More tries by the internets to read my mind.![884205144_QzXxr-X3[1]](http://www.ihatepink.com/content/binary/WindowsLiveWriter/ThanksforRelevantSearchResultsYoutube_1413E/884205144_QzXxr-X3%5B1%5D_b6d8a3c0-93b2-47b9-9e1e-864faab5c5d4.jpg "884205144_QzXxr-X3[1]") The search guesser distracted me, and I needed a few minutes to remember what my original search was. :P Now that I’m reading it again … “how to get a six pack in 3 minutes”?!?!? HAHAHAHAHHAHHAHAH
Wine? Vinegar? Are food product labels also going along with the trend of tabloid headlines combining Hollywood couple’s names? ![847932610_UShHn-M[1]](http://www.ihatepink.com/content/binary/WindowsLiveWriter/ItsAlwaysaFieldTripatHMart_14D08/847932610_UShHn-M%5B1%5D_c618bd6b-960c-44a6-89ad-7f404e009738.jpg "847932610_UShHn-M[1]")
So instead of grabbing the chips while settling down for a night in front of the tube, you could just snack on the bag of crispy mini crabs: ![847932697_F3oxi-M[1]](http://www.ihatepink.com/content/binary/WindowsLiveWriter/ItsAlwaysaFieldTripatHMart_14D08/847932697_F3oxi-M%5B1%5D_c129f5b2-4b33-4d98-be65-152e0133c9fb.jpg "847932697_F3oxi-M[1]")
Her exclamation seems cheerful enough; don’t know why she’s so down if it’s “GOOD GOOD EAT”: ![847932746_keCnR-M[1]](http://www.ihatepink.com/content/binary/WindowsLiveWriter/ItsAlwaysaFieldTripatHMart_14D08/847932746_keCnR-M%5B1%5D_cc094d77-6e4c-466b-ae5f-f11b5fd83d08.jpg "847932746_keCnR-M[1]")
It’s a party all right. That octopus looks like it’s gettin’ DOWN: ![847932828_j5P3H-M[1]](http://www.ihatepink.com/content/binary/WindowsLiveWriter/ItsAlwaysaFieldTripatHMart_14D08/847932828_j5P3H-M%5B1%5D_75410071-0d33-47e8-8e44-7105f4826d58.jpg "847932828_j5P3H-M[1]")
Oh no, Oh Yes! ![847932901_jZVPi-M[1]](http://www.ihatepink.com/content/binary/WindowsLiveWriter/ItsAlwaysaFieldTripatHMart_14D08/847932901_jZVPi-M%5B1%5D_5a430104-3d2c-4f7a-8ab7-200db4bef91a.jpg "847932901_jZVPi-M[1]")
And lastly, just a comparison of our bachelor guy friend’s shopping habits compared to us bachelorette girls’. Well, wasabi peas count as vegetables, right? :) ![847932975_rkDFy-M[1]](http://www.ihatepink.com/content/binary/WindowsLiveWriter/ItsAlwaysaFieldTripatHMart_14D08/847932975_rkDFy-M%5B1%5D_8e919592-f2c3-41d6-a377-59026a7a499b.jpg "847932975_rkDFy-M[1]")
H-Mart is always a fun adventure. :) Apparently my buddy over at Liquid Egg Product returned from the Chinese supermarket with some finds of his own. :)
Well, it’s new to me anyway. And I’ve seen a lot. Generally, I think I’m pretty good at detecting phishing e-mails thanks to their poor spelling, or hovering my mouse over the links without clicking and previewing the URLs. Well, I was up late last night, and got an e-mail from an acquaintance with whom I correspond a few times a year: =============== From: Shiou-Bih Yang
Sent: Fri 3/12/2010 2:32 AM
To: Shiou-Bih Yang
Subject: Please help soon. I am in hurry writing you this message and i hope you get it on time, sorry I didn't inform you about my trip in Malaysia for a Program called "Empowering Youth to Fight Racism, HIV/AIDS, Poverty and Lack of Education. The program is taking place in three major countries in Asia, which are Taiwan, Singapore and Malaysia. It has been a very sad and bad moment for me here, the present condition that i found myself is very hard for me to explain. I am really stranded here in Malaysia because I misplaced my little bag on my way to the hotel where my money, cell phone which i have all my contacts and other valuable things were kept. Presently I have limited access to internet, I will like you to assist me urgently with a soft loan of $3,100 USD to sort-out my hotel bills and to get myself back home. I have spoken to the embassy here but they are not responding to the matter effectively, I will appreciate whatever you can afford to assist me with, I'll Refund the money back to you as soon as i get home without any delay. So please use the details below to send the money to me through Western Union money transfer or money gram because that is the only way i could be able to get it fast and leave. These are the details below.....
Name: Shiou Bih Yang
Address: 22A Taman Yew Mengkung, Bander Melaka, Malaysia
After you have send the money, email to me the western union money transfer control number or you can attach and forward to me the western union money transfer receipt so that i can pick up the money fast and leave.
Thanks and get back to me soon.
Shiou-Bih =============== For me, it was hard to discern if this e-mail was real or not. Sister Shiou-Bih is a very kind, selfless, giving person, and is a member of Tzu-Chi, an international relief organization that is usually helping out on the front line of disasters. So for her to be in Asia on a moment’s notice helping out would not be out of character. The grammar in this e-mail is not perfect, but Sister Shiou-Bih’s native tongue is Chinese / Taiwanese, and so that was also not out of the ordinary. Having just had my Hotmail hacked a week or so ago, I replied to the e-mail, thinking that would help me better decide if this was a real emergency or not. =============== Subject: RE: Please help soon.
Date: Fri, 12 Mar 2010 02:36:50 -0600 Sister Shiou-Bih, Are you in danger, and did you write this yourself? - Caroline Chen =============== I was more than a little surprised (and even more concerned!) when I got a reply this morning: =============== From: Shiou-Bih Yang
Sent: Fri 3/12/2010 3:11 AM
To: Caroline Chen
Subject: RE: Please help soon. Dear Dr. Chen,
Thank you so much for getting back to me, i sent the email to you because am in a very big problem now and i need your urgent help, please kindly look for any western union money transfer office around you and send the money to me so that i can leave as soon as possible, do not worry i will pay you back your money as soon as i get home without any delay.
Thanks and get back to me soon with the transfer details so that i can get the money fast and leave.
Shiou-Bih =============== At this point I’m freaking out a little bit. She has always very politely addressed me as “Dr. Chen”. It is a personalized reply. I give up. I call her directly. She picks up. She is not in Asia, she is not in trouble, she is fine. She tells me that she got phone calls last night around 3am from friends / family from Taiwan asking if she was okay because of these e-mails. I advise her to change her password; she has already tried. The password no longer works, and since she set up the security questions 10 years ago, she cannot remember the answers to them. Some @$$wipe is pretending to be her and unfortunately (in this case) Sister Shiou-Bih surrounds herself with like-minded kind and selfless people, probably mostly over the age of 40, who I believe are mostly more susceptible to this sort of thing. Snopes.com (the site where I usually go to if I want to see if something is a hoax) did not have this exact hoax listed on their site, but they do a good job of breaking down this type of hoax. Googling the program name “Empowering Youth to Fight Racism, HIV/AIDS, Poverty and Lack of Education” brings up some sites that talk about this exact hoax. Friends, beware of any e-mails asking for the wiring of money!
I’ve always just eaten to fulfill my nutritional needs, but for some reason, seeing this video made me obsessed with making this sandwich (linked by foodie friend Steve Q!). It's a video of Chef Michael at Max's Wine Dive here in Houston showing how to make their fried egg sandwich with chili bacon. I’ve never been, but Steve says it’s his favorite sandwich these days. I think I was drooling while watching this video. I must have watched it at least twice! So last night, while hungry and grocery shopping, I tried to buy the ingredients to the best of my memory. And then I attempted to make it. Forgot a few things, swapped beans for bacon (yeah, I know, totally different, but ... a protein's a protein, right?), but all in all ... I still managed to end up making a REALLY good sandwich! I know Chef Hugh would be so proud! :D
OMG OMG OMG. So I was getting in my car to drive to work today. I had parked under a tree last night, and saw some bird poop on my car. I'd just washed my car Monday, so I was a bit pissed, but whatever. But when I got in my car to leave for work, I realized with sheer, pure and utter horror that ... THERE WAS A F###ING DEAD BIRD ON MY WINDSHIELD. "OMG OMG OMG that is GRODY," I thought. I had to go to work right then, I didn't have time to deal with it right that moment ... I thought, "I'll just drive to work and the bird will just fall off I guess. I am so so so sorry Mr. Bird!" So off I drove. Whereupon I realized with sheer, pure and utter horror that ... THE F###ING DEAD BIRD WAS STUCK IN MY WINDSHIELD WIPERS. OMG OMG OMG that is DISGUSTING, I thought. And as I drove, I realized just how stuck it was. It was so stuck that not only was it not falling off, but ... the leg of the bird would swing back and forth, as if WAVING to me. OMG OMG OMG GROSS!! Got to work (almost crying at this awful sight the whole way, I couldn't help it ... oh and I forgot to mention, there were BLOODY GUTS smeared on my windshield but I couldn't use my wipers!!) and stepped out to briefly survey what the HECK was going on. And to my sheer, pure and utter horror, I saw that ... IT WAS A HEADLESS BIRD STUCK IN MY WINDSHIELD WIPERS. AND ITS BLOODY DECAPITATED BEAK WAS SITTING RIGHT THERE BESIDE IT!!!!!! AHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!! I had to ask my co-worker if he could help me remove the poor bird (and beak, and bloody guts) from my windshield and wipers. Turns out it was like HALF A BIRD (I DUNNO WHERE THE REST OF IT WENT!!). WHAT THE HECK HAPPENED?!?1?1!! GRODY TO THE MAX YO!!!!!! I was so grossed out I couldn't even take pictures like I usually would, OMG!!!! Yes I know, I'm such a girl!!! OMG OMG OMG!!!!!!!!!!!! @_@
Had me speechless. 
So you can't really tell what the rims look like from afar ... 
So here they are in all their up-close-and-personal glory.
Aiyaaa.
Googling "free simple html editor" today brought up Arachnophilia in the results. It sounded familiar ... turns out it was the same software that I had used many years ago (probably circa 2000). Even with major updates to the software, the site hadn't changed much; the words "Arachnophilia is CareWare" still remained at the top of the page. I'd forgotten what that meant, guessing it was some variation upon shareware, like postcardware or something. Reading further for clarification, I came across a paragraph that I'd always kept with me, but as usual had forgotten the source: So here is my deal: stop whining for an hour, a day, a week, your choice, and you will have earned your copy of Arachnophilia. Say encouraging words to young people, make them feel welcome on the planet Earth (many do not). Show by example that we don't need all we have in order to be happy and productive. The selective bolding is by me, showing the words that resonated with me so long ago and helped shape who I am by just a little bit. Common sense, for sure, but to actually put it into practice? Not so easy. At the time when I read this, it made me question if I'd ever been made to feel welcome on this planet. A very touchy subject for me, since people have made fun of me since the beginning of time, and then on top of that my whole sense of identity was hurled into a black hole of confusion while living in China. (I've come out of that hole since, yay!) But even so, with careful thinking, the answer was ... yes. To the teachers, mentors, and peers who consciously made and make the effort to make me feel comfortable in a sea of derision, jealousy, insecurity, and negativity, thank you. And I guess that's why it stuck. And then the thought that followed was: well, if people were kind enough to do it for me, then I hope I can be that person to someone else. Yeah, I think I saw that movie Pay it Forward around that time too. So this seems like a lot of strange mush to have written regarding some html editor, but it's really not about the html editor at all. I thank Paul Lutus for his hard work on it of course, but more so for positively influencing my thoughts and actions for the last 10 years ever since I read his words. Oh, and I did download and use Arachnophilia. Perfect fit for my needs today. :)
I've gotten back into table tennis recently, and on top of that I've just met someone who went to college with Whitney Ping, and so I thought I'd bring back this poll from 2001 since I was reminded how I was once mistaken for her. If you do a quick search for her online, you'll learn she's an Olympic table tennis player (I enjoyed this article). For anyone who ever thought I was decently good, let me put this in perspective: I know without a doubt she could whump my rump left-handed and possibly blindfolded. She says she practiced 5 hours a day while training full-time in Sweden; I can barely get through 2 hours playing recreationally without feeling like I'm 70 and have knocked my back out.  [ vote ] [ see results ] Personally, I don't think I look like her, even after scanning through more recent pictures. (Today's blog post title was brought to you by AllLookSame.com. I was forwarded this site a long time ago and never took the test, but the name of the site just stuck in my head.)
... a total stranger takes a picture of you without your knowledge almost 10 years ago and then posts it on a website with other weird photos that are made fun of.  I'd never heard of AwkwardFamilyPhotos.com until Henry pointed it out to me (um, thanks?!). HAHahhahah oh man. I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw this on the website. Not exactly work safe (depends on your industry, I guess), so beware when you click through the photo to the site. So I guess I should explain what is going on here. :) Old Calgary buds Reema and Winnie were showing me around San Francisco - had to be between 1999 and 2002, while I was an acupuncture student in Cali - and took me to the Palace of Fine Arts. So we were walking around taking pictures and there, on the green, was this dude posing for a professional photographer. Before my friends could stop me, I ran over and asked if I could have a pic with this guy, thinking that this was too hilarious! I still have the original pic where me and this dude are facing the camera; it's a bit strange to know that someone secretly took a pic of us from the side, and has hoarded it until now! I remember asking him why he was taking pics there; I can't for the life of me remember his answer. I believe he said his name was "Blaire"; I never remembered to look for him on the internet after that. Not that this REALLY explains anything except for my penchant for wanting to take pictures of everything I encounter. Be sure to read the caption and the comments underneath; so funny! Man. Yep. The Internet "big-time". Thanks(?!?!) AwkwardFamilyPhotos.com!
Thanks for all the birthday well-wishes!! I hope all is well for everyone in this new year! As if to alert me to my +1 status, my body protested at 9pm to go to bed. It's now 4 am, and I am strangely wide awake, and awfully sentimental. I think I've become more aware in my "adulthood" of patterns engrained in me that I don't necessarily like, but are undeniably part of my being. I suppose I could just say "that's just how I am", but I refuse to just BE that way. To all of my friends: each and every one of you inspires me to be a better person. And that is the best birthday present I could have.
