Sob Story

My scooter got towed yesterday... apparently I had parked it in a tow-riffic place. [shit happens] But that's not my sob story. Enroute to the compound, the cab driver (a lady) and I made small talk. She asked if I was working on a Saturday and for kicks, I said yes. She also assumed that I had a bf, but for more giggles, I said work was my bf and that in this big bad world, you can only depend on yourself. She looked at me in the rearview mirror and said "you're from America huh?"

I politely smiled and nodded and this is where she started her sob story. She has a son that's 30 years old. He met a girl when he as 23 and fell head over heels for her. They married soon after and tried for many years to have a kid -- which they eventually did. But soon after, the wife filed for divorce and left. Everything, from the house to the car to whatever valuable was in her name. She took it all and left the kid (now a year old) with the husband. When she left, she didn't look back or say anything to her baby... she just kept walking.

I know there are 2 sides to every story. And that whatever happened between the wife and husband is soley between them. As listeners, we can never really understand the emotions/history, even if we tried. I'm sure the wife had her hardships and moments of weaknesses. But to just leave your kid and not look back -- that to me is a sob story.

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Its almost 2008! Which can only mean 1 thing: Fireworks at 101 and New Year Resolutions!!! (ok, so that's really 2 things)

Once upon a time

As a kid growing up, I wanted to be a lot of things. Doctor, lawyer, FBI agent, chef, movie producer, writer, professional house sitter... but what had eventually happened was advertising.

I'm not in advertising anymore and man, do I miss it!

I don't know what it is about advertising that's so appealing, so alluring, so addicting... guess you gotta be in it to know. The funny thing is, its not all fun and games. Account management folks are at the bottom of the ad barrel. We get bossed around, lectured, our opinions are asked for by accident, we pay for the cabs (we get reimbursed later), we go to press checks at 1 AM, we wait for the creative team, we wait for the client, we wait for vendors, we wait into the wee hours of the nite....

So why do I love it so much? Cuz it feels so damn good at the end of the day when you see a kick ass ad. Nuff said.

Change

A friend once told me "people dont change, its the way we view them that changes..." It's debatable... people changing vs our views of them, but bottom line, something changes. When this happens, are we allowed to judge? For better or worse, there should be at least some level of loyalty committed to the friendship that garners 2nd, even 3rd chances. But given too many chances and still the same ol shtick, would it be overly harsh if we cut our losses short by cutting them out of our lives?

Onto something less dark & twisty...

I've been making excellent on my scooter to work lately. I think my record thus far is 3 songs. It usually takes around 20 - 25 mins, depending on traffic lights and stupid drivers. But its not all happy trails, apparently a cop snapped a photo of me in the 'bus only' lane. Come on! I had to switch lanes to beat the bus. Anyhoo, that's 35 bucks I'll never see again. I gotta watch out for the po-po's. They be hella sneaky, hiding out in the skybridge. I wonder if there's more.... fuck shit mother fucker fuck shit >.<

Blah

Brain is mush. Thought I could be productive on a Sunday afternoon, but no... Worthy effort though.

I had an innovation workshop majigga at the Royal Chiao Hsi Hotel/Spa/Resort in Ilan last Thursday/Friday. I gotta say -- it was such a waste to book a workshop at the Royal Chiao Hsi because we were stuck in the damn workshop from 9am-6pm (both days) and didn't really have time to enjoy the facilities.

I LOVED my room (we each got our own rooms) and the bathroom had a HUGE tub and it was just fabulous. I wanted to steal everything! I think I was most impressed with the wireless... simple pleasures, I guess. If only we stayed another nite.

Thank you Royal Chiao Hsi Hotel/Spa/Resort!

The notion of striving for something 'better' has been embedded into our dna at an early age. Better grades, better college, better major, better job, better boyfriend, better apartment, better car, better.... Is 'better' really what's best for us?

I had a conversation with Amanda last week about how we're slowly evolving. We're both doing things we ought/should instead of things we're passionate about and I'm starting to wonder if the things we should be doing equals to happiness. (Ultimate happiness is another topic in which Kei would be the ideal guy to talk to)

It's a push-pull scenario. Career that I'm passionate about, but low pay vs career that I'm okay with, but higher pay. Which is better? Which is best for me? Which will make me happier?

I guess the point of this entry is that when we're on the road to something 'better', why can't we seem to enjoy the things we have now? Our lives/lifestyles can't suck that much for us to fail to appreciate the now... right? Yet we're always striving for something more... will we ever just be content with now?

