Cough~

I think I'm coming down with something. EVERYONE has been getting sick and I feel its like the plague. I'm drinking "British Spearmint Tea with Honey" at this hole in the wall coffee shop. Tea + a plate of bread is hella expensive! Oh well.... Free wireless is what brought me here.

I made an impulse purchase yesterday. I bought the iPod Classic (80G) and I'm thinkin about selling it. Lol~ Its a nifty lil thing, but I hate how everything has to go through iTunes. I thought it'd be nice to have on the trip -- watch a lil Lost or Sex on the beach.

10 things you didn't know about women part II

Esquire mag rocks!

SuChin Pak:

1. We always notice your shoes. Not because we're judging your size by theirs (although there is some merit to that) but because we're wary of anything adorned with buckles, tassels, or faux leather stripes.

2. When we say, "Just tell me the truth. I won't get mad," we're totally lying.

3. If you won't hold our hands in public, we won't blow you in private.

4. Yes, we would sleep with your best friend.

5. And yes, we too are afraid you're going to lose your hair.

6. Cologne is for frat boys. Showers are for men.

7. If you're dating a woman over thirty, she will have envisioned your wedding halfway through the first date -- even if it's going horribly.

8. Don't be a pussy: A text message, e-mail, or instant message does not replace a phone call.

9. Nothing is less sexy than a man who counts his carbs. Skip the gym and work it out in bed.

10. If I have to ask for it, go fuck yourself.

-------

Sandra Oh:

1. If you want to date an Asian sister, do not do the following: (a) Tell me about your trip to Asia and how you taught English there. (b)Tell me how much you just looove Chinese food. (c) Practice your Japanese on me. I'm Korean.

2. When we're fighting about the toothpaste cap, we're not really fighting about the toothpaste cap. We're fighting about that thing that happened three or four months ago at what's-his-face's house when you neglected that major issue we have — which, by the way, is fundamental.

3. When we have been pleasured and you haven't yet (and it's your turn), no matter what we say, make it quick.

4. We have an infinite vocabulary for colors. Fuchsia is not pink, nor is it red. Khaki is not green, nor is it brown. There is more than blue and green on the color wheel.

5. If it's over, just tell us. If you're sitting around afraid of hurting us, it only makes the relationship so unbearable that we have to break up with you. We're actually stronger than you think, so even though we may cry more than you do, we're way more resilient.

6. When you ask us if we're angry and we say we're fine, we're lying.

7. This one I can't tell you.

8. It doesn't matter how big the bauble, how fabu the restaurant — the time you spent on that pencil drawing of our eye or that haiku written on the vintage hotel stationery you found in Omaha is what truly steals our hearts.

9. You know that coworker of yours with the huge boobs whom you've fantasized us having a threesome with? Ask her.

10. So, you want to know the surefire way to get laid? Start by cleaning the house.

Take my breath away....

"Borrowing" a quote from one of Deb's blog entries.

[Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away...]

Makes me wanna break out in song by singing "Take my breath away~~~~" and also acting out the famous line "No, you can be my wingman..." lol~

But seriously, the article is worth the read itself. http://soyouwanna.blogspot.com/2007/12/life-101.html

Lookin for a place to squat

I've been on the hunt for an apt. Its a slow and painful process. I could show you pics of places that I've seen, but it would only depress you. I saw this awesome apt last nite. It was a loft and had an AMAZING view of the city. The price was a bit too steep for me and the landlord lady wouldn't budge on the price. Sigh~ Such a shame.

2 more weeks till Chinese New Year! We only have 6 days off this year which I thought was horseshit cuz we had 9 the previous years. But after googling Bantayan Island, I turned my frown upside down. Can't wait to frolic my pastey white ass on the soft white sandy beaches. [insert happy sigh]

Track Team

How silly of me to not mention the funniest thing that happened over le weekend.

So after brunch, Queenie wanted to do a lil shopping but had to stop by her office real quick. I, too, had to stop by my office to pick up my ride and since my office was closer (well, not really) we decided to hop on a bus.

Bus 214 goes straight to my office and as we were crossing the street, I saw bus 214 rounding the corner and franticly looked for the damn bus stop. I saw it -- 15 yards away and the bus was creeping up fast! So what did we do? We ran like like Forrest! I think the bus driver saw us running from a far cuz when I got on, he looked at me and goes "You're on the track team huh?" o.O"

Funny shit.

