I was recently blessed with the good fortune of traveling to San Francisco for work I GOT TO GO TO OLD GOLD MOUNTAIN HELL YEAH WHAT UP!!!

It was amazing. The DC winter had had me down in the dumps, but being in sunny, beautiful, laidback California (for the first time in my life, mind you) put a smile back on my face. Weirdly, for all my life, I’d had this inexplicable aversion to California – never applied there for college, never considered moving there, always thought of it as a wasteland of narcissism, hedonism, what have you – but as soon as I landed at SFO and got myself in a taxi headed north to Union Square, I felt cheerful. Familiar, almost. Like I was finally home after a tumultuous journey (a.k.a. my 7 a.m. flight from Dulles to SFO).

^ Up in the air, somewhere over Colorado.

^ On the street corners of the Sir Francis Drake. It was cold that day, even a bit windy, and I shivered in a thin cardigan. But it was fun sitting outside a ridiculously overcrowded Starbucks and watching cable cars and people go by. It was a very different crowd from DC’s suited, brisk, half-exhausted, half-energetic, greying commuters – I saw people with strange piercings, college kids, modelesque white chicks, Asians, half Asians, people who looked like they were either homeless or artists… Everyone was there in San Francisco.

My room was small but cozy.

Coming soon: the Golden Gate bridge, Chinatown, and the actual townhouse from Full House. I really did have a blast in San Francisco.

^ My handsome boy.

^ Could never get her to stay still for a picture. A wildling, this one…

Chinese actress Tong Liya

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(New York Times)

Why can’t I stop watching this show? Only 2 days in and I’ve already watched 6 episodes…

I took the above photo when I went to the dentist a few days ago. I had a 7 AM appointment, which meant I had to take the metro at 6:15 AM. It was dark and the moon was still shining, but the platforms and the trains were already filled with people heading to work, no matter how groggy or disgruntled they appeared… This is D.C. Not the city that never sleeps… It’s the city that gets up really, really early. I respect that.

Here’s an interesting infographic on what to expect from a visit to North Korea. I’d personally never visit, but I’m always fascinated by the photos of those who have visited (a large part of that being how eerily similar their experiences always turn out to be – the state choreographs tours down to the last detail).

(Source)

And here’s some secret footage taken by undercover journalists of actual people inside North Korea. The girl in the video is absolutely heartbreaking. She died a few months after this interview was filmed.

^ new uber-oversized cat sweater from China

^ mustard tights with my new DV loafers

^ flowery colors

^ instagram makes anything look good

Also: I decided to stop kidding myself about frozen yogurt. It’s just ICE CREAM under a misleading, not-really-that-much-healthier name. I got the Friendly’s black raspberry ice cream this time. It was remarkably different from everything else I’ve tried – very creamy and smooth and not too sweet.

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