I know it’s gonna be a good day if I see a dog while stuck in traffic, or if I hear Hoobastank on the radio while driving.

On an unrelated note, my sister loaned me some of her Prozac until mine can get refilled later this week 🤪

Is this an actual commercial? It feels like an SNL skit 🙄

It’s giving Liam Neeson in Taken.

Also, last I checked, most mass shooters and meth heads in the US were white. Stop blaming immigrants for America’s problems.

Partly because Nori observes Lent and can’t eat meat on Fridays, but mostly because I wanted to go to the beach (@ Playa Hermosa Fish & Oyster Co.)

Mumford & Sons – Rushmere

Light me up, I’m wasted in the dark
Rushmere, restless hearts in the end

Lord Huron – Nothing I Need

You’re the one I’ll never get
And you’re the one thing that I need

New music from Mumford & Lord Huron today 💔

Linkin Park, Evanescence and Sum 41 also released new songs today 😳 Is it 2001? Am I late for my shift at Parkway Plaza???

Not sure if I’m sad because I’m watching Adolescence (Netflix’s #1 show right now about a 13yo boy accused of stabbing a girl to death), because they let go of 6 designers from my web team at work this week with zero notice and now the rest of us have to pick up the slack, or because I ran out of anti-depressants 😅 The pharmacy won’t have it for 3-5 business days, so do with that information what you will.

You guys, I ate 10 egg salad sandwiches while I was in Japan. I was only there for 7 days, and I didn’t eat one on the first day. You do the horrifying math. All the convenience stores had it, and there was a 7-Eleven across from our hotel room. There was one on every block, really. I didn’t discriminate, either, I tried a convenience store egg salad sandwich from 7-Eleven, Lawson’s and the 24-hour store inside my sister’s hotel—all were equally delicious. There was even a 7-Eleven at the airport, so I picked up a sandwich for the plane ride 😅 I don’t ever eat egg salad sandwiches in the US, and the last time I remember eating one before my Japan trip was at my Grandpa Robert’s funeral in 1989 😳 I def had to try and recreate it.

I was looking up where I can get authentic Japanese milk bread in LA, and I found Ginza Nikishiwa, this ghost kitchen on Santa Monica Blvd that sells out of loaves daily within minutes of opening. The owner found out that someone was reselling loaves and marking up the price (like the dude who sells Porto’s out of his car in SD!), so she limits how many you can buy per order now. I don’t need all that stress in my life, so I just instacarted some milk bread from Tokyo Central 😅

I followed this recipe and was transported back to Tokyo.

Y’all. When it hits your lips… 美味しい

(via @patrickbarnesvine)

The first dog I ever followed on Instagram has passed away at 16, and I am unwell 🥺

I’m about to relive my youth this summer! I just bought tickets to see Incubus and Hoobastank.

The last time I saw Incubus was at this same venue two decades ago (@ North Island Credit Union Amphitheater when it was formerly known as Coors Amphitheater, and has since been called Cricket Wireless Amphitheater, Sleep Train Amphitheater, and Mattress Firm Amphitheater)

The only difference between then and now is that I’ve got money to buy front row VIP tickets now 😜

The last time I saw Hoobastank was more recently at their 20th Anniversary Show (@ The Echo) But before that, it had been well over a decade!

Is it 2003? Am I 21 again? My first ever blog post in 2003 was about Hoobastank, and here I am, 22 years later, still talking about the same shit 😜

It once took me 4 hours to drive down to San Diego for Christine’s baby shower, and I arrived with less than an hour left to partake in the taco cart. After stuffing myself with 5 tacos (the 5th one was a mistake!), I was told that the taco guy was staying an extra hour, and I didn’t need to eat all those tacos in record time.

Today, it took me 3 hours to drive down to SD for Chel’s twins and Rhea’s daughter’s birthday party in PQ. I forgot people do things differently above the 8 😅 At the last kids’ party I went to in eastside, there was a birria taco bar, a tostilocos bar, and an open bar 😆

When I got to the party, Shi’s daughter was running down the street and this is how I tried to stop her:

Also, this is me when someone asks me to watch their kid:

Jury duty has been officially served (@ Inglewood Courthouse)

After four very long days of jury selection, they called up and dismissed over half of our 100+ group, and my number wasn’t called once. I had to listen to each potential juror answer the same questions from the judge and attorneys day in and day out, though 😵‍💫

They ask if you’ve been the victim of a violent crime, and a lot of people admitted to having been raped, molested or sexually abused 😳 The follow up question was always, ‘Would that incident affect your judgement in this case?’ and people always answered ‘no’ so why put your shit on blast at all?

