Update: Moved to New York

Hello, hello. It's been so long. Technically, I did post a few times during the spring/early summer but that barely counts because it just wasn't as in depth as my usual posts. Not necessarily length-wise, but it was just different. As usual, I didn't finish my travel posts either haha. I really doubt I'll get to them... although I haven't been able to clear my phone of the photos until I do! As I sit here writing this, I'm actually procrastinating studying for the CPA. I have no idea how I'm going to get them done before the exam changes/NTS expires but let's hope for the best.

So as many of you know, or if you haven't really been keeping up with my life, I moved to New York on August 1! And started my job a few days later. My apartment is quite small and old, but for the price and location, I can't really complain too much either. Although I've already had a bunch of freak outs and definitely days where I wanted to LEAVE.

My room is also tiny and a bit smaller than I would have liked. For reference, I wanted a 10x10, which honestly isn't even that big either, but I'm living in a 8x10 room. The photo above was minutes after moving in. All those plastic bags covered my entire floor, or what little floor I have. There was no room for anything. It took maybe a day or so to clear it off. The floor wasn't too bad because somehow I was able to navigate to the bed. The worst was clearing off my bed:

But the struggle really came from realizing I didn't have enough drawer/closet space to fit everything so I needed to buy a second clothes rack, so until then (which ended up being ~3 weeks later) I slept with this remaining pile: 

Those plastic bags from earlier actually have a majority of my clothes.. so this was only a fraction of it. Yet... I always seem to end up wearing the same few outfits, hm... Now I have an ugly, out of place clothes rack in my room that takes up 40% of the empty space I used to have.

This is the closet I have to a room photo:

You can tell which rack sticks out like a sore thumb... you can also use your imagination for the rest of my room :)

The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up has been something I picked up recently, and hopefully it'll cure me of my hoarding problem—although, the thought of it saddens me because I love all my things :'(

I think that I'm adjusting fairly well. It's a really big city with a lot of people, so naturally it can feel lonely—but luckily, I haven't experienced that negatively yet. I befriended some new people, mainly coworkers but for the most part I've kept to myself lately. It doesn't really bother me too much, I think just working and getting home late definitely contributes to it. Because by the time I get home, it's usually 7 or 8. After cooking, eating, and cleaning up, it's already 9:30 or so. By then I just want to sit in bed and watch Gilmore Girls (all the time which could've been spent studying, tsk tsk).

Just wanted to do a quick update, I think most of this post sums it up. To end the post, I tried to look for nice photos to balance out the ones of my room.. but I was only able to pull up two. I guess my life hasn't been that interesting :'(

Oh, on that note, another slight update (ish)! I've recently (both in the few months) upgraded! From my iPhone 5 and Sony TX9 to an iPhone 7 Plus and Sony RX100 II. Hopefully my photos reflect that from now on :) Room photos are still with the old phone. Although I find that the 7 has pretty pixilated looking photos?

Tacos from Los Tacos No.1; Adobada (Marinated Pork) is probably my favorite!

View from Top of the Rock

Until next time~

Back in Shanghai!: Part One

Day 1:

I've only been back for a few days and I already regret not booking a longer trip T_T My original plan from way back was to just do a 1-2 month trip and just live here...because when will I ever get a chance to again? Plus I'm just bumming around until work starts anyways. And I didn't expect to go on a week long trip T_T So I really only have ~5? days in Shanghai after I factor in airport days. 

Anyways, I lost a day because I was going forward in time. I arrived with no problems, and slept most of the way, tbh. I watched Deadpool, The Revenant, and 500 Days of Summer on the plane. 

I arrived in the evening, and my friend and I went to Yershari (耶里夏丽) for Xinjiang food. 

The food was good!! And relatively inexpensive too. 

Revisited Nanjing Dong Lu and walked over to the Bund before meeting up with some others at Lujiazui. When I got home, I completely passed out after washing up. 

Day 2:

The next day, I met up with my friend (+others) for lunch at Grandma's Home (老婆家). The service was a tad slow but the food was alright. I didn't really take pictures, but I recommend the shrimp with vermicelli! 

Accidentally ordered this...yep, just a plate of green peas.

I roamed and loitered around for a bit before heading to Barbarossa (restaurant and lounge), which is located right in People's Square. They have happy hour everyday (50% off drinks!) so we went there for a bit while waiting for a friend to check out his new apartment. 

