Big news from New York! Meet my new umbrella!

It isn't shy and doesn't like to hide in purses. It protects me from the rain and from foul strangers.

And the handle is translucent. You need to see it in real life. Oooh Ahhh. 

To open, you just push it up half an inch...

and the umbrella will open. Extremely sturdy. I think it will not flip over  when the wind attacks me.

Perfect coverage. For me and a few other people who happen to forget their umbrella. Sharing is caring.

Do you see me? I love my new umbrella!

Photographs by: Claire Wang

In this moment

My friend texted me saying "Life is crazy." Why? "Idk I didn't think I would ever hear back from anyone" and it made me realize that I haven't actually reflected on this life of mine. Because it really has been CRAZY. Crazy in the best sensible amazing awesome way. There are two types of crazy. The "My ex-gf was fucking crazy"crazy or your friend's reaction when you tell the story of you sitting on the subway and realizing Ryan Gosling is next to you and you both engage in an intimate conversation about which power ranger was your favorite and he gladly adds his phone number in your phone and decides to hold your hand as you both step off the subway to lead a life of eternal bliss and she responds with "O-M-G that's crazy!" My crazy is the latter. To a certain extent.

I love that feeling when things are happening. Anything, like even getting an email a response from someone, that sense of communication that life is moving forward because I hate feeling stuck and I am the most impatient person. I like for things to happen all the time. There has to be change and movement.

Does that mean that I get bored easily? No. It just means that I can't settle for something that I'm not happy with. For example, my internship during the summer was a blessing. Not only was I paid a good amount of money,  but I contributed to the sales team and felt like I did a lot of good things there. The work wasn't hard and my colleagues became my friends. But after 6 months, I knew I couldn't stay there long because I didn't see myself there. I thought to myself that when someone asks me in five years "so what have you done so far" I don't want to have to say "I've been working at that place that I interned for." Period. The end. I don't think I like straight lines. I tend to get from point A to B by visiting J and saying a quick hi to L and sometimes sadly approach Z to have to get to B. And I think that's the story I want to tell. Jeez, I'm all about stories huh? It probably goes back to freshmen year in my music cluster where my professor asked everyone "What is the meaning of life" or something along that line. And he said "stories." As in, life is all about stories. Every time we talk to someone, we are telling a story. Everything we do is a story. There's a beginning, middle, end to everything we do. Think about it. When you come home and your roommate asks you how your day was, you tell her a story about your day. The action of you walking in and your roommate asking you a question and you replying is a story. Beginning: You walk in. Middle: Roommate asks how you're doing. Ending: You respond by telling her your day. Everything is a sharing, communicating. And that leads me to the eulogy written by Steve Jobs' sister where she states "We all — in the end — die in medias res. In the middle of a story. Of many stories." Okay that was kind of depressing and does not work well with this entry, but there you have it.

And now I'm in the story and I am the author. I'm no longer going through the motions (and I'm glad I have motions to go through) but now the motions and going through me. I just thought that would sound cool by switching it around, by saying that I am now in control.

If you haven't noticed, I'm talking on a high right now. I feel like I'm on cloud 9 (seriously, there has to be a better expression to express my euphoria at this moment). And why am I so over the moon? Because things are happening! Leaves are falling! People are moving! Rain is falling! Sun is shining! Subways are moving! Music is playing! Everything is functioning correctly. Leaves should be falling now. People should constantly be moving. The rain should fall. The sun should shine. The subways should move. And music should always be playing. It's that moment where you begin to realize that you're glad certain things happened in the past because if it didn't you wouldn't be where you are at this moment. I'm glad I didn't get that copywriting internship. Maybe it was a good thing I decided to take Vietnamese class instead of Spanish. And to go even further back, I'm extremely blessed and thankful my parents sacrificed everything for me to be where I am right now. In this moment, I feel infinite. In this moment.

A short of list of things I shoulda coulda woulda packed

1) My passport Obviously, right? But then again I wasn't planning on telling my parents that I was leaving. Asking my dad to hand me over the passport is suspicious. Where are you going, he'll ask me. And so, I realized that since I'll be traveling within the U.S., a passport is unnecessary. And I am dumb to have left it there because having my brother FedEx it to me costed thirty dollars. That to me is practically my week's worth of food! Always bring your passport because you'll need it when you have a job. Hello.
2) Running shoes I know I fake it. I don't exercise but I do own a pair of Nike's running shoes. I sometimes dress up, ready for the gym, and I end up watching Glee on Hulu and constantly trying to keep a straight posture. But I should have brought them here, where the scenery is amazing! And I have no excuses. Back home I lived three blocks from the park. Here, I live less than two blocks from THE park (Central Park if you haven't figured that out already). And running always makes me feel good. I never regret it.
3) Books If you know me, I love to buy used books. I love to read especially when I get the chance. I never had a chance in LA. I do now! My subway ride to work is approximately 30 minutes, and in those thirty minutes, I watch others on the subway read. I saw one very pretty young blond girl reading Lord of the Rings! It's the best opportunity read my favorite book, in front of all the strangers.
4) Headphones Nevermind. I'd rather listen to the hustle and bustle of the city.

I am thrilled that LA Times had a story about the tree!

So I am extremely excited about this. I came upon this article when I was on the LA Times trying to be up to date with news back home. This is so not an LA story, but I loved it anyways because it is relevant to me! Rockefeller Center Christmas tree is coming to town (shh!) reads the headline. The shh! made me feel giddy for some reason! I'm not sure why it is so newsworthy that a special tree is coming into town, but I am all for it. The tree lighting at the Rockefeller Center is so... New York City. And I love it. I sound like a goof ball but I'm extremely thrilled to be here, especially during the holidays. I can't wait to go ice skating at Central Park, make ugly snowmen, wear snow boots, watch Elf and cuddle up in my scarves and hats and layers and layers of warmth!

More posts will be arriving, soon enough. I'm scouring for amazing one $ sign cafes in NYC, which is where I will do my postings once a week because I cannot spend 5 dollars each day on a drink!