Side note: I went back to the apt thats in my fav nite market... Had to see again in daylight. I think I'ma take it! I was calculating the costs and for that location + water + gas + cable + internet + trash, its a pretty sweet deal. Home, sweet home?

Mocha + Apple Pie

Computer fixed! I can type all the 'd's my lil heart desires! ho ho ho　

Now that my 'd's fixed, I can't seem to type in Chinese. Fuck a duck. I think its time to retire ol Mac and opt for something else. I've been eyeing the ASUS EEPC, but I also want something that has a bigger hard drive/memory. Maybe a Dell?

My company had its year end party last Friday. It was held at the Westin Hotel and boy was it ghetto fabulous! LOL~ Apparently we hired dancers that looked and dressed like strippers and it was just ghetto. Food was pleasant enough and the red wine just kept on coming. I know you're not suppose to down wine, but everyone kept saying "cheers" and when people say "cheers", you down that sucker.

The dinner ended around 10:30pm and our lovely marketing director (who I assumed was intoxicated) moved the after party to his much loved Barcode. I mean, there's nothing to complain about cuz we dont' have to pay for shit. The place was packed as usual and we had champagne and Grey Goose and it was just bad bad bad. I don't know why the locals love to down everything, its not like we were taking shots.

Anyhoo, after one too many glasses of champagne and second hand smoke, I snuck off with a couple of the girls and we went to NY Bagel to unwind.

Saturday was a bit of a blur. Had brunch at Grandma Nitti's with some LB folks and spent the afternoon running errands. It's Sunday now and I think I'm still recovering from Friday nite.

Oh, apt update. I saw this really cool studio near my favorite nite market and I'm thinkin about taking it. It's not too big -- I'd say 300sq ft and it has a mini kitchen! Rent is decent cuz it includes all the utilities +trash + cable + internet. The catch is that its on the 6th floor without an elevator.

tick tock.....

Izzle Tastic

Sometimes it surprises me at how small the city is. I think there's roughly 3 million folks cramped up in the greater Taipei area and people are just everywhere! They're like cockroaches -- in every street corner, alley, MRT...

I had lunch, more like afternoon tea, at my favorite sushi place yesterday. I noticed a white couple sitting across from me. This might not seem out of the norm in the states, but in a place where everyone looks alike, white people stand out. Fast forward 5 hours later, I see the same couple at a second round movie theater. Ain't that something? 3 million people in the city and I see the same folks twice in the same day at two different locations. Maybe they're stalking me? Nah, its not like I'm rich and famous....

Things to do today:

1. Get my damn laptop fixed. My "d" doesn't work so I've been copying/pasting it for the past 2 months. Plus, I think poor Mac has a virus. No, I did not visit any porn sites.

2. Apt hunt.

3. Hit the gym.

4. Get a new wallet.

So many things to do, so little time. Its already 1:18pm and so far, I've done absolutely nothing.

Wow, I actually saw a cute guy walk by. Who would've thunk.... In the past 30 seconds, I just saw a pirate wannabe, balding guy that was majorly nippin, interestingly mixed/matched colors, folks wearing hella layers, folks wearing t-shirts and shorts... ah, the joys of having a window seat at the local Starbucks.

Saturday Afternoon

After weeks of no avail, I finally got a seat at MY Starbucks. This isn't my favorite Starbucks in the city, but its the one with the best seats for people watching. This place is so packed that being the nice person that I am, allowed 3 different peeps to sit at MY table while they waited for other tables to open up. I should start chargin per seat.

I'm lookin at ticket prices to Singapore next month and it is HELLA expensive! I think I may have to change my travel plans and head to the Philippines instead. LOL! Either place is fine with me. I just need the sun and a beach.

I've been apt hunting lately and it is freakin hard to find a decent place. The apts here are really different than the one's in the states. There's no kitchen for one thing and most places, its just a bedroom + bathroom. The room itself is small and not that I need hella room, but I'd like my own kitchen or something roomier than a 12x12 room. I saw this really cool rooftop pad last week. I'd say its roughly aroun 550sq ft, which is HUGE, but no kitchen. OIY!

Happy 2008!

Facebook has Oregon Trail. I died from exhaustion right before finishing. That's just horseshit.

Anyhoo, its time for new year resolutions!!

1. Exercise more. New gym. New workout routine. Bring it on!

2. HK, Malaysia, Japan, Seattle, SF and Bali. Watch out world, I'ma coming!

3. Surround myself with positive folks cuz life is short and who needs negativity bullshit.

4. Tone down on the road rage. There will always be stupid drivers and one of these days I know I'm gonna get a whoopin by callin some mafia dude a fucker for cutting me off.

