Photo: Man and Seagull at Pier 39, San Francisco

I hope this man, whoever he is, has a happy new year. Taken at Pier 39 in San Francisco, November 24, 2011.

Wishing you all a very happy new year! (“See you next year!”)

Old Year’s Achievements

I’m a firm believer in jinxing. When you say you’re “an amazing driver,” you WILL get into a car accident the next day. When you say you “never get sick,” you WILL get sick within the next week. When you think you “definitely got an ‘A’ on that test,” you WILL end up getting a ‘C.’ No one knows why, but that’s just how it works.

For the past who knows how many years, my new year’s “resolutions” have turned into nothing but jinxed goals that were quickly forgotten about, or worse, deemed “unrealistic.” Things like “work out three times a week,” (who even does that, anyway?)…and…um…okay – so what if that’s pretty much the only resolution I recall ever making? All you need to know is that I still have not accomplished that wretched “resolution” after all these years, and that’s because I’m jinxed. Jinxed, I tell ya. This is why, instead of making new year’s resolutions for 2012, I shall reflect on the major things that I actually did accomplish in the year 2011:

• Got my first relevant job doing imaging at Fanzz.com – I was very determined to get back to work doing something not involving the food industry.
• Got proposed to by the love of my life, Kyle, on Easter Day – All those years of nagging at him about getting married finally paid off!
• Visited Seattle and Vancouver, B.C. for the first time (and bought airline tickets for the first time!) – Knew I needed to visit my friends, and resulted in two more places to cross off my “places to go” list.
• Got hired to do social media at Saxton | Horne Advertising – I had always dreamed of working in an ad agency! (Best two months of my life…)
• Had two short feature articles and a few editorial photos published in a magazine – On account of expressing my interests in contributing to the company magazine.
• Got laid off from the agency – sadness turned into anger, anger turned into a determination that made me grow as a career woman and become stronger as a person.
• Visited San Francisco for the first time – I didn’t know I would fall so in love with this place that I would now do whatever it takes to live there someday (counting on you, Kyle – feel the pressure?).
• Graduated from the University of Utah with a degree in Mass Communication – Four years of spending thousands of dollars, using hundreds of hours, and gaining an amassment of knowledge just for a single piece of paper. (That’s B.S. if I do say so myself ).
• Got a job doing copywriting at Overstock.com – After sending my resume to more than 60 companies, going to eight interviews, and…a partridge in a pear tree…?

So technically only one of those achievements started as an actual goal (the rest were just bonuses), but hey! At least there are things I can say I’ve done this past year. However, my belief in jinxes hasn’t prevented me from thinking about things I might want to accomplish in 2012. It has only prevented me from sharing them with you Instead, you should share yours with me. What have you achieved in 2011, or what do you want to achieve in 2012? Comment!

Happy Belated Christmas

Sorry – can’t stay long, but this is just to let you all know that I’m still alive and well:

The Chinatown Gate in San Francisco, November 25, 2011. I think the Chinese means "Everything is shared under Heaven" (I never really caught on to ancient Chinese literature, haha).

Sand Things in December

I haven’t blogged in a while. Yes, you know that. What you don’t know, well, are the reasons why. For one, I was not at home all of last weekend through Wednesday; I was enjoying myself another vacation – this time in Southern California. I didn’t blog about it beforehand this time, but then again I didn’t tell anyone but my parents, so try not to feel left out. Second, I GOT A JOB! (Insert cheers, hollers, and “yay!”s here). After two very long months of unemployment, I have attained a position at Overstock.com as a Copywriter. I started on Thursday and am already feeling pretty comfortable with my responsibilities, my co-workers, and the overall environment. It’s pretty awesome and I am 100% grateful for this opportunity. (And don’t worry, I will not be renewing my unemployment benefits…by the way, I’d like to thank all the tax payers for helping me get through the past two months. I promise that I only spent the money on rent and food).

With that said, expect to see a decrease in blog posts from me. I know, it sucks. I feel like I was becoming more popular and stuff during the past month, but I do hope you’ll stick around. Follow me on WordPress or subscribe to my blog with your RSS feed (because that’s how I follow other blogs). Follow me on Twitter, too.

