I’ve never been one to be super big on my birthdays but have been super blessed by family and friends who celebrated with me with fine company, cake, balloons, birthday blessings and lots and lots of love.

This year was no exception. I got to get all warm and fuzzy with my family over a hot pot meal, thanks to my mom and dad. My sis orchestrated an amazing day of bowling, beers, best cupcakes and belly laughs. My amazing family (aunt, uncle, cousins Cissy, Donnie, Irene, Chris) blessed me with beautiful wishes and very generous and *ahem practical gifts. My friends lent their hands with helping out, getting me awesome balloons, writing heartwarming cards and just blessing blessing blessing me with their presence and smiles (and drinks). I feel so loved especially because I’ve been here in Hong Kong for a little less than a year, away from the only home I’ve ever known and yet, people are making me feel so welcome.

When people talk about birthdays, it’s usually associated with dread over turning another year older. I’d have to disagree. Save for the one year when I turned 21 and had a mini-panic attack, I’ve always been okay about turning another year older. Even looked forward to it sometimes. The way I see it:

I’m not turning another year older, I’m turning another year wiser.

I’m not heading towards death, I’m heading closer to eternal life.

I’m not decaying, I’m just learning to treasure my body more.

I’m not getting more boring, I’ve become more certain of who I am and what I want out of life.

I’m not becoming more jaded, I’m becoming more appreciative of all the good things in this world.

I’m not becoming less popular, I’m becoming more selective over who I value enough to spend my time with.

I’m not regretful I’m still stuck making the same mistakes sometimes, I’m grateful I’m picking up the pieces faster after I’ve made the mistakes and lessening the frequency in making them.

I’m not leaving the good ol’ days behind, I’m getting closer and closer to the best days of our lives.

Not only am I 26 years old, I’m 56 years wise, 16 years strong, 6 years innocent, 16 years adventurous, eternally joyful.

I would never want to be the person I was 1, 2, 3 years ago. That Janice was naive, selfish, quick-tempered, on shaky grounds, cared so much more about the little things that won’t last, cared so much more about what other people thought. This Janice… because of Him… so much better

Thanks to everyone who’s wished me a happy birthday and helped me celebrate!

Now that I have been in Hong Kong for a little over half a year, I’m finally experiencing that dose of what they call homesickness. The LA sunshine. The chill, laid-back people who are all, like, ‘whatever’, and, ‘just chill’, and, ‘dude’, and stuff. The burritos and quesadillas and KBBQ and pho.

But I think what I miss most about LA is the dreamers.

LA is a land of dreamers.

It’s a place where stories are longing to jump from the brain onto a paper (or Word Document) and onto the big screen or small screen or stage. It’s a place where an actor has fallen in love with creating characters and is willing to wait on tables for years in order to make that dream a reality. It’s a place where (wannabe) producers, writers, talents, directors, costume designers do what they do in order to make the impossible a possibility. It’s a place where people are okay with money not being the means to everything so long as their souls can create, produce, emote.

Hong Kong’s a more practical city. It likes to look at the odds, the chances, the likelihood, the possibilities, the numbers a bit more. Oh yes, the numbers. It definitely likes to look at the numbers.

I’ve never been a numbers person so the odds (hah!) doesn’t bode well for me in a city like Hong Kong. Yet, I’m a doggedly persistent dreamer and my optimism and faith is at a staggeringly high percentage (well, what do you know, I just may be a numbers person after all!) so I think this–combined with the acceptance of the personality of the city I live in– will help my chances at thriving here. Plus, it’s good to have Hong Kong’s go-getter attitude rub off on me a bit. I need that to make things happen, right?

This was just a small shout-out to all my dreamers out there. You’re not alone. And your dreams are going to become awesome realities!

I could be at a fashion show cheering on my cousin and sister in a David Yurman fashion show.

Or receiving a specially signed photo book of half-naked men from Abercrombie & Fitch.

Or nibbling on pink jelly for lunch.

Or receiving yummy chocolates at the office.

Or checking out pretty ladies in pretty clothes for a fashion show luncheon.

Or stalking Jeremy Lin on assignment.

