365 No More

Yeah... after much self deliberation, I've decided to no longer continue with this 365 project.  While it did help me get used to blogging, I just didn't like (after a while) feeling forced to write up something, especially when they're meaningless posts.  For friends, it's nice for them to keep up with my daily life (considering I don't do Facebook), but other than that, I didn't find meaning in my posts.

On top of that, I've found that between work, school, and volunteer work, I had to post up quite a few hiatuses in the time that the 365 project started, and a few times (such as this week), I fell behind in my posts.

I think I'll stick to posting up EDC updates, random DIY/experimentations, and small life updates for the time being.  Perhaps do weekly roundups of the week's highlights - that would probably work better for me than daily updates.

Take care!  Thanks for reading.  :)

February Carry Update (185/365)

I don't think I've ever posted an EDC carry before, let alone an update.  My carry definitely has changed over this past year.  I've definitely streamlined my carry and below is my most current:

This has been the most static carry in the past couple of months.  Not too much changes from day to day and I'm really happy with it.

I'll try to be in depth as possible with everything since I'm certain this is my first EDC dump that I can recall of on this blog...

1. Wallet:  Big Skinny's Leather Open-Sided Skinny Mini
• top slot:
• Fresh & Easy Friends card
• credit card
• Starbucks Gold Card
• bottom slot:
• Costco card
• debit card
• inside: 
• receipts (gets emptied at the end of the day)
• HFT freebie & 20% off coupon
• some cash ($20.00; that usually gets me out of most situations)
• ID window:
• school ID
• work ID
• driver's license
2. Notebook:  mini composition notebook from Dollar Tree (I hope they never stop making these!)
3. Flashlight:  Olight i2
4. Phone:  Motorola Atrix (first generation) w/ generic case
5. Knife w/ lanyard:  Blurple :)
• Benchmade Mini Griptilian (custom)
• light blue + purple scales
• N680 steel upgrade
• all silver components
• silver arrow clip
• engraved w/ EDCF logo and username
• WillyDigger's custom medallian - purple ninja
6. Lip balm:  Burt's Bee's tin.  My favorite!  :D  Nice and minty.  There's just something about tins that I like.  :P
7. Pen:  Zebra F-301, black ink, fine point
8. Watch:  Skagen.  I'm not sure what model it is.
9. Jacket:  TAD Ranger LT Hoodie w/ Affonso mini PVC patch
10. Keys:
• Nite Ize Key Rack
• car key
• home keys x 4
• safe keys x 2
• TEC SS glow fob
• Affonso
• USN tag
• SteelFlame tag
11. Other:  vial w/ chew sticks (this one happens to be tea tree flavored)

:)  I think that about covers everything.  This setup is usually what I check my pockets for before I leave the door.  Occasionally the knife will be switched out.  Other times, I'll add on the Goal Zero Guide 10+ and respective charger cable if I know that I'll be out long enough to deplete my phone's batteries.

Cheers!

Surprise! (184/365)

Brother S sent me a surprise package yesterday!  :D  I got:

1. a purple/blue dyed EDCF Buff
2. a vial of doTERRA's peppermint oil beadlets (remember those Ice Breakers Liquid Ice from like 2003 or something? That's what these are like!)
3. 2 packages of Eiffel bon bons.  :D  The first time I had these were back in grade school when my tutor (high school age) sold them to our tutoring group to fundraise for her trip to Europe.  The last time I'd had these was when I was in high school, also fundraising for my own trip to Europe.  :D  Fun times.

Mad Props for CPK Fundraiser! (183/365)

I got this in my e-mail today and wanted to share:

I give mad props to CPK for holding a state-wide fundraiser for the families of our fallen heroes.  When I'd first read my e-mail, I thought it was a local thing since I'd seen the address of our closest CPK.  However, when I read the e-mail in its entirety, I realized that it was a CA state-wide fundraiser in support of the families of Officer Crain and Detective MacKay.

My friends and I will definitely be stopping by.  Thank you, CPK, on behalf of these families.  Best wishes.

Vietnam Memorial (182/365)

Today's visit to the Vietnam Memorial...

I've been here a few times in my childhood. But I never really took it all in until today. After work, I had met up with a friend who wanted to take some pictures in and around the area of the memorial. The Vietnamese heritage is important to me; I'm a first generation Vietnamese-American, born of parents who left Vietnam during and after the war, whose father fought for our freedom. I guess I kind of took that for granted. But today was different. In my later years of life, I started to see the world differently and had a completely different understanding and gained much respect for those who have fought for what they believed in, particularly those of military and law enforcement background. I live and grew up in a Vietnamese community, whose residents still remember the pains of their childhood, living as refugees and as children of the war - you see and feel the passion that they have to continue to fight for their freedom at every rally that is held in the city and beyond.

