Fab.com

I don’t normally click on the ads that pop up when I’m watching videos (read: Dance Moms on mylifetime.com) but I thought the style of the Fab.com ad was so cute, I just wanted to take a look at the website and see what they sold. I was not disappointed.

This little whale cord organizer is the absolute cutest!

Source

I don’t know about you, but all my cords get completely tangled in my bag when I’m traveling but I absolutely refuse to leave the house without one because I’m paranoid that I’ll need to charge my phone at some point during the day.

I wish they made these for Mac computer cords too. Mine is always a terrifying mess in my bag and when I go to pull it out, everything else gets caught and comes out. I’ll definitely be on Fab.com more and looking at all their cute little gadgets!

Finally Housed!

Today, I am finally proud to say that I have a place to live for the upcoming year and will not be living in a tent on the beach. Hurrah! After a week of disappointing finds and finding out the place I had lined up was not in the best area for a girl living by herself, I decided to journey once more down to the LA area and do a bit more searching. To prep, I signed up on PadMapper and looked through the listings to compile a list of almost 20 different places to potentially visit. I guess the hardest part for me was coming to the realization that I would have to fork over a little more of my paycheck in order to get a nicer and safer location. Luckily my hard work paid off and I’m now going to be settled in a little guesthouse studio in Redondo Beach!

The place comes pretty much full furnished, which is awesome because that means I won’t have to move my own couch and bed and whatnot down there. That would be a nightmare. I’ll be moving in a little dresser and bookshelf and mostly my clothes but it’s just going to be so much easier than moving my whole life down there.

Here’s a video walkthrough:

It’s so cute and has a little nautical theme already built it and these awesome huge windows, which means there will be plenty of natural light. I can’t wait to move in and make it more my own. Wish me luck and if you’re in the area, drop by and say hi!

Doubletree, Double Misery

These trips down to LA are getting me accustomed to the drive that I'll be making when I want to visit home but I can't wait to have my own place and not have to stay in hotels. Today, unfortunately, was one of my worst hotel stays. I hardly ever write reviews on Yelp (I have a total of two now), but I felt like I had to say something to warn future guests if they decide to stay here. Below is my review in full and here's the link to the actual review on Yelp if you want to comment on it or leave me some feedback:

"I'm writing this as I sit in my room waiting for the bed sheets to get changed. I normally don't write reviews because most of my experiences are generally mediocre to good and I don't have too much opinion about hotels but I can easily say that this is one of the worst experiences I've had staying in a hotel. 

After checking in to a non-smoking room, we took the elevator up to the fourth floor where I was immediately met with the pungent smell of stale smoke and just an overall unpleasant smell. Walking into the room, that smell continued, if not worsened. It's past 12:30 AM right now and we probably checked in around 12:00 so all I really wanted to do was lie down and go to bed but after sitting on the bed for a bit, I noticed the sheets were giving off a strange smell and were somewhat damp. At first I thought it was just because the air conditioning had been on and the sheets were just cold but the smell implied some sort of mildew or dampness that was lingering on the sheets. After sliding my hands under the blankets and pillows, my hands came back damp. 

We went down to the lobby hoping for a room change but the front desk told us the entire hotel was sold out (is there some special weekend event going on that I'm not aware of? We made the reservation Thursday night so I'm a little confused as to how everything is booked...let's just say I'm dubious). Instead, he tried to placate us with four bottles of water...If I wasn't clear before, water is the problem in the room. I don't really need more of it. 

UPDATE: So it's about 12:41 AM right now and new sheets and blankets were handed to me. Like literally handed to me. Am I supposed to make the bed? I think they just want me to put the new sheets on top of the bed. I'm not sure piling more blankets and sheets on already damp sheets will fix the problem. 

At first glance, the reviews for this hotel seem relatively ok until you realize people are giving it 4+ stars just because they give you a cookie at check-in. I'm not so easily impressed. I guess the proximity to LAX is probably a plus but we have our own car and we're just staying here for one night for a quick trip. I'm also fully expecting the generic automated reply that the negative reviews are getting but hopefully some future patrons will appreciate the advice."

I don't think of myself as a big complainer - I guess I'm not the best judge of how I'm perceived - but I'm pretty disappointed at how this stay turned out. I'm a little afraid of waking up with a rash like some other guests have mentioned...

GameBoy Color

I was rooting around in some old drawers in my brother’s room and I came across this antiquated treasure:

Though this one isn’t mine (mine got stolen at my old house when our house was broken into), I found a bunch of games that I forgot that I had used to play! My sister and I used to spend hours on our respective GameBoy Colors and argue about which games were the most fun and which ones we were best at. This light green one I found I think was passed down from a family friend after the frenzy of Nintendo DS and GameBoy Advance started coming out.

Well I think we all know what I’m planning on doing with the hours of my time now…

And the Search Continues…

Looking for apartments is hard. I don’t think I’ve ever done the drive down to LA and back so many times in such a short time span. Until then, it’s back to the drawing board and looking for more places on PadMapper and Craigslist.

It’s sort of a slow blogging day today.

Hulu+

I recently started subscribing to Hulu+ (ok well my dad did) so I could binge watch old seasons of Survivor. While it only has 5 of the 26 seasons, it’ll hopefully be enough to tide me over until the new season starts.

Unfortunately, I do have some gripes about Hulu+: mostly the ads that still play despite the fact I’m paying $7.99 each month. When I want to binge on a show, I don’t want ads playing and disrupting my flow (do I sound like a terrible rapper?). It’s annoying having the ads play, especially when I’m watching something with suspense. Netflix doesn’t have that problem and I find the experience immensely more enjoyable. Hulu+ also tries to promote its own shows (their Hulu exclusive series) and while I know they need the advertising, it does not make me want to watch them. Perhaps they should’ve waited a bit more before coming up with their own shows.

Additionally, the streaming seems to vary a lot more in terms of buffering speed. If I try to do too many things on my computer and mom is streaming a video as well, the buffering shuts down.

I really shouldn’t complain – having Netflix and Hulu+ means I’m pretty much getting all the TV I need, and probably at an unhealthy rate. But if there was a choice between Netflix and Hulu+, I’d pick Netflix in a heart beat, even though it doesn’t have seasons of Survivor.

This is the End

After apartment hunting on Saturday, we went out to see “This is the End.” We wanted to see “Monsters University” but because it was still opening weekend, the tickets were nearly sold out. No matter, I wanted to see “This Is the End” anyway. Everyone was posting great things about it on Facebook and it did not disappoint.

