October 5, 2011

I always wondered what this day would be like…

Posted by GraceFace under Love
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It was an ordinary Friday on August 12th, 2011. Traffic was bad, the week was long. All I was looking forward to was a good meal that I didn’t have to cook. As soon as 6:30pm came, I left work, jumped in my car, and drove across Los Angeles to start my weekend. My boyfriend, Michael and I, briefly talked about our dinner plans and decided we will go out to eat and enjoy a bottle of wine. We went back and forth with deciding on where to eat and if we should go out and do something after dinner. Within a couple minutes of debate, our Friday night started to turn into a spontaneous date night!

We quickly changed gears into date night, spruced up our clothes, and got ready to leave for our spontaneous hot date. As we were about to leave for dinner, Michael told me that he updated our adventure book (based on “UP”) and he told me to read what he wrote.

I was surprised and excited to read what he wrote because he hasn’t written anything in our book since I gave it to him.  So with the biggest smile on my face, I read his first adventure book post, which I read aloud:

“When I think of all we have done together, a huge grin stretches across my face, from the luscious green landscape of Seattle, to the concrete slabs of New York, to foreign lands of Costa Rica.  So how do we top each adventure and make it even more exciting than the next?  This didn’t take long for me to think of but it did take time to plan.”

In my mind, I’m thinking…. “Ooooo he’s planning a cool trip for my upcoming birthday!!!  I wonder where we are going!”

“I can’t wait to experience the next adventure trip with you…..Turn the page for your surprise adventure……….”

STILL, I am thinking….Where are we going???

Then…I turned the page…..

WWWHHHHAAAAAATTTTT?!?!?!?!?!  I broke down in tears and Michael got on one knee and proposed with a beautiful ring.  It was by far the happiest day of my life.  The ring fit perfectly and we hugged and kissed each other while enjoying the moment.

Then………….the truth came out.

He came clean and listed out the different times he lied to me in order to plan his proposal like he wanted…like the time he said he was swimming with a friend, or hanging out at happy hour with co-workers.  There was a night that he changed his plans last minute on me and was running late, and I got really upset…he was actually having dinner with my mom to ask for her blessing.  Another time, he said he was going to go for a run but he really went to another ring store to find the right ring.  The list of white lies goes on and on…..but I guess this time I’ll let it pass since it was for a really good reason.  Ha! ;)

So here I am, in the last year of my 20′s, finally engaged to the man whom I’m going to spend the rest of my life with.  I’m happy, blessed, and loved.  I’m definitely looking forward to our life together.

 

 

 

July 25, 2011

I am a Cookie Monster

Posted by GraceFace under Food
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Have you ever had a craving that you tried to satisfy but it turned out to be disastrous? Today I had a sudden craving for a cookie, a snickerdoodle, more specifically. So I went to the store and saw that Pepperidge Farm made “soft baked” snickerdoodles. Sounds enticing already. I didn’t think it would be so bad. After all, their Milano cookies are pretty good.

I was SO wrong. The cookie was so terrible, I was pretty disappointed. I composed an angry, unsatisfied tweet, and thought I was better off buying chips ahoy cookies instead! But even amidst my sad failure, I found myself amused by their package, “New recipe! Softer texture.”

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So note to self, and others looking for a decent snickerdoodle, don’t let the descriptions deceive you. Instead don’t ever buy store brand cookies unless they are your novelty cookies, like Oreos or Chips Ahoy.

But I must say, Platine in Culver City makes fantabulous cookies of all kinds. They are my favorite cookie place so far. :)

These are the lessons I learn the hard way.

Thank you for letting me have my cookie rant.

- A cookie monster

P.S.

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Don’t try the vegan oatmeal raisin cookies either, even though they look very tasty. :P

 

July 22, 2011

Commuting in Los Angeles

Posted by GraceFace under Los Angeles
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The traffic in LA makes me very angry. It almost discourages me from going anywhere, that’s how bad it is! I am really hoping that once the metro route is extended to the westside, traffic will lighten up….a lot.

