Joy to the Small World

1.11.11

- to some it's read as today's date

- to others it equals 5

- and even then it could also equal to 23

I pick 5 as in High Five!

Eleven days into the year, I struggled to give this blog a title. I normally write about my New Year's Resolution way before the new year approaches or give my yearly review a day or two before the year ends. However, I was hard pressed to find the time to sit down and write about it until now.

And so it goes - My 'New Year's Resolution' is 'Now Here's Resolution'.

I resolve to take the 'positive thinking' further into 'positive articulation' and eventually 'positive action'. Its about giving voice to the positive thoughts , sharing it with others and then putting it into action.

This year's New is Now. I'm not doing anything new so to speak but instead doing it Now. I resolve to volunteer more and taking it one step further by picking my own cause, creating a group and collectively make a difference.

I resolve to shift my thinking paradigm from the "have to" to the "get to". More often than not I find myself saying - I 'have to' go to work. I 'have to' do groceries. I 'have to' go see my mom. I fail to see the importance and the privilege of being able to "get to" work because I have a job. I "get to" do groceries because I have the resource and most importantly, I "get to" see my mom because I love her so much and I am very fortunate to have her in my life Now. Let's all make the conscious effort to catch ourselves from saying "have to" instead of "get to" and in return open the possibility for more gratefulness in our lives.

All is Well. All is Love.

My favorite moments in 2010:

January -

This picture was taken on one of my Saturday morning Farmer's Market trip. My favorite noodle place is right behind me (Imperial Tea Court). I was staring off the distance looking for Azmeera and Brian to have lunch with them. It was a good day.

March -

Butchart Gardens in Victoria, BC is my absolute favorite garden. I have been there three times and in different season each time. The Sunken garden behind me is breathtaking in person. This was the garden that first introduced me to the wonderful world of Dahlias back in 2003.

This was a very bittersweet day. Azmeera and Tanya joined me for my usual Saturday Ferry Building walk while consoling my aching heart. In the afternoon, we stopped at a coffee shop and Azmeera gave us our bridesmaid presents. I loved everything. I received my favorite gold J necklace and have been wearing it almost everyday since.

Azmeera's bachelorette party was the craziest night of my life and I was completely sober. The party fell during Lenten season, hence no drinking for me. This was definitely the funnest party I've ever had the opportunity to plan and host. To this day, the girls and I still find ourselves referring to that evening with such great delight and it still garners plenty of giggles whenever the topic comes up.

Naked man on the bed, whip cream on the floor, room full of screaming girls... Chaos!

April -

Azmeera gave us the perfect pre-wedding pampering. I had so much fun getting a mani-pedi while drinking Champagne. We were all pretty tipsy by the time we walked out of the salon. We even got a Tarot card reading. Although the lady was full of shit and pretty much gave us all the same generic reading, it was still a fun experience.

I have been to many weddings before from the huge, elaborate, no expense spared to the small, budgeted, i'll race you to the altar ones. Heck, I even planned my own at one point although it didn't happen which by the way is a very good thing but Azmeera and Brian's was my favorite of them all. It was the perfect union of family and friends with abundance of love and good energy. Such a beautiful wedding.

Tanya and I were coming back from the bathroom when this picture was taken. I have no idea what we were laughing about. I make up that our conversation went something like this:

Me: Traffic should be spelled with a U instead of an I.

Tanya: If we had an 8th day of the week - we should devote it to sleep and call it "Drool's Day"

or something like that :)

My most favorite wedding I have ever had the privilege to dance. The only thing that could top this off in my book is to dance at my own.

“This is love: to fly toward a secret sky, to cause a hundred veils to fall each moment. First to let go of life. Finally, to take a step without feet.” Rumi

May -

My first Bay to Breakers. This was such a fun day full of laughs and bathroom breaks both public and private... shame-shame, I know.

This was taken on my 32nd birthday at Cat Club. Everyone made it out that night although we couldn't fit all of us in this picture. I felt so loved. I spent a wonderful day with my mom, saw Peter Pan at Ferry Park and partied all night with my beloved friends. When I finally got home that evening, my mom who spent the night at my place made me tea because I was SOOOO DUHRUNK! hee hee

June -

Go BoSox! - enough said...

