Adventure Tag

I am the biggest sucker for sunsets, and Los Angeles particularly seemed to know that. My first time there was enough to have me stumbling over, in love. The term “takes my breath away” has always been a cheesy one. Walking into the sunset is clichéd. But that was exactly what LA was – sheer beauty – and no other way to describe it. LA punched me, slapped me – enamoured, enthralled me. I gazed with glassy eyes over sunsets brighter, bloodier than any I had ever seen. I stumbledRead More

I’ve made it back home after a three week solo roadtrip on the west coast – and I am in one piece. My limbs are all still attached, my physical state is intact except for a bike scrape on my ankle. I’ve returned with all my possessions present, minus one lost hair elastic and one tube of lipstick. I would consider my sanity partially stable, and my mental health only mildly shaken. My bank account will need a whole year to recuperate, but I feel exponentially richer than before IRead More

“Long distance is hard.”  -Everyone It was years ago the first time it happened.  He lived in New York.  Brooklyn, to be exact.  I was living in San Francisco.  Where we met:  the Caesars Palace pool.  He was tall, (deviously) charming, and had just gotten his Masters at Stanford.  I was impressed but so what?  Why would anyone get involved with someone who lived in a different city, especially one on the other side of the country?   I mean, seriously.  Maybe it was the dizzying Vegas sun or theRead More

Every weekday morning, I turn on the news to hear voices.  It is unlikely that I will engage in active listening before I’ve had my first cup of coffee. However, hearing the weatherman’s warm voice and seeing the traffic reporter in full hair and makeup reminds me that there are other souls awake.  As a non-morning person, this daily routine inspires me to get up and stay up.  Sometimes I’ll drink my coffee and pause for a second to hear what my news anchor friends are blabbing about.  Last Monday, before 7am, they toldRead More

This past summer, I took a solo roadtrip meant for “self-exploration and discovery”—and some other hippie bullshit I thought would make me more introspective as an individual. Ironically enough, though I exuded a pseudo-whimsicality and spontaneity for adventure, I rigidly revolved my life around rules and schedules. My first stop was Mount Washington in the New Hampshire Whites, which was the highest peak I would’ve ever climbed. I joined a group of other solo hikers, but it was clear that I was the expert in the group—in tip-top shape toRead More

Even though “The Lizzie McGuire Movie” came out 11 years ago (wow, doesn’t that make you feel old?), here are some things I reflected on while watching the VHS with my best girlfriends.     1. Never dance around your bathroom in heels. As much as you love blasting music while you’re pre-gaming, or dancing around your bedroom after the shower (favorite hobby), beware of bathrooms, floor mats, and heels. I mean, seriously Lizzie, did you really think you weren’t going to slip and knockdown that shower curtain in thoseRead More

Wanderlust: (n.) The irresistible, incurable desire to travel. Don’t call me a psychic but I have a feeling in my being that there is somewhere in the world you are dying to explore.  You daydream about it from your sad little cubicle.  Perhaps your room is decorated with an excessive amount of maps.  Maybe you want to plan an anniversary trip with your lover.  “Help me, I’m poor,” you tell everyone.  “I really want to travel somewhere faraway.”  *Insert excessive crying* “…but I just don’t know how!” I am about to share a life-changing secretRead More

“Thailand? You went to Thailand?” And so begins any conversation about Taiwan. Many expatriates will tell you the confusion between Thailand and Taiwan is common. I mean, they sound the same. And isn’t Taiwan in China? Why go there and not Japan, Thailand, Laos, (insert favorite Asian country)? After two years living in Taoyuan, Taiwan, I can tell you: there is every reason to make your next stop Taiwan. Forget Thailand, forget Laos. Come to the rolling hills of bamboo, the marble mountains, the people welcoming you at every turn.Read More