Awww, yeah!

Class M1 license, baby!

I dunno if this means I'm stupid or what, but I thought motorcycle licenses were a seperate license. Like you carry around a driver's license _and_ a motorcycle license. My dreams of two-license grandeur were quickly dashed at the DMV when they told me they just issue one license and it says class C and M1 on it. I supposed that's more efficient.

post #214

I am constantly amazed at how fast people comment on this blog. Actually, I'm surprised people even read this thing. My life is not that interesting, people. Which says a lot about how boring work is for all of you.

People all over the world play the same card games differently. Who changes the rules?! Maybe when people start teaching it to other people, they forget the rules, and in order to not seem dumb, they just make up new ones. Ahh, card games. Our family's favorite pastime.

I know why I like reading other people's blogs so much. I'm (generally) not a talker, due to my introverted ways. I enjoy listening to people, especially if they're interesting or funny. Blogs are like walking around listening to people's one-sided conversations, but if they bore you, or you dislike them, you can walk away. And they neither notice nor care. I wish I could do that in real life. Maybe I'll try it.

this post is a placeholder

It has come to my attention that recently a friend has started the "phasing out" process. This happens when the person in question acquires a boyfriend or girlfriend and starts to spend increasing amounts of time with that person........to the detriment of their previous "I'm-bored-what-should-we-do" friends. At first it starts slow. Maybe they start arriving later than usual, or they stop calling. Eventually, they miss meetings altogether and start making excuses.

I, for one, am disgusted by this practice. You know what this says to me? That person was using his/her friends as "placeholder friends". These are people you hang out with until your girlfriend/boyfriend comes along. Once you get hooked up, you forego the other friendships and concentrate on your new-found relationship. How do you think this makes your "placeholder friends" feel? They are slowing being phased out of your life. Where once there was fledging camaraderie, now there is only a barren land of lost hope (as opposed to the lush, fertile, rich land of lost hope, but that's somewhere else). Once they had purpose--to make you forget you were alone in the world and that nobody loved you. Now they are just useless acquaintances you stepped on while you ran to your future spouse. Well, people, this has to stop!

Don't phase people out! Surgically extract them from your life. Just cut all communication with your friends. Don't make excuses. Tell them how it is. "I have a (girl|boy)friend now, and I'd rather spend this time with them. I'll call you when they're busy and I'm bored." At least this way your friends aren't clinging onto that one ray of hope that they will see you this week. This way they'll know how things stand and won't be _as_ disappointed when you don't show up for their birthday......again. It's like a bandaid you have to pull off. Do you want your friends to be the hairs that get pulled slowly? Do it in one quick motion! Hope is a very powerful thing. Crushing that hope week after week is just cruel (although usual) punishment. Don't do that to your friends. Even if they were just placeholders.

enunciate people

Note: 3ds Max is a 3D modeling program, may also be referred to as "Max".

Conversation I had in class today:

group member: "Do we have Max?"
Professor: "Are you the only one that knows how to use Max?"
me: "I know how to use Macs."
Professor: "Ok, so we have two people who can model."
me: "Oh, I don't know how to model."
Professor (incredulous look): "You know how to use Max, but you don't know how to model?"
me: "Yeah, I have a Mac, but I don't know how to use 3ds Max or Maya to model stuff."

At this point everyone in the group, including my professor, are just staring at me like they can't believe how stupid I am. Yup, great day at school today.

Welcome to the blogosphere

My sister has started a blog. I won't post the site here, for fear she'll unleash Booba on me in case she wants to keep it private. Finally, my family is catching up technologically to the rest of the world. Actually, my family is pretty up-to-date (I'd like to think I've had a part in that, along with my brother) but my dad still insists on using dial-up to access his company's VPN even though we have a cable modem and wireless router at home. It just boggles the mind, I know. (Mei, maybe we should cut all his phone cords so he's forced to use the wireless. Shhhh...)

Whenever people ask me if I call my parents I say no. But that's because at any given time, there are 50 emails zipping back and forth across the country keeping everyone up to date. Some of this includes all the Aunts and Uncles and various cousins (and extending to Taiwan). I'm still very proud that my extended family all has email and knows how to use it. Good job, older Asian generation!

what I accomplished today

On my way to work this morning, I figured out why LA is so impersonal. It's because everyone is so superficial. Superficiality (yes, that's a word) doesn't work among friends. Say you lived in a small town where everyone knew everyone else. You try to act like someone you're not, or drive a buggy that everyone knows you can't afford, and it gets you nowhere. People call you out. It doesn't work. But say you were a stranger to that town. You pull up in your nice new Italian hand-made 2 hp buggy and everyone thinks you're rich. See? Showing off only works if people don't know you. So LA'ers purposely try to not-know people so they can be superficial. But the fact that you don't know anyone pressures you to show off and BE superficial. Thus, perpetuating this vicious cycle that is LA life. I know, deep, huh.

the most dangerous restroom in the world

excuse me, you see this space? yeah, it's mine

Yesterday, we had group presentations in my class. We were presenting game engines and were using the LCD projector. During one of the presentations, a student walks and stands RIGHT IN FRONT OF ME, blocking my view, and proceeds to present his slides. I'm sitting in my chair thinking, Is this guy gonna move? Doesn't he feel uncomfortable standing so close to me? Does he even know he is blocking my view? Apparently not. You know how people shuffle their feet back and forth when they present stuff? He kept RUNNING INTO ME. He was literally touching me while he was presenting. I couldn't move away because we were sitting in rolling chairs and I was already against the side with people sitting around me. Possibly the most uncomfortable 10 minutes I've ever experienced. Then again, I haven't embarrassed myself in front of my gf/fiance/wife's friends/siblings/parents yet, so who knows what God has in store for me? I can't wait.

Do people not understand the concept of personal space? I would blame it on his ethnicity (Indian--you know, maybe it's so crowded over there they get scared when they have empty space around them--yes, that's a racist comment, but Asians are racist), but there are plenty of Americans that have to stand within licking-distance to your face when they talk to you. I don't get it. And I don't want to. Please just stand a reasonable distance away from me when you converse with me. OR ARE PRESENTING SLIDES THAT I'M SUPPOSED TO SEE.

me and my 5 talents

At my church in Ohio, we started two Bible studies at two local chinese restaurants. The workers don't have time to come to church on Sundays, so a few people go to the restaurants Friday night after it closes and lead Bible studies in the restaurant. I heard stories of how most live together in a cramped apartment, but I never saw it first hand. Reading this article in the NYTimes really hits home. I know these people. Some of them sat next to me at church (the ones that could come).

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/10/02/jobs/02lee.html?8dpc

How blessed are we to have been born in the richest country on earth, with all the opportunity in the world? And how responsible are we going to be when we finally have to answer for what we did with our lives?

"Oh, God, I was busy moving to a different country, learning a different language, different culture, trying to earn money for my family back home to survive. I'm sorry I couldn't witness to that many people."

"Oh, God, I was busy playing video games, hanging out with friends, watching movies, eating out, thinking about how to earn even more money so I could enjoy the luxurious life you gave me. Sorry I couldn't witness to that many people."