Scootering in the city is a treat in itself. I think I said the same thing about people watching at Starbucks. Well, its a whole different (but same) story on le scooter. The other morning, I saw this older gentleman that looked 50ish, but was probably 60ish, riding next to me. I was particularly intrigued b/c he had this red mesh bag filled with live birds. At first, I thought they were rats, but he got kinda close and instead of being freaked out by a bag of faux rats, I just shrugged it off -- like it was a normal, everyday sighting.

Then there's the lady with the Jordani's. Nuff said.

Guy with 2 adult golden retrievers.

Girls with short shorts / ass cracks.

A family of 4.

But I think the award goes to the older gentleman with the live birds.

Tower Bloxx

Addicted to the Tower Bloxx application on facebook.

Damn the creater of Tower Bloxx! (but also thank you too, cuz without you, I'd have to find another way of entertaining myself at work)

I miss...

Sometimes -- just sometimes, I feel out of place here. Don't get me wrong, Taiwanese people are great, but sometimes with the cultural differences, its just harder to relate.

I miss Alice and Amanda. I miss the sushi express afternoons followed by RT Mart excursions. I miss the late nite massage runs. I miss wine/movie nites. I miss Friends playing in the background pretty much 24/7. I miss laughing at stupid things and bringing it up again 5 mins later. I miss converting the dining room table into a computer lab. I miss spending x amount of hours at Ikea without purchasing a damn thing (unless you count the cafeteria coffee w/free refills). I miss that when I rant about things, they don't question it or me about it.

I miss ... them.

Taiwan was less of an inferno and was pretty much home when they were living here.

Current mood: blah~

Free ride

I was lookin for a parking spot earlier today and thought this lady was leaving... but as it turned out, she just parked and was taking her sweet time, grabbing her belongings and whatnots.

Well, dumbass lady left her keys in the compartment lock. I was gonna tell her, but found myself laughing instead. And in the spirit of things, took a pic to show all y'all.

I see this all the time here.



Seriously!? Is it that hard to remember your keys? Seriously....

Pulau Rawa

The time has come (yippeee!) to travel once again!

This is why I absolutely LOVE, LOVE Asia. My next destination is Pulau Rawa – an island off the coast of Mersing, Malaysia. Out of all the SE Asian countries/islands, Malaysia is my fav. I passed by the island last year enroute to Pulau Tioman and was absolutely mesmorized. If you close your eyes and picture a secluded island [key word being secluded] with white sandy beaches and clear water as far the eye can see, then you, my friend, are picturing Pulau Rawa.

I’m debating if it’ll be a solo trip or a groupie thang. Most likely, my route will be similar to Tioman’s. I’ll fly into Singapore, take a bus to the Malaysian border, switch to a taxi to get to Mersing and finally a speedboat to a lil piece of heaven. Seems like a lot work, but its really not. It’s just how you roll backpacker style in SE Asia.

I can’t wait!!!

Interesting

My building doesn't have a 4th or 13th floor button in the elevators. I wonder if that's to accommodate both Eastern and Western superstition....?

Hmmm....

---------------------

On a different note, now that I'm working and can once again afford food, I've been excerising my right to yummy goodies of all forms and been feeling 'extra healthy' lately (code for fat). Last nite, I decided to walk my ass to the video store instead of scootering. I purposely didn't bring my wallet cuz there's just TOO MANY food stands enroute. But I had NT$50 on me ($1.50).... just in case~

Well, I was REALLY good on my way there, but succumbed to all the bright neon lights and totally caved. A bottle of green tea, a bag of sweet pototoes and a bowl of red bean soup later, I was finally home.

Where's my self control? Aiya....

Please come again

No fancy soiree or dropping it like its hot. Just plain ol American black coffee with cream and sugar on the side at a nice lil cafe with Gangsta and Power Puff. That's just how we roll.

Good luck in the land of opportunities Jeff! I'm sure you'll be back soon. Your many wives, concubines, mistresses, lovers, girlfriends and random Japanese tourists will miss you dearly.






PS. Not too soon, cuz I gained like 10 pounds from all the food we ate. =P

Asia Rocks!

My bud, Jeff, is in town. He and I have this incredible passion for Asia. He's more eloquete with words, so check out his blog as well. [insert jeffrey link] With him in town, Asia rocks even more!

1. It was my friend's farewell party couple nites ago and I'm proud to say that it was made possible in hdtv by Tequila. We had around 20 folks, but only a handful drank (what's up with that?). Needless to say, Jeff and I (the only ABC's there), got drunk off our asses. Tequila is like a wonderous drink. Goes down like water and BAM~ hits ya when you least expect it. I don't remember being buzzed -- I think I skipped that step. I know I made a fool out of myself many a times throughout the nite, but I don't care cuz we totally rocked taht party. I 'heart' Tequila!

