Post #365- Year In Review

Wow, I can't believe 2009 is coming to and end already. Where does the time go?

I started this blog after seeing TL's and Luna's blogs, and I had every intention of making this year a productive one. It started off fairly adventurous as Niko and I made a lot of effort to go out and do stuff so that we would have things to blog about. Slowly, things tapered off and the mundane OC lifestyle continued. Niko and I went on many adventures this year, from discovering Mesa, our favorite OC spot, visiting the sea animals at the aquarium, rockin out at the Britney concert, and just creating things such as "Wine Wednesdays" and "Thirtsy Thursdays". Not that I didn't enjoy living in Orange County, it was just that the city girl in me itched for something more.

The economy took a toll on most retailers throughout the year, and I was laid off from PacSun, they very job I originally moved down to the OC for. However, not only did I move on to two bigger and better companies, I was able to expand my network, learn about different industries, and also met some awesome people along the way.

As almost everyone knows, I spent a lot time complaining about how boring the OC was and how badly I wanted to move back home to San Francisco. As luck turns out, B and I were both able to make the move to SF within a month of each other. He got a job in ad sales and I got a job in merchandise planning with a company I had been trying to get into for years. I am looking forward to working hard for a company that I can be passionate about.

See, everything happens for a reason.

And now I've come full circle back to San Francisco. It has only been two months since I've been back, but I can already tell 2010 is going to be amazing. I am looking forward to spending more time with the girls. I am looking forward to see what else my job has in store for me. I am looking forward to (possibly) moving out. I am looking forward to spending more time with B. And I am looking forward to Daniel & Niko possibly relocating up here- then I don't think I would miss anything about the OC...well, maybe Shik Do Rak. :)

I am definitely looking forward to celebrating and bringing in the new year with my friends tonight- it's been a few years since I've been able to.

Thanks for an awesome year 2009. Bring it on 2010!

Post #364- Eve's Eve

I felt like a walking zombie today. Am I really that old? Did going to sleep at midnight really make me tired today? Talk about Grandma status.

It was still deserted at the office today. With everyone on vacation, the quiet time is really nice because it lets me actually focus on what I'm doing. The past few weeks have allowed me to learn so much more since the primary planner in my department has been on vacation.

Early bail again today :)

Post #363- Bernini Reunion

Another quiet day in the office and I got to leave early due to (another) eye appointment. I swear, contacts are the bane of my existence. I've been wearing glasses for the past 2-3 weeks, with occasional contacts wear on the weekend. I have prescription antibiotic steroid eyedrops that I use 4 times a day. And I'm STILL having issues. Ugh.

The old Bernini household got together tonight for our annual Christmas dinner at Shabu House. Bernini was the street name of the gorgeous house we used to live in when we were still students at UCD. We all lived there anywhere from 1 to 2 years, and it was my favorite year of my college career! It's a strange feeling to see how we've all "grown up"; we went from partying at Sudwerks Wednesday nights and at Cantina/Pasta Thursday nights and housepartying the rest of the weekend, to taking about friends getting engaged, discussing real estate, and proper investments.

We stuffed down 8 large plates of the Kobe beef and all the veggies that came along with them. I loved how the restaurant has different broth options besides the expected water. We had the spicy miso broth and it was delish! After dinner we went for drinks at Joe's gf's bar. Couldn't last too long as my eyes started getting droopy around 10:30pm. Got home and immediately KOed.

Post #362- Office Tumbleweeds

After an awesome holiday weekend, I reluctantly had to drag myself back to work. Even though it was a "long" weekend, it still flew by and I am still feeling exhausted from the festivities.

Our office is technically closed this week, but my manager allowed me to work so that I wouldn't go too negative in my PTO balance. When I got to work, it was still dark and everything was still locked up. Turns out only 3 of us in my department were working today. Although it was nice to have some quiet time and be able to actually focus on tasks at hand, at the same time it was almost eerily quiet.

This meant being at actually leave ON TIME! Yay!

Post #361- Secret Santa With the Girls!

It's like Christmas never ends! Not that I'm complaining ;)

B and I had dim sum at Koi Palace with some of his family- yummy! We roamed around Serramonte and Daiso for a little but before pit stopping at Stonestown to do some returns. I was totally scatterbrained and forgot which mall had which stores, so the trip to Serramonte was completely unnecessary. Oops!

Later meet up with the girls for our annual secret santa dinner! We decided to keep it casual and budget friendly this year with a delicious dinner at To Hyang. The food was very good and my taste buds were on fire the whole time, but I loved it! Thank you Christine for the cute gifts! :)

Post #360- The Best Shopping Day EVER!

Today is my favorite shopping day of the entire YEAR.

My Mom and I wake up early every year and brave the downtown crowds to do some good ol day-after-Christmas shopping. Since we go pretty early (8am!), there arent too many people and the stores are still organized and somewhat neat. Our first stop was Bloomies. 50% off cashmere? sure! 40% off markdowns? even better! Next stop- Saks. Bleh...nothing left. The shoe racks were literally EMPTY. We made a few other stops at BR, Gumps, Crate & Barrell...scoring deals along the way. :)
After an afternoon nap, I got ready to go with B to his family's Christmas party. Cute little Pocky was fitted for the holiday party, but he wouldn't sit still for my to take a picture of him. Lots of good food and really nice/friendly people. Santa and White Elephants!