Today, as I approached the steps of the memorial site, I noticed dedications that I've not seen before. It brought tears to my eyes, to see the names of family members who have passed - who gave their lives for the chance at freedom for their country.

The one that I choked up on was this:

I just stood there... tears in my eyes. I knew many of the soldiers must have been younger than I am today. My own father, who I now have a deeper respect for, was a soldier at the tender age of 17. It was mindblowing. And I couldn't stop the tears.

Looking at the memorial as a whole now, I notice the "eternal flame." It's since been shut off and I was a little disappointed to see that. But what it stands for, still lives on in all of our hearts, and seeing it today rekindled mine.

Making my way closer still, I notice that many people, from near and far, travel to this memorial to pay their respects, leaving offerings of flowers and food. Shortly after this photo was taken, I noticed 2 parties come by. One with a man and wife taking photos and leaving offerings. The other, a man touching one of the name plate dedications, silent, and thoughtful. I stood there, not knowing what to do. I did nothing but stand there feeling sadness that I've not experienced before.

Before my friend called me over, taking me out of my trance to help her take pictures, I was left with this reminder at the base of the sculpture. This reminder too, is where I will leave you.

Thank you to all who have served, are serving, and will serve.

Chewing Sticks/Flavored Toothpicks (181/365)

I love chewing on toothpicks.  :)  For the past few years (I think about 5 years now), I've been buying the Thursday Plantation and Tea Tree Therapy brand chewing sticks from my local market (Whole Foods and Sprouts).  But it gets pretty costly, at $4.00 per pack of 100 toothpicks... and I go through a pack a month or so.

I also got tired of the same Cinnamon and Tea Tree Oil flavored ones.

And while these toothpicks are of great quality, it just didn't have as satisfying a feel as I would have liked.

So then I started making my own.  :)

Yeah, this picture still has only Tea Tree Oil and Cinnamon Oil, but not shown are the peppermint, orange, lemon, clove, and anise oils that reside in my kitchen.  :)  That solves the flavor problem.  But what about the unsatisfying feeling of the original toothpicks?

:D  Cut down bamboo skewers were the solution!  Because the skewers are thicker than the toothpicks, I end up soaking the skewers for longer than I would the toothpicks.

That also solves my spending problem.  Kinda.  hahaha  It's not a huge savings, but I am happy that I get to mix and match my flavors and that the skewers are more satisfying than the skinny toothpicks.  :)

Cheers!

Update Roundup (165 - 180/365)

Holy moly.  It's been one heck of a hiatus.  Let's see if I can recap the past couple of weeks day-by-day...  There will be a few days' worth of writing missing since I can't remember what I wanted to write about those days.  I should really note those topics down in my notebook...

04 February 2013 - 10 February 2013:

I couldn't break these dates apart.  Not really.  Things were crazy that week - I spent all of my time prepping with the Joes for the annual Tet Festival.  If I wasn't at school or work, I was at Sis's to prep food or shop for food prepping.  The weekend of the festival (08 - 10 February 2013), I spent 12 hours of each day doing nothing more than driving back and forth between the festival and the shops to stock up on supplies.  It was crazy.  I'm glad that's over...  Seriously.  The most down time I had was about an hour to grab a bite to eat throughout the entire weekend.

07 February 2013:

This date deserves a special notation.  :)  *mwah*  I love you, Hubby.  :3

11 February 2013:

Class was freaken chilly!  Good thing Hubby gave me his TAD Ranger LT to wear.

12 February 2013:

On one of the days during the festival run, I made use of my Goal Zero setup.  :D  It worked out very well for me!  Considering that I was running back and forth all day, phone constantly ringing, I needed a way to keep my phone charged without access to an outlet.

To remedy this, I had my Nomad 7.0 sitting on the dash of my car, connected to my Guide 10+.  :)  So it was charging all day while I was doing my stocking runs... :D

14 February 2013:

 Happy Valentine's Day!   :3  Hubby got me a Titus.

 15 February 2013:

I made breakfast for the first time in a long time.  :D  There's Titus again.

*****  That's pretty much it for this update.  I can't remember anything else.  ;)  I do know one thing though... I love my Hubby.  :3  *****

"Not Buffs" (164/365)

After a month, my order from dx.com finally came in.  :)  Well actually, half of my order.  The second half was backordered, but was shipped out a couple of days after this one.

I got these "Not Buffs" from dx.com to supplement my EDCF Buff's almost daily usage.  The EDCF Buff branded one is great; I like the color scheme and all, but I just wanted more.  I just couldn't justify the $20.00 price tag on them since I wanted more colors to accessorize with.