Yea. My job is pretty awesome. But don’t think I don’t know it can all be taken away in a minute. So just going to cherish and work as hard as I can while I still have it. 加油！

As I’ve mentioned before, Hong Kong works at lightning speed and people are known to do whatever it takes to GET. THINGS. DONE. So it’s not uncommon for us to pull a photo shoot out of thin air with two models, 4 looks, outdoors location out of thin air. Some notables thus far (I say that ’cause I know there will just be so much more good ones coming up!)

Sports Chic

What the heck is sports chic? My partner-in-crime Arthur and I had to figure out that exact question when we set off to shoot a sports chic look book photo shoot. This was my first shoot with the mag and I think I may have been a little overambitious itching to do two models, 4 looks, and an outdoors locations. The result came out quite well but this behind the scenes post will give you more insight as to what happened. Personally, I ended up with 54 mosquito bites that afternoon. 54! (You know of my hate/hate relationship with them pesks).

Totes vs. Backpacks

A good (or bad) thing about being an editor is you can indulge in a bit of nepotism every now and then. I try not to but I can’t help it that my sis and intern John also happened to be good-looking models! Also, Arthur and I had a bit of a banter over what’s cooler to carry around– a tote or a backpack. Tough choices, eh? Read here.

Pretty sexy, huh? You wouldn’t believe how much effort went into getting this cover shot. The model, August, is already super gorgeous and sexy and yet, hours and hours of photoshopping went into making her flawless. This was completely different from our original concept but I kind of love it. It was relevant to the subversive nature of the sex issues we were talking about and c’mon, it’s hot. I also helped contribute with this feature story on HK’s sex industry workers which was quite an adventure to compile but which I felt was a real breathe of fresh air for journalism. (Also, an issue I have a heart for.) Read here.

I gotta say, modeling is a tough job. You could be swathed in heavy coats and wool sweaters and walk around sweat-infused Causeway Bay in 5-inch platforms and have to look beautiful doing it. Luckily, these two models, Eva and Reila, were troopers as we marched about the district and all its army of crowds and shot this look book. I’m glad I started my job during the summer time where I had the face the worst the Hong Kong weather had to bring. The next few seasons should be easy peasy! (I hope I hope I hope)

These shoots would not have been possible without Arthur, Calvin the photographer extraordinaire, Ken the creative director extraordinaire, Gabbie the makeup and hair stylist extraordinaire, and our rockstar interns John, Jessie, Gloria, and YY. People, you rock.

Next up: Events

I can’t believe it’s been 5 months since I’ve been in Hong Kong already. Time passes by so fast here. Literally, things can happen here in a week that would take a month to occur back in LA. I would say I have definitely been living life so much to the point that I started forgetting (or not having the time) to sit back and blog about it! But boy oh boy, lots of observations stored up!

One of the reasons why I’m so preoccupied is I’m starting to get comfortable with my position as the Style and Social Media Editor for Time Out HK. This means I basically get to stare at and write about pretty clothes all day and then I get to look up cute cat pictures online and post it on Facebook. Actually, it’s a little more than that but I’ll tell you another time. Today, I just want to show off! I’ve finally accumulated enough articles and randomness to share with you some of my contributions to Time Out HK.

First up– some writing bits.

Hair cuts and Grandma Tips

I spent a random afternoon with famed hairstylist Kim Robinson (at his abode no less!) and personal finance guru Suze Orman. We chatted about hair, their irreplaceability, and money. You can read the article here. However, it was when we were in the car ride back to the city where things got interesting. Suze and her partner Kathy were like this sweet pair of grandmas doling out life advice for me. (Suze: “You stay in Hong Kong and you get cultured!” Kathy: “You need to find a nice tall, handsome, well-cultured, well-educated boy to match you!”) That’s also when I found out that when Suze was 28, she was still waitressing, trying to save up enough money for a restaurant. Boy, how differently her life’s turned out since then! Gives us all a little hope, doesn’t it?

Vivienne Tam

One of the first weeks on the job, I got the opportunity to interview Vivienne Tam. I may not be all up on my designers but even I know who Vivienne Tam was. Nice, fun interview. Read here.

