Fitting into the Dress
21 Jan 2012 5 Comments
So the other day I picked up my dress for my best friend, Danielle’s, wedding. As her Maid of Honor, she put me in a beautiful brown dress.
Picking it up, I was initially a little nervous. I have never worn anything entirely brown before, and I was curious to see how it would look on me. The girl at the bridal shop came out from the back with the dress and I was stunned. It was beautiful. I then tried it on and was happy to discover that I didn’t look that bad in brown. Although, the dress was a little snug at the hips (Story of my Life) so I am now back on track for losing weight. My dad and I have started working out at the gym again and I am calorie counting using Fitness Pal on my phone.
So here is to 5 months of working out so that I can fit perfectly into the dress!
Spent the Weekend in China… Well… Sort of…
16 Jan 2012 Leave a Comment
in The Aftermath Tags: asian market, hot pot
This weekend, even though the snow tried to stop it, I got to enjoy a little taste of China.
One of my sweet friends who had lived in Chengdu at some point recommended that we have hot pot, so that’s exactly what we did on Friday.
We met up at our local Asian market, which I was very excited about. I hadn’t been to this one before but I had heard great things about it. I now know why. The Asian market had so many selections and a lot of the food was from China! I was beyond excited. We started with the produce, grabbing mushrooms, bak choy, and my favorite, lotus root. We also found some tofu, hot pot mix, quail eggs, and something I have seriously missed, peanut milk. It ended up being a little different than the peanut milk I remember. This one had literal peanuts in it as well, but it ended up being amazing! It simply gave it more flavor.
After buying food, we headed to my friend’s place to prepare the food and wait on another friend to join us. Once the other beautiful lady had arrive, we started preparing our amazing feast. As we chopped up food and got everything ready for a more traditional style of hot pot, we talked about our stories and how we ended up in Chengdu at some point in our lives. It was so funny to listen to their stories and compare. It seems like for all three of us struggled a little bit with the idea of originally going, but once we got there, we grew to love it.
Finally, the moment we had all been waiting for had arrived. The food was chopped up and ready to cook, and the soup was boiling; we were ready to eat!
It was so much fun! What I love about hot pot, is the fact that it one of those meals that once all the preparations are done with, it’s beyond enjoyable. You throw the cut up foods into the boiling soup in the middle and wait for it to cook, which a lot of times only takes about a minute. But as we do this, we are able to talk and actual enjoy the company of each other. I can definitely understand how it became such a big cultural element in Chengdu.
After eating, laughing, and finding the ever disappearing meat that kept hiding from us, we decided to watch a movie. It was actually a movie I had wanted to see while I was in Chengdu, but I never got around to it. It’s called “A Beautiful Life” (不再让你孤单), a beautifully directed Chinese movie about a couple who go through many trials to be together. I loved it! There were definitely moments that made me tear up a little bit, but for the most part, I kept it together. It also helped that my friends provided some comic relief on occasion. ^.^
Overall, it was a wonderful night full of laughter, reminiscing, and lajiao (辣椒).
The next day, Saturday, I met up with my best friend, Danielle, to drop off her car that she had let me borrow for the week. Danielle was starving and asked me if there was anywhere I would like to eat, but I honestly didn’t care where we ate, as long as it was edible. Danielle then decided she was in the mood for Chinese, which I was not opposed to at all. So we went to a local place called Chen Garden and had some AMAZING Chinese food. We ordered dumplings, tofu, and my all time favorite, eggplant (鱼香茄子)! It was seriously so delicious!!!!!
I truly had a great weekend! It was almost like I visited Chengdu for a brief moment.
Oh the weather outside is frightful
13 Jan 2012 3 Comments
This morning was an interesting one to say the least…
I woke up to my mother telling me that it sleeted last night and to make sure I left a little early for work because the roads might be a little slippery…
I got ready as fast as I could and was out the door and hour before work was supposed to start… I figured it normally only takes me 25 minutes to get to work on a good day so double the time and then some seemed reasonable… That is until I got on the road…
Trudging through snow, I brushed off my car and was off… And as I headed off, I got a quick taste of what my morning drive was going to be like… The roads had not been plowed yet… Even on the highway… Seriously no bueno…
To make matters even more fun, it was my first time really driving in snow without my parents…
Within my first few miles, there were several cars in the ditch… I also became a little nervous when I saw a van in the ditch near our exit that looked just like my moms… Fortunately it wasn’t her… I’m pretty sure there were at least 4 accidents within the first 15 minutes…
It was clear that no one had plowed anything and as a result, we were doing 40 mph max on the highway…
I was feeling uneasy and so I started to talk to my Best Friend. We talked about the other cars on the roads, hoping that they were all safe. What originally felt like a never ending drive from hell (iced over?… interesting turn of events…) ended up becoming a fairly decent ride. I felt at ease as we talked.
It ended up taking me 1 hour and 10 minutes to get to work… but I made it safely, so I am thankful.
Time for Change
12 Jan 2012 2 Comments
So I decided to change my hair style
From lacking all volume to waves and curls
Working Girl
10 Jan 2012 3 Comments
in Uncategorized
You know you’re cool when you get to wear these at work
Quirky
08 Jan 2012 2 Comments
When spending some quiet time with my Best Friend, I had an epiphany… it was nothing extreme and nothing that should be new to anyone else…It’s definitely not a rocket-science kind of thought… but in a way, I guess it is.
