Category Archives: Randomness

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You have style no one can teach

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Growing up my style icon was Claudia Kishi.

I mean technically I never actually dressed like her but I wished I could pull off her looks in real life. We all know that one of the best parts of reading the Baby-sitters Club books was to read about what the baby sitters were wearing especially Claudia. Many people still enjoy this to this day as evident by sites like What Claudia Wore and this Buzzfeed list on The Definitive Ranking of All 131 Baby-Sitters Club Cover Outfits.

It’s funny that for years I didn’t have a style that defined me. I mean, when I really think about it, I can’t even say that I actually had style. I wore what was comfortable and didn’t really have that much interest in fashion. Then a few years ago, I sort of saw the light.

I have to thank/blame Pinterest for this. While I originally realized that I liked certain articles of clothing on my own, after finally caving in and using Pinterest, I discovered that I could then create my own personal style.

These days if you ever meet me, I apparently have a trademark style that most people relate to me. I will most likely wearing a leather jacket, skinny jeans, a scarf and boots. We all know how much I love scarves. I also like layering articles of clothing, wearing leg warmers with boots, and long cardigans. I would LOVE to be able to get into that slouchy wool hat movement but for whatever reason my hair/head will not cooperate no matter how much I try with pins or anything else.

Fall is my favorite time of the year for clothing because I can freely wear these outfits without worrying about getting too hot or looking completely dressed for the wrong season.

Even though I’ve obviously found pictures of other people wearing styles like this, I actually haven’t run into anyone in my own social circle that does. It’s been rather cool that I’ve been able to make it uniquely me. Like I said, up until the past few years, you could not distinguish my fashion taste at all because I didn’t have one. Now old me wouldn’t even recognize new me.

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Dogs are man’s AND a girl’s best friend

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I’ve been dog sitting for my friends over the past week. Their dog is an Airedale terrier named Mario and he’s been great fun to take care of. mario

It’s also nice having the feeling of owning a dog again even if only on loan. It’s been a while since I’ve been a dog owner (miss you Finn!) but since I am a dog lover, it’s really easy to get back in the swing of things.

And yes that’s right, I’m Team Dog. Sorry to all my cat loving friends.

Our family wasn’t really a dog family. As we were Asian, having a dog didn’t really factor into the plan of becoming a successful doctor or engineer. Plus my parents didn’t really have pets growing up so the only thing they were comfortable with us having when we were younger were fish (who sadly all died because we never ran the filter in the tank).

Somehow though, the summer between sophomore and junior year, my sisters and I convinced my parents to let us have a dog. My sisters wanted a pug because Nick Carter of the Backstreet Boys had one. Chris Kirkpatrick of ‘Nsync also had one but Nick Cater definitely had more influence on our decision.

We had debated on whether to perhaps get a golden retriever but in the end the pug was the final choice. We finally decided on the name Pugsly Obi Wan Yoda. We got him in 1999 right when after we saw Star Wars for the first time. We also had that Beanie Baby of the pug who was appropriately named Pugsly.

The first day we got him, I remember him being super small and panting a lot. He was 4 months old when we got him. I wasn’t with the family when they went to go pick him up but according to everyone else he was very fast and made his mark by pooping in front of them. The original owners had called him Pistol Pete but we quickly got rid of that name.puppy

Since we were all pretty much dog newbies, Pugsly’s first few days (years) were a learning experience from everyone. We foolishly thought that we could keep him confined to the kitchen for most of his life and only have him go out just for the bathroom. Silly us. That dog ended up ruling the whole house.

I’m glad we got over thirteen years with Pugsly. He passed away last October. He had gotten sick and we could see him declining and knew he was in pain. It was a very hard decision to put him down but we knew it was the best thing for him. Our parents probably will not get another dog again so he will remain the only family dog we will ever have. I myself don’t think that I could ever get another pug, it’d be too much of a reminder though other dogs would be fine.

.pugslyobiwanyoda

I realize that pugs aren’t everyone’s cup of tea and that’s ok. I’ve met a few other pug owners and it’s been great being able to bond with them. I will say I don’t like the amount of teasing I get for being a pug lover mainly due to other people thinking pugs are ugly. I do not understand why people do this because I would NEVER tell any other dog owner their dog was ugly even if I did think that. It’s seriously like telling a parent you think their child is ugly. It’s one of those things where you just need to keep your mouth shut especially when you can tell that it bothers someone who you’re making fun of something that they love. Ok aside over.

