Dude. Hallowe'en parade with prizes (thanks Angie for the tip!). Gotta start thinkin' about a cool costume that won't break the bank. Hmmmmmmm.

Yo, where my geeksquad at? :) I want to upgrade my notebook's internal CD-RW/DVD drive to an internal DVD/CD writer, and after googling 'til my eyes went googly, I still couldn't find the answers to my questions. It is driving me crazy! Any input from you guys would be appreciated!

Important consideration: I really don't want an external burner on my notebook, because my notebook (an HP Pavilion ze5375us, part of the ze5300 family) is already a monster, weighing in at a hefty 7.25 lbs.

What I've found so far: I've downloaded a free service manual that tells me how to dismantle my beloved 'puter. I apparently have to go in through the keyboard to get to the CD-RW/DVD drive and remove it. I am ready to do it. I'm sure that this thing is so old it's not under warranty anymore anyway.

The manual also says the internal optical drive is "not replaceable" by non-qualified service technicians. I say this is rubbish! C'mon, how hard can it be ...

Elusive information: There is no info anywhere as to what to look for in a drive / notebook to ensure compatibility. There are no authoritative lists.

Initial hypotheses, from the mind of a geek-wannabe: Well, I figured the dimensions of the new drive should be the same as my current drive, and that the interfaces should be the same.

So, I've gotten interested in the Pioneer DVR-K15. My current drive is the Toshiba SD-R2312. Here are the specs that I surmise to be the crucial ones:

spec	Toshiba SD-R2312 (current)	Pioneer DVR-K15 (coveted)
WxHxD	128 x 12.7 x 126.1 mm	128 x 12.7 x 127mm
Interface	ANSI X3T13/D96153 Rev. 18 ATAPI SFF8020i Rev. 2.6 ATAPI SFF8090 Ver. 5 Rev. 1.10	ATAPI ATA-5 (PIO Mode4, Multiword DMA Mode2, Ultra-DMA Mode2)

My burning questions:
1) Is the size difference significant?
2) I have no idea what those interfaces mean. Are they the same? Or totally different?
3) Am I anywhere near being on the right track?

Again, I would be grateful for any input / personal experience!!

Last night was the first time I hosted my colleagues. Another first was having kids over, three of them, aged 9 through 11 (cuties, all). Since I was entertaining my colleagues, I wasn't able to keep an eye on their kids at all times. I learned some valuable lessons:

1) Don't ever let kids into the elevator without prior instruction. (Yes, there is an elevator in this house.)
2) The password protection on my computer turned out to be a really good idea.
3) Don't ever leave hot peppers laying around.

At least I had Robots on DVD so they sat somewhat still for like an hour and a half.

I'm sure it didn't help that one of the little boys seems to have a crush on me. According to past experience (as a much older girl with little boys crushing on me), little boys like to show they like you by doing annoying things to get attention. (Perhaps akin to Flying Pear's sock-sniffing kid?)

I was afraid my BBQ'd veggie-kabobs wouldn't be enough, but we ended up having WAY more than enough. On the menu: layered chip dip (courtesy of Boy), stir-fried wide slippery noodles (cooked by colleague's hubby!), tofu in spicy sauce, and carrot cake for dessert. Almost everything was vegetarian (just a portion of slippery noodles was not), and every last bite was delicious. Mm mm good.

Aside from 5 hours of house cleaning and food prep, mingling with my colleagues in a casual environment was pretty enjoyable [group shot]. Of course, it helps that no one got hurt / got permanently stuck in the elevator / had spontaneous burning diarrhea / installed random stuff on my computer ...

I will be better prepared next time kids come over to the house.

Oh, and valuable lesson #4, unrelated to kids:
4) I don't need no can opener to open cans! (Well, I had one, but don't know how to use it.)

(See my 9/29/05 post)

I bought the package of 5 massages, and I only have one more left! Call / e-mail me if you want it! You'd be doing my friend Thi a favor while indulging in 1.5 hours of relaxation for $36!

If there's enough demand, it'd be no problem for me to get another package to satisfy all of our massage-at-a-killer-deal needs. (No, I am not making any money off of this.) So just lemme know, people! Oh, and psst - massage definitely goes good with acupuncture too.

Update: massage package all gone. Thanks, guys!

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.

