121/365
05012015
Hellllo Austin! Worked from home today and left for the airport in the afternoon to fly to Austin! There were 6 ADPs on my flight all going to Austin for the week. We're bound to bump into someone we know here this weekend. Also, first time flying Southwest with choosing my own seat! I don't like the anxiety of not knowing if I'll get a window seat or not D: Landed in Austin and it wasn't as warm as I expected - probably 70's and breezy. It's comfortable though. The Airbnb was... not quite as I expected, but we'll make do. Then went to Baby Acapulco to get some Tex Mex tacos and drinks. The margaritas were pretty good and so were the tacos. And all the restaurants/bars are soo Texas.
122/365
05022015
First day in Austin!! Woke up nice and early to get our rental car - a bright red Chevy Cruze. Then we went to UT Austin area and walked around campus. The campus is pretty big and it's nice and comfortable. Architecture is nicer than Cornell's D: There was the Lyndon B Johnson Presidential Library there so we checked it out as well. Then got BBQ!! At Micklethwaits and it was delicious. The brisket and ribs were soo good it was so satisfying. We went back to UT area and saw the Texas Museum and learned a bit of Texas history, and checked out the Capitol building. Then decided to go to Barton's Spring and dipped our feet in the water and napped/tanned on the grass. 80 degree weather is so nice. Made our way to South Congress to walk around and I tried on some cowboy boots lol. Nothing too special there and we got tacos after. Everywhere that has a good review on Yelp always had a wait sigh.. Then went to wait for the bats to come out on Congress Bridge but they came out so late it was already pretty dark. Got this super delicious ice cream at Dolce Neve - 5 stars with 200+ reviews on Yelp!! Ended the night grabbing drinks with a few other ADPs on Rainey Street.
123/365
05032015
Started the day going to the Baylor Art Wall - just a bunch of walls filled with graffiti and just sat there looking at it for a bit. Then went to Hamilton Pool, but it was very disappointing. Not many places to sit/lie down and nap/tan and the spring itself was just okay. The water was very cold and it wasn't sunny enough. So went to get lunch at the Salt Lick - more BBQ, but this time there was now wait! We stopped by Jacob's Well on the way to San Antonio since it was on the way. This place was so much nicer - much sunnier, more space, and more fun! We went in the water and jumped off the small cliff into this big black well in the water. Kinda creepy at first but after the first jump it was fine. We also saw this girl hurt her shoulder and her bone was sticking out D: So gross. Next, off to The Alamo in San Antonio! It was very small and we were done with it in like 20 minutes. Wandered around the Riverwalk where it was nice and cool as opposed to the 90 degree weather outside. San Antonio is like a dessert and actually soo hot. Got dinner at this restaurant on the Riverwalk - steak and lobster tail noms. And then started our 4.5 hour drive back up to Dallas. Made a pit stop at Austin to get the delicious ice cream from last night, and then cruised the rest of the way to Dallas.
124/365
05042015
Today was a very normal day compared to the adventurous days I've had in the past week. First day of ADP week and got started on our business case. I like my team dynamic and the case should be fun! After getting back to the hotel, I went exploring the golf course and the hotel grounds. Then got dinner at a steakhouse nearby and ordered a peppered NY Strip and it was delicious.
125/365
05052015
Cinco de Mayo! Business case as usual at work. Afterwards, I went out with the NY guys to a restaurant/bar nearby for dinner and had to wait 2 hours for a table. But it was all good because we just kept drinking Coronas and Margaritas. Texas has some interesting people, especially the older female population.. I thought Richmond was interesting enough, but Texas is another story... But anyway, after having a sufficient amount to drink, we had some decent Tex Mex food. It was delicious, partially because we were all pretty drunk by then and was starving from the wait. Came back to the hotel bar and hung out there and chatted with the Chicago crew for a bit before the bar shut down.
126/365
05062015
Another day working on the case and mad some progress, but at the end of the day it was a bit of a shitshow. Then had ADP networking event in Uptown Dallas. Didn't drink, but it was fun hanging out and playing shuffleboard. We bar hopped a bit and ended up at this place with a mechanical bull. I didn't go on it, but watched a lot of other people try and it was very entertaining.
