happy halloween!

your character wakes up in the past, when they were still with a lover who would later on break their heart. how do they handle this?

Writing Prompt #4 Your character wakes up in the past, when they were still with a lover who would later on break their heart. How do they handle this?

As I wake up, I notice something familiar, yet somewhat foreign. His smell: that wonderful smell of him.

I stretch to shake off my drowsiness and hear his voice, “Good morning, Sleepy.”  His face is close to mine and he playfully kisses my nose. I love it when he does that.

My mind races to place this moment. Was I having déjà vu? We are in bed with the sunlight peaking through a curtain I forgot to fully close. He was always careful about making sure no light would get through, but I wasn’t. I could sleep through almost anything.

He is in a really good mood this morning and I remember exactly how he looked when the sun hit him on this particular day.  This day is when we realize we are in love.

This was almost 3 years to the day when he would take his own life because of the depression he suffered after losing his brother to a freak accident the year before. No one could lift him out of the darkness. No one could reach him,… not even me.

I had often awoken to moments like these, when the past came back to life with memories so vivid and real that for a moment, everything seemed as it was, as it should have been. I would reach for him and feel the coolness of the sheets, where he used to lie beside me, only to fully awaken to realize he was indeed, still gone.

This is different. I feel his warmth as he lies next to me. I feel his strong arms as he pulls me closer. He smiles that incredible smile, just as I remember, looks down at me and blurts out, “I love you so much!”

“I love you too!” I reply feeling my heart swell; this is the first time we ever say those words to each other. Relief washes over him as he pulls me even closer to him and kisses me deeply.

Tears started to well in my eyes, but I push them down. I need to enjoy this moment. I kiss him deeper and hold him tighter.

I don’t ever want to let go.

a story in 100 words, take 2

I liked this prompt so much I wrote another one. 

write a 100 word story about one moment

“This better be as good as she says” I thought to myself. My best friend had raved about this place, home to the “best burger EVER”…

Ahem.

I surveyed the burger. {sniff} it smells great… it looks great!

Per her recommendation, I got the Classic burger: double patties made out of chuck beef and pork, grilled onions, hold the cheese, on a Brioche bun.

PB & J Burger from American Ale

I took a bite.

She was right.

I saw the joy in her eyes as she saw my reaction.

I think I may have died and gone to burger heaven.

I’ll never “EVER” doubt her again.

write a 100 word story about one moment

Taking more liberties. This isn't technically one moment, but it kinda is...

Writing Prompt #3: write a 100 word story about one moment

“Pizza, French Fry, Pizza, French Fry!” I repeated to myself as I picked up speed and slowed down. It was the first time I was on skis.

Kids whizzed by me, “French Frying” it all the way down.

“Damn their low center of gravity!” I grumbled under my breath.

“Come on, NO FEAR!” my boyfriend yelled as he flew by.

He had already bombed passed me five times. I was still on my first run down the bunny slope.

“Screw it!” I thought.

I mustered up all my courage.

“BANZAI!” I yelled, and zoomed down the rest of the run.

a person dies and is confronted by the person they have become

I might have taken a few liberties with this idea as well...

Writing prompt #2 a person dies and is confronted by the person they have become

I always heard that your entire life flashes before you right before you die.  Imagine my surprise when I found that the life that “could have been” flashed before me after I passed away.

I “crossed over” at 24. I had been hit by a car when I was on a sidewalk in Venice Beach. The driver lost control of the vehicle because he had a seizure and killed 4 of us.  It was a tragic accident.

It was like a scene out of “A Christmas Carol”, where Ebenezer Scrooge was viewing his “Christmas yet to come” alternate life. I was like a ghost witnessing what my future could have been, but without a host to show me around. Not that I needed one. I recognized myself right away.

At first I was back at the scene of my death. But instead of being run down, a man had grabbed me and pulled me to safety. Unfortunately the other three were struck, as the tragedy could not have been avoided.

I remember him pulling me out of the way in the nick of time.  We locked eyes as what had happened started to set in my mind. I was almost killed!

Soon after, the scenario started to morph around me, taking me to another snapshot of my life.  My savior and I were rock climbing in a remote part of the world. No one else was around us. When we got to the top, he got down on one knee.

The scenario transformed again. The man who had saved me was at the end of the aisle. My father was walking me towards him with a quartet playing a beautiful song. I was grinning ear to ear, looking at all the faces of my family and friends, smiling, taking pictures, and videoing our moment. I felt such joy and happiness.

Another scene: I’m in a boardroom, commanding a meeting. I could tell I was important the way everyone was tentatively listening to me and nodding in agreement.

Scene after scene came and went, but the one that lingered was one of me lying on a bed, my head wrapped in a scarf. My hair was all gone; my body was weak from chemo that treated my breast cancer. I was surrounded by my husband and three adults that appeared to be our children.  They were smiling through tears, talking about the good times we had. The battle was officially over. I refused additional treatment and was ready. My family was sad to see me go, but relieved that I would suffer no more.

At this point tears were streaming down my face. I was so joyful. Dr. Seuss’s quote swam in my mind, “Don’t cry because it’s over, smile because it happened.” My “could have been” life was so full and rich with love and success. Even though it would never happen, seeing the possibility elated me.

The scenario morphed again; this time I was young again, maybe 36 or 37. I had just gotten my bearings. I was sitting in a crowd in a large theater  I was surrounded by hundreds of beautiful people, all dressed to the nines: men in tuxedos, women in vibrant ball gowns. My feet were throbbing in 4” heels that were a burgundy that matched my gown.  My husband was next to me when I heard, “And the Oscar for best actress goes to… for her portrayal of…” I saw myself get up and go on stage to accept the award.

