All I Ask...

Commemoration (not for sensitive readers)

noreply@blogger.com (KP) — Sat, 01 May 2010 01:02:00 +0000

Ba muoi thang Tu, or the thirtieth of April, is how today is being simply referred to in the Vietnamese community. It marks 35 years of the fall of Saigon (NOT Ho Chi Minh City, dammit!) to Communism. It has been 35 years since the following iconic images occurred.

Depictions of fleeing, desperation, brutality, fear. 35 years of this. It has been 35 years since my parents met, and 35 years since their college education were jeopardized.

I was born after the napalm settled. My father did not die escaping by sea, no matter how close he came to that. I still get to reunite with my father even though 6 years of my childhood was without him. My entire family is safe, mostly. I am lucky. I want to commemorate those who were not.

Today

noreply@blogger.com (KP) — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 02:04:00 +0000

don’t want to forget today. Today is Tuesday, not quite Hump Day, yet passed the dreaded is-it-really Monday. It has no special alias, just nestled within the week.

But today is very exciting for me, and the below illustration will provide the supporting reasons.

Double Happiness

noreply@blogger.com (KP) — Sat, 13 Feb 2010 01:06:00 +0000

This Sunday, February 14th, will be the Hallmark day of love...

.....AND the Lunar New Year of the Tiger! Lots of love, health, happiness and prosperity to everyone!

Holding My Breath

noreply@blogger.com (KP) — Fri, 22 Jan 2010 23:52:00 +0000

I have exciting news coming up that I cannot disclose just yet because I don’t want to jinx it, but it’s been consuming me so much that I have to let some out before I explode.

Let’s just hope that it comes along with MrKP gifting me one of these beauties from Tiffany’s. Please wish me luck!

Winter Wonders

noreply@blogger.com (KP) — Wed, 23 Dec 2009 22:46:00 +0000

Look at how adorable some of the early gifts that I've received already. A girl can never have enough accessories.

The scarf is from my boss, who bought it during her recent trip to New York. The flower necklace and Wonder Woman cuffs are from one of my friends' Secret Santa party. Guess who ended up being my Santa, MrKP, so it wasn't much of a secret. But he did choose from my wish list, well, he came close but didn't buy the exact items on the list. Poor thing couldn't tell between the stippled design from the weave design on silver cuffs. A for effort.

One of my favorite things around the holidays is to receive holiday cards from family and friends, especially ones with photos so I can see what they look like if I don't get to see them often. The ones below are mainstays on my fridge.

Here is our e-card for this year. I incorporated pictures from our anniversary trip to Sydney, Australia, as well as our photo shoot. I really wished I did this for last year as well, since we had some fabulous pictures from our trip to Italy. Oh well, no card last year, e-card this year, actual mailing card next year!

Make a Smilebox greeting

Giving Thanks

noreply@blogger.com (KP) — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 21:39:00 +0000

...to celebrating this Thanksgiving weekend with my family and MrKP in Vegas. Itinerary as follows:

Today, get to leave early at work (paid!) Then all night of this:

Thursday:

Friday:

Homeward bound, relax, then:

I hope everyone's Thanksgiving will be just as wonderful!

HH GTG BD

noreply@blogger.com (KP) — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 20:00:00 +0000

On Wednesday, 09/23, thoughtful Rachael pulled together a little surprise celebration during Happy Hour in honor of the day fabulous Miss Jess was born. I like the sound of the word "fabulous" before her name, very fitting.

Rachael managed to round up Claire, Aline, Courtney and me to meet up beforehand at Claim Jumper in South Coast Plaza so that Erin could saunter in with the birthday girl at 6:30pm. Jessica decided that a huge pretzel will complete her birthday, and I learned about the hideousness that is Ed Hardy's clothing (thanks Courtney!)

Aline made this fabulous cake (from scratch!) to complement Jessica's fabulousness, but sadly, I could only manage to take one picture from my dying point & shoot camera. I know that because from where I was sitting, the picture captured an awkward angle of Jess as well as the cake, but doesn't Jess look radiant? HOPE YOU HAD AN AWESOME BIRTHDAY/WEEK/MONTH/YEAR, JESSICA!!

And just in case you still haven't figured it out yet, the title of this post stood for Happy Hour Get-Together Birthday. I learned most of these acronyms when I first associated with these girls.