It was already 10:45PM before we had dinner because it ended up taking longer than expected :( At first we were going to Koreatown because we wanted KBBQ but then the cab driver kept suggesting going to 老外街 instead for more international options, so we drive past 韩国街 and the kept driving and driving. Wtf, but we already knew what we wanted to eat so I dunno why my friend agreed to keep going!! >:( 

So we ended up at this Korean restaurant (forgot the name) in the middle of nowhere because we didn't want to go to 老外街 but the place wasn't too memorable... the meats weren't marinated, so we were just eating grilled meat :| But it was nice to see my friend again!! 

But I was already so tired since much earlier T_T We still stayed out and went to Shakespeare Bar on Yongkang Lu (永康路) to meet up with someone. Ahhh I'm so bad, I was caught dozing a couple of times T_T When we finally went home, I just passed out while sitting (because I was waiting for the bathroom to wash up). Sleepily washed up and completely knocked out. 

Day 3:

Met up with my friend to eat malatang for lunch!

One of the many things that I missed :(

And then... I found my heaven T_T

I actually asked around for a place like this when I was in shanghai before, but I didn't hear of this place! Ugh, regrets. So many regrets.

Photo credit: My friend, Y

My loot... (minus 3 of them)

Snacking 因为我是胖子。

So this was part one of my trip in Shanghai! I'm in Phuket now, so I'll blog about that one next. So until next time~

IIXVII

A day that won't be erased. One that I will always carry with me, alone. 

Should it be buried because it's belongs in the past? No, because that would be cheating myself.

On my way back to that day, I had to relive what was. 

It wasn't my intention to; my goal was that day, not any of the others. 

Even so, buried emotions, promises, potential, and sacrifices resurfaced along the way.

Endless passings.

Reoccurring Dreams

Just as the title indicates, I keep having dreams with the same theme since the other night. They're kind of related to irl, but I won't really let them affect me because reality hasn't changed :\ Those who don't care simply don't. Not really sure why they would claim otherwise when they only betray and don't even show any sincerity. Why am I still being haunted :(

Did I have a dream?

I don't really remember having one... but woke up today feeling a little down. Kind of like, if I did have a dream, I know what it would've been about. So as soon as I woke up, the feeling kind of transferred. But then if there was no dream, then there is no transfer. Then that would mean I just woke up kind of down. I'm feeling a little overwhelmed right now. Ahhh...

What's on my mind? Broken promises.

>:(

Why are people so full of shit?

New Direction

Lately, I've been thinking a lot about the future—I'm probably borderline obsessed. There were a lot of stressful and sad things on my mind before, but this definitely took my mind off of them. It gives me so much to look forward to. Not sure if this is the first time I've ever looked forward to it so much or not, but as far as I know, I think so. I have so many goals that I want to achieve and just thinking about it excites me so much. I hope to seize many opportunities in the next few years as I work towards my goal :)

Actually, I just reread a draft I wrote right before my high school graduation. Apparently I was pretty down at that time as well, so it's funny how four years later, I'm at the same place again. Except this time, once I picked myself up, I'm at a better place than just normalizing things. It really feels like a new chapter is about to begin and I can't wait to write it.

Just a quote.

"...Mourning is a romance in reverse..." 

- Thomas Lynch, The Undertaking

It was a quote that was mentioned in class the other day and it kind of stood out to me. How would you interpret it?

Something New

Yesterday, I decided to take the plunge and try something new that I've been curious about for a while now. Someone knows what this is about (ahem). I hope that it turns out well~ but that really depends on my dedication too hahaha so lets hope I stick with it. It's only sad if I do and it still doesn't turn out well T__T Okay, well this is a very vague post. But it's mainly just to mark the start of something new :D It was exciting and took my mind off things, so that's always good!

Penny for my thoughts #2

Don't settle for less than what you deserve.

Penny for my thoughts

If you can't cherish what's in front of you, then the only thing you deserve is losing them. You don't deserve them. But in the first place, you're okay with losing them, so I guess it won't make any difference to you.

Poof

They're gone.

Ben & Jerry's Factory Tour

For spring break, I went to Vermont for snowboarding and on one of the last days, we had a free day so we went to the Ben and Jerry's Factory!! :D 

The tour is broken up into three parts, which totaled 30 minutes:

1) ~7 minute video about the history of Ben and Jerry's

2) Seeing the ice cream making process on the mezzanine

They were cleaning up when we got there though, so nothing was being produced

3) Sample room where the flavors are made and where they give you ice cream

Apparently they just launched a Cookies and Cream Cheesecake flavor this week.. ahhh I'll probably go get some when I drag myself out

The sample they had was Brown Bourbon  Butter (??) flavored and it was actually really good!

Debated between a shake and ice cream.. just because why not if I'm there. Mistakes were made. 

