All posts in: Life

Life

15 Feb 2019

Yow Yow! Down

Last week, Yow Yow! was down for a total of four days. I should have known something was wrong when I tried to write back-to-back posts and the second time resulted in an error shortly after. Trying not to think anything of it, I slept it off. When I tried to visit the URL the next day, I received an error message. I later learned from GoDaddy that this is called the “White Screen of Death.” If you’re ever faced with a customer issue from them, you’ll find this on their list of options.

Long story short, I wasn’t able to fix this on my own. After speaking with a customer service rep, I paid the extra fee for “Premium Customer Service.” This service just means that they’ll take care of your issue, but they reach out to you within 72 hours. And boy, did they make me wait because I had to re-contact them again after 72 hours had passed.

The low point of this story is about how helpless I felt. I can’t code so I couldn’t go into the backend of my site and fix it myself. Instead, I had to wrestle with this feeling of throwing money at something to get it fixed. It’s not a pattern I’d like to continue down the line. After the payment though, all I could do was wait. It was completely out of my hands. On a weekend where I had hoped to spend my time writing and catching up on Fashion Week and The Grammys, I couldn’t. I thought to myself – this is what my life would be like without Yow Yow.

I would read content, but instead of keeping them afloat in my tabs, I would consume that information and then it would go into the abyss. My free time would increase 10x. I didn’t have to spend time thinking of new content, but then what would I dream about? This, I remembered, was what life was like before Yow Yow. And someday, it might be like this again. Would I be okay with it? It feels weird to not share information. This isn’t my only way of communication though. I’m a texter, emailer, verbalizer, etc. But, WordPress is home to me in a very strange way.

Any other time I have ever taken a break from Yow Yow! I was busy with work or had a vacation. Those were always my choices. This time, it wasn’t and it was scary to me. A thought flashed before me that there was a chance I might never recover Yow Yow. That also could happen someday and then what we do? Pray that we have backed this up by then.

Life

02 Feb 2019

Hello February

I know I’m being dramatic, but it feels like I’ve already lived a whole year in the month of January. If you’ve been wondering why we haven’t written our resolutions post yet, it’s because I haven’t had a chance to get them off the ground. Unfortunately, my health hasn’t been up to par since before the start of the year. After making it through nearly all of 2018 without so much as a cold, I ended the year with the last three weeks being sick.

The holidays were tough and while I shed many of the physical symptoms, cough, runny nose, etc. the virus was still in me. I’m currently on antibiotics and it’s super frustrating to have a sickness that you know is affecting your body internally, but can’t shake for good. I’ve always loved February being the month of love so here’s hoping to a more fresh start. I’m headed to Dallas on Monday and I keep forgetting that I’m even going. My sickness has been distracting, but a little nightmare of showing up to work without my suitcase sparked the fear in me.

Is 2019 shaping up to be everyone’s best year? Is it everything you’ve all hoped for?

Life

02 Feb 2019

Summer Travel: Horseshoe Bend

I can’t even begin to tell you what it means to have the kind of best friends that are willing to travel with you on short notice when you need them the most. When I left my job earlier this summer, I was adamant on taking a full month off. It’s the longest time I have ever taken in between jobs and I wanted to give myself the space and time. Each week served its own purpose, but I knew for sure that I wanted to get out of the city for a bit. It would have been so easy to return home to Seattle and I’m sure many people thought I would! But the thought of seeing a new place for the first time was more exciting.

Leslie, Tommy, and I turned this into four stops which I’ll be covering on Yow Yow! We started in Las Vegas and had a full 24 hours before driving through Arizona and Utah for Horseshoe Bend, Lake Powell, and Antelope Canyon for a total of four days.

We timed it so that we could make Horseshoe Bend right at sunset. Turns out so many other people at the same idea because it was quite crowded! It’s one of those places that you feel like you could spend an hour or more at. As the sun goes down, the bend and the sky change colors for a newer view every few minutes. It’s a beautiful sight and almost a little alarming that there aren’t any rails or barriers.

Life

02 Feb 2019

Sunday Words

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Life

02 Feb 2019

Uber’s “Unhappy Hour”

With all of the hype surrounding the Super Bowl this Sunday, Uber is stepping in for a fun little promo. Customers of the losing city (Boston or Los Angeles) will be able to redeem free rides on Sunday up to 60 minutes after the game ends. The possibilities are endless! You can take yourself to the next bar for a round of sad drinks or just take yourself home to wallow. Your free ride is good for up to $50 on UberX, UberPOOL, UberXL, Express Pool and WAV trips.

