Anyway, I’ve decided to make a move to tumblr. It’s easier for me to access it via my iPhone, and I think I just need a fresh start. I know, it hasn’t been long since I made this site but for some reason, I think I like tumblr better. We’ll see, though. I am not canceling this website, though, because I have to see if tumblr will be the right fit for me (ease of use-wise), and if it is not, I will most likely come back here.

Here’s my new address:

emma-arouet.tumblr.com

Ciao!

On the school and job front, things have been very steady and stable. I still have another degree after this one to pursue (my dad thinks it’s so weird that a person can like school this much!) but I’m pretty sure I’ll be working at the hospital while working towards that [CRNA] degree.

As for my side teaching job, I really have to say what a blessing it has been to be able to work with such wonderful kids. The hours really work well with the rest of my schedule, the kids are absolutely a joy to work with. PLUS, the money is fantastic. I think I make just as much as I would if I were working at the hospital. Also, working with kids definitely puts my patience to the test as this hormonal bunch really knows how to push my buttons. The youngest child I work with right now is 5 years old and although this is new to me (I generally teach kids who are a lot older), I have to say it is the most enjoyable and rewarding. A once spoiled, violent, little boy, he is now turning into quite a little gentleman. Makes me feel more confident about my future as a parent.

On the friends front, everyone has been turning the big 3-0 lately as I’m patiently waiting for my turn. Many of my close friends are now married (sans kids), and although most others would feel forlorn about the fact that their friends are all taken, I’m very comfortable with it. I don’t harbor feelings of envy as I do not feel the need to hurry up and become part of a married couple crowd. Others’ plans and timelines don’t have any bearing on my own timeline, and I will continue to march to the beat of my own drum.

My family, as usual, is wonderful. I’m incredibly thankful that they’re happy, healthy, and not as stressed as they used to be. As I get older, I realize just how much they need me, even though they seem self-sufficient. I’m learning to be there for them a lot more, and not just that — I’m thankful my grandfather is still with us and holding on strong, three years after my grandmother’s death. Just thinking about my family often brings me to tears because I just love them so much and don’t ever want to see them get hurt. I love them more and more each day.

As far as writing is concerned, I’ve been writing when I have some time to breathe. Incase some of you don’t know, I am working on a collection of short stories to make into a book sometime in the near future. I’ve been working on it for a while now and well, to give you an idea of how long it is, I’m at page 330 on Word doc. I will most likely give it several more read-throughs and figure out which ones I’m going to keep and which ones I will mostly likely omit. I’m hoping to have anywhere from 12-15 stories in this collection, 15-20 pages each.

As far as other writing projects are concerned, I haven’t been blogging much (obviously), but I did have a freelance project I was involved in. I wrote an article for Audrey Magazine (which was due in October), that will be printed out in their Winter issue. I wrote alongside resident writer Paul Nakayama for their Awful Truth column. I can’t divulge what our topic is but I do hope Audrey readers will enjoy it. I can’t say it is my best work as the style we decided to take on was a tad different than what I’m used to. However, should I be given the opportunity to write for them in the future, I hope to be able to share my many different styles and thoughts. Thank you for giving me an opportunity to write for you, Audrey Magazine! Especially you, Anna!

Living situation: As some of you know, I’ve lived in a condo in the outskirts of Koreatown for a year and a half now. I am not a huge fan of Koreatown but it’s convenient (i.e. very central) for me. I’ve had numerous issues with my neighbor upstairs (older Chinese man) and had to call the cops even. As I don’t see him selling his home anytime soon, I’ve decided to take it upon myself to move out. Perhaps I can find someone to rent this place out to. I’d been looking around Beverly Hills, Hancock Park, and West LA for a nice one-bedroom apartment and man, the search has been a pain. Trust me when I say I’ve looked everywhere. There have been so many disappointments, and even the ones with high rent have been disappointing. I didn’t know what to do. My father took it upon himself to look in the Koreatown area for me (I guess he feels I’ll be safer around many Koreans?) and he found a few places he wanted me to check out. I decided to view a few of these units and one stood out. It’s pretty much in the heart of Koreatown (which I do not like) but the place itself is very nice. It’s a one-bedroom apartment with brand new everything, and it even comes with two-car parking! (Now my boyfriend doesn’t have to look for street parking!) This place doesn’t have a balcony, which will be a first for me, but I’ve realized I HARDLY EVER go outside on the balcony anyway. The kitchen is big (YAY!!!), the living room is big enough, and the bedroom is big as well. I really like it.

Update: I’m finally moved in! I’m slowly starting to unpack, and everything is starting to look pretty great. Once I am done with all of the unpacking, I will post a few pictures up.

I’m really tired of moving around and I’m hoping this will be my last stop before I get married. Once that happens, hubby and I can move to the Westside together and save up, then eventually get a house in Irvine or Beverly Glen. Those two areas require quite a bit of saving.

Before I recap my weekend in Oahu, here’s a group picture of us standing near the waters at the luau.

Click to read more.

By the way, not all of these pictures were taken by me. I gathered them here and there from my boyfriend’s cameras, others’ cameras, and my own.

