#i think we did standup for them for free lol

[closetedenjoyer]

Oooh, this might be one of my most favorite movie things to debate - how to theoretically classify the genre of horror. You probably won’t find two people with the same exact criteria, it’s like a damn cursed hellhole for a theoretician, because you literally cannot exactly define it

I think it might be the best example of a theoretical problem of genre - who defines a genre? Film makers? Production? The viewers? Who?

If you are deciding the quality of a horror movie based on “did I get very scared” that is a complete you problem. Horror covers many feelings and shrinking the entire genre to one emotion is so reductive.

[wonderlandleighleigh]

Hi! I have a question for you concerning TMMM and identity.

Since Jewish culture is an integral part of this show, it's natural that anyone who wants to write a TMMM fic would have to learn about Jewish humor and traditions and quite probably use them in their writing. Do you think it's appropriate for people of other ethnicities to touch upon those subjects (e. g. when writing about Midges standup or family interactions)? Or should goyish people just avoid the Jewish ethnicity topics in their fics altogether? I'm more inclined to believe the latter, especially with jokes, but what do you think? 

P.S. I'm not Jewish, just a curious Ukrainian. I thought about writing a TMMM fic, but then imagined how I would feel if I saw a shitty portrayal of my people.

P.P.S. I hope it's polite to ask. Feel free to tell me off if it's not. 

Hi there!

So I'm going to preface this by saying: one Jew does not an entire people's opinion make. So whatever I think? It's just kinda what I think.

I think that if you're willing to sit down and do the research on Jewish humor, identity, and family life/dynamics, and portray them in a way that, yes, is funny and truthful, but also shows some respect, then it's totally fine. Write away!

The great thing about this show is that it shows an ENORMOUS swath of different personalities. Midge, Noah, Moishe, Joel, Shirley, Rose, Abe and Lenny are all Jewish, and they are SO DIFFERENT! And it's not something we see on television very often. Usually there is one token Jew, and they are one of two things:

an insulting stereotype

"Jewish" but they don't practice Judaism and we don't get to see the dynamics of their family or how being Jewish informs their life.

But you have the intellectual, upper class set in the Weissmans, right? Art, Science and Mathematics. We're shown that Rose's family is very wealthy. We are led to believe that Abe's family also had money if he was chosen by the matchmaker for Rose.

Then you have the working class, climbed the class ladder Maisels. They're loud, they're anxious, they're combative. They are everything that we think of when we think of Jews. Old Jews especially. What keeps them from tipping into stereotypes is that we see vulnerable moments with them. We get to experience life with them.

(on an unrelated note, Joel's insistence that he is an underdog, even though he's not, likely comes from growing up with parents who WERE underdogs. Who really scrambled their way up.)

And Lenny is there, waving his lower class, Jewish show biz fam "I'm from Long Island and my mother was a stripper comedian and likely did Vaudeville before it totally died" flag.

All Jews. All from intensely different backgrounds. All intensely different people.

So in thinking about all of this, I'm not so sure if it's about writing Jewishness, so much as it is about writing these specific Jewish characters in character as related to their Jewishness. Obviously using Yiddish words and centering things around Jewish holidays and going to Synagogue on Saturday mornings/Friday nights will make anything with these characters more authentic, but you don't have to if you don't know how.

But also, keep in mind, that as a modern Jewish person, I am ALSO a little out of my depth! These characters were all born 1933 and beforehand, and their Jewish lives are so intensely different from my own. Their challenges were different. They were so much closer to events like the Holocaust. During season 2, during that big number at the end of the Catskills trip, where it's all the kids (and Susie) doing that around the world skit, Shirley comments about the poor taste in having a Russian segment in a room full of Jews.

Which. To be honest, I mean. Lots of Russians still don't like us LOL. But it's nowhere near as fresh! If Shirley's parents were Russian, it's likely they were murdered and run out of town by pogroms.

Keep in mind that Abe was born 1898. His mother was likely born in the 1870's. Rose's time spent in Paris in her youth happened in the 1920's. Which is 100 years ago now. Viewed through a modern lens, their lived experience was so long ago, it feels a little staggering.

While I have a leg up in having grown up with Jewish grandparents and great grandparents, it's no substitute for a lived experience.

So! If you're willing to do the research, and not rely on lazy stereotypes, and also realize that you might get some things wrong (we all do!), then I say go for it!

I hope this helped! <3

[freddiesaysalright]

Peace Like A River Part 1

A Gwilym Lee x Reader Story

Summary: Reader is a stand up comic with a pretty dark past. She has a three new lights in her life: her daughter, Violet; her anonymous correspondent, Dear Friend; and Gwilym Lee. 

Word Count: 3.4K

Tag List: @psychosupernatural @someone-get-a-medic @bensrhapsody @deakyclicks If you’d like to be added, let me know!

A/N: Sorry this took so long! I had like the snippet of an idea for this and then needed more for a plot, but I think I’ve finally got it together lol. Hope y’all like it!

Part I here we go!!!

Grinning, you read over the letter once more from backstage. His words in that graceful, loopy handwriting warmed you from your heart to your toes. You sighed contentedly, stuffed the paper into your back pocket for luck, and waited for your cue.

“Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome to the stage, Y/N Y/L/N!” the host cried. 

You shook out the last of your nerves and walked out on the stage, waving and grinning at the huge crowd that stood and applauded for you. You had never done a show for an audience this large and it was both intimidating and exhilarating. 

“Thank you!” you said, as you waited for them to stop cheering. “Thank you. Thank you all for coming. Really, I appreciate it because whenever I have to go out and do things, I think about killing myself.”

A nervous titter went through the crowd and you smiled again.

“Seriously, I do. I’ll think about killing myself over nothing. Like, the other day, I was in the car on my way home from the store and my sister called me and asked me to stop by her place and help her and her husband move furniture. And I actually thought ‘If I crashed my car right now and died, I wouldn’t have to go move any fucking furniture.’”

They laughed.

“It’s crazy, I know, but I casually think about it any time I’m even minorly inconvenienced. But what stops me from doing it - like, my next line of thought - is something equally meaningless. Like, in that scenario with my sister, the thing that held me back was like, I thought ‘But fuck, Bohemian Rhapsody is coming out in like two months and I really wanna see that.’”

A couple cheers came through the laughter and you smiled.

“Oh, we got some Queen fans in here tonight?” you said. 

More cheers.

“Yeah, cheer, clap, fuck yeah!”

A swell of shouts and whistles went through the crowd and you joined them.

“Fuck yeah, y’all were raised right,” you said when it settled down. “Queen is a great band. Just four sexy dudes making banger after banger. They’re legitimately my favorite band. I’m not gonna lie, they really got me through some shit, but we’ll come back to my trauma later.”

You paused for a small bit of laughter.

“Now normally, I don’t like when comedians talk about Queen. And by that, I mean, I don’t like it when comedians talk about Freddie Mercury,” you said. “And it’s not for some pretentious reason like they’re not real fans or something. It’s literally just that when people joke about Freddie Mercury, they joke about the same two things - his teeth and his sexuality - two extremely fucking boring things to joke about.”

You took a sip of water.

“Not only are they boring, they’re just rude. Like, these are things this man was born with and couldn’t change about himself - he had no control over that. What he did have control over - the fucking ridiculous lyrics of Under Pressure.”

A giggle went through them. You smiled.

“I’m serious. Have any of you ever looked up the lyrics to that song? Most of it doesn’t really bother me, it’s just those weird scat-like shit Freddie does between verses. Like, they have these great, meaningful lines followed by Freddie going ‘Um, bah, bah, bay.’ What the fuck?”

They laughed.

“That shit is in the official lyrics of that legendary song and I think about that every goddamn day. That and fucking ‘dee, dah, day - ok!’ Shit like that is how you know these dudes were on drugs. One of those guys came up with that, pitched it to four other people - if not more - and they all went ‘fuckin genius’ and bam! Under Pressure is one of the greatest hits of all time.”

They laughed harder.

“I guess I’m not as disturbed by that as I am by the fact that the people ate it up like they did. It’s one thing for those guys to say it’s genius, but then for us as the public to say it as well just fucks me up. The first time I heard that song I was like ‘what the cinnamon toast fuck am I listening to?’ Shit was weird.”

You took another drink as they laughed. 

“But honestly, I don’t understand why people go for Freddie’s sexuality when there are clearly much more roastable things to talk about. I don’t care how rich and famous he was, if you’re a straight white guy making fun of gay brown guy for being either or both of those things, you’re punching down, dude, and that’s not comedy, that’s just being an asshole.”

For that, they applauded. You continued on through your set, and this audience was great for you. They were responsive and you held their attention throughout. You were almost ready to close the show.

“I always like to end my shows with the most important person in my life,” you said. “I’ve talked about her already tonight, and she’s my daughter, Violet.”

The tech guys put a picture of her up on the projector behind you. You beamed at it. 

“That’s her. She’s three years old and she’s my everything. She’s the reason I get on stage and in front of cameras. She’s the real reason I don’t crash my car to get out of moving furniture.”

With one final laugh, you bid them goodnight. You took a little bow at the roar of applause and smiled widely. You said a few more thank yous before the spotlight dimmed and you walked off stage to the sound of cheering and clapping. It never ceased to amaze you how far you had come. 

Someone took the mic for you as your assistant approached. She was a recent hire, and something you initially resisted. But now that your name and brand had grown, you really did need the help. Her name was Stacy, and she was incredibly efficient. You liked her, as did Violet, which sold you on hiring her.

“Great show,” she said with a smile. “Vi is asleep in the green room. We’ve got a couple VIP guests for you to meet before we take you both back to the hotel.”

“Alright, lead the way,” you replied.

You followed her to another room backstage where you saw a group of men. Most of them had their back to you, but one face, you recognized. Gwilym Lee, who you considered a friend, even though you hadn’t spoken in a while.

Before you had really thrown yourself into standup, you did a bit of acting. You and Gwilym shot a pilot of a sitcom that unfortunately never aired, but while filming, you had become really close. You even felt like he was flirting with you a few times, but back then you were nowhere near ready to start a new relationship, so you’d kept things strictly platonic. Nowadays, you mostly liked each others pictures on Instagram as your main form of communication. But life was busy for both of you. You were on tour and he had gone on to films.

You started to smile but then froze when the man next to Gwilym turned his head. You grabbed Stacy’s arm harshly.

“Holy shit is that Brian May?” you wondered.

She chuckled. “Yeah! The VIP guests are Queen and the cast of Bohemian Rhapsody.”

“Shut the fuck up!” you cried. “Really?!”

“Yep,” she assured you. “Go on in and say hello.”

Your stomach dropped with nerves. Again, you shook yourself free of them and donned your stage personality. Slipping into that mask was where you were most comfortable. While you talked about the things you had endured in your comedy, there it was lighthearted, and you did not have to face it head on. You could throw a joke out and dodge it. 

“Well, hello!” you said brightly as you entered the room. 

They all turned eyes on you and smiled as you were introduced. Brian May and Roger Taylor were without a doubt the most thrilling to shake hands with, but Rami Malek, Joe Mazzello, and Ben Hardy were also exciting. When it came time to shake hands with Gwilym, you offered a warm, friendly smile. 

“It’s great to see you again,” you said. “It’s been two years or so now?”

“Just about,” he replied. “You were wonderful.”

“Thank you!”

“Gwil was the one who convinced us to come tonight,” Joe explained. “He said you were hilarious on set when you filmed before.”

“That’s sweet,” you replied. “It is a shame that show never took off, it was a good one.”

“I certainly loved it,” Gwilym said. 

You chatted with them for a bit. They all were calming to be around. Brian and Roger were complimentary of your bit about Under Pressure, which eased some of your nerves about the set. Even though you were, you didn’t feel like you were putting on a show for them. In minutes, it felt like they were your friends. 

The door opened shortly after and in walked Stacy, hand in hand with your very sleepy daughter. She clutched her stuffed dog close to her chest as she ran right to you and crawled into you lap. You wrapped your arms around her and held her close, kissing the top of her head. She eyed the guests warily. 

“What are you doing awake, sweetie?” you asked gently, stroking her hair. 

“She woke up for a little while,” Stacy explained. “I tried to get her back down but all she wanted was Mommy.”

You smiled. “That’s okay. You can have Mommy whenever you want her.”

She snuggled into your chest, turning her face away from the strangers. 

“You don’t want to say hello?” you wondered, and she shook her head. You looked at the guys. “Sorry. She’s kinda shy.”

“That’s alright,” said Brian. 

“She’s grown up,” Gwilym said. “Last time I saw her, she was just learning to walk.”

“Oh, yeah,” you remembered. “She actually walked right into you during a scene.”

You both chuckled at the memory.  

“The director was almost mad, but she was so cute,” he continued. 

He knelt down in front of you and gently touched her arm. She turned her face to just barely peek at him. 

“Hi, Violet,” he said sweetly, smiling at her. “It’s been a while.”

Her brow furrowed. 

“You were still a little baby,” you explained to her. “But you’ve met Gwilym before.”

She relaxed and looked between you and him. 

“Daddy?” she questioned. 

You stiffened and cleared your throat uncomfortably. Then shook your head. 

“No, baby,” you told her. “No Daddy.”

She pouted at you and then hid her face again. You looked apologetically at Gwilym, who shrugged it off. He started to get up, but hesitated to pick something up off the ground. It was your letter that had been in your pocket. He held it out to you. 

“Is this yours?” he asked. 

You quickly took it, your face flushing with embarrassment. Even though there was no way he knew what it was, you still felt really shy about the whole situation. 

“Yeah, thanks,” you said, not meeting his eyes as you stuffed it back into your pocket. 

“A letter?” he questioned. 

“Just some particularly touching fanmail,” you lied. 

“Not enough people write letters anymore in my opinion,” said Roger. 

“Why sit and write a letter when you can send a text?” Ben replied. “It’s much faster.”

“Yeah, but I sort of miss the anticipation involved in letter writing,” Brian said in agreement with his bandmate. 

You continued to visit with them as Violet slowly fell asleep again against you. For a while, you felt Gwilym’s eyes on you intensely. His expression was odd. It appeared he thought he knew something more about you. It made you shift in your seat a few times before at last, he seemed to let go of whatever question was burning in his mind. 

They visited for about another half hour before you really did need to get back to your hotel, and so did they. You said fond farewells to all of them, reassured them that you would see the movie, and then it came to Gwilym. 