So today after work, I spontaneously decided to ride my bike to this restaurant where I was planning to have dinner. It was only 4-5 miles away, so I thought it would be nice to ride my bike. The route I took wasn’t bad at all. There weren’t any hills, BUT there wasn’t a bike lane. So most of the time I rode on the sidewalks. I tried the streets when the sidewalks were too narrow but I think that would’ve been better off than the road with a bunch of LA drivers. It was a little frightening because a couple cars drove passed me as if I wasn’t on the road. What the hell! I definitely will try to take advantage of riding my bike to near by places, though. It felt really good to ride my bike to dinner. It wasn’t too bad. Just experienced a little fear, but fear schmear, right? Ha. ;)

Just the other day, I read online that someone in downtown LA got killed by a road raging driver while he was riding his bike. A couple months ago, my coworker got hit by his car while riding his bike home from work. He was out recovering for several months! Last year, my boyfriend was hit by a car while he was on a bike ride and the driver didn’t even stop!!! Yeah, it doesn’t sound so safe out there, huh?

So as much as I’d like to help out LA traffic and ride my bike to more destinations that are local to me, I only feel discouraged by the stories that I frequently hear. It’s scary out there. I wish more drivers were more careful about their surroundings and the other commuters who need to share the road. And I wish Los Angeles would provide a more bike-friendly environment for us.

I guess I can only wish, because just like the say ‘you can’t change a person’, I suppose you also can’t really change a city.

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May 27, 2011

My Father Knows Best

Posted by GraceFace under Childhood, Family, Tennis
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Ten years ago from today, I was mourning the loss of my dad, a victim of cancer.  Today, I am celebrating his life and remembering the great memories that we had together.  He was a dedicated family man who only wanted the best for his wife and children.  He was the glue that held us together.

I’ve shared my story to a select few of what the experience was like during last few days of my dad’s life.  And today, I’ve decided to share it with whoever cares to read this.  Ten years marks a big milestone for me and I would love to share the joys and pains of a very important part of my life.  I’m not doing this for sympathy or attention, but only for the sake of sharing so others who knew him could remember him and those who didn’t know him would learn of the legend he left.  This is for my father, who deserves to be remembered through the good and bad.

My dad was diagnosed with liver cancer a month after he came from the Philippines to bury his father.  Doctors said the cancer cells were aggressive, he probably had 6-8 months to live, and it was stage 4.  This was in the month of February.  Shocked and in panic, my mom, brothers, and I did all we could to provide him with vitamins, organic fruits and vegetables, and our undivided attention.  We were very blessed to have close family and friends that came by to help us out with buying and cooking food for him.

As each week passed, he progressively got worse.  He struggled for every breath, and needed a lot of energy that he didn’t have to move around.   The oxygen tank soon wasn’t enough to help him breathe, so we checked him into the hospital.  This was a Tuesday evening.  We all stayed at the hospital over night.  Wednesday morning, he was OK and was able to talk and joke around with us, but by night time he was mostly sedated with morpheme because the pain was too much to bear.  Doctors told us the cancer spread to his lungs.   We slept at the hospital again, and my dad had asked me to sleep right next to him on his hospital bed.

“Good night dad.”  “Good night, baby.  I love you.”  “I love you too, dad.”

Little did I know, that would be the last time he spoke.  Thursday morning came and he was trying to tell me something but no one could understand him.  I gave him a pen and paper, and he scribbled something I could barely make out, “Brush teeth.”  Haha!  My dad is silly.