5. Try not to have any kind of rage.... Its kinda hard to keep calm when you're walking down a street and the people in front of you are walking in Matrix-like slo-mo. And when you move left/right to pass them, they too, move left/right. It's like they can read minds! I wonder if they can read my mind now. Fuckers~

6. Try not to make fun of the locals as much. I think this was one of my resolutions from the past. So why am I posting it again? I was at the nite market couple nites ago and this prissy girl stopped mid-track and started hyperventilating/hissy fit cuz she thought she a saw a cockroach. Lady, come on now! Its the freakin street! I felt bad for the bf.

7. I've always wanted to take a cooking class and now that I have the income/time, tis the year to make it happen!

8. Try not to succumb to these little death sticks. I gotta admit, its a bit hard not to lite one up when I'm surrounded by them 24/7. Ugh.

9. Read ... at least A BOOK this year. I'm starting Amy Tan's "Saving Fish From Drowning". Was never really into the whole "Joy Luck Club", but I'll give Amy another chance. I also bought Nicholas Sparks' "Dear John". His books are my ultimate guilty pleasure. Lrrrrr~

10. I'm gonna leave this as a open-ended resolution.


Happy 2008 everyone!

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.

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

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!

I 'heart' Taiwan

When I was in Taiwan, I had a nice, simple lifestyle where I was free to go wherever I wanted and to do whatever I wanted. Now that I'm back in the states, I'm confined to Federal Way (high gas prices/sharing the car with my sister) and I get calls from my parents non stop and its driving me nuts.

OMG, I wanna go back to my scooter, to 通化夜市, to 大安路, to my mah jong nites...

I guess this shows that I'm not adapting well. lol...

Dawson's Creek

What can I say about one of my favorite past times? My life back in high school was nothing compared to those that lived on the creek. I rooted for Pacey and Joey from the beginning and the show did me proud by having them end up together.

Ahh, television destiny.

Its been years after the series finale and I still get choked up everytime I catch it on tv. This post is actually dedicated to Josh cuz everytime the series finale is on (5th time now), I rave to him on how great the show was.

Lets keep the tradition going!

"IRASSHAIMASE!"

I was always a bit hesitant to visit major cities, which is why I've opted for SE Asian countries/islands. But the trip to Japan was a nice welcome into urban travelling.

Day 1.

I arrived in Japan around 8PM -- took Iris's advice about taking the JR into Osaka (never again without doing my own research!) I guess there are different trains with various speeds/stops and apparently I hopped onto one that took the longest. I didn't get to the hotel till 10PM. Felt kinda bad cuz I had asked Queenie and Emile to wait for me in the lobby around 8:30-9. Haha, oops.

When I got in, NO ONE was in their rooms! I kinda sorta started freakin out until I called Mandy's room (the person I had least expected to be in her room)-- she was in! I hung out with her and her sister for 5 mins before Queenie and Emile came back (turns out they were in Yafe's room...)

The rooms were hella small. Japanese people sure like compacted things. Two twin sized beds in each room with barely enough room for walking. Aiya! I was a bit disappointed cuz I saw rooms with sofa's on the hotel website and I didn't see no sofa's... This only meant I had to rough it out with one of the girls for the trip. I knew Queenie snores (haha, hope she doesn't kill me for writing this) so when Jean asked if I wanted to crash with her and Ginny, I said koo.

*funny moment of the nite*

Jean had apparently forgotten to bring shorts to wear to sleep, which wasn't out of the norm to me. I was kinda hot when we were about to sleep, so I didn't use the blanket-- Jean looked over at me and casual goes "Nancy, just take off your pants..." Ginny and I cracked up laughing. Jean was just lookin out for me but the way it came out was 100% pick up line. Before we passed out, I made it clear on the twin sized bed where the border line was between us. Haha...

Day 2.

Shinkansen to Kyoto! Why did we spend 3x times the amount to ride the bullet train to Kyoto was beyond me. But hey, at least I get to say "I rode the Shinkansen!" First stop in Kyoto was 清水詩. Place was goregous! The temple was perched on top of a hill and the view was amazing. We took tons and tons and tons of fobby pics -- which kinda delayed our schedule.

*Randome moment of the day*

Queenie and I walked ahead of the group, so as we were waiting on a bench, we started singing random Chinese songs to fit the moment. Needless to say, she was very into it. The looks from passerby's can attest to this.