Yeah, one of those people is gonna get a well-deserved smack-down.

an alternative theory

[17:13] somebody: i read that article about christian men not dating
[17:13] somebody: i have another theory
[17:13] somebody: christian women are ugly
[17:13] somebody: for the most part

from the "I'm in charge of the contact list, can I have your email and phone number?" dept.

http://www.crosswalk.com/community/singles/1351339.html

Why aren't single Christian men dating? I dunno. Maybe it's cuz there are no Mandarin speaking girls at their church. Just a thought.

grassroots movement

Why is it that when everyone I meet finds out I was born and raised in Ohio, the reaction is always the same? "Whoa! Really?!" No, not really, I'm just joking because I like to lie to people when I first meet them. People must think all Asians come from Asia or are born in California. It's not true! I'm living proof. Now that you know, spread the word. Then, the next time I tell someone I'm from Ohio, they can be like, "Oh yeah. I've heard of people like you."

the secret to success

I went to the USC Career Fair today and felt sorry for everyone I met. I was sent by the company that pays my bills, along with JL and BH, to recruit for developers. It's hard to go up to random strangers, hand them a sheet that describes your life and explain why you are the most awesome person in the world. And CS people definitely do not excell at people skills. Dang, how am I employed? Oh yeah, cuz my cousin got married and God likes me (still trying to figure THAT one out).

Tips to all of you unemployed peeps out there.

1. Do not go at the end of the career fair. The recruiters tend to leave early, and they're really tired cuz they've been sitting out in the sun for 4.5 hrs. That means they won't listen to what you have to say.

2. Recruiters won't listen to what you have to say. So you have to sell yourself to them to make them listen. There are so many people that recruiters meet that there is no way to remember them all. So do something that stands out so when they go through the resumes again, they'll remember you.

3. Bring a resume. There were a handful of people that didn't know there was a career fair and were just walking around asking questions. That's great, but there's no way for us to get in contact with them. And we already have so many other candidates.

Wow, I sound like I know what I'm talking about. Why am I giving job advice? Forget everything I said. Just go make friends with lots of smart people and they will hook you up when they become successful. Smart people, watch out. Lots of people are about to add you on Friendster, Myspace and AIM. Yeah, right. There's only like 10 people that read this blog. Nevermind, false alarm. Smart people, go back to becoming successful.

Another successful Exodus retreat

retreat. a period of group withdrawal for prayer, meditation, study, and instruction under a director Exodus retreat. specific form of retreat that involves travelling to the middle of nowhere, renting an extremely large house, discovering and killing (by means of flame thrower) six black widow spiders, finding a large rat living in the BBQ grill, swimming and lounging in a heated pool and jacuzzi, improvising to make sure we are not spied upon while nursing babies and showering, staying up until morning playing poker praying...................for good cards, inundating ourselves with extreme amounts of very delicious foods that can only be described as gluttonous, worshipping God with household items, and playing charades that make a dim sum lady turn into a drunk driver throwing up. May also include new singles for the next Exodus album. (you might need quicktime 7 to play the video)

in that case, it's ok.

RY: "plus, i knew about the dinner before i knew about dinner."

welcome to my world

what life is like in LA.

"you know lots of people and lots of people know you, but you're not close to anyone nor is anyone close to you." --a true LA'er

Home Depot needs to improve their hiring standards

HD guy: "Ok, 6 5/8 inch."
Enters it on his computer. An error message pops up.
HD guy: "See, it's giving me an error message. (reading from the screen) You have entered an invalid number. Valid range is between 6 inches and 10 inches." (looks at me to see my response)

(to myself) "Wait for it, wait for it, he'll get it....."

(HD guy continues to stare at me, forcing me to speak up)

Me: "Uh, isn't 6 5/8 inches in that range?"

HD guy: "Oh, uh, yeah, but it's not letting me put it in."

(I had to suggest putting a " after the number so the computer would accept it. And it did.)

It's times like this that I want to move to a remote uninhabited island. Persons involved in creating the sovereign nation of Jamir can also come.

Backstory: My (sucky) apartment has (sucky) louvre doors that we want to replace. My (sucky) apartment has (sucky) doors that are not standard sizes. Therefore, my (sucky) options are either to cut a door (which is impossible without compromising the integrity of the door because our doors are too small) or custom order one. I was going through the process of doing the latter when the above dialog took place.

The mundane adventures of . . . a guy named Bob

Disarray. Chaos. Panic. Fear. Citizens of the dark, rainy city were living under the heavy hand of a shadowy organization called "The System." It seemed to have control of everything. Everywhere they went, if they wanted to shop, read the news, share pictures, or even talk to their friends, citizens were being asked to "Register." Unregistered people were turned away by the millions. They could not shop. They could not communicate, could not travel. They were unknown to "The System." Without registration, they could not live.

With registration came access. Access to everything they wanted, when they wanted, where they wanted it. But with one big caveat. In order to "Register," they had to "Submit."

One fateful day, the clouds over the city broke and the unseen but ever prevalent sunshine broke through to reveal a savior. Standing on the dirty, oil-slicked street was someone they had never seen before. (Ok, some of them had, but those that did pretended they didn't.) His clothes were shining as if they had been washed by "New and Improved! Arm & Hammer Fabricare Laundry Detergent!" He stood there with his hands on his hips, chest puffed out, cape waving in the wind. His name was Bob. But tattooed on Bob's forehead (that he had eBay'd to the highest bidder) was a website address. That address was: www.bugmenot.com.

THE END

(roll credits)

at a loss of what to think

So there's this guy, we'll call him "God", and he is in control of everything. Sometimes he does things or allows things to happen to you that are very intentional and clear. You see some situation you're in and you're like, "Hmm, God is giving me a hint or a push or a clue."

This is not one of those times. Let me proceed to tell you THE weirdest, THE most random thing that has ever happened to me.

I'm driving home at around 11:20PM, and as I get close to my apartment, I see a lady standing across the street, with her two dogs, trying to flag me down. I'm think (yes, it hurts, but sometimes I think, please get over the shock), "That's weird," and I park and get out to see what's up.

The lady comes over and tells me she was walking her dogs when one of them suddenly collapsed. Uh, say again? "Do you need to take him to a vet or something?" "No, I have some stuff at home and I just live down the street, can you give us a ride?" Okay, sure, no problem. She loads up her dogs (which takes forever because the collapsed dog was just standing there and didn't want to move). I get back into my car, and at this point, I'm crammed in there with 2 dogs and a lady I've never met, blocking the road, with a car waiting for me to get out of the way. I drive her to her house, and she proceeds to unload the dogs. "Thanks for your help." "No problem, I hope your dog feels better." "Yeah, me too." As she gets just inside her fence, the collapsed dog lays down and the lady kneels over him. After about a minute, she turns to me and says, "He just died."

WHAT?!!!!!!!

"Uh, are you serious?" I realize in hindsight that question was probably the stupidest thing to ask. Why would she be joking? After standing there awkwardly for 5 minutes, she says I don't have to stay with her, that she has someone in the house, and thanks for the ride, I don't know what I would have done without you. Feeling like an idiot and not knowing what to do or say, I mumble, "Sorry about your dog," and drive home. All the while I'm thinking, "What the heck just happened?"

