Typical Day...

Now that school has officially started for me, my everyday habits have changed drastically from the summer. This is a typical day for me after my long day at school/lab/work. 

1. GRE Kaplan Study Materials- My official test date is less than a month away so I have been consistently putting in my hours studying for it. It's challenging to study for this and for my classes at the same time... 
2. Coffee- I try to stay home and study, but when it is as hot as it has been this past week, there is absolutely no way that I can study at home. So usually, I am at my favorite local coffee shop drinking my favorite milk coffee and putting in my study hours here. 

 3. Netbook- What would I do without my faithful netbook? I usually keep this on when there is a Dodger game I want to keep up with or if I want to listen to Pandora. Babyface, Keith Urban, and Hillsongs are my go to stations when I study.

4. School Notes- A really helpful hint I realized after many many years of school is rewriting my notes! Sometimes during class I get so absorbed in writing nicely that I forget what the heck I'm writing about. So now I spend more time paying attention to my professors and I just rewrite the notes when I study on my own, and it really helps! Only if I figured this out earlier... lol
5. Droid2-  It's not pictured here because I was using it to snap this picture. But my Droid will literally be right there next to my pile of study stuff. And yes, it is a big distraction. I think I'm going to start leaving  this in the car...

This will ultimately be my life until December! Hopefully your days are more exciting than mine! 

Bye Bye Hanna

Today, one of my bestfriends Hanna moved to Philly. We were anticipating it the whole summer, but the day officially came and she is now officially miles away. I really admire Hanna's courage to be able to move out of her comfort zone, pack up her stuff, and move miles away to go to graduate school. I will miss her so much! We have such a great relationship. She is so funny and is beautiful inside and out. Anytime I need to snap some reality in my head, she is there to keep it real. Anytime I need to talk or get some sound advice, she is there with guidance. Anytime I want some late night yummy food, she just says when and where. Anytime I need a place to crash, I don't even need to ask. Sigh, missing you already Hanna! 

Before her departure, we tried to meet each other as much as possible, and pretty much thought of and did every celebration we possibly could have in the span of couple weeks. Every week was a different good-bye party, but I did not mind it one bit at all. I knew I would start school once she left, so playing and playing and playing with friends was the best way to end the summer. For one of the days, my bestfriends and I all planned to do whatever Hanna wanted to do. And what did Hanna to do?

  

Oh yes, eat some El Taurino!! HAHA Can you blame her though, really?!

After El Taurino we went to a cafe in Koreatown.  I already forgot the name of the place b/c it's still fairly new. All I remember is that it was right next to I Love Boba. I would definitely come her to study if I was ever in LA. Drinks are not as pricey as the usual Koreatown cafes, but still more than the local coffee shop. Anyways, while we were here, we played some cards (FUN!) and gave her a little special gift....

 

Makeup from Urban Decay! I like to call her my personal makeup artist! Seriously, she knows what do with my face! 

<3

Afterwards, we all hung out at Jessica's place and pretty much did what most girls do when they get together... perfecting our nails, listening to music, talking about nothing, slugging around, being silly...you know! It was the perfect girls day!  

Song of the Day

In honor of Kim Kardashians big wedding today, I decided my Song of the Day would be this perfect wedding song! I knew from the first time I heard this by Big & Rich, that I would want it played on my own wedding one day. It's called Lost in this Moment! Sweetest song ever!!! 

Big & Rich- Lost in this Moment

(not the greatest quality, but the best one I could find through You Tube)

Birthday (family edition)

This year when my family asked me what I wanted to do for my birthday, I had two requests.... to take a studio family picture and eat sashimi. Little did I know how pricey these studios can charge, I decided to do it the old-fashion way and take it ourselves. And when any special occasion comes along, our family will try to find any excuse to eat at this sashimi restaurant located on the pier of Redondo Beach because it is just that good. This place is known for their fresh crab, but my family comes here for the sashimi. So the day was set! Eat sashimi at Redondo Beach and take family pictures on the pier! 


So there are two Korean sashimi places located on the pier. But this place IS the place to go. There's always a wait on the weekends, but it is definitely worth it. Kind of hard to spot at first, but this is what it looks like from the outside... 

 

Snapshots to kill time while we wait for our food...

Sashimi and Oysters!!! Need I say more? By the way, the oysters here are HUGEEE!!!

Oyster shots 1-2-3!!! 

Do you think this animal is real or fake?

REAL!!! I don't even know what animal to call this, but it definitely stole the show on the pier. Everybody wanted to get in on the action and take a picture with it. 

Mommy and me! 

The men in my life!!!

Thankful for my parents! <3 

So my fear of animals were reinforced when I was too scared to get any closer to this bird. Oh well. 

On the way back to the parking structure, the funniest thing happened! Being the lazy person I am, I did not want to walk all the way around the parking structure to enter (if you've been to Redondo, you know that there are poles around the whole structure). Anyways, I slithered my way through these poles, and my dad being the silly person that he is thought he could do the same! It was the funniest thing, because he had the toughest time getting through!! Our whole family shared the biggest laugh.... Do you think he made it through?

Eventually he did, EVENTUALLYYYY!

Mission Accomplished! Not the greatest family picture, but it will do! 

Bye Redondo! Thank you for a great birthday!

Farewell Summer

Whenever my brother leaves to Texas, is when I start realizing that summer vacation is coming to an end. And this morning, my brother left back to Texas. It's always a sad moment for the family when he leaves because that means we won't be seeing him for another couple solid months. It also means that I will soon be beginning another dreadful semester of school. Thankfully, this semester will be my last (or at least that's what I have planned). 