“We’re in New York for a few days,” he said. “Let me know if you’d like to get coffee or something and catch up.”

“That would be great,” you replied with a smile. 

You gave him a side hug since you had Violet on your hip, sleeping soundly. Her stuffed dog slipped from her hand but Gwil caught it before it hit the ground and handed it to you. 

“Can’t have that,” he said lightly. 

“Thank you,” you returned, taking it. You looked at all of them. “Have a wonderful night, guys. It was so great chatting with you.”

They all bid you one final farewell. Gwilym was the last to leave and you shared a lingering look with him before he closed the door. You continued to stare at the spot where he disappeared, realizing now how much you had missed him these last couple years. 

“Ready to go to bed?” Stacy asked. 

With a yawn, you nodded, and she ordered an Uber to take all three of you back to the hotel you were staying in. It wasn’t far from the venue, since you would be doing three shows there this week before moving on Boston. Stacy eyed you with an odd smirk as you stared out the car window. Finally, you looked at her. 

“What is it?” you asked, a bit snappier than you intended. 

“You and Gwilym Lee seemed to have a little something going on,” she said with a sly smirk. 

You rolled your eyes. “We just knew each other a couple years ago. Besides, you know I’m...involved with someone.”

“Ah, right,” she said, rolling her eyes now. “The ever elusive Dear Friend.”

“Hey, if anyone’s elusive, it’s me,” you said. “I was the one who made the arrangement what it is.”

“Y/N, you write letters to some mystery man,” she replied. “He could be anyone. Gwilym Lee is a real person and right in front of you.” 

“Dear Friend is a real person,” you argued. “I’ve just never met him.”

“And yet you’re convinced he’s your soulmate,” she returned. “I just don’t get it. How can you fall in love with someone through paper?”

“You don’t understand,” you said. “You’ve never read his letters. He’s so...eloquent and smart. And I can be myself with him. I can share my deepest thoughts and desires without any fear of judgement. He does so with me as well. It’s a real connection. The strongest I’ve ever felt with anyone.”

“You don’t know anything real about each other,” she insisted. “Not your names, not your jobs, where you live-”

“Those things don’t matter,” you cut across her. “The real stuff is deeper than that. And that’s where Dear Friend and I meet.”

“Whatever,” she said dismissively, weary of having this discussion yet again. “You’ve got your family reunion on your last day in town. I suggest you find a man in person to go with you. If you show up without someone again, I think your mother will actually lose her mind.”

You considered this. She was right, your mother absolutely hounded you about your romantic life since Violet was born. You told her you weren’t ready since your marriage had left you so scarred. You didn’t tell her about Dear Friend, though, since you knew she could never understand something like that. Plus, you had only been corresponding for a year.  

“I think Gwilym would go with you,” Stacy said, nudging you with her elbow. 

“I was thinking more along the lines of hiring some actor to be my boyfriend,” you replied. “I don’t want to expose Gwilym to my family. He’s been nothing but nice to me.”

She chuckled. “At least take him up on the coffee. I really think you should explore your options in case this Dear Friend isn’t who he says he is.”

“I will take him up on the coffee,” you assured her. “But it’s not a date. In the meantime, find some poor struggling actor to go with me and get my mother off my back.”

“I’m on it,” she assured you, already looking through her phone to get started. 

You reached the hotel at last. You took Violet to your room, bidding Stacy goodnight as she went to her room next door. You tucked your daughter into bed and kissed her on the forehead before heading over the desk. You pulled out the letter from Dear Friend that was still in your pocket and read it once more. Then you pulled out your stationery and pen to begin your reply. You were halfway through your letter when you remembered Gwilym. 

You opened your phone and pulled up his number, which you had from your days of being coworkers. You opened up a text to send to him and found yourself blanking on what to say. You had written paragraphs to Dear Friend, but when it came to asking someone to get a simple cup of coffee, you had no idea how to phrase it. It made you all the more certain Dear Friend was your person. Words came easily when talking to him. 

You went with your stage personality. You sent a casual, “Is tomorrow too soon for that coffee?” with a silly emoji. Then you returned to your letter. Gwilym texted back almost right away and suggested meeting around nine in the morning, which you agreed to. Then you finished writing your letter and sealed it in an envelope for Stacy to send off in the morning. 

The letters always took some time. One thing you knew about Dear Friend was that he was from the UK. The PO box you sent the letters to was in London, but you could also tell from the way he spelled things. You often teased each other about these differences. So of course, they took longer to send and receive. But, you agreed with Brian May that the anticipation of getting one was one of the most exciting parts of the experience. 

Another benefit of him being across the pond meant that your opportunities to meet were few. In fact, you hadn’t had one since you started writing. It was a bit of a relief. You knew you loved Dear Friend, but keeping him at arm’s (well, ocean’s) length felt safest. And after your brutal marriage to Violet’s father, Henry, being safe was of top priority for you. And yet, the desire to be with Dear Friend grew daily. It just terrified you to face the reality of it. 

The next morning, you dropped the letter and Violet off with Stacy while you went to meet up with Gwilym. You went to a local coffee shop and ordered. You paid, and he protested, but you insisted, and assured him that he could get it next time. You grabbed a table and started talking. You told him you were still living in Los Angeles and that you were mostly doing shows out in California. You tended to avoid New York, since Henry and his friends and family were still there and he was still an NYPD officer. You couldn’t avoid it on tour, though, nor your family reunion. You told Gwilym about the reunion, but not the part about you ex-husband. 

“You’re hiring someone?” he asked, baffled. “A stranger?”

“Yeah,” you said. “Some guy that was rejected from Broadway or something. I’ll pay him, and we’ll come up with a story for my mother, and then the next time I see her I’ll tell her how we tragically broke up.”

“That’s ridiculous,” he said with a laugh. “I’ll do it for you.”

You blinked. “You really don’t have to-”

“I don’t mind,” he said. “We’re friends. I know meeting strange men is difficult for you.”

Gwilym knew that Henry had abused you because you talked about it in your sets. You never got into gruesome detail, although you had confessed a few things to Dear Friend. You talked on stage about not dating because of what you had been through. It was extremely kind of Gwilym to offer this, and you weren’t sure how you could thank him. Your comedian mask slipped on again. 

“I’m not sure I can afford your rates, Mr. Lee,” you teased. 

“How much was my coffee?” he returned. 

“Five dollars,” you told him. 

“Well, it turns out, for friends, I offer a discounted price of five dollars,” he joked. “So, consider it payment for the coffee.”

Your brow furrowed. “Are you sure about this?”

“Really, it’s fine,” he reassured you. “It’s just one day.”

“I can’t tell you how grateful I am,” you said, seriously. 

He raised a curious eyebrow at your tone. 

“I mean, it’s just one of the nicest things,” you continued, blushing once again under his gaze. “You’re a very generous person, Gwilym.”

“Perhaps,” he said. “Or you’re just still getting used to kindness.”

You smiled, unwilling to go any deeper. 

“Let’s chalk it up to a combination of both,” you said lightly. 

You finished your coffees and headed to the door. He had to go to an interview and you were going to take Violet around the city since the weather was nice. As you hugged goodbye, you smiled up at him. 

“See you Saturday?” you asked. 

“Saturday,” he affirmed.

[littlesciencebabies]

Why can't you tell him? :o what's the situation, the coronavirus? Or not being able to meet up? 🌻

hahaha yeah the situation is a bit Complicated to put it lightly lol

to put a long story short, he has a girlfriend and that’s the main reason i can’t tell him he’s really pretty

but for like more context because it’s not like i just decided to get a crush on someone who i knew was already taken (and i’m putting this under a read more because it got very long because the situation is A Lot lmao)

i first saw him perform with his improv group like the first week of school, i thought he was Very pretty, and me and my roommate decided to start going to their group’s open practices (mostly because of him but also because we needed to start Doing Things this year). then i found out me and him had a class together and that was great! as soon as i realized this was developing into a serious crush, i like stalked his social medias to find out if he had a girlfriend (because that’s what happened with the crush before him and it was Not Fun), there was no indication he did, so i wanted to try to flirt with him and all that but i was super nervous because i had never really actively done that before and also i thought he was out of my league for a hot minute.

so by the time i felt i was ready to actively pursue him (i.e. do more than just stare at him from across the room and talk briefly during practices or after class), i ended up seeing him with a girl after one of his improv shows, and it was very clearly a Romantic thing, so i felt pretty down and upset. but then like two days later at practice, i overheard him complaining about a date that he went on that weekend, so i was like “oh that could’ve just been a date, it doesn’t mean it’s his gf, but i’m gonna hold off and gather Evidence to make sure he’s single before i actively do anything.” 

so for the next month and a half, i was gathering evidence (i.e. seeing if there were any tagged insta posts or if any girl showed up at the other shows they put on, and the biggest one was seeing if any girl was around him at a party that he threw at his place that i was also attending). and essentially, i didn’t see any evidence of a gf (no one at the improv shows, no one at a formal that he was at, no one at his standup performance, and no one at the party!), so by the end of the semester, i was fairly confident that he was single, but it was also the end of the semester so i couldn’t do anything. like we were very friendly to each other and would always talk before and after class and during some practices (and at the time, i thought he was being a little bit flirty at some points), and i ended up getting his number in a very embarrassing way, but i wouldn’t have considered us Friends at that point, just like on the cusp of being friends.

so i decided that this current semester, i would definitely start being more forward, now that i like knew he was single. so i get back to campus, and before i could even see him in person, i saw that someone tagged him in an insta post, and it was definitely a girlfriend. so i went on her profile and saw that she had been posting pictures of them together since october, so it was the girl i saw him with at that first show but eventually discounted!! so it really fuckin hurt because i just got deeper in my feelings and was very certain he didn’t have a girlfriend (like she was not at the party he threw!!!!)

but instead of being super sad about it for a long time, i decided i was just gonna try and be his friend, because he’s genuinely such a cool person and we always got along really surprisingly well whenever we would talk, so i was just gonna try and be his friend and see him as a friend. now, the tricky part came because last year when a shockingly similar situation happened with a different crush and that one having a gf that i found out about, i was able to get over that guy within a handful of weeks after finding out. but with this current guy, that did not happen even though i was just trying to be a friend to him.

my feelings somehow got even more intense (and not in a sense of like “oh i can’t have him, that’s so hot”, like the fact that i couldn’t be with him made me really sad, but it was more like a “oh i’m getting to know you more and talking to you a little more, these feelings are evolving”). and it really sucked because now every time we talked, it really seemed like he was being a little flirty with me!!!! (which he obviously probably wasn’t, he does kinda have a naturally flirty personality, but it still hurt to have that happen when i knew i couldn’t do anything)

but anyways, my goal this semester was to become better friends with him so that by the time summer break came around, we would be able to text each other and still be in communication for those months where i wouldn’t be able to see him in person. so i was starting to get progress on that goal before spring break (the conversations we would have would be longer and more friendly), and i had a whole plan for after spring break where i would ask him to be an actor in my final movie for my film class and that would get us talking and texting more (and also had this idea that his character would get punched in the face and be bleeding and i would apply fake blood that i have to his face.......)

(also like a big thing is that i felt like i couldn’t text him, because the last time i did text him (which was at the end of fall semester), i asked him a question, and he never responded to it. and i don’t hold that against him, it was a weird question sent at the worst time possible, and the most likely thing is that he saw it, thought he was gonna respond later, then forgot about it, so i really don’t hold it against him, mostly because we’ve had plenty of great conversations after the unintentional ghosting. but it still felt weird to just text him, esp bc we weren’t That Close. so most of our interactions happened in person, one-on-one, which i had no problem with and actually prefer!!)

but then coronavirus happened!!!!!!!!! so none of my plan ended up going through!!!!!! the one time we’ve talked one-on-one since before spring break was me responding to one of his insta stories with a joke and him jokingly responding back!!!!!!!!! (and it might have been just a tad bit flirty, but then again what is flirting????) and then last night, he picked my suggestion during the zoom improv show but that’s almost basically nothing but i’m still gonna latch on to that for months until his birthday when i can text him happy birthday!!!!!

so uh tl;dr: got a crush on this guy, thought he might have a gf for a hot minute, did research for almost two months which concluded that he was most likely single, before i could even start to be more forward with my feelings, found out that he Did have a girlfriend, tried to just think of him as a friend, but my feelings only got more intense, then coronavirus happened and i’m not that close of friends with him where i could text him out of the blue, so what i’ve been reduced to is just pining for many months until i (hopefully) see him again in the fall

((also if you read all of this, i congratulate you, and if you are invested and want to know more, because there is more somehow, feel free to DM me, i am always down to talk about this lmaoo))

[xtswifts]

in all my years on tumblr, this is still one of my favorite gifs of tay in existence, so i shall use it now on my mega ooc appreciation post.

i am still on hiatus — it has been a ROUGH 36 hours my dudes — but i did want to drop in and post some ic/ooc appreciation things while this week is still here because i am all in the business of sharing the love. it’s one of the many reasons i absolutely adore this group. this group has always been about love, for me, and would probably be the singular word i’d use to describe my experience here.

i joined this lovely bunch back in july, i do believe? i had actually just finished up writing and self-publishing my third book which wound up being a behemoth (seriously it was a lot) and while i was absolutely and completely braindead when it came to writing, i still wanted to write. i’m a writer. that’s who i am and that’s who i’ll always be. i wanted something a lot more low-stakes, kind of go-with-the-flow, no real pressure and more collaborative than the isolating fun of novel-writing, so i turned back to roleplay. hollywood rps have always been my absolute favorites in the rpc for whatever reason; i have such fond memories in hollywood groups and it’s a fun and creative way for me to just project the love i have for my faves. after a few experiences in groups during late 2017 and early 2018 i was pretty sure that i was done with roleplay. it just wasn’t the same for me, no matter where i went. priorities had shifted and it was no longer about writing because you loved to write. but, me being ever the optimist, i decided to dive back into the tags and see what was still around or had recently popped up. i found this group and i saw that they had just had a taylor swift removed from the group, and hi hello nice to meet you i am taylor swift trash no. 1!!!, i felt like it was all Meant To Be or something like that (plus, she was taken in every other group and that’s who i really wanted to put a hand at writing). so i put in an app for her, got accepted, and i have been plaguing your dashes ever since :~))

in the four-ish months that i have been here, so much has happened in my life. i started my (outrageously stressful) junior year of college, i lost my grandma, i went to go see queen swift in atlanta and meet my baby princess camila, i have had major friend complications and doubts about my career track and i have had just really boring, empty days where everything was going seemingly okay. this group has been there for me through every high, low, and in between. this group has been my escape to run to when i’m stressed or up late at night and can’t sleep or just really looking to be social or want to write something. this group has been so welcoming, warm, and fun; i have had the opportunity to explore my character any which way that i please and form awesome plots with people, and even more awesome friendships ooc. some of you send really, really kind things my way which, fyi, i’m super grateful for and have probably cried over because this was the first time i not only felt welcomed in a group as taylor, but felt welcomed in a group as me. i am so grateful that i get to call this place my internet home and there is absolutely nowhere else i would rather be spending my free time writing. i stand by what i say: this is the best group in the tags, hands down. you could not ask for a more inclusive, diverse, welcoming, creative playground to spend your time on. to all the lovely admins over on main @hollywoodfamerp​ thank you for doing the heavy lifting and giving us a safe and warm place that we can call home. the work you do never goes unnoticed. you are appreciated and you are so, so loved. ♡  

some ~personal~ shoutouts:

@nhxran​ — peyton, you are without a doubt one of my best friends both in this group and just in general. we had an immediate chemistry as writing partners from that very first starter reply and nothing about that has changed. you are the writing partner i always hoped i would find in a group due to how generous you are in every reply, the way you are willing to headcanon and brainstorm (even at the craziest of hours) and i still remain in awe of you as a roleplayer with the way you juggle such diverse characters, all of which have their prominent voices that never seem to overlap. you are the roleplayer i wish i could be. even though we might sometimes be ships in the night ic, ooc i know that you are always there and you always have my back, and i truly hope you know that the same goes for you. i love you, you intelligent, creative, witty, beautiful, heart-of-gold woman you. i would not have stayed in this group if i had not met you. you are one of my favorite people, period. thank you for being one of my dearest friends.

