And So It Goes

I HAVE A BABY

2012-02-13T23:31:00.000-08:00

...nephew! So cute, and I am already in love with the lil' angel!!

He is half white/half asian, and 100% adorable...can't wait to meet the little guy in a few weeks!

I'm stupid and I hate Dish Network

2012-02-04T00:04:00.000-08:00

So after I moved out of my old apartment, I had my Dish service on pause.

Why? Because I was under the impression that if I cancelled my account, I would need to pay $150 ($50 x 3 months remaining on my contract), plus any cancellation fees.

So 6 months later, and about $35ish (to pause my account), I get an email saying that they are reactivating my service (regardless of whether I called them or not). So I decided to inquire how much it cost to cancel (I should have done this 6 months ago), and the customer service lady tells me $45, plus $17 to return the equipment (if I use their services).

ONLY $45. I AM DUMB!!!

So I ask at what point I could have cancelled and still be within that $45 window, and she got all bitchy at me and was like "Ma'am, it depends on how many months remaining." Which did not answer my question really, except that 6 months ago I could have cancelled my service and saved myself $35.

FUDGE.

BLEH.

2012-01-28T22:05:00.000-08:00

I am sick. With a horrible cough. That wakes me up around 2 am, and leaves me drifting on and off to sleep because of said cough.

I have the worst immune system.

Speaking of things that suck...aparment hunting. There seems to be no affordable 1 bd/1 bath WITH parking in LA.

WTHM,WTH (what the heck man, what the heck).

They're Not Related?

2012-01-16T12:04:00.000-08:00

After watching Portlandia (season 1) on Netflix over winter break, I felt like Carrie Brownstein reminded me of someone. But who could it be...

She reminded me of Justin Long:

It's their soulful brown eyes, moody gaze, and slightly pursed lips.

Maybe I'm crazy?

The Barstow Outlets

2012-01-15T12:26:00.000-08:00

For those of you desert locals, you may know what I'm talking about...

I was reminded about the outlets today when talking to one of my sisters, who was outlet shopping today. That got me thinking about outlet shopping in the desert, and (I think) the closest one to R/C is the Barstow Factory Outlets.

I have only been twice in my life, I think both in my high school days. The first time I went, I remember it being pretty big/busy (I remember getting a pair of black and blue DC skate shoes...ugh, I know....haha). The second time I went (probably a few years later), it was like a ghost town, with most stores gone and the majority of the building vacant - apparently it is like a 150+ stores outlet, and only 5-6 are still in business now.

I was trying to find out what happened, but there aren't any news article. Did the owners file for bankruptcy? Was it just the economy forcing all those businesses to close? And/or did all/most of the stores decide to move literally across the street to the newer outlet mall?

Below is a video (not shot by me) about how the place has become a ghost town (which always makes me a little sad hearing stories like this).

Also found an interesting blog about "dying" malls...it's actually very interesting!

Not Gonna Lie...

2012-01-09T20:19:00.000-08:00

I am offended:

The above receipt was from a NYC Papa Johns.

The above is from a Chik Fil A in Irvine.

Couldn't the cashiers of both restaurants leave the name/guest ID blank???

I normally don't even notice these things, as I throw my receipts away...

2011 Year in Review...

2012-01-08T19:11:00.000-08:00

8 days later.

2011 was a so-so year - not too bad, but not super awesome either.

Here is my 2011 in review:
- moved out of my apartment... : D
- worked a tonnnn of hours
- learned my oldest sister is baking a bun in the oven (i will be an aunt in a month!)
- joined the smart phone club and got my first smart phone, an iFun

Haha, my year-in-review is not impressive, minus the aunt thing.

A sad, sad story...

2011-12-23T00:32:00.000-08:00

Just saw this on Yahoo! news...and all I can think is W-T-F.

The article is about a young boy who was doused with gasoline and set on fire by a teenage neighbor in 1998; two weeks prior, the same neighbor sexually assaulted this young boy. However no charges were filed on the teen.

This poor little boy had burns on over 99% of his body; although he lived for another 13 years, he died of a rare form of skin cancer that developed due to his skin grafts.

The family was awarded a (symbolic) $150 billion settlement from the perp, but will never see the money.

I'm a little too tired to write anything more coherent/cohesive...this article is sad and scary....this little kid was walking in daylight to his friend's house - it just reinforces the scary thought that bad things can happen at anytime.

Don't Know Why I Like This...

2011-12-19T23:21:00.000-08:00

but I love these videos:

"TWINSIESSSSSS!"

OLD

2011-12-12T21:31:00.000-08:00

The older I get, the worse my memory is.

I somehow have managed to lose a pair of jeans (and a pair that I really like)...the scary thing is I don't know how I lost them! I cannot recollect the last time I wore them.

I just hope I can find them.

Youth of Today

2011-12-04T15:28:00.000-08:00

Just saw this on Facebook, and wow...it made me really sad. We all think of kids as being sweet and innocent (which I think they are until they hit elementary/middle school), but then peer pressure and the need to fit in kicks in and ruins childhood and turns some kids into evil, manipulative people who need to tear others down.

I do regret some of my actions in middle school; there was a time I wanted to be "cool" (luckily that phase passed quickly, especially since I realized I wasn't a "cool" kid and was never going to be one of those folks), but I probably could have been a nicer/better person (I don't think I was a beezy - I was too busy being shy!!! - but I probably could have been better in that I could have not cared about stupid social hierarchy balogna). I luckily never was bullied, although I was teased for my race (elementary school) and height (ummm...my whole life????).

Every time I hear a bullying story, it makes me sad; I just want to find that kid and tell them to hang in there, and that this bs won't matter after they get out of high school, because no one cares who you were or what you did - whether you sat at the cool table or not will not be on your job application (which, by the way, doesn't it seem strange that in movies, TV shows, and real life, the popular kids are usually the scheisty beezies who everyone else hates???)

Parents need to be involved with this type of stuff...how do the parents OF bullies feel??? I hope they are not teaching their kids to be that way.

Anywho, found this nice follow-up video that someone made that shows that there is more out there than what middle school and high school has to offer:

Netflix Is Currently Down...

2011-11-27T20:02:00.000-08:00

and people are threatening to end their service. Come on, people! Websites/services are not perfect, and sometimes can crash/not work. I understand being annoyed, but threatening to end a service because of that seems extreme.

I do understand people's frustrations in that there is no explanation as to what is wrong - the website looks to be working in that you can access the login page (but an error shows when you try to type in your password).

What Netflix should do is put an error message on their website (i.e. "Sorry! The site is currently down, but we are working very hard to fix this!") so people understand that the site is actually down instead of trying to repeatedly reset (yes, that was me).

I honestly thought someone hacked into my account and had changed info around; it only wasnt' until I did a Google search that I found out it was system-wide, Like Anonymous, I was relieved that it wasn't just me!

Back to Basics

2011-11-26T23:49:00.001-08:00

I removed the patterned border, mainly just because.

I'm taking a break from doing work...and I'm totally craving green bean casserole.

Happy Thanksgiving

2011-11-24T17:17:00.000-08:00

I realized I've written a Thanksgiving post every year that this blog has been in celebrated existence, so why not continue the trend?

As with every holiday, I really forget the "true" meaning and think of it only as a time to be with family, be off from work (technically) and eat. And depending on the holiday, exchange presents of some sort. But to be honest, that doesn't sound all that bad.

So here is what I am thankful for:
- my family: I've said it before, but I love my family. Without them, I wouldn't be where I am today. We didn't have a lot growing up, but I still had food to eat, a roof over my head, AND a college education (ok, usually those three things don't go together, but those are things that my family provided for me, and I am eternally grateful for that).

- my friends: Ok, I don't have that many friends left, but the ones that I have I value - true friends ARE hard to find, so you should hold on to the ones that are

- my job: It gives me a paycheck that allows me to pay my bills, eat korean bbq and ramen, and buy frivolous items. I work with cool people AND I don't have to wear a suit. I will not comment on the number of hours I have to work though.

- my health: This is seriously not a joke, haha (I get sick A LOT). I mean this more in the general sense: I have working legs and arms, my senses are all fine (ok my sight might be horrible, but it's currently corrected), and a working brain that can think and make conscious decisions (and really funny jokes)

- my youthful looks: Student discounts, anyone???

Happy Thanksgiving everyone (I'll be feasting on Friday).

Ummm

2011-11-19T00:59:00.001-08:00

...nothing new to write, except work has been KICKING MY ARSE.

Long days and even longer nights.

OY!

Happy (Early) Halloween!

2011-10-28T19:43:00.000-07:00

Per usual, I will NOT be doing anything to celebrate.

However, I still love costumes, and my work has been having a Halloween party since last year (I guess there were some before I started, but due to budget cuts and all that, fun was one of the first things cut).

Anyways, as my Anchorman costume didn't pan out ($70 bones to tailor the $10 maroon suit I found), the next best thing was to dress exactly alike as the biggest guy in my office (I also serve as his bodyguard).

*notice the matching "S" cups

Most young women tend to choose the "sexy" (aka slutty) route, but not I.

However if there was ever a "sexy potato" costume, I just might be tempted.

Umm

2011-10-10T01:02:00.000-07:00

...this was the strangest comment I received:

I don't know what it means, but I'll be deleting it.

My Apple Story

2011-10-07T00:28:00.000-07:00

I got my first Apple product in 2004, as a freshman in college...I remember that day like it was yesterday (instead of 7 years ago).

One of the many great things about starting school (especially college!) is all the fun back-to-school shopping (yay consumerism!!) - cool bedsheets, fun frames, new clothes, even a laptop!

In the summer before my first year in college, I spent weeks deliberating what kind of computer to get (Toshiba or HP???); an Apple computer had never even crossed my mind, mainly because people told me that pcs were better.

My middle sister told me that I should get the Apple iBook G4 for school; with a student discount, it even came with an iPod (whatever that was). Although I was skeptical, I ended buying up one (well, more like my oldest sister did...thanks Susan!! - I remember her carrying the big box to my dorm room...and the old boxes used to be HUGE).

It turns out, I actually loved my little white laptop. I remember many people on my floor being super impressed by my computer: "it's so small" [that's NOT what she said], "it looks so nice!" "it's so light!"

And the iPod....that thing was AMAYZING. I no longer had to carry a fat case of CDs, because all my music fit into this little device! I could put that thing in my back pocket!

Six years strong, I ended up getting my current computer (a MacBook Pro), since my old iBook was getting way too slow to use.

My iBook had run its course, but I am grateful for all the years it helped me write papers, check my mail, chat with friends, play my music on my little internet radio show...and so on and so on.

.....

Thank you, Steve Jobs.

Home

2011-09-25T15:28:00.000-07:00

Currently I am relaxing at home (aka with my parents) but shortly I will have to depart back to my faux-home (aka the city), where I will resume my stressful life (stressful due to work).

One of the things I love about getting away is that this town is the complete opposite of LA - small, open, and quiet.

I'm bummed my trip is so short...I just got here yesterday!

Why I Don't Wear Makeup...

2011-09-17T18:40:00.000-07:00

(because i don't want to be dependent on it!). wow, that is magic.

on a completely different side note, i love my seestas!

In A Rut

2011-09-17T08:47:00.000-07:00

Ugh, I am totally in a rut...emotionally, physically, creatively...I have been feeling so blah.

On two random notes, should I buy a sewing machine??? Maybe I can start making shiet like I always wanted to.

Second random note: I've been sick the past two days, and my waking moments have been spent on regretsy....haha!

Looking for Housing Sucks Major Ballz

2011-08-15T20:07:00.000-07:00

As some of you may know, I am on the hunt for an apartment. I have my rifle and camo on, and I hope I can hit my target:

My dream apartment qualities:
- 1 bedroom/1 bathroom with FULL kitchen (none of that hot plate shit)
- covered off-street parking
- neutral colored bathroom (i.e. no puke colored/pink/bathroom tiles)
- paid utilities
- in a SAFE neighborhood
- lots of natural light
- well-maintained inside and out
- new/newish appliances/carpet/flooring/paint
- wide streets
- quiet area
- no crying babies
- under $850

My one-level-above-settling apartment qualities:
- 1 bedroom/1 bathroom with FULL kitchen (none of that hot plate shit)
- off-street parking
- in a SAFE neighborhood
- well-maintained inside and out
- under $950

My basic apartment qualities:
- studio at least
- off-street parking
- in a safe-ish neighborhood
- under $1000

Bleh.

R.I.P. Jenos Pizza

2011-08-07T14:37:00.000-07:00

I think I may be one of five people in the world (according to an (unofficial) Facebook fanpage, there are only five likes!) who actually likes Jenos frozen pizzas (I'm probably disgusting my sisters right now)
...and I've had my fair share of frozen pizzas (Celeste ain't got nuthin' on Jenos!) - classy, I know.

Unfortunately, I think they are no longer produced. In LA, I've searched Pavilions/Vons, Albertsons AND Ralphs, and to no avail, I have not seen any. My last chance of hope was at my hometown's Stater Bros. (those don't exist in LA), and I couldn't even find any there.