Thursday night, my dad was transferred to another room.  It was bigger and isolated in a corner.  That wasn’t good news.  Visiting hours weren’t enforced so our family and friends stayed over night with us too.  This was it.  It was just a matter of waiting.  Friday came and went.  Waiting was all we could do.  Saturday morning came and the doctor told us he was unresponsive.  He was still breathing and hooked up to a heavy duty oxygen tank, but the oxygen pressure slowly dropping.  The room was full of people.  Aunts and uncles, friends, cousins, my brothers, my mom, and me.  Someone walked up to him, read a chapter of my dad’s favorite Psalms, and then said, “Go home Edgar.  Your family will be safe and taken care of.  Go home.”  And with that, we said a prayer.  As soon as we all said, “Amen”,  he stopped breathing, and room broke out with screams and wailing.

Every time I think of those last days that I spent with my dad, every hair on my body stands up and tears drop like bullets.  The timing of his last breath to the end of our prayers was unbelievable.  I miss him so much, and I wish I had more time with him.  Ten years is a long time, yet it feel it doesn’t feel like it’s been that long.

Sigh.

I miss him.  He was a GREAT father, and I wish I took more advantage of the time I had with him while he was still healthy.

Here are my top 10 reasons (one for every year that he’s been away :) ) why he was a great father:

1.  We played tennis everyday after school when I was in kindergarden and 1st grade.

2.  After playing tennis, if I had a good lesson with him, he would buy me my favorite rainbow donut.

3.  My dad would stop by my elementary school during recess time just to say hi for a couple seconds.  I was in the 2nd grade.

4.  He would make cool dinners and we were allowed to watch in front of the TV and eat straight from the pot.  We usually had mac and cheese.  Of course this was when my mom wasn’t home to cook.  She would never allow such barbaric mannerisms.

5.  He would bring me to Costco to eat unlimited amounts of samples.  That was our lunch.  He didn’t want to tell me we didn’t have enough money to buy food.

6.  My dad was awesome at building computers.  He built me my own computer and it was one of the fastest at the time.

7.  We moved into a new house in Riverside, and we had a pretty big backyard.  I really wanted a swing, so he built one for me that hung from a tree branch.  Took him ALL weekend, but he finished it!  I was the happiest kid ever!

8.  He taught me how to ride a bike, and as soon as I learned, we rode our bikes all the time!

9.  For every tennis match, school graduation, back to school night, choir concert, and piano recital, he was there with his camera and camcorder, proud as ever.

10.  My first official dance was with my dad on my 18th birthday.  I was in a gown, he was in a tuxedo, and we waltzed across the dance floor in front of our family and friends.  I guess that will take place of the father/daughter dance for my future wedding.

 

May 25, 2011

It’s just words, who cares?

Posted by GraceFace under Music
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What makes us like certain songs?  What draws us in to making a song as a part of our top ten list?  Is it the message of the song?  The way the lyrics are put together?  The drum beat?  Or maybe the melody it carries in the chorus?  Whatever it is, I’m sure there’s a good reason why a song stood out and all of a sudden became one of your favorite songs.

I have to admit though, when you really pay attention to lyrics in songs, most of the time they don’t even make any sense.  Sometimes they are ridiculous, most of the time they are cheesy, and maybe on an occasion, here and there, the words have a really deep meaning to it, that you think, “Man, this song really speaks to me and I can totally relate to it.  This is my SONG!”  Either way, music should be always left to one’s own interpretation.  For all we know, the songwriter had a totally different message from what you thought it was really about.  Imagine what it would be like if people really “whooped that trick”?  Actually, I take that back. Of course there are exceptions and there are people who would “whoop that trick”, although I’d hope it’s only a very small percentage.

With that in mind, do you think that music influences us to act a certain way?  I remember as a child, my parents forbade me to listen to “secular” music.  Anything that wasn’t a hymn or a praise song sung in church or sung by a Christian singer was called secular by my mom and dad.  They believed that hip-hip and rap music were evil, ungodly, and a bad influence.  I don’t mean to undermine my parents’ choices in raising me, but it reminded me of the time when society saw rock and roll as the devil’s music, back in the 1960′s.  I believe that music touches us and influences our lives to an extent, but to think that depriving anyone from any kind of music will make you have a better life has got to be some kind of brainwashed idea.

