Skeptickle ยป Personal Events category:personal-events life and stuff 2008-11-10T22:43:00Z Copyright 2005 darcness <![CDATA[I Walk Like a Zombie]]> rainbose http://skeptickle.com/2008/11/10/i-walk-like-a-zombie/ 2008-11-10T22:43:00Z 2008-11-10T22:43:00Z I've been feeling a bit depressed the latter part of this week and Rob wanted to get me out of the apartment. I wasn't motivated to walk our standard route, which is a few times around the local track, so Rob looked up some good hiking trails in the area. He found what sounded like a really awesome trail with a waterfall at the end of it. Oh and it was 11 miles roundtrip. Rob and I have never walked that amount of distance let alone hiked it, but it didn't sound that bad since we rationalized making a day out of it. We went to Whole Foods in the morning and grabbed a big sandwich for lunch and headed to Big Basin State Park. The drive was very twisty and is not recommended for people who get easily motion sick.
Read the rest of this entry »

]]> <![CDATA[4 more days 'til Hawaii...]]> rainbose http://skeptickle.com/2008/07/01/4-more-days-til-hawaii/ 2008-07-01T21:06:22Z 2008-07-01T21:06:22Z 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!

Read the rest of this entry »
]]> <![CDATA[Our Engagement Weekend Celebration]]> rainbose http://skeptickle.com/2008/05/20/our-engagement-weekend-celebrati/ 2008-05-20T21:24:30Z 2008-05-20T21:24:30Z 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.
Read the rest of this entry »

]]> <![CDATA[Engagement Party Weekend]]> rainbose http://skeptickle.com/2008/05/08/engagement-party-weekend/ 2008-05-09T05:36:20Z 2008-05-09T05:36:20Z 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!

]]> <![CDATA[Spring Break '08, Part 2: The Proposal]]> rainbose http://skeptickle.com/2008/04/09/Proposal/ 2008-04-09T22:59:16Z 2008-04-09T22:59:16Z 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...

Read the rest of this entry »
]]> <![CDATA[Spring Break '08, Part 1]]> rainbose http://skeptickle.com/2008/03/25/spring-break-08-part-1/ 2008-03-26T00:27:37Z 2008-03-26T00:27:37Z 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*.

Read the rest of this entry »
]]> <![CDATA[Cyrus]]> rainbose http://skeptickle.com/2008/01/07/cyrus/ 2008-01-08T05:29:22Z 2008-01-08T05:29:22Z 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:

Read the rest of this entry »
]]> <![CDATA[Visitors ]]> rainbose http://skeptickle.com/2007/11/19/visitors/ 2007-11-19T08:12:41Z 2007-11-19T08:12:41Z 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.

Read the rest of this entry »
]]> <![CDATA[Veterans Day Weekend]]> rainbose http://skeptickle.com/2007/11/12/veterans-day-weekend/ 2007-11-13T07:47:11Z 2007-11-13T07:47:11Z 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?

Read the rest of this entry »
]]> <![CDATA[Crazy Awesome Weekend!]]> rainbose http://skeptickle.com/2007/11/05/crazy-awesome-weekend/ 2007-11-06T06:51:03Z 2007-11-06T06:51:03Z Chapin came to visit me this weekend from San Diego. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to dedicate the entire weekend to her due to my midterm today but we had a blast nonetheless. I studied and cleaned my apartment all day Friday. I met Chapin on campus on Saturday and we got to catch up over lunch. I had my Panda Express and she had Rubios. The Empower Change summit was happening on campus that day and that's why we were there. Unfortunately. we both weren't able to make it to any of the workshops but we were able to attend the keynote speech at Royce Hall given by none other than Bill Clinton.

Read the rest of this entry »
]]> <![CDATA[Tired (but happy)]]> rainbose http://skeptickle.com/2007/10/30/tired-but-happy/ 2007-10-31T01:32:53Z 2007-10-31T01:32:53Z I've been feeling unusually lethargic recently and I can't seem to pinpoint the reason why. It might have something to do with my new exercise routine, which involves a lot of toning and strength training now. As a result, my sleeping schedule is inconsistent. Perhaps it also has to do with the extremely dense readings assigned by my professors. Sometimes I feel as if my mind is a machete cutting through the underbrush of political philosophy and public opinion. It can be quite a tiring exercise, although I'm learning a lot and am enjoying most of it.

Read the rest of this entry »
]]> <![CDATA[Jimmy Eat World Concert]]> rainbose http://skeptickle.com/2007/10/17/jimmy-eat-world-concert/ 2007-10-17T07:49:55Z 2007-10-17T07:49:55Z Just got back from the Jimmy Eat World concert at the Wiltern. It frackin' rocked! I still prefer their old songs more than the new mellower stuff because they're just classics. Who doesn't feel pumped up after hearing The Middle or Sweetness or Praise Chorus? I know I totally do. The venue was very nice as well. I'm so tired but it was soo worth it. Good times!

]]> <![CDATA[Comfort Food]]> rainbose http://skeptickle.com/2007/09/07/comfort-food/ 2007-09-08T01:27:19Z 2007-09-08T01:27:19Z I miss my mom's Taiwanese-style comfort food. I regret never writing down or memorizing her recipes while she was around. In fact, I miss Taiwan for its unique food. I found an awesome site that sums up Taiwanese cuisine in a simple format. Taiwanese food is basically Chinese (Fujian) food with Japanese influences. Some of the food sounds and/or looks questionable to Westerners (and even myself sometimes!) but I say don't bash it until you try it!