The ones from dx (and other similar sites) could be had for <$3.00 a piece, shipped.  Aliexpress actually has them in bulk for about $1.00 a piece, in lots of 30, shipped.  I was tempted, but since Aliexpress doesn't take PayPal, I didn't want to mess around with that site.

I'm not sure how they'll hold up after time and over many washings, but I'm extremely happy with them so far.  They're super soft (dare I say... softer than the Buff brand ones?) and very warm.  In total, I believe I ordered 8; some I gave away to family and others I'm giving away to friends.  I hope one day they'll catch on so that I can find them more locally.  The last time I saw these in person (in lieu of having to purchase over the Interwebz and the Buff brand ones at REI), they were being sold for $6.00 or $8.00 each at the county fair last summer.

It took one heck of a time figuring out how each website labels these though.  It took a round-about way of searching.  The ones at the county fair was just labeled as "12-in-1 scarf!"

EDCF 2012 - 2013 Forum-Wide Giveaway! (163/365)

:D  I won this in EDCF's 2012-2013 Forum-Wide Giveaway, courtesy of my buddy SAK.  :D  I'm super psyched for it, as I've always wanted these little SAKs with the pen.  :)  The scales were custom made by Willy Digger and it just looks super awesome.   :D  I can't wait to have it in my hands!

Pill Case (162/365)

I was at Walmart the other day and found this neat pill case in the travel section.  They're only $1.48 each and has 6 differently sized compartments to hold all types of pills and small trinkets.  I had the same formatted one from The Container Store that I'd bought a few years ago, but the fit and finish of that one was sub-par.  This one from iGo is really nice.  :)  At my Wal-Mart, it came in this nice blue and seen below, and a deep purple.  :D

iGo "Just In Case."

All of the compartments when you unlatch it.  :)

Minimum Charges, Work!, Almost Missed (?) Connection, My Tattered Notebook (158 - 161/365)

*** I was having problems with Picasa the past few days, so I've edited my individual posts into one lump post for January 26 - 29. ***

January 26 - Minimum Charges  (158/365)

Ah... credit cards.  What have you done to me?  I usually will carry a $20.00 bill on me, but for most purchases, I use my credit card.  Last night, I had used my $20.00 to pay for lunch for a friend and I.  After that, I went to the market to check some prices on a few items and get some soy milk in the process.

To my surprise, the soy milk was on sale for $1.00 per carton and they also had the black soy milk, which I don't see very often.  I picked one up, knowing that I already had 2 cartons at home.  I go through soy milk pretty quickly, considering that there's enough in a carton to make probably 5 - 7 smoothies; I make up to 3 a day depending on how much time I spend at home.

I get up to the cashier with my soy milk in hand... only to find that there's a $10.00 minimum that needs to be met for all plastic purchases.  :(  In "frantic" mode, I blurted out that I would grab some more soy milk.

... I came home with 10 cartons of the stuff.

January 27 - Work!  (159/365)

Tomorrow will be my first day of work.  :D  I'd already set out what I wanted to bring with me.  But I'll post the picture tomorrow.  I'm super excited for it!  Tomorrow's also the new school semester.  I've packed up some EDC items that will play double duty for both school and work.

My pens:  Pentel Tradio Mini w/ Waterman Florida Blue, Pilot Prera w/ PR Chocolat, Rotring Rapid Pro 0.5

(edited to add)

Work carry consisted of:  key fob, wallet, Olight, name plate, Skagen watch, Vic Cadet, spiral notebook for work, mini Composition for agenda and personal notes, Pilot Prera, Zebra F-301, Burt's Bees lip balm tin (not shown; didn't make it in frame)

January 28:  Almost Missed (?) Connection  (160/ 365)

Tonight I went with a classmate to Soup Plantation between classes.  We almost gave up because we had gotten lost on the way there and didn't want to be late for our last class for the night.  It was dark and we were in the hills.  O_O  Scary.

Anyway, we made it to Soup Plantation.  I had forgotten my phone in the car but promised someone I'd text them.  After retrieval, I came back in and just as I was about to sit down, I saw an old co-worker!  We used to do network marketing together and we'd lost touch after I'd quit and went a separate path.

