what a social week!

mood:

confident
music: La Vie En Rose - Louis Armstrong

Monday the 4th, Mark came over and hung out, which was wonderful as always. We watched Amelie, which was really cute and nice to watch together. For dinner, we made vinaigrette/butter pasta (the beginning of Mark's VERY restricted diet), which actually turned out really yummy. We also played a lot of Brawl together and he showed me some YouTube vids.

The next day, I went to his house, where we got a lot of cleaning done. Cleared the entire bottom bunk of his (totally unslept-on) bed and even organized all the clothes on the upper bunk. It was a very successful day, and we worked hard! I like that we can do the most mundane things together and still have a great time. I just really love being around him. <3

On Wednesday, went to a reunion lunch (to celebrate Jayne's return) with the Amphitheater Kids at Woodbury Center, which was laid-back and fun. Had some delicious Panera, yum. After we ate, we went to Ralphs to look for ingredients for spam musubi, which we randomly craved and decided to make, LOL. Kell and Erin went home, but Jayne, Amanda, Di, and I headed to Di's house to chill and make food. Jayne fell asleep after she helped us make the rice, haha, but Amanda and Di and I had a fun time doing the rest. I was the rice packer! I'm actually really good at it now... Not that it's a particularly useful skill, hahaha. After we finished making them (we made a ton, although some of them were quite a bit more burnt than the others--but it was fine 'cause Di and I like stuff with the kinda-burnt-smoky flavor), we woke Jayne up and watched Harold and Kumar 2, which was actually pretty funny and had really good social commentary. Paula Garces is really pretty, wow! Then, we watched some more TV and I think we made a pizza for dinner? I'm not sure, haha. But eventually Amanda got picked up, and then Nina came home, and we decided to go to my house. Di and Jayne slept over, and we had a fun night of WoW and just being on our laptops at the same time but talking and yeah, I had a good time. :) Oh, and Jayne gave us our presents--superhero shirts! Jayne has Superman, Di has Batman, and I have Green Latern. Yay!

The next day, we got dressed up in our new shirts and attempted to figure out bus stops and then eventually rode on a bunch of buses to go meet Jayne's WoW-friend Alex and his buddy Shane. They appeared out of nowhere on the bus, which scared the shit out of Diana and me! Oh my gosh. Diana was like calling Alex Jayne's boyfriend and stuff (he is/was interested in her), and Jayne gave her a look, and Di was like, "What, it's not like he's here or anything!" and then Jayne said loudly, "Hey, Alex!" And the teenager standing up turned around and came to sit with us and was like hi and stuff. ...LOL WTF?!??!? So freaky. Turned out he'd seen us as we were boarding but had wanted to surprise us while we were getting off at the Spectrum, hahaha. So we went to the food court first and got some food (mmm, sushi!) and got to talk a little. They were nice kids, pretty chill and easy to talk to/hang out with/laugh with. Then, we went to see The Dark Knight (second time for me), and I had to buy another box of Skittles to hide behind since I'd forgotten the one from before at home, boo. It was fun watching it with them because Jayne reacted like crazy (as usual, LOL) and the whole audience was comprised of people who'd seen the movie a billion times already, so we even talked to them a little bit before it started, LOL. Only with Jayne would that ever happen, hahaha. It was also really cute to see Alex leaning towards Jayne and stuff, heh.

After the movie, Diana randomly decided to treat us to an early dinner at CPK, yay! That meal was a lot of fun; we talked a lot about the strange people at our schools/that we knew and random stuff like that. I had a good time. People who make me laugh always win me over so easily, haha. After that, we walked around Spectrum and shopped for a while. Alex bought a pair of Converse(s?) and we laughed at him because he had a lot of trouble stringing the shoe together, hahaha. Jayne and Di had to do it for him, which was funny. Ooh, Mark called and I got to talk to him a little bit, which was nice! pirate

After more shopping, we got some Pinkberry and then went to Barnes to hang out and read random things in the Sex section, hahaha. We went through a book of interesting vibrators and a guide to lapdancing, LOL. They were hilarious, although some guy came by and was all condescending? It was weird. Around nine or later (I don't remember exactly), we went to the bus stop and ran to catch the bus (we just barely got on!). After we got off at our stop, we realized that the other bus line had ended for the evening... So we walked to my house, LOL. It wasn't so bad, except that it was dark, and it's always freaky walking in the dark late at night. At least we had Jayne, haha. It's terrifying when it's just Di and me! Rape magnet! eek

They spent the night again, and the next day was spent doing nothing but lounging around and WoW, hahaha.

But on Saturday, Nina drove us to the District, and we decided to have dinner at JT Schmid's, which was good. The sweet potato fries were REALLY delicious, mmm. Afterwards, we went to Strike 'cause we wanted to go bowling, except we got kicked out because we weren't over 21, boo. Apparently, after 9 PM, it becomes a bar/over 21 club kinda thing, so yeah. Went to DSW Shoes for a while instead and tried on a billion shoes that I totally wanted to buy but couldn't afford and shouldn't really be buying anyway, boo. Then, we just went to Borders and chilled, haha, which is always nice. God, I love bookstores.

Then, on Sunday, I went to Jeremy Siskind's benefit concert (he's an amazing jazz pianist), which was really good. Passionate musicians are so amazing to watch. Other than some nice solo pieces, he also did some duet stuff with his guitarist friend, which was brilliant. I donated $5 at the end of it, and talked to some people and checked out some sheet music and stuff. Afterward, we went to Micro Center to get Mark some essential dorm stuff, which was cool. I'd never been there, so I had fun checking out all the equipment and laptops and stuff. Realized that 15" is huge and 13" not bad. Still dunno what to get, though. I'm leaning towards Sony at the moment, but I dunno. Helped Mark pick out speakers, and took note of how much they were. Mark found it ridiculous that I knew I would have to buy the speakers for myself... We have this conversation a lot, haha. Funnily enough, today I went to Sam's CLub with Mom, and she kept wanting to buy me these $200 speakers. LOL, WTF?! But the other day she'd just been talking about how she wasn't supposed to pay for anything of mine since she'd buy my car and pay for insurance and stuff. Then again, she's just weird like that.

