Breakfast at Tiffany's

1. What did you do in 2010 that you'd never done before? Shoveled snow, ate a live octopus, met a celebrity (Ted Mosby from HIMYM), partied as hard as I did for my quarter century birthday, lived in Manhattan, wrote a thesis, graduated from NYU, landed my first real job, was a bridesmaid, caught the bouquet, turned Mac 2. Did you keep your New Year's resolutions, and will you make more for next year? I didn’t make any for 2010, but I will make some for 2011-- eat right, exercise, floss more, and quit saying, “I hate…” 3. Did anyone close to you give birth? Nope, not this year 4. Did anyone close to you die? No, thank heavens 5. What countries did you visit? I didn’t leave the country, but hopefully that changes next year! I want to travel more. 6. What would you like to have in 2011 that you lacked in 2010? Stability in life 7. What date(s) from 2010 will remain etched upon your memory, and why? February 17 through April 4, and December 16, because I never in...

Last night, I rented and watched Once Upon a Time in America, starring Robert De Niro. I really liked it. It's one of those old school gangster movies that takes place in the ghetto neighborhoods of lower east side in New York City during the prohibition. Not realizing that the movie is 229 minutes long (I actually had to change discs to continue the movie, which also included an intermission), I had wanted to watch it upon learning that its score was composed by Ennio Morricone. The music was beautiful. I can't emphasize that enough. There were scenes in the movie when music alone expressed the characters' feelings and intentions without dialogue or action. Genius. Aside from Once Upon a Time in America, I also recently watched Cinema Paradiso a few months ago for the first time. Morricone has a way of conveying so much with such simple melodies. Even before watching these two movies, I had heard sample clips of their scores, and something about the way they were written...

The reunion weekend with my college buddies was wonderful! It was so much fun to see everyone again and share memories and stories from our dorm days. My friends are amazing! Law school, med school, doctoral tracks, job promotions… We’ve all grown up so much, but together again on Sproul, we were just a bunch of kids picking up from where we left off 3 years ago. Walking around campus, I was amazed at how beautiful Berkeley (the campus, not the city) is, although I’ve been told repeatedly that I happened to visit during a week of awesome weather. In short, though it sounds cheesy, I felt so proud and grateful to have gone to school there and met such great people who have touched my life. This summer has been about family and friends. I am truly blessed! I am back in Tucson now, trying to hold on to that feeling before the insanity from living here begins to settle in and affect me negatively. To help, I’ve devised a workout plan and a list of things to do, one of which is to work on m...

In 2009 1. What did you do in 2009 that you'd never done before? kiss someone on new years, celebrate valentine's day, go to atlantic city, move to my own place in brooklyn, get over my first serious break up, have a boy roommate, talk on the phone for 183 minutes, fully understand two-way independent and RM anovas, have a crush on someone who also studied psychology, drive in times square, get snowed in, be chauffeured home in a limo, drink sake bombs, attend a company holiday party, play quelf, see the blue man group, watch lord of the rings in radio city with a live orchestra and choir scoring the film 2. Did you keep your New Year's resolutions, and will you make more for next year? like always, i don't make new year's resolutions 3. Did anyone close to you give birth? yup! my cousin lydia gave birth to her first baby, melody 4. Did anyone close to you die? my grandpa passed away 5. What countries did you visit? i stayed in america 6. What would...

My grandpa passed away last week. My mom and aunts are in Malaysia together. Yesterday, they had the memorial service. I'm sad that I wasn't able to go. People have been asking me how I feel and if I need anything, but I'm fine. I cried when I first heard the news that he had died, but I know he's in a better place now where his brain isn't dying anymore. He developed Alzheimer's after a stroke a few years ago. It was hard seeing/hearing my mom cry about him forgetting who she is. My grandpa lived with my family the longest when I was growing up, as opposed to living with his other daughters. As a result, I was able to get to know him well. He used to jog some 6 miles every morning before the sun came up, drink a giant bowl of water, and then teach me how to stretch properly after exercising. He used to play Chinese music really loudly in his room while reading Chinese newspapers. I remember that he had built this chair in his room, where he could lift up the ...

Lydia is engaged! So far, everyone I know who has gotten engaged/married are people from college with whom I'm not particularly close. I hear about them, and it's like, "Oh, that's nice" or "Wow, it's about time," and I don't think too much about it. But Lydia, one of my girls- the first of my girls- it will be an amazing reunion, and we are all so happy for her! Last night, we had a six-way chat with Lydia, Ruth, Jessica, Bebe, Debbie, and me! Chi's in India, and we couldn't get a hold of Tien. Still, it was very special. As we get older, and as it gets more difficult to find the time to be together, moments like last night will grow increasingly extremely priceless. I am so blessed to have these ladies in my life. I love you all. He liked it, so he put a ring on it. -Lydia

Sandy and Phong are here visiting for a few days, because it's Berkeley's spring break. They are my first visitors aside from family! Seeing them reminded me of those good old college days when we'd lounge around watching South Park in our living room. Even though Sandy and I frequently email and chat on Google, it's been so wonderful catching up with her in person. It's also really exciting and fun to play hostess and show her around New York City. We braved the winds last night, taking photos at Rockefeller Center, eating yummy Halal food, walking around Times Square, and enjoying cake and ice cream and hot chocolates at Max Brenner before heading back to my place. Phong fell asleep, while Sandy and I talked until 3.