Breakfast at Tiffany's

In 2011

2011-12-31T13:22:00.000-05:00

1. What did you do in 2011 that you'd never done before?

Move to the South Bay (San Jose), live with 3 boys, lease a car,drive fearlessly all around the Bay Area, work in clinical research, lose myjob, not know what I want to do with my life, learn to knit, learn to play theguitar, take yoga classes, fill shoeboxes for Operation Christmas Child

2. Did you keep your New Year's resolutions, and will you makemore for next year?

Unfortunately, I did not keep my resolutions, because I was lazyand apathetic. My resolutions for next year are to eat right and exercise. I amthe heaviest I’ve ever been, and it’s unacceptable.

3. Did anyone close to you give birth?

4. Did anyone close to you die?

5. What countries did you visit?

I did not :(

6. What would you like to have in 2012 that you lacked in 2011?

A stable job and relationship

7. What date(s) from 2011 will remain etched upon your memory, andwhy?

I don’t have specific dates, but I will always remember 2011 asthe year I was unsuccessful work-wise, but relationship-wise, I felt most lovedand supported by friends and family

8. What was your biggest achievement of the year?

Having unwavering faith despite the lack of direction in my life

9. What was your biggest failure?

Being rash and impatient with my difficult boss at Stanford, whichresulted in my losing the job

10. Did you suffer illness or injury?

Nothing to report aside from the usual cold and flu

11. What was the best thing you bought?

My car (for three years)

12. Whose behavior merited celebration?

Manly! Pulling a 4.0 at Columbia University—what an awesomeaccomplishment!

13. Whose behavior made you appalled and depressed?

My old boss, and some people at NYU

14. Where did most of your money go?

Rent

15. What did you get really, really, really excited about?

Ruth and Philip’s wedding in June

16. What song(s) will always remind you of 2011?

Grenade, Edge of Glory, How To Love, Moves Like Jagger, StereoHeart

17. Compared to this time last year, are you:

Wiser? Yes

Healthier? No

Richer? Absolutely not

18. What do you wish you'd done more of?

Cardio

19. What do you wish you'd done less of?

Stress out in trying to mend relationships that aren’t worthmending

20. How will you be spending Christmas?

With loved ones (I think this answer is the same every year)

21. Did you fall in love in 2011?

22. How many one-night stands?

Zero

23. What was your favorite TV program?

Star Trek: The Original Series (Spock!!)

24. Do you hate anyone now that you didn't hate this time lastyear?

Like I said, apathy is better than hate when it comes to loathsomepeople

25. What was the best book you read?

The Hunger Games

26. What was your greatest musical discovery?

Spotify!!

27. What did you want and get?

A trip back to New York

28. What did you want and not get?

Many jobs that I applied for

29. What was your favorite film(s) of this year?

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2, Mission Impossible:Ghost Protocol

30. What did you do on your birthday, and how old were you?

I turned 26, and went to The Cheesecake Factory with my roommatesand a couple of awesome girl friends from college.

31. What's one thing that would have made your year immeasurablymore satisfying?

I could have done without the whole unemployment stint

32. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2011?

Slob (because I couldn’t afford to go shopping)

33. What kept you sane?

Having the best support system that is my friends and family

34. Which celebrity/public figure did you fancy the most?

Tim Lincecum

35. What political issue stirred you the most?

The stupid Occupy-city nonsense

36. Who did you miss?

My parents

37. Who was the best new person you met?

Brian

38. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2010.

To quote Baz Luhrmann’s Everybody’s Free (To Wear Sunscreen),

“Be nice to your siblings; they are the best link to your past andthe people most likely to stick with you in the future. Understand that friendscome and go, but for the precious few you should hold on. Work hard to bridgethe gaps in geography and lifestyle, because the older you get, the more youneed the people you knew when you were young.”

