It Started with a Journal

This is very hard for me to write.

One year ago today, my BFF and soul sister, jade_okelani, passed away.

I honestly cannot believe it's been a year since it happened. I know we always say "time flies," but I can't wrap my head around it. Sometimes it still feels like we only just lost her. How can a year have already gone by? That's just crazy.

This post is really long overdue, but I needed time. I told myself that the one-year anniversary of her passing would be my deadline, because otherwise I'd probably never do it. I just never imagined that this day would come so quickly. At one point I had even told myself to post about on Jade's birthday, which was last month, but I just wasn't prepared, and ultimately it didn't feel right to talk about this on that day.

Jade was loved by everyone who knew her, and it wasn't hard to see why. She could put anyone at ease in any situation, and she was funny, witty, and kind. She was only 37 years old when she was diagnosed with cancer (we think liver, but even at the end, they weren't sure what the primary was) and had only just turned 38 years old when she left this world, which is just far too early and so, so unfair. Every day since she died I've felt robbed, but it wasn't just me who was robbed, but all of us, because this place was much better with her in it.

I feel so incredibly lucky for having had her in my life, even though it was for a too-short amount of time. She was honestly the best friend a person could have. She had endless amounts of patience, understanding, and generosity, especially for the people she was close to. I was blessed to be one of them. It's not always easy to be friends with me, especially if you spend as much time as we did together through the years. What made our friendship magical was that we were opposites in the things that mattered, and we were also alike in the things that mattered. I can't even imagine what my life would have been like if she hadn't come into it.

Our friendship was the best thing that ever happened to me, and I don't hesitate to say that in many ways she was a much better friend to me than I was to her.

I think of her constantly.

And I miss her every day.

High-class clowning in all its glory, straight ahead. ( Wut? )

It is very, very strange to think that a trip we planned and looked forward to for so long is now over and done with. O.o Also, writing this up was weird because my perception of time when this was all happening was skewed, due to the fact that we were packing so much in every day. Events that seemed to happen “awhile ago” was only the day before, etc. Also, since there’s zero chance in hell this whole trip would fit into one LJ entry, I’m just going to write up a few days at a time and post incrementally. Hopefully that’ll also encourage me to write this up quickly and finish it!

( So it begins... )

Last week (late April/early May), my coworker C. and I went to Washington, D.C., where we attended a privacy conference and took a test to get our privacy certifications. It was two full days of a class designed to prep you for the test. C. did a TON of studying on his own, before and during the trip, while I did... not. I amassed maybe two hours of studying total, lol. Also, any hopes I had for studying while in DC went down the drain went my "aunt" arrived, making me so physically exhausted that every time I cracked open one of the books I literally fell asleep. :))))) The test itself was 2 1/2 hours long, and I'm pretty sure I failed. Since he Hermioned it, I'm fairly sure he passed, even though he feels like he failed. Oh shut up, Chermione.

The point of this post, therefore, is not about that, but about the places we went to eat while in town! It was our third trip to DC in about two years, and while I love DC and have a soft spot for it always due to having lived there, I really don't need to be back again any time soon.

( For posterity. )

Another LA trip has come and gone but we already have plans to go back! Who told it to have so many escape rooms and good places to eat?? And K-pop groups that visit it? We’re just doing what it wants! Note: Because Flickr now sucks like every other photo hosting service, I’m keeping pictures in this post to a minimum. In the past I would have posted photos of each dish I had a pic of, for example, but now instead I’ll just choose 1-2 representative pics. Sigh. Onward!

( Part the first. )

Here’s my attempt to stay on top of my latest trips... we’ll see if it lasts more than this one entry, lol.

The subject line is a slight exaggeration. It shouldn't have happened, because it was based on my own stupidity, but I'm also sort of glad it did, because it means I was able to celebrate Jade's (early) birthday with her. But that was the only good part.

So on Thursday, I left for LA to go to the BTS concert. It was a huuuuuuuge mistake on my part to even get the tickets, and at this point, I’m convinced that the universe forced me into the grip of temporary insanity so that I could pay J. back for taking me to Kcon NYC. -.- I like J. pretty well, and being in NYC with her was fine, but LA really tested my limits with regard to her company. We just don’t mesh in the way we do things or think about things – even though at the face of it, we have a ton in common. But it’s just off somehow, to the point where I don’t feel entirely comfortable with her, and sometimes it feels like we’re from different planets.

( Anyway... )

ropo, ask and you shall receive! :’D Actually I was already working on this post, because I’m doing a whirlwind trip to LA and flying out tomorrow, so I can’t have YET ANOTHER trip report I need to do while still having so many on my plate. So I’m determined to finish and post this TONIGHT, even though I haven’t even packed yet!

This is my second time writing this post, because the internets ate the first one, and I know you all know how demoralizing losing a really long post can be. :/ It’s never as good as the first time, and you feel like you’re just repeating yourself and having to tell the same stories over and over. It sucks. But I lost the post weeks ago, and despite reaching out to Dreamwidth for help, I have heard nothing in response. So I guess I just have to rewrite it. *cries inside*

( Why did we choose Anchorage? We still don’t know. )

Here's my trip write-up for Vegas! What's funny is, I've been on soooooo many trips this year that they're all blurring together and I'm getting the timelines mixed up. I could have sworn Vegas was after KCON but before LA... but nope, it was even after LA. Wow. (Now that I think about it, I recall actually considering staying in LA and going straight to Vegas from there, but my mom's birthday was happening in between so I ended up returning to Seattle first.)

Obviously, no one cares about work stuff. I barely remember why I was even there, lol. What's important is what I did in my free time and where I ate! :D

( Let's begin. )

Here's the write-up for our LA trip! Written in August 2018 while in Anchorage, lol.

July 6 was the GOT7 concert, and I was planning to go down for about a week to see family and friends as well. I would stay with jade_okelani, and meet up with K. from Korean class for the concert itself. But a few days before I was scheduled to leave, adelagia decided that she would deeply regret not going to the concert, so she last-minute purchased a concert ticket and plane ticket for herself! Wheeee! You guys don't know how surprisingly spontaneous this is of her, lol. We are both really big on Planning. Anyway, she booked a room at a place near Jade's, which was convenient for carpooling purposes.

( Part the first! )