Welcome Autumn

noreply@blogger.com (KP) — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 19:20:00 +0000

Even though it is still around 80 degrees in Southern California, I am ready for fall. More importantly, ready for fall fashion. It's my favorite season to dress, layering is key. Here are a few staples that I'm looking forward to seeing them in my closet.

Fully-clothed from Victoria's Secret:

Classics with a twist from the J Crew collection:

Cannot have enough of these from Urban Outfitters:

Found these beauties at Etsy, Forever 21 and Bambako, from left to right:

And to finally show off the yummy boots that I snatched up from our Italy trip last year!

Presents and Portraits

noreply@blogger.com (KP) — Fri, 25 Sep 2009 00:54:00 +0000

The last batch from BabyMama's Baby Shower will consist of notable gifts and adorable portraits.

My clothesline gift

IOUs from the LA girls

Must-have

When you see a Paul Frank print...

...you know WeeMo had something to do with it. **EDIT** It turns out that FGD was the mastermind behind the awesome Paul Frank diaper bag. I'm sure WeeMo provided inspiration.

Bumbo. Missing from the pack of notable gifts is Tiny Diner since it inspired Ashley to concoct an entire rendition of baby feeding to the tune of Tiny Dancer. Genius.

Hostess gifts

Cute booties on the yummy cake

Gorgeous gals!

Seriously, a glow was emitting from these 2 hot mamas.

The entire clan, photographed by Hubby-of-the-day, Claire's.

Games and Guests

noreply@blogger.com (KP) — Fri, 25 Sep 2009 00:24:00 +0000

BabyMama's Baby Shower Part II! Recap of some activities that went down:

I love the contrast between the animated energy between Wan talking to R and Jess reclining state. Jess looks ethereal here.

WeeMo showing off her handiwork in decorating the memento picture frame

Closeup, complete with accompanying scribbles of French sound "Honh honh"

"Guess the Famous Mom" game, who ended up with this trainwreck of pseudo famous mom?

None other than the bootylicious R (please don't kill me for posting this pic!)

"Baby Shower Bingo", tater was beyond excited about winning. She's so darn cute!

Guests in attendance:

Guests interacting:

WeeMo didn't get the green memo (that rhymes!)

Rotten

noreply@blogger.com (KP) — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 01:00:00 +0000

...to the core, I am! I attended a fun-filled baby shower for BabyMama waaaay back in May, hosted by the delicious Aline and dramatic 10yrs. And true to form, I toted along my DSLR, snapped a million pictures and never touched them again. Not only did the baby arrive already, I was just catching up on reading my fave blogs the other day, and saw that not only BabyMama wanted to see my snapshots, Wan did as well (see comments section)!

Since I am already way too late in the game, I might as well stretch it out even further. Let me begin documenting the festivities by presenting you the centerpiece:

By the fabulous Miss J

Score!

Delectables

Some artwork in the hostess' home

But everything paled in comparison to the glowing BabyMama

Games, guests and gifts coming up!

A Little Bit of My Heart

noreply@blogger.com (KP) — Tue, 15 Sep 2009 00:52:00 +0000

...dies with Patrick Swayze's defeat from cancer. This recent news along with Michael Jackson's untimely death bring a sad nostalgia. I spent hours in my room during my teenage years trying to perfect the moonwalk and then later pretending I was Baby doing "the lift". Everybody did this, right?

Note: I was barred from most pop culture until my teenage years. I was 12 when I had my first radio (not stereo) and 15 when I set foot into a movie theater.

I would like to think that somewhere, Michael slowly moonwalks as he leaps into Patrick's arms for the lift. R.I.P.

Unconditional

noreply@blogger.com (KP) — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 08:48:00 +0000

Me (at midnight): Happy anniversary, love! It's been two whole years!

MrKP: Happy anniversary, honey....yeah...two whole years...

Me: What would you have changed, or do differently from the last 2 years?

MrKP: Save more money, actually make more money, so we could have a house by now. I need to make more money.

Me: Aw geez, that's what you would change, really? What about those awful 6 months? Would you change that?

MrKP: Nah...

Me: Really, you wouldn't? They were awful...

MrKP: No, I wouldn't change them because I didn't understand.

Me: You didn't understand what I was going through?

MrKP: Right.

Me: What would you have done if you did understand?

MrKP: Push you harder.

Me: What wouldn't you change from the last 2 years?

MrKP: You.

Yup, he'd still take me as I am, and just supports and encourages me, pushes me, when I need it. Those were his wedding vows to me and he lives them every day.