2. 'Gu Zen'. That was the phrase of the nite yesterday. Jeff and I decide to check out Mao Kong via mrt/gondola. We met 2 japanese tourist at the top and ended up at this hole in the moutain tea shop. Even though it was cold, windy, wet and the view was so-so, the conversation was kick ass and I couldn't have asked for better company. 2 ABC's and 2 Japanese chicks conversing in English, Chinese and Japanese! How freakin awesome is that?

Gu zen is Japanese that roughly means fate, destiny, chance and serendipity all rolled into a nice lil package. In Chinese, we say 緣分 [yuan fen]． Meeting those girls last nite was 緣分． Meeting Jeff a year ago in Taiwan and again now is also 緣分．緣分is an awesome thing.

3. I am now part of the elite mod squad. If you guys don't know what that means, please head to your local blockbuster and rent Thank You For Smoking. Yes, I will see most of y'all in hell.

4. Road rage is is a 6 letter word--sometimes 7. Or I can be fancy, like today when a Mercedes cut me off and I gladly belted out 'cock sucker!' But most of the time, I just stick to my 6, sometimes 7 letter word, 'fucker[s]'.

5. I hate scootering in the rain.

6. Perry and his friend came to visit a week and a half ago. I'm glad they came. I like it when people visit. Next on the list is Heather, then Jenn for the rest of November.

7. Apt hunting is a beeeeyotch.

8. Looking forward to pay day.

I 'heart' blogs

Every Saturday or Sunday, I mosey into a Starbucks and blog. It’s like a habit now, which I absolutely love. Besides writing tidbits of my everyday life, I look forward to what others have written about theirs.

Astri’s road trip entries should be published in a Lonely Planet book. Debby’s clips (Otters holding hands) and articles (1 laptop per child) are heartwarming and intriguing. And whenever I read Jenn’s blog, it totally brightens up my day.

What’s funny is that both Jenn and Debby posted an article about a woman on craigslist looking for guy. The article is hilarious, but that’s not the funny part. I received an email from a friend with the same article, but translated in Chinese! That woman has been translated in to Chinese. She’s famous now. A billion people in China – I’m sure some Chinese guy would want to bone her.

Anyway, the point of this entry is to thank you all for blogging. Being away from home, it’s nice to read what’s going on in your lives through your own words.

@_@

I have the attention span of a fruitcake.....

Nancy's Law #2: Here's looking at you kid

When you are on the MRT, you will have the uneasy feeling of being watched. You quickly scan the car and with your CSI skills, conclude that the creepy little man standing across from you is literally using his faux xray vision powers and harassing you with his creepy, vomit in your mouth, burning a hole in your head... you get the pic.

What to do?

Option 1: Staring contest! Bring it on creepy little man~
Option 2: Bitch him out... but since you are a lady, you won't make a scene.
Option 3: Turn around, but that gives him booty access -- even creepier.
Option 4: Walk over and with your best Joey impersonation ask him "How you doing?"
Option 5: Zone him out cuz if you switch cars, another creepy little man will stare at you.

Nancy's Law #1: Space invaders

On a bus/mrt/whatever, people will be up in yO space even though there is room if they moved their asses 2 steps over yonder.

Murphy's Law

Murphy's law states that: "Whatever can go wrong will go wrong, and at the worst possible time, in the worst possible way."



No shit~

Muffin Top

In a city that doesn't sleep, I've been sleeping a lot in the past couple days and it feels so damn good! I think it has to do with the weather. The changing season bringing a dramatic drop in the temperature... If only the leaves were to change colors -- now that would be perfection.

Little Haley Joel Osment once said he saw "dead people". Me? I see skinny people. Not the kind of skinny where you hate yourself for having that extra scoop of ice cream or you look at yourself in the mirror and can't help but think "muffin top". But the kind of skinny where you just want to whisk that person to the nearest buffet and set up camp -- for a month.

Crocs R not US

One of the great things about living in a cramped city is people watching. At any given place, any given moment, there's always something that'll make your jaw drop or (like me) you find yourself staring/smiling into space while the people in front and around you think you're staring/smiling at them, who in return, think you are completely nutso for staring/smiling. It's my thing, leave me be.

Note to all the fashion fanatics out there, stripes are definitely IN this season. But you don't have to take my word for it.

Oh, and another thing that is totally IN right now that is just utterly disgraceful -- CROCS! WTF fo'reals?! I hope I don't offend anyone, but come on now! Crocs! Seriously folks!? I see the young, the old and everyone in between wearing those damn plastic rejects. I see people wearing them with skirts, slacks, socks(!) and it makes me wanna vomit a little in my mouth.

But being the optimistic person that I am (yes, the glass is always half full -- well, most of the time anyway), I know that this trend will pass.

