the beno journal, 2005 edition
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2005.01.02

غ !

sun, 1130a: i'm @ starbucks on el camino real near lawence expwy.   i haven't given u an update in a while, n' i sorta sed i'd stop journalling/blogging so much, rt?   rt.   well, it's been a very long time.   sure, 'lot has happened, or not... depending on. . . [unfinished entry]


2005.01.03

holiday recap attempt 1

ħ: it's back to werk!

4 the beautiful kaela hwang's grandparents' 65th wedding anniversary party, i'm gonna dj; i'm gonna "spin."   woohoo, boogie boogie, eh?   ha ha. neway, i figure i'd better get some new musik, just whatever's popular these days:

b4 i get into a recap'f the recent end'f 2004 / beginning'f 2005 holiday season, i wanna talk a li'l 'bout the tsunami in south asia.   since this has been the worst disaster in ages, we should take it seriously.   we should take it very seriously!   we've got it all 2 good here in the united states.   ppl take it 4 granted, n' 2 few ppl care 'bout what happens in south asia.   it's important that we help however we can.   it would be good 4 us to contribute some $$$ to relief efforts n' send a few prayers up to god.   i'm gonna figure out how to make a contribution thru world vision int'l.   i hope u do 2.   this is not sumpthin' to be taken litely or lightly.

ok, so what's been up?   i haven't updated in ages cos i've been 2 bizzy living life instead'f writing 'bout it.   kaela n' i've done 'lot'f snowboarding.   i was very stoked to get back to riding rails.   i'm pretty stoked/ecstatic that i've started riding bent rails n' boxes n' rainbow boxes.   up until now this season, i hadn't really been riding rails n' boxes much.   a coupl'f seasons 'go, i was ridng rails n' boxes 'lot, n' then after last yr's scrawny season, i started backin' off'f them, getting more timid 'bout 'em.   that was so not stokin', eh?   however, now i've hopped back on the train.   i'm always trying to throw in as many backside 3s (360s) n' stalefishes into my runs as possible... i dunno why, but stalefishes cm to be my grab trick'f choice. *shrug*   kaela n' i snowboarded down in socal @ snow summit on dec 26 then @ sierra@tahoe on the 28th n' heavenly on the 29th.   we drove 'lot, but it felt kewl to drive from norcal to socal to norcal to tahoe 4 snowboarding.   i felt like some kind'f pro snowboarder on some kind'f competition circuit; it felt like a frickin' video game! ha ha.

[later] : it's been très kewl using my new palmone tungsten t5 that kaela gave me 4 christmas. :-) 2day, i installed diotek's diopen plus 4.0 on it, so i have hangeul fonts.   it's kewl, but there r some bugs in that software. :-( i hope to get to the bottom'f that eventually.   rt now, i'm really stuffed cos my group@werk.com went to sneha indian buffet 4 lunch cos it was my cowerker stephanie's b.day.   i've gotta hit the gym 2nite!

well, i never gave u a recap'f the recent winter holiday season. *sigh* i dunno where to begin!

on thurs nite, we left the silly valley really late.   originally, i hoped to leave rt after werk.   instead, when i finally got home from werk, we still had to pack.   did i mention that we ate lunch w/ my cowerkers @ the valley fair cpk (cali4nia pizza kitchen) on thurs?   well, kaela n' i did; we ate w/ them.   we had to eat outside on the patio cos we had a really big grp.   it was very frustrating driving 'round that area on thurs cos'f all the crazy shoppers.   well, on thurs nite, we drove 'round the silly valley dropping off a few cards n' gifts.   we stopped @ the togo's on blosson hill near oakridge 4 a dinner'f a large hot pastrami sandwich in the midst'f our running 'round.   we each had a green tea sobe.   finally, we got on the rd after dropping off the last'f our gifts n' cards 4 that round.   the 5 was foggy.   i was very sleepy n' very sick.   i think i had a flu.   i was shivering like crazy.   @ 1 pt, i had to pull over @ gas station n' buy tylenol cos i was shivering so badly.   our car was filled w/ baggage, gifts, etc.   sooni was riding in the backseat in her bed.   that was very cute.   the rd was so foggy.   ppl drove so slow.   it was very frustrating, n' i was very sick.   it was a very difficult drive.   i wanted to pull over n' sleep 4 a li'l, but when we pulled over n' stopped the engine, i realised it was 2 cold to sleep.   thus i elekted to keep on chuggin' 'long.   we finally rolled into chino like @ 400~430a.   i told kaela that it was a strange feeling to be up so late.   in my younger days, in my early 20s or so, i used to stay up late like that very often.   i'd goof off w/ friends n' stay up all nite 2 often.   nowadays, that very, very, very rarely happens.   i go to bed @ so much more'f a reasonable time.   back when i was in undergrad, it wasn't 2 unusual to stay up late talkin' or playing musik n' then go off to carrows or lyon's 4 brkfast, u know?   nowadays, i don't do that kind'f thing.   well, we finally got to kaela's parents' house.

on fri morn (christmas eve), i woke up relatively early, thinking i felt better.   i thought i was over my illness.   later, i found out i was very wrong, that i still felt really sick.   kaela's parents brought us out to garden grove to eat lunch @ ϰ bookkyuhng, an excellent northern chinese restaurant that sort'f caters to the korean community out there.   we had lots'f good fud, but i was 2 sick to enjoy it.   b4 that, we were shopping @ the home shopping korea showroom.   i was so sick.   after lunch, kaela n' i went w/ kaela's 2 siblings to check out her bro jay's rented townhome in the qual hill neighbourhood'f irvine.   it was kewl, but i was so sick.   we went to sav.on drugs n' starbucks.   @ starbucks, i had a venti apple cider.   [later, interrupted, etc.] the servers messed up kaela's order n' gave her caffeine when she didn't want it in her chai.   that was a big mess up.   neway, i felt sick.   eventually we went home.   i guess we took sooni out 4 a walk 'round a neighbouring neighbourhood, where we looked @ some very elaborate christmas decorations.   later, we watche lotr3: rotk, the special edition dvd.   hrm, i don't 'member 2 much more 'bout christmas eve, do i?   all i know is that i was very sick on the 23rd n' 24th.

christmas day...   what did we do?   uhm, hrm... i dunno when we woke up, but it must've been late. *shrug* or maybe i spent some time earlier in the day walking sooni.   that's very possible.   well, eventually, we left the house n' visited kaela's maternal grandmutha's grave in rose hills.   then we went to kaela's relatives house 4 christmas dinner.   i ate 2 much.   when we go there on t.giving, we go in the afternoon n' eat lunch n' dinner.   4 christmas, i guess we just eat dinner.   well, this way, i overeat a li'l less.   kaela's uncle has a retrostyle 1980s ms. pacman tabletop arcade game system.   it aktually has more games than just ms. pacman; other 1980s retrostyle games, such as frogger, donkey kong, centipede, etc.   it's kind'f neat but kind'f overkill since u can get 1'f those bootleg handheld systems in taiwan or korea that plug into ur tv n' has like 300+ games 4 like $10, rt?   neway, i know he's going more 4 the retro 1980s feel than just gettin' the mo$t games 4 the $$$.   neway, we were there until nitetime.   kaela's grandparents gave us some nice presents.   i drove us home in kaela's parents' acura, but there were some road closures; prob'ly due to accidents.   maybe it was cos'f drunk drivers?   that's awful to think 'bout.

the day after christmas was sun, n' i guess we should've gone to church, but instead we took phil w/ us to snow summit n' snowboarded.   i had a very intense day on the slopes.   4 some strange reason, we also pigged out on overpriced fud @ that superoverpriced resort.   u get a boreal quality resort @ squaw valley prices down there!   we rode mostly black n' double black diamond runs, but that's not saying much cos the runs r short n' easier down there.   it's kewl to be able to say we spent lots'f the day on double black diamond runs tho'.   i really exerted myself on the li'l hits/jumps on the runs as well as in the terrain parks.   by the time our last run came 'round, which was thru a nice terrain park, i felt like i was in the final match'f a taekwondo tournament: i had fought hard thru the easier parks, n' now it was time to do the real event, but i was tired.   eh, i had some decent jumps, but i was just happy (as i sed earlier) that i started riding bent n' rainbow rails/boxes.   that felt good.   i realised that in these terrain parks, u get lots'f kids that have guts n' do jumps n' tricks... but they don't have the fundamentals down...   thus, they might be able to do some nice tricks, but they can't make it down the slope well n' most likely can't do black diamond runs.   that was veyr true down in socal, but that's prob'ly also true up in tahoe, i figured.   in fakt, i guess i can admit that @ 1tym, i was into doing crazy jumps but didn't have my basic downhill riding skillz down as well as i do now.   i guess in a way, maybe i'd be good 4 boarder.x (boardercross) more than freestyle cos i get good praktice riding fast down steep downhills as well as thru the terrain park. *shrug* neway... i was sooo exhausted after a full day'f boarding.   i was freezing cold, but we stopped to take some pics by a clothing store called beno's out in big bear.   then we walked to a starbucks 4 hot choco.   that starbucks really pi$$ed me off cos they wouldn't let ppl in cos'f the fire code capacity restriktion even tho' there was plenty'f standing room, n' it was really freezing outside!   i mean... *sigh* i understand that they've gotta stick to the law, but u know what they should've done was to serve drinks outside, take orders outside, or maybe even give out free kid.size cups'f hot choco.   i can't believe starbucks offended us 2 days in a row.   frickin' corporate coffee!   what's worse is that we still go there. *sigh* i mean, if i had my way, we'd never go to starbucks nemore.   there's that awesome bumper sticker that reads "friends don't let friends drink starbucks."   corporate coffee, corporate coffee, corporate coffee!   they used to be kewl...   neway, i'll try not to rag on them 2 much cos i guess the reason i don't rag on them more's cos jeanna werks there n' all, rt?   neway, it was a rather swift drive to big bear n' back.   on the way back, phil n' i chatted 'bout rock radio until he fell asleep.   when we got home we had a feast cos kaela's mom cooked us a whole bunch'f fud!

well, i'll continue my update later.   i've gotta go to the gym this eve.


2005.01.04

all natural, organic, freshly made peanut putter from whole fuds

ȭ ħ: i haven'y yet finished my holiday recap.   i still plan on bloggin'/journalling less this yr.   it's sort'f a new yr's resolution, as i've sed b4.   i'm eating a sandwich made'f some healthy whole fuds bread w/ peanut butter that is, as the 2day's entry's title suggests, all natural, organic, n' freshly made.   i figure this stuff is lower in sodium than typical peanut butter.   un4tunately, my laptop's covered w/ ants.   it's really gross.   cos'f the winter weather, ants have entered our house.   they cm to like sumpthin' in our bathrm, but what?   h2o?   water?   there's plenty'f h2o outside, rt?   *shrug* i dunno what they want, but they must've walked all over my laptop on their way to the bathrm since my laptop was near the bathrm in our bdrm.   >:-( my laptop keybd has lots'f crumbs in it, i s'ppose.   i guess they're feeding off those crumbs.   it's very gross.

last nite, the beautiful kaela hwang n' i did make a short visit to bally total fitness on hamilton n' meridian.   i didn't lift weights cos i was sore from the nite b4 (sun).   instead, i spent 30 mins (or 0.5 hr) on the precor type machine that also werks ur arms.   u know that 1, rt?   neway, i've gone back to my ol' routine'f doing lots'f short sprints instead'f keeping a constant pace w/ somewhat more resistance.   i dunno.   basikally, i'm trying to steer my cardio werkouts to be more like what they used to be, where i werkout more to increase my endurance, to burn fat, n' to make my body more fit 4 taekwondo, 'specially taekwondo sparring, u know?   it's sort'f a new yr's resolution, rt? heh heh.   oh yah, btw, my resoultion 'bout bloggin'/journallin' less doesn't just stop there, but i'm resolving to replace to time i waste writing journal entries w/ time spent doing dj/musik stuff.   resolutions...   last nite, i put in an order @ yesasia.   i bought some drama ost (original soundtrack) cds as well as some compilation cds that i can hopefully use @ kaela's grandparents' 65th wedding anniversary party.   (i'm s'pposed to dj that.)

[later] : am i up 4 continuing my recap'f the end'f 2004 holiday season? *shrug* where did i leave off?   hrm, i guess i left off talkin' 'bout dec 26 @ snow summit, rt?   well, on dec 27, kaela n' i packed up my green subaru forester ٷ n' started on our long journey back home to norcal.   b4 hittin' the grapevine, up north'f l.a. proper, we pulled off in la cañada to get some drinks @ some korean.owned smoothie café called java2juice or sumpthin'.   i called up jerome cos we were close to glendale.   he was already up in norcal.   we got stuck on the 5 north 4 a very long time cos some big rig truck went over the side'f the highway, so the caltrans ppl or whoever had blocked off 2 lanes in the grapevine to bring in a crane to pull the truck out'f the ravine.   it was a rainy day.   they should've just pulled the driver out n' ditched the truck there until the weather got better n' holiday traffic subsided.   why didn't they do that?!   somewhere along the 5 in the grapevine area, we pulled over @ a gas station to use the bathrm.   kaela also bought a quizno's sandwich there.   it was raining hard n' was cold outside.   while we went into the gas station, i had to leave sooni in the car by herself.   usually, we never do this; but, thankfully, she was kewl w/ it this time.   *sigh* it was a long drive.   i guess now the drive's a bit'f a blur.   *shrug* oh yah, this whole trip, i didn't use my car's cd playa cos b4 we left, a cd got stuck in there, so after i managed to pull it out, i've been scared to put 'nother 1 in.   i figure if i'm gonna get 'nother disc stuck in there, it'd better be 1 w/ musik i like, in case i end up having to hear it 4 a long time.   (also, i guess it'd better be a backup copy not an original, eh?)   we finally pulled into our garage sometime in the nite.   we knew we'd only stay the 1 short nite in our house b4 taking off 4 mark's snowboard trip in tahoe.

i was very tired, but sometime in the nite, i went to albertsons on el camino real @ lawrence expwy to attempt to buy a di$counted heavenly lift tix n' some snacks 4 ernest who'd be comin' over to take care'f sooni each eve while we were gone.   sheesh! i was so frustrated cos the customer service counter where they sell the lift tix was closed.   i went home.   in the morn, on our way up to sierra@tahoe, kaela n' i stopped @ the same albertsons.   apparently, they were totally out'f tix.   grrr!   they told me to try the location on lawrence expwy @ homestead rd, so i did.   grrr! they were out 2!   u know... i really hate heavenly neway.   well, we made great time on the rd.   we stopped by a bk  ŷ to get some greasy, unhealthy breakfast fud.   'least i got to use a coupon 4 that, so it wasn't as expen$ive or whatever.   u know what, sumpthin' really gross happened that morn tho': b4 we left, while i waited 4 kaela to get ready, i took sooni 4 a short walk in the dark (as the sun hadn't yet risen).   she pooped on some1's lawn, so i tried to scoop up the poop in a plastic bag, but i couldn't c it in the dark.   later, in the car, or... i guess when we went to bk, i realised that the reason the car smelled bad was that i had stepped in sooni's poop n' had carried it w/ me on the bottom'f my snow clogs! argh!   it was so nasty!!!   the whole time, kaela thought i had been having stomach probs (n' that's why the car smelled bad). :-/ neway, gross story!

well, we went snowboarding @ sierra.   it was a snowy day.   i had some awesome di$count lift tix thru my werk's corporate di$count program, n' that was kewl.   well, the rest'f our grp wanted to get 0.5.day tix tho', so we aktually didn't hit the slopes till after noon.   well, since it was snowing, that wasn't a bad idea, n' the good di$count i got thru my werk aktually still made the tic cheaper than a 0.5.day tic, n' it gave us $8'f free fud per tic.   we only used 1'f the $8 fud vouchers.   we just bought some snacks.   we ran into charles k., laura, n' jerome.   i tried to arrange to meet up w/ them @ the top'f the boardercross run, but well... that didn't werk out.   i went to find them, while the rest'f our grp was @ west bowl.   un4tunately, the boardercross run was closed.   i quickly went back to west bowl n' just stayed there w/ the grp.   i had a coupl'f chances to ride thru the small terrain park.   after snowboarding, we drove to the cabin mark reserved 4 us.   it was near heavenly in south lake tahoe.   it was a very small cabin.   he sed it wasn't as nice as last yr's, n' i had to agree.   i've aktually rented some really luxurious houses in tahoe b4.   when u go w/ a large grp, the co$t can sometimes be pretty good even 4 a luxurious house!   i've never really had very good experiences w/ south lake tahoe vacation rentals, only 1s in north tahoe.   2 often, the 1s in south tahoe r all rundown n' icky.   well, that nite, we ate dinner @ the caesar's buffet.   some ppl gambled, but i totally was not in the mood to gamble during this trip.

on wed, we went to heavenly.   man, i had to pay full price 4 kaela's n' my tix.   grrr! heavenly sucks.   it's sooo overpriced n' sooo not snowboarder.friendly, u know?   the terrain sucks.   it's skier terrain.   snowboarders gotta walk so much in order to get from 1 place to 'nother.   grrr!   well, it snowed on us, but i had a decent time.   boarding on this kind'f snow made me imagine i was surfing.   the snow was powdery soft.   they closed most'f the terrain park areas cos'f the heavy snow (which makes 4 bad takeoffs), but we rode thru some open parks.   i was very happy w/ some'f the runs i had thru the terrain parks.   it's really egotistical'f me that i like having my friends watch me do tricks n' stuff.   *sigh* it's pretty vain n' all, u know?   oh well... *shrug* neway, it was a pretty full day'f riding, i guess.   well... we did hafta walk 'lot 2.   it was fun to make our way down the face to go home.   it's mogully, but i tried to make it down as fast as possible.   dennis's a pretty fast downhill boarder, n' he beat me.   aktually, i think my biggest fault was my lack'f endurance, as i stopped 4 a coupl'f rests during the moguls.   that nite, we went to 'nother buffet to eat: harrah's forest buffet.   we ended up there cos ppl figured the american river café downstairs was overpriced.   yah, it was.   harrah's forest buffet was aktually really good!   we were all a li'l impressed w/ the asian fud area there; better than u'd expekt.   'gain some ppl gambled, (@ bill's not caesar's or harrah's), but i still wasn't in the mood to gamble.   aktually, i think kaela won like $5 on the slots or sumpthin'.   we went back to the cabin n' had some sansachoon n' vodka.   ugh, we drank 2 much.   it was fun playing some'f the games we played; but ugh, i didn't wanna drink so much.   it was hard to get out'f there in the morn.

well, *sigh* the drive home was horrible!   we 1st tried to wait in a line to get out'f the city, but ppl needed to use the bathrm, n' mark's borrowed ford expedition needed gas, so we turned 'round n' went back to the city.   while there, we found out the 50'd opened up, so after grabbing some sandwiches @ harrah's north beach deli n' some gas, we went back on the 50 n' sat in a long, long line to wait 8 hrs to get on the rd!   we just sat there!   eventually, kaela whipped out her laptop, n' we put on some dvds.   it was kewl to plug the audio in thru the tape deck adapter in my car.   however, soon after we started the dvds, the traffik started to move altho' slowly.   what did we watch?   uh... hrm, uh... i know the 2nd dvd was mean girls.   what was the 1st?   uhm... oh yah, garden state.   i saw more'f garden state than mean girls; but, as the traffik started to move, i didn't really watch either 2 well.   i was aktually pretty disappointed w/ garden state, mostly cos some ppl had hyped it up earlier.   i hate movies that just talk 'bout drugged up, slutty ppl w/ no morals.   it's not that i'm being self.righteous but that whole scene get so frickin' old n' trite.   we stopped in placerville to get some dinner @ in.n.out.   i shared a 2x2 meal w/ kaela.   it felt rather excessive.   i told kaela that the burger was very wasted cos there r other times when i eat in.n.out after a wk'f good, healthy eating n' then enjoy this meat n' cheese fest.   however, this time, we'd had 2 nites'f b4 prior to this in.n.out dinner, so i didn't savour it as much, u know?   well, we got home some time after midnite.   i had to let ernest know that we couldn't take him out to dinner cos we'd be home 2 late, u know?   i felt bad 'bout that.

hrm, that day we came back was the 30th, so the next day was new yr's eve.   how was that?   uhm, hrm... lessee... i don't totally 'member, but... uhm, was that the day i accidentally ended up @ las palmas park in sunnyvale?   i guess so.   on my 1 free weekday in our home neighbourhood during this holiday brk, i wanted to drive sooni to a further away park 4 a nice morn walk.   i meant to go to 'nother park but ended up @ las palmas, which has a dog park.   that neighbourhood's beautiful, n' i thought to myself 'bout how i sure wouldn't mind moving there someday when we have more $$$ or whatever.   some rude doggies in the dog park growled @ sooni thru the fence.   we still don't let sooni into dog parks, but i wanted to walk her by the dog park, so that she gets used to the presence'f other doggies.   2 bad they were such not nice doggies.   :-/ how come those owners don't find nething wrong w/ their dogs?!   u know, sooni doesn't alway start the fights that she gets into w/ other dogs.   4 some reason, she gets picked on 'lot.   i dunno if she just has some kind'f offensive odour or what. :-? then i wondered if maybe it's that those other doggies don't like me.   maybe they don't like me cos i'm asian?   however, later i thought 'bout how most t doggies do like me.   so i guess that's not it.   it's sad then; sooni just gets discriminated 'gainst by other doggies then, i guess. *sigh* later, i walked by a house that had a jindo puppy.   that jindo puppy was aktually very calm n' didn't growl @ sooni.   sooni ignored it.   that was pleasant.   it was a very cute jindo puppy.   @ 1st i thought it was a shiba inu, but after looking @ it 4 a long time, i concluded it was a jindo.

later on nye, kaela n' i went shopping.   1st, we went to bed, bath, n' beyond to pick up some leftover christmas stuff n' other junk.   then we went to valley fair, mostly cos i needed to exchange some gifts n' find a nice shirt 4 the nye party in sf.   oh yah, originally, we were gonna go to the sf dreamscape party, but those plans sort'f got botched.   instead, we went to the beyond entertainment party especially since we'd spent the past 3 days in tahoe w/ kingston who werks 4 beyond entertainment.   well, just b4 the mall closed, i found a shirt.   aktually, since it was a dress shirt (thus i couldn't try it on) i bought 2 (different sizes).   kaela bought us a small dinner'f sarku teriyaki chicken.   when we got home, the shirt i tried on 1st fit, so i kept that 1 n' figured i'd return the other.   well, we had fun @ the beyond entertainment party despite the wet weather.   i felt like the party was more mature than other club parties, but then 'gain, there were kids puking in the bathrm n' even on the dancefloor. *roll eyes*   the dj totally sucked.   it was rich laxamana'f wild 94.9, but i think he let his inexperienced friends fill in 4 him most'f the time or sumpthin'.   neway, it was a better nye than most we've had recently.

ok, i'll continue my holiday season update later.


2004.01.05

end'f holiday recap, rt?

ħ: ick, there r ants all over my laptop keybd 'gain this morn.   yuk yuk yuk!!! X-P to say that my 'puter has lots'f bugs'd be a dorky, dorky pun.   if u'r a real geek, then u should check out the klingon translation'f the holy bible 4 palm os.   that's pretty geeky stuff, eh?   man... i hate to say it, but if u aktually use that app, then u must get beat up 4 ur lunch $$$ pretty often, eh?   ha ha ha...   *shrug* j/k, i guess.

recently, the beautiful kaela hwang n' i discovered a superawesome recent korean drama on kbs: ̾ϴ, Ѵ / mianhada, saranghanda (sorry, i love u).   it's a superawesome drama.   it aktually starts out in australia, not korea.   it's not ur typical k.drama!   rather, it's sort'f a mix'f korean tv n' asian.am cinema.   the charakters rn't so much ur typical k.drama melodramtik types.   rather, they're a mix'f koreans n' koreans living in australia that cm more like charakters out'f asian.am films such as yellow, etc. well, no... they're more mature than those; maybe more like charakters out'f charlotte sometimes.   the cinematography's awesome.   it's more like a movie than a tv series.   the plot... it borrows from the tradition'f k.dramas, but it also uses more'f the "good guys get skrewed in love" theme that i've gotta admit's common in asian.am cinema. (just think 'bout charlotte sometimes.)   jason lee oughtta watch this drama if they show it in taiwan since he's totally in the whole asian.am cinema scene!   this is such a kewl fusion'f asian n' asian.am culture.   it's awesome!

it's 2005.   u know that.   i turn 30 this yr, u know.   in asian age, i'm already 30, but this yr i turn 30 in euro.amerikan terms.   aktually, in certain asian cultures, as of new yr's day, i turned 31, rt?   in other asian cultures, i turn 31 on the lunar new yr's day.

[a li'l later] yuk! i don't just have werker ants in my 'puter, but i think i have nurses n' soldiers! yuk!   frick, what if i have the queen ant inside?! yuk yuk yuk! [later] instead'f an "intel inside" sticker, i need an "ants inside" sticker!

[later] : i think i got all the "bugs" out'f my 'puter. *shrug* who knows, tho'!   there might be a whole bunch more.   maybe the queen's living in the cpu.   that'd be funny, huh? funny n' gross!   u know 'bout the story'f how i 1nce had to eat a burrito full'f ants when i was a kid, rt?

ok, so where did we leave off w/ my trivial holiday recap?   (it's better to talk 'bout the recently past holidays than 'bout my having to eat ants when i was a kid.)   did i talk 'bout new yr's yet?   i believe i haven't.   i think i left off talkin' 'bout nye day when i went to las palmas park n' then to valley fair.   i also talked 'bout the beyond entertainment party, rt?   well, the most important thing was that the dj sucked big time n' i had to walk thru soggy sf soma streets cos'f bad parking.   u know, the parking lots in soma rn't s'pposed to have attendants @ nite; it's s'pposed to be free parking.   4 a long time now, ppl've been pulling off scams where they stand @ the parking lot n' collekt $$$.   i hadn't cn that scam in a while, but there were guys in official jackets collekting $$$ @ all the parking lots on nye nite, n' every1 (including me) was paying them big bucks 4 parking.   i dunno, man.   they looked pretty legit, gave me a legit looking parking stub, etc.   furthermore, i didn't want to be the poor guy who came back to a car w/ a bashed in windshield just cos he didn't pay the fake or not fake attendant.   sure, that's basikally extortion, but every1 was paying those dudes, n' they sure looked pretty legit. *shrug*

new yr's day?   we didn't wake up till pretty late even tho' we aktually didn't party that late.   i drove really slowly home the previous nite cos i knew there'd be lots'f cops n' drunk drivers on 101 (aka "the 101").   what did we do on new yr's day?   hrm... oh yah, i 4got to mention a couple'f things: on new yr's eve we had to use up a coupl'f good coupons that expired that day.   1 was a coupon 4 free florida's naturla 꽺 oreinji jyooseu  꽺, n' the other was a big coupon 4 a small bag'f science diet doggy fud.   they were a coupl'f really good coupons.   ok, on new yr's day?   *shrug* hrm, i think the weather was still kind'f bad.   it's been a very cold winter here in the bay area.   precipitations come n' gone n' come back 'gain.   4 a while, 'twas just cold n' dry.   there've been periods'f cold air w/ precipitation, n' rt now's 1'f those times.   i'm hoping that on sat i can take sooni up to mt. ham (mt. hamilton) to play in some nearby, sobay snow (since i won't drive her all the way to tahoe to play in the snow; since, if i were to drive all the way to tahoe, i'd snowboard!).   ok, back to my recount!!!   uh... what did we do on new yr's day?   hrm, i think we did some $hopping.   i know we went to valley fair so that i could return the extra shirt that i bought.   what else?   uhm, hrm... i 4get; but i feel i spent 'lot'f time looking @ stuff i wasn't all that interested in.   hrm...   well, i think it was on sat that we went to 5 paw bakery, bought sooni some cheap doggy snacks @ this ritzy boutique, n' found out that we're 'llowed to bring sooni into valley fair mall if it's just to this store n' we use the nearest entrance.   that's kewl.   well, 4 dinner that nite, we went to κ myuhngdong soondubujip, n' at α mandoogook as our korean style solar new yr's dinner.   (later we found out that ben n' ernest went to the same restaurant rt after we left!)   we went home n' watched korean tv.   nething else?   i 4get.   does that sound like a rather uneventful new yr's day?   well, i 'member a yr 'go, kaela made her own ground turkey mandoo 4 totally homemade α mandoogook.   well, i s'ppose it's sort'f a lie to say it was "totally homemade" cos we bought the skins.   neway, we didn't do that this yr.   in a way, i sort'f wished we could've hosted my family 4 a new yr's meal, but man! after putting on the big t.giving dinner w/o knowing that my sista's family'd be out'f town really drained us 4 a while, u know?

sun the 2nd?   uh, we went to church @ grx.   b4 the holiday brk, i gave pastor dave our membership application; so in case u haven't already started to do so, u might as well assume we go to church @ grx every sun morn.   we went to church.   pastor dave gave a msg 'bout living beyond ourselves n' emphasized the current disaster in south asia.   i like being @ a church where ppl do think beyond themselves.   honestly, it frustrates me to c churches full'f ppl who don't think 'bout helping those less 4tunate than them but rather waste their time discussing whether it some dude'll lose his salvation cos he didn't rebuke his friend 4 going out n' watching a movie that involved homosexuals. *roll eyes* i mean, of course that's an extreme example, but maybe u understand what i mean by that.   well, i like our church.   after the service, we hurried over to have kaela meet w/ her real estate client.   then we killed some time @ big lots! n' albertsons b4 returning to church to help w/ cleanup as it was our t3s ("it takes 3 - south") couples small grp's turn to clean up.   kaela n' i started off by collekting the numerous "a.frame" signs out on the sidewalks on in the parking lots.   it was rainy outside, so that complicated the task.   later, we found other t3s members n' we continued cleaning.   we went to lunch w/ a bunch'f our t3s friends, which was très kewl since we haven't hung out w/ them in a long while, n' i don't want them to think i'm not making an effort to hang w/ them, cos i do want to.   we ate pho @ pho hoa on el camino real @ flora vista.   after that?   uhm, hrm... what did we do? *shrug* uh... heh... oh yah! i think we went to kaela's office 4 a while, where i just sort'f killed time.   later, we went to the gym.   it was good to werkout.   it was hard to get out'f the house cos the house was so cold.   i should prob'ly turn down the h2o heater a li'l cos i think it's cranked up just a tad 2 hi.   instead, i can use gas to let the furnace run just a teency.weency tad bit more, rt? *shrug* u c, when we went to socal, i turned the h2o heater down to "vacation" mode.   when we got back, i guess i cranked it up a bit hi.   it's nice to have lots'f hot h2o, but i'm no mr. money bags, u know?

mon, i went back to werk.   during lunch, i went w/ my cowerkers to sneha indian buffet, as i sed b4.   as i sed b4, kaela joined us.   i was stuffed.   we did go to the gym on mon nite luckily.

on tues, i ate a lunch from my company cafeteria.   'round here, we don't say "cafeteria," but "café."   i ate this mediocre, overpri¢ed teriyaki beef bowl.   it was edible but nuthin' 2 special.   in the eve, we went to taekwondo praktice n' kicked paddles.   afterwards, we took ernest to dinner @ seoul gomtang.

i think ̾ϴ, Ѵ / mianhada, saranghanda airs on kbs on mon n' tues eves w/ subtitles, taking the place'f ! ʽ / oh! pilseung bong soonyoung.   i still need to watch the end'f that miniseries online!   korean dramas do rock, u know.   korean tv's so much better than amerikan tv cos amerikan tv's such trash these days, even the s'pposedly good stuff, the critically acclaimed stuff.   sure, some'f it's interesting n' somewhat decently written @ best; but so much'f it is just smutty trash, n' that really angers me, u know that?   it's not that i expekt to watch that pleasantville tv show, but i'm pretty pi$$ed @ how we're expekted just to be forcefed this smutty trash.   u've got those politikkkally conservative so.called "relgious" right types saying that society's become so sinful.   me, i'm a politically progressive guy, but i have morals n' don't like how (amerikkkan) tv's become so trashy, etc.

[later] : u know what sort'f sucks?   after $pending $ooo much $$$ lately cos'f the holiday n' snowboarding season, i still want to buy a few things.   gadgetlust... :-/ it's awful, huh?   the 2 main things (i think) r: 1) an external usb2/ieee.1394 dvd+/-rw drive n' 2) an sd wi.fi card 4 my superkewl palmone tungsten t5.   in the midst'f thinking 'bout the recent disaster in south asia, i s'ppose these objekts'f gadgetlust cm even more foolish than they already do, eh?   i did manage to fight off gadgetlust n' stick to my autumn resolution not to buy a new pda/handheld until after christmas.   that's true.

[later] this paragraph may sound like a continuation'f my gadgetlust discussion, but it's not.   i'm picking out rental gear 4 kaela's grandparents' 65th wedding annverisary party.   i've gotta rent down in socal, so i guess i'll pick up a numark cdmix2 system from slj pro audio 4 $40 even tho' slj's all the way out in rancho cucamonga.   well, the cdmix2's not as nice, imho, as the pioneer cdj500-ii system i've got 4 myself, but it'll do.   i started reminiscing 'bout my ol' days djing in hi skool n' wondered what the name'f the store i rented pro audio gear from in san jo was called.   @ 1st i thought it was proformance; but no, that was the store i rented from in emeryville 4 all those ivcf (invervarsity christian fellowship) parties in berkeley, all those weddings, n' that 1 huge lesbian/gay party i was hired to dj.   (to this date, that queer party was 1'f the biggest events i've djed, if not the biggest.)   well, i finally figured out that the store i used to rent from in hi skool was "dynamic sound n' lighting" on 2nd st.   i went to their webpage.   there, i saw an ad 4 the pioneer dvj.x1.   dude, that's such a "wtf" item!   in recent yrs, i've wanted to upgrade my pioneer cdj500-iis to cdj1000s, which can scratch... but man! this pioneer dvj.x1?!   it mixes w/ dvds!!!! wtf?!   u can mix video as well as audio.   now, get this... this co$t?   it lists @ $3999, but dynamic'll sell it to u @ $3299, they say. :-o dude! who can afford that stuff?! no way!   already the pioneer cdj1000s have a hefty price tag @ ~$1300+ each!   crazy, huh?   when i bought my cdj500.iis way back in uh... 1997 or so... i got them 4 hrm... sumpthin' like $600 a piece, while they were retailing @ $800 a piece.   i had a hookup thru nelson back then.   now?   *shrug* dude... i'd love to dj w/ all this new stuff.   digital.based djing has really come a long way.   on snl (saturday nite live) last wk, i watched a rapper per4m, n' his dj was using pioneer cdj1000s to dj... dude, 4get 'bout vinyl!   i don't care how s'pposedly "cool" it all looks... as of now, vinyl's officially just 4 poseur djs that wanna look kewl.   dang, check out all the good digital djing equipment they've got out now!   yah, seriously, these days u'r cing 'lot more pioneer cd turntables.   @ that beyond entertainment party, they had cd turntables as well as vinyl.   i mean... yah, that dj sucked, but the dj who sucked was the 1 using the vinyl.   i know cos i heard the pitch adjust.

[later] onto / on to 'nother topik: have u ever noticed on starkdavingmad.com (dave kim's journal) that "the vault" sektion w/ links to interesting websites?   it's pretty kewl.   i read his recent vault entries, n' they're kewl.


2005.01.06

plz check out the 2004 epilogue

ħ: uhm, i s'ppose here's some bad news 4 u (bad way to start the day, i know): "US Jobless Claims Surge, Retailers Mixed" (source y! news bizness reuters).   *sigh* (obviously, we should all blame bush.   this morn, michael moore was on nbc's today show.   now, there's a man who knows what he's talkin' 'bout!)   i know i've $pent 'lot'f $$$ recently.   ain't that helping the e¢onomy?

i'd like to bring sooni up to mt. ham(ilton) to play in the snow, but from what i'm cing on the hamcam, there's no snow! :-(   it's gonna rain in the silly valley soon.   a big storm's s'pposedly coming.   will there then be snow on mt. ham?

[later] last nite or this morn (i kind'f 4get when.), when i was browsing thru my old entries (i think it was early this morn.), i realised that 2002 was a particularly exciting yr.   well... aktually, i just kind'f think that was 1 yr where my journal was maybe better written than other yrs 4 some reason. *shrug*   i dunno why i think that.   it was an exciting yr tho'.   2003 was also an exciting yr cos'f our wedding of course.   this yr?   well, if u read the "epilogue" for 2004 that i just wrote but haven't yet posted as of this moment, i guess the biggest event'f 2004 was acquiring sooni.   well... [after a short brk] i don't mean to say that acquisition'f a doggy overshadows important life events such as baptism or graduation from grad skool.   however, whether ne1 likes it or not, i've gotta say that sooni's coming into our life has changed my daily routine more than either'f those things, rt? :-/ i'm not necessarily proud'f that or nething.   well, lemme tell u 'bout the baptism thing: i've aktually been a believing, prakticing christian since i was a sophomore in hi skool, which was back in 1990/1991, rt?   i'd already experienced a spiritual baptism, so this water baptism was a physical representation'f sumpthin' that had happened in my heart long 'go.   still, it was very important, so let's not 4get its importance!   graduation from grad skool... going to grad skool n' finishing has "realigned" my career.   really, i think i'd still have found a good job w/o going to grad skool; but my masters degree maybe does open up to me more options.   i think it's safe to say that i wouldn't have the job i have now if i didn't go to n' finish grad skool.

do ne'f u subscribe to rhapsody.com, the internet muzik service?   i heard it was the best place to dl muzik on the internet, but it does involve a $9.95/month ro $24.95/quarter subscription fee in addition to the 79¢/track dl fee. :-/   otherwise, have ne'f u ever bought dled muzik on the internet? :-? (that should be a gbook question.)   plz sign my gbook.   i wanna change the questions asap!

i wonder if the beautiful kaela hwang'll resume reading my journal.   will she ever?   cos'f her skoolwerk last 0.25, she stopped reading my journal, n' that made me kind'f sad, i guess.   i did resolve to write less in my journal this yr, n' i'm not doing all that great'f a job w/ that resolution. :-/ i want to replace time spent on writing in this silly journal w/ time spent werking on dj n' muzik stuff.

[a wee bit later] aktually, @ this pt, why don't i cut n' paste my top events'f 2004 list from the epilogue to here:

[later] : just now, i was checking weather.com n' could not find newhere in the world w/ ski/board resorts w/ more base than in tahoe.   is that true?!   we surely r blessed/4tunate to live in the bay area, so close to tahoe!

[later] : didju know that ȿ lee hyori's gonna be in an sbs drama called ũι / sei ip clover (3.leaf clover)?   yah, i guess i read some kind'f rumour that she'd soon be in a drama, but i didn't know 4 sure or when, etc.   i guess it'll come out soon.


2005.01.07

have u gotten used to 2005 yet?

ݿ ħ: r u yet used to writing/typing "2005" or u still doing "2004"?   i'm still messing up.   it's already the 7th now, eh?   2 days 'go, the date was 05.01.05, eh?   i often notice n' pt out those things, but i failed to pt it out earlier even tho' i noticed it.

rt now, while rippin' my new set'f now that's what i call music! cds, i 'membered that the rapper i saw on snl while on mark's tahoe trip, the rapper w/ the dj who used pioneer cdj1000s n' not vinyl turntables, was j-kwon.   dude! what's w/ these _ rappers who have fake asian names?!   i think that's aktually pretty wacked.

[later] : Ƹٿ ij̶ Ȳ Ծ.   i ate lunch w/ the beautiful kaela hwang.   we ate @ û chuhnggiwa (blue stones).   i ordered the 뱸 ſ daegoo maeoontang lunch special, n' kaela ordered the ߱ dalkgooi baekban lunch special.   man, lunch was very good n' not 2 pricey! :-) that's great!   it's a rainy day.

[later] here r a coupl'f y! news articles i read this morn:

what do i think 'bout those articles?   yah, i've wondered what christianity's like in england / in the uk.   i spent a coupl'f wks in england the summer after hi skool, u know.   i went there as part'f the san josé youth symphony orchestra, as the 2nd bassoonist.   i had some conversation's 'bout christianity w/ some'f my hosts (or 'least the kids, not necessarily the parents).   i attended an anglican church service in durham in the famous cathedral there.   it was unlike ne church service i'd previously been to cos it was so 4mal n' rigid.   i was discussing how that was diff from the typical more contemporary amerikkkan christian church service w/ 1'f my hosts.   he told me that in england there's also more contemporary christian worship as well.   recently, @ grx, a famous british christian musician visited.   (@ this pt, please refer to these web resources: tim hughes, survivor.co.uk, soulsurvivor.co.uk, n' soulsurvivor.com)   it's easy to believe that amerikkan christians have totally deviated from true christianity since so many have sold out to the whole "religious right" mvmnt.   well, somewhere there's a bridge btwn "evangelical" christians in amerikkka n' those in the rest'f the world.   somewhere there's a global perspektive that's not so biased by all the other cr@p that goes on in the usa.   (rt now i'm aktually coincidentally listening to switchfoot, the "mainstream" christian rock band.)   (what's even funnier is that the switchfoot track, which was playing on my windows media player 10 has now crossfaded into a track by crossfade, n' "switchfoot"'s sort'f a snowboarding term n' "crossfade" is definitely a dj term (even tho' crossfade's a pure rock grp).)   neway, what's my pt?   well, my pt might be that we here in amerikkka r gradually learning 'bout "evangelical christians in the uk.   yah? *shrug* or my pt is that i'm gradually learning 'bout "evangelical christians in the uk.   just think: dubyah led our troops into this mess in iraq, n' the only other country that followed us was tony blair's britain, rt?   what r the implikations'f that on my ideas 'bout amerikkka, great britain, christianity, how christianity's gone wrong in some ways, etc.?   i dunno, man; i'm not here to present a bias just to present the fakts.

when i googled up some lyrics to bowling for soup's "1985," i think i found sumpthin' interesting.   isn't "whitesnake" 1 wurd n' not 2 wurds (white snake)?   isn't motley crue spelled "crue" not "crew"?   if i'm rt, then the young kids r that posted these lyrics up on the internet must not've lived thru the 1980s, eh? ha ha ha.   back to the future; what can u tell me 'bout this muzik grp d12 n' eminem?

oh yah, i was talkin' 'bout those 2 y! news article! upes, i totally got off track.   well... 'bout the uk christians' being upset 'bout the jerry springer musical; *shrug* yah, i'm always furious 'bout how trashy amerikkkan tv is; but *shrug* i'm still not necessarily in support'f censorship.   it's interesting to hear 'bout christians in the uk making this stink cos ppl always say that europeans rn't like amerikkkans cos they don't do stuff like that; but then 'gain the uk's diff from continental europe, rt?

k, moving on to that fast fud article: yah, i understand.   amerikan fast fud is aktually relatively upscale cuisine in asia.   if u wanna eat cheap, u'll eat street vendor fud.   amerikan style fast fud's a treat, n' yah... i can imagine that rich kids in asia'd gobble that $#!+ up more than poor kids in asia, yah.   isn't that funny, tho?   in amerikkka, it's the poor that gobble that $#!+ up more than the rich.   isn't that so weird to think 'bout?   in 'merika fast fud's the poision that genocides those who don't have so much $$$, but it's diff elsewhere.

what's been up?   i don't want just to talk 'bout nasty sociopolitiks all day, rt?   well, last nite, i skipped taekwondo sparring praktice, as i figured this was the last free thurs nite kaela'd have 4 a long time, so i needed to spend it w/ her.   i'd hoped to go the gym w/ her, but she didn't want to.   instead, while she cooked us some pasta, i took sooni out 4 a decently lengthed jog out to el camino real over to that flora vista area n' back home.   i dressed warmly.   sooni was tired by the end'f our jog.   i need more exercise! [later] so last nite, kaela n' i stayed home, ate pasta, n' watched tv.   :-/ it was good pasta, but i hope this wasn't a waste'f her last free weeknite 4 a long time, rt?   i dunno, man.   i sure would've loved to take her out 4 dinner, but man... i've really $pent 'lot'f $$$ lately, so i can't always be going out, u know?   i've gotta watch my $pending, no doubt.

the nite b4, on wed nite, i also didn't go to the gym even tho' i originally thought i would've.   instead, kaela n' i stayed.   that nite, kaela cooked some good ¥ jjajangmyuhn, while i cleaned up the house.   it takes quite a long time to clean up our house.   of course, i didn't finish cleaning it, but i hope i made 'least a small dent.   hrm, wait; there was 1 day this wk where when i came home my mom was over. *shrug* was that last nite?   i think it was last nite, but i 4get.

u know, mark n' grace commented while we were on the snowtrip that kaela n' i r the most aktive married couple that they know.   hrm, u think?   yah, we're trying hard not to get 2 old 2 fast, u know?   we want to do the fun things that young ppl do.   we try to be youthful.   i turn 30 this yr.   i don't expekt to have kids this yr or the next or even the next.   my wife's in skool, u know?   hrm, some ppl've told us to enjoy our young married life w/o kids.   *shrug* yah, i wish we could travel more, but 1) i don't necessarily have the funds, 2) i don't necessarily have the time off from werk, n' 3) kaela doesn't have the time off from skool.   as i think i've sed b4, since we already live in such a paradise, travelling isn't necessarily the very top thing on my list'f things to do.   i do wonder what we should name our kids when we have 'em. *shrug* i've gotta make sure i floss often.   kaela n' i r married but constantly surrounded by young, unmarried ppl.   i dunno; i guess we're pretty social ppl.   maybe we can do more aktivities w/ other married couples? *shrug* well, 2nite we're gonna have dinner w/ others in our t3s couples bible study grp.   we have lots'f single friends cos'f taekwondo, cos'f my program @ werk, cos'f kaela's skool...   maybe i haven'y really mentioned this b4, but lately i've noticed that as i get older i'm having less tolerance 4 younger ppl who don't give me props (proper respekt) in a way.   it's def'ly an asian thing, u know?   i mean, like in asian culture, u always give good respekt to ppl older than u, unless u've got beef w/ 'em, etc.   i'd like to say that i try to be humble more often than not (don't know if that's true or not), but lately, yah... i get more'f that feeling that i don't need to put up w/ younger ppl who don't recognise that i've got quite a bit'f experience under my belt, etc. *shrug* in the end, it's all a bad thing as no1 should be proud'f himself/herself in such a fashion, but *shrug* well, i'll sort this issue out.


2005.01.10

stoopid mango shake

ħ: i sed i'd blog/journal less this yr, so i ought to stick to that resolution even tho' it's a bad resolution cos it's not very measurable, quantitative, finite, etc.   :-/   i need to do a weekend recap tho' since i did manage not to blog/journal during the wknd, rt? heh... *sigh*

[later] i just saw on ernest's site the men's fitness list of fittest n' fattest cities in the u.s.: "seattle the fittest, houston the fattest."   on the list'f fittest, sf's #4 but dropped 2 from #2. :-/ colorado springs's #3, but i don't think that's fair @ all cos otc (olympik training center)'s there.   that's totally unfair.   i bet that besides the olympik athletes, ppl aktually rn't very fit.   that's my guess.   it's nice that no cali cities made the top 10 fattest cities list.   sacrafento's #7 up from #10.   really?   i wonder if the silly valley counts as sf or what.   these nat'l publikations sometimes tend to lump all'f the bay area into 1 category as "sf." *shrug* i'd like to be known as living in a fit area, rt?   i saw taht las vegas is #9 on the fattest list, n' i'd totally believe it cos i totally believe las vegas is just a totally sinful place, n' yah... i'd believe there's lots'f gluttony n' sloth there.   aktually, i guess the truth is that las vegas's l.a.'s playground, so lots'f fit l.a. ppl must hang out there... but then live there?   well, there might be some l.a. transplants that werk there as chefs n' uh... dancers, etc... but i'm sure most locals r just more typical nevadans as opposed to californians.   i notice that many texas cities made the list'f fattest cities.   i'm not surprised.

this morn, i had 1'f those tuff morns; 1'f those manic mondays, u know?   well, kaela n' i woke up a li'l late, n' while kaela got ready 4 skool, i just slept in just a li'l more, which really isn't good cos i also needed to get ready.   i wanted to jog w/ sooni, so i got dressed 4 it.   then i 'membered that i need to go to the santa clara city hall or civic center to go drop off our utility bill cos it was due 2day.   ugh, i undressed n' got dressed in normal werk clothes.   i took sooni w/ me to the utility office, where i dropped off the payment.   then i went back home, dropped off sooni n' went to werk.   it was just a frustrating day cos i was running behind n' had to fight traffik, etc.   when i got to werk, i had to squeeze into a parking spot next to a stoopid dodge durango that parked beyond its parking space boundaries.   i hate that.   i always c this stoopid ford f250 truck that takes up a space n' a half, n' that pi$$es me off.

2day, my cowerkers r going to ݺȲ geumbonghwang / china china 4 lunch cos it's some1's b.day.   i recommended that restaurant.   i hope ppl like it.

[later] : so yah, we went to ݺȲ / geumbonghwang / china china 4 lunch n' had buffet.   cos i'd 4gotten to get ca$h b4 lunch, i had to card it n' collekt ca$h.   of course, i overate, n' that sucks.   oh yah, 1'f my cowerkers stephanie got engaged this past sat.   i was the 1st @ the table to notice the rock n' blurt out, "hey! u'r getting married!   u got engaged!"   heh heh, some1 always has'ta be that person, n' i got to be it 2day! :-) 4 kaela's n' my engagement, the person was ting.   heh heh...   stephanie commented that it was more likely that a married person'd notice the ring, that all those young, single guys were so oblivious.   yah, some young, single guys still don't know by their late 20s that a ring on the left ring finger means that a person's married or engaged. *shakes head*

neway, since i ate so much @ lunch, i'd like to go to the gym this eve, but i'm worried i won't have time.   since i didn't go home 4 lunch to c sooni (i thought i would), i prob'ly should spend some time w/ her sometime 2day. *shrug* i know i can always jog w/ her, but sometimes cardiowerk on the precor's easier than jogging. *sigh*

[later] : bizzy life, lemme tell u... *sigh* well, this past sat, we watched the aviator.   what other good movies r out?   it looks like finding neverland got good reviews from critics n' audiences.   i wouldn't mind watching that.   i was hoping that meet the fockers'd be good, but i'm reading that it isn't very good. :-/


2005.01.11

new nephew

ȭ ħ: ũ ؿ.   i'm using the diotek software on my palmone tungsten t5.   'member? i used to use hantip.

[later] 1122p: last nite, my sista grace n' my bro.in.law steve (or am i s'pposed to say "her husband"   that's not obvious/given?) gave birth to our 2nd nephew, nolan.   (that's his name, rt?   i heard it rt, rt?)   nolan came out ~930p yesterday.   now mason has a baby bro.   i hope he's kewl wit' dat / wid dat.   the beautiful kaela hwang n' i haven't yet had a chance to c'em yet.

2nite, we went to i taekwondo praktice.   afterwards, we got warm taro ball drinks from fantasia n' went home to eat some steamed mandoo.   a while 'go, our dish netwerk went out, but ken told me 2nite to try unplugging it n' plugging it (the receiver) back in.   that fixed it.   i had been thinkin'f trying that.

1156p: immature beno: just now i read a bible verse on my palm os bible reader litv (literal international translation version or sumpthin') n' couldn't help but chuckle: "and abraham started up early in the morning and saddled his ass..." (genesis 22:3)   immature beno...   personally, i prefer the niv (new international vesion).


2005.01.12

t.flash ram

ħ: a couple'f accessories that maybe we should get 4 the beautiful kaela hwang n' her motorla v710 videofon:

how r u this morning.   seriously, u should sign my gbook b4 i change the questions.   the questions r old, from b4 christmas.   i've really gotta change'em.

[a li'l bit later] last nite, while diggin' thru ol' cds in my huge collektion, i found the ol' cure "hello i love you" doors cover track.   that's a good 1.

yesterday morn, i saw a pretty ridiculous opening to the nbc today show.   4 a long time, they kept showing senseless footage regarding the flooding in socal.   1st, they showed a whole bunch'f amateur camcorder footage from some mom running 'round, screaming.   the footage showed absolutely nothing.   sure, u could c a cloudy sky n' some mud from the 1st person pt'f view, but i really didn't know what else i was cing.   it was very much like the blair witch projekt!!!   what the heck were they thinking when they aired that footage?!   later, they sed that they mutha n' child survived the flooding n' mudslide, but huh?   what was that footage?!   then they also showed tons'f footage'f this dude dr. bill mccree being pulled out'f a flooded river after his car w/ kids fell in.   the ridiculous thing was that dr. mccree was wearing some elastic waistband pants, so his pants fell off in the strong current.   thus, they had to blur out his crotch n' buttcrack the whole time.   whuh?!   why did they hafta show so much footage'f that?!   dude! what was that 'bout?!   then after they showed all this footage, they cut to dubyah's apptmnt'f the new sekretary'f homeland sekurity, but they cut in late!   thus, they aktually pre.empted this important nat'l gov't event in order to show me a bunch'f cr@ppy blair witchesque video clips n' blurred out images'f this dude's crotch n' buttcrack?!?!   neway, what the heck does "sekretary'f homeland sekurity" mean?   why the heck do we have this term "homeland"?   why can't we just say "domestik" or "nat'l" sekurity like normal, sane ppl?!   neway, this term "homeland" isn't quite as bad as the term "heartland," as in "amerikkka's heartland."   where is amerikkka's "heartland"?!   if u ask me, it's rt here in the muthaf@ckin' bay area.

[later] ah, so the disco stu song that i've been lookin' 4 is andrea true connection's "more more more (how do you like it?)."


2005.01.17

a bit'f stress to start 2005

1015p: there's an old cure song called "10:15 saturday night."   rt now, it's 10:15 monday night, aka "1015p mon nite," etc.   *sigh* well, it's been a lon gtime since i updated (relatively).   i did resolve as a new yr's resolution to write less in my journal entries, rt?   however, i didn't resolve to update less frequently, u know?   *sigh* i've been very bizzy n', un4tunately, very stressed lately, very. :-( i can't really say that 'lot'f been going my way lately.   i can't really say everything's been comin' up beno lately, no.   however, @ the same time, i need to count my blessings n' be thankful.

[later] 1050p: well, hrm, what's been going on?   uh, hrm... on wed nite, the beautiful kaela hwang n' i went to good sam hospital to c my sista grace, her husband steve, our nephew mason, my mom, n' our new nephew nolan.   on the way, kaela n' i got a large sandwich @ quizno's.   what kind'f sandwich?   hrm, i 4get; some kind'f chicken sandwich.   i asked 4 it on ciabatta bread n' they charge a whoppin' 39¢ extra. *sigh* we also got a large pink lemonade.   neway, we went to the hospital.   mason was very hyper, n' i was glad to have a chance to help out by sort'f watching mason while other ppl took care'f other things.   mason was very hyper, n' i coudn't quite keep up w/ him.   man, if only u could put kids on leashes...   neway, i wanna make sure mason doesn't feel left out, now that he has a baby brutha, u know?

on thurs, kaela n' i went over to youmi n' david's beautiful apt.   where youmi cooked us a really nice dinner, featuring a paella.   youmi's friend tae.eun was also there.   youmi n' david r heading off 4 a long bizness stay in beijing pretty soon.   we do miss going to church w/ them since we changed churches.

well, recently, i've been extremely stressed 'bout werk, n' i've also had to take care'f kaela's grandparents' 65th wedding anniversary party's muzik.   i djed the big party in the torrance marriott.   i spent 'lot'f time prepapring 4 the event, but ppl won't ever know how much time i spent preparing 4 it.   i got lots'f new muzik lined up, but in the end, the older relatives had their say, n' i had to go back to play old muzik instead.   :-/ well, on fri, after a long, long, long day'f werk, i had to rush home n' hastily pack.   ernest was nice n' gave us a ride to the aeroport.   mark took the same flight as us.   u wanna know sort'f a sekret?   if u fly swa, u can check.in online.   it was kewl cos kaela n' i had the #1 n' #2 boarding passes.   still, it was a very stressful fri eve(ning).   while packing, i ordered us a medium joliet jake vegan pizza from pizz'a chicago.   that's an awesome pizza place.   we purposely ordered a medium instead'f a small so that dukkyung could eat some leftovers when he came to take care'f sooni n' our house.   well, it was a quick flight, n' it was kewl to fly w/ mark.   mark had a bunch'f southwest aerolines drink coupons, so we each had a cocktail... or, in kaela's, case wine.   mark n' i noticed that the cocktails were pretty strong.   i had a crown n' diet coke.   well, when kaela n' i got to kaela's parents' house, i stayed up really, really late to take care'f dj stuff.   i woke up @ a decent hr to continue doing that stuff, so i just plain didn't sleep much.   in the early afternoon, kaela n' i went out to slj pro audio in rancho cucamonga near the ontario aeroport n' picked up the numark cdmix2 setup that i reserved to rent.   luckily, it wasn't 2 expen$ive, just $40, but the setup surely isn't as nice as my own equipment.   i had originally planned to get to the party a li'l early to get setup properly, but we ran a bit late.   it wasn't 2 bad.   'least no1 was mad @ us or nething.   in fakt, in reality, i guess we really weren't that late, since aunt karen, who was planning the whole event, aktually hadn't opened the doors to the guests yet, so that was fine.   it was a really big, big party.   in a way, i wish that my family would have such kewl parties, but *shrug* oh well.   neway, it was a kewl party.   jeanna put 2gether a good dvd slideshow 'bout the kang family.   i felt very honored to be so included.   wow, who knew that marrying the 1st daughter'f "the 1st son'f the 1st son'f the..." could have such benefits? heh heh...   really, i appreciate being so welcomed @ their gatherings.   well, there were a coupl'f weird incidents 4 me that nite.   1st off, a great uncle (kaela's grandpa's brutha?) got all pi$$ed off @ us cos kaela's parents didn't have us do "λ insa" (bow) to him when we did that 4 others in his vicinity.   yah, i 4get that, altho' i really do enjoy that asian, particularly korean culture, observes the whole "respekt w/ age" rule, i sometimes've 4gotten that some ppl abuse that kind'f system n' choose to be really jerks, etc.   *shrug* some ppl just gotta be nasty, i guess.   also, i had this weird thing going w/ kaela's uncle who kept asking me to play ac/dc.   luckily, i had 1 ac/dc track ("you shook me all night long," which i admit isn't a bad party track based upon my past experiences), but ppl around me noticed that he was pretty uh... ruff in the way he kept asking 4 those tracks. *sigh* neway, i told my cousins.in.law that i just had to kind'f grin n' bare it n' roll wit' it cos he's family, u know?   neway... it was a pretty exhausting nite.   kaela's relatives had been given a complimentary room 4 the nite 4 renting such a nice ballroom.   originally, it was 4 kaela's grandparents, but they wanted us 2 to stay there instead.   well, since we had to fly out'f ontario the next morning, we couldn't do that n' instead gave it to kaela's aunt, uncle, n' nephew.   we went home.   @ 1st kaela drove but she sed she was falling asleep, so i had to drive.   there were lots'f accidents on the rd n' traffik was really bad.   *sigh*

well, sun?   we just sort'f packed up our stuff, i guess.   luckily, the nite b4, i managed to check us into our flight despite the fakt i was dead tired.   we had boarding passes #3 n' #4.   *sigh* we flew back to san jo.   ernest picked us up.   it was nice weather this past wknd, both in socal n' san jo.   un4tunately, i had to go to werk. :-( well, when i came home, kaela had cooked some spam curry.   that was nice.   didju watch the golden globe awards?   *shrug* i guess i watched some'f it, but i'm really not all that into hollywood, etc. *shrug*   i stayed up really late werking.

2day, i had a very long_day@werk.com.   i'm thankful 4 what i have, but some things just haven't really been going my way, as i sed. *sigh* i'm @ the end'f my "rotation" program; so, now that i've done some interviews, i've gotta pick a "permanent" placement position.   in doing so, i've gotta make big decisions.   do i take a job w/ more risks but more excitement? a more "run'f the mill" job? a position that has great opportunities 4 expanding n' advancing my career but involves significant travel? *sigh* i think i've decided 'gainst the travel thing.   i've always been a big opponent'f that.   i believe in having a good marriage n' good family, n' i personally don't think heavy bizness travel's the best 4 that, 'least not 4 me.   *sigh* dunno, man... i've got some heavy choice 'head.   i've felt some discouragement here n' there, but i dunno... :-/

i really wanted to go to the gym after werk 2day, but when i came home, i just felt depressed n' all.   instead, i just sat n' watched tv.   when kaela came home from showing houses to betty n' toby, she almost immediately fell asleep on the couch.   i ate the last slice'f leftover pizza.   on the bright side, i got to c a coupl'f awesome korean dramas 2nite: 1) kbs's ̾ϴ Ѵ / mianhada saranghanda n' 2) sbs's 丮 Ϲ / love story in harvard.   i really wish i could've gone to the gym tho'.   *sigh* later, when the good korean dramas were over, kaela switched to nbc, n' i was, as always, reminded how smutty amerikan tv is.   i hate that.   sure, u could say it's reality, but it's not... it's smuttier than real life.   just think, in korea, movies have more sex than tv.   in amerika, i'm pretty sure tv has more sex than movies.   i don't think it was necessarily so in the past.   really, lately, amerikan tv's gotten sooo smutty, if u ask me; but most likely u don't ask me n' don't wanna hear what i've got to say 'bout this n' all.   whatever...

neway, as i've sed, i've got 'lot'f stress@werk.com these days, but i s'ppose i should just pray 'bout this stuff.   u know... recently, i was talkin' bout how pastor dave gave a sermon 'bout turning weaknesses into things u can use 4 the lord.   well, u know what?   the way i was moved to think was this: my "weakness" is how i have this totally opposite sociopolitical viewpt than so many christians in amerika w/ the popularity'f the whole "religious rt" thing.   well, if i were to let it remain a "weakness" i'd continue down a path'f just being negative 'bout the whole rift n' division n' that whole schpiel etc... but instead, i should consider my ability to relate to ppl w/ sociopolitical philosophies 'long my lines as a gift or whatever.   well, i'll meditate on that thought a bit more when i can.   @ the same time, i guess i have other things to pray 'bout such as all these decisions @ werk.com, etc.


2005.01.18

broken car stereo

ȭ /: how r u?   *sigh* i'm still a bit depressed n' down in the dumps.   i could really use some good news, u know?   i'm having some hard times, as i sed b4.   it's beautiful weather outisde now in cali4nia.   i wish i could enjoy the beautiful weather, but i'm admittedly rather stressed.   :-( i don't want to think that i'm having a bad luck yr or nething cos luck is simply ur perception'f life. :-/ i wouldn't mind hearing some good news.

2day, my car stereo stopped werking.   4 a long time now, i've been having probs w/ the cd player, in that it would skip 'lot.   now the stereo doesn't put out ne sound: no cd, no radio, no tape (i think).   *sigh* what to do?   i mean, it's not the end'f the world, but it sucks not to have muzik on long trips.   when we go to tahoe on fri w/ my cowerkers, i might need to bring a boombox or sumpthin', huh? *shrug*

2day, during lunch, i came home n' ate the rest'f the spam curry.   we didn't have ne steamed rice, so u know what i did?   i boiled some 쵿/oodong/udon noodles n' threw 'em into the rest'f the curry.   it was pretty good.

[later] 1132p: i got the good news i was waiting 4. :-) i have a "permanent" placement position @ my werk now.   that's good.   i got a foncall while i was on my way to costco to buy some bottled h2o.   i ended up buying some other things.   2nite, we went to taekwondo praktice.   it was nice.


2005.01.21

resolution: day 21

ݿ ħ: i haven't updated in a while; n' sorry, but it sort'f feels good!   i've been living life instead'f just writing 'bout it.


2005.01.24

stolen cell phone - crank calls

ħ: *sigh* i lost my cellfon yesterday @ kirkwood (snowboarding).   i guess it flew out'f my unzipped pocket while i was jumping or sumpthin'. :-( *sigh* i've had "bad luck" w/ my car stereo n' my cellfon so far this yr.   'member? back in 1999 i had "bad luck" w/ my car.   then, in 2000, i had "bad luck" w/ my cellfon.   well... :-/ let's not talk 'bout this thing called "bad luck."   there's no such thing as luck, it's just ur perception'f life, whether u choose to focus on the good things or the bad things.

from: beno hwang
to: friends n' family
subject: stolen phone - crank calls

dear friends and family:

this past weekend, i lost my cell phone in tahoe.   unfortunately, the people who picked it up used the phone to make some harrassing phone calls to some people in my phonebook.   if you received any suspicious calls, e-mails, text message, or internet instant messages from a person claiming to be me or a friend of mine, please beware.   i have already disabled the old phone and have moved my phone number to a new phone.   on my new phone, i'm looking into activating additional security features to prevent this from happening in the future.   i apologize for any inconvenience or annoyance i have allowed through this incident.   please let others know about this incident in case they were also affected.

regards,
beno

this wknd was the snowtrip 4 my company program werkgroup.   it was very fun.   on fri, during lunch, we got to meet our ceo, n' that was kewl.   we had a short, li'l "party" 4 our "graduation" from the 6.month program.   i was voted the person "who most resembles his/her pet."   that's only cos so many ppl've met sooni, n' i don't think they've met ne other pets.   i mean, i guess not many others have pets.   we drove up to our tahoe cabin fri eve.   my car stopped @ a subway in a gas station in tracy (or stockton?) 4 dinner.   we were the last the get to the cabin, but we also stopped by safeway in south lake tahoe b4 getting there.

on sat, we snowboarded @ sierra@tahoe.   it was a nice day, n' i had this uh... "glorious" incident.   seriously... i was ready 4 this run thru the small terrain park, n' this dude cuts in n' was 'bout to "snake" my box.   (to snake is to steal some1's ride... in other wurds, i was 'bout the ride the box, but he cut in n' was gonna steal it.)   (a box is a wide rail 4 railslides or boardslides.   it's a freestyle terrain park feature.   the trickiness'f these things is that u need to stay on the box or rail while these features don't let u steer while u'r on them.   they're usually a bit elevated off the ground.)   neway, i yell out, "hey, man! r u stealing my box?"   no reply.   "ok, i'm gonna ride it w/ u!"   he got on, n' i jumped right on, while he was still on it.   he wasn't going fast 'nuff, so i was 'bout to crash into him.   that made me fall on my stomach on the box, n' then i fell onto my face as i got off the box.   he asked if i was ok, n' i sed yes.   i felt blood coming out'f my nostril, but i continued my run and rode a bent box n' had some kind'f stalefish or sumpthin' off a small jump.   all this, while blood was dripping into my mouth.   the beautiful kaela hwang was freaked by my bloody smile, but eh! i told her, when we were kids, we used to get bloody noses, scrapes, n' scratches so much more than we do now, so it was no big deal.   i wiped up.   i really didn't mind cos i felt i had a great run.   neway, it was a fun day altho' icy on the slopes.   (we also ran into ppl from our old church.)   4 dinner, a few'f us went to chevy's in south lake tahoe.   we had a weird experience there!!!   our grp'f 10 got our table in 10 mins instead'f the estimated 45.   that was kewl.   the weird thing is that after we were seating, all sorts'f parties were called up that had our names!!!   they called up a kaela, a bernard, a james, an andy, n' even a mayhul!!!   whuh?!   it was so twilite zoney.   it was also funny cos our cowerker paul has a new zealand accent, n' the hostess had some kind'f new zealand, new guinea, australian accent, so ppl teased him 'bout it.   oh yah, i guess i have cousins like him, taiwanese guys that grew up in new zealand.   it's really not uncommon.   i've met lots'f ppl like that.   think ̾ϴ Ѵ / mianhada saranghanda.   (ooh, now it's mon.   that's on 2nite!)   i drove my carload over to harrah's casino.   i had no desire to gamble.   others in my car ended up not gambling, so we drove back to the cabin.   kaela n' i did get an overpri¢ed starbucks nf decaf latte there.

on sun, most'f my cowerkers went straight home, but my carload went to kirkwood to snowboard 'nother full day.   it was awesome.   kirkwood has an alpine meadowsish feel to it altho' the amenities remind me more'f dodge ridge; in other wurds, they rn't 2 nice.   it's a pretty big resort tho'.   un4tunately, it still cms a li'l skier oriented instead'f snowboarder oriented; i.e. it requires u to push n' walk a li'l but not nearly as much as heavenly does.   there r some fun gullies.   since i got to ride terrain parks 'lot on sat, i skipped them altogether but opted to ride lots'f gullies instead.   man, so i lost my fon.   i was hoping ppl'd be decent 'nuff to turn it into lost n' found, but instead these immature, stoopid punks made crank calls n' sent crank e.mails w/ it.   what losers.   when i got to the bay area, ken told me that they had called grace (his wife).   since he owns the cellfon store, he helped me out tremendously by shutting off my old fon n' moving my number onto a brand new motorola v710, just like kaela's fon.   it's a kewl fon cos it has a built.in "camcorder."   it's quite a beefy (powerful) fon, but i've always been disappointed in its slight bulkiness.   i wish it were a motorola v3 razr (razor) instead... i.e. if they had it 4 verizon n' if it does have a camcorder. (i'm not sure.) i guess i need to get a t.flash ram card now. *sigh* i guess i should buy 2?   1 4 me, 1 4 kaela... when we came back from tahoe, my carload went to eat @ udupi palace the ultra.popular south indian restaurant.   it was a tiring day.   the fud was very good.   i ordered a spicy vegetable masala dosa.   kaela had the kadai bhindi (okra curry).   south indian fud's vegetarian.   after dinner, i had to go pick up my new fon.   i was very tired when i got home.

so what else has been going on?   well, dukkyung watched sooni n' our house while we were gone.   i feel awful cos lately i haven't been good 'bout stocking our house w/ good snacks 4 when duk comes over. :-(   what else is up?   *sigh* well, the weather's gotten a bit warmer lately.   what else?   well, it's s'pposed to rain this wk.

[later] : i went home 4 lunch.   i ate some refrigerated pack semi.instant ¥ jjajangmyuhn.   i also ate 2 many guacamole tortilla chips.   the bag was already opened, so i'm glad duk found some, snacks.   i still feel bad.   i fed sooni.   i went back to werk.   i hope to go to the gym 2nite, but i need to meet up w/ my cowerker to give him his wife's skis.   i meant to load them onto my car's rack during lunch but 4got.

[later] 937p: i came home @ a normal time.   i picked up my cowerker's wife's skis n' dropped them off in his cube.   i came back home, watched some tv, n' then took sooni 4 a jog.   we didn't jog by our house though.   instead, i drovfe out to sunnyvale.   @ 1st, i was planning just to get the cheapest gas in this area.   then i decided to go 4 the jog 1st.   i ended up in this pretty nice neighbourhood in sunnyvale.   i saw some nicely rennovated homes as well as some very new homes.   we jogged 4 a while.   i need exercise.   i bought gas.   man, my expen$es last month were unbelievable!   *sigh* i've gotta freeze $pending... well, the best i can.   i s'ppose i'll skip snowboarding next wknd, rt? *shrug*

oh yah, last wk, kaela n' i had our 1.5-yr wedding anniversary.   we had a very low.key celebration tho' cos kaela's always so bizzy w/ skool.   we just went out 4 a simple dinner @ dasaprakash south indian restaurant.   as u c, i've been eating lots'f indian fud lately, 'specially since the next day, i had kabab korner 4 lunch w/ my cowerkers.   dasaprakash is an elegantly decorated restaurant, while the fud's rather simple but good.   well, it was a very simple celebration, very modest.   1.5 yrs!   i really would've liked to do sumpthin' more, but kaela's been so bizzy w/ skool.

@ kabab korner, i had this lamb w/ creamy spinach dish... uh, what do u call it? aloo ghost? aloo gosht?   neway, i was rather foolish cos i should've gotten kababs instead'f a stewy/saucy dish!   it was good lamb tho'.   it surely did not taste healthy tho'. :-(

well, i should go grocery shopping now.   we do need fud, but i would like to restrain $pending to some extent. *sigh*

uhm, it's 'bout time i change the gbook qs.


2005.01.25

ġ

ȭ ħ: man, i don't got $$$ to $pend, but this ain't a bad deal: lexar 1 gb secure digital card - sd1gb-231 -- $59.99 after mir icon.   [later] an msnbc article sed that "white teas," which r steamed hot or cold teas, r a big up n' coming fud trend: "look for these goodies at your supermarket."   [later] *sigh* yesterday, while cooking a simple dinner'f some wontons that kaela hwang bought from 99 ranch ages 'go, i pulled a pot out'f the dishrack, which caused a glass fall into the kitchen sink n' shatter. :-( i hate when that happens.   that glass had snowflakes etched into it.   it was rather cute. :-( i really hate when stuff like that happens.   kaela bought it last yr @ crate n' barrel's after christmas sale.   we didn't use it until this past christmas season, so we didn't get to use it much b4 it broke. >:-(

[later] apparently, there's a class aktion lawsuit getting started v. verizon wireless re: the motorola v710 cos the bluetooth functions r not as good as they r s'pposed to be.   from howardforums.com: The Class Action Lawsuit is being handled by Laura DiGirolamo; Kirtland and Packard, (310) 536-1000, 2361 Rosecrans Ave Ste 450, El Segundo, CA 90245.   hrm, now that i'm the questionably proud owner'f a motorola v710, maybe i should get in on this lawsuit.

[later] mr. potatohead darth vader

[later] : lately, i've been eating a lot'f clif bars cos i bought a big box @ costco last wk.   i'm rediscovering them.   they're aktually quite tasty! :-)

[later] i went to albertsons to buy some groceries b4 going home 4 lunch w/ sooni.   i tried to buy some healthy fud, but... *shrug*   well, no; i bought pretty healthy fud.   i bought 2 cans'f tuna: 1 was albertsons's generic chunk white tuna in h2o.   the other was chicken'f the sea light tuna in h2o.   4 lunch, i ate the can'f generic tuna on top'f a bed'f popeye brand spinach w/ some freshly ground black pepper n' (dried) dill.   i ate that w/ some french bread i also bought.   i meant to buy whole wheat french bread but accidentally bought the white kind (the more unhealthy or else unhealthier kind).   when i got home, in the mail, i found a notice that sed i'd 4gotten to pay a bill. *sigh* grrr! i felt really bad.   i felt like "i can't win," u know?   i've now put a check in a stamped envelope ready to send off. *sigh* it just sucks tho', u know?   rt now, i really have the feeling that "i shouldn't push my luck."

[later] 958p: u know, a few wks 'go, i ordered a 512mb sd card from buy.com 4 my palm tungsten t5, but the order never arrived, so i had to file a lost item claim w/ them.   i think i'll get all my $$$ back.   this is just 'nother bad thing that's happened to me lately, but i shouldn't think like that.   i'm not having bad luck.   as i keep saying, i don't really believe in luck, rt?   *shrug* the good thing 'bout this happening, if all goes rt, is that they now have that 1gb sd card on sale. *shrug* i also need to get those t.flash ram cards, rt? *sigh* *sigh* *shrug* that "*sigh* *sigh* *shrug*" was a bit much, huh?

well, what's up?   i'd like to hear from ppl, i s'ppose.   aktually, i am hearing from ppl i haven't heard from in a while cos'f that stolen fon crank call incident n' the e.mail i had to send out.   i werked 'lot 2day.   i got to werk @ a decent time n' stayed a li'l late.   it feels good, tho', to be produktive n' needed.

2nite, i went to taekwondo praktice.   i hurried home from werk, quickly changed, n' then debated w/ myself whether to bring sooni or not cos it started raining.   i didn't wanna leave her out in the rain, outside the dojang, rt?   well, i let her out into the backyard 4 a short while, so she knew 'twas raining, but she still wanted to come w/ me to praktice, so i brought her.   i was late as usual.   it's been ages since i was on time! :-( i was s'pposed to bring some guys out to dinner: duk kyung dogsat sooni 4 2 wknds in a row.   ernest drove us to n' from the aeroport.   kaz fixed my stereo 4 1 nite b4 it broke down 'gain but 'least provided some good ideas.   well, duk kyung didn't come to praktice, so the other guys sed we could do it some other time.   i came home n' cooked myself some ̿ 쵿 miyuhk oodong w/ lots'f spinach in it.   i ate some ġ kimchi n' old myuhngnanjuht (marinated pollack roe).   (the "r/l" sound turns into a "n" sound after a "ng."   that's why my asian name in korean is pronounced "myuhngnok" n' not "myuhngrok," altho' it's written like that.)   i'm rather sleepytired.


2005.01.26

waking up early as if it were a new yr's resolution

ħ: didju know that maggiano's restaurant has a happy hr?   well, this surely isn't worth mentioning in this journal, but i dunno; i got some spam e.mail a while 'go that sed that they do n' that during their happy hr, u get $1 off martinis n' draft beer n' $1.95 appetizers.   heh... i mean, this really isn't worth mentioning here, but i dunno; i just figure if i ever wanna do sumpthin' fun w/ some friends n' aktually have the time, then it'd be kewl to do sumpthin' like that cos u kind'f save $$$; i mean, compared to going out to someplace w/o a di$¢ount, right? *shrug* whatever...

this morn, i woke up decently early, 'specially since the beautiful kaela hwang was so quick to get out'f bed cos'f her midterm.   yah, i didn't c her much last nite cos she was off studying.   by the time she came home, i was already in bed.   2 days 'go, i found some library books on our coffee table, buried under some old papers.   i think she needs to return them cos they're overdue. *sigh*   i went grocery shopping yesterday @ lunch, n' kaela called me last last nite, saying she was going grocery shopping.   i told her she shouldn't cos she should be studying, n' she replied that she knew that she was just procrastinating. *sigh* it's really awful that students do that.   i know i did tha twhen i was an undergrad.   when i was a grad student, i think i managed to avoid that awful habit.   i really hate that habit cos just think: she skipped taekwondo praktice to study, but then eventually she ended up @ safeway. :-/ c? that kind'f stuff is really detrimental to students, n' i know 1sthand cos i was like that as an undergrad... sort'f... i gotta say, i learned well as an undergrad that consistently going to taekwondo praktice on a very regular basis helped me develop good study habits cos i would make it a routine to go to taekwondo praktice n' then go rt to lab.   taekwondo praktice gave me the extra boost'f energy i needed in the evening, u know?

[later] i'm pretty sure that 4 a short while in recent wks, the sobay had $1.719/gal gas n' maybe even $1.699/gal gas.   now, on sanjosegasprices.com, the cheapest gas in the sobay's in east san jo 4 $1.75/gal.   in the santa clara / sunnyvale region, the cheapest gas is $1.799/gal @ the 76 on homestead n' bing that i visited w/ sooni on mon nite.   even costco can only match that pri¢e.   the valero 'cross the st has the same pripri¢e; but, given the choices'f costco, 76, n' valero, i s'ppose i go w/ the labelwhore "pro.formance" choice, eh?

speaking'f labelwhoring, last wk, i used the gift card credit i had from returning the nice shirt that kaela's grandparents/relatives gave me 4 christmas to american eagle outfitters, i bought some kewl, cheap clothes from their website thanks to an awesome sale.   i got a button up shirt (long sleeve) n' a super, super ¢heap sweater, which i wore on sat nite n' am wearing 2day.   as i've sed b4, i advocate american eagle outfitter as a great alternative to abercrombie n' b!t¢h.   i know abercrombie's so frickin' popular n' trendy these days, but they've gotten in so much trouble w/ the politically aktive asian.am community: 1) they got in trouble 4 never using asian models (somewhat minor offense since stores like victoria's sekret also don't, rt?   however, stores like j. crew, br, n' gap do.   obviously, big dept stores like macy's do.)   2) they sold those t.shirts w/ offensive characatures'f asian ppl.   3) they discriminated 'gainst asians in their hiring.   sure, those politically conservative uncle tom asians sometimes go 'round scoffing 'bout this stuff n' saying that we politically progressive asians r just overreakting as usual, but i figure that if abercrombie's gotten in hot water this many times, then there's sumpthin' legitimately wrong w/ them, u know?

[later] : sometime last wk, i found some ads from some local realtors.   since we already know a great realtor or 2 *wink* *wink* *nudge* *nudge*, i'm gonna throw 'way the ads, but a couple'f things i found interesting were 2 bookmarks: 1 listed "percentage of return on home improvements" n' the other "10 things to do before putting your home on the market.   i wanted to jot down these things b4 tossing the bookmarks:
percentage of return on home improvements
kitchen remodel 94%
bath addition 89%
roof replacement 88%
landscaping 88%
great room addition 84%
second story addition 84%
attic bedroom addition 83%
master bedroom suite 82%
bath remodel 73%
siding replacment 71%
deck addition 70%
window replacement 71%
home office addition 64%
interior facelift 56%
fireplace 44%
entryway 43%
sunspace 42%
sunspace 42%
skylight 35%
basement conversion 35%
energy upgrade 31%
source: national association of real estate appraisers

10 things to do before putting your home on the market:

  1. clean! your windows, floors, kitchen, and bathroom should be sparkling!
  2. shampoo carpets, replace or get rid of worn rugs.
  3. have professional inspections for termites, energy efficiency, and code compliance.   make any necessary repairs before listing.
  4. repair dripping faucets, running toilets, and leaking showers.
  5. remove unnecessary clutter from the garage, basement, attic, closets, and yard
  6. most homes need interior and exterior repainting.
  7. too much furniture in too little space makes your home look small.   put some in storage.
  8. your yard should be neat and trimmed.
  9. patch any missing or loose roof shingles.   gutters and chimneys should be in good condition.
  10. if the driveway or sidewalks are cracked, repair and resurface.   this is the first glimpse potential homebuyers will see!

i went home 4 lunch.   i was tempted to go to staples to buy some ox boxes (document boxes) to organise all the useless papers we have in our house (some might be good 4 tax purposes, some r just plain junk.) but resisted that temptation n' went straight home in order to have time 'nuff to take sooni 4 a nice walk while the rain clouds maintained their continence.   i went home.   i microwaved some weight watchers thai chicken w/ rice noodles (some kind'f not.that.bad bastardisation'f pad thai, i s'ppose) n' poured on a whole bunch'f popeye brand spinach in order to counterbalance the unhealthiness'f the hi sodium content w/ sumpthin' good.   i ate.   while i ate, i browsed thru some snapfish foto prints i received in the mail 2day.   i fed sooni.   i took her 4 a decent walk.   it was a nice day.   i returned (back) to werk.

dude, on my hard drive, i have this recipe 4 tamarind.honey lamb kebabs on mashed yams.   do u 'member where i found that recipe? *shrug* it sounds so frickin' tasty, but i dunno if i'll ever make it.   i sure'd like to.

2 big news stories 2day: 1) the train crash in glendale caused by a suicider - "Ten Die in LA Train Crash; Murder Charge Planned" (y! news top stories - reuters) n' 2) the u.s. helicopter crash in iraq that killed 31 soldiers - "Bloodiest Day for U.S. Troops in Iraq, 37 Killed" (y! news top stories - reuters).   b4 this, the big news was johnny carson's death from emphysema on sun - "Famed TV Entertainer Johnny Carson Dead" (y! news top stories - reuters).

u know, as i mentioned b4, the tonight show has always been a very "conservative" show in that it doesn't care that its humour is very inappropriate n' offensive.   both jay n' johnny tell jokes that make fun'f minorities, n' most'f the amerikkkan tv.viewing audience lets it all slide.   i overheard some1 talking 'bout how the tonight show has always been conservative n' that's why republikkkan arnold chose to announce his gubernatorial candidacy on that show.   yah, i believe it.

[later] i can tell that we're progressing thru the winter season, that days rn't as short as they used to be.   u know, as a snowboarder i really notice that cos i notice if it's dark when i leave the silly valley n' if it's dark as i leave tahoe, etc.   we're aktually still in the dead'f winter; but since we're in cali, we're prone to having sporadic bursts'f springlike weather now n' then.


2005.01.27

didju know that jackie chan can speak decent korean?!

ģ: yesterday eve, i talked 'lot to our friend jason who's in taiwan.   isn't it kewl to be able to talk to some1 in taiwan?   transpacific fon calls rock!   the fon call was so crystal clear, it was like he was just down the street, u know?   that's kewl.

well, what's been up?   after werk (i werked till a decent hr.), i went to the company gym n' lifted some weights.   am i sore? hrm... :-? i'm not sure.   i think my shoulders r a li'l sore, maybe my trapezii (plural'f trapezius???); but hrm... nething else?   not sure... am i lifting well?   *shrug* i sed i'd tailor my werkouts back to how they were in the past, more geared 4 werking my cardiovascular endurance like back when i was aktually ok @ taekwondo sparring (unlike now).   however, last nite, i just felt like lifting weights instead.   u know?   of course, i'd never mind having a better physique, a more muscular physique to some realistically finite extent.   we all know i'll never be monster buff, u know?   when i was prakticing taekwondo more (back @ cal), i was skinnier n' leaner, but i admit i had better ab physique 4 what it's worth.   eh, why the #@*% am i talkin' 'bout this?!   heh, think 'bout that j.box commercial where jack's in the gym n' pondering a low fat southwest chicken fajita pita.   i bet that's a popular commercial.   guys do have body image issues, u know?   we do.   ppl 2 often think only gurls care 'bout how their bodies look; but no, guys do 2.

neway, after the gym, i showered n' went home.   the beautiful kaela hwang was already home.   it wasn't that early neway.   when i sed i stayed @ werk till a "decent hr," that means i stayed kind'f late relative to what most ppl think, i guess.   my company werks hard.   kaela went to some seminar or werkshop or whatever after her classes, so she came home late 2, but she had brought home some leftover takeout fud from yan can.   (some ppl call takeout fud "takeaway," rt?   i s'ppose that's a british term.)   btw, didju know that jackie chan can speak decent korean?!   i guess i'm thinking 'bout that cos i was thinking 'bout how ppl've sed martin yan exaggerates his chinese accent to sound more "authentically" chinese in his cooking show.   neway, yah... on korean tv, kaela n' i saw a segment on a korean entertainment tv news show 'bout jackie chan doing a movie w/ the ever so famous kim heesuhn.   yah, he was speaking decent korean!   neway... what was i saying?   oh yah, kaela brought home some pineapple fried rice.   i dumped the decently spicy hot sauce on it n' ate most'f the leftovers.   yah, it was decently spicy.   i feel that lately i haven't eaten 'nuff spicy fud.   perhaps it's cos'f 2 things: 1) i've been trying to lower my sodium intake, n' un4tunately spicy fud often has 2 much sodium. n' 2) we've been in tahoe a decent 'mount lately, n' there's not quite 'nuff good cultural fud out there.   we have eaten quite a bit'f south indian fud lately, which many ppl consider very spicy.   however, i don't think it's that spicy, n' un4tunately, some'f it does have a bit 2 much sodium 4 me.   it's still very good tho'.   i wouldn't mind eating more spicy fud now, i s'ppose; but i've still gotta watch my sodium intake.   i must lower my bp (blood pressure).   ok... where was i?   oh yah, so last nite, kaela n' i went to her office in a hurry cos she needed to pick up a fax regarding toby n' betty's home search.   things look pretty good 4 them now.   we brought sooni w/ us.   the office was pretty empty, but a couple'f guys were there w/ a bunch'f pizza.   man, hungry sooni was so into that pizza.   while, she i sat by kaela's cubicle w/ her restrained on the leash, as i talked on the fon 'cross the pacific, sooni kept wanting to pull to get to the pizza.   she was starting to pant.   she really wanted that pizza.   she was very hungry.   later, ... [interrupted, later, ] later, when i walked sooni a li'l inside the office, she found pizza crust in the trash can n' wanted it sooo badly!   i let her have 1 piece after she sat down n' shook my hand.   after the office, kaela n' i went to the sj main mlk jr. / sjsu library to return a couple'f her overdue books.   i was very, very tired when i came home.   we watched 1 episode'f sbs's ڰ Ҷ / namjaga saranghalddae.   not 2 long after, i totally fell asleep in bed.   i meant just to rest a li'l b4 brushing my teeth, but i totally passed out.   it was weird.

this morn, i woke up not quite as early as previous days this wk.   i walked sooni n' then went to werk.

[later] if u'r like me n' own the motorola v710 w/ verizon service, u've gotta check out this ny times article: "A New Phone and Techie Controversy at Verizon" by david pogue; septmeber 30, 2004.

amazon.com


2005.01.28

laptop in danger

ݿ ħ: man, i just found out that i'm gonna lose my werk.com laptop really soon cos i'm getting a nice, superpowerful desktop 4 cad werk. *sigh* i really like this laptop, n' i've really customised it to be supernice, u know?   man, this sucks.   i'm gonna need to backup 'lot'f personal data from this laptop b4 they take it 'way.   i dunno whether i should later buy a personal laptop or try to make my palm tungsten t5 my "laptop," u know?   after all, if i get the wireless sd card 4 it, that'll definitely greatly increase its functionality.   if i get the ir keybd, that'll also greatly increase its functionality. *sigh* dunno...   i don't really love the idea'f $pending 2 much $$$ 4 teknogadgets etc. just cos i sure could use more $$$ these days.   [later] man, i've really gotta sort'f some 'puter logistics issues.   @ home, we have 2 desktop pcs that barely get used.   we have 1 ol' sony vaio laptop that's in pieces rt now.   i should put it back 2gether n' sell it off.   now 'bout the 2 desktops, what to do?   they both have probs as well.   like, 4 some reason, the nice sound card on my desktop doesn't werk nemore, so i'm using the cr@ppy built.in, on.board sound card, which really sucks.   however, i wanna get back into doing djing stuff this yr, u know?   it was a very explicit new yr's resolution.   i wonder: when i lose this laptop, will i maybe waste less time? *shrug* dunno, don'tchu think advanced teknology helps us waste less time?   really, that's usually the case.   [later] also, the beautiful kaela hwang's laptop continues to have the coolwebsearch spyware prob. *sigh* u know what'd be nice is if some1'd donate to us $10,000 to solve all our 'puter issues. ha ha ha!   man, imagine selling off all my desktop components n' instead buying a nice personal laptop that can do multimedia/muzik stuff. *sigh* that'd be dope, eh?

[later] issues, man, issues! i can't believe this yr's kickin' off w/ so many teknogadget issues: 1) car stereo, 2) cellfon, n' 3) 'puter. *sigh*

[later] : i went to lunch w/ kaela @ tk noodles.   it was such a tuff commute to get over to palmer chiropraktic college from my office, 'specially since i needed to swing by the bank to get ca$h but had gotten in a lane that went to the freeway.   i had to fight traffik n' make u.turns.   i made wrong turns.   when we got to the milpitas barber ln tk, the parking lot was so jam packed.   i took a sucky, not.so.legal parallel parking spot.   rt after i finished parking, 3 good spaces opened up. *sigh* my bowl'f noodles cmed smaller than usual.   i wasn't that full.   i wanted to eat a tangelo that i had in my bag since yesterday or 2 days 'go.   i found it covered in penicillin (mold). *sigh* man, i really feel like i could use some good news. :'-(

but i am glad cos well, i won't take 4granted all that the good lord has blessed me w/, u know?   there is good news; there's always good news, i.e. the good news, u know?   i am very blessed n' 4tunate!

[later] well, the laptop issue's sort'f resolved: they're gonna give me a replacement laptop instead'f a desktop.   this laptop'll be more powerful.   it's gonna be bigger physically tho', which is a negative in my book, n' what still discom4ts me the most is that i won't have admin rights on it unless i find a good excuse, u know? *sigh*   yah, aktually, if it weren't 4 the admin rights thingy, i'd just think that the new laptop idea's pretty good cos it is a rather kick@$$ laptop altho' big.


2005.01.30

parrots in las palmas

Ͽ ħ: man, jan's almost over?!   man! time flies.   what a month!   what a rocky way to start out 2005, i tell u.   hey, 'member when i used to have this li'l fella up on my journal now n' then? ׷ he's always sad.   @ times this month, i sort'f felt down cos'f random bad cr@p that happened, as u know, but eh! whatever.   i'm still blessed w/ a beautiful wife, a beautiful house, n' a beautiful doggy, as well as a nice job n' a car that rolls n' many chances to hit the slopes on my snowboard each season.   it's 751a rt now.   last nite, the beautiful kaela hwang n' i were out way 2 late w/ her palmer chiropraktic skool classmates @ a party that started @ an apartmnt complex near downtown san jo n' ended up @ "the brit," which is the britannia arms bar in downtown san jo on santa clara st near san pedro.   what a random nite!   uh, i guess it's just odd 4 me to end up @ the britannia arms; otherwise, it prob'ly wasn't such a random nite 4 some other folks there who frequent that place, rt?   well, lemme tell u, the dj there was aktually better than whoever was fillin' in 4 rich laxamana @ that beyond entertainment new yr's party, rt?   ha ha ha.   well, i noticed that he used the echo effekt to make transitions... a lot...   yah, some djs have 1 particularly favourite technique n' maybe sort'f overuse it.   4 example, @ 1 party i was @ back in my undergrad days @ cal the dj kept using the "spindown" button over n' over.   most ppl prob'ly don't notice stuff like this, but i do.

check out some links to pages i sort'f glanced @ so far this morn:

yesterday, while looking @ links that ppl clicked to get to my site, including what search engine searches ppl used to get to my site, i found out that there's a j.pop singer named kaela kimura, but she apparently pronounces her name "kah ei la," not "kaela."   yah, that's how u would romanise such a name from japanese... i mean, it makes sense that's how u would pronounce a wurd spelled "kaela" in romanised japanese.   romaji...   oh shoot, i've gotta use my free non.new release blockbuster coupon like 2day, huh? 2day or 2morrow?   *shrug*

fri nite, we went to our t3s grx couples bible study, which was held @ a house in south san jo.   'twas a beautiful house, n' i was in charge'f "facilitating" the nite, in that i welcomed every1 to the evening n' opened us up in prayer.   on sat, 4 lunch, we met up w/ my grace, steve, mason, nolan, my dad, n' sue @ the union chinese restaurant 4 lunch.   then kaela n' i spent a nice day out n' 'bout on such a nice, beautifully sunny day in the silly valley.   we hadn't spent such a relaxed wknd in the silly valley in a long time since we've been in tahoe a decent 'mount lately n' went down to socal 2 wknds 'go, etc.   we went to whole fuds.   we bought some groceries, etc.   we swung by the pruneyard mall to step into barbeques galore to check out fireplace screens.   dude, the dude @ home depot wasn't kidding me when he warned me they'd be expen$ive there.   they're near $1k, u know?   crazy! well, maybe there was 1 4 ~$500?   i 4get.   neway, kaela sed we'd be better off gettin' it @ expo @ that rate.   well, we drove home.   it was nice to drive past some'f the historical bdlgs'f downtown campbell.   it was nice to ponder how the silicon valley used to be orchard valley.   we drove home, we picked up sooni.   we brought her to pet fud express n' washed her.   then, i drove us to las palmas park, where kaela sat in the car n' studied till she apparently fell asleep.   i took sooni 4 a nice walk in the park, enjoying the view'f such nice suburban homes in sunnyvale.   strange... las palmas park has some special parrot.like burdies living in its tall palm trees.   i must investigate!   ok, check this out: some webpage'f the sun, sunnyvale's newspaper.


2005.01.31

jan ends

ħ: can u believe jan 2005 ends 2day?!   crazy.   this month really flew by, didn't it?   or... hrm, what happened in jan?   well, there was all that biz 'bout going to socal 4 the beautiful kaela hwang's grandparents' 65th wedding anniversary n' all.   there was the snowtrip w/ my cowerkers.   i guess it was a very jampacked jan, huh?   *shrug* *sigh* man, i wish my car stereo were fixed.   this morn, i put my boombox in the backseat n' plugged it into the 12v socket in the trunk via the cheap adapater i bought @ rite.aid this past christmas season 4 myself.

[a li'l later] b4 i get my new werk.com laptop, i must burn a whole bunch'f personal files to dvd or sumpthin'.   since i never bought a usb2/fi.wi dvd±r/rw burner, what i need to do is, sometime this wk, x.fer a bunch'f files from my current werk.com laptop to kaela's superduper vaio superlaptop n' burn 'em to dvd-r.   i've got lots'f pics n' mp3s, etc.   this is very important.

a li'l while 'go, i put in a 98¢ bid on a moto v710 usb data cable on ebay.   i guess i'll try to beat all the cr@p verizon put on their version'f the v710 in order to "cripple" it such that verizon users gotta pay them more $$$.   in case u haven't been keeping up w/ the well.dokumented, moderately publicised scandal over the moto v710, this is what's up: verizon dumbed down the fon by taking away the bluetooth capabilities'f the fon that let u xfer files to n' from the fon.   s'pposedly, they also made it so u can't xfer files from ur fon onto the t.flash ram card.   instead, they want u to pay to use their stupid, stupid, stupid pixplace service, where u pay 25¢ each time u e.mail a pic to urself.   man, they're such scoundrels!   however, they still've got the best service coverage.   also, don't we all absolutely hate n' abhor how verizon tries to brainwash its users by forcing them to have "verizon wireless" as the banner on their fons?   i know i hate n' abhor how they put their frickin' corporate logo on the body'f the fon.   it's disgusting.   yah, it really sucks that the moto v710 has all this skrewed up biz going on.   it goes to show that maybe the lg fons r quite a bit better in the end, huh?   since u've got bitpim n' all 4 them...   bitpim's an awesome software that i'd been using to dl n' ul pics to n' from my lg vx6000.   also, i used it to dl my contakts (fonbook / addressbook), n' i used it to ul mp3 ringtones.   the lg vx6000 rocked!   we also had free mobile web browsing w/ it.   so far, man... the moto v710 has none'f this, so... *sigh* >:-(   the moto v710 has a built.in camcorder, which i haven't yet used but tested out 1nce on sat evening.

on sat, we went to whole foods, as i sed.   whole foods has a really kewl feelgood environment that sort'f mimics berkeley life, doesn't it?   i admit that whole foods' environment makes me feel good.   back when i werked in marin county, i visited the whole foods somewhere in, like, tiburon or somewhere like that... maybe mill valley? *shrug* neway, in my younger age, i found whole fuds to be just overpri¢ed n' maybe a li'l pretentious.   well, sure... maybe whole fuds in marin county is a li'l more pretentious that the 1s down here in the silly valley.   this wknd, i felt so good to be living in the silly valley.   it was a beautiful wknd.

yesterday, roland visited us after church.   we had a great time.   1st, we went w/ roland n' duk to bamboo garden in sunnyvale 4 dimsum.   i've gotta say, tho', i think that place's dimsum has fallen off the cliff!   in other wurds, it went very far downhill.   it used to be pretty good, but now?   uh... it's not really that great.   they only have very typical dishes, nuthin' creative.   luckily, duk was able to enjoy it quite a bit cos it was only his 3rd time @ dimsum ever.   in that case, yah... he didn't yet realise that these were simply just run'f the mill, mundane dishes in comparison to the supercreative dishes @ other dimsum places.   joy luck place is better, but i know it's super.crowded.   personally, i think canton delights has better dim sum than bamboo garden, but i know bernard huang thinks canton delights is no good.   i felt kind'f bad that i brought our friends to that restaurant instead'f canton delights, joy luck place, or else the dim sum place in milpitas square (the barber lan 99 ranch strip mall).   however, we had a good time as we got to converse, etc., rt?   afterwards, we swung by our house, picked up sooni, n' went to cupertino village's (the cupertino 99 ranch strip mall) fantasia 4 some boba drinks. ٺ?  ٺ?! i had a lychee blended boba drink.   it was good.   i like the mango 1s, but they're pretty expen$ive @ $4 a pop, u know?   back when they were @ the same price as all the other flavours, i got'em more often.   after cupertino village, where we stayed quite a while, the 4'f us headed off to santana row cos kaela wanted to buy some fancy shampoo @ aveda.   well, i guess i bought it 4 her.   it was a beautiful day, n' sooni got to walk quite a bit.   there were lots'f foo foo / froo froo dogs @ santana row, which made me nervous cos 2 often those froo froo / foo foo dogs rn't well behaved so they yip yap n' growl @ sooni, n' i know sooni has li'l tolerance 4 that; yet lots'f those snobby ol' lady owners don't realise that they've gotta train their froo froo dogs to behave.   4 example, there was this 1 mercedes that drove by w/ this chihuahua dog that was barking @ sooni in an aggressive manner, n' i sed, "dude, does that dog really think it's gonna take on sooni?!"   what was it thinking?!   after walkin' 'round santana row, talkin', n' listening to the musicians, we went back to our house.   duk left, but roland hung out w/ us longer.   [after a li'l interruption] we watched tv.   4 dinner, the 3'f us went to κ myuhngdong soondubujip on el camino n' halford.   that's our favourite κ soondubujip.   i like it better than tofu house.   i know some ppl like Ұ κ sogongdong soondubujip aka "tofu house" better but not me.   i prefer mhyuhngdong.

[later] jan ends 2day, n' feb starts 2morrow.   feb's a short month.   it's not even a leap yr this yr.   can u believe it's gonna be feb soon?   then it'll be march.   in feb, we celebrate v.day, of course.   whatchu think 'bout that?   i know lots'f guys sort'f b!tch n' moan 'bout v.day.   in gen'l, i do like v.day cos it's sort'f romantik, isn't it?   it's nice to have a day 4 love, rt?   i'm not 1'f those cynics.   i'm a li'l worried 'bout this yr's v.day cos... man! i $pend way 2 much this past christmas season, i guess.   i dunno why.   i mean, sure, all my weekend snowboarding co$ts $$$, but there were other things.   i dunno... i s'ppose gas, whether 4 snowtrips, our trip to socal, or just gen'l commuting co$t 2 much this yr.   *sigh* someday, i'd like to have a hybrid car instead; but, of course, i'm not gonna be buying a new car netime soon.   do u know 'bout the new subaru.saab suv?   this is the 1st time subaru's made a full.size suv, rt?   it's called the tribeca.   it looks pretty kewl, but i've no intentions to switch to a more gas.guzzling car netime in the future, u know?   i'd much rather go to a more gas.conserving car, if possible.   dude, from a recent google image search, i think i found out that they use the subaru forester as a police car somewhere in the uk!   crazy, huh?   [a li'l later] dude, i think they also use it as an ambulance somewhere in italy!   crazy.   i do wish my car stereo werked tho'.

[later] : during my lunchbrk, i went home.   i boiled some ġ shin kimchi ramyuhn, but i didn't eat it ur typical way.   instead, i drained out the oily h2o n' dumped the noodles into leftover ġ  kimchi jjigae.   i cracked open a nice, fresh, organic, brown egg (from whole fuds).   it was very good.   i also ate some baby carrots w/ some light laughing cow swiss soft cheese.   i fed sooni.   she wanted to stay outside, but i didn't let her stay outside when i left cos i worry that she'll jump the fence, etc.   we'll c.   when it gets a li'l warmer, i might start letting her stay outside, but it's not even feb yet.   i quickly went back to werk.   on my drive to the office from home or vice versa, i hear 'bout 2 songs.   as i sed earlier, i have my li'l jvc kaboom boombox in the backseat'f my car since my car stereo's broken.   it's a temporary fix, u know?   i brought werkout clothes w/ me when i returned to the office cos i need to exercise this evening.

on my drive back, i listened to some old, old tunes such as turbo's "ȸ" ("hwesuhng") s.e.s.'s "dreams come true," n' solid's " " ("i bamuy ggeuteul jabgo"). [later] rotfl / rotflmao: while googling up the lyrics to solid's song, i found this link - " ": do u get the joke?   didju click the link?   if not, click it, cos i got to explain to joke to ppl who don't understand korean.   ready? ok.   " " / "i bamuy ggeuteul jabgo" means "holding onto the end'f the nite."   the pics'f a coupl'f fingers holding onto the end'f a chestnut, which is funny cos the wurd "bam" can be nite or chestnut, so it's a pun.

"̹ " - Ҹ
- ~ ٽ
Լ Ͼ
׷Կ츰
Ը ƽ

ʶ ˱⿡ ƾ߰
ʰ ູϰ ƾ
ذ ̹ ִ
̻ ʶ ʰ

(narration) ׷ ¼
츰 츮 ¿
̺ ã 𸥴ٰ ߾

̹ ״
׷ 鼭 ƾ

~
bridge

ʿ Բ
ä ϰ

ϰ ʰ
~ ~
ʰ ູϰ ~
ذ ̹ ִ
̻ ʶ ʰ

1133p: man, un4tunately, i did not werkout @ the gym 2nite, nor did i jog w/ sooni. >:-( instead, i went to target to buy some rubbermaid roughtote storage boxes to throw stuff into in case we end up w/ no choice but to host our bible study on fri nite @ our house.   i hope we don't need to, but i'm hearing that we have few alternatives. :-/ our house is such a mess, n' kaela n' i've sed that b4; but i know it's quite offensive to others if we just go 'round saying all the time that our house is 2 messy to host bible study cos that's implying sumpthin' like 'we're just such important ppl.   we have 2 many waaay 2 important things to do than to clean up our house.   instead, why don'tchu peons clean up ur houses so that we can come over.'   that's totally not what we're saying, but i, personally, can understand how it can appear unthoughtful that we're always saying that our house's 2 messy.   neway, i went to target to buy those boxes, but they were out.   that really ticked me off cos i had to buy some other model that wasn't on sale.   i bought 3.   i made sure to pick up 3 lids cos signs in that area on the shelves sed "don't forget lids!"   after i checked out, i realised i had 4 boxes n' 3 lids.   i thought, "oh, i thought the total was kind'f high."   in other wurds, i guessed that the total was high cos i'd accidentally bought 4 boxes.   however, as i walked out the door, i wasn't sure what to do.   should i go to the returns n' exchanges n' ask 4 'nother lid or else try to return the 4th box w/o a lid.   well, i decided to return the 4th box w/o a lid cos i figured i could use the $$$ instead'f the extra box.   well, lo n' behold, when i handed the ca$hier the receipt, she pted out that i'd only paid 4 3 boxes neway, so she took 1 away n' sent me off.   in a way, d'oh!   if i wanted to be cheap n' sneaky, i should've not sed nething, gone home, came back later, n' sed that i accidentally missed a lid n' needed a lid.   oh well, i had unintentionally done the right thing, the moral thing... but unintentionally.   oh well.   whatever...   i don't need 4 boxes.   i figured i could try to put our snowboarding stuff in 1 box, our extra taekwondo stuff in 'nother, n' our gym clothes in the 3rd.   hrm...   now that i think 'bout it, maybe i could use 4 boxes cos our taekwondo stuff prob'ly takes more than 1 box. *sigh*

i wish i'd werked out 2nite.   instead i watched tv.   there was so much good korean tv on, u know?   i dunno... 4 dinner, i ate a boca burger on toasted 5.seed bread (from whole fuds) n' spinach.   it was kind'f dry even tho' i spread on some grey poupon on 1 slice'f toast n' some old, old, expired safeway select honey bbq sauce on the other.   oh well.   i tried to tell myself it was ok that i was just resting 2nite cos i was maybe feeling like i was catching a cold or sumpthin'. *sigh* dunno... i didn't get much sleep on sat nite cos'f kaela's chiropraktic skool party that went so late into the nite.   well... ha ha ha! when i was younger, i partied like that every wknd!!!   some'f these kids r young, u know?   yah, when i was their age, i partied like that every wknd! ha ha ha.   well, hrm... honestly, when i was in undergrad, i did not party very well.   it wasn't until after i graduated, during the cal taekwondo party crew days that i learned to party well.   it's important 4 students to learn how to party rt.   it really skrewed up my undergrad grades that i didn't know how to party...   well, like 'least in my lower division yrs...   the prob's that when college kids don't learn to party, they end up wasting their time just playing 'puter games n' video games.   if a college kid learns to party hard 1nce in a while, he she also learns to manage time in order to make time to party hard 1nce in a while.   that's good.   thus, there r ultimately 2 things that help college kids study: 1)occassional partying n' 2) going to taekwondo praktice on a regular basis ~2ice a wk.


2005.02.01

feb begins

ȭ : i debated 4 just a brief moment whether to title this entry "feb begins" or "feb starts."   i don't have ne big preference.   do u?   i feel like my journal entries so far this yr must be kind'f depressing cos they've been sort'f gripe sessions, haven't they?   i'm always just talkin' 'bout bad stuff that happens to me cos i just feel that, so far this yr, so many random bad things have happened to me. :-/ however, i should focus on the posi+ive (positive), think 'bout all the kewl, awesome things that've happened to me, how blessed i am, etc.

2day, i woke up relatively late.   it didn't feel late.   i surely felt like i could've slept more.   i think the beautiful kaela hwang might've left the heater on all nite, but i dunno.   it was on when i fell asleep, n' it was on when i woke up.   perhaps i fell asleep earlier than usual?   i think the thermostat's set to shut off the heater @ midnite, but i dunno if kaela changed it  E-w7`|v  <  @ 7 7`6\`Ts'pposed to accompany the turkey n' sundried tomato pesto panini but had run out).   my lunch would've been healthier w/ the shroom salad, i know.   oh well...   i also had a small diet pepsi.   hrm, how come this cafeteria has pepsi produkts?   don't the others have coke produkts?   i 4get.   i think i prefer diet coke over diet pepsi, but i dunno.   i think that preference just stems from my 1nce hearing that the clinton white house stocked coke produkts, while the bush sr. white house stocked pepsi produkts.   i dunno if these major corporations r demokrats or republikans or what, but... *shrug*   i ate all the french fries that came w/ my lunch even tho' i shouldn't have.   it's just that i covered the fries n' panini w/ some finely ground black pepper n' also got some nice mexican hot sauce, so... *shrug* yah, i gave into the temptation'f eating all the french fries.   i'm deliberately calling them "french fries" cos i'm definitely not gonna call 'em "freedom fries"!!!   that's just frickin' ridiculous.

[later] so what's up?   i feel like i was gonna say sumpthin' here, but i 4get.   *sigh* i sed i woulnd't write so much in my journal this yr but instead use that time to get back into my djing stuff.   yah, i'd still like to c that happen.
- "......"

you are my love
ʿ α
ذ ̼  ٽ ã
£ ȭ忡 ó ̼ҷ
̼ ؾ ѵ⸸ һ

#.chorus
⵵ 鸮ʾ (׾)
ܸ θ־(θ־)
Ϲ ̷ Ŀ ö (̵)
£ 
ٽ

شٸ δ ְ
ܷο ȿ 縸 ձ ʿѵ
ʸ

#.chorus repeat

#.chorus repeat

j - "the crush of love"

love, this from a man whose eyes can burn right through me
blind, lost is my soul for misery
i hunger and thirst for what was once undying
you kill and destroy what's left of beauty that remains
you take from me and leave with me with your memory
the taste of you, it haunts my dreams in sleep
deliver me, from this craving i can't feed
i'm left without, my heart that aches with need

you are the only one that brings me to my knees
you are the only one, for you my heart bleeds
you are the only one that tears this heart apart
'cause every single day your heart denies that love is dying
and all the little lies you breathe in me, survive

lie down in this ocean full of shed tears
breathe, holding back all these newborn fears
selfish and dark are your cruel intentions
i've emptied my heart, take with you all that remain
take with you all that remain

you were the one i loved
the moon, the stars, the sky above




2005.02.02

,

ħ: hrm, is it that a new sbs / soo/mok deurama (wed/thurs drama) starts 2nite?   if so, that's definitely sumpthin' to get excited 'bout whether u know it or not.   this morn, the beautiful kaela hwang n' i 'gain woke up later than we wanted.   last nite, we couldn't find the tv remote in order to set the alarm on the tv in our bdrm.   that was bad.   i don't like how our bdrm's so messy.   we were both so tired when we fell asleep 'round 100a.   *sigh* personally, this werkwk, i've been wondering if our waking up later this wk than last wk is due to the partying on sat nite w/ kaela's chiropraktic skool classmates.   i've wondered if maybe we're still recovering from that.   even tho' i've sed that i promote occasional partying as a good study habit, i do wonder if this past sat's party took a li'l 2 much energy out'f us. *sigh* i dunno; perhaps it's just cos i'm older now.   perhaps, that kind'f partying was ok when i was younger but not as ok now that i'm older.   after all, many'f kaela's classmates r younger, u know?   i hang out w/ more younger ppl than older ppl, i think.   @ taekwondo, most'f the ppl we c r younger.   in my group@werk.com (the program i recently finished), most ppl were younger than me, not all but most.   only @ church, in our bible study, do i feel that we have a few more older friends, i think.   'gain, not all the ppl in our bible study r older than us, but 'least some.

last nite, i went to taekwondo praktice.   it was good to kick.   during the 15 mins'f open werkout, i chose to werk on basic kicking instead'f nething else.   i'm sure i looked sort'f dorky or nerdy doing that, but i feel i need to werk on my basics now.   my taekwondo, i feel, has really gone downhill.   i think i look awful there.   i used to be so much better.   i mostly blame the semester i took off from taekwondo in order to take that "digital control systems class." *sigh*   that really messed me up.   however, i've gotta say that i still believe i can get better.   can i ever be as good as i used to be? *shrug* i dunno, but i'll try.   i'll try.   after taekwondo praktice, i took duk n' kaz out to dinner @ gilmok.   matt also came 'long, n' kaela joined us later.   i like gilmok, 'specially cos the owners like sooni so much.   they really like her.   of course, i had to tie her out outside, but a couple'f bunches'f middle.aged korean biznessmen kept her entertained w/ all their petting'f her etc.   they really like her.   gilmok has a good variety on their menu.   kaz ordered the awesome Ʊ agoojjim upon matt's suggestion.   i ordered ߵ dalkdoritang.   duk had ܺ dolsotbibimbap, while matt had عܺ haemooldolsotbibimbap.   man, it was such a good dinner.   i ate 2 much.   we all ate 2 much.   we just plain ordered 2 much.   it just all tasted so good, n' i hadn't had such a good korean feast in a while. *sigh*

[later] : dude, i've got more pressure@werk.com now 4 sure.   ugh, why do i feel so muddle.headed 2day?   this morn, some1 came to my cube w/ an urgent issue; i could barely talk rt!   i sounded so stoopid.   i'm rather mad 'bout that.   neway, during my lunchbrk, i went home to hang w/ sooni.   i ate 2 boca burgers.   that was very filling.   i prob'ly overate.   originally, i'd planned to eat a sensible lunch n' take sooni 4 a walk.   instead, i overate, didn't walk sooni, but vacuumed my car n' parts'f the house.   i vacuum the house often.   i do a li'l bit @ a time.   i know we need to buy a bigger, more powerful vacuum, but i never have time to $hop 4 1.

a li'l bit'f interesting websurfing:

  1. "The Secret of Getting to Sleep? Music" (y! news health - reuters): researchers from taiwan's tzu chi university say that quiet, soothing muzik's the best way to make urself fall asleep @ nite. *shrug*
  2. sandwiches you will like - pbs dokumentary that roland, kaela, n' i watched on sun.

2day was a hektic_day@werk.com.


2005.02.03

20050203

ħ: ȳ ϼ.   how r u?


2005.02.06

sierra azul

1053p: hi; what's up?   yesterday, sooni n' i hiked 4 a long time w/ my cowerkers @ sierra azul open preserve.   it was a fun day.   the weather was awesome.   there was like 9'f us or so.   [later] 1120p: the beautiful kaela hwang used me as a study prop 4 her chiropraktic studying.


2005.02.07

levels'f yuppiedom

ħ: phew, what a somewhat tiring wknd, i tell ya.   man!   well, how can i recap the wknd?   i s'ppose i've gotta resort to using an unordered list!

it's kind'f bad, but kaela n' i, being (i s'ppose) the sort'f immature "yuppies" that we cm to end up being classified as still don't feel all that ready to have kids, i've gotta say.   isn't that weird to think?   while in college, u think'f "yuppiedom" as being some kind'f pinnacle'f maturity that u might end up reaching someday whether u like it or not.   now that i'm 29, i feel that the young yuppie life is sort'f an immature thing, that i'm expekted to progress to the older yuppie life but that we're still stuck in the young yuppie life.   still, in either case, i do still resent the idea'f yuppiedom having grown up as the sk8er kid n' all cing "yuppie scum must die" t.shirts 4 sale in thrasher magazine.

[later] i need to go grocery $hopping 2day, i think.   i believe that, in order to stay w/in our budget better, kaela n' i should not go out 4 casual dinners as much as we did last wk.   i think those 3 casual dinners out'll hurt my budget 4 this month.   i need to buy some b.day presents n' stuff.   hrm... i dunno when i'll do that or what i'll get or nething.   man...

well, sun's sermon was on finances.   pastor bobby lee discussed materialism as well as giving.   he mentioned that we should consider ourselves "stewards"'f the $$$ that god's blessed us w/.   true.   i do try not to be 2 materialistik.   [later] of course, i sometimes commit gadgetlust, as we all know.   yah, i s'ppose sometimes i want gadgets, clothes, or a/v media (movies, musik) that i don't necessarily need.   i try to be a giving kind'f guy.

some things i think i need to buy 2day:

[later] : yah, during my lunchbrk, i went to albertsons.   the last time i was @ albertsons during a lunchbrk, when i got there, a young manager was arguing w/ this older, chinese employee.   it appeared that the manager was firing the guy.   well, 2day, i saw the older chinese man werking 'gain, so i guess he didn't get fired.   well, i bought some groceries.   i bought 4 cans'f tuna, a jug'f 꽺 (oj), a 0.5-gal'f milk, some almond honey bunches'f oats cereal (altho' i pondered buying some slightly more ¢o$tly, more natural looking, perhaps healthier cereal), a small head'f cabbage, an overpri¢ but on.sale block'f japanese.style fishcake, n' a small on.sale pack'f oscar mayer honey ham.


2005.02.08

i wouldn't mind some fat free chips.

ȭ ħ: here r 2 stories related to my industry, the semiconduktor industry:

yah, check out those 2 articles.   the semiconduktor industry's more exciting than u think.   heh heh...   to me, it's exciting that i'm pretty sure that these chips r made on equipment that my company makes, u know?

well, instead'f talkin' 'bout microchips, i can talk 'bout fud:   last nite, 4 dinner, i cooked sumpthin' pretty kewl.   well, originally, i thought i'd cook ramyuhn.   then, i figured that i might as well skip the ramyuhn cos'f it's hi fat content (even tho' i now boil the ramyuhn, drain it, wash it, n' then add it to new h2o 4 soup in order to reduce its fat content... a trick well.discussed in the korean community).   instead'f making instant ramyuhn (i also wanted to avoid the sodium content'f the instant soup base.), i boiled some h2o w/ some gochoojang (red pepper paste) n' added some memmi (japanese soba soup base).   then i threw in some frozen ä ո yachae sonmandoo; some japanese style  uhmook (fishcake); some sliced, white shrooms; some yangbaechoo (cabbage); n' a couple'f brown eggs.   man, it was delicious!   awesome; tasty...   yah, it was a good dinner.   yesterday evening, i werked out in the werk.com gym 4 a short while n' then went back to my cubie to werk more.   my legs were sore from hiking.   i had (what i call) shin splints (but that term has more recently been reserved 4 more serious injuries which r aktual micro.fraktures in the bone as opposed to just overstrained muscles, which is what i have, i guess).   i've been sore.   i opted to do more upper body weightlifting instead'f cardio werk cos'f my sore legs.   however, i know that on tues nites i hafta do 3 sets'f 45 pushups n' 3 sets'f 90 situps n' 50 jumping jacks @ taekwondo praktice, so i opted not to do ne benchpress.   i werked a li'l late last nite.   i wanna do well in my new position, u know?   i don't wanna let it become a dead.end job.   i wanna show that i have good potential.

[later] : i didn't go home 4 lunch.   i sort'f planned to go home 4 lunch, but i had mtgs n' other werk to do, so i ate in the werk.com café instead.   (café = cafeteria.)   i had this beef broccoli bowl.   it was ok.   i think i 1nce ordered sumpthin' similar @ 'nother lokation, @ 'nother campus; but it wasn't good that time.   this time, 'twas ok.   i ate w/ a few'f my cowerkers from the ol' program i was in 4 6 months.

i hafta plan a social event 4 our bible study 4 this upcoming fri eve.   i dunno what we should do. :-/

[later] 1014p: yah, we al know these r hektic times.   they're hektic times 4 all'f us, rn't they?   i dunno, maybe some'f u'd say u'r livin' large n' livin' phat n' havin' a gay ol' time. *shrug* i'm not sure.   how's the yr been 4 u?   i know both my mom n' kaela have been having good real estate bizness this yr.   they're both starting this yr off really well.   i know grace n' steve have started this yr off well by bringing nolan into this world.   me? i'm thankful 4 what i have n' hangin' in there.   i am very happy 'bout my new_position@werk.com.   it's nice to get more involved w/ the church bible study.   i had the opportunity to snowboard a bit so far this yr.   so far this yr, i'm getting an ok amt'f exercise.   well, some wks more than others...

well, 2nite, after werk, i hurried off to taekwondo praktice w/ sooni.   i tried to werkout hard.   after taekwondo praktice, i came home n' cooked a very, very simple dinner: a boca burger patty on some whole fuds 5.seeds bread w/ a coupl'f leaves'f romaine lettuce.   i also ate lots'f tangerines.

man, i have things here n' there that i wouldn't mind talkin' 'bout, but *shrug* i think i'm sick'f writing 2nite.   2day's tues.   2morrow's wed.   *sigh* this wk's flying by fast.   i think since i have lots'f interesting stuff to do @ werk.com these days, time flies, rt?   well, shoot.   1 thing i wanted to talk 'bout, not sumpthin' new but rather sumpthin' i talk 'bout all the time.   it's 'bout managing time. :-/ sure, u don't wanna hear 'bout it.   it's just that this is what i figure: i could spend more time in my cubicle.   what if i were to spend 12 hrs a day @ werk?   what if 4 those 12 hrs, i wasted lots'f time surfing the net n' writing e.mail?   then, wouldn't it be just as good as if i spent 8~10 hrs @ werk, 8~10 solid hrs'f doing werk?   like, if i decided to ignore kaela, sooni, the house, church, n' all my responsibilities, i could spend more time @ werk, but would i do ne more werk?   personally, i think i'd end up just wasting time there, surfing the net n' writing e.mails, etc.   it's imporatnt.   u know, i think there were times in skool, when i could sit in behind my books 4 hrs n' not learn nething.   then, there were times when i spent less time behind the books, but the time i spent was efficient.   really, it's the quality'f time u contribute, not the quantity.   i haven't posted ne pics up lately. :-( i should.




2005.02.09

carry 3 bags

ħ: yesterday afternoon, the beautiful kaela hwang called me while i was @ werk.   that happened 'lot more in the past, but lately she hasn't called me much.   in fakt, yesterday, i barely had ne contakt w/ her.   she left home sometime like 700a or so n' didn't come home to 'round midnite or later.   i don't like that, but oh well.   neway, 4 this wknd's bible study social, i asked members to vote on whether it should be on fri or sat eve.   (i also gave the choice'f sun eve, but no 1 wants that.)   well, the majority wants fri.   kaela wanted sat cos she sed she wants to study on fri nite.   (who studies on fri nites?!   what if i were to say i wanna werk late on a fri nite?!   how ridiculous does that sound?)   neway, she asked when the social event'd be, n' i regretfully told her that the majority was voting 4 fri n' she got all upset.   that really stressed me out since it's pressure 'nuff planning this thing.   neway, while she was on the fon, i got a beep notifikation on my fon that i had a new v.mail (voice mail).   after kaela hung up, i checked my v.mail.   it was the city'f santa clara telling me that i had not signed the check i sent in to pay our utility bill.   *sigh* man, why does all this ddong happen all @ 1nce, huh?   it's such a "when it rains, it pours" kind'f situation.   u know?   i might as well be on the fon having 1 stressful conversation just to switch over on call waiting to deal w/ 'nother, u know?   i guess that city werker called me rt @ the same time when kaela was calling me, n' thus she only got my v.mail.   otherwise, yah, i would've had to deal w/ both conversations @ 1nce, rt?   neway... *sigh*

this morn, i woke up ok.   the house was a li'l cold tho'.   mornings r sometimes stressful cos kaela gets mad @ me if she doesn't wake up on time.   i took sooni 4 a walk.   we walked a li'l further than we've been going lately.   ever since i started my new position, i haven't taken sooni 4 as long'f walks.   i s'ppose it's cos i try to be more careful 'bout getting to werk early.   i haven't jogged w/ sooni since i started my new position.   poor sooni...   well, we did go 4 that super.long hike on sat n' a rather long walk on sun, rt?   neway, she pooped a li'l, n' i bagged it up.   when we reached the corner korean liquor store, i threw the bag 'way in a trash can n' continued to walk sooni past a bunch'f townhomes, where she decided to poop 'gain.   she pooped 'lot.   shoot, i used my only poop bag.   *sigh* i almost never ditch her poop, but i did this morn n' feel bad 'bout it.   i'm a responsible dog owner, n' i sooo rarely ditch sooni's poop.   neway, if i ever ditch sooni's poop, i rather it be @ some place where i know the property owner hires some1 to take care'f the yard.   yah, i'd rather it be 1) @ a bizness, 2) @ a rental, or 3) @ a place where they have a homeowner's association that hires ppl to take care'f the place.   i mean, it still sucks 4 the person who eventually has to pick it up, but i know that homeowners have 'nuff to stress over besides ne dog poop on their lawn.   i'm glad our landscaping prevents other dogs from really pooping on our lawn.   i guess if u wanna keep doggies off ur lawn, u should either have a tasteful fence or else some plants protekting it.   i've cn some homeowners post up signs like "please pick up after your dog," etc.   hrm, those signs bug me cos they're so confrontational, u've gotta admit.   i wonder if some dogowners purposely have their dog poop on those lawns. *shrug*   well, what's worse r those homeowners that stick their ugly faces in their windows n' frown @ dogowners when they c a dog walk onto their lawn.   there r just some mean.hearted ppl out there that don't appreciate fuzzies, u know?   *sigh* it sucks having to deal w/ disagreeable ppl, u know?   however, they're out there.   sometimes i wish i could just resort to physiviolence, don'tchu?   however, what kind'f world would it be if we all did that?

[later] : ȣ ־.   ± ߾. i'm still@werk.com.   2day, my cowerkers from the program i was in went to lunch @ ݺȲ geumbonghwang (china china).   originally, i'd planned to hit the gym during lunch n' maybe eat a quick lunch afterwards, but the idea'f lunch @ such a nice buffet w/ friends enticed me 2 well.   hopefully, i'll hit the gym b4 going home 2nite.   i think i've werked a pretty solid day 2day. *shrug*

i figure kaela won't come home till late 'gain 2nite.   i'll just assume that.   i dunno if u think i resent her going to skool, but i don't.   i'm glad she's doing sumpthin' she likes n' is good @.   after all, b4 she went back to skool, she gave me so much grief 'bout not having direktion in her life n' feeling unfulfilled etc. :-/ this is better.   it's only temporary, the skoo part @ least.   if, in the far off future, she chooses to werk late like she studies late, that'll be 'nother issue that i can only deal w/ when n' if i get there.   it's true that ppl need to have direktion in life n' feel fulfilled.   i totally don't disagree w/ that.   pastor dave 1nce mentioned in a sermon, which happened to be 'bout adultery, that ppl sin when they don't feel they feel unfulfilled in other areas'f their lives such as their careers.   yah, that could be true.   do housewives feel unfulfilled n' thus fantasize 'bout the burly brand paper towel trademark? ha ha ha.   "desperate housewives" will make beno's list'f top overused wurds'f 2005 if it didn't already make his list'f top overused wurds'f 2004.

true, i sort'f believe the show desperate housewives is pretty smutty.   u've heard me talk my whole prudish schpiel 'bout amerikan tv.   obviously, i've got issues.   recently, i noticed that current korean pop musik singers have gotten a bit sluttier.   seriously, the innocently cutesy finklses gurls have been replaced by well... 'lot more t&a!   crazy.   when did this happen?   "You know, Fox turned into a hardcore sex channel so gradually, I didn't even notice. Yeesh!" -- marge simpson (episode 2f15 "lisa's wedding")   is this a sudden change?   eh, not really.   i guess we all heard how controversial 'twas that park jiyoon n' her dancers had exposed g.string strings as part'f their outfits in the "ν" / "suhnginshik" video.   lee junghyun had her s&mesque black rubber outfits, ppl made a big deal 'bout Ź̳ shin mina's bust...   maybe the amt'f sexuality in the kpop scene sort'f ramped up.   well, i notice this; but am i concerned?   on the 1 hand i hate to c my asian sistas get exploited 4 their sexual image.   on the other hand, i never feel that exposure'f skin automatically equates to pornography.   after all, swimmers, dancers, n' beach volleyball playas show skin.   also, even tho' i'm married, have morals, etc., i'm still hetero; so it's a li'l harder 4 me to complain 2 hard 'bout women dancing 'round 2 suggestively.   personally, i believe that the korean pop musik scene'll never be as slutty n' smutty as the amerikan pop musik scene.

diff btwn "sometime" n' "some time"

[later] 924p: so i hit the werk.com gym after werk.   i mostly did stairmaster.   i showered n' came home.   i ate some salmon 4 dinner.   as i stared @ the fridge, it took me a li'l while to decide what to eat.

somewhere, i read that dog owners should always carry a plastic bag to pick up their doggy's poop, also 1 spare, n' 1 to share; thus a total'f 3.   *sigh* maybe can i 'member to carry 3 bags always? :-/ when u'r @ the grocery store, do u get plastic or paper bags?   by default, most big supermarkets use plastic bags.   plastic bags r bad 4 the environment.   paper bags cause deforestation, rt?   i have some nice pbs style tote bags that i ought to use @ grocery stores.   however, i need plastic bags 4 poop bags.


2005.02.10

what's my age again?

ħ: there's a new soomok drama that started on sbs last wk called ȭ / yoorihwa.   on the dish netwerk menu it shows up as "vitrification."   last nite, i saw that n' thought, "what the heck?   what's 'vitrification'?   it's either some abstrakt concept or else some kind'f physical process.   as yoori is glass, maybe it's the process'f melting or making glass, especially since ȭ hwa is fire.   otherwise, maybe it's a translation taken out'f context."     when i looked up "ȭ" in the kor/eng diktionary, i ended up w/ "vitrification."   when i looked up "vitrification" on m-w.com, i got 4 "vitrify" "to convert into glass or a glassy substance by heat and fusion".   yah, my engineering intuition was headed along the correkt direktion, etc.   however, i also know that ȭ hwa can be "flower," depending on the chinese hanja used.   :-/ in that case maybe "ȭ yoorihwa"'s s'pposed to be "glass flower n' "vitrification"'s just a translation taken out'f context.   the drama stars a couple'f famous yuhnyeiin (aktors): ̵ (lee dongguhn) n' ϴ (kim haneul).   when i just now googled up "sbs ȭ" i ended up finding a page that had "grass_flower" in its url, which is great.   yah, in many asian languages "r"s get mixed w/ "l"s. :-/

last nite the beautiful kaela hwang came home ~230a. :-( eh, what can i do, u know?   i stayed up watching tv.   i saw most'f the inane, insipid, banal comedy bringing down the house w/ steve martin, queen latifah, n' eugene levy (the american pie dad).   *sigh* it's a pretty lame movie, n' i sort'f wonder why queen latifah got involved w/ it.   i thought she was into more tasteful flicks like chicago.   i watched ȭ / yoorihwa obviously n' also watched sbs α inki gayo.   after that, i watched the 2nd episode'f ߽ θ / yashim minman ("full ambition") that involved the reunion'f the turn'f the century kpop supergurlgrp fin.k.l.   it's funny cos i was just writing rt b4 that 'bout how fin.k.l. so well represents a time when the korean pop culture scene tried to appear more innocent, but well... that's a rather deceptive statement cos: 1) earlier i was watching on kbs a korean equivalent'f antiques roadshow in which an appraiser was discussing some celebrity calendars from the 1970s featuring aktresses in some pleasantly skimpy outfits n' 2) back during the finklses dynasty, i always commented that these finklses gurls were 2 "cutesy" n' that i preferred a more maturely, temptressesquely $exy image, rt?

[later] : i went home 4 lunch n' ate "rinsed" ramyuhn, meaning i boiled the palm.oil laced, fatteningly pre.fried noodles; drained the greasy h2o; rinsed the oily noodles; boiled new h2o; added all the tasty seasonings, spices, n' accessories; n' then dumped the washed noodles back into the pot.   it was a delicious lunch.   what did i add to the soup?   gochoojang, ߰ gochoogaroo, not.so.fresh white shrooms ( buhsuht), yangbaechoo (cabbage),  uhmook (fishcake), n' 1 brown egg (ް dalgyal [uhm, does the ' lyuht' phoneme in ' dal' morph into sumpthin' else in this case'f being b4 the ' gyuht' phoneme?   i've always sort'f thought that it was pronounced diff'ly... like "ܰ dangyal" or sumpthin'. :-/ maybe i'm just subconsciously mixing in mandarin.)   while i cooked n' ate, i let sooni go into the backyard n' bask in the sun.   it's so funny how she sunbathes.

recently i was thinkin' bout some recent romantik comedy flicks.   u know that recent movie the wedding date?   that's so offensively, obviously, striktly a chick flick.   plz allow me to explain.   it stars a pretty boy that no (straight) man'll ever like, n' the female lead? it's debra messing, whom gurls love, gurls n' guys both find funny, but no guy really likes despite her decent wardrobe on will n' grace.   in the past, ppl called how to lose a guy in 10 days a chick flick that guys'll like.   i found that statement to be rather true.   1st off it stars matthew mcconaughey, whom gurls can like n' guys can respekt, n' kate hudson, whom guys can like n' gurls can respekt.   next, it does explore the humour in the things that guys n' gurls do that annoy the opposite sex.   it was pretty kewl.   also, 'nother not 2 recent romantik comedy that i believe both guys n' gurls can enjoy is 50 first dates.   some professional film critics have sed that adam sandler's really immature, but this is a decently mature movie yet cute.   who's an aktress that guys like but gurls don't respekt?   the 1st name that comes to my mind'd be paris hilton.   of course, she's not really an aktress but rather famous 4 doing absolutely nuthin', but she cms to appeal to males, n' she doesn't even cm like a nice person!   i figure that ne gurl that got famous 4 doing beer ads prob'ly fit in this category.   also, those tasteless jenny mccarthy n' pamela anderson types...   hrm, i c a certain cliché stereotype developing here.   even as hetero as i am, we're venturing well into a zone that i've never really cared much 4, etc.   well, 1'f my cowerkers wants to go watch will smith's hitch this wknd.   yah, now there's a currently playing romantik comedy that sounds like a better compromise btwn a chick flick n' a sci.fi aktion flick starring only bikini.clad hotties. ha ha ha...   well, seriously, those movies do exist, but they're horrible b.movies that u'll only c on tv, rt?

ppl think that just cos i'm married to a gurl as hot as a supermodel that i must be loaded, but i'm not.

[later] u know what? i akt my age!!! check out: http://www.blogthings.com/whatagequiz/!   my result?   "You Are 29 Years Old.   You are a twentysomething at heart.   You feel excited about what's to come... love, work, and new experiences.   well, i am 29!   i'll be 29 4 a few more months.


2005.02.11

onus

ݿ ħ: yesterday evening, i came home from werk @ a normal time: not 2 early, not 2 late.   to my big surprise, when i opened our garage door, i found the beautiful kaela hwang's kia sportage  ڵ already in there.   it was a pleasant surprise.   she aktually came home @ a decent hr! :-o sooni was outside in the backyard in the dark.   kaela'd apparently put her out there while the sun was still up.   the house was dark, n' i found kaela asleep in our dark bdrm w/ her motorola v710 playing some silly mp3.   she'd apparently set it as an alarm.   well, i woke her up.   we stayed home.   i cooked some ragtag pasta, n' we watched tv.   i went to bed w/o showering but showered in the morn.

lots'f ppl end up @ my page by googling 4 plaza-sesamo2.jpg.

beno hwang: husband, dog owner, homeowner

never 4get how fahad was telling me that muslims have this philosophy that involves splitting ur life into 3 stages: the 1st 1/3'f ur life is devoted to ur parents, the 2nd 1/3'f ur life is devoted to ur kids, n' the last 1/3'f ur life is devoted to urself.   that's a very interesting philosophy, don'tchu think?   u must.   it's very profound.   however, i'm @ a stage in my life where i believe i've outgrown "living 4 my parents," as a man rapidly approaching 30 shouldn't be so tied to his parents, rt?   however, i don't yet have kids, no.   hrm... then 'gain, kaela sez sooni's "our baby."   thus, ain't i s'pposed to live 4 sooni? ha ha ha.   well, she'd like that.   i feed her.   i walk her.   i pick up her poop.   my life belongs to god.   after that, my life belongs to my wife.   after that, maybe my life belongs to me, but i dunno.   i am but a steward'f my own life, (n' i don't mean that in the blasephemous way dubyah called himself "a good steward of the land" during the 2004 debates [an excellent example'f using the lord's name in vain]).   [later] : as i've sed b4, the biggest way that marriage has changed me is that i feel more responsible now.

my grp'f cowerkers went to darda in milpitas square 4 lunch, but the carload i went w/ was very tardy.   milpitas square was jam.packed on a fri lunchbrk.   in the end, the 4'f us could not join the rest'f the grp @ darda n' instead went to penang garden malaysian n' singaporean restaurant nearby.   it was an ok lunch.   my indian mee goreng (which was like pad thai) was ok; maybe a li'l 2 greasy.   i drank lots'f tea cos the noodles were greasy.   on our roundabout drive back, i pted out kaela's skool to my cowerkers.

i was reading this y! news world ap asia article "N. Korean Bluff Is Typical, Experts Say" n' came 'cross the sentence "The North Koreans are reluctant to go to the next round because they know the onus is on them to table a counteroffer to the offer the U.S. laid on the table," said Gary Samore of the London-based International Institute for Strategic Studies.   what's an "onus"?   according to m-w.com, an "onus" is "a disagreeable necessity."   oh, ok.

[a li'l later] hrm, how come our house is so messy now?   u know what?   i think it was cleaner b4 the last christmas season.   i think ever since then, we haven't been able to clean it up, huh?   rt?   'member? we used to have guests over now n' then, but ever since this past christmas, our house has been so unpresentable.   also, i think lately, we've been to such well.kept houses, that we feel even worse 'bout our mess, so we get discouraged n' don't even try to clean up, huh?   this is really bad.   when i look 'round our house, what is the main prob i c?   hrm... i notice lots'f packaging.   we have lots'f old paper n' plastik bags that we don't need to save but save.   yah, i know kaela's n' my main prob is our desire to save things, whether it be 4 memory's sake, 4 environmental reasons, ekonomic reasons (belief that we'll need it later), etc.   true...   we need to throw out old magazines, old shopping bags, old clothes, old papers...   yah, papers! ugh, so many friggin' skool papers that no 1'll ever care to look @ 'gain.   that's 'nother big, big problem.   bags, papers, junkmail, magazines, old clothes, old wrapping paper, old catalogs...   papers, skool papers, receipts...   i never know how long i need to keep receipts 4 tax purposes n' which receipts!

