goodbye

view from my kitchen window. yep, pretty awesome

Last night we went to North Beach Pizza, which is a block from our houses, and on the walk home I started to realize how much I love North Beach and how much I'm going to miss it. Sure, it's really touristy, but the reason it is is because it's such an awesome neighborhood. There are so many fun things to do in this area, so many fun memories associated with the streets and shops, and I know this neighborhood will forever remind me of my first years of being a big girl and living in a big city. So, on the eve of the big move, here's a toast to my favorite memories of the past two years and this wonderful neighborhood that has become my first real home.

My favorite things about my time living in North Beach:

+ the feeling of accomplishment every time I climb up three flights of stairs just to get into our apartment

+ the sound of the barking seals down at Fisherman Wharf and the blaring fog horns from big boats on the bay every morning

+ the tuesday morning Tsunami test warning bell that freaks me out every time I work from home

+ comfy cozy snuggling on the sofa catching up on hours of TV on Sunday with the roomie

+ cooking dinner during the golden hour when the sun glistens through our windows and fills our humongous kitchen with soft light

+ new years day and birthday brunches crowded around our kitchen table chatting about the night before and feasting on delicious treats

+ the easy 2 block walk to our favorite sushi hold-in-the-wall for all-you-can-eat sushi date nights

+ sunday afternoons at Washington Square playing ladder golf, laying in the sun, and munching on Tony's Pizza

+ running up the street to Coit Tower for sunset watching

+ our favorite gelateria down the street where they wear the cool neon bike hats that Jack always wanted to steal

+margarita pitchers, endless chips and guacamole, and lobster date night dinners for two at Don Pistos

+ the way too old asian folks doing exercises every morning in Washington Square. My favorite: the digging dog. ( just try to visualize it, it is exactly as it sounds)

+ the Bay to Breaker pre-party in Washington Square when "Call Me Maybe" came on over loud speakers and 100+ people dressed as rainbows started dancing and singing like crazy

+seriously struggling to push a huge Christmas tree up our stairs and then spending the afternoon wrapping empty boxes for presents and overdecorating our apartment with Christmas decorations. It looked like Santa puked all over our apartment, but we loved it.

+Stealing roommates clothes and dancing to party jams while getting ready to go out. For some reason I don't think I'll be borrowing too many of Jack's clothes for going out..

Farewell North Beach. See you soon

it doesn't get much better

It doesn't get much better than:

+ having a girls reunion trip in Palm Springs with best friends from college
+ seeing each other after two years and having it feel like we saw each other just yesterday
+ still knowing exactly what each person is going to say, what facial expressions they are going to make, and exactly what they are going to wear even after so much time apart
+ reminiscing on our ridiculous college days
+ feeling like we have transported back in time to our collage days by successfully avoiding the real world and all thoughts associated with work
+109-plus weather every day
+spending hours in the pool crowded around one pool floaty and catching up on gossip, being nostalgic about old stories, and confessing new secrets to each other
+ cuddling. lots of cuddling.
+ finding the most ghetto club to go dancing in and shutting the place down
+ awkwardly awesome 50 Shades of Grey out loud readings
+ "who's spider is that?"
+ stuffing 11 girls in one hotel room until 3am to dance, cuddle, and laugh until we cry
+ looking around a table full of margaritas and smiles and realizing how much I miss and love these girls
+ getting excited to do this for the next 50+ years

friends all over the world

When I was in high school I decided I wanted to get out of my small bubble of a town for a summer and signed up for a community volunteer program called Amigos de las Americas. I had always wanted to travel the world but  had barely traveled outside of California. This would be my first real adventure and I was more than ecstatic to have this opportunity.

I was sent to Michoacan, Mexico, where I lived for 6 weeks and worked on community projects. Mind you, I barely spoke Spanish and had never traveled on my own, let alone to another country, so it was quite an adventure. I was thrown into a new environment with no support system and quickly realized I was far outside of my comfort zone. I was ill prepared for the loneliness of not being able to communicate with others and very unaccustomed to the town's slow placed, simpler way of life.

Throughout the summer my two partners and I set up a camp for the kids and an exercise class for the women.While I think all these projects were successful and I'm so happy we were able to help (even in the littlest ways), I think the people I met and friendships I made a larger impact on me and the type of person I would grow to be. I was welcomed into a close knit community as one of their own and taken under the wings of quite a few old ladies who decided it was their life's purpose to teach me everything they knew. I grew to understand the meaning of hard work, the joys of sitting and talking for hours at a time, and the pleasure of enjoying the small things in life. The people I met and the experiences I had helped me developed a sense of self worth and purpose at a very influential time in my life, and I am eternally grateful for their love and belief in me.

A prime example of this stems from a very unique friendship with one of the oldest men in the town. During my first couple of days in town I didn't say much- in fact, I don't think I said anything for the first three days besides Hello and Nice to meet you. However, there was this one old man would always stop me in front of this abandoned old house in the middle of town and would just start talking to me. I was very self conscious about my lack of communication skills and frustrated by not being able to talk to anyone, so in the beginning I thought he was teasing me by asking me questions I couldn't answer. Each day he would stop me at the same place talk at me, despite my consistent silence and obvious embarrassment from my inability to answer back. At first I didn't know how to handle these incessant one sided conversations and kept wondering who he was waiting for every day and why he was always there. Then, I realized our run ins weren't so random and that he was waiting for me. 

Everyday, week after week, he would stop me and start babbling on and on while I would nod my head and smile. Eventually I grew familiar with certain words and phrases and finally grew comfortable enough to respond back. Words can't express how big the smile on his face was when I mustered up the courage to respond for the first time. Towards the end of my trip we were having full on conversations, and on my last day he waddled up to me and instead of having our usual conversation he just smiled, patted my shoulder, and waddled away. His persistence and belief in my ability to conquer a new skill gave me a sense of confidence that I still carry with me today.

But of course, my favorite friendships were with the kids. I would spend endless hours playing soccer, drawing pictures, and goofing around with kids of all ages. We set up a day camp where we organized soccer games, taught them new arts and crafts, and tried to relay the importance of good hygiene (which were definitely not their favorite days of camp). They were so full of energy and excitement, and just like my old man friend, they didn't seem to mind my lack of communication skills. Plus, they were really freaking adorable and LOVED my camera, and I was able to capture some pretty amazing moments.

I recommend everyone take a trip or do something outside of their comfort zone at least once in their lives. I hope to have many more adventures like this in the near future!

Five Mysterious Rolls of Film Later

I just developed five mysterious rolls of film I've had lying around the house and was amazed at the wonderful flashbacks I had of the memories associated with these gems of photographs. It's sad to think that these memories have been sitting on my bookshelves for the last five years, but it was such a pleasant, surprising trip down memory lane when I pick up the photos with no expectations or even the faintest idea of what they could be of.  I found a roll from a West Marin adventure with two of my best friends in high school, random pictures from my freshman year of college around my dorm room, and photos from a drive Jack and I took on my 22nd birthday out in Pt. Reyes. While I'm sad I didn't develop these pictures sooner, the feeling of uncovering these memories was like uncovering a time capsule and remembering the great times I've had.

The rest of the photos can be found on my photography page here.

High School Daze

Isn't it crazy how fast time flies? When I moved back to the Bay Area after college I could have sworn I never left and was still in high school. It's funny how when you're in the moment time can feel like its dragging on forever - you can't wait until friday night or until school gets out or until you go to college- and then before you know you are an adult and reminiscing about the old high school days.

the original Julia photoshoot