First international trip 2010

I'm so happy at this point in my life, there are so many words to describe, that I don't know which ones to use. We've been planning this trip to Japan for a few months now. We did so much research on where to go, how much we need to bring, where are the bargain eats, etc... Before my trip my boss gave me a travel book for Tokyo for when I go on my trip with Joel. I was super excited because it was the book I was looking at when I was at Borders.

3/2/2010 - We get to the Colma bart station at 8am, and Joel forgets to bring the Nikon SLR camera. He goes back to the house to get the camera while I wait at the bart station. The fact that we're going to Japan still hasn't really hit me yet, my sister give me a call right before we board, and gives me tips about going through customs, etc. It was really useful information. haha...speaking of never traveling, I didn't even think of that. We get on the plane, and the lady told us they will be serving us food right away because we'll be running into turbulence. I was kind of afraid of the food on the plane, I've heard it wasn't very good. But it was the very opposite. Here's our first meal on the plane.



Chicken Teriyaki with Rice and Veggies

The meal tasted really good, for airplane food. Everything was pretty petite, and it was very filling also. I was very happy. Anyway...long story short with the plane ride, because they served us so early during the flight, we got hungry in like 5 hours. It's a 10.5 hour ride going there. The guy next to me was this 6ft something person, that took up so much space. He even took up some of my space, I had to lean over to Joel to get some space, and I felt so bad. It was so annoying. When we landed, I was a little stressed because we landed a little late, we had to exchange money, buy our bus tickets, and get onto the bus (Keisei Bus) to Yokohama to meet up with my friend. We finally got everything done in time and had 15 mins left to wait for the bus, so I ran to the restrooms. It was awesome, I loved the bathrooms because they are so clean. :)



Here we are waiting at the bus stop. The guy who took the picture, his hand was a little shakey, that's why the picture was a little blurry. I was a little disappointed, but at lease we got the picture.




Here's what their toilets look like. It washes your buttom, air dries your bottom, and after it does that, it cleans the toilet. It's so cool. Hahaha...This is the toilet at my friend's house where we stayed in Yokohama.

When we arrived, it was pretty cold. The bus ride was longer than expected, so that whole day was transportation. We met my friend up at the bus stop by her house, thank god we have rollers on our luggage, because it was just a 10 minute walk to her place, but it was really cold, so it felt so much longer. We were super tired from all the transportation, so we just went straight home, and dropped off the luggage and unloaded her wedding favors we brought over to her. Her husband came home from work, and we went to eat dinner right away. We loved where they lived because it was a walking distance to everything, Starbucks, Mister Donut, the mall, a haircut place, train station, etc...I discovered something new about Joel on this trip. Which is...He likes taking morning walks. I love to do that too, but where we live it's not the best area to walk, and nothing is close by. By the way, their Starbucks tastes so much better than ours here in the USA. We should have bought a bag of coffee grind from them, but we did not think of it until after we got on the plane to come back. :( I loved every minute of this trip so far even though it was just transportation. Joel was so happy and giddy in the plane, and I love it. He helps me be on the positive side a lot of the times because he's so happy. I'm so blessed with him everyday. :) After dinner, we just went home and slept.



Here's a photo of the living room of my friend's apartment. :) We love their rug.

More to come later.... :)

Events in 2009....What a great year. :)

We got a chance to go back home to sunny Huntington Beach, CA for Chinese New Year in January. I was really excited and happy because it was Joel's first time experiencing CNY. :)



Another surprising Valentine's day, Feb. 14, 2009. :) Kingfish Restaurant in San Mateo, CA. :)




Joel's good friend, Carla's birthday, March 2009 at Double Dutch Bar in the Mission District. Such a cute bar. :)




My niece, Tiffany got to come to SF to visit me in April 2009. We had such an awesome time. :)




Memorial Weekend 2009, one of my bestest friends, Jenny came to visit. We got to go to Sonoma, and Napa...it was such a fun trip. :)



Our friend Annallee's Birthday, June 2009 at Temple. :)



Our Vacation back in June 2009. It was so great to see Geno. We haven't seen him in over a year.




Thanks to our wonderful and good friend Scott, Joel got to go to the NBA Summer League 2009 in Las Vegas. The guy is Jerry Buss' son. He's been to Vegas twice in less than 2 months. LOL...






A wonderful Bday Celebration for Joel, August 22, 2009. Went to Incanto, that's the Food Network Chef from the show, City Chef. Also, thanks to my brother's gf, Joel got a turntable cake...and awesome red velvet cupcake with a record fondant on top by Mimi's. Soooo good!



Joel's sister's wedding, Nov. 2009...such a nice time. We loved our outfits. lol...And Joel didn't take pictures for my bday this month...but we had a great time. Spent the weekend having dinner at Andalu with Brent and Annallee, and then I took the day off for my bday, spent the day in the city. Had breakfast at Mama's, walked around the city...Joel bought a hat....then spent dinner having Italian food. :)









What a great way to end 2009. My sister's and brother in law came up for Christmas weekend. Did a lot of touristy things...then did some shopping at the outlets. We had a great time doing grocery shopping and making hot pot dinner at home 2 nights in a row. NYE 2009, Ruzielle and Brian came up to visit...it was sooooo nice. They stayed at the W hotel and we just hung out with them. :) Loved every bit of 2009. :)

Growing in my career and in life...amazing 2010!!

