Redefining...

I miss writing so much. I don't know what's gotten in me lately but I have been living without any inspirations. I want to be able to find that again. I want to find the drive. I want to find the greatness of life again. Maybe I'm just really exhausted. I rarely get any free time to do just whatever I would like. But when I do, I would find myself choosing sleep over everything else. I need to find inspirations to make my life a little more interesting. I need to find it soon. Don't get me wrong, I am truly happy. I appreciate everything life has to offer... But I need more. I want to LIVE IT. I want to do cool things again. Let's hope something will spark my inspiration plug soon.

xoxo, Ly

I wrote this on a plane, quickly.

I really dislike it when I get out of the writing zone. There'll be months where I'm on a roll, determined to write about anything and everything. And there'll be months where I just live. Well, here goes my first entry for August. 

I am home yet once again. Usually, I would have an agenda for what I expect to happen. But this time, I didn't know for what was going to be in store for me and I didn't care what was going to be in store for me. All I wanted to do was sleep. The couple of days leading up to my homecoming had left me so sleep deprived. Dealing with my French final while trying not to ignore all of the fun around me gave me roughly four hours of sleep within the 48 hours of cramming and "funning." Wait... I really just said funning... I kind of like it. Funning. Anywho, you would think that I would be a pro at packing by now... but um, not really. I still suck, a lot. Wanna know how I packed for this trip? I literally threw my laundry hamper filled with filthy 3-weeks worth of clothes into a large black suitcase. C'est fini. I didn't care to pack any shampoo, conditioner, and body wash... nothing. Just my dirty clothes. I figured my mom would have all of the good stuff at home. And she did. 

For once in my entire life I did not care to see my friends. As weird as that sound… all I wanted to do was to be with my family. Every time I am home, I rarely get to see my family. They work all day, and when they come home at night, I’m out with my friends. This time, I really wanted to just hang out with my family. Plus, I didn’t have a car so that really helped control the urge to go out. I love being home. My parents treat me like a princess. No joke. Also, everything is free. Free breakfast, lunch, dinner, shopping, massages, pedi, mani, LIKE EVERYTHING. I truly appreciate everything they do for me.

My mother just turned 47 on August 11. This was the first year in my entire life that I had to miss her birthday. So she postponed her birthday party until I came home. All of her friends showed up. Most of the family came together (this made me so happy because it’s been years since everyone was content with one another. Just like old times.) My mom turned our dining room & living room into a dance floor. She removed all of our furniture and threw them in the garage. It may sound crazy but everything looked pretty good. I could tell that she had a great time. I have never seen my mother that happy before. When I brought out the cake, everybody surrounded and sung to her. She was the queen. All eyes were on her. She definitely felt special. I will never forget the smile she had on her face that night. It was a night to remember.

I like coming home for just a few days. If I were to stay any longer, I would’ve hated it for sure. Five days at home was perfection. When my parents dropped me off at the Sacramento Airport, I was truly sad. I had such a great vacation at home man. But I’m not complaining because it’s all worth it. Leaving them on great terms will only make coming back to them that much better. I think the reason why I’m so sad this time is because I know that it’ll be months until I get to see them next. I’ve been coming home almost every month this summer. The next time I’m home will most likely be in November for Thanksgiving break. Which is like 3 months from now. But that’s all right. School and work will keep me busy. Time will fly by once again, it always does.  Gosh, it’s so weird being old. 

San Antonio, TX

I fell in love with this place. It wasn't too bad of a drive from New Orleans to here. We got here pretty early enough to roam the city while the sun was still out. Usually the three of us would take turn driving. You know, a few hours per person... well, I slept through the whole drive. Haha. I have never slept so much in a car before. I had to pay for the hotel room this night. So I Hotwired it. Hotwire is a pretty neat site. You can get last minute deals for hotel rooms and stuff based on star ratings. The only sucky part is you won't know which hotel you will get until you click "purchase." If you like taking chances then it could also be a fun lil game. We ended up with the Hampton Inn a mile away from the Alamo and town center. It was a pretty nice hotel for how much I paid ($75). It was walking distance to pretty much everything. 

