27

at 5:05 this morning i turned 27. eek. since i was born in santa rosa on pacific time, i celebrated my true birthday time. hardly celebrated. i woke up at 5:06 am and thought "it's my birthday" and snuggled back to sleep for an extra 20 minutes. it's raining but it's much warmer today than it has been in two months. being a january baby and hating the cold makes for not so fun birthdays. especially when your birthday parties regularly get canceled due to snow.


somewhere in sonoma county, circa 1983

this is my second birthday in san francisco, but my third (?) in california. my mom brought me to SF in 2005 for my 22nd birthday and drove me up to sonoma county to show me where i was born, where we lived, etc. i wasn't too impressed with santa rosa as a city, but the surrounding areas like bodega bay and the winding, rocky coastline took my breath away. on my actual birthday my mom had arranged a private tour of chinatown.. i was really into asian culture around that time and had been trying to get into a study abroad program in kyoto. i was on "winter break" in 2005 but never returned to school therefore never going to kyoto. now, i practically live in asia, so it worked out. i've lost my borderline obsession with asian culture over the years, but it is funny to think back to that day, walking through all these buildings and pharmacies (i was totally into chinese herbal remedies), fortune cookie factories, secret alleyways, antique shops, dress shops etc. and not being aware that in five years i'd be celebrating yet another birthday in my new home, the same city.

i had a brief moment of forgetfulness while washing my face thinking about how many years went by and so quickly. i said out loud, "i can't believe i'm 25". i had to pause, raise my eyebrow and do the math. i'm already forgetting my age. not a good sign.

there is something neat about having a birthday so close to the "new year". for me, every year, twelve days after the 1st, is literally a "new year" for me. i have an entire numbered year to be a certain age and 12 extra days in the new upcoming year. neat? kinda.

my work coincidentally found out about my birthday yesterday. a co-worker turned 25 a few days ago and i started to warn her (as my "older" friends did when i turned 25) that it's all "down hill from here". it's true. sorry, ladies. i didn't believe the few people who told me since i had one of those "that will never happen to me" attitudes. welp, not anymore. things are a'changing..and growing..and losing their oompf. my boss said something that i KNOW, but rarely say to myself (i'll say to everyone else).."it's not about getting OLD, it's about being happy". it doesn't make sense written like that, but basically she was alluding to and further discussed the implications of stress, negative thoughts/feelings, etc. which i understand and know with all my heart, except for that itty bitty piece somewhere in there that seems to overpower the rest. that's a work in progress and another story entirely.

now it's off to catch the bus, use my 'free cup of coffee on your birthday, love starbucks' postcard, then plug away at work.


sonoma coastline, circa 1983

earthshake!!

(via iphone)
I unknowingly experienced my first bay area earthquake at around 10:07am. My mom emailed me asking if I was ok with the subject titled "quake". I had no idea what she was talking about until I remembered feeling a rumble earlier thinking it was some large person stomping through the office. I even felt bad for thinking such a thing in the midst of thinking it!

According to report it was 4.1 out of san Jose. I don't know much about earthquakes, so that number has little importance to me. I guess I should get in the know.

oh hey, 2010.

It's 6:40am and I've been browsing the internets for the last 45 minutes completely disregarding the fact that I have to get ready and catch my bus for work at 7:15am. Luckily, I have a start-time window of 8-9 am, even though I rarely take advantage of that. I'm at the office at 8 am (sharp!) cursing my work ethic and wondering what I'm going to listen to for the next 8 hours. Fortunately, my boss understands how boring and silent the office is, besides the constant clicking of keyboards, so we're allowed to listen to our ipods or discmans. Discman. What kind of memories did that trigger for ya?

Oh right.. it's 2010. I forgot. I am most definitely getting older because the days, months, years are all blurring together. This whole holiday season was so strange. It truly seemed non-existent. I forgot to come up with resolutions! Not that I ever, ever stick to them. Promises and resolutions aside, I at least had a far better celebration than last year.

2008 into 2009:

me: reading mike: nerding jeff: watching (i think we all fell asleep before midnight)

2009 into 2010:

Formal dance party at Erik's in Oakland. FYI: Our attire cost us UNDER $45 TOTAL
I scored my obvious bridesmaid's dress for $16. $16! AND it fit me perfectly! That never happens. Everything I try on is either too big, too long, too tight, too loose.. especially stuff at Goodwill. I try to be thrifty but there just aren't many 5'0" ladies with short legs lacking a bit in the hip/shoulder department. And I'm picky, that doesn't help. I'm not a fan of this picture but, I did want to show off our Sunday's best.

A better view of the dress:

Me and Courtney.. who also hates getting her picture taken. I chose to hide behind my champagne filled keg cup.

on that note, i missed my bus so i'll be taking advantage of that hour window after all.