THANKSGIVING IN LA

I didn't go to Sacramento for Thanksgiving, so my family came to me. 

Couples VS Tetris

CALIFORNIA DOUGHNUTS

The most picture worthy doughnuts I've ever eaten.

KANYE WEST

Andrew's principal got his entire staff tickets to see Kanye West at the Forum.  I'm not a huge Kanye fan, but I was excited to get free tickets to see a concert of this scale.  Unfortunatly he canceled his performance a few hours before his show started.

So Andrew and I (already enroute to meet his co-workers) turn around and head to Chapman Plaza where we ate pork belly, drank soju, and made fun of Kanye West.

After dinner, we tried those infamous dragon ball breath things, which is basically liquid nitrogen poured onto cereal balls.  As you eat each ball nitrogen vapors come pouring out of your mouth. It was silly.

One cool thing about Cafe Cielito is the cork bottle map of the world they made in their patio area that people can leave tiny notes on . Nifty concept, brilliant execution!

D + J +  =^._.^= ∫

SNOW: FALL 2016

Finally getting some time to catch up on uploading memories!

TEXMEX BREAKFAST

Feeling Blue?

Homestate's breakfast tacos and loaded queso will pick you up.  Paired with some winning combination of new friends and lively conversation.  What more could you want from a double date.

THE KIMBAP

Living in K-Town does have many perks... one being Korean comfort food and boba drinks around every corner.

Building up that spice tolerance with dokbokki.

Best boy, not best boba.

THANKSGIVING BREAK BEGINS

Give thanks to the best job perk in the entire universe: TIME.  Andrew and I are both on a glorious Thanksgiving Break Holiday and we are going to ENJOY it.

Right after school let out, we met back at home and went straight to one of our favorites.  I've been on a seafood craving binge for the last month and The Boiling Crab certainly hit the spot!

Shrimp in the Whole She Bang

Raw Oysters, because I deserve it.

Then we went to the Arclight Cinemas to watch Arrival.  We got their early enough to pick seats and make a quick stop to Amoeba Music, which was right around the corner.

You can't leave this store without being inspired.

Not only is Arclight a gloriously huge movie venue.  It host all the best movies out, a unique gift store, as well as displays of costumes actually worn by the actors in the films playing.

Arrival was a stunning movie that made an imprint on my mind for days after.

"War doesn't make winners, only widows." - from the film Arrival

ROTHKO

I've always been drawn to the work of Rothko.  I stand right in front, as if I'm about to eat the painting whole.  I let my eyes relax and it engulfs me.  The subtle shift of my experience awakens something under my skin.  Beneath my conscious radar is a feeling body that's drawn out by the shades and texture on the canvas.  

Some art shows you something of the world and some art shows you something of yourself.  There is collaboration between art and viewer.  One could not possibly exist without the other.

DISNEYLAND WITH SARAH

Me and baby girl spent her birthday in Disneyland.  Here are some pics taken by the park photographers.

Our faces in line meeting Darth Vader.

I actually was scared of him.  Look how HUGE he is.

BEST ride at the park.  LOVED the updated Star Wars theme.

The trains were closed for maintenance, but at the stops you could climb aboard the carts and conductor seat.
The photographer had us do a little photo shoot.

We also got to ride the Tower of Terror one last time before it turns into something else.

Fave picture of this trip.

LOS ANGELES WITH SARAH

Sarah came to visit during her birthday weekend! Yay! After picking her up, our first stop was Grand Central Market.  There was hardly a line for Eggslut, so we took advantage and had breakfast for lunch.

The Slut in it's glory.

Next stop was LACMA.

From high school to here! Look at us!

Sarah fell in love with this mirror.

Portrait of Frida, by Diego Rivera.

We got tickets to see the Del Torro exhibit, which was as creepy as you'd expect it to be.

"Oh, I just loved your work in that film..."

Probably the coolest thing at the exhibit, an interactive digital version of one of Del Torro's notebooks.

Then we went to Osteria La Buca, which after that night is now my most favorite Italian restaurant ever.  They serve pasta hand made in-house.  They even brought out a butterscotch pudding for Sarah's Birthday!

FOR THE ELECTION

These are the times that test us. Let us all rise to the occasion. 
Here is a collection of letters, clips, etc. of what has helped me cope in the midst of the election results. 

Dharma for a Difficult Time - Jack Kornfield

"Whatever your point of view,

Take time to quiet the mind and tend to the heart.

Then go out and look at the sky.

Remember vastness, there are seasons to all things—

gain and loss, praise and blame, expansion and contraction.

Learn from the trees.

Practice equanimity and steadiness.

Remember the timeless dharma amidst it all.

Think of the best of human goodness.

Let yourself become a beacon of integrity, with your thoughts, words and deeds.

Integrity in speech and action, virtue, and non-harming bring blessings"

Leslie Knope Writes Letter to America - Writers of Parks and Recreation

"On behalf of the grown-ups of America who care about you and your futures, I am awfully sorry about how miserably we screwed this up. We elected a giant farting T. rex who does not like you, or care about you, or think about you, unless he is scanning your bodies with his creepy T. rex eyes, or trying to physically grab you like a toy his daddy got him (or would have, if his daddy had loved him)."

Letter to His Daughters - Aaron Sorkin

"America didn’t stop being America last night and we didn’t stop being Americans and here’s the thing about Americans: Our darkest days have always—always—been followed by our finest hours."

Election Week SNL Cold Open - Performed by Kate McKinnon

"And even though
It all went wrong
I’ll stand before the Lord of Song
With nothing on my tongue but Hallelujah"

BRAIN EXPLOSION

Look at him doing dishes... he's the best.