I've been following Hurricane Ike updates online; haven't felt like turning on the TV. Maybe I'll do it just to test how long I can watch it before getting sick and tired of it. Came across this video on weather.com. One sentence caught my ear: "Church members say after their prayers, Edouard slowed and turned right, and Gustav went to Louisiana." I think it's normal when people turn to faith in times of crisis, but ... can they truly celebrate that they "diverted" Hurricane Gustav so that it didn't hit us here in Houston but instead our neighbors in Louisiana? "Hooray! It didn't hit us! It hit them! Whahahaaahaaa! We rock!!!" In the meantime ... I'll be filling up on drinking water and shopping for bananas. ;)
How do you pronounce these words: "shone", "contribute", "distribute", and "terrain"? If you can, write out the emphasized syllable in CAPS and write it out as closely to other words as possible, ie. i say Canuck = kahNUK. These are the only ones I can think of that people have laughed at me about. If you have pointed out my supposedly weird pronunciation of other words, please feel free to point them out. :)
I got to see a friend who came in from out of town tonight, and they felt like Santong Noodles in Chinatown. I hadn't been there in awhile, and remembered vaguely that they didn't have too much vegetarian selection and that their service was kinda rude. But whatever, it didn't matter, friend wanted to go, and maybe things would be different this time. Round 1 Mean Lady Cashier (MLC): What do you want?
Me: I'm a vegetarian, do you have some dry noodles that are vegetarian?
MLC: Yes, this one is.
Me: Does it have vegetables on top?
MLC: Yes. I pay. I sit down, and the food comes out. I should've taken a picture of it, but I must have been too stunned. It was a big bowl of noodles with sesame sauce, but ... with just 5 measly pieces of cabbage on it, about 2 cm in diameter each, that looked like someone thought it'd be too much trouble to get a knife out to cut it, and instead tore them by hand and threw them onto the noodles. Fine. Well, I thought I'd get some actual vegetable intake rather than just have 99.9% carbs for dinner, so I asked if maybe there were some ready-made cold dishes I could get. Round 2 MLC: Yeah?
Me: Do you have any vegetarian cold dishes?
MLC: Well, they have garlic in them. (Some Buddhist vegetarians don't eat garlic.)
Me: That's fine, I eat garlic.
MLC: Well then everything you see in this fridge is vegetarian.
Me (eyeing a beef dish right in front of my face at eye level): But um, isn't this beef right here?
MLC: Look you said you eat garlic so what's the problem? ------------ I will admit, the quality of the actual noodles is good, which is probably why everyone I know (non-vegetarian) loves to go back to eat there. Hey, I'm not asking for high-class VIP service. C'mon, it's Chinatown. But serving me a dish with a poor excuse for vegetables and being short with me isn't really going to make me want to come back. Well, I guess I'm glad to have gotten reminded why I don't go on a regular basis. Chinatown Boycott #1 was at Chinese Cafe, also very rude when I asked a vegetarian-related question.
After reading Rose's music list entry, I wanted to tell everyone about my first gift of 2008. I was the lucky recipient of a great mix CD that introduced me to a lot of stuff I hadn't heard before. This is definitely a CD I can listen to start to finish and have on repeat for a LONG time. Bonus: an included track listing with song and artist names and even track lengths! Thanks so much, T! :) 1. The Way I Am - Ingrid Michaelson
2. 1234 - Feist
3. Anyone Else But You - The Moldy Peaches
4. Beautiful Girls - Sean Kingston
5. Somewhere Over The Rainbow / What a Wonderful World - Israel Kamakawiwo'ole
6. I'm Yours - Jason Mraz
7. They Can't Take That Away From Me - Ella Fitzgerald & Louis Armstrong
8. Dancing in the Moonlight - Studio Group
9. First Day of My Life - Bright Eyes
10. Lullaby - Dixie Chicks
11. Upside Down - Jack Johnson
12. In My Life - The Beatles
13. First Time - Lifehouse
14. Young Folks - Peter Bjorn and John
15. Into the Ocean - Blue October
16. Thunder - Boys Like Girls
17. Hero-Heroine - Boys Like Girls
18. Say It Ain't So - Weezer
19. Disparate Thoughts - Matt Harding
20. World Spins Madly On - The Weepies
21. Gotta Have You - The Weepies Considering my increasing distaste for what's on the radio these days (proportional to my old geezerness?), I'm glad I have friends who can expose me to new stuff. Funny tidbit: someone had JUST told me about "The Way I Am" by Ingrid Michaelson a few weeks ago, I totally fell in love with it, and now T has it as song #1 on a mix CD for me. The universe sure knows how to freak me out (in a good way). What's good on your playlist these days?
My best friends at the moment are: Robitussin, copious quantities of warm water, layers of clothing, and anything that will allow me to lay horizontally. Energy levels are OK, and I sound like a frog, hahaha. Looking forward to a better New Year's!
[ me on the phone with my DSL provider, regarding repeated dropped signals for long periods of time ] Me: Yeah, so my internet's actually working NOW, but for example, last night I couldn't connect yet AGAIN, even after the technician came by and supposedly fixed the problem.
Nasal-voiced DSL Guy: Well, I'm looking at our connectivity reports last night ma'am, and there was a shortage last night.
Me (tired of them giving me the runaround): Shortage? What kind of shortage? Like, a power shortage? Shortage to what?
NVDG: Well, it could be a power shortage, or a variety of other calamities.
Me: Did you just say "calamities"? What sort of "calamities"?
NVDG: Well, you know, like ice storms.
Me (thinking to self - what a tard!): Ice storms?! You DO realize I live in Houston, Texas, right?!
NVDG: Well, not necessarily, I didn't mean ice storms, um ... [ starts laughing nervously ] [ chatting online with friend who'd had a terrible day ] Me (4:20:05 PM): but now i know
Me (4:20:10 PM): and knowing is half the battle
Me (4:20:19 PM): "GI JOEEEEE AMERICAN HEROOOO"
Friend Who'd Had Terrible Day (4:20:22 PM): GI HAHHHHHHH
Me (4:20:27 PM): hahahahahah
Me (4:20:33 PM): were we on the same wavelength there?
FWHTD (4:20:36 PM): omg.. maniacal laughter caro
FWHTD (4:20:49 PM): i have just had a day, that felt good
Me (4:20:57 PM): kekekekekekkee [ Online chat with friend who had an um, interesting link to share. Click thru at your own risk! ] Friend With Interesting Link to Share (3:32:15 PM): if you need to blow four minutes for something really stupid (or just read the title): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L-asA8s0c4A
Me (3:49:56 PM): i'm at work, and i've clicked thru
Me (3:50:03 PM): and i'm glad that i had the volume turned WAY DOWN LOW
FWILtS (3:50:11 PM): oooh
FWILtS (3:50:13 PM): sorry
Me (3:50:18 PM): i can't hear wha't s going on and i'm not sure that i want to hahaha
Me (3:50:26 PM): hahaha no
Me (3:50:30 PM): tis ok
FWILtS (3:50:30 PM): don't bother
Me (3:50:50 PM): i'm going to close the window now, as the queens or kings are engaged in a 69 position
Me (3:51:00 PM): and in slow mo
FWILtS (3:51:04 PM): right
FWILtS (3:51:33 PM): well, i gotta make sure to do nsfw next time, so that's completely my bad Comic relief has been much appreciated during this high-stress week. Thanks to Chef Hugh and the gang for some super-appreciated social as well as culinary pleasantries: 
That's right, Korean BBQ at home, foo! (I am SO going to buy that attachment for the gas burner)
With Chef Hugh's homemade soft tofu dessert with real ginger syrup.
I saw these little orange wheely things at Walmart. There was only Spanish labelling indicating what it was. I thought it was candy. I was hungry. I picked one up and put it in my mouth ... 
Yuck. I think it was pasta! :(
Apologies to Cindy for the violation of the cuteness of her stuffed bears when we went over to her place the other night. Hahah okay fine, I'm not THAT sorry. :) Click through for the more "risqué" pics. Disclaimer: by clicking through, you certify that you are over 18. May not be work safe ... 
Oh, and I just had to pose with Crystal's cool new camera. It's PINK! 
Click through to lastminute.com and click on the link in the upper right-hand corner where it says, "The boss is watching - look busy". Pure evil genius!!!! HAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!
Please take a look and sign if you can. The petition's intro is quite thorough and describes how I feel pretty accurately: In recent decades, China's effort in trying to make Chinese easier for both her youth and foreigners resulted in this push of Simplified Chinese. Simplified Chinese, although convenient, fails to incorporate meaning into its characters. Many words of same phonetic sounds are replaced by a single character that possesses the same sound but lacks in meaning. UN's action to "unify" the Chinese characters and recognize ONLY Simplified Chinese will have devastating impact upon the Chinese language, culture, history. The world is already getting stupider and stupider. Can we try to slow things down a little bit here?
Quote of the day: "He's in-in-incompetent ... I mean, impotent."
Sometimes, the best course of action to take is none at all.
@ Abercrombie & Fitch Nov 2006.
This was my second funeral ever, the first being about 13 years ago. I've had people in my life pass away, but I was unable to attend those funerals. I have yet to lose someone very close to me, and I know my day will come, and I know that no amount of mental preparation nor experience by proxy can really prepare me for it ... these are just some thoughts regurgitated out into digital format, since I've been thinking a lot about various things since attending the funeral. The Logical Write-Up They say people only get together for weddings and funerals, so I started to draw some parallels between the two. Both are considered once-in-a-lifetime events that friends and family try to attend if they can. Both require some advance arrangement in terms of finding a location, planning the number of guests who will attend, figuring out who will be making speeches. Money / gifts are exchanged, though in the Chinese tradition, money is given in red envelopes for happy events (ie. weddings) while white envelopes are used for unfortunate events (ie. funerals). Both can have receptions, and thus be social events. Both are celebrations in a way - weddings obviously celebrate the love and happiness of two people and their futures together, while funerals could be described as a celebration of the life of the deceased and wishing them well in their next destination. People cry at both. (I feel like I've just written a segment for Wikipedia. And I know it looks like I have no feelings and could possibly be a heartless robot in human form. Please read on.) The Emotional Write-Up We arrived at the funeral site an hour early. Our friends, the children of the deceased, were already there getting ready for everything. We said hello, hugged, and asked if we could help with anything. They said they had things under control, and introduced us to a few relatives. I just didn't know what to do. It just felt wrong for me to socialize in such a setting, and I just had to leave the area, so we went walking around the funeral grounds until it was time to start. I felt like if I had stayed there, I would have started crying, the emotional tension was so thick, with everyone either already crying or on the verge of doing so. I was pretty determined to not cry. It is, after all, one of the Buddhist things to do, as a show of compassion and understanding for the deceased, detaching from our relatively selfish need to have them stay here with us, so their spirit can find their way to the next stop on their journey. And then there's the logical side of it; if one person starts bawling, then there's a sort of domino effect and then it just kinda gets out of control. Walking around the funeral area was a bit better, but I got a bit depressed reading the tombstones. Doing some math, we found children buried alongside their parents. Young men who had been killed in war. Poems penned by lovers left behind. The saddest part was seeing a little baby's area of the burial grounds. I'm glad I had company; we talked about the inevitability of birth, aging, illness, and death, and reflected on our own impermanence. But no amount of psyching-up or logical discussion could prevent me from tearing up when our friends had to go up and basically give a toast (another wedding parallel) to their father's life and legacy. To regale the audience with stories of the fond, fond memories. It hit me hard. Their dad is about my dad's age. Would I be able to stand up and speak with such poise if it were me in their position? Would I be able to recall minutiae that I did not think significant until death tore that loved one away, making every little detail suddenly significant because those memories would be all I had left? Would grudges fall away? And why do I still have stupid grudges when life is too short to begin with and we don't ever have time to tell each other we love one another? Am I waiting until death separates us to forgive the past? If so, why?! I was asked to help with photography so that the relatives overseas who could not attend could see the proceedings. I was relieved that I could help in some physical way, yet this was a challenge to me as well. Normally (say, at a wedding), I would be up in yo' face, snapping away, shooting away relentlessly in search of a few good shots. That day, I felt inhibited (unfathomable, I know). Suddenly it felt wrong to be up and about when everyone was trying to be quiet and still. The only thing that slapped me back to reality was the reason for the photography: the relatives. (Now it looks like I've got multiple personality disorder. Sigh.) We were invited to a lunch after the funeral ceremonies, and I was afraid to laugh until there was some sign that laughing would be okay from our friends. (Incidentally, that sign came in the form of, "[Insert name of new friend], this is Caroline. You know that rap video I sent you? This is her." New Friend: "I THOUGHT you looked familiar somehow!!" How can you NOT break out into a smile with THAT kind of introduction?!) And so I'm left with this: to this day, I am still unsure as to how to help when a friend has lost someone. Should I make them laugh? Try to cheer them up? Try to have them open up and talk about the one they have lost? Avoid the topic? I feel like I already have a penchant for saying the wrong thing at the wrong time, so I feel extra hesitant in such situations to open my mouth at all. The only thing I know is this: T, C, and S, you have always been an example that I've wanted to follow in how you interact with and treat your family, always sticking together, through thick and thin; and then always being utterly selfless and considerate towards not just your family members, but to everyone around you. You are one of the strongest examples I've encountered that makes me strive to be a better daughter and sister. This period of time isn't going to be easy, and I hope you'll reach out for support if you need an extra ear / hand / shoulder ...
I would rather eat rocks than buy anything at Best Buy. I've developed a cough. No cold symptoms, just a cough. I forget that most mothers don't work on Mother's Day, which is why I can still run around and get her real present ready today (she has no idea). Just got back from a one-day trip to Dallas for a funeral. It's hard not to cry when your friends (children of the deceased) are crying while recounting the happy memories. Reformatting my computer solved a bunch of little problems I'd tolerated for the last 3 years, including:
- external volume mute button: if I unmuted the laptop, then hit the increase volume button (also external), it'd mute again. So I'd have to hit "unmute" AGAIN, before I could use the increase volume button.