127/365
05072015
Crunch time. Last day to finish our business case and build our deck to submit before 5pm. Today we were super productive and efficient. We went from being really confused about our product to finishing everything by like 4:45. Then after that there's nothing we can do. Got dinner at some BBQ place nearby, and everyone was so exhausted afterwards we just went back to the hotel to pack and sleep.
128/365
05082015
Woke up earrrrly today to get to the office for the presentations. My team went first and we thought we did a pretty solid and compelling pitch. I didn't pay much attention to the other groups cause it got really dry, but there were some that were also really good. In our feedbacks after, our coach said we didn't win out of the 6 groups presenting in our room, but we did get top 3. We were pretty proud of that, and took it as a sign that we're out of the running for the grand prize or even honorable mention. So went into the announcements with no expectations, and when they announced the winner, they first described the idea and the pitch. Which sounded exactly like what my group did. And turns out we DID win the case! :O It was so exciting and felt really good that our hardwork paid off in the end. So ended ADP week on a really good note with $250, and then headed to the airport for NOLA. We got dinner and then biked/walked around Frenchmen St and Bourbon St. First reaction of NOLA is that it is not as classy as I thought it would be. The streets are really dirty, lots of homeless, and smelled really bad in some areas. It's like a true collegetown.. x 100. Bourbon St is filled with bars, clubs and stripclubs and there apparently is no open bottle policy. Beers to go and cocktails to go everywhere. Quite the scene, very different from everywhere else and from my expectations.
129/365
05092015
A day full of exploring the French Quarters! Biked to French Market, which was pretty much a flea market, but we got poached eggs and crabcake it was delicious. Then we wandered around French Quarters for the entire day, walking up and down each street. Even during the day there were a bunch of people drinking and at the bars. Most of the stuff were just restaurants and bars, so we just people watched and absorbed the NOLA culture. Got this shrimp po boy from Killer Poboy for lunch and it was realllly yummy. In the afternoon we took the St Charles streetcar to Garden District. So not worth it. Spent an hour each way waiting for the streetcars and they're soooo slow. And there weren't even much at Garden District. Came back to FQ area and it got livelier on Bourbon Street and we caught a street performance. Got the beignets from the famous Cafe du Monde, which I thought were just alright and didn't live up to the hype. Oh welps.
130/365
05102015
Day 2 in NOLA! Woke up early for a swamp your with Cajun Encounters. On the ride out to the swamps the driver talked about houses after Katrina and there was this abandoned movie theater and you could see where the flood water reached. It was at least 15 feet. So scary to think about it and about how the area we drove through was all flooded during Katrina. The swamp tour was pretty fun. Not many alligators came out but we saw a couple and saw a bunch of wild hogs. They're so ugly looking and make such bawking sounds. After the tour, we got lunch at Royal House - fried oysters and crawfish étouffée. So good!! We sat on the balcony and the entire balcony was slanted - a little scary at first but we just hoped it'll hold our weight. Walked around French Quarters and watched a few street performances. There were just wedding music parades marching down the streets casually. I got a Hand Grenade and it was pretty good considering it had 5 types of liquor. Also pretty strong. We found a bar on Bourbon and watched the Clippers-Houston game and it was a blowout.
131/365
05112015
Final day in NOLA. Biked to the French Market in the morning to get the crab cake poached eggs and just to walk around. Then brought our luggage with us to World War 2 Museum. It's huge and has so much history! Real equipment and gears from the war and we watched a movie, Beyond All Boundaries, about the war and the entire timeline. These things are so interesting and so scary to think about. Afterwards, we got a late lunch at Surrey's; I got the Crab Melt and it was delicious. That was our last meal in NOLA before heading to the airport. Working tomorrow D:
132/365
05122015
8 cities in 2 weeks. NYC --> Miami --> DC --> Austin --> San Antonio --> Dallas --> New Orleans --> DC --> Richmond. Looking forward to some calmness but I'll miss all the exciting from visiting so many new places. Slowly eased into work today and then came to Richmond for the team happy hour. Good to see some familiar faces again after 2 weeks. After that a few of us went bowling and had competitions with our left hands and blinded.
