Share to Care (SF)

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What's a Motto with you?

After a recent bout of SaranWrap sayings, I realized have a few mottos that I seem to tout often myself. Here are the mantras of my life and what the heck I'm trying to say:

Everything in moderation.
Too much of anything is bad for you. Candy, work, play, love... even water. (Seriously, you can die from drinking too much water.) So I try not to live too much in the extremes.  My life is pretty mellow. I let my friends fill that void with their drama ;).

Don't complain unless you're going to do something about it.
Clarification: complaining isn't the same as venting. By all means, vent away -- everyone needs to do that. But at some point, you're not angry anymore, you're just complaining. And that's when you have to do something about it. Easier said than done, I know. But complaining about your problem isn't going to help. It's also hard for me to watch someone who is unhappy stay unhappy because they won't do anything to change their circumstances. I have a bias toward action, so if I feel like something is awry, I want to fix it.

Open mind, open heart, empty stomach... closed legs.

This applies to dating, specifically online dating. As my friends started dipping their toes in the online dating scene, I started encouraging them to take chances with strangers. You can't really judge someone based on their thumbnail picture and beefed up profile. So go on the date, and:

• Keep an open mind that your perfect man/woman may not be what you think. 
• Have an open heart and break down any walls that are preventing you from being honest and earnest. 
• Make sure you have an empty stomach because if you are going on a date, you're probably going to eat dinner. Food bonds people. 
• The last part is due to Clayton butchering my phrase. Keep those legs closed until date #100!

90% of drama is due to misunderstandings
No wonder our group name is SaranWrap. We've stuck together though some serious issues, or at least many spats between individuals. I've done scientific research with a double blind experiment and some statistical modeling to prove that 90% of these issues are due to simple misunderstandings. He said, she said, you said, I said... Things just get lost in translation. Most people, especially your friends, have good intentions. So next time you feel angry toward or hurt by a friend, take the time to calm down and clarify what they meant to say. It saves a lot of ill will, awkwardness, and anxiety.

Live life
You have two options: 1) swing on the rope and jump into the cold lake, or 2) just watch other people do it. Pick option 1. You'll have way more fun, promise.
Hydrate before you dominate.
The first sign of dehydration is chapped lips. Drink lots of water. But don't over-hydrate, see motto #1.

Songs of the Month, er, Moment

By popular demand of my one blog reader, DJ Melon, here's a full list of all "Songs of the Month" I've had on this blog. There are only 7. Clearly, I did not do this every month. I've also brought it back (lookit the sidebar -->) as "Songs of the Moment", since that's more accurate.

• Hey Mama by Mat Kearney
• Nothing by The Script
• Just Say Yes by Snow Patrol
• You and I by Ingrid Michaelson
• Under Control by Parachute
• Mad by Ne-Yo
• New Soul by Yael Naim

BFF

This is why you're my best friend.
Thanks melon.

Oops

I just published a bunch of old drafts, but didn't realize Blogger uses the publish time stamp vs. the original draft time stamp. My bad!

Home & Away

At the beginning of this year, each member of my team had to state one thing they were going to do for work-life balance. Mine was to go on vacation -- a lot! With over 15 days of vacation (that's 15 work days) and having only taken one real vacation in the last 2.5 years, it was time to play hard. I set aside a nice chunk of change and started taking advantage of any days Helen Melon was free. Unfortunately that only meant weekends. But that's just as good; sometimes (actually, most of the time), vacations are 2x the work with to prep before and follow-up after.

So where have I been going? Nowhere too far actually, but still tons of fun. Here's a recap:

• Tahoe
• Maui and Oahu
• Tahoe
• Vegas
• Vegas (again)
• Seattle
• Florida, Bahamas, US Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico, Grand Turk, back to Florida (it was a cruise ya?)
• Pismo
• Chicago
• NYC!
• Yosemite
• LA
• Vegas (yes, again)

After 5 consecutive weekends of living life, it feels so good to be home. Yet somehow I still manage to have over 16 days of vacation now... how did that happen? I'm pretty much out of pocket til March, but anyone down for a trip then? I'll go anywhere!

Eating Dinner

I eat dinner at work 3-4 times per week. It's a wonderful luxury, no doubt. But this week I have not eaten dinner at work once, and let me tell ya, that is an even more wonderful luxury. That means I have been leaving the building before 6:30pm. (Though sometimes it means I'm leaving the building after 8pm and didn't grab dinner, but that's not what I'm talking about here!). Hooray for work-life balance! Here's what I had and/or cooked (yes, I cooked!):

Mon: Shrimp cooked in leftover Craw Station and bread (there were some consequences with this one...)

