CA

Thoughts while internet is turned off:

Saturday—I spent a lot of time looking for that jade dragon necklace. I am now a victim of a want that has reached an immeasurable degree. I whittled away most of my time on the plane (5 hours of my life, might I add) trying to keep my composure while sitting in front of an unbearably irksome man. He kept coughing up a storm, which provoked paranoia deep within me. He was quite fidgety, which resulted in a frequent opening and closing of the window “blind”—I guess I can call it that. Even though I discovered what I thought was the best laptop-headphone match ever, the headphones….unfortunately, weren’t noise-canceling headphones; this resulted in a homicide of the awesome bass that I was looking forward to. The couple that I sat with never left their seats, and since that guy traded with me for a window seat, I was boxed in the whole time. The awkwardness from the mere thought of making two people stand up to let me out stopped me from wanting to get out in general. Combined with the fact that the guy already claimed the only pillow set out for us, I grew cranky from poor sleep/circulation. I was rudely awakened by a noise from my laptop, telling me the battery was low and it was about to hibernate on me. After my soothing music disappeared, I decided to stop sleeping and start taking pictures, since clouds were starting to appear outside the window. I think the constant beeping of the camera (from the keys) annoyed the guy behind me to no end. Well, I guess the annoyance is now mutual. He carried on that routine opening and closing of the window blind, only now his actions were joined with words of casual conversation to his daughter, “Nothing out there.” He did this so frequently that I was convinced those comments were actually hinting at me to stop taking pictures. I never stopped :P After we arrived, we traveled around where my aunt lives and basked in the massive Vietnamese-Chinese-Korean-general Asian community. I ate a lot of food, so much that I didn’t finish my lunch or dinner. Before dinner, though, I went into this bakery….where I thought all my dreams for this vacation came true. Soo….many good cakes….none that I can actually touch, but still….I stood there in the store for 30 minutes, taking/erasing/re-taking pictures of different kinds of cakes they had. The staff just worked on like nothing was wrong, though some of them did give me a weird look, as if to say, “Are you actually going to buy anything?” I swear that I must’ve looked like a cake paparazzi to them <.<

Sunday through Tuesday—I was “without my baby” these few days…and all I have in place of it is my camera, which was enough, for the most part. On the way to Las Vegas, the tour took us to this little Chinese food place in the middle of nowhere. I mean THE middle of nowhere; the food was mediocre at best. There was no access to “proper” music…everything was dance-y or just plain bad; by dance-y, I meant to say that sketchy women probably “dance” to it in those nightclubs <.< >.>

I stayed up until 12 or 1 almost every morning, which meant that in NC time I slept at 4 am regularly. I found great joy in taking pictures of almost everything I saw…the better things anyway. Unlike most people I saw, I’m rather unimpressed by the colorful, blinding lights of the casinos. My camera was by my side the whole time I was there which, combined with the fact that I’m a rather unsocial Asian, probably made me look like one of those non-English speaking tourists; that image probably would’ve been completed with a picture of me making the “Asian face” (peace sign, rather silly smile that make my eyes look non-existent, clutching my camera like crazy). Other than that, I took pictures of various cakes and sights that I saw, earning a plethora of exasperated sighs from family members as they try to pull me along by my shirtsleeve. The bus was boring, the Grand Canyon was rather overrated and gray/dirty/dusty. My sunburn wasn’t even the highlight of my visit there, seeing as how I had my first run-in with a porta-potty; to say the least, I was traumatized; to say the truth, I had a mental breakdown.

As I entered, my mind immediately registered the unsanitary conditions into which I brought myself. I momentarily froze right before fleeing the scene, after which I was panicking and looking for a source of water and soap to wash my hands. As Frances guessed, it was pretty much the same as that little trash episode I had at school….preeeetty bad. I told my mom to give me water, reiterating the need to “wash my hands” many, many times.

After that, I got on the shuttle to go back to the bus parking lot, and slept on the way….recharging after that massive use of energy. I took more pictures, some girl was smiling at me….which I ignored, and some old people were smiling at me as well….which I pretended not to see. When we returned to Las Vegas, my family went for another round around the strip, and I took more pictures….while my feet were screaming at me to stop torturing them. We ate at this place in the Paris section of Las Vegas…awkwardly surrounded by families who speak fluent French, and ate some surprisingly disappointing food. Don’t get me wrong, some of it was REALLY good, but it was a bit salty for my taste. Hehehehehe, I had Coq au Vin, which was superb. I couldn’t take a lot of pictures due to the fact that it was rather dark. I hate using the flash option on my camera, so I hesitated and only took two or three pictures of the food we had. We walked ¾ of the way back to the hotel and then broke down and took a bus back the rest of the way; they woke up early next morning to go gambling *rolls eyes* and lost varying amounts of money. We then made our trip back.