I've tried to Google search for any news, but nothing has popped up....I guess they are gone for good and off to food heaven (not that I'm religious or anything), like Dunk-a-roos and Kiebler Pizza Chips.

It's been a good run, Jenos....I'll miss you.

My Kind of Rapping

2011-08-06T20:23:00.000-07:00

This is pretty awesome:

A Trip Down Memory Lane: The Baby-Sitters Club Book Series

2011-08-05T22:36:00.000-07:00

Remember this series? I used to read these books in elementary/middle school (although I secretly pretended I didn't when I was at the library).

These books were great: easy to read, entertaining, and kid-friendly (no pun intended). I feel like nowadays, children's books are probably sexualized and too dramatic (Gossip Girl, Vampire Diaries, Precious)...things today are different, that's for sure.

Now that I think about it, I don't think I'd let a 13 year old baby-sit my kid (doesn't that seem kind of young?!).

Anyways, here is a hilarious "where are they now" recap written by Emily Weiss:

Today, the original founding members (none of this Abby bullshit) of The Baby-sitters Club would be 37.

Let's see what everyone's up to.

Kristy Thomas
Well obviously Kristy is a lesbian. She and her partner, Tori, started up a gay softball league when they moved to Baltimore in 1999, which Kristy coaches. Reminds her of her old days with The Krushers! I guess now we know how she really felt about Bart.

Tori and Kristy met while doing Teach for America. Kristy is active in the Baltimore public school system where she works in administrative policy.

Kristy reconnected briefly with her estranged father, Michael, who owns a small bar and grill just outside Boston. She stopped communication with him after learning that he had borrowed money from Kristy's brother Sam, which he said he needed for an operation. He then squandered the money and never paid Sam back.

Tori works at Archiver's and is forever trying to get Kristy more involved in her scrapbooking.

Claudia Kishi
Once the member known for her collection of “distant” fedoras and head scarves, Claudia is now a graphic designer at a small web development company. She also makes intricate wire jewelry which she sells at traveling craft fairs. She often barters her web design services for pottery and furniture made by fellow local artists.

She owns the entire collection of Sex and the City on DVD.

Her live-in boyfriend, Arthur, plays the upright bass in an experimental jazz combo and has kooky glasses. He credits himself with breaking Claudia's sugar addiction and introducing her to sprouted foods.

Claudia has been working on a mixed media piece called Almond-Shaped Eyes, a tribute to her late grandmother, Mimi, since the mid-nineties.

Bet you are all wondering if Claudia ever got over that whole living in Janine's shadow thing? The answer is: no. Janine studied aerospace engineering at the University of Michigan and now works for the U.S. Department of Defense. (Claudia's learning disability caused her great anxiety when taking the entrance exams at Pratt and thus, she ended up at Stoneybrook Technical Institute.) However, Janine's superior intellect and demanding career left little room in her life for anything else. She has many, many parakeets as a result.

Mary Anne Carlsbad (nee Spier)
So she didn't marry Logan. In fact, they broke up right before middle school graduation and Logan dropped his position as an associate member of the BSC. Hitting rock bottom, he took up with a new crowd: T-Jam and the notorious SMS gang. Mary Anne and Logan never saw each other again, but we'll hear more about Logan Bruno later…

While still a student in the nursing program at Sacred Heart in Fairfield, Mary Anne was assigned to attend to Gil Carlsbad, who was rushed to the hospital with acute chest pain. It turned out to just be indigestion, (Gil says it was just his heart beating for Mary Anne) but the two fell in love during his brief stay and were married six months later.

Mild-mannered and fair-haired, Gil is heir to the Carlsbad brewing fortune and is close with many of his Danish relatives. He and Mary Anne make a yearly trip to visit them with their two girls, Annika and Lane.

Mary Anne joined Curves in an effort to lose some of the baby weight she put on with Lane and has recently become interested in buying into the franchise.

After the fire in her childhood home robbed her of all memories, Mary Anne has become obsessed with documenting every moment of her daughters' lives and stores all photos, journals, and videotapes in fire safe boxes.

Mary Anne does not know how to use the Internet.

Stacey McGill-Johansen
After participating in the Carleton College Math for Women summer program, Stacey ultimately decided that school was not for her and moved to L.A. to pursue a career in acting and modeling.

Failing time and time again to book jobs, Stacey instead started frequenting the party scene and claimed to be with River Phoenix outside The Viper Room when he died.

Mark Johansen, father of Stacey's most favored charge Charlotte Johansen, bought an L.A. nightclub as an entrepreneurial venture in 2001 and sought struggling Stacey out to be his lead event planner. With her well-connected social group and lack of anything better to do, she was a perfect fit. It should be mentioned here that Stacey is an excellent driver.

In October 2001, on a business trip to L.A. Mark and Stacey began their affair. Charlotte, devastated by the news and having always wanted to be just like Stacey, promptly developed an eating disorder.

Deterred by being called a "home-wrecker," Stacey severed all ties with the BSC crowd, including best friend Claudia Kishi.

In addition to the event planning, Stacey is now part owner of Mark's club and is launching her own line of handbags this spring.

Dawn Schafer
You may remember that towards the end of the series Dawn moves back to Palo City. Now she lives on Catalina Island in the sparsely populated town of Two Harbors where she owns and operates a self-sustaining llama farm and she's...kind of gone off the deep end. Lots of bucket hats. And she makes her own yarn.

Dawn's apparent misanthropy can mostly be traced back to the winter of 1999, when her brother Jeff was killed in a mysterious accident. Dawn has since become obsessed with contacting and communing with his ghost in order to sort out the details surrounding his death. Mary Anne is the only BSC member Dawn talks to regularly. She allows no visitors on her llama farm in order to create a safe environment for Jeff's spirit. She also generally prefers the company of animals.

Prior to Jeff's accident, Dawn had been doing PR work for Raw on the Roll, Debbie Merrill's rollerblading/raw foods movement.

Mallory Hobart (nee Pike)
After graduating Riverbend with honors, Mallory attended Regis College and majored in English and women's studies. She participated in Regis' semester in Ireland at University of Cork where she reunited with Ben Hobart, her old Australian boyfriend. The two remained in Ireland for a year doing odd jobs until Mallory discovered she was pregnant. She dropped out of school and the pair moved back to Stoneybrook to live with the Pike family during their engagement/pregnancy.

After the birth of their son, Henry (after Mal's favorite author Marguerite Henry) Mallory was offered a job with Karen Brewer's very successful NPO, Third World Vision, which takes old donated eyeglasses and gets them to patients in impoverished countries.

Mallory is surprisingly good at Mario Kart for Wii having played many a game with Clare and Margo while on bed rest toward the end of her pregnancy.

Jessi Ramsey
After three great years with the Dance New York Programme, Jessi suffered a knee injury and was forced out of the company. During her recuperation, Jessi went to live with her sick but sassy Aunt Cecilia in Stoneybrook and reconnected with best friend, Mallory Hobart.

Jessi is Henry's godmother.

When the company invited her back, Jessi declined and opted instead to enroll in physical therapy school. She is funding her education with the money Aunt Cecilia left her, supplemented by a part time job at Perfumania.

Jessi and Mallory tried (and failed) to write and illustrate a children's book about two friends. One was purple and one was polka-dotted. The publisher they met with informed them that this was pretty well-worn territory, but they were really proud of it anyway.

Shannon Louisa Kilbourne-Hubinger
Shannon continued to be an obnoxious over-achiever throughout high school and college. She was valedictorian and student body president of her graduating class at Stoneybrook Day School, Latin club VP, and founder and editor of the SDS literary magazine. She also won best smile in the yearbook polls.

Shannon was waitlisted at her dream school, Vassar, and decided instead to attend Rutgers and major in Art History. Upon graduating, Shannon was offered a position at Christie's auction house where she met Board of Regents member, William Hubinger. The two were married at his parent’s estate on Martha's Vineyard.

Soon after they moved to the country, Shannon left Christie's and entered the world of competitive dog breeding and dog shows. Her breed of choice is the Cavalier King Charles Spaniel. Thus far she has only raised one champion dog, Puttencove Promise.

William and Shannon are looking into adoption.

Logan, Logan, Logan Bruno
It was mentioned earlier that Logan had sort of a hard time in middle school. He got caught up in the scandalous world of the notorious SMS gang, The Badd Boyz, serving as T-Jam's right hand man. Because of his slow, Kentucky-fried wit he earned the nickname "Drawl" and was known school-wide for his eerily calm demeanor and penchant for pastels.

By eighth grade, Logan dropped out of student council and started eating pizza with his cronies in the parking lot. He even gave Mary Anne chain link jewelry AFTER she dumped him just to prove he had changed. He had stuffed his heart with steel wool and Mary Anne would never be allowed back in.

He even stopped baby-sitting.

By high school even the Badd Boyz had ditched him. Logan proclaimed himself a lone wolf and surprised no one when he signed up for regular science classes and started really identifying with Tupac.

Following his arrest for stealing car radios, Logan's dad made good on his promise and sent him to military school. In a pretty typical series of events, he was first reluctant, then rebellious, then he befriended a wise black guy, then he realized his life was worth more than what he was doing with it, then the wise black guy died, and then Logan tried really hard in physical training and became a pilot.

He is now a Major in the United States Civil Air Patrol and organizes inland searches for various missions. He has an Australian shepherd named Brewskie and has recently become interested in curling.

Logan's favorite movie is Dan in Real Life.

Seven Years Ago, I Was In High School...

2011-07-25T22:53:00.000-07:00

That makes me feel old.

Even though people still mistake me for an eighteen year old.

Crazy Story I Read in Glamour

2011-07-16T01:33:00.000-07:00

...and no, it wasn't "Best Jeans for My Booty."

I read an article about Kristen and Will Stillman and the horrific childhood they endured (see a different article here ), and after reading it, I was just sickened, saddened and horrified by their story.

If you don't have a strong stomach, their story is essentially that their shitty mother left her kids at a guy's house when they were 8 years old. Soon after, this evil man and his family abused these kids for a decade, until they were able to escape.

How can people be so sick? How can people let this kind of shit happen?

I really think there should be some sort of test for people before they can become parents. If people aren't mentally or financially capable, I don't think they should be allowed to have children. I'm not saying that people who don't have a lot can't be good parents, but if you have to survive on welfare in order to live, what kind of lifestyle/living conditions are you providing for yourself and your children?

I don't have facts, but I feel like people who have kids when they can't support them start a vicious cycle, where their kids do the same, and so on, and so on.

I think the foster care system could be a great opportunity for children to find at least a temporary home, but I have read so many horrible stories about abuse of the system and abuse of kids, it just boggles my mind. How can people be this evil?

There's more I'd like to say, but I'm too tired to think.

Weekend Highlight

2011-07-06T19:08:00.001-07:00

...being called "boring" by a drunk girl I barely know.

WHEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!

Crazy Story

2011-07-01T00:14:00.000-07:00

Whoa...crazy

Excerpt:

Sometimes Gonzalez wonders how much worse things might have gone.

What if he had grabbed breakfast in Las Vegas before boarding his flight? He wouldn't have needed that bagel in Simi Valley, so he wouldn't have gone to the bank for cash, and wouldn't have been caught on security cameras.

His alibi evaporates and he's in prison for life.

At the end of the day his mind automatically replays his movements, hour by hour, because it was his ability to do that that saved him. After his release he developed the habit of meticulously documenting his whereabouts, eliminating time gaps that might leave him vulnerable.

If he's in an airport or a 7-Eleven, he makes sure the surveillance cameras get a good look at his face. Anytime he can swipe his credit card and sign his name, even to buy a pack of gum, he does it. He fills his wallet with receipts and the world with a conspicuous trail.

He feels most vulnerable when he is asleep, when, for six or eight hours a night, no cameras are watching, no witnesses are marking his presence, and no one but Louis Gonzalez III can say with certainty where he is.

So True!

2011-06-30T20:56:00.000-07:00

*sorry for the expletive

She's Betty Downer!

2011-06-18T17:09:00.000-07:00

So lately I've been in an emo mood (due to a few things I don't really feel like going into), so I decided that while I will still have these shitty thoughts, I will also look on the bright side of things. I'll share some things that made me smile or laugh.

For example:
- I earned my free Jamba Juice today (buy 7, get 1 free), and since there was no apparent size limit, I got the power "Cold Buster"...wooo 500 calories of cold busting power/sugar!
- I had to go into work today to pick up my phone charger. On the chalkboard wall was the topic "Favorite Movie Quotes." There were the usual "You had me at hello" and other stuff like that. And then I saw someone had written "Chlorophyll? More like BOROPHYLL." which of course made me laugh.

If you do not know where that is from, that's ok (Billy Madison).

Westside Pavilion mall to start charging for parking..WTF?

2011-06-17T21:33:00.000-07:00

I HATE paying for parking. I will do it, however, if it means it will be more convenient and/or it means i get to avoid looking for street parking (i.e. opting for valet at a restaurant..tsk tsk, Umami Burger!!).