133/365
05132015
Busy day in Richmond, catching up with a lot of backed up work but made good progress! I've decided to go on a diet starting today. No (minimum) carbs and no fatty food!
134/365
05142015
Very busy day at work. Caught up with John since he was in McLean and chatted about what's going on in our work and past vacations. Good to chat with him every once in a while. After work I went to dragonboat practice since the race is this weekend. Did a bunch of 250meter simulations and I'm so sore from it. Definitely need to start getting back in shape for dragonboat.
135/ 365
05152015
TGIF thank god. Had a happy hour at work which was a good way to kick off the weekend. Then went for a jog around Georgetown to scout out the dragonboat areas and had a nice long gossipy conversation as well haha. Ready for the races tomorrow!
136/365
05162015
First race of the season on the Potomac!! Got there bright and early and met a bunch of people my age on DC Dragons. All pretty chill and fun to hang out with. Today was the 250 meter races, and 250m goes by a lot faster than it seems. We seeded second going into the finals, just 1 second behind first seed. But in the finals we weren't able to cut down that 1 second and ended up in silver. Not bad still! There was a team called Out of Sight wheres the majority of the paddlers were visually impaired or cannot see completely at all. And yet they still won their heat in the finals. It was so impressive and amazing how they can still paddle so well when they can't see the person in front of them. After the races, I helped out at Fiesta Asia and got rained on big time. It was poouring. Then we got Pho 75 and it hit the spot, especially after the rain.
137/365
05172015
DC Dragons got two silver medals in Mixed Division A Majors!! Not bad considered we didn't practice that much, and we were only like 3 seconds behind first place. So close, but we had a really good race so nothing to complain. 500 meters are so long and so exhausting. It was also great seeing a bunch of the WSD people again. Looking forward to seeing them again at the next race.
138/365
05182015
Mondayz. Slow as usual but very productive Monday. This week is more bearable since I'm looking forward to leaving work early on Friday to hang out with the 305 Eddy crew!! Memorial Day Weekend reunion at Steve's wooh! Miss those people so much and can't wait to spend the long weekend with them.
139/365
05192015
Work. Excited for the next couple of weeks. 305 Eddy reunion this weekend, then Chicago next week, then color run next weekend, then a 4-miler the week after. :D
140/365
05202015
Slow day at work thinking it's Thursday, and was so disappointed when I realized it's only hump day. Got my bike pumped and ready to ride for the summer and rode around the neighborhood for a bit. Discovered a YMCA like 10 minutes away. Then went for a jog/walk to Georgetown, mainly walked because was too tired from jogging the past 2 days.
141/365
05212015
Super productive morning. Went to Geico for inspection and they're paying me a lumpy check for the tiny damage when a stupid lady hit me on Sunday. But the check is nice :D Then got my biometric screening and for the most part I'm healthy. Then the entire day was super busy trying to figure out this small thing it's so annoying. Dragonboat after work was pretty chilly and today's practice was so hard D: So much endurance and strength training I was so dead afterwards.
142/365
05222015
First beer run in forever! Left work at 2 and drove to Steve's house in Jersey, finally reunited with 305 Eddy! Got dinner with the core 4 of 305 and acted just like we did back in Ithaca. It's like nothing has changed. And then at night we played stack cup and pong, probably the first time in a long time for most of us haha. Gotta brush up our skills1
143/365
05232015
Hiking day!! Got breakfast and then drove to the NY/NJ Stateline Lookout hiking trail by the GW Bridge. We had quite a lot of friends hiking this time, there were like 9 of us. The hike was fun as usual, especially in a larger group. Found some rocks to climb on and rest and just goofed around the entire trail. Got dinner at Salt Creek and it was so satisfying especially after a day's hike. The rest of the night we just drank and played more games. Had a massive game of civil war - 5 vs. 5 haha.
