2018 - The Year of My Return to LA and My Globetrotting Adventures

We are four months into 2018 and I am taking this moment to reflect on everything that has happened these last few months.  One of the most notable events has been my return to LA, my home. As true of most Angelenos, I am a transplant to LA circa 1993 (by way of Atlanta to San Francisco to Pittsburgh to LA, specifically, Glendale).  Growing up in LA, I am no doubt a product of LA and I am so happy to be back with my family and closest friends. 

Melrose - January 2018 courtesy of Tiffany Ou

I thoroughly enjoyed my time in San Jose despite being perpetually homesick. I will miss being able to have easy access to a myriad of Vietnamese restaurants.  More importantly, I will miss all the friends I made and the great firm I had to leave to come home.  During my few years up in NorCal, I was able to truly come into my own as an attorney. I cannot be more thankful for the invaluable experience and knowledge I gained from working at Lonich & Patton. I am also grateful that I was afforded the opportunity to give back to the Vietnamese community through VABANC.  My time participating in the San Jose Legal Clinic was particularly fulfilling.

If things were so peachy up north (minus some homesickness), why the return to LA? My husband's job. As many of you know, Mashi works for Channel Fireball. What does that mean exactly??? Well, explaining what Mashi does for a living to those not familiar with the game Magic the Gathering often results in blank stares, polite nods, and utters of 'ohhh, okay.' I am also so often faced with the inevitable question, what does your husband do again? It reminds me of the running gag on a sitcom like not knowing what Chandler does for a living on Friends or what Barney actually does at GNB on How I Met Your Mother.  Regardless of the specific details, Mashi travels a LOT for part of his job. Towards the end of 2017, we found out he would be traveling exponentially more than he had in the past.  Thus, we decided to move back so I could be around family and friends when he would be away.

           Before I Die... see the world. If you look really hard you can read the orange 'see the world' I chalked in.
Downtown Knoxville - January 2018 courtesy of Denise Le

Although I am less than thrilled with the amount of time my hubs will be away from me and our doggies in the upcoming years, I am unbelievably grateful that all of his travel allows us to see the world together. We are by no means wealthy or even well to do by LA or Silicon Valley standards but thanks to his job, seeing the world is a bit more affordable.  With the travel required for his job, stand by tickets (courtesy of my mother in law), and cheap airbnbs, I have been able to start completing my goal of seeing the world before I die without going bankrupt.  It is such an amazing blessing.  It is the silver lining to our days and weeks apart.  

After moving back to SoCal right before Christmas, I decided to take advantage of my time being in between jobs and pack a (very heavy) suitcase to tag along with Mashi to see the world.  I've been to 9 different countries in 4 months. Half the time I think I'm dreaming or living someone else's life. It has been an amazing experience. However, all good things must come to an end. As I type this entry in Sydney, Australia, I am on the last of my international trips for the foreseeable future.  It is the perfect time to reflect on my travels and utilize the thousands of photographs I have taken on my trips.  So for this aimless and currently bare blog, I have some direction for the next few entries - I will be sharing my experiences and pictures from abroad. Come along for the ride and go around the world with me as I reminisce. Enjoy! 

Carousel at Jardin des Tuileries, Paris, France - March 2018 courtesy of Mashi Scanlan

Melrose, Los Angeles, CA - January 2018 courtesy of Tiffany Ou

My Personal La La Land

Happy New Year! This blog originated during small breaks during law school and contain melancholy (and overly dramatic) musings from bar study.  I am still unsure of what this blog will focus on - I don't have the ego or dough to make this a purely fashion or travel blog so it'll be whatever random ramblings catch my fancy. However,  I have decided to revive this blog (as an outlet for my inner desire to be a writer) with an entry dedicated to my love of LA as inspired by La La Land.

I am a thirty something currently living in San Jose, CA transplanted from Los Angeles, CA (specifically from Glendale, CA).  Since moving to SoCal from Pittsburgh in 1993, LA has lived up to everything my little starry-eyed almost nine year old self hoped for from the east coast.

Recently, I dragged my husband, Mashi, to see La La Land.  Totally amazing, it was a love note to LA and the history of film. The movie contained some fantasy and some reality with homages to silver screen greats such as Singing in the Rain. Mashi ended up loving the movie as well. The soundtrack has also been constantly on a loop during this holiday season.

Mashi and I took our engagement photos on December 21, 2015.  My own La La Land take on photos were done by Wild Oak Wedding Photography. I highly recommend them.  I explained how I wanted old Hollywood glamour with some Parisian flourish (we did part of the session at the charming Los Feliz cafe, Figaro Bistrot).  Our photographer nailed it. We are nearing our one year wedding anniversary and of course, I took a stroll down memory lane to our own tribute to La La Land.




My makeup and hair was done by Kelsea Guevara.  She's a joy to hang out with and great makeup artist who nailed my look down.






We utilized our lady, LA, by using the iconic Griffith Observatory for our outdoor photos. I wanted something classic and distinctively LA.  How iconic and classic is the Observatory (hello, Rebel Without a Cause)?!?!

 

The views at the Observatory are amazing.  I recommend grabbing a bite at Figaro for some delicious coffee and French fare before heading up to the Observatory for the views.   Take advantage of the City of Stars from one of its most beautiful sights. 

 

Los Angeles - I love you.  Go see La La Land and be transported for awhile.  My looks were found through Modcloth,  Christian Louboutin, and Anthroplogie.  My gorgeous backdrop is the gorgeous City of Stars, herself. 

Almost three years later...

It is almost three years from my last entry and three years from when I graduated law school. 

The multitude of changes that have transpired these last three years are unbelievable.  My life has somehow turned out nowhere near what I had sort of mapped out in my head.  It is as if I took a detour and tumbled down a rabbit hole in so many aspects of my life.

Case summary of my life?
(1) Took the Bar, didn't pass. Rinse, repeat - pass.
(2) Got laid off. Got up, brushed myself off, and found a great new job.
(3) Got married somewhere in all of that mess, subsequently, I am going through a divorce.

All this before I reach the age of 30, hell, the age of 29. I'm only about three months shy of my 29th birthday.  Conclusion? You never know what to expect in your life.  I never sat there day dreaming all the details of my life but I had a rough, nebulous idea in my head.  This was not it.  Only one thing is certain - I am not standing still.

Welcome

Welcome to the my asinine assumptions of the truth. This blog will be completely random ruminations, possibly mundane musics, and rampant ramblings of a realist.

Most likely nothing too exciting and probably nothing of public concern.