There was a lady who said she was date raped in her 20s. The judge asked what happened afterward, if the perpetrator was convicted, etc. She said she was too embarrassed to tell anyone, so she never pressed charges. But you’re telling a bunch of strangers right now??? Long after the statute of limitations has passed? Don’t even get me started on the statute of limitations. I don’t understand why you can’t charge someone for rape after 10 years, but murder has no limit? Are both not serious crimes???

Actual footage of me in the gallery:

Anyway, not sure what I regret more: not getting the cute court bailiff’s number (he wasn’t wearing a wedding ring, but I’m finding that lots of married men don’t) or eating four po’boys from Orleans & York this week! I was there so often, the cashier remembered my name and order 😅

Tell me the truth
Was it worth it? Was I worth it for you?
‘Cause we were perfect, we workin’ ’til you
Forgot to tell me
You been seein’ someone else for six years

Carnival across the street from the crib (@ Springfest)

Might have to put my bra back on for a churro.

If you thought I was gonna get a po’boy for the third day in a row while serving jury duty at the Inglewood courthouse, you weren’t wrong (@ Orleans & York)

We started half an hour late because one of the jurors picked yesterday was an attorney who had to prep a witness this morning in DTLA and was late to court. They ended up dismissing him and 8 other jurors, called 9 more people, and I still wasn’t picked. But I had to sit in the gallery for hours listening to the judge and lawyers ask them all the same questions from yesterday 😵‍💫 Then they dismissed 7 more jurors and picked 7 more, and I still wasn’t picked! After afternoon recess, they called out 20 more ID numbers (none of which were mine), and the rest of us thought we were getting dismissed. Turns out those 20 were free to go! Of the 7 new jurors they picked, I could tell some of them will be dismissed from their answers, so there will definitely be another round tomorrow which I have to report to for the fourth day now. I feel like I’m on an endless episode of Law & Order. Not even SVU, just the regular one without Ice-T 😆

Being here is actually more akin to a lesser known procedural drama, For The People (a Shonda Rhimes show whose cancellation in 2019 I’m still salty about), because the sassy court clerk has been keeping us entertained. She told us the story of when she broke her arm in Colombia that involved drug cartels, volcanoes, and a canoe. Worse, it happened during covid, so she had to wait a year to have surgery on her arm that was broken in eight places! Shoutout to the court clerk for Department ‘O’ at the Inglewood courthouse! Thank you for making this whole experience less painful for all of us 😆

My early 2000s heart is bursting 💗

Another day, another donut (@ Randy’s Donuts)

They started jury selection today, and 80+ jurors and I didn’t get picked. We did have to sit in the gallery for hours while the 18 selected for the jury box answered questions from the judge and attorneys. We have to report again tomorrow, because they haven’t decided on the final jury yet. At least there’s good food spots in Inglewood, and the court bailiff is nice to look at 😅

I gave up soda after the stroke. I used to drink my weight in Coke, but my blood glucose levels were through the roof. Everything in moderation, but as long as I don’t have Coke at all, I don’t crave it. I don’t even indulge in a Coke Zero once in a while.

So today, when I craved something sweet, I had an Olipop—a prebiotic soda that’s low in sugar and high in fiber. What has become of my life???

I’ve never had jury duty in LA where I had to show up in person, but today I got summoned to the Inglewood courthouse. They were short-staffed and running behind, so it was a lot of sitting around while they got their shit together. All 100+ of us got assigned to one courtroom where a man with tattoos on his face was being tried for murder 😳 We had to fill out a questionnaire before they dismissed us for the day, and we were told to return tomorrow for jury selection.