@cara-x-delevingne​ — mickey, the first person to ever pop into my ims and say hello (and you were FAST about it too, lol), you have been one of my favorite people to write with! the way you breathe a life into your characters is almost unparalleled to any writer, much less any writer in a hwood group. you have such a talent and not only that, you are funny and kind and inclusive and i am so glad that there are people like you (and you) still out there in this world. we need more people like you. thank you for one of the most epic friendships i’ve ever written in a group and always challenging me to step up to the plate and bring my a-game with taylor. you inspire me and i love you. never change.

@armiehmmer​ — graaaaace, the law to my swift! you were actually one of the reasons i joined this rp; before i joined i stalked a few blogs and as i have told you (and you have probably seen via my wildin’ ass on twitter) i love jen, so much. i saw how dedicated you were to your jen and how included she was, which i thought was amazing because like my girl t, some people just aren’t about. i figured if you could put in the effort and grind hard enough with her and get positive results, i could do the same for taylor. and here we both are, killin’ it. you are such a lovely person who has always been nothing but kind, i am still endlessly jealous you were in pasadena for rep tour but we’ll let it slide for now, lol. i love you, thank you for being the epitome of grace in this roleplay. you’re a pure light and the dash is dimmer without you on it.

@jstntimberfake​ — nicki, or should i say, GOD, i don’t know where to begin with you. you are the reason i almost took home a jt standup from 2nd and charles. i love everything that you do on both of your characters. you become them, they stand so far away from the person that you actually are and i think that is the testament of a true, talented writer: they are able to convince you that they’re someone else. and you do, every time. i’m just really, really happy that i get to say that i’m in the same rp group as you because it makes me feel like a Cool Kid on the playground who has light up sneakers. you are so cool and it sometimes lowkey intimidates me, how amazing and talented you are. thank you for always putting a smile on my face. love ya love ya  

@itsscarjo​ — aria, my magnificent love. you are so well spoken and kind and as my clumsy twin, i have no choice but to love you dearly. it’s so nice to just have somebody to talk to sometimes and every time we’ve talked, it’s like being all bundled up in a warm fuzzy blanket. you are so easy to talk to and i cannot wait for the things you and i do on all of our people now that our lives have calmed the heck down and we can come on and write. thank you for being such a spectacular, inviting person. i had several other people sing your praises to me when you joined the group and i can wholeheartedly agree with them. you are one of a kind. big love

@aubreycplaza​ — marissa, i mcfreakin’ adore you. i’ll be honest, i have not had the best experiences with aubreys in the past but that all goes out the window with you. i’m obsessed with you and all of your people, and to know you and get to write with you is an absolute pleasure. thank you for being so much fun to write with, thank you for giving me so much quality stuff to stalk while i’m on the dash and feeling like trash, thank you for being so understanding of me constantly feeling like trash, i adore you. can’t wait for tay and aubrey to finally go on their fuckin girls trip and become little jetsetters together (forevaaaa)

@jamesrodriqez​ — hello stranger idk you but i think you’re pretty cool! and i think that you have been one of the most entertaining, fun people to write with in these last couple of weeks when i feel like i’m barely able to write two sentences that haven’t been written onto a powerpoint that i’m copying off of. you just give me so much excitement about writing and plotting and that excitement is something that can be difficult to find again after you’ve gotten comfortable in a group. thank you for keeping things refreshing and new for me and taylor. i’m excited to get back to all of our fun shenanigans (and to love on your new people bc yes amen) #jandrea forever

@jarpadking​ — nikki! first of all, i’m in awe at how fast you can come up with replies on TWO characters that are so well-crafted and authentic to that person’s voice. i struggle just writing a single coherent reply on taylor half the time, lmao. you are one of the hearts in this group, the way you make it an effort to branch out and talk to every single person and create connections with both the mun and the character. you’re one of the unsung heroes and if we could all be a little more you like you, we’d be the best roleplayers around. love you so much, my dear, and of course, thank you for being so warm and inclusive. people like you are rare

@itskeeoone​ — i have spent all day binging pll because that is how i choose to veg out and every time i see keegan on screen now, i think of you, em. you just write him so wonderfully and truthfully and i don’t ever want to let you go (please don’t ever leave this group or i’ll cry). taylor and keegan have given me all the life, they are very similar people and i’m happy that my 15 year old self’s dreams are coming true by their worlds colliding here in the group. i’m so excited to write even more with you now that the holidays are coming and i’ll actually, y’know, BE AROUND, but yes. love you.

@goddamnjade​ — lucy, you know anybody that is as big into the dance scene as i am HAS to get a spot on this appreciation post ;) but also, you have just been one of the loveliest people ever? i think you’re one of the hearts in this group, the reason that it is why it is and the reason that it’s so warm and welcoming. you are so inclusive and fun to write with and i really hope that i get to talk with you more ooc because i adore youuuu!

@yosebstan​ — rileyyyy, gotta admit, sometimes you intimidate me but it is only because you are an absolute fuckin’ legend in this group, and not just because of your admin status. your characters have something that a lot of people try hard to encompass but can’t ever capture, and that’s longevity. your characters never feel stale, they always feel new and fresh and like real people, not just tropes or over-concentrated personality traits and i get so excited every time i see one of your people on the dash. i’m lucky to be in a group with you, so so lucky. i sometimes hope your natural inclination for rp will rub off on me and make me a better writer. love you, and i really hope we get to do some fun stuff in the future!!

@jpgsasha​ — cami, you and i clicked so fast when we started replying to each other’s stuff back when you still had camila and i cannot WAIT to write with you as my honey sasha (seriously, a fuckin’ plus switch). we had some of the LONGEST replies on the dash at one point but when you’re inspired, you’re inspired! thank you for inspiring me and being one of the most down to earth people in this group. you deserve all the fuckin’ love. please love me so i can give it to you.

@avycias​​ — katieeee!! it legit surprised me to find out how close we are to one another #hurricane watch friends, lol. you are so sweet and your alycia is absolutely legendary, i was biting at the bit to write with you from the minute i joined this group. i hope we get to do all of the things with taylor and alycia because writing with you makes me so happy. you are wildly talented and the way alycia comes to life every time you type something is magical. you write her with a conviction and you make her your own and i think that’s why i adore her so much. thank you for being you. love you much babes

@milesdominic​ — marie! miles and taylor had one of the cutest friendships ever and it needs to make a comeback asap, because 1) that, and 2) writing with you comes so naturally (*plays naturally by selena gomez and the scene*). i barely have to think about what i want to reply to you with because there’s a chemistry there that is hard to replicate; thank you for keeping me on my toes and my brain alert and being such a fun person to write with. you give me the chance to explore sides of taylor’s voice that other people look over and that i love, and that’s all anybody could ask in a writing partner, someone who allows them to run wild!

@blccmtroye​  — fiona, i fuckin’ love your troye. he is too much fun to interact with, and i am thankful that you gave this group a shot (and that you gave me a shot). i couldn’t imagine this place without the wit and the charm that you supply with every single post you make.

@flynnpls​ — marie, i’m just in love with all of your people and you. you’re one of the people i feel like i admire from afar because i stay in awe of the way you write and how effortless it seems to come to you. you balance all of these different personalities with finesse and i really do feel like i’m talking to or reading the words of the actual celebrity in every single reply. i am crossing my fingers that i get the opportunity to write some really incredible things with you here in the future because i have such mad respect for you.

+ to everyone else that i either forgot to mention, have not really formed connections with outside of replies or haven’t had the chance to talk to you/your babies due to my super fun hiatus: i stalk so many of you on the dash and keep up with your plots and where you take your characters and it really and truly is such a privilege to be in the same group as you. they say that birds of a feather flock together and if that’s the case, i am simply a reflection of all the things y’all are. kind, funny, clever, creative, welcoming, intelligent, and a part of something, and i could not ask for more. i love all of you, whether we’ve talked or not (believe me i probably stalk you and just love you from afar) and any time you ever need a friend, call me beep meeeeee. i’m always game to do things with taylor and explore her more through whatever plots or connections we could create, and i promise that if i don’t respond to an im, it’s because i’m off on hiatus or it got eaten. i want to do ALL the things with ALL of you. come hit me up! let me love you! k thanks!!!

obligatory thank you note to my queen taylor alison for existing. love u bitch.

xx, caroline

[britishchick09]

danger force double livewatch sequel!

danger force is finally back! i haven’t been able to find the recent eps online, but today i discovered ‘captain man strikes out’ and ‘s.w.a.g is haunted’! so let’s finally get back to swellview! :D

first up is ‘captain man strikes out’!

of course it starts with the tp! oh how we haven’t missed thee!

woah chapa is athletic! :o

all the kids are!

ray: “my hands are cracking!” lol :D

miles: “that’s not a fire extinguisher, that’s ART!” lol :D

the ‘art’ has a fancy typeface!

pittsburgh exists in this world! :o

artist: “PITTSBURGH IS A WORLD CLASS CITY!!!! paris, vienna, pittsburgh!” lol :D

omg chapa electrocuted him! :o

ray’s groovin’ and the other kids are like ‘COME ON BRO!!”

OMG RAY BROKE THE ART???’

wait the song he’s dancing to is the danger force theme!

lol the guy on the zoom call agrees :D

also zoom exists too!

AND RAY BROKE THE ART

miles: “expand your mind, man!” ray: “*laughs* no!”

ray is banned from ‘mom con’ good!

the kids list funny things that ray could do and he’s like ‘i was thinking of just apologizing but your ideas are better!’ BOI

ray: “captain man’s going on strike!” zoom guy: ‘...i know i heard that.” lol! :D

hold up DID MILES JUST HAVE A VOICE CRACK???

AND ANOTHER ONE! *insert meme here*

chapa: “for the last time, you don’t have teleportation powers.” mika: “you have telekinesis!” bose: “that sounds serious! tell my family i love them!” lol :D

OMG RAY MADE A COMMERCIAL ABOUT CRIMES TO COMMIT

ray: “crawl back to daddy!” mika and miles: “ew” ray: “i’m daddy!” mika and miles: “EW!!!” SAME GROSS RAY!!!!

RAY’S ENCOURAGING PEOPLE TO KIDNAP DANGER FORCE AND PUT THEM IN LAVA???

and the kiddos aren’t happy!

HE SPENT 5 MILLION DOLLARS ON THAT AD???

6 MILLION??????

omg someone stole a nacho fountain from the close nacho ball!

there’s a new superhero! :o

it’s monsieur man!

HE’S IN THE INTRO!!

the logo changed!

the whole intro is a french version! :o

ray: “he stole my theme song!” and made it so much better! :D

the man cave has a french flag lol :D

ray called monsieur man ‘dame judy french’ lol :D

miles: “are your insults on strike, too?” OHHHH!!!! :D

ray could’ve lived in paris! :o

monsieur man and schwoz french laughing at each other is so funny! :D

the alarm changed to french too!

ray: “don’t touch my weapons!” *shows everyone his weapons*

OMG RAY JUST LICKED HIS WEAPONS

monsieur man does the bubblegum thing with mika and miles yet he doesn’t change lol :D

ray: “i got this medal for putting out a fire that i accidentally started!” lol :D

miles: “like a BYOSS!!!” lol :D

omg monsieur man saved ray’s ex! :o

mika: “looks like there’s an emergency at dinneyland!” monsuier man: “you mean disneyland?” kids: “no no no nooo!!!!” mika: “we definitely can’t say that!” miles: “we definitely mean disneyland!” lol! :D

they get to save the day by skipping the line! :D

schwoz is good at the accordion! :D

the news lady calls monsieur man ‘mau-swer MAN’ :D

this ep takes place in 2021!

news lady: ‘we don’t know when captain man’s strike will end... but who cares?” lol :D

omg the kids are at a lava lamp factory! :o

schwoz; “this is dangerous for realisies!” lol :D

monsieur threw a baguette at a lever AND DIDN’T HELP! :o

aww miles is crying! :(

youtube in this world is vootube in this world

groovy lady: “so i thought why not melt danger force?” miles: “BECAUSE IT’S A CRIME????” groovy lady: “says you, nancy drew!” lol! :D

mika: “captain man’s on strike, so it’s not like he’s gonna waltz in here and say ‘ding dong dummies, here to save you!” ray: *does just that* perfect timing!

ray: “i know what’s going on here!” miles: “he only says that when he has no idea on what’s going on!” lol :D

groovy lady: “you’re just in time to watch me fondue you in!” ray: *claps* “woooow” lol :D

the audience is cheering at ray saving the day! :D

aww ray is happy! :D

OMG PULL THE LEVER RAY GEEEEZ!!!!!