I just learned that the Westside Pavilion mall is planning to charge for parking (after 3 free hours). Granted, 3 hours is a long time to spend at a mall, especially this one, but I always thought that the free parking was its saving grace (aside from Charlie Kabob) since the store selection isn't that great (to me at least).

I guess the bright side is that there will still be some free parking (3 hours worth..).

i am sick

2011-06-16T19:43:00.001-07:00

i feel awful!!! i got the chills And a fever....booooo!

The Mystery of the Missing Lamp

2011-06-13T23:39:00.000-07:00

I remember my freshman year of college, my oldest sister had picked up this awesome lamp for me from Ikea.

I had it in my room for all 4 years, but when I moved out the summer I graduated college, it...disappeared. From my memory, at least.

I may or may not have lent it out to some friends (I have a feeling I did because I remember lending out my futon, which later was broken by my lender's lender's friends...boo... and some seat cushions). I just can't remember though!!

It's a cool lamp, and I hope I can find it.

Remix

2011-06-01T23:18:00.000-07:00

I think these songs are as good (even better) than the original:

(click on the icons to listen!)

boombass remix

the parks jump up remix

classixx remix

Everybody's working for the weekend

2011-05-27T00:36:00.000-07:00

...and I am one of them...!

Get the weekend started with Loverboy's song!

I could also give a link to this song...but just youtube it

I am addicted to this game...

2011-05-09T00:43:00.000-07:00

I was on a yahoo link about optical illusions/something of that sort, and I somehow came across this game called "Shape Inlay"...I guess it's like Perfection where you have to make geometric shapes fit into the pre-designed layout within a given set of time.

I highly recommend if you need to waste some time/are bored...haha

Crazy Dreams

2011-04-23T21:22:00.000-07:00

I have been having some cray-cray dreams these past few days...I usually tend to remember them pretty vividly when I wake up (albeit I forget some details by the end of the day), but here is what I remember:

Last Night's Dream:
I remember being in a museum, and Joseph Gordon-Levitt is there. He is going up a flight of stairs (those modern looking wooden slab ones) and I happen to be behind him. I try to be a "cool" fan by not approaching him. As I go upstairs, there is this AWESOME buffet of goodies, especially desserts (like gelato and pies). I am getting ready to get a plate....and that's all I can remember!

The Night Before Last's Dream
I'm in this bookstore/treehouse/elementary school room-type building that is pretty packed with people. There is this guy from my elementary/middle school there (his name is Mitchell) and he's telling me that I've gotten fat. I also remember Zac Efron being there for some reason. I remember standing in a corner of the classroom, and I fall off the steps (I think). That's the only part I remember.

Strange.

To the Powers that Be

2011-04-18T23:23:00.000-07:00

I know someone who wants something very badly. And this person totally deserves it.

Please make it happen...as this person has been trying very hard.

This happens to a lot of people who don't even want it to happen to them, so please make it happen for this person.

My Beef with...

2011-04-09T03:37:00.000-07:00

ALDO SHOES
Shoes are meant to be comfortable. They are not meant to cause irritating rubbing and painful blisters. Also sandals are not meant to be smaller than one's foot. I used to really like your shoes, as you actually sell smaller sizes, but lately I feel that you haven't been as awesome as you used to be. To all the designers out there, try your shoes out first before selling them to the masses.

COACHELLA MUSIC FESTIVAL
I enjoy the concept (outdoor music festival with a hundred (ok, probably less than that but I am too lazy to count) independent/local artists with art exhibits as well), but I have a few beefs with Coachella:
- layaway payments BEFORE the line-up is announced...that just doesn't make sense (I personally would not buy anything in advance without knowing what I am paying for)...I don't know what the percentage is of people who used lay-away (maybe that is a factor in the sellout? I don't know), but I feel that lay-away shouldn't be made available until the line-up is
- scalpers...because this event is so pricey (and with this year's record sellout), I feel that the scalping situation will only get worse - it seems desperate people may be willing to pay that much. It's so disappointing that there are people out there who will buy tickets/wristbands and/or create fake wristbands just to scam people and make money in dishonest way.

who sells 6 wristbands just for the hell of it?! Seems a little fishy

- expensive hotel prices for motels that are not worth it...ok I get it, a business might as well capitalize on a high-earning opportunity, but a Travelodge charging $200/night when they normally charge $69???
- the amount of trash produced from this festival...people are lazy; if there is not a trash can within 3 feet of them, they will use the next best thing: the ground. Coachella should let volunteers who are willing to clean up for 4 hours a day go to the festival for free; a win-win for people who can't afford tickets and for Coachella to handle their trash issue.

the Japanese earthquake/Mother Nature
- Mother Nature, that is one mean move to pull on a small country like that: first a 9.0 earthquake, then a devasting tsunami, nuclear leakage and now a 7.1 aftershock? Reading sad story after sad story, I feel like a tool every time I complain (yes, this post is ironic).

Rachel Zoe's husband...

2011-04-03T01:14:00.000-07:00

reminds me of Demetri Martin.

R.I.P. Mickie

2011-04-01T00:59:00.000-07:00

Today my sister's husband's dog passed away. I know it seems strange to be sad about a dog that isn't even mine, but even those few moments I had with her proved that she was a really special dog. In part because it's that time of the month (TMI? Just a little), but also in part because Mickie was so awesome, I just feel so incredibly sad.

The first time I ever met Mickie, I was in high school. My bro-in-law (well sister's boyfriend at the time) was luckily cool enough to let me hang out with them at his casa (especially since casa de Yee was kinda no bueno haha). I remember moments of just sitting on their couch, and Mickie would come up to me, and of course I would start petting her, especially her belly (my sister told me that Mickie loved having her belly rubbed). When I would stop, she would give me that look of 'What are you doing? Keep going!' And I of course would oblige, because Mickie was a sweetheart. I'm sure I was just another hand to do her bidding (which is totally understandable since I didn't spend a whole lot of time with her), but she was always still so sweet.And never having had a dog of my own, she was kind of like a surrogate pet.

I will always think fondly of Mickie.

*photo is courtesy of my sister...doesn't this photo make you want to go and hug her?!

WTF?

2011-03-27T22:50:00.001-07:00

I was recently on some website browsing something (vague I know, as I honestly don't remember what it was for), and I came across one of those captcha security settings (aka where you have to type the word/letters listed to ensure you're not a bot), and the one I happened to have looked like this:

The first word looks like "rentroo" and the second is...dreidel symbols??

Music notes??

All I know is ...WTF?!

(Of course I got it wrong, so the site made me do another captcha, but luckily that one was more legible).

Products I Recommend

2011-03-08T22:52:00.000-08:00

Since I don't know what else to write:

Moshi PalmGuard:

I have schwetty, greasy fingers; to avoid leaving that shine on my (sorta) brand-new macbook, I recently invested in the moshi PalmGuard (as well as the keyboard cover). What it is is basically a thick sticker that is placed over the bottom half of the keyboard (including the trackpad). It's not really a sticker (I don't think....), but it's the same concept....you just stick it on! I highly recommend it; while not a 100% perfect fit, it gets the job done and protects my laptop!

Izze sodas (clementine flavor)
It's nom-nom, and comes in a glass bottle (I think beverages in glass bottles taste better). The ones in the aluminum canister are just not the same...so don't be fooled!

Woolite laundry for dark clothes
Protect your darks (don't you hate when they fade?). So far it seems to work....haha.

Bose Around-Ear Headphones
For about two years I owned a pair of $20 Sonys...unfortunately my head was too fat, so wearing them for more than 5 minutes made my head hurt. I first tried on these headphones in an Apple store, probably in 2006/7 and fell in love...I can't feel a thing when I wear them. I saved up and eventually purchased a pair a few years later.

Thrifty Ice Cream
Apparently this is only available in California (score!). Thrifty has award winning ice cream for a reason: it's delish! It's just the right amount of cream + cold + flavor. Their mint chocolate chip is the best...the "chips" are thin shredded/grated pieces as opposed to hard chunks...so it doesn't hurt to eat. NOM.

February already??

2011-02-07T00:01:00.000-08:00

I am REALLY bad at this blogging thing. I have all these random thoughts that I want to jot down and share with the world (because I know the whole world reads this thing), but I always get too lazy to start.

I will eventually get better at this.

anti-social

2011-01-23T00:52:00.001-08:00

as the years have passed by since i have finished undergrad, i have become more and more anti-social.

just this evening i went out to two bars on la cienaga with the manfriend and our buddy. as i rarely drink, i was dd. the first club sucked major balls because it was super cramped and very loud (which i think sums up 90% of bars). amazingly, this place was still hip-happening, evident with all the 30 year old ladies in teeny tiny dresses or super tight pants and sky-high heels.

the second bar/restaurant was still loud, but at least we could sit. as i was sitting there while the gents were looking up restaurants on their smart phones, i realized that i am anti-social. i was seriously the mood-killer of the night because i hated being there. so not only am i anti-social, i hate people too!

i think one reason for my anti-socialness is that i don't really see people. as many of my friends in school have moved away, my social circle has decreased significantly. and as i only see like 6 people at work a day, my ability to expand this circle has been very difficult.

i don't know about other people, but making friends is hard in the "real world."

Happy New Year(s Resolutions)

2011-01-05T22:13:00.000-08:00

Wow, 2011??!?! When did this happen? I can't believe how fast time has flown...and in just a few weeks I'll be celebrating my two year anniversary at work.

Anywho, to kicks-tart the new year, I guess I should have some resolutions:
- exercise regularly: I have not worked out since....March? And it definitely shows (I've become my own bakery with rolls and muffin tops...mmm bakery....). I'm not trying to be a fitness guru, but at least get in the minimum amount to be healthy.

- be organized: I am a sloppy Joe...I at least can understand my chaos...but after seeing multiple "HOARDERS" episodes on TLC, I know that I can't let things get that bad.

Those are my main resolutions...pretty boring.

Reading Local News...People are Crazy!

2010-09-06T00:11:00.000-07:00

I've been browsing around MSN and Yahoo, and I somehow clicked on a link to KTLA news...after reading a number of "popular" stories, I am just appalled at the number of abuse stories there are, like these kids that were abandoned by their parents or this child that was starved to death or this baby that was stuck in a freezer by his meth-addled father ...WTF!

People should not have kids if they are not able to raise them in a financially and emotionally stable environment.

I am so fortunate to have grown up in a loving and supporting family, and it saddens me that shit like this goes on (yes, I am aware there is even freakier stories out there).

Say Allo To My Leetle Friend

2010-08-29T22:39:00.001-07:00

This is my new computah....me likey!

Did I need it? Not really...did I want it? Hells yeah!

Positive Change

2010-08-05T00:30:00.000-07:00

My goal in life is to make positive change in this world.

There is so much hurt, hate, and sadness in this world...

Like Gandhi said...we are the change we wish to see in the world.

How to Assemble the Skyline Chair

2010-08-03T23:17:00.000-07:00

I bought a chair online for my room (it was on sale, but it was still a good chunk of change), and I'd read the reviews online about how bare-bones the instructions were, so I thought I'd make a "how-to" post for those interested in also getting the chair.

Supplies Needed:
- flat screwdriver
- any wrench that will tighten nuts (not necessary though)

Supplies Provided:
- 1 sheet of instructions
- at least 10 washers (large size)
- at least 8 nuts
- 2 screws
- 1 chair back/headrest
- 1 chair back/headrest base
- 1 chair left arm
- 1 chair right arm
- 1 seat (with seat cushion stuffed in the hollow portion of seat)
- 1 back pillow
- 4 legs

instruction sheet/washers+nuts/body of chair/chair legs

To aid in the making of the chair, I will just slightly elaborate on the given instructions:

1. Attach headrest to base.
Supplies needed: flat head screwdriver, 2 screws, 2 large washers

- When you open the headrest, you'll immediately notice that the back is hollow and has a velcro flap.

- Place the headrest on top of the base; make sure the holes are aligned.

Back of headrest, which is on top of the base

- Place a washer over each hole, and then screw in the screw using a flathead screwdriver.

2. Attach base to seat.
Supplies needed: 2 large washers, 2 nuts

- Since the base already has screws in it, match the screws to the holes of the seat; you will probably need to lay the chair with the backrest on the floor, as the bottom of the seat is also hollow.

View of the bottom of the seat

- You can use your hand to tighten the nut around each screw.

Tightening the nut

3. Attach arms to seat/headrest.
Supplies needed: 6 large washers, 6 nuts

- Match the correct arm sides of the chair
...
right side of chair / left side of chair

- Twist off the styrofoam strips covering the screws.

- You will have to push the arm into the chair body to match them up; if you need to prop the pieces against the wall, feel free to do so.

Pushing the arm into the body of the chair

- After you match one side, turn the chair + arm to a position that will allow you to tighten a nut (with the washer) over each nail.

Twisting a nut over a screw

- Repeat for the other arm.