We checked in to our room and left to find a place to have dinner as soon as we got there. I despise walking anywhere... but when I am in a tourist-y mood, I will walk anywhere and everywhere. We walked a few blocks to the town center. It was called the River Center or something like that. It's a cute little place. Kind of like a mall... but what's neat about this is it has like a river running throughout the whole place. It has a very patriotic theme. They might've just decorated the place in red, white, and blue for Fourth of July though. Maybe that's why. There were a lot of creepers and teenagers there. So glad Megan's dad was there to protect us haha. We were starving and couldn't decide between Tony Roma's and Hooters... I have never been to any of those place mentioned before. But we ended up with Hooters. I got some boneless chicken, and barely finished half of it. I think the half-clothed girls really just took away my appetite. It was distasteful. The food was just alright. They had horrible service too. After the Hooters, we went to see The Alamo!!! I was dying to go sightseeing. Actually, we grabbed some desserts at Haagen Dazs before we headed to The Alamo. Took a few pictures here and there. Megan really wanted to do some activities, so we paid to do this mirror maze thing and 007 laser light. It was fun. We were kids again. I got myself a shirt that says San Antonio, Tx on there. It's a pretty sweet looking lil thang. After all of the shenanigans were done, we walked back to the hotel to rest up. Because we are going to drive FOREVER to Arizona. San Antonio, you're beautiful. Here are some pix. 

NOLA

I allowed myself to be a complete tourist on this road trip for the following reasons... 1) I have never been to these cities before so it makes complete sense that I can do tourist activities. 2) I am in fact, a tourist. 3) Being a tourist will give me the opportunities to explore all of the hot spots. 

We finally got out of Florida (it seemed like we would never get out because it was such a long state). Drove through the bottom of Alabama & Mississippi. My #1 mission on this road trip was to take pictures of the welcome signs. I wanted to get every single one of them. Do you know how impossible that was?! There were no warnings to let us know that they were coming up. By the time we approach the sign, it was either too late to pull out the camera or we were too far/ driving too fast. What a disappointment. Anyway, so we finally got into New Orleans. We drove on so many bridges, it was definitely different than my usual drive in California. There's water everywhere. Our first stop was at this Cajun Food place. Megan and her dad really wanted these things called "boudin." The pronunciation of that word sounds like "Buddha." I was really confused on why they wanted "Buddha." I've never had it before. So what is boudin? It's a type of sausage. We got pork & crawfish boudins. I had the pork boudin. How was it? It honestly tasted like eggrolls to me. Haha. It was good, but I wouldn't crave it all the time. After that quick stop, we checked into our hotel. Funny thing about this, we somehow went to the wrong hotel. We unloaded all of our stuff and the bell boy brought them in. The front desk tried to check us in but we had no reservation there... it turned out that our hotel was across the street from this one. I have no clue how that happened haha. Once we were in the right hotel, we freshened up and headed for Bourbon St. Our hotel was only about five blocks from there. We walked. If you know me, you should know that I never ever ever walk anywhere. I hate walking. Driving > Walking. Okay, you get the point. But this was a part of me wanting to be a tourist. Also because the parking was really bad there haha. I didn't mind walking. It was a good city vibe. So Bourbon St. was nothing like what it looked like on TV. It definitely didn't smell like how it looked on TV (if that makes any sense). I will tell you one thing, it was definitely festive. The streets were way tiny. I guess they do add 10lbs to EVERYTHING on TV. We had dinner at this restaurant that some guy just pulled us into and sat us down. What did I get? A salad. As soon as I ordered that, I started thinking what the hell was I thinking. I'm in New Orleans and I got a salad. A freaking salad. But I didn't feel like changing my order, so I just went with it. It was delicious. After dinner, we roamed the street. Being the tourist that I was, I had to buy a bunch of New Orleans souvenirs. I got the most beautiful pair of shorts that says New Orleans on the back. I was so excited to wear them... Um, after one night with them, the New Orleans letters became "Ne Or ea s"  WTF man. Talk about bad printing. Anyway, we walked the whole street. There were strip clubs everywhere. These butt-naked strippers were standing at the door luring in men..and women! The bars looked so much fun. We were there on a Monday, so it was like karaoke night or something. It seemed like all of the bars had karaoke. Honestly, I think it would've been much better if I was 21. We had no business of being there. Once we were done exploring, it was back to the room we go. We needed some rest for the drive to San Antonio, TX. Adios NOLA.