Then and now

I have an old, old laptop just lying around. Outdated and well, pretty much useless. Its poor Windows 95 soul is just gathering dust in the corner and I can’t seem to find the strength to toss it or at least recycle it. Either it has sentimental value or I’m just a pack rat.

I had the sudden urge to sift through some of the files and came across some old tunes and pictures. Lots and lots of pictures from Taiwan, graduation, Alki beach, SE Asia -- pretty much the past 4 years of my life.

There was one picture in particular that stood out. I’d forgotten it was there or that I had a copy of it in my laptop. That’s the thing about keeping junk around. It’s either like finding a 5 dollar bill in a pair of jeans that you haven’t worn in a while (sweet!) or one of those instances where you take a step back, pause and grunt. For me, it was the latter.

No “coulda, woulda, shoulda’s” or “if only’s”… it was what it was.

Much to my astonishment, I transferred it to my current laptop. I don’t know when I’ll delete it. I mean, I should right now because keeping it seems like I’m holding onto the past and that just screams drama, drama, drama. I’m actually okay with it being there… at least for now.

Is there a doctor in the house?

One of the worst feelings in the world is knowing you're about to get sick. The aches and pain, headaches and sniffles are just the tip of the ice berg. Not even my trusty Tequila could disinfect the germs infesting my body. So what am I doing now? I'm loading up on vitamin C and Robitussin. Too little, too late is what I'm thinking. What I really need is Theraflu and/or Nyquil... maybe even some Actified. Yah, I think Actified is what I need. Damn you nasal +sinus congestion! I'm hoping Queenie can hook me up with some Panadol and Tylenol, but she hasn't replied to my urgent msn messages.

On a side note, after being at this tea shop for the past 2 hours or so is makin me smell like the daily special. Scent of a Chinese woman? Fo'heezy~

Art of squatting

Being back in the inferno has its perks. I can eat 24/7 and .... well, that's pretty much the main perk! Some of the things I can do without? Mosquitoes, cockroaches and people that don't wear deodorant. But hey, gotta learn to pick to your battles, so mother nature and stinky folks, you've won this time.

Now boarding flight 234...

OMG. Why did I have to sit next to the clichest (if that's even a word) Chinese family? Even thought I'm writing this entry on the plane, I am feeling a bit guilty, but whatever, they loud as hell! Not only are they loud as hell, one of the adults has been hoarding mini Ritz cracker packages from the nice stewardess. As I look over to my right, I can see a mountain of empty Ritz wrappers on the kids table. Even the black guy sitting next me had stiffled a laugh or two.

LOL~ the guy came back with more Ritz crackers! It's called "Costco".

--------- (2 hours later) ----------

Halfway through the flight, one of the younger kids started coughin like crazy. SARS, bird flu and quarantine were just some of the things that flashed through my head. I guess he eventually threw up not once, nor twice, but WAY too many times. The nice stewardess brought the kid club soda to help with the upset stomach, but one of the adults stood up and what came next was one of the funniest dialogs ever!

Chinese Guy: Give me hot water. He needs to drink hot water. (tone: impatient)
Stewardess: Hot water? Club soda will be better for his stomach.
Chinese Guy: NO! Hot water now! (tone: loud and rude)
Stewardess: Are you a doctor?
Chinese Guy: NO! But I am his father! (tone: like duh)

At this point, I just wanted to laugh my ass off (as did the black guy sitting next to me). I think this would've been avoided if (1) the kids behaved themselves rather than slapping each other silly during preflight and (2) not eat a bazillion and one ritz crackers just b/c they were free.

And of course to end this story, they cut in front of me as we were getting off the plane. I 'heart' Chinese families. They're the bestest!!

So we meet again...

I’m watching this older gentlemen sitting at the table next to me feeding crumbs to these mini birds that flew into the Starbucks. It’s quite cute, but HELLO~ bird flu! Well, that puny little bird seems harmless so I’ll let it slip for now.

Once again I’m at the ever metaphorical pre-fork in the road. I’m jumping the gun a couple days in advance and pondering my options – which I know is driving everyone crazy (myself included).

I have a feeling PM's going to come through, despite the tendency to cringe if they say yes. I can move into the city. Indulge myself in the yuppie lifestyle and do whatever the hell I please. The initial year that I had originally planned has now become 2 years for safety measures. I’m starting to see it as a grad school program.

LB looks pretty feasible too. I would call this “Sure I won’t have a penny saved up, but hey, bring on the mah jong nights!”

Deep down (and I do mean deep, deep, deep down) I know what road I should take. I’m going to act on rationality for once and see where that takes me -- but that’s only if I get accepted into the PM's Graduate School for those that really want to read good.

You don't say...

