip ice cream (Graeter's) and home made pho. The next morning, we got breakfast with an old time friend from my summer at Stanford EPGY six years ago. Then for dinner, we ate at a Malaysian restaurant in Chinatown in Philly with some other small group leaders from Chinese Mission Conference 2007. And now I'm staying with a really awesome and hilarious family in New Jersey so I can commute to NYC for work. Their church college/career ministry is also really friendly and welcoming. Hopefully I can get plugged into it this summer.

Extended Family

Today has been quite an emotional day.

Handfuls of strangers in Irvine were introduced to me as my family. My own flesh and blood. I don't know if you can imagine it, but I feel like a whole part of my life was missing and is now added. Granted, most of them are related to my grandma on my mom's side (she has 9 siblings), so many of them are second cousins/uncles/aunts or whatever you call them. But my idea of extended family being so distant has completely changed.

Don't get me wrong, I knew the existed and even corresponded with some of them, but today they really became real. They all knew who I was because they saw me the last time I visited when I was three years old. They were SO excited to see me. Honestly, I thought coming to Irvine for the wedding would be really awkward since I'm not close with anyone here, but my relatives really make me feel at home and treat me as one of their own.

I seriously feel like I've been missing out. But I'm glad I got to meet them.

Tonight, I also sat in on my cousin's wedding rehearsal. This is my first wedding of a peer that I've been to, and it is such a strange feeling knowing that this could happen to me soon. She was a freshman in their fellowship and he was an upperclassmen when they first met. Now they're this hilarious and super chill couple giving each other high five kisses at the alter. Also, I really admire my cousin, because she's totally the opposite of bridezilla. She's the most stress-free and easy going bride to be I've ever seen. Instead of freaking out about the logistics, she just goes with the flow and enjoys the company of her family and friends. I really hope I can do that at my wedding.

I laughed a lot today at the rehearsal. But I'll probably cry tomorrow.

Lots of Socal Love

[Pictures to come]

Tuesday:
- Taiwanese wonton noodle soup with scallion pancake
- Beard Papa's cream puff
- 21 Choices Frozen Yogurt in Old Town Pasadena: Vanilla with strawberries, mango and blackberries mixed in

Wednesday:
- Wahoo's Fish Tacos
- Secret Scenic spot overlooking Laguna/Irvine
- Sunset @ Laguna Beach

Thursday:
- Hollywood Boulevard & Kodak Theater
- Lunch at The Grill on Hollywood
- Griffith Observatory
- Mexican chicken ceasar salad at Jerry's Deli
- Lollicup taro boba tea & chicken

Friday:
- Asian buffet lunch
- Found Peek-a-Poohs! (finally)
- Accidentally ate a moldy green bean cake :(
- Newport Beach & Pier
- Mini funnel cake from Funnel Factory @ Spectrum Shopping Center
- Pho Thang Long in Westminister: Pho with filet mignon slices!
- Banh Mi Che Cali: Viet BBQ Sandwich

Road Trip to the West (Food Blog)

St. Louis, MO --> Tulsa, OK --> Amarillo, TX --> Alburquerque, NM --> Holbrook, AZ --> Phoenix, AZ --> Riverside, CA --> UCLA, CA --> San Marino, CA

My second cousin is getting married this weekend in Irvine, so I road tripped to California with four other friends from WashU. After two days of driving around 2000 miles, we arrived at our destination.

One great thing about Oklahoma is that they have Brahms, a grocery store/ice cream shop/fast food joint. There, I had my first chicken in a while! Since I'm staying at another family's home this summer, I don't want to burden them even more with my vegetarian/pescatarian diet. Therefore, this week I've been building up my body to be able to handle eating meat again. At Brahms, I got their chicken finger salad, which was actually really good. That could just be because I haven't had meat in a while.


In Texas, they have this great BBQ/gas station called Rudy's. I ordered half a chicken, corn on the cob and beans. My friends ordered the brisket and ribs, which they said were the best and moist BBQ they've ever had, better than Pappy's in St. Louis. However, their sauce and beans can't even come close to Pappy's.


Next was New Mexico, which was pretty boring except for two things. 1) Their painted highways. 2) Their Quality Inn in complementary breakfast, which had the best two eggs and pancakes I've ever eaten. I don't understand how pancakes could be that heavenly. They actually kind of tasted like funnel cake.

The next day we set off to drive through Flagstaff in Arizona, but due to 80 mph winds and sand storms, the highway was closed and we had to take a detour further south through Pheonix. The guys were very tempted to watch the Lakers vs Suns game there, but we chugged along.


By 11am, we reached Riverside, where one of our friend's grandparents live. His grandma cooked a magnificent Taiwanese dinner for us with "three cup" chicken, minced meat rice, salmon fish cakes, and asparagus. I'm really glad I adjusted my body to eating meat before this meal. I miss Taiwanese food so much.

After a good night's rest in San Marino, I finally got to eat In-n-Out! I ordered a cheeseburger and animal style fries. Twas as good as I remembered it, but of all the meat that I ate, my body is least accustomed to beef :( From a marketing perspective, In-n-Out is one of the strangest fast food chains because 1) they hardly advertise except by word of mouth and 2) they had people from all ages and ethnicities there. Usually, businesses aim to target a specific demographic or audience, but In-n-Out managed to draw everybody! I'm impressed.

And this is just the beginning.