adventureswithrosemary

[adventureswithrosemary]

Buenos Aires - Argentina

Day 1 - Sunday: Landed at Ezeiza Airport, got scammed into buying a taxi for double the price outside the gate. Checked into our home away from homes and grabbed some Parilla (BBQ): Tough beef, blood sausage, kidney, and intestines. Tried to explore but the place was deserted on a Sunday afternoon. Airbnb seemed strange, run down and cold. After lunch I went back to Airbnb to take a nap and prep to tomorrows work day.

Day 2 - Monday: First work day in Buenos Aires. We met a whole bunch of folks that work on the Clover integration project. Got a rough breakdown of how taxes work here and how Clover is going to need to solve some very Argentina specific problems. Went out to lunch with the guys. Everyone seems to be operating at a slower pace here. Lunch ended up being 3 hours because service was so slow. Worked past 7PM and went to grab dinner with Mark at Cabana Las Lilas. Shared a bottle of wine, and enjoyed a filet steak. Appetizers were delicious. Steak was not bad. Walked off the wine and saw the Women’s Bridge. Go home to do it all over again. Day 3 - Tuesday: Internet is so god damn slow here. The wifi drops sometimes, the VPN is slow so testing on Dev7 is impossible. Went to lunch with the guys, everyone is so hospitable and nice. We went to a sandwich place next door. The language barrier is hard. Mark is having a better time including himself in conversation and getting around than I am. I feel handicapped to have to rely on him to translate things. Data is slow so I can barely translate things for myself and service is spotty. Went to checkout China Town for dinner. Beef noodle soup was bomb but Mark got his debit card eaten by an ATM machine. Went to a Cafe to chill. Go home and do it all over again.

Day 4 - Wednesday:

Push a few diffs, do some code reviews. Code reviews are awful to read. Fernando, our only web guy working from Mexico has horrible coding practices, and doesn’t seem to care much about what he produces. Unit tests barely test anything. Met up with my baby at Sheraton, and walked her to the Airbnb. Grabbed lunch with the guys again, at a buffet style place across the street. Time flies by and it’s 6PM. We headed to The Kilkenny bar with the guys to try out Fernet. Fernet tastes a little but like Jager with coke. Lucy joined us at the bar, she thought everyone was chill and surprisingly good looking. For dinner we went to Vico, a bar where the wine is on tap. The food was amazing, the wine on tab was fun, and the company the best. Exploring is always funner when Baby is around. Go home and do it all over again.

Day 5 - Thursday: I am so tired, sleeping 6 hours a day is finally starting to catch up to my body. I also learned that Mark is also very agreeable. Although he’s agreeable, he doesn’t mean it. He doesn’t always say what he means. Today is our Airbnb cooking experience. It was so nice to be welcomed into someone’s home where we eat food and drink wine and speak English! I didn’t realize how much of a difference it made until now. The empanadas turned out really delicious and it was simple to make. The folks were all really friendly and also spoke english. We all gathered around chatted about South American culture over wine and a large charcuterie plate. To top the night off, we had homemade flan.

Day 6 - Friday: Grabbed lunch with Lucy at another buffet style place. Apparently there is a line to get your food wrapped, and another to pay. The line to pay also splits up into pay with cash and pay with card. Folks here aren’t very patient with foreigners that don’t speak Spanish. If you don’t understand, they’ll just repeat what they said a little more aggressively. For lunch we wanted to checkout the nature reserve. We walked to the edge of the park and it was time to head back. For dinner we had iLatina, our first fine dining experience here in Buenos Aires. We got the food and wine pairing meal. I like all the plates and the wine pairings. The food wasn’t very complex, but the experience was fun. After dinner, we met up with Mark’s friend Jeremy. He showed us what it’s like to live like a bachelor in this City and all the bars to hit up in Palermo. We stayed out til 3am.

Day 7 - Saturday:

Today we went to La Boca. It was a very touristy area with lots of colorful buildings and souvenir shops but it was still fun to look at. We tried Havanna for the first time and they have this one drink where they put dulce de leche in it. Super sweet but not bad. After exploring La Boca, it took us half an hour for our Uber to take us out of the city to Tigre. He didn’t have enough gas for the trip and apparently La Boca doesn’t have a lot of gas stations so they were all packed. At Tigre we had a mediocre lunch at a random place. Tigre was wonderful. It’s like an arts and crafts farmers market. Here we each picked out our Mate cups and straws. When it started to rain, we went home. He had a late lunch so we didn’t bother with dinner when we got back to from our Uber. We did explore a near by grocery store though to stock up on water and snacks if we got hungry. Later in the night, we got hungry. We thought we could find food but ended up finding a speakeasy bar instead. Mark was wearing gym shorts. Going to a bar was the last thing on our minds. We came back from the bar around 3AM again still hungry and just a little bit tipsy. 