Fancy Dining on the House

I definitely dig the perks of being a Time Out writer and getting my bill paid at fancy restaurants (and writing up a review about it) is certainly one of them. This review was even merrier cause I got to enjoy the dinner with a fine group of gal pals. Read here.

Last but DEFINITELY not Least

This is my favorite piece thus far. I wrote  a snappy column for the latest Cheap Eats issue of Time Out (out on newsstands now, Hong Kong friends!) where I dished out how a fine meal is determined by your company, not your courses. READ HERE! READ HERE! READ HERE!

Next up: Shoots.

I cried for the victims’ families. I cried for the tragedy of a life cut short. I cried for the sobering fact that this could happen to anyone, anywhere and that in life, there is no Batman who can save Gotham city from peril.

Oh, but there is.

Oh death! Where is your sting?
Oh hell! Where is your victory?
Oh Church! Come stand in the light!
Our God is not dead. He’s alive! He’s alive!

The unnaturalness of human beings and our aversion to death leads me to strongly believe that maybe it isn’t supposed to be this way. Why do we fear death so? Why do we want to live forever? (Provided that our loved ones also live forever with us.) Perhaps it is because there is indeed something that comes after death.

Through my walk with God, I feel this is true more and more. And because it is true, all the more am I called to live a purpose-driven life — not wasting it away on shallow, surface-grazing relationships that will only fulfill fleshly prideful needs nor staying tucked in comfort and familiarity. No, it’s living a life with meaningful relationships, demonstrating that the power of Christ and His love can defy all previous notions of life, love, and death.

Christ is risen from the dead
Trampling over death by death
Come awake, come awake!
Come and rise up from the grave.

Once your world view shifts to a reassurance and peace that you will have an eternity to be spent living with, glorifying and loving your God, it should wake you up to start life NOW. To tell everyone you know about the amazingness of this fact, to save souls. Do you ever notice how in scary movies, when the killer/monster is going after the victim, when the victim is scared, we are scared. However, when they are not scared to die, we as movie viewers also lose that fear even though the killer/monster may still be just as menacing. That loss of fear emboldens us, gives us courage.

I used to be afraid of writing “crazy” blog posts like this. Afraid that people will think of me as a “crazy Christian.” But in the three years since I’ve made the decision to pursue a relationship with God and walk this life as a Christian, God has only pulled me closer and closer to Him. He’s only made me realize how a relationship with Him is the ultimate one worth pursuing. He’s made things happen in my life that I can confidently say would never have happened otherwise. And he’s filled my heart with this infinite well of joy and peace that I know I would have never found anywhere else.

I want you to have that same kind of peace, joy, love floating around in your life. That is why I am writing this in the hopes that you will read it. If you toss me off as a “crazy Christian,” that’s fine with me. It’s true, I am crazy. Crazy about this life. Crazy about how though life can be heartbreaking, tragic, and traumatic but also amazing, hopeful, and filled with grace. Crazy about how much God loves us. I could stay “normal” but seriously, life –this life at least– is too short for that.

Why not?

So I put on my best green polka dotted dress and Toms (just because I could) and proceeded to Central where we posed for shots for Paul’s big-ass camera and let HK’s pedestrians gawk, wondering in their heads what the hell we’re doing.

Sis needed shots for her food blog anyway so she also came along and we got some GREAT STUFF for her! (I say “we” even though it was really all Paul and her but you know, I held her bags…and swept away her stray strands of hair…and ate chicken wings while they shot together…and stuff…)

Ooh! I made this (above)! Impressive, no?

Someone asked me if I feel weird when I pose for pictures.
The answer is heck yah I do! Especially when it’s the more serious “modely” kind. I’ve even written a whole blog post on it before. (A serious case of investigative journalism there, I tell ya.)

Inside, I always feel more like this…

Goofy, overly exuberant…

It actually takes a lot for me to control my facial expressions. But sometimes, I come out pleasantly surprised with the results.

Of course, most of the credit goes to Paul’s artistic way with the camera rather than my less than excellent modeling skills.

Fun (and exhausting!) day was had by all! Now that I have this bunch of cool pictures, what should I do with it?

Mr. Gaiman’s commencement speech for University of the Arts c/o 2012 is even more inspirational.