Joanne Lam

The perfect one-day itinerary for Portland, Maine & Boston (separately)

Upon returning to sunny Los Angeles to prepare for my third quarter of grad school, I can’t help but relive the incredible moments of the past week in Boston- along with a side day trip to Portland, Maine.

A lot has happened, a lot of eating, a lot of drinking, a lot of hugging, and most importantly, a lot of listening and learning what my friends have been going through in their lives. It was exhilarating and inspiring to say the least. All I can say is, I’m so honored to be friends with all my friends who are doing great things in the world, impacting their peers and community in incredible ways. I hope you all know how great you are!

Instead of boring you with my thoughts, I figured I should entice you with my regular food photos. Except, this time it’s not so regular. These two meals I’m about to show you are two of the best meals in Portland and Boston. They’re both must haves if you find yourself in those cities.

PORTLAND, MAINE

First of all, The Front Room in Portland, Maine has an outrageous brunch and a comforting intriguing atmosphere. It’s a local community favorite as the outside decor looks simply like a cute charming house. It even took us a while to find the restaurant. Once we did, we quickly realized why it was so popular! With an open kitchen and great prices for the food, everyone was stumbling in for the experience.

The following menu includes: House made Corned Beef Hash (with 2 poached eggs), Roasted Brussel Sprouts (with whipped goat cheese, almonds & grain mustard vinaigrette), and lastly, the Veggie Gnocchi.

Merely a couple blocks away from the water, it’s the perfect place to go for brunch on a weekend. Go early to put your name down, and while you wait, take a walk to the water and enjoy the view!

TIP for The Front Room brunch: if you’re with a small group, look out for free seats at the bar! (Especially if you’re hungry- while everyone else has to wait in line for a table) The bartender is friendly, and who doesn’t like sitting at the bar for a meal? It’s so authentic.

Before getting to THE Boston brunch meal, let me give a quick shout out to the Allagash Brewing Company! Located in an offbeat location, along with a few other smaller breweries such as Bissell Brothers brewing company, Austin Street brewery, etc. They offer free tasting of delicious beers, and has a very welcome vibe! If you want to take their brewery tour, make sure you sign up online in advance!

I can’t wait to go back to Portland and try more local beers!

BOSTON

Next, arguably one of Boston’s best brunch spots- Trina’s Starlite Lounge! They serve a deadly scrumptious brunch Sundays from 11-3 and uniquely Mondays from 12-4. But let me warn you, don’t be fooled. Monday’s are JUST as busy as the weekend- so be ready to wait for seats but while you wait, check out this insane cocktail list:

I mean, can’t go wrong with High Life and Kool-Aid right?

The food, oh the food. I’ll let the photos speak for itself.

Top: Sloppy Joe Eggs (with two over easy eggs, potato hash, sloppy joes, holladaise)
Bottom: Chicken and Egg Salad

As we ate our mid-afternoon brunch at the bar, we were accompanied on the TV by Tom & Jerry, Powerpuff girls, Garfield and other great cartoons- as well as- great old school hip hop jams. What a great day!

Seriously though, don’t leave Boston without trying the brunch at Trina’s! After you stuff yourself with insane amounts of American comfort food, head on over to the Top of the Hub on the 52nd floor of the Prudential Tower, get yourself a drink and watch the sun go down.

Oh Boston, you’re such a beautiful city. I am really glad I missed all your crazy snow storms this year- but I do miss you and love all the great things you have to offer. I did not appreciate you as much as I should’ve in the past year before I came out to LA and I’m sorry for that.

Thank you for not letting me down and I’ll see you soon!

Unplug LA and Beers @ the Marathon

Time, again, flies by with the blink of an eye. I’m finishing my final assignments for the quarter and flying out to Boston in merely a few days! Aside from incredible learning and studying, two events I attended in the last two weeks in different capacities really stood out.

Firstly, two friends and I attended UNPLUG LA, supported by Digital Detox, which is an evening of fun without technology. How is that possible??? You may ask. Well, let me tell you. It’s possible because you literally have to check in your phone at the reception before going into the venue.

Unplug LA was a celebration for the National Day of Unplugging. Unfortunately much of our society has become one that has to consciously take time to unplug to recognize the fun without technology, the conversations without being able to instagram, tweet, or take notes on our phone and even writing without a computer. During this event, I got my face painted, made friendship bracelets (what a throwback to elementary school!), and even wrote letters on an old school type writer and sent it back home to my family. We also ended the night with a dance party with Magic Giants – a great pop folk band. Shout out to bringing us that great music and atmosphere!

My favorite part of the event was the conversations I had with my friends and strangers. As we drank wine and braided strings for bracelets, we picked conversation starters from a mason jar. These ranged from humorous questions, to deep tell-me-about-your-whole-life-story questions. Out of all the questions, the one that took a while for my friends and I to answer was “if you could take back one day in history, what would it be?”

We had trouble with this question because it could be interpreted so many ways! Was it history in terms of the world? History in terms of our lives? We got personal and went with our own lives. Need less to say, we got to know each other much better after that! In my future home, you can be sure I’ll have a mason jar full of quirky yet intense questions on a daily basis. So future friends, be on the look out for that jar and be prepared to get deep at the Ninja Fort!

LA Marathon – March 15, 2015

As you may or may not have heard, the LA marathon was this past Sunday. As this is my first year in LA, thus, first LA marathon experience and it sure was one of the best! I had the wonderful opportunity to volunteer with Hostelling International Santa Monica at the Beer Garden hosted at 2nd and Santa Monica Blvd.

