TV Binge: Find Yourself (下一站是幸福, 2020)

Find Yourself (下一站是幸福, 2020)

Cast: Victoria Song, Wei Long Song, David Wang, Yu Jian Zhang, Esther Yu, Katherine Yang, Miles Wei, Elaine Tong, Jocelyn Zhou

He Fan Xing’s company is at risk of being acquired while her relationship with Yuan Song faces societal pressures due to their age difference. The consecutive blows in her work and love life push her to an emotional quagmire and it is during this time that Ye Lu Ming enters her life. Being older in age, he is mature, stable and knowledgeable. He becomes He Fan Xing’s life coach and the source of conflict between the couple. For He Fan Xing, it’s not merely a matter of choosing the man that she loves but considering the contradictions of adopting the traditional mindset on marriage. – MyDramaList

Where to Watch: Netflix

QUOTES/SCENE

Yuan Song (YS): Almost there! Almost there!
Fan Xing (FX): How long?
YS: Right away. Just a few steps.
FX: Where are we going?
YS: We’re there!
FX: Wow!
YS: Looking at night scenery doesn’t count as creative but when I spend a lot of money, you have pressure. Not spending money and making you happy, I didn’t have time to prepare.
FX: You noticed?
YS: When you filled up my fridge, I already noticed.
FX: What else did you notice?
YS: I noticed that today you are exceptionally pretty, does that count?
FX: *laughs*
YS: What are you laughing at? Was I really weird just now? Did my eyes not attract you? Online, it said that when you look at someone up close, they will be attracted to you. ..Stop laughing. Is it that funny?
FX: It tickles. Stop, stop! *hugs*
YS: I wish that time would stop.
FX: Being in love (relationship) is so good. We can happily make cups together, can go see movies, look at night scenery, have sweet talk and huge each other next to the river. You’ve already made reality all my imaginations about being in love. No regrets now!
YS: You shouldn’t be easily satisfied. You should keep making a lot of requests to me or else I’m scared that I’ll be proud.

STORY

Find Yourself takes a somewhat different approach to the romance drama love story as it tells the story of the love story between a management level lady in her early 30s and an intern 10 years younger. In many ways, this story is a topic very heavily discussed especially in China.

It takes on various topics/discussions about whether the person you choose to get married should be someone that you love or someone that’s suitable to you (as in their social status/achievements/age, etc.). Its also the concept of whether respecting your parent’s appearance to others and all the other things needed to be done to be considered a filial daughter when you choose someone that will cause a lot of debate. In reality, its a fun topic to look at because the story actually gives the female lead this “stubborn” view of her ideal relationship and insisting on following her heart which is why at 32, she still hasn’t had a relationship, making this first time full of stumbles and bad decisions when she dates the younger intern as her idealistic self is met with some realistic concerns that causes them to break apart (as expected in these series) and to choose to give up her idealistic relationship bar and try to be with a man who is suitable for her. The story direction and premise is a good one to say the least and the execution is decent for the most part however these dramas are always a tad predictable and some of the events were a little unbelievable.

LENGTH/PACING

Episodes: 41
Episode length: approx 40 mins.

Any dramas hitting the 40+ episode mark is a little tricky. It always has a little too much of something here and there but seeing as a lot of Chinese dramas hit the 50+ episode marks, 41 episodes isn’t too bad. The fortunate thing for Find Yourself is that it uses its time well. It establishes quickly its main couple, Fan Xing (Victoria Song) and Yuan Song (Wei Long Song) and then give them problems that make them question their relationship around the halfway point. At the same time, the story also establishes quite early on the different elements of family, friends as well as work colleagues and focuses on the relationships between these people to create the different dynamic and uses each of those supporting plot lines well. I’ll talk about each of the relationships in the next section but in essence, the story focuses on one love triangle, three groups of friends, a few families as well as one other main relationship and one supporting one. It sounds like its really full but it actually changes between these scenarios and then flows rather well. It also helps that the dialogue and character development as the story moves along is pretty good that it all wraps up in a satisfying ending for all the characters.

