life, birthday and london update

good news: i got a job and will be moving to dc! gave my boss a 4 week notice and i will be moving the first few days of october.

for the past few months, i've been waiting for this moment. but when the time came to sign the offer letter and give my resignation letter, i was freaked out. it was what i have been waiting for, but the realization of what i was about to do hit me all at once. i'm quitting my stable job where i'm doing pretty well and leaving all my friends to move to another city for another job and no good friends. it took a few minutes, a prayer and a quick cry to get it all out of my system before i could confidently fax in my offer letter and then go talk to my boss.

now that it's all said and done, i can't say i'm fully ready to move just yet. i still have fears about moving, especially since a large reason for my relocation is so i no longer have to be in a long distance relationship. what if things don't work out? what if we don't get along? i also have to find new friends and get plugged in to a new area. living in the suburbs will also be a change -- i'll have to get used to not having 24 hour restaurants and the luxury of not having to drive home after drinking. but i've made the decision to move, so i can't (and don't really) want to turn back.

in other nears, i have officially hit my mid-20s. how scary is that? sometimes i still feel like i just left high school.

yesterday was my birthday, part of it which was spent on a red eye flight to london. i'm in london for a business trip and will be here for the next week. luckily, i had this weekend and part of next weekend to do some sightseeing, which is great since i've never been to london.

just some advice from your friendly neighbor here: never spend your birthday alone in a different country. i took advantage of the fact my company is paying for the flight and lodging, so i decided to come a few days early. unfortunately it also coincides with my bday, which at the time i felt it wouldn't be a big deal if i spent it by myself. i was fine when i first got here, walking around and exploring this new city. but halfway through the day it really hit me that it was my bday and i was in a strange city, away from friends and family and bf and also unable to call anyone. that made me a little sad. so just an fyi, i wouldn't suggest it if anyone else wishes to do the same.

i got here around 9:25am, but by the time i went through customs (which took 45 minutes!), got picked up and checked in, it was noon. i spent the day walking south down old bond street, a london equivelant of new york's 5th ave. walked around picadilly square, toured the british gallery, stopped by buckingham square, then walked all the way back again. and it only took 6.5 hours!

red line is the first half of my walk, green line is the return route

today, i first stopped by westminster cathedral, the home of the church of england. then i stopped by parliament and big ben. i jumped on a river boat, saw the city from the thames and then jumped off near the tower of london. the entrance fee for the tower of london was 27 bucks, but it would have been stupid to visit london w/o visiting the tower of london. so i unhappily paid the money to get in. the best part of the tour was the crown jewel collection, which houses the crowns and other cool jewelry of the queen. the jewels are kept behind two 2 ton bulletproof doors...in it, there were the "tools" used during coronations. they also had a 530 carat diamond -- how much do you think i need to buy that off the queen???

next weekend i will be stopping by westminster abbey and british museum and touring buckingham palace. will post pictures when i get back!

my bad (part 2)

i've neglected this poor blog for almost 3 months now, my bad!

i can't believe it's already mid may. this year has passed by really fast so far.

let's see...what has happened since march?






















got a new camera
















went to the cherry blossom festival for the first time
















my baby brother visited dc
















went to the beach



















went to a wedding


in the next month, i will be:

• going on vacation to flo rida to get my tan on
  
• going to 2 weddings
• celebrating a small but triumphant one year anniversary (has it been a year already?!)
• celebrating the bf's quarter century bday
• going home to visit family

will update soon, i promise

things i've done

Things I’ve Done (in italicized bold)

1. Started my own blog
2. Slept under the stars
3. Played in a band
4. Visited Hawaii
5. Watched a meteor shower
6. Given more than I can afford to charity
7. Been to Disneyland/world
8. Climbed a mountain
9. Held a praying mantis
10. Sung a solo
11. Bungee jumped
12. Visited Paris
13. Watched lightening at sea
14. Taught myself an art from scratch
15. Adopted a child
16. Had food poisoning
17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty
18. Grown my own vegetables
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France (whoever bolds #19 would have bolded #12...)
20. Slept on an overnight train
21. Had a pillow fight
22. Hitchhiked
23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill
24. Built a snow fort
25. Held a lamb
26. Gone skinny dipping
27. Run a Marathon
28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice
29. Seen a total eclipse
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset
31. Hit a home run
32. Been on a cruise
33. Seen Niagara Falls in person
34. Visited the birthplace of my ancestors
35. Seen an Amish community
36. Taught myself a new language
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied
38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person
39. Gone rock climbing
40. Seen Michelangelo’s David
41. Sung karaoke
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt
43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant
44. Visited Africa
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight
46. Been transported in an ambulance
47. Had my portrait painted
48. Gone deep sea fishing
49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling
52. Kissed in the rain
53. Played in the mud
54. Gone to a drive-in theater
55. Been in a movie
56. Visited the Great Wall of China
57. Started a business
58. Taken a martial arts class
59. Visited Russia
60. Served at a soup kitchen
61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies
62. Gone whale watching
63. Got flowers for no reason
64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma
65. Gone sky diving
66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp
67. Bounced a check
68. Flown in a helicopter
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy
70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial
71. Eaten Caviar
72. Pieced a quilt
73. Stood in Times Square
74. Toured the Everglades
75. Been fired from a job
76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London
77. Broken a bone
78. Been on a speeding motorcycle
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person
80. Published a book
81. Visited the Vatican
82. Bought a brand new car
83. Walked in Jerusalem
84. Had my picture in the newspaper
85. Read the entire Bible
86. Visited the White House
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
88. Had chickenpox
89. Saved someone’s life
90. Sat on a jury
91. Met someone famous
92. Joined a book club
93. Lost a loved one
94. Had a baby
95. Seen the Alamo in person
96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake
97. Been involved in a law suit
98. Owned a cell phone
99. Been stung by a bee
100. Rode an elephant

the first post!

i should be a pro at this blogging business by now. since junior year of high school, i've had 3 different blogs and have been blogging basically continuously during all those years...until adult life hit and i couldn't find the time to write everyday. but i've recently gotten this urge to blog again. it's been bugging me for a few months, but i kept changing my mind. i mean, unless there's something interesting to write about every few days, then it'd be a waste of time to start a blog. i guess i finally convinced myself, because:

1. it's a way to document life. i still keep my blogs from high school and it's interesting to go back and read about what i did and felt back then.

2. as you may all know, i have a lot to say about everything.

3. it's a good way to keep all my friends updated on what's going with me. how did people stay in touch with friends before blogs, facebook, instant messaging and cell phones were invented? how many hours were spent sitting on a land line, repeating the same stories over and over? luckily, with the help of modern technology, i can just type my thoughts once and share it with everyone. thank God for the internet. or should we thank al gore...?

anyways, i figured that, with the start of the new year, it'd be a good time to start blogging again. we'll see how this goes.