4. Attach legs to bottom of chair.
Supplies needed: the 4 chair legs

- Take each leg, and screw into the holes at the bottom of the seat.

- Add the seat cushion and back cushion to the chair.

And wah-lah! You now have a chair to sit in!

Pictures

2010-08-03T16:07:00.000-07:00

To jazz up my blog...I will start to post pictures.

TBC

I Wish I Could Go Back to College

2010-08-01T02:12:00.000-07:00

It's August...you know what that means... back-to-school!

What made me think of this? I was browsing on the Target website, and of course it's plastered with "College 101" or some other catchy school-ish phrase. Ahh, I miss those days (well this applies more to Freshmen year of college), when I was picking out Twin XL bed sheets in some fun geometric pattern and cool lamps from Ikea to decorate my dorm room to "showcase my cool and unique personality."

Even though summer orientation and most of first year kind of sucked, starting school in a brand new place was very exciting, and there's no feeling quite like it than the very first time moving into your dorm room Freshmen year...when you don't know who your roommates are or who your friends will be or what the year will be like.

Of course it's been awhile since I've been at school, but it still holds a special place in my heart (even senior year of HS).

I'm adding a link to a song...it sums up my feelings perfectly:

Avenue Q - "I Wish I Could Go Back to College"

Unbelievable

2010-07-23T22:51:00.000-07:00

I can't believe the "stars" of The Hills got paid $100,000 an episode to sip lattes and live in mini mansions...and the cast of Jersey Shore earn $10,000 an episode to get drunk and lift weights.

Ah mah gahd.

It's just crazy that actors get paid tons of money to be other people, and athletes and musicians get paid for being good at their hobby.

I know I'm overgeneralizing those industries (you have to be really good/lucky, and not everyone makes it), but the fact that there are people struggling to make ends meet while just mere miles away there are others who make boatloads of money just to entertain the public...is mind boggling.

Sign me up for the boatloads of money, please!

When I Was an RA...

2010-06-03T00:51:00.000-07:00

Not to toot my own horn, but i made some perty cool boards/posters...

Design On a Dime (Or Two)

2010-02-20T17:01:00.000-08:00

So my room is pretty blah (kind of like my wardrobe, haha); I don't have any money right now, but I have ideas of what I'd like to do.

I'd like to add:

A cool chair

I currently throw my clothes over a cardboard box (classy i know), so I think eventually I should upgrade to something more presentable.

This is from Urban Outfitters. I like the "funky" print, as well as the fact it has 'arms.' I don't like the fancy-pancy price tag though.

A black dresser

To match with my already black decor. And that's it.

Cute hooks

I actually just purchased this online to hang my hats from it....so we'll see how it looks when it comes in the mail. Depending on the color, I just might spray paint it black as well.

There's more...TBD.

Thoughts

2010-02-14T01:38:00.000-08:00

I need more of them. Or at least ones of value.

Bread and Jam for Frances

2010-01-18T23:21:00.000-08:00

I LOVED this story as a kid; I remember listening to it over and over on tape (I don't ever remember owning a physical copy of the book, but we did have the tape)...I don't really know why I liked it; I think because they were so descriptive of the foods.

Anyways, I thought of it today because I was watching The Big Bang Theory, and one of the character's voices reminded me of Frances' friend (on the book-on-tape version).

I've been trying to find an audio format for the past few hours, but I've been SOL. : [

My Eyes, They Burn

2009-12-19T04:26:00.000-08:00

So it's been about two weeks since my second "reaction" to who knows what...basically my symptoms are dry, flaky skin around the eyes, with an occasional swelling and redness.

This is the second time it has happened; the first time was the week before thanksgiving, and the skin around my eyes became very dry and painful. Eventually it started to feel like it was crusting, which totally freaked me out. I put vaseline on, and the week of thanksgiving, my eyes returned to normal.

The second outbreak was about two weeks ago...I wore some eye makeup, washed it off that night, and the next morning woke up to red, puffy eyes. Ever since then, it has beena roller coaster of dry, super flaky skin with redness, puffiness and soreness.

I finally went to see a dermatologist today, and while waiting at the lower level reception desk at the huge medical tower by Cedar Sinai, I was cut off by Zac Efron (yes, the High School Musical man himself...this was my second Zefron sighting...I actually saw him with his lady friend outside an Urban Outfitters...but please don't think I actually follow this guy around!). He was actually very polite and apologized about cutting in front of me, after i bitch-slapped him (j/k I didn't).

Anywho, I went to the derm, and that didn't really help me at all. He looked at me (from afar) for 5 minutes, asked if I had ate/started wearing some new, and I said no; he prescribed me a shot and some creams. He said it could be a possible reaction to the environment, but I don't know what that could be.

I think this will be one of those unsolved mysteries...and my eyes still hurt : /

Stolen from F-book...

2009-11-28T12:06:00.000-08:00

I found this on someone's fbook page, and I thought it was pretty funny, so I'm sharing it with the billions of people that read this ish. I'm graying out that ones that I don't think are that funny.

Random Thoughts of the Day (By Some Guy):

I wish Google Maps had an "Avoid Ghetto" routing option.

More often than not, when someone is telling me a story all I can think about is that I can't wait for them to finish so that I can tell my own story that's not only better, but also more directly involves me.

Nothing sucks more than that moment during an argument when you realize you're wrong.

I don't understand the purpose of the line, "I don't need to drink to have fun." Great, no one does. But why start a fire with flint and sticks when they've invented the lighter?

Have you ever been walking down the street and realized that you're going in the complete opposite direction of where you are supposed to be going? But instead of just turning a 180 and walking back in the direction from which you came, you have to first do something like check your watch or phone or make a grand arm gesture and mutter to yourself to ensure that no one in the surrounding area thinks you're crazy by randomly switching directions on the sidewalk.

That's enough, Nickelback.

I totally take back all those times I didn't want to nap when I was younger.

The letters T and G are very close to each other on a keyboard. This recently became all too apparent to me and consequently I will never be ending a work email with the phrase "Regards" again.

Do you remember when you were a kid, playing Nintendo and it wouldn't work? You take the cartridge out, blow in it and that would magically fix the problem. Every kid in America did that, but how did we all know how to fix the problem? There was no internet or message boards or FAQ's. We just figured it out. Today's kids are soft.

There is a great need for sarcasm font.

Sometimes, I'll watch a movie that I watched when I was younger and suddenly realize I had no idea what the fuck was going on when I first saw it.

I think everyone has a movie that they love so much, it actually becomes stressful to watch it with other people. I'll end up wasting 90 minutes shiftily glancing around to confirm that everyone's laughing at the right parts, then making sure I laugh just a little bit harder (and a millisecond earlier) to prove that I'm still the only one who really, really gets it.

The other night I hit a new low at an open bar. I had already hopped on highway blackout when, inevitably I had to find a bathroom. Eventually I decided it was probably on the other side of the bar so I tried to walk over there, but ran into a guy coming the other way. We played that, Both go left, Both go right game to no avail, so I finally put out my hand to guide myself past and that's is when I realized, yup, that's a mirror I just tried to walk through. And the guy on the other side is me. Even cats can recognize their own image.

How the hell are you supposed to fold a fitted sheet?

I would rather try to carry 10 plastic grocery bags in each hand than take 2 trips to bring my groceries in.

I think part of a best friend's job should be to immediately clear your computer history if you die.

The only time I look forward to a red light is when I'm trying to finish a text.

A recent study has shown that playing beer pong contributes to the spread of mono and the flu. Yeah, if you suck at it.

Was learning cursive really necessary?

Lol has gone from meaning, "laugh out loud" to "I have nothing else to say".

I have a hard time deciphering the fine line between boredom and hunger.

Answering the same letter three times or more in a row on a Scantron test is absolutely petrifying.

My brother's Municipal League baseball team is named the Stepdads. Seeing as none of the guys on the team are actual stepdads, I inquired about the name. He explained, "Cuz we beat you, and you hate us." Classy, bro.

Whenever someone says "I'm not book smart, but I'm street smart", all I hear is "I'm not real smart, but I'm imaginary smart".

How many times is it appropriate to say "What?" before you just nod and smile because you still didn't hear what they said?

I love the sense of camaraderie when an entire line of cars teams up to prevent a dick from cutting in at the front. Stay strong, brothers!

Every time I have to spell a word over the phone using 'as in' examples, I will undoubtedly draw a blank and sound like a complete idiot. Today I had to spell my boss's last name to an attorney and said "Yes that's G as in...(10 second lapse)..ummm...Goonies"

What would happen if I hired two private investigators to follow each other?

While driving yesterday I saw a banana peel in the road and instinctively swerved to avoid it...thanks Mario Kart.

MapQuest really needs to start their directions on #5. Pretty sure I know how to get out of my neighborhood.

Obituaries would be a lot more interesting if they told you how the person died.

I find it hard to believe there are actually people who get in the shower first and THEN turn on the water.

Shirts get dirty. Underwear gets dirty. Pants? Pants never get dirty, and you can wear them forever.

I would like to officially coin the phrase 'catching the swine flu' to be used as a way to make fun of a friend for hooking up with an overweight woman. Example: "Dave caught the swine flu last night."

I can't remember the last time I wasn't at least kind of tired.

Bad decisions make good stories.

Whenever I'm Facebook stalking someone and I find out that their profile is public I feel like a kid on Christmas morning who just got the Red Ryder BB gun that I always wanted. 546 pictures? Don't mind if I do!

Is it just me or do high school girls get sluttier & sluttier every year?

If Carmen San Diego and Waldo ever got together, their offspring would probably just be completely invisible.

Why is it that during an ice-breaker, when the whole room has to go around and say their name and where they are from, I get so incredibly nervous? Like I know my name, I know where I'm from, this shouldn't be a problem....

You never know when it will strike, but there comes a moment at work when you've made up your mind that you just aren't doing anything productive for the rest of the day.

Can we all just agree to ignore whatever comes after DVDs? I don't want to have to restart my collection.

There's no worse feeling than that millisecond you're sure you are going to die after leaning your chair back a little too far.

I'm always slightly terrified when I exit out of Word and it asks me if I want to save any changes to my ten page research paper that I swear I did not make any changes to.

"Do not machine wash or tumble dry" means I will never wash this ever.

I hate being the one with the remote in a room full of people watching TV. There's so much pressure. 'I love this show, but will they judge me if I keep it on? I bet everyone is wishing we weren't watching this. It's only a matter of time before they all get up and leave the room. Will we still be friends after this?'

While watching the Olympics, I find myself cheering equally for China and USA. No, I am not of Chinese descent, but I am fairly certain that when Chinese athletes don't win, they are executed.

I hate when I just miss a call by the last ring (Hello? Hello? Damnit!), but when I immediately call back, it rings nine times and goes to voicemail. What'd you do after I didn't answer? Drop the phone and run away?

I hate leaving my house confident and looking good and then not seeing anyone of importance the entire day. What a waste.

When I meet a new girl, I'm terrified of mentioning something she hasn't already told me but that I have learned from some light internet stalking.

I like all of the music in my iTunes, except when it's on shuffle, then I like about one in every fifteen songs in my iTunes.

Why is a school zone 20 mph? That seems like the optimal cruising speed for pedophiles...

As a driver I hate pedestrians, and as a pedestrian I hate drivers, but no matter what the mode of transportation, I always hate cyclists.

Sometimes I'll look down at my watch 3 consecutive times and still not know what time it is.

It should probably be called Unplanned Parenthood.

I keep some people's phone numbers in my phone just so I know not to answer when they call.

I think that if, years down the road when I'm trying to have a kid, I find out that I'm sterile, most of my disappointment will stem from the fact that I was not aware of my condition in college.

Even if I knew your social security number, I wouldn't know what do to with it.

Even under ideal conditions people have trouble locating their car keys in a pocket, hitting the G-spot, and Pinning the Tail on the Donkey - but I'd bet my ass everyone can find and push the Snooze button from 3 feet away, in about 1.7 seconds, eyes closed, first time every time...

My 4-year old son asked me in the car the other day "Dad what would happen if you ran over a ninja?" How the hell do I respond to that?

It really pisses me off when I want to read a story on CNN.com and the link takes me to a video instead of text.

I wonder if cops ever get pissed off at the fact that everyone they drive behind obeys the speed limit.

I think the freezer deserves a light as well.

I disagree with Kay Jewelers. I would bet on any given Friday or Saturday night more kisses begin with Miller Lites than Kay.

The other night I ordered takeout, and when I looked in the bag, saw they had included four sets of plastic silverware. In other words, someone at the restaurant packed my order, took a second to think about it, and then estimate d that there must be at least four people eating to require such a large amount of food. Too bad I was eating by myself. There's nothing like being made to feel like a fat bastard before dinner.

Going Home

2009-11-26T03:14:00.000-08:00

So I'm back for the Thanksgiving holiday....and let me tell you, traffic was ree-dik-u-lus!!!! 2+ hours just to get OUT of the city...ayyy.

