crybaby

I consider myself a pretty stoic person (truth be told, Erik's the one who tears up during emotional movies), but this wedding nonsense has me dribbling like a leaky faucet lately. Why did no one warn me of this? In the past few weeks, I've teared up no less than three times. Once, when a dear childhood friend told me that she was going to be able to make it after all, despite dealing with a family emergency. Another time, when I asked my brother to walk me down the aisle. And then also after one of my "uncles" sent me the sweetest note saying that he would be there to represent my dad. Ah, can you even?!? I'm tearing up as I write this...sheesh, I feel like John Boehner over here!

Photo: My parents on their wedding day.

NYC marathon, part two, post one

Sometimes even I can't believe that I'm freaking training for the NYC marathon again. Since some of my first-time excitement has worn off and my schedule is considerably crazier, I've been having a harder time motivating this time around. Even so, I've knocked out some long runs and even sweated buckets during heat-wave training. This year's mantra: just wanna finish!

mini-moon!

In our nearly seven years together, Erik and I have ticked off many of our dream vacations: Puerto Rico, Hawaii, Dominican Republic, Italy, France, Japan, and Thailand. E's also traveled extensively through Mexico and Europe, while I've covered China, Taiwan, and Central America. So, choosing our honeymoon has been no small feat. We're saving our epic adventure for the spring, but, in the meantime, we settled on Jamaica for a beach-bum mini-moon. I've only been once, and it'll be Erik's first time! And, for basically the first time ever, we actually sprung for an ocean-front villa. Super stoked.

happy.

The other day I bumped into an acquaintance I hadn't seen in awhile. "How are you?" she squealed. Without missing a beat, I responded, "Really good. Happy!" After we parted ways, I realized that I truly meant what I said. I've always been a glass-half-full kinda person, but when I was younger, there was a little nagging voice of more, more, more. I don't think I even realized it at the time, but I was never 100% satisfied with the present. In the back of my head, I'd think: I should be making more money, landing more plum assignments, doing more exciting things, etc. Somewhere in my 30's, I finally shook this mentality. (Well, mostly, still have lapses now and again.) Who knows what the future will hold, but it's so nice, being in this peaceful space right now. There's no place I'd rather be!

6 things...

...I'm loving lately:

1. The Rockaways. It's such a small community...so many fun friends!
2. This Indonesian restaurant near our apartment. It's a 5-minute walk, super delicious, and not too crowded. Yum.
3. Funny little Brooklyn moments. The other day, we made friends with another engaged half-Chinese couple at the taco truck and wound up hugging and high-fiving.
4. '60s and '70s Chinese songs. Mom and I have been listening to them in our Facetime sessions to find the right one to dance to at the wedding. Her vote is this one.
5. Nutty buddies. I've been eating an ice cream cone and a wedge of watermelon a day. My summertime staples.
6. My best friend. Super excited to marry this guy.

my life lately...

...has been all about wedding, surfing, working, and running. Yup, I'm pretty much going to sound like a broken record this summer. To that end, thought I'd do a little check-in on each aspect of my life:

Wedding: Getting soooo stoked! The other day Erik admitted to me that he was getting excited for it, too...huzzah, success. :) My favorite part of planning is that our wedding truly a collaboration between the two of us: There's going to be a boombox DJ and drumming (him), photobooth and bright colors (her), and Chino-Latino grub (them). Plus all of our favorite peeps!

Surfing: Meet my new board (above). The super rad guys at Breakwater sold me their demo board for a great bargain, and I'm smitten. She's a 6-ish Greenlight Subway Series. A little harder to paddle into waves, but she's very wide so I'm stable once I'm up. Plus, it's so much easier to turn, not to mention carry on the subway.

Working: Oh, man, keeping busy. I've worked non-stop around-the-clock these past few months. (Can't remember the last weekend I didn't have to write.) But, I can't complain. I'm really enjoying everything I'm doing, and it's nice to frontload since I know I'll be hectic in the fall.

Running: The only thorn in my side. This heat is brutal. I've kept up with my long runs, but swapped out some of the midweek runs for swims and surfs. Oh, well...I'm not trying to win this thing. Just want to finish. :)

wedding update!

It's no secret that Erik and I thought long and hard about whether to even have a wedding in the first place. In fact, everything pointed towards us eloping: We don't have family pressure. We're untraditional. We're frugal. We don't have the time to plan out a big event. But, after a lot of debate and tossing around scenarios, we decided to go forward with the wedding route (with some apprehension, I'll admit). And I have to say: It feels like the right decision. As I grow older and life gets even faster and busier, it's been tricky to meet up with many of my friends, who live far away and have kids, mortgages, etc. It's meant so much to me to feel their love and plan out a reunion. I don't think I'll ever truly care about all the little details (uhhhh, what favors? color scheme who?), but this...THIS...is what's important to me. I'M SO EXCITED!!!!