this weekend i got the chance to go to dc/conn/nyc to hang out with my sister (yen) and my future brother in law (jeff).. we did so much in the short amount of time i was there & totally lived it up! good times!

thanks minh for the pt and to yen & jeff for taking care of me.

09.21.07

BRISTOL, CONN – ESPN STUDIO

:: NST got invited to take a tour of the ESPN studios b/c the people at espn loved their music so much that they were able to get some air time for them ::

you can watch their airtime here.

:: the guy in the middle is in charge of ALL the music/sound effects for espn.. the guy second from the right (erik) does editing and was the guy who got NST music to play on espn ::

:: that night we drove to nyc and through the concierge’s recommendation, we ended up at this cool little restaurant called elmos ::

:: minh flew in later that night so he met us up at the hotel.. since yen & jeff were extremely tired.. minh & i went to meet thang & his wife for dessert and THIS – minh’s ‘all american breakfast’ hot dog ::

09.22.07

NO SECOND TROY performs at the LIONS DEN

:: my sister remembered seeing this restaurant (Chinatown Brassiere) recommended by Giada Delaurentiis from the food network and insisted we try it ::

:: cute taro ducks ::

 :: after eating our appetizers – we headed to Shanghai Cafe (thanks for rita’s recommendation) and had soup dumplings there – it was yen & jeff’s first time eating them and they loved it! ::

:: on the way back to the hotel.. we found (c)anal street  ::

:: this is maya - i was her teacher for half of her life.. she moved to ny back in april. i remember the day she left.. i was crying a river. all of the adults were. and the kids had no clue why.. how innocent they are.. it’s been awhile since i’ve seen her but she still remembered me and her parents said she still talks about me a lot.. gosh i’ve missed her.. anyway.. i got to see her while i was in ny.. ends up they live in the PENTHOUSE suite of the TRUMP TOWERS.. how crazy is that? ::

:: we all love maya! ::

:: dinner at a cute cafe near the lions den right before the show ::

:: lemuel & i reunited after about 4 years ::

:: the girls at the show – me, naerim, amber, rosie, & sistar ::

:: mark happened to be in ny at the same time so he came out to the show, too! ::

:: after the lions den, naerim and i headed over to an azn party at forbidden city.. i was hesitant to go at first, but then i ran into many of my college friends so i was happy i went.. jennie & jessica surprised me when they ran out and yelled my name – they couldn’t believe that i was there..and i couldn’t believe they were there ::

:: then i saw my buddy steve – no game – ho ::

:: southern sigmas in the east ::

:: bumped into stephany who i haven’t seen in years as well – she’s so cute ::

:: and my big LIL bro, patrick ::

:: gosh it was so good seeing everyone – miss PARK 101 (angela) ::

:: 2 koreans & me  ::

:: all the talk about korean food – lemuel started craving it so we headed to ktown for korean food at 3am ::

09.23.07

:: red balloon floating aimlessly ::

:: we went back to chinatown b/c my sistar wanted some more soup dumplings.. they were having a celebration for the moon festival ::

:: at Joe’s Ginger for soup dumplings again ::

:: best mango smoothie at whatever cafe ::

:: the hotel we stayed at ::

:: it was across the street from madison square garden ::

09.24.07

DAY IN DC by myself

:: walked through the chinatown ‘block’ & then it ended ::

:: this girl was my closest friend in 1st grade then she moved to norway and we lost touch..through the power of myspace… we reunited and it ended up that she just moved to dc b/c her husband is doing his residency there.. we reunited for the first time in about 18 years – unbelievable! it was sooo awesome talking to her and catching up on our lives.. even after 18 years – we are able to be friends :: 

:: after my sistar got off work, she picked me up and we went to this small town (alexandria, va).. she told me all these ghost stories as we walked by the ‘haunted’ places she heard about ::

:: we ate at this fish & chips place that supposedly has the ‘best’ fish & chips in va.. the batter was goooooood & the chips (aka fries) too ::

