St. Patty's Day

via Julia.blogg.se

For St. Patty's Day, my friends and I went to hear Arianna Huffington speak about transformational leadership at UCLA.  Walking back on campus was such a surreal and nostalgic experience.  I never remembered Powell Library and Royce Hall being so breathtaking!  I was too busy trying to graduate and get into the working world that I never realized how great college life was and how beautiful my surroundings were! 

Arianna's speech was cliche, but nonetheless inspirational and a nice reminder to ourselves to find the leader within us all.  I found it funny that many things she quoted I had read recently from a book or article (eg. Colette).  After a great motivational speech, we went to the great college town of Westwood to grab drinks at BrewCo (the last time I was here was 6 years ago as a sophomore!).  We ended the night at an interesting karaoke/dive bar called The Brass Monkey.  The night felt so alive! 

@ Powell Library, green beer at Westwood BrewCo, The Brass Monkey

love me for my flaws and all

via michellephan.com

It's been a family tradition for years now that my sisters and I help out for Valentine's day at my mom's flower shop.  Like usual, it was extremely busy.  As soon as I step foot at the shop at 8:30 a.m. until I left for dinner with the bf at 7:30 p.m. there were constant swarms of people waiting in line.  We had boys and men buying flowers for their girlfriends, wives, or even mistresses!  It was a good feeling providing service for these people in love, who were willing to spend almost a bill on a mere dozen of roses.

The day went smoothly until I had my second to last customer come in at 7 p.m.  She wanted a dozen red roses but we ran out, so she was willing to settle for pink roses.  I made the same special for her I was making all day for everybody else.  She looked very bothered as I spent the last ounce of my energy completing the arrangement and making small talk with her and her daughter.  It took me 15 minutes and as soon as I told her there was a tax charge for using a credit card, but none for using cash (an Asian thing).  She rhetorically said, "why would you charge me for tax too when I didn't even get the colors I wanted."  I kindly told her that it was the end of the night and that was all we had and that the pink roses were still fresh and pretty.  A part of me was thinking how I would much rather sell this batch of roses to someone who would appreciate it . . . I mean nobody forced her to "settle" for anything.  She paid me and as I turned around to put the money in the register, she says "you know what, I can't do it, I don't want it."  I told her that's fine and turned around and took the money back out of register and gave her money back, and she left.  My work of art just sat there on the counter looking rejected and I stood there looking dejected.

For some reason I was so upset!  I don't know if it was because I was so tired from such a long day, or because she was the first person that rejected my floral arrangement, or because I felt insulted that she didn't like it, or because I was mad she made me go through the entire process just to realize that she really didn't want pink, or because her negative energy killed my night, or all of it combined.  Luckily, a couple minutes later a guy came in and didn't hesitate to buy it.  That did make me feel slightly better, but I must say that I was still bothered through dinner with my boyfriend.  I was feeling so negative I almost got mad at him for wasting money on one of my Valentine's gift- an overpriced Burke William gift certificate.  While he was telling me that I never know and I might enjoy it because of the stresses of law school, I was looking at the card and read "this gift card is nonrefundable" . . . out loud.  Yes, b*tch mode.  Because I am so fortunate to have such a forgiving boyfriend, he let it go and took the comment with a grain of salt.      

Reflecting on all this, I realized that this was a major flaw of mine I needed to work on . . . I cared too much what people thought and worried about the dumbest things that it not only affected me, but my relationships.  I cared too much for little incidents like this that should remain within it's designated time slot and not have it seep into any part of the remaining night with my boyfriend.  It was Valentine's day and I was being such a downer.  I tried the whole "fake it 'till you feel it" during dinner so I could enjoy the rest of the night.  Ultimately I was in a better mood with the help of Merlot . . .

Writing about all this now, it sounds so dumb, but everything felt so much more magnified in the moment . . . So moral of the story?  Don't ever let petty incidents like this drag on longer than it has to, be a better customer because customer service is a tough business to be in and, of course, be a better girlfriend.

Happy (late) Valentine's Day.                  

2012

I celebrated the coming of 2012 with the bf and friends at a beautiful skyscraper flat in downtown LA, overlooking the city. 

 We were too busy taking in the breathtaking view outside the fire lit patio that we lost track of time and missed the countdown inside! 

I got my midnight kiss, but it was so anticlimactic because we didn't get to feel the adrenaline of counting down! 

 Perhaps this was a good way of ringing in the new year . . . getting lost in the moment and losing track of time.

It was a wonderful night in my new Alice&Olivia dress and borrowed jeweled necklace.

