LA Double Date

Over the weekend, we went on a double date with Mark’s BFF and his girlfriend.  This was the first double date we’ve ever been on and we had a ton of fun!  Lots of eating and sighting seeing and more eating.  We visited places that both Mark and I have never been to, which was even better because we were looking forward to each location.

Our first stop was the Grove and the Farmer’s Market for lunch.  The Grove is a really nice outdoor mall with a ton of nice stores and places to eat.  At the end of the Grove is the Farmer’s Market, where you can find a lot of little places go eat.

We decided to try Pampas Grill, a Brazilian place.  This place had the longest line, and apparently there’s always a long line for the place.  And there’s a reason why… It’s DELICIOUS!

There are about 6 choices of meat and a salad and hot sides buffet.  They weight the plate after you choose all the sides and meats you want.  It can get a little expensive if you pile your plate with food, but it’s super good.  Mark and I shared a plate of chicken, lamb, sausages, and a bunch of sides.

After lunch, we walked around the Grove and went into the shops.  If I had more time, I’d definitely go on a window shopping spree.

Our next stop was Milk, an ice cream sandwich place.  I’ve been wanting to try this place since forever.  I always see my friend’s pictures on Instagram and them raving about how good the place is.  We finally got to try and it wasn’t a struggle to find parking!

You can either order ice cream, an ice cream sandwich, or an ice cream bar.  The four of us decided to go with different ice cream sandwiches: salty caramel, blueberry, grasshopper (mint chocolate chip), and red velvet.  The cookie bread part on mine was a little hard while everyone else’s was super soft.  I’m was a little because the red velvet would have been so much better if the cookie bread part was soft.  I loved the ice cream though.  I couldn’t decide between Thai tea and red velvet, but after I tried the ice cream, I was sold on the red velvet.  Next time I will try the Thai tea ice cream.  Regardless, all the sandwiches were really tasty.  The other three LOVE the grasshopper.

The next stop was Griffith Observatory.  I’ve also been wanting to go here for forever again after seeing a ton of pictures.  We had to park far away, so we had a mini hike up to the observatory.

They were having some kind of telescope event out on the lawn which was pretty cool.  We were able to look through a bunch of big, expensive looking telescopes.  We got a good look at the moon and some of the craters on the moon.

In the observatory, there are exhibits about the solar system and great views of smoggy LA.  We stayed there for a while, soaking up the view and waiting in line to view the main telescope.  It was pretty interesting listening to the some of the facts the guide was telling us.  The view we had was of the Apollo (some number…) landing site.  There were two craters we could see and the distance between the two craters is the size of California.  It’s pretty crazy to think about how huge the moon really is.  Before this, I don’t think I’ve seen the moon in such detail through a telescope

After visiting the observatory, we were super hungry and decided to go to Korean BBQ.  Mmmm!  It was so good after the long day.  With barely any time left, we rushed over to Bottega Louis to try their macarons.  SO EXPENSIVE FOR OUR COLLEGE WALLET.  Those two macarons costed us $5.45.  WAH!  Expensive, but it was soooo good.  I got vanilla and Mark got earl grey.  This was probably one of the best macarons I’ve tasted.

We had such a fun time together that we’re hoping to go on another double date soon!  We wanted to go to other museums but we ran out of time.  Next time!

Inspiration Sundays

All I want to do is make better sushi.  I do the same thing over and over, improving bit by bit.  There is always a yearning to achieve more.  I’ll continue to climb, trying to reach the top… but no one knows where the top is.”

-Jiro Ono, Jiro Dreams of Sushi (2011)

Recently, I was thinking about the documentary, Jiro Dreams of Sushi,  and although I don’t like sushi, Jiro has a lot of words of wisdom for anyone.  I think one of the most powerful quotes that made me think is the quote above.  He is always striving for perfection, but no one knows what perfection is.  The way I see it, you should always better yourself, continue learning and grow as a person, because there is no clear cut definition of the word perfection.  You may think you’ve achieved perfection, but there is always room to grow.  While people may think Jiro has achieve perfection in the world of sushi, he doesn’t believe so.  He believes that he can improve his craft.

This made me think about my passions and what I want to do with my life.  At this moment, I’m still not completely sure what that dream job is, or if I can actually attain that dream job.  I know one thing for sure though, I have to promise myself to always keep reaching for the best I can be.  There is no such thing as a plateau, because there is always something I can work on.  Being more organized, more efficient, more well-spoken.  Exercise more, read more, eat healthier, love more and the list goes on and on.  Everyone has goals, whether it’s big (becoming a CEO) or small (cleaning the bathroom).  It’s up to us to work towards those goals.  Some will take a lot more time than other, but we have to keep going and keep our heads up high no matter how hard the road to that goal may get.  But, even when we achieve that goal, there is still more we can work on.

Once you decide on your occupation, you have to immerse yourself in your work.  You have to fall in love with your work.  Never complain about your work.  You must dedicate your life to mastering your skill.  That’s the secret to success… And the key to being regarded honorably.”

-Jiro Ono

This quote is also one that I love.  However, not only do I want to immerse myself in work, I want to immerse myself in family.  Nowadays, people are so invested in work that they would rather work than be with their families.  This is a reason why many families and relationships fall apart.  I value friends and family over work or any other activities.  I will always put my family and friends first.  It’s not worth it to lose these people.  Nonetheless, I will immerse myself in family, friends and work.  Fall in love with them all.

