Bay Area Here I Come!

Sunday, July 22.

Today was finally the day that I got to fly back to California to finish my internship. I had been in New Mexico since the 4th of July. That is so long! For the longest time, I was anxious to get back to work and to see all of the wonderful people I've met. Finally...

My mom woke me up at around 7:30. I was really tired. :( Luckily I had packed most of my things the night before, so all I had to do was pack anything that I used to get ready that morning. All of my sisters wanted to go with me to the airport, so they also got woken up early. By 8:45 we were on the road. The plan was to go to breakfast with my Tio Cuco and Tia Laura before going to the airport. When we got to Cuco and Laura's house I notice Cuco is making beans to make me bean burritos to take on my trip. Aww! :) I love bean burritos, so I was very excited. We didn't stay at their house very long because we wanted to make sure to have enough time to eat.

Sisterssss

Traffic in El Paso wasn't ideal. There might have been some sort of concert/event or something, because there were so many cars for a Sunday morning! The first place we tried going to was IHOP, but the wait was about 40 minutes. We didn't want to wait that long, so we went to Village Inn instead, which was conveniently located really close to the airport. We got to Village Inn just in time, and got a table right away. It was a round table, and I sat in between my youngest sisters, Jessica (8) and Katrina (11). It was fun! While we were waiting for our food, Jessica and I took SO many random pictures, and I taught her the strategy on how to win at tic-tac-toe. lol

After a while, we finally got our food. Cuco and Katrina ordered menudo. Katrina loves it! Jessica ordered macaroni and cheese and hash browns. My other sister, Nicole, and I ordered the same thing: 2 pancakes, 2 pieces of bacon, and hash browns. Unfortunately, I don't remember what my mom and Laura ordered. It was all delicious!

Once breakfast was over, it was time to go to the airport. My mom dropped me and Nicole off at the American Airlines terminal, and then went to find a parking spot. A few minutes passed and then Cuco, Laura, Jessica, Katrina, and my mom met us outside at the check in station. I couldn't stand the thought of dealing with my bag the whole trip, so I decided to check it in. All I had to worry about was my backpack and a small purse. Now was just the wait for a wheel chair so I could go through security. As one of the airport employees wheeled me toward the security check in, he stopped right before the elevator so I could say bye to my family. By this point Jessica was crying! It was so cute, and it even made me teary eyed. I'm definitely gonna miss her!

Going through security was a bit annoying. I couldn't go through the metal detector, so I had to hop on my right foot into the machine where you have to stand in and it does some sort of full body scan. It was kind of difficult. lol However, I did like that I didn't have to wait in line! :D  I was taken to gate A1 where I waited to board my flight ELP --> LAX. I boarded first (being handicapped and all). It was a pretty small plane, so it was a tight squeeze trying to get to my seat on my crutches. I tried to fall asleep on the plane, but I wasn't very comfortable, so I picked up where I left off reading book 2 of the 50 Shades of Grey series. I was sitting next to a girl who was actually reading the first book! lol We chatted for a bit, and I found out that she was on her way to Hawaii for vacation. How lucky! My flight from LAX --> SJC was less exciting. I fell asleep and before I knew it I was in San Jose!

Brenda and Lucy were so nice and agreed to meet me at the airport to help me with my bags! Thanks again girls! An employee wheeled me to the baggage claim area, where Lucy found me. :) She got to the airport by riding her bike. That girl is intense and awesome! Lucy helped get my bag from the carousel thing and we were off to find a shuttle to take us to the economy parking lot. As Lucy and I got onto the shuttle and headed to the lot, I realized Brenda had just missed us, so she hopped on the next one she could. Shuttle stop #5 was the one we got off at, and we waited for Brenda on a little bench. While we waited, I think I thoroughly explained to Lucy what enchiladas are! lol Next thing I know, I see Brenda. Yay, Brenda! :) These fabulous girls helped me get everything to my car, and we were off. I ended up having to pay $285 for the parking fee, because my car was there for so long. :( Fun times...

We got back to the apartment, and went for dinner after about half an hour.  Brenda, Lucy, Ramya, Xunjie, Liam, Jarvis, and I enjoyed a nice dinner at Olive Garden. There was a special of 2 entrees and 2 appetizers for like $25 (I don't remember the exact amount), such a good deal! After dinner, I dropped off Ramya, Xunjie, Liam, and Jarvis at the apartment and went back to pick up Brenda and Lucy from the mall. We then went to Target, because I needed to buy a chair, because I couldn't really stand in the shower with a broken ankle....

When we finally got back to the apartment, we were surprised/sad that the elevator didn't work. :( i.e. I couldn't get to my apartment from the parking garage. By this point I was so tired from the whole day of travelling, dinner, and Target which made it the worst time for the elevator to break. (Oh, and my foot was hurting). The only solution was for Lucy to drive my car and drop me off at the bus stop. Luckily we live on the first floor, so we were able to get to our place from there.

As we unlocked the door to our apartment and proceeded to enter, I was so ready to just sprawl out on the floor from exhaustion! Buuuuuuutttt.... all of a sudden, Ramya, Xunjie, Liam, and Jarvis jump out from behind the sink/bar shouting, "Welcome back Tasha!"  -- I was SO surprised!! There was also a cake on the kitchen counter!