Anyway, I’d like to talk briefly about my trip to the O.C. We primarily went to visit Souk, our best friend, who had relocated there for his job. When we finally arrived (yep, road trip again), we spent almost every waking minute together – eating, visiting Asian markets, hanging out in our two-bedroom suite in Newport Beach, getting stuck in horrific traffic…it really was just a relaxing time. Really. But as nice as it was, it came so quick after my trip to San Francisco that I was honestly just a little tired of being away from home. I never thought I’d say this, but for the first time in my life, (okay, maybe the second or third time), I’m glad to be home, sweet home.

That’s not to say that I didn’t enjoy the trip. Besides the constant 60-degree weather (like, double the temperature of Salt Lake City right now), one of the best highlights was that we got to spend a few hours on the beach (let me hear a “woot! woot!” for Laguna Beach!). The three of us made sand things (as opposed to castles), waded in the ocean, played catch with random lemons, and jump-roped with long strands of seaweed. It was amazing, and I wish I could do that everyday.

Blue sky, blue ocean, 60-degrees. Laguna Beach, December 13, 2011.

Silhouette of a beach wandering bird. Laguna Beach, December 13, 2011.

Kyle's feet have sunk into the sand at Laguna Beach. December 13, 2011.

Souk the merdude. One of the sand things we made at Laguna Beach. December 13, 2011.

Kyle "jumping seaweed" at Laguna Beach. (Oh crap! Just realized the seaweed I saved is still in my trunk!) December 13, 2011.

Here is a view of the ocean from Marriott's Newport Coast Villas...not from our suite, unfortunately. December 12, 2011.

I May or May Not Have Shed a Tear

And now, Ladies and Gentlemen, the moment you’ve all been waiting for! (Drum-roll, please)

Introducing my debut as an amateur film actress! (LOL) Enjoy this short film, “Two Late,” produced by my Video Production I group for our final project:

(Told you the photo would bring it all together!)

And that’s a wrap!

Like, really.

Because I just graduated from college!!!

Sure, some people might think that’s an achievement, but I don’t really view it as extraordinary. I’ve always liked school and learning new things, so I always knew I would be going to college. But, to be quite honest, I’m just a tad scared to move on with my life. Okay, maybe I’m really scared, but can you blame me? School is pretty much the only thing I’ve known for the past 18 years of my life. That’s 18 years in a row that I’ve spent at least 9 months of every year sitting in a classroom learning something with 30 other people. One more time, just in case you didn’t hear/read me: 18 years.

On my way to school for the last time on Wednesday, I watched students walking on the sidewalk – some at a normal pace, some frantically as if they were late for their next class. You can always tell who is just beginning and who has been there for a while from the way that they walk. (Because, let’s face it, once you become a Junior, you are pretty mellow and do whatever you want – especially if you’re a Communication major…LOL). I drove the familiar route that I had driven for the past three years to the parking lot near LNCO (Language and Communication building), and I may or may not have shed a tear remembering what it was like to be one of those frantic students -  one of those students who is taking that “attendance-based” general; one of those students who still thinks sucking-up to the teacher will get you an “A”; one of those students who think they’re going to be a doctor and end up going into communications (LOL ). And then I remembered, briefly, all the good times that the University of Utah let me experience: the football games, volunteering, meeting awesome people, gaining invaluable knowledge and skills for the “after-life”…

I make graduation sound like it’s putting me through utter turmoil, but it is quite relieving (despite the fact that I will no longer be able to use “school” as an excuse to take time off from work or not attend certain activities because I just don’t feel like going). (Who hasn’t done that before?) I feel as though a ton of weight has just been lifted off my shoulders. I no longer feel burdened from the commitment of spending extra time studying and doing homework when I really just want to sit and watch some HGTV. I feel good. I feel…free. But most importantly, I feel ready – ready to take on the world and re-start my career in the right direction. It’s time to begin a new chapter…

Who Burns Their Tongue on KFC Mashed Potatoes, Anyway?

