My first NBA game going experience... and more!

As a basketball fan for all these years, I have never been to an actual NBA game until last night. A lot of people who know me are often surprised just because I make it very obvious that basketball is almost as important to me as a serious relationship. Okay, maybe not quite, but you know what I mean. All these time I held out because I refused to have my first game being a Lakers game (Staples center was the closest when I lived in San Diego for the last couple of years). The Lakers don't deserve to pop my basketball-game-cherry. And well if I didn't want to watch the Lakers, the Clippers aren't exactly all that fun either. But anyway, I am very glad I waited because my first time going to an actual game, was about as good as it gets for me.

So here you go, my first NBA game experience.

It was an incredible game. Although it was not exactly playoff atmosphere, but the Warriors and the Suns are just so much fun to watch. Prior to the game, I was betting my friends saying it would at least be a 130-140 point game. Little did i know, we ended up with 154- yay for season high for points scored in regulation! Yes, granted neither team played any defense haha, but honestly, who cares at this point?! I was just overjoyed with dunk after dunk and one fast break after another. Before I could start cheering, a whole other possession would have gone by already. And to be honest, just seeing the Suns in real life was incredible enough for me. It felt so surreal, they were no longer little figures running around on my tv, there is no more annoying commercial breaks and stupid bias commentators (such as the likes of Bill Walton, or the unbearable voice of Avery Johnson), I was really there! I was sooooooooOOOooo tempted to just run into the court and give Steve Nash or Matt Barnes the biggest hug in the world.

@ Oracle Arena before the game started

the starters on the bench cheering their teammates on!

Final score- Warrior 130 Suns 154!!!!!!

Throughout the entire game, I was overjoyed and overly excited from beginning to the end. And somehow it got even better- (thanks to my new favorite person in the entire world- Sam) we got invited to Matt Barnes' birthday party!!! Without a doubt, we decided to go!

So we showed up at this club somewhere in Oakland- under dressed and awkwardly not fitting in with the crowd at all (There was a total of 5 asian ppl in the entire venue- 4 of us and 1 bartender LOL). A few drinks later, Karen and I decided that its time to go search for Matt Barnes. So there I was... a lost asian girl in her white tennis shoes running around with her camera inside some club in Oakland, trying to find one of her favorite players. And as I ran to the the back of the club, there he was. Right in front of me... just sitting right there and surrounded by friends. For a minute I hesitated... he was in some sort of a VIP area sectioned off from the rest of the crowd. But then I realize, OMG JULIA! This is Matt Barnes! You love him! You HAVE to go up to him! So with some pushing and pulling by Karen, I went to the back, walked right up to him and asked him to take a picture/mumbled telling him I was his biggest fan/congratulated him for the game/said happy birthday... I don't think he really paid attention to what I had to say, partially because I doubt he really heard anything as I stumbled over excitement and giggles. But he was still very nice and took a couple pictures with us. Words cannot describe how happy and giddy I was for the rest of the night! I got a chance to interact with one of my favorite player in real life as he is celebrating his birthday! I love you Matt!

Me & Matt Barnes! I love you!

Karen & Captain Jack!

Stephen Jackson and Matt Barnes partying it up!

Captain Jack and Matt Barnes were so nice and friendly and approachable. They totally made my night. Our first real life encounter with famous people was a complete success! I wonder if they would ever remember seeing the awkward asian girl jumping around in joy and excitement after meeting them haha!

Other than Stephen Jackson and Matt Barnes, Monta Ellis was there also. However, he was not nearly as friendly or nice as the other two. We were actually really close to him and I was about to approach him just to say hi and ask for a picture. But his girlfriend gave us a death stare when I stepped closer and I just totally chickened out. Okay fine, I get it, your boyfriend is famous and makes millions of dollars and you probably get harassed all the time. But come on, did you have to ask your big black friends/bodyguards to push us out of the way when I wasn't even bothering you? Oh well, its okay. That is why, Monta, that you are known as the dumbest warrior alive. Plus I'm not really your fan anyway! So HAH!

Monta Ellis and his mean girlfriend

The awesome crew of one of the most awesomest night!