The silver lining of having jury duty in Inglewood (besides getting PTO from work) is that the courthouse is down the street from my favorite cajun deli, Orleans & York. I usually only go here when I go to a show nearby at Kia Forum or SoFi Stadium. I got a po’boy (Big Mo’s Favorite with fried shrimp and beef hot links) and banana pudding. I will probably go back here tomorrow after it’s decided whether or not a man’s fate rests in my hands 😅

I haven’t had an online portfolio since I got this job in LA 13 years ago! They pay me v well (I make more than triple what they were paying me in SD at my last job), so I’ve never looked for another job while working here, as stressful as it’s been at times.

With all the changes happening at work, I made a panic portfolio 😅 It’s better to have one and not need it, than to need one and not have it…

Doordashed corned beef hash for St. Paddy’s Day (@ Snax)

Am I doing it right?

(via @mini_robomuppets)

I got my eyebrows microbladed this past weekend, and I couldn’t be happier with the results! I’ve had this procedure done without a hitch a few times before the stroke, but when I made an appointment at a new esthetician in OC last year, they canceled my appointment after learning of my health problems. They had a bad experience before and didn’t wanna be liable. My PCP said it was still ok for me to get microbladed, so I found an esthetician nearby in Redondo who would do it. She was shocked that I didn’t bleed one drop of blood and even more shocked that I was in my 40s. She thought I was in my 20s! 🫠 To be fair, she was Brazilian (and gorgeous!), and it’s only ever non-asians who are shocked by my age. I still get carded at casinos, and you have to be 18 to be there. At my work conference earlier this year, this Mexican dude in his 30s met me and some of my Asian coworkers for the first time and his flabbers were gasted when he found out that we were all in our 40s. We’re Filipino, Chinese and Korean. What can I say, Asian don’t raisin ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

The porkless diaries continue…

Crispy feta, fried egg and avocado on a Carb Balance tortilla.

Pepperoni-less pizza with mushrooms and black olives for PI day (@ Fat Tomato)

Total lunar eclipse then full ‘worm moon’ tonight 🪱🌕✨

If your love for moon phases don’t run as deep as mine, here’s a cute short from Angry Birds about the love between a bird and its worm 🤪

I feel my lips, they’re turning blue
Are you great or something new?
I’m so love-starved
Are you actually my type or do I just need a bite?

File under: Shit we shouldn’t talk about in the work chat.

They’re installing Kandji on everyone’s computers at work. Supposedly it’s more secure (God forbid someone releases the new Snoop collabo early LOL), but I think they’re also monitoring us 👀 

Most of our employees use Teams (which we still use for department meetings), but the web team uses Slack on a daily basis because it’s easier for us to share screens and collaborate on that platform. Can they read Slack messages that have already been deleted? Asking for a friend (it’s me, I’m the friend). I sent some other unsavory messages during my work conference, so… 😅

Many, many, many moons ago, I sent the girls an email with the subject ‘NSFW’ containing this impressive dick pic some guy sent me that I most definitely did not ask for. A couple of them opened the email at work, because they didn’t know that ‘NSFW’ stood for ‘Not Safe For Work’ LOL! Oh, they learned that day…

Yes, I still have my emails from 2009, and yes, I still have that dick pic 😆 Only because I attached it to that email, though. I didn’t have an iPhone in 2009, and the actual text exists on an LG flip phone (only an outdated phone charger can unlock those secrets).

My porkless life continues (in more ways than one 😅)…

I had plant-based Spam, rice and eggs for breakfast. What has become of my life???

My sweet nephew is being bullied at school. We ride at dawn ✊🏻

Since playing with the micro piglets at the mipig cafe in Tokyo, I can’t bring myself to eat pork 😩 So today, instead of my usual go-to breakfast burrito (made healthier by heating up a Smart Ones Ham & Cheese Scramble, adding hot sauce, and wrapping it inside a Carb Balance Tortilla) I made sweet potato avocado toast with soft boiled eggs and a side of turkey bacon.

Not sure if I’m sad because of my breakfast, or because I’m back at work today catching up on my emails and slack and just found out that my boss is being required to go into the office every day after five years of working from home and wondering if I’m next, or because it’s raining in LA today and I’m listening to Dashboard Confessional 😅

It’s colder than it oughta be in March

In case I forgot I was back in LA this weekend, we had several earthquakes and a notification of a wildfire today, and it’s also Daylight Savings, so I woke up at 5pm instead of 4pm, because my body’s still on Tokyo Time. I’m sick, too, so I’ll recap when I’m feeling better 🤒