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I believe I would consider myself a romantic person. There was a span of time in my younger life when I was a voracious reader of sappy, sometimes erotic, romantic novels (“bean flickers“, a raunchy term Jian would often call them). I would throw myself headfirst into these saccharine-sweet predictable stories, & let myself become easily bedazzled by the male hero character. I could imagine myself in those stories, as the female lead character, often painting wildly vivid scenes in my mind as I was reading those books. (I still do read those types of books sometimes, but let’s keep that as a secret between me & you.) I also enjoyed watching romantic movies (ugh, I hate the term ‘chick flick’). During that time in my life, I even tried to write my own romance story. I got into reading & writing Fan Fiction, & once attempted to write my own story. It didn’t quite pan out the way I had liked, so I ultimately kept my writing hidden & locked away from the world.
Yes, I would say I’m into romance. However, I’m not crazy about all of the fluff that comes along with it…fluff such as: candle-lit decor, overflowing bouquets of flowers, boxes of chocolates, stuffed animal bears, etc.. I don’t mind a quiet dinner for two, or a surprise getaway, but it doesn’t have to be flashy, showy, or smothered in hearts & flowers (a reference I borrowed from a famous book trilogy). I prefer the subtle approach. That’s mostly the reason why, even though I am all about romance, I don’t particularly enjoy celebrating Valentine’s Day. It’s more than just the over-commercialization of the holiday. Romance should be displayed every day, not just for one wallet-cringing, budget-busting day.
This is where I try, unsuccessfully, to segue into the next part of this story…my trip with Jian to Lake Tahoe, CA. We didn’t even realize Valentine’s Day would fall on a weekend, let alone this upcoming weekend. We had been planning for months to take my All-Wheel-Drive Audi station wagon (which my friends have lovingly named it the Storm Trooper) up to the mountains & play in the snow. Seeing so many photos on the Internet of other Audi car owners taking their cars to snowy terrain had made Jian & I quite envious. So, we put our feet down, & made the firm decision to do the same with my car. Using his rewards points, Jian was able to score us a swanky room at the Ritz-Carltom hotel in Lake Tahoe, on the North Shore area. We were so excited that we booked a free night’s stay at such an extravagant hotel that we completely forgot about V-Day. It wasn’t until we looked at the dates we booked, when it finally dawned upon us. What a pleasant surprise.
This spur-of-the-moment trip to Lake Tahoe, & staying at the Ritz-Carlton is just about the most romantic thing we can think of doing within our limited budget. We are not planning on ordering room service & spending the quiet evening alone in our hotel room. We are planning on eating at the swanky French restaurant inside our hotel, & then going outside to play in the snow, freeze our butts off, & get our pants uncomfortably wet. We are not skiers or snowboarders, but we do enjoy playing around in the snow, & the one winter sport I enjoy is ice skating. I can’t do any spins, jumps, or axels; however, I can skate correctly, skate well, & skate backwards. (I’d like to credit my two years of childhood ice skating lessons for those achievements.)
We aren’t going to put emphasis on Valentine’s Day (we hardly ever do, anyway). However, we do understand that it will be Valentine’s Day weekend, & we will enjoy spending our time together in the snow. I just hope we don’t get snowed in. Cheers.
Today’s song of the day:
Hello February! Both of my parents’ birthdays are in this month (Dad’s on the 8th, Mom on the 18th). It’s also a significant time for Chinese New Year (which falls exactly on my dad’s birthday this year). As you may know by now, each Lunar Calendar year corresponds to an animal in the Chinese zodiac. When the new year falls upon your zodiac sign, it becomes a significant time for YOU. This becomes your so-called “make-or-break” year…if you are superstitious like I am. When it becomes the year of your zodiac sign, you must wear something RED EVERY SINGLE DAY FOR THE ENTIRE YEAR. It could be something small like earrings or a bracelet (guys could even use a piece of red string tied around their wrist). Or it could be something large like a t-shirt or socks. The absolute best way to ward off negativity for the lunar year is to wear, & I am not joking…RED UNDERWEAR. I’ve done the red underwear thing before, & it actually worked for me. The key is to buy a whole bunch of inexpensive red underwear (so you can turn all of your laundry pink), so you can cycle through them during the week. This lunar year falls on my zodiac sign, so I’m going to wear a red bracelet. I haven’t decided if I’m going to go all out & do the red underwear thing this year or not.
This year has barely just begun, & I’m already swamped with activities. I’ve had so many friends & family celebrating birthdays in January. Both of my parents are celebrating their birthdays this month. Chinese New Year is a huge deal in my family. We go through the ritual of cleaning the entire house to sweep out negative energy, & most importantly, we change our bed sheets on the Chinese New Year’s Eve, to signify the changing of the year. I am also going on a ton of trips this year. In just this month alone, I’ve already got two trips planned. Next weekend, Jian & I are going to play in the mountain snow in Lake Tahoe, CA. (We can’t wait to take our All-Wheel-Drive Audi up to the mountain snow.) Then, the weekend after that, the whole family is going to San Diego to celebrate my mom’s 70th birthday. I can’t wait to spend some more fun time with my favorite nephew & niece.