Our Saturday was very eventful! We were originally going to take this day to visit North Shore but because we couldn’t rent a car, we decided to visit North Shore on Sunday. Instead, we decided to go parasailing before our luau! I looked up a few places on Yelp! and found X-Treme Parasail. We arranged for a shuttle from their company to pick us up at a nearby hotel and off we went! It was around $37 for each person (no option to ride alone) and my boyfriend and I partnered up to ride. I will have to post up the parasailing pictures at a later time because my boyfriend has all of those pictures in his camera! Here are a few for now.

As you can see, the weather was GORGEOUS, and oh my goodness, the water was SO SO clear and BLUE. Wait for the pictures.

X-treme Parasail

Afterwards, our tired selves came back to our condo and got ready for the luau. We got some tickets for Germaine’s Luau because my friends W&C recommended it! At $80/person, it included a shuttle ride to and from the luau, dinner, and 2 drink tickets.

We had an awesome shuttle tour guide (COUSIN KYLE!) who made the ride there extremely fun. Bus #7 with all of the hot people!!! I absolutely loved him. Once we got to the luau, we picked our spots near the stage and got straight to taking pictures and getting drinks. We soon got our food and overall, I’d have to say it was good. I couldn’t finish most of it (what’s pictured) so I had to give it to my piggy boyfriend.

The show was awesome!!! The hula dancers, the fire dancer, the costumes … visual overload! I really can’t say enough about the luau. Many others may not have been thrilled (I know most people go to the Polynesian Culture Center) but the view was beautiful, the people there were fun, I had my awesome friends and boyfriend with me … what more can a girl ask for? It was especially beautiful when the sun started to set.

I’d have to say the MOST EXCITING PART was that myBF went up on stage!!! And he performed!!! So I guess one of the hula dancers was eyeballing myBF during the luau because when they started looking for dancers to participate in a dance-off, she immediately came to our table and dragged him on stage. I took his camera and immediately started taking snapshots of his dance moves. The host showed the participants how to dance, and it was really fun to watch everyone move in a very … awkward fashion. The only person who had any kind of rhythm was myBF because you know, he’s a dancer on the side.

So when everyone started getting off of the stage, I realized the same hula dancer pulled him off to the side to talk to him (still on stage) and I raised a Korean eyebrow and was ready to punch someone in the throat. Just kidding; I’m not possessive. I figured she was asking him to stay to demonstrate something, and I was right! The host started asking myBF all of these questions, and afterwards, he asked that D and the hula dancer have a dance off. Well, of course he won because he incorporated his robotic moves into his hula dance and the crowd went wild! They lei’d him, and I got everything on camera!

The luau ended shortly thereafter, and everyone started to go up to myBF to congratulate him. I overheard one guy ask him if he had a manager, and myBF told him, “My girlfriend is my manager.” Yes, that’s right! I was very proud of him because he’s an amazing dancer/performer and I was happy he got to show everyone his moves. He is such a ham!

We went back on the shuttle and had another enjoyable ride thanks to Cousin Kyle. We got back to Waikiki around 8 p.m.

Germaine’s Luau

We were really tired from our long day parasailing and luau’ing (;p) but we didn’t want to go back to the condo just yet. We walked along the Waikiki boardwalk and decided to drop by a bar to have some drinks. We stopped by Duke’s but it was way too crowded, and the atmosphere was very … young and sleazy. We walked a few more blocks (man, we walked SO MUCH throughout this trip) and ended up at the Mai Tai Bar at the Royal Hawaiian.

I was being creepy, and kept taking pictures of my boyfriend. And we shared this beautiful pina colada and it was delicious!

Beautiful (expensive) hotel, lovely bar right on the beach. Weall pretty much left at different times so myBF and I were able to have a nice, romantic walk back to our condo.

Sunday:

We knew we had a long day on Sunday so we woke up early to get some breakfast. We dropped by Rainbow Drive-In with our rent-a-car (got it early that morning), and enjoyed some good ol’ Hawaiian food. Nothing fancy — just casual.

Rainbow Drive-In

Next, we decided to stop by Leonard’s Bakery because we’d heard such great things about their malasadas! We got a few boxes for the road up to North Shore! Coconut, regular sugar malasadas, and vanilla creme. Look at that line … it was early in the morning, too!

Leonard’s Bakery

What a beautiful day for a road trip. Considering Oahu is a small island, it didn’t take us more than an hour to get up north. Once we got to North Shore, we dropped by Matsumoto’s to get some shave ice. We’d heard Matsumoto’s shave ice rivals Waiola’s shave Ice so we had to compare!

M. Matsumoto Grocery Store

The verdict? Waiola definitely wins on this one. Matsumoto’s shave ice was too sweet and the shave ice wasn’t as smooth as Waiola’s. Also, it was entirely too much for the two of us to finish. Look at that huge blob of sweetness!

We headed straight to the beach. Look at the beautiful sky in the picture below! I took that photo with my iPhone 4, and although the phone takes wonderful pictures, it still doesn’t do the beach any justice. Luckily for us, it wasn’t crowded at all (unlike Waikiki Beach, ugh), and we found a quiet place to set up shop. We swam, we boogie boarded, tanned, and had a lot of fun. While I was swimming, I swam into some big boulders under the water and both of my knees got roughed up. How bad was it? Well, when I walked out of the water, I had blood pouring down both legs; the blood wouldn’t stop! Sigh. Afterwards, we got hungry so we decided to head up north a bit more for lunch.