This is one of those times where being extroverted and actually being able to show my sympathy towards other people would have come in handy.

surreal adj. SEE ABOVE POST.

My life is so weird.

I wish I was a white woman against racism, then I could simulate some readings. Man, I'm missing out on all the fun. Credit goes to SWA and JW.

Sometimes they need it more than you think

Context: We recently got a friend a new Bible.

[14:50] someguy: he told me he's been reading the bible
[14:50] someguy: he likes the bible he got from us
[14:50] someguy: he says it has good translation
[14:50] someguy: so it makes a lot more sense
[14:50] someguy: before he was reading like a picture bible with like 10 words per page

"The greatest country in the world" - BM

I love living in LA and working for a high-tech company. Especially when we are hit with blackouts. It makes work _that_ much more challenging, and we all know how we so desperately need that in our lives.

More firsthand accounts from New Orleans

Even though our media is probably the best in the world (in terms of being able to cover important issues and not be censored, etc.), it is completely biased and often influenced by things other than "the public must know."

http://www.uusc.org/katrina/bradshaw.html

I learned in my PoliSci class, oh so long ago, (I sound old don't I?) that in order to get (more of) the big picture, it is often necessary to read news from other countries, because all the media in our country is BIASED. (Even though I'm so lazy that I usually only read the NYTimes.)

(The above link was shamelessly copied from a friend's xanga. I hope you don't mind, RY.)

in case you had any doubts

Contained in an email about an event for graduate computer science students at USC:

Email us if you would be attending the event and your food preferences [Pizza/Indian/Chinese/other?]

This speaks volumes about the racial makeup of our department.

There should be a manual for this

When single guys give other single guys advice about women, it's like . . . . . . . the blind leading the blind.

scooters

Remember when I went to Taiwan and wanted to buy a scooter and bring it back to the US? Yes, I know you remember, Stan. You were the co-founder of the club. Well, our club is about to get our first scooter.

My friend JN bought a scooter...



Yes, that is the color of his scooter. It's raspberry.

Last night, a few of us went over and rode his scooter around the block. It was like I was magically transported back to Taiwan. I want one now.

Here's how I can justify it:
1) It'll save money on insurance. (JN's insurance for his car+scooter is less than he was paying for his car alone)
2) It'll save money on gas. (85mpg)

The scooter could pay for itself in a year. AND I wouldn't have to deal with traffic when I go to work. We're gonna start an Exodus scooter club and ride around in a pack.

Katrina

If we are the richest, most powerful country in the world, if we are the only remaining superpower, and this is the best we can do, how sad is that? Our fellow citizens are basically living in the equivalent of a war-torn country. (Read the post "The Real News" on Sept 1, 2005 and look at the photos here and here.

Dang, President Bush, your record for dealing with national disasters is not looking good....

On another note, what must be going through the minds of homeless people in say....LA? MILLIONS of dollars are being poured out to help those in New Orleans, but nothing is being spent to help the homeless here. I wonder what's going through their minds.

this is what's left of a parking sign that was in the way of my cousin finishing his deck. I keep forgetting to take the "after" shot of when they put it back up.

my cousin finished his "mini" climbing wall. now his future-stunt-double kids can climb on something other than the furniture.

late again

Today was my weekly class. For some unknown reason, I thought the class started at 2pm, so I went out to lunch with my co-workers before driving to SC. I walked in and wondered why everyone was there and the prof was already lecturing. Hmmm......I bust out my laptop, go online to check the schedule, and lo and behold.......the class started at 1pm. Oops. No wonder everyone was staring at me as I walked in.

"But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong." --1 Corinthians 1:27

I hate it how the vast majority of CS majors think they know everything. EVERYTHING. They're always trying to impress each other and the profs with how much they know. When sometimes they really don't know anything. I think it comes from trying to get respect from others because we were all picked on so much in our K-12 education. And now, the only way to get that respect is to prove how smart you are. CONSTANTLY. So annoying. Why do I hate hanging around my classmates so much? I would much rather hang out with non-CS majors. But then I miss people who enjoy logic puzzles, or who are perfectionists. *sigh* Why did God have to make everything a balance? Extremes are so much easier to deal with.

ways to woo a woman

I went shooting with cousin AC and a bunch of friends this weekend. GE was there, too. We had a blast. Watch out for casings hitting your head, and casings rolling onto your flip-flops making burn marks on your toes.

I have a target that I can use to impress my hot dates now.

"See that hole? I made that."

Look ma, I'm a super hero

Names have been changed to protect the innocent (cuz that's what super heroes DO. Actually, super heroes usually change their own names).

[13:43] really cool guy: what do you do again?
[13:43] Jeff: internet crime fighting
[13:43] Jeff: i work for an anti-piracy company
[13:44] really cool guy: lol crime fighting, sounds like a super hero

regional dialects

Why do people from a certain region talk the same? I met a guy from Northern California who talks EXACTLY like our cousin's husband DO. It's freaky. Same tone, same rhythm of speech.

On a totally unrelated note:

"Come look at this stall. Something weird happened." --EH to me while we were in the bathroom (Uh, no thanks.)

I have to be careful what I say when people ask me what I do. Some people get really mad when they find out my occupation.

movies really do suck

In previous years, he said, "you could still count on enough people to come whether you failed at entertaining them or not, out of habit, or boredom, or a desire to get out of the house. You had a little bit of backstop."

"It wasn't like the last crop of summer movies were that much better than this summer," said Mr. Shmuger... (meaning they were just as crappy - my note)

Mr. Lynton said he would focus on making "only movies we hope will be really good." (meaning they make some now that they don't hope will be really good?)

At Universal, Mr. Shmuger said he intends to reassert "time and care and passion" in movie production. Some of his own summer movies, he conceded, should never have been made.

He declined to name them.

Taken from the NY Times article on declining ticket sales. Surprisingly, they didn't blame piracy, like they usually do. (Darn, losing job security)

What would be ideal is if everyone didn't go to the theaters, and just waited for the DVD to come out. Then, you could watch it in the comfort of your own home (and you can pause when you need to go to the bathroom) for a fraction of the price (assuming you don't watch movies alone). AND, because nobody watched it in the theaters, everyone will talk about it when the DVDs get released, not before. So, it's not like you're missing out.

Sadly, this will likely end up an unobtainable dream, just like people boycotting gas stations for a day so the price will drop.

Captive movie titles

I watched The 40 Year Old Virgin with some friends last night (pretty funny). In the theater, I saw a poster for an upcoming movie, The Constant Gardener. Granted, I know nothing else about the movie, but that title really doesn't give me the urge to want to see it.

landsailing

Landsailing was awesome. Even though the wind wasn't constant (it kept blowing and dying), we had some good runs. I probably got up to 25 mph in 15mph winds. I want to build one now.

The highlight of our night was the discovery that hand sanitizer lotion is flammable. People were pouring it in their hands and lighting it on fire, and then trying to take pictures of them holding fire. Purell is apparently the best brand for this (after extensive testing). You can also light the fumes that are left over in empty bottles.