39. Quote a song lyric that sums up your year.

You raise me up so I can stand on mountains

You raise me up to walk on stormy

I am strong when I am on your shoulders

You raise me up to more than I can be

Quality Over Quantity

2011-12-30T18:59:00.001-05:00

I am back from New York! Overall, it was a pretty good trip. I gotto spend Christmas with family, which was the main point of my visit. I hadreally good, deep conversations with my aunt about work, relationships, andlife in general. She shares a lot of valuable advice and life stories that mymom is not able to provide, because my aunt dated more, married later, haddifficulty finding jobs before, and worked different positions throughout hercareer; basically, she has many relevant experiences that I can learn from inmy particular situation at the moment. I love thatmy mom has 4 sisters, each of whom I consider another mom, and I'm very closeto all of them! I also got to spend time with my cousin, who, although is tenyears younger than me, shares with me a remarkable number of similar interests.We watched Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol in IMAX onChristmas morning! It was awesome. I was so nervous throughout the entiremovie! I was literally on the edge of my seat during a good portion of thefilm. Then we watched TheAdventures of Tintin a few days later; I thought it was such a cuteand well-made movie, but because of its animated feature, the audience waslargely children, which can be super annoying.

Christmas in New York City, what can I say? Even though I don'tsee myself moving back, I definitely want to spend the winter holidays there asmuch as possible. The atmosphere is super Christmasy, enhancing my favoriteholiday of the year--the decorations, the Rockefeller tree, the freezing windin my face as I walk through all the familiar places. I had an amazing timecatching up with old friends, hearing about all the great things that havehappened to them since we last saw each other. Unfortunately, I also had somebad experiences with some friends who could not make time to see me. It reallymade me question the quality of my friendships. I've always favored qualityover quantity when it comes to my friendships; however, with each new stage inlife, time and distance do what they do best, and I have to make the effort inmaintaining the relationships worth keeping. The tricky part is figuring out whichones are worth keeping.

I can honestly say that 2011 has not been easy, nor my best year.In fact, I would venture out to claim that it's been the worst year. Fromlosing my job to depleting my savings account, rejections upon rejections inthe job search, and being unsure for the first time in my life what I want todo with my life, I have had enough instability. Last year, in my survey of2010, I wished for more stability in 2011; while that did not happen, I do hopefor it in 2012, AND amid the setbacks, I did gain a number of pricelessrelationships along the way--a new church family in LSCC, wonderful roommates,a boy who cares about me, and renewed friendships with my diaper buddies andCal ladies. I have felt more love from those around me than any previous year.In addition, though my efforts in the working world proved to be unsuccessfulthus far, my spirituality has grown not only in depth but also steadfastness. Ihave unwavering faith that God will provide amazing opportunities in His perfecttiming. Goodbye, 2011. Hello, 2012!!

New York

2011-12-17T18:56:00.001-05:00

I'm in New York!

It feels good to be back, like I've finally come home after being on vacation for a long time. I arrived a few days ago, and while I had been looking forward to this trip, it wasn't until I saw the bright city lights from the plane as we were making our final descent into JFK, that I began to breath deeply with giddiness. Mark picked me up from the airport, and I spent the night in Brooklyn sleeping in my old room upstairs in his house. Everything was so familiar--the furniture, the smell, the whole feel--and I loved it! That night, however, I had the most difficult time falling asleep. Not only was my internal clock still on Pacific time, but from the back of my mind, memories of S came rushing back as soon as I stared around the bedroom. It all seems like another life ago. I was so happy then.

Oh, but don't get me wrong; I am very happy now. It wasn't long before my thoughts turned to Brian, and how amazing it would be if he were here experiencing the city with me. It's a weird feeling to go from seeing each other every single day, to being apart for the next two weeks. We "hung out" on Google+ for a little while until I finally felt sleepy.

