Although Rob and I had been in a long distance relationship for the past couple of years, we have not been apart for more than two and a half weeks at a time. This makes me going to Hawaii for five weeks with minimal opportunities to video chat a little distressing from what we're used to. I think it finally hit Rob yesterday that I'll be gone for so long. I can't argue that it wouldn't make it that much sweeter when he flies in and we reunite!

The past week has been a fun and busy week for both of us. We had our engagement pictures taken on Wednesday, which brought out the chic models that were inside us all along. We chose Hakone Gardens as our first location. It was quite a different experience having the whole place to ourselves and having the ability to be a little more adventurous than usual. Our second location was a little bit away in Moss Beach, CA. The beach we chose is actually a wildlife refuge that I've visited occasionally since I was a kid. You're not supposed to take things you find there home with you because it creates an inbalance in the ecosystem if enough people do it. We just so happened to get there when the seals were resting on one side of the beach. They looked like long logs of driftwood at first, but as Rob and our photographer agreed "logs don't move by themselves". Haha. There were little baby seals that wiggled towards the water; they were getting ready to plunge in in case we approached them. Soo cute! We had such a great time doing our engagement session and we highly recommend it to anyone with the means to get them done. It's as if you and your significant other are in your own cocoon of love while someone you trust captures those moments for you. Rarely do you get to be as playful and adventurous in other types of professional pictures. I intend to dedicate an entire post on our photographer when our proofs come out. I can't wait to see them!

Rob and I decided to celebrate our engagement with a big bash at our apartment in northern California. I had asked a few key friends from southern California to attend because I felt it was important to get as many close friends up there as possible. My Maid of Honor and my bridesmaids all happen to currently be in southern California so I had to coordinate a plan to get them all up there without it costing them too much. My MOH is my good friend Chapin. She drove her and her boyfriend up from SD to LA where I took over the driving in my car. We picked up Patrice and made it to the Bay Area in only five hours. I dropped them off so they can be with their families for the night, went to Costco to pick stuff up, and finally got home. Awaiting my arrival was Rob and Andrew, Rob's best friend who flew in from Florida just for the event. We had dinner at TGI's Sushi and then picked Jude and Luiza up from SJC. We went home and watched part of An Inconvenient Truth before people started getting tired and falling asleep.

So for over a month now Rob and I've been planning an engagement party for our family and friends to meet each other and to have fun. I'm not gonna lie, there were some stressful moments coming from it. And it all culminates this weekend! We picked a weekend where Rob's mom was going to be in town anyway and that saves her an extra trip. Andrew, Rob's best friend, is flying in all the way from Florida for the occasion. A few friends from jr high and high school and a some of my restaurant peeps are planning to show up. My UCLA friends and Chapin are coming up for it as well, which is the icing on the cake. I'm super stoked! Just thinking about spending this whole weekend with people I love and love me back and are willing to support us is making me all teary-eyed. It's so surreal. I just wish I didn't have four research projects going on at the same time. Those will totally bring me back to earth once I return to LA. Boo!

Note: I wrote this post almost to it's entirety last week, but because of the inconsistent wireless internet access at my school...it somehow got deleted. I was so frustrated about rewriting the whole thing again that I put it off until now. I apologize for those who were looking forward to reading it (although most of you had already called me to ask for details). As they say, the show must go on and the story must be written...

Prepare for a long post...

Wow, I didn't realize that I haven't posted for over a month. I must have been really busy the second half of last quarter. I'm glad I finally get to enjoy a relaxing break after such a grueling quarter. Many of my friends are taking cool trips this week, but I'm content to just settle with a good book (in this case Tuesdays With Morrie), sip Tazo tea, and check up on my hyacinths that have been blooming since I was away. Hmm, I sound like I'm 50. Or more likely it's because I've been fighting off a cold for several days and it has only succeeded in taking over my throat so far. Rob has planned a mini trip to Napa next weekend so that I'm not just piddling around the apartment and running errands my whole week. I'm happy that I got a lot of errands done already including fixing my laptop that had been acting up since winter break. Rob and I also went to San Francisco on Easter Sunday for a timeshare presentation by a very popular resort company*.

Rob took me to Cyrus to celebrate my 24th birthday this year. We had to make the reservation for the 5th because I had to drive back to LA yesterday in time for my classes today. Cyrus has been rated as one of the top restaurants in the country with two Michelin stars and a Zagat rating of 28 points. Like the French Laundry, it's located in wine country which is a couple of hours away from the greater Bay Area. There were some people on Yelp that tried to compare it to the FL but the similarities end at location and expense. Cyrus had their own interior style, ways of serving, and cuisine type. We were wise enough to book a room near the restaurant because neither of us were fit to drive after our wonderful experience there. It's actually located inside the fancy Les Mars Hotel but at over $350 a night we declined to stay there. After looking through their menu, Rob wanted to try their chef's tasting menu and 7 course wine pairing. We went with that although the self-creating menu looks very tempting as well. Onward to the pictures and descriptions:

This past weekend I had the pleasure of introducing some friends from the Bay Area to Los Angeles. Rob drove down with our friends Mike and Nathan who have never been to LA before and were interested in experiencing what it had to offer. The challenge was to plan an itinerary that reflected certain elements of LA that were more or less stereotypical but not touristy. Since LA is a mishmash of about 88 different cultures within one metropolitan area, I had to resort to the few places I've already visited before. Strangely enough, I've lived in LA for a total of nine months now and I haven't really had a chance to explore as much as I'd like of it because of school. I think though that in the end I managed to pull off an entertaining and informative experience for my guests. Rob has the pictures on his blog of the trip.

I visited Rob for the long weekend and I am reminded of how much I love the Bay Area during this time of year. I can't quite pinpoint what exactly it is that is so intoxicating-- the flame-colored trees, the crisp air, the look of the overcast sky perhaps?