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.