Also planned for this year, I’m going back to San Diego in the summer for Comic Con. I already got my 4-day passes, & I really hope I get to meet my favorite actor in person this time…not just watch him from afar at some stuffy panel discussion. Jian & I are currently in the process of planning two other major overseas trips for this year. We really want to go back to Guangzhou, China to visit Jian’s maternal grandparents who are unable to travel. It would be really wonderful to spend quality time with them again, since Jian is one of their favorite grandchildren. We hope we can snag another awesome package deal like last time, & have another layover in Japan again. I have really been itching to go back to Japan with Jian & show him other incredible cities. However, I do realize that we tend to mostly visit Asian countries whenever we plan major vacations, so I have finally convinced Jian to go with me to London, England. Hooray!
I am in the very early stages of planning the London trip. I am making spreadsheets, & lists, & reading lots of travel guides. I am going through my usual over-organized pre-trip planning. I am just way too excited to be visiting a European country for the first time. Just like my trips to Shanghai & Tokyo, I am going to photo-blog the shit out of my London trip. I will probably get obnoxious. I’m not sure yet. Well, I never know how to properly end my blog posts. So, cheers.
Today’s song of the day:
The title of this blog post has more than one meaning. Immediately after going to Disneyland with my family, I ended up getting really sick. I believe this is the third time this year that I’ve fallen ill right after I get back from a trip. I’m usually quite prepared when it comes to my personal well-being & overall health, as well as maintaining a good & thorough hand-washing regimen. However, the allergy & cold game is especially strong this year. I can feel a disturbance in the force… (A cheesy & clichéd Star Wars reference from a very Non Star Wars person.) That’s a big reason why I’ve been MIA from my blog. Plus, I’ve been singlehandedly decorating my house for the upcoming Christmas holiday, & helping my mom prepare the house for incoming houseguests.
So, I had a very bad cold & slight fever when I got back from my Southern California vacation. I’m so lucky that I didn’t get any symptoms until my vacation ended. The last few times my family visited Disneyland for the Thanksgiving holiday, at least one person either threw out their back (…my brother…) or got severely ill (usually myself or my nephew). I’m very glad this trip went off with minimal glitches. Everyone had a fun time, & the best part was that my nephew & niece thoroughly enjoyed themselves, & they went home with so many incredible memories to treasure for years to come.
my niece
Both kids cried so hard at the end of our trip. One child didn’t want to go home at all, & the other child wanted to hurry up & get the hell out of Disneyland on our last night. My sister had invited a close friend & her two daughters to meet up with us on one of our days at Disneyland. The daughters of said friend are good friends with my niece & nephew (they are all close in age). Having girl friends hang out with my niece made her so happy. My nephew, who is incredibly sentimental, was over the moon to have all of his favorite people surrounding him & letting him decide what rides we should go on. All of the grown ups really spoiled the kids so much at Disneyland…lots of individual attention to each child, lots of leniency, lots of sweet treats (but not a lot of souvenirs or presents).
Left to Right: Jian, niece, brother
Throughout the entire weekend, we jumped between both theme parks (Disneyland & California Adventure). My nephew (who is usually too stubborn to try new things) tried a few new rides, & even went on a few of the more adventurous rides for older kids. My niece also tried out a few new rides, & got her hair done at the Frozen-themed hair salon complete with glitter hairspray & clip-on colored hair extensions. I’m usually very skeptical about buying souvenirs &/or toys for my nephew & niece. They have a tendency of not taking good care of their belongings, & either end up breaking their things or losing them. Last year, I got “burned” by a bad experience that left a sour memory. I had gone out of my way to buy my niece some memorable (& expensive) souvenirs, & then she lost all of it. Even though her lost gifts got replaced for free by our hotel, that whole experience left me wary of buying the kids any more presents. But of course, me being the doting aunt, I always cave in & end up buying more gifts for my nephew & niece. This year, I only bought them each one souvenir. I got them monogrammed Mickey & Minnie hats. They each got hats with their names stitched on them, & I was more than surprised, I was utterly shocked that they politely wore their hats for the entire day we were at Disneyland. They really appreciated their gifts, & that made it worthwhile for me.
niece, nephew
Overall, this trip to Disneyland was probably our family’s most memorable vacation to-date. None of the kids fussed, complained, cried (until late at night on our last day), or got sick. My brother’s back pain was not acting up, & my sister was not acting like “diva mom” very much. Even my mom had a great time with all of these hyperactive kids bouncing around her. Her feet got stepped on several times by a few inconsiderate tourists, but she was fine in the end. Jian & I got to spend quality time together as well, & we each bonded even more with my niece & nephew. I swear, my nephew & I are so in sync. We get sick together, we like the same things, eat the same foods, & we are similar in other ways. This is how we’ve been able to remain extremely close since he was born. I’m just now starting to understand my niece’s personality, & she can look up to me because we are both girls. She is really finding her own voice & is able to speak up, which helps us understand her better. My sister’s kids will forever be my little sweethearts, even when I have children of my own. We had a blast with Mickey & his friends, & have plans to go back next year. Cheers!
Left to Right: niece, Jian, me, nephew
Today’s song of the day:
Rabbits & Foxes 
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