Then, we had dinner at Genkai (sushi!!!), which was yummy. Mmm, sashimi and salmon. Yum! Then, we went to Mark's house and watched the Olympics, which was nice. Gymnasts are hot... Well, kind of. What they do is sexy, anyway, haha. Mark said something about Jayne (it was about how I was spending a week with her but I'd have a whole other month with her and my friends or something), and his mom kept coming to bother him about moving, so I couldn't really express my frustration. So I went to the bathroom to calm myself down for a bit. Later, we talked it out for a bit, although I was too scared/intimidated to argue with him in person, so I had to type stuff out on Notepad while he talked to his mom. I was pretty upset, because every time I tried to prove to him that I'd done everything to get things to go his way, he'd just turn the whole situation around and make it about Jayne being selfish or something. It was really infuriating, and I felt really sad that I was doing everything to satisfy him while not being a total bitch to my friend, and it didn't seem to be worth anything to him. We had a bad argument that night, and I was pretty distraught. sad

Luckily, it did end okay... But only to be revived a few days later, of course.

0 Comments

Posted on 08/27/08 by Elaine

vegasssss

mood:

vaguely satisfied
music: Closer - Ne-Yo

So after I came back from Hawaii, I got a day of recuperation before re-packing and heading to Vegas with my family. Temperature was utterly ridiculous; 118 degrees in the day and 98 at night. Geez! Cool thing was that the room was free; Dad's in this VIP thing 'cause he gambled a lot the past few times we visited the Venetian. Other awesome thing was the wireless internet! Finally! It made me so happy!

Car drive was fine; after we arrived and settled down, we ate at the Grand Lux Cafe, which is always good. I got potato-stuffed wonton-rolls, which were delicious. Fusion food is so fucking good when made right. Was chilling on the computer as usual when Dad was suddenly in a lot of pain. Mom freaked out and figured out that he had a kidney stone, so I looked stuff up on the internet and told them that it should pass, but Mom was freaking out so we ended up taking a cab to the hospital. Yes, we spent our first night in Vegas in a hospital, haha. Fun stuff. After the diagnosis and stuff (the doctor confirmed the kidney stone but said that it was small and would come out eventually and gave dad a bunch of painkiller prescriptions and stuff), called a cab and went to Walgreens on the Strip. Sat in the cab (front seat, which was weird) and chatted with the driver for like fifteen minutes to fill the awkward silence while we waited for Mom to file the prescriptions. It was interesting, but he was nice. He used to live in Alaska, but now he lives in Vegas. Talk about extreme weather! He also confessed a lot about his problem with smoking and how hard he has been trying to quite for years and years, and I told him that I thought that it was great and encouraged him and stuff. It was nice.

Went back to the hotel eventually, and went on the computer again while everyone slept. I slept on the couch, because Jess and I always have blanket/room problems when we sleep in the same bed, and I figured I might as well just take the sofa (it was pretty nice). The next day, we ate at the Asian noodle cafe place, which was good, and then Mom took us shopping at the Grand Canal Shoppes for a while. I got a new black Bebe tube dress, which looks quite dashing on me, if I must say so myself. We also got ice cream, which was really good, even though we had to walk really far for it. I found this pair of shoes that I positively ADORED, but it was like...triple the max price I'd pay for a pair of sandals, so I was really sad. There was also a pair of pumps that looked REALLY surprisingly good and professional on me, but those were way overpriced, too... Boo.

That night for dinner, we went to Valentino's, except we went to the cheaper grill side, haha. Got some cheap pasta, which was good. Mmm, cheese cubes. Delicious! We were going to leave that night, but we decided to leave the next day instead. I don't think we got anything to eat before we left, though. The trip back was nothing unusual; there was less traffic than usual, though, since it was summer instead of a holiday like Thanksgiving or Christmas. It was the first time we didn't get to drive through the Strip at night, though, boo. Was awake for a lot of the ride and listened to Mother and Father talking. Mother speaks in Taiwanese when she's ranting. And Father replies in Mandarin. It's very interesting!

Blue dress that was really cute but waaaay too similar to my WF one.

Black dress that I did end up getting!

Really cute shoes I wanted to get. :(

0 Comments

Posted on 08/26/08 by Elaine

hawaii senior trip, days 7-8

*HAWAII: DAY SEVEN
On our last day in Hawaii, we walked to Waikiki Beach a little farther off from the most touristy area and had lunch at the Shore Bird Restaurant, which was yummy! I had the fried seafood entree, which was delicious! We also had this really cool waiter. I love cool, non-creepy waiters. So awesome! We gave him a big tip. :D Then, we went to the beach, which was fun. But omgosh, the waves were a lot more violent here! And it was rockier IN the water, as opposed to the sand itself being rocky, which was what the more touristy area was like. I got drowned over like a billion times and kept getting salt stuck in my throat, which hurt really badly and made me sad and scared of the waves. It was fun until it hurt! So after that I stayed more with Amanda toward the shallower end and around our rented umbrella. It was hilarious when Diana kept calling for me to go deeper (well, that doesn't sound dirty at all, LOL) and saying how it was fine and easy and... And then a wave swept over her entire head, LMAO.