Waimea Bay Beach Park/Northshore

Giovanni’s Shrimp Truck!!! We’d been waiting all day for these. For $15, we got 12 jumbo shrimp with two scoops of garlic rice. Dennis and I shared a plate and it was just heavenly! I even took the opportunity to tag up the side of their truck with our names. So long as our names are on that truck, I guess I will keep him around.

Giovanni’s Shrimp Truck

After we finished our lunch, we decided to drive to another beach we heard was even better than the one we were previously at. It has a small cliff you can jump off of, and there’s even a volleyball set-up. We were excited to check it out but once we got there, the lack of parking and crowding deterred us from enjoying a few hours there. We just took a quick look around, and decided to leave.

We planned on checking out the Dole Plantation to get some pineapples but on the way there, we wanted to drop by Macky’s Shrimp Truck because we heard people talking about how it may be even better than Giovanni’s. Uh-oh. Considering we really enjoyed Giovanni’s shrimp, we wanted to see if Macky’s could be even better. Verdict? Giovanni’s for the win. Why? Giovanni’s gives you more shrimp (2 more), and an extra scoop of rice. Also, the mixture they use to marinate the shrimp in is bolder. Macky’s gives you a pineapple wedge, a small salad, and one scoop of rice but all of that doesn’t make up for the fact that the flavors weren’t all there. Dennis wanted to eat his own plate this time (piggy!) so I got my own plate. Was only able to finish half.

Macky’s Sweet Shrimp Truck

On to the Dole Plantation! Such a touristy thing to do but I wanted to see if I could get any souvenirs! My boyfriend bought me one of those pineapple dolls (so cute!!! I call mine Goldie. ) and I got my parents the kissing salt-n-pepper set. Their lips are magnets so you can have be apart but put them close enough together and they kiss. My parents really loved them. We also tried their dole whip ice cream and it was super delicious but I gave most of it to Dennis because I wasn’t in the mood for anything too sweet. I also bought some butter toffee popcorn (SO delicious!!!!) and a couple of other souvenirs. I actually regretted not bringing back more of the popcorn (bought stupid chocolate instead) so I went online to buy them straight from their website but holy the shipping cost is insane!!! I ordered some anyway but I guess they’re waiting for more because I got an email saying they were all sold out for now.

I wasn’t feeling too well and my friends wanted to do some kind of a walking tour so I decided to opt out. However, my boyfriend was determined to experience Dole Plantation with me so he bought us two Pineapple Express tickets and we enjoyed a lovely ride through the plantation. We took so many pictures, too! Thanks babe!

Dole Plantation

After finishing up our tour at the Dole Plantation, we decided to go watch the sunset! We tried to figure out where would be the best place to watch the sun set because we wanted to take some photos, and good ol’ Google Maps came to the rescue! I love my iPhone!!! Daniel found that Sand Island Beach Park (on a peninsula) would be a great place to watch the sunset — without any obstructions. We BARELY made it on time because once we got there, the sun was already ready to set, and we still had to park and walk over to an area where we could see it clearly.

Daniel, Dennis, and I nearly RAN to the edge of the peninsula to take some pictures. And we took GORGEOUS pictures at that! Here’s one I took with my iPhone. Have a few pretty ones I took with my DSLR but you’ll have to wait for those.

Afterwards, we decided to grab some dessert before heading over to dinner. We stopped by Liliha Bakery because my friend W told me they have the best cream puffs. She was SO right because these babies were SO creamy, flaky, with just the right amount of sweetness! You see that chocolate filling? Well, I was in the car so the lighting isn’t so great but trust me… the pictures don’t do them justice. Oh man, my mouth is watering just looking at these pictures again.

Liliha Bakery

We were super hungry so we stopped by Uncle Bo’s Pub and Grill. The place doesn’t look very alluring, I know, but once we got inside, we saw how glamorous it is! The head chef and owner is a Thai guy, I believe, and the food definitely had an asian flair to it. Love fusion food!

Because the boys had to take the rent-a-car back before the place closed, we got dropped off at Uncle Bo’s while they returned the car. Since the rent-a-car place is near our condo, they also dropped off all of our beach gear. Poor men! And on top of that, they had to walk the mile or so to Uncle Bo’s just to meet us. The total time it took for us to get a table: 45 minutes. The total time it took for the men to get to Uncle Bo’s: 1 hour. So time-wise, it was great because we just sat and had a few drinks while we waited.

Drinks, oyster shooters, spicy tuna (delicious).

Their nachos are really popular and we definitely tasted WHY. Holy heaven in my mouth. We ordered two of those. We also had their clam soup and again, WOW. Wow. Yep, ordered two of those as well. The third pic is of an eggplant vegetarian dish (for Shirley) and I definitely did not enjoy that. Way too peppery. The last two pictures (below) are of the Hawaiian pizza Dennis ordered. Mmm, best pizza I’ve had yet! Very reasonable prices! We split the bill, and for $30 a person, we had a big, big meal. What a way to celebrate our last group outing in Hawaii!

Uncle Bo’s Pub & Grill

After dinner, we headed back to the condo and washed up. Since my friends had an 11 am flight, they had to wake up early. We slept by midnight.

