Not to sound repetitive..

But I'm TERRIBLE at this blogging thing. Sigh.
Fortunately, a friend brought up the subject, and we've agreed to try and be consistent by posting every two days. I think this will be a huge challenge (and hopefully accomplishment) for the upcoming year. 

It looks like I pretty much skipped blogging the past year, and just as I wrote in the last post, SO many things have changed. 

In 2016 I (in chronological order):

1. Got my first "real" (full-time) job

2. Adopted a cat

3. Moved out of the basement apartment and back into my parents'

4. Went on vacation to Korea for two weeks

5. Quit my full-time to stay in Korea for a month

Its been just a month since I've come back from Korea, and I'm in a pretty aimless place. I feel like there are so many (but still very limited) ways I can try to live my life. Is this my quarter life crisis?
Currently, I am unemployed and trying to find another full-time job in the industry I quit my first job in. However, after discussing with multiple friends, I think we agree that NYC living may not be for us. There are just so many other states that offer a more relaxed lifestyle, so why struggle to make it here? Its not like we are into the things that make NYC unique.
So while I'm applying to openings here, I am also applying to jobs in the South to well..Start over there before its too late. 

I have to say, from the above list of events in 2016, adopting my cat was the most life-changing and significant. He has been such a ray of sunshine and I can't imagine going day-to-day without him. It was sooo painful being apart from him while I was in Korea D:

Isn't he adorable?

ANYWAYS, I'm excited to fill this blog this year and to see how things have changed next year.
Hope everyone is doing well~

CHARM✌참

SO MANY CHANGES

Wow..I'm terrible at this blogging thing..
Just felt like checking in to record all the changes since the last time I was active here. Looking back at all my posts, I am speechless at how much I "grew up."

I think the most exciting change is my MOVING OUT! WHOOOT!

A friend and I found a two-bedroom basement apartment in Queens; ghetto, but clean and quaint nonetheless. My friend ended up moving back home and I posted a facebook status about the available room. And guess what? My current roommate messaged me right away! She is an awesome teacher at a church I previously attended and started to attend again..Its nice rooming with someone who has similar life philosophies. God certainly does provide!

A very messy, unprepared glimpse of the beginning stages of my place

Is it bad that I don't plan on upgrading my housing anytime soon?
I really think I'd rather build up my savings with the cheap rent and invest in a condo later on. I don't think it makes sense living paycheck to paycheck on a luxurious apartment in the city, when I can do so much more with a humble home.

Speaking of savings, it has dwindled soo much because I was unemployed through this whole process. The last time I had a job was in December - basically 5 months ago.
I ended up moving to be closer to the city, while my parents moved deeper into the suburbs. Even now, it still takes me over an hour to get to Manhattan -_____-. But definitely better than 2+ hours.
Unemployment is really..wow..terribly depressing. Deadlines and motivation went OUT THE WINDOW. Plus the lack of response from all these companies was really discouraging. 

THANK GOD I received an offer last week.
I think this period of unemployment has really given me a reality check. I was so set on finding a higher paying job and not settling for "less", but that dream really isn't worth going broke over. Sure, this job isn't any where near high paying, or relevant to my future career goals, but I really am grateful. Its enough for me to live comfortably for my situation, while splurging once in a while.
As an alternative, I was thinking of going to Korea; I was immediately accepted to the EPIK 2015 program after the interview. Let me know if you want to hear more about that!

At this moment, I really feel that I'm at an okay place in life. I am not wildly successful, or "happy", but am secure with an apartment, job, family, and friends. What is happiness and success, if not stability and security in life?
I don't think I'm doing too bad for a 23 year old. 

I hope to revamp this blog soon, and be more consistent with my posts. I hope to make this blog a routine part of my life. 

Before I check out, a selfie

CHARM✌참

I LOVE MY "NEW" PHONE!

How have I used iOS all this time?
Gooooo Droid!

So I received my LG Voyager not too long ago and have been customizing the HECK out of it.
The only thing is..the phone only comes with 170 MB internal memory -.-..
Even old school mp3 players come with larger minimum storage capabilities! (Usually 250 MB..)
So I ended up downloading all these cool home screen launchers, aka customization/themes to make the home screen look awesome, but couldn't keep them cause they were taking up too much space. I also had to run out and buy an SD card for other apps (some apps can be stored on the SD card, but home launchers cannot).
So I searched, and searched for the most lightweight launcher and found..
LIGHTNING LAUNCHER!
It's seriously amazing stuff; if you have an old-school/basic smartphone with tiny internal memory, this is the launcher for you! It is available for free at the google play store and is only 196 KB :)
Even better, it's super liberating cause it has absolutely no restrictions. You can make icons any size/place anywhere/etc.
Not going to lie, for a first timer like me it was pretty overwhelming. But seriously, its SO easy to catch on to! I decided to stick to a simple horizontal scroll layout with the five docks on the bottom. I ended up with:

Beaut.

