6 Year Reunion in Puerto Rico

Playlist for this post and for our vacation:

     -"Happy" by Pharrell
     -"Best Day of My Life" by American Authors
     -"Everything is Awesome" by Tegan & Sara featuring The Lonely Island (aka, the Lego Movie song).
...and keep it on repeat....seriously. Also, use the pet name "baby" or "puppy" for everyone.

This is Mego. I haven't seen Mego in six year. What's a better way to catch up than to vacation together?

Happy Birthday weekend to me! A few months ago, I decided I just wanted to get away for my birthday for a low key weekend. I decided that it would be more fun if I had people come with me. I invited my lil sister, and then inspiration struck....invite Mego! I adore Mego, because she is one of my life inspirations. I joke around saying that I can't do anything until she does it first. I already know we travel well together, because we've done it before, 12 years ago when we went to England and Paris together. We know that when someone gets grumpy, you must buy them a candy bar to calm them down. Easy peasy. We met up at the San Juan airport and went over to our hotel to make plans and chillax.

Can I just say, I normally don't stay at fancy hotels when I travel, so this trip was on another level of classy for me. Saryah joked that this is her first "adult" vacation, because adults always go places with no plans but to relax. Those were our exact plans. This was a "No Rules" vacation.

We went out to eat the first night at a restaurant down the road, where we ordered three dishes to share. We would eat part of the plate, and then rotate the plates throughout the dinner. #genius We each took turns giving a summary of the past six years of our lives, because, like I said, we haven't seen each other in a while, and it's hard to find time to catch up sometimes. It was pretty funny when we had those "omg. I can't believe you did that!" moments, as we reacted to events that happened years ago. The waiter gave us free crème brûlée during our meal. We also created a list of all the countries we travelled to over the past 6 years. Over the past six years, we've visited a combined number of 26. There was only one country that we've all been to in the past six years....the motherland, where it all began, the UK!

First of all, shout out to Tattly, which has really cool temporary tattoos! Secondly, Friday was a really lazy day. When I say lazy, I mean, brilliantly lazy. We woke up late, to the maid knocking on our door for room service. We went to breakfast across the street at Denny's. Then, we went to lay on the beach and swim for the next few hours. I read, Megan watch the Canada hockey game, and Saryah just laid there. We went back to shower and get out of the sun in the afternoon. We decided it would probably be a good idea to go look around San Juan instead of only looking at the beach all day. We took a taxi out to Old San Juan, and checked out the Fort. Our taxi driver pointed out the capitol building for us, and recommended a good place to eat. Sadly, with my bad memory, about five minutes later, I couldn't remember what he said. It was so windy at the fort, but the view was gorgeous. The whole place was beautiful. We walked around, and I loved to stone streets and colorful buildings. It was a beautiful mixture of Latino and Caribbean culture without the need of a passport or changing currency.  I would definitely recommend it to people. We went to Barrachina for dinner, where they claim they invented the Piña Colada. With a claim like that, how could we not have a taste. Truth: I normally don't like Piña Coladas, but this one was wonderful. I had two. The dinner was GREAT! We had a great time, and they gave us a free slice of tres leches cake as they sang Happy Birthday to me. Mego was having a fun time making sure everyone knew it was my birthday. We went back to the hotel to book a tour to Culebras Island to go snorkelling, but we found out the tour was cancelled due to weather. Bah humbug. We went back to our room to discuss. Instead, we decided we should rent a car, drive to the ferry in the morning, book a room at a swanky resort, and be completely spontaneous tomorrow. Done.

Saturday morning, we got a rental, and drove down to Fajardo. Mego hopped out of the car to just get us tickets so we could then go to lunch, but she called, told us to park the car because the ferry was ready about to leave! We went...and the ferry broke down. They said it would be up and running within an hour...and it finally left about 3 hours later. Woohoo #carribeanspirit We got to the Resort on Vieques, cortesy of Mego's hotel points, and it was so swanky. I felt like white trash at a cotillion ball. We loved it anyway. We went straight to the beach to enjoy the sun!

After a few hours in the sun, we went exploring. When I say "we", I mean, Mego went exploring, while Saryah and I followed. On this exploration, Megan found a coconut, which entertained her for the next 12 hours as she attempted to open the coconut with random tools found in a hotel room. Room service said they did not have any machetes available. The highlight of the night was discovering the black pebble pool, with LED lights at the bottom. With all the stars in the sky it felt magical, only to be enhanced by listening to "Across the Universe" while relaxing in the starry water.