I’m usually not a big fan of the crude humor genre – think Hangover, Superbad etc. I have a very narrow preference for comedy. I love Demetri Martin because I think his humor is clever. It’s smart, it takes something thinking to get it and he doesn’t rely on cursing to be funny.

Though “This is the End” has its moments of crude humor (I mean come on, there’s a huge monster with rock penis), I found it playing on other tropes of humor as well. There’s a scene with a gun where the tension climbs so high, I found it hard to breathe. I guess my problem is that sometimes I go into these movies expecting more than I should. It’s supposed to be a silly comedy made to make the audience laugh. There’s little more than a childhood lesson to be learned to be nice to others and be a good friend.

It helps that the cast is hilarious, all with their own forms of comedy (though I didn't care for Danny McBride's character much), and there were quite a few good-looking faces to look at. Most refreshing was seeing Emma Watson as a BAMF and bullying the group of guys to ensure her own survival. This isn’t a very well written review – I don’t have much to say other than it does exactly what it promises: provide a movie that’s full of laughs. “This is the End” is a movie I would reconsider watching once it comes out on DVD.

SaveNina.com/

If you haven’t been typed for bone marrow before, take a quick gander at this site and perhaps get a home typing kit and potentially save a life!

There is a severe lack of minority donors in the National Registry. Additionally, it has been shown that Asian donors often do not commit to donating marrow after joining the registry. It’s a sad reality that can only be remedied by more of us stepping up to the plate and registering to help. It’ll only take a few minutes of your time and it’s literally a matter of life and death!

High School Reunion

Two nights ago, I met up with some of my old high school classmates and we caught up after almost 4 years of being apart! We reunited our old lunch group and it was a lot of fun catching up and finding out where everyone was with their lives. It really reminded me of how big my school is because I even went to Cal with a few of them but other than catching a few glimpses of them on campus, we all went our separate ways with our separate studies.

It was comforting knowing that despite not getting together and gabbing every day for almost four years, we fell back into a comfortable rhythm and had easy laughs about everything and everyone. We gossiped about old classmates and talked about what we’ve been up and where we’re going. It was just such a happy place to be and two hours passed so quickly. We promised each other that we would do a better job of keeping in touch but they’re just a group of friends that I know I’ll always have around despite whether we keep in touch every day or just catch up once in a while.

Silly me, we should have taken a picture.

UCB vs. UCI – Living Comparison

While down in SoCal this past weekend, I visited UC Irvine and got to stay at Nick’s little brother’s place for a night. I haven’t been able to visit many UCs but we’re all part of the UC family so it’s only fair that I pay a visit to some of them at some point and time.

After being at Cal for four years, it’s easy to forget that other universities don’t run the same way mine does. Cal is the only UC that runs on the semester system while other UCs run on the quarter system. While I’ve always liked the semester system because it allows for longer sessions of class and we get a dead week at the end, the quarter system has its advantages as well. Shorter class terms mean a lesser breadth of information to be tested on during finals and more of that “fresh start” feeling at the start of each quarter. (edit: UC Merced is on the semester system too!)

UC Berkeley -  Wheeler Hall

The biggest thing that I noticed, however, was the living situation at UC Irvine is vastly different from that of UC Berkeley. At Cal, most students choose to move off campus after spending their freshmen year in the dorms (or more accurately called residence halls). Moving off campus and into apartments means you’re completely responsible for your lease and your living situation. With Irvine, however, the school actually has apartments that are still considered school property and come pre-furnished with lots of appliances and furniture. It’s almost like living in the dorms again, just not directly on campus. The rent is also cheaper than that of an apartment at Berkeley.

Another great thing about the rent is that each tenant at Irvine is responsible for his or her own portion. That way, if your roommate forgets to turn in their part of the rent, you won’t get penalized with the late fee. And lastly, to get to class, there’s a shuttle that’ll drive you over to the main campus!

I think a lot of these differences arise from the fact that Cal is much, much older and as a result as had to tack on living and rooming situations as it’s gone alone in the years. Irvine has the benefit of being under 50 years old and having a much larger space to build on. The entire feel of the campus is much more uniform and modern. Don’t get me wrong; I love the patchwork feel of Cal and the history behind each building. Nonetheless, my visit to UC Irvine has me itching to take a look at some of the other campuses. And my inner tour guide wants to take all the tours!

UC Irvine's physics building...I think. Anyone want to confirm this for me?

Apartment Hunting Follow Up

A friend posted this link on my wall after reading my post on Craigslist scams and it's a great article on apartment hunting. It's written specifically for San Francisco apartments (which unfortunately is one of the most difficult places to find apartments) but I think most of the lessons can be applied universally!

It's a great resource and helpful for anyone else who might be looking for an apartment in the upcoming months!

Craigslist Scams

Over this past weekend, I was subject to a scam on Craiglist! While it sounds really terrifying, I was lucky enough to realize it happened before I sent in any money or got further hooked into the scam. Apartment hunting is stressful enough for all of us and to have people trying to take advantage of vulnerable people really gets me. But at least there was a lesson to be learned in all of this and I’m more than happy to share it with you.

The first clue that something was up with this particular ad was that it sounded too good to be true. The price was so much cheaper than everything else I was looking at and it had everything I wanted! Bedroom, bathroom, appliances, everything. But hey, sometimes miracles happen, right?

So I shot an email their way saying I was interested and was amazed to get a really quick reply. The person I was in contact with told me he and his family had moved out of town so they couldn’t open up the place to show me but if I would just take a look at the pictures, they would give me all the information I needed. Red flag number two! Never take a place you can’t take a look at before you rent it. It’s kind of a no brainer but these people weave some elaborate tales.

Lastly, I received another email too soon saying that they wanted to entrust me with the apartment because I sound like a nice girl and that in order to get the keys I would have to send them money through Western Union Transfer. I had never heard of sending money this way and it raised another red flag for me. I looked up the “company” and found out that it was the root of many scams. It’s a way for the scammer to get your money in an almost untraceable way and they’ll just skip town with your money and you won’t get anything in return.

It was a quite awful experience knowing that I could have potentially sent money off to someone with no intention of helping me. Luckily, I had enough suspicions to look up what a Craigslist scam looks like and this one fit the bill in all ways. I also have a friend who happened to be in the real estate business in the area and sent the ad her way. She confirmed that the so-called leaser didn’t even own the property and my suspicions were right that this was indeed a scam.

I’m grateful that I was able to catch this before anything drastic happened. My dad helped me out in doing damage control and the friend that confirmed it was a scam offered to get the police involved. I don’t think any lasting damage was done and hopefully this was a cheap lesson learned. If you want to read more about Craigslist scams and how to recognize them, this article did wonders for me and helped me confirm my suspicions. Happy Apartment Hunting and good luck!