Ultra-lights!!!

the moon rising

one of my fellow landsailers standing next to the boat...uh...buggy....landsailer...thing

Family vacations

Taking a vacation with your family is always a mixed-bag of emotions. Initially, you are excited about seeing your family which you haven't seen in so long. At the beginning of the trip, everything's fine, you're all laughing and enjoying each other's company. As the trip goes on, though, you start to notice all the little things that bug you about your family, and people start to slip into their roles which they have played ever since you were young. Your parents start embarassing you in public, they start nagging you about random stuff (read: everything), your siblings start teasing or fighting with you, etc. Suddenly you can't wait for the trip to be over. And then, when all is said and done, you say goodbye while wishing you had more time together and looking forward to the next time you can all get together. And praying that wasn't the last reunion you'll have (hey, my parents are getting old).

Nah, maybe that's just me.

quick note part 2

According to my (limited) experience, only US restaurants give you free refills on your drinks. Also, food is VERY VERY expensive in Israel. Not so in Taiwan.

I heard (and others have confirmed) that Europeans get 7 weeks off every year from work. This is mandatory vacation, and not something which you can "choose" to take or not.

Israelis have very good English. Especially when compared to Taiwanese. They both learn English in school, so I wonder what the difference is.

The elevators stop on every floor on the Sabbath (Saturday), because you cannot push the buttons. There are separate elevators for non-Sabbath-observing people.

Friday is the beginning of the weekend. The workweek in Israel is Sunday through Thursday. Friday is used to take care of stuff before the Sabbath (Saturday).

"Why did you let me look like that as a senior in high school?" --SW

Only Americans randomly talk to strangers on the street. I'm not sure if this was because we were Asian, so we obviously couldn't speak Hebrew, but I have never been approached by a stranger in a foreign country. On the other hand, I can just be outside getting stuff from my car when dog-walkers will say hi or have a conversation with me.

quick note part 1

About to go landsailing.

Here's some stuff from the Israel trip.

"I keep turning around to talk to you and you keep bugging out! It's like you're anti-queuing or something!"
--Heard in line at the Frankfurt, Germany airport McDonalds. Possibly the most British thing I have ever heard.

"If you treat Melissa like this, I'm going to tell her to boycott you."
--my Mom to my brother

Israel has some of the nicest beaches in the world. And there's very few beach front properties because the government doesn't allow it. So there are huge expanses of beach with no development around them. It's awesome.

In Israel, (as with most of the rest of the world) the cars are smaller on average due to fuel costs (if you saw the picture of gas prices, you know what I'm talking about). Also, because of this, one of the common perks they receive with their jobs is a company car and the company will pay for gas.

Word of advice I received from SWA and AA: When swimming in the Dead Sea, don't rub your eyes, or fart. The reason behind this is left as an exercise for the reader.

Haifa is probably the only place in the world where the rich live on the mountain and the poor live near the beach.

In Israel, the waiters (or everyone?) are very impatient. We were taking too long to order our drinks so he just left before half the table had ordered.

We had a free movie in the hotel, so we decided to watch Le Divorce. After we ordered it, the movie started and the credits started coming up. Someone said, "Hey, Cedric the Entertainer is in it!" Shortly after this, we realized we were watching Johnson Family Vacation.

Israel has the largest diamond exchange in the world. If the prices are kept artificially high, and this is common knowledge, then why do people continue to buy them?

People stared at us the whole time we were in Israel. We saw maybe 1 or 2 other Asians there (not including the tour groups). This is the reason behind cliques in US high schools that no other country can understand. Everywhere else, everyone looks and acts the same (for the most part). They are all Taiwanese or Israeli (those are the only two countries I've been to). But in the US, everyone is different. So you naturally cling to those who are similar to you. In Taiwan, they were baffled at why movies about high school always had cliques. They didn't think it was real.

Korean ageism

In Korea, due to the reverance of elders, there is a law that prevents companies from hiring new employees (people with no experience, fresh college grads, etc.) over the age of 27, 28, or 29 (it varies by company). "Why?" the dear reader asks. Well, you've asked the right blog. Let's look at an example, shall we? We shall.

What happens if a new employee is say, 40? And his manager is, say, 28? The manager will have a hard time telling the new employee what to do (due to the cultural habit of respecting your elders). This only applies to entry level positions, so it's not like you can't switch jobs after you hit 30.

I heard this from my Korean coworker, DS.

Oct 4, 2005

The Complete Calvin and Hobbes

These aren't the droids you're looking for

The Israel pictures are up if anyone cares.

My server sucks. It keeps deleting the stuff I post. Oh well, I gotta migrate it to my new computer.

How do people find out about my xanga account if I didn't post anything?

This is the post-90s

I keep reading/hearing/seeing how girls want to marry a mi/bi/tri-llionaire. Well, I for one am sick of it. C'mon people! This is the (whatever-this-current-decade-is-called)'s! What about gender equality? Why is it always up to the guy to make the money? Where are the girls who want to make their own fortunes? Without them, I'll never have my dream of marrying into wealth. *sigh*

Please, dear reader (that's you), tell all the females you know to become ambitious, driven people, make a lot of money, and then find a nice, Christian, Asian, mandarin-speaking female to give the money to. And then tell THAT girl to come find me.

Yeah, yeah, all the posts about Israel are coming.

just me and my God

All alone again. I'm at the Frankfurt airport in Germany where our family just parted ways after visiting Israel for 10 days. I have the longest layover (again) so I was just going to wait with my family til they took off. But they are in a different terminal and the security people check boarding passes to make sure you're supposed to be there, which I'm not. After an impromptu farewell, I am left all alone again. Kinda sucks to travel alone. But it frees you up for a lot of pondering time.

For you, the reader

If you are getting on an international flight, you are required to check-in 1 hr. before the flight takes off. Otherwise, they don't let you on. I don't know this for any particular reason, I just thought I'd share out of the goodness of my heart.

be back in about a week

Holy Land, here I come.

Just remember, there's someone dying of starvation somewhere right now

According to Forbes, this is how much yearly post-tax income it takes to live well in the U.S.

Boston, MA       $407,200
Los Angeles, CA  $366,655
Columbus, OH     $222,192

Of course, their definition of "well" may be more lavish than many people are used to.

traveling peeves

I heard there are people who ship their luggage to their destination instead of bringing it on the plane with them. You don't have to deal with your luggage at the aiport, nor wait at the baggage claim. But apparently the biggest draw is avoiding the annoyance of the airlines losing your luggage.

They must have to shell out quite a bit of money to ship luggage. I guess people are really distrustful of the airlines.

Racial issues

Why is it that if you have one parent who is Asian, and the other is white, you are considered hapa/mixed/half, but if you have any ancestors who are black, you are considered black?

I live above my parents' garage

I'm in the process of moving into my new apartment on the west side.

I finally figured out why in LA it seems like more people live at home.

#1. Because there are more people in LA, so if the percentage stays constant, there will be more people living at home.
#2. Because it doesn't only SEEM like there are, there actually are. The percentage is not constant, it is more. See #3.
#3. Because it's SO EXPENSIVE to live here. People just can't afford to move out and live on their own. It requires a much higher income, thereby (on average) people must wait longer (like until they get a good paying job) to move out.