If you’ve never seen Jiro Dreams of Sushi, you should watch it.  It’s a really good documentary about an amazing man.

A Real Hero – College & Electric Youth

Today’s Tune in Tuesday, I picked a song from a soundtrack of a movie called Drive. Although the movie takes place during our time. This song in the soundtrack I felt had an 80′s vibe to it. I personally like the techno and the non-complex beats of the 80′s because it reminds of a simpler time. So when you listen to this, make sure to have an image of a neon lamp in a dark room, and all you’re doing is pretty much being mesmerized by it. This song is also awesome (how I picture it) driving down downtown L.A. at night. It makes everything feel really calm, even though L.A. itself is hectic.

Images from the Weekend

I hope everyone had a great Mother’s Day!  I’m so happy I was able to spend two days with my parents.  Since I’m away at college and almost about to move, I get really excited to spend some time with my parents.  I spend my Mother’s Day weekend at Universal Studios and at my grandma’s house.  I haven’t been there since I was little, so I only remembered bits and pieces from the park.  My dad was able to get discounted tickets because of an event, so we were able to stay pass the closing time for the general public.  It didn’t really make a difference, because the lines weren’t any shorter than during the day.

Mark also came with us and it was his first time there.  He didn’t know what to expect on any of the rides, but he was super excited.  He thought the Waterworld show would have dolphins and whales (silly boy).  That is such an awesome show, by the way.  It’s amazing how they do all the stunts during the show.

The studio tour is one of my favorite rides there.  I love being able to see where they filmed all these movies and get to see how they use certain areas to make it look real in the movies.  You don’t expect the tour to be as long as it is, but the lot is HUGE!  It takes about an hour to go through the whole thing so go to the bathroom before you wait in line.  I’ve also really liked the Jurassic Park ride, I think it’s mainly because of the drop at the end.  It’s so exhilarating.  I think another great ride is the Transformers ride, because it’s so different from any other rides in the area.  It’s really similar to the Spiderman ride in Islands of Adventure in Orlando. So if you’ve been on either of those rides, then you’ll know what to expect.

Also over the weekend, Mark and I usually have more time to cook and try out new recipes.  For the past couple weeks, Mark has been craving a teriyaki bowl.  We went to go get one, but he still wanted more teriyaki.  He found a recipe online to make gyudon (beef teriyaki) so we decided to make it for dinner that night.

You can view the recipe here: Gyudon

Next up on our list to cook: Disney recipes! I can’t wait.

On My Mind

While at work, I came across this book.  It was my favorite book back in elementary school and I haven’t seen it since then.  I was flipping through the book, half proud of how I was able to read a book like this at such a young age and half thinking about all the things I’ve gone through since I read this book.

It’s crazy to think that it’s been about 11 years since I left elementary school.  11 years of so many experiences, so many ups and downs, so many life changing moments, so many of everything.  Seeing this book made me realize, you know what Mallory, you’re not a kid anymore.  You’re about to graduate from college.  You’re an adult now.  No more hiding behind studies.  You need to go out there and make a name for yourself.  Is school really just… over?  I mean, there’s grad school, but that’s just a different feeling all together.  I’ve been going to school for 18 years of my life, now it’s all about to change.

I love college.  I love always being around friends, being able to hang out whenever I want, having late night adventures, sitting around doing nothing, skipping class (sometimes!), learning, and all the extra curricular activities.  Those are the things I will miss about college.  Maybe I’ll end up missing the homework and the studying, but thinking about it right now, I’m going to miss all the socializing.  Is post grad life going to be completely different?  I don’t know.  I guess that’s something I will have to find out for myself.

I’m excited to graduate though.  I’m turning to a new chapter in my life.  One that’s going to be really exciting and adventurous, and I can’t wait.  The only people I’ve told so far about what’s going to happen are the people who are closest to me.  These are the people that know how hard I’ve worked over the past 4 years.  The ones that know about all the tears and anger I’ve pushed through, all the days when I woke up in the morning thinking, I can’t do it.  I want to quit.

It’s kind of crazy that this one book made me start thinking about life, but I think there are random objects or people out there that make just nostalgic.  And this happened to be one of those objects.  It’s a symbol, not of the past, but of the future.  Of all the amazing experiences I have to look forward too.  I’m proud of all the things I accomplished in college.  When I started college, I told myself I would do the following:

  • Study Abroad
  • Dean’s List
  • Do research
  • Join a club
  • Be a board member in that club
  • Find an internship
  • Find a job
  • Have a professor know me by name
  • Find a cute boy

I did all of that.  And I learned so many great things from all of those things!  Sometimes I have no idea how somethings happened, like becoming the Co-President of a club.  When I was in high school, I never even dreamed that I would become a leader.  I was too quiet and I HATED talking in front of people.  I still don’t really like talking in front of people, but it’s a must.  It’s something that we have to do all the time.  I will carry all the things I’ve learned from these experiences onto the next chapter of my life.  It’s time to set new goals.  I’m going to take it a few years at a time and see where my experiences take me.  I have a few goals in mind right now, but I’m completely open to learning and growing.  I want to continue to learn and grow, because, does it really ever stop?  Adulthood, I’m coming for you at full force!

And this whole thing about not being a kid anymore?  I’m totally still a kid at heart.  I mean, look at how much I love Disney and cute things and stuffed animals.

Thank you BFG, sometimes you need a little kick of reality.