After a while (we spent longer than we should've there, actually, heh), we walked back and got some really good gelato on the way! I got Cappucino, which was utterly delectable. Then, we stopped by the ABC Store really fast to get some gifts for people. Then, we rushed back to the hotel and took showers and got ready for the luau (Germaine's). We were running late so we were really freaked out and afraid that it would leave without us and we would've paid $65 for nothing! Luckily, we made it in time and got to board the bus. The bus ride was a really enjoyable experience. Our escort was Prince Kuhio, who was a really cool guy. Seriously, why are there so many cool guys in Hawaii? It's really awesome. In the bus, we saw this really hot guy named Nick and Diana went crazy after that, LOL, trying to follow him around and squealing about him nonstop, hahaha. When we got there, we got our seats (I was not fond of the sand, blegh!) and then watched the pig ceremony thing where they dug up the pig they were cooking underground. Intense. Then, we got to get our food and watch the performers sing and dance and all that fun stuff. The food was yummy; I tried the pork and it was REALLY good, wow! The dancers were entertaining, too, and some of them were hot. If anything, they were all damn good at that butt-shaking... Heh. Kelly wanted us to go up and do the hula, but Diana and Amanda didn't want to so even though I wanted to, I didn't say anything 'cause I wasn't sure. Diana regretted it when all the girls got to kiss all the guys who went up, LOL, and her boytoy was one of the guys. Afterwards, the bus took us back to the hotel (area). The bus ride home was a lot of fun, too; our escort played ukelele for us and we did singalongs, hehe, which are always fun. He was really good!

*HAWAII: DAY EIGHT
Slept a little longer than usual and read my new Artemis Fowl book in bed, then got up to pack and get ready. At one, Kelly's uncle Lloyd and aunt Wendy picked us up and drove us to the airport. At the airport, Di and I got two veinti Passion Iced Tea Lemonades (at Starbucks), a really yummy salad with a delicious peppercorn cheese dressing, and a big Italian sub (at Quiznos), mmm. Then we boarded the airplane and had a peaceful flight home. This time, we got to sit next to each other without the people between us, which was nice. Read a lot of Artemis Fowl and talked to Diana about a lot of random stuff, like reading and stuff. It's seriously a miracle that we're so similar in a lot of our quirks and habits and psychological...stuff, haha. We think similarly about a lot of things, which is really neat. But it's not like we're exactly the same at all, ya know? I like that a lot. Anyway, we arrived like 15 min early and picked up our baggage and stuff, and then Dale drove us home. It was so sad to leave everyone! It was the first time in over a week that we'd been apart. It felt so wrong!

I can't believe I just went on my Senior Trip. It always seemed like some kind of fanciful idea, ya know? Going somewhere alone without parents for longer than a day... It was really freaking awesome. And I got so much closer to everyone... Living together does that to you, you know? We've shared so many jokes and so much laughter and so much fun and it's just... Really, Hawaii is something that I will never forget. We made a pact that we should do this every year; go somewhere together. How awesome would that be? And it would definitely keep us together, because you can't go on a trip with someone and not bond somehow. I would really love that. happy

The announcer kept calling all the First Class members and special people to line up on the red carpet, which made it sound so grand. So I looked for this red carpet, and it ended up being like...a pathetic chunk of a red carpet, LOL

0 Comments

Posted on 08/22/08 by Elaine

hawaii senior trip, days 4-6

*HAWAII: DAY FOUR
Today, we took the trolley to the zoo and then walked along Waikiki Beach to get to the Honolulu Aquarium. Except that we went down the wrong street for a while and had to walk back, but that was okay. Admission only cost $8 thanks to a coupon we got in our guidebooks. I liked the aquarium a lot. I really like learning facts. Stuff that's concrete and that doesn't need to be calculated, ya know? We saw a bunch of sharks that were so cool. There was as sign that compared how many humans are killed by sharks per year to how many sharks are killed by humans per year, and I felt sorry for the sharks. We also saw the almost extinct monk seal, which was funny. There was one that just lay in the shade flopping around and one that loved showing off. How cute. We also went to the giftshop, where I bought Mark a turtle plushie that he has now named King Tut, aww!

Afterwards, we went to lunch at Wolfgang Puck, which was delicious! I had a Chicken Aioli sandwich, which was esentially chicken breast w/ a really yummy cilantro dressing. Yum! Then we rode the trolley back to the hotel and decided to just chill instead of going to the beach like we'd originally planned. At five, Kell's aunt Beth picked us up and we went to a Bon Dance with a ton of Kelly's relatives. It was like a cultural Buddhist festival thingy. I had Saimin for dinner, yum. I was actually pretty bored at the festival and kinda in a bad mood because my mom had called and told me that we would be going to Vegas the Friday after I came back (which meant I would get one day of respite between the two vacations) and coming back on Monday the 4th. Which pissed me off because that's the day that Jayne is arriving in SoCal, and she'd reserved her flight just so that my mom could pick her up. My mom obviously didn't give a fuck and was just like, "Well, then, too bad for her." Her view of Jayne's become really skewed since Jayne worked at the Bakery, which is annoying because she used to like her a reasonable amount. When I explained the situation to everyone, Kelly volunteered to pick Jayne up that day. Which I was really thankful for, especially since when I'd suggested that Kelly or Erin could pick Jayne up, she made up all these excuses about not wanting to bother them and stuff. Which I think is stupid. It's okay to bother Nina or my mom--your friends' PARENTS, then, rather than ask your actual FRIEND? Whatever.

I told Mark that I was upset and asked if I could call him and he said sure, so we talked until my battery ran out. It was nice even though we didn't talk for very long. Then, we watched the bon dancing, which was interesting. Then, Kelly made us go up for the electric slide, LOL. I had to learn it on the spot, and I guess now I know the electric slide, haha. Cool. At like 9, we went to the beach area to watch the lantern ceremony, where they lighted a bunch of lanterns and sent them off in the ocean. It was pretty. Got to see the Big Dipper in IMAX; it was humongous in the sky! At 930ish, Kelly's relatives drove us back to our hotel, which was really nice of them, since it was really far from the festival place. Back here at the hotel, we chilled and went on the Internet on our laptops in the lobby and worked on our puzzle!

So many lanterns!