This makes total sense. This also applies to Taiwan where there are even more people living at home. I must be tired. I can't believe I didn't figure this out before.

This also plays into why everyone is so driven here. When I say "driven" I mean willing to go for their dreams. My sister, on a recent visit here, commented that it seems like more people here are willing to go for their dreams. People back home (read: Ohio) have as many dreams as people here, but it seemed to her that LA'ers were more willing to take the risk and actually do something about their dreams. I have two explanations for this.

#1. There are a lot of smart and successful people in LA. Thus, people are motivated to be successful and it possibly may be more important to them. Who wants to be the odd ball who is different from everyone around them?
#2. See #3 above. Everything is so expensive here and we are surrounded by wealth. It just makes people want to be rich. Partly out of necessity, but partly out of envying what everyone else has.

Okay, so the two reasons are kinda the same. So I only have one reason. So what. Lists are cool.

I've never heard of "best woman" or "best person" (instead of best man). But apparently people are starting to have them. Or be them. Or maybe they've always had this and I'm just out of the loop. I'm just wondering if they stand on the groom's side and what do they wear? A black dress? She has to match the other groomsmen, right?

Travel wishes

Does anybody know anyone in Germany? I have a 9 hour layover there. Someone meet me at the airport and take me somewhere cool! Someone who speaks English preferably.

Wicked, the musical

"Ladies and gentlemen, due to some technical difficulties, we have stopped Wicked. We will resume the musical as soon as possible. Thank you for your patience."

About 5 minutes into the first scene, Glinda says, "Did you just hear a stop?" And then, "I guess we should just walk offstage." and proceeds to do so. After which, the rest of the cast walks offstage and the curtain lowers. Huh? Apparently, they had some problems and had to stop the musical to fix it. Very weird.

The best part is towards the end of musical when Elphaba says, "Not everyone can ride in on a bubble. Apparently, not even you." This was a reference to the bubble that broke, causing the technical difficulty. Everyone started laughing and clapping. Talk about improv skills.

"What's in that drink?"
"Lemons, Melons, and Pears."
"Oh my."

Sometimes when there is an emotional or moving part of a play/musical/movie, I like to look around and watch the expression on the audiences' faces. It's funny to see EVERYONE staring at the screen/stage holding their breath, waiting to see what will happen. Fixated. I wish I could take a picture of it.

Overall, very pleased with the musical. Very funny, and cool special effects. I like how they tie in everything from the Wizard of Oz and constantly put in jokes. I think the thing that gets me the most is how the whole story changes if you know the backstory. (Or how if they wrote a different backstory, the whole story would be completely different.) I wonder how many things in history were taught from our perspective (probably all of it) and how many were from an objective standpoint? Just makes me want to travel that much more to other countries.

More pics from Vegas have been uploaded as well as DVJ's birthday pics.

movie goofs

If you watch Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, be prepared. They put the golden ticket on the wrong side of the chocolate bar in the movie. Pay attention to the beginning (when they show the credits) and notice where they put the golden ticket. Then watch the movie and notice when they open the chocolate bars.

--OR--

...just ignore what I said and enjoy the movie. Better than I thought. I don't remember if they talked about Willy Wonka's childhood in the book. Anybody?

Viva, Las .....

Pics from the Vegas trip are up. My batteries died, thus the few pictures.

Funny stories will most likely be posted here. We are in the process of compiling everything funny, a humor list, if you will.

Notes:

The desert is HOT, but dry is 2000% preferable to humid. In either case, I will sweat a lot.

Throwing banana bread at each other's crotches is the result of putting 4 guys in a room.

The fun you have when going to Vegas is directly proportional to the fun rating of the people you go with. The equation looks something like:
FUN = BH + ∑_1,n  fun_i
where

• n = number of ppl
  
• fun_i = fun rating of person i
  
• BH = 150 if BH is present, 0 otherwise
  
• FUN = the fun you will experience. Anything above 100 is fun.

Playing in poker tournaments on less than 2 hrs of sleep is fun, but you won't win money. You will also fall asleep at the tables later.

Casinos open new decks of cards every time they switch dealers. The old ones get holes punched in them and are sold in gift shops. That's crazy. And awesome. Awesome, but crazy.

You can get half of your rooms comp'd if TC goes with you.

First time I've been to Vegas since I turned 21. Probably one of the best trips there I'll ever have.

IM etiquette

RY: "are you really laughing or are you just typing a laugh?"

Do you really laugh when you type "haha" or "lol"? Or do you fake it?

hehe - chuckle
haha - laugh (note: this can be of variable length)
lol - reserved for those times where I spit out whatever I have in my mouth onto the monitor

So if you see me "lol" (pronounced: loll, rhymes with roll), you know I am getting up to get a paper towel or something.

don't kill me if you don't get it

http://crux.baker.edu/cdavis09/roses.html

Read how Bill Gates did.

LV, NV

Pictures from this past weekend are up, including Dave and Steph's wedding pics.

Tomorrow is the Vegas trip, BABY!

ben affleck/uma thurman

I got my first paycheck from my first full-time job today. Feels good to be earning a living.

Ok, ok, it feels good to be receiving money for a job. I don't know that I "earn" anything yet. Actually, I'm pretty sure I don't. God will finally be receiving a regular tithe from me.

funny cousins

Overheard at Dave's wedding.

DC: "Those lights look like they're from Europe."
EL: "Really? I thought they were from England."

This quote brought to you by EL Moments^TM, make every moment an embarrassing one.

speak good

Me: "You don't have that perogative."
Mei: "PER-ogative?"
Me: "PRE-rogative. That's what I said."
Mei: "Uh, huh."
Me: "You need to hear good."
Mei: "Hear better."

It has begun . . . again

Today marks the first day that my immediate family will arrive for DW and SC's wedding. Let the fun begin!

After eating with D and S for dinner last night, this is what I have learned:

they don't plan on giving the pastor anything specific to say, he can basically improv through the ceremony, including vows

bridesmaids and groomsmen can stand anywhere during the ceremony and at least one plans on getting food during the event. I said I would go up there and stand with the wedding party.

the MC is on his own; no schedule of any kind will be provided. That's you JH.

the coolest part will be how people find their tables at the banquet. I'll leave that as a surprise.

Theme: "We want people to feel free to do anything they want." --Steph

I can't wait.

the magic of Mah Jongg

I just learned how to play Mah Jongg. It's awesome. You have been warned.

The adventures of Da Sau

When the happy couple were opening their wedding presents, they came upon one in particular. It was a gift bag with a box inside. After Melissa took the box out, we found that the box was a box of ice cream cones. We all started laughing and joking around that somebody gave them a box of ice cream cones. But no, it was not to be. Melissa opens the box and lo and behold, she pulls out an umbrella. She says, "Oh good, I need one of these."

We were teaching Melissa to play poker last week. She folds her hand before the flop. After the river, somebody won with a straight or a flush. I ask her, "Would you have won?" She says, "Nah, I would've had three 7's and two 8's."

Pictures from Stan and Melissa's wedding are up.

Self Help fortune.