Day 8 - Sunday:

Self exploration day. Lucy and I got into an argument this morning because should wouldn’t wake up when I tried to wake her. We left the house still upset and went to get pizza in Recoleta. Lunch was so awkward because I was crying and neither of us were speaking and the waitress knew something was wrong but didn’t want to butt in. Our waitress was super nice. We left and walked to the cemetery. The cemetery was interesting to walk through. It’s a little bit unsettling to see the coffins just chilling in the tombs like that. I still think it’s worth it to check it out. Outside the cemetery there were a lot of kiosks opened up for tourists to buy craft goods. We browsed around headed our way to a fairground festival little did we know that the festival was closed today due to weather. Lucy later found out by going to their Facebook page after we’d already Uber’ed there. No tourists in sight, we were the only ones. On top of that we were pale and Chinese so we stuck out like a sore thumb. Everyone stared and it made me feel uncomfortable so we Uber’ed back. We ended up walking around the neighborhood where we lived instead. It’s so different during the day, the streets were really bustling. We picked up 5 more Mate cups on the way home for our friends and family. Later than night we met up with Mark at El Mirasol, the steak house that he went to the first night. It wasn’t good. It was dry and bland. Sorry Mark, but we don’t love the steak as much as you do.

Day 9 - Monday:

Yesterday we went to visit our first Clover merchant: Abuela Goye, a chocolate and gelato shop. The little shop was super busy so we didn’t really get a chance to talk to the merchant very much. Their gelato was insanely sweet. For lunch we hopped over to the shop next to Abuela Goye and grabbed some arepas. It’s basically this toasty sandwich thing thats super crunchy on the outside. The filling itself was too try but the sauce was really good. Both Lucy and I didn’t finish ours. Mark didn’t want to join us for dinner because he didn’t want Asian food so we wont to Bao’s Kitchen. The lady that served us spoke three different languages. My guess is that she was fluent in all three but anyways, we took the opportunity and ordered a shit ton of food. 5 different dishes between the two of us and a glass of wine. Bao’s Kitchen was just okay but Lucy enjoyed the comfort of Asian food.

Day 10 - Tuesday:

We finally went to Dada Bistro. It was only supposed to be me, Mark, and Lucy because it was going to be Lucy’s last meal with us but the guys seemed to really want to join us for lunch. Dada Bistro has met my expectations. I really enjoyed Dada Bistro. At the end of the meal, we got a complimentary shot of vodka made with flower and ginger. It was surprisingly sweet and not strong at all. In the evening I left Mark at the office and went to send Lucy off. I was sad to see her go because is was my home. When she left, I sat alone in the kitchen, commenting on code reviews and eating soggy pizza.

I feel like my short term memory is starting to get worse and worse. Sometimes I wonder how I even function day to day.

[adventureswithrosemary]

Oops

I literally have not been posting since dating Lucy. WOOPS! Here is a list of the places that I’ve been since the last post 2015 - 2018:

Portland, Oregon

Seattle, Washington

Vancouver, Canada

New York, New York

Atlanta, Georgia

Madison, Wisconsin

Chicago, Illinois

Tokyo & Kyoto, Japan

Buenos Aires & Tigre, Argentina

[adventureswithrosemary]

Dallas / Fort Worth, Texas

They really meant it when they said everything in Texas is bigger

[adventureswithrosemary]

Alaska, USA

May 31, 2015

Today we arrived at Ketchikan, Alaska. It’s a cute little town with cute little shops who’s economy rely heavily on tourism. It’s very green. I don’t have much else of an opinion. Tomorrow Juneau.

June 2, 2015

Hello Journal,

Today is the first time since I got on the plane to Seattle that I got any time to myself. So far I’ve spent 2 days in Seattle and am on my 3rd day out at sea. I haven;t had much time alone so I haven’t really been able to process things. I did, however, get to go to the gym for the first time in a month. I am so out of shape. I spent one month, over eating. My thighs rub together. I think I am ready for a life style change. Can I lose 10lbs in 3 months? Is that possible for someone of my size? If I cut out carbs and sugar and exercise vigorously maybe...

Mom’s a bit quiet today. I can understand why. Her children don’t want to play with her husband is driving her a little crazy. It doesn’t seem like anyone is listening to her. My spirits would be low too. But I can’t help wanting some space when she gets overly anxious about everything. She’s always asking for things, maybe if she relaxed a little and wasn’t so overbearing and thinking about money, we’d actually be able to have a little more fun.

I’ve been thinking. Maybe I should give one of them a try. I still can’t tell if L actually likes me or not or if she’s just saying things cause she knows I don’t react to it. She’s updated her Cmb profile after all. She says she misses me but what exactly does she miss? We don’t exactly have anything in common nor do we have conversations anymore. Personally, I think she just misses having someone there to talk to, someone to pursue, that question “just maybe”. I can relate. It’s happened to be, but she says she’s pretty clear on her feelings. If only L and T were combined she’d be perfect!

The independence and maturity of L, someone who I know will be able to take care of me. The quirkiness and humor of T.

I like T, I can hang out with her. We can share silence together and it wouldn’t be weird. We can probably talk about anything. But she’s too childish. I don’t see her that way at all.

Am I being too critical? Should I stop talking to them all together?

I am like a pendulum, swinging back and forth between the two. I am curious but I don’t like either of them enough to date them. I am too lazy to start something new. Maybe netter luck next year..