After 清水詩, we split into 2 smaller groups. I wanted to eat lunch at this place called Asuka and visit one of the castles. Took us about 20 mins to find Asuka and it was a cute little restaurant ran by grannies. Claire wanted to see 金格詩 so we decided to head there first and then stop by the castle. 金格詩 was another amazing temple. Needless to say, we took X number of pics there.

We were suppose to rendevous with Yafe and her BF at 6pm -- but it took us longer than expected to return to our meeting point. Sorry! We walked around Kyoto for a bit, had some really salty but good ramen and retired early back to Shin Osaka.

Day 3.

Osaka + Kobe!

大阪成 was once an Emperor's palace back in the day and now its converted into a park/museum/major tourist spot. Queenie and I got hit on by a bunch of Korean tourists and another group of Korean boys asked if they could take a group pic with us. Felt nice to be wanted. Hehe, just kidding.

We headed to Kobe to for the latter part of the day and it was not what I had expect at all! I had forgotten that Kobe and Seattle were sister cities! Haha, no wonder I felt oddly at home there. We took more fobby pics, rode the ferris wheel, ate not-so-salty ramen and shopped around.

*moment of the nite*

We were walking around the pier, sorta like Seattle's waterfront (they even had an Old Spagetti's Factory!!) since we were all pooped from walking all day, I suggested that we lay on our backs and prop our legs on the railing to relieve pressure. To my amazement, everyone agreeed! I bet the locals that walked by thought we were crazy. Will post pics up soon!

Day 4.

Nara!

Attack of the hungry bambi's! Nara is a town east of Osaka that's known for a national park filled with wandering deers. I mean, they were everywhere and not leashed nor caged. Felt like I was back in Alaska -- roughing it in the wilderness with mother nature. There were vendor's that sold deer biscuits and being the tourists that we were, we all bought some and once you pop one into a deers mouth, they all come running to ya. And they were aggressive too! Queenie and I both got bit on the ass by a herd of bambi's. Queenie's ass being bitten and bumped was caught on video... We're wondering if we should send it into some sort of "funniest home video's" or something.

On our last stretch at Nara, we wanted to visit this one temple --- took us 30 mins to find. Turns out, it was tucked away in a residential area and was a bitch to find/leave. We asked a group of jr. high girls how to reach the JR station and to me, it's funny how everytime we asked something in English, they would reply in Japanese. Haha... But they pointed us in the direction we needed and we took a bus back to the station.

Queenie and Emile wanted to buy bags they saw in Kobe the day before, so we rushed back. We had made plans with Claire and Yafe to meet back at the hotel at 11pm so we could drink at one of the 居酒屋's to make our trip to Japan complete.

Mandy and her sis joined us and it was actually pretty fun to eat/drink/chat. Perfect way to end the trip for me. I had to fly out earlier than the rest -- which was totally bummer cuz I wanted to see more spots, but I guess I'll have to wait till next time.

2 thumbs up!

QK の下午...

[side note: took 10 mins to find'の']

For the first time in a long time, I'm relaxing on a Sunday afternoon at an internet cafe in 永康街. Even though I'm 'relaxing' I still have work to do. Estee Lauder is having their year end blow out sale and the promotions are just massive and non stop. It's also one of my last projects for JWT before I say "peace out".

I have an upcoming trip to Japan and it is well deserved. I'm going with the LB crew for 5 days and I'm imagining Osaka to be beautiful this time of the year. My friend is even bringing a mini mah jong set so we can play in the hotel! How awesome is that?!

Amanda went back to the states for good last Thursday. Seems like everyone's leaving -- Lan, Jenn, Chuni, Josh... The funny thing is, everyone that's leaving lives in the Bay area! I'm even thinking about moving there, just cause there are more ad agencies there than Seattle. Who know's where I'll end up.

Random thought... thinkin about switchin blogger to msn space. More changes! AHHH!

Anyway, I need to get started on the Sogo promotions and then plan the Osaka trip. Will post pics up when I get back.

YAY!

YAY!!! Diva's back!!!

Sliding Doors

I used to wonder what my life would be like if I stayed in Seattle or settled for the job offer I got in LA. Now that I'm doing exactly what I want to be doing, it's hard to imagine being anywhere but here. It's a scary thought to think that I will be here for at least another year.

I've come to be known as a [nomad] to my past collegues. I guess its the constant job changes or the fact that I can't seem to stay in one for very long. Sounds about right to those that know me. Even with the new job, I'm already thinkin about my next step.

