It Started with a Journal

Jade

Fri, 09 Oct 2020 06:32:21 GMT

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.

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Seoul Trip, Part Six - The End (서울 여행, 파트 여섯 - 끝)

Sat, 07 Sep 2019 05:13:06 GMT

( And thus, it ended... )

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Seoul Trip, Part Five (서울 여행, 파트 다섯)

Wed, 04 Sep 2019 04:03:34 GMT

( The light... it's getting nearer... )

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Seoul Trip, Part Four (서울 여행, 파트 넷)

Thu, 29 Aug 2019 04:00:20 GMT

All the hanbok studio fun starts in this entry. Also, I can begin to see the light at the end of the tunnel wrt a day in which I might actually finish this write-up.

( What's a cut tag? :P )

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Seoul Trip, Part Three (서울 여행, 파트 셋)

Tue, 27 Aug 2019 06:48:56 GMT

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

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Seoul Trip, Part Two (서울 여행, 파트 둘)

Sat, 24 Aug 2019 07:32:58 GMT

Three days in this entry. Seriously, some of the stuff that happens in here, I can't believe happened so early on in the trip. I was there for like 17 days, not including travel! WTF did I do for the next dozen or so?!

( Here we go AGAIN. )

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Seoul Trip, Part One (서울 여행, 파트 하나)

Thu, 22 Aug 2019 04:10:36 GMT

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... )

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well, it's happened

Thu, 16 May 2019 06:53:43 GMT

I'm finally into BTS.

( Long, rambly thoughts about BTS, GOT7, BTOB, Pentagon... )

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Our nation's capital... again

Wed, 08 May 2019 22:30:06 GMT

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. )

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the LA Trip with 20 escape rooms and all the eating (part two)

Tue, 07 May 2019 23:37:56 GMT

Read part one here.

( Part the second! )

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the LA Trip with 20 escape rooms and all the eating (part one)

Tue, 07 May 2019 23:34:12 GMT

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. )

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At long last, my KCON NY trip write up

Sun, 16 Sep 2018 23:35:09 GMT

Finally, I’m getting around to writing about KCON NY. I had to save it for last because it was the longest ago, and I feel like there are a lot of memories I’m going to have to dredge out of the cobwebby recesses of my mind, lol.

( Here we go! )

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I ate tons of food in Vegas! And also almost met Doug Judie!

Fri, 14 Sep 2018 02:01:43 GMT

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. )

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The LA trip that should never have happened

Mon, 10 Sep 2018 04:22:59 GMT

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... )

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Kittens!

Mon, 10 Sep 2018 03:44:26 GMT

Backdating this entry, because I can't believe I haven't posted about this yet!

I have two new kittens! I got them on Aug. 28 -- at which point I was told they were 7.5 weeks old. The people I got them from didn't know if they were male or female, because they weren't professional breeders (so in fact, I don't know that they are actually purebred, which is sort of fine because maybe this means they will be more hearty in their constitution). This was a little annoying, because I really wanted males -- I've read that male cats are just sweeter in disposition and more into people, and since Jaime is exactly that, I tended to believe it -- but I also had heard that as long as you have them spayed, females can be just as nice. So it didn't really matter, except I still leaned toward males. We all did a bunch of Googling and peering at kitty private parts, but it was just super hard to tell. >< I prepared two girls' names and two boys' names, just in case.

I found out a couple of days later, at their first vet visit, that they are indeed brothers! (Yes they're from the same litter.)

Meet Micah and Henry (aka Hyunsoo)!

( More details! )

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We went to "the Detroit of Alaska," aka Anchorage

Thu, 06 Sep 2018 05:41:20 GMT

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. )

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Jade goes to Washington (the left coast one)

Thu, 06 Sep 2018 00:47:26 GMT

Another post written while in Anchorage!

Okay, so after the LA trip, I returned on Tuesday, July 10, and on Friday, July 13, I left for Las Vegas, for a work trip. However, I will write about that another time. Next up is when jade_okelani came up to visit Seattle! Well, technically, she was here for work, but we managed to fit in some fun things anyway.

( Cut for length! )

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Sarea and Adelagia go to LA! And a GOT7 concert! (Part 2)

Thu, 06 Sep 2018 00:18:44 GMT

Dreamwidth is a lot more forgiving when it comes to post length, sigh. This write-up fit just fine in a single post there, but LJ's like no.

If you missed it, here's part one.

( So here's part the second! )

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Sarea and Adelagia go to LA! And a GOT7 concert! (Part 1)

Thu, 06 Sep 2018 00:10:19 GMT

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! )

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Oppa Outing #11: Buffallow Sungjae strikes again!

Wed, 05 Sep 2018 23:07:24 GMT

I'm waaaaaay far behind on my journaling. :/ I was doing OK with keeping up, and then KCON NY and a bunch of other stuff happened and now I'm overwhelmed again.

adelagia and I were actually in Anchorage, Alaska, on a writing trip, when I wrote this. We were supposed to be working on our book, but instead I'm used some of that time to catch up on the oppa entries, because there were seriously so many I needed to write. (There are also non-oppa entries I need to do, but I prioritized the oppa ones.)