HE’S ON THE NEWS AND NOT SAVING THE KIDS????

BOI!!!

good end the strike AND SAVE THE KIDS YOU LOVE RAY!!!!

ray: “i accept you apology!” news guy: “none given.” lol :D

ray: “this lava isn’t even real, it’s fondue!” *TOUCHES THE LAVA* “AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH i’m ok!” BOI???

omg i just realized that the font for the lever thing is the schlotzky’s font... and my channel font! :D

onto ‘s.w.a.g is haunted’!

this one is mirrored and higher pitched! :D

and it starts off with a 20s song!

schwoz is such a great dancer! :D

mika: “we definitely shouldn’t have named our bowling team the winners!” lol :D

they tried ice dancing and flopped at that too! (literally!)

miles: “let’s call ourselves ‘the goats’!” bose: “because we’re cute and will eat anything!” mika: “oh honey...” lol :D

chapa’s struggling with skating!

ooh a 20s movie! :D

miles thinks schwoz is acting ‘double weird’! :o

schwoz is dating an old-timey lady! ...or is he? ;)

mika: “you said ‘old’ and that’s gross!” lol :D

the kids think she’s a mom and it all makes sense lol!

OMG RAY JUST BROKE A BOTTLE :o

bose: “we weren’t supposed to tell you that schwoz has a girlfriend!” BOSE!!!

schwoz was born in october and is a libra!

ray does a little kick before saying ‘down the tube!’ lol :D

omg they’re arguing! :o

woah schwoz’s gf is a ghost! :o

miles is just like ‘nope!’ and teleports away lol :D

the nornal intro is here!

the ghost is fan dancing! :o

chapa: “hey, you’re dead... do you know prince?” fingerprints ;)

ghost: “i’ll have to tell everyone that you color your hair!��� ray: “YOU SHUT YOUR DEAD MOUTH LADY!!!!” omg! :o

ray: “i’ll slap you into a flashback!” lol! :D

schwoz needs to find a school for cheap... and not haunted! :o

the haunted schools are cheap lol :D

hilda the ghost has a lot of things on her bucket list!

miles: “is that ghost back?” hilda: “i’ll answer you with a riddle. what has three legs-” miles: “nnnnope!!!’ lol :D

miles’ dad bought a house that’s certified not haunted!

omg he has a giant carro! :o

and miles needs to crank it for 10 HOURS??? :o

green screen much? ;)

hilda: “i feel as free as a mockingbird’s mother!” chapa: “...same.” lol :D

hilda: “in my day, women weren’t allowed to ride on bicycles!” oh really? ;)

hilda: “in my day, woman weren’t allowed to do math. they said it was a path straight to the underworld!” mika: “it’s not... right?” oh it is mika IT IS :(

bose loves her standup comedy! :D

she wanted to chop down an illegal tree! :o

OMG SHE HAD MORE LISTS??? :o

she has to visit the ‘little ghost’s room’ lol :D

wait ray’s turning a ghost? :o

omg! :o

why didn’t his air on october 31st instead of june 27th?

ray: “you ready to watch a good old fashioned ghost fight?” chapa: “ghost fiiight!!!” lol :D

OMG MILES’ SCREAM WHEN HE SEES THE GHOSTS :D

chapa: “ha! awesome :)” ha! cute :)

ray: “get ready to meet the swoleson twins! mary kate and smashley!” OHHH!!! :D

hilda keeps beating him up!

WAIT HER NAME IS TILDA??? :o

mika: “you’re adding new things to do with us!” tilda: “no i’m not!” *actually is* lol :D

tilda: “i keep adding things because the thing i really want to do is impossible!” bose: “lick your own elbow! same for me, too!” lol :D

aww she called him dandy dimples!

OMG SHE WANTS TO EAT THE GIANT CARROT!!!! :o

bose: “...that sounds like something i’d say.” lol :D

tilda: “this ghost has no tummy!” bose: “same with me and nacho ball” lol :D

...someone needs to drink tilda?

OMG THE KIDS SNUCK THE GHOST INTO MILES!!! :o

omg no DON’T DRINK IT MILES’ DAD!!!

good mika took it away! :D

chapa: “just shut up and drink.” lol :D

miles is talking like the ghost! :D

OMG HE BURPED OUT THE GHOST!

miles’ dad also went ‘nnnope!’ :D

so that was danger force! they were funny as usual and i loved them both! i hope i’ll be able to find the 4 missing eps someday. this show gets better and better with each adventure! :D

[opepin]

february: week 3

13: it was a pretty busy work from home day. we made egg mcmuffins for breakfast, went to work for a bit, and then kevin cooked the bulgogi and i made the rice cake soup when he had to get on a call. i worked until past 5 pm and then i rushed to get ready for the museum of science chocolate night. kevin and i argued a bit on our way out and our way there. :/ it was because expectations and assumptions weren’t made clear, but even if we’re mad, holding hands makes everything better, ahah. we walked to the museum -- bad idea because of the wind T_T we made it in one piece though! there was so much chocolate. there were chocolate fondue fountains, little bites, cheese and cracker and veggie plates, and there were a lot of activities too. kevin and i didn’t get anything from the bar haha. we participated in a scavenger hunt which led us to exploring the museum more and we participated in a create-a-claw competition. our machine got the most hearts and we got added to the board. our claw machine was called the “winnie the pooh” claw :3 lol kevin irked me at some points because he was too into making it and he also left me at a chocolate wall picture area for food so when it was my turn, i was alone :( we did take a picture there though.

my favorite exhibit is the playground one. i loved running and swinging and etc. i got super dizzy from the spinning machine though. we got some goodie bags from the innovator’s table after handing in our scavenger hunt and then we ate our last chocolate covered strawberries before heading out. i got a penny/coin thing for boston now! we decided to walk off our sugar and took the red line back home. kevin got me a valentine’s day gift and couldn’t wait until tomorrow to give it to me. apparently, it was left in the package center for a few days because he couldn’t sneak it up due to our wfh days ahaha. my bear got me cozy bear socks! <3333 i mentioned it maybe a few weeks ago and i guessed he just got it for me so my feet wouldn’t be so cold all the time <33333 i have the best boyfriend (: i also picked up my victoria’s secret package and idk how to feel about their seamless underwear. anyway, i worked when i got back and kevin did the dishes and gamed. i skipped my workout today because i had to get work stuff done. we also did a good amount of walking so i didn’t feel as bad. then i showered and slept at like 1 or 2 am after talking to kevin for a bit before falling asleep. :P

14: waking up wasn’t terrible! i rushed a bit to make myself an egg mcmuffin but i made it to my regular train on time. the office was pretty full today, which made me happy. yay, i’m back in the office! i also got my business cards ;D i went straight to work because the deadline was at 1 pm. i got everything done but there is still something in the journey map that is bothering me. i’ll definitely fix it for the future or find a better solution. i ate lunch at the desk and then went downstairs to get foumami for dinner. the rest of the day were calls on calls. laurie came into the office today and organized a welcome lunch for all of the new hires in boston. apparently, we make up almost half of the office -- that’s crazy. i guess everyone else works in new york. i met up with kevin at the train station and then we ordered dinner at the fat cat. i got a side of fries to go with my salad that i devoured when we got back home. i got a bibimbap salad and they just drenched it in gochujang and i don’t think i’m going to finish it. x__x;

we drove to pick up food from fat cat and thanks to my terrible navigating skills, we had to drive around to get to oh my tea. they ran out of green tea (LOL gg) so we ended up getting just a rose tea with boba. it was alright. we quickly ate (the fries are so bomb) and then headed to cafe artscience for our three course dessert. it was a pretty bad ride because i am a terrible navigator and then i froze up because we kept missing our turns and stuff. we did get there a bit late but more or less on time. sigh. i almost had a panic attack -- i was so shaky from freaking out about boston’s windy ass roads. we sat at the bar, ordered a drink we didn’t finish, and finished a dessert alcohol a bartender gave us for funsies. kevin and i talked about some sad things, actually LOL. we drove home and then watched an episode of supernatural. i fell asleep and then woke up, showered, and got ready for bed. i was so tired.

15: the office was full today because we were getting a free lunch today LOL. it was a frustrating morning thanks to the project i’ve been struggling on and trying to fix. i kind of got it, but it’s just finicky. i worked on that until lunch and then we all went to bostonia public house. i met andrew and cole and i talked with him along with charles and kien. oh, i finally got to see cole again. when i walked into the office, he scared me awake LOL. i had to leave for a 1 pm call so i didn’t get to eat in the restaurant :( john left early too and asked me if i was going and then i told him i didn’t get my food yet and he just laughed at me LOLOLOL. he had gotten his food already and ate it. x_x i walked back with josh, a new developer. i got back a bit late and i had to take a bathroom break in the middle if the meeting, but it was ok. i caught up with phil and then i switched tasks for the day. i finished up right at 5 pm, talked with laurie and cole, and walked to south station with cole. then i got on the train and just bummed when i got home. i got my rotofugi package today: cute dino pin for my book bag, a mitten shaped tea infuser, and one of mary’s jade evolved rock figures! i also switched my side cabinet with charles’ because he wasn’t using his for any protective storage and i wanted to leave my laptop. so i took the key and locked up my pc laptop in the office. yay, now i can store things in the office without being suspicious or worrying.

oh, i got sprayed with water because boston drivers are assholes. i got hit 3 times basically and the water soaked my leggings and boots. -__-” kevin came back from climbing, we watched supernatural and then i did a bit of exercise because i haven’t been doing that these past two days D: sigh. i’m on such a sugar high/craving right now... well, i combated that with kickboxing today! it was much fun~ then i washed my hair and while it dried, i got two groupons for me and kevin to go to new england’s dessert showcase and for a sunset boat tour on the st. charles river~ i still have hillary’s gift card and i wonder if i should spend it on a maybe (need to call and ask) glassblowing class and/or pottery decorating class~ then i blow-dried my hair, brushed my teeth, and hopped into bed at the usual time -- around 1 am. haha.

16: when i was about to leave, i got a call from a client and helped her out with ux360. this was my first support call and it was so out of the blue. i think i did a pretty good job, and i loved helping her. i know that this job will test my communication skills and help me become better at giving instructions. i feel like i don’t explain myself well sometimes because i just assume others (especially ones that are close to me) know what i’m talking about and why i am talking about it. i often go on tangents when i speak to people so, i need to work on that. anyway, i helped her and then went on over to the office. i was supposed to go to kane’s donuts with cole in the morning but since i was late, we pushed it back until after his standup meeting. it wasn’t busy when we walked in and i bought 6 donuts for the office: chocolate orgasm, red velvet, boston cream, honey dipped, cinnamon, and creme brulee. mmm. obviously, cole got the boston cream for himself. haha. everything was pretty much gone at the end of the day; i took home like 1/3 of the creme brulee doughnut for kevin. i don’t think anyone except me touched the creme brulee...LOL.

work was nice and busy. i went to get lunch with cole at sabroso taqueria and got their salad with chicken. omg it is such a good and filling salad. it’s just romaine lettuce, pico de gallo, and black beans. mmmmm. i worked until 4:40 pm or so and then headed back home a bit early. i forgot to check in with phil so when i got home, i skyped him and caught up for tomorrow morning. i’m planning on maybe taking wfh days once a week, but i’m not sure yet. i got my pouch from india hicks today. i’m still feeling akjfnsjkdf about the price but i don’t want to return it because i would have to pay another $6.95 for return shipping -_- so i’m kinda forced to keep it. the good thing is that it fits all of my cables and adapters! i chilled for a bit and then started cooking dinner. i made our usual coconut kale fried rice. then kevin came back just as i finished washing the dishes and we ate dinner. i had to finish up some leftovers of the rice cake soup and then i ate some of the fried rice. we are officially caught up with supernatural :O idk what we’re gonna watch now...maybe we’ll catch up with criminal minds? kdjnfskjfs.

kevin went to shower and then i bummed around a bit to digest my food. then i did some ab workouts. for some reason, my abs have been constantly hurting? maybe i’m working them out via cardio without me noticing... i did 25 min of pure ab toning, 7 minute of hip hop cardio (wanted to dance to this one new video), and 45 minutes of kickboxing. kickboxing is so much fun and i’m sore all over right now. x__x; i showered right after and then went to sleep. i was so tired. zzzz.

17: i felt so sore and tired waking up today. i still went to work because i love my team, haha. it was a pretty slow friday though. it did pick up near the end of work with a good amount of meetings. i ate lunch at my desk and after the meetings, i felt a bit lightheaded and i was super shaky. it might have been the intense thoughts i was having about adulting at that moment that caused it. it could have also been the black tea and the amount of sugar and salty snacks i’ve had this week. i didn’t snack anytime during the day so my body kind of shut down. i asked the front where the vending machine was and i had to take the shady af freight elevator down to the basement and walk to a corner to get to it. i got something salty and sweet: jalapeno cheddar puffs and nature valley honey oat bars. i ate it while going up the elevator. kevin was worried about me haha. i felt a bit better after eating. there wasn’t much to do afterward so dave told me to go home early LOL. i still waited for phil and kevin to get back to me though. i had a chance to talk to phil for about 10 minutes before hopping off and meeting kevin at the train station. i was still there before him even though he left earlier and i gave him time? so confused.

we got home and started bumming. i love fridays because i get to spend some downtime with kevin (((: we talked about how i was feeling about people working just to work vs people working because that is their life. i’m someone who makes work their life passion because we spend so much time working, i feel like it’s a waste to not do something you love with that time, you know? i don’t think it’s a good thing either -- i stress out a lot and etc, but idk i like being busy for a purpose and feeling like i am adding to something to society. i do understand why some people just work to work and have a life outside of it though. it’s just not my style. anyway, we talked about that and then we talked about maybe heading to new york for the first weekend in march. we also talked about a vacation in the summer...maybe a cruise? maybe paris?! kevin and i want to do an international trip together but i don’t have enough pto time accrued to do that this year T___T we’re both down for an off-season trip though. we’d both love to go to iceland. anyway, i sprung this on kevin too fast so he has the weekend to think about it (mostly just the ny trip though).

i somehow ko’d and fell asleep for an hour...i woke up when kevin just started cooking. i woke up hungry so i ate some leftovers and snacked a bit. then i helped prep some food, make the sauce, etc. i ate a bit more with kevin while watching a dota 2 stream. then i took it easy and did 45 minutes of hip hop cardio. i wasn’t feeling it. i went to shower and went to sleep pretty early. i just sleep during the weekends to recharge lol.