Sunday Fun Day! Mego and I went on an adventure to find the church building and get ferry tickets. Ferry tickets are only sold one hour before the ferry leaves, and we were quite panic-y that we wouldn't get a ticket. We were told, that you can go and just get them anyways if you are confident enough. False. They guy was quite rude. We then went to church, where we were given a corner and couldn't find it anywhere. After about 20 minutes of wandering, we followed a couple in a nice dress and a suit to find the church. #stalkeralert We met a couple from Tennessee who decided to move to Vieques a few months ago. What I really wanted to ask was, what are you doing on the island? I was pretty sure that was rude, so I stayed silent.

We eventually made it back to the hotel and decided to risk missing the ferry to stay later at the resort. We laid on the beach. Worried when Mego disappeared. Mego came back after exploring more of the beach. Ate lots of yummy coconut. And took silly photos.

After six years, things haven't changed much.

There was a little vacation romance...that lasted about 5 minutes.

Needless to say, we made it onto the ferry without a problem. While waitin in line, I started chatting with this really cute Brazilian. It was in Spanish, so Mego and Saryah thought it was something nice we were talking about, but I'm pretty sure they were talking about when him and I laughed over me hoping I don't get sea sick on the ferry ride back. #whatyouseeiswhatyouget #classylassy The romance ended, when he went to the bottom deck, and I went to the top. I didn't even think of telling him I was planning on going to the top until Mego and Saryah reprimanded me for being so bad at flirting.
We finally made it back to San Juan and had a late night dinner at Denny's. It was a great way to end a whirlwind vacation.

Monday, Saryah and I slept in, while Megan woke up to soak in as much sun-time as possible. I joined later and had a pizza and piña colada brought out to my chair. Mego and I talked for a while, as Saryah stayed in a shaded hammock far away from us. It was sad to say goodbye, but I'm pretty sure, we'll travel again together in the future to make more epic memories.

Birthday Wish List 2014

My birthday is coming up...you know what that means....a birthday WISH LIST! Really, I don't do gifts most of the time. People normally buy you bath stuff, candles, or weird self-help books (aka crap). It's true. I like practice gifts. Things I will actually like and/or use. Here is my list to help you out if you feel the need to buy me something. Normally, if I don't get this stuff as gifts, I either end up buying this stuff for myself throughout the year or realize how unnecessary it is in my life. #missindependent

1. Travel Towel - XL
2. Electric Adapter  (I keep having to borrow my parent's adapter when I travel. I think it's time to get my own.)
3. TSA approved 4-digit lock
4. portable power strip
5. 75+L backpack -This is just to remind me later I need to finally buy one. Osprey Ariel 75-blue
6. Solar charger?  - I just found out these exist. Don't know if I really want it or just think it's fascinating. 
7. Errand of Angels DVD
8. Passport holder. (ok. so this one I really dont need, but I decided I want it. It's really low on my "want" list. But I'm putting it on there so I dont forget)

One Year Older and Wiser Too....maybe

I feel like the perfect prelude to my birthday is this article I found in BBC News this week. (Please note, in my blog when I refer to "this" or "that", you can 90% of the time click on the word and it will take you to a link of exactly what I'm talking about. For example, if you click in the phrase "this article" it will take you to said article) So this article talks about a new terminology in China, which translates to "leftover women" in English. It's a little sad, but I feel like this article is my friend. I showed my Chinese co-worker this article and he laughed, knowing exactly what it was talking about when I pointed to the word "sheng nu". He told me, "You have a few more years, but maybe you should ask for a boyfriend for your birthday". lol. Thanks Jimmy. Thanks. I know you are thinking, "wow, it's your birthday. why are you bringing up the topic of boys?" I bring up this topic to let the world know, I am happy! Please. I don't need you to tell me "you're so wonderful, smart, and pretty. I don't know why you don't have a boyfriend" or "guys are crazy to not be after you". People are always asking me about my relationship status, and you know what? I don't define my happiness on whether or not I'm dating anyone. Please don't apologize. Don't say anything. If I become a leftover woman, at least I know I will be in good company. For now, I'm going to keep living my life the best way I know how, and enjoying every moment of it: the good and the bad.