- I tried out this notebook utility that came with my computer called "battery calibration". Now, it actually gives me at least a few minutes after warning me before shutting down when the power is low. Before, it would go, "Better plug in now" and then shut down immediately.
- scrolling with the touchpad is much more consistent, whereas before it would just stop working sometimes. Strangely I'd read that you have to install a generic Synaptics driver to get hardware scrolling working in Firefox.
- the built-in wireless had been starting to crap out, so I'd bought an external wireless adapter. After reformatting, the built-in works fine. Will add to the list as I find them. Good grief, should've done this sooner. Off to finish off our gift to my mom!
This sucks. As does this. The bro (who sent me the first story about baseball player Choo) and I were discussing how in smaller cities, the backlash against Asians would be worse than in bigger, more diverse cities. Let's take a look here, using Los Angeles and Houston for comparison since they are relatively chock-full of Asians. Population numbers as of 2000 census:
Blacksburg, Virginia: 39,573
Cary, Illinois: 15,531
Los Angeles, California: 3,694,820
Houston, Texas: 1,953,631 Oh, and for those who read my site anywhere other than the mothersite, I was out of town for a few days and only posted to ihatepink.com while I was away. So to get your mini-pic-fix, visit the mothersite! :)
I was celebrating the finishing of my taxes, you know with TaxAct.com and all ... oops, did I just say that out loud ... And then, I was sent this link to the blog of a Virginia Tech professor, which got me catching up on the day's big news, and now ... I feel crummy. I don't dare watch any of the videos, because I know I would start crying. @#$% ...
The other night I saw this vehicle while driving home. 
I mean, I KNOW "everything is bigger in Texas", but the mpg on that monster is probably tiny. Compare the height of this thing to the car beside it, which I think is an SUV ... Also, the other day at my friendly neighborhood King Dollar store, I saw this: 
They even had one for kids to thug out in. For just a buck! Ah, 2 things I could've used in my rap video. :) Voting ends 11:59:59pm PT April 8th, 1.5 days left!
Have you ever been so tired that you have no brain? That time for me is now. Good night.
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| Mar 10, 2007 | 11:05 AM |
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| Delivered |
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| Houston, TX |
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| Delivery exception |
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| HOUSTON, TX |
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| Delivered to address other than recipient |
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| Mar 8, 2007 | 7:51 AM |
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| Delivery exception |
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| HOUSTON, TX |
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| Customer not available or business closed |
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| At local FedEx facility |
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| HOUSTON, TX |
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| | 12:35 AM |
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| Departed FedEx location |
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| HUTCHINS, TX |
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| This is especially puzzling, since I *WAS* home at 11:05am. :( And I kid you not, at the very beginning of the tracking, the FedEx website claimed: "Loaded on to trailer, SAN DIEGO, CA" I'm imagining sweaty hulking men loading stuff onto the back of a trailer. That statement was later mysteriously deleted. Now to call FedEx.
I just completed a weekend of required acupuncture continuing education. Oof. I never knew that sitting on my behind for 10 hours straight could be so draining, but it is. There were both Chinese and English tracks, and I took the English track since there were more interesting topics being taught. We are required to take one hour of ethics (where we were privileged to have a professor from Baylor College of Medicine come speak to us), where both students from the Chinese and English tracks were sitting all together. That was the only class where we were mixed with the Chinese track group, and these are my observations about cell phone etiquette during that one hour. Good: cell phone is turned off, or is on silent or vibrate mode.
Bad: the cell phone is left on.
Bad: multiple cell phones go off during the class because owners didn't take a hint when people were annoyed by previous offenders.
Bad: a cell phone is left on, and the owner leaves to use the restroom, and then someone calls the phone. Repeatedly.
Worst: a cell phone is left on, rings, and owner answers. LOUDLY. I would love to be all proud of my people and stuff but ... I'm afraid in the arena of cell phone etiquette, we generally suck. At the temple a couple weeks back, it was packed for Chinese New Year. There were TWO pleas made by the emcee for people to please turn off their cell phones. Yet multiple phones still went off, some even playing polyphonic renditions of rap songs - all in the middle of the temple service. Niiiice. Why do people think they are immune to this? Do they think, "Oh, I'll leave it on, since no one is going to call me"? To the people who need to answer the phone during situations where answering would be disruptive (and there are many), please, it really is very simple: turn your phone to silent or vibrate, take note when someone is calling you, leave the area, then either answer if you are in time or call the person back. What is so hard about this? Another etiquette faux-pas encountered at the continuing education: I was reminded how much I despise talking to someone (up until now, always a male) who CANNOT MAKE EYE CONTACT (as in, YO, UP HERE, ON MY FACE, YOU FOOL) when talking to me. No, I don't find it flattering that you have your eyes "on the prize" ... especially when there's not much of a prize there to begin with. And if I'm already freaked out by your overtly oozing sleaziness (like I have felt before), I'm not going to be much inclined to give you a hug. Read the body language please and see why I am standing more than an arm's length away with back tensed and all hair on end. Do NOT approach me and make physical contact. Not sure if other girls feel the same way, since I'm pretty old-school, but this is how I operate. Hokey dokes. End of rant. Class dismissed.
I didn't know that our local HEB grocery store was so ... ahead of the times. 
1) Set dial to the 6-minute mark, because you want crunchy toast, and according to the picture, that is the crunchiest toast setting.
2) Forget to set dial to "Toast", leaving it on the settings from that cheese stick late-night snack the other night.
3) Stupidity © me.
An approximation of my thought process while the toast was on fire: omg it's on fire but the lack of oxygen should probably make it stop by itself hmm should take a pic before it goes out ok unplug the thing dousing with water in there would probably be bad oh crap the fire alarm is going off damn it's hella loud shut up how do i get it to stop i can't pull the cover off yargh ahh hey it's still burning my theory was not correct i should try to take it out of there but i only have wooden chopsticks won't those get set on fire too if i go in there with them oh well i'll be really fast ok here goes omg omg shut up fire alarm boosh ok now i'm safe. whew.
... has come to me recently by way of Thi, Shilpi, and Amit. Thank you guys. Where there was an intangible, unexplainable void is now a ray of hope that is shining in and filling me, which sounds cliché but ... it truly is hard to put into words what I feel right now.
Day twelve. Mrs. Thumbhead gets some more stuff with which to torture Mr. Thumbhead. ( YouTube link :: WMV file, 49 secs, 2.4 MB)
Merry Xmas, all. :)
The Eighth Day. Thumbhead rocks out, pre-iPod style.
(or download the WMV here, 51 secs, 2.1 MB)
----- I don't like shopping, and shopping during the holidays is just absurd. Though I'm only buying gifts for the immediate fam this year, it's still pretty stressful. I was at the Galleria this weekend and it was insane. Don't EVEN get me started about Walmart. I'm trying to hold off on getting me another camera until after Christmas, or even after New Year's. Place your bets now, folks - can I do it?!
(or download the WMV file here, 1min
2secs, 2.7MB) ------ This sharpie marker is a challenge to wash off completely.
There is a slight delay in the posting of tonight's segment due to er, technical difficulties, if you will.
(or download the WMV file here, 1min 32secs, 5.6 MB) -------- I can never arrive and leave Walmart in less than 15 minutes. I'm always thwarted by trying to find parking or waiting in long-azz checkout lines. Well, today I had it all planned out. Get there, go get my soymilk, go get two photos printed, check out AT the photo center because SURELY no one would be as smart as me and do that, and leave. Could I execute this on at Walmart on a weekend? [dun dun dun dunnnnnn] Got to the parking lot. Parked in the first spot I saw, start timing. Walked briskly into the store. Dammit, couldn't find closer parking, 3 mins already. Beeline for the soymilk (2 mins). What, where's the soymilk at? It was HERE last time ... oh THERE it is (1.5 mins)! I confidently headed for the photo center (1 min) ... this shouldn't take more than 3 mins and then I'm outta here! There was a lady already at the instant photo printout station, selecting photos. I helped her complete the checkout process - oh noooo - FORTY-ONE PHOTOS!!!! Exasperation! Fine. So I waited, cursing all the while to myself. At least I was able to place my order while her photos were printing ("PRINT FASTER DAMMIT!!!!" as if visualizing this would speed up the per-print time). Her order took like 7 mins. OK. "Gimme my photos you stupid machine ... I already placed my order ... what's taking so long?!" I wanted to bang on the machine but restrained myself. Nope, there's a 1 minute waiting time so that people's orders don't get mixed up. Oh how thoughtful. But not on this day when I was in a rush to get outta there! Checkout. Three items (I picked up some batteries while waiting for the lady and they were right there in front of my face), I got my cash out to speed things up. She scanned item one - beep, scanned item two - beep, scanned item three (the photos) - no worky, scanned item three again, nope, scanned it again, still no luck, keyed in the code, code invalid, keyed it in again more carefully, nope, scanned it again while waving the barcode scanner around at different distances and angles - beep. 4 mins. AUGGGHHH! Walking (almost running) back out. Darned slow people on their carts walking so slowly, soaking in all the Xmas marketing. Almost got run over by an old lady and her shopping cart by darting out from between the displays too fast. Made it back out to my car in 4 mins probably. Driving to destination. OK slowpokes outta my wayyyyyyyyyy ... got there just in time. Whew. Too stressful though. Will never do Walmart-on-a-limited-time-schedule again. Ugh. Cuz this was Walmart, the Two Weekends before Xmas edition. Yuck. PS - "ISO HI" mode on my Canon SD600 is gross. SO noisy.
OK. In order to avoid having tons of Mr. Thumbheads screeching at you all at once, I'm succumbing to YouTube for playback here. But you may download my lovely file here if you wish. (WMV, 4.3 MB, 1min 10secs) And I KNOW you didn't miss Days One and Two. :) Heading out to a "company" party, so I'm posting this a little earlier today. Seems like this weekend is an unofficial national company party weekend. :P
( download the WMV, 2.8MB, 44 secs) ------ Hey, geek feedback question: are the videos starting automatically when you load up your page? Cuz I don't want them to. I tried to turn "Autostart" off so I can post multiple videos on here without having them all come up screeching, "ON THE NTH DAY OF XMAS MY TRUE LOVE GAVE TO MEEEEE!!!!" in nonharmonious rounds. Somehow I don't think that would go over well with co-workers of my working readers ... er, I don't think it could benefit anyone, really. Autostart was successfully suppressed in my FireFox 2 and IE 6, and I'm on WinXP Home. Please post your OS and browser version and let me know! Just doing my part to prevent deafness and tinnitus (aka ringing in the ears) before you all come running to me for acupuncture treatment. :) Update: succumbing to YouTube here.
(or download the WMV here, 50 secs, 3.3 MB)
------ Now for some real holiday goodness: Me: Your mom told me she was renewing her vows after 50 years of marriage, and that you kids were footing the bill for everything! How sweet and generous of you guys!
Daughter: Oh, it's really very little compared to how much they've given us.
Me: *Snif!* Stuff like this truly warms me from the inside out. Update: Succumbing to YouTube here.
- When someone says something that is just totally ridiculous because they are clearly underinformed and thus making incorrect basic assumptions, but doesn't let you debate with them or explain anything at all, just repeating the same blatant BS over and over to you, and then swings a "I was once a Mensa* editor for xx years" at you like that means anything. Yeah, he's probably really smart, but that doesn't mean he knows EVERYTHING and is right about EVERYTHING ...
- When you're hanging out with friends and a guy amongst them whom you hardly know takes excessive pictures of you thinking you're not looking. You already get the vibe that he's a closet perv, and during the course of hanging out you see him blatantly taking pictures of another dude's girlfriend's cleavage hoping that people are too drunk to notice. He continues to snap picture after picture of you ...**
* Before I knew what Mensa was, and heard the word, I thought, "What a dumb name for a club. It sounds like 'menses'. Geez." ** I was so creeped out I didn't even WANT to take ANY pictures all night. Ew.
I'm renewing my vehicle registration online. Here's a rundown of the fees: WINDSHIELD STICKER 58.50 REG FEE-DPS 1.00 REFLECTORIZATION FEE 0.30 CNTY ROAD BRIDGE ADD-ON FEE 10.00 AUTOMATION FEE (LARGE CNTY) 1.00 MAIL IN FEE 1.00 SERVICE FEE (NON-REFUNDABLE) 2.00 ---- I mean I think I understand all the fees. But a "Reflectorization Fee" for 30 cents? I'm imagining someone spraying down the sticker for 1 second with something called "reflectorizer" ...
There is the rare occasion in which someone (always male) walks into our clinic and promptly walks back out before I can talk to him. I've learned that these are people who are seeking the services of our neighbors next door at the "spa" and have accidentally stepped into the wrong place. Today I had one come in, realize he was in the wrong place, but try to cover it up (of course I didn't realize it until afterwards): Me: Hi, can I help you? Spa customer: Uhhh ... is this a clinic? Me: Yes, it is. SC: Ummm ... what kind of clinic is this? Me: It's an acupuncture clinic. SC: Errr ... what's ... acupuncture? Me: Oh, it's a natural method of healing where we use very fine needles on the body. SC: Is ... it ... therapy? Me (slightly confused, but whatever): Physical therapy? Yes it is. SC: Let me get a business card. Patient leaves, and makes a beeline for next door. (I can always tell when they have customers because you have to ring the doorbell before they let you in, and the doorbell chime is really loud and sounds like the clock has happened upon the hour, identical to the clock tower's song at UT Austin.)
It seems weird to me that a dude who has the guts to go to a "spa" in broad daylight can at the same time be ashamed and embarrassed to have inadvertently stumbled into the wrong establishment. But what do I know.
Does anyone else find this disturbing? Or am I just an old fuddy-duddy? 
http://nextgencode.com/I suppose it's against my whole fibre that people can just have stuff ... without doing anything. I don't have a thing against rich people, no, not at all - they had to work their tails off at one point to get where they are now. To me it's just Newton's 3rd Law of Motion ("for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction"), which can translate into the karmic "what goes around, comes around". If you don't put any effort into something, how can you get something out of it? Companies like these target every human's desire to have something without lifting a finger. People want things - NOW, if not yesterday - and don't want to have to sacrifice any part of their comfort to do so. I'd like to point out how one of the staff members' photos is really blurry, and that under "NoveltyGene", you can choose "Risky, Risker, and Xtreme". In addition to these small blunders, none of the products are currently available. Is this a serious website, or just a hoax? Also: yay Taiwan for making glow-in-the-dark pigs!
