Getting sick really sucks....

Gosh, I think I got the illness from my cousin's holiday party. Apparently, a couple of my cousins were sick with some sort of viral infection. Now I have it and so does my mom and brother. I am getting better. I just hate taking time off from work when it's not a vacation. I originally wanted to hang out with my friends today since it is the Emerald Bowl. I think it is best that I stay in and get better. I will watch the game on TV. Speaking of TV, my TV in my room broke...what luck! Friends who know me will understand that my TV means a lot to me. Well, when you are sick and don't want to get out of bed...turning on a TV in your room is the best thing. I just want to be lazy....
Anyway, since I am bored out of my mind right now...I am just writing in my blog. Hopefully I will get better soon before Friday when I get to party with Yul, the Survivor winner. Go Bruins!

Christmas weekend of FUN !!

My Christmas Tree

My decorated fireplace :)

My brother and his girlfriend

This has been a crazy weekend... It all started on Friday. My friends and I went out to Slide that night. I have heard so much about this club/lounge and wanted to check it out for awhile. My brother's girlfriend was celebrating her birthday there and reserved a booth. This was an opportunity I couldn't pass. I invited a couple of my friends to join us. This club was awesome! I think it just opened this year and was the place to go! It is right next to Ruby Skye and usually there is a really really long line. When you enter the club, there is this huge slide that you can slide down...hence the club name, SLIDE :).

The next day, I went to Emeryville to hang out with Mel, Mike, and Nate (my travel buddies). We had brunch at this really cute cafe a couple of blocks from Mel's place. It was a great time to catch up and exchange gifts. Nate is going to Australia on Wed. Lucky him! Brunch felt like we were travelling again. Good Times. Check out my posts on our trips to Japan and Thailand again!

Later that evening, I had to drive to Pacifica to help out Brian and Carla with their Christmas party. Of course I was a little late. I really hate crossing the Bay Bridge...the horrible traffic! When I arrived at Brian and Carla's place, I helped with the fruit skewers. Carla is so creative when it comes to hosting a party! I will post the pictures of the party once I get them from George, our designated photographer :) . We had lots of fried food (the Teehankee-Ablang tradition). Yummy! We also had a white elephant gift exhange. Too bad I had to leave in the middle the party to go to my other friend's party. They were going to play this new Cranium game. I will definitely play with them next time!

I went to my high school friend's party which happened to be in Daly City which was not too far from Brian's party. Got to see old faces. Caught up with the latest news on our friends! Some got married and now have kids! It was great to see my high school friends!!! Good old days! Miss those days!

After hanging out with them for a little bit, I went back to Brian's party. I had to try George's banana foster dessert. Gosh it was delicious! Got to watch the end of the Cranium game and it was so entertaining! It took FOREVER to finish the game but nevertheless, it was fun! The winners..... Brian and Sudhir! They have chemistry! Carla and Debbie almost had it if only Debbie got the "Jolly Green Giant" Oh well...

OK...after that was over, I had to drive back into the city to hang out with my other friends. They wanted to go to SLIDE again. Well I made it there about 1 am. The bouncer remembered me from the other night and just let me walk in...how nice! So got to hang out with Katrina, Elaine, Ernest, and Wes. The music wasn't as great as the other night but it was still good.

Ernest & Katrina

Elaine hiding behind Ernest

Me and Wes

Boy... Saturday was a BUSY day and night! I had a lot of fun! Great to see all my friends! That night, I slept like a baby....zzzzzzz.

Sunday was rest day. Watched football, cleaned up around the house, and did laundry. I wanted to go Copeland's to check out the snowboards but someone told me that going to the mall on Christmas Eve is really really stupid. SO I didn't go. I wanted to go to the driving range but found out that they close early. SO no golf either. Oh well. That evening, I drove to my cousin's house for our annual family Holiday party. As usual, it was great to see my family and family friends. Also, I stuffed myself with tons of food... I kept on eating and eating knowing that I was already full. What the heck it's Christmas! I'll just work out the next day :).

My parents

My cousins and aunt

My family

grandma

my baby cousin

UCLA Undie Run

Wow this is awesome! Makes me think about college again. Gosh I miss the good old days. Too bad they didn't have this run when I was in school...

UCLA Undie Run

Melanie's Birthday

On Saturday, a bunch of us went out to the Roe to celebrate Mel's birthday. It was a great turn out. Check out some of the pictures....

Diana, Mel, Elaine

It was great to see everyone!

Kaiser Permanente Physical Therapy Holiday Party

This year's holiday party was held at Point Pacific in Daly City. For the past 2 years, Kaiser had a huge party for the Musculoskeletal Service Line Department. But this year, I was glad that we had our own department party which was a lot better. The party included our very own band and LOTS of wine! Too bad there was no dessert. I was disappointed with that. Nevertheless, it was a great party.
Since I didn't have a camera that night, just check out Joyce's blog on our party.

Bruins Ruin SC chances to the BCS Title Game!

The Victory Bell is back home... in Westwood.

USC team on the sidelines for the final minute of the game...helpless.