[later] 2nite w/ our t3s grx couples bible study grp, we're gonna go to seto japanese restaurant in sunnyvale (511 borregas ave; sunnyvale, ca 94085; fon: 408.735.8280).   our friend mary ann sez it's good, so we'll c.   she sed they have an awesome "melon sorbet," so i can't wait to try that out.   i'd better get some ca$h b4 we go out.   should i try to swing by the atm b4 i go home, or should i go pick up sooni n' go to the atm? *shrug*

a li'l while 'go, i felt a li'l hungry.   by chance, i opened up my book cabinet n' found the 2 fortune cookies i left in there on wed afternoon.   i'd gotten those cookies from ݺȲ geumbonghwang (china china), when my cowerkers lunched their @ the buffet.   i ate them.   the 2 fortunes?

  1. you will do well to expand your business.
  2. you are a bundle of energy, always on the go.
earlier this wk, i had a fortune cookie from the werk.com café, where i had that beef broccoli rice bowl.   that fortune read: "your present plans are going to succeed."   i'd like to think so.

[later] back to an earlier topik: even tho' i've sed i don't feel i've reached that level'f maturity that others in my age range have reached in being parents, do i feel more mature cos i'm married?   as i sed earlier, i feel more responsible cos i'm married.   do i feel more mature?   :-/ well, let's put it this way: 'member how mark n' grace sed kaela n' i don't really akt like married ppl in that we're the married couple they know that goes out the most n' still does aktive things the most?   yah, i guess they have a pt in saying that.   perhaps we haven't reached some given pt'f maturity.   else, maybe we r just trying to stay young.   *shrug* in many ways, i'd love to have kids.   however, i'm scared'f it.   i'm scared'f the responsibility n' (honestly) the financial load.   i very much want to have kids someday but not yet.   in a way, both kaela n' i r restarting our careers.   kaela, she obviously taken her career down not the most "direkt" path, in that, she went thru all that skooling, got her mph (master of publik health) degree, werked in publik health 4 a li'l, quit that, got into real estate, then also went back into skool 4 her dc (doktor'f chiropraktic).   me? i got out'f skool w/ my bsme (bachelor of science in mechanical engineering), went to werk 4 that startup 4 ~ 5 yrs, stayed there that whole time, sort'f "went down w/ the ship" in a way, went back to skool 4 my msme (master of science in mechanical engineering), n' have recently been sort'f restarting my career.   it's a much less direkt path than some ppl realise.   i think some ppl assume that cos i'm a mechanical engineer that my career path thus far has been very straight4ward, but that's not true.   in a way, i've had to start over.   cos'f this indirektness; yah, i've gotta admit that i'm prob'ly not as financially wealthy as i could've been if i'd maybe taken a more "direkt" career path. *shrug* so neway, maybe i akt younger than i am.   maybe i look younger than i am.   ppl r often surprised to hear that i'm already 29.   in some ways that's good; in some ways that's bad.

man, i've gotta call the buy.com customer service ppl sometime: 877.780.2464


2005.02.12

martial farts

1208a: on the discovery times channel, they're playing 2 shows'f extreme interest to me:

  1. jesus: the complete story
  2. martial arts: the real story
dude! what's up? jesus? martial arts?   dude! all they've gotta do is add in a show 'bout snowboarding n' maybe 'nother 'bout djing, n' they'd have me stuck on their channel 4 a good 4 hrs or so, rt? heh heh... [later] dude, i'm watching this martial arts program, but it's uh... rather "insulting to my intelligence," i guess u'd say.   it's aktually not a bad dokumentary, but i've heard this all b4, 'specially from doug kim when he mced the big martial arts demos @ the smithsonian institute's silk rd festival in 2002.   really, i'm posi+ive doug kim's done better research on martial arts history than ne'f these ppl!


2005.02.14

v.day

ħ: happy v.day!   [later] do u have plans 4 2day?   is it a special day 4 u?   yah, i think it's a special day.   i have plans, n' i might as well share them here cos i won't post this entry up until after 2nite, rt?   sure, these plans are a li'l bit'f a surprise 4 the beautiful kaela hwang, but she won't read this entry till long after they happen.   well, 2nite, yah, i plan to take kaela out 4 dinner.   we're going to faz in sunnyvale (1108 n mathilda ave; sunnyvale, ca 94089; fon = 408.752.8000).   it's s'pposed to be a nice restaurant, n' it's close.   we'll c.   i've heard it's a nice "mediterranean" restaurant, but i've never been there, of course.     by "mediterranean," i think they're more meaning like "italian" than "persian."

neway, b4 that, i plan to "serenade" her. :-? huh?   yah, i'm gonna go back to my hi skool n' college days, take out the acoustic guitar, n' sing a mooshy love song.   i've been prakticing a li'l.   what song?   se7en's "" ("moonshin" / tattoo).   in a way, i sort'f wish i could find a happy happy love song, but this is 1'f those love songs in which a guy talks 'bout how he can never 4get some gurl that left him.   that's why its title means "tattoo," cos the gurl's like a tattoo on him, u know?   rather, the thought'f or the memory'f the gurl's like a tattoo on him.   neway, sure, it's not like a "i'm so happy to be w/ u rt now" love song like eric clapton's "beautiful tonite" (which i used to know how to play...), but it really brings out that silly, horny college boy playing a cheesy love song to a gurl in his dorm room feel, u know?   i mean, that's what john mayer basikally gets paid millions to be, rt?   i mean, u hear stories'f silly college boys playing the eagles' "desperado" (a song where don henley asks some guy why he's so picky) on a piano in a dorm rec room causing some gurl to gush all over him, so yah... this is romantik in that way, rt?   basikally, as a guy rapidly approaching 30, i figure it'll be fun to akt like stoopid, horny college kids 4 a few mins, rt?   kaela n' i never got to live that immature college dorm life 2gether, so well... we can sort'f pretend 4 a few mins 2nite, rt? ha ha.   also, se7en's this justin timberlakesque teen gurl boy idol.   his musik's sort'f r&bish, so yah... it's really the kind'f thing a college boy on the prowl in a dorm could sing to a gurl, rt?

i also got her a present.   it's a new wallet or "clutch" from coach.   she was looking @ some the other wknd @ valley fair, so it was pretty obvious that i needed to get 1 4 her.   i hope she likes this 1.   the style's a li'l more modern, so *shrug* maybe some ppl'd say it looks diff, u know?   i didn't wanna pick 1 that was 2 common, u know?

[later] : during my lunchbrk, i got 'lot done.   i had a superfast haircut @ this vietnamese "salon" on lawrence expwy near arques.   after that, i bought some flowers @ the vietnamese florist next door.   i patronised 'lot'f vietnamese merchants 2day, as u c!   i went home, i made a sandwich, n' i fed sooni.   i left her out in the backyard, but i'm worried that it'll start raining this afternoon. <:-(

hrm, where did i leave off updating u?   on fri eve, w/ our t3s grx couples bible study grp, kaela n' i went to seto japanese restaurant in sunnyvale (511 borregas ave; sunnyvale, ca 94085: fon = 408.735.8280).   i already mentioned this, n'est-ce pas?   kaela n' i had a (do ppl say "buttload"?) a whole bunch'f sushi.   u know what's awesome @ seto is there fruit sorbets, where they fill some fruit up w/ homemade sorbet.   (doesn't it sound silly to say "homemade" to describe fud made @ a restaurant?!)   kaela n' i had the melon sorbet, where they take a uh... wait a sec! was it a cantaloupe or a honeydew?!   well, the sorbet was similar to the korean honeydew "melon bars, but it was served as if it were a wedge'f a melon.   uhm, i can't 'member if it was a honeydew or a cantaloupe, but the simulated flesh'f the fruit was made'f green sorbet.   also, i 'member that the inside'f the rind was green. :-? hrm, well, gregory in our grp took some nice pics.   i'd like to c those pics.   my best guess is that the rind resembled that'f a cantaloupe, so they either used some kind'f weird green cantaloupe or else, just by carving 'way the orangeish part'f the melon, they left only the green part'f the melon that blends into the rind. :-/ is it hard to explain n' hard to imagine?   well, they also make a peach sorbet n' strawberry sorbet, apparently.   after dinner, i agreed to dj susan n' gregory's wedding in may.   2day i also received an e.mail enquiry/inquiry 'bout djing an ol' ivcf (intervarsity christian fellowship) friend's wedding.   wow.

[later] so uhm, where did i leave off updating u?   well, on fri nite, i staye dup 2late watching tv.   i usually watch korean tv, but on fri nite i watched those 2 dokumentaries on discovery times: the jesus 1 n' the martial arts 1.   on sat, i went to church 4 "salt," a leadership training event.   that was in the morn.   after that, i came home n' was gonna head out to tom chung's auto sound plus store rt 'way but couldn't help stick 'round n' clean 4 a li'l.   kaela was off studying.   i brought soon w/ me to tom's store.   tom's still very amazed @ how well.trained sooni is now.   he told me that when sooni was a puppy, she used to follow him to the store w/o a leash n' sit in place.   then as she got older, she started running off on her own.   wow.   it's so fun to hear 'bout her history.   he told me that he used to bring her to a vet rt behind his store all the time.   she has a file there.   we'll hafta look into bringing her there when her shots r due.   that'll be next month.   crazy, huh?   next month, after fahad n' wendy's 1st wedding anniversary, will be our anniversary'f acquiring sooni.   ha ha.   well, tom coulnd't fix my stereo.   he sed it's the aktual head unit that's busted not the connektor, as kaz thought.   tom recommends i go out to best buy n' buy a new head unit.   he warned tho' that i'll prob'ly need to get a new amp n' subwoofer cos my current 1 prob'ly won't werk w/ ne other unit. *sigh* it does suck that my car stereo broke this yr, especially since it's an un4seen co$t, u know?   of course, i've gotta decide how much i'm willing to $pend on this: do i want a nice stereo or just 1 that'll get by?   i dunno.   i could buy a nice dvd/gps system or just a cr@ppy tape deck, rt?   well, after the visit to tom's auto sound plus, i brought sooni to sunnyvale's las palmas park 4 a walk.   it was a beautiful day, n' i saw that jindo puppy in that backyard 'gain.   it's very cute.   after that, i brought sooni home.   uhm, i prob'ly cleaned up some more, i 4get.   then i went to valley fair to get kaela's v.day present.   the mall was crowded, as u'd expekt.   i sensed that kaela wanted to go to valley fair as well, even tho' she was studying.   i worried that she'd come n' find me $hopping 4 her gift.   later, when i came home, i found out she had gone to valley fair b4 me n' bought a coffee maker.   b4 going home, i stopped by longs drugs to buy a tax box n' safeway to buy produce to make ¥ jjajangmyuhn.   i made ¥ saewoo jjajangmyuhn (shrimp).   i've gotta admit that it was pretty good.   that frozen, peeled, raw shrimp from safeway ain't 2 cheap but very convenient n' decently tasty.

on sun, we went to church a li'l late (to the early service).   pastor steve lo talked 'bout "real life spirituality."   it was 1nce 'gain an awesome sermon.   really, i really urge u to listen to the sermons online!   whether u'r christian, non.christian, anti.christian, whatever... u'll really get sumpthin' out'f these msgs!!!   recently, i had a thought that pertained to sunday's msg: in the not so distant past, i always felt that i was maybe "the best" 'mongst my non.church friends but "the worst" 'mongst my church friends.   i.e., i felt that i was the least sinful 'mongst my non.church friends but the most sinful 'mongst my church friends.   was that true?   was that a façade?   *shrug* in ne case, since we started going to grx, that feeling's sort'f faded.   is it cos i feel the ppl @ grx r not as holy?   no, it's cos i feel that i am in a christian community that better knows that it isn't important who's holier than whom!   we're not here to be totally pure n' sinless.   we're here cos we're 4given.
" ٸ ڱ Բ ñ⸦ ûϴ ̿ ٸ  ׿ ڰ ־ ٸ ˰ ͼ ڷ 翡 ð ڱ Ӹз İ ߿ Ը߰ û ٸ ̰ ̸ ڴ ڱ⸦ ڰ  ˾ ϰŴ Ͽ ø װ ̸ ִ Ͻô ε ϼҼ ִ ڰ ־ ϳ ϳ µ Ƿ Ͽ ־ ߿ ϰڴ ø Ͽ ε ڴ̴ Ǵ Ǵ Ͻð ڸ ƺø ø󿡰 ̸õ ڸ ʴ ƴϿ ڴ ð Ӹз ľ ʴ Ը ƴϿ κ ߿ Ը߱⸦ ġ ƴϿ ʴ Ӹ ƴϿ ߿ ξ϶ ̷Ƿ װ ϳ ˰ Ͽ ̴ ̶ ڴ ϴ϶ ̿ ڿ ̸õ ϶ Ͻô Բ ڵ ϵ ̰ ̱⿡ ˵ ϴ° ϴ ڿ ̸õ ʸ Ͽ Ͻô϶"
736~50
"now one of the pharisees invited jesus to have dinner with him, so he went to the pharisee's house and reclined at the table.   when a woman who had lived a sinful life in that town learned that jesus was eating at the pharisee's house, she brought an alabaster jar of perfume; and as she stood behind him at his feet, weeping, she began to wet his feet with her tears.   then she wiped them with her hair, kissed them, and poured perfume on them.   when the pharisee who had inveted him saw this, he said to himself, 'if this man were a prophet, he would know who is touching him and what kind of woman she is -- that she is a sinner.'   jesus answered him, 'simon, i have something to tell you.'   'tell me, teacher,' he said.   'two men owed money to a certain moneylender.   one owed him five hundred denarii, and the other fifty.   neither of them had the money to pay him back, so he canceled the debts of both.   now which of them will love him more?'   simon replied, 'i suppose the one who had the bigger debt canceled.'   'you have judged correctly,' jesus said.   then he turned toward the woman and said to simon, 'do you see this woman?   i came into your house.   you did not give me any water for my feet, but she wet my feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair.   you did not give me a kiss, but this woman, from the time i entered, has not stopped kissing my feet.   you did not put oil on my head, but she has poured perfume on my feet.   therefore, i tell you, her many sins have been forgiven -- ofr she loved much.   but he who has been forgiven little loves little.'   then jesus said to her, 'your sins are forgiven.'   the other guests began to say among themselves, 'who is this who even forgives sins?'   jesus said to the woman, 'your faith has saved you; go in peace.'"
luke 7:36~50
" ϴ ˰ŴϿ ϰ ϱ ϸ ⵵ ϶"
߰ 119
"my dear brothers, take note of this: everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry..."
james 1:19
these r a couple'f passages we studied during sunday's sermon.   i like them.


2005.02.15

constant rain

: so i didn't finish recapping the wknd, i guess.   well, yesterday was v.day.   i hope u had a good 1.   i guess things went as planned 4 me. :-) it was a very rainy nite tho'.   it took me a while just to get home from werk.   i did stop @ the nearby shell station to buy a li'l bit'f overpri¢ed petro (gas) to ensure that i didn't run out'f gas going to or from the restaurant.   when i got home, i found the beautiful kaela hwang already dressed n' prettied up, ready to go.   she was sitting @ the kitchen table, studying n' listening to some internet radio.   i got dressed.   i revealed to her that our dinner reservation was 4 800p not 700p but that i had a special surprise 4 her, that i was gonna sing 4 her.   n' so i did. :-) on sun, when i rehearsed, my voice was bad.   i guess i had a froggy throat on sun.   i'm glad my throat was clear last nite.   i hope she liked the song. :-)   well, then we got in the car, n' i drove us thru the rain to faz.

faz in sunnyvale is located in the sheraton hotel near lockheed.   i didn't know it was in a hotel.   it's a big restaurant.   it was pretty crowded still.   well, the summary 4 the dinner is that the fud was great but the service wasn't 2 great.   [later, after eating lunch @ the werk.com café (turkey panini w/ shroom salad)] 4 v.day, faz had a special prix fixe dinner menu.   i was sort'f surprised as i was reminded that fax does have dishes that r more persian.style, not just italian.style.   ok, kewl.   kaela ordered: oysters, valentine's salad, lobster n' scallop fettucine, n' strawberry crêpes.   me, i ordered the "mediterranean platter" (hummus, babaganoush, dolmas), the valentine's salad as well, the rack'f lamb w/ basmati rice, n' the berry cheesecake.   we also had a bottle'f 2003 mezzacorona pinot grigio (was s'pposed to be 2002) n' a couple'f nf decaf lattés.

[later] it's been a consistently rainy day 2day.   i did not take sooni 4 a walk this morn cos it was pouring.   i considered going home 4 lunch but saw that it was raining so decided to eat@werk.com in hopes'f saving time n' getting more werk done.   hopefully, i'll go to taekwondo praktice 2nite, but i'll feel really bad if it's still raining n' sooni can't come n' sit outside.   we'll c.   [later] days continue to get longer.   [later] we're s'pposed to go snowboarding on sat @ northstar.   i do worry 'bout the pres day crowd.   it's a 3.day wknd.   on sat, we go snowboarding.   on sun, after church, we're going to dave n' emily's baby shower.   i assume they know 'bout their own baby shower n' that i'm not putting ne surpise in jeopardy, rt?   it's not like ppl read this website neway. :-/

[later] 806p: so i'm skipping taekwondo praktice rt now. :-( it's just that it's sooo rainy outside rt now, n' yah... since i did not come home 4 lunch, i feel obligated as a good dogowner to spend some time w/ sooni @ home. :-/ that's kind'f weird, huh?   *shrug* it's really raining hard.   it's even dangerous to be driving 2nite. :-/ well, i came home from werk n' was really hungry, so i warmed up the leftovers'f my rack'f lamb dinner from last nite.   i ate it.   it wasn't 2 much, so i'm still hungry.   i dunno what to do cos i'm hungry but shouldn't eat 2 much since i'm not getting ne exercise these days, u know?   well, just a li'l while 'go, i lifted my 25.lb dumbbells 4 a while.   it's ok exercise, but it's not real exercise.   :-( i really wish i could get some real exercise.   if only it weren't raining, then i could go jogging w/ sooni.   however, if it weren't raining, i'd be @ taekwondo praktice 2nite.   hrm, this sucks cos if i skip tues nite, i prob'ly won't do taekwondo @ all this wk! :-o that's awful.   un4tunately, these days, i usually skip sparring praktices, which r on thurs nites. :-/ *sigh*

well, hrm, did i finish talkin' 'bout this wknd?   what did i do?   uhm, did i mention going to las palmas park on sat?   i think i did.   did i mention cing that jindo puppy 'gain?   i think i did.   ok, where did i leave off on sun then?   church...   after church, kaela n' i went to costco.   we came home, ate ¥ saewoo jjajangmyuhn leftovers.   then what?   oh yah, i spent the whole rest'f the day cleaning the house; i really did.   is it clean?   nooooo waaaay!   our house has been very messy ever since kaela went to chiropraktic skool, u know.   it's not that i expekt her to "do the cleaning 'round here," it's just that the situation now's definitely just 1 person cleaning up after 2 ppl, while in the past kaela was able to clean some 2, u know?   oh well...   hrm, what else happened on sun?   oh yah, i went to the mall, rt?   or... no... that was sat!!! ha ha ha, i'm getting mixed up.   yah, don't listen to me; i'm losing credibility. ha ha ha.   ok, lessee... sun... oh yah, 4 dinner, i cooked these portabella/portabello/portobello shroom stuffed steaks that we bought @ costco.   yah, so we've been eating more than what's healthy n' exercising less than what's healthy. :-( [later] man, it's cold, it's rainy; it's still winter.   [later] 856p: the rain's really not letting up.   this reminds me'f feb 1995 in berkeley when the sun didn't come out 4 the whole month.


2005.02.16

arf arf barf

: nuts, i called yesterday " sooyoil" (in yesterday's entry), while it was aktual "ȭ hwayoil."   i'll hafta fix that.   hey, i changed my gbook questions a while 'go, so u should sign it 'gain.   i never mentioned it, but i changed them a while 'go.   plz sign it.   so far, no 1 has. :-(   yesterday, sometime, sooni barfed.   i dunno when or why.   this morn, when i was 'bout to take out the trash, i saw a coupl'f splotches'f vomit.   she aktually picked a very good place to barf.   i won't tell u where cos then u'll always be looking 4 that spot when u visit.   aktually, it was a good spot.   u don't need to worry.   really!   she's smart.   i mean... *sigh* i guess ideally she should've yakked into the toilet bowl. :-/   however, along those lines, even tho' she's fully housetrained, she ought to pee n' poop in the toilet, rt?   i dunno why she puked but hope she's not sick.   i didn't go home 4 lunch yesterday cos it was raining so hard n' consistently n' cos i was bizzy.   i didn't go home 4 lunch 2day cos i'm bizzy.   i took some time to visit adobe (the software company, the 1 that makes acrobat) this morn to do a usability study n' earn $75.   that was kewl.   not just ne 1 can do that study; they specifically wanted me cos i'm a cad (computer.aided drafting) user.   neway, i've gotta werk hard all afternoon to make up 4 lost time.   i ate some kind'f indian chicken sandwich from the werk.com café 4 lunch.   it wasn't very indian n' wasn't all that great.   it was definitely edible but not da bomb or nething.   it's not raining rt now, but i worry it'll start raining 'gain 2nite.   i wish i were home rt now n' could let sooni out.   this morn, she eagerly went out to the backyard to pee.   last nite, she wouldn't go outside cos it was raining, so i worried how she'd pee.   well, this morn, i opened the backdoor, n' she came rapidly trotting over, eager to go pee. ha ha ha.   neway, sorry to have 1'f those "sooni journal" journal entries that just talk 'bout how sooni pees, poops, n' barfs.   :-/ i'm still sad that i didn't exercise or go to taekwondo praktice last nite.

as of this past v.day, olivetree.com has their new niv bible 4 palm os n' pocket pc!   i've been using the "litv" version'f their bible 4 the past couple'f months or so.   i'm most used to the niv version'f the bible.   however, now that i've been using the "litv" version, i really question why so many ppl stick to the "niv' version.   i 'member that in berkeley, in ivcf, i had a friend who specifically did not like the nive bible.   i dunno why.   he might've used the "asrv" or sumpthin' like that; i 4get.   is there sumpthin' wrong w/ the niv, or did he just wanna be diff?   i wonder 'bout the politiks behind these bible versions.   4 now, i'll stick to my free litv bible (4 palm os) instead'f paying $24.95 4 the niv bible, not just cos i'm trying to $ave $$$ but cos i want to check out this other bible version just to c how it's diff from the niv version.   well, 1 thing i do like 'bout the new niv version that's available 4 palm os is that it's a red.letter edition w/ jesus's aktual wurds in red.   i like that cos i feel that many christians get off track by not emphasizing 'nuff the aktual life n' wurds'f jesus.   after all, some christians cm to emphasize more the jewish laws'f the pharisees more than they do the philosophies n' teachings'f jesus!   me, i'm most inspired by the teachings n' wurds'f jesus, but some christians have beef w/ that, i know; n' i think that's weird.   how can they go off saying that jesus was 2 4giving n' 2 nice?! :-/ that doesn't sound very "christian' 2 me.   what, do they feel they're holier than jesus?   u know, deep down, i think some christians do.

i wish i could get some exercise 2nite, but i'm gonna go w/ my cowerker friend to help him pick out a snowboard to buy @ tri.city 2nite.   i wish i could get some exercise.   i wonder what's 4 dinner.   i hope sooni's not sick.   shoot, i need to wet.pruf my snowgear 'gain!   my snowboarding jacket!   i washed it but didn't rewet.pruf it! :-o

[later] the famous s.mike has his own startup company w/ an end.user produkt.   check out: http://www.xpad4laptop.com.   u should buy 1. [later] ha ha, that's my sales pitch.

this afternoon, i've been sort'f hungry despite having eaten lunch.   i think my stomach's un4tunately stretched out from 2 much feasting.   'member all those korean feasts a coupl'f wks 'go?   that as well our v.day feast...   last nite, i just ate those leftovers n' some quaker rice cakes... oh, n' a nectarine.   i tried not to eat 2 much.

[later] there was 1 day when i left sooni out 4 the entire afternoon.   was that on fri?   it was a rainy afternoon, n' the beautiful kaela hwang came home to find sooni miserably sitting by the backdoor welcome mat, getting wet from the rain, looking very sad. :-( i hope she didn't get sick from that.   i mean, i wonder if that's why she barfed.   neway, i think she's a li'l scared that i'll lock her out 'gain cos she was so reluktant to go outside last nite.   then 'gain, it was raining very hard.   this morn, we went out 4 a nice walk.   aktually, i guess it hasn't rained yet 2day, rt?   however, it's s'pposed to start raining 2nite.   it might be a rainy wknd here in the bay area n' a snowy wknd up in tahoe.   s.mike's coming up 4 emily n' dave's baby shower.   s.mike sed he'd hang w/ us a bit but can't drive up here in time to go snowboarding w/ us.

it's been very exciting to follow the news coverage'f my company's fy2005q1 financial per4mance.   i guess it was better than expekted.   [a li'l later] i tell ya, it's exciting to hear my company's name in the local financial news report so many morns.   well, of course, i like to hear good news more than bad news, rt? ha ha. [later] when i werked 4 the east bay municipal utility distrikt (ebmud), i'd sometimes hear 'bout my company on the news cos'f politiks, labour disputes, or environmental health issues.   when i werked 4 the startup, i didn't really hear 'bout my company on the news, but it did get a nice article in popular science magazine.   that was pretty awesome.   btw, that company has been reborn as microscience group.   hrm, the acronym "ms' pretty much belongs to microsoft, but i wonder if "msg" doesn't sound good.

i really do wonder what's 4 dinner n' think it's un4tunate that my stomach cms to have stretched out from 2 much overeating.   it's cold.   ppl eat more when it's cold.


2005.02.17

"tibetan" chain letter

1118p: 2day, my sister sent me this "tibetan" personality test.   i'd cn a variant'f it several yrs 'go during the heyday'f the cal taekwondo p.crew, u know?   neway, it's sort'f a chain letter cos it promises good luck if u pass it on, but it's not totally a chain letter cos it doesn't threaten bad luck, i s'ppose.   neway, it's this "personality test."   u've likely already cn this "personality" test, so i don't think i'll bother posting it up here, but i don't mind sharing some'f the interesting or else funny results.

so that test was all rather silly, huh?   yah.

*sigh* i'm still wishing i could get more exercise.   2day, during lunch, i went to orchard supply hardware to buy sawhorses in hopes'f making snowboard waxing an easier task on my back.   when i got home, i realised i could just use kaela's real estate open house signs.   oh well, i kept the saw horses n' have used them now.   also, during lunch, i bought some groceries from albertsons.   yah, 2nite, sharath came over, n' we waxed snowboards in the garage.   i baked a frozen veggie pizza, the kind i bought from costco but that is also sold in whole fuds.   oh yah, this afternoon, after i ate lunch, i left sooni outside in the backyard cos she wanted to stay out there.   it rained this afternoon.   when i came home, sooni sure wanted to be inside.

feb's flying by fast, ain't it?   2morrow's our wkly bible study in the evening.   we shouldn't stay out 2late cos we've gotta drive up to tahoe in the morn.   bizzy bizzy wknd!   after church on sun, s.mike'll hang out w/ us a li'l, he sed, b4 we go up to union city 4 emily n' dave's baby shower.   it is a 3.day wknd, but i feel like it's gonna be a packed wknd nonetheless.


2005.02.18

worms on the sidewalk, worms in the gutter

ݿ ħ: this morn, yesterday noon, n' yesterday morn, when i took sooni 4 walks, i noticed lots'f earthworms crawlin' 'cross the wet sidewalk.   aktually, yesterday, i saw lots'f worms on the sidewalk.   2day, i saw lots'f worms in the flooded street gutters. :-/ it's a li'l gross to c those submerged worms.   yesterday, when i saw them crawling 'cross the sidewalk going from lawns to the street gutter, i wanted to pick them up n' fling them back onto the lawns out'f fear that the sun'd come out n' many'f'em'd get dried out n' die. :-( sure, worms r a li'l gross, but they do good things 4 soil, rt?   isn't that the deal u learn as an elementary skool student?   worms, worms, worms...   oh yah, speaking'f worms, last nite, i had a spyware prob on my desktop pc that i almost never use.   :-? luckily, per4ming a system restore fixed the prob.   it was scary.   i don't want nemore 'puters in our household to end up like the beautiful kaela hwang's supernice sony vaio laptop, which un4tunately has a bad case'f the coolwebsearch virus spyware.

: during my lunchbrk, i met up w/ dukkyung @ costco to buy the lift tix 4 2morrow's snowboarding @ northstar.   i ran into 2'f my cowerkers who went there to buy costco membership.   duk kyung n' i ate polish dogs n' drank soda.   he paid 4 the fud this time.   i wasn't gonna let him pay, but i guess it's sumpthin' small.   after buying n' splitting up the tix, we both bought gas there r $1.939/gal.   i've been eating really poorly lately. :-( polish dog?   b4 leaving the office, i had a huge doughnut, 1'f those twist sticks.   it was like 2 doughnuts.   well, i haven't yet finished it.   however, it's just plain awful how i've been eating so much n' werking out so little.   i don't like that.   i need to get exercise!

"well, even though valley fair isn't the "rodeo drive of the silly valley" that santana row is across the street, it's still a nice mall.   i feel like i shouldn't look too shabby when i go there."   i included that in my "review"'f the mall on evite.com.


2005.02.22

̾ϴ, Ѵ ȸ

ȭ ħ: 2nite's the last episode'f kbs's awesome, awesome drama ̾ϴ, Ѵ / mianhada, saranghanda.   i'll try to watch as much'f it as i can b4 heading off to ±ǵ taekwondo yuhnsuhb.   (ha ha ha, u say it's dorky that i wrote that in ѱ hangeul, n' u'r absoultely right!   it's aktually dorky waaay beyond belief, n' u know it.)   what's up?   this past wknd was the ɳ daetongryuhngnal (daetongnyuhng?) wknd.   we packed it pretty full, u know.

fri nite, i went to t3s grx couples bible study @ 1'f our member couple's home in south, south san jo, over off'f hellyer.   that's where we're mtg this 0.25, u know?   the beautiful kaela hwang n' i were in charge'f bringing refreshments.   i brought some 2.litres'f soda n' a storebought tray'f fruit.filled tarts but felt so awful 4 bringing such guy fud, in that it sure didn't look like i had the creativity or thoughtfulness that a woman would've had.   kaela was originally gonna make some guacamole n' also bring some bagel bites.   she had sent me to safeway to buy tortilla chips on my hasty (or 'least rushed) return home from werk (in the evening).   it's hard to do grocery shopping on my way home from werk cos the commute's not all that fun here in the heart'f the silicon valley (the silly valley).   in the end, kaela skipped bible study in order to study 4 her midterm, which is 2day, i guess.   who studies on a fri nite?!   n' of those ppl who try to study on fri nites, who aktually does?   well, bible study was fine.   i didn't hang 'round much, since kaela was @ home, n' yah... she was a li'l under the weather since thurs.

on sat, my cowerker friend "shark" woke us up early to go snowboarding in tahoe.   yah, we were heading up w/ my cowerker friends n' mtg up w/ our taekwondo friends up @ northstar.   northstar was 2 crowded cos'f all those college students, yuppies, n' families alike who all bought double whammy passes this season.   really, northstar n' sierra, which r good resorts, r sooo crowded this season cos'f all those double whammy pass holders.   northstar n' sierra have really led the way in making season passes sumpthin' the normal person can own.   of course sugar bowl n' kirkwood have followed their lead.   this yr, kaela n' i don't have season passes, so i'm a li'l sad that snowboarding's been a bigger strain on our budget than it could be.   neway, it was a pretty good day'f snowboarding even tho' i only got to do lots'f freeride n' not really ne freestyle.   i didn't get to hit a single ramp or rail.   i guess i got to do a li'l bit'f "jibbin'," which i often do when i ride w/ freeriders n' skiers, u know?   we were the most experienced boarders in our group.   however, many'f our taekwondo friends r rather fearless n' learn fast.

1047p: ٶ󸶹ٻ īŸ! ganadaramabasa ajachakatapaha!

1135p: ok, i finished watching the last episode'f ̾ϴ, Ѵ / mianhada, saranghanda.   this evening, i started watching it on kbs but had to leave to taekwondo praktice.   now, i watched the rest online.   really, it's 1'f the best korean dramas i've ever cn!!! no kidding!   it's really awesome!!!

2nite, i went to taekwondo praktice.   afterwards, a bunch'f us guys went to ¥ yeitnal jjajng on el camino real.   i ate 2 much.   'nother korean feast, 'cept this time it was aktually chinese fud!   oh, u know what was ultra kewl?   the nice ܸ ajoomma there let sooni sit inside!!!   sooni liked that.   i had « («?) jjambong (jjambbong?).   every1 else had ¥ jjajangmyuhn.   it was good.   praktice was good.

lessee, i didn't finish talkin' 'bout this wknd.   hrm...   where did i leave off?   (rt now, sbs's love story in harvard is on.   i think it's also the final episode, but maybe i'm wrong.)   uh... where did i leave off?   sun?   sat?   well, sat was snowboarding.   after snowboarding, my carload (w/ my cowerker friends) @ dinner @ the milpitas mc carthy ranch pasta pomodoro.   1'f my friends had some crazy headrush, where it looked like he fainted or sumpthin'.   he sed his stomach really hurt, but we weren't sure what it was he ate that caused that.   we figured it must've been sumpthin' he ate earlier.   i know, on sat nite, i got to watch the 300th episode'f kbs's music bank. :-)

sun, we had to go to church early to set up.   our t3s bible study grp was in charge'f setup.   i was a li'l stressed 'bout getting their on time @ 800a, but kaela n' i turned out to be the 1st 1s there.   well, i'm glad we showed up on time.   i hope we don't try to show up later next time, no.   i hope we keep being on time, u know?   it's good to be on time.   well, i set out the "a.frame" signs 4 parking n' "no parking" etc.   originally, kaela n' i sed we'd pick up the doughnuts from krispy kreme, but in the end, we didn't.   i went out into the parking lot w/ the bright, fluorescent vest n' greeted ppl as they arrived.   a couple'f the other guys from t3s joined me.   (t3s means "t3 south," which means "it takes 3 - south."   originally "it takes 3" was the name'f this couples bible study.   then it split into "t3 south" n' "t3 north.")   after church, a few'f us from the bible study went to galleria market 4 lunch.   i had ̸, n' kaela had this sumpthin' sumpthin' gooksoo. uh... hrm... it was sumpthin' diff... i 4get the name.   sumpthin' like Į kalgooksoo but w/ very thin noodles.   after that, kaela n' i hurried off to san leandro to meet betty n' toby @ their beautiful, new house.   on the way we stopped @ the newpark mall target to get a baby shower card 4 emily n' dave.   we met betty n' toby @ the house.   the owners were there, n' they did their walk.thru inspektion thingy.   the owners were interesting.   they were this spanish.speaking family (mexican?), where the parents looked so young even tho' they were prob'ly not 2 young cos their kids r in college, etc.   well, we drove down to union city 4 the baby shower.   we were aktually on time, getting to union city, but cos we got off @ the alvarado.niles exit instead'f the alvarado exit, we circled 'round lost 4 a long, long time.   we finally found the house.   it was a nice house, 1'f emily's friend's house.   we weren't early but were earlier than most'f dave's friends.   when we got there, it was more just emily's friends.   it was awesome to c dave n' emily n' ol' p.crew ppl.   hrm... i've gotta admit that being 'round our "yuppie" crowd @ church n' 'round the ol' p.crew ppl who r all now "yuppified" @ least as much as i've been "yuppified," it's easy to fall into that "keeping up w/ the lees, changs, n' parks" deal, u know?   however, i try not to fall into that.   i mean... in a way, it's important to "move on" in life n' progress; n', honestly, playing that game is aktually not a bad way 2 much sure u move on n' progress in life, seriously.   however... i dunno... it does sound like quite an evil game, don't it?   (ok, maybe it's not the final episode'f love story in harvard.   it looks like it's possibly the 2nd to last episode?)   neway, whadya think'f this whole yuppie "keepin' up w/ the lees, changs, n' parks" deal?   i mean... i do tend to hang out w/ a young crowd whether it's the college.age boys i hang out w/ @ taekwondo or the early.to.mid.20s boys n' gurls i hang out w/ cos'f that program i was in @ werk.com, rt?   even tho' they're pretty mature in that they've got their careers cmingly figured out, they r pretty young relative to me, rt?   every1 there's so surprised that i'm 29.   is that a good or bad thing? u know?

upes, it's now 1207a on wed, 2005.02.23!


2005.02.23

19th monthversary lunch

ħ 1259: it's late @ nite or early in the morn.   i haven't typed this late in a while, rt?   i usually don't stay up late these days.   it's not like 1999 or nething, u know?   dude, i'm so far from that life now.   ... [later] 121a: ok, cos i mentioned "1999," i decided to journey back into the turn'f the century.   i read some ol' journal entries from the beginning'f 2000 n' the end'f 1999.   while reading, i got confused.   i read that i was driving ken's geo, but it was january, i 'member well, that my big tahoe spinout accident took my subaru out'f commission 4 the month'f feb.   then i realised that the big accident happened in 1999 not 2000.   my car was in the shop in 2000 cos'f jerome's li'l thingamajig.   ah... *sigh* wow, i'm older than i realise.   life's crazy. *sigh* it really is.

neway, i wanted to continue my wknd update from yesterday.   this past wknd was a 3.day wknd, so the wknd did not stop @ sunday.   lessee... yah, we went to the baby shower in union city.   then we headed back to the sobay, down 880.   uhm, hrm... dinner?   i think... oh yah, we ate leftovers: melanzane fettucine from pasta pomodoro, a slice'f frozen veggie pizza, some salad...   hrm... i feel like we must've eaten some kind'f dessert, but what?   :-/ maybe not.   hrm... there was 1tym when the beautiful kaela hwang n' i went to ben & jerry's aisukuriimu, n' i wonder if i 'membered to write 'bout it here.   that was a long time 'go.   hrm, it was after we went to niko sushi a long time 'go, which was after going to valley fair mall.   yah, that time we went to the b&j's aisukuriimu in santana row.   b&j's aisukuriimu's such a good, conscientious company!   i like them.   neway... did we eat some kind'f dessert on sun nite?   if not, that's great; i 4get.   well, oh yah... we did have a couple'f leftover ؾ boonguhbbang (red bean stuffed fish.shaped pastries) from galleria market earlier.   *shrug*

mon was pres's day.   kaela n' i woke up.   we took sooni 4 a walk.   we went to the gym.   i took kaela out 4 our 19th monthversary (19.month wedding anniversary), which was on sat, 2005.01.19.   originally, i was gonna take her to cuba habana, but 'twas closed, so we went to e&o trading in downtown san jo.   'twas a beautiful day.   it was cloudy but not cold.   short bursts'f rain passed by, which gave the climate a tropical feel.   really!   'twas awesome.   thai wrapped chicken salad, vietnamese trout, sweet potato naan, coconut flan, a glass'f riesling wine 4 kaela, n' a glass'f hef(eweizen beer) 4 beno, decaf 4 both.   it was a nice lunch.   e&o trading made me sort'f reminisce'f nice sf restaurants 4 a few reasons: 1) it's very nice, 2) it does have an sf location, to which i don't think i've ever been, n' 3) the pri¢es r more akin to sf restaurant pri¢ing than silly valley restaurant pri¢ing; however, i like to think 'bout what i get 4 my $$$ in quantity not quality.   don't supersize me.   originally, i'd planned to go out n' shop 4 a new car stereo n' maybe a dyson dc14 animal vacuum, but i didn't.   this past wknd, kaela n' i cleaned our house a li'l.   i guess that was on sun, rt?   yah, i s'ppose it was on sun evening b4 the garbage pickup the next morn.   i guess since we've visited so many nice, cleanly kept houses lately, we feel the pressure.

dude, it's been a long time since 1999.   true, 1999 was a big yr 4 me in many ways.   when u go thru those old 1999 pics, do i look younger to u?

plz sign the current gbook.

: 2nite, i'm s'pposed to help ernest move a queen bed from mark's house to his place.   i sed i'd meet them @ mark's house @ 730p.   2day, during lunch, i werked out in the werk.com gym.   i lifted weights n' ran on the treadmill.   i hope i'm getting 'nuff exercise. *shrug* i had a very unhealthy lunch after that.   from the werk.com café, i bought the california turkey burger special, which was a turkey patty on whole wheat bun w/ lettuce, tomatoes, red onions, guacamole, some kind'f white cheese (swiss? jack?), n' 2 strips'f bacon!   it also came w/ fries.   ugh, what was i trying to do?   how could i eat such unhealthy fud?   *sigh*

as i've discussed recently, there's a couple'f things i'm thinking'f buying: 1) a dyson dc14 animal vacuum cleaner n' 2) a new car stereo to replace my broken 1.   *sigh* i feel those things would somewhat improve the quality'f my daily life: 1) the vacuum would cut down the time i spend vacuuming up sooni's fur n' other dirty things the 3'f us track into the house n' all that dust i cm to produce just like pigpen in charles schulz's peanuts comic strip. 2) the car stereo would allow me 1nce 'gain to have musik in my car in a convenient manner.   *sigh* well, i'd like to have these things, but $$$ doesn't grow on trees.   furthermore, it's funny cos not 2 long 'go, i had a diff list'f things i wanted: 1) a trans flash ram card 4 my stoopid motorola v710 fon, 2) a 802.11b sd card 4 my palm tungsten t5, 3) a 1gb sd memory card 4 my palm tungsten t5, so that i can have either tons'f mp3s on there or maybe so musik videos, 4) a usb2.0/ieee.1394 dvd+/-r/rw burner... all these teknogadget things.   man, i feel like i'd like a $5000 gift certificate to fry's right 'bout now.   if i $pend $$$ on these things tho'... well... like, there're other things i need to $ave up 4, rn't there?   during kaela's spring break, should we take a vacation?   where?   will some1 soonisit?   can we afford a vacation?!   how 'bout $aving up 4 bigger things?   how 'bout a new washer n' dryer?   how 'bout a new fridge?   how 'bout a new kitchen?   i sure could use a winning lottery ticket rt 'bout now, 'specially 1 that wins a big jackpot.   ppl r constantly stealing $$$ from us: 1) verizon wireless charges us $3.99/month 4 insurance on kaela's acct, but lock/line insurance says we rn't aktually getting insurance coverage on her acct, so verizon's just pocketing that $$$ each month.   kaela needs to call n' complain.   2) sbc y! dsl charges us some $15~20 extra each month 4 upgraded upstream bandwidth that we don't use.   originally, that upgrade was free.   now, that a yr's passed since we 1st ordered our dsl, the pri¢e has shot up.   berny huang told me that he called n' got his acct set to some cheap plan, sumpthin' like $26.95/month.   kaela needs to call n' do that as well cos the acct's under her name.


2005.02.25

gettin_my_a$$_kicked@werk.com

ݿ : it's fri afternoon, but i'm a li'l stressed.   this wk, i've been totally getting my @$$ kicked @ werk.com.   i've been getting totally rocked!   it's awful.   it was a short wk cos'f pres's day.   i had cad software training.   last nite, i was @ werk.com till 800p.   i had class from 800a~500p, then i came to my office n' werked till 800p.   2day, i had class @ 800a 'gain.   it was only a 0.5 day 2day, n' it got out early.   b4 coming to my office, i hurried over to target to buy some colour.safe bleach tide laundry detergent.   then i tried to buy a new air filter 4 my car @ pepboys but couldn't find my size.   then, i went to safeway to buy some groceries.   then, i went home n' ate a turkey sandwich n' some chips w/ salsa.   yesterday, during my 1.5-hr lunchbrk from class, i came home, ate 2 turkey n' avocado sandwiches, n' walked sooni.   yesterday, sooni got 3 walks.   i walked her b4 werk.   then, i walked her during lunch.   then i jogged w/ her in the evening.   in our cad software class, we get lots'f doughnuts n' pastries.   it's bad 4 my health but tasty.   i guess they also have bagels, so that's better.   they don't have 'nuff bagels tho', more doughtnuts, croissants, n' other pastries.   i'll prob'ly hafta werk some 2morrow (sat) in order to get stuff done that's due next wk. :-/

i haven't had time to update.   u might not know, but i wrote more on 2005.02.23 after the 1st post.   go back n' check it: "19th monthevesary lunch".   on wed, i stayed @ werk late but went after werk to help ernest move a queen bed from mark's house to his place.   i took off my snowboard rack 4 now.   i'm sure i'll put it back up 4 'nother snowtrip this season.   last yr, i left the rack on all summer.   that's bad cos it reduced fuel efficiency.   the 3'f us guys 1st tried to rent a truck 4 an hr to move the bed.   u.haul n' other rent.a.car places were closed.   home depot wouldn't let us rent their out so late.   we bought some ¢heap rope @ home depot n' moved the bed.   afterwards, we had dinner @ joy luck place's noodle n' jook joint in cupertino village (the 99 mall).   it's been a ruff wk.   i guess it was nice that i got to werkout @ the gym during lunchtime a li'l this wk.   i needed to cos'f the stress@werk.com.   however, i usually werkout from noon till 100p n' then buy lunch @ the café n' bring it to my cube.   later, a senior cowerker sort'f chewed me out cos he sed he came to look 4 me @ 100p a few times cos i was expekted @ some mtg.   argh, why don't ppl tell me these things ahead'f time?!   that really frustrated me.   100p is a risky time to skedule a mtg cos, yah, ppl go to lunch, etc.   pressure, man... stress...

4 2nite's t3s grx bible study, i stayed up kind'f late last nite making a nice handout, werksheet thingy.   i hope it's good, but *shrug* it's not 4 my glory but hopefully 4 god's glory, u know?   still, 2day the beautiful kaela hwang stressed me out well by saying that she doesn't think she can make it to bible study 4 a 2nd wk in a row.   she sez she has all this studying to do.   whatever...   this wk, i guess, really sucked in that respekt 2.   every nite, kaela stayed out late, studying n' all.   man, even tho' i wouldn't say that kaela's skool's necessarily "bad" 4 our marriage, like... sometimes it's very hard to say it's "good" 4 our marriage.   i mean, frick... how come i so rarely c my wife in the evenings?!   i dunno man, i really feel like saying that this sucks.   i guess i had fun this past 3.day wknd, but it feels like this wk... well, shoot... it had its highs n' lows.   the hi pts were that i got to exercise a bit n' had fun @ taekwondo praktice n' w/ the taekwondo guys.   the low pts? werk n' kaela's total absence...   [later] i dunno; i guess every wk's got its trials n' tribulations, rt?   this past sat, sun, n' mon, i was pretty happy.   i dunno; maybe things started to go downhill on tues.   things really felt cr@ppy by wed evening.   things got a li'l better on thurs nite cos i started chugging thru all the cr@p i had to do @ werk.com.   now, i'm ok, but i just feel stressed cos'f kaela's fon call that was like a couple'f hours 'go now almost. >:-/ u know... like, other couples invite us to do couples stuff, n' then kaela goes 'round always saying she can't go to nething cos she's always studying.   she might say, "oh, go by urself," but frick! why the heck would i want go always go to couplesish stuff by myself?!   i guess, in that sense, i sometimes end up preferring to hang out w/ the "young, single guy crowd" like @ taekwondo (even tho' (that's a misnomer), but... :-/ i mean, i like that, but i dunno man... rn't i s'pposed to be able to do married couple stuff w/ kaela now n' then?   ...n' sittin' 'round watching tv, while kaela studies does not count!


20050226.txt

animal dreams

ħ 951a: i feel better 2day.   i think going to t3s grx bible study made me feel better than i was earlier in the evening.   ppl r good there.   david, the guy who w/ his wife helen (not pastor dave n' his wife but 'nother couple), made this awesome jook w/ 1,000.yr.old egg, chicken (from the whole chicken), some kind'f dried fish, shiitake shrooms, cilantro, green onions, n' other stuff.   he made it cos helen was sick n' in bed upstairs but made so much.   we all had some.   it was awesome.   in a way, i wish i could go back to cooking more.   then 'gain, since the beautiful kaela hwang's not often home 4 dinner w/ me, it would often be a waste'f time. :-/   2day, i've got werk to do.   i'm conflikted over whether to try to werk@home.org or to go into werk.com.   i think i'd best go into werk.com cos i'm sittin' here watching a rerun'f an sbs love story in havard from last wk.   earlier i was flippin' thru various movies on the premium channels.   1 channel had lotr2: tt (or is it "lotr2: 2t"???)   i watched that 4 a while.   i also watched some'f how to lose a guy in 10 days n' then a li'l'f along came polly.   man, that's gotta be 1'f ben stiller's worst movies.   i never liked jennifer aniston much despite all her undeserved hype.   of course, she was in office space, n' that was a kewl movie obviously.

it's well past time 4 me to share some pix.   it really sucks that cos'f this $#!++y verizon motorola v710, i don't post up pics nearly as much as when i had my awesome lg vx6000 or when i used to use my targus handcam or that cheapy webcam. *sigh*   yah, it truly sucks.   it sincerely sucks.   neway, yah, i should share some pics:


beno n' sooni n 2005.02.05 @ sierra azul open space preserve

goodtimes@skinorthstar.com   more_goodtimes@skinorthstar.com
us_taekwondo_akademy@skinorthstar.com (even tho' we're almost all boarding not skiing)

well, i've got cr@p to werk on.   i also wonder if i should get an oil change 2day.   i prob'ly won't cos it's already 1010a, n' it's best to get an oil change earlier in the day cos the shops rn't as bizzy.   i'm so strongly considering buying a dyson animal vacuum cleaner but am unsure'f whether to get a dc07 or the pri¢ier dc14.   is the dc14 ne more powerful than the dc07; else, does it just have more attachments 4 staircases?!?!?!   i want to buy a dyson vacuum cleaner.   i also want to buy a car stereo.   i'd also like to buy an 802.11b wireless sd card 4 my palm tungsten t5 n' a 512mb~1gb sd memory card 4 it.   i'd also like to buy a usb2.0/ieee.1394 dvd±r/rw writer... that's not as important now, it cms.   i've gotten more used to the idea'f having to xfer files to kaela's superduper vaio laptop to burn onto dvd.   however, kaela's laptop has that awful coolwebsearch virus, so that's a drag in using it.   i sort'f want to buy a good anti.virus software to c if that can remove it, but i hear this is a nasty virus. :-/   i really dunno.   what do u think?

my young cowerkers from that progrma i was in, some'f them went hiking in big basin 2day.   i really wanted to go n' to take sooni, but i'm s'pposed to werk 2day.   i'm s'pposed to be werking but am hearing typing in my stoopid journal n' watching this love story in havard:-/   i'd also like to hit the gym 2day.   there's lots i'd like to do, eh?   *sigh* some ppl prob'ly think i waste time @ the gym.   others definitely think i waste $$$ buying useless junk.   do u have some kind'f opinion 4 me?   do i want to hear it? *shrug* maybe, but also maybe not.   dunno... maybe i'm not in the mood 4 criticism.   hey... take a few secs to fill out my gbook.   kaela recently did.   thanks.

ok; let's ponder this: best buy's selling the dyson dc14 animal 4 $520.99 + $42.98 tax = $563.97.   best buy's selling the dyson dc07 animal 4 $473.99 + $39.10 tax = $513.09.   fry's outpost.com has the dyson dc07 animal @ its sticker pri¢ed'f $499.99.   [later] 1233p: check out a comparison'f 3 dyson vacuums @ bestbuy.com: comparison of dc14 animal, dc07 animal, n' dc07 base model.   earlier, i was in our hallway bathrm, n' i had the s#arper image catalog @ dyson vacuums.   i chuckled to myself quick a bit (in my head) cos well... think 'bout it -- most guys, on the can read playboy, maxim, or 'least the victoria's secret catalog that they somehow got their hands on; but me?   i was there gawking @ a spread'f dyson vacuum cleaners!!!   "oh, s@ck it, baby!   oh! u'r an animal!"   dyson root8 cyclone animal vacuum: what yuppy dreams 4 made'f...   dude, that's sad.

[later] 129p: just so u know, friendster.com now lets u have 12 pics in ur acct.   hrm, gotta find more pics to share.

i like it when a customer service specialist e.mails u back a full, concise answer to my question:

: Beno Hwang
: "Jeff Himsel"
¥: 2005-2-26, Sat, 1:39 pm
޴ : [my e.mail here]
켱:
ȯ : ü | μ | Bounce

Greetings Beno,
Thank you for your inquiry.   The DC14 has a few design features that are different than the DC07. One of the most important differences is that the DC14 has a "telescoping wand" as opposed to the "reversible wand" featured on the DC07. Another difference is that the DC14 stands about two inches shorter than the DC07.   The benefit of it being shorter is that even though the two machines weigh about the same, the DC14 feels somewhat lighter and more agile on the floor.   Additionally, the DC14 has a wide channel opening at the base for easier pick up of larger pieces of debris.   A few other notable differences are that the attachment tools are stored in a different area on the DC14, and it has a slightly larger pre-motor filter which now sits on top of the cyclone versus on the side of the machine as is the case with the DC07.

As far as performance is concerned, the two machines will do a very comparable job.   They are both rated for use on both carpets and bare floors and they use the same Root Cyclone technology which is what differentiates Dyson from all other models of vacuums.   They are both powered by an identical motor, which is a single-fan 12 amp motor capable of generating 1400 watts of power.

I hope you find this information useful for the purposes of your research.   Please give us a call toll free at 1-866-MY-DYSON at your earliest convenience and a helpline representative will work with you to answer any other questions you have.   I have found that speaking with someone directly regarding an issue such as this is an easier way of addressing your specific questions and any subsequent follow up questions you may have as well.

Kind regards,
Jeff Himsel
Customer Service Specialist
Dyson, Inc.

-----Original Message-----
From: [my e.mail here]
Sent: Saturday, February 26, 2005 11:18 AM
To: usa.enquiries@dyson.com
Subject: I would like to buy a Dyson. : dc7? dc14? Confused!

Name: beno hwang
Email: [my e.mail here]
Subject: dc7? dc14? Confused!
Message:

i'm very interested in buying a dyson animal because our dog sheds quite a bit.   i'm very confused about the differences between a dc7 and a dc14.   we have a one-story home, so we don't have a staircase to clean.   i would like to have the most powerful vacuum you make.

[later] 602p: still werkin'... but i came home from the office sometime 'round 400p.   i picked up kaela n' sooni (can i just say "the gurls?" ha ha, that sounds lame, doesn't it?) n' took 'em to galleria market 4 a superlate lunch.   kaela had this "Q samsuhn bokkeumbap" (3.flavour fried rice [shrimp, imitation crab, n' ... *shrug* i'm unsure'f the 3rd flavour.   maybe egg?], n' i had yookgyeijang.   as always, passerbys loved sooni.   really, they always do, 'specially 'round korean biznesses.   after our late, late, late lunch, i drove us to the cotsco gas station to get gas @ 2.01/gal. >:-( gas is expen$ive 'gain.   now we're home n' werking / studying / sleeping / chewing rawhide (sooni).   shoot, 2nite, we're s'pposed to meet up w/ ken/grace n' nelson+family.   4 a long time now, we sed we'd meet up 2nite, but i've got lots'f werk to do, n' yesterday, i told the bible study grp 'bout how i'd try to get it all done 2day in order to observe the sabbath 2morrow.   *sigh* well, we're doing the dinner thing 2nite, so i might hafta stay up late n' werk.

http://www.spy-bot.net/CoolWebSearch.asp: a page 'bout that stoopid coolwebsearch virus/adware...   i think kaela already dled the software from this site, but it has some other instruktions that i'm not sure she's tried.   i wonder if she's tried "After having removed the software, use Internet Options->Programs->Reset Web Settings to remove the bogus home page and search settings" yet.   hrm, when i have some time, i wanna read http://www.spywareinfo.com/~merijn/cwschronicles.html more carefully.


2005.02.28

teknoshizzle

844p: check out this y! news article 'bout a company that's sort'f heading 2wards developing sumpthin' like wireless dsl: "WiMax May Pose Fresh Challenge to Broadband".   in a way, this is the kind'f stuff nelson talked 'bout b4, but... *shrug* well, i can't wait till there's an alternative to wired dsl n' stoopid cable modems.   1nce we have sumpthin' like wireless dsl, then we don't hafta deal w/ sbc's monopoly on fon lines, u know?   neway... i'm sure lots'f ppl think this isn't nearly as exciting as i cm to be saying it is.

this morn, on my drive out to werk, i felt god spoke to me n' told me not to jump into buying that expen$ive vacuum cleaner just yet.   ok.   i know it sounds ridiculous n' maybe blasphemous that i feel that god spoke to me this morn, tellin' me not to buy sumpthin', but *shrug* i dunno... that's how i felt.   yah, there's lots'f cr@p i wanna buy, but i dunno, man...   i don't necessarily feel that my wallet's bursting open rt now, so i should sit tight, i know. *shrug*

u wanna c some kewl schitt?   check out dynamism.com to c modern laptops imported direkt from japan.   i mean, this r modern laptops, not the pieces'f junk they sell here in the u.s., u know?   man, we're such a backwards nation.   1nce u c the kewl shiznit they sell on this site, u'll have no choice but to agree.   i mean, i do like my palmone tungsten t5.   that's 'bout as cutting edge as we get here in the u.s.   man, the cellfons here?   ugh!   i don't really like my moto v710 that's been dumbed down by verizon.   the cellfons they have in korea r sooo much better.   a while 'go now i was watching some drama n' saw this chick taking pics w/ a nice digicam.   it was a nice compakt digicam but had nice.looking zoom lens.   then, she flips it over, flips down sumpthin', n' the fully.funktional digicam turns into a cellfon.   yah, in some magazine, i saw that samsung fon.   it has like a 6.megapixel camera or sumpthin'.   they surely don't yet sell it in 'merikkka. >:-(   hrm, there r some 1999 subaru forester oem stereos on sale on ebay   should i buy? :-? i can get 1 4 ~$50. :-?


2005.03.02

burdy salad

Ϲ 852p: i'm @ home.   i just ate an oversized dinner.   it was salad: mesclung (spring mix) from costco w/ some grilled shrooms n' red onions n' 2 patties'f ground turkey.   veggies n' protein; that was the idea.   that was way 2 much fud tho'.   i ate lots'f salad.   2 patties?   where did i get that idea?   i gave some'f the 2nd patty to sooni.   she's eating it rt now, mixed in w/ her dogfud.   i'm full.   i haven't updated in a while, huh?   i've been really_bizzy@werk.com.   i left werk relatively late 2nite.   i've got things to do @ werk, u know?   i was pretty frustrated by the end'f the werkday cos originally, i told the beautiful kaela hwang that we should go to baskin.robbins 2nite to get free aisukuriimu.   it's yahoo!'s 10th anniversary n' baskin.robbins was giving 'way free aisukuriimu 2day cos'f that.   i told her she go get some free aisukuriimu.   i printed out the online coupons.   later in the day, she left me some v.mail, saying i'd hafta drive out to where she would be n' try to find a baskin.robbins out there, etc.   *sigh* that's so frustrating cos i have things to do, u know.   i don't have time to drive all over town like that.   i've got a demanding job n' care 'bout my career 2.   i shouldn't have to make sacrifices'f my career all the time just to take care'f the house n' the dog if kaela doesn't, rt?   it's so frustrating.   i'm always out doing the grocery shopping, the household shopping... i was really frustrated, as i left werk.   then i went to albertsons n' did grocery shopping. *sigh* it's such a dead.end, no win situation in that way. :-(   still, if kaela stays out to 200a studying, then why shouldn't i stay @ werk till 200a n' be on the superfast track, u know? *sigh* i dunno, man.   thru.out all my life, i guess i promised to myself that i wouldn't be a werkaholik.

neway, so what's been going on?   well, i've been werking 'lot.   what else?   i dunno, where did i leave off?   this wknd?   *sigh* that was a long time 'go...

on sat eve(ning), we went out to rock bottom brewery in campbell's pruneyard shopping centre.   we met up w/ ken, grace, n' nelson 4 dinner.   we celebrated ken n' grace's b.days.   what did i eat? i had some steak fajita wrap.   kaela had this grilled chicken greek salad.   we all had some calamari appetizer thingy.   ken, nelson, n' i each ordered 1'f rock bottom's beer samplers.   we also had a coupl'f chocochocochoco desserts.   ("chocochocochoco"'s my term, not theirs.)   we had 1 chococheesecake n' 1 choco.aisukuriimu covered brownie thingy.   the beers were very good.   there was some dark, dark stout (guiness.style), some lighter stout, some brown bear beer, some red animal beer, a couple'f wheet beers, some ales...   i 4get, but it was a kewl sampler.   after we ate, mike n' vivian met us there.   nelson, mike, n' vivian headed back to our house.   will n' alice came over, n' ppl looked thru our wedding fotos n' discussed will n' alice's upcoming wedding.   we stayed up late n' i felt bad 'bout how i'd need to werk on my sabbath day (sun) cos i wasn't werking on sat nite.

on sun, we went to church.   then what? :-? man, i'm starting to 4get.   well, it was an interesting service @ grx.   u know how we're not "s'pposed to be" an "asian church," but we sort'f r?   well, i noticed that we had lots'f non.asian ppl leading on sun.   that was diff n' not a bad thing cos yah... since i tell my cowerkers that it's not an asian church, i guess i shouldn't be lying.   like, some ppl'd say that our church is 60% korean, 39% chinese/taiwanese, n' 1% everything else, but... *shrug* it's not s'pposed to be a korean church or a chinese/taiwanese church or nething...   we're just a church.   neway... what happened on sun?   oh yah, after church, kaela n' i went to costco.   oh yah, later we went to fremont to do an inspektion'f 1'f the houses that kaela manages as a rental property manager.   the house was really nice.   the guy that was home was a nice guy, n' he showed us 'round.   the tenants had decorated the house really nice.   like, they're single ppl, a few gurls n' 1 guy.   however, they're more mature, not like college kids or nething.   the dude turned his bedrm int o this tropical island theme room.   it was really kewl.   the house has a pool table, a foozball table, n' an air hockey table.   it's such a fun.looking place.   afterwards, kaela n' i went to target target in newpark mall.   after that?   uh, i think we went home, rt?   yah, i think so.   i guess we just stayed home 4 the rest'f the nite, rt?   we ate salad w/ turkey patties, rt?   i think so.

mon: what happened on mon?   *shrug* i went to werk.   uhm, i think i came home 4 lunch.   didn't i?   did i eat salad w/ turkey patties 4 lunch?   hrm... man, why am i eating so much salad w/ turkey patties?   well, i guess it's cos i want to eat up all the salad cos i don't want it to rot.   yah, i guess so.   i werked hard.   i came home.   i think kaela was home, rt?   yah, that does happen 1nce in a while.   what did we eat 4 dinner? *shrug* i 'memeber we didn't have a proper dinner on mon nite.   hrm...   we must've eaten some kind'f leftovers.   hrm... i think on sun nite, late @ nite, we ate some microwaved bagel bites.   hrm...   what did we eat on mon nite?   oh yah, kaela had bought some french bread from safeway.   ha ha ha.   dang, that was our dinner?   yah.   u c, i had started to cook some rice to eat w/ the frozen buhsuht juhngol, but we use brown rice, n' it takes a very long time to cook.   i fell asleep n' didn't wake up.   i basikally slept from 900p to like 730a or so... maybe 700a.   in ne case, i slept a long time!

on tues, during lunch, i went to the gym.   then i ate some werk.com café lunch in my cubicle.   what was it?   oh yah, some kind'f chicken salad, some southwest chicken salad.   i had mtgs, n' i werked.   in the evening, i came home.   i had hi hopes'f going to taekwondo praktice w/ kaela 4 1nce.   she was home when i came home but was totally asleep in bed.   i left here there n' took sooni to praktice.   funny: sometime btwn when i came home n' went out to praktice, it rained.   it didn't rain much while i was in praktice, but it rained 'lot later last nite.   it was a li'l sad that it was raining a li'l while sooni had to sit outside the dojang.   when i came home, i cooked that frozen buhsuht juhngol.   it was ok but 2 salty cos it was made 4 longevity in the freezer.   it's not really fancy fud but rather fud that drunk korean guys r s'pposed to eat while drinking sojoo, u know?   i wish i had cooked more rice to go w/ it, but i didn't cook 2 much rice on mon nite cos i wanted it to cook faster, u know?   man, i do that 2 often.   we haven't had bokkeumbap (fried rice) in a long time cos we haven't had leftover rice in a long time.   then 'gain, we haven't had ne rice @ home in a long time.   *sigh* what have we been eating? *shrug* i dunno, but i've gotta watch my sodium intake.

2day: this morn, i went jogging w/ sooni.   i need more exercise.   man, i wish i were @ the gym rt now.   (it's 932p.)   even tho' i went jogging 2day, i need to lift weights.   *sigh* 4 lunch, i bought a chicken salad from the werk.com café.   hrm, chicken salads, turkey salads... hrm... what's up?!   i dunno.   i hope i'm gettin' 'nuff veggies.   *sigh*   so 2day's wed.   2morrow's thurs.   fri's fri. :-/

on mon, a new rerun drama started on kbs to replace the superawesome, legendary ̾ϴ, Ѵ / mianhada, saranghanda.   this new drama's / kwaeguhl choonhyang.   it's kind'f corny, so i'm not all that impressed.   that's good, in a way, cos i won't be as obsessed 'bout coming home in time to watch it, etc.   yesterday nite, on sbs, love story in harvard concluded.   they're gonna start lee hyori's 3 ι / sei(3)ip clover soon.   that'll obviously be kewl.   hey, they main char's (hyori's char) name's jin-a, like jeanna kang, kaela's sis.   funny.

*sigh* i'm getting sleepy.   i had sooo many mtgs 2day.   dude! check this out; it was so awful: during 1 mtg, rt after lunch, the rm wsa really warm, n' i was wearing very warm clothes, n' the lites were totally out 4 the powerpoint presentation...   man, i sort'f dozed off 4 a very short split sec, n' my head tilted back n' hit the wall n' made this loud thump!!!   it was awful!   the wall was this sort'f cheap wall they put up to split the conference room into 2 rms, so it was really haollow, n' it made a huge, huge sound!   i think every1 heard it.   luckily, it was really dark, so i guess they prob'ly didn't c me doze off, but i'm sure they were all thinking, "hrm, i wonder if he dozed off?"   it was just cos the room was so hot n' dark n' cos i had just eaten lunch.   i was totally alert 4 the rest'f the mtg, n' that was 2wards the beginning'f that mtg.   they were talkin' 'bout stuff that was totally over my head n' not that relevant to what i do. :-/   *sigh* it's been a long day.

oh yah, this morn, i was gonna buy a new used car stereo on ebay , but i missed the end'f auction.   that sort's sucks cos i really need that new used car stereo.   @ the same time... @ this pt, 4 me, it's better not to $pend $$$, rt? *sigh* man, i'm so sleepytired. *sigh* it's now 1014p.


2005.03.03

it's.it

> ħ: dude, did some1 switch the decaf w/ caffeinated coffee this morn?   i think so.   @ my office, i felt a li'l not.so.alert, so i got a mug'f what i thought was decaf, but now i feel all jittery n' weird.   i think some1 put caffeinated coffee in the orange decaf container!

[later] 948p: ... [interrupted] 955: page on webuser.co.uk forums... maybe this page has a clue to help me get rid'f the stoopid coolwebsearch virus from the beautiful kaela hwang's superduper vaio laptop.

i wouldn't mind going during our "spring break" to watch making tracks @ the sj rpertory theatre.   it's a play 'bout an asian.am rock musician.   check out this page: http://www.sjrep.com/plays/play_view.php?id=s5. [later] 1022p: yah, i wouldn't mind watching that.   tix start @ $32.

ok, so 4 that friggin' awful coolwebsearch prob, some clues i've found in various places:

hrm, another page i've gotta bookmark is http://www.silentrunners.org/sr_launchpoints.html.

1054p: what did i eat 4 lunch 2day?   a turkey sandwich from the werk.com café.   what did i eat 4 dinner?   freschetta special combo pizza.   during a big mtg 2day, we had free aisukuriimu, aktually aisukuriimu bars.   i had a cappuccino it's.it.   it was a li'l melted.


2005.03.04

050304? or 030405?

952p: [waiting @ amc mercado 20 to watch sideways]


2005.03.05

535

259p: i'm @ sunnyvale fry's, sittin' in the café sans order/drink/fud, just writin' this jounal entry.   what r u up to?   it's a beautiful day here in the bay area, n' we should be outside!   seriously!   i'm tryin' to $hop 4 some b.day presents.   urs?   *shrug*   i dunno.   earlier, i was @ this awesome brunch @ a couple's house in fremont, a couple from our t3s small group / bible study.   it's such a beautiful day after all this recent rain.

a thought i had on my drive back down to the heart'f the valley: the silly valley's so great: all this beautiful land, great ppl, culture... n' if u ever miss socal, u can always hop onto 880 n' sit in gridlock traffik!   ppl don't drive slower up here in the bay area than in socal; it just feels like that cos ppl rn't always ridin' on the rear bumper'f the car in front up here.   silicon valley: america's real heartland!


2005.03.07

every1 gets just 24 hrs each day.

ħ: i haven't been good 'bout updating this past couple'f wks.   as i've sed b4, 1'f my new yr's resolutions this yr was/is to write less in my journal.   aktually, i intended to write less per entry but not less frequently, u know?   however, i've just been really bizzy.   @ times, i've purposely tried to keep bizzy w/ werk 4 @ least a couple'f reasons: 1) since the beautiful kaela hwang's has been off studying so much, i figured that i might as well do sumpthin' produktive w/ all that time i'd been spending just whining 'bout how i never c her, rt?   i mean, in a way i was telling myself to be a werkaholik, n' perhaps it'd be a holier idea to do sumpthin' godly w/ the time i wasn't spending w/ kaela nemore, but... *shrug* i dunno, man... i guess i've been watching more tv ever since i've had all this access to the korean channels cos'f dish netwerk, while i used to never watch much tv, so it was good to try to channel my energy into sumpthin' other than just sittin' on the couch watching tv, while sooni sat in her doggybed bored cos i wasn't taking her 4 walks as much, rt?   2) i've been feeling more pressure, not just from "above" (as in management @ werk not necessarily as in god... i mean, i'm not using "above" as some clever way'f referring to heaven in this case.) to per4m better @ werk.   well, lemme clarify!   i've sed b4 that in a way both kaela n' i've been restarting our careers in the past yr or so, rt?   well, i realised this wk that i can't afford to mess up.   i feel i'm on my last chance.   in 1980s video game terms, i'm "on my last life," u know?   i really feel i can't afford to mess up.   i feel that, well... i've already had to start my career over.   while i feel i werk w/ some young guys who can aktually still afford to have a restart in their careers, i really feel that i can't.   i've really gotta "succeed" this time.   what is "success"?   *shrug* i dunno.   do i have time to sit n' banter'f over such topiks?   "look, if you had one shot, or one opportunity to seize everything you ever wanted - one moment; would you capture it or just let it slip?"   what kind'f wannabe'd quote eminem's "lose yourself" to describe his engineering career?   good grief!   what kind'f born.in.the.1970s, peanuts.reading loser'd say, "good grief"?!   "you better lose yourself in the music, the moment.   you own it, you better never let it go.   you only get one shot, do not miss your chance to blow.   this opportunity comes once in a lifetime yo..."   i really feel that i can't afford to mess up.   that's a sinful mindset, a very ungodly mindset.   the wise n' godly man knows that god'll always catch him n' take care'f him.   still, i do feel i need to werk.   i can't just "use the force," rt?   really, has ne1 ever sed that u can succeed in ur career by sittin' on ur @$$, watchin' tv, n' just trusting that god'll take care'f u?   well, isn't that last statement the werkaholiks creed?   that's the excuse werkaholiks always give, rt?   werkaholism sucks.

real estate is the best investment.   that's a fakt.   never 4get that.   however, i've realised lately that i've had to make significant adjustments in my life cos'f the huge reduktion in my "disposable income," u know?   back in the days when i was a younger engr, just renting an apt in berkeley, i could better afford to buy stoopid teknogadgets n' nice clothes.   now that i'm paying mortgage,i can't.   is it worth it?   of course!   is it a sacrifice?   maybe...   i werk as an engr n' make a decent living.   i accept the fakt that i've gotta give 'way a good chunk'f my paycheck to taxes (especially cos the republikkkans believe in taxing the werking guy instead'f the filthy rich pigs, but... well, that's just life in the mid 2000s, rt?).   i lose a whole buttload'f $$$ to paying off those cursed utility bills: 1) elektricity n' h2o (which rn't as bad cos santa clara has its own elektric company), 2) gas (pg&e), 3) landline fon n' dsl (sbc), 4) cellfon (verizon) (these days, i pay 4 both kaela's n' mine)... *sigh* really, the utilities r killing me!!!   until kaela started skool, she was taking care'f the utilities.   now that she's in skool, she's told me to pay them, n' they're killing me.   it all really adds up.   what sucks is that the communikations bills (cellfon, landline fon, n' dsl) r all in kaela's name, n' those accounts have probs in them such that we're overpaying, n' i need her to call their stoopid customer reps since the accounts r in her name.   we need to get onto a cheaper dsl plan.   we need to make sure kaela's cellfon's on the optimal calling plan.   these utilities r killing me.   health benefits n' retirement savings: yah, a big chunk'f my paycheck goes into those.   i wonder if i should try to back off my flexible $pending account (fsa) allotment in order to gain some more "disposable income"?   of course, i wouldn't back off my retirement account allotment.   in fakt, i've considered upping (raising) that @ times cos i do realise i need to plan 4 my eventual retirment someday.   *sigh* all this household finances stuff sucks.   this is all part'f being an adult, eh?   i mean... a real adult...   when u'r 18, u don't really think 'bout this stuff.   dink... dual income no kids... :-/ no, ever since kaela went back to skool, it definitely's more like 1.5 incomes n' 0.5 kids, as sooni's like 0.5 a kid, rt?   the true "dink" lifestyle's quite diff.   i've cn.   i've observed.   is "dink" the new "yuppie"?

this past sat, @ the brunch, our friends brought their 1 (almost 2) month old baby boy.   (ha ha ha, pastor ed kim pted out @ sun's grx sermon how, when we hear some1 had a baby, we immediately ask its gender.   true.)   now that's an example'f 'f dropping the "nk," rt?   when'll we drop the "nk"?   i love kids, but i'm scared'f babies, in that i'm still very scared i'd break them.   i don't trust myself to hold babies, n' parents smell my fear, so they never ask me to.   ppl say that dogs smell fear, but parents smell fear... the fear'f childless men who worry they'll drop some1 else's baby.   do ppl think i'm dad material?   so far, i firmly believe that i am dog.owner material. ha ha ha...   maybe i'm uncle material.   i'm 29.   i turn 30 this yr.   many guys my age have kids.   ppl r often surprised that i'm 29.   they think i'm younger.   last nite, @ umi sushi, this pretty good, korean sushi joint in fremont that we visited w/ betty n' toby, the ܸ ajoomma was so shocked to find out from our ids that toby n' i were as old as we r.   in a way it is flattering as ppl'd expekt, but think 'bout it: i've been told 4 the past 8 yrs that i don't look 21, rt?   do i mind?   i dunno.   it's hard to say that i mind cos who the heck wants to grow old?!   well, some ppl do, but i don't.   i don't wanna grow old, but i'm just sort'f interested in this phenomenon'f how ppl rarely think i'm as old as i really am.   i might even be perplexed.   i wonder if my dad got this kind'f treatment when he was my age.   i 'member that ppl always thought my mom looked young.

[later] dagnabbit, i've still gotta buy that durn transflash ram card icon. :-/ $27.99 including s&h'll buy me a sandisk 128mb transflash ram card @ buy.comicon.   i sort'f have no choice cos'f this stoopid verizon motorola v710 fon. >:-/

[later] from a letter i'm typing rt now to jerome: "yah, life's been bizzy.   werk's been bizzy. taking care'f the house n' sooni keep me bizzy.   neway... my recent thought's that it's dumb to complain 'bout being bizzy cos every1 gets 24 hrs in a day; it's just a matter'f how u use 'em.   some1 could say "i'm bizzy sleeping."   it's just a matter'f priorities."

[later] 1010p: after werk, i went to the hamilton bally total fitness gym.   i didn't stay late 2nite cos i thought i was gonna meet kaela @ the gym.   when i reached 'bout 0.5.way, over on stevens crk blvd almost by valley fair n' santana row, i called kaela, n' she told me she was wasn't going to the gym but was going to some chiropraktic class thing. :-/ that was pretty frustrating n' made me feel pretty petty.   i went to the gym n' did precor.   i stretched.   then i showered n' left.   i didn't stay 2 long.   i didn't bother to lift weights cos i figure i'l save my arm n' chest muscles 4 the pushups i figure we'll hafta do 2morrow nite @ taekwondo.   i came straight home n' cooked some curry.   i made it kind'f diff.   i threw in all sorts'f produce n' put in chicken leg meat n' shrimp.   we had lots'f shrooms, a zucchini, a green pepper... i put those in.   i wondered if kaela bought those from whole fuds on fri cos she hoped we'd make ¥ jjajangmyuhn sometime.   well, she must've 4gotten that we don't have nemore ¥ jjajang, so we can't have ¥ jjajangmyuhn.   i cooked that curry.   i didn't use 2 much'f the curry cubes cos i hoped not to make it 2 salty since i'm s'pposed to eat less sodium, rt?   i threw in some extra indian turmerik just to give it some extra flavour.   i put in a bit'f ߰ gochoogaroo.   i dunno.   i feel it could've been better if i used more curry cubes n' made it saltier.   *sigh* it sucks to think that fud tastes better when u make it less healthy, rt?   i'd like to make healthy fud that's also delicious.

neway, while cooking, i decided that i wanted to watch a dvd cos i can't c the living rm tv from the kitchen.   we have a bunch'f good korean movie dvds, that i was saving to watch w/ kaela, but well... we never get to watch dvds 2gether nemore cos she's always studying, so i figured i'd just watch 1 myself.   i picked the classic, which jay gave us.   man! it's an awesome movie!   i started watching it w/o much expektations, n' it just got better n' better.   it's a romantik story.   it's a story in a story.   whadya call that? a boxed story???   i 4get.   neway, it's very romantik, n' it's also... it's... it's just sooo well.made.   i've gotta say... it's sort've like a korean forrest gump.   not like there's an aktual forrestesque charakter, no!   it's just that the sort'f spans a few decades, n' u get a better sense'f korean history thru it, just like forrest gump showed important events in amerikan history, u know?   *sigh* it was a really good movie.   sure, some cynics who hate love n' all things romantik n' say it's a li'l sappy.   however, i think it's not quite saccharine, rt?   i think it's good.

let's contrast how romantik this kind'f movie is to the movie we watched on fri nite, sideways.   i admit: sideways was a good movie, better than i sort'f thought it'd be.   like, i know it won an oscar n' all, but i also heard ppl on tv say: 1) it's just a movie 'bout drunk ppl, n' 2) it's just a movie 'bout horny ppl.   yah... @ the beginning, i found it to be an overgrown teen movie, u know?   like, let's say they made an amerikan pie movie 'bout those dudes when they're all 'bout 40 yrs old, rt?   it's funny: i've always been annoyed w/ tv shows n' movies 'bout "grown up ppl aktin' like hi.skool kids."   4 example, i was often really annoyed w/ the long.running nbc sitcom friends cos i often totally thought, "geez, these ppl r so immature!   i definitely don't wanna akt like them when i'm in my late 20s n' early 30s!"   well... me, these days?   i think lots'f ppl think i'm immature n' they're rt.   however, ppl ought to admit that i was even more immature in yrs past.   it's true: i've always had maturity probs n' still do.   i dunno what to say.   rn't others'f my generation stuck in.btwn trying to stay 4ever young n' trying not to be called an overgrown kid?   i'm sure this has been a prob 4 every generation since the 1960s, rt?   neway!!! back to my discussion'f sideways: to me, it's almost the ultimate example'f realism cos it was rather depressing to me.   the movie really pts out how pathetik ppl in general r.   k, like think 'bout this: like in the background, on the sets... like think 'bout the kinds'f produkts n' items they had strewn 'bout.   yah, it was very realistik, but in a way that's sort'f depressing to me.   as i left the movie, even tho' i enjoyed, 'specially cos it was hilariously funny, i couldn't stop thinkin 'bout the costco vitamins messily left on the table, the dirty rugs n' carpets, the cheap jug wine @ the mom's house, all those tacky things that just rn't the rosiest painting'f life, u know?   thus, as i left the movie, i thought 'bout how i prefer really romantik movies.   like... u know what was a really romantik movie last yr? cold mtn; that was a romantik movie.   like, sideways, it was a movie 'bout love, but it wasn't romantik @ all, if u ask me.   'gain, not that it was a bad movie, but it just wasn't romantik.   so... u all know well that sideways's 'bout the 2 guys on a bachelor party vakation...   the 2 guys... like, they really remind me'f single guy friends i had in the past.   like, i didn't relate to either'f the guys myself... but like, the fat bald dude... he reminds me well'f a friend i used to have not 2 long 'go.   watching his behavour reminded me well'f what it was like to hang out w/ him back in the day.   the shaggy.haired dude?   yah... i didn't feel like i related to him either even tho' he was hangin' out w/ the fat, bald dude that reminded me'f that friend i used to have.   however, i can think'f 1 tall friend that used to hang out w/ me... in fakt, he used to also hang out w/ the ex.friend i have that reminds me'f the fat, bald dude, rt?   so i imagine, if u took me out'f the picture, maybe they'd interakt like the 2 dudes in the movie. *shrug* i know the 2'f them rn't friends w/ each other nemore either, but...   *shrug*

well, how's life been?   what've i been doing?   *sigh* it's hard to recap since i'm so far behind, but i'll try.

what would ur primary reaktion be if a prostitute came to ur church?   1) don't u dare come into the house'f god till u clean up ur akt.   2) my place is not to judge but to discern (what's rt n' wrong, what's sinful, etc.).   3) god 4gives all'f us.   jesus died on the cross 4 every1's sins, all'f them, not just the socially acceptable sins.

1107p: kaela got home not 2 long 'go.   now we're watching the highly anticipated premier episode'f sbs's 3 ι / sei(3)ip clover.   of course, jerome's already posted some'f the early episodes on bronx's junkyard, so u really ought to go there n' dl 'em.   like, of course, ppl on bronx's have been anticipating this drama cos ȿ lee hyori stars in it; but personally, i think the best drama in recent months is definitely kbs's ̾ϴ, Ѵ / mianhada, saranghanda, as u all know cos i don't stop saying it.


2005.03.08

1st fantasia in a long time

ȭ 1009p: 2nite, the beautiful kaela hwang came w/ me to taekwondo praktice; thus it's 1'f the best nites i've had in ages.   we showed up tardy 4 praktice, but it's ok.   after praktice, we went to fantasia @ cupertino village 4 boba drinks. ٺ? ٺ̾?   it's been a long time since i had 1'f these kinds'f nites.   i miss them very much.   kaela, sooni, n' me @ praktice n' fantasia. *sigh* it's been so long.   we'll eat ramyuhn 4 dinner 2nite.

kelly/llamrei n' roland, thank u very much 4 signing my gbook!!!   thank u!   i love hearing from my friends.   thanks.   (i'm sorry it took so long 4 me to respond.)   others, plz sign.

llamrei sez that a recent fashion trend she's noticed is "shrunken sweaters and cardigans.   it's a nice look on some people."   that's funny cos 4 the past few wks, kaela n' i've been talkin' 'bout this sweater that she has that i accidentally washed in the machine n' shrank.   i've been telling her to wear it neway.   she sez it feels 2 tight.   it's a beautiful sweater made'f merino wool from banana republik, n' she only wore it a few times b4 this happened.   me, i never put my dry clean only clothes in the laundry hamper to make sure this doesn't happen, but... *sigh* neway, it's not that small.   it looks fine on her, so i really think she should wear it.   otherwise, i sed i'd help her stretch it out back to its normal size.   whatever it takes...   there've been times that i accidentally shrank 1'f my merino wool sweaters, n' i've been able to stretch it back out.


2005.03.09

planning out spring brk

ħ: the elektricity n' h2o bill's due 2morrow.   so 4 our proposed trip to socal during the spring brk, i guess we should rent a car in order not to put mileage on either'f ours.   originally, i figured we'd try to spend as much time as possible down there, which'd conflikt w/ hopes'f going snowboarding during the brk.   i mean, in order to satisfy my snowboarding need, i wish i could spend the whole wk in tahoe, but...   well, if we're gonna rent a car, we hafta pay 4 each day, so maybe i don't need to try so hard to maximize the time spent in socal.   i hope to make 2 daytrips to tahoe during this spring brk.   i'm proposing making a daytrip on mon n' 'nother no the following sat.   i hope to hit alpine meadows w/ 'least the beautiful kaela hwang on mon.   then, on sat, i can hit up northstar w/ duk kyung while kaela's @ our friend susan's bridal shower, rt?   hrm...   it's interesting - kaela n' i had a co.ed wedding shower, but it cms that every1 else has female.only bridal showers n' then just a bachelor party 4 the guys.   4 example, on the sat @ the beginning'f spring brk, the sat b4 easter, our friend nick has a bachelor party.   originally, i'd wondered if we'd go to alpine meadows that day, so i only responded as a "maybe" on the evite, but maybe i'll change that to a "yes," if i solidify these plans to hit up alpine meadows on mon, drive down to socal on tues, stay till fri, n' hit northstar on sat.   isn't it funny?   there's a bachelor party on the 1st sat'f spring brk n' a bridal shower on the 2nd sat'f spring brk.   the bachelor party's not gonna be 1'f those stereotypical fleshfest but the guys r s'pposed to have some korean bbq n' then play broomball.   as u know, i prob'ly wouldn't attend a bachelor party that would involve strip clubs, etc.   this yr, so far, we have 4 weddings to attend!

[later] i like to keep my nails short, well.trimmed.

[later] have u heard'f the movie bride and prejudice?   the maker'f bend it like beckham set out to make this bollywood version'f jane austen's pride and prejudice.   i saw it's currently playing @ amc mercado 20.   it's 'bout an indian gurl who falls in love w/ a rich, euro.amerikan dude.   on y! movies, the boston globe's wesley morris is quoted as calling it "...excruciatingly petty in its handling of racial identity and cultural fidelty."   i read the full article "for bland bollywood 'bride,' reception's fair".   yah, i can believe what wesley morris wrote.   the aktually movie review article is pretty good.   ha ha, am i giving a review'f a review?   honestly, i think it's time 4 south.asian.fusion cinema to move on, the way that chinese.amerikan/korean.amerikan cinema has moved on from the joy luck club / double happiness days'f "why can't my parents understand that i'm not the traditional asian kid?!" to more important, real.world topiks.   aktually, there have been better south.asian.fusion movies, i think... they just don't get publicity.   movies like better luck tomorrow n' yellow have better portrayed modern asian.am youth life than the movies from the 1980s n' early 1990s, u know?

check it out; this past wknd i quickly jotted a list'f the korean dramas we've watched (only including the 1s we pretty much watched from start to finish): ָ, ؿ, , , õǰ, ܿ , ĸǿ, , ƾ, ȩ, ! ʽ , ξ б , Ȳ ù, Ǯ Ͽ콺, ڰ Ҷ, ̾ϴ, Ѵ, 丮 Ϲٵ, ȭ, Ŭι... well, we're just starting that, but i intend to watch it from start to finish... same w/ ȭ...

[later] i have a li'l bit'f a sore back cos kaela n' i jumped rt into doing kicking paddle drills last nite w/o ne warmup.   it was the repeated 'narabang's that did it.

[later] evening, still@werk.com: since all the online journallers r posting up their nerd scores, i'll share mine: 89, "high nerd."   u wanna take the test? nerd quiz on wxplotter.com...   they've got some other kewl tests there that i'd like to try someday when i have more time.


2005.03.10

paid bills this morn

ħ: i paid a whole bunch'f bills 2day.   i woke up rather early cos the beautiful kaela hwang woke up early.

[later] , still@werk.com: this morn, i paid the santa clara city utility bill by bringing it to the drop box w/ sooni.   i woke up decently early, as i sed.   'twas a beautiful morn; the start'f a beautiful day here in the heart'f the silly valley.   i took sooni 4 a walk 'round santa clara's civic center or city hall or whatever it is.   i walked to the nice fountain the have along el camino real.   it has ducks n' pigeons.   the h2o's really green, n' the air 'round the fountain's full'f some kind'f small, flying insekt.   i worry that they're mosquitos.   don't some brits call mosquitos "midgies"?   neway, it grossed me out so i didn't stay there long.   mosquitos + pigeons = a good recipe 4 west nile virus, rt?   i took sooni home n' went to werk.

i went to lunch w/ vince 2day @ yoyo sushi n' grille @ the mercado.   he commented that the mercado was like sproul plaza 4 the silly valley.   he's rt.   i'd 4gotten that, on sunny days, all the young werking ppl in silly valley congregate there.   i tried not to eat 2 much since i feel so broke these days, but my total still came out to be almost $20, u know?   *sigh* this morn, i paid a bunch'f bills online (in addition to that 1 i dropped off), so i feel really broke.

1044p: 1 good thing 'bout how i've stalled on buying the transflash ram card is that they now have 256mb cards instead'f just 128mb n' 64mb.   of course, they're more expen$ive, but... *shrug*   yah, i still need to get a transflash ram card 4 my stoopid motorola v710 fon.   i'd like to get a 802.11b wireless card n' a 1gb sd ram card 4 my palmone tungsten t5 pda/handheld.   nething else i wish i could buy?   well, that ridiculous dyson animal vacuum cleaner, a replacement car stereo...

[later] 1112p, while watching ȭ / yoorihwa: yesterday, after werk, i grocery $hopped @ / galleria.   i came home n' cooked some 쵿 nokcha oodong (green tea oodong/udon).   i threw lots'f stuff into it.   i try to use a variety'f ingredients when i cook, i guess.   yesterday evening, i lifted weights @ the company gym.   2nite, i didn't exercise, un4tunately.   i stayed @ werk pretty late.   i werked a very long day.   i plan not to werk such a long day 2morrow but plan to hit the gym sometime.   we have t3s grx bible study 2morrow nite.   on sat, i have the grx "salt" training/mtg/class in the morn.   @ church, we're s'pposed to help move all the administrative offices to diff rooms.   i'd like to help, but we'll c.   sat's also the uc open up in berkeley, so i dunno.   i've gotta go to 'least some'f the uc open, n' yah... i'll hafta miss 'least the morn, rt?

am i happy?   r u happy?   [later] 1127p: hrm... yesterday evening, i was watching better luck tomorrow on dish netwerk.   i do really like that movie.   i was thinking 'bout what john cho's char steve sez to the main char ben 'bout always wanting more after getting 1 thing after 'nother that u want.   :-/ that's not the most original topik, no; sure, it's been sed b4; but it was interesting to hear.   should i just feel content w/ life these days?   i've got a beautiful wife, a beautiful house, n' a beautiful doggy.   what more could i want?   must i have that beautiful vacuum, that beautiful 256mb transflash ram card, that beautiful 802.11b sd card?   where do i stop wanting things?   it does suck to lose so much $$$ to bills. :-( i had to pay my car insurance recently.   earlier, i had 4gotten 'bout that.   man...   $$$ flies 'way, u know?   is there a way 4 me to make more $$$?   :-/ not really... if i werk harder @ werk, werk longer hrs, i don't get paid overtime or nething.   however, the fruits'f my labour might lead to an eventual promotion or raise, rt?   nuthin' immediate, no...   these things take time.   i need to build up a good reputation.   then managers'll trust me w/ more important projekts.   subsequent success w/ more important projekts'll lead to more recognition, which could lead to a promotion or raise, u know?   i've gotta werk hard.

2nite, i didn't exercise, but i did clean our bathrms.   they were really nasty.   kaela cooked the nokcha soojeibi (green tea "hand.cut" pasta shaped like pig ears) that i bought yesterday when i grocery $hopped.   aktually, yesterday, i grocery $hopped 2ice; can u believe that?   *sigh* yah, taking care'f groceries, cooking, n' cleaning sure takes up a lot'f time.   i sure don't get paid to do ne'f those things, so the time n' energy i spend on those things don't generate revenue. :-/ making more $$$ v. $aving $$$...   if a person has a lack'f $$$, he/she can do 1, the other, or both.   cutting co$ts or generating more revenue... think 'bout it, a company has to make decisions whether to do 1, the other, or both.   sometimes u can't do both.   an individual person can choose to invest time, $$$, energy, n' resources.   sometimes it takes $$$ to make $$$.   sometimes, it take energy to make $$$.   sometimes it takes time to make $$$, i s'ppose.

maybe i'll go to palace bbq buffet w/ my cowerkers 4 that b.day party 2morrow.   i misunderstood the e.mail 2day n' thought they were going 2day.   later, i reread it, n' i guess they're going 2morrow.   ppl really like palace bbq buffet.   when nonkoreans think 'bout korean fud, they almost always tihnk'f korean bbq, but there r so many other kinds'f korean fud besides bbqed stuff.


2005.03.12

ٺť

, 1254a: it's late @ nite.   yesterday, 4 lunch, i went w/ my cowerkers to the famous ٺť goongjuhn babaekyoo bwoopei palace bbq buffet.   it was a great lunch, n' i didn't overeat.   in the evening, i went to the bally total fitness gym to werk off those calories n' fat.   i lifted weights, did some abwerk, n' did 20 mins on the stairmaster.   i was s'pposed to meet kaela hwang there, but she left rt as i got there.   as i was parking, i saw she had a good parking space, by the time i got out'f my car, her car was gone n' on the rd. *sigh* :-(   i skipped dinner cos i was still full from my protein.rich lunch.   i went to t3s grx couples bible study.   we noticed that i was just 1 of 3 womanless men @ 2nite's bible study.   we noted that was funny cos most christian grps r woman.dominated!   i 'member all thru.out college, my non.churchgoing guy friends always commented that i had so many female friends.   that was just cos they were friends from iv (intervarsity christian fellowship).   they were just friends.

[later] 116a: so how r u?   [later] 144a: i just wasted a bunch'f time watching stoopid video clips on ebaumsworld.com.   i went there cos a guy from the bible study sed that there was a video clip'f some1 finishing super mario bros 3 in 11 mins.   indeed there is.   [later] 200a: i just killed more time looking @ the stoopid stuff they have on that site.   2morrow's the uc open.

[later] 208a: ok, here's a funny thing i found there:




2005.03.13

i miss ucmap.

Ͽ, 833a: i saw matt whang put up a result from this "what gender is ur brain?" test on his blog.   my result?

i dunno; i think the beautiful kaela hwang'd give u plenty'f evidence'f how i'm the brute, insensitve male 2 often.

ok, i tried out 'nother stoopid, silly test on blogthings.com, "what rejected crayon are you?"   my result was tin man's johnson silver.   whah?!   the test just asks what colour underwear u'r wearing.   i answered an honest navy, n' that's the result i got. :-? *shrug* weird.   tsss... it's just a random answer generator!   i tried typing in blue.   then i entered it 'gain.   i got 2 diff answers. *sigh* stoopid test.   ok, there'r many stoopid tests n' quizes on blogthings.com.   someday, when i have time to waste, i'll take more.   rt now, i wanna take just 1 more.   how 'bout"what is your seduction style?"   eh, i took the short test, but it's really stoopid.   i mean, after reading the questions i realised it was really stoopid.   i mean, i read the questions n' didn't really find the choices'f answers to be a good selektion n' not even interesting or amusing.   the answer i got was "siren/rake," whatever that means.   ok, i'll take 1 more: "what does your name mean?"   "b is for boisterous.   e is for expressive.   n is for normal.   o is for outgoing."   huh?   i don't think i'm that normal, am i???   i hope not.   a couple'f times in my younger yrs, i did wish to be normal, but in this stage'f my cyclical life, i don't mind being abnormal.   babynamewizard.com, now that's an awesome site!   u should check out the name voyager sometime!!!

847a: i should shower n' get ready 4 church.   i hope kaela wakes up 4 church.   in the middle'f the nite, @ ~500a, i woke up to find her studying in bed.   yesterday, i volunteered.   well, 1st i went to grx's salt (servant and leader training, or is it leadership?!).   then, i volunteered there to help w/ moving the pastors' offices n' "kidzone."   i ate a couple'f slices'f costco combo pizza.   then i took off straight from there to berkeley to volunteer @ the 36th annual uc open taekwondo championship!   returning to ucmap 4 a day almost brought tears to my eyes.   i really miss berkeley the way a malajdusted freshman in the dorms misses home.   i know the program overwerked lots'f ppl, including me; but it's a place full'f such youthful, vibrant energy; n' i really miss that.   ppl r fun, smart, ambitious...   ha... it's not like the silly valley doesn't contain all those things; it's seriously not the suburbia that berkeleyites n' san franciscans fear it is.   that's such a misconception.   the silly valley's so much less a suburb than ppl think, but i do miss that special berkeley feel.   i mean, berkeley not only an urban jungle n' a college town.   i mean... well, those r 2 things it is... but uhm... i dunno... there's sumpthin' else 'bout it... i guess that it's just the fakt that berkeley's the best urban jungle n' best college town. ha ha ha.   neway, it's not just the city or university that i miss.   yesterday, i realised i really, really, really miss the taekwondo program/club n' ucmap.

neway, i'll talk more 'bout this later.   rt now, i've gotta shower n' attempt to wake kaela up.   i'm pretty scared'f that.

[later] 247p: ok, so we went to church.   we were like 0.5 hr / 30 mins late.   i don't like being late, but @ least we got there rt @ the beginning'f pastor dave's msg.   i hate missing praise n' worship time, u know?   i mean, it's sucks to admit that sometimes i just have a good time singing even tho' i should make sure i'm always thinking'f god n' not simply enjoying the muzik, but *shrug* i dunno...   we met up w/ duk there.   after church, the 3'f us went to eat lunch @ ¥ yeitnal jjajang.   then kaela n' i came home cos kaela sed she wanted to study, but well... we've just been sittin' here watching tv.

so yesterday, was the uc open.   after the us taekwondo akademy bunch came home, we went to dinner @ krung thai #2.   i drove home pretty fast.   it was good fud, really good fud; but i wasn't 2 hungry cos i ate some leftover fud from the v.i.p. room @ the tournament.   we ordered a bunch'f fud, but i didn't eat 2 much.   yah, i've really gotta watch how much i eat.   i wanna get in good shape.   i refused to let this real werking life get the best'f me or whatever.   there were wks when i didn't get to go to the gym as much cos'f werk.   i haven't been able to praktice taekwondo as much, rt?   yah, those things all suck; but i do need to be serious 'bout my career.   neway, i've gotta watch what i eat since i don't get to exercise as much.   i don't want love handles n' definitely don't want a pot belly.   sometimes i c older men that r pretty skinny 'cept 4 a pot belly.   i don't want even a pot belly, u know?   i really don't.

have worried that in latter part'f the past decade i've focused more on superficial, physical, n' materialistic things as opposed to things i focused on in the past.   like, u know how i was back in hi skool n' the early part'f undergrad?   i was a pretty scrubby, scruffy, chubby, rather unhandsome guy, rt?   *shrug* i wasn't very physical fit, but i was a pretty interesting guy.   ppl thought i was weird, n' i guess i liked it, prob'ly out'f evil vanity, u know?   i mean, when ppl think u r weird n' that u stand out, then u sort'f get attention, rt?   back in those days, i was really into muzik.   i always played guitar n' wanted to have a rock band so badly, rt?   later, in college, i stopped wanting to stand out but went into a short phase'f my life where i really wanted to blend in.   [later, after interruption] this paragraph was poorly written, poorly developed, n' not going newhere, so i decided to strike it out.   that is, if u r viewing this page w/ a browser that has the overstrike attribute then, u'll c that i striked out the paragraph.   it wasn't a very good paragraph.   sometime in the future, i'll try to revisit this topik n' write sumpthin' better.

its 505p?! whoa!   i stayed @ home the whole afternoon.   kaela was s'pposed to study, so she stayed home, n' i figured i'd stay home w/ her.   hrm...   well, i guess it's a good thing i didn't go out n' $hop n' $pend $$$.   however, i feel we need a few groceries.   4 example, i figure i can cook dduhkbokki 2nite but prob'ly only if i get some cabbage. *shrug* or should i make it w/o cabbage? *shrug*

[later] 1132p: ok, so i went to ѱ hangook market earlier, this evening.   i bought some groceries.   also, 2day, i did lots'f laundry.   i stayed home all day after church n' lunch.   kaela n' i watched tv, n' i did laundry.   i cooked dduhkbokki using this very cute, multi.coloured joraengi dduhk.   joraengi dduhk is very cute.   as u c, these days, when i make dduhkbokki, i don't usually use the traditional "rice pinkies" dduhkbokki dduhk.   no, i like to use joraengi dduhk or else those cute animal/star shaped dduhk that they make 4 kids.   :-) the dduhkbokki turned out ok.   i'm thinking, someday, when i want to make it really well, i think i'll try to cook it in 2 pans: 1 pan 4 boiling the dduhk in hot sauce, 'nother 4 sautéeing the other ingredients.   i did that b4 in the past, but i wasn't sure how much'f a diff it makes.   as u c, i like to make very gourmet dduhkbokki, which is funny (if u don't know) cos dduhkbokki's not s'pposed to be a fancy, gourmet fud.   it's like saying u'll make gourmet ballpark franks or whatever.   i mean, granted, since the 1980s, the concept'f "gourmet" has snuck into all sorts'f genres'f fuds u wouldn't expekt.   i mean, think 'bout all those barney's burgers type gourmet burger joints or don't even go that far n' consider all those now so mundane "six-dollar burgers," where some1 throws on some avocados onto a burger n' calls it gourmet.   consider all those "gourmet" burgers @ tgif's or chili's etc.

well, 'nother werkwk starts 2morrow.

oh yah, b4 i sign off 4 the nite, i wanna express my admitted disappointment w/ babynamewizard.com in how it doesn't dokument "ethnik" names other than european language names, such as spanish names.   how come there's no records 4 common asian first names like chen, quynh, joon, or raj?!   honestly, that disgusts me.

also, i wanna log here that 2day @ grx pastor dave talked 'bout real life confrontations.   did i already mention that?   i guess a big pt'f his sermon was how we can avoid church gossip.   yah, i've sort'f 4gotten how awful n' evil church gossip is.   after all, sooo many anti.christians out there rejekt our beliefs just cos they can so easily pt out how much christians gossip in a bad way 'bout each other n' r so judgemental, etc.   yah, it's un4tunately true, but i'd like to think many'f us r trying to end that.   i mean, obviously, it's a hard task, but... *shrug* someday...


2005.03.14

pi 2005

ħ: is this what they call pi day?   it's 3.14 (march 14) 2day.   ok, a quick google confirmed that it is indeed pi day.   i figured.   how r u?   i'd like it if u would plz sign my gbook.   really, i'd like u to do that.   plz do.   i really appreciate it when ppl sign my gbook n' let me know they're reading.   this is like a pbs pledge drive, but it's a gbook signature drive. ha ha ha.

so how r u, this pi day morn?   me, i'm ok.   i went to bed @ a decent time last nite.   i guess i might'f fallen asleep just a li'l after midnite.   i woke up @ some hr in the early morn to find the beautiful kaela hwang studying in bed.   (hrm, i know there's sumpthin' grammatically incorrekt w/ the gerund in that last sentence, but i'm a bit unsure'f how to fix it.)   that happened sometime last wk as well.   i guess it's good she ends up studying, no matter what time it is.   i mean, she admits that she was totally distrakted this wknd, during the daytime.   i mean, after church yesterday, she came home, saying she'd studying instead'f being outdoors in the beautiful sunshiney day, but ended up just watching tv.   i dunno what to say.   that totally goes against my studying philosphies, but i can't stop her.   me, i would've set aside / budgeted time to enjoy the sunshine in order to complement my studying.   i would've made sure to budget time to do things other than studying such that, when it came time to study, i'd have those things all out'f my system.   i keep trying to convince kaela that she needs to do this, but she won't listen to me.   maybe if some1 else told her, she might listen; i don't know.

this wknd, mainland china signed some law against taiwanese independence.   this should've been the top story all over u.s. news, but instead i just kept hearing stories 'bout this woman who was held hostage in the south by some convikted rapist that also shot a bunch'f ppl in court.   i mean, that's big news 2, but really!   this china.taiwan thing's very important, n' the media's just totally ignored it from what i've cn.   here, read a y! news associated press (ap) asia article: "China Law Authorizes Force Against Taiwan" - "China's parliament enacted a law Monday authorizing force to stop rival Taiwan from pursuing formal independence, sparking outrage on the self-governing island and warnings that the measure would fuel regional tensions.".   :-/ dude, reunification? really, china n' taiwan r totally diff countries @ this pt.   "A leading Taiwanese lawmaker criticized the measure as a 'savage law.'   It shows that China 'feels futile and doesn't know how to deal with Taiwan's democracy and freedom,' said Chen Chin-jun, a member of the ruling Democratic Progressive Party.   'We can clearly see that Taiwan and China ... are not one China.   They are two Chinas or one country on each side,' Chen said in Taipei.   'Whatever law they passed, Taiwan has its own sovereignty, government, country and democracy.'"   i dunno; i think this is pretty bad news, but i dunno.   i mean, i guess i dunno what'll happen next.   neway, we should be concerned.   u should be concerned.

[later] what else has been up?   *shrug* [later] ... [upes, interrupted]

[much later] 1014p: now, i'm watching the footage from the uc open n' converting the mini.dv to .mpg.   later, i'll convert it to dvd, but rt now, i'll do .mpg.   i need kaela's laptop 4 dvd.   i guess i sort'f miss competition taekwondo.

2nite, i stayed @ werk late.   my cad software class went rt up till its skeduled end time instead'f ending early.   i went to costco to get gas.   how much was it there? uh, like $2.139 or 2.149, i 4get.   neway, i filled up.   then i made a wrong turn on my way back to werk, so i decided just to go home n' eat a li'l dinner b4 going back to werk.   sooni was happy to c me.   i ate some salad w/ a gardenburger riblet thingy.   while heating up the riblet as instrukted by the box, i burned a whole thru the glad tupperware. :-( those glad tupperwares r nice.   well, i lost 1 2nite. :-( i threw it in the trash.   after werking, i went to the company gym.   i'd 4gotten my sneakers @ home, so i wore my shower thongs.   i didn't do ne cardio, since i can't run in thongs.   i avoided the freeweights cos i didn't wanna risk dropping weights on my exposed toes.   i just did machine weights n' lots'f ab stuff.   i need to get my abs back to the shape they were in when i was competiting.   back then, i sure had less fat 'round the waist.   however, i was just plain pretty skinny, i've gotta admit.   i don't think i wanna be that skinny ever 'gain.   i'd rather keep the muscle i've gained since then.   well, i dunno... i did have lots'f leg msucle back then.   i wonder if my legs had more muscle then than now. *shrug* neway... ha ha, as i sed yesterday, i worry that i'm just 2 absorbed in superficial, physical n' materialistik things these days.   after all, back in my early undergrad days, i wouldn't have written a pathetic paragraph 'bout abs n' muscles, rt? ha ha ha.

2005.03.15

condi on taiwan/china

ȭ ħ: from y! news politiks - reuters -- "Rice Says U.S. Concerned at China Military Build-Up": "Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said Tuesday the United States is concerned about China's military build-up due to Beijing's tensions with Taiwan, an island Washington has vowed to defend.   'Certainly, the military spending is concerning because it is taking place at a time when the cross-Strait issue (with Taiwan) is not still resolved and in which the United States has certain commitments to a peaceful solution,' Rice said at the start of a six-nation trip to Asia that includes China.   The United States has warned China that an anti-secession law it passed Monday authorizing the use of force against Taiwan if it declares statehood runs counter to recent progress in Beijing's relations with the democratic island."   Rice said U.S. military alliances in Asia, such as with Japan and South Korea, could help keep stability and the balance of military power in the region, although she stressed the United States was no threat to China.   uhm, well, 1'f the last things i'd want is to have more u.s. troops stationed in east asia.   i mean 'member the u.s. tank that ran over the (south) korean gurl?


2005.03.17

st. pet tricks day

ħ: why is it that, in amerika, when we were kids skoolteachers made such a big thing out'f st. patrick's day?

dude, all u expen$ive purse fans (which apparently refers to most asian females), check out bagborroworsteal.com!   that's hilarious.   this company has a netflix type program where, 4 $19.95~99.95 (depending on the tier'f designer bags u can access), u can have 'em send u a bag 4 u to borrow 4 as long as u want.   just like w/ netflix, u just gotta send the bag back when u wanna get a new 1.   crazy, huh?   man, just think 'bout how many li'l pomos (pomeranians) poop in each'f those bags!!!   i dunno if this company'll succeed, but i think it's a very clever application'f a not.so.new idea, rt?

[later] so yah... it's st. patrick's day, n' i was wondering if the name "patrick"'s related to "peter," "pedro," "pierre," etc.   i checked babynames.com n' was reminded that it is not; it's totally celtic/gaelic n' unrelated to those rock names.   (by "rock names," i'm referring to how "peter," "pedro," n' "pierre" mean "rock.")   babynames.com is better than babynamewizard.com cos it includes asian names.   however, it doesn't have the baby name voyager that babynamewizard.com has, nor does it have korean names altho' it has chinese, japanese, cambodian, vietnamese, hindi, n' others.   neway, ha ha, why do i care 'bout baby names?   we're not gonna have a baby netime soon.   when i sat down n' talked to dr. min on sat during the black belt mens lightweight finals'f the uc open, he asked if we're gonna have kids soon.   i sed our usual, "no, but we have a dog"; n' @ 1st he then asked, "so u'r not going to have kids?"; but i replied, "kaela's back in skool now"; n' he sed sumpthin' like, "oh, so u have a plan that u'r following, ok."

as u know, the 1st mention'f the beautiful kaela hwang's name in each entry get's a hyperlink, but i did not say "the beautiful kaela hwang" in my conversation.   that would be odd, wouldn't it?

last nite, i stayed @ werk.com till 900p.   it was sort'f depressing cos i had planned to leave werk @ a decent time, werkout @ the gym (either the werk.com gym or bally's), go home, cook ¥ jjajangmyuhn, n' enjoy my evening.   :-/ :-( no, that didn't happen.   i was stuck_late@werk.com.

[later] : there's a new asian.am movie coming out called mail order wife.   it has the gurl from charlotte sometimes eugenia yuan.   yah, i don't know if the movie's gonna be good or not, but i briefly read the synopsis on their website.   it's a movie 'bout a filmmaker making a film (that's what they're s'pposed to do) 'bout a fat loser in ny who orders a mail order wife from burma.   he aktually finds this loser guy n' sez he wants to make a movie 'bout him, so the loser guy gets to pick a wife.   apparently, something goes wrong in the making'f the movie cos the loser guy turns out to be 2 much'f a loser or sumpthin'.   neway, i 1st read 'bout it in a spam mail from abzolut produktions.

yesterday, i was @ werk late, as i sed.   i didn't werkout.   i felt like i was coming down w/ a cold by the end'f the evening / start'f the nite, but i guess i often feel like that when i'm overwerked.   i came home n' cooked some nokcha soojeibi.   i didn't just wanna eat canned soup or frozen pizza.   i figured i wanted sumpthin' warm n' soupy cos i felt sick.   well, i'm not sick, i guess.   3 Ŭι sei.ip clover was on last nite.   wait, no! i lie!!!   last nite was a ȭ yoorihwa nite.   that's our current sbs soomok (wed/thurs) drama.   dude, it's hilarious that on 3 Ŭι sei.ip clover, ȿ lee hyori's charakter (The main char)'s name is kang jinah, as in jeanna kang'f jeannakang.com, also known as kaela's sister.   that's hilarious.   man, does she have ne appreciation 4 the fakt that her namesake's being played out by bronx's junkyard's #1 dreamgurl?   ha ha ha.   it's interesting tho' that even tho' millions n' millions'f asian boys go gahgahgoogoo over hyori, she can aktually look very nondescript when she wants to.   i mean, like in the drama, as she's the main, female protoganist, she can't look 2 glamourous.   as u know, the main, evil b!tch gets to be the outwardly glamourous 1, not the main protagonist.   that's usually a basik rule'f korean dramas... i guess not always, but often that's the case.   i figure the producers want the "avg korean gurl" to identify w/ the main char, rt?   even tho' some asian.ams think that all korean gurls r spoiled, rich gurl ֺ gongjoobyuhng w/ a pomo in each purse, the reality is that, in korea, there's no way that every single gurl could be like that, u know?   maybe, in amerika, the families who've immigrated from korea r, on avg, better off; but u've gotta consider the general korean tv.viewing publik, u know?   the other day, we were watching the korean gameshow called x.man.   fin.k.l.'s was a contestant that day but hyori made a cameo guest appearance, where she came out dressed like some berkeley dorm gurl, u know?   isn't that interesting?   b4 the bjunkyard bruthas get on my case 4 dissin' their love goddess, i've gotta clarify that that i don't mean to bag on her attire but that it was just really in the style'f chicks i would c in berkeley, n' that's not necessarily a bad thing.   keep in mind: berkeley women r quality women.   n' i don't mean that in a hairy armpitted "intelligent" way either.   berkeley is beautiful.   [a li'l later] terms like berkeley.vision r kind'f misfounded.   as i've sed many times b4, sure, that amerikan, bunny.related "men's entertainment" mag s'pposedly ranked berkeley 1'f the worst skools as far as number'f good.looking woman, but u know what? 1) sure, maybe berkeley doesn't have as many'f those boob.job, parlour.tan types, but it has lots'f good.looking women'f other "genres."   2) gimme a brk, it's cali4nia, how far down the list could it be?   u know socal gurls've always been so highly acclaimed, n' berkeley gets lots'f socal immigrants/transplants 4 skool, u know?   the way i figure, why not marry a berkeley alum that came from socal, a socal berkeley chick?   (oh, whadya know? i already did. ha ha ha!)

while we're on the subjekt'f appearances n' korean dramas, lemme make 1 commment: usually, the parents on k.dramas come from a small pool'f aktors n' aktresses that just rotate from 1 show to the next.   they just have that parent look.   however, lately, i've noticed that some k.dramas r casting really young.looking moms instead (to boost ratings of course, just as they would on amerikkkan tv).   hrm, @ what pt is this ridiculously unrealistik?   i mean, shoot, sometimes u've got a 20.sumpthin' charakter who's mom looks like she's 'bout 4 yrs older than him, u know?   hrm, some1 should tell me which k.drama started this trend.

[later] so @ the end'f last wk, i received my new, more powerful laptop@werk.com.   i don't yet have admin rts on the 'puter, so that really sucks.   not having admin rts makes a 'puter pretty useless.   seriously!   well, i still have my old werk.com laptop but don't know 4 how much longer.   i'm worried i'll start having to use my ol' desktop 'puter more @ home.   yesterday, i tried to clean up that hard drive.   i have lots'f mp3s n' videos on that 'puter.   i really need to burn those files onto dvds via kaela' super.duper sony vaio laptop, n' then clear them off.   i really need to do that.

party costco:   yesterday, during my lunchbrk, i visited costco cos i knew kaela wanted more environmentally unfriendly bottled h2o (w/ a $1 off coupon).   i also bought other things like paul newman blueberry.pecan cereal, a 3.pak'f 0.5-gal silk brand soy milk, glucosamine pills, scotch.brite sponges (not cos we need them [as i recently bought a 15.pak from costco] but cos there was a 2.4.1 coupon!)... did i buy nething else?   i 4get.   i gotta admit, 1 reason i went to costco yesterday was cos i was quite tempted by their 20% sandisk flash media coupon.   i considered buying a 1gb ultra ii sd card.   why would i want that?   cos then i could store lots'f mpgs on it n' watch them on my palmone tungsten t5 while @ the gym, u know?   *sigh* i dunno, man... there's things i'd like to have, n'... yah, no $$$.   neway, lemme tell u more 'bout watching mpgs on my t5 in a paragraph to follow soon.   (or "a paragraph soon to follow"???)   costco was crowded on a wed lunchbrk.   it cmed like all'f silly valley was there.   it was full'f young engrs, housewives, retired ppl, office werkers... in a way, it reminded me'f the ol' party safeway on college ave. @ the oakland.berkeley border, 'cept every1 here was older.   there cmed to be a 25+ rule being en4ced, j/k.

[later] 1116p: 2nite, i went to taekwondo sparring praktice.   after praktice, a few'f went to eat @ gilmok.   aktually, originally i thought 'bout going to 屹 yangpyuhng haejanggook.   then, ernest mentioned the "corner place," which is gilmok's english name, but that threw us off cos ernest was referring to 屹 yangpyuhng haejanggok, which is aktually in the corner'f the stripmall.   i went home to pick up kaela n' parked rt in front'f gilmok.   kaela n' i didn't c the grp inside gilmok, n' i feared maybe they really meant 屹 yangpyuhng haejanggook n' found them huddled up in front'f it.   nuts, kaela n' i felt bad cos the ajuhssi @ gilmok, who loves sooni, prob'ly saw us pull into that parking space, so we would've felt bad, pulling into that space rt in front'f his restaurant, w/ the doggy he loves so much, n' then taking off to 'nother restaurant.   i do like 屹 yangpyuhng haejanggook tho'.   oh well...   2nite's sparring was good.   i only got to spar the hi skool kids. ha ha.   they pit the oldest guy w/ the youngest guys.   well, i didn't spar the middle skool kids 'least... wait, r those 2 other kids middle skool or hi skool? *shrug* neway, ... [later] even tho' i was sort'f "minor league," it was fun.   i got a li'l bruised on my shin, n' i gotta admit, i sort'f missed that feeling'f getting banged up on a regular basis.


2005.03.18

reflektions'f a shaggy man

1221a: i need a haircut.   as u c, i'm still up.   i was just writing yesterday's entry, but now it's 2day, no longer yesterday.   i really need a haircut.   yah, sparring praktice yesterday evening was fun.   i felt we sparred very teknically, which is always better than brawling.   that's good.   as i kept saying a couple'f days 'go, i really miss ucmap n' cal taekwondo.   however, 4 a small, private dojang, our us taekwondo akademy's a great place to be, lemme tell u.   1 thing that was great (n' prob'ly still is great) 'bout ucmap's taekwondo club is that there's lots'f black belts.   really, where else do u c that many decent black belts prakticing on 1 nite?   or more like, prakticing regularly 'least 2 nites a wk... the sheer quantity'f black belts made/makes it a great place to train cos 1) u get variety; u get to spar many ppl, not just a couple'f friends that u get used to (sort'f true) n' 2) 'mongst so many ppl, u inevitably find some1 u really wanna beat, whether it's cos u respekt that person or hate that person, u know?   do u know what i mean?   really...   like, in a small dojang, u kind'f hafta get 'long w/ every1 or else, u'll eventually wanna leave.   however, in a program like @ cal, u might have rivals or even enemies n' still want to hang in there to train harder n' harder to beat that person, beat that person good, u know?   i guess, when u'r @ a smaller skool, u only experience that from going to aktual tournaments.

neway, rt now, i'm considering buying a 256mb transflash ram card off'f ebay .   it's $37.99 + $8 s&h from a seller here in san jo.   i feel i can trust the seller more cos he's in san jo.   the 1 time i got totally ripped off on ebay , it was by a seller over in new york.   yah, i 4got to mention that a couple'f nites 'go, i bought sumpthin' on ebay , it's a replacement overhead clock 4 my subaru forester.   that digital clock broke, n' i've gotta replace it.   i have a feeling it's a part that broke down in many ppl's subaru foresters. :-/ some guy in the midwest is selling a whole mess'f them 4 'lot ¢heaper than what the crooks @ stevens creek auto imports were trying to charge me a long time 'go.   i still need to buy a new car stereo, n' i'm still waiting to find 'nother oem faktory 1999 subaru forester head unit on ebay .   i dunno if i talked 'bout this, but i saw 1 4 an awesome pri¢e a while 'go, but i missed the auktion cos'f werk.   man... that sucked.   @ that time, there were 2~3'f them on sale.   i could've won that 1.   it went 4 ~$25.   man, i'd love to buy 1 4 $25 rather than the $150~200 they'd charge me @ stevens crk auto imports.   i mean, i never asked them there, but i'm sure they'd be ready to rip me off.   *sigh* if i buy this transflash ram card, the things i'd still wanna buy in the near future would be the 802.11b wireless card 4 my palmone tungsten t5 n' the 1gb sd card.   i dunno if i need the ultra ii sd card or just a normal 1.   ultra ii sd cards r just s'pposed to be faster.   yah... well, someday, i'd like to buy that beuatiful vacuum cleaner, but i dunno when that'd be.   :-/   i really wonder what our tax refund'll be like.   we're getting our copy'f turbotax premiere soon.   our fried in the grx t3s couples small grp werks @ intuit, so we asked him to get us turbotax @ his awesome di$¢ount pri¢e.

it appears that w/ the hijackthis program, recommended by jerome, i managed to wipe out the coolwebsearch virus off'f kaela's superduper sony vaio laptop.   however, a few wks b4 that, kaela let her classmate mess w/ her laptop in a futile attempt to get rid'f the virus.   in doing so, he totally skrewed up norton antivirus.   now, kaela's trying to run trillian, n' it won't werk, n' we both suspekt it has sumpthin' to do w/ how norton antivirus got totally skrewed up.   i hate to say this, but it really annoys me when ppl skrew w/ ur 'puter n' don't put it back, u know?   i mean, i know i'm no i.t. expert, but man... some ppl can be so irresponsible when they offer to help fix ppl's 'puters, u know?   i dunno... @>:-(

*sigh* i've gotta backup lots'f data.   i should burn lots'f data from my ol' desktop n' my ol' werk laptop onto dvd or 'least cd.rom. *sigh* i'm s'pposed to burn the us taekwondo akademy uc open matches onto a dvd, but i haven't had the chance cos kaela's been out late most nites this wk w/ her laptop, u know?   i need a haircut.   i badly need a haircut.

taekwondo sparring praktice was fun yesterday.   man, i've sure been talkin' 'bout taekwondo more this wk than i've been in the past yr or so.   when i read ernest's xanga, man, he talks 'bout taekwondo 'lot, n' i've missed being so enthusiastic 'bout taekwondo.   i think this past uc open's really brought me back.   last yr, cos i had that "digital control systems" class on tues n' thurs eves, i had to miss taekwondo 4 a whole semester, n' that (i remind u) was the longest brk i had ever had from taekwondo.   i hate to say this, but my taekwondo skills, 'specially sparring, really went down down downhill in the past couple'f yrs, but i do wanna get back to where i was.   take a look @ guys like jeff kao.   they can take a brk from taekwondo n' pick it rt back up so easily.   i dunno, man; jeff's just a natural, tho'.   do i have that special whatever? *shrug* uhm, it's kinda sad, but i do sort'f wonder if it's all be downhill 4 my taekwondo ever since i left berkeley.   sometimes i wish i could show these newcomers n' youngsters @ our dojang that i really was a much better martial artist n' even competitor several yrs 'go.   however, obviously, that would be extremely vain n' also pretty ptless.   don'tchu think?   i mean, frick, why should i be such a "i used to play hi skool futbol" al bundy type, rt?   that's pretty pathetic.   however, dang... just think 'bout the brk jeff took from taekwondo n' how he could pick it back up so easily.   heh, i guess i don't know 4 sure that it was "so easily," but he sure made it look easy last sat, particularly during his 1st match, in which he kind'f annihilated his opponent.

[a li'l later] 1251a: yesterday, during lunch, i did go to the lunch... uh... ha ha!   that was a typo.   ha ha; i meant to say, yesterday, during lunch, i did go to the gym."   yes, that's a correkt statement.   indeed, that's a correkt statement.   i simply lifted weights n' did some abwerk.   i feel i gave my upper body a decent werkout.   originally, i'd planned todo some cardio stuff on the precor, stairmaster, treadmill, or stationary bike; but the gym started to get 2 crowded.   yah, i felt like i just got a good upper body werkout.   that's the typical amerikkkan "ball player" guy's werkout, rt?   the amerikkkan ideal'f a man's physique is that totally upside.down triangle shape, rt?   all upper body w/o the balanced lower body n' core of martial artists, soccer (real futbol) playas, swimmers, runners, n' other more international athletes, rt? *shrug* yah, it cms to me that the amerikkkan ideal'f the male physique really emphasizes biceps, triceps, n' pecs.   man, pecs?   if u really get a buff chest, then u stretch out ur skin, n' if i u don't stay fit, u'll get soggy, saggy manbreasts, u know?   ugh...

man, i really wanna go take a shower, but i can't finish this entry cos i don't yet have a name 4 it.   what should i call this entry?!   yah, as u c; sometimes i title my entry @ the beginning, but often i title it @ the end.   yesterday's entry recieved its title @ the beginning, but i think 2day's entry's gonna get its title @ the end.

it's fri 2day.   2nite, i'm in charge'f bringing some refreshments to the t3s bible study.   i hope to bring sumpthin' good.   last time, i really dropped the ball by just bringing some sorry cookies.   hrm, no they weren't cookies; they were some kind'f store.bought tarts.   that time, kaela told me she'd make guacamole, but she ended up not coming home to go w/ me to bible study @ all.   well, i hope to do sumpthin' better this time.   however, what?   *sigh* the 1st time that kaela n' i brought refreshments, we brought lots'f lovely peeled persimmons n' a bunch'f delicious gimbap n' a bunch'f soda.   in a way i feel we're 1 n' 1; as in 1 success n' 1 total failure; altho' in a church environment, i definitely should not think like that, rt?

dangit, what time is it?   it's 106a.   dangit, i really gotta shower n' go to sleep, but i still don't have a title!!!   sumpthin' 'bout tekno gadgets n' sparring maybe?   earlier, i thought 'bout "teknosparring," but i don't necessarily wanna be associated w/ the tekno taekwondo equipment brand.   rather, i don't wanna appear to be endorsing them since i've never had ne experience w/ them.   if i were to endorse them, they'd better give me some free stuff, rt?   heh... just think: even tho' there rn't really ne professional taekwondoist in amerikkka (despite attempts to establish an aktual professional league here), u can kind'f get "sponsored" the way extreme sports athletes get sponsored.   dude, i'd love to be a sponsored snowboarder, rt?   heh...

*sigh* looking back on my life in the past decade n' a 0.5, i've been a guitar rocker, a tekno.dj, a martial artist, a snowboarder... dude, i dunno, man... what'm i trying to be?   what'm i trying to prove?   some ppl'd think that list i just gave sounds pretty ridiculous, huh?   @ the same time, u've gotta understand that i'm not a whimsical guy.   if i take on an interest, i go full force / all out.   i'm not a casual snowboarder, as i keep saying.   i go, i go hard, i ride hard, i ride fast, i jump (try to jump hi), do tricks, spin...   i'm not 'bout just taking a casual ride down the slopes.   djing?   i'm not the typical kid who got his parents to buy him a pair'f direkt drive turntables w/o having ne skillz or knowledge'f how to mix musik.   taekwondo?   well, heh... i used to be good, let's say... ha ha ha!   i dunno; was i ever that good?   well, obviously, i was never a nat'l champion or even close to it.   along those lines, i've never been an x.games snowboarder either!   as a dj, i got to dj lots'f parties, some decently big 1s; but i never got a regular gig @ a niteclub or nething, altho' i might've almost gotten the gig @ avalon. *shrug* i put on some decent mix albums, i think.   i dunno, man.   do u think my life's full'f "almosts"???   *sigh* well, these r all pursuits i've somehow chosen to set aside as "free.time" aktivities, while pursuing a main career as an engr, rt?   do i regret that?   no!   i like werking as an engr.   it's often a thankless/underappreciated job, but i like it.   tv shows r made 'bout doktors, lawyers, fire fighters, cops, soldiers, professors, storeowners, writers, aktors... what else? *shrug* shows r never 'bout engrs.   sure, they have shows like those monster garage shows, but that's like "quasi.engineering."   that's usually just geeks w/ tools, gadgets, n' 2 much time on their hands, not real engring which is the applikation'f the physical sciences to an industrial environment, u know?   the robots u c in robot wars?   eh... sure there's some engring involved, but that's not what ppl watch or what gets hi.lited, u know?   the general publik doesn't understand this.

*shrug* dunno what this's 'bout... g'morning.   ݿ ħ / geumyoil achim / fri morn...   i feel like i stink 2day; do i smell bad?   last nite, on slickdeals.net, i saw an awesome deal on a viking 1gb sd card.   i did not akt fast 'nuf, n' now they're sold out. :-( i mean, i meant to buy it last nite, but i fell asleep sometime 'round 200a.   *sigh* isn't that crazy?   that's 1 thing 'bout internet $hopping, u can fall asleep b4 u buy whatchu want.   when u buy in person in an aktual store, that's prob'ly less likely to happen, rt?   neway, i guess in the recent days, i've missed 2 good deals: 1) this sd card n' 2) that subaru forester oem faktory stereo.   last nite on ebay , i bid on a sandisk 256 transflash ram card.   i'm checking rt now if i won, n' it looks like i did.   yup, i got it 4 $37.99 + $8 s&h.   the seller lives in san jo, so i wonder if i can pick it up.   of course, the seller'll still expekt to be paid the s&h fee.   even if i hafta pay that fee, maybe it's still better to pick it up in person. *shrug* that way i know whom to go after if it's defektive or whatever.

some'f my cowerkers might go to this stanfurd holi 2005 2morrow.   check out the website n' click on the about holi link.   that's very interesting.   so ppl hose each other down n' thru coloured powder on each other to welcome in the spring season.   r u ready 4 spring?   spring starts next mon, but 4tunately, we don't spring 4ward 4 daylite saving time 4 'nother month, rt?   r u ready 4 spring?   i still wanna go snowboarding.   this past couple'f wks, it's been so sunshiney in the bay area, 'specially here in the sobay / silly valley.   however, the past couple'f days, it's gotten cloudy, n' 2day, it started raining.   sooni didn't get a walk this morn cos'f the rain.   on wed afternoon, as i left my cad training class @ the techmart carramerica bldg, it was really overcast after being not so overcast earlier, in the afternoon, when i went into my class.   as i left the bldg to walk to my car in the parking garage, which the techmart bldg shares w/ that westin hotel n' the santa clara convention center, the weather really reminded me'f when i used to werk in sf.   the weather really reminded me'f san francisco.   when was the last time i was in sf?   was it new yr's eve?   *sigh* i used to go to sf every single day 4 werk.   i sort'f miss sf; but i do really like living here in the heart'f the silly valley.

last nite, i was writing 'bout how i felt so "minor league" cos i only sparred hi skool kids.   uhm, when i say/write that, some ppl might imagine that i was pounding on some helpless li'l kids, but plz allow me to clarify.   the 1st kid, jisu, he's like 6 ft tall, 160 lbs, n' yah... both these kids r black belts.   i wasn't pounding on helpless li'l kids.

[a li'l later] s'pposedly, if u show ur albertsons savings card @ certain restaurants, u get di$¢ounts.   4 example, @ taxi's hamburgers, florentine's (great mall, deanza blvd, mtn view, blossom hill, beryessa, winchester [isn't that 1 gone?] big basin way [there's 1 on big basin way?!]), n' mayuri indian cuisine, u get 15% off.   @ pizza n' pipes on homestead rd, u get 20% off.   @ the castro valley koko house, u get 20% off.   @ pomegranate in berkeley, u get 15% off.

argh, dude, d'ya know what stinks?   it's these stoopid, ol' levis silver tab jeans i'm wearing!!!   ugh, they must not've dried well after the last time i washed them.   ugh, they stink!!!   i thought i smelled like my sparring gear from last nite.   it's the jeans.   dude, i wanna run home n' change pants!   ugh, i shouldn't have worn these jeans 2day.   in recent months, i haven't worn these jeans cos they're old n' outmoded.   they're out'f style.   however, since it's raining 2day, i didn't want to get my nicer jeans wet, but ugh!   now i stink!

[later] : in the late morn, i couldn't stand the stink in my cubicle, so i rushed home, changed jeans, n' came back.   kaela was still home when i went home but was just 'bout to leave to study @ santana row.   she sed i should meet her 4 lunch 2day.   i tried to call her, now that it's well past lunchtime, but no answer.

[later] 4 an excellent parking spot on a rainy day; praise god, praise god!


2005.03.20

20th monthversary

Ͽ 309p: yesterday was the beautiful kaela hwang's n' my 20th wedding monthversary.   we haven't really celebrated yet cos she's studying 4 her q2 (2q? 2nd 0.25 [quarter]) finals.   (in the industrial world, we'd say q2, but in the akademic world? *shrug*)   kaela sed it's ok if we celebrate next wk, after her finals, instead.   well, i'm still celebrating in my heart. ha ha.   *sigh* yah, i'm happy that we've been married 4 20 months.   i have a wonderful, beautiful wife... altho' a bizzy wife.

what's been up?   *shrug* where did i leave off updating u? *shrug*   well, i can tell u this: i did add more to my 2005.03.18 entry "reflektions'f a shaggy man" when it was really fri, n' not just late thurs nite in th wee hrs when it's officially fri but feels like thurs.   uh, u know what i mean, rt?   yah, if u read the entry promptly after i posted it, u might wanna read it 'gain to c whatchu missed.

well, on fri, lessee, what happened?   uhm, hrm... uhm... i werked.   oh yah! i rushed home in the late morning to change my jeans cos they stunk like mold.   kaela was still home w/ sooni.   later, in the afternoon, i met w/ kaela 4 lunch @ the quizno's @ the corner'f homestead n' kiely.   we had a steakhouse beef dip sandwich (which was very soft n' tasty) n' a cup'f southwest chicken corn chowder.   while waiting 4 kaela to call me back, while i was in my office, i ate a couple'f small slices'f stuft pizza veggie pizza that some other grp in my office left up 4 grabs.   it's sort'f pathetic to be such a scavenger, but i was hungry, n' my grp never buys pizza.   i just realised now that quizno's is patronising those idiots who bag on france by calling their sandwich a "steakhouse beef dip" instead'f its real name: the french dip.   now that i realise that, that really pi$$es me off.   french ppl r good ppl... i mean, in gen'l.   of course, there r plenty'f bad apples, but *shrug* i'm sure there r more bad amerikkkans than bad french ppl.   i shall never buy "freedom" fries, only french fries.   of course, merchants sidestep that issue by selling crisscut, crisscross, steak, ranch, n' curly fries, rt?   maybe the next time i order fries, i'll specifically ask 4 french fries"!   "maybe i will... maybe i will."   that's an all simpsons quote that the cal taekwondo p.crew used to throw 'round; but, personally, i'd say: <<maybe i shall... maybe i shall.>>

neway, what else happened on fri?   well, i werked all day.   i left werk kind'f down n' grey just cos i had 1'f those experiences that i'm trying to grow a thick skin 2wards, i.e. dealing w/ (what some ppl might call) ruff.edged cowerkers.   it's 1'f those situations that some guys'd say, "just kick his @$$," but i prefer to be more diplomatic than that cos i prefer not to get fired.   after werk, i rushed 'round grocery stores along el camino real in sunnyvale to pick up refreshments 4 the t3s (tee 3 south - "it takes three - south") grx couples bible study.   1st i went to trader joe's n' bought some extra.tasty.looking spinach sour cream dip n' some roasted garlic hummus n' some dried beef sticks 4 sooni.   then i went to safeway n' bought some ready2go, prewashed, packaged veggies: 1 bag'f broccolli, cauliflower, n' carrots, n' 1 bag'f sugar snap peas.   i also bought a 2.litre'f diet coke w/ lime ī.ڶ īƮ n' 'nother'f sprite ũƮ w/ some kind'f special clear label that had basketball players on it.   those 2 bottles were bogo (buy 1 get 1 free).   the pri¢e 4 1 was $1.79, but i got 1 free.   that's decently ¢heap, rt? *shrug* i try not to drink 2 much soda.   neway, the the diet coke w/ lime had a coupon that sed sumpthin' 'bout if i bought 2 2.litres'f coca.cola produkts, that i'd get $1 off ne frozen or deli pizza.   well, a couple'f months 'go, 4 some reason, i got in the mail a book'f coupons 4 freschetta frozen pizza, but i didn't have those coupons w/ me @ the time; so, instead, i bought a li'l, li'l cpk (cali4nia pizza kitchen) jamaican jerk chicken pizza, that was on sale 4 $4.99, but now was $3.99 4 me.   hrm, that's expen$ive pizza, considering how small it was.   neway, i bought that, n' i also bought a box'f 6 white castle slyders w/ my 35¢s off coupon that i got in the mail 4 filling out a form on the white castle website.   (dude, when u type "white castle" into google, u get the imdb harold & kumar go to white castle (2004) page 1st not the aktual white castle website.   the official harold and kumar go to white castle movie site is the 2nd link u get on google.)   kaela, who came from the gym, n' i ate some'f those slyders (burgers) 4 dinner b4 going to our bible study.   sooni really wanted some, so i gave her a li'l morsel.   as i was telling kaela, sooni really likes the movie "beno n' sooni go to white castle."   well, we went to bible study.   it was great to hang out n' "fellowship" w/ my christian bruthas n' sistas.   i felt better afterwards, as opposed to feeling a li'l down 'bout werk n' a li'l stressed from running from grocery store to grocery store.   after bible study, kaela n' i came home n' ate that li'l cpk jamaican jerk chicken pizza.   it was late, n' i guess i should've gone to sleep a li'l earlier cos i had plans to meet w/ some'f the bible study guys 4 an early brkfast.   however, i ate that pizza n' had drunk a bunch'f diet dr. pepper @ the bible study.

i 4got to mention sumpthin': on fri afternoon, after quizno's, kaela n' i each had a doughnut from stan's donuts in that same stripmall.   that place looks so classic.   i mean, it's dirty n' rundown, but it sure provides a glimpse into the valley's past as "orchard valley" rather than the silly valley.   *sigh* i do like silly valley n' cali4nia history, i s'ppose.   1nce, a cowerker or else a cowerker's fraternal twin sista sed that i sure know 'lot 'bout cali4nia history.   up until then, i hadn't realised that i did, n' i dunno if i do.   i guess to out'f staters, i cm to know 'lot'f cali4nia history, rt?   neway, check it out: on fri, i ate pizza, roast beef, doughnuts, burgers, n' more pizza!!! ugh!!!   wth (what the heck)?!?!?!

on sat morn, i met w/ my "christian brutha" david @ the neighbourhood carrow's 4 an early brkfast @ ~800a.   we had brkfast n' talked a long time.   it was kewl.   i'm glad i'm making friends w/ more fellow christians cos i know i shouldn't be a "lone ranger christian," n' i know i have a tendency to shy 'way from fellow christians cos i often feel i'm "not good 'nuff" to hang out w/ them.   i'm sure u know what i mean n' possible understand what i feel.   we went 2gether to get our haircut @ a viet barbershop in the galleria market stripmall.   it's funny; i noticed that there r a few barbershops in korean stripmalls on el camino real in sunnyvale n' santa clara, but they're all owned n' operated by vietnamese ppl.   interesting.   that means most'f the barbershops in this neighbourhood r vietnamese.

afterwards, i came home, n' i had a short battle w/ lethargy.   kaela fell asleep.   i prob'ly dozed off 4 a li'l 2.   eventually, i woke up n' got my @$$ out'f the house.   i went to albertsons.   oh yah, d'u know why i went to albertsons?   no, u don't... or prob'ly don't.   a couple'f wks 'go, i had bought some beautifully big oranges from albertsons.   i bought a lot'f 'em.   i discovered that they were awful oranges.   they were dry n' tasteless.   the previous wk, i had bought the same oranges from the exakt same store n' they were delicious.   on the albertsons website, i submitted a comment 'bout this, n' the new grocery manager'f the store jacob gave me a call on sat to apologise 4 the subpar oranges n' offered me an $8 refund in addition to some oranges "on the house."   it's funny cos when he spoke to me, i was thinking that this dude sounds asian.am, not that he has an asian accent, but he sounds asian.am.   i dunno if is, but he sounded it to me.   neway, in the afternoon, i went to take him up on the offer.   i got my $$$ back n' the oranges, but the woman i dealt w/ gave me a li'l bit'f a hard time.   it's ok tho'.   i got my $$$ back n' got my free oranges.   then, i went to the bank n' depo$ited some checks from online surveys i took.   then i stopped by home to pick up kaela.

we went to hayward to the american open taekwondo tournament @ chabot college put on by yoon sabuhmnim'f sky martial arts.   kaela sat in the car n' studied, n' i went in n' videod n' also coached 1 match.   our fellow students / "team members" @ us taekwondo akademy totally swept house.   duk kyung knocked some dude out.   i feel so bad 4 that dude.   oh yah, on the way up to hayward, i stopped by the mcyukyuk's drive.thru Ƶ n' bought an pixar pals hamburger happy meal 4 myself n' a vanilla softserve (froyo?) cone 4 kaela.   dude, what had we been eating so far this wknd @ that pt? pizza, roast beef, creamy corn chowder, doughnuts, more pizza, burgers, aisukuriimu... ̰!!!   after the tournament we went to ben's friend mikey's korean/sushi restaurant han's tofu in hayward.   dude, i hate to say this, but the restaurant wasn't very good n' mikey sure didn't treat us well.   1) altho' i enjoyed the ȸ yookhwe, the beef was frozen (not just raw as it's s'pposed to be).   2) the waitress delivered a sushi roll to us by mistake, n' he chewed the waitress out n' still charged us.   3) on the menu the κ soondubu's $6.95, but he charged us $8.95, saying $6.95's the lunch pri¢e.   in either case, the κ soondubu was hecka small n' honestly not good.   dude, 4 $7.95 @ κ myuhngdong soondubujip, u get much better κ  soondubu jjigae n' much more'f it.   i was pretty shocked @ the situation n' wasn't sure what to say cos he was s'pposedly ben's friend n' all.   u know, i'll just hafta take this issue offline w/ ben, u know?   i figure it's sort'f a sticky situation, being that it was a friend'f a friend's restaurant n' the friend was there.

