#awesomegfs

My new favorite hashtag is #awesomegfs. In my younger days, I always preferred guys friends who had similar interests as me, easier to get along with, and in general needed less from me. Then as we grew up, I slowly lost one guy friend after another to new cities, busy lives, and amazing women. Luckily, I’ve been able to find some amazing women of my own, and finally came to the realization that while they may demand a bit more from me, the ROI is pretty phenomenal (not that friendships should be viewed on ROI terms…). I guess what I’m trying to say is, I’m super grateful for all the awesome girlfriends in my life 🙂 Here’s a record to remind me of a few wonderful moments just in the past week.

New Year’s started off right with a chill evening of wine and furikake chex mix in the ‘burbs. I had been FOMOing a little bit about not being in the city my first new year’s eve back, but that went out the window before we even got out of the car. OK, so I totally failed at the wine tasting game, but Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show + 3 puppies + hanging out with old friends I haven’t seen for a year? Definitely beats a $70 Uber ride after midnight!

Maui had been a super spontaneous trip planned within a week. We all said it was for a birthday, but it really was just for everyone to come together and have awesome fun. There were some boys there too, but the girls definitely had their moments, of sharing stories, sunscreen, and plenty of pies. At the end of the trip, we all shared what we were most grateful about the trip, and our lists were long. So here I will just say that I’m so grateful to have made these wonderful new memories with you all.

The best part of the Tahoe birthday celebration weekend ended up being late night conversations around the kitchen island over honey lemon water. The word of the moment was strength. For me, strength has always been defined as being able to survive without anyone’s help. Then and only then, will I be able to support someone else’s journey. But sometimes you don’t need to be strong to be supportive, perhaps you can just be the soft down blanket that catches someone’s fall. I hope we’ll all grow stronger this year, in body, spirit, and friendship 🙂

Then there was coffee on a lazy afternoon. In my old age I’ve become lazy when it comes to making new friends, so I’m super appreciative of people who take the time to reach out, especially if they are awesome girls who cook yummy food, provide great insights on job search, and willing to join me in a sprint triathlon 😉

As the perpetually single girlfriend, I will confess I’m a little tired of hanging out with couples all the time. So I’m glad my three girlfriends always make the time for girls’ night out, even though they are perfectly happy to spend the night in with their hubbies. I think it’s quite hilarious that one of you started a tinder profile and saved guys you thought I might like, and while I appreciate the effort, please stop asking your husband whether he has single guy friends to introduce to me -_- In all seriousness, I’m so glad we’ve been able to share unreservedly through our trials and tribulations, and I’m super happy to see all of you happy 🙂

I went to Heath Ceramics for a factory tour on Friday, and to be completely honest, I hadn’t even heard of them until my girlfriend mentioned it. The tour was wonderfully informative, but I really just enjoyed getting out of the apartment on a beautiful day and driving across Golden Gate Bridge, then having lunch and conversation with a view of the water. As we focus on completely different things in life, it’s so good to know that at the heart of it all, we are still all searching for the same thing — living the life we want to live.

Job searching hasn’t been easy, and it’s somewhat discouraging. Sometimes I will get frustrated and think, maybe I should just go back to consulting. It was something I knew how to do and can do well, and I’m kind of getting tired of explaining my unemployment status to people. But I know it’s not what I want, and in another two years, I will be back in the same rut asking the same question. So it was great to hear words of encouragement from someone who has always provided great advice (not to mention free rides, free housing, free food), and remind me why I’m doing this in the first place. Definitely worth the expensive Chinese food!

I’ve been wanting to go to the Keith Haring exhibit for a while now, so when plans to see Ai Wei Wei fell through, we just decided to go to the other side of town instead. The exhibit was thought provoking and informative, and so was the conversation that followed as we strolled through Sunset in search of the perfect dessert. Despite the fact that we can’t keep up with each other’s crazy travel schedules, somehow we’ve managed to keep up with each other’s boy problems (and other important life events) via wechat. But nothing beats a good old fashioned conversation over coffee and tiramisu. Let’s do that again soon (with all three of us present!).

Souper Bowl Sunday was a success, as I stuffed myself with delicious Momofuku style ramen, baked kit kat, Bouchon macaroons, mint chocolate ice cream, and finished off the evening with some honest heart to heart. Sometimes I’m super cynical at the world, then I get to hang out with nonjudgmental and open minded people I can talk through my cynicism with, and breathe a sigh of relief. Maybe certain people just appear in your life to introduce you to other people 🙂

I know life will throw many more ups and downs my way, I’m so glad I have all my awesome girlfriends around to support me!