Camping at Clear Lake

Howard's annual camping trip (and the last we'll have with him) for the year.

Clear Lake is not as "clear" as it looks from the road, as we discovered. Algae-ridden and muddy.

But that didn't ruin a great weekend. My sister, Patty, came with us and after attending Christina's funeral, I was more than happy to spend it with some of my closest friends and family. Probably one of the most relaxing camping trips I've been on, where everyone is comfortable with everyone else and just kicking back and having a great time.

I can not ask for a better group of people to have shared the weekend with. With each day I am grateful for what I have!

Developing Standards

I think it's so ironic that we spend most of our childhood trying to make new friends and feel "accepted" to only grow up being picky about whom we choose to spend time with.

Honestly, I don't think I ever had a lot of friends when I was younger. I had a select group of people I hung out with grade school, middle school and then high school. Granted, the quality of the friends changed over time, but I was never the popular kid or the girl who always had people around her. One thing is for sure though - I never went to the "wrong" crowds and when my friends started going in that direction, I like to think I was good at course correcting.

As I grow older that has changed. There are so many people around that we now have the luxury to actually choose whom we befriend. Ok, so they have to like me, too, I get it. But I realized now that just because someone likes me or wants to be my friend, doesn't necessarily mean I have to like them back. Sounds simple right?

The problem with a lot of people that may have potentially had similar childhood experiences as me (ie: small, caucasian centric town, living as a minority, trying to fit in) is that they grow up looking for friends and then when they have the luxury of selecting, they don't filter. Which brings me to my topic of standards.

At some point in your life, you just have to develop standards in terms of what you appreciate, what you don't appreciate, how you want to live your life and who you choose to be in your company because their characters coincide with your set of standards. And course correction is likely guaranteed. As you grow into certain sets of standards, you will likely grow out of certain friendships.

I like to think I've done this all my life. Even when I was in high school - I started to observe that my parents had certain friends that I didn't really approve of. Funny that a high school kid could say that about her parent's friends right? I just thought they were not of the exact character I respected and if it weren't for the fact that there was only 5 chinese families to befriend in my hometown, they wouldn't have to be friends with them. I don't remember what they had to say to that. Probably that they had good traits, too. My opinion was - not enough of them. So it's easy to make judgments when you dont' have to deal with those people. Or you just self-select yourself out of a certain crowd. But it's hard when social circles entertwine and you just don't prefer certain people and are sometimes forced to be around them even if you disapprove.

These thoughts also come at the same time I realize that life is short (with the passing of my good friend Christina). We should be picky about who we choose to be in our company, because life is about growing to be the best person you can be and making sure you surround yourself with the best people that will enable you to become that. Spend more time with those you love. And be selective about those you don't love yet.

Selection criteria you ask? Ask yourself what your standards are. For me: I want good role models at my maturity level or higher. Always strive to be greater!

Remembering Christina Yu

One of my close friends from Folsom, Christina Yu, passed away last Friday with a very rare type of cancer.

Tracy and I had meant to visit her on our way back from Tahoe - but instead were hit by this devastating news when I called Chris on Sunday morning. I didn't know what to say or do. My head was spinning, like everything in the room was surreal. I kept thinking, we were one week too late. And that I should've went earlier. I should've listened to Sharon when she advised me of her timeline. All these things I should've done...

And then regret turned into some sort of anger. She didn't deserve to die so young. She was perfect in every sense. The most endearing type of person you could meet. Beauty and brains and no attitude even though she was perfect.

I'm still hearing her voice in my head of all the limited conversations we've had since she got sick. She was so happy and positive. Always looking at the bright side of everything. Always feeling obligated to please others - from her work to her friends to her music. Chris was one lucky guy.

I miss her. I know she is up there smiling down, though. May you rest in peace, dear friend.

My 30th B-day

Another decade older! Tracy came up with this great idea of having a Hawaiian-themed joint b-day party so that's what we did! We had people dress in island garb and bring Hawaiian-themed food.

Details on the food:

We provided:

1. Teriyaki Chicken

2. Kalbi short ribs

3. Mashed Taro

4. Banana-macadamia nut bread

5. Mai-tai's.

People brought:

More teriyaki chicken (Quinn's infamous recipe)

More short ribs (apparently CP and Wilson bought 12lbs for 2 parties that day??)