*HAWAII: DAY FIVE
Rode the trolley to the beach in the morning. Found a good spot partly in the shade and partly in the sun and relaxed and read while sunbathing. Then went to play/swim in the water for a long while, which was a lot of fun. Ran out of time for lunch so just went back to the hotel to get ready for dinner with Kelly's uncle Lloyd, who was just about the chillest guy ever; so easy to talk to! What an awesome guy. Anyway, rode the trolley to Ala Moana shopping mall, which was like the South Coast here, except semi-outdoors, and for Japanese tourists, hahaha. After like half an hour, we met Kelly's relatives at a Japanese buffet. It was really expensive! ($33/person; I felt so bad, especially since I'm the only one who really loves seafood, so I tried to eat a lot.) But really yummy. I had fun eating a ton of king crab legs, mmmm. Dinner was both enjoyable and yummy. Our hosts were so easy to get along with, it was ridiculous! Lloyd was so Ty, haha, and Ty is such an awesome guy! Afterwards, they dropped us off at International Market Place, where we got some souvenirs and gifts for people. Amanda was having a really hard time with her boyfriend Kenny and was upset, so we decided to head back. We went on the Internet in the lobby again and worked on our puzzle and just chilled. :D

Ala Moana!

King crab! So good.

*HAWAII: DAY SIX
We decided to try going to the Ala Moana Beach because we'd heard that it was less rocky, so we had to ride the trolley all the way through. Except we kind of got impeded by a bitchy trolley driver and a guy in a wheelchair and all this weirdness. Anyway, we were all totally prepared for the beach, but we didn't get to go, which was a bummer. So we just went to the shopping center and met up with Kelly's second cousins, who took us to lunch at Rainbow's Drive Thru. Had some cheap saimin, which was okay--for cheap saimin, haha. After lunch, the cousins took us sight-seeing on the...East side? I'm not sure, but we got to see Haunama Bay, which was beautiful. Afterwards, she dropped us back off at the hotel, where we got ready to go eat Chinese food with Kelly's relatives. Yes, we got treated to a lot of freaking food and meals, haha. The meal was okay; filled me up for sure. They dropped us off at the hotel afterwards, where I then webcammed (with Diana) with Jayne, which was fun. Then, I got to webcam with Mark, which made me happy.

Our puzzle...with one missing piece! D:

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Posted on 08/20/08 by Elaine

hawaii senior trip, days 1-3

*HAWAII: DAY ONE
Today was fucking awesome! Nina picked us up at like 730, and Diana had only slept for like two hours so she was like fucking crazy! Not really. :D We picked up Kelly and Amanda at Kelly's, and HOLY SHIT THEY HAD THE HUGEST SUITCASES EVER LOL. I was actually kinda worried because Diana kept bragging about how little luggage she had, but when I saw Kelly and Amanda's suitcases, I realized that I had like nothing to worry about. Oh man. Theirs were like 150% of mine. We almost couldn't fit them into the trunk of Nina's car, LOL. At the airport, we all got a scare when Amanda got detained by the check-in because her ID was invalid. I was so worried! Eventually, they let her go, and she told us that it was 'cause they wouldn't take her college ID and her passport was expired. We were afraid that she was gonna be really mad after that (which was a shame after she was in such a good mood in the morning!), but she just seemed sad as opposed to angry.

We chilled at the airport for like two hours, drinking smoothies and playing card games and listening to music. Boarded at like 11:30; Kell and Amanda sat together and Di and I sat together (we were in the same row but on different sides of the middle row). The plane ride was so much fun! We listened to music and danced like whores and giggled and talked a lot. For lunch, we bought a sandwich pack (it came with Sun Chips) and two snackboxes. We felt funny because everyone who was walking to the bathroom (we had the seats at the very back of the plane) kept looking at our food 'cause it was so pimp.

We were so excited when we landed! Except then we couldn't find Amanda's suitcase in the baggage claim--and everyone had different ideas about what color they remembered that it was, LOL. Eventually we realized that it was right in front of our faces, HAHA. So dumb. Kelly's grandpa picked us up and we settled in at their house. Then, her grandparents took us to Zippy's, which was on like every other block, haha. I had salmon, which was good. Diana's Saimin was really good, too; i totally fell in love with it! After dinner, we went to Long's and bought some groceries for when we'd be at the hotel. I won the bet about how much the bill would be, so I got to pay a dollar less, yay! Then we went to this bakery to get malasadas, which were like Portugese donuts with filling. Yum! For the rest of the night, we just relaxed and hung out and took crazy pictures and laughed like crazy together and played cards and just had fun. :D It's going to be a fun trip.

Diana with the yummy Dobash cake that made us hyper for the rest of the night, heh.

*HAWAII: DAY TWO
I kept waking up randomly! It wasn't like uncomfortable or anything, so that was weird. We got up at like 930 and then got dressed and makeup-ed and then had yummy malasadas and bacon and fruit cups for breakfast! It was yummy and quaint, but I was so full because I'm not used to eating breakfast. Then, Kelly drove us to the mall, which was like two minutes away! And then we went freaking crazy buying stuff, LOL. It was so much fun, especially since we're like the girliest out of us. I bought the most, OMG, but I spent the second least, yay! I didn't expect the mall to be all that great, but it was awesome! There were a lot of stores that they have in California, but there was so much freaking selection! And then for lunch I had yummy Saimin noodles at Kyoto in the food court, yay! I want to make those noodles at home, omg, they were so yummy. Then we shopped more. It was delicious. LOL. Then, we went to the opposite side of the mall on a monorail. It was awesome! Why don't they have that at South Coast instead of that damn bridge that goes on forever? I spent about a hundred bucks, which was...better than I expected, heh. Afterwards, Kelly drove us home and then we chilled on the bed and tried on our clothes. Then, we went to dinner at this cute Italian place called "Palazzo". I had yummy linguini with a calamari steak. We also had really yummy bread and anipasti and spumoni and flan. Yum! And now we're sitting around in the room and chilling and talking. It's really fun and relaxing. I really love these people; it's amazing how much fun I have with them. Just from these last two days, we've made so many inside jokes and said so many hilarious things and it's just so much fun and I'm so glad that I'm here. I'm really gonna remember this for the rest of my life. :)

The view from Kelly's grandparents' house. The colors in Hawaii are so vivid and different from those in California. It's amazing.

