Jenniferzhenyu's blog

I need therapy.

Online retail therapy that is.

Not to sound annoying and whiny. Basically, not to sound like a girl, but... I just had one of those "moments" where I momentarily freak out about what I'm doing with life. Am I doing the right things? Involved in the right things? Is this the path I'm suppose to go for the betterment of my career? Is the experience I'm getting genuinely valuable?

I absolutely love what I'm doing right now as far as experiences go towards my career, but sometimes I wonder if there's more out there. Being newly 21 feels so old yet so young at the same time. I'm constantly on a race against time, and I tend to forget that I'm ONLY 21. I have so much more time than I think I do. I'm just having the hardest time actually accepting that.

Thank sweet Jesus for Nordstrom.com and BCBG.com

Losing my mind,

LGLP

Halcyon Days of Youth

I don't understand why I don't do this more...

Chillin' in my Poang, feet tucked under me.

Sipping on a warm cup of green tea.

Crazy Love by Francis Chan in my lap.

Gabe Bondoc playing.

Sunlight streaming in from my window.

I decided to take a break from the nonstop movement in my life today.

Precisely what I needed.

What puts you at peace?

LGLP.

Still longing for the day...

...that I can return to Hong Kong. For good. At least semi-permanently.

Star Ferry - TST

Even if that means 10/11 hour work days.

I'll just go dai pai dong afterwards.

Trying to expand my knowledge: NYC Eats

Recently, I had a hefty amount of Continental mileage sitting in my OnePass account and with Continental's merging with Delta Airlines, I wasn't sure what policies were going to change thus I decided to use up my mileage before those suckers take them away from me. In result, I'll be visiting one of my very best friends, Sohyung, in mid-September. She currently attends school in New Jersey, but with its close proximity to New York City, I'm sure we'll be hitting up the Big Apple.

I really don't know why I think I have more time in the East Coast than I really do. My list of things to do (aka places to eat) is starting to expand as I start to research and read about New York restaurants and popular eateries. This will be a much edited post as I add places (or maybe take out) that I want to try. If you have any suggestions, please feel free to comment - it would be greatly appreciated!

Oh btw, a lot of these places are also idealistic but with my poor college student budget, it's out of reach. A girl can dream though, right?

1. Momofuku Milk Bar - 207 2nd Avenue

Yes, I understand I should make mention of Ko or even Ma Peche, but I was looking at their desserts and ughhhh, that is for sure where my heart's content is at.

• Soft Serve Sampler: Cereal Milk, Cantaloupe Honey, Peach Tea, Raspberry Lemonade
• Pork Bun (pork belly, hoisin, scallions, cucumber)
• Breads: kimchi & blue cheese croissant, banana green curry bread
• Compost Cookie (pretzels, potato chips, coffee, oats, butterscotch, chocolate chips)
• Blueberry and Cream Cookie (dried blueberries, milk crumbs)
• Crack Pie (toasted oat crust, gooey butter filling)

2. Shake Shack - Various Locations

Danny Meyer's creation and the iconic burger joint of New York City with flare. I need to see whether this patty can beat In-n-Out's.

• Shackburger (American cheese, lettuce, tomato, ShackSauce)
• Second City Burger Dog (Shack-cago dog, ShakeShack relish, mustard, onion, cucumber, pickles, tomato, sport pepper, and celery salt)
• Fries
• Fair Shake (vanilla shake spun with 100% organic Arabica fairly traded coffee)

3. Halal Cart - at 53rd and 6th

Correct me if I'm wrong about the given link. Every New Yorker I've talked to says this is a MUST after a night out in the City

• Chicken and rice with extra white sauce

4. wichcraft - Various locations

I know, I know - once again, why not Craft or Craftbar or Craftsteak? BUDGET, PEOPLE. Perhaps I would add them to my list if I was, oh I dunno, a filthy rich college student. Such a thing does not exist though. Plus, I LOVE sandwiches (Obviously. I'm in college, it's all I can afford hahaha).

• Pork loin sandwich (tonnato sauce, celery slaw, arugula, on ciabatta roll)
• Slow roasted pork (red cabbage, jalapenos, mustard, on ciabatta roll)
• ice cream'wich

To be continued...

Film Spotlight: The Line from the National Teen Dating Abuse Hotline

NOTE: This is an assignment I turned in for my Public Relations Techniques class I'm taking right now. My class serves as the 25 interns ("communications assistants") for the Lights Camera Help Film Festival. I figured I should post this blog post anyway just for the sake of maybe someone seeing this and sparking an interest to check out the film festival. Chances are slim, but eh, worth a shot.

