Guest post, promotion, and splurges. Not a bad way to end twenty-three.

A great big, giant, thank you to Michelle Athy at 'The Sunflower's Scribbles' for giving me the opportunity to guest post on her blog! If you haven't read it yet, you can find out how I got into writing here.

In other good news that happened yesterday, I got a promotion and raise at work! There's nothing like doing a good job and being rewarded for it. And yes, this finally means I can take this 'entry level' label off me. As a reward to myself, I went on a trip to the bookstore in search of a good read and found these two, that were highly recommended to me.

As of late I've been rereading books on my kindle (hence no new book reviews!), so I'll try and start up again with these two. And what are books without a beverage to go with it? As another splurge I got ceremonial grade matcha and set from PANATEA. How do you like your tea? Straight up or latte form? I'll take both!

And as a way to top off the day, Michael and I had drinks to cheers my awesome day. This is definitely not a bad way to end my last few days being 23.

Asia Vacation 2015: Day 3

Onto Day 3. Wednesday, February 11th, was an interesting one. We were off to another ceremony (there are a lot of those around the holiday!), but this time we were visiting my grandfather on my father's side. I'm not sure what I expected, having been there before, but it was eye opening.

The first time we went over in 2009, it was just my grandfather, his son (my uncle) and daughter (my aunt). This time around, there were these little kids there! Not related to me whatsoever, they took to my sisters and I quickly. Or perhaps it was our cameras they took to since they just loved taking pictures.

Either way, we were enamored by them. But it only took some time and eavesdropping on the conversation from the adults to pick out the unfortunate upbringing of these little bundles of happiness.

There was this six-year-old girl, bright as the sun with such an enigmatic smile. It's hard to think that she had an abusive father. She and her mother left him, but those type of memories are something you can't ever run away from.

Then there was this little guy. Only three, he was quiet, shy, and polite, but loved to hold hands. And yet his father didn't want him. Rather he left him and his mother and took up a new wife and child. Replacing them like broken dishes.

Even my own aunt, had a disabled full grown son. He couldn't walk. Couldn't speak. Spending his days at home. He would never see the rest of his country. He would never see any other part of the world. He wouldn't even get to see a movie in a theater.

It's difficult after learning their stories not to notice the difficult cards life had dealt them. Tiny, skinny, with scabby feet, they didn't come from a wealthy family, but a hardworking one. And yet, a hardworking one may not be able to provide them with the opportunities to build a better future.

It's definitely something that hits close to home. As a child with a single immigrant parent, I knew it wasn't an easy task to make ends meet. Yet in a country of opportunity, there's always the chance to rise above. But in a country devastated by war, with the majority of families low income, the odds for them are stacked even higher.

These are things we already know, but not something we encounter on a everyday basis. So when you come across kids like these, you can't help but feel for them. You want to help, but sometimes help can only go so far.

It's encounters like these that really humble a person. I found myself that night counting my lucky stars that I was blessed with a loving family and a courageous mother who conquered land and sea to a place where we could grow to our full potential. Though we were not rich, we were rich in love, and memories.

That night at my grandpa's house on my mom's side, I took comfort that though I wasn't fortunate to see our extended family on a daily basis, I would take these few days to heart. It's in the limited time you have with people and even the day-to-day menial things that really are the best. Like roasting clams on the sidewalk and eating skewered shrimp. The small snippets in time where you are completely yourself and bare, enjoying the moment.

Cinderella movie, and heading into revision mode.

Hey, you know that Cinderella movie that opened this weekend? Yeah? Go see it now! This remake is stunningly cinematic, the acting heartfelt (it got me teary twice!), and the music emotionally balanced. When it was over, I found myself surprised by how much I loved it. Considering how you know how it goes and ends, you would think their wouldn't be anything surprising about it at all. Yet somehow it made me feel like six year's old again, watching it for the very first time, and to me, that's some serious movie magic!

And those costumes! Ahhh! Everything was so beautiful, and the cast so perfect. I'm really glad Disney kept the story like its original. I'm getting tired of all those reimaginings. This just makes me even more excited for the 'Beauty and the Beast' remake with Emma Watson. That's my favorite Disney movie ever.

Okay now that my fangirling moment is over, I guess I should do a writing update on M3 (though I kinda just want to write a fairytale myself now). Pumping out the first draft, was well eh, painful. So I printed it out, did a read-through and made serious notes with the help of cocktails, fries, cookies, and ice cream. Not the best writing diet!

