lauren in 2009: September 2009

Post #273- Let the Party Continue..

The mornings are starting to get brisk- seems like fall is in the air! I love being able to walk outside without breaking a sweat, but the chilly mornings make it so hard to get up in the mornings.

Work this week has been pretty stressful. It hasn't been the typical last week of work. I really liked my job here and my coworkers are awesome, so I don't want to just stop working and leave a mess for the next person to clean up.

Went home again after work and continued the packing party. Then I tried to make some potstickers at the boys house. Their non-stick pan is no longer non-stick and I failed to use enough oil. Result- open bottomed potstickers and a mess of a pot to wash after. =\ FAIL.

Post #272- Let's Go Angels!

The newly dubbed "Week of Lauren" continued today with the coworkers. I did not want any of the big hoo-rah, but my manager insistent that its not for my going away...its an excuse for them to go out and have a good time. haha.

We enjoyed some streetfare tapas at K'ya in Anaheim and then headed to Angel Stadium to see them beat out Texas. This was my second Angel's game...and they won both times! :) I MUST be good luck!

Post #271- Sad Hour

The first day of my last week of work.

My manager will be traveling later in the week, so she organized a Monday Happy Hour which she dubbed "Sad Hour" for my going away.

Rudy's at s MNF special, so we had a few $1 sliders and some beer to wash it down.

Post #270- Another Goodbye

Waking up today was slightly painful.

Chowed on some leftovers from last night's dinner and watching some football at Daniel's house. B took some time to explain the rules to me, and turns out, I think I finally understand the game! However, my first game semi-understanding, the 49ers took a sad loss. :(

We pit stopped at Taco Bell and noticed that the hot sauce packets had little messages on them. Dunno why, but we all found them pretty amusing!

Post #269- Congrats Linda & Michael!

I haven't really known Linda & Michael for too long, but the boys are all pretty close to them....and they are one of the most adorable couples I've met. You know how they say you can tell how in love a couple truly is just by the way they look at each other? Totally the case with these two.

Congrats again, and thank you for allowing us to share your special day with you. <3

Post #268- Let The Journey Begin

After a great workday, Niko, Daniel, Vinh and I piled into a Tahoe and started the trek up to NorCal.

We killed time with conversation, snacks, and best of all...the invention of a new game titled "the sauce game". It was Vinh and Daniel's invention, don't ask me....

Arrived safely back in SF :)

Post #267- No So Thirsty Thursdays

...because instead I did MORE packing. Justin & his gf were taking a Uhaul up to SF, so he offered to help me take some stuff.

Thanks Justin for helping me take some of my boxes up with you!

Post #266- Miserable

HOW do I get another earache?!?

I woke up miserable this morning. My left ear was throbbing in pain and I could barely hear out of it because the insides were so swollen.

I still went to work and managed to get an appointment with an EN&T doctor at 1:30pm. Suffered through the whole morning semi-deaf.

THe doctor said it was something in between and ache and an infection, whatever that means. May sound gross, but he stuck this thing in my ear and cleaned it out. Apparantly, the root of my problem is, get this, that my ears do not produce enough earwax. Here is your health lesson of the day- The acidity from earwax balances out moisture from the air. Without enough earwax, the moisture turns into bacteria, leading to an infection. Also, he told me not to stick q-tips in your ears- the biggest cause for infections.

So, my ears were too clean. Go figure.

So, a $40 copay and $35 of meds later....I feel 10000x better. Poorer, but better.

Gross entry huh? =P

Post #265 - Packing

My cousin Justin spilled that beans that he will be moving back to SF as well! He is making the first of a few trips up this weekend to start taking up his belongings. He offered to help me bring some of my junk back, so against my will, I started to pack up my belongings.

Like I said previously, you never realize how much you have until it's time to move. Sorted through all my clothes- pack, pack later, donate, sell, dump. Try doing that with two closets and two chests of drawers. What a PAIN!

Why does my closet still look untouched?

Post #264- Monday Blues

Glum day today. I turned in my two weeks notice at work today and I didn't take it too well. Although I've only been with the company for about 6 months, I've gotten to know the people there as friends. They are a group of talented people that I will miss dearly. I can probably say that I've learned more here in 6 months than I have in another other job. Management was great- my manager was very patient with me when I started and I looked to her as more of a mentor.

I picked up some groceries, but since it was MNF and Vinh had class, twas a very lonely dinner.

Post #263 - Must I Do This Again?!

Had to say good bye to B AGAIN today :( He left in the AM since he had to drive the car up by a certain time. Still sad, but it was much easier to say goodbye this time around knowing I would be seeing him again in a week!