Happy anniversary, love.

Here are 2 of our favorite pictures from our wedding:

My fave:

His fave:

Return

noreply@blogger.com (KP) — Thu, 13 Aug 2009 22:30:00 +0000

...to home and to this blog. I have so much to tell, just not enough time to tell them!

For example, one of the last things that I posted on this blog was an impending trip to Italy to celebrate our first anniversary. I never feasted your eyes with pictures of me slobbering all over gelato cones. And now, we just returned home from Sydney, Australia for our second anniversary. I still don't have pictures to show you yet, but I do have some highlights to share.

I managed to upset a koala bear, one of the tamest creatures on earth, and
I stared (complete with dropped jaw and bug eyes) at Dr. Christian Troy from Nip/Tuck show as if he was a koala bear himself, at the same wilderness park on the same day

Aging

noreply@blogger.com (KP) — Tue, 13 Jan 2009 20:03:00 +0000

...and still look mighty damn good doing it!

I turn 32 today, and incidentally have earned:

3 pounds since marriage (all settled as tummy fat)
2 sets of crow's feet on each eye (good eye cream recs please)
1 good career (security over adventure any time)
1 husband (no superlatives necessary)
1 awesome life

WTF

noreply@blogger.com (KP) — Wed, 05 Nov 2008 07:10:00 +0000

Are you kidding me, Californians?

Outlet

noreply@blogger.com (KP) — Mon, 03 Nov 2008 18:12:00 +0000

Due to some schedule mix-ups from our friends, we finally had a quiet weekend during this past Halloween weekend. Daylight saving just made it even sweeter. So I took full advantage of it and worked on one of my many projects. As a gift, I offered to make a guestbook for my boss' upcoming wedding in November. This will not only lessen the traditional gift for the Cambodian wedding (also applies to Chinese, Vietnamese, and Thai weddings). But it will also serve 2 other purposes:

I am super anal when I work on these types of projects, but that's because they are my creative outlets. I actually take joy in being anal and bringing on this pain.
This will be a test run for the Christmas gifts that I intend to give to both of our families as well as to the bridal party. I know, crazy. But, once again, this will involve more time and effort but much less money to shell out for gifts. And our families are fanatical about pictures and videos, so these albums would be very suitable gifts.

Take a look at the guestbook below and let me know what you think! This is the first time that I've dabbled in digital scrapbooking and I am addicted. I purchased the "Dreams Are Made Of (PINK) QP" album by Paislee Press and Taylormadealbum template from Oscraps. I really like the simple, modern, and vibrant aesthetics of these two designers, and the wedding theme colors are pink and brown. I tweaked the size and some pages here and there, but basically love the template as is.

I incorporated the pictures that she sent me of their relationship through the years, she's another 10yearstogether or 11.....She also provided pictures from her engagement session with Tracy Kumoto, which she utilized as a formal/bridal portrait session of sorts. She didn't want to spend more money on the "studio" sessions that are so popular among Asian brides. See mine below.

I am beyond excited to see this guestbook in print! To see my analness pay off and to be able to semi-mass produce Christmas gifts are just priceless. Without further ado, I present you, The Guestbook.

Click here to view this photo book.

Fashionista

noreply@blogger.com (KP) — Mon, 22 Sep 2008 17:08:00 +0000

When I grow up, I want to be like Betty. Not only do I want her sense of style, but also to inherit her skill of making it look so effortless. I know, I know, she is Parisian after all, so she has a definite advantage in that arena. But can't I be jealous of her genes? She reminds me of Selma Blair, but not as severe. And who is this fabulous photographer who diligently documents not only her outfits but also her poses and expressions in such an artistic fashion? I can't imagine that she props up a DSLR camera on a tripod by the side of her house...although I am not opposed to that idea at all.

In other fashion news, I finally caved in and bought leggings.

Even though I rocked my lace leggings with floral babydoll dresses back in junior high, I wasn't as thrilled to jump on board with this trend as I did the first time around. Mainly because I couldn't believe that it made a comeback, and I was also thinking that it wouldn't stick around for long. So I have held out as long as I could, but the comfort of elastic waistband, coupled with the ease of wearing pants, but not really wearing them were too alluring. The comfort and ease that leggings have to offer are especially essential to my wardrobe as MrKP and I travel through Italy next month.

Did I tell you that we are going to Italy? Hell yes we are!! To celebrate our first year surviving as husband and wife, MrKP and I...