:: supposedly that house behind us is haunted and you are supposed to see these lights in the yard if you use your digital camera… we tested it and didn’t see anything.. but we ended up scaring ourselves in the process so we ran away ::

i left on tuesday & now im back in houston.. still looking for a job..

i have been holding out on my goodbye to japan update because every time i looked through the photos of my last days there, i get sad.. i knew that by officially saying ‘goodbye’ – that would mean that i would have to accept the fact that japan is now in my past.. and that i am no longer living there..

as much as i know this is true.. my heart wouldn’t let me believe it.. but i guess sooner or later you have to make yourself believe the truth.. and i guess now is the time for me.

my boxes are slowly arriving.. i got 4/7.. i guess it was a sign.. that i must move on..

japan was the best thing that happened to me.. 3 years ago.. i got on a plane to a land where i didn’t know anyone.. i knew little of the language and culture.. i had no idea what to expect… in the 3 years that i lived there.. i made the most wonderful friends from all over the world… i even became good friends with 2 fab girls that i once only said hi to in college..

i learned the value of life.. the value of friendship..the value of trust.. and the value of happiness.. though i was scared when i stepped on that plane.. it was the best decision i have ever made.. everything that i experienced in those 3 years taught me to be the person i am today.. i lived up those years to the fullest. so i regret nothing.. everyday was filled with adventures.. i am thankful for the dozens of friends that were able to visit me there.. i was able to show them a bit of my world..

japan.. my heart will always belong to you.. you taught me how to live. 

:: early goodbye party at saigon restaurant – i’m surely going to miss that place – the indian curry & nan was the best! ::

:: got to spend the day with my buddy spencer that i met last year when el & ly were in town ::

:: met up my niece, phoebe (white jacket) – she spent 1 month in japan with her best friend and her family ::

:: met up ryo, seiko, & friend for a goodbye dinner – i met them through rika awhile back ::

:: goodbye dinner at venire while ayesa was in town.. my friends from New Hope plus rika, tomoko (we became friends while she was working at the gap and i was a customer), & her friend ::

:: my very first Japanese friend, Kaori – I met her on the plane the day I moved to Japan - she helped me out a lot and we managed to keep in touch through the years.. she is super sweet – I miss her ::

:: chieko invited me out to meet a bunch of CEOs of different japanese companies.. they wanted to practice their english.. ended up it was just me and her. but it was a great night ::

:: akiko (i met her when i was waiting for my flight back to tokyo from hanoi) she is a tour leader so she was in charge of a bunch of japanese tourist in vietnam.. she was sitting next to me around 1am and i was bored so we started talking.. she’s super nice… i wish we had the chance to hang out more :: 

:: asako & mayumi – they were both my japanese teachers when i took japanese for a few months.. we ended up becoming friends and we managed to meet up once every few months… they were always so helpful and tried teaching me japanese over the years ::

:: our friend, shoji had an event on a friday night so marg and i went out to support him.. this was the last time marg and i went out together.. so sad ::

:: that’s shoji up there with the girls – may, me, marg, & chion ::

:: gotta love my harajuku peeps – yes this is pretty normal ::

:: of course i HAD to make it out to tokyo pride this year since i had so much fun last year.. i managed to make chieko go with me.. but we both had something else to do so we weren’t able to see the parade, but we did get to see a little bit ::

:: later that day we had a get together at john’s place as a going away for me.. i wasn’t prepared, but i ended up giving this long speech.. words of wisdom so to speak.. everyone said they took everything i said to heart and that it really helped them think about life.. i was so touched ::

:: i really miss my New Hope (church) friends ::

:: that night Grace took Ben, me, and Karhoong to a fabulous onsen near Disneyland  – there was an outside area where we could wear bathing suits and hang out with the boys ::

:: here we are missing ana.. our ‘family’ is not complete – she had already moved back to hawaii by then ::

:: ben. me. grace. karhoong in our yukatas ::

:: my last weekend in japan… my buddy El from sf came into town! he got a hotel at the cerulean in shibuya so we went out and crashed with him! ::

