"I was here"

One of my favorite things I enjoy doing when I'm out of the country:

Writing on the walls/tables when I'm out of town in a bar/establishment/ guestbook! I absolutely love looking at scribbles especially when others scribble where they are from and adding an extra especially across the big pond makes me feel very privileged and lucky that I was able to be so far out there. Plus the added emo bonus when reminiscing. Here are five photos of me making my mark, enjoy!

The bathroom stall door- Cask and Flagons next to Fenway Park, Boston, MA. January 2012.

MBK Stationery Store (on the testing paper). Bangkok, Thailand May 2011. (That was intended for the crush, who knows who he is.)

Feel Good Bar. Patong Beach, Phuket, Thailand. June, 2012.

Bathroom stall in St James Gate Irish Pub. Rembrandtplein, Amsterdam, Netherlands. July, 2010.

Written on the table! And the hot LA boy knows who he is! Where the bucket was heavy and the shots were good and the beers were brewing for him (and me). Angkor What? Pub, Siem Reap, Cambodia. July 2012

Now that the Olympics are officially over,
Ten things that I have learned:

1. The Phelps isn't an instant gold medal generator. He failed to secure the coveted gold in three events. One of which, he did not even medal! Did the bong have an effect?
2. Jamaica has the fastest man and woman on earth.
3. There are probably at least 30 people who represented the state of California.
4. China would rather play it safe in diving.
5. Alex Morgan is going to be a huge womens soccer star for the next decade.
6. Did anyone see it coming-- Mexico winning mens soccer?!
7. The Kiwis have made a name for themselves with anything that has to do with a boat on the water.
8. USA Basketball. Both men and womens. Enough said. (And that is probably my last time rooting for Kobe!)
9. Latin America is rising up! And the fall of Southeast Asia... no country in ASEAN managed to win a single gold.)
10. I wish Def Leppard would have performed at the Opening/Closing ceremony. Okay. I didn't watch either cause I was too tired, and I have a 12 (or 16) self imposed time limit on work before I serve the papers and go forth in bringing my aspiration of being a teacher to reality.

It has been a good 2.5 weeks since the last time I posted here on my penultimate day of vacation.

To keep it short (for now), I had a blast with Pat. It was the hardest goodbye when we met up at the airport again for twenty minutes that very Friday for a short, but emotional farewell. (Romantic, maybe?) Most. Amazing. Person. Ever.

Since I've never actually met a friend  inside the airport, past customs to say those words. Well, I've had booze at 7:30am with Joseph, an attorneywhen I was headed to Korea and he was  headed back home to  LA for Christmas in 2009, but that doesn't count since he lives here.

Ventured into the great unknown, transcending cultural boundaries, stepping foot on new territory, walking on historic ground. I guess that sums up the trip.

Many firsts for me.
1. Meeting a friend on my own in a different country.
2. Spending 6 nights straight with a friend on vacation. (Pat, were you tired of me being in the same room? ;)) This was the longest time I've spent with anyone, just the two of us outta town.
3. Landing at dusk in Thailand. I've been there 6 times and land in broad day light! The lights coloring the city made me feel that this trip was going to be a blast-- it sure was.
4. Not staying in the Chidlom/Siam/National Stadium area for once. We stayed at where the cool pubs were!
5. 9 hours of traveling time by land to Siem Reap. And I thought the 4.5 hour bus ride from Boston to NYC was long... or the 4 hour bus ride from Val D'Isere to Lyon airport...or going back from Brussels to Utrecht (5 hours thanks to traffic!) Longest ever road trip.
6. Going to a new country.
7. Staying in a guest house. Okay, I've never done it before but it was awesome. Um, folks.
8. Watching a movie in a foreign country.
9. Not buying an item of clothing. Uh, every trip I go on I get at least a shirt, or even a pair of socks RE: Korea. The purchases I made were: Deodorant, lip gloss, acne wash, tea tree oil and a knock off iphone cable (thanks to the lovely Pat who gave me his old iphone as my graduation present-- awww!

I'll do a photo blog of things like "My 5 favorite things in a certain city." or 5 photos that sums up (insert city name) that I have been.