I was so confused until I realized most of those previous scenes I had witnessed; they were from me becoming a successful actress. The only truth was that I was indeed married to the man who had saved me. He was an up-and-coming actor when we first met and together we had built our careers in various roles. We were like a real life Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan, filming several movies together. The marriage was real, though the proposal was a scene in one of our movies. The last two scenes were also different roles in movies I had starred in.

My husband and I got home from the awards ceremony and after parties. It was nearly dawn and he had helped me get out of my dress. After the dress was off, he embraced me and gave me a Hollywood kiss, "I'm SO proud of you!"

We were very happy and blessed with the success we had attained.

I was in the shadow, watching myself remove my makeup and brush out my hair. Unexpectedly, my alternate self acknowledged me for the first time. She stopped what she was doing, looked directly into my eyes, and said,”this is what life could have been…”

I nodded and smiled to myself as I headed towards the light.

visual stimulation of the scenic variety

For those of you who know me, you know my camera is usually close by. I LOVE pictures.

I'm one of those annoying Asian kids taking pictures of their food (not to post on FB, mind you, but to use for my yelp profile, thank you very much!) and sometimes (though rarely, I promise!) I'm one of those annoying people that seem to stop suddenly because something catches my eye. It's more of a slight pause before I get out of the way before taking the picture. 

Anyway, earlier this year I got my hands on a Canon SLR so I could experiment. None of these pictures have been touched up. Heck, all of them were taken with "autofocus", but I figured adjusting settings would be step 2 in the learning process. =) 

I'm mainly taking scenic shots for now. Not too hard when there is so much to appreciate.

Central Coast

On a lazy weekend, the bf and I took a coastal drive up the 101N. I have no idea where we stopped, but it was a beautiful day and we took a long stroll. As you can tell, it's not the usual sandy beach that most people are used to.

Lake Cachuma, CA

My friend from Boston was in town. He told me that he stayed at Lake Cachuma and that it was a great area. Another friend was visiting, so we took a short drive to check it out. Fun place for families, with lots of activities like kayaking and camping. I think one of the best things about coming here was the view of the drive. It's pretty much all up hill and the view is beautiful.

The Mission, Santa Barbara, CA

The Mission is one of the many sites that people are drawn to when visiting Santa Barbara. It's a beautiful building and according to the website, tells the history of how "Santa Barbara began."

There is a garden across the way, where you can picnic and toss around a frisbee. It's a sight to see when roses are in bloom.

East Beach might as well be my second home here. I usually go on daily walks/ jogs along this beach. The boardwalk is usually full of

East Beach, Santa Barbara, CA

joggers, bikers, walkers, and surreys. I've also been known to play beach volleyball here, when there are enough people.

It's also home to Chase Palm Park, which, once you see the array of trees, know it could not have been named anything else. (The Palm Park portion, that is!)

So... I admit, I also use my camera phone quite a bit and have an instagram account. Here are a few of my faves:

View of Santa Barbara from the Courthouse

The Santa Barbara Courthouse is one of my favorite places to take visitors. For one, it's just around the corner from a great gelato place for which I have known to frequent more than once a day, ahem... (what can I say?! it was a hot day!) two, it has a beautiful courtyard which is a great location to enjoy said gelato, and three, during the summer they have movie screenings (which, again, you can partake in maybe another gelato...). This is also a very popular wedding destination.

This beach was on a different drive down the coast. My friend and I stopped at a rest stop to check out the view. The central coast is such a scenic drive.

We saw a railroad track below the viewing area. Naturally, we had to take a closer look, but he couldn't stop there. My friend was determined to find a way down to the ocean and since I was already halfway down, I had to get a glimpse myself. Can't let him have all the fun!

When we were coming up, we found a better, safer way to get down, (of course) but it was a nice way to add a little adventure to the day.

Laguna Beach sky

Ok, no more sales pitches of how great Santa Barbara is.

This sky was one of those moments where I looked up and was stopped in my tracks. I loved the way the clouds were reflecting the sun and the silhouette of the palm trees...

I know I sound corny. What can I say? I appreciate nature.

I mean, come on, that's one cool picture!

you pick up the phone to call a friend and realize that you are on the line with yourself 5 years ago... Part 2

I say "Part 2" but this is not a continuation of the last story. It's what a conversation with myself from 5 years ago would really be like. 

Astoria, OR

“You remember Dexter?” I asked my younger self.

“Yeah! The Canadian that almost got us killed?” I exaggerated.

“Yup, the one who always said that' life was about the journey'.” Elder me confirmed.

“What about him?”

“Well, he’s right. You will probably always be re-evaluating what you want to do with your life, but while you are doing so, don’t forget to enjoy yourself.”

“Care to elaborate?”

“Do you REALLY want a preview, or do you want it to be a surprise?”

Laguna Beach, CA

“Preview please!” younger me begged.

“Gah, FINE!” I replied, exasperated. These youngin’s,  so damn impatient; and here I thought I was different and more mature at that age. I guess not. Hmph.

“In these 5 years, you will meet over 100 people. You will live in unexpected places and will travel to over 20 new cities across 7 countries and 3 continents. You will go through some good times and some bad. “

“While that’s nice to hear, it’s still somewhat vague, “  younger me observed.

“I know, so get off the phone and START LIVING!” And with that I hung up.