I know that having a dog is a lot of work and you shouldn’t have one until you’re ready. But if/when you can, they are so worth it.

pugsly

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Ridiculously Photogenic People….of which I am not one.

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There are some people who always look good when taking a picture. I am not one of them.

Some people have the gift of looking good no matter what the situation is.

Example: 

This guy here? Ok, most people do NOT look like this while they are running. I ran in a 5k obstacle course yesterday. Trust me, the majority of people running didn’t look like this.

There are some people who it doesn’t matter what angle you take the picture from, they will always look good in the picture. I love looking at candid shots because when everyone is posed, it can sometimes look really fake. Wedding candid photos are the best because everyone is always happy and you know they are having a good time.

But I hate being IN a candid shot because I know I will look horrible no matter what the situation is or what I’m doing. I cannot take a good random shot. While being invisible, having super strength, or the ability to read minds are awfully tempting superpowers, the ability of looking good in every shot is a very enviable gift to have.

And this doesn’t just happen when you’re older. Certain babies have this gift as well. There are some babies that just don’t take good photos and even their own parents know this. Meanwhile there are other babies who get all the modeling jobs because they look so gosh darn cute even when they are screaming their heads off.

For some reason, I always come off looking extremely awkward when it comes to pictures. Even when I look at myself in the mirror and think I look actually pretty decent, for some reason put a camera on me and I feel like I don’t look anything like how I feel my reflection looks like.

I always dreaded when yearbooks came out because I never knew what kind of awful looking random shot of me was going to be included. When I get a notification that I’ve been tagged in a picture on Facebook, I always approach it with trepidation because I’m fearful that someone has tagged me and I look horrible. For the record, DON’T tag someone when you know it’s a bad picture of them. Believe me, they will not feel left out if you tagged everyone else in the pic but them. Also, if it’s just ONE person in the picture and you KNOW it’s a bad picture of them, don’t post it. COMMON SENSE.

I have some friends who know their photogenic side and will do their best to make sure every pic of them is taken from that certain angle. Of course once they pointed this out, you can’t help but notice their “bad side”.

Of course in this age of photo shopping selfies and finding the perfect filter on Instagram, most folks take dozens of shots before posting the perfect pic online. Because let’s face it. The real reason why we post pictures, any picture, is to get approval from others. Sure, there are some unicorns out there who truly don’t care if no one sees their pictures or they don’t get any likes at all. They get joy in just taking the photo. But they are also the ones that don’t strive for the perfect picture.

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I tip my glass to you

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beer2

So this time last year, I talked about how I had started drinking more craft beers.

When I wrote that last post, I had only begun keeping track of what I was drinking on Untappd. Even though I had drank several beers before that, I only had started tracking and therefore only had 5 beers listed.

A year later? I’ve tried 260 unique beers.

Before I go into more detail let me add a few disclaimers/clarifications.

  1. I am a Christian and am strong in my faith. But I do not believe drinking to be a sin unless you are constantly abusing it. You can completely disagree with me but that is my personal stance.
  2. While I may have tried a large number of beers that does not necessarily mean I am drinking full pints every single time. A large amount of these are samples, tasters, or flights…which ties into….
  3. Even though it is a large number, many of these have come from sampling with friends or at tastings where the price is FREE to try many varieties of beers from different breweries.
  4. One does not want a beer belly so I work out and run to stay healthy.

That being said…

One year later, I’ve learned A LOT more about beer. This time last year I had 5 beers on my Untappd profile including TWO Blue Moons. Last year, I would have told you I liked Blue Moon and beers that taste like that. Now I can’t even drink a Blue Moon anymore just for the taste of it. I don’t mind trying out their seasonals but why drink the regular stuff when there’s so many other delicious beers to try out?

It’s funny that growing up I thought that if you drank any amount of beer, you’d instantly get drunk. But I’ve learned that it’s completely possible to drink and try out several different types of beers and not get wasted. While there are people who will abuse alcohol (just like you can abuse anything), it’s not something I’m looking to do. I don’t get drunk and I know my limits.

My favorite thing to do now is going to Total Wine or Wegmans and create my own 6 pack. That way I can try out different beers and never have to get the same one twice. It can also be a lot cheaper to do this than going out and getting a flight of beers. Of course, some beers may only be available on tap and taste better that way. So it’s really your call. Also, creating a 6 pack for someone is a great present idea. I have given these as Christmas presents and received one as a birthday present. It’s fun for the person picking out the beers and exciting for the one receiving the.