Anywho, tonight I got together with a few high school friends that I've managed to stay in touch with all these years, and we went to our local Denny's - - one of the only places open 24 hrs. At first we were one of the only groups inside the restaurant, but as it got later [and as the bars started closing], it started to become packed. As the people started trickling in, it felt like my high school yearbook was coming to life. People who I hadn't seen since we graduated were hanging out.

It was kind of weird, to be honest, because some of these people I wasn't close with, and if you're not really friends, what's the point of trying to make conversation? And I didn't like talking about people from high school and what they were up to, because looking back, it was just gossip [not really the back-stabbing-evil-rumors type, but just the random-talking-about-people-we-used-to-know type]. And then that gets me thinking, people must be randomly talking about me too [good and/or bad].

It's weird, being home makes me think about stuff like this.

Things That Annoy/Gross Me Out

2009-11-23T00:07:00.001-08:00

In no particular order:

1. When you go to use a public restroom, and there are urine drops on the toilet seat
- Come on people! How does it even get on the seat in the first place??? Wipe after yourselves.

2. Rude employees

- I get it when a customer is rude first, but if the customer is the one being nice, why are employees still mean?

3. When people don't follow through...and don't admit it/think that avoiding the situation will "make it disappear"
- this applies to the car people I'm dealing with

4. People who floss their teeth in areas other than the bathroom
- this is a personal preference

5. Trashcans that don't have a plastic bag/plastic liner in them
- this is also a personal preference

6. When you order something online, and then 5 days later it goes on sale [after their "x-day price difference match" policy]

7. When you have all the pieces/parts of something...except one. I feel incomplete when that happens

8. Even after having braces for 5 years, my teeth shift from not wearing a retainer everyday...I guess you're never free from the metal :/

9. Seeing used band-aids on the ground [i.e. if you're walking down the street and you see one on the sidewalk]

There's more...but I'm continue some other time.

Train of thoughts

2009-10-04T22:01:00.000-07:00

I was just thinking, and I realize I do less now than I did in college.

In college, I would be juggling 5 things at a time.

Now I'm not even juggling.

I miss being busy. I think I need some hobbies or something. But after a day of work, all I want to do is plop down and eat an ice cream bar.

I don't get how people can have kids and work.

My parents came and visited me yesterday because I am sick...I love my family. My parents are so cute and awesome even though they are very protective.

I am sick AGAIN.....I don't know what I have...maybe a cold??

Speaking of cold the weather is cooling down, thank goodness because I was tired of sweating in my room.

THE END.

2009-10-04T21:49:00.000-07:00

Trying to watch online videos on a 5-year old computer with an OS that is 2 generations old on a 1.5 mbps internet speed [approximate] can prove to be difficult when the video and audio aren't in sync! I tried to watch an episode of The Office on hulu, and the video was delayed by about 2 minutes.....2 minutes!!! That's a lot...and annoying.

????

2009-09-25T00:45:00.000-07:00

Where you at??

I have a friend, I haven't talked to in awhile...hope he's doing well.

Anger

2009-09-20T21:25:00.000-07:00

I feel bad about this blog, because I don't write much in here, except when I have strong feelings about something [usually negative], so my blog just seems like a big ole rant.

But here are a few things that have made me upset:
- Bumper Lady
Where are you? It's been a month and a half since you hit the guy that hit me that scratched my bumper. Luckily no one was hurt, but I am still reminded by the incident with the long blue and red and black scratch on the back of my bumper. You told me that you would pay it back because you "totally believed in karma." And I was either kind enough or stupid enough to believe you. I feel I've been VERY reasonable in giving you time, since you got kicked out of your apartment [supposedly] and working in a slow job field [antiques].
You were a fast talker [since I stupidly didn't get down your info], but I'm still holding on to the hope that there are still decent people out there who will stick to what they say.

- Rude People on Airplanes
To the plaid-shirted guy who cut off my mom in the plane aisle when you knew that my mom was with me AND there was no gap in between us for you to cut in...what a way to be a gentleman. Bravo.

2009-09-14T00:19:00.000-07:00

Today I was craving toffee candy.... the thin, crunchy toffee bits covered in chocolate, like the kind you find in those holiday boxes of assorted chocolates.

So after the gym I walked over to the Rite Aid, and I bought some Weight Watcher's toffee candy [Whitman's brand]. I ate a piece at home and it was delightful.

P.S. Yesterday I was walking back from the Best Buy/Rite Aid shopping center and I was approached by a semi-creepy guy. He was very friendly but I felt uncomfortable. Luckily he walked away after I wouldn't give him my number or a way to contact me. So moral of the story is.....pretend to talk on your phone whenever you are walking anywhere.

"I Could Tell From the Minute I Woke Up, It Was Gonna Be a Lonely, Lonely, Lonely, Lonely Day..."

2009-08-15T23:45:00.000-07:00

[That was a Phantom Planet song by the way.]

Anyways, you may be wondering 'what is up with the title, Betty?' Well, lately I've been feeling lonely. Actually I've been feeling that a lot, pretty much since graduation. But to be honest, I've always felt that way, even when I was surrounded by people.

Why do I feel this way? Mainly because I rarely see people or talk to people. I come home after work, and I don't do anything. On the weekends, I will occasionally do something during the day, but at night, I am once again in my apartment. I don't even have television to keep me company.

I am not blaming anyone in particular. This feeling comes from a few different factors, namely that I don't know who my friends are anymore. A lot of people who I would consider friends, are gone/moved away. The friends still in the area, we either drifted apart, or are not close enough to hang out.

I never had a close group of friends growing up; my friendships were usually on a one-to-one basis, and I seem[ed] to have a horrible tendency to lose touch with people. In high school and college, I was always 'too busy' with scholastic and extracurricular activities to hang out, and I wasn't interested in drinking/clubbing [which seemed to be a big contributor to social engagements].

So now that I have the time to hang out, I don't have a lot of people to hang out with. I could try to meet new people, but I don't know where one does that.

I just saw "I Love You, Man" a mere 2 hours ago, and I could totally relate to the film. Not that I am an engaged man looking for a best man, but rather a person trying to find real friends in the adult world...

2009-08-14T22:35:00.000-07:00

BAH HUMBUG.

Hmmm...

2009-08-02T22:59:00.000-07:00

Should I get netflix? I have lived without tv for about a few months now [at least a month for sure], and I kind of miss watching tv.

But the problem with that is that I need a new DVD player, since mine stopped working!!!

2009-07-27T01:00:00.001-07:00

I gota turn my frowns, upside down.

:( ---> ( :

Quick Thoughts

2009-06-26T00:00:00.000-07:00

Random thoughts:

- I am not a fan of patent leather....I don't think it looks that great
- A good number of my fellow co-workers have an i-phone [my entire team...well 4 people, all have them], but I can't justify paying that much, when I don't really utilize my phone right now...and especially with other bills that I will be paying/have to pay [i.e. possibly cable/satellite]....
- Bally's made me really mad this weekend when a personal trainer wouldn't allow me to use the only pair of 5 lb dumbbells, because it was in the "personal trainer area"...I pay for the gym so I can use the damn equipment!
- I have become such a homebody...I need a life
- I also need to clean my room
- Why can't I get up in the morning?
- I need some new clothes, haha
- MJ died??? That is very sad

Take Me Out to the Ball Game!

2009-06-17T23:21:00.000-07:00

Today I went to my second-ever live professional baseball game/first Dodgers game in fabulous downtown LA.

Our company [well one of our fabulous employees] secured 2 stadium suites for today's game...which can also be thought of as BALLER STATUS. I will probably not be sitting in a VIP suite again anytime soon, so it was very cool getting to sit in one like all the other fancypantsers out there.

Anywho, as we [my fellow coworkers] were taking side streets to get there, we passed through Hollywood and K-town, and I realized that I know nothing about LA. I embarrassingly know very little about the city I work in...it was like being in a whole new world.

Coming from a small town, as well as a college bubble, you'd think I'd be ready and rarin' to go and explore...instead I have my little routine that takes me to work-home-gym, with little deviation. It's not like I don't want to...but a few things hold me back: 1) I do not like driving 2) I do not like parking/finding parking/paying for parking and 3) I have no one to do these things with - my bf is 400 miles away, most of my friends are AWOL, and the friends I do have heere, have their own lives.

So...I am a hermit.

Forgetting the Past

2009-06-06T20:31:00.000-07:00

I've been home-home since Wednesday, and as you can see from my sister's blog, we have been fixing up my oldest sister's room; a project my middle sister and her husband started before they leave for 2 years! [I'm so sad, I will miss having them only an hour away!]

Besides spending time with the fam, my goal/job was to clean out my old room, which was no easy feat, as it held a mish-mash of things from since I was a kid til high school. Now, a lot of stuff is cleared out, but we won't be painting or tearing out the "carpet" anytime soon.

As I've been going through my old stuff, I've come across some great, ahem, treasures; aka ugly pictures of me from middle and high school, middle school notes and letters from past friends, and other things of that sort. I've been reading through them, and I forgot how awful middle school was and how awkward things were!!!

Usually I am very sentimental [I must be if I've kept all this stuff for that long!], but I'm finally ready to let that all go. I've read through the notes and looked at the photos one last time, and I'm having a good laugh.

It's funny how fast time flies.

it's so hot...milk was a bad choice!

2009-04-22T23:43:00.000-07:00

thank goodness it cooled down though.

?

2009-04-14T23:14:00.000-07:00

Sometimes, do you ever wonder what our specific purpose is? Like, why we are here, and why we live the lives we do?

How come I'm "Betty" and not "Jane" or even "Mike"? [I know you're supposed to place punctuation marks within quotation marks...but it looks weird to me when it's not really something being said/spoken].

With that being said, I'm still tired.

Tired

2009-04-06T23:32:00.000-07:00

I am tired.

Cooking with Betty

2009-02-22T17:31:00.000-08:00

I can't believed I haven't posted in a month!

Life updates...work is good/busy. Living on my own is interesting...and cooking is hard!

I haven't done too much cooking, some talapia, pasta, brownies...and now meatloaf.

I'm kind of scared but I hope the more I do it, the better I get.

[My brownies came out bubbly on top...but they tasted ok...although my stomach hurt this afternoon... :S ].

16 Things

2009-01-27T21:09:00.000-08:00

I found this on Fbook...you're supposed to share 16 things about yourself and since I like sharing...here goes!

1. I get embarrassed easily.

2. It's easy to make me feel guilty too.

3. One of my secret dream jobs is to be a fashion designer....so I can make my OWN clothes. But I wouldn't want to deal with the hoity-toityness of the industry or the fact that I'd be employing models that make other people feel bad about themselves [that sounded very Zoolander-esque].

4. I don't like it when guys wear running sneakers as regular shoes.

5. I've never had my own birthday party. Once my friends threw me one in 8th grade though. And I've had get-togethers in college...but one day I'm going to throw a bash, with invites and dressing up and all that hoopla!

6. I look into mirrors a lot, but not because I think I look good, but rather the opposite.

7. One of my embarrassing moments in life would have to be... all of middle school. Need I explain more?

8. I like love stories in movies/books where it almost seems like unrequited love...but I'm a sucker for happy endings so I want them to be together in the end.

9. One of my talents is that I notice when people get haircuts. I think it's quite useful because [I feel that] people want their haircuts to be noticed.

10. I have a horrible tendency to compare myself to others, which leaves me feeling inadequate and dissatisfied with myself.

11. It bothers me when people can't recycle their soda cans. Are you that f-in lazy?

12. I'm worried that I'm not ambitious enough...maybe I'm destined for greater things, but I wouldn't know it because I'm not pursuing them.

13. I wanted to be a Disney animator when I was younger, but then I realized a) I couldn't draw the same thing twice and b) I'm not that good.

14. I wish I was artsier....like the hipster artsy.

15. When I see old couples holding hands....it makes me smile because I hope to have that one day.

16. It's hard for me to watch movies that are based on books after I've read the book because I criticize it too much [it doesn't fit what I imagined]....interestingly that doesn't occur when I read a book after watching the movie.

Bonus: I don't mind eating just mustard on bread. Or salsa on bread. And I tend to be a "negative nancy"...but I'm working on that.

Post Secret

2009-01-11T10:02:00.000-08:00

That Frank Warren is a smart guy...maybe smart isn't the correct adjective I am looking for...but who would have thought to ask people to share their secrets on a little postcard and have them become a huge phenonemon?

I have to credit my friend Anna for being the one to tell me about it...I actually thought it was called "Poe's Secret" at first because I hadn't heard her correctly. I read the book and was shocked, humored, saddened...and surprised at the ones that I felt could have been my own [mainly the lonely/confused/romantic ones haha].

I don't check out the PS blog frequently, but I enjoy going every now and then. It's nice to know that we aren't alone in our feelings, even when we feel like it. Whenever I'm on the site, I like to mentally write my own.

If I were to send in my own Post Secret, it'd say...

well, I guess I can't say or it wouldn't be a secret anymore.

"So This Is the New Year....and I Don't Feel Any Different..."