Craigslist can be a great resource but you have to watch out for scams! Be careful out there!

Important Questions When Apartment Hunting

So as you probably know, I’ve been apartment hunting this weekend for a place down in SoCal. My move there is coming up and it was time to solidify my living situation. Otherwise, as my dad said, “You could just live in a tent on a beach.” Not sure that would be the best solution…

Anyway, I came up with a list of things that you might want to ask about when looking at/inquiring about an apartment:

Parking – if you’re living in a big commuter area and having a car is the best way to get to work, you’ll want to ask about parking. Something apartments have an included parking space, some don’t and you’ll have to park on the street, and others charge an extra monthly fee for a parking space. It’s always good to ask even if you don’t have a car just in case you decide to get one later!

Laundry – laundry is something you’re going to have to do. It’s always good to know if it’s included in the unit or off site or if you’re going to have to drive a ways to go do it. Most places have coin-operated machines but it’s good to check with whoever’s showing you the apartment and actually take a look at the machines.

Utilities – ask whether you need to pay for electricity and water and trash and cable/Internet. It’s an important thing to think about because it will add up if your landlord doesn’t help you out with some of it. Maybe it’s already included in the rent, maybe it’s not. Ask and see what you’re really paying for.

Neighborhood – asking about the neighborhood is a big thing in my book. I want to know what kind of people I’m living around and whether it’s a safe place or not. At one of the places I checked out this weekend, the person showing me the apartment told me that the cops actually hang out around the 7-11 around the corner all the time. I guess that’s a good/bad thing. Good since they’re near by but bad because…well why are they in the area all the time?

Appliances/Furniture – see if the apartment comes pre-furnished or if you’ll need to bring your own appliances. Sometimes, old tenants can leave behind furniture and it’s up to you whether you want it or not. One of the apartments I saw didn’t come with a fridge so I would have to get my own. It’s not a big deal but it’s definitely something I needed to know before moving in. Otherwise I’d have to eat nothing but boxed food and canned goods for while!

Pets – pets are something that some places are ok with and some places are adamantly against. Even if you don’t have a dog or cat or even fish at the moment, ask to see if anything would change if you did decide to adopt a pet later on. Sometimes it’s a matter of the neighbors not wanting pets or sometimes you’ll have to pay some extra each month for your pet.

These are just some things I would think about when looking at apartments. I’m probably forgetting some things but I’d love to hear your thoughts!

Sorry for the quick MIA!

Sorry I haven't posted all weekend. I had a hectic time looking for apartments and living in a college apartment without Internet! I promise to have plenty of posts in the next few hours/days to update you on everything! (All five of you readers that is.)

PS: Yesterday was the first time since I've started this blog that I haven't posted! I feel really guilty - like I forgot to turn in an assignment or something....

First Day of Summer!

Today is the first official day of summer! Summer time is my favorite time of the year: plenty of barbeques and pool parties and of course my birthday! I’ll get to spend most of my summer working in Manhattan Beach after I move down.

My 22nd birthday is coming up and I still have yet to compile my “22 Things to do before turning 23” list! I’m hoping to maybe run another half marathon but I don’t have anything else to put on it yet. I’ll have to keep brainstorming. Oh one should definitely be to visit the bestie in North Carolina. Two down, twenty more to go!

It really feels like summer is upon us now. I’m going to spending most of my first day of summer driving down to LA and then tomorrow is a day of apartment hunting. I’m keeping my fingers crossed about one place in particular and praying with all my heart that it’s available!! Wish me luck!

This is the only picture I can really find of me from last summer. All my summers have been spent dancing! No wonder this one has been feeling particularly strange...

Tyme for Tea

My little city of Fremont is separated into five main districts and one of them is named Niles. It’s a more antiquated part of town and has an old fashioned feel to it. Think Main Street USA in Disneyland without all the Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck pizzazz. It’s quiet and cute and has a great little high tea place that I got to try today.

I’m not a big high tea kind of person. I don’t have any inspirations to become the Queen of England or anything but the concept of having tea sounded so lovely. I’ve only gone once before for a birthday party in San Francisco but it was so long ago and I was much younger so I just put too much sugar and milk into my tea.

We went to a small little place in Niles called “Tyme for Tea.” It’s part tearoom and part antique shop. We ordered two of their “Grand Sparkling Victorian Tea” for the three of us (my mom, my brother and me) and it was plenty. It came with a glass of champagne each for us of the drinking age, two choices of tea, a scone to start with, a tiered case of sandwiches and a plate of pastries.

Pastries, pastries, pastries!

Though you would generally imagine tea to be light on the stomach and not very filling but to be honest, I was so stuffed afterward I had a hard time walking! We had passion peach tea and cranberry orange. The passion peach was delicious! It was nice and light and very fragrant.

Tyme for Tea is a really fun place to go for a little day trip adventure. They have a tub of hats you can try on and wear while having tea and the atmosphere is really pleasant with piano melodies of popular songs playing in the background. It’s a bit expensive, I have to admit, so I’d recommend it for a special occasion. I had a lot of fun and I really want to take my sister some time!

Doesn't my brother look so excited to have a hat on?

Outwit. Outlast. Outplay.

I really got hooked on Survivor last semester, thanks to my roommate. When I was younger, I don’t think I understood the logistics of the game enough to get what was going on. As a result, I liked watching the challenges, but past that, I didn’t understand what so and so was getting voted off or anything.

Now that I’ve watched a full season, I’m beginning to learn about the nuances that make good players and things that make certain players more successful than others. Ever since the last season ended, I’ve been itching to watch past seasons to observe and learn more about the show.

Luckily, I convinced my dad to subscribe to Hulu Plus. Well at least subscribe to the free trial for a week and that means I get to watch however many seasons they’ve uploaded, which looks like at least three. One of the seasons is the very first season ever of Survivor! The show is completely different from what it looks like now. I’m only halfway through the first episode as I’m typing this but there are some pretty obvious differences already:

First, the players are just tossed into the sea from a boat that they’re allowed two minutes to salvage whatever they can from. Then they had to swim the raft carrying all their stuff to the beach of the island. It looks like they could all bring a knapsack with them too with a few personal effects. The things they salvaged include crates of supplies, rat traps, fish traps and someone even brought a ukulele with them! It seems more like a game of survival than of the wit and cunning that today’s game is about.

I can’t wait to keep watching and I’ll update you on how the old seasons of Survivor are! Tomorrow my mom and brother and I are going to have tea. Like the kind with scones and stuff!

