FADE IN:

1. EXT. GROCERY STORE PARKING STRUCTURE – DAY.

January 2nd. TWO SISTERS wait for the elevator to the store. They enter, along with a WOMAN and her SON, and a MAN.

                                                     Oh, Happy New Year!

                                                      Well, not for you two yet!

The sisters exchange a glance.

                                                     ..."Asian New Year," right?

The woman and her son look nervous. The elevator ride to the grocery store feels long.

                                                     Oh. Well...it's still a new year...right...now.

                                                     No! Your new year is later, right? Next month, huh? Mooncake!

                                                     Ha, ha...different holiday...but yeah. Lunar New Year is the end of the month.

The elevator doors open.


2. INT. GROCERY STORE – DAY

This is a bit overdue, considering it's 18 days into the new year and I meant to write this 18 and a half days ago. But after spending the last week or two giving makeup advice to some of my friends (actually, one of my favorite things to chat about!), it reminded me that I need to catch up on my blog drafts...

Also, who doesn't love a good favorites list? I've always struggled at the end of each year to do my annual round-up, but I think I'd like to sprinkle more of these throughout my blog (which will help with that goal I've made of creating weekly content...more on that later).

These aren't necessarily all new products that came out in 2016, just new to my favorites/routine. (Also, none of this is sponsored – I wish!)

1. Tarteist Creamy Matte Lip Paint by tarte

1. Song you listen to when you're happy? "Rainbow Veins" by Owl City


It's a shame "Maybe I'm Dreaming" isn't on Spotify because it's the album that introduced me to Adam Young, though I don't even remember how I came across it in the first place. It's just such a cheerful mix of songs, and "Rainbow Veins" is maybe the cheeriest of all the tracks.

(Fun fact: I interviewed him back in 2011 when "All Things Bright and Beautiful" came out and asked him about some of his more nonsensical lyrics, and he said he liked to write what made him smile.)

2. Song you listen to when you're sad? "Best Day Of My Life" by American Authors


I don't really like listening to sad songs when I'm already feeling sad. But I stumbled across the Oh, What A Life album while searching for another song two years ago, and it was the album that oddly got me through the death of a close friend. I don't know why, but from start to finish, it just...fixed things.

When I first moved to New York, finding an apartment as soon as possible was an absolute necessity. I was couchsurfing and had no family or close friends in the city, and an internship looming in the not-too-distant future. I just needed an apartment to put my suitcases until I could feel more "settled" and really think about making a home here.

I was 22, broke, and had no real concept of what living in New York City was like. I had looked at maps, but I'd never really been in New York before, so I had no idea what to expect. I ended up finding a place in Harlem – and now, at 27 going on 28, I'm cleaning out this apartment I've lived in for 5 years and I'm honestly so happy at how this journey has gone.

It's been really tough to tell people I'm leaving New York. The reaction I've gotten from people has generally been something along the lines of: "Awww," but that's been bothering me because I don't want to feel sad about it. I'm glad I moved to New York when I did, even though I'm glad to be leaving it too.