Another year alone

June 5, 2015

Today was warm and so I was able to step out onto the deck to watch the waves. As I was staring out into the ocean, I thought how strange water is. The ocean almost looked alien like, beating and moving with a heart of its own. I’ve never looked out into the middle of the sea before where land can’t be seen as far as the eye can see. I assure you that the waves at the beach look very different in comparison. 

The waves are much greater than the ones you see hitting the shore. And because they are so great it almost looks as if the ripples are moving in slow motion while smaller waves ride on top of them. These ripples can roll right by the ship and rock it.

[adventureswithrosemary]

Europe - Barcelona, Spain

May 20, 2015

- All juices are freshly juiced from actual fruits. None of that from concentrate bullshit - Majority of the cars are manuals - Roundabouts are common here, not stop signs - Stain glass windows are very prominent in Barcelona - Beaches are gorgeous - Cocktails and mix drinks are all sweet and flavorful. They are strong and well masked! Sangria & Mojito - Tomato bread - Taxi is very cheap for 4 people. Each ride has been about 2 dollars per person for the 4 of us - Tapas = Spanish dim sum - I am a large in European sizes.. - Everything is served in wine glasses here in Europe - Water is not free, purchased by the bottle - Soccer is big in Barcelona - European brands are SO CHEAP! Mark up prices in USA is 2x, ridiculous! 

[adventureswithrosemary]

Europe - Paris, France

May 16, 2015

Dear No One,

It is 7am and I am sitting at our hostel in Paris. No one seems to be awake at this time. Staying in hostels are kind of really different. I think I would feel like I belonged more if most of the people staying here were not French speakers / Europeans. It’s strange to feel like such a minority out here. I mean I’ve always been but it never really felt like it back in the bay area.

I couldn’t sleep very well last night. There were lots of noises coming from outside and the rooms next door. Not to mention all the strange people walking in and out. Actually I am awake because I was unable to charge my phone last night. There weren’t many outlets in the room, two to be exact. The guy who was closest to one of them did not see it and accidentally hogged both outlets. So now I am sitting in the lobby charging my phone. I am thankful that there is free wifi here though. Listening to music is such a luxury! Just the best!

This morning I bumped into a cute asian girl in the bathroom. I just found out that she speaks American English. I wonder where she’s from..

I just moved downstairs for coffee. I found her eating breakfast and I tried my best to look busy. Hah! She left. :C Rosemary you failed to get her attention. But at least you spoke to her though, that’s a step up.

“Are there any other outlets around here?”

May 18, 2015

Everyone here is super well dressed! I personally think they dress better than the Italians. People here are tall, lean, slender, and stylish! They have such nice long legs, I am so jealous. Makes anything they wear look nice cause... they’re already BEAUTIFUL!

The French really know how to enjoy their leisure time. It seems Europeans don’t pay excessive attention to their phones like folks do in the Bay Area. They enjoy quality time or face-to-face time particularly. I caught a couple chuckling at us as we took pictures of our food.

On Sundays all the stores including some restaurants are closed. During this day folks will lounge around at cafe’s, parks, public benches, sit by the river, and just enjoy the company of each other. It’s not very often where you see Europeans glue their eyes to their phones.

I also noticed that French people are very open with their affection. Often, you will see folks strolling the streets of Paris hand in hand or waist and shoulder while smiling from ear to ear laughing at god-knows-what. It really is the city of love. They’re not super over the top where the PDA is uncomfortable and disgusting either. OR Maybe I just don’t understand what they’re saying. It’s possible that they’re just saying a bunch of cheesy stuff to each other. OR Maybe I just like seeing beautiful people together. Kinda makes me want to be in a relationship. I want that warm fuzzy love that they have. I want that comfort, that openness. 

- The French have 6 hour workdays - They lounge around on Sundays. Chit chat > text - Public displays of affection

May 18, 2015

Dear No One,

I am in the city of love where most adults travel in pairs. Whether it’s lunch, out of a walk, sitting at the park, people are often seen in pairs. It also doesn’t help that the double J’s are more affectionate with each other now. It’s subtle enough for it to be cute.

I want that. I want that comfort, that security, that warm fuzzy feeling like you’re home as long as the other is with you. Now, I have options, 3 options to be exact. T, L, and continue looking. I want to be in a relationship but I don’t want to force it. But if I keep looking I don’t know how long it’ll be before I find someone. Here are my decisions: 65% keep looking, 20% L, and 15% T. Both aren’t exactly what I’m looking for.

L is too party and T is a little too childish. I wish she was more aware of herself. In conclusion, both are mildly inappropriate.

[adventureswithrosemary]

Europe - Rome, Italy

May 13, 2015 Wednesday

Tonight we saw something unusual sparkling in the sky. It seemed to be coming from the area where the colosseum was. It looked like specs of lights spiraling upwards towards the sky, almost like a double helix of particles. It was almost magical! Except a part of me thought that it might extraterrestrial and so I was a little spooked. Reminded me of a portal you see in mmorpgs, or even fairies and pixie dust. We had no idea! ..so we went to investigate. We walked about half hour out into the city chasing the light in the sky. Unfortunately the truth was a bit disappointing, but it made sense.