July -

Zairina took this candid shot - we were in Carmel and I just had a creme brulee which I got to torch myself. I like travel size torches - they make me happy or it could be the sugar high from having a full ramekin of creme brulee all to myself - no sharing needed.

This picture was taken after a long day of rafting. We were tired, hungry and my eyes have gone all doolally - good times

August -

This picture still cracks me up to this day. I attempted to finish that burrito 3 times to no avail. I finally gave up around midnight when I could not possibly take another bite. It was good but ridiculous!

This was a fun bike ride. I've never pedaled so hard in my life. I was depleted by the end of the day but I've never felt better. This day opened up the possibilities for other bike rides later on -

This was taken on our way back to the car coming from the best picnic ever. We were at Tomales Bay and was treated to amazingly fresh oysters and yummy food. My favorite dish aside from the oysters were the grilled veggies, particularly the stuffed eggplant - delicious!

LOL!!!! This is what finishing a bottle of Champagne, 2 dozen oysters and a Saturday with nothing on the agenda, can do to you - it was a warm and glorious day in the City. Ms and Mrs. Feeman-Pandile. She shops for dresses while I peruse the kids aisle. I guess neither of us wears the pants in this relationship (^_^)

Aaaawww, I HEART this picture SOOO much. The genuine happiness, the gentle embrace, the invisible bond that holds us all "In Love" -

Tanya's 70's themed bday party was totally Far Out! I love dressing up. Any reason to bust out my platforms and bell bottoms is a party I want to be, without fail.

September -

Volunteered at the Dahlia Dell - I got a bunch of dahlia trimmings that day and they brightened my place for close to a week and a half.

This was my first and last long bike ride with Aubergine. It was the perfect first and last -

Tu me manques -

Yes, my butt was sore after riding for 3 hours and I had about another hour after this silly picture was taken -

I think this was taken on Labor Day weekend. We went to Dolores park and had a picnic. This was a favorite moment because I had a huge lunch, a pint of honey lavender ice cream from bi-rite, and watermelon for good measure - I literally passed out and took a disco nap in the park :)

Volunteered at the Ghirardelli Chocolate Festival - YUM! I was sugar high all afternoon -

October -

My lil' stud muffin at 6 weeks old - this was the first time I ever laid eyes on him. I was only supposed to watch my sister's kids for the night and I came home with a puppy the next day.

Volunteered for the SF Senior Center during Fleet Week. This was my favorite volunteer event last year. It was great to have the girls show up and my special someone reserved the seats.

This was taken at LAX club at the Luxor in Vegas. We spent most of our evening on this couch. Giggled, talked and people watched. It was a fun weekend with the girls.

November -

Volunteered at the Rose Garden in Golden Gate Park - I also went home with a bunch of trimmings that day and gave mini rose bouqets to the girls.

It's not so much that the roses have thorns, more like the thorns have roses!

Ah yes, the puzzle. Who could forget my favorite project of last year? So, so fun!

Zairina and I went on a full day hike. We started at Mt. Tamalpais and made our way down to Stinson Beach and then back. We had a picnic on the beach, gossiped like school girls, got tipsy and called it a good day.

Someday...

I remember this moment in detail for it was the day that lit my ass on my fire to get up and make a difference. That I have the resource to give back to my community. I have my friends, family and the Source to make it all possible. I am moved.

December -

At my new favorite bar (Smuggler's Cove) with the girls and my special someone. I was so drunk when this picture was taken. I tasted about 3-4 different kinds of rum that night on top off the regular cocktails I had.

Her name is Chloe and she's an in vitro baby. It took her mom and dad 16 tries with her being the 16th. She's the sweetest little girl I have ever met. I can only hope and pray that I will someday raise a child of my own with such sweet demeanor... Hmm, what do you think bloggies? I think mine would be a spaz monkey just like me (ha ah ha!). She is so precious -

I rung in the New Year with my nearest and dearest. I was with my beloved family up until midnight to ring in the new year and then hopped in my car afterwards to make my way back home to meet with the girls and my special someone. I've always believed that how you spend your NYE and New Year's day sets the tone for the rest of the year - 2010 ended on a very positive note. I was present, immersed in the moment, covered in embrace, blanketed in love.