]]> http://akikokim.wordpress.com/2010/09/28/hawaii-part-ii-saturday-and-sunday/feed/ 5 Aubrie A. hawaii-group Back Camera Back Camera Back Camera Back Camera Back Camera Back Camera Back Camera Back Camera Back Camera Back Camera Back Camera Back Camera Back Camera Back Camera Back Camera Back Camera DSC_0557 DSC_0559 Back Camera Back Camera Back Camera name crop Back Camera Back Camera Back Camera DSC_0616 DSC_0618 DSC_0620 DSC_0628 DSC_0657 DSC_0665 Back Camera Back Camera Back Camera Back Camera Back Camera Back Camera Back Camera Back Camera Back Camera Back Camera Back Camera Back Camera Back Camera http://akikokim.wordpress.com/2010/09/24/oahu-part-i-thursday-and-friday/ http://akikokim.wordpress.com/2010/09/24/oahu-part-i-thursday-and-friday/#comments Fri, 24 Sep 2010 06:45:54 +0000 Aubrie A. http://akikokim.wordpress.com/?p=1446 ]]>

I miss Hawaii!!!

Okay now that I got that out of the way, here we go with the recap.

Thursday:

Our flight was at 8:30 in the morning so theBF and I left for the airport at 6 a.m. (you know, just in case, considering it was Labor Day weekend). We got to the airport around 6:40 and had a light breakfast of Starbucks yogurt/fruit parfait with coffee and some water. The two couples joined us (Shirley had a later flight so she was going to meet us in Hawaii) and we soon boarded. The first picture below is of theBF who is eager to land! Sleepyhead slept most of the way through but when we got close enough, he started taking pictures galore. The second picture is of all of us together at the airport thinking of what to do. The third picture is of the beach!

Click to read more.

We were super hungry once we arrived (around 11:40 a.m.) and the hotel check-in wasn’t until 3 p.m. so we dropped off our stuff at the hotel and decided to walk the mile to check out Ono Hawaiian Foods. TheBF and I ordered the kahlua pork and an a la carte order of their famous laulau. The service was great and our server showed us exactly how to eat the food. Our dessert of coconut jelly was amazing, as well. Great service, awesome food, and a wonderful start to our vacation! I have to admit, though, that having Ono’s the first day there ruined it for the rest of the trip because we kept thinking about the food and couldn’t fully enjoy the other restaurants!

Ono Hawaiian Foods

After lunch, we slowly walked back to the hotel and checked in. We booked two rooms at the Waikiki Beach Marriott Resort and Spa for one day because our condo wasn’t going to be ready until Friday. I’m so happy we got to stay at this hotel because it was clean, the view was fabulous, and the bed … oh the bed. TheBF and I spent a great deal of time in the room just hanging out on the balcony enjoying the view while the others explored.

Waikiki Beach Marriott Resort and Spa

Eventually, theBF and I left the hotel and decided to do a little exploring of our own while the others were enjoying the USC-UH game (so many football fans traveled to Hawaii just for this game!). We walked along the Waikiki Boardwalk and tried out the Crepe House. We ordered one ham+cheese+pineapple crepe and shared it. Wow, delicious! The pineapple really added another layer of flavor to the crepe.

Crepe House

Around 9p.m., we all met up in front of the hotel to eat dinner. We used good ol’ Yelp to figure out if there was a great restaurant around the area. Lucky for us, we narrowed it down to a few and we finally picked this Japanese Sushi place! Yoshitsune Japanese.

I couldn’t take pictures of all of our food because my iPhone ran out of battery but the combo meal that D and I shared was outstanding. Because D is part Japanese, our lady of the house definitely did us a favor and gave us very, generous portions! Unfortunately, I was too busy enjoying the food so I forgot to write down what it was we ate! (Missing pictures of the salmon, miso soup, and the tempura.)

Yoshitsune

Friday:

We started off our day by waking up relatively early to get some breakfast before checking out of our hotel. We heard about Me’s BBQ a couple of blocks away so we had to try it out. It’s a hole-in-the-wall type of establishment and I really did have high expectations but they failed to deliver. My tofu salad (upper left) tasted rancid, and the chicken was so sweet! Too sweet, in fact. Don’t let the picture fool you; the chicken pieces are very thin so as you can imagine, they were pretty dry.

Me’s BBQ

Afterwards, we slowly sauntered over to Iyasume Musubi because we read on Yelp they had great spam musubis! D and I tried the salmon musubi, spam musubi, and a small order of the curry. I didn’t get to try the curry that day but I did get it another day and it was soooo good. The musubis are good but how can you mess that up?! To their credit, they have a LOT of different kinds; I just didn’t get to try any of them.

Iyasume Musubi

After the slight food-fest, we took our bloated bellies over to the beach! It was absolutely GORGEOUS and the weather was PERFECT. The sky was so beautiful and blue, and the water was clear and warm. There were many beach-goers present this day, and my friends (and bf) definitely enjoyed some fun in the sun. I, on the other hand, had to go shopping for another bathing suit so I took to the boardwalk by myself. I missed out on the fun because by the time they were done, they had all gone back to the hotel to get our stuff for our move to the condo. (Because check out was at 11 am, we left our stuff downstairs with the concierge before going off to do our wandering.)

