A Day In The Life Of...

I've always been a fan of those hour-by-hour/schedule stories that profiles someone's life; usually it's a celebrity or someone interesting. I don't know why I find it so intriguing. Maybe I'm really nosy? Since I've never written one about myself, and who knows when I'll be "interesting" enough for someone to ask me to write out a day in my life for a publication, I'm going to write one here. Here's how yesterday went.

6:30 a.m. Alarm goes off--"Unwritten" by Natasha Bedingfield on Crater 96.3, the only station that I can catch in my room. I hit the snooze button.

6:39 a.m. Hit snooze again. Zzz...

7:00 a.m. Finally get out of bed--I'm not a wake-up-early-for-work person. Stumble to my bathroom to wash my face. I brush my teeth while sitting on the couch in the family room.

7:20 a.m. Recognize that I'm going to be late for work and should be worried, but I'm not. Apply my make-up and brush my "bed head" hair.

7:35 a.m. Supposed to leave five minutes ago, so haul ass while I'm getting dressed. Pull on Levi's skinny jeans, a white Old Navy tank top, and a brown cropped Abercrombie sweater. Yes, I still dress like I'm in college, but I love our simple dress code. Grab some sweetbread to toast for my breakfast at work.

7:40 a.m. Drive down my street and get on the freeway. Enjoy thirty-seconds of empty freeway until I hit traffic. Grumble to myself and surf radio channels.

8:20 a.m. Finally get to work. Only twenty minutes late today! Sneak to my desk inconspicuously.

9:00 a.m. Finish eating sweetbread toast, reading email, scanning the news, checking daily blogs. Begin proofreading the media kit for our new magazine.

9:30 a.m. Finish proofreading. Start updating my calendar with meetings, appointments, and other important dates. Debate whether I should start using the super cute Franklin Covey planner that I bought back in August, but haven't used yet.

10:30 a.m. Clean my messy desk. File loose papers in my file cabinet drawer that's built into my modular cubicle. Still amazed by the fact that I have my own desk.

12:00 p.m. Go to lunch with co-worker. Was going to eat leftovers that I brought yesterday, but decide to go out instead. Eat spicy ahi maki rolls and a Hawaiian Sun Passion Orange juice (my favorite canned juice) from Ward Warehouse.

1:15 p.m. Call Aaron. He's hanging out with his bff Jasen, so I get off the phone to not interrupt boy time.

2:00 p.m. Check this blog and realize that Lily left me a comment back in December--I haven't heard from her in months. Email her right away. It was a nice surprise.

2:30 p.m. Hungry for a snack, so I binge on half a package of dark chocolate Raisinets (heaven!), leftover Life cereal (my favorite), and a tangerine. Not so hungry after that.

5:00 p.m. Leave the office after reading news and blogs all afternoon. Hit pau hana traffic on my way home. Much swearing ensues.

6:30 p.m. Upload music to my iPod: Kanye's new album Graduation. Stepmom brings take-out pho for dinner. We eat in at the kitchen island while discussing my upcoming trip with Aaron that we're planning for September (Disneyland and either San Francisco or Las Vegas--again).

8:30 p.m. Should be reading or adding to my novel, but I watch TV for a few hours. Nothing on, but I do catch the second half of the new episode of Nip/Tuck, so I finish the episode and then watch the repeat after the first.

10:00 p.m. Shower time!

11:15 p.m. Talk to Aaron on the phone when he gets home from work. Discuss upcoming vacation.

11:35 p.m. Time to sleep! And then do this again in the morning!

Finally.

I've finally found time to update. Well, more like I've had some sort of inspiration to write something. Life has been uneventful as of late. I'm boring!

On last Friday afternoon, I sent a short story to be published in the upcoming issue of SMART Magazine, a local lifestyle and fashion magazine aimed for the college-young professional crowd. I hope the editor will find my story to be amazing and won't have me turn in something else. I tried to address some issues that young Hawaii people face without being too preachy.

Work is blah. Maybe I'll write more about it when I'm not typing this at work.

Aaron and I are planning to move into our own place next year. We're aiming for moving out in May, but that all depends on what's available on the market. We'll probably rent instead of buy since I might go to grad school in a few years (now that I don't have to take the GRE for most of the schools in San Francisco, I'm more motivated to apply). So far I've come up with a list of expenses and things that we'll need to buy once we move in, and things that we'll need on a regular basis. This way I'll determine how much I can afford to spend on rent. I saw some really nice (and cheap) condos on Maui, but we won't be moving there any time soon. I wish that cost of living on Oahu was like the neighbor islands.

I'm still trying to write my novel, but it's hard when I'm so tired from work. Hopefully I'll have more motivation in the future. If all writers can pen novels while working their crappy day jobs, then I can too.

Aaron and I celebrate our two year anniversary this weekend. Hopefully we'll have pictures and I can post photos on this blog!

Okay, time to pretend that I'm working.

For the sake of updating...

Okay, this is a lame update, but I thought this "game" was kinda fun.