So there's this Airwick commercial that shows a giraffe mom with 2 warthog teenagers.

Yes, whenever a giraffe gives birth, Pumba pops out.

Bom Chicka Wah Wah

http://

These Axe commercials are just TOO funny! LOL!

http://

Dream a little dream...

I've been having these weird ass dreams lately. I mean, twlight zone weird. Must be from the stress or water or something. The one last nite was full of different segments and the one that I actually remember, I ain't gonna share cuz its freaky weird.

Anyhoo, I actually dreamt about the LB gang (yet again) couple nites ago. I was back in Taiwan and was waiting in the LB lobby for peeps to go on their lunch break. Of course, Mandy and Queenie were the first one's to leave but for some reason, didn't notice me. Whatever~ Then the rest of the PMI team came down -- Emile, Jude, Terence, Yafe and Sean.... I felt kinda bad cuz I was holding 2 containers of Peets coffee and it clearly wasn't enough for everyone. We stepped into the elevator and lo and behold, Ivy was there! But she wasn't Ivy.... It was a weird mix of Howard/Ivy into Ivy's body. See what I mean by weird....

To Napa! To Napa!

Amanda is gangsta when she drinks. We almost got into a scuffle with these 3 fob chicks. So here's the set up, our first stop was at Mumm's and after 12 glasses of sparkling wine (split between 3.5 people) we were off to V. Sattui (I think that's the name). Now it is EASY to get buzzed off of sparkling wine, that shit works fast! Needless to say, we were LOUD and acted like we owned the place. So we finally got a spot at the bar to sample the wine and these 3 fobs walked over and just crowded us.

Amanda was like "oh, you guys want a spot at the bar?" and moved over to make room for them. Damn bitches gave her the evil eye and totally took over our spot! WTF! I was trying to listen in to see if they were Chinese, Japanese, Korean or whatevers... but I couldn't tell what the heck they were. Then I saw them nails (acrylic).... VIETNAMENSE! (sorry deb and tien)

Since Viets are street gangsta, we decided not to mess with them. I think it was a smart choice on our side. But right when they left, Amanda goes "Damn cunts finally left!", freaking out the nice white couple next to us. Good ol Amanda.

But all in all, Napa was a great road trip. We were stuck in traffic for 1.5 hours, proceeded to get a flat tire mere mins before the first winery, stopped by 2 wineries, went shopping and ended the nite with Korean food. It was a great day. ^__^

Break-through

I'm such a nerd, I'm about to pre-order Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows on Amazon.com. I wonder who else already reserved their copies -- Kristi? Astri? Josh? Debby? We should start a book club or something. hehe.

Speaking of book clubs, sorry Christine, Stumbling on Happiness has been sitting next to my pillow for the past month. I have a feeling I'll never get to it. [sigh]

Back to the point of this entry. My lovely Mother and her friends tried setting me up with this guy, I'll call him Bob. Bob's an engineering grad student down in San Jose State. Nice fellow. We actually met up yesterday for lunch in Chinatown. Needless to say, I was a jerk and broke his heart by saying I was currently seeing someone. I cannot confirm nor deny that comment, but whatever.

Continuing on....

I met up with Mi Ryung afterwards for dinner in Oakland and what happened to her in the past week was truly amazing. I won't go into the details, but good golly was I inspired!

[a little birdie just flew into the Starbucks!]

Lets just say the sun is out, the birds are chirping and the hills are alive with the sound of music! This is what Dr. Phil would call a 'break through'. Truly inspirational.

Politcally Incorrect

I walked around Chinatown yesterday with Marlow and I needed some tooth paste and was delighted to see the Darlie brand on sale! Sure, it has a politically incorrect brand image that borderlines racism, but I actually LOVE Darlie toothpaste cuz it gets your mouth all foamy and stuff. When I saw the price tag of $1.65 for 2 tubes, something inside of me told me it was too good to be true so I set it back down. I turned to Marlow and said "its probably expired..." Marlow just looked at me and replied "dont be so cynical..." We both looked for the expiration date -- May 2004.

Chinese people.....

No one's in here but us chickens...

I've come to realize that lying on your stomache while writing a cover letter is not such a great idea. I don't know if its the lack of blood flow to the brain or the soft stack of pillows I was leaning on, but good golly, I just could not concentrate!

I found out through an 'encounter' that there's a little boy ghost living in the house. We all named him Casper for kicks. Here's how it unfolded: I was downstairs in the living room watching the news and all of a sudden, I hear this muffled voice say "no mikey..." Mikey's the house dog that was locked up in Will and Shirley's room. I was on gmail chat with Amanda and I told her I just heard voices coming from upstairs and asked if she knew if Shirely was home.