Apparently, Lucy and Ramya made the flowers out of Starbursts! They are so creative! YOU GUYS ARE SO SWEET! Thanks so much! After the shock wore off, we cut the cake and hung out for a little bit. Jarvis was showing us one of the dances in High School Musical!

I was so tired, but so glad to be back in San Jose. I had missed my roommates so much! <3

"All our dreams can come true - if we have the courage to pursue them." - Walt Disney

Jessica's Birthday Party

Saturday, July 21.

Yay, Jessica! Today a lot of my family came over to celebrate my baby sister's 8th birthday!

Jessica with Rapunzel's braid

I think Jessica was very happy at her party. There was good food (hamburgers, hotdogs, nachos, corn, and potato salad), lots of family, face painting, a Rapunzel pinata, a big cake, and presents!

Our cousin Cindy is the artist in the family, so she was volunteered to do the face painting! :P

My sister is getting a baseball painted on her arm

Like I said, lots of family came just for Jessica. Here are all my cousins that came!

All of the kids had tons of fun hitting the pinata. Since I was crippled I had to watch from the porch. lol Luckily though, Cindy was my body guard and kept everything away from my foot. Thanks Cindy! ;)

Cousins Mireya and Cindy

At the beginning of the summer, Jessica knew that I wasn't going to be able to make it to her birthday because of my internship. Of course she was really sad, so she prayed and prayed that I would be there for her birthday. Lucky for her and lucky (but also unlucky since my ankle was broken) for me, her prayers were answered and I got to be there on her 8th birthday! :) I love that little girl sooooo much!

"And then I went to visit my sister in the states and all of a sudden it was like, it's like... it's like the movie Wizard of Oz when all of a sudden it changes from black and white to glorious technicolor." - John Mahoney

Happy Birthday Jessica!

Wednesday, July 18.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, JESSICA! :)

My baby sister turned 8 years old! She is getting so big! :(

I love her, but omg she was being such a little diva! According to her, she didn't have to listen to anyone because it was her birthday! Ayayay... We just love her! :)

We are gonna celebrate her birthday with a birthday party on Saturday. She told us that for food she wants to have nachos, hamburgers, and red chile(for the adults). She knows what she wants. And guess what... She is gonna get it. lol

Even though we are having a party for her on Saturday, we still invited some of my family over for some cake. My Aunts and Uncles, Cuco, Laura, Mari, Robert, Cruz, and Vince came, and my cousins, Bobby, Arielle, Diego, Matthew, and Andrew. It's always great when any of us get together. We were making fun of my Tio Cuco for wearing mismatched shoes to work today! lol 

While my family was there, my Tia Mari was sitting next to me and we were watching a bunch of Youtube videos!

I look so white! haha

At around 11:30pm I got to have a quick hangout with Lucy, Brenda, and Ishwarya. They all had to go to sleep at a reasonable hour because they were going to take the 6:45am shuttle! Wow. Those girls are such hard workers!

I couldn't fall asleep... I spent most of the night watching Community on Hulu (I feel Liam would be proud lol), and reading 50 Shades of Grey. I don't read very many books, but my mom and sister had been telling me to read it for a while. Then I checked my email and saw a fabulous email from Brenda that contained some food pictures! Thanks, girl! :) And because I couldn't sleep, I rambled on a pretty long response email. hehe Then after chatting a little bit with my friend Michael, I finally fell asleep around 5am.

"In time of test, family is the best." - Burmese Proverb

Sistersss

Thursday, July 19.

1:00pm.
I woke up to the sound of the ringing tone of our doorbell. It was our old babysitter, Lupe. As a get well present, she brought me a balloon and awesomely delicious bean burritos! :D They were so good! Lupe took care of me and my sisters when I was in middle school. When we weren't in school, we spent most of our time with her playing Loteria. Sooo that's what we did while she visited us. :) It was fun, and I think I even won a couple of bucks!

Loteria card

After Lupe left, I took a really long, relaxing shower. After my shower, I ended up falling asleep. I told myself that I was gonna do some work, but that didn't happen... My sister woke me up and was really nagging me to go with her to dinner. I finally caved, and my three sisters and I went out to dinner. It was the first time that I had actually gone out of the house (besides going to the doctor). It felt pretty good. We went to Texas Roadhouse, and I ate a Cactus Blossom appetizer (not sure how to describe it), a loaded baked potato, and green beans. It doesn't sound like I ate that much, but I was super full at the end!

On the way home, we rented a movie. And then went and got some movie theatre popcorn, because Katrina loves it. lol We watched the Smurfs. Such a cute movie! 

I finally got on my laptop and saw an email from one of my awesome roommates, Brenda. She was updating me on her breakfast from Stock Market that day! :P See how delicious it looks!

Later, Katrina was bored so we played Super Mario Sluggers on the Wii.  I suck at this game! haha I used to be really good, but I forgot all of the secret tricks/plays, so Katrina beat me! lol

Awesome day with my sisters. <3

"The advantage of growing up with siblings is that you become very good at fractions." - Robert Brault

Sat-ur-day

Saturday, July 14.