Read the rest of this entry »
]]> <![CDATA[4th of July]]> rainbose http://skeptickle.com/2007/07/05/4th-of-july/ 2007-07-05T18:47:24Z 2007-07-05T18:47:24Z This Fourth of July was pretty chill compared to last year's. Last year Rob and I were in Vegas and discovered that Vegas has no fireworks on the 4th of July! This year we actually saw some firework action. We had planned on watching the fireworks from the top of a building that his previous company now occupied. The building was impressive and it was in prime location for the fireworks show off of Redwood Shores. We even received a tour of the building and got on top of the roof the day before with the help of his ex co-workers.

Read the rest of this entry »
]]> <![CDATA[Academic Year 2006-07]]> rainbose http://skeptickle.com/2007/06/28/academic-year-2006-07/ 2007-06-28T19:07:06Z 2007-06-28T19:07:06Z My first two quarters at UCLA had its ups and downs. The upside is that I enjoyed being on such a beautiful campus and having the opportunity to go to various events. With much relief, I managed to pass all my classes with satisfactory grades. The downside is that I've had to sacrifice my social life for those grades. To save money, I had to live a few miles off campus and take the bus to save on gas. Hopefully, I'll find an apartment closer to campus that is still affordable next year. I've also accumulated a high amount of student loan debt which would take me about a decade to pay off. My third quarter was spent at the UC Center in Sacramento. There I interned and took classes two blocks from the Capitol. The UCCS program is like UCDC program only it's in Sacramento. Students from most of the UCs were there and I was fortunate enough to be able to socialize with them. I became closer to my fellow intern scholars in the program than any of my UCLA classmates from previous quarters. Both the class and the internship taught me a lot about policy-making in this state and the potential problems facing it in the future. The UCLA students were required to write an extra research paper for the program while other UC students were not (except UCSD). This caused me a lot of stress and I'm glad that that part of it is behind me.

Read the rest of this entry »
]]> <![CDATA[Robert's Birthday Weekend]]> rainbose http://skeptickle.com/2007/05/21/robert-s-birthday-weekend/ 2007-05-21T20:19:26Z 2007-05-21T20:19:26Z In celebration of Rob's 26th birthday, I planned two main events for him this weekend. On Friday night we attended a birthday dinner that Mike and I planned for him at Trader Vic's in Palo Alto. Ten of his friends showed up and we had a blast chatting and eating Polynesian-style cuisine. I had planned something for us to do on Saturday morning and into the afternoon but Rob really wanted to go to Maker Faire in San Mateo so we went there instead. I was glad we got to go because I've never been to anything like it, although the Craft section reminded me a little of Comicon. Pretty much anyone who works with their hands and makes things was there. There were tons of creative and innovative projects that people were working on or have already built. I even helped build a Ybox with a group of four other people (including Rob). We got to take home kits so we can build our own from scratch. I've never soldered anything but jewelry before so it was fun trying something new. After Maker Faire, we went home and got ready for dinner. I made a reservation at Manresa about a month in advance and I had high expectations for it since it was the only restaurant in the state (or country?) that earned two Michelin stars. The only other restaurant in the state that earned more was French Laundry with three stars.

Read the rest of this entry »
]]> <![CDATA[GTC West]]> rainbose http://skeptickle.com/2007/05/16/gtc/ 2007-05-17T06:31:40Z 2007-05-17T06:31:40Z I know that I haven't been posting much about my experience here in Sacramento but I had the urge to post something at least for now. Maybe I'll give a summary of my overall experience one of these days...

Today, I went to the Government Technology Conference at the Sacramento Convention Center and got to watch Steve Wozniak speak. He seems like a genuinely nice person and a dedicated genius to boot. His speech was basically a run-down of his entire life. Some of what he said about his passion with electronics reminded me of Rob and his passion for computer programming. I also made it out of there with tons of free loot from the tech companies and governmental agencies.

After work, I went to dinner with Jane and Mio at Amarin Thai in downtown Sac. Then Jane and I went to shoot some hoops and eventually learned more about each other's background. We went back to my apartment and watched Lost. The season finale is next week! I'm so going to miss it super-much this summer.

]]> <![CDATA[Seattle Pics]]> rainbose http://skeptickle.com/2007/04/10/seattle-pics/ 2007-04-10T16:40:08Z 2007-04-10T16:40:08Z PicsforBlog/DSC02589

Read the rest of this entry »
]]> <![CDATA[Seattle Trip]]> rainbose http://skeptickle.com/2007/04/02/seattle-trip/ 2007-04-03T06:56:54Z 2007-04-03T06:56:54Z Sophia and Rob's adventures in Seattle.

Read the rest of this entry »
]]> <![CDATA[Pre-post on the Seattle trip]]> rainbose http://skeptickle.com/2007/04/01/pre-post-on-the-seattle-trip/ 2007-04-02T05:23:40Z 2007-04-02T05:23:40Z I would really like to post about my trip to Seattle but I have to wake up at 7am tomorrow to start my internship. The purpose of this pre-post is to motivate me to finish it when I have the time.

]]>