life in garage, in america

weaving through after-work-traffic on 101, i was getting really annoyed and worried. it looked like i was going to be late for my meeting. i was on my way to meet a child who currently lives with a life threatening disease. i was meeting her to find out what her wish was. i'm a wish grantor (how cool is that title, sounds like i'm a fairy godmother, i'd just pull things out of my hat XD), i grant wishes.

i got off the freeway, and was finding my way to this 14 year old girl's house. as i entered the neighborhood, i noticed that there were cars parked everywhere along the sidewalks. i could barely find a spot to park. (don't ppl have garages to park their cars? -_-) i drove up to the house, and saw another car just pulled up onto the driveway. i thought, awesome, my co-wish grantor just got here, i guess i'm not that late. it turned out that the car belongs to the lady who lives in the house. and i WAS late. >_<

i walked around the house, and found the side door which was an entrance to the garage. my revelation: here are two families living in this house, one in the house, one in the garage. NO, in this neighborhood, people do NOT use garages to park cars! i felt like the top of my head just got knocked on by a huge hammer. the garage was remodeled to include a bathroom and a "kitchen". the stove and the dining table were facing directly to the family bed. i said hi to everyone while putting on a huge smile (although i'm not sure if it looked like i was smiling or crying). i was not paying attention to the rest of the conversation, since it was all in spanish; i was too busy looking at everyone in this warm and loving family. i was trying to figure out what they were saying from the expressions on their faces. i was glad that my co-wish grantor spoke spanish. all i knew was alejandra's wish was to have a laptop. a laptop will make her happy!

i was dazing off.  what would make me happy?  what would be my wish at this moment?  at this very moment, there's nothing i want more in this world than the group that i interviewed with tells me "you are hired".

i was on my way heading home. an hour ago, i was annoyed by the traffic on 101. an hour later, the same bumper to bumper traffic did not at all bother me. it seemed too trivial.

keep on running

life is a long journey!  a journey involves crossing rivers, climbing mountains.  the scariest moment is when you know you are about to fall, about to get hurt, about to fail.  how many times have you looked at your scar, and thought, it wasn't that bad?

just keep running, you will eventually be where you want to be.

as she says farewell to her single life ...

with its unassuming exterior, supper club could be easily missed by passersby. white walls, white lettering, maybe only the golden doors could catch your attention, for about one second, then you would dismiss it. sixteen of us arrived here, in front of the golden doors, for our dear friend, lily's, bachelorette party.

you pulled open the doors, contrast to the color of white that you saw outside, walls of black welcomed you with their subtle sophistication. passing through the lobby of black wooden walls, you immediately found yourself in awe of the decor of the bar. The walls were filled with square crimson leather cushions, making the walls part of the red leather booth seating with its back extended all the way up to the ceiling. A circular bar was nicely situated in the middle of this 60 by 40 feet room. Right above the bar, there were 12 disco balls as if they were sprinkling shimmer onto the patrons.

Then you realized that you just missed the drag queen sitting by the entrance of the bar. you wondered how could you walk by her without noticing while she was rocking that nuclear weapon exploded blonde mushroom on her head. you stepped in front of her, extended your hand, afraid of hitting her pair of double Ds. As you were telling her, "I like your hair." She murmured "thank you" without looking at you and stamped your hand with the word "slut". you were more offended by her not looking at you than being labeled a "slut". you were told, on a different night, you could be labeled as a "bitch" ... if that makes you feel better.

The entourage went around the bar, and pushed through a pair of white doors with two round wooden handles carved "S" and "C". The two doors opened up to a white room filled with oversized beds up against the walls. We were led to our bed on the balcony level. The white doors closed behind us at 8 pm. The next five or six hours is a token of our friendship, memories that we will forever cherish. A handful of friends from Seattle could not make it to the party, but we know the memory making process will continue at the wedding.

I have missed many bachelorette parties of friends', for whatever reason. Some I deeply regret, some I do not. Did my friends get mad at me for not being there at their parties? are we still the same friends as before? Right before I called it a day, I advised myself: who cares. Only time will tell how true is your friendship. As you open your heart, rip it so open until it hurts, to people in your life, there will always be laughters along with tears. What makes any relationship sweet is laughter, while what makes it stronger is tears.