...threw ourselves a fun party

...bought this sweet DSLR camera as a gift to ourselves

...and jet ourselves to Italy for 11 freakin' days!!

Spoiled much? Why, yes I am. I want to shlep through Milan, Florence, Rome and Venice with the same effortless chic as Betty, even if it kills me.

Oops!

noreply@blogger.com (KP) — Tue, 09 Sep 2008 20:14:00 +0000

In my previous post about my parents' anniversary, I inadvertently left out the part about my intention for a gift to my parents was to take portraits of them, with my mom wearing her classy dress. Now my explanation about the dress should make more sense :-(

Eesh...that's what happens when you try to blog at work. Hopefully, you got my drift. Or just look at the pictures. I will try to blog about the events surrounding this dress soon!

Anniversaries

noreply@blogger.com (KP) — Mon, 08 Sep 2008 20:41:00 +0000

MrKP and I have barely survived celebrating two huge anniversaries: our first wedding anniversary and my youth group's 30th. Tomorrow marks another significant anniversary in our lives: my parents' wedding anniversary.

I had fun plans for them, well, it will be fun for my mom and me, at least. My mom didn't get a chance to wear this classy dress to our anniversary party because:

1) my dad didn't have anything equally classy to wear that was also comfortable enough for him to play pool at Dave & Buster's

2) she bought this dress since it was such a steal before I decided that the theme colors for our party were blue and green

With her svelte figure, she would have looked like a brunette version of the model.

My plan was to tote along my new baby yesterday and take some nice classy portraits of the 'rents with my mom wearing her classy dress, as an anniversary gift. MrKP was going to be the clown to diffuse my dad's misery during this process, and BroKP (who also has the same initials) was going to get a nice frame for their favorite picture from this session as their gifts.Well, things took a sharp turn on Saturday. My dad was reverting back to his old self, and my parents's dynamics are now like this picture from our anniversary party, minus the playfulness, and my brother's fedora.

Instead, on Sunday, the KP clan, minus my dad :-(, took my mom to Cheesecake Factory for a late dinner. Where we toasted her an awkward "Ummm...Happy Anniversary, Mom." At least she was comforted by the fact that she had all her children there. As for my dad, after giving me a few disgruntled exchanges, he took off to his friend's house, probably sipping cognac and yakking about everything but my mom. He reverted back to his old self A LOT during the planning of our wedding. It was not a good feeling to be in the midst of planning your wedding and witnessing how rocky your parents' marriage was.

After 32 years, surviving 6 years of which being separated as a result of The Vietnam War, they still test their marriage. Marriage is hard work.

Welcome Back, Life

noreply@blogger.com (KP) — Tue, 26 Aug 2008 16:41:00 +0000

Craziness over, for now.

I managed to organize and survived 2 anniversary celebrations, then attended an impromptu 30th birthday party, all in a matter of 3 days. But it is another type of milestone that I wanted to talk about.

Hubby and I were completely drained mentally and physically after organizing my youth group's 30th anniversary celebration this past Sunday. I crashed like there's no tomorrow when we got home Sunday afternoon. Even though I woke up for food and was determined to watch the closing ceremony of the Olympics, I was passed out and drooling 20 minutes into the ceremony. Needless to say, we were planning to head straight to bed after work come Monday.

Around 4pm, we received a text to meet for a no-frills birthday celebration for my...umm...err...friend..best friend...former best friend at her parents' home. I really don't know what to call her for about 3 years now. I just know that as exhausted as we were, we had to come to the party. And I bought her flowers, her favorite gift. I was 15 when I first met her in my youth group. We were soulmates, she even said that if we were the opposite sex, we'd be perfect for each other. 15 years later, I was all cried out and just let go of our friendship so that I no longer have to suppress the lump in my throat and the ache in my chest every time I think of her, talk about her, or being in the same room as her.

I have painfully moved on. I just know that the day that asshole hurts her or leaves her dry, I will kick his fat ass so hard that it will be as flat as his face.

But yesterday, on her 30th birthday, we laughed together for the first time in a long time. And the asshole went to work for the first time in a longer time. Those two events were not directly connected, or were they? As I looked at her while we were cracking up, I felt my heart aching again. I said in my head, "Welcome back, N. I miss you."

This is N, with the only good thing that the asshole produced. I love this little pudgeball to pieces, sadly, he looks exactly like his father.

