2010

My initial thought about this past year was that it was fairly uneventful: I stayed in the same apartment, job, and relationship. No one had any catastrophic illnesses (knock wood), and there wasn't a long worldwide trip. But, when coming up with this post, I realized that I did do plenty of cool stuff this year: I appeared in on a national news show and a rap video. In February, I went snowboarding with John and Tim in Park City; they tricked me into going on a black diamond slope (yikes!). Then I hit up Sundance and rubbed shoulders with celebrities. Throughout the year, I took a series of super-fun trips with my adventure girls: We went surfing with Matt in Long Beach Island, camping and hiking in the Catskills, and snowboarding on Butternut and Hunter mountains. On the flipside, Erik and I lounged like sloths in Puerto Plata (profiterole!) and Montauk (where I gave him hair spray instead of sunscreen). Some good buddies, like Tricia, Bill, Laura, Shawn, Meg, Mehdy, Tim, John, and Tim E., came to visit; plus, I caught up with Lisa when I went to Chicago on a business trip. As for achievements, I started this blog and one for work, and ran the New York City and Philly half-marathons. Love was in the air, too: We toasted and danced at Sarah and Craig's gorgeous fete in the city, Ro and Mag's sweet shindig on Shelter Island, and Dwayne and Sarah's garden wedding in Portland, Oregon. Finally, I spent plenty of time on the couch with my two favorites! Not too shabby, 2010!

6 things... (christmas version)

...I did over the holidays.

1. Hung with Tim and the parents.
2. Ate some delicious Shanghai-style Chinese food. Best xiao long bao in the south east!
3. Got our family portrait picture taken at Sears.
4. Made a trip to Chapel Hill, saw Chip and Kelly, and had some Time Out.
5. Experienced the gigantic blizzard and got trapped in Raleigh for FOUR extra days.
6. While stuck in my house, watched a bunch of DVDs, finished two excellent books (Little Bee and The Lacuna), and went to bed at 9 p.m.

stepping up

Becoming a responsible, for-real adult is kind of like learning how to ride a bicycle: All of a sudden, you look around, and there’s no one holding onto the back of your seat. The first time I noticed that I was pedaling on my own was when my dad got sick after college. My mom can’t handle stress (to put it mildly), so I took time off of work to help keep them afloat. It felt like life fast-forwarded a decade when I signed the paperwork for my dad’s medical guardianship. That’s the moment I realized that my brother and I were the only ones helming this ship, and that our parents needed us to get by. Over the years, Tim and I have done our best to care for them, and, as countless others already know, it can be super-stressful at times. But, as I was sitting at home over the holidays, watching my able brother help fix their car, plumbing, light fixture, and medications, a huge wave of gratitude crashed over me. There’s no other person in the world I’d rather be in this boat with than Tim. He’s the calm in a storm, the quiet but hilarious comment, the helping hand you didn’t even realize that you needed. I’m lucky that he’s my brother.

snowed in

After a lovely holiday, the skies opened up and blanketed the entire East Coast with snow. Here's the rundown:

Flights cancelled: 2
Hours on the airline help line: 7
Extra days stranded in Raleigh: 3
Books read: 3
Days without coffee, TV, exercise, and Internet (minus this escape to Borders): 6

Please. Send. Help.

homebody

My Chinese name is Xie Lun, which, roughly translated, means "close to the home." It fits me perfectly. Because even though I enjoy a good adventure—cliff diving, backpacking, snowboarding, and surfing are a few of my favorite things—padding around my apartment in sweatpants my idea of bliss. Sometimes, living in New York, I feel like I should be doing more; seeing more bands play, hitting more bars, and schmoozing at more parties. But, having done all those things, I've come to realize that what makes me truly happy is lounging on my couch with Erik, Monkey, and sometimes Julio Iglesias.

6 things...

...I did this week.

1. Celebrated G and T's engagement. Eee!
2. Hung out at Erik's new store in the Lower East Side. My job: Saying "that looks good on you!" to dudes trying on clothes.
3. Met up with Tim E. and his lovely girlfriend Lauren, who were visiting from Florida, at Dumont Burger. Lovebirds and delicious burgers, two of my favorite things.
4. Made my first batch of homemade custard-style mint-chocolate ice cream. It's dangerously good.
5. Went snowboarding at Hunter mountain. We totally turned a corner, and now we can carve! (Well, somewhat.)
6. Chatted with Liberato at G's shindig. I see him every so often. Only in NYC can you go from grocery store checkout guy to celebrity manny/skateboard teacher to theater/movie producer. Amazing!

true love, true friends

Last night, we headed to ring in Glenna's birthday in the East Village...and wound up celebrating she and Tony's engagement! I seriously have not stopped smiling all day. Glenna and I met when I went potluck on a Craigslist apartment ad during our "freshman year" in New York City. Tony came up for weekend visits, and we've stayed tight ever since. Both are them are full of such life, love, and passion. So when Tony stood up, clinked a glass, and announced he had popped the question (in a really freaking adorable way!), something just felt so right in the world.

letters

Dear New York City,
Your holiday decorations are magical.

Dear free food in the office,
I just can't resist you.

Dear skinny jeans,
I'm sorry. I'll see you in a month.

Dear running shoes,
We shall meet again. Soon.