So I just stepped in the door, it's 3am, and there's a pile of mail on my counter (thanks, M!), including a New York Pizzeria ad (and there's a location right by my apartment!!! YES!!!!). For some WEIRD-azz reason, a larger-than-my-waist-circumference pizza with tons o' stuff on it sounds GREAT right NOW. Sounds like a dinner plan tomorrow (today). Happy Hour is Mon Thurs Fri 4-7p. I'll be hunting for people who are free and willing to join me in an unashamedly gargantuan carbohydrate pig-out feast.
Scene: at an herbal shop here in Taiwan, telling the shop owner what herbs I wanted to make a formula for a friend. I was there with Annie, who translated for me the herbal shop owner's Taiwanese. (I only know Mandarin Chinese.)
Herbal Shop Owner (HSO) (looking over the list of herbs): OK. Please write down your name and number here for accounting purposes.
Me (a little hesitant): Uh, OK.
HSO (looking me over): I have a nephew who lives in Tennessee who is looking for a wife. You're speaking English with your friend here ... you're from the States, right? How old are you?
Me (shocked and unable to respond properly): Err ... I'm 28 ... and um ... well, I live in Texas, and Tennessee is rather far from Texas, sir.
HSO: But it's in the United States, and that's where he is.
Me: Well, the United States is pretty big, sir - see, if this is the U.S. (drawing a big circle in the air), then Tennessee is here, and Texas is here.
HSO: Ah ... so it's like mainland China?
Me: Yes, sort of like that, yes sir.
HSO: Well, he's looking for a girl who's tall and skinny like you.
Me: Uh, well, uh, haha, well sir, I know I'm kinda skinny, but I'm definitely not tall.
HSO: Sure you are! You're taller than I am! (He steps around the counter to stand beside me, and indeed I am taller than him by like 1 cm.) My nephew is like 10 cm taller than me. And he's a [insert profession here, I can't remember what it was]. He is having a hard time finding a girlfriend over there.
Me (just trying to think of things to say ... and just wanting my herbs so I can get out of here!): Oh well sir, um, I'm glad you think I'm worthy. (What the hell was I thinking?!)
HSO: You guys would be great together. I can give you his contact information, and you two can be friends.
Me: Oh, no thank you sir, that's okay. Well, thanks for the herbs (FINALLY!!), bye!
HSO (as we're literally running out the door, shouting after us): Hey!! He makes 400,000 a month!!!
Me (in English): Girl, I'm feeling weak. Can I get a warm drink somewhere?
Alex (also in English): Sure, um, hmm, they'll have 'em at a 7-11. But, I don't know where they are around here ...
Me (in Chinese to some random people): Excuse me, do you know if there's a 7-11 around here somewhere? (The key part of the blooper here is that I said "7-11" in Chinese as well, like pronouncing the individual numbers, "qi1 shi2 yi1")
Random people (in Chinese): What?
Me (louder, trying to pronounce more clearly, in Chinese): Is there a 7-11 around here? A 7-11? (How are they not understanding such simple Chinese?! My Chinese isn't THAT bad!!)
Random people (with totally confused looks on their faces): Hunh?
Alex (intervening): Oh, she means a Seven-Eleven (pronouncing 7-11 in English).
Random people: OHHHHHHH there's one right over there.
=====
Alex: They call them just Seven-Elevens here, or people even just call them "Seven"s. For example, "Where's the Seven?"
Me (stunned): OK. I feel stupid. There I was almost shouting "7-11" at them in Chinese like they were retards.
[ Chinese website (cuter) ] [ N. American website ]
=====
Onto my mission for today - I want to get my stuff all moved over to my uncle's place, somewhat slightly closer to the "action". My goal is to get there without fainting. Feeling much better though. Onwards with my strict Super Supau diet!
There are 3 more things on my to-do list tonight before I can hit the sack, and I can't tell what one of them is (curse my chickenscratch!). And at this point I don't care. The sandman beckons. Oh how heavy my eyelids are getting ... Almost there. Alllllmost there!!!!!! Thanks to everyone who helped relieve a LOT of the impending stress today.
Hey, Hello Kitty fans! (I know you're out there!) ;)  (all pics from EVA Air website) EVA Air has a Hello Kitty jet! And they're on version 2 - not being a hardcore Kitty fan, I wasn't aware there was a version 1!  The website is only in Chinese and Japanese. So my question is: can you actually book a flight based on wanting to be aboard the Hello Kitty jet? Just saw this blurb in English: "The colorful
special-edition EVA Airbus 330-200 sequel is painted nose-to-tail with
super-sized Hello Kitty characters cast as airline crew and staff.
"A beaming Kitty in an EVA cabin-attendant uniform welcomes
passengers onboard while Daniel confidently stands next the cockpit
outfitted as one of the airline’s captains, ready to whisk families on
merry flights to fun-filled destinations. The perky Tippy bear wears a
chef’s hat and holds a spoon, prepared to create Evergreen Sky
Catering’s gourmet treats. Teddy and Joy as maintenance professionals
ensure that the Kitty Jet is in tip-top shape. Tim, also in a
maintenance uniform, makes sure nothing has been overlooked from the
right wing while Tammy as a cabin attendant exudes friendly composure
from the left wing. Fiffy, Cathy the rabbit and Rory the squirrel are
all colorfully clothed as EVA ground staff, escorting passengers
onboard the Kitty Jet Version 2. 
(I'm trying to figure out who's who here ... so uh, who's Fiffy?)
"... The cabin interior is a
fantasy land with sweet Hello Kitty paintings on the walls, and
friendly flight attendants wearing Hello Kitty ribbons in their hair
and Hello Kitty aprons. The Hello Kitty fun starts at check-in and
lasts until luggage is claimed just as it does on EVA’s original Kitty
Jet. Passengers get pink Hello
Kitty boarding passes and luggage tags. Service onboard is accompanied
by Hello Kitty accessories. Menu choices include Hello Kitty meals
with special Kitty ice cream, and passengers have access to exclusive
EVA Hello Kitty duty-free shopping. " I want to ride this jet and take pictures of EVERYTHING. :)
Any more of this last-minute shiznit and I'm gonna explode. This is ridiculous!
ARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I AM NEVER DRINKING COFFEE AT NIGHT AGAINNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! GRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !@#$!@%!%@#$^#$^#$&!$%@#$%$%^*%(%$^#$@%#$%!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Having too much random fun with the camera. Abercrombie borrowed from Alex. Inspired by Frances. Cap from the bro (new pic, btw).  My captions would be: "Darn it, when is that person gonna get off the toilet?! I gotta go!!" "Plotting world domination is always better with a teddy bear." Hmm, can't think of any others at the moment. Make me laugh. Afterthought: I just realized that the hoodie says "92", which was a year in which my life changed course in many ways. I moved to a new city, a new country. I abruptly went from junior high to senior high. I also went from having friends to having none, from being generally liked to being the target of jeering, from being happy-go-lucky to having daily peer pressure flung at me like dung from all directions. It is so true, that what doesn't kill you, only serves to make you stronger. And I know many had it worse than me. And they are some of the strongest people I know. [ / moody afterthought ] Now make me laugh!!
While reading up on Ted Haggard today, I couldn't help but notice that he looked like SOMEBODY ... Finally I put my finger on it. "Stiffler" from American Pie. Duh!! 
 I've always been more a messy person, but when I'm in a rut, my apartment's disorder also increases proportionally, if not exponentially. Yup, got lots to clean up here. 'Tis all good though; having some Hot 'n Sour Soup for the Soul ALWAYS soothes my nerves. :) Love ya, Petah! And while we're on the topic of being in a rut, this put a smile on my face:
Part of the Blogosphere HugMeDay effort. (Saw it here.) :)
My short temper has always been one of my trademark qualities. I'm not proud of it, and have been working on it for the last 14 years, so it's still a work in progress.
Well, today it nearly snapped. I could feel the anger bubbling up within me like a volcano on the verge of eruption. Why? Here's the phone conversation (reminiscent of other marketing calls I got in the past) where I nearly bit someone's head off:
as the truth rang upon my ears my tears fell freely suddenly at my weakest yet also at my strongest my wings are damaged but with courage i can fly. ... Thank you for letting the truth ring. --- Happy birthday, bro. Sorry, no crazy group drunk dialing like last year. :) I got a msg on my cell phone tonight: "Hey girl, I guess I'll have to catch you at another time since it's Saturday night and you're probably doing your wild thing." Hahahaha. Such a rep. Unfounded, I say! :) Oh yeah, an online chat conversation with my bro we had the other night:
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1:55:19 AM |
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have
you met my friend who looks like lucy liu?
http://ihatepink.com/content/binary/2006/08/31/vcbouncer.jpg |
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1:56:14 AM |
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the one on the
left? |
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1:56:26 AM |
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duh!
the one on the right is ME, you doofus! |
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1:56:40 AM |
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didn't recognize
ya, actually |
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1:56:44 AM |
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HAHAHAHAHAHAH |
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1:56:50 AM |
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never seen ya with
makeup on |
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1:56:58 AM |
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i'll
let her know.. she did my hair and makeup that night, and i borrowed her clothes
to go clubbing |
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1:57:10 AM |
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i
wear makeup only for clubbing and weddings |
Good one, Howard. :)
This past week, I've experienced several major epiphanies. I'm sure many of my peers know them already, but I guess it's better late for me than never. They're common sense and very cliché, but when they present in my face, I can't necessarily call on them to guide me in my actions. After what happened this week, I will never forget them. - Nobody's perfect. - Just because two people love each other doesn't mean they're right for each other. - The truth often hurts. - The truth shall set you free. - Doing the right thing is usually the hardest but best way to go about things. - Breakups always suck, regardless of who initiates. - Talking about it helps. A lot. - Crying helps. A lot.
I've decided that if you don't at least have a vague grasp of the facts of life by the age of 50, I'm sorry, but I can't help you.
Wish me luck. Oops, it's not tomorrow, it's ... later today. In 5 hours, in fact.
I like eating at Sweet Tomatoes. I think Souper Salad is slightly less expensive, but the oodles of variety (lotsa vegetarian variety too!) at ST and the more upscale presentation of the food and the restaurant in general make ST a nicer experience overall. And so, I was surprised to see this when getting my salad:  It didn't look vegetarian, so I wouldn't have gotten it, but isn't that just a delectably delicious name? :)
Weirdo window washer man showed up again today. And he actually spoke somewhat clearly today. Weirdo Window Washer Man: Do you need your windows cleaned for five bucks? Me: No thank you. WWWM: Are you SURE you don't need your windows cleaned for four bucks? Me [ noting immediate discrepancy in price ]: Yes. WWWM: You remember me right? Do you have my business card? Here, here's my business card. Me: Yes! No. Thanks. [ WWWM exits, and 2 seconds later I hear VIP Spa's doorbell ring as he solicits their business. Somehow I doubt that a "spa" with all of their windows blacked out would need them cleaned. ]His business card: ------------------------------------------------------
Bonded Residential, Commercial Philadelphia City of Brotherly LoveWindow Cleaning Service (Will Not Use Large Ladders) Phillips Rasbach (832) xxx-xxxx ------------------------------------------------------
I'm so confused by his card. Am I missing something and being overly mean to someone who I should be nicer to?
I. CAN'T. SLEEP. No more coffee and tea for me past 10pm. YARGHHHHH!!!!!!!
Currently in a mess of emotions and logic swirling all around me tearing at me from all directions engulfing me overwhelming me and quite frankly, tiring me out. Good night! Oh, and I had MSG for lunch and I am STILL thirsty out the wazoo. Yargh!
HAHAHAHAHAH. VIP Spa next door got busted today by a bunch of HPD sporting black bank robber masks. They came in to ask us a few questions but that was it. I didn't get to see the action because I was working in the back, but I did get to see the cops standing outside. Sorry guys, they'll be out of business temporarily. :P
I've found that I've grown more and more cynical about the world; as a child, I did not know and could never fathom that the world revolves around money (Chinese link). Upon entering working life, yes, there is stuff I have to do to make money. But what I do is small-fry compared to government and large companies, who don't just do stuff out of the goodness of their hearts. There's always some financial advantage to it, be it direct short-term return on the investment, or a long-term advertising campaign hidden under the guise of public service that will eventually net them a return later. If you have an hour and twenty minutes, watch Loose Change if you feel like thinking through different possibilities to the motives behind 9/11, the good or evil nature of human beings, the power of the media, and the power of human greed. It made me sad. Yes, I believe it is possible. When human greed is involved, the things that are possible don't surprise me anymore. Yup, I'm a cynic about the world, but somehow an optimist for the most part about individuals and myself. Can't change the world (oh, how I held those ideals so long ago!), but I can at least try to be happy in my own way in a power-hungry world.
Walmart bicycle on sale back in 1992: $89 Wimpy wire bike lock: $2 Parking bike on the sidewalk outside of work because there's no place to lock it to: $0 Someone trying to ride off with it but falling down because of the wimpy bike lock: priceless That's what you get when you try to take something that's not yours. I wish I had seen the thief wannabe in action so I could take a picture of his retarded ass. I'm just glad he didn't break any of the spokes. F***er.
Yeah, I'd known it all along, but I chose to put it in a dark, neglected corner of my mind. Now, brought out into the light, it pierces my senses in a most uncomfortable way, forming an immovable lump in my throat and a writhing pain in my gut. Now it's time to embrace it and come to grips with it. Or something mature like that. Or not, and just wail and scream and throw my teddy bears against the wall. Haha, yes, I still sleep with teddy bears. Multiple. And for the record, I'd never abuse my teddy bears, no matter what kind of emotional chaos I experience.
Yesterday I was robbed of all my evening energy by the day's events. Basically, we got scammed ... TWICE!!! ARGHHHH!!!
"You are such a talented geek!" Hahahaha.