This is my 2nd blog for this month, I'm so proud of myself. :)

What a great start to the New Year 2010. Jenny came to visit us and stayed with us. We had such a great time. Ate at Rocco's, (a restaurant featured on Diners, Drive-in, and Dives, on the Food Network channel), had some awesome chocolate ice cream, went shopping on Union St., and went to our normal spot, Maggiano's in San Jose. Jenny and I got a chance to talk about what's going on with me the past few weeks - month.

So, I've been a little stressed and depressed at work lately. Recently, I've been told by my manager that there is a staff and/or volunteer at work that made a complaint about me not being so customer service friendly and being abrupt. This is the 2nd time it's happened. The first time it happened to me was back somewhere in April/June 2009. At that time, I can admit it happened because it was the first time at work I experienced being so busy and I had so many responsibilities. But this time, I didn't understand it at all. I was so shocked that it happened. And of course, my manager can't tell me who it was or what had happened. I thought for a long time, was it important that she told me who it was? Then she told me that she thinks I'm growing in my career and things are changing, I may not realize it. I thought about it for a long time and thought...is it really because I'm growing in my career? I spoke to my sister about it, she did tell me something that did cross my mind. Many people at work are jealous of certain people, could it be that someone is jealous of me? Could it be that someone is jealous that I'm doing well at my job? My manager said that she wants to help me improve, not only in my job, but as a person.

Whatever the reason is....I thought about it for a long time, and came to a conclusion, that I think I am really growing in my career, and I don't realize it. What can I do to help myself be a better person at work and for myself?

One of my biggest goals to achieve in 2010 is to improve myself as a person. Do some more reading, journal writing, exploring who I really am, and what I really want.

Right now, I have a project to do at work relating to my chronic disease self-management class I have been teaching. This project, I have to come up with a marketing campaign for doctors to gain their support to enroll their patients into my class. I haven't done a marketing campaign in a long long time, so I've been hesitant on what to put on there. I need to put my thoughts and research on paper, so I can finally see what I have to combine all the most important things into a few pages for them to read. The doctors want facts, articles, statistics...etc. So that's one thing I'll be doing this weekend besides relaxing.

Another thing I have to do is read this book my manager got me about SUPER SERVICE ...Even when you don't feel like it....Even when they don't deserve it!!! I started reading and it's a very interesting book. The first thing it says "The IKTA Disease...Before you read any further, please be aware of the IKTA disease (I Know That Already). It is a disease that stops us from learning new things, because we truly believe we know everything already. Open up your mind, clear your head of what you think you know, and be prepared to learn something new." And that is so true for so many of us, and we don't realize it. I'll give more details as I read on more and blog about it next time. :)

I pray that 2010 for both of us will be a great start to a new decade. One thing we have planned it a vacation to Japan in March. Thanks to my wonderful friend, we get to stay with her, or else we wouldn't choose to go to Japan for vacation. It gets quite expensive to travel there, but I've done some extensive research and asked a few friends. :) I'm also hoping we get to cook at home with my friend and her husband. This is my first time out of the country, so it will be a huge experience to look forward to. I went to Canada 1 time, but technically that did not count. I got there for 6am...rested, got ready for my cousins wedding that I have NO CHOICE but to go, because my parents couldn't go, and then went to the hotel and slept, and got to the airport at 6am. I was only there for 24 hours. I didn't get to tour anywhere, so it didn't count as traveling outside of the country. I would say I did step out of America for 1 day. LOL.... So I will make sure I put lots of stuff on here when we take our trip to Japan.

The New Year 2010

Happy New Year!!

So I wished I had more time to update my blog instead of doing it once in a blue moon. Sorry!

Speaking of blue moon, I had a chance to see the blue moon on NYE night. 12/31/2009, what a great way to end the year, on a clear night with a full moon. Joel and I saw the huge ring around the moon also. It was just beautiful with the San Francisco skyline. :)

I've a little sad recently because of some minor issues at work. I wonder if it's because there are things in my career that are changing and I don't relize that it's changing. I just turned 29 yrs old. It was a wonderful celebration, and I even had my bday off. Before my bday, I was also a little sad, because I am realizing this year is my last year in my 20s, and I'm feeling old because next year I'll be 30 yrs old.

Is it very important to keep a personality at work (Professional) and keep a personality at home (being myself)?? I think I'm learning the difference now as I'm growing in my position in at my work. I've been here for a little over a year now, and I'm noticing there are a lot of minor politics around me at work. A few people have told me that it might be jealousy "ora" that's hanging around me. People are jealous because either they are afraid of competition or they know I do a great job at my work, or whatever the reason it may be. I really want to improve my personality at work as well as everyday life. I think that every person has many things they need to change for the good. There is always room for improvement, and there is always room to learn new things. The hardest part is hearing negative things, and having to keep a positive emotion. That's the hardest part. There are many negative things around us all the time, but keeping a positive mind is a challenge each and every day. I hope I can keep a positive mind all the time because I think it's easier to go through life being a happy positive person than being sad and a negative person.