[it's now 425p] 2day, we went to church (@ grx of course).   2day, pastor steve talked 'bout "real life passion."   well, by "passion," we're mostly referring to the greek root "pasko" that means "suffering," as he sed.   our church's having some awesome events 4 the passion wk, good fri, n' easter.   i really encourage u to check some'f this stuff out whether u go to 'nother church, don't go to church, want to go to church, hate church, or whatever!   seriously.   4 easter sun, we have 4 services @ 2 campuses: in sunnyvale - 830a, 1015a, n' 1200p; in sf - 630p.   thru.out the passion wk, leading up to good fri n' easter, the church has this open exhibit... sumpthin' like an art exhibit that goes thru the last days'f our saviour.   really, i'd like ppl to check this stuff out.

after church, kaela n' i had lunch @ û chuhnggiwa (blue stones).   funny, we also had some bad things happen, but this restaurant showed so much better customer service than mike's han's tofu last nite.   like, my h2o glass had lipstick on it, so i asked 4 a new 1.   the waitress apologised nicely n' all.   kaela's ոιĮ sonmandoo buhsuht kalgooksoo had no mandoo in it, so they very willingly brought the pri¢e down from $10.95 to $8.95, which is the pri¢e'f normal Į buhsuht (shroom) kalgooksoo w/o mandoo.   neway, yah, the management was just generally better, i hafta say; more professional.

now, i'm w/ kaela @ her office.   she's s'pposed to study, n' i'm just goofing off as i'm 'llowed to do.   she should study tho'.

this past wknd, i learned 'bout faceanalyzer.com.   dang, that's 1'f those sites that can be a total waste'f time, a total time waster or "time killer."   check out some results:

beno's faceanalyzer.com results
1'f kaela's faceanalyzer.com results
'nother'f kaela's faceanalyzer.com results

kaela usually turns up as more "chinese" than "korean/japanese," in that 1 pic she turns up as mostly "korean/japanese."   me, i almost always more "korean/japanese" than "chinese," but not always "100% korean" as in this pic.   funny, huh?   i tried a pic'f our nephew mason, he came up as ~50% southeast asian n' ~50% southern european.   funny, huh?   he is 50.50, but not exaktly those things... close but not.   isn't that interesting?   man, that page can totally waste ur time, so visit it w/ quite a bit'f caution!!!   me, i've played w/ it so much in the past couple'f days that i'm already almost sick'f it.   the only things that still amuse me r the race analyses n' the archetypes.   it's so funny: duk kyung came out as ~50% middle eastern n' ~50% southern european or sumpthin' like that.   mark came out as mostly "chinese."   julie (out'f all ppl) turned out 0% korean but 100% southeast asian.   funny, huh?   phil, he came out as a mix'f chinese n' "korean/japanese."   same w/ my mom, she was like 2/3 : 1/3, i 4get which side was 2/3 n' which was 1/3.   we also tried brian chong... i 4get, he came out as some mix'f chinese n' "korean/japanese."   many ppl do.   yah... neway, as i sed, it can be a total time killer, so visit it w/ caution!

505p: neway, kaela n' i both have our laptops w/ us.   we're using trillian even tho' we're sitting rt next to each other in adjacent cubes @ her office.   here's a screenshot from my trillian screen:

trillian: sooni eats buhnee?

it appears that kaela n' i'll go to 'least 5 weddings this yr.   nick from our t3s grp sed he 1nce went to 10 weddings in a yr.   i know mark n' grace've gone to lots'f weddings.   back when i was in college, i went to lots'f weddings 4 iv (intervarsity christian fellowship [ivcf]) ppl, 'specially since i djed many'f those weddings.   then, there was a lull.   now, i'm going to lots'f weddings 'gain.   funny, huh?   it cms that when i wasn't going to church, i went to less weddings.   do nonchristians just not get married as much?   no, i don't think that's it.   i think that part'f it is that outside'f church, lots'f my friends just rn't in the marrying stage'f life.   however, many r, so i dunno.   [later] i can think'f 1 case where i thought i'd get a wedding invite but didn't; but that couple, i've gotta say, has a lot'f friends, so i can understand how i could've gotten cut.   i dunno, were there other instances? *shrug*

what else is up?   well, it was the asian.am film festival in san jo this past wknd.   no, kaela n' i didn't c ne'f it, but the 1 asian.am movie i'd like to watch is the motel, starring sung kang, who played han on better luck tomorrow.   yah, that's the asian.am movie i'd most like to c rt now.

[later] 546p: these past few days, it's been cloudy, rainy, n' warm in the bay area.   it's tropical, so i tell kaela to imagine that we live in hawaii.   also, we can imagine we live on ֵ jeijoodo.   it's beautiful weather.   it's not 2 hot, not to cold.   rt now, the clouds have parted, n' the skies getting ready 4 prob'ly a beautiful sunset.   the bay area's a beautiful place to live! :-)

lots'f christian muzik n' also secular muzik from christian bands (the stuff that makes mainstream radio) cm to be what i would call southern rock oriented.   modern southern rock prob'ly owes 'lot to r.e.m., but i think the more modern stuff's maybe more rooted w/ bands like the gin blossoms n' well... is live southern rock?   i think classik rockers have sumpthin' they call southern rock, that might be like lynard skynard or whatever, but i'm talkin' 'bout sumpthin' else.   oh yah, i 'member why i started thinkin' bout it.   1 sun @ church, we had a diff praise team (band) play, 1 that hadn't been up in a li'l while.   i noticed that their muzik sounded more like the 1990s bands i listened to in those grungy nite clubs like berkeley square.   they had a bit'f an indie band sound, like muzik i hear in indie films.   that sort'f stood out cos i think the other praise often have more'f that modern southern rock feel that i've been talkin' bout.   i mean, the muzik @ our church usually has variety, so it's not like there's just 1 kind'f muzik, but... well, yah... i think most popular christian rock these days has that feel that sounds like it evolved from those gin blossoms type bands.

627p: so do i have nething more to say, or should i just go 'head n' post this entry.   i can always add more later.


2005.03.22

"boi & girl" by wax

ȭ ħ: while reading dave kim's starkdavingmad.com, i found this superkewl article that was posted on the washington, d.c. craigslist: "my job and your job."   yah, i totally love that article, as crude as it is.   in this article, this guy sort'f rants on how gurls don't realise how hard it is to be a guy n' what bugs him 'bout his gf.   well, heh... b4 ne1 gets mad @ me just 4 supporting this article, let me say that the beautiful kaela hwang is not as bad as this guy's gf sounds.   however, there r certain things that some gurls do or ways they think that just don't make guys happy n' do make guys feel very unappreciated.   i agree w/ him to a 'least a finite 'mount that there's definitely been a double standard the past few decades in that women want to be "feminists," yet guys r still expekted to be not just chivalrous n' gentlemanly but to be the providers in a relationship.   whether single, dating, or married; i do encourage u to take a look @ this article, just 4 ur own in4mation ("fyi"), i s'ppose.

i am a "quote unquote feminist," obviously, as i'm always doing the housechores n' cooking n' totally do not expekt kaela to be a stay@home housewife but do want her to develop her own career.   however, i definitely believe that feminism has totally gone wrong by using a "2 wrongs make a rt" approach.   dude! guys n' gurls, 4 example, in response to the porblem'f sexually irresponsible n' disrespektful men, many women choose to respond w/ fire w/ fire by being just as bad instead'f werking to fix the original prob.   prehaps more in my universe, i think women have cn the prob'f the werkaholik male who shuns his family n' instead'f fixing that prob have more often responded by deciding to be just as bad in their werkaholism n' thus saying shoot, if u don't wanna take care'f the family, i won't either; n' thus no1's taking care'f the family.

@ this pt, many benocritics'd say, "dayam, going back to church really has turned u into a frikkkin', evil, conservative republikkkan type," but no, that's not the pt @ all.   that's just the way the amerikkkan media wants u to c it, as they just wanna polorise this nation into this oversimplified, erroneous system'f conservatives v. liberals.   especially since i come from a divorced family, i've thought 'bout the whole issue'f gender roles in the family 4 a very long time.

1 particular thing i totally "amen" in the article is his whole rant on how women (nowadays) think it's a feminist move to neglekt their looks.   i totally agree w/ him that this is such b.s., that guys as well as gurls both hafta take care'f their looks.   'gain, i s'ppose there's an example'f another flawed "2 wrongs make a rt" approach: perhaps women felt that guys were being a bunch'f crumb bum slobs, so they figured the "feminist" remedy to this was to reciprocate this neglekt in appearance instead'f fixing the original prob.   instead'f making this world worse in the name'f equality, why not make it better 4 the same cause?

after all, that's how my take on "feminism" jives w/ my support'f progressive "liberal' politiks.   while i feel that "conservative" politiks tends to look 4 the negative quickfix, "liberal" politiks, altho' sometiems "idealistik," tries to get to the root'f the prob.   that's why i don't support legislation to ban abortion altho' i also understand the biblically based opposition'f many protestants n' catholics.   i would never advocate abortion as a convenient n' acceptable means'f birth control, but i don't believe that the superficial, nominal laws that republikkkans promote get us ne closer to solving the root'f the prob.


2005.03.23

banana leaf rice lunch

: i'm still@werk.com even tho' it's kind'f late.   hrm, did i mention that i cooked ¥ sometime this wk.   when was it?   was it on mon nite?   was it on sun nite?   hrm... i 4get.   let's think.   well, i believe it must've been on sun nite.   i think i ate some leftovers'f it on mon nite.   last nite was tues nite, n' after taekwondo praktice, i came home n' made some frozen pasta thingy.   this albertsons sachettini in some kind'f shroom butter sauce.   2day, @ lunch, my cowerkers from the ol' program went to lunch @ banana leaf in mccarthy ranch to celebrate gilbert's b.day.   i had this banana leaf rice plate thingy.   it was very good.   banana leaf's a pretty good restaurant.   i'd been there 1nce b4 w/ the beautiful kaela hwang, back in 2002, when we met up w/ ken n' grace.   that was rt b4 we left to washington, d.c. 4 the smithsonian institute martial arts demo.   that day, i believe we announced to ken n' grace that we were moving down to the sobay.   lunch was good, but i was in a big hurry.   it's been rather rainy lately here in the sobay.   the tropical weather continues.


2005.03.24

256mb transflash card

ħ: 2day, the beautiful kaela hwang finishes her q2 finals.   the fakt that i mention that as the 1st sentence'f my entry sure makes it sound like my life revolves 'round her skool or 'least that her skool greatly affekts my life, n' it does.   i like to keep my nails very "well.trimmed."   maybe some ppl'd call it "short."   rt now, my rt pinky finger's nail's 2 long 4 my com4t as i type.   i d on't like how the nail scrapes the key, 'specially the ', ;, n' p keys, rt?   yah, i don't like this.   neway, how r u?   mirei antonia, thanks 4 signing my gbook.   others, plz also sign my gbook!

yesterday, i received from 'tekbargains,' aka coolera the sandisk 256mb transflash ram card that i bought on ebay .   it's kewl.   it's hecka small.   u'd be amazed if u saw it.   @ the same time, it's very fragile.   i've gotta be careful w/ it.   man, when u look @ that li'l pinky nail sized chip n' realise it holds 256mb'f data, u've got no choice but to marvel @ produkt'f the machines my company makes.   this is the global effekt'f the silly valley.   the silly valley is the heartland'f amerika!   it really is.

this morn, while dilly.dallyin', eating brkfast, n' doing other things in that 1+ hr(s) that i'm @ home b4 going to werk, i browsed thru the orchard supply hardware (osh) circular ad that i received in the mail.   i saw an ad 4 10% off organic gardening aids such as lady bugs, praying mantids, worm castings, n' "beneficial nematodes".   :-/ "beneficial nematodes"?!   u mean, "good worms," rt?   "beneficial nematodes" sure sounds scientific.   imagine 2 guys sittin' 'round enjoying a good chicago pan pizza.   now, what if 1 dude turns to the other n' sez, "this is some beneficial feces" instead'f the expekted "this is good $#!+."   never 4get when a certain person, when asked how the pizzeria uno pizza was, sed w/ great delite, "this pizza is $#!+!!!"   the friend'f a friend who asked the question was extremely bewildered cos what this certain person should've sed was "this pizza's the $#!+" or else "this pizza's good $#!+".   on other occassions, this certain person tended to say "this is good @$$ $#!+" when a more appropriate comment would've been "this is bad @$$ $#!+," rt?

back to the teknology.related topik'f that sandisk 256mb transflash ram card:   the card werks.   i'm able to use it in my motorola v710 fon.   i can store fotos n' videos on it.   i can put the t.flash card into the included sd card adapter, plug that (that assembly) into my palmone tungsten t5, turn on the t5's drive mode, n' xfer the files from the card onto my 'puter.   that's pretty kewl.   still, i have an inconvenience w/ this fon in how it saves the videos in some weird .3g2 3gpp movie importer 4mat that i can't use w/ windows media playa but only w/ quicktime, which isn't my favourite program as i'd prefer to use just 1, standard media playa.   (of course, that's what bill gates wants as well, rt?)   can i convert this .3g2 file into sumpthin' more standard such as .avi, .mpg, or .wmv?!   *shrug* i dunno.   after a swift google, i c that there r some softwares related to this issue such as some stuff from sf.based riverpast.

[later] have u tired yet'f faceanalyzer.com?   i sort'f have.   like, i'd like to play w/ it more, but i've gotta crop more pics to do that.   like, i'm not so interested nemore w/ inputting my pics, but i might wanna input pics'f my friends n' family, u know?

last nite, i came home not 2 early from werk.   i werked a very long day yesterday.   granted, i did take a slightly longer lunch in order to go to gilbert's b.day lunch @ banana leaf all the way out in mccarthy ranch.   besides our lunch specials, our grp to taste this banana dessert that we shared.   cos'f his b.day, the restaurant gave gilbert this mocha aisukuriimu pie.   the dude sitting next to me told us a story 'bout how he was 1nce @ this restaurant b4 n' he "hit on" the waitress n' she gave him free aisukuriimu.   wow, this guy was so frank n' open 'bout it.   btw, he's malaysian, n' it's a malaysian restaurant.

after werk, i went to albertsons to grocery $hop as kaela told me to.   i bought a yellow onion; some fuji apples: some / oreinji jyooseu ; some kellogg's peach n' strawberry cereal; some fuze bottled white tea; a couple'f odwalla drinks (citrus c monster n' blueberry b moster), some "washed n' ready", sliced, packaged, white shrooms... nething else?   i think that's it.   i planned not to buy 2 much cos'f next wk's spring brk.   when i got home, i was so exhausted from the long, long werkday.   luckily, kaela came home rt after me, n' she was willing to cook.   i washed dishes.   on days that i werk so long, i often feel sick by the end'f the day.   yesterday, i was so worried that i was coming down w/ a cold, but i guess i'm ok.   i feel ok 2day.

i need to get an oil change.   maybe i should call 2day to make an 800a apptmnt 4 2morrow.   it's not raining 2day.   'twas a beautiful morning w/ white clouds 'gainst a blue, blue sky. (consider that an allusion to the current tony an pop hit song.)   aside from cleaning the house, i need to spend some time cleaning my desktop 'puter's hard drive.   i've got lots'f mp3s n' videos that i've gotta burn to dvd-r n' archive, u know?

[later] : i ate leftover ¥ jjajangmyuhn 4 lunch after werking out in the gym (lifted weights, stretched, did 100 crunches).   here r some interesting new tidbits i found on y! news:




2005.03.25

son worshipper

ݿ ħ: ̴.   we have next wk off.   however, i really don't love wks like this cos we end up trying to cram all the deadlines in... uh... like, every1 sez that we've gotta get everything done b4 shutdown, n' it really sucks.   already, we do this 1nce a yr @ christmastime, but to do it a 2nd time? ugh!   2day's good fri.   some outmoded ppl have that dorky saying "remember the reason for the season," jesus: the reason for the season," or "he's the reason for the season," etc.   usually, ppl use that term 4 christmas, believe; but it's true that we should 'member that easter's 'bout more than just bunnies, chicks, n' ducklings; it's 'bout the son'f god dying on the cross 4 all our sins, 4 the sins'f the world.   [after a short brk] altho' i do believe in the essence'f "'member the reason 4 the season" etc.; dude, that's such a dorky family circus type thing to say.   yah, jesus died on the cross 4 the sins'f the world.   u could say sumpthin' like "michael jackson, jesus died 4 ur sins.   scott peterson, jesus died 4 ur sins.   beno hwang, jesus died 4 ur sins."   yah, u could say that, but most importantly, he died 4 every1's sins.

yesterday, the beautiful kaela hwang finished her q2 finals.   she finished b4 noon, n' apparently went to hobees w/ her classmates 4 a celebratory brkfast (brunch?).   she was home by noon.   i didn't know that.   during my lunchbrk, i werked out in the company gym, where i saw a posted 2005 calendar from u-save taxes (brian chong's dad adam chong's [ƴ ] tax service), n' then ate leftover ¥ jjajangmyuhn (as i sed yesterday) 4 lunch.   if i had come home, i would've cn kaela, but she might've been asleep.   aktually, she did 'lot'f housewerk yesterday after her final.   when i came home, the kitchen was so clean.   also, she had done laundry.   i came home kind'f late tho' cos i had lots'f werk.

last nite, after we watched ȭ 16ȸ episode 16'f yoorihwa, we went out to dinner @ blue mango thai restaurant on stevens crk blvd btwn lawrence n' kiely.   we had their pad thai n' some kind'f fried fish.   the pad thai had lots'f good seafud.   the fish was awesome 'cept 4 1 thing: they use frozen peas n' carrots ø -   funny, they have soju soju cocktails there.   i ordered the han solo, not knowing what that is.   it's apparently just a shot'f soju on the rocks. :-/ dude, 4 $5, that's not a good deal @ all, not @ all.   kaela had a glass'f riesling, n' we had this chococaramel pyramid dessert thingy.   2 guys played jazz muzik on a upright string bass n' an elektric guitar.   i gave 'em a $1 tip in their jar.

ok, @ this pt, i s'ppose i can write more 'bout tipping.   4 the most part, i do hate the tip system.   if u ask me, i think we should raise the minimum wage n' abolish the tip system.   i think so.   however, since we're somehow stuck w/ this lousy tip system (we got it from continental europe, rt???), i feel obligated to be careful w/ my tipping since racists 'round the country have told every1 that asians r bad tippers.   well, shoot; it's prob'ly true w/ some, but do u realise how asian.am males feel?   many asian.am males like me feel that the reputation'f all'f asian.amerika rests in our hands.   we feel the whole world is watching our every move n' judging our whole race by our aktions.   most likely, our women hate this, but what can we do?   do u realise the sense'f urgency?   perhaps some asian.am females share this sentiment, but 4 the most part, i believe it's a burden left to the males thanks to how hollywood n' amerikan media has totally massacred the asian male image, rt?   2 many asian females r content w/ sliding by in amerikan society marginal tolerance bought thru the whole exotic image thing or else the docile image thing.   neway, that's a separate issue that's been overtalked to death neway.   well, 'bout tipping... yes, i do feel the un4tunate pressure to be careful to tip well cos i've got the burden'f killing the stereotype that asians r bad tippers, but there's more.   even tho' i abhor the tip system, i figure, if i've gotta live w/ it, i'm gonna use it rt.   ok, take 4 instance how kaela sez that i shouldn't have left a tip when mike'f han's tofu in hayward ripped us off on the bill.   well, i still left a reduced tip cos the service itself was not bad.   the waitress was nice n' did her job.   it was the management that skrewed up.   in order to give the management n' ownership what it deserves, i'll try not to return to the restaurant.   however, i had to leave some tip, cos that's what the server deserves.   consider this example, we need to punish evil starbucks 4 being the unconscientious corporate devils Ǹ they r w/ all their bgh* milk, their unenvironmental packaging, n' their whoring'f the whole coffee culture.   however, we don't do this by not tipping baristress jeanna, rt?   rt?!   well... honestly, i can't remember 2 many instances where i left a tip @ corporate starbucks, but i surely did leave a tip @ sabina's café near toby n' betty's new house cos they were so nice to sooni.   when i bring sooni to a bizness establishment, i tend to tip better.   i'm tipping 4 the both'f us. ha ha.   besides that, i've got the burden'f bettering the reputation'f asians as well as dogowners, rt?   (sooni, don'tchu know, every1's judging ur entire breed/species based upon ur aktions.)

sooni really stinks, n' i wish we could bring her to pet fud express 4 a wash soon.   i dunno when we'll have time tho'.   this morn i brought her w/ me when i went to big o tires 'round the corner to get my oil change w/ that di$¢ount card thingy i bought last yr.   my oil change only ¢o$t $3.75 2day.   that oil change di$¢ount card has really paid itself off.   it ¢o$t like $26 or sumpthin', n' i've gotten 3 very ¢heap oil changes now.   i have 1 more left that i've gotta use b4 either the end or beginning'f may.   i'm not sure.   while they were changing my oil n' rotating my tires, i walked up n' down el camino real.   i saw that baker's square's being replaced by some "cherry foods, inc." whose banner cms to indicate that it'll hock sashimi n' japanese.style seafud. *shrug* i dunno what it's gonna be. *shrug* however, i aktually like how we're replacing the outmoded el camino real biznesses w/ more cultural biznesses relevant to this century.   i've gotta admit tho'; there'r way 2 many sushi joints on el camino real, even just in this sunnyvale / santa clara neighbourhood.   there r soooo many'f them.   u'd be amazed.   what would i rather c?   well, hrm... of course, i support the idea'f converting this neighbourhood into a norcal k.town, as some kids already call the area k.town.   i don't mind that.   however, there's a mix'f cultures on el camino real in this area.   sure, the top 2 r korean n' south asian (indian, pakistani, etc.).   [after a brk] so what cultures r represented on el camino real in this neighbourhood?

  1. korean ѹα
  2. south asian (indian, pakistani, etc.)
  3. chinese
  4. mexican (n' a great salvadorean pupusa joint off el camino real on poinciana near lawrence expwy... i brought my cowerkers there last yr [i think i mentinoed that here.], n' now it's featured in the silicon valley metro.   i'm way ahead'f the game, yo!)
  5. vietnamese
  6. persian (middle.eastern)
  7. korean.chinese hybrid
  8. vietnamese.chinese hybrid
  9. pseudo.japanese (aktually korean)
  10. italian
  11. thai (sort'f... just restaurants, n' there's always thai restaurants in places where there r no other signs'f a thai community...)
sure, what el camino real could really use is some more taiwanese 븸 biznesses to expand the taiwanese.amerikan kommunity out'f the cupertino.saratoga area into here.   also, how come i werk w/ so many russians but c few russian biznesses this far south'f sf's geary?   there r a few winchester n' biznesses like people's furniture, but that's it.

[later] : kaela swung by n' picked me up 4 lunch.   originally, i suggested that she bring sooni n' we eat somewhere outside.   i realised that'd severely limit our choices on such during a bizzy lunchbrk w/ such beautiful bay area weather.   well, it turned out that sooni personally wanted to stay in the backyard, so kaela left her there.   we didn't have a destination as we pulled out'f the visitor parking lot.   as we pulled off'f lawrence expwy onto el camino, heading west, we still had no destination.   eventually, i suggested udupi palace, good ol' udupi palace, where u can get fine vegetarian fare @ a decent pri¢e.   the parking lot was crowded, but i hopefully sed that maybe every1 in the restaurant drove his/her own car.   well, yah, when we got to the door, the restaurant wasn't overly crowded.   apparently they have a lunch buffet.   i did expekt that.   they also have their usual menu'f fine dishes such as dosas, etc.   we opted 4 the buffet w/ its variety.   man, lately, i've been stuffin' the carbs: all these pasta, noodle, n' rice dishes?   @ 2day's lunch, i ate lots'f bread, potatoes, beans, n' rice.   the $7.45 lunch buffet includes a "mini" dosa, which is still pretty big.   they make huge dosas here!   well, earlier (b4 lunch), i was discussing the excellent, ethnic culture 1 can experience on el camino real in the santa clara / sunnyvale area.   whadya know, we went off 2day to patronise 1'f these fine merchants.   heh heh...

yah, i often discuss w/ kaela how i wish i could show her what el camino real looked like in the 1980s n' beyond that (in the past).   some1 needs to dokument this stuff.   after all, how do i show kaela what valley fair looked like in the early 1980s, when it was a single story, outdoor mall?   i was trying to explain to her i. magnin dept stores last nite.   i mentioned how i figured ppl in the 1980s prob'ly like that store just cos its name sounds like magnum, p.i.   ha ha ha! dude, in the 1980s, ppl used wurds like "hunk," fox," n' "buns"!!!   ("buns" referred to butt cheeks back in the day b4 ppl started accepting wurds like "booty" n' "@$$" in everyday speech.   u've gotta admit, amerikan society's gotten 'lot more vulgar in its slang speech since then.) @ oakridge mall, there was a burger joint called "elegant buns."   back then ppl thought that kind'f cr@p was hilarious cos the wurd "buns" made them think'f carnal images. *sigh* pretty lame by 2day's standards, huh?   who the heck sez "buns" these days? "hunk"? "beefcake"???   the last time ppl used to word "beefcake," it was cos'f the south park dude; cartman, rt?   neway, i wish i could show kaela n' even c 4 myself images'f what the main drags'f silly valley used to look like in the 1980s n' decades b4 that.   1'f these days, i really should take a camera n' take random pics'f storefront.lined strips in the silly valley.   really, some1 should dokument this stuff.

in the 1980s n' perhaps during the 3 preceding decades, el camino real was a popular "cruising spot."   i'm not 2 sure, but evidence'f that might still exist, as i do recall still cing the "no cruising zone' streetsigns in recent yrs.   the city may have removed the by now, but i'm not sure.   imagine if in the 1950s or 1960s, el camino real was full'f mustangs n' other 'merikan cars w/ burger joints n' malt shops on each side.   u think?   was it like that?   i'd like to know.   perhaps the san josé dr. martin luther king, jr. library would have dokuments n' images that could teach us 'bout silly valley life back then.   just imagine.   @ the same time, i'm certainly not 1 to wish el camino real still only had burger joints n' malt shops; no way.   i'm much happier w/ its modern day overabundance'f korean sushi shops n' κ soondubujip, no doubt.

last sat morn, when david n' i hit up carrows 4 an early brkfast, we visited an establishment that was prob'ly a survivor'f a previous era'f el camino real, rt?   hrm, it's really funny how we currently have this awkward mix'f old n' "new" cultures.   4 example, consider blinky's sports bar in the strip mall on the corner'f calabazas n' el camino, the same strip mall that has a hallal grocery store, richard suh farmer's insurance, josuhn myuhnok, ˰ onggojip, some s'pposedlty critically lauded south asian dessert joint / aisukuriimu shop / gulfi bar, a purified h2 shop, n' some pani puri indian bakery.   those korean n' south asian joints represent this so.called "new" culture, while blinky's, the liquor store, n' the old.ladies' hair salon represent the so.called "old" culture.   [after a li'l brk] consider how el camino real has 3 major korean supermarkets so close to each other.   ernest sez there's 4 korean grocery stores.   i dunno which he's counting as the 4th.   there's a li'l banchan shop next to a 24.hr p0rn store; perhaps he's thinking'f that.   otherwise, there's ̸ gaili (kiely?) market on the nearby corner'f kiely n' benton.   i find it interesting that this stretch'f el camino real has several mediocre.looking motor lodges.   why?   is there some kind'f illegal, undeground, bizness operating out'f thse inns?   or, more realistically, r they here 4 bizness travellers to the silly valley, which is amerika's true heartland?   this central area'f the silly valley has many lodging options 4 travellers.   great amerika parkway has nicer hotels, nicer than these motels.   however, i s'ppose these r cheaper.   if u venture way from this part'f the silly valley, u'll find even more lodging up in the milpitas/fremont area.   hrm, i find it quite interesting how we have so much lodging out here.   i s'ppose, cos'f the industry n' cos'f the population n' culture, we're obviously a popular destination 4 travellers, whether bizness or leisure.

i overheard some cowerkers that i don't really know talkin' 'bout how they're both coincidentally going to hawaii next wk.   i observed that they couldn't really say nething 'bout not being able to wait to c the beautiful weather, since we're having very beautiful weather rt now, rt here in the silly valley.   funny, huh?   i heard 1'f them say sumpthin' like, "i can't wait to get into the sun... well, i guess it's sunny here now 2, but...   well, i hear it's gonna rain on sunday."   ha, that was quite a stretch.   yah, it prob'ly will rain on sun, n' i hope that brings even more fresh snow to tahoe.   kaela n' i r hoping to hit alpine meadows on mon.   *sigh* i've been trying to score some di$¢ounted tix on craigslist this wk but to no avail.   originally, i'd envisioned doing some spring boarding this brk, but it looks like we might still hafta wear thicker jackets when we go cos it might snow on mon.   crazy how the weather changes so fast 'round here, huh?   i mean, it's most likely not gonna be freezing, but whenever there's snow falling, it's obviously 'least a li'l colder.

[later] 1nce more can i plz invite u to join us @ 1'f great exchange evangelical convenant church's easter services this sun?   it's a amazingly fun church but more importantly it's a really special day n' occassion.
* bgh = bovine growth hormone.


2005.03.26

easter eve crashes

ħ: nuts! i was writing an entry just now, n' my palmone tungsten t5 crashed n' lost the entry.   *sigh* so what's up?   how r u this easter eve?   yesterday, after werk, i went to the company gym, did precor n' crunches, n' went straight home, despite wanting to go to pepboys to buy some car air filters.   @ home, the beautiful kaela hwang n' i ate some trash we found in the fridge, such as blue mango pad thai leftovers. ...

[later] 5:15 pm: argh! my palmone tungsten t5 crashed 'gain, n' i lost a long passage!   argh!


2005.03.31

anaheim bally

558p: i'm @ the disappointing anaheim bally total fitness.   it's not nearly as nice as the website made it look.   :-(   [later] 608p my palmone t5 just crashed.   [later] 638p, after showering: still @ the anaheim bally's, i'm now waiting 4 the beautiful kaela hwang.   while i lifted, did the classik stairmaster, n' did 200 crunches, kaela swam.


2005.04.01

amazon v710 review

ݿ ħ 952a, in chino: this morn, on amazon.com, i wrote a review'f the motorola v710:

verizon dumbed it down; pros: camcorder, speakerphone, april 1, 2005
reviewer: bernard l. hwang "beno" (santa clara, ca usa (the silicon valley, america's real heartland))

i was mildly excited to get this new phone after losing my lg vx6000, which i really liked.   i liked the lg vx6000 because of its convenient camera, its ability to have mp3 ringtones (via some easyhacks), its ability to sync via bitpim (a great tool, look it up on the web!), and its decently small size.   when i upgraded to the v710, my first hesitation was its ginormous (enormous) size.   it's bigger than motorola's old star tac line, which for the better half of a decade set the golden standard.   compared to the lg vx6000, this motorola v710 is a big, big, clunker, the land yacht of modern cell phones.

one _might_ think that my concern about the size is all image-based; but no, the size creates serious problems. for one thing, the phone is heavy and easily falls off whatever its clipped to (belt, bag, etc.) because of its weight and its clumsy holster.   secondly, the giant size makes the phone get in the way of daily activities. this phone ought to be as slim as motorola's razr v3 phone.

originally, i was pretty excited to get a 1.2 mp camera and a camcorder.   of course, i think this imaging chip is a cmos not a ccd, which is a negative, but one i'm willing to accept for the sake of size and price.   however, when you first take the phone out of the box, you will have the ultimate problem of figuring out how to transfer the photos and videos off your phone to your computer.   it seems that verizon tries to trap you into using their extremely overpriced pixplace service.   at 25 cents an upload, you can easily rack up a bill as enormous as this phone's body. what's the use in owning a digital camera, if you need to pay in order to retrieve your pictures?   that's like owning a film camera! it appears that originally, we were supposed to transfer our pictures via this phone's nice bluetooth functionality.   however, what i'm hearing is that verizon purposely dumbed down this phone's bluetooth functionality in order to armbar us into using their expensive (and inconvenient) data transfer services.   after all, we should've been able to transfer mp3s to our motorola v710 phones via bluetooth in order to use them as ringtones or with the built-in mp3 player.

the only way to get around this data transfer dilemma is to buy the moderately priced transflash ram card.   sandisk makes a nice 256mb transflash ram card, which has greatly improved my relationship with this phone.   it's feels more like a quick fix than an ideal solution, which would be a wireless or even wired connection direct to my computer.   (in fact, earlier, i had purchased a motorola data cable for this phone; but without the expensive software and without the time to implement the hack software, it was of little use to me.)

my disappointment over the bluetooth functionality doesn't stop there.   i am indeed upset that i can't transfer files to my computer via the bluetooth connection but am further unhappy that i cannot interface the phone via bluetooth with my palmone tungsten t5.   one would expect that i could use the pda's phonebook from my phone via the wireless connection.   from what i'm hearing, one of the few things this bluetooth i/o is good for is one of those expensive wireless handsfree kits.   luckily, the phone has a built-in speakerphone that provides a good handsfree solution, one of this phone's only positives.

i do enjoy the camera with somewhat satisfactory flash and the camcorder.   the still images come out nice at 1.2 mp, admittedly better than the pictures from my old lg vx6000. i also enjoy the self-portrait mode, where you close the lid and use the _outside_ screen as the viewfinder.   (this could function as a makeshift mirror if needed.)   the biggest negative about the camcorder is that the video is stored in this awkward .3g2 (3gpp) format, which is incompatible with windows media player and seems only to work with apple quicktime.

it seems that verizon is pushing its customers to upgrade from lg vx6000 phones to these motorola v710 phones.   it _is_ a natural evolution from small still pics to video clips.   however, verizon's definitely taken this opportunity to attempt to foil the gadget guru crowd, which previously enjoyed hacks for free wireless web and the like.   considering that customers will find they need to buy more of verizon's services in order to use this phone verizon ought to be paying the customers to switch to this phone. perhaps, the closest we'll get to that situation is a free-after-rebate deal.

how r u?   we've been lucky 'nuff to hang w/ phil huang n' joon kim down here in socal.   it's nice to c ol' friends!   dagnabbit, we've gotta hit the road n' get the heck out'f here.   we've gotta get our butts on the road back to norcal!   i drove fast down here, but i'd prefer to take it a li'l easier on the way back even tho' we're s'pposed to stop by jeanna's place on the way up.   sometime, i should write a bad review'f the anaheim bally total fitness on the ballyfitness.com page to let the management know that kaela hwang n' i were dissatisfied w/ the anaheim bally total fitness gym.   this vakation, we visited the puente hills bally n' the anaheim bally.   the puente hills bally is nice, but the anaheim bally's not 2 good, as i've been saying.   on wed, we went to the chino spektrum to wash sooni @ petco n' to this place called young's hawaiian bbq to eat some kewl jalapeño chicken n' some kewl papaya salad.   oh yah, b4 petco, since the self.service grooming tub was occupied, we went to this ok boba place.   was it called boba town or sumpthin'?   *shrug* i had a pineapple berry smoothie w/ boba, n' kaela had a mango peach smoothie w/ boba, i think.


2005.04.06

spring break recap attempt 1

ħ: i haven't been updating my journal lately.   i think i mainly have 2 reasons: 1) werking on taxes n' 2) / aejuhnguy joguhn (the kbs drama series).   the beautiful kaela hwang n' i watched many, many episodes'f / aejuhnguy joguhn online these past couple'f wks.   it's an awesome show.   we're also watching episodes'f ȿ lee hyori's sbs miniseries 3 Ŭι / sei ip clover.

"real dogs don't fit in handbags." - from a suv ad in a magazine...   kaela n' i saw that ad n' liked it very much.

very much as happened since the last time i updated.   well, no... it's all relative; depends on ur definition'f "very much," rt?   nuthin' really major has happened, let's say.   however, lots'f li'l things have happened... maybe...   kaela n' i had our daytrip to alpine meadows on the mon(day)'f our spring break, the mon after easter.   easter/passion wk happened.   the fri b4 easter, we went to grx's good fri service n' to that tainan restaurant in the wolfe rd 99 mall afterwards.   i don't think i discussed this rt?   i think i tried, but my palmone tungsten t5 crashed while i was writing 'bout it, while waiting 4 kaela @ the hamilton bally gym.   hrm, i dunno where to begin updating u guys. :-( maybe i can just type... sort'f train'f thought?   hrm, that'll be very messy.   lemme sort'f blab n' blab in a disorganised fashion 1st; then i'll clean it up afterwards.

good fri was a good experience. heh...   during the grx good fri service, it really hit me that jesus's death on the cross is a very personal thing; it really affekts me personally.   yes, jesus died on the cross 4 my sins, my sinful nature, my existence.   not only that, but it's cos'f my sins that he died... in other wurds, i should consider the thought that i aktually personally nailed the son'f god on the cross.   true.   over the easter wknd n' the following wk, i thought 'bout sumpthin'.   yes, jesus died on the cross 4 the sins'f the word, 4 every1's sins.   jesus died 4 the sins'f osama bin laden n' george w. bush.   u know that?   as much as i dislike dubyah's politiks n' what i consider his manipulation'f the christian faith; i should accept that jesus died on the cross 4 him as well as me.   in that case, yah... as much as i do believe he's wrong in manipulating amerikkkan christians, i also believe dubyah's going to heaven.   @ the same time, i do believe john kerry'll go to heaven cos jesus also died 4 his sins.   as u know, pope john paul 2 died this wk.   i'm totally not a catholic, but i consider catholicism a kind'f christianity... just not my kind.   maybe cos'f all the news 'bout the pope, i thought a few times this wk 'bout how i'm sure i'll never be a catholic but i'm also sure i'll never be a baptist or a member'f a presbyterian church in amerika (pca) church.   i like our evangelical covenant denomination, 4 what it's worth.   if i had to pick some other denomination, maybe i'd be a methodist or a presbyterian church usa (pcusa) member... *shrug*

after the good fri service, kaela n' i went to that tainan restaurant in the cupertino 99, as i sed.   we ordered some things: uhah jien (the oyster pancake thing) n' this uhm... ground pork soup noodle thingy w/ really thin rice noodles.   hrm, did we have nething else?   mmm, i sort'f 4get but know we each had a drink: sumpthin' papaya milk 4 kaela n' some lychee squishee 4 me.   afterwards, we stayed up late baking muffins n' brownies 4 the easter bake sale thingy that we called "joanie's café."   that was kewl.   wow, we stayed up late baking.

what did we do on easter eve?   hrm... well, we went to the gym.   then, we went to watch mail order wife @ the lumiere in sf, rt?   we ate dinner @ crustacean.   dude, did i really not updatechu guys 'bout all this stuff?!   this is 'lot to update! :-( what did we eat @ crustacean?   uhm, their uh... drunken(?) crab, the garlic noodles, the tasty but overpri¢ed spring roll, some fish/eggplant steamed dumplings, some green papaya salad, some uh... hrm... what did we have 4 dessert? uhm... uhm... sumpthin' w/ choco, rt?   or no?   uhm... i think it had aisukuriimu...   neway, we also had a 0.5-bottle'f gerwurztraminer (or was it riesling?) n' some espresso drinks (i aktually had a mocha, n' kaela had her usual latté.)   well, we went to watch mail order wife @ the lumiere.   cos abzolut produktions was promoting this film that has eugenia yuan, i think kaela n' i originally thought it was more'f asian.am flick.   however, b4 we watched it, when i read the movie's webpage, i realised it wasn't really.   no, it's not really.   it's more'f a nyc indie flick that happens to use an asian charakter.   like, it really doesn't deal w/ ne real asian.am issues or even ppl, u know?   it's a funny, li'l flick tho' n' has a special surprise guest star.   well, it was kewl to drive up to sf 4 dinner n' a movie n' drive back home.   we don't do that every day nor every wk.   it's a special thing, rt?   oh yah, that was our monthversary celebration, our 20th monthversary. :-)

on easter, kaela n' i went to werk @ "joanie's café" @ grx's easter service @ our sunnyvale location.   i guess i've gotta specify that now that we also have a sf location.   grx had 4 services btwn the 2 locations on easter.   my mom joined us 4 the 1000a service.   that was kewl.   she really liked it.   afterwards, while my mom went home to prepare an easter lunch, duk, kaela, n' i stayed @ church to volunteer.   later, the 3'f us went to my mom's house 4 lunch.   2 bad my sister, steve, n' their family already left. :-/ my mom had prepared lamb shank, ham, salad, corn, rolls...   we also had an awesome nutty cake from a persian bakery she likes.   we watched Į / calla on vcd.   calla's 1'f my favourite movies'f all time, i've gotta say.   i guess it's now kind'f old.

on mon, kaela n' i went to alpine meadows.   it snowed on us n' was sunny.   i didn't really realise that was possible, i guess.   it was a tropical snowstorm!!!   kaela hated how the snow was falling on us.   it was just a so.so day on the slopes.   it could've been better.   we had some good runs, but it was really nuthin' great 4 me.   i guess we had 1 fun run thru the terrain park, but since there was so much powder, it was hard to get ne good air.   my subaru forester sort'f got stuck in our parking space cos'f all the snow, but we eventually got it out by rocking it btwn drive n' reverse.   i thought we'd need to get towed out.   we came home n' ate some leftover pasta that we made the previous wk.

on tues, we picked up the rental car from budget @ the san jo mineta aeroport n' took off 4 socal.   they gave us a pontiac sunfire 'gain.   this time 'twas gold instead'f red (recall last 4'f july).   kaela bought some gimbap, soondae, n' bbang from ѱ hangook market, n' we ate that as we drove down.   that was kewl.   we didn't hafta settle 4 greasy, fatt'ning fast fud, rt?     well, it was nice to drive during the daytime instead'f @ nite, as we did 4 our christmas trip last yr.   we had to fight lousy socal evening commute traffik tho'. :-(   i like bringing sooni on roadtrips.

ok, i'll take a brk from updating now.   we'll c when i continue.

[later] 1011p: baked alaska!   that's what the dessert was @ crustacean!

[a li'l later] 1022p: ok, so where did i leave off updating? easter sun? on easter sun, my mom came w/ us to church.   oh yah, i already sed all that.   lesse... mon?   snowboarding... ok... now... uh... tues?   ok, so we drove down to socal...

on wed'f last wk (1 wk 'go) we... hrm, what did we do?   uh... i think we brought sooni 4 a wash @ the petco in the chino spektrum mega strip mall.   the self.grooming facilities were not nearly as nice as the 1 in pet fud express.   i think the sunnyvale petco has a nicer self.grooming facility.   sooni really didn't want to get in their tub, n' i got scratched on my left hand by her claw, while she struggled to stay out'f the tub.   the employee there freaked out, i think.   when she found out sooni's a jindo, she sed sumpthin' like "oh yah, i've seen these before... they're not very nice."   >:-( geez, man... that was pretty rude comment.   i could tell she was 1'f those ppl who only wanted to deal w/ chihuahuas n' other froo froo dogs that u don't hafta teach manners cos u figure u can just pick 'em up when the akt up (while every1 else has to deal w/ their yipping n' yapping).   oh yah, b4 we washed sooni, we had to wait 4 the tub, so we went to this nearby boba café called boba town.   did i really not talk 'bout all this?!   ok, it cms that the space.time continuum's folding over 'pon itself or sumpthin'.   i did talk 'bout this stuff earlier on 2005.04.01 in "amazon v710 review".

ok, so on fri, we drove back home.   on the way, we stopped in santa monica to hang w/ jeanna, her housemate/landlord dave, n' dave's uh... terrier poodle(?) pookie.   hrm... i feel it's not a terrier poodle, but sumpthin' else that i can't 'member.   i 'member, there's a name 4 this hybrid... sumpthin' like terripoo, but it's not that... it's, uh... i think there's a hybrid called a cockapoo, but that's not what it is.   uh... *sigh* neway, yah, pookie... man, pookie... even tho she's, i s'ppose, what i keep calling a froo froo dog... she's cute n' a good doggy...   i can say pookie's a good doggy cos well... even tho' she can be hyper, when sooni showed dominance, pookie relented, n' that's what dogs should do.   oh... oh, wait... i didn't talk 'bout what happened on thurs, did i? ah!

on thurs morn, i let sooni into the backyard, hoping she wouldn't jump the fence.   after i failed to keep my eye on her 4 a few mins, i couldn't find sooni in the backyard.   then i went to look over the fence.   there she was in the neighbour's yard w/ the neighbour's black retrieverish doggy named rocky!   they were ok 2gether!!!   they were just both sniffing 'round n' pooping on the backyard lawn.   whoa!   it was crazy.   wow!   eventually, the neighbours came out n' found sooni in the yard.   kaela n' i really wanted to let her keep playing w/ the other doggy, but the neighbours cmed to want us to get her out'f their yard, so i went over w/ sooni's leash n' got her out.   while the 2 were 2gether, now n' then, sooni'd show dominance, but 9.yr.old rocky complied, n' sooni was fine.   wow!

neway, we were s'pposed to lunch w/ joon @ a fancy restaurant near south coast plaza, but we were 2late.   c, joon's a manager @ this restaurant called naples, so he was able to treat us to lunch @ 'nother restsaurant in the patina restaurant group.   neway, we missed that, so phil, kaela, n' i went to lunch @ uh... some korean restaurant that had ø naengmyuhn in hacienda heights.   sooni was a good gurl n' sat fine outside while we ate.   she was very well.behaved n' cute. . . . [unfinished entry]


2005.04.07

spring break recap attempt 2

... ̴, ħ: how r u?   plz sign my gbook.   if u r reading this, u should sign it.   so what's up?   yes, plz tell me how u'r doing.   it's raining 'gain 2day in the silly valley.   it was sunny w/ a few clouds the past few days, but now it's raining 'gain.   i know i tried to give a recap'f spring brk yesterday but did not finish.   i'd like to finish.   i left off talkin' 'bout that korean restaurant in hacienda hghts that the beautiful kaela hwang n' i went to w/ phil n' sooni.

well, @ that restaurant, phil ordered the Ұ ӹ boolgogi ssambap, kaela ordered the ø galbi naengmyuhn, n' i - just 4 the sake'f ordering sumpthin' - ordered the uh... some sort'f sour cold noodles... i didn't wanna order much cos it cmed that we had 2 much fud already, so i picked sumpthin' ¢heap.   it was just $4.99, but it was pretty big.   well, it was really simple fud.   i think the dish's called ġ dongchimi gooksoo, n' a quick google confirmed this.   it's like ø moolnaengmyuhn but w/ normal flour noodles, not buckwheat.   yah, it was a lot'f fud, n' kaela didn't finish her ø bibimnaengmyuhn, so she took the leftovers home to leave in her parents fridge.   sooni got to eat some galbi bones.   after lunch, after walkin' 'round that li'l hacienda heights strip mall that had a few korean biznesses n' a vet, we went to the ׸ greenland market strip mall, where kaela n' phil went into crown bakery, so that kaela could buy some bbang.   hrm, what happened after that? :-? well, eventually, we went back home.   oh, shoot... i didn't talk 'bout wed nite, huh?   i'm already talkin' 'bout thurs, but i didn't talk 'bout wed. *sigh* this is a really disorganised recap!

well, on wed... hrm... on wed eve, kaela n' i went w/ phil to on the border, 'nother el toritoesque mexican joint (nuthin' original) 4 happy hr after phil's werk.   since kaela n' i planned to hit the gym, i didn't wanna order much.   also, we had had a late lunch.   i just ordered a miller lite.   kaela ordered some margarita.   hrm... drinking b4 hitting the gym?!   phil ordered some flautas, n' the waitress emphasized that all appetizers were 0.5 price.   hrm... later, kaela n' i ordered some chicken empanadas, since they were 0.5 off.   after i finished my lite beer, i helped kaela finish her margarita n' realised it was really strong!   man, i was in no shape to go to the gym or drive or nething, so we hung 'round the restaurant 4 a long, long, long time.   then, we went to the nearby nordstrom rack n' $hopped.   dude, crazy.   eventually, kaela n' i dropped phil off @ his car @ kaela's parents house, n' we made it to the puente hills bally gym, which is really nice n' supercrowded so late @ nite.   this is a nicer bally gym, n' i guess whenever we're in socal, we should go to this 1.

[later] so where did i leave off updating?   argh, this update/recap is such a mess.   eventually, i should make an outline, describing my past wk or so.   however, *sigh* is it worth it? *shrug* hrm, thurs... what did i say 'bout thurs?   i think i totally finished thurs, rt?   fri... what 'bout fri?   well, we visited jeanna, dave, n' pookie in santa monica.   man, that's a nice house.   it's very clean, as they have a maid come n' clean it on a regular basis.   after our visit, kaela n' i got back on the crowded socal rd n' continued up to norcal.   we stopped by a mcyukyuk's in the grapevine area 4 a quick, late lunch.   i had 'nother pixar pal hamburger happy meal.   now i have a mr. incredibles n' mike wazowski from monsters, inc.   i really don't have a need 4 these toys.   i dunno whether i should give 'em to mason or ebay 'em.   hrm, how was driving up?   well, driving down, i drove kind'f fast.   driving up?   yah, i drove kind'f fast.   then, i let kaela drive 4 more'f the time.   we got home like 'round 900p.   originally, i thought we needed to return the rented gold pontiac sunfire by 800p to budget, but kaela called n' confirmed that it wasn't due till 1000a the next morn (sat).   after we dropped off the car, we had dinner @ the pho hoa on el camino real @ flora vista.   we had a bogo coupon.   however, since i wanted to use my credit card to pay, i wanted to ensure that the bill was over $10, so i ordered us up a feast: 2 bowls'f pho w/ nonfat broth n' steamed sprouts, a 3.bean drink 4 each'f us, n' a pair'f spring rolls.   man, that was 'lot'f fud.   the bean drinks... man, they're so filling.   i saved mine till the end n' was so bursting in the stomach!   kaela was eating her beans thru.out the meal n' ended up packing her leftover pho to go.

sat... what happened sat?   well, kaela went to our friend susan's bridal shower, n' i went to help toby n 'betty move from berkeley to their new, beautiful house in san leandro.   it was a nice day, n' i wish i could've hung 'round berkeley longer.   man, i'd love to make a daytrip up there n' hang w/ some ol' friends.   :-/ oh yah, in the morn, i guess, kaela n' i went to run some errands.   we bought some bbang from bbanggoobneun mauel on el camino real @ halford (in english, it's called "baker's village").   we went to like long's drugs n' uh... hrm, i guess that's it.   maybe we swung by some banks; i 4get.   neway, that was b4 the afternoon.   when i came home from the move, kaela was cooking some good stuff.   we had some fish, some κ ° soondubu jjigae, some oyster shrooms, n' other stuff. . . .

[much later] 852p: argh, when'll i finish catchin' up?   sorry, these recent journal entries really suck; they really do; n' i'm sorry.   2day's been kind'f hektic.   i've been running 'round all over the place but not physically in order to get some northstar lift tix 4 sat.   like, i've been scrambling all over the internet n' making fon calls.   physically, i haven't gone newhere to get these tix.   i've just been visiting craigslist, ebaying, e.mailing, fon callin'... *sigh* it's been stressful.   sometimes u hafta do lots'f werk in order to have fun; is that the case?   or what?   *sigh* the sucky thing that happened is this: as'f last nite, i wasn't sure how many ppl we'd have.   if we had 3 ppl who needed tix, an easy option would've been just to buy that not.2.¢heap costco 3.pak (which isn't as good as deals i've found on craigslist n' ebay).   however, since i wasn't sure if we'd get a 5th person (2 already have tix.), i went 'head n' bid on a tic on ebay n' won it 4 $26.   now, i'm just trying to arrange to meet up w/ this person asap.   i don't want him to send the tic via usps, i need it in my hand asap.   he lives in saratoga n' werks @ ebay.   it's now 858p, n' i'm quite worn out.   earlier in my cad software class i drank 2 much caffeine: a decaf coffee n' a diet coke .   keep in mind that decaf café still has caffeine.

[later] 11000p: dangit, so where did i leave off updating?!   *sigh* i almost feel like giving up on this update / catchin' up biz, but u know... it's not so much 4 u as it is 4 me cos i need to dokument my life in order to make sure i never 4get what i did, etc.     lessee... well, sat, i helped toby n' betty move.   sun, kaela n' i went to church, n' my mom came 'gain 2.   that's kewl.   we went to the early service, but un4tunately, kaela n' i were a li'l late.   we've gotta be more on time to church.   after service, the 3'f us went to eat dimsum @ bamboo garden in sunnyvale.   hrm, their webpage is bgbay.com.   if u go there, u c this very misleading pic that makes the restaurant looks so much more beautiful than it aktually is, un4tunately.   like, yah, i can imagine it could look like that pic if they kept it up n' well... @ this pt, if the totally remodeled it. :-/ it's an ok dimsum place but not the best.   i'm just happy that it's not 2 expen$ive.   4 dimsum, it's aktually pretty inexpen$ive!   afterwards, my mom left, n' kaela n' i went to target to $hop 'round.   what did we buy?   hrm, i sort'f 4get, but i was mostly just $hoppin' 'round 4 household items.   oh yah, 4 kaela, i bought sumpthin'... what was it?   uh... oh yah, new swim goggles cos her old 1s broke, down in socal...   uh, what else?   :-/ a tube'f colgate total toothpaste... what else? uh... hrm... :-/ hrm, i 4get... hrm... oh yah, we bought some ¢heap, $cent;heap clearance easter stuff: 90% off! a big basket shaped like a giant marshmallow peep 4 $1 n' a medium sized basket shaped like a giany marshamllow bunny peep 4 50¢.   what else?   :-/ i was tempted to buy a hat or cap cos they have some pretty kewl 1s there.   however, i didn't.   what else?   sandwich bags? *shrug* i think so.   what else? *shrug* well, we stopped by rite.aid after that... n' trader joe's n' orchard supply hardware.   @ trader joe's we bought some carrot juice n'... hrm... :-? what else? :-/ yah, i really... oh yah! we bought sooni some bench n' field's holistic chicken doggie fud, which she really likes... or 'least she liked it the last time i bought it.   we'll c.   then we went to orchard supply hardware to buy gardening/landscaping stuff: 3 pots to transplant our li'l palm trees, some potting soil...   i guess that's it.   we tried to buy whatever this maple tree sunscreen is, but they didn't have it.   a nice, knowledgeable employee did advise us to try el real nursery.   yup, i know that place, altho' i've never been there.   i've heard it's a really, really good nursery.   it's owned by an ol' korean couple.   well, we went home n' did yardwerk.   i originally wanted to mow the lawn but ended up filling our 1 yardwaste bin w/ clippings from our 3 potato trees n' 1'f our japanese maples.   it also started to get dark b4 i could mow the lawn.   then we went in 4 dinner, n' it rained.   crazy, huh?   we finished our yardwerk n' gardening rt in time.

mon, i went back to werk, n' i guess kaela went back to skool.   i had lunch w/ vince @ tomatina.   oh yah, @ alpine meadows, kaela last the antenna from her motorola v710.   i gave her mine n' went to the verizon store next to tomatina @ the amc mercado to buy a new 1 4 friggin' 10 buck$.   on sat, we had tried ptt, the korean cellfon store by brian chong's family's u.save tax office.   on sun, we had tried some other cellfon store on el camino real near sf framing in sunnyvale.   @ ptt, i got a free ¢heapie handsfree kit cos i had a coupon from the penny$aver's "free page" 4 a free handsfree kit.   neway... on mon, i had lunch w/ vince @ tomatina.   i had the "skirt steak piadine," n' vince had ravioli.   i commented that his cheese.filled ravioli dish looked waaay 2 small to be filling, n' he agreed.   neway, it's nice to hang w/ ol' friends.   what else is up?   :-/ on mon evening, i went to the werk.com gym, n' there were 5'f us from the ol' training program thingy.   that was pretty neat.

on tues, hrm... what did i eat 4 lunch?   :-/ oh yah, didn't i go to sneha w/ my ol' cowerkers from the training program 4 2 ppl's b.days?   i think so.   sneha ain't bad.   kaela came home early from skool cos she felt sick.   she slept all afternoon.   well, i was very happy that we ended up both going to taekewondo praktice w/ sooni.   praktice was very short.   we just did a few kicks on the paddles n' then did our pushups n' situps.   my lower back hurt 2 much to do the pushups well tho'... i mean, we had to do 150 pushups, so... yah... afterwards, kaela n' i took sooni to fantasia @ the cupertino 99, where we got to use the bogo coupon from the silicon valley metro newspaper.   they wouldn't stamp my frequent drinker card thingy cos i used the coupon, but that's ok.   later, we saw my cowerker jason from the ol' training program there @ fantasia.   that was especially kewl cos i hadn't had a chance to talk to him in a while.   he was there w/ 2 ol' skoolmates form cornell.   i think they were both mechanical engineers like jason n' me.   oh yah, on mon nite, after the gym, i came home n' heated up some honey bbq chicken drumsticks (frozen) that my mom gave us.   then kaela came home w/ some awesome fud from whole fuds.   i ate some'f the bbq chicken as well as some'f the salad n' this other chicken thingy from whole fuds that kaela brought.   that whole fuds chicken was some kind'f orange.sesame chicken or sumpthin'.   on tues nite, we ate some leftovers'f those 2 chicken dishes 4 dinner.   no, wait.   we just ate the leftovers'f the sesame chicken.   on wed, @ lunch, i ate the leftovers'f the drumsticks.   @ dinnertime, kaela brought home leftovers'f some thai fud that she bought b4 going to her weekly chiropraktik club thingy.   it's been very frustrating the past few days cos kaela's cellfon doesn't werk, n' i never know where she is or when she's coming home, so it's impossible 4 me to plan my evenings well.   maybe i'll so soon hafta go back to assuming she's just coming home really late. *shrug*


2005.04.08

prelude to a bizzy wknd in april

geumyoil achim: i 4got to mention that on the sat after easter, last sat, i took sooni to the silicon valley humane society to get her 3.yr rabies vaccination.   i put her muzzlen on b4 we left the house.   the shot only co$t $14 there.   sooni was totally well.behaved!   she didn't even cm to care that the vet stuck a needle into her neck!   wow! it was like nuthin' happened!   she's awesome.

this morn, it was raining so i didn't walk sooni.   b4 heading to werk, i dropped off our utility bill @ the city hall.   by the time i got to werk, it wasn't really raining @ all.   2 bad i didn't take sooni 4 a walk.   well, 2nite, we have this grx t3s (tee three south ["it takes 3" - south]) social nite.   [later] yah, so we're going to eat @ gilmok n' watching a movie.   i especially suggested gilmok cos they've provided 10% off coupons 4 our church congregation, n' that's kewl.   the owners there love sooni.   i wish we could bring her 2nite, but we prob'ly should just leave her @ home since we're going to the theatre afterwards.   we're prob'ly gonna watch fever pitch, the jimmy fallon / drew barrymore film that ppl say sounds like it should've starred adam sandler, rt?   ha ha.   neway, i read that it's not 2 bad'f a movie, so yah... we'll hopefully c.   i'm just worried 'bout the time constraint.   dinner's skeduled 4 645p.   the movie plays @ 815, 1015, n' 1115p 2nite.   2morrow morn, early morn, duk, clarence, the beautiful kaela hwang n' i r driving up to northstar 4 a daytrip.   hektic, hektic, huh?

[later] : as i c it, dogs on leashes should be allowed in all stores; while dogs off leashes, whether in owners' hands, bags, or what, shouldn't be allowed in ne stores!

how's life?   plz drop me a line on my gbook.


2005.04.10

costco crab n' carrots

ħ wuhlyoil achim: this yr, the beautiful kaela hwang n' i have lots'f weddings to go to.   so far, we have 7 weddings to attend.   1'f my grx t3s bruthas nick was sort'f scoffing @ that, saying that he 1nce went to 10 weddings in 1 yr.   :-/ yah, i don't think i can top that, can i?   i mean, i did dj lots'f weddings while in college, but i dunno... 10 weddings?   :-/ i think this 7 weddings in 1 yr is prob'ly my record so far.   back in my undergrad days, there were yrs when i attended many graduations in 1 yr.   graduations, weddings, n' baby births r pure celebration, rt?   well, :-/ it's sad to think, but sometimes when a baby's born w/ complications n' uhm.... defekts, it's sort'f a bittersweet event, huh? :-( i dunno; is that a sad thing to think 'bout?   :-/ i dunno, i sure hope our future kids come out w/o complikations or birth defekts, but what can we do, u know?   of course, expektant muthas shouldn't drink or smoke or do drugs; that's sort'f obvious.   neway, the string'f weddings starts next sat w/ fahad n' wendy's indian ceremony.   sure, they've already had their euro.amerikan style wedding, but now it's time 4 their indian ceremony.   shoot, i should bring a present.   what, tho'?   *shrug*

this wknd was pretty loaded, maybe a li'l hektic.   u know, it's easy to feel that life's hektic n' bizzy, but... i always wanna be thankful.   i mean, i was only bizzy having fun, rt?

  1. fri:
  2. sat:
  3. [later, 1112p, continuing my recap] sun:
  4. mon (2day):



2005.04.12

representation

hwayoil achim: 2day's boondocks comic strip is hilarious altho' it didn't make me laff out loud: boondocks comic strip 2005.04.12 (http://kr.news1.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/p/uc/20050411/lbo050412.gif)   this morn, i ate a couple'f pieces'f whole fuds bread w/ peanut butter n' jalapeño jelly.   i took sooni 4 a quick walk.   she pooped 2ice, n' i picked up her poop.   yesterday, i had this particular incident: i saw this dude walk out'f a hosue n' get in a truck.   sooni wanted to pee on that house's lawn, n' wasn't really thinking 2 hard n' let her.   then the dude sez, "uh, yah... i don't think that's such a good idea to uh... let your dog do that while the owner's right here..."   upes.   honestly, i kind'f thought he wasn't the homeowner but some1 who was werking on that house, like a contractor or gardner. :-/ dude, that was a bad assumption.   it's just that the house recently got 1'f those beautiful driveways (we have a beautiful driveway.), n' it sort'f looked like maybe he was the dude that put in the driveway, not necessarily the dude who lived there.   upes.   i responded, "sorry, she just goes where other dogs go."   the dude sed, "yah, i know... but..." n' well... we just left it @ that.   upes.   'member how i talked here 'bout how asian men feel that society judges the entire asian.am community based upon their aktions?   well, i carry over that sentiment into my membership in the dog.owning community.   i feel bad that my aktions n' wurds make dog.owners look bad, u know?   not only did i let the dude c sooni pee on his lawn, i implied that all the other dogs in the neighbourhood pee on his lawn.   dude, way to go.   :-/ recently, i was reading an article in dog world 'bout protekting dog.owners' rights, u know?   so this topik's been even more on my mind, i s'ppose.   what i really should've sed is that sooni wants to pee where other animals pee, thus pting out that cats, squirrels, raccoons, n' possums also pee on his lawn, so he shouldn't be 2 uptight 'bout it.   of course, he wasn't really uptight 'bout it.   an uptight person, would've been an @$$hole n' shouted sumpthin' like "hey! get your dog off my lawn!"   yah, those kinds'f ppl maybe ought to be dragged out into the street n' shot. *shrug* neway... on a more holistically spiritual plane'f existence, i told myself not to feel so ashamed 'bout being caught letting sooni pee on a lawn cos well... shoot, we rn't perfekt n' make mistakes n' r just durty, worthless thing in gen'l... yet we can be proud'f being loved by our god in heaven.. n' only proud'f that! [later] well, on that thought, some christians go 'round stressing that society'll judge all chrsitians based upon their aktions... so they've gotta be perfekt... :-/

in continuation'f this topik'f spirituality, allow me to mention that yesterday, i received my buy.com shipment that included my hardcover copy'f anne lamott's plan b: further thoughts on faith.   anne lamott calls herself a liberal (a staunch liberal) n' a christian.   i dunno, would i say that 'bout myself? i'm not sure.   in gen'l, i prefer to describe my political philosphies/beliefs as progressive not liberal, as u know.   i very much support the rights'f minorities n' underrepresented ppl.   i support the environment n' animals.   i support human rights n' fair labour.   'mong the things i don't support r drugs, sexual immorality, n' neglekt'f family obligations.   un4tunately, many misinformed ppl'd assume i support those things if i were to call myself a "liberal."   neway, i think some'f my christian friends'd cringe to hear that i bought that book, n' others would be very happy to hear that i bought that book.   lemme tell u: 1st off, i bought the book cos i heard anne lamott's interview on npr while driving the rented, gold pontiac sunfire from budget @ the aeroport to our house, the tues we left 4 socal (so i guess 2 wks 'go).   2ndly, i bought the book to read it, not to be indoktrinated but to check out what this author has to say n' decide 4myself if i buy into her thoughts.   from her npr interview i gathered a couple'f things: 1) she opposes the bush adminstration as i do.   2) her view that other spiritual belief systems other than christianity cm to be somewhat equally valid sort'f goes beyond what i personally believe; that is, sure i feel i have tolerance 4 other religions, but essentially, as a christian, i ulitmately believe that what the bible sez is the only truth out there... but eh... sure, i've got plenty, plenty'f nonchristian friends, n' 1) they're good ppl, n' 2) i can only hope that they'll end up in heaven, but i do indeed hope.

[later] 1012p: here's u motley fool article 'bout my company: "is applied materials a buy?" by dan bloom.


2005.04.13

ʻ sa shibsam

ħ suyoil achim: in far east asian cultures, the number 4 means death.   in euro.amerikan culture, the number 13 is a bad luck number.   2day's date is 2005.04.13, or some ppl might write just "4/13."   [later] last nite, the beautiful kaela hwang n' i went to taekwondo praktice.   oh yah, when kaela came home, yesterday evening, she brought home a new, reconditioned motorola v710 fon from the verizon wireless corporate store over @ the mercado (off the 101 @ great amerika pkwy, in the heart'f silicon valley).   her fon's been akting all weird ever since that tropically snowy day @ alpine meadows on the mon'f spring brk.   it'd been very, very frustrating 4 me that i couldn't ever reach kaela cos her fon's battery'd die after 2 hrs'f being disconnekted from the charger.   that really sucked.   i'm glad they gave her a new but reconditioned fon so quickly.   i feared they would've made her go thru lots'f bureaucratik cr@p or charge her.   they replaced it 4 free, not bad!   it's so weird that kaela n' i've each visited the verizon wireless corporate store 1nce in the past couple'f wks.   usually, we handle all our cellfon bizness thru ken, but we haven't cn ken in a while.   b4 praktice, in the early evening, both kaela n' i were so tired n' worn out from werk/skool.   we watched a li'l tv.   do u know the kdrama kwaeguhl choonhyang?   the "translated' english name is sassy girl, but that's very misleading cos ppl associate the title sassy girl w/ smash hit movie yuhbgijuhkin geunyuh, starring cha taehyuhn n' juhn jihyun, whose "translated" english title is my sassy girl.   that movie's just 1'f so many things that r popular w/ the pan.asian/asian.am fnklses type crowd'f koreaphiles.   neway, i hadn't paid much attn to kwaeguhl choonhyang cos i felt the show was a bit juvenile n' corny, but i think the show's maybe gotten better now that several yrs have elapsed in the story n' the main chars r a bit more mature, u know?   neway, after i peeled kaela off the coach from her passed out position, i brought her n' sooni to praktice.   we showed up really late.   sooni kept wanting to come inside.   i think when she doesn't get fed during the day, she doesn't behave as well in the evening @ praktice.   sabuhmnim's li'l daughter jamie declared that sooni's allowed onto the rug right inside the door even tho' she's still not allowed further.   well, that's not a bad rule.   after our praktice (Which was paddle kicking n' a li'l koryuh poomsae during the 20 mins'f open werkout), kaela n' i went to the cupertino 99 mall's fantasia 4 warm drinks: kaela ordered me a grass jelly drink w/ taro balls n' red bean, while i walked sooni; n' she had some kind'f taro milk 4 herself.   i think it had boba in it or sumpthin'.   fantasia rocks.   it was a chillier nite than i'd expekted.   i dunno why.   when we got home, kaela cooked us some omelettes 4 dinner.   we watched an episode'f aejuhnguy joguhn on kbs.com n' an episode'f sbs's 3 Ŭι 3ip clover on dish netwerk tv.

kaela keeps complaining to me that we haven't printed out wedding pics @ costco.   i'd do it if i had the correkted pix on a dvd, cd, or flash memory.   u c, lots'f the pix needed colour correktion cos'f lighting issues.   kaela did that, but i don't have those correkted versions.   lemme tell u, digital life!

i'd like to go $hopping sometime btwn 2day n' 2morrow.   i have this 15% off macy's coupon, so i guess i'd like to go to valley fair sometime 2day or 2morrow.   what'm i $hopping 4?   i dunno; mostly presents, i think.   u know, when i looked @ my expen$es this past yr or so, i realised that i $pent lot'f $$$ buying presents n' dinners 4 ppl.   *shrug* i mean, i dunno what to say 'bout that.   like, i wanna be nice to ppl, n' i wanna do stuff like take ppl to dinner on their b.days n' give 'em presents 4 b.days, weddings, baby showers, christmas, etc.   however, yah, it cms like gifts n' celebratory or compensatory dinners r a major expen$e 4 me.   can i trim those co$ts?   :-/ *shake head* i don't think so.   if i go to a wedding, yah, i really should bring a gift... unless djing the wedding's my gift.   b.days? yah, i like to do sumpthin' to show i care.   i dunno.   i hope i buy gifts ppl like.   maybe, i'll try to put more thought into presents n' consider sometimes $pending less if i can still give a thoughtful present.   *shrug* it'd be good to make prsents, but what can i make that ppl'd want?   1 thing i really hate is when i'm late w/ presents.   it feels extremely awkward to give a present that's 1~2 months or more late, rt? *sigh*

u know what?   honestly, we're getting a decent tax refund.   i've gotta double, triple, n' superquadruple check our forms, but it cms that we'll be getting a decent n' much needed tax refund.   i dunno if i've sed it 2 much here or not enuf, but i've been more worried 'bout finances in recent months.   i've really tried to cut $pending; i really have!   i dunno; ever since kaela went back to skool, i've been feeling more poor.   i don't like the feeling.   of course, every1's been feeling a bit poorer in recent months cos'f the skyrocketin' pri¢e'f gas.   a tank'f gas now co$ts me over $30.   as i was recently sharing w/ kaela, thru most'f my driving history, a tank'f gas co$t 'bout the pri¢e'f a cd.   dude, that's totally no longer true.   kaela pted out that a tank'f gas now co$ts the pri¢'f a box set!   well, it 'least co$ts the pri¢e'f a double-cd set, rt? *shrug* [later, after a pee brk] thru.out the past wk or so, i pondered making a list'f things i want.   man, that's so materialistik, but i sort'f wanna do it.   hrm... well, let's think: 1) a new dresser 4 our bedrm, 2) a dyson animal vacuum cleaner, 3) an outdoor patio dining set (not 2 big), 4) a bike to ride to werk (n' a helmet), 5) a wi.fi sd card 4 my palmone tungsten t5, 6) a 1gb sd card 4 my palmone tungsten t5 so i can put lots'f mpgs n' mp3s on it, 7) (maybe) an external dvd burner, 8) a new washer n' dryer, 9) a new fridge, 10) new car stereo!, 11) a gardner to come n' pull out 5' tall weeds, 12) a housekeeper to come clean up our mess, 13) some unknown solution to fix my ol' desktop 'puter or whatever such that i can go back to recording my dj stuff (i never set that stuff back up after moving into our hosue.), 14) a vakation (not so much that i finally found the desire to travel but just cos i think it'd make kaela happier... @ the same time, i dunno how much vakation time i have; prob'ly not 'nuff.), 15) a big lcd tv, 16) some kind'f standalone digital video recorder, 17) a new hybrid car 4 kaela, 18) some kind'f complete overhaul detailing job to restore my car to how nice it 1nce looked not 2 long 'go, 18) 1'f those snazzy s#arper image massage chairs, maybe an ijoy chair, 19) some absurd cosmetik procedure that'd make me the most handsome man in the world (>X-D ha ha ha!), n' 20) a garden hose 4 the front yard. *sigh* what an awful list!   just think 'bout how materialistik i can be if i put my mind to it. :-/

[later] : now, i'm @ the santa clara lozano's car was, gettin' my nasty car washed.   usually, i try to be here w/ sooni, but 2day, sooni's @ home.   the "big" news this morn on tv was that 23.yr old britney spears n' her husband admit that britney's pregnant n' they're havin' a baby.   that is mildly interessant.   jmadonna didn't have a baby till she was quite a bit older, rt?   so many in the university.edukated crowd gauge their progress in life by their career or possibly akademic merit, while so many others in this world take into acct if they've found a good spouse or started a good family.   which's the better metric?   well, the correkt answer's "neither," that we should judge neither ourselves nor others by these earthly standards but . . . [unfinished entry]


2005.04.14

google lunch

mokyoil ohoo: 2day, i luncheoned w/ my grx t3s brutha david n' also our pastor pastor dave @ david's google werkplace cafeteria, which is really nice!   man, it's much nicer than many restaurants i eat @, so isn't that quite sumpthin' to say 'bout a company cafeteria?   well, @ lunch 2day, pastor dave brought up the idea that maybe the 2'f us wanna join in w/ the church staff in a fast.   "a fast?!" u might exclaim.   yah, really, a fast.   u know, 1st off, i think the uniformed publik often thinks that fasting is just a rite'f nonchristian religions such as buddhism or islam.   sure, there must exist some individual in this country who calls himself blue.blooded n' patriotic n' declares that all christians eat meat n' lots'f it, n' that fasting is 4 terrorists. *roll eyes* yah, ok.... well, pastor dave suggested that we google up (very befitting as we sat in the google cafeteria, rt?) "bill bright," who's an expert on fasting.   ok, this is the most important page i found: http://www.billbright.com/howtofast.   i also learned thru that google that bill bright was the founder'f campus crusade 4 christ n' that certain uhm.... so.called "conservative" christians denounce him 4 his tolerance'f catholiks.   ah, i c.   well, shoot... he cms like a decent guy from what i've read 'bout him online.   he apparently recently passed 'way @ the age'f 81.   "during a fast?" u ask.   well, i'm not sure.   plz allow me to investigate further n' let u know.   hold on plz.   oh, frick! the guy died on our wedding date!   he died in florida'f pulmonary fibrosis.   what's that? :-? that's stuff the beautiful kaela hwang'd know, not me.   now, why would i fast?   heh... yah, pastor dave sed that the staff was planning to fast in order to hear from god 'bout a certain big decision.   however, honestly, i'm not connekted 'nuff w/ the inner werkings'f our church to be really involved w/ that certain big decision.   thus, yah... would i really be fasting w/ them?   in either case, from what pastor dave sed, maybe it's not a bad idea just to try out a fast.   "why?" u ask?   well, i obviously do have issues here n' there to sort out n' which won't get sorted out w/o god's help, if u ask me.   u know what?   every1 has li'l issues like these.   what do i mean by issues?   hrm, well, i guess just things that i say stress me out, rt?   *shrug* well, to tell u the truth, the past few wks haven't been 2 bad.   since kaela's only now starting her new 0.25 (quarter), i'm not 2 stressed.   so far, it's not 2 bad.   i'd like to be optimistik n' believe this'll continue thru this new 0.25, but can i?   well, shoot! ain't that sumpthin' i'll hafta leave to god n' thus sumpthin' i can fast in order to hear from him 'bout?   [a li'l later] in ne case, i seriously have not decided whether to try out this fasting bizness or not.   don't think that i'm in some wild cult cos our pastor mentioned fasting.   coincidentally, as i sat in the google lobby, which gives out free naked juice n' bottled h2o (i had a naked juice choco soy milk, apparently a new produkt.), i quickly glanced @ a(n) sj merc article 'bout jim jones' ppl's temple cult, b4 moving on to read an article 'bout currently troubled sinojapanese relations.   u know i support the whole pan.asian.am ethnicity movement but oppose the so.called re.unification'f china, which is the annexation'f taiwan.   the taiwanese independence organizations i partcipated in during hi skool n' college often told us that japan treated taiwan better than china ever did.   i avoid buying goods made in china but am fine w/ those made in japan.   u know i'm also quite immersed in korean culture as well as taiwanese culture, n' that historically, koreans haven't been 2 happy w/ japan.   in fakt lots'f korean.am kids in my generation n' younger generations carry on that tradition'f aversion to japan.   i dunno; often those 2nd gen korean.am kids just want sumpthin' to bash on in order to boost their egos 'bout their heritage or else to undermine the idea'f pan.asian.am ethnicity, u know?   un4tunately, some asians don't realise the importance'f this kind'f unity.   neway, back to my original topik'f fasting!   i was telling david in an e.mail just a while 'go 'bout how last nite, i stepped on our s#arper image body fat analyzing scale n' discovered i had gained weight.   the scale reported a decent body fat content, but i had gained some 6 lbs.   upon cing that increase, i realised that i haven't really been watching what i eat lately.   i was telling david that maybe i'm 2 bizzy cramming fud down my throat to appreciate really what god provides 4 me n' thus also not receiving all that god does wanna provide 4 me n' not listening to what he wants to tell me.   [later] neway, we'll c... as i sed, i haven't decided whether or not to try this.

on a totally diff note, i turn 30 this summer.   [later] a while 'go, @ our old church, i was talkin' to 2 ppl in their 30s (older than me) john n' joan, that cing them n' how young they cm @ their ages makes me not scared'f turning 30.   yah, to some extent, it cms that ppl r staying younger longer.   'member how i sed that, back in my college days, i was sort'f disgusted @ how the chars on friends akt like such overgrown kids?   well, as i got older, i grew into that role, i s'ppose.   would the me that i was in college be disgusted @ how the me that i am no akts like such an overgrown kid?   i hate to admit this, but along the lines'f 1'f my topiks in yesterday's entry (plz refer to " ʻ sa shibsam," 2005.04.13.), i think the me that i was back in college'd be @ least glad that the me that i am now is married.   as i sed, we really need to avoid these types'f metrics in evaluating our lives, but *shrug*... i know back in college, i always considered the yrs btwn college graduation n' marriage to be a worthless void.   in that sense, u could pt out that it's interesting that i ended up getting married n' then completing grad skool, rt?     well, i ended up filling the time btwn undergrad college graduation n' marriage w/ plenty'f aktivities.   was i akting like an overgrown kid? *shrug* these days, i c plenty'f ppl well into their 40s n' 50s akting like overgrown kids.   sometime btwn the 1950s n' the 1990s, akting like an overgrown kid became the norm.   does akting like an overgrown kid constitute staying younger longer?   does akting like an overgrown kid help 1 stay younger longer?   *shrug* some ppl say i look young, n' some ppl say i akt young.   [a li'l later] will eventually having kids age me?   @ what age do i want kids?   ('gain i'm sort'f still on the topik'f 23.yr old britney spears's pregnancy.)

1st off, i do wanna eventually have kids, very much so; but i don't feel financially stable 'nuff yet n' am just plain 2 scared.   the fakt that kaela'll be in skool 4 the next ~3 yrs tells u that kids rn't in our near future, u know?   i worry plenty tho' 'bout the complikations'f bearing children @ later ages.   i also worry a li'l 'bout the potential diffikulties'f raising children @ later ages.   i 1nce told s.mike (supermike, 4 those'f u who don't know) that i don't wanna be 2 old to "play ball" w/ my kids when i'm raising them.   s.mike, an advokate'f delaying childrearing (or whatever u call it), told me to 4get trying to impress my future kids w/ ne athleticism or kewlness cos we'll never be kewl to our kids no matter how hard we try, that we'll always be just old men to them. >:-/ i dunno, man.   that's awfully pessimistik, n' i... i don't think i believe that, do i?   *sigh* [a li'l later] in a way, i s'ppose i've always wanted to be "forever young," rt?   sometime in the past couple'f days, prob'ly yesterday, i wondered to myself what it'd be like to adopt kids instead'f bearing them.   :-/ in a way, it sort'f sidesteps the concern'f bearing kids @ a later age (4 the mutha) n' it helps promote a good alternative to abortion as well as overpopulation (in a way).   if i were to adopt n' raise kids, i'm sure i'd still love them.   however, after thinking 'bout it 4 a short time, i thought 'bout the somewhat selfish n' egotistik "need" to pass on 1s genes, u know?   don't i want a spitting image'f myself, just like every other guy wants?

[later] 936p: i'm now @ valley fair, waiting 4 kaela.   earlier, i bought a present n' a couple'f shirts @ macy's.   i'm sittin' by grain d'or's kiosk near suncoast, where they've got revenge'f the sith toys 4 sale.   wow! 'nother star wars movie!   i want to c it!   the mall's closed now.   it's pretty a li'l peaceful to sit here @ closing time.   'member that late 1990s post.grunge tune?   who was that, ben folds five? *shrug*


2005.04.15

ҵ漼

ݿ... ?   " 415 ҵ漼 Ű Դϴ."   2day's fri n' tax day.


2005.04.18

feast n' fast

ħ, wuhlyoil achim: the beautiful kaela hwang n' i slept a decent amt last nite.   we did not stay up late watching korean celebrity game shows, as we often do on sun nites.   it's been a bizzy wknd... to a pt.   i s'ppose i've had bizzier wknds, n' this wknd in particular could've been bizzier had we not completely skipped the national collegiate taekwondo association (ncta) tournament, which i'd planned 4 so long to attend. :-( i'm quite disappointed in myself 4 missing this event.   i wanted to go in order to cheer 4 my friends @ us taekwondo akademny   i wanted to go in order to cheer 4 my friends @ my alma mater on the cal taekwondo team.   i wanted to go to help the uc martial arts program (ucmap) put on this big event.   i wanted to go in order to say hi to all my good, ol' friends that i miss very much.   i wanted to go in order to say hi to dr. min.   i was hoping this time, i'd bring kaela w/ me, unlike how kaela missed the uc open in order to study or whatever, while i went.   *sigh*   neway, even tho' i missed ncta, i did other stuff this past wknd.

fri was tax day.   kaela printed n' sent in our taxes.   i hate being so last minute, but *sigh* we just ended up not doing it till late.   it's not like we totally did it last min.   i'll try to be best w/ this yr's taxes.   on fri evening, kaela n' i went to our grx t3s couples bible study.   on the way, 4 dinner, i meant to pull off (the) 101 on story rd to pick us up some lee's sandwiches, but i absent mindedly missed the exit, so we ended up going to huong lan on tully after u.turning from 'nother wrong turn.   i ate a #1 sandiwch w/ all those fatty meats, n' kaela had a fried fishcake sandwich.   we also had thos sugary sweet boba drinks that they have there.

on sat, kaela n' i, in the morn, rushed off to santana row w/ sooni.   kaela got her hair cut, while i walked sooni 4 a long time.   i also took lots'f pics while @ santana row n' noticed that many other ppl were taking pics.   santana row's beautiful in the morn.   it's even easier to pretend its some st in a quaint european/french town.   uh... ha ha ha!   that prob'ly made some ppl laff.   ok ok ok, santana row doesn't look like a french town, i know.   well, it tries to, n' i more than other try to humour them.   i'm sure ppl bag on santana row as an ikon'f silly valley yuppiedom.   as 4 me, i'm down w/ santana row.   while i was walkin' sooni 'round, there was this grp'f guys running 'round taking pics'f each other.   i assumed they had a band n' were taking pics 4 a cd cover.   the way they were off taking pics'f each other reminded me'f the guys on zoolander, which made me think 'bout that funny "gas fight" scene.   santana row's a really pretty place, if u ask me.   as usual, ppl loved sooni n' came up to me, asking what kind'f dog she is, where to get a jindo, etc.   well, kaela came out'f her hair apptmnt.   her hair looks great. :-) sooni started showing her dominance 2wards other doggies tho', n' that's bad.   while i was walking sooni 'round that area w/ maggiano's n' starbucks, she lunged out some li'l black puppy.   she doesn't really try to hurt these dogs, she just wants to bully them 'round.   kaela was hungry.   i was getting hungry.   we ate brunch/lunch @ conseulo's.   we ordered 2 much fud: tamalitos, chilequiles w/ shredded chicken (sumpthin' like nachos), an ensalata mixta (w/ bleu cheese, cherry tomatoes, n' pecans mixed in there), n' ceviche pescado.   that was 2 much fud.   thinking back, we should've skipped the ceviche, since we've had that there b4, etc.   did i mention that on thurs nite, we ate dinner @ the cheesecake faktory in valley fair after $hopping?   prob'ly not.   i'll discuss that in a separate paragraph, i s'ppose.   well, rt b4 brunch/lunch, we ran into dave n' helen a couple in our grx t3s small grp that has a beautiful house, in which we meet every fri nite these days.   after lunch, we went home, i guess.   no, we 1st stopped by orchard supply hardware (osh), where kaela went in to buy some gardening chemical (pesticides, etc.), while i walked sooni 'round that strip mall that frequently has homeless ppl n' pandhandlers.   an ol'd women w/ a walker (that cane thingy) stopped to chat 'bout sooni, but i couldn't totally understand what she was saying.   she didn't really have an accent or nething, i just couldn't totally understand her.   hrm, maybe she had had a stroke sometime.   after osh, we went home.   we did some housewerk.   [later] i kept trying to get us out'f the house n' over to berkeley's haas pavilion, so we could watch n' help out @ the ncta tournament.   *sigh* well, we didn't.   kaela did cut my hair that afternoon tho'; that was good.   we got dressed 4 wendy n' fahad's indian wedding ceremony n' left 4 the pleasanton senior center sometime 'round 645p.   it took us 'bout a 0.5 hr to get there.   the ceremony was s'pposed to start @ 700p but didn't start till 900p.   vince chatted w/ us a bit outside the banquet hall.   well, it was awesome to hang w/ my ol' friends n' also meet 1'f fahad's childhood friends hitten.   we ate lots'f good indian fud.   i believe we ate chicken, fish, lamb, n' goat.   i was so stuffed.   there was also good indian n' amerikan muzik provided by these south asian djs w/ what appeared to be pioneer cdj1000s.   fahad sed they co$t $650, which was a di$¢ount from their usual $850.   wow, i've never charged that much.   these guys weren't bad altho' i heard a few mistakes.   they had awesome lights.   south asian peeps know how to party.   kaela felt stomachsick tho' from eating so much b4 dancing, so we sat out in the senior center's li'l library 4 a li'l while.   i really liked kaela's outfit that nite. :-)

[later] on sun morn, i jogged w/ sooni out to galleria market.   when i came home, i made some carrot juice. buhnee   while juicing carrots, i un4tunately lost track'f time n' didn't wake kaela up 4 church.   well, i hurriedly woke her up, n' we rushed off to church.   we were late 'gain. :-( [later] ohoo: pastor dave gave a msg 'bout how we can help our community, not just ourselves.   that's so important.   as i've sed b4, i guess, i don't like it when churches just dwell 'pon their own probs n' the probs'f ppl in their congregation n'... well... i mean, those r important things to care 'bout, but sometimes u need to get out n' help those in the surronding community, such as the homeless n' those that r totally out'f ur socio.economic stratus.   there's a bigger picture here!   we r very much "called to serve" the homeless n' those w/ probs other than "man, i've got so much pressure @ werk," rt?   @ our old church, when kaela n' i suggested to 1'f the leaders that we do more aktivities to serve the homeless n' poor, this dude sed that korean churches just generally don't do that.   well, why not?   (that's not a question, not a real question, maybe just a rhetorical 1.)   we should reach beyond those in the bubble'f asian.am yuppiedom.   sure, we've got probs 2, but let's step out'f our li'l world 4 a sec, i figure.   well... so what can we do?   heh, *sigh* i dunno, but the church suggested some volunteer aktivities: 1) habitat 4 humanity (4 which i signed up), 2) block walks (walking 'round the neighbourhood n' aktually asking ppl how a church could help them), 3) prison basketball (playing basketball w/ prisoners; i totally don't play basketball.), 4) doing free oil changes 4 single parents, 5) providing free baby sitting 4 parents, 6) city team ministries (i volunteered there 'least 1nce w/ my ol' church in hi skool n' would like to volunteer there 'gain.) 7) free moral edukation classes @ skools (that sounds kewl, but i dunno how i can contribute to that).   neway, yah, so far, i just signed up 4 the habitat 4 humanity thing, which i've done 1nce w/ my company.   after church, we met back up w/ my mom (who also came to church but then went grocery shopping @ ѱ hangook market) 4 lunch @ û chuhnggiwa.   we ordered a 0.5 order'f ع κ haemool dooboo pajuhn, ξ ſ minuh maeoontang, n' some ع κ  haemool soondubu jjigae.   i ate very well this wknd, as u c.   after lunch, kael an' i cleaned up our house.   later that afternoon, our friends who r getting married soon n' 4 him i'm djing their wedding came over.   we discussed musik 4 their wedding banquet.   it'll be kewl.   in the evening, kaela n'i watched the final episodes'f aejuhnguy joguhn.   kaela cooked some ojinguh jjambbong ramyuhn (instant stuff) 4 dinner.   i wasn't that hungry but ate.   we aktually went to bed relatively early.   kaela fell asleep @ the kitchen table, where we had watched aejuhnguy joguhn on her laptop.   i carried her to bed cos that surely did not look com4table.

this morn, i took sooni 4 a walk.   i haven't eaten nething yet, n' i guess i'm not going to, as i decided to go 'head w/ the fast to some extent.   what i've now told some'f my bruthas @ church (my bruthas in christ) is that i'll abstain from fud 4 these 3 days 'cept 4 lunch 2morrow w/ vince n' then ne dinners that i eat @ home (or wherever) w/ kaela.   however, kaela might not come home 4 dinner much these next few days cos'f her midterm. *shrug*

[later] on a topik totally diff from this fasting bizness, apparently, 'lot'f my guy friends r trying to lose weight.   as some1's who last ~50 lbs during college, i think i should write up a short li'l article 'bout my suggestions n' advice.   i'll do that sometime, not now.   [later] i 'member 'gain just now how i was telling kaela on thurs nite @ the cheesecake faktory that blonde bock beer was what fasting (christian) monks drank in the ol' days.   i just googled that up, n' yah, bocks r what german monks drank while fasting.   after just a few hrs'f fasting, i feel my sense'f smell s#arpened as i smelled fud everywhere during my lunchbrk, which i spent in my cubicle cos i 4got a shower towel 4 the gym.   originally, i planned to werkout during lunch, but w/o a shower towel, i returned to my cube. "consuming fire, fan into flame; a passion for your name."

[later] 815p: i'm home now.   i felt a li'l unfocused 2wards the end'f the werkday, but then i started to get 'lot'f nervous energy, the kind 1 can sort'f feed off'f, u know?   i was decently produktive despite not eating 2day.   i werked out in the werk.com gym after werk.   i didn't shower but came home in my werkout clothes.   now, i'm on the couch, watching eternal sunshine of the spotless mind on cinemax.   i still haven't eaten nething 2day, n' i think i've sort'f lost my hunger, sort'f.   i did, however, notice 2wards the end'f the day how often i normally reach 4 snacks.   wow.   when i get home these days, it cms that the 1st thing i always do is grab a snack.   that's awful!   sumpthin' i learned 2day 'bout christian fasting, tho', is that i shouldn't really be talkin' 'bout it 2 much.   i'm not out to tell the world that i'm not eating cos that's what the pharisees did.   they looked 4 recognition 4 their fasting.   this isn't a hunger strike, n' this isn't reality tv.   the papal selektion process, now that's reality tv.   of course, this is also not anorexia, so i should share this fast experience w/ other christians, as they understand what i'm doing, etc.


2005.04.19

21 months

ȭ , hwayoil ohoo: 2day's the beautiful kaela hwang's n' my 21st wedding monthversary. :-) i love my wife very much. :-) last nite, she fell asleep on the couch, so i carried her to bed.   i'm sad she exhausts herself so much w/ her skool n' studying, but if u think i'm not cheering 4 her to do well, whether it shows or not, u'r crazy.   of course, i want her to do well.   u know, she has straight 'a's.   i mean, i sure as heck know it's hard to have straight 'a's thru.out 3.25 yrs'f chiropraktic skool, but i do want her to do her best, while i know it means i'll hafta have less time w/ her. :-/   i want her do to well cos that's what she wants, n' i try hard to support that cos i love her.

last nite, i went to the werk.com gym after werk.   kaela asked me to join her n' racher @ the capitol bally, but i told her i didn't have time to go all the way out there.   later, i found out the went to a kwando strike class after their powerflex class.   dude, i really wish i could've done that.   they sed the psycho instruktor ran it like a bootcamp.   i wanted to take on the challenge.   (of course, i'd been fasting the whole day, so uh...)   neway, after the gym, i came home.   'twas 'bout 800p.   i started to watch eternal sunshine of the spotless mind on cinemax.   i think i already mentioned that.   then kaela called n' asked me to meet her n' rachel @ pho hoa on el camino real 4 dinner, so i went.   so that was my allowed dinner w/ kaela 4 mon nite.   i ate that rare steak n' tripe pho.   i realised this sure doesn't really feel like a fast since i'm eating 1 meal a day.   who knows? i could possibly eat 2 meals 2day n' be w/in my goal'f only eating dinners w/ kaela n' lunch 2day w/ vince.   i could've skipped dinner w/ kaela last nite, especially cos it's marginally not w/in the rules i set cos i sort'f sed i'd only eat w/ her if she came home 4 dinner.   however, she came pretty close to home, as we met @ the restaurant that's pretty closeby.   :-/ i only ate the noodle soup n' didn't have a beverage.   i felt that it took less fud than usual to fill me up, but hey... after just 24 hrs'f skipping fud, there probably isn't really much diff!

i came home.   rachel drove kaela to her car, n' she came home.   we watched tv.   we watched lee hyori's (3) Ŭι sei ip clover on sbs.   next, on real romance yuhnyei pyunji, the "bachelorette" was han chaeyoung, n' they had their usual set'f "bachelors."   funny, i didn't realise that both tim n' han chaeyoung r so amerikan!   they speak totally amerikan english.   i thought that looked kind'f unfair cos tim cmed to have a total advantage over the oteher guys w/ han chaeyoung as they cmed to have that common asian.am bond going.   however, *shrug* as the game takes 2 weeks to play, we don't c which bachelor she picks until next wk, n' she might opt 4 some1 else.   it's a fun show.   like a bunch'f celebrity "bachelors" play games to "win the heart"'f the celebrity "bachelorette," but it's not all smutty n' slutty like those amerikan love reality shows.   it's really just 4 fun, just pretend, altho' u never know if sumpthin' real'll later come out'f it.   every1 just has fun, n' nuthin' trashy happens.   well, the amerikanised (korean.amerikan) dudes probably get the durtiest, like during the "dancing serenade" they sometimes get all "freaky" n' all.

so 2day, i didn't eat brkfast, but i met up w/ vince 4 lunch @ jangtuh soondae on el camino real.   i think the management changed.   it's a li'l bit nicer looking now.   instead'f the usual young dude watching baseball on satellite tv all day, this ajoomma served us.   i had bibimnaengmyuhn, which was a bit overpri¢ed @ $9.99 4 a moderately sized bowl.   i recommended jjolmyuhn to vince, n' he got that.

well, this partial fast cms more like a slight diet, doesn't it?   ppl make this kind'f minor adjustment just to make weight 4 taekwondo tournaments all the time.   well, i did realise how often i tend to reach 4 snacks thru.out a normal day.   i've gotta stop that 4 good.   the amt'f time i spend thinkin' 'bout fud or eating during a normal day shocks me.   i should use that time to do more produktive things.   these past couple'f days, i've been listening to some'f the ol' grx messages (sermons) online.   i've learned 'lot thru them. [later] as i sed, i learned or was 'least reminded yesterday that christians shouldn't really go 'round blabbing 'bout hwo their fasting n' all cos we rn't s'pposed to be proud'f it like it's some kind'f personal achievement.   i'm not gonna say much more 'bout this.   i feel totally fine neway.

i wonder when kaela n' i'll celebrate our monthversary.   :-/ she has some midterm on thurs, so she won't wanna go out netime b4 that.   on thurs nite, we're s'pposed to celebrate some april b.days w/ the taekwondo gang.   on fri, we have a grx t3s couples bible study dinner 'gain.   on sat, it's our friends' wedding.   sunday?   that's the 1st chance we'll have.   i mean, we could've done sat @ lunch, but kaela has some chiropraktic seminar thing to go to in hayward, so scratch that.   *breathe* *shrug* we should've considered our brunch feast @ consuelo on sat our celebration, but *shrug* i didn't think 'bout it @ all.   oh well.

ha ha ha, oh yah, @ consuelo, there was this 1 incident... ok, lemme remind u that on sat, tons n' tons n' tons'f ppl stopped kaela n' me n' asked where they could get a doggy just like sooni.   so many ppl asked what breed'f doggy she is, so we explained jindos to them.   then they'd ask where to get them, so i told them to check rescue shelters n' the internet.   well, while we were eating, sooni cmed to fall asleep next to me on the ground.   we had an excellent spot where she was fenced off by a short fence n' an extra chair, so she couldn't lunge @ passing by dogs.   well, @ 1 pt, i had a li'l tortilla filled w/ ceviche in my left hand n' was ready to eat.   kaela sed sumpthin' like "Watch out" or "careful" or 'uh oh," but i had no clue what she meant.   in a split sec, sooni had jumped up, pushed the metal patio chair out'f the way n' was growling in the face'f some giant golden retriever on the sidewalk.   whoa! she was fast!   i spilled ceviche on me n' pulled her back.   it was quite a scene.   i scolded her a li'l but have learned that dogs'll be dogs n' that ppl aktually ought to deal w/ that.   her.   i mean, i don't want ne dogs to get hurt n' have put sooni thru extensive training but do realise that canines don't hold in their feelings 4 each other the way ppl hide them.   they don't sugarcoat nething.   she wasn't gonna hurt that huge golden retriever but just wanted a shot @ bullying it 'round... well, not a very well.calculated move on her part.   i wondered if that was the same golden retriever that got a good mouth.hold on her snout last yr, when kaela n' i were @ pizza antica (also in santana row) w/ phil.   neway, rt after that, some gurl walks by w/ her li'l paris hiltonesque chihuahua dressed in some ridiculous pink outfit, complete w/ a pink beret or sumpthin'.   dude, this dog was straight out'f legally blonde!   neway, i held sooni back from that dog, n' kaela n' i had a great brunch.   later, this couple who was brunchin' 'cross the sidewalk @ a table close to the street approached me when kaela went to the restroom.   i was worried they say sumpthin' anti.dog, but u know what???   the gurl asks, "what kind'f dog is that?   where can i get 1?"   ha ha ha!   when i told kaela 'bout this, we laffed so much.   we agreed that it's like cing a dog get into all this trouble, n' exclaiming, "yaaaah! i want that!!!"   ha ha ha, that's hilarious.   that couple saw sooni @ her worst n' r still so pumped to get a jindo.   i dutifully warned them that jindos don't like other dogs.

bob the builder
can we fix it?
bob the builder
yes, we can!

[later] my dad called me @ 546p 2day to let me know that my grandfather had passed away.   he sed he doesn't know when the funeral is, but my family might ask me to come to taiwan 4 it. [later] when my grandfather on my mom's side passed 'way, when i was in middle skool, my mom told me she was gonna fast.   i hadn't much understanding'f that concept back then.   in a way, i still don't totally understand, but isn't that interesting, considering what i'm sort'f doing now?

[later] 1002p: well, i wish i could put up a pic'f my grandfather here.   on kaela's ol' desktop 'puter i think we have some, but they're from when he was already in the hospital.   i wish i had some from b4 that.   i do, but the prints (ol' fashion, analog film) r @ my mom's house, i think.

2nite, i went to taekwondo praktice n' did hogoo drills.   i came home n' drank some "no carb" diet blueberry ice tea.   i think it's from arizona ice tea.   it has green tea in it.   "Ⱑ " "giga makhyuh" "Ⱑ " "giga makhida"... "Ⱑ" "giga" = agape (not agapé but agape, like "gaping," i guess.)   "" "makhida" = to be stopped/plugged up, to be blocked.   thus, apparently " " "giga makhyuh" means that sumpthin's ridiculous or outrageous.


2005.04.20

ahgong, rest in peace.

ħ, sooyoil ohoo: so my grandfather passed 'way yesterday.   he'd be in the hospital 4 the past few yrs, i guess.   i guess he was 1st in then out, n' then in 4 'lot more.   the last time i saw him, he was in the hospital.   that was in 2002, when the beautiful kaela hwang n' i visited taiwan soon after our engagement.   :-) i kind'f smile there cos'f good memories.   i didn't cry yesterday, n' i sed i wasn't sure if that's cos i'm just insensitive or cos i wasn't close 'nuff to my grandfather.   however, the very last time i saw my grandfather, i was on the verge'f tears but forced myself to smile 4 his sake.   i knew it was prob'ly the last time i'd c him, but i didn't want him to think that.   u know, it's hard to hold the hand'f an old man in his hospital bed while thinking that.   now, w/ that thoughts, i hafta try a li'l to fight back the tears, but i can.   maybe it's cos i'm insensitive.   looking back thru my beno journal 2001 acct'f the 2nd to last time kaela n' i saw my grandfather, i read this: "he got very excited when i sed kaela's studied some kendo.   he made some hand gestures imitating kendo.   i was very happy."   4 a split sec just now, i wondered if i should take up kendo to honour him.   our taekwondojang does teach kuhmdo/kendo.   *sigh* well, i think i'm un4tunately 2 lethargic in trying new atktivities to do that 4 real, but we'll c.   instead, in honour'f him maybe i should revitalise my taekwondo studies.   after all, even tho' my dad never showed all that much excitement over my taekwondo, my grandfather himself aktually showed great enthusiasm when i told him i did taekwondo.   on my 2nd to last trip to taiwan, when he could still talk, i told him 'bout how i do taekwondo, n' he really liked it.   that's when he told me he had done kendo b4.   in ways like that, @ times i've wondered if i'm more similar to my grandfather than i am to my (own) father.   (of course, my dad n' i r both mechanical engineers, altho' in very different fields n' industries.)   whether he realised it or not, my grandfather enjoyed the study'f folklore, just as i had enjoyed my study'f folklore @ berkeley.   on that 2nd to last visit, he also showed me a tape, where he dokumented this silly kid's song he used to sing.   some kids had taken some old song, which was prob'ly considered pop musik many decades 'go, n' changed the wurds into some story 'bout farting.   that's exaktly the kind'f overlooked material that the berkeley folklore studies dept taught us to appreciate.   yah, seriously, i think maybe i could honour my late grandfather by 1nce 'gain prakticing taekwondo / martial arts more seriously.

[later] i'm now listening to the msg prof. sunujkian gave grx back last autumn 'bout honouring ur parents. [later] b4 i listened to the msg, i did know already that prof. sunujkian mostly talked 'bout how we should financially care 4 our parents in their old age.   (kaela n' i were there 4 that msg.)   i s'ppose the msg reminded me'f the mortality'f my parents.   we're all mortal.   we don't like to think 'bout it; i don't like to think 'bout it.

[later] 1113p:after werk 2day, originally, i planned to go home n' take sooni 4 a jog all the way out to petco.   however, kaela called me, sed she was coming home, n' that i had to cook dinner.   i went out to safeway, bought some smoked salmon scraps, some asparagus, some blue dog bakery dog biscuits that were on sale, n' some lo carb linguine.   i went home n' cooled smoked salmon n' asparagus linguine (w/ a dill n' wasabi non.fat milk sauce, a slight variation from the ol' recipe my sister gave me).   we also had some kind'f supreme fiesta salad, some packaged salad thingy from safeway.   so i ate dinner.   the fast is pretty much over.   altho' it's not really over till 2morrow morn, i don't need or even want to eat nething till 2morrow morn, u know?   so, i basikally had 1 meal a day during this partial fast.   the grx staff'll continue their fast 4 the next couple'f wks, so i'll continue to pray 4 them.

when i googled up "taiwanese funeral," i came up 1st w/ a pretty kewl article: "contextualization and taiwanese funeral rites" (http://members.aol.com/taimission/funeral.htm)   it's aktually written by a christian missionary.   it talks 'bout taiwanese traditional funeral rites n' then 'bout how the christian community in taiwan does funerals, n' other stuff.   it's very in4mative!

4 fri nite, i'm planning 'nother social nite 4 the grx t3s couples bible study.   man, i'm planning out my next couple'f wks as usual, but i really don't know when i'll be pulled 'way to taiwan 4 the funeral.   my company'll give me 3~5 days off 4 bereavement.

if n' when i go to taiwan, kaela won't go, i'm sure.   she'll stay to study, i'm sure.   obviously, sooni won't go w/ me.   she'll stay @ home w/ kaela.   however, i'm the 1 that takes sooni 4 walks.   i wonder how she'll be w/o me. :-/ hopefully, kaela'll walk sooni.   i dunno how long i'll be gone 4, if n' when i go.   i mean, now that i know my werk'll excuse me, i feel it's less a question'f if n' more a question'f when, but i dunno 4 sure.   *sigh*

i'm watching hong kong express on sbs.   kaela's pretty much passed out on the couch, next to me.  


2005.04.23

waiting in downtown campbell

447p: we're waiting 4 the wedding banquet in downtown campbell.   it's saturday, n' we've had a bizzy day.


2005.04.25

no offense

wuhlyoil achim: 2day's free aisukuriimu day @ coldstone creamery.   lemme tell u tho', if i hafta pick btwn buying aisukuriimu @ coldstone or ben n' jerry's, i'd totally pick ben n' jerry's over coldstone cos ben n' jerry's is such a good, conscientious company.   coldstone? it cms that their just ur typical evil, corporate crooks, u know?   their shooting to be the starbucks'f folded aisukuriimu.   (no offense, jeanna.)   speaking'f no offense, consider what i told the beautiful kaela hwang last nite that's totally true: "don't be offended, but lemme tell u... ppl in the health professions, they think that every1's interested in what they study.   just think, engineers'd never assume that ppl 'round them wanna hear 'bout their werk.   mechanical engineers sure don't.   programmers?   well, like real programmers never talk 'bout their werk.   maybe i.t. ppl do, but not real programmers.   that's very true, n' u've noticed it; don't deny it.   lots'f ppl in the health profession figure, "hey, u!   u have a body.   u have organs.   u must be automatically interested in what i study by default!"   neway, no offense!   n' u say, "lots taken."   oh well.   well, lemme tell u... if i really wanted to offend ppl in the health professions, i'd pt out how some ppl in that field cm to think they're god w/ their "i can give life or take life" attitude 2wards others.

on sat morn, when i was @ their house, toby n' betty asked if i would want my (future) kid to be a mechanical engr like me.   (they asked this cos we were talkin' 'bout my late grandfather's profession as a agricultural engring [or is it called agricultural science?] professor n' then my dad's profession as a mechanical engr.)   :-/ hrm, i thought 'bout it n' just sed, "well, i dunno.   i wouldn't mind if my kid turns out to be a lawyers.   there rn't many lawyers in my family."   (betty's finishing up law skool.)   i have lots'f lawyer n' teacher friends.   (toby's a math teacher.)   i don't have many mechanical engring friends outside werk, not 2 many.   i've kept some friends from undergrad n' grad skool.

i haven't updated in a while.   since my last update, i've purchased my tix to fly swa to lax n' eva air from lax to tpe n', of course, the appropriate tix to return home.   what else major's been up?   on sat, kaela n' i attended the wedding'f our friends kim n' nick.   it was a huge, huge, huge wedding!

this morn, i took sooni 4 a quick walk.   4 lunch 2day, i ate the leftover 0.5'f the cuban medianoche sandwich.   i don't wanna eat 2 much; i don't wanna get fat.   4 dinner 2nite, i'm s'pposed to head out to the san leandro hometown buffet to meet up w/ some ol' friends from cal taekwondo 4 'nother april b.day dinner.   i don't wanna eat 2 much; i don't wanna get fat.

my linguistic profile (from http://www.blogthings.com/amenglishdialecttest:

i dunno what i got last time, but when i took the "what age do you act?" test 2day, i got "you are 25 years old."

i'm trying to print out some wedding pics to bring to taiwan.   i wondered if i had to wear a suit, a black shirt, or what to the funeral but am glad that my dad answered that question yesterday w/o my having to ask it: i'll get some kind'f robe to wear during the funeral.   yah, i've cn in movies n' tv shows how asian ppl hafta wear some kind'f white robe when they attend the funeral'f their elders.   wow, that'll be me, huh?   well, what do i need to pack?   i think my dad sed to pack lite, but i know he'd always say that.   neway, yah, i guess i'll pack lite cos i can always buy stuff in taiwan instead'f bringing it there n' having to pack it, worry 'bout losing it, etc.   "if in doubt, leave it out."   my dad sed to bring short sleeve shirts cos it's warm there.   this yr in the bay area, the temp's been below normal.   weird.   dude, y! weather has the temp in taipei as 72~79 °f, while the temp in santa clara is 48~66 °f!   the temp in seoul is 55~70 °f.

[later] (ohoo) april's rapidly turning into may.   there's a good chance that my 2004~2005 snowboarding season's over.   i dunno.   perhaps alpine meadows'll be open till june, but i just dunno if i'll have chances to go up.   i've got weddings to dj, u know.   recently, i've backed up n' cleaned off all the hangook gayo (kpop) mp3s n' videos from my home desktop 'puter.   i've gotta back up n' clean off all the other mp3s (engilsh, spanish, french, etc.) soon.   i didn't jog this morn; i didn't werkout in the gym this morn.   nuts.   i really need to werkout.   i like jogging w/ sooni, but i'm always worried 'bout messing up my joints.   dude, i really need more exercise.   i've gotta watch what i eat.   lately, i haven't been snacking @ werk, which is good.

[later] last nite, i was telling kaela that beets r so trendy rt now.   i was telling her, if u eat a beet salad w/ white tea, u'r like sooo hip!

yesterday, i realised sumpthin', sumpthin' that comes from recent events, the fast, n' whatever.   i've been trying 2 hard to "keep up w/ the status quo."   1nce 'gain, as in the middle'f college, i've been trying to "fit in" 2 hard.   i've gotta say "skrew it, i don't need white picket fences."   i've gotta get back to being me.   in a way, i've gotta accept that i am who god made me... in a way.   last wk, i was listening to a msg pastor dave gave 'bout considering our weaknesses to be our strengths.   i think that really made some things a li'l clearer.   whether it's in the church environment or in the non.church environment, i've gotta stop playing the yuppie, "keepin' up w/ the lees, kims, n' changs" game.   in pastor dave's old msg, he mentioned that we shouldn't try to fit in w/ the leaders @ church necessarily.   we shouldn't play that game.   instead, we should try to be like jesus himself.   skip the middle man.   it's funny, cos a long time 'go, i sed the same thign to kaela.   she talked 'bout how in college, church leaders made her feel so bad by akting like they were so holy n' that others were such bad sinners, etc.   i mentioned then that ppl in churches shouldn't aim to be like those leaders, they shouldn't buy into that game, rather they should just try to be like jesus himself.   hrm, i dunno where i'd heard that b4 or whatever, but yah... that's true.

[later] google maps sightcing (sightseeing), now that's a way to kill time!   i love flying over the beautiful bay area, viewing the golden gate bridge, the bay bridge, the palace'f fine arts...

[later] so how's my week gonna be?   i've got lots'f pressure@werk.com.   i've got plenty'f werk to do.   i've gotta get moving w/ the planning'f musik 4 the upcoming wedding, the 1st'f 3 that i'm gonna dj this yr.   i still wanna get some good exercise this wk.   lessee, i plan to go to taekwondo both tues n' thurs nites.

[later] this wknd's wedding was prob'ly the most expen$ive wedding that kaela n' i've attended.   i've been to more weddings than kaela has, n' i think it was possibly the most expen$sive wedding that i myself have ever attending, but i'm not sure.   it was a huge wedding.   the wedding video really made it extra nice.   the service'f the waitstaff was also really good.   i dunno, maybe it ranks up there in my list'f best weddings.   like, lemme tell u, some'f the best weddings i've been to... well... include me n' kaela's (sounds egotistical but i sure'd hope so after all the time, effort n' $$$ that went into it) n' toby's.   i mean, that's my opnion, so hrm... i've been to lots'f weddings.   no offense, but not all'f them make my list'f top weddings.   however, of course, they're all very special!   really, it's not necessarly how much $$$ u put in.   back when we were planning our wedding, i was trying to convince kaela that what really makes a wedding special is the ppl!   on sat's wedding, most'f the speeches/toasts were so good.   i was telling kaela that lots'f the weddings i went to in the past had good speeches/toasts n' that "church" ppl cm to make good speeches/toasts cos they're more used to making these testimonial type speeches.


2005.04.26

everything's 1 shot

ȭ ħ, hwayoil achim: last winter, after my political party, the democratic party took so much abuse during the 2004 elektions, i sed that the party really needed to step up n' explain that their platform is @ least just as christian n' biblically founded as what the opposing republikan party's thinks their platform is.   i was very upset that the republikans suceeded in brainwashing the amerikan publik that their stance is the only christian stance, that u'r either a republikan or u'r anti.christian.   this morn, the nbc today show discussed faith based politiks w/ 1 conservative n' 1 demokrat.   they prob'ly want u to believe that nbc's so on the ball w/ these issues, but yesterday, i was reading an article from the monthly publication'f the evangelical covenant church.   the magazine's called companion.   the article i read was "god's politics" by bob smietana (http://www.covchurch.org/cov/companion/article/0504GodsPolitics.pdf).   it's a good article.   u should read it.   i'm very happy that our church great exchange evangelical covenant church is part'f a denomination that has not sold out to ne given political party.   benocritiks say, "u lie! u'r just glad ur church hasn't sold out to the opposing political party.   u'd be happy if they endorsed the democratic party!"   :-/ ok, maybe u've got me on that 1... maybe!   i certainly don't believe that my vote shouldn't be biblically based.   i believe my vote should be based upon my christian biblical views.   however, i refuse to buy into the republikans' n' the 2004 media's idea that there r only 2 political issues that r religious issues: 1) gay marriave n' 2) abortion.   no! how 'bout the social justice that jesus preached?!   how 'bout the care 4 the less 4tunate that jesus preached?   not only that but never 4get to consider that the republikan party has done nuthin' else to stop abortion but make laws that encourage women to get dangerous, back alley abortions.   how 'bout solving the problems in our society that lead women to decide they need to get abortions?   those issues include healthcare, employment n' unemployement, social gender issues, childcare @ werk... the companion article talks 'bout jim wallis's book god's politics: why the right gets it wrong and the left doesn't get it.   as much as i support the democratic party, that title is sooo appropriate!

[later] so how many'f u r using firefox now instead'f msie?   it cms as hot as beets n' white tea rt now.   i wonder if i should switch.

last nite, after werk, i battled 237 n' 880 evening commute traffik to get to san leandro's greenhouse marketplace stripmall to meet up w/ cal taekwondo folks @ hometown buffet to celebrate a bunch'f april b.days.   it's funny cos last thurs, i celebrated april b.day's w/ us taekwondo akademy peeps.   2 sets'f b.day celebrations, u know?   it was a party 4 2 jeffs, laura, kevin, n' kenny.   it was awesome to c ol' friends n' finally meet all these famous cal taekwondo young'uns.   like, i've cn many'f 'em fight @ uc open but never had a chance to meet them.   as i've sed many times b4, i do miss doing taekwondo @ berkeley.   there's a certain synergy as well as energy there.   i ate 2 much @ dinner. :-( we were there 4 a long time, so i had plenty'f chance to eat 2 much.   i was telling ppl, even tho' it's hard to get ur $$$'s worth @ buffets (since we're not crazy eaters), i felt i got my $$$'s worth cos i was there so long.   then i went on to say, "i'm paying 4 the atmosphere" but couldn't say that w/o cracking up.   hometown buffet, @ dinner, co$ts some ~$10.   w/ the online coupon, fresh choice is quite a bit ¢heaper.   neway, i hadn't been to hometown buffet in a long time, even tho' there's a relatively new 1 near our house.   it was fun.   i hope to go to taekwondo 3 times this wk: tues, thurs, n' sat.   we'll c, tho'.   i've gotta get werking on that wedding musik dj stuff.   also, i always get wrapped up in random housechores.

it's s'pposed to continue raining this wk.   can u believe this tropical weather?!   who needs hawaii when the bay area's like this?   speaking'f hawaii... so the beautiful kaela hwang's been talkin' 'bout some kona ironman triathlon thing.   there's some grp from her skool that's gonna go there n' volunteer there.   4 a while, she's been saying she's going.   i'm worried 'bout having 'nuff vakation time n' $$$ to join her.   really, i don't have an overabundan¢e'f funds these days, no way!   shoot, i never travel, n' i admit it's usually not on the top'f my list'f priorities.   my grandfather's funeral, cos'f that i hafta fly out to taipei, rt?   otherwise, i so rarely leave the country, rt?   *sigh* i admit that my lack'f motivation to travel is 1'f my downsides.   i just really hate toursity stuff, n' i obviously never bought into that whole single young ppl's travelling concept where young guys n' gurls think they'll go off to foreign lands n' have wild flings.   also, i don't necessarily like going to resorts cos i'm not com4table w/ being waited on hand n' foot.   cos i believe in equality n' justice, i just don't like that.   i think it's awful.   i understand that this is all part'f my downside.   in this way, i'm a killjoy n' no fun.   i wish ppl'd understand, but oh well...

i'm a killjoy?   am i a killjoy?   u know, i know 'nother way i'm a killjoy is that i refuse to join in on bachelor parties that involve like strip clubs, etc.   'nother way i'm a killjoy to some is that i refuse to do drugs, not even pot or e.   am i just self.righteous?   :-/ i dunno, man...   i hate to put it that way.   should i just say," oh, that's stuff's not 4 me."   i dunno, man.   u know, as much as i wish i had some good, biblical, jesus answer; when it comes down to it, i guess it's just that those things "don't feel rt" to me.   do i think that i'm better than other ppl cos i refrain from those things?   :-/ i shouldn't feel better than other ppl, n' if i do (n' i prob'ly do) it's out'f my own vanity.   that itself's a sin.   keep that in mind.   it's sumpthin' i've got to deal w/.   i shouldn't be proud'f it.   basikally, if i'm ever proud'f not doing these things n' if i ever think i'm better than others cos i don't do these things, i've gotta confess that to god as a sin n' ask 4 4giveness.

i'm not a christian who lives in the church.   i know lots'f christians surround themselves w/ only christian friends n' limit their social aktivities to just church aktivities, but that's not me.   in fakt, perhaps most'f my friends rn't church.going christians.   also, honestly, if that changes, then it shouldn't be cos i ditched my ol' friends but that my ol' friends decide to come to church n' follow jesus as well.   my non.christian friends, they're very good ppl.   they've got morals.   they've got beliefs.   they behave well.   there's no reason to say that my non.christian friends don't behave better than my christian friends.   however, when it comes down to it, i hafta say that i can only hope that they can join me in heaven.   i'm not a hi.pressure, psycho.cult kind'f guy.   i don't go to that kind'f church.   i'm not gonna put the pressure on my non.christian friends necessarily, but i want them to know they can always come w/ me to church n' ask me 'bout the bible.

back in the .com days, when i used to commute from beautiful berkeley to beautiful sf (san francisco) 'cross the beautiful bay bridge, 4 a while i'd keep cing this billboard on (the) 80 promoting a billy graham event.   the billboard read "where are you going?" n' had this giant internet browser style hand icon w/ it's index finger pointing up.   i the finger stuck up out'f the rectangular billboard.   1 morn, i saw that vandals had altered the billboard.   they moved the extended finger from the index position to the middle position.   "where are you going?" n' then a nice "birdy."   ha ha ha, as much as i love jesus, the bible, n' god n' support the christian church, i've gotta admit that that's hilarious.   i dunno, man.   i personally think god's got 'nuff'f a sense'f humour to enjoy that as well.   sure, it's totally sacrilegious, but hey! it's also 1'f those "ne publicity is good publicity" kinds'f things.

[later] i went home 4 lunch 2day.   originally, this financial planner dude was s'popsed to take us out to lunch, rt?   i toldju 'bout that, rt?   it all started when i dropped my bizness card n' kaela's in a fishbowl @ tomatina.   i toldju 'bout this, rt? *shrug* neway, kaela 1st got a call from this dude.   later, i got a similar call.   the guy werks 4 some subsidiary'f american express, n' i think he sells those variable universal life insurance plans (vul).   i'm very much not interested in vuls, but he sed he'll take our grp'f 5~10 ppl out to lunch, n' all we gotta do is listen to him talk 4 "5 minutes."   he sed jsut 5 mins.   neway, i couldn't get 2 many'f my cowerkers to go, just 2.   he wanted a grp'f 5~10, so i told him how he also called up kaela n' wkeduled the same thing 4 thurs n' that i figure we can combine the 2.   thus, yah, we're theoreticallly combining our 2 grps into 1 grp on thurs, but i now don't really have a grp cos the 2 guys that were gonna come w/ me have a mtg on thurs @ noon.   well, duk kyung now sez he'll join us.   neway, i ended up going home 4 lunch n' eating some kind'f vegetarian burger patty w/ some whole fuds bread.   i let sooni sit outside but didn't have a chance to take her 4 a walk.   while eating my 2 patties, i watched a li'l tv.   apparently, i watched the final episode'f sbs's / bomnal (spring day).   kaela n' i'd cn so many commercials n' articles 'bout this show but ended up skipping it.   2nite, sbs's 3 Ŭι / 3ip clover ends.   w/ that, the only drama that we're aktually currently watching is sbs's hongkong express, i guess.   hrm, in a way, i guess i wouldn't mind getting back into / kwaeguhl choonhyang on kbs, but i dunno.   in a way, it might not be 2 bad to take a slight brk from the k.drama scene.   if i do, maybe i'll get more other things done, rt?   maybe i'll get more exercise.   on that topik, maybe i should buy a dvd recorder in order to "tape" or record the shows i 2 often rush home or stay home to watch!   maybe, huh?   maybe i should get a vcr/dvd recorder combo?   *shrug* there r also dvd recorders that record into formats that u can edit on the 'puter.   that sounds good 2. *shrug*

[later] 2nite, i take sooni by myself to taekwondo praktice cos kaela sez she hast'a study.   i won't bother to get a boba drink after praktice since kaela's not w/ me.   i've gotta ingest less in gen'l neway.   we still have leftover ġ κ kimchi dubu n'  al jjigae from café freetime on sun nite.   i need to lift some weights.   i haven't lifted in a while, 2 long.   i guess, if i hadn't gone off to the b.day party last nite, i would've gone to the gym n' lifted.

[later] i guess i never dokumented here that the big news in the media last wk was the selektion'f the new pope: pope benedikt the 16th?   the german dude... i guess i heard that ppl sed he was kind'f a hard@$$ or sumpthin', rt?   kind'f strikt... *shrug*   what's in the news this wk?   well, mj's (michael jackson) still in the news.   what else?   oh yah! there's some sick b@st@rd, runnin' 'round willow glen poisoning pets!   that's rt.   even tho' we don't live in willow glen, i didn't let sooni stay outside this afternoon cos i'm a li'l worried.   in gen'l, she doesn't take fud from strangers 2 quickly, but *shrug* better safe than sorry, no doubt.   the dog murderer fed some dog meat laced w/ antifreeze.   he also leaves threatening letters. *shrug*   here's a(n) sj mercury article 'bout the situation: "dog poisoning follows threats."   [later] ok, i just finished reading the article myself.   *sigh* man, it's pretty awful, huh?   sooni doesn't bark much, so ppl can't complain 'bout that.   she likes ppl, in gen'l.   'member the incident a few yrs back when some dude got in a traffik argument w/ a woman near the sjc (san josé mineta) aeroport?   the dude grabbed her lapdog n' threw it into bizzy traffik, where it died.   :-/ man, that's awful.   luckily, i don't think many ppl could succeed in doing that to sooni, she's pretty tuff.

[later] 948p: i went to taekwondo praktice after werk.   we did sparring drills.   it was kewl.   after praktice, kaz came over n' picked up our camcorder in order to convert footage from the semi.recent uc open n' chabot (american open) tournaments to dvd.   after that, i microwaved the  al jjigae n' ate that.   i'm trying not to eat 2 much. [later] 1021p: i'm a li'l sleepytired.   i need a shower.

2005.04.27

u'r just as sick as i am'f ribbons n' bands.

ħ, sooyoil achim: happily, i've been doing more running/jogging lately (w/ sooni).   i need to get fit.   some ppl think i'm fit, but i could be more fit.   i shall be more fit.   early this morn, the beautiful kaela hwang had a midterm.   she woke up really early, n' i originally hoped to get rt out'f bed n' start running.   i envisioned running all the way to the mercado w/ sooni n' enjoying a jamba juice, as i've been craving a jamba juice smoothie 4 the past couple'f wks.   i haven't had 1 in a long time.   i heard they have a new line'f yogurt smoothies that'r a bit thicker.   i like that idea.   i enjoy those thick, frozen yogurt smoothies that u've gotta eat w/ a spoon.   back in berkeley, there was a shop on telly (telegraph ave) 4 a while that sold that kind'f smoothie.   i 4get the name'f the shop, but i think it had "apple" in the name.   of course, it wasn't fat apples, which was the brkfast joint near our northside apt.   this smoothie joint was over by blondie's pizza, 'cross from the bofa, near hot topic.   i think the smoothie shop's now a crêpe shoppe.   oh yah, i think the smoothie shop was cold juice-a-peel.   u 'member that?   do u realise that i frequently use the term "berkeley" to refer to a period'f time as well as a place?   to me, "berkeley" means 1993~2002, i s'ppose.   as i was telling roland on sat, i jog/run 'lot more now than back in berkeley, but it's sort'f sucky that i could've had nicer scenery in "berkeley".   like, if u jog thru campus? that's prob'ly better scenery than just a bunch'f admittedly somewhat suburban houses.   also, the terrain's great in "berkeley" cos it has lots'f hills.   i need more incline 4 my jogging n' running cos i'm really training 4 my taekwondo not just 4 fitness.   thus i really want some inclined terrain that'll help me better build up my leg strength n' leg endrance.   jogging/running on flat's better than nuthin', no doubt.   in ne case, i figure it can be good cardio exercise.   it's all hard on the joints tho', so i'm noticing that i've gotta do it consistently not sporadically.   when i do it sporadically, my joints end up hurting, that is my knees, ankles, n' hips.   i s'ppose it'd also be nice to jog/run (w/ sooni) in sf.   sure, i wish i could do the bay to breakers, but i dunno.   when is it?   tah! it's may 15th.   yah, rt! (sarcastic) i've got a wedding to dj! no way, am i gonna run the bay to breakers this yr! :-( that's 2 bad tho'.   i would've liked to.   however, if i were to run/jog the bay to breakers, i'd have the dilemma'f getting back to wherever i park.   u c, they provide free buses 4 that purpose, to bring u back to ur car or bart, etc.   however, i'm sure they wouldn't let sooni on board.   i s'ppose in that case, 1 person'd hafta go fetch a car, while some1 else held onto sooni n' chilled. :-( otherwise, i contemplated the idea'f what if were to run the bay to breakers n' drive up to sf 4 it w/ kaela n' then let her go off n' do her studying thing n' then have her come pick me n' sooni up. *shrug* in ne case, those ideas r now all out the door since i now know the date'f the bay to breakers is may 15.   4get it; 4get it all!

2 wks 'go, while kaela n' i were @ the cheesecake faktory, the tvs there were of course playing lots'f sports.   we saw that new, huge, ginormous, gigantic, giant, young korean nba basketball playa.   dude, he's huge!   kaela sed, the screen looked like a joke, as if some1 had superimposed the korean dude into the pic cos he was so out'f scale, u know?   he's huge!   yah, i know these nba playas r big guys.   neway, after they finished playing sports, they started playing arnold schwarzeneggar's running man movie.   i'd never cn it b4, n' we didn't stick 'round to watch it.   if we really'd wanted to, we could've gone home n' caught it on our dish netwerk.   it's ok.   neway, i was primarily thinkin' 'bout that nite @ cheesecake faktory cos'f the title'f that movie.   after all, i've been doing lots'f running lately, so i "the running man." ha ha.   as i ran this morn, i ran past a parked car in a driveway.   the bumper'f that car had a sticker that read, "these colors don't run."   hrm.... yah, of course, we've all cn that stoopid bumper sticker millions'f times, but man... i chuckled in my head, thinking that's a bad slogan to have during certain international sporting events.   imagine having a big sign w/ the stars n' stripes n' "these colors don't run" at an int'l track meet!   ha ha ha!   basically that slogan sez that amerikans r slow n' can't run, rt?   oh, or is it just saying that amerikans don't run but that they can if they wanted to? eh... i think it's a dumb slogan.   i'm pretty sick'f those dumb slogans.   dude, last nite, i saw some gurl in a civic w/ like 10'f those coloured rubber band bracelets n' 1'f those support our troops ribbon magnets on her fender.   dude, i wanna make a ribbon magnet sticker that reads "i love ribbons."   i s'ppose i could also want to make rubber band bracelets that read "elastic" or "rubber" or "i love rubber," rt?   personally, i think all these copycat rubber bracelets r such an affront to the original lance armstrong "live strong" cancer bracelets.   i 1nce saw a car w/ @ least 3'f those ribbon magnets.   i think that person had a yellow 1, a red 1, n' uh... maybe a pink 1; i 4get.   they also have a "puzzle" patterned 1 4 autism awareness now, u know?   there r so many'f those frickin' ribbon magnets.   if u ask me, they're gettin' to be as passé as those copycat calvin pissin' window stickers.

yesterday morn, while jogging, i passed this tuff, lookin' dude w/ a shaved head, a moustache, n' an eye patch.   i sed good morning to him, n' he smiled n' sed good morning.   i bet lots'f ppl r scared'f him, so they don't say stuff like good morning, but he was very polite.   i'm not sure if i saw him b4 or else 'nother guy w/ an eye patch, but i... well... this is sort'f mean... wanted to yell out, "go raiders!"   i dunno; if the dude has a good sense'f humour, he'd laff... if he hadn't already heard in a million times, rt?

yesterday n' 2day, i ate whole fuds bread w/ fresh whole fuds almond butter n' blueberry bonne mama jam.   i do like whole fuds, altho' they're expen$ive.   i saw them featured briefly on some bizness show on cnn or msnbc.   their bizness is thriving.   altho' i could consider them an evil corporation out to sell overpri¢ed fud to yuppies, i'm just happy that a company that promotes health's doing so well, u know?   sure, if we all $pent less $$$ @ whole fuds, we could donate more $$$ to the poor n' homeless.   however, most'f us'd jsut blow that extra $$$ on teknogadgets (which rn't necessarily bad things) or clothes, rt?   in a way, consumerism sucks, rt?   what is consumerism neway?   what is it exaktly?   i s'ppose we might wanna check m-w.com rt 'bout now.   costco, wal*mart, coldstone creamery, starbucks, cheesecake faktory, abercrombie & b!tch, hollister, quizno's toasted subs, best buy, petco, in-n-out, outback, goodguys!, macy's... :-/ i patronise some'f these places.   ok, m-w.com defines consumerism as 1. "the promotion of the consumer's interests," n' 2. "the theory that an increasing consumption of goods is economically desirable; also : a preoccupation with and an inclination toward the buying of consumer goods"   it's the 2nd definition that's the bad, evil kind'f consumerism, rt?   i do want a healthy ekonomy 4 amerika.   i s'ppose what's evil 'bout the 2nd definition's kind'f consumerism is that it's strongly related to materialism.   how do u feel 'bout materialism.   r u evil 'nuff to like the quote "greed is good"?   i never even watched the movie wall street.   i do know i have qualms 'bout mtv.   i wish i could replace that slot on my tv menu index w/ korean mtv. ha ha ha.   mtv certainly doesn't play ne musik, as we all know.   that's a well known fakt.   i hate how mtv tells kids what to buy, what to wear, what to eat, what to look like.   that's awful.

this morn, on the today show, i think they were gonna discuss people magazine's "50 most beautiful people."   i'm sure asians r greatly underrepresented on that list, so i think that the good folks'f bronx's junkyard ought to make their own list'f the "50 most beautiful people."   of course, it shouldn't be exclusively asian, but since that site deals w/ asian entertainment, pop culture, n' culture; the ppl there'll have a more diverse mix (n' muuch, much, much better list) than what i'm sure people magazine can come up w/!

[later] ohoo: this morn, i found out that the ¢o$t'f a palmone sd wifi card has dropped to ~$77 on buy.com.   not bad!   originally, that sucka was retailing 4 $129.   the site sez that supply is running out tho'. :-/ *sigh* is it justified time 4 an impulse buy? :-/   aktually, sumpthin' i might really need is a 1 gb sd card to store more entertainment media 4 my trip to taiwan, u think? $59 should get me 1.

during lunch 2day, i went to costco 2ice.   i aktually went to costco 2ice.   i 1st went there to print out some digipics n' pick up a couple'f flats'f unenvironmental, bottled h2o.   well, i ordered my digipics, which apparently take an hr to process.   i picked up 2 flats'f the "swirly top" bottles.   kaela likes these "swirly top" bottles; she prefers them over the old 1s w/ the plain angled top w/ some kind'f design @ the very top that is reminiscent'f snowcapped mountains or frost or ice.   yah, the softly curved "swirly top" does look like it'd appeal better to women. well, i picked up the h2o, a plastic carton'f "red seedless" grapes, a 3.pak'f silk soy milk, n' a 1750.pak'f qtips.   i paid 4 those things, brought them home, n' dropped them off.   well, no, i didn't just "drop 'em off"; i put them 'way.   i guess i didn't put the qtips in their final storage space but left them on the bathrm counter so that kaela can c them n' know not to buy more.   i ate lunch @ home.   i microwaved the leftover kimchi dubu.   i didn't want to microwave it in the styrofoam takeout container, but i got lazy n' did it neway.   kaela sez that's not healthy, n' i believe her.   the styrofoam melted.   that scared me, but i ate the fud neway.   there wasn't 2 much fud.   i washed a fuji apple n' ate it.   i didn't wash it 2 thoroughly tho', n' i think i tasted some pesticide near the stem.   yuck/yuk.   man, i'm eating all sorts'f chemicals 2day!   grrrr!!! >:-( looks like it's time to make a trip out to whole fuds, not cos that'll make me healthier, but cos it'll help clear my conscience.   the benocritik might say, "dude, don't be so cynical," n' that benocritik'd aktually be rt/correkt!   i'd like to shake that benocritik's hand.   most other benocritiks can just uh... *shrug* "sit on it?" is that the term? *shrug* "shove it?"   is that the term?   i mean, obviously lots'f ppl'd just say "go to hell," but i'm not that kind'f guy cos i take the concepts'f eternal damnation n' salvation a bit 2 seriously.   after lunch, i returned to costco to pick up my digipics/digiprints.   then i went back to werk.   it's kewl livin' close to werk n' costco, huh?   not many ppl can do what i do.   hrm, that sounds like it would be a line out'f a rap song, but man... do rappers brag 'bout living close to costco n' werk?

a few wks back (or months), sometime just after v.day, i bought from safeway a bag'f hershey's special dark choco w/ almonds, li'l nuggets.   kaela n' i tend to eat choco now n' then.   we hadn't eaten much'f that bag until recently.   i guess b4 that, we had lots'f see's candies from christmastime n' then some box'f macademia nut choco that kaela got from some1 @ werk, i think.   neway, we've been eating more'f those hershey's special dark choco nuggets w/ almond.   s'pposedly dark choco has flavanoids or whatever, rt?   what r flavanoids?   s'pposedly some kind'f anti.oxidant. :-/ hrm, to me they sound like some imaginary excuse to eat dark choco n' drink dark, stout beer n' red, red wine.

communion's s'pposed to be done w/ red wine, but every church i've been to uses grape juice instead.   well, prob'ly some catholic churches use real red wine.   i had communion @ a catholic church 1nce, rt?   didn't i take communion @ linda n' kevin's catholic wedding?