At about 1:00am I had this terrible craving for hot 'n sour soup. And so I up and made some. I'm sorry, but I think I might just make the bestest hot 'n sour soup in the world. I am sweatin' up a storm, it was so good and peppery. Thass what I'M talkin' about! Craving FULFILLED!! I must give thanks to Chef Hugh for so kindly teaching me. But has the student surpassed the teacher (in just this one dish, of course)? Looks like I've got lunch tomorrow. Add a little leftover restaurant rice in there, and I've got hot 'n sour rice soup. For dinner, I wouldn't mind having some hot 'n sour noodle soup ... Can you tell that hot 'n sour soup is like my favoritest soup of all time? Hehe.
Testing the Read More thingy.5
This is the 2nd time one of my lesser-used e-mail accounts has been hacked into by a MySpace member for use to sign up for a MySpace ... space.
So, I decided to log in to "my" account to see what the bastard is like. This is one of the thread e-mails he has exchanged with his "homies". (Warning: Colorful language. Parental guidance suggested.)
I have the sudden urge to have very unhealthy ramen. Going to the store... NOW. Update: Actually, I totally lamed out and remembered that I had some Korean ramen-like soup condiments in the pantry. That, plus some regular noodles, plus some fresh shiitake and napa cabbage, made for some darned good almost-insta-noodle.
Man. What happened to April?! Two guys have asked for my phone number in the last 3 days. One was really drunk, and one was at the House of Pies / Guys. I'm so awesome ... NOT! How do you respond when someone asks for your digits and you don't want to give 'em out? (Today someone told me about the Rejection Hotline, which is freaking hilarious.)
I need to be more organized. I have a useable calendar thingy in my cell phone but ... how do you guys stay organized on a day-to-day basis? I just feel overwhelmed a lot of times. So far, keeping appointments is not a problem, but I feel like I have trouble staying focused on what I need to do. ( This article calls it the "interruption-driven lifestyle" ... that is SO me! I have like zero attention span.) I need some way to have a to-do list that will help me be productive and get stuff checked off. On top of all this, I also have a major problem with procrastination ... Every time I see a handheld organizer / Palm Pilot, I start drooling (partially because of the geek factor), but then I wonder if I'd be better off just upgrading to a better phone with a built-in organizer. I've never made the switch to MS Outlook. (Yes, still using Eudora.) Does switching to Outlook, with all its syncing capabilities, make overall life organization better? Or maybe I should just stick with a regular paper agenda? And the ol' keep-a-fire-under-my-butt method? What works for you?
It used to intimidate me to cook for Chef Hugh, but he has surprisingly spoken well of the home-cooked meals I've served up. My latest. [And off to imagination land we go!] ---------------- Welcome to InFusion, Houston's most delectable vegetarian fusion fine dining experience.
Your menu today:
Asian-Italian Rotini  $15.95Garden rotini with a dash of sesame oil with a spicy stir-fry of fresh shiitake mushrooms, tomatoes, and dried tofu; topped with shreds of golden-fried strips of egg*, asiago cheese*, fresh organically-grown basil, and freshly ground black pepper.
Korean Insamju $5 / glass
Ginseng rice wine.
Hot and Sour Soup $3.50
The traditional Chinese favorite with a nontraditional twist, giving it a more toasted flavor.
Oreo Cheesecake $4.50
Complete with crunchy Oreo crust.
Vietnamese French Coffee $2.50
A strong-bodied flavor tempered with a hint of amaretto.
*if you are vegan, we can substitute these for vegan options.
Mild Medium Hot
---------------- [/back from imagination land] I appreciate Hugh for helping me clear out my fridge, which is of course the only reason why he got to eat for free. :)
OK so, ahem, hypothetically speaking, how would you handle this situation? 1) Let's say that you just barely nick the rear left bumper of a car while backing out of your parking spot at your apartment complex. The nick is so minute that when you get out to check it out you can't be 100% sure if you had even nicked that other car, and see other scratches in the vicinity. You also can't be for sure because the front right bumper of your own car had previously been scratched up by your own carelessness backing out of a garage a while ago, just cuz you're a bad driver like that. ANYWAY: what would you do? 2) Let's say that for the aforementioned situation you decide to leave an anonymous note for the person under their windshield wiper blade (driver's side), reading, "Hi, I nicked your rear left bumper a few days ago, please call XXX-XXX-XXXX to resolve" and on the same day actually witness the car you'd nicked pull in and watch the driver come out. What would you do?
To clarify my last post, I suppose I wasn't really lied to, but I was maybe more bullied into doing something I didn't really want to do. Bullied into doing something that everyone thinks I'm good at but I myself am not necessarily interested in. And I can't fight back, because the person who did the bullying is among the untouchable. As in, it'd be beyond disrespect for anyone, let alone lil' ol' me, to confront them. This sort of thing irks me because I am the kind of person who rebels if I feel like I'm being forced to do something against my will, not of my own decision. It doesn't help that I've been feeling like I've been filling up my plate a bit over capacity, and that I need to simplify, simplify, simplify. I've been needing some alone time to find my inner balance again, and so the timing of this was a bit off for me. I didn't really clarify anything, but anyway, I'm gonna have to figure it out, and thanks for all the well-wishes! On a totally unrelated and more positive note, Mary J. Blige , Walmart soy milk, and TaxAct.com rock.
I really hate it when people lie to me.
Scenario: Left my bag (yes, my bag containing wallet, cell, camera, keys to apt, keys to clinic, etc.) at Tapioca House last night and they were totally closed when I realized this and drove back. Was only able to get into my apt cuz friend had 2nd set of apt keys. This morning: Armed with laptop, I was able to look up Tapioca House's phone number via ChinatownConnection.com (thank you, Shaun!!). I called before they opened and a Hispanic employee picked up. I didn't realize this and I tried communicating in English and Chinese, which resulted in getting hung up on pretty quickly. Not knowing how to say, "I lost my blue bag" in Spanish, I went to Altavista's Babelfish, and called back. "Se habla español? Perdido bolsa azul! Soy Carolina! Una chinita, Carolina!" And with that, they told me to come on over, and I got my life back. So thank you, ChinatownConnection.com and Babelfish. I need to stop stressing myself out. I'm supposed to be letting my eyebrows recover!!
Sometimes the simplest solution is the best solution.
In a fit of rage, I completely overhauled 3 weeks of work in the last 24 hours.
Now I can almost exhale.
I have just realized that when I get stressed, I take it out on ... My eyebrows. I pull at my eyebrows. The fact that I can even notice it (I am usually oblivious to details of my appearance) means it must be bad. No pictures for you!
Suddenly feeling really, really empty.
So I've gone and gotten the $19.99 SIM card replacement, and am back in action. Will have to input all of my phone numbers again ... manually ... since there is no bluetooth or infrared on this backup phone. Anyone have a bluetooth / infrared phone they can lend me so I can get the majority of my numbers back on my SIM card again without my fingers falling off? :) So I've logged into my cell phone account online and am seeing that there HAS been activity on it in the past 18 hours when I haven't been able to find it. Yet, it's not like the person with my cell phone has been making international calls (to my relief) nor extravagant calls at all even (not that it would matter all that much with free nights and weekends anyway). Of the 31 calls, 28 were to the same number, each time 1 minute long, and clumped together in 1 minute increments. I called the number, and it was some hungover sounding black dude. 1 was a 1 minute call to a rather specialized clothing store on Richmond. One call was a 4-minute call to a black dude who, when asked if he remembers any calls from last night, replied, "Girl, I went out last night, so I got alotta calls!" And 1 was a 2-minute call here to the clinic! Which baffles me. Because on our caller ID here, there is no record of such a call. So basically ... I'm piecing together an interesting picture of who has my phone right now. But the calling pattern is definitely weird (calling someone 8 times in a 20-minute time span). Sigh.
I've been at the clinic all day today, and ... somehow I have misplaced my cell phone. And no, I can't call it to locate it because I always set it to silent, without vibration, when seeing patients. It is somewhere in these 1200-some square feet, and it is really worrying me. I still have yet to dig through the trash cans to see if I dropped it in there somehow. I know I had it with me earlier today ... yargh. And you KNOW that when it turns up, I'll be kicking myself in the head for leaving it in such a stupid place. That said, if you wanna get a hold o' me ... I guess I'm limited to e-mail, checking my voice msgs periodically, and personal visits to my pad / clinic. :)
Vote now and sway the direction my life shall take after this very important
life-and-death decision! Red, or blonde (light brown, on my hair)? Reality www, right here on
iHaTePiNk.com.
So I went shopping at Walmart for a bridal shower coming up. The theme is
"Travelling / Honeymoon". The bride-to-be is a pretty conservative person, but I
thought I'd throw in a few not-so-conservative items. And of course there
was a bit o' drama in the checkout line. I happened to be browsing the
electronics section, and thought, "Hey, I can check out right here, there's no
line, yay!" And then I thought, "Hey, this is good, there's no one behind me in
line who will witness me purchasing [not-so-innocent items]!" Everything
scanned through perfectly except for [not-so-innocent item #3]. Of all things -
there was no UPC barcode on it! So the checker had to call pharmacy and ask,
"Hi, could you please get me the UPC for [not-so-innocent item #3]?" (Luckily,
it was not broadcast for the entire store to hear.) By now there was a line
forming behind me, and the lady behind me visibly saw [not-so-innocent item #3]
and made eye contact with me. She then told the checker, "Tell them to check
near [a similar not-so-innocent item]," and with much authority. She then looked
at me and said, "[Not-so-innocent item #3] was on sale last week for $5.88. The
regular price is like $9.99. You shoulda picked that stuff up last week!" I
smiled and mumbled something like, "I hope it's still the same price ...
" Hahaha. Man, if the bride-to-be is embarrassed to receive the
[not-so-innocent items], I should let her know it was kinda embarrassing to shop
for them. :D Just
so ya know, [not-so-innocent items] were cheapest at Walmart after doing some
checking up in the "Family Planning" aisles at Walgreens and CVS.
I just need to chill the f*** out and focus. I'm a scary person to be around
these days. I'm scaring myself the most.  Thank you annie for putting a smile on my face today with your
lovely e-mail complete with pictures documenting hilarious gratuitous chinglish.
She begins her e-mail with: "Are you, veggiesaurus, getting enough
protein?" (Can you say perfect lead-in line for a TV ad here??) Don't eat
all the vegetarians! Ahhhhh! 
 It's been an interesting couple of weeks. Miscellaneous February photos: my new digs, hangin' out at Silverture's second open house, trying to check out the Basquiat at the Museum of Fine Arts with Anita and failing miserably, and the usual miscellaneous retardedness.
V-day Eve I invaded Chef Hugh's space and forced him into an impromptu grocery trip ending in food, wine, bitching, coffee, Olympics on TV, and various snacks. V-day I invited Eddy over after working late and forced him to eat some very mediocre noodles in egg drop corn soup. He was polite and said it was good. And so I "celebrated" V-day by pestering my guy friends, after of course ascertaining that the affected individuals were not otherwise occupied.
----------
Real-life quotes:
Me: Are you doing anything for Valentine's Day?
Lady: Oh please, I've been married for 30 years. And I hate flowers.
----------
Same Lady: I was asked if I had to do it all over again, if I would marry the same man. I said, 'Oh yeah, in a heartbeat'. Sadly, some of my friends can't say the same thing.
I'm thrilled to know that I'm within biking distance of HEB, a 24-hr super-duper-huge Walmart, banks, and restaurants. Nice. The only thing is, all that stuff is in a swanky neigborhood, and people who live in swanky neighborhoods don't ride their bikes to run errands, so there aren't any bike racks. Ah well. No one should be jealously eyeing my ten ton Walmart special anyway. :)
Now to see if there is a library and post office nearby ... cuz then I'd really be set! :)
------------
Going off the last post: my Spidey-sense told me one of my friends was angry with me. The friend had to be ... the way I had overreacted, albeit through e-mail, but still ... I hadn't gotten any e-mail in reply since I'd sent out my e-blowup ... maybe my friend had just gotten busy but what if it was cuz they were pissed at me ... dang dang dang ... Caroline you're so stupid ...
[stops banging head against wall long enough to pick up phone and dial]
Me: Hey, um ... is this a good time? (it obviously wasn't, there was such a ruckus in the background)
Friend: Sure, go ahead.
Me: Er, okay ... are you [ahem] mad at me?
Friend: Why would I be mad at you?
Me: Uh, have you checked your e-mail recently? Like, since your e-mail to me yesterday? You saw my reply, right?
Friend: Yeah. So why would I be mad at you?
[my worry dissipates as I explain why friend should've been mad at me and friend explains how they thought nothing of it]
~Phew~
Damn oversensitive Spidey-sense! -_-
Thank goodness for getting up the guts to communicate directly. I'd be losin' sleep over this if I hadn't.
The worst thing about tuning into the love song station (there is actually a reason I'm doing this) is Hotel California and Rod Stewart. Do people remember what Rod Stewart looks like? And that many women would not consider it a turn-on if he showed up to personally sing them a song, much less dedicate one of his songs to them over the radio? If they play these guys one more time, I swear ... Auuuugh. I'm changing the station now. -------------- This is the most irritated I've been in a long while. This must be what PMS is like. I don't think I've had it this bad before. What the hell is my problem ... @$%@#$% ... friends, please slap me upside the head if I snap at you for no reason. Happy place ... where is my happy place ... oldies station with happy oldies songs ... ahhh much better ...
Gotta keep working on my patience.
---------------
My dad's funny. He heard my laptop play the Eudora new mail .wav (which I really love), and he immediately goes, "Hey, can I have that too?" He predominantly uses web mail, and unfortunately, Yahoo Messenger does not have such a pleasant sound built-in. Yes, if I reeeeeeally wanted to, I could make it work (or maybe not), but we settled on a guy singing "Yahooooooooo-oooo!" :) [ more nifty mail call .wavs ]
A recent e-mail:
"nothing much going on here today... wasn't scheduled to work, so i decided to catch up on your blogs instead of watching oprah. :)"
Wow. Elevated in rank on list-of-things-to-do-while-utterly-bored to the level of Oprah. Very flattered I am. :)
----------------
F * I * V * E MORE L O N G, AGONIZING DAYS UNTIL HIGH-SPEED INTERNET!! AUGGHHHHHHH!!!