So... PRIOR to KCON NY, we had an oppa outing that I am calling #11. I think that's what it is.

( Cut for length. )

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Oppa Outings #9 and #10

Tue, 12 Jun 2018 23:04:06 GMT

This weekend we had two oppa outings! Including one with our new oppas, who are currently oppa-ing as a pair, because we don't have enough oppas to do them individually just yet. But anyway, it works out, because JB and Jinyoung used to be in a duo together, known as JJ Project. <3

( Oppa Outing #9 )

( Oppa Outing #10 )

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I am 참 dumb 하다.

Thu, 07 Jun 2018 23:19:44 GMT

LOL you guys... the missing part from my grill arrived yesterday, and it turns out, IT WASN'T MISSING AT ALL. >< The missing part was the retaining clip, which is about the size of two large paper clips (aka still not that big). I looked EVERYWHERE for it, because all the other small parts like the nuts and bolts and what not were all in separate bags, and it wasn't anywhere in those. However, when I went to go finish putting together the grill now that I had the missing piece, I realized IT WAS ALREADY ON THE HOSE THINGY. Like, I had to remove it, in order to put the plug in, and then use the clip to make sure it stayed -- but still, that's where it was the whole time. OMG. I don't know why I didn't think to actually look on the hose itself -- I mean, I figured I needed the thingy, so why even bother touching the hose? >< >< Also, I don't know why they were so inconsistent with their parts!! How is anyone supposed to know it would already be there? The instruction manual has it as a separate part, and indeed, you do have to remove it only to put it back on, so...????

Anyway. The job is done. And now I have a spare retaining clip, which is good considering how important it apparently is. Or at least I think it's done, I don't know for sure because there are a couple of weird things. 1) There is a long hook thingy that the instructions never explain. In the parts list it says it's a "matchstick holder" so I guess it's not technically part of the grill that makes it function. I'm not sure where I'm supposed to put it, though; and 2) The timer/alarm clock. There are NO instructions for installing it in the grill manual, and the little instructions that come with the thing basically tell me to cut the cardbox box it came in apart, and stick that into the slot where the timer is supposed to be. LOL WTF? Am I supposed to put the actual timer in after that? Or was it always intended to just HAVE THE APPEARANCE OF A TIMER BUT NOT ACTUALLY BE A TIMER? lolol I can't even.

Sooooooooooo I am apparently going to KCON NYC. J., who I met at S.'s wedding, pinged me out of the blue the other day and asked if I had any interest in going. I didn't, really, because a) I'm not that into any of the groups going there; b) it was so close to other vacations I had planned; and c) it was all the way across the country. However, J. was desperate because she had bought the tickets on impulse and was now regretting it. (BOY DO I KNOW HOW THAT FEELS!!) Apparently her original intention had been to treat her niece, but her brother (niece's dad) won't let his daughter go, apparently feeling that she was getting way too involved with Kpop stuff and should have limitations. (Niece is already going to a GOT7 concert; they are her bias.) I don't know why J. would buy these tickets without FIRST being sure that her niece could go, but I guess that's where the impulsiveness came in. In any case, they are premium platinum all-access tickets, which means a bunch of extras, including a great place to be at the concert (unfortunately it's standing room near the stage -- I'd rather have actual seats further away because I'M OLD). She doesn't think she can sell them, and would also rather just go if she has someone to go with her, so she offered to let me have the other ticket if I would go with her. Since I am having trouble selling my impulse-buy BTS tickets, this might be an opportunity for us to do an experience swap. My tickets cost twice what hers did, I'm pretty sure, but on the other hand, her friend is putting us up in Manhattan so that prob makes up for it. Anyway, my flight is booked and it looks like this is actually happening, which is crazy. I'm going purely for the experience, though I do wish I were into at least one of the bands that will be there.

Speaking of Kpop, and bands, and GOT7 -- I'm finally into them! Good timing, too, since I'm going to see them in concert in about a month. Now I can actually be excited about that. I started by loving JB, primarily from seeing him in Dream Knights, but now I've grown to love love love Jinyoung, because he's adorable and smart and SO SAVAGE. <3 I rarely like guys from the same "world" equally, but I think it might be the case with JB And Jinyoung. I can't choose between them, and YOU CAN'T MAKE ME. (If I had a gun put to my head, I think I could make a choice... but it's a very fine line, and depending on what I'm watching, I could be swayed!) They used to be in a duo together called JJ Project, and as another fangirl said, "I'm JJP trash." That's what I am, I've accepted it. So now they are joining our lineup of oppas, and I hope we find more soon, because adelagia is a bit oppa lite at the moment.

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I don't like how my backyard is my problem

Wed, 30 May 2018 20:26:21 GMT

I thought I wrote about this but I guess I didn't. I think I feel this way because I have talked about it sooooo much in person and in email, lol.

