back on the daily grind

That sweater makes me look so chunky! Actually, I put on some weight because of my long winter vacation. I had nothing better to do than sit in front of the television and computer and munch away on snacks. I need to start eating healthier and stop snacking so much! But I just can't help it! Midnight snacks are always the tastiest...

And I'll get to doing a jewelry close up one of these days. The ring on my thumb is definitely my favorite. It's a gold band with lions carved in it. The sentimental value behind this gold band is that it reminds me of my mother. Although her zodiac is a tiger, the lions are close enough of a resemblance for me to dedicate this ring to her. To be honest, it actually belonged to my grandparents, I believe. I always end up finding lovely jewelry scattered in the forgotten corners of our house.

After a long winter break, today was the first day I went back to school since early December. To be honest, I had been eager to escape my house and see my friends again, but I also sort of resented the fact that the vacation ended. I wanted to be able to sleep in until whenever I wanted, take my time making breakfast, and not fight for space during morning rush hour commute. I started class at 8:40 A.M! I haven't been up that early since, well, high school. And to top it all off, I have a three hour and fifty minute break from 12:25 P.M to 4:10 P.M. I have no idea what to do with my spare time!

Because I'm so super prepared, I slept around 5 A.M, only to wake up an hour later to get ready for class. So far, the teachers are pretty nice and it doesn't seem like much work - yet. The only class I'm really dreading is Speech Communications. Although I'm a big blabber mouth and I love talking, I just don't feel comfortable speaking formally to an audience. I'm sure I'll do fine, but I'm just a bit anxious to see all the unfamiliar faces staring at me when I attempt public speaking. Does anyone have a fear of speaking in public? I know that no one is judging me (except for the teacher for my grade, of course), but it's just weird when people stare at me. I tend to get self-conscious and wonder if my hair looks like a bird's nest, or if my mascara ran a little and I have raccoon eyes, or if my skirt is stuck in my pantyhose (luckily that hasn't happened to me yet).

Tomorrow's class schedule is a little better. Instead of class at 8 in the morning, I'll have class at noon. It seriously took me a lot of willpower and dedication and strength to churn this little post out. Can you tell by the dark circles under my eyes that I'm super super pooped out? I'd really love a back massage too! Carrying a laptop around is hard labor, you know!

I'd also like to say thank you so much to everyone who visits my page - whether you comment or follow or even e-mail me. I love connecting with you guys, even though I might not have a lot of time to get back to you or I accidentally overlook you. And it really means a lot to me to see that people actually care what I write and what I wear and what I eat, haha. Actually, I'm just really flattered you guys are interested in my bland lifestyle.

I hope everyone had a better Monday that I did. ♥ And I hope the rest of your week is wonderful too! I'm probably going to go make some tea, snack on something, and fall asleep while watching television.

lots of love,

julia

Outfit Details:

blue sweater - Gap

aztec dress (worn as a skirt) - Forever 21

grey tights - American Eagle Outfitters

green military jacket - DKNY

brown boots - Timberland

white purse - Coach

ruby ring, lion ring, & pearl necklace - family heirlooms

BOSTON: DAY 1 • day 15 | 365

DAY ONE.

The journey to Boston was incredibly fun. I hadn't slept at all because I went to the Skins party. When I got home, I immediately rushed to finish packing for Boston. By the time I was done packing and making myself breakfast, my friend was coming to pick me up from my house to go to the subway so we could head over to Port Authority where we'd take the Peter Pan Bus Lines (You can head over here on Yelp to read my review on my experience on the bus line? And if you have a Yelp account, you guys should totally add me as friends! And if you don't, you should make an account, write some reviews, and still add me as a friend!). After a rather sketchy comment from the employee who helped loaded our luggage onto the bus, we were on the bus and rather excited!