 I've moved into my new apartment! Nothing ultra-posh, but I love it! [ Hugh bringing me late-night tea and chocolate bars ]
I'm really a simple girl. I don't need much to be happy. All I need are my laptop, my camera, a high-speed internet connection, and all related cables to attach the above components to one another. :) (Does total value of components trump the number of components and thus make me high-maintenance? Hmmm ... )
So, in pursuit of a high-speed internet connection (I'm currently on dial-up right now - gasp!) I went to Best Buy to take advantage of the DSL promotion there. The sign-up system was getting hairy on me, so I had to call on one of the Best Buy monkeys to help me out. (I say this with frustration but with some degree of endearment, as I myself was once a Best Buy monkey.)
So, not expecting too much, I hailed one of them down.
He was kinda cute. He was efficient. He actually admitted when he didn't know stuff. He knew what he was talking about when he did open his mouth. He was super patient, waiting around to make sure that I completed my order smoothly for most of the process. He went back to check for the availability of a DSL modem for me - twice - not wanting me to go home empty-handed and thus wasting my time, and finally dug the elusive thing out from somewhere for me.
Did I mention he was cute?
He walked me and my DSL modem up to the front and he checked me out himself. He asked to see my driver's license to verify my credit card info (but was there more to that? hehe). Ensuing dialogue:
Me: Thank you so much for being so patient with this whole thing.
Cute Best Buy Boy: Sure, not a problem! Um, I don't mean to be nosy, but do you know David Chen?
Me: I have an uncle named David Chen ... there's probably a billion David Chens out there, eh?
CBBB: Oh OK, never mind, it's just that there's a David Chen at my school.
Me: (Thinking, "School? Does he mean university, or ... ??" while he patiently explains all the rebate forms to me.) Well, I don't mean to be nosy, but you look really young, yet you seem to know what you're doing around here.
CBBB: Oh, I just turned 18, but I've worked here for a while now.
Me: OK. Well thanks so much, [insert name of CBBB here according to name tag].
Damn. I was exchanging flirtatious banter with an 18-year-old. YARGH!
Damn he was cute though. 
Amount of time to get my act together: < 12 hours
Amount of motivation: < nil
And so I will post a pic I took tonight that I thought was funny.
I can hear it now:
"Caroline, you're such a pansy."
"Yeah, but I'm a special pansy."
 I
am not generally hostile to anonymous posters, but I felt like shouldaddress the issue due to semi-recent and past anonymous comments
that
have made me or other posters feel uncomfortable or have just plain
pissed me off. I didn't think I had to since I figured the few people
who visit my site of their own free will would have the common sense
and maturity to just know. I mean, there is not much here to get all
fired up about ... well ... maybe except for the booty pictures, right, Syndromes? 
Charles at The Fishbowl writes:
As
a courtesy, I'd like to ask anyone commenting on this site to leave
their real name with the comment. That is, unless you're someone I've
known online for so long under an alias that I wouldn't recognise your
real name, or if you honestly (and publicly) identify with your adopted
name more than your given name.
I reserve the right to treat
anonymous comments with contempt. By its nature, a weblog is a form of
personal conversation: I can't help but disclose my own identity with
every word I write, so I ask that you have the courage of your
convictions and own up to your words as well.
He
puts it more eloquently than I ever could. I'm sure that getting an
online journal with the ability to password-protect entries would be
helpful, but even without that, these general guidelines should still
apply. With that business out of the way, thanks for continuing to read
and comment here! It's a new year, with new things for the world to
fear! (yay, I'm rhyming!) 
Lately I've been tuning in to the easy listening station
when I'm driving, and during the evening they have the "love
dedications" show. I used to be a big fan of that, in a previous life
anyway, when I still like, believed in romance and stuff. Well, I was
tuning in tonight and they were playing Maroon 5's "She Will Be Loved"
and it was a dedication from some guy to some girl! I mean, I dig the
song and all, but ... the easy listening love songs station just isn't
what it used to be. And as a dedication, the lyrics to "She Will Be
Loved" are pretty bitter ...
I love Zoe Bonet,
though. She's been around since at least I was in high school, I think.
Her voice is super soothing, her laugh is sincere, and she really
listens to and engages the people who call in to her show. The perfect
love song program host, fo' sho'. The only person I imagine could be
better would be Barry White.
Yes, I am a sucker for deep voices.
-----------
 This little Longhorn nearly froze her lil' fingers off trying to get this shot.
Good thing it was about 6:30am so no one saw this lil' lunatic running
back and forth from the car 18 times to finally be perfectly centered
in the pic (the only thing good about being up at 6:30am ... ). Yep,
it's a mini UT tower in Houston.
Sure, it's been over 2 weeks since we won the Rose Bowl, but hey, it's
been 36 years since our last outright national title. We gotta gloat a
little.
I'm super-duper excited!!!!!!!
Movin' into a new apt soon. Just found it today. Finally got off my
lazy procrastinating behind to do it and it was the first place I
checked out. Great price (1st concern), great location (2nd concern),
and big enough for me (some would call it small, but I would prefer the
term "cozy"). I'm gettin' a "cathedral ceiling" and an "accent wall"
for no extra cost! SWEEEEEEEEEEEET!
DUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUDE!!!!
SWEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEET!!!!!
Oog. I'm feeling illness creeping
up on me. I'm drinking all this water and it just goes straight to my
bladder and doesn't hydrate a thing. Suddenly the chocolate chip
cookies I made over the holidays taste good, while before I didn't care
for them. I'm a little stressed for no good reason. Well there are a
few good reasons but I'm worrying about the wrong ones. I need to rest.
Tell me how the Longhorns do. I'm not turning on the TV. I may or may not pick up my phone, so leave an amusing message for me, eh?
In no particular order.
I somehow convinced myself that I deserved some self-pampering, and it came in the form of dropping my rainy-day savings on a Rebel XT (still on its way - can't wait!).
Boy:
If you've been reading regularly, you've seen me go from the
falling-in-love stage right through to the current
whine-my-head-off-until-I-can-whine-no-mo stage. The times I shared
laughter with him will stay in my heart always as a fond memory. Love
is a creature I have yet to comprehend fully. I'm also trying to
understand myself better.
Moving out: best move I made this year
hands down, improving relationships on so many levels - with my
parents, between my parents, with my friends.
Professionally:
I've had so much support from friends 'n family, and I am truly
grateful. I also have amazing colleagues, making my work experience
excellent (ie. little / no office politics, ability to brainstorm with
each other regarding treatments / business ideas). I never thought I'd
enjoy working. I've had my share of ups and downs, but what has not
killed me will only make me stronger, and I am thankful for this. I
have learned to speak a rudimentary and crude form of Spanish to better
serve those patients who speak minimal English.
Travelling: I
didn't do too much this year in light of just dedicating myself
somewhat seriously to making my solo acupuncture venture work out. But
there was Colorado, Taiwan, Japan, Austin, Los Angeles, and Dallas.
Misc:
I learned how to play a few songs on the guitar by myself. I got to
attend some free classical music concerts because of the kindness of a
friend I met on the Internet. I performed 2 lap dances - both for girls
- and they were not entirely repulsed. I completed a 28-mi ride on my
bike. I donated acupuncture services. I survived Hurricane Rita and was
so bored / depressed I made mock video broadcasts.
Eddy introduced me to and taught me rock climbing. I got really smash
drunk a few times, and both times (that I remember?) I was in good
company who took care of me. I went on a Friendster date and she became
a friend. I dogsat really well-behaved and adorable doggies. I played
table tennis for the first time in a long time.
Here's to an
even more amazing year. Cheers! (Should one of my resolutions be
perhaps to cut down on the number of times I get wasted? Hmmm ...)
Happy New Year, all! Here's to a
year of being happy, or as one partygoer said, "to keeping that sparkle
in your eye". I'm all for that!
zzzzzzzzzzz ...
Today while driving home I was
checkin' out a couple o' dudes in their Honda S2000 (I was being
discreet ... I think). And I think they were staring back! It's
probably because they're mad jealous of my mad teeny-bop pop-song
lip-sync skillz. Holla!
OK.
What's so fun about spending hours making great-tasting but
ugly-looking cookies? Oh wait, I know - it's when after countless hours
of trial and error, you finally figure out how to make great-tasting
AND pretty cookies. (Sorry, no pics, cookies were too ugly for the
web.)
 I also managed to burn coconut today. It was simply supposed to be "toasted". Instead, I apparently set the toaster oven to "smokin'" and ruined the batch. Yargh!!!
This
had better get fun like real soon. At least I get to groove along to
Frank Sinatra while being a public menace to cookies and coconut flakes.
I had a conversation with friend the other day about the kissing-when-the-clock-strikes-twelve tradition at New Year's. I
thought about this, and it amazes me to say that I don't think I've
ever actually kissed anyone - on the lips - at New Year's. I haven't
been avoiding it, but circumstances just haven't been quite right. Last
year while living at home, my parents had me on 11pm-curfew-lockdown,
so there was no way I was at any parties, and of course wasn't around
the bf ... the year before I was in China, probably just drinkin' and
partyin', and may have kissed some people on the cheek? ...
The year before that I was either in Japan or China ... years before
that, either in CA or TX, and I don't remember ever being around the bf
when the ball dropped ... and before that, I probably thought boys were
either big brother material or just plain gross ... Yeah,
I think most of my New Year's with family have been spent sitting in
front of the tube watching the ball drop in NYC, then in Houston, and
then we're all tired and go to bed. Yah, really exciting. Not
that I'm complaining about not having someone to kiss at New Year's!
Kissing the one you love should be an everyday special event. OK, everyone can go vomit now.
 Hmm. Must be nice to be tall.
Random
events of the day: after work (and after asking for a pic with the
friendly neighborhood repair guy on stilts) , I decided to drag my
mildly depressed butt out to do some holiday preparations. I wanted to
bake some cookies, but couldn't find a mixer in the house anywhere. I
knew exactly where to gank one though -
Chef Hugh's place.
 I've been housesitting for my homeboy Hugh (Mr. Stirfry himself),
and since he's a chef, I figured he ought to have one. I raided his
kitchen, looking high and low. "Darn you Hugh, hundreds of kitchen
gadgets but NO MIXER?!" I cursed under my breath.
After about
half an hour though I struck gold and found the monster. I didn't even
know how to turn the thing on at first - this ain't no regular
household mixer. This is some industrial-strength shit, yo.
And
today I busted up my 2nd dozen eggs. I'm such a klutz. The first dozen
were dropped a few months ago while unloading from car to kitchen.
Today I went from 50mph to 0mph in 1sec and the eggs sitting in the
backseat didn't like that.
Anyhoo ... time to try mixin' up my first batch o' cookie dough. Here goes!
I pretty much hate watching TV, but while I'm eating my late dinner, I
sometimes turn on ye ol' cathode ray tube to see what's on. I watched
some Disney sitcoms for a bit, which were surprisingly amusing. (But
then again, I do have the appearance and intellect sometimes of a
seven-year-old, so perhaps this shouldn't have been a surprise.)
Flipped channels some more, figuring I should try to watch some
"grown-up" TV, and among other things, happened upon Howard Stern. He
was interviewing these 2 Penthouse playmates and asking in-depth
questions to one of them about her multiple rape experiences from her
past. And they were making fun of her and trying to be funny about it
all. That pretty much made me wanna vomit, so off went the TV, and here I am.
Had dinner with a friend whom I hadn't seen in awhile and caught up on life.
Before
we parted ways, she said that I wasn't myself anymore, that I wasn't
laughing as much as before, that it was as if I was growing up.
Trust me, if this is what growing up is about, if I didn't have to, I wouldn't.
Today's a day where I finally feel like crying.
Damn my melodramatic journal posts.
"It's always great to hear from you.
I feel like you are one of my own children (even though you are now an adult). Love, [name of my high school French teacher]"
How
could an e-mail like this NOT make my day? It warmed my heart from its
very core, at a time when all I thought was left of it was ice, or even
worse, nothing.
Send a sweet "just-thinkin'-about-you" e-mail to a teacher today.
sail your sea
meet your storm
all I want is to be your harbor
the light in me
will guide you home
all I want is to be your harbor
- Vienna Teng, Harbor
I wanted to be that for him. And I hoped he'd be that for me. Another song comes to mind ...
...
Lay down with me, tell me no lies
Just hold me close, don’t patronize - don’t patronize me
'Cause I can’t make you love me if you don’t
You can’t make your heart feel something it won’t
Here in the dark, in these lonely hours
I will lay down my heart and I’ll feel the power
But you won’t, no you won’t
'Cause I can’t make you love me, if you don’t
- Bonnie Raitt, I Can’t Make You Love Me
For
the most part, I'm aiite. I just like to steep in misery sometimes like
a teabag, as if to get every last molecule of bitterness out of me, and
then toss out the water later and be rid of it. All this excess emotion
gives me added motivation to learn even more cheesy songs on the
guitar, so it's not all bad.
----------
Imma go put on a
sweater. Crazy-azz Texas weather - it's December already and it's
barely sweater weather. I tend to run on the cold side, so I'm gonna be
covered up for the most part - but I think there are still people who
are running around these here parts in shorts.
So, since you want to be with me
You'll have to follow through
With every word you say
And I, all I really want is you
For you to stick around
I'll see you everyday
But you'll have to follow through
You have to follow through
- Gavin DeGraw, Follow Through
This Thanksgiving, I have witnessed human
depravity at its worst. I'm feeling sick - as in nauseous, both
physically and emotionally. Happy holidays.
HEY EVERYBODY, WHAT TIME IS IT?
[cue music and people answering in chorus]
"IT'S SILLY SURVEY TIME!"
Yes,
folks, it's that time again. Here at ihatepink.com, having nothing
better to do, we have decided to ask our readers a VERY personal
question. So personal, that I'm sure that most of you won't want to
answer it. I will be very offended of course if you don't want to
answer it, but shall pretend to understand.
Our question today [cue drum roll]:
Fully
interpret the following 2 sentences in your own words. Interpret and
explain what they mean to you, leaving no ambiguity whatsoever.
1. I need to go potty.
2. I need to go to the potty.
Your
answers will be much appreciated. I have placed a sit-ups / push-ups
wager on this. After oh, a week, the individual with whom I have placed
the wager will settle our irreconcilable differences over our
interpretations of the above 2 statements through the comments made in
this post. I trust that *I* will not be the one to be sporting hurting
abs / arms. Go!