Attempted to go out once we got back to the city after midnight....but the weather gods weren't on our sides. Rain Rain Rain....makes for a pass-out-on-the-couch-after-five-minutes type of night.

Post #359- Merry Christmas!

Since my family opened gifts last night/this morning, I got to sleep in a little before going over to Grandma's house for Christmas Dim Sum. We do this every year because my uncle and his family are never able to make Christmas dinner- they bring over some dim sum and other homemade goodies and we open gifts for my Grandma and Evan, my cousin's son.

Later in the afternoon I met up with B so that we could exchange our Christmas gifts. I had been looking forward to giving him his gift because I knew he would LOVe it! I couldn't ask for anyone better to spend my holidays with ;)

We had a Joe family dinner tonight as well with my Dad's side. My cousin that lives on the east coast was also in tow for the holidays so it was nice to spend some time with the fam. We ended the night with a Super Mario Brothers and Bowling tournament on the Wii.

Post #358- Merry Christmas Eve!

Merry Christmas Eve!

Pretty chill day at work today- we only worked a few hours before we were able to go home. Score!

I went downtown on the way home to pick up some last minute gifts. It wasn't too crowded- maybe because it was the middle of the day on xmas eve? Anyways, picked up what I needed and headed home to help my parents prep for our annual Lee family dinner (mom's side).

My parents were cooking/prepping the ENTIRE day! I couldn't believe how much stuff went into appetizers/main dish/sides and cleaning up!

As always with my mom's side, it was a late night full of catching up and laughs. The white elephant is always the best part of the night- there were lots of snuggies going around!

After everyone left, my family decided to open presents since my sister & bro in law were here. Hooray for new goodies!

Post #357- Since When Did Christmas Eve's Eve Become a Holdiay?

I swear, everyone is treating today like a holiday! Since when did December 23rd become a holdiay?!

Not that I'm complaining, since I left early today as well. :) I met up with B after work and we went to Rickhouse for a late HH- unfortunately we missed Toby & Mark, but managed to meet up with Ken for a little bit. Also ran into an old college friend as well! Good to catch up with old friends- it's hard nowadays since work consumes so much of our time!

B took me to PPQ for the first time. I know, I know...PPQ is old news, but I've never had the infamous crab and garlic noodles! I thoroughly enjoyed the buttery goodness! Finger-lickin-good!

Debated on continuing the night, but decided against it since I had work tomorrow. Everyone else was out and about since they all have tomorrow off. No fair!

Post #356- Snuggies and Such

Today was a much better day at work. Just the right amount of busy-ness.

I went with mom to Bed Bath & Beyond and Target today after dinner. I was dreading it because I figured that it would be packed. Luckily, I was pretty dead! I guess no on really Christmas shops at Bed Bath & Beyond, but even Target was dead. Oh well.

I picked up a Snuggie for my White Elephant gift....how original right? I really wanted a leopard print one, but sadly on the blue was left. I guess the leopard was a hot seller!

Post #355- Stressballs!

I thought that after the past few weeks of mayhem, it would be a chill week. Wrong. Monday's are typically really busy in retail, but today was a little overwhelming.

Oh well, I survived.

Post #354- Sunday Goodness

Someone woke me up this morning because he wanted to go Ming Tai. Well, not early, but early for a Sunday! Don't judge me!

The food was delish! Good way to start off Sunday. The rice rolls is a must...next time I want to try the ones with the fried Chinese doughnut inside. :)

Bummed around the rest of the day and had dinner with the parents & grandma. Great Weekend. :)

Post #352- Holiday Festivities

Today is my Grandma's 96th Birthday! I am so thankful everyday that she is healthy and well. We celebrated her big day with a potluck dinner with the family at her house. She can't move around too much on her own these days, so most celebrations and occasions are at her house. It nice that her birthday fell so close to the holidays because my cousin that lives out of states was back in town- and we usually only see her maybe once or twice a year. Had some good food, laughs, and birthday cake/gifts. Happy Birthday Grandma! <3 

After the festivities were over, I headed over to the SSF house to meet up with everyone for our annual Christmas potluck/Secret Santa. 

I cannot believe that we have been doing this for the past 10 or so years! 

Good time as always :) 

Post #352- Giving Back

I woke up today at 4am in order to do some volunteer work with Gap at Glide Memorial.

Sure I woke up early and complained about being tired and leaving the house when it was dark and had no cars on the road, but doing the actual work was so much fun. Everyone there had so much energy and doing something to help others at this time of year felt amazing.

Gap sponsered the event, helping pack over 6,500 bags that were given away to those in need (article here). The bags contained packaged and canned food, as well as bread and a turkey or chicken- enough for a family to have a holiday dinner.

Continued the holiday fun with a breakfast and surprise white elephant at work given to the team by our managers and director. The contents of the white elephant were much need gifts. :)
Worked worked worked til it was time for our Planning Team Holiday Bake-Off! I thought for sure we would win with our clever signage and festive decorations! How could we not?!