Last Thursday, Lights Camera Help released the official selections for the 2010 Lights Camera Help Film Festival. For those that are unaware, the film festival is quickly approaching and is set to showcase their 33 finalist films from Thursday, July 29 to Saturday, Aug. 1. Lucky for me, I got a sneak peak of several films that will be viewed at the festival, and I can say with confidence that attendees will be blown away by the impact of the cinematography.

The beauty of this film festival is that not every submission needed some fancy-schmancy $1000 camera to capitalize the importance of the featured causes. Though some films were more visually stunning than others, all films equally told a unique story that calls for the same amount of attention. One that caught my eye in particular is from the National Teen Dating Abuse Hotline . The film, titled as The Line, was subtlety humorous with an undertoning seriousness.  Only 47 seconds long, it hit home with the reality of these everyday situations that occur within teen dating. On one end, the love-sick puppy love side of your partner comes off as needy and genuinely concerned, but the line can be easily crossed into being demanding and overly possessive.

To me, a film doesn’t need all the special effects or artistic cinematography to spark an emotion. Something as raw as The Line easily suffices. I’m not trying to discredit heavily-invested films, I’m saying is that everybody’s story is special, and with the right story line, any film could be as good as the next.

If you haven’t purchased your tickets to the LCH Film Festival, passes are available to purchase here . Three day passes are $30, two day passes are $20, and single day tickets are $12.

Also, for my fellow foodies, Austin’s Cupcake Smackdown 2.0 is on Aug. 21 at Le Cordon Bleu ( 3110 Esperanza Crossing Suite 100, Austin, TX 78758). Part of the proceeds will benefit Lights Camera Help. Did I mention that there will be a cupcake cannon present? Click here for more information.

Always blogging at the most inappropriate times.

And when I mean inappropriate times, I mean always the day/hours before a final exam. Of course, I would absolutely decide to blog when I should be studying for the final that wants to eat me alive - CHI412K (Chinese II Semester 1)

Really, all I want to say is. I miss Hong Kong (no surprise). And I miss California (no surprise again).

Currently, listening to UrbanGermany

UrbanGermany - Nowhere else (original song)

Usually sappy songs like this makes me think of a broken love, but this definitely makes me miss the more tangible things in life (in a nonmaterialistic way) through traveling to other parts of the world. My love for exploration and immersion into another setting/culture is unparalleled to any other "love" I've ever encountered in life. I hope that's sufficient enough to say something about my past love life =) (aka - you. suck. haha jk.)

So if I was in Hong Kong and listening to this song, I'd be...
1. Dipping my feet at Stanley Main Beach with what little wind HK shores have breeze through my hair
2. Reading a book at the Starbucks in Hopewell Centre

And if I was in California and listening to this song, I'd be...
1. Cruising down PCH, looking at the ocean shore
2. Sit in my aunt's kitchen overlooking her lovely garden, doing nothing

Alright, I'm rambling. Onwards to Chinese.
LGLP

Karma at its best.

I won't go in to much detail, but basically, I wore my heart on my sleeve one too many times back in high school, and that never resulted in anything good for me. As a firm believer of "everything happens for a reason", this weekend made me realize how true that statement is more than ever. From being hurt in the past, to the things I've been through since then (as some of us may know as life) and now, it's a bit humorous to see how things have played out since then. Or what emotions, or lack thereof, have been brought back. All I have to say is...

you had your chance.

LGLP.

My dining philosophy.

It’s quite simple, actually. Dine with those in good company. That’s a clear no brainer, but I’ve had my fair share of awkward lunch dates or observing others painfully sit through 1 ½ hours of forced conversation, nervous laughter, and sorting through the leftovers of food on their plate with their fork. What makes good company? For me, the best times are with my family. As cliché of an answer that is, I really can’t think of how my character and quirks would have otherwise been formed without our gatherings around the table. My friends know that the Yu family is a food family. It’s the glue that keeps our conversations going and what connects to the other not-so-significant parts of our lives.

Today, I took Jenn to Umai for her first Umai experience, and we got to talking with a customer sitting at the booth behind us. Claudia, a Chowhound.com regular, ventured out to my dad’s little ditty of a restaurant with her daughter. Claudia caught me and Jenn as we were about to walk out asking about the spicy beef fried rice Anita (Umai’s manager) specially made for me. Turns out Claudia is a food accifionado like myself with a soft spot for ethnic food. We had a lovely 15 minute conversation about recycling, our children’s and grandchildren’s futures, traveling, and the essence of good food.  No joke, it was like talking to myself except couple decades older.