After checking into our condo and leaving all of our belongings behind, we took to the streets again and hit up a farmers market they had nearby. On with our fooding adventures! We got some fresh fruit, coconut juice, and coffee. It was a very small farmer’s market but the prices were killer and the pineapples… oh the pineapples. $4 for a bag of pre-cut pineapples!

King’s Village Farmer’s Market

After Farmer’s Market, we decided we needed to get some shave (no d at the end) ice to cool us down! We realized walking to Waiola would take forever so we randomly caught a cab to get there. Our cab driver was this Vietnamese older gentleman who was the funniest cab driver I’ve ever met (and I’ve met quite a few crazy ones). He took us there, waited for us to get our shave ice, and drove us back to our hotel. For a steal of a price! I love Hawaiian generosity!

The shave ice was so delicious. Although they messed up our order (my bf and I ordered mango shave ice with condensed milk but instead, we got that AND red beans?? My friend Shirley was supposed to have the red beans.) How do you mess up something SO simple? I don’t get it. Regardless, it was super cheap and absolutely perfect. The consistency of the ice was divine, and I couldn’t get enough of it. I definitely recommend Waiola to anyone visiting the Waikiki area.

Waiola Shave Ice

After our shave ice run, we went back to our condo and changed, got situated into our new humble abode, and decided on what to do next. We decided we’d hit the boardwalk at night, and check out a ramen place that was all the rave in Waikiki.

We walked over to the beach and hung out a bit. Took a lot of beautiful photos, played in the sand, and people watched.

The Beach, behind the Royal Hawaiian.

When we finally got to Ramen Nakamura (around 10ish), there was a wait to get in. It’s a small place so the wait can be pretty bad but luckily for us, we were seated within 20 minutes or so. I had the oxtail ramen (mmmm!) without any sides. My bf ordered the oxtail ramen combo which included a side of potstickers. Wow, I tried one and their potstickers are amazing! I usually don’t say that because how can you really mess up a potsticker. Ramen Nakamura definitely hit the right spot with their food.

Ramen Nakamura

We were so tired from eating ALL DAY that we somehow rolled back to our condo and passed out. Before I realized it, it was midnight in Waikiki. Are we old or what? How can we be tired at midnight? Well, I guess given midnight in Waikiki is 3 a.m. in LA, we should’ve been tired but still. I guess our excuse is that we woke up fairly early and walked around in the heat all day. Sigh, weak.

Saturday and Sunday recap up next!

]]> http://akikokim.wordpress.com/2010/09/24/oahu-part-i-thursday-and-friday/feed/ 0 Aubrie A. DSC_0354 DSC_0359 DSC_0413 DSC_0402 DSC_0398 DSC_0389 Back Camera Back Camera DSC_0408 DSC_0383 Back Camera Back Camera Back Camera Back Camera Back Camera chawan-mushi Back Camera Back Camera Back Camera DSC_0418 Back Camera DSC_0445 DSC_0451 DSC_0449 DSC_0453 DSC_0455 DSC_0459 DSC_0435 DSC_0442 DSC_0462 DSC_0470 DSC_0474 DSC_0484 DSC_0485 DSC_0509 Back Camera Back Camera DSC_0543 DSC_0544 http://akikokim.wordpress.com/2010/09/20/on-video-gaming-and-relationships/ http://akikokim.wordpress.com/2010/09/20/on-video-gaming-and-relationships/#comments Mon, 20 Sep 2010 21:39:22 +0000 Aubrie A. http://akikokim.wordpress.com/?p=1525 ]]> I don’t think most people really understand why their significant other spends so much time playing video games. Because of this, video gaming has single-handedly broken up many a relationship, and it has been a sore spot for so many individuals in relationships over the years. I certainly understand the frustration that stems from dating someone who is addicted, but with time, I’ve come to realize that video games aren’t so bad. So long as a person is playing them in healthy amounts, they can actually help a relationship – not break it.

Here are a few reasons why an individual may choose to lose him or herself in the gaming world:

1. It takes us back to a time when we were young and stress-free. Zoning out and playing video games can definitely free us from the burdens our adult-lives lay on us, even if it’s just temporarily. Trying to sustain serious relationships, maintaining a job, and just being an adult in general can be a scary reality. It’s nice to feel like a kid again from time to time.
2. Video games are a good way to release stress. Sure there are other, more productive ways to release stress but many individuals may lack the resources to play golf every weekend, and not everyone may have a mate to “physically” handle this stress with. There’s something to be said about being able to release stress by “pwning” and annihilating any and all enemies while in the comfort of our homes, wearing just our underwear, sitting in a comfortable chair, and eating pizza. If Barack Obama did that ever so often, maybe he’d run our country better.
3. We need control. Oftentimes enough, we encounter stressful situations that are beyond our control. Our bosses may be breathing down our necks, or maybe our partners are nagging endlessly, again. Regardless of the reason, for the control-freak in all of us, video games can be great because they put us in control of our characters and their livelihood. To have some semblance of control in an otherwise uncontrollable environment may be good for our ego every now and then.

So why should we love it when our significant other plays video games?