Steve Jobs Biography

I’ve been listening to the Steve Jobs biography and even though it’s the first book I’ve listened to without reading the book first, I have to say, I love it! Since I don’t have much to do during the day, sometimes I just browse the internet or just lay in bed and listen to the brains between Apple.

Everyone seems to know that Jobs was a college dropout and that he really hit it big with Apple but it’s interesting to hear how exactly he got there and whom he met along the way. To be honest, Jobs sounds a bit like an overgrown child at times: he was stubborn and temperamental and wasn’t afraid to call people’s work “sh*t” all the time. I was taken aback to hear how rude he was to people and how demanding he was to his employees. He did build a successful company but at what cost?

Walter Isaacson, the author, credits much of Jobs’ behavior to the fact that he always felt a sense of “abandonment” due to being adopted but I found this justification a bit lacking. He was adopted at birth and his parents were always honest with him about the adoption and I thought he overplayed that card a bit. Also, listening to the book really shows the very different culture that was happening in the 70s. Jobs often undertook severe dieting plans and rarely showered. Dropping LSD is common recurrence in the book and Jobs often had a room in his apartment or house dedicated to the drug.

This is the first biography I’ve read (er…well listened to) in a while. Usually I’m not too drawn to the subject although I enjoyed Mindy Kaling and Tina Fey’s autobiographies and when I was younger, “Chinese Cinderella” was one of my favorite books. I look forward to listening to more of Jobs’ life. After all, it’s a 26+ hour audiobook!

In the audiobook, there's a lot of description of Jobs being scruffy with long hair and unkempt beard but it's hard imagining him looking like that whenever I see this cover. I remember the Steve Jobs in his signature black turtleneck and jeans.

Blog Post #50 and my first month away from school!

It’s hard to believe that just a month ago, I was walking at my general commencement, crossing the stage and shaking the hand of the chancellor. In the month that I’ve been away from school, it’s strange not planning ahead for classes or working at an internship. Instead, I’ve been taking a lot of “me time” and relaxing tons. I’ve realized that my weight has been dropping since I have the time to exercise and watch what I eat.

I won’t lie, sometimes I get a little bored sitting around at home since my mom is often busy with her organization and my brother still in school and my sister already back at school but mostly I just preoccupy my time rewatching FRIENDS and blogging and trying (only somewhat futilely) to motivate myself to run. Mostly, I’m anticipating my big move down to LA and trying to minimize the stuff I need to bring down there. Living in an apartment for the last two years has really turned me into somewhat of a hoarder. I accumulated a lot of stuff and plenty of books. I should probably list some of those on Amazon.

One month gone already! This post graduation thing is going fast!

Quinoa!

I have a confession to make: I think I love the idea of quinoa more than I actually like eating quinoa. But it doesn’t stop me from buying it in bulk from Costco!

I first tried quinoa at a friend’s house when I was visiting and it was mixed with cucumber, tomatoes and some vinaigrette. Quinoa has a texture that is different from anything I’ve ever had. It’s kinda like a little bean with a harder, almost crunch to it. It also has a lot of nutritional value. It has plenty of protein, calcium, and fiber.

Unfortunately, like most things bought from Costco the portion I bought is pretty sizable and could probably last me a week. I can only have a few spoonfuls at a time before I get tired of it. But until I finish this Costco quinoa salad, I have plenty to last me for a long, long time!

Apartment Hunting

The countdown is beginning! My move to SoCal is getting more and more real and getting closer and closer. It’s terrifyingly exciting! Unfortunately, one of the hardest things about moving, other than packing of things into a million boxes, is finding a place to live. I don’t have any family in SoCal so I was at a bit of a loss as to where to start looking. Luckily, I have enough friends from the area and they were able to turn me onto some great resources.

There are a few differences between looking for an apartment while in college and looking for one after graduation. While in college, I realized that the earlier you can nail down an apartment, the better. This is because most of the apartments around a college town have a set lease date. By this, I mean they all have similar move in dates that correlate with the school semesters. So usually there’s a June 1st move-in/move-out date because that works with all students. So because that’s already set in stone, most landlords can put their apartments up for rent as early as February or March! Therefore, it’s best to get an early head start when looking for college apartments.

When looking for an apartment after graduation, however, I wouldn’t look further than a month in advance, the reason being that most apartments, while looking for one-year lease tenants, usually will get snatched up pretty quickly. The thing I’ve realized about non-college town apartments is that the turnover rate is pretty quick, especially in hot areas like San Francisco, Los Angeles, New York City etc. Therefore, this is one time where procrastination will work in your favor. Yesterday, I tried to start making appointments to see apartments on this coming Saturday and most of the places I reached out to were surprised I was calling so early! Some even suggested I call back on Friday.

I can’t wait to be down in the LA area this weekend! I’ve scouted out some pretty cool places that I would love to live in. I’ll give you all an update as soon as I get back!

A little Game of Thrones meme for y'all!

Things You Need To Know Before Your Next Job Interview

I found this infographic online a while ago on Tumblr and thought it might be interesting to share. There are definitely some things I wish I had known before I went through a torrential downpour of interviews. There are tips on what to wear, what to prep on, and even nonverbal cues that you might not even know you’re doing! It’s a great read and who doesn’t love a good infographic?

What are some tips that you wish you had be given before your interview?

[source]

iPhone Wallpapers

If you’re anything like me, you’re addicted to changing your iPhone wallpaper. I’m constantly on the lookout for new wallpapers and I have a bunch saved on my phone in case I ever get the urge to switch. Here are some of my current favorites:

Eat Drink Chic has some of the cutest wallpaper! They're simple but colorful and look great against the iPhone icons.

The Kate Spade blog occasionally comes out with some pretty cute wallpapers. They're a good source to constantly check back on.

One of my favorite blogs to read is The College Prepster. She also makes really awesome wallpapers with Kate Spade and/or Lilly Pulitzer patterns.

I originally had a Pinterest page that had a bunch of cute wallpapers but I cannot for the life of me find it again. That'll teach me to bookmark more often. What are your favorite wallpaper sites?

This is NOT Me.

So I received another email today reminding me to buy my graduation pictures and they were the photos from my general commencement. I had already decided to buy my Political Science Commencement ones so I was just going to delete the email but I decided to take a look at the images anyway. This is what I found:

The top half of the photo has no pictures of me. They must've gotten off count because both of my friends walked right before me so someone must've been missing a picture. But the funny thing is, the count is off between the photographers. The middle pictures are both not the people in the headshot.

The second half of the photo is what happened when I clicked on the "Is this not you?" button. They got my handshake photo right, but the two portraits are still my roommate.

I'm not even mad about it. It's just so funny to me! Ever have any funny photo flubs happen to you?

Happy Father's Day!