Have you ever been to a wedding wondering why the happy couple isn’t dancing to Harry Connick Jr. or Air Supply? :P   I’ve heard Evanesence’s, “My Immortal” played at weddings.  Wasn’t that song about a break-up?  And how about The Police’s “Every Breath You Take”?  Did you know that’s about a stalker?  (I just learned about that recently :) ) How about those song dedications you hear on the radio?  Would you dedicate Rhianna’s “Take a Bow” to your boyfriend, whom you love very much?  I’ve heard it done!  That’s another break-up song, right?  Well, for all we know, she dedicated that song to her boyfriend because that was the first song they made out to at their high school dance.  I’m not here to judge, but this goes to prove that lyrics don’t really matter, but they do?  Ha.  You can dedicate a “break up” song to your boyfriend or even dance to a “stalker” song with your new wife.    If we (others) can do that, why couldn’t we (I) listen to anything else without thinking that the devil will instill evil plans into our heads and turn us into heartless, puppy-killing humans?

If there should be music out there that would be considered the devil’s, it should be that of Justin Bieber’s. ;)

 

May 10, 2011

What They Had

Posted by GraceFace under Family, Love
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True love.  Does it really exist?  Sometimes we question it’s existence, and sometimes we think it’s impossible to attempt to gain.  There is no real answer or real definition of what it is, but I know it exists.  So despite the tragic statistics of divorces and marriage separations, I have hope that there are couples out there, young and old, who are sticking together, and still in love.

My grandparents have been married for over 65 years until my grandmother was killed during a robbery at their house a couple years ago.  At 90 years old, my grandfather has gone through some minor health problems, but still remains to stay strong and alive.  Months after my grandmother passed away, my grandfather called on her, looked around the house for her, and almost went mad because she was no where to be found.  It took a while for him to register in his mind that she was really gone but it finally sunk in.  She is gone.  And since that time, he would frequently sit in his chair, and gaze at his wedding photo with his wife of 65 years.

My mom told me that story the other day when I called to greet her Happy Mother’s Day.  We both cried.  That’s what she had with my dad, and that’s what I hope to have with my future husband; to keep a love and a marriage alive until death parts us.

Can you believe that at 90 years, you can still be in love with the same person you married 65 years ago?  I believe it, and I want that.  Do you?

 

April 1, 2011

Hurricane Los Angeles Marathon

Posted by GraceFace under Friends, Goals, Los Angeles, Marathons, Running
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WHAT. AN. EXPERIENCE! As much as the weather wasn’t my ideal preference for running, or even being outside really, I honestly don’t have any regrets for deciding to make this marathon my very FIRST.  What can I say?  I LOVE LA!  Traffic, potholes, unexpected hurricane weather, you name it.

So here it is.  My shiny medal.  I shed tears for this bad boy, no joke.  It was quite a journey to the finish line, but it was ALL WORTH IT!

The first couple miles, I was cheerful, feeling optimistic, feeling good, and proud of myself, but when mile 6 and 7 came, the rain was coming down hard.  In my head, I was thinking, “Are you kidding me?  Are you really?”  Still trying to be optimistic, I hoped the rain would let up, but it didn’t.  It was a steady downpour and there was nothing I could do but keep going.

One thing I am MOST grateful for is my support group.  Erin, Jaylyn, Johnboy and Byong!!  Then there was also Michael, Erickson, and Kyle who came out on bikes and took photos of us along the entire course.  I am SO lucky to have great friends!  They were there every step of the way even till I crossed the finish line!

