Leaving My Heart in San Francisco
Movie theme song:
(I can almost hear Tony Bennett in my head singing…)
I left my heart in San Francisco
High on a hill, it calls to me
To be where little cable cars
Climb halfway to the stars!
And the morning fog will chill the air…
Moving Rating:
Two Thumbs Up! I led such a fulfilled life in San Francisco. No one can ask for more. I am so lucky to have met so many great people and to be loved by all of them (Yes, I know all of you love me!) 
Thank you for making a difference in my life and for each being an inspiration to me in your own unique ways…I love you all…
Movie plot:
I can’t believe that after being here for 9 years, I’m actually going through with it this time. I’ve been talking about moving for the past 2-3 years and I’m taking action now. A lot of people have asked me why and I can say, it is a combination of many reasons…
-I want to be near family…I’m not the same person I was when I left 9 years ago and they don’t know who I am anymore and I don’t know who they are. I want to get reacquainted with them. I miss my family and feel disconnected from them sometimes.
-I need a change.
-I just need a break to figure out what I want to do and to see if I want to continue climbing the corporate ladder or do something else.
-There’s a list of things that I want to do for myself but don’t have the discipline to do it in SF.
-I need to save money. I’m tired of paying rent.
-I hate LA but that is exactly why I need to go back. I am looking forward to a lot of stuff in LA (weather, beaches, food, the future, Dalai Lama’s temple, spoiling myself, gym, driving)
-I’ve always wanted to be an admin for a long time now.
-I’m running away…
-Everything is telling me that it is time I move back.
In the past, every time I thought about leaving my city by the bay, I would be driving and then my thought of leaving would disappear after I see one of the many SF treasures: the bridges, all of the sailboats in the bay, Treasure Island, the SF skyline, Coit Tower, Twin Peaks, Palace of Fine Arts, Golden Gate Park, Legion of Honor, Fisherman’s Wharf, Ferry Building, and the list goes on and on.
But the SF landmarks are not the reason that always makes me want to stay…it is the people who have put up with me for the past 9 years and who have made a difference in my life. I’ve already written about some of them in the previous entries…this one will be a catch-up.
Movie characters:
Wendy – Refer to 2/21
Marie, d.a.l., leo – Refer to 3/1
Tracy – Refer to 3/10
Tammy – Refer to 3/12
Steve – Refer to 3/21
Tina, Musetta, current coworkers, past coworkers – Refer to 3/24
Shelby – Refer to 3/28
Sorority Sisters & Pineapples – Joining the sorority was the greatest experience I ever went through. B/c of SOPi, I met many good friends (including Pineapples) who I know will be with me for the rest of time. Sisterhood knows no boundaries and distance.
My 3 boys – Rick, Frank, Robert – All I need to do is pout to any of these 3 boys and complain and they would go do stuff with me or make me feel better. The 3 of them each have such different personalities. Ricky and I have been through a lot together when we were both at ATM Banking. We’ve gotten to know each other through our lunches, dinners, walks home from work. Frank is the stubborn pushover, yet difficult all at the same time. Every time I’m sad, I always just call him and sigh and he would make fun of me and I’d cheer up. Robert is the sarcastic, very funny one but doesn’t really try to be. The serious, yet sarcastic, words that come out of his mouth and the “I just don’t understand” always make me laugh.
Scope – Tracy Chan – I hear from my big sis at least once or twice, maybe even three times a week. I would get my ‘scope sent to me and if I don’t get it for a while, I would always ask for it. She’s listened to all of my boy problems and always is there for me whenever I just send her an email just to sigh. I will remember all the fights and bickering we do just to draw attention to us Leos and to make others laugh. We’ve also been through a lot at work and have still been there for each other in all of the various positions we undertook since working together with the VBC. I’m so glad to have her in my life still. I better still get my ‘scopes!
Mentor – Alicia – What can I say, Alicia is everyone’s #1 supporter. She encourages me to be me and to make choices for me and will always be supportive no matter what I decide to choose. She understands that each person operates on different paradigms and gets to know each person as individuals. She manages a huge team but yet still maintains her family of husband and four kids with great balance and upkeeps her relationships with everyone she touches while still making time to do what she loves most, teaching 7 Habits to WF people and to teens. She always pushes me and everyone else to leave our legacy in this world when she has probably already left her legacy in so many ways. My current manager always tells me that she sees a lot of “the Alicia in me.” (Alicia used to work for my current manager a long time ago.) I look up to Alicia and can only aspire to be like her and hope to leave my legacy as she has. I am glad I have “the Alicia in me.” I am who I am today because of Alicia.
