San Francisco: Day 5

So first, Kev and I squeezed in an appointment with Dr. Jenny's Dermatology and Skincare office. She's a brilliant woman, knows her stuff, and after that day, I've aspired to be like her... It seems like the type of job I'd love to do. She uses traditional Chinese medicine to diagnose any health issues, and then helps to resolve it since it usually translates into skin problems as well. I love it!!

Here's a glimpse of New Chinatown... I really wished we had the opportunity to explore it :(

After that visit, our family went to Japantown. In my opinion, it's a lot more fun than Chinatown in that it's much cleaner and you have a variety of options organized in just two sections: East Mall and West Mall, one side containing more restaurants, the other side has more decor and stores. Both sides are great though, and they have two cinemas!!

Their prices are also quite cheap for such cute objects, not to mention it seems like it's great quality stuff!!

We ate at Osakaya~

^My dad's Sushi Delight!!

^Kev's Miso Udon!! Bean paste flavored with bamboo and beansprout.

^My mom's Yummy Roll.

^My Yasai Donburi^^ Assorted vegetables cooked with egg and onion!

After eating our fill, we ended up watching The Hobbit in a Kabuki theater, haha. Great day, very fulfilling!!

San Francisco: Day 4

So it took us a while, but we eventually found Redwood. Merry Christmas~!!

 

And then it started to rain... and our plan for the day was kind of ruined. Haha. We ended up hiding in some small dim sum place, called J&M A-1 Chinese Restaurant. I love how we've been all around the alphabet in Chinese restaurants, haha.

^Warm yummy noodle soup~ perfect for rainy days!!

San Francisco: Day 3

Wow today was a busy day... Walked from 7 in the morning all the way until 7 at night... So tired, my feet hurt...

^That's great art, haha.

First, we rode cable cars, which were pretty cool.

We reached Fisherman's Wharf and looked at the sourdough bread factory and ate the famous clam chowder bread bowl.

^Me and my brother!!

 

^From Sabella and LaTorre's

After walking around Pier 45 and 39, we then explored around the streets of San Francisco... and ended up at the Flower Street, with all its zigzags and climbing steps.

^At the very top with my mom, after all that climbing!! City is beautiful...

We got lost about a billion times and rode the bus back to the mall. Then we browsed around for a long time and ate at Sarku Japan in the mall.

^Vegetarian Zen!!

San Francisco: Day 2

Alright, Day 2 begins with me waking up at 6 AM with no explanation, and my family still sleeping... I just wandered around in the hotel, looking at the services they offered, and then went back home to read.

It was raining and kind of miserable by the time we set out for the famous Chinatown, so... I was super disappointed.

We met up with the hotel manager and an old friend, ate at Z & Y Garden.

^Chilled bitter melon...

^Salmon wrapped around fried tofu...

^Wonderful lobster with noodles!!

 

All of us.

San Francisco: Day 1

After stepping off the plane from Dallas to San Francisco, we went to SAM's Diner, which was super busy - but worth the wait.

^My Baja Scrambled Eggs~ Fresh Pico de Gallo, avocado, olives and eggs with a side of sour cream, wheat toast, and country potatoes.

^My dad's Spicy Pork Korean Tacos~ 3 soft tacos with house cilantro lime rice and spicy secret sauce.

Right after, we decided to go to look at the Golden Gates, which was a great view and involved a lot of hiking as well^^

^Upper view

 

^Lower view

 

Haha, I was not ready for this picture... but here's the skyline of the city^^

 

Here is a very dignified bird!!

We tried to go to Fisherman's Wharf, but it was so crowded and there were no parking spaces... so we decided to put that off for another day, when we can walk there instead.

For dinner, my mom's friends treated us to a really fancy dim sum place called ABC Seafood Restaurant. Simply scrumptious.

^My Mango Pudding~ Silky pudding made of fresh Mango puree, sugar and milk, often served with a drizzle of evaporated milk.

Before I Leave

I think I am one of the lucky ones.

People seem to like me (quite often too)
even though I'm unusual and not at all like...
them

But it helps a lot.

Sometimes I can be mean and cruel and hurtful
"Oh, it's so stupid of you to...
be wearing that, be doing that, be in that
To be YOU."

And sometimes, he just might say,
"I think so too."

Trail of Lights

Went to the Trail of Lights last night after finishing the last final exam, it was so much fun!! We were all crammed in the cars and in traffic, where Austin roads are always crazy and misleading... but somehow we managed to find our way to Zilker Park... only to buy tickets that nobody checked.

^From left to right: E, L, me (Yaya), Nat's roommate K, Nat, K, B!!

 

Here are just a few samples of the awesome decorations we encountered...

