Growing Up

As you might expect, Daniel Radcliffe – who has kept busy on both film and stage projects in between playing Harry – laughs off the idea that the rest of his life might be an anti-climax.

“No man, I’ve got kids to have yet!” he says excitedly, despite nursing a sore throat on the cold, cavernous film set at Leavesden Studios in Hertfordshire.

“They’re going to keep me busy if I do – which I hope I do at some point. I’m not planning on it soon – that’s one of the things I’m really looking forward to doing.”

The 20-year-old adds: “What’s been cool is that I’ve been here when a lot of people here have had kids while on the film, and I’ve seen the change it’s made in their life and how amazing it is.”

His co-star Rupert Grint, 21, who plays Ron Weasley, says he has no doubt that Harry Potter will be the “biggest thing” he will be involved with.

via BBC News – Harry Potter actors look to the future.

>> LOL, I love how different Harry and Ron’s reactions are. <3 HP

Sign #2 that I’m Growing Up: I really enjoyed cooking dinner tonight! I made “hoi seen” sauce chicken, a recipe from my aunt Diana, and “nau mei fan” (Chinese sticky rice), a recipe from my grandma.  First of all, it was nice to plan dinner in advance. Haha. Usually I’m scrambling the night of. Also, Robin came over, so she helped me and we hung out. Mostly, it just felt really significant to be a) cooking Chinese food and feeling Chinese, and b) using my family’s recipes. Now, my family’s recipes are not secrets, and they have not been passed down through the generations, but it was special – knowing that I had recreated something that my grandma cooked.

Plus, the food was hecka good.

My flight was at 4PM today, the Sunday after Thanksgiving weekend (aka. one of the heaviest days of air travel).

I arrived at SJC at 3PM. When I’d finished checking in my luggage and passing through security, it was 3:10PM.

Miracles do happen!

T minus one days before Thanksgiving!

Today was our Thanksgiving work potluck. Quite possibly the first potluck that our work has seen in a few years… and it was definitely the first time we’ve all eaten lunch together since I started working. It was fun to organize and round up the troops. The goal was good food, of course, but I also wanted it to be a time where people developed friendships and had a really good time. Trying to build community in our office, if you will. Haha. The results? It was aiight. There was lots of good food, but people were really quiet during lunch. Lorraine (co-worker) attributed it to everyone shoveling food into their mouths, but I think it was a little awkward. We’re such a small office… I wonder how others feel about their relationships within the office. I really enjoy my relationships. I’ve also been intentional about building them. Well, all this to say… Round 2: Christmas potluck!

(I never thought I’d be one of those people that always talked about their work, but here I am. Now it makes sense why people talk about their work so much – I spend the majority of my time and energy there!)

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Today was my third time at Target in a week. I love Target, but I’m sick of it now.

Restaurant review: Father’s Office. A hip restaurant in Culver City known for their selection of beer and slightly upscale food. It was my first time there! UCLA friends went often last year, but I never went… mostly because I heard it was always crowded and people drank a lot. Because Aimee and I went the day before Thanksgiving, it was fairly “empty” (aka. there were lots of people, but we immediately got a table). I was pleasantly surprised by the menu selection (classy food, not just burgers and fries), the ambiance, and the service. I ordered the Father’s Office Burger, and Aimee and I split the Sweet Potato Fries. The burger was great, but I kept comparing it to the greatness of Umami Burger. Lol. The fries were tasty… but I think I’ve become desensitized to the goodness of sweet potato fries. That is to say, I don’t find them novel or thrilling anymore. :[ I’d definitely go back… just hopefully not during peak hours.

Tonight I was reminded that God does not have conflicting motives/ goals. He will not ask me to do something that will result in someone else getting screwed over. For example, if He called me to stay in L.A., there would be a good reason for that… and even though my mom would be extremely upset, I have faith that it would eventually be good for her too.

Reminded, reminded, kind of convinced…

Sign #1 that I’m Growing Up: I bought a power suit today. Haha. About half the people in my office wear suits, so I had a feeling I was going to buy one eventually. We’re taking our staff Christmas photo tomorrow, hence the suit shopping.

Scared that work is going to be crazy tomorrow.

Home this Thursday! I called my mom today… for the first time in like a month. Isn’t that crazy? It’s the longest break we’ve had since I can remember. The space apart from her was really good, and I had to discipline myself to call her. But yeah, hopefully I can see everyone that I want to see this holiday weekend.