I went upstairs and leaned against their door and heard nothing. Mikey usually whimpers/cries when he's alone, so when I didn't hear anything, I just figured someone was in there with him. It's a good thing I never went into law enforcement cuz apparently no one was there.

Will came home a couple of hours later and the first words out of his mouth was "Nancy, I heard you got scared? What happened?" o.O And when Jason came home, the first words outta his mouth was "Nano, don't be scared, its just a little boy ghost..." LOL! Apparently Amanda phone tree'd the housemates of the situation. It was really sweet of her cuz she was worried, but most likely I probably just heard the neighbors.

That's all the suburbia excitement I have for now....

Jack London Square

First off, I would like to write that I just absolutely HEART my laptop! He's light, wireless and white! But just cuz he's white don't mean he's a Mac. hehe. But I'm gonna name it "Mac" for the sake of naming it.

Anyhoo, its a Saturday afternoon and I'm catching up on my mags at the local Barnes & Nobles. Bookstores are a definite place of refuge for gloomy days like today. Oh snap! A fellow browsing in the aisle next to me just farted. >_<

I just lost my train of thought [as a train passes in the background]. I had an impromptu meeting with an ad agency last Thursday and for some reason I really liked the place! I'm an anti-first impressions kinda person so I was surprised at how comfortable I was there. Maybe its a sign? Who knows.

The big MW called and like always, I was anxious to hear what they had to say, but at the same time, I was thinking to myself "blah blah blah"... Any day now please.

Last weekend, I met the wonderful Hank something. He was a silver fox, he was. Numbers were exchanged, well, just mine and I've been waiting for him to call -- NOT! Jason and Amanda graciously passed their Warrior's season tickets to me last weekend. They were occupied with a prior engagement so I took Marlow with me to the game. I gotta say, Warrior's kicked major ass! I love the Sonics, but these guys were amazing! I hope they go all the way. Go Warriors!

Speaking of Marlow, she's inviting me to this WAC Mandarin Language Group next week. Marlow is the fobby-est white girl I know. I should say that she's teh biggest fob I know, regardless of ethincity. My goal is to get a mah jong club started. [thumbs up!] Anyway, I met up with Marlow at her hood and we walked around the park -- as in Golden Gate Park. I kinda wanted to just plop on her couch and watch tv, but she tricked me by saying they had real live buffalos roaming around in the park. Nice try Marlow, but after the botanical garden, Japanese tea garden and the other thing-which-I-can't-remember, I didn't see no buffalos. Maybe she was trying to pull a "Jessica Simpson" on me and what she really meant by buffalos were just the bums roaming around.... [shrug]

Online Mania

Once upon a time, I said "HELL NO" to sites like Friendster after wasting X number of hours on it. But who would've thunk I'd get suckered into Myspace. And the most recent one, Facebook. NO MORE!!!!

Skip n a hop away

First time was with OMD.
Second time was with McCann.
This time, its with Y&R.

LOL!

Time has never been on my side...

Free to a good home

Mini update:

1. I need to stop ripping up receipts... ugh~

2. Starting the book -- I mean, will start the book "Stumbling on Happiness" soon!

3. Here we go again...

You don't say...

stupid is as stupid does... son of a bitch~

Pandas!

makes you feel all warm n fuzzy...

http://www.zooatlanta.org/animals_panda_cam.php4

Briggs Meyer Personality Test

Introverted iNtuitive Feeling Judging

INFJs focus on possibilities, think in terms of values and come easily to decisions. The small number of this type (1 percent) is regrettable, since INFJs have unusually strong drive to contribute to the welfare of others and genuinely enjoy helping their fellow men. This type has great depth of personality; they are themselves complicated, and can understand and deal with complex issues and people.

It is an INFJ who is likely to have visions of human events past, present, or future. If a person demonstrates an ability to understand psychic phenomena better than most others, this person is apt to be an INFJ. Characteristically, INFJs have strong empathic abilities and can be aware of another's emotions or intents even before that person is conscious of these. This can take the form of feeling the distress of illnesses of others to an extent which is difficult for other types. INFJs can intuit good and evil in others, although they seldom can tell how they came to know. Subsequent events tend to bear them out, however.

INFJs are usually good students, achievers who exhibit an unostentacious creativity. They take their work seriously and enjoy academic activity. They can exhibit qualities of over-perfectionism and put more into a task than perhaps is justified by the nature of the task. They generally will not be visible leaders, but will quietly exert influence behind the scenes.

INFJs are hard to get to know. They have an unusually rich inner life, but they are reserved and tend not to share their reactions except with those they trust. Because of their vulnerability through a strong facility to introject, INFJs can be hurt rather easily by others, which, perhaps, is at least one reason they tend to be private people. People who have known an INFJ for years may find sides emerging which come as a surprise. Not that INFJs are inconsistent; they are very consistent and value integrity. But they have convoluted, complex personalities which sometimes puzzle even them.