CHARACTERS/CHEMISTRY

Romantic Relationship

He Fan Xing (Victoria Song) & Yuan Song (Wei Long Song)

The casting for Victoria Song and Wei Long Song is really good. In reality, their age difference is also rather similar to their characters that they portray making it even easier to believe the two of them. On top of that, they are natural in their roles and its believable when they are together and even after their break-up and still thinking of each other and adjusting to the new norm, the dynamic between them shifts and it helps their characters develop. Its what gives so much to the characters of  Fan Xing and Yuan Song when they finally (inevitably) get drawn back together. This time, its with the courage that they should have. In reality, the show gives them both space for Fan Xing to be more brave to follow her heart and not settle and force to do something that against her own beliefs and for Yuan Song to be more mature about his approach and understanding towards Fan Xing’s standpoint.The chemistry between the two is incredibly good and it has a lot to do with the many scenes (as unreal as it might feel, because I’ve seen discussions about this online) setup and structures.

He Chan Yang (Zhang Yu Jian) & Cai Min Min (Esther Yu)

A flip side of the main relationship is a later developed story line between Fan Xing’s brother Chan Yang who gets pursued by his quirky and over the top student, Cai Min Min who previously was pursuing actively Yuan Song. Her character plays two fold  and in the second half, when Chan Yang agrees to be in a secret relationship with her, things get complicated because of the teacher-student element as well as the age difference. For them, it brings up the point of how people have double standards in society about men dating 10 year younger girls versus women dating 10 years younger men. That’s just an aside as these two are a different dynamic altogether. Their personalities are both more outgoing and actually they each have their own quirkiness and they both brave in their own way to embrace their relationship once they become more stable. Still, it becomes finding the balance of power between being a dominating and more teacher character for Chan Yang or being a boyfriend toward Cai Min Min. These two also have great chemistry but in a different way.

I’m not going to lie that I’ve seen Esther Yu and Yu Jian Zhang before in other TV series (in separate TV series, not as a couple) however these two are really fun to watch all the time. They do get cast in very similar character types but they also can carry their scripts and present those characters really well. They definitely were a ton of fun to watch in this one.

Cong Xiao (Katherine Yang) & Chang Huan (Miles Wei)

The previous two was more of a main romance where this pair is also a different angle in a more supporting love story as they are best friends and colleagues with different views on love and because of that doesn’t embrace their feelings right away but works hard to get the girl. Their story drags out a little and flails around as they both find their footing but somehow, these story was one side of the characters and chemistry that I liked a lot and worth a mention.

Friendship/Family/Love Interests

Friendship plays a big part here and in reality, the script for the drama seems to focus a lot on the different friendships through different age groups and the things they are going through, mostly relationship-wise. Fan Xing’s two girlfriends have great communication together as they protect each other just like Cai Min Min’s two best friends who also analyze the situation different from them. You can see the script seeing them deal with different stages in life and having to face different problems from cheating husbands to deciding between a future of marriage and kids. Each of these have their concerns at their own age and their own views, giving them their value in the show.

One of the better friendships to show up is from its love interests. Cai Min Min being Yuan Song’s previous love interests and ends up in a similar situation to his previous secret romance with Fan Xing and finding their discussions to be reflective on both his characters and hers as their opinions start to flip around. At the same time, Fan Xing’s trial to be in a relationship with her suitable choice, Lu Ming (David Wang) always started with a friendship between the two that was much more suitable. Their dynamic being much better when they were interacting as friends than when they were trying to be together with a goal of getting married. In fact, Lu Ming’s chase game for Fan Xing and his big game plan actually was a lot more fun to watch.

In terms of family, its a huge highlight and probably one of the strengths of the show aside from the romantic elements. Fan Xing’s family in particular focuses on this fun sibling love/rivalry and the parents are very comedic to say the least and actually different from typical Chinese parents in some ways. They had some great moments as well as some great script.

OVERALL

Find Yourself is a decent Chinese drama. It has a lot to thank for its outstanding cast and gives so much unique life to its characters. It also has a diverse topics of discussion and web of intertwined relationships of romance, sibling, friends, colleagues, schoolmates and family that all play a part in the story its trying to tell. Its about secret relationships and views in the eyes of others as well as age gaps in relationships. There’s enough character development throughout. The first half is a lot more fun to watch than the second half which is a bit more dramatic in probably the third quarter. Luckily, it still remembers those comedic and awkward moments to keep it more light and fluffy. TV series are meant to bring joy especially dramas in this sort of romance, friendship and family area. There’s a few episodes or moments that feel like it drags out but it does quickly find it again. Can I say that other than my obvious love for Esther Yu and Yu Jian Zhang, I’m finding a love for Victoria Song and Wei Long Song and both of them are really popular now with the former being on a good few variety shows lately and the latter having one TV series recently finished airing (I think) and probably one more series to be released.