This morning I went to Fed-Ex to pick up my CAMERA! It fell on the floor and broke, so I sent it to Canon for repair. I’m sooo thankful I have it back. I’m not into all the fancy photography stuff, but I do enjoy capturing memories. I love taking a few pictures every day and capturing random (and often hilarious) events, not just holidays.

OKAY. Creeper story! When I started looking at the pictures on my camera, I realized that I had 100+ photos of complete STRANGERS in SAN FRANCISCO. I have no idea where these pictures came from! I have two theories: 1) I got someone else’s memory card, or 2) The repairman took my camera and used it for his own personal devices. So strange. Tabor suggested that I post the pictures on Facebook and track the people down. Haha.

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Another cafe review! Lisa took me to Coral Tree Cafe in Brentwood today. I’d always wanted to go, but they were remodeling last year. So color me surprised when Lisa told me they were open again! It was really enjoyable… Pros: spacious, large tables, legit pastries, large windows. Cons: bleh coffee (I suspect they didn’t get my order right because it tasted like regular coffee) and expensive entrees. I’d definitely go back.

Tonight we went to our church’s annual Thanksgiving dinner. The food was really good, and I enjoyed spending time with people I normally don’t hang out with. I’m sooo glad I stayed for the testimonies portion… you know, the cheesy “What are you thankful for?” part that seems to be required by law at these Thanksgiving functions. I thought it was going to be boring, but I am so glad I was wrong. People shared deeply and vulnerably, and I was extremely touched. Furthermore, it was great to see people from the neighborhood and hear their testimonies.  They ARE part of our church. The line dividing “us” and “them” is becoming blurrier and blurrier to me. I mean, they’ve been going to the church longer than I have! If anything, I’m the outsider.

I love being part of my church and seeing the difference they are making in the neighborhood. I hope to be an active participant soon.

(Tangent: I introduced myself to a woman at the dinner table, and when I asked her about her job, she said that she worked at Sproul on the housekeeping staff. I used to work at Sproul Front Desk. This means that we saw each other every day for an entire summer… yet I didn’t recognize her. Convicting.)

My second fashion (art) show in one week! I feel cultured. McKenzie and I went to the Freedom and Fashion show at UCLA.

“Freedom and Fashion (FnF) is an organization whose mission is dedicated to educating society about the global social issues of modern-day slavery, sex trafficking, child labor, and human rights violations. FnF addresses these injustices through the purchasing power of conscious consumerism by increasing the demand for socially responsible and ethically produced goods, and ensuring they are readily available to consumers.”

It was awesome, and I’m so proud of Doris who helped head it up. The show made me think, “This is what it looks like to be Christian in the secular world, to be in the world but not of the world.” I love that Christians volunteered their time to raise awareness about human trafficking in such a clever way. The quality of the show was amazing, and I thoroughly enjoyed seeing everyone and visiting the vendors afterwards.

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I wonder what it’d be like to work for IJM.

Scattered thoughts on my job:

During my interview for my current job, I said that I wanted to work for an immigration law firm because I wanted to be a person of justice. I wanted to work in a place that defended immigrants and fought for their rights.

Two months at this job, and I’m not sure if I am doing anything to promote justice. We serve high net worth foreign clients who are investing $500,000 to $1,000,000 into soon-to-be-built American shopping centers. Basically, these clients are buying their green cards with their investments. It’s good that they’re pumping money into our economy, but really… do I want to be someone who facilitates the growth of capitalism and greed?

What does a just immigration system look like? Would it be a system where everyone automatically gets a green card? If I’m helping a high net worth client get their green card, is that justice? Why is living in the U.S. equated to justice? Because it’s unjust to keep people out of the U.S.?

After handling and hearing about at least a hundred clients, I’ve only seen one pro bono case. A part of me wants to ask my boss about pro bono work. “How many pro bono cases do we do every year? Is it a regular practice of our office to offer pro bono work?”

I know that our office offers top-notch work for our clients. They’re receiving sound legal advice, and we’re navigating them through the USCIS maze. It IS justice, in a sense, because we’re guiding people who would be lost without our help. We’re helping them get what they want (usually permanent residency) in an unjust immigration system. And we’re using our legal expertise to warn them of any potential pitfalls. The thing is… they’re paying for our services. Paying for justice. That’s ironic.

I’m going to get these TOMS Shoes! (Secretly hoping that there will be some kind of discount available at this Thursday’s Freedom and Fashion show at UCLA.)