Hello Blog!

noreply@blogger.com (KP) — Mon, 04 Aug 2008 05:27:00 +0000

Remember me? Long time no talk. I will fill you in on all the madness eventually, perhaps when things quiet down a bit. For right now, let me tell you about the fun things, the things that make me feel good and giddy.

Like what I am going to wear at our first wedding anniversary party!! More later on how this fun celebration is being overshadowed by a more cumbersome event...ugghhh..

But back to things that don't make me want to tear my hair out, rather on the contrary, to go with what I will be putting on my hair! One of the very few things that I was quite bummed about during our wedding day, was that the gorgeous feather and flower hairpin that I had planned to wear with the dress that I would be dancing in never made its debut.

It was nowhere to be found when I was changing into my "dancing dress". My overzealous friend was determined to make my wedding day as perfect as can be and gathered up all my personal things so that they wouldn't be strewn about in the hotel. He and his wife brought every little knick-knack to our honeymoon suite, including the blue box with my hairpin inside. Oh how its wispy feathers would have moved harmoniously when I opened the dance floor with the tango number that I planned as a surprise for my dad for our father-daughter dance.
See how perfectly that hairpin would have completed the effect? [sigh] But how could I be upset at my friend, who meticulously displayed our leftover flower arrangements and portraits on the nightstand and coffee table in our suite, complete with a sweet little note on our hotel bed.

So I didn't get upset, instead, I vowed to debut that sassy little pin on our first wedding anniversary! Thus, began the search for the sassy little white dress to complement it. Below are the contenders, I even had a public poll.

And this was the front runner. Quite a few peeps told me how Carrie Bradshaw this chic little number is, and I loved everything about it (including its allusion to SATC since I am a HUGE fan), except for the price.

Being the smart and savvy shopper that I am :P, I waited for it to go on sale. Preferrably half off. It never did. So off I went to South Coast Plaza, ready to tear the place apart. Well, at least inside the stores that I could afford to buy something anyway. I started my way at one end of the mall, and just 3 stores later....I present you, THE DRESS:

Ain't it sweet? Can't you picture how impeccable it would look with my hairpin? Aren't you jealous of my dressing room picture-taking technique?

White, check. Cocktail length, check. Comfortable, check. Cute, check! The pockets and the optional straps are just icing on the cake. All that for less than $100, check, check, CHECK PLEASE!! Pull out the straps, put on a teal belt and I have a completely different dress halfway through the party. Just call me Katie Bradshaw.

The good stuff didn't stop there. As you can see from the dressing room pictures above, my bob has grown into a blob. It has been months, I lost count. The highlights have faded to their true color, gray. So during this rare weekend of rest, MrKP and I made sure to get our hairs did.

Since our hair guy did such a good and quick job today, we had time to peruse in a few of our favorite stores. See my loot from Victoria's Secret and Paper Source above. And witness cute MrKP with his Fry's bargains below. Pure bliss.
Hmm...I just noticed for the first time when looking at these pictures that we both wore the same brand name T-shirts! Hahaha! And no, we are not one of THOSE couples who match, except for today, hilarious!

Baby, Baby...

noreply@blogger.com (KP) — Tue, 20 May 2008 16:20:00 +0000

...brother, that is. I only have one sibling, and this is him. Adorable beyond belief, no?

I really do consider him my baby. Because he is almost 10 years younger than me, and because I've fed, changed, bathed, burped, slapped errr...disciplined, and pretty much did everything else for him except to breastfeed him, which my mom didn't do for neither one of us anyway. Hmm...maybe that's the reason for our defiant and sarcastic streaks, because we weren't offered the boob! But I digress.

Due to an unfotunate course of event called the Vietnam War, my parents were separated for 6 years. When they reunited, I got the sibling that I've always asked for. And he's all I've got. We were inseparable, mainly because my dad had the 5 feet rule: at no given time was I to be apart from him for more than 5 feet. A teenage girl with a rambunctious toddler stuck to her side, at all times, fun times. But the time did come when we have to be apart. I did "leave" him for 2 years, during my "dark years". I rebelled against my dad and left home (yes, 19 years old, unmarried and checked myself into the college dorm was considered running away in my parents' world, cops were summoned to my boyfriend's house and everything. Of course, the cops tried to stifle their snickers when they found out how old I was at the time.) But I digressed once again.