INFJs like to please others and tend to contribute their own best efforts in all situations. They prefer and enjoy agreeing with others, and find conflict disagreeable and destructive. What is known as ESP is likely found in an INFJ more than in any other types, although other types are capable of such phenomena. INFJs have vivid imaginations exercised both as memory and intuition, and this can amount to genius, resulting at times in an INFJ's being seen as mystical.

This unfettered imagination often will enable this person to compose complex and often aesthetic works of art such as music, mathematical systems, poems, plays, and novels. In a sense, the INFJ is the most poetic of all the types. Just as the ENTJ cannot not lead, so must an INFJ intuit; this capability extends to people, things, and often events, taking the form of visions, episodes of foreknowledge, premonitions, auditory and visual images of things to come. INFJs can have uncanny communications with certain individuals at a distance.

---

I first took the test last nite around 3:30am cuz I couldn't sleep and my results were INFJ. I took it again in the afternoon after I had some coffee -- thinking that with coffee in my system, I would be more coherent. Same results. I am a bonafide INFJ. 1% baby!

http://www.kisa.ca/personality/

Dreams...

Been having weird dreams lately. Last nites' was pretty action packed. I apparently had to rescue these kids taht were taken abroad a RV. The RV either crashed into something or went off a cliff cuz the next thing I knew, I was grabbing my wooden ladder, making my way down a cliff/hill to save one of the kids. Great-for-nothing-maggot-ass-kid stands straight up once I got to him (he didn't need no rescuing). Right after he stood up and walked away, a snake emerged from where he was crouching earlier. Guess his ass was on it the whole time.

Anyway, this is where my cousin, Jackie, comes into the scene. I thought Jackie would rescue me cuz I am deeply terrified of snakes. But what does that punk ass do? He points and at me and laughs "hey, aren't you afraid of snakes?" and leaves. At this point, I'm already in the fetal position with my eyes wide shut and all of a sudden, the snake strikes at me and I literally jump in my sleep and awake from it all.

Moral of this story? Like I told Travis, just mind your own damn business and you won't get fucked.

愛我別走

I love the lyrics to this song...

Don't hate the playa, hate the game

Jun Jun had an Oscar party at his place Sunday nite. Him and Maura printed out Oscar ballots and we had a friendly pot going to see who would have the most correct answers.

1st place: $40

2nd place: $10

3rd place: $5

last place: Hooked On Prom VHS

and the winner is .... [drum roll please] ME! =P

it was a tight race between me and Maura, but i got lucky by voting for The Blood of the Ying Zhou District for best docu short. gotta support the chinese! ^__^

A lil piece of heaven

Thats Mari Winsor, the pilates guru that formed the Winsor Pilates empire. My mom bought the series a couple of years ago and it did wonders for my core. I'm back on it to 'sculpt and elongate' my legs. What I don't get is that she's not even doing them. She has these minions that are just physically perfect. They don't frown, grunt, or even kneel over in pain when doing the pilates 100 and 3 rounds of teasers. Its like they eat pilates for breakfast.

Day 3. Total mins: 60

Wake me up when September ends...

Pikachu couldn't have nailed my mood these past couple of weeks -- wait, make that the past couple of months with these expressions.

突然想起百帝屋頂的風景.
可以看得到101, 麥肯廣告的大樓跟遠企.
閉上眼還可以聽到車聲和感覺到輕微的風飘飘飘...
沒警告的回憶真的讓我想念台灣的日子....

Huh?

A lady asked if my younger, 17 year old sister was my daughter.

I haven't recovered from that comment yet....

50 Ways to Be Asian

Got this off of Deb's blog. I'm guilty of the ones in bold. hehhee. =)

1. You were/are a good student with very high GPAs.

2. You majored in something practical like engineering, medicine or finance.

3. You have more than one college degrees, especially more than one Master's.

4. If you play a musical instrument, it must be piano. (wish i stuck to it tho)

5. You have/had a vinyl table cloth on your kitchen table. (we did this in taiwan--it was to protect the nice wood!)

6. Your stove is/was covered with aluminum foil. (how else will it stay new looking?)

7. Your kitchen has a sticky film of grease over it.

8. You beat eggs with chopsticks. (duh~)

9. You always leave outdoor shoes at the door.

10. You use the dishwasher as a dish rack or extended cabinet. (saves money on buying a dish rack)

11. You keep a Thermos of hot water available at all times. (that's just common sense)

12. You boil water before drinking.

13. You eat all meals in the kitchen to keep your dining room clean.

14. You don't use measuring cups when preparing foods. (why??)

15. You save grocery bags and use them to hold garbage. (once again, common sense)

16. You have a rice cooker. (no minute rice for my family)

17. You're a wok user.

18. You fight over who pays the dinner bill. (i've decided that if you want to pay the bill, pay the freakin bill)

19. You wash rice 2-3 times before cooking it. (aren't you suppose to?)

20. You make sounds when you have a bowl of soup.

21. You don't dry-clean clothes, even if they need to be dry-cleaned.

22. You iron your own shirts. (i'm not going pay 10 bucks for some asian person to iron my shirts when i can do it myself for free~)