:: chieko forgot her id so the only place that would let us in was gaspanic.. though i always vowed never to go there again.. we had a really good time ::

:: we even met this girl & guy from ny that was visiting ::

:: my roomie, adrian & the bar guy ::

:: our new friends ::

:: my last sunday at church was really sad.. i’ve loved this place for the past 2 years.. i really felt as though it was my home church.. this is yuichi (ana’s bf) ::

:: this is yoshi.. he just has this kindness that shines.. im always so happy to see him even though we dont talk much.. once he told me that i had the best smile and that everytime he saw me smile it made him happy.. it was so sweet.. i almost cried :: 

:: this is keiya – he has such a kind heart.. when you look at him he doesnt look like a Christian, but he is full of God.. he was such an awesome witness.. i adore him ::

:: grace. hiroko. & me.. i remember the first time hiroko came to church.. i was compelled to talk to her.. she was struggling with some stuff during that time and we ended up spending hours talking.. the day i left..she told me she will never forget what i did for her that day.. i was one of the reasons why she started going to our church ::

:: this is garett & charlie.. they are both japanese-americans.. when i took pictures with them.. my mouth kept looking too big.. so here they are trying to make my mouth look smaller.. haha.. silly boys :: 

:: my super cool pastor – Pastor Talo & his wife, Noriko.. they were so easy to talk to and always motivated me and made me feel at home.. what inspirations! ::

:: I was this little boys first kiss.. his name is Issa.. though he forgot me shortly after.. his parents always bonded with me b/c of it.. hahaha.. ok that sounds weird.. anyway.. yeah – here he is acting like he doesn’t know me ::

:: after church that day a few of my friends from New Hope took me out to dinner.. they did the sweetest thing.. they all went around the table and each said something about me.. i was deeply touched and will never forget their words.. ::

:: i got him started.. this was the last time i could pluck his eyebrows.. we did it in a lighted back alley in shibuya.. people kept walking by and it looked as though we were making out if you saw us from behind… branda & chieko were standing next to us chatting away as though nothing awkward was happening :: 

:: that night we went out again.. this was my FINAL night out.. it was on a sunday.. spencer came to join us for a bit while adrian slept ::

:: the biggest cone i ever did see ::

:: jumping at shibuya crossing (the worlds busiest intersection) at 4am ::

:: before we called it a night, we managed to have breakfast at mcdonalds! almost everyone there was sleeping ::

:: my very last time eating at my favorite ramen shop.. we discovered this place a few months after i moved to tokyo and throughout the 3 years.. it still remained my favorite ::

:: aya & me.. i met her during my first few months in japan.. we took a bellydancing class together.. ended up it was just me, her, and our instructor.. we ended up keeping in touch even though she moved to cuba for a couple years – thank goodness she moved back in time for me to see her again ::

:: michiko and i got to meet up in omotesando.. we ate at this hamburger shop that i always wanted to try out..then we went for dessert at my favorite cake shop – cafe comme ca – she is one of the nicest girls i know.. though we didn’t get to hang out as much as we’d like.. i am thankful for our times in kyoto, nikko, and tokyo together ::

:: i taught this little boy (Mahiro) for 2 years.. he came over to my house on tuesdays and i would teach for an hour.. and sometimes two..when i would teach him for two hours i took him to mcdonald’s for a ‘happy set’.. it was neat watching him learn and grow for 2 years.. it was sad saying goodbye ::

:: adrian always told me about this thai restaurant that was really good down the street from us.. out of all the times we could have come here.. we didnt. and we finally did when it was my ‘last time’.. so sad – adrian was an awesome roomie.. he’s really like a big bro to me ::

:: yuika & i became close when we went on the church retreat.. it was so great getting to know her.. she has such a big heart and she is so talented.. im so proud of her ::

:: though we talked all the time at church and always said we’d hang out outside of church..this was the first time we actually did.. charlie is an awesome man of God ::

:: 2 days before i left.. rika invited ghee and i to her hometown to have a bbq and watch the fireworks ::