We didnt. Booo.
Met up with B after work and had a nice dinner at The House. The sea bass was delicious! :) Since we had such a late dinner, we wandered around the bars in the area. Enjoyed drinks while listening to live reggae music- not something I'd typically enjoy, but turns out...it was super chill and I actually enjoyed it. :) Stopped by Sutra for a quick minute, but felt super old there...headed out after some quick drinks and chatting with some friends.

Post #351- Blah

Blah blah blah.

Did nothing exciting today. Had a yummy dinner thanks to my Mom :) Lambchops. Yum!

Post #350- Drawing a Blank

Another intesnse day.

Post #349- Go Plaid!

Despite the busy season, us newbies still had to set aside time to attend our training classes. Not so fun, but I suppose it's necessary.

After class we were walking back to our building and saw the Gap Plaid bus sitting outside. The holiday Cheer Squad did a performance for the building. Cool!

Post #348- Typical

Typical Monday craziness. 

My blog has become even MORE boring. Work as overtaken all my energy. It's been a challenging time so far here, and I am only expecting more obstacles along the way. Not that I'm complaining, but my blog has been suffering some serious neglect! 

Post #347- Mellow

Another cozy night last night allowed for me to wake up at a normal (morning) time. 

Had a delicious breakfast with B's parents and then roamed around the Richmond district running errands. 

We went to Kamei, the Chinese restaurant supply store so B could pick up some kitchen necessities. The place is huge and full of knick knacks...so easy to get carried away. 

My parents are so sweet that they saved me an entire FEAST for dinner since they were going to be out. Living at home has the best perks! :) 

Happy Birthday Joseph Lam!!!

Post #346- Shop Til You Drop

Rainy day. All good, because today i was prepared for it with my rainboots!

Shopped shopped shopped. For 6 hours. Really.

Finished ALL Christmas shopping today.

Post #345- Rain Rain Rain...

I am a weather-a-holic. I check the weather every single night to make sure I can plan the next day's outfit accordingly.

For the past few days, the weather reports have been saying that it was going to storm and rain. So, in accordance to the weather report, I've been bundling up and weather my rain clothes/shoes. However, it hasn't rained.

So when the report called for rain today, I didn't believe it. I wore my normal clothes along with my satin flats with no socks. Unlike the past few days, the weather man didn't lie. It started pouring after work and my shoes and feet got soaked.

great.

Warmed up with the Ramen & a date to Target.

Post #344- Holiday Treats

It's starting to feel  like Christmas finally! 

Holiday treats from work today- Gingerbread men, hot apple cider, and hot chocolate. 

We had a wrapping party for our Adopt-a-Family gifts in our cafe this afternoon. It's amazing how many people choose to participate! The cafe was packed and there were ribbons, stickers, and paper strewn all over. Tis the season for giving! 

Post #343- AGAIN!?!

San Francisco REALLY needs to do something about their public transportation system. After last nights fiasco, I figured it would be at LEAST a few weeks before the next disaster. 

WRONG. 

I got off work later than usual, so I was looking forward to an emptier train ride home. 

WRONG again. 

I saw a big crowd around the Muni ticket booth, but shrugged it off as disgruntled Muni riders. I mean, those aren't that uncommon. I slipped my pass through the gates, took the escalator down, only to be shooed away by a Muni employee. Turns out there was a cable that fell down at the Van ness station, and no trains were running. 

I decided to take Bart home instead. That was an adventure in itself. I got off at the Balboa station and had to wait in a line to speak to the Bart employee because my Fast Pass was not letting me out. She demagnitized my pass and told me I needed to go to another station to get a new one. GUH-reat. I bet that'll be another adventure as well....

Post #342- Adventures on Muni

It was a long day at the office, and I was looking forward to getting home to my nice warm and toasty house with a yummy dinner waiting for me. Two stops from my house, my M line Muni train hit a car! I was too busy playing word mole & listening to music that I didn't really know something happened until the people around me starting yelling. 

Luckily no one was hurt, but I sure feel sorry for the people on the trains behind mine. I'm sure Muni was a mess for a while after that. 

Post #341- Chilly Nights

Chilly nights call for cozy toe-socks! 

Today is my friend Matt's 27th birthday. Unfortunately we lost him eight years ago...I still think about him at times, and I will always remember his goofiness and ability to turn any situation around. We've been friends since the 3rd grade. Miss you Matt <3 

Post #340- Chinatown Treats!

We attempted to wake up early to get some fresh Focaccia at Liguria Bakery since it is only a few blocks away. Instead of 9, got up at 10. Got to the bakery at 10:30. SOLD OUT. Mission: FAILED. 

Instead we walked to Chinatown and picked up some baos and dim sum for breakfast. Love it! Breakfast for two for less than $5. SCORE. 

Decided to make a quick trip with Collin & Kimi to Ikea. Ikea is always fun for me, but this trip was rushed since I had to be back in time to help my parents set up our Christmas tree. The power shopping paid off though, B left with a new couch! Yippee! Finally some seating!