After E gave us a ride home, B and I decided to go out for sushi. As it turned out... the sushi place was closed. So we ended up eating at Oma's Kitchen in Dobie Mall instead, which was a decent enough replacement. It's got this feeling of homestyle cooking that's kind of comforting.

^Got the #20, Beef Soup...

Can't believe my freshman semester of college is already over!! Now I can just relax for winter break~

So Low

Well, my Chemistry exam results came in - I made a 90%. Phew, at least I'm not always a complete failure. I've been getting 100's on my last two Chemistry quizzes, so I'm feeling pretty good about Chemistry and Biology, just still pretty miserable about Calculus.

Last night, to celebrate the ending of Chemistry class, Nat, Lay, B, and I went out to Austin Karaoke and just sang our hearts out. Most memorable songs of the night: Barbie Girl, Girls Just Wanna Have Fun, A Whole New World, Yayaya...

Nat: "Oh, Erin... the things I would do to you, if only you were gay..."

HAHAHA gotta love that girl. Lay got me a present for Christmas too, which was really nice of him.

^The Happiness Gold Buddha with my new Faith Green Buddha!! Ahh~~ I love it!!

Great night. We stayed up until 2...

Late Night Stress and Other Bad Habits

I have a really bad habit of worrying about upcoming presentations, labs, projects, tests... especially during night... not sure why :/

Anyway, today I tested for Calculus, my grade came out, it was complete crap. Which made me feel super stupid. From the moment I flipped through the test, I knew I wasn't going to do well... There were only 11 questions, and three questions that I hopelessly guessed on because I got stuck halfway and didn't know what to do.

I hate techniques of integration... They frustrate me so well. But you know, ahh whatever.

The night before the Calc test, Nat and B whisked me away to eat pho with them at Pho Thaison, which was pretty fun. We had a girl's night out and just sat there and gossipped and snorted out pho... LOL.

^Crab rangoons!

^Pho Chin! Brisket pho.

Tonight, two B's and Nat and I went to her dorm to study together for Chemistry. As much fun as I have with these guys, they frustrate me so much because it's hard to work with them around... I ended up completely shutting Nat out for twenty whole minutes and finished the entire lab's written report - which was the most productive 20 minutes of my life, considering that the whole night was spent complaining about stress.

Ahh;; I'm so tired... but you know, the Calculus failure is not a big deal. It's kind of traumatizing for someone who's used to good grades all the time, but... no point in mulling about it. I just have to prepare well for the Chemistry test and focus on my future success!

US Winter National Swimming Championship

Wow... I'm not usually the type to gush over guys, but... professional swimmers have great bodies.

 

I mean, seriously... the girls are a little too muscular for my liking, but the guys are just... wow... haha. I went to the finals with B today, started babbling at the thought of meeting Ryan Lochte... only to discover he wasn't going today.

 

 

Serves me right for not doing my research^^ ahh well, it's all good, I'm planning on going tomorrow, I would love to see him swim!! And I wouldn't mind seeing Missy Franklin either!!

 

^B and me!! We waited in the line to meet some guy we didn't even know :O Haha... in the end, we didn't even get an autograph or picture with him.

Shades of Skin Dinner

Feeling pretty productive today~ I finished a lot of my homework yesterday, and so today I went out to eat with a group of friends.

Got a 100 on my last Chemistry quiz, an 82 on Biology test... which isn't very good, but I calculated my overall average since I'm done with Biology tests!! So far, I have a 92.4% on testing average... and since I have perfect score on my homework average, hopefully I'll do really well on the final exam and end up with an A in Biology^^

Tonight, the bestie and I went out to a presentation about racial discrimination and got free food from Bill Miller Bar-BQ~

^Brisket, dill pickles and marinated onions, potato salad, coleslaw!!

Turkey Week - Blasted Pictures!

^Jimmy John's Vito. The original Italian sub with genoa salami, provolone, capicola, onion, lettuce, tomato, and a real tasty Italian vinaigrette.

^Jimmy John's Vegetarian. Layers of provolone cheese separated by real avocado spread, alfalfa sprouts, sliced cucumber, lettuce, tomato, and mayo. (Truly a gourmet sub not for vegetarians only... peace dude!)

^Today I went out to eat lunch with my FIG friends at the Texas Union's Smokehouse BBQ... Ordered a chopped brisket sandwich with original sauce, onions on side, and potato salad - recommended by Nat :)

^Just a random photo from that night where they kidnapped me... and we ended up wandering in Dobie Mall, watching "Juanito" haha.

^Also from a while back... Breakfast with the boyfriend, at The Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf! I got a peppermint mocha, he had an iced tea latte.

So rich and foamy...

^Old photo, we were goofing around at Momoko's^^ Nat's coffee boba, my blueberry green tea boba, and B's mango yogurt boba!! And Lay photobombing us.