Hugs and Licks -

Jakey and Tugboat

Thank you for reading

Wish You Were Here

Shiver - cold toilet seat. That's what blogging is like for me - approaching 2 weeks since my last entry. Warming up...

It could also be that my current location happens to be in New York where they are experiencing the worst winter snow storm/blizzard since 2006. Yes, the toilet seat is freezing. No, I have not set foot outside since my fingers almost froze from walking home from the grocery store. I have been home bound for the last 2 days. I have watched enough television and reruns of NCIS to last me through the next year, I'm caught up with football and sleep and I are in the healthiest stage of our relationship.

Let's rewind to the days leading up to this cold winter night...

Deflating from all the holiday parties, drinking, felting (i'll explain)... I was a busy lil' elf; working overtime in Santa's workshop. This year, I took on extra projects both at work and on the home front and enjoyed every minute.

My prior position at work left me in isolation 90% of the time. With no colleagues to speak of, it was difficult to promote any charitable initiatives especially since I would have been the chair person and it's only member. Now, I am 1 of 90+ people in my department, hence making it more feasible to appeal to the group for help. My chosen cause was to adopt a family. With the generous help of all my friends/colleagues, we all collectively fulfilled a family's wish this holiday season. The adopted family consisted of the dad, mom, 8 year old boy and a newborn girl. I asked Santa for a miracle this year and a miracle I got. The minimum requirement that we needed to fulfill was to provide the family with at least 1 of their wish list item and a $100 grocery gift certificate. I got to work and sent out my plea, walked around with my gold Adopt a Family donation box, sent my intention out to the Universe and she responded very generously.

The family received over $300 worth of grocery and visa gift card on top of all the donated toys, clothing and other gifts. I was so overwhelmed by the turn out. I cried tears of joy at work as the donations started pouring in on the last day of the campaign. I learned the lesson of having faith in people. Good things will come to good people. The adopted family definitely received their Christmas miracle.

What's next on the list?

Christmas projects:

Before the partying, I worked on my presents for the girls and the special someone. This year, I went back to basics and made my gifts for the lovely ladies. Well, half made presents. I made little cut outs of animals out of felt material and glued it on the store bought gloves. I had SOOO much fun making them. Each animal represents what they like or what I think best fits their individual personalities.

Finally, Party!!! And partied I did - at home and outside with my beloved friends...

At home:

Outside with my Southbay ladies:

At Zairina's

Getting to and Jetting to:

The festivities ended 3:00 am Thurs/Fri on Dec 23rd just in time for me to catch some desperately needed sleep and then get packing for my trip to NY.

I flew out on Christmas Eve - the flight was on time, I got through security sans pat down. It was a very smooth flight. I slept through most of it. My single serving friend was friendly enough but also kept his safe distance. I got in at 6:39am on Christmas day - half an hour earlier than the scheduled arrival...smooth sailing.

First things first. Everyone knows I love celebrating birthdays and of course the ultimate birthday in my book is none other than baby Jesus (^_^)

I started my day in the City by attending a mass at the beautiful St Patrick's Cathedral.

Right after the mass - looking for a place to eat...

Stopped quickly at Rockefeller Center. I wanted to go ice skating but the line looped around the rink...Mon Dieu!

Sesame crusted ahi tuna at Bobby Van's...yum!

Then in the evening we heard the ugly news. A storm was on it's way to NY that will pretty much shut down the city for the next 2 days. It's the second evening and I'm going a bit stir crazy. The snow piled high outside the door, mass transit still suspended and the roads still not fit to be driven at this point. We have been watching the news like a hawk to stay up to date. I'm hoping that tomorrow will be a better day.

Having S n O w much fun!

Shovel - part 1

Part 2

Part 3

Alas, I return to my old mantra - Everything is Fine, Not Final. Tomorrow WILL be a better day. I will wake up in the morning and recite my morning gratitude. Even something as simple as being alive deserves a nod, as it is quite a feat if you stop and think about it. We're all so fleshy, soft and fragile yet somehow able to dodge speeding cars, sharks, lightning, second hand smoke, fast food, finger pointing and snow blizzards. If you're reading this, you're WAY above average because you have ELECTRICITY AND some kind of communication device that enables you to connect to the most expansive community we The Human have ever seen.