Salmon poke (hooray Yeelo and Howard)

Ahi poke (hooray Sophie and Mike)

Pineapple upside down cake (Irene)
Chicken adobo (Arlene)
Chicken Katsu (Kerry)

Saimin (Eugene and Amanda)

Mango salsa (Amy)

Pineapples (lots of peeps)

Lychee martinis (Liz and Mark)

Pina Coladas (Seila and Alix)

...and of course plenty of wine and beer and other drinks.

It was great fun. We started out with eating, of course. Guests helped with the grilling in the backyard. Good thing we bought that 4 person outdoor dining set because we didnt' have space for people to sit and plus it was 90 degrees that day (scorching in the house). Drinks were consumed, of course. We had a scavenger hunt with THINGS and PEOPLE inside and outside the house. People who completed the hunt with all answers correct got a 2nd entry into our raffle. People played the ukulele (Arlene!) and the Wii Fit. Of course, there were people playing poker as well. We cut cake and had the raffle towards the end of the night. Many guests (15 or so) stayed until the very end. Of course this is not before having multiple drinks and shots (nasty dark rum ones) and making Seila's watermelon-mint blend and dumping some alcohol in there! Just mingling and meeting new people is always fun, too. :)

We closed up shop at around 1:30AM and Ed and I quickly cleaned up. Thank God for paper plates. I used every paper and plastic utensil I had ever owned.

Thanks for a birthday I will ALWAYS remember. :)

LA and Seattle

LA - June

We finally got to get a taste of our friend Ket's restaurant in Burbank! We fly to LA the last weekend in June and stayed with him in Pasadena. I actually really loved his neighborhood. A steep hill next to his house that I could run up and down, and best of all - discovered the Rose Bowl jogging trail. Who knew LA could have such beautiful jogging trails with no sound or sight of traffic in view? Now, getting back to the restaurant. It's called Urban Eats and seriously (totally unbiased) had the BEST roast beef sandwich and watermelon "water" I have ever had. Other dishes were just ok, but for his prices you really can't find unique dishes like his anywhere else. They also serve, get this: Panna Cotta. And Creme Brulee. At a salad and sandwich place?! Had a great time with Ket and Linda. You could say we get along well (and Linda jogs at my pace). I realized that weekend that LA definitely has a lot to offer. It's still hard to imagine living with the 2 things I can't stand about that city, though: 1) unpredictable, eternal traffic, 2) smog!

Love to visit, can't see ever living there. Also got to meet up with Neddy for the first time in about 2-3 yrs. Thanks Ket and Linda for showing us your beautiful town!

SEATTLE JULY 4th

We arrived in Seattle to a welcome of thunder and lightning in the sky. I was rudely awakened at 6AM the next morning by booms of thunder outside. Regardless of the crazy weather, I think I still miss the clean, wet air smell after a rainfall. The next morning I went jogging on the trail/park next to Frank and Lynn's house and I was loving the cool air and dew I was breathing in (vs sawdust and pollen in the bay). I do miss that about the Pacific NW. Frank's house was a mansion, of course, for the same price we paid in the bay for 1/3 the size. I got lost in it. I went back to "the Ave" and had some nice reminiscing at Tokyo Garden. Hasn't changed! The Ave has certainly been chain-commercialized, though. There's an American Apparel and Urban Outfitters there now! That would've seriously put me in debt if it was there during '96-00! Don't like American Apparel, though. T-shirts and solid colored shorts for $20? Seriously. Kristena and Tim took us biking, of course. William and I drew blood in the first 30 min. Those clip-ins are seriously dangerous, not to mention the rail road tracks! The fireworks, as usual, were fantastic at Gasworks. Had the best non-MSG laden Pho of my life at Tim's parents house. Yum. Kristena's got some serious skillz with the American food. Gave me some new inspiration with couscous and better methods of cooking that rosemary chicken.

I was telling Kristena and Ed how much I enjoyed hanging out with the Phams and Huyhns. It's very comfortable and we all have similar personalities and interests. We would be a trio of happy married couples if only we lived in the same city! Flashbacks of talks to 4AM with Kristena on the last night. And then she wakes up at 8AM to drop us off at the airport and go bike 30 miles. That's dedication.

I miss them already! Hope to see you all very, very soon.