This was THE game to watch and I missed it! December 2, 2006: UCLA vs #2 USC at the Rose Bowl. This was the game for the rivalry to be revived. For the past 7 years, UCLA has lost to USC. Many have thought UCLA will never come close to USC's incredible football talent. UCLA walked into this game as major underdogs. I even heard that a owner of a furniture store in LA promised customers that if UCLA defeats USC, he will refund everyone's money!!! Wow! If I knew about that, I should have bought new sofas, dining table, and even a new bed! Well, the score was low but it was due to our awesome defense. The final score was: UCLA 13 USC 9. The last play of the game was when USC's QB, Booty, threw an interception. Although I missed the game, I was able to celebrate with all my UCLA friends at Bar None in San Francisco. This was a game to remember. Not only did we ruin SC's chance to the BCS Championship game, we also defeated them just because they are Trojans, our cross town rival....2 sweet victories! We got our Victory Bell back. The underdogs came through. This goes to show that ranks don't mean much when there's a rivalry game. This is all about pride and our history. This is why I love college football. When my friend asked where does USC rank now, my other friend replied, "under us." That was funny!
Go Bruins! Emerald Bowl, here we come!

UCLA Football

Well, it was that time again for the UCLA/Cal football game. This time it was at Cal. A bunch of us (my UCLA crew except Erik-the guy with the Berkeley shirt) decided to watch the game together...knowing that we were the underdogs. We didn't care cuz we love UCLA. I was happy to see so many UCLA fans at the game. It felt like college again. I miss college... Our team put up a good fight for the first half...surprisingly. Even the Cal fans were a little disappointed that they weren't winning by more after the first half. Oh well...We, Bruins, never give up! We eventually did lose. I still had a great time. For all the Cal fans...just wait til we play you in basketball. Hahahah...Be ready for a spanking!

House party at Steph's

Steph, Me, & Coleen at ChaChaCha...Girls night out.

Next night....

Wow, a house party! I haven't been to one since college. My friend, Stephanie, decided to throw one at her new place. It was awesome! Well, my friends and I just got back from the UCLA/Cal football game that day and we were super tired. But we were so looking forward to the party. Although at the end of the party, Stephanie surprised me...SHE went to Cal! BOOOOO! Thanks for throwing a great party.

Shabu Shabu Night

On Friday, I decided to have shabu shabu at Than's place. We invited our friends, Brian, Carla, George, and Debbie. It was my first attempt on this Japanese style hot pot dinner. So I was a little nervous. I had been looking forward to this since I got back from Hawaii. I learned how to make the sauces from my friends, Will and Robyn. I heard that is the key to a really good shabu shabu....the sauces. Well, I think it went well. I thought I bought too much food, but at the end...all the food was gone! We had beef, pork, mussels, Chinese cabbage, sweet potato, mushrooms, noodles, and gyoza. For dessert, we had warm baked chocolate chip cookies and Klondike bars (Heath and Reeses). It was a successful night! Oh...just a side note, while we were eating, we were also glued to the TV...watching DEAL OR NO DEAL. I know...I know... BUT this episode was the best! The contestant won $750,000!!!

Happy Birthday, Molly!

On my birthday, Than took me to Sushi Ran in Sausalito. So sweet of him to take me there since he had to fly all the way back from Phoenix (business trip) that same day and rush back to the city from Oak airport during the peak of rush hour. Anyways, the sushi was so delicious. Now I know why it was rated #1 by Zagat for the best sushi in the Bay Area. One of my favorites is the Black Cod....YUMMY! The sushi is as good as the ones in Japan. That's how good it was! Sushi Ran rocked!
The next day which was a Friday, Than told me that he was in a mood for Italian food and wanted to go to North Beach. Then, after dinner, stay home and watch a movie. Basically, it was gonna be a chill night. But when we arrived in North Beach, he changed his mind and wanted Thai food instead. So we decided to eat at Citizen Thai and the Monkey which is in North Beach. He tried to fool me by speaking Thai to the host. Thank god the host didn't speak Thai. When I arrived, I saw all my friends! I was SOOOO surprised!! Gena, my college friend, and her boyfriend, Shin were there. My Co-workers Brian and Ed were there. My good friends George, Sudhir, Carla, and Erik were there. My travel buddies, Melissa (grad school friend), her husband, Mike, and Nate were there. I was so thrilled to see all of them. Food was so delicious. I love Thai food. The best part was that I had to blow out candles from my favorite Thai dessert...sticky rice and mango.


After dinner, they surprised me again by taking me to Dragon Bar. When I arrived, I saw more of my friends. I was speechless! I couldn't believe it! Some I haven't seen in awhile and they were there! It was great to catch up with them. Each person bought me drinks or shots. Some I don't even want to try ever again. But it was the thought that counts, right? :) I love my friends. I am the luckiest girl to have such great friends around me! Brian, thanks for being my photographer for the night. Much appreciated! Also, a special thanks to the man who put the whole thing together (of course with the help from others). Thanks, Than! I will never forget this awesome birthday. You are a genius for pulling this off!

Carla, Jen, Me

Carla & Ed getting their freak on!

Erik and Me

Phung & me

The boys & me

The girls

Than & me

Nate, Melissa, Mike

Gena, Shin, Me

Lyman, Me, Andy

Aloha!

Just got back from Hawaii. Went to visit some old friends in Oahu and spent a day in Kauai. The trip was so awesome. I didn't really do any touristy things. I spent most of my time hanging out like a local. It was a great feeling. Here are some of the pictures from the trip. I got some pictures of us riding some ATVs in Kauai which will be posted later.

Kauai

Robyn, me, and Will

Yummy tofu salad...all soooo good!

Honey Toast Chocolate Dessert...YUMMY!