As soon as I saw the finish line coming up, my mood suddenly changed.  I suddenly felt so serious.  I didn’t feel like talking to my friends who were running with me, I just wanted to focus on what was standing right in front of me.  In my mind, wheels were turning, a reflection period began, and my body and mind started to think of what started this all,…why was I running this marathon?  My dad.  A victim of cancer.  Right!  I did all this to run in honor of my dad.  2011 marks his 10 year anniversary of being away from me and my family.  I thought to myself, “Man, time flies…and I can’t believe I’m about to fly right through this finish line!!!”  Immediately, tears came down as hard as the rain and I had NO control over it, so I just let go.  I didn’t care about the photographers and my finishing photo, and I didn’t see anyone around me.  But I heard Byong yelling, “You can do it Grace, almost there, you can do it! C’mon, don’t give up!”  And just like that, I stepped over the finish line, and it was all over.  Ahhhh!!!  What a relief!  It felt so good to cry and hug my very wet friends.

My mom surprised me and came out to Santa Monica.  She toughed out the rain and was waiting for me at the finish line!  I was so happy to see her but I felt so bad taht she was standing in the storm for a good hour just to see me finish.  I actually found her standing there by accident!  I love my mom for being so strong these past years without my dad, and I love her even more for coming to support me, despite the horrible weather conditions.  She looked cute and miserable at the same time, standing in the rain, wrapped in a large plastic bag.  Thanks mom!  Seeing you waiting for me meant a great deal!

To give you a better idea of what the weather was like that day, here’s a clip of what we had to run through.

CRAZY!

Thanks again to my friends who came out to support.

And, thank you so much to those who helped me raise money to donate to Think Cure charity!

Greg Yip, Vivian McWilliam, Tweetie Nguyen, Bo Zalalerio, Chris Saavedra, Jharvis Licera, Sam and Myrriam Cardinal.

So when’s the NEXT marathon?? :)

Here’s a better question: Would I run another marathon?  YES!  And I think it will be LA!!  Gotta have a do over!!!


P.S. I am LOVING my LA MARATHON jacket!  Totally worth it! :)

 

March 19, 2011

Times flies when you are running

Posted by GraceFace under Friends, Goals, Los Angeles, Marathons, Running
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When I made a final decision into fully committing to running the Los Angeles Marathon, I knew training would take up a lot of my time. Between running weekly, eating and drinking healthier, and spending money on more gear, it’s amazing how my life is revolving around the marathon. Imagine this…less shopping at Forever 21 and less late nights at a bar being hammered. Instead, it’s more like only drinking water or gatorade, and shopping at running stores.  But I’m not complaining.  I actually enjoy being in training.  It’s gives me something to do, it’s healthy, it disciplines me to wake up early, it brings me closer to my friends, and it is a great accomplishment.

Anyway, I have to give most of the credit to my good friend, Erin, and my co-worker, Greg, who really motivated me to run LA.  If it weren’t for you two, honestly, I wouldn’t have signed up.  So thank you. :)

The big day is ALMOST here!  I can’t believe that March came by so quickly.  Wasn’t it just December when I was so shocked at myself for signing up for my first marathon?  I wish my dad was around to cheer me on.  After all, I am running this marathon in honor of him.  Thank you again to all my friends and family who have helped me raise money for Think Cure.  Everyone who donated to my fundraiser has inspired me to train to my best potential.  I can’t thank them enough for the support!  I am so blessed! :)

Well, here I go, rain or shine…..26.2 miles.  Hopefully, I will still be able to jump in the air as I cross that finish line.  I’ve come this far already,…I won’t let anything get in the way of me and that finish line.

Good luck to Erin and Jaylyn, who are also running the LA marathon!

Thank you to Michael, Erin, Johnboy, Byong, Kyle, Creese, Gio, and Jaylyn for helping me with my training runs! :)   You are the BEST!

P.S. I can’t wait to cut my hair and I’m anxious to cross “full marathon” off my bucket list.