[just a li'l later] oh yah, during lunch it finally started raining.   yesterday n' 2day, the morn local nbc 11 news kept saying the rain'd resume/continue this wk, but we didn't c ne rain yesterday or earlier this morn.   during lunch, it started to rain.   it's a good thing i jogged/ran this morn.   the delay in the rain reminded me'f the 1990s 1.hit.wonder blind melon's 1 hit song "no rain."   uhm, did some1 in that band commit suicide or sumpthin'?   i 4get.   in gen'l, i don't consider that a song i love, but when i hear it, it does usually cheer me up, u know?   it's hard to resist.   aktually, i do own that cd single.   i bought it when it 1st came out in the early 1990s.   back then, i was really into keeping up w/ every song n' band that live 105 played, rt?   i guess u could say that i was 'round 4 the transition from modern rock to alternative rock.

[later] has ne1 ever made a list like "100 ways to avoid yuppiedom" or nething like that?   i'd always thought that "yuppie" stood 4 "young, urban professional," but phil sez that it means "young, upwardly mobile professional."   i don't mind being young, upwardly mobile, n' professional; no.   however, what i do mind is falling into the mindset that i've gotta keep up w/ the lees, kims, n' changs; as i keep saying.   it's just that i've come to realise that i shouldn't be sooo bothered by the fakt that i don't come home every nite to a wife who's cooked dinner n' has cookies baking in the oven, that we don't have kids yet, that our house is a bit messy, that we haven't even taken "that european vakation" (that's what young, yuppie couples (dink [dual income no kds] r s'pposed to do, rt?), that i don't play xbox, that i don't play poker, that i'm not resigned to gaining weight / puttin' on pounds in the cubicle world... basically, i still feel stuck btwn some younger phase'f life n' some older phase'f life.   this happened when i was 13.   this happened when i was 25.   perhaps it's happening 'gain @ 30.   however, no, i think i'm learning to be com4table w/ who i am 4 the time being.   some things that link me to the "older" crowd r that i do enjoy dining @ fine restaurants, hangin' @ santana row, own a house, have a dog, go snowboarding, go to target n' costco, do grocery shopping.   some things that link me to the "younger" crowd r that i do taekwondo, i wouldn't mind going clubbing now n' then, i like pop musik, i go snowboarding (u c how some items r cross.linked?), i don't mind shopping 4 clothes @ the mall...   :-/ in particular, snowboarding is cross.linked cos i do go snowboarding as many yuppies do, but i treat it more like skateboarding than skiing.   u know well that my inner child is a skateboarder.   interestingly, u'd likely consider my going to werk as an engr each day sunmpthin' i'd associate w/ the "older" crowd, but most'f the cowerkers i hang out w/ r younger than me, some by quite a bit.   imagine if i were to list out the things i did thru.out a wk n' then rate each on a maturity scale.   4 example, furniture $hopping might receive a pretty hi maturity rating, where doing such @ ikea'd get a lower maturity rating over doing so @ pottery barn or crate n' barrell.   imagine that.   i guess it's interesting cos i'm sure kaela feels the same way as i do.   being that she's almost my age but in skool w/ many younger ppl, i think she understands how i feel n' feels it 2.   in a way, i guess that's great, rt?   i guess we can relate to each other over this.

in recent yrs, i may've been obsessed w/ "growing up."   in recent days, including the time spent in fast, i've learned that maybe i've gotta chill w/ that.   what's been going on is that i've been so bizzy pushing gradually 2wards starting my own family someday that, as my grandfather's passing really showed, been neglekting the generation(s) above me.   i'd come just to accept that maybe guys tend to 4get their parents n' push 2wards taking care'f their future kids, while women tend more to dwell on the parents that raised them.   i think recent events have really opened my eyes.   my mom's been coming to church w/ us every sun, as u know; n' that really makes me happy.   i hope she's learning 'lot 'bout god, n' i'm happy that kaela n' i spend more time w/ her.   it's good time.   my grandfather passed 'way rt smack in the middle'f my fast, n' i believe god did that 4 a very specific reason.   now i'm gonna fly off to taiwan on short notice (sumpthin' i'd never do 'cept maybe 4 werk) n' spend time w/ my father n' his family.   this spring has brought w/ it such tropical weather w/ all this rain mixed w/ sunshine.   this spring's maybe also brought w/ it a slight change in my life or 'least my way'f thinking.

this wk, i noticed that i use the wrong hand's shift key when i type ", >, <, :, (, ) n' ?.   if u know nething 'bout html, then u prob'ly realise that i use those chars 'lot while typin' up my journal.   cos the keyboard i use @ werk make it so i often don't push the rt side shift key all the way down when i misuse it in this way, i'm gonna try to use the correkt side's shift key 4 those chars from now on.   u kno, i was a precocious typer cos i took typing classes in elementary summer skool as well as middle skool.   ppl used to say that i'm a fast typer.   am i still a fast typer? *shrug*   some ppl (maybe just kaela) have sed i type fast in korean.   i'd like to.   i was pretty good at the video game "type or die" the 1tym i played it.   however, what posed a challenge 4 me in that game is that they don't use "english" wurds but rather romaji (romanised japanese wurds.)   type or die... that's a hilarious name, eh?   reminisce 'bout how 1'f my all.time favourite video games, the skateboarding video game 720, has, when u'r time limit's running out, a deep voice command u to "skate or die."   funny stuff, huh?

this evening, after werk, i'll likely use the werk.com gym.   then i might go to 1 or more'f these places: 1) trader joe's, 2) whole fuds, 3) bed, bath, & beyond, 4) 5 paw bakery in valley fair, 5) albertsons.   which 1s do u guess i'll visit.   the benocritik sez, "i don't care."   is there ne chance that i'll still visit the hamilton/meridian bally total fitness gym instead'f the werk.com gym?   hrm, great question.   well the places i might go this evening r places where i'd $pend $$$.   un4tunate? *shrug* *sigh* i haven't done grocery $hopping in a long time.   what the heck've we been eating?   well, i thinkw we've been eating out 'lot n' eating leftovers from eating out.   [later] i haven't been to ne'f the korean markets in ages.   i'd like to go.

[later] i guess the reason i've been lifting weights less n' running more is that i did say that i wanted to gear my werkouts more 4 taekwondo.   i even sort'f resoved that, didn't i? [later] if i want some incline to my jogs/runs, the nearest hiking trails r @ stevens crk park, huh?   otherwise, i'll hafta go off to los gatos to the same seirra azul open space preserves that i visited w/ my cowerkers.   that was a nice place.

[later] 1123p: earlier 2nite, @ werk, i discovered sumpthin': i can indeed connekt to the internet on my palmone tungsten t4 w/ my motorola v710 via bluetooth.   wow!   well, that certainly makes shelling out $78 4 an sd wifi card a li'l less justifiable, huh?   since i hafta use the 14.4 kbps dial.up connektion included w/ all verizon cell plans, it's slow, but it's sumpthin', u know?   i should set my palmone tungsten t5 up w/ some telnet n' ftp software now.   well, the graphical web browsing is kick@$$ altho' slow @ 14.4 kbps.

after werk, i went to the werk.com gym.   i lifted weights.   i did some "core" exercises.   i should've done some more cardio but didn't.   i showered.   then i went to trader joe's, where i bought nf (nonfat) yoghurt, frozen blueberries, n' bananas 4 smoothies.   i also bought a smoothie to drink on my drive home.   i bought sooni some glucosamine tablets n' some beef jerky treats.   i learned that those blue dog bakeray biscuits i bought sooni last wk r ¢heaper @ trader joe's than @ safeway.   i came home n' ate some kind'f vegetarian "chik'n patty" w/ marinara sauce.   i was still hungry, so i ate a honey bbq drumstick.   (this is all frozen fud.)   then kaela came home w/ some leftover thai noodles, which i ate a bit'f.   i also ate some red grapes.   we watched the ben stiller / jack black movie "envy" on dish netwerk tv.


2005.04.28

why vul's not 4 me!

mokyoil ohoo: 2morrow, my cowerkers r going to lunch @ crazy buffet on el camino real in sunnyvale.   i've never been to a crazy buffet n' am curious.   check out this article 'bout new sunnyvale biznesses: "new retail outlets set to arrive in sunnyvale" from 2005.03.31 by michael cronk.   perhaps just my brutha.in.law steve n' i find the article interesting, n' maybe u find it not that interesting.   i find it interesting.

2day, 4 lunch, the beautiful kaela hwang n' i got 2gether a grp'f our friends n' went to tomatina @ amc mercado where this financial planner dude david bought us lunch.   i just hope he doesn't call me up to pressure me to buy a vul plan cos i'm not gonna buy a vul plan!   it makes no sense 4 me cos 1) i get life insurance from werk, 2) i should max out my 401k b4 buying this kind'f investment, n' 3) i should max out my ira b4 buying this kind'f investment.   he was very low pressure n' professional 2day, so i hope he keeps that up.

this morn i took a moderate.length jog w/ sooni.   the ground was wet.   when i left my office 4 lunch, it was rainy n' very sunny @ the same time.   man, this weird, tropical weather continues!   dude, it sure doesn't feel like a hot, dry desert these days 'round here.

yesterday, i saw this link on david "superdave" kim's starkdavingmad.com site: "why geeks and nerds are worth it..." (http://sfbayarea.craigslist.org/about/best/sfo/66795671.html&newsid=796).


2005.04.29

revenge'f the nerds

ݿ ħ, geumyoil achim: 2day's sa i goo, isn't it?   ever since that ksa (korean students association) taekwondo demo in berkeley back in 2002, i always 'member.   it's the day the rodney king riots in l.a. devastated k.town.   hrm, isn't there some big kpop concert in l.a. this wknd?   like, 2morrow, rt?   isn't jerome gonna meet bi?   (in case u'r clueless, that's pronounced "bee" as in the korean wurd 4 rain.)

this morn, i took a decently lengthy jog w/ sooni out the bank to get some ca$h from the atm.   i mean it wasn't the longest jog/run i've taken sooni on, but it was decently lengthy 4 an avg morn, rt?   i think so.   it's great that sooni n' i've been jogging nmre.   i haven't been to the bally total fitness gym in a long time now, but i guess i'm getting decent exercise.   i hope so.   the beautiful kaela hwang left the house early this morn, 4getting her fon.   i think she has a midterm 2day.   she left really early, n' i wish i had gotten out'f bed rt 'way @ that pt n' started my jog.   instead, i fell back asleep 4 an hr or so.   i was up 2late last nite watching lo.res video'f last nite's taekwondo sparring praktice on my motorola v710 fon.

i've gotta admit that that fon does have it's perks.   i'm just discovering them now in recent months.   like, u know @ 1st when i got this big, chunky fon, i was so disappointed w/ it.   however, now that i have the sandisk 256mb t.flash (transflish) microsd card (they used to call it "transflash" but now call it "micro sd."), i can take lots'f this lo.res video stuff, n' that's aktually pretty kewl, i've gotta admit.   also, i discovered 2 evenings 'go that i can use the bluetooth feature to connekt my palmone tungsten t5 to the internet over a free 14.4k modem line provided by evil, corporate verizon.   it's 14.4k not even 56k, isn't it?   i think so.   if it's 56k, that'd be much better; but it sure does feel like 14.4k, so it must be.   last nite, i was also up kind'f late cos i saw most'f shaolin soccer (un4tunately dubbed [yuk!]) on showtime kids & family via dish netwerk.   it's a funny movie altho' rather juvenile @ times.

[later] ohoo: so i went to crazy buffet w/ my cowerkers n' got stuft (stuffed).   ugh, 2 much fud.   i ate lots'f maki (roll) sushi, lots'f crawfish/crayfish/crawdaddies, lots'f shrimp, lots'f fried junk, n' (thankfully) lots'f fruit (watermelon n' honeydew).   i did not get a chance to try everything that restaurant has to offer.   it has a lot'f fud.   the sushi's ok, but it's only maki not nigiri.   i do appreciate the spicy tuna rolls, the spicy (fake) crab rolls, n' the rolls w/ mixed raw fish.   however, the rice's sort'f dry; or 'least it was 2day.   [a li'l later] neway, it's kind'f like todai, but i presonally think that todai's still a li'l better altho' much more expen$ive.   while reading a(n) sj merc article 'bout the crazy buffet on winchester blvd ("crazy buffet: the eatery's name says it all" by sheila himmel, 2005.06.25), i ran 'cross this funny observation: "At a busy weekday noon hour, the white board in the waiting area reminds anyone who's impatient: 'Weekend special: Much better food.   Same price.   $13.99.'"   dude, that's sooo hilarious!   here's 'nother sj merc article referring to crazy buffet, 'gain by sheila himmel: "as valley struggles, all-you-can-eat thrives" (2005.09.05).   mildly interesting stuff...

lately, i've been writing 2 much in my journal, breaking my new yr's resolution to write less each time altho' just as frequently.   nuts.   well, i can still get back on the bandwagon!   1 thing that bothers me much's that i haven't been posting 'nuff pix.   we all know that.   most ppl who ever visit my page don't have time to read all this cr@p i write.   who does?!   no1 does!   i admit, even i don't find the time nemore to read all this cr@p i write, n' that's quite un4tunate.   maybe someday, after i'm retired, i'll find the time.   i s'ppose that's the best i can hope 4, eh?   1 reason i haven't posted many pix lately is my usual perfektionism.   (or do u say overperfektionism?)   the pix i take w/ my motorola v710 r 2 big, n' i need to resize them.   however, i've learned thru.out the yrs that it's best to resize via adobe fotoshop rather than microsoft foto editor.   i don't have adobe fotoshop on my werk.com laptop, only on my home desktop, which've i've used so much less in the past yr.   well, this results in my attempts to wait to resize pix on my home desktop, which i rarely find the chance to use, n' thus my not posting pix.   u get it?   it's awful.   who wants to read a blog or journal that doesn't have pix?   that might've flown in the 1990s, but in the 2000s, every website needs ot be graphics.oriented!   after all, this is the broadband age!   i need to have video, musik n' pix blasting out'f my website.   that's what every1 else's xangas n' bloggers r like, rt?   i'm so off the bandwagon here.   i admit the downfall'f my online journaling cms to be my reluktance to use a blogging service n' my sticking to "coding" in html.   some might say it's a "u can't teach an old doggy new tricks" situation, but i hope not.

[later] on our drive back from crazy buffet, my cowerker friend james n' i saw these big, big bulldozers tearing down some big, big building.   i mentioned that my nephew mason would sure like to watch that.

[later] yesterday, i mentioned that i saw a craigslist posting/article re: reasons geeks/nerds r better bfs or whatever.   i had cn that link on david "superdave" kim's website starkdavingmad.com.   here's the article 'gain: "why geeks and nerds are worth it..."   plz read the article 4 ur reference.   ok, now that u've read the article, let's discuss.   1st off, given that i'm an engr w/ a bachelor's degree from berkeley n' a master's degree from san josé state university, do u think i'd support or oppose the opinions stated in the article?   think 'bout it 4 a while.   what do u think?   have u made ur choice yet?   if not, keep thinking.   ready?   ok, i'll give u just a few more minutes.   ok, u must be ready.   well, if u guessed that i'd oppose the article, u'r absolutely correkt.   i wholeheartedly disagree w/ the opinions in that article.   imho (in my humble opinion), that article suggests that ppl shouldn't be the best that they can be but rather be as good as it takes to get by.   as u may not have done ur job n' read the article (perhaps the article got taken off line?), plz allow me to pick out some passages n' list them w/ my responses:

much better than this article is that article that dude wrote on craig's list a while back: "my job and your job."

 20050413
sooni on 2005.04.13



2005.05.02

jogging, smoothies, in.n.out, aisukuriimu... healthy, unhealthy

ħ, wuhlyoil achim: 2day begins my last werkwk in the usa b4 i fly off to taiwan 4 a few days 4 my grandfather's funeral.   in this post 09.11 era, travel often makes me just a li'l nervous.   this morn, i watche don the today show some li'l bit 'bout some australian that was living in the bay area that got taken hostage in iraq.   of course, i'm not flying to iraq n' definitely would not want to visit iraq rt now.   however, i dunno man... i just worry 'bout terrorists newhere i fly, u know?   just a li'l...   come to think'f it, since i'm flying alone, a "young" male, i figure i'm more likely to get searched, thoroughly searched.   whatever; i'm kewl w/ it, all in the name'f travel safety, rt?

well, it's mon, so i could n' prob'ly shall recap the past wknd.   on fri, i went to crazy buffet w/ my cowerkers, as i sed.   on fri evening, the beautiful kaela hwang n'i went to our grx t3s bible study.   b4 we went to bible study, @ home, i baked us a frozen freschetta 4.cheese pizza (a small 1) n' added anchovies on top as i usually do.   i wish i could get some lo.sodium anchovies; i really do.   ur typical canned anchovies r sooo salty, especially after they've been baked n' the h2o's come out'f 'em, rt?   i need to be healthier.   i've been jogging almost every morn.   i want to get my blood pressure down.   well, we went to t3s bible study @ our friends' house in southeast san jo.   it's a beautiful house.   since kaela n' i had eaten that pizza on our way over, i wasn't as hungry to eat so many refreshments.   sometimes, i feel i eat lots'f refreshments @ bible study, 2 many, 2 much.   we had 2 new couples @ bible study, n' that was kewl.   after bible study, kaela n' i went home.   heh, it's pretty late by the time bible study ends, so we don't usually do nething after bible study.

on sat morn, kaela went to some cpr training.   i jogged w/ sooni out to sunnyvale.   well, we aktually jogged pretty far n' 4 a decently long time.   originally, i set out to jog from home to bbangggoobneun maeul, buy some bbang (pastries), n' jog back to feed kaela some brkfast.   however, after i left home, i realised that i was behind skedule n' that, by the time i got home, kaela'd be gone.   thus, i gave up the idea'f stopping by bbanggoobneun maeul since i didn't so much wanna jog back w/ a bag'f pastries.   sooni n' i jogged up to wolfe rd.   there's a li'l grassy lawn area on the triangle where fremont ave splits off'f el camino real.   it's sort'f a triangular boulevard, i s'ppose.   i sort'f stretched n' rested there 4 just a li'l.   then i jogged (w/ sooni) off to the park in sunnyvale on henderson.   there, i rested a li'l more.   i wanted to do situps but couldn't find a good place to do 'em.   i jogged home.   @ home, i made some awesome blueberry smoothies w/ frozen blueberries, a banana, a small thingy'f nf peach yogurt (albertsons brand), n' some silk soymilk.   i had bought a 3.pak'f silk soymilk from costco last wk.   it was a deliciously tasty smoothie.   @ home, i did some werk (4 my job).

in the early afternoon, kaela came home w/ her friend rachel.   i got dressed, n' we went off to sf.   1st, we picked up their friend n' upperclassmate (i s'ppose u call it that?   *shrug* i imagine that he's what they'd call a "" "suhnbae" in korean if they were in that situation cos he's older n' further 'long in skool n' sort'f a mentor).   neway, after we picked up martin (it was hard getting to his place cos kaela was on the fon w/ her family, n' rachel hadn't gone to his place b4 from the freeway.), we went off to sf.   on our way, we stopped by the mercado's in.n.out to pick up some unhealthy burgers.   they r tasty.   do u like in.n.out burgers?   i admit that i like 'em, but they're so unhealthy. :-(   (1 downside to the snowboard season's that i end up eating lots'f unhealthy fast fud.)   well, the reason we went to sf (wasn't 4 snowboarding) was the universe within, this museum exhibit that features a whole bunchf' cadavers, either 4 science's or art's sake; i'm not sure.   both, i s'ppose.   it's rather gruesome, n' i almost felt like puking a few times, but these chiropraktic students went to study all the muscles, nerves, bones, joints, whatever...   as i mentioned to the other 3, i noticed @ the exhibit like 3 kinds'f ppl: 1) families (often 1'f the parent look like he/she werked in a health profession or as an edukator), 2) biology, health, medical students (that means med, pre.med, biology, chiropraktic, dental, optometry, physical therapy, massage, pharmacy, whatever...), n' 3) ppl w/ no understanding'f science but just wanted to come view the art 4 its shock value.   the ppl in the 1st n' 3rd category cmed to leave after 30 mins or so.   the ppl in the middle category cmed to stay 4 (for) hrs.   we were there 4 over 3 hrs, which made our validated parking expen$ive.   in fakt, the whole dang trip was very expen$ive.   admission is normally $17 but $15 w/ student i.d.   that's all still expen$ive!   oh yah, the exhibit's @ the masonic center @ the top'f nob hill.   oh yah, all the cadvaers were chinese as the exhibit came from china.   that was a bit disturbing, especially 4 me; i mean... it felt really weird, u know?   u could c the faces on the cadavers, n' they all looked east asian, n'... ugh, it just made me feel really weird.   it was creepy.   after we finally left he exhibit (not that i hated it that much), we took a li'l bit'f a tour'f sf cos rachel had never been to sf b4.   i like giving tours'f sf.   i've given many nitetime driving tours'f sf b4, many!   this time, the sun was still up.   we drove to fisherman's wharf n' ate dinner @ cioppino's n' aisukuriimu @ ghiradelli square.   4 dinner, i ate some blackened salmon dish.   it was definitely overpri¢ed, but i wanted to eat healthily instead'f getting like fish n' chips kind'f stuff w/ more grease.   kaela had cioppino.   @ ghiradelli sq, we shared this cookie aisukuriimu thingy that was like the pizzookie that our friend kim 1nce made 4 us, that imitates bj's brewery's version.   it was delicious but unhealthy.   it was fun being in sf but a li'l stressful cos i needed to get home n' finish werk.

on sun, we went to church.   in the late afternoon, we went to bbanggoobneun maeul (as u c, i eventually went there!) n' got some bbang n' a fruit cake to bring over to grace n' steve's 4 dinner.   we had bbqed short ribs (hawaiian style galbi) n' some pork tenderloin type thingy.   it was awesome!   the meat matched well w/ the potato salad n' radish n' cucumber salad that my sister made.   we brought sooni over w/ us, n' mason had fun playing w/ her.   steve's friends brad (or brett?) n' agnes came over n' brought over 'nother cake, a choco orea creme came.   dude, i ate lots'f unhealthy fud lately.   i'm glad i've been jogging lately, but is it 'nuff?!?!?!   i need to be healthy.   after the bbq, kaela n' i went home.   we didn't stay 'wake much longer.   this wknd, we slept early, it cmed.   that's fine.   i don't mind being early to bed, early to rise now n' then.   do i feel that unhip doing that?   yah, we haven't had 1'f those late nites on the town like out clubbing lately.   sure, we haven't had 1'f those nites where we go clubbing @ a(n) sf korean club n' then eat a late nite meal @ the sf j.town denny's in a long, long time.   i dunno.   that's unhealthy.   i don't mind going clubbing cos i like musik n' dancing, but i shouldn't live 2 unhealthily like that, rt? *shrug* *sigh* then 'gain, a voice w/in me sez, "live a li'l." *shrug*

yesterday, @ grx pastor ed kim talked 'bout getting involved in our profession, making it sumpthin' that glorifies god.   he offered up the question'f if we could have ne profession in the world n' if $$$ didn't matter, what would we do?   what would i do?   well, i do like being a mechanical engr, but let's say that wasn't an option; then what?   *shrug* lesee:

[later] i really don't like how gas is so expen$ive these days!

[later] ohoo: during lunch, i went to costco.   i went in n' bought a whole $#!+load/cr@pload/buttload'f glucosamine produkts.   2 bottles'f schiff's glucosamine + msm 500, 1 bottle'f naturemade tripleflex, n' 1 24.can case'f some kind'f joint juice stuff.   i also bought a 3.lb bag'f bananas 4 99¢, a big bag'f mixed triple berries, a gallon'f odwalla 꽺 oreinji jyooseu, n' a package'f super eel roll sushi 4 my own lunch.   after i purchased those things, i filled up on gas there 4 $2.489/gal.   man, gas is so expen$ive these days! >:-( *sigh* i could understand if it were $1.489/gal, but it's $2.489/gal. *sigh* i wish i could have a bike to bike to werk instead.   i really wanna cut my expenditures these days or 'least make sure i don't start $pending more than i am rt now.   home finances plague my mind.   i don't like being so $$$.oriented, but it's hard not to think 'bout it.

i bought those things from costco 2day.   i also want to go to target sometime.   i'd like to go 2nite, but i dunno.   i want to buy a jumbo thingy'f tide detergent (hopefully the kind w/ "a touch'f downy"); a new, bigger tempurpedic.style pillow 4 kaela cos she's been complaining 'bout hers being 2 small; n' a 25.ft coily garden hose (i'll resist the temptation to buy a 50.ft 1; sound good?).   originally, last nite, i thought that perhaps 2day i wished i could hit up 3 places: costco, target, n' trader joe's.   @ trader joe's, i was gonna get some frozen berries 4 smoothies (which i now got @ costco), some more holistik chicken doggy fud 4 sooni, maybe some more'f those beef jerky doggy treates 4 sooni, n' nething else? *shrug*   what would i possibly wanna eat more'f here in the usa b4 taking off to taiwan?   in taiwan, i can get taiwanese fud.   in taiwan n' so many other places in this world, i can get ur typikal, boring, mundane burgers n' fries cr@p, so i don't hafta worry 'bout that.   how 'bout some indian, persian, n' korean fud?   that sounds 'bout rt.   sure, there's korean fud in taiwan, but i admit it's not that great, as far as kaela n' i saw the time we were there.   yesterday evening @ grace n' steve's, i had a good beer.   it was some kind'f "white ale" w/ all these kewl herbs n' spices in it.   i liked it.   i hadn't had beer in a long time.   personally, i like beer.   u know how earlier i was saying i'm not holy 'nuff to be a pastor?   personally, i'd be fine if pastors drank beer, but i know that most pastors i've ever met don't cos they say it'd look bad. *shrug* well, not that i'm an alkoholik, but it'd be hard 4 me to give up beer.   consumption'f beer itself isn't a sin in christianity, but polluting ur body or alkoholism n' regular drunkenness r, i guess.

speaking'f sins... u know how i say that i'm prob'ly often 2 proud inside'f (in a evil pharisees way) how i've never been to a strip club?   well, until last sat evening, i hadn't ever even stepped foot inside a hooters.   sure, hooters isn't a strip club, but personally the environment does cm kind'f 2 fleshily lascivious 4 me, u know?   i mean... that's prob'ly the same cr@p other christians say 'bout clubbing, n' i know that's not true.   well, on sat eve, the grp in fisherman's wharf was looking 4 fud, n' the 2 gurls sed they'd consider eating @ hooters, so we aktually went in to view the menu.   kaela found the fud to be 2 boring, so we didn't eat there.   what was it like in there tho'?   well, there were some young ladies in tight, tight t.shirts n' tight, short shorts.   some balding man awkwardly brought his adolescent son in.   it looked like he wanted to teach his son to like gurls or sumpthin'.   personally, i felt rather awkward there.   even tho' there was 1 other guy in the grp n' then 2 gurls, i thought, "gee, this situation can only be bad 4 me" cos like if i were to look like i was looking @ the scantily.clad women, i'd be in trouble, rt?   the other guy, he's married, but his wife wasn't there.   neway, it was very awkward, cos well... even if i were to be totally bad n' want to stare @ attraktive young ladies, i hafta admit these gurls just rn't "my type," as far as i could c.   so what is my type? ha ha ha, obviously there's only 1 rt answer!   just like kaela... no, seriously! even tho' i have probs w/ things she does or some'f her thinking, i never say she's not beautiful, rt?   she definitely has that.

oh yah, on sun afternoon... oh yah, this is what killed so much'f our time on sun afternoon... on sun afternoon, i was mopping the kitchen floor, n' kaela slipped on the floor. :-o it was awful!   she landed on her back.   i carried her over to the couch.   after a while, i say that she had scraped her skin n' was bleeding.   i really didn't like that. *sigh* it made me so sad to c her bleed.   i'm very, very glad she tucked her head.   that's sumpthin' we learn in martial arts.   back in berkeley 'lot'f ppl in the hapkido/hankido/yongmoodo/yongmudo crowd think that taekwondo ppl don't learn how to fall n' roll, but we do.   they're so wrong.   sure, we don't praktice it as much as the hapkdio ppl, n' in gen'l we don't praktice it 'nuff, but we do learn that stuff.

my lunch'f that super eel roll cmed like a healthy choice earlier, while i was in the store just cos it's a cold dish; but, if u think 'bout it, that sushi had lots'f mayo n' fat.   i didn't use ne soy sauce or even the unagi teriyaki sauce cos i'm trying to avoid sodium, u know?

[later] this evening i'm going over to the nearby ramada inn (really close to my werk) 4 the sjsu mechanical n' aerospace engineering dept reunion.   i dunno what to expekt.   there'll be free fud, n' some'f my cowerkers r going w/ me.   during lunch, i did stop by home to drop off those groceries.   i let sooni sit outside in the sun a li'l.   then i made her come back in, n' i fed her a glucosamine 4 doggies tablet.   i usually hafta sort'f coerce her to eat it.   like, 2day, i had to shove it in her mouth n' tilt her head up, so she couldn't spit it out.   they're liver flavoured, so she should like 'em.   this morn, when i woke up, my rt knee hurt.   i jogged neway.   my rt knee n' rt ankle both sort'f hurt.   it wasn't the best jog cos @ 1 pt, sooni pooped, n' i needed to carry her filled poop bag 4 a while till i found a suitable garbage can.   i need the exercise more.


2005.05.03

great vegi land

ȸ , hwayoil ohoo: last nite, after werk, i went to the sjsu mechanical n' aerospace engineering dept alumni reunion dinner.   it was pretty kewl.   'twas @ the nearby ramada inn n' had some pretty decent fud.   the fud was some kind'f beef w/ shrooms (like maybe "sirloin tip?"), chicken cordon bleu (good but unhealthy), some mixed veggies (not bad), some pasta salad, some fruit salad, some cut melons etc., some green salad.   the dinner wasn't 0.5 bad.   so like 96 ppl came.   i dunno if that includes the hanful'f profs there or what.   i admit that it was a li'l awkward 4 me cos 1) it was such a mix over the diff yrs'f graduation n' 2) i only went there 4 my master's degree (msme) not my bachelor's degree like most'f the ppl there.   there were 2 gurls there that went to sjsu 4 their bsme n' then stanfurd 4 their msme.   our dept chair dr. barez asked them to talk a li'l 'bout the diffs they c btwn stanfurd n' sjsu.   the things they mentioned r very similar to how berkeley differs from sjsu.   really, i think berkeley n' sjsu r both great skools.   i think they both show how a publik edukation can be good.   the 2 gurls that talked 'bout how @ stanfurd, most'f the students don't hold jobs, 'specially not full.time jobs.   yah, @ sjsu, it's typikal 4 master's n' even bachelor's students to hold full.time jobs.   yah, obviously stanfurd n' to some extent cal have that kind'f preppy environment, where u can be purely akademic.   in a way, in this kind'f preppy environment, u get some benefits.   by no means would i say getting a degree, 'specially an engring degree, from berkeley's easy, but when u'r @ such a nice university in some ways u get support.   the environment, i admit, is more conducive 4 successful study than what i've found in the sobay.   that gurl pted out taht sjsu's a commuter skool while stanfurd's obviously not.   yah, that's true; n' she was rt in saying that there're advantages to living close to campus like that n' having this kind'f "campus community" that u find @ skools @ stanfurd n' berkeley.   true.   u know, back to that topik'f student employment... the thing is that @ skools like stanfurd n' cal / berkeley, if students werk, more likely it's in a lab or some kind'f akademic environment.   @ a skool like sjsu or @ the community/jr colleges in the sobay (or prob'ly newhere), students either werk industry jobs (which can be really good, like werking an internship @ a good company like mine) or else werk unrelated jobs @ stores, restaurants, etc.   the latter category can be a big, big, big distraktion to studies but is often very necessary, u know?   well, berkeley's less a skool'f spoiled kids than stanfurd, as it's a publik skool, but well... all these big name universities have a good nombre'f kids that don't necessarily need to werk whatever job they can find just to get $$$ to live.   many'f them either get $$$ from their parents or else skolarships, grants, loans, etc.   i hope to c sjsu me (mechanical engring) students get more opporutnities 4 skolarships.   u know what else, tho?   i gotta admit this: even tho' kids @ skools like berkeley n' stanfurd might get better financial support @ times, they also don't so much use their $$$ on the things that kids in skools more in the suburbs do like supin' up their cars or buying really fancy clothes, or whatever things that kids buy.   well... that's obviously an overgeneralisation.   neway!!! i totally digress.   we discussed these matters n' more akademic matters last nite, n' i'm really open to provide more fdbk like that if the dept'd like it.   after the dinner, i called the beautiful kaela hwang on our home fon, as she had called me from our home fon.   earlier, i had tried to call her on her cellfon to tell her to join us @ the dinner, but she didn't answer.   this other dude @ my table brought his wife.   my profs know kaela, so they kind'f expekted to c her.   kaela had left her fon im her bag in the car in the garage, so she didn't answer.   guys complain that gurls do stuff like that, n' they do.   kaela had bought some gourmet, good fud from whole fuds n' brought it home, expketing me to be @ home, ready 4 dinner.   she had a feast: an awesome shroom quesadilla, some string beans w/ shrooms n' walnuts, some cioppino, some turkey lasagne, some chinese veggies, some potatoes au gratin... uh, dude... that was 'lot'f fud!!!   it sounds like 'lot, n' it was!   well, i had a few bites'f the fud 4 taste, n' was even more stuffed than i already was.   i try not to eat 2much these days.   @ the alumni dinner, i also had a moderately sized slice'f carrot cake.   we both fell asleep pretty early last nite.   a new sbs drama started 'bout some family where the dad gets fired n' the mom gets a hi.power job by lying that she's not married.   i was tired n' fell asleep 2wards the end'f that show n' woke up to c a li'l'f that real romance yuhnyei pyuhnji show that's pretty kewl.   'member? it's kind'f like the bachelorette but just 4 fun n' in good taste.

2day, i went to lunch w/ vince @ some weird vegetarian chinese restaurant called great vegi land on murphy ave in sunnyvale, not 2 far from el camino n' very close to target.   vince n' i both had lunch $pecials 4 $5.50 each.   the fud wasn't bad, but the qty was pretty small, so i felt the meals were overpri¢ed.   the restaurant smelled like incense, n' that reminded me'f being in asia, 'specially in taiwan, i s'ppose.   i guess the owners there r buddhists n' the place had lots'f buddhist "free literature" by the door.   sure, even tho' i'm a christian, i'll still go there.   the fud cmed pretty healthy.   i had this vegi beef steak w/ sides'f (vegi) sweet n' sour shrimp n' "country style tofu."   my meal came w/ brown rice.   it was all very tasty, just not very plentiful.   the place's like the famous long life veggie house in berkeley on university ave, where everything is vegetarian but some stuff looks n' tastes convincingly like meat.   after lunch, vince n' i did some $hopping @ target.   i bought a 25' garden hose ($7.99), a $15 memory foam pillow 4 kaela (if she doesn't like it, maybe we can put it in the guest rm.), a big ol' thing'f liquid tide laundry detergent (w/ a touch'f downy), a $1 li'l basil growing kit, a $2.99 5.lb bag'f sooni biscuits (bone.shaped doggy biscuits), n'... nething else? :-/ no, i think that's it.   i browsed thru their selektion'f youthfully stylish baseball caps but didn't buy nething.   i'm kind'f thinking i'd like to have a baseball cap to wear.   i wear hats 'lot cos i'm out walking sooni, rt?   i don't typically wear baseball caps, as my friends do say; but i'm not that opposed to it.   the current pic on my main web page has me in a salomon baseball cap that i got 4 free from answering a snowboarding survey.   i dunno where that hat is now. :-(   i don't have ne salomon equipment, myself.   doesn't kaela have salomon boots?   i always try to buy the snowboard equipment that's more skateboard oriented.   4 example, i always get santa cruz decks so far.   i don't mind buying stuff from the striktly snowboards companies like ride or forum, but i tend to avoid the ski brands.   i have some burton gear, but i gen'ly shy 'way from them cos i sometimes think they're more popular than they should be.   it's all silly neway.

2nite, i plan to go to taekwondo praktice.

[later] 1115p: i werked hard 2day n' came home.   to my surprise, kaela came w/ me to taekwondo praktice, where we kicked paddles.   after praktice, kaela n' i got boba drinks @ the cupertino fantasia.   sooni was very cute.   she jumped over the li'l water fountain stream thingy outside'f joy luck place.   usually, she's afraid'f h2o, but she was more than happy 2nite to jump over the li'l stream thingy.   after boba, kaela n' i went home n' ate omelettes that kaela cooked.   strange dinner, huh?


2005.05.05

555

, mokyoil ohoo: happy cinco de mayo, every1!   hola.   buenos dias.   ever since i moved back to the san jo area after living in berkeley 4 so long, i've taken more notice'f cinco de mayo.   i s'ppose there's a greater chicano community down here than in the east bay, eh?   2nite, upn44 kbhk's s'pposed to play the simpsons syndicated reruns en español!   aktually, we can always watch the simpsons en español by turning on the sap (stereo alternate program).   i guess 2nite, they'll switch it so that español's the primary feed, rt?   the date 2day can be written as 05/05/05 or 05.05.05.   that's pretty kewl, huh?   personally i'm y2k compliant n'd write it as 2005.05.05, but that's just me.   if u ask me, the 1st nombre should be the yr, then the month, then the day.   i realise most amerikans use month, day, n' then yr.   europeans might use day, month, then year.   still, some ppl might do yr, day, n' then month!   555.   there's a brand'f clothes called triple 5 soul, rt?   isn't there also a brand'f cancer stix (cigarettes) called 555?   it's a chinese or 'least asian brand, rt?   don't they sponsor some world famous subaru wrx rally racecar?   in korean, 5.5.5'd be "oh oh oh."   i s'ppose in some chinese dialekts, 5.5.5'd be "ooh ooh ooh."   chinese ppl cm to consider "555" to be some kind'f lucky nombre or sumpthin'.

shoot, just now i realised that i don't have my palmone tungsten t5's stylus w/ me.   i dunno where it is.   i hope i just left it @ home.   i hope i didn't lose it somewhere!

dude, i'm totally wondering if i'm going to taekwondo praktice 2nite or not. *sigh* i have packing n' $hopping to do b4 leaving to taiwan n' other organisational (uk spelling) aktivities.   i do need lots'f exercise tho'.   i need to be fit.   i also, in gen'l, wanna be better @ taekwondo n' resolved this past new yr's to praktice more, didn't i? *shrug*

dude, it's 500p on 05.05.05.   pretty soon, it'll be 505 on 05.05.05.   later, it'll be 555p on 05.05.05, or 1 could say 555p on 5.5.5.   ha ha ha.   gimme a hi 5! :-/ ssuhlruhng ssuhlruhng!   ajoo ssuhlruhnghae!

besides having lots'f stuff to do in prep 4 taiwan, i have lots'f werk to do 4 my company (pressure's on.), n' werk to do 4 the wedding i'm djing in just a matter'f days.

yesterday, 4 lunch, i had an awful cobb salad from my werk cafeteria.   after werk, i werked out in the gym.   i was there 4 a decent while, but i could always exercise more if i had the time.   *sigh* back when i was a full.time student, i made time to exercise more, u know?   i'd sometimes hit the gym 2ice in a day.   ah, dude; wasn't that the life?   in gen'l, do i try to do 2 much?   yah, i guess so.   however, what can i do?   this wk, i slept 'lot.   i've felt @ times like i was getting sick, but i'm not really sick.   last nite, after i came home, kaela came home, n' we went to yeitnal jjajang.   we ordered 1 order'f ¥ + « jjajangmyuhn + jjambbong gookmool n' 1 order'f jjin mandoo.   it's been raining lately.   it's such tropical rain.   it's relatively warm yet humid.   the beautiful kaela hwang sed it's like pusan or cancun.   i agree; it is.   yesterday, i was stuck in my office all day, but when i came out @ nite, it did feel like pusan, n' i like that.   i need more fruits n' vegetables in my diet n' less bad.4.me fud.   last nite, kaela felt my neck to find my lymph node glands, n' she sed they were disgustingly swollen.   i told her that i've been feeling like i'm getting sick lately but that i'm not sick.   i guess my immune system's werkin' hard.   i've been falling asleep early these days n' un4tunately not waking up as early as i'd like to.   last wk, i had a good streak'f wakin' up early n' jogging, as u know.   this wk hasn't been nearly as good, partly due to the rain.   last wk was dry.

2day, @ lunch, i went to they sunnyvale towne center target to exchange the 25.ft garden hose i bought 4 a 50.ft 1.   of course, i paid the diff.   i then went to trader joe's to buy sooni 'nother bag'f her holistik chicken doggy fud.   i also bought lunch there: some mediocre turkey n' cheeese sandwich n' some vitamin c juice drink.   i noticed that that strip mall has 2 competing franchise taqueria/burritorias: baja fresh n' una mas!   i just realised that 2day. &bnsp; dude! how can that be?!   there might as well be a rubio's n' chipotle there as well, rt?   throw in a green burrito 2.   can u imagine that?   heh, now imagine if there were an el pollo loco, a taco bell, a taco time, n' a del taco there 2.   what else? pollo rey?   *sigh* fast fud franchises... just consider 4 a moment how many more fast fud franchises u can c in socal than in norcal.   well, it's not necessarily a good thing to have more fast fud franchises.   it's better to have homegrown, "mom n' pop" biznesses.   [later] neway, the turkey n' cheese sandwich was just ok, a li'l dry.   yesterday, when i bought that awful cobb salad, i used this $10 cafeteria gift certificate i won from filing out a survey.   i bought the awful salad, a green tea sobe, n' an avid protein bar.   my total was like $8.56 or sumpthin', no change given.   i could've bought 1 more thing, i guess.   could've n' should've; oh well.   i debated btwn gettinga sobe or sobe lean but got the hi fruktose corn syrup "normal" sobe cos it had some sweepstakes on the cap.   i didn't win nething.   i should've read the cap thru the bottom'f the bottle b4 picking that 1.   it's easy.   all that just made the awful cobb salad even more awful, rt?   the cobb salad had tons'f fatt'ning dressing n' bac.o style fake bacon bits.   the chef/cook put 2 generous scoops'f that creamy dressing.

after werk 2day, i'll consider going to fry's, 99 ranch, n' macy's.   *sigh* i'd really like to get some exercise tho'.   poor sooni.   she's trapped indoors, n' the rain makes it hard to go pee n' poop outside.   in retrospekt, i'm extra glad we jogged 'lot last wk!


2005.05.07

lo.na+ meal

716 (Ÿ ũ), 1016 (); 716p (santa clara), 1016a (taipei): i'm on eva air flight br0011 from lax to tpe (taipei).   rt now, we're watching because of winn dixie.   it's a juvenile movie, but cos it's 'bout a doggy, i don't mind.   i'm watching it.   i ate my low na+ (sodium) dinner'f a chicken boob (breaft) n' rice entrée, h2o.melon (watermelon) n' hunnydew (honeydew) 緡 (fruit salad), a iceberg/tomato/ cucumber salad, a whole wheat roll, n' totally plain yogurt (4 dessert, i guess; but i should've used it as salad dressing instead'f the provided soy oil italian vinaigrette).   i had 3 li'l glasses'f red wine ... li'l glasses, praktically shot glasses.   the glasses we're really cute, n' i wanted to steal mine.   մ ?   i'm not drunk, no; but stewardess upon pouring my 3rd glass asked if i was, so i'm sure i've turned red in the face, as i usually do upon my 1st sip'f ethanol.   :-/   *sigh*   i'm going to taiwan 4 my grandfather's funeral.   Ҿƹ ʽ ־.   it's crazy.   i so rarely travel, u know?   it's crazy that i'm going to taiwan w/o the beautiful kaela hwang.   it's a ~13.hr flight.   eva air's really good.   the service's great!   i have a row'f 3 seats all to myself.   well, it's a very sad reason that i'm going to taiwan.   altho' i've been pretty dull 'bout my grandfather's passing 'way so far, i'm sure the aktual funeral'll ellicit some emotion out'f me.   u know, in my current stage'f life, i'm more used to weddings, b.days, n' baby showers than funerals.   yah, this's really crazy. :-/

so what's been up?   when was the last time i updated'chu?   thus, eh?   well, on thurs evening, i un4tunately skipped ±ǵ taekwondo praktice.   kaela n' i went to valley fair mall 4 mutha's day $hopping, but we our trip to the mall was so disorganised, as kaela sed to me.   my palmone tungsten t5 crashed just a sec 'go.   sometime on this past wed, i lost the original stylus 4 my palm. :-(   online, i found a good deal on a 3.pack'ft5.compatible pen styli on provantage.com.   when i get back to ̱ the usa, i'd better order'em.   well, since i lost my original stylus, i didn't have my built.in reset tool.   i tried to jam into the reset hole the mechanical pencil'f my multi.purpose stylus pen, but it didn't fit.   i tried the toothpick'f toothpick / dental floss tool that came w/ my low.na+ dinner, but no.   i pushed the service button, figuring i could maybe borrow the flight attendant's name tag pin's pin end as a makeshift reset tool.   b4 the flight attendant could ever come over to me, i ended up using an ol' staple from a page'f my u.s. passport.   i worried i'd lose data, including this entry, which i'm writing on my palm.

neway, on thurs nite, after our fruitless mall trip, kaela n' i dined @ κ myungdong soondubu.   i figured i might miss good, authentik ѽ hanshik (korean fud) while in taiwan enjoying good, authentik taiwanese fud.   i do wonder what excellent fuds i'll ingest these next few days.   @ myungdong, i had κ  sukkuh soondubu jjigae, while kaela had κ buhsuht soondubu.   the friendly ܸ ajooma there remembered that kaela likes κ buhsuht soondubu n' guessed kaela's order rt b4 she placed it.

fri was on ok day; bizzy@werk.com.   during my lunchbrk, i went to fry's n' bought a made.in.taiwan wireless.g router 4 my dad cos he sed he needs 1 there n' that they're superexpen$ive there.   the listed prie¢e was $49.99, but i discovered @ the ¢ a$h register that the router was on sale 4 $19.99.   i don't say "suh weet," so i'll just say, "kewl!"   after that, i went to the cupetino 99 to buy rooster brand sriracha sauce 4 my dad cos he sed he can't get that in taiwan.   i stopped by shengkee to buy some bbang 4 kaela n' a small, small asian style ġ 緡 ġ tuna fish sandwich 4 my reasonably portioned lunch.   Ŀ in the afternoon, i met up w/ kaela @ /̽ ڵ jeil/ace jadongcha juhngbi (ace auto repair) to help her get he brake pads changed n' to loan her my car 4 the remainded'f the afternoon, u know?   she brought sooni w/ her to ace n' later brought sooni to santana row.   @ ~600p, kaela picked me up from my office, n' we went to pick up her car, which wasn't yet quite done.   when we got home, kaela fell asleep, n' we didn't eat dinner 'cept 4 the bbang (pastries/buns).

ħ ȣ Ĵ翡 츮 ħĸ Ծ.   this morn, kaela n' i ate breakfast @ hobees, the 1 on montague in north san josé.   we both ordered from the special mutha's day brunch menu.   we woke up early n' got to hobees ~750a, but they didn't open till 800a.   we aktually had to wait a li'l 4 them to open.   i think kaela's salmon n' veggies omelette was called mommy's ommie, but i'm not sure.   i had the mutha's heritage hash (or scramble?) w/ 2 sunnyside.up eggs.   we both had blueberry coffee cake as our included starch/carb n' decaf coffee to start the day.   well, i hastily packed, mostly this morn.   i printed out some wedding pix to distribute to relatives.   kaela dropped me off @ sjc mineta aeroport w/ sooni then took sooni 4 a walk @ a nearby park.   i'll certainly miss my gurls, my princesses, ֵ. :-(

well, the trip's been smooth n' even fun so far.   i left ̱ amerika w/ just 30 bucks in my wallet.   i wasn't prepared @ all in that sense.   @ lax, i donated 1 buck to some dude collekting to feed hungry childen worldwide.   the dude helped me find my way to the eva air counter when i was lost.

[later] 1137 (Ÿ ũ), 2005.05.08 237 (); 1137p (santa clara), 2005.05.08 237p (taipei): we just watched ocean's twelve.   was there always a chinese guy in the group, or did they make a special edition/version 4 airlines to show on flights to asia?   this version sure had 'lot'f bleeped out cursing.   the movic was ok but tried to be a li'l clever n' thus ended up being confusing n' not that satisfying. :-/   oh yah, because of winn dixie was direkted or sumpthin' by wayne wang'f the joy luck club fame.

i wonder if i should take a nap now.


2005.05.08.

all.niter on eva

424 (Ÿ ũ), 724 (); 424a (santa clara), 724p (taipei): so it's been a total all nite movie fest here aboard eva air flight br0011 2nite.   i've managed to pull an all.niter so far cos they've been playing lots'f movies.   what have i watched?

ocean's twelve was a li'l better (slightly) than i expekted, but elektra was un4tunately much worse than i expekted.   dude! i've cn ucmap amateur home videos better than that big budget piece'f cr@p!   i mean both aktion.wise n' plot.wise!!!   dude, why do movies like that exist?!   the martial arts stunk sooo bad, n' most'f the akting was horrible.   the plot was just plain stoopid.   it had some similarities to tomb raider 2.   why do stoopid hollywood producers think they can just cast some female sex symbol in a martial arts flick, n' it'll automatically be good???   seriously, a bunch'f berkeley martial arts students can n' have made better movies, n' they didn't need the cheesy, lame special effekts, the 1 gurl.on.gurl kiss btwn jennifer garner n' some "exotic" chick, nor the admittedly nice red outfit, which u barely c.   dude, that attempt @ using a sexy outfit to save a not that great movie was already used by catwoman, eh?!   what more, even drunk frat boys know that sigma is "s" not "e"!!!   the villains were ur usually pack'f asian aktors u know as the 1s who r willing to take the demeaning villain roles.   the main evil guy, tho', i thought i recognised; but i thought he was some japanese aktor, but i guess he's some1 else, some korean dude named will yun lee.

heh, that reminds me... @ the eva air check.in counter, the gurl helping me asked, "r u chinese?"   now that's sort'f a trick question 4 a taiwanese.amerikan dude like me, but i sed, "yes."   then she sed, "u don't look chinese.   i thought u were japanese."   ha ha.   what's that site the new york times published my quote 'bout? alllookssame.com or sumpthin'???   i guess some ppl might get offended @ what that gurl sed, but i don't care.   1) i'm all 4 asian.am pan.ethnicity, n' 2) i don't really consider myself "chinese," n' i figure that sort'f goes to support kind'f the whole taiwanese independence thing, rt?   funny, cos i guess, in a way, i support 1 cause that unites n' 'nother that divides.   neway, i'm still awake.   i guess there's like ~2 hrs left to this flight.   i wonder if they'll play more movies.   besides my lo.na+ dinner, they also gave me a vegetarian sandwich on whole wheat, which was pretty good, 4 a snack.


2005.05.09

taiwan costco rocks

648 (), 648p (taipei): i 4got to mention that on the plane, we also watched in good company, the movie w/ topher grace, dennis quaid, n' scarlet johansson.   2day was this family funeral 4 my grandfather in my grandma's house.   it was a rather buddhist event, i guess.   there was lots'f bowing.   later, my relatives went to costco.   dude! costco in taiwan is sooo much better than costco in amerika!   seriously!   dude, there's so much good stuff @ costco here in taiwan!!!   funny thing, tho', is that they sure have lots'f korean stuff.   they have all this marinated Ұ boolgogi galbi type stuff as well as ready2go , ġ gimchi (the real korean brands), n' a boolgogi bake in addition to the usual chicken bake in the snack bar.   funny, huh?   neway, dude, the stuff's so much better here.   in the rotissirie chicken area, there's also spanish paella.   there r so many good asian fuds.   like, the costcos in the silly valley do try to have more asian fuds like the shin ramyuhn "kimchi bowl" noodles n' some chinese beef jerkies sometimes n' other stuff.   however, dang! this is the real deal!   i'm gonna meet up w/ our friend jason in a li'l bit; in 'bout an hr.   i'm a bit jetlagged now.   i really haven't slept much since i got here... or since i got on that plane... or aktually a few hrs b4 i got on ne plane 4 this trip.   wow.

2day was just 1 small funeral.   s'pposedly, 2morrow'll be 2 longer ceremonies.   since i'm "the #1 grandson," i s'pposedly have more'f a role in these ceremonies.   i think my uncle was pretty pi$$ed that i wasn't participating as much as i guess he wanted me to.   yah... i mean, part'f it's cos i'm totally not buddhist or nething, n' well... my views on the afterlife don't really jive w/ all this, but... *shrug* i also just don't know what i'm s'pposed to do.   really, even tho' i'm christian, i'm totally wanting not to disrespekt my asian heritage n' culture, u know?   personally, i don't think i'll burn in hell 4 bowing to a pic'f my deceased grandpa.   it's not idolatry, it's simply respekt 4 my elders!

movie list from lax->tpe flight:




2005.05.11

leaving taiwan

340 (Ÿ ũ), 640 (); 340a (santa clara), 640p (taipei): just now, i started this entry on my laptop, while sitting @ gate a8 of the tpe chang kai.shek aeroport 4 my delayed eva airflight out'f taiwan to los angeles's cr@ppy lax aeroport.   some curious kids were watching my screen over my shoulder, so i've switched to writing this entry on my palmone tungsten t5 pda/handheld.   my flight's delayed by like an hr or so cos they're switching planes "due to maintenance regulations."   "better safe n' late than sorry," i figure.   *sigh* however, i'm worried i'll miss my connekting cr@ppy southwest airlines flight from lax to sjc.   <:-( what's gonna happen?   i told the eva air staff, n' they sed they'd fax southwest airlines, but i worry cos i know indeed that southwest's a pretty cr@ppy airline, but the beautiful kaela hwang always use them 4 our numerous norcal-socal flights.   well, now eva air's giving out some drinks to apologise 4 their delay.   i'm annoyed; but, as i just now sed, "better safe n' late than sorry."

[later] 826 (), 526 (Ÿ ũ); 826p (taipei), 526 (santa clara): we're up in the air.   i'm rather sleepy. :-/


2005.05.12

1st day back from taiwan

ħ: when i left the bay area 4 taiwan, 1'f the biggest issues was the selektion'f the lokation 4 cali4nia's new stem cell research facility.   b4 i left, it sounded like they were gonna pick btwn emeryville n' san diego.   i guess the decided it b4 i left, but i was 2 bizzy gettin' ready 4 the trip that i didn't find out where it was being put.   i found out just now via a y! news search that it's being put in sf.   wow, ok.   that's good.   i wanted it in the bay area n' definitely didn't want it in sacramento.   after all, u've got all the good skools here, so it makes perfekt sense in that u can hire lots'f qualified employees 4 it.   kewl.   yah, emeryville would've been good 2.   i think sacto would've been a bad choice cos personally i worried u'd get some like uh... psycho protestors, u know?   a long time 'go, i mentioned (but u most likely don't 'member) an article in the evangelical covenant church's magaine 'bout stem cell research.   the author brought up great pts 'bout embryonic stem cell research, including the fakt that if u oppose the use'f embryos 4 stem cell research then u must also oppose invitro fertilisation cos fertilized eggs must also be sacrificed in order to he3lp these childless couples, i.e. the doktor must fertilize more than just 1 egg in order to ensure that the couple gets 'least 1 egg that makes it thru the whole process, n' then the others well... basikally get aborted, in a sense.   of course, this author wasn't so brash to declare if stem cell research is biblically ok or not.   no, obviously 4 many things like this, u just gotta think it thru really well, not just trust some1 else's opinion, come to a conclusion, believe in it, n' hope u'r rt cos u need to be rt.

neway, i've got more important things to waste 2day's journal entry on than a discussion'f tainted politiks.   instead, i really need to discuss my trip to taiwan n' my grandfather's funeral!   i don't have time tho', so i'll write later.

{just a few mins later} ok, there's sumpthin' 2 important not to discuss now... uh, did i phrase that correktly?   there's sumpthin' so important i must discuss it now.   while in the undeground metro mall by the tsongshen dunhwa / tsongshen fushing, i saw this extremely cute sign 4 a restaurant that sed "chicken bugu."   since i was there w/ my cousins lisa n' john in the morn, it hadn't yet opened 4 the day, n' i assumed that it was a chicken burger place.   later, when i walked thru there w/ our friend jason, i found out it was a bakery, but taht chicken bugu's some cute chicken char.   i think piyo piyo needs to worry that he's being replaced by a younger version!!!   this url should bring u to a link that shows a .jpg'f a chicken bugu plush toy: http://www.sol.com.tw/WEB/bugu.jpg.   however, that plush toy isn't as cute as the pic on the sign or 'nother sign 4 a store that aktually sold chicken bugu merchandise.   here, this url'll bring u to a pic that better depikts what this cute chick chicken bugu looks like: http://www.sol.com.tw/WEB/021-2.jpg.   [later] this url'll bring u to a .jpg that displays diff views'f a store that markets a varietyf' of chicken bugu paraphernelia: http://www.sol.com.tw/WEB/53.jpg.

the 1st song i heard in taiwan this time, while riding in my uncle jeff's car was a mandarin version'f papaya's " 巯" / "nae yaegi deuluhbwa" (listen to my story).   on the plane, i listened a li'l to the cpop channel n' heard a mandarin version'f britney spears's "everytime" by s.h.e., a grp that cmed to come out as taiwanese version'f s.e.s.   i wouldn't've minded picking up a cpop compilation cd while i was in taiwan, but i didn't have a chance to do ne $hopping 4 myself as i was 2 obsessively scared'f being accused'f materialism / being materialistik when my main purpose 4 visiting taiwan was 4 my grandfather's funeral.   however, every1, both relatives n' strangers sed that i looked extremly awkward leaving taiwan w/o boxes n' boxes'f stuff to bring back to amerika. :-/

berny huang: thanks 4 signing my gbook n' talkin' bout the whole christianity v. buddhism n' asian culture issue.   yah, i wanna discuss that further; i really do.   thanks 4 sharing tho'.   every1 else, plz feel free to sign my gbook even if u've done so already.   i'll try to change the questions soon!

[later] *sigh* it looks like i'll hafta implement 'nother 1'f my $pending freezes.   lately, i've majorly over$pent on gifts 'gain.   as i mentioned b4, gifts r 1'f my biggest expen$ses.   sucks... when'll my stinkin' tax return get here?

[later] : i skipped lunch so far 2day.   i guess i hope i'll eat later.   neway, i noticed a humourous error in a previous entry "lo.na+ meal" on 2005.05.08: i mentioned sumpthin' bout a lo.pb+ meal instead'f a lo.na+ meal.   ha ha! yah, u'd expekt my meal to be free'f lead, rt?


2005.05.13

taiwan wrap up

ݿ : some ppl prob'ly think that as i immerse myself in the korean language, i must 4get my taiwanese; but i beg to differ.   the more i learn korean, the better my taiwanese n' mandarin get.   on this recent trip to taiwan, i realised that if i don't know a term in taiwanese or mandarin; then 75%'f the time, if i say it in korean, ppl'll figure out what i mean.   this doesn't apply 4 all wurds, that's why i sed "terms."   this werks 4 terms like nouns that describe sumpthin' that's been 'round a while or verbs 4 aktions that r pretty specific n' done often but not 2 often.   like, i develop a feel 4 these things after a while.   well, i also develop a feel 4 when it'll werk n' when it won't based upon knowing whether the korean wurd is a "modern" korean wurd or traditional, chinese.based korean wurd.   lemme give u an example, just an example.   the korean wurd 4 marriage "ȥ" / "gyuhlhon" is a traditional korean wurd, n' i knew that if i say sumpthin' like sounds like "gyuhlhon" it'll fall somewhere in between korean n' taiwanese/mandarin.   @ the same time, i know better than to try it w/ a wurd like "" "nara," which is the contemporary korean wurd 4 "country."   in that case, 1'd be better off trying "" "gook" the traditional korean wurd 4 country, which is closer to the mandarin 'guo," the taiwanese "gok," n' the japanese "goku."   i've developed a feel 4 these things.   also, knowledge'f this kind'f stuff provides many mnemonics.   most ppl know that trite joke'f "if u call a person who knows 3 languages 'trilingual' n' a person who knows 2 languages 'bilingual,' then what do u call a person who knows only 1 language?   answer: an amerikan!"   well, un4tunately, yah, amerikans in gen'l r really awful w/ langauges.   perhaps lots'f immigrants n' children'f immigrants to amerika as well as natives have surrendered to accepting this.   in a way, that's a theory'f "limited good."   if u studied social anthropology @ a fine institution like uc berkeley, n' especially if u studied folklore under professor alan dundes, then u prob'ly understand the concept'f "limited good," this believe that the world has a finite amt'f good things n' that u can only have so much, etc.   "limited good" relates to this linguistics issue cos i'm sure lots'f amerikans think that if i learn korean, i must lose my taiwanese n' mandarin (not that i ever knew that much mandarin).   i'm telling u that that's totally not true.   that's totally untrue.   u know, i can imagine that some immigrant parents might accept this misconception cos perhaps some immigrants 4get their native tongue after learning english in amerika, but that's such a special case cos 1) english's 1 #@*%ed up language, n' 2) amerika's 1 country that surely doesn't foster other languages 'nuff, 'specially non.european 1s, rt?   rt.   when i was a kid, i sometimes had a hard time distinguishing btwn taiwanese n' mandarin.   perhaps that's cos i listened to ppl speak taiwanese w/ a taipei accent as opposed to that nasally southern accent.   well, heh heh... i know the beautiful kaela hwang was taught in her berkeley "de.cal" (democratic education @ cal) taiwanese class to speak w/ that nasally tainan accent, but she really prefers the sound'f the taipei accent, which i assume has picked up influences from mandarin.   i can only assume that.   it's just a guess.   the class prob'ly taught the southern nasally accent to emphasize further the difference btwn taiwanese n' mandarin.   it's not that kaela doesn't appreciate all things authentically taiwanese.   she also doesn't like as much the southern satoori accent'f koreans from λ pusan/boosan/busan n' that southern area'f korea.   (it's not that she doesn't like the language or the ppl, but that she has a harder time understanding the language.)   i'm sure she doesn't like as much the accent'f the southern u.s. either, rt?   me 2.   isn't it funny how accents often change from north to south?   in northern england n' scotland, ppl have quite a diff accent from ppl in the south (london/sussex).   interestingly, i feel "northern" taiwanese n' "northern" korean r more "normal" n' easier to understand while, along w/ other amerikans, i feel "southern" england's english is more "normal" n' easier to understand.   someetimes when "southern" koreans speak korean, it sounds to me a bit like japanese.   well, japan also has many accents.   i felt that my grandfather spoke taiwanese w/ a japanese twist, n' i'll always 'member how he preferred to speak japanese w/ his lifelong friends.   neway, i noticed that on this recent taiwan trip, i had no probs distinguishing taiwanese from mandarin n' spoke more taiwanese to strangers than i ever did in the past!   on my flight back to the u.s., i sat w/ a young dude from chino who grew up in socal, n' i did notice that he spoke like a socal dude.   do i speak like a norcal dude?   what is my accent?   when i was ~16, i had a study session w/ a substitue princeton review s.a.t. teacher from harvard (if i 'member correktly) who persistently told me i spoke w/ a californian accent, saying that it differed so much fromt he bostonian accents he regularly heard.   i then asked him what a californian accent sounded like, n' he described it as "surferish."   oh, ok.   well, i know hawaiians speak diff'ly cos they've got that pacific islander thing going, where they speak a li'l slower, don't they?   it's a way'f speech ppl also associate w/ native amerikans, rt?   s'pposedly okinawan japanese also have it, rt?   vince, my college friend n' roommate 4 1 yr, 's originally from maryland.   back sometime in 1993~1994, i told him he spoke w/ a maryland accent, n' he laffed, saying "that's funny cos ppl say that ppl from maryland don't have an accent."   i s'ppose that belief comes from how maryland's like d.c. n' not s'pposed to be 2 far south or 2 far north.   well, it ain't 2 far west either, guys.   california's special; that's what i think.

so how was taiwan?   it was such a fast trip.   i feel my mon was almost completely lost to the storming rain.   dude, since i've been inundated w/ werk n' other tasks since i got back n' have been so jet.lagged till my brain's been fried, i'm starting to 4get all that i did in taiwan.

yesterday, my mom's black 1995 mercedes c280 got stolen.   if u c 1 w/ license plate "lax (heart) 000," call the police immediately!

yesterday, kaela n' i went to ѱ hangook market to grocery $hop.   kaela cooked  dwenjang jjigae n' ڹ gajami gui (grilled [rex?] sole), just a small 1.

[later] 1118p: i went to our friend gregory's bachelor party just now.   1st, we went bowling.   we were s'pposed to go play laser tag, but the place was 2 full.   i bowled 78.   i could've done better, i think.   i haven't bowled in ages.   after that, we ate dinner @ ٺ goongjuhng bbq buffet / palace bbq buffet.   i ate more there this time then ne other time i've ever eaten there.   well, that was only the 3rd time i've eaten there.   i obviously like korean fud, but there r many kinds'f korean cuisine besides bbq.   kaela n' i tend not to eat that much meat.   i told the guys to stick to getting just galbi cos that's the most expen$ive meat, u know?   we ate lots'f l.a. galbi n' normal galbi.   yah, over there, they label it 㰥 ssuhn galbi n' 밥 tong galbi.   we ate so much.   u know what ain't 0.5 bad @ goongjuhng? well, the ȣ hobak jook (pumpkin porridge).   it tastes pretty fresh there.   of course, the most worth it thing's the galbi, no doubt.   after dinner, the gurls (including kaela) @ susan's bachelorette party arranged to have us tie up greg, n' we tied him up w/ duct tape n' carried him out'f the restaurant.   the gurls then sprayed him w/ whipped cream, kectchup/catsup, n' moûtard/mustard.   whoa, that was a stinky mess.   we were surprised @ how bad that combination smelled.   yah, it really smelled like trash.   aktually, i know exaktly what it smelled like: it smelled like doing stadium clean.up fundraisers @ uc berkeley's memorial stadium 4 ucmap!   yah, that's an awful smell, 'specially since it conjures up 4 me memories'f doing those stadium clean.ups.   neway, after that, i soon went home, where i am now.   i need to werk on gregory n' susan's wedding musik.   i'm djing their wedding on sun evening, u know? or 'least their wedding banquet, that is.   i took a shower, n' now i guess i should get to werk.

this wk, i've been really jet.lagged.   i mean, these past 2 days.


2005.05.16

dj season?

: how r u 2day?   i'll try not to write much 2day cos i've been writing 2 much in my journal these days.   can u believe star wars 3: the revenge of the sith comes out this wk?   i wish i could find out the storyline'f episodes 7, 8, n' 9; but i don't have the patience to read the books.   i don't get it.   many ppl must've read the books, but how come they don't blab 'bout the storylines 4 all the movies b4 they come out?!   this wknd was all 'bout djing our friends susan n' gregory's wedding.   i spent the whole wknd prepping 4 ~1.5 hrs'f djing.   it was a bit'f werk but pretty exciting n' fun as well.   in a way, i feel i'm fulfilling my new yr's resolution to dj more.   i feel i'm not necessarily fulfilling my new yr's resolution to write shorter journal entires.   :-(

on sat, i spent the day organising muzik.   i purchased some muzik in .wma format from buy.com.   i had some probs acquiring the license, but i guess i got that sorted out now.   i'm not 2 sure.   the prob might be the firewall on our home netwerk.   if that's the case, then i might have a prob burning those tracks to cd.   that's what i needed, but i didn't get to do that b4 the reception.   i bought those tracks 4 the reception, but i didn't get to sue them.   a few'f them i don't mind having neway, but a couple'f them i bought just 4 the wedding.   i discovered a pretty kewl, modern christian singer rachel lampa.   neway, on sat, i did all muzik stuff.   the beautiful kaela hwang tried to study but ended up watching movies on dish netwerk.   i mowed the lawn rt b4 the sun went down cos i sensed my next door neighbour's annoyance w/ my lousy gardening. :-(   i wish i could do more.

on sun morn, originally, i planned to go to the late service to accomodate my mom who was flying in from socal from my cousin's wedding.   however, kaela pted out that we'd be pressed 4 time b4 the wedding.   we went to 1st service.   pastor steve lo talked 'bout thinking globally n' reconciliation.   he told some amazing stories'f 4giveness.   well, i werked on muzik stuff rt up until we went to the wedding in cupertino.   the wedding ceremony was kewl.   the couple sang their vows to each other!   'twas like being in a musical!   'twas kewl to c our ol' friend darren wong there.   the ceremony was @ a lutheran church, but the banquet was @ abc seafud in milpitas.   i'm glad i got help luggin' my stuff up to the 2nd floor restaurant.   i spent most'f the dinnertime prepping muzik.   if i had been more organised, maybe i could've done this b4hand n' just enjoyed the dinner instead.   however, the un4cn trip to taiwan also didn't help me get more organised earlier, rt?   neway, things turned out fine.   really, i was quite stresed this wk 'bout djing this wedding cos i hadn't djed in a while, rt?   however, i prayed hard, i gotta say; n' god really answered my prayers.   yah, the musik turned out great.

this morn, tho', kaela backed into my car 'gain. *sigh* i'm thinking'f going 'head n' getting it fixed thru her insurance this time.   my car takes so much abuse.   i'm sad 'bout my car.   it used to be such a nice car, but now it's so beat up n' the stereo doesn't werk.   i can't afford a new car tho'.   besides the co$t'f the car, i've gotta consider the increase in insurance premium if i were to get a new car.   it's 2 much!

[a li'l later] on a much happier note, @ my office, in the atrium, there's a mutha mallard duck w/ 8 li'l, cute, fuzzy ducklings!

[later] : now i'll answer my gbook questions:
name: Ȳ hwang myuhngrok
e.mail: ͽ beno at benomix dot com
homepage url (don't 4get to use http colon slash slash!) http://www.benomix.com
r u filling this out on a laptop or desktop? laptop
what time do u usually wake up?   what time do u usually go to bed? 700a~730a; 1230a~130a
plz name off 1 good charitable organization: >habitat 4 humanity
what's a recent fashion trend u've noticed? well, 1st off, every gurl in taipei has hair like boa... that 1 hairstyle where gurls sort'f gather their hair up in the middle n' pin it back, such that it sort'f bumps up @ the top.   i guess i'm pretty bad @ describing women's hair.   as 4 fashion in the u.s., i notice so much retro 1980s stuff: like, guys wear their shirt collars up, the way asian guys did all this time neway.
what's 1 'strange' thing u've eaten? it's not that strange, but i know buhndeigi, which is cocoons.   u can get them in korea bars or street carts.   ;it sounds gross, but it takes like li'l, dried shrimp.   i've eaten it several times b4.   it's not bad.
do u prefer dark choco or milk choco? dark choco
additional comments: it's 'bout time 4 new gbook questions.

@ dinnertime, i took a brk from werk n' drove over to the milpitas tk to meet up w/ kaela 4 a quick dinner.   then i went back to werk n' werked late.

[later] this morn, sooni n' i went 4 a short, short jog w/ sooni.   i need to exercise more.   aktually, 2day, @ lunch, i went to the company gym to lift weights n' do ab exercises.   4 lunch, i ate some salad from my werk cafeteria.   it wasn't 2 bad.   it had spring mix, som chicken, some avocado, some almonds...   aktually, 4 brkfast, i bought some sliced fruit from the cafeteria.

after this dj gig, i have 2 more lined up; 2 more weddings: 1 next month, 1 in august. is this the start'f the "dj season" as the snowboarding season's pretty much over?


2005.05.17

fruit, liquid, gas

ȭ , 1123p: (sponsor: dell home store)   how was ur day?   i was very bizzy @ werk.   last nite, i stayed @ werk really late.   this morn, i got there not 2 early.   i had lots'f mtgs all day long.   i have lots'f werk to do.   on mon (yesterda), i sort'f mistakingly/mistakenly told the leaders'f our bible study that i wouldn't be that bizzy this week n' that i could thus prep to facilitate our bible study on fri eve n' also lead the men's bible study portion'f the evening.   :-/ hrm, i wonder if i won't have 'nuff time to prepare 4 these things. *sigh* well, i'll try... but i hate to disappoint.   u know, i really like the sermons/msgs @ our church (grx).   i missed a sermon cos i was in taiwan, but this wk, i listend to the msg online.   pastor andy fitzgerald gave the msg.   he spoke 'bout being good stewards'f god's creation, n' that's so kewl.   i often wanna e.mail the pastors to let them know how much i like their msgs, but i sometimes dunno if they get 2 many e.mails already or what. :-?   it's a big church, i know.   *shrug*

this morn, i jogged w/ sooni to the bank, depo$ited a rebate check, n' withdraw some c@4h 4 a net loss, i.e. i withdrew more than i depo$ited.   i was 2 bizzy 2 werkout 2day, even tho' i sort'f hoped i'd have time.   4 lunch, i ate this so.so beef teriyak bowl @ company cafeteria.   aktually, it wasn't very good... but very filling.   i only ate 0.5'f it @ lunch, n' then ate the other 0.5 in the evening after all my mtgs.   after werk, i quickly swung by the sunnyvale safeway on wolfe rd n' old san francisco rd.   i bought a couple'f fuze baekcha white teas that were on sale, a couple'f bogo minute maid / oreinji jyooseu, a few bananas ٳٳٳ, some ooyoo milk (nf, just a pint), some þ siuhbneun bbalgan podo seedless red grapes, 4 lbs'f / strawberries , a couple'f yangpa onions, some buhsuht, some canned, diced tomatoes w/ garlic n' basil...   nething else?   i 4get; i don't think so.   neway, after that, i rushed home to put on my dobok, put sooni's tie out on her, n' get ready 4 ±ǵ taekwondo yuhnsuhp (praktice).   after praktice, mark n' i talked 4 a li'l while cos we haven't talked in a while.   ha ha, that was a poorly written sentence!   however, u get the pt.   mark n' i hadn't talked 4 a long time b4 we talked 2nite.   we just discussed home ekonomics n' marriage n' careers, u know?   then i took sooni to the 76 station on homestead near lawrence to buy a li'l gas @ $2.499/gal.   i tried to get 8 gallons exaktly, but bought 8.005 gals 4 $20.00.   i let sooni pee over in the grassy area in front'f the gas station as i pumped gas.   gas is obviously 2 expen$ive nowadays, so i sort'f want to buy a bike as always; but i dunno where i'd put the bike in the garage, as it's already so cramped in there. :-/.


2005.05.18

built to last

ħ: apparently, this morn, palmone introuduced a new pda/handheld, the palmone lifedrive mobile manager.   it has a 4gb hard drive n' built.in wifi n' bluetooth.   basically, it's like my palmone tungsten t5 w/ more storage space n' built.in wifi, which is a big deal.   it look a bit bigger tho', a bit longer.   wow; well, i don't think i'd want to carry nething bigger than my palmone tungsten t5. &bnsp; this new produkt has such an unusual name tho', in that it's so not techie, rt?   like, tungsten t5, that sounds sleek n' hi.tech.   lifedrive mobile manager? :-/ that sounds like it'd appeal to the non.technical bizness management type, rt? *shrug*

yesterday n/or the day b4, i was thinkin' 'bout my beat up car.   even tho' it's taken a cosmetik beating, it's aktually a good car, built.to.last, so i shouldn't even consider the idea'f not getting it fixed up n' keeping it 4 'the next 15 yrs, rt?   i think so.   i should go 'head n' invest a li'l $$$ in keeping it nice.   back when it was new, i used to shell out lots'f $$$ to maintain it.   however, back then i didn't have a house or dog n' was single.   heh, 'member that last nite mark n' i discussed home finances, home ekonomics, relationships, etc.   can u believe that in morgan hill, u can get gas 4 $2.359/gal?!   gas @ our local costco's $2.409/gal.   i'm glad i didn't fill up all the way last nite @ the 76 on homestead n' princeton (near lawrence) that sold it to me 4 $2.499/gal.   man, i wish gas weren't over $2/gal. <:-( however, it's true that gas is ¢heaper here in the u.s. than newhere else, huh?   amerikans drive 2 much n' drive 2 big'f car on avg; but man... i feel that i'm not part'f that n' that it's basically "not my fault."


2005.05.19

22nd monthversary

: plenty'f stress n' pressure @ werk.   :-( still, 2day's the beautiful kaela hwang's n' my 22nd wedding morthversary.   i'm taking her out to dinner 2nite @ kaygetsu, a fancy japanese restaurant in menlo park.   i'm sure the fud'll be awesome.   i'm very tired tho', totally worn out from a stressful couple'f wks @ werk.

yesterday, my mom bought a new car.

yesterday, i got a couple'f body repair quotes from el camino body shop 4 my subaru forester.   i'm hwang solo, n' that's my millennium forester.   star wars 3: revenge of the sith opened 2day / last nite.   i want to watch it.   do u think amidala dies?   i think so.

recent cookie fortunes:

[later] last nite @ the company gym, i lifted weights, did 300 crunches, n' did 15 mins'f precor.   this wk, on m~w, i werked out 2ice per day. :-) that's great.   however, 'twas raining decently this morn, so sooni n' i did not jog. :-(

on mon nite, i ate tk noodles w/ kaela 4 dinner.   on tues nites i boiled some fresh ravlioli n' made a sauce w/ onions, shrooms, n' diced canned tomatoes.   on wed (yesterday), i ate those leftovers 4 lunch@werk.com.   4 dinner yesterday, i ate some packaged salad n' 2 costco tyson honey bbq chicken drumsticks.

i've noticed some awful typos in my recent entries.   yesterday, i received my 3pac'f replacement palmone tungsten t5 styli.

1104p: oh, we're so stuffed.   we just got back from kaygetsu.   man, what an awesome japanese restaurant!!!   it's expen$ive, n' the portions sure r tiny, but man!   the fud tastes so good!   *sigh* we had: 1) soft shell crab salad (really good soft shell crab, not the mediocre stuff hidden under batter); 2) an oyster soup (kaki sumpthin' sumpthin' shiru; kaela ate most'f this); 3) some mirugai n' amaebi sashimi; 4) some awesome flounder sashimi w/ citrus ponzu sauce, 5) some "kobe style" beef in a broth w/ gobo, daikon, n' carrots; 6) some awesome black cod; 6) some fish chazuke (tea rice; this was a bit excessive.   we prob'ly could've skipped this, altho' 'twas very tasty as well.); 7) japanese sesame custard w/ japanese molasses, strawberry / , n' mango.   oh yah, we also each had a premium sake sampler'f 3 diff kinds'f sake.   there was 1 really good, smooth sake that co$ts $22 4 a 6-oz. glass!   dude, this was such a good japanese restaurant.   expen$ive but good.


2005.05.20

friday foto spektacular

/ 115a: i'm still awake, altho' i should be asleep.   i'm guessing that i won't have time to write a real journal entry 2morrow/2day, so i'll just post a whole bunch'f pics up 4 u rt now.

̿ հ
̿ հ sooniwa uhmjisongarak:
doesn't it suck when ur thumb gets in the way'f a great shot? (santana row, 20050416)
kaela n' wendy: wives
kaela n' wendy @ fahad n' wendy's indian wedding ceremony (20050416)
keno n' fahad
keno n' fahad @ fahad n' wendy's indian wedding ceremony (20050416)
mom n' nephew nolan
mom n' our nephew nolan (20050501)
kaela n' nephew nolan
kaela n' our nephew nolan (20050501)
ƺ
dad n' beno (taipei, 20050509)
lv
lv purses, lv wallets, lv shoes... lv dental?! (taipei, 20050509)

128a: kaela n' i r watching the fud netwerk on dish netwerk.   man, we ate such good fud 2nite; n' now that we're done, we're watching shows 'bout good fud. *sigh*   we ought to be watching revenge of the sith instead!

well, i'm gonna have a very, very bizzy fri in a few hrs.   u? u have a nice fri, ye hear?


2005.05.21

yard sale

ħ, 1000a: i gotta get to werk.   there's a yard sale happening on our front yard to benefit the palmer west chiropraktic college's sports council.   i wanna watch star wars 3!   1021a: (2day's sponsor: apple store)

here's a couple'f random star wars links:




2005.05.24

saw star wars 3 this past wknd

ȭ 642p: i haven't updatedchu guys in a long time cos i've been much 2 bizzy gettin' my @$$ kicked @ werk.   it's been tuff.   i werked 14 hrs yesterday.   hopefully, i won't push 12 2day.   [a li'l later] this past wknd?   werked on sat; yard sale @ 츮 oori jip our house...   sat evening n' nite?   the beautiful kaela hwang's skool friend tanya drove us n' their friends jen n' phil to alameda, where we boarded a yacht (run by a company called commodore) 4 a dinner cruise in the sf bay.   we got to watch the kfog kaboom fire works show, which was pretty kewl, altho' i still believe the best firewerks show i've ever cn were in washington, d.c. on 2002.07.04.   the boat party was 4 kaela's skool.   we ate prime rib, some kind'f breaded, deep.fried chicken w/ red grape cream sauce, caesar salad, string beans, n' cheesecake w/ blueberry sauce.   there was dancing.   the dj's name waj "dj solo."   i felt a li'l bad 4 him cos i knew he was decently talented but was told to play not.that.great'f musik.   he finally broke out the hip.hop, n' we danced.

it's 825p, n' i'm still@werk.com.

on sun, late to church, dimsum w/ rachel, ken, cory, n' helen, star wars 3: revenge of the sith, n' dinner @ ¥ yeitnal jjajang...


2005.05.30

livin' it up in socal over memorial wknd

1022p: dude, i've been sooo loaded down w/ werk that i haven't had ne time to update u.   that's just the way it goes, man.   werk's been tuff, really tuff.   i've werked long hrs n' stayed up late.   well, this wknd, i werked on my laptop a bit, but i also had a wknd full'f fun.   the beautiful kaela hwang n' i went down to socal.   we went to mark n' grace's engagement party on the beach in redondo beach.   we went clubbing @ the factory on la peer in west hollywood btwn santa monica blvd n' melrose.   those 2 aktivities were on sat.   the factory was a nice club, reminiscent'f the ol' days @ the sound factory in sf but cleaner.   the crowd was almost entirely asian.am.   yah, originally, we were s'pposed to go to a korean club, n' i was looking 4ward to that cos korean club's have a totally diff style, if u didn't know.   korean clubs r known to be expen$ive but rather up$cale n' nice, u know?   yah, i wish we could've done k.style clubbing, but whatever.   the factory was nice but also expen$ive.   even tho' we got in 4 a di$¢ounted $10 rate instead'f $20, the drinks were hecka expen$ive, $11 per drink.   kaela n' i only had 2 drinks each, n' we were there 4 a while.   the 1st bartender really sucked!   man, i wish sam sa were there to make me a good kamikaze!   the dj was pretty good, i'll say.   the club has 3 scantily.clad go.go dancers on 3 platforms.   :-/ that's a weird situation 4 an attached n' married guy, rt?   i guess single guys can gawk n' stare @ these young ladies, but well... 4 a guy like me, it's more'f a "don't look this way, don't look that way" situation, rt?   well, i gotta admit that i'm glad my wife is some1 i like to look @, so that makes it easier not to be a gawking guy in these kinds'f situations, rt?   the muzik was mostly hip.hop 'cept 4 the mandatory "bizarre love triangle" 4 the asian.am crowd, rt?

the party earlier was kewl.   kaela n' i got there late cos we stopped by the chino spektrum mega.strip mall to pick up some things.   kaela needed some shoes appropriate 4 the beach, n' i needed a pair'f pants cos i only had 1 pair'f non.dress pants w/ me down there.   i had packed 1 pair'f suit pants.   i wore a pair'f drawstring pants on my way down.   that's all i had.   the clothes i packed 4 clubbing were 2 4mal, 2 dressy 4 an amerikan.style (even an asian.am) club cos i'd thought that we were hittin' up a korean club, n' yah... guys gotta dress nicer to korean clubs.   neway, @ nordstroms rack, i bought a pair'f ben sherman pants n' a ben sherman polo shirt.   they were both @ good pri¢es, but i prob'ly didn't totally need 'nother pair'f jeans in my wardrobe, u know?   i already have 1 pair'f ben sherman jeans.   i'd hoped to find a pair'f ted baker jeans in that bargain pile, but nope.   it was awkward to buy a 100% ben sherman outfit, but 'least i managed to stay 'way from ken cole 4 1nce, rt?   so much'f my wardrobe's ken cole, u know?   neway... the beach party was kewl, but it wasn't really a beach party.   i thought we'd have a bbq on the beach n' go swimmin' n' stuff.   i'm glad we didn't tho'.   ;instead, we had a rather classy party on a patio'f an apt bldg rt on the beach in redondo beach.   the bridesmaids n' groomsmen put on a good party.   the fud was awesome.   they had burgers, hot dogs, teriyaki chicken, cocktail weenie kebabs, spam musubi, lots'f fresh fruit, lots'f fresh veggies, lots'f good drinks.   it was such a well put on party, u know?   it was more mature than the typical college.style party that i feel i'm so used to, u know?   dude, even as i approach 30 yrs'f age, i feel i'm so used to those college.style parties.   most'f the guys played volleyball, but i didn't bother cos i figured i wouldn't get a chance to shower b4 clubbing, so i didn't wanna get sweatty.

now what did kaela n' i do in btwn the beach party n' clubbing?   well, we headed off to l.a. k.town.   we 1st went to ѳ ü hannam chain market in k.town on olympik near vermont.   we bought some heitsal rice drink.   then we went off to galleria, this superawesome korean mall in k.town.   it isn't a strip mall but a real mall.   we went to this koko's chicken stand in the supermarket area n' ate some ġ ggochi odaeng n' some ؾ boonguh bbang (goldfish shaped bread, also called taiyaki or sumpthin' in japanese).   we just ate 3'f the 7 ؾ boonguh bbang that we bought.   we ate 3 skewers'f odaeng (fishcake, the "tenpura" kind).   after we wate, we toured the awesome mall, but all the stores were closed.   dude, i'd love to come back when everything's open.   the fud ct in the mall looked awesome.   after that we took off.

we needed to change into our clubbing clothes, so we tried to find a hotel near west hollywood n' bevery hills to change in the publik bathroom.   well, i 1st drove up to some hotel called uh... le meridian or sumpthin'.   well, it was 2 nice, so if we wanted to change there, we'd hafta pay like $15 to park or sumpthin' ridiculous.   i eventually drove us to a crowne plaza suites, where the parking lot sign sed we'd have to pay to park but apparently we didn't hafta.   we quickly change din the publik bathroom, n' i felt like i was in ocean's twelve! heh heh.   neway, it was a fun day n' nite, but clubbing was a bit expen$ive w/ the frickin' expen$ive parking n' all @ the club.

on sun, i werked on werk stuff in the morn.   later in the afternoon, kaela n' i swung by my aunt n' uncle's house (on my mom's side).   we picked up some drama dvds/vcds 4 my mom, n' they also gave us a bunch'f ǥ pyogo shiitake shrooms.   after that, we hurried off to hacienda heights where we met up w/ kaela's family to eat @ a ع haemooltang (seafud stew) place.   i thought the restuarant was pretty good, but every1 felt the service was 2 slow.   kaela n' i had to hurry off to hollywood's kodak theatre 4 the l.a. river benefit korean pop concert.   we watched ο minwoo n' shin hyesung'f ȭ shinhwa, Ź̳ shin mina'f 2002 world cup fame, º taebin'f 1tym, jinusean, park junghyun (lena park), n' koyotae.   it was a fun nite!

we flew down on fri nite n' came back up this afternoon.   2day's memorial day.   duk drove us to the aeroport on fri n' watched sooni this wknd.   my mom picked us up 2day.   i werked more in the afternoon on my laptopp.   in the evening, we took my mom out 4 her b.day dinner @ the valley fair cheesecake factory.   we had an awesome dinner, altho' the service wasn't 2 good.   my mom ordered the avocado eggrolls, kaela ordered that french country salad, n' i had the jamaican black pepper shrimp.   we all shared a fresh strawberry cheesecake 4 dessert, n' kaela n' i had some coffee drinks: kaela ordered some weird raspberry white choco mocha or sumpthin' (nf/decaf) that was 2 sweet, n' i had a double decaf expresso.   we walked 'round the mall afterwards.

l.a. river cleanup benefit concert lineup
the gasoo (pop singers) from the l.a. river cleanup benefit concert... n' also some hi skool kid in a tux who sang the star spangled banner ha ha ha...

Ű
keno in front'f the steps to the kodak theatre @ hollywood n' highland after the concert




2005.06.01

2 bean buns

/ 119a, : these days i werk very long hrs, u know.   last wk, i avged 13 hrs each day.   heh... @ grx pastor ed kim sed that ppl in the valley (silicon valley) brag 'bout how many hrs they werk.   no, i'm not bragging.   i'm... am i looking 4 sympathy? *sigh* i dunno...   i've been a li'l sad 'bout how much i've had to werk; i've been a li'l frustrated n' discouraged, yah.   last thurs nite, i stayed up till 330a, werking on my laptop @ home.   i should be werking rt now.   it's late.   i should just go to sleep, wake up early, walk sooni, n' go to werk early.   i got to werk early 2day n' managed to escape w/ only an 11.hr day.   i didn't get to break 4 lunch @ all tho'.   i just ate bbang (buns).   i had a ϻ tongpatbbang ("whole red bean" bun, as opposed to those "red bean paste" buns) n' uh... some kind'f white bean bun.   i went to praktice 2nite (oh, by 2day n' 2nite, i mean yesterday, of course.)   i went to taekwondo praktice last nite.   it was just 5'f us guys.   we kicked paddles.   afterwards, mark n' i went to fantasia to get some boba drinks. i had to use up my frequent buyers club card thingy.   i bought 1 "red bean rubies" boba shake/smoothie n' 1 mango freeze.   man, those drink must be super.caloric.   i need to exercise more.   2day, an order'f cds i got from yesasia came in.   i haven't yet had a chance to listen to my new cds.   i don't get opportunities to listen to musik as much these days, n' that's depressing.   @ the same time, this yr, i'm doing 'lot'f djing.   mark asked me to dj his wedding, but he knows i've got a preference 2wards just sitting back n' enjoying their wedding.   i told him to try to find some1, but if they really need me, i'll c what i can do.   after all, i'm djing 3 other weddings this yr, rt? so i guess it'd be wrong to refuse totally, rt?   i should help out my friends rt? *shrug* i mentioned if some1 else can drive down my equipment n' help setup, that'd make it easier 4 me.   then i could feel more like some celebrity dj like paul oakenfold, rt?   ha ha ha!   i miss having good roadies werk 4 me! heh heh...

neway, i'm djing more, n' that was 1f my new yr's resolutions.   i'm also, whether by choice or not, not journaling as much as u know.   (journalling? journaling?)   i'm gonna try to phase back into having more'f a fotoblog, i think.   i figure a pic's worth 1000 wurds, rt?   ppl like fotoblogs, i think.   i talk 2 much neway.   so few ppl read all that i write.   i'm so bogged down w/ werk that i don't have the kind'f free time it takes to keep up the amt'f writing i was doing earlier this yr.   i'll try to take more pics, more meaningful pics... not necessarily just pics'f sooni doing nuthin'.   i'll try to post those pics up more often.   sure, they might be mediocre camerafon pics n' not those crystal clear, beautiful canon digital eos pix that other fotobloggers often post... but well... i hope the pix i post dokument my life well.   we'll c.   4 2day, i don't have ne pix to post. :-(

2day, i was really stressed@werk.com, so i ran downstairs into the atrium where the female duck n' her ducklings live.   lst wk, i noticed that 1 duckling has a broken leg.   2day, i only counted 7 ducklings instead'f 8.   hopefully, some1 took that hurt duckling 'way to get healed!   last wk, kaela wasn't so bizzy w/ skool, but all'f the sudden my werk exploded on me, n' i was superbizzy n' still am.   i surely don't regret going to taiwan 4 ahgong's funeral, but man... ever since i went to taiwan, my werk'stotally exploded n' hasn't let up since.   like, i wonder if i had those 3 days i took off back, if i'd be in a better situation @ werk rt now, but no... i defintiely don't regret going, of course.   cos my werk's gotten so intense, i guess my taiwan trip, as short as it was, really marks a big change in my life.   i hadn't been so stressed 'bout werk in a long time.   a yr 'go, i was stressed, but it was a combination'f werk n' skool.   now, it's just werk.   dude, i've really gotta get to sleep, so that i can wake up early 2morrow n' get to werk.


2005.06.02

ay chung noodles

1215a: ȳ ϼ.   hello.   i'm so exhausted.   it was 'nother long, long, long werkday.   'nother 1 where i werked over 12 hrs in the office. *sigh*   i was @ werk so long, n' i was bizzy, werking the whole day.   well, i didn't get to werk till like 830a this morn.   yesterday, i got in really early; i 4get when.   i had some roast beef sandwich from the cafeteria 4 lunch during a mtg.   @ nite, kaela hwang had me meet her @ ay chung, an awesome taiwanese restaurant in milpitas @ the barber ln 99 strip mall.   dude, it was awesome!   it smelled like "stinky tofu" in there, n' i totally felt like i was back in taipei.   it was crazy!   i was just in taiwan a few wks 'go.   wow.   neway, the fud was awesome, altho' it was much more expen$ive than what i'd hafta pay in taiwan.   apparently, they have a location in the richmond, pierce st. 99 mall 2!   wow, kewl!   dude, u've gotta check out this restaurant!   ay chung noodles 458 barber lane, milpitas, ca 95035, 408.432.8688   oh yah, what did we eat?   uhm, kaela ordered "#34," which is uhm... i dunno 'xaktly what u call it... uhm, in taiwanese it's sumpthin' like ba gee tang; in mandarin in sumpthin' like ro guhn tang or sumpthin'.   totally don't quote me on that cos i 4get.   well, in 168's english, it's sumpthin' sumpthin' "potage."   there's also a squid version'f it that 168 calls "squid potage."   neway, the dish consists'f a starchy soup w/ these meatballish nuggets, some veggies such as bamboo shoots n' shiitake shrooms, n' some clear noodles.   if u haven't had it b4, can u imagine it @ all from my description?   well, kaela ordered that, n' i ordered the typical taiwanese dishes that kaela n' i get: uh.ah jien (oyster pancake) n' bawuhn (i guess it's called like rowuhn in mandarin).   ay chung's menu calls bawuhn "meatball," n' 168's menu called it "taiwanese meatball," i think.

i wanted to go to the gym 2nite, but i didn't cos i went out 4 dinner w/ kaela.   after eating dinner, kaela went to her office to study, n' i went to the rivermark safeway to buy some groceries.   i hadn't gone grocery $hopping in quite a while.   gone r the days when i had the luxury'f doing grocery n' household $hopping, u know?   i used to get to hit up stores like rite.aid n' target to find the best deals on laundry detergent, household cleaners, n' toiletries; but 2nite i bought an $9.45 tube'f nivea men's facial cleanser.   it was full pri¢e n' prob'ly not the best pri¢ i could get, but i know i prob'ly won't get the chance 'gain to go $hopping 4 a long time, n' it's ¢heaper than a $21 bottle'f california north men's gel cleanser, rt?   the past 2 bottles'f facial soap that i bought were california north men's gel cleanser.   i've run out'f that stuff.   i liked that soap.   i like my jack black facial sunscreen lotion 2, n' it's also expen$ive.   i bought some veggies, fruit, juice, milk, frozen pizza...   when i got home i did the white laundry.

i sed i'd post more pix on this journal, but i dunno if i have a pic to post 2day...   maybe i can look 4 an old pic to post. [laer] 1245a: ok, here's a pic i'll share w/ u.   this is from 20050526.   when was that?   was that just last wk?   i can't believe i aktually found time to come home 4 lunch sometime last wk.   that's cos i had this safety class during the day.   it was @ the campus that's closest to our house, so i hurried home 4 a quick lunch'f a fried egg sandwich that day.   even tho' i had a relatively easy day in that safety class, i had to stay @ werk very, very late each nite to werk on stuff.   as i sed, on thurs nite, i stayed up till 330a werking on my laptop.   neway... heh heh... now, i just sound like i'm bragging 'bout how many hrs i werk, like pastor ed kim sed ppl here do.   ok, well, here's the stoopid pic:

Ȳ
beno, 20050526



2005.06.03

fud netwerk

ݿ 116a: i should either be werking or sleeping. *sigh* really, i have lots'f werk to do these days.   however, no, i don't say that to brag, no... or do i? *shrug* well, i shouldn't; i shouldn't say that to brag.   well, i werked hard 2day... (i think... that is, in my humble opinion, i werked hard.)   i ate some chicken n' apple green salad 4 lunch from the company cafeteria.   i didn't leave werk 2 late 2nite.   i went to taekwondo sparring praktice n' got my butt kicked systematical by each person there. ha ha ha...   *sigh* well, nah, i didn't get totally beat up (luckily shim sabuhmnim sed it was lite contakt sparring, rt?), but man... i sure feel out'f shape.   *sigh* :-(   there wasn't many ppl @ praktice 2nite, just like on tues nite.   on tues nite, there was 5; 2nite (as in yesterday), there was 6.   *sigh* i'm exhausted from werk.

2nite, after praktice i cooked myself a li'l dinner.   i'm sure i mentioned how my aunt in chino gave us tons'f ǥ pyogo shiitake shrooms.   on uh... uh... tues nite, i cooked some packaged uhm... this ä naengchaegooksoo, i.e. this packaged cold noodle dish... in the package u get the rice vermicilli n' some dehydrated veggies, but i tossed in tons'f ǥ pyogo shiitake shrooms n' green onions.   i think in taiwanese, u call this shrooms hyoogo, w/ a li'l bit'f an accent on the "go" syllable.   2nite, i cooked more shrooms.   i was hoping to cook some soup noodles of some sort, but i didn't have time to stop by ne asian markets to pick up some packaged noodles.   thus, i decided to eat rice instead'f noodles.   i cooked my own original recipe'f ǥ pyogo bokkeum.   i threw in lots'f sliced shiitake shrooms, some sliced onions, n' put in lots'f gochoojang.   nething else?   oh yah, i put in a can'f ġ chamchi, which is tuna... (i didn't use ne kind'f special korean canned tuna, just ur typical amerikan canned tuna... dolphin safe, of course.)   as i sed i'd post more pix, here's a pic'f me cookin' n' 'nother'f the mess i made, i.e. my entrée:

Ȳ
beno cookin' dinner 4 himself after taekwondo praktice

ǥ
Ư ǥ benouy teukbyuhlhan pyogo bokkeum beno's special shiitake shroom uh... stirfry?
not really... uh, i dunno what u call bokkeum in english

the beautiful kaela hwang likes to watch the fud netwerk when she studies.   rt now, it's on.   they show iron chef 'lot.   i hate bad dubbing.   the amerikan iron chef show isn't as good as the original japanese 1.   1nce i saw them match up wolfgang puck v. some great japanese chef.   it was a lame competition.   the judges obviously weren't into japanese fud, so wolfgang puck easily won.   the celebrity judges mostly sed that the flavour'f the japanese chef's fud wasn't strong 'nuff. *sigh* dude... that's the pt'f that kind'f japanese fud, to be subtle, u know?

speaking'f japanese stuff as well as chinese n' korean stuff, on my drive home from the , i thought 'bout sumpthin'.   u know japanese names can be written in kanji n' thus have equivalents in chinese n' korean?   well, u know how lots'f japanese women have "ko" @ the end'f their names?   well, what does "ko" translate into in chinese n' korean?   4 a sec, i wondered if maybe it's "kyung," as "kyung" is in lots'f female names, but it's also in many male names... 4 example duk kyung. ha ha ha.   also, i think "kyung" is "jing" in mandarin as "kyung" is used in the korean wurd "bookkyung" which translates to "beijing" in mandarin... however, in that context "kyung" refers to a capital city of somesort.   in fakt, i believe there's an old korean wurd 4 tokyo, which is sumpthin' like dokyung or sumpthin'.   if that's the case, then "kyung" translates to "kyo" in japanese not "ko."   hrm, maybe i was thinking 'bout this cos earlier 2day, i found these name label thingies that my dad had made in taiwan 4 mason n' nolan.   i couldn't read nolan's name in the chinese charakters, but mason's name is "mei sen."   that's easy 4 me to read cos "mei" is the wurd 4 beauty, which is " mi" in korean.   "sen" translates into the korean " suhn," which is kaela's korean 1st name, so that's very easy 4 me to 'member, u know?   well, if mason's name translates to "mei suhn," then his name aktually looks very feminine in chinese, huh?

earlier, while cooking, i listened to 1'f the cds i recently got from yesasia, which was this dj ó (dj chuhri) remix cd.   i didn't realise when i bought it that it'd be lots'f these remixed "trot" songs.   a few months 'go, this 1 chick named jang yoonjuhng made a big splash on the korean musik scene by being the 1st 20sumpthiner in a while to make it on the "trot" scene.   do u know what "trot" is?   "trot" is that old.fashioned korean pop musik from like the 1960s n' 1970s, etc.   it's kind'f like comparing modern latin pop musik that u hear on viva 105.7 versus mariachi musik.   "trot"'s the kind'f musik u'd expekt "parents" to listen to, u know?   well, as i listened to that cd, i thought, "dude, this cd's not 4 'mixed company,' i.e. if some non.asian person walked in on my listenin' to that cd, they'd think, 'dude, this is exaktly what i'd expekt asian pop musik to sound like, n' i'm not impressed.'"   do u know what i mean?   well, this cd tries to take this old ppl's musik n' hip it up a bit.   neway, that jang yoonjuhng chick has this famous song called "ӳ uhmuhna" (which gets translated into "oh my" on korean pop tv shows).   she got plenty'f exposure on tv a few months 'go, both on shows that young ppl watch n' on shows that old ppl watch.   it's funny to think that a 20.sumpthin' chick'd want to break into the trot scene cos it's easier to be the hottest gurl in ur musik scene if every1 else is a bunch'f old ܸ ajoomma, rt? heh heh... just kidding...

well, on the fud netwerk, miller lite sure advertises 'lot.   yah, honestly, i guess i do sort'f like those ¢heap lite beers like miller lite n' bud lite.   hrm, i guess miller lite might be better than bud lite.   i know kaela thinks so.   i had a miller lite on sat @ mark n' grace's engagement party, but i drank it pretty fast cos i was thirsty.   i don't 'member really savouring it.

ok, seriously, i should go to sleep; it's 155a!

oh, 1 last thing: yah, i have that yesasia link on my webpage.   if u wanna buy ne korean drama dvds, u can use that link.   bronx's junkyard also has a link, so if u wanna support bronx's junkyard, u can use that link instead.


2005.06.04

now time to buy a new vacuum???

1223a: how r u? well, the wknd's sort'f here, rt?   i'm planning to go into werk 2morrow.   thus, it's not really a wknd, or is it?   in asia, don't ppl werk 'leats 0.5 a day on sats n' only take suns off?   isn't that how it is?   some1 ought to tell me cos i really don't know.   i hope i only hafta werk 0.5 a day.   *sigh* well, i really don't wanna werk 2morrow... uh... i mean, sun... i really don't wanna werk on sunday.   so what's up?   do i have nething to talk 'bout or... *shrug* if i don't have nething to say, i should just stop writing now.

well, 2day, i set out to take a quick, quick lunchbrk n' finally leave the office 4 1nce.   i set out to do a quick grocery $hopping trip to / galleria market.   then kaela called n' sed she wanted to meet up 4 lunch; so i told her she could quickly come to galleria, n' then we could eat quickly, n' she could bring our groceries home, while i rush off back to werk.   4 us, i ordered 1 ̸ jjolmyuhn n' 1 ȸ hweduhpbap.   it was fun, n' i aktually made it back to werk in decent time.   unbelievable.   things like that r small miracles, u know?

@ home, after werk, i had a li'l bit'f some packaged "fiesta" salad 4 dinner.   i went to grx t3s couples bible study by myself.   i led the guys' bible study.   it was great to c our friends from t3s cos i hadn't cn them in a long time.   i ate 2 many snacks.   i need to exercise.

hopefully, i'll exercise 2morrow.   ugh, i guess i have lots to do 2morrow: 1) werk, 2) wash sooni, 3) meet w/ the couple 4 whom i'm djing their wedding, 4) exercise, 5) yardwerk, 6) housechores...   *sigh* i have lots to do, yet i was trying to keep this wknd really open n' free.

*sigh* lately, i've been thinking 'bout how we really need a more powerful vacuum.   should i now buy that dyson animal?   also, kaela n' i need new dressers. (dresser drawers... is that what u call 'em?)   is now the time to buy 'em.   u c, our dressers r falling 'part.   *sigh* is it ok to $pend some $$$ now?   i recently got a profit sharing check from my company.   a while 'go, we got our income tax return. *sigh* i dunno.   it's just that earlier this yr, whe our property tax was due, i was so panicked.   also, in genl, it's better not to $pend $$$, rt?

854a: i got into werk a li'l while 'go.   i wanted to be here like @ 700a, but i got in 'round 845a.   ok, i should do some werk. [just an advertisement: a href="http://click.linksynergy.com/fs-bin/click?id=hFit*7DqwsE&offerid=85078.10000671&type=3&subid=0" >dell home store]

1155p: so what did i manage to accomplish 2day?   i went into werk, werked, came home, cooked some fresh (packaged) ramyuhn (ramen) w/ lots'f extra goodies i threw in, watched tv (not an accomplishment), went w/ the beautifual kaela hwang n' sooni to pet fud express to wash sooni n' do 'lot'f sooni $hopping w/ the 20% off everything coupon that toby gave me a while back, hung out @ santana row - where we ran into grace, steve, mason, n' nolan, went to the doubletree hotel to meet up w/ our friends 4 whom i'm djing their wedding there, dropped sooni @ home, went to eat w/ that couple @ κ myuhngdong soondubujip, where no1 @ our table @ soondubu. ha ha.   i had ø bibimnaengmyuhn, but i liked what kaela was having better: ع haemool bibimbap (seafud mixed rice in a stone pot).

pix 4 2day:

   
beno_n_sooni@santanarow.com



2005.06.05

werkin' in the park

254p, Ͽ: the beautiful kaela hwang n' i r @ this sunnyvale park on henderson w/ sooni.   it's a nice park.   kaela's studying, n' i'm werking (doing werk on my laptop).   it's a beautifully sunny day yet there's a very cool breeze blowing; cerulean skies.   it doesn't feel like summer cos'f the cool, almost cold, wind.   yah, aktually, it is a li'l chilly 2day.   the temperature reminds me'f a pleasant day in san francisco.   as i write that, i sort'f wish that we were in sf rt now, but kaela has finals n' midterms to study 4, n' i've got werk 4 werk to do.   if i weren't here doing werk 4 werk, i'd be doing werk 4 home, wouldn't i?   i've got yardwerk to do, housechores to do, n' homestuff 4 which to $hop.   am i gonna buy this extravagant dyson animal vacuum cleaner or what?   i mean, sure, it's ridiculously overpri¢ed; but, when i search online 4 vacuum cleaners good 4 pets, i only find pages that talk 'bout the dyson animal vacuum cleaners. *sigh* sure, u could say it's all a big marketing ploy, rt?   however, i dunno... as i sed i only c webpages talk 'bout the dyson cleaners when they talk 'bout 1s that can handle lots'f pet hair.   *sigh* the dyson website describes their dc07, dc14, n' dc15 cleaners.   they used to talk 'bout their dc11 cannister vac, but i wonder if they may have now discontinued it.   the dc15 is their "ball" vacuum cleaner that rolls on a ball instead'f wheels.   good idea, bad idea? *shrug* well, all that they really need to solve the prob they r trying to solve is a suspension system 4 the wheels on the vacuum cleaner.   whadya think?   this is a question 4 mechanical engrs, rt?   rt.   neway!!! *sigh* so what's up?   what's up in non.vacuum.cleaner land? ha ha ha!

this morn, kaela n' i were s'pposed to join our grx t3s cohorts in setting up the church 4 sunday service.   however, i guess kaela 4got 'bout it, n' me? i had a bad, bad stomach ache in the morn.   we ended up getting to church late to setup but very on time 4 service.   we waited outside tho' cos 1) part'f the setup duty's to help newcomers find parking n' greet ppl, n' 2) i figured i'd c my mom come in.   however, she was already inside the sanctuary, unbeknownst to us.   we sat w/ our t3s bible study friends during service (the 1st service'f grx's 2 morning services in sunnyvale), but i spotted my mom up in the front.   after service i bought 1'f the grx live worship cds that were recorded on easter sun n' good fri this yr.   the church's selling them 4 a suggested $10 donation 4 each.   i also bought 1 4 my mom.   i like the musik @ our church, n' i've been wanting a cd'f it.   i don't mind givin' up $10 4 a copy.   after that, kaela n' i got a chance to check out my mom's new mercedes c320.   i think u call the color cobalt blue, but i 4get.   i could be totally wrong.   it has a gps navagation system n' lots'f other kewl extras.   if u have the rt kind'f cellfon, u can dial rt from the a/v panel n' use the built.in spkrfon.   however, i couldn't get it to werk w/ my motorola v710.   i wonder if u can hack the gps nav sys's dvd drive, so that it can play movies.   i bet u can!   that'd be kewl. *sigh* i need a new car stereo!   neway, after that, my mom took us out to lunch @ the pho hoa on flora vista n' el camino real.   we ate lunch.   i was full, but we then went to café aroma to eat Ϻ patbingsoo.   we ordered 1 large (20 oz) Ϻ gwailbingsoo n' 1 small (16 oz) nokchabingsoo (green tea).   (Ϻ patbingsoo is tsuabing in uh... mandarin, taiwanese, or both.)   the mexican server @ the counter wanted to speak as much korean to us as he could.   that's funny cos yesterday evening, we were talkin' to our friends will n' alice 'bout how the mexican servers in my company's cafeteria cm to want to speak spanish to me but i feel that it's too cheesy if i were to only say cr@p like "si," "por favor," n' "gracias" to them.   dude, if u ask me, that's such "gringos in cancun" talk, u know?   dude, i don't wanna be like that.   however, i dunno; it cms that they really want me to speak spanish, n' lots'f other non.chicano, non.latino employees do speak to them w/ those silly "holas," "pollos," etc., rt?   i dunno.   neway, yah, the mexican dude liked trying to speak korean.   as we were leaving, the owner or manager woman asked me if i was korean, n' i sed that kaela's korean, but i'm 븸 daeman saram (taiwanese).   then she asked me 'bout what chinese/taiwanese Ϻ patbingoo's like.   i told her it's pretty similar, just w/o n' w/ some diff fruit like litchi, etc.   she sed she puts jelly in her Ϻ patbingsoo, n' that it's chinese jelly.   i figure, since there's lots'f chinese/taiwanese ppl as well as korean n' indian in our neighbourhood, she wants to know how she can better market n' sell to the chinese/taiwanese ppl here.   yah, she sed she'll try litchi.   i noticed that they sell litchi milk tea there.

[later] 919p: we left the park after a while cos it was chilly n' kaela sed our picnic table was gross.   she pted out that both she n' sooni were itching to get out'f there n' that only i was wanting to sit there.   i considered going off to $hop 4 that dyson animal vacuum cleaner, but i felt that kaela n' i both found the idea'f driving 'round looking @ pri¢es to be very archaic n' so outmoded by the advent'f the internet, rt?   after we came home from the park, kaela, sooni, n' i all fell asleep.   kaela fell asleep on the couch, i fell asleep on the chiropraktic table, n' sooni fell asleep on the floor.   a li'l later when i woke up on the chiropraktice table, i went to bed 4 a short nap.   no, i guess i slept 4 almost 2 hrs, so it wasn't 2 short'f a nap.   i slept from ~500p to ~700p.   then i woke my @$$ up n' did yardwerk 4 the next 2 hrs.   the sun sure stayed us late these days, n' that's kewl 4 yardwerk, i s'ppose.   u know what?   ever since i got back from taiwan i've been locked up in my office 4 such long hrs that i didn't notice @ all how the days've gotten sooo long.   i don't wanna miss these long days btwn spring n' summer, do i?   well, i did lots'f yardwerk.   i wanted to mow the backyard lawn, but un4tunately, i set the sprinkler timer clock wrong, so the sprinkler goes off @ 530p instead'f 530a.   w/ our elektric mower, i figured i shouldn't risk elektrocution w/ mowing a wet lawn.   instead, i trimmed trees n' pulled many, many weeds.

it was very, very windy 2day.   i'll proceed to share some fotos:
 
these 2 pix'f kaela were taken on the same afternoon.
it may appear that she changed outfits; but no, she just wore lots'f layers cos'f the chilly wind.

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greybrowngreybrowngrey
when we got home, kaela, sooni, n' i each fell asleep, rt?
  i fell asleep on the chiropraktic table.

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i spent the evening doing yardwerk in the backyard.
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c'mon! real guys don't take pix holding stoopid, li'l flowers!

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i admit... our backyard / sideyard has way 2 many weeds.
yesterday, sooni got a bath, so 2day she insisted on sittin' in the dirt, rt? *sigh*

on fri nite i didn't take a shower.   i didn't ge to take a shower till sat nite.   sooni was a cleaner than i was on sat. ha ha.


2005.06.06

can i do 30.min entries?

900p, mon: i'm home.   i eating leftover ramyuhn (ramen) that the beautiful kaela hwang made 4 lunch 2day.   she has finals n' midterms rt now.   she stayed @ home until after lunch.   she's @ her office studying rt now.   me, i had a very, very full_day@werk.com.   i made sure i had a li'l time during lunch to werkout in the company gym.   i ate some salad from the cafeteria salad bar 4 lunch.   i ate @ my desk, in my cube.   is that depressing?   i think 1nce upon a time, employees never ate in their cubicles but always ate in the cafeteria or in break rooms.   not nemore...   i haven't had the chance to go out to lunch in a long time, huh?   i've been very bizzy@werk.com, as u know.   i werked a full day then drove to the intersektion'f bascom ave n' camden ave to go to guitar showcase's audio rental shop to reserve equipment 4 alice n' will's wedding.   that was aktually quite a relaxing drive, i s'ppose.   lately, i don't drive very much, nor very far; just to werk n' back, u know?   it's been ages since i had the luxury'f hittin' up the bally's gym!   i'd sure like to.   well, after leaving guitar showcase, i hit up longs drugs.   sometimes stuff is ¢heaper @ longs drugs than @ safeway, like nivea men's facial cleanser rt now.   it retails 4 $6.49 @ longs but $8.49 @ safeway.   unbelievable!   i usually think'f longs drugs as a more up$cale drugstore in comparison to walgreens n' rite.aid.   well, shoot, as a kid, i thought'f target as a ¢heap store; but i now i realise that it's ¢heaper 4 1 to do all his/her $hopping @ big lots, but not very praktical, i guess.   i used lots'f coupons 2nite.

2day or else yesterday, i came up w/ the idea'f writing only 30 min journal entries.   can i do it?   i hope so.   i can't sacrifice so much time to writing journal entries, so i hope i can.   i'd like to include more pix, but it takes long time to crop n' resize pix 4 the web.

[a li'l later] 921p: i fed sooni her new nutro natural choice ultra doggy fud.   we bought it @ pet fud express on sat.   it's some really hi.end doggy fud.   it's not ¢heap but 'least ¢heaper than royal canin, which is hecka expen$ive.   u know, i have links on my webpage that give me kickbacks when ppl buy stuff thru 'em, rt?   well, in the end, it's pretty much just me using them.   in the past, i got pretty good di$counts by buying from my own buy.com link; but i found out just now that buy.com stopped doing this affiliate program.   nuts.   now, u know what's gonna be my best $$$.making link?   $hutterfly!!!   they pay me a decent commission 4 each sale, n' i do like ordering prints'f my digipix, rt?   rt.   yah, i hope i get lots'f $$$ from 'em.   well... heh, it's all just chump change!

925p: only 5 more mins to write this journal entry.   my eyes've been so strained these days from werking 2 much.   2nite, i bought some cod liver oil capsules, or whatever, to ameliorate that, i hope.   *shrug*   i've always had good eyes, prob'ly from my mutha's genes, i guess.   i'd like to keep my eyes.

recently, kaela completed a couple'f her co$t.reduktion aktion items: 1) she called up sbc yahoo! n' changed our dsl plan to a normal, affordable 1, n' 2) she called up verizon n' downgraded her cellfon plan.   that's great.   we need some co$t reduktions 'round here.   *sigh* so am i gonna buy a dyson animal?   am i gonna buy us a pair'f new dressers?   am i gonna buy a elektric hedge trimmer?   am i gonna buy us some patio furniture @ ikea's outdoor furniture sale that ends 2 soon.   i think we've already missed that sale... well, it prob'ly ends 2morrow, but i definitely don't have time to attend.   am i gonna buy myself a new car stereo, 1 that plays mp3s?   i really need that.   ok, i have just 1 min to write, so i'll just sign off here, 929p.


2005.06.10

2chez

ݿ , fri eve, 623p: i'm still@werk.com.   i haven't had time to updatechu guys in a long time... well, a relatively long time.   2day's my older sista grace's b.day.   happy b.day, grace.   she used to stop by this page now n' then, but i doubt she has time these days.   'tis ok; i don't have time to update it, eh? ha ha.   well, i hope she does sumpthin' fun 4 her b.day.   last wknd, she agreed to do sumpthin' w/ me this wknd.   i hope she still can.

well, shoot, it's been a bizzy_day@werk.com of course.   1 nice thing was that the beautiful kaela hwang was aktually able to come out n' have lunch w/ me.   we went to this nearby vietnamese restaurant in sunnyvale off'f lawrence expwy near (the) 101 called 2chez.   clever name, huh?   yah, we'd notice the name many times in the past.   it's s'pposed to be vietnamese n' french restaurant, thus the name; but i didn't c nething french on the menu.   kaela ordered that grilled chicken noodle salad thingy, which had some good, crispy chicken; n' i had that egg/meat cake thingy w/ shredded pork over "crushed" rice.   it was all very tasty.   i guess we hadn't eaten vietnamese fud in a while.   we've been cooking @ home 'lot tho'.   this wk, i made some dduhkbokki.   kaela cooked some turkey spam pasta yesterday.   we've been using up the pyogo / shiitake shrooms.

fry's has this sony 16x16 dual format, dual layer external dvd writer 4 $159.99 - $30mir = $129.99.   cos i need to burn digital dled musik 4 my djing bizness, i'm wondering if i need to buy this in order to connekt to my laptop, which doesn't have a burner.   :-? i know i gotta be careful 'bout gadgetlust n' that i'd prefer to $pend $$$ on home things rt now such as a new pair'f bdrm dressers or dyson animal vacuum.   i dunno.   also, what i really need rt now's a new car stereo, 1 that plays mp3s.

[later] 1120p: i came home a li'l while 'go from grx t3s bible study.   kaela stayed @ home to study.   well, i came home n' she's watching charlie's angels full throttle 'gain, but... well, bible study was kewl.   it's great to talk w/ friends.   i feel that in recent wks or months, i just haven't had 'nuff interaktion w/ ppl, u know that?   it's sad.   i miss ppl. ha ha ha.

so what else is up?   i dunno; but i'm just wondering what to do 2morrow, i guess.   i'm trying to plan in my head my the wknd, rt?   *sigh* well, i figure i'll do lots'f dj stuff, try to exercise, $hop 4 things... *sigh* dude, am i gonna accomplish all this?   did i accomplish last wknd all i set out to do? *shrug*

on snapfish, i can get free $hipping w/ the "Celebrate" coupon code.


2005.06.12

choosing a vacuum sucks!

Ͽ 316p: *sigh* i guess i'm still pondering buying that dagnabbed dyson animal dc14 hotrod vacuum cleaner cos it's the only 1 that ppl say vacuums up pet hair well.   here's a link to just some review 'bout it: http://www.pocket-lint.co.uk/review.php?reviewId=579.   consumer reports magazine a long time 'go, gave the standard dyson dc07 a mediocre review.   that's a drawback.   mike yee's gf vivian has 1'f those standard, yellow dc07s, n' we were talkin' 'bout it 1 nite a long time 'go.   mike knew 'bout consumer reports's mediocre review n' listed it as its main con/negative.   vivian sed it's a li'l loud but pretty good.   what does this online review from 20040909 say?   ok, they say 1 con/negative's that it doesn't have an automatic cable recoil system.   true, that would be nice, n' i've cn it on other similarly overpri¢ed, european vacuum cleaners, but our ol', li'l euro.pro stick shark doesn't have that either.   the 2nd'f 2 gripes the review mentions is that the hose is long n' those sometimes unwieldy.   yesterday @ best buy, i checked the box n' saw that it's made in malaysia.   how's that? *shrug* lots'f elektronics these days r made in malaysia.     ok, now i'm reading epinions.   what do ppl say there?   "it is not user friendly."   "'pet hair' attachment does not remove pet hair from furniture.   wand awkward in tight spaces."   "a bit heavy"   "trouble with low reach tool and animal attachment."   "price beater bar" :-? what does that mean?   it sure is expen$ive.   is that what that means?   do u realise just how expen$ive this sucker (literally) is?   it retails @ $549 n' pretty much's always $549.   that's outrageous n' makes u furious, doesn't it?   i'm sure.   more cons: "turbine head does not work.   a automatic [sic] cord retractor would be great."   "spinning brush makes awful noise when clogged until it's cleared."   "lack of attachment storage, no retractable cord, price."   "expensive, sound of telescope attachment, and hard to move wheels on some carpets."   "price (even though it is worth it, so far)"   "price. power tools and accessories have to stored away [sic] from vacuum."   "expensive unless you have a store that gives deals."   "price, but if you want the best..."   "price & animal attachment - oesn't remove pet hair from furniture, strange way of attaching."   "price."   "expenisve, but after you buy 10 of the cheap ones, its [sic] all the same."   "the price....."   "vacuum wand needs a bit getting used to..."   "price is steep."   "not a place to put all the attachments..."   "the pet hair attachment leaves much to be desired."   "somewhat pricey but for the quality you get, it is hard to beat!"   "expensive but well worth it!!!!" confusing cos this person rated it 1 star out'f 5 n'gave a "pros" comment'f "tremendous suction power, long cord, great attachments!"   *sigh* well, most'f the reviews list "great suction" as a pro.   *sigh*   ok, what 'bout this review'f the dc07 on consumerguide.com: http://products.consumerguide.com/reviews/product.epub?productId=26333   how 'bout this link? http://www.consumersearch.com/www/house_and_home/upright-vacuum-reviews/reviews.html   this page cms to be a search engine'f produkt reviews.   it has a link to some consumer reports article.   hrm, it sez u need to pay to read that article.   ok, well, it links to a good housekeeping article: http://magazines.ivillage.com/goodhousekeeping/consumer/appliances/articles/0,,284519_290094,00.html - "the best new upright vacuums" &nbbsp; good housekeeping gives "the best upright vacuum overall" award to hoover's savvy u8145-900, which sells 4 $279.99.   i think consumer reports gave their "best upright vacuum" award to some eureka vacuum.   however, none'f these magazine articles really say if their top winner's ne good @ picking up pet hair!   that really frustrates me.   yah, online, the only links i can find 'bout vacuuming pet hair go on to mention the dyson vacuum cleaners.   ok, good housekeeping gives their "top value" award to the eureka boss 5855, that selss 4 $129.99.   'gain, no mention'f pet hair!   ok, there's 1 other vacuum cleaner whose name has come up more than 1nce 2day; that's the oreck xl21, which sells 4 $699.   s'pposedly, u can get some kind'f pet hair attachment 4 it, but i haven't yet read 1 good thing 'bout it.

[later] 521p: i haven't been spending the whole afternoon lusting over vacuum cleaners, no.   rather, i've been werking on muzik 4 alice n' will's wedding next sat.   i'm organising muzik, timing the speed (bpm)'f songs, timing the duration'f songs, finding places to cut in n' out, etc.   this is what a real dj does.

neway, in our hallway bathroom's magazine rack, i found that consumer reports that discusses vacuum cleaners.   it also discusses palm n' pocket pc based handhelds/pdas.   heh, that's 'nother'f my favourite topiks, but that issue came out b4 the release'f the palmone tungsten t5 that i currently own n' use.   the beautiful kaela hwang bought that device 4 me 4 christmas last yr.   i use it 'lot, of course.   the article tries to give 1'f the sony cliés the best rating, but we all know that sony's since stopped making cliés, so that's a "moot" pt; is that what u call it? *shrug*   well, in ne case, it's a useless pt.   so... what was the consumer reports favourite vacuum?   'twas the eureka boss smart vac ultra 4870 that sells 4 $140.   well, 'least that was their "best buy" choice.   i guess, their #1 upright vacuum choice was hoover's windtunnel self propelled ultra u6439-900, u6436-900, u6437-900, or u6433-900.   i dunno the diffs btwn the diff model nums.   it sez they sell 4 $300.   *sigh* whatchu think?   their #2 pick was the kenmore (sears) progressive w/ direkt drive 31912 or 31913, which sells 4 $230.   that eureka boss smart vac ultra 4870 that was their best buy ws their #3 pick, followed by the eureka ultra whirlwind 4885 or 4880, which sells 4 $250.   the dyson dc07 dind't come in until #10.   yah, as i sed, i already knew well that consumer reports didn't have the best things to say 'bout it.   others know that as well, as i sed.   [later] 550p: ok, here's a link to a pets forum that talks 'bout vacuums: http://www.terrificpets.com/forum/14765.asp   they all cm to like the standard, yellow dyson dc07.   1 person sed that the significantly ¢heaper euerekas were ok or maybe even better.   however, most were still going w/ the hyped up dyson.   *sigh*   yah, it's funny that when i google up "eureka boss smart vac ultra" pet hair, i still mostly get only links 'bout the dyson vacuum cleaners.   dude! talk 'bout hype!!!   hrm, well, 1 1 thing i think i'm learning is that there's no big advantage to buying the animal versus the 1 that they sell @ costco that has all the attachment neway but isn't marketed as an "animal."   hrm... i c.   thus, that's 1 piece'f hype that i can sort'f throw out.   yah, it sucks that u can't really choose the colour, that the colour depends on which option u buy. :-/   the eureke cms to come in green or red, but i'm not sure.

[a li'l later] 610p: ok, here's a great article from businessweek: "dyson's magic carpet ride: the expensive vacuum cleaners' growing legion of fans ignore the decidedly mixed reviews -- and urge their friends to ignore them, too."   yah, this article acknowledges the mediocre reviews from consumer reports n' good housekeeping n' sez that the company relies on wurd'f mouth referrals instead'f expen$ive advertising to sell their produkts.   that's funny cos even tho' mike n' vivian cm to like the dyson dc07, they don't obsessively love it like the dude who posted online: "if jesus were a vacuum, he'd be a dyson... this dyson is truly the messiah of vacuum cleaners.   in fact, when this one dies, i intend to nail it to a cross in my backyard, so that i can spend the rest of my life worshiping it. . . if this vacuum cleaners were a woman, i would marry it. . . i have recentl updated my will so that all my worldly possessions will be left to my dyson vacuum cleaner. . .   i also legally changed my last name to dyson. . .   i used to be a depressed loner, but now, thanks to this dyson, i am a social butterfly again!   i take my dyson to fine restaurants and the opera house.   we dance the night away at the swankiest discos.   i even knitted her a little yellow dress.   she laughs at all my witty jokes."   dude, this "donny dyson" dude is quite obsessed, huh?   me? i've devoted so much time to researching this machine but still feel i might buy sumpthin' totally diff.   seriously! i might still go 4 sumpthin' like the eureka 4870.   [later] 643p: another dog forum brought up an important pt: some'f these ¢heaper vacuums may have a lower intial co$t, but the co$t'f new filters really adds up!   just think: our euro.pro stick shark co$t ~$60, but each new filter's ~20, n' u gotta replace the filter often!!! i wouldn't recommend the euro.pro stick shark nemore, n' i noticed that bestbuy stopped selling it.   dude, while reading these websites, 'bout 90%'f the recommendations r 4 the dyson.   it's an amazing phenomenon, huh?   well, i explain it as this: after u've just shelled out $500 4 a vacuum, u want n' maybe need to justify urself!   the dysons r made in malaysia, as we know.   where r the eurekas made? [later] 712p: here's the epinions 'bout the eureka 4870dt: http://www.epinions.com/Eureka_4870DT_Omega_Upright_Vacuum_Home_Cleaning_System_Vacuum_Cleaners/display_~reviews.   [later] 726p: eventually, i've gotta mow the backyard lawn b4 the sun goes down.   so... some ppl have sed that this ¢heaper eureka is ok on pet hair.   that's reassuring.


2005.06.13

cookie monster (it's an ol' jenny thing song.)

mon morn: no time to blog/journal 2day, rt?   got lots'f werk2do@werk.com, n' there's just a few days left till will n' alice's wedding. ..  so many family events lately.   i 4got 4 a moment that next sun's father's day.   no time to discuss stoopid vacuum cleaners, altho' we still desperately need a newer, more powerful vacuum, 1 more powerful than our wimpy euro.pro stick shark that wasn't a bad vacuum when we bought it but uses expen$ive filters that need frequent changing.   i should buy more filters @ amazon asap.   i need to buy a new car stereo, 1 that plays mp3s.   from what i just read online @ wikipedia.org, i'm guessing that stores typically charge ~$114 4 installation, but i know that best buy's s'pposed to offer free installation on stuff over $100, rt?   i looked @ 1 sony mp3 cd receiver on sat, when the beautiful kaela hwang n' i were @ the santana row best buy after luncheoning @ thea mediterranean restaurant... uh, it's a greek restaurant.   it's overpri¢ed but good.   if i use the strikt standards i use @ dine.com, then i'd give it only 3 stars @ most, but that's on my more generous side, as i'm a tuff_critic@dine.com.

[later} so, in u2's "vertigo," why does bono yell en español '1, 2, 3, 14'?!?!?!   [a li'l later] a long time 'go 1'f my friends told me 'bout a saturday night live skit where a fake bono's interviewed on spanish.language tv 'bout that.   i think 'twas phil huang that told me 'bout that.   did i ever c that skit?   i don't think so.   {later] this morn, i drank a full 1.litre'f diet coke just 4 the taste'f it   a while 'go, i won a free 1.litre'f diet coke from a 16 or 20.oz bottle i bought from a_vending_machine@werk.com   that was the hilite'f that somewhat dismally_frustrating_day@werk.com, i 'member.   neway, we don't have many beverages @ home rt now, n' i knew i'd have a li'l bit'f a ruff morn.   this past wknd, i dunno if i got everything done that i needed to get done.   it was finally a hot wknd more typical'f the sobay in june.   this yr, we've had abnormally cool weather altho' a bit tropical as i keep saying.   the swelteringly hot n' relatively dry weather made us lethargic.   it lethargicised us.   i slept decently but not in excess (inxs) this wknd.   i had lots'f family aktivities, as u c.   also, i had lots'f djing stuff to do 4 alice n' will's wedding.   i can't find my cd'f classik jazz.   i think i bought it 4 andy wang's bro's wedding a long time 'go.   it's a very good compilation'f stuff like etta james, louis armstrong, etc.   i'm scared that i've gotta run out to bascom to pick up a new copy.   *sigh* stuff like that, i've gotta backup into mp3 if nuthin' else.   it was a very useful collektion 4 weddings.   i also need to buy some more'f these recent pop muzik tracks like all this gwen stefani stuff.   4 gwen, i've debated whether to buy the aktual cd or buy digital downloads.   i just worry that i'll have probs w/ dling the licenses 4 the digital downloads n' then burning the tracks to cd. *sigh* that's the prob w/ all this "legal" music download cr@p.   everything was much easier when it was all just free on the net.   audiogalaxy n' kazaa rocked.   b4 that, i briefly used napster b4 'twas shutdown.   b4 that, i used some mp3.com or audiofind.com site.   geez, i can't believe i drank a whole litre'f caffeinated diet coke w/ aspartame.   that's absolutely awful!   new diet coke has splenda or 'least sucralose instead'f aspartame.   is it called sucralase or sucralose???   2day's kaela's dead day n' she's gonna luncheon w/ me.   where n' what should we eat?   i'm @ a loss'f ideas.   perhaps sumpthin' korean?

[later} ohoo/afternoon: kaela n' i ate spicy, cold noodles@ jangtuh soondae.   i just overheard the michael jackson verdikt playing over streaming kgo radio audio or maybe audio+video from a cowerker's cube.   i checked kpix, then cnn, n' finally msnbc to get good coverage.   in the end, msnbc gave me the best coverage.   wow, so michael jackson's innocent, eh?   or... 'least "not guilty."   wow, i'm surprised.   i mean, it's nice to know he's not guilty, but well... not that i had condemned him in my mind or nething, but i had a feeling that he was guilty, but that feeling was wrong.   wow.   yah, i heard my cowerker express his similar surpise.   he sed sumpthin' like "unbelievable! un#@*%ingbelievable!" or sumpthin' like that.

this past wknd, what happened?   dude, when was the last time i updatedchu?   *shrug* uhm, what did i say 'bout the end'f last wk???   uh... well, i missed taekwondo sparring praktice on thurs nite cos i was bizzy werking.   on fri eve, i left werk @ a decent hr, ready to go to grx t3s couples small grp.   i ate some leftover turkey spam pasta 4 dinner w/ kaela (leftover from thurs nite) @ home b4 i went alone to the bible study.   the summer skedule's hektic.   basically, i won't attend bible study 4 the next 3 wks.   this coming fri, i have the wedding rehearsal to attend.   the following wk, kaela n' i go to tahoe 4 some conference she has.   the wk after that is the 4jx2005 (4th'f july) wknd, so the bible study's on brk.   kaela has finals this wk, n' she'll then have a 3 wk brk.   ne vakation 4 us? *sigh* *shrug* it's so hard to plan sumpthin' so last min.   i dunno how much i've discussed this here, but she's planning to go w/ her skool's athletic council or club thingy to volunteer @ the kona ironman triathlon in oktober, so i'm planning to go w/ her 4 that.   that'll be our big vakatino this yr, i s'ppose.   i dunno, man.   i'm not much'f a traveler.   i guess i never ask to travel many places, n' i don't initiate many travel plans.   the only thing i push 4 r snowtrips n' snowboarding daytrips.   [a li'l later] neway, so what happened this wknd?!   well, on sat morn, kaela was s'pposed to go volunteer @ some chiropraktic clinic but slept in instead.   originally, while she went to volutneer, i was planning on getting everything done: all my errands, some good exercise, housewerk, yardwerk, maybe even hang out w/ nelson or sumpthin'.   well, in the end, i didn't do much in the morn.   i might've gotten started on a li'l bit'f my musik/dj stuff 4 the wedding.   in the early afternoon, i brought kaela to santana row, where we luncheoned @ thea.   didn't i talk 'bout this already?   i believe i did.   we also ate chocochip cookie dough aisukuriimu in a waffle bowl @ ben & jerry's.   i like that company.   later, i left kaela @ santana row to study n' went to almaden valley, where i 1st looked 4 a musik stand @ my mom's house 4 the wedding but didn't find it.   i picked up other things.   then i went to will's parents' house n' discussed important wedding stuff w/ will, alice, n' nelson.   then i picked kaela up from santana row.   earlier, my dad called me n' sed we could have dinner w/ him n' sue; so i rushed to pick up kaela, n' we met up w/ them in milpitas n' dined @ darda.   kaela n' i ate 2 much on sat.   @ the larkspur landing hotel that my dad n' sue were staying @ that nite, they gave out some free, freshly baked, chocochip cookies, so we took some w/ us.   to our dismay, as i dozed off on the couch later, after watching kbs's music bank, sooni found her way into that bag that was on the kitchen floor n' she ate those 3 cookies!!!   that's bad!   dogs shouldn't eat chocolate!!! n' they surely shouldn't eat their owner's chocochip cookies!   however, since i was asleep when it happened, we couldn't really discipline her 4 it cos by that time, she'd already 4gotten what she did.   that's how doggies r.   the slightly funny thing's that i awoke on the couch to kaela's asking me, "did u eat the cookies?"   later when i inspekted the scene'f the crime i saw ripped up, chewed up napkins on the ground soaked in drool.   uhm... ha ha! even if i had eaten the cookies, i don't think i would've eaten'em like that!!!   it's upsetting that sooni ate our cookies cos it's a really strong symboli offense to us, u know? disrespekt'f our authority.   i told kaela that we haven't been spending 'nuff time w/ her.   in that sense, she's becoming a problem child that doesn't get 'nuff time w/ her parents, rt?   however, she's still a good doggy in gen'l.   on sun n' 2day, there was this sheepdog on the loose on the nearby big street.   i think it escaped n' that the owners r on vakation.   those cookies smelled just as awesome as they tasted, so man... that was unfair temptation on our part, i say.   *sigh* oh yah, on sat, my mom gave us some batzang 4 the batzang festival.   she told us to eat 1 on sat nite; so, even tho' kaela n' i were soooo full from dinner, we ate 1.   can u believe that?   it was very good.