Does this not look like Blockbuster is selling fireworks? California is so confusing.

Happy "We beat the British" Day

It's no fun watching fireworks at the pier when it is cloudy. And there's no music. We made it up by lighting various fireworks in the street afterwards.

I found out today that one of our dragon boat team members is the sister of Gil!!!! Gil is a good friend who came to Ohio with my cousin Dave for their residency. We've hung out for the past few years, and now I found out I've been rowing with his sister for the past few months. That's crazy. (insert "It's a small world" song here)

I start work tomorrow. I hope I like it. And I hope I'm not late.

signs of addiction

Ahhhhh! I have to board! My access to the internet will be cut off for the next 8 hours! What will I do? WHAT WILL I DO? I can feel the connection slowly being pulled out of my hands with every step I take to the gate.

Free wifi

I'm here sitting at a table in the Columbus International Airport, waiting for my flight to board. I love it when airports have free wifi. It makes the waiting so much less boring. I have to say that is a huge draw for owning a laptop. Watching movies on the plane (that you choose, so it's not a crappy selection), watching movies during layovers, and accessing the internet.

Everytime I come back to Ohio, it's......weird. This is where I grew up, my hometown, my origin. But it's not 'home' anymore. Sure, my parents live here (and Just), and I'll always have a room when I come, but it's no longer my base of operations. But when I'm in LA, I'll always say I'm from Ohio. It feels like this is a place where I visit rather than where I come back to. If I buy stuff, I have to have it shipped to LA. All my stuff is there, including my car. It's almost like living in a hotel that has a permanent room for you. Is this a part of growing up and moving on? Maybe.

prodigious amount of pics

I'm still in the process of uploading all the pics off my camera. Here are the galleries to my knowledge. I will add more as I become aware of them.

Sherry Wang-Axelrod's pics	count: 52
Joseph Huang's pics	count: 75
Jennifer Lee's pics	count: 69
Eric Mui's pics	count: 32
My pics	count: 146
	Total pics: 374

wedding slideshow/video

If I say wedding "video", people are like "huh?" If I say wedding "slideshow" they're like "oooooh."

If anybody wants to watch the video/slideshow that was played at the banquet, here it is. WARNING: this is a 70MB shockwave flash file. (i.e. it's BIG, and you need shockwave flash to watch it) It's recommended you right-click and save the file to your computer before playing it for smoother playback. Just double-click and it *should* play in your favorite browser.

Start from the beginning

I arrived in Columbus early last week and hung out with some friends. Then the chaos began.

Too many things happened in the past week. I'll just run the highlight reel.

• some relatives didn't arrive because they checked in 4 minutes late at the airport
  
• some relatives didn't arrive because the airline cancelled the flight
  
• waiting to do the slideshow is not a Good Idea^TM. But having cousins and a sister to help you is. Thanks to JH, EH, DC, and JW. You guys saved me.
  
• playing poker with fruit loops is.......different
  
• when playing Mafia with newbies, don't assume they know what to do
  
• watching movies with a projector on a wall is the way to go, but not as cool as our neighbor who projects it on the side of his neighbor's house
  
• tying balloons to a car and then leaving it outside in 90 degree weather means the balloons will pop
  
• if the Maid of Honor wears a different dress than the bridesmaids, everyone will think she is the bride and wonder whether to stand when she walks down the aisle
  
• nobody can pronounce my sister-in-law's name. It's either Marissa, Militia, or Maw-lee-saw.
  
• some people don't know you are supposed to wait to blow the bubbles when the bride and groom walk down the aisle
  
• shaking the hands of 180 people as they leave the ceremony gets tiring after the first......20.
  
• stuffing 30 or more people into a house makes it VERY hot, especially when they are dressed in wedding attire
  
• you don't eat at your own wedding banquet because you don't have an appetite (or you are frantically trying to finish the slideshow)
  
• your dad will advertise your single-ness at your brother's wedding
  
• if Bostonians come to Ohio for your brother's wedding, take them to Cedar Point, they will enjoy it
  
• you don't get any sleep the week around your brother's wedding
  
• lack of sleep and yelling at Cedar Point will make you lose your voice
  

Having a sister-in-law doesn't feel any different, really. Just one more person to make fun of around the house.

Congratulations to Mr. Stanley Wang and Mrs. Melissa Yang! (this whole not changing your name thing is starting to become a trend) May you have smart kids so I don't have to tutor them in math. And may they have as much fun playing together as we did, Stan. I'm sure they'll have plenty of embarassing stories to tell at their weddings, too.

Wedding pictures to come......

Weddings are exhausting

I'm tired.

Oh, you mean that guy

I used to be an idealist. I used to want to change the world. I used to want, no demand, perfection. Then I took Latin 2 as a sophomore in high-school and got lazy with all the memorizations of all the different forms of words and whatnot. I stopped caring so much and started procrastinating more. ("More?" you ask. "You can procrastinate more?" Apparently. 'finishing projects not the night before, but the day of, and then turning in half complete assignments' sounds like more to me.) I somehow(*) managed to graduate high school and get into college, where I became an idealist again. I wanted to make a difference. Improve the world. Better society. I made plans. They were forgotten. New, better plans were made. They were left in Kyle's pants pocket and went through the laundry. We attempted to piece together the plans. Then, slowly, the pressures of the world took root.

Graduation came and went. I didn't attend for fear of contracting "boring-graduation-ceremony-itis". No one said a thing. After all, I'm Asian. College is just the first foray into the academic career I'm expected to achieve. In my parents' minds, there would be many more graduations. I went to Taiwan to learn Chinese because "it's embarassing to not know your own mother language". Well, that and I wanted to travel to another country and I knew my parents would be glad to "send" me to Taiwan. When I say send, I really mean fund. I found out I got accepted for who-knows-what-reason(*) to USC and came back to study.

Now that I've finished my first year, and somehow(*) got a full-time job, I find myself not wanting to change the world, or even to improve it. All I want is security. Financial security so I can maintain my current standard of living. Job security so I can have the means to ensure my financial security. Health/well-being security so I can keep working, playing, travelling, and enjoying life. I no longer am the person I used to be. I am content to settle for being another consumer in a consumer driven society. Sure, I care about the environment, religious matters, and personal freedom. I take interests in current events, politics, and the stock market. I have an avid curiousity about all things technology-related. But what am I doing? I'm just living life and it's passing me by. Thoughts that crowd my mind are now, "What kind of experience can I get from this job?" "How should I invest my money?" "How fast should I finish my degree so I can do other things?" "Should I continue school? Get a PhD?" "What does God have planned for my life?" "I hope God wants me to be rich and comfortable." Notice how many "me/my/I"'s are there. What happened to that guy that wanted to be benevolent, altruistic, a do-gooder, a catalyst for change, a joy-spreader? He's hiding in the corner waiting for someone to talk to him and ask him where he's been all these years. The only other person in the room is me and I'm too busy surfing the net posting random thoughts on my blog to notice I'm not alone.