MAIN THEME

The Half Of It (2020)

The Half of It (2020)

Director (and writer): Alice Wu

Cast: Leah Lewis, Alexxis Lemire, Daniel Diemer, Becky Ann Baker, Catherine Curtin, Collin Chou, Wolfgang Novogratz

When smart but cash-strapped teen Ellie Chu agrees to write a love letter for a jock, she doesn’t expect to become his friend – or fall for his crush. – IMDB

In the mass of Netflix Originals that gets released in a year, every once in a while, we find some hidden gems. While coming of age films are rather formulaic in many ways, The Half of It is unique in its own way as it packs in a lot of layers of teen issues altogether as well as immigrant family struggles. All these elements combines with a balanced execution focus on coming of age mixed in with bits of romance and friendship. If we think about this in similarities, the story here is similar to Sierra Burgess is a Loser (review), except you trade out physical insecurities with  some other issues like LGBT and immigrant family issues. The things that stand out in Sierra Burgess actually work really well here as well, like the friendship element between Ellie and Paul as well as her interaction with her father. 

The Half of It really works because of its cast that brings to life these well-written characters. Each of them presenting their different characteristics in a believable and charming manner, even behind their many awkward moments which adds to the humor. Leah Lewis plays the main character of Ellie Chu who keeps to herself and breaks her rules when she decides to help “edit” (but really write) a love letter for Paul (Daniel Diemer), a jock with rather undesirable writing skills, because she coincidentally needed the money. And yet, sometimes these perfect coincidences presents itself as a blessing in disguise when she bonds this unexpected friendship both with Paul and as the voice for Paul to appeal to Aster (Alexxis Lemire). Its the awkwardness moments that work well here whether its Ellie and Paul or when Paul interacts with Aster on their little dates. At the same time, like mentioned before, one of the highlights is between Ellie and her father (Collin Chou) who usually is known for his villainous and action roles in Asian cinema. The father element plays a decent part in the story and it makes this story always centered around Ellie which makes it truly her coming of age story and never loses sight of that.

The Half Of It might seem like a familiar tale in its execution but it also is unique because of the different issues that it tackles. Perhaps its because its about a Chinese immigrant family that it relates better to myself that it also strikes a chord and the family element here plays out really well. Or perhaps its the portrayal of Ellie Chu that really is quite appealing even though she doesn’t seem to find the same confidence in herself but actually finds it as she confides in Paul while helping him subconsciously building their friendship. While there is an unrequited love element there and teen romance that never quite gets a lot of resolution, it seems like the story is never quite about that but actually manages to create a fairly positive and sweet ending despite of it. All these elements makes The Half Of It such a charming coming of age movie. While I’ve never seen Alice Wu’s previous work Saving Face, I do hope that it won’t take her over a decade before making a new movie as she has quite a decent vision as a director and writer that it would be interesting to see what other stories she will tell in the future.

TV Binge: Love O2O (微微一笑很倾城, 2016)

Moving on from Rush of the Dead Summer (review), I really liked Zheng Shuang as the female lead and went to look for her other TV series. Luckily, there was one on Netflix called Love O2O. The other title is One Smile Is Very Alluring, which is the title of the movie that was released which is also available on Netflix that I hadn’t seen yet. Love O2O opened up a ton of talented young actors and actresses that will lead to some of my future TV series choices (as you will soon find out).

Love O2O (微微一笑很倾城, 2016)

Director: Liu Yu Fen

Cast: Shuang Zheng, Yang Yang, Xiao Tong Miao, Jun Feng Niu, Ye Cheng Zheng, He Zhang, Bai Yu, Vin Zhang

Xiao Nai is a gaming expert who, courtesy of his basketball skills, academic excellence, swimming talent and game company presidency, also happens to be the most popular student on campus. When he first comes across the gorgeous computer science major Bei Wei Wei, the infinitely talented wunderkind immediately falls in love. But it’s not Bei’s looks that he notices; it’s the ridiculous mastery with which she is commanding her guild and owning everyone in an online multiplayer game that makes her impossible to forget. Now, Xiao Nai must use his skills both in real life and online to capture the adorable but dorky Bei’s heart. But does their love have the XP to succeed, or will this relationship never level up? – MyDramalist

If you want to check out Love O2O, you can find it with English subtitles on Youtube or its also on Netflix.