1. They’re like digital punching bags. So long as our significant others are beating players down, they won’t be beating us down. Just kidding. If we let them get that angst and frustration out of their system, they don’t have any excuse to be anything but sweet with us.
2. Give your significant other some time to do what makes them feel relaxed and whole again, and while they’re enjoying themselves, don’t wait around pouting for them to finish and play with you. Take that time to do something that will make you happy and engage you. If you’re busy doing something for yourself, trust me, you won’t be complaining about what they are doing.
3. This is a personal one but it’s kind of sexy to see my boyfriend doing something he enjoys, well. Now if your significant other is putting in countless hours into a game to come out of it a loser every time, perhaps you should gently let him know that he should try another game.

Overall, I really think that people get on their partners’ cases a bit too much when it comes to video gaming. I think so long as gaming isn’t getting in the way of living normal, clean, productive lives, things should be fine. And let me just tell you, yelling at them, calling names, and breaking computers and consoles don’t necessarily work. A sweet nudge or offers of amazing, uh, meals may be a lot more appealing.

First two pictures are from an Oaxacan restaurant called Guelaguetza Restaurant. W and I tried some grasshoppers because the owner told us to try them, a chicken tamale, and four different kinds of mole. Third picture is of the meatballs they have at Ikea. As you can tell, my piggy boyfriend had a whole plate of mac n cheese on the side. Fourth picture is of the yummy Thomas Kemper vanilla cream soda my boyfriend ordered at Tender Greens. (Since he liked it so much, I actually bought some from BevMo for him. Y’all should try it too! Four bottles for $4.99.) Fifth picture is of the roasted duck (egg) noodle soup I ordered at SanamLuang. The last picture is of the marinated Pacific cod I prepared for my boyfriend for dinner. It also has a garnish of peas, sweet corn, chopped potatoes, shallots, and pancetta sauteed in garlic and a little bit of butter.

BF and I were supposed to go to Vegas this past weekend for our friend Howard’s 30th birthday extravaganza but for personal (totally different) reasons we could not make it. Last minute, we decided to drop by Knott’s Berry Farm for a couple of hours for my friend Dan’s belated birthday casual get-together. We both had work but it was okay because we just got there later than everyone else. I took some pictures, as you can see.

I got to Knott’s around 5 p.m. (boyfriend got there around 7 p.m.) and by the time 8:30 p.m. rolled around, we decided to get some dinner at Portillo’s Hot Dog in Buena Park (right down the street from Knott’s Berry Farm). S left so the six of us had some chili dogs, polish dogs (1st picture), chili fries (2nd picture), and I had an Italian Beef sandwich (3rd picture). The birthday boy recommended this place because it’s as authentic as it can get if you want Chicago style dogs outside of Chicago. Mmm! I definitely recommend this place. Awesome food and interesting decor. We closed the place down and parted ways.

My foodie-ing adventure isn’t over yet. Hawaii is coming up! I can’t wait to post pictures of the great eats Oahu has to offer. I’ll update next time with something more substantial. Too tired to really write anything right now.

Have a great week everyone! Hope you had an awesome weekend. Ciao.

]]> http://akikokim.wordpress.com/2010/08/16/foodie-ing-knotts-berry-farm-and-portillos/feed/ 0 Aubrie A. 132567420 132559996 a c e photo 1 DSC_0322 DSC_0324 DSC_0325 DSC_0329 DSC_0339 DSC_0348 DSC_0351 DSC_0352 photo 4 photo 2 photo 3 http://akikokim.wordpress.com/2010/08/05/physical-therapy-sess-fourth-of-july-and-the-huntington-library/ http://akikokim.wordpress.com/2010/08/05/physical-therapy-sess-fourth-of-july-and-the-huntington-library/#comments Thu, 05 Aug 2010 02:00:00 +0000 Aubrie A. http://akikokim.wordpress.com/?p=1329 ]]>

Here’s an entry that’s been in my saved drafts folder for a month now. Oops!

So after finishing up my spinal decompression sessions back in February, I decided that I should seek the help of a Physical Therapist to make sure I’m working out the right way and to really fix this back problem once and for all. Well, let me rephrase that — my BOYFRIEND decided that I should seek the help of a PT. He’s been immensely helpful and encouraging with regards to my health, more so than I’ve been to myself. You’d think someone in the healthcare industry would have better sense than to let her body deteriorate but thank God for D because he’s really been making it an easy and fun process. I found a great physical therapist in Santa Monica who I’ve gone to see three times now. He’s wonderful and I can’t wait to improve with his help. I’ve never felt better! Time to take part in a triathlon. Kidding.

7/4/2010 – Fourth of July was eventful, as my friends Howard and Nevin invited D and me to a BBQ! Nevin’s parents, who one a huge mansion in Hancock Park, were hosting (or were they out of town?) and we had the house to cook, drink, and goof around as much as we liked. Howard was on the grill and he cooked everything from steaks to hot dogs to burgers to fish. Many of our mutual friends were present (all of whom I’ve met through Howard) and we had a great time. I really appreciate hanging out with such a great group of fun, smart individuals! Unfortunately, I didn’t take any photos because I was too focused on the food and company but did shoot one video of some of the fireworks display! Thanks Howard for taking care of the entertainment (and putting yourself at risk for lighting all 2389473284 of them. ;P)

7/10/2010 – My boyfriend and I went on a rather random date to the Huntington Library one Saturday. Considering I’m not working on Saturdays this summer, it provided for some great quality day time with my love. Considering the last time I went to HL was when I was in high school, I was excited to go on a picture-taking spree with my hot photographer so we could compare whose pictures are better. Hey, he may have the years of experience under his belt but I have a “natural eye” for this type of stuff okay!