I’ve also been to four beer tasting classes at Total Wine and they were a ton of fun.

beerclass

I went on my own because I couldn’t find anyone else to do it with me and even though I was out of my comfort zone, I had a blast. There’s food and the atmosphere is really fun. I got to try all these different types of beer AND learn more about them. Two were brewery based where we got to try beers specific to that brewery and learn from the brewmaster about the history of the brewery and the process of making the beers. The other two were themed: fall beers (ie pumpkins, Oktoberfests, etc) and then stronger beers (beers over 8% ABV). This is perfect for someone like me who wants to know more about beer without having to commit to buying a whole bottle or pint. I assume this is like a wine tasting but since we all know I don’t drink wine, I’m so glad that this exists as well.

I’ve been doing things like researching breweries around the area (and there A LOT) and taking tours when I can. There’s a lot of local beers I liked to try as well as many just in our state alone. I like going out with my friends and just sampling beers with everyone. It’s a ton of fun for everyone to get their own flight and everyone have a taste of them. flights

And like I said previously, I’m using Untappd A LOT. I will admit that I’ve started to become a badge fanatic. I like using the app because it helps me keep track of what beers I’ve drank and what kinds of beers I like. Also if I’m going to drink, I might as well get something for it, right? So yeah badges are slightly addictive. I like tasting different beers and don’t really like trying the same thing more than once. Even though there are badges for doing that, I still cannot bring myself to get a six pack or continuously order the same beer. (Again feel free to friend me on there!)

I really like drinking different types of beer and I’m totally enjoying learning more about what I like and don’t like. Types of beers I really enjoy now are witbiers, Belgian Blonde/Goldens, saisons, hefeweizens, fruit beers, meads, radlers, hard ciders, and pumpkin beers. This doesn’t mean I like EVERY single beer in these categories but at least now I know what to look for when I go out.

That being said, for whatever reason, I get a lot of flack and teasing whenever I order beers. I mentioned this last week but again maybe it’s just the group of friends I have or maybe I’m just weird in general but every time I get a flight of beers, it happens. My beers tend to be lighter in color, usually on the lower ABV level, and generally more fruity or less bitter. I’m not a heavy hops fan so I tend to stay away from the bitter IPAs and I don’t really like the flavor of most stouts or porters. However, I don’t mind trying them because sometimes I do find surprises and end up discovering beers that I thought I’d hate but ended up enjoying very much.

I never judge anyone else on what they order (though if you refuse to try new things and have only drank the same old domestic beers, I might give you a look) and I never would make fun of someone for what they like or don’t like. And yet…I cannot figure out why people keep doing this to me. I could spend a long time trying to figure this out. Is there something wrong with me because I don’t like specific kinds of beer and like others? Am I doing something wrong?

It’s hilarious because I got called a beer snob because I like (and know) all different types of beer now. Please. I am the furthest thing from a beer snob. I have actively and frequently seen people who judge people’s tastes in beer. I’m not one of those people at all. Again, if you want to drink only Miller Lite, it’s your choice. I’m just sad because you won’t try something new but I am like that about all things in life when you get stuck in your comfort zone.

There are many things I still don’t know yet about beer. I am FAR from being knowledgeable about this topic. There’s so much to learn and to be honest, I don’t have enough time to spend really teaching myself about this subject. But I’m learning as I go and picking up what I can. There’s still SO MANY beers for me to try out that basically it’s never going to end. I know for me, I’m proud of myself for learning something new and seeing my growth in a year.

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Good Chinese Food is Hard to Find

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One of the things about moving to a new area, whether it’s a cross-country move or a cross town move, is you have to go find new regular spots again. New doctor, new gym, new church, new library, etc.  After all the important things, then you start looking around at what food places are near you to eat. And if you’re anything like me, you will want to find the nearest Chinese take out place for when those cravings hit.

Do you know though how hard it is to find a favorite Chinese food place? It honestly is like trying to find a new doctor. Everyone has their own personal favorites and even if you recommend yours to someone else, it doesn’t mean they are necessarily going to like it as well.