2005.06.14

everybody's free (to wear sunscreen)

ȭ ħ: ȳ ϼ.   ?   ƿ.   ?   .   i didn't finish my wknd update yesterday, nope.   on sun, the beautiful kaela hwang n' i went to grx church 4 the early service.   we were less late than usual but still late.   i walked sooni a li'l in the morn.   i saw a loose sheepdog out on the street.   oh yah, i discussed that already.   well, i didn't c it this morn, but we didn't walk that direktion.   hey, didju know that after applying sunscreen, u should give it 20~30 mins to dry b4 going outside???   i didn't know that!   uh.oh.   in the morn, i often wake up, get ready, then put on sunscreen rt b4 taking sooni 4 her morn walk.   uh.oh!   *sigh* oh well...   neway, suh... after church, we went out to dim sum @ joy luck place to celebrate my sister's b.day.   that was good.   that was really good dim sum.   altho' i'm kewl w/ canton delites, which is less crowded n' a li'l ¢heaper (i think), i've gotta admit that joy luck place's a li'l better.   it was awesome.   after lunch, kaela n' i walked 'round 99 ranch n' then bought some bbang from shengkee.   what did we do later?   uhm, :-/   i think we just stayed home, rt?   i werked on dj stuff, n' kaela studied, rt? *shrug* later, just b4 the sun went down, i mowed the backyard lawn.

yesterday, i werked of course; yesterday's being mon n' all.   kaela n' i went to lunch @ as i sed.   after werk, n' i werked decently late (not to brag but just to dokument), i went to the bally's gym n' then to rasputin records.   after that, i was really hungry, so i went thru the mcdrive (mc yuk yuk's drive.thru) n' bought a hamburger happy meal w/ 꽺 oreinji jyooseu as a beverage.   i meant to get the cr@ppy orange drink, but the dude heard me wrong, n' i was fine w/ that cos, really, 꽺 oreinji jyooseu is healthier altho' pri¢ier.   [later] neway, in getting mcdrive, i was sort'f foolish cos i'd 4gotten we had so much leftovers @ home.   well, since a hamburger happy meal, even w/ all the fries, isn't that big, when i got home i ate a batzang n' a white peach.   dude, the batzang's really good.

{later] 1033p: so during lunch i went to costco.   man, it was sort'f a pain in the butt, as it was so crowded.   dude, every1 goes to costco during lunch here in the silly valley. *sigh* neway, i just bought bottled h2o, odwalla 꽺 oreinji jyooseu, n' a 99¢ bag'f bananasٳٳٳ.   i looked @ vacuum cleaners @ costco: they have the dyson animal "full kit" 4 $429.99.   they have a much ¢heaper eureka 4 $139.99, but it's made in china.   they have a hoover windtunnel 4 ~$250, n' that's made in mexico n' comes w/ lots'f good stuff.   i can imagine buying that 'cept i've heard lots'f ppl say that the hoover windtunnel vacs break down 'lot, 'specially the rubber band thingy.   u know what i've noticed??? online, ppl love the dyson vacuum cleaners n' say it's reliable while complaining that others r unreliable.   @ the same time, magazines say that the dyson's unreliable n' not worth it.   u know?   it's so weird.   it's the wurd'f fellow consumers v. the wurd'f publikations.   *sigh* it's really weird.   i mean, i guess these somewhat consumer.oriented magazines like consumer reports n' good housekeeping r anti.dyson cos'f the whole "paying 4 image n' looks" thing.   true.   i feel like buying a dyson's a real "label.whore" thing.   *sigh* that discourages me from buying it, yah.   however, is it the best vacuum???   what's the best vacuum?!   i really need to know.   i don't care 'bout the label.   i... i care a li'l 'bout the pri¢... ok, more than just "a li'l."   however, i do need a good vacuum.   i can't go on using this wimpy euro.pro stick shark that needs new filters all the time.   oh, that reminds me that i've gotta go buy new filters from amazon.   oh yah, i should put up a "sponsor" link to itunes cos i might hafta buy some stuff from them soon cos'f the wedding dj muzik thing.   *sigh* i dunno whether to go w/ itunes or sumpthin' like real rhapsody. *sigh* i hear they're both good.

oh yah, yesterday, @ the gym, i discovered that i lost 'nother padlock.   i wonder if i can find it @ my werk gym's lost n' found.   well, i should buy a multi.pack'f padlocks, man.   i looked 2day @ costco but didn't find ne.

after werk 2day, i rushed home, picked up sooni n' went to taekwondo praktice.   we kicked paddles.   when i came home, i cooke da turkey burger patty on the stove n' ate it w/ toasted whole fuds "seeduction" bread.   that bread has lots'f seeds, thus the name.   it's good stuff.

during the short time b4 i went to praktice, while i was home, i quickly turne don the tv to kbs.   it'd been a long, long time since i found time to watch tv in the early evening.   i saw that kbs's now playing the english subtitled rerun'f a drama called 18, 29 (, ȩ / yuhlyuhduhlb, seumoolahob).   i haven't yet watched that drama.

some guy named chris signed my gbook.   thanks, man.   innova doggy fud?   no, sooni hasn't yet tried innova doggy fud.   it sounds expen$ive.   is it more expen$ive than nutro ultra?   well, shoot, we just 'bout what... 70 lbs(?)'f nutro ultra... so i guess sooni'll hafta wait to try innova, but i'm up 4 letting her try it.

also, the beautiful kaela hwang graced us w/ her presence on my gbook.   thank u.   i should change the questions asap!

now, time 4 some pix:

Ȳ
sooni... i mowed the lawn on sun.
this pic's from fri, b4 i mowed the lawn; so u c lots'f long grass.

  ij̶ Ȳ
kaela @ thea greek restaurant in santana row on sat, 20050611

 + Ȳ = Ű Ȳ
keno@santanarow.com




2005.06.15

this past wknd was warm.

ħ: w/ will n' alice's wedding rapidly approaching, this wk's flying by.   i'm sure it's flying even faster 4 the aktual bride n' groom n' not just their dj, rt?   ha ha.   *sigh* this wknd n' the early 0.5'f this wk, the weather really warmed up here in the silly valley.   i guess we finally broke 80°f, rt?   had we broken 80°f b4 this yr, 2005?   it's been cooler than normal this yr.   i wish i could believe that it's some kind'f reversal'f global warming, rt?   wouldn't that be nice?   when do those scientist type ppl say we're due 4 'nother ice age?   when that time comes, can i snowboard in the silly valley hills?   that'd be kewl.   ha ha ha.   *sigh* on mon, i took the snowboard rack off my millenium forestermillenium forester!.   i'm hwang solo.   i have princess kaela, as u know.   now i also have my wookie; that'd be sooni!!!   isn't that hilarious?   ha ha ha.   well, i guess i can amuse myself 4 hrs.   that's what toby's mom sez 'bout me.   this morn, i woke up decently early, yet i didn't get to werk that early.   i s'ppose that's cos i gave sooni a really good walk n' also ate a decent brkfast.   i had 2 peanut butter n' blueberry jelly sandwiches n' a homemade berry.orange smoothie.   i also put 'way the somewhat recently washed dishes from the dish rack.   ("dishrack" or "dish rack"?)   the least fun part'f cooking's chopping stuff, n' the least fun part'f washing dishes is putting them 'way, rt?   think 'bout how u can use the dishwasher (the dishwashing machine) to wash ur dishes, but u don't have a machine that puts the dishes back into the cupboards!

neway, dude; it sounds like i don't have much good to write 'bout so far 2day.   i was reading in this magazine from our friends' financial company that journalling can be very therapeutic.   howeever, some author who wrote a book on the topik sez that it's good to help u thru transitions in life but not so good on a permanent basis.   u think so?   if so, it's cos it's a waste'f time, true.   well, i don't wanna waste time, so i'll pause here.


2005.06.17

vacuum issue escalated

ݿ ħ": it's raining in june.   we're having really weird weather this yr!   the beautiful kaela hwang's done w/ her finals n' now has 3 wks'f brk.   now that she's back to helping out w/ the housewerk, she's realised how urgently we need a new vacuum.   thus this "issue" has "escalated."   i'm considering buy the dc07 dyson full kit w/ this 10% off entire order @ overstock.com link that also gives me a li'l kickback, u know?   it's $319.99 there w/ free s&h   they also have the hoover windtunnel 4 $199.99, which sounds like a better deal, but the reviews'f the refurbished units say that 1) they tend to brk n' that 2) they r made in china.   true??? *shrug* the units i saw @ costco r made in mexico. &nsbp; i know 4 sure that the dysons r made in malaysia, 4 better or worse.   the other option's to pick either'f these guys up @ costco.   the dyson dc07 full kit's $429.99 there, rt?   the hoover? it's like in the ~$250 range.

2nite's will n' alice's wedding rehearsal @ stanfurd.   2morrow's the wedding.   i've gotta take care'f these things 1st.   sun's father's day.   life's hektic.   next wknd, kaela n' i've gotta go to tahoe 4 that conference thingy she has.   the wknd after that's the 4th'f july.   ken really wants us to drive down to las vegas n' stay @ the house he has there.


2005.06.19

23rd monthversary n' father's day

Ͽ 616p: it's sunday evening.   it's been a bizzy wknd w/ will n' alice's wedding.   ernest kuo, thanks 4 signing my recently updated gbook.   i 4got to announce to my gen'l readership that i recently updated my gbook questions.   plz take some time to answer the new questions n' sign my gbook! :-)   well, yah... 'twas a bizzy wknd.   on fri, i had a hektic, hektic day @ werk.   the beautiful kaela hwang stayed home, since she has a 3.wk brk from skool, n' cooked lunch 4 me, while iw as @ werk.   she cooked ġ  kimchi jjigae.   i could barely get out'f my cube long 'nuf to come home to eat.   i was rather stressed.   i prayed 'bout my werk.   well, things turned out ok by the end'f the day.   i mean... i still have lots'f werk to do all the time, but well, things werk out, i guess.   *shrug* well, after werk, we went to will n' alice's reahearsal dinner.   i got out'f werk 2late 4 us to attend the aktual rehearsal @ the gorgeous stanfurd memorial church, but i had no role in the aktual ceremony neway.   we ended up getting to the rehearsal dinner @ hangen szechuan restaurant @ 134 castro st in mtn view early.   kaela n' i went 4 a walk down beautiful n' interesting castro st.   ok, it might not be as interesting as castro st in sf, but it's certainly got charakter.   u c, mtn view's castro street used to be some kind'f rundown chinatown, but sometime btwn the .com boom n' more recent yrs, it transformed into more'f a yuppie haven w/ asian flair in more than 1 way: i.e., the neighbourhood has authentik asian biznesses such as the boba cafés; n' ryowa japanese ramen house, as well as those asianesque biznesses that really cater more to non.asians who wanna exploit asian culture n' asian ppl 4 fashion's sake.   i mean, count the nombre'f thai restaurants in that neighbourhood!   'twas a beautiful evening w/ plenty'f sushine.   we passed by numerous restaurants w/ gorgeous sidewalk dining 4 doggies.   we hope to return w/ sooni someday.   we strolled into this east west book shop that peddles lots'f overpri¢ed asianesque stuff like yoga n' buddhism books, taichi n' chigong videos, lots'f mass.produced fake asian relics n' idols, n' plenty'f incense.   heh, i don't mean to rag on the store 2 much.   i'm sure the owners r good ppl, but it's slightly humourous to c stuff like this.   well, shoot, what kaela n' i found most humourous was their ragtag, mishmash vhs rental sektion, where we found this odd video tape titled "self massage" w/ a picture on the back'f a middle.aged chinese man on vigorously touching his crotch. :-?   dude, i feel so bad 4 that guy.   ppl must make fun'f that video n' that pic so much n' so often!   i feel really bad.   they have an interesting shelf full'f gnostic literature n' all these well... "alternative" approaches to christianity.   i dunno, man... i don't necessarily buy all that these books cm to have to say.   i saw various books n' videos that cm to try to say that jesus was really buddhist or hindu etc.   it's very interesting, but i don't buy it @ all.   i respekt freedom'f religion.

well, man... hangen's a great szechuan restuarant.   i think it's somewhat'f a "sleeper," in that from the outside it doesn't look like much, but the fud's pretty good.   it's pretty fancy n' pretty innovative.   yah, the sign on the outside is like several others i saw on castro st, where it looks anachronistic... that is, some'f these signs look like they're from a totally diff era.   like, there's this "oriental" grocery store there that looks so outdated.   like, what kind'f asian person shops @ a rundown corner grocery like that these days?!   most chinese/taiwanese ppl'd opt to go to 99 ranch instead!   i think that grocery store's more like a tourist attraktion 4 non.asians like most things in sf's chinatown.   oh yah, while strolling, kaela n' i walked into this outdated.looking "hong kong bakery" where we bought a couple'f banana rice cakes to snack on.   i hadn't had stuff like that in a while.

well, i stayed up late on fri nite werking on wedding muzik.   nelson came over n' hung out w/ me 4 a li'l.   kaela cut my hair.   on sat morn, i woke up later than i wanted to.   i took sooni w/ me to guitar showcase to pick up the rental audio equipment.   when i returned home, while i werked on dj stuff, kaela went out to ѱ hangook market to pick up some lunch fud.   she got some 붱 bindaedduhk n' gimbap.   well, eventually, we rushed thru crazy traffik over to stanfurd's beautiful memorial church to attend the wedding ceremony.   wow, it's so beautiful there.   sure, as a cal golden bear alum, i hate to say such nice things 'bout our rival, but eh... it's true.   the church is so beautiful, n' the campus looked so beautiful on such a nice day.   well, we rushed out'f there after taking some pix, cos i obviously needed to finish the muzik stuff n' get our @$$es over to the reception/banquet site.   we ended up getting there a li'l early.   i set up the sound equipment mostly by myself.   i was a li'l peeved cos some other guys were s'pposed to show up to help me.   it's ok.   well... the wedding banquet went quite well.   i'm glad.   the muzik went fine.   i was pretty happy, n' i hope every1 else was.   it looked like they had a great time.   nelson, tho', made lots'f ppl drink 'lot, n' thus many ppl were drunk.   there was some couple that was fighting.   i think the guy had done sumpthin' bad w/ some other gurl. *sigh* man... what a mess, in that sense.   yah, it was kind'f bad cos very few guys were sober 'nuff to help me pack up, but eh... it was a paid gig, so i definitely wouldn't complain, nope.   i had fun.   i have 'nother wedding to dj in august.   mark might have me dj his wedding in sept down in l.a.   after last nite, i think i wouldn't mind doing it cos it's fun.   however, i definitely want some1 else to drive my equipment down n' want lots'f guys to help me set up.   i basikally wanna just show up n' dj w/o doing all the roadie werk.   i wanna feel like paul oakenfold... but heh... that's quite a dream, rt?   yah, "dream on!"   ha ha...   *sigh*

well, 2day, i woke up n' took sooni 4 a walk.   kaela n' i woke up early but still got to chruch late. *sigh*   pastor dave had a great sermon 'bout supporting each other in our brokenness.   he pted out that "laying down the law" has never solved nething, in that when u'r brutha or sista in christ has gone thru a hard time or fallen into sin, it never helps to rub it in their faces; never!   he talked 'bout how god provides 4 us, n' so we shouldn't worry, that god provides 4 us thru creation altho' it's sometimes not obvious.   well, after church, duk n' sara came over to our house, n' duk helped me unload my dj stuff.   then my mom came over, n' i took every1 out to lunch @ yiasoo greek restaurant on bascom ave in campbell.   i've always liked that restaurant chain, n' that's the original location that my dad 1st brought me to.   every1 else had gyros sandwiches, but i had their greek burger 4 the 1st time, which is similar to bongo burger's persian burger.   it's good but messy, so i prefer their gyros sandwiches.   after that, kaela n' i went to return the audio equipment.   then, we went to ikea n' bought a shelf to use in our "storage"/guest rm.   we bought a few other things n' ran up a ~$241 total, but i was quite disappointed that we didn't buy a new dresser drawer thingy.   kaela n' i agreed that the top 3 things we need to buy r 1) a new, powerful vacuum, 2) dresser drawers, n' 3) a new car stereo 4 my car.   yah, that's definitely true.   the thing is that i was reading a magazine article lately that told me sumpthin' rather obvious, that i should buy the essential things in life b4 buying other things.   i know how that is.   if i don't buy the important things 1st, it's easy to waste $$$ on unimportant, li'l things that add up n' then prevent me from buying the things i should've been $aving up 4.   lately, i really haven't been buying things like clothes like i used to, nope.

2day's kaela's n' my 23rd wedding monthversary.   ;it's now 703p, n' kaela's been passed out in the passenger seat'f my car in the garage ever since we got back form ikea.   :-/ i dunno when to wake her up.   we should go out n' do sumpthin' 4 our monthversary.


2005.06.20

purchasing

Ϲ 817p: i'm @ my werk gym, stretching.   lately, i $pent lots'f $$$, both my company's $$$ on company things n' my own $$$ on stuff 4 the beautifulkaela hwang n' me.   this morn, i plunked down the_plastik@overstock.com on a refurbished dyson dc07.   i got a great deal, n' i haven't really read nething bad 'bout refurbied/refurbished dysons; so i felt com4table buying it like that.


2005.06.21

summer solstice 2005

ȭ ħ: ȳ.   what's up?   last nite, i fell asleep on the couch while watching sbs korean tv w/ the beautiful kaela hwang.   i was so tired.   yesterday morn, i jogged w/ sooni.   since then, my back's been hurting.


2005.06.22

advertising 4 $pare ¢hange

115a: i got an e.mail 'round midnite that told me that our new, refurbished dyson dc07 vacuum cleaner has shipped.   kewl.   u know what else is kewl?   since i used my own kickback link, i saved 'nother 10% or so.   that means i bought this dyson dc07 full kit 4 ~$265.   it retails @ costco 4 $429.   not bad.   neway, since i'm buying lots'f cr@p these days, more than i should, i've gotta put up some more'f my own links to help myself get kickbacks on these purchases.   u, u2 can use these links to give me a li'l spare change.  

earlier 2nite (yesterday) after taekwondo praktice, after hangin' out w/ mark n' grace n' sooni @ the cupertino fantasia, i discussed w/ the beautiful kaela hwang my idea 4 our 2nd wedding monthversary celebration: monterey n' hearst castle.   kewl, so we're a go, eh?   we ate some goon mandoo (pan.fried potstickers) 4 dinner 2nite (last nite).   4 lunch yesterday, we went to κ myungdong soondubujip.   *sigh* dude, i've gotta go to sleep!   sometime soon, i'd like to share w/ u some more pix, but not 2nite.   "but not tonight" is an awesome song by depeche mode.   it appears on their black celebration album as well as the soundtrack to some 1980s british movie that i've never cn.   it's an awesome song, n' scott wieland'f (the) stone temple pilots (stp) covered it 4 the not another teen movie soundtrack.


2005.06.23

thursday, bloody thursday

mokyoil ohoo, thurs afternoon: i gave blood 4 the 2nd time 2day, 'gain to the stanfurd blood bank @ 'nother blood drive @ my company.   it's great that my company holds thse kinds'f events that show they care 'bout the community, etc.   honestly, i felt a li'l liteheaded after giving blood.   like last time, i spewed out my blood relatively fast.   last time, the pin prick 4 the blood test hurt more than the needle 4 the aktual donation; but this time, the pin prick didn't hurt much, but the needle 4 the donation hurt more.   i dunno why.   after donating blood, i stopped by home 4 a quick lunch.   the beautiful kaela hwang n' i ate the last 2 ba.tzang.

juhnyuhk: [later] i'm still@werk.com, but i'll go home soon.   2morrow, we have a bbq@wer.com 4 my division.   i'm s'pposed to play on our unit's volleyball team.   i don't know nething 'bout playing volleyball n' haven't played in ages.


2005.06.24

never fitting in

ݿ ħ: yesterday evening, after werk, the beautiful kaela hwang n' i went to taekwondo praktice.   i declared that, since i donated blood that day, i wouldn't spar.   kaela n' i just kicked paddles.   well, i dunno why ppl always say "just kicked paddles."   paddle kicking can be good praktice n' great exercise.   paddle kicking is so integral n' perhaps essential to modern "olympik.style" taekwondo.   hrm, in a way taekwondo's quite unique.   ppl easily associate lots'f training equipment w/ modern taekwondo: all the sparring gear, paddles, bags, kick shields...   other, older or "more traditional" martial arts don't have so much training equipment n' perhaps leave u more "to the elements"... is that how u put it?   well, i s'ppose those training methods might cm more "natural."   it's ok, taewkondo's my martial art.

2day i've gotta play volleyball.   while driving into werk this morn, (i dunno why, but...) i thought 'bout how i don't play basketball.   oh yah, i was thinkin 'bout how long i've been djing.   i've been djing professionally 4 13 yrs now.   i've been snowbarding 4 'bout 12 yrs now.   i've been doing taekwondo 4 'bout 12 yrs.   it's funny how the hobbies i had 'round the time i was 18 sort'f stuck w/ me, huh?   well, back then i was so much more into playing guitar than i am now, but i'd love to pick it up 'gain.   neway, i was thinkin' 'bout how i asked mark n' grace if they've found a wedding dj yet, n' grace replied that she has a friend that's been djing 3 yrs but hasn't done ne weddings.   3 yrs may sound respektable, but after i thought 'bout it 4 a few secs rt there @ the table outside fantasia, i realised that i've been djing 4 3 yrs + 10 more.   i think these past few months, i've regained confidence in my djing.   sometimes, i've suffered from low self.esteem in my djing, 'specially cos i don't buy into the whole poseur vinyl scene while the general publik still believes in that façade.   lemme get this straight: vinyl djing is just 4 poseurs that wanna look cool.   these days, w/ modern equipment, u can do everything w/ cds that u can do w/ vinyl n' then some.   djing w/ cds n' mp3s w/ the rt equipment (not that cheesy pc stuff) is much more accurate, n' u can do so much more than w/ records.   neway, as i was saying, i let that whole image scene get to me, n' i'd gotten a li'l bit'f lowered self.esteem over it.   however, i think i'm regaining confidence.   i've been djing professionally longer than i've been werking as an engr.   if there were a ranking system in djing, i'd definitely be some level'f black belt.   neway... my pt here isn't to get all braggadocio 'bout my djing.   rather, my pt here is to talk 'bout how this morning, i was thinking 'bout how i've often gotten low self.esteem cos i don't play basketball, i.e. i'm not a balla.   that's right! i'm not.   4 the past decade or more, i think i've 2 often erroneously measured myself 'gainst the whole asian.am church scene, u know?   it's wrong 4 me to do so.   i shouldn't be out to fit into ne status quo.   jesus wasn't out to fit into ne status quo but turned it all upside.down.   jesus subverted the dominant paradigm.   thru.out all these past 10 or more yrs, while all these other guys were playing basketball, i was doing taekwondo, doing freestyle snowboarding, n' djing.   i shouldn't be ashamed'f these things.   they might make me not fit in w/ the majority crowd.   however, these r the gifts that god gave me.   i should feel blessed.   i should "be not ashamed."   most'f all, however i can, to whatever extent i can, i should glorify god w/ these gifts he's given me.


2005.06.25

cca conference

ħ 955a: i'm in tahoe @ the resort @ squaw crk.   i'm here cos kaela hwang has her cali4nia chiropraktics association (cca) conference here this wknd.   i very rarely come to tahoe in the summer, but don't 4get that i'm not a tourist out here but a local!   *inhalation* ah, smell that beautifully pine green, fresh air!   tahoe rocks!   cali rocks!   i've gotta maintain good posture while 'round this chiropaktics scene/crowd.   kaela n' i drove up yesterday evening n' nite.   we stopped in ritzy, ari$tokratic walnut crk to ogle @ how much nicer the broadway plaza vicinity's gotten in the past 3 yrs, eat dinner @ an awesome sleeper, mediterranean/greek/persian restaurant called pomegranate, n' fill up on overpri¢ed petro (the british wurd 4 gasoline).   we're staying @ a decently pleasant 1 br / 1 ba condo @ northstar village.   it's interesting to us that we're staying @ northstar while kaela's attending this conference @ squaw valley.   in case u'r clueless, these r 2 famous snowboard/ski joints.

[later] 1145a: we're on brk from a seminar re: bidmechanics given by a personal trainer.   c'est interessant ou quelquechose.   je n'sais pas le mot, ou j'ai l'oubliée.   honh honh honh!   je parle en français maintenant.   je n'ai parlais pas français à longtemps... uh, en longtemps?   j'ai oubliée tout, ou j'ai tout oubliée.


2005.06.26

northstar village parking lot

Ͽ ħ, 1048a: we're not @ church 2day but, rather, still in tahoe.   during the snow season, there's s'pposed to be a church service @ northstar on the slopes.


2005.06.27

quit ur steve jobs

ħ, wuhlyoil achim: how's it going?   the beautiful kaela hwang n' i spent the past wknd in tahoe cos'f her california chiropraktic association (cca) conference.   it was pretty fun to be in tahoe in the summer.   however the commute back was awful, so i commented to kaela that it's not really worth it to go to tahoe in the summer.   we have lots'f beautiful nature here in the bay area, so we can just enjoy that in the summer.   while, in the winter, we don't really get snow down here, so it's more worth it to fight vakation traffik up to tahoe in order to snowboard.   it's really crazy how the vakation traffik in the summer is mostly btwn the sacramento area n' tahoe, while in the winter it's mostly btwn the bay area n' tahoe.   well, there's also ppl in the summer vakation traffik that cm to come from the gilroy area.   so most vakationers to tahoe in the winter r from the bay area, while most vakationers to tahoe in the summer r from the sacramento valley or else the gilroy area.   hrm... yah, it's really quite a diff culture, huh?   however, don't 4get, that i'm not part'f the whole snobby, uppercrusty après.ski scene.   rather, to me, snowboarding is a sport.   i'm a wintersport athlete not a ski bum.

[a li'l later} neway, 'nuff 'bout that cr@p...   *sigh* i wanna share w/ u a link to an awesome graduation speech.   i'm stealing/borrowing the link from berny huang.   he showed his friends this link, n' now i wanna show it to u.   i'm sure this link'll be 1'f the most popular links on the internet 4 the next few hrs if not days.   it's an awesome graduation speech.   this link's to the text, the transcription'f the speech.   thus, worry not 'bout having ne kind'f media playa.   it's just an html webpage.   neway, this speech is steve job's graduation speech @ stanurd university this past june 12, 2005.   here's the link: "'you've got to find what you love,' job says" (http://news-service.stanford.edu/news/2005/june15/jobs-061505).   as a cal alum, stanurd's my life.long arch.enemy, but eh... *shrug* ha ha ha.   this is an awesome speech.   plz read it.   i urge u to read it.   berny called it "inspirational."   personally, i feel like i don't really think it's inspirational, but it's sumpthin'.   it's definitely uh... "poignant"???   it's "deep," maybe.

plz read the speech n' then allow me to discuss.   lately, i've been hearing over n' over the msg that we've all gotta find our true callings n' not werk just 4 the $$$ or just 4 the status.   i've been hearing that over n' over.   i've heard it 'lot @ church.   pastor dave @ grx has been saying it 'lot, but other pastors there 2.   i think pastor ed kim was talkin' 'bout it 2, rt?   rt.   u've gotta love what u do, these ppl all say.   yes, they've all been saying it.   others 2.   i hear this msg 'lot.   our pastors say it, n' steve jobs sez it.   i hear it 'lot.   i dunno, man; as much as the "u've gotta love what u do" sounds very rt to me, it also makes me feel uneasy.   like, what does it really mean to "love what u do"???   do i love my career 'nuff?   if not, should i quit n' do sumpthin' else?   should we all quit our jobs n' do sumpthin' else?   if so, when do we stop quitting n' doing sumpthin' else???   *sigh* it's a hard question, isn't it?   or wouldju say it's an easy question???   should we spend hrs n' hrs discussing it n' thus not getting nething else done?   is this "bohemian"?   i dunno; maybe i've felt a li'l bit'f cloudiness in my heart n' mind lately whenever this topik comes up.   b4 i discuss this further, now that i've urged u to read steve job's speech; i also urge u to listen to recent msgs on the grx website.   plz do.   some'f them really direktly address this topik:

uhm, i know there're more, but i don't 'member which.

[later] juhnyuhk: @ lunchtime 2day, i went home to eat w/ kaela.   when her skool resumes, i'll really, really miss times like these. :-(   the thought makes me sad.   neway, she cooked some packaged jjajangmyuhn, n' we warmed up some leftover frozen pizza from last nite n' the leftovers from her bacon double ciabatta burger last wk.   that's 'lot'f junk fud, eh?   i dunno, but i figure jjajangmyuhn in korea is sort'f like what fast fud is here in amerika.   rather, it's sort'f like pizza.   after all, in korea, ppl often order delivery jjajangmyuhn just like how ppl often order delivery pizza here.   i figure jjajangmyuhn's healthier than burgers n' pizza, but it still has 2 much starch n' sodium, rt?

so how was the wknd?   well, on our way up to tahoe, we stopped in walnut crk, as i sed earlier.   we ate dinner there @ pomegranate.   we got to tahoe kind'f late.   we checked into our 1 br / 1 ba condo @ northstar.   on sat, we ate leftovers from fri nite's dinner 4 brkfast n' went to squaw valley 4 kaela's conference.   we had free lunch @ the california chiropraktic association's presidential installation.   on our way home on sun, i commented to kaela that their new president sure giggles 'lot.   i mentioned that it's sort'f funny but in a way refreshing to have some1 in a leadership position not always be so serious, rt?   the lunch was just so.so.   kaela n' i both thought so.   it was typikal banquet fud: caesar salad, some dry chicken breast w/ a miso.type sauce, wild rice, some italianish veggies, n' then some decent mangoish mousse dessert.   it was just ok.   after the conference, after the end'f that pretty kewl personal training biomechanics seminar by brad carlson, kaela n' i drove out to emerald bay.   i know my way 'round tahoe fine.   later, we ate dinner @ kentucky fried chicken in king's beach.   toby 1nce joked 'bout how his mom w/ her cantonese accent would pronounce it "king's b!+¢h," n' kaela n' i often allude to his joke.


2005.06.28

mon late nite sbs

ȭ ħ, hwayoil achim: yesterday evening, after werk, i went to the werk.com gym n' lifted weights.   afterwards, i went drove 'cross the street to sunnyvale fry's to look @ car stereos.   the sony cdx.5710's there 4 $199.   the dude sed that the total pri¢e after tax n' installation'd be like $290.   i then went to circuit city.   over there, the pri¢e'f the deck's the same, but the total pri¢e'd be $260.   i then went to goodguys near mtn view on el camino real in sunnyvale.   they didn't have the sony cdx.5710 but only the sony cdx.5715, which is basikally the same thing but w/ a diff cosmeitk appearance.   the pri¢e was way higher, so i didn't look very long.   i wanna try digital city on el camino real near bowers ave 2day or 2morrow @ latest.   if the pri¢e isn't better there, then i guess i'll proceed w/ circuit city.   *sigh* all these ¢on$umer $pending by beno. *sigh* $$$ comes, n' $$$ goes.   the pt's to buy the essentials b4 i end up wasting $$$ on a whole bunch'f gizmoey, gadgety, trinketty, cr@p that i don't really need.   we should beware that li'l pur¢hases add up to big sums, rt?   we managed to buy our dyson dc07 vacuum.   that's great.   we got a great deal on it.

when i came home last nite 'round 900p, the beautiful kaela hwang was home making kimbap while watching tv.   i was recently craving kimbap.   we ate dinner.   then, i assembled a cabinet we bought from ikea a couple'f wks 'go.   then i watched a whole lot'f korean tv: boolryang jooboo (the 2nd to last episode), inki gayo, n' then ilyoil johada/xman.   sbs is super.weird.   it used to be that they had decent programming most nites from 1000p~100a.   however, lately, every wknite 'cept mon nite, after their 1 hr'f drama @ 1100p~1200a, they play some lame, lame, lame golf shows.   then on mon nite, they play all their best, kewl, hip shows.   dude, how can i sit n' watch tv 4 4 hrs straight???   that's what i finally did last nite.   i watched sbs from 1100p to 300a.   kaela's done this b4, but i usually fall asleep on the couch if i try.   last nite, kaela fell asleep on the couch, n' i succeeded in watching all 4 hrs'f the best sbs programming. *sigh* a small viktory, eh?   seriously, staying up till 300a watching tv is no major accomplishment.   *sigH* i'm gonna need coffee 2day.

this morn, i jogged w/ sooni.   i'm hoping that early morn exercise'll help keep me awake.   oh man, i hadn't lifted in a long time b4 last nite, so i'm very sore.

1010p: kaela n' i went to taekwondo praktice.   afterwards, we went to fantasia to get boba drinks. ٺ?   now we're gonna eat some ӹ ssambap.


2005.06.29

sb 724 (cali4nia state bill)

ħ, sooyoil achim: on sun nite, i sold off my ol' lgvx6000 charging cradle to some dude on craigslist.   the beautiful kaela hwang n' i'd just gotten back from our tahoe trip, n' i'd sort'f 4gotten that i told that kid to call me on sun nite to arrange to meet up that nite.   on our way home, we stopped by safeway@rivermark b4 going home.   we bought some groceries.   *sigh* $pending $$$, $aving $$$...   tuff decisions here n' there...   buy this, don't buy this...   i've gotta invest in some mutual funds.

[later] , juhnyuhk: i'm still@werk.com, but i should leave soon so that kaela n' i can go to people's furniture to $hop 4 dressers n' end tables n' the like.   earlier 2day, i received an e.mail from "cal advocacy" 'bout sb 724, urging me to join the campaign 'gainst it.   hrm, dude, i feel kind'f stoopid, but i feel i sort'f made a mistake.   i sort'f assumed that sb724 was 'nother bill to take 'way $$$ from publik edukation, but... hrm... well, shoot, i signed the petition thingy, which fired off an e.mail to sally lieber in my name, but uhm... after reading more stuff later, i realised that maybe i do support sb 724.   sb 724 will allow csu skools to award more graduate degrees.   i'm not sure, but it might allow csu skools to award ph.d.s.   i'm not sure.   it's funny cos the sjsu mechanical engineering dept chairman told me to come back if he ever gets a ph.d. program, n' well... heh... like, in a way, i don't wanna go back to skool, so if sb 724 doesn't pass, then i'll have less pressure to get a ph.d., rt??? ha ha ha... however, in a way, it's in my best interest as an sjsu alum to have sb 724 pass.   isn't this an odd situation?   as a cal alum, i might think that it's in my alma mater's best interest not to have sb 724 pass; but, as a sjsu alum, i guess it's in my best interest to have sb 724 pass.   *sigh* personally, i think the ppl who don't want sb 724 to pass r kind'f being selfish n/or greedy, rt?   we all know it's harder 4 students to get into uc skools than csu skools, in gen'l.   it's also perhaps more expen$ive to attend a uc instead'f a csu.   in a way, sb 724 lets more diff kinds'f ppl reach higher levels'f edukation, rt? *shrug* well, i dunno... we'll c what happens.   neway, i feel like quite the bozo 4 signing that letter thingy w/o really studying the cause!


2005.06.30

eating n' $pending

ħ, mokyoil achim: how's it going?   how r u?   it's thurs morn.   this wk's flying by, n' this wknd's a 3.day wknd, the 4jx2005 wknd.   do u 'member when i coined that phrase, "4jx****"???   it must've been 'round 2000; what do u think?   wow.wee, time flies.   the wk flies by, n' yrs fly by.   time flies.   time flows.

this morn, i got a li'l bit'f exercise.   i woke up decently early.   1st, i jogged w/ sooni.   we went 4 only a short, short jog.   then, i drove to werk.com n' went to the werk.com gym.   there, i just lifted weights.   last wknd, i got a li'l bit re.inspired to lift weights cos'f the biomechanics seminar @ the cali4nia chiropraktic association.   i showered @ werk n' went straight to my cube to start the werkday.

last nite, i didn't exercise, but i originally planned to.   oh well...   instead, i dropped a whole load'f dough.   1st, the beautiful kaela hwang n' i went to peoples furniture to buy 2 things: 1) the cappuccino finish dresser to match the rest'f the bedrm set we bought from them n' 2) the cappuccino end table to match the uh... cappuccino coffee table we bought from them.   ha ha... "cappuccino coffee table," eh?   that's a funny phrase.   neway, yah, i dropped a load'f dough there.   i like that store tho'.   we were chattin' it up w/ the employee there jerome 'bout how we were a couple'f the earliest customers'f the store.   we evoked some memories 4 him as well as us, i s'ppose.   we were patrons'f that store from their humble beginning.   well, after that, i drove us over to bed, bath, n' beyond (bbb?) to pick up 1 curtain.   we need 2 curtains to properly cover our french doors that lead to our backyard, but we only bought 1 cos we only had 1 20% off coupon, 20% off ne 1 item.

after that?   we went to dinner @ boas restaurant on stevens creek blvd in cupertino. 20030 steven creek boulevard; cupertino, ca 95014; 408.446.4262... open mon~wed 1130a~1000p, thurs~sat 1130a~1100p, n' sun 1200p~900p...   dude, this is a very interesting place.   don't just visit the website; visit the restaurant.   this is what asian.fusion's s'pposed to be... if u ask me.   ok, how do i describe boas?   well, it's primarily a korean restaurant, let's say.   however, it's got a totally euro.amerikan twist to it, but not in an "amerikanised" way, no.   well, in a way, it demonstrates what koreans in korea expekt a nice euro.amerikan kind'f place to be like... in a way... 4 example, even tho' u can order totally asian fud, u don't have chopsticks, just fork n' knife cos in asia, to show u'r all hi.class n' all, u should be able to eat properly w/ a fork n' knife, rt?   the fud's really good, mostly modern versions'f asian fud w/ euro.amerikan twists, as i sed.   4 example, kaela had the avocado scallops, n' i had the spicy king prawns.   both arrived on individual meal plates (in typikal euro.amerikan fashion) w/ a big mound'f white rice n' some nicely arranged banchan.   b4 our entrées came, the waiters brought out some banchan, but this banchan wasn't in li'l dishes.   rather, it was nicely arranged on long plates, sumpthin' really asian.fusion lookin'.   it all looked very nice.   we also ordered a bottle'f bohae brand bokboonja raspberry brandy w/ rice wine.   sure, buying bottled liquor @ a restuarnt's always more expen$ive than just buying @ a store, but it wasn't 2 harshly overpri¢ed.   later, we also ordered some green tea.

well, lemme tell u more 'bout the restaurant in gen'l.   it's split into 2 parts.   the restaurant's split into a few areas.   well, primarily, it's split into: 1) a "family restaurant" n' 2) a karaoke / hostess / live jazz bar.   well, we went to the "family" restaurant side.   it's kind'f funny.   i think we both wondered if that side's called the "family" restaurant cos the other side has that "hostess bar" element.   i'm really not very familiar w/ the whole "hostess bar" concept, but i'm sure it's not as akin to well... prostitution as most 2nd gen asian.ams think.   after all, many 2nd gen asian.ams think booking @ korean clubs is so misogynistic n' like prostitution, but it really isn't.   rather, it's proper matchmaking/introduktion in asian etiquette.   well, whether or not the idea'f hostess bars is "kosher" or not, the bar does have clear windows to the outside n' also cms to be a somewhat esteemed amerikan jazz bar as well, rt?   in fakt, i didn't c newhere advertisement'f that bar as a "hostess bar" per se, but i just noticed that the only ppl inside was this grp'f young ladies that looked like they were werking as "hostesses" in a hostess bar.   kaela, @ 1st, didn't notice it, but after i mentioned what i saw, on our way out, she made an effort to look in thru the windows.   she agreed that the gurls looked like hostesses @ a hostess bar.   otherwise, i s'ppose they might've been just a 3 young ladies out 4 a nice evening'f fun, rt?   neway, that's that side'f the bldg, while we were in the "family restaurant" side'f the bldg.   "family restaurant" makes it sound like the restaurant didn't look nice, but man... it was really nicely decorated!   it's very elegant.   u should check it out.   our waiter steve cmd to be very nervous.   i'm sure he was very new.   maybe 'twas his 1st nite on the job or sumpthin'.   poor guy.   i dunno why we intimidated him so much.   i asked him if the restaurant was named boas cos'f kwon boa, the singer.   he sed there's 2 meanings to the name, that 1) yes, the name boas, interpreted as "boa's," brings in some appeal to the younger crowd, but also 2) the owner named the restaurant boas after the old testament person boaz.   quickly, i opened my palm os bible on my palmone tungsten t5 n' was reminded that boaz was a charakter in ruth who let a poor woman glean his fields.   our waiter steve sed that the owner liked boaz cos he was a guy who had hard times but got lucky n' shared his wealth.   ah, i c.   kewl.   then the waiter sed the owner's christian n' always lets pastors eat 4 free.   i sed we should bring our pastor there, but i guess the dude misheard me, n' sed, "oh, sir, r u a pastor?"   heh, i chuckled n' sed that i wasn't.   i talked w/ kaela 'bout how it's funny cos i guess lots'f christians think that pastors shouldn't drink alcohol, n' well... we'd just cleaned off a bottle'f bokboonja btwn the 2'f us, rt?   personally, i'm fine w/ the idea'f pastors' consuming alcohol as long as they don't give sermons on sun morn while drunk, rt?

on mon nite, i stayed up so late watching quality programming on sbs.   i paid the pri¢e on tues nite.   after taekwondo praktice n' boba @ fantasia, we watched the last episode'f boolryang jooboo.   i fell asleep!!!   i fell asleep n' missed it!   yesterday evening, i told kaela that it's like if a person camped out to watch star wars n' then fell asleep during the movie.   i was so eager to watch the final episode n' never missed a single episode, rt?   then i fell asleep during the big finale!

yesterday, @ lunch, kaela n' i went to new town korean restuarant in the li'l korean plaza on kiely n' benton.   it's a good restaurant.   the pri¢es r decent, n' the fud's good.

oh yah, kaela n' i ate lunch after i had my dental apptmnt.   i had my regular check.up n' cleaning @ ߾ ġ, joongan chigwa.

[later] 1058p: so we went to taekwondo praktice 2nite; taekwondo sparring praktice.   kaela n' i went 3 rounds, n' i went 1 rnd each w/ 2 diff guys.   it wasn't my best nite'f sparring, no.   i didn't try hard 'nuff, n' i just don't feel as in shape as i have on other days.   i ate 2 much @ lunch, i guess.

u c, 4 lunch, kaela n' i went to amber indian restaurant's mtn view lokation n' met up w/ my cowerker friends from the college program.   it was just 5'f us.   1'f my cowerkers rbrought his wife.   then there was kaela n' i.   then, there was 1 extra guy.   i felt a li'l bad 4 the other guy cos we sort'f put him in a 5th wheel situation, but no... he's very social n' adaptable, u know?   neway, dude, we ate buffet 4 lunch, good buffet; but we were really rushed cos the restaurant took 4ever to give us a table.   i wanted to savour the fud more, but instead i had to scarf it down.   i piled all this fud onto 1 plate.   all the flavours got mixed, but dude... amber's fud is so good, i still liked it, u know?   dude, if the flavours were separated, it would've been so much better.   both my cowerker n' i agree that the lunch buffet's so much better @ the mtn view lokation than the santana row lokation, altho' dinner's fine @ the santana row lokation (altho' hecka expen$ive(, n' the decor's nicer @ the santana row lokation.   neway, dude... we ate all.u.can.eat 4 dinner 2... i'll get to that later.

after werk, b4 taekwondo praktice, i swung by Ż Ƽ on el camino real n' bowers/kiely, near our house.   dude, i bought the sony car stereo!!!   dude, i've dropping ca$h everywhere!   i bought the sony cdx.5715.   u c, originally, i was looking @ the sony cdx5710, which is the same thing but w/ a diff cosmetik appearance.   the cdx.5715's is usually more expen$ive.   i told the / there, that i could get the cdx.5710 @ circuit city 4 $260 out the door.   digital city was selling the cdx.5715 4 $229 w/ free installation.   however, w/ tax n' harness n' faceplate thingy, it would've been closer to $280, but the kewl / , agreed to match the circuit city pri¢e n' gave it to me 4 $260 out the door, no tax, no installation, no charge 4 harness or nething.   kewl!   dude, this is gonna be so kewl.   this deck plays mp3s from cd.   dude, this's gonna so kewl.   i'm gonna get it installed 2morrow evening cos we're no longer going to vegas... yah, more on that in a sec.

so after taekwondo praktice we went to û / chunggiwa/ blue stones n' ate the chadol all.u.can.eat dduhkbossam bspecial 4 $16.95/person.   dude, it was very good, but man! kaela n' i ate buffet 4 lunch n' then all.u.can.eat 4 dinner?   yesterday we had such a nice dinner @ boas n' such a nice lunch @ new town.   dude!   "life's too good."   that's an old, old sugarcubes album.   björk was the lead singer 4 the sugarcubes.   do u guys know this or not.   björk's so famous, but so many ppl don't know that she was originally w/ the sugarcubes.

neway, dude, life's 2 good.   however, soon, we've gotta halt all $pending!!!   my ¢redit ¢ard bill's gonna hurt so bad this month!!!   well, dude... we hit all the essentials now, rt?   1) dyson vacuum cleaner, 2) dresser n' end table, 3) car stereo.   we've also bought plenty'f other household n' home improvement items such as curtains, shelf, cabinet, hedge trimmer, garden sprayer.... dude, the list goes on n' on.   dude, my ¢redit ¢ard bill's gonna hurt sooo bad!   sooo bad!!!   dude, am i just a glutton 4 pain???   yah, dude, we also had that trip to tahoe, n' kaela bought our hawaii aeroplane tix on my ¢redit ¢ard.   we have our anniversary coming up.   oh dude, this is gonna hurt so bad!   crazy, crazy, crazy.

1129p: the 4jx2005 wknd's almost here.   originally, we were s'pposed to go to vegas w/ ken n' grace, but now there not going, so we're obviously not going.   dude! crazy, huh?   i'm aktually relieved that we're not going, n' so's kaela.   we dreaded the long drive.   ken sed he'd drive us in his parent's minivan cos it's more com4table, but kaela still dreaded the drive.   me, i sort'f thought'f it as an adventure, but *shrug* i know it would've been a li'l hard.   ken sez we should go 'nother wknd, but that we can maybe look 4 plane tix 4 ourselves if we prefer.   [a li'l later] well, i just searched hotwire, n' i couldn't really find a good deal on aeroplane tix. *sigh* we might hafta postpone the trip more, but i feel so bad cos they've been asking us to go w/ them 4 sooo long now.

snapfish free shipping coupon: pennies


2005.07.01

sweatshop stereo

geumyoil ohoo:(it's only early afternoon now.   i took an early n' quick lunchbrk just now to go to costco to eat lunch w/ the beautiful kaela hwang n' am still so pi$$ed that, compared to costco in taiwan costco here sucks!)   yup, so i just came back from lunch @ costco.   when kaela left me to go to her hair apptmnt @ atelier's avedo salon in santana row, she told me to pick up 2 flats'f the kirkwland "swirly top" h2o; but when i looked, they only had the old design, so i didn't buy ne h2o.

earlier 2day, i picked up sumpthin' from tim fong's blog.   i hope he doesn't mind my sharing this.   it's a link to the ucla asian.am dept graduation speech (this yr, 2005) given by jeff chang: "asian american studies commencement speech" (http://www.cantstopwontstop.com/blog/2005/06/asian-american-studies-commencement.cfm)   it's an excellent speech.   better than steve_jobs@stanfurd.edu's?   well, i think this speech's "insprational", while stevie's was deep, interesting, profound, but not so inspirational to me.   i mean, i s'ppose stevie didn't just say "quit ur jobs n' be unemployed skateboard bums," but still... would it be such a crime if i find jeff chang's speech more inspirational?   would this jeff chang be stoked to read that some dude thinks his speech's better than steve jobs's?   ha ha ha.   has bill gates ever given a commencement speech?   i'm sure he has.   just think 'bout that 1970s~1980s generation'f akademic dropouts that became teknomillionaires.   kids these days still dream to be them, huh?

ok, so b4 i went to costco, i looked @ the box 4 my new sony cdx.5715 n' found sumpthin' to be disappointed 'bout: it's made in china. >:-( when the salesboy @ fry's showed me the box 4 their sony cdx.5710, the box stated that the unit was made in korea.   i was kewl w/ that.   however, i try not to purchase made in china stuff.   i know so many ppl think this passage has sumpthin' to do w/ some kind'f koreaphilism or sumtphin', but no... my pt isn't that i have sumpthin' 'gainst chinese ppl or chinese culture but that 1) yes, korean manufakturing is prob'ly superior chinese, 2) i don't wanna support sweatshop labour n' generally poor labour policies, n' 3) i don't wanna support a country w/ tendencies to wanna nuke taiwan!   (ok, yah, i know china wouldn't necessarily "nuke" taiwan, but we all know 'bout heir unjustified aggression 2wards the neighbouring country   neway... *sigh* i did notice that the go.video dvdr/vcr combo @ costco's made in korea n' not china.   if i find the chance to panhandle on telly (berkeley's famous telegraph ave) w/ sooni sittin' next to me on the sidewalk, then maybe i can scrounge up 'nuff dough to buy that unit 4 myself w/ the costco coupon 4 my b.day.   ha ha ha!   now, i'm just being silly; i don't have ne $$$ left! not after this past $pending $pree!   rather, i'm gonna be broke 4 the next decade, n' we'll hafta eat out'f garbage cans.   "alright! trash cookies!   uh oh! i think i ate a dog food lid." - bart simpson in episode dabf02 "she of little faith" (the 1 where lisa sez she's a buddhist... plz visit http://www.snpp.com/episodes/DABF02.)


2005.07.05

firewerks in central park (santa clara, cali)

ȭ: how's it going?   [later] 1013p: dude, 4jx2005 came n' went; the wknd came n' went, n' 2 much happened 4 me to updatechu well.   i'm this close *pinch fingers 2gether or sumpthin'* to giving up!   *sigh* how can i recap???

well, we didn't go to vegas this wknd, cos ken n' grace went to grace's parents' house in stead.   on fri nite, we went to watch batman begins.   that was after the beautiful kaela hwang n' i ate some zarusoba 4 dinner @ home.   ޹ ñ? meimil naenggooksoo?   is that whatchu call it?   i 4get.   neway, dude, we're out'f memmi.   we've gotta buy some more memmi.   we also ate some ben n' jerry's aisukuriimu b4 the movie started.   we each had a large.   i had a "half-baked" frozen yogurt, n' kaela had some kind'f strawberry truffle aisukuriimu.   dude, as much as i like ben n' jerry's, especially cos they're so conscientious; the "half-baked" frozen yogurt was 2 sweet.   dude, why can't fud have less sugar/sweetener, less salt/sodium, less fat... *sigh*   i wanna eat healthily.   how was batman begins?   well, dude... maybe it's just cos every1 hyped it up so much, but i was slightly disappointed.   well, 1st off, the beginning part in asia is very cheesy, altho' not as bad as the asian cr@p in movies like tombraider 2 or nething.   still, that part was pretty lame.   the rest'f it was better, but i kept wondering 'bout batman's political philosophies.   is there a political agenda behind batman; n', if so, is it good or bad???   i'm not sure.

on sat, kaela n' i went to pt reyes.   i had to drive quite a bit... oh dude! what the heck am i doing? i didn't talk 'bout how i got my car stereo installed on fri evening.   since, we didn't go to vegas, i returned to Ż Ƽ digital city on fri evening to have the dudes in the back garage install my sony cdx.5715.   well, some dude installed it.   he cmed to have messed up n' didn't hook up the self.powered subwoofer tho'.   thus, the 2'f us agreed that i'd come back on tues (2day).   neway, yah, on fri evening, i started playing w/ my new car stereo, n' on sat, we got to take it 4 a literal test drive on our way up to pt reyes.   i battled a bit'f traffik, 'specially in sf.   u've gotta drive thru sf to get from the sobay to pt reyes or marin county, etc.   we pulled over in san rafael to use the restroom @ safeway.   oh yah, we had sooni w/ us.   lots'f ppl asked 'bout her.   ppl love sooni.   later, we ate raw oyesters from johnson's oyster co.   i didn't know that dogs were prohibited @ the lighthouse.   *sight* that flat out sucks.   we walked 'round the lighthouse area, but we didn't walk to the lighthouse.   we enjoyed the ocean view n' took pix.   after a while, we drove to berkeley to meet up w/ roland.

b4 we went to berkeley, we made a stop @ target in el cerrito.   kaela went into the store, but i took sooni 4 a walk.   i noticed a nice walkway n' bikepath along the bart tracks.   i thought, "wow, this area has really cleaned up."   after a while, this middle.aged chinese man came up to me n' sed, "hey, u shouldn't hang 'round here.   some guy got mugged here last wk.   it was all over the newspaper.   it was a black kid w/ a knife.   i'm telling u cos i c u'r a chinese guy 2." :-/ well, yah, it's kind'f awkward when ppl say racist stuff like that, but i did appreciate his concern 4 my welfare.   he added, "even a dog doesn't really help in a situation like that."   well, i left that nicely landscaped but graffitied area n' hung out in front'f the store.   i had told that chinese dude that i hadn't been in the area in a while, so i didn't know 'bout the mugging, etc.   neway, i did feel like i looked like a prime target, since i was wearing kind'f nice, trendy threads n' was carrying ca$h in my wallet, nice elektronic gadgets, n' my car stereo faceplate in my backpack.   *sigh*

neway, we picked up roland n' headed over to college ave's elmwood distrikt 4 dinner.   i took roland out to dinner 4 his b.day that had just passed.   we ate @ naan n' curry.   it's pretty good n' not 2 expen$ive.   since kabana down university ave near san pablo stopped serving that great'f muslim.style south asian fud, this naan n' curry chain'll hafta do, rt?   fahad used to love kabana, but i had to tell him that it's sort'f gone downhill.   we met up w/ brandie 2.   it was fun to be in berkeley!!!   heh, as always, lots'f ppl talked to us 'bout sooni.   i tell u: ppl love sooni.   well, i tried not to stay out , since we had church on sun morn n' all.

on sun, we went to church.   then kaela n' i took sooni 4 a doggy wash @ pet fud express.   then, we ate lunch @ falafel's drive.in.   then we went to whole fuds where kaela went inside to $hop 4 overpri¢ed groceries, while i sat outside w/ sooni.   'gain, sooo many ppl came up to inquire 'bout n' pet sooni.   this 1, middle.aged man talked to me 4 a while.   he's a dog enthusiast, but he sed he'd never cn a jindo.   he was very happy.   later, kaela n' i did lots'f housewerk.   we ate  dwenjang jjigae 4 dinner.   i painted an ikea bookshelf @ 100a.   i took sooni 4 a walk @ like 200a.   crazy, huh?

mon was 4jx2005.   i wanted to hit the gym but didn't hit the gym the whole wknd.   that sucks n' pi$$es me off really bad.   i hate not getting exercise.   i abhor it!   i dispise it.   i'm very angry.   neway... what did we do on 4jx2005?   1st, i continued to stain (not paint, stain) the ikea bookshelf.   then we went to pruneyard hobees w/ sooni 4 brkfast.   dude, it was so much fun to eat brkfast w/ sooni by our side on the floor.   uh, she was on the floor; we sat @ the table.   kaela had some kind'f "mtn view" omelette (i believe), n' i had the red, white, n' blue pancakes, which r "hi protein, whole wheat" pancakes, w/ starwberries, blueberries, n' bananans n' cream. ٳ   we did did housewerk.   then in the evneing, we ewnt to our friends' david n' deborah's house nearby to attend a bbq.   dude, so much good fud.   earlier, we went to (oh yah, i 4got to mention this...) shengkee bakery in the cupertino 99 to buy a green tea n' red bean cake to bring.   dude, there was so much good fud.   we had tri.tip, salmon, chicken mango sausage, an awesome marinated chicken thigh bbq dish, asparagus, bruschetta, guacamole, pasta salad, spinach salad... dude, the fud kept coming. *sigh* dude, i wish we could host such a good bbq someday.   later, we walked to santa clara's central park to watch the city's firewerks.   it was fun.   ;it reminded me'f when i watched firewerks in naperville, illinois when i was 3.

yesterday, an awesome new drama started on sbs: м 70s (fashion 70s).


2005.07.06

tell ur wife the truth.

sooyoil: on tues evening (yesterday), the beautiful kaela hwang n' i went to taekwondo praktice.   it was a small praktice.   afterwards, we went to fantasia, but only i got a boba drink.

the misiniformation i feed my wife:
i feel awful cos i somewhat recently told kaela a couple'f things by accident that rn't true, so i've gotta set the record straight.

well, shoot, the only reason i was reminded'f these goofs was cos i was reading a recent entry on (super)dave kim's starkdavingmad.com, in which he mentions gary oldman n' danny elfman in relation to batman begins.


2005.07.07

made in the shade

: what's the least expen$ive gas these days?   costco n' arco stations in the area have $2.37/gal gas.   [later, just a li'l later] rt now, i'm listening to pastor bobby lee's sermon from last sunday's service @ grx (great exchange covenant church).   it's called "the power of confession."   u should check out these sermons.   whether u'r a christian already or not, i think u should check out these online recordings'f the sermons.   check'em out!   the beautiful kaela hwang n' i were rather late to this past sunday's service, so i'm glad we can listen to the sermons online.   from what i'm hearing, it looks like we missed 'bout 3/8'f the sermon.

so what's been going on?   last nite, i came home from werk really tired, exhausted, n' just worn out, mentally, physically, spiritually, emotionally...   i pondered hitting the gym, n' i really wanted to.   however, i couldn't get myself to go: 1) i didn't have my gym stuff w/ me, so i couldn't hit the werk.com gym b4 going home. 2) kaela already went to n' left the hamilton bally gym, so it cmed like i shouldn't bother going there.   i thought maybe she'd come home soon.   i waited @ home, lying doing on the couch, thinking i'd take a nap.   instead, i watched scary movie 3 n' some other junk on tv.   i watched a simpsons episode, rt?   yah, i think so.   i finally called kaela, after watching scary movie 3 n' asked where she was.   she'd left the gym like 2 hrs 'go n' was werking @ her office.   oh, if i had known that, then maybe i would've driven out to the hamilton bally gym.   well, i took sooni 4 a short, mediocre jog.   it wasn't very intense.   we jogged, then walked, then jogged, then walked...   the summer evening air was wonderful, i've gotta admit.   it felt great to breathe in that warm, norcal, summer air.   however, i noticed more "shady characters" out last nite.   i dunno why.   i admit: when kaela n' i moved into our neighbourhood, we expekted more yuppies living here.   however, i've found that, altho' there r yuppies here, there r more families n' old ppl.   @ the same time, those old ppl r moving out n', well, new ppl r moving in.   r they yuppies? families?   i dunno; maybe a li'l'f both.   yupppie puppies...   neway, yah... i noticed some shady.lookin' ppl 'round, but well... i got home w/o getting mugged, so that's fine.   i dunno, man.   i know that when i was in my later yrs'f hi skool n' my earlier yrs'f college, some clean.cut, yuppyish types'd looked @ me, think that i looked pretty "shady," n' be scared.   well... i wasn't necessarily scared, but i took notice that i saw ppl that would be considered "shady.lookin'."   they were mostly kids, i guess; so i think lots'f it is cos kids r now on summer brk n' can stay out late.   well, they're kids...   i mean, a gang'f kids can be dangerous, but i dunno; 4 the most part i guess they just wanna look dangerous, rt?

do u like red wine?   4 some reason, memories'f the taste'f red wine came into my mind just now.


2005.07.08

last wknd'f summer break

ݿ geumyoil: tgif.   the wknd's almost here but not here yet.   what's gonna happen this wknd?   *sigh* wknds'r fun.   well... 2nite, we can either party w/ nelson in sf @ club rouge or go to a movie.   i dunno which.   i really don't.   2morrow, we'll have lunch w/ my dad @ niko sushi on winchester blvd near santana row.   sun evening, we're going to alice n' will's thank u party 4 their recent wedding.   that party's @ buco di beppo in palo alto.   2day, the beautiful kaela hwang n' i went to lunch @ google.   our friend david hosted us.   however, we also ran into geoffrey kan there.   dude, what fun!   google cafeteria rules!   i should post up a dine.com restaurant review on it.   i give it many stars.   however, when i just now googleed up "google cafeteria," i found this article: "Google's famed chef leaving" on siliconbeat.com.

the silicon valley... amerika's real heartland!

i also found this link to a blog entry:"search engine fight yahoo lunch vs. google lunch"   i'm a bigger fan'f google @ the moment.

this is the last wknd'f kaela's short, 3.wk summer brk. :-( from the very beginning, i was depressed that this brk'd be temporary.   maybe it's awful how i think like that, but keep in mind that i got depressed 'bout my own mortality when i was 8 yrs old or so.   i wanted to live 4ever.


2005.07.11

my wife makes me happy.

wuhlyoil achim: here's a blast from the past.   check out the beautiful kaela hwang's very 1st restaurant review on dine.com back in 2000, ha ha:

pyung chang soon dubu jip, rated 2.80/5 by 3 (510) 658-9040, korean, 4701 telegraph avenue; oakland, ca reviewer: kaela kang
date: may 12, 2000
stars: 2
ave. entree: $5-10
review: wow. my first review.   i thought this restaurant was alright.   i dunno if my boyfriend and i got there too late. but the service was rather slow. the food was okay.   u can't go that wrong w/ soon dooboo.   i wish they would've given us more side dishes and refilled our water.   they didn't attend to us very much.   they also didn't ask how spicy we wanted our soon dooboo.   they probably thought we were novice diners (not to brag that i go out to eat at soon dooboo jip very much, but this place could've been better!).

ha ha ha, i gave that restaurant 4 stars, n' i'm a harsh critik.   funny.   however, now that we live by so many good korean restaurants, i think i'd only give them 2~3.

i dunno where i left off updating u.   i guess i can talk 'bout this wknd.   on fri, i thought i'd take kaela out to sf to go clubbing @ rouge w/ nelson n' others, but we didn't go.   in the early evening, kaela cooked these expen$ive artichokes she bought from whole fuds a while 'go, but they didn't taste very good.   we didn't have a very good dinner.   we were on our way to sf, when we decided not to go.   instead, we decided to hang out in mtn view or palo alto (stanfurd).   we checked mtn view's castro st, but didn't find nething interesting @ that somewhat late hr.   it was ~1030p, n' we wanted some kind'f cocktail bar or wine bar 4 a married couple to enjoy a couple'f drinks n' some small fud.   we saw some places that either looked 2 mellow or 2 rowdy, i.e. they were either restaurants or pseudo niteclubs.   they didn't look like real niteclubs, more like pubs.   i understand that to some crowds, that is a niteclub, but i prefer the sf.style clubs, i don't accept "dj dancing nite" @ the black angus fun bar or tgif to be the equivalent to parties put on by like abzolut or beyond, rt?   well, my favourite places to party r korean niteclubs of course, but it's hard to find ppl who wanna go.   it's expen$ive, i know; n' the ppl who can afford it don't wanna go, while the ppl who want to go can't afford to go... not often 'least.   i mean, shoot, i honestly couldn't afford to go often, no way.   i guess i would've loved to end up on fri nite @ a place like boas, but since we had originally set our course 4 sf, i was headed the wrong direktion.   well, we ended up hangin' out @ the palo alto gordon biersch on emerson (640 emerson st; palo alto, ca 94301; fon: 650.323.7723, fax: 650.323.6129)   my beautiful wife kaela n' i shared the appetizer sampler n' had a hefeweizen each.   i think the beers were 20 oz.   it's crazy how the size of "a beer" has grown so huge.   when u ask 4 "a beer" don'tchu expekt like 12~16 oz?   i think i read that "a beer" used to be like 6~10 oz.   well, 'least gordon biersch "only" ¢harges $4.50 or whatever 4 a 20 oz. draft beer.   if u think 'bout it, even @ a chili's kind'f place, u'd prob'ly pay like $6 4 that, rt?   i dunno.   i mean, if it's a gordon biersch hef, rt?   sure a budweiser'd prob'ly ¢o$t $4.50 4 a 20 oz, rt?   *shrug* i like biere, but i'm not a drunk. :-/ the appetizer sampler included some kind'f southwest egg roll, some kind'f honey buffalo wings, n' these bbq pork sliders.   do u know what sliders r?   sliders r mini hamburgers.   i'm confident that the term was popularised by white castle.   sliders r really trendy rt now.
ok, so the trendy fuds 4 2005 r:

  1. white tea
  2. beets
  3. sliders (mini hamburgers)

i'd read somewhere that mini burgers r the trendy wedding fud!!!   well, they can be cute.   i'd wondered if sliders've been popularised by the somewhat recent major motion picture harold and kumar go to white castle starring john cho n' kal penn.   it was a nice nite out w/ my wife.

sat morn, we went to the gym.   uh, i guess we felt pretty guilty 'bout the previous nite's midnite snack.   (speaking'f midnite snacks, let's think 'bout that cuban medianoche sandwich, which's available @ cascal latin tapas restaurant in mtn view on castro st.)   we did some cardio machines n' then went to a step class.   i thought we were going to a spin class, but upes... i only felt a li'l emasculated as i entered that rm.   in the end, i've gotta admit that i had a really good time in the step class.   after we showered, we met up w/ my dad, grace, steve, mason, n' nolan @ niko sushi restuarant 4 some awesome sushi lunch buffet.   dude, i was pleasantly surprised/impressed w/ the sushi buffet there.   they bring out the good stuff.   altho' it's all maki sushi n' not nigiri, it's still good.   ha ha, it's funny to me to think 'bout how nigiri sushi was so trendy back in the 1980s.   ah, do u know what it was like to grow up in the silicon valley in the 1980s???   imagine urself in the midst'f the development'f modern yuppy culture/coûture.   think 'bout terms like "condominium," "izod," "lacoste," "alligator shirt," "bmw."   think 'bout that weird al yankovic song that mentions those terms as well as "wall to wall carpeting."   thnk 'bout sweaters tied 'round shoulders.   think 'bout the birth'f the "pacific rim" concept.   think 'bout shorts that r a li'l bit 2 short on guys n' pink polo shirts.   think 'bout pac.man, who used to go by "puck man."   *sigh* silicon valley in the 1980s... what a concept!   i'll try not to say "concept" again 4 a few sentences.   neway, the fud was good.   it wasn't 2 expen$ive, i guess.   afterwards, we visited my dad's place.   then, kaela n' i went to valley fair to $hop.   *sigh* man, this past 3 wks, while kaela's been on summer brk, i've lost lots'f $$$.   on sat @ valley fair, 1st we went to organised living's going out'f bizness sale, where their normally overpri¢ed stuff was a li'l less overpri¢ed.   we bought stuff 4 our house.   then, after we dropped that stuff off @ my car, we went back in 4 clothes $hopping.   i got a few shirts.   maybe i need pants more than shirts?   neway, we managed to kill like 5 hrs there.   after that, we went home.   kaela cooked some packaged nokcha oodong.   we put 2gether our end table from ppl's furniture.   oh yah, on fri nite, i installed our new blinds in our bdrm window.   they're nice, n' i guess i appreciate them.   they make the rm look nicer, which makes me feel better.

on sun, we went to church.   even tho' we woke up early, we still weren't on time.   i don't like that. after church, we went to lunch w/ my mom @ chunggiwa.   we ate haemool pajuhn, agoo jjim + dduhk bossam, n' galbi.   in the afternoon, i cleaned the bathrm.   then kaela n' i brought sooni w/ us to lozano's santa clara car wash, where we got my car washed 4 $10.99 + tip.   my car was really dirty.   i also need an oil change.   then we went home.   i trimmed our potato trees in front'f our house.   then we went to palo alto's buca di beppo, also on emerson st. to attend will n' alice's wedding thank u dinner.   they're such a nice couple.   i only wish the best 4 them n' their marriage.   they're awesome.   even tho' no 1 was drinking alcohol, the party got really rowdy cos'f nelson.   he's a riot.   ha ha.   we all know he can bring up some really perverted topiks out'f the blue.   what did we eat?   quattro al forno (baked pasta sampler), chicken saltimbocca, clam linguine, this aweomse meat n' shroom pizza, some veggies, some mashed potatoes, some mussels bianco, some caesar salad, some garlic bread w/ n' w/o cheese...   'twas awesome.   then, we went to the cheesecake faktory on university ave 4 chesecake dessert.   it was kaela's last nite'f summer brk.   funny, cos on her 1st nite'f summer brk, we went to will n' alice's wedding rehearsal dinner.   what an awesome, fun 3 wks it's been!

[later] ohoo: during my lunchbrk, i werked out in the company gym.   then i bought an oily penne pasta w/ chicken n' veggies dish from the company cafeteria.   i enjoyed getting exercise in the middle'f the day.   when i got ready this morn, i resolved to get exercise 2day but wasn't sure if i'd hit the werk.com gym @ lunch or hit the hamilton bally gym after werk.   aktually, i wouldn't mind still hittin' the bally gym after werk, but i dunno if that can happen.   i still wanna get more exercise.   i wanna get back into better shape.

2day's kaela 1st day'f skool 4 her summer 0.25.   as i sed b4, i'm sad that her 3.wk summer brk ended.   it was fun spending more time w/ her these past few wks.   i really liked it.   in a way, she got to live the housewife's life.   that's what she sez.   yah, sort'f...   if kaela wanted to be a stay@home housewife, i would let her; but i don't believe she does.   i think she has this innate desire to be a "career" woman, so i want her to achieve that.   she feels that she didn't do as well as she wanted last 0.25 in skool.   i mean, she did do well, but maybe not to her hi standards.   i hope she feels better 'bout this new 0.25.   i really do only want the best 4 her n' want her to be happy.   i know sometimes i'm just whining n' whining that she's not around cos'f her skool, but *sigh* i dunno, man... i've really gotta put things into perspektive.   in a way, u always want what u don't have or whatever, rt?   i mean, if i was 4ced to c even less'f her, i'd be even more unhappy, rt?

2day, i went to the gym @ lunch cos kaela's back in skool.   if she were still on brk, we prob'ly would've had lunch 2gether.   in a way, i should be happy that i had the chance to werkout @ lunch 2day, rt?   *sigh* when i think 'bout it, there's many things i enjoy 'bout kaela that i never get 'round to saying.   that's awful.   well, now that our 2nd anniversary's coming up, i should tell her.


2005.07.12

stupid cupid

Ȳ, hwayoil: the beautiful kaela hwang n' i kept hearing this 1 song on korean tv.   we heard it 1st on the real romance yuhnyei pyuhnji show when han jihye was the guest "bachelorette."   now we hear it all the time as we watch nanrang 18sei, starring han jihye n' lee dongguhn.   from a quick google'f "stupid cupid" stop "on me," i've learned that the song's title's "stupid cupid."   the artist?   it could be wanda jackson or connie francis or baccara or neil sedaka...   i dunno what's the most popular version, but it cms to be the connie francis 1.   which's the 1 we hear?


2005.07.13

a duck that sucks

ħ: often on my b.day, my 1 request's to go to 뷡 noraebang (to go sing @ a noraebang).   i dunno if i'll get to do that this yr; maybe, maybe not.   whether or not i get to go, the whole idea'f going's still contingent on other ppl's wanting to go.   wanting to or else willingness...   neway, if i get to go, what songs would i wanna sing?   *shrug* i wanted to post up some song lyrics here.
̼ - ä

־ ٰ ־

־ ־
Ŵ ָ鿡
ʸ ߾ ѹ Ⱦƺ
ʿ ܷο ϰ ñ
θ ٰ
߰ſ ̹ ΰ Բ
뷤 ҷ ʿ ϳǾ
̹ ʿ Բ ߰ ;
װ ִ ʿ ٰ
ħ ʿͳ ̼ܵ

ʸ ־ ְ ־ ϰ ٰö
¢ϰ־ ־
ʸ ߾ ѹ Ⱦƺ
ʿ ܷϴ ϰ ñ
θ ٰ
߰ſ ̹ ΰ Բ
뷤 ҷ ʿ ϳǾ
̹ ʿ Բ ߰ ;
װ ִ ʿ ٰ
ħ ʿͳ ̼ܵ

عٶ (׳࿡..) - ڻ

ٶ Ҹ ۽̳
״ϱ ״ ̷ϱ
ٸ ӿ ô̳
״ Ȥ ƴұ


Բ ״ ߵ ׸

ؿ ؿ
ϳ ׿ ʾ
̾ؿ ̾ؿ Ʋ ؼ
ູ ȿ ؼ

־
״ ̺ ռ
߾ ư

ǰ ӿ
״뿡 質

ٶ ͵
״ ٶΰ
ִµ

ؿ ؿ
ϳ ׿ ʾ
̾ؿ ̾ؿ Ʋ ؼ
ູ ȿ ؼ

ε ̺ ̺
ٽ ǰ
״밡 ߾ ״
״밡 ä

there, that's 1 gurl song n' 1 guy song.   (i often sing gurl songs.   i know that might be funny.)   i like those songs.   {a li'l later] *breath* so how r u?   it's summer now.   days r only getting shorter now that the summer solstice has come n' gone.   crazy, huh?   rt now, semicon west's happening in sf's moscone center, but i'm missing it.   how r u doing?   last ntie, the beautiful kaela hwang n' i went to taekwondo praktice.   afterwards, we dropped sooni off n' met up w/ duk n' ˵ guhmdo shim sabuhmnim 4 pho @ pho hoa.   (there r 2 bruthas, both shim sabuhmnim [master shim], so we hafta make the distinktion by saying "guhmdo sabuhmnim" / "ū " ["keun sabuhmnim," big master] or "±ǵ " ["taekwondo sabuhmnim"] / " " ["jakeun sabuhmnim" / little master], or whatever.)

[later] @ home during lunch: 1'f my favourite comic strips is the boondocks, as u know.   apparently, 1'f my least favourite / most hated comic strips is mallard fillmore by bruce tinsley.   dude, that's 1 duck i'd like to shoot.   check out 2day's strip: it starts out w/ the duck saying "it's now been 24 hours since the release of the latest data showing that there are still only two asians playing in the nba..."   then the duck waits n' waits.   then, in the last frame, the duck sez, "oh... sorry.   i was just waiting for the howls of indignation from the civil-rights advocates..."   >:-( dude, that kind'f racist humour has no place here, not in this place, not in this time, not newhere!   r u not ready to cook that duck 4 dinner?   this strip's has been regularly not funny n' way 2 politikally charged.   they've gotta remove this strip from the san josé mercury news!   we don't normally subscribe to this paper, but this wk, we've been getting free issues.   apparently, they're promoting some new santa clara local sektion. *shrug*   neway, we should talk to the editors'f the paper to get this strip canned.

just think: ppl clip out comic strips n' put them on their cubicle walls.   imagine if some1 cuts out that comic strip n' puts it on his cubicle wall.   if some1 asks him where he got that offensive comic strip, what's he gonna say? "oh, the san josé mercury, of course..."   that's messed up.   by running this trip, the mercury's condoning this kind'f racist attitude.   ppl can say that it's that much more mainstream to be racist.   that's messed up.   really, don'tchu think we should do sumpthin'?   we should.   we've gotta remove this strip from this paper.

[later] ok, this is what i wrote to the paper in a letter to the editor, submitted online:

i ate some Ʊ agoo jjim leftovers 4 lunch here @ home.   yah, i brought my laptop home w/ me this lunchbrk, i dunno why. *shrug* the leftovers were not that great, i've gotta admit.   i think the fish wasn't as fresh this time.


2005.07.14

i don't make $300k/yr.

ħ, mokyoil achim: 2day, i have a per4mance review @ werk.   honestly, i'm a bit nervous cos the last few months've been really rocky 4 me.   i've faced a steep learning curve n' am unsure if ppl understand or not.   honestly, i've been faced w/ less than ideal situations in that i'm unsure if ppl understand my "core competencies" n' dunno if ppl have set realistik n' achievable goals n' expektations of n' 4 me.   i can't necessarily say i've gotten the most useful fdbk @ all times.   *sigh* well, i hope things get better from here.   i hope they get better, not worse; that's 4 sure.   neway... *sigh* i really don't wanna talk much 'bout werk here cos werk is werk n', in a way, needs to be left out here.   i werk 4 a big, famous company; n' company matters r company matters.

i wanna share w/ u sumpthin' i found on the net from (super)dave kim's starkdavingmad.com: "why do you work so hard?   is it maybe time to quit your safe job and follow your path and infuriate the establishment?" by mark morford, sf gate columnist.   yah, plz read that link.   well, i want u to read that link, but i dunno if i can trust u; so i'll proceed to share some passages:

ok, so recently, i've now read/heard steve jobs, my pastors, n' this sf gate columnist mark morford discuss roughly the idea'f quitting ur jobs.   what is that ol' 1960s saying? "tune in, tune out, drop out"???   i think it's sumpthin' else, but i dunno.

[later] ohoo: well, the per4mance review came n' went.   it was, let's say, motivational.   yah, somewhat motivational.   good? bad?   i dunno; i'll just leave it @ that cos company biz's company biz, in my book.   i'm not 1'f those bloggers looking to get canned over cr@p i write in my blog.   not that i'd expekt that'f my company, but 1) i wanna be safe n' steer clear, n' 2) well... i figure it's a respekt thing 4 my company, rt?   that's what i think.

neway, i skipped my lunch brk earlier to werk more b4 going into my per4mance review.   i figured i'd rather go in hungry.   that's what i'd say 4 an interview or test as well.   back in hi skool, the princeton review or else some other sat class told me to go into tests hungry rather than stuffed cos 1) u don't wanna fall asleep, n' 2) u try harder when u'r hungry.   have u heard that b4?   neway, after my review, i rushed over to target to buy a new chrome brita pitcher to replace the ol' 1 we have that has now officially breached; that is, it was already old n' nasty, but now the container's cracking such that h2o's leaking onto the counter.   what sucks's that the smaller brita was on total sale, but the bigger size that i wanted, 'specially the nice chrome 1 wasn't.   in fakt, it was pretty darn expen$ive n' overpri¢ed, if u ask me.   afterwards, i ate stinky taco bell.


2005.07.18

was in monterey

: how r u?   how's it going? [later] rt now, i'm listening to pastor dave chae's sermon/msg from this past sun morn @ grx.   the beuatiful kaela hwang were out'f town in monterey n' the central coast / big sur to celebrate our 2nd wedding anniversary.   we missed church on sunday cos'f that, so i'm listening to the msg now.


2005.07.21

2 ȥ yinyuhn gyuhlhon ginyuhn (2005.07.19)

ħ: *sigh* it's been 2 long since i've updated u, but i just haven't had time.   as i mentioned earlier, the beautiful kaela hwang n' i went to monterey, hearst castle, n' big sur to celebrate our 2nd anniversary / 2 ȥ .   it was beautiful down there.   it was kind'f chilly @ times; but still, it was so beautiful.   man, we have such nice nature in cali4nia.   i love how the bay area's so close to these places.   after all, this summer, we've gone to tahoe, pt reyes, n' monterey / big sur.   we got to c elephant seals on the beach.   it's fun to watch them move.   they're like giant slugs, but not so gross n' maybe even a li'l cute.   lessee... where did i leave off updatin'?   waaaay back...

on thurs nite, b4 we went to our li'l vakation, we went to valley fair to buy a wedding present.   then we ate dinner @ / san jang / korean palace on west san carlos.   that restaurant's been 'round 4 a long time, n' i'd been there b4 in my youth.   however, kaela n' i were curious n' wanted to check it out.   yah, as we'd heard, it's really nicely furnished inside.   the furniture n' decor's pretty nice.   the fud's ok, not super spektacular, but ok.   the service is kind'f weird cos u can tell the ܸ ajoomma's more used to dealing w/ nonkorean customers n' that's honestly kind'f an awkward situation cos... well, several reasons... 1) this ajoomma spoke weird korean.   in a way, u could say, she was trilingual: she spoke english, korean, n' amerikanised korean.   :-? like, when she was talking to us in korean, it was normal korean.   then when she spoke to us in english, she'd switch to korean a li'l but spoke in a weird amerikan accent.   the way i figure, it's that she's used to speaking to amerikans who try to speak cheesy korean, u know?   i think so.   neway, the fud there's honestly really overpri¢ed, so i don't think we'll go back in a long time, but well... yah, that restaurant's there.   what did we eat?   uhm, ξ minuh jorim n' galbitang.

on fri evening, we took off 4 monterey.   duk kyung watched sooni this past wknd.   uhm, b4 we left, i went to ѱ hangook market to pick up some kimbap n' soondae, which we ate on the car ride down.   we checked into the monterey hyatt regency, which i admit isn't as nice as i expekted.   wow, 4 the pri¢e i had to pay even thru hotwire.com, i admit we were a li'l disappointed.   i guess the hotel ¢o$ts so much cos it has a golf course, but we don't play golf.

on sat, we drove down to hearst castle.   i'd debated whether or not to buy the tix online ahead'f time, but i worried that we'd get there 2late n' miss the tour if i bought the tix ahead'f time.   well, the tix 4 the "main" tour were sold out till later in the afternoon, so we opted to take the garden tour instead, which wasn't a bad choice.   everything was so beautiful!   our docent / tour guide was really smart.   since the beach below was really foggy, the mansion really looked like a castle in the clouds.   *sigh* what beautiful scenery!   we had beautiful scenery along the whole drive.   yah, b4 we got to hearst castle, we pulled over to view elephant seals restingo n the beach.   after the tour, we ate some overpri¢ed bbq @ the visitor's center.   well, the fud wasn't bad just pri¢ed as if we were on the tahoe slopes.   we drove back up to monterey, n' stopped in carmel to buy some things @ longs drugs n' drive 'round the touristy area.   then we ate dinner @ stokes restaurant in monterey.   dude, that restaurant was awesome!   altho' expen$ive, it wasn't really overpri¢ed.   the restaurant was beautiful, yet the service was somewhat modest (in a good way; i.e., the servers weren't prententious).   we had some sardines on toasted bread, this duck confit salad, some morel shroom dish, n' this homemade lamb sausage dish.   later, we had this chocolate lava cake w/ some really good decaf coffee.   we asked the waitress 4 the name'f the coffee, n' she told us, "tazzina from santa cruz 'amalfi' blend."   that's nice she told us n' wrote it down.   oh yah, we also had a bottle'f 2002 syrah wine from san lucas.   as i sed, altho' dinner was expen$ive, it wasn't really overpri¢ed.

on sun, we drove back.   we walked 'round cannery row 1st, i guess.   it was overcrowded w/ tourists, so i got kind'f annoyed w/ it all.   oh yah, b4 we left the hotel, we ate their brunch buffet, which was a bit overpri¢ed but convenient.   on our drive back, we went to a farmer's stand in watsonville n' got lots'f good produce.

on mon nite, kaela cooked some pasta.   oh yah, on mon, during my lunch brk, i went to yahoo! to do a user research study.   on tues nite, we went to taekwondo praktice.   afterwards, to celebrate our aktual anniversary date, we went to ٶ nandarang (just the 2'f us... n' sooni) n' ate some gamjatang n' tongdalk (fried chicken) w/ some ddalgi sojoo.   it was fun.

last nite, we met up w/ some'f my ol' hi skool friends @ the oakridge bj's 4 dinner.   i had the spinach n' artichoke mini pizza, n' kaela had the chicken lettuce wrap.   we think kaela lost her expen$ive maui jim sunglasses there. *sigh*


2005.07.23

chocofaktory

438p, sat: waiting 4 charlie and the chocolate faktory to start @ amc mercado 20... hope it's @ least decent... aktually wanted to watch fantastic four or war of the worlds more.


2005.07.25

back to giovanni's

ħ: monday, monday.   b4 i proceed, i'd like to ask u to sign my gbook.   if u'r here, reading my journal, i think u ought to sign the gbook, yes.   neway, yah, how r u?   me? i'm ok.   as i wrote yesterday, i spent a significant time in doe library yesterday.   in the 'puter lab, i could only access .edu, .org,, n' .gov sites as they block .com sites unless u have a "calnet id."   well, i don't have 1, as i graduated way back in 1998.   *sigh* the beautiful kaela hwang n' i were s'pposed to attend a party that evening, but we stayed in the 'puter lab really late. after we left, we looked 4 fud cos we were so hungry, but stuff was closing.   we 1st tried kirala, that famously awesome japanese restaurant; but it had just closed.   the tables were all full, so as i approached the door, i was just hoping to get a seat.   kaela saw the clsoed sign b4 i did.   we thought'f more restaurants n' ended up @ giovanni's traditional italian restaurant.   wow, what a blast from the past.   the place brought back memories 4 both'f us.   kaela sed it brought back memories 4 her, but i mentioned that it cmed to bring back memories that i still couldn't quite 'member.   like, i'd known i'd been there more times than i'd 'membered, u know?   i 'membered that we went there 4 1 famous b.day party 4 jeff k. n' krishelle a long time 'go not 2 long in the easrly days'f the cal taekwondo party crew (p.crew).   *sigh* dude, those glory days happened so long 'go now.   back then, back in 1999, i really was a recent graduate.   well... now? i think i can still be considered a recent graduate but not from my bsme program @ cal but my msme program @ sjsu.   yesterday, while sittin' in the 'puter lab, i read thru lots'f my old journal entries.   heh, u should do that sometime, but i know u won't cos u don't have that kind'f time.   @ giovanni's, kaela had this angel hair pasta w/ scallops, n' i had this chicken jambalaya.   funny, that's not very italian, the jambalaya.   neway, 'twas fun to take sort'f a trip down memory lane.   the restaurant had a very berkeley feel to it in a subtle way.

2nite, i'm mtg up w/ some sjsu msme alum friends brian n' dave @ harry's hofbrau on saratoga rd n' stvns crk blvd.   i haven't cn them in a long time.

this morn, i got out'f the house earlier than usual n' got to werk earlier than usual.   i told kaela this wknd how, lately, it's been taking me 2 hrs to get out'f the house in the morn.   that is, from the time i wake up to the time i leave 4 werk, it really can be 2 hrs, 'specially cos i take sooni 4 her morn walk n' then often do housewerk.   kaela told me not to do housewerk in the morn but save it 4 the evening.   i s'ppose i'm trying that 2day, but i dunno... i worry that if i don't do it in the morn, i'll never get 'round to doing it.   dude, i've got so much yardwerk to catch up on.   i wanted to do it this wknd, but i ended up confined in the doe library 'puter lab instead.   it's hard to do yardwerk these days cos it's so hot in the middle'f the day.   days r only gettin' shorter now.   summer's good.

[later] : 2day's the 25th day'f july.   maybe it's a good time 4 us to start christmas $hopping! heh heh...   during my lunchbrk, i went to the werk.com gym n' did 20 mins'f hardcore stairmaster.   i s'pposedly almost burned 500 calories.   uhm, that's kcal, rt?   there's a diff btwn "calorie" w/ a lowercase c n' "Calorie" w/ an uppercase c.   i do 'member when i was 4 yrs old in pre.kindergarten @ gethsemane christian school in idaho falls, idaho, where the teacher told us that some lowercase letters have an upstairs n' a downstairs.   4 example "g," "p," n' "q" each have adownstairs as well as an upstairs.   i werked out @ lunch.   i felt "guilty" that i didn't exercise yesterday.   these days, i guess i'm weighing in @ ~153 lbs, which still makes me a feather weight by olympik taekwondo weight class rules.   by traditional taekwondo weight class rules, i'd need to be under 147.7 lbs.   [later] check out this article: color="black">New Party suggests Taiwan hosting 2008 Taekwondo.   funny funny... the short article talks 'bout how taiwan loves taekwondo, but man... this would sure be a political mess, rt?   unless 1 thinks'f it just like how japan n' korea co.hosted the 2002 world cup.   it's funny cos most ppl only 'member be the reds, Ź̳ shinmina, that korean futbol/soccer playa that moved to l.a. to play 4 their pro team, n' that korea hosted the 2002 world cup.   many ppl 4get that japan also hosted it.   baseball n' softball have been dropped from the 2012 london olympik games.   otherwise, in line w/ the linked article above, britain surely could've sed: "hey since, amerikans love baseball so much, let's host the olympik baseball event in 1'f the british colonies'f amerika... how 'bout new york?"

2day, 4 lunch, i brought a michelina's lean gourmet frzn dinner.   i also ate some yogurt.   man, all fud should be lo/non.fat, lo sugar w/ no hi fructose corn syrup, lo.na+, hi.protein, hi.fibre, organic, n' w/o preservatives.... oh yah, n' ¢heap... ha ha!


2005.07.26

back to harry's hofbrau

ȭ ħ: Ҷ б ģ ο ̺ ظ ȣ .   yesterday evening, after werk, i went to harry's hofbrau w/ my ol' skool friends brian n' dave.   when we got there, the beautiful kaela hwang was @ her dental apptmnt @ cerulean dental spa @ rivermark.   originally, when i couldn't reach her via cellfon, i figured she was @ the gym, so we waited 4 her to get there.   then she finally called back n' sed she was coming from the rivermark, so we went in.   brian originally picked harry's hofbrau as the venue 4 our reunion.   he sed he didn't know what kind'f restaurant it was, n' it sounded like he thought it was like a real german restaurant.   yah, i s'ppose u can get germanesque fud.   also, he did remark that was like a german bierhaus.   while waiting outside, he mentioned that he didn't realise it was cafeteria style n' asked me if they "still" had beer.   i realised he was looking 4 a place where we could have beer, fud, etc.   ah, yah, i told him that yes, they have biere.   i hadn't been there since i was a kid.   i wasn't sure, but maybe i hadn't been there since i was 10, back when biere was the last thing on my mind, heh heh.   neway, we got dinner from the cafeteria n' a pitcher'f some kind'f "lost coast great white beer" from lost coast brewery.   it's a very good biere.   it's pretty lite.   that was the 1st time i had biere @ harry's hofbrau, n' i felt it really completed the austrian.amerikan hofbrau experience!   consider what i ate: the bratwurst dinner.   that really made the austrian.amerikan hofbrau experience complete, nein?   i thought so.   i thought the meal wouldn't be very filling cos they only give u 1 sausage w/ sauerkraut n' some kind'f unhealthy.lookin' potatoes.   i also got an extra salad: broccoli salad which had some kind'f rich, mayonnaise.intense dressing that tasted a bit like bleu cheese or ranch.   they also give u "white or wheat" roll w/ ur dinner, so man... it's pretty filling along w/ a glass'f biere.   when kaela arrived, i recommended to her the stuffed cabbage cos i saw it on the menu n' know she likes that kind'f stuff.   the pitcher filled 3 glasses, so i returned to the bar to buy 1 more glass'f lost coast great white beer 4 kaela.   1 pitcher ¢o$t $11, but my friends gave me #4 each, so i paid w/ my ¢redit ¢ard n' left a $1 bill 4 tip.   a glass'f lost coast great white beer ¢o$ts $4.25, so i paid w/ 5 $1 bills n' let the barkeep keep 75¢ as tip.   interesting how tipping werks, eh?   sorry, baristress jeanna et al: i don't necessarily tip @ starbucks yet am more willing to tip @ a bar.   inetersting?   i'll tip @ a café now n' then, especially if they're particularly nice to sooni or sumpthin'.   when kaela n' i stopped @ some rip.off café on the way to hearst castle in the big sur area, i tipped even tho' the fud n' drinks were a total rip.off.   it's just that that café cmed like the kind'f place where i had to tip.   strange, huh?

neway, dude... i've gotten off topik!   @ the end'f our dinner, kaela got stomach.sick.   i drove her home in my car n' had brian drive her car home.   i drove brian back to get his car n' then went grocery $hopping @ albertsons.   later, brian called me n' sed he felt stomach.sick.   outbreak?   well, kaela agreed w/ me that it couldn't've been the harry's hofbrau fud cos the symptoms came on 2 fast after eating.   brian thought it was the biere cos that's the 1 thing we consumed in common, but i don't think it's that.   more likely it was coincidence.

i've been getting to werk earlier these days.   that's a good thing.


2005.07.27

ham n' eggs

sooyoil achim: how r u?   yes, plz sign my gbook!   the current versions been there 4 quite a while, n' only 1 person has signed it.   ernest is kewl.   so what's been up?   last nite, i came home from werk, pruned a cactus, went w/ the beautiful kaela hwang n' sooni to taekwondo praktice, hung out there 4 a long time afterwards talkin' to friends 'bout the recent korean.amerikan olympiks in philadelphia (where a bunch'f guys from our dojang competed n' won medals), went to 1'f kaela's sunnyvale rental property that she manages, went to fantasia to get boba drinks, n' went home.   @ home, i microwaved these safeway select frozen "lasagne rolls."   i dunno when we bought these.   it must've been that time we went to safeway@rivermark on our way back from tahoe (4 that chiropraktic conference).   i was so sleepy after eating.   in fakt, by the time we even got home, i was so sleepy.   kaela n' i fell asleep watching tv.   *sigh* i can't stay up like i used to.   i have been waking up earlier n' getting to werk earlier this wk.   i werked out in the gym both on mon n' on tues.   i like that.   u know, sometimes i wish i had the professional athlete's life.   i wish i could werkout n' exercise most'f the day.   wouldn't that be nice?   i often think 'bout the awesome werkout skedule we had on the 1999 ucmap korea trip, when we werked out @ yong.in daehakkyo.   dude, that was intense!   few ppl've ever werked out that hard, i tell ya.   we woke up early, werked out, ate brkfast, rested, werked out, ate lunch, rested, werked out @ least 1nce if not 2ice, ate dinner, werked out, then went to sleep, woke up n' did it again the enxt day.   dude, that was awesome n' pushed my body to its limits.   u c, ppl had complained that the previous yr's korea trip didn't ahve 'nuff werking out, so dude... they more than made up 4 it, i guess.   i wonder how recent korea trips have been.

[a li'l later] *sigh* i need to 1) clean up typos on my journal, n' 2) post up more pix.   this past month, i haven't maintained a good journal.   sorry.   i appreciate ur continued readership.

[later] how do i feel these days?   how'm i doing?   well, i'm bizzy w/ werk, yah.   i've been trying to werk efficiently nonetheless n' thus not stay2late@werk.com, u know?   there's lots'f cr@p to do @ home, 'round the house; so i try not to stay really late.   as i've sed, i've been trying to get to werk earlier these days.   my werkdays r quite loaded w/ werk.   it's not like i have 'lot'f free time during the werkday, 'specially since i've been going to the gym more often during my lunchbrks.   this wk, i ate lot'f frzn fud, which is good cos it's relatively ¢heap but very bad cos it's got 2 much na+,/super>.   *sigh* that's tuff, huh?   i mean, shoot, i'd love to eat whole fuds organik fud all the time, but it's dang expen$ive, don'tchu know?   yah, it's really expen$ive.   i s'ppose i need to eat more fruit.   recently, i ate 'lot'f peaches n' nectarines: that is, white peaches, n' white nectarines.   there's some juvenile joke that vampires like necktarines.   that's a lame joke.

{later] yesterday, while listening to the totally hits 2005 cd full'f pop musik that i bought to dj will n' alice's recent wedding, i thought 'bout how raunchy n' tasteless some top 40 musik lyrics r... i mean, u've got these slow songs that sound like they could be romantik, but the lyrics r saw raw n' blunt.   i mean sexually.   u've got these young singers singing such raunchy stuff, n' u know it's mostly kids listening to this stuff.   well, i'm not a prude, but... *sigh* or am i?   i find these amerikan pop musik lyrics to be trashy as well as lots'f popular amerikan tv.   yah, i find that stuff trashy, trashy, trashy.   i dunno, man; am i rt?   need i not consider if i'm wrong?   [a li'l later] i don't like amerikan tv much cos it's trashy, but i'm still ok, 4 the most part, w/ amerikan cinema.   i hope we watch some movies this wknd.   [later] well, maybe we'll still try to go to the 2005 us taekwondo akademy beach bbq.   i had hoped to go, but recently, kaela's been attending this sports chiropraktic class on sat morns, so that's really thrown my wknd plans into total turmoil. (ok, a li'l hyperboleic, hyperbolistic, or whatever...)   i dunno, man, i figure if kaela goes to this class every sat morn now, that gives me time to do certain things that i guess i more typically do by myself neway, stuff like jogging w/ sooni or else doing some church stuff, or maybe stuff w/ the guys from our t3s grx small grp. *shrug*

[later] : i took some silly iq test on tickle.com.   i got 138 w/ my intellektual type being "visionary philospher."   however, i didn't try really hard.   i think i can score much better, yes.   i also had some teknical netwerk probs during the test.   yah, i think i can score better.   usually, iq tests r done taking time into acct.   i did this test on the side, werking on other stuff.   also, those netwerk issues slowed me down.   someday, i'd like to take a real iq test, even tho' i'm not sure what that'll prove.   according to http://members.shaw.ca/delajara/IQtable.html, my measly score'f 138 puts me in the 99.4350805958th percentile.

[later] ok, here's sumpthin' interesting to discuss:

money magazine's top 100 places to live 2005 (highlights from the list)
1. moorestown, pa
2. bainbridge island, wa
3. naperville, il - i lived there back in 1978~1979!
4. vienna, va
5. louisville, co
6. barringington, ri
7. middleton, wi
8. peachtree city, ga
9. chatham, nj
10. mill valley, ca - the highest ranked californian city!
11. larchmont, ny
12. greenwich, ct
13. westwood, ma
14. blue bell, pa
15. princeton, nj
16. chanhassen, mn
17. gaithersburg, md
18. powell, oh
19. thiensville, wi
20. ellicott city, md
21. yorba linda, ca - hey! we're rather familiar w/ this city!   it's richard nixon's city, n' some'f our acquired by marriage family members hail from that region...
25. coronado, ca - this is by san diego
26. saratoga, ca - highest ranked bay area city!
27. redmond, wa - microsoft
65. aptos, ca - near santa cruz
66. santa barbara, ca
68. chino hills, ca - hrm, but what 'bout chino w/o the "hills"???   honestly, chino (w/o the hills) is pretty nice itself but just gets a bad rap from tv.
71. newbury park, ca
81. benecia, ca - way the heck out there.... i dunno if i consider this "bay area."
88. petaluma, ca - uh, wait... this is way the heck out there.   compared to petaluma, benicia is in the bay area.
93. lincoln, ca - somewhere near sacto (sacramento)...   it sounds familiar to me, n' i think it's somewhere off the 50 but could be wrong.

how does my town rank?   well, santa clara, ca didn't make the top 100 list, but here r the stat money magazine gives:
santa clara, ca (http://money.cnn.com/best/bplive/snapshots/46548.html):

some other fakts 'bout nearby cities:

i'm sure some1's asked them to add a racial diversity index to their stats cos we can all tell that 'least their top 20 cms to be a list'f places w/ the least asian population.   i mean, mill valley is in the bay area, but it's in marin county, which isn't the most racially diverse place in the bay area...

{later] oh, i 4got to mention that i werked out in the werk.com gym during lunchbrk.   that's where i read money magazine's list while stretching after lifting weights n' spending 20 mins on a reclined stationary bike.   i'm considering werking out a 2nd time 2nite @ the hamilton bally's gym, but i know i also need to do some yardwerk.   i'm conflikted.   i know kaela has her "gonstead club" chiroprkatic thingy 2nite, so i don't need to rush newhere to be w/ her.

[later] 945p: i werked the full day, then i went to costco.   @ 1st, i thought it'd be sort'f relaxing to be somewhere other than the office, but it was so crowded there, n' i got stressed cos'f that.   i went cos kaela wanted some bottled h2o.   it was so crowded.   while waiting in line, i thought, "isn't it funny that clubs n' concerts r really crowded, yet we like to go to them; while when places like costco r crowded, we don't enjoy it."   yah, i didn't really enjoy it.   it was really crowded n' ppl kept almost bumping into me, etc.   after that, i came home n' pulled weeds... well, not really weeds... but our front yard has these pussy willows that have grown all over the place n' taken over the front yard.   well, i guess that makes 'em weeds, huh?   kaela went to her gonstead club, so i knew i was on my own 4 dinner.   what did i eat?   i took some coldcut ham, i washed it in an attempt to get some'f the na+ out, put it in a hot pan, added a couple'f eggs, n' then added a li'l mozzarella.   i also put plenty'f hot sauce n' red pepper flakes.   it was a protein dinner, i guess.   on my way out'f costco, i ran into mark n' his friend tony.


2005.07.28

earlier to bed, earlier to rise

ħ, mokyoil achim: from the koreanjindolist y! grp: "The solution is very simple. You place one hand gently over your own dogs muzzle and very loudly say "NOT BUNNY, NOT BUNNY"."   i replied: "i particularly like the "not bunny, not bunny" part!"   g.morning.   (g'morning.)   the past 2 nites, i fell asleep rather easily; rather, i pretty much passed out.   *sigh* these days, i can't stay up late @ all.   i usually can't even stay 'wake thru an 1100p~1200a k.drama!   it sucks, in a way, cos i wanna watch those shows; but it's also good cos it's always good to do the "early to bed, early to rise" thing, no?   i think so... 'specially when u'r a werkin' dude like me...   if i were a student i could do more'f the stay up late n' study thing, but eh...   i wonder if i've totally left that life behind, heh heh.

last nite, i did last'f yardwerk.   oh yah, i already talked 'bout that.   this morn, i woke up.   hrm, yah, most morns, i wake up.   lately, as i sed, i've been falling asleep early.   however, since i make it a habit to drink lots n' lots'f h2o 4 good health, i end up waking up 'lot in the middle'f the nite or else early morn to pee.   i dunno if that's degrading the quality'f my sleep since it's not continuous.   neway, yah... i end up having to empty my bladder.   this morn, i went 4 a quick jog w/ sooni out to the bank to get some ¢a$h.   i tried to jog fast in order to save time, i.e., in order to get to werk on time.   i wanted to continue my trend'f getting to werk early, but i ended up just getting to werk on time not really early but definitely not late.   i was slowed down cos i thought i left my security id badge at home, but i had aktually left it in my car when i went to costco yestserday.   upes.


2005.07.29

shave those sideburns, lose some weight.

ݿ ħ, geumyoil achim: july's ending.   the last werkwk in july 2005 ends 2day.   crazy, huh?   summer's flying by.   "summer is ready when you are." was part'f some song by the breeders in the early 1990s.   tell me more 'bout that song plz; i 4get.   try googlin' up "the breeders" "summer is ready when you are".   didju find nehting interesting?   :-/ well, i think the song came out the summer btwn my frosh n' soph yrs'f uc berkeley.   i think so.   life sure was diff back then; the world was different (back then).   cell fons, flat panel monitors, dsl, wi.fi?   no those things weren't widely available as they r 2day, no.   however, i 'member some good things 'bout the world n' the country in those days.   back then, that summer, i had moved in w/ fahad.   vince was off on the east coast that summer, but fahad n' lived in our 2520 hillegass ave., #218 apt.   fahad had a friend from hi.skool crashing w/ us that summer.   it was a warm summer, i think.   nowadays, when we drive up to berkeley from the sobay, we always feel that berkeley's so much colder/cooler than the sobay.   however, i 'member it being warmer in those days.   am i rt? am i wrong? or am i just dreaming?

[later] weight maintenance: this morning, i weighed in @ ~148 lbs.   that's good.   keep in mind that when i was a taekwondo competitor, i always had to weigh.in under 147.7 lbs to fight as a feather weight.   i like to keep that rule'f thumb.   in the days since we left berkeley, i've done more weightlifting, so i s'ppose i have more muscle than b4.   aktually, that might not be true.   in the past, in berkeley, i did 'lot'f taekwondo, more than now.   thus, i may've lost muscle in my legs n' gained it in my upper body.   :-( hrm, that's true, n' i don't like that.   i don't aim to have that amerikan, top heavy physique.   in gen'l, if nething, i aim to have the more balanced, martial artist's physique, if nething.   i s'ppose "martial artist's physique" isn't the rt term cos the "ideal" taekwondo body's unlike the ideal judo body.   ok, well, if nething, i aim to have the taekwondoist's physique.   i would like to do more taekwondo, but it's hard cos our dojang doesn't have open werkout / open gym the way ucmap did.   :-( back in berkeley, i pretty much prakticed taekwondo every weeknite.   now? it's 1~2 times a wk.   i don't like that.   i need to praktice more.   neway, a few days 'go, i weighed in @ ~153 lbs w/ a body fat percentage'f 4%.   2day, i was ~148 lbs w/ a body fat percentage'f 5.8?%.   then, i tried 'gain using the "athlete" setting on that body fat measuring scale.   that time, i got "no" as the percentage.   does that mean i have no body fat? ha ha, yah rt!   i have plenty.

last nite, the beautiful kaela hwang met up w/ our ol' friend cal n' our ol' friend dave 4 dinner @ masa's sushi in mtn view.   cal's moving out'f the state to attend mba skool @ the university'f chicago.   yesterday was his last day'f werk on the peninsula, so he got us to come out, since we're sort'f in the area n' all.   the restaurant's aktually relatively close to my office, but we got so lost finding it cos san antonio rd. does this stoopid thing, where the nombres go up as u go farther from california st in either direktion!   argh!   that's so frustrating!   google maps sent me the wrong direktion. >:-( google's lokated in mtn view, so i hope they fix that prob.   neawy, around the dinner table, we talked 'bout how we all do like google.

[a li'l later] cal, dave, n' i have similar birthdates: respektively, 1975.08.18, 1975.08.20, n' 1975.08.21.   kaela's is also simliar but to a slightly lesser extent cos she's ~1yr younger: 1976.08.14.   all'f our b.days r coming up.   the 3'f us guys turn 30 this yr.   how do i feel 'bout that?   well, i think when i was younger i prob'ly thought it'd be scarier than it is.   these days, my friends who r over 30 cm so youthful that they really take away all fear'f passing 30 myself.   really!   the 1s w/ kids, the 1s w/o kids, they all (mostly) cm pretty youthful.   next month, i turn 30.   kaela's asked what i want to do 4 my b.day.   well... *shrug* as always, u know what? i don't mind just having dinner.   if i ever had 1 special request, it's to go w/ a grp'f friends to noraebang, but that cms less n' less likely these days than b4 cos i have less friensd that like that sort'f thing than i used to.   i always enjoy a good evening @ a korean hof (ȣ) 4 a b.day.   we can have some nice bar fud n' maekjoo (biere).   kaela has suggested going to miyake's, the crazy sake bomb bar on university ave. in stanfurd country; but, no, i really don't wanna go there.   1) i don't like partying in stanfurd territory, behind enemy lines; 2) i don't like the frat party / sorority party atmosphere; 3) i feel the use'f a nice japanese restaurant (the fud's aktually really good.) as a frat party venue is such an affront to my asian heritage; 4) it's 2 loud to hear ne1 talk in there; 5) it's 2 hard to enjoy the good sushi when it's so hektic @ nite there.   the fud's good there.   i've been to the cupertino lokation, n' that's better.   well, u know what's worse than miyake's in stanfurd country? miyagi's on the sunset in l.a.   that's a total frat party, n' the muzik sucks!   neway, what do i want to do 4 my b.day?   heh, that's such an odd question 4 me. *sigh* heh, i 'member that a couple'f yrs 'go, my 1 request was to eat soondae on my b.day, not that there's ne tradition that i know'f regarding the consumption'f soondae on 1's b.day, but it's just that i like that particular rice/blood sausage dish.   perhaps it reminds me'f 1'f the funnest b.days i had in my mid 20s, when i turned uh... 26??? in korea since i was there 4 the ucmap trip.   aktually, it's kind'f funny that i think'f soondae cos my mom has some taiwanese tradition'f eating pig's feet n' noodles on 1's b.day cos pigs run fast n' noodles r long (4 long life).   funny.   i mean, it's funny cos pig's feet (ʹ jjokbal / jokbal) r often associated w/ soondae.   i guess they might both be considered like lowbrow fud to some.

[later] ohoo: this afternoon, i noticed that yahoo! launched a feature called yahoo! 360°, which cms to aim to compete w/ friendster.   wow.

it's fri 2day.   we don't have t3s grx couples bible study 2nite cos we have a scheduled brk.   the core team (leaders) designated 2nite as a nite 4 the couples to go out on dates by themselves.   hrm, ok.   yah, kaela n' i used to do that on fri nites more often than we do now.   2day's fri, then it'll be 2 days'f wknd, n' then it'll be mon.   on mon, i'll have a bizzy day cos ppls furniture'll deliver a dresser ~800a.   then, @ noon, i have a chiropraktic apptmnt @ the palmer clinic.   neway, dude; 1 day @ a time.   day's fri.   2nite, i hope to do sumpthin' fun w/ kaela.   2morrow, we have that u.s. taekwondo akademy beach bbq.   i hope kaela n' i go.   i dunno.   she has some class from 900a to 100p.   *sigh* there's also some grx church clean up 2morrow morn.   i wouldn't mind doing some jogging or werking out as well 2morrow morn.   i dunno, man.   what's gonna happen?   on sun, we'll go to church.   in the afternoon, kaela's s'pposed to meet w/ a real estate client, n' me? i'm s'pposed to meet w/ a couple 4 whom i'm djing their wedding.   i agreed to meet up w/ them in mtn view, i think.   wknd, wknd, wknd.   i guess i'm glad i did yardwerk this past wk during the wk.   i like that.   in gen'l, i had a very good wk, n' i attribute that to, well, god almighty n' the fakt that i got to werkout in the werk.com gym during lunch.   i've had a pretty good wk.

[later] hair: i haven't had a haircut in a long, long time; not since kaela cut it rt b4 alice n' will's wedding.   i don't necssarily think my hair looks great or even good or even acceptable rt now.   in the past yr or so, i've developed this questionable habit'f letting my sideburns grow.   it's this phase i go thru eery now n' then.   i did it now n' then in college as well.   i guess i even tried it a li'l in hi skool.   i don't ever wear a beard or moustache altho', 4 better or worse, i'm an asian guy who can grow facial hair if i want to.   there's this poorly based notion that east asian guys don't grow much facial hair.   have they met phil or ed?   these gentlemen r often great examples'f 5 o.clock shadow.   i guess ppl have this prejudice that east asian guys don't grow much facial hair in comparison to middle eastern or south asian guys.   *shrug* neway, is it necessarily a good thing to be hairy?   imagine if i didn't shave my face.   there've been a few times in the past few yrs when i went a few days w/o shaving.   i never set out to grow a beard or moustache, but i saw the precursors to them in pix from those certain days.   goatees... in the past decade or so, goatees regained marketshare.   neway, i don't ever wear a beard or moustache, but i guess i've developed this questionable habit'f letting my sideburns grow.   ppl take note'f it now.   like, yesterday, cal asked me, "so... how long have you been doing 'elvis'?"   i 4get, but i know other ppl've been asking me 'bout the sideburns.   oh yah, it was brian n' dave (other dave, sjsu msme classmate dave) on mon nite.   *sigh* well, it's not that i'm succumbing to peer pressure or nething, but i guess i'll consider "losing the sideburns hippy."   :-/ in case u didn't know, that's a slight reference to the simpsons episode in which the springfield nuclear power plant has some big softball tournament.   in that episode, mr. burns (the plant owner) hires a bunch'f pro mlb baseball playas to be ringers 4 their team, booting the actual employee team.   burns keeps telling (i think it's) don mattingly to lose or shave his sideburns or sumpthin'.   burns keeps telling the baseball playa that even tho' the playa has no sideburns, so eventually, the dude shaves up the side'f his head, n' still burns isn't satisfied n' thus kicks the playa off the team.   how did i let my sideburns get run so wild?   yah, i just thought 'bout that 2day, n' i think maybe it's cos i don't dye or bleach my hair nemore n' yet still feel a need to do sumpthin' diff w/ it.   i don't enjoy the corporate black hair colour i've been sportin' 4 the past couple'f yrs.   i dunno.   i guess i've felt that dyeing my hair'd be 2 much but that growing sideburns was ok.   i dunno, man.   i'll reconsider it, i s'ppose.   1 thing 'bout growing sideburns is that it lets kaela know when she needs to cut my hair 'gain.   'nother thing is that i feel that when i have sideburns, if i don't get a haircut that often, it doesn't show so much... maybe that's cos ppl r 2 distrakted thinking bad thoughts 'bout my sideburns.   it's funny, but those 2 "things" i just mention kind'f contradikt each other... but maybe not.


2005.07.30

salvaging saturday

ħ 1137a: i'm in my werk.com gym, altho' i should be @ grx (church), helping w/ the cleanup.   :-(   i didn't exercise yesterday, so i felt really icky this morn. :-(   last nite, i took the beautiful kaela hwang to a nice dinner @ zucca on castro in mtn view.   we brought sooni w/ us to stroll down this nice silly valley cultural treasure'f a street n' looked 4 fud.   it wasn't a monthversary or nething, just a "date nite."   i s'ppose i hadn't necessarily expekted to end up somewhere as nice n' extravagant as zucca, but eh! 'twas nice.   it's just good that i'd been eating ¢heap frzn dinners 4 lunch most'f the wk @ werk.   phew.   [later] 109p: now i'm @ home.   i didn't go newhere after the werk.com gym.   b4 i went to the gym, tho', i went to costco to buy some listerine mouthwash w/ a nice coupon.   i had to wait in line just to buy 1 stoopid bottle'f mouthwash, but i tried not to stress since 'twas a beautiful mon morn.   then... i wasn't sure what i'd do, n' i felt icky, as i sed.   @ 1st, i thought i'd drive down to the hamilton/meridian bally gym.   i'd 4gotten my fon @ home, so i went home n' got it.   then, i decided @ that pt to go to the werk.com gym n' then go to the church cleanup, but i never made it to the church cleanup.

301p: i'm still @ home.   this wknd's turning out pretty bad.   we rn't @ the beach.   kaela invited some skool friends to go along w/ us, so we 1st waited 4 them, but then they never showed up.   then we finally got in the car to drive off; but, as i was closing the garage door, kaela sed she 4got her sunglasses.   i stopped the garage door from closes, so it paused in place.   kaela ran in to her car to get her sunglasses n' hit her head on the garage door, so well... we're here @ home.   *sigh* :-( now that werk's bizzy, wknds r so precious, n' *sigh* this has turned out to be a bad wknd.

check this out: benomix? google?.   yah, logogle.com has this google logo maker.   funny.


2005.08.01

b.days, weddings, funerals

ħ, wuhlyoil achim: ya, pawuhli oneul sijakhaeyo?   dude, so august starts 2day?   crazy.   summer's flying by, no?   r we enjoying this summer?   r we?   during the beautiful kaela hwang's 3.wk summer brk, we did 'lot.   surprisingly, we didn't aktually go to socal so far this summer, i.e. we went over the memorial day wknd, but that's teknically spring not summer, rt?   isn't that funny?   we'll spend lots'f time in socal this fall.   well, will it still be summer @ that pt?   yah, i guess so.   thus, we'll be in socal a li'l @ the end'f this summer n' quite a bit more @ the beginning'f this fall.   then when'll snowboarding season resume?   crazy, huh?   during kaela's 3.wk summer brk, we $pent 2 much $$$.   this wknd, i $pent a li'l 2 much $$$ on going out to eat @ decent places.   stuff ¢o$ts 2 much these days.   i'm scared to c my next ¢redit ¢ard bill cos'f the awful $pending we did while kaela was on $pring break.   up until this wknd, the following ¢redit ¢ard bill wasn't looking 2 bad. *sigh* it's tuff.   sure, living in the bay area's ¢o$tly, yah; but...   really, this is where i wanna live.   silicon valley: amerika's real heartland!

last nite, kaela cut my hair.   that's 1 miniscule way i $ave $$$, having kaela cut my hair instead'f shelling out ~$10 4 a haircut @ the local viet/chinese places.   other than that r there ne ways we're $aving $$$ these days?   not $pending $$$ isn't the same thing as $aving $$$, rt?   just cos we don't go out to eat every nite @ nice restaurants, we can't say that's a means'f saving $$$ cos we shouldn't be doing that in the 1st place.   on fri nite, we had a relatively extravagant dinner, especially considering that it wasn't our monthversary or ne special day other than "date nite," our brk from our usual t3s grx couples small grp bible study on fri nites.   dinner @ zucca was awesome, i admit.   zucca ristorante (middle eastern / mediterranean cuisine): 186 castro st; mtn view, ca 94041; fon: 650.864.9940   kaela had this greek sea bass, which wasn't much like sea bass @ all but still good, as she sed.   it tasted more like a trout or sumpthin', but i guess that's what "greek" sea bass is. *shrug*   i had this braised sonoma rabbit (bunny) bunny! w/ truffled shroom risotto.   sounds rather luxurious, eh?   yah, it was really good.   we also split a baby spinach w/ "stone fruit," feta, pine nuts, and shallot vinaigrette salad.   the "stone fruit" appeared to be dried cherries.   i ordered us this chateau st. michelle 2003 gewurztraminer that was really a bit overpri¢ed.   this place ¢harges a bit 2 much 4 wine, i've gotta say.   of course, pretty much allsome restaurants over¢hard more than others.   neway... yah, we had a bottle'f this nice gewurztraminer w/ our dinner.   ofter dinner, w/ our giant banana baklava w/ cinnamon aisukuriimu (gelato?) n' "chocolate caramel" (i don't think i saw or tasted much chocolate if ne) sauce, we each had a nf decaf latte.   the owner also gave us each a free glass'f muscat wine.   the owner n' managers there r really friendly.   it's hard not to like this restaurant when the owners n' managers r so nice.   i think i gave very candid opinions on this restuarnat just now.   i know, in a way, cos i gave some criticism, it sounds like i didn't like this restaurant, but i think on dine.com, where i'm a li'l bit harsh'f a critic, i'm gonna give'em 5 stars, the highest rating.   the fud was good.

well, we stayed @ zucca really, really late.   i'm impressed that the mtn view castro scene's open so late.   i like that.   it was awesome cos sooni was w/ us the whole time.

u know what i did saturday cos i've already talked 'bout it.   i went to the gym.   then we didn't go to the beach.   in the evening, kaela cooked some safeway 'fridgerated ravioli, which was good.   we finished watching the kbs miniseries nanrang 18sei on dvd, which roland gave us 4 christmas.   it' s a really good drama.   we started watching the classic on dvd, which i've already watcdhed 1.5 times on my own.   it's an aweome movie.   i really like movies like this.   we went to fantasia @ the cupertino 99.   that was fun.   kaela n' i each had a boba drink.   it was so hot in our house, so we wanted to get out.   fantasia was crowded since it was such a beautiful, silicon valley, summer nite.   we brought sooni w/ us, of coruse.   we sat outside.   we started to resume watching the slassic there, but some young dudes started smoking, next to us, so we left 4 a wlk.   outside'f shengkee bakery, we sniffed n' sniffed 4 that li'l bit'f butter smell that made it thru the locked doors.   ah, asian bakeries smell so good.   well, shoot... bakeries in gen'l smell good.   we went home after a nice walk.   it was a beautiful summer nite, n' even tho i was grouchy 'bout not making it to the beach, i had no rt to be; none whatsover.   however, on sun morn, when we talked to duk kyung @ church, it sure sounded like they had a such a huge blast @ the beach, n' i do wish so much that we had made it.

on sun morn, we went to church.   we tried to get there on time.   we didn't get there on time but not as late as we've been in the past, but we still got there only just as the beginning worship musik was ending. :-( as i sed b4, services r shorter now that they're / we're having 3 morning worship services @ sunnyvale (well, 2 morning + 1 early afternoon, i s'ppose.)   pastor andy fitzgerald talked 'bout not losing hope.   he read 'lot from the book'f ruth 'bout naomi, ruth, n' boaz.   his sermon was entitled "hanging on to hope."   wow, he really gave a good overview'f their story, n' i've gotta admit that i enjoyed just hearing the story.   that's awesome, man.   1 thing pastor andy sed was that we should be honest 'bout our disappointment(s), i.e. when we're disappointed.   wow, i hadn't really thgouht'f that b4, i think.   he pted out that many christians think they've always gotta be happy or 'least appear happy n' cheerful n' joyous.   he discussed a line from the movie the apostle: "lord i love you, but i'm mad at you."   wow, what an inspriing sermon!   u can always listen to the sermons online, u know.   in fakt, i'll prob'ly re.listen to it online 2day.   this 1 dude got baptised @ the end'f the service, n' then pastor andy continued to wrap up the service w/ announcements while still in the baptismal pool, so we all laffed cos that looked rather humourous.

after church, kaela n' i went grocery $hopping 2gether @ the safeway on homestead n' kiely.   afterwards we went home n' made sandwiches.   then kaela went to get her car washed n' went off to meet a real estate client.   i dozed off on the couch, then went to meet melanie n' oliver @ the cupertino fantasia.   we talked 'bout wedding stuff n' other things.   later, kaela met us there.   then later, we went over to my mom's nearby open house.   then, kaela n' i brought sooni (she was w/ us the whole time.) to the stevens crk blvd pet fud express 4 a wash.   then we went to santana row 4 dinner @ pasta pomodoro.

[later] , ohoo: i went to palmer's clinic 4 a physicalcheckup.   i'm not totally sure why i went, but it's free cos kaela's a student there.   it took longer than i expekted, so i ended up having to skip lunch.   i'm hungry.   this mron, i had to wait 4 a delivery from peoples furniture.   they were s'pposed to come @ 800a, but @ 845a, they called n' sed they'd be there in 45 mins, so i took off to werk, n' then later went back home to meet them.  t hey delivered a dresser.   *sigh* what a day.   just now, my dad told me that my uncle george passed away this wknd.   he was always a nice guy.   that's sad.   he has good kids.   there's a memorial service 4 him on thurs morn, so i guess i'll step out'f werk to go to that.   i dunno if i hafta take a whole day off or what.  4 a while, he owned a dairy belle freeze on stevens crk bld, near lawrence expwy, near where there's now bed, bath, n' beyond.   i s'ppose this yr, i'm going to lots'f weddings but also more funerals than i expekted.

[later] u know what? it's my bro.in.law steve's b.day 2day (sister's husband).   happy b.day, steve.

[later] , juhnyuk, still@werk.com: hrm, man... i'm just thinking 'bout mortality.


2005.08.02

dogster

ȭ , hwayoil ohoo: here's sumpthin' i read from a link off'f (super)dave kim's starkdavingmad, which'll soon changed to "evadave" or sumpthin' like that: "bad to the last drop" by tom standage, published 2005.08.01 in the new york times.

some things i need to do when i find time:

i didn't really finish yesterday's entry.   u know what?   this wknd turned out better than it looked on sat.   i guess it fantasia (boba café) had 'lot to do w/ it.   after all, we went to fantasia on sat nite n' on sun afternoon.   on sun, not only did we hit up santana row 4 pasta pomodoro, but we had a blast w/ sooni in this secret, hidden dog park'f which i won't reveal the lokation.   it was awesome.   we had the whole park to ourselves.   sooni was a good gurl! :-) we had the chance to play fetch w/ her in a dog park!   we were so happy!   a family showed up w/ a chow, n' they knew we were worried that sooni n' the chow wouldn't get 'long, so they sed they'd come back after dinner.   however, when sooni met the chow rt there, when they 1st showed up, it wasn't that bad.   the chow barked n' growled.   sooni barked n' growled, but they calmed down pretty fast!   jindos n' chows r both s'pposedly kind'f dominant breeds.   the chow as a puppy.   i think it knew to defer to sooni, n' sooni was happy w/ that.   neway, the family did decide to come back later, so we just enjoyed the dog park by ourselves.   *sigh* it was very happy 4 us.   sunday evening was pretty relaxing there.   dinner was relaxing, the dog park was relaxing.   earlier, we had washed sooni @ pet fud express's self.service pet wash.   that was fine.   sooni never loves baths, but she ended up sooo clean.   pet fud express rocks.   sooni's a really good dog.

oh yah, yesterday, i discovered dogster n' immediately put soon on it.

as i was saying, this past wknd turned out ok, even tho' the outlook looked bleak.   however, yesterday, kind'f started out ok, but ended up not as good as i hoped.   1st off, the delivery ppl from peoples furniture were late.   i'd expekted them @ 800a, but they called @ 845a n' sed they'd be there in 45 mins, so i went to werk n' planned to come back 'round 930a.   i was in the parking 'lot @ 920a, when they called n' sed they were @ our house w/o ne1 home, so i told them i'd be there in 5 mins.   aktually, the traffik was good, so i was there really fast.   i should be thankful 'bout that.   the dresser came in fine.   sooni was aktually nice to the delivery ppl.   i worried that she'd growl @ them cos kaela sed she growled @ a delivery guy from ppls furniture b4.   sooni was fine w/ these 2 guys, n' kaela sed neither'f them were the guy sooni growled @ b4.

@ lunch time, i went to the palmer chiropraktic college's clinic 4 a physical check.up.   i really dunno why.   i guess i thought i was going in 4 a quick treatment, not a check.up.   neway, it took up my whole lunchbrk, so i didn't get to eat nething 4 lunch.   that kind'f put me in a bad mood 4 the rest'f the day.   i didn't feel good.   i had no energy.   i werked late to make up 4 lost time cos'f those 2 trips out'f the office.   i didn't exercise.   i didn't go to the gym.   i didn't know where kaela was.   when i got home, i thought 'bout jogging w/ sooni but had no energy so just took her 4 a walk.   i tried to call kaela but no answer.   i wasn't sure if she might've gone to the gym.   i knew she had stopped by home cos the mail was in.   i had a strong feeling that she didn't go to the gym but went to study w/ ppl or sumpthin'.   yah, i was rt.   neway, she came home late.   i had eaten some leftover pasta sauce w/ some fettuccine 4 dinner.   i had no energy.   i felt lousy.   my body felt kind'f achy, my head felt stuffed, i didn't feel good.   i felt sick but not in a diagnosable way.   what do u call that?


2005.08.04

uncle george's funeral

702p: i'm waiting 4 the beautiful kaela hwang in the car, in front'f ay chung noodle house in milpitas.   i hope they accept ¢redit ¢ard; do they?   [later] 1117p: apparently, they accept ¢redit ¢ard; 4 pur¢ha$es over $15.   kaela had their "satay squid bean noodle soup," i had their pai goo fan (i guess that's what u call it.) (pork chop rice), n' we shared an uhah jien (oyster/egg/veggie pancake) n' a taro freeze (milkshake).   dude, the fud was all good, but i made 1 bad mistake: after the waiter n' waitress delivered all our fud, i quickly ran over w/ my plate to the condiment n' utensil table, blotted my pork chop w/ a white paper napkin, n' then proceeded to totally, totally cover the chop w/ 1) red pepper powder ( ); 2) red chili hot sauce, which kaela later told me she knew from experience was very spicy hot; 3) black pepper powder ( ); n' 4) more n' more red pepper powder ( ).   it was pretty spicy.   ſ.   i told kaela, it was like globalthermonuclear @ cluck u. (aka university chicken); it wasn't nearly as hot as their 911 challenge but somewhere around their globalthermonuclear.   i'd 4gotten that theirnred pepper powder ( )'s used 4 that basil fried chicken thingy, which's sometimes made decently spicy.   neway, it wasn't 2 spicy 4 me, but i had cool my mouth off w/ the fatt'ning, purple taro milkshake,which was so effektive n' thus apparently really fatt'ning since oily thing soothe burning tongues by washing off the spicy oils.   well, 'twas a nice taiwanese dinner.   :-)   afterwards, we walked over to fantasia, where kaela ¢a$hed in our filled up buy 9 get 1 free fantasia frequenl buyer/drinker card 4 a subsidised toffee crunch freeze/milkshake.   then kaela went to her office, n' i went to safeway@rivermark to buy 4 2.litres (of soda) 4 2morrows t3s grx couples small grp bible study mtg.

2day was uncle george's funeral, 1030a this morning @ oak hills funeral home.   i rushed over from werk n' was scared'f getting into accident.   i enjoyed cing relatives alto' under such un4tunate circumstances.   while in taiwan 4 my grandfather's funeral in may, i told my cousins that i hoped to c them all 'gain soon but hopefully @ a wedding or sumpthin'.   *sigh* oh well...   i was glad to learn this wk that uncle george was a christian.   that's great.   i feel much better n' com4table in the confident knowledge that he's in heaven.   kaela n' i prayed 4 him n' his family last nite.

the service was pretty simple.   my cousins naomi n' peter shared some good memories.   peter opened his talk w/an awesome quote from pastor marcus givens: "faith is the refusal to panic."   that's awesome.   my dad also spoke, n' so did my friends' dad who was my dad's classmate.   pastor dennis low gave the msg.   is that what u call that a eulogy?   i'm not sure.

after the service, some'femy relatives went to king buffet 4 lunch.   i had to hurry back to werk.   i pulled into a mini strip mall n' bought a 6" #3 turkey sandwich combo w/ olestra light potato chips n' some diet pepsi.   i ate most'f it if in the car on the way back, driving.   i tried to enjoy it.

oh, shoot!   it's 1255a on 20050805.   if i wanna continue writing, then i need to start a new entry.


2005.08.05

Ϳ ⸣±.   Դϱ, ϳԴϱ?*

ݿ ħ 926a: 㿡 κ .   yesterday nite, i met 2 ppl.   1 person left me feeling a li'l uncom4table, n' the other was ok:

  1. the 1st dude i met was while i was $hopping 4 2.litres'f soda @ safeway@rivermark.   while, trying to figure out if squirt soda is a coca.cola produkt n' thus qualified 4 the 4 bottles 4 $5 sale, this south.asian man interrupts me n' asks me if the soda's ne good.   as a decent fan'f grapefruit sodas, i sed, "yah, it's pretty good" n' continue to explain how it's grapefruit not lemon n' that it's "sumpthin' different."   then the dude looks @ me n' akts surprised n' asked, "hey, don't u werk @ cisco?".   i explain to him that i don't n' that i've never been there n' we go on into further discussion, n' he asks 'bout my career.   he asks if i'm willing to do werk on the side, n' i dunno... i guess, he had sed nice things 'bout my werk n' edukation, so i thought maybe he needed my help on some kind'f engineering projekt n' would be willing to compen$ate, etc.   however, after i gave him my info, i realised that he's prob'ly recruiting 4 some kind'f mlm (multi.level marketing) program, basikally, a pyramid scheme.   argh!   well, we'll c when he calls, but that conversation made me regret 4 a sec my outgoing nature.
  2. after i went home, i went 4 a long walk w/ sooni.   we walked pretty far n' killed like 2 hrs or so.   well, we didn't walk fast.   the wewatherw as sooo nice.   Ҿ!   we eventually walked out to the korean strip mall @ the corner'f kiely n' benton.   coincidentally, that guy @ safeway w/ the "bizness opportunity" sed he lives on kiely n' benton, but i didn't run into him 'gain.   rather, on our way back down kiely, we ran into this older, senior korean man, who was nice, n' we talked 4 a while.   ppl in gen'l love sooni n' stop to talk 'bout her, but i guess it's a li'l diff experience when korean ppl stop to talk, especially in korean.   lately, i've felt that my korean speaking skills needed praktice, so that was kewl.   i had 4gotten what " soonom" n' "ϳ amnom" mean.   he was asking me if sooni's a he or she, n' i didn't understand.   i started to ask if he was asking if she lived inside or outside.   he chuckled n' sed, " ƴϸ ?" ("yuhja animyuhn namja?" / "boy or gurl?")   ah, yuhja!   then he asked if i don't speak korean well, n' i explained how i'm (daeman saram / taiwanese person).   it was good to speak both taiwanese n' korean in the same day (as we went to ay chung earlier, kaela n' i).

last nite, i watched a li'l bit'f the devil's advocate on dish netwerk.   i'd cn the movie b4.   i 'member that it was a pretty good movie, so i watched a li'l'f it.   b4 that, i was watching episode 4'f sbs's ƿ ̱./ dolaon single, ruffly translated as "single again," i s'ppose; or maybe "single ppl who came back."   neway, there's this scene in which a single dad hasta get his adolescent daughter her 1st bra.   dude, that's an awkward situation, huh?   i'd cn it in amerikan 1980s sitcoms like who's the boss?, i think.   hopefully, kaela'll take our future daughter (if we have a daughter) to buy her underwear, but if i ever have to, i think i'd just let the sales associates help her, rt?   unless, do u think she'd be 2 nervous to talk to them?   yah, that's true.   i hope to be a good dad, when i someday become a dad.

yesterday, my cousins naomi n' peter talked 'bout her dad @ the funeral.   as i don't have kids yet, i wondered what sooni would say 'bout me if i were to well... u know...   (don't wanna mention it...)   neway, yah, what would she say?   hopefully, good things...   maybe she'd say, "my dad was a really good man.   he always woke up early in the morning to take me 4 a walk b4 he went to werk.   he'd always pick up my poop.   he'd take me 4 a walk, no matter how cold it was.   he didn't ever beat me.   he was very nice.   he used to give me nice treats but made sure i was a good dog and not a spoiled brat.   he read many books about raising a dog n' knew i needed to eat after him, walk behind him, do sumpthin' 4 him b4 getting sumpthin' from him... yet, he was always nice to me.   he'd take me to so many nice places."   i dunno.   what would she say?

[later] 1123p: my werkday ended kind'f bad.   i'm worried i made a big mistake w/ sumpthin', so i was really stressed.   *sigh* i was really stressed.   when i got home, i was so sleepytired n' felt sick.   i guess i needed to remind myself that "faith is the refusal to panic."   yah, i really need to remind myself that.

we went to our t3s grx couples small grp 4 our mtg.   we had homemade tacos there.   originally, i thought 'bout going to a movie afterwards, but it got late.

i had a really bad lunch 2day, in a way.   well, i went to the palmer chiropraktic college's clinic 4 an adjustment.   after my adjustment, kaela n' i hung out a li'l, but i was so worried 'bout getting back to werk.   i hurried back, but i was so worried.   i went to the mcyukyuk's mcdrive to get some lunch.   when i told kaela that i was gonna go to mcyukyuk's she recommended that i try 1'f their new "premium" chicken sandwiches.   yah, i thought 'bout it, but i figured that since the ¢heape$t 1 was $3.29 n' a hamburger happy meal was $2.19, that i could get the happy meal + a $1 mcchicken 4 less.   well, shoot, yah, it was ¢heaper, but i dunno, man... maybe a bad choice.   i ate the mcchicken, drank the kid.size lemonade lite, chucked (threw away) the fries, n' saved the burger 4 later.   i still haven't eaten the burger.   last wk, i got good exercise.   this wk was 'bout the opposite.   *sigh* i feel that i've had a bad wk. :-( better luck next wk.   rt now, i'm watching better luck tomorrow.   it's 1 movie i don't mind watching over n' over 'gain.   do u have a movie like that?   it's just that, besides the drugs, alcohol, n' guns; this movie is the most accurate portrayal'f suburban hi skool life that i've ever cn!!!   it's awesome.   better luck next wk...

i'm still sleepytired.   man...   2morrow i'm going to that bbq picnic w/ my cowerkers from the college program.   it should be fun, but i hope i don't stress out.   u know what?   in gen'l, lately, i've been stressing n' panicking 2 much.   *sigh* in a way, i feel like i need a "life coach," but that's just lame, lame "modern" feelgood starbucks philosophy (no offense jeanna), n' what i really need's more prayer.

[later] 1158p: 1 last thing: ernest, tim, kaela, n' kelly; thanks 4 signing my gbook! :-)

* "u've got a cute dog there.   is that a he or a she?"


2005.08.08

baba day

ħ: [lost entry]


2005.08.10

skedule now, filling up fast

ħ: it's been a relatively long time since i last posted.   perhaps it cos i've been using my online "waste'f time writing" time writing reviews 4 this silly online local reviews website.   if u wanna join it, e.mail me n' ask me 4 an invite cos i earn credit 2wards a starbucks gift card n/or ipod shuffle when i refer ppl.   oh yah, recently, the beautiful kaela hwang not only invested in a pair'f se7en 4 maknind jeans but also in an mini ipod.   she bought both from her classmate who's selling them as some kind'f side bizness.   neway, i'd suggested to her not to buy the mini ipod cos she has a great mp3 playa built into her palm zire 71.   these days, i use my palmone tungsten 75 as my mp3 playa in the gym.   i should use my awesome mpgio mp3 playa more, but the battery compartment broke, n' so i hafta tape it shut.

over the wknd, what happened?   on fri evening, we had out grx t3s couples bible study mtg.   we ate homemade tacos there.   warm corn tortillas rock.   they're much better warm.   on sat, we had a bbq w/ my cowerkers from the college program @ my company.   i met lots'f ppl from previous "classes" or "batches."   that was kewl.   it was such a fun day @ ponderosa park in sunnyvale.   we brought sooni.   other cowerkers brought their smaller, younger doggies.   sooni was the oldest n' more surprisingly the biggest.   1 gurl brought her chihuahua, another brought her shiba inu puppy.   we ate 2 much good fud, lots'f meat.   we were such carnivores.   however, there were some good portabello shrooms as well.   (portabella? portabello?)   we had a great time.   duk showed up 4 a li'l as well.   later that nite, we met up w/ duk n' duk's gf ("gf" = gurlfriend = girlfriend) yoonah (i dunno how she romanises her name.) to watch the fantastic 4 at amc mercado 20.   i told duk that i'd take 'em out to dinner to thank duk 4 watching sooni the last time he did, but we didn't really eat dinner.   well, they didn't eat dinner.   kaela sed she couldn't wait till after the movie to eat, so she n' yoonah went over to tomatina across the parking lot, n' kaela bought this awesome vegetable pasta dish 4 she n' i to share.   the other couple didn't eat.   kaela n' i ate in the movie theatre as the movie began.   the movie was pretty good, more'f a comedy than most comic book movies, 'cept 4 mystery men; but mystery men was more'f a parody than a real comic book movie.   uhm, i hafta confess sumpthin' semi.embarassing: up until the end'f the movie, i.e. 4 wks b4 n' thru the movie, i thought that the gurl in the fantastic 4 was charlize theron.   that's embarassing.   ok, so it's jessica alba.   upes.   all u humans look a like!   i know, that's quite embarassing, n' ppl'll rag on me 4 that hard.   well, when we left the movie, we were 2 sleepytired to eat, so i guess it was good that kaela bought that pasta earlier.

on sun, we went to church @ grx.   as i'd mentioned b4, on fri, i was so stressed 'bout a mistake i'd made @ werk.   well, i started stressin' less 'bout the mistake n' situation after spending time w/ our t3s small grp on fri nite.   however, i really wanted friends to pray 'bout the situation 4 me.   i never got a chance to share it w/ others, but then on sun morn, we had sumpthin' awesome.   pastor bobby lee had every1 write a prayer request n' post it on a wall.   dude, i jumped @ the chance to write that prayer request, as selfish as it was.   i posted it up.   4 brunch on sun, we went w/ our t3s friends eric n' hannah (n' their baby jack) to hobee's by de anza college.   that was fun.   i had this portabella n' artichoke eggs benedicts w/ hash browns, n' kaela had this viks' vegetarian scramble.   funny, our server was vik, the vik.   he sed he gets $1 every time some1 orders his dish; but i dunno if he was joking or not.   we chatted a long time w/ our friends.   later, kaela n' i went to valley fair mall to do a li'l $hopping.   i guess we had a b.day present to shop 4, n' kaela wanted to look @ new sunglasses n' also had some free b.day gift coupon 4 aveda.   later, we went home.   i guess kaela just fell asleep.   i got addikted to writing reviews 4 that silly local reviews site.   then, i did yardwerk.

on mon, i lifted weights @ lunch in the werk.com gym.   @ nite, kaela n' i ate dinner @ κ myungdong soondubujip.   we hadn't eaten korean fud in 2 long.   i wanna go to gilmok really badly tho' cos i feel bad that we haven't talk to the ajuhssi there in so long.   i feel horrible.

yeserday was this neat "bring your child to work day" @ my werk.   it was fun.   last nite, i was s'pposed to go help our t3s bible study grp setup 4 our church's "leadership boot camp."   i thought i'd attend that, but since kaela was willing to go to taekwondo praktice, i ended up missing the "leadership boot camp" n' going to praktice in order to savour the opportunity to praktice w/ kaela since she's 2 often ditching werkout to "study."   i guess i'm glad i went to praktice cos it was our friend joon's last day b4 going down to riverside 4 skool.   [later] we ate lots'f meat @ jangmojip.   some'f us were saying we didn't want to go to as much as maybe û chunggiwa.   also, i worried that sooni doesn't like all that much cos'f the bldg's arragnemt n' how it makes it so we don't really c her when we're eating.   well, we got lucky: we got a table by the door, n' sooni could just rest well, knowing we were nearby.   she was fine.   in fakt, last nite, i think she was very happy that she got lots'f attention.   duk n' yoonah came over afterwards, n' sooni got plenty'f attention.   she looked very happy.   i s'ppose it was like a belated b.day gift of some sort.   hrm, i guess i've still gotta do a li'l sumpthin' more 4 sooni's b.day.   u konw kaela's b.day's this sunday.