I have been reminded that it is unwise to pick your nose after chopping up a bunch of hot chili peppers. Feelin' the burn ...
This morning was bizarre. In between snoozing on
my alarm clock (as usual) and trying to ignore people calling the house
NONSTOP for an hour straight (very unusual) I had this weird dream that
some contruction workers had broken into the house and were building
this really ugly statue on the roof. I was aghast because if the
landlords were to find out about this, I would for sure be in deep
doodoo. I was telling the workers to stop and that they were building
on the wrong house and to take that thing off the roof but they
insisted that we had ordered it. Weeeird. A disjointed post for a disjointed start to a day.
This site
really disturbs me. I mean, a dating site dedicated to infidelity. Wow.
Hard to believe such a thing exists. Money is a strong enough
motivation to build a business out of anything, I guess. Maybe
I'm just old fashioned in that I figure if you aren't ready for
commitment and wanna play around, do it, but if you are ready to settle
down, do it, and stand by your decision.
Three hours of driving almost nonstop in a lot of
total darkness listening to nothing but the drone of the road rolling
under me and my munching of Doritos is strangely therapeutic. So,
to the few people I still know in Austin, I'm around for a couple days.
So if you see a little Asian girl who looks about seven years old,
possibly on rollerblades, taking goofy pictures of herself around UT,
that'd be me.
Shoot, it's 12:33am, and they're STILL playing
baseball. The Astros need to hurry up and win so that I can go to
sleep. [yawn] I guess they can accompany me as I get some work done ... Those players have gotta be tired too. They sure are playing like it. I guess who wouldn't, after playing 5 hours of baseball. 1:22am: fux0rs, the 'Stros lost. BOOOOO.  1:35am:
some stupid-ass reporter on Fox26 just said, "I'm seeing a lot of sad
faces on the fans, Ron, lot of sadness, and just a lot of fear of
getting swept, just terrified that we'll be swept. Back to you, Ron." F@#$.
Whatever. Isn't "terrified" a little too much for a fucking baseball
game? Um, I think I remember feeling terrified when Hurricane Rita was
headed our way. Yeah, I was pretty terrified that I was possibly going
to die and had no control over it. I hope the Astros win, but
I am NOT terrified of them losing. Stupid media, I hate them all. I'm
terrified of the day the public stops critically thinking about what is
fed to them and just eats up everything the media says. Now THAT'S a
terrifying thought. OK I hate all the stupid media except for my bro.
And I guess my bro's friends. As long as they don't incorporate the
word "terrified" when referring to fans of a sports event ...
With Ashley, whom I hadn't talked to in a while:
Me: Hello? Hello?
Ashley: Hello? Hello? Wei?
Me: Hey, can you hear me? It's Caroline!
A: What the hell - Caroline? Hey!
Me:
Hahahaha! Nice way to greet me ... [sarcastic tone] nice to hear your
voice too, girl friend! Hey, whatcha doin' Wednesday, Thursday, and
Friday nights?
A: Are you coming up to Austin? Do you need a place to stay?
Me: Yup!
A: Well, we have an extra bedroom. I'm not in town right now, but John's home ... I'm in China.
Me: WHOA ... holy crap ... okay then bye! Shoot! It's probably like $3 a minute to talk to you!
A: Well John's home ...
Me: Oh dude don't worry about it, I can stay with other friends, I was just thinkin' that I hadn't seen you in forever.
A: That's cool, I'll call you when I get back and we'll hang out OK?
Me: OK hurry up and hang up bye!
Yeah. I should uh, try to stay in touch a little better.
Well, not really ... although our friendship is super low-maintenance
(we might talk twice a year), whenever we do get a chance to catch up
it's like we never missed a beat.
Although ... if I'd had known she was in China, it would've prevented me from running up her cell phone bill by $3. Sorry, Ash!
Simple words, spoken in a nonchalant tone, and in another's context: "Breakups happen. They're part of the territory of dating."I'm
sure it was more eloquently said. I seem to have trouble remembering
exact words people say - the emotional imprint received is what
registers, and the rest just falls away. And the emotional imprint here
was huge, unbeknownst to the speaker. Sure, everyone knows
that breakups happen. But when you're struggling with letting go, with
"breakups don't happen to me", with total denial that sometimes things
just aren't meant to be, suddenly it is forgotten that duh, of course it's natural. Wake
up, Caroline, you fool. You can't love someone when they're too scared
to receive your brand o' lovin' ... and can't / won't / shouldn't love
you back. The weather just got really cold tonight (57F or
13degC). Or maybe I was freezing from the inner chill that I seem to
enjoying torturing myself with.
Quotes from my " Don't Sweat the Small Stuff ... and It's All Small Stuff" daily quotes calendar: "Remember
that if you don't make a decision (or continue to procrastinate in
making a decision), that is a decision. It's a choice you're making to
not take any action - which usually means that you lose some control
over what happens."
"So often, instead of being open and
accepting of whatever we are experiencing, we resist it, push it away,
and demand that it be different. But like fighting the weather, it's a
losing battle."
"When it comes to change, we are always faced with the same choice - embrace or suffer."And of course, I have chosen to procrastinate, resist, and suffer.
It really annoys me when people can't just tell
me straight up that they don't want to do something with me. I know it
most likely isn't personal, so just say so. It saves me the trouble of
continuously asking, and I'll know to never ask again. Must be an Asian thing. I need to get me a snack. I'm getting crabby.
Randomly bumped into this piece called " Unlucky in Love?" while searching for geeky laptop upgrades. Dammit. It rings so true. I need to stop living in denial. Just what I need before going to bed.
I call myself a commitment-phobe. Today one of my friends called me adventurous. Hahaha. Two sides of the same thing. I like her description better.
I haven't been blogging lately. Maybe that's why
I'm feeling all off. I've been crazy-busy lately, which is exhausting,
but it sure beats sitting around on my azz wondering if I'm gonna be
able to make rent this month.  Update on the battle against the clogged sink ( 9/30/05 post): thanks for all your feedback! This is what I did: 1) Tried to poke through the clog with chopsticks. The chopsticks were not long enough. 2) Used a plunger. That sent nasty water splashing everywhere, but did not work. 3)
Got discouraged, and busy, so my procrastinating nature took over.
Avoided the issue (ie. brushed teeth in bathtub) and hoped it would go
away just as mysteriously as it had appeared. 4) Could
no longer avoid the issue as the sink started filling up by itself with
water (coming out of the drain - EWWWW). But yes, as a professional
procrastinator, I of course found a way to continue avoiding it - I
just scooped buckets of water of it out (these sinks don't seem to have
drain holes) and emptied it out so it wouldn't overflow. 5)
Finally decided sink was too gross to continue ignoring. Borrowed a
book from parents called "Basic Plumbing: The Complete Beginner's
Guide" by Time Life. Yup. That describes me. Saw a picture on the page
of dude using plunger. I was like, "That doesn't work", so got
discouraged again and didn't do anything. 6) Tonight I came home and the sink had EMPTIED ITSELF OUT!! Doing nothing had WORKED!! But then I tested it out by turning on the faucet and it was the same ol' thing. 7)
I finally decided to READ the text beside the pretty picture describing
how to do it, and discovered that there is actually a RIGHT way to
plunge so it's most effective. ("Make sure there is enough
water in the sink to cover the base of the plunger cup. Spread
petroleum jelly on the cup's rim. Lower the plunger at an angle and
compress the cup to push out air. Then seat it over the drain. Without
breaking the seal, pump the plunger up and down 10 times, then quickly
pull it away. If the drain stays clogged after several attempts, try an
auger (below).")So I went at it. And boy was it gross.
After my first attempt the sink filled with brown vomit-like chunks.
But I persevered. And finally ... I WON. And there you
have it. A story of trial and tribulation, of hopes and dreams, of
losses and disappointment and success ... all in the name of unclogging
my sink. [bows] PS - I didn't have petroleum jelly for the plunger cup, but I can see how that would be helpful.
 Hi
everyone. I have a question about simple home maintenance, and am
openly ashamed that I don't know how to do this at this late stage in
my life: My sink is clogged - the water drains out
really disgustingly slowly. I can't see the problem looking from above.
How do I unclog my sink?I hate these kinds of tasks,
but it's presently pretty darned grody, so I really need to deal with
it. There's just something about wads of loose hair not attached to
people's heads / bodies that utterly grosses me out and makes me
nauseous. The only thing worse is loose wads of hair encrusted with
stagnant waste water. [SHUDDER] Oh yes, and
environmentally-friendly methods would be preferred to chemical ones.
But if liberal dousing with "Hair Monsters B Gone" is what it takes, so
be it. Thanks in advance! Update: Thanks for all your feedback! Please see my 10/08/05 post for details on how I battled the clog monster!
 The
24-7 coverage of Hurricane Rita on TV/radio is getting irritating. I've
been disillusioned in general with the media since the overhype that
came with SARS. Well, since I've decided to stay put, I'll be able to
see how much of this is hype and how much is for real. That is, if I am
able to "be safe" (aka "not die"). The people who have gotten
stranded on the side of the highways because they ran out of gas now
need to be ushered to shelters. There are supposed to be tankers of gas
coming to their rescue, but so far there has only been 1 tanker who was
giving out 10 gallons of gas per vehicle. Highways have opened up
converting southbound traffic into northbound, but that doesn't seem to
be improving the flow by much. So at this point, fleeing will not really reduce my chances of getting majorly screwed over. In
the meantime, I'm processing pics I've taken over the last couple of
days. I hope my "borrowed" wireless Internet connection lasts me awhile. It
also strangely comforts me that I'm not the only one staying put, which
I guess tells me that I am not out of my mind, unless we're all out of
our minds. Today Eddy came over to hang out and we just watched some
DVDs. I know a couple of people personally who actually turned around
and came back (gas shortage and traffic frustration). Thanks to
everyone who called / e-mailed to wish me luck and to offer comfort.
I'm actually a little scared, but refuse to give in to unproductive
hysteria.  Today I was extremely moved because of an act of random kindness that happened to me ( again). I went to HEB to procure some food. No bread,
so stocked up on tortillas to throw in the freezer. A couple jugs of
drinking water to add to my stockpile at home. Cans of corn 'n beans.
Bananas. They ran out of shopping carts so I picked up an empty box
laying around and lugged all my stuff around in it. As I checked out,
the bagger offered to carry my stuff to my car. I declined his kind
offer, since they were busy as anything. While stumbling out with my
box o' stuff, a man in the passenger's side of a passing car jumped out
and spontaneously helped me with my box! I asked him if he was leaving
town. Turns out he is part of our "First Response" unit. "Someone's
gotta stay," he said with a grin. So here's a pic of Dan and I
after getting to my car (parked in the farthest possible spot from the
store; I couldn't find any parking anywhere closer). Thank you, Dan,
and all of our First Responders, for all that you do for this city and
all that you will do in the coming days. And for helping me with my
groceries. But most of all, for providing me a bit more emotional comfort for what is to come.
Just finished watching the season finale of "The Bachelor".
This is my first time tuning in to the reality show. And yay! He picked
the classy, mature, confident one over the pretty bimbo.
I have to admit, I think the Bachelor dude is hot. Funny, his name is Andrew
Firestone. One of my cousins' names is also Andrew, and although
[ex-]Bachelor Andrew is beefier in build, I think they have similar
facial features:
 But isn't my cousin cuter? The season finales of The Simpsons were awesome. One of them ended with the whole cast joining hands and singing the Canadian national anthem! Sweeeeeet. I received one of those junk catalogues in the mail: "For Women Only". These things crack me up. For one, they always have the personal vibrator
that is supposedly ONLY for massaging your back, but it's shaped like a
you-know-what, and they always give this semi-erotic description about
its uses. And the fashions ... oh I thought I was rid of funny fashion
after leaving China, but I was wrong: "The Jacquard Caftan, just $16.95, makes you look THINNER!" This thing could make an elephant look thinner. They conveniently do not have a picture of the abovementioned personal body massager, so here it is:  .And this is Caroline, live, reporting from Quarantine Land. Chinese vocab o' the day:  [ge2 li2] : to isolate, segregate; to quarantine.
Back from Howard's grad @ Syracuse U. I was inspired to write a mooshy poem because of a pic I took when Anabelle and Howard (friends since freshman yr) were saying goodbye. More pics soon ... [yawn] Hmm ... I think the cat missed me ... she is currently passed out on the floor right beside my chair ...  Guess
what this is? For those of you who know, don't ruin it for the others.
=) It's a little something I discovered over the wknd. Leave me
comments with your guesses. If you get it, you will win ... a ... um
... well, you'll just win, OK? =)
Living in the past sucks. No, wait ... it only
sucks if you live in the unhappy past. The happy past is kinda cool.
But still, it's all in the past. What the hell am I rambling about ... Got a mail addressed to "Yu Tu". Hahaha. Me Tu! Happy
Mother's Day to all the mothers out there. Tonight I had dinner with
one of the mother figures in my life. I am fortunate to be able to be
with my mom on Sunday. Being a mom is a thankless job. I am here
courtesy of my mom.  Tell
those you love how you feel about them now for fear of losing them to
the unforseeable future. In that context, I feel foolish that I can
never express myself in real life as well as I can hiding like a
gallbladder-less coward behind this computer screen, attempting to
convey emotion thru a cold, plastic keyboard. I guess I'm gushing mush
cuz I'm finally feeling like everything that I think is set in my life
can slip out of my hands at any second. I need to start sleeping before 4 am. What a depressing blog. Gotta pack to go to my younger bro's grad in Syracuse, NY! Will be back Sunday night.
I made some soap for my mommy =) I was a cheater tho; I didn't make it from scratch (I will attempt that one day when I have more time) but simply melted it, added fragrance and color and whatever else to the mix, and poured it into a mold. The problem now is getting it OUT of my makeshift Gladware molds ... Drugstore.com says that the top 5 medications ordered off their website are 1) Vioxx, 2) Prozac, 3) Fosamax, 4) Glucophage, and 5) Viagra. Which means that ppl have 1) osteoarthritis, 2) depression and/or obsessive compulsive disorder, 3) osteoporosis, 4) diabetes mellitus type 2, yet 5) still want lots of sex no matter what age. Me disillusioned with ppl who disregard their health until it's way too late? Why would you think that? A gem from my friend Wanda: "Each day passes regardless of if you are happy or sad." So simple, yet ... so profound ...