I judge Chinese food places by how they do their lo mein. It’s a simple enough dish: noodles, minimal vegetables, and meat. I prefer roast pork though I will accept shrimp. First off, if the place does not offer pork as an option, well I’m not even going to consider you. The dish should not be overtly greasy yet there should be flavor. Minimal liquid is allowed but not so much that it becomes noodle soup. Noodles should be chewy. If you can pass that test, I’ll look into your other dishes.

Taste and customer service is key to finding a good place. Your food has to taste good but you also have to be somewhat nice when I call to order and when I go to pick up. If you treat me rudely then I’m definitely not coming back either. Even if your pork lo mein tastes like heaven.

I’ve lived in my current location for a little over 4 years and I STILL have not found a go to Chinese food place. There is about a mile down the road that can do in a pinch but they aren’t spectacular. The Chinese food at the Wegmans buffet is actually quite good but for 8.99 for a pound it’s freakishly expensive. I’ve tried different locations but I still have not been able to settle down on one to call all the time. It’s actually quite frustrating. It’s like trying to find the Golden Ticket of Chinese food.

Yes, I also know that American Chinese food isn’t technically real Chinese food. But I have no idea how to cook this stuff so hence why I need the take out. Also Pei Wei and Panda Express just don’t cut it.

This isn’t an easy task and there can be a lot of hit and misses. Plus you could always find the one you really like and they suddenly disappear. Also let’s not get me started on Chinese buffets. Down where my parents live there are a TON of good cheap ones. Up here in the DC metro area? Hah. Expect to pay top dollar for semi decent ones. The good ones are really pricey and the cheaper ones aren’t that good.

I had some rather decent lo mein the other night at my friends’ house the other night. Unfortunately they live 25 minutes away so that’s out of the question for repeat visits for me.

My quest continues.

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What’s Your Attention Span Like?

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I know that I can get distracted pretty easily if I don’t have my mind set to finish something.

I can’t read a book if the TV is on in the background or even if I’m hearing music. It’s weird because I’m usually able to drown out actual conversation from real life people in the same room with me if I’m trying to focus on something. But when it comes to reading, I need complete silence. Otherwise my mind will just be drawn to the background noise like a moth to a flame even if I have absolutely no interest in it whatsoever.

That being said, when I DO put my mind to something, when I start getting an interest in something, I focus all my attention on it.

  • While running is probably never going to be my favorite thing in the world, I’m really proud at the dedication I’ve made with sticking with the Couch to 5k program. I’ve got 3 more workouts in it before I technically finish but I’ll continue to work out it to better my progress. I finished my first 5k race last week and though my time was rather horrible, I’m proud of myself for actually entering and then finishing. And now I know what I need to do to make it better. Plus I agreed to run a zombie 5k obstacle course at the end of the month because I’m crazy.
  • I’m not sure why I upped my reading goal to 225 books from 200 last year. But with 2 months left in the year and 69 books left to still be read, I’m putting all effort into finishing this goal.
  • This blog. Blogs are a dime a dozen. There’s ton of them out there. Why should people care about what I have to say? I’m not anyone important. And yet, I still write. Even if nothing ever comes out of this, I am still wanting to keep up with this blog. It’s been over a year since I started this and I hope I don’t stop anytime soon. I know of so many dead blogs out there even from people I know in person who get super excited in the beginning and then just stop completely for whatever reason. I’m not planning on this one to become one of them.

While I’m sure that there are still many things that I have wanted to try that I haven’t done or even lost interest in, I think that there’s a bigger part of me that wants to keep my word even to myself.

I know several people who put 110% in the first 10% of something and then the interest slowly wanes and then dies away completely. I also know that life happens and sometimes you have to choose between what you want to do and what you have to do. That being said, if you really want to make something happen….stick with it.

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Far, far away

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I was talking to some friends the other day and we were discussing locations of places we wanted to go eat. I suggested a place and was immediately shot down because it was too far away from though, even though it was near me. Apparently 20 minutes away is too far. They then suggested someplace that was a lot closer to them because it was more convenient for them. Never mind that it was going to take me 30 minutes to get there.

I’ve discovered this a lot in the DC metro area. Due to traffic, everyone wants to find a job that is either 1) extremely close to them or 2) telecommute. You basically don’t want to leave your bubble because then you end up having an hour plus commute thanks to traffic. If you are one of the lucky few that can find a place near you, you basically never want to go anywhere because you don’t have to and you’re not used to driving places. It’s really interesting how some people have lived in this area for DECADES and have never really traveled into DC or even explored the area around them. Heck I know people who’ve never crossed state lines ever and we’re RIGHT next to Maryland AND West Virginia (and vice versa)!