It turned out to be seagulls. There were lights pointing skyward at the colosseum to illuminate the poles and columns. The moths were attracted to the heat and light of the lamps and the seagulls were circling around feeding on the moths. The light was bouncing off the white under bellies of the seagulls so from afar, it looked like spiraling fairies. Haha! 

Here are some notes on Europe/Italy: - the houses are quaint and cute. old fashion but well kept - Europeans are very well dressed - Typical European dinners iare from 9pm - 11pm - Scooters are very popular here - They yield to pedestrians much.. - Wine is a big thing here. Wine with EVERYTHING, even at Chinese restaurants! - Most folks have their coffee without sugar - Pizza in Italy is different from “American” pizza - Everything is much more flavorful, makes everything in America taste bland in comparison. More flavorful, not more salty - Ice costs extra, drinks don’t usually come with ice - Sparkling water is preferred over flat water - Cars are small and boxy - Drivers drive like maniacs and don’t abide traffic rules - Bonjourno means ‘Good morning’ & ciao means ‘Hello’ - Street vendors are very aggressive when trying to sell you stuff - Going out to get dessert is not a common thing - European men look like they do in magazines

May 15, 2015 (Written while waiting at the airport to Paris)

Things to note: - Got denied entrance at St. Peter’s Cathedral - Napkins in Rome are plastic-y, kinda like the ones you use to absorb oil from your face - Yellow lights are about 20 seconds long - Vegetables has proven to be difficult to find - 70F weather and very few people are wearing T-shirts - Coffee = espresso shot - Roads are paved with cobble stones - Disco = clubs - Found the fairy seagulls - Everyone overslept till 1pm. - We accidentally dressed in the same color, maroon - Helpless asian lady got robbed - Flight to Paris delayed for 2 hours - Gelato everyday!

[adventureswithrosemary]

Day 10 - Airport

Lele came and picked us up at around 5am so that I can catch my flight at 8am. She had work on the same day so I felt bad that I made her stay up all night.

It's a little bitter sweet to leave after a good night out but I'm glad to be finally leaving.

Sean is such a normal guy when he's tired and exhausted! He's so... normal! Gosh why are all the good things happening when I'm leaving. 

After Lele dropped us off, Sean waited with me for my 8am flight. It didn't feel awkward or uncomfortable at all. Sean was so well behaved that I'd believe it if you told me he was 28!

During our last moments together we played a doodle game just like old times. We'd each draw our own versions of a picture while only one of us describes what they're drawing. I gave him my copy and he gave me his.

Description 1: There is an evil octopus with a Monopoly man's mustache wearing a monocle that is holding a woman and a glass of martini. The martini has a cherry in it. Standing next to the octopus is a cactus wearing boxing gloves with a flower on it's head. It is vomiting onto a camp fire. There is a pig wearing a tuxedo with a top hat pulling a wagon. Within the wagon is a baby wrapped up like a mummy crying. Above the baby is a Native American boy wearing a feather hat holding a dagger. The hat only has a single feather.

Description 2: There is a duck wearing a top hat holding a cane. There is also a rabbit in a box being sawed in half by the duck. When the duck saws the rabbit in half, cards bursts out into the air. Then are on stage with curtains on the side. Next to the duck is also a sandwich. An evil sandwich with sharp teeth. It has tank wheels. Next to the evil sandwich is a penguin with a broken foot calling into the radio for an airstrike. 

It was amusing and I think Sean enjoyed it. Sean even came up with a little story that went with our ridiculous drawing. Unfortunately I don't remember how the story went. Sean is so creative, he just lacks the artistic abilities! 

In the past, he was always the story teller while I was the illustrator.

During the last moment with Sean as I was walking through the gate I turned back to look at him. Sean wore a very enduring smile, one that said "everything is going to be okay". He stood with one hand over the other and nodded, almost like a bow and waved at me without breaking that smile. In that moment, I felt like I was really going to miss him.

Houston, over.

[adventureswithrosemary]

Day 9 - Last day in Houston

Today is my last full day in Houston and I have to say... I am excited to see my friends and family. I can't wait to stop baby sitting Sean and I can't wait to be back in my element where I don't have to pretend to be enjoying myself. Pretending to be okay with something all the time is just so exhausting.

I don't plan on sleeping tonight since my flight is at 8am and Lele is dropping by around 5. Well... if I get bored I might dose off.

Right now Lele is taking a test and we are all waiting for her to finish so we can move onto our next activity. There's a lot of waiting around on this trip but I'm starting to get used to it.

This is the library at University of Houston.

I don't know what kind of activities will be had after Lele's last final but whatever it is, let's make the most of it! I've already packed all my belongings so let's go all out and have fun tonight!

_____________

After Lele's test, we went to 7 Course Beef for dinner. It was definitely a culture immersion experience. I don't quite remember what we talked about during dinner but the food was delicious enough to make dinner seem awkward! Lots of protein. It was a Vietnamese food wrap thing. I guess Vietnamese food is definitely something I didn't explore very much. There's so much variety! I'm glad I got a chance to try them on this trip. I might even introduce it to my parents! 