She's super nice and it was great to see her again.  A few times I had wondered how she was doing but because of the circumstances (and the fact that I got a new phone and all the numbers were wiped...) I didn't want any awkwardness.  You know how sometimes you think about old friends and want to say hi but are afraid that they might not remember you?  Yeah.  That's how I felt.  :D  We exchanged e-mails and phone numbers and I hope that we keep in touch.  :)

January 29:  My Tattered Notebook  (161/365)

Ever since I found these notebooks at Dollar Tree, I've fallen in love.  The paper quality is great, the binding is sewn (I HATE glued binding!), and it's just the perfect size.  Plus, I fancy products that are miniaturized versions of the originals.  :)  The above notebook has been with me for just about 3 months.  It's down to its last 4 pages and final couple of days before the agenda portion that I'd formatted runs out.

I'm sure it would have held up better had it not gotten wet in Jersey, but hey, well worn EDC items just shows great love.  ;)  I hope that Dollar Tree never stops selling these.  They come in packs of 3 and that's the best dang deal I've ever seen for mini notebooks.  :D

I can't wait to start up the new one.  :)  I usually put aside some time here and there to format the following quarter's notebook, but I think I'll expedite that process by getting a date stamper.  :)

Trypophobia (157/365)

No pictures.  'Cause that sh!t freaks me out.

Is that phobia really forreal?  'Cause sh!t...

So earlier today, I was on the forums and a picture I see kinda gets me squirmish.  Then a few of the members ask why and it eventually leads to a member posting a picture of someone covered in hole-ish ... things.  It's likely on the first page of Google images if you just search "Trypophobia."  *shudder*

I FLIPPED OUT.  Holy f*ck.  It scared the bajeezus out of me!

So then my brother found out.  And he didn't stop either.  I was already creeped out from the forum post let alone my brother relentlessly poking at my imagination.

I knew that stuff bothered me.  But I really didn't know to what extent.  Until tonight.

With my brother on my tail about it nonstop, I eventually got really scared and well, I cried.  Well, I half cried and half laughed.  It was really hard to explain.  I think I was genuinely scared of those hole-ish thing, but I laughed at myself for being scared of it (and trying to make myself stop crying in the process).  So yeah.  It was awkward.

But man, was I scared!

No more, please!  O_O  Who the heck even started photoshopping sh!t like that?  O_O

Excuse my language.  Dang.

Bape G-Shock [Replica] (156/365)

I got this in the mail yesterday.  I ordered this off of dx.com (SKU 80390) just after the new year and it took the usual 3 weeks to get here.  It was $9.20 shipped and the reviews were really good.  There were a ton of YouTube videos on this one too.  I believe it comes in 5 colors; white, black, yellow, pink, and red.  I'm not even sure how I found it, but I'm pretty sure it was because of the "Related Videos" on YouTube that popped up when I was looking up G-shock reviews of the ones I wanted.

I got this one in particular for a few reasons...

1. I wanted to try my hand at dying the resin band.  I had seen a lot of threads on mygshock.com about people customizing their G-shocks and I just wanted to try.  However, I didn't want to do it on a real G-shock for fear of ruining a $100+ watch.  So by all means, this one is my guinea pig. :)
2. Before I purchase the GWX8900B-7, I wanted to make sure that I would be comfortable with a larger watch.  Prior to this, I've always worn Skagens, which are super thing.  The next largest would be my cheap Casio Illuminator, and then the Timex Classic that Papa T got me for my birthday.  :)  This one will not be one of the future ones I dye.  This one's just the one I really wanted.  :P
3. To be honest, I just have a fascination with fakes/replicas.  Without going into the economics of things, it's just interesting.  This is one of a very small amount (less than I can count on my one hand that I can recall) of "fake" stuff that I own.  Researching it is another story.  I guess you can say learning about replica items is a bit of a hobby.

From what I learned on myghock.com, these have a different resin composition than that of the real deal.  So the dye will still take, but it'll come up a little lighter.  That's fine by me.  :)  I just wanted to test this out and make sure I have the process down.  This one's pretty cute as is, though.  :3

Magic the Gathering (155/365)

New EDC?  Maybe.  :)  I just got these cards from a couple of friends last night, S and HF.  We'd met up at Starbucks to catch up and they were playing Magic the Gathering.  Eventually they taught me how to play and I won my first two games, with the help of S, of course.  After a few hours, we migrated over to the Target that was in the same plaza so that HF could buy some new cards.  He'd gotten the really neat Holiday Gift Pack, which included 4 booster packs, a promo card, a bunch of land cards, and a very nice box with labels to organize everything.

However, it ended up being a "trash box" since all of his cards from the booster packs were commons/uncommons.  HF handed the cards over to me to start my very own deck.  :)  I need to get myself some land cards to make it work though.  :P  As of right now, I only have 1 Plains and 1 Island, both are basic lands.