Happy Father's Day to the most wonderful Dad ever!

Thanks for teaching me all the important things in life: how to gamble, how to drive, and to always remember that there are always two types of people - criminals and smart people. (Totally kidding, you've taught me way more than that!)

I hope you have the best Father's Day ever!

I Love Books!

Today I stopped by Barnes and Noble to look for a book I’ve been on the lookout for: The Beatrice Letters by Lemony Snicket. I’ve wanted to read it since I finished “A Series of Unfortunate Events” and every bookstore I’ve gone to hasn’t carried it. I think I’m a little late on the uptake because I haven’t been able to find it but I went ahead and ordered it on Amazon today.

While walking through the bookstore, however, I (re)realized how much I love reading. I browsed through the Teen Fiction and the New Releases and wanted to read EVERYTHING. Some days I just want to lay out all the books I want to read and pick up on at random, read it till I’m tired of it and then pick up another one, and just keep doing that till my head is so filled with stories, my brain melts.

I’ve always loved reading but my reading inspiration came from Rory Gilmore. Yep, the fictional character from Gilmore Girls who loved books more than anything else except her mother. I always loved how Rory was a good role model for girls. She didn’t engage in the boozing and sex that most TV shows display but instead, she loved reading all she wanted was to get into a good college.

Yesterday, I took a day off from the computer. I did it without even really realizing I did it. I just didn’t want to spend the time starting into the screen all day and it was liberating. I got through two of the books in my Blue Bloods series (I’m a sucker for teen fiction, what did I tell you?). And I didn’t have a headache at the end of the day. Sometimes I just get headaches from staring at the screen for too long. I vow to take more computer-less days and more days to enjoy reading!

Man of Steel

I think this marks a record for the number of movies I’ve seen in one week. Last night I took my little brother and his friend to see “Man of Steel.” Even though it was the first day the movie came out, we went to watch the movie in 3D and that showing wasn’t sold out. Usually I’m not a fan of 3D movies – they make me feel dizzy and disoriented – but we had to get the kiddos home in time.

I have to say I was a bit disappointed by “Man of Steel.” Compared to some of the recent comic book movies that have come out this past year (The Avengers, Iron Man 3, The Amazing Spiderman, The Dark Knight Rises), “Man of Steel” lacked plot depth. While Henry Cavill is an extremely good -looking Superman, he’s missing some of the idiosyncrasies that make Superman “lovable.” While the 2006 “Superman Returns” movie focuses on Clark Kent as a somewhat dorky individual who believably hides his identity behind his newspaper desk job, the Cal-El in “Man of Steel” seems too confident to be able to hide behind a news reporter façade. Furthermore, if Lois Lane is so easily able to track down Kent to be the superhero, wouldn’t it be equally easy for any other curious soul to find out who Superman was as well?

Cavill also lacks sufficient dialogue, with most of his lines some parts cliché and some parts asinine. I actually cannot remember one memorable line that he says. Instead, General Zod seems to be the most eloquent of all the characters. When your villain is the best spoken over your protagonist, it’s hard not to view the hero as just a bumbling fool with a great body. As succinctly put by a fellow critic on Rotten Tomatoes, “Abs of Steel, not a Script of Steel.”

In my humble opinion, “Man of Steel” lacks what makes most superheroes interesting: personality. Driven by a quest to find his origins and past, Clark Kent’s character growth stops when he discovers an old scout ship and meets his father. I think meeting a holographic version of your father in a ship that has technology decades more advanced than Earth’s would at least illicit some sort of shock or surprise, but instead Kent is absurdly calm and accepting of everything his “so called” father says. Gullible or trusting? Your call.

What “Man of Steel” lacks in story and character more than makes up for in explosions and computer effects. Zack Snyder (best known for films like 300 and Sucker Punch) has spared no expense in the film and there are enough explosions to make a whole other film. I’m not sure “Man of Steel” will have a sequel but if it does, it has a lot of catching up to do. While it has laid sufficient groundwork to explain the origins of Superman and Clark Kent, it has not yet captivated audiences with a stirring storyline or engaging characters.

Pinstrosity & The Old Reader

If you take a look at my sidebar over here →, you’ll see that I have a list of blogs I follow. If you get the chance, you should definitely check them out!

Remember my post about Google Reader? Well, I finally picked a RSS aggregator: The Old Reader! It has a pretty similar interface to Google Reader and it was really easy to import all my blogs.

I’ve really started checking Pinterest again for new things to pin onto my board. I was avoiding Pinterest for a while since nothing new was really popping up but I think they’ve since redone the algorithm and worked on its interface. While pinning things to my boards and looking through my friends’, I stumbled upon http://pinstrosity.blogspot.com/.

It is a hilarious blog. It showcases some popular pins that people have pinned and then people’s attempts to remake them. For example:

The Original Pin

The Pinstrosity!

It’s utterly hilarious. I spent hours just scrolling through the posts and laughing to no one but myself. If you need a pick me up, definitely go to this site. It makes me feel a lot better about my failed arts and crafts attempts.

What kind of blogs are you following? I love new suggestions!

Jewelry Rack DIY

I saw this Jenga recycled jewelry rack on Pinterest the other day and fell in love. It's so unique and functional and I want to put it in my new apartment. I can't help leaving the tab open on my browser and sighing over it every fifteen minutes or so. The only problem is that I need a Jenga set and I don't have any of those lying around. Maybe I can thrift it from somewhere else or ask around for an old set.

For the full project, click here!

Summer Cleaning Update

This summer cleaning actually isn’t as hard as I thought it would be. I originally thought I would have to set aside a day of just sitting at my computer and work on cleaning everything out but most of my tasks I’ve been to accomplish with an episode (or a whole season) of “Friends” playing in the background. You can see my original to-do list here!

Cleaning out Facebook – I’ve narrowed the friend count down to 776. Mostly just deleting people that I don’t say “Happy Birthday” to when their birthday comes up or if I tend to just skip over their newsfeed updates. The rest of my cleaning will just come along when I see people on my newsfeed and just directly delete them on there instead of going through the mass friends list again.

Cleaning out iTunes – We’re down to 1,985 songs (from 7,000+)! A lot of the tracks I have are audiobooks though and I’ve unchecked them all so when I shuffle through my iTunes library, hopefully there won’t be any songs that I just skip right through.

Clearing out (my personal) Tumblr – I cleaned out some of the blogs I wasn’t paying attention to and ones that weren’t getting updated and then did some searches through my address books to see if there were people I knew that I was following. Final result: 135 blogs.

Clearing out Twitter – I already did this a while ago but just a quick look through to make sure everything is in its right place. I’m only following 50 tweeples now!