Speaking about my new job, things have been improving ever so slightly. It's hard not to goof at work and the people there are still clique-ish. In a way, it feels like I just transfered to a new high school and I'm the odd one out. [haha, I bet you guys are telling me to "oh, cry me a river..."]

Sometimes I wonder "what would've happened if I had returned to Batey and stuck it through to the one year mark?" or "what if I stayed at Leo Burnett despite having a shitty boss?". I think I would pick the latter than the former. I'm constantly surprised in Taiwan -- the LB crew surprised me the most by being down-to-earth and brutally honest. At my new job, whenever I mention my short stint at LB, I smile and laugh naturally and no one believes that LB is really that great. [its only cuz XXX sucks!] *the 'xxx'is to protect myself just in case people at 'xxx' read this blog =P

[to be continued...]

Waiting...

I firmly believe that everything happens for a reason. Let it be something amazing or shitty, some good will come of it. That's some optimistic words for someone that's in deep shit right now. [chuckle chuckle]

I made a leap into unfamiliar territory and so far, it's kicking my ass. I often feel lost and alone -- something that I haven't felt for a very long time. Sure, it's only been 2 weeks... 2 of the most stressful and frustrating weeks of my professional career. I now have chronic headaches, bad posture and zero appetite. I admit, I've thought about leaving and being 'happy' again. [Happy] -- at this moment, I've forgotten what it feels like.

Sure, I might sound overly dramatic, but if you were in my shoes right now, you would feel guilt, stress, frustration, even powerless. There's only one person that has confidence in me. She sees the potential that I don't think exists. She believes that I can overcome my insecurities and grow. That person is my new boss.

I've had numerous chats with her already about not adapting well into the new environment and the long road ahead. "It takes time. I know you're frustrated. You're giving yourself too much pressure. Remember, you're still new..." were her responses.

I'm not sure how long I can last [especially after today's screw up]. I do want to stay and fight the good fight [office politics], but I don't know how much longer my mind and body can take it.

[I want to believe... ]

Janet recommended a 'counselor' to go and talk to about my conflicts. I think it's a great idea. I'm going to try to book a session this weekend... [Waiting for that something good to happen....]

Match maker

Once upon time in a land far away, I was an aspiring match maker... Remember the old saying "those who can't, teach"? Well, that's exactly me. I wanna say I have a knack for finding the common demoninator that'll bring 2 people oh-so-close. I do not have any success stories to share -- although 1 attempt did come close but the other attempt just bombed....

It's a learning process. I'm mean, Rome wasn't built in a day. They must've snowballed somewhere in the middle. But anyway, the whole point of this entry --- hmm, there is no point. Oh right, here it is: new company, fresh meat. all new guinea pigs. [insert evil laugh]

B.E.P Concert!

Okay, so we didn't really take pics of the B.E.P peeps.... I think we were too busy gettin retarded, wondering where is the love, trying to shut up and keepin the locals from grabbing my humps.... But regardless, it was a fun concert!

Things you didn't know about women

Esquire Magazine had some women celebrities write down "things you didn't know about women." Halirious!

1. Superskinny women really irritate us. We hate when they say, "Sometimes I just forget to eat." Now, I've forgotten my anniversary and where I parked my car. But I've never forgotten to eat. -- Sela Ward

2. Women like porn, too. We just hate it when you hide the porn. -- Alyssa Milano

3. Women remember everything . Don't believe me? Ask your girlfriend where you met. She won't tell you it was at a party. She'll say it was a Thursday, she had just come from dinner, where she ate a veggie burger, and she was wearing her friend Cathy's pink top, which was big on her because Cathy is a big girl. You were wearing a blue button-down, drinking a Jack and Coke with two straws, and talking to Bill, that mutual friend. She waved and you gave her the "what's up" nod. This still infuriates her. ("How could you give me the nod?") -- Alyssa Milano

4. We think it's weird when you watch sports and concentrate to help your team. -- Alyssa Milano

5. No matter how much your woman loves you, there are going to be three to seven days each month when she wants you dead. (She may even quietly fantasize about turning her eyelash curler against you.) You have two options: Tie yourself to a tree and wait out the storm, or stock up at Tiffany's, toss a blue box or two into the wind, and hope for the best. We recommend the latter. (The key chain doesn't count.) -- Alyssa Milano