Apparently, I do…

We were hours into our drive home from Reno when I realized that half a Clif Bar, a few cheddar flavored Sun Chips, and a small piece of black pepper jerky were no longer going to sustain me. We conveniently pulled off i-80 in Elko, NV and pulled right into the drive-thru of a KFC (yeah, yeah – I can hear your “ew!”s and “gross!”es…whatever). After ordering “the usual” (not that I eat there that often), we proceeded back onto the freeway. I lifted the lid off the 8 oz. container which held the beloved mashed potatoes and discovered a nice trove of gravy on the inside of the lid. Without thinking twice about my instincts to satisfy my starvation, I stuck the tip of my tongue into the amassment of creamy goodness, and that’s when it happened.

Normally I would’ve relied on my eyesight for any clues that my food was boiling hot, but by this time, it was already pitch black outside (despite it only being 5:30 pm in Nevada) so I was challenged to eating the so-called “artificial” meal (KFC conspiracies) according to my four other senses. As a result, not only did I have to suffer through the rest of my meal with a numb tongue-tip that failed to provide me the 5% of taste-ability that the rest of my tongue could, but for about a week, I suffered additionally from the aftermath; a painful canker had prohibited me from appropriately eating like a normal person. Imagine a semi-open-mouthed attempt to chew. Yep, I pretty much looked like a dog trying to eat a giant hunk of microwaved leftover steak. (It’s not funny, please stop laughing).

Prior to this horrific happenstance, I had spent a majority of the car ride reminiscing our vacation in San Francisco. I imagined how amazing it would be to live there. I imagined how amazing it would be to live in a one-of-a-kind, pastel pink or yellow Victorian; how amazing it would be to walk anywhere within a reasonable distance to shop or dine, or to simply board a highly-accessible form of public transportation to go a little farther; how amazing it would be to explore the redwood forests or spend your whole weekend at Golden Gate Park; how amazing it would be to grow the inner-foodie in me with the mass variety of food available to indulge in (what’s “KFC”?).

When I now express to Kyle and my parents my desire to move to San Francisco, they mock me by saying that I said the same thing about Long Beach and Vancouver, B.C. Let me explain something to you: while it might be true that I literally said “I could live here” when I was physically in said cities, I was oblivious to the idea that “I could definitely see myself living there.” I mean, technically, anyone can live here (wherever “here” is), but the fact that I could see myself living there (wherever “there” is) is a completely different level of conscious thought. And, to reassure my desire, I recently read this Huffington Post article about how the quality of life in San Francisco is among the best in the world. Not to toot my own horn or anything, but I knew it was great just driving through the hilly city the day we arrived.

But what do you care? I’m going to live there someday, and that’s all that matters. In the meantime, I’ll just have to resort to sharing my favorite photos that I took of/in the city with you all.

View of "the top" from Pier 39, San Francisco. Does anyone know which "hill" this is? (I think it might be Russia Hill) Taken November 24, 2011.

The infamous Lombard Street, the "windiest street in the world." Taken from the staircase-of-a-sidewalk parallel to the street on November 26, 2011.

The Transamerica Pyramid as seen from Chinatown, San Francisco. Taken November 25, 2011.

Close-up of the top of the Transamerica Pyramid in San Francisco. Taken November 25, 2011 at 70mm.

Just a neat shot of a street and buildings from Chinatown, San Francisco. November 25, 2011.

A trolley strolls up toward Nob Hill in San Francisco. November 25, 2011.

Taken from atop Twin Peaks in San Francisco on November 25, 2011. Does anyone know what street this is?

Taken from atop Twin Peaks in San Francisco on November 25, 2011. Does anyone know which bridge this is?

I always wish I had a sister

In place of writing about San Francisco today, I thought I would share a photo with you as a teaser for my group’s final video production project (which also happens to be my very last project, EVER, as a college student!!!).

Watch out! It's the Whitney Woo Twins!

In case you don’t know me in person, please be informed that this is a photo of me – only me. I don’t have a twin, I just have decent Photoshop skills. Now, which is the real me? Clearly it’s the better, less evil-looking one on the left. Just kidding…actually, the evil-looking one on the right is the real me. Sorry to disappoint you.

Lastly, I would like to say that this image pretty much creeps me out. I mean, I always wish I had a sister, but seriously?

Anyway, keep your eyes out for my group’s awesomely fantastic final video project, which I will gladly share on my blog later this week. If you watch it, you will definitely see how the above image ties into the story. (Haha! I know what happens and yooooooooooouuuu don’t! Nah-nah-nah-nah-nah-nah!)