So, as usual, my backyard looks like shit. My front yard looks better, but not great. You guys, I hate lawn maintenance. I hate it so much. Like, it is totally the worst part of home ownership, having to deal with it. If it were just the lawn itself, then fine, whatever. It's a pain but I can deal. But it turns out, there's soooo much more. Stuff has to be pruned every season! Cracks in your driveway can start to grow stuff! It's hard to mow edges! Weeds and unwanted things grow everywhere! A big windstorm can make your lovely lavender plant go sideways and you can't pull it straight again! Etc.

From the moment I bought the house, I had plans to do something with the backyard. But of course, the first year or so, it wasn't too bad, because the previous owners took at least some care with it, and that gave me some procrastination space. Now, it's just a mess. I don't even want to face mowing it (even though the weeds/grass are so long my dog can't even get through it to do his business). Plus, my front lawn is getting very patchy and brown, so I'm afraid of getting another notice from my homeowner's association. SIGH. Anyway, all of this came to a head and I finally stopped procrastinating about getting some work done. I found a highly rated landscaping company on Yelp, and they got back to me after a few days.

( The long of it. )

But now I'm totally looking forward to a redone yard, and especially about having a nice place to hang out and grill. In fact, I am SO excited about having a BBQ party that I impulsively bought a grill! I have always wanted one... it seems like one of the hallmarks of being an adult, and I love eating grilled meat. Anyway, when I lived in my condo I had a small hibachi, but I never used it when I lived in my previous house.

( All about the grill. )

Come late July, when jade_okelani is supposed to be in town, in THEORY I should have a beautiful new backyard and an awesome new grill set up. FINGERS CROSSED.

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Oppa Outing #7: Park Hyungsik gets upstaged by an upstart

Tue, 29 May 2018 04:28:47 GMT

Buffallow Sungjae crashed another outing. First Ilhoon oppa had to put up with it, and today it was Park Hyungsik oppa who was forced to endure having his outing intruded upon. You see, ~~Sungjae sneaked in there while I wasn't looking~~ in my rush in the morning I forgot to take Sungjae out of my purse.

( This one is fairly long! Be warned! )

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Oppa Outing #5: Sungjae takes time out of his busy buffallow schedule

Mon, 21 May 2018 01:58:30 GMT

얘들아, 안녕!

I'm back with another oppa outing! (BTW you can also read all about our outings with Minhyuk and Hyunsik.)

But first, I have a couple of non-insane things to talk about.

One is that I'm looking more forward to the GOT7 concert. I don't even know if I have mentioned that I am going. Well, I am. In LA in July, and I'm going to see jade_okelani and eat tons of KBBQ at the same time. K from my Korean class really wanted to go, and I used it as an excuse to go down to LA, but she's super in to GOT7 and I basically only knew and cared about Jackson. Well now I can say I also care about JB! Yay! It's all because adelagia and I started watching Dream Knight on Netflix (also on DramaFever), which was one of those web drama vehicles for a boy band (in this case, GOT7). I totally ship JB with the female lead (she's the second female lead from Fight My Way), and he reminds me of BTOB's Hyunsik soooooooooooo much. He's not as cute as HS, but close enough! They could be brothers! In fact, they both happen to have the last name Im, so in my headcanon they totally have a shared father. LOL

Two is that a couple of years ago (at least), both jade_okelani and I bought a gel nail home manicure kit from Woot!, but both of us were reticent for whatever reason about actually using it. I finally busted it out together, and gave myself my first at-home gel manicure. It went really well; I don't know why I was intimidated by it. The part where you cure your nails under the LED light, though, isn't very pleasant; for like the first 5 seconds it kind of feels super hot, like your nail is burning (doesn't sound good, does it lol), but then it goes away. Anyway, I think my other fear about doing gel nails at home was that it would make me want to spend a bunch of money on gel polishes... and indeed, that has happened. >< Sigh. However, I have also found out that you can turn your regular polishes into gel polishes, so I'm going to give that a try (you can do it with a specially formulated polish-to-gel product, or you can just mix regular polish with a gel top coat. Since the latter is far less costly, I'm trying that route first). I have a LOT of regular polish so being able to still use them would be great. I do, however, need to buy yet another nail polish organizer. >.>

Three is that one of the things I'm looking forward to the most during my trip to LA is this fancy tea we're going to have at The Langham Huntington. When we booked, their regular tea cost $50/pp and their Sunday Chocolate Tea cost $60/pp. We had booked for a Sat, but there's some kind of reception happening at the same time, so they had to cancel all their other bookings. To make up for it, they offered to give us 20% off and to honor the prices from when we originally booked (since then it's gone up to $62/pp for the regular tea and $75/pp for the Sunday Chocolate Tea!! What in the world). So we ended up deciding to go on a Sunday instead, so we'll get to try the Sunday Chocolate Tea, at the same price we would have paid for our original regular tea booking, so it all worked out.

ANYWAY... now on to Sungjae oppa's first outing! Actually now that I'm typing this out, I realize we should have saved Sungjae for outing #6!!!!!!! Damn it. ( Outing #5 but should have been #6... )

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