I forget how or why I started thinking about this but it suddenly struck me how much we all project our lives onto the Internet for everyone to see. I work for a social networking company so it isn’t exactly news. And the nerd in me likes seeing the different ways in which social media have integrated with one another and all the little user interface changes that can instantly better how a page works. But then every once in a while, I hear my parents’ voices in my head screaming “OMG your name shows up on Google!” and then worry about past and potential psychos in my midst that I’m unaware of. Because when I think about it, you can basically find my thoughts, my photos, at times my whereabouts, what I’m currently doing, what I’m reading, music I’m listening to, my work experience — all online. Granted it’s sort of the blogger thing to go. Heck, it’s just the thing to do period. Especially with the increasing popularity of Twitter, the transparency of a person’s life has been taken to a whole other level. Which is kind of scary but at the same time I somewhat thrive on it. Specifically when it comes to my friends that are into the same technologies. It’s a great way to be and feel connected in some daily way because as we get older, we inevitably become busier. But obviously technology shouldn’t and can never take the place of seeing a person face-to-face. Another important and obvious statement: stalking is bad. Just thought I’d put that out there.

And on that note, I joined a new social network yesterday called Readernaut. You can add books that you’ve finished, are currently reading, plan to read or have abandoned. You can also update your progress on a book and then directly tweet from their site (nerd moment: I love that integration!). Click here to view my page and follow me if you like.

When theedorks make plans, it’s kind of a given that it’s going to be lots of fun, definitely interesting and somewhat crazy. But then throw in a birthday and some long driving .. and well, it’s all that times two.

On Friday, we had plans to see No Doubt and Paramore at the PNC Bank Arts Center. But first we started off the day with driving down to Noodle Gourmet for lunch and bubble tea, which has become a tradition with us. We also did a little shopping at the Jersey Shore outlets. And then, we drove to the venue and sat in my car eating pizza as rain and hail poured down all around us for a good 20 minutes or so. Naturally we had lawn seats but luckily we were able to upgrade to actual seats (for only $10!). So we were already fans of No Doubt and Paramore but seriously, listening to the cds does not even begin to compare to seeing them both live. They were both AMAZING and so completely on that night. The energy was great and we were all rocking out to the music the entire night. I can’t even explain.. just such a great energy. Plus I think we’ve all got girl crushes on Gwen Stefani now. I hope I look that good after having 2 kids.

The next day, after only getting 3 hours of sleep, Carina Loren and I went into the city early (at least we thought it was early) to get on line for tickets to see Shakespeare in the Park. We get there and the line is HUGE. But we’re optimistic, we keep walking hoping to see the end of it and we’re passing people with chairs, blankets, food, books and sleeping on the ground. Then (a hot!) security guy comes out and announces that it’s a record line that day at 3000 people. The people first in line got there at 4:30am and anyone trying to get online at 8:15am (like us) should just go home. Needless to say, we had to change up the plan. So we walked all around Central Park, visited the Zoo, got lunch downtown, visited Cupcake Stop and then decided to go home. Except when we walked back to my car, it was gone. Yes, gone. We freaked out, went to the nearest police department (two words come to mind – unhelpful and tools. Yeah I’m looking at you 20th precinct!), found out it had been towed, we quickly taxi’ed our way to the impound and freed my tiny Honda Fit. Then… we drove home and promptly passed out from sheer tiredness (and fun).

And you probably thought I was exaggerating when I said our hang outs tend to equal adventure. It was a weekend to remember =) Then I had an impromptu birthday lunch after church with my family and saw Transformers 2 with Jay. All in all, exactly how I wanted to spend the weekend before my birthday.

But now here it is! Happy Birthday to moi. Goodbye 25, hello 26!

To view pictures from the concert, go here.
To view pictures from Central Park, go here.

Do you ever have one of those days where the littlest thing can set you off and just set the tone for the rest of the day? And when I say set off I mean – one annoyance suddenly brings about other unwanted thoughts & annoyances. For the most part, I’m all about letting the anger go (after a bit of venting or moping) especially since I can never really stay mad at the people I love anyway. But yesterday.. yesterday was one of those days. I was contemplating my role as that friend who usually makes plans and if I constantly wanted to be in that role. I mean, I don’t wanna be the ask-er all the time, I like being the ask-ee as well. I was thinking about the individuals that I’ve been missing for the past six months or so; and why they’re not around. I was cursing my router for deciding to stop working on Saturday (which now seems out of place with everything else I mentioned). So I dealt with it by getting into bed, eating cookie dough ice cream (which later gave me a tummy ache) and watching episodes of Gilmore Girls. Sad but hey, at least I don’t have anger management issues right?

But today is a new and hopefully better day. And yesterday was just a strange mood I was in. Plus I can’t complain about the entire weekend – I got a couple early birthday presents! Anywho, I’ll be keeping my fingers crossed for a stress-free, fun-filled and warm rain-less week.

Lately I’ve been trying to make a point to read one book right after the other. Don’t ask me why but I like having a new story to delve into and seeing a stack of books to read on my desk. Most people have “to do” lists (myself included) but I also have “to read” lists.

So I just wanted to share some of my recent reads:
Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance by Robert M. Pirsig
Only a couple chapters in but already there’s a quote that really stood out to me. “We’re in such a hurry most of the time we never get much chance to talk. The result is a kind of endless day-to-day shallowness, a monotony that leaves a person wondering years later where all the time went and sorry that it’s all gone.”

Sarah’s Key by Tatiana de Rosnay
Really great book, albeit tragic story. It’s historical fiction so I think that lends to tragedy of it. But you can’t help but feel invested in the characters and their journey. (Also, after twittering about the book – the author started “following” me a day later!)

The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Díaz
Not my usual cup of tea but it got a lot of praise so I decided to check it out. It was.. interesting. But too many footnotes and quite a bit of Spanish, so it was slow to get through. Also, I just couldn’t relate? Or even like any of the characters. The only semi-likable character was Oscar and most of the book wasn’t even from his point-of-view.

To read soon: Breakfast at Tiffany’s by Truman Capote, The Prophet by Kahlil Gibran, and Still Alice by Lisa Genova.

This past Friday I spent the day in New York with my cousins John and Jason. We had been planning this day for a while now and had put together a list of places we wanted to check out. Most of these places were centered around shopping and/or food but we were also trying to avoid the “tourist” route.

With my daily commute for work and even all the times we’ve taken visiting relatives into the city, it’s easy to forget all the fun and hidden little gems New York has to offer. I think that’s what made the day so fun for us. Finding and trying out new places.

So here’s our list, maybe you’ll find something to check out!

1. SHUT Skate Shop – Not that I’m into skateboarding or anything but I could totally appreciate how cool the store was. Plus they were really nice over there.
2. Midtown Comics – Again, not one of my picks but still fun to peruse.
3. Generation Records – Loved this music store. Kinda reminded me of Empire Records (as in the movie).
4. Lupe’s East L.A. Kitchen – Great Mexican food! Located in Soho, decently priced. The chips&salsa plus echiladas were delish.
5. Yellow Rat Bastard – Been here before but had to mention anyway because .. I bought a “dork power!” shirt from here.
6. Uniqlo – Again, already visited before but I really like their clothes.
7. Strand Bookstore – Their tagline is “18 miles of books” and they aren’t kidding.
8. Cupcake Stop – A mobile cupcake shoppe. Enough said.
9. Schnipper’s – My third time here but the food is great.

To view pictures from our day, go here.