23rd Annual NAAAP Seattle Scholarship Gala

So, last Saturday I was invited to attend this scholarship gala hosted by the National Association of Asian American Professionals (NAAAP) of Seattle. Wow! They actually think that I am a business professional!!?! Actually, I was there as an volunteer to help them out and even though I was a volunteer, I still had to pay like 60 bucks for a seat at this gala! Oh well...it is a fundraiser and its for a good cause so I didn't mind.

Okay...rewind a couple of hours. So, I am in downtown Seattle. I had lunch with my current boss and my past boss (Fred from SD) who was in town. I was driven downtown for lunch and I had ride back after the gala, so I was carless in Seattle. So, I am walking around Seattle for a couple of hours carrying my suit in a heavy bag, killing some time before the gala and constantly thinking to myself, "Did I forget something?' Oh yeah...I did...my tie!

Now, I could have worn my suit outfit without a tie and I still look good. But because I was attending this gala with a lot of REAL professional who I really wanted to make a good impression on because of networking possiblities. So, I needed a tie. About 1 hour before I was supposed to show up, I scrambled for a solid black tie. Went to Norstrom first...they wanted to charge me 100 bucks for this one tie! Next, I found a Bon Marche and they ran out of solid black ties (thx to Halloween costume goers for needed them for their costumes!). Instead, they offered me this off black greyish metallic tie. It was better than nothing so I took it.

Okay...sad and embrassing point about me now. I DONT KNOW HOW TO TIE A TIE! Everytie I own its already "pre-tie". Its sad really. Anyways, before I bought it, I made the clerk tie it for me. She also gave me a hand out on how to tie a tie. Now, that's really sad...

The gala was held at the W Hotel in Downtown Seattle. The W is a very famous, hip and trendy hotel chain in which famous ppl like to hang out in. The bartender told us that Janet Jackson was here last. Anyways, very nice hotel and very happy to be there.

The gala was fantastic. My only volunteering duties was arranging name tags and working the coat check and then I was allowed to sit and eat and enjoy the gala with everyone else. The gala was hosted by Yuji Okamoto, who played the BAD ASS in Karate Kid part 2. Remember him? He was very funny and did a great job hosting the event.

The best time I had was actually after the gala, during the afterparty schmoozing. Here, I met tons of wonderful ppl and talked eat other's ears off. I got a lot of business cards to prove it too. Afterwards, a couple of us headed towards the International District for a late nite dinner at the Purple Dot Cafe, a trendy and popular Hong Kong style restaurant. Here, I got to embrass myself by having a near organism eating the noodles there and telling my tie story to everyone. I got know ppl even better there and met even more ppl, including the manager of the restaurant who even gave me a VIP card for a 10% discount on all food there! AWESOME!

It was a good time...

New Pictures From the Gala

Wanna see pictures from the gala? Check it out here on page 3~4:

http://public.fotki.com/namofni/adventures_in_volun/

I didn't take too much pictures so I decided not to put it into a new album, instead be apart of my "Adventures in Volunteering" album (since this was a volunteer gig).

And since I did update that album, I also put in MEANINGFUL titles for some of the past pics in that album, including descriptions on my adventures during the 2002 San Diego Comic Con! Check them out!

Now, if only I had time to put witty MEANINGFUL TITLES for some of my other pics? *sigh* One day...