ode to lovely

time for myself

One of the best things about being home is having a lot of time to do the things that I never found time for back in Taiwan. One of which, is being able to go on morning runs. The other thing is making the time to play with paper + glue.

Here are two of my recent favorites:

And this one is for Dare 183. 

There are a few more pages in my Made in Taiwan Album if you're interested. 

happy birthday to my Mi

Today, is my Mi's birthday. She is off gallivanting through Europe and I wish I could be there with her to celebrate her special day. This girl is seriously one-in-a-million and I'm so happy that our completely different worlds collided and that we became the bestest of friends. Mi, I love you. I hope all your wishes come true! 

welcome back party

My mom and dad threw me a Welcome Back to the US party last night. It was mostly family, but that's the way I wanted it to be. My dad made this AMAZING dish called Fidua, which is like Paella, but only with noodles instead of rice. Words really can't express how tasty it was. And it was HUGE!! We had 14 people over last night, everyone had seconds, and we still have HALF of it left.

Look how big it is:

In other news, I just finished working on a 6 hour application to a job with the State Department. They ask you so many damn questions and after the first 3 hours, they all started sounding the same. I probably shouldn't have waited to work on it until the closing date, but you know me, Queen of Procrastination. Let's see if I even get a call-back. More later. Now, it's time to get out of my pajamas and enjoy the rest of the day. 

nyc was good for my soul

I went to NYC on Wednesday night. I probably shouldn't have. I had so much to do at home. So many jobs that I had planned to apply to, but hadn't yet. So many errands to run and people to see. But, I couldn't help myself. And I am 100% certain that going to NYC was the best decision I have ever made. 

First, I got to see one of my bestest friends Elizabeth and her adorable family. Then, on Thursday, I got to spend time with my old ICLP friends. I had a delicious lunch at Locanda Verde with Christine (the goat cheese was to DIE for), followed by drinks at La Biblioteca with Lauren (amazing Margaritas), and then the ICLP meet-up at a Peruvian Chicken Restaurant called Pio Pio. Isn't it crazy that we were once all in Taiwan together and then we all happened to be in NYC 2 years later. 

Then Friday, we went to Happy Hour at The Mermaid Inn for some mouth-watering oysters, mac and cheese, and lobster rolls. This was all followed by Lychee Martinis at Verlaine with Lauren, her sister, and Elizabeth. 

Saturday, Lauren took me out to a yummy brunch at Cafeteria. Loved the ambiance here and my green eggs and ham were delicious. The eggs had just the right amount of goat cheese and my ham was grilled to perfection. Lauren had the Lemon Pancakes and they were the fluffiest pancakes I have ever had. Look how pretty (and happy!) she looks with her delicious breakfast! 

As you can see, my ENTIRE weekend revolved around good food and good friends. It was exactly what I needed. Elizabeth, Lauren, Christine, and Jasmine - I love you girls SO much. 

Now, back to job hunting. Time to get serious. Gotta buckle down and get this shit done. 

it was a good week

I took a 1-week blog break because apparently I really needed it. I didn't do it on purpose, it just happened that way. And it was an absolutely wonderful and relaxing week, full of family hugs, sisterly bonding, delicious food, exercising outside, good friends, and at least 6 different visits to Target. 

I thought I didn't want to come home but boy was I wrong. Home = awesome. Being here has put things in perspective and has opened my eyes to a world that I had been avoiding for quite some time. I guess I just didn't want to come home to what didn't feel normal to me anymore. 

But, to tell you the truth, I've been really happy the last few days. It feels safe and peaceful and relaxing and comforting. I do miss Taiwan a lot, and Manuel and my kittens even more. But the one thing that I need perhaps the most right now in my life is security. And unfortunately, that is the ONE thing that Taiwan can not provide me at the moment. So, should I stay and feel safe and secure (and perhaps eventually bored)? Or should I go back and continue my adventure but at the risk of never finding security? The answer will come to me eventually. But for now, I'm just enjoying the time I have here and working my ass off to find a job that can sustain me in the near future. 

greetings from Narita Airport

Hello friends. I'm at an internet cafe in Tokyo right now. I'm EXHAUSTED from lack of sleep, from packing at the very last minute, and from all the tears I shed as I had to say goodbye to good friends and my loving boyfriend.  I arrived here a few hours ago and still have a few hours until my connecting flight to LAX. I just ate a VERY expensive Shrimp Tempura Udon Noodle that cost me $12 and was not as good as the Miso Noodle Soup I had last time I was at this aiport. Total (expenive) food fail.

I decided to head back to DC only 5 days ago. My visa expired today and all my other options were just costly and wasteful. So, I called American Airlines 5 days ago and luckily scored myself a free ticket home using miles. So, home is where I'm headed.

Not sure if this is a temporary or permanent move. Not sure if I'll be home for 4 weeks, or 8 weeks, or indefinitely. Not sure if a awesome job opportunity awaits me, or if I'm just going to encounter the same problems I faced in Taiwan. Not sure about anything actually. The only thing that is certain is that I cannot wait to see my family after being apart for over one year. It's time to go home and recharge my batteries, eat delicious food, see old friends, and get this US job search going. Let's see how it goes. Staying positive and staying hopeful that what is meant to be, will be. 

benny (blomkvist) benassi

Ladies and gentlemen, this is Benny Benassi. He is the sweetest soul you will ever meet. He is a super shy kitten who loves to snuggle, purr, and rub his wet nose on your face. The first 2 days with him were rough. He is an excellent hider and sometimes hours would go by before I would find him. Plus, Catherine was not too happy to share the living quarters with him and spent the first 48 hours constantly hissing and clawing at poor Benny. 

Now, I'm happy to say that Catherine and Benny are the best of friends. They are polar opposites (Catherine is wild and crazy and Benny is sweet and mild-tempered) and I'm so in love with both of them. I had really forgotten how nice it is to come home to a loving pet. 

full circle

Last night, I had a last minute get together with some friends on campus. We sat around, drinking beers, reminiscing on our days as grad students, talking about future plans, and just enjoying a random Monday evening together. Thank you friends for coming out one last time.