LinkedIn – Added all the people that sent me invitations and did a quick click through to see if there was anyone I knew and sent them invitations. LinkedIn is all about making connections with people even though you might not know them THAT well.

iCleaner – This one was easy. Download and run.

iPad – Cleaned up the apps that I don’t use and organized all my ebooks into different genres.

Hard drive – Squared away all my old school work, organized my photos and cleaned up the rest of my computer so I could free up space.

Looks my summer cleaning is coming along pretty well! What’s on your summer cleaning to do list?

The Accidental Billionaires

Well that was a quick read. It really didn’t take me too much time to get through the book and it’s not a hard read. The story flows in chronological order as opposed to the movie so it’s much easier to follow. I actually re-watched the movie right after and I found the movie to make much more sense.

Mezrich writing style leaves less to the imagination than a regular biographical/expository work. He really tries to capture the emotions at the time of the incident to really give you a sense of how each person felt at that particular moment. I thought he villanized Eduardo a bit in the novel and in the movie it was more so the Winklevoss twins but I think we’re all waiting on the book that tells Mark Zuckerberg’s side of the story.

It's been a while since any of my Photoshop endeavors. I need to think of something new to tinker with.

I think I’m going to delve into some fantasy books next. Maybe the Mortal Instruments series. But I really want to read Steve Jobs’ biography as well. I have lots of time to read now that Dawn has left for New York and then Charlotte. Sigh, summer loneliness.

What am I going to do without this one? Sigh, it's going to be hard.

Ellen DeGeneres vs. Lemony Snicket

Continuing with my summer reading list, I have two books in this post. I was in the middle of reading Ellen DeGeneres’ book “Seriously…I’m Kidding.” I thought it would be a fun read after reading Mindy Kaling’s “Is Everybody Hanging Out Without Me?” and Tina Fey’s “Bossypants” – kind of keeping in the genre of reading memoirs of comedic celebrities. Unfortunately, the humor and jokes were pushed a little bit too much in every section and it made it a bit hard to read. For example:

“Laugh. Laugh as much as you can. Laugh until you cry. Cry until you laugh. Keep doing it even if people are passing you on the street saying, "I can't tell if that person is laughing or crying, but either way they seem crazy, let's walk faster." Emote. It's okay. It shows you are thinking and feeling.”

But imagine that for everything single line of every single chapter. It just got tiresome to read and even though she has some really interesting stories and great lessons, it’s just hard to pick through all the fluff to finish the book.

As a result, I put that book down and I picked up “Lemony Snicket: The Unauthorized Autobiography” instead. It’s a companion to “A Series of Unfortunate Events,” a series that I loved reading and just re-listened to on audiobooks. Snicket’s series is really interesting because it actually incorporates the author (who is writing under a pseudonym) into the story. Revisiting the series really brought a lot of story elements to the light and the website http://snicket.wikia.com/wiki/Main_Page really helped me understand a lot of things I missed as well. “Lemony Snicket: The Unauthorized Autobiography” is a relatively quick read and helps to fill in gaps in the original series. It is comprised mostly of transcripts and photos and reads like a scrapbook or a secret file.

My next reading venture is “The Accidental Billionaires” by Ben Mezrich. He’s best known for his nonfiction works that explore gambling and poker. His most famous work is “Bringing Down the House” which was adapted into the movie “21.” “The Accidental Billionaires” was adapted into the movie about Facebook – does “The Social Network” ring a bell? After beginning the book, it really reads how the movie plays out. I’ll update you more on my reading ventures as the summer progresses!

Summer Cleaning

While most people are more familiar with the term “Spring Cleaning,” I’m going to be engaging in some “Summer Cleaning.” I fear calling it a purge because of that terrifying movie that’s come out. But after graduation, I think it’s as good a time as any to clear away the cobwebs and clean up all digital/electronic things I own. Here’s my starting list that I’ll be going through this week and hopefully by the end of the week, I’ll have completed most, if not all, of them:

Cleaning out Facebook – I currently have 1,160 “Friends” on Facebook and I know for a fact that I don’t keep up with/even read the things that some of them post about. There are some people that requested me that I’m barely even acquaintances with but added because I felt a need to boost my friend count in high school (is that when Facebook came out?). There’s really no need to keep that many people in my newsfeed, especially when I skip over half the things people write anyway. With Facebook’s newsfeed, I find myself needing to scroll through all the stories (much like my Tumblr dashboard) so it’s better that I cut down.

I think I might go through and untag myself in some of those photos too...

Cleaning out iTunes – I have 7,331 (the opposite of 1337!) songs in my iTunes library currently and I know for a fact I don’t listen to all of it. I have whole albums that I only have because I like one of the songs so it’s ridiculous to keep all of it on my computer. Also, I’ve subscribed to Spotify (you can follow me on the sidebar! →) so keeping a music library (both on my computer and my phone) is somewhat moot – except for the fact that I am sentimental about some songs and some songs aren’t always released on Spotify. I guess my phone library is more of a play list of all my favorite songs and my computer library is more of everything I might feel like listening to ever. And well Spotify? It’s pretty much the best thing ever.

26.5 days of music??

Clearing out (my personal) Tumblr – Over the four years (has it really been four years?) that I’ve had my Tumblr, I’ve accumulated a whole list of friends/television shows/actors that I follow but some of them have either fallen off the grid or I just don’t look at it that much. So I’ll have to go through and filter out some of the stuff I don’t want to follow anymore.

Clearing out Twitter – I did this a little bit ago but it’s good to go through it one more time. I made lists to put people in like a personal list, Cal list, news, etc. That way I can read the tweets in a more organized and categorized way.

LinkedIn – This is kind of the opposite of cleaning, I guess. I’ll be updating my resume, adding personal connections, and hopefully, finally a profile picture. I’ve been at a loss for what to put in my little grey box since I don’t have any “professional” pictures. I’ve been meaning to take one but I rarely take photos while in business clothing.

iCleaner – I didn’t know about this app/tweak on Cydia before but after some research into the Top 20 Cydia apps you need, iCleaner was coming up on quite a few lists. You need a jailbroken iPhone to download and run this but it basically goes through and deletes unnecessary files on your iPhone – things like cookies and in app data. There’s a similar app by the same name on the AppStore but it’ll cost you. It’s still a nifty tool nonetheless to clean up and free up some space on your phone.

iCleaner

iPad – I’ll be going through my iPad cleaning up apps that I don’t use (I’m a bit of an app hoarder) and organizing my library. I have things separated out into PDFs and ebooks and weird folders. I think I should be organizing them into categories by genre instead. I’ll have to come up with book genres, or maybe I can just steal them from the library system.