I swear, half of our trip was spent getting ready and looking good for everythign, LOL.

Cute shoes that I didn't get, and cute bag that I did get!

Waiting for the tram!

Cell phone decal I got, and Kelly's insane orchid-patterned clothing, LOL.

At Palazzo's with Kelly's grandparents.

*HAWAII: DAY THREE
This morning, I woke up early and read Eat, Pray, Love in bed for over an hour. That was really relaxing. I like the Italian and Indonesian chapters the best, because I'm not so big on religion, even though the author's views on religion are pretty cool. It's just not as interesting to me, I guess. Anyway, then we woke up and got dressed and stuff. Then we made leis! Except first we had to pick flowers from the backyard, and I'm not so into the outdoorsy planty stuff, hahaha. I got three bug bites within like ten minutes, blegh! I'd forgotten how sensitive I was to bugs. Making the leis was really cool, though, and they turned out really pretty. After we finished, we had lunch and were re-introduced to Kelly's relatives (with the hot cousins, kekeke), who then drove us to our hotel. We settled in the hotel and chilled and... LOL, moved the furniture around, heh.

So basically we got a suite at this budget hotel (Ohana Waikiki Mali) for the price of a normal room ($100--Kelly has connections, heh). I was actually really sad and worried about it, because originally we had reservations at Waikiki Beach Mariott, which cost $200/night, but it was a lot nicer and I'm a spoiled bitch when it comes to hotels, so...yeah. But it ended up okay, I guess. Since the four beds were separate (Amanda and I swore up and down that they were in the same room in the pictures we found online!), we called them to ask if they had ones that were together--they didn't! So we decided to move the beds to the same room! LOL. It was awesome. And dusty. But we did it, and it was awesome. So then we chilled in/on our new BEDroom (literally, room of beds, hahaha) and after some debate, decided that we should go eat Benihana's for dinner as a special treat! So then we got all dressed up (it was a lot of fun asking everyone for their opinions on my outfit and other girly stuff, heh) and then walked to Hilton Hawaiian Village, which was nice. We shopped around for like an hour before the time of our reservations and got some presents for everyone.

Dinner was fun AND delicious. They even split the bill for us, for which I was very grateful and happy about, because I'd only ordered two side orders that totaled $15 as opposed to the meals that cost like $25 each. So yay! We also got a green tea cheesecake, which Kelly won't stop talking about. They all thought it was really weird, but I thought it was pretty good, haha. After dinner, we walked back the hotel (on safe streets, of course, Mommy Kelly) and then started working on the puzzle that we'd bought at Long's the other day! Frustrating, but fun!

Our plumerias were on our right ears because we were taken! ♥

Beautiful plumeria tree.

Yes, we color-coordinated, LOL.

Shaved ice!

Our BEDroom.

Walking in Waikiki. :)

More later!

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Posted on 08/18/08 by Elaine

pre-hawaii week

mood:

anxious but excited
music: Daughters - John Mayer

On Monday, July 14th, went to Mark's house and we had a fun, nerdy time watching Pokemon 2000 and playing Yu-Gi-Oh! cards and versing each other on Gameboys. It was great, having someone to do such dorky things with. We really are fantastic for each other, haha; I dunno who else would do that without being embarrassed at all. The movie was a lot of fun to watch together (plotholes everywhere! So funny), and I had fun playing against him, even if I was sad that I lost a lot, haha. Damn his superior deck. >_>

The next day, went to lunch with Kelly at Thai Spice (which I had a coupon for). That was enjoyable (and the food was delicious as always!); I miss just talking to her one-on-one. Then, she drove me to Mark's house (and almost ran a stop sign on the way, LOL; it was incredible), and Mark and I spent another totally dorky day together. We watched Pokemon 3, LOL. It was creepier than I remembered. Entei was fucking creepy!!! Yikes.

On Thursday, I went to Mark's house again, except his dad kicked us out for a while, so we went for a walk. Which was nice! And then we played on Gameboys for like an hour in the park, LOL. Then, we went back to his place and watched Digimon: The Movie in his mom's room because she didn't want us "messing around" on his bed where we were gonna watch the DVD, LOL. Jeez. >_>

On Saturday, we picked up Mark and then went to Costco to get me new glasses, which I wanted to have before college, since my old pair (from like middle school) made my head hurt. It was so exciting! I like them a lot, although I still keep on forgetting to put them on after I take my contacts out, haha. It'll take a while for me to get used to it. After we walked through Costco (and Mark went psycho hunting for samples; my mom and sister found it hilarious, LOL), we went to Yen for sushi! Yummmm. It was so good! I love that place so much. The sashimi is unbelievable. Anyway, after lunch, Mom dropped us off at home. We played Brawl with Jess like the entire rest of the day, except I got kinda burned out and sad that I kept losing, haha. Then, Jess watched her Avatar finale, and Mark and I watched it with her, and Mark totally fell in love with it, haha. I have to say that it is a damn good cartoon, and if I get bored one day, I will probably look up the whole thing and watch it.

On Sunday, Di, Kelly, and I went to lunch at Woodbury. Had Panera, which was delicious as usual. Saw Michael Young and said hello and remembered that Mark was coming to the plaza with his friends! Got really excited. So we joined them while they ate (I got gelato!), and I got to sit with Mark! Yay! happy

Venadies are so funny, though. I don't get how, but all they talk about is school-related stuff. How do you do that?! We hardly ever even skim school topics, and if someone brings something up, they usually are berated with, "Why are you talking about school?!" instantly, LOL. But it was like early summer and they were talking about like Orientation and colleges and everything, OMG. So crazy. And way too intense for me, haha.