Back of the factory

Afterwards, we went to the Cabot Annex Store which was only a few minutes drive, practically down the street.

Lots of cheese and syrups out for sample

And right next door to Cabot was a Smugglers' Notch Distillery

Tasting with a choice of 4 out of 6 spirits for $3

Lastly, we finished up the day before heading back with a late lunch..at 4pm.

Blackened Salmon Tacos @ The Reservoir

Overall, it was nice to finally visit the factory because it's something that I've wanted to do for a while now, but there's not a lot to expect from it, tbh. I wouldn't say it's a letdown because it's something to cross off my bucket list, but it's really nothing special.

Final Semester of Undergrad

School starts again on Tuesday. It's going to be a busy semester because I'm overloading again and really aiming to push my GPA as much as I can, since it'll be my last chance to do so. It might seem unnecessary because I already have a full-time job after graduation, but I don't think it ever hurts to have it as high as it can be. Who knows, I might end up going to grad school in the future as well, so it'll come in handy.

In the meantime, I already have a bunch of readings assigned to be prepared before class :( They're not too bad, but ahhh I hate reading. So I'm dreading the semester in a way. I have lots and lots of studying to do, but I also want to be able to play. :( 

Either way, I hope to have a good spring because it's the last time I'll be in this city for a while.

Paris: Château de Versailles (Palace of Versailles)

During the first week of November, I went on a trip to Paris with a group of friends. We took the Eurostar and it's about a 2.5 hour train ride from St. Pancras to Gare Du Nord. Tickets were about £160 but they can definitely be bought for cheaper if you book ahead of time. I booked mine a bit later. 

It was pretty annoying because the train broke down halfway there so it stopped for a bit and we also had to switch to another train. They reimbursed us for a cab but that was it. We ended up getting to the hostel three hours later than scheduled at 2:00AM :( It was a bit weird because the cab driver would only take cash.. not sure if that's a thing or not but luckily one of us did have cash.

I stayed at a hostel about half an hour from city centre. If you want more info about where I stayed, just let me know!

Anyways, our main activity of the day was the Palace of Versailles because we only had two days for activities and we have to deal with luggage on Sunday, so Saturday was the best day to go. I would say plan to spend ~3 hours at the palace. The RER C towards 'Paris - Versailles Rive Gauche' goes directly here, with a ~5 minute walk.

We went to the McDonalds outside the station to grab some food and was surprised to see these machines that you order with O_O McDonalds is pricier in Paris than in the States and comparable to eating elsewhere, so I would rather eat elsewhere instead.

We bought the Passport tickets online and it gives access to the Palace and Musical Garden. But we didn't even go to the Garden.. we actually thought the garden in the back (which everyone had access to) so we were confused why we needed the extra access. Ah wells..

 I had a light breakfast so I was pretty hungry T_T We went back into the city to a place called La Cuisine de Bar and they serve tartines. It's next door to a bakery that seemed famous for these biscuits that you eat with coffee; every customer left with a bag of those.

I ordered the set, which came with a salad/soup, wine/water, tartine, and tea/coffee.

Smoked duck tartine; the duck was a bit dry and there wasn't a lot so I only mainly tasted the cheese.

Foie gras tartine

Smoked salmon tartine

After lunch, everyone separated to do their own thing. I ended up going wine shopping, while others went drinking or shopping.

We met up at Le Temps des Cerises for dinner, but I was running late cuz I got lost T_T and spent an hour trying to figure out directions. 

Escargot & Charcuterie 

Steak tartare--SO GOOD T_T

We were going to head to the Eiffel Tower to see it at night but then decided to just head back because it was getting too late and the trains would stop running. We also had to wake up early for the next day, and our schedule was packed with running around the city to hit all the major tourist spots. I'm dreading going through those photos since there's so many more. T_T

Anyways, until next time!

Happy New Year!

Hi, 

I kind of just disappeared this summer without any word but I haven't really been too motivated to blog. I'm still very behind with my travel posts so at this point, I don't know if they're even worth blogging about since it's been nearly a year already. Maybe I'll just do a picture spam of them though.

For those of you who don't know, I was abroad in London this past fall. I really do like the city, it's very beautiful and has the urban feel that I desire. I don't really think I'll blog about the experience though. While I love the city, there were circumstances that prevented me from fully diving into the experience. But in a sense, that is an experience in itself. I would definitely love to come back to London, it's fairly close by, just separated by the ocean. London is such an expensive city though :(

My main resolution is to be a better friend!! I feel like I neglect people a lot/don't show my appreciation well, so I'm hoping to improve on that!

I don't have too much to say, so until next time!