Since tonight is the last night, I decided to pay for dinner. I felt like I owe them that much. I was definitely on the pricier side but not as expensive as I expected. Happy Rosemary makes a generous Rosemary! The experience was definitely worth it. I'm glad to have had a local to show me all the best stuff!

After dinner we went back to Tea House to kill time with more card games. Time flew by and before I knew it, it was almost midnight. Lele has definitely grown on me after realizing that she is okay with people ignoring her opinions and comments. Lolz.

By the end of the day I was able to get a nice photo of all of us. It is a nice photo indeed. Makes us look like a family. (:

I'd glad that I am able to leave Houston on a good note. Thank you for your hospitality and the good times Lele!

I don't know when we'll see each other again. Something tells me the next time will be in California when Ethan goes on his business trips. Because... I sure as hell am not flying out to Houston again.

[adventureswithrosemary]

Day 8 - Meanie

12/18/1

Today Lele is taking the full day off to study so Sean and I will have the whole day to ourselves. I'm not sure if it's the lack of sleep from the other night but my patience meter is burning pretty low today. His jokes are really starting to get old and every part of my body wants to tell him "STFU STOP!" when he says it.

"Yeah you press that button!" "Yeah you drink that water!" "I'm gonna download this so hard!" "I'm gonna pay this so hard!"

It's so cold tonight! "Your FACE is cold!"

This is so expensive! "Your FACE is expensive!"

Oh my god, stop! Is that really necessary? It is NOT funny.

Among other things, Sean keeps asking for my opinion on things and it's really bugging me. It doesn't seem like he has an opinion on anything and looks to me to determine our next move and when I'm busy (usually I just pretend I'm busy because I want time to myself) he just sits there waiting for me to look up to determine what to do next. Jesus man, you are 28 you can make your own decisions! Where is your free will!?

Today I asked him to pick a place to eat for lunch and he kept redirecting the question back to me. "I dunno, I'm fine with whatever you want. Whatever you wanna do." I asked YOU. If i wanted to know my own opinion I wouldn't have asked. I tried to push him to take the lead. 

"Well, I'm asking you what YOU prefer. What do YOU want?"

I was curt because I was a little annoyed but that only frustrated him a little and then he went off on his twisted logic of what is fair. 

"I don't know, what do you want?"

"You pick this time, I'm okay with whichever.."

"I'm not deciding because I don't want to do anything you don't want to do! That's just bossy."

"Just make a decision."

"No, it needs to be 50/50! You need to have an input on this too!"

"Don't yell at me."

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry I wasn't yelling. I didn't mean for you to take it that way. We'll eat which ever one you want."

"..."

Somewhere in this conversation he threatened to boop me on the head. Which he did and it totally pissed me off. By then I was too upset to respond calmly so I didn't say anything anymore. You let me down Sean. 

On the walk over to Texas Roadhouse he proclaimed that he was going to pay for the bill and that I couldn't do anything about it. I was already irked from our previous conversation and I was not happy with him telling me what I could and couldn't do. I decided to use his "logic" against him. 

"Well that's not exactly 50/50 now is it. I thought you said 50/50 is fair."

"That was then, this is now. It's a different situation."

"How is it different? Your logic doesn't make sense."

"Its Sean's hungry logic! I'm hungry!"

"..."

I know you might be thinking it's not so bad if someone pays the bill. Well... I wouldn't mind it so much but the way he does it... it's so... ungraceful. I don't feel like there's any thought given into this. He's doing it cause it's what he knows to do with a girl. Usually when he gets to pay the bill he lets out this "HAH!" that's kind of in-your-face and condescending. The way he does it... it doesn't feel like he's being chivalrous or generous. It feels more like I'm admitting to him that I need to be taken care of... cause I'm dainty and weak. I don't appreciate it. If I continue letting him do this, I'd just be using him, and that definitely does not sit well with me. I don't exactly appreciate being scoffed at after every bill either. He probably doesn't mean it that way but I just don't like the way he's doing it.

After dinner we went back to the hotel and I decided to try to make him take the lead again. I tried to get him to choose a movie to watch, one that HE wanted. Of course he refused and asked Lele for suggestions instead. Whatever Sean, I just wanted to see you lead for once. I just wanted to see you make a decision.

Some time during the day he was talking to Lele via sms. He had his laptop hooked up to the TV so I was watching everything. He pretended to be me and said something provocative. WHAT. THE FUCK. I was mad. You won't take the lead on making your own decisions yet you'll so willingly impersonate me and put words in my mouth for your sick love fantasies. Stop volunteering me for things! I do NOT appreciate this!

_________________

I don't like how eager he is to service me or Lele. I don't know how he is around men but he's always so eager to do things for us. Since the first day, he's been getting me breakfast every morning so that when I wake up, there'd be a tray of food for me. It was a sweet gesture the first time but every time after that, I didn't feel like it was necessary. This evening I stepped out to go grab a plate and when I returned I found him waiting for me by the window. 

"Darn I was going to open the door for you when you came back but you left the door open!"