:: while we were walking around.. I heard them speak in Vietnamese so of course I got happy and told them I am Vietnamese, too.. we started to talk and became friends ::

:: ibaraki is known for the “Tallest Standing Buddha in the World” (you know how i feel about superlatives!) ::

:: that thing was gigantuous!!! ::

:: rika & her mama working hard – they prepared soooo much food for us.. man i LOVE japanese people.. they are the most thoughtful people ever ::

:: they even got me a surprise Goodbye cake ::

:: us with Rika’s parents ::

:: as many times as I’ve been to harajuku.. i never took a picture at the beginning of takeshita dori.. i always wanted to take pictures for others, but never of myself because this place was like my 2nd home.. it was sad having to take this b/c it meant that it would be my last time ::

:: the last time i could see chieko in japan ::

:: i went to see one of my students (franchesca) to say goodbye to her and her mommy – i hope she never forgets me! ::

:: SO precious!! ::

:: my very last night in japan.. takako wanted to take me to her favorite 80s bar.. they had a live 11 people cover band.. it was surreal watching all these people run to the front to jam to the music! ::

:: this was the night i had to say goodbye to ai-chan.. she said the most touching words to me as she cried.. i was heartbroken.. she has been one of my closest friends throughout the 3 years i was there.. i met her the 2nd week i was in japan and we ended up working together for the same amount of time.. we went through it all together.. it was super hard saying goodbye ::

:: my last meal - @ soup stock ::

:: my goodbye team..it’s a big deal to go all the way out to the airport to say goodbye to someone.. it’s so out of the way.. but these 4 managed to do so just for me.. i didnt want any of them to come b/c i knew if they did there would be tears.. but im glad they did b/c they will always be the last people i saw the day i left.. i ended up crying my eyes out when i hugged them goodbye.. then as i slowly saw them disappearing as i went down the escalator.. my heart was shattered into a million pieces ::

i’ll leave you with this.. rika wrote me a card that read “You are a wonderful teacher, person, & friend. There are more than 60 billion people on the earth now and I could meet you. You will never know how precious that is to me.”

let’s just say i cried almost the whole flight home..

www.spin.com

NO SECOND TROY, baby!!!!!!!!!!!

i know i should be updating my final days in japan.. but after 2 weeks.. i still haven’t been able to find the words to express what it felt like leaving the city where i left my heart.. so i’ll post dc pics for now.. i don’t want to be any more behind on my entries..

flew back to houston on august 17th.. left for dc the following morning.. bao, me, & dee flew together from houston to chicago and met hung in chicago (he flew from dallas) and then minh flew into dc around the same time.. we all came to see my sister & jeff and watched NO SECOND TROY perform live at the famous 9:30 club.

:: dinner before the show with the NST ‘street team’ at Alero (great mexican!) ::

:: maria (from spain) and my sis showing off their tickets ::

:: NST street team – chika chika yeahhh ::

:: maria is super duper tall – she’s 6’2! ::

:: bro-in-law JEFF from NST singing live – his performance was superb!! ::

:: afterwards we went to duffy’s for some drinks with friends and fans ::

:: i love how happy my dee looks.. and how hunggies has an ‘im up to no good’ look ::

:: i met a new friend that night named doug (shown above) - he went to baylor and knew dee and hunggies ::

:: lian & her man are soldiers! they went to a game and made it out to see us after ::

:: awww.. lil sis & big bro together again ::

:: some folks were drunk.. esp. the monkey above.. don’t ask how he got that banana ::

:: lunch at bungalows – they have the BEST buffalo wings ever ::

:: my <3s ::

:: then yen & jeff took us to hike GREAT FALLS ::

:: the best inside joke – turtle cupcakes.. man they were goooooooooood ::

:: beautiful reflection ::

:: grrrrrrrrrrowl ::

:: the finale - the GREAT FALLS - where virginia & maryland meet – it was a super long hike, but we laughed almost the whole way.. good times ::