I wouldn't trade those awful years for the world, for I grew up to be myself and my parents grew to value me as myself as a result of those torturous years. Except for the part where my baby bro was abruptly left to be by himself. I cried in my dorm room almost every night for the first week that I was there because I missed his chubby cheeks singing along with me to the tunes of Amy Grant and Wilson Phillips. But I kept on reminding myself that he's 10 now, he doesn't need me any more, I need me! When I moved back home years later, after our own little Vietnam War in the family has subsided (but this time the Commies lost), I interviewed him for a school project.

Me: Tell me a sad time in your life.
Bro: I don't have many, but....I guess the time when you left home....yeah...that was sad...

We both looked away.

Me: [choking] Please elaborate.
Bro: Well, you were always there...and then, you were not. I was never without you.

My heart jumped to my throat. Just like it did when my family was in the process of relocating, and I couldn't find him during one of his numerous impromptu hide-and-seek games when he first began to walk/run, because he climbed into the mounds of moving boxes and stayed there. Or when he fell into the deep end of the pool at 7 and neither of us knew how to swim yet. Or when I was the first person to witness his one and only seizure when he was 12, a congenital disorder which affected nothing if he takes medication twice a day until he was 18.

He's 5'11 now, I'm 5'1 for awhile now. He looks like my dad, I look like my mom. I sound like a mouse, he sounds like a frog. Can you imagine if it was reversed? This is us at the family portrait session that my friend photographed, when we attempted to express sibling rivalry. As you can see, I failed.

He is my pride and joy. He lives in a corner of the living room in our tiny 1 br apartment, only for one more month, because he doesn't want his sister to continue paying for his dorm fees or his rent when she now lives 10 minutes away from his school with her husband. He enjoys his brother-in-law's cooking (because his sister doesn't cook much), and his BIL dies a little inside whenever he eats out. Here he is as the Best Man for his BIL at his sister's wedding, giving his toast and performing a cultural dance as part of his gift.
In one more month, I will be there when he graduates from my alma mater, receiving his Bachelor's degrees in both Chemistry and Math, with Phi Lambda Upsilon Chemistry Honor Society, Phi Beta Kappa and Magna Cum Laude honors. And once again, my heart will probably jump to my throat. But I will swallow it, and scream at the top of my lungs in my mousy voice, "That's my baby brother!!!" He's used to it.

Blog World

noreply@blogger.com (KP) — Mon, 19 May 2008 17:59:00 +0000

Contrary to the current state of neglect with my blog, I really do have so much to blog about because my life has been too jam packed for my liking. However, I find myself not having enough time in a day to record my daily events and musings. Even though I type faster than I handwrite now, it is just easier to jot down random notes on whichever journal I have on hand at the moment than it is to collect my thoughts during one seating to blog. Perhaps part of it is that I don't have my routine down yet:

1) I love taking pictures, I carry my ultra-slim point-and-shoot camera along with my handy-dandy gorillapod in my purse at all times, don't be surprised if you see flashes when you're around me...just think of it as you're so hot, you have your very own paparazzo.

And I love looking at pictures, especially on blogs. I am guilty of bypassing the writing in posts and just enjoy the pictures. So forgive me if you poured your heart out in a post and all I remembered about that particular post was the yummy food picture or that updated one of your cute puppy. But I am not as proactive in uploading pictures from my camera.

2) As I mentioned before, my mind is constantly everywhere, note the "dreamer" in my profile, consequently, jotting down whatever thoughts or emotions that seemed to pop up was my reliable method of journaling. I need to get used to being focused, to gather my thoughts into one comprehensive post. Sometimes that just requires me to deal with myself again...too much soul-searching for my taste...

3) Once I get on the computer, I start to read my favorite blogs, reply to emails, work on the million different projects that are on my plate right now. By the time I get through with all that, and more often than not, I don't complete half of them, I am too exhausted to blog. And I'm sure posts beginning and ending with "so.damn.tired." can only get me so far before my blog is removed from others' blogrolls, or I would delete my boring-ass blog myself.

Then there's this other reason.
Recently, some of my favorite bloggers are dealing with privacy issues concerning their blogs. Once again, my original fear of being invaded and betrayed by journaling again has started to resurface. I thoroughly enjoy sharing my excursions and mundane musings with everyone, especially with fellow bloggers, because there's this mutual embrace among the cyber journaling realm that I truly appreciate. I eat up all the comments like I would with hot wings and pho.