2008-12-31T08:16:00.000-08:00

This post will be short since I need to sleep....it's about 12:17 AM here in Hong Kong...yes that's right, I am in Hong Kong, baby!

So it's New Year's and once again, I have not really, truly celebrated it. So my "resolution" is to do something fun for New Year's 2010....like I want to be dressed up, hanging with friends, singing Auld Lang Syne [spelling???], watching a huge fireworks display, and kissing my sweetie when the clock strikes 12.

But who knows what this coming year holds; before I figure out how to celebrate the next year, I gotta think about this upcoming one. I have a lot of big decision[s] to make and think about [job offers, where to live, what will happen in the future.......]. I hope good things though.

What I've Learned Thus Far

2008-12-10T00:30:00.000-08:00

Even though I am no longer a student, that doesn't mean I still can't learn! We learn new things everyday, whether it's reading the news, watching something new on tv, or meeting someone for the first time.

As I was laying here, looking up the general story of our economic recession [I know vaguely the details, but I want to be better informed!!] on good ole Wikipedia, it made me think of how I want to be more informed and educated on general going-ons...and since my mind works like a row of falling dominos [or maybe a Rube Goldberg machine], from one thought to another, that got me thinking of what I've learned so far from these past few months.

-There IS life after college...good or bad!
I'm not gonna lie, it's been tough. I lived on campus for 4 years, so I knew that living on my own [which I am still technically not, since I'm with fam] would be a total change...no more hallways where people keep their doors open/knock on your door for help or to chat, no more dining halls to feed me, no more being surrounded by thousands [or more] of your peers on a daily basis, no more being able to walk up a flight of stairs to go hang out with your friends, no more late-night cram sessions in the ORL office, no more chatting it up with the awesome housekeeping or dining staff, and no more student identity.

I think that's been one of the more ...stranger things to think about....I've been a student for about 16 years...that's a good chunk of time. And now, having that stripped from me....I feel almost identity-less. Some people call that freedom, but I call that confusion. What am I?

- Applying for jobs is hard. But you gotta do it anyways
I think it's a slap in the face in terms of a reality check...this is being an adult! If you're not a student, you gotta be a working adult in the real world. As scary as that is, time doesn't stop. You gotta do what you gotta do.

It might be dejecting to turn in application after application [I've heard stories of people turning in hundreds of applications!] and not hear anything back...but I guess you learn to have hope and faith. Hope in that someone is gonna see your resume and think 'THIS is what we've been looking for' and faith that you'll find something.

- Driving isn't toooooo bad....it's still bad, but practices makes it kind of easier
I am not a big fan of driving. I love being a passenger, but putting me behind the wheel with zooming cars surrounding me, I tense up. I didn't have a car in college because I didn't need one...and driving in a place like LA is almost ridiculous. There aren't a lot of protected left turns, parking costs a lot, you need to apply and have a justifiable reason to have a permit at school, and there are just TOO MANY CARS.

I think I'm a pretty safe driver, but I'm just a small-town girl in a big city world....so driving only slightly above the speed limit is not good enough here. People are in such a rush! If we all carpooled and slowed down to enjoy things, maybe driving wouldn't have to be such a chore. I like driving when no one else is around...it's almost calming...but that only happens if you are on the road at off times, like 3 AM.

I'm still getting used to it though. But hopefully it'll be like anything else I do in life, that it'll be something I'm more comfortable with.

-How to use a dishwasher...and a stove
Don't laugh...but at home our dishwasher is broken, and I didn't have one in college. I mean it didn't take more than 5 minutes to learn, but still.

Also, I don't really cook, but I'm getting more comfortable with the oven and stove. There's still plenty more I need to learn, but I'm getting there.

- The gym isn't scary
This might seem unbelievable...but I had never worked out in a gym until about a month ago. Well I used the treadmill once at the dorm gym, but I don't really count that because it wasn't a real gym.

So yes, I buckled in [and also got reeled in too!] and did a 1 month trial with 24 Hr Fitness. And I'm glad I did. I went in for a free consultation with a personal trainer the day after I signed up, and I found out my body fat to muscle ratio was a very unhealthy percentage [which caught me off guard since I am pretty small...I knew I was flabby, but not that flabby!]. I've been to the gym almost every day since I've had the membership, minus the T-day holiday weekend and a few days where I wasn't in the OC. I'm not a muscle trainer and although I don't look any different, I feel better.

I guess I had never worked out at a gym before because I didn't want people to see me all sweaty and gross [and it seems like 95% of the women that work out come to the gym looking cute in their workout outfits; I just wear a baggy tee and running shorts!], and plus all those machines looked intimidating. But when I went to the gym, I realized that no one cares if you're sweaty...they're all too busy focusing on their workouts. And the machines have instructions on them, so that helps to figure out how to work them [and also watching other people using them!]

Although my membership ends today, I think I'm going to take what I learned and keep exercising every day. And one day, when I have a job and can afford a membership [or afford to budget that in], then I might go back to the gym.

Hopefully this doesn't make me sound like an incompetent fool...but I've had a different experience which has led me to learn or be more comfortable with these things now.

Online (Shopping) Tips of the Day

2008-12-05T01:32:00.000-08:00

I actually do a lot of shopping online, so I though I'd share some [logical] tips with you all:

1). Use promo codes! Whether it's from the actual store site itself [on the site or via an email subscription/newsletter], or from a separate coupon site [I really like www.retailmenot.com], you should definitely use them. Although there aren't always codes that you can use, for the most part, there's a good chance that you can find one.
**REAL LIFE EXAMPLE: I found one for 25% on all items at Urban Outfitters that I've used a few times; I purchased a [different] coat on sale, and with the code, it took off an additional $50, which is awesome!

2). Try to get things with free shipping. Of course, if you can get a promo code whose discount is greater than the shipping cost, then of course use the %-off code instead. However, if you can, I recommend looking for free shipping. Many sites offer that if you spend a certain limit; of course some sites set that limit pretty high, so don't go buying things you don't want/need just to reach that limit...but if can bundle your purchases so that you can get free shipping, then why not? I say this because if you do need to make returns, stores do not reimburse for shipping and handling.

3). Comparison shop. If there's something that you want that isn't specific to a store [i.e. not clothing], don't feel the need to buy it from the first site you see it at. I always type what I'm looking for in the Google search bar to see what it can find. You might have to dig through A LOT of sites, so it can take awhile. But you also need to be careful....if a deal sounds too good to be true, and it's coming from a site that is not very well-known, I'd be very cautious purchasing from there. Related to this, Be cautious! Make sure the website is secure [so that your information is protected], that they have a physical address, and that there is a Customer Service number and other contact information. Check forums/user reviews to see what people have to say about that site. Remember, though, to take them with a grain of salt as well because sometimes sites do pay people/use their employees to write fake reviews to boost their ratings. Also, trust your gut. If the website seems shady, it probably is.
**REAL LIFE EXAMPLE: I just bought a graduation present for my bf, and I had been searching and debating for a long time [this probably took a span of 3-4 weeks to find and decide!]. I originally was going to purchase this gift from newegg.com, because it came with a free bonus item [and it was a good one!]. However, the tax and the shipping & handling was almost an additional $30 to the price! Instead, I bought a slightly different version from Amazon (they were having a special too!) which also came with free bonus item. And along with my trial of Amazon Prime Shipping, I saved a lot more. I did see some too-good-to-be-true deals, and those sites had received great reviews. But on a forum on CNET, quite a few people were saying that those sites were shady. If those reviews are written on a separate forum and not the site itself, they might be a little more trustworthy.

4). Don't be afraid to take your time or wait a little. With my above example, I'm glad I waited, and I'm glad I took the time to think about my purchase because I got a better deal. Eventually items have to go on sale, so check frequently. However, don't wait too long, because if you do, it might be gone/sold out. There are some items, though, that never go on sale/need to be purchased in advance, like plane tickets...they typically need to be bought in advance to get a good price on them.

5). Make sure the site has a good return policy. I think most online sites that have physical stores [like Urban Outfitters, or Gap, etc.] let you return items whenever, as long as you have the original packing slip and the item has not been worn/used. If I can, I prefer returning items to the actual stores themselves, but that's just my personal preference. Zappos.com offers free return shipping, and Bluefly does too, if you opt to have your return go towards store credit. But you have 90 days to make that return. Aldo lets you return shoes within a year of purchasing them.

6). Even after you've made the purchase, continue to check back on those items. What does this mean, you may ask? It means that sometimes after you've purchased items, they go on sale...if this happens, a price adjustment may be applicable. If they do offer price adjustments, it usually has to happen very close to the date of purchase; Bluefly's "grace period" is only 5 days...meaning the item's price has to change within 5 days of your purchase.
**REAL LIFE EXAMPLE: This happens to me a lot...I guess that's why I tend to go back to the sites to check out the items I've purchased. It might seem weird, but this habit has paid off many a times. The coat I blogged about last week was reduced by about $20+ within a few days of my purchase, and I contacted their Customer Service immediately; they were able to offer me the price adjustment...sadly [or maybe not so sadly] I will be returning that coat because it doesn't fit right and doesn't seem worth altering. I also saw that a dress I had recently purchased at Urban Outfitters was reduced by almost $30 from the original price [$20, with the promo code I used], so I've contacted their Customer Service...hopefully they can perform the adjustment.

I guess that's pretty much it for now...I guess my last pieces of advice are to check out clearance sections frequently [...I find that the selection is much, much greater than in stores]; buy what you really, really like/can't "live without" [you don't want buyer's remorse] but also know that if the item is gone, you'll still be ok; and don't buy everything you see! Sometimes it's just fun to "window" shop [haha, it's a pun...get it? A window, as in like a browser....???]...but if there's a really good deal, there's no harm in just placing it in your e-shopping cart and leaving it there. And if you do happen to end up making a purchase, you can congratulate yourself on the fact that you got a good deal!

Mellow Music Makes Me.....Mellow

2008-12-03T11:46:00.000-08:00

Sorry there, folks...I couldn't think of another adjective to insert that would mean calm [sorry I am too lazy to look it up in a thesaurus]....so if any of you out there can think of one, feel free to let me know.

Anywho, I thought I would share with you some chill songs that make me feel relaxed...one of them I just heard yesterday on
uclaradio.com...which you all can check out [support college radio!].

Ra Ra Riot is "an American indie rock band from Syracuse, NY" [courtesy of Wikipedia] that formed in 2006. I heard their song "Can You Tell" on someone's show. I liked it, but I didn't know who it was. So now I [and you] know! You can listen to that song here.

The above song reminded me a lot of Vampire Weekend...I don't know too much about Vampire Weekend, but they are also another indie rock band that came out of NY in 2006 [courtesy of Wikipedia]. Interesting. I'm detecting a pattern here! Anywho, I enjoy their song "Oxford Comma," which you can listen here.

I first heard Yael Naim's song while browsing through Mac ads on Youtube. Her song "New Soul" was featured on the Macbook Air commercial. When I heard this song, I instantly pictured a movie scene where this song could be played:

The scene starts with bird's-eye view of a sunny morning in New York, where the camera pans over the city. We see a shot of the city's skyscrapers, and the camera focuses on one high-rise. The dawning sun strikes the windows and the beginnings of an illuminating blue sky are reflected in the glass. Then, the camera moves to follow a young, twenty-something girl riding her bicycle on her way to work [most likely a little hip bookstore], where an unsuspecting new day begins that will change her life forever.

Haha, possibly a little cliche, and yes, that all came from me listening to that song. You can listen to "New Soul" here.

Flashback

2008-11-27T13:45:00.000-08:00

Happy Turkey Day! So I'm back home, in the middle of nowhere...my old room is, well, a mess, and so I've been trying to clean out some things in my room [it's part storage/part hot mess]. I came across a time capsule I made in 5th grade at a friend's birthday party, and I've decided to share with you the letter I wrote to my future [12th grade] self, complete with little kid handwriting (with circles over the i's instead of a dot):

Today is July 15, 19##. Today was Summer's B-day party. My name is Betty XXXX Yee. I'm 11 years old. I was born in RXXXXXXXXX (I still live here right now) on December ##, 19##. My favorite color is green, my favorite animal is a panda, but basically I like all animals. Today is a Tuesday. I graduated 5th grade and I'm going to go in 6th grade. This year school will start on a Tuesday. I love drawing, reading, getting A's on school papers. RXXXXXXXXX is a desert. I have a pet fish. I want a cat or dog but they need a lot of take caring.

