Day 2: Hollywood Swangin'

I love the smell of hot coffee in the morning. Waking up is always surprisingly pleasant at Skyview Terrace. There's always something to do, something to eat or laugh about or enjoy. My sister-in-law was fixing up English muffins and mom was brewing some coffee. Too bad they ran out of the Jamaican coffee that brother brought back from his honeymoon, that was really good. Have you ever tried Jamaican coffee? I'll make some for you, just for you. Someday.

After I showered and washed up, I sat down at the table. Dad was on the laptop and brother was watching TV; I don't remember what the show was about. We ate up and went to my favorite sandwich joint in the world: PORTO'S! I love Cubanos. I could eat Porto's every day for the rest of my life for breakfast, brunch, lunch, linner, dinner, dessert, supper, and midnight-snack and never get sick of it. I ordered a pan con lechon, or a slow-roasted pork sandwich as Americans would say. Pork: Yay or nay? There are so many things about you that I would just love to find out. We also ordered a potato ball, a fried banana, an apple turnover, a fruit-cracker-cocktail sort of thing, and a big slice of chocolate cake. I never even got to eat that cake! Dudeee, what a drag.

Once we were done, we split up. Mom and dad headed to Long Beach to visit Aunt Bea while my siblings and I hit the malls. I REMEMBERED TO BRING THE CAMERA THIS TIME. Drove up to Glendale like we usually do and stopped by the Galleria and Americana at Brand. It was daytime, so the crepe booths weren't open. BUMMER. I spent about an hour in XXI trying on jeans and a jacket, and I swear to God that was one of the nicest stores I've ever been in. I'm taking you there whenever we have a chance to get out of town. I felt so encumbered having the D200 around my neck all the time, but I dealt with it. Picked up a pair of jeans and a jacket for $60. The poor gentleman next to me was buying clothes for his daughter and they had just finished scanning everything when he pulled out a couple of $20 bills; they told him that the line he was in was for debit or credit only.

H&M afterwards. Nothing of interest, really, and it didn't have as nice of a selection as the one on Hollywood and Vineland. I headed out and met my brother at the fountain. Directly in front of us was a Cheesecake Factory, and he informed me that I had JUST missed Nicole Richie walking into it. Said I probably scared her off with my camera. Pfft. As if I would want to take pictures of her. But I actually do wish I had seen her! Do you like Nicole Richie? I never really found a reason to ask you that until now. Remind me to ask, the next time we speak. We left Americana finally and headed to Westminster Mall ("Are you kidding me?!") to meet up with my sister and her boyfriend.

I walked around the mall as everyone crowded around the pet store. The mall seemed to have gotten a lot smaller since I had last been there, and a lot emptier. There was a children's fashion show in the middle of the mall and a decent-sized gathering of people around it. I bet you could win a fashion show or two, anyday. It was pretty cool actually, that never happens in San Jose. Nobody here cares about other people, they just want to shop and buy stuff. The kids were really adorable! I really can't wait until I become a parent, but that's still a long ways away. My feet were growing weary because I must have walked around the entire mall four times before everyone else finished, but I did manage to snag a pair of Levi 520s from Pac-Sun for $15. On clearance and the last pair in my size, not to mention that you can't find 520s anywhere else. "That's a whattabargain!"

We met up with my parents around 7 that night at a Vietnamese restaurant, Nhu Y. Ask me if you really want to know how to pronounce that, haha! I'll teach you it though, I'm sure you can get it, no problem. It literally means "Just how you like it", although I guess you can call it "Have it your way!". No, it's not a Vietnamese Burger King. Our plate of grilled fish came out and my brother and sister were appalled. The fish was MUCH bigger the last time we ate at this restaurant. I didn't mind, I don't like fish that much anyways. My dad ordered venison (that's deer) and goat curry. Gross? Not even! Wish I had a plate of that right now.

After about an hour, we finished eating dinner. You know what that means! Everyone took out their fancy touch-screen phones and starting looking up dessert places...AGAIN. We found a Yogurtland across the street from CSULB and decided to head there. I'm definitely taking you there. And to CSULB, the campus is gorgeous. The place was HOPPIN', but I'll be damned if it wasn't the best yogurt I've ever had. I loaded up my cup with five different flavors; I think it was strawberry, pistachio, taro, green tea, and mocha. Something like that. Can't forget the toppings though, so I headed over to the little trays and got a claw-full of coconut, peanuts, brownies, and of course, chocolate syrup. $3.18 for all of that, and it was a BIG cup. Whattabargain!

We all went our separate ways home after that. The rest of the night was relatively uneventful as it was getting late and my sister-in-law had work the next morning, so we just spent some family time together watching TV. It's funny how the simplest things can bring a family that much closer, even if it nobody seems to notice.

Day 2 was done with. The only downside? I missed you even more. Day 3 to come soon.





P.S. I wrecked a rogue today. Three times. The poor little gnome was helpless against Fairie Fire and my Pounce Bleed + Shred combos. Have a nice day, buddy!