But what about when it comes to more delicate and personal issues? Or when I want to vent and record my thoughts and feelings as they surface, so that I can look back and see where I was and how far I've come (or not)? My life is not all alcohol and lollipops all the time. I am quite temperamental and reactive. I detest MBOC's perfect makeup, and APK's perfect skin, and YL's perfect height, and tater's perfect haircut, and WeeMo's perfect wit, and Kate's perfect cooking, and Aline's perfect boobies, and Diane's perfect humility, and Claire's perfect prose, and CBB's Tory & Tod's, and LYB's perfect age, and Cat's perfect profanities, and Jenn's perfect business sense, and my BFF's imperfect husband, and so many many more!! And I want to be able to let it all out, on my blog, my little haven of reflections, dammit!

Well, most likely the people I have issues with are already aware of my issues with them. I am confrontational, but I do pick my battles. If I inadvertently offend anyone on my blog, please let me know. I will deal with you personally, not through cyberspace, because I can't control that. And if you offend me, delete.

Divas, Superstars, and More Animals!!

noreply@blogger.com (KP) — Tue, 06 May 2008 16:20:00 +0000

Our Cazh Night in SD was rather eventful, but mainly due to the company. As we crossed the streets in our heels, some of us were amused by the following go-kart, even contemplated on using them...for about 10 seconds. And no, that is NOT Diane and YL in the picture.

The Irish pub, The Field, looked intriguing enough for some dinner grub. We ordered some sampler dishes to share, and I must say, they were quite tasty. Very hearty and wholesome. Below is the Irish Sampler, which consisted of "wee Shepherd’s Pie, wee Guinness Beef Stew, Chicken Sage Boxty and our famous Corned Beef and Cabbage", based upon their description.

Hmmm...similar to the "Animals Attack" picture, Diane just doesn't seem to be on the same page in terms of posing. There's a little vulgarity in her LA sign, no?

Awkward turtles and crows and...once again...what IS Diane doing?

BOTH armpits shaved. Check.

Instant classification. Check.
We're all set for bar hopping! We started the night at the Altitude Sky Bar, located on the rooftop of the Marriott hotel, with high recommendations from YL. So naturally, I expected droves of cute Koreans there, what we got was this nice view of the Padres stadium to our left, and the view of the bay to our right, but it was too dark for my camera's flash to capture.

The bar was huge! And the bartenders concocted some amazing drinks, WeeMo had a yummy customized one.
They had jumbo sized screens of Ipod commercial-like mystery dancers.

To which I did find this cute Korean trying to imitate the moves of these mystery dancers. Doesn't she look adorable? "I'm a little teapot, short and........"

I can't wait until we have matching haircuts! ~signed, married Asian female

The air was refreshing, the view was spectacular, the 90's hip-hop music videos were jamming and the DJ was fine. But we decided to move on to the Hard Rock Hotel. This is where we spent most of our time there, on a plush ottoman on the ground, which was in a prime location between the entrance, the pool and the table services.

We can only gawk at tight hard perky shiny bodies for so long and the Hard Rock sparker girls can only provide so much amusement. We began to get restless.

The drinks there were pure alcohol...the ottoman was getting more comfy...

...so Aline decided to dance on the ottoman, but was scolded...since she couldn't beat them, she joined them, without compromising her special skills..

We all decided that the sky bar at the Marriott hotel was our preference, so some of us went back there, some of us wanted more Irish and booze, and the rest of us wanted to eat. Because sitting and gawking required too much energy.

We found this futuristic diner right below the Hard Rock Hotel, complete with Andy Warhol-esque posters of Mick Jagger. I gave our group picture at the diner an old skool, Polaroid feel to go with our Archie and the gang look.

Chic decor in the hotel lobby.

Half of my roommates got back to our room before dawn, all of them decided to leave early. With hubby in Vegas, and tummy growling, I decided to join the eating crowd once again. The sky was beautiful but the air was hot and muggy as we walked to the clean and modern taqueria, minus the homeless woman who couldn't keep her fingers to herself.

I wanted to take a picture of YL's enormous burrito, with YL for comparison purposes.

The LA girls took my orphan self in and drove me home. I don't have pictures for the many hilarious conversations that ensued in the ride home, I was too busy laughing. I sure appreciate their generosity, but I did not appreciate WeeMo nearly flashing my neighborhood when they dropped me off. I disdainfully told her, "Please, we're in Irvine now."

I came home, unpacked, took a nap, then to be woken up by my sweet hubby who actually won in Vegas, and spent some of his winnings to buy me a little something at the Coach outlet. Life is sweet.