And now, the tale of my big birthday weekend!

I drove home after work and waited for Saryah before starting the drive to San Antonio. At the mid-point, we, of course, stopped at Bucee's for an energy boost. We got to San Antonio and checked into the Crowne Plaza. I was not impressed. You have to pay for parking. Who does that? And pay for internet. What kind of hotel does that in this day and age? #dumbdumb Anyway, we relax in the hotel until it is time to go pick up bff Erica, who was flying in from Arizona, from the airport. YAY! (best birthday ever!) I pick her up and the night is still young, so we go to Mi Tierra for a nighttime snack. It was funny because Erica was freaking out from excitement. I thought she was going to topple over.

We got some Mexican hot chocolate and it was soooo tastey. I also go myself a virgin margarita because, hey, gotta enjoy the nightlife :) After our midnight snack, we went back to the car, where erica was really excited to give me my gift and her excitement was contagious. First she gave me the birthday card. 1. it was in spanish. 2. it was a twilight card. lol. 3. there was a surprise note on the back from ben! Really, it was a perfect birthday card. Then for the gift! She got me a SNUGGIE! And not just any snuggie....a zebra print snuggie. If you're going to get a snuggie, you cannot be serious about it. Go crazy. I'm so excited to use it! After our adventure, we had to sneak back to our room and be very quiet because mom and saryah were fast asleep  even though my mom woke up when Erica and I were whispering together before sleeping and startled us by speaking. lol. Funny mommy.

Saturday morning started off with 4 females trying to get ready with only one bathroom. lol. Magically, it happened without major incident and we're all still friends. We went to Mi Guadalajara near gma's house for breakfast and met up with Jax and Davy. It was a fun breakfast which ended with us heading to get some yummy pan dulce!

Oh it was a great morning of mexican food and sharing stories. We then dropped of mom to start getting ready for the party as Erica, Saryah, and I went down to the riverwalk to take a stroll in the sun and see the Alamo. There was a long line to go inside, so we just settled on taking pictures! yay!

We then walked back along the river on the opposite side we walked on before, only to discover that on the side of the river we were on, didn't have an exit at the same place we entered. Uh oh. Luckily, we eventually escaped our entrapment on the river bank.  We then travelled to an HEB to pick up some flowers for my gma who LOVES flowers. We arrived and all my siblings where there. #bestfamilyever

The party, of course, was hip and happening. Everyone was there. We laughed, we ate, we talked to everyone. Then the mariachi band showed up. It was great. I love mariachis. They sang happy birthday to me and my grandma. They serenaded us, and it was great to finally understand what they were singing. #spanishpower It was great until they announced they were going to sing the last 2 songs. Then they turned to each other and started whispering, glancing at me, and pointing at me. Then I started to get nervous, because I new something was coming. They proceeded to sing to me exactly like this:

Ok. So maybe it wasn't exactly like this, Julia Stiles reacted a lot more gracefully than I did, but they sang the song. They started singing to me, and everyone stopped to stare at me. People even came in from outside just to stare at me. I laughed and hid my face. I started laughing so hard, I almost cried. aka i was feeling so awkward and overwhelmed, I almost cried. I didn't know how to react with so many eyes on me. I was just a hot mess of crazy. Oh well. It was something I will never forget. A memorable birthday indeed. They then sang gma a song and Ron asked her to dance. It was so cute. I have the coolest gma ever. The party didn't last long after that, as we all had the cops called on us. We're that crazy. #truestory

We inhaled helium, spoke in funny voices, cleaned up the room, and then only a few of us ended up going to the after-party in gma's apartment as she (really me) got to open her presents. She's a classy lady. People getting her purses and clothes. Eventually, it was time to head out for my party. So mom, saryah, erica, uncle john, headed to the other side of town to eat at The Magic Time Machine, except we weren't all that hungry. So we got seated, noticed they didn't have any good apetizers and were deciding if we wanted to stay and eat here. Then some teen girl  with a backpack came up to our table and was like "Hello!" in a really obnoxious voice. All I could think of was 'why are you here? go sit down with your family like a good girl'. Only to discover she is our waitress and is dressed as Dora the Explorer. Oh goodness. We all kinda just paused awkwardly and looked at each other. Luckily, Uncle John took the reigns and asked for a few more minutes, and we left the restaurant to go to a mexican place across the street. You cannot go wrong with mexican food in San Antonio. It's all good. We then drove to the Majestic Theatre to see the 2010 Tony winner for Best Musical, "Memphis". My review: It was wonderful! The music reverberated through your soul and the dancing was spectacular. It made you want to get up and dance with them. The plot was adorable, but the ending was not what I was hoping. However, the actors were phenomenal, and I want to some of the songs from the soundtrack. After the show, we were all wiped out. I couldn't have gone out after that even if I wanted to. T'was a wonderful birthday, and I couldn't have asked for a better day.