Hard drive – My external hard drive can hold 2TB of data and I’m definitely making good use of them with dance videos and old school work etc. It’s also a backup of my computer so I try and keep it updated. I also like to move things from my laptop to my hard drive to clear up space and make sure my computer is running too much at once. Speaking of which, I need to get the fan on my laptop cleaned (do people need to do this often?). My laptop has been getting really hot and the fan has been in overdrive. I’m thinking of taking it in and seeing if it’s just dirty or if I’m really running too many things on it at once.

Well here’s my to-do list for “Summer Cleaning.” Anything else you can think of? Leave me a comment!

The Internship

Another day, another movie! Since Dawn is back in Fremont with me today, we decided to go and see “The Internship.” We’ve been anticipating it since before our trip to Hawaii and finally had the chance to see it (even though it’s only been out for a few days).

“The Internship” is a story about underdogs, misfits, and the disconnect that our generation has with the older generation when it comes to technology. Owen Wilson and Vince Vaughn play newly out-of-work salesmen who (miraculously) land an internship with Google. Though most of the film was shot on location, little else of it has to do with Google or its internship program. It’s a fictional story with its setting and two big name actors as its main selling point. Most of the merits lie in Wilson and Vaughn’s fast-talking and somewhat out-there humor (the interview scene was my favorite). Despite the fact that their characters are a bit outdated, technologically, they somehow manage to sell themselves and their ‘can-do’ attitude to some twenty-something year olds that seem to have no concept of “real life.” Though I enjoyed seeing Google and the creative campus that they boast, “The Internship” lacks even more realistic elements than the heavily dramatized Facebook in “The Social Network.” I would have to say that “The Internship” was more anticipated than the movie presents and I was a little disappointed by the lack of depth (both cinematically and humorously). The references to "Flashdance" were a bit outdated considering most of the 20-year-old demographic that this movie reaches out to have probably never seen "Flashdance." The substitution of Google with a made-up tech company would have helped to let the audience know that the movie was in on a joke to poke fun at companies instead of belittling a real one.

After watching “The Internship,” I realized that the plot parallels “Monsters University” and I think MU captures the misfits and underdogs much better and more genuinely. I don’t want to say too much more about it because I realize that MU hasn’t come out and I don’t want to spoil it!

Overall, “The Internship” was an ok movie but leaves the viewer with nothing more than a cliché and hankering for some of those cute, geeky Nooglers that made debuts and breakout roles in this film.

At the movies, I also saw a few more previews for summer movies that look pretty good: Grown Ups 2, The Way Way Back, The Heat, & We're the Millers! This cinema summer is looking pretty awesome!

So this is apparently what Jennifer Aniston is up to now, post-Friends. I've been rewatching the seasons and I have to say, I'm not the biggest fan of Rachel. My favorite is Chandler :]

Grad Photos!

So after much hemming and hawing and really not wanting to spend an exorbitant amount of money on graduation photos, my parents and I caved and decided to splurge a little bit and buy my professional photos from graduation. How many times does a girl graduate from undergrad after all? We decided on getting the downloadable e-copies that you can save to your computer and then print and use however you want and even that was a whopping $80. Geez, these people really know how to grab your money. So here they are, the graduated me!

This is actually my Political Science Commencement and not the general one. I think these pictures turned out better because we weren't baking in the sun for 4 hours. 

That lei was lovingly made by my mom. I have no idea how she takes a picture of something and makes it into a reality. Those leis were the hit of the ceremony. Also that is a fake diploma. They don't send the real ones till months later.

Look at the tassel swing! Really caught in the moment there.

This has been an extremely narcissistic post. I apologize for that. We will be back to our regular broadcast shortly.

Now You See Me

Back to our regularly scheduled programming, though Hawaii will never be far from my mind. In keeping with my summer movie marathon, I went to see “Now You See Me” tonight. And I am floored. I just got back from the theater where I bought myself a Monsters University cup and enjoyed a coke during the movie. Now I’m going to be awake all night, which means more blogging!

“Now You See Me” is a caper film that involves sleight of hand, illusions, hypnosis, and escape artistry – in other words: MAGIC! I love magic. I’m the kind of person that loves the show and I’m constantly volunteering when I see street magicians so I can pick a card, only to be amazed that they know which one is mine. Also, Neil Patrick Harris loves magic, so by the transitive property, I love magic too.

I remember seeing the preview of “Now You See Me” and thinking it would be a pretty cool film with some magic in it, but after watching the whole movie, I’m very happy with the result. It’s part “Ocean’s 11,” part “David Copperfield.” The premise of the movie is that four magicians are recruited to pull the world’s largest magic trick – a heist to return money to the disenfranchised. The motto of the movie is, “The closer you look, the less you see,” hinting that there’s a larger story at hand. I don’t want to give away too much, but the twist is pretty interesting and to see how some of the tricks are unveiled to support the heist is really cool!

The cast was magnificently put together and Jesse Eisenberg has really matured into a very good-looking fellow. Also, Isla Fisher (Confessions of a Shopaholic, The Great Gatsby) and Dave Franco (21 Jump Street) help add to the handsome cast and for some big names, look for Woody Harrelson (Zombieland, The Hunger Games), Morgan Freeman (do I need to mention what he’s in??) and Michael Caine (BATMAN!!!). I thought their acting was fantastic as a cast.

After reading a few critic’s reviews online, I’m not surprised to see that the reception isn’t all A’s and raves. There are certainly holes to ponder and because it was shown on the silver screen, there’s question as to whether some of the tricks can really be pulled off or whether the help of CGI and green screen make the movie work. Despite all that, I still enjoyed the movie for its inventive nature and showcasing a group of people that don’t really get that much cinematic spotlight.

I’m hoping to see “The Internship” tomorrow so I’ll be back with another review and some more posts! If you’ve seen the movie or are planning to, leave me a comment!

Things to do in Hawaii!

I’m back in California now and already missing Hawaii! In reminiscing about my trip, I’ve compiled a list of things that I think every Hawaii trip needs:

Pineapple Dole Whip Float - I know you can get these in Disneyland but why not get an authentic one on the Pineapple Plantation in a little souvenir cup! It's so yummy and pineapple is a staple of Hawaii so you might as well indulge!

Acai Bowl - these are pretty specific to Hawaii. It's hard to find them anywhere else and the acai bowls are tart and tasty. Sort of like a parfait and Jamba Juice smoothie all in one.

Surf/Paddle Board/Snorkel/Scuba - I suggest doing at least one of these activities while in Hawaii. The clear water and abundance of coral life really makes this worthwhile. And it's a great way to get exercise while enjoying Hawaii!