"..yeaaahh.."

"Meanie!"

I have arms Sean, I can do these kinds of things for myself. Hmm now that I think about it.. maybe this is a pride thing on my part and has nothing to do with him. I've always had a thing about people telling me what I can and can't do and I guess I'm interpreting these constant gestures the wrong way. Hmm... never thought about this. Oh my god! Maybe it's because he always tells me that I can't pay for myself that I really want to! It also really doesn't help that when he's sure about something he sounds like a total brat.

[adventureswithrosemary]

Day 8 - Patience

12/18/13

I am at the edge of my patience. I knew almost right away on the day that I  arrived here in Houston that extending my stay was a mistake. I'm sick of baby sitting. Maybe it wouldn't have been so bad if I didn't have to room with Sean but that's how it ended up and I can't wait to leave.

I am not your mother and I am not your girlfriend. Stop treating me like a dainty princess because I can take care of myself. You are not responsible for me so stop being so god damn concerned about every little thing that I do. Some things are so small that it's not even worth worrying! You are your own person, I should NOT be making all the decisions for you and you do NOT need to ask for my consent to do anything. It is okay to have your own opinion. I don't want to know. What you do is your own business. I don't care. Not everything is fair in the world, get used to it. Your chivalry is not always appreciated. I want you to man up and stop making yourself look so god damn vulnerable.

You act like a pathetic child, one that lacks all the confidence in the world, can't take constructive criticism, gets frustrated easy, and is a complete cry baby. Folks this guy is more difficult to baby sit than an 8 year old because you can't raise your voice at him without making him cry. This guy has no idea how to take a hint let alone a joke. If he was thrown in with a bunch of kindergardeners he might even get bullied by some of them. I didn't come hundreds of miles away from home just to baby sit. 

He laughs like a child, squeals like one, sometimes talks like one, requires attention like one but without the liveliness of one. Just a sad, depressed little thing stuck in a body of a 28 year old man. What a trip. 

[adventureswithrosemary]

Day 7 - Hair cut

12/17/13

Woke up on the wrong side of the bed this morning... meaning, I wasn't in the mood to tolerate Seans lack of self-esteem, his extremely apologetic behavior, and him being unnecessarily polite. Thus I told him to put on a movie so he'd be entertained and I can have some peace. Lele arrived in the middle of the movie Avatar which I didn't mind. We had Pho for lunch and then I ordered some macaroons for dessert cause they said it was good. It was... good... as in not disgusting but it wasn't rich like a macaroon should be. Just tasted cheap. Meh.

Afterwards we went to the Chinatown plaza for Ethan and Lele o get a hair cut. I didn't speak to Sean at all this morning and I think it's making him depressed. Not that I want him to feel this way it's just... putting up with him is so exhausting. Thankfully I was able to sneak out to wander and buy milk tea. Free time is best time out here in this hostile environment!

Sean needs to stop acting so weak and vulnerable. It's been going on for too long and it's getting on my nerves. He sulks when people don't listen to him. It's just a game.. you're turning 28... That may have been a bit harsh.. but it's just so tiring. Can't have fun with a Debbie Downer around. I think I need some time away from this... child.

On a lighter note, I think I've found my place with Lele, she seems less threatening if you take her demands lightly. Just don't listen to her, she's actually okay with it!

After dinner Lele taught us how to play some card games. One is similar to Deuces and the other is similar to Slap Jack (the Chinese version). It was fun. The excitement of slap jack really got my blood pumpin'. I really wanted to win. I found myself laughing genuinely, which was nice.

Note: Got a pleasant text today. Feels nice to be included even though I'm away. (:

[adventureswithrosemary]

Day 6 - Lighten Up

12/16/13

Things lightened up. Turns out Lele is very interested in knowing what my preference in women is. This evening after returning from my walk Lele came and picked us up at around 3pm to go to Ethans to study. I decided not to play with Sean because I didn't feel like playing games. Instead I tried to read the Davinci Code. The music playing in the background was too distracting, so I spent most of my time trying to focus. Eventually I got really sleepy and started nodding off.

Ring ring! Time for dinner. When I awoke, it was around 5 or so and it was dinner time. Dinner was quite normal until towards the end when Lele started interrogating me about my sexuality and preference in women. Our conversation ranged from personalities to sexual preferences. I was delighted that she's trying to get to know me but some of the questions she asked were just way too personal. I didn't answer a handful of questions for that reason. Overall, dinner was uncomfortably entertaining. I guess I'm just happy to be a conversation with someone. After our little Q/A session, we went back to Ethans to light up the lanterns. Not quite as magical as I expected but I hope that it left an impression on Lele and that it made her birthday more memorable. At the end of the day, I feel a little closer to Lele after sharing so much personal information with her. But then again, we could easily jump back to square one depending on how much she acknowledges me tomorrow.

[adventureswithrosemary]

Day 6 - Freetime

12/16/13

Today is our free-time day! Which means Lele is going to do her own thing so we are free to go where ever we want. We finally got to check out the french cafe!

The environment was nice and warm, very homely but it was not what I expected. I expected a small vintage little coffee shop, instead it was a full blown restaurant. The place was still nice and enjoyable.