I guess what stuck out to me most about our conversation is why we enjoy food as much as we do. It’s not just the complexity of a menu or the flavors of a dish. It’s not simply about good service or how great of a value you’re getting for your meal. Claudia typically eats with her daughter and bond over the meals they have, even if it means Claudia typing away food reviews on her Macbook while her daughter reads a book). And that’s where my warm fuzzy feelings kicked it. Simply being in the presence of my mom, dad, or brothers is where I feel most satisfied. Even when we don’t say a word to each other, my comfort level is at its highest.

I know everybody says they love food. But I think I really, really love food. Not in the fat kid gotta have his cake kind of way, but more so in the sense that this is my connect to my most cherished moments with the fam. And it makes me so much more appreciative every time my dad pays for the bill =) Haha I kid.

Where do you go to relish in the moments with your loved ones? I’d love to hear about it.

Cheers and LGLP.

Social media life or death question. Just kidding.

So the thought has crossed my mind over and OVER again. WORDPRESS OR NO WORDPRESS? I know, who really ponders about what blog host site to use? Nothing against Vox (obviously, otherwise why would I be here?), but don't you sometimes feel like Wordpress is where all the "legit" bloggers blog or amateur bloggers attempt to start their jig? But a blog is a blog, right? Content and depth over anything else, that's what I've always learned. However, do you feel like your outlet is more likely to be heard when coming from a more established host?

I've never been one to really care for attention, especially when it comes to this little niche I have in the blogosphere, but with my PR instructors and industry professionals telling me to maintain a blog (ha, clearly I've been slacking as you can see) for future employers to see, I wonder whether moving to Wordpress would make a difference or not - whether it would represent me more professionally or not. I know this seems like a frivolous question, but what would you do?

Oh and happy 2010! Wishing you all many blessings and and good health in this new decade.
LGLP.

2009 Resolutions Revisited

Well hello there, friends. Been awhile, yes? In the back of my mind, I always think about updating my Vox, but then laziness/busy semester has kept me from doing so. As the year comes to a close, I thought about the resolutions I made back in January. They were the first set of resolutions I had made in over five years, and I must say - I'm actually quite proud of myself. I didn't really expect myself to fully accomplish them, but I did hope for changes and revisions with my old ways.

So here are my 2009 resolutions and current status:

1. Communications school. - ACCOMPLISHED - As of May 2009, I am officially a student of the UT College of Communications, majoring in Public Relations while pursuing Business Foundations Certification and a concentration in Mandarin Chinese.

What to work on for 2010: Start looking for summer internships while really focusing on my Writing for Public Relations class this spring semester.

2. Get back onto my workout schedule. - SEMI ACCOMPLISHED - If it wasn't for pledging two semesters long and interning in Hong Kong, I probably would have kept up with this. I did well with keeping up my workout schedule prior to both semesters of pledging though!

What to work on for 2010: Be consistent with some kind of workout schedule throughout the entire semester, go to Greg at least three times a week to maintain my health.

3. 3.5 GPA this semester. - DID NOT ACCOMPLISH - I had a 3.36, but I must say, that's pretty good for a semester of pledging. I got an A in CHI 506!

What to work on for 2010: 3.4 for the semester, need to bring up my grades from the mistakes of this fall semester =/

4. Leave ALL past relationships behind. - n/a - I'm over everything/everybody, but the thoughts come back every now and then. I say that's normal... right? Maybe?

5. BE MORE ACTIVE! - ACCOMPLISHED - I have AACM, UOD Campus Marketing Internship, PRSSA... which I intend to be more active in next semester. Oh yes, and how can I forget. I have my dear alpha Kappa Delta Phi =)

What to work on for 2010: Look into Greek IV and missional communities with Austin Stone, my church in Austin. Play a more active role in my UOD marketing internship as well as PRSSA.

6. LGLP. - letting God be the judge of that - it's hard, that's all I have to say. Especially after this semester. This is a continuous resolution that i feel like won't ever have an end simply because of my imperfections.

What to work on for 2010: Look past at how people are and just accept them for it. REALLY TRY to pardon the flaws and focus more on their positive qualities. Minimize/cut off talking behind people's backs and find what it means to love someone for who they are.

I'm really blessed and thankful to God for providing an amazing year. I really can't stress how much He answered my prayers from a year ago. I was a wreck and anxious for 2009 to come with new opportunities, and God lovingly opened those doors for me. This was hands down one of the most memorable years with new experiences, friends, and lessons learned. My summer in Hong Kong has got to be at the top of the list, and I dream of the day I go back. So as much as I would love to thank everyone who made it possible for this year to kick last year's butt, every ounce of gratitude I have goes to God. Never failing and always loving.

If I don't blog until after the new year - may you and your family be blessed in this new decade. Here's to 2010!
LGLP.