A 26th Birthday Dinner

My grandparents took my two cousins, Lauren, Nikki, and I out to dinner for our 26th birthday. Each of us are only 3 weeks apart, me being the oldest, followed by Nikki and then Lauren. 10 years ago, they had taken us out to lunch at Club 33 in Disneyland. This was us:

Gotta love that adolescent awkward phase.

So yes, let me explain because I'm sure many of you are thinking, "Wait ... those people aren't Asian!" I have been adopted as a granddaughter. My mother and my grandmother were really good friends before I was born. Hence, the following formula happened:

Simmone born + Nana & Papa claiming Simmone

= Adopted granddaughter

No, there were no legal adoption papers filed and yes, I did have relationships with my biological grandparents. So instead of 2 sets of grandparents, I had 3. Essentially if you're still confused, just smile and nod because it is what it is. They are my grandparents and Nikki and Lauren are my cousins (plus DJ, who is Lauren's brother, who's not here because he's a boy) and I've been a part of the family all my life.

We tried to re-create the photo from 10 years ago. Us girls are a little off center. Nan and Papa pretty much look the same. The rest of us, well, we're all pretty happy we've gotten over our adolescence. Haha!

Nan and Papa took us to Sakura in La Cañada, CA. Think Japanese flair cooking.

And the night begins!

Our chef didn't really do too many tricks. He liked to play pranks though, by pretending to throw things at us.

Our table was at a 90 degree angle so getting pictures of everyone in action was a little difficult.

Here's a picture of me getting nailed in the face with a shrimp. The chef was aiming for my mouth and missed.

Action shot of Nikki trying to catch the shrimp!

Picture of Lauren after she missed her shrimp. Our chef didn't have very good aim.

Nikki: "I totally thought I was out of the way. But apparently my chest wanted to be in the pic, haha!"

So the restaurant found out that we were celebrating our birthdays and they had us all hit their birthday gong. Then they brought us ice cream cake, which I didn't take pictures of because I refuse to perpetuate this Asian/tourist trend I've been noticing at Bubba Gump! ;0P

The cake was awesome though!

Aw, lookie! We're all growed up!

Thanks for an awesome birthday dinner Nana and Papa!

A Sexual Harassment Investigation

I'm slightly stressed out. I am currently involved in a sexual harassment investigation at Bubba Gump. My co-worker and friend, Elyse and I have been tolerating inappropriate behavior from a male co-worker. We have both been smacked on the ass by him - twice. The second time (incidents that occurred independently of each other), both of us had directly asked him not to do that. On top of that, on New Year's Eve he had made a sexual joke to one of my tables about me, where the patrons were both male. So in that instance, a flirty situation that I was in total control of became a situation where I lost control and felt completely uncomfortable. When Elyse and I discovered that both of us have been victims of this inappropriate behavior we agreed that if either one of us experienced one more incident, we'd tell management. We also agreed that we would support each other because both of us against this guy would be better than one. It would no longer be a "his word against her's" scenario. Tonight, the offender smacked Elyse on the ass for a 3rd time. Management has now been informed and I am being called in to give my side of the story.

I am angry.

Updates to come.

Good Ol' California

On the phone at 4:04 am this morning (at least from what I recall):

Me: Dad, did we just have an earthquake?

Dad: Yup.

Me: Oh, okay.

Dad: Go back to sleep.

Me: Okay, bye.

I wake up in the morning and notice on Facebook that about 20 people had gotten on the computer right after the earthquake happened to announce that there was an earthquake on their status. Their first instinct after a potential natural disaster is to go on the computer and go straight to Facebook. Crazy, ain't it?

My first thoughts when I work up to the earthquake:

"Duck and cover! Crap, the only place to crawl under is my dining table which is in another room, on the other side of my apartment."

I remember how the Northridge earthquake back in 1994 felt, which I think registered at a magnitude of 6.8. The one this morning was only 4.4 - mild compared to the one 16 years ago. But essentially, by the time I would get to my dining table the earthquake would probably be over. Perhaps I should feng shui my apartment because at the moment, it is not very conducive to protecting me from a more serious earthquake. Oh, but I do love California, earthquakes and all!

Holy Schnikes!

Apparently no one considered the sun when they designed this bridge:

Bridge location: St. Peter's Basilica at the Vatican

Brief update: I've finished training at BJ's Bar and Grill and am trying to figure out a balance between that restaurant and Bubba Gump's. I'm tired.

That's pretty much it.