However, I do doubt the freshness of their ingredients as Sean threw up everything at the end of his meal. I myself feel a like my stomach is churning from something but not to the point where I feel ill, just rumbling in my tummy. 

I wanted to explore the little plaza but I didn't want to drag Sean along with me in his condition so I walked him back to the hotel and set off for my little adventure again.. I actually prefer it this way. No strings attached, I can do whatever I want. I can sing and dance to my uplifting music! It's absolute bliss! It's freedom! I enjoy my alone time outdoors with my music.

Sean paid for lunch again... Or rather... I let him cause it seemed like he'd be upset if I didn't. I think I should really get the guy some snacks or something while I'm out as a thank you.

Note: Gas is so cheap!

I feel like there's some kind of barrier between me and Lele that I can't get past. I want to be friends but I feel like no matter what effort I put in, none of it would matter if she doesn't do the same. I'd be talking to a wall. I felt this way during our first encounters online as well. What can I do to make this situation better hmmm....

Lele is over-the-top controlling, which explains why she is such a hard-core gamer. She's familiar with taking control over her characters within a game which might explain her similar behavior towards people. Makes me wonder how well she'd perform if she were to be thrown into a situation where she has no control at all.

Note: Lele's colloquialisms are very... Vietnamese-esk. It's full of compliments and promises that she doesn't wholeheartedly mean. I wouldn't trust her. She is not an honest person at all. Well no, she is brutally honest but is also full of white lies. She is very manipulative, controlling, and authoritative.

Note: Red cherry shrimps eat zucchinis and peas. Interesting!

[adventureswithrosemary]

Day 5 - Celebration

12/15/13

Today Lele swung by around noon as usual to go celebrate her birthday at TopGolf. Unfortunately when we got there the place was closed for maintenance. Instead we went for Korean Barbecue with Lele's friends. We were supposed to have KBBQ for dinner but since we didn't have anything planned in place of TopGolf, we had it for lunch.

Lele's friends are very interesting. Surprisingly she has a very diverse from of friends from their race to their personality, Black, White, Filipino, Chinese. They are all very unlike her which I am grateful for. I like all of them! There's Dave, Wes, Phil, and Amy. Phil is a black man that tells great stories. Such a funny guy but I liked Wes most. He was the most welcoming towards me. He actually tried to include me on their conversations. It was very nice of him. Her friends are definitely a nice break from the lovely couple and Sean. I felt included and actually wanted for the first time on this trip.

After BBQ we went to get desserts at Jungle Cafe were we played card games. It was fun!

We played a game called Tentacle Bento where you try to capture as many girls as you can before the deck runs out. It was definitely amusing. Afterwards we played Cards Against Humanity. I was already dreading playing it from the beginning because I knew I suck at it. Of course I had the least amount of cards. 

During the game Lele revealed some more of her negative traits. She is bossy, authoritative, opinionated, and judgmental. She's the type that likes telling others what to do. I also found that most of her friends just brush her off which I found interesting. It seemed to make her more human and less threatening. From the game I got a better feel for where she truly stands among her friends, which I appreciated. I'm not sure what it is but Sean's really starting to bug me. I think it's because I see him all the time. I noticed that he picked up some confidence during the game but the more confident and self esteem he got, the more he spoke and it kinda irked me. He was saying unnecessary things again.

I noticed Sean is very perceptive when it comes to social interactions. He knows when he's not wanted of when he is being deliberately ignored. Sometimes I forget that he's like any other person but has social anxiety. I find him annoying when he's around Lele. He can act like such a child but when it's just me and him, he seems more normal. It's weird. 

I think what bugs me the most is that he's always seeking out for social approval. He's always doubting himself. I feel like I'm baby sitting sometimes except it's worse because he always victimizes himself and blames himself for things that aren't even within his control. I hate it. I think some where during the evening I stopped caring. I gave up trying to make him feel better when he puts himself down.

Today was certainly an interesting day mixed with good and bad feelings.

I like that no one cares too much about what Lele thinks or says. I like that her friends have their own opinions and act according to themselves despite Lele's comments and demands.

I think I've given up on having a conversation with Lele. She doesn't seem interested in getting to know me and I'm not interested in trying if she's just gonna shut me off. Both parties have given up and I'm starting to feel like a burden. Sean's making me feel mentally exhausted. I think I'm ready to go home.

Note: Beignets are like funnel cake! I didn't know that!

Good night Houston, 4 more days to go.

[adventureswithrosemary]

Day 4 - Second to last final

12/14/13

After Lele took her test we went to a lovely little tea house called... Tea Bar. It reminded me a lot of TeaWay because the way that the shop was set up and how they use organic tea and stuff. The environment and decorations were similar as well except they use beer mugs for cups here which is pretty neat!

After ordering our drinks we drive to Lele's place to eat dinner. I wasn't feeling like eating after our large meal at Denny's but I ate anyways. Lele's mom was serving Vietnamese food. First time I've wrapped my own spring role. I sucked. After my failed attempt I didn't get much of a chance to practice because Lele's mom kept making them for me. I had a lot of fun and enjoyed the company of her parents.

