Game Dae is coming a bit early this week, as I compose an article on the 3rd anniversary of Vanae.com.
Did I ever mention that Passion Pit and Phoenix are epic roadtrip music?! Something about driving a straight road, sun beaming and rows of trees aligned on your side, driving towards a majestic mountain….rocking Phoenix music. It’s like you’re in a music video…or even better, this is the soundtrack of your life.
So now, whenever I heard Phoenix music, I think of the fantabulous RV roadtrip to Disneyland for my bday and my most recent roadtrip to Portland & Seattle with my awesome cousin, Viet.
Life is made of magical moments like these.
I want to know…what’s your favorite roadtrip music?
PS- Didn’t think a band could conjure up so many good memories. As I was going through Phoenix’s new and old tracks on YouTube, I came across this song…I’d like to dedicate ‘If I ever feel better’ by Phoenix to BT (my ex) and very good friend today. Heart of Gold. Lover of Music. He inspired me to embrace my voice, style and music. Always be thankful for those who made an impact on your life – large or small.
It’s Valentine’s Day and Vietnamese New Year- a double whammy. This morning, my mum and I, visited my brother at his quiet spot on a grassy hill at the cemetery.
It’s tradition- we bring his favorite soda, Dr. Pepper, and Doritos and small plates of Vietnamese food. We each said our little prayer and lit incense for my brother.
My mum gather another small bundle of incense and as she burned the fragrant tips, she told me to share one incense stick and prayer for each tombstone around us. And that’s exactly what I did.
Starting from the right of my brother’s grave, I said a prayer in Vietnamese for that individual (whether they were Vietnamese or not), wishing for peace and love for them. As I made my away around to each tombstone, I thought about the lives and spirit behind each person. I mean, for each marble stone captures a whole life of a real human being who has a loving family.
Long lives. Those born in the 1920′s.
Short lives. Those who deceased after only a few decades.
But there I stood, planting an incense into the moist ground right in front of each tombstone. I had a moment with each person’s spirit. Spreading my love. And I realized how proud I was to be my mum’s daughter…how much love she gave to even strangers.
Maybe that’s who I get my personality to help people and spread love. Actually, I know that I got that trait from my mum. and I’m proud and thankful at the same time.
This is what Valentine’s is about. LOVE.
Love surrounds us. Share love for one another- stranger and all.
I created this special Valentine Video for my V’stars! Enjoy and have a great Love weekend! I’ll be hosting a Singles Wine Tasting event on Saturday, celebrating Vietnamese New Year with my mum and having special Valentines dinner.
Please comment below what you think of the new character, Vi Vi the Asian Fortune Teller.
In celebration of Valentine’s Week, this week’s Game Dae Wednesdae is answering: Do you celebrate Valentines? If so, what is the most memorable Valentines for you? Could be a person you spent it with, a gift, romantic planning…you get the drift.
For me, I totally celebrate Valentines! I especially celebrate it with my girlfriends every year doing a Anti-Dick Valentines- meaning a girls night out without men and celebrating great love & friendship. It’s always a blast!
Vanae’s Tip of the Dae: Don’t be bitter about Valentine Day! It’s a day to celebrate love, love with your loved ones. So don’t forget your showing your appreciation for your mom, sister, close friends or any loved ones.
I remember what I went through when I was heart-broken years ago. At that time, it left me feeling completely empty. Extremely painful- emotionally and it felt physical as well. I couldn’t help but replay every clue and memory to figure out why it ultimately didn’t work out. You know the image and feeling of a deep hollow pit and at the very bottom was a little rock. I felt like that rock.
This pain was deep and I never wanted to relive it ever again.