After lunch, we went to Spectrum to shop for bikinis and other stuff for Hawaii, which was fun. I got a really cute white sliding triangle bikini, and spent a little more than I wanted to, but at least I know it'll last a long time. After we were done, Kelly rushed home for dinner and dropped Di and me off at Di's. We just hung out for the rest of the night and watched Project Runway and stuff, which was fun.

The next day, got a haircut just in time for Hawaii (I really didn't want to have to wash my thick, annoying hair in a hotel room), and it felt really good. It's always so relieving to have my hair thinned, haha. You really don't realize how heavy your hair is until it's gone! Kell picked me and Diana up at like four and we got some Chipotle (I just got chips and salsa) and then went to line up for The Dark Knight in IMAX; the 7:00 PM show, haha. We were joined shortly by Erin and Amanda, and then we just chilled and pigged out for three hours, LOL. It was fun, but really, really hot. So we ended up buying two cheap umbrellas from H&M, LOL. I was really dumb because I'd worn dark colors in honor of the title of the movie... Hadn't calculated that the sun would still be beating down so hard in the evening, whoops. angel

When they finally let us in, we got really good seats towards the front, in the center, which was cool. The movie was really fucking good, except that I was really fucking terrified, LOL. I bought a box of Skittles beforehand because I knew that I would need something to hide behind, LOL. And so I did. I watched the majority of the movie from behind a candy box, LOL. And I was still too scared to sleep when I went home! I had to actually leave all my lights and music on and pretend that I'd just fallen asleep accidentally, LOL. Aaaah, the images were so scary! But it was so good! But--aaaah!

The next day, Mark came over to spend time with me before I left for a week for Hawaii. We had fun, playing Brawl and watching Avatar. I made him and Jess dinner, and then we all watched Avatar together on the kitchen counter, LOL. It was a very easy and relaxing day, which was nice. I was really glad that I got to spend time with him before I left.

0 Comments

Posted on 08/17/08 by Elaine

fucking ridiculous

People need to get over things.

I made a fucking seating chart for my fucking fancy expensive dinner party with Diana, and I'm still here at the end of the night, crying.

This is fucking bullshit.

0 Comments

Posted on 08/16/08 by Elaine

birthday reflections

mood: excited for tomorrow
music: Get Up - Ciara

In the United States, when you turn eighteen, you are officially an adult. You can buy lottery tickets, you can buy porn mags, you can vote, and you can be sent to prison. You are legally free of your parents' guardianship. You are legally an adult.

As of July 13th, I'm eighteen. I am an adult. It's kinda crazy.

I am so fortunate. Unlike billions of children around the world, I have survived to adult hood. not only that, but I still have the support of my well-off family; I have food and a roof over my head. I am surrounded by friends who love and care about me; and they are hardly short-term acquaintances--these are people that I hope to know for the rest of my life. I am part of a stable relationship and I am going to college with my boyfriend, whom I love dearly. After a successful high school career, I am going to study at UC Berkeley, satisfying my parents' dreams and exceeding my own.

It's been a long journey, and I am eternally grateful to all who have helped me on the way. Every day, I feel so thankful to be who I am.

But who am I?

I tend to think of my life thus far in four segments:

1. Childhood - Innocence (0-8): Life is so simple when you're little. Your only worries are when your parents are going to take you to the bookstore so you can get the next five books of your favorite series, if you should finish all your homework on Monday or leave some to do on Tuesday, and what you're going to do if you miss your favorite TV show because you wanted to help your mom in the kitchen. At that age, happiness was playing with your sister on the rug in the living room and the door creaking open at four in the afternoon and Dad calling out, "Hello!" and Mom replying from the kitchen, "Dinner's almost ready!" I spent my childhood in Virginia and LA County--two drastically different places. But what did it matter to me, as long as the kids at school were nice to me and I got top marks from my teachers and Mom picked me up after school? That's childhood, you know? When nothing but the immediate present really matters.

Those days, I was a paradox. I was the shyest kid in my class, but I could also be incredibly loud and bossy when I wanted to be. I was such a "follower" type that I refused to ever answer any questions in class unless prodded by my teachers or peers, but I would often lead my friends and cousins and sister in our adventures. I was so smart, but I knew so little about the world. Those days, I was timid but wild, serious but silly, awkward but so comfortable in who I was.

And then I turned nine and moved to this suburban Orange County town, and everything changed.

2. Pre-teens - Discovery (9-12): Jayne teases me a lot about how almost every landmark in my life occured when I was nine. It's true, though. When I was nine, Mom started working. This was when I began to fend for myself. She came home later and later as years went by, so what did I do? I took care of myself. In truth, I raised myself from that point on. Sometimes, I scorn the way that Mark and Diana's mothers baby them, and raise skeptical eyebrows at the way that Kelly and Erin and Mag's parents shield and spoon-feed them, and feel bewildered when Jayne says that she can't hate her mom, no matter what wrong that she inflicts on her. But then I step back, and I realize that I'm the oddball. I'm the oddball who doesn't talk to her parents about her life (why in the world would you do that and expose yourself?); I'm the weirdo who cooks half of her own meals and all of her friends' meals because her parents don't have time to (Mrs. Lee and Nina are maniacal about ensuring that Mark and Diana have lunch and dinner supplied for them; it's almost frightening); I'm the freak who sees her friends more than she does her family members and doesn't really want it any other way.

The other day, Mark helped me clean, put medicine on, and cover up my scratching wounds. I trust him to pieces, but I was so irrationally upset, just like I get when Mother bothers me about my scars. I told him I was sorry but I didn't like being taken care of; I have immense pride about taking care of myself on my own. He said, very insightfully, "Or are you just not used to it?"

I wrote one of my college essays about being independent. Everyone (peer or adult) always says that it's so horrible that my parents are so busy all the time and that I'm so alienated from them and yada yada yada, but honestly, I'm really, really thankful for it. It has allowed me to blossom into this surprisingly independent person, and I don't just mean because I often make my own meals. I mean, I have become distant from my family, so I don't talk to my parents about my thoughts or philosophies or viewpoints. And therefore, they can't influence mine. There's nothing I find more distasteful than children echoing their parents irrational or unfair opinions. I've been able to develop my own religious philosophy, my own political views, my own thoughts about society. I've been able to avoid becoming a clone of my parents, besides things like a penchant for studying and a love for spending quiet time at home. I'm not sad about that: I'm so damn proud.

