shantics
t-minus 2 days until my sister's birthday! oh, and a little event called the shanderson wedding. the bridal party + moms took the blushing bride out to the ivy last night, where we were treated like royalty. i'm aware that may have been because it was a wednesday night, but whatever, we took it. we had our own little VIP atrium, with a birds eye view of the kitchen. and we had a lot of attention from the visiting businessmen and the friends of the staff who were waiting for their buddies to get off work. all in all, it was a lounge-y time, with a hangman showdown, a rooftop heated pool, and all (i almost went in. voluntarily.). and even though it was pretty low-key (i was the dd, i take care of my flock), the 1:30am home time was pretty rough, considering i had a pretty wretched seminar to attend this morning. amazingly, i'm still awake, and plan on catching some serious ZZZs after rehearsal tonight!
current mood: good times

art.
some pics from my l.a. visit, killing time at the getty villa

b*starphilosphone... and some lovely lady lumps

two different angles. i loveloveLOVE this picture, and the way the light hits it to trick your eye. i spent a lot of time with this dude.
current mood: inspired.

one good deed.
i did my one good deed of the year this past saturday, volunteering at the pre-departure seminar for the newbies leaving on a jet plane for this year's installment of new JETs on the programme. this year, FINALLY, i was asked to be on a panel, where i sagely dispensed knowledge of what to (and what not to) bring to j-land... like DO bring flouridated toothpaste, DON'T bother bringing dryer sheets... stuff like that. since i never really received an orientation for my japanese, i felt it my duty to warn, err, educate the unsuspecting fools. i took most of my time working the room, going up to the newbies and regaling them with the horrific stories and amusing myself with their white-faced reactions. we'll see if they ask me back on stage next year.
current mood: it was my duty, and not just personal entertainment

too ethereal for me
in an effort to have someone else kick my butt into fitness gear, a couple of co-workers and i had taken a pilates class last quarter... specifically "pilates booty ballet". i figured it would be a good time; it's got the word booty in it after all. and it turned out to be an enjoyable, poppy, fun workout, so i decided to continue my foray into pilates-land. unfortunately, the same class wasn't offered, so i ventured (solo) into a pilates-yoga blend. ... like alice through the looking glass... the class is oozing in "namaste" and lingo, and instructions to flow thoughts and feel blood and all that kind of spiritual blabbity-blah that yoga is known for. i spend most of my time with my eyes rolled to the ceiling, and NOT in the head-back, open your heart and salute various heavenly objects way. i don't enjoy hearing other people move wind through their nose-hairs, and i definitely enjoy the lithe old men in their unnecessarily short shorts. by the end of the class, i'm so incredibly bothered, i'm sure any sense of good feeling has been boiled away by my rising blood pressure.
current mood: get your head out of the clouds, and make it down and dirty.

i must be getting older
this year my bday falls on a thursday. as it is, i will be working both jobs on that day. and i have no other plans, as it seems overwhelming to try to schedule something. in an initial survey, it seems most people are already booked for the weekend, and even the weekend after that. at that point, it's probably just too late to do anything anyway. realistically, i'd like to be able to celebrate, but i'm looking really just looking to sit on the beach and roast a marshmallow with a friend or two.
current mood: chillin', apparently.

throwback to 1997
i relived a june weekend from 1997 when natalie and i grabbed our towels and suits and sat on the beach all day on saturday. it was a perfect rendition, right down to the point where we dove into the waves and almost lost our bottoms (mine down around my ankles. eek!), finished the sandy day with ice cream, and spent saturday night hanging out. sunday saw the fam at breakfast, and more beachy-ness, except this time on a more grown-up scale, as it ended the night on a bar patio with a man named blake and his dalmatian. it's funny how i suddenly aged 10 years with that first sip. but at least i have the sunburn to remind me of the good times.
current mood: burn, baby, burn

the witching hour
summer-y weather has coaxed the window pane to open a little wider. and when the revelry and traffic have died down, and the parrots have all gone to nest, and the neighborhood dogs have stopped raising the alarm about whichever skunk happens to be roaming by, it's nice to be able to drift off to the sounds of the waves crashing in the not-so-far-off distance. unless it's 1:45am and i'm still awake for no damn good reason.
current mood: lack of sleep is not improving overall health!