My camera ran out of battery 10 pictures in (yes, I’m stupid for neglecting to pack an extra battery) so we used my boyfriend’s nicer camera. You can’t see the quality because I’ve made the pictures so small but they’re gorgeous in full view. These are a mix of his and my pictures.

After a hot and adventurous day at the gardens, we decided to get some seafood goodies for dinner. We Yelped and located San Marino Seafood Market and man, am I glad we did! (And he wanted to have Vietnamese food!) Psh. Man, their clam chowder (I had white, boyfriend had red) were so delicious. I ordered oysters even though my boyfriend doesn’t like them, and an ahi tuna salad. Holy smokes is this place good. Everything was so fresh and tasty. D had a scallops plate and his mashed potatoes are heavenly. After dinner, we sat outside and had some Intelligentsia Coffee and talked. He and I can go just about anywhere and just talk for hours and hours. I love that!

Nomnomnom!

Write more later; must run to D’s place to help him settle into his new place now. Yay!

]]> http://akikokim.wordpress.com/2010/08/05/physical-therapy-sess-fourth-of-july-and-the-huntington-library/feed/ 0 Aubrie A. _DSC0584 _DSC0610 _DSC0629 _DSC0709 _DSC0731 _DSC0637 _DSC0753 _DSC0741 _DSC0742 _DSC0745 _DSC0749 _DSC0751 http://akikokim.wordpress.com/2010/07/07/i-find-my-boyfriend-endlessly-amusing/ http://akikokim.wordpress.com/2010/07/07/i-find-my-boyfriend-endlessly-amusing/#comments Wed, 07 Jul 2010 01:33:36 +0000 Aubrie A. http://akikokim.wordpress.com/?p=1267 ]]> I’ve dated some interesting men in my past; a 6’7″ Taiwanese basketball player, a Japanese heir/socialite, and an out-of-the-closet foot-fetishist — all of these men made for very colorful, individual pieces in the mosaic that is my dating life.

However, in the end, they just couldn’t sustain my interest. I realized they either: 1) weren’t who I’d thought they were; 2) left it entirely up to me to entertain them or sustain the fun dynamic in our relationship; or 3) couldn’t stimulate me … uh, intellectually.

I am not someone who bores easily because I can amuse myself all day, every day. If my parents forced me to marry someone truly boring, I’m sure I’d make the best of it by making a fool out of myself — that’s just the kind of person I am. However, considering I do have a choice, I choose to be with someone who will not only challenge me intellectually but incite me to climb new heights.

D not only slays me with his quirk-tastic humor but his brain works like Wikipedia; I believe he is the smartest man I’ve dated up to date. I don’t know how someone can jam so much information in his brain the way he does; he can hold steady conversations on all things related to history, computers, politics (ESPECIALLY THIS!), religion, literature, health, film, authors, science, philosophy, etc. Renaissance Man, I’d like to call him.

Not only is his brain a veritable playground for random information on even the most obscure topics — he has a way of motivating me to learn new things as well!

I love how even though he and I see each other regularly (3-4 times/week), we still manage to have so much to share with one another on the phone, for hours at that. Every night! I find myself chuckling randomly at the fact that I am dating the most random guy I know. In any given night, our topics will traverse from the physical realm (current events, daily goings-on, etc.) to a metaphysical one (philosophical discussions, religion, etc.) with a blink of an eye.

Towards the final leg of our conversation once, he went from talking about how my face is “made up of so many little curves; it’s like a Disney character’s” to a discussion about birth-control methods and estradiol/progesterone – progestin talk, to a discussion on how to prevent and how not to treat DVT thrombosis, to the Marilyn Monroe Hormone (and how I used to be that gal).

Then we somehow started talking about our old relationships and how he wished he had met me back in college; we could’ve saved ourselves the trouble and heartache by getting together earlier and who knows — maybe we’d be married by now, he’d speculated. I told him I’m happy we have each other now because we were just kids back then. I mean, with the wisdom we’ve gained from our unique experiences, we’re truly ready to take on a more serious relationship. We’re more sure of what we want and need and we’re also more able to appreciate what we have with each other because hey, finding a person to have a great, balanced relationship with is NOT EASY! It took me 13 years, for crying out loud.

He, then, responded with something so very sweet:

“I know. But this life is too short and it would’ve been nice to have those few extra years with you.” :*) <turns to mush>

I love our sporadic daytime conversations and our sometimes three-hour long nightly conversations. I never thought I’d meet someone I can talk to about so many different things but now that I have, I’m never letting go! Muahahaha.

Once we got to Freak City, we took a look around and realized man, this place is creepy. It really felt like we’d stepped onto the set of the SAW movie series. Anyway, the party was a bit slow at first but around midnight, things started picking up. With the appearance of Hottub, an awesome crunk band, and the consumption of their spiked punch, everyone started having a really good time! At some point, D started battling with other dancers (of course) and I was a very proud girlfriend. There were women around me who were getting super *excited* and they were making it very obvious they wanted his attention but nope, he didn’t even bat an eyelash. A man who doesn’t have roving eyes? Yeah, he is one of a kind.