[later] : dude, this wk i've been juggling many, many social obligations n' the like.   it's crazy.   i must warn ppl that these days, my time isn't very plentiful, n' that if some1 wants to skedule some kind'f social event w/ me, they'd best book it a bit in advance.


2005.08.11

forest curry (like forrest gump?)

ħ, mokyoil achim: 2day's my cowerker friend eashwer's b.day, so a few'f us r going out to lunch.   that'll be fun.   last nite, i went w/ my mom to grx's community connections.   i'm already a "core" leader 4 our t3s (it takes three - south) couples bible study small group, so i can't commit to ne'f the new small grps that'll spawn out'f this 8.wk community connections program, but it was a fun nite.   it's a fun grp that they've got there.   i didn't realise that there were so many ppl @ our church that just recently moved into the area.   it was fun.   some1 went out n' bought a 4.ft.long una mas chicken burrito, n' we also had a tray'f una mas tacos.   mmmm, good stuff!   this 1 gurl baked a vegan pumpkin pie, n' that was awesome.   yesterday, during lunch, i went to adobe to earn $75 doing a user study thingy.

the beautiful kaela hwang's b.day is this upcoming sun, 08.14.   i hope she'll have a good b.day.   she sez she doesn't like b.days now that we're older, but i wish she wouldn't think like that.   some women get better w/ age.   i'm older than her, n' i'm not 2 scared to be turning 30, n' it's not just cos i'm a guy.   some ppl say that women don't get better w/ age but men do.   i think that's all nonsense.   after all, when u approach the issue from a 100% superficial approach, think 'bout this: if a person manages to make it to a certain age n' still look good, then 'least u don't need to worry if that person'll get ugly when he/she gets to that age.   it's like how baby tropical fish rn't as valuable as mature 1s.   'gain, approaching this issue from a totally superficial angle, if u c an attraktive young lady, u could wonder, "man, what if she gets really fat or sumphtin' when she gets older."   however, if she's already older, u know everything's fine, n' that's great.   neway, dude! this is totally superficial, so let's consider this all hypothetical talk n' not like ne kind'f root philosophy i have; please!   it's not.   sure, i like to try to look better however i can, but i'm not that superficial!   please believe me on that!

neway, dude... so i have things to take care'f.   let's make a new list:

[later] , ohoo: 4 lunch, my grp'f cowerkers from the college program went to amarin thai in mtn view on castro st 4 lunch.   it was pretty good.   i had the vegetarian forest curry.   i guess, it was teknically vegan.   it was pretty good.   i ordered it specifically cos it had pumpkin in it.   it also had black peppercorns, which was pretty kewl.   i had 4gotten to tell them to make mine spicy, so the black peppercorns were the only things that were making it spicy @ all.   mtn view's castro st was pretty bustling during lunchtime.   i don't c ne reason why it wouldn't be, as it's a total silicon valley hangout, i s'ppose.   well, it sort'f straddles the silly valley n' the whole palo alto / stanfurd / peninsula area, rt?   2nite, kaela n' i r s'pposed to ahve dinner w/ ken n' grace @ the oakridge buca di beppo.   crazy, we're always mtg up @ oakridge.   parking's really tuff there.   i think parking's tuffer there than @ santana row, rt?   personally, i'm a bigger fan'f santana row than oakridge.   i think kaela is 2, pretty sure.   i like valley fair.   it's a mall that's closer to use than oakridge is.   neway, we're s'pposed to meet @ buca di beppo @ 700p.   can we make it?

sunday's kaela's b.day.   it's often hard to have fun these days cos'f her skoolstuff as well as my werkstress.   *sigh* i dunno why i get so stressed over werk now.


2005.08.12

beno's sushi guide

ݿ ħ: last nite, the beautiful kaela hwang n' i met up w/ some'f my leland hi skool alumni friends 4 dinner @ the oakridge buca di beppo: ken, grace, gordon, his fiancé merideth, merideth's kids kayle n' joey, alan t., corinne (i think that's how u spell her name.   she went to leland after i graduated), billy, jimmy... wow, we meet up w/ this group more often these days.   2 much fud...   gordon also always orders kind'f red beers, n' he goes 4 1s that r kind'f strong.   those rn't my favourite, but i drank some.   we had pretty good fud.   however, now that i realise that places like buca di beppo n' maggiano's little italy r so corporate in nature, i don't like'm as much.   back when i 1st discovered buca di beppo in its ol' soma sf location, i thought it was some kind'f friendly, neighbourhood restaurant.   now, i c that each location'f this bizness has the exakt some decorations.   it really phased me last nite.   i got so disillusioned.   is it a franchise, or (like starbucks) r all the locations owned by the corporation? *shrug*

after dinner, kaela n' i walked 'round oakridge 4 a li'l.   we went to target n' borders.

yesterday afternoon, vince asked me where to get sushi in the sobay.   here's my reply:

: re: summer is ready when you are.
: Ȳ beno hwang
¥: 2005-8-11, Thu, 6:15 pm
޴ : [vince's e.mail] (ڼ)
: [kaela's e.mail]
켱:
ȯ : ü | μ > beno! what is the best sushi place to go to around here?

wow, ain't that a question?   i know many sushi places, n' there r _sooo_ many 'round here, but what's _the_ best sushi? :-? *sigh* that's a really tuff question, in a way; n' ne1 who sez he/she's got a simple answer has the _wrong_ answer cos that means they don't know sushi!   consider the following faktors:

1) traditional or modernized: do u want longtime favourites or newfangled inventions.   some places specialise in creative rolls w/ funny names.   others just have pure, traditional ingredients but focus on having the best quality'f 'em.

2) atmosphere: do u want a nice.looking, fancy place or just a hole in the wall?   do u want a buffet?   do u want a bar?   do u want boats?   do u want regular table service?   most places don't offer all those choices under 1 roof, but some might.

3) price/value: it's not that expen$ive sushi is inherently better than cheap sushi, but they r usually different, so u've gotta choose.

4) do u need it to be japanese?: very few japanese restaurants r owned n' operated by japanese ppl.   most r owned by koreans, a few r owned by chinese or taiwanese.   a handful r ownned by vietnamese or pinoy.   a few r owned by others.   neway, does it matter to u?   some ppl refuse to eat panda express cos the cooks rn't always chinese.   does that matter?   if u want my 2¢, i think a few japanese places have the advantage'f offering a more authentic, japanese experience, but the rest don't give any added advantage.   some korean places have more advantages than japanese places in that although they can't always provide the most authentic japanese environment (even though often they often come close), they can serve a few related korean dishes such as the famous hweduhpbap.   also, if u go w/ some1 who's korean or can fool them that he/she's korean, then they're more likely to give u all sorts'f freebies, that korean hookup every1 talks 'bout.   the others r a mixed bag, if u ask me.   some ppl no matter their heritage n' background can surprise u by bringing some fresh approach to sushi.   still some ppl, even if they're japanese, can't offer nething more than a cr@ppy imitation'f japanese cuisine. 5) do u have a particular sushi u want?; not every sushi house has everything or makes everything well.   some make more things well than others.   some might make just 1 thing well but make it extraordinarily well.

ok, so now that u've read all my b.s., what r some'f my recommendations 4 sushi in the silly valley?

yah, i know u guys already went to lunch, n' i wonder where u went.   i just _had_ to type that all out cos _some1_ had to say all that, u know?   i'll save that text n' send it as "beno's guide to sushi in the silly valley" whenever ne1 asks me to recommend a sushi joint, i guess.

so... fahad, am i willing to meet u in fremont @ 600a 4 brkfast?   uhm, hrm... that's prob'ly a question that should be asked'f me 'bout 500a 2morrow morn.   if u can wake up n' wake me up n' get pants on me, i'll make the drive.   yah?   i _want_ to say i'll definitely go cos i'd do nething 4 u, but i guess i don't want to leave u crying in a carrows somewhere cos beno ditched u. :-(   carrows's s'pposed to be a happy place.

~beno

last nite, @ oakridge's borders, as we left, i picked up the latest issue'f the wave magazine.   already, i've been growing more n' more disappointed w/ this magazine that used to be smart n' kewl but has now become totally "sold out," suburban, n' insipid.   this issue had the results'f this yr's readers' poll, n' i was hecka disappointed.   dude, apparently ppl who read the wave or @ least most'f the ppl who voted in their poll have no clue where to find the best fud or biznesses in the sobay.   argh! as i read each result, i was so mad!   krung thai only came in as an honorable mention 4 best thai.   that place downtown that is such a "2nd place" kind'f joint won.   boas restaurant came in as the best korean restaurant, which i'm totally fine w/, but korea house n' (i think) korean palace should not've been the only honourable mentions.   best café.   i 4get, what they sed, but it wasn't fantasia, who most deserved it; either fantasia or luce.   oh yah, the winner'f best café was espresso garden on bascom.   i've never been there.   i dunno if it's ne good, but let me say this: the wave magazine has an overwhelmingly unfair bias 2wards the bascom/campbell neighbourhood n' los gatos w/ the exception that it tends to look now n' then @ the murphy area'f sunnyvale!   they ought to admit that.   i'm pretty infuriated.   i'm happy amber won best indian restaurant.   pizz'a chicago only came in as an honourable mention, while willow street pizza n' pizza my heart won.   i guess i'm ok w/ that.   blowfish didn't desrve best sushi, n' citronelle should've won best vietnamese.


2005.08.13

kaela's b.day eve

, @ valley fair: every now n' then, i write an entry while sittin' 'round valley fair mall but not as often as i used to.   last nite, @ t3s grx couples bible study small group, we celebrated the beautiful kaela hwang's b.day, which's aktually 2morow, w/ a nice, "pretty," ijũ gwail saengil cake (gwail = fruit") that i bought that evening from ޴ bbang geubneun maeul (bakers village) on halford n' el camino real.   this morn, we went to a t3s leaders "core group" brunch mtg @ our friends susan n' gregory's place.   now, we're @ valley fair.


2005.08.18

kaela's b.day passed

ħ: i'm not @ werk yet.   on tues nite, i stayed up till ~500a (maybe a li'l later, i 4get), werking.   that was a crazy nite.   yesterday nite, i fell asleep rather quickly.   i felt really itchy yesterday.   i think it was just an adverse reaktion to the lack'f sleep.   ok, i don't have much time.   i hope to write like a 5 min entry that'll cover like 'least the past 5 or so days, rt?   where do i start???

on fri nite, we went to our grx t3s couples small grp bible study.   our friends nick n' kim, helped me sneak in the beautiful kaela hwang's b.day cake.   on sat, what did we do???   hrm... :-/ i know we ended up @ valley fair mall, but why???   oh yah, we were @ our friends susan n' gregory's place 4 a t3s core group (leaders) mtg.   then we went to valley fair.   later, we stopped by my sister grace's n' steve's to drop off some b.day presents 4 steve n' our nephew mason.   that nite, i was planning to take kaela to this french restaurant 4 her b.day dinner, but i couldn't find much info online 'bout whether this restaurant was particularly good or what.   they didn't have a website.   thus, later, i changed my mind n' took her to the plumed horse in saratoga on big basin way.   i didn't know that kaela's skoolfriends werked there.   whadya know?   neway, we had the nite's prix fixe tasting menu w/ wine.   it was great fud in a traditional, continental european environment, i s'ppose.

on sun, we went to church.   we were a li'l late.   pastor dave gave a great sermon.   4 lunch, we went out to joy luck place in cupertino's 99, not to the dimsum side, but to the noodles n' jook side.   kaela sed she had a stomachache n' wanted sumpthin' soupy like jook.   later, we took sooni 4 a wash.   then we ate an overly extravagant dinner @ yankee pier considering that we had dinner @ the plumed horse the previous nite.   well, it was kaela's b.day, so i let her do whatever.   my cowerker robin stopped by our table to say hi, n' i pted out to her that i almost never run into ppl from my werk outside n' am puzzled by that.   where do these ppl hang out???

mon?   uh... uh... shoot, i'm really starting to 4get.   i know kaela bought some whole fuds fud n' brought it home 4 dinner, n' we watched harold and kumar go to white castle on dish, which i had already watched on dish.   i've now watched it 4 times, all the way thru each time.   on tues, we went to taekwondo praktice.   afterwards, we got boba ٺ???  ٺ. from cupertino's fantasia.   later, kaela tried to cook pasta but cut her finger.   we went to the emergency rm @ santa clara's kaiser.   we waited ~3 hrs but never got in, so we went home.   i stayed up late werking.   kaela made me some coffee.   when my mom recently went to hawaii, she brought back some 100% kona coffee, n' i had that.

yesterday was wednesday.   again, my mom n' i went to grx'x community connections small group thingy.   it was fun.   we made these "maps" of our lives, like timelines.   it was fun.

2day's california le's b.day.   happy b.day, cal!


2005.08.19

25th monthversary

ݿ ħ, geumyoil achim: 2day's the beautiful kaela hwang"s n' my 25th wedding monthversary.   :-) however, we've been so bizzy w/ random stuff that i guess this morning, we didn't even think 'bout it.   kaela rushed off to her a.r.t. seminor (a.r.t. = active release technique, i think.), n' i have sooo much werk to do both 4 werk n' 4 the wedding i'm djing 2morrow. *gasp* yah, it's "2morrow" already! *sigh* crazy, crazy, crazy!   last nite, kaela slept on her chiropraktice table, n' i slept on the couch.   is that ever not the ideal pikture'f married life in a house w/ a cute dog or what?!   u'd expekt a normal married couple in their late 20s to go to sleep in their nice queen bed, rt?   after all, we have a very nice tempurpedic queen bed that kaela's parents bought us.   it's a great bed.   so why were we sleeping on the couch n' the chiropraktic table?! *sigh* geez, we must look so ghetto.   @ best, we look like a couple'f immature college students... @ best!   oh well, whatever... i don't care what we look like cos i'm trying to care less 'bout how others perceive me cos i'm loved by god n' that's all that counts.

[later] , juhnyuk: i'm still@werk.com.   i was listening to a cd that melanie n' oliver (4 whom i'm djing their wedding 2morrow) gave me, a chinese bootleg now 19 2.cd set.   it has a track, m2m's "pretty boy" (comically misspelled as "peter boy").   as i listened to that track, i knew i heard it b4.   @ 1st, n' i knew i heard it in korean!!!   @ 1st, i thought it was a track by k.i.s.s., the korean / korean.amerikan gurllypop group.   then, i realised it was a 峪 jang nara track!!!   it's the same song as "friend," which has been recorded 1st by jang nara as well as as a duet by 峪 jang nara n' ̱ lee kichan.   yah, sometimes some random songwriter writes a song, sells it to an asian artist n' then sells it to an amerikan, european, or canadian artist.   that happens.   that happened to some boa song a long time ago.   it might've been "don't start now."   while originally trying to get to the bottom of the question'f who sang the original, korean version, i found out that the teenybopper gurl duo m2m also sang this song in mandarin themselves.   'least that's what i read... who knows if that's true, n' who knows who cares.   *shrug* i thought that was interesting.   after all, imagine if like mariah carey recorded a track in mandarin... heh, yah, rt!   neway, while initially trying to figure out who sang the original, korean version, the 1st line that popped into my head was " ƿ nae doo soneul jabayo..." (hold my 2 hands...)


2005.08.22

i turned 30 yesterday.

,wuhlyoil ohoo: i really wanted to post an entry yesterday or 'least write 1, since it was my birthday.   i wanted to write an entry on my b.day, but i didn't find the chance.   yesterday was 20050821.   yesterday, i turned 30.   i'm no longer in my 20s.   it's a li'l bit crazy but only a li'l.   i've been saying 4 a long while now that, since i have friends that r over 30 that, whether they have kids or not, cm really youthfull; i wasn't scared 'bout turning 30.   well, when i really did turn 30, i had a few moments'f fear, i've gotta admit, but they came n' went really quickly.   i think i got over it very fast.   it'd been a bizzy wknd.

on fri evening, the beautiful kaela hwang n' i went to the rehearsal dinner 4 the wedding i djed on sat nite.   it was an awesome chiense banquet @ a palo alto favourite called su hong.   i'd never been there b4, but i'd read 'bout it in newspapers b4.   wow, like hangen in mtn view, it's a restaurant that doesn't look like all that much from the outside, but the fud is awesome.   kewl.   well, i spent quite a while prepping 4 the wedding last wk thru sat.

on fri evening, our neighbour bill came over to tell us that he's worried that the water company's mad @ us 'bout our broken sprinkler that has been dumping h2o into the gutter 4 the past few wks.   he offered to help me fix it this wknd.   he had already dug up a chunk'f our lawn.   i feel so bad cos he needs to sell us house this fall to move 4 werk, n' he's done 'lot to make his yard look nice, but we've only let our yard get worse n' worse since we moved in.   i feel horrible.   on sat morn, bill n' i dug up more'f the lawn n' then capped off the line that had broken.   then i finished prepping 4 the wedding.   duk came over to help me move my dj coffin.   he also walked sooni while bill n' i fixed the sprinkler pipe.   later, i brought sooni w/ me to guitar showcase when i went to pick up the sound equipment rental.   i was running late tho'.   i s'ppose that was cos'f the sprinkler fiasco.   i dropped sooni off, quickly changed into a suit, n' took off 4 the wedding.   i was late to the ceremony.   i would've sat on the bride's side but ended up sitting on the groom's side cos i figured it was easier to sneak onto his side.   after the ceremony, i started feeling weird 'bout how i didn't know ne1 there.   also, kaela didn't come w/ me cos she was taking this chiropraktic seminar the whole wknd.   i felt very awkward.   instead'f hanging 'round after the ceremony, i took off.   i would've heaeded straight to the reception site, peninsula golf n' country club, but i needed to kill a li'l time.   1st, i went to a mcyukyuk drive.thru (mcdrive) in east pally (east palo alto) by ikea to get a hamburger happy meal.   then i went to look 4 an audio cable that i worried that i 4got even tho' i aktually did have it w/ me.   i 1st went to a longs drugs in foster city n' didn't find nething but a sense'f awkwardness that comes from wearing a full suit into longs drugs.   then i went to a circuit city in san mateo.   i found the cable there.   i then went a li'l early to the reception site.   eventually some guys showed up to help me move my stuff in.   i realised i really was in an awkward situation'f not really knowing ne1 'bout the bride, groom, n' 3 bridesmaids.   i set up my stuff.   i prepped more.   well, the thing started, the reception.   it was a nice reception in a beuatiful venue w/ superawesome fud.   kaela eventually showed up 4 dinner.   btwn the 2'f us we had 1 order'f filet mignon n' 1 order'f prawns.   dude, the fud was awesome, n' the gewurztraminer wine also kicked @$$.   well, i djed.   earlier that day, i honestly prayed to god our lord above that the nite go well 4 this nice couple that i myself did not need to be glorified thru this but that i just wanted the nite to go well 4 them.   really, that's what i honestly prayed.   i think god really answered my prayer.   the nite went fine.   i think i djed well 4 them.   i gave'm the best i had; but well... i think god answered my prayer 'xaktly cos it wasn't the best wedding experience 4 me in that i kind'f didn't get much out'f it.... that is... like, wow, i felt i got werked really hard n' ppl didn't really treat me that great, not that they were necessarily bad to me in some specific way but i sure didn't feel that i got treated that great by ne1 'cept the bride n' groom who did mention my name n' pt me out @ various times.   lemme tell u 'xaktly what the prob was: the prob was that i was friends w/ the bride n' 3 bridesmaids.   do u konw what's wrong w/ that? like, when a guy comes into a social situation n' he's only friends w/ the gurls, the guys in the grp, depending on what kind'f guys they r, can be really not that nice to that particular guy.   that's what i experienced.   i experienced the "don't talk to my gf" attitude.   also, i experienced the "u'r just hired help" attitude even tho' well... i really wasn't paid much 4 djing n' didn't ask 4 much, figuring that i was really helping out some friends, rt?   i think the bride n' groom knew well where i was coming from but all these ppl who didn't know me cmed to have just figured i was "hired help."   there's an ol' will n' grace episode where uh... shoot, what's her name?   that rich, kind'f plump woman that teknically "werks" 4 grace? [oh yah, her name's karen... i 'membered later.]   well, she refers to lawyer will as "hired help," even tho' most ppl'd have much more respekt 4 lawyers.   neway, dude... *sigh* upon the request'f the bride n' groom i werked will smith's "lost and found" into the mix, n' in that song, will smith raps:

@ that pt, i was djing not 4 the $$$, not 4 fame, but just 4 the love'f musik.   n' what's wrong w/ that?   u know, there was a time in hi skool when i werked hard to dj big parties 4 sbty (south bay taiwanese youth group) 4 $100 n' split that 3 ways w/ ken n' nelson.   dude, ~$30 a nite 4 that kind'f hard werk meant i sure wasn't doing it 4 the $$$.   maybe i did it 4 the fame, but not the $$$.   i'd like to think that i also just did it 4 the love'f musik back then.   ater all, it was such a rush to be up there, playing musik, having ppl like the musik... n' even if they didn't like the musik, i had affekted them somehow.   i s'ppose that's "love 4 the game."   it's art.   should an artist be concerned w/ $$$?   if u ask me, all musicians should have day jobs.   i've cn this bumper sticker now n' then: "real musicians have day jobs."   true.   @ times, i've felt that it should be illegal to be a billionaire superstar entertainer or artist.   u should werk some other kind'f day job.   neway, yah... it was kind'f a lonely nite full'f hard werk.   however, god answered my prayer down to the letter, n' that means that's what was best 4 me, whether i or u accept that or not.

on sun, kaela went 'gain to her seminar thing, so she skipped church.   i went.   a couple'f guest speakers king anderson (that's his name, not a title.   i've met chinese n/or taiwanese guys w/ that name.) n' bev daily talked 'bout a local program called kids' club which goes to publik skools to give ethics classes to kids n' gives them the opportunity w/o pressure to learn 'bout jesus.   i know some ppl'd cringe @ letting a christian church grp into a publik skool, but that's why both so.called liberals n' conservatives've got plenty'f qualms w/ me.   yes, i support so.called "liberal" politics cos i believe in taking care'f society,; but yes, i'm a christian.   maybe someday i'll read that book god's politics: why the right gets it wrong and the left doesn't get it., someday.   kaela tried to call me in the middle'f service.   later, she told me that she was @ santana row after her short seminar session, which was just an exam on the last day.   after church, i returned the audio rentals to guitar showcase, n' then my mom took us out to lunch @ blowfish sushi to die for.   it's good fud.   we had this godzilla roll, this blowfish eye roll, n' this yuburi sake "enlightened" sushi.   oh, n' we had some mirugai sashimi.   my mom also ordered this vegetarian bento box.   we $hopped 'round the farmers market.   then i went back to church 4 our town hall mtg, where we elekted to leave our current lokation to buy a new place.   after the mtg, duk came over to help me move my dj coffin back in.   no, we 1st went to vallco to visit his gf yoonah @ the korean.owned smoothie stand she werks @.   i explained to duk how most shoes r made in china n' that i avoid those shoes.   yoonah gave me a free ginseng fling smoothie.   then we duk n' i went back to kaela's n' my house.   later, mark n' grace took us out to dinner @ boas, (where yoonah also werks; but we didn't c her there).   the restaurant gave us some chco aisukuriimu birthday cake.   'twas awesome n' tasty.   4 my b.day, kaela gave me this jack black travel skincare set.   she also sed she'll buy me a pair'f nice pants.

2day, a few'f my cowerkers from the college program took me out to lunch @ gilmok.   i felt a li'l bad cos my friend didn't cm to like his bibimnaengmyuhn all that much, n' i recommended it as 1'f the vegetarian dishes..   he sed it was 2 spicy.   we laffed 'bout the napoleon dyanmite qutoe: you know, there's like a butt-load of gangs at this school.   this one gang kept wanting me to join because i'm pretty good with a bo staff.

[later] : now i'm home, watching the episode'f the simpsons where marge brings home jack the prisoner/artist n' homer comes up w/ a chiropraktic device.   i'm thinking kaela n' i can go to pasta pomodoro to use my free birthday entrée e.mail.   i werked hard 2day.   after werk, i werked out in the werk.com gym, ~20 mins'f precor, that's it.   i need much more exercise.


2005.08.24

ܿ ׸ (spring, summer, fall, winter, and then spring again)

ħ: as 2day's wed(nesday), i'm going to grx's community connections 2nite w/ my mom.   currently, i'm sort'f part'f 2 small grp / bible studies @ grx: t3 south n' community connections.   community connections, tho', is a temporary thing n'll end next wk w/ an end'f the 8.wks party.   my mom n' i joined in @ wk 5, so we were pretty late.   neway, b4 i had started going to community connections, my wed nites were relatively free.   i s'ppose i went to the gym on wed evenings then.   yah, i've been getting more involved w/ church things, n' i've been spending more time @ church, yet i feel it's important that i still spend time exercising.   i need to stay / get in shape!   i'm 30 now, as we all know.   not to brag, but ppl (such as my cowerkers from the college program) tell me i don't look 30.   i dunno if that would be bragging or what cos i dunno whether i want to appear more mature (to be taken more seriously) or if i just wanna be 4ever young etc.   in euro.amerikan society, it's sort'f just assumed that every1'd prefer not to age past 30; but, in traditional asian culture, age earns respekt.   neway, i do hope that if i keep exercising that i'll fight the bad effekts'f aging.   ha, by sayin' sumpthin' like that i'm making myself sound old, rt? ha ha.   well, shoot, i don't wanna be immature, do i?   then 'gain, i really shouldn't care.   that's 1 bad trap i've fallen into now n' then thru.out life: it's just a certain variation'f the "keepin' up w/ the lees, changs, n' parks game," u know?   as i've sed b4, especially when i'm 'round church ppl n' perhaps especially when i'm 'round asian.am church ppl, i 2 often fall into the trap'f thinking that i've gotta "fit in."   1 thing that the pastors @ grx r teaching me is that god made me who i am 4 a reason.   he doesn't need an army'f clones.   i have a specific funktion, n' i should stay true to it / keep it real, instead'f just trying to be 'nother model 6423xm asian.am male church.goer.   neway... so 2nite, i go to community connections.

wow, i'm overhearing this woman and man in the next cubicle talking 'bout the woman's son going off to puget sound 4 college, n' she's discussing how the son's leaving friends behind.   *sigh* that's an interesting topik.   back in hi skool, the french teacher whom we all really liked sed this: "the friends you make in college will be the friends you'll stick with for life, but you'll never have as good of friends as you had in high school."   wow... u think so?   seriously, we should discuss this; do u think so?   my hi skool friends ken n' nelson've stuck w/ me over the yrs, no doubt; n' i do meet up w/ other hi skool friends 'specially when the 'least 2'f the 3'f us get 2gether.   (that means: when nelson n' i get 2gether, we might invite some other hi skool friends; or when ken n' i get 2gether, we might invite some other hi skool friends; n' sometimes the 3'f us get 2gether n' invite other hi skool friends.)   the most famous leland alumnus in recent yrs is of course pat tillman, but i never hung out w/ him in hi skool.   on the fatwallet.com forums i found a link to a page that was giving away free "remember #65" pat tillman rubber band bracelets.   i filled out that form n' received my red rubber band in the mail.   i also, from a separate offer, got a free green "empowered to conserve" rubber band bracelet from southern california edison power.   i've been getting lots'f free stuff lately.   the beautiful kaela hwang thinks it's funny, n' she's rt: it is funny.   i get strange freebies.   i recently received a bumper sticker that reads "war is not the answer" from some quaker organisation, i.e. the religious denomination not the oatmeal company.   (did i properly use "i.e" there?   did i properly punctuate?   what i meant by "i.e." is "that is.")   funny, i got some free military dog tag that sez sumpthin' 'bout supporting our troops.   geez, this stoopid war sure is bringing me lots'f freebies, huh?   isn't it funny?   do u think, some decades later, i'll be able to auktion this $#!+ off on ebay?   whadya think?

where did i leave off updatin' u?   did i discuss mon nite?   i don't think so.   on mon nite, kaela n' i went to pasta pomodoro so that i could make use'f my free b.day entrée e.mail that they sent me.   i ought to print out a bunch'f those n' take'm to diff lokations, but i don't have the time.   kaela had the awesome crab linguine that she got the last time we visited pasta pomodoro (which was @ the valley fair lokation), n' i had the steak w/ gorgonzola.   i went 4 the most expen$ive thing on the menu since it was free.   last yr, when i used the same b.day offer, i got the 2nd most expen$ive thing, the salmon, which is a healthier choice.   *shrug* i dunno why i just felt ok w/ ordering cow this yr.   neway, we each got a side salad (mista 4 kaela n' caesar 4 me) n' some wine (pinot grigio 4 kaela n' merlot 4 me), so it was a decently fancy dinner @ pasta pomodoro, n' we didn't hafta feel the least bit bit frugal 'bout exploiting a free b.day entrée offer, rt?   (yah, i sort'f say that sarcastically in that yah, it would been nice to $ave a penny here n' there, but we're just so bad @ it.)   after dinner, we hung out @ borders in the same sunnyvale cherry orchard stripmall.   i flipped thru a book called men are like waffles - women are like spaghettiicon.   it looks interesting, n' i'll look into buying it.   (sorry, that link might not werk, but if u click it n' search on that site 4 the title, u'll find it.)   the book discusses sex n' gender issues in marriage from a christian but realistik standpt.   that's kewl.   i've gotta tell u: grx has been teaching me how to be a real christian in the real world as opposed to just playing church w/in the church walls.   i really like that.   i mean, shoot... let's be honest 'bout who we really r, faults n' all.   if u come to church just to pretend that u'r a better person than u really r, u'r really missing out on god's 4giveness.   (however, well... shoot, i realise many churches pretty much encourage that. :-/)

on mon, nite, kaela n' i both fell asleep while watching sbs's м 70s / fashion 70s.   it sucks that we missed last tues's episode cos'f kaela's finger.cutting incident n' the whole pursuant hospital ordeal.   last nite, we finally watched an episode.

yesterday, i went to a chiropraktic apptmnt @ palmer's clinic.   then, kaela n' i ate lunch @ tokyo ramen on barber ln (678 barber ln; milpitas, ca).   it was surprisingly good.   u should check it out sometime!   is it better than ryowa? ha ha, that's hard to say.   ryoawa's a japanese ramen place, rt? this is a taiwanese ramen house.   kaela might've lost her fon there. :-( we've gotta find it.   neway, that restaurant has freshly made noodles.   there's a guy there pounding dough, it's awesome.   i recommend 4going the ramen noodles in favour'f the "slice noodles."   those r really, chewily delicious.   i miss katana.ya ramen up in el cerrito.   however, these noodles r maybe the best noodles i've had @ a ramen house.   like, maybe the complete package is better @ ryowa, if i must compare the 2; but the fresh noodles @ tokya ramen r hard to beat.   both ryowa n' tokyo ramen as well as katana.ya beat the pants off'f that rmane place on el camino real @ flora vista btwn café aroma n' pho hoa.   some male friend'f ours 1nce sed that he likes going to ryoa cos some hot chick that werks there; but when we heard that, both kaela n' i replied that we don't 'member cing ne1 werking there fitting that description.   i'm pretty sure we were served by a man n' maybe a modest/homely female. *shrug*   it's so interesting how ramen houses always serve kimuchi, which is japanified ġ kimchi.

yesterday morn, i jogged.   this morning i jogged.   (both times, w/ sooni, of course...)   last nite, i went to taekwondo praktice.   my paddle.kicking partner was ernest, so i felt like i got a better werkout than normal cos ernest's in better shape than i am even tho' we're 'bout the same age.   that's good.

last nite, i ate fruit, corn, n' 2 veggie chicken strips 4 dinner.   after our episode'f fashion 70s, kaela n' i watched on starz cinema ׸ , aka spring, summer, fall, wintter, and then spring again.   it's a critically acclaimed movie, n' my dad raved 'bout it.   when kaela's bro jay asked if we wanted some korean movie dvds 4 christmas last yr, i mentioned this movie, but he recommended 'gainst it, saying it's pretty boring n' lacking in dialogue.   after viweing it, i'll say it does sort'f lack dialogue, but it's not totally boring.   @ risk'f spoiling it, i'll mention that kaela was very dissatisfied w/ the ending.   i'll tell u this: kaela n' i watched an older korean movie 1nce called / ggoom / "dream," which dealt w/ a similar topik but maybe w/o such beautiful, panoramic nature shots.   in ggoom a buddhist monk is tempted by a woman, takes off w/ her, n' then suffers a really, miserable life.   oh, wait... or was the main charakter there a female nun?   i 4get.   neway, yah, this is yet 'nother koraen buddhist film.   'member? when we used to watch koreasn movies on ch 28 each sun nites, so many'f them were buddhist movies.   i think buddhist movies have the advantage'f getting better publicity cos the npr crowd favours them cos they show an "exotic" side'f asian culture, which's sumpthin' i have issues w/, indubitably cos i hate the exploitation'f asian culture as a fashion accessory, sumpthin' that's been happening 'least since the 1960s n' prob'ly intensified in the 1980s.   neway, since ׸ got so much praise, i'd like to venture out to call it the korean buddhist passion of the christ.   on a totally separate note, lemme take this chance to pt out 1nce 'gain how asian media totally contrasts from amerikkkan media in that: in amerikan media, there's more sex on tv than in movies; but in asian media, there's more in movies than on tv.

[later] oh yah, lemme mention sumpthin' else: on mon, i noticed that some1 ditched a shopping cart in front'f my neighbour bill's house, n' i know that he's out'f town.   i also know he wants to make his house look nicer n' like me wants our neighbourhood to be a classier place.   a ditched shopping cart in front of a house surely isn't very classy.   yesterday morn, i went in 4 a closer look @ the cart n' discovered it was from / galleria market.   i felt bad that our neighbourhood was being trashed by whomever left that cart (whoever or whomever?).   i felt bad that galleria was losing a cart.   i felt bad that ppl might think that it was a asian person who ditched the cart cos the cart came from galleria.   thus, b4 going to taekwondo praktice, i foleded down the seats'f my green subaru forester n' put the cart in my trunk.   i drove it to gallera n' left it there.   that made me a couple'f mins late to praktice.

[later] , ohoo: during lunch, i werked out in the werk.com gym: i lifted weights n' stretched.   this morning i jogged, this lunchbrk i werked out in the gym.   i did all this cos i knew i won't get a chance to exercise 2nite cos i'll be @ community connections.   [later] after i werked out n' showered, i went to run a couple'f errands: depo$it some $$$ in the bank n' grocery $hop.   itching to do sumpthin' out'f the ordinary, i wanted to go to the sunnyvale branch instead'f the santa clara branch'f my bank.   uh, ok... yah, u'r saying, "ooh, go wild, why don'tchu?   beno, careful there!"   ok ok ok, not really wild but just sumpthin' less routine; i hoped.   neway, i made a wrong turn n' got confused n' ended up @ el camino hospital instead'f my bank.   i thought it was @ that corner, but i guess not.   in the end, i had to drive back ot the santa clara branch n' waste lots'f time n' gas n' contribute to the greenhouse effekt.   it was a li'l smoggy in the silly valley 2day.   i wish i had a bike to ride to werk; i really do.   i've been saying that 4 ages.   when will i aktually $hell out the $$$ n' buy 1???   there r still many things in my list'f purchase request, including 1) a new digicam to replace the canon digi elph that kaela n' i "killed to death" (we used it sooo much, n' it finally went kaput/kaputt.), 2) a standalone dvd recorder 4 the dish netwerk set, 3) some lawn fertilizer or grass seeds or whatever, 4) a trip to the vet 4 sooni, 5) some sd card flash memory 4 the digicam we'll eventually buy...   neway... i went grocery $hopping after the bank.   i bought some pita bread cos it was on sale 4 $1, some healthy choice frozen dinners cos they were on sale, a can'f generic baked beans 4 beanie weenie cos it was on sale, some smoked turkey lunchmeat, n' some oreinji jyooseu.

[later] i just e.mailed ken a transcript'f my bizzy skedule 4 the next few wks.   he wanted to plan a bbq / dog picnic in the park sometime.   he sed he wanted to get all his friends 2gether who have dogs n' have a bbq in the park.   yah, i would like that, but i don't have much free time 'cept 4 maybe the labour day wknd.   i told him that i hate having to tell my friends this but have been saying that if ppl wanna plan an event w/ me, they'd better do it fast cos my skedule's fillin' up.   it really is.   we have some weddings to attend, kaela's class reunion, kaela's kona ironman triathlon event...   crazy crazy crazy.   i would want sooni to be exposed to more doggies.   i've prob'ly sed this b4, but i've realised now that 99%'f dog owners r bad dog owners.   they don't read books on animal behaviour or animal psychology.   they don't know how to behave like a pack leader such that their doggies'll follow them.   it does upset me, but u know what i told myself in the shower yesterday?   99% of dog owners r bad dog owners, but it's ok.   as humans, we're all imperfekt.   as w/ other imperfektions, i shouldn't be so judgemental.   99% of dog owners r bad dog owners; but shoot, 99%'f guys have viewed p)rnography (while the other 1%'s blind, i s'ppose).   shoot, u can be all rebuke this, rebuke that n' be a discouragement to the world; or else, u can try to be an encouraging lite unto the world: ur friggin' choice.   that doesn't mean we should become tolerant or accepting of sin but that we should counter it construktively.   i'll make sure, when i share the data i've picked up from reading books on animal psychology that i do so in a friendly, helpful way.

2005.08.25

bumble bee, humble he

ħ: yesterday evening / last nite, i went to grx's community connections temporary small group w/ my mom.   that was the 7th mtg'f the 8.wk program, n' next wk's mtg isn't a normal mtg but just a party.   thus, that was really the last mtg, i s'ppose.   i ended up staying there much later than i expekted cos i was having decent fun, i guess.   the previous couple'f wks, i'd always left when my mom left, but she also stayed later last nite.   i stayed just a li'l bit longer than she did.   most'f the ppl stay 'lot longer, but i go home cos the beautiful kaela hwang n' sooni r home.   it's such a fun group n' fun time tho'.   last nite, 4 dinner there, we had vietnamese sandwiches n' spring rolls from huong lan.   i believe the spring rolls had only shrimp n' no pork.   that's the way kaela likes it, so 2 bad she wasn't there.   last nite, pastor andy talked to us a li'l bit 'bout how the glue that keeps a grp 2gether is humility.   yah, that's true.   that's true in churches, taekwondo demo teams, companies, marriages, families...   things fall 'part when individuals have 2 hi'f an opinion'f his/her own self.   really!   in this country, we really emphasize individuality n' the value'f the individual.   consider how in east asian culture, ppl r much more willing to defer n' submit to some kind'f hierarchy, 4 better or worse.   sure, that's totaly not the amerikan way, n' ppl really look down 'pon that here in amerika... n' maybe there's very good reason 4 that.   after all, think 'bout all the racism here.   there's plenty'f racism in amerikkka 2day.   waaay 2 much!   i admit, it isn't all just racism by white upon minorities but also racism instigated by minority ppl grps as well; that is, yes, i admit, asians n' asian.ams can be quite racist as well, n' that's awful.   "where is the love?"   well, 2 wrongs don't make a rt.   well, humility... what does humility look like?   i know what humility looks like.   in taekwondo, we have a strikt hierarchy.   @ ucmap, 1 can find a wide range'f levels in that hierarchy.   we ahve a 9th dan (degree) taekwondo black belt as our head direktor, n' we have white belts coming to learn from step 1.   also, we prob'ly have more 5th n' 4th dan black belts than most skools in the nation.   ('least we have more legitimate 5th n' 4th dan black belts than most skools in the nation.   there r always those hokey "rex kwon do" type skools here n' there.)   neway, i've cn humility in praktice over there @ ucmap.   i've cn coloured belts do favours 4 black belts many times.   they deferred.   they respekted rank.   i've cn lower ranked black belts do favours 4 higher ranked black belts.   these rn't just favours from friend to friend, no.   it's often true deference.   @ the same time, when i saw hard times n' turmouil @ ucmap; yes, it was often cos'f a lack'f humility.   true, true, true.   i miss ucmap.   neway, humility... yah, we need more humility everywhere.   i need to praktice more humility.   we all do.

[later] not to strain my budget even more than i've already, i really would like to buy some more cds from yesasia sometime soon.   dude, i've really gotta record a new mix album asap!

[later] 'mebmer back ~1998 when i used to allude often to the smashing pumpkins' "despite all my rage, i'm still just a rat in a cage" in my journal?   ha ha, funny.   i also used to quote from their cover'f fleetwood mac's "landslide", rt?   *sigh* yah, i sure liked the smashing pumpkins back when they were 'round, yet i bought so few'f their recordings.   funny, huh?   that's how i feel w/ some grps, like no doubt.   i like their musik, but i don't buy their recordings.   perhaps it's cos i heard their songs 'nuff on the radio.

[later] 2day's thurs, n' i dunno whether to go to taekwondo sparring praktice or what 2nite.   more than nething, i need some exercise, but i dunno whether that means i should go to taekwondo sparring praktice or else just plain hit the gym.   which would be a better werkout?   well, @ this pt, i think i'd prefer to go to taekwondo sparring praktice cos 1) i haven't sparred in a while (n' thus i just need the butt kickin'???) n' 2) i can bring sooni to taekwondo praktice but not to the gym (whether the werk.com gym or bally).

[later] on sept 17, our church is doing a habitat 4 humanity activity.   i plan to join.   would u like to come along?   space fills up fast whenever ne group plans a habitat 4 humanity event, so plz let me know asap, if u'd like to come along.


2005.08.26

̽ũ

ݿ : last nite, @ taekwondo praktice, sooni caught a mouse in the parking lot.   ū keun sabuhmnim (big sabuhmnim / big master... not called that cos'f his size but cos'f his age in relation to his younger bro who's the taekwondo master while ū 's the ˵ guhmdo master.) takes her out to the parking lot n' lets her hunt in the bushes.   well, last nite, she caught a mouse.   ū keun sabuhmnim showed me.   it was a li'l gross n' sad.   however, sooni was happy 'bout it.   she was bred 4 hunting, n' when she catches li'l animals, she feels she's fulfilling her purpose, i guess.   however, i don't really care whether or not she catches li'l furry n' feathery animals 4 me.   in fakt, i s'ppose i prefer she didn't.   :-/ i wonder if god ever feels that way 'bout us.   sometimes we're so sure that sumpthin's our purpose here on earth, but maybe that's not what he wants.   @ the same time, sooni was bred 4 hunting, she was made 4 hunting, her brain was wired 4 hunting.   what can we say 'bout that?   shouldn't she be a hunter?   otherwise, why was she made like that?   perhaps just cos god made me good @ doing certain things doesn't mean those r the things he wants me to do.   could that be?   otherwise, would ppl then say that god made a mistake in making me the way i am?   *sigh* whadya think?   (after all, i love werkin' w/ the anology'f dog:human::human:god.)

last nite, i went to taekwondo sparring praktice.   i got worn out n' a li'l beat up.   my left foot, right thigh, and left hand are sore.   somehow, some'f my pads fell out'f my bag @ home, so i was missing a left shing guard and a right instep guard.   it's not that those pads belong to a particular side'f the body, but i figured i'd split the diff n' protekt 1 foot n' 1 shin instead'f putting all the available pads on 1 appendage n' then leaving the other bare.   instep pads protekt u as well as ur opponent/partner.   if u want to play mean, u don't wear instep pads or try to get 'way w/ weawring minimal instep pads.   however, i believe that, while we're in praktice, we ought to be nice to our training partners n' wear the appropriate protektion on our insteps.   the old.timers @ ucmap have funny stories 'bout protektive equipment @ tournamets including a ref's discovery that a competitor had taped maxi pads onto his/her feet, hoping 4 them to pass as adequate instep protektion.   that's a "good grief" kind'f sight, rt?   neway, altho' i got worn out, it felt good to spar.   i had a long match w/ this hi skool kid nick.   he certainly had more endurance than me.   i need more endurance these days.   it's so sad how downhill my endurance has gone since leaving berkeley.   well, honsetly, i still had good endurance back when i was a full.time grad student w/ time to werkout in the gym 2ice a day.   nowadays, i'm 2 much'f a "desk jockey": dj beno hwang in da' house!   desk jockey by day, disc jockey by nite...   i shouldn't be such a desk jockey.   i've heard ppl use the term "cad jockey," n' i do use cad (computer aided design/drafting).   in fakt, dude... consider 1'f the most ridiculous scenes in the recent major motion pictures the fantastic four: @ 1 pt, mr. wonderful (is that his name?) draws up designs 4 a transmographier.type device w/ frickin' blueprints.   dude! that's so ridiculous!   dude! obviously, if he were really designing a machine like that, he'd use a 'puter cad program!   that was really lame.   yah, i'm pretty ticked off 'bout that.   perhaps, i'm even p!$$ed off. ha ha ha, back when i was in hi skool, some kids thought it was bad to say "p!$$ed off,' so we'd say "ticked off."   whatever... neither is that bad in the real world.   1 must consider morality in the real world.

yesterday, i meant to bring lunch, but i left it @ home.   i had this plastik container'f fud that the beautiful kaela hwang had brought home from whole fuds on wed nite, while i was @ grx's community connections.   the container had a roasted chicken thigh, some kind'f spinach lasagna, n' some creamy salmon pasta.   it didn't look particularly healthy but just hearty.   neway, since i 4got the fud @ home even tho' i tried hard not to, i went home 4 lunch.   to my surprise, while i was there, kaela came home, saying she was sick.   she took a nap.   after easting, i went to orchard supply hardware to buy some hardware cos that's what u buy @ orchard supply hardware.   i bought some junk to try to fix our sprinkler.   i bought a new gardne hose attachemtn set.   i bought a thing'f super glue to fix a crack in my timex helix wristwatch band.

last nite, after taekwondo praktice, after sittin on the couch @ the dojang to rest, after inspekting sooni's rodent prey, n' after chattin' w/ ppl 4 a while; i went to baskin robbins on homestead n' lawrence to get a free aisukuriimu cone.   i hadn't realised b4 that baskin robbins has such a bad selektion'f lo.fat desserts, only the full fat stuff n' 1 lo.fat flavour.   :-/ i had a cone'f some choco "lightning n' thunder" aisukuriimu.   oh, in case u 4got, baskin robbins sent me some b.day e.mail that was s'pposed to be good 4 a free cone.   i felt really awkward going in there by myself to get my free cone.   it was a li'l sad.  i walked down the walkway @ the stripmall to pizza n' pies w/ sooni as i ate that rapidly melting, gooey aisukuriimu.   sooni wanted some, but dogs shouldn't eat chocolate.

[later] aktually, the aisukuriimu flavour's called "thunder 'n lightning" not "lightnning n' thunder."   (yah, not the reversal'f the position'f the ' relative to the n.')   neway, baskin robbins's website describes it as: "chocolate fudge ice cream with chocolate pieces and milk chocolate mousse ice cream with a marshamallow ribbon."   dude, that's not healthy!   [later] oh, i found the "nutrition" link on their website.   i'm scared to c.   it did feel good to have a nice reward after werkout tho'.   i 'member back in our berkeley, ucmap days, we'd werkout very hard but often have some kind'f reward afterwards: i miss that.   ok, i'm guessing that aisukuriimu has ~ 15g'f fat n' ~10g'f saturated fat, i.e. ~23%'f my rda'f fat n' ~48%'f my rda'f saturated fat... all in 1 scoop! awful!   [later] i feel ppl already realise that haagen daz's really fatt'ning, but do they realise that baskin robbins is as well?

last nite, i went to sleep a li'l late, n' i woke up early this morn to do some werk while still @ home.   yah, i aktually do use my laptop to do werk @ home now n' then.   last nite, i was rummaging 'round videos.yahoo.com 4 some korean musik videos n' found a total gem: an .mpg'f park jiyoon per4ming lee junghyun's "ٷ joolrae."   dude, awesome! 2'f my favourite rolled into 1, rt?   it's so awesome to c cover versions.   i'm sure i've already mentioned this, but 1 nite on sbs's α inko gayo or else kbs's music bank, i saw a bunch'f male singers getting 2gether to form a supergroup n' doing a cover'f jewelry's "superstar."   dude, that rocked.   dude, i gotta admit that they might've been better than jewelry themselves!   the supergroup was mc , the dude from buzz, uhm, 1 or 2 guys from ȭ, n' well... was there 1 more?   i 4get...   if there was, it was prob'ly like uh... ð sung sikyung or possibly yoon dohyun (altho' i don't think so) or... hrm... *shrug*   ah, i found mention'f this per4mance on the web on the music bank website: " 󸮷 뺯 ΰ, , , MC!   ۽Ÿ θ ¥ ǡSuperstar ۿ ȯ 밡 ٸ."   thus, the 4 guys were the dude from buzz ΰ min kyunghoon, ȭ shinhwa's shin hyeisung, tei, n' mc (mong): dude, it was an awesome per4mance.   they even did jewelry's dance moves.   ha ha, funny! a couple'f wks b4 on sbs's x-man celebrity gameshow, mc mong was making fun'f jewelry's lee jihyun, saying her dance in "superstar" was lame. ha ha ha!   these covers n' variations rock.   when was it that i saw ڿ koyotae's shinji sub in 4 μ yin sooni as the backup soul singer?   was it a dj doc tune or sumpthin'?

will we be able to someday $ave up 'nuff $$$ 4 a new washer n' dryer or a new dishwasher?   if so, we need to buy 1s that r more nergy n' h2o efficient.

[later] 2day, @ lunch, i went w/ some college program cowerkers to thai chili on halford @ el camino real behind citibank n' the fish market, near pizz'a chicago. [later] 756p: 4 lunch, i ate this "spicy" catfish that wasn't spicy.   i also had some thai ice(d) tea.   i was so tired @ the end'f the day.   kaela sez we're going over to her classsmate's place 4 dinner.   i tried to stay awake, waiting; but i fell asleep on the couch, watching tv.


2005.08.27

queer eye 4 the beno guy

1258p, @ bally gym: rt now, i'm stretching after lifting n' listening to ä "̼ (funky mix)."   on thurs nite, i finally dled the musik video'f that song.   i hadn't known that it was so racy.   of course, it's not p0rnographik or nething, but it's just that ä cms like such a "sweet, innocent gurl" on those celebrity game shows.

[later] 323p: i'm @ falafel drive.in, gettin' 1 small falafel.   earlier, @ the gym, i lifted n' then kicked the wavemaster 4 a long time.

[later] 518p: b4 going to falafel drive.in, i went to rite.aid to buy a couple'f nail clippers n' a free bottle'f gatorade propel h2o.   i had the choice btwn some clippers made in china n' some clippers made in korea.   i chose a model that was made in korea.   after falafel drive.in, i went to bed, bath, & beyond to use 2 "20% off any item" coupons.   it's so ridiculous how b,b,&b's soooo full w/ gen x/yers, i.e. the store was stuffed w/ ppl 'bout my age, n' i find that almost ridiculous.   what's going on?   now we're all grown up, eh?   they play musik from our generaiton over the house speakers.   ppl my age r s'pposed to hang out @ bed, bath, & beyond; that's the new "party safeway," that's the kewl place 4 my generation, those straddling 30.   i'm 30 rt now.   when i go to bed, bath, & beyond; i'm fascinated by all the kewl, gadgety chemical's, all these cleaners.   i wanted to buy lots'f those chemicals.   i bought some kabooom toiliet cleaner thingy.   i bought some kind'f chemical that removes mineral deposits from 1's coffee maker.   i bought a clorox bleach pen 4 an inflated pri¢e'f $2.99.   i figured i could buy it ¢heaper elsewhere, but these days gas ¢o$t$ 2 much 4 ppl to be driving from 1 store to 'nother just to $ave a ¢ouple'f pennie$, u know?   in order to make better use'f my 20% off coupons, i bought some set'f 4 wicker baskets.   they were made in china, un4tunately.   *sigh8 it's hard to avoid, but we've gotta do our part, as u know.

this morn, b4 i did tons'f yardwerk, b4 i went out to the gym, i went to costco.   i bought some kirkland bottled h2o 4 the beautiful kaela< hwang, the "swirly top" kind.   i bought 2 flats.   i had to jump over some packages'f quilted northern teepee (toilet paper) to get them.   i'm sure the costco employees were less than thrilled to c me doing that.   i also bought some cod liver oil pills 4 my eyes n' some chevron fuel injektor cleaner.  oh yah, i also bought some "premium" amc movie tix 4 $15 4 a pair, i.e. these tix'll let us into premier wknd movies as opposed to the 1s i bought b4 from my werk.com di$¢ount program.   neway, after costco, i came home n' did lots'f yardwerk.   i trimmed our 3 potato plants in our front yard w/ our elektric hedge trimmer.   they look shaped now altho' not well shaped.   'least they have some kind'f form.   they look like mcdonald's fry guys!   i told kaela that earlier, when she n' i got home @ the same time, n' she laffed 4 a while.   i plan to clean up our house rt now.   i hope i aktually do it.

last nite, kaela n' i went over to her classmate phil's aptmnt, which is in the north park neighbourhood.   do u know what that is?   northpark ("north park" or "northpark"???) is a series'f aptmnt complexes in north san josé 'round 1st n' tasman.   there r a whole mess'f aptmnt complexes, a nice grassy field/park where lots'f irresponsible dog owners let their doggies run off.leash, violating city law (but i'm sure they'd have some friggin' hissy fit if sooni regulated those dogs n' put them in their places.)   (don't tell me u 4got the 1990s rap hit "regulate" by warren g.)   neway, kaela's classmate's a homosexual male.   he lives w/ his bf.   i don't have many homosexual friends.   i have some, but they rn't my closest friends.   i s'ppose we just have a hard time getting close cos we live such diff kinds'f lives, rt?   neway, it's not like i try to find homosexual friends.   however, the biggest party i ever djed was a gay/lesbian party back up @ cal; n' it was a fun party, i've gotta admit.   it's just such a shame that back when i djed that party, i was still using cr@ppy equipment n' not my nice but now outdated pioneer cdj500s.   i'm far from homophobic, but 1 might have 1 hangup 'bout gay guys, n' it's that my last ex.gf started hangin' out 'lot w/ gay guys b4 we broke up.   i hope that's not sumpthin' all gurls do when they wanna dump their guy.   heh... well, u know why it can be, rt?   it's pretty obvious: let's say an attached gurl starts hangin' out w/ gay guys or even becomes sort'f a "f@g hag"; then she can $pend significant amts'f time w/ guys other than her bf n' be able to justify it as, "don't worry, he's gay."   consider 4 only a sec the epsiode'f king of queens in which doug's wife becomes buddy.buddy w/ a gay guy @ werk, n' her cowerkers then call doug "home husband" n' the gay guy "werk husband" or sumpthin' like that.   'member that doug didn't like it.   (oh yah, doug's wife's name was "carrie.")   neway, i dislike how women in committed relationships can use hangin' out w/ gay guys as sort'f a portal 2wards infidelity, u know?   it's such a loophole, etc.   (the attached gurl who hangs out w/ gay guys n' justifies it as "they're gay" can easily, slowly shift over to $pending lots'f time w/ straight guys, including 1s that'll gladly seduce her.)*

i'm not gay but not homophobic either.   i have many temptations, 2 many; but i don't feel i really struggle w/ homosexuality @ all.   yah, i do think, when u come down to it, homosexuality is a biblical sin 'gainst god; but frick, so is unmarried sex / 4nication, lust, murder, hate... akts'f hate 'gainst homosexuals... in my "perfekt, christian world," homosexuals would hafta be assexual n' celibate.   however, shoot...   in that "perfekt christian world," unmarried ppl also wouldn't have sex.   whatever, u know?   we're all frickin' sinners.   (there's a diff btwn not letting the devil make u constantly, discouragingly ashamed'f ur sin, n' outrt being proud'f ur sin!)   i'd like christian churches to have a better heart 2wards homosexuals n' try harder to outreach to them in an encouraging, produktive way.   frickin' protests 'gainst gay marriage in sf is not outreach; f@ck that $#!+!   neway, we met up w/ a gay couple n' basically had a double date @ their place.   it's kind'f funny is that we watched a very gay movie: wilde a biography'f oscar wilde (whom morrissey of the smiths liked so much), which has a young jude law.   wow, that was a very gay movie.

*here's a note added 2004.08.09, 1242a: dude, i think u much more rarely hear'f a guy in a committed relationship $pending lots'f time w/ a female friend n' then saying to his gf "oh, don't worry, she's lesbian."


2005.08.28

8

Ͽ U 1146p: 2day was sunday, as u know.   last nite was sat.   aktually, i had a decently produktive day yesterday, n' that made me a li'l happy.   yes, bed, bath, n' beyond was fun; i s'ppose.   it was a very hot, hot, hot wknd.   dude, it hasn't been this hot in the bay area this yr.   this yr, we've had lots'f tropical weather, more humidity than normal; but now we're just having a normal cali4nian heatwave.   let's check the weather 4 the coming wk.   plz hold on.   ok, it looks like it will cool down this wk.   i was telling the beautiful kaela hwang 2day that since it's been a cooler than avg yr this yr, i'd gotten used to the cooler climate n' sort'f resent this normal heat n' thus want it to cool down.   i believe it will cool down these next few days; n' i like that.


2005.08.29

birthweek ends

ħ, 1248a: do u ever get weird spam mail like this below? : Planetes
: "Rob Helmstetter"
¥: 2005-8-28, , 7:01 pm
޴ : [my e.mail address]
켱:
ȯ : ü | μ | Bounce

Dear Beno,

After meeting you on shattered galaxy, I was naturally curious about the name and found your page. I found a large number of excellent things! As you have undoubtably gathered, $$$ is a 2ndary rein...and subject to nothingness. IEEE-493-1990 may change these hard times. I have only a few units of smartness left and very little else, but I do not forget. I find a 90% chance that you have the ear.

Chocodile

i know i've gotten weird spam mail like that b4.   it's mildy interesting stuff compared to the usual boring spam mail.

on sat nite, a bunch'f my ol' hi skool friends n' duk n' the beautiful kaela hwang took me out 4 a b.day dinner @ hue, a new korean.amerikan bar near our house.   it's a total korean.amerikan semi.fusion experience as i think many'f the patrons rn't ur typical korean hof patrons but the former patrons'f blinky's the ol' americana dive bar that used to exist in that location.   funny, huh?   well, it's a very nice place w/ nice furniture that makes it look like the upscale bars in korean dramas, n' that's kewl.   however, kaela noted that the fud wasn't all that great.   i was fine w/ it, but i guess it wasn't all that great.   neway, i had a good time even tho' my friends pretty much purposely got me drunk.   ugh.   i typically don't drink to get drunk but just drink to enjoy how the wine, beer, or liquor complements the fud i'm eating.   otherwise, i just plain enjoy the taste'f the beverage.   neway, dude.   i was told to take a shot'f sojoo w/ each'f my guests.   i did that n' more.   ugh.   lessee, as far as fud, we had some ħ golbaengi moochim ("@" = golbaengi [sea snail] or ޹ dalbaengi [land snail]???) , fried chicken wings (yah, to those unfamiliar w/ real world korean culture, it might cm weird that we eat so much fried chicken @ these korean hofs), duhkbokki (which was strangely served w/ mini egg rolls), κ ġ dooboo kimchi, δ  boodae jjigae, galbi, ߳ Ƣ yangnyuhm dalknalgae twigim (fried chicken wings covered in spicy sauce) (i didn't get to eat this cos @ this pt, nelson n' i walked from the bar to kaela's n' my house in order 4 me to sober up.), n' well... other ppl had more fud, but i wasn't there @ that pt.   i heard they had some ġ kimchi bokkeumbap (kimchi friend rice).   ugh, well, i rested the rest'f the nite, n' our friends came over to our house.   i wasn't much good @ entertaining them @ that pt.   nuts.   well, it was nelson, mike, vivian, ken, grace, joe tseng... n' then duk.   that was fun altho' 2 much sojoo. :-/

well, heh... it's funny to juxtapose that paragraph w/ the next 1, this 1, which'll talk 'bout our going to church in the morn.   however, we do go to a real world church, so whatever, dude... we live in the real world, n' in the real world, yah... some christians'll celebrate their b.days w/ good ol' friends n' those good ol' friends'll wanna drink sojoo w/ them n' whatever, man.   we went to the 2nd service instead'f the 1st, not cos we couldn't wake up (cos we did) but cos our grx t3s couples small grp was doing "lunch bunch," which meant we were taking intersted new members to lunch.   we went to asia village on wolfe n' old san francisco by the li'l safeway.   it was a good lunch.   afterwards, a few'f us went bowling @ moonlite lanes by our house.   kaela brought a b.day cake 4 me there.   heh, it's funny how my b.day got drawn out over a wk, ain't it?   well, i'm 30.

this evening, kaela n' i went out to ѱ hangook market to get some groceries.   afterwards, @ home, while i cleaned the bathrm n' put laundry out to dry (which i washed in the afternoon), kaela cooked some κ ° soondubu jjigae n' some kongching chai (hollow tube vegetables).

dude, i've gotta post some more pix up sometime soon.

it's scary how we waste $$$ so much, but i've gotta admit that i believe i'll dump $$$ into buying 2 awful things in the near future: 1) a canon sd400 digi elph cam n' 2) a sony vrd-vc20 standalone/pc dvd recorder.   dude, it's all horrible!   it's painful to stimulate the e¢onomy.


2005.08.30

stop eating elektronics.

Ȳ ħ: dude, i can't believe august's 'bout to end!   crazy!   yesterday, evening, i thought i'd stop by home after werk, say hi to sooni, maybe stop by orchard supply hardware store, n' then go to bally's gym.   well, to my pleasant surprise, when i got home, the beautiful kaela hwang was home cooking spam curry.   wow!   that really surprised me.   i figured she'd be off studying; or maybe she'd be @ the gym, n' then i'd run into her there... however, i mostly expekted her to be out studying.   i was so surprised.   neway, since she was home, n' since my left foot's still swollen from thurs nite's sparring, i decided not to go to the gym.   while she cooked, i went to the backyard n' folded laundry.   usually, i put the clothes in the hamper, bring'em in, n' then fold them.   however, it was a pleasantly, refreshingly cool evening, so i folded the clothes outside n' then carefully placed them in the hamper n' brought'em in.   we ate spam curry (made w/ spam lite, thus less fat altho' still 2 much na+ 4 me.)   while eating, we watched most'f the perfekt score the mtv, hi skool kids movie 'bout some hi skool kids (redundant there) who attempt to steal the answers to the sat (s.a.t., skolastik aptitude test).   it surprisingly has scarlett johansson in a rather non.oscar worthy role, erika christensen in her typical hi skool gurl role (if that save the last dance mtv movie was any indikation'f her usual role), n' this somewhat new face, asian dude leonardo nam (prob'ly korean, rt?).   the movie was ok but not spektacular.   it reminded me 'lot'f the ol', 1980s john hughes movie the breakfast club cos a few diverse hi skool kids r thrown 2gether into 1 bunch.   that's pretty kewl.   in fakt, this cast is an obvious improvement upon the breakfast club cast thru its increased diversity, eh?   i'd give the movie like a "b" or "b+," not an "a."   we also watched most'f dodgeball.   it was decently funny, but not as funny as some other movies i've cn lately.   4 example, i'd say that napoleon dynamite's funnier cos u can laff while walkin' in @ ne pt'f the movie.   dodgeball's biggest advantage is its use'f many cameo appearances.   not to spoil nething; but, dude, lance armstrong shows up, n' that's pretty kewl.   yah, whadya think'f those coloured rubber bands?   me, i sort'f wish the livestrong ppl had patented the design but have a suspicion that the didn't originate it.

later, we watched the next episode'f sbs's fashion 70s.   i believe it's coming to an end.   i really like this show n' am sad we missed a few episodes in the middle.   if i had more $$$, i might consider pur¢ha$ing this k.drama on dvd when it comes out n' rewatching it.   it's a really good 1.   kbs's ̾ϴ, Ѵ has now come out on subtitled dvd.   u need to buy it thru my link from yesasia.   u must.   otherwise, if u absolutely refuse to buy it from my link, plz buy it thru the bronx's junkyard link.   bronx's junkyard is still a kewl place to hang out, u know.   well, kaela n' i fell asleep on the couch, watching sbs's α .   i met to stay awake n' then go shower during the ű per4mance.   close to 300a, i awoke to the portion'f ̿ , which hand andy from ȭ n' fin.k.l.'s running 'round in some black trinity (from the matrix) outfit.   (it's simply amusing to ponder how jerome used to rave 'bout lee jin.)   they have those 2 2gether in these , eh?   they call these li'l skit segments " banjuhn drama."   i guess that means sumpthin' like "twisted drama," but i'm not totally sure.   they r sometimes paraodies'f existing dramas or movies or else just kind'f comically done skits w/ decent plots.   i like'em, but i can't stay up all nite, watchin' this stuff; thus i need a dvd recorder!

up until yesterday, i was pretty sure that i wanted to buy the sony_vrd-vc20@amazon.com; but then i realised it doesn't have a timer!   (aktually, i was gonna buy it from ebuyer.com.)   dude, that's messed up.   i guess this machine's really just 4 old.timers w/ lots'f vhs to convert to dvd.   nuts.   cos'f that, i'm back to considering building my own pvr (personal video recorder - think tivo).   i dunno; i really dunno... :-(

i do still believe i'll need to drop some ¢a$h n' pur¢ha$e the canon_sd400@amazon.com.   if so, i'll use code "FREECAMMEMRY" @ checkout 4 free 128mb sd card.   in case i didn't mention it, kaela's digi.elph died while we were @ that picnic @ ponderosa park w/ my college program cowerkers.   that was a fun bbq even tho' i cut up my knuckle, opening a beer bottle 4 some1 else.   that cut got infekted, i guess, n' took a while took a while to heal.

last nite, i calculated that kaela n' i, on my last ¢redit ¢ard bill, $pent ~$1050 on fud.   that's awful n' was a combination'f 2 many ridiculously extravagant dinners @ luxurious places n' buying absurdly gourmet produce @ whole foods.   i'd say i'm being sent to the poor house, but we don't have a poor house in this day n' age.   our house is the poor house.   ha ha ha.   just kidding...   i'm thankful 4 all that god has blessed me w/.

[later} sometimes, i overhear my cowerkers talking 'bout or to their kids.   some'f these kids r in college or hi skool; n' that makes me reminisce 'bout somewhat simpler days.   what was it like to drive to hi skool every morn?   do i 'member?   i had commitments like piano lessons, band, symphony orchestra, church, worship team, clubs, youth groups... however, weren't things still simpler then?

[later] : i went to the gym during lunch, lifted weights n' did precor.   i felt really blah going in, so i was hoping to get re.energised, remotivated, n' readjusted by werking out.   hrm... is that sumpthin' like lame, feelgood, motivational speaker talk that ppl w/o a religion subscribe to?


2005.08.31

august ends

, 1101p: dude, so august ends in an hr?   2morrow, the branch'f my company 4 which i werk is having an offsite.   kewl!   i never got to have a real offsite b4, rt?   we're going to saratoga springs, some corporate picnic venue in saratoga.   it should be fun.   i was really bizzy@werk.com 2day but in a good way, i s'ppose.   i got stuff done n' felt good 'bout that.   i admit, not every day is like that.   last nite, the beautiful kaela hwang n' i went to taekwondo praktice n' then to the cupertino fantasia to get boba.  ٺ.   i had a green bean slush n' got kaela a longan freeze.   fantasia was crazy crowded or mad crowded.   it was a beautifully not.cold nite.   fantasia attrakts 'lot'f non.asian customers.   it's rather popular w/ the general silly valley population, n' it rocks.   uhm, what did we eat 4 dinner last nite?   oh yah, ä gochoo jabchae goonmandoo.

last thurs, after sparring, my left foot was swollen.   it's still swollen.   it doesn't hurt 2 badly but sometimes hurts.   it's been almost a wk.   i'm sure i didn't brk a bone cos i can totally walk fine; but perhaps i tore some kind'f tissue somewhere in there, u know?   yesterday n' 2day, i werked out in the werk.com gym during my lunchbrk.   yesterday, @ lunch, i ate leftover spam curry.   2day, @ lunch, i had a healthy choice frzn dinner.   i had a late lunch 2day.   i was bizzy, as i sed; so i went to the gym late n' ate late.   i got lots done tho'.

wow, i can't believe august is ending.   september'll have a couple'f weddings.   i believe i might be an usher 4 stan n' annelise's wedding.   we call the 2'f them stannelise.   that'll be kewl if i'm an usher.   i feel bad, tho', that i hadn't kept in such good touch w/ stannelise thru.out the yrs since graduation from cal.

i might be djing a christmas party 4 laura's li'l sista alice's company.   that'll be kewl.   in the past, i'd get a li'l nervous 'bout djing a big corporate party; but dude, this yr, i realised that i've been professionally djing 4 13 yrs, n' i've got a decent 'mount'f experience.   i dunno, man.   i never want to brag 'bout my djing, do i?   instead, i'd prefer to say that god's just given me a gift, a gift 4 djing.

2nite, i went to the "series finale" of grx's community connections.   community connections was an 8.wk thingamajig, where random ppl from the church got 2gether to have fellowship n' bible study.   it was 4 ppl who weren't in an existing small grp.   i'm in the "t3 south" small grp w/ kaela, but my mom didn't have a small grp to go to, so i was happy to go w/ her to community connections.   it was kewl.   i met many kewl ppl.   in our "t3 south" grp, most ppl werk in the software industry out here, but i've met more ppl in community connections that werk, like me, in the semiconductor industry.   that's been fun.


2005.09.01

my wknd in cmos

1236a: a li'l while 'go, i plunked down the plastik over the internet n' bought that dagnabbed canon_sd400@amazon.com.   i didn't know that the "FREECAMMEMRY" code @ checkout 4 free 128mb sd card only werks 4 selekt models.   *sigh* the sd400 doesn't count.   it mostly werks 4 $uperexpen$ive models or else ¢learan¢e models.   *sigh* don't my wallet feel a whole 'lot lighter, eh? *sigh* i just figured that since we've got all these weddings coming up, we'd best have a camera, rt?   i'm gonna be an usher @ stannelise's wedding.   we might as well catch that on camera, rt?   *sigh* it's 2 bad the beautiful kaela hwang's s110 digi.elph camera died cos it was kewl having a decent digi.cam that was ol' 'nuff that we didn't mind bringing it up on the slopes, u know?   that s110 was a 2.1 megapixel cam.   the sd400 digi.elph, which we'll be soon getting, is a 5.0 megapixel camera.   that's quite a jump; but it just means i'll hafta shrink the pix more to fit them on my website.   it also means we'll hafta backup pix onto dvd-r more often in order to conserve diskspace, huh? *sigh* however, enlarged prints'll look nicer.   i gotta say, it's been 2 long since kaela n' i took pix worthy'f enlargement, rt?   then 'gain, if we were to do that, we'd have those pix taken on a really nice cam, rt?   i sort'f feel bad that, in a way, we haven't taken nice pix since our wedding.   it's been over 2 yrs.   it'd be nice to try to look good now n' then as if it were an event as big as a wedding, rt?

can u believe it's now september?   it's been september 4 almost an hr now, as it's now 1248a.   in this wk's safeway ad, there's a li'l blurb 'bout some local moon festival that takes place on the wknd that kaela n' i'll be in socal 4 mark n' grace's wedding.

nice digicams have ccd imaging chips.   "ccd" = "charge coupled device."   ¢heap digicams have cmos imaging chips.   "cmos" = "complementary metal.oxide semiconductor."   however, cmos imaging chips can be just as good or better than ccd chips.   read this web page: http://www.dalsa.com/markets/ccd_vs_cmos.asp

it's been 2 long since i posted pix, so i'll vomit a whole bunch rt now.   these were all taken on my motorola v710 1.2 megapixel camerafon.

i imagine that i'll prob'ly skip taekwondo sparring praktice 2morrow nite cos'f my swollen foot.   i have this e.mail 4 a free belated b.day dinner @ tony roma's.   when'll i get to use it?   i'd like to use it.


2005.09.02

hurricane katrina

ݿ : i'm still@wer.com.   this morn, i was watchin' the stoopid nbc today show n' saw lots'f videojournalistik coverage'f hurricane katrina.   i feel bad 4 those ppl in n'o'leans... or however they pronounce "new orleans" down there...   do u say "nola" like the restaurant?   isn't "nola" an acronym?

[later] 644p: it was not a short_day@werk.com 4 me despite its being the fri b4 labour day.   bizzy, bizzy.   i have a cowerker that also goes to our church (grx).   we met up 4 lunch 2day @ gilmok.


2005.09.05

blue monday

뵿 labour day 425p: i'm wearing blue jeans w/ a blue t.shirt (my "math club" t.shirt).   2 much blue?   the beautiful kaela hwang n' i r @ santana row 'gain w/ sooni.   the 3'f us were already here yesterday.   it's a beautiful labour day, n' every1's out.   here, @ the olin ave park (plaza di valencia?), a 70s style prog rock band's playing to a barely interested neo.yuppie crowd.   i do appreciate the guitarmanship, n' so would stephan garcia n' phil, were they here.   it's been a chill labour day wknd.

on fri nite i took kaela out 4 'nother overindulgent monthvesary dinner, this time @ cupertino's park place restaurant, which used to be helios, in the cypress hotel.   sat morn, i fixed the sprinkler. . . [unfinished entry]


2005.09.06

beg your cool pardon

Ȳ ħ: it feels like mon, but it's tuesday.   yesterday was labour day, so fall is virtually here, n' summer's virtually over.   of coruse, the season doesn't really change 4 another few wks, but there's that fashion rule that u don't wear white shoes after labour day, not 'gain till memorial day.   i typically don't wear white shoes 'cept 4 taekwondo shoes, but i sort'f observe a version'f that rule by not wearing summery white shirts btwn labour day n' memorial day.   i don't have many'f those shirts but have a couple.   i guess i should pack'em up 4 the next couple'f seasons.   *sigh* crazy, huh?   summer flew by.   i s'ppose we had weddings to attend n' dj, n' that took a few wknds out'f our summer n' made it go by faster, rt?   or else what is it?   the beasutiful kaela hwang sed that this summer flew by.   usuaslly, when she sez sumpthin' like that, i find it overly pessimistik n' disagree; but honestly, in this case, i agree.   it's strange; yes, this summer flew by.   perhaps it has sumpthin' to do w/ how she's in skool n' was in skool pretty much the whole summer.   she did have a short summer brk.   [a few mins later] didju have a good labour day wknd?   i sure wouldn't mind getting more communication from my readers.   couldju plz sing my gbook now?   thanks.   i didn't finish my recount'f the labour day wknd.   shall i finish or no?

i saw an advert on tv this morn during the today show 4 a gwyneth paltrow / anthony hopkins movie called {proof}.   i believe it's got sumpthin' to do w/ mathematics.   wouldn't toby be interested?   if i go c it, should i wear my famous mathematics club t.shirt?

on fri nite, we went to dinner @ park place restaurant in cupertino's cypress hotel, where kaela n' i spent our wedding nite.   our friend joon nam used to werk 4 that hotel back then.   the restaurant used to be helios, as i sed.   now, it's park place.   originally, i planned on bringing sooni w/ us, n' we could've dined outside w/ her.   however, we ended up ditching her @ home.   kaela had sea bass; i had scallops.   kaela's sea bass had this kewl "israeli couscous."   my scallops had fried spinach n' mashed potatoes.   we also shared a baby spinach salad that had bleu cheese.   4 dessert we had a pretty good berry cheesecake.   we had a bottle'f this 2003 jekel riesling that we both agreed was just so.so.   i've been trying to convince kaela that maybe we shouldn't order bottles'f wine so often cos it's obviously 2 expen$ive/opverpri¢ed n' often we don't even finish'em.   however, i know gurls like bottles'f wine cos it looks romantik.   :-( whadya gonna do, u know?   that dinner was 4 our belated 25th monthversary.

we obviously $pend way 2 much $$$ on eating out, n' it's awful.   i mean, it wouldn't be so awful if we didn't go so often to such luxurious places, but we do.   dining out's 1 thing, but going to extravagantly posh restaurants so often's 'nother.   mortgage's due.   the ¢redit ¢ard bill's due.   i'm s'pposed to have $$$ to invest in mutual funds.   i need to buy a bike to commute to werk n' $ave $$$ on gas.   i need to buy a standalone dvd recorder to record shows n' then watch'em later on the dvd playa in our bdrm.   kaela sed she'll buy that 4 us.   :-/ reaslly?

[later] "inside the schoolhouse gates: a report on religion in the public schools" 2005.08.29, the rutherford institute:   have u ever heard'f this organisation?   i guess i must'f signed up to get some freebie from them n' ended up on their mailing list.   i think i asked 4 a pocket.sized copy'f the constitution.   otherwise, what else would it be?   they don't have more rubber band bracelets to give out, do they?   neway, i found the article i linked somewhat interesting.   i was taught in hi skool that u can't have the freedom'f religion w/o the freedom not to have a religion.   well, vice versa, u can't have the freedom not to have a religion w/o the freedom to have a religion.   atheism is a religion.   it takes @ least just as much faith to believe that god doesn't exist as to believe that he does exist.   this rutherford institute, i don't totally understand them.   in some ways they sound like a really good civil liberties grp; in others, i'm kind'f worried 'bout them; not sure.   i mean, they cm to be decently intelligient ppl n' not a bunch'f gun nut libertarians.   they have respekt 4 different faiths, n' their history is tied in w/ the christian faith. *shrug*

(speaking'f rights n' liberties), instead'f campainging 4 gun owner rights, we should be campaigning 4 dog owner rights!   i thought i heard on the news or somewhere that some bay area gov't recently approved breed.specific dog bans.   that's awful.   as i read in dog world, breed.xpecific dog bans pave the way 4 all 'round dog bans, which is awful.   breed specific dog bans r like racism.   it'd be a nitemare if the gov't only allowed ppl to ahve golden retrievers n' labs!   we need to regulate the ppl n' not punish the dogs.   the root problem's obviously that 99.9%'f dog owners r bad dog owners.   we need more edukation 'bout taking care'f doggies.   that's 4 sure.   stoopid ppl that abuse their dogs n' make them aggressive should not be allowed to own doggies.   dogs should be allowed to go into stores n' restaurants.   ppl need to be edukated on how to edukate their doggies.   most dog owners don't know how to teach their doggies to observe hierarchy.   so many li'l purse doggies think they r better than humans cos their owners don't put them in their places cos it's easier to pick'em up n' shove'em into ur purse than teach them good manners.   that's awful.

[later] : dude, am i the only person who notices a strong correlation btwn gwen stefani's recent hit single "cool" n' the 1980s 1.hit.wonder track "beg your pardon" from kon kan???   don't the chorus melodies sound the same???
"smile for the while and let's be jolly
we shouldn't be so melancholy
come along and share the good times while we can"
- from kon kan's "beg your pardon"
"and after all the obstacles
it's good to see you now with someone else
and it's such a miracle that you and me are still good friends
after all that we've been through
i know we're cool. . .
remember harbor boulevard
the dreaming days where the mess was made
look how all the kids have grown, oh
we have changed but we're still the same
after all that we've been through
i know we're cool . . .
and I'll be happy for you
if you can be happy for me circles and triangles
and now we're hanging out with your new girlfriend
so far from where we've been
i know we're cool
- from gwen stefani's "cool"

i guess it's all explained on the internet everywhere that gwen stefani's "cool"'s 'bout how she n' n her ol' band no doubt's bass guitarist tony (aswhin) kanal used to be a couple (in a romantic love relatinoship) back a long time 'go, n' that she's happy that even tho' they had that relatinoship in the past n' broke up that they can still be friends.   does it kind'f suck 4 the rest'f the members'f no doubt that gwen stefani ended up getting sooo much publicity, while the others didn't reach so much fame?   well, i hope they're ok w/ that.   my ol' friend owen used to say it was kewl that gwen stefani had an indian bf that it was some kind'f victory 4 asian.amerikan men.   ha ha.   well, shoot... now he has a big, top'f the charts pop song 'bout him!

that wikipedia page i linked sez that "cool" has a major 1980s influence.   yah, it does, n' i like how gwen stefani n' no doubt've been able to incoroprate 1980s retro so gracefully.   a good example'd be their "it's my life" talk talk cover.   in "cool" u hear certain synth sounds that bring u back to the 1980s as well as guitar n' bass rhythms that do the same.   is it that no doubt's the pride'f orange county?

hrm, now that brings up a question: r u "cool" w/ ur exes (exbfs, exgfs)?

funny, this past wknd, i was reading some ol' journal entries, n' i ended up reading 'bout my life back in 1998, when my last exgf n' i broke up.   i wrote that whole "beno at the crossroads"   i certainly do not hang out w/ my exgfs, no.   there've been times when i ran into them, yes.   lately? no.   there were times when i ran into my 2nd exgf when kaela n' i were going out, yes.   i haven't run into either'f my exgfs since kaela n' i got married, no.   i believe 'laest my 2nd exgf knows that kaela n' i r married, n' perhaps both'f'em do.   i know my 2nd exgf's still unmarried, n' perhaps both'f'em r.   i don't mean ill will by saying this, but i'm glad i didn't marry either'f those 2 exgfs.   i'm not just saying that cos no1'd say otherwise.   i'm saying that cos i'm glad i married kaela.   i know i add to her stress all the time by wishing she'd spend mroe time w/ me while she has so many things to do 4 skool.   i shouldn't expekt her to be perfekt, in that respekt, cos no1's perfekt n' when we expekt a person to be perfekt, we'll always be let down.   my 2 exgfs never met each other; but, while i was going out w/ my 2nd exgf, my 1st exgf moved into my apt bldg.   we met 1nce n' talked.   later, when my 2nd exgf n' i broke up, my 1st exgf called me up n' we hung out a few times.   it's very interesting that she even hung out w/ my late 1990s / early 2000s cal taekwondo party crew (p.crew) 1nce, when we went to 뷡 noraebang @ music box.   i 4get if she also went bowling w/ us @ albnay bowl earlier that evening.   i don't imagine so, but i 'member walking from albany bowl to el cerrito plaza's albertsons to buy sobe (drinks manufactured by south beach beverage company) w/ andy n' 1 other guy who might've been jerome or s.mike.

it's weird to think that it's been almost 5 yrs since the hey day'f the cal taekwondo party crew (p.crew).   my hi skool 10.yr reunion already passed, but kaela's's coming up soon.   that makes me wonder if it'd be possible to have a p.crew 5.yr reunion.   wouldn't that be funny?   well, the concept's a li'l awkward cos there was never ne 4mal strukture to the p.crew, so who's to say when it started or ended.   in fakt, i'd like to believe that it never ended as i hear some'f my ol' friends still cm to have a cal taekwondo p.crew up there in berekeley.   i hope so.   i mean, ideally, i wish there were some kind'f legacy to it all.   if only we had been some kind'f 4mal organisation like a frat, then there'd be some kind'f archived dokumentation that proclaimed that certain ppl kind'f "started" the p.crew.   the way, i c it, the p.crew started w/ the merging'f 2 groups: {jeff, dave, n' andy} n' {beno, s.mike, n'... my ol' roommmate}   i think charles'd be involve in there 2 w/ the latter set.   then jerome'd be involved there w/ 1'f the 2 else both.   heh, in that sense, maybe he ought to feel special as being some kind'f adhesive.   neway, the p.crew in its easrly days in late 1998'd do stuff like meet @ s.mike's boarding house to watch wong kar.wai movies.   sometime in early 1990s, s.mike pted out that we were 2 male.dominant, n' we made an effort to hang out w/ more gurls.   the 4mation'f the p.crew was heavily tied into the cal taekwondo demo team'f those days, n' it was a li'l hard to distinguish the 2 sets or to say if the p.crew wasn't a subset'f the demo teawm or whawt.   4 a long time, it went kind'f hand.in.hand.   the demo team had gurls as well as guys, n' the original males in the p.crew started invite the females from the demo team to come out w/ us, n' then the p.crew became co.ed.   some'f use were college students n' some were recent alumni; but, in retrospekt, i feel we were really young.   i mean, i guess now 22, 23, 24, 25, 26; it all cms young now that i'm 30.   i don't feel old, but my life @ 22~26 sure was diff from my life now @ 30.   kaela has asked if i wish life were still like it was back when i was so bizzy w/ p.crew funstuff.   no, it'd be ridiculous to wish that!   that would seriously be living in the past, being an al bundy braggin' 'bout how he used to play hi skooll futbol.   i don't wish that @ all.   there's a season 4 everything. (ecclesiastes 3:1)   i'll enjoy each season 4 what it has to offer n' asvour it.   in the summer, i'll take sooni on fieldtrips.   in the winter i'll snowboard till the cows come home on their own w/ good, decent paychecks, a living wage.   "smile for the while, and let's be jolly.   we shouldn't be so melancholy.   come along and share the good times while we can."

on sat morn, kaela went w/ her classmates to some1's house to praktice some chiropraktic stuff, n' i stayed home n' fixed the sprinkler w/ sooni tied to our li'l japanese maple tree.   afterwards, i did some other housewerk.   then kaela came home n' we met w/ my father's side'f the family's relatives 4 lunch @ aroy.dee thai restaurant, where we all had lunch buffet.   it was a good lunch n' good to c my relatives, 'specially my cousins up w/ whom i got to catch.   (...w/ whom i got to catch up.... or whom i got to catch up w/....)   afterwards, we went over to my cousins' beautiful, rennovated, million dollar los altos home.   wow, it was so clean.   it was fun to be w/ my cousins n' uncles n' aunts as well as my sister, her husband, n' her kids.   after hanging out there, kaela n' i went to the gym, the meridian/hamilton bally total fitness gym.   we werked out 4 a while.   then we went home.   however, on our way home, we went to falafel's drive.in to eat falafel's.   it was 815p when we got there.   they were s'pposed to close @ 800p, but the served their final customers 4 the day, which happened to be a few yuppie couples.   strange how we were all (pretty much) yuppie couples. *shrug* after that, kaela n' i went home n' fell asleep.

on sun morn, kaela n' i went to church n' met up w/ my mom.   pastor dave gave a great msg 'bout putting into praktice what we learn in church.   dude, that's so true.   we can't just sit in the church n' think we're all gonna be such glorious theologians.   instead, we've gotta get out into the world n' put into praktice jesus's teachings n' his ways.   that's very true.   after church, kaela n' i went w/ my mom to lunch @ ay chung in milpitas.   mmm, that was good taiwanese fud, n' i'm impressed w/ the spiciness'f their hot sauce.   later, in the afternoon, kaela n' i brought sooni w/ us to the santana row farmers' market.   we had a couple'f boba drinks ٺ! from fantasia there.   i've been totally trippin' on pluots lately.   that isn't proper slang, is it?   rather, i'm been totally diggin' on pluots lately.   it's appropraite to say i'm "diggin' on sumpthin'" rather than just that i'm just "diggin' sumpthin'," rt?   or did that go out a long time 'go?   i mean, i know there was that ol' tlc song "diggin' on you."   that song's old.   well, kaela, sooni, n' i hung out there 4 a while n' were jolly.   kaela wanted to go into crate n' barrel.   sooni n' i sat inside the store rt by the door.   i'm sure the store officially doesn't allow sooni there, but the employees didn't cm to mind her cos she's so cute.   as always, ppl stopped to ask us 'bout sooni n' what breed'f dog she is, etc.   eventually, kaela n' i went home.   i had this "happy belated birthday" e.mail from tony roma's, good 4 a free entrée; so we hit up tony roma's 4 dinner, which is atypical'f us.   if u know us, then u know we don't commonly visit that kind'f place on our own; maybe w/ friends, but not on our own.   neway, i got free dinner out'f it.   awesome.   i was gonna make good use'f the free dinner offer by getting the $21.95 filet mignon steak, but the waitress recommended that i instead order the $19.95 n.y. strip steak.   i went along w/ that but should've instead opted 4 the huge combo platter that ¢o$ts $22.95 n' includes st. louis ribs, some kind'f low.end steak, n' a skewer'f shrimp.   afterwards, we walked to mitsuwa japanese market n' $hopped 'round just a li'l.   we went to kaela's office to do a few things.   then we went home n' watched ΰ on dvd.   i hadn't realised it was such a silly, slapstick comedy; but i should've known.   it's funny.

mon was labour day.   we woke up later than i'd hoped.   originally, i'd hoped to go to the gym n' then make a fieldtrip up to berkeley.   kaela n' i did go to the gym after stopping by kaela's office to pick up sumpthin' she left there.   we werked out 4 a while.   lately, when i go to bally total fitness, i kick the wavemaster bag as my werkout after lifting weights.   surprisingly, i've been skipping the cardio machines.   i like it.   after kaela n' i washed up n' got into the car, we eventually concluded that it was 2 late to head up to berkeley n' that we should isntead enjoy the beautiful labour day weather down here. [later] (still@werk.com): kaela wanted to enjoy a nice lunch outside.   we considered various places but ended up back @ santana row 4 a 2nd day in a row.   kaela treated me to lunch @ straits café, which was funny cos i've been to straits 3 times: 2ice @ santana row now, n' 1nce in sf... n' all 3 times, kaela paid 4 us.   we had nasi briyani, "spicy" basi chicken, garlic noodles, n' banana blossom salad, which was 2 much fud al2gether.   we had leftovers.   we walked 'round santana row afterwards n' ran into nelson on his way out'f club one.   we went to smoothie king w/ him, where kaela got some expen$ive smoothie.   we sat 'round that olin ave. park 4 a while, as a 70sish prog.rock band played.   as always, lots'f ppl asked 'bout sooni.   it's funny cos kids always want to pet her.   1 dad sed that his li'l daughter never wants to pet dogs but wanted to pet sooni.   well, eventually, we went home.   kaela cooked some japanese eggplant in ¥ jjajang w/ okra n' ground turkey n' shrooms n' onion.   we watched ±ر taegeukki: the brotherhood of war on starz cinema.

2day, i went to amici's east coast pizza w/ some cowerkers.

[later] 20050907, 405a; after hrs pix:
they say a man's only worth as much as his wife n' dog r pretty.   do they say that?   well, here r some pix from this past wknd.




2005.09.07

the ancient korean martial art'f jindo

: the day flies by when u'r bizzy, rt?   i try to do 'lot, i s'ppose.   i try to do 'nuff housewerk each day, take care'f sooni, get exercise, n' get all my werk done.   2day, @ lunch, i went to a cowerker's (from the college program) b.day party @ acapulco's mexican restaurant on lawrence expwy.   i tried to get there fast, but when i got there, i drove rt past the restaurant's bldg cos i thought it was part'f the nearby condo complex.   i wasted time there, i s'ppose, in driving past it n' coming back 'round.   i was thinking, "dude, how come acapulco's sign is in the parking lot'f this condo complex?"   well, along w/ most'f my cowerker friends, i had the lunch buffet.   i think i overate.   afterwards, i quickly went to my quick chiropraktic apptmnt w/ my chiropraktic intern shaun.   it was a quick apptmnt.   i've been quite bizzy_2day@werk.com.

yesterday, my_grp@werk.com had a farewell lunch 4 some1 xferring to a diff grp.   we went to amici's east coast pizzeria on castro st in mtn view.   the pizza was pretty good.   it's funny to think: btwn, red n' white wine, the beawutiful kaela hwang n' i usually choose white. (yah, i realise that colour scheme doesn't quite look rt but had to consider the backgrnd colour'f my page.)   btwn chicago n' new york pizza, we usually choose chicago.   still, i enjoy red, red wine every now n' then n' enjoy new york pizza every now n' then.   the pizza was good, n' i was pleasantly surprised that our boss paid 4 lunch.   awesome.   we had some calibri pizza (some kind'f meat w/ some tomato), some philly pizza (hot sausage w/ grilled peppers n' onions), n' some other pizzas.   they were good, n' i told my cowerkers that i would go back to amici's in the future.

last nite, i rushed from werk to home to taekwondo praktice w/ sooni.   we kicked paddles n' did some endurance paddlewerk.   i felt winded, but it was definitely a good praktice.   oh yah, when we got there, this 1 novice student 輱 sona (same korean first name as kaela) had her li'l purse dog puppy alex tied to the door.   i spotted that n' tied sooni out to the other door.   ever since ū keun sabuhmnim let sooni catch that mouse, she itches to catch more mice every time we go to praktice.   she wanted to go hunt but ū keun sabuhmnim wasn't there last nite to take her.   i saw her get anxious n' start to chew her tie.out, sumpthin' i haven't cn her do in a while.   i don't like it when she does that.   maybe i should spray it w/ bitter apple 'gain.   bitter apple is this chemical that s'pposedly tastes awful n' keeps pets from chewing on stuff.   sona left like 0.5.way thru praktice, so i moved sooni to the front door.   she sniffed the carpet upon which alex was sittin' on.   i had heard that sona had been bringing alex w/ her to the early praktice n' realised that's why lately sooni's been sniffing the carpet 'lot when she gets to praktice.   after praktice, a bunch'f us went to seoul gomtang in santa clara.   i brought sooni, n' the owners met her n' were so delited out'f their minds.   they fed her lots'f meat.   the owners hadn't met her b4 even tho' i'd brought her there b4.   i guess, in the past, they weren't there.   to put it in a crude way w/o meaning ne offense, middle.aged korean immigrants always go ape$#!+ over sooni.

well, no... there was 1 time @ santana row, where there was this 1 dude w/ a brown retreiver dog.   he was a dumb dog owner n' kept wanting his rude dog to play w/ sooni; thus i had the cr@ppy task'f keeping them 'part since those dummies usually get all pi$$y when they realise that sooni just goes w/ canine behaviour n' does the whole dominance thing.   neway, that wasn't the korean person, but there was this korean ܸ w/ some kid, maybe her grandchild or sumpthin'.   neway, she wanted her kid to play w/ the retriever rather than sooni, even tho' the kid cmed to want to play w/ sooni.   i think that ܸ was scared'f jindotgae, n' i understand cos there r a lot'f bad jindo owners out there that inadvertantly condition their jindo to be aggressive etc.   nweay, imho, that was flat out dog self.racism!   basikally, it's like the case'f an asian parent that tells his/her kid not to play w/ other asian kids; n' that sucks.   @ the same time, lemme tell u sumpthin': i kind'f do want sooni to play w/ more non.asian ppl cos i don't want her to develop 2 much'f a bias 2wards asian ppl.   many koreans say that jindo r racist.   well, jindo do develop a strong bond to their owners, so if the owners r asian n' only hang w/ asian ppl, then their jindo might develop a trust'f only asian ppl.   so far, sooni isn't like that, but i wanna make sure she doesn't develop that kind'f racist attitude.   it's all part'f being a good parent in this culturally diverse country.   i'm not sure if i'm s'pposed to call it "confounded" as kaela sez w/ lots'f publik health stuff or what, but here's 1 thing: many koreans approach sooni n' other jindo w/ a different kind'f attitude than some ppl of other races.   some koreans know how to interakt n' play w/ jindo.   they know that dogs rn't toys.   it's ok to pet a dog, epsecially after asking its owner.   however, it's a bad idea to grab some1 else's dog or let ur kid do that.   it's good to approach a dog w/ respekt but still show him/her tht u've got authority over him/her, that u'r not afraid.   it cms that sometimes when humans get scared, dogs get scared... n' nervous.   then when dogs get nervous, they do more fast twitch motions which end up scaring ppl more, u know?   neway, since jindo rn't purse dogs, ppl who've grown up 'round them sometimes know better how to interakt w/'em... sometimes...

well, pretty much every time that kaela n' i bring sooni to santana row, ppl stop us to ask us what kind'f dog sooni is.   yah, we cm to be doing our part to edukate the general publik 'bout jindo.   i told kaela last wknd that we're a jindo demo team

[later] . still@werk.com: w/ the arrival'f fall, 1 thing i miss is the beginning'f the new yr'f the taekwondo club/team/program @ at ucmap.   i guess just as fall's arrival reminds me'f "back to skool" whether back to elementary, middle, hi skool, or college; it also reminds me'f how the beginning'f the new yr'f taekwondo @ ucmap was such a festive n' somewhat chaotic time.   often, we got sooo many new ppl in the fall; while, sometimes some ppl dropped out as the yr progressed.   fall's unofficially/virtually here, n' days have gotten shorter.   the only question now's "when'll snowboarding season start?"

last season started in oktober.   wouldn't it be good if this season started in oktober.   "would't it be good" is a 1980s pop song from the pretty in pink o.s.t., no?   yes, a quick google tells me it's a nik kershaw song.

[later] ƴϸ ? still@werk.com: what do i plan to do 2nite?   i plan to go to the men's wearhouse to get refitted 4 a tux 4 stannelise's wedding, since i'm an usher.   i was hoping to skip the fitting cos i've rented from them 'least 2ice if not 3ice (thrice).   (no, i think 'twas only 2ice.)   however, i hadn't rented from them recently 'nuff. *sigh* after that, i'd sure love to hit the gym if possible.   sometime, i've gotta drop off our grx t3 south couples bible study flyers w/ some1 since kaela n' i'll miss this wk's mtg cos'f mark n' grace's wedding down in l.a.


2005.09.08

the "keep-it-clean" plan from real simple magazine

ħ: these days, i'm trying to follow "the keep-it-clean plan," sumpthin' i found on the real simple magazine website.   here's a link to the article: "the keep-it-clean plan".   please note that the link brings u to a google archive version'f that article, which is kewl cos otherwise u'd hafta login to the site to read the article.   this is a kewl trick w/ google, i s'ppose.   it's a secret, so "don't tell nobody."   neway, i've been trying to stick to this plan.   allow me to summarise some tips from the apri 2003 real simple article by mikkel vang:

so far, all i really manage to do every day is: the only things i can get the beautiful kaela hwang to do r:

[later] this morn, i had a dream that i was brushing my teeth in bed.   then kaela woke me up, saying sumpthin' in some really happy voice.   when i awoke, i realised that i was only dreaming that i was brushing my teeth.   argh, i was disappointed despite kaela's happy voice cos i realised that since i was only dreaming that i was brushing my teeth, i still needed to brush my teeth.   thus that was simply 1 more thing i still needed to do b4 starting my day, argh.   have u ever experienced that?   plz provide some fdbk in my gbook.   i'll soon answer those questions myself n' then change'em.

[later] 1001p: i'm home now but werked decently late.   i dunno... did i werk a long day?   like, i "clocked in" @ a certain time n' "clocked out" @ a certain time n' werked decently hard.   however, i have been going out to lunch each day this wk. w/ cowerkers:4 4 4 (4 for 4, i.e. i went out 4 times during this 4.day werkwk.).   it's bad to eat out like this cos it obviously gets expen$ive, n' eating out's s'pposedly not healthy. *shrug* *sigh*

rt now, i'm sort'f watching the grudge, in which buffy the vampire slayer's sarah michelle gellar stars.   i heard this is a remake'f an older japanese film; true?   if so... i'm pretty enraged 'bout this trend'f remaking asian films using non.asian stars... well, the 2 movies that r examples'f this r: the english.language, amerikan ring series n' the sluttied up, amerikan version'f shall we dance?.   what r they saying? that asian ppl rn't fun 'nuff to be watched?   skrew that, dude!   if that's what the media thinks n' wants amerikans to think, then 4get it.   i'll watch aasian tv n' asian movies instead.   i noticed that on ktsf ch. 26, they're now playing kbs's full house, which is an awesome, awesome, light.hearted drama that stars song hyeigo n' bi (pronounce that "bee" not "bai" as in "bisexual"!).   neway, that was a very cute drama.   song hyeigyo is a gurl that both gurls n' guys can appreciate, n' aktually bi is a guy that guys n' gurls can appreciate.   u know, as i've sed b4; sometimes there's a pretty female star that all the guys drool over but the gurls hate.   on the flip side, sometimes, there's a somewhat charismatic female star that all the gurls like but the guys rn't all that into.  now n' then, those charismatik but not super hot gurls get the female, protagonist lead in korean dramas cos the producers figure the female audience might identify w/ them better.   however, i think song hyeigyo pulled off appealling to men n' women in full house just like kim jungeun did in sbs's paris (parisuy yuhnin).   kim jungeun's pretty interesting, n' she's got a new show that's gonna start on sbs amerika next wk after ƿ ̱ (doraon single), which stars ȣ kim jiho, ends 2nite.   kaela pted out that ƿ ̱ (doraon single)'s a pretty short series, n' i guess it is.   neway, i sed that kim jungeun's pretty interesting cos she exemplifies how women can look really diff (not necessarily better or worse but just diff) depending on how they do their make.up.   korean women have a reputation 4 doing make.up: in the 1990s, korean.amerikan women developed a reputation 'mongst asian.amerikans 4 wearing much make.up.   nowadays, i believe that korean women have shaken off that repuatation n' instead developed a reputation 'mongst asians 4 wearing make.up well.   aktually, 'round the turn'f the millennium, our friend alex kim pted out, while we were @ the international women's taekwondo tournament that it's harder to distinguish which women r korean n' which r of other asian ethnicities cos many asian women'f various ethnicities now wear korean brands'f make.up; whereas, in the past, only korean women did that.   i 'member, in the 1990s, many'f my male korean friends talked 'bout how they didn't like gurls to wear make.up cos these guy friends felt their own mom's wore 2 much make.up, so they just didn't find it attraktive. *shrug* aktually, my mom does wear make.up, but i never developed an aversion to women's wearing'f make.up.   in fakt, i have a very firm philosophy 'bout make.up that u might know 'bout: i don't believe make.up's job's to make a gurl look ne better or worse but has a role more akin to fashion.   gurls should pick the way they wear make.up just like they pick their clothes.   it can accent their looks n' is nice; but it's in no way a fix 4 nething really.   neway, on bronx's junkyard n' on various korean entertainment sites, i've cn many pix'f kim jungeun, n' she can look relaly diff from pic to pic.   b4 she was an aktress, she was a fashion model, so there r lots'f pix'f her on these kinds'f sites.   it's amazing how diff gurls can look from day to day or from nite to nite, depending on how they do their make.up... n' hair   it's pretty neat, if u ask me.

ok, i'm gonna keep talkin' 'bout korean entertainment, much to the dismay'f those readers'f mine that just rn't into this kind'f stuff.   earlier 2nite, i was watching a news magazine show on kbs that talked 'bout kang wonrae'f the 1990s n' current pop duo Ŭ clon.   well, i'm 30 now.   think 'bout that.   well, a few months 'go, kaela n' i were @ a nearby korean hof n' heard this particular song that we both recognised as having the title "sexy lady" from cing the per4mance on kbs n' sbs live musik shows.   i'd 4gotten who the singer was, n' kaela sed, "i dunno, some young gurl in a short skirt."   well, later while cing the per4mance 'gain, i was reminded that the singer's aktually ڹ̰ park mikyung.   she's aktually not that "young," considering that she's in her mid 30s, while li'l 14.yr.old boa.bes (boa wannabes) have gotten so much attention a while 'go in the kpop scene.   aktually, it cms like the whole "search 4 finding the youngest kpop star" is totally out.   i think boa really won that whole competition, n' now she's not really that young as she's finally over 18.   her kpop career has survived cos she really does have singing n' dancing talent.   hrm, do ppl ever consider that a viktory 4 short ppl?   she's really short.   the news magazine show segment 'bout kang wonrae n' Ŭ clon focused on the amazing story'f how kang wonrae has made such a big comeback after his traumatic motorcycle crash that put him in a coma n' left him paralysed fromt he waist down.   4 Ŭ clon's live per4mances to promote their recent comeback album, now dances in a wheelchair along w/ other dancers that r in wheelchairs.   well, i think some'f them r aktual wheelchair users while others r just able.legged dancers who r using the wheelchairs 4 the per4mance.   in fakt, the other member'f Ŭ clon ؿ goo joonyup (or should i romanise his last name as "koo," "ku," or "gu"???) started riding a wheelchair now n' then just to empathise w/ his lifelong buddy.   well, both ؿ goo junyuhb n' kang wonrae r 37, which means they're 36 in euro.amerikan yrs.   well, the story also talks 'bout kang wonrae's 34.yr.old wife kim song.   their recent hit song's " , " ("nae sarang, song").   if i had heard that title b4, i would've thought it meant "my lovesong" but now know 4 sure that it really means "my love, song," where "song"'s kang wonrae's wife, who married him after his accident.   neway, when i saw kim song, she looked really familiar.   later in the segment, i realised why:   she's the background dancer 4 ڹ̰ park mikyung that the cameras always zoom in on.   ah, so that's why the cameras always zoom in on her! that's pretty neat to hear 'bout all this.   neway, isn't it interesting that all these popstars r well into their 30s n' doing well?   thus u don't hafta be a 14.yr.old li'l kid to make it big in the kpop industry.   ppl thought that was true back 'round the turn'f the millennium w/ boa n' all.   well, i've reached 30 myself these past few wks.   can i still be kewl?

well, since kaela didn't wanna watch the grudge, we're re.watching shrek 2 instead.   in a few mins, we'll get to watch the ȸ majimak hwe (final episode)'f sbs's ƿ ̱ (doraon single).   it's starting now.

things i've gotta do 2nite:

things i
  • fertilise front lawn
  • fix lawnmower
  • do other yardwerk, including maybe mowing the backyard n' trimming bushes n' trees back there
  • buy snakcs 4 duk n' yuna our soonisitters n' guardians'f our house 4 the wknd
  • get some exercise if possible despite skipping taekwondo praktice cos'f my chest pain which might just be a pulled left pec or could be more
  • clean the house more
  • yesterday evening, i went to the mens wearhouse to reserve my tux 4 stannelise's wedding later this month, as i'll be an usher.   after that, i werked out @ the hamilton/meridian bally total fitness gym.   i did ~35 mins on the precor n' then kicked the wavemaster.   i was appreheensive 'bout doing my bag werkout cos there were other ppl in that rm.   rt b4 i went in 1'f the 2 ocuples in there left, n' as i started to kick, the other couple left.   i felt a li'l bad 'bout that, but *shrug* it's shared space; i didn't tell them to leave.   whatever... my left pec hurt as i was kicking.   i figure i pulled it a few days 'go (on mon) while weightlifting, but i dunno.   2day, i felt like it hurt when i breathed, so i sometimes felt i needed to breathe shallow.   (is "shallow" an adverb, or should i use some awkward wurd like "shallowly"?)   this morn, i put on an absorbine jr. patch on my left pec.   do u know what absorbine jr. patches r?   thy're like salonpas pathces.   i bought them @ some drugstore a while 'go.   ;maybe 'twas rite.aid, maybe 'twas some other store.   they're made in taiwan.   that's not bad.   where r the original salonpas patches from??? *shrug*


    2005.09.09

    camera arrives (elektronika)

    ݿ ħ: dude, this sounds kewl:

      sony dvd recorder @ fry's (#4277564)
      160gb hard disk recorder
      • timer recording with advanced electronic program guide
      • universal dvd-r/dvd-rw, dvd+r/dvd+rw recorder and player
      • record up to 5 hours of audo/video content per 4.7 gb dvd
      $799 - $300 di$¢ount = $499
    hrm, this also sounds interesting:
      sony 16x16 external dual format and double layer dvd writer @ fry's (#4383235)
      $129 - $300 mir = $99.99
    dude, can u believe that, as our canon sd400 digielph comes in via ups 2day, they've now replaced the sd400 w/ the sd410?!   crazy, ain't that such a Ģ muhpiuy buhbchik (murphy's law) thing?   by the time ur elektronics get delivered, they're already outdated.   well, i'm not that bothered cos the s410's only improvement upon the s400 is pushbutton foto printing, which does not interest me.   i prefer to dl the pix onto my 'puter n' fix the lighting w/ image processing software b4 printing it n' usually print it @ some professional place (like
    shutterfly.com), not @ home.


    2005.09.12

    leftovers @ home 4 lunch

    1247p: i'm home 4 lunch.   just now, i ate a 4tune cookie, n' the 4tune read: "you are heading for a land of sunshine."


    2005.09.18

    don't wanna burn out

    Ͽ 1146p: the 2 biggest things that i haven't had time to updatechu on r:

    1. mark n' grace's beautiful wedding in los angeles
    2. my 2nd recruiting trip 4 my company @ the uc berkeley career fair on this past wednesday
    i've been really bizzy@werk.com.   i've been werking really late nites.   luckily, i can do most'f that late nite werk @ home on my laptop; but, yah, i haven't had time to updatechu cos i just haven't had the free time that i guess most ppl assume they should have.   it's been draining, n' i've really been reconsidering how i should go 'bout avoiding an eventual mid.life crisis.   i don't wanna burn out!   it's tuff.   i've reconsidered the corporate yuppie life; not that i don't like werking 4 my corporation, but i've just wondered how i can succeed in a corporation while avoiding the corporate life.   how?   what can i do to retain my individuality n' prolong my youth?

    dude, i wish i could give u a decent update 'bout how the beautiful n' i made such a quick trip down to socal 4 the wedding n' came rt back up so that kaela could werk on her skool stuff n' i could werk on my werk stuff.   dude, it's been a bit'f a hektic life lately.

    on wed, when i went to berkeley to recruit 4 my company @ the job fair, in the morn, as i drove to the parking lot, tears almost came to my eyes as i reminisced 'bout undergrad college life.   man, what if i could do it all over again n' do it all better?!   does it matter?   perhaps not.   perhaps i could've burnt myself out more in college. *shrug* i think i burnt myself out in hi skool.   i dunno what to say 'bout undergrad.   neway... *sigh* how can i not burn out?

    2005.09.19

    26th monthversary

    ħ: 2day's the beautiful kaela hwang's n' my 26th wedding monthversary.   shall we get to do sumpthin'?   *shrug* she's in the middle'f finals 4 her summer 0.25, so i dunno.   we'll c.   it was a pleasant wknd this past wknd since we were in the bay area, in the silly valley, @ home.   i mean, it's not that i hafta be home all the time; i'm not a homebody!   however, considering that we're travelling 'lot 4 weddings, class reunions, n' kona ironman triatholans; it's not 2 bad to have a wknd @ home in order to do a li'l housewerk n' to miss good opportunities to mow the backyard law n' trim those darn bushes.

    well, i hope i don't lose the last wk from my memory.   u understand what i mean, rt?   i'm pretty obsessive 'bout dokumenting every single friggin' thing that happens in my life 4 fear'f 1 day 4getting all that i've done (4 what li'l it's worth).   i'm tremendously obsessive 'bout dokumenting everything.   [later] cos i've been so bizzy w/ things like werk, i did not get a chance to write in my journal 'bout grace's n' mark's beautiful wedding in los angeles.   that took up most'f last wknd, i.e. the wknd'f 20050909~11.   kaela n' i flew down on fri nite.   my mom dropped us off @ the aeroport.   b4 we went, after werk, i picked up a shrimp pizza from pizz'a chicago, which is an awesome pizzeria.   they have ¢oupons on their website. &bnsp; well, u'll hafta surf a li'l, but they're there on the internet somewhere.   try a "smartpages" website. &bnsp; kaela n' i received our new canon sd400 digi.elph on fri.   we like the convenient, good camera but are tremendously disappointed that the pri¢e fell thru the floor as soon as we got it, i.e. the pri¢e really went down as soon as we bought it.   that sucks, huh?   it's cos canon replaced the sd400 w/ the sd410 that has some extra pushbutton printing feature, which we really wouldn't use.   argh, don'tchu hate when these kinds'f things happen tho'?   if we had waited 1 more wk, we could've gotten it 4 'lot ¢heaper.   however, we needed it badly 4 the wedding.   in a way, it's an "a burdy in the hand's worth a dozen in the bush" kind'f thing, rt?   i do like burdies.   well, my mom dropped us off @ the sjc mineta aeroport n' we flew southwest down.   it's crazy how southwest is aktually considered pretty good as far as customer service 4 a domestik aeroline.   i feel the customer service isn't good; but apparently, compared to other domestik aerolines, it is. &bsp; *shrug*   i hope hawaiian air is good. *shrug*   i knew the temperature down in chino n' socal'll fluktuate more than the mild weather we've been having up here.   when we arrived in ontario, it was quite chilly.   later, during the day, it was decently warm in socal.   well, on fri nite, i guess we couldn't do much since we flew in so late.   duk n' yuna took care'f sooni back in our house.

    on sat morn, kaela n' i ate sort'f a brunch @ her parents house.   it's funny to call it brunch cos some narrowmindedly eurocentric ppl'd immediately think'f eggs benedict, omelletes, n' crêpes; but rather we ate  uhdduhn saengsuhn jorim (some kind'f roasted [is that what u'd call it?]fish), ġ  kimchi jjigae, saengsuhn juhn, ȣ hobak juhn, ... ѱ hanshik (korean fud).   it was very good.   after taking care'f random things 4 a while, we got dressed 4 the wedding n' took off.   we stopped by my aunt's house 4 my mom to drop off some korean dramas n' pick up new 1s.   perhaps it was funny to show up so dressed up, but we were on our way to the wedding.   4tunately, to our surprise, the drive was decently swift.   we managed to avoid 'lot'f traffik by taking some good shortcuts. :-) we got a good parking spot by the hotel.   we went in.   we were there early.   that was kewl.   hrm, it'd been a while since we had been to a korean.korean wedding where both the bride n' groom were korean.   my ol' berkeley mech engring labmate youngsam bae told me that koreans r the ethnicity that outmarry the most.   really?   i dunno 'bout that, but he akted like he had statistical proof. *shrug*   as much as i want an integrated society, i feel that if ne ethnicity doesn't continue to exist (in its "pure" form), it's basically genocide.   cos we've got a certain mindset in amerika, some ppl'd might even say i'm being racist by saying that, but i believe i'm sensitive to all sides'f that issue: my future kids'll grow up as 0.5 taiwanese n' 0.5 korean.   i'm sure my parents r scared i'll raise'em up 2 korean n' not taiwanese 'nuff.   well, 1 taiwanese thing i want them to experience, if it's still 'round, is the taiwanese.amerikan youth leadership (tayl) camp.   i hope it'll still be 'round when our future kids grow up to that age (7th~12th grade).   in case i don't talk 'bout it 'nuff these days, i believe in pan.asian.amerikan ethnicity.   i believe that the asian ethnicities n' asian communities in amerika should unite n' have solidarity.   neway, dude... i was talkin' 'bout a wedding not asian.am issues!

    well, the wedding was good.   the ceremony was short.   most'f our friends from us taekwondo akademy showed up really late cos they got lost.   i read/heard that they got there rt as the pastor sed, "u may now kiss the bride."   ha ha, kaela n' i've praktically done that.   we've been late to 2 many weddings in the past, n' i'm glad we didn't make this 1'f them even tho' neither'f us had a role in the wedding.   we were just guests.   i didn't dj but ended up feeling a li'l sorry that i didn't cos they dj they hired wasn't very good.   however, the couple gave him a good songlist; so 'least we had that.   i've been djing professionally 4 over 13 yrs.   i've got quite a bit'f experience, so *shrug* i realise that sometimes i should believe in my djing gift more than i do.   heh, our grp'f friends exploited the open host bar.   it's good cos the couple gets their $$$'s worth.   i'm a christian but obviously not a prohibitionist type that's all anti.alcohol.   i'm 'gainst alcoholism but figure that since jesus himself most likely drank wine that the consumption'f alcoholik beverages itself isn't a sin but the obsession 'pon it n' perhaps drunkenness or 'least extreme or frequent drunkenness is.   even if either'f those r sins, neither is a sin not 4given by god thru the blood'f jesus christ, thus be ye not discouraged!   dinner was awesome!   the filet mignon rocked!   dude, we had an awesome dinner.   our table was the gang from us taekwondo along w/ pastor matt n' his wife jackie who used to be @ mark n' grace's ol' church.   we had a good time.   later, during the dancing, kaela n' joyce disappeared 4 most'f the nite.   i assume they were talkin' 'bout med skool / chiropraktic skool stuff.   some'f the  ahjuhssi (the older men) there got pretty wild w/ the dancing.   that was fun to watch.   well, i drove duk back to his aunt's place, which is a boarding house she owns near k.town.   then, i drove kaela n' myself back to kaela's parents house.   it was a fun wedding.

    on sun, we didn't have time 4 much besides some brunch.   then we flew back home to sjc.   in the afternoon, uh... what did we do?   hrm, i guess we cleaned n' stuff.. or 'least i might've cleaned while kaela did her skoolwerk.   later, her classmate friend lisa came over to werk on some skoolwerk w/ kaela.   i went to buy some take.out from ݺȲ geumbonghwang.   i werked late on werk.com stuff.   as i sed, i'm really bizzy w/ werk these days.

    [later] : so what's been going on the last wk or so?

    honestly, lately, i have been stressing 'lot 'bout finan¢e$.   we've gotta make ends meet.   it's a hard life.   i try to werk hard even tho' i don't get paid more 4 werking harder.   all i can gain is job security, which is very important as well.   as i've sed in a previous entry, i don't wanna burn out.   i don't wanna open the door to a mid.life crisis 10 yrs down the line.

    this morn, i awoke to sumpthin' very freaky.   well, my fon's alarm clock went off as usual, but i heard a weird noise outside'f our bedrm.   it sounded like a vacuum cleaner, n' i guessed that sooni had somehow accidentally turned on the vacuum cleaner.   i went out to investigate.   to my surprise, the sound was coming from the bathrm, while the vacuum cleaner was in the living/family rm.   i went into the bathrm n' found the hair dryer on full blast while lying on the bathrm counter.   whah?!!!   yah, i dunno how that happened.   the hair dryer's switch is a li'l hard to slide to its on position.   sooni was calm n' asleep in the living rm.   >:-? huh?!   this was a bit freaky.   i can only assume that yesterday, i left the switch in a bad position, where it was barely off, so some minor physical (maybe vibrational or even thermal) caused it to move ever so slightly, which in turn closed the circuit. *shrug* i need to 'member to unplug the hair dryer when it's not in use.   that was very dangerous!   something could've caught on fire!   the hair dryer could've fallen into the open toilet.   in fakt, i wondered @ 1st if maybe sooni came into the bathrm n' tried to drink out'f the toilet, which we've no proof she's ever done.   however, she had plenty'f h2o in her dish, so i'm sure she wouldn't've done that.   weird, huh?   ͽ ʱ ƴϸ ڴ.   ̻. ̻.


    2005.09.20

    spider bite

    ȭ 912p: i still haven't finished updating u 'bout the past wk, nope.   however, i wanted to talk 'bout some stuff that happened in the past 24 hrs or so.   last nite, i was watching the japanese horror movie ju.on on dish netwerk while lying on the couch.   i guess that's the movie that the grudge is sort'f based 'pon, eh?   some'f the ghosts look similar, but i dunno... it's not that scary cos gothed out japanese chicks rn't implicitly scary to me.   neway, while lying on the couch, watching the movie, sumpthin' crawled down the back'f my pants n' bit me basically rt 'bove the butt. >:-( grrrr! i bet it was a spider!   the bite sort'f hurts n' sort'f itches.   i don't like it!   i felt the bug crawl down my pants! grrr!!! i want to kill it.   i hate spiders.

    i had a long_bizzy_day@werk.com as often happens nowadays.   i escaped in time to go to taekwondo praktice tho'.   that's a blessing.   i had a good werkout, kickin' paddles.   it was good exercise, just what i needed! :-) afterwards, while talkin' 'bout getting bags w/ our names embroidered on them, i got into a debate 'bout whether korean women @ marriage change their last names w/ 1'f our friends.   well, i insisted that they don't change their names, but our friend sed they do.   *breath* well, i'm pretty darn sure i'm rt.   that's how i've always known it.   i cautiously googleed up "korean women change name at marriage" n' was surprised not to find a bunch'f links to p0rn since netime u search 4 stuff like "korean women" u usually end up w/ those kinds'f sites, it cms.   i must have "safe" filter on.   oh, wait.... now, that i look @ the screen, i c an ad 4 "korean women seek dating - www.koreancupid.com."   yah, that's the kind'f trash i'd expekt to find.   neway, i did get some answers.   like, i'd prefer to google it up in korean, n' maybe i'll do that next.   neway, here r some good links i found:

    i'm pretty sure i'm rt, but i dunno...   i know i'm rt, but i'm willing to consider that perhaps we're both rt, that maybe some korean women do take on their husbands' families' names.   however, if that were the case; then well, i'd admit that i'd prefer that the beautiful kaela hwang not only change her english name from "kaela kang" to "kaela hwang" but her korean name from "" to "Ȳ" ("kang sunah" to "hwang sunah"), which is admittedly somewhat chauvinistic'f me.   when i say "chauvinistik," the edukated person knows that i don't necessarily mean "male chauvinistic"!   the ignoramus assumes "chauvinistic" = "male chauvinistic," but the edukated person knows that a chauvinistic person can be proud'f nething, not necessarily his male sex!

    i learned this from mr. charles sullivan's 9th grade world cultures class.   he taught me 'lot.   neway, dude... perhaps i'm chauvinistik 'bout the hwang family name.   it's kind'f dumb to say i'm male chauvinistic to want my wife to take on my last name cos if she didn't, she'd still have the last name given to her by her male father's family, rt?   i believe that i learned in anthropology @ uc berkeley that some cultures do use some kind'f matriarchal surname system.   i don't 'member.

    neway, dude... a long time 'go kaela n' i had a discussion 'bout the asian tradition'f not having the bride change her last name to the groom's.   she sed that even tho' to ignorant amerikkkans this appears to be a grrrl power type thing, it's not cos the basis under which the woman doesn't take on the man's surname is that she's not good 'nuff to join the family.   >:-( dude, well, i can believe that in a way that's what the basis is, but i hate hearing that cos i'm out to convince ppl that traditional east asian culture is not as bad to women as some ignorant amerikkkans believe.   however, dude... if u get me started on that, i'll go on 4 a long time, as i have plenty to say 'bout the merits'f feminism n' how it's gone wrong.   someday... someday, i'll write a poignant piece w/ a title such as "feminism: how women get it wrong n' men don't get it."   someday!!!   it's so true, dude.

    [a li'l later] 1013p: i guess i should share some pix:

    *sigh* dude, how can i ever recap the past wk n' 0.5???   *sigh* well, i didn't get 'nuff exercise last wk cos i didn't have free time cos i was so bizzy w/ werk.   on wednesday, i went to recruit 4 my company @ the uc berkeley career fair, as i keep saying.   berkeley students r s#arp, n' i was impressed by some r&ecuate;sumeés.   well, there was a bit'f a wide range; but yah, berkeley students r s#arp.   afterwards, i met up w/ roland, n' we ate dinner @ 168.   i had chao ma mien (« jjambbong), arguably my favourite dish.   i ran into my ol' friend muts outside'f 99 ranch.   later, roland n' i chilled @ his new pad.   dude, kaela n' i need to get a dvr or dvd recorder badly. :-/

    on sat, i went to habitat 4 humanity w/ our church grx, n' ken came 'long.   aktually, he drove me.   i had a breakfast ciabatta sandwich from the j.box drive.thru on the way.   it was a fist full'f grease.   [later] 4 lunch, i ate this black bean hummus wrap that kaela bought 4 me from whole fuds the nite b4 (fri nite).   i also ate an apple pie that ken bought 4 me @ mcyukyuk's n' plenty'f all.i.could.drink mcyukyuk's soda.   i opted 4 lemonade lite, diet coke, n' hi.c; altho' not necessarily all @ the same time.   (however, i did sometimes mix hi.c w/ the lemonade lite n' lemonade lite w/ the diet coke.)   the sun afternoon when kaela n' i came back from grace n' mark's wedding, we watched supersize me on dish netwerk.   habitat 4 humanity was fun, of course.

    @ the hukilau, i ate their mauna kea loko moko, n' kaela had the hukilau chicken salad.   it was a fun nite even tho' kaela n' i n' ken n' grace didn't really socialise w/ all the ppl cos nelson sure has a big, big, big grp'f friends, u know?   i felt a li'l anti.social; but it's hard.

    on sun, we went to church.   4 lunch, we had dimsum @ canton delites.   later, that afternoon, i washed sooni @ pet fud express by myself.   i washed her 4 a loooong time cos there was time leftover on that tub from the previous person's coin.   afterwards, i took sooni 4 a walk @ cali mill plaza.   this woman had her li'l son play w/ sooni, she was so impressed w/ what a good doggy sooni was.   it's nice to hear that. heh...

    2nite, i had sooni n' alex hang out a li'l.   they were ok, but i think sooni got annoyed when alex wanted to get really playful, u know?   it's ok, no 1 get hurt.


    2005.09.20

    spider bite

    ȭ 912p: i still haven't finished updating u 'bout the past wk, nope.   however, i wanted to talk 'bout some stuff that happened in the past 24 hrs or so.   last nite, i was watching the japanese horror movie ju.on on dish netwerk while lying on the couch.   i guess that's the movie that the grudge is sort'f based 'pon, eh?   some'f the ghosts look similar, but i dunno... it's not that scary cos gothed out japanese chicks rn't implicitly scary to me.   neway, while lying on the couch, watching the movie, sumpthin' crawled down the back'f my pants n' bit me basically rt 'bove the butt. >:-( grrrr! i bet it was a spider!   the bite sort'f hurts n' sort'f itches.   i don't like it!   i felt the bug crawl down my pants! grrr!!! i want to kill it.   i hate spiders.

    i had a long_bizzy_day@werk.com as often happens nowadays.   i escaped in time to go to taekwondo praktice tho'.   that's a blessing.   i had a good werkout, kickin' paddles.   it was good exercise, just what i needed! :-) afterwards, while talkin' 'bout getting bags w/ our names embroidered on them, i got into a debate 'bout whether korean women @ marriage change their last names w/ 1'f our friends.   well, i insisted that they don't change their names, but our friend sed they do.   *breath* well, i'm pretty darn sure i'm rt.   that's how i've always known it.   i cautiously googleed up "korean women change name at marriage" n' was surprised not to find a bunch'f links to p0rn since netime u search 4 stuff like "korean women" u usually end up w/ those kinds'f sites, it cms.   i must have "safe" filter on.   oh, wait.... now, that i look @ the screen, i c an ad 4 "korean women seek dating - www.koreancupid.com."   yah, that's the kind'f trash i'd expekt to find.   neway, i did get some answers.   like, i'd prefer to google it up in korean, n' maybe i'll do that next.   neway, here r some good links i found:

    i'm pretty sure i'm rt, but i dunno...   i know i'm rt, but i'm willing to consider that perhaps we're both rt, that maybe some korean women do take on their husbands' families' names.   however, if that were the case; then well, i'd admit that i'd prefer that the beautiful kaela hwang not only change her english name from "kaela kang" to "kaela hwang" but her korean name from "" to "Ȳ" ("kang sunah" to "hwang sunah"), which is admittedly somewhat chauvinistic'f me.   when i say "chauvinistik," the edukated person knows that i don't necessarily mean "male chauvinistic"!   the ignoramus assumes "chauvinistic" = "male chauvinistic," but the edukated person knows that a chauvinistic person can be proud'f nething, not necessarily his male sex!

    i learned this from mr. charles sullivan's 9th grade world cultures class.   he taught me 'lot.   neway, dude... perhaps i'm chauvinistik 'bout the hwang family name.   it's kind'f dumb to say i'm male chauvinistic to want my wife to take on my last name cos if she didn't, she'd still have the last name given to her by her male father's family, rt?   i believe that i learned in anthropology @ uc berkeley that some cultures do use some kind'f matriarchal surname system.   i don't 'member.

    neway, dude... a long time 'go kaela n' i had a discussion 'bout the asian tradition'f not having the bride change her last name to the groom's.   she sed that even tho' to ignorant amerikkkans this appears to be a grrrl power type thing, it's not cos the basis under which the woman doesn't take on the man's surname is that she's not good 'nuff to join the family.   >:-( dude, well, i can believe that in a way that's what the basis is, but i hate hearing that cos i'm out to convince ppl that traditional east asian culture is not as bad to women as some ignorant amerikkkans believe.   however, dude... if u get me started on that, i'll go on 4 a long time, as i have plenty to say 'bout the merits'f feminism n' how it's gone wrong.   someday... someday, i'll write a poignant piece w/ a title such as "feminism: how women get it wrong n' men don't get it."   someday!!!   it's so true, dude.

    [a li'l later] 1013p: i guess i should share some pix:

    *sigh* dude, how can i ever recap the past wk n' 0.5???   *sigh* well, i didn't get 'nuff exercise last wk cos i didn't have free time cos i was so bizzy w/ werk.   on wednesday, i went to recruit 4 my company @ the uc berkeley career fair, as i keep saying.   berkeley students r s#arp, n' i was impressed by some r&ecuate;sumeés.   well, there was a bit'f a wide range; but yah, berkeley students r s#arp.   afterwards, i met up w/ roland, n' we ate dinner @ 168.   i had chao ma mien (« jjambbong), arguably my favourite dish.   i ran into my ol' friend muts outside'f 99 ranch.   later, roland n' i chilled @ his new pad.   dude, kaela n' i need to get a dvr or dvd recorder badly. :-/

    on sat, i went to habitat 4 humanity w/ our church grx, n' ken came 'long.   aktually, he drove me.   i had a breakfast ciabatta sandwich from the j.box drive.thru on the way.   it was a fist full'f grease.   [later] 4 lunch, i ate this black bean hummus wrap that kaela bought 4 me from whole fuds the nite b4 (fri nite).   i also ate an apple pie that ken bought 4 me @ mcyukyuk's n' plenty'f all.i.could.drink mcyukyuk's soda.   i opted 4 lemonade lite, diet coke, n' hi.c; altho' not necessarily all @ the same time.   (however, i did sometimes mix hi.c w/ the lemonade lite n' lemonade lite w/ the diet coke.)   the sun afternoon when kaela n' i came back from grace n' mark's wedding, we watched supersize me on dish netwerk.   habitat 4 humanity was fun, of course.

    @ the hukilau, i ate their mauna kea loko moko, n' kaela had the hukilau chicken salad.   it was a fun nite even tho' kaela n' i n' ken n' grace didn't really socialise w/ all the ppl cos nelson sure has a big, big, big grp'f friends, u know?   i felt a li'l anti.social; but it's hard.

    on sun, we went to church.   4 lunch, we had dimsum @ canton delites.   later, that afternoon, i washed sooni @ pet fud express by myself.   i washed her 4 a loooong time cos there was time leftover on that tub from the previous person's coin.   afterwards, i took sooni 4 a walk @ cali mill plaza.   this woman had her li'l son play w/ sooni, she was so impressed w/ what a good doggy sooni was.   it's nice to hear that. heh...

    2nite, i had sooni n' alex hang out a li'l.   they were ok, but i think sooni got annoyed when alex wanted to get really playful, u know?   it's ok, no 1 get hurt.


    2005.09.22

    equal day n' nite

    /: a li'l while 'go, i opened up a ~2wk.old 4tune cookie.   the cookie was stale.   the 4tune read: "you will attract cultured and artistic people to your home."   well, duk n' yuna'll housesit n' soonisit this wknd.   i guess they're cultured n' artistic.   4 lunch, i ate a yummy trader joe's (or trader josé's???)... oh yes, trader josé's black bean n' veggie enchilada frozen meal.   it was rather tasty.   yah, it's just a li'l bit depressing to be eating frozen meals in my cube so often 4 lunch but it $aves $$$, u know?   i certainly can't always be going out 4 lunch.   really, we're on a tight budget n' r barely getting by.   it's pretty sad.   sure, lots'f it's cos most'f my pay¢he¢k goes to mortgage, but i can't regret that cos i recently viewed a short news story 'bout how analysts have concluded that the bay area does not have a housing bubble; that, in fakt, the adjust ¢o$t'f hou$ing now is ¢heaper than it had been in the 1980s.   can u believe that?   dude, it's hard not to be glad that we got into the housing mkt (bought our house) when we did.   of course, i've always gotta pray that we don't have a disastrous earthquake.   *sigh* w/ all these frickin' hurricanes in the south, it's scary to think, u know?   hurricane katrina n' hurricane rita...   hurricanes katrina n' rita...   the beautiful kaela hwang sed that they'll eventually have a "hurricane kaela."   have they had a hurrican kaela yet?   i s'ppose we'd best google it up.   i think i did 1nce already, but i 4get what i concluded.   i feel like there has been a "hurricane kaela," but that it wasn't in amerikkka.   well, no.   it appears that there has never been a hurricane kaela.   however, there has been 'nother hurrican katrina in the past.   i think i learned 'bout that via wikipedia.

    in case u haven't noticed, i'm a big fan'f wikipedia.   just this morn, i used it to research "longboarding," i.e. longboard skateboarding.   that's cos i had a revelation this past wknd.   while doing yardwerk, i had sooni tied out to our li'l japanese maple tree.   a kid rolled by on a skateboard, n' sooni growled @ the poor, li'l dude.   that's rt.   kaela mentioned that sooni doesn't like skateboards.   however, me?   i love boardsports, so i want my doggy to as well.   i decided that i ought to buy a skateboard sometime.   well, i haven't made that decision final, since shoot... we don't have ne ¢@$#.   however, a skateboard's ¢heaper n' easier to house than a bike, rt?   n', in this time'f exorbitantly hi.pri¢ed gas, we all need some form'f alternative transportation or 'least some alternative form'f transportation, rt?   i've always been more com4table travelling sideways.   after all these yrs, i've gotten pretty good w/ a snowboard, if u don't mind my saying so.   "you know, there's like a buttload of gangs at this school.   this one gang kept wanting me to join because i'm pretty good with a snowboard."   the obvious hindrance to my aktually buying a skateboard other than the fakt that we're flat out broke's that skateboarding has this reputation'f being 4 immature kids, u know?   that sucks.   why can't the 30.sumpthin', yuppie engr ride a skateboard to werk???   it cms that it'd be career suicide in the corporate world even tho' it's good 4 the environment n' shows that 1 can commute to werk w/o killing the ozone layer.   it's all 2 bad; it's all such a shame.   now, if i were to buy a skateboard, should i go w/ a typical streetstyle skateboard or else the hippyish longboard?   thus, i consulted a href="http://www.wikipedia.org" target="new">wikipedia.   i also consulted about.com.   neway, dude, isn't it funny how ur mode'f transportation can define who u r in this f@cked up society?   after all, harley davidson riders have a certain image.   skateboarders have a certain image.   ppl fit into certain subcultures based 'pon what kind'f car they drive: rice rockets; "macho," hotrod, muscle cars; expen$ive, hi.class sportscars; suvs; minivans; monster trucks; luxury sedans; modest, japanese sedans/hatchbacks/coupes... where do kaela n' i fall into w/ our suburu forester n' kia sportage?   they're both mini.suvs.   what kind'f ppl drive mini.suvs?   well, often, it's ppl who can't afford a full.size suv!   well, shoot!   these days, i'm glad as all heck that i don't have a gas.guzzlin', monster suv!   last nite, it ¢o$t me $38 to fill up @ friggin' ¢o$t¢o!   (this blows.)   "i didn't think it was physically possible, but this both sucks and blows." - bart simpsons   (1 cr@ppy thing 'bout snpp.com (the best simpsons site out there) is that when i tried to submit a comment to their site that fleet-a-pita must've been inspired by berkeley's eat-a-pita, they never responded.   that sucks.

    [later] **xfade**: 2day's apparently, the autumnal equinox n' the 1st day'f autumn.   it's weird how this equinox n' transition'f season thing werks out.   i consulted http://scienceworld.wolfram.com/astronomy/AutumnalEquinox.html to arrive @ the conclusion that 2day's indeed the 1st day'f autumn. *sigh* if i don't have $$$ to snowboard; man, this is gonna be a long autumn(fall)/winter/spring season!!!   i must find $$$ to snowboard!   dude, what can i do to find some extra ¢@$# these days?!   dude, is there sumpthin' i can sell?   can i sell some old junk???   i need some extra ¢@$#.   i guess i need to trim the everyday fud budget.   that's 1 place i might be able to $ave $$$.   i'll try to dine out less during lunch, but those social aktivities happen now n' then, u know?

    [later] a while 'go, maybe sometime this wk, i pondered onsidering only making wkly updates on this journl, i.e. scrapping / giving up the idea'f trying to make daily updates.   otherwise, maybe i should only aim to update every other day.   the pt is that i figure i should be realistik.   realistically, i can't update every day.


    2005.09.23

    װڴ!*

    ݿ : honestly, i haven't been happy lately.   2 much stress.   if it were just werk stress or home stress, maybe i'd be ok.   however, it's both n' plenty'f it.   i feel so downtrodden, beat up, n' as if no1 cares.
    *"himdeuluhjookgeissda" basically means "life's so stressful that i'm gonna die."


    2005.09.24

    main place

    , 404p, @ main place mall in santa ana: i'm sore cos i lifted on thurs 4 the 1st time in ages.   [later] r the jimmy eats world lyrics "it just takes some time, a little bit of 'in the middle.'   and then after that, everything'll be just fine, just fine"???   i guess that is how i feel rt now in the middle'f wet seal, which aktually is a neat store 4 women despite its teenybopper image.   however, i got the lyrics wrong.   they aktually say, "it just takes some time.   little girl, you're in the middle of the ride.   everything will be just fine, everything will be alright, alright."   i'm not a little girl! ...despite my just praising wet seal.   skrew that!   i like my version'f the lyrics better.


