Just Another Friday: Cricket & Bluegrass.

While Google is always pictured as a chill place to work, Fridays at work are awesome, not just because they mark the beginning of the weekend, but also because there's always something cool going on. After we wrapped up work today, we went to Charleston Park (which borders our main campus) to watch some Googlers play cricket. And that's when it hit me again: what other place can you watch your fellow coworkers play cricket in front of a giant palm tree on any given Friday? haha...

After chillin for a little bit, we headed over to main campus to watch a bluegrass band perform. Man, I seriously need to count my blessings daily when it comes to my employment situation. God is good.

Barracuda Sushi.

Tonight, Chung, Andrew, Kwang Ho, Sarah, and I went to Barracuda Sushi in Burlingame for dinner. Among five of us, we ordered more rolls than could fit in this single frame. The picture can speak for itself on how good the food was. I'd love to go back just to see Chung order the "Oh! Wasabi!" roll again! haha...

[Stop] Caring.

There's an alley near my apartment where I park sometimes. Tonight was the first time I noticed that the stop sign at the end of the alley was graffitti'd. I thought it was an interesting shot so I grabbed a quick shot and headed home.

Jones Black Cherry Soda.

Taken at Panera Bread. There's not really an interesting story to go with this. I just took this picture because I thought the framing might be interesting. I just wish the lighting was better.

Oh and just for your info, the Jones Black Cherry soda tastes like cough syrup. Eww...unless you like that taste.

Family Time.

I spent today with two of my cousins from my mom's side of the family. The beautiful people you see next to me are Daniel and Esther, two of my closest cousins. They're both working in the city and took some time to just chill with me and wander around NY, since I haven't been able to do so in such a long time. It was so great and refreshing to see them, and just being around them helped me really take a break from the deep emotions I've been dealing with recently. So yeah, thanks, you two, for making things a bit easier to cope with and reminding me of the importance of family.

Later that night, I spent time with cousin's son (which I guess makes him my second cousin). His name is Zubin, he's two years old, and is as adorable in person as he is in the picture. Man, I love kids.

Miyazaki Keeps Me Company.

My mind needs a break. After hearing of my grandmother's passing, I bought the next plane ticket out to Jersey for her funeral service. With all the craziness that's been going on in my life, I was glad that I got some time to just sit and let my brain numb out while waiting for the plane to start boarding.

When I approached the gate, I realized that I had alot more time than expected, so I put in Porco Rosso, one of Hayao Miyazaki's earlier films. It's quite different from his more recent stuff like Spirited Away, but just as entertaining. This was Miyazaki's first film in which he was targeting an older audience, and while the film did seem a bit more "dramatic," it had elements that appeal to people of all ages. Before I sound like another movie critic, I'm just gonna end by saying that I recommend this movie to anyone who enjoys a good animated feature or anyone who wants to just take a break from life for a little bit.

My 23rd Birthday.

Wow. What I intended to be a pretty low-key birthday turned out to be random yet enjoyable. It started off with me getting to my desk to find the white board decorated by my cubemate Annie.

I didn't really want to make a huge deal at work, because I didn't think it was groundbreaking news, but the day continued with coworkers and friends stopping by and calling to send their birthday greetings, which was really thoughtful of everyone.

At lunch, a group of Googlers from 24/7 and my coworkers in my department headed to main campus for some good grub and good company in what turned out to be a gorgeous day.

As the day progressed, Julie- a friend from 3:18 (a different small group at GrX)- found out that I hadn't made any plans for the day and invited me out to the driving range to chill with her coworkers. I was hesitant in going because it would have only been the second time at a range, and I was a bit hesitant on going because I knew I'd embarrass myself.

However, much to my amusement and surprise, I was actually able to consistently make contact and send the ball flying. I guess the whole getting older thing has improved upon my skills in old-people sports like golf! We wound up staying at the range for about an hour and a half, and then we headed off to the next event of the day.


After grabbing a quick bite to eat with Henry and Jules, we headed over to Daly City to meet up with the rest of their small groups for their weekly bowling get-together. While waiting for the lanes to open up, we went across the lot to Tapioca Express, where I was treated to a peach smoothie boba.

It wasn't until I was almost halfway done with the smoothie that I realized it had milk in it. For those of you who don't know, I belong in the community of those who are lactose intolerant. However, luckily, there were no problems to be faced tonight :)

Finally, after waiting for about an hour for our lanes to open up, we headed across the parking lot to the alley to get our bowl on! However, it did not turn out to be the casual, leisurely bowling that I've grown accustomed to.

I learned a couple of very important lessons today: 3:18 small group members are pretty hardcore about their bowling. I haven't seen so many 100+ players in one game ever, and it was kind of amusing to see how into it some people got- i.e. they'd beat themselves up for not clearing each frame. Yeah, for me? I was just glad if I didn't gutterball!

And the second lesson of the day?: Whenever it's your birthday, prepare to be embarrassed. Just when I thought I was in the clear, Julie pulls out this hideous purple boa and a birthday hat, forcing me to put it on to the amusement of others.

Regardless, what was expected to be a pretty low-key birthday turned out to be very eventful after all.

Thanks so much to everyone who called, emailed, im-ed, Facebooked, and whatnot to wish my a happy birthday. As lonely as it gets in this city sometimes, I felt really loved today.

Meet Mark.

Mark is yet another coworker of mine. At a previous department conference, they handed out these authentic construction hats as a memento. Mark decided to rock it with some brown overalls, so I needed to take a picture of him taking five from work.

Family.

I flew down to Southern California this weekend to visit my parents and brother, who was in town for spring break. While I can't really get myself to call it home because I never lived there, it was great to be back together with them again, regardless of how short it was.