Blisst

Sometimes it blows my mind to think that I live in one of the most popular tourist destinations in the world, Southern California. Within a two hour or less radius of me, we have Disneyland and all the major amusement parks, Hollywood and all its show biz history, San Diego and its beautiful beaches, and a million other attractions that I can’t think of right now. Which brings me to my next point of how guilty so many of us SoCals, especially me, are of taking attractions literally in our backyard for granted!

One of my absolute favorite things to do is to be a ridiculously embarrassing-to-my-travel-companion tourist whenever I travel and since I haven’t had a chance to travel too far lately, I decided to be a tourist in my own city!

Of we went to Hollywood to look at the stars in the streets, the celebrity wax figures, street performers, and overpriced souvenirs.

A few pictures with peace signs later, we crossed #47: be a tourist in your own city off the bucket list!

It was Cinco De Mayo, we had no plans, and the Clipper’s playoff game was about to start in a few hours, so what did we do?

Cross #105: go to a playoffs game off the bucket list, of course!

I jumped on stub hub, got the cheapest tickets, and picked Wilson up to make the most of the beautiful day!

Sure, it wasn’t our beloved Lakers playing, and yeah, our noses bled a little from the seats, but at the end of the day, we cheered our hearts out, my boo got to watch one of his favorite players, CP3, play live, and we drank some Cinco De Mayo beer. Good day down in the books for me!

Third time’s a charm! #90, go parasailing, check (finally!)

Attempt #1: Wilson surprised me with a trip to Catalina Island a little over a year ago to go para-sailing but as luck would have it, just as it was our turn to be strapped up, the weather took a turn for the worst and the captain decided to return back to shore. Bah hum bug, at least we got to golf cart around the island and I got to check off #73: boat to Catalina Island off the b-list!

Attempt #2: A good friend got us some tickets at Marina Del Rey Parasailing and on the day of, we showed up only to be turned away again due to weather concerns. Sad face, but we made the most of it and had the best french toast ever for breakfast at 26 Beach Cafe.

Attempt #3: We went into this with the attitude that if something came up and we couldn’t go AGAIN this time, that was it, we needed to take that as a sign that para-sailing just wasn’t meant to be. But, as all 3rd attempts go, we got the OKAY to board the ship and strap up! The ride there was bumpy, wet, cold, and if I remember correctly, the weather seemed even worse than our first 2 attempts. It was as if the para-sailing Gods knew this was their only chance to get us to cross this off the list and no storm, thunder, or lightning was going to get in the way of that!

It was a fun experience, but as I hung 500 feet in the air, I came to the realization and conclusion that I have somehow developed a fear of heights. Good thing I already crossed skydiving and zip-lining off the bucket list because para-sailing might very well be the last adventure involving heights that I will ever do!

We went ziplining last weekend at San Diego Safari Park. Yeah, it’s not as exotic as ziplining through the jungles of Costa Rica but hey, we always make the best of what we have! Plus, it is the 2nd longest line in the US, after Alaska so we thought that was prety cool.

The first time I ziplined was in Vietnam when I was about 12 but considering I did not realize what I was doing until take off, I would say this experience was much less traumatic than the first.

I was surprisingly more scared than I expected to be and the whole time I thought about what I would do if the line broke and I found myself falling right into a lion’s den right below us.

That didn’t happen so I was able to successfully cross this off the bucket list for the 2nd time! :)

I just finished reading two books: The Kite Runner and The Last Lecture, one to feed the soul and one to fuel the mind.

The Kite Runner stirred my emotions, broke my heart into a million pieces, drained all the tears in my eyes…pretty much everything I was looking for it to do. It delivered the total emotional experience I love in fictional novels and definitely fed my soul.

The Last Lecture was a harder book to get through. The story behind it is amazing and inspiring to say the least but it was written by a scientist and because I never tend to think in black and white, I don’t read in black and white either. I was looking for more emotion and feelings until I realized I wasn’t trying to feed the soul, I was trying to fuel the mind. Once I started to appreciate it as a non-fiction, I started to be inspired by the lessons Randy Pausch wanted to leave behind and it left me thinking of how much of a better person I could become. My mind is definitely fueled.

Great reads and a great start to a bucket list check off, #83: read more.

#63: Attend a Monster Truck Show, checked off with the coolest cat in town, my little CASA buddy!

I snagged some free tickets and off my little buddy and I went to catch some crazy monster truck action. We had pit passes so he got to get up close and personal to his favorite trucks and even got to meet and get autographs from some of the drivers themselves!

Even though our favorite Grave Digger didn’t win, it was another successful adventure down in the books with one of the coolest kids I know.

Pictures: Monster Mutt was such a cute truck complete with dog ears, tail, and tongue and the best part is it’s driven by a female!!

Volunteer in the Peace Corps used to be one of the most important things on my bucket list. It combined two of my biggest passions in life: volunteerism and travel, plus the post graduate program perks, career benefits, and coveted spot on a resume weren’t too shabby either. I knew I was going to cross this off my list after graduation, no matter what lemons Life threw at me.

And then, it was as if Life took on that dare and threw the mother of all lemons in the form of my father’s stroke. It wasn’t just any stroke. It was a full blown left side paralysis complete with speech/vision/memory/fine motor skills impairment. It took about two years of physical therapy, patience, and a lot of encouragement to help my father regain some control of his body again.

If you have ever witnessed first hand what it is like to have a stroke or to take care of someone who’s recovering from a stroke, you would know that only about 40% of the recovery process is the physical stuff. 60% of it is mental, and that’s usually the toughest part. For two years, my father battled with the idea of being in public, the fear of people staring and laughing at the way he walked and although that was only true in his head, it changed him from a social butterfly to a total recluse.

Today, he dug deep and found the courage to walk inside a grocery store for the first time since his stroke. I’m not sure what sparked in him today to make him want to overcome his fear but whatever it is, I hope it keeps the fire burning inside to want to explore the world again.

The past two years flew by as I lost myself in the routine of working and taking care of my father but in the back of my mind, I still clung onto the hope of joining the Peace Corps. Today, as I watched my father wandering the aisles of the grocery store for the first time, I realized that maybe my calling is to be with him, and to dedicate my time here instead of the Peace Corps. It reminded me of a verse from the song Kingdom Come by Jay-Z, “[There’s] much bigger issues in the world, I know, but I first [have] to take care of the world I know.” And you know, I’m finally completely okay with that.

Pictures: My father roaming the store holding onto the safety of a shopping cart, him checking out some goodies, and the Canh Chua he cooked with the groceries he picked out!

Note: He’s a bit camera shy which should explain my paparazzi angled shots ;)

Yesterday I fed an ostrich. A few ostriches actually and the whole time, I felt like I was feeding a dinosaur. These birds are no joke. Apparently, I also fed emus, except the whole time I thought they were baby ostriches since their necks were much shorter.

It absolutely blows my mind how many different types and species of animals there are in this world and how the average human only comes in contact with about 1% of them in their lifetime. Yeah, I just made up that 1% statistic but it sounds legitimate.

Bucket list #157: Visit Ostrich Land to feed the ostriches, checkity peck peck…as in what they will do if they come close enough to you! Eek!