    2005.09.26

    commute from socal (n' fud poisoning)

    ħ: i'm @ werk.com, yes.   i flew in to sjc from ont this morn.   last nite was stannelise's wedding @ the beautiful descanso gardens in la caña flintridge.   it was a beautiful wedding.   the couple werked hard to make it nice.   we know cos we were there @ stan's house the nite b4 the wedding.   i'm a bit tired 2day n' not totally sure i'm 100% recovered from getting burnt out over the past few wks.   i s'ppose if i recover like 80% now then perhaps i can recover up to 100% during the kona trip.   yah?   maybe?

    [later] : i think i ate a bun w/ rotten cream in it this morn n' got fud poisoning.   i feel awful. :-p


    2005.09.27

    ~80% recovered

    ȭ : i went home early from werk yesterday cos'f my fud poisoning.   i spent most'f the rest'f the day/nite in bed.   ugh.   i felt so bad 4 sooni cos i'm sure she wanted me to take her 4 a walk or sumpthin', u know?   well, this morn, i took her 4 a walk. &nsp; we had 2 interesting encounters:   1st, this 1 dude down the street named henry stopped me to talk.   he 1st asked, "what's your nationality?   like, are you japanese or...???"   i told him i'm taiwanese.   then he asked if i experienced ne robberies or nething in the neighbourhood.   i told him no, but that i'd cn shopping carts ditched a couple'f times.   i had talked to henry b4.   i dunno if he remembers my name or not.   he's like in his 40s or so.   he's an asian dude.   i think he might be a korean adoptee or sumpthin' cos he lives w/ an ol' caucasian woman.   he told me he's a carpenter looking 4 werk.   neway, we left that encounter n' kept walking, sooni n' i.   sooni pooped 2ice.   i was glad i brought 2 poop bags.   later, rt b4 we reached home, we encountered a li'l boy crying on his driveway.   he reminded me a li'l'f our nephew mason, but he's prob'ly a li'l older.   i asked, "r u ok?"   he sed, "no."   i asked, "is nebody home?"   he sed, "nobody's home."   i asked what's wrong?   n' he sed, 'nobody's here to babysit me."   he sed sumpthin' like he woke up n' nobody was home, he kept calling out 4 his mom but she wasn't there.   i told him that he shouldn't be outside then, that he should go inside n' wait 4 his mom, but he didn't like that much.   i asked if he had his mom's fon number, but he sed no.   *sigh* :-( i wasn't sure what to do.   eventually, i just told the kid he should wait inside, n' i went back home to get ready 4 werk; but i could still hear him crying.   he was just standing out on the driveway in his pajamas w/ a robe on.   :-( up until what age is it mandatory by law that a kid have a parent or guardian watching him/her???   what should i have done?

    btw, my next door neighbour is selling his house.   i surely would like to have a friend 4 a next door neighbour, so r ne'f u interested in buying it?

    this past wknd... this past sunday was stannelise's wedding.   on sat, we went to the rehearsal dinner @ the awesome mission 261 restaurant.   dude, that was a kewl, contemporary uh... chinese or taiwanese.   i dunno which cos stan called it a taiwanese restaurant, but the website sez the fud's cantonese, n' i heard server's speaking cantonese altho' they played modern, mandarin pop muzik in the background, which was kewl. *shrug*   dude, it's really beautiful.   b4 going to the rehearsal dinner, the beautiful kaela hwang n' i went to main place mall in santa ana.   we got to the rehearsal dinner a li'l early n' met stan's godparents: lishi n' steve from new york.   they're a really young looking couple 4 their age n' r both architects.   they sed they don't have kids'f their own n' don't really plan on having ne.   we had sooo much fud.   it was really fun.   stan n' annelise r such warm, friendly ppl, n' they make every1 feel so welcome.   it's great.   we helped them w/ other wedding prep stuff @ stan's house in montclair.   we stayed up a li'l late.   the wedding was on sun.   apparently, they had some brunch thingy 4 the wedding party, but cos'f a mess up in my e.mail server, i didn't get the invite.   upes.   we missed that.   well, we just met up @ the beautiful descanso gardens in la cañada flintridge.   on our drive to the site, kaela n' i saw lots'f beautiful mansions.   i got changed into my tux in the bathrm.   it was a li'l dusty there.   well, i tried to be a good usher.   i hope i did a good job.   the wedding was beautiful.   they had a live band called the richard bernard band or sumpthin'.   they 1'f the kewlest things 'bout the wedding reception was the red cheese photo booth.   dude, that was fun!   man... this couple really put some major time n' resources into this wedding.   i'm sure the photo booth wasn't ¢heap to have, man.   we had a great dinner.   they even had an awesome johannesberg riesling served!   dude, what a fun wedding.

    well, as i sed, i had fud poisoning yesterday.   *sigh* what else?   this morn, in our backyard, i saw a humongous spider!   it was disgusting!   i sprayed it w/ some pesticide stuff, but i dunno if that killed it.   sometime in the past couple'f wks kaela finally saw her 1st'f those huge spiders that come into our house.   this 1 outside was not the same kind.   it had a big, thick web.   the 1s that come into our house don't spin webs.   i think they're wolf spiders, since i read that brown recluse don't really frequent california.   man, i dunno what kind'f spider's living in our couch n' biting me.   grrr!   just think; it's feeding off'f me n' only getting bigger w/ each bite! grrr!   i must find it n' kill it / slay it.   beno the spider slayer... no, we must give due credit to sooni who helps me, rt?   sooni the spider slayer...

    [later] oh yah, 2day i went to fry's n' pur¢ha$ed a 1gb sd card... finally!   dude, i've been needing this 4 so long.   now that we have our new sd400 5.0 megapixel camera, we've really been needing more sd carsd.   the card was $54.99 w/o ne rebate.   that's kewl.   i'm getting pretty sick'f bad rebates that never come in.   the card's from some unfamiliar brand called patriot.   i figured it was prob'ly made in china.   however, when i opened the package, i was pleasantly surprised to find out it's aktually made by toshiba in japan.   dude, that's pretty kewl.   so, dude, i have rm 4 1gb'f mp3s on my palmone tungsten t5!   i could also put on mpgs, i guess.

    [later] kaela keeps buying tracks off'f itunes w/o using my link.   plz use my link in order to throw me a few pennies each time.


    2005.09.28

    ~90% recovered

    ħ: i should be totally recovered now from my fud poisoning on mon, but i really only feel like 90% recovered @ most. :-( it really sucks cos i've got werk to do etc., rt?   i've gotta admit, tho', that, in a way, i had this coming to me.   u c, i guess since the beautiful kaela hwang's in socal w/ her parents (or 'least her mom, since her dad's on a bizness thingy), i wanted to prove that i could do all these thigns w/o kaela 'round: i.e., i wanted to show her that i could keep the house so spick n' span, spotlessly clean w/o her, that i could do all the laundry n' yardwerk, that i could go to the gym n' get lots'f exercise each day, that i could take sooni 4 entertaining walks every day... ugh, well, shoot... i'ver barely done ne housewerk n' the house isn't ne cleaner than it was when we left last fri.   i have yet to hit the gym 1nce since getting back from socal.   sooni sez she's bored as #@*% n' that i'm no fun cos i've been bedridden sick most'f the time since i returned.   i did do some laundry.   uhm, i've gotta admit sumpthin' here.   i have a couple'f pairs'f modest designer jeans (not those expen$ive se7en jeans) that i uh... never washed since i got them even tho' i wear them all the time. :-( that's such a shameful confession cos uhm... man, i've worn them quite a bit.   *sigh* neway, dude, i finally washed them.   1 reason's that @ nelson's recent b.day party @ the stanfurd hukilau, 1'f nelson's friend spilled some liquor all over 1 pair.   dude, this washing was a long time overdue.   [a li'l later] neway, yah, i did laundry.   i washed those favoured jeans in cold h2o w/ this tide detergent made 4 cold h2o.   i 4get what it's exaktly called.   i put them out to dry 2day.   dude, i hate how our backyard's gotten so many spiders n' hate how all the vegetation's so overgrown now.   ugh!   neway, so i tried to do some housechores but am not nearly accomplishing as much as i hoped to.   when ppl, including kaela, asked me how this wk'd be, i told them that it wouldn't be much diff from ne typical wk cos kaela's @ skool or off studying w/ friends all the time.   yah, in saying that i was sort'f bitter, rt?   rt.   thus, i sort'f set out w/ a vengeance to show that i could run this perekt life w/o her in the house just to prove just how much she isn't 'round, i s'ppose   what 4?   to give her a guilt trip?   *shrug* *sigh* i dunno, man.   neway, instead'f accomplishing my devious plan, i ended up sick, as u know.   last nite, 4 dinner after taekwondo praktice i ate a microwaved amy's organic lasagne.   i guess 'twas vegetarian; i'm not sure, but i didn't notice 1 way or the other.   it was good tho'.   it's funny cos, as i was eating that frzn dinner, i was watching on korean tv via dish netwerk a news magazine story 'bout healthy diets.   this story talked 'bout the "slow food" movement.   it talked 'bout pre.skools in korea that only feed kids natural, organic, "homegrown," unprocessed fuds, hoping that the kids won't discover the sinful, easy, ¢heap pleasures'f refined sugars n' excessive na+.   that's good.   dang, i hope, in the future, we'll be able to feed our kids rt.   it's scary.   4 1 thing, good, healthy fud isn't as ¢heap as junk fud. *sigh* the news story also talked 'bout ppl who, cos'f various health conditions, lose their sense'f taste.   i've lost my sense'f taste b4.   neway, the main pt'f the story is that we don't need to overstimulate our tastebuds to the pt that we no longer can taste, that we should try to eat more natural fuds w/ less processing, etc.   @ lunch yesterday, i ate this trader joe's thai chicken pasta salad that my mom gave me on mon morn.   i didn't eat it on mon cos my stomach just wasn't gonna take nething @ all that day.   on mon n' tues nite, i also had this trader joe's (organic?) butternut squash soup.   i think i 1nce bought this same soup back when i lived in the 2520 hillegass ave., #218 apt.   i heard that my ex.roomate finally moved out'f that place n' moved out'f the state.   neway, the 1st time i bought it i ate a li'l n' chucked the rest 4 fear that it was really fatt'ning.   i dunno if it just didn't have labels or if that was a diff soup cos this soup isn't that fatt'ning.   it's aktually mostly rice milk, which makes it remind me'f certain breakfasty soups that we ate in taiwan.   that's kewl.

    last nite, i started watching this 1 french movie on dish netwerk called jet lag (2002).   it was pretty interesting.   heh, lemme tell u: some ppl'd think that since kaela's out'f the house, i'd just be watching on tv things that only guys watch (interpret that how u want), but really i guess i haven't.   after all, french... that's sumpthin' women enjoy as well, rt? n' this was a really neat movie.   it's sort'f reminiscent'f lost in translation, but hrm.... i think this movie's better.   it's 'bout a biznessman who dreamed'f being a chef who ends up stuck sharing a parisian hotel rm w/ a beautifician cos'f an airline strike.   i enjoyed that it was subtitled n' not dubbed.   @ our ±ǵ taekwondojang, there r these 2 teenage french boys that come.   perhaps it's just cos so many ppl speak in korean n' is somehow just to exakt revenge; but they often speak in french.   i hear wurds that i recognise now n' then; n' 'twas awesome to watch a french film n' hear wurds i recognised hear n' there.

    [later] ȣ: 4 lunch, i'm eating a trader josé:'s veggie enchilada.   dnbsp; i've been eating lots'f frozen enchiladas n' lasagne lately!   they're really similar.   on fri, b4 we flew out, kaela n' i ate some frozen lasagne.   earlier, i werked out @ the werk.com gym.   i felt weak.   i lifted just a li'l n' then did some precor.   there's this 3.on.3 basketball tournament going on, n' as i left the gym, i saw that emergency werkers had arrived n' that it looked like some1 was getting cpr. :-o i dunno.   that's what it looked like to me, but maybe that's not what was happening. *shrug*

    lately, i've been ripping 'lot'f cds to my hard drive in order to put them either on my new 1gb sd card 4 my palm tungsten t5 or onto cd.rom 4 my sony mp3 car stereo.   i've been rippin' stuff @ only 128kbps in order to maximise space. ...

    so i just heard from my cowerker that the accident was just a sprained elbow nuthin' big.   i guess it looked worse than it really was.

    neway, yah, i've been rippin' lots'f csd.   2nite, i've gotta remind myself.to xfer all the ÷Ƽ platinum dance albums to my desktop 'puter n' burn'em to cd.rom striktly to back'em up.   4 the cd.rom i want to listen to in my car, i'd like to mix it up more, not just archive like this, u know?

    [later] lemme tell u a li'l story.   ֱҰԿ.   back in hi skool n' college, lot'f my friends n' i liked "modern rock," n' we liked this 1 inudstrial group called nine inch nails, which u all know.   i've been to 'least 2 nine inch nails concerts, incouding the 1 that introduced the infamous marilyn manson.   well, it's funny... when trent reznor has his 2st hit single "head like a hole" after his 1st "down in it," lot'f us heard the lines "bow down before the one you serve, you're going to get what you deserve" n' its anti.materialism (or 'least anti.$$$) msg n' found it extremly consistent w/ our christian beliefs.   it made us wonder, does this guy have a christian msg or sumpthin'?   however, we all knew that a later track in that 1st album pretty hate machine, titled "terrible lie," had lines such as "hey god, i think you owe me a great big apology" etc.   the thing was that the "hey god" part is really soft n' not very audible, so upon hearing the song; 1 might think he's just singing to some bad ex.gf or sumpthin', rt?   but the lyric sheet inside the cd case (or cassette case, back in those days) give all the lyrics, audible or inaudible.   (in the 1980s it was popular 4 heavy metal bands to have "subliminal" lyrics.)   neway, even tho' i knew the "hey god" part was alwas there, i aktually never really heard it till just now cos i guess i never had good 'nuff audio equipment.   isn't that funny?   no?   well, yah, i guess it's not really funny, but is it @ all interesting? *shrug*

    do u like 1980s musik @ all.   rt now, i'm hearing bananarama's "cruel summer."   i don't 'member why i have this on my 'puter.

    [later] i thought that, since kaela's not here, i'd be eating lots'f meat.   after all, isn't meat the "guys' fud"???   *roll eyes*   well, yah, as i sed, i'm not really watching "guys' tv," n' i'm not really eating "guys' fud," nope.   man, my stomach can't handle much. *sigh* ha ha, i'm mostly eating vegetarian, n' there's nuthin' effeminate about that!   real men eat vegetables.   [later] i 'member my freshman yr futbol playa roommate always sed he had some friend who was really, really buff n' vegetarian.   i think he sed the guy ate 'lot'f tofu.

    [later] dude, have u ever noticed that ol' time jazz songs like louis armstrong's "gone fishin'" r somewhat similar to modern day hip hop tunes in that they have that casual banter thing going on?   think 'bout some recent eminem tracks.

    [later] last nite, @ taekwondo praktice, we left sooni n' alex near each other.   i think they were ok.   they just sort'f ignored each other this time, n' i think everything was fine.

    i haven't really mentioned this yet; but these days, besides fashion 70s (which cms to be wrappin' up), kaela n' i r watching (lulu gongju, "princess lulu") on sbs.   it's a cute story 'bout a pampered/spoiled "debutante" type chick heesoo, her stepbruthas, her friend, n' a playboy that her friend likes.   a while 'go, i mentioned b4 that a new drama w/ kim jungeun (famous 4 ĸ [parisuy yuhnin]) was starting, n' this is it.   some elements'f the show remind me'f the 1990s movie clueless cos'f the idea'f this "gurl who lives in a bubble"'s gettin' exposed to the real world.   / lulu gongju is a soomok deurama, while fashion 70s is a ȭ wuhlhwa deurama.   (fashion 70s is on mon/tues, while lulu gongju's on wed/thurs.)   thus 2nite's 'nother episode'f / lulu gongju.

    on mon morn, when i flew up from socal on southwest, i slept thru the drink service.   i rarely pass up the free beverage n' whatever cr@ppy peanuts they spare, but i did it this time.   i was so sleepy, n' maybe my body was starting to get stressed from the onset'f the fud poisoning. *shrug*

    i didn't finish watching jet lag cos i got sleepy n' kaela called; but lemme tell u: after viewing it in part, i wouldn't mind someday traveling to europe, but 1) we're totally broke, n' 2) i heard that recent yrs have been an expen$ive time to travel to europe.   me, i've been to england n' scotland, but kaela's never been to europe @ all.   @ the same time, as i know her well, she isn't suited 4 the "backpacking" trip but rather a real tour package w/ real hotels, etc.   [later] it's not that i'm saying she's necessarily "weak" or nething, it's just that she has'ta stay in nice places.

    now, i'm hearing cause & effect's "you think you know her."   most likely, u've never heard'f this grp or this other grp called seven red seven.   i tried 4 a long time to dl the mp3'f seven red seven's 1 hit song, but i couldn't even find a legit copy'f it.   that's a rare track.   dude, what was the name'f the seven red seven track???   now, i 4get.   i owned a cassette single'f it.   do u think maybe ken has the cd?   neway, plz think 'gain 4 a sec 'bout thiese 1980s depeche mode wannabes, i.e. these synthpop grps that tried to sound like depeche mode.   ponder these 2 as well as camouflage, red flag, anything box, cetu javu.   think 'bout them.   *sigh* someday, i'd love to make an aweome mix that blends tracks from such artists w/ that 1 â lim changjung track " 츮" ("gibbeun oori" [happy us]), which is also in that style.   now, do u consider depeche mode or erasure to be the grandfathers'f eurosynthpop?   if u ask me, the 1 grandfather'f eurosynthpop is mr. vincent clarke, thus... hrm... it's a hard question... as vince clarke was originally w/ depeche mode in their early days n' then started erasure w/ andy bell after hangin' w/ allison moyet in yaz/yazoo, etc.   was depeche mode's original name "competition of sound" or sumpthin'?   now, as much as i like new order n' the pet shop boys n' find them to be talented musicians; yah, i think the grandfathers'f eurosynthpop r either depeche mode or erasure.   1st off, even tho' new order has many eurosynthpop tracks, they really started out as more'f a guitar.based band w/ their joy division roots; don'tchu think?   the pet shop boys?   altho' they prob'ly get shafted 'nuff like erasure from the "grandfathers'f eurosynthpop" throne os'f their association w/ not.so.hetero culture; they really came just a tad later onto the scene, non?

    [later] : 2nite, i'm mtg up w/ my mom 4 dinner @ shiki sushi near ѱ hangook market on el camino real in sunnyvale.

    earlier, i saw that our friend joyce wrote this on her journal: "i think if i were to die from any point on from today, i will not regret anything. . .it is good to feel at peace finally, with the world.   all the days from here on out are gravy, pure gravy."   wow, that's well put.   upon reading that, i aktually wondered whether it was a quote from somewhere else or what; cos she does post up lots'f quotes, it cms.   i googled it up n' guess those r her own wurds.   yah, well put, man.   *sigh* many more'f us should feel like that.   did i not feel like that on my wedding day?   i think i did, n' i think that so much'f my life up till that day was spent thinking that i'd feel like that after that day.   however, since then, perhaps i've worried so much 'bout establishing a better lifestyle, livin' up the yuppie life, someday having kids... well, shoot... i've always wanted to someday have kids.   *sigh* just think, man.   in my youth, i guess i often looked 4ward to the day i'd graduated hi skool n' go off to college.   then i looked 4ward to the day i'd graduate college n' get a full.time job.   then i looked 4ward to getting married to a wonderful benogurl.   hrm.... i think i've experienced 'least a couple'f deadzones in my life, which r the deadzone btwn college graduation n' marriage n' now marriage n' kids.   deadzones rn't necessarily a bad thing even tho' i've just now called them "deadzones," which sounds so negative.   just think, how did i fill that 1st deadzone, that btwn college graduation n' marriage?   much'f it was $pent on the whole "foundations'f the cal taekwondo party crew" thing, n' those were some'f the best, most fun (funnest) yrs'f my life; we've all gotta admit.   thru.out college, i've gotta admit, i feared the yrs btwn college graduation n' marriage/family, thinking they'd be really useless.   however, i ended up finding a slightly good use 4 them.   i say "slightly good" cos, sheesh, i could've gone off to a 3rd world country to help build water purification systems in the name'f christ or sumpthin', man!   instead, i was just off partying n' living the young yuppie life, which is quite different from the older yuppie life, which is different from the old yuppie life.   now, stepping 'way from the worldly world, let me say that i also felt like that quote on the day i got baptised in the name'f jesus.   yah, long b4 that, i'd experienced the spiritual baptism; i.e., in my heart n' mind, i'd accept jesus christ as my lord n' saviour, his death on the cross as payment/redemption 4 my sins.   i'd experienced spiritual baptism back in hi.skool n' believe that all u need to get into heaven is a spiritual baptism.   however, on easter 2004, i experienced the "water baptism," knowing that some ppl believe that's what it takes to get into heaven.   well, in ne case, that was a special day.   don't doubt it; it was.   in ne case, shouldn't i feel like that quote?   really!   shouldn't i?   well, i'll ponder that.

    [later] , 903p: i went to dinner w/ my mom @ shiki sushi on el camino real in sunnyvale as i sed.   wow, shiki sushi's a really great authentic japanese restaurant.   lemme tell u, in this area, u can find good japanese sushi n' good korean sushi.   as i've sed b4, most sushi restaurants rn't owned by japanese ppl, but that doesn't mean those that rn't owned by japanese ppl rn't good restaurants.   however, 4 me, yah... japanese sushi n' korean sushi r pretty much 2 genres, equally valid n' worthy.   shiki sushi is a really good japanese japanese restaurant.   they have those kaiseki n' zosui n' tea rice bowl thingies.   "kaiseki" is a funny wurd, n' i was exposed to it via that ritzy, up$cale japanese restaurant in menlo park.   what was it called 'gain?   oh yah, kaygetsu.   neway, "kaiseki" kind'f looks like it can be pronounced as the the korean wurd 4 s.o.b., i.e. son'f a b!+¢#, u know?   well, we had a good dinner.   it's funny: kaela's telling me that she's had good conversations w/ her mom this wk, as she gets to $pend lots'f time (quality time) w/ her.   i guess, 2nite, i got to $pend time w/ my mom.

    [later] after dinner, i went home.   lemme tell u, last wk, while cleaning up, i found some'f these yucky, li'l bugs.   i dunno what kind'f bugs they r.   i kind'f thought they're some kind'f weevils or sumpthin'.   i noticed them near this ant bait trap; i.e., i noticed lots'f their carcasses.   *sigh* that's the thing 'bout bait traps, they might lure more bugs than u already have, rt?   after all, the natural homeowner'll tell u that 1 horrible combination'd be to spray some kind'f insekt repellant on the oustide'f ur house n' then have bug bait traps inside.   in that case, u'd be just driving bugs into ur house.   u'd be giving them the best meal'f their lives!   neway, the sight'f those bugs really bugged me the whole wknd, while we were in socal.   they looked eerily familiar.   i wondered where i had cn them b4.   then, it eventually hit me: they're some kind'f rice bug!!!   while i was sick this wk, kaela told me to eat jook (rice porridge).   i told her we didn't have ne rice, meaning we only had ̽ hyunmissal (brown rice) n' chabssal (glutinous rice).   kaela replied that i can make jook w/ ̽ hyunmissal.   well, i thought 'bout it; n' sometime 2day, while @ werk, i realised in disgust that those bugs r prob'ly living in the rice bags!   since we've been living such a messy life cos'f kaela's skool, we surely so rarely eat normal meals @ home w/ rice (the typical asian dinners). ... [argh! just now, while typing this friggin' passage 'bout bugs, i caught a friggin' spider on my arm on the couch!   grrr!   why is it that our house is sooo. infested w/ nasty bugs?! >:-( grrr!   i luckily slapped it on my arm n' killed it.   the carcass fell to the floor.   hrm, rt now, on the throw on the couch, i c 3 spider legs.   r they from this spider that i just killed or 'nother?   i dunno.   grrr!!!   neway, back to my passage...]   we haven't opened those rice bags in a long, long time.   i had that revelation @ werk that the rice bags might be infested w/ those yucky bugs.   well, when i got home 2nite, i checked n' was rt!   yes, indeed, those nasty bugs had infested our rice supply!   we have 1 bagf ̽ hyunmissal, 1 bag'f chapssal, n' 1 bag'f mixed grains (such as beans n' oats).   i had to throw'em all out.   i later 'membered that i had cn those bugs back in the nasty 2520 hillegass ave., #218 apt when i was living there w/ my last roommate.   *sigh* nasty, nasty, nasty!   we'll need to go on a no.carb diet in order to purge our house'f these nasty bugs, huh?   i gotta admit, they're not the nastiest.looking bugs.   if i wanted to, i could make myself think they're cute but prob'ly not 4 long.

    neway... *sigh* dude, i can't believe i also just swatted that spider! grrr!   dude! there r 2 many spiders 'round our house these days.   i don't like it.

    rt now, i'm sort'f watching this hk movie internal affairs on starz cinema via dish netwerk.   un4tunately, it's dubbed n' has just as bad'f a dubbing job as most imported movies.   there's even some like decently attraktive female that has a dubbed voice that really sounds like a guy trying to sound like a gurl.   dude, it's just not a really great thing.   as i always say, i think homosexuality is genetik.   i think it's passed 'long via genes that some ppl r attrakted to ppl'f the same sex.   after all, i definitely notice more homosexuals'f certain ethnicities than others.   ooh hoo! now, i sound like both a homophobik bigot n' a racist!!!   no no no, i'm going somewhere w/ this.   really! i think there's more to the fakt that i've observed more homosexuals'f certain ethnicities than others; i don't believe 4 a sec that it's just cultural, that certain countries r more or less tolerant than others'f homosexuals.   i mean, of course that's part'f it, but it's not all'f it.   i, personally, think it's definitely genetik.   in saying so, i pi$$ of some'f my fellow christians, who say stuff like god wouldn't make homosexuals cos homosexuality is wrong.   *sigh* that's not the pt.   consider this god has let each'f us have our own temptations.   we sin cos'f our own sinful nature, n' god doesn't create evil things but only chooses to prevent or allow evil things.   those'f us who r not homosexual have still had to deal w/ temptations'f premarital sex, no?   neway, so i'm just saying that this dubbing makes that decently attraktive woman cm like a transsexual or sumpthin'.   i might've talked 'bout this here b4 or not, but what would the typical so.called "conservative" christians say to a post.operative transsexual who came to their church, looking 4 jesus, eh?


    2005.09.29

    12 or 10 4 $1 sale

    : i should be recovered now from my fud poisoning, but all day, i've had a really bad headache.   i woke up w/ a horrible headache, as if i were hungover, but i wasn't.   it has stayed w/ me all day.   ugh.   [later] during my lunchbrk, i went out to longs drugs in sunnyvale on el camino real to buy some things.   i wanted to buy some ¢heap disposable batteries 4 things like our smoke detektors, etc.   what else? hrm, i guess i pondered getting stuff to kill bugs.   i also saw in the circular ad that other things were on sale, rt?   or no?   i 4get.   neway, i bought some progresso soup 4 $1/can.   i bought 4 cans.   i looked @ their selektion'f halloween stuff.   i figure i maybe should have a costume if i'm werking @ grx's harvest fest this yr.   well, i didn't buy a costume.   what kind'f halloween candy should i buy???   last yr, i ran out.   we should buy plenty.   longs drugs sez they'll take back ne unopened bags n' give a refund.   hrm, candy's not good 4 u.   i don't like my receding gumline prob, which is due to my agrressive brushing.   i've had such a bad headache all day.   i wonder what kind'f fud poisoning i had.

    [later] , 1008p: Ⱦ!   Ź Ⱦ!   Ⱦ!   Ⱦ!   i hate bugs!   i hate'em, i hate'em, i hate'em!   i came home @ a decent hr 2day cos it's just been a really hard wk w/ my stomachaches n' now 2day my headaches... i did not come home early, but i left @ a "decent" time.   [later] 1027p: i came home n' mowed the lawn b4 the sun went down.   it was a race 'gainst time.   it was getting dark fast.   the sun goes down so early now.   neway, dude... yah, i mowed the lawn, but lemme tell u 'bout sumpthin'.   i learned that, when it gets dark, lots'f big, yucky spiders come out from hiding n' into their big webs.   it's creepy!   wow, these r big yucky spiders.   they make me think'f lush, european forests.   then, i realised that maybe it's cos'f cing spiders like these in movies like lord of the rings n' harry potter, rt?   man... these spiders r yucky.   i hate their webs!   *sigh* neway, i mowed the lawn.   it got dark.   i went in.   i debated what to do: i wondered if i should go to the gym, if i should go jogging, if i should do whatever...   [later] 1046p: well, eventually, i heated up 2 trader joe's garlic naans 4 dinner.   i ate them w/ some safeway chipotle salsa.   funny combo, huh?   neway, that was my dinner as i was craving bread, which is prob'ly co s my body wanted sumpthin' buffering in my stomach, rt? *shrug*   i watched this movie called green dragon about vietnamese refugees in camp pendleton in 1975.   our friend from t3s's family member's s'pposed to be in that movie.   i'm not sure which charakter she was tho'.   i dunno what that family 'member looks like.   i 4get if it's our friend's sister or cousin.   neway, dude, it was a really, really good movie.   the akting was very good.   after that, i caught the end'f jet lag.   funny, i only saw the beginning n' the end.   this showing'f the movie was, un4tunately, dubbed in english. *sigh* dubbing sucks!   after that, i started to watch ±ر taegeukki; but, since it was again dubbed, i opted instead to take sooni 4 a pm/evening walk.   i hadn't taken her 4 an evening walk in ages.   when she 1st arrived into our household, i used to take her out in the evening often, but not these days.   i 'gain noticed yucky spiders that had come out w/ the fall'f darkness.   ugh, i hate spiders.

    [later] 1158p: ok, b4 the date changes, lemme share some recent pix:




    2005.09.30

    4got to pack underwear

    ݿ ħ: i could've n' maybe should've titled yesterday's entry "~90% recovered."   that headache was more than most likely associated w/ my recent fud poisoning.   2day, i feel maybe ~95% recovered.   it's been a tuff wk, man.   i know i've been a real, whining b!+c# lately, n' well... i guess i'm sorry.   i dunno, man.   it's just that life's been hard, as u keep hearing me say.   werk's been tuff, finances've been tuff, housekeeping's been tuff.   [a li'l later] i can't believe sept's already ending.   isn't it crazy?   ̵ .   it's really fall.   ̿.   ´.   Ϳ.   Ծ.   Ͽؿ.   .   1 thing that depresses me slightly is that we never really got to do nething 4 ߼ choosuhk / moon festival.   *sigh* i mean, it's just part'f being an east asian person, u know?   u should do sumpthin'.   i didn't really get a chance to eat mooncake.   *sigh* well, 2day, i finally really have my appetite back.   up until now this wk, i haven't had much'f an appetite.   i wonder if i've lost wt.   on mon nite or tues nite, i weighed in @ 147.7 lbs.   i was back in the official feather weight range.   these days, i'm usually more like 150~153 or, on a really bad day, somewhere up in the 157~160 range.   hrm, :-? naw, hopefully, i haven't been that chubby lately.   ha ha ha, it's a li'l bit funny to be making such a big deal over my wt but whathever, dude.   as i don't compete in tournaments nemore, my weight class isn't really an issue, but *shrug* it helps me stay healthy.   i don't want a pot belly, dude. " ."   " ϱ⿡ ̴."   " ϱ⿡ ̴."   in skool, i usually got better grades in the spring semester than in the fall semester.   man, :-( i'm honestly just so scared'f not having funds to go snowboarding this yr. *sigh* all this, while ppl really suffer in the aftermaths'f hurricanes katrina n' rita.   i assure u that snowboarding's the last thing on their minds.   *sigh* yesterday, there was some olympic skier jonny mosely had this ski n' snowboard tournament in san francisco.   *sigh* i wish i could've 1) watched that n' 2) rode that snow covered sf street!   it was fillmore st.   read 'bout it here: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2005/09/30/BAGUAF0D2P1.DTL&hw=snowboard&sn=001&sc=1000   *sigh* viewing those pix make me sooo sad cos i would've wanted to ride that slope n' go off that jump!!!   dude, i totally would've done it. :-(   wait a sec; was it a tournament or just a demo???

    [later] earlier 2day, i went in search'f manilla folders in our office supply rooms.   i smelled fud n' saw that some grp had had some kind'f brkfast or sumpthin'.   i dunno what happened, but i was thinking, "man, i hate it when executives have lunch or breakfast n' don't give fud to the peons."   then i thought, "#@*% that, i've got se7en bucks in my wallet.   i can go buy my own lunch in the cafeteria. ... oh wait, no, i can't.   i need that $$$ to pay bills."   last fri, my company had a picnic.   i tried to bring the beautiful kaela hwang n' sooni.   last yr, the announcements n' flyers sed no family or friends allowed or sumpthin'.   this yr it didn't.   neway, last yr, i saw ppl bring in their wives n' doggies, so i figured i'd try it.   dude, we got kicked out so fast. *sigh*   i've gotta dmit; it was really demeaning.   i guess that's just 'nother reason i've been so burnt out lately.

    i ended up eating a "monster burrito" 4 lunch.   i ate well.   i hadn't eaten like that in days.   however, i realised this wk just how often i overeat these days.   in gen'l, i've gotta cut down my fud intake.

    [later] maybe, to prevent weevils, when we buy rice, we should immediate open it n' divide it into small airtight containers.

    [later] , 914p: i'm @ sjc mineta aeroport, my usual 940p southwest flight #2258's delayed by ~1hr10mins.   wow, quite a delay!   it's usually late but not this late.   i 4got to pack underwear. *sigh*


    2005.10.01

    adam's hair art

    , 134p: elton john's "tiny dancer"... that's the song from the moonlight mile trailer.

    "tiny dancer" by elton john

    blue jean baby, l.a. lady, seamstress for the band
    pretty eyed, pirate smile, you'll marry a music man
    ballerina, you must have seen her dancing in the sand
    and now she's in me, always with me, tiny dancer in my hand

    jesus freaks out in the street
    handing tickets out for god
    turning back she just laughs
    the boulevard is not that bad

    piano man he makes his stand
    in the auditorium
    looking on she sings the songs
    the words she knows, the tune she hums

    but oh how it feels so real
    lying here with no one near
    only you and you can't hear me
    when i say softly, slowly

    hold me closer tiny dancer
    count the headlights on the highway
    lay me down in sheets of linen
    you had a busy day today

    blue jean baby, l.a. lady, seamstress for the band
    pretty eyed, pirate smile, you'll marry a music man
    ballerina, you must have seen her dancing in the sand
    and now she's in me, always with me, tiny dancer in my hand

    [later] 227p: i just got my hair cut @ a korean.owned joint in diamond bar (i think) off the brea canyon rd exit'f the 60.   this place is called adam's hair, i think.   i flew in last nite.   shoot, i still have no underwear, but i did accidentally leave a pr down here, n' it's being laundered.   i'm a li'l hungry rt now, but i should honestly "watch" my diet as, in a wk, i'll be in kona, rt?   it's not just that i might hafta be shirtless now n' then but that, w/ the ironman triathlon n' all, every1 'round me'll be so cut, fit, n' trim.   thus, i don't wanna stick out like a sore pimple.


    2005.10.03

    valencia hi skool class'f 1995 10.yr reunion

    ħ: whew, man! oktober begins, eh?   this wknd, i made a quick trip down to socal by myself, met up w/ the beautiful kaela hwang down there, n' returned w/ her.   we were there 4 kaela's 10.yr hi skool reunion, the valencia class'f 1995 10.yr reunion @ the wyndham garden hotel in costa mesa.   kaela'd been planning this event 4 the past few months or so.   obviously, she never has much "free time," so she didn't have much time to do it.   she contrakted/hired a company called greatreunions.com to handle most'f it.   other than that, she only got a li'l bit'f help from other alumni.   i'm sure she really appreciate the ppl that did help her out.   neway, yah, it was a decently fun nite.   i mean, shoot, i didn't really hafta do much.   i just showed up, ate, drank, n' hung out.   i guess, i helped set up, but well... i didn't really know ppl there, so it wasn't like a big deal event to me.   well, i knew a few'f kaela's hi skool friends that showed up, n' i got to chat w/ 1'f her friend's husband that i knew from b4.   1 kewl thing's that kaela's classmate married this 1 gurl who's the boss'f every1 @ cafe.berkeley.edu.   we'd always heard her name but never met her till this wknd.   kaela didn't know her classmate had married this gurl.   funny.   now, we can "put a face to the name."   i'm totally over the fud poisoning n' totally regained my appetite (4 better or worse) over this wknd.

    [later] : during my lunchbrk, i went to the werk.com gym n' did 30 mins'f precor, then stretching, n' then a li'l bit'f abwerk.   i'm sore from going to the bally gym yesterday.   it's a good kind'f sore; but i know it's cos i didn't get to exercise last wk cos'f my illness (fud poisoning).   yah, i'm glad i got to go to the gym yesterday.   aktually, i had a very produktive day yesterday.   1st off, we flew back to norcal from socal.   not to long after we got home, i went to the backyard n' trimmed a shrub/bush.   then, as i was on a roll, i went to the gym.   while i was werking out, the power went out!   it's a good thing that i had alrady did my 15 mins'f stairmaster b4 i had started my wavemaster (kicking bag, taekwondo) werkout.   all this was after i spent some time lifting weights.   i'm most sore from the weightlifting.   i didn't get to shower @ the gym cos the lites were out.   i wondered if i should hit whole fuds 4 some overpri¢ed fruits that i can't really afford.   instead, i tried to meet up w/ kaela in front'f the korean dvd rental place, but it was closed as we both arrived there.   kaela had brought sooni.   u c, earlier, i wanted kaela to come w/ me to the gym, but she had fallen asleep on the couch while i was doing yardwerk.   well, we went home n' ate this 2.serving safeway select frozen pasta dinner.   it's an ok frozen entré n's s'pposed to be a li'l healthier, etc.   i need some fruit tho'.   i wanted to go gro¢ery $hopping later in the nite, but we didn't.

    yesterday, when we came home, i found out sumpthin' bad: sbs international has cancelled its bizness w/ dish netwerk! :-o this sucks; now we can't watch sbs on dish netwerk n' r missing our dramas!!!   this sucks.   rt now, we have kbs america n' mbc news, which isn't ne fun.   kbs is ok, but they stopped showing so many dramas.   also, their dramas tend to be older cos they put subitleso on.   well, i appreciate the subtitles, but it's a negative to hafta wait to c the shows, u know?   mbc news is no fun.   the only good thing is when they have entertainment news.   when we 1st got korean dish, we watched more kbs.   in recent months, we'd been watching mostly sbs. *sigh*

    [later] "the end of all things is near.   therefore be clear minded and self-controlled so that you can pray.   above all, love each other deply because love covers over a multitude of sins.   offer hospitality to one another without grumbling.   each one should use whatever gift he has received to serve others, faithfully administering god's grace in its various forms.   if anyone speaks, he should do it as one speaking the very words of god.   if anyone serves, he should do it with the strength god provides, so that in all things god may be praised through jesus christ.   to him be the glory and the power for ever and ever.   amen." - 1 peter 4:7~11


    2005.10.04

    baked doritos?

    ȭ ħ: where can i buy baked doritos?   some ppl used the wurd "baked" to mean "stoned" or "drugged out."


    2005.10.05

    boardtunes

    / 1213a: yesterday, @ lunch, i went w/ a grp'f cowerkers who r all sjsu mechanical engring alumni to pedro's restaurant 4 buffet.   the buffet ¢o$ts $7.95.   4 that pri¢e, the acapulco buffet's much better.   neway, it was good to meet some new ppl n' get 2gether w/ a few friends.   i realised that i need to be more social in the werkplace just to keep my sanity.

    2nite, after werk, i rushed over to the sunnyvale target to try to buy sooni a $3.99 halloween costume.   they were pretty much sold out'f all costumes in her size (large [even tho' she's a medium size dog, 4 clothing, she's a large cos the sizes r skewed 2wards purse dogs, or as jet ri calls 'em "kick.me dogs"]).   it's a shame cos i saw that the costumes were cute.   *sigh* oh well, so how do we get a costume 4 sooni this yr?   also, what kind'f halloween candy should i buy?

    [later] 1256a: last nite, we went to taekwondo praktice, the beautiful kaela hwang n' i.   after praktice, we ate pizza n' drinks that mark brought us in celebration'f the skool's recent viktory @ the l.a. sheriff's cup tournament n' mark n' grace's recent wedding.

    [later] : i'll fill out my gbook qs now:

    2day, i went to lunch w/ kaela @ new town korea restaurant on benton n' kiely. they have some "more unique" menu items.   i had ߰ dalkgyeijang (instead'f yookgyeijang, chicken instead'f beef), n' kaela had ū ع Į uhlkeun haemool kalgooksoo, which the waitress abbreviated on her order notepad as "Į (uhl hae kal)."   'twas a good lunch.   this morn, when i woke up, it was so cold.   now, it's a pleasant day in the heart'f the silicon valley, amerika's real heartland!

    these days, there's this annoyingly stoopid sbc/yahoo! advert on tv, in which ppl chant, "phone, tv, d-s-l!   phone, tv, d-s-l!"   well, i just pondered how in my life, i should chant, "snowboard, dj, t-k-d!   snowboard, dj, t-k-d!" cos those r some things that r essential n' core in my life... just a few things.

    [later] every now n' then, i really miss berkeley.   *sigh*   we didn't visit often 'nuff this past summer.   it would've been nice to have made some daytrips up, where we would've left early in the morn n' hang out all day up there w/ sooni.   that would've been kewl, but we didn't do that.   now, it's oktober.   it's not as convenient to make those kinds'f daytrips in autumn cos it's not as warm n' the sun doesn't stay out as long.   can u believe how tmie flies?   how was this past summer?   *sigh* i'll glance over my 2005 beno journal archive.  it won't be long b4 i'll hafta write up a 2005 year.end recap thingy.

    [later] we should eat healthily n' get sufficient exercise.   i realised sometime in the past couple'f days that, altho' i've on several occasions successful sold stuff on craig's list, i've never successfully bought nething on it!   can u believe that?   whenever i try to buy sumpthin' off'f craig's list, it's usually already gone.   intersting, huh?

    [later] the meridian/hamilton bally total fitness gym has a kwando class on tues/thurs @ 530~630p.   dude, someday, i'd like to leave werk @ ~500p n' rush down to that... someday.   very rarely do i ever get to leave werk 'round 500p.

    , 1042p: *sigh* life isn't as good w/o sbs. :-(   i think kaela's out in the living rm watching sex in the city.   or is it called sex & the city???   i never understood the title.   neway, it's a show i really despise.   i find it very annoying, n' i have a hi tolerance 4 things like chick flix, just not stuff like this.   neway, i had to werk later than i wanted, as usual.   then i went to the werk.com gym.   i really needed to exercise to get out my frustrations, man.   *sigh*

    hey, 1 more link, i'd like u to use: yesasia.   i was just browsing that site n' got so sad, cing all the cds i want to buy but can't afford. *sigh* :-(   materialism sucks, but what 'bout the love'f good musik???   i'm willing to share my mp3s.   ne1 else?


    2005.10.06

    tryin' to get in shape 4 kona

    ħ: in the unlikely chance u need to buy nething from the motorola online store, use the code E815SUR to get a 10% di$¢ount.   i s'ppose maybe some1 wants to buy some kind'f accessory, but *shrug* i dunno what.   i know 1 good thing'd be the stereo earbud set w/ the built.in handsfree kit 4 the v710.   2 bad it's not wireless...

    [a li'l later] yesterday, i had an important thought: "do the important things in life earlier in the day cos ppl'll always try to steal time 'way from u thru.out the day."   that's true.   it's just like how, when u go to the gro¢ery store, u should buy the essentials 1st cos if u get di$trakted by all the li'l cute, flashy odds n' ends along the way n' put them in ur $hopping cart, then u'll aktually use up ur fud budget b4 u buy the essentials.   that's important.   well, taking that idea to heart, i exercised early this morn.   i took sooni n' jogged to the bank to depo$it some ¢he¢ks n' jogged back home.   'twas a nice jog in the cool, brisk, autumn air.   altho' i never considered fall my favourite season, there's sumpthin' good to be sed 'bout it.   aktually, i try to appreciate each season 4 what it's worth.   don'tchu?   last nite, i werked out in the werk.com gym.   this morn, i jogged.   i plan to werkout 'gain in the werk.com gym during my lunchbrk 2day.   i need to get lots'f exercise this wk, as i told my u.s.taekwondo akademy friends, cos i'll be in kona next wk during the ironman triathlon n' don't wanna be the 1 out'f shape person there 'mongst all the triathletes.


    2005.10.11

    volcanoes n' boogieboards

    749a, hawaii time / 1049a cali time: i'm sittin' in a strip mall in kailua kona, just typin' 'way n' doing some werk.com werk.   i'm sittin' outside'f jamba juice n' some gelato place n' some thai place.   there's all this island musik playing.   it's a beautiful day out here.   it's not as hot as i expekted.   it's rather nice.   hawaii's great but honestly a bit diff from what i expekted.   it's fun.   we arrived on sat.   we were quite jet lagged, i s'ppose.   uhm, aktually, we weren't jet lagged, but jet leaded.   our internal clocks were ahead'f skedule.   oh yah, when we arrived, well... shoot, 1st off hawaiian airlines lost our luggage.   aktually, we checked our baggage in kind'f late so they got low priority.   lemme tell u 'bout the flight in: the plane... not to diss ne1 or ne kind'f ppl, but... the flight was full'f 2 kinds'f ppl: 1) fat, old ppl n' 2) just plain fat ppl.   yah, they obviously weren't flying in 4 the ironman triathlon....   well, that's not fair to say cos i've cn very athletik ppl who were just obese cos'f genetik, hormonal issues.   neway our baggage didn't make it onto our flight cos'f weight issues.   hrm... was it cos'f all the overweight ppl?   neway, it took us a while to get our baggage.   the beautiful kaela hwang has had this awful eye infektion since a couple'f wks 'go.   it got worse.   rt 'way on sat, we tried to find her a kaiser emergency rm to go to.   we found it, but i gues by the time we found it, it was 2 late 4 her to use it.   she had to wait until mon cos the clinic was closed on sunday.   we ate an early dinner @ this li'l tourists' amerikan style pub called durty jake's on alii drive, the main tourist strip along the h2 front.   we had some ahi poke n' some nachos.   we also had some bier; but, believe it or not, i aktually ordered some o.doul's non.alkoholic bier.   it's aktually good stuff; but, yah, i can taste it's non.alkoholik somehow.   we checked into our nice condo.   aktually, we could've gone straight to the condo to use the lockbox, but since we were unsure'f the condo, we stopped by the realtor's offce 1st.   lessee: we left san jo @ ~940a.   we arrive in honolulu ~1135a.   then, we flew out to kona, which took ~40 mins.   it wa sa very quick flight.   hawaiian airlines is ok, but i hate how these domestik airlines ¢harge 4 headfons to watch their in.flight programming.   that sucks, n' we didn't rent their stoopid headfons.   i'member that u.s. air did that on our flights 4 the smithsonian institute silk roads festival, when we were part'f "the silk roads martial arts team."   neway, we got into our condo ok.   it's a nice place, an ol' bldg but a rennovated unit.   @ nite, we went out to safeway, which was fun.   safeway's often fun, especially, in hawaii, rt?   'twas fun to c the local produkts n' shocking to c the ¢:o$t'f shipped.in veggies.  

    on sunday, we we drove out to hilo n' to the volcanoes.   we stopped by wal*mart cos we 4got our flashlite back in the condo.   we had brought this nice maglite from home, but we left it in the condo, as i sed.   we bought some other things.   then we ate lunch @ some local fud ct, ate some good, authentik local, hawaiian cuisine.   we ate some pork lau lau n' some "chicken long rice" n' some green salad cos we badly needed the veggies.   then we were off to the volcanoes.   it rained on us that day.   it wa sa very nice rain.   we hung out 2 the nat'l park there.   it wa sa nice place.   we saw lots'f craters.   then we went 4 the long hike over hardened lava.   man, god really blessed us cos the skies cleared up 4 a rainless hike!   i s'ppose the hike was good exercise.   afterwards, dude; we were tired.   i drove us back to hilo, where we ate @ some modest, modest, humble hawaiian diner kind'f place.   it was a pretty good experience.   i ordered some kahui grille saimin w/ yakitori, n' kaela had wonton siamin w/ fried oysters.   well, we drove back to kona.   on the way back, we stopped by the $tarbucks in waimea to get some drinks.   aktually, we stopped there on our way over as well.   it was a full day, a fun day.

    yesterday (monday), kaela tried to go werk @ the ironman, but her eye infektion got the best'f her, so we went to kaiser.   after she saw the optomologist or whatever over there, we went to wal*mart (in kona not hilo as the day b4).   we bought some eyedrops that the doktor told her to get (over the counter stuff) n' some other stuff.   we went to borders to write a few postcards as we drank some kind'f "coffee freeze" frappuccino clone.   later, we went home.   we ate a li'l more poke.   then we went to the nearby boardshop to rent a couple'f bodyboards.   we went boogie/bodyboarding.   it was very fun, but we got scratched up n' banged up on the shore rocks.   dude, it was a very new experience.   it wasn't nething like snowboarding or skateboarding.   however, i'm still hoping that real surfing'll be more like snowboarding n' skateboarding.   man, along the main strip, i c ppl skateboarding all the time, n' i get sad 'bout missing skateboarding so much, rt? oh well.   i think i got sunburnt from boogieboarding, man. :-(   in the later afternoon, after showering, i went by myself to return the boards (which ¢o$t $6 each to rent) n' went to send off some po$t¢ards.   it took a long, long time to find the po$t offi¢e.   @ nite, we went downstairs from our condo to the amerikkkan restaurant below called jameson's.   i guess 'twas our belated 26th monthversary celebration.   it was quite expen$ive n' not that great, i've gotta admit.   i guess the restaurant's there to please the midwest amerikkkan's taste, rt?   oh well.

    well, what's going on 2day"   kaela's off @ the ironman site, werking.   i'm just doing "whatever" rt now.


    2005.10.14

    surfin' 4 the very 1st time

    445p, thurs afternoon: i'm sittin' @ an outdoor dining table on our condo's balcony, watching waves come in thru a palm tree view.   it's quite the picture'f paradise, i s'ppose.   this really feels like a vakation, rt?   crazy, crazy.   yah, it's been fun.   it's been expen$ive 2 tho'. :-/   2day's 20051014, 2 months after the beautiful kaela hwang's b.day, the day b4 the kona ironman triathlon, the day b4 the day b4 we leave hawaii to return to cali4nia.   2day, i surfed 4 the 1st time.   i s'ppose that brings me 1 step closer to being a boardsports triathlete, i.e. in a way i can skateboard, snowboard, n' surfboard.   of course, my strongsuit's snowboarding, but... *shrug* it's fun to imagine.   *sigh* well, yah... i surfed 4 the 1st time.   i took this beginner's class.   to make it easier, sometimes the instructor'd push our boards as the wave came in to give us a boost.   still, i mananged to catch like a couple'f waves on my own.   earlier this wk, we had gone boogieboarding or bodyboarding.   dude, that really wasn't much like snowboarding.   surfing's more like snowboarding but still not quite the same.   as a beginner, i rode a fat longboard.   that's the opposite'f the small, skinny freestyle boards.   i'm a freestyle snowboarder, but i certainly cannot yet say that i'm a freestyle surfer.   i'm definitely still just a newbie.   it was fun tho'.   i'd like to do it 'gain sometime.   the next time might hafta be in cali, maybe in santa cruz on a warmer day or sumpthin'.   honestly, i do wish i could surf more just to have a boardsport to do other than snowboarding, just cos i worry sooo much 'bout the rising ¢o$t'f snowboarding. :-( expen$ive lift tix, expen$ive gas to get us to tahoe... *sigh* it's depressing!   along those lines, as i've been saying 'lot lately, i also wish i could skateboard 'gain like i did as a kid cos that'd be 'nother boardsport that doesn't require driving out to tahoe n' paying hi pri¢es 4 lift tix.   *sigh* neway, i can't keep talkin' n' talkin' 'bout boardsports cos shoot, u guys really don't care.

    so what's been up?   *shrug* i dunno where i stopped updating u.   lemme try to recap quickly the whole wk:

    [1025p; we went to pick up pix @ costco n' fill up on gas there, dinner @ kona brewing co., n' $hopping in the totally tourist area (alii dr.).] fri [oh, that's 2day!]:

    2morrow's the aktual ironman triathlon.   dude, if there were a benoman triathlon, it'd involve snowboarding, taekwondo, n' djing!   we'd best start packing n' cleaning, dude.   we fly out on sun.


    2005.10.17

    dad's b.day

    mon afternoon: well, we're back in the silly valley.   wow, what an experience!   in case u haven't been keeping up, the beautiful kaela hwang n' i went to kona, hawaii 4 8 days.   kaela volunteered @ the kona ironman triathlon doing chiropraktic stuff.   in kona, i got to surf 4 the 1st time.   that's what's been up.   well, 2day's my dad's b.day.   i believe it's his 62nd b.day.   i feel bad that kaela n' i haven't hosted our family @ our house in a long while.   last yr, 4 t.giving, we tried to host our family, but only my mom came.   our house's always messy, but i wish it were cleaner.   i try to clean it up, but we're so messy.   i don't like that.   our next.door neighbour's moving.   we'll be getting new neighbours.   kaela n' i really wonder who'll they'll be.   will they have kids?   what'll they be like?   it's all such a mystery so far.   well, we're home; back to making a mess'f our house.

    how was the end'f our kona trip?   hrm, lessee, what did i not tell u so far???   well, sat was the ironman triathlon.   originally, we thought kaela had to be on the competition site by 500a, but apparently she only had to show up by 1100a.   i guess i spent most'f the day cheering 4 triathletes.   yah, it was pretty fun.   i don't know much 'bout triathlons or triathletes, but i cheered cos i knew they had all put in a good effort n' done sumpthin' amazin'.   i cheered enthusiastically.   i cheered a li'l louder 4 triathletes from cali4nia, 'specially those fromt he bay area.   i cheered a li'l louder 4 the japanese triathletes cos it cmed like they didn't have as much support from the crowd.   (i guess compared to the amerikans, europeans, australians, n' new zealanders; they didn't bring much'f a cheering sektion.)   i cheered 4 every1.   i cheered a li'l extra 4 the 1st women to come in cos every1 cheered a li'l extra 4 them.   i guess it was quite an honour to get to c the winners finish.   that was kewl.   hrm, on sat nite, kaela was really tired.   we were hungry, so i 1st checked up the hawaiian mcyukyuk's to c if they had nething special, but they didn't.   then, i drove us to l&anmp;l drive inn (which isn't a drive.in nor a drive.thru!!!) to eat some authentik hawaiian fud 4 our last dinner in the aloha state.   we had (hawaiian) bbq chicken.   all the roads were blocked 4 the race, so it took us a very long time to get newhere.

    on sun, we flew out.   2wards the end'f the trip, we had the task'f eating leftover fud to clear out the fridge.   it was a pain to ship all the cargo (i.e. kaela's chiropraktic table).   on the flight from kona to honolulu, we saw other hawaiian islands from above.   on the flight from honolulu to san jo, we sat next to a young, young couple from placerville w/ a baby.   the baby cried a li'l but was relatively good.   i knew it'd be much colder when we landed in san jo.   my mom picked us up n' drove us home.   sooni was happy to c us.

    this morn, i wanted to jog but woke up 2 late.   i wanted to werkout in the werk.com gym during lunch but 4got my shoes.   during lunch, i went to the bank n' albertsons n' then home to eat w/ sooni.   i picked up my gym shoes but 4got my socks.   i'll still try to werkout this evening 1 way or 'nother: either in the werk.com gym or @ bally total fitness.   dude, cos our contrakt's over, bally now ¢harge$ us $17 not $10!!!   dude, it's 'bout time to bail, man.   we need to find a good deal w/ 2r.hr fitness asap!   if u know'f ne good deals w/ 24.hr fitness, plz let us know!!!

    [a li'l later} what i ate @ home 4 lunch 2day? some tostitos (the thick 1s) w/ albertsons salsa n' some vegetarian buffalo wings w/ some spring mix salad.   those vegetarian buffalo wings had 2 much na+!


    2005.10.18

    lessons learned in hawaii

    ȭ ħ: last nite, i werked in the werk.com gym after werk.   man, i've gotta deactivate the autopay on my bally gym member$hip n' just let it run out.   no more, man! no more!   we've gotta find a good pri¢e on 24.hr fitness member$hip.   hrm, do u think we'll find better deals 'round new yr's?   hrm, maybe so, huh?   neway, what's up?   when i came home last nite, kaela was cooking this asian.fusion eggplant, tofu, ground turkey ¥ jjajang whole wheat pasta dish.   our dish netwerk service is all jacked.   we ate that pasta along w/ some whole fuds salad w/ chicken 4 dinner n' watched the dvd'f ׳ฦ 𸣸 ø / geunyuhreul moreumyuhn kanchub / "if you don't know her, you're a spy."   it stars ȭ kim junghwa n' gong yoo.   it's a cute story.   [later] the pt'f the title is that there's this gurl that's s'pposed to be so hot that every1 knows her, but if u don't know her then u must not be a normal korean but a north korean spy living in south korea.   it's a funny comedy.

    : u know what's a kewl song from the past (circa 1999)? ͺ "ȸ" turbo's "hwesang" ("reminscence").   oh, it had an english name: "december."   neway, a kewl song.   now that i'm back from hawaii n' done w/ all this mad (crazy) traveling, i've gotta get back to organising my mp3 collektion.

    restaurant.com
    b4 the end'f the month, use code 68790 @ checkout to get 60% off.
    it's a great deal!

    [later] *sigh* so what's up?   oh yah, i updated my g.book qustions, so plz go n' sign my g.book rt now!!!   if u ever read my journal, u really ought to sign my g.book.   i s'ppose it's my halloween edition'f my g.book. *shrug* yup, i guess, now that we're done w/ our crazy traveling, it's back to gettin' ready 4 halloween.   i don't have a costume.   b4 we went to hawaii, i considered gettin' some kind'f hawaiian costume in hawaii, but i didn't.   [later] isn't it time to buy a pumpkin?

    [later instead'f oreo "double stuf," why don't they make orea "half stuf"???   during my lunchbrk, i werked out in the company gym.   i did 20 mins'f stationary bike n' 20 mins'f precor.   this morn, i jogged w/ sooni.   2nite, i'll go to taekwondo praktice.

    [later] while in kona, sometime 2wards the end'f our trip, i saw an commercial on tv that i'd cn b4 4 this time.life musik christian worship musik 2.cd set open the eyes of my heart.   i wouldn't mind getting it: http://www.timelife.com/catalog/product.jsp?productId=2089&   it's $9.99 online.   (however, does that require some kind'f subscription to some kind'f time.life cd club???)

    [later] "no reserves, no retreats, no regrets." - william borden

    [later] : i dunno if u can tell by what i've been writing, but i had a really "blah day" 2day.   it's not that i feel sad or depressed or mad.   i've just felt blah, perhaps listless, n' perhaps secretly/covertly unmotivated.


    2005.10.19

    27th monthversary

    ħ: 2day's aktually the beautiful kaela hwang's n' my 27th wedding monthversary.   i told her that we should go out n' watch wallance & gromit: the curse of the were.rabbit 2nite.   that's the movie i most wanna watch these days.   i dunno if she'll have time, but i do hope we go c it.   we should do sumpthin'.   2day, i have that feeling that there just rn't 'nuff hrs in a day.   i've thought that ever since i was a kid.   i 'member writing a poem 'bout that in a language arts class as a kid.   does ne1 aktually feel that there r 2 many hrs in a day???   neway, yah, it's our 27th monthversary.   i love kaela.

    dude, stores r now selling 4gb sd cards?   crazy.   do u believe in rebates???   i've experienced so many scam rebates in my time that i'm starting to get very wary n' weary'f them.   i used to jump on "free after rebate" deals, but man... i've been duped so many times.   i've also read some magazine articles 'bout how so many rebates r just scams.   i dunno what to say nemore.   u know what's 1 trick companies use w/ rebates?   often they say that the rebate needs to be submitted w/in 10 days'f purchase.   however, the company might take 'least 7 days to ship the product out to u.   thus, u need to cut out the upc n' send in the rebate like as soon as u get it, or else the rebate'll be void.   dude, i've been hit by that scam b4.   it sucks.

    [later] this is kind'f depressing to say but often these days i feel like so many'f my hard efforts r futile n' in vain.   that's really depressing to say, huh?   however, yah... *shrug*

    [later] : inflation, man: my s'pposedly ¢heapie frozen weight watchers "smart ones" frozen entrées on sale's 2 bucks a piece.   that's awful.   when i was a kid, an elemenary skool cafeteria lunch was $1, n' a middle or hi skool cafeteria lunch was $1.50.   [a li'l later] lately, i've been writing a few more e.mails.   i've been trying to keep in touch w/ ol' friends. [later] i haven't yet shown u ne pix from hawaii, but i should.   many'f them r still on the camera's sd card; i.e., i haven't dled them to my 'puter yet.   *sigh* many things to do. [later] "am i eating rotten bananas?"   "that is a very valid question."   i saw a kewl sticker 2day on my way to palmer chiropraktic college west (pwcc) 4 my chiro apptmnt: it was a sticker, shaped like those trite ribbon magnet stickers on all those cars (which often read "support our troops" or sumpthin' 'bout cancer awareness), but instead'f a ribbon, it was a belt, n' it sed, "support our pants."   that's hilarious, man.

    last nite, i went gro¢ery $hopping @ galleria market/plaza. i had to do it really quickly cos i got out'f werk later than i wanted to n' didn't want to be 2 late to taekwondo praktice.   i ended up being late.   after praktice, i took duk to dinner @ gilmok.   kaela joined us.   we had (dolsot bap [dolsot bibimbap]), ع haemool pajuhn, n' galbi jjim.   it was all very good. i guess the owners were very happy to c sooni.

    [later] honestly, i still felt kind'f "blah" 2day thru.out the day.

    [later] 1134p: we went to watch wallace & gromit!   it was a very good movie.   b4 watching the movie, kaela n' i cooked n' ate a li'l dinner @ home: some grilled sole w/ asparagus, salsa, n' guacamole.


    2005.10.20

    fish bike

    ħ: do u 'member the u2 lyric "a woman needs a man like a fish needs a bicycle when you're trying to throw your arms around the world"?   heh, that's a funny line.   [later] i've gotta admit that the beautiful kaela hwanghttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kpop.   doesn't it rock that there's a wikipedia article 4 almost nething? ha ha ha!   i'm a big fan'f wikipeida, in case u didn't know.   however, i hate how some articles r biased n/or give bad info.   i've yet to contribute to wikipedia (contribute in4mation, that is), but i feel that i do have lots'f info to contribute but just am to lazy to figure out how.   here's an interseting, short article 'bout the hawaiian pidgin wurd "da kine," which is the name'f a manu(fakturer)'f boardsports accessories: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Da_kine.   now, here's a wikipedia article on the wurd "pidgin": http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pidgin.   here's a wikipedia article on the hawaiian wurd "wiki": http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wiki.   wow, my blogs almost like a real blog 2day in that i'm posting lots'f url links.   some ppl consider that to be the definition'f a (we)blog: a day by day log'f lots'f links.   however, those ppl usually expekt blogs to be written by acessing a webpage, n' that's not how i write my journal.   rather, i write in html myself, using a unix txt editor.   yah, i'm old skool.   dude, u guys! sign my new g.book!   why don'tchu sign it???   i like living in the silicon valley.   silicon valley life's great.   ha ha ha...   as i always say, "the silicon valley... amerika's real heartland!"   dude, i like living in the silly valley n' in california, but i feel bad 4 those in other regions, hit hard by hurricanes, etc.   *sigh* dude, i know we're vulnerable to earthquakes, n' yah... i hope we would get support from other amerikans if a major earthquake hit us.   [later] yes, i realise this is a very incohesive paragraph, that i keep jumping from subjekt to subjekt w/o starting a new paragraph.   yes, i realise that's not good.

    [later] : finally, a new paragraph; yet no promise that this 1'll be ne better than the last.   yahoo! movies is funny cos u rate movies n' they recommend movies they think u'll like based upon ur opinions on previous movies.   what's funny's when a movie gets a d+ rating from the critics n/or y! users, yet they still say, "you'll probably like this movie."   basically, they're saying, "hey, u like cr@ppy movies!   u'll certainly like this cr@ppy movie!"   i find that humourous.   2day, i met up 4 lunch w/ my cowerker that also goes to grx (great exchanged covenant church).   it's great to have a cowerker that goes to church w/ me.   thru.out my life, n' thru.out my christian life, i've tried not to be a person who hangs out only w/ church firends or only w/ other chrisitans.   i've always cherished havin' friends from various backgrounds, etc.   cos'f that, some church ppl've accused me now n' then'f being a "lone ranger christian" in that i don't hang out 'nuff w/ fellow christians.   well, i'm trying to keep the rt balance, which is the balance that god wants me to have.   sure, ideally, i'd convert all my nonchristian friends into christinas.   sure... however, *shrug* in the real world.... well, shoot... that'd 'least take some time.

    1141p: 2nite, after werk, i went to the duke'f edinburgh 4 the berkeley engrng alumni association south bay social hr thingy.   it was kewl.   i knew some cowerkers'd go, but i was surprised to run into sampson from church n' my sister's friend's husband omar.   it was a pretty kewl gathering.   i was impressed.   there were ppl there who graduated from the 1960s n' ppl who graduated last yr.   funny, huh?   i ate some appetizers (not much) n' drank a guiness.   when i left, i was still hungry, so i ate a gardenburger @ home.   i haven't exercised in the past couple'f days n' worry i won't exercise 2morrow.   it sucks; it sucks big time!


    2005.10.21

    cal state props

    ݿ ħ: as'f 2day, i'm 30 yrs n' 2 months old.   i need to get more exercise.   ݿϿ.   2day's fri.   that's a good thing.   i have a monthly progress report due 2day tho'.   i need more exercise.   [a few mins later] oh, i guess i'm gonna have lunch w/ the beautiful kaela hwang 2day.   hrm... 2day's a special event @ our company during the lunchbrk, i was planning to go to that.   there's no free fud, but i'm guess there's fud 4 sale to benefit the 2nd harvest fud bank.   however, i guess i'll go to lunch w/ kaela instead.   she sed she brought sooni to skool 2day n's gonna leave her tied out to a tree outside the skool.   hrm, i'm a li'l concerned 'bout that.   i'm not 100% sure sooni'll like that, so i'm worried.   i dunno. ;-/ we'll c.

    next month, the stae'f cali4nia's having this "special" elektion on a few state propositions.   these days, 1 can easily observe quite a bit'f hype 'bout several'f these propositions on tv, prob'ly on the radio, via spam mail, via junk snail mail...   the propositions r:
    - 73: termination of minor's pregnancy. waiting period and parental notification.
    - 74: public school teachers. waiting period for permanent status
    - 75: public employee union dues
    - 76: school funding. state spending.
    - 77: reapportionment
    - 78: prescription drugs. discounts.
    - 79: cheaper prescription drugs for californians act. state-negotiated rebates.
    - 80: affordable electricty & preventing blackouts act.
    a while 'go, i received a snail mail flyer from the cali4nia democratik party telling me to vote no on 74, 75, 76, 77, n' 78 n' yes on 79 n' 80.   it sed nuthin' 'bout 73.   this wk, our church grx sent out an e.mail saying that even tho' they've never, ever made ne statements b4 'bout politks, they ask us to vote yes on 73.   lemme declare that i'm a christian n' a registered demokrat.   tim fong recently posted up a very interesting article on his blog that challenges the "christian right."   here's a link to the original online publikation'f this article "the christian right and the rise of american fascism" by chris hedges on theocracywatch.org on 20041115: http://www.theocracywatch.org/chris_hedges_nov24_04.htm.   my favourite quote from this article's "[the christian right] is not mollified because john kerry prays or jimmy carter teaches sunday school."   ok, aktually, here's the full paragraph, which might appear a bit harsher: "All debates with the Christian Right are useless.   We cannot reach this movement.   It does not want a dialogue.   It cares nothing for rational thought and discussion.   It is not mollified because John Kerry prays or Jimmy Carter teaches Sunday School.   These naive attempts to reach out to a movement bent on our destruction, to prove to them that we too have 'values,' would be humorous if the stakes were not so deadly.   They hate us.   They hate the liberal, enlightened world formed by the Constitution.   Our opinions do not count."   i want to pt out that the author chris hedges has a master of divinity degree from harvard divinity skool but also say that i don't agree w/ everything he sez or 'specially how he sez those things yet agree w/ some'f the things he sez.   some'f my friends/family/readers'd be quick to love or hate this article, but i urge that u don't form an opinion until after u've reall read the article.   i've provided the link; so yes, plz read the article b4 u form an opinion.   as i've implied, i personally don't love or hate the article but find it very interesting n' worthy'f studying n' discussing.   i s'ppose i'd say i like the article but don't love it.   i certainly dont' hate the article.   1 thing i dislike 'bout the raticle that u can witness from the short clip i've just posted is how it perpetuates the polarisation btwn "enlightened liberal" n' "christian."   i have anti.christian friends that firmly believe that all christians r just plain stoopid.   that's very false.   christians neither need to be stoopid nor unedukated.   i admit tho' that there r stoopid, unedukated, ignorant christians, yes.   neway, that's beside the pt.   the real pt is that the opposite'f "christian" is not "liberal"!   that's quite the fallacy.   the real opposite'f "christian" is "anti.christian," n' anti.christians r neither all liberals nor all conservatives.   i know anti.christians that r conservatives.   last nite, being 'mongst a berkeley crowd, i was quickly reminded that in berkeley, many if not most christians ('least the 1s i knew) were "liberals" or 'least demokrats cos they supported social justice.   @ the same time, most conservatives or repulikkkans i knew weren't so often christians cos they were either more interested in the materialitik drive'f capitalism or else interested in the individualistik freedoms'f libertarianism.   lemme make claer tho' that i do realise well that berkeley does not represent the majority'f amerikkka.   sure, perhaps in much'f the usa, many "conservatives" r'f the moral christian type, while many liberals r'f the "legalise pot" variety. *shrug* i highly doubt that, yet... *shrug* (u could either call that the "ideal" or the worst case scenario.)

    [later] my thoughts on prop 73, which asks that parents'f underage women/gurls be notified if the gurl wants to get an abortion: i'm not an anit.choice voter cos i don't believe abortion should be regulated by legislation that bans it but by policies that stop unwanted pregnancies @ the source, which means funding more edukation 4 the underpriveleged n' providing better resources 4 helping not so rich ppl raise kids.   in a world where the rich get richer n' the poor get poorer, it's hard 4 the poor to raise kids.   thus, yah... i don't believe so much in anti.choice legislation which i consider not to be pro.family.   if i were to say "i don't believe that abortion should be regulated by legislation," then the smart christian right supporter should say, "well, then u should also not believe that murder should be regulated by legislation."   that might be smart thing to say.   hwoever, my pt's that 2 often abortion's an issue'f socio.ekonomic inequity.   in a way, i'm tempted to say that rich gurls should be banned from having abortions, while poor gurls should have the option only cos this should put more pressure on gov't to provide better resources n' edukation 4 those that rn't so rich.   abortion's not a good thing.   i know that, n' i know that so.called "liberal" leaders like john kerry also know that.   4 ppl like me the debates not over whether abortion's a good thing or not but whether the "conservatives" way'f dealing w/ it is the best or not!   u got it?   what 'bout abortions in cases where the unborn baby has some really bad birth defekt coming or in cases'f rape???   mmmm.... now u bring up more questions.   let's discuss them later.

    some'f my friends who r'f the "christian right" (where perhaps u can say i'm from the "christian left") say they vote 4 republikans cos they're single issue voters n' r pro.life.   well... i firmly believe that abortion (or gay marriage) is not the only christian issue but that matters'f social equality also very much evidently concerned jesus in his time on earth n' in his reign from heaven.   i believe it's no less christian 4 me to join the 80.20 initiative n' say that making sure a minoirty ppl doesn't get robbed'f its voice to be my single issue.   is this just a worldly issue?   no, i c that jesus showed that no person should say he/she has a hi n' mighty position 'bove others cos'f their birthright or race.

    now back to the real issue'f prop 73:   altho' i'm rather firm in my views 'bout how the issue'f abortion should be dealt w/ not so much by leigslation that bans it but by providing better resources to poor ppl who get pregnant n' don't have the means to support kids, i also understand that prop 73 deals w/ underage kids not adult women.   aktually, to me, that does change things a li'l.   do i worry 'bout "kids 2day"?   heck yah, i worry 'bout "kids 2day."   just 2day, i saw on the nbc today show that ~42.7%'f teenage boys n' gurls say that they freely participate in 0r@l $3x cos it's not real $3x n' thus preserves their v!rg!n!+y.   hrm....the debate this morn was whether that means we need to be more trikt on kids 'bout $3x or if we've been so strikt on kids, telling them that theyv'e gotta maintain their v!rg!n!+y that they've been left w/ no alternative but to have lots n' lots'f 0r@l $3x.   hrm, this really bothers n' troubles me.   it really does.   i don't want my kids to have this kind'f view, no.   i mean, shoot... whatever happened to having kids be just so nerdy that they can't get $3x'f ne kind no matter how hard they try?   ha ha ha... dude, honsetly, that ain't the solution altho' i fear that many ppl'f my generation who'll soon have kids might aktually think that's the solution. [quite a bit later] : i dunno; when i hear 'bout stuff like this today show segment, i aktually get scared 'bout someday becoming a parent.   there's a stark contrast btwn ideals n' reality, n' we need real world solutions.   it doesn't suffice to say we'll just hide our families w/in the safe walls'f the church.   we need to teach our future kids somehow to apply morality to the real world.

    [later] : neway, lemme share w/ u how i plan to vote:
    - 73: termination of minor's pregnancy. waiting period and parental notification.   undecided
    - 74: public school teachers. waiting period for permanent status   no
    - 75: public employee union dues   no
    - 76: school funding. state spending.   no
    - 77: reapportionment   no
    - 78: prescription drugs. discounts.   no
    - 79: cheaper prescription drugs for californians act. state-negotiated rebates.   yes
    - 80: affordable electricty & preventing blackouts act.   yes

    regarding the abortion issue 'gain...   i'm also convinced that legislative bans on abortion only encourage dangerous praktices such as back.alley abortions n' experimentation w/ weird, unproven drugs, n' all sorts'f just wacked up cr@p.   sooo... am i leaning 2wards 1 side or the other?   :-/   i imagine that my pro.choice friends'll try to pressure me by saying that i'm being brainwashed by church n' i'm not thinking 4 myself.   this society does place a strong emphasis on individuality after all.   my some'f anti.choice friends (the church.going 1s, which is prob'ly the majority'f my anti.choice friends)'ll say that i need to listen to god n' that god's definitely supports anti.choice legislation. :-/ well... *shrug* we're back to the whole theocracy topik n' all... which... *shrug* isn't the topik i wanna chatter 'bout rt now, or else we'll get into how this country's in iraq s'pposedly battling a gov't that doesn't have religious freedom but we're s'pposedly also taking 'way religious freedom in our own country n'... that's a whole 'nother topik cos so many ppl either think that the stealing'f our religious freedom means either just the restriktions on christian faith or else restriktions on relgions other than christian faiths, while few realise it really encompasses both!   that is, if u'r gonna fight 4 religious freedom in this country as a christian, then u really ought to be fight 4 the religious freedom'f muslims n' branch davidians or whatnot as well, i guess.   i dunno if i love all aspekts'f that, but i s'ppose it's sort'f like how i like n' hate the aclu @ 1nce cos, on 1 hand, they help protekt ppl such as exploited minorities but also support like neo.nazis etc.   civil liberties, freedoms... ugh, it's all such a headache.   sure, i enjoy them, but they're a headache to debate in a berkeley café such as the extinkt wall berlin, in a dorm rm late @ nite, in a slum apt on southside, or on the internet 10 yrs later.   they really r!   i never wanted to be a poli sci major.   last nite, i attended a cal engineering alumni association event... yet i know issues like civil liberties n' freedoms affekt all'f us, including engrs.

    as much as i enjoy my profession, i've gotta admit that 2day, while fighting silly valley traffik to have lunch w/ kaela n' her classmate friend rachel @ the mccarthy ranch yan can restaurant, i thought, "this industry's full'f frustrated, nerdy guys so h3ll.bent on trying to prove that they're kewl or masculine in all sorts'f ways: driving fancy cars, cutting ppl off on expresswys, shooting guns, pumping iron, buying fancy clothes, doing taekwondo, riding motorcycles..."   honestly, i've come to realise that the lack'f female presence in the engrng community has quite a negative effekt, not that i'm saying nething so lewd n' perverted that there needs to be attraktive women 4 nerds to get w/ or have affairs w/ or nething but that a co.ed environment just help lower that obvious frustrative tension that builds in such a male dominant situation.   seriously!

    [later] i'm still@werk.com, but i really need to get out'f here.   most ppl've left now cos it's late.   2nite, we're s'pposed to go to dave n' buster's w/ our grx t3s couples bible study small group.   2morrow?   i dunno what i'm gonna do w/ 2morrow. *sigh* kaela's going up to hayward 4 some chiropraktic seminar.   me? i'm not sure if maybe i should drive her n' her classmates up there n' then cruise on up to berkeley to hang w/ roland.   i could also 1st, b4 going all the way up, werkout in the bally total fitness gym in hayward or san leandro.   i wonder which 1s less ghetto.   i'm guessing san leandro cos toby n' betty live in a nice place, n' it's in san leandro.   i'm confused.   time moves so fast, n' i feel a li'l helpless, a li'l stranded.

    lemme tell u, tho': u haven't heard the end'f my windbaggin' off 'bout family values, etc.   i want to share w/ u some things i wrote in an e.mail to an ol' friend 'bout the idea'f young parenthood n' starting a family, etc.   i wanted to share that w/ u 2day but didn't get a chance.   it's not like i aktually have 'lot'f time to write in my journal.   if u think i spend 'lot'f time writing, u should realise that i type very fast.   does that mean i think really fast as well?   uh...


    2005.10.24

    willing to do nuthin' on short notice

    ħ: well, 'twas a decently full wknd in the bay area:

    (by the way, while writing that list, several hrs passed; i.e., i started writing in the morn but didn't finish.   now it's evening.) : i need to get exercise 2nite.   i had a gd&t (geometric dimensioning n' tolerancing) class 2day.   4 lunch, i went w/ a couple'f cowerkers to the new quizno's by me n' kaela's house.

    'twas a tuff decision on sat to go up to the east bay.   i knew our house had lots'f chores to be done n' that no 1 else'd do them.   i've got many housechores n' much yardwerk to do.   'least i got lots done on sun.   neway, on sat, i just felt like i needed some social interaktion, n' that's why i travelled on up.   honestly, i miss having friends that r willing to come over or go out n' do nuthin' @ short notice.   i was a friend like that n' had friends like that.   i mean, i was a friend like that n' had friends like that when i was in berkeley.   these days i don't have so many friends like that even tho' duk's kewl 'nuff to be like that now n' then.   i think others'f my church friends'd be 2, but i understand it's harder to be like that when u'r married n' all.   i know.

    1043p: after werk, i werked out in the werk.com gym.   i lifted weights n' did stairmaster n' ab stuff.   @ quizno's 2day, i had this "double angus steak n' cheese sandwich cos my cowerker n' i used this special 2 regular sandwiches 4 $9.99 coupon, so i figured i'd get the most expen$ive $andwich.   it was ok but not great.   i ate the leftovers on my way out'f the parking lot @ werk.   i went gro¢ery $hopping @ albertsons n' used some coupons 4 free stuff that i got via fatwallet.com deals, u know?   when i got home, i ate some leftover asian fud from yan can from fri's lunch.   i was gonna eat leftovers from fri nite's dave n' buster's dinner but instead ate leftovers from last nite's joraengi dduhkbokki dinner.   i was stuffed.

    u know 1 thing?   when we got our dish netwerk back, n' we got kbs back... man, i realised that i missed having such non.trashy programming 'gain.   like... dude, i realise well that i sound like the toby maguire charakter from pleasantville, but it's nice to watch these shows where men r chivalrous gentlemen n' women r really laides n' things r so romantik n' ppl care 'bout their families...   heh, really, i know i sound like the dude from pleasantville, but whatever, man!


    2005.10.26

    sooni barked 2ice

    /: 4 the past 3 days, i've been taking an engineering drawing n' geometrik dimensioning n' tolerancing class @ werk.   i've learned 'lot.   i like it.   there's lot i didn't learn in skool that i need to know in order to werk as an engr.   in fakt, when i look back upon my edukation, like... it's kind'f scary to me all the things i didn't learn during my undergrad @ berkeley... *shrug* i learned 'lot'f theory... n' i guess i specialised more in automatic controls n' not so much in mechanical design.   i learned more 'bout mechanical design during my master degree program @ sjsu.   wow, it's interesting n' crazy to me to look back upon those yrs (both my undergrad n' grad yrs).

    on mon, @ lunch, i went w/ 2 cowerkers/classmates to the quizno's near my house 4 lunch.   on tues, i went home to pick up the beautiful kaela hwang n' sooni 4 lunch.   we tried to lunch @ ¥ yeitnal jjajang, but 'twas 2 croweded, so we luncheoned @ galleria market instead. [later] i ate yookgyeijang, n' kaela had  aljjigae.   sooni didn't eat nething but just sat there n' was very cute.   this korean ajuhssi mailman came n' sat down @ a nearby picnic table to eat his lunch, n' sooni barked @ him upon recognising the usps uniform.   funny, huh?   she barked @ him just cos'f his uniform, but she went up n' let him pet her when she saw he was a nice guy.   funny, isn't it?   dogs just don't like mailmen!!!   last yr, a ups carrier saw me n' sooni walkin' n' pulled over to give us some doggie treats.   do doggies like ups deliverypersons better? *shrug*

    last nite, kaela n' i went to taekwondo praktice.   b4 that, we went to get some korean drama dvds n' buy a $5 pumpkin from the pumpkin patch in the galleria market parking lot.   after praktice, we took duk out to dinner @ ¥ yeitnal jjajang.   kaela orderd ¥; i ordered soondae.   since duk had « gochu jjambong, we had a good variety @ our table.

    i'd like to go to the bally total fitness gym 2nite to get some exercise.   i'd like to; we'll c.

    [later] 1013p: well, i didn't make it to bally's but went to my werk.com gym.   i mostly just lifted weights.   i lifted weights n' did some abwerk n' stretched.   that's all.   i didn't do ne cardio but should've.   *shrug* i felt like stretching more.   my lower back's been stiff n' maybe has been hurting a li'l.   thus i wanted to stretch more.   after werking out n' showering, i drove home n' made some nokcha soojeibi.   i put in lots'f veggies n' odaeng n'  uhmook n' buhsuht.   i ate it.   it was very hot, ū uhlkeunhae.   i put in ߰ gochoojanggwa gochoogaroo.   i'm very full.

    dude, rt now, on the national geographic channel, i'm watching a show called science of the bible.   rt now, it's just starting, n' they're talkin' 'bout what kind'f diseases were in judea during jesus's time.   they sed that back in those days, over there, there were these big, open, publik, co.ed bahtrooms where ppl'd poop all 2gether n' then wipe their butts w/ this stick that sat in h2o.   ppl shared those sticks.   hrm, wow... this sounds really gross.   however, neway, parasites spread (obviously) cos'f that.   wow, this is an interesting program!

    [later] 1158p: aktually, yesterday, sooni barked 2ice: she barked @ the korean ajuhssi mailman, n' she barked @ a huge, inflated tyranosaurus rex @ the pumpkin patch.


    2005.10.27~28

    bizness research on wikipedia.org

    ħ: k, dude, all i know's that my doggy doesn't have a halloween costume yet 4 this yr, n' she needs a halloween costume 4 this yr.   i don't want just to dress her up in last yr's costume, rt?   1 thing i like doing on wikipedia.org's to look up the history n' background'f various biznesses/companies to figure out if i like them n' want to support them or not.




    2005.10.28

    safeway sandwich

    ݿ geumyoil ohoo: here's sumpthin' stoopid: http://www.ownapieceofamerica.com/.   after visiting that site, i now s'pposedly own lot #3007643: "your land is situated in the southwest one quarter of the northwest one quarter of the northwest one quarter of the northeast one quarter of s21, 76n, r21 e, san bernadino meridian, according to the official plat thereof the county of san bernadino, state of california."   hrm, pretty stoopid; n' i think it's just a site to collekt e.mails 4 spam, u know?   stoopid, stoopid, stoopid.

    [later] *sigh* i'm a li'l worn out.   i've been werking hard.   last nite, i missed taekwondo praktice n' also didn't go to the gym.   i'm rather frustrated 'bout that.   u c, the beautiful kaela hwang finished class early yesterday.   she went to the gym n' to whole fuds.   then she brought some dinner home from whole fuds n' told me to come home, eat dinner, n' carve the pumpkin w/ her.   she called me n' sed that ~500p.   originally, i was hyped to go to sparring praktice; but when she sed that, i figured i'd better go home n' spend some quality time w/ her.   however, i ended up stuck @ the office 4 'least 'nother 2 hrs.   @ that pt, i went home.   i was 2 late 4 taekwondo praktice.   i figured i'd go home even tho' i really wanted to hit the gym.   when i got home, kaela was just watching tv w/ her study papers in front'f her like she does so often.   i ate my fud, n' well... that's 'bout it.   *sigh* it's hard to have quality time, u know that???   i mean, shoot, i've gotta werk.   i've gotta werk to earn a living, to make sure we have a roof over our heads n' fud.   it cms that so often, i come home n' kaela's off studying... then i'm home n' she's not.   the 1tym that she comes home early, i can't.   it's rather frustrating, u know?   yah, i'm a bit disgruntled 'bout that.   it cms like that's the story'f my life this past yr, u know?   i mean, shoot... b4 that, yah... kaela n' i used to c each other sooo much n' we cmed to be the envy'f many couples @ our ol' church cos we were able to spend so much time 2gether.   however, that all disappeared.   i learned to accept that.   i learned well to accept that.   i learned not to try to force it.   i learned to let go.   maybe the idea'f getting to spend so much time w/ kaela was sumpthin' i was foolishly clinging onto, sumtphin' i needed to let go.   thus, i eventually learned to let go, i guess.   it's not a great thing, but maybe it's what i needed to do @ this pt in my life.   *shrug* i can't always be home; kaela can't always be home.   she's in skool, n' i'm honestly struggling to get my career off the ground.   it's tuff, man.   i've gotta develop a decent reputation 4 myself @ my company n' in the industry, n' it's really tuff.   i don't wanna be known as a slacker.   i want ppl to say i'm responsible, knowledgeable, n' skilled.   yah, i'd like that.   i guess some ppl'd say it's better that i werk long hrs now rather than later when we might have kids, rt?

    would it be ¢heaper to use a small electric "space" heater to stay warm in a localised part'f the house this winter or to continue just using the central furnace?   hrm, this 1 fool.com article sez we should cook more in the winter as it'll $ave $$$ on eating out n' warm up the house @ the same time.   good idea.   ok, here's a decent article: http://www.drlaura.com/sah/budget.html?mode=view&tile=1&id=1674   true, we've gotta think 'bout all sort'f mechanical efficiencies, how much heat's being lost thru the ducts, the ¢o$t'f natural gas n' elektricity in our area, etc.   shoot, in gen'l, we prob'ly need more throw blankies, n' i prob'ly should get a robe or sumpthin' 4 'round the house @ nite, rt? *shrug*   i, like so many homeowners, 'm scared "$#!+less" 'bout this upcoming winter's natural gas heating bill.   i also heard that this winter won't be that cold.   that cheers most ppl up, but it's 2 doses'f bad news 4 me cos the snowboarding season's starting relatively late this yr ('specially compared to last yr).   last yr, the snowboarding season started in the 1st 0.5'f oktober; but this yr, it won't get started till well into november.   to $ave $$$, we should take more $howers @ the gym instead'f @ home, but that never really werks.

    [later] partly cos i was so disappointed 'bout not getting exercise last nite n' partly cos i just should, i went jogging this morn w/ sooni.   i also lifted weights n' did a li'l precord in the werk.com gym 2day.   last nite, i ate that <whole fuds macaroni n' cheese (kaela always buys this 4 some reason even tho' it's prob'ly the mo$t expen$ive mac n' cheese u'll ever c.), some kind'f cheesy lasagne, n' some kind'f teriyaki.tasting veggies.   [later] this morn, i ate a gogooma (sweet potato) n' an odwalla carrot juice.   4 lunch, i ate a weight watchers smart ones thai chicken noodle entr&ecute; (which ain't ¢heap @ $2 a pop) n' 2 albertsons brand nonfat yogurts.   2nite, we have the grx couples connektion potluck.

    [later] ppl used to say that coffee n' tea weren't so good 4 u, that u should drink them in moderation cos'f the caffeine.   nowadays, it's so trendy to rave 'bout the s'pposed posi+ive effekts'f these beverages.   crazy, huh?   they say it's healthy to drink 1~2 cups'f this stuff each day, n' that green tea's the healthiest.

    [a li'l later] oh yah, yesterday, during my lunchbrk, i went 4 my wkly chiropraktic apptmnt w/ shaun.   these days, kaela comes into the rm to watch.   after that, i swung by safeway@rivermark to buy a $5.99 sandwich lunch deal thingy: a "smokestack" sandwich on multi.grain baguette, a bag'f baked lay's potato chips, n' a "medium" (32 oz!!!) diet pepsi.   i drink less diet cola than i did several yrs 'go.   i s'ppose that's cos i eat less fast fud.   why do i eat less fast fud? cos i guess the ¢o$t adds up n' there r plenty'f nice asian restaurants 'round my werkplace neway.   when i ate lots'f fast fud was when i werked in marin county, rt?   i eat more frozen entrées nowadays tho'; that's bad cos'f the na+.


    2005.10.31

    halloween

    ħ: it's halloween 2day.   it's mon.   Ͽ.   mansuhngjuhl = halloween.   yesterday, daylite saving time ended.   thus, yesterday was a longer day than normal.   yesterday was sunday.   ϿϿ.     in the morn, yesterday, i jogged w/ sooni to stan's donuts, bought some (4) donuts, n' walked back.   it was decent exercise, altho' thru.out the day, i ended up eating 3'f the 4 doughnuts, which isn't good.   yesterday evening, the beautiful kaela hwang n' i cooked some cioppino.   here's the recipe we sort'f used: http://www.soupsong.com/rcioppin.html.   yesterday was sunday, but i haven't updatedchu yet on all sorts'f things that happened this wknd, i s'ppose.   *shrug* not that this wknd was the most happenin' wknd ever or nething...

    [later] i'll try to updatechu, try...:

    1 might say that our wknd sounded so "settled down," so suburban familyish.   >:-( ok, so we didn't go to a wild, drunken halloween party, no.   so what?   listen, it's not that i don't want to do those fun things i did in my youth such as clubbing, but that nowadays i don't have the ppl to go w/.   sure, i could go w/ like kaela's young classmates, but no... that's not the pt.   i miss going clubbin' w/ the ol' cal taekwondo p. crew.   i sure as heck miss going k.clubbing (korean clubbing).   shoot, heaven knows i'd surely love to hit up whatever club has taken bellagio/avalon's place.   however, dude, i just sure as heck don't have the friends to go w/ like i used to.   that being the case, i'd prefer to do just the "settled down," "married couple" things.   i don't really have a choice.   really, it's not that i'm now a boring guy; i just don't have the rt friends to "party" w/ like i used to, in a way.   so i mean, yah... go 'head n' rip on how my wknd was just full'f church; costco; wal*mart; bed, bath, & beyond... i'm 30 yrs old.   i'm no less hip than i used to be.   of course, i feel pressure to stay hip n' kewl; but dude... i also feel pressure to have a real career, etc.   sure, i'd like to have a clean house n' a beautiful yard.   growing up... growing up v. growing old...   i try not to do 2 many things.   in hi skool, my mom sed i was spreading myself 2 thin w/ 2 many aktivities.   in college, i tried to downsize or consolidate or whatever.   i'm not that "suburban."   i'm not that "settled down."

    as i sed, i know it sounds pathetik, but i miss hangin' out in valley fair like the mallrats we used to be.   i don't have the highest expektations 4 this upcoming snowboarding season as it hasn't rained much in the bay area or snowed much in tahoe yet.   sure, i want to snowboard 'lot this winter n' still hope to.   i'm just "hoping 4 the best but expekting the worst." (alphaville's "forever young) [later] not only's 2day halloween, but it's the last day'f oktober.

    [later] : i understand i have no rt to be, but i'm a li'l disappointed that not 1 person's signed my current gbook.   sometimes, my set'f gbook questions has 1 particular question that no 1 wants to answer.   is that the case rt now? *shrug* is it either'f the halloween questions??? *shrug*   hrm, i'd best review my questions to make sure i didn't write sumpthin' wrong or accidentally ask some really obscene question or sumpthin'.   [a li'l later] so what's wrong w/ my gbook questions?   by 2morrow, i'll need to change those halloween questions.   i can turn'em into t.giving questions or christmas questions or just totally change'em.

    [later] as i was saying, not only's 2day halloween, but it's the last day'f oktober.   similarly, not only's 2day the last day'f oktober, but 2morrow's the 1st day'f november.   not only's 2morrow the 1st day'f november, but november's the last month b4 december, which's the last month'f the yr.   then it'll be 2006.

    while we're on the topik'f gettin' older, setllin' down, n' becoming unhip, lemme discuss w/ u 1nce 'gain how i plan to vote in november's cali4nia state "special" elektion.   as i sed b4, i plan to vote no on props 74~78 n' yes on props 79 n' 80.   b4 i sed i was undecided 'bout prop 73.   honestly, i'm leaning 2wards voting yes, which means i'm saying that a helpless teenage gurl needs to let her parents know n' wait 48 hrs b4 she can have an abortion.   (she's already prob'ly scared $#!+less!   why make life ne harder 4 her than it already is?!?!)   lemme tell u: taking 'way abortion rts doesn't cm to do nething 2ards winning ppl over to the lord.   it cms to just stir up bad feelings n' resentment, if u ask me.   what's to say that a woman or family denied'f the rt to abortion'll in ne way become ne more christian?   really, nuthin'!   i imagine, there might be times when a unintentionally pregnant woman gets an abortion, realises the bad things she's done n' the general depravity'f humankind, n' then realises that the only path to salvation's thru jesus christo.   i can imagine that.   however, i can imagine cases where a woman or a family who's prevented from getting an abortion just ends up having a miserable life n' ends up hating every1 n' hating god.   *shrug* n' then the kid grows up unloved, finds out his parents wanted to abort him/her n' ends up hating every1 n' hating god.   sure, i can imagine that could happen.   thus i don't support legislation that'd make abortion illegal.   thus why would i ever say that i'm "leaning 2wards" voting yes on prop 73?!?!   heh, i mentioned b4 that certain leaders @ our church have asked us to support prop 73, which could very well be the worst reason to vote 4 nething.   after all, i described my disgust w/ church leaders who told their congregation to vote 4 dubyah bush.   that is disgusting, if u ask me.   christian leaders outside'f amerikkka agree that that was a total abuse'f power n' disgraceful.   why would i ever say that i'm "leaning 2wards" voting yes on prop 73?   1st off, i can understand what pastor dave meant by saying it's a matter'f making parents communicate w/ their kids, not so much a question'f the whoel abortion part'f it.   yah, i can buy that much.   yah, the govt maybe should make sure that parents r good parents, that they communicate w/ their kids.   *shrug* however, lemme tell u sumpthin' else: i'm mostly "leaning 2wards" voting yes on prop 73 cos i want to make a strong statement that i vote w/ the democratik party n' support them cos they promote a gov't that is more responsible 'bout social welfare (as well as the environment), not cos i lack family values or morals.   [later] allow me to declare that both the pro.choice n' anti.choice platforms can be lead 2wards theocracry.   as much as i'm not anti.choice, i've gotta admit that pro.choice can also be a "faith.based" stand.   u've gotta keep in mind that altho' i'm not 1'f those libertarian freaks that call up ksfo to talk 'bout how publik skools r 4cing kids to become muslims, i've gotta say that i want to make sure that christians r not denied their freedom'f religion.

    [later] kaela 4got her fon @ home 2day but sent me an e.mail this morn, asking if i'll be home early to help carve the pumpkin.   yah, i'll surely try.   i have many deadlines on tues morn, but i'll certainly try to come home early to participate in halloween aktivities.   i guess i'll pass out candy 2nite.   should i try to do a costume?   dude, now that's the question.

    [later] the autumn n' winter holidays, man...   *sigh* these "holidays" r all so fud.oriented!   dude, soon, we'll need to think 'bout christmas presents, christmas cards, christmas trees, christmas wreaths...

    [later] , 831p: well, i didn't dress up @ all 4 halloween.   i ended up coming home early to carve the pumpkin.   i didn't do a great job, but i did it all myself.   man, we've been eating 'lot lately.   last nite, we ate all that cioppino n' alaskan king crab leg.   i ate cioppino leftovers 4 lunch @ werk.   2nite, kaela grilled up 3 sausages (some kind'f gourmet cranberry poultry sausages) from whole fuds, cut 'em up, n' put them over some salad.

    [later] 957p: it's been a long time since i did a googlism, so here we go:
    googlism for: kaela kaela is engaged
    kaela is wearing style no
    kaela is helluva beautiful
    kaela is the wife
    kaela is riding the watch hill carosel in rhode island
    kaela is absolutely beautiful
    kaela is searched for the queen egg at belior weyr
    kaela is that to me it is just so obvious
    kaela is 19
    kaela is prickly at first and later icily sensuous
    kaela is being pursued
    kaela is begging me for some medicine because her stomach hurts
    kaela is at her first official sleepover tonight her godmothers daughter was throwing one
    kaela is relatively new to the sea dragons
    kaela is probably one of my first online friends ever
    kaela is practically reading
    kaela is always high spirited
    kaela is a 6
    kaela is suspicious because troy says he's the son of her old lover
    kaela is kept quite busy by her step teenagers
    kaela is looking forward to supporting her in her wedding on august 3 of this year
    kaela is in the position where
    kaela is
    kaela is the best
    kaela is there
    kaela is a second grader at landisville primary
    kaela is rescued when the normans attack the castle where she is held hostage
    kaela is a wonderful thing
    kaela is doing very well
    kaela is due to start in the middle of march
    kaela is always thinking up ideas for new simms but would be more then happy to hear any ideas
    kaela is a zambian national living in zambia
    kaela is blessed with kind family and friends here to celebrate her 5th birthday
    kaela is the only one i know who hasn't gotten hers also
    kaela is working on a web
    kaela is out of biss am
    kaela is super duper, cooler than a freezer full of creamsicles
    kaela is in good hands
    kaela is being a good parent
    kaela is going to be a junior at wesleyan
    kaela is very nice
    kaela is going somewhere special
    kaela is attending an interesting class
    kaela is taken by lianna
    kaela is joined by jezebel
    kaela is my mother
    kaela is gorgeous
    kaela is here now looking at my books and playing with the wuzzlers
    kaela is awesome kaela is saying the following
    kaela is a senior at our lady of lordes high school and is from hopewell jct
    kaela is snug as a bug in a rug
    kaela is ready to play
    kaela is not one to get so upset
    kaela is my friend and since she ha
    kaela is young too qt2> lol kaela> yeah
    kaela is too little to travel long distance
    kaela is the captain
    kaela is enjoying her new baby sister
    kaela is my age and leanna is only three years younger it was fun
    kaela is all mine
    kaela is really cute
    kaela is attacked
    kaela is er inmiddels achter dat karl's zoon niet is wie hij zegt te zijn
    kaela is 1 of our 4 american eskimos 967849771
    kaela is leaning against rock
    kaela is sitting quietly at a table
    kaela is the most ornate of this stan winston series
    kaela is having a slight problem
    kaela is a middle
    kaela is sitting on the bed
    kaela is resting here
    kaela is not entered in the current competition
    kaela is tugging at the hem of her robe

    [later] 1132p: dude, u know what i haven't had in a long time (n' i s'ppose less often in gen'l since moving out'f berkeley)?   aguas frescas!!!   yah, i haven't had those much lately.   i guess i haven't patronised taquerias or burritorias as much since moving south.   there r just so many'f other genres'f fud down here, so i guess... *shrug* like, up north, in certain neighbourhoods, the only kind'f "ethnic" fud 'round is mexican fud.   that's simply not so much the case in the neighbourhoods i frequent down here.   also, i just can't afford to buy lunch as often.   more often, i've just gotta eat them frozen entrées or leftovers, which isn't necessarily a bad idea.   i've always gotta monitor my na+ intake tho'.

    *sigh* so not that many trick.or.treaters visited this yr.   more came last yr.   that's ok; more leftover candy 4 me.   last time, i pretty much ran out.   i have lots'f rocky road candy bars.   2nite, i was on the fon w/ toby.   he put on a good dracula show 4 his visitors.   he was like "the count" from sesame street (plaza sesamo).

    so dude... apparently, phil huang's gonna be jeopardy 2morrow nite.   whah?!   *shrug* that's what i read a while 'go in an e.mail from his friend amy fuller, who's a missionary in mexico.   if u 'member, phil visited our house w/ her some months 'go.   was it last yr or this yr? *shrug*   it's been a while.   dude, if this is true, then, dude! u've gotta watch phil on jeopardy!!!


    2005.11.01~02

    nov begins (n' a long.winded lekture on feminism)

    ȭ : it's the 1st day'f november.   think now 'bout song titles that involve names'f months: wyclef jean's "gone till november," green day's "wake me up when september ends," counting crows' "a long december"...   yes, i realise that i went out'f order.   shall i start over??? green day's "wake me up when september ends," wyclef jean's "gone till november," n' counting crows' "a long december"...   well, here's a much, much, much better list: "song titles with months in them (http://www.users.globalnet.co.uk/~msmith03/songtitles/songmonth.htm).   aw, man!   i could've easily named off all 3'f those november songs! jean wyclef's "gone till november," guns n' roses' "november rain," n' morissey's "november spawned a moster"...   dude, i was a big morrissey/smiths fan in hi skool n' college.   hrm, aktually, that list isn't good.   in fakt, it's horrible.   i think there r many more songs that this guy missed.   after all, he didn't even get the counting crows song.   it's a really weird list w/ lots'f old songs n' then some new songs... *shrug* maybe song titles w/ months in them rn't so common. *shrug*

    wow, so how can i watch phil on jeopardy 2nite?   dude, didju watch his li'l blurb on the internet??? http://www.jeopardy.com/howdies/4861_huang_1HoeB.ram   dude, ain't that kewl?   he only addresses southern california. >:-/ eh, neway, that makes sense... many bay area folks prob'ly won't feel such a strong bond to an irviner, rt?   he'll be on ch 7 (kgo) @ 700p.   ksby, santa barbara, santa maria, san luis obispo, ca???   oh! @ 1st i thought that was ch 8 up here; but then i realised why that set'f call letters sounded familiar: didn't my sister used to werk 4 them?   well, i know the show can't be live, so has it already been taped?   if so, when???   dude, i need the details.   this is amazing!   2morrow's his b.day 2!   phil's a smart guy, so i believe he can win.   i mean, sure, he'll prob'ly have very smart, qualified opponents, so it's not guaranteed.   however, he's very smart.   dangit, why don't i have tivo?!   well, i don't want tivo; rather, i want a digital video recorder (dvr) as well as a dvd recorder.

    so 2day, while getting dressed in the men's locker room after werking out in the werk.com gym during my lunchbrk, i thought 'gain 'bout how, even tho' the silly valley's 1'f the greatest places on earth, i hate how the silly valley tech industry's full'f unpleasant, frustrated guys.   'member how i sed this bad atmosphere's cos the industry's so male dominant w/ so few women?   as i was saying, it's not cos all these frustrated men need $3xual objekts 'round.   they don't need women to flirt w/, to get w/, or to have affairs w/, no!   i had sed that a more co.ed environment's usually just more pleasant, n' i realised sumpthin' more.   the big prob's that the lack'f females in the industry direktly causes the competitive jerkness to come out in guys.   it's a survival instinkt thing, an animalistik thing.   it's obviously the lack'f female pheromones in the air that causes guys to feel that they're all competiting w/ 1 'nother, that it's a dog eat dog world, that it's every man 4 himself.   it's a purely biochemical phenomenon!   'gain, it's not necessarily a $3xual thing!   guys rn't necessarily loking 4 $3x.   it's not that evil n' depraved.   after all, perhaps they need women in the gen'l vicinity to be sisters or in some cases moms, aunts, n' grandmas.   contrary to what amerikan tv shows, life's not all 'bout pure animal lust!   life's not all 'bout $3x.   lemme ask u: guys, r u able to have normal friendships n' non.romantik/non.$#xual relationships w/ women?   i hope so.   me, i've always been very thankful to have grown up w/ an older sister.   u know that?

    neway, yah... 1) i'm further convinced that the lack'f women in the silly valley tech industry's what's the root'f ne "evil" here.   2) i'm now pondering if it's also perhaps women's refusal to play a posi+ive role in society that contributes to this "evil."   oooooh! now, i've (bunny ears) "struck a nerve"(end bunny ears).   really, even tho' i'm far from being 1'f those crazy, conservative n' am quite the feminist, i still insist that i must someday write a piece w/ a title like "feminism: why women get it wrong n' men don't get it."   i have much to say 'bout how self.proclaimed feminist women 2day have so misguidedly strayed from the true goals'f feminism.   to me, it's such a 2 wrongs don't make a rt situation, where women have cn how men have erred in taking family/marriage 4granted; abandoned morals 4 "wanton lust"; n' sold their souls 4 $$$ n' prestige n' have foolishly decided to follow the same path to make things worse instead'f doing what it takes to make things better.   my readers say: "1) wow, beno! u'r quite passionate 'bout this topik," n' "2) i dunno how things r in ur household, but things really rn't that bad! (maybe it's just u.   else, maybe it's just ur household.)"   oh, n' some many readers r also say: "dang, beno!   u've really become quite the conservative rush limbaugh fan since leaving berkeley, eh?   (n' u'r even worse since u've gone back to church!)"   hrm, altho' i'm just a li'l tempted to say "skrew u" to all 3'f those statements n/or accusations, i'm most most tempted to say it to the 3rd cos no, i'm not a conservative nor a neo.conservative, n' rush limbaugh's the spawn'f satan.   i'm not a misogynist; i'm a feminist.   i'm a male feminist.   i'm a hetero$3xual male feminist.   i believe that women should have an equal voice n' equal respekt as men in society n' in the household.   yah, i'm all 4 grrrl power, no doubt.

    "beno, u'r just bitter cos u probl'[y want ur wife to stay @ home, clean the house, bake cookies, n' make crafts all day; n' she obviously doesn't cos she's trying hard to establish a career 4 herself.   what a #@*%er u r!"   no, i'm not bitter; or 'least i don't think i'm bitter.   am i?   i never sed i wanted a stay@home wife that just cooks n' cleans.   lemme tell u: growing up as an awkward, fat kid, i think i somehow conditioned myself to believe that someday obtaining the admiration'f a beautiful gurl was the ultimate goal as i felt so unlovable.   (wow, what a sob story, man.)   neway, yah... perhaps more than other guys i've thought that in my past.   luckily, later in life i learned that i didn't need to have such a "desperate" mentality.   neway, i guess in gen'l i've been reminded from time to time that 1 shouldn't put faith in human being (to steal lyrics from the 1990s industrial group machines of loving grace).   finding love's great, but it's not the end all.   neway, what's my pt 'gain??? :-? oh yah, i guess it's that i've realised that there wouldn't be ne pt neway in trying to force kaela to be some1 she's not meant to be or whatever.   there's no pt in forcing my life to be sumpthin' it's not meant to be.   god has a purpose 4 each'f us.   k, that was 1 pt, but i had 'nother, which is this: no, i never necessarily wanted a domestik wife.   i never wanted a submissive wife.   did i ask 4 a troublemaker?   i guess so.   like... 1 thing i often tell younger guys, whether it's good or bad, is not to look so much 4 a gurl that makes a good "wife" or good mutha but rather go 4 the gurl u really want, i.e. marry "the other woman."   >:-( "hrm, that sounds really awful, man." yah, now that i put it in writing, it does. *shrug* does it sound cynical? :-/ i imagine it might.   not only does that make me sound bad, it makes my wife sound bad.   well, shoot, man; it depends on how u look @ it.

    "why r u so divisive?   why r u so subersive?"   hrm, am i being divisive?   am i being subversive?   1) subvert the dominant pardigm.   2) dominate the subversive paradigm.

    1nce upon a time, i was really awful n' if i wanted sumpthin', deep down inside, i knew i'd eventually buy it 4 myself.   nowadays, that's not the case as i just plain know i won't be able to afford everything i want.   i make more $$$ now, n' it's not that i want things that r more expen$ive.   sadly, perhaps reality has simply hit: i have bills to pay, mortgage to pay, taxes, utilities, utilities, utilities...

    a stoopid, stoopid t.giving madlib i filled out online:
    on thanksgiving day, while i was clot[ting] in the foyer a reflective heat exchanger burst through the front door.   it immediately jumped on the bidet and knocked over the uc berkeley diploma.   then it ran out of the room into the dungeon and elicit[ed] a madagascar hissing cockroach off the futon.   then, it knocked a glass of mercury and liquid nitrogen off the dining room table.   after -.873 minutes of chasing the heat exchanger through the house, i finally caught it and put it outside.   it quickly climbed the nearest habanero [chili].
    that wasn't funny @ all! >:-(

    am i a lonely man?

    'nother stoopid, stoopid t.giving madlib i filled out online:
    one day jet li was sitting in the game room when s/he noticed the calendar.   there were only 2.5 days until thanksgiving!   s/he had to hurry fast!   s/he grabbed some frosty chicks and made what looked sort of like a[n] autoclave.   s/he then basted it with a mixture of pancake batter and ethylene glycol (antifreeze), then dashed eraser dust on it.   then, for the eggnog, a mixture of sea water and sweat.

    soon, the doorbell rang.   jet li was stunned to see ephemeral katie couric compiling in the doorway.   "come in," said jet li, "and have some thanksgiving dinner."

    "but it's 2.5 days away still," protested katie couric.

    "who cares?" growled jet li, "just have some."

    "oh, okay," katie couric said meticulously.

    "come on.   you'll love the pupusas."

    "all right."


    2005.11.02

    expekt autumn visitors

    ħ: use promo code "mypetco2" @ petco.com to get some kind'f good di$¢ount (10% off $45+ or free shipping on $50+). *shrug* just use my link.

    this morn, i saw or 'least heard my 1st anti.prop.73 advert on tv.   hrm, i hate to say it, but that make me less sure 'bout how to vote on prop 73.   as i was saying, i was leaning 2wars voting yes in order to show how i'm taking a stand in voting no on arnold's props along w/ other demokrats but that i'm a demokrat cos i believe the gov't needs to take better care'f its ppl not cos i don't have morals.   however, as i sed, i hate anti.choice legislation cos it only encourages unsafe praktices such as back.alley abortions n' experimentation w/ weird drugs.   being pro.choice isn't being pro.abortion but rather being pro.life.   [later] neway, dude... i'm not totally in the mood to discuss politiks.

    this autumn, i s'ppose i'll try to meet up w/ a few visitors to the bay area: phil huang from irvine, fahad n' wendy habib from d.c., fabian furrer from china, n' jerin n' wami yu from utah.   this winter, perhaps kaela n' i'll drive down to socal 4 a li'l.   if so, i hope to meet up w/ some ol' friends down there as well.   this upcoming saturday's toby's b.day party as well as toby n' betty's housewarming party.   i need to get toby a b.day present.   what would he like?   fahad n' wendy r visiting soon.   i told fahad i'd rip a bunch'f musik n' burn it onto dvd 4 him.   i've gotta do that, man.   *breath*

    sandwiches you will like: 2day, after my chiropraktic apptmnt @ pwcc (palmer west chiropraktic college), i went w/ the beautiful kaela hwang to... well, 1st we tried to visit chubby's broiler on tasman n' lawrence to exploit their penny$aver free meal coupon, but their sign read that they won't honour the coupon @ lunch.   since pho queen was crowded w/ a line out the door, we went to steven's classic cheesesteaks or uh... i guess it might be called steven's philly cheesesteaks (1121 tasman dr.; sunnyvale, ca 94089; 408.734.2792).   expen$ive (w/ drinks n' onion rings) but delicious...   dude, here's a link to a ¢oupon that'll $ave u mucho moolah: http://www.mealdeals4u.com/mealdeals4u/ca/sunnyvale/stevesphilly.htm.   the ¢oupon simply gives u a free soft drink, but @ $1.05 a can, that's not bad.   i got kaela a shroom cheesesteak n' myself a mexicano cheesesteak.   we shared a $1.69 small order'f beer battered onion rings, n' i got kaela a bottle'f mango madness snapple n' myself a 12 oz. can'f diet cherry coke. [later] dude, that stuff's delicious but not healthy.

    what should i plan to do 2nite?   should i try to werkout in the gym?   should i try to go home, jog w/ sooni, n' cook dinner?   what should i do?   it's wednesday.

    [a li'l later] when we went to watch wallace n' gromit: the curse'f the wererabbit, we saw a preview 4 some cartoon 'bout wild forest animals that encounter overdeveloped suburban sprawl.   do u know the title'f this movie cos i 4got it.   neway, in the trailer, some animal's describing suburbia to other animals n' sez sumpthin' like, "we eat to live, but these people live to eat."   w/ the weather gettin' colder n' days gettin' shorter as winter approaches, i feel my body tempting me to eat more n' more.   yah, i believe my appetite's un4tunately increasing.   in the movie trailer, the animal continues to describe how humans exercise on treadmills or elliptical trainers to burn calories in order to eat even more.   *sigh* it's true.   it's ridiculous n' true.

    [later] hrm, ecost.com has some good deals on sony noise.cancelling headfons; very tempting.   [a li'l later] ha ha, funny: they have this cowon america 20gb portable a/v playa 4 $269.99... get this, the pic shown on the display in the image'f the produkt??? it's boa!!!   wow, their 1gb mini.sd card's only $69.   dude, their sony mdr-v700dj pro dj headfons r only $86.99! crazy.


    2005.11.03

    not worthy

    , mokyoil juhmshim: *sigh* how's it going?   i'm bizzy bizzy w/ werk 2day.   i don't think i'm gonna werkout @ lunch rt now.   i do hope to get exercise 2nite, hopefully finally go to taekwondo sparring praktice.   i'm considering purposely giving my body a li'l rest during the day 2day by not werking out @ lunch. *shrug* what should i eat 4 lunch tho'???

    [a li'l later, still haven't eaten lunch] hrm, i'm perplexed: how has kansan rob helmstetter included me in this particular mailing list'f smart ppl that includes: kenny root of the-b.org, erica findley of duke university, n' chris liverman'f kansas university medical center?   these ppl cm really smart, n' i don't think i'm worthy to be on this mailing list.   a while 'go, i shared w/ u that "planetes" e.mail on 2005.08.29 in "birtheek ends."   rob's also sent me other e.mails.   they're very interesting, but i'm just wondering what i've done to earn this honour. :-?

    [later] , ohoo: i met up w/ the beautiful kaela hwang @ the nearby quizno's 4 lunch.   i dunno why we went to quizno's; but she wanted it, n' we had a coupon from the penny$aver.   we shared a large cabo chicken sandwich combo.   i got the combo w/ the caesar salad, which 4tunately has the dressing on the side.   i mentioned to kaela that she cmed so sullen during lunch.   :-/ she has 2 midterms 2morrow.

    so i just found out from maps.google.com that satn's donut shop (2628 homestead rd.; santa clara, ca 95051)'s 2.5 miles from our house.   thus, on sun morn, i jogged/walked ~5 miles???   whoa!   dude, i should run more as well as more often.   i didn't run last nite.   instead, i conversed over the fon w/ a runner: he who is known as philip huang.   phil was on jeopardy last nite.   i watched him on tv n' talked to him on the fon.   we'll c him soon up here.   i cooked oodong w/ leftover alaskan king crab leg meat.   i thought it was just so.so but was glad that kaela enjoyed it when she finally came home.

    [later] don't 4get that 5k (5km) = 3.106856 mi.

    [later] , 1109p: after werk, i went to taekwondo sparring clsas 2nite.   i felt so inept, sparring 2nite.   dude... what's up???   i feel so much like uh... do u 'member the ol' nintendo game mike tyson's punchout?   do u 'member the 1st guy u fight there?   his name's joe glass, rt?   well, i felt like him.   i feel like that 2 often @ sparring praktice these days... that is... when i gowhen i do, i don't feel i do well.   neway, after praktice, we went out to dinner @ seoul gomtang.   i ate as if i had been starved.   sooni got nice treatment.   the owners there love her.


    2005.11.04

    unos r fatt'ning!

    /, 1220a: here's a link to the wikipedia.org article on pupuss, the salvadoran treat: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pupusa.   dude, this wknd, i ought to jog w/ sooni to the nearby pupusa factory n' have myself a couple'f these treats.   mmm, mmm, mmmmmmm, mmm, mmm!   [later] ħ: here's a short, short wikipedia.org article on chilaquiles: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chilaquiles.   [later] t.giving's rapidly approaching, n' so is black friday.   crazy, huh?   [later] dude, some1 simply flat out stole my yogurt from the werk.com fridge!   grr!   c?! that's what i dislike 'bout the ruthlessness n' shamelessness'f frustrated silly valley engrs!   grrr!   the silly valley's a beautiful place, a wonderful place w/ lots'f life n' culture.   however, man! i hate how frustrated engrs behave; i really do.   [later] dude, what the heck'd toby want 4 his b.day? (his 30th b.day) [later] this wknd, i need to: 1) take care'f toby's n' phil's b.days n' 2) take care'f julia n' dean's wedding stuff (dj stuff).   ha ha ha, i have a somewhat comical typo in yeterday's entry (20051103, "not worthy": instead'f typing "stan's donut shop," i typed "satn's donut shop," n' that looks like "satan's donut shop."   ha ha ha! well, deep.fried fuds can surely be evil!   [later] this morn, after i came back from walkin' sooni, i told the beautiful kaela hwang, "1'f these days, i'm a gonna jog w/ sooni o'er to carl's, jr. n' eat me some brkfast: some good eatin' n' drinkin' in the mornin'."

    [later] 2day, i learned sumpthin' while reading tim fong's xanga: the sony cd rootkit spyware/malware.   >:-( apparently, certain sony music cds have "rootkit" software on them that automatically insteads itself on ur 'puter n' can't easily be removed.   wow, that's awful.   that's awful n' scary.   what happens is that the cd refuses to play on ne media play 'cept 4 the 1 that comes w/ the msuic cd on the disc.   when the user installs the media playa, the spyware gets installed.   it's purpose's to make sure u don't make ne more than 3 copies'f the disc.   however, the worst part 'bout it is apparently, it's spyware n' very poorly written spyware that's very inefficient n' is very hard to remove.   u can read 'bout it here: http://www.sysinternals.com/blog/2005/10/sony-rootkits-and-digital-rights.html.

    [later] i'm quite embarrassed to say this, but i'm so stoopid n/or ignorant that i don't understand what this current scooter libby thing's 'bout.   thus, i consulted wikipedia.org.   man, it sounds like i need to read usa today or sumpthin'!!! it's really awful.   well, from a few mins'f online reading, this is my scatterbrained (mis)understanding'f the situation: since dubya wanted to bomb iraq to follow in his dad's footsteps, some1 faked dokuments that sed iraq tried to buy yellowcake uranium from nigeria.   ok... that was a partisan way to put it... ok, if u want the non.partisan version, just strike the 1st part'f that sentence.   then... :-/ yah... uh... i guess a cia agent was able to discover that these dokuments were forged, so some ppl like scooter libby, in retaliation, exposed the name'f cia agent valerie plume, which makes it so her life n' those associated w/ her or thowe who ever were associated w/ her r in grave danger.   :-?   dude, that's pretty sad, huh? that's a really bad misunderstanding'f what's gone on n' a very bad recount.   wow... (when 1'f them has time, i should get some1 smart like tim fong or phil huang to explain the whole scenario to me, using hand puppets!)

    [later] : *sigh* i wasn't sure what to do w/ my lunchbrk.   i considered 1) going to the werk.com gym or 2) going to stoopid wal*mart to buy the stoopiod now that's what i call music, vol. 20 cd just to have some current top 40 musik.   *sigh* in the end, i did neither.   i just went downstairs to the werk.com cafeteria to buy an overpri¢ed meal.   i bought some pasta n' salad 4 $5.35.   we recently got a new vendor 4 our cafeteria.   apparently, ppl were dissatisfied w/ the previous 1.   i dunno.   they weren't great, but i think they were ¢heaper.   now, the portions r smaller.   the 1 good thing's that we can now pay w/ ¢redit ¢ard.   as soon as i paid 4 my meal, kaela called me up n' asked me if i could have lunch w/ her. *big sigh* man, if only she had called me a few mins earlier!!!   well, shoot... i ate my lunch in my cube.   i should just hurry n' try to finish werk so i don't hafta stay so late 2nite, especially being that it's a grx t3s couples bible study nite.   yesterday, i told kaela that 2nite, 4 dinner, i should drive up to the sunnyvale lee's sandwiches w/ my 15% off ¢oupon to buy us some sandwiches etc. 4 dinner.   i dunno, man.   it'd be kewl if i could hit up the stoopid mtn view wal*mart, swing by lee's sandwiches, n' then bring dinner home. *sigh* i dunno, man.   is that 2 ambitious?   i hope it's doable!   i want to leave werk @ a decent hr.   i have a mtg 430~530p.   typically, i stay much later than 530p, but i'd like to try to leave soon after that mtg if possible.

    the dark choco rocky road halloween candy bars r ok to eat, but i should avoid the unos cos'f their extremely hi saturated fat n' hydrogenated palm oil content.   [later] dude, "i need a haircut" is a huge understatement!   [later] : if i had to watch a movie this wknd, what would i pick?   perhaps steve martin's shopgirl w/ claire danes, prime w/ meryl streep n' uma thurman, or the legend of zorro w/ antonio banderas n' catherine zeta.jones.   oh, i want to watch joss whedon's serenity, but it's been out 4 a long time n' most likely'll only be shown on a small screen.   i personally want to watch jarhead the war movie 'bout operation desert storm w/ jake gyllenhaal, but i don't think kaela'd agree to that.   since i didn't enjoy garden state, i don't want to watch elizabethtown.   how 'bout north country w/ charlize theron?   sure!   in ne case, i dunno if we'll have time 4 a theatre movie. :-/ [later] hrm, weird... just now i got an automated fon call from "f.e.c. research," a survey 'bout politcal views. :-/ weird.   i dunno why they called me.   the nombre they called me from was 571.522.1180.   571's a northern virginian area code.   earlier this afternoon, when i was in the bathroom@werk.com, i noticed that since my hair's so shaggy, i can c more white hairs.   that's not good, not good @ all.   i'm just plain gettin' old, eh?   no, that's not good. [later] i wonder if i'm coming down w/ a cold.   i obviously hope not, but i've been sneezing a bit n' my throat doesn't necessarily feel like i'm definitely not coming down w/ a cold... :-( must drink lots'f h2o!

    [later] : i should bust my @$$ out'f this cubicle.land asap. (4 2nite / the wk/wknd, that is... i mean... i don't mean permanently, not yet.)   neway, tim fong wrote an e.mail to me regarding my feminism "lekture."   that reminded me that i really wanna refer back to sumpthin' i wrote a long time 'go 'bout an awesome article on craigslist that superdave kim'f starkdavingmad posted a link to on his site.   'member my commentary on "my job and your job" on 20050322 in my entry titled "'boi & girl' by wax"?   yah, i believe @ the end'f this yr (which is very soon), i'll aktually repost a few things that i wrote this yr (just 4 emphasis), n' that entry'll be 1'f them.   'nother'd be my commentary on the sfgate article "why do you work so hard?   is it maybe time to quit your safe job and follow your path and infuriate the establishment?" by mark morford (an article i also arrived @ from a starkdavingmad.com link) on 20050714 in my entry titled "i don't make $300k/yr."


    2005.11.06

    need musik

    Ͽ , 356p: hrm, there's this 1 album that cms pretty kewl that i'm looking @ rt now on sony connect:

    i don't understand tho' why the cover sez "25 worship favorites + 5 new songs, but the track listing on sony connect only shows 15 songs.   i bet they only give u disc 1'f a 2 cd set, huh?

    [later] 415p: here's a cd i should get 4 djing parties: superstars #1 hits remixed.   hrm, no... aktually, it cms like it has some really lame tracks.   hrm, but it has some good 1s 2... *sigh* it ¢o$ts $9.99 to dl the album on sony connect.   the album has 19 tracks.   it ¢o$ts 99¢ to dl each track individually.   hrm... record emporium (some site i froogled up) has the cd 4 $8.39.   hrm, here's an interesting album: sarah mclachlan's bloom (remix album).   dude, how 'bout utada hikaru's english language exodus '04?   that cms to have good dancetracks.   man, this j.pop sure is making it big in the international dance scene, eh?   oh, that's just a maxi.single/cd5.   it's $9.99 to dl 10 remixes'f the same song.


    2005.11.07

    how to unshrink a wool sweater

    ħ: i'll sson use the advice in this online article: "how to unshrink a wool sweater" (http://www.kottke.org/00/01/like-an-idiot-i-threw), posted 20000127 @ 221. "to unshrhink the wool, soak the garment in warm water with a mild soap for about 10 minutes. . . . then lay the garment out on some towels in a cool place.   stretch the garment out to its original dimensions. . . allow it to dry."   here's 'nother article, this 1 from ehow.com: "how to stretch shrunken wool" (http://www.ehow.com/how_17827_stretch-shrunken-wool.html) "1. soak the garment in a tub with a mixture of hair conditioner and water.   gently pull the sweater to reshape.   2. try another method if that doesn't work: dissolve one ounce of sodium obrate (borax) in a couple of tablespoons of hot water, add the mixture to a gallon of lukewarm water, immerse the garment and pull gently into shape.   rinse in a gallon of warm water with 2 tbsp. vinegar.   3. soak the garment in warm water with a mild soap for about 10 minutes to unlock the fibers in the wool.   lay the garment out on some toles in a cool place but don't rinse.   you can roll it up in the towels to absorb the excess water.   4. then stretch the garment out to its original dimensions.   the stretching (also called blocking) pulls the unlocked wool fibers away from one another.   5. allow the garment to dry for any of the methods mentioned above."   ok, my google search has turned up other links.   i guess hair conditioner in lukewarm water n' then stretching the garment n' letting it cool dry is common.

    check out this. commentary regarding kottke.org: http://www.dashes.com/anil/2005/02/25/im_a_kottkeor. this past wknd, kaela n' i did lots'f housechores, so if it doesn't sound like we did a whole lot this wknd, it's cos we spent a decent 'mount'f time doing housewerk.   i guess cing other young couples' clean homes motivated us to clean.   i mean, our friends eric n' hannah have a beautifully clean home, n ' toby n' betty have a beautifully clean home.   we're a shame, but we're werkin' on it.   we're so bad... but we're werkin' on it.   i'd like to buy some more exercise/werkout pants sometime.   i need to buy some musik.   dude, what a wknd!   man, isn't it crazy how a 29/30 yr.old couple, living in the silly valley can fill up their wknd?   dude, is this how we spend our time?   *shrug* i guess, 4 better or worse, it is.   do i have ne regrets 'bout this wknd?   *shrug* no major regrets.   i often wish we had more time in gen'l.

    4 several months now, kaela n' i've debated over the history'f freeway onramps: did left turn entrances precede right turn cloverleaves???   kaela sez no, but i say yes.   last nite, we tried to get down to the bottom'f it all while phil n' jukka were over.   i did 'lot'f wikipedia.org research.   it turns out that that's a very complicated question cos amerika uses many, many kinds'f freeway interchanges.   apparently, cloverleaves come in many, many, many diff varieties n've evolved 'lot over the decades.   the "left turn w/ stop lite" is often a "diamond" interchange but could be an "spui" interchange.   after all this research& i'm convinced that neither'f us r rt but that over the decades, both've been used simultaneously depending on the traffik patterns'f a given area.   it cms to me that, if nething, diamonds n' cloverleaves've traded popularity from era to era several times.   kaela'd attributed the abundance'f "left turn w/ stop lite" onramps in socal to socal's being a gen'lly newer region, but... well, the way i now understand it, the reason socal has so many "diamond" interchanges's cos there r many freeway interchanges w/ minor roads, n' those get diamond interchanges.   cloverleaves r more common where a freeway hits a more major rd.   since, the bay area, 'specially the south bay, has so many expressways n' major nonfreeway roads, we use more cloverleaves.   i have also noticed modern "spui" "left turn w/ stop lite" interchanges.   yah, i believe those particular "left turn w/ stop lite" interchanges r more modern.

    [a li'l later] this past wknd (i believe on sat morn), i weighed in @ ~146 lbs w/ 4% body fat.   dude, i was a real feather weight.   oh yah, that was definitely sat morn.   then we ate gyros sandwiches @ yiasoo, n' *shrug* maybe i gained wt.

    [later] on recent wknds, we've met our new next door neighbours: tom, lyla, n' their 4 yr old daughter rachel.   they're a nice family.

    [a li'l later] in gen'l, we always need to strive to eat more healthily.   that's 4 sure.

    u know what?   over the past wknd, i've pondered how i can experience more in life by making sure i'm not 2 ethnocentric.   if u know me, u know i really love asian things.   i like doing asian martial arts.   i like asian musik.   i like asian tv.   i like talkin' 'bout asian n' asian.amerikan issues.   however, i need to make sure i don't shut myself in.   personally, i've cn so many'f my peers segregate themselves to the asian.amerikan christian community.   @ this pt, i totally understand pastor dave's vision 4 establishing grx as a multi.ethnic church.   [later] : in many ways, i feel i'm really asian; but along w/ that, like most asians (asian.ams) i feel that in some ways i'm diff from other asians (asian.ams).   1st off, i'm not u'r typical basketball (b.ball) playin' asian (asian.am) church guy.   also, i'm not ur typical video game playin' asian guy.   i don't play basketball, n' i don't play video games.   n' that's the end'f my non.asian.ness, rt? *shrug* i drive a subaru n' not a honda, does that count 4 nething?   i mean, i'm sure it would sound even more non.asian if i drove a 1967 mustang or sumpthin'.   well, shoot... in a way, i should give up n' just say, "ok, fine... i'm pretty darn asian."   u know what's 1'f these asian man dilemmas? this: if a non.asian guy were to be all immersed in asian culture n' learn asian languages, hang w/ asian ppl, eat asian fud, many ppl'd say things like, "hey, that guy's so cool n' chic cause he does asian things and isn't asian."   however!!! if an asian guy were to be all immersed in nonasian, american culture etc., few ppl'd say, "hey, that guy's so cool n' chic cause he does non.asian, american things, yet he's asian."   instead, they'd say, "f@ck dat $#!+!   who does that f@¢ker think he is, bein' all wh!+3-w@$hed n' $#!+!".   that would possibly be the asians, while certain non.asians might say, "f@ck dat $#!+!   who does that f@¢ker think he is?   who does he think he's foolin'?   after all's said n' done, u ain't nuthin' but a y#ll0w b0y!   i mean, f@¢k! just take a look @ hollywood.   ever cn a f@cker like him on tv?!"   furthermore, if an asian (asian.am) guy gets all immersed in asian culture, leanrs asian languages, n' hangs w/ asian ppl, then ppl still don't say that's kewl.   they say he's either ethnocentric, r@cist, or a wannabe f0b (fobabee/fob.a.bee).   so yah... heh heh... [later] neway, i don't mean to sound like some kind'f bitter, hateful man cos i don't think i am.   this country has 'lot'f r@cial healing to do even tho' by "r@cial healing," the media's really only talkin' black n' white.   in ne case, i'd rather contribute to the healing than the scarring n' definitely wanna avoid contributing to the wounding.

    , 1036p: *sigh* 'twas a long werkday, n' i didn't leave the office till way after 800p.   i wanted to drive to the mtn view wal*mart after werk, but i couldn't find it.   the streets were crowded, it was raining, n' i was really tired.   i ended up going to pak & $ave in sunnyvale, where i pur¢ha$ed some dishwasher detergent, a dozen eggs, some nonfat cottage cheese, n' some whole wheat bread.   i went home.   then i jogged w/ sooni.   it was really late n' really dark.   it was a li'l misty.   most ppl wouldn't jog in conditions like that, i know; but i really wanted to get exercise 2nite.   afterwards, i made myself a turkey, hame, n' cheese sandwich n' ate that w/ some chips n' salsa.   i was gonna also eat a hardboiled egg that i found in the fridge; but when i cracked the egg oepn, i discovered it was not cooked.   upes!

    so 2day, during my lunchbrk, i came home n' tried out those sweater unshrinking techniques.   in the midst'f that, kaela came home.   i didn't expekt that.   she found me unshrinking her sweaters.   in a way, it's good that she caught me trying to unshrink her sweaters cos if it doesn't werk, 'least she knows i tried, i guess.   usually, i wouldn't go n' tell her i tried sumpthin' if it didn't succeed, rt?   like... :-/ 1 thing 'bout being a "romantik"'s like u don't give urself partial credit; rather, it's all or nuthin'.   while unshrinking the sweater, i was microwaving some frozen foster's farm chicken drumsticks.   when kaela got home, she grilled some gourmet whole fuds sausages w/ shrooms.   we ate lots'f meat during lunch.   'twas like we went to a bbq.   we watched a kbs show 'bout the recent kbs america yoon dohyun n' maya west coast u.s. tour.

    dude, i've gotta put in a yesasia order asap.


    2005.11.08

    a diff kind'f lunchbrk (elektion day 2005)

    Ȳ ħ: 2day's the cali4nia spe¢ial ele¢tion.   i voted w/ an absentee ballot.   i sent it off yesterday.   u know how i voted, rt?   no on 74~78 n' yes on 78~80.   how do u think i voted on 73?   should i tell u???   *sigh* ok, i'll tell u.   i voted no on 74~78 n' yes on 73, 79, n' 80.   well, whatever, man.   we'll c how the elektion goes.

    more important than cr@ppy politiks, ebay has some ¢oupon ¢odes!!!

    kewl, non?

    last nite, i fell asleep b4 the beautiful kaela hwang came home.   i dunno what time she came home, but it was very late.

    [a li'l later] i know this's horribly tardy, but i think i might soon post up some pix from our kona, hawaii trip!   [a li' later] dude, i wonder if i need to escalate the priority'f buying an external dvd burner 4 my laptop/desktop. [later] i need to backup data (mp3s, pix, vids).   shouldn't i buy an external dvd±r drive?   i still don't understand how complicated or not it is to build an external dvd±r drive with an internal dvd±r drive along w/ an external drive enclosure.   i would guess that it's really easy, but i'd hate to buy all the parts n' then find out it doesn't werk!!!   r the $avings worth the hassle???

    [later] i just filled out an "e.mail time capsule."   check it out: http://forbes.codefix.net/capsule/.   i configured it to be sent to me in 20 yrs.   in other wurds, i wrote an e.mail to myself, n' that e.mail'll be sent to me in 20 yrs.   crazy, huh?   *sigh* what do i expekt to accomplish n' experience in the next 20 yrs?   *sigh* thinking 'bout stuff like that brings tears to my eyes; u know that?   i sure as heck hope to raise kids w/in the next 20 yrs; i'll tell u that.   i'd like to progress well in my career. *sigh* shall we live in the same house 4 the next 20 yrs? *shrug* i guess i wouldn't mind upgrading to a bigger house w/in the next 20 yrs.

    [later] : "a diff kind'f lunchbrk": i had a diff kind'f lunchbrk 2day.   usually, on a day like 2day, i'd go to the gym n' werkout.   however, *shrug* i didn't.   i jogged in the morn n' plan to go to taekwondo praktice 2nite.   i'd like to think that's 'nuff exercise 4 2day, but i really should've.   i always need to strive to get more exercise.   neway, 2day, i needed to go depo$it some $$$ in da bank.   thus, i didn't go to the werk.com gym.   i'd been carrying 'round some ca$h n' check$ 4 a while that i really needed to depo$it.   after i depo$ited my $$$, i really wanted to get some fud 4 lunch.   i was so undecided 'bout where to go.   @ home, i had a quizno's ¢oupon.   @ home, i had a carl's, jr. coupon.   @ home, i had coupons 4 various taquerias.   *sigh* well, i also needed to buy some gas n' knew that currently the gas deep in sunnyvale, either 'round where sunnyvale-saratoga hits fremont or somewhere 'round a street called maude, is ¢heaper than the gas @ the sunnyvale lawrence station costco.   i drove deepere in to sunnyvale.   i'd been enjoying the interesting weather 2day.   this morn, while jogging on the damp sidewalks n' inhaling moist air, i imagined the santa cruz or pescadero mountains.   i imagined redwood trees.   i breathed n' savoured bay area life.   the bay area rocks!   well, after the bank i walked back to the car feeling the cool autumny, bay area air.   i still felt like i was somewhere special n' maybe felt like i was "somewhere else," somewhere other than where i was.   i knew i couldn't feel this way in socal, not to say nething bad 'bout socal, as i'd much rather be there than well... oklahoma or ohio or newhere like that.   neway, i think the overcast sky reminded me a li'l'f other places in norcal like santa cruz, sf, or marin county.   i felt diff.   that's why i say this was "a diff kind'f lunchbrk."   i reminisced 'bout the days when i werked in marin county, in corte madera 4 the start up company.   i recollected my typikal lunchbrk aktivities in those days, driving 'round to noah's bagels or roadrunner burritos or out to san rafael or down to marin city or 1nce in a while even driving back 'cross the bay to albany to meet up w/ kaela 4 lunch.   i never werked out during lunch in those days.   sometimes i explored.   both when i werked in marin county n' when i werked in san francisco, i often used my lunchbrk to explore.   nowadays, perhaps cos i werk so close to home or cos i have more random things to take care'f or cos i werkout during lunch, i haven't been exploring during my lunchbrks as i used to.   when i werked in marin county, i couldn't find much decent asian fud 4 lunch.   i really couldn't find much good korean or taiwanese fud 4 lunch.   now, here in the heart'f silicon valley i can get good asian fud all the time.   back in my marin county days, i ate more sandwiches n' burritos 4 lunch.   well, i sort'f felt like reliving those days, so i set out to buy some lunch @ trader joe's n' then head to the gas station.   @ trader joe's, to no big surprise, i encountered a bit'f frustrating crowds: retired, elderly ppl taking their time buying tons'f groceries, many housewives figuring lunchtime's the best time to grocery shop btwn a trip to the gym n' taking care'f kids n' the home, n' of course, the usual, frustrated, "do whatever it takes," self.centered silly valley tech werker cuttin' ppl off left n' rt...   (yah, lately, i've been mentioning those ppl more, eh?)   i was a bit disappointed @ trader joe's.   i wanted to buy sooni some doggy treats but found none.   i wanted to buy a sandwich 4 lunch n' found a smaller selektion than i wanted.   i pur¢ha$ed a lo.carb turkey pesto sandwich n' a plastik bottle'f 꽺 / dangeun jyooseu / carrot juice  꽺 4 lunch as well as a couple'f clif bars, some cranberry/almond/cashew trail mix, n' this interesting, overpri¢ed sparkling blueberry juice.   i filled up on gas @ $2.54/gal @ the valero @ the corner'f fremont n' saratoga.sunnyvale.   there used to be a sessions boardshop @ that corner.   i 'member that n' wish it were still there.   i drove back to werk, taking some side streets.   i felt like i was exploring like back in the ol' days.