"If you want to I can save you I can take you away from here So lonely inside So busy out there And all you wanted was somebody who cares ... " - Michelle Branch, All You WantedWe now have 6 new pics up from when we went hiking @ Santa Anita / Henry's BBQ; also 4 new pics up from our Sacramento nightmare. Thanks Lily!!! Geez, I've got so many photos ... gotta reorganize my site somehow to make everything more accessible ... hmm ... gimme more time
OK, now you all know I am not a big fan of the color pink. When I saw this car today, I just felt sorry for the poor Honda ... (I apologize for the ultra-choppy panoramic... I was too lazy to get out of the car to capture this) ... even has pink fuzzy dice ... sigh. If anyone spots a webpg called "I Love Pink", let me know ... hahahh =)
Oh, I finally procured a watch @ 99 Ranch Market (Anaheim) (where that hideous car above was spotted). The little independent watch shop in there has the best selection and price for anyone out there who is also allergic to some metals and doesn't want a metal band. I either have to have pure gold or plastic (totally opposite ends of the price spectrum). =) If anyone wants a cute Casio watch for under $20, lemme know. =)
Saw Blade II @ Downtown Disney. Lotsa
sci-fi gore and vampires necking. My favorite line? When the heroine
gets bitten by one of 'em weirdos and says, "I can feel it burning
inside me ..." HAHAHAH. Sci-fi perverts! So ANYWAYS, afterwards we had
to go to the bathrooms, and the women's restroom was SO swanky! Much nicer than the men's restroom. And NO I am NOT the proud owner of a PENIS. =)
Just in the mail: I PASSED BOTH THE HERBS AND THE ACUPUNCTURE PARTS OF MY NATIONAL LICENSING EXAMS!!!
WAZZZZAAAAAP!!!!!! I was so worried about the herb part ... I still
await the score on my point location but ... I'm not worried about
that. Now I can exhale for a while. =) Moocho grassyass to H2L for
pounding me the night before!!!
Had an episode outside with the
neighbors. I heard some hi-pitched screaming outside and a kid yelling,
"Get away cat!! GET AWAY!!!" I went outside and found everyone looking
under my car. Apparently the kid was walking his pet bunny, our kitty
attacked, the bunny ran under my car for cover and was so scared it
wouldn't come out. The kid was walking around fuming and saying, "Where
are you stupid cat ... come out stupid cat!" At least the mom tried to
calm him down and told him it wasn't the cat's fault. I'm glad the
bunny wasn't hurt, but ... I'm just having trouble trying to picture a
bunny on a leash. =)
The worst job on earth - zoo sperm bank employee.
"The elephant is the most tricky because of the size of its thing ...
sometimes I have to use both my arms to tug on it." Sucks to be him.
But hey, it's better than donating your own sperm to make a living ...
er, isn't it? =)
BlogAmp
is sooooo cool. Now everyone can see what I'm listening (karaoke-ing)
to on WinAmp! (see list at left) If I'm online and listening to music
on WinAmp at the same time, it almost instantly updates the list
everytime I listen to another song. Thanks to Pooh for helping me get
thru the setup (the instructions are in Portuguese or something). And
congrats to Pooh on his cool new URL (courtesy of our award-winning-computer-case-making friend EnVaDoR) ... yeah yeah ... who's copying who now? ;)
I heard "The Long Goodbye" by Brooks & Dunn ( sound clip) on the radio today for the first time ... lyrics here ...
Current stats:
Number of days left til test time: 5 & 6
Current confidence level: 26%
Current anxiety level: 74%
Number of raging red pimples on face: 5
Number of pimples on the mend, but likely to leave a scar: 3
Number of times a patient said I was "full of donkey doodoo" today when I tried to cheer them up and it didn't work: 1
Friendship is such a powerful thing for healing a wounded
soul.
The newest issue of AsianEscape is up! I wrote the Valentine feature as well as
the feature on Rick Yune, me so proud. Check it out. =)
Driving on the freeway is basically a big game of
Frogger.
Chasing rainbows helps to take your mind off of the rain
until the sun comes out again. Dunno why I thought of this mega-random thought,
but I figured people might be able to relate. Dunno what I'm smokin'. Too much
moxa, maybe.
Today is the worst day of my life. Here are the most recent pics from this
past wknd.
It's nice to be home
(in TX) and doing nothing. Yeah, I should be studying, but instead, I'm
sleeping in til noon, catching up with friends, talking for hours on
end with parents ... fair trade, I think. =)
I'm testing out my too-cheap-to-be-true $4 thermals from Academy. So
far I'm feeling decently warm ... or is it because I got to see a certain special someone today? =)
Mental note to self:
do not EVER again do 100 situps on concrete ... after not doing any
exercise at all for months on end ... oh my god i think my tailbone is
gonna friggin' break off!!!
A random result of Photoshop fiddling.
Why? Because i was procrastinating from studying =) and of course
because I love my hunnee! hehee. btw, "toque" rhymes with "Luke" except
starting with a T, for all you non-Canadians! It's a TOQUE, not a
BEANIE! Beanie sounds so stupid! There's a whole online forum on "Why
Canadians Say 'Toque'" here - I can't believe it. My post is under the author name "Alotta Fagina". =)
Finished my 2 measly
midterms this wk. Of course I had to make it hard on myself by waiting
'til the last minute to study, heh. Felt like I got chewed up and spit
out by that midterm last night.
To keep me off my computer, I did a total Scandisk operation with
surface scanning on my 40 GB HD ... AND a total defrag ... heh ... in
total it took over 10 hrs =) However, my computer has been acting gimpy
afterwards ... I'm now able to update my webpage only after many, many
reboots ...
Counting down ... 24 more days until ... Turkey Day? X'mas?
I-Felt-Like-Declaring-A-Holiday Day? Nopes ... but it's better than all
of the above! Stay tuned to find out =)
2:50am - I have finally
finished making 30+ Vietnamese spring rolls (veggie of course) for
Auntie Carole's bowling party later on tonite (I better have the date
right, but I can't make sure cuz my room is too messy and I can't find
the invitation, sigh), plus 2 loads of laundry ... man, a
procrastinator's work is never done =P
Brand spankin' new FAA (Federal Aviation Administration) guidelines for carryon bags. More detailed info on what's allowed and what's not here. General travel advisory info here.
Toilet seat covers
baffle me. I understand how to skillfully pull up, THEN down to get it
out of the dispenser, but then once laid down on the toilet ... am I
supposed to rip the thing in the middle so that there's a gaping hole
for me to freely pee/poop thru? Or am I supposed to just pee/poop onto
that center piece and let the dampness/weight naturally tear its way
thru?
Today I thought the kitty pooped in my room, the smell was awful! However, after thorough inspection of the premises, I think she just farted. Heehee!
10 pg paper done ...
but 3 finals to go ... laundry basket is overflowing, my room is a mess
... life's not fair =P Anyhoo, today my younger bro turned 21! Happy
birthday Howard! =)
Man ... did you guys hear that R&B singer Aaliyah
died in a plane crash?! I didn't know her personally, but when such
youth, talent, potential, and beauty disappears in a second ... it
reminds me of how powerless we are to the impermanence of everything ...
A bunch of ppl came
over my landlords' place yesterday and so they had to use my bathroom.
i wasn't going to be around, so i left a bunch of toilet paper so they
wouldn't run out. i also filled up the liquid soap dispenser. it kinda
appalled me to see that a lot of toilet paper was used, but the soap
looked untouched ... ewww!!!
60% off some stuff at www.AnnTaylor.com! Whoohoo!!!I'm goin' shopping!!! I deserve a lil' something after my grueling week of tests!!!
Helped out with the
landlords' yard sale and got to sell some of my junk off ... and got
$13. which is more cash than i've had for a while now =) back to
studying ... last midterm on monday!!! AHhHhHhh
After about 2 hrs of monkeys and penguins and cows and crabs on ORISINAL, i am feeling SICK. it's gotta be a combo of almost zero sleep and 100% stress and cramming. i'm gonna crawl into bed now ...
Ooh ooh ooh just got my Sony Clie PEG-S320
handheld in the mail a couple of days ago. But my darned midterms are
keeping me from really playing with the thing. My bf e-mailed me PacMan for the Palm
tho (he knows I'm a PacMan freak), so I HAD to at least figure out how
to sync PacMan on there. =) Welps, better get back to studying.
NEW! Fresh IHatePink content is now featured on my homeboy's site http://www.AhBoga.com!!! Chekitowwt! Yowza! =)
"You are the star for
which all evenings wait." - from a Dove Promises chocolate foil
wrapper. Wow. If someone said that to me in real life, I'd be instantly
swept off my feet ... or totally grossed out, depending on who says it.
=)
I've been getting a lot of compliments on my new haircut. Yay! Looks like I'll be going back to that $9 haircut place when I next need it. =) Back to studying I go ...
DID MY GOOD INTENTIONS
JUST COME BACK TO ME? Today I figured it'd be good to show my
landlords' relatives visiting from Taiwan what real American pizza was.
So I ordered a couple o' medium pizzas from Pizza Hut for $14.99 (take
out, of course, so I save on paying tip, heh). Turns out their ovens
were down and I had the choice of abandoning the order or waiting for
them to make me my pizza. I ended up paying just over $6 for my order
=) Score!
Hats off to Men's Health.
I totally enjoy reading this mag cover to cover, proof that you don't
need a Y chromosome to appreciate it. =) In the September 2001 issue,
they had an article on attaining an Atari 2600 emulator for the PC and where to get the games (site 1 | site 2).
I was an Atari freakazoid back in the day and Ms. PacMan is still my
favorite game. In fact, we still have a working Atari 2600 console (the
old-school kind) back at my parents' house. =)
Another score for me! You can use Sony's eMarker service for free even if you don't actually own that $20 knick-knack
(this is legit, I wrote Sony e-mail inquiring about this!). Let's say
you hear a song on the radio that you really like but to your
annoyance, they don't tell you who sang it or what the title is. Sign
up for an account on eMarker.com, enter the time and station of the song, and bam! you get the song info. Yet another step for [wo]mankind in wasting time =)
Hmmm ... mebbe I should go back to STUDYING for my midterms next week ... hmmm ... =)
I just HAD to take out the seeds. My ears got SO itchy with them in, and now that I've taken them out they still itch, and there's some pus coming out too (eewwww!). I do have to say that my appetite did seem increased. Didn't eat much just cuz I didn't have the food on hand / lazy, heh. =) Dunno about my left shoulder though. This sucks. I've just gotten around to putting what I thought was a cool chrome-looking longhorn emblem on my car, only to be reminded that I HAVE GOLD TRIM ON MY CAR, NOT CHROME. GRR!! Sigh. Oh well. I hope it looks okay when I go out in the daylight tomorrow morning. [knocking head against wall]
Friday the 13th. OOOH. =) Anyways, a LOT of people have been commenting on how tanned I've become. Am I really that roasted?
Today I went shopping for a lanyard (apparently that's what they're called) cuz the metal nametag chain I wear at work is giving me a bad rash on the back of my neck. I went to all these shops at the mall asking for "that necklace-keychain thingy", usually pointing to what the salespeople themselves were wearing. The Disney store didn't have any Pooh lanyards (grr) so I had to settle for the next coolest thing. Check it out.
What happens when people are bored? They might occasionally type their cousin's name into the Yahoo/Google search engine. Thanks Min for showing me the way to true procrastination! =) I found this old page I made back in 1999 in collaboration with Pooh and am posting it up since I did put a bit of effort into it (major understatement!). =) It was a surprise birthday present for our friend Peter. To Peter: I'd link your page up on it but I can't find your URL, e-mail it to me if you see this! And thanks for giving me the opportunity to learn how to make moving gifs at your expense =)
Sigh. Didn't make the first cut of the Pro-Voice competition. Ah well. No biggie =) Here's a free mp3
for you (a rarity these days since the demise of Napster, hehe) of the
song - have a listen at my very first attempt at being a
singer/songwriter/producer. If anything, this boosts my confidence in
my ability to do whatever I put my mind to, and actually inspires me to
write more. Now if I could only study with the same fervor ... =P Need
help figuring out the meaning behind the group name? Ask your friendly
neighborhood Chinese person =)
Sup yo. Happy Mother's
Day to all mothers out there, including my own. Since I finished my
midterms yesterday, I went to San Diego today to chill out and check
out a table tennis tournament. As soon as I got there, this guy looked
at me and goes, "Hey Whitney!" all smiling and waving and the such. I
was thoroughly confused, looked behind me to see if there were any
females there, looked back, and went up to the guy to confirm that it
was me he was waving at. Upon finding out my real identity, he
exclaims, "You look EXACTLY like Whitney Ping!" Several others
confirmed his viewpoint. Evidently she is a 16-yr-old in San Francisco
who has a rating of over 2000 (which is really good, for all those not
familiar with the sport ... you can check out http://www.usatt.org for more info and can search for her name and stuff). Well, take a look here and judge for yourself. (git your own poll tool thingy
here)
Calvin's got his first homepage started - welcome to the web! Also, here's my thought of the day: I sure hope " you are what you eat" doesn't hold true. Apparently Bimbo is the name of that cute little bear.
There have been numerous posts all over school bulletin boards concerning vandalism and break-ins to students' cars in the parking lot. In true FOB fashion, there are plenty of grammatical and spelling errors. But even a spell
check wouldn't have been able to help this blooper: "Please put away
all personal belongings so they are not visible to pubic view."
I figured I should post something about the results of the modelling contest. Nopes, I didn't win. But to all those who voted for me, thank you thank you thank you =) And if you haven't checked it out yet, please see my FAQ on the how's and why's of it all.
I realize that in an
attempt to correct the spelling error in the "The Millennium Edition"
graphic above, I still managed to mispell it again. I'm a retard!
Hmm. Check out the ugly girl named Caroline here, and please vote for her. And tell your friends to vote for her. I've gotten a variety of comments about it, which I address here. =)
Alert reader Piglet
(aka my twin sister) has brought to my attention that I spelled
"Millennium" wrong. Promptly corrected. I can't stand spelling errors,
and I have to say that I totally didn't know the word had 2 n's. =)
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