On the way back, I managed to buy even more clothes from Tommy Hilfiger; I think I’m officially addicted. The rest of our “Asian fleet” shopped at places like Hollister, DC, Ralph Lauren, American Eagle, and Aeropostale *rolls eyes once more*. In my opinion, those are the people that need intervention. Each teenager on that bus carried back 2 full bags from two of those stores. I felt like shaking my head as I hope that I never turn out that way; though it might’ve happened already. We then stopped by the Ethel M chocolate factory (makers of M&M and Ethel M chocolates), where I took even more pictures. I then bought something to bring back to Tracy and Frances; I picked the chocolates myself, hoping that it’ll fit their tastes. After we got back, my family went out to eat. To my dismay, I forgot to bring the camera. I counted a total of 3 or 4 photo ops that I missed. The only time it’s left me today, and the unthinkable happened; I was quite cranky. I then bought some of the “green slug” things that I like so much….which I shall eat for breakfast tomorrow before we leave for San Francisco; I love that stuff. I took a much needed shower and uploaded pictures onto my laptop (95 of them) and named/deleted all of them from the memory stick. Finally, I’ve noticed that my hair has gotten rather long….and annoying.

I remembered that I talked to my mom about a few things, one of which being my dad’s family growing up. Apparently, my mom’s family was rather….comfortable, with my grandpa being a gov official and my grandma coming from a kind of well-to-do family. Meanwhile, my dad’s family lived a rougher life….hmmm….actually, it was very rough. My dad never told my mom, she found out from my uncle....quite recently, I might add. Hmm….pride is a horrible thing, isn't it? Pride is behind most things, I’ve noticed. I wonder if this has anything to do with his constant need to prove something to everyone, including his own wife. *sigh* I hope I never fall that much for pride.

Oh yeah, I was especially reminded of Tracy at one point…but through very interesting mediums, actually. First I heard the song that was in Allen’s video and was reminded of Allen, which then immediately reminded me of Tracy…where my thoughts stopped. It was sad. I did that quite a few times with other things that made me think of certain people, including Frances, a lot. I hate it when I do that. It makes me feel silly and nostalgic, like I should be 67 instead of 17.
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What if I fall, then where would I go?
Would she know?
—Gifts and Curses
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Wednesday-Friday: I was less annoyed by this trip….partly because the tour guide was more organized, and I didn’t have to go anywhere near a porta-potty. I think I’m afraid of porta-potties now; it’s kinda sad. Anyway, this guy is funnier, although he probably thinks that I’m an alcoholic-to-be or something for laughing at that comment about drinking too much wine <.<

This trip was kinda more annoying in the way that I didn’t really have a lot of things to take pictures of, and there was less time for photo ops. However, I erased less because I accidentally erased good pictures last time…so as a result, I ended up with more pictures than last time, 185. *sigh* I have less to say about this time because I really wasn’t as interested in this trip as I was in Las Vegas. However, this trip owns the other one because we stayed at the Hilton; I liked the classic design. I’ve been in the Hilton in Atlantic City, where everything was gold-ish, flowery, and full of mirrors. Blagh. I disliked that style of design a lot so I found the simplistic designs refreshing.

Anyway, I could say a lot of superfluous and redundant things about this trip but I won’t. Instead, I’ll say what’s bothering me. I hate it when people in my dad’s family have something not very good to say about my mom and they feel the need to say it in Chinese…in my presence…away from her. Pssh….they think I don’t understand….well, I haven’t really told any better, but still. Stanley, whom I usually like, asked me afterwards if I understood anything he said. I said no. He said “good.” I was annoyed, gave some half-faked answer to just get on with it, so he explained what he said without some choice parts about my mom, of course. I think that saying things like that in Chinese to avoid letting me know is rather….underhanded. I don’t know, actually…I’ve done that before, with Frances, my mom, and other people in my family….but I guess it’s hard to hear when it’s about someone I care about. Yes, I do care about my mom…..I’m quite fond of her, despite some things she says and does. In some ways, I guess she can get kinda snobby….which is a trait I can say that I’ve inherited….but is not proud of. I don’t mean to do it, and I know she doesn’t, either. I maker certain comments about certain things that people do or say, and those comments can sometimes sound like I’m stating them with a superior tone. I’m not. I can promise you that most of the time I mean no harm by my words.

Anyway, I took one of my unusually long showers, and am listening to Apocalytica very loudly with my headphones on. Oh yeah…I left my medicine at the hotel…..*shakes head*. I feel bad, because my medicine is rather expensive prescription medicine that is still expensive even though the insurance will pay for some of it. I feel really bad, but we were in a rush and my little mind just forgot.
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It’s so hard to find you
I’m standing right behind you

“Why would you?”
“How could I?”
These questions lead to goodbye

Somehow not speaking lets me know everything
—Losing My Mind

Make no mistake, your love’s not real
‘Cause the love I’ve got is much deeper
So much deeper than you can ever feel
And I miss you, I love you

You won’t be getting my affection again
—Miss You Love You

I never knew perfection ‘til I heard you speak
And now it kills me
Just you hear you say the simple things
Now waking up is hard to do
Sleeping’s impossible, too
Everything’s reminding me of you
What can I do?
It’s not right, not okay
—Better That We Break