QUOTE/SCENE

STORY

Love O2O is probably one of the more light-hearted and positive Chinese dramas that I’ve seen so far. While there is some drama between friendship, work and relationships, it never over dramatizes and drags out a situation for too long. Perhaps this gives it less depth but the story itself knows how to focus on the positives of each relationship and give its a positive way to solve some of the issues here. There are conflicts that show up especially when dealing with the MMORPG world where the online relationships also result to the expectations and rumors and bullying that happens as well. At the same time, the story is set in the second half on the game development world and the hurdles that they end up facing.

While the story lies mostly in the real world, a portion of it is still in the fantasy world, more the in-game world where they have a lot of computer graphics. They have fighting bits together and has a whole relationships that comes out of there as well as giving it a lot of fantastical elements of online dating via the in-game elements. Its pretty charming to say the least but also has a side warning of how sometimes there can be cases of mistaken identity or lack of communication or misunderstandings and the fragility of building your friendships online rather in-person. The story itself does blend itself well together and as the series moves along, less and less is hidden in-game and more in reality.

LENGTH/PACING

Love O2O has the fantastic length of 30 episodes which borders on my personal belief of the upper limit of where an idol drama usually should be.

The execution and pacing here is very good. 30 episodes with the amount of characters and story arc gives the story a sufficient amount of character development while also giving the story a chance to focus not only on the romantic angles but also touch of friendship, bromance, family, etc. The majority of the story is set over the happenings of a budding relationship that starts at the end of a university semester and the summer time and then jumps forward at the end to push forward the timeline and give it a proper ending. That is a good way to do it because life is always full of crazy events but sometimes its those first moments when its goes from ultra sweet to building a solid foundation. Its why Love O2O doesn’t drag at all and stays fun from beginning to end.

CHARACTERS/CHEMISTRY

If we look at characters and chemistry, our main leads and couple is Wei Wei, played by Zheng Shuang and Xiao Nai, played by Yang Yang. They are fantastic together and probably one of the best TV ships that could happen (in my short Chinese drama time). What works for them is that their characters are almost perfect from the outside and we soon find out that they each have their similarities and balance between them. Its in their actions and their pure intentions for each other that makes them so charming to watch. Plus, their relationship sprouts of Wei Wei adoration of Xiao Nai and idolization as he is the good-looking and smart senior student in school who all the girls swoon over, while as the show goes on, you can see that Xiao Nai doesn’t care of those things but rather its love at first sight on his side that he knows that she’s the right one and doesn’t know how to be a good boyfriend and just tries his best to protect her and support her.

On the other hand, the second leads are Er Xi (Mao Xiao Tong) and Cao Guang (Bai Yu) who are the opposite of the main leads couple because they start off disliking each other, which is the more typical way of how most romantic leads start out in these dramas. However, these two are very fun characters while both of their story arcs have a slight frustrating moments, both regarding each other as well as in terms of friendship and crushes.

Finally, relationships can be bromances and Love O2O thrives in that department, whether its the bromance between Xiaonai and his roommates, which turn out to be his work team as the series moves forward after their graduation or the girl friends (who really do have less part here) of Weiwei. However, the bromance here is fantastic especially as the friendship expands to a fifth member of the group as they get into the work space area. They add the fun and comedy also which rounds out the story a lot to keep it very light-hearted.

Finally, we take a look at the “enemies”. Be it the love rivals or the schoolyard internet bullies or the competing companies for the projects, it falls into the tone here because as frustrating as they can be, they never feel that harmful especially when they always find some positive outcome or enlightenment for the characters, which is nice to see because it keeps the series in a very positive light and gives hope especially to the younger characters who find their way. Its in the details of the script and the writer for this series manages to keep a good balance and remember the tone that its going for.

OVERALL

Love O2O definitely is one of my faves because of its positivity. There are more tears of joy and happiness and swooning over cute and endearing moments as well as being touched over the perfection of Xiaonai as a boyfriend who thrives in communication and trust over Weiwei no matter what other people say and believes his own eyes and experiences. Its span of touching different modern day themes and issues especially as we navigate the online landscape whether in gaming or blogging. It manages to focus on the love here but also give it a good dose of friendships as well as the reality of school, work and the challenges in life overall. Its charming and fun, romantic and cute, inspiring and positive: all the things I like about TV series.