Shaved Ice - Shaved ice is another one of those local foods that just somehow tastes better in Hawaii. It's a light dessert or afternoon snack and since it's just syrupy water, you don't feel too guilty for having one...or two.

Poi - I had no idea what poi was until we were on our luau bus but the tour guide suggested that we try it, even if we don't like it. According to wiki (and because I'm too lazy to describe it by myself):

Poi is a Hawaiian word for the primary Polynesian staple food made from the corm of the taro plant (known in Hawaiian as kalo). Poi is produced by mashing the cooked corm (baked or steamed) until it is a highly viscous fluid. Water is added during mashing and again just before eating, to achieve a desired consistency, which can range from liquid to dough-like.

I'll be honest, it doesn't look like the most appetizing thing but we dipped our Kahlua pork in it and it doesn't taste like too much of anything at all. It's kind of like an extra dipping sauce.

Mai Tai - If you're 21+, mai tais are the drink to have. Actually, any of the fruit cocktails are delicious but mai tais have Polynesian flavors in them and really help capture the spirit of Hawaii. (See what I did there, SPIRIT?)

Macadamia Pancakes - We had some macadamia pancakes in a local breakfast place and they were amazing. The pancakes were light and fluffy with little macadamia nuts spread throughout and it was the perfect mixture of soft and nutty. I really want to get the recipe for those pancakes but I know it just won't be the same without the Hawaiian sun peeking over my shoulder while I eat them.

Luau - Luaus are SO much fun. It's part tourist-y, part cultural, and lots of food. Though I would highly suggest doing your research before picking a luau (the one we picked gave me some bug bites and an upset stomach), the night is worth it.

So here's my list of things that are needed for every Hawaii trip! I'd love to hear your suggestions because I know I'm going to be making a trip back sometime in the near future!

National Best Friend Day!

In honor of National Best Friend Day (or the twenty minutes that are left of it), here are a few photos of me and my best friends! As stated by Mindy in “The Mindy Project” (which is a fantastic show btw. If you haven’t watched the entire first season, do it!), “Best friend isn’t a person, it’s a tier.” I couldn’t agree more. Remember in elementary school where you could only have one best friend, otherwise you were cheating? As I’ve grown up, I’ve realized that you can totally have more than one best friend. One best friend might be best for talking about family matters; another one might be best for talking about work/school. There’s no need to have one nebulous, overarching best friend that is good for everything. Because that person would pretty much have to be you, since you’re the only one that you can talk to you about EVERYTHING. So without further ado, here are my best friends!

The lovely Kwhallon :] Dance Team Buddies all three years together and fellow Lululemon addict!

My little sister. She know all my secrets and even though we fight and pick on each other, we're always there for each other.

And last but CERTAINLY not least, my Partner-In-Crime, my soulmate, my favorite roommate, and my best friend: Dawn. I have no idea what my college experience would be like without her in it and am always so grateful that I met her! I hope with her in Charlotte and me in Manhattan Beach that we'll still be as good friends as we are today!

Snorkeling in Hanauma Bay

Tonight is my last night in Hawaii. How did the week pass so quickly! We really took advantage of the day and got up early to head back out to Hanauma Bay. We got there around 9:00AM and had to sit through a little information video that told us about the history of the bay and the rules we should follow to help preserve the natural life.

Hanauma Bay is perfect for snorkeling. The water is really clear and there’s a ton of fish. We brought our own snorkels and goggles but next time, I’d recommend just renting the whole set of snorkel, goggles, and fins. It’s cheap and if you don’t plan on snorkeling a whole lot in your future, you might as well just rent for the day. The set was only $12 for the day.

The strange thing about Hanauma Bay is that it’s pretty shallow. When I went snorkeling a few years ago, we took a little boat into the middle of the ocean and then dived in there so the water was pretty deep. At Hanauma Bay, the reef is close to the water so you’re swimming on top of it and all the fish are diving in and out of the rocks.

To be honest, I was a little hesitant to swim over the reef. I have a terrible history with coral reefs because I end to flail and kick and cut up my feet. I got a few scrapes here and today but swimming with the rented fins really helped. Also, it took a little bit of time to get used to the snorkel and breathing through it. I was doing this weird thing where I just held my breath when I put my face in the water but after a few minutes, I got the hang of it and was happily swimming along looking at the fish. It was a wonderful way to end our trip and we even had a nice Italian dinner altogether!

On another note, tomorrow is “National Best Friend Day!” What an appropriate way to end our trip to Hawaii.

The World’s Largest Maze!

Today was so much fun!!! We were planning on going to Pearl Harbor in the morning and then heading to the Dole Plantation but it turns out that Pearl Harbor tours need to be booked at 8AM so we kind of missed that…But we drove to the Dole Plantation instead and it was easily the most fun I’ve had so far on this trip!

I’ve never been to the Dole Plantation before but many of my friends have and I was really excited to go for the first time. We bought the package that included the maze as well as the 20-minute train ride. We decided to run the maze first. The Dole Plantation Maze is touted as the world’s largest maze, according to the Guinness Book of World Records. Hidden in the different corners of the maze are 8 little stations that you can have to get to and mark off on our little cards. We split up boys vs. girls and had a somewhat Amazing Race competition. It was so much fun running around and asking everyone if they had seen the “pineapple” or the “sea urchin.”

My finished maze card!

After our maze race, we took a little train ride that took us around the plantation. It had a recorded tour guide who told us about the history of the Dole plantation. All the different crops that grow on the plantation surprised me: not only pineapple, but bananas, breadfruit, rambutan, and sugarcane, too! I also picked up an authentic Pineapple Dole Whip. You can get them at Disneyland too but if you’ve never had one, it’s basically pineapple frozen yogurt sitting in a cup of pineapple juice. I got the little souvenir cup too so I could have a little memento of the place.

Pineapple Dole Whip. Yummiest thing ever!

After Dole Plantation, we went to North Shore for lunch and also swam around on beaches. I wish we had thought ahead to bring snorkel gear but we had our swim goggles and so we paddled around and took a look at the fish swimming around. I am terrible around coral reefs because I kick like none other and I got a few scratches on my feet. Nothing serious, just a few stings.

We decided to take dinner easy and eat at the food court at a mall down the street from where we’re staying. The food court is nice because we can all choose what we want to eat and get different things. Tomorrow we’re going to head back to Hanauma Beach early in the morning with our new snorkel gear to look at the fishies! And then maybe a showing of “The Internship” since it’s coming out tomorrow! I also completely forgot “Now You See Me” is playing and I really want to see that too! So many movies, so little time. Until tomorrow!

Look us, a pile of pineapples!