On the other hand, if you DO have a slightly long commute, while it can get really frustrating being STUCK in traffic, you find that distance isn’t really a big deal. You don’t mind driving places because as long as you’re moving, hey it’s shorter than your commute! It also helps if you like exploring. A lot of neighborhoods and cities in this area have it so that technically you could find everything you want within 5 miles around you.

Not for me. I like to explore. I think it’s because growing up, our family didn’t go to many places for vacation. If we ever traveled it was to visit family for reunions or because someone got married. Even then, not counting two trips to Malaysia, the furthest we ever went was to Michigan and it was strictly for the family get together and not for any sightseeing. Heck, my parents live about 25 miles from the beach and in the 27 years they’ve lived there, they’ve never once been.

I realize that some people don’t like getting out of their comfort zone. Also once you have a family, I know it’s harder to travel even if it’s somewhere just half an hour away. Since I’m just by myself, it’s usually easier for me to come to someone vs forcing them to come out to me. I don’t mind so much though it can get a bit frustrating when I do suggest something and all I hear are complaints.

I chalk this all up to comfort zone and priorities. Right now, I’m in explore mode. And I’ll enjoy making distance seem not so far away as long as I can.

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Bring on the Sweater Weather

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Today is the last official day of summer. All you people who want to argue that summer ended the day after Labor Day, fine you can have shorter vacation time. You’re probably all the people who want Christmas in July too!

*ASIDE* For the record I just want to point out that I have a summer birthday. Yes it falls in the month of September but it’s so close to the beginning of the month that it’s WELL before autumn equinox and so early that sometimes it falls BEFORE Labor Day and school starting (for those who start school AFTER Labor Day). But September birthdays always get shafted in schools. Teachers will sometimes honor those who have birthdays that fall in June, July, and August. But September birthdays NEVER get mentioned. We’re not included in the summer birthdays because it happens during the school year but come the beginning of school, the teachers are so busy with back to school stuff they forget. Therefore it pays to have October-May birthdays for maximum recognition potential. *END ASIDE*

I do enjoy fall coming. This means cooler weather! Sweaters! Boots! Leather jackets! Scarf appropriate weather! Apple picking! Football! Bonfires! School starting! Leaves falling! No more allergies!

Confession: I’m not a big pumpkin flavor person. It’s ok in small doses. I just never really grew up eating pumpkin so forgive me that I’m not very excited for the pumpkin spice latte (plus when it comes out in August it really does not excite me).

Fall also means that the holiday season will be coming soon. I don’t want to rush things but I think that September through December are the best months of the year because there’s so many things to look forward to. Also fall and winter scents > spring and summer scents. I mean spices and apples vs… grass?

However as much as I love the change in season, historically for me fall has always been a rough time. The past couple of years the change in weather brings along changes in my life, usually ones that I’m not too fond of and it makes me have to go reevaluate how I’m going handle everything. I usually spend much of September and October kind of in a funk and they are usually very hard months emotionally for me. The summers had always been so awesome and then fall comes and everything changes and it leaves me feeling anxious and worried about what’s going to happen next.

This year I’m hoping however to avoid that. It has been a good summer, different from previous years, but still it’s been an awesome summer where I was very blessed. The upcoming changes ahead seem to be good ones too. I’m going to try my best to enjoy this time of year and everything that comes along with it. And that includes pumpkin flavored beers and zombie 5k runs. Because just because things have to change doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy all the good stuff that will come along with the new season in life.

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To pierce or not to pierce? Or what to pierce?

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If you ever meet me and decide to look to see what jewelry I’m wearing, you’ll notice something about me that’s different from other women.

I don’t have pierced ears.

I know. The majority of females do. All my friends do. Actually now that I think about it, I don’t know anyone that doesn’t. EDIT: I LIED. I DO KNOW SOMEONE!!!!

Much like my choice of not eating beef, this is just something I’ve chosen not to do. And it doesn’t make me any less of a girl or weird.

I’ve never actually had a desire in my life to get my ear lobes pierced. There may have been some brief moment in time when I did think about getting the upper cartilage pierced but it was so brief I barely will admit to it. I have no moral or religious issues regarding this decision. I’m not all “why put more holes in your body than what God gave you” or anything like that. I just never really wanted to do it even though every other girl I know has. My parents would have allowed me after a certain age but that time came and went and I never did it.