Pinterest Therapy #2!

Let’s have some fun, ok?

I’ve been in desperate need of some Pinterest Therapy and honestly, it gets me through my day just a little bit more.  If I can try out half of these things this year, I’d be pretty pleased with myself 😉

I kept my little rant at the end of the post to just clear some stuff off my chest so its up to you if you want to read it or not.

Here you go! These little things have kept me sane in the past 2 weeks or so.

1) Spring Sangria 

Tea usually is my relaxant and thats why I usually have two thermos that I take to the office with me.  But when I’m at home, nearing the weekend, having a glass of alcohol usually helps. I love Sangria.  I love the normal red sangria during the summer and the white Autumn Sangria. I recently saw this Spring Sangria.  I know spring is kind of almost gone but this looks pretty awesome.

Whats your favorite cocktail?

2) Live in the Moment

That was this week’s goal.  For the most part, I’ve been able to remind myself to breathe and to focus on the goals every single day leading to the final result. One of my coworkers did get a good laugh when I sat upright and said breathe out loud and then inhaled and exhaled in the middle of the day.  At least its not only relaxing for me but entertaining for others, right? 😉 In short, this is where I remember what my boyfriend tells me: take things in steps and don’t look at the entire mountain. No correlation but I get what he means.

3) DIY Bug Off Candle/Mosquito Control Plants

DIY Bug Off Candle

I never thought I’d say this but gardening has been my little escape.  Stressful as it is that I’m trying to get everything done, its also a pretty fun experience. Right now, I bought some torches and citronella oil for the yard but I’m looking at how to have some more natural mosquito repellents.  Because of the pool, its like I became a buffet when I step out at night. And let me get something straight: I’m nobody’s buffet. So first choice was this: Bug off candles with lots of herbs and whatnot.

4) Stress vs. passion

Technically I can work for something I don’t care about but if I find something that makes me care about it, then I may not love it but I won’t hate it.  Is that still called stress? I don’t know.  Either way, the dream is to one day do what I’m passionate about. Thats the goal, right? But then, who doesn’t have that dream.  I sometimes think I lean towards my realistic side more than my dreamer side.  Its being able to take that leap of faith but reading that makes me want to go home and either watch a movie or play the piano or bake a cake.  Happy thoughts 🙂

5) RAISED GARDENS/CONTAINER GARDENING

Yeah, more about the garden.  Thats what happens when you buy a house (my mom told me that).  I’m really into this container gardening business.  This is just a raised garden and I’m serious when I tell you, I hope my boyfriend reads this and builds this for me.  That looks so awesome! Would be perfect for what I need. And from what I understood, the previous owners left us a bunch of wood in the storage area.  Maybe it could be used for my benefit. Well, if the garden has stuff, its not just mine now, is it?

6) True Friends

It always makes me a loner when I say this but I don’t have a lot of friends but I have true friends and strong friendships.  I know they are there for me and for some them, sometimes they know exactly when to reach out to me and same for me to them.  And that thought makes me grateful and happy every single day.

7) Butterfly Sanctuary

Noted, Disney! I love flowers and butterflies so its a future goal for my garden 🙂 Think about how awesome that would be! You have birds and squirrels visits you? Well, I have butterflies 😉 Just kidding! Its also pretty awesome that this festival exists and one day I want to go check it out.

8) Regrowing plants from scraps

Yesterday, I went to eat with my friends and I realized that the joy that comes with gardening comes a lot in the challenge of seeing your success when something sprouts.  So my next little project is regrowing from food scraps like the tops of pineapples and try my hand at some ginger or garlic and maybe some bok choy.

9) The Beauty of Silence

Yup, Chinese has a saying that one hand can’t clap out loud.  Pretty much if you don’t reciprocate, it won’t escalate to an argument.  But of course, some people will just get frustrated and be even more furious.  I don’t know.  Either way, there are times I just choose to answer with silence just simply because there are no more words to say and I refuse to continue going in circles. I’ve moved on, why haven’t you? Thats all I want to know.

10) What does it take to be strong?