[Source]

Culture

30 Jan 2019

A Collection Part 53

Tonight I did something for the first time that I’ve never done with these posts. Since I started working on this post over the holidays while I was at home there were a few Christmas themed photos in this batch. As I scrolled through the preview, I didn’t feel that same spark or attachment to them as I once had. So while on my way to finish this post, I replaced those photos. Since we’ve been through 53 rounds of this and I’ve never once replaced any photos before posting, in some way, I felt like I was being inauthentic. Could my readers tell that I had swapped them out? Of course not. But I would know and that kind of ate me up for about 15 minutes.

We haven’t written our resolutions post yet, but this made me think of two previous resolutions I’ve had. A few years back, I had “say yes to everything.” The intent was good, sure. But saying “yes to everything” can sometimes do more harm than good. Sometimes you say yes to things when you don’t want to. Maybe saying yes to things causes you to spend money when you don’t want to. Have experiences that you don’t think you’ll appreciate. The next year I refined that resolution: do the things you want to do. And that has stuck around longer than saying “yes.” So if that’s what I truly believe, why not act upon that when it comes to this blog and my posts?

Life

30 Jan 2019

SF Eats: ‘āina

When I was in college, having a meal by myself was something that I did often. With everyone’s schedules, it’s nearly impossible to find even just one friend to align with yours. After a busy day of school and work, sometimes my solo meals were the only time that I could catch my breath and get some quiet time on my own.

During my time off in between jobs this summer, this was something that I looked forward to. Sure, I could reach out to friends to meet me for lunch, but why bother? I didn’t mind eating alone. It was also a chance for me to explore new and old favorite restaurants that I knew were frequently busy in the evenings or on the weekends. One of those spots for me is [‘āina.] On the weekends, their brunch blows up. I chose to go on a weekday right when lunch started and luckily had the whole place to myself.

I ordered the Bento Box because I love having variety. I also get bored of my food often so I want to mix up my food in between bites. It’s a little sampling of everything including their udon noodle mac salad, egg custard omelette, snap pea salad and their melt-in-your-mouth pork belly. That pork belly pushed me over the edge to a nap afterwards! It may look like a small portion, but trust – that pork belly will fill you right up.

Life

27 Jan 2019

Sunday Words

[Source]

Culture

21 Jan 2019

Blog Roundup

Job Alert: Become the keeper of this San Francisco lighthouse for a $130,000 a year [The Manual]
A 4-year-old Trapped In A Teenager’s Body [The Cut]
Second Life Podcast: Aimee Song [My Domaine]
Design Sponge Will End Its 15-Year Run In 2019 [Design Sponge]

Before Social Media Killed Hollywood Nightlife [The Hollywood Reporter]
Why Am I So Proud When I Finish A Candle? [The Cut]
Benny Gold Clothing Brand Shutters [Hypebeast]
Orbiting, Another Thing For Online Dates To Worry About [New York Times]

Sen. Kamala Harris announced today that she would be seeking a 2020 Democratic nomination for president and we are HERE for it.
Visualizing the Highest-Paid Job In Every State [Howmuch] TLDR: become a doctor like your parents told you to.
Spotify to Release New In-Car Music Player in 2019 [Hypebeast]

Life

21 Jan 2019

SF Eats: The Snug

There isn’t a shortage of brunch places in San Francisco. In fact, I’m convinced that I could probably try a new spot every weekend (Saturday/Sunday) without any repetition for a year. So when you know you’ve repeated a place more than once, you have clearly struck gold. Mandi was the first person to ever introduce me to [The Snug]. She mentioned that she had gone for dinner once, but they had just opened up brunch and we had to try it. Back then, I ordered the Tagliatelle. Yes, pasta is an interesting choice for brunch, but it came with a Poached Egg so don’t @me. Mandi, on the other hand, got the Everything Naan and even though she shared with me just a bite – it was life changing.

The Everything Naan looks exactly like the picture above and it looks and tastes fancy. The best way to eat it is by picking off a piece of Naan and spreading the cauliflower schmear on it. Don’t forget to top it off with Trout Roe and the pickled red cabbage. You don’t want to miss any of it for the perfect bite. While the plate is large itself, the Naan can appear light and deceiving. Trust – you will leave this meal completely full.

Kevin and I have since gone back twice and I always order the same. Stick with what you know, right?!