I am like, SUCH a nerd. I was so so curious, so I bought their DIY LCD Video Projector guide (I have to wonder how many have forked over the $20 out of pure curiosity as well!). I'll let you all know if / when the project materializes. I only have basic skills at best from junior high shop class, so I wonder if they're sufficient. I *could* just get Home Depot to do all the dirty work, but being the proud little girl that I am (not to mention cheap), the project would be much more fulfilling if I get down in there and put my sweat and [hopefully not] blood into every aspect of the project. (Hmm, I suppose this also shows how I'm a control freak and anal. Ah well.)

The homemade projector ends up looking like a big ugly box. The only things that comfort me is that it'll be functional and relatively inexpensive, and that Hello Kitty stickers CAN be purchased to help remedy the ugly factor.

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.

Still hung up, but refreshingly and delightfully not hung over.

Saturday was Carol's surprise birthday party. With Alan's fake eVite and everyone's fake no's and excuses as to why we couldn't be there, we got her good.

I did not emerge unscathed, however. How does one get carpet burns on their elbows at a party? Let's see here:

First you go to a restaurant and order some uh, special drinks, depending on your gender, or whatever you feel like imbibing:

(No evidence was collected of the incriminating x-rated Britney Spears karaoke lapdance I did on Carol, muahahahaha)

Go back to Alan's place, where more drinks are had, and people are starting to get so drunk they are passing out under pool tables:



And then, suddenly it makes a whole lot of sense to start having a competition to see whose head can fit under the coffee table!



Then people realize I'm laughing the loudest and demand that I give it a try - I decided to see how far I could fit starting legs first. My tailbone arch was my limiting factor. This would be my source of carpet burns ...



Random: Engrish of the night. These wedding invites were made in Taiwan. I think if you say it in the right tone, with the right breathlessness, it could be romantic.

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.

Happy birthday to my favorite male cousin in North America, Andrew (not to be confused with Andrew, the Bachelor. Go Andy, iss yo berfday, go Andy, iss yo berfday ...

(from my blog post back on 5-19-03)

AND, miraculously, he's still single, ladies! How can you resist that stunning, sparkling smile? That sincere, warm gaze? Hahah OK, I'm shutting up now, before I really ruin his chances of meeting a nice, non-crazy girl ...

Andy's done some pretty cool things in his short time on this planet thus far. In previous lives, he's been a hardcore stunt inline skater dude, and an inline skating T-shirt designer. And now he's an orthodontist on the sunny shores of San Diego.

My fondest memories of hanging out with him have to be when we were bored as kids and would try to translate popular kids' cartoons' theme songs into Chinese literally and crack ourselves up doing it. If you know any Asian language, I highly suggest you try this. It is highly amusing ... haha, but then again, I am easily amused. It was probably Andy's idea - he's always been good at making up fun games to pass the time. Love ya, boy!

I dig on staring at the progress bar as things install themselves. You know the Windows automatic installer thingy, where it says, "You may continue working on whatever while your updates are installing, to see details click on this here tray icon" or something to that effect? Well, I HAVE to click it. I can't just sit there and continue on with my merry life and just let it do its thang in the background. I'll click it. Double-click, even triple-click, just to make sure that progress bar pops up. Some programs just show it by default, which is fine by me. And then my eyes kinda glaze over as I start getting mesmerized by its millimeter-by-millimeter progress, as my computer goes crunch, crunch, crunch ...

Yup, I'm anal. Perhaps this is a minor symptom of N.A.D.D.? (I somehow found this by way of Alex King's blog.)

C'mon, there's gotta be other progress-bar-lovers out there! Or at least other computer users with anal-ish tendencies! Um, right?

Last night was a blur of drinking and barfing. I think I must continue to get completely wasted once every 2 years to remind me how not fun it is to get completely wasted. And how my alcohol tolerance is slowly waning, probably due to aging, which is not a bad thing.

Very thankful to all my friends who took care of me last night. I called them up today, embarrassed and apologetic and grateful, and each retold bits and pieces from last night, much of which I had no recollection. That is probably the most amusing part of the whole fiasco - the weird things I said or did while totally not in control of my faculties.

I'm gonna stay dry for a good long while.

Wow. Not a single photo from last night. At least not from my camera. I don't remember any other cameras going off after I reached critical saturation - but then again, I don't remember a whole lot to begin with. Hahaha, anyone have pics from last night?

- edit: I was reminded that I'm currently on a get-wasted-once-a-year schedule.

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!