Totally true. Which is why after this craziness, I’m taking off some time to calm my body and think up some wonderful alternative to how I’m treating life itself.  I’ll be walking away from the nonsense hopefully but at this point I’m not even sure if its with my head held high.  I’m just too tired 😉

A Little Extra Rant Before I Go…

You know that feeling that you’ve done all you can to make things better and ease the situation and yet, its never enough. I use kind words and soft phrases and they use rude blunt disrespectful replies. There are no second chances, there are no mistakes. Suddenly, I realized that the prerequisite in taking care of this client is to be perfect.  I can’t even try to be perfect because its not enough.  I’m sorry, I’m done with this.  I’m not perfect and I’ve accepted that.  I’ve tried my best to better my flaws and I’ve done all I could but if the client can’t let go of the little things, then I’m also done with it.

I don’t need someone like that to diminish my self-worth or to disrespect me. I’ve sat here and pondered how to make this work because I don’t want to give up, especially not leave my boss in a bad position.

Finally!

This Pinterest therapy helped me out! And now, off to work I go for some lovely overtime.

Have a great weekend, my lovelies! 🙂

Weekly Writing Challenge: Truth is Stranger Than Fiction

I’m finally back with one of these.  The past few have been a bit not my cup of tea or I’ve been too busy with other posts to do it.  However, this one involves pictures and I fully intend on checking out the March Phoneography but since I only have a dumbphone still.  I will be using this to learn a bit more about my tablet.

For this week’s Weekly Writing Challenge, they kick off this March Phoneography with a picture…

For this challenge, we want to see a photo of someone looking truly happy. Not “I’m-smiling-for-this-photo” happy, but really, deeply, twinkle-in-the-eyes happy. When we’re smiling a genuine smile, our whole faces get involved — our whole bodies, for that matter. There’s a light in our eyes. We look relaxed; there’s a forced tension in a fake smile. Then we want to know why: what’s going on in the photo? What are you (or they) thinking about at the exact moment? (And if you really want to get into it: what happens next?)

I hunt through my old pictures as they requested to look for one of me.  I also had to put in my loved one, my boyfriend, because I captured that shot.  Its really hard to capture myself truly happy although most of the pictures I take, I am genuinely happy but to catch myself giggling to myself spontaneously is hard.  The most genuine is when we don’t realize..like when I’m baking…but then my hands are kind of full with hand mixers, spatulas, flour, butter, etc…Enough rambling on my part and let’s go!

My absolutely favorite and natural picture of my boyfriend giving off all kinds of natural happiness in his expression:

This was in the summer of 2011 when we went on our Niagara Falls trip at Bird Kingdom.  That place is super beautiful and we went into this area with these little birds flying and chirping away in their mocked natural habitat.  They were all so adorable.  I don’t exactly remember what my boyfriend was looking at. My guess is probably some kids or some conversation going on while he was patiently waiting for me to chase or sneak up on birds and take millions of pictures before I got it right.  That is a natural smile right there.  He had no idea I was taking pictures of him until we got back to the hotel and I was checking out the pictures.

The other picture is full credits to my friend, if they see this post via Facebook, they will know who they are so thank you to my awesome friend or else I wouldn’t have these memories:

It was hard to choose which one for this but the one before is of me holding the actual gift I got.  Why not? I was asked to put one and then here’s two, why not three, right?

Wait wait, back track…

Last year, I held a huge duo birthday party for two friends and also it was a huge party in general to gather everyone together.  What I didn’t know was that they had planned out a surprise for me.  Making me get a lot of attention that night.  One of my friends somehow snuck in two shots of me.  I think this is me really happy from actually holding a guitar that they all chipped in for me and then (they don’t know this) tearing up…I was really touched.  I don’t like attention but I do like feeling appreciated and loved by my friends.  Surprise, right? And that card made me laugh a lot too, because its pretty much cats meowing to the tune of Happy Birthday.  Whenever my cat hears it, she just starts sniffing the card, biting and meowing at the card to get those cats to reveal themselves.  Its pretty hilarious 🙂

Sometimes, its really these moments that you look back and you really smile.  I look back and I had a hard time choosing the moment to use. A lot had to do with the one party that I have a year for my birthday which I stopped doing huge.  This one was in April, well past my birthday but they all remembered, so that was really sweet.  Point being, I’ve been very fortunate to feel genuinely happy throughout the years and I have tons of pictures to show for it.  That thought makes me even happier.

Whats a moment that comes to your mind that makes you smile right away?