Lazy day for the rest of the day. Vinh did some freezer scrounging and whipped up some fried rice, gyoza, and edamame for lunch. The rest of the afternoon I bummed around and napped :)

Niko was in chef mode and invited us over for dinner. Well, Vinh was over already, but I moseyed over when I woke up for some delicious Chicken Adobo and wine. Got introduced to "Sons of Anarchy"- a tv show about a biker gang. Turns out, its pretty good (and addicting!). Entourage and then bed time :)

Post #262- Did He Really Leave?

Talk about a productive day!

Tudo, Vinh, and I woke up really early despite a semi-late night last night. We headed to the gym at 8:30am. Yes, I was up earlier than 8:30am on a Saturday...unheard of for me! Almost 2 hours later, we showered and took our clothes to the tailors. VInh ahd to get his suit taken in, Daniel has pants and jackets, and I had a pair of jeans. Next stop, Gomen! Delish! Picked up some dog food and other necessities at WalMart on the way home.

Picked up B from the airport! :D Over to Jay & Syl's to watch the Mayweather fight and bbq. Priv + Sake + Beer + Poker = sleep time for me. :)

Why don't we all get cute notes?! :)

Post #261- A Semi-Quiet Friday

It's Friday night and all I wanted to so was to do my laundry and have a quiet TV night. I was really tired for some reason and didn't feel like dealing with the hustle and bustle of going out (for once).

Once I got back to the boys, Vinh, JK, and Tudo came back with a Costco pizza and a 12 pack of beer.

Post #260 - Work it Out

Got news from B that he will be coming down this weekend to pick up the NSX :)

That made my day a little bit happier.

Fairly intense gym session with Tudo and Vinh...cardio, arms, and abs. Ouch. I can feel the soreness already.

Post #259- Lonely

Mope Mope Mope.

That's what Bam and I did today.

Look how empty B's room looks. It looks so sad.

It was strange coming home to an empty house since everyone was out of town. Vinh came back later in the evening, so I felt much safer tonight. :)

Post #258- Sadbug

I totally did not want to wake up today. Partially because of the late night last night, but partially because I knew B was leaving today.

I couldn't take days off to drive up with him, so I had to leave him and go to work :( I know I will be there soon too, but I'm just a big cry baby.

Also went to see The Killers in concert tonight at UCI. My coworkers had an extra ticket luckily. As much as I love concerts and The Killers, I really just wasn't in the mood for it tonight. I tried to put on a happy face and make the most of the night though.

By the time I got home from the concert, it was pretty late, and for some reason, the sliding door at the boys house was wide open. Since I was home alone with Bam, I got kind of scared. Called up Niko & Daniel and they came over to check things out just in case. Thank goodness for them living so close and even better than Vinh comes back home tomorrow.

Sad sad bug. Sleeping alone feels weird.

Post #257- Sadasaurus

Even though I had a great day at work, it was a tough night. I scrambled around after work with Niko to finish up B's going away gift that I slacked on over the weekend.

When I got back to the house, the packing frenzy was still going on. Niko had made some chocolate covered strawberries and brought some champagne to see him off. We took a break, toasted, and gave him his gift. Writing & reading the notes people created what Daniel called an "emotional breakdown".

Daniel helped Brian and Vinh load up everything into the U-Haul. Slowly as his room slowly started to empty out, I swear time sped up. Before I knew it, it was 3:30 am and as much as I wanted to stay up with B, my eyes were getting heavy and I knew I need to sleep since I still had work tomorrow. I hate going to sleep sad :(

Post #256- Pig in a Box

After a pretty late night last night, we kind of slept in today. B and I got lunch at one of our favorite udon spots in Irvine- Fukada. I'm probably a little biased because this is one of the few places that has mochi as an option :)

After some grocery shopping, cooking, and football, I finally convinced B to start packing. I can't believe how fast the time went. I wasn't really sad until this weekend. Partially because time is winding down, but also because I know how difficult change can be. I think most of us down here are creatures of habit, and a disruption in our social systems affects our lives more than we realize. Today I thought about how my day to day activities will change. Yes, I know I will be relocating soon as well, but still....you get so used to someone/something, that when its gone, you kind of feel lost.

It's funny because you never realize how much junk you actually have until you have to move. We started sorting through stuff, but barely made a dent!

Post #255- Happy Wedding!

B and I managed to start the day off pretty early. Well, he got up early, I didn't. :)

We went to South Coast for lunch at Lawry's Carvery and to pick up a necklace at Bloomies that I wanted. In addition to the necklace, B managed to pick up some goodies as well.

Once we got back, I immediately had to start getting ready for the boys' friend's wedding we were going to that evening. I haven't been to too many asian-style weddings, so it was pretty fun. Really good food and a lot of alcohol :) Congrats to Francis & Tiffany!

I love photobooths! So fun!

lauren in 2009