Canadian Sugar Mama (Day 2)
June 22, 2014 § Leave a comment
Carpool selfie! (cr: Xixi)
According to Chen, Seattle is boring and can be toured in about a day, so we somewhat hastily planned a visit Vancouver. (I use the word “planned” lightly as we were all too busy/lazy to figure out an itinerary until the last minute. We might not even have ended up going if I hadn’t booked a hotel??)
The four of us (minus Shirley) left the morning of the second day. The two-and-a-half hour drive passed by relatively quickly, probably because I was sleeping in the backseat, hehe. (Thanks for driving, Chen and Lucy!)
Backseat buddies!
It was kind of scary having to turn off all our mobile services after crossing the border simply because we were so unprepared. On the way, we furiously Yelped a few places to eat while Lucy took screenshots of all the maps we’d need.
We were so preoccupied with simply having our passports (I might’ve threatened to maim anyone who forgot hers…only because I had a previous time-wasting experience of a friend forgetting his!) that we forgot one major detail: None of us had any Canadian money, and we had no idea where to find currency exchanges. And it turned out that I was the only one with a credit card that had no foreign transaction fees.
Conclusion: I became a sugar mama for 24 hours.
Everything from parking to souvenirs to meals were billed to me. (Give me all the points!) It was actually kind of fun? But only because I knew they would pay me back later! And it certainly made things easier not struggling to split the check at the table. (I kept all my receipts and spent some time with Excel upon returning to Chicago.) « Read the rest of this entry »
Journey To The West (Day 1)
May 27, 2014 § 1 Comment
A few weeks ago, Lucy, Xixi and I (sadly, minus Yawen) took a momentous trip to Seattle to visit Chen and Shirley. It was our first getaway together without our parents — we’re finally adults!!
Lucy and I flew out on Thursday night and treated ourselves to some in-flight wine (a local Washington red) and fruit/cheese platter because we’re ~fancy~. Just kidding, it was because our flight was delayed an hour and I really needed a drink. Regardless, that snack was the start of an epic eating adventure, as any good vacation should be.
Our first day in Seattle started with a bus ride from Bellevue to Ballard, a charming neighborhood with lots of vintage stores and cute restaurants.
The first of many selfies (cr: Lucy)
…what
That Time I Met Tyra Banks and Ate Her Ice Cream
February 6, 2014 § Leave a comment
This story is a series of coincidences.
It started on a hot weekday last June, a perfect day for Korean cold noodles (naengmyun). I had made dinner plans to meet Rachel at Han Joo in East Village, so I made my way there after work.
While waiting to cross the street at the corner of St. Mark’s Pl. and 3rd Ave., I heard a loud voice behind me talking about Nutella. He sounded very self-assured, as if lecturing on the wonders of hazelnut chocolate spread. Curious, I turned around and realized that the loudmouth behind me was my friend Drew.
What are the chances? It gets better. Drew was with two friends, Brandon and Travis, who were visiting from Florida, and they were also on their way to dinner. So I invited them to eat with me and Rachel (she arrived a bit later). The five of us had such a good time over noodles and BBQ that afterward, we decided to head across the street for dessert at Spot.
Winter Break With The BFFs, pt. II
January 13, 2014 § 1 Comment
As stated in my earlier post, one of my goals this winter break was to spend a maximum amount of time with my best friends, who all managed to be in the same place for the first time in four years.
https://twitter.com/auradis/status/401195576965873664
I’m not sure if we actually achieved that goal, but we probably came close!
During our first week together, we tried to communicate with each other by group texting via regular messaging, which fell apart when certain people’s texts would appear to reply to individuals but still be sent to the whole group somehow. Very confusing. We decided to start a group chat on WhatsApp, which was the best decision ever. Here’s a snippet of our delightful conversation:
It turned out the offender took two separate poop breaks in the span of an hour. What a champ.
The chat was titled so because the first weekend, we had a bit of trouble figuring out how to transport ourselves into the city as our available vehicles were no longer usable for one reason or another. We briefly considered taking the train, which would’ve been overpriced and annoying considering we were hauling presents/booze/sleepover gear. Desperate times…it was strange encountering teenage-level problems as 20-somethings. Fortunately Xixi was able to borrow her dad’s car to ferry us over. #suburbproblems
Later that week for New Year’s Eve, the five of us gathered at Chen’s house to get ready for the party that Sandra so graciously put together.
Lucy tried her hand at playing makeup artist. Putting makeup on someone else is a true challenge when you’re only used to applying it on yourself!
auradis 