Sunday morning was sad because I had to drive Erica back to the airport to see her off. :( But I got to go back to bed afterwards, so that was a plus. Mom, Saryah, and I went to get some breakfast and more pan dulce. Then we went over to gma's to say goodbye  and pick up Saryah's sweater that got left behind before starting our drive home. Long drive when everyone falls asleep. So i just turned up my music and sang along for 3 hours. When we got back, it was a lazy day of reading and cleaning a bit more. (I'm in the process of cleaning our my room at home still) Then I went to my place at night to watch the Oscars and angst over my new facebook profile picture #firstworldproblems. I loved the ode to musicals, because I love musicals. and i love that Jennifer Lawrence won an oscar. She's legit.

Now as an end to my birthday tale, I will leave you all with the encouraging words I received from Jimmy on Monday morning after we talked about my birthday weekend. "Don't worry. You are not 'sheng nu' yet"
  lol
Thank you to everyone who sent birthday wishes. Y'all were blowing up my phone all day with facebook alerts and texts. :)

"The time has come" the Walrus said, "To talk of many things..."

Dear world,

My birthday is this weekend. All I really want is a Judge's gavel. #truestory When I told wbff (work bff) Charles this, he said I need to ask for something else so i don't come of so crazy. Therefore I have added 2 more things for my list.

1. Judge's Gavel
2. Snuggie
3. Nook Gift Card
4. Aviators....from someone feeling generous
5. A chauffeur for life....i've decided I hate driving.
6. Someone to fly to Orlando with me to swim with the manatees in March or April :)
7. CHI hair straightener....mine blew the fuse when I tried it in Europe last year :(
8. purple flats or closed-toed heels.  (im a size 6.5 or 37 depending on where you're shopping)

Commence Randomness!!!!!!

I got my birthday dress in the mail and it fits! and there was much rejoicing! :)

Work bestie Charles' pearl of wisdom: no one ever hates the ugly girls. Also, he's decided to tell this guy at work, tyler, that i'm in love with him. except when i deny it, it sounds more like im embarrassed and didnt want him to find out rather than a real denial. #embarrassing #charlesthinksitshysterical

Other work thing: Andres. Andres likes to sneak up behind me and scare me. Anyone who knows me knows that I scream when snuck up on. I am not amused. Then he laughs and touches my shoulder. Which makes me madder. Dude, we're co-workers, not friends, and you're married. ¡NO ME TOQUES! I really want to turn around and stab him whenever he does it.....ok.....i really just want to turn around and punch him super hard. No knifes needed. The embarrassment of him crying like a little girl when I hit him will satisfy my need for justice.
My boss came by to talk to me while i was drawing this picture. This is Andres trying to sneak up to my desk with his sneaky little arms out. That is me, with a pink light-saber, about to jump from my hiding place on the cube wall and attack!

It's strange to think how times do change...This past Friday, I went to a party...a dress like a hipster party. Who did I hang out with at this party? My brother's bff, Stevie, Stevie's wife Sonjia and others. A decade ago. I could have never imagined hanging out with my brother's bestie. I wouldn't really hang out with my brother. If you ask my mother, she still thinking my brother and I pretend to no know each other in public. Little does she know, Jamsie and I hang out. Now I hang out with his friends, and you know what? they are cool friends.

On Saturday, my new friend Teri Jo came over to my house! Like my real home. I haven't had friends over and meet my parents in so long. it was cool. well....she only met my mom, but that's beside the point. I was also really proud of myself because i finally have started cleaning my room. because i just leave it as is, since i dont ever live there long enough to do something, but i started cleaning it out more. maybe one day, i will get rid of all the stuff i do not need.

I hate Lance Armstrong. Ok. So I dont  hate him, but I want him to become human enough to feel bad, not for getting caught but for being a big fat liar. This is probably my favourite article written, probably because it's a British writer and it's like he just stole the tone, voice, and words our of my head.

