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.