Mom and Dad are so cute! Cute as in small sized like Lele but without the feisty mean attitude. Mom is so hospitable. I forget what the name of the foods I had but they were delicious.

After dinner I watched the gang play games. It didn't occur to me how far I've grown apart from games. I used to love the stuff and would play at any given opportunity but now, I'd prefer to watch. I guess I've always preferred RPGs cause you can't be bad at it. It doesn't require timing and thinking. Still, it was interesting to notice. I wonder what the others think of me. They must think I'm boring since I didn't seem to want to play with them. I don't seem to share their interests either. At least today went by quicker than yesterday. Maybe it's because I was just super exhausted.

Ethan is such a nice fellow. I wonder what he sees in Lele besides her "cuteness". He's quick to respond to Sean's unusual comments and he says it in such a way that it makes Sean's comment sound normal. Any regular person would respond with a "huh?" or nothing at all.

I really want to ask him how he feels about jumping into this relationship after being divorced of 10 years of marriage but I feel it might be too personal. Despite Ethan's particular hobbies, I feel he is the only one in the group that I can have a meaningful conversation with. He definitely gives off the loving husband vibe.

Dealing with Lele feels very similar to when I first met Zin. I didn't know how to talk to her when I first met her. I felt like I couldn't connect with her, now same goes for Lele. Of course given time I was able to connect with Zin better because I lived with her for 2 years. Both of them are similar, except Lele is cocky. But I think it's their playfully mean sense of humor and playful teasing. It's mostly the mean part. I just don't know how to respond to mean. It's a playful kind of mean but a small part of me feels like they actually mean it and it's hurtful. I usually just laugh it off but I think the right way to approach this is to respond with something mean back. Unfortunately I'm not clever enough to think of a comeback quickly. I think naturally, if we met under normal circumstances, I would not choose to be friends with them (both Zin and Lele).

Note: Sean wants to be included in EVERYTHING.

[adventureswithrosemary]

Day 4 - Some morning

12/14/13

I'm beginning to see a pattern here. Throughout the day I'm sure we'll be following Lele around to do her business while all of us play the waiting game so I've prepared my little purse full of things that I can pass the time with. One of which is this journal and other things like a book and my music player. Right now we are at the University of Houston! It's gorgeous! The engineering building is so modern and magnificent.

I looked at the directory and it seems like Engineering is a big part of the campus. There were also other things like fountains, gardens, museums, churches on campus. I'm thankful that I got to explore it on my own so I can walk and look at whatever on my own pace without those two mucking it up with their PDA or without Sean being awkward. It was definitely nice to sight see while jamming to my music. Makes me wonder if I would've liked it better if I traveled alone.

Seminar room within one of the Engineering buildings.

So far I haven't eaten anything that particularly stood out to me as "Texas". We did have some nice Pho though. At some point on my visit we will be visiting a Jazz bar and the "freakishly" huge Galleria (shopping mall). So far those are the only places that were mentioned for now.

For morning, we spent most of it indoors watching Adventure Time which I think Sean enjoyed. I also read a little disturbing message on Sean's chat window to Lele. "Don't tell Rosemary this bit I think she looked really cute when..."  and that's as far as I allowed myself to read. I didn't want to know anymore. Is this happening already..? But he knows about me. I guess I should distance myself? I was only being nice. Not even ESPECIALLY nice.. just nice. I'm not going to think much of it though it did make me feel a little uncomfortable. How am I going to last the next 6 days if all I feel is... uncomfortable. Almost considering taking on Alex's offer. He said that he'd like to take me to Rice University some time during my visit if I have time because campus is gorgeous.

This morning Sean found a french cafe about 10 minutes walk away from here (the hotel). I'm really looking forward to going there one of these mornings.

I think I've found out what it is about Lele that doesn't quite rub me the right way. I don't like her sarcastic and mean sense of humor. I don't think its funny when someone's being mean. She also praises herself.. like A LOT, makes her seem very conceited. She's very authoritative and is always name calling. It may be okay for those that take it lightly but poor Sean takes everything seriously. "What a loser" she'd say.  Then Sean would close his eyes and hang his head down. 

I think she finds me boring because I don't respond the way she wants to her playful teasing and flirtatious name calling. Not that it bothers me, it's just what I think. She's very mean spirited and I know for sure that if I let her, she'll be the type that would happily walk all over me. All the lesbians she knows are too crazy but the only normal one knows is too boring. Lol. I think I find it more mentally stimulating talking to strangers.

Note: If Alex didn't think I was flirting with him I'd totally hit him up. I learned so much about Houston from him. Maybe it's best that I don't do research on things to-do so I don't know what I'm missing because I probably won't get to do them anyways.

Sean got me breakfast this morning because I didn't wake up early enough. It was very sweet of him.

Thoughts: I think these guys are too cheap to take us to anywhere interesting. Which is why we've been eating at boring places like... Denny's. Not that I expected to do much out here on this trip but I guess thinking it and actually experiencing it are completely different things.

Tomorrow I'm gonna splurge at that french cafe with Sean.