23. You like congee (Chinese porridge) with thousand year old eggs. (yummy)

24. You always cook yourself, even if you hate it.

25. You use credit cards, and pay monthly bills IN FULL.

26. You keep most of your money in a savings account.

27. You buy Christmas cards after Christmas, when they are 50% off.

28. When you hand wash dishes, you only use cold water to save energy and its less harsh on your hands.

29. You hate to waste food:a) Even if you're totally full, if someone says they're going to throw away the leftovers on the table, you'll finish them.b) You have Tupperware in your fridge with three bites of rice or one leftover chicken wing. (this is what happens when you're a restaurant kid)

30. You don't own any real Tupperware, only a cupboard full of used but carefully rinsed margarine tubs, takeout containers, and jam jars.

32. When toilet paper is on sale, you buy 100 rolls and store them.

33. You have a collection of miniature shampoo/conditioner bottles and little soap bars that you take every time you stay in a hotel.

34. The condiments in your fridge are either Costco sized or come in plastic packets, which you save every time you get take out or go to McDonald's.

35. You carry a stash of your own food whenever you travel (and travel means any car ride longer than 15 minutes).

36. You spit bones and other food scraps on the table.

37. Your dad thinks he can fix everything himself.

38. When you go to a dance party, there is a wall of guys surrounding the dance floor trying to look cool.

39. Your house/apartment is always cold in winter, and hot in summer. (who needs heat when you can wear layers in the winter...)

40. Your mom drives her Mercedes to Costco or Super Store regardless how far it is, even if Vons or Ralph's is next door.

41. You always look phone numbers up in the phonebook, since calling Directory Assistance costs 75 cents.

42. You only make long distance calls after midnight or during weekends.

43. You prefer your shrimp with the heads and tails still attached.

44. You never call your parents just to say HI. (if you're asian, you know why)

45. You think ONLY Japanese can make good cars!

46. You think your garage is an extended living room.

47. You starve yourself before going to all-you-can-eat places. (todai, anyone?)

48. You've joined a CD club at least once.

49. You never discuss your love life with your parents. (my parents think i'm a slut anyway...)

50. You take this message and forward it to all your Asian friends!

Supersonics Vs Mavericks

This is a post from the past. I was waiting for Astri to send pics from the game but they never came. Which is fine b/c Astri did a lovely photoshop job by colleging the pics! Hats off to ya!

Even tho we took out Dirk in the first 5 mins and kept an amazing lead in the first half, the Sonics still caved in the 2nd half. But hey, $1.00 hotdogs and sodas plus kick ass seats for $18.oo was worth the trip.

PS. Sorry for "stealing" the pics Astri! Hope you don't mind. ^__^

Dilbert knows best

I bet Scott Adams worked as an AE before~

Donuts~

Craving a jelly-filled donut.... Damn Mark Harmon and his Summer School movie!

In other news: thanks to the snow, I made another snowman! The neighborhood kids mauled and destroyed the first one. Kids are savages nowadays~

Here's my new and improved "Walter". Ain't he dreamy?

Who Would've Thunk

So I'm chatting with Jenn (she's still in Taiwan) and I tell her that I miss the noise, the mrt, the nite markets, the abc's there and she replies "they have all that in the states... just different names..."

nite markets = chinatown

noise = building construction

mrt = bart

abcs = locals

so true, so true~

2007 New Year Resolutions!

I'm looking back at what I wrote last year and I think I stuck to most of the resolutions. Go me!
I'm going to include the one's that kinda sorta didn't happen in hopes of achieving them this year. Be forewarned, the list will probably change in the next couple of weeks.

*in no particular order

1. Volunteer more -- if any at all. Does donating blood count?

2. Save money

3. Get a job, get a job, get a job...

4. Take salsa lessons

5. Travel plans: Vegas, Mexico, Chile(!), Chicago, Costa Rica

6. Jog 2-3 miles a day, 4 days a week

7. Be more adventurous

Hmm... I thought I had more, but as of now, that's all I got.

Happy New Year!