Mental Twin – Pammy – Pammy always knows what I’m thinking or always says what I am about to say or types what I am about to type. She is truly very selfless and will always be there for everyone and will put herself in other people’s shoes…like not inviting someone to my going away party b/c thinking that it was not appropriate…she didn’t even tell me until 2 weeks after the fact…it just shows how thoughtful she is. She brings meaning to everything she does and really cares about you and is there for you to be counted on. She also says it like it is and is not afraid to sugar-coat or hide her feelings for things (She just needs to learn how to tell people and be honest with people about it…which is something I’m struggling with too.) You can always count on her to be responsible and organized and on top of things. She is very smart and has the ability to observe people well and is an undercover stalker at heart. I am so glad to have her in my life because she reminds me of me but she lets me take charge and lead considering I’m the over-dominant Leo that I am! And thus, she complements me so well because I know that even if I don’t remember to do some things, she’ll do it or vice versa…
Serendipity – Sandy – 33 is the lucky charm in my life. We met through serendipitous fashions and have been through so much trials and tribulations since then. I am so glad to have had her in my life because of all the different paths and journeys that we’ve taken with each other. When we lived with each other, we found out more about each other than we ever need to know and it was comforting knowing that there was someone next door during times when I needed comforting. She’s seen my very moody side and always challenges me to think. We embarked on the Sorority journey and learned what true sisterhood really is and know that we each have our good and bad days and we know that when we’ve been through all of our good and bad that the friendship and sisterhood we have is strong. Since college, we’ve studied 7 habits and walked the Buddhism path. To have someone who is spiritually connected to you is one of the greatest things. We constantly check up on each other and reflect on the journeys that we each are going through and I wouldn’t be where I am without 33 there side by side with me. I know that I would not be in SOPi, going to Buddhist temples, and having this blog if not for 33. I know we will continue down this path in the future together still learning from everything and everyone.
On the Same Boat – Tracy – Tracy is always the first person I call if I ever need to talk or if I’m crying. She is always there listening to me and understanding me and trying to make me feel better. When Tracy and I first met, she thought I looked like a total bitch and I thought she was a goody goody…good thing we got past our first impressions of each other and got to know each other. We hung out a lot during college and she was the one who I started clubbing with…thinking back to those days of 550 and frat parties where we used to get drunk, hug the toilet, call each other in the middle of the night telling each other we loved each other. Whenever we walked home late, we would get to the corner where we part ways and then stay on the phone with each other until we got home. Tracy and I share the same sentiments when it comes to romantic comedies, being suckers and crying at just about everything. She also knows what I’m thinking and writes what I’m always about to say too. I’m glad to have her in my life b/c she can understand the things I went through with my skin problems back in high school and we are true HIPPOS…
LLHP – Cindy Hsieh – We both beat the record of the longest roomies we’ve had. Cindy has the most sincere and kind heart and at the same time can be one of the most stubborn people in the world. She does things her way even if there are sometimes easier ways to do things. She makes everyone laugh because of CINDY-ISM and is still very naïve and innocent, (even though she is catching up) which is good. We both understand what it feels like to work very hard but to be constantly struggling with finances. We’ve put up with each other moodiness, complaints, and fights and have stayed strong friends because of our honesty with each other and willingness to work through things together. Our complaints include “Life Sucks” to “Everyday is so Blah.” Cindy is someone whom you can count on to be there for you and I am glad that our families know each other too and we live very close to each other in LA. Cindy, Henry, and I waste an awful lot of time going to cafes, bookstores, sago, and target and we just sit there and make fun of each other and always chat about random stuff. We’ve had the best time of our life during the past year b/c we decided to move to the Fillmore Center. I know we’ll continue to waste tons of more time together in the future.
Dufus – Henry – I don’t know what I would do if I didn’t have Henry in my life. He’s probably the first person I would always call when I am in trouble. I know I take him for granted a lot of times but he still whole-heartedly helps me each time. He taught me to be more honest with things I should express to people, been a mediator to Dai and me, argued with me about countless things, lectured me about other things, called me stupid for some of the things I do and makes me be able to be honest around him. He gets mad at me, which is good, because it reminds me that I shouldn’t take him for granted. He’s the person I can do spontaneous things with…like drive to Reno or to somewhere new and local like a burrito place for dinner. We can just bum around just driving the entire bay talking about deep subjects or go to sago, cafes, bookstores just to do nothing. He is also willing to put up with the sometimes PMSing me and will unselfishly do stuff for me, even if it’s the littlest things like switch a piece of chicken at KFC for me. I am really glad that he has been in my life for so long and allowed me to be in his life too. (And I’m not saving the best for last…but I only put you as last just to make you think that and b/c you requested it…)
The actual movie:
Foreword: I already took to LA 5 albums of pictures and they included great pix from Berkeley Days (considering all of that was still captured on Film, not digital camera…) so the Berkeley Days are limited and don’t include all of the pix that I wanted to use so sorry if most of the pix in the Berkeley Days are of the bestest pledge class, Beta Lambdas of course! All contents in this movie are based on true characters in real life…
Bare with me…this is going to be long…