Other than myself, I also discovered two other very important things at the age of nine: fanfiction and webdesign. These are two things that have transformed my life and given it a direction and paved some paths that perhaps never would have been created otherwise. Since I was little, I've always loved writing stories. But I never considered it as a career choice, because who would want to read the silly, pointless things that I wrote? But then fanfiction came along and showed me that maybe I do have a talent, and it opened up this enormous world to me, and now I'm going to be an English major. It's the same thing with webdesign; it opened up a completely new world for me. HTML, Paint, Photoshop, FTP, blogging... It's all become such a huge part of my life, and I hope that I'll be able to use it in my career in the future, too. And if not, then that's okay, too, because I don't think I'll ever stop doing it. I really enjoy it.

I discovered a lot of things when I was nine. In addition to the above, I also discovered the friends that I'd treasure for the next decade; I realized my personality (couldn't take criticism; had a big ego; couldn't stand Diana because she was a spoiled, arrogant brat!); I began to have sexual awareness (an unexplainable affinity to pretty girls that I now realize was more than just childish idolatry). It's amazing how I can trace many elements of my personality back to this period of time.

3. Adolescence - Experimentation (13-16): In eighth grade, I changed my own life. Completely turned it around. Heard about being dissed by some classmates--for being too smart, too stupid, too loud, too quiet, too weird--and decided that it couldn't go on for any longer. Who I was. The anti-social, prideful girl who tried too hard to be different--it really wasn't working. So I became girlier, I dressed sluttier, I caught onto the things about me that people liked and emphasized them; I got closer to people that I otherwise would've just scorned and stayed away from. And then through high school, this person went through a series of changes. I began talking to guys, getting compliments and almost engaging in a relationship with an older guy, talked and tried to be this new, transformed Elaine to all the girls and gained friends; I began to display eccentricities less, etc. I tried dealing when I suddenly wasn't even close to the top students in my grade, and, well, failed miserably at first, but then began to work my way around my jealousy and insecurity.

I went crazy for a boy, then learned to give that boy up. I grew into a strange on-and-off adoration and obsession with another boy, and when it was clear that he wasn't going to look at me in that way (and even if he did, which he seemed to, he didn't believe in the possibility of us), it slowly faded away. In this, I'd matured; I realized it was pointless to pursue it further. Became attracted to another friend and then embarked on a relationship with her. And boy, was it an adventure, haha. We had our fun, but I don't think either of us were really ready for a relationship--at least not with each other--and things didn't exactly work out. I learned so much from it, though. That relationship really changed my life and taught me so much about myself. Really, the breakup was an enormous turning point in my life.

4. Young Adulthood - Growth (17 - today): After that, I became the person that I am today. I am confident. I am fun. I am friendly. I am open. I am accepting. I am undertsanding. I am beautiful. I am happy with who I am.

I am surrounded by amazing people who love and care for me. My friends love to spend time with me and I always have someone to go to about my problems. I have an amazing, beautiful boyfriend (the boy who I've pursued on-and-off for the past four years) who loves me and accepts me for who I am. I'm going to Berkeley, a fantastic school that I never even dared to dream of attending. My parents, despite all of their troubles and distance, are still married. I have all the material things that I really want (to the point where I have trouble coming up with a wishlist of things that I desire people to buy for me when they're obligated to), and many that I don't need. I am living a happy, comfortable lifestyle.

I AM HAPPY. I AM EIGHTEEN, AND I AM HAPPY.

It's a wonderful feeling. It really is.

1 Comments

Posted on 08/15/08 by Elaine

birthday party

mood:

a fun one
music: Cake - Short Skirt Long Jacket

On my birthday, Mark treated me to lunch at CPK, my favorite restaurant. We got all dressed up and matching and yay! I wore a white halter dress and silver heels and a bunch of silver jewelry and a silver clutch, and he wore his new jeans and a white button-up over a Berkeley shirt. ...LOL, now I feel like a fanfiction author. Anyway. We ordered Avocado Rolls, the BBQ Chicken Salad, and the Garlic-Cream Fettucini. Yum! Lunch was really lovely and enjoyable. We were really flirty and happy and just thinking about it makes me smile. Hee. Afterwards, we got smoothies, yum! And just sat and talked for a while. (He was just stalling, hahaha. tongue

)

Then, Mrs. Lee picked us up and dropped us off at my house... Where a pizza guy had arrived at the same time. So I pretended not to notice all the people in my house opening the door (LMAO) while Mark and his mom both made a bunch of really obvious coverups, LOL. Opened the door, pretended to be freaked out (I actually was a little freaked out because I hadn't looked up when I walked into the house, set on undoing the straps on my shoes, LOL), blah blah, YAY, PARTY! Everyone milled around talking for a while, then we played Brawl, which was fun. Made Di play, which was hilarious, as expected. biggrin

After a while, we did presents. I got a lot of fun stuff! From Di: the party! From Andrew, a $25 iTunes gift card and a really nice card. From Kelly: the cute little duck plushie I'd wanted to buy but resisted when I was out with her, a Jambacard (YUM!), and a Cars icepack, LOL. From Erin and Kelli: Apples to Apples the board game, a two-pack of WoW trading cards (LOL), a ducky blanket, and an $18 Target gift card. Yay!

We decided to play Apples to Apples, which was a lot of fun. Then, Andrew and Kelli left. We had cake, which Jess had made just for me! It was blue and yellow and it even had really pretty flowers and everything! How sweet of her! And it was strawberries and vanilla, too, yay! happy

Afterwards, I decided to treat everyone to Japanese food for dinner; as a thanks for the party. Ate at RA Sushi, which was yummy and fun. After dinner, dropped everyone off and then went back to the house with Mark and Jess for cleanup. Then we just kind of sat around my room and relaxed after a busy, but fun, day.