On Thursday afternoon, I went to visit Mark at work. It was my first time visiting the UWS Apple store. It's huge! Mark and I got lunch during his break, and he gave me a new iPhone case that looks like the original Gameboy. He really is the best! Afterward, he went back to work, and I trekked across a few avenues over to the newly opened Uniqlo on Fifth Avenue (unbelievably humongous) to surprise Troy. On the way there, I saw so many stores decorated and lit up for the holidays--Tiffany's, LV, Cartier, etc. It was beautiful! Fifth Avenue during Christmas is simply remarkable. Troy was bombarded with work, and only had time for a quick hug. We decided to catch up some other time when he has a day off or something. Then I dragged my luggage all the way to Fresh Meadows, Queens, where I'm staying with my aunt, uncle, and cousin :)

Yesterday, Troy and I met in SoHo and shopped for hours. It was so fun, especially because I had not gone shopping in months. Ever since I stopped working, I had stayed away from malls and stores, because the less I see, the less I'll be tempted to purchase. Still, I bought a couple shirts at HM that were on sale. Also, under the bright lights of their dressing room, I saw the nasty atrocity that is my flabby body. Resolution for 2012: Eat right and exercise!! After shopping, I met with Mike for dinner at Tomoe Sushi. We both ordered sashimi. Their tuna sashimi was the softest, most tender tuna sashimi that I had ever had. I was pleased. We ended the night taking photos in Washington Square Park. I've missed him.

Just walking around Manhattan again, and taking in the sights, the smells, the sounds of the city... nothing has changed, and yet everything feels different. I've started a new life in California, and my friends here have also moved on with their own agendas. Life moves so quickly.

Photobooth

2011-11-19T16:01:00.001-05:00

I've been doing yoga twice a week for a few weeks now. It's going well, and while it doesn't seem like a very difficult workout when I'm in class, my muscles are sore the mornings after. It's definitely a good kind of sore, so every time I wince in pain, I know my body is getting stronger.

In other news, Mark gave me Lion last night for my MBP! I love the new features, especially the new Photobooth effects! He also gave me the most recent iPhotos and Office for Mac. What an awesome guy. He's going back to New York tomorrow after being here for the past 3 weeks, but I'll see him soon when I head over in less than a month! Woo-hoo!

Blessing In Disguise

2011-11-18T00:14:00.001-05:00

I survived the 6-hour interview in San Mateo last Friday! It seems like such a long time ago, and slightly pointless to write about it now. The week building up toward that interview was extremely stressful, with presentations to prepare amid being sick. On top of that, my cold got worse as I worked into the early hours of 3 and 4am. I think the worst part of the entire week, culminating with the on-site meeting, was that my hard work didn't show as well as I had hoped. My worst nightmare came true--each of the eight candidates had been given more or less the same topic, and we had to present in front of each other, AND I was picked to go last. Trying not to cough during my presentation, my voice reduced to a volume somewhat louder than a whisper. My nerves were on full display, and I couldn't get out of my head the idea of working 70 hours/week, should I land this position. The interviewer warned us to brace ourselves for 12 hour/days, as start-up companies are intense, but rewarding. Although I didn't let my hesitation show, I definitely do not want to work that much for that long in a field that I'm not passionate about. Despite my efforts, I left the company feeling very unsatisfied with how everything turned out. Early Saturday morning, I received an email that I didn't get picked for the job. Fortunately, I see it as a beautiful blessing in disguise.

Saturday afternoon, Tien flew in from Phoenix to visit and stay with me for a few days. It was really good to see her, and stay up all night talking like old times. Even though we Skype and chat on the phone all the time, it's so much better in person (obviously). She left yesterday, and I didn't realize how tired I was until I came home and passed out for 4 hours. It was much, much needed rest.

Brian's birthday was on Tuesday! We all got together to celebrate his 28th birthday with Japanese food at Tomisushi, and karaoke at Music Tunnel. We roommates got him a new wallet and a nice tie, and he got a Playstation game and a cactus from Jeff & Lisha. It was a good night, and I'm really happy to say that he had a great time. Success!

I know I'm jumping the gun, but I've been listening to Christmas music on Spotify for a couple weeks now, even though it's means stealing thunder from Thanksgiving. I can't help it; Christmas is so awesome, and right around the corner!! This music puts me in such a good mood too.