In some ways, I really do think Ivy Leaguers know how to party harder. Haha.

They all look so cute … esp. the one in green. ~

Thankfully, the flash on the camera provided some light but man, I don’t know how those fellas got around with those sunglasses on because it was SO dark in there! There were a lot of little crevices where people could go and “hang out” but honestly, how can you even think about “hanging out” at a place like this?

We all had a lot of fun and I have to admit there were a lot of epic pictures taken.  After the party around 2:30 a.m., we decided to take on IHOP for some after-hour grub. I just had hot tea but man did the men chow down on some artery clogging goodness. Got home around 4:30 a.m. and knocked out because I had to wake up early for Father’s Day!

Will update again with pictures of the dodgeball game I’m going to tonight (Monday)!

I mean, having watched Korean dramas during my most formative years, I grew up with this pre- and ill-conceived notion that if two guys weren’t fighting over me at once (extra points for battling with light sabers) or if one of them wasn’t my long lost brother, love just wasn’t there. I was tired of seeing the same story lines with the same love triangles and instead, I wanted a show that allowed me to be fairly noncommittal when it came to my emotions but engaged enough to stay committed each season. I thought this show did exactly that.

Well, at least that’s what I used to think. I’m now at the juicy, ripe age of 29, and I guess Father Time felt it was appropriate and necessary to lift the veil of ideality and show me the true face of reality. (And it’s not pretty.) After watching both movies, I realized: we now have a neurotic dating “guru” turned Mrs. Laissez-faire in a “sparkle”-lacking marriage; a sex-goddess turned desperate, mutant strain of upper east side menopausal; a once witty spitfire turned wise mom of one; and a confident lass turned frustrated mom-of-two with insecurities abound.

Sending the gals on a trip to beautiful Abu Dhabi on a lark is supposed to make us disregard this hasty revision? I will not be distracted by the decadence and tomfoolery! I understand characters need to evolve at some point blahblahblah but I feel like a forlorn mother watching her child go through the horrific, behavioral changes that accompany puberty. I know they can’t remain naïve girls of 35 forever but as I used to say to my overly eager boyfriends during my late teens, “Slow it down; you’re doing too much at once.”

Now the pièce de résistance: Aidan is back. Aidan was my favorite one out of the bunch of neanderthals she dated. I had always categorized him as her “one who got away” because let’s face it ladies – he was the perfect boyfriend character. I was bothered when Carrie ended up marrying the ever-so-elusive Mr. Big, a man most women would consider a commitment-phobic player type, because this gives women the impression “wait for this [bad] man long enough and he will be yours”. Come on! In no way would I pass up a good, honest man for the likes of one Mr. Big.

But there are women who think otherwise; some SATC fans were ecstatic that Carrie had finally put a pink, swarovski’d leash on Mr. Big. What kind of a message is this show sending to its cultish followers? Some women don’t know how to think for themselves and will refer to shows like this to determine the fate of their lives and I feel sorry for the men who have to be the victims of this foolishness. I don’t want to sit through yet another dinner listening to a friend crying to me about how her “Mr. Big” dumped her for a hotty with a body but she’ll leave the light on, channel Bryan Adams, and “be right here waiting” until he comes back.

Lindsay Lohan won’t be the cause of our demise; the tag team efforts of SATC and those darned Korean dramas will be! (And romantic literature … but that’s for another day.)

Oops, got sidetracked. Back to Aidan. (Spoiler alert) I don’t care that Carrie and Aidan have a history together, nor do I care how beautiful he thought Carrie looked that night (with that horrid eye-makeup application, her face looked like a marriage of Mr. Ed and Bert Raccoon) – he shouldn’t have made that move to kiss her! He has a wife and three beautiful sons and she is married! But because Carrie felt so guilty afterwards, we’re supposed to root for her and hope Mr. Big doesn’t leave her? Sorry but I can’t empathize.

And what’s worse? After the kiss, Carrie confesses to Mr. Big that she’d kissed Aidan and what does she get as punishment? A slap on her wrist? Nay, a ring on her finger! A big, hunk of black diamond to sit atop those gaunt finger-sticks. Where is the justice? Is this where we coo and caw over how sweet Mr. Big is? Well, *slaps knee* thank you, SATC writers, for proving us wrong and turning our commitment-phobe into a great man who awards bad behavior, and for making our good guy out to be a cheating husband and father! It’s no wonder “nice guys” feel so jilted; shows like SATC perpetuate the stereotype that the nice guy just can’t win.

This movie was a letdown on a moral level. Sure their crazy costumes were fun to look at and Samantha’s quest to secure a man-stick to put her in sex-drive made me anticipate my tomorrow-years. However, both movies opened up my single-eyelids and made me see that although this show may possibly be an archaeological, digital relic of our more sexualized media, in my mind’s eye, it’s everything I hate about Korean dramas with artificial additives! With one-part injudiciousness and two-parts shattered ideals, these movies were, in whole, a lot to swallow.

You should’ve just left good enough alone, SATC. Your TV shows were good enough but you had to go and ruin it with this inaneness. For shame.