What can I say? The past four days have been a blast! Friday evening consisted of a lovely dinner with my parents and Ben at a Japanese Sushi and Steakhouse. Because my mom swore off sushi, only my dad, me, and Ben ordered the delicious seafood treat. Funnily enough, my mom was wishing she had ordered the same as us. Looks like we'll be doing sushi the next time the four of us get a chance to eat out together! I would have taken photos of the food but the lighting was too dim to get a good shot. I had to use flash to take a picture of the dessert that my parents ordered: banana tempura with vanilla ice cream!

Ben and I were sharing a red bean ice cream but I was pretty tempted by the other dessert. Later that night, Ben told me had been feeling under the weather; either an upper respiratory infection or allergies, I don't know, but the former would make sense since he's on pulmonary internal med right now. Either way, I prepared miso soup the next morning and we stayed in all morning and went out later in the afternoon. We went out to MFAH, but arrived a bit later than we planned to so we couldn't take advantage of the Lunch + Look deal. We were able to discount our tickets with student IDs thanks to the nice lady (Filipina!) at the desk. I wore my maxi dress again and even put a green bow in my hair for a girly look but wished I had brought a sweater by the end of our museum adventure.

Our tickets included admission to one of the exhibitions called "The Light Inside" by James Turrell. Some sections were a little over our heads but our favorite had to be an installation that involved taking off our shoes, putting on cloth booties, and walking up a set of stairs and into a room of brilliant blue light to experience what others would in a blizzard—complete loss of depth perception.

After the exhibition, we had free reign over the rest of the large museum. Strange thing I noticed was almost all of the employees guarding the paintings or the halls were Filipino. I can't count how many times I kept nudging Ben when my ears picked up the words of my national language. We walked through many different galleries, guessing what sculptures could be or what purpose they had in the past. It's fascinating to imagine how some of the tools or plates before us were used long ago. It's extraordinary how intricate some of the chairs or bowls were. I think it was a really great experience for the both of us and a much more desirable alternative to walking outside in the heat. I made sure to stop by the Wilson Tunnel to take photos there too!




We stopped by the gift shop there and ogled at everything inside. I found these gorgeous umbrellas that depicted famous artworks. We were chuckling over the finger puppets of great minds, and I wondered aloud why van Gogh would be holding a lion's tail... Ben burst out laughing and pointed out it was supposed to be a paintbrush. But I swear it looked like a lion's tail! Whenever I visit a gift shop, I always feel the urge to get something, as if I need a souvenir to remember our time there. I didn't buy anything (I'm glad I didn't!) but I did snap a really corny video of Ben and I holding these key chains that literally looked like keys. Cringing at the corniness guaranteed!

After the museum, we grabbed two 'Roar' smoothies from the Juice Girl and decided it was time to finally check out the food truck park. There are plenty of food trucks parked around Houston but the idea of having a park somewhere was a nice concept, at least for this city. I think it's been really tough on the vendors trying to find a foothold around the area. I remember the issues with not allowing anyone to park near a food truck. Anyway, it was a little tricky getting to the food truck park but we managed. The line-up changes depending on the days and times; this time MuSuBi, 1836 Grill, Muiishi Makirritos, Kona Ice of North Houston Gastro Punk, The Golden Grill, Pho-jita, and Cupcake and a Smile were there. Ben and I have been somewhat on a kimchi fries binge so we tried not do any repeats at this food park.

We started at Pho-jita with their Chicken Thai-cos. We couldn't order any drinks from them because the sports bar on the lot was the only one selling drinks. I'm assuming it's part of the deal to let these food trucks park on the lot next to the sports bar. What do I think of that? Terrible idea! No one can order any Thai teas, or whatever any of these food trucks may be known to sell. The one upside was that the place had stools on the lot for people to sit on but there was also a ridiculous amount of flies getting in the way... I don't remember this being an issue back in Austin!

We tried Muiishi Makirritos next and ordered their Chicken Karaage. I was surprised at how much chicken there was but wished there had been either more sauce or a side of kimchi to it. We were hoping to just buy one thing from each place so we could sample other foods but the chicken karaage knocked us both out for the count. Well not knocked out enough to forego the opportunity of trying a cupcake from Cupcake and a Smile. I chose their Italian Creme cupcake and it was delicious! An easy $2.50 for a cupcake was a nice change from the almost $4 cupcakes we're used to getting.

We decided to stop by the Galleria to walk off all the food but Ben made a spontaneous decision to visit the Micro Center instead. I don't know if I mentioned this before but Ben built his own computer two years ago, with a little help from a friend. He said he was going to help me build my own when the time was right, but until then, I should do some research on processors and whatnot. We perused some parts and ended up walking out of the place with an HDMI cord. Finally! I can hook up my laptop to the television and use the TV's audio system instead of my laptop's.

I'm a little embarrassed to admit that the day was not over yet. We stopped by Rice Village to share kimchi fries (we can never stay away I guess haha) and have a nice long chat under the stars. It was an amazing day and we were only halfway through with the Labor Day weekend!

Sunday was a lot more laid back. We had eggs and toast for breakfast and settled in the couch to watch back-to-back movies: The Life of Pi and Zero Dark Thirty. I enjoyed both movies and especially the couch cuddles! Since we missed Coreano's at the MFAH Lunch + Look, we decided to check them out this time. They were at Liberty Station Bar so we decided on having an early dinner; we ordered their The Og Burrito and their Three Wise Fries. I think the fries were absolutely delicious BUT would have been even more amazing with a generous portion of kimchi! The Og Burrito was also massive and I could only manage four bites before letting Ben finish the rest.

We did stop by the mall later in the day where I got a deal on a charcoal sweater for less than six dollars! Lucky! We got home earlier than usual so Ben could do some practice questions for his boards. I thought the day would be over but Ben had been really eager to check out the movie, The World's End. I wasn't really expecting much after seeing the trailer but we were both curious about the high score on rotten tomatoes. I used a coupon for a free medium popcorn with a purchase of a drink and we settled in for some laughs. After the movie, I think Ben was more disappointed than I was. I wasn't particularly dissatisfied as I had low expectations to begin with, but the hype from rottentomatoes really got us this time. I hope the next comedy film we watch is more of a hit.

Which brings us to the end of the line: Monday! Unlike the past three days, we spent it at home and in total lazy-mode. Donuts for breakfast and cheesy Korean variety shows for a majority of the day. Add a midday nap and a little time for Ben to work on some assignments for school and call it a day! As always, we were sad to part but we did have an awesome Labor Day weekend. Since Ben's boards are coming up, visits will mainly consist of keeping Ben company while he studies. There may be an opportunity to visit Ben's family in Dallas after a couple of weeks but it's much too early to say. For now, I'm still riding the high of the past weekend. We did do a lot of things outside but I was more thankful for the moments we could just sit and talk. Those are never overrated!

I've been feeling more anxious as the days go by. I worry about schools and interviews but I'm fortunate to have Ben as a solid support when the insecurities really spoil my day. I believe a possible GN will be scheduled in the near future so I also have that to look forward to while I keep myself busy prepping for interviews. What I can say with surety is that this is one of the best labor day weekends for me ever!