 

January 27, 2011

Los Angeles on alert, Typhoon has hit

Posted by GraceFace under Los Angeles, Music
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Typhoon is so awesome, I just HAD to share.  They performed at Satellite (formerly known as Spaceland), and I was fortunate enough to finally watch them live.  It was a great show, and I was so impressed with their talent and articulate musicality that I could not wipe the smile off my face.  From the first day I was introduced to their album, I instantly knew that Typhoon would be my next favorite band.  Their style is so unique, every member of the band makes a huge contribution to their distinct sound and deep lyrics.  Each song is so grand, it starts off simple and then crescendos into a huge orchestra-like piece leaving you stunned and blown away.  “Belly of the Cave” was such a phenomenal performance that by the end of the song, my involuntary response was, “WOW!” ; like a little kid having candy for the very first time. :)

 

“I don’t want any enemies, why are they still digging their claws in me.”

 

January 23, 2011

New Experiences in New Places

Posted by GraceFace under Food, Travel
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I’ve always wanted to explore a random city outside of California.  Thanks to Southwest Airlines and priceline.com, I was able to find a very good deal on flights and hotels in downtown Portland.

Portland is beautiful.  It was cold and raining the entire time Michael and I were there, but I loved the change of weather from Los Angeles.  The air was so much cleaner, and I didn’t mind the rain because I had awesome rain boots.

Portland downtown was a lot smaller than we thought.  Our hotel was still in downtown, but away from a lot of the places we wanted to check out.  From maps, it looked like we were far from everything, but it ended up to be only a 10 mile walk, which wasn’t bad at all!! :)

The really cool thing about Portland was their public transportation system.  I’m jealous of all the cities outside of LA that have this perk in their city.  Theirs was called the max line, and most of downtown was a free zone, so you didn’t have to pay anything to ride on their nice clean train.  We took this to and from the airport, and it only took about 20 minutes.

One of the highlights of my trip up there was the brewery tour/tasting that we tried out.  It was beer overload.  The tour consisted of 3 breweries, and each brewery had a tasting of about 5-6 different beers of your choice.  I thought it would be just an ounce per tasting, but it was about 4 ounces!  OMG, it was A LOT, but very good.  Some, we didn’t care too much for, so we ended up pawning them off to our pedi-cab drivers. :P

So the package included THREE breweries, (Rogue, Deschutes, Bridgeport), but we ended up only trying Rogue & Dechutes because Bridgeport closed on us.  :(   We were sad because we felt we got the shorter end of the stick on this deal.  Our drivers ended up taking us back to Rogue for more beer, but made us pay our own.  Not.  Cool.  Definitely a buzz kill.

We were able to watch a couple roller derby match at Portland’s Rose Garden Center.  I’ll admit, when the idea was first pitched to me, it wasn’t priority on my list of things to do in Portland, but oh man, there’s something very entertaining about a bunch of girls in roller skates falling and pushing each other. ;)

It was definitely more entertaining than I imagined.  I’m glad we were able to catch their opening night for roller derby season.

Looking for a good quality tasting steak for a very very great price?  You have to check out Acropolis.  :P   It’s just outside downtown.

Overall, the trip was great.  The people there were very friendly, we met a couple locals who helped us out with good tips, and the food was good.  I swear all we did was walk around only to go from eatery to eatery and brewery to brewery.  Oh, and shopping in between because Oregon doesn’t charge you TAX!!!  We both couldn’t get over how awesome it was to be sales tax free.  Every where we go, we’d rave and yell out, “Yeesssss!! NO TAX!”  Haha.

I really wish we brought our running gear with us to Portland, because there were so many great running routes there, especially along the riverwalk.  Our original plan was to run while in Portland, but I saw from weather forecasts that it was supposed to rain all week.  If only I knew that their rain wasn’t anything like the rain in California. Oh well.  I ended up buying a new pair of running shoes at one of their running stores.  It was on sale, and guess what….TAX FREE!  :)

Well, it all worked out in the end.  We ended up running 12 miles as soon as we got back to Los Angeles.  :)

Successful trip.  No fights, no drama, and new experiences in new places.  We were glad that Ed and Janice were able to join us.  I’m glad Michael and I were able to explore a city (we’ve never been to) together.

 

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