“Life is partly what we make it, and partly what it is made by the friends we choose.”

what made my week off particularly special was seeing my friends! when i first moved to Lake Forest 2 years ago, i spent a week sulking because i realized how much farther away i was from friends and family. it's taken me a while to accept that we are all finding our individual places in the world and that if paths are meant to be crossed again, it will. although i admit to making greater efforts to see certain people, my heart is always filled with happiness when i see friends - old and new.


Jenn was nice enough to visit me last week. i'm sure bribing her with dinner and beer helped, but i do what i have to. i met this funny chick at school last year, she sat next to me in logic class.. before she dropped out. our story is actually pretty funny because she came to class high one night and i totally called her out on it. we've been good friends ever since and actually, i'm in love with her whole family. her dad reminds me of tommy chong from cheech & chong and her mom gives helpful tips on local markets that carry rare ingredients. it helps that she's local too!

that pretty lady to the right is anny with a "y", my fellow aquarius. my heart always floods with smiles when i see her because she's just fun to be with. not to mention we have shared a great many drunken moments together, which partially explains why we are so darn happy in this picture. our story: we went to high school together but never even spoke to one another until well after high school. funny how that works. meeting her last week was also a graduation celebration because she is now a UCI alumni. congratuations again, bananny!

this picture was taken about 2 years ago for my 24th birthday. that clever girl you see was responsible for my surprise birthday party (can you tell i was surprised?) i love this woman. i don't see her often and actually had no plans of seeing her last week but lo and behold, i ran into her at BJ's! can i just say - when i saw her, it felt like love at first sight. i was so surprised that i had to blink a few times to make sure i wasn't dreaming! (not to mention i was a little buzzed so i really was trying to make sure i wasn't seeing things :P). she is a saint, i refer to her as "grandma angel" because she is the angel on my shoulder.

i cherish my friendships now more than ever. i've found that the older we get, the harder it is to hold on to the people in our lives. i can't define what a "true friend" is, but i do follow the philosophy that the only way to have a friend, is to be one (spoken by the great Ralph Waldo Emerson). some argue that the internet has made friendships more superficial but for me, it's been a great way of keeping in touch with all of you and i can't wait until we meet in person to talk about what's old, what's new, and what's next. :)