[hand drawn picture of 2 mountains, a cloud, and a sun]

I alos like Calvin & Hobbes (Comic Book), Sailor Moon, Mr. Mysterious & Company (book), Travel Far, Pay No Fare (another book), and other stuff. My sisters are EXXXX XXXX Yee (15) and SXXXX XXX Yee (18). SXXXX just graduated this year. EXXXX's going to be a sophomore. My Parents are WXXXX Yee and JXX Yee. I am Chinese. I have black hair and dark brown eyes. My ~~favorte~~ favorite ice cream is Cookies n' Cream. - Write more Later - My 5th grade teacher at VXXXXX was Mrs. Knight. She is retired now. We were her last class. I like getting mail. All the stuff I put in my time capsule is from 4th & 5th grade and from 19## & 19##. Today Mrs. BXXXX gave us the idea for the time capsule at Summer's b-day. Susan CXXXXXX is moving this Thursday or Friday. The ~~maps~~ broshures are from Mrs. BXXXX's. So is the the time capsule box. Also the name thingy card. Today Matt MXXXXX and SXXXX picked me up. They were funny and pretending to be hicks and calling each other Ma and Pa w/ southern accents and were pretending to be my "Ma & Pa" and calling me Betty XXXX. It was funny.

Quotes From Me
"Let There Be Peace."
"Let the World Be a Better Place For All People to Live In."
"Let happiness and <3 be in everyone, not hate and anger." : )
"don't worry, be HAPPY."
"It doesn't matter what you look like, but what's inside."

Favorites
Sailor Moon/TV show
Mighty Max/TV show
Calvin & Hobbes/comic book
Travel Far, Pay No Fare/Book
Mr. Mysterious & Company/Book
Pandas, Brownies, Mail
Good, Trusting Friends
Car trips to places out of town
Archie comic books
nice sisters
Holidays
my birthday
Cookie's n' cream ice cream
reading
drawing

Dislikes
having bad vision
crooked teeth
obnoxious people
Mrs. Nuckles
diet sodas
not getting mail
gross boys having crushes on you
getting a B or C
dumber people getting a better grade than you
fighting
not getting mail or phone calls
fighing and yelling
when SXXXX gets nasty
dumb books
when Mom and Dad yell
people who are racists
trash everywhere
messy houses - like are, but I still love this house
smoke
seeing people smoke
drugs

Haha, that was pretty funny. Man.....that feels like forever and a day ago.

Please Come Back, Mr. Fed-Ex Man!

2008-11-25T15:38:00.000-08:00

I am going to preface this post with the statement that I overthink too much.

Today I was really frustrated, over a fairly small reason, but I'll explain my rationale.

I ordered a winter coat [on sale] from an online store because 1) I don't own a winter jacket or even a regular jacket for that matter and 2) I'm planning a trip up north for my birthday next week, and my experience there has been that it gets a tit bit nippley, if you catch my draft.

Because I wanted it fairly fast, I requested express shipping. Why, you may ask? Unlike most people, things like pants and jackets do not fit my too petite body, and I need things altered. If I needed to get this said coat altered, I wanted to do it sooner rather than later [besides, express altering also costs more money]. It was supposed to come in today, and so around 1:50 PM, I went to the school mail room. Unfortunately it was closed, but that was ok, I didn't mind waiting...til I saw a Fed-Ex driver. He was holding a package, that I thought might have been mine. But me, being the kind of person that doesn't want to harrass a person if I'm not certain the box was mine/wasn't sure he'd give me the box since I didn't have ID, hesitated to approach him. I saw him walk away, and I started to go after him. I was going to call after him, but he had already gotten to the van and drove away.

I walk back inside (and this entire Fed-Ex Man scene couldn't have been more than 3 minutes) the mailroom receptionist is back. I ask, hoping that that Fed-Ex Man's box wasn't mine....but it was. I go back to the house, and I call Fed-Ex's main national line to see if the driver can come back today, but the Customer Service Rep says he can't because drivers have set schedules. So I call the website to see if I can get a refund on my shipping because I was supposed to get it today, and I technically didn't...I couldn't get a refund. The only thing I can do is wait for the package tomorrow. Which wouldn't be a big deal, except tomorrow is the day before Thanksgiving, and I'm pretty sure we're going to leave early and be gone the rest of the week.

I could have tried to pick up the package myself, but then that defeats the purpose of getting it delivered to me; also I would need to borrow the car, and I don't like taking things without asking. Plus I didn't know when the driver would be back to the main drop-off station, and I didn't want to drive during traffic times.

So if I don't get this jacket til Monday, I'll still have to do express tailoring (which I didn't want to do, because to alter a coat costs more than shipping), PLUS paying the express shipping price.

So, why am I frustrated? Because.....
- I was thisclose to getting my package, and I didn't
- I paid that extra shipping for nothing, really and I couldn't get my money back because they technically (tried to) delievered it.
- If this jacket is too big [which is a 98% chance of it being], I'll need to pay for that too.
- And I need to find not-too expensive plane tickets for next week....fat chance of that.

Ok...that was all. Thanks for reading.

Baby, Buy Buy Buy! Or, Get Your Fash On.

2008-11-20T04:30:00.000-08:00

So even though I don't have a job, I still like to browse around/ "window shop" every now and then. Of course I do this only after extensive hours of job hunting.

I don't think I'm particularily stylish, but hopefully I look somewhat pulled together in my day-to-day life. Or at least one day I hope to, haha. I'm not advocating for over-consumption or wasteful spending, so please don't think I am. However, I have compiled a list of a few items that I would love to add to my wardrobe (but can't at the moment due to a lack of funds : P ), so here goes:

BOOTS

I've never owned a pair of boots, and I never thought of owning any til I saw a former RA that I worked with wear some; they were really cute! I first thought I'd like some slouchy brown leather ones, but straight riding boots wouldn't be too bad either. I'd want a pair in a dark brown/cognac color; I think they would look great with either a shirt dress or dark jeans and a light solid color top. The Cynthia Vincent riding boots pictured here unfortunately cost around $400...yikes!

YELLOW FLATS

I really like the color yellow...especially "deeper" yellows like mustard and saffron. These would look great with dark blue, black, or gray pants.

These are from Urban Outfitters; according to the reviews, they are very cute but painful [which I think most flats are...I've only owned 2 pairs of flats that were comfortable the first time wearing them, and they were both the same style, just different colors!]. I like the way UO shoes look, but I usually can't wear them because I'm a size 5, and they only stock size 6+. But this seems to be the case for most shoe stores that I go to. : /

BLACK POINTY-TOED FLATS

I like that these are simple...no crazy embellishments or buckles.

I've been semi-looking for a pair because I feel that they look dressy without the fuss of heels. And these are nice because they don't look too pointy where it's too severe. These Christin Michaels flats can be found on Zappos and they cost around $130 per pair...oyyy!

SHIRT/SWEATER DRESS

Before, the idea that a dress would have sleeves bothered me. But I think the slightly deep v-neck, the 3/4 slighty puffy sleeves, and simple thin knit make it cute. I think it'd look great with a pair of boots (maybe the slouchy ones would be better?) or flats.

This is $68 from Urban Outfitters (still a little too pricey for my liking!).

GREY [OR BLACK] BLAZER

This looks a little darker than I'd like it to be. However, if I was getting a tweed blazer, I'd want it to be charcoal grey. But I think I'm looking for a more casual/"regular" blazer that could go with jeans. I never owned a blazer til recently, but I like that it gives more structure and shape to an outfit. If I can find one with a cool lining...that'd be awesome!

This is a J.Crew suit blazer, so it might be a little more formal looking than what I'm going for, but I like the cut of it. This is $170...a liitle out of my price range!!

WINTER COAT

I don't own a winter coat, but I think it would be a good investment to get one, especially since I get cold easily. Over the summer, I was browsing around United Colors of Benetton, and they had this charcoal grey [there we go again with this color] coat; I really liked it, but it was too big, so I didn't get it. I should have though, because I have been looking to get a jacket for a long time. I think I have to settle on the fact that I'll need to tailor it, because it's very rare for me to find things that fit on the first try [such as jackets/coats/pants/shoes...tops are easier to find though].

I don't know if I like the belt on this jacket, but I guess it's good in that it gives the jacket more shape. This J.Crew coat costs around $200-300. It's actually black and not grey. If you go to the site, the photo of the "majestic purple" version of this jacket is very cute.

MISC.
-LEATHER JACKET

I've never owned a leather jacket, and I never really had a desire to, but I like the way this jacket looks [minus the $500 price tag!]. I like the color, but I think if it were a darker brown, it'd be more versatile/wearable.

This jacket is from UO.

-SWEATER

I don't own any sweaters anymore, haha. I've gotten used to the warm weather I guess. Anywho, I like the details on this sweater, such as the deep scoop neck [nice for layering], 3/4 sleeves [so you don't have to push up/roll up the arms], and the contrasing neck/cuff/hem line [brings the sweater together].

This is also from UO, and is $88 [eeek!].

-LIGHT GREY DENIM

I normally don't choose light colored jeans, but one day when I was in UO [sorry, sorry], I saw a pair of silver [essentially light grey] cigarette jeans with contrast black stitching, and I was really drawn to them - I think because of the stitching. Alas they never had my size in stock [although one store I did find one size 25, but they looked weird, so maybe it was meant for me to not have them haha]. These are a different pair; they are $200 jeans from UO.

My sisters don't like 'skinny jeans' but I feel I don't look any better in other styles. I started wearing slimmer cut pants just right before you could find that style in all the stores. Maybe I do look silly, but at least I don't mind!

- WHITE/CREAM COLORED SCARF

I'm looking for a thin knit [the scarf pictured here is silk-cashmere] that will keep my neck warm without itching it...I've had some chunkier knit scarves that I think were wool, and they would itch my neck like crazy! I can't tell if it is warm and soft, but I'm assuming so!

I like the idea of a light-colored scarf because it brightens up a dark outfit [since I don't own that many cream/white things]. This one is about $50 at J.Crew.

So as you can see, I really enjoy things from Urban Outfitters and J.Crew, and I tend to pick out things that are way too expensive. So I'll be on the lookout for less costly versions [or maybe wait til they're on sale? Haha].

These Are a Few of My Favorite Things

2008-11-15T20:07:00.000-08:00

I like making random lists, and inspired by Julie Andrew's Maria Von Trapp, I have decided to make a list of a few of my favorite things [excluding people], or at least things I like:

- the smell of rain (in the desert), movie theater popcorn, and cookies baking
- flowers, especially from a farmers' market
- good deals/finding something you've wanted on sale
- when you make it to the bus stop just in time so that you don't have to wait
- museums and libraries
- grilled food, and ice cream (preferably chocolate and mint)
- leisurely browsing through stores
- when you wake up really early and it's still cold outside, but then you hop into a nice, warm shower
- when it's winter time and going around to look at Christmas lights
- finding good bands that people haven't heard of yet
- random (and non-random!) acts of kindness
- laying down in an open space and watching the stars at night

Listen here to The Sound of Music's "A Few of My Favorite Things"

The Little Things

2008-10-30T16:03:00.000-07:00

Have you ever been so upset by something that it made you speechless, shake, or even cry? I am sure we all have, but that is NOT what today's post is about. No, my friends, I'm talking about the little grievances in life that annoy you; not the ones that make you cry, but the ones that miff you and make you frustrated enough to bother you.

So here are my "little things" of the day [mind you, these are just little things that made me go "arrrrgh"]:
- going to FedEx Office nd needing to scan 2 pages
At the desk it would cost $2 and at the self-serve computer it was $.30 per minute of computer use. Me thinking that it would be cheaper to use the computer, went to the computer. However, I used the wrong program, messed up on the scan, blah blah blah; the total cost me $2.70...and 9 minutes of my time. Not a big deal, but still a "arrrgh."

- Trader Joe's bananas
I went in to buy bananas, which were $.19 a piece; at the checkout, they rang up as $.29 a piece, and it was because I had grabbed the organic ones...so that was another $.50 wasted.

- my haircut
I don't know how I feel about it...I want to like it, because the hair stylist was so nice. But I feel the ends weren't cut well...it looks kind of blunt and not blended in well. I couldn't tell in the mirror, and it wasn't til I go back and looked at it closer. It's not a bad haircut, just not an interesting one. And I feel like I look even younger than before.

Not a big deal. But still kind of a slight-slight downer. Oh well [with a shoulder shrug, of course].

** EDIT: another slight annoyance is that the formatting of the text box is not the same as the viewable blog setting...i.e. when I write out my blog post, I format it in the text box...but alas, it is not the same dimensions as the blog itself, and I don't know how to edit that.

Another Post on Prop 8

2008-10-28T23:31:00.000-07:00

I have to shamefully admit that I usually don't get involved in politics, but now is a good time to be...

Proposition 8 really bothers me...the reasoning behind it....I don't get it. I honestly don't.

The reasons I've heard for supporters of the proposition seem illogical and unreasonable: "They're going to teach kids gay porn!" or "It undermines marriage!"

First off, I highly, HIGHLY doubt any gay porn will be taught...I don't know where that idea came from, but that is straight-up WACK. Pure lunacy! I think teachers will still be too busy trying to teach kids how to take standardized tests than trying to squeeze in a segment on gay pornography. As for undermining marriage...how?! How does sexual orientation undermine marriage, or family for that sake? As long as there are two loving parents, why does it matter if they are both men or both women? What about all the kids who were raised by single parents or divorced parents? They still seem ok to me. And what about the kids who are in an abusive, but heterosexual home?