6. It's the circumference, stupid! The numerical measurement of the bra has nothing to do with the size of our boobs. -- Jennifer Coolidge

7. You say: "I'm intense." We hear: "I'm a psycho." -- Jennifer Coolidge

8. The fact that you hesitate before using our razor because it's pink and that might make you seem gay is equal parts cute and pathetic. -- Jennifer Coolidge

9. When the car won't start and you do nothing but open the hood, there's a 40 percent chance it will start on the second try. Men will always act like they fixed it. We know and accept this. -- Jennifer Coolidge

10. Never take credit for something we actually did. Unless that something is farting. We'll never raise our hands there. -- Jennifer Coolidge

11. Shaving down there doesn't make your equipment look any bigger. It does make it more manageable, however, which improves the chances of us admiring your manscaping. -- Jennifer Coolidge

12. When you say, "All I did was kiss her":
a) You are already in trouble.
b) We know it isn't true. -- Paget Brewster

13. Women over the age of twenty-two almost never get pregnant by surprise. If she wants to keep the baby and marry you immediately, you are, in fact, being trapped. -- Paget Brewster

14. We can pee standing up, but it's not pretty. -- Felicity Huffman

15. If you would just listen to us, we'd shut up. -- Felicity Huffman

16. Want sex? Fix something. -- Felicity Huffman

17. You would be crazy, too, if your insides fell out every twenty-eight days. -- Felicity Huffman

LB

Thank you for 3 months of laughter.
12 weeks filled with one too many overtime days.
90 days with meals consisting of meat, meat and more meat.
2160+ hours of me making an ass outta myself.
129600 minutes bitchin about work but lovin it at the same time.
7776000 seconds of being a part of something great.

Thank you.

Red Alert

I have a huge pimple on my nose. =(

I think its from blowing my nose x number of times last week. I hate Taiwan in the Summer. Why? B/c its freakin hot outside and air con cold inside. It's inevitable not to get sick. Blah~

Couple nite ago, I had a dream taht I was back on Tioman Island. It was as if I had never left. Needless to say, I was super bummed when I woke up. Things have been hectic at work and the thought of taking a month off crossed my mind many a times. Since it was payday last Friday, I calculated how many days I could afford to be on that beach again -- lets just say I could park my ass there till I become a local.

I have 3 more weeks till I pass the inital 3 month employee mark. After taht, I will be an official employee and my salary will increase ever so slightly, but yet make my life so much easier.

school girl crush

I'm a 15 year old girl again...

I have a crush on Channing Tatum!



If they only had guys like him in Taiwan...

may day....

It's almost JUNE!!! How the hell did I miss Jan-May? Oh shit -- nevermind, I spent those months workin like dogg (ha ha). An update on the past month. For those that didn't know, I switched jobs again. This is my 3rd job in 10 months. I'm hoping it's the last one too. (knock on wooooood)

The Leo Burnett job came through so I'm back in advertising baby! The office is pretty sweet -- well, the lobby is. The people are super duper awesome ( they know my blog =P) and overall, it's a great place to be. And being the hot, single chica that I am, I already hunted down 3 office lahhvers. Of course, 1 is already married, 1 has a girlfriend and the last one is just goofy. ^__^ Not to fret, there will be more later on [wink, wink].

Other than work, work and more work, I'm going to start apt hunting soon. I guess I don't have to cuz living at grandma-ma's ain't too bad. I just need to get internet and I'll be good. I guess I should cuz I could use the money for my next trip. Interesting. Anyway, it's late and my eyes are starting to become one.

I 'heart' Tioman

Picture a secluded island off the eastern coast of Malaysia. The soft touch of the sand beneath your feet, the clear blue water as far as the eye can see and reef sharks to scare the shit outta ya when you're snorkelling in the South China Sea.

Are you picturing something like this?



To get there (from Singapore), you take a bus to cross the Singapore/Malaysian border, a 2 hour taxi ride to Mersing (pier) and finally a 2 hour boat ride to the island of Tioman. Sounds like a bitch to get huh? But let me tell you--once you get off the boat and your feet touches the sand, it is pure bliss. It's a shame I didn't go with boyfriend, b/c that place is perfect for vacation sex.


First night on the beach... we were starving like a mutha!



That's me on the beach. I went 3 other girls and for some odd reason, there isn't 1 decent picture of me, but a freakin stack of photos of the 3 other girls (they must've thought they were swimsuit models or something..hehe)



In most of the "posing" pictures, I'm in the background lounging on the hammock. Who could blame me? Wouldn't you want to be relaxing on the beach instead of taking pictures like these:


*warning: be ready to be fobbified*


Now with props!!! (notice me in background sleeping on the hammock?)