18: mmm... i woke up at 7:30 am then went back to sleep and woke up at 10 am and then went back to sleep and finally got out of bed at like 12 or 1 pm LOL. my life is truly bummy on the weekends. kevin was supposed to climb in the morning, but obviously that didn’t happen. so we ate brunch, went to kam man to get rice (omg it was so packed because it was nice outside and we went there at like 2 pm), got tickets to see ‘split’ at the movies, and then drove across the street to the mall so i could return my hdmi adapter and exchange/find seamless underwear. the return happened super quickly. i caught one of the workers at the door and he helped me out. then we stopped by a new thinkgeek store! yassss. they had some cute stuff in there. then we went to aerie to see if their seamless underwear was actually seamless. mmm, i asked one of the store associates and she didn’t convince me so we left and headed back to victoria secret. kevin went to target to look for bigger containers so we could access our rice easier while i looked for the seamless underwear i wanted. 

it was packed in there and i could not find the ones i was looking for until i found someone and asked and she took me straight to the small table in the corner LOL. i got a better deal here than online so i picked neutral colors, got in line, kevin found me and i apologized for taking so long, and then i got my seamless underwear (FINALLY). i could have gotten another pair if i were a cardholder/printed out a coupon from pink but i didn’t know until later T__T it’s kinda still bugging me but eh it’s done. we went into target together and ended up buying cute colored stoneware containers, a cake stand (for our fruit LOL), and containers for rice. omg. hahaha. this is why we never go out of our way to go to target. then we drove back, kevin went climbing, i washed the dishes and all of the new stuff, put rice in the new containers, turned on the most recent episode of jane the virgin, moved our hard af brown sugar into one of the stoneware containers with a knife and a measuring cup, and then microwaved leftovers for dinner before heading out to the movie. haha. 

kevin took a bit longer than expected so we were rushed to get out of the apartment. we packed some chips and pretzels in snack bags to eat at the movie. we got there about 5 minutes before the movie started. the movie was pretty interesting and creepy if you keep thinking about it, but it was hard to get in the mood because there were these teenagers (i sound so old) in the front who kept giggling, making childish comments, and were on their phones the entire time -__-” me and kevin were like wtf. we found out that the movie is rated pg-13 so yeah... we’ll only go to rated-r movies now LOL. we got back, cuddled, and then kevin annoyed me LOL and then went to game. i finished watching ‘reign’ and then forced myself to do some exercise even though i felt tired and bloated. i really need to stop snacking T__T it’s making me feel terrible. then i showered and ko’d at like 1 am or even before that.

19: mmm got up late again. i’ve been feeling very tired lately. it’s probably the mix of my diet and new exercise routines. x__x i started laundry right away, ate breakfast with kevin while watching a pokemon showdown stream. then i cleaned the kitchen and bathroom while listening to music. then i curled my hair and tried looking for something to watch on netflix but they took down all of the cooking shows T____T i watched youtube videos instead. then i folded laundry and kevin and i went grocery shopping! lol we went pretty late because he wanted to game a bit longer. we stopped by oh my tea first and i got the aloe honey green tea bubble tea (hot) and i got kevin a pineapple green tea with bubbles and lychee jelly. they were both really yummy. then we drove to kam man and it was practically empty. we stopped by bj’s before it was about to close for the day and then we made it home at like 7 pm? lol kevin was hungry and wanted to buy so many other things that we didn’t need.

we microwaved leftovers and watched the latest episode of supernatural on the cwtv app and then started watching ‘izombie’ while cuddling and just relaxing. i think we have a new series to watch for now. it’s not the best but it’s entertaining. we then prepped the veggies for tomorrow’s ratatouille pasta and then i just prepared for working from home tomorrow. i wasn’t feeling well still... then i showered and found out that it’s that time of month but it’s been hurting a lot more than usual. ugh. so i just went to sleep and tried to make the pain go away :(

[thisnerdsadventures]

summer updates

wow i literally just abandoned this blog for two months didn’t i LOL

yes, so, my life got a little crazy and things have been going all right, but just wrenches thrown in the gears here and there, but here’s a rundown of everything that has happened:

So I graduated (per my last post). And I was supposed to be going around the world, travelling and having fun and visiting people, but instead I was at home binge watching Netflix and wishing my internship had started a couple weeks early. If I definitely didn’t get my free weeks of travel in the beginning of summer, maybe by the end I would get them.

For my summer internship this year, googz shipped us all of our work from home stuff, including a keyboard, monitor, mouse, and our computer. This summer I had a great dual monitor setup with the monitor I already owned, which made it feel like I was at the office. However, in fact, I was not at the office, since all our internships went remote this summer, so while I was surrounded by three screens and a keyboard and mouse, I was not surrounded by coworkers, which made the internship experience feel super different.

Week 1 already felt different - some of us didn’t have our credentials, so day 1 and day 2 were pretty slow compared to the rush of getting to know people and getting to know the team in-person. My team though is pretty chill - we have standup every morning bright and early at 8am PST/11am EST (rip me) followed by the daily NYTimes crossword. I was prepped and ready for this, having done the crossword in the back of my systems class every Monday and Wednesday for a whole semester with my best friend. Turns out they’re pretty good too, we did a Friday crossword in like 11 minutes the other day.

Project has been going kind of smoothly? which is surprising if you were around to witness the chaos that was my last summer intern project, which underwent like fifty thousand dead ends and turnaround and permissions errors. Aside from like a couple of permissions errors which got resolved within days, my project has been working? Nothing has exploded?? I haven’t broken prod??? This feels fake. Every time something works I tell my boss: I am shocked. I am shook. But yeah, I essentially did most of my project in like 6/12 weeks, which my manager was also surprised to see (in a good way). I feel like the theme of this summer was getting a really solid design down before going forth and implementing the thing, which I think would’ve prevented a lot of the pitfalls from last summer. Because I had already thought in advance of a lot of the weird things I might run into or identified examples where what I wanted to do had clearly worked, it was a lot easier to implement, and I was a lot more confident that it would work. My manager and team have also been really great at keeping in touch and checking in constantly, so although it’s still obvious that there’s some team aspect missing, it definitely isn’t as bad as it could’ve been. 

Outside of my project though, I can definitely feel a lot of other things lacking. For example, last summer I was really involved with ERG stuff because my team essentially led like two of the ERG’s at the office, but I’m not sure if that’s just not the case at my current team, or maybe they just haven’t been present for the interns because of COVID. Last summer too, my team did a lot of bonding stuff, like we went out to dinner, played games, got lunch, went out for drinks, etc, but obviously nothing like that happened this summer. There also aren’t any other interns on my team, which is a little sad because it was always great to commiserate with someone else (still friends with both of my co-commiserators from previous two summers). I also feel this general feeling of like “I don’t want to put in the effort to make friends because I already have them from last two summers” and also “I am so old I can’t relate to these post 2000′s kids”, but that could also be my work life blending into my life life because of COVID.

Since work isn’t as big of a part as my life as it was in the past, I’ve been doing some other stuff too this summer. Actually a lot has happened, both good and bad. 

In July, MIT announced that only seniors would be back on campus, but only the seniors who lived on-campus could actually access campus. Thus my housing plan with my friend group full of seniors went kaboom.

I was really stressed about housing for a couple weeks after that. I asked myself whether I wanted to even go back, and I ended up choosing to go back so I would a) have at least some socially distanced contact with friends since loneliness has really taken its toll on me and b) get my own place so I can work productively and learn to live independently. I was really convinced that I had to lock it down ASAP otherwise there would be no places left. So I actually signed a lease pretty soon after that, and hopefully MIT will still let their seniors back (please otherwise I will cry so much and probably try to get out of my lease).

My personal life generally has been tumultuous. I think especially with COVID it’s been hard to keep up with acquaintances, and generally relationships are strained across timezones and the Internet. So there’s been a good amount of personal stuff going on in the sidelines, and because work and life aren’t really well separated right now, it’s been leaking my productivity at work, which hasn’t been great.

I thought about applying to grad school. Then it came time to pay for the GRE. Then I realized I didn’t, at all, not even in the slightest, wanted to do grad school.

June and July also had two of my friends’ 21st birthdays, so we did a lot of planning for zoom parties and birthday gifts. For one of them, we made a Google photobook with poems and drawings that 30 of her friends submitted (a lot of effort) and for the other, we put together a mixtape of songs that everyone associated with her. This summer has been hella boring to say the least, but it was nice to be able to pour some time and energy into something that would make friends happy.

We’ve also been playing a lot of Covidopoly. I don’t know why but my friend group has gotten really hooked on this. We really will play for like three hours straight. It’s bad.

I tried to write some more music. It’s been going on and off.

I did Chloe Ting workouts pretty regularly for a couple months, which was actually something I’m proud I stuck with. This week I really fell off the wagon due to some personal issues, but I’m hoping to get back on it this weekend.

Not sure where this falls under, but I go on a lot of walks with my mom, but I ended up getting stung in the face by a wasp and some mosquito bites got so bad I had to go to urgent care. I need to go away from California

Overall everyone has a lot of drama. I have a lot of drama. It is not fun and I wish we were back on campus

I have made shakshuka like seven times during quarantine and it is so so good.

I started journaling in an attempt to empty my thoughts out somewhere more productive and to force myself to slow down when I start thinking a lot. It has been working generally, and I guess it’s just a nice place to reflect on things that have left a deeper than not impact on my day.

[hellotvv]

What a WILD weekend home

Man this weekend has been incredibly eventful...

I’m trying to recall my past weekend, but I wonder if it’s possible to even remember everything.

I believe that I could have went home on a Thursday night, but I decided to go home Friday. There was some plane crash on the 405 freeway, so traffic home was incredibly long. I had to go back home, since I had lunch plans with Catherine and Jenn. I did eventually make it back and pick them up outside a 7 Leaves, since they were together already. I did lag tho, so we finally ate lunch at like 3:30 PM or something ridiculous lol. Afterwards, hmhm I forgot what we were gonna do. I think we went to ultra beauty that’s right. It was at bella terra, I’ve never been before. I was feeling REALLY sick for whatever reason. I felt like throwing up. Idk if it was from being in traffic for like 3+ hours in the heat, getting me car sick/heat sick or idk, and being really full from lunch. But while they browsed ultra beauty, I went outside for a walk since fresh air and chilled. Then I had to drop Jenn back home, but nobody was home. So we went to my place and chilled for a bit, since I was feeling sick. I kinda wanted to just rest at home by myself, since I was feeling bad. I just wanted to take a nap but rip. But after a nice break lying down at home and chatting to the girls, I felt good. They wanted to go to Irvine Spectrum, to take some pics for fun. We did, but it was too dark (like 8:30 PM-ish), so we didn’t really get any nice pics lol. But we stopped by honey and butter, and Jenn really liked the macarons. Then we went to this drinks place, and I bought us this huge cotton candy alcoholic drink. We shared it, and it was kinda fun. I didn’t get tipsy or anything, but prob slightly buzzed. I think Cat was buzzed, but she wouldn’t admit it. Jenn was definitely buzzed lol.

Then the next day, I woke up early to pick up Cat, and then we headed to Anime Expo! I’ve been to anime expo every year, since middle school lol pretty crazy. I think I told the anime expo story in the previous post. Along with some indepth details of convos with Jenn/Cat at lunch yesterday. But yeah, cut the anime expo line lol and saved 3+ hours. I remind Cat to ditch the kcon line in the future like how I just taught her now with anime expo. Anime Expo was overall not bad. Bought corgi plushie, and chilled. Then on Sunday, I met up with Erika. Dang she was fiesty with the text messages. I was slow to reply, since I was out to dinner with Jenn/Cat at jazzcat on Saturday night. Jenn, Cat, and I made plans to get boiling point next time lolol. Jenn later texted us that she had so much fun and loved us! I feel special :D and glad to become better friends with my models ;-;!! Idk photography is lit. Anyways, I was slow to reply to Erika, and she was super passive aggressive like, “oh okay I guess we’re not getting lunch tmrw” and even dmed me that I never replied on ig! I was like omgg O_O!! 

