Paper or Plastic

So Yeah

I have a tumblr crush on you.

What do you mean, a tumblr crush?

Well, I don’t know you very well. Yet, I feel like I know you from how you express yourself on tumblr. From the pictures you post up, the values you believe in, to the words you use to best describe your thoughts and feelings.

Granted, we have hung out a couple of times, but only at events. I wish I could spend more time just talking to you. I want to get to know your mind, and I want to share you mine.

I remember the first time I met you. I could tell you are an unique person. Someone who speaks her mind and is wholesome and real. That weekend was overwhelming and I know you were emotionally going through a lot. In the end, we all had an amazing time in Vegas.

Not going to lie, I was super excited to receive your phone call. I know you could tell from the sound of my voice. For the longest time I wanted to tell you about your tumblr, but the opportunity never arose until that night.

It was good to see you again.

Holiday Toy Drives

Growing up in a Buddhist household, my family did not celebrate holidays like Thanksgiving or Christmas. As a kid, I remember getting sad every time the holidays came around because my favorite restaurants would be closed and the only places open were Asian restaurants. Trying to explain to a kid why McDonald’s is not an option on Christmas Day is a very difficult thing to do. It wasn’t until about high school when I took matters into my own hands and brought home our first Christmas tree.

High school was a fun time because I was very active in the community. I was part of Interact Club and Key Club at the same time. As it got closer to the holidays, I would always look forward to volunteering at the Family Giving Tree events. The main volunteer event was to sort out the thousands of toys according to age range. There were so many toys it felt like I was in toy heaven. I remember happily volunteering at this event for a few years.

This year, memories of my high school volunteer days came back when my work put out those big bins in hopes of collecting toys for the holidays. So I went to the nearest toy store to see what the newest trend in toys were. Last I checked, Yu-Gi-Oh was the hottest new thing. One thing I noticed was that the majority of toys nowadays require batteries. It would be silly to buy kids these toys because what happens once the batteries run dry? The whole point is that they can’t afford toys let alone replacement batteries. The answer was board games.

Everybody loves board games. They are low maintenance, most don’t require batteries, fun to play, and it brings people together. Kids like to play with other kids. Board games offer all that and more. As I was standing in the board game isle, one game stood out the most. It wasn’t the flashy colors or creative box design or event the clever game title that stood out, but he simplicity of the game. Jenga.

Jenga? Yes, Jenga. Think about it. You start of complete and strong. Outside forces come in and slowly chip away at you. Eventually you get to the point where you can’t handle it anymore and everything comes crashing down. What happens afterwards? The people around help build you up to become complete and strong again. It’s life defined in blocks of wood. Something so simple can mean so many things. Besides, it’s the holidays right? The holiday vibe brings people together and reminds us that we’re all in this together. Love thy family and friends.

Days Like This

Every once in a while I will have a day like today where the weather is gloomy and all I want to do is sit at home, wrap myself in a blanket, sip green tea with brown rice, and switch between listening to dubstep and reading a good book. Just me, myself, and I time. Being such a social person that I am all the time, I value days like today where I can shut out the entire world and not have to worry about anybody or anything. Simple joys in life yield the greatest rewards.

I Miss Northern California

Like most Asian families, we roll deep in numbers. My father has 6 siblings and my mother has 8 siblings. I have family in almost every part of the world. It makes it super easy to travel. Recently, I went to Calgary, Alberta to attend my cousin’s wedding. The first night I arrived, my brother and I decided to walk to the nearest bar and order their finest Canadian beer. The bartender asked me where I was from, when I told her California, she said she could hear it in my accent. I told her I had no idea what she was talking “aboot.”

I am very proud of my California roots. Northern California to be exact. Although I was born in San Diego, I was raised in San Jose. Being back in San Diego, it’s not the same. Something about this place is odd. I think that people who are raised somewhere but then end up leaving home to see what else life has to offer, a majority of their identity stems from where they’re from.

One thing that I noticed about California is that essentially it is two different states in one. Northern California is completely different from Southern California. Now, I’m referring to the differences between the men and women in Northern California and in Southern California.

Yes, they say “hella” up there, and they say “stoked” down there, but that’s besides the point. I noticed that the people in Southern California are way more friendlier on first encounter, but in the long run, things change. It seems as if people in Southern California can be labeled more as acquaintances than true friends.

That’s where it differs in Northern California. People up there seem rude and may look like haters and can mean mug you from a distance, but that’s because they’re trying to weed out the fake mofos. One you get to know somebody in Northern California, like really get to know that person, you’ve got a friend for life.

I realize that most likely nobody in San Diego will want to be my friend anymore as a result of this tumblr post, but you know what? I don’t care. Y’all fake mofos anyway.

Go ahead. Prove me wrong. I dare you.

Planking

This planking fad is ridiculous. If you haven’t heard or seen pictures of people planking, you must be living on a different planet. The act of planking has become an international sensation to the point where the official planking Facebook page has over 560,000 “likes”.

All I have to say is that you’ll notice there are not a lot of pictures of Asian people planking. Why you ask? It’s because every time an Asian person gets into the planking position, usually what follows is an ass whopping from the Asian parents. Those are some childhood memories I’d rather forget about. 

Have no fear because planking is quickly becoming a thing of the past. There’s something new and exciting happening in the world now, and it’s called “owling”. Owling is the act of sitting in a perched position while looking off into the distance imitating the pose of an owl. In other words, it’s the act of sitting with your knees to the chest, eyes wide open, looking like you’ve been cracked out for days.

Sexy.