A real update next time...I promise!

The Name Game

1. YOUR ROCK STAR NAME (first pet & current car) :
Fish Corolla

2.YOUR GANGSTA NAME (fave ice cream flavor, favorite cookie):
Green Tea Oreo

3. YOUR “FLY Guy/Girl” NAME (first initial of first name, first three letters of your last name):
S You

4. YOUR DETECTIVE NAME (favorite color, favorite animal):
Blue Elephant

5. YOUR SOAP OPERA NAME (middle name, city where you were born):
Mariko Honolulu

6. YOUR STAR WARS NAME (the first 3 letters of your last name, first 2 letters of your first):
Sar-Yo

7. SUPERHERO NAME (”The” + 2nd favorite color, favorite drink):
The Pink Iced Tea

8. NASCAR NAME (the first names of your grandfathers):
Masato Lawrence

9. STRIPPER NAME ( the name of your favorite perfume/cologne/scent, favorite candy):
White Tea Snickers

10.WITNESS PROTECTION NAME (mother’s & father’s middle names ):
Akemi Edward--I'm terrible and forgot my mom's middle name, it's a guess.

11. TV WEATHER ANCHOR NAME (Your 5th grade teacher’s last name, a major city that starts with the same letter):
Cram Chicago

12. SPY NAME/BOND GIRL (your favorite season/holiday, flower):
Winter Rose

13. CARTOON NAME (favorite fruit, article of clothing you’re wearing right now + “ie” or “y”):
Strawberry Hoodie

14. HIPPY NAME (What you ate for breakfast, your favorite tree):
Raisin Oatmeal Lemon

15. YOUR ROCKSTAR TOUR NAME (”The” + Your fave hobby/craft, fave weather element + “Tour”):
The Writing Cold Tour

Figuring things out.

For the past few weeks I've been seriously considering a career change. It's sad since I've only been in my career for the past couple months and I already think it's not for me. I really want to switch industries, and books are probably where I want to be. Magazines are too temporary and don't have the same lasting affects that books do. Books can live on for years.

I'm playing with the idea of starting my own publishing company. It would be a small book press, nothing huge like Random House. One of the publishers that I admire is Chronicle Books, which is based in San Francisco. They make very chic and stylish books--the kind that you would never want to get dirty or would never let your friends borrow for fear that you won't get your beloved book back.

My reasons for wanting to become a book publisher are because the literary community in Hawaii is so small. I want to start a press that will publish fiction by local authors and first-time writers. There's some serious talent in Hawaii, and I hate that even I want to get my future book published from a mainland company instead of in-state. Hopefully it'll fly.

Being the dreamer that I am, I have already thought of names for my company. The first name was Elephant Books (because elephants are my favorite animal), but unfortunately there already is an Elephant Books/Publishing/Something based in Australia. Then I wanted Dinosaur Books, but again, there's already a similar company in Australia. Those Australians beat me to it!

I've decided on Saturday Books or Saturday Publishing. Only because Saturday is my favorite day of the week. And I have a a slight obsession with the song "Saturday In the Park" by Chicago. If anyone steals my name, I'll find his or her office, burn it down, then start my own press. Just kidding. Sorta.

Of course I have no revenue or a staff to start with. My friend Bruce said that I should start with grant money (ick, the government!) and then use that to get my feet off the ground. I think I could count on a few friends to help me if they were interested in joining the project. But I don't even know how to run a business. In fact, the whole business side of things is just as appealing as busting out of jail by crawling through miles of sewer pipes (bad Shawshank Redemption reference).

The whole concept/idea is still in the works. I have many ideas that never seem to get off the ground. I'm that since this is concerning my career and my future, I'll put more thought into it.

In other news, my aunty organized for our family to attend a walking tour of Chinatown. The tour has reaffirmed my love of Chinatown, from the food to the cool shops to the arts district. If Chinatown was safer, I'd totally live there. I was also able to slide in some research for my novel.

Speaking of which, so far the novel is about 32 pages double-spaced. I'm just typing out the action and the details will come later. Hopefully it'll come out okay. The story has a little chick-lit flair, but I think it'll be interesting.

Also, Aaron mentioned that he wants to live on the mainland, in the west coast. Maybe a brief stint in California, Oregon, or Washington is in our near future?

Quick!

I have a meeting in less than half an hour, but here's some quick updates:

- I've started writing again! I'm excited, and I'm confident that this story will develop into a novel or a novella of some sort. The next step is to create an outline of my story and to develop a list of deadlines so that I actually finish the project this time. Must finish and must publish!

- My sisters are leaving the nest (Amanda is flying back to Orange County, CA for college; Katie is spending a year in Japan on Study Abroad). This is the first time that I'll be an "only" child since I was three years old! It's gonna be quiet around my house.

- I'm trying to transform my lifestyle into a more eco-friendly lifestyle. The first step I'm going to make is eliminating my chemical-based cleaning products and using natural products like vinegar. This weekend I'm going to use a vinegar mixture to clean the mini-fridge in the family room of our house.