Destination Orlando, Fl

The first stop on our road trip is Orlando, Fl. The famous city that's known for Disney World and The Wizarding World of Harry Potter. Orlando wasn't originally on our list, we had planned on driving from Miami straight to New Orleans, Louisiana, but with a slight change of plans, Orlando was added as a destination. Since I flew to Miami from California, I never actually got to see the roads in Florida, like the freeway and such (you're probably thinking I'm crazy for wanting to see roads and landscapes and such... but no I love driving and being able to see EVERYTHING). It's really different everywhere. Especially when you're driving on the Interstate and get to see what's surrounding you. What I saw were filled with the awesome color green. All different shades of green. If I were to play I Spy and were to spy something green, people would've had a hard time guessing what I was spying. From the palm trees to the swaying grass meadows, from the tall bushes to the green leaves. Nature was at its finest.

As soon as we got to the hotel, we called dibs on each bed. Then we headed straight to the Orlando Premium Outlets, as Marcus, Kevin, Tori, Lisa, and Karen would say from the movie White Chicks.... "SHOPPPPPPPPPPPING!" This was definitely a tourist attraction. I saw all different types of people. There were more than just the English language being spoken here. I actually saw a lot of Asian folks here, compared to Miami, I was no longer a foreigner in Orlando. Haha. We had dinner at the food court... I don't know what I was thinking buying sushi in a mall/outlet food court... it was horrific. The chinese food that I had definitely calmed my angry stomach though. I can eat chinese food all day, every day. After that we went back to the hotel to get some rest. We had a long day a head of us. Our next destination: New Orleans, Louisiana.

So if you're still wondering whether or not I went to Disney World... no I did not. I did drove past it on the way to the outlet and took a faint picture of the sign haha. Like I said, Orlando wasn't a planned destination so we were not prepared for such a trip. Therefore, nothing exciting really happened.

Doing it right by starting the drive off with some Steak 'n Shake. Man, I love this place. I don't know why all of the restaurant chain from the South stops at Arizona. That's ridiculous. Bring Bojangles, Steak 'n Shake, Jim 'n Nicks, & Waffle House here!

I bought a map just for the sake of having a map on a road trip... Lol. 

My faintly captured Disney World sign.

Of Course I had to jump on the bed at the hotel... who doesn't do that? The ceiling was a little too low, I had to use a pillow for protection haha.

 There you have it. Orlando, Florida.

Miami!

I can now say I have experienced Miami. Let's see, how was Miami... well, it reminded me a lot of my motherland, Vietnam. The weather was hot, humid, and very bipolar. Maybe bipolar isn't the correct word, but it would storm and rain out of no where then get sunny again. What I love about Miami though is the vibe. Let me tell ya, it is definitely no where like California. Nothing against Miami, but it made me appreciate California's weather so much more. High in the 70s, low in the 60s, always. Besides the weather, the people were very different. Some Miamians have guessed that I was either Hawaiian, Puerto Rican, or "do you have some black in you." Not even a single type of Asian. Speaking of Asians, I never saw a single Asian person in Miami. I must've looked really foreign to them. Lol.

I packed a suitcase full of clothes for the trip, looking back, I shouldn't have packed anything at all. I pretty much went shopping as soon as I got there and I wore everything that I bought the whole trip. Sigh, so pointless. Anyway, my friend Megan took me to this Boba place at Aventura mall and I had my first "popping boba." What the heck is popping boba?! It looks just like a regular boba ball... but inside it is filled with juicy goodness with different flavors such as mango, strawberry, etc. The popping boba, of course, pops in your mouth. It was like heaven. I don't think they have it in the West Coast at all. They should, I would be a regular! Actually, they probably do, I just haven't looked into it. Haha.

I also went to the beach. Let me tell ya, Miami beaches > California beaches. For sure. The water was so blue. Touching it was like falling into a warm bath. Even though it was raining like a crazy mother effer, I'm glad I had a chance to at least experience what heaven was like... lol. I wasn't there for that long because it started to rain really hard. Which reminded me a lot of my motherland once again. As a kid, whenever it rained, the kids from the block, my cousins, and I would run in the street butt naked and just dance in the rain. Rain was the best thing that ever happened to us. We didn't have Wet & Wild, we didn't have Raging Waters, we had free rain!!! Walking in the rain brought back a lot of memories. By the time we got to our car, we were soaked from head to toes.

I wasn't in Miami for that long because we had to start our road trip back to California. I did not want to leave, I wanted more. I wanted to absorb all of the life and culture of this city. As my former governor would say, "I will be back."