In a nutshell, Tioman was one of the best islands I ever been to in SE Asia (believe me, I've done my fair share of island hopping). Malaysians are so laid back and chill. The best thing about the beach -- besides the clear water, NO HAGGLERS! It was pretty much just us for 3 days 2 nights.


You must be wondering who took this friggin awesome picture-- ya, that would be ME! ^_^


Like my karate pose? (I'm on the right)


Our cozy, simple and hella cheap chalets. (alice said it looked like a bathroom shed)


While we were waiting for our food, we played some darts. As you can see, I kinda sorta missed.


When I'm included in the group pics vs...


Just part of the background....





Would I go back to this hidden oasis? HELL YAH!

Wisdomless

On a whim, I decided to get my upper wisdom teeth pulled couple days ago. Cost of the pulls: NT 100, which is about US$3.00!

The pain killers were free as well! Taiwan health insurance rocks! So now I am completely wisdomless. ^__^

Mmmm... Philip Morris

I had the most spontaneous day with Amanda yesterday. We had sushi (twice), went to RT Mart (twice), cruised Prada and Gucci to observe the snooty salespeople, got my ears pierced, bought a pair of sneakers, sang an hour of KTV, went to a friends bday party and assembled a steel organizer half drunk. What a day~

Anyway, I've been enjoying my time off for the past 2 weeks and it's been great. It's exactly what I had needed and I'm confident to say that I want to start working again---and soon.

I got a job offer at *drum roll please* Leo Burnett! But I'm still waiting for the freakin offer letter. Kinda worried. Although HR and the AD have both welcomed me on board, nothing is legit until I sign that paper! AHHHHH!

TBC..

Say wha?

I was helping a coworker plan an event today and I was thinkin about games we used to play as kids. Pin the tail on the donkey and pinatas came to mind. So I did me some research. Guess what? Pinatas originated from the Chinese! Ain't that the biggest crock you ever heard? But I shit you not.

Courtesy of Wikipedia:

The piñata is a bright candy-and-toy-filled container (generally suspended on a rope from a tree branch or ceiling) that is used during celebrations. A succession of blindfolded, stick-wielding children try to break the piñata in order to collect the candy inside of it. It has been used for hundreds of years to celebrate special occasions such as birthdays and Christmas.

Spanish colonists are thought to have started the piñata tradition in Mexico; then the tradition went on to the Italians. However, Gavin Menzies argues that the piñata was brought to Mexico by Chinese sailors about 1421. According to legend, Marco Polo introduced the piñata to the Italians after discovering it in the Orient.

How's that for trivia, Mr. Joshua Chi-Sing Chan~ ^_^

Break

Its the 2nd week of my new job and I'm just tired. Haha. There could be numerous reasons for my lack of enthusasim. And for the sake of fun, I shall list em.

1. I need a break/vacation. Even tho I was at Batey for 7 months, if you include all the weekday OT and weekend hours, I'm well over a year....

2. The new office is a bit gruddy. Is that even a word? Well, it means exactly how it sounds--gruddy.

3. Dorothy, Lucy and Vanessa* bought me 3 fishes as a going away/cubicle warming present. It was really sweet of them and being the lazy arse's taht they are, they fedex'd them to me! Didn't know you could fedex live fish huh?

4. One of the fishes died.... Bad feng shui if you ask me. The remaining two need to step it up if they wanna survive!

5. Still adapting to the new work environment/people. If I recall correctly, it took about 2 months to be comfortable with the Batey gang.

6. Like I said before, I need a break. There's a big event in April and a smaller one in June... I'm debating if that'll be enough for me so that I can take a nice break before starting up again. 3 months and counting....

I met up with Kristi for a mere 3-4 hours last Tuesday on her last stretch of her biz trip. Like I told her, I took her out on one helluva HOT DATE! hahaha. We met up at Taipei 101 (world's tallest building) and I took her to the observatory floor(89th). We weren't the only one's there--Grace, my coworkers and Kristi's goo-goo
were there as well. Anyway, after the nice night scenery, we headed to the 4th floor pavallion and had tea/dessert. Afterwards, I took her on a 'romantic' ride around the city on my scooter and dropped her off at her hotel. But all jokes aside, it was really nice to see her and to catch up on all the juicy gossip! hohoho! But alas, I'm kidding again, cuz there weren't any gossip! I was very disappointed.

