I had dinner with Sophia, her roommates Anna & Cindy, and several of their friends yesterday evening. Afterwards, we just sat around in their apartment and chatted the night away. Something about just chillin' with nice interesting people always makes my day. This was a particularly good one.

With Ben's visit, I've lost count as to how many TAF visitors have come through the Bay area... Christine is apparently coming through in a couple of weeks too...


The Haight Ashbury neighborhood.

Now, that's a first... A little kitty cat just followed a deer through my backyard. One of them must be a little confused.

I'm starting overnight shifts tonight. My sleep schedule is about to get messed up in a major way.

"In North America, the eclipse begins at 9:14 p.m. ET and ends at 11:45 p.m. ET."
I'm no sports fan and I usually don't know anything about baseball for that matter, but this year's World Series was just unbelievable. History made... on a night of a total lunar eclipse. This must have been written in the stars.

Game Over. Boston, champions again after 86 years. Eclipse Over.

Hanging out with Vivian again! Yay! The highlight of my day!

"Because we received your voter registration card after the period for mailing sample ballots, you will not receive a sample ballot of candidates' statements in the mail for this election... Your polling place for this election is printed on the the reverse side of this card."

Ummm. Yeah, check again. I've got my Absentee Ballot and my Voter Info Guides right here... Does this mean I can vote twice? Democracy at its finest.

Of course I won't vote twice.

Oven-baked crab and beer at Jesse's. Oh man. I've been eating too much lately...

Cheap and yummy dim sum. Can't beat that.

The world is falling apart around me.

Yet, in times of uncertainty, I find comfort in remembering the things I am certain about... It just happens that all 20 of those things are rooted in Love & Hope for something, someone, or some beautifully grand idea.

The darling Ms. Shieh of the Mission District cordially invited me to join her and honoured visitors to a noon hour high tea at Lovejoy's. This, of course, being my first opportunity to enjoy a high tea event was simply delightful! A fine tea was served with elegantly prepared hor d'oeuvres, shortbread, and scrumptious biscuits with jam. So heavenly indeed...

ChEsSprincess77: wutcha gonna be for halloween?
HoChie71: a sleep.
ChEsSprincess77: lol

TGIFF.
Yeah, two F's. Not a mistake. I'm so ready to just enjoy the weekend.

I'm not sure if my day at work could have been any more hectic and stressful... Ouch. My brain and body hurt.

I've been looking forward to seeing Vivian again after all these years. Probably 14 to be exact. It's a strange feeling knowing someone as a child, and then suddenly having them reappear in your life as an adult. Well, she turned out just fine, I must say, with such an interesting personality and unique set of life experiences. And such a cutie, too...

Catching up in a cozy French cafe.

My hallway closet is being torn apart to seek out an apparent leak from above. The ceiling has been removed from my end, and the tenants who live above me are now missing a part of their floor. As a result, I can discretely peer into the bathroom of the apartment above me like a peeping-tom. Perhaps, I can charge 50 cents per peep and hope that no one pees through the hole in response. On second thought, I don't even know if males or females live up there...

Sometimes happiness can be elicited by something as tasty as BBQ sauce.

I hung out with Grant, Edwin, Andy, Linda, & Young for lunch and bubble tea today. Then, I met up with Fatima, Hung, & Kara for dinner. Afterwards, Fatima and I just sat and chatted over coffee for a couple of hours. Today, I also received my self-designed coffee-table book featuring photos of all my visitors over the past couple of years. The number of friends and visitors I have is somewhat overwhelming. Good times, definitely, but I think I need to slow down a bit. Perhaps sit around, meditate, and do yoga or something.

OK, maybe not.

I made a good investment in the future; I bought a t-shirt at yesterday night's spoken word performance in support of Jane Kim, a progressive candidate for San Francisco School Board, who is running a strong grassroots campaign.

Timmy & Uncle Lester share a drink before having mom's cake.

A surprise birthday party for Karisa.

Grant is in town for the weekend. Although Lester couldn't make it out to dinner tonight, there's still enough TAF "big wig" power here at the moment for us to actually run a camp...

Andy, Grant, Linda, Lindsey, Young, Ho Chie, & Edwin.

Taiwanese shaved ice. Coolness...

Tonight, I will eat cheese & crackers, watch movies, and just be.

I feel like complaining about something.
But, I don't know what to complain about.
Bummer.

I've come to the realization that some of the cutest girls I know are October babies, too. As for the guys, well, hmmm... we need some work.

I've always wanted to see Angel Island, the immigration entry point for many Asian Americans back in the late 1800's to early 1900's. Since Mengting had the day off too, we ferried across the Bay and spent the day hiking around the island. The views were spectacular, and she was just a great person to chill with. However, I'm sure we will both pay the price when our legs start aching tomorrow morning.

With Mengting.

On our photography mission.

After Lester's birthday dinner at Taiwan Point restaurant...

Lester, Ho Chie, Linda, Andy, & Brendan. Missing Sophia who left early.

The TAF Love Crew, high above San Francisco.

The view of Downtown, Market St, and Berkeley beyond the Bay Bridge.

Mmmm... I need another kiss! Or four.

Damn, those Hershey's Dark Chocolate Kisses are yummy!

I feel like I just got home from work, and now I'm headed back again. Bummer.

I registered a couple of new voters today (while at work, nonetheless), and I received my absentee ballot in the mail. So, yeah, it's definitely time for a regime change here in America.

My work schedule just sucks right now. Blah.

The mission of the TAF College Program is to guide young adult Taiwanese Americans in leading purposeful lives by challenging them to think critically about their life paths and enabling them to make unique and meaningful contributions to society.

I like it.

All this time, she thought I was mad at her... I had no idea, I didn't know why, and of course I wasn't. In fact, I've always thought highly of her, and I never realized I was that important to her... Now I feel a little crummy. Boo me.

This Thai restaurant, Osha, was just about the hippest one I've been to in awhile. In addition to the cozy ambience created by the sleek, well-designed interior, the food was quite good without being overpriced. What a great place to celebrate Mengting's birthday!

Leonard, me, Mengkai, Elaine, Mengting, & Sandra at Osha.

The birthday girl and her roommates!

Thanks to Linda, Andy, & Lester for treating me to a nice Korean BBQ dinner tonight. I know they forked out big bucks, and I totally appreciate it. Their presence feels a bit like having family here...

The old college roommates and long-time friends...

Brunch at a French cafe. Jesse & Rochelle's treat! Thanks!

With Jesse, Rochelle, Judy, & Andelle. Some friendships last a lifetime.