:: look at how nervous he was around 3 ladies ::

:: yes we’re going to be related – see the “crazy” resemblance? ::

:: 6 asians & a white guy – right after this david met us up at great falls and we kept telling him to look for 6 asians & a white guy.. we were hoping he wouldn’t miss us =/ ::

:: afterwards we rewarded ourselves with a great meal at this fab french restaurant called “Bistrot Du Coin” ::

:: dee is so cute.. david just wants to eat ::

:: lunch at “the Carlyle” before we were on our way back to texas – super delish crabcakes & pasta ::

:: jeff drove to the airport just to see us for 2 seconds to say goodbye.. what an awesome bro! i look carefree here, but about 5 minutes later.. we realized that we got our flight time wrong and only had about 30 minutes to get to our gate.. we RAN and RAN and RAN (it felt like forever) and when we finally got to our gate.. our flight was delayed – we ended up having to sit on the plane and wait for another 2 hours after our first delay.. it was great. (not) ::

finally got the internet up and running..

been doing all kinds of things..

been feeling all kinds of emotions..

give me a bit of time to gather my thoughts and i’ll try to come back in full force.

to my friends in japan – oh how i miss you all.

marks 3 years to the day i arrived in japan.

happy anniversary to me.

as i’ve been meeting up my friends to say goodbye, it hasn’t really hit me yet.. i feel as though i’m going on a long vacation, but i’ll be back.. except this time.. i won’t come back.  there are too many things going through my mind right now.. i’ll try my best not to cry.. but i’m sure i will.

will update once i get settled back in houston.

my biggest challenge in life so far was moving to japan all by myself and feeling totally alone.

now my biggest challenge is moving back home - where i’ll experience being uncomfortable at its best.

let’s see how long i survive…

update: it’s 4:15am.. while i was in the shower a few minutes ago.. there was an earthquake! thank goodness it wasn’t a big one or else i might have had to run out naked.. i bet my neighbors would have remembered me forever. haha

august 5th-7th with chieko to visit mai

:: pho at chi mai’s restaurant in downtown shizuoka city – “AnNam Vietnamese Restaurant” ::

:: eating in japan is so fun ::

:: hamburg lunch before heading off to nihondaira ::

:: on the cable car to go across to the other side ::

:: more shochu than you can even imagine drinking ::

:: 600 year old crazy looking tree ::

:: chieko told me to work it ::

:: chieko says “pretend like you’re falling” so i did.. and then i really fell – dang timer caught the moment ::

:: she wanted to know how she’d look like with an ‘afro’ ::

:: creme brulee at this cute hotel ::

:: fields of green ::

:: b/c things are prettier with your sunglasses on ::

:: running against the wind ::

:: the BEST fatty tuna sashimi i have ever had ::

:: tuna tartar ::

:: sippin on some sake ::

:: the owners of the restaurant and us ::

:: chieko being cute while trying green tea mochi ::

TSUBAKISO camping site

w/rika & the fujinos (marin & her mom - yuko, dad - tomoji, & dog – brownie)

My first real camping experience ever.. I’m so glad I got to experience it in Japan. Just being one with nature, where time doesn’t matter, cell phones don’t work – all you need to do is relish in the moments and enjoy the company of those around you.

:: marin looking a lil tired with all our gear after getting to our destination – it was a 3 hour car ride from tokyo ::

:: marin & brownie ‘helping’ with tent set up ::

:: we all split up to set up different things… tomoji & i were in charge of setting up the tents – it was fun trying to figure out what goes where ::

:: after we finished.. marin welcomed me into her tent ::

:: she had so much fun jumping on the air mattresses ::

:: rika was in charge of putting air into the air mattresses ::

:: marin was the big boss.. just relaxing ::

:: the stream that flowed right next to our campsite ::

:: and nature surrounded us ::

:: taking a dip in the freezing cold water ::

:: awww ::

:: this moment lasted approximately .2 seconds and i was lucky enough to catch it on camera! ::