Times Square can’t shine as bright as you
I swear it’s true

Close your eyes, listen to my voice
It’s my disguise
I’m by your side
—Hey There Delilah
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Saturday: We started out eating at this nice Dim Sum place, which I so appreciated. Stanley said that it was really good, but I didn’t like it as much as I expected to. Stanley’s taste is really different from mine, I guess. However, I guess today was better, although I was especially reminded of Frances this time, when I heard “What I’ve Done” standing outside the Hollywood Wax Museum. *hits head* AGAIN! I felt so nostalgic. I momentarily thought of the fact that I’m moving back to NCSSM in a week. Except for some choice names that I took pictures of Hollywood Boulevard was rather uninteresting. We then went to Chinatown on the way back, and stopped by this place, known to me as “Wing Hop Fung”. The whole lower half of the store was dedicated to medicine and dried mushrooms/seafood/other delectables while the upper half had merchandise from glass Chinese Chess sets to decorative dragon/paintings/dishes…etc...to a massive corner dedicated to tea. TEA! Okay, so I’m not the tea addict that Tracy is, but I found this to be an excellent opportunity to buy Tracy something other than chocolate. That tea corner had good management, seeing as there were different staff members who spoke different languages; we had one Spanish-speaking woman selling tea to some Hispanic people, one person that spoke Vietnamese, one that looked like a college student who spoke fluent English, and the other two spoke Chinese (both Mandarin and Cantonese). I have to say that the other shops were rather filled with blades, which…………AHHHHHHHH, I want a katana soooo badly. There was a beautiful katana, black, sleek, unmarred by silly scratches that un-graced the other blades. There was a small inscription, which I couldn’t read, that was in white…that complimented the sheath nicely.

So besides that little tea/medicine/alcohol episode in the store, I also looked around various jewelries for that necklace that I had; that quest proved very unsuccessful. I was running around, looking at jade pieces like a mental patient. *sigh* I will never have that necklace again. Everything after Chinatown was a blur, until we went shopping. We went into this place called, in Vietnamese, “Vua Kho Bo” which….translated straight from Vietnamese means “King of Beef Jerky” which……..I am VERY sure is not the name they had intended. Basically, they had snack foods. Dried fruits, a variety of jerky…I tried this spicy abalone snack….which I disliked because of the rather (imo) fishy taste. I’m not sure what it’s supposed to taste like, but I didn’t like it. I then bought ¼ lbs of taro chips….:DDDDDDDDDDDDD Taro chips own all. My aunts spent over a hundred dollars on snacks, which I thought was REALLY, REALLY unnecessary. REALLY. My taro chips can never live up to their snack splurge. We then quickly went to this Japanese store…from which I got a bowl & plate. (you have no idea how much I absolutely obsess over nice-looking dishes, especially Japanese-style ones). I then got Frances a chocolate crunch Pocky snack, which we shall enjoy the first day that I visit her room, along with the Coke that I shall buy for her “fridge-warming” gift. The cashier was rather……….adorable :P and my mom and aunts picked on him a lot. His voice was rather soft, and hair = awesomeness. I wanted to take a picture for Frances to see, but my mom said that it would’ve been weird if I asked for a random picture from a guy I’ve never met. Then we went back and unloaded our things before going out to dinner.

My mom and dad were reconnecting with some mutual friends….which required them being there…together <.< My dad was rather tactless in conversation, because when the guy introduced his wife’s name, my dad said, “That’s easy to remember, my best guy friend’s name is the same thing.” I’m not sure if that was on purpose or if he is just that bad with conversation; if it was on purpose then I think it was rather immature. Our dinner consisted of a baked whole catfish that looked about 1.5 feet long, including the head. The crust was really nice and despite what my mom said, the fish itself was nice and soft inside, which I think is perfect for baked fish. We also had a jellyfish salad, with shrimp, pork, mint, crushed peanuts, and a little bit of chopped (boston?) lettuce. There was also a….if translated from Vietnamese it’s “crunchy pan-fried flat rice noodles” with stir fried straw mushrooms, squid (which was cooked rather perfectly) shrimp, baby corn, sliced carrots and broccoli; I enjoyed that meal very much. For desert, we had fried bananas….I’m not kidding you. They were those little bananas that I really don’t like, dipped in a batter and fried and topped with sesame seeds. It was served flambé-style, which I liked….because it was a pretty flame :D

Then I was told of a meteor shower by Tracy and I waited until 11 pm to watch for it, but it didn’t come, and I am sitting here typing up the last of my adventures this past week. I totally missed the due date for my summer service journals/supervisor evaluation/self-evaluation/interviews. I’m such a bad child. However, Kara did say that things often get lost and Mike Flisk doesn’t really care, so I won’t worry just yet. I can always say that I sent it, but it probably got lost; I doubt they’d fail me as a senior just for failing to turn in paperwork.