The House Poet

Hey all! I am back in Stockton, having taken the train on Friday. Andrew picked me up and we have been having fun! :) I am starting to feel better, which inspires me! It was raining all day on Friday, which made the day seem rather cozy. I spent the morning getting my stuff together and trying to make my boxes seem less heavy for my dad's move this weekend. Yep, my family moved, but luckily they are still on the trail I love so much! Around 10:30ish, one of my best friends, Andi, came to pick me up with all my stuff and we went out to lunch. She offered to drive me to the Amtrak station, which saved me a lot of stress. Thanks Andi-girl! :) So, where did we go? Pho Saigon of course! ;D It is a tradition between us to always go out to Vietnamese food when I am in town. This new place is so good that we knew we had to go! She ordered the spring rolls with shrimp as a starter and scarfed them down! :)They looked very fresh! I, of course, ordered the egg rolls, which are my favorite, a...

As I have mentioned previously, I am sick with a cold at home and since I was feeling sort of down about it, my dad sweetly took me out to lunch on Monday! We went to the new Vietnamese restaurant in Walnut Creek, Pho Saigon! For an appetizer, I asked if we could get vegetarian egg rolls because I LOVE them and I figured it would be interesting to try them veggie-style. These were pretty good, longer than I expected. However, I wish more lettuce and pickled veggies had been given. Also, the fish sauce was rather bland and not as tangy as I like. Fish sauce is supposed to be tasty, sweet, slightly spicy, and just plain awesome! Nevertheless, my dad and I scarfed these down and looked forward to our other dishes. :) This was the fried shrimp cake appetizer, ordered by my dad because in Lent, he said, one should always experiment with different vegetarian foods or fish dishes. Well, we both tried this when it arrived and neither of us cared much for it. It wasn't overly fishy or any...

When I was in elementary school, I had a special group of friends. We stayed friends all through middle school, all through high school, and now we are separated and navigating the choppy seas of adulthood and college. Two of those friends are still very important to me, and on Tuesday I was able to see both, albeit for a short while. Over the summer, we were all dealing with separate things and I was worried about them. Luckily, seeing them on Tuesday and hearing about their experiences this past semester has assuaged my worries. We are all growing and learning. :) I was having serious Vietnamese food cravings because my sister refuses to go out and eat it with me. Thus, my friend Andi and I went for Vietnamese food at Le Cheval. This restaurant is the third of three, owned and run by friends of my grandmother! The food is a bit pricey, but it's good Vietnamese food. I went over the summer with my grandmother, so I was excited to follow up on it. We got there a little before noon,...

My sister and I braved the outside and went shopping today, and for being Black Friday it wasn't so bad. We didn't go to many places, but still had fun. The weather is pretty miserable; it started raining really hard not too long ago and it's very cold. I am sure my love in the hot and humid Philippines would like this weather! ;) We went to Target, which was crowded but not terribly so. I bought a black cloche hat that actually fits, red long fingerless gloves, a light blue soft sweater on sale, and some essentials. Then, we walked up to Ming Quong, since the weather was sunny and nice, and I bought a new ring and a gift for Andrew, since our 10 month anniversary is next Friday, which is the day he comes back home! Yay! :D We then found ourselves at Saroor, a very good Indian restaurant I hadn't been too for a long time. Since I can't drink Chai Tea unless the milk is soy or lactose-free, I ordered a mango lassi drink ($2.50) instead, which was DELICIOUS! The flavo...

My room is becoming more and more bare as I pack things up for school on Wednesday. Now that I am just about to go back, I can hardly believe it! I don't know what to expect, but I want to have fun and become closer to the special people surrounding me there! I am also super excited about being on my own again! Being in the same city as Andrew also makes me so happy and excited!!! :) This afternoon I went and hung out with my two closest old friends for the last time. I probably won't be able to see them until Winter Break, but it's okay. We plan to keep in touch, so the goodbyes weren't dramatic or sad. They never are between us. :) So, we decided, since it was a hot day, to go chill and talk at a really cool cafe called Caffe La Scala. It's an old cafe that's been in Walnut Creek forever and it's walls are decorated with vintage French and Italian posters. I ordered a small hazelnut gelato and water. The gelato was good, but almost tasted powdery. Perhaps ...

Bwahahahaha I am going on a blogging rampage! I want to get at least somewhat caught up before I go back to school! :) Today so far has been quiet, but rather productive. I packed some more things for school this morning and went through old boxes. I've also been enjoying putting up these blog posts! I also started working on some poems for a performance next Saturday night with Euphorah so hopefully that goes well. I did find something amusing in an old box in my closet! When I was 12, my dad organized a taco-eating contest between me and my sister! She was only 9 at the time, and did very well, but I was the winner! I don't remember how many I ate, perhaps 7 or 8! :D My dad made a little trophy to celebrate it; I am so glad I found it! The trophy says "Taco Champion 2002"! :) For lunch, my grandma and my aunt wanted to take my dad out to lunch! So, after my dad went to church we went to Miraku, a Japanese place near where we live. The other Japanese place in Concor...