So I really really miss Google breakfast. Brenda sent me this picture of her breakfast from Charlie's cafe, and I think anybody would agree that it just looks perfect. Like something you would see in a commercial even. BTW in this picture you can see a salmon bagel, some zucchini bread muffins, waffles, and strawberries. MMM!

Today, my little cousin, Franky, was celebrating his birthday at Peter Piper Pizza in El Paso. I didn't feel very partyish so I stayed home while my sisters went. My mom didn't go because she had a different party to go to. 

But I was excited because my good friend Ashley was gonna come visit me. Yay! I met Ash senior year of high school, and we've been close ever since. We laugh because we are so different. I guess everyone has that one nerdy friend. I am Ash's. ;) Anyway, my fabulous friend brought me a passion tea lemonade from Starbucks! Thanks, girl! 

We chatted for a while about everything and anything. It was great getting to catch up with her. At some point, we busted out some Google glasses and started taking random pictures.

I didn't like the way the light was shining on my forehead, so she covered it for me with her hair. haha
Thats what friends are for!

Ummmm... idk! lol

Such a fierce eyebrow!

Fun times! I <3 this girl. When she left, I ate some of the food that my mom brought home from the party: brisket, enchilada, beans, and some cake. It was pretty good. I spent the rest of the night watching Revenge, which is a pretty awesome show! Overall, it was a good Saturday night.

"Pain is inevitable. Suffering is optional." - Haruki Murakami

Friday the 13th. Lucky or Not?

Friday, July 13.

Not so lucky...

I guess it wasn't that bad. Although I tend to find any day that has a visit to the doctor's office unlucky. Today was my first follow up appointment with Dr. Lindsey after my surgery. I was led back into the cast room, where they removed the splint. EW. Its the first time I see my foot, and it's not a pretty sight. Not a pretty sight at all. I even got a bit lightheaded a couple of times from looking at it. In fact, I have pictures but will keep them to myself to save you from all of the less-than-fabulousness.

I will tell you, I could now understood why I felt occasional stinging when I rested my foot in certain positions. On the outside of my left leg, I saw a long straight line of 16 staples holding my skin together above my ankle - this is where Dr. Lindsey fixed my broken fibula. On the inside of my left leg was a smaller and curved line of 8 staples fulfilling their purpose - this is where the incision was to mend my tibia. That's as much as I'll say without getting grossed out at the thought of what it really looked like...

Time for X-rays. Doctor wanted to make sure everything was still in place. I just wanted to know what he used to fix my ankle... When the X-rays were finished, Dr. Lindsey invited my mom and I to hover over his shoulder as he viewed/explained the X-rays that were sent to his monitor.

9 screws, 1 plate, 2 washers, and a piece of rope are holding my foot together. Modern medicine is incredible!

The "fun" part was over. Honestly, I wasn't even aware that there was a fun part. Dr. Lindsey wanted me back in a boot. The same boot that I wasn't a huge fan of. Crap. Luckily the guy who is in charge of putting the boots/splints/casts on people, Javier, didn't think it was a good idea, because of how recent I had had the surgery. He put a blue cast on instead. He told me I would be way more comfortable in a cast. Cool. Thanks Javier.

Later on, I got a package in the mail. I had already missed a week of work, but Carolyn made it possible  that I wouldn't miss so much. Her and my host were able to get me all of the approvals needed so that I could work from home. They are awesome! All I needed was my work laptop, and I'd be set. Guess what was in the package?

In the package I found my laptop, badge and a cute card signed by EP interns. Special thanks to Brenda for getting everything to Carolyn, Lucy and Ramya for helping Carolyn find something to pack it in, the EP interns who signed the card and made my day, and of course Carolyn for putting it all together! :)

"The happiest is the person who suffers the least pain; the most miserable who enjoys the least pleasure." - Jean Jacques Rousseau

Boom.

Thursday, July 12.

I LOVE MY BABY SISTER, JESSICA!

Jess made me her favorite breakfast: egg and chorizo. She is so adorable! :)

Then we spent the morning watching cartoons on Netflix: The Fairly Odd Parents to be precise.

For lunch, Lizzie, a good friend from high school, came by and got us lemon pepper and hot wings from Wing Stop! :) It had been a while since I had seen Lizzie, so it was really fun getting to catch up with her.

I don't remember what I ate for dinner, but I do remember that my family came over again. :D We played Aggravation, and Cruz and I lost horribly. haha

Notice that my marbles are yellow and they are all in base. :( They pretty much stayed like that the whole game! lol Oh well... Cruz and I always win, so it was time to give someone else a turn. ;) hehe

Cuco and Laura <3

Mireya <3

Another exceptional hangout with the roommies! Oh, and Ramya even joined this time! :)

<3

Well there wasn't very much detail in this post, but maybe the next one...

"The reason people find it so hard to be happy is that they always see the past better than it was, the present worse than it is, and the future less resolved than it will be." - Marcel Pagnol