People need to put aside their religious beliefs and look at what is fair. Marriages are NOT the same as civil unions. Why people are wailing about the religious definition of marriage? We need to focus on the legal aspect. Marriages come with a lot of legal rights that civil unions don't. While they may get state benefits, they don't get the same federal ones as the "1996 Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) excludes them [gays and lesbians] from many federal benefits." (CNN.com, 2004). And in 1997, there were "1,049 laws where federal benefits, rights or privileges were contingent on marital status; [t]hey include tax breaks, pensions and Social Security benefits, inheritance rights and loans."(CNN.com, 2004).

Didn't we learn anything from Brown v. Board of Education...separate is NOT equal. Until "civil unions" and marriages are given the same rights and privileges in every state, we cannot say they are fair and the same. When we start to marginalize a group and make it okay to segregate them from the "rest" of the population....that is NOT okay. I thought this country was founded on the idea that all men [and women] are created equal. Obviously that is not the case, as history has proven to us many times; but come on, we are in the 21st century!! Aren't we already supposed to know that we should learn from our mistakes?

People need to stop letting their personal fears decide how they will vote...they need to think about the general welfare of all people in a secular way.

** I apologize for any improper grammar and incorrect citations.

[I Can] Go the Distance

2008-10-23T12:00:00.000-07:00

I got my first legitimate job rejection. I mean, at least it was because the vacant job spot had already been filled and not because they didn't like me, but I was still bummed nonetheless. I'm trying my best to keep my chin up, but it's difficult to find appealing entry-level jobs. I know there are a lot of jobs out there, but I just don't want to settle, and I want to make sure that I am qualified.

I tried not to let it get me down, but as I was in the shower this morning, so many thoughts were running through my head: why-don't-i-have-a-job-already-am-i-a-failure-i-need-to-figure-out-how-to-support-
myself-why-are-plane-tickets-so-expensive-i-hate-overpaying-for-things-damnit-
why-does-my-package-have-to-come-on-monday-when-i'm-already-gone-that's-
another-five-dollars-i-have-to-waste-for-shipping-why-am-i-so-intimdated-by-driving-
why-do-i-feel-so-ugly-i-should-have-studied-spanish-because-then-i'd-be-bilingual-
and-could-use-that-when-i-apply-i-hate-my-nose-my-cheeks-are-too-chubby-
does-c.-miss-me-a-lot-i-wish-i-knew-html-and-photoshop-and-other-
computer-related-programs-damnit-i-need-shaving-cream...

So as you can see, my thoughts run a 100 miles per minute. But as I was in the shower, I was reminded of the Hercules song, "Go the Distance." I guess I feel a little like Hercules; I don't know where I belong/what's best for me, but I so badly want to find that place/job/whatever it may be...and like he says, "I would go most anywhere, to find where I belong...."

So hopefully I find that place soon, amidst everyone else who is finding their place...

Go the Distance

I have often dreamed of a far off place
Where a great warm welcome will be waiting for me
Where the crowds will cheer when they see my face
And a voice keeps saying this is where I'm meant to be

I will find my way, I can go the distance
I'll be there some day, if I can be strong
I know every mile will be worth my while
I would go most anywhere to feel like I belong

I am on my way, I can go the distance
I don't care how far, somehow I'll be strong
I know every mile will be worth my while
I would go most anywhere to find where I belong

Listen here

No on 8

2008-10-22T15:40:00.000-07:00

This is taken from the California voter guide site:

ELIMINATES RIGHT OF SAME–SEX COUPLES TO MARRY. INITIATIVE CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT.

Changes the California Constitution to eliminate the right of same-sex couples to marry in California.
Provides that only marriage between a man and a woman is valid or recognized in California.

Summary of Legislative Analyst’s Estimate of Net State and Local Government Fiscal Impact:

Over the next few years, potential revenue loss, mainly from sales taxes, totaling in the several tens of millions of dollars, to state and local governments.
In the long run, likely little fiscal impact on state and local governments.

What's the purpose of banning marital rights for the homosexual community? It's not fair and I don't see the point. For those who say that it's "protecting" marriage...I don't see why marriage needs to be protected in the first place when the divorce rate is at around 50% or so...if they want to "protect" marriage, maybe they should make divorce illegal! I admit there are some lines that need to be drawn when it comes to marriage [I am not an advocate for incestual relationships nor for non-adults], but not when it comes down to a person's sexual orientation. If [adult] people are in love and they want to marry, regardless of their sexual preference, why not?

Every person, no matter their race, gender or sexual orientation, should be given the same basic rights. Even if we may differ on the outside, we are all the same internally....we all need a heart to pump blood, we all need a brain to think and perform actions, and we all need to eat, breathe, and excrete to survive.

Maybe one day we can live in a world where we truly are more accepting of people.

And...vote yes on Prop 2...let's give farm animals a decent living condition before they become our next meal [and I am serious when I say that].

And the Search Goes On; or Is This For Real?

2008-10-21T10:43:00.000-07:00

So I'm finally [well, more like kind of] getting into the groove of job searching; I'm definitely getting a lot of support, which is really helpful. I think the hardest part is being able to put all that is great about you on one to two pieces of paper. That's what is hard about paper applications; I guess it is easier to "weed" out people, but sometimes you might miss some candidates that way...some people are great writers and not such great employees [if you get my drift!].

Anywho, I got word of a few job postings, and they seemed pretty interesting and right up my alley [entry-level, 0-2 years of work experience, marketing], til I realized they were commissioned-based jobs. Now that is not a bad thing, but I'd rather have a salary, so I know that I am getting a set pay and can budget around that.

With one of the postings, as I was reading through it, I stopped when I came to this section:

I don't know if you can read it, but they listed "numbchuck skills" as a highly desirable skill. I Google-searched it to make sure it wasn't corporate/business slang [heeyy, you never know!], and then it asked if I meant "nunchuck skills." Like the ninja weapon. So I had a good laugh about it.

A hearty chuckle, I would say.

Kids Will Be Kids...

2008-10-13T21:50:00.000-07:00

So this evening, I turned on the television and watched Jon and Kate + Eight and 17 Kids and Counting on TLC.

I enjoy watching Jon and Kate, because I think the little kids are cute, and the way they shoot the show reminds me of my childhood home videos...us kids doing random, everyday activities that seem normal and insignificant at the time, but are nice reminders of the way things once were when we get too old and forget. They seem like a fairly normal family who happens to have a lot of young kids [however, they are from two sets of multiples].

The Duggar family, I find...interesting. Now it's really none of my business how many kids they have and how they raise them, but in my opinion, I could not intentionally have that many kids. I don't really agree with their family/religious values. I didn't grow up with religion or with a conservative family, but I think I grew up just fine. I watched rated-R movies as a kid and I ate a lot of ice cream and drank a lot of soda, but I never had the need to rebel, I did well in school, and any family squabbles I had were over petty subjects. I love my family and I think my parents did a great job of raising us, granted that my sisters and I were pretty good --of course not perfect -- kids, if I do say so myself.

Anywho, as I was watching these shows, I Google - searched both families, and a lot of links showed up, especially opinionated blogs. A lot of people made comments that made sense, but I found most were really harsh and biting, especially ones about Jon and Kate [referred to as "Kon" on many a forum/blog...which took me awhile to figure out, haha].

Of course everyone has opinions, especially about reality show contestants - - I know I've said my fair share of comments about those Sweet 16 kids and such, but I realize that we really don't know these people. We can get a good idea of who they are, but we don't interact with them on a day-to-day basis...those cameras aren't rolling 24/7/365...at least I don't think they are. And of course, the show is most likely going to show a [more] biased view of a person, especially one that is meant to stir up controversy, like Sweet 16, where the viewer "loves to hate" them.

I guess the point of my post was to say that it kind of irks me when people write really rudely, even though I am sure I have done it myself.

If you want to destroy my sweater...

2008-10-08T15:04:00.000-07:00

So this morning, I decided to finally hand wash my merino wool v-neck J. Crew sweater that I got in a nice mustard/saffron yellow color. I had placed it in a mesh bag for awhile, since I was going to take it to a dry cleaners....the tag had said DRY CLEAN ONLY, and it being a nice sweater, I did not want to destroy it. I had also needed to take it to a tailors, since after only wearing it once, a small thread near the shoulder had come loose.

Since I was going to LA this weekend, I thought I could drop it by my usual tailor in Westwood, but I didn't want to bring them a semi-dirty sweater, so that's why I had decided to go for it and [gently] hand wash it.

As I took my treasured knit out of the bag, I noticed a tiny little brown thing on the collar...I assumed it was a bug, so I took it to the bathroom where I used a piece of clean toilet paper to pick it off and throw it away.

As I unfolded my sweater and turned it inside out, I thought I felt something funny...something loose...a...HOLE!

In fact, there was not just ONE hole...but ELEVEN!

That little bug had eaten my sweater! My sweater that I had only worn once.

I was quite sad and disgusted at the same time. I still washed it, just in case there were bug larvae somewhere [crossing the fingers on that one].

So now I am left with a hole-y sweater...I checked the J. Crew site to see if the sweater was still available, but I didn't see it online...

This is back view of my sweater...the badly drawn red circles are some of the holes...

I guess I'll see if a tailor can still salvage it...but the cause may be hopeless.

GRRRRRRRR.

When I Grow Up...

2008-10-05T22:05:00.000-07:00

What is the number one question that people are always asking me?

Survey says.....so what are you doing now that you're done with school?

Ok, so I am not sure if that IS the number one question, but it sure feels like it.

So what am I doing? Besides being a lazy bum and mooching off the hospitality of my sister and brother-in-law? I guess feeling scared and unsure and insecure...I liken it to those scenes in the movie where one person is being surrounded by a group of people that is slowly enclosing him/her til the mob overwhelms the person and they are no longer visible.

I am going on week 4 of no-jobness...I thought I was only on week 3...but alas time is quicker than I thought.

Please give me the strength and courage to believe in myself that I can do this and that I am a capable being with talents that can contribute positively to this world.

Yada Yada Yada

2008-09-23T18:57:00.000-07:00

Doesn't it kind of suck, when you're feeling that 'ok, I'm not too shabby of a person,' and then you run into someone else who is wayyyyy better off than you, and then you think 'damnit'?

I know we shouldn't compare ourselves to other people, but...the other day I received an email from a fellow former Ad Teamer, who is this gorgeous graphic designer; she was sending us this email about how she participated in some graphic design contest, and that we could view the video on the internet. She also had a link to her online portfolio. I checked it out, and it was amazing. So not only is she beautiful, she's also talented and getting her ish together.

I started feeling a little bad about myself: no job, no real identifiable talent, and definitely not the model-type [but not that that should matter...].

So what's a girl, or for that matter a person, to do?

Delete the email.

[Haha, I didn't.] But really, I just gotta deal.

Failure By Design

2008-09-15T14:27:00.000-07:00

I have been going through a rollercoaster of emotions this past summer...excitement, fear, regret, hope, sadness, joy, uncertainty... the list goes on and on.

I currently am unemployed, and I'm not sure what my next step in life will be. I know nothing is forever and we do have the ability to change, but it's a lot harder to do than say; I don't mean to say that we can't make changes, but if we go so far along with a decision or choice that turns out to not be the best, then you have "wasted" that time and those other missed opportunties. Sure, it may have been a learning experience, but when time and life is precious, those missed years mean a lot.

I am at a fork in the road, and I have to decide which path I'll take. I don't want to make the "wrong" choice, choose the wrong path...sometimes I wonder whether "things happen for a reason."

This post is very disjointed...more clarity and postings will come.

Keep On Movin'

2008-09-14T15:54:00.000-07:00

This week has been a stressful week [but luckily things have calmed down]. I was busy working [45-ish hours] and trying to pack as well as figure out adult stuff [i.e. getting health insurance!]. It didn't help that I encountered ridiculously long bus rides and rude people along the way, but it's all good now.

So I've lent out my futon, tv, guitar, and mini-fridge. I thought about bringing my guitar, but there was no room...but maybe next time I'm down in LA...maybe I'll finally learn to play...although I probably should be focusing on finding a job first!

So yesterday I finally moved out of UCLA; four years of my life I had to pack up and schlepp out or throw away because I had no room/didn't need it. It was kind of bittersweet...I spent so long there and had gotten used to living there, so it was sad to see it go. But I know that fairly soon, I will be forgotten; I'll just be any other alumni that went there. The move was shorter than when I moved out of my old room, but I still had a lot of crap...I feel bad making my parents take it, since I won't be there to help unload, because...

I'm currently in Irvine, living with one of my sisters, who I owe majorly, by the way. I'm in her guest bedroom/office...it feels a little weird not living in a little room...but hopefully Irvine will treat me well.

That's it for now...but more updates in the future [?].

I coulda, woulda, shoulda...

2008-09-03T21:46:00.000-07:00

So. There's a lot of things I should/could/would've done, that I didn't do this summer.

Like...
- getting in shape and exercising
- learning a language
- traveling
- finding a job

...