Will I start playing this?  Maybe.  Maybe I'll just grab an intro deck for $10 or $15 to get started and then work it out with the boys for better cards and build from there.  :P  It's actually a pretty fun game once you understand the rules.  I still think it's crazy that a new set comes out like every 3 months or something though.  I'm not sure if I can keep up with it!

BONUS:

This is HF's Batman backpack.  It's so freaken cute!  I WANT IT!  :D

HB Tattoo - F*ck Cancer (154/365)

Yesterday was HB Tattoo's 72 hour tattoo marathon thing to help fund for cancer research.  There were 50 tattoo artists there crankin' out crazy amounts of tattoos.  I'd forgotten to take a picture of the specific F*ck Cancer inks available, but they were really good.  I wasn't planning on getting inked, I was just there with a friend to check it out.

Someday I would like a small one though, but I'd want it to be meaningful to me.  :)

Shorty :P (153/365)

Today was department photo day.  Apparently, not only am I the shortest person of my squad, I am the shortest person in the entire department.  That means I'm in the middle of every picture and I know exactly where I stand during lineup.  Fun times.  :)

Svord PKM (152/365)

I ordered the Svord PKM a few days ago and found that it had arrived yesterday while I was at Disneyland.  :)

Closed...

Open!  I love that the packaging says, "Available only to first class peasants.  Are you good enough?!"

The knife fits my hands very well.  :D  So far I like it a lot, though I do have to work out some burrs on the cutting edge.  The white handle looks great too.  :D  For $15 shipped, it's a great little friction folder.  :)

Disneyland! (151/365)

It's been a few years since I've been to Disneyland.  The last time I went there for a full day was probably a few months before I had quit back in 2010.

Today, I got to go with my friend B, and we'd spent the whole day together doing all the major attractions, making sure to catch everything that had been renewed or added since her last visit.  :)

I brought my Sitka as my day pack and it was PERFECT for the outing.  :D  More on that another time.

The first purchase of the day?  Dole Whip Float.  Yummmmm.

For dinner, we both got a margarita (to celebrate my new job) and the vegetarian chili bowl at Pacific Wharf Cafe.

This was my first time seeing the Aladdin show at the Hyperion!  It was great - I'm sure to make time for this show from now on.  :D

The night ended with a visit to the Mad T-Party.  It was a lot better than I had expected.  :D  I really dig the costumes.

We packed a whole lot of fun into our day.  First thing's first, B and I headed to get our Fast Passes for World of Color.  Lucky us, we got the Blue section for the 8pm showing!  :D  The show was  PHENOMENAL!  :D

We also went on Soarin' Over California, Ariel's little ride thingie, visited some friends at the Wharf, got our Fast Passes for the Radiator Springs ride (it was AWESOME!) and a few other things over on the DCA side that I can't recall.

Over on the Disneyland side, we watched Captain EO (I miss MJ), went on Space Mountain, got to see the new Star Tours for the first time (the screen is so clear... and the motion was more abrupt than it used to be), and Pirates.

Even though we'd spend the day from 9am to about 10:30pm, we were only able to fit so much in our schedule, even with the fast passes.  We only waited in 2 lines; a 30 minute line for Pirates and a 1 hour line for Space Mountain.  All in all, it was a great day.  While we weren't able to hit up everything, we got to see everything that we wanted to.  :)  

GREAT NEWS! (150/365)

GREAT NEWS!  :)  I just got news this morning of a job offer that sets me up on my career path.  :D  I'm super excited!  I'm to start getting squared away come the following week and will finally be able to start reaching my career goals.  :D  Whoo!

I never thought that things would work out so early in my life.  I was afraid that I had strayed from the path that I needed to (in terms of schooling and such).  So for everything to fall into place in early 2013... it's a true blessing.  :)

CHEERS!

Annual Get-Together (149/365)

Tonight was ABCCDDD's 10th annual dinner get-together.  :D  I couldn't have asked for a better group of friends to share this with.  P, J, R, K, K, and I have been friends since the 7th grade.  While we have all went our separate ways to study abroad, out of state, or even start our careers, we've all have always made the effort to come together each and every year to spend time with one another.

This year wasn't as packed full of games and such as much as when we were younger.  Instead, now that we have grown up together, the night consisted of dinner (stuffed mushrooms by P, a salad bar by myself, mini desert apple pies by R, a pasta dish by J, and bbq chicken by K), a gift exchange, and then the night was finished off simply with just talking and catching up over a few glasses of wine and dessert.

It was funny, sitting there, thinking back about our "younger" days.  :P  We joked around and complained that, "Man, we're old now.  It's only 8:30pm?!  Dang... we're old."  Great times were had and even greater memories were made.  :)  I can't wait for next year's get-together.