For the New Years weekend, I spent it in North Lake Tahoe with a gorgeous view of the snowy mountains and Kings Beach. We got into the Tahoe Park, where we went sledding among the kiddies dressed in colorful snow gear. With my plastic bright purple sled that I rented for $5, I hiked up 35 slippery wooden stairs to get to the top of the snow hill. Prepared in my Nepalian hat, water-proof gloves and layered snow pants- I pulled myself to the edge of the hill and DOWN I went! I had moments of being scared, then moments of exhilaration. With fast speed, I zipped down the hill as snow bits splattered on my face. My sled took a curve to the right, towards the bottom of the hill. I slid right off my sled and skidded 10 feet on my ass without the sled. I got up and dust myself off. Then hiked straight up the hill to do it all over again. A couple of days later, my ass is still bruised from it, but it was worth it!
You know, growing through life and falling in love is a lot like sledding:
* There’s no guarantee you’ll go in a straight path.
* You’ll hit bumps along the way.
* You’ll have unexpected turns and not know where you’ll end up.
* You’re not in control all of the time. It’s impossible.
* You might collect some bruises and have pain along the way, but it’s all worth it.
* You sense that feeling of exhilaration.
That’s how you feel when you fully let yourself go and experience. You feel young. You feel alive.
Had I given into the fear of getting hurt, I wouldn’t have experienced the highs of sledding or loving someone. Because trust me, I know how easy it is to be scared and put up the thickest and highest walls after a breakup. Thinking that you’re preventing yourself from getting hurt, but you end up shutting out ALL OF IT: the opportunities, great people and the human-emotion of LOVE.
Vanae’s tip of the dae: “Let down those walls, embrace your fear and live into it.”
I won’t lie, since the big heartbreak that I went through, I’ve felt minor heart pains since then but not as devastating. Just like with sledding, I dusted myself off and got right back up. Learning something new each time. Now. I know that a potential MAJOR heartbreak is lurking around the corner and no matter how wise or prepared I think I am, I will never be able to avoid being hurt or bruised. Nor can I prevent myself from absolutely doing that to someone else. Pain is inevitable. Yes, it is. So might as well, LIVE and LOVE! And go SLEDDING!
During a conversation with Skip, he said “Couchsurfing is self-selective. The people you meet who couchsurf will be much more interesting than your average person.” and I completely agree.
Some people may be hesitant at the idea of staying at a strangers place or joining on a spontaneous travel adventure with someone you barely know…
But that nervousness or distance we put between people, in our minds, is the exact thing that couchsurfing, this generation, is breaking down. CS brings people together for the love of travel, culture and life. Ultimately, connecting people with simple thread of openness and living life. It’s like going back to the essence of being- having trust and living in the present.
I’ve met nothing but amazing folks from couchsurfing- those with open minds and open hearts. So here is the sweetheart, I was staying with in Austin. Her name is Dee and she’s a ray of sunshine and depth.
and here Skip-a-Roo, our fellow CSer. Fantastically funny, insightful and when he chuckles with his deep heart laugh, he spreads bubbles of happiness around.
Sure, Dee took us to great eats and we laughed at words, but what I really appreciated was the heart connection- in which we had conversations about love, relationship dynamics, health and how it affects young people and where we are in life- what we’re ready for- our personal evolution.
Spectacular. Spectacular.
I’mma miss these folks but I know we’ll cross paths soon. Perhaps we’ll come together on my next adventure -travel the world with hugs.
Vanae
To read more of my adventures from my hugging roadtrip, visit Hug America
In spirit of Thanksgiving and the winter holidays creeping up around the corner, my new episode is on ‘when to bring your bf/gf home to introduce to your family’. So this week’s game, is story telling time!
Share a time when you brought someone home. Who was it? and how did it go?
I’ll share mine:
A few years ago, my ex, BT, met my mum for the first time during the holidays. By this time, my mum had heard a lot about him. He was a great boyfriend. Truly understanding, caring and awesome. Though my mum spoke limited English, she had a good connection with BT because she could tell he had a kind heart and really cared for me. Plus, we had good food. None of that turkey stuff. Straight up vietnamese food! My mum still loves him til this day.
V’stars, share your memory of when you introduce a bf/gf to your family. How did it go?