My dad managed to pack me my favorite snack in the world - hummus and pita bread. Of course, he had forgotten some extra virgin olive oil, but I dealt with it. We dozed on and off during the ride, and took use of the free WiFi that was on the bus. However, there were no outlets in our side of the seats, so we only went online for an hour. I was playing Sims 3, instead! I love that game. It's really addicting. I like to make all sorts of weird characters and sometimes I like to make my enemies and trap them in a burning house...not like that's mean...or anything, haha. But, seriously! The game has a kleptomaniac personality option! Who wouldn't want to see a Sim run around and steal things from their neighbor?

In Boston, we stayed with my friend's aunt, Sheila! She's the most amazingly hospitable person ever. She made sure we were housed, fed, and enjoying our time in Boston. She even gave us little gifts! Honestly, I was really appreciative of her. Her cooking's amazing, by the way. I mean, I know you guys can't go over to her house and eat her food, but she made chicken tandoori and I almost died from happiness. I gained so much weight.

But in this picture, my friend Elise is wearing a tissue paper crown that came from this Christmas cracker package that Sheila had leftover from Christmas, since my friend was supposed to visit her during that time, but couldn't make it. Okay, if you read that before you clicked the link and thought that Christmas cracker referred to crackers as in the food, you should let me know so I don't feel too bad. This is the conversation that took place that led to our first inside joke of the Boston trip:

Sheila: Oh, we should open the Christmas crackers after you eat!

Me: Yay! What flavor are they?

Everyone: laughter ensues.

Hey! I didn't know things such as Christmas crackers existed. I was confused! Please don't laugh at me! Just kidding. You can laugh if you want. I won't be offended. It was pretty funny, in hindsight. But I think that these Christmas crackers were racist. The one I opened gave me a package of origami! Just because I'm Asian....

We decided to go to my friend's dorm that night to visit her since she was feeling a little homesick. We went to eat at BHOP (Boston House of Pizza, and you can read my review about it here) before heading back to her dorm to meet her friends and have a little get together. There were just slight flurries that night, so it wasn't too bad!

After her friends left, we ended up sitting in the dark and enjoying the spectacular view outside her window. You could see the tops of the buildings, the traffic down below, and the walkway around the campus of her college. It was so beautiful and such a nice way to end the night.

To be honest, the last picture is one of my favorites from Day 1 in Boston. To the naked eye, it's a lousy photo - the composition is adequate, if not subpar, and it's nothing special. But for me, it's a favorite because every time I look at this picture, I feel the heaviness of being happy and content and homesick and excited all at one moment in my heart - the feelings that I felt at that exact moment, captured in a single photograph.

 ▲▼▲▼▲▼▲▼▲▼▲▼▲▼▲▼▲▼▲▼

DAY TWO. 

Had brunch at this adorable little restaurant. Tea was delicious. Boston Tea Party. Get it? No? Okay. And then we got ice cream, despite the fact that it was about 20 degrees outside and our hands were freezing and I was miserable. Explored more of Boston. Took the Red Line. New York City subways are still better. Sorry, Boston. You stop running at midnight! What am I supposed to do after that?! And then got FroYo. Absolutely delicious. I eat at alot.

 ▲▼▲▼▲▼▲▼▲▼▲▼▲▼▲▼▲▼▲▼

DAY THREE. 

 Went to Faneuil Square. It was cold. Bought clothes that were not suitable for the cold weather. Had dinner at Charley's Saloon. SO. GOOD. You don't understand. Played MadLibs.

 ▲▼▲▼▲▼▲▼▲▼▲▼▲▼▲▼▲▼▲▼

DAY FOUR. 

The one day my friends and I wanted to do some historical exploring, it started snowing and raining and sleeting and all hell broke lose. My rainboots had holes in them, so my feet were practically frostbitten. We dried our feet with the restroom's hand dryer. It didn't work too well. But I bought tea and had cheesecake to console myself after my adventures with the terrible weather Boston was having.

 ▲▼▲▼▲▼▲▼▲▼▲▼▲▼▲▼▲▼▲▼

DAY FIVE. 

Had breakfast at our favorite breakfast place on our last day. Bought some souvenirs. Packed our bags and went home, hoping to have another encounter with Boston in the future.