Yesterday combined two of my passions: connecting with strangers (especially those who had the courage and motivation to run 26.2 miles), and volunteering for HI (to be a part of supporting their mission). HI-Santa Monica is an official charity for the LA Marathon and this year, all the beer purchase “proceeds benefit HI USA travel scholarship & education programs. Creating global citizens through the power of travel”.

It was a busy day at the Beer Garden with runners and spectators alike enjoying the beer and sunshine. To witness all the runners of all ages limping around as well as seeing their emotions sway in between excitement and exhaustion was inspirational to say the least. It was my absolute honor to be able to meet and congratulate everyone who ran. To see a genuine smile on their face as we exchanged brief words throughout the day left me feeling remarkable, inspired, and once again, motivated me to continue to live my life for each and every moment I can make someone smile.

Despite my personal exhaustion at the end of the day, I cannot complain nor compare myself with the thousands who pushed themselves to their absolute limit simply to cross the finish line. I can’t say I will ever run a marathon, but I do hope to participate in an obstacle race of some sort in the following year. Congrats again to all of the runners yesterday, and I hope to see you all next year at the Beer Garden once again!

Adventures of a traveling soul

“Every dreamer knows that it is entirely possible to be homesick for a place you’ve never been to, perhaps more homesick than for familiar ground.”
– Judith Thurman

The last two months have come and gone extremely quickly. Feels like just yesterday when I spent Christmas in Thailand and New Years in Hong Kong. I guess that’s what my life has succumbed to: simply one travel onto the next.

Within an unexpected family weekend in Toronto, a birthday celebration in Santa Barbara, and a Quidditch tournament in Sacramento, I’ve barely had the chance to explore LA and its surrounding areas but it’s been incredible. This past weekend was no exception in terms of adventures.

With a special visitor in town, we drove miles on miles from Pomona to Los Angeles to Torrence and even to Huntington Beach for a mini getaway. We tried new restaurants- including an Indian-American-Gastropub in DTLA, took photos of incredible murals in Hollywood, watched the sunset as we felt the ocean breeze on our faces, and even woke up to hail, as wonderfully shown on KTLA’s local news, Monday morning.

Two photos (above): Steep Canyon Hike in Diamond Bar, CA.
Two photos (below): A delicious Happy Hour at Perch, Downtown LA.

Below: Exploring murals in Hollywood #StreetFeatherProject

Above: Sunset at the Huntington Beach Pier

At the end of the day, the hours of driving and traveling from place to place is worth it when you’re with the right company. An hour in the car feels like just a few minutes when you’re having the right conversations, listening to the perfect jams, and feeling relaxed. The following photo says it all:

**Serenity: The state of being calm, peaceful & untroubled.**

In this day and age, where we’re bombarded with information to consume online, where we have to make sure to check our calendars before we schedule anything with anyone, and a time where the world can be extremely chaotic- it’s important to remind ourselves to embrace the state of serenity on a regular basis.

When our minds are troubled with thoughts and anxiousness, let us bring in people to our lives that can encourage and bring in calmness in the midst of the storms we’re facing.

Ironically, as a traveler, I’m always looking for the next adventure. My soul longs for the next new unknown but I am also fortunate enough to have people around me who keeps me grounded: who encourages my nomad lifestyle but also keeps me at peace.

Do you have similar companionship in your life? In what ways do they impact your life?

The Lost Boys on the train to Rock Hill, SC

Since I’ve moved to Southern California, I’ve re-started my quidditch career and joined the Lost Boys Quidditch Club. Having played for Emerson College for four years, once I graduated in 2013 – I was ready to take a break. I was also really tired of playing in the cold, if there is something you should know about me- it’s that I really dislike winter for the most part. I have quite a low tolerance for the cold. Ask me how I lived in Boston for all those years? I’m not sure. But I am glad I’m not in Boston this winter… it’s been getting slammed!

Back to Quidditch, about two years ago – I made a bet with a friend that if I moved out to LA, I would join the team. Next thing you know, I had a Lost Boys jersey with my name and number on the back. I joined not because of the bet, but because it gave me a community, a family that I get to run around with every Sunday afternoon. Many of the players on the team use to be my teammates back in Boston, and others I had played against in various tournaments in the past.

The Quidditch community within the United States is incredibly large in numbers, but small because we get around. Players meet each other in various tournaments around the country, and from the common passion for the game- friendships and sometimes, relationships arise.

This past weekend, we attended the Western Regionals in Roseville, California – near Sacramento. There were about 22 teams, and after two competitive days of Quidditch- 11 teams qualify to go to the official US Quidditch World Cup in April in Rock Hill, South Carolina. We played hard, we played strong, and we made sure we got a spot in the 11 teams – in addition, came home with 2nd place of the whole tournament.

So, needless to say, we will be heading to Rock Hill April 11- 12 to compete against 80 teams with approximately 1,600 players. Win or Lose, being a member of this team has been one of the best parts about moving to Southern California. We work hard, play hard, party hard, and look out for each other on and off the pitch.

#MyWorldCupJourney

A new platform for Story Telling

Grad school has been kicking my ass this quarter with work, research, and a lot of group assignments- so I apologize for my lack of communication and posts! I did, however, wanted to let you guys know about a new platform for incredible story telling that I discovered: Storehouse

It’s a great, easy way to organize and incorporate photos and videos into your storytelling. My first post, Hong Kong is OKLAH, is a quite overview of my adventures traveling through Hong Kong this past holiday season. I went on a stunning hike (Lions Rock), as you can see from the photo above, toured and ate my way through Macau, sat on a tram for hours, and really just snapped photos all day long.

Check it out! And let me know what you think. I definitely plan to use Storehouse for my future adventures that are worth sharing about- which hopefully is all of them!