Boarded... not abiding the "please turn of your electronic devices" rule. Sorry bout it.

Here I am, about to experience popping boba for the first time evaaah.

Megas and I on our way to Whiskey Tango to watch the Finals game.

Okay, I guess you can't really tell in this picture... but we were soaked after the rain.

My I am angry at the rain face. Lolzzzzz.

This is how pretty the water was. I want to go back!

Take me back to EDC

Electric Daisy Carnival was possibly one of the best things that has ever happened to me. I was introduced to the three day festival a few years back by my friend Matt. Never would I thought I would have the opportunity to go. I mean, I have always been an Indie/Alternative kind of girl. House music? Dubstep? People dressed in crazy costumes? And those fluffies? It’s funny now that I think about it. When Matt told me about EDC, I thought it was a cruise. You know, the Carnival cruise. Lol. I was such a dork. The whole house/electro/trance/dub music genre creeped up on me and I started to really enjoy it. The more and more songs I discover, the more in love I fell with it. 

This whole event made a huge dent in my bank account. I wasn’t prepared to go at all. Back in April, my friend/ sorority sister Clarissa and I were talking about EDC and it was decided right then and there that we would go. If you know me, you would know that I am a woman of my word. I never bail on things and if I say I would do something, I will. Yes, I questioned it at first. What was I thinking? I have never been to a rave and she’s been numerous of times before. I didn’t really take the whole thing seriously at first because I thought it probably wasn’t going to happen. Then we started planning our costumes… and eventually bought our tickets. I spent just over half a grand on this whole event. How insane was I? I don’t regret a single penny I spent on it though. 

There are no words for me to express how amazing it was. You had to be there to understand. It’s life changing. I came home wanting to just go back. I would lay in bed and replay the moments and memories over and over in my head. Being with 300,000 people everyday for the whole weekend and coming home to a silent apartment was completely weird. I could still hear the bass ringing in my ears. There was no way to get me off this EDC high. I tried telling my friends about how amazing it was but the only word I could think of was INDESCRIBABLE. One of the best weekends of my entire life. I would go back and redo it all over in a heartbeat. I don’t even care about all the bad/awkward/crazy things that happened. I would do it all again! Here are some pictures to help me describe. 

 FIRST DAY:

It felt so good to see this sign, we were on the road all day!

Waiting in line...I don't even think there was even a line! I actually don't really remember what happened.. haha

Some random stupid guy wanted a picture.

Another random guy that wanted a picture. He actually gave us drinks haha. Funny story, we ran into him on the third day. I thought he looked so familiar, and then realized there was a picture of him in my phone. We showed him the picture and all of us immediately became BFFs. Haha. 

This picture was actually really funny at the moment. I don't recall doing this at all, but from what my friends told me, I was helping that lady sell her drinks haha. Like screaming "waterrrrrr, buy waterrrrrrrrr!" on the top of my lungs.

As you can see her facial expression... She was probably thinking "Look at this crazy mother f*****" Lol

I always thought girls with pasties are so trashy. But I only saw two pretty non-trasy pasty wearers. She was one of them.

I don't even remember being at this stage on the first day.

There were 7 different stages and this was the Kinetic Field stage. Where we were at most of the time.

I was on top of some guy's shoulders while taking this picture. OMG top view was amazing. Everybody has to experience it at least once in their life.

SECOND DAY:

Some lady wanted a picture of us...it was weird. I'm afraid what she was going to do with the picture haha.

So, the second day was a bust. We were stuck in traffic for literally 3 hours. Got there and not even a few hours later, EDC got shut down due to the wind. I didn't even get to see Tiesto or Steve Aoki. Like it was such a blow. It was freezing cold. 

Since EDC got shut down, we decided to have ourselves a lil hotel partay. Haha. It turned out to be a pretty successful night. ;)

THIRD NIGHT:

The third night was probably my favorite night. Even though the craziest stuff happened... it was still my favorite night out of the three. We were there from 6:00p.m.-6:00a.m. It was our longest night but the best night.

This was the only other pasty girl I thought was pretty.

Vancouver boys, eh? 

This was the guy we met while waiting in line on the first day. They called him the "forklift" lol.

 There it is. I would give anything to be able to experience it all over again. Too bad, it's a year away!!!