So after going off tangent again, I'm back to my original topic---which is taking a break.

E21

About 2 months ago, a friend of a friend asked if I would be interested in an events related position. I said sure and passed my resume to him. A month later, nothing happened. I didn't think anything of it until our mutual friend called me and told me to call the company directly to see what was up. Fast foward (or rewind) 2 weeks later, they offered me a position and wanted me to start right away.

*I noticed Thursdays are lucky days for me. In the past, whenever I had an interview on a Thursday, I would get hired. Examples: Parker LePla, Batey|red cell, E21...

Anyway, my last working day was yesterday and it was sad to leave.

TBC

Bebot! Bebot!

Sorry I haven't updated this in a while. Who would've thunk work would be madd crazy? I sure didn't.

A recap of my trip the Philippines:

Day 1: arrived late afternoon and was screwed over by the cab driver (he over charged me). checked into my cozy hostel, nestled right next to a starbucks! Met a Japanese backpacker and we cruised a nearby mall. We were talking and she told me that she had gotten robbed earlier in the day by some locals and had to fly back to Japan the next morning b/c she didn't have any more money. Poor girl. our conversation were mostly fixated on traveling (she's been to cambodia and thailand) and all of a sudden, she tells me she has a MENTAL ILLNESS! [insert thunder and lightning] Freaked the shit outta me cuz I was sharing the dorm room with her--alone! I honestly could not sleep a wink that nite.

Day 2: Mental illness girl left the dorm around 4am. [sigh of relief] In the beginning, I wanted to go to Boracay, but it was friggin $$$$. I did not want to explore Manila all week, so I checked out neighboring islands. I decided on Puerto Galera and started my trek there. 2 1/2 hours by bus, 1 1/2 hours by boat. Emily text me when she arrived and when I told her about my new plans, she said she might meet me there. Very cool. Anyway, on my way to Sabang Beach, NOT A BEACH, I was majorly disappointed. I even trekked to neighboring 'beaches' and shook my head in disgrace. I finally hollered for a boat and asked the guy to take me to White Beach. White Beach was awesome and became my camping ground for the next 3 days.

Day 3-5: White Beach was heaven! First evening there I hung out with the locals and took in the stars at night. It was suprisingly cooler than I had expected (at night) and savored the moments. Emily joined me the next day and that's when all hell broke loose! Of course I'm exaggerating a tad bit. Here's the run down. I met on the beach and she wasn't alone. She had met a local guy named German and it turns out he's a champion wind sufer (who would've thunk). He invited us to a private resort that's more inland and offered us free lessons. I was hesitant at first cuz Cardinal Rule #1: Don't follow strangers to strange places. But being the dumbasses that we were, we said Sure!

So we're walking on a dirt path AWAY from the beach and I'm just thinkin to myself if we're going to live another day. We hitch a ride from a moped and the driver takes us further inland---dirt paths. 10 mins into the ride, I start to notice that we were literally in the middle of NO WHERE! So finally we come into a clearing and va va va voom, the private resort. [insert happy dance]

Now, this wasn't your normal private resort. It was housing to a language exchange program. I thought the idea was pretty cool. It was Flippino's teaching Korean's English (one on one) and it was a 5 1/2 weeks course. I started to observe the setting and all of a sudden, CLICK! It was a CULT! We were in the middle of a CULT!

But it wasn't a cult. It just seemed like one. Whew~

So German taught Emily how to wind surf while I kayaked around the bay and watched the sunset. [insert bliss]

Night time! Our trek back to the beach was an adventure in itself. PITCH BLACK. If y'all MSN me, the pic was taken on the dirt path, in the middle of no where, in PITCH BLACK. [insert 'blind leading the blind']

Anyhoo, the rest of the time on the beach was spent being sunburnt [i asked my roomies if it was 'sunburned' or 'sunburnt' and it spawned into a 5 min conversation]

Day 5-6: Did not want to leave White Beach AT ALL! Got seasick on the way back to Batangas and reaching Manila made me depressed. The dirtiness and the traffic was just blah~ I was speedy gonzalez and zipped through Rizal Park, Intramuros and Robinsons Place before retiring back to my $3.00 hostel room. And then BAM~ my period came. What a way to end my vacation.

Will post pics whenever I'm not in a lazy mood. But considering how it almost took me a month to log in this entry, it might take a while....

OH! Starting new job on Monday!