After posting on IWSG this month and getting encouraging feedback, I've decided to change a major component of my story which will mean serious revisions. So yeah, going into a second draft revision mode. I'm going at a snail's pace compared to last year's M2, but I have a pretty good excuse with the move and all ;)

Now go see Cinderella! It's Michelle-approved!

Asia Vacation 2015: Day 2

The 2009 Da Nang was quiet, small, and neighborhoody to 18 year-old me. The 2015 Da Nang, however, is bustling with growing towers, touristy resorts, and wait a minute... an amusement park? Oh my, how much the city has grown over the years!

The amusement park isn't technically in the city, but about a 25 minute drive up the mountains. Upon arrival it seemed small, but let me tell you, it was huge! So huge we didn't even see the whole thing that day.

After buying tickets in town, we drove up to this resort where a cable car was stationed that would take us up to Ba Na Hills. The cable car ride was long, and I'm glad it was because there was so many beautiful sights to see and take in despite the overcast!

When we got to the first landing we immediately went to the temples. With the cloudy fog it was like stepping into some sort of huge film set. Really neat views that kind of made it all surreal. Over and over, I kept thinking in my head, am I really in Vietnam?

After the temples, we headed to the large gardens and I was struck by how much it reminded me of my time in Paris. Paris was where I was used to seeing such gardens, not here! But I guess I shouldn't be surprised since there's already so much influence from the French colonization.

After the gardens we took a another short cable car up higher in the mountains to the amusement park. You could not miss the European influence here!

After walking around and checking out the place, we ducked in doors and rode rides and played our hearts out! If you're ever in the area, I recommend making this a stop. You could just walk for hours and hours here. Even farther up the mountain there were more sites to see, but we were uber tired and called it a day. We headed back to my grandpa's for dinner then to our hotel and called it a night.

Asia Vacation 2015: Day 1

My Asia trip came and went! I still can't believe it's over. I'm still suffering from vacation hangover.

[[To recap, this was a family vacation to visit my relatives in Da Nang, Vietnam for ten days. Afterwards, my two sisters, Michael, and I spent 4 days in Seoul, South Korea instead of dealing with the originally planned 12-hour layover.]]

For our first day in Da Nang, my grandfather (on my mom's side) hosted a ceremony (an offering to the ancestors), which really turns out to be a huge feast for those alive. With everyone all in one place, it was a good place to start reconnecting with family I hadn't seen since our first trip in 2009. If you didn't know, my mom is the oldest out of nine kids! Only 2 out of the 9 kids are in the U.S., so you can bet the family gathering was a big one!

Going into it, I was really nervous. With so many people, it was daunting trying to remember everyone's name. Not to mention, I also brought Michael with me. What would they think of me dating a white American instead of a Vietnamese American? Of course my mom approves, but how often did my relatives in Vietnam interact with foreigners? Then of course, I was so embarrassed about my language skills. Vietnamese is a difficult language for me to speak considering I grew up in the U.S., where I hardly ever interact with people in Vietnamese.

One thing I should have known, was how welcoming my big family was and all the worrying was for naught. They greeted us with open arms, and though it was difficult for Michael and I to fluently communicate, I realized genuine communication comes from within: whether it's the look in someone's eyes, a smile on the lips, or the position of one's body.

And did I mention the food was amazing? I mean check out that spread!

After the big feast, a few of us went to the beach. Soft sand, blue waters, and the sun. Just as I remembered it. One thing I didn't remember? How salty the water was! Good thing I only like to walk in water and not swim.

To end the night, we had a big celebration for my sister's 28th birthday!

The MOVE.

Apartment and city living is over (for now at least). This past Saturday, Michael and I finally moved out of our Seattle apartment and into our suburb home. It was kind of bittersweet since our apartment was our first 'space' together. A lot of memories were made, we had a killer view of Mt. Rainier, and we were in walking distance of some pretty neat shops and restaurants. Those things will be missed, but it's exciting to embark on a new place together.

After hours of moving and unpacking boxes, our main floor was clean enough to have company over. Our first ever guests were Cristine (Michael's sister) and her husband Tim. They were kind enough to give us a welcome gift, some bubbly, and provided such a tasty dinner for us!



photo cred: Cristine Peters

Photo Cred: Cristine Peters

It was strange waking up the next day, but it was a good kind of strange. Taking advantage of the new kitchen, I whipped up a tasty breakfast for Michael and I.



For Michael

For me

I think the only person who didn't like the transition was Blaire. He was meowing like crazy for hours on end, but by the end of Sunday he finally calmed down and is slowly coming around to the new place.

To celebrate the new move, Michael and I went to Bottlehouse for some wine and had this scrumptious dessert:

 



It tasted just like spring!