I see on my Facebook feed, moms getting their daughter’s ears pierced when they are super young, like before one years old. It’s their decision though I don’t necessarily agree with it. Since you’re doing something to her body, shouldn’t she be old enough to have a say in it? Why are you honestly doing it – for her or for you? Granted, I suppose the same thing could be said about boys and circumcision but that’s a whole other story.

Sure, I will admit that sometimes it probably would help with accessories and to accentuate certain styles. Also I was the only bridesmaid who didn’t have pierced ears so I missed out on the earrings as a gift. EDIT: I WASN’T THE ONLY ONE! WHEW. But those are just minor things.

This can be to some folks’ advantage. When I shop at Charming Charlie’s for necklaces, I used to be disappointed that there would be some awesome looking necklaces. However they came paired with earrings. I would avoid them in the past because what was I going to do with them? Now I just give them to one of my best friends and she gets a free pair of earrings!

Fun story though. Even though I will never get my ears pierced, when I was in college I got my eyebrow pierced. Whaaaaaa? I know right? Seems like I had no problem doing that. To this day, I’m not really sure why I did it. Other than the typical “I’m away at college and I can do whatever I want” reason. Actually I think it was because it was so unlike me and something the Deborah in high school would never have done and no one would have expected it.

I had a friend recommend me a tattoo/piercing salon in downtown Blacksburg and one day after class, I went down with another friend and got it done. Handed over my $80 and sat in the chair and waited. I got a barbel vs the hoop because I didn’t want it to catch on things. It didn’t hurt as much as I thought it was going to.

I don’t really have any pictures of myself with the piercing. My parents made me comb my hair over my left eye anytime I was out in public with them. They weren’t fans of it.

But it looked a little something like this:

I enjoyed having it. Though it was a slight pain to keep clean, it was part of my image and personality at the time. The only negative thing for me was when I got my hair cut once and I told the stylist to please not comb my hair so that it was right in front of my face. She didn’t listen and constantly kept bringing the comb down ON the eyebrow ring. I did my best not to curse.

But it was all short-lived anyways. I broke my ankle 10 months later and had to go into surgery. During prep they removed everything off of me, including my eyebrow ring. Due to me being out of it for the next several days, by the time I got around to putting it back in, the holes had pretty much closed up. And thus ended my time as a pierced person.

I haven’t had any desire since then to pierce or repierce any parts of my body. I’m perfectly fine with my non-pierced ears and though I may miss out on getting awesome gifts of earrings in the future, it is ok. I wouldn’t be me any other way.

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Why is picking a place to eat after church so hard?

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“Where should we go out for lunch?” “Uh…….”

This is the dreaded question asked almost every Sunday after church.

It shouldn’t be that hard of a question. I mean it’s just a simple question about food, right? And yet somehow it is.

Almost 98% of the time, no one knows where they want to go out to eat. Despite the fact that we’re located in an area that is filled with many different types of restaurants, we always have trouble deciding where to go.

No matter what someone suggests, there is at least one person who has an allergy, doesn’t like any of the food, or fears trying something new. Sometime the lack of a cohesive answer has made many a person just be like “I give up, I’m out of here.”

I never bother to offer up suggestions of where I’d like to eat. Why? Because you can’t please everyone.

Personally I believe that secretly everyone has their own opinion of where they would like to really go. I think that anytime someone says “I don’t know” or “I’m good with anything”, inside they really know where they want to go but don’t want to say because they think they will get shot down.

I like to think that it’s because of the group mentality that makes us act like this. Are we trying to think about whether other people will like what we like and worry that if they don’t, it’s a reflection of us?

Do you worry that someone will do this with the place you picked?

Or when faced with a spur of the moment decision, our mind goes blank and we can’t think of anything?

It’s also hard to branch out into something new. Which is why you get stuck going to the same generic chain food places over and over again.

I don’t really know if there is a solution to this other than just being bold and suggesting something. You have to be insistent and louder if you really want something to happen. And if people don’t like it? That’s on them not you.

Smaller groups help vs larger groups. Also you can also just predetermine this in advance to avoid all the standing around trying to make a decision. Worst case scenario? Go on your own. Sometimes food > company.

But still sometimes you just suck it up because you want to be around people. You can get better food on another day. You can’t always find good company to hang around. Because at this point, you’re just so hungry you’ll eat anything.