Isn't it preetttty? 

Hehe. Another great thing about the launcher is that you get to hide bloatware (un-deletable apps) and change icon fonts (I'm using helvetica).

The widget I used on top is Glass Widgets , again free and only ~180 KB; much better than the ugly stock weather widget.

On other things, just purchased two "Focco" bags on eBay.

They are basically bags inspired by Alexander Wang's Cocco/Rocco, but are GUILT FREE aka vegan. They also come with a much smaller price tag. The ones I got are in black with gold hardware and grey with silver hardware:

1. Black/gold 2. Grey/Silver

I got these in two colors mainly because I wanted something with silver hardware, and something that was an alternative to black. I didn't like the black/silver combination because it looked a bit cheap, but the grey looks phenomenal in all the blog posts I've seen about it. I'm not a fan of grey paired with warm tones so the choice only seemed natural. I purchased from this seller, for $31.50.

In closing, a random OOTD from the past week..

Okay, so more like just a self shot.

Awkward smile+glasses+bummy outfit, but the point is the pretty phone! 

Idk why I'm so happy with it honestly lol...Best $20 ever spent? 

CHARM✌참

Short phone customization haul..

So..Since the last post, I've been hunting for cases and/or decals to hide dents and customize the "new" phone.
I couldn't find anything super cheap, so stuck with a reasonably priced wolf case.

1) Clear screen protectors, 2) Mirror screen protector, 3) Wolf plastic case

The case is super Christopher Kane x Topshop circa 2009-esque. Only, it seems that the trend is officially catching on here in the states so its a win-win for me. I also got three screen protectors: one mirror and two clear. I know that the mirror is for the HTC MyTouch, but the ones for the LG Vortex is so outrageously priced! I'm going to just use the clear ones as a stencil to make the mirror protector fit. I got the mirror one because the seller's picture of the Vortex is pretty LQ, so I couldn't tell how badly the screen is scratched up. If its really bad then the mirror protector should do a good job of hiding it. 

Honestly, there doesn't seem to be many scratches on the screen so I also picked up the two clear protectors (other than to use as stencils). I think the mirror protector will eventually get distorted badly, so I want to have backups at hand. 

I get bored of phone cases/themes super quickly, so I know I'll eventually pick up another case for this phone - I'm already debating between a baby pink or blue (mint-ish). I can't imagine using more fobby/cute themes with the wolf case! My OCD won't let that happen, hehe. Annnd, a solid color case is so much more versatile in general..It'll match with every season! :x 

If I weren't so broke from spending so much, I'd totally get the color case now. Sigh. 

I'm seriously so impatient. I can't wait to get my hands on this baby so I can play with all the Android customization options. I legit just spent two-three hours looking up Go Launcher themes..ㅡㅁㅠ..

Talk about priorities..Did I mention that spring break is officially over, and I have school tomorrow?

CHARM✌참

"New" Phone

Remember my phone dilemma mentioned in the previous post?
I received the digitizer, did some more research, and definitely decided to return it. Apparently, not only is it almost impossible to replace lcd/screen parts separately, it's a complete scam. Surprise, surprise.
Strangely enough, my seller bumped up the product price to about $60 after my purchase - which was a mere $10 in comparison.

I decided to get:

 The LG Vortex (VS660)

An iPhone to a low budget smartphone, what an upgrade huh? 

Despite the sarcasm, I'm actually really really grateful to have been able to find such a great deal. The description says the phone is really scratched up and stuff, but what matters (to moi) is that it functions perfectly. Its only a month or two; I should be able to make due!

I tried eBaying some cases to cover up the dings, but they're all so expensive! Like, almost as expensive as what I paid for the phone! What happened to all the Chinese sellers who have cases for a dollar? Non-existent for this phone. Hmm, I'm going to try finding decals next.. 

I guess the Vortex can also function as a good transition from iOS to Android, since I'm planning on eventually upgrading to the SIII or SIV. I can use some practice.
Life is SO slooooow without a phone.