things i'm allergic to:
* salmon
* malted alcoholic beverages (i.e. wine coolers)
* playing sports on the hardwood gym floor
healthy alternatives:
* dungeness crab
* captain morgan
* playing wii on the living room carpet
i managed to avoid 2 of my 3 allergies this weekend in san fran (who puts salmon in ceviche?!) and even then it was probably a good thing my stomach was on fishy protest considering how much more food i was able to turn down. i did have a guy in the ice cream shop offer to buy me a cone in sausalito... kind of a pg-rated version of an older bar scene. our other culinary escapades included korean bbq, vietnamese plus crab, and brunch at a german restaurant... i know, i was curious too.
after our saturday night antics where i almost got stuck in club purgatory for giving my vip ticket to dave and then not being able to get back in, we all made our way to our separate corners of the city to sleep in, and got together for sil's big day on sunday. after the ceremony, where i somehow managed to stay awake the WHOLE time (!!), we headed back to stockton for some family time. monday morning came too soon, with me cooking some blueberry pancakes, and silvi and dave hammering nails into coconuts so our straws would fit inside. we worked off breakfast with some boxing and tennis in the living room ; )
all in all, a lovely weekend with the fam. i have a new found appreciation for the city by the bay, and other than being FREEZING at times, i consider san fran my homey.
current mood: congratulations, doctor huang!

what the health?
with all the work and running around and weird foods and stress, it's no wonder that my body has decided to go pretty much haywire. and i'm declaring right now: i'm not a big fan. on tuesday night, i seemingly lost circulation in two of my fingers (right index, left middle) on two separate occasions over the course of the evening. it was a little freaky considering the fingers were this really pale yellow/white color, in contrast to the healthy pinkish of the rest of the hand. i lately seem to have really red eyes, causing me to look like i've been crying or drinking or not sleeping. and today, i seemed to have developed a huge painful lump near my mouth that kept me awake all night (hence the red eyes?). i don't know what the heck it is, but it hurts, and it looks like i'm packing chew in my lower lip. seriously, not too impressed, especially considering i'm off this weekend for some high times in san fran to celebrate silvi's graduation from dental school. if this stupid thing doesn't go away, all of my pics will have to be from profile!
current mood: i seem to be falling apart.

for natalie

peace does not mean to be in a place where there is no noise, trouble, or hard work.
peace means to be in the midst of all those things and still be calm in your heart.

current mood: finding my peace

what, today's not friday?
for all of you who believe that the winter holiday season is that time of year you get all dressed up and bounce from party to party, you must have never lived through the end of a school year. this is my 9th day in a row working, all days until WAY after dark, and the last 4 nights involving some sort of ceremony, be it party or awards (or both!). i've started to lose track of the days, eating the same catered food over and over, seeing the same faces sometimes, hearing the same speeches... relief won't come until i take off to san fran this weekend, and quite frankly, although i love dressing up, i'm running out of fancy party dresses!
current mood: 'tis the season

it IS a small world!
i was out living my life yesterday morning, trying to be as anonymous as possible while running benign errands with my head in a million different other places. while i was awkwardly standing at the counter of a restaurant, waiting for the manager, i was approached by a young man bathed in intent. i didn't have to think twice about who he was or why he was quickly approaching me before we were wrapped up in a giant embraces and smiles. he was someone i hadn't seen in years, and hadn't worked with in more years than that, yet here we were, my sideline crossing with his. we caught up for a few moments before he went back to his lunch and i floated back in to anonymity.
... that is until i ran into yet another impossibility in the maze of a mall i never go to. she strode by me with her glasses and pink dress while i negotiated logistics on the phone, oblivious of my fellow mall rats. something must have registered with her as a moment later, she spun around and said my name and took off her sunglasses disguise, revealing a lovely lady who i hadn't seen in the flesh since longer still than the other guy. her normal residence isn't even this side of the atlantic, making the encounter all the more acute. we walked and chatted and consumed american goods before parting ways again... but this time i was a little more aware of my surroundings, waiting for that next "hey, i know you!" moment.
current mood: wow, like magic!