144/365
05242015
Part of last night, but technically is today. Anyway, stayed up and biked/scooted around Steve's street and then took a bunch of silly photos haha. It was good none of us were too drunk and we were all fine by the time we went to bed. This morning we got breakfast at Amy's Omlette's where they served massssive omelettes! Then we went to a park nearby, but there wasn't much there, so we went to the beach and it was so cold. Definitely not beach weather yet even though it's 80's. It was so windy and cold. Then we came back to Steve's and all dispersed to go back home. The weekend was too short :( Can't wait to our next get together on July 4th! But it was a great way to celebrate our 1 year graduation anniversary heh.
145/365
05252015
Very nostalgic Monday after spending the weekend with everyone. Kept wishing to go back and to relive Cornell year again, but oh well, onwards with life. Washed my car this afternoon since the weather was absolutely beautiful. Then went for a 4-mile jog around DC and it was so hot. Went at like 3pm the hottest during the day. But it felt good to get some exercising in.
146/365
05262015
Super tired this morning. Need to get back in the grind. But thankfully, I left work a little early to head to Dulles to fly to Chicago!! KOed on the plane and didn't even realized we took off lol. But landed in Chicago in the evening and drove into Downtown to explore! Went up the Willis Tower (Sears Tower) to the Sky Deck and the glass box that hangs out 103 stories up. Kinda scary at first because you look straaaaaight down. Then got Chicago hotdogs, pretty much a regular hotdog on a sesame seed bun? With pickles and a few other toppings. Not as special as I thought it'd be. Then visited da bean. But at night you can't really see much and it's so hard to get a nice photo. And then realized Carmen is in Chicago too so I met up with her and Joanne to go to Green Mills, Al Capone's hangout place back in the 20's. Got one drink there and listened to some jazz music before calling it a night.
147/365
05272015
The supplier's office was literally on the same block as the hotel. After work, there was an event at the Medieval Times and we all went there for dinner and watch the "tournament." I've seen these before when I was much younger, and they were so much more exciting back then. Everything was staged and it's all acted out - not impressed at all. I left early and went to Downtown to meet with Carmen and Joanne at Bordel, this speakeasy by Wicker Park. Then barhopped to a barcade where we got a few drinks, played old school arcade games, and danced a bit to the DJ that was playing. Semi-low key night but it was fun. Then we tried going to the Bean, but got kicked out by security haha. So ended up getting food at Chinatown. I got back at 4am and had to wake up at 8 D:
148/365
05282015
The entire morning was such a struggle. Lack of sleep big time. But had a productive day at work and checked out at 3pm lol. Went to Downtown to explore the Bean, Buckingham Fountain, Michigan Ave, Riverwalk and the nearby area while it was still light out. I spent a lot time just hanging out at the Bean and people watching. It's actually really cool how it reflects the city scape, especially in the curved bean shape. Then went to John Hancock Tower to the 360 Chicago view up top. The view was so much nicer than the Sears Tower and you see down the shore of Lake Michigan (?). Then I met up with Manita for dinner!! We got Lou Malnati's deep dish pizza. It's not as good as everyone hyped it to be, but it wasn't bad. She had to go back to work at the office (crazy), so I checked it out too. Very small office. Then I made a pit stop at Adler Planetarium to get some skyline shots of Chicago before calling in early at 12:30. Early compared to last night...
149/365
05292015
Flew back to DC this morning and I was so exhausted. Had to make a meeting at work, otherwise I would've taken the day off. I met up with Nancy and Cynthia after work and we hung out around Tyson's playing ping pong and cornhole at the outdoor area. It's so nice in the summer! I lost to Nancy in ping pong and had to treat bingsoo in Annandale, and it wasn't even that good. Then we went to Whole Foods to get a jar of gelato and ate it on the bench outside LOL. Nice catching up with them though.
150/365
05302015
5k color run this morning at the RFK stadium. The run itself was so hot and sweaty cause today was like 90's, and when they throw powder at us it just becomes colored sweat. The color run wasn't as exciting as I had imagined, so we didn't stay too long after since we were starving and it was so hot. We went to Maine Street Fish Market and got soo much food it was delicious. That place has really good food and I'll definitely go back. I came home afterwards to take a nap. Perfect nap weather when it's sunny outside. I met up with Bryant for dinner since he was in DC. We checked out Union Market and it's a nice place with shops and eateries. We got dinner at Ethiopic. First time eating Ethiopian food for both of us and it was really good. Except there were no utensils and we had to eat with our hands.