Presentation Preparation

2011-11-10T14:04:00.001-05:00

Last night after small group, I went over to the Mo's estate and gathered as much information as I could about Google +1 from Vincent. They were so kind to have me in their home so late at night, and even though he was swamped with work, Vincent (aka my BEST FRIEND) was awesome in helping me pull together useful information for my interview on Friday. Praise God for people who are generous with their time, home, and financial resources. Praise God more for putting those people in my life. Since being a part of LSCC, I've experienced much of His love through the people with whom I go to church. If this were the only reason He wanted me to move back to California, it was completely worth the while. Maybe it's because I already did some research in SEO for the last interview; maybe it's because the topic is about Google; maybe it's because I know that whatever happens, God remembers me. In any case, preparing for this presentation has been less stressful than I thought it would be.

Today, I'm going to focus on my presentation preparation, stopping only for a couple hours before dinner to go to my yoga class in Campbell. Thanks, Amazon deals. You are helping me tone my disgustingly soft body.

I can't wait for this hectic, wrinkles-inducing week to be over. The weekend is full of exciting events:

Saturday morning, Tien is coming to San Jose! She'll be here for 5 days :)
Saturday evening, Brian is taking me to the San Francisco Symphony! They're playing Schubert.
Sunday afternoon, Sandy and I are going to see our old music professor Moroney perform in a concert in Berkeley

Also, I got my tickets for New York this week. I'm going to spend Christmas in my favorite city! Halal cart, I'm coming for you!

Search Engine Optimization

2011-11-09T15:19:00.000-05:00

Back again! It's been nearly 8 months since my last post. I really shouldn't wait so long between posts to write something, because the entries get so long and tedious to read (at least that's what I think my readers think). Then again, I am also writing for myself. Someday, I'd like to look back on these blogs and laugh at my 20-something self's ~~idiocies~~ experiences.

Since my last post, I've been unemployed and looking for a job. I had a couple of temp jobs sprinkled here and there, but landing a permanent one has been an incredibly frustrating ordeal. Here are two of the biggest reasons: 1) Mandatory callbacks should be a rule when you are hiring! Even if it's bad news, as an applicant, I definitely appreciate knowing that I didn't get a position, instead of wondering about it for weeks and weeks. 2) I can't get a job, because I have little experience. I have little experience, because I can't get a job. How to break this cycle, I do not know; I just know that it's evil and would like it to change.

There is good news though! Well, good and bad (but mostly good). I did hear back from a company last week. I won't say which one just yet (in case I don't get the job), but it's a small start-up in the tech/software industry. The position I applied for isn't tech-related, if you're wondering. It's more of a client-relations position. Anyway, I've already passed 3 of the 4 rounds in the interview process, and the final one is this Friday! As happy as I am to have made it this far, I am extremely stressed from all of this. The phone interviews were good--no problems there. Round 3 was to give a 15-minute PowerPoint presentation on a tech topic to the director, who will be making the hiring decision. It was over web conference, and I was completely flabbergasted during my preparation. My topic was "Search Engine Optimization (SEO) and Mobile Technology"

*cricket chirp*

I have no technology background, so putting together that presentation was very difficult, and I was almost in tears by the time I gave the darn thing. The director was very impressed though. He said I did "an admirable job" and looked forward to meeting me in person. Excellent! Round 4, here I come! All that worrying was worth it. I gave up a night's sleep to prepare AND got sick in doing so. I currently have a terrible cold. Hopefully it goes away by Friday morning.

BUT, just when I thought I could celebrate my good fortune, I receive the invitation to the company's Career Day, a day where they have all the candidates arrive and check out the office, the management and potential coworkers, and have their final interview face-to-face. Sounds pleasant right? Wrong. All else in the email blurred as my eyes focused on the line, "Be prepared to present a 20-minute presentation on a tech topic. Your tech topic is: Google +1 and SEO."

Another one?! I was in a panic the entire time preparing for the last one, and now I have to go through another one. AND to make things worse, the other candidates have the same topic. My worst nightmare is if we'll all be in the room as one big happy family as I give a presentation on a topic, about which have zero clue. It's not that I hate presentations. I'm actually pretty good at giving them. I just worry about this one, because I don't know what the heck I'm doing. At the end of the day, I don't want to look stupid/incompetent. I'm probably blowing this thing out of proportion, but please keep me in your thoughts and prayers if possible. I will let you guys know how it goes.