When she began directing in the forties, Ida Lupino sometimes claimed not to know the best way to line up a shot or specify a line reading, explaining “Men hate bossy women. Sometimes I pretend to know less than I do.” #ivedonethatbefore #icanthelpitthatimsmarterthanmostmen

So Saryah has introduced me to the tumblr #allmyfriendsaremarried. Literally. The. Funniest. Thing. Ever. I've decided that this one is the story of my life. Seriously. I hate it. I want to scream. It happens all the time. And this one is pretty good too. Bottom line: she references that she gets drunk over everything, and curses occasionally, but if you can get past that, it's honest truth.

I have discovered Downton Abbey, finally. The first season I was merely curious....the second season is when I fell in love. Spoiler Alert: I love Mr. Bates. He's my homie. I'm happy they've humanized Mary, because I really hated her. Plus, Tom and O'Brien are not likeable...but I don't hate them as much as I did. Plus, I'm in love with Matthew. His blue eyes blow me away. everytime. Thanks mom for finally making me watch it. I stayed up till 3am last night watching it online. #stilllearninghowtojustsayno




life lesson of the day:
"The light of Jesus Christ is stronger than any darkness we face in this life, if we have faith in Him, seek after Him, and obey Him." ~ Virginia U. Jensen

Prepping for Work

I just got back from New Zealand, and I've been getting ready for work this week.

Monday: Woke up after maybe 5 hours of sleep to see off Uncle John and Grandma. Due to the lack of sleep and stress of all the work paperwork I was doing, I was pretty crabby most of the day. Went shopping with James at West Oaks and The Galleria. He left me after about 2 hours. Best news: Express dress pants fit me like they were made for me. The funny part is: I have to wear the petites, so it makes me feel super dainty :)

Tuesday: Got to sleep 13 hours. Glorious. However, in the first 9 hours I was awake, I was shopping for about 7 of them. Spent the day at Katy Mills Mall. Had someone told me there was an Express there, I wouldn't have gone to West Oaks yesterday. Got a suit. Super classy. Shout out to Banana Republic because they are my work brand with Express. Other pants that fit me well. I just have to have mom hem the pants. They're too long. But it's okay. It is sooo hard to find pants that fit. True story. And I had a 50% of coupon for NY Company, but didn't find anything. Lame.

Wednesday: I was still shopping and making sure I had everything. I was soooo exhausted. I could barely move by the afternoon. We were going to go up to San Antonio, but it didn't work out because I still had so much to do and I was too tired to go to San Antonio. It was sad.

Thursday: more organizing. I'm doing a lot of donation boxes. It's kinda ridiculous how much crap I have. Even with all the boxes of stuff out of my room. It barely made a dent. I want to become a minimalist, but everything i have has a purpose. How can you choose?

Friday: It was Jamsie's birthday. We went to Coco's for brunch. It was soooo yummy. and it was nice to see my bro. Then I fell asleep on the way home, and continued to nap the entire day away. I was in intense denial about the whole moving thing. So instead, I went to Barnes and Noble to read a book. It was lovely. Then I locked myself inside the house because I was home alone for the night. Then when mom and dad did come home, mom was messing with the doorknob, so i thought someone was breaking in. I'm such a paranoid person!

Saturday: Woke up and went to CityCentre to have brunch with Nay. It was awesome!!! It's funny because we haven't seen each other in literally...years. But it was like no time had passed at all. It was awesome. I think it's because Nay is so chillax; she thinks its because we know so much about each other that it's hard to not get along. Lol. Then I went home and packed for hours. HOURS!!!! I showed mom and dad NZ pics and then went over to Hollister's and we painted toes and caught up. I went home to finish up some packing and the freak-out set in. Anxiety and Nerves. Bah humbug.

Hoy/Sunday: I barely slept last night. Woke up at 5:30. Sooo early. but mom took me to the airport. My freakout was still there but not so much. Got to Kansas City and met with Jon, one of my co-workers. we chatted the whole way to work and it was really nice. He's from Michigan and he's such a gentleman. It was cool cuz we had the same kind of questions, and we were both nervous. I'm glad that we just got along so i have a little friend. And he as a girlfriend and he just says the sweetest things about her. it was ADORABLE! Anyways, im sitting in my hotel.

First day of work tomorrow. Eep!!!