Very busy day at work. Caught up with John since he was in McLean and chatted about what's going on in our work and past vacations. Good to chat with him every once in a while. After work I went to dragonboat practice since the race is this weekend. Did a bunch of 250meter simulations and I'm so sore from it. Definitely need to start getting back in shape for dragonboat.
135/ 365
05152015
TGIF thank god. Had a happy hour at work which was a good way to kick off the weekend. Then went for a jog around Georgetown to scout out the dragonboat areas and had a nice long gossipy conversation as well haha. Ready for the races tomorrow!
136/365
05162015
First race of the season on the Potomac!! Got there bright and early and met a bunch of people my age on DC Dragons. All pretty chill and fun to hang out with. Today was the 250 meter races, and 250m goes by a lot faster than it seems. We seeded second going into the finals, just 1 second behind first seed. But in the finals we weren't able to cut down that 1 second and ended up in silver. Not bad still! There was a team called Out of Sight wheres the majority of the paddlers were visually impaired or cannot see completely at all. And yet they still won their heat in the finals. It was so impressive and amazing how they can still paddle so well when they can't see the person in front of them. After the races, I helped out at Fiesta Asia and got rained on big time. It was poouring. Then we got Pho 75 and it hit the spot, especially after the rain.
137/365
05172015
DC Dragons got two silver medals in Mixed Division A Majors!! Not bad considered we didn't practice that much, and we were only like 3 seconds behind first place. So close, but we had a really good race so nothing to complain. 500 meters are so long and so exhausting. It was also great seeing a bunch of the WSD people again. Looking forward to seeing them again at the next race.
138/365
05182015
Mondayz. Slow as usual but very productive Monday. This week is more bearable since I'm looking forward to leaving work early on Friday to hang out with the 305 Eddy crew!! Memorial Day Weekend reunion at Steve's wooh! Miss those people so much and can't wait to spend the long weekend with them.
139/365
05192015
Work. Excited for the next couple of weeks. 305 Eddy reunion this weekend, then Chicago next week, then color run next weekend, then a 4-miler the week after. :D
140/365
05202015
Slow day at work thinking it's Thursday, and was so disappointed when I realized it's only hump day. Got my bike pumped and ready to ride for the summer and rode around the neighborhood for a bit. Discovered a YMCA like 10 minutes away. Then went for a jog/walk to Georgetown, mainly walked because was too tired from jogging the past 2 days.
141/365
05212015
Super productive morning. Went to Geico for inspection and they're paying me a lumpy check for the tiny damage when a stupid lady hit me on Sunday. But the check is nice :D Then got my biometric screening and for the most part I'm healthy. Then the entire day was super busy trying to figure out this small thing it's so annoying. Dragonboat after work was pretty chilly and today's practice was so hard D: So much endurance and strength training I was so dead afterwards.
142/365
05222015
First beer run in forever! Left work at 2 and drove to Steve's house in Jersey, finally reunited with 305 Eddy! Got dinner with the core 4 of 305 and acted just like we did back in Ithaca. It's like nothing has changed. And then at night we played stack cup and pong, probably the first time in a long time for most of us haha. Gotta brush up our skills1
143/365
05232015
Hiking day!! Got breakfast and then drove to the NY/NJ Stateline Lookout hiking trail by the GW Bridge. We had quite a lot of friends hiking this time, there were like 9 of us. The hike was fun as usual, especially in a larger group. Found some rocks to climb on and rest and just goofed around the entire trail. Got dinner at Salt Creek and it was so satisfying especially after a day's hike. The rest of the night we just drank and played more games. Had a massive game of civil war - 5 vs. 5 haha.
144/365
05242015
Part of last night, but technically is today. Anyway, stayed up and biked/scooted around Steve's street and then took a bunch of silly photos haha. It was good none of us were too drunk and we were all fine by the time we went to bed. This morning we got breakfast at Amy's Omlette's where they served massssive omelettes! Then we went to a park nearby, but there wasn't much there, so we went to the beach and it was so cold. Definitely not beach weather yet even though it's 80's. It was so windy and cold. Then we came back to Steve's and all dispersed to go back home. The weekend was too short :( Can't wait to our next get together on July 4th! But it was a great way to celebrate our 1 year graduation anniversary heh.
