Category: friends

Categories
friends My San Francisco Chronicles NaNoWriMo Who I Am Work in Progress

NaNoWriMo: Day 5 & i live here: SF Opening

Yikes. I am writing this after midnight because the server was not responding earlier. Well, anyway, you get the point–this is about Day 5.

I did not write as much today; only made it to 1,083 words for today, but I’m still slightly ahead of the recommended total with 9,035 words. I was able to get myself writing for twenty minutes straight though, although I was slightly distracted a couple of times.

I still am not sure where I am going with my novel though. I know, no plot, no problem, right? It is just comforting to me to see that I am making more effort to write each day, even if everything doesn’t really make sense. First drafts are perfect for babble.

Today was a day of a lot of tasks, and then, to make the evening wonderful, I went to my friend Julie’s “i live here:SF” opening reception. I had participated in the project last October, and my, have the times changed! It was so delightful to see all of her prints up in the sprawling studio space and just meeting up with new and old friends. I was reminded of how I was inspired to get back to my writing again.

I will write a follow-up to my “i live here:SF” story when it is time to leave.

Categories
change friends life

48 Hours Later: Change is Arriving

It’s strange to me that I sit here today with a completely different mindset than on Sunday afternoon. Yesterday, I decided to go downtown for some shopping and also to visit some old friends. The idea of reconnecting with others really invigorated me and gave me a renewed outlook; plus, it didn’t hurt to hear their insight on my predicament from last Friday.

I realize now (and I’d known before but seemed to have forgotten) that….well, there’s always more than one way to get to a destination, a goal. It’s not always cut-and-dry, it’s not always easy. Nothing is easy in life–that’s what my family continues to say to me. But I should be grateful for all that has happened this year, both good and bad. I’ve learned a lot this year, maybe more than in previous years. I suppose it’s always like that: each new year brings along new lessons.

Now, the next step seems clearer than it did on Sunday. My first baby step is to get over my fear of change. It happens all the time (change). I need to learn to move with it instead of fight it.

Categories
#foodie friends Japan Japanese food

Sushi Party Memories.

Today was one of my (few) days off, and I spent it at my friends’ house. Their roommate had a great idea to have a sushi party for the evening, so we prepared all the raw fish/toppings and cooked a lot of rice. There were five of us eating around a small table in their living room; we had all sorts of sushi, including unagi (eel), maguro, uni, and lots of others. I felt a bit of nostalgia/happiness within me as I enjoyed the camaraderie we had tonight. Cutting up the sashimi, preparing the rice with the rice vinegar, watching dumb funny movies…

We’re only young once, after all.

Categories
friends tea time

Tea-time.

Had a makeshift “tea-time” with my friend on this day; I finally bought a spare mug so we could have tea together. She brought over some crackers, salami, and cheese as our hors d’oeuvres.

I found it fun to just relax in the evening and chat about various topics over green tea and small food servings. I feel like such an activity rarely happens these days–people are so much in a rush that they tend to forget to save time for tea, coffee, etc., and just relax for a little bit. Take a breather, enjoy the scenery.

I forget how long we chatted for, but we talked for quite awhile about many things, including our jobs/careers, past relationships, etc. It was relaxing, and it was relieving. I hope for more tea-time in the future.

Categories
drink friends stores

Quickly USA

(Source: Quickly USA website)

I quite like Quickly, even if their drinks are a bit on the sweet side. On a beautiful spring-like Sunday afternoon, I spent a couple hours at Quickly with my friend, chatting about various topics. I like the atmosphere inside–relaxing yet also lively. The particular location that we went to had a lot of seating, so it was set up more like a cafe. They had some armchairs there that looked like big gloves, which was fun to look at.

I was studying the menu and was trying hard to figure out what I wanted to drink and whether or not I wanted something to eat, too. I’ve tried several of their milk teas before, and even their avocado snow (smoothies) with tapioca; however, I was not sure if I should go for the “tried and true” or experiment a little with different flavors. I decided I should go out of my comfort zone and buy something different. After all, I rarely get tapioca drinks these days (high in calories, I’m sure)…might as well experiment a little and see what I like.

I ended up choosing the Almond Milk Tea with large tapioca. Sweet and delicious; my friend and I were studying the food menu as well, but I wasn’t sure if I should waste my appetite on fried snack foods or not. Maybe next time, I guess.

I think I could have stayed at Quickly the whole day if it were up to me; I just really liked sitting there enjoying my drink and chatting with my friend. I also liked how they had some magazines that people could flip through at the store; pretty much like a salon or a library. Ah, relaxation on a Sunday afternoon: nothing quite like it.