(*)Kyle's Jeff-is-blessed theory: Jeff is blessed by God and no matter how many tests he fails, he'll always get a passing grade. No matter how many schools reject him, he'll get accepted into one. No matter how many classes he misses, he'll end up with a higher GPA than the previous semester. No matter how bad he messes up his interviews, he'll get the job. And most important of all, no matter what he posts on his blog, people will read it.

pictures from Eddie's wedding are up.

the smell of fresh cut grass, and the poo you just stepped in

I mowed the lawn today. Yes, you read that correctly. Ohioans actually mow their own lawns. We are too far away from a certain other country to have much cheap labor. And we actually have huge lawns to mow. It's so weird how there are huge lots in Ohio that cost less than half of a much smaller lot/house in LA. Too bad land is not transportable. We should have teleporters so you can live in one place and work in another.

Weddings are a very strange phenomenon. It's like showing all your friends and family how big of a party you can throw. But shouldn't they be the ones throwing you a party? What if weddings were planned out by family and friends and the couple just came and were entertained? I think that would be more enjoyable. Unless you have friends with vastly different tastes than you. Or cheap friends. Or no friends. That would suck to get married and have no friends. Maybe you can marry someone with a lot of friends. Starting to get off track here....

Anyway, I'm gonna post pictures of Eddie's wedding.

The best was when Joe broke a wine glass when the procession was coming in. And immediately after, Sam yelled, "Joe, Joe! Fire! Fire!" as the candle on Joe's table grew into a 5" flame. Good thing Joe is a firefighter. He did a good job watching as the waiter came to put it out.

Joe also tried to get all the male cousins to pick up Eddie (the groom) and parade him around the table when they came around to toast the tables. We didn't really know what he was talking about, so Joe ended up picking Eddie up by himself. He had a 3-person cheering section made up of his kids. And all the cousins were just looking at him thinking, "What is going on?"

2 weddings down. 2 more (and 1 reception in Israel) left. And the one in Taiwan this December. Nobody else get married this year. I don't have any more vacation time to allot. Man, working is gonna take up all my free time. And when I say free time, I mean sleep time.

Should I make my speech funny? Or serious? A lot of the funny stuff about Stan you had to be there to understand. Or have the same sense of humor as our family.

Pictures from Judy's graduation are up. Also, 3 pictures from Steve/Joe's BBQ are up.

Back in Ohio

I am back in Ohio. I'll be here for 3 weeks attending to matters of great importance, namely seeing that my brother's marriage celebration goes off without a hitch. Ohio is a lot more humid than I remember. It must be all that dry SoCal air I'm getting used to. It's cloudy here. But the air is a lot cleaner.

Since attending E3 a few weeks back, I've wanted to write an article exploring video games and why people play them. Here is an article interviewing the founder of an online "game" called Second Life. Basically it's a virtual world where people can customize their characters, buy virtual land, and interact with each other. What makes it different is that you can build anything you want. I assume there are no/few built-in items, and most of the stuff (vehicles, buildings, weapons, clothes, etc.) is user-designed. People buy/sell these items in-game and then the game currency can be exchanged for real $US. There have been other games where people will buy/sell items or characters in real life on eBay, but this is different because these things are user-created. You can start your own store in a virtual world and earn a living. Making things that don't exist.

Ever heard of funhi.com? It's another social network thingamajig but you buy stuff for other people. Virtual stuff. People are paying money for this kind of thing.

Jeff's fables

Monday: Got an interview with JL's company. Cousin's kid got a cut on hand. Had to watch one of the stunt-doubles while Cousin and cousin's wife took cousin's kid to the emergency room. Called for backup to watch the stunt-double because I had to leave for interview. Shower;change;drive. Got to interview on time. Said stupid stuff in interview. JL calls me later and tells me they offered me a job despite my stupid comments and inexperience because JL used his influence. Thanks to JL for my future job and income.

Moral of the story: treat your pastors nice. You will need them someday. And treat God nice too. You need him everyday.

Tuesday: stayed up til 1:something AM fixing some girl's computer. Turned out her harddrive on her laptop, where she keeps all her pictures, papers, email, assignments-she-needs-to-turn-it-to-graduate (aka her entire life), had some bad sectors and the file system got corrupted. The computer wouldn't boot, we needed a Windows XP CD to use the recovery console, and no one in the vicinity had one. We musta spent 30 min trying to call someone who had one. Finally JT's landlord came home, who is a programmer at JPL, and we used his.

Moral of the story: backup your important data. Don't trust your hardware; expect it to fail. Drink milk. Use sunscreen. Exercise. Eat your leafy-green-veggies. Eat whole wheat bread. Treat your geek friends nice, you will need them someday.

As a sidenote, I'm surprised we were able to get the computer running again. If history is any indicator (when does history repeat?), the data would have been lost. I've only seldom been able to recover data when my hard drives crash. But that's usually because I do things stupidly and I don't backup my data. God was with us on that one. The fact that her graduation is on Saturday and all her assignments were on that disk didn't help either. "I'm gonna cry/What should I do?/What if it doesn't work?/Can you fix it?/Is it fixed?/Does that mean it's ok?/What does that mean?/How long will it take?/Make sure you have the 'codes' " were common phrases heard that night.

Wednesday: helped paint my cousin's newly acquired boat. Got toxic paint dust all over myself. I wonder if this will lead to cancer in the future. Probably.

Moral of the story: treat your radiation-therapist friends nice. I will need them someday.

If all goes well...

It looks like my job search is over.

Stupid auto-pay

I can't believe how stupid the auto-pay system is for my credit card. The reason I signed up for this so-called 'Auto-pay' is so that it will automatically pay my credit card bill and I won't forget and have to pay fees. I assumed it would just deduct the credit card bill amount from my bank account at a predetermined time every month. But, alas, no.

I found out today, after much "huh?"-ing and poking around, that the system pays ONE amount every month. So for example, I can set it to pay $100 every month. Or $200. But I can't set it to automatically pay my bill. I found out that when I started this thing, I owed something like $900. The next month, my bill was only $450. I thought the payment would change and only pay $450. It didn't. It payed another $900. And I didn't have that much in my bank account, so I overdrew, and got charged. Stupid. So now, even if I sign up for this system, I still have to change the amount every month to reflect my current balance. Wow, it really simplified my life.

My job search continues.

I present to you, for your enjoyment...

Pictures have been posted. Features include but are not limited to:

• E3 photos


• a Benny Mao^TM production


• miscellaneous other weird stuff

Weddings are creeping up like a fart someone let in the corner of the room and then slowly spreads to cover the entire area. I have to come up with a speech. And finish the video.

Summer is nice

I like summer.

Went to E3. It was crowded and they gave away lots of useless free stuff. Took pictures of the new Xbox 360. The whole show is like an amusement park. You wait in line for everything.

Saw Episode 3. It was good. I fell asleep during the first half though, cuz we saw it at 3am. I love being unemployed.

We started a new blog for random weirdness that goes on at the Exodus. Check it out.

Be careful what you wish for

me: "How come all you guys moved to LA?"
DVJ: "I dunno, it has to be God. I remember in college when I said 'I will never, never move to LA.'"
me: "Who says God doesn't have a sense of humor?"
DVJ: "I know, God has a great sense of humor."
--pause--
DVJ: "I will never, never marry somebody hot."