CHARM✌참

Thinning wallet..

Ack; I've been shopping way too much lately, especially online.
Recent purchases include two pairs of high-waisted jeans (one from ebay, another from punk.com), and a couple of basic tops, but those are pretty self explanatory/boring because they're cookie cutter generic/everyone-knows-how-they-look things.
An interesting thing I did buy is:

"Veggie twister"

A spiralizer! Well, a spiral vegetable cutter, or "veggie twister" as deemed by the seller. I was looking for an affordable spiralizer since going raw vegan, but couldn't find a well functioning one for less than $25. No way I was going to spend that much for what is essentially plastic! So I turned to trusty ebay and came across this guy, MUCH more practical (and cheaper!) than the traditional versions. Very very excited for future zucchini pastas. 

To try and save money on contacts, I also placed an order with pinkicon. They're a circle lens distributor based in China, and one of the few that had clear lenses.. Spent ~$55 on a pair of clear Geo yearly disposables and a six pair pack of monthly Neo disposables (just in case I lost the Geo pair, etc). Quite frustrated with the site because when I try to login to track my order, the password is wrong, but when I try to register, they claim that my ID already exists. It's ridiculous that they require logins to track; I just hope it gets to me, if not thank God for paypal claims!  

The most exciting purchase is:

The Ninja Mega Kitchen System with lifetime warranty

EEEEEE! Lol, I'm so super happy about this purchase. I did TONS of research for a Vitamix dupe and was previously set on the Omniblend V, but came across this baby! Though reviews show that the performance of the Ninja clearly does not match up to the Vitamix or Blendtec, the lifetime warranty sold it for me. The problem I have with cheap blenders is not that they produce chunkier smoothies, but that their motors have such a short life span! A lifetime warranty guarantees that the Ninja will be a consistent tool in my life. Not that I don't appreciate the 2-horse power/1500 Watt motor, which is totally comparable to higher cost models. The versatility of the product is another plus; it is also a food processor! I've been wanting a food processor and now I have it allll. Hehe. 

Apparently it'll be shipped out next month because it is on backorder now, but for the price (and lifetime guarantee) I can wait! 

I guess I would be okay with how much money I've spent/been spending if not for what's tipped me over the edge. My iPhone frigging broke.

It was my fault - I was exiting a car in front of my house when the phone slipped out of my pocket. I noticed it was missing right after I got out, so I assumed it slipped out in the car. However, after checking the next morning, it wasn't there! I assumed it was in the one other place I thought it could be, church. So I go to church and search - again, not there. Later that day, my brother gets a call from my aunt who got a call from the nearby Verizon store, and apparently someone turned it in! I was so relieved, until I actually went to pick it up. When I got to the store, they informed me that the touch screen wasn't working, so I didn't get lucky as I thought. The store staff told me that whoever turned it in claimed they noticed the phone because they ran over it with their car. Yeah right.

I'm guessing that whoever picked it up, did so with the intention of keeping it, but since the phone was out for so long it was already messed up. Since the phone was messed up, they decided to turn it into the store. If they ran over it, the phone would definitely not have survived without a scratch. And my headphones are gone too. Sigh..

So I bought a digitizer,  or touch screen, replacement from eBay, only to read the description AFTERWARDS saying that it did not come with the "liquid clear display" - whatever that means. When I looked more clearly at the pictures, it looks like the frame where all the screws are supposed to go is missing. I think I'm likely going to return it once it gets here. I'm bidding on some cheap smartphones so hopefully I'll win one at a low low cost. I'm due for an upgrade, but want to wait for the Samsung Galaxy SIV release so that I can either: 1) have the latest model or 2) get the SIII at a much more discounted price.

I don't think its worth upgrading to the SIII at full price now, only to have the price drastically drop in about a month. 

Arg, just so annoyed that I couldn't finish off the last month financially strong.

I'm definitely going on a budget plan from this moment on til the summer, when I'll have a job. I don't want my savings depleted!

CHARM✌참

Eeeek

Wow, talk about hiatus..
:/

It's so easy to fall off of the (public) blogging bandwagon!
Maybe because there's always a limit to how much can be said and to what extent..It's hard for me to filter myself, lol. ANYWAYS~

Updates:

• Finished midterms - absolutely despising this semester's classes..
• On spring break
• Moved mini fridge to bedroom!
• Changed blog layout (as visible)

and most exciting..