145/365
05252015
Very nostalgic Monday after spending the weekend with everyone. Kept wishing to go back and to relive Cornell year again, but oh well, onwards with life. Washed my car this afternoon since the weather was absolutely beautiful. Then went for a 4-mile jog around DC and it was so hot. Went at like 3pm the hottest during the day. But it felt good to get some exercising in.
146/365
05262015
Super tired this morning. Need to get back in the grind. But thankfully, I left work a little early to head to Dulles to fly to Chicago!! KOed on the plane and didn't even realized we took off lol. But landed in Chicago in the evening and drove into Downtown to explore! Went up the Willis Tower (Sears Tower) to the Sky Deck and the glass box that hangs out 103 stories up. Kinda scary at first because you look straaaaaight down. Then got Chicago hotdogs, pretty much a regular hotdog on a sesame seed bun? With pickles and a few other toppings. Not as special as I thought it'd be. Then visited da bean. But at night you can't really see much and it's so hard to get a nice photo. And then realized Carmen is in Chicago too so I met up with her and Joanne to go to Green Mills, Al Capone's hangout place back in the 20's. Got one drink there and listened to some jazz music before calling it a night.
147/365
05272015
The supplier's office was literally on the same block as the hotel. After work, there was an event at the Medieval Times and we all went there for dinner and watch the "tournament." I've seen these before when I was much younger, and they were so much more exciting back then. Everything was staged and it's all acted out - not impressed at all. I left early and went to Downtown to meet with Carmen and Joanne at Bordel, this speakeasy by Wicker Park. Then barhopped to a barcade where we got a few drinks, played old school arcade games, and danced a bit to the DJ that was playing. Semi-low key night but it was fun. Then we tried going to the Bean, but got kicked out by security haha. So ended up getting food at Chinatown. I got back at 4am and had to wake up at 8 D:
148/365
05282015
The entire morning was such a struggle. Lack of sleep big time. But had a productive day at work and checked out at 3pm lol. Went to Downtown to explore the Bean, Buckingham Fountain, Michigan Ave, Riverwalk and the nearby area while it was still light out. I spent a lot time just hanging out at the Bean and people watching. It's actually really cool how it reflects the city scape, especially in the curved bean shape. Then went to John Hancock Tower to the 360 Chicago view up top. The view was so much nicer than the Sears Tower and you see down the shore of Lake Michigan (?). Then I met up with Manita for dinner!! We got Lou Malnati's deep dish pizza. It's not as good as everyone hyped it to be, but it wasn't bad. She had to go back to work at the office (crazy), so I checked it out too. Very small office. Then I made a pit stop at Adler Planetarium to get some skyline shots of Chicago before calling in early at 12:30. Early compared to last night...
149/365
05292015
Flew back to DC this morning and I was so exhausted. Had to make a meeting at work, otherwise I would've taken the day off. I met up with Nancy and Cynthia after work and we hung out around Tyson's playing ping pong and cornhole at the outdoor area. It's so nice in the summer! I lost to Nancy in ping pong and had to treat bingsoo in Annandale, and it wasn't even that good. Then we went to Whole Foods to get a jar of gelato and ate it on the bench outside LOL. Nice catching up with them though.
150/365
05302015
5k color run this morning at the RFK stadium. The run itself was so hot and sweaty cause today was like 90's, and when they throw powder at us it just becomes colored sweat. The color run wasn't as exciting as I had imagined, so we didn't stay too long after since we were starving and it was so hot. We went to Maine Street Fish Market and got soo much food it was delicious. That place has really good food and I'll definitely go back. I came home afterwards to take a nap. Perfect nap weather when it's sunny outside. I met up with Bryant for dinner since he was in DC. We checked out Union Market and it's a nice place with shops and eateries. We got dinner at Ethiopic. First time eating Ethiopian food for both of us and it was really good. Except there were no utensils and we had to eat with our hands.