http://estherlim.wordpress.com/

UPDATED 10.31.09

ODDS & ENDS

My favorite phrase of late.  I think it has something to do with my state of mind.

Rupert got his first real scratch(es) today. T_T My youth kids and I went to an ice park, and while Rupert was parked outside, some very nice person SCRATCHED UP HIS BUMPER (PLUS VERY SLIGHT DENT) and DIDN'T EVEN LEAVE A NOTE.  Gotta love these L.A. people.  I came home and was told by my parents that I was lucky it was just a few scratches; just yesterday, my mom had been telling me I shouldn't get too attached to my car.  I swear, the woman is maddeningly prophetic at times. (either that or she secretly followed us to the ice park in a mysterious white car - the paint that rubbed off on Rupert's bumper is white - and scraped it herself for educational purposes)

Sometimes I feel like the Pied Piper -- you know, the dude who plays his pipe and all the children run after him.  Once again, I find myself inundated with toddlers and children who (whether they know me or not) manage to attach themselves to me somehow.  I know it's really just because I'm a little kid deep down inside, and these kids can see right through me.  It's just that things get kind of problematic when a five-year-old who wants to marry me (after knowing me for 2 days) starts weeping in a dark corner (and by weeping, I mean WEEPING...like big globules of tears dripping one after another out of his puppy eyes without stopping for a very, very long time) and refuses to come out because I didn't play with him like I said I would ( in my defense, I was taking care of other kids).  Oh, and if you get the chance, you should ask Amy about my wonderful library adventures. --;  Man, I miss my C'ville girls.

I'm a workin' gal now. o_O Imagine (puhahaha...I still find the concept rather amusing...and very odd).  I spend 9 hours every weekday inside a law office working with important legal documents and absurdly funny people.  As a legal assistant, I get to do what I've always loved to do - in a nutshell, it involves many Post-Its and organizing and documenting and color-coding and detail-checking.  I've found that the constant threat of potentially committing perjury (one missing document, one tiny mistake...) acts as just the right amount of pressure to keep me engaged.  Oh, and the funny people?  Let's just say my first week at work, I witnessed an all-out rubberband war across the cubicles.  I think it's what you get when you put a bunch of dressed-up, slightly type-A, really quite silly twenty-something-year-olds in an otherwise serious environment; you work like a machine for a few hours, then shoot rubberbands at your neighbor during breaks.  It's somewhat crazy and ridiculous, I know.  So far, it's the only explanation I've come up with (and needed) as to why I think I actually fit in.

Wow, this has turned out to be a lot longer than I thought.  It's getting kind of hard to think coherently sitting here next to my parents who are having a lively (and unnecessarily loud) conversation about menopause and spiritual pride (not related --; ), with random Indonesian words mixed into their Korean.  Will my life ever be normal?

The Perks

1) To introduce CA.

2) To rub it in.

3) To make myself feel better.

The WEATHER

The FOOD

The SHOPPING

The OLD FRIENDS

The BEACH

I guess you let go of some things and pick up other some things.

Missing VA

Hello from sunny California.

It's taken me a few days for it to sink in that I'm actually here - not for vacation, not for fun - just HERE. o_O  In the spirit of remisnicing, here's a picture recap of this fantabulous summer:

At the Graduation Picnic with my girlas.  I don't look too happy there, do I?  I do lover them.   Graduated 4th years, congratulations again and good luck on finding them jobs.

At GCF summer wedding #1: Ben & Deborah's wedding.

Peach Picking: combine Esther's favorite fruit with Esther's favorite season and Esther's favorite people.   Gosh, I wonder if there's peach picking in CA.

KING'S DOMINION!!  Our crazy last-minute trip was mucho fun: 

The ride that almost killed me.  Not joking.

Tired but happy after riding waves

Freya took a shot of me headbanging with his new uber-cool camera.  Notice it caught me in mid-motion without going blurry.  Woot!

Darn it...you can't really see the yellow leaf bindi I put on my forehead.

The Girls

Meditating under the waterfall (really just water fountain...hahaha).

Showing off my prize: I made a total of 15 cents off of Dr. Scott for not screaming on the roller coasters.  I never did get that quarter, though - I screamed at the top of my lungs on the Hyper Sonic.

The Tubing Crew

And finally...

GCF Summer Wedding #2: YW & Amy's.  Now they are happily settled in their new home back in C'ville.

Man, I miss the summer already.  And I miss all of you folks back in VA (should I say "y'all"?).  Thank you for happy memories from this summer and from the last five years I spent with you.

Ahh...thus end my 20 minutes of procrastination before going back to job-searching.  Yeehaw.

I'm a Survivor

I lived through...

...2 wedding rehearsals, massive hair-curling operations, an all-out girl party with mucho nail polish, pre-wedding anxiety (while the bride herself was calm), 6 hours of fidgeting in 4-inch heels, a last-minute wing-it toast, very interesting dance partners, being a wedding soloist, and all the craziness of this weekend.

Now I'm...

...2 pounds heavier, never wearing heels again, and very tired but happily nestled in bed.

Also...

...my best friend is married, I'm done with weddings for the summer(*sigh of relief*), and now I have to start packing for real.

The Lord is (thankfully) gracious.

P.S. Congratulations to Mr. and Mrs. Yongwon Lee.  Hehe...that has a nice sound to it. ^^ Have lots of fun in Nantucket!