• Transitioning to raw vegan, whoot!

The initial push was when I realized just how little greens I was consuming. It led to a video on juicing and then another on making green smoothies, and the rest is history.
Prior, my breakfast consisted of either savory oatmeal (salt+pepper+sesame seeds) or a fibrous cereal with almond milk. I decided to incorporate green smoothies into breakfast by replacing the norm when I had extra time. It wasn't a radical decision; I still kept the cereal and milk on hand for the lazy days, but they ended up being more home decoration rather than food.
Seriously, the zing I felt was so instantaneous and uplifting it was impossible for me to even look back! I didn't WANT to give processed foods a second chance because this was it, this was AWESOME.
Given it's only been about two weeks since I took this step, but it's something I know will grow into years and years.

One major drawback that I've noticed was my thinning wallet (sigh).
Not because raw veganism is necessarily expensive in the long run, but because it seems to require quite a bit of money at once to benefit from savings. An example would be participating in a local co-op. The one closest to me requires a payment of a minimum of $400 for a month of local, organic veggies and fruits; though that is an amazing overall price compared to supermarkets, there is no way I'd be cough up that much at once. This definitely means a sacrifice of organic goods until I'm out of college.
Another example is a heavy duty blender. Regular blenders can be found for $20-40. However, their motors give in so quickly, it's almost a necessity for raw foodists to invest in a heavy duty industrial machine. The most popular option is the Vitamix; another is the Blendtec. Both of these options require at least $350. Yikes.
Sure if one can afford to, these blenders are great - buying one once is better than buying cheap, short-term ones over and over again afterall. It's just not plausible to hand over that much money in one sitting for many (like moi).

That being said, I did a bit of research and came across the Omniblend; it's on sale for ~$250 and comes with a 5-year warranty. Not too shabby..I'll probably end up purchasing one if I ever do have any expendable income, for now all my money goes to quickly diminishing greens and fruits.

Another drawback is just the lack of a raw vegan community on the east coast!
All the information that pertain to any sort of support group seems to be located in the west or south.
Guess I'll have to start making waves, huh?  :P

On other things, I've been thrifting quite a bit recently - must post haul soon!

Happy passion week! Let's all reflect on the suffering of Christ, and what his sacrifice means for all of us.

CHARM✌참

Disaster

..You know that person? The one who had one too many to drink and made a mess of his/herself?
And remember the wedding I've mentioned in like, every previous post I've made?
Well I was THAT person at THAT wedding; fml.

I should have expected it, really, with my luck and judgment, why shouldn't I have been the crazy one?

So the evening started off pretty well. The wedding ceremony was actually quite quaint despite the large number of people, and oh my gawsh the couple looked BEAUTIFUL. Seriously, they looked like they dropped 10 lbs for the day, though that might have not been intentional (stress?)..

My party and I sat in the back so:

Our view as bride and groom stood at the altar.

...Anddd thennn we headed to the cocktail hour/reception. Ack.

During cocktail hour a few of us girls decided to start off the night with shots; only the bar didn't do shots and so we were left with dry glasses of tequilas equaling to maybe two-ish shots a glass.

The agreement was to down half and to pass the glass over to someone who didn't have any, but of course those "who didn't have any" suddenly disappeared, and so I started with two. Then one of the gals decided (after a sip) that the drink wasn't for her and passed it to me. There's four.

We move onto the dinner, where at this point I realize that all I had that day was oatmeal. In addition, I had nothing the previous day because I was fasting for the couple. It was too bad that at this point my alcohol induced mind decided it didn't really care. Yeap, +2. 

Now I sat down at my table where the waiter proceeded to take down dinner orders, and my friend (Jenny) and I schemed on the fastest possible way to make it to the open bar. Not before taking a photo or two in the bathroom of course: 

Notice my posture? Yeah, the "I'm goneee and slouching" pose, while Jenny (jsquared921.blogspot.com) looks pristine. 

We make our way to the bar where we down two shots of (absolut) vodka (now at eight); by the time we make it back to our table the appetizers are out and waiting. I swear our incentive was to beeline to the bar any chance we had, because right after our appetizers, WE HEAD BACK. This time is the return of tequila! Ten.

After ten, dinner's ready - in my normal state of mind I would've realized not to eat it because it was BURNT:

This was the GOOD side, as in the other sides of the vegetables were completely the color of those "grill marks". 