Dear office party,
I mean, Bud Light, Jell-O shots, salsa dancing, smoke machine, AND a cow bell? You truly outdid yourself.

unexpected joy

Tonight the subway was an absolute mess. Because of service disruptions, the car was jam-packed. Someone elbowed me in the back. I had to tip my head upwards to get a breath of air. It took 20 minutes to pass through three stops. Finally, I pushed my way through the angry throng and dragged myself out of the subway stop. As the cold air shocked my face, I felt a soft, wet patter on my head. I looked up at the night sky, decorated with a swirl of white flurries. It was as if a mini-Milky Way materialized above. The sluggishness of the day and the commute instantly melted away—and then I felt it: pure, unadulterated happiness. I love it when that happens.

rap video cameo

Life is so funny. Some days I get up, sit inside a windowless office all day, go to the gym, and eat a sandwich for dinner. On others, I dine with Will Smith. And then there was the day I made a cameo on a rap video. I had almost forgotten about this until I heard the song on TV recently; it's on a Converse commercial. Erik and I dropped by his pal Donnis' shoot while running errands one day, and wound up helping out. I shucked the oysters and tagged "monkey cat" on the graffiti wall. Only in New York...

this month's lunch money

Isn't this pic too funny? It's from a high school 70s-slash-Christmas party. Anyway, I posted it because it's one of the only digital pics I have with my friend Pat, who's in the middle with the glasses and corduroy suit. He was one of my best pals back then; we carpooled to swim practice, nicknamed each other Patio and Sharo, and did hip-hop body shop for fun. The thing I love about Pat is that he's the kinda guy who is adored by everyone—parents, coaches, teachers, jocks, and misfits alike. It's because he's always been such a gentleman, full of kindness and grace, which he learned from his loving family. Last week, sadly, Pat's father passed away after a long battle with cancer. So this month's lunch money goes toward cancer research in honor of Pat and his pops. I donated via my friend Amanda's Team in Training campaign for the Leukemia and Lymphoma society. Although it's not much, it felt good to something, anything against this senseless disease.

love this

"There are two basic motivating forces: fear and love. When we are afraid, we pull back from life. When we are in love, we open to all that life has to offer with passion, excitement, and acceptance. We need to learn to love ourselves first, in all our glory and our imperfections. If we cannot love ourselves, we cannot fully open to our ability to love others or our potential to create. Evolution and all hopes for a better world rest in the fearlessness and open-hearted vision of people who embrace life." — John Lennon

former self

Back when I lived on Bedford Avenue, my roommate and I threw a few fun theme parties. My favorite was a "former self" bash, where everyone had to dress up as a past version of themselves. It was pretty epic—there were ravers, preps, grunge kids, and athletes. It was so fascinating to learn what people were like in their teens! Although you can't really make it out in this pic, my outfit was circa 1996, when I wore Hanes V-necks, men's work pants, hoop earrings, and thrift-store sweaters. I thought it was utilitarian chic, but really it was just mothball ugly. Oh, high school. I had the good fortune of going to a brand-new one, so the social cliques weren't yet set in stone. That's how I wound up kind of doing my own thing...on the swim team, Honor Society, Latin club (nerd alert!), winter formal/homecoming court, and yearbook. Also I was voted "most likely to become a novelist" and "most original," probably because by senior year I decided to become a raver, and (a) had my tongue pierced and (b) wore hoodlum baggy pants. Cringe. Thank goodness Facebook didn't exist back then!

6 things...

...that make me happy. (Not much to report from this week; I was bedridden with a horrid cold most of the time.)

1. Sunday evening dance parties in our apartment. It makes me laugh so much.
2. Long, rambling, and always entertaining walks around Williamsburg. There's always something to see.
3. A big plate of gooey nachos. Enough said.
4. My cat's little one-toothed squeak when you yell "Monkey!"
5. Curling and uncurling my toes when I snuggle beneath the covers, especially on a chilly day.
6. The dusky sky over the Williamsburg bridge on my morning runs.

P.S. Pic from a sting ray and shark snorkel from Belize/Guatemala trip.

home home home!

In exactly 18 days, I'm headed to North Carolina to ring in the holidays with my family, and I am beyond excited. We don't really celebrate (thanks to a logical, yet uneventful, blend of Buddhism and agnosticism) and, being the crazy doctor he is, my brother often has to work through Christmas. But this year, Tim's flying home and I'm joining him. I don't know why I'm so psyched: My parents' house is hardly a vacation. There's no cable, Internet, newspapers, or snacks. My dad refuses to crank up the heat, even in the deepest frost of December, and insists that we all wear our winter jackets inside. It's so spartan that even Erik calls it "a little piece of communist China in the United States." But all of that wackiness is familiar, nostalgic, and wonderful. Tim and I will giggle and read our books as our parents blast the Chinese opera downstairs. We'll head to the local cafeteria (where the steak dinner is still $3.75), seafood spot (where everything on the plate is beige), and new Target in town (where my dad will exclaim "wow! so big!"). But, best of all, I'll hold their little hands, soft and spotted with age, to steady their stroke-affected shuffle as we go from house to car, and they'll say, "Thank you, meimei. So proud of our good girl, our daughter." That's why I can't wait.

P.S. The icing on the cake: We're going to get a new family portrait taken Sears this year! Boo-yeah!

december

Can you believe it's already December 1st? Man, time really flies. I was talking to Amie today and we both agreed that once you reach your thirties, life hits warp speed. She's preggo with her second munchkin, so her argument carries a little more weight than mine. Oh, well, I guess it's all about perspective. In other news, I'm disgustingly sick. Right now I'm laying on a bed of used tissues. I wish time would slow just a tad so I could get better, pick up this mess, and finish up my assignments before I go back to work tomorrow. Ah-choo!