So there you have it. My very first NBA game going experience... and more. I look forward to going to a lot more games in the future, but I'm not sure how they can possibly top this past weekend. Okay perhaps if I ever get the chance to go to a Suns playoff game, hypothetically game 6 blow out win against one of our archnemesis, then maybe. But since that isn't going to happen anytime soon, this is definitely a night to remember.

Happy Friday!

Who says Friday the 13th has to be bad luck anyway???

Sometimes I forget how lucky I am.

To put things in perspective, I know I am extremely lucky to have landed a job that I wanted, to be in a company with a positive environment, wonderful coworkers, and lots of opportunities to learn and grow.

I am extremely lucky to have the most amazing, sometimes crazy but always loving, caring and supportive family.

I am extremely lucky to have made the bestest friends growing up. Through recent events, I have realize that life becomes more complicated as you get older and there are less people you could trust. But it's okay, because with the few that you can trust, they are worth all your effort, love, and loyalty. And for the ones that aren't worth your time, well, I am extremely lucky to be able to weed them out of my life, just like getting rid of malignant tumor.

I am extremely lucky to have the chance to do whatever it is I want to do and live my life and be 23.

Although I still wish the Gods of basketball would answer to my prayers sometimes.

But it's okay, I cannot help but always want to root for the underdog in sports. As difficult as it may be to support them through the rough times, it is much more rewarding to be there to witness their victory. There is so much more heart, dedication and effort when teams come back from behind. It is what makes sports exciting, not just for the wins, but to see players pouring out their heart and soul on the court, to see the passion in their eyes, to see the spirit in every play and every move. To know that if one tries hard enough, what seems impossible may still be possible.

Happy Friday peeps! Go Suns!

Mourning the setting of the Suns: End of an era, all the should’ve, could’ve, would’ves of the year

It is pretty safe to say that my beloved Suns’ season is over, as we are 5 games behind 8^th spot and only 18 games left. There is still a tiny bit inside of me who is dying to believe that we can make a miraculous 16-2 rally to finish the season. I’d like to think of myself as a more optimistic and loyal (and often times angry) fan. And perhaps I should personally go to Dallas and set the damn German and his usually under-achieving team on fire so we can make the playoffs. But with all said and done, this has been a very heartbreaking season for me.

To me, it all went downhill with the trade of the Big Shaqtus. Don’t get me wrong, Shaq has converted me from a hater (since the damn Shaq & Rapist cheated the Kings championship days) to a semi-fan this season with his dedicated effort, better free throws, monsterly performances and many funny tweets.

Shaq's funny tweet for the day

However, no matter how much I have turned around to enjoy Shaq’s playing time in Phoenix, it is apparent that he is not meant to be a Sun from the get-go. I understand Steve Kerr’s side of bringing in a true center for us and the need for the team to play better defense. But he did it all wrong. You cannot change a winning veteran team 180 degrees by simply bringing in the biggest man on earth and a meanie rookie coach. He decided to go big, really big, and took a super big risk that leads to a disastrous failure of our season.

I believed in Mike D’Antoni’s “seven seconds of less” system. Yes we were allowing opponents to score more, but hey if we can shoot the lights out and out score you, why not? Yes we got beat by the stupid Spurs in the playoffs, but it was a combination of bad luck (Amare’s injury), unfortunate events (unfair suspensions + Horry hip-check Nash + Tim Duncan 3 pointer), and the lack of depth of our bench. Shawn Marion is quite a commodity available for trade, and I still insisted that we could’ve gotten someone that would have been a better fit to our team than Shaq. Many of my friends have heard my rant in the past year about how much I wish we got Marcus Camby instead—someone that could rebound, block shots, picking up some defensive slack for Amare, while giving Amare the space and touches he needs to be as explosive as he can. Jason Richardson is great, but we really should’ve held onto Bell…. But I guess after all, these are just the tip of the iceberg of all the should’ve, would’ve, could’ves for our season.

Now it’s finally time for me to mourn and accept the fact that we will most likely miss the playoffs. What a heartbreaking rollercoaster year this have been- from byebye Marion to Tim Duncan’s 3 pointer, from Amare’s 49pt game to Mason’s 3 pointer on Xmas, from firing Terry Porter to back to back 140point games… Although I really wish our season didn’t end in the hands of the damn Texas teams.

Being a bitter and heartbroken fan as we got oust in the West, I will most likely cheer for the Eastern conference team to win it all.