I am unique
I’m sure some of you are laughing, thinking to yourselves ‘you can say that again’… but seriously… think about it… even think about it in regards to you… you are also unique… there is no one else out there that is exactly like you…
I have my own special quirks… I drink coffee like it’s water… I love headbands, especially if they have bows… I love China and would love to live there again… I love to mow the lawn and grill (the inner tomboy)… I love getting dressed up (my inner girly girl)… I can’t walk in heels to save my life (back to my inner tomboy)… I am a child at heart and love to watch Disney movies… I shamelessly sing out loud in the car and don’t care who sees me… I geek out when doing anything computer related (I even use my webcam as a mirror sometimes ^.^)… All of these things are my own special quirks… they make me unique…
My Best Friend has helped make me the person that I am today… He helped make me the quirky, unique person that I am, and there is no one else out there just like me… and I think it is such a beautiful concept.
Going off the Map
05 Jan 2012 1 Comment
in The Aftermath Tags: distraction, facebook, new beginnings, priorities
Things in my life have been a little uncertain lately, and priorities have gotten mixed up. I need to set everything straight and get back on track. So with this said, I announce my temporary departure from facebook and twitter.I will not be deactivating them. I’m simply not going to sign on. I’m not sure how long this is going to go on, but do expect at least one month of my inactivity.
I really need some time to focus on some things without the distraction of social networks. My blog will still be working so you are more than welcome to comment here. Also, I will still be using my phone and email, of course.
Here’s to a new year… new beginnings… and getting my priorities in order… ♥
2011 in a Mirror… Reflection
02 Jan 2012 3 Comments
As I look back on everything that happened to me during 2011, I stand in amazement.
I started the New Year in China… performing for the Sichuan Province Government at their New Years Tea Party
Within the next couple weeks, I boarded a flight to the Philippines where I spent some wonderful time with my aunt, uncle, and cousin. All in this time, I also died my hair, met some of the amazing students attending ASCM, and got to go to the largest mall in all of Asia (life is now complete ^.^)
Next, it was back to China, just in time for Chinese New Year (Spring Festival 春节), where I was invited by my wonderful friends Robert and Jennifer to join them and their family in celebration. We ate some amazing food, played with fireworks (don’t tell my mother… although I’m sure she’ll read this) and experienced what it is like when there are fireworks shooting all around you in every direction all at once.
As Spring Festival was about to come to a close, Robert and Jennifer invited me and my friend Martijn out for the final “Horrah” of the festival known as Lantern Festival
The next couple months I kept it pretty low-key. I studied a lot… I drank copious amounts of coffee… and I played
My next big event was a small vacation to a small town outside of Chengdu called Pingle Ancient Town 平乐古镇 with my Chinese sister, Luna, and May. It was three days of relaxation, more amazing food (and some not so amazing ones… bugs), and beautiful bike rides into the countryside.
After a relaxing vacation, I realized there was something missing from my life… that missing thing? PANDAS!
After visiting the pandas, I returned to my studies… well… kind of… within the month, I went on vacation again. This time to Henan province to the city of Anyang to visit some friends.
Well, after all of that playing in Henan… it only made sense to return to Sichuan province and play some more. So that’s exactly what I did
But apparently, I wasn’t having enough fun already. I got asked to be on a TV show. Long story short, I was on the Chinese version of Maury playing a British woman married to a Chinese guy, and I’m brought on the show to be told I’m an awful wife by his sister and mother. Oh China…
The next part of my year was a hard one. I had to say some “see you later”s and wrap up my last days in Chengdu for that season of my life.
July 4, 2011… I returned to America (good day to return to the good ole’ US of A) and from that moment on, it was family vacation after family vacation after family vacation… 3 road trips… 17 states… we were beasts on the road!
Of course… all of the fun had to come to an end. I had to return to UAlbany… well… maybe it was still fun back at UAlbany this semester… especially being that it was my last semester
Thanksgiving 2011… this years was a special one! I had the privilege of bringing home one of my Chinese friends to have a traditional American turkey dinner and to spend the weekend with me and my family… It was a fun weekend of food… shopping… Niagara Falls…
To end my season at Albany… Graduation…
To finish off an amazing year… Celebrating Christmas and New Years with family and friends
This last year was a good year
♥ But the best is yet to come ♥
Grown but still have so far to go
31 Dec 2011 3 Comments
Yesterday, I had my first interview with an English school in China. It was over skype and it lasted no more than 30 minutes. Nothing too painful, and I left my laptop feeling good about the interview.
Within an hour, I received an email. A formal offer to work for the school accompanied with a contract. I couldn’t believe it. It all happened so quickly. I barely had time to catch my breath from the interview.
However, after much thought and prayer, I decided that this was not the job for me.
In 2011, I rejected my first job offer.
Here’s to new beginnings and new job offers in 2012
Away From The Noise
17 Dec 2011 1 Comment
Everything is still. Not a sound can heard. And as I sit here in the quiet, my mind wanders.
I am officially a college graduate. It’s so weird to think that I spent a little over 2 years here and 1 year in China, and now I hold a bachelors degree.
The hardest part of my entire experience? The end. No more sleeping until 30 minutes before class. No more eating whenever I feel led to eat and having many options already prepared. No more crazy all nighters to cram for a test I should have started studying for days ago but kept putting it off. No more walking downstairs and hanging out with my friends. No crazy lunches. No more random crossgates mall trips. No more speaking Chinese in my suite and being understood. No more ice cream runs. No more McDonald’s runs at 2am with the crew.
So many ‘no more’s.
And hardest of all, I have to let go and say goodbye… I may never see some of these people again… It’s so difficult…
My life is constantly changing and I can’t seem to stop it or slow it down. All I can do is trust. Trust that no matter what happens, who I meet, or where I go that my Best Friend is there for me. It’s in him that I find peace.