- however, I was not in the right state of mind and was starving so..

Then, the world was woozy and spinning and I've added to my list of realizations that it's been a year since I've drunk any alcohol, and it finally hit me. THIS WAS A HUGE MISTAKE (No crap Sherlock). 

What made the whole situation better? If you guessed that I felt everything come up, then yes, you are correct! 

I grabbed the ice bucket in which the wine bottle was sitting, pulled it out and did my thang. No embarrassment, just "please let me survive and sleep!" 

Thankfully I wasn't alone; I have amazing people in my life who escorted me to the bathroom and held my hair back (while giving me glorious back rubs), as I paid tribute to the porcelain queen. 

The friends I originally came to the wedding with even let my other friend and I stay at their place, while they stayed at their parents! I mean who does that? They entrusted their living space to a drunk, plus one, just so we could be comfortable! My heart explodes every time I recall this information. 

Yes, I was embarrassed. This happened amongst church people after all, on a Saturday, right before church. But at the end of the day (or morning), I wasn't ashamed of my shame because well, I DESERVED it. 

Not only did I down those shots with the assumption I could handle it, I was vocally expressing my excitement for who THAT PERSON would be. I really feel like God taught me a lesson in hypocrisy and pride. I'm pretty sure drinking is definitely now out of my life. 

Additional pictures:

View of the dinner table (&best picture I took all night haha).

Appetizers! And that wine bucket...

Charm✌참

Choices, choices

Of course. OF COURSE I'd wake up with a HUGE cold sore today with a wedding to attend just tomorrow.
Oh woe is me, but am I surprised?
Not in the slightest.
On to bigger (hardly possible with the monstrous size of this cold sore) and BETTER things..
What to wear?

Now, I'm hardly the wedding expert; I think I've been to a handful at most in my life, so they've always been a go, eat, leave type of thing for me. Well, the wedding I'm about to attend seems more, how to put this, invested in by the couple. Now, I don't mean to disrespect those who's weddings I've attended (because really I don't), but the wedding tomorrow seems to be on a higher scale in terms of the amount that was paid in money and time. They have their own website for goodness sake! Not that there's anything atypical about that, just that, well I guess I've never experienced such a couple so dedicated (and a super cute/perfect couple they are).
So yeah, it makes me just a wee bit more anxious about tomorrow. Especially my state of dress - what if I'm too formal? Not formal enough? And on top of everything, in terms of weather in the east coast, it's a frigging winter wedding! Darker colors? Boots? AUUUUUUGH. I. DON'T. KNOW.

I've basically narrowed it down to two dresses - working with what I have (as indicated in the previous post). (Sorry about the craptastic picture btw):

1. A damask printed black and white dress

2. A sparkly charcoal shirt tucked into a black skirt.

No, definitely not the best of choices, but what is a girl to do..Sigh. 

My qualms with choice one is that it's a size too big and so it's not as flattering as it should be; also, it's black and white and I don't want to risk wearing white at tomorrow's wedding (invested, as mentioned). That being said, the fact that it's a size bigger makes it SUPER comfortable. On the chance (ha!) that I food coma tomorrow, no belly would protrude as it'll stay hidden underneath all that beauuuutiful fabric. Qualms with choice two is that, well, it's super dark. Granted the wedding tomorrow is in the evening, but weddings are supposed to be like the opposite of funerals! And the outfit looks pretty casual..I hope to fix that up with a blazer; maybe I'll add some burgundy leggings in my pathetic spruce up attempt? (Ick, maybe not).

ANYWAYS, I'm leaning towards two, simply because it's more flattering and fitting for the after party to occur. Idk, I guess we'll see what happens.

On other matters, guess what I picked up?!

My jourrrrrrrrnal huzzah! (Apologizes for craptastic picture number two):

Markings by CR Gibson

I went to Staples in an attempt to find something there and I did! But, and a big but at that (heh), I totally overlooked the fact that it's LEATHER ugh. That may drive me to return it, we'll see. Being vegan is so much easier when it comes to food!

I finally moved my lazy butt to take a profile picture this morning; I don't like taking self pictures when the sun sets because the quality becomes terrible, so if I didn't do it in the morning, I wouldn't have at all. My eyes kind of bug me out in the photo because I was wearing my Geo angel greys. I guess I didn't really realize just how unnatural they made my gaze look until this photo. Oh well, it'll do until I take a better picture (aka overcome another bought of laziness). 

Charm✌참