But yeah, I replied to her saying sorry that I was kinda busy, and am free to reply! We made plans to hang at like 12:30ish, maybe grab lunch, and then head to sky space la or something. I had plans with helene at like 8ish for dinner. We had to postpone to like 3:30ish, since Erika was in the emergency room for throwing up several times and etc. She was diagnosed with a throat infection and got antibiotics in the morning. So we didn’t get lunch, but I met up with her at her apartment in LA. Since she was in LA for the summer, since she got a job at some news company. Then we headed to this coffee place, took some pictures, and caught up! Asked her about spain, washington, school, her new bf, how she had a class with Stefanie, what she’s up to in her spare time nowadays, and etc. Then she caught up with me, and I felt like I had a lot to catch up with her on. From anime expo, new hobbies, photography, instagram, my new model friends, summer, about SB friends, how Rebecca is a rave fiend now, how Kai is doing, Jessica/Kristy, school, Stefanie and me, how I’ve been to 626 night market/oc night market/ktown night market, chinese novels that I read, tv shows, and so much more. She made me take photos of her, and she took some of me for fun. She liked the photos a lot! Then we headed to Skyspace LA, pretty cool view, kinda pricey, and stayed there for a couple hours taking photos + talking. I introduced her to so many new things lmao and she was so grateful. I showed her/got her into stocks and made her download Robinhood. I got Kristy and Jessica into stocks~ Then, hmhm I told her stories about models, and yeah. Erika wanted to play smash with me, since apparently she wanted to destroy her bf at smash. I told her my smash setup is back in sb lol, and she was like let’s go. I was like O_O... Okay... So she decided to spontaneously go to sb with me lol. I had to cancel plans with Helene, since we were just gonna go to sb lol. But yeah, after taking photos at skyspace, we got ramen in little tokyo, and the ramen place was pretty good. She threw up :( since sick :( she might have coughed up blood too ;-;... Idk if she was good to go to sb, but uhh yeah we went back to her place in apartment, she packed, and then we headed to sb. We played lots of hip hop music, and it turns out she likes hip hop music a lot too. We both like j. cole, drake, logic (she doesn’t listen to him as much tho), some post malone, blackbear, travis scott, and many more. It was pretty cool! We got to SB, then we edited photos together. I showed her how I edit and stuff. Then I showed her my toothpaste lol, since idk she was fascinated by my room and stuff. I gave her my 2nd electronic toothbrush and she tried to buy my toothpaste off me... I was like uh noo.... I just bought it from Amazon ;-; got buy your own! Then we played smash and I taught her. She’s actually probably the slowest smash learner I know tho haha, since I’ve taught Stefanie/Kristy/Jessica a bit before. They all picked it up really fast, but erika took like 3 hours just to kinda understand the controls. But it was fine, it was nice spending time with her and kinda cool having a friend visiting me in SB :D We stayed up till 6 am, and she forced me to take pottermore tests at like 6 am to determine what house I would belong in... Then I passed out and slept, while she slept on my bean bag chair. She could have slept on the other side of my bed or the sofa downstairs, but she was fine with my 6ft bean bag chair. I asked her if I snored, but she didn’t notice at all, and she asked if she coughed through the night, and I told her that I didn’t hear anything. We got bagel cafe, and she enjoyed it. Then went back, played some smash, I showed her stuff like pretty ugly little liars that i found out from my model friends. I don’t browse it, but I figured she would like it, since she likes instagram personalities a lot lol. Then idk I taught her a lot of things like reddit, toothpaste, how I am making music nowadays, lightroom, how I know how to do contouring via photoshop lmao, stocks, and a lot more. She was like mann my eyes are opened now, and thinks it’s cool I have so many different hobbies and know so much, and apparently super good at all of them. Like how I’m good at smash/overwatch/photography/fashion/etc. She was much impressed and grateful for me showing all those things to her. I really enjoy showing ppl new places/teaching ppl new things :D and I thought I showed a lot of stuff to Stefanie in the past too (but maybe she would disagree idk). Then Kai came over and Erika caught up with Kai. They played smash together, and yeah. They talked about relationships, makeup, instagram ppl they follow, life, and idk. It was fun, we got an early dinner together, and Erika told Kai about how I showed her so many things. Then we met up with Harrison, who I haven’t really hung out with in a long time, but we made plans to over the summer. Erika and Harrison went to same HS, and we talked about how it’s crazy how we all met each other. From the fire alarm in 1st year, that let jessica and me meet harrison + erika, to erika convincing jessica and I to go to the A2F meeting which was how I met rebecca + kai, and yeah. Harrison gave us a tour of his place, we chatted and caught up, and Erika told Harrison how I was teaching her smash and how she spontaneously came up to SB with me lol. Harrison was like yeah Theo is top 3 in SB for smash 4, and how Harrison talked to Peter (someone who went to HS with me, and currently living with him) about how I somehow get good at every game I play from League to Smash to Overwatch lol. Then we played mario kart together, got boba together at wake cup, then went back to my place to play sm4sh a bit, then Harrison left. Erika and kai played a bit more sm4sh, then we watched Hasan Minhaj standup on netflix that I showed them. Erika and Kai loved it, and yeee I felt like a cool boy showing ppl all these cool things lmao. Then we just went to sleep and I think Erika threw up one more time. Oh I showed her soylent too. But yeah, showed her many things this past weekend. In the morning, I woke up at like 8 am, and took her to the train station. I played jeff bernat as we waited for the train, and she loved the album lol and was like wowow this is so good. I was like haha. So I managed to show her one more thing before she left, and then we hugged good bye and said to keep in touch. Afterwards, I passed out, and it turns out she accidentally took my charger for my tooth brush.. So now I have to buy another one from amazon ;-;... Overall wild weekend, spontaneous adventures, and fun times with friends. I spent the rest of this day catching up on sleep, since I barely got that many hours of sleep this past weekend. From waking up at 8 am for anime expo, to 6 am taking pottermore quizzes with Erika to waking up at like 10-11ish, then waking up at 8 AM again to take Erika to train. I could have went home for july 4th, but I decided to just stay in sb, since I do have a vector calc test on Thursday. 

Glad to make more happy memories though with friends :) hopefully Wednesday will be a great day even tho I have to study hehe.

[opepin]

may: week two

08: i was tired in the morning but i got up and did my hiit workout. i took my time in the morning, which resulted in me thinking that i could get on the 8:45 am train instead of the 8:36 am one...BUT the train never came at 8:45 so i got on at 8:54 and got to work at around 9:30, which upset me LOL. i did a bit of work and then shared my chinese snacks with everyone. i brought the flower pastries, coconut candies, dates, and apparently, the ginger candy and fish jerky?! LOL. the fish jerky was delicious though. haowei and kien really liked it and cole and cait enjoyed the flower cookies. i think dave thought it was alright. mathew also enjyed the fish jerky. :P anyway, i got brain-blocked in the morning, but after waiting for cole to get out of his meeting and getting gogi on the block and eating (i brought lunch from home), i was better. the guy at the food truck gave cole kimchi fried rice (kinda thanks to me but not really) for free, which was awesome of him! we ate lunch with raj and cait and then i got on standup and continued with the rest of the work day.

my allergies came full on and my eyes were itchy and my energy was drained. i did truck on though. ended the day with showing cole northside i-night stuff ahha. steve joined in a bit later and then we all left around 5 pm. cole and i nerded out about .hack while walking to south station because i mentioned how ready player one is very similar and i think i got cole really interested in reading the book haha. there were minor delays on the train but i got home at like 6 pm and then i did some exercise and showered. i wanted to stay in the shower. my allergies got real bad to the point where the roof of my mouth was slightly swollen but really itchy. i don’t know if it was because of some food i ate? or was it allergies? idk. kevin cooked thai basil beef bowls, we ate and watched gordon ramsay videos, and then i read a bit more and went to sleep at around 12 am. i was thinking that my symptoms wouldn’t go away so i was going to wfh.

09: i didn’t feel so good physically this morning and i was tired so slept in. zzz. i magically woke up just in time to get dave’s message that the project was due in an hour o__o so i got up and then talked with him a bit and we got extra time so i worked on that in the morning. it came out pretty good -- i had low expectations because of all of the blocks i had but it looks good. i noticed that i didn’t eat breakfast and none of the english muffins were defrosted so i had an early lunch at 11:30 am haha. then i hopped on the t7 all-hands. i did a bit more work and then fit in some exercise sessions to make up for the missing my morning routine. then i ate a banana with peanut scooped on because i got hungry and the english muffins still weren’t defrosted. kevin got back home and we cuddled for a bit. i showered and then he started cooking the delicious egg and tomato noodles. this meal is probably one of my favorites from the cook books we got. it’s so comforting and easy to make (although a lot of components). we watched cooking videos while eating and then i read for the rest of the night. i also watched jane the virgin and we booked another set of tickets for chicago in july! we have a lot of traveling planned in the upcoming months and i’m pretty excited tbh. i have never traveled this much! i ended up sleeping at 12 am and yeah, i fell asleep pretty quickly.

10: i ended up doing a cardio kickboxing workout, which made me really happy in the morning. then i showered and started a bit of planning for the day. i ate breakfast with kevin before he left for work. then i worked and got a slack message from one of my co-workers asking about ux360. i helped him out a bit and then got on stand up and continued my chill work day. phil was on a plane to boston and i think dave was busy (as usual). i looked up some axure tutorials and learned the basics. then i did some structuring and thinking for tomorrow’s brainstorming session. it’ll be interesting tomorrow. i also got some errands out of the way and i talked with diego on slack a bit -- he’s been real busy so he hasn’t been in the office. then i read and gamed a bit. then i did another kickboxing workout, put some chicken in the oven, put on some rice, and then showered. kevin didn’t go climbing today so then we relaxed a bit when he got back and then he made some lemon garlic butter spinach to go along with our dinner. i got really hungry so i ate half of a chicken thigh while he was distracted by hp fanfic...LOL. we ate and then kevin continued reading and then went to game. then i finished reading ready player one!!! omg it’s such a good book. the ending was kind of expected but the entire story was just great -- i was sucked into another world. i listened to ‘your shirt’ by chelsea cutler on repeat and walked around the apartment. that’s my jam right now. kevin also liked it enough to save it to his spotify :O then i played some bravely default and went to sleep. zzzz.

11: today i did some dancing in the morning and then went to work. i also got to meet phil for the very first time! his face doesn’t match with his voice 100% so it was an interesting experience. the product team was inside a conference room the entire day. it was pretty productive and i liked being able to just talk and go through processes with my team for the first time :) we had a late lunch (i was kind of dying but i had dates and half a banana to snack on) and then we just kept going. at around 4 pm, i checked in with everyone about rides to the go-karting place and then made sure everything was okay. i left the office at around 4:30 pm and met up with kevin at the train station. we got home and then relaxed for a bit before heading out to f1 boston. it’s actually only 5 minutes away from our apartment...LOL we met up with ben, jackie, kien and noelle! i’ve missed noelle! we filled out waivers and then raj and cait came and then everyone else got there. the food was A+. i chose great appetizers~ noelle said i should be on the catering team ;D huhuhu.

we had an orientation which consisted of a ton of flag colors and a lot of rules, but we got there. our guide made me super nervous when describing the track and i almost didn’t drive, but then i did. i had to wear a suit that didn’t fit me because they were all out of mediums but that’s coo. we got out there and drove. ofc i didn’t place the highest but in one of the races i placed in the middle of the pack! it was terrifying but fun all at the same time and i was soo tired by the 4th race. i wanted charles to replace me but i drove anyway. john won...ofc. kevin placed below middle but he got to drive in the 5th race (only top 10 raced) and i was surprised that me and cole were the ones out?! LOL. apparently cole got t-boned by charles o__o and his glasses broke and maybe he was the only person in the penalty box? LOL so gg him. i expected to be last and i was just proud that i drove in all four races. :)

we took off our gear, got our score sheets and then everyone just talked about the experience and etc. it was a fun time. kevin also had fun hehe. we drove back home and then i did some oblique exercises, made some chicken nuggets, showered, and then i think i just ko’d. oh, my back is bruised from go-karting o_o i have bruises on my shoulder blades and also lower back in the same spots. i have symmetrical bruises right now. :P i ko’d at like 11:30 or something. zzz.

12: my back bruises got worse when i woke up. they spread into medium sized circles lol. i got up at 7:30 am and then did hip hop cardio and then showered, ate breakfast, said goodbye to kevin, and then hopped on the train. boy, no one is in the office on fridays LOL. mathew, dave, phil, sultan, jim, and i were the only ones in the office today. i started my morning out with a free everything bagel and some tea. i answered some of robert’s questions and best practices for ux360 -- it went well and it was a nice chat. then the product team headed into the conference room and brainstormed some more. then we all got lunch at around 12:30 pm. i got a salad from pret because i didn’t want to stray too far from the group and come back when they started brainstorming again. we continued brainstorming until phil had to leave ;( he gave us all goodbye hugs and then dave went on a call. i talked to mathew for a bit and then dave left and then i talked with mathew and sultan about work and other things. i decided to leave early because i was beat so i took the train home at around 3 and then i caught up on some internet errands.

kevin went climbing today so i just did some oblique exercises and then showered when kevin got back. i also managed to watch a ton of youtube videos hahaha. then we decided to get take out from shaking crab because we were both super hungry. there was a 45 minute to 1 hour wait so we just ordered on the phone and kevin went to go pick it up. i noticed that the nectarines we got were all pretty grody so i started making nectarine cobbler with them. i was in the process of making it when our order was ready. me and kevin put it in the oven and then we ate our 3 lb of shrimp, mussels, and clams; one order of garlic noodles; one order of cajun fries; and one order of sweet potato fries. clearly, we bought food with our stomachs LOL. i got full really quickly because i focused on eating the fries first. the sauce doesn’t fully penetrate the meat of the shellfish so i’m not 100% into this craze but everything was still yummy. i didn’t like the gulf sauce (rich sauce) as much as i do the regular shaking (cajun sauce).

kevin cooked fried rice for jeanne (we planned to make her hot fresh food but didn’t account for how many leftovers we would have) and then we picked her up from the train station. she changed and went straight to eating. hehe, thanks for eating the fuds for us, jeanne! jeanne said our place was v fancy too. :P we just talked and caught up. then we cleaned up the kitchen area. kevin went to game and jeanne and i kept talking. then she went to shower and later on in the night, i got a call and i stayed up until 3:30 am on the phone. jeanne was sleeping by the time i got off the phone (she just did work for the rest of the evening before she slept) and then i brushed and me and kevin went to sleep. @_@

13: i woke up at 5 am and then went back to sleep and then i woke up at 9:15 am to say goodbye to jeanne. i didn’t get to spend a lot of time with her (she was also only here for a night) so i hope she does visit again! we talked a bit and then she headed out to public transit. then i went back to sleep again and woke up at around 12 pm and stayed in bed with kevin until 1 pm because we slept so late and we were tired. we had breakfast, which was a mix of leftovers and then i gamed a bit. i also fixed the nectarine cobbler i made last night. we didn’t taste it for some reason before putting it in the oven (probs because we were so hungry) by adding nutmeg, cinnamon, and some honey. kevin kept reading and then we went to target. i wanted to get lip balm by lasting smiles in an effort to be more conscious about my product choices (supporting brands that are smaller, who donate some of their profits, etc), but i couldn’t find it there. we went to target for lip balm, cheese (because kevin never had ramen with cheese before -- blasphemy), and better quality bandages. we stopped by the home decor, fitness, and kitchen ware section first -__-” LOL and we ended up buying a chalkboard / corkboard / storage wall decor unit, a yoga mat on clearance, some candle lighters, and two glass cereal bowls... it’s the target effect. o__o

we went back home and then chilled for a bit more. kevin gamed i think while i did the dishes, ate some cobbler, lit a candle, washed our bed sheets, and did some internet errands. then i got a bit grumpy waiting on kevin to finish his chapter before we decided to plan more stuff for stockholm and copenhagen. i could have worked out before he was done but he said 15 minutes. poop. oh well. we were pretty productive; we got our passport information in, contacted an airbnb, planned out 3 days worth of stuff in copenhagen, purchased adapters, figured out currency and credit card stuff, and figured we didn’t need to buy travel sim cards for our phones. we still have to plan for stockholm and book an airbnb, but after that, we’re good! :) we got hungry while planning so i ate some leftover fried rice and shaking crab. i made kevin the ramen. tbh, i think shin ramen black isn’t the best for cheese + egg... i may buy the regular shin ramen noodle and remake it for kevin. it just didn’t taste right. we watched supernatural and then i started to workout.

it felt like a workout session where i had just eaten (which i just did). so there was a lot of stomach activity and some bloating and cramping, but i just worked through it thinking it was normal. at the 30 minute mark though, i started scratching like hell so i stopped and went to the bathroom. my face was covered in hives. when i checked my body, there were spots that were red and itchy as well. it was pretty scary. my face felt numb more that anything like a thousand bees came up and stung me at the same time. kevin freaked out too and kept looking at me so i told him to stop because i felt really self conscious. he suggested i take a shower so i did and then applied a ton of aloe-based products on my skin and avoided the products that could cause a flare-up. i asked kevin to put ice in a paper towel and then started patting my face with it. my face was on fire in terms of temperature. it didn’t feel itchy anymore. my body settled down after the shower, but my face was still red and blotchy. i took out an aloe vera face mask and put it on. i patted my masked face with the ice bag while walking around the apartment. it helped a lot. when i took off the mask, everything was better. there were some raised welts but most of it was gone. i made sure to wear light and breathable clothing and not push myself for the rest of the night.

i watched the latest episode of reign and fell asleep on the undone bed...LOL kevin woke me up and i went to the washroom to brush my teeth and apply more aloe product to my skin (thankfully, i purchased the benton aloe travel kit from memebox). then we made the bed and i ko’d at around 12 or 1 am. omg this day though... i looked up what it could be and it could be an exercise allergy induced by eating something (guessing it was the shellfish because i’ve exercised after eating before and never broke out like this. i haven’t gotten into the whole seafood craze until i moved to boston).