This was our balcony all summer long while my brother was here. He loves to surf by the way. The big pink surfboard in the middle is mine! It only sees light while my brother is in town! Back in the storage it went this morning. 

This is our balcony now... So empty and lonely! 

Dear Summer,
Thank you for all the laziness I experienced for the past couple months. I will miss you dearly!!! Next week I will be back to all the stress of anxiety, lack of sleep, and caffeine high! Oh, the college life...

Birthday (church edition)

My previous post, I mentioned I will do an update on the different birthday celebrations I had this year. My first celebration was with Sue, her boyfriend Joon, and niece Audrey. Sue and I became great friends when we began first working together (almost five years ago). We lost touch, but recently got together when she invited me to her church, 나성한미, and I've been attending that church since! She not only is a great friend and a sister in Christ, but also my co-worker and manager! Our relationship literally morphs depending on the time and place! So for my birthday last Sunday, Sue and Joon invited me for dessert and dinner, and of course I said yes!  They both have so much personality, humor, and heart, that I know I can always count on a good time with them. 

After church, we started out at Porto's Bakery & Cafe, which is a great cafe/dessert spot. And if you have a sweet tooth like me, this is the place to go! It is dessert-galore!!! 

Potato Ball

Sue chose the potato ball and the cheese rolls (second pic to the left), which many people recommend getting here. 

This is more of my liking....the cinnamon roll and Oreo cheesecake!!

We then headed to C and O Cucina in Marina del Rey! It was quite a drive, but Sue knows my love for Italian food and really wanted me to try this place out... 

THE BEST garlic rolls ever!!!!!

Yummy Linguine with Lobster  

And of course, chicken fettuccine! 

Say hi to Audrey (Sue's niece!) She is so sweet and cute!! She joined in on all the fun for the day. 

Audrey and Joon! Audrey actually calls Joon baby삼춘 (which means baby uncle in Korean) and I think that's the cutest nickname ever. She is so protective over him, that me and Sue always get a good laugh.

Sue, Audrey, and I. 

All I remember today  from last week was literally feeling full  from the minute I got to church until I came home from dinner. My stomach was satisfied with all of my favorite foods I got to eat in the span of couple hours! It was definitely a great day filled with great friends and great food! xoxo 

The next day, Mindy and Jinny (two girls from my old church), came to visit me from LA to wish me happy birthday. Because they live in LA it's hard to visit them as often as I'd like so it's always nice seeing them. We decided to do one thing to our preference. I chose dinner at Olive Garden, Jinny chose dessert at La Kaffa, and Mindy chose on taking Cue pics!  Here are pictures of us just being silly at Cue!

Birthdays are a great excuse to reconnect with old friends, wouldn't you agree? As much as I miss these girls from my old church, I also really enjoy my church that I am currently attending.  I feel very fortunate that I have these two different churches that are welcoming to me.  

23 and Blessed

Happy Birthday to me! Today I turn 23 years old! I used to think that was such an old age, but now that I am 23, I realize that I am still young and still have a lot of growing up to do. I hear that a girl (or shall I say a lady) changes drastically from when she is in her lower 20s to her upper 20s, so I am excited for what the next decade holds for me. Oh God, how filled He is with surprises! 


Each year goes by on my birthday, and it always feels just like any ordinary day to me.  But this year, I already celebrated my birthday three different times! I feel incredibly blessed to have such great family and friends that wanted to take time out of their day to celebrate with me.  Here is a snippet of my birthday celebrations so far....

1. Picture Time          2. Garlic Rolls      3. Three-In-One

I will do an individual post for each of my birthday celebrations soon!! My big birthday finale will be on Saturday though where I will be celebrating with the Dodgers! ;) Can't wait! 

Song of the Day

I am so happy that Scotty Mccreery finally has an official music video for his first single, I Love You This Big. If you aren't familiar with him, he was the winner of American Idol this past season, and also a personal favorite of mine. Would you believe me if I told you this song has been my alarm for the past couple months! haha...

Reunion

This past weekend, I met up with some old friends for my good friend, Ben's birthday. Compared to the past couple of years, my bestfriends and I drifted far far apart from these guys that we used to hang out on a serious daily basis. We were literally inseparable during our final year of high school and early college years. Eventually, "life" happened, so we drifted apart and are unable to meet as often as we liked to. But we do try to meet up ever so often, esp. for birthdays. And when we all do get together, it's like nothings changed! I love each of them in their own unique silly way, and I can always count on a good time with them.

The night started off at La Defence, which is an upscale karaoke bar in Koreatown. My personal opinion on that place is that it has a great atmosphere (i mean it had the grand staircase and everything), butttt way too pricey for a night out. We ended up going to another cheaper karaoke bar later and still had just the same amount of fun. Here is what our night consisted of.....

Throw some drinks in.....

with some singing and dancing.....

And it sums up a great night!

I do need to explain this picture because it is so awkward! We had different types of poses everybody was yelling out, but obviously not everybody understood what the heck was going on (hence all the different expressions)! But this is the only group picture I got of the night... Oh well. Happy Birthday Ben!! We love you!!

Unexpected Visitor

Every summer, the apartment I live at gets unexpected visitors! They strolled by last summer, and were back again this summer! This time around, they actually stayed for couple of days.

Here are the little cuties!

I doubt its the same family as the one from last summer (since I'm sure the chicks should get older). This year I was prepared and fed crackers to them! I more actually threw the crackers near their surrounding b/c I was nervous to get too close. But regardless, their so darn cute!! Hopefully they come back again!