My celebration mantra I share with to you is this:

Be AWEsome!

Write it somewhere where you can be reminded of how wonderful you are - where you can high five yourself for having been up to big things and doing it well. The mirror is a great place for affirmations. Brush your teeth and stroke your ego at the same time. You deserve it. After all, quality of life is only the way YOU define it.

The future is here for us to be amped, to be motivated, to remind each other that each is doing amazing things. Create this world as so and it will transform itself into a place of wonder right before our eyes.

Complete pics here:

http://share.shutterfly.com/share/received/welcome.sfly?fid=a31f44d7d02dce67&sid=0MaMmTZy3Ys5e

Dear Santa,

Thank you for my Christmas miracle. I am where I'm supposed to be. I have what I need. I've got my hands full of my beloved. I know why I didn't get my dancing pole. Apparently, that'll put me on the 'naughty list' (^_-)

Your #1 fan,

Jakey

The Bride wore...

Purple?


Last Sunday, I went to my first ever punk-rock wedding. It was one of those day's where I had the time, not much on the agenda since earlier plans fell through and it also gave me a chance to hang out with my friend Chao for a little while. It was his good friend's wedding and I was the wedding crasher!

The ceremony took place at Baker beach. It was cloudy and cold - no rain though, thank goodness. The wedding was supposed to start at 3:00pm and we were there at 2:50pm. The beach was empty with no wedding parties to be found. At this point, I still did not know that the bride and the groom were total rock stars.

The group started trickling in and Chao pointed out the groom, sporting a full on mohawk! The bride came 15 minutes later and she was wearing a purple sequined cocktail dress.

Now this is the part when I drop-kicked Chao on the ground and punched him in the head for not telling me that I was SOOOO inappropriately dress for this wedding - just kidding of course. But seriously, I wish I wore one of my other million black dresses sitting in my closet so I could've blended a little more.

Groom and their dog Sailor




Bride and her father





As part of their ceremony, they brought a miniature coffin-like box with a bottle of whiskey in it. After they exchanged their vows, they took the paper, placed it inside the box and nailed it shut. The officiant said that the box will only be opened on their 20th wedding anniversary or if they're ever on a brink of getting a divorce, so they can re-read their vows to each other and remember why they got married in the first place. I thought it was a great idea but I'm not sure how I feel about the miniature coffin box...

Groom nailing the coffin... lol! It's all over man! hee hee! j/k

Yes, I was the schmuck who wore a pink, girly dress to a punk rock wedding... Can you say fashion faux pas!

Afterwards, the wedding party went to Fly Bar to celebrate. I popped in for a glass of sangria and went my merry way to meet up with May for dinner and movie. We saw "Black Swan". One word, "Dark". The movie had a lot of holes but the great acting distracts you enough that you don't really think about it until afterwards. Natalie Portman is absolutely Gorgeous! Is it worth seeing? Yes - with a glass of wine and reserved seats at the Kabuki Theatre, absolutely (^_^)

Here's a hilarious video of Tugboat. He recently discovered that he has a tail and has been going ape-shit almost everyday trying to catch it... ha ha ha!

On Saturday, I went to the 'special someone's' holiday house party. He and his college schoolmate played Christmas Carols on his marimba while the rest of the guests sang along. It was so much fun! No, I didn't sing. Well... just a little, but I kept my voice really low. Thank goodness that there were real singers in the group who was heartily belting out the songs so I was able to just be a butterfly on the wall (^_^) It was wonderful to watch and listen to him play. I hope that one of these days I would be able to share the beautiful music that he plays. I was running around all day that Saturday that I forgot to bring my camera again!

My Christmas house party is going to be this Friday. Yes, it will be another cozy event with guests stacked on top of each other... lol!

My tree is up, decorations hung and a yummy menu planned. More on this shindig soon...

Dear Santa,

I've been...

__ Naughty

_X Nice

May I have a Christmas miracle?

Love from your #1 Fan,

Jakey