Tue: Bun Mee rice bowl with Jo

Wed: Grilled shrimp marinated in lime and market spices, fresh english peas with scallions, and toasted bread

Thu: Sweet mustard brussel sprouts, cheesy garlic bread (one sourdough baguette goes a long way), and some parmesan

Fri: mama Choi's cookin'

Joey went rogue

Email from mom:
Hi!, Sarah
How are you?

That's a what happen to "Joey"
Yesterday morning, Sam took Joey out before he go to work (about 6:45 a.m.).
Sam release Joey, and Joey disappear from Sam, Sam couldn't find him, Sam lost Joey!!

Whole family (Dad, I, Sam) waiting for Joey to come back home.
Finally, Sam got a phone call from someone 9p.m., he saw Joey at park, contact "Shelter"
Joey stay at "Shelter" that time.
Sam look at web site, find Joey's picture there, he show to me Joey's picture.

I don't know about "Joey"!!!!

Have a nice this afternoon.

Love,
Mom

Picture from SFACC lost & found site:

Recipe for a GREAT day

Ingredients:

• 10am wake up time after a fun night in a mansion
• 10-minute quick jog on a treadmill... IN MY ROOM
• 1 turkey meatloaf sandwich and 1 ice coffee at Dean & Delucca
• 1 stunning view of a mountain vineyard
• 8 teammates doing "team building activities" via wine tour, cheese... and more wine
• 4 Bouchon hazelnut macarons, 4 chocolate almond croissants and 1 coffee cake
• 3 great friends and 1 ticket to The Script and Andrew Allen at the Warfield
• 1 corned beef sandwich at Tommy's Joint
• 0 days taken off of work ;)

Directions:

• Consume each ingredient in order, and never take any of them for granted

Parking in SF

This guy wrote an entire book on parking in SF called Finding the Sweet Spot (check out his handy flow chart). I believe it. Parking in SF is a disaster. Here are some of my frustrating moments parking in this wonderful city of mine, I'm sure you can relate.

• I have made everyone in my car (front and back seats) stop their conversation to keep their eyes peeled.
• I have spent 45 minutes looking for parking in North Beach, only to finish eating dinner in 40 minutes.
• I have heard the same Rihanna song play 5 times before finding a spot.
• I have passed an open spot on the left side, turned into a driveway to turn around, only to have another car right behind me do the exact same thing and beat me to the spot.
• I have parked, turned off the car, walked to the curb only to find that yes, it is too small, but oh well. Thought about it for 10 steps, turned back around, got back in, turned the engine on, and continued to look.
• I have successfully fit into a parallel parking spot with 4 inches on either side, without tapping either (to my knowledge).
• I have tapped the car in front of me. And behind.
• I have rolled down the window yelling, "EX-CUSE ME ARE YOU GUYS LEAV-ING?!"
• I have often parked on a hill with a 20+% grade
• I have backed up for 1/2 a long block and turned a corner (still in reverse) to get a spot. Downtown.
• I have parallel parked in one try. Didn't even need to pull forward.
• I have had to park in 5 tries.
• I have found the perfect spot, only to find that the owner has painted the edges of the space red so that only a mini Cooper or smart car could fit.
• I have thought about parking illegally and just risking it.
• I have thought about trading my car for a moped.

When my roommate had a car, sometimes she would call me out of pure frustration. Not that there was anything I could do, she just needed someone to comfort her and tell her that it would all be ok. The car has since been brought back down to LA, the land of traffic... that's a whole 'nother car-related anger.

go america!

It lives on!

I just found out today that the Microfinance decal I started senior year is still going strong. I thought it had died after 2-3 semesters, but it lives, it lives on!! In fact, it's been passed down from instructor to student every semester since that first semester in Spring '08. Oh bless you Cal students, you make my heart sing!

GO BEARS!

An email from my Dad for my birthday

Dear Daughter,

I'm so thankful to have
a daughter like you and
a wife like your mom.
There is no others
who could fill your shoes.
You're such a good example
of what a daughter should be.
We always get along so well
even when we disagree.
You're so patient
and understanding.
You don't ask for anything.
You're never demanding.

You're so quick to give
and such a joy to be around.
You're such a good person.
You deserve a special 24th birthday crown.
You have a good heart.
You're honest and true.
You brighten up my life
with memories and dreams

I love you so much.

Daddy

Boring

While couch shopping:
H: "How about this one?"
S: "It's too boring."
H: "It's perfect, you're a boring person."

While re-telling the story later:
H: "Well, I mean, your taste is boring. Like your clothes."

This merits a Japanese emoticon: T_T

Furikake goes with everything

On my recent trip to Hawaii, I learned many important lessons: Bring motion sickness pills on a boat ride if it's a windy day. Amazing things happen in an instant, so have a camera ready at all times. Sometimes you just shouldn't go off the beaten road. You aren't a good shotgun just because you stay awake. Japanese tourists have way more fun taking pictures. And furikake goes with everything, especially french fries.