It was the best birthday I'd ever had. happy

Playing Brawl...

PRESENTS :D

Playing Apples to Apples! :)

5 Comments

Posted on 08/13/08 by Elaine

pre-birthday week

mood: :tired: pretty exhausted
music: Mark playing on Skype tongue

Tuesday the 8th, so Di came over and...stuff happened. I don't remember, LOL. Oh, wait, yes I do! She came over in the morning and then we lay in bed for like hours talking about random shit like college anxieties and the weirdness of graduation and like hot people and stuff.

On Thursday, Mark and I hitched a ride from my cousin to Spectrum for a date. happy

We saw Wall-E, which was really good and really nice to watch with him because it was kinda romantic. Which makes me sound like a total sap, but it was nice. And I got to lie in his lap and everything. happy

We had lunch AND dinner at Wasabi, heh. We also bought Mark four pairs of jeans at PacSun, which was fun, haha. We shopped around some more, too, and we chilled in the bookstore for a while, which was really nice. He also got me a birthday present; he made me choose a book or a music album. I chose to get The Memory-Keeper's Daughter, which I've wanted for a long time! Oh, and he promised that before he left for Berkeley, we'd go on the Ferris wheel at Spectrum together, because... It's just one of those things that I always thought about when I was after him... Heh. angel

We also walked through the Spectrum playing Gameboys hooked onto each other, LOL. It was pure awesome; I'm so lucky to have someone who will do that with me, hehe. It was a really good day. I was really happy throughout all of it. He really is something special, and so, so precious to me.

The next day, I went over to his house, where we played Yu-Gi-Oh! on the Gameboys (I lent him Jess's) and the card game, too. It was a lot of fun. I'm so fortunate to have a boyfriend to be a total dork with like that. I love him so much!

On Saturday, I went to Spectrum to see Wall-E with Kelly, Di, Amanda, and Kenny. It was fun; I really love that movie. Afterwards, we got some Chipotle, and since I was a noob, I was totally confused and messed up the line, LOL. Finally, Kelly helped me order some chips with some medium salsa, hahaha. Eating was fun; Kenny seemed like a chill fellow. Unfortunately, he broke up with Amanda, so... Guess that'll be the only time we hang out. It's too bad. After the meal, Amanda and Kenny shopped around and Kelly, Di, and I went to watch Hellboy II, which was a good movie. I enjoyed it a lot; the graphics were really cool, and ABE WAS SO HOT. Eeeeee, I'd forgotten how much I love him, yay!

0 Comments

Posted on 08/07/08 by Elaine

friday five

mood:

relaxed
music: Salsa Kenny - Kenny G

In bulk! Because I'm in a survey mood. I'm working on the blogging, I swear.

1. What type of hair do you have? (Thin, Normal, Thick, Frizzy, etc.) Thick! Ugh, I hate it. So freaking hard to manage.
2. What color is your hair currently? It's natural black w/ brownish tips because my straightener burns my hair, hahaha.
3. What colors have you dyed/highlighted your hair? I used to highlight it red.
4. If you could dye your hair any color, what would it be? Brown!
5. What is your hair's length? Halfway down my torso, which is how I like it best.

1. What drink wakes you up best in the morning? Apple juice!
2. During the day, what do you drink to keep going? Orange juice!
3. Do you drink the recommended 8 glasses of water per day? Why/why not? I wish! I try but I just don't crave water, which is so unhealthy. :(
4. What are the ingredients of your favorite mixed drink? (Doesn't have to be alcoholic!) Strawberry and pineapple and mango and passion fruit and lemonade and Sprite :D
5. Are you a coffee drinker? How do you take your coffee, if so? Nope. Maybe later on in life.

1. Did you get an allowance as a kid, and if so, how much was it? No, but I get it now; $30/month.
2. How old were you when you had your first job, and what was it? Fourteen, waitress/cashier at my mom's bakery-cafe
3. Which do you do better: save money or spend money? Both somehow, haha.
4. Are people more likely to borrow money from you, or are you more likely to borrow from them? I'm more likely to borrow from them. It used to be the other way around... sneer

5. What's the most expensive thing you've ever bought? With my own money? Probably my white "surf" jacket for $100, LOL.

1. What were some of the smells and tastes of your childhood? Mmm, the smell of lots and lots of food being cooked for family reunions; the taste of the special Chinese food my mom made us.
2. What did you have as a child that you do not think children today have? A love for and interest in books.
3. What elementary grade was your favorite? 5th!
4. What summer do you remember the best as a child? The one where I found fanfiction, LOL.
5. What one piece of advice would you give to your younger self, and at what age? At 12: Stop trying to be so radically different just because you're insecure about your lack of popularity and friends. It's not worth it, and you look like an idiot.

Name Five...
1. ... things you can't live without.
Friends, Laptop, Internet, Laughter, the ability to see

2. ... of the best moments in your life.
- When Mark asked me to Winter Formal in Bio last year
- When Mark kissed me on the cheek on the dance floor during Winter Formal this year after telling me that he was having a really good time
- Pat n' Oscars with everyone in sophomore year
- Dancing with Michael at Flashback Dance in eighth grade
- Probably at my Senior Marching Band game, when my Pit kids pitched in to get me a hot dog, or that one game when I convinced the entire Pit to dance!

3. ... celebrities you can't stand.
I can't really think of any, actually.

4. ... books you enjoy(ed) reading.
- The Lord of the Rings
- the Artemis Fowl series
- the His Dark Materials trilogy
- the Young Wizards series
- Elizabeth Gilbert's Eat, Pray, Love

5. ... items in your purse/backpack/on your desk.
- Ducky!
- Firebird!
- Compact mirror
- Cell phone
- Lip gloss

0 Comments

Posted on 08/03/08 by Elaine