Birthday Diary

Long time no talk everyone! It has been almost half a year since I have posted any content and I am sincerely sorry about that. I guess that means that someday I will have to upload a blog post about the break I had so that I can keep you guys up with what I have been doing. However, long story short, this is my first year in college so I have been busy studying and adjusting to the new lifestyle that I neglected what my true passion in… blogging. BUT, this post is not about why I started to blog again (which I might cover if you guys want to hear more about it) but rather, how my birthday was! So let us get right into it with a quick diary entry of how January 27, 2017 was for me.

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     The reason why I decided to blog about this birthday specifically is because it occurred in a period of my life where there are many new factors added to my life/environment, such as:

• Living in the dorm
• Rooming with my best friend
• Being away from home
• Attending college

     At precisely 12:00am on 1.27.2017, my friend ran two flights of stairs so that she could wish me happy birthday. Also, my friends from the room across from me joined in on the celebration and I felt deeply touched by how happy their smiles were and how caring they were to constantly anticipate the time to say “Happy Birthday” to me. For the first time, my friends wished me a happy birthday in person. Plus, one of my friends had made a beautiful handmade card for me with nail polish and watercolored markers.

     I wish there was a universal rule that declares, “people on their birthday do not have to attend school or work.” Sadly, it is inexistent. By 8:00am, I was up and getting ready to go to my first class. Surprisingly, the classes ran smoothly and quickly. Before I knew it, I was done with my second class and was free starting at 11:00am. So, being the hungry and never-skipping-breakfast kind of person I am, I went to the local market on our campus and bought myself some sushi with my friend. And it was during that moment that I decided to start a new hobby starting on my birthday. I would and will collect a decorative, plastic green grass that they put in the sushi boxes to use as dividers. They are so cute so I decided to start collecting them in hopes of one day finding great use for them aesthetically.

     Now, for the afternoon part of my birthday, it was the most fun since I got to check out of my campus! I do not know what it is about being off campus but you feel more free and alive. To help free me, I called up my sister and decided for us to go to eat, eat, and eat. Simply eating on my birthday gives me extreme joy. In fact, in the past, I have really wanted to start a ‘Muk-bang’ (Korean term for an eating show), however, to avoid “freshmen-15” I set that idea aside. Nevertheless! I still take photos of the foods I eat and like to blog about them, so here it goes! Lauren’s typed ‘Muk-bang’.

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The quaint eatery we first stopped by was the Local Juicery + Kitchen. It’s main points are their freshly pressed juices and their acai bowls. Personally, I am in love with acai bowls, so the moment that I read that this place had acai bowls, I knew that I had to hurry and go there to try them out. And what better chance than asking your sister to take you since… it’s your birthday?

The juice bottles are what killed me! They are made of glass, which means that you can return it back to them once you are done drinking to be re-used, which, I doubt many people do because it is so cute! As for me, I kept my glass bottle since it was so pretty. Their juices ranged from charcoal ingredients to mango, kale, spinach, carrot, and avocado ingredients for each juice recipe.

Although all the juices looked tasty and vibrant in color, I was drawn to to the drinks in the top right corner since they were two types of drinks I love. Coconut and water with mint leaves. After debating on which drink I should buy, I decided, “why not just get both? They are both healthy, and most of all, their colors and contents within complement each other artistically.” So, I bought both!

I ordered the Berry Berry acai bowl and was thoroughly pleased with the presentation of it. The main aspect I loved about this healthy and rich in fruit dish was that it tasted genuine and free of artificial flavors. How am I sure about my claim? Well, it was not that sweet. Although I did want it to be slightly sweeter, I knew that it was healthy since there were not as much artificial sweeteners as other places, so I ate happily and enjoyed every single bite to I scraped up the last bit from the side of the bowl. (The coconut flakes win the award though for being my favorite ingredient in there).

When I was there, I could not help but start snapping away photos of the interior designing and products since everything appeared extremely idyllic and cozy. Therefore, here are a few photos that I captured.

As you can tell, I really like the glass bottles~

Next stop, ice cream~ If I could live with only one dessert, I would choose ice cream in a heart beat. But wait, I do love tiramisu too… and shaved ice… But no, ice cream would still be my favorite! In any case, I satisfied myself with a cold serving of cookies & cream ice cream on a sugar cone.

(I cannot find the photo I took of it so here is another photo I took of their ice cream that I got last week. The flavor for this one is coffee)

     The highlight of my birthday would have to be when I went over to my grandparents’ house for dinner, where they prepared me the meal I was craving to eat, Dukkuk (korean rice cake soup).

What was perfect about eating Dukkuk was that it was also Chinese New Years, so we were eating the traditional Korean New Years dish, Dukkuk in celebration of my birthday and for the New Years! I thoroughly enjoyed each bite and made my rounds around each dish. Especially the potato pancake dish! I think the one dish that received the least amount of love was the dish of cherry tomatoes. I do not know why but tomatoes have never really been my friends ever since I was little.

Because I was eating a lot of ice cream and other desserts all day, my mom got me a fruit tart in place of an ice cream cake (which is usually tradition to get). Even though we did break tradition from buying an cookies n’ cream ice cream cake, the fruit tart was a satisfying, lighter feeling to end my birthday dinner.

Finally, after we were done eating, my parents surprised me by buying me a new laptop! I was stoked and completely shocked. I have always wanted one but have never asked them for one. Thanks to them buying me a laptop, it motivated me to be more diligent in my studies and to blog more. Basically, I want to put my new laptop to good use (which is what I am currently using to create this post).

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Now, it is time for all the heartfelt and amazing gifts I received from my friends. I was shocked that they got me a gift because I was not expecting them to have time to get me something since everyone is busy with life matters. So, I was touched when they would each pop out in front of me and hand me a gift with a touching birthday letter.

Each gift I got was either useful or one that I would cherish for a long time. Indeed, I love my friends for helping contribute to one of my more memorable birthdays. So, to end off the day by putting a cherry on top of the already beautifully decorated cake, I did a tea tree face mask to help revive some glow in my face and moisturize my skin~

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Thank you for reading my birthday blog! I am sorry that I have not been blogging more, but I promise to try and post weekly content. I hope that your birthday this year will be a memorable one that is filled with joy, laughter, and fellowship.