14: i woke up at around 9:30 am and stayed in bed until 10:30 am. i checked my face and everything seemed to have calmed down. i still have some redness and bumps but nothing too crazy. i made breakfast and then did some online window shopping. i want to use my gift cards for ae but i don’t want to buy enough for free shipping so bleh that. i also want to buy stuff from uniqlo but i don’t really need anything ahah. i’m thinking about buying new basics like tanks and tshirts though because my old forever21 ones are kinda jank (the seam line is not totally straight...) anyway, i went back to bed after eating breakfast to wake kevin up and then i just lounged around until he got up. he made us congee and pork soup dumplings. after eating, i felt pretty nauseous. this isn’t uncommon on a rainy day btw. i always don’t feel great when it is raining outside and anything i eat makes me feel nauseous...

so after we ate, kevin gamed a bit and then i started laundry and looked up some places to go in stockholm. then we went grocery shopping and i felt pretty bad but i went anyway. i got the tom yum flavored pretz and some soft af bread from kam man. kevin got two different pork buns and they’re pretty good. kevin pointed out that the pork buns in chicago feature the actual red pork but here, it’s just flavored similarly without the redness. hmm. i do like these pork buns better than chicago’s though. we had a long grocery trip from good fortune* (i think i’ve been calling it lucky) to kam man to bj’s and then to lowe’s. we picked up canvas materials to hang up the thing we bought from target on the wall LOL. we got back, put away the food, i folded laundry (i forgot to mention i spent the morning also reorganizing my drawer and figuring out how to roll t-shirts, fold underwear, and roll up socks nicely), and then we planned for stockholm. we’re pretty much done planning! yay! kevin made food with leftover ingredients we had, i did really light exercise to test if i would break out in hives again, and then i ate some tomatoes.

omg i love tomatoes right now. did i mention that already? more specifically, i love the hothouse tomatoes from kam man. they’re so naturally salty or something. i could eat them for days... well, i went to sleep at around 12:30 am because i got super tired.

[opepin]

april: week three

17: i ended up waking up at 8 am. i did open my eyes at 7:30 am but i felt like i needed more sleep. i hit my sleep goal of 7 hours but i’m trying to get 8 hours of sleep every day now. so i got up, brushed my teeth, did cardio kickboxing for 35 minutes, ate breakfast while cooling down, showered, changed, and realized that i still had time to curl my hair if i wanted to and relax a bit before heading out to work! today i chose to work from home because of the boston marathon day and all of that traffic. so, based on my test, it looks like waking up at 7 am will do the trick. it’s about 30-40 minutes earlier than i usually wake up, but we’ll see if it’s worth it. i felt tired but a tiny bit more awake after. kevin was still sleeping so i hopped on my laptop and tried to do work quietly before heading out into the living room to do my first solo call ever :)

i think i went into it too fast but phil liked my bold approach aha. the rest of the day was working on my tutorials and fixing up some client stuff. kevin and i microwaved leftovers and ate outside today. it was soooo nice. then we went back to work and we went to roche bros afterward. we got a $5 strawberry rhubarb pie and also the latest sweet chili garlic snyder’s pretzel pieces, which are pretty good. i think the honey mustard flavor still has my heart. the pie was good and then i ate half a slice more and then my stomach died a bit. i exercised and then showered and relaxed for the rest of the night. i felt moody... i helped kevin wash the dishes while he cooked. we ate a late dinner and i didn’t eat much because of my stomach and i was going to sleep in like an hour. we watched an episode of ‘the travelers’ and then i got into bed at like 10:45 pm and knocked out a bit after.

18: mmm i felt awake when my alarm rang at 7 am. i stayed in bed for a bit and then got ready and did a 25 minute dance cardio workout. i showered and then ate breakfast. i think i’ll be fine doing this for a while. i did a good amount of work in the morning and then walked to the high st food truck area with cole and charles. they got food while i deposited my extra cash. cole got a beautiful mango lassi and i wish i could get one too but nooo ;( i ate with the dev guys and then hopped on my standup right after. my astigmatism kicked in real bad during the last half of the day but i continued doing work and taking breaks when needed. oh, prepare yourself because this is tmi (maybe), but i got my period and i wasn’t expecting it but i had two panty liners in my wallet so it was ok for a bit... so i tried checking the free tampon and pad dispenser but nothing was in it. i asked the front desk worker and she said she put in a work order asap. 20 minutes passed and i checked back -- nothing. then it became a few hours and still nothing. so i was stuck at work and had a call at the end of the day that i had to be on. so i had to use the tp technique and then got home asap. sigh. it wasn’t bad though because it was the first day :)

i did stop by the chocolate store with cole though ahahhaa. i got a dark chocolate easter bunny head on a stick and a dark chocolate peanut butter egg for the price of one! they were on sale of course. cole got his juicy pear jelly beans and his pb cups again. i got back and then chilled for a bit and then did the second part of my exercise routine. it felt good! i did bang my knee on the floor but it’s okay, LOL. then i washed the dishes and put the chicken in the oven and i showered. kevin got back kind of late so i snacked on grapes and watched ‘reign.’ kevin showered and then cooked veggies while i played ‘bravely default.’ then we had dinner while watching the second episode of ‘the travelers.’ kevin doesn’t really like it after finishing the second episode. i just gamed and kind of paid attention. it was already 10:30 pm by the end of show so i got ready for bed, kevin cuddled with me before i slept and then he went to game. i slept a bit later than expected, but it was still only 11:15 pm.

19: it felt like someone punched me in the stomach and i kept tossing and turning in my sleep. i looked at my phone and it was 6:30 am T_T so i laid in bed until 7 am or so and then got up. i had to do a bit of clean up and then i went right into my workout. i managed to do 30 minutes of hiit and abs, prepare breakfast, shower, change, eat, pack up my bag, and say goodbye to kevin. i thought i was going to be late but i got to the office at like 9:20 am. i got on a 8:40 am train though and there were minor delays? hmm. interesting. anyway, i really wanted to go into the office for some reason. i asked cole if i could sit at his desk but he answered during lunch time so i just worked at my desk. i wanted to look out the windows today to help my eyes. it was hard getting into the work zone, but i did it! i got hungry early so i ate my lunch at my desk and then went to high st to look at the food trucks.

there was ‘gogi on the block’ and they had smoothies! the line was extremely long though. there was also a chickpea food truck, which was interesting. i walked back and then went back to work. at the end of the day, i chatted with raj and cait about new york, food, and etc. it was a nice conversation and i ended my day on that. i was so brain dead at 4 pm so it was nice getting to talk to them :) i met up with kevin at the children’s museum and we took the train home together. i nommed on chocolate when i got back and we chilled on the sofa for a bit. then kevin played overwatch while i did 30 minutes of abs. i went and showered and then helped kevin cook the one pot spring pasta. we ate while watching ‘the 100′, which we both do not like. then we just spent the last hour before i went to sleep looking at apartments. we might move and we have a pretty good idea of where we would move. we might even tour the place on saturday just for fun and to see :) i got ready for bed and then ko’d at around 11 pm. kevin spent the rest of the night probably gaming.

20: i was tired when i got up... but i still did 16 minutes of hiit and also 14 minutes of hip hop cardio. my morning was a bit rushed but i made it to work on time and i ate breakfast :P the office was obviously packed because it was thursday and even though i was tired, i was more focused than i was yesterday. i talked to gbf about workouts and etc. i also got to talk to jeanne for a bit too. the day went by pretty fast. i caught up with phil and then went on a demo with him and the team. i ended up being pretty productive by the end of the day. cole left early with steve and i had to stay back and finish up work anyway. i took the train back home and then chilled for a bit and did some back workouts. then i took a quick shower and watched youtube videos for the rest of the night. kevin made eggs with chives and rice. we ate that while watching another episode of black mirror. this one was slightly funny in my opinion, but it was also sad. i was going to wfh tomorrow so i stayed up a bit longer than usual. me and kevin just looked a bit more at apartments. i fell asleep on kevin while he was playing pokemon. then he went to play overwatch and i went back to sleep. i drooled on him a little and he just laughed :P

21: my body woke me up at 7:30 am but i went back to sleep until 8:30 am and then i got up 15 minutes later. i did a less intense zumba exercise today because my body is pretty worn out. then i showered and hopped on my 10 am call. i did a good amount of talking during this call today and it went well :) then i spent some time working on the clients’ stuff. oh, kevin made me an egg sandwich this morning and it was so yummy :D hehe cooked some red onions and it was perfect. so i did some work and got a chance to pick up my packages! we got our prints from rotofugi and i got my package from memebox. i just re-ordered the dynasty cream and i got the benton travel kit because i wanted to hit free shipping. everything in that kit is aloe-focused so my skin should be fine. i talked to vivian for a bit and then went back to work.

i am frustrated with blogilates’ videos right now... they’re super short and she talks at the beginning of every single one. it’s a pain to skip it every time. i tried two of her new butt videos and then gave up and did two of chloe’s legs and butt videos. kevin came back and we ordered from hakata ramen. we both got their new sushi burgers. i got the unagi and he got the crab patty. we shared a dragon roll. it wasn’t what i expected... it was an actual burger with just the meat that was stated. i thought it was going to be rice patties :( my burger was meh. their “sweet potato fries” were actually 5 pieces of sweet potato tempura and the dragon roll (as usual) was great, ahha. we watched another episode of black mirror while eating. this one annoyed me because the protagonist was not like-able and she was kinda useless, ahha. the rest of the night we gamed and went to sleep pretty early at 12 am or 1 am. i think we were both wiped out by this week. i can feel my body adjusting to my schedule changes though. :) so grateful for kevin understanding my schedule change and both of us trying our best to spend time together still even though i sleep at 11 pm, get up at 7 am, and he sleeps at 1-2 am and gets up at 9-10 am. thanks, bearest.

22: i wanted to work out in the morning but i just stayed in bed. i was tired and i knew i was going to do the 60 minute kickboxing video later so i told myself i would just do it all in one go because we had a chill weekend. we ate leftovers for breakfast and then we headed out to the mall so i could do some shoe research and just to get out of the apartment and walk around. we also wanted to eat more of the auntie anne’s pretzels...ahha. we stopped by all the department stores and some clothing stores. i didn’t get anything and after all of that, i just figured that i really want the dr. scholl’s loafers i’ve been looking at. kevin ended up getting red sperry sneakers at nordstrom and they look really good on him. we got an original pretzel and some cinnamon sugar nuggets before shopping and it was too much for us. luckily, we filled up our water bottles and we just walked it off. we stopped by brookstone so that kevin could get his massage and by 3:45 pm, we were exhausted. being in a mall wiped us out and it was screen / signage overload. man, we’re so old now haha.

we drove to oh my tea to get some boba before our apartment tour at west of chestnut. we chilled in the car because it got too cold. oh, let me mention that winston beat my step score for fitbit and i tried my very best to walk everywhere but still couldn’t beat it at the end of the day. this boy walked 20k steps on friday and saturday so i’m like wtf. i’ll get back to him! anyway, kevin and i got into the apartment and started our tour. the leasing agent, lisa, was so funny and nice. this apartment complex is really nice. the floor plan we looked at is bigger than deco and about the same price. it was a good tour and we ended on a good note. i think the biggest difference is that deco is a bit more luxury with the gigantic bathtub and bathroom and just the way the kitchen cabinets are presented, but the atmosphere at west of chestnut (woc) is much more chill and friendlier. we took note of this and will keep them in mind. the location is prime because it’s near the quincy center train stop and in the middle of downtown quincy -- we could walk to fat cat and it is right across the street from oh my tea. x__x;

we headed to shaking crab after and got some cajun fries, garlic noodles, alaskan snow crab, and crawfish. mmm. it was both our first times eating seafood in a bag with sauce and it was pretty good. kevin was having so much fun! i had fun learning how to break seafood. the fries were on point and so were the garlic noodles. they were the best garlic noodles i’ve ever had. we went home in a good mood. we both gamed for a bit to digest and then kevin went climbing and i did my workout. it was good! i thought my stamina would be worse because i split my exercise this past week, but i did everything perfectly. it was a great workout -- i felt great. i showered and then i talked to hillary on the phone for a bit. i miss this girl :< i’m so happy i get to see her in a week! it was around 12 am but i still wanted to watch ‘about time’ with kevin so we hooked it up and watched that. kevin said it is his favorite chick flick now. yasss, this movie still gave me all the feels. kevin got real giddy when watching :P it was cute. we talked about the movie for a bit after and i had a pretty bad headache so we brushed and then went to sleep at like 3 am (no wonder i had a headache). 

