New Year’s Eve gathering

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My parents and I went to a gathering of some family friends down in Newport today to celebrate the upcoming year. There were six of us “kids” (the under 30s) and we had fun chatting over lunch at the kids’ table, playing some Wii Fit (I learned I am very well balanced on the board), and singing karaoke songs, English and Chinese. I drank a lot of tea and tasted a cool one from Hawaii with a macadamia flavor.

A funny moment came when I first arrived and the host daughter introduced me to my mom, not knowing we were related. 😛 “Why yes, actually, I have met her…” Haha! and here are some shots of the food we enjoyed:

huge potluck meal for new year's eve 2010

The main attraction: lots and lots of food!

using small hammer to crack apart huge chocolate bar

This gigantic bar of chocolate came with its own hammer so you can break it apart.

25th birthday

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What a busy, busy birthday!  I got into LAX around 2 am and got home sometime past 3.  After scarfing down some food (I can’t believe the airlines didn’t offer a single meal after all the delays and overbooked flights they put us through!), I was asleep by 4.  I woke up just before 9, probably because I’m still sort of on EST.  I took a shower and renewed my auto insurance, then went to get Panda.

We took a stroll around the park, had a huge lunch at a Northern Chinese style restaurant, ran some errands, and made the congested trek over to Sprinkles in Beverly Hills.  I got my usual: a red velvet and a chocolate marshmallow and then it was time to rush off to the apartment complex to drop off my first month’s payment and sign the lease.  I completely forgot that plenty of people actually went to work today, so I hadn’t expected the kind of traffic we got stuck in!  Nevertheless, we made it to my soon-to-be new home in time to take care of the paperwork.  Tomorrow my roommate does the same and gets the keys so we can officially move in this weekend.  🙂

By that time, we were running late to meet my parents at Din Tai Fung for dinner.  Fortunately, we got there at the same time that they did so neither party had to wait for the other.  We did, however, have to wait to get seated.  Tonight was more crowded than the previous couple of times I’d been by DTF to eat and we were waiting for a good 40 minutes before getting a table.  We ordered 10 items from the menu and chowed down as they started to serve dish after dish.  Everything was steaming and delicious and soon enough we were all stuffed.

My parents headed home from there and Panda and I spent some time sitting together to talk and rest a bit.  He’s getting ready to move out to work on the east coast, so things are going to be changing quite a bit in another two months or so.  By and by an hour passed and we had to get home.  I dropped off Panda and just got home not too long ago.  There’s been a lot of traveling and not so much sleeping for me in the past day, so I’m just about ready to crash before we go celebrate New Year’s at a family friend’s place tomorrow afternoon/evening.

Aboard the Norwegian Sky

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Woo, I’m back from my cruise and here are some pics of when we first got on 4 days ago.

Vacation

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Well, today’s the first official day of my vacation! The only other time I took days off were to volunteer for Opportunity Green, which wasn’t much of a break since that kept me busy. So this is the first time since I started my job that I am going on a vacation, truly going on one with days off, travel, rest, and the whole shebang. Usually I can manage one or two of those items, but now I’m taking advantage of all three. Plus, my parents are here to enjoy this vacation with me and we’re going somewhere exciting and new. 🙂

I spent the bulk of the day on a plane, going from LA to Atlanta to Miami. I slept as much as I could and pigged out on cheap pasta for lunch and dinner. When we arrived in miami, most of the day had been lost – I left 9 am from LA and got in to Miami around 7:30 (local time), so after settling in, eating dinner, and resting a bit, it was already time for bed. I wasn’t sleepy though, so I’ve been up playing games. Tomorrow we get on our cruise ship and head for the Caribbean! I’ll make sure to get some pics on my phone so I can post some.

DBA: eco-friendly pens

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front of dba pen packaging, set of three pens

An eco-friendly pen that is almost entirely recyclable/compostable!

list of materials used to make the dba pens

The pen, the case, even the ink - biodegradable.

closeup of dba pen packaging saying it is 98% biodegradable

98% biodegradable! That means it's non-toxic and I can just throw it in my compost. Sweet.

top view of dba pens packaging

The DBA pens come in a cool, space-saving design.

Lancelot

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One of the dogs at work is so freakin’ cute. Now if only he was more sociable…

prancing puppy from Mary Qin on Vimeo.

little lancelot from Mary Qin on Vimeo.

On a side note, why are vertical videos so narrow?

Family united

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Once a year, around this time, my family gets together for the holidays.  You’d think it’d be easier since it’s just my parents and I, but we’ve got lives on various parts of the globe now.  Very reliably though, we go on a family vacation together for the holiday season.  Last year it was Vegas.  The year before was Cancun.  This year?  It’s time for the Bahamas!

For our second cruise ever, we will go from Miami to Nassau to Great Stirrup Cay and back again.  Pretty exciting and I just can’t wait to play around in the ocean.  I’m thinking of going on a snorkeling adventure with some sting rays (they are one of my favorite sea creatures!) and just enjoying the beautiful waters out there.  Hopefully the weather will be agreeable and allow us to enjoy everything the islands have to offer.  🙂

It’s really nice to get together with my parents now.  We’ve moved past the stage when I was a rebellious teen, always butting heads with them.  I’m still stubborn, but my life is really in my control now and it’s great to have the freedom to make my own choices and share my life with my parents.  Plus, there’s a lot more to talk about when you don’t see each other for extended periods of time.  This year in particular I’m really excited because I’m finally moving out on my own with my first lease!  I always subletted before, so it’s kind of cool to have ownership of a lease and know that half of that apartment is mine.  It doesn’t hurt that is has awesome amenities and perks and is super close to work too!

When we get back from our little vacation break, I’ll spend a day with Panda for my birthday and then it’ll be time to get ready to move!  I’m glad my parents will be around to share the experience with me, see the new place, meet the new roommate, and help me get all settled.  I’m looking forward to the end of this year and the beginning of next.  So many good things to come!

The iPhones: a side by side comparison

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top view of iphone 3gs and iphone 4 boxes with apple logo

front view of iphone 3gs and iphone 4 boxes with images of the phones

side view of iphone 3gs and iphone 4 boxes with the names of the phones

front view of iphone 3gs and iphone 4 in their boxes

bottom view of iphone 3gs and iphone 4 with charger port and speakers

top view of iphone 3gs and iphone 4 with audio jack and power button

back view of iphone 3gs and iphone 4 with apple logo and phone info

closeup of iphone 4 retina display

You can see the little increments on the compass for Safari and read the letters on the Contacts image!

closeup of iphone 3gs display

I never really noticed that those globs along the right side of the Contacts image (as seen on an iPhone 3GS) were meant to be letters until I saw the retina display on the iPhone 4.

Settled

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Finally, I’ve got a place to live near work now!   After weeks of searching, I found a suitable apartmentmate to split a two-bedroom with me. I can’t wait to get rid of the commute and get back 3 hours of my life each day!   Plus, I am going to get around to some things I’ve wanted to do for awhile – yoga, working out regularly, maybe even get back into swimming again.  🙂

We get our keys on New Year’s Eve and have the weekend to move in!  I’m really excited, but I’ve got to figure out how to transport some furniture (and which items to bring).  I’m going to need to get a desk as well.  Once the big items are in, I’ve got plenty of time to bring all the little things over.  And then I can relish my new digs, complete with pools, jacuzzis, grills, gym, media center, mini movie theater, and so much more!

Yay for a wonderful start to the new year!

Wicked bird

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This bird was acting like it was possessed or something. It has a strange garble and kept puffing up to try to scare us into giving it food.

crazy bird from Mary Qin on Vimeo.

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