Proof the commentators really have nothing to talk about during high speed chases

I was watching yet another high speed chase on the news today when the commentator said, "The suspect is coming up on an intersection where he will once again have to make a decision on whether to go east, west, or continue south." Thank you for that bit of information. I was getting confused there for a minute.

Huh?

BH: "You only look like you do."

Translation (courtesy of BM): "Only you look like you do." (Referring to Pax Americana and the unique position Asian Americans have in that they speak English, yet have an Asian face, which gives them an advantage in Asian missions.)

Allergies are bad for you

I'm too tired to write about anything funny. There were too many interesting things that happened during finals up til now.

• Someone was moaning and passed out in one of my finals, we had to call campus security
  
• Made it to Ohio safely, it was cold, I missed my friend's wedding ceremony because we were late (it was only 10 min long)
  
• Made it back to California safely, where the sun shines year round
  
• finished finals; am pondering on what to do with the rest of my life
  
• helped out Exodus at the OMF conference, where many funny conversations took place
  
  • JT: "Let's all share our insecurities about ourselves."
    
  • BM: "You can't swim with stingrays."
    NS: "You can in Stingray City."
    
  • BM reverse dunking into thin air when he thought the hoop was behind him.
    
  • Eating at a restaurant when NS decides to order and looks at a menu from a different restaurant than the one we were at
    
• Suffering through allergies all of today (not fun)
  

Did I mention that in Taiwan movie theaters, when you buy a ticket, you get assigned seating? We went to go see Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy today and my visiting Taiwan guest asked me if there was assigned seating. In Taiwan, every ticket is printed with a seat number.

free country n. a country in which you can choose your seat in a movie theater rather than being assigned one.

Finals are over

Finals are over. I locked my keys in my car when I parked in the garage. Now I gotta call Acura Roadside Assistance.

Finals

Finals are here again. They still suck. Possibly the last finals I take in a while? Who knows.

Exodus Worship Night

Pictures from the Exodus Worship Night and other moments are posted.

Too bad I don't have any other funny ones of DVJ.

This is for you Dr. DW.

Academic fondness

Don't you love it when you've just stayed up all night finishing a project that is due the next day so you can go to a casino with your friends, only to find out that you have a paper due that same day that you haven't started on? Me too.

Don't ask

Congratulations, you are the millionth reader of this website! For your efforts, you get a special 3-in-1 post.

A few weeks ago, TC was wearing glasses because he had an allergic reaction and his contacts were bothering him.

TC: "I hate wearing glasses because they make me look old."
(jump to FC, who is the oldest one in the room, and also wears glasses)
FC: "Thanks."
< insert laughter here >

Flash forward to tonight, at men's group.
It was JN's birthday last Saturday, but he went back to North Carolina to visit friends. He came back today, and JT made a cake. After we sing a horrible rendition of Happy Birthday, someone asks JN how old he is.
JN: "I'm old. (in chinese) 29 years old."
(jump to FC, whose age is greater than 29)
FC: "(imitating JN in a whiny voice) I'm old, I'm turning 29."
< insert laughter here >

About 20 minutes later, it is announced we have _another_ cake. Mud Pie ice cream cake. FC has recently hired a physical trainer and is on a strict diet.
FC: "C'mon, don't you know some of us are on a DIET?"
< insert laughter here >

Man, we're too nice to our friends.
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While playing basketball on Monday, Transhi was shooting with one hand. He broke his arm about 2 months ago (also playing basketball, people never learn from their mistakes) and so he couldn't use his other hand. He usually wears a sling, but that night, he just wore a brace-like-doohicky under his shirt, so it wasn't very noticable. He just kept his arm by his side and used his other hand to dribble and shoot. We kept calling him the one armed bandit. There was a little kid that was shooting with us and when he heard us, he noticed Transhi was only shooting with one hand.

Little Kid (incredulously): "You don't know how to shoot with two hands?"

What is a middle-schooler doing out at 9pm playing basketball with a bunch of strangers, anyway? Asian strangers, at that. Doesn't he know we're dangerous?
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A Native American is walking down the sidewalk in an upscale suburban neighborhood behind two strangers. He is good-looking, about 23, and plays the bass like none other. The two strangers are Caucasian, one male, one female. They look like they are a couple. They are about the same age, and attractive (as attractive as Caucasians can be, anyway. We all know Asians are the best looking people in the world). The female suddenly turns around with a disgusted look on her face. The Native American looks down and to his own horror, finds he has peed his pants. Embarrassed, he picks up his pace and walks past the two disgust-stricken Caucasians, who can't help but stare at him. The girl makes a comment about how 'they' can't help it, as if Native Americans are infamous for uncontrollably urinating in their pants. Out of nowhere, the Native American notices a truck coming down the street. He seizes the opportunity, and pushes the girl into the street, just as the truck is passing. The girl screams, and is instantly killed as the truck hits her. Her male companion is shocked at what he has just witnessed, but soon he turns furious. The Native American turns and runs down the sidewalk, hoping to escape the inevitable fury of this unknown aquaintance(there's an oxymoron for ya). As he runs, he turns into a house with an open door. As he is about to enter, two girls appear in the doorway. (For clarity, they are called Girl A and Girl B) Girl A says "I'm responsible for 3 girls who don't like you anymore. Me, my sister, and my friend (referring to Girl B)." Apparently, this is in reference to what has just transpired. Girls don't like random murderers, apparently. Girl B says, "I saw that digusting thing you just did, but are you currently dating anyone?" At which point Girl A pulls Girl B back, dumbfounded that she would still be interested in this heinous person standing in the doorway. Just then, the male counterpart to the now deceased rag doll on the street arrives at the house and the Native American starts to punch him into a bloody pulp. Blood squirts everywhere a la "Kill Bill" and the screen fades to black.

I had this dream while I was taking a nap on Monday. I was the Native American. Go figure.

Stan, got your message

Correction, YOU'RE the loser.

Note to self

It is possible to fit 2 Oncology fellows plus 1 PhD fellow plus their luggage into my car.

Driving fast on CA freeways freaks out people from Baltimore.

It is possible to go from Anaheim to Long Beach, grab dinner, go to UCLA, drive thru Beverly Hills, find Mann's Chinese Theater and back to Anaheim in 6 hours.

Mann's Chinese Theater is on Hollywood Blvd. not Sunset Blvd.

It's pretty easy to beat a dragon boat team with half as many people as your team. Even if it's your team's first practice.

California beaches are the reason it would be hard to move back to Ohio. That, and the weather.

If you show up late to a dinner with your Uncles, Aunts, and cousins, they will want you to finish off the rest of the food. They will also try to make you eat as fast as possible by pouring your tea for you, clearing your plate, putting food on your plate and giving you clean wet-cloths. And they will talk about you the whole time.

Breaking up with your girlfriend is big news to the extended family.

Having a big family is great. There's always someone to talk about or someone to help you out when you travel.

Going to bed after a long day dragon-boating, playing beach volleyball, eating dinner with relatives, and putting over 100 miles on your car is priceless. Especially if your body is sore.

DW, hope you had fun reading at the beach. What a fun day, it was great to hang out. Share that boba with your roomies.