- I signed up for Netflix and am loving it! Continuous movies being delivered to my door for a little over $13 a month--how awesome is that? I can finally watch all the indie and classic movies that I've been wanting to watch without paying $5 a pop. Aaron's excited to watch movies that he's had on his "Must See" list for a while. So far I've rented The Science of Sleep and Babel, both movies starring my favorite actor Gael Garcia Bernal. Coming in the mail today are Mala Educacion (Bad Education--another Gael movie) and Amelie. I'm a little behind on the foreign movies, but now I can catch up!

- I still want to travel and see the world. Aaron likes the map that I put up on my wall. He said it was really cool. My aunty and uncle are going to Italy in the near future. I'm blue-green with envy!

- I need to invest in a digi camera so that I can take nice pictures and post them. Then this blog won't be as boring!

That's all for now. Wee!

I gotta get outta here...

Mexican films have inspired me to see the world.

Let me explain. Out of intrigue (and a slight obsession with Mexican actor Gael Garcia Bernal--that's him on the right), I've been watching some Latin American movies, such as Y Tu Mama Tambien and The Motorcycle Diaries. These films are beatiful and bluntly poetic, and they made me realize that I haven't been exposed to what the world has to offer. In fact, I haven't seen anything outside the borders of the U.S. (except for London when I was five or six).



Now I'm starving for adventure and longing to get my feet off of American soil. I feel much too pampered here in Hawaii, where I've lived all my life--not that I'm ungrateful for living in "paradise" and for having all the rights of a young American woman. There's something inside of me that wants to see the sights and meet the people and eat the food of different cultures and countries. I want to breathe the air of different continents. I need to learn about things other than what's already familiar to me.

I haven't been anywhere other than within the U.S. I don't have the type of parents who will dish out money for me to travel around the world. I didn't take the opportunity to go on Study Abroad when I was in college, mainly because I would have graduated from college in six or seven years if I had. Now I feel that I should be jetsetting across the blue since I have my youth and my good health (knock on wood), and have no real committments (such as children or a mortgage--again knock on wood).

The only thing that's preventing me from jumping on a plane and going to Venice is that I don't have the resources and I have a job. Oh, and that Aaron has agreed to accompany me on a trip when we save up the money for it. My friend Terence has family in Peru, and he expressed interested in coming with us to Peru and staying with his family. So now I have to wait and plan out my future trips.

The other day I bought a large map of the world and put it up on the wall of my bedroom. Now I can see where I want to go. I'm know that if I see myself travelling, it probably will happen. (Sorry to throw in some of The Secret).

I've been reading The Motorcycle Diaries by Ernesto "Che" Guevara (the book that the movie was based on) and I've fallen in love with Che's descriptions of South America. The book chronicles his roughly six-month journey with his friend Alberto Granado in the early 1950's. This trip was the catalyst for his personal growth and was his inspiration for becoming a political reformist. I'm half-way through the book and I can already see the change in his character.

I hope that my future travels will change me. I hope that I grow as a person and that I can write an amazing novel about my adventures. Or at least have my adventures inspire one.

Here Comes The...

Yikes! I think I'm slowly being bitten by the marriage bug. (Aaron is going to freak when he reads this.)

For some reason I've been reading articles on the marriage topic for the past few months. Today I read an article on MSN about a women who married her husband when they were 24 years old. This well-written article made me think about the possibility of marriage in the near future. I've been thinking about the style of my wedding dress, the taste of the cake, the location of the ceremony (NO BEACH-FRONT HOTEL LOCATIONS), the music to play with the wedding slideshow, and the people I'm going to invite.

Am I even engaged? NO!

Getting married was always a given for me. Growing up, I was never one of those girls who hated the idea of marriage. In fact, when I was sixteen, I decided that I would be married by the time I was twenty-four--which now is roughly six months away for me. I'm quite positive that I'm not going to be married by then, but to think that I'm near my "goal" age makes my stomach quiver.

A few years ago, when I turned twenty-one and was inebriated for most the year, the last thing on my mind was marriage. I thought that I would probably not meet Mr. "Right" until I was at least in my late twenties. A string of fizzled flings led me to believe that my Ideal Mate did not exist. Serious relationship? Marriage? Ha! All the guys I was meeting were already married to Heineken.

Then I start to pay more attention to this guy who works in the office upstairs from me. I noticed his brown square-frame glasses and his cute boyish smile. He liked that I wore my beat up Chuck Taylor shoes with mini skirts. After almost two years of dating Aaron, I have to say that I can't imagine being with anyone else.

Anyway, I know that we're pretty young (he just turned twenty-four a few months ago) but I think that I'm ready to start planning for that big step. Of course I wouldn't want to get married tomorrow; maybe another year or two of girlfriend/boyfriend-ness would be nice. My friends think I'm crazy to be seriously thinking about the M-word. I just don't want to be on the "it's better late than never" plan.

I think I hear wedding bells in the distance...about a hundred miles away.