:: we ate tonssss of stuff.. bbq chicken, steak, veggies, & yakisoba (shown above) ::

:: our fire ::

:: that night we had fireworks.. marin was so eager to do it.. she asked about them at least 50 times and we kept telling her to wait.. i bet those 3 hours she waited (until it got dark) seemed like 50 years to her ::

:: brownie observing the action ::

:: i love the expression on rika’s face ::

:: roasting marshmallows.. it was sooo cute.. yuko said she brought marshmallows and crackers.. her friend told her to bring crackers (to make smores) but didn’t quite give her details.. so instead of bringing graham crackers.. she brought saltines – haha ::

:: getting ready for bed – rika & i shared a tent ::

:: right before we left the campsite ::

:: yamanashi is famous for this thick style udon so we went to this famous restaurant called “Hoto Kosaku” to eat it ::

:: view of Lake Yamanakako (one of the 5 lakes surrounding Mt. Fuji) ::

Atami, Izu

“Located South-West of Tokyo and right South of Mount Fuji, the Izu Peninsula faces the Pacific ocean and is part of the Fuji-Hakone-Izu National Park.”

with Ana, Ben, & Karhoong “We are family.. I have my brothers and sista with me.”

07.23.07

:: Izu is well known for their onsens – there was even a foot onsen at the train station that we tried out “Atami is one of the oldest and biggest hot springs in Japan. A legend says that hot waters were gushing out in the sea to kill many fishes: Atami is a phonetic deformation of Ataumi, i.e. “hot sea”. ::

:: Izu crew ::

:: random ‘park’ on the top floor of a building ::

:: at the “white sand” beach..they tricked us! ::

:: the shortest crosswalk light ‘in the world’ haha..ok only we think that ::

:: since we are a family.. we decided to eat at a family restaurant near the beach.. don’t know what we were laughing about, but ana caught it on camera :: 

:: this sign says you’ll get fined 10,000 yen (approx. $100) if you pee in public.. whoops! ::

:: we didn’t really have ‘plans’ – the whole point was to wing it.. and that we did.. last minute we decided we were going to take a boat over to HATSUSHIMA ISLAND – the lady at the information booth was trying to help us out, but told us that everything closes at 5pm.. we knew we would arrive at 4:30pm and then we were just going to rush to do whatever we could fit in before closing time ::

:: so we ended up here.. we were determined to ride on the go carts.. we were literally running to make it in time.. when we got there.. the guy was putting all the go carts away..but then he saw us..and he gave us the evil eye.. though he did give us an extra round for freeeee (look at my old skool go cart..it was the shizzzz.. it was the fastest one!) ::

:: ben trying to make sure the others weren’t going to pass him up ::

:: we look happy here.. so you wouldn’t have guessed that about 20 minutes before – we were relaxing in a super cool onsen overlooking the ocean.. then we said we’d meet by at 6pm (since the girls and guys had to get naked separatedly of course) - all of a sudden.one of the employees ran up to ask us if we were staying on the island that night.. we told her no and she had a worried look on her face.. ends up the last ferry was supposedly to be at 7pm so we thought we could relax a bit and walk around until it was time to catch it.. well it was raining (not even that hard) and they decided that the last ferry would leave right at that moment! all these thoughts were running through our head .. what if we really got stuck? ben & karhoong had to go to work.. i left my mom back in tokyo and had no way of contacting her (yes im a bad daughter).. we were all praying that somehow we could catch the ferry back.. so one of the managers called the ferry and found out that it didnt leave yet.. so he told us to jump in his van and he zoomed us over (in literally 2 minutes – we thought we were going to fall straight into the ocean he was going so fast) we jumped out of the van and onto the ferry just as it was leaving.. man.. it was CrAzY ::

:: our last dinner together.. we had the best conversations on this trip.. i will forever cherish our moments spent together.. from first impressions, after church coffee, karuizawa, and izu.. someday we’ll all reunite somewhere ::

ps.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO

my bdubb

08.08

my twins

08.09

my bro-in-law

08.10