Christmas came and left too soon

After having dinner with my bf's family on Christmas eve, we stayed up late watching "A Christmas Story" on TBS.  I can see why it's a holiday classic.  It's funny how as a child, everything seems so life-threatening and dramatic, one event after the next.  It sounded rather humorous having an adult narrator embodying the thoughts of little Ralphie.  Perhaps that's why I appreciated it so much, because it was only a week ago that I had dug up my old journals (all 13 books dating back from 1999!) and spent hours reading them.  It was exactly like that, an older me narrating the thoughts of the younger me and it was so silly how I had such a dramatic and exaggerated tone about sibling rivalry or crushing on boys, and then on the very same page, the mature reflections about the Jane Austen books I had read for fun. . . all at the age of 13.  Wow.                        

Anyways, this Christmas my bf and I said we wouldn't get each other anything because I was back to being a nonworking student and Christmas shopping for family was expensive in itself.  However, even though I said I didn't want a gift from him, a big part of me was still hoping for something small from him, just to open.  We've been together for 7 years, but that doesn't mean he has to be dull and unromantic.  Knowing me too well, he did get me a gift.  He got me a card and actually wrote something sweet.  That was all I needed.  I love more of the thoughtful gifts like that; not like last year when he got me a $700 Theory pant suit because he said I would need "a nice suit when I become a full-fledged lawyer."  Does he know what I can do with that much money?  A new Miu Miu clutch and Ferragamo flats maybe?!  Well, it is still in its dust bag with the tags still on.  Hopefully I can still fit into it next year . . .

Anyways, of course, there was something more to the card.  There was a cute bottle of wine and a small piece of paper that indicated we would go to a wine country in Santa Barbara for two nights to go wine tasting!  I was very excited because I've been wanting to go, but it's hard when he hates wine!  Perhaps he can learn to appreciate the taste and I can learn more about this art!  The location he planned for us to go to was called Fess Parker, which seemed extremely expensive for a mere 2 nights, so I told him I would plan our trip on a smaller budget!  I did a lot of research yesterday and booked our stay at this quaint shabby chic hotel in Solvang called Hadsten House Inn and Spa.

I also made him watch Sideways because it was supposedly about two guys going on a road trip to the same wine country we planned to visit.  I was very excited to watch the movie because I was hoping to see beautiful vineyards with a French Provincial vibe and I just expected an overall feel-good movie.  Wow was I wrong.  It was an award-winning movie back in 2004 . . . but why?  How?  It was so depressing because it was about two unattractive, old men going through their midlife crises.  I tried to see pass it, to appreciate the art of wine tasting, and the progression of the lives of this simple fruit . . . All I saw was dirty, southern-looking motel rooms, boring people in drab clothes, and the potential for a very boring countryside trip for a very urban girl.  On the other hand, my bf appreciated it (probably only after he read the critics review) . . .

Nonetheless, my goal this break and coming year was to mentally slow my life down a little, so perhaps I can find the beauty in it all and develop a deeper appreciation for the countryside.  I just ordered "The Wine Bible" on Amazon, so I can get a head start on being educated.

It's been a lot of family time lately, my sisters are coming over today to hang out and I will attempt my first Julia Child's recipe!              

"I like to think about the life of wine. How it's a living thing. I like to think about what was going on the year the grapes were growing; how the sun was shining; if it rained. I like to think about all the people who tended and picked the grapes. And if it's an old wine, how many of them must be dead by now. I like how wine continues to evolve, like if I opened a bottle of wine today it would taste different than if I'd opened it on any other day, because a bottle of wine is actually alive. And it's constantly evolving and gaining complexity. That is, until it peaks, like your '61. And then it begins its steady, inevitable decline." Sideways. (love, love this quote) 

Love,
Nat

"I never thought it was such a bad little tree. It's not bad at all, really. Maybe it just needs a little love."

A couple nights ago, the BF and I went around looking for a mini Christmas tree for our little apartment.  I have always loved Christmas and, throughout my childhood, was always the one pestering my Dad or older sister to get a tree or put up the lights around the house.  So this year was no different, just a different person to whine to, a smaller budget and a smaller place.  After circling town for a Christmas tree farm, we finally arrived at a local tree lot.  I immediately asked a worker what the smallest size tree they had.  He walked us through a jungle of trees and over to an empty spot with a lonely looking 4 feet tall tree, and said that's the last one.  He left while we stood there staring at it.  It was tipped over and had about what seemed to be 5 inches of a naked neck.  The last one, huh. . . I wonder why. . . Charlie Brown's tree flashed through my head and I then made the executive decision (over a nonchalant BF who really didn't care- for Christmas for that matter!) that this would be THE ONE!  I immediately decorated it when we brought it home and finally topped it with a Star today.


Another 9 hours of studying has passed.  Time for an hour of yoga to destress.  Then making dinner and hanging out with the BF the rest of the night.  Just because it's finals period doesn't have to mean I have to be depressed in my books.
Love,
Nat