23: we woke up at around 10 am and stayed in bed until 11 am. i watched some youtube videos and then took my sunday morning shower -- it’s such a treat :) then i ate potstickers that kevin cooked and some cereal and some leftover pasta. then i played some ‘bravely default’ and watched more videos until kevin was done playing overwatch. we meal planned and then headed out! we went to bj’s first because we needed to restock on a lot of things from there. then we went back to unload the car and put everything away. we got back in the car and parked in kam man but crossed the street to check out the other asian grocery store. it’s called, “lucky fortune” and it is way smaller than kam man but their produce and seafood is sooo fresh. we’re definitely going here for some fruit now. they also had a wide selection of snacks and i got this interesting grape squeeze pocky there. kevin got real hungry and bought a hotdog bun and some egg tarts. oh, we got candy samples at bj’s because we managed to get there early :P anyway, i had a lot of sugary snacks.

i also snacked on the new berry cheerios we got from bj’s and they are so good. anyway, we got some scallions and produce there, went over to kam man to get a few more groceries, and headed to roche to get white bread, kale, and my dark chocolate for period weeks. i actually found the brand i was looking for! maybe i’ll make a showcase on random things i got this week haha. then we drove back, put everything away, kevin made himself some soup dumplings we got at lucky fortune (they were delicious), and i watched more videos. i had a lot of videos to catch up on. then i contacted fitbit customer support because i stained my pink band :( my customer service rep was a dream and she made an order for 2 replacement bands. i got 2 of the regular ones because i wanted to get a darker one so colors wouldn’t transfer so easily. then i did some surveys and internet errands while kevin cooked.

i did laundry, cleaned the bathroom, and cleaned the kitchen today. we ate shrimp toast and stir fried cabbage for dinner while watching an episode of ‘black mirror.’ then we realized how “late” it was (for me) and so we took out the trash and kevin washed dishes while i cleaned some of the tables. then he vacuumed and swiffered while i completely cleaned the kitchen. we were we about done, i broke my glass mug T__T it was sitting on a chair because i put it there to clean the island and when i went to pick it up and move it, it slipped and hit the ground. i was pretty upset. :( i got it from mark during the christmas white elephant thingy. sigh. kevin did his best and cheered me up though <3 his hugs are the best. then we brushed our teeth and i showered and i went to sleep while he gamed. he did wake me up while arguing with jon about something -- the usual LOL.

[opepin]

march: week 3

13: i was tired in the morning and it was cold T^T my coconut milk was also expired lulz. vivian left her water bottle and gbf and her were gone when i woke up. i almost forgot they slept over because they were such bums yesterday LOL. <3 i took a nap on the train and got to work a bit late, but apparently, everyone was a bit late this morning. i just started pumping out templates and then went into meetings -- i got so hungry during my meetings. i ran to use the bathroom and then microwaved my food and ate during one of my meetings haha. after all of my meetings, i packed up and left to work from home. i was crashing so badly. i timed the train this time and only waited a few minutes. when i got back home, i edited some videos, and then called it a day. i took a nap on the air mattress and realized that it was cold to sleep on because there wasn’t a comforter or anything warm on the bottom.

kevin came back from climbing, showered, and then i woke up. omg, i slept for like 2 hours. i must have been real tired. kevin cooked today (thank you <3) while i relaxed and dozed off. then i put away the air mattress, cleaned up the living room a bit, and then helped do dishes. i also made chicken nuggets and they were delicious. oh, i snacked a ton when i got home and both me and kevin were both feeling like eating junk food. xP we didn’t know what to watch but kevin gave me the option to choose a new series. we started watching, ‘how to get away with murder’ and now we’re hooked! we watched two episodes, kevin went to game, and then i did 60 minutes of hip hop cardio. then i showered, we brushed our teeth together, and then we went to sleep. well, kevin stayed up to watch some dota and play some pokemon. it was around 2 am.

14: it was a nice wfh day. it didn’t look like it was snowing a lot but then it started and i was glad i was home with kevin :3 we got free bagels and hot chocolate from deco and got started on work for the rest of the day. we fit in an episode of ‘how to get away with murder’ during lunch and then i went back to work. kevin had a pretty lax day. kevin had the chance to braise our beef for a delicious dinner~ we watched a good amount of episodes and then i did laundry and we ate dinner while watching more. we stopped for a bit so that i could make oatmeal raisin cookies and then we continued while eating the cookies. after our mini-marathon, kevin washed the dishes and i helped clean up. then he went to game while i did some kickboxing. i showered and then brushed my teeth, finished watching a youtube video and then ko’d before 2 am, which is good considering my sleep schedule this week LOL.

15: i woke up and had a bit of a headache, the roads were icy, and so i worked from home again. these cookies are so good but so bad for me. i need to stop snacking! i will bring some of these to work so it’ll be ok by tomorrow ;D it’s been hard being productive this week because of the weather and just working from home. i had a good number of calls and then worked on tutorials. i tried ordering new sports bras from aerie but they had a gift card error so i rq’d... i ended my day with a call and got two one pagers done so i felt semi-productive. after work, i washed dishes and put the drying rack away. then i picked up keys from rachel for the guest suite this weekend ;D so excited. then i started making banana bread! i forgot to soften the butter and then i forgot to defrost the bananas. i don’t think i like banana ice cream... anyway, i somehow got them to thaw and then put that in the oven. i also spent some time defrosting chicken (we forgot to take it out).

kevin got back late due to train problems and then we checked out the guest suite. it’s $200/night and it’s pretty nice! it’s decorated in very contemporary modern style haha. then we went down, kevin cooked, i ran around and watched some videos, did some exercises, and then ate dinner (delicious chicken and bean sprout and veggie stir fry) while watching ‘how to get away with murder.’ we watched two episodes and then spent like 2 hours talking (: hehe it was really nice <3 then kevin went to game, i finished up working out, showered, dried my hair, and ko’d. i wanted to sleep before 1 am, but i slept at like 1:50 am...gg me.

16: i was ready to go to work but i was still sleepy. i went downstairs to see what the free food situation was all about but there were people down there so i just went back and got my jacket and got on the train. my bag was full of goodies: banana bread, oatmeal raisin cookies, and meltyblend chocolate. it was nice seeing everyone again, but everyone seemed pretty heads down in work. i ate lunch during the hour of tech and watched some youtube videos and then launched into 2 hours or so worth of meetings T_T i was dozing off so i had to stand up and move around and also cole gave me gum to keep me awake. thanks, cole! i was kind of counting the hours until work ended because i was so tired lol. i did get a good amount done though. everyone ate all of my baked goods by the end of the day. i had to get cole to take a bit home, but i competed against doughnuts and i won ;D anyway, i went to the chocolate store with cole and he bought white chocolate peanut butter cups and more pear jelly beans, and yeaaah. i didn’t buy anything because i am sick of sugar at this point. my skin is breaking out because of it too :(

we walked to south station and then i waited for kevin for a bit. he left when i got there? LOL so he took the silver line and with our luck, it was 15 minutes until the next train came so we waited together. lol the train was packed for some reason? it was 6 pm... and i kind of pulled a girl’s long hair when taking off my backpack ;( sorry girl! this is why i don’t have long hair anymore haha. we got home and we finished eating all of the banana bread and cookies and then ate some all-dressed chips. then i started playing pokemon again. i need to catch all of the pokemon!!! i ko’d on the sofa while kevin cooked dinner... he woke me up and we ate dinner, watched ‘how to get away with murder’ and played pokemon. i caught both celesteelas with p good IVs. then kevin washed the dishes and gamed while i did 60 minutes of kickboxing to try and get back on my fat burning grind. omg, i ate so much sugar and fat T___T then i showered and we both hopped into bed before 1:30 am. i ko’d while kevin played pokemon.

17: i think i was well-rested today. i’m trying to get back to 6 hrs and 30 minutes of sleep to 8 hours of sleep. i took my time getting up in the morning and then got to work and it was only me, dave, and jim in the office -- the product team. it’s nice being in an empty office :P i’m glad i went to work today. i was very productive in the morning and there were leftover munchkins from yesterday. the coconut chocolate one is pretty good! i was in standup for a bit too long, but it had to do with a long discussion about something very important and i am excited about it. i ended the day with that meeting. dave left and then i packed up and got on the train where a lady pushed passed me and then said ‘you don’t have to push.’ maybe i got on the train a bit too eagerly? anyway, i got home and it was sooo nice outside! it was bright. so i whipped out my yoga mat and did abs and hiit workouts. kevin came back from climbing early because he thought he was straining one of his wrists too much. so he came back home and ran on the treadmill instead. 

i got my ae sports bra purchase today and tried them on. i wasn’t sure if they didn’t fit so i had to get second opinions. i’m keeping them both now ;D i love the zipper in the front! i showered and then started cooking dinner ... pretty frantically because i didn’t prep correctly. i didn’t wash dishes because i didn’t think i would need to and then the recipe called for making the noodles and heating up chicken stock at the same time so that everything would still be hot when served. @_@ so i frantically cooked and tried to keep the noodles warm while cooking the egg and tomato. it turned out pretty good though! it really was a simple recipe and i just should have prepared better. kevin and i ate dinner while watching an episode of ‘how to get away with murder’ and then we booked our tickets to stockholm! we’re planning to fly to copenhagen right after and then fly back~ we did that and made a list of to-dos for the rest of the planning since we’re not going until summer.

then we packed some things up and headed over to the guest suite! they couldn’t fix our shower tile this weekend so we rescheduled to monday and tuesday and rachel let us keep our stay in the guest suite for this weekend ;D so we got there and then i got to use the bath bomb! it was so cool! the tub might not have been completely 100% clean though. hmmm. i’m probably not going to take baths ever again unless i know the tub is super clean / i cleaned it very well. we had a super relaxing evening together and it was so nice :) the bed was comfy but the pillows were a bit too much. we ended up knocking out while cuddling and woke up grumpy because our skin was so dried out by the heating in the room. .___. so i put lotion on my body and kevin did too and then we brushed and ko’d so that it would stop bothering us LOL. i would rate this room like a 3/5 (if it was me staying here as a guest). they didn’t have any shower stuff, no water filter, and the tv didn’t work. oh, also wifi didn’t work. so hmmm.... the guest suite isn’t all that it’s cracked up to be. we still had a great evening together though ((((:

18: kevin got up so early today. .___. like possibly at 8:30 am or 9 am. we were both really dried out from the guest suite’s heat. i stayed in bed a bit longer with kevin until we both got hungry. we brushed up, packed everything except the bath stuff and toiletries, and headed back to our apartment. it smelled like leeks and cabbage and potstickers in our apartment for some reason. kevin made us potstickers, we played some pokemon and then headed to our massage. there was traffic on the way there but we got there only 5 minutes late. we had guy masseuses today. mine was gentle and apparently, they both used interesting techniques and focused more on other parts of our body instead of the back. i’m still a bit sore, but i would rather have the ladies work on me from now on. anyway, we got stuck in really terrible traffic for like 2 blocks because of construction. i played ‘i spy’ with kevin in the car and we just messed around.

he dropped me off and i baked some chicken nuggets and made some rice. he went to get bubble tea but the store was closed ;( so we just ate nuggets, i did internet errands and kevin played some overwatch. then we ate leftovers for the rest of lunch. we played pokemon until it was time to leave for our reservation at o ya! the train had a mechanical malfunction and all the passengers were kicked off and we had to wait for the next one. i freaked out because i thought we were going to be late (we were) and it was rude because this is a high class af restaurant. kevin calmed me down and we got seated and then it was time to order, cry, and eat. cry because everything was hella expensive, but we really wanted to eat here. it was a great first time experience and we had a lot of fun. we ordered 13 items, got roasted green tea (in love), and ordered 2 dessert items. we loved the uni toast, the coconut tapioca dessert, the pork belly, and the mushroom nigiri. i loved the eel nigiri of course. the dessert was my favorite. we also ordered $70 wagyu beef with potato confit and it was on point, but probably wouldn’t get again. the potatos were cooked amazingly.

they even had sewing kits, lint rollers, iphone chargers, etc on hand and you could get them from the host if you needed it -- fancy. the crowd was older people and a good amount of business men. it was a $400 meal and we’ll definitely be coming back for celebrations and whatnot. sumi will always have a special place in my heart though. i think that’s when i really started appreciating japanese food more. anyway, we took the train back (btw, o ya is like on this small hidden side street near south station and it’s so low key but highly rated) and kevin gamed while i watched soem youtube videos. he gamed a bit too long and i got upset because we were supposed to spend more time in the guest suite. i got over it after showering and then we went up there and i got to use my oatmeal luxury soap from lush and the rub, rub, rub bar. the water was much warmer and i think it was bad for my nerves because i went to sleep with the tingly nerve sensation. oh well, it will be my last time bathing for a while. that was good way to end the night :) it was another relaxing and fun time with the bear in the guest suite~ so grateful for this awesome week and i never want it to end, and it probably won’t because it was just spending time experiencing new things with kevin that made it great. <3

19: so we slept at like 3 am and we woke up at 12 or 1 pm. we were dead. we made potstickers and chicken nuggets for brunch. i was cramping a lot. T_T so i took it easy and just did laundry, which was smaller than usual? and then got my gleener (sweater fuzz remover) and tried it out on my leggings... it ended up ripping a hole in them T__T or rather maybe it was the dull razor i was using? the razor did a better job btw. so then i filed for a return, contacted bombas because there’s already a hole in my socks, and then looked around the apartment for thread? ugh, sad that i didn’t ask for a sewing kit in o ya now. i was a bit bummed out by all of these events and my stomach and cramps didn’t help either. i also have a terrible throat/ear pain. :/ sigh. we planned meals for the week earlier in the day so then we just changed and went to get groceries.

we got everything we needed at kam man but some items weren’t the freshest. we couldn’t find my coconut milk or any croissants left at bj’s. we have to go grocery shopping a bit earlier now :( haha. i like going late to avoid to crowds though. so we left bj’s with orange juice and some english muffins. we got back, i folded the laundry, helped cook noodles, and then we watched ‘it follows’ for our movie date because we didn’t want to go out and watch ‘logan’ or ‘get out’ or ‘beauty and the beast.’ it was a pretty good movie -- kevin got scared ;P it was a different kind of horror film. kevin cooked lunch while i exercised for a bit. then he vacuumed and showered. then i showered and we made the bed together and i went to sleep. zzz. i went to sleep before 1:30 am!! woot.