    2005.11.09

    snow expo this wknd

    ħ: dude, i need to get more exercise these days. *sigh* i was gettin' lots'f good exercise in recent wks, but :-/ things cm to have gone down since then... i mean, *shrug* i just don't cm to be gettin' as much exercise.   i dunno, man.   i guess i haven't been making evening trips to the gym, rt?   it's good to jog w/ sooni.   i should do that more.   my bally total fitness gym member$hip'll run out very soon.   crazy, crazy.

    dude, u've gotta check out this 1 link i found on (super)dave kim's starkdavingmad.com: photoshop to remove violence from video games (http://forums.fark.com/cgi/fark/comments-avantgo.pl?IDLink=1730698).   it's hilarious.

    [later] : the bay area snow expo's goin' down this wknd @ the san josé convention center, n' the beautiful kaela hwang n' i plan to pay our $15 each to attend 'least to get our free early season kirkwood lift tic n' to visit the snowbomb booth to buy our $39.99 tahoe cards that each come w/ a free early/late season kirkwood tic.   ah, what a time'f yr it is!   autumn's never necessarily been my favourite season.   @ times, i've found autumn to be rather depressing.   some yrs, like last yr, snow comes a li'l early, n' that cheers me up.   of course, if i don't have $$$ to go snowboarding, then that doesn't help.   some yrs, i go to the snow expo, some yrs i don't.   it's not always good.   it used to be better.   some ppl say that 'bout many things.   "it's not as good as it used to be."   u hear that all 2 often.   do some things not just get better n' better as the yrs go by?   i think the silicon valley's better now than it was in the past.   i have 1 particular, fond memory'f the bay area snow expo in san josé from a few yrs back.   it was the yr that i got pro skateboarder steve caballero's autograph on a poster that i can no longer find.   the poster may be at my mom's house, or she might've thrown it away.   this guys several yrs older than me, n' he skateboards.   why can't i skateboard?!   neway, my fond memory isn't getting the autograph, no (sorry, cab); rather, it was when kaela saw a dead, smooshed pigeon in the parking lot n' ran off screaming w/ ur hands in the air.   >:-/ yah, it sounds like i must be such a sadist to enjoy cing kaela get freaked out by the roadkill, but no... it was just very cute cos she was all bundled up in the black coat i'd given her on our engagement nite, the 1 w/ the fuzzy lining n' hood.   she had her hood on n' her knit mittens w/ the safety strap so they don't get lost.   she went running off, screaming w/ her mittened hands in the air above her hooded head.   she looked like some kind'f cute cartoon character, sort'f like a south park character but cuter, more like sumpthin' from a cute japanime or a nintendo game.   ...n' that's why i call her my wife.

    last nite, i went to ±ǵ taekwondo praktice.   it was a good, normal werkout w/ lots'f paddles.   when i came home, i cooked beanie weenie... in our typical gourmet style.   we fancy up dishes like this.   i think it turned out fine.   2day, i went w/ kaela to sweet tomatoes 4 lunch, where we, i guess, overate.   this morn, i walked sooni.   i hurried off to werk afterwards, 4getting my employee badge.   my company has strikt security.   b4 mtg kaela 4 lunch, i rushed home to retrieve my badge.   2nite, i'm s'pposed to go out w/ the grx t3s bruthas 4 a guys' nite out dinner.   i dunno yet where we're going.

    this wknd's the snow expo.   also, fahad n' wendy r in town, so we've gotta meet up w/ them sometime.   apparently, we'll need to meet up w/ them in sf or berkeley.   4 our grx t3s couples bible study, i've gotta wake up heck'a early on sun morn to set up b4 1st service.   i've gotta go cd $hopping.   bizzy wknd...

    [later] Ծ???   it rained?   wow.   i was enjoying 2day's weather.   it wasn't warm, but it wasn't 2 cold.   the sky had many clouds, but it wasn't yet raining, up until now, i s'ppose.   i wanted to be outside more.


    2005.11.10

    upwardly mobile?

    ħ: *sigh* i wish i could've gone jogging w/ sooni this morn, but i didn't.   i did take her 4 her morn walk, but i didn't jog.   i tried to walk fast n' walk farther.   i need to backup files from my desktop onto dvd-r, using kaela's vaio laptop.   then i need to clean off my hard drive on my desktop to make mroe room.   i really do.   the downside to having a higher pixel count digicam's that the pix take more space.   i really want to share some pix from kona, n' i sure will soon.   last nite, i bought some musik off'f sony connect, including: superstars #1 hits remixed (album) n' in the name of love: artists united for africa (album).   the 2nd album's very interseting.   it's a bunch'f u2 covers per4med by current, popular christian musicians.   didju know stacie orrico's a "christian singer"?   she's not on the album, but i found that out while browsing the "inspirational" genre @ connect.   her most famous top 40 song's "(there's got to be) more to life."   that song was decently popular.   she has this other song called "stuck."   i have a good remix'f that song somewhere.   i'd love to mix w/ it sometime.   yah, i like these "christian singers" that have dance musik.   i'd also like to mix w/ some'f those rachel lampa tracks someday; sure.   [a li'l later] dude, i wanna record mixes really badly, but my desktop 'puter's in no shape 4 that rt now.   i need to fix it up.   *sigh* i was thinkin' just now 'bout how i could've become a semi.famous remix dj if i had only chosen that path in life.   why did i decide to become a career engr instead'f a career dj?   i could've made remixes that end up on cds that sell millions'f copies.   my remixes would've been played in clubs 'round the world.   that could've been me.   [later] : however, *shrug* i'm an engr.   it's a good job.   it's also fun, but it's just interesting to wonder what life'd be like the other way 'round, rt?

    2day, during my lunchbrk, i werked out in the werk.com gym.   i did stairmaster 4 30 mins n' s'pposedly burned ~550 kcal.   i stretched.   then i quickly showered.   from the werk.com cafeteria, i bought a cobb salad 4 $4.95 n' a small (12 oz) diet pepsi 4 85¢.   dude, remind me never 'gain to buy a soda from the cafeteria cos it's ¢heaper to buy it from the vending machine!   the vendine machine 12 oz can's 75¢, including tax.   the only way to get ur $$$'s worth out'f the "dispenser" soda is to drink a whole bunch b4 u pay n' get more.   aktually... in the other cafeterias @ our conpany, ppl go back 4 refills all the time.   i wonder if i could get 'way w/ that here.   neway, it's best not to drink soda!

    last nite, i met up w/ the grx t3s guys 4 dinner in mtn view.   we went to maruichi ramen house on catro.   i had this combo w/ their spicy miso ramen, 3 pieces'f cali4nia roll, n' 3 gyoza.   it wasn't bad.   that combo was ~$8.75, i 4get.   afterwards, we got boba, n' 1'f the bruthas paid 4 every1.   i ordered a hotgrass jelly drink, thinkin' it'd be ¢heaper @ $2.50 than the green bean w/ rice balls @ $3.00, but then the ¢a$hier asked if i wanted boba, n' i instinktively sed yes, which tacked on 50¢ to the ¢o$t. :-( i wish i had gotten rice balls instead... n' i wish i had just plain gone 4 the $3.00 green bean w/ rice balls drink!   the guys talked 'lot 'bout careers.   i got a li'l depressed @ how i don't get paid that much compared to other guys n' i'm so "low on the totem pole" compared to them.   i don't like playin' "keepin' up w/ the lees, changs, n' parks," as u know.   let's just enjoy life n' be grateful, non?   however... *shrug* yah, i'd like to be upwardly mobile.   am i?   or am i in a dead.end posi+ion, facing a glass ceiling???   i hope not.   aktually, coincidentally, this morn, my manager came to my cube to give me my 2.yr service award: a nice plaque n' a nice pen.   it's nice.   man, i feel really stoopid cos when he came in, i was just gettin' my music set up 4 the day, i.e., i was gonna setup some tunes b4 i got to werk, so i'd have musik while i werk.   however, man... i'm sure it looked really bad, like i must goof off all the time.   don'tchu hate those situations??? grrr!   well, shoot... ppl should realise it's better than if my mgr walked in, n' i was surfin' moster.com or hotjobs, etc., rt?!   i hope they know i werk n' that i werk hard.

    this morn, i didn't jog w/ sooni but only took her 4 a walk.   1 thing that slowed my exit from the house was that the nbc today show was doing a "where in the world is matt lauer?" segment from shanghai, china; n' i was a bit interested.   it's funny cos he interviewed nora sun, the granddaughter'f sun yat.sen.   i'd prefer to think'f sun yat.sen as a taiwanese historical figure, but i guess that's 1 place where my taiwanese independence upbringing n' edukation sort'f "fails" n' jason lee's kmt pride sort'f prevails, rt?   i dunno... i guess in the past, i didn't consider either chang kai.shek or sun yat.sen to be taiwanese but just chinese leaders whose faktion ended up on taiwan.... or shoot, u could say they "took over" taiwan, but i dunno... that'd prob'ly get lots'f ppl made if u say that.   in taiwan, rt in the middle'f taiwanpei, u c the sun yat.sen memorial.   i guess cing that on my past 2~3 visits, made me think'f sun yat.sen as more'f a figure in taiwanese history, n' i guess i could. *shrug*   neway, yah... nora sun was telling matt 'bout how happy she is to c that every time she visits shanghai it gets more n' more modernised, etc.

    ppl who visit china tell me it's really dirty.   toby sed that.   other ppl've sed that.   however, maybe they only go to rural areas or sumpthin'.   taiwan's not dirty.   even when we went to the rural areas, as far as i saw, it wasn't very dirty.   however, maybe i didn't go deep 'nuff into the rural areas, eh?   i like taiwan; i like visiting taiwan.   it's like going to cupertino, but it takes a 13.hr plane ride, n' ppl speak a li'l less english.   maybe shanghai's 'least as clean as taipei.   some'f my young, chinese cowerker friends say the hottest gurls come from shanghai.   *shrug* u tell me, man.   i dunno.   i mean, shoot, of course, i can discern as a hetero guy; but i just haven't necessarily cn explicit examples.

    i've been to hong kong, u know.   after college graduation (undergrad), i went to hong kong n' taiwan, if u 'member.   do u 'member?   hk had good $hopping.   if u ask me, it was still a bit dirty n' very smoggy.   like, it was dirty cos'f gen'l trash n' also dirty cos'f industrial byprodukts.   however, it's a chic, happenin', stylish metropolis, so don't think 4 a sec that i'm baggin' on it or nething.   dude... however, what p!$$ed me off the most 'bout hk was the social statifikation.   ugh, it pained me so much to c how the chinese treated the pinoy/pinay immigrants so poorly n' yet cater so readily to euros.   :-/ as i hadn't traveled much at that pt in my life, i perhaps naively or just optimistically hope to find less or no racism outside'f the u.s.   *sigh* nope.   it was very sad n' even pi$$ed me off.   in fakt, "foreigner districts" in ne asian metropolis really pi$$ me off cos i always c inequity n' exploitation in them.

    [later] in that today show segment, matt interviewed this 1 euromerikan guy who werks as a mktg guy in china, mktg amerikan produkts to chinese ppl.   he aktually understands confucian n' taoist asian society pretty well.   he talked discussed how viktoria's sekret bombed in china cos confucians r willing to $pend on the produkts that show on the outside but not those that r only cn w/in the home.   since underwear's sumpthin' that's typically relatively private, chinese ppl rn't willing to $pend so much on it.   yah! i totally noticed that each time i visited asia!!!   i totally pted that out to my friends.   some friends who lived in asia agreed w/ my observation!   dude, i was rt, n' this dude's rt.   this dude mentioned that delivery pizza doesn't do well in china, that when ppl eat pizza, they want to be cn eating sumpthin' so glamourous n' expen$ive.   they don't wanna eat it in hiding!   dude, i totally understand that.   he talked 'bout the asian palate, how some asian ppl perceive tastes as either heat or cool.   he sed heavy chocolate doesn't do well in asia, that ppl want very milky chocolate n' only used in moderation, in small amts.   hrm, maybe so.   yah, i think so.   he talked 'bout how asians want beauty produkts that cm very natural, that hair produkts should make hair smooth n' silky n' sleek, not big.volumed n' poofy!   he talked bout how asians aktually use whitener not to make their skin more pale or whitewashed but to make it very even n' smooth.   that's totally true.   yah, i give props to this guy; he knew what he was talkin' 'bout.   i think our friend fabian werks in this kind'f field in china.   he's had a pretty exciting life since college, man.

    [later] last nite, i bought digital musik files online from connect.   it's funny how that epxerience contrasts so much from aktually going to the cd store n' buying cds.   when u go to the cd store, u'r out in the world.   when u buy digital musik files, u can be a total recluse, a hermit, a shut.in.   when u go to the cd store, u hafta feel all self.conscious 'bout ur musik selektion when u approach the alternachic/alternapunk ¢a$hier à la john cusack n' jack black's hi fidelity.   however, w/ online digital musik stores, u can buy celine dion n' britney spears w/o feeling like those mtn dew skinheads from harold n' kumar go to white castle!

    neway, this in the name of love: artists united for africa cd rocks!   dude, it's a compilation'f u2 covers, n' man... they're really good.   maybe it's cos it's perhaps more akin to indie rock n' thus less hollywooded up, but u just sense such strong emotion in this musik.   it's awesome!


    2005.11.11~13

    blog survey thing

    ݿ ħ: it's veterans day, but i have werk, don'tchu?   no?! do u have a govt job? do u werk @ a skool? else, do u werk @ the bank?   silicon valley doesn't take holidays!   altho' u know i've got silly valley pride, i honestly don't like the shameless competitive, "dog eat dog," "every man 4 himself" attitude'f silly valley tech werkers.   it does really pi$$ me off quite often these days.   i've noticed it more n' more.   guys w/o ne consideration 4 their fellow man.   these days, i've wondered a li'l if 1 thing that possibly fuels this is that many'f these guys maybe come from cultures w/ worldviews'f limited good.   we studied the idea'f limited good in professor alan dundes's folklore classes.   some cultures have this idea'f limited good while others don't so much.   limited good's the idea'f in order 4 me to have sumpthin' good, some1 else must go w/o!   some ppl n' some cultures believe in this, while others believe that there's plenty good stuff to go 'round... so share n' share 'like.   i don't like this idea'f limited good but'd rather believe in sharing n' sharing 'like.   some ppl'd say i'm 2 idealistik. &nsbp; oh well.   dude, there's 'nuff'f god's grace to go 'round, man.   pass it on.

    lately, lots'f bloggers've been filling out this 1 particular survey thingy.   they've got this thing going where @ the end'f the survey, they "tag" 5 ppl to fill out the survey on their blog.   it's a variation'f a similar thing that was going on over e.mail a few yrs back.   dude, study folklore w/ some great, great folklorist like professor alan dundes n' learn all 'bout version n' variation.   neway, i'm not very popular 'mongst the blogging kommunity.   it sucks, but yah.   i was 1nc part'f the rice bowl journals a blogring'f asian.am bloggers, but i got booted cos i was 2 lazy to put up a new link to the blogring.   i've been blogging 4 a long time, n' i feel i blog decently well, but ppl don't read my journal, no.   they don't sign the gbook.   yah, it makes me a li'l sad; but in the end, i blog just cos i want to, not cos i need to be popular.   i blog so that i can dokument my life.   still, i do sometimes wonder why i'm so unpopular 'mongst the blogging kommunity.   neway! there's this "survey" thingy goin' 'round.   no 1's tagged me to do it (since i'm so unpopular 'mongst the bloggin' kommunity), but i'm kind'f eager to fill it out neway.




    2005.11.13

    sick wknd

    Ͽ , 412p: what a frickin' lazy, sunday afternoon!   what the heck am i doing, sittin' on our lt green / mint green ikea couch rt now, typin' 'way on my laptop???   well, i'm rather sick w/ a bad, bad cold.   [a li'l later] 421p: what a lazy, autumn afternoon!

    dude, we could be out washing sooni @ pet fud express or sumpthin'!   i could've dropped the beautiful kaela hwang off @ a café in campbell n' then went used cd $hopping on my ol' bascom circuit, which'd now include tower records, streetlight records, n' rasputin records.   then we could've like gone gro¢ery $hopping @ trader joe's or the extremely overpri¢ed whole fuds.   i'm glad other ppl agree that whole fuds's overpri¢ed cos it is.

    it's been sort'f a lazy wknd, but we've been very sick.   yesterday (saturday), we woke up much later than we were s'pposed to.   we went to the snow expo after kaela cooked us some eggs.   we $pent quite a bit'f time @ the snow expo.   then, we drove up to berkeley to have dinner w/ fahad, wendy, vince, vince's gf chamba n' various'f wendy's family n' family's friends, etc. @ jupiter.   check out their website, if u like bier, n' read 'bout their current maekjoo selektion as they make their own biiru.   we ate pizza, had a li'l bit'f biere n' then went to original mel's to get a li'l bit'f unnecessarily excessive dessert n' some coffee.   i was quite stuffed n' still pretty sick @ the end'f the nite.   i consumed many calories thru.out the day.   like, b4 the snow expo, we went to an awful $tarbuck$ in downtown san jo n' got this awful chai eggnog soy latte.   dude, it was so sweet... in a very bad way!   it was like drinking a syrup faktory.   ugh!   awful.   we hung 'round the snow expo 4 a while, won some stuff.   we hung out w/ duk there.   i meant to hang w/ my cousin(s) there, but i didn't find my cousin walter. . . . [not really finished entry]


    2005.11.14

    potato smileys?

    ħ: as the beautiful kaela hwang n' i spent the whole wknd sick, sick, sick; it's hard to say 'twas the greatest wknd i ever had.   it wasn't.   the hilite was saturday, i s'ppose: we went to the bay area snow expo n' then up to berkeley to kick it w/ fahad, wendy, vince, et al.   'twas kewl.   that was the definite hilite.

    [later] this morn, kaela had some prob w/ her eye or contakt. [later] : i dunno if the prob was w/ her eye or contakt, but it was very stressful cos kaela's been talkin' 'bout gettin correktive laser eye surgery; n' on fri, i had to submit my fsa (flexible $pending account) allotment/budget.   i talked to her n' fri n' explained to her how we really can't afford it.   she wanted to get the surgery early in the yr, but think 'bout this: that would mean that we'd pay up front 4 the surgery.   then, thru.out the yr, i'd be paying a 2nd time 4 the surgery thru paycheck deduktions.   then only @ the end'f the yr, i'd be able to get my $$$ back.   sure, i'd save big on income tax thru this, but shoot... we need to have the $$$ up front 1st.   in fakt, realisitikally, we need 2× the $$$ up front 1st.   rt?   'twas really stressful on fri, having to figure out this fsa cr@p n' more so cos i was sick.   this morn, 'twas really stressful cos yah... kaela was pting out that whole fsa budget thing, saying i didn't care 'bout her cos i didn't budget in the laser eye surgery... but shoot, man... if we can't afford, we can't afford it.   what the heck can i do?   n' worse yet, man... when a guy can't afford cr@p like that 4 his wife, u feel really $#!++y, u know?   i mean, cr@p.   no matter what kind'f strides we've mades as far as women's lib n' feminism n' equal rights, this society still expekts the man to be the provider.   i don't like it, but that's society's frickin' rule.   *sigh* neway, man... *sigh* "take a breath," i've gotta tell myself.   "take a breath."

    2day, during my lunchbrk, i went to the werk.com gym, lifted a li'l n' then rode the stationary bike 4 24 mins.   4 some reason, it's harder to burn more calories on the stationary bikes than on the stairmasters or precors.   i dunno which metric is more accurate.   i feel i do 'lot more werk to burn fewer calories on the stationary bike.   after showering, i went to the werk.com cafeteria to make a salad to go @ the salad bar.   'twas overpri¢ed, but oh well.   *sigh* this fri's the company 5k run.   i plan to do it.   i'm sick, but whatever.   worst comes to worst, i guess i'll hafta walk it, rt?   should i still go to taekwondo sparring praktice the nite b4?   that's a question.

    roland, thanks 4 signing my gbook!   yah, i've gotta replace that pair'f stoopid halloween questions.   i assume, @ this pt, i can 4get trying t.giving questions n' go straight to christmas questions, rt?

    [later] the san josé mercury news sent me a spam mail to attend some grand opening celebration'f the kifer commerce park in sunnyvale 2morrow, 400~500p.   it's @ 1290 kifer rd in sunnyvale, ca 94086.   there'll be refreshments n' hors d'oeuvres.   that's funny.   do they just mail that out to every1???   well, i certainly don't have time to go, but i wonder who will.


    2005.11.15

    the wk b4 t.giving in cali4nia

    ȭ ħ: on sat, gas in berkeley was as ¢heap as $2.259/gal.   how's san jo's gas pri¢e$?   the ¢heape$t here rt now's $2.349/gal in northeast san jo.   the ¢heape$t gas in the chino area's s'pposedly $2.459/gal according to sanbernardinogasprices.com. [later] yah, i've been saying 4 the past few wks that uh... well, 4 the past... well, the greater part'f the past decade, i've tracked the pri¢es'f gas in 3 particular regions: 1) berkeley, 2) the sobay / san jo / silly valley, n' 3) socal.   a long time 'go, prob'ly back in the late 1990s n' prob'ly beyond, the order from ¢heapest to most expen$ive was: 1) socal, 2) the sobay / san jo / silly valley, n' then 3) berkeley.   many ppl prob'ly thinks that makes perfekt sense.   ppl tend to have this preceived notion that socal w/ its out'f hand suburban sprawl has a lower ¢o$t'f living.   also, ppl tend to have this preceived notion that urban areas like berkeley w/ "liberal" politiks thus s'pposedly hi taxes'd have a higher ¢o$t'f livin.   well, in the early 2000s or so, the order'f ¢heapest to most expen$ive gas got rearranged to: 1) the sobay / san jo / silly valleym 2) berkeleythen finally 3) socal.   it was crazy to c socal lose its ¢heap gas status.   that really makes a dent in the idea that socal has a lower ¢o$t'f living.   after all, what else can u discuss?   home pri¢e$?   well, the ¢o$t'f a home in irvine's 'bout the same as the ¢o$t'f a home in the silly valley, ain't it?   also, not that this is all that relevant, but san diego's suffering 1'f the biggest housing market busts in the nation along w/ arizona n' las vegas.   (however, san diego doesn't really cm like socal much'f the time.   rather, socal cms to mean more often the "greater los angeles area," orange county, n' san bernardino county... maybe also ventura county.)   well, shoot... u know i have norcal pride, but man... i don't mean to gloat 'bout this cos i personally want friendship btwn norcal n' socal cos 'least we're both part'f this great state'f cali4nia!!!   in fakt, 4 a while, i've been meaning to discuss the ways i cm more like a socal guy than a norcal guy.   u know, back in berkeley; some good friends, ppl who knew me well, told me that i surely cmed more like a socal guy than a norcal guy.   the 1 thing i wanted recently to pt out's my snowboarding style.   i snowboard like a socal guy in that i prefer lots'f freestyle boarding not so much the powder n' backcountry boarding that ppl often associate w/ norcal tahoe scene.   my style'f boarding might fit in fine in big bear, u know?   *shrug* also, ppl might pt out my interest in like "authentik" asian culture... however... *shrug* i dunno, man... it's pretty asian up here in norcal as well.   in the end, i think i'm still quite the norcal guy.   i guess we're planning to $pend christmas down south, n' i'll really enjoy that trip... i think.   i like visiting socal! [after a quick bathrm brk] i just prefer not to live their mostly cos'f the traffik n' the communities that i worry r 2 con$ervative.   of course, norcal has those communities as well; i know, i know.   also, 'least it's not like certain regions outside'f cali, rt?   consider the diff in asian communities btwn norcal n' socal: in socal; yes, u have more "authentik" asian culture in someways cos u have more recent immigrant communities w/ very strong bonds amongst each other n' very strong bonds to the muthaland.   4 example, yes, the korean community's quite strong down there.   consider l.a.'s k.town.   consider the korean language media down there.   yes, i admit it's better developed down there.   think 'bout how those korean.amerikan magzines always cm to come from l.a.!   however... now consider how the asian.am community up here cms to be more integrated.   i believe that up here, we still have more'f these pan.asian.am organisations that r serious 'bout making socio.political improvements.   am i not rt?   like, l.a. cms to be a hub 4 authentik asian culture, while s.f. cms to be more'f a hub 4 serious asian.am politiks.   think 'bout the s.f. asian.am artist community: all those filmmakers, musicians, per4mers, n' other artists!   also consider the subtley different asian.am aritist community here in the sobay!   sure, l.a. n' the rest'f socal has'em 2.   in the end, what i've just discussed is just a bunch'f generalisations n' stereotypes n' preconceptions.   norcal, socal? aktually, 's'all good.   in either case, dude... i'm strayed quite a bit 'way from my original topik'f cali4nia gas pri¢es.   well, rt now, the order'f gas pri¢e$ from ¢heapest to most expen$ive is: 1) berkeley, 2) the sobay / san jo / silly valley, n' 3) socal.   @ the same time, i don't 4get when the touchless car wash on oxford st n' kittredge st 1st opened up n' had ¢heap gas or when the arco on marin ave n' san pablo ave had 99¢/gal gas.   sure, those were good times but also anomalies, don'tchu think?

    [a li'l later] cos that last paragraph was like 3 or 4 paragraphs in 1, i've now gone back n' colour.coded the diff themes.

    on sat, cal lost the futbol game to usc 10 to 35.   this sat's the big game.   my cowerker sent me these 2 links:

    as u know, i don't keep up w/ sports.   dude, don't ask me 'bout futbol, baseball, or basketball games.   when it comes to sports, in gen'l i'd prefer to participate, not watch.   otherwise, i'd 'least prefer to watch my friends play, not strangers.   still, if it comes down to it, i'd prefer to watch collegiate sports instead'f professional sports cos i feel i have more'f a stake in it.   i'm obviously 'least a li'l proud 'bout being a berkeley alumnus.

    a new palmone store's opening up in valley fair!   kewl, i wish it the best'f luck, altho' i worry the pri¢es won't be as good as what i'll find online.

    during my lunchbrk, i werked out in the gym, i did 20 mins'f precor.   i tried to push myself a li'l but just a li'l since i'm sick.   then, i stretched 4 a while.   i chatted n' sed hi to a few cowerkers.   i'd like to have more friends @ werk; that's 4 sure.   i don't like feeling lonely in the office.   i'd like to think that some ppl'r on my side.   after my werkout n' shower, i went to the werk.com cafeteria n' bought a huge chicken burrito w/ chips 4 $5.   that's the best deal i've gotten @ the new cafeteria.

    i've been eating 2 much these days.   last nite, the beautiful kaela hwang n' i ate dinner @ the campbell pruneyard outback steakhouse.   u c, last yr (almost 1 yr 'go), kaela got a $20 outback gift certificate 4 trying to donate blood.   the donor center didn't let her cos she didn't have 'nuff iron or sumpthin'.   last nite, we finally used that gift certificate, altho' it doesn't cover dinner 4 2.   $20 barely gets u 1 dinner @ an "amerikan family eating establishment" these days.   it's interesting cos we don't usually eat @ places like outback 2 often.   sometimes, we'll go to chili's, but that's usually cos we'll have friends or family that wanna go.   aktually, kaela sez she likes chili's cos they're not afraid to be innovated, 'least in so much as having a few asian.inspired dishes on the menu.   yah, aktually, i've never really not liked chili's.   it's hard not to like, but it is a bit suburban compared to some'f the other independently.owned restaurants we patronise.   it does bring back decently good memories'f growing up in the suburbs, i s'ppose.   well, last nite, kaela ordered the queensbury salad, n' i ordered the ribs on the barbie.   we shared.   also, kaela had some kind'f iced tea, n' i ordered a "small" (12 oz) bud lite just cos, earlier in the day, i'd been taking an online survey 'bout bier/maekjoo.   that got me thinkin' 'bout bier.   i don't drink bier to get drunk; i just like the taste.   in fakt, i didn't feel the alkohol @ all last nite!   by the way, on sun nite, when i went to safeway@rivermark, i even bought a 6.pk'f o.doul's non.alkoholic bier.   can u believe that?!   it ain't bad.   it's like bud lite w/o ne alkohol.   i'm sure the waiter wanted me to order the 22 oz bier, but man... i wasn't out to get drunk, as i sed; i just wanted some bier taste to go w/ my ribs!   i personally like the taste'f bier, as i keep saying.   the fud was good altho' 2 salty n' 2 fatt'ning.   ain't that usually the case w/ fud from restaurants like these?   *shrug* like, 2day, i pondered skipping my lunchtime werkout until i 'membered what i ate last nite.   funny; outback's s'pposed to have this australian theme, but is this really australian fud?!   u know what'd be kewl's if they served some australian indigenous ppl's fud!   well, after dinner, kaela n' i went to rasputin's music store on bascom ave.   it was already pretty late tho'.   in fakt, we just plain got a late start on the evening, eating pretty late.   i guess it all started w/ coming home from werk/skool late.

    [later] i just signed up 4 the company 5k run.   no refunds, man; i've gotta do it.   i'm just wondering whether or not i should go to taekwondo sparring praktice on thurs nite.   *sigh* i guess i shouldn't.   i dunno... i figure tho' the worst comes to worst, i just walk.   however, if i get a bad charlie horse or sumpthin' it might be painful 'nuff just to walk.   u know tho'... i wish i could praktice taekwondo more often in gen'l.   a couple'f wks 'go, i was telling kaela how it felt good to have tired legs from 2 much exercise.   i told her that it brought me back to earlier days when i used to praktice competition taekwondo so much that my legs were often sore n' that when i prakticed my muscles'd fatigue b4 my cardio would.   then kaela sed that that's not good cos i should vary the areas'f my body that i exercise, get a well.rounded werkout.   yah... i didn't think 'bout nethin @ that time, but u know what?   sure, it's good to get a well.rounded werkout, have a well.rounded werkout routine.   however, the best taekwondo sparring competitors honestly rn't necessarily the most "well.rounded" athletes; rather they're fighting machines.   if i want to be the best taekwondo competitor i can be, i shouldn't necessarily aim to be a ironman triathlete.   they're 2 diff things.   i've cn in my time men n' women who were really, really fit but couldn't per4m in taekwondo, 'specially olympic style taekwondo sparring, as well as u'd expekt 4 a person in that shape.   it's true.   back when i was much, much, much, much better @ sparing, i prob'ly didn't have as good'f "physique" as i do now... not that i'm mr. studmuffin beefcake now or nething... however, i definitely had much less upper.body strength n' muscle.   in fakt, i might've had less muscle in gen'l.   still, i had lots'f fast.twitch muscle in my lower body n' just plan had the mind'f a taekwondoist... the mind n' eye.   now? *shrug* as i sed in an earlier entry, i'm just joe glass.

    nowadays, ppl in our dojang think i have 1 certain trick.   well... *shrug* that 1 "trick," i aktually learned from linda buell.   i don't 'member 'xaktly when it was, but she taught that move to the cal taekwondo team when i was there.   i aktually don't 'member if it was when i was aktually on the team or later.   i think 'twas when i was on the team.

    [later] while reading a spam mail from citronelle restaurant, i was reminded how much'f a fan i am'f theirs.   i really like citronelle restaurant.   it's nice that they sometimes have live jazz now.   why didn't i become a jazz musician, man? *sigh*   blue mango thai restaurant on stevens creek (not 2 far from citronelle) also has live jazz now n' then.   that's kewl.   these restaurants r kewl.   we've yet to visit chris yeo's new restaurant... what's it called?   oh yah... sino.   it's in santana row.   chris yeo's the owner'f the straits chain'f asian fusion restaurants.   oh, aktually straits is singaporean cuisine.   neway, dude... asian fusion cusine rocks.   while we're discussing that winchester blvd / stevens creek blvd neighbourhood'f san jo, lemme mention that i'd like to try a russian restaurant sometime.   it's just that i know nevsky's is out there @ 1740 winchester blvd; campbell, ca (408.379.1126).   also, there's 'pparently some "russian tea house" @ 2080 s bascom ave; campbell, ca (408.879.8077) n' "russian café & deli" @ 1712 winchester blvd, campbell, ca (408.379.6680).   dude, i'd like to try nevsky's sometime.   i think i've cn it mentioned quite a bit in those silicon valley metro n' the wave magazine publikations.   after all, that's the neighbourhood that those publikations focus so much on.   coincidentally, kaela n' i were out there last nite!   (we ate dinner @ outback in campbell in the pruneyard $hopping ¢enter, in case u 4got.)

    [later] 4get u not that nivea 4 men facial soap produkts ¢o$t $4.99 on a regular basis @ wal*mart while $6.99 on $ale @ safeway.   i believe u'll be able to find it 4 $4.49 on sale somewhere.   neway, it's got that sodium laurel sulfate or whatever stuff, which means it's not that great.   kaela sez it's basikally shampoo.

    [later] "the end of all things is near.   therefore be clear minded and self-controlled so that you can pray.   above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins.   offer hospitality to one another without grumbling.   each one should use whatever gift he has received to serve others, faithfully adminstering god's grace in its various forms.   if anyone speaks, he should do it as one speaking the very words of god.   if anyone serves, he should do it with the strength god provides, so that in all things god may be praised through jesus christ.   to him be the glory and the power for ever and ever.   amen."
    1 peter 4:7~11

    that passage was from the handout @ this past sunday's service @ grx.   aktually, shoot... lemme share w/ u what pastor bobby lee wrote as the intro to the semon on the cover'f the handout:
    "in the world of architecture, they say that form follows function.   in other words, an architect will design a structure based on its intended use.   in the kingdom of god, however, function follows form.   i believe that god has given each of us gifts and talents and has shaped us for a purpose.
    'what am i meant to do with the gifts and talents that god has given me?'   'what am i made for?'   'what am i supposed to do with the rest of my life?'   'if only god would just tell me what to do, i'd do it...'"

    [later] 1102p: well, i went to ±ǵ taekwondo praktice.   kaela stayed home sick.   later, the group wewnt out to pho hoa.   i dropped sooni off n' picked up kaela.   it was a fun, fun evening/nite, aktually.   it was the most social we'd been in a while.   it was very fun.   it's funny cos the young guys had lots'f friends @ the restaurant.   i joked to kaela that it was like "the dc" 4 them.   in case u don't know in berkeley, "dc" means "dining commons," what we call the dorm cafeterias.   yah, when u'r a undergrad n' go eat @ "the dc," u'r bound to run into friends.   *sigh* it was fun: matt, ben, kaz, mark, duk, julie, kaela, me... did dennis also come? hrm, i thought he was gonna come, but he wasn't there, n' ppl sed he took off somewhere, rt?   neway, dude, it was fun.

    now, i'm home.   i'm thinkin' 'bout t.giving dinner as i invited some taekwondo friends over as well as my family.   i hope i didn't overdo it or overcommit.   hrm, how many ppl?   hrm, that's 'lot... but i'm counting 2 kids... hrm... well, i'll obviously whip out the extra table n' chairs.   this house isn't really big, but i want it to be a happy place.   i'd best go to cosentino's n' reserve a turkey.   i'm wondering if i need to reserve a bigger turkey, but i think 1 reason our turkeys turn out well's that we buy small turkeys.   should we just still buy a small turkey but make more side dishes?   or perhaps we can have a turkey n' a ham. *shrug*   where can i find good recipes online?   there used to be some good site on a berkeley server somewhere.   i totally 4get the domain name, etc., (the url).

    hrm... this ham glaze recipe sounds not bad:

    yah? does that sound good?   shoot, aktually lots'f other ham recipes on this site sound good.   oh, the site i'm lookin' @'s: alicia's country kitchen, ham and ham glaze recipes (http://www.aliciasrecipes.com/baked_ham_recipes.htm)

    dude, how 'bout this 1?

    dude, i'm lookin' @ lots'f t.giving recipes.

    oh yah, @ pho hoa, i ate my usual, a regular bowl'f #7 tripe n' rare steak pho w/ nonfat broth n' steamed sprouts.   kaela had the same but gave me her rare steak.   we also had a free "summer" roll.

    [a li'l later] 1148p: 1 currently popular "dance" tune i like's madonna's "hung up."   a while 'go (this wknd?), i was watching on mtv the european mtv musik awards.   i saw some young blonde chick come out n' sing n' dance in a swimsuit on stage.   i didn't realise 'twas madonna cos she looked so young.   i just thought 'twas some gurl that looked n' sounded like madonna.   crazy how some ppl can look so young 4 so long, huh?


    2005.11.16

    1'f these days, i'll try normal spelling

    ħ: u know how i was saying a few days 'go how i'm not very popular 'mongst the bloggin' kommunity?   yah, maybe ppl don't like reading my journal.   last nite, i was thinkin' 'bout sumpthin': maybe ppl don't like reading my journal cos they find it hard to interpret benospelling!!!   :-o<   yah, maybe so, maybe so!   maybe i'd get more readers if i used normal amerikan english spelling, non?   well, shoot, i'm hardly the attention.wh0re kind'f blogger, but i'm considering maybe going like a month or so w/ normal amerikan english spelling n' checking if my readership goes up.   it'd be just an experiment, rt?   i dunno...   like, i do sometimes wonder if i could be a real writer.   i could maybe write 'bout fud, culture, maybe silly valley culture, or maybe even bay area asian.am kulture. *shrug* neway, if i really were to be a "serious" writer, then i guess i'd need to write in normal, standard, boring amerikan english, rt?   however, 4get u not that i often use benospelling to write faster.   i don't have 'lot'f time in my day.   i've gotta expediate my writing.   to warp time, i use benospelling.   perhaps if i were to use standard, boring, amerikan english; i wouldn't be able to write as much.   in ne case, ... [a few mins later] uh, i 4got what i was gonna say.   well, 'nother reason i sometimes change the spelling'f certain wurds is to avoid certain types'f search engine searches.   4 example, many ppl do as i do in using the spelling "p0rn" 4 that particular wurd so that ppl who search 4 that particular wurd on a search engine won't end up here.   i've done that w/ other wursd recently, in case u haven't noticed.   neway, that's nuthin' i invented.   kids've been doing it 4 ages.   i guess it's more'f a gen y thing, not so much a gen x. thing.

    [later] /: dude, didju k now u can get a cal watch from fossil???   it's not ¢heap @ $85, n' i don't want 1 since i already have several nice watches.   however, here's the link: http://www.fossil.com/shopping/product/detailmain.jsp?itemID=24601&itemType=PRODUCT&iMainCat=961&iSubCat=979&iProductID=24601.   maybe some cal alum on ur christmas list'd like 1.   have u started making ur christmas list?   have u started planning ur t.giving menu?   [later] that's just me, huh? *shrug* nah, lots'f ppl r planning their t.giving menus by now.

    early this afternoon, i went to my chiro apptmnt.   then, the beautiful kaela hwang n' i went to lunch @ tk noodles.   dude, check this out: "nutrition fact of noodle soup #8" (http://www.tknoodle.com/share/cgi-bin/site.cgi?site_id=tknoodle&page_id=nutrition8).   i had to buy some expen$ive gas @ the chevron near barber ln.   it was really expen$ive.   that station's always expen$ive.   when i returned to werk, i had a very bizzy afternoon.

    2nite, kaela n' i'r s'pposed to go watch a movie.   hrm, it's wed nite, so we'll get free popcorn.   kewl.   we're going cos we have a free amc moviewatcher's club tic that we've gotta use by sat.   what movie shall we watch???   some movies that r playin' @ amc mercado 20 that interest me r: kiss kiss, bang bang, prime, shopgirl, jarhead, n' the legend of zorro.   2 bad we didn't c the 1st zorro movie.   eh, i dunno if i'm all that excited 'bout that 1.   which'd i most like to c?   i think shopgirl.   hrm, aktually kiss kiss, bang bang sounds good 2.   altho' i can imagine tolerating prime, it does sound like a li'l bit much'f a "chick flick," don't it?   mmm, as kaela n' i were discussing, altho' ppl'd prob'ly think i'd like chicken little n' that kaela'd like it as well; we both aktually rn't excited @ all 'bout it.   it's sad, but we agree that the humour sounds corny n' the chicken looks well... not that cute.   dude, harry potter starts thurs @ some theatres.   am i hyped 'bout that?   well, honestly, i'm not really hyped.   i've honestly lost interest in that series'f movies.   what's the next movie i'm hyped to c? *shrug* now that the star wars series is over n' the matrix series is over... *shrug* there's not even 'nother lotr movie... so... :-/ i'm not all that fond'f the spiderman series'f movies...   what's this aeon flux movie?   was that a video game or anime b4 or sumpthin'???   memoirs'f a geisha? will that be good?   hrm, yah, it's got potential.   dick and jane??? *shrug* it's a jim carrey / tea leoni movie.   it's s'pposedly a remke, but i'd never heard'f it.


    2005.11.17

    paid home insurance

    ħ/, [almost time 4 lunchbrk]: it's been a month since my dad's b.day.   oh yah... so my dad's gonna be moving out'f san jo, out'f cali4nia n' over to north carolina 4 werk.   :-o crazy, huh?   it's really depressing to think how li'l i saw my dad in recent months even tho' he's been living in san jo this whole time.   i feel awful.   when we were in taiwan, my mom's sista, my aunt, asked us if we hung out 2gether 'lot when we both were living in san jo (i think, @ the time, my dad wasn't living in san jo.); but my dad sed that we didn't cos i'm always bizzy w/ friends n' stuff.   *sigh* that's sad 4 me to hear, but *shrug* i dunno... is it true?   well, heck! i am always bizzy, as u know.   in the past, like ~5 yrs 'go, i really did put friends as a higher priority than family.   these days, i've been really trying to reconcile that. *sigh* as a man, i instinktively need to think more 'bout my future nuclear family rather than my past.   yah, i believe it's just my instinkts as a man... u could call it "paternal" instinkts or whatever.   personally, i think women tend to think more 'bout their parents n' how they miss the families they grew up w/, not so much 'bout starting their own families.

    dude, check it out!   urban outfitters's selling replicas'f the "pathetic" christmas tree from that kewl charlie brown christmas special (tv show)!   here's the link: http://www.urbanoutfitters.com/shopping/product/detailmain.jsp?itemID=9352&itemType=PRODUCT&iMainCat=336&iSubCat=571&iProductID=9352   the tree ¢o$tS $24.   funny, huh?

    [a few mins later] bills to pay: i need to pay our home insurance, our property tax, n' my auto registration (w/ smog check).   maybe u should remind me.   i guess i'll go pay my home insurance @ the insurance office rt now cos i can't find the bill.   i don't get it.   i c it online, but i can't pay it online.   as u might expekt, i wanted to werkout during lunch, but i don't think i'll get to.   futhermore, 2morrow's the company 5k run! :-o i'm not really prepared... n' worse yet, i think i shall go to taekwondo sparring praktice 2nite.   if i get injured, i'll be walking n' not running 2morrow morn. *sigh*

    [later] : do u know what a rutabega is?   do u know what a rhubarb is?   try wikipedia, man: rutabaga (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rutabega) n' rhubarb (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rhubarb).

    last nite, the beautiful kaela hwang n' i dined @ fresh choice.   dude! we're eating out waaay 2 much these days!   the prob's that we're both sick, n' thus it's hard to cook.   luckily, i had a ¢oupon that made the meal $7.49/person, which isn't that ¢heap but better than $8.99/person.   u know what's very interesting?   last nite, we got to try fresh choice's pho.   well, it surely did not taste like pho, but it wasn't the worst thing i've ever eaten.   however, it does taste like sumpthin' i could make @ home but just don't.   they use chicken broth, not beef broth.   it's just chicken broth poured over bean sprouts, red peppers, n' uh... some other veggies.   we ate well... 2 well.   we ate salad tho'.   that's good, rt? *shrug* there was 1 interesting "fall" salad @ the front that had some mysterious, red veggie.   i wondered if it was a rutabaga or rhubarb, but kaela sed 'twas a beet.   she was rt; i just checked the fresh choice website, n' she was rt.

    after dinner, we went to amc mercado 20 to use our free moviewatchers card tic to watch the 945p showing'f steve martin's shopgirl.   ah, that's the kind'f movie i like: a movie 'bout love relationships that isn't a chick flick.   dude, u know me; i totally like to discuss relationships... like love relationships.   however, that's not to say that that's a good thing.   *shrug*   u could say it's a bad habit.   the movie stars steve martin, claire danes, n' jason schwartzman.   in a way, maybe it discusses courtship more than relationships.   in either case, i liked the movie.   it has good cinematogrphy, if u ask me.   it's funny cos most ppl'd say it's important to watch sci.fi n' aktion movies (w/ big special effekts) in theatres.   however, i'm glad i watched this movie in a theatre cos it had many'f these starry nite scenes n' panoramic views'f los angeles that just wouldn't look so good on tv screen in a lit rm.   like honestly, i really don't think i'd enjoy the movie as much @ home.   in case u haven't heard, read, or figured out, the movie's 'bout a somewhat "average" young lady (claire danes) who's courted by an old man (steve martin) n' a young man (jason schwartzman).   i guess it kind'f explores what a woman needs in a relationship.   it's a li'l wise but to a greater extent funny.

    these morns, the air in our house's cool, brisk, n' chilly, n' thus i have a very hard time waking up.   it's awful.   furthermore, i've been staying up late werking on dj stuff 4 sat's wedding.   if it hadn't been 4 having that free movie tic, i definitely would've been home instead, werkin' on dj stuff 4 sat's wedding.   i have bizzy days nowadays.   werk's bizzy.   *sigh* it's crazy.   ~5 yrs 'go, sure i was bizzy@werk.com; but, i really felt i had more time to breathe.   now?   *shrug* i feel more often that i'm "on thin ice" or "on the edge."   u know; i dunno if i've mentioned this b4; but it's scary being the lowest guy on the totem pole, u know?   i think i've discussed this w/ some bruthas from our grx t3s bible study b4.   i mean, i think some other brutha had brought it up, n' i hadn't realise or didn't want to realise how much it applied to me as well if not how much more it applied to me.   dude, i have now several yrs'f industry experience.   however, switching industries (i.e., the industry'f the produkt'f the company i werk 4) n' going back to skool really set me back a li'l.   really!   however, yah, i do of course hope (still) that going back to skool, thru grad skool's sumpthin' that'll benefit me in the long run.   i hope so.   of course, i don't regret going to grad skool; no way!   'twas a great chance to realign my career, n' i learned so much.   shoot, in some ways, i miss skool.   i miss gettin' to hang out in the library or in the study areas'f the engineering bldg all day.   i miss buying espresso drinks from the café, smoothies from jamba juice, or bad4me fud from burger king n' then just sittin' n' studying.   that wasn't a really bad life necessarily.   however, shoot... we've all gotta move on.   now, life's more 'bout bills, bills, bills.   that doesn't sound appealing, n' it shouldn't.   it's just a part'f a life, a fakt'f life.   sometimes, i need to remind myself 'bout how, when we lived w/ my mom, we couldn't really host friends.   dude, do i wish we still lived w/ my mom?   no! i'm very grateful n' thankful that we have our own house.   it's just that it's admittedly a li'l bit not fun to be paying bills.

    [just less than a min later or so] in order to ensure we could pay our property tax bill, earlier this yr, i xferred $$$ out'f my usual $avings acct into a diff acct just 4 the tax bill.   just now, i xferred funds back 4 the upcoming bill. *sigh* the bill's not due till 20051212; but it's better to be earlier than late, better to be safe than sorry.

    dude, maybe the reason no1 reads my journal nemore's cos i talk 'bout boring cr@p like this!   who the heck wants to read me complain 'bout our household finances all day?!   *sigh* yah, isn't crazy how my journal's evolved?   sometime >5 (greater than 5) yrs 'go, ppl'd comment that they liked reading my journal cos i was such an optimist, had a fun life, n' talked 'bout good musik.   now?   well, heck, i'm still an optimist, rn't i?   i'd like to think i still do fun things, but i understand that my typikal domestik/domestikated aktivities rn't as fun to read bout as the clubbing, partying, n' going out every nite w/ friends that i did back in those days.   *sigh* it's funny cos some "church" ppl talk 'bout things like "clubbing, partying, n' going out every nite w/ friends" as such a bad thing, but u know what? inherently, it really isn't.   it's not like i went out n' did drugs had $3x or even got drunk.   i mean, ok.... i got tipsy now n' then, but i wasn't "a drunk."   i had pretty wholesome, clean fun; but i was out n' having boisterous fun 'lot.   *shrug* neway, dude... now that that life's past, i don't regret that i've moved on, rt?   i can't be a total kid 4ever, rt?   or should i have more'f a peter pan mentality? :-/   musik... ppl liked my journal better when i talked 'bout all that mod rock n' alt rock as opposed to how i so often talk 'bout kpop now 'days.

    [later] : dude, it's just plain unbelievable n' amazing how warm it is during the day these days.   it's nov.   yah, as i sed, it's quite brisk n' chilly in the morn, which makes it hard 4 me to wake up.   (well, earlier, i'd refined my sentence into "these morns, the air in our house's cool, brisk, n' chilly, n' thus i have a very hard time waking up."   that's a superior sentence as it has less passive voice.)   it's cold in the morn, warm during the day, n' then cold @ nite.   i s'ppose it could be colder.   i'm glad we rn't using the heater.   4 a short while, we did use the heater in the morn.   in fakt, i s'ppose i turned it on this sun morn, in a vain attempt to wake up kaela 4 church.   i don't wanna go into hibernation mode, definitely not just yet.

    [later] ¼: *breath* well, i'm still@werk.com.   it's been a day @ werk.   it's been a day.   during lunch, i did not werkout.   i simply went to the insurance office, paid off my bill, n' returned to werk, where i ate a turkey, ham n' cheese sandwich n' a blueberry yogurt that i brought.   it felt good to eat a sandwich that i made n' brought.   i don't wanna $pend more $$$ eatin' out when i don't hafta.   this wk has mangled our monthly budget.   since we didn't really travel this month, that's $aving us a li'l $$$.   i'll be making a li'l $$$ by djing.   my gig next month got cancelled, n' that was a better paying gig.   it's funny to think 'bout $$$ n' djing.   if i don't get paid well, can i do less good'f a job?   think 'bout it!   if a band gets paid less, will the singer sing a li'l out'f tune?   will, the drummer drum a li'l out'f beat?   well, most likely, no, rt?


    2005.11.18

    5k run

    ݿ ħ: this morn, sooni n' i both did my company's 5k run @ mission college.   it was pretty kewl, n' i'm happy that i got to run w/ sooni.   she did well.   she got tired cos we haven't been running much lately, n' she stopped to poop 1nce, but we did well.   i dunno our time, but my friend shark sed we prob'ly came in 'round 28 mins.   it was fun.   i'm very happy that, 4 1nce, sooni didn't get kicked out'f 1'f our company events. :-) there's 'nother big 5k run, the silicon valley turkey trot next wk on t.giving day.   it'd be fun to do, but 1) i'm sure i won't have time cos i'll be bizzy cooking 4 our many guests, n' 2) i dunno if this 5k run'll be as nice or tolerant'f sooni.

    [later] in case u thought otherwise, lemme tell u that i'm decently bizzy these days.   it's just a li'l crazy that i did this 5k 2day, while 2morrow i've gotta dj a wedding.   bizzy bizzy, man.   2nite, we have a grx t3s couples small grp potluck thing, n' the beautiful kaela hwang n' i've gotta bring sumpthin'.   i think we'll make some kind'f pasta.   dude, it's crazy cos i've gotta go home after werk n' cook n' then rush over to fremont?   is that rt?   it's very crazy, trying to balance werk, hobbies, homelife, etc.; i know.   does it sound crazy to u?   rt now, i'm sick.   i'm trying to go 'long w/ my normal tasks.   kaela's sick.   she's been sleeping more n' has been missing classes n' stuff.   it's kind'f funny cos 4 so long, i've been whining n' whining that kaela's @ skool so much, n' i don't get to c her.   aktually, this 0.25 she has a slightly better skedule, n' i aktually do get to c her more.   however, man... it's kind'f hard to say, but me, i'm quite bizzy.   even tho' kaela sez now that she has an easier skedule this 0.25, it cms to me that @ the beginning'f each 0.25, she sez it'll be a bad 0.25, that she'll always be in class or studying.   in fakt, she sez that now 'bout next 0.25, etc.   i dunno, man.   i think it's true that she was bizzier in certain earlier 0.25s.   maybe, now, i've gotten used to her not being there so much, rt?   4 sun's grx t.giving lunch, kaela n' i've gotta bake a ham.   we're committed to baking a ham.   i was trying to fit that into my wknd skedule along w/ running this 5k 2day, cooking 4 the potluck 2nite, n' djing that wedding 2morrow.   then, kaela told me not to worry 'bout the ham, that she'd take care'f everything w/ that ham.   however, now she's signed up to go to yet 'nother'f her many, many chiro seminars.   as usual, this 1's both sat n' sun.   4tunately, this 1's in santa clara, very nearby to both our home n' the wedding reception.   on wed evening, she did say that i still don't need to worry, that she'll prepare everything 4 the ham, that all i'll hafta do is throw it in the oven, take it out, n' bring it to church.   yah? *shrug* she sez her chrio seminar'll be over @ 1230p, that she'll miss sunday service, but that she'll make it to the lunch.   yah?   *sigh* crazy crazy, man!   how're we fittin' all this in our skedules???   next wk'll be hektic.   i'll be happy to knock this wedding gig out.   i plan to do a good job; don't worry.   i know it sounds like i just wanna get it over w/; but no, i'll do a good job.   i've been prepping 4 it a li'l, but 2morrow'll still be a big cram sesh (session), i s'ppose.   2morrow n' 2nite.   then, it'll be off to bake the ham 2morrow, rt?   let's make a list'f my aktivites 4 the next wk or so:

    dude, i really wanna record a new mix cd this season!   last nite, @ taekwondo praktice, i felt so bad cos sabuhmnim didn't have ne good musik.   i can tell he'd really like me to make him a mix cd.   i need to set my 'puter back up asap. *sigh* it was his b.day on tues.   i've wanted to copy some compilation cds 4 him, but i haven't had time.   last nite, we had b.day cake 4 him.   aktually, duk bought the cake n' brought it on tues, but sabuhminim left.   thus, we celebrated last nite instead.   we had sparring last nite.   it was fun.   we had team scoring: the red team v. the blue team.   i was on the red team, n' we lost.   i got my @$$ systematikally kicked.   'least it was done so by some very qualified taekwondoists.   i mean, heh... i'd hate to settle 4 that as my goal or nething... like, i do wanna be a better taekwondo sparrer.   i don't wanna think'f praktice as a competition, of course; cos we should be helping each other out.   what am i doing rt?   what am i doing wrong?   i think i do 'lot more wrong than rt!   i want to praktice taekwondo more often.   i wish the dojang were open 4 us every day.

    i wonder if kaela's still wearing her glasses 2day.   'member: on mon she had some prob w/ her eye or contakt.   she'd been wearing glasses this wk.   2day, when i left 4 the 5k, she was still in bed.   when i returned, she was still in bed.   when i left 4 werk, she was still in bed.   she's sick.   when i showered in our master bathrm after the 5k, b4 going to werk; i noticed that her contakts case was back to normal as if she's wearing contakts.   u c, i aktually don't mind if she wears glasses.   she cms to think i do, but i don't.   i recently heard from a friend that a common friend'f ours used to yell @ his gf @ the time if she wore glasses in publik cos he thought it looked bad.   wow.   u know that i have a vanity prob, no doubt.   yah, i do feel looking good's important that it shows that u care n' respekt other ppl when u take the time to make urself presentable.   i personally think there's nuthin' wrong w/ trying to look good.   of course, being obsessed w/ it's bad.   neway, i think it's fine 4 gurls to wear glasses, but i worry 'bout 1 thing: that gurls think that when they wear glasses they need to go into that slob mode, that stay @ home n' eat choco ben & jerry's aisukuriimu mode.   eh, i don't think that's such a good idea.   instead, glasses r best used, w/o doubt, to achieve that nice, dominatrix skoolteacher look.   otherwise, alternatively, 4 that pleasant, "it's always the quiet 1s," dominatrix librarian look.   think 'bout how in the early 1990s, college boys liked lisa loeb.   (she had like only a couple'f hit songs.)   neway, college boys liked her eyeglasses look.   if u insist on not living in the 1990s n' wanna talk 'bout more recent pop culture, let's discuss how hyori comes out on korean tv w/ glasses on now n' then.   also, that p0rnst@r gasoo sungeun per4ms in some fake glasses, doesn't she?

    now there's a totally diff topik that i've been meaning to discuss 4 ages: the recent trend'f making kpop divas out'f 4mer p0rnst@rs!   in the earlier days'f modern kpop/, we had cutesy li'l finklses gurls.   li'l hi.skool teenyboppers doin' their cute li'l thing, dimples n' ponytails n' all.   then the korean musik industry sed it was time to $3xy it up a li'l, s!uttify it a li'l... just a li'l.   they started having finkl come out in black leather, having ses make videos w/ whips, n' of course have do both'f the above.   then came miss world cup Ź̳ shim mina that hrm... to put it in the worst way possible... is the koreanequivalent to having pamela anderson start a pop musik singing career.   i dunno how else to put it: it's like having some dallas cowboy cheerleader (to use a 1970s allusion) on stage, prancing 'round in hotpants, lipsyncin', u know?   however, that wasn't 'nuff.   now, they've got 4mer p0rnst@rs like ha yoosuhn (ha u-sun), yooni (u:nee), n' sung eun on all the live kpop shows.   like, i'm not sure if they're just "p0rnst@rs" in the sense that they've done some modeling w/o garments on or if they're like serious, "nasty" video stuff queens, i.e. they make the kind'f biology/physiology videos that collge boys want to watch. *shrug* some1 else'll hafta fill me in on that.   however, yah... that's apparently the background they come from, rt?   *shrug* neway, dude... lemme tell u: don't judge.   does this history say that they're not good ppl?   does this history say they're not worthy'f nething? :-/ no.   to get on my pseudo.preacher's soapbox; u know, if a p0rnst@r came to ur church n' wanted to learn 'bout jesus, u'd better be weilling to talk!

    [later] : dude, 1 thing i've gotta add to my list'f things to do is clear out my car 2morrow to load up my dj equipment. :-/

    [later] : dude, go rt now to shutterfly.com n' use ¢oupon ¢ode AME3-FREE 4 a free poster.size print (~$4 s&h).


    2005.11.20

    28th monthversary

    Ͽ , 1031p: it's sun nite, the sun b4 t.giving.   i'm kind'f sleepytired; but shoot, i've still got lots'f housechores to do. :-( i was trying to clean up the messy, messy kitchen table.   the beautiful kaela hwang's on the couch, watching all sorts'f stoopid tv shows i hate.   *sigh* i'm tired n' my rt knee hurts badly, so i figure i'll just take a break n' type up a journal entry, rt?

    yesterday, was kaela's n' my 28th monthversary.   this wknd, kaela was @ yet 'nother chiropraktice seminar, as i mentioned in an earlier entry.   yah, it's like she's @ 1'f these every frickin' wknd, i know.   she hasta pay to go to these, n' she doesn't even find them that great afterwards, but she always goes.   *sigh* whatever.   neway, i djed a wedding last nite.   i guess it was kind'f hektic, but 1) it usually is, n' 2) it was a fun wedding.   i had a good time, the couple was kewl, n' the guests were kewl n' all.   i had fun.   i played lots'f fun songs.   i tried to mix well.   honestly, i feel i had hi pts n' low pts, but i guess ppl had fun.   oh yah! cal beat stoopid stanfurd, 27 to 3, rt?   i 4get, the score, but i'm happy we won.   @ the wedding reception, some ppl were watching the game in the bar.   both the bride n' groom were cal alums.   i'll talk more 'bout yesterday later.

    on fri nite, we went to a potluck 4 our grx t3s couples small grp.   sat was the wedding.   sun, we had a t.giving lunch @ grx.   i had to bake a ham this morn.   on fri, kaela bought a hame from safeway.   it was easy.   i just threw it in the oven, baked it, took it out, n' brought it to church.   it was pre.glazed n' pre.sliced.   heh, during service, pastor dave asked ppl to volunteer to come up to the front to talk 'bout what we're thankful 4.   i mentioned how this 1 brutha scott came out to the curb n' carried my ham into the church, so i didn't hafta walk 'cross the parking lot w/ it n' all.   i appreciated that.   n' neway, it just goes to show the friendly nature'f ppl @ our church, n' yah, it's all such a blessing!   pastor dave's sermon talked 'bout how we need to be grateful n' thankful 4 what we've got.   yah, u know... even tho' i'm sometimes frustrated that i've got a wife that sits on the couch n' watches trashy tv while i clean, i'm definitely thankful cos she's what i need.

    after church, n' after the lunch, kaela n' i went to bed, bath, n' beyond to buy a few t.giving things.   oh yah, we brought sooni w/ us n' tied her out outside.   afterwards, we washed sooni, across the street @ pet fud express.   the h2o pressure was low n' the soap wasn't very concentrated.   oh well.   we bought sooni some yummy chummies salmon treats.   then we went to santana row.   we ate our 28th monthversary dinner @ chris yeo's sino.   :-/ dude, it was ok but not that great, i've gotta admit.   i know some ppl think i don't criticise stuff much, but yah... i like chris yeo's straits; but this?   *sigh* i dunno... 1st off, we were rather unimpressed w/ the rather cr@ppy service.   2ndly, well... altho', while straits is s'pposed to be singaporean fusion, sino cmed to set out to be more'f a chinese fusion place, but... it turned out to be more'f like... *shrug* just 'nother santana row party bar w/ a kitschy chinese theme.   i mean, dude, that's always the risk u take w/ asian fusion fud: will it be americanised ("whitewashed") asian fud???   will it be 1'f these cr@ppy, drunken frat parties w/ an "exotic" asian theme (like miyake's in stanfurd country or miyagi's in l.a.)?   yah... sino honestly's a mix'f all 3: the 1 good thing n' the 2 bad things.   well, sooni was w/ us @ santana row.   we uhm, snuck her into borders 4 a li'l when we went to browse thru cooking mags.   then we ate some bad 4 us ben & jerry's aisukuriimu.   then we went home.   i'm tired.

    oh, what did we eat @ sino?   ok... crab n' mushroom soup (good), "taiwanese" basil clams (more like cantonese black bean sauce clams!   where was the basil?!?!), boneless quail on mushroom sticky rice (where were the shrooms???), n' some kind'f white tea.   yah, the meal was ok but not great.   yah, i'd give them a 2nd chance, but...

    ok, so i'm worried that kirkwood won't be open by t.giving sat! :-( s'pposedly northstar will open on t.giving.


    2005.11.21

    t.giving wk begins.

    ħ: *breath* dude, as my entry title sez, t.giving wk begins today.   how r u?   what'r ur plans 4 this wk?   u know what?   plz sign my gbook n' let me know how u'r doing.   i'd like to know.   i wanna update my list'f upcoming events:

    [later] : i'm eating a mcyukyuk's "premium" club grilled chicken sandwich 4 lunch.   i also had a $1 side salad w/ nonfat dressing. [later] oh, was that dressing non.fat or just lo.fat? *shrug*

    [later] dude, this is not a good journal entry.   i think these past couple'f days, i've been quite scatterbrained w/ my journal.writing.   neway, i've gotta go rserve a diestel ranch turkey @ the santa clara cosentino's sometime.   dude, somewhere i have nice ¢oupon 4 $7 off naturemade vitamins.   where is it?   i've gotta get my oil changed n' get a smog check.

    [later] : dude, i just read over e.mail that a married friend'f mine's getting "separated." :-o whoa!   that's not good! *sigh* dude... that's really awful.   *sigh* marriage's s'pposed to be sumpthin' so sacred, u know?   i mean, shoot... well, i know i have divorced parents, but... 4 my generation, i want better... but *shrug* i dunno... i dunno what's up.


    2005.11.22

    weightlifting n' no lunch b4 hotpot

    ȭ ħ: hrm, can u believe it's 2005?   can u believe that 2005's almost over?   crazy, huh?   dude, i turned 30 this yr. *sigh* yah, journal entries have not been good @ all lately, n' i apologise 4 that.

    [later] : 2day, during my lunchbrk, i weightlifted in the werk.com gym.   all i ate 4 lunch were 2 cups'f safeway fat.free yogurt.   i'm waiting 4 all.u.can.eat hotpot 2nite!

    "the new white flight" by suein hwang (http://online.wsj.com/article/SB113236377590902105.html), published in the wall street journal 20051119 this is a very important article.   u must read it!   the article talks about the asian demographics of monta vista and lynbrook high schools and the resultant overcompetitiveness.   the situation that the article describes is very similar to the environment in which i grew up!   yes, this article really paints a picture'f my developing years n' thus how i became who i am.   like, i really think that these days leland hi skool does not have as much of this asian competitiveness as monta vista and lynbrook.   however, back in my day, it did.   dude, u've simply gotta read this article.   4 1 thing, lemme tell u: it dips a li'l into talkin' 'bout this certain "asian superiority complex" that kids that grew up like me sort'f experienced.   after all, have u seriously not watched better luck tomorrow???   seriously, that's the most accurate portrayal'f asian.am hi.skool life i've ever cn on the big screen. (even tho' i admit it still has many things that rn't accurate, it's "the most accurate.")

    yah, if only i were in the mode to write good journal entries, there r 2 topiks i wanna discuss:
    1) the article above, n'
    2) the recent media blitz over the peoples republic of china's industry.
    it's just unbelievable how much the media's been talkin' 'bout china these days.   w/ my being in the tech industry, i've been hearing 'bout china's growing industry 4 a long, long time now.   however, all'f the sudden, all the newspapers n' tv netwerks r covering it.   uhm, i s'ppose it has to do w/ dubya's visit, rt? *shrug*

    "china's hu tells bush beijing will not tolerate taiwan's independence" (http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20051121/wl_asia_afp/chinausbushtaiwan_051121000827)


    2005.11.23

    cr@ppy attempt @ commenting on "the new white flight" article

    ħ: i've been writing very cr@ppy journal entries lately, n' this 1'll be no diff.   i'm not sure why the quality'f my entries've been so bad lately, but i do apologise.   perhaps, i just don't have much rt brain aktivity these days?   i just don't have creative juices flowing freely, rt?   *shrug* neway, yah, 2day's entry won't be good.   in my head, i picture hugo weaving's agent smith character from the matrix series n' his "why, mr. anderson?   why do you try?   why do you persist?   why? why? why?" monologue.   honestly, i'm not motivated to spend time on writing better entries these days.   1) i've got more important things to take care'f like my career n' t.giving, n' 2) i'm not getting all that much interaktion from my readers whoever they r.   i mean, i know roland's been nice n' signed my gbook, but no 1 else has signed it lately.   sure, i know my site really sucks in that i don't have a comment button or nething. :-( i don't have time to learn to code that kind'f stuff, n' i really don't wanna use xanga or blogger cos i like to keep a more independent, individual look n' feel to my journal.

    it's funny, a while 'go, in my journal, i talked 'bout looking up gwen stefani's song "cool" on wikipedi.org.   2day, it's the featured article! [later] i've been reading wikipedia articles 'bout the matrix.   wow, interesting stuff.   yah, i missed so much'f the story even tho' i've watched the movies multiple times.   i realise now that part'f the reason i haven't fully understood the movies is cos i never played the video games!

    last nite, i met up w/ some hi skool friends (leland hi skool, class'f 1993).   after werk, i went home to meet w/ kaela hwang.   lately, we've been sort'f following the 峪 jang nara k.drama .   it's a pretty cute show.   i s'ppose it's more'f a "typical" k.drama, nothing 2 out'f the ordinary as far as i've cn so far.   neway, after we watched the episode'f that, we left the house to meet up w/ {ken n' grace} n' {jerin n' wami} @ the barber ln hot pot city.   6'f us on 1 hotpot setup.   jerin pted out that whenever he goes to hotpot city, he eats more'f the grilled stuff than the hotpot stuff.   that's true w/ me 2, i think.   i dunno why; it's just easier.   ken n' i shared a pitcher'f kirin biiru.   i didn't expekt to have bier (i guess bier means less rm 4 fud @ this buffet), but eh! it was good bier, so i proceeded.   dude, it was quite a "trip" to meet up w/ an ol' friend after all these yrs.   sure, we talked 'bout ol' times, ppl we used to hang out w/, how things'f changed, the state'f the bay area, etc.   i didn't wanna leave the ladies out'f the conversation n' felt bad when we took 2 much'f a trip down memory lane.   however, i s'ppose i guess it was hard to resist those flashbacks. it's funny; 10 yrs later, jerin looks n' sounds the same.   perhaps, having lost like 50 lbs, i took home the prize'f having changed the most on the outside.   r we not all still the same on the inside?   well, i think the 3'f us'd agree ken changed the most, 4 the better, on the inside; as he doesn't do the "bad things" he used to, i.e. he just plain stays out'f so much trouble these days n' isn't quite the bully he was as a kid.   yah, some1 (i think 'twas jerin) pted out: 3 taiwanese boys, 0 taiwanese wives.   eh, no big deal...   neway, the fud was good; n' if it hadn't been, we couldn't blame the cooks.   i ate lots'f meat.   in preparation 4 that, i'd weightlifted in the werk.com gym @ lunch.

    after the meal, in our clothes that reeked'f bbqed meat, kaela n' i went gro¢ery $hopping @ safeway@rivermark in preparation 4 2morrow's t.giving meal.   oh yah, yesterday evening, b4 coming home, i battled it out @ costco to pick up our t.giving ham to complement our diestel ranch t.giving turkey.   yah, we're having turkey n' ham.   after all, we're having quite a nombre'f ppl over.   dude, i should've bought some more folding chairs!   i'd also 4got to buy a box'f trident white gum.   later, @ safeway@rivermark, i bought 1 pack'f "cool rush" trident white.   it comes in a purple package.   we bought lots'f gro¢eries.   as i was paying 4 all this stuff, i pack'f herbs fell out'f my pile.   i had to pay 4 it separately.   i think my safeway club card didn't go thru that time, n' i lost ~75¢.   i hate situations like that profusely cos it's a "darned if u do, darned if u don't" situation: 1) if u don't complain, u've lost $$$.   2) if u do complalin u'r called a ¢heap @$$ b@$t@rd, 'least silently in ppl's minds.   like, there was a line, so those ppl would've hated me if i held up the line to get my 75¢, u know?   serious, man: "darned if u do, darned if u don't!"

    neway, dude... yesterday, i had 2 major issues to discuss that i didn't get to discuss thoroughly: 1) the recent hype on china n' 2) the recent wall street journal article 'bout the 2 cupertino skool distrikt hi skools monta vista n' lynbrook: "the new white flight" by suein hwang 20051119 (http://online.wsj.com/article_email/SB113236377590902105-lMyQjAxMDE1MzEyOTMxNjkzWj.html).   i aktually got that link from ernest's blog, n' he got it from ben's blog.   heh, i recently 4warded the link to tim fong on the comments page'f his blog.   i think this is an important issue. [later] : as i was saying, i grew up in an environment just like what's described in the article.   i don't think leland hi skool now's quite as extreme as what it was back then or what monta vista n' lynbrook r like now.   i wanna add my comments to what was sed in the article... but i 1st need u to read the article.   u know, some'f my friends from berkeley were from monta vista n' lynbrook n' pretty much all'f my friends from berkeley have friends from those skools whether they know it or not.   it's just plain fakt that leland back in those days as well as monta vista, lynbrook, n' of course lowell in sf just plain feed into uc berkeley.   (shoot, now that i think'f it.   i did read a very similar article to this 1 but 'bout lowell hi skool many yrs 'go. :-/ hrm, that sort'f takes a li'l magik 'way from this article, but u must read it nonetheless!)   yah, i am going total ape$#!+ over this n' 4 good reason!   the world must know!   the world must know what it really is like growing up asian.am in the bay area!   i have a "my story must be told" feeling 'bout this.

    "in silicon valley, two high schools with outstanding academic reputations are losing white students as asian students move in.   why?" that's the subtitle to "the new white flight."   here's the 1st'f many important quotes from the article: "Whites aren't quitting the schools because the schools are failing academically. Quite the contrary: Many white parents say they're leaving because the schools are too academically driven and too narrowly invested in subjects such as math and science at the expense of liberal arts and extracurriculars like sports and other personal interests."   ok, that gives the big overview'f the situation.   really quickly, lemme show u what the article means by "white flight": "In the 1960s, the term 'white flight' emerged to describe the rapid exodus of whites from big cities into the suburbs, a process that often resulted in the economic degradation of the remaining community.   Back then, the phenomenon was mostly believed to be sparked by the growth in the population of African-Americans, and to a lesser degree Hispanics, in some major cities."   then the article contrasts the situation in the 1960s w/ the current silly valley situation: "But this modern incarnation is different.   Across the country, Asian-Americans have by and large been successful and accepted into middle- and upper-class communities.   Silicon Valley has kept Cupertino's economy stable, and the town is almost indistinguishable from many of the suburbs around it.   The shrinking number of white students hasn't hurt the academic standards of Cupertino's schools -- in fact the opposite is true."   heh, check thsi out: "[At Monta Vista], grades are so high that a 'B' average puts a student in the bottom third of a class."   u've gotta understand that this isn't "grade inflation" where teachers just give easier grades to make the school look nicer but that these kids r really smart n/or study hard.   i'll comment now that back in my days @ leland hi skool, there was the kind'f "grade inflation," where an "a" didn't necessarily mean u were smart or studied hard.   what i mean by that is: some non.studious or "on.nerdy" kids took non.honors or non.ap classes n' got "a"s, while students like me took all honors n' ap classes n' sometimes had to settle 4 some kind'f "b" instead'f an "a."   while the uc system's smart n' assigns the "b" in an ap/honors class a 4.0 n' the "a" in an ap/honors class a 5.0, leland hi skool would post up our gpas on the main office window w/o that "uc adjustment."   thus, i had to kick myself 'round 'bout never being in the top 10 cos all sorts'f slackers that took the non.ap route would get 4.0s n' take up all those spots, u know?   let's continue w/ the article: "At Cupertino's top schools, administrators, parents and students say white students end up in the stereotyped role often applied to other minority groups: the underachievers.   In one 9th-grade algebra class, Lynbrook's lowest-level math class, the students are an eclectic mix of whites, Asians and other racial and ethnic groups. . . . In advanced-placement chemistry, only a couple of the 32 students are white and the rest are Asian.   Some white parents, and even some students, say they suspect teachers don't take white kids as seriously as Asians. . . Ms. Gatley, the Monta Vista PTA president, is more blunt: 'White kids are thought of as the dumb kids,' she says."   dude, that's exaktly the environment in which i grew up!   n' u know what?   as i tried to get into in yesterday's cr@ppy entry, it led many'f us to develop an inner attitude'f "asian superiority."   i think many'f us thought we were so great cos'f our genetiks, that we had some kind'f birthrt!   we thought we were invincible.   yes, it's like what's discussed in better luck tomorrow.   (keep in mind that better luck tomorrow's based upon a true story, but the real life kids weren't asian, n' the story was definitely modified a bit)   this is a modern day example'f the "model minority" concept discussed so much in the 1980s n' 1990s in asian.amerikan studies classes @ fine edukational institutions like uc berkeley!   b4 i go on, lemme mention that this "asian superiority" attitude was not good but rather very detrimental.   now, i'll continue: "Cupertino's administrators and faculty, the majority of whom are white, adamantly say there's no discrimination against whites.   The administrators say students of all races get along well.   In fact, there's little evidence of any overt racial tension between students or between their parents."   after i was a few yrs into college @ cal, i heard (mostly 2ndhand from nelson based upon what he heard from his li'l sista) stories'f big brawls btwn white n' asian students @ leland.   i heard that 1 white kid drove to skool w/ a confederate flag on his car, intended as a symbol'f white suprema¢y.   well, back i my days, leland was already rather biracial: only whites n' asians.   it varied from class to class (by class i mean yr not course) how well the 2 races got along.   4 example, in the yr above us the 2 races got 'long great.   a taiwanese guy was the 0.25back'f a mostly white n' asian futbol team.   the ap calculus class had plenty'f whites as well as asians.   my yr?   my yr was pretty bad.   all the whites were "jocks" n' cheerleaders, while the asians were tennis playas, all in only ap/honours classes.   the yr after mine?   they were pretty good, like the yr b4 us; in fakt, very similar to the yr b4 ours.   mike yee played on the futbol team along w/ ppl like pat tillman, i guess.   the yr after that? *shrug* i think they were ok but not quite as integrated as the classes'f 1994 n' 1992 but not as polarised as our class'f 1993.   yrs after that?   *shrug* i have no clue, but i hear racial tension built up n' racial relationship broke down.   n' all that led to flat out physikal violence, apparently.   let's go on: "Mr. Rowley, the school superintendent, however, concedes that a perception exists that's sometimes called 'the white-boy syndrome.'   He describes it as: 'Kids who are white feel themselves a distinct minority against a majority culture.'"   yes, c?! that's totally what i saw @ leland hi skool in 1989~1993!   it's awful.   i was just telling kaela yesterday how there were certain white kids, mostly gurls, whom i saw in my accelerated classes thru.out middle skool but who refused to enroll in the honors/ap classes in hi skool but instead went off to become cheerleaders.   looking back, i don't think it was that they weren't smart 'nuff 4 the honors/ap classes but they felt pressured to mimic a contrasting archetype!   otherwise, true, maybe some white kids couldn't handle the thought'f being surpassed now n' then by asian students, not realising that it wouldn't happen all the time.   it's awful!   these racial stereotypes r awful... from both sides!

    looking 4ward: lemme tell u what i think needs to happen in this situation.   i mean, many ppl prob'ly r content w/ this situation n' say nuthin's wrong.   sure, there r much greater probs in this world like hunger in 3rd world countries or bringing our troops safely home from iraq asap or the environment.   true.   also, many'f my asian brethren may rejoice in this so.called victory.   it's like we're gaining territory or sumpthin'.   also, some white ppl r prob'ly very content in yielding this territory.   me? i find this to be a less than ideal situation.   to me, to consider this a real "victory" 4 asians or asian.ams would be to take a erroneous "2 wrongs make a rt" approach.   yes, we asian.ams have been greatly victimised n' done wrong by certain groups in other races in this nation; but 2day we must strive to lead the way 2ward healing in this racially scarred country (as i've sed in other recent entries).   how do we apply this?   ok, well, 1st off, instead'f taking a "free market," darwinist approach to everything, we asian.ams should use our academik standing in this nation to do some good.   4 example, more asian.ams should get involved w/ edukation, especially edukating those who can't otherwise afford edukation.   i'm talkin' 'bout like inner city tutoring programs, etc.   2ndly, we shouldn't buy into stereotypes'f ne kind.   rejekt hollywood's stereotypes'f asians as well as cupertino's stereotype's non.asians!   just be urself n' be just proud 'nuff 'bout that: not 2 proud, not 2 self.hating.   lemme tell u sumpthin' i started to get into w/ kaela last nite: when i got to berkeley from the bubble'f leland hi skool, i was shocked to c kids who went out drinkin' n' smokin' pot every nite kick my butt very hard in classes (gradewise).   i mean, shoot... in almaden n' cupertino, those were things that studious asians just didn't do; but then i saw these other kids in berkeley do those things n' then kick my butt all over the place akademically.   honestly, it was discouraging as it upset some basik laws'f nature i'd come to accept!   my freshman yr, instead'f trying to understand it, i just locked myself in my dorm room n' played m.u.d. all day n' nite.   what i hadn't realised n' what cupertino.style asian parents still don't realise is that akademic success doesn't hafta have a certain formula n' a kid's really only gonna study a set amt'f time.   now what a kid does w/ the time that he isn't studying?   it can be piano lessons n' orchestra, or it could be church, or it could be basketball, skateboarding, playing in a rock band, volunteering @ a non.profit, hanging out @ malls, having $3x, partying... it could aktually be ne'f those things; n' the kid, as long as the hrs spent studying r good, might do well.   now, i'm not saying u should hope or even let ur kid just do "whatever" w/ those non.study hrs, but... like, honestly, to some extent, realistically, they might not really affekt his/her grades.   they might not, but they also might.   if u ask me drugs r really bad n' very dangerous, n' i urge that parents do make sure their kids don't do drugs.   neway, my pt is that asian kids who develop this "asian superiority" complex in a cupertinoesque environment'll be in 4 a big surprise when they realise that u can't judge a person's intelligence by his/her race; n' yah, that shock may aktually be just plain discouraging.   as i sed, some'f the white kids in my middle skool classes maybe didn't wanna compete w/ asian kids in hi skool cos they didn't wanna lose, not realising they obviously wouldn't always lose, etc.   now, i ask that asian.am kids not tkae on that kind'f mentality.   in life, u'll meet ppl'f all sorts'f races, n' if u have prejudices that certain races r smart n' certain races rn't n' that u don't wanna be beat by some1'f a race that's s'pposedly not as good as urs... man, that's not a good attitude!   simply, don't have those prejudices.   lemme tell u, tho'.   in breaking down racial barriers, yes, i think generations b4 ours often assumed that we all had to conform to one standard culture.   that's so wrong.   if u ask me, the key to racial harmony isn't to have me take on ur culture, but to have me be able to share my culture w/ u n' u be able to share ur culture w/ me.   [later] in gen'l, i ask future generations not to make the mistakes'f past 1s.


    2005.11.26

    day after black fri

    , 602p: t.giving went fine.   we had many ppl over.   i cleaned all day, n' the beautiful kaela hwang cooked all day.   that's our new thing, it cms: i clean, n' she cooks.   that's what's been happening the past few days.   i wonder if it'll last.   i fear, 1nce skool resumes, i'll be the only 1 cooking or cleaning. *shrug* we'll c.   it's not hte end'f the world i guess cos i guess i'm already used to that. *shrug* we had a good dinner.   in attendance were: my mom, grace, steve, mason, nolan, duk, ernest, ben, dennis, kaela, n' me.   how many's that? 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, n' 11... 11 ppl.   crazy, huh?   yah, i took out our costco folding table n' samsonite chairs from costco; n' we all squished onto 2 tables in the dining area.   i feel bad 4 not being the best host, but i hope ppl had an ok time.




    2005.11.28

    few things r consistent

    : mon(day)... back to the "normal" life, rt?   i was more'f a domestik househusband 4 the past few days, cleaning n' cleaning n' cleaning.   aktually, i didn't cook much, mostly just cleaned.   we didn't go to tahoe 4 snowboarding on sat cos only boreal was open w/ just 1 lift running. *sigh* i wonder if sunday would've been a good day on the slopes. *shrug* it rained on sat, rt?   did it rain on sun?   i 4get.   i think it did, but this wknd's becoming a blur cos i haven't been dokumenting my life, etc.; i.e. i haven't been writing journal entries.   my entries've just been so awful lately, so i've gotten discouraged.   well, i do appreciate ur readership n' especially appreciate when (real) ppl sign my gbook.   jeanna, antonia: thank u very much! :-) seriously, i appreciate ur continued readership!

    how was ur past t.giving?   ow was ur black friday?   oh, u don't do that kind'f thing? *shrug* yah, consumerism does suck; but it's hard to resist materialism, isn't it?   sucks...   sometime in the near future, i'd like to post up a webpage'f all the biznesses i like n' all the biznesses i dislike.   4 example, i very much dislike / flat out hate abercrombie n' b~t¢h since they just can't stay out'f trouble w/ the asian.am kommunite.   geez, don't the get the msg?!   we know they're all a bunch'f f@¢kin' ra¢ists, n' they ought to change their ways cos they suck.   i'm just reminded'f how much i hate abercrombie n' b!t¢h cos i was @ valley fair this past black friday, rt?   how's my wallet doing after black friday?   well, it's injured, but i aktually plan to return some stuff to express (men's express).   yah, i $pent 2 much.   it's crazy, man.   i've gotta save up 4 snowboarding season.   i mean, yah... i wasn't up in tahoe this past wknd, so that saved me a few bucks, but i'll need those bucks later 4 future snowboarding trips that must happen!   aktually, re: my over$pending, wanna hear sumpthin' funny: 4 all the clothes i bought 4 myself, even if i wore them this wknd, i aktually left the tags on in case i end up needing to return'em.   heh, yah, that's a li'l ghetto.   however, yah... i feel so on unstable ground w/ that $pending.   dang, i should sell some cr@p on craigslist, eh?   what can i do to recover some'f my ca$h?   heh, of course, if i ever say sumpthin' so desperate as that, i'm opening doors 4 slimeballs w/ pyramid schemes.   no, u guys, plz stay 'way!   must pay property tax, get smog check, pay vehicle license registration, pay next month's mortgage, pay next month's utility bill... *sigh* things to do, bills to pay.

    [later] few things in this world / 'f this world r constant.   2day, my management @ werk changed.   i'll have a diff manager soon.   crazy.   in the past 3~4 yrs since kaela n' i moved down to the sobay, life's changed more often than i sometimes realise.   kaela's changed jobs, gone back to skool.   me, i've had a couple'f jobs n' went thru grad skool.   crazy, huh?   dude, we can only pray 4 the best n' trust god above.   life's dynamic.

    [later] : ha ha ha, u know what nelson just sent me via e.mail??   "the new white flight," that darn wall street journal article that i've been talkin' 'bout 4 almost a wk now!   ha ha ha!   well, this gives me a chance to add more to my previous comments.   1 particular comment i wanted to add is this: in my previous entries that discussed "the new white flight," i've hesitated to say that the "asian overcompetitiveness" @ cupertino's lynbrook n' monta vista hi skools's a good thing.   4 the most part, i agree w/ many'f these "white" parents that say that their kids need more than just math n' science.   the "white" parents want their kids to excel @ art, drama, music, n' sports as well in order to be well.rounded.   4 the most part, i kind'f agree.   i wish more asian parents'd encourage their kids to pursue art, drama, music, n' sports.   4 example, it's awful how taekwondo's a korean sport martial art, yet so few asian.amerikans go 4 the u.s. nat'l team.   obviously, it's cos non.asian parents value athletics so much more than asian parents here in the u.s.   a long time 'go, there was a silicon valley newspaper article 'bout how regiional youth orchestras r mostly asian kids yet the local professional orchestras r hardly asian.   we're obviously viewing the same principle there!   neway, over the past few days, i've remember 1 important good pt 'bout this "asian overcompetitiveness" that has developed over the past few decades here in the silly valley: would u rather let ur amerikan kid fall prey decades later to outsourcing/offshoring???   4 the most part outsourcing doesn't really discriminate in picking its viktims: the viktims can be non.asian as well as asian.   while amerikan parents r off pushing their kids to be futbol 0.25backs n' cheerleaders, communist china n' india r raising their kids to take amerikan kids' jobs, rt?

    [later] : late last nite, i was on the 'puter shrinking pix, so i can post'em up here.   soon, i'll have pix from hawaii n' all sorts'f other recent events.   lemme mention rt now this: i've noticed that the lower kaela's neckline on her dress gets, the more hits those pix get on flickr.   isn't it crazy how repeatable n' consistent this is?


    2005.11.29

    2005 ø

    ȭ ħ: i've been werkin' on this 4 a li'l while; downloadin', compilin', rotatin', shrinkin', n' uploadin' pix.   plz enjoy.

    as i was saying yesterday, i post pix up on flickr.com, n' the pix that r the most popular in my album r 1s'f the beautiful kaela hwang, n' furthermore, the lower her dress's neckline is, the more popular the pix get.

    ø

    [later] : from reading superdave kim's starkdavingmad, i realised that this yr's sfgate top 100 restaurant list has come out: http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/2005/04/03/CMTOP100.DTL.   which'f those top 100 restaurants have kaela n' i visited?   1 thing that sucks's that the list is very biased 2wards sf n' 'way from the sobay.   it does have a good nombre'f restaurants from the berkeley/oakland area but 2 many from the north bay n' 2 few from the sobay.

    2day, @ lunch, i went to the werk.com gym n' did 40 mins'f precor.   then after stretching, showering, n' getting dressed, i microwaved leftover gordon biersch cajun pasta 4 lunch.   leftovers the small amt'f leftovers didn't fill me, but oh well.   i've brought lots'f satsuma oranges w/ me to werk.

    [later] : as'f the middle'f this month, i'm no longer a member'f bally total fitness.   by quitting, i'm currently 4aving $17/month, while having a decent but not great gym @ werk.com.   the werk.com gym's not adequate 4 me tho'.   i need a gym w/ some classes like spin or taebo classes n' 'least 1 kicking bag.   i s'ppose i'll eventually $hell out $$$ to join 24.hr fitness, but when?!   kaela still has 3 more months on her bally total fitness membership.

    dude, it scares me badly that i haven't yet been on the slopes this season.   by this time last season, i'd been on the slopes several tiems.   this is not the beginning'f the end'f my snowboarding, is it?!   it'd better not be!   the season b4 last seaon, kaela n' i had a bad season, only spending a total'f 8 days on the slopes.   last yr, we made it into the double digits.   1 season (3 seasons 'go), i spent 21 days on the slopes n.   i wish i could repeat that.   this sat, kaela has yet 'nother chiropraktic seminar.   (she signs up 4 so many'f these, n' it's totally ridiculous, but oh well.)   i'm s'pposed to help out @ this canned fud packaging event, but u know what?   if ne'f my friends wanna hit tahoe, i'll go.   the canned fud packaging event most likely has 'nuff volunteers.   they usually fill up n' hafta turn ppl 'way.   if i end up not going snowboarding this sat, then i'll consider dropping kaela's n' my board off @ mel cotton's 4 our free tahoe card tune.up.   next sat, we have a baby shower n' b.day party to attend.

    [later] 1055p: after werk 2nite, i went to taekwondo praktice.   afterwards, i came home n' ate some t.giving fud leftovers.


    2005.11.30

    post.cybermonday

    ħ: petco: use code bm12y5 to get free $hipping on orders over $50.   [later] : free $hipping on orders $25 and up everyday @ circuit city.   @ lunch, i got adjusted by my "intern" @ palmer west chiropraktic college.   after that, i ate a hasty (n' tasty) lunch @ masala oven w/ the beautiful kaela hawng.   this morn, i hurried to werk cos this 1 vendor was s'pposed to pick up some parts from me.   they never showed up.   a li'l b4 lunch, i called them, n' they sed benthey'd come by after lunch, 'round "1:00."   well, i hurried back to the office to meet them, n' they still didn't show up! argh!   that's pretty darn frustrating.   i'll be so mad (inside) if they tell me they stopped by @ 'xaktly 100p, n' i wasn't there.   argh, that's the typical fedex response! fedex doggy   i believe this company's just rt here in santa clara (my office's in sunnyvale these days.), so why is this so hard?

    be sure to order lots'f free prints thru my shutterfly.com link!   i've been doing that.   it's free 4 u n' good 4 me.   i guess there's $hipping n' handling involved; but heck, if u really do order thru my link, i'm willing to reimburse u 4 the $hipping if my commission covers it, n' i think it does (altho' i'm not sure).

    [later] : ppl w/ whom to meet up in socal this holiday season (in no particular order, of course):
    + supermike
    + fahad, wendy, et al
    + stannelise
    + joon kim
    + jerome n' laura (if she's not up in norcal @ the time)
    + brandie
    + brian chi???
    + philip huang (we've been pretty good so far 'bout mtg up w/ him, but let's keep it up.)
    + ne'f my cousins etc.
    if i left ne1 out, plz don't get mad cos this isn't a well thought out list.   instead'f gettin' mad, plz e.mail me or call me up n' let's try to meet up.

    i just realised that while in socal, as it stands, i won't have access to ne bally total fitness gyms, n' that's no good cos how'll i werkout w/ the beautiful kaela hwang???   :-/ is it possible 4 me to pretend to be just a visiting guest n' get a day pass???   i doubt they'll go 4 that cos i'll already be in their system as a 4mer member, rt?   @ the moment, i'm $aving $17/month by not being a member.   it does feel good to $ave that $17/month, but i do value my health n' fitness n' need to have gym member$hip somewhere cos even tho' my werk.com gym is decent, it's not adequate 4 me cos it doesn't have a kicking bag or ne decent fitness classes.   dude, that was a total run.on sentence; i know.

    [later] ƴϸ : this yr, the media hyped up this idea that, as the fri after t.giving's black friday 4 walk.in store retailers; this past mon, the mon after t.giving's now called cybermonday as the werkforce returns to their cubes n' begins their frenzy'f online holiday $hopping.   funny, huh?   well, shoot; didju participate in cybermonday???   i didn't really.


    2005.12.01

    rainy start to dec

    ħ: free $hipping @ american eagle ¢oupon ¢ode: 78999002 (valid thru 20051206).   shutterfly.com 15% off personalised foto calendars ¢oupon ¢ode: AF13-SAVE (valid thru 20051231).   keep ur eyes out 4 decent deals online.   i wonder when all the barrage'f near.spam re: employee friends & family di$¢ounts'll come pouring in.   i trust nelson might hook me up 'gain this yr; we'll c.   sony: $100 instant savings on select SONY VAIO PCs. Enter coupon code: MALLK5KQLU3BGDCJFEL822X4 at checkout. Valid 11/25 - 12/18

    [later} : 2day, @ lunch, i went w/ some ol' college program cowerkers to pizz'a chicago on halford ave. @ el camino real.   as always, it was awesome.   we had 1 medium joliet jake n' 1 medium john dillinger.   the joliet jake might be my favourite pizza there, but this was my 1st time having the dillinger.   yum, they were both good.   i had a buy 1 get 1 free ¢oupon, so the meal was decently ¢heap. :-) what a nice lunch! [a li'l later] 'twas a nice lunch, but un4tunately, it made me a li'l sleepy. :-(   i now have "friends & family" ¢oupons 4 kenny cole n' guess.   dude, crazy.   i'm wondering if i should ditch taekwondo sparring praktice 2nite to go $hopping @ valley fair? :-/ of course, that sounds very silly n' not quite (male) hetero to do sumpthin' like that... no! don't say it's not male hetero, rather it's a bit "metro." *sigh* neway, i dunno, man; i like getting good deals but hate to $pend more $$$ than i need to.   it takes $$$ to save $$$.   as it's the beginning'f dec, i have several bills due: mortgage, property tax (a big 1), vehicle registration (+ smog check), the usual utilities, the usual ¢redit ¢ard...


    2005.12.02

    beno's (spicy) talk soup

    ׿ ħ: sometimes i wish my beno journal could be a legit, published newspaper or magazine column.   sometimes i wish that, yes.   however, would i ever wish that the benojournal could be a radio talk shor or even a tv talk show?   heh, yah, that'd be kewl.   furthermore, that'd be dope; altho', i seriously doubt kids say "dope" nemore like that.   they don't, rt???   i was just reading online 'bout how david letterman n' oprah winfrey declared a truce after 16.5 yrs'f baggin' on each other on their respektive tv shows.   oh, ok; i didn't really notice this.   i don't watch oprah but more often watch david letterman's late show on cbs.   i don't watch much cbs, but i find david letterman to be more intelligent than jay leno on nbc's tonight show.   i've never really liked jay leno after his doritos commercial days n' grew to dislike him more as he kept promoting republikan politiks on his late nite show w/ arnold schwarzenegger et al.

    dude, yesterday morning, i was sooo p!$$ed off @ this stoopid mary matalin woman on the nbc today show.   ugh! the stoopid trash she was vomitting out'f her mouth 'bout how dubya's so great this n' that n' john kerry's so not great this n' that.   ugh! what trash!   what a load'f cr@p!   dude, she used that totally passé term'f "liberal media."   dude, the media hasn't been liberal in yrs! get w/ it, lady!   ugh, her wurds really disgusted me.   they were revolting.   in ne case, w/ talks'f finally making an exit plan 4 our troops in iraq, we're now cing the most political feuding since the nov elektion'f 2004.   wow, it has only been a yr?!   since then, republikans n' demokrats on the streets (not necessarily those in political offices) cm to have made so much peace w/ each other n' maybe even healed wounds.   however, now those scabs r being picked open, i guess; n' that's aktually a bad thing.   picked scabs lead to more scarring.

    oh! i just realised sumpthin' while reading the wikipedia entry on mary matalin: she's married to a demokratic party leader, demokratic party strategist james carville!!!   oh yah, i heard 'bout this a looong time 'go but 4got who these ppl were cos i'm not that in touch w/ politiks, as u know.   wow, ain't that sumpthin'!   ha ha ha.   (is it nething like how republikan arnold's married to maria shriver?) *sigh* neway... altho' i dislike jay leno's usual republikan politiks, i was pleasantly surprised last nite to find him poking such good fun @ dubya n' arnold.   in a way, i'd say, "kewl!"   however, *shrug* maybe it's stuff like this that allows mary matalin to exploit the term "liberal media," u know?   in other wurds, perhaps it's sort'f a "set.up" or some kind'f sabotage.

    it's true tho': arnold n' dubya r very unpopular rt now, so maybe, even as a "viktimised demokrat," i feel a bit sorry 4 them.   after all, i deeply believe both r just puppet figureheads.   oh, no doubt, man!   over the past yr, i've come to think'f dubya as a li'l less'f a bad guy n' to realise that dick cheney's the real bad guy!   dubya, i feel a li'l sorry 4 him in that; no, he doesn't cm to be a really brite guy.   honestly, despite the nice, prestigious college degree, i think he must really not be a smart guy.   however, in a way, that's ok.   it's ok 4 him not to be smart; but i s'ppose in the end, some1 like that shouldn't be president (of the usa).   altho' i'm happy that stocks r up rt now ('least some stocks altho' not many others), i feel the state'f the nation's not that great.   now, we know that all the john kerry backers'f 2004 like me were rt n' all the proud, proud, self.righteous (ok, that was a bit harsh) dubya.lovers were wrong (re: iraq).   however, i don't want to gloat, no.   as always, the important thing's to push 4ward.   listen, i'm a progressive, not a "liberal".   heh, however, as an ignoramus, i have no clue what that implies.   maybe some ppl interpret "progressive" as "kommuniste," in which case i must sound like quite the lunatik using that as my slogan.   as u should know, my pt in saying that is that i believe that the gov't should take care'f its ppl to a decent extent, but i don't like morals; i don't like spiritual morals.   the world (or @ very least the nation) must know that demokrats r righteous (but hopefully not self.righteous).

    as i sed, i feel a bit sorry 4 dubya, n' it's cos he's just a puppet.   yah, i'm sure there's more'f an x.files type conspiracy behind it all.   (the republikan party's controlled by evil space aliens.)   u know what i honestly like best 'bout dubya?   it's that he has a dui (driving under the influence'f alkohol, aka drunk driving).   listen, i don't say this facetiously!   i honestly believe that, cos dubya has that dui arrest from 1976, he has really experienced the true grace'f god.   yah, honestly, i think so.   however, likewise, i should say that cos president bill clinton had his scandal w/ monica lewinsky that he as well as experienced the true grace'f god.   yes, that's also true.   however, the so.called "christian conservatives" in this country (cos'f the evil space aliens) prob'ly buy into the 1st statement but not the 2nd.   that's not rt.   in fakt, that's wrong.   neway, didju know that dick cheney also has 2 dui arrests???   dude, what is w/ these ppl?!?!   well, i've gotta admit: after growing up from being a kid, i've realised that it's much easier than i thought as a kid to get a dui.   as a kid, i always thought, "who would be so stopid?!"   however, now i realise it's easier to do that than i used to think.   after all, it's not just 'bout like reckless hoodlums: rather, consider the nice, pleasant couple that goes 4 a romantik, quiet dinner w/ a bottle'f wine.   thus, these days, i say it's fine not to finish a paid 4 bottle no matter how overpri¢ed it was.   let's not drink n' drive.

    ok, this is the most politiks i've talked in looong time.   @ 1st everything up until now (in this entry) was just 1 paragraph.   just now, i've gone back n' split that text up into multiple paragraphs.   i hope, despite the awful benospelling, that makes my journal a li'l more palatable to the avg reader.

    [later] : i went to volunteer @ the werk.com holiday fair n' then to a farewell lunch 4 my supervisor from back when i was a co.op.   it's christmastime, alright.   the farewell lunch was @ el torito.   i had this overpri¢ed chicken taco salad; $8.49?!?!   it was small.

    yesterday, there was this big, big thunder that lasted a while.   after that, rain fell hard.   a bunch'f us on this 2nd n' top floor'f my office bldg rushed over to the nearest window to witness this downpour.   from my cube everyday, i hear this 1 guy that yells 'lot @ vendors n' sez some pretty tuff things.   i always hear this guy cos he speaks loud, but i'd never cn him.   in fakt, i even knew from his conversations that he was on the big island'f hawaii @ the same time that i was in oktober.   funny, huh?   yet, i've never met the guy n' didn't know him.   well, as i was watching the torrent, i heard this guy's voice from behind; n', as i turned 'round, i finally saw what he looked like.   it's was very interesting cos, if u ask me, he looks like a radio morning show host (or "deejay").   funny, huh?   do u know what i mean?   well, it's been my experience that radio morning show hosts don't look like what they sound like!   have u noticed that as well?   well, besides that phenomenon, this guy aktually looked like what most radio morning show hosts cm to look like.   to me, that was interesting.

    i'm sure u'r tired'f hearing the same thing wk after wk, but last nite i got totally rocked off my @$$ @ taekwondo sparring praktice.   as i keep saying, i feel like joe glass from the ol' mike tyson's punchout nintendo game.   i dunno, man; my legs were sore from maybe tues nite's werkout or from recent gym werkouts as well as the colder weather.   i felt slow... molasses slow!   i got rocked, n' it could be rather discouraging; but i'm trying to stay posi+ive, u know?   i'm trying to believe that i can still someday be a better taekwondo sparrer.   i have been a better taekwondo sparrer back in the days when john eing was teaching us stuff or when jason han was teaching us stuff in cal taekwondo.   no doubt!   however, i don't mean to say that i was definitely ever as good as the guys @ our current taekwondojang; i dunno.   i think i'd have fared better back in those days; but... *shrug* still, u know what?   i know some'f it's psychological.   some'f it's psychological, while some'f it's still physical.   u gotta understand tho' that i'm in better pysical shape according to like typical physical standards now than i was back when i was a better taekwondo sparrer... i think.   like, not to say nething nice 'bout myself, but my "physique"'s prob'ly considered better now than then.   back, then, yes; as expekcted, i was pretty dang skinny, w/o much muscle 'cept leg muscle n' abs but definitely much quicker to the draw.   back then, i had more'f the "typical" taekwondoist's body.   nowadays, it cms that i've been trying to be more'f the "well.rounded" body type guy or sumpthin'.   as i've mentioned b4, this isn't necessarily good 4 taekwondo sparring.   it werks 4 some but not 4 others.

    if u ask me, euro.amerikan standards'f male beauty (or uh... "handsomeness?") obviously places 2 much emphasis on having big pecs n' biceps.   i s'ppose euro.amerikan standards'f beauty r just, in general, 2 "top heavy."   they diktate that men must have big pecs n' women must have big jugs.   whatever, man...   i don't necessarily like that.   however, i guess, over the past few yrs, i have been bulking up more (to whatever li'l extent) up top as opposed to leaving my muscle mass down low.   ("n' i'm talkin' downtown!" [simpsons quote])   (u've gotta keep in mind that when i was @ my taekwondo prime, i had pretty skinny arms.)   i've pondered recently if i should give up weightlifting werkouts n' return to focusing on taekwondo.related cardio n' fast.twitch muscle werkouts.

    well, shoot, now that winter's approaching, do i not need to focus on snowboarding related werkouts?   i would think so.   back on our 1st wedding anniversary, i brought the beautiful kaela hwang to the 0.5 mon bay ritz.carlton 4 a wknd getaway that included a couples massage.   i've prob'ly mentioned this b4; but the masseuse while providing the massage therapy asked if i were a surfer cos i had the body type.   i had to reply that i wasn't but that i'm a snowboarder.   do i have a snowboarder's body?   *shrug*   the masseuse sed i had the back muscles'f a surfer.

    [a li'l later] thru.out this wk, i've been unsure'f whether or not i'm going snowboarding 2morrow.   kaela definitely can't go cos she has yet 'nother chiropraktic seminar.   4 a while, i believed i was gonna go w/ some cowerkers, but they decided to go on sunday instead'f saturday.   on sunday, i've gotta go to church, take sooni to c santa@valleyfair.com, n' attend the ucmap reunion / dr. min's surprise 70th b.day party (a surprise, assuming he doesn't read my journal [i highly doubt he does.]).   back in the days, kaela used to read my journal from the ucmap office n' leave the window open when she left.   i guess some ppl in the office might've read it back then; but i doubt ne'f them read it now.   it's been so many yrs now since i left berkeley, n' i'm sure ppl don't find my life that interesting.

    @ best, ppl read my journal to make sure i don't talk cr@p 'bout them.   ha ha, ok, that's a li'l cynical.   besides, if i go 'round saying cr@p like that, then it's no wonder i don't have many readers!   as i've sed recently, i'm not popular 'mongst the bloggin' kommunity.   i'm definitely not on "the a.list," altho' @ times perhaps, honestly, i've wanted to be.   as i mentioned b4, i used to belong to this "rice bowl journals" blogring until i got 2 lazy to update my link n' got booted.   i think it was theer in a profile that i sed sumpthin' like that i wanted to get a house, get a dog, star in a p0rnfilm, n' then become a pastor.   i guess i sed that in an immtaure way just 4 "shock value."   well, i cm to've accomplished some'f those now.   can u tell me which? [just now, i referred to http://www.grammartips.homestead.com/inside.html to make sure i correktly puncuated the "shock value" sentence.]

    as the yr closes, we must ponder what were the most important events'f this yr as well as what were our favourite films or favourite songs.   our house still does not contain a christmas tree.   it's now the 2nd day'f dec.   some houses have had christmas trees since t.giving, like our next door neighbours'.   obviously other houses won't have christmas trees till much later if @ all.   just as much as the next guy, i dislike the commercialism surrounding christmas, but i do believe we must celebrate the saviour's birth.

    [later] as i was saying, thru.out this wk, i've been unsure'f whether or not i'm going snowboarding 2morrow: 1st, i thought i wasn't since kaela couldn't come w/ me.   then i thought i was cos my cowerkers want to go.   then i thought i wasn't cos my cowerkers wanted to gon sunday instead'f saturday.   then last i nigte, i found out matt from taekwondo's going w/ some friends; so i mentioned that i was interested in joining their group.   well, i haven't heard back from him, so i'm now back to thinking more as if i'm not going.   if i'm not going, then i would like to drop my board off @ mel cotton's 4 the tune.up included in my pur¢ha$e'f the tahoe card.   if i don't go snowboarding 2morrow, n' i'm thinking much more that i'm not, then what'll i do instead?   well, 1st off, i'll pack canned fud 4 a werk.com 2nd harvest fud bank event.   that's in the morning, but then what'll i do in the afternoon?   *shrug* i could go $hopping.   i could go to the gym.   it's ok 'bout not going snowboarding w/ that grp cos i figured that a bunch'f young, college guys prob'ly wouldn't wanna hang out w/ an ol' fart like me, u know?   it's sad, but i'm starting to feel the distance btwn myself n' ppl'f that age more n' more.   i can't talk 'bout things like college classes, class skedules, parents ('least not the way college kids talk 'bout parents)...   i'm realising i'm of a diff generation, an older generation.   in a way, i'm ashamed to admit taht i'm not so interested nemore in the trendiest fashions but more interested in figuring out how i'll pay the next mortgage payment.   i'm not interested in supped up cars, mtv hop.hop vidoes, or basketball... but then 'gain i never was.   perhaps, those've always been things that made me "not so asian," like how i'd always had some kind'f attachment to skatepunk culture of some sort.   (well, aktually; never, ever, ever 4get that skateboarding's the sport that prob'ly has the most asian.am pros!)   i was never into those things, but maybe what has changed is my willingness to feign interest in them, rt?   2day, this 1 dude that operates a sports team paraphernalia store asked me if i'm into sports.   i sed, "a li'l... everyone into sports at least a li'l, rt?"   then he started to ask me what teams i follow, which i didn't expekt cos i thought he would've realised i was just trying to exit the conversation while respekting his enthusiasm 4 sports fanaticism.   in gen'l, i prefer to participate in sports rather than watch them.   later, @ the farewell lunch, i sat 'cross from my ol' cubicle neighbour that used to watch int'l futbol (soccer) games online in his cube.   he mentioned that he doesn't like to watch games nemore, just play.   honestly, i was relieved to hear from a guy that feels like that, sumpthin' like how i feel.

    [later] : resorts open this wknd: alpine meadows, boreal, kirkwood, northstar, sierra... *sigh* n' i'll be stuck here in the bay area like a schmuck, eh?   well, if it's ne consolation to me, those resorts r not open 100%, none'f them.   most'f them have just a small fraktion/percentage'f their lifts running. *sigh*   i got that info from snowbomb.com, but i omitted mammoth n' mt. rose cos i don't count them.


    2005.12.03

    how i spent my "day not on the slopes"

    , 1100p: well, i didn't go to tahoe 2day.   last nite, was mike yee's surprise 30th b.day party.   we all gathered 1st @ ming's'f palo alto on embarcadero off'f 101 in palo alto.   i'd been to ming's 1nce as a kid 4 dimsum w/ my mom.   i 'membered that it was a beautiful restaurant.   yes, it was decent.looking but not as beautiful as i 'membered.   the fud was pretty good.   even tho' some'f the dishes appeared to be pretty ordinary erikan chinese favourites; they were well done, better than u'd think.   some'f the dishes were really expen$ive tho'.   we had a good dinner n' some b.day cake from aki's, the bakery from which kaela n' i got our wedding cake back in 2003.   when i thought we were done, instead'f heading home, we went in search'f a korean bar to continue the celebration.   the beautiful < ahref="http://www.realestatesforcharity.com" target="new">kaela hwang n' i led every1 to rumours on kiely by homestead cos we believed from what we've heard that it's a happening place even tho' we'd never been there.   dude, i didn't know just how rt we were!   the place was jam.packed.   it's like the historik kkokko house in berkeley, in that it's more'f an asian.amerikan hangout, a korean establishment where most'f the guests r young, college.age 2nd gen asian.ams, perhaps mostly chinese/taiwanese.amerikans n' not koreans.   the servers speak english n/or korean.   well, the place was so crowded that we had to wait a long time 4 a table.   however, the manager ܸ ajoomma was very smart!   while we were standing n' waiting 4 our table, she gave us a free "pitcher" (a 1 litre bottle)'f o.b. maekjoo.   mmm, very smart'f her!   furthermore, 1nce we got seated, we got plenty, plenty'f freebies!   dude, she knew well how to do bizness korean style!   if u ''member, i mentioned how kaela n' i pted out that the manger'f the now defunkt han's tofu in hayward was not good @ doing the korean " servie" thing.   well, dude... this place knew how to do it.   they kept giving freebies.   granted, some'f the freebies were ¢heap, but that's not the pt.   rather, the pt's that the gave us free things.   well, we had a good time.   what a way to celebrate mike's 30th b.day.

    ok, 2day?   2day, i had a li'l bit'f a hard time waking up cos we stayed out late.   kaela had a hard time waking up 4 her seminar.   eventually, i woke her up.   eventually, i went to my 2nd harvest fud bank "helping hands day" event, where i packed canned fud into boxes.   it was a very crowded event hosted by my company.   it was decently fun but crowded.   then what?   i came home n' cleaned.   then kaela came home 4 lunch, n' i cooked some goon mandoo.   then she went back to her seminar.   then what?   uh, lessee... 1st i brought sooni to petco to get some di$¢ounted greenies.   we went to the sunnyvale petco.   in the end, i also picked up a heavily di$¢ounted halloween costume: an angel costume.   later, 2nite, i put it on her, n' she looked very cute! :-) well, i came home.   i started raking leaves outside, n' the neighbours' kids talked w/ me a li'l.   their li'l 4.yr old daughter wanted to help me rake leaves.   i aktually wanted to stop earlier, but she was having so much fun; so i kept going.   later, i brought my snowboard to mel cotton's 4 my tahoe card tune.up.   mel cotton's's an ok sporting good store altho' the pri¢es don't cm as good as i 'member tri.city's to be.   after that, i went to check out the sports basement.   *sigh* i couldn't resist buying this 1 navy blue dakine hoodie (hooded sweatshirt). *sigh* i feel horrible $pending ne $$ these days, but *sigh*   then, i went to big lots! n' albertsons.   @ big lots! i bought a 2.lb box'f some nylabone brand version'f sumpthin' like greenies 4 $9.99.   the bag'f real greenies i bought @ petco was a 12.oz bag 4 $9.99 minus $1 from a ¢oupon.   greenies r usually very expen$ive; so, believe it or not, that was a decent deal.   i also bought some cleaning chemical.   @ albertsons i bought ް dalgyal (eggs) n' yangbaechoo (cabbage) to cook 쵿 oodong or whatever 4 dinner 2nite.   i also bought a 0.5gal'f minute maid 꽺 oreinji jyooseu just cos it had really cute packaging based on the march of the penguins.   i liked the package very much.   well, when i got home, kaela called n' sed she was coming home.   when she got home, to my surprise, she insisted on going out instead'f having me cook dinner.   well, we went to that κ 屹 suhool soondubu yangpyuhng haejanggook place near gilmok n' the santa clara &subid=0" >petco.   usually, we feel bad going to that restaurant instead'f gilmok; but 2nite, since we left sooni @ home, we could sneak into that restaurant w/o the ajuhssi n' ܸ ajoomma cing us.   the fud was prob'ly pretty good, but it was 2 stressful'f a dinner. *sigh*

    the sun set so early 2day, n' days r only getting shorter till just b4 christmas.   2nite, i got to watch some musik shows on kbs amerika, n' that was kewl. *sigh* i was a bit depressed so far this wknd that i wasn't in tahoe, as i've mentioned.   however... *sigh* i dunno, man.


    2005.12.04

    santa n' dr. min

    sooni, santa... dr. min's 70th... that's what we did 2day... pretty much what we planned.


    2005.12.05

    flushot

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    [later] so how was this wknd?   well... it was ok.   i surely woudldn't've minded getting more done, but what can u do, u know?   i've gotta say: i got like 0 exercise this past wknd!   that's awful!

    [later] i wasn't sure'f the definition'f "technocrat," so i consulted wikipedia.   here's a link to the entry: technocrat (disambiguation).

    [a li'l later] the 2 apps on my palm tungsten t5 that give me the most probs r versamail n' avantgo.   my t5's still messed up, i think, in that i can't hear audio from the left channel unless i somehow hack the headfon plug such that it's inserted @ a li'l angle.   that werks @ my desk but not so well when the device's in my pants pocket @ the gym.

    [later] : ǰ (health) - 2day, during my lunchbrk, i went to my chiro apptmnt @ palmer west chiropraktic college.   then i went to safeway@rivermark to buy a #5 grecian delite sandwich on the standard rustic italian bread w/ a small bag'f baked lays n' a decently big size soda (diet pepsi mixed w/ a li'l pink lemonade).   i rushed back 4 a mtg that i 4got i didn't have.   later in the afternoon, i made a ġ dental apptment w/ ߾ ġ central dental.   later than that in the afternoon, i went down to the werk.com cafeteria to get my free flu shot.   owee.   "auwe..."   on the street, i c cars w/ window stickers that read "auwe."   i don't know what that means, but a quick google tells me that it's a polynesian wurd that means "ow" or "ouch."   is that true? *shrug* here's a hawaiian.english diktionary w/ a couple'f cute mascots: mo'o n' lolo's cyber hawaiian dictionary online!   i'd like to go to the werk.com gym 2nite n' get some exercise since i didn't get exercise the entire wknd.   amazing, huh?   why?! was it just the late autumn cold weather?   *shrug*

    *sigh* this wknd flew by.   in a way, i did what i set out to do; just that n' nuthin' more... but no, i did do more, in a way...   i didn't plan on raking leaves 4 so long on sat.   i didn't really plan on going out to dinner @ κ 屹 suhool soondubu yangpyuhng haejanggook on sat nite.   i didn't really plan on going out to dimsum 4 lunch on sun after 2nd service @ grx.   i didn't plan on staying so late @ valley fair after gettin' sooni's pic taken w/ santa.   i guess i'd hoped to go there earlier n' leave earlier.   ideally (in a way), i would've been snowboarding on the slopes'f kirkwood on sat.   yah, in a way i wanted that n' was a bit annoyed, peeved, n' depressed that i wasn't.   @ the same time, not being in tahoe, snowboarding gave me the chance to take care'f other things, rt?   thru.out my life, i hate to admit, such frequent snowboarding has occasionally gotten in the way'f my taking care'f some responsibilities; not so much werk but more like housekeeping tasks.

    [later] : on sat nite, after dinner, after kaela went back to her seminar thing; i sat on the couch n' watched bad santa.   i'd cn parts'f it b4, but i saw most'f it last nite 4 the 1st time.   it's just ok; ur typikal "crude humour w/ bad attitude" movie, i s'ppose.   luckily, the santa we brought sooni to c wasn't like that, altho' kaela n' i noticed he surely didn't chit.chat much.   i s'ppose he took it easy, considering the absence'f kids.   i'm sure all the "ho ho ho" akting 4 the kids wears him out; so, in a way, the sunday 400~700p block reserved just 4 pets must'f relieved him a li'l, rt?   yah, u've gotta admit, sooni was such a well.behaved doggy.   altho' she growled a li'l w/ her whole bully thing, she didn't bark her head off like some froo froo dogs did.   ugh, that was a headache, hearing some dog barking as if the mall was a non no.kill shelter.   ugh.   she's a good gurl.

    am i feeling the side effekts'f the flu shot?   uhm, yah, i believe i am feeling the side effekts rt now as i type.   i hope it doesn't overwhelm me.

    an egotistical dream: this wknd, i believe 'twas on sunday morn (but it might've been saturday morning), i dreamt that i visted the uc berkeley mlk, jr. asuc bldg.   in my dream, the basement housed some kind'f museum filled w/ artistik displays.   in this egotistical dream, 1 wall was a giant mural dedikated to the beno journal: it had an excerpt from my journal in huge font just as it appears on my webpage, *sigh*   man, what kind'f egotist has this kind'f dream???

    well, jeanna, thanks 'gain 4 signing my gbook.   yes, i received ur msg re: if i had a radio talkshow, etc.   also, i've received ur msgs n' understand ur feeling as well as tim fong's feeling re: my having the gbook funktion as a comment box.   ok, i'll look into getting a real comment box via enetation. *sigh* i s'ppose htmlgear doesn't provide such a service.   dude, i guess htmlgear's totally stuck in the 1990s, eh?   after all, fudge! htmlgear's quite an ol' fashion name, rt?   i mean, i s'ppose ppl consider html to be really passé; but i, myself, keep using it.   my webpage's quite stuck in the 1990s; yes, i realise.

    i really wanna make my journal a 2.way dialogue, not just my own... uh... soliloquoy.   did i spell that rt?   nope, i sure did not!   "soliloquy"!!!   i added an extraneous "o".

    [later] : it's late, n' i'm still@werk.com.   the office a bit emptier.   like, ppl do werk late here, very late.   however, i guess i'm here decently late, especially taking into cosideration that it's christmas season.   hrm, that brings up a pt: i heard more often this yr 'bout the gov't banning the use'f the wurd "christmas."   is that true or still just hype?   i mean, on 1 hand, u always have this s'pposed "christian rightwing" paranoia.   however, on the other hand; yah, it's true that we christians have been losing our freedom of religion in recent yrs... however, well... shoot, we mostly only have ourselves to blame, if u ask me... since 2 many'f "us christians" akt like total lunatiks w/ the whole "christian right" n' "moral majority" kind'f stuff... however, hey, that's just my opinion.


    2005.12.06

    fixing my palm

    ȭ : it appears that i'll be sending my pa1mone tungsten t5 in 4 repair.   i hadn't realised b4 that my device's still under warranty, just barely.   4get u not that the beautiful kaela hwang gave it to me 4 christmas in 2004.   it apparently has a 1.yr warranty.   when i send it in, i'll be w/o pda 4 a wk or more.   that's crazy.   lemme tell u, pa1mone pdas r very useful!   it's amazing how the treo 650 has really caught on.

    [later] : need to get get smog check, need to get delux or premier (or whatever) oil change, need to pay car registration, need to confirm that mortgage payment went thru...

    snapfish code: HOLIDAYS10




    2005.12.07

    s.a.d. 2005

    ȭ ħ: i think i'm sick now.   i'm not sure when i started feeling sick.   this past wknd or so, i had sort'f a sore throat but nuthin' else @ all.   then, on mon afternoon, i got my flu shot.   i think, ever since then, i've felt a li'l sick.   last nite it got worse.   i felt more malaise n' more'f a sore throat n' other stuff.   this morn, i felt like i was a li'l better in some ways n' yet a li'l worse in others.   yah, i think i'm sick.

    besides the cold or flu that i have, i also very definitely have sad (seasonal affektive disorder).   i've known 4 yrs that i get "sad" in the winter, but this yr's hitting me harder than last yr.   i guess the reason i was better last yr was that i went snowboarding 'lot in autumn.   this yr, i haven't yet been to the slopes.   now that i found out that the snow expo tic expires on 20051216 n' not 1223 like the tahoe card tic, i've gotta say that i really should've just driven myself up to tahoe on sat n' used my free tic.   i just let it go to waste!   that's awful!   i've been sort'f kicking myself 'round cos'f that.   1 yr, back in 1999, i beat "sad" by recording benomix 2: wintermusik.   *sigh* to beat "sad," i cm to need either djing or snowboarding.

    i've been stressed 'bout werk lately, not surprisingly.   cowerkers put pressure on me, n' i put pressure on myself.   i know that if i don't werk hard now, i'll be under much more pressure the wk b4 the christmas shutdown.   every yr, b4 the christmas shutdown, i've got lots'f cr@p to do.   b4 shutdowns, every1 puts the pressure on cos they think they can do everything b4 the shutdown or 'least they think they can make me do everything b4 the shutdown. *sigh*   c? all this makes me even more depressed.

    do u know what depression feels like?   i'm always questioning my worth.   i keep 2nd guessing myself.   constantly, i'm wondering if i'm good @ nething.   i get frustrated, i get angry, but then more than that, i get sad.   i feel less motivated to do things.   i feel passive.   then i feel listless.   sometimes, i'm not sure i feel nething.   i get really super.lonely; but then, i don't want to c ne1 @ all.   4 a while, i won't feel like eating or drinking nething.   then, later, i'll want to eat n' drink everything in sight.   i don't feel like i have energy: i feel slow, sluggish.   i feel like my muscles don't want to move.   i feel like i'd be content sleeping in a warm bed all day.   then i feel like i need exercise cos i haven't gotten much lately.   i get irritated n' irritable, cranky.   i don't feel like talking; i don't feel like listening.

    [later] : @ lunch, the beautiful kaela hwang came by my office, n' we went to sweet tomatoes.   the restaurant was bizzy @ the pk'f silicon valley's lunchbrk.   i don't think kaela had ever experienced that b4.   yah... that's how life is in the middle'f the silicon valley on a werkday.   maybe it was a li'l exciting 4 her, i dunno.   well, even 4 myself, it's not always that annoying to be stuck in big crowds here during the werkwk cos it does make me a li'l happy to be part'f sumpthin' so special.   silicon valley rocks!   well, after we ate, kaela dropped me off, n' i rushed to a mtg that i was barely part'f.   i dunno why ppl invite me to mtgs that rn't that relevant to me.   i didn't really need to be there n' definitely didn't need to rush to be there.   neway... 'round here, i'm "pond scum." that's the term our friend bun has used b4 to describe what it's like to be the lowest ranking person in ur office.   well, that's me; i'm pond scum.   i've gotta run this way n' that way just cos ppl say so.   yah, it sucks; but it's better than not having a job.

    later this afternoon, i took a brk to run an errand: i went to the korean ups store on el camino real next to Ʈ ȣ point hof near jang.tuh soondae to mail off my pa1mone tungsten t5 4 repair.   pa1mone had given me this strikt, strikt guidelins 4 sending off my device.   i thought i had abided to each'f their frickin' stipulations, but in the end, i missed 1.   they'd better not rejekt my service request cos'f that! >:-( i had to pay $40 to send this thing off!   the ppl @ the ups store were really helpful tho'.   dude, if u ever hafta send off nething, use this ups store!

    on the way back from the ups store, i badly needed gas, so i went to costco.   guess what: the gas @ the sunnyvale costco ¢o$t more than the gas @ the pri¢y, pri¢y union 75 @ the corner'f e. arques n' lawrence!   that 1's usually really overpri¢ed; but rt now, the 76's $2.139, while the costco's $2.159!!!

    2day, on craigslist, i asked if ne1 has hookups to a ~$600/3yr deal @ 24 hr fitness.   well, some woman sed she can sell me a bunch'f 1.day passes 4 $2 each.   hrm... yah?   maybe i should 'least buy some passes from her to figure out if i even like 24 hr fitness, eh?   of course, 1 cr@ppy, cr@ppything's that i'll prob'ly hafta pay her in ¢a$h, rt? *shrug* w/o doubt, i shouldn't buy a whole bunch rt off the bat, but i think i should buy some to check it out, rt?   they're s'pposedly good @ ne 24 hr fitness.


    2005.12.08

    a wk w/o a palm

    ħ: a wk w/o a palm - this is weird.   yesterday, @ the korean ups store on el camino real near henderson, i sent off my pa1mone tungsten t5 4 repair cos the headfon jack only gives audio out'f the rt channel n' not the left.   it'll take 'bout a wk to fix.   i'm so used to having my palm w/ me all the time.   last nite, i had to start getting used to going about life w/o all that useful data readily available in my pocket.   do u realise how useful a palm os handheld 'puter is?!?!   w/ my pa1mone tungsten t5 (w/ it's bluetooth connektion to my stoopid motorola v710), i can connekt to the web newhere, netime via verizon.   @ nite, when i don't wanna use my werk.com laptop in bed, i can use my pa1mone tungsten t5 w/ the wi.fi sd card to connekt to the web via our dsl.   in fakt, when i'm @ home, n' need to get on the web fast n' don't wanna wait 4 stoopid microsoft windows xp to boot up or even come out'f hibernation, it's easier to use my pa1m n' its wi.fi sd card.   netime, newhere, i can look up a fon #, an address, an e.mail address, what i'm doing this wknd, what i learned @ church the wk b4, what's the best pri¢e i've found on toothpaste, 4 whom i need to buy . . . [interrupted]

    [later] , still@werk.com: 2day, 4 lunch, the beautiful kaela hwang n' i went to κ myungdong soondubujip.   she came n' picked me up from my office.   kaela ordered the ع haemool dolsot bibimbap.   me, i ordered the κ suhkkuh soondubu.   i was worried i'd be way 2 full after eating cos i never really leave myungdong not stuffed.   the banchan's really good, so that makes me eat 'lot'f it as well as 'lot'f rice.   these days, i eat 2 much n' get no exercise! >:-(


    2005.12.09

    swaziland

    ݿ ħ: cos i'll soon be even more bizzy w/ christmas $hopping, i've gotta warn u that my journal entries r most likely gonna get kind short n' less frequent 4 a while; just a temporary thing.   last nite, i went $hopping @ target, altho' i bought some b.day cards, i didn't buy ne presents, altho' i aimed to do so.   oh! did i mention that the beautiful kaela hwang n' i went to valley fair on wed nite?   we ate a huge sushi dinner @ the korean sushi restaurant there, sushi boat.   it was pretty good stuff, but i know they're going w/ the recent trend'f serving lots'f deep.fried sushi.   that stuff is decently tasty but very unhealthy!   kaela n' i $hopped @ valley fair till it closed.   i wanted to start the evening earlier, but man... i get so stuck@werk.com these days, u know?   i mean, i could procrstinate, but then i'll definitely be crucified @ the end'f the wk b4 christmas.   as i've sed b4, even tho' the silly valley's a wonderful place, the semiconduktor industry's very vicious!

    last nite, when i was @ target, my $hopping ¢art disappeared.   i was mad cos that had happened 1nce b4 w/ kaela n' me.   that time, in the past, our cart disappeared, n' it cmed that an employee had taken our cart n' put our merchandise back on the shelves.   well, last nite, i think what happened was that an old man stole my cart!!!   @ 1st, i thought maybe an employee took my cart n' put my merchandise back on the shelf; but later, i found my merchandise shoved onto a shelf.   just a li'l b4 that, i saw this ol' man pushing an empty cart near where i left my cart.   dude, that f@¢k3r stole my cart!   dude, that's sooo messed up!   how can ppl be so shameless?!   altho' i couldn't decide on or find a b.day present, i ended up buying myself a white thermal undershirt 4 $12.95.   i wasn't sure whether to buy it or not, but the deciding faktor was that it wasn't made in china.   do u know where it was made? swaziland...   @ 1st, i read the label, n' thought, "swaziland... that must mean switzerland.   kewl, swiss.made clothes must be good quality."   then later, i thought 'bout it again, "wait, swaziland isn't switzerland! i think it's an african country.   well, 'least it's not china."   @ this moment, let's consult wiki(pedia): swaziland - "the kingdon of swaziland is a small country in southern africa (one of the smallest on the continent). . . embedded between south africa in the west and mozambique in the east.   the country is named after the swazi, a bantu tribe.   the head of state is the king, which since 1986 has been king mswati iii. . .   king mswati iii is often criticized for living so lavishly in a nation that is afflicted by one of the world's highest hiv invection rates.   his fleet of luxury cars, millions spent towards refurbishing his numerous wives' luxury mansions, are at odds with the approximately 34 perecent of the nation that stand unemployed, nearly 70 percent of which live on less than a dollar a day, and with around 39 percent of adults who are afflicted by hiv."   whoa... i dunno what to make'f that ekonomy n' trade situation; i.e., do u buy produkts from that country in order to support those underpaid werkers or do u boycott proukts from that country in order to punish the crooked government?   ain't that always the question???   after all, shoot, that's the main dilemma w/ buying produkts from china or vietnam, rt?   the laborers there r so abused.

    of course, i also avoid produkts made in china cos'f china's anti.taiwan policies.   i heard the kmt won some recent elektions in taiwan.   i dunno, man; i worry that things look kind'f bad.   i don't wanna someday hear talks'f so.called "reunification" etc.   i don't care whether the communists or capitalists r in control of china, but china should not have control over taiwan.   taiwan's just a separate country.   i mean, shoot; what next?   should china be in control of korea?   ok, i know that sounds ridiculous to every1, but so should the idea that china should have control over taiwan.   if u ask me, the taiwanese culture's much like korean culture: influenced (but not defined) by chinese n' japanese culture.   however, as u should know, unlike korea, as well as unlike china; taiwan has a relatively pleasant history w/ japan.

    [a li'l later] ok, speaking'f china n' japan, what do u think'f this new memoirs of a geisha movie?   when the book 1st came out, i didn't expekt much'f it, didn't think it was worth reading.   now, it's a big motion pikture, starring zhang ziyi n' michelle yeoh.   yah, certainly, the give the story much more credibility.   my initial instinkt is to assume the story's just 'nother exploiting exotifikation'f asian females, but i admit i'll most likely watch the movie cos'f the big name aktresses.   crazy, huh?   michelle yeoh n' zhang ziyi were both on the today show yesterday.   zhang ziyi was introduced as "zi zhang."   isn't that funny?   hrm, they should throw in jet li, tony leung, maggie cheung, n' jackie chan n' have all the big name chinese aktors, eh?   lemme think... who's that 1 hong kong singer/aktor?   hrm... i 4get his name, but he's a middle.aged man that still plays teenager.type roles; and that faceanalyzer.com site names him as being the celebrity that matches my profile. *sigh* i 4get his name.   it's not aaron kwok, rt?   i don't think so, it's some1 else.   uhm... there's also some famous hk aktor that committed suicide, rt?   since it wasn't tony leung, i guessed it was leslie cheung; n' a quick wikipedia search confirmed that.

    [later] : during my lunchbrk, i weightlifted n' did 10 mins'f precor in the gym.   after showering, i stopped by this company bbq fundraiser 4 2nd harvest fud bank.   it was pretty much over, n' they were cleaning things up.   4 $8.50, i got a hot dog, smothered in greasily grilled onions, 2 huge scoops'f potato salad, a bag'f ruffles, n' small slice'f carrot cake, n' a 500-ml bottle'f kirkland h2o.   the original menu was $8.50 4 a tri.tip steak sandwich, 1 side, n' a bottle'f h2o or a can'f soda.   however, they were running out'f stuff n' felt bad that they couldn't give me steak, so they gave me lots'f other stuff.   shoot, i was hungry; so, in my cubicle, i scarfed down the unhealthy fud.   i tried to remind myself to slow down n' relish each bite, but i also felt self.conscious as always 'bout eating in my cube, so i subconsciously rushed myself.

    as i sed early, last nite i went to target.   i know i have this unhealthy obsession w/ target.   4 some reason, i think i can find most things i need 4 a de ent pri¢e there, but that's not true.   their stuff's gotten really expen$ive, as i've pted out b4.   the sunnyvale target is more often than others ransacked, as my bro.in.law steve n' my sista grace've pted out b4.   i mean, it's not that bad; but *shrug*.   why do i like target? *shrug again* well, there isn't a wal*mart near me, n' i know wal*mart had a bit'f a bad rep.   maybe i should $hop more @ big! lots instead.   (yah, apparently, the "!" in "big! lots" goes after the "big," not the "lots," as i had previously thought.)   2nite, kohl's is open till midnite, n' it opens 'gain @ 700a 2morrow.   i've never been to kohl's, but i'm thinkin'f hittin' it up 2nite.   (heh, that's proper slang, rt?   i'm not talkin' like that "i'd hit it!" mcyukyuk's cheeseburger commercial that the boondocks was mocking, rt?   i do understand that "i'd hit it" or else "i'd hit that" specifical refers to copulating the described objekt, which is more aptly some attraktive woman, not a sandwich.)

    [later] is this apple aperture s'pposed to compete w/ adobe fotoshop?


    2005.12.12

    church wknd

    ħ: 4 the beautiful kaela hwang n' me, this wknd was full'f aktivities n' events sort'f tied in w/ our church or else the kommunity / netwerk'f friends we've made from our church.

    [later] : 4 lunch 2day, i went home, got kaela, n' went to ŵ Ƚ shindokdo hwetjip (shindokdo sushi house).   i had this ¢oupon that gave us a free cali roll w/ ne $20 lunch purr¢ha$e.   whenever we have a minimum order amt to get 4 some di$¢ount, kaela's pretty good @ reaching that limit.   we had some seafud oodong, a lambada roll (spicy salmon w/ tobiko on top, we skipped the "special sauce"), n' a bay area scallop roll (cali roll w/ baked scallops on top w/ special sauce).   also, we had our free cali roll.   it was 'lot'f fud.   @ 1st, it didn't look like 2 much, but it was a good amt.

    2day, i don't have a voice, 'least not much'f 1.   i don't get it.   last tues nite, i started feeling a bit sick, most likely cos'f the flu shot on mon, rt?   then since then, i've mostly just gotten worse.   maybe i didn't sleep 'nuff this wknd.   fri nite's 뷡 strained my voice, i s'ppose;cheering last nite as well.   in gen'l, i haven't gotten 2 much rest... like, in gen'l, i think my "quality'f life," sort'f isn't that great lately.   i've been werking long hrs w/ lots'f stress n' pressure n' not much'f a fulfilling feeling (in all honesty).   i haven't had time 4 christmas $hopping, n' that stresses me out.   lately, i have not had time 4 exercise, n' that really makes me feel bad.   i have s.a.d. / winter depression.   i haven't yet been up to tahoe.   *sigh*   neway, let's not let this be a b!t¢h sesh (session).

    "visit connect.com/bestbuy and enter the code PSPMusic for 1 free download."

    [later] thru.out my life, i've had lots'f chinese, taiwanese, n' korean friends, as u know; while growing up in the almaden valley, while @ berkeley, n' after moving back to the south bay that has even more'f a east asian population now than when i 1st lived here.   it always bothered me whenever my chinese n' taiwanese friends n' my korean couldn't get 'long cos'f culture diffs.   me, i realise now that wow... over the past decade n' half, i've aktually grown up rather bicultural, i.e. taiwanese n' korean.   yah, it's hilarious to hear me say that (even tho' i'm typing n' not speaking) since u'd expekt me to say that 'bout my future kids not 'bout myself.   however, no; i really realise now that i, myself, have grown up really bicultural.   it has always bothered me when young, 2nd gen korean.am boys n' less.often gurls have this korean superiority complex over other asian ethnicities, usually rooted in their lack of identity, growing up asian in amerika.   likewise, it bothers me to c chinese kids (in this case, i think more often gurls than boys) express a chinese superiority complex over other asians, usually encouraged by the fakt that the chinese ethnicity's 1'f the 2 largest in the world n' that chinese n' taiwanese immigrant parents have been relatively successful @ using their science n' engineering backgrounds to establish solid financial roots in amerika, more so (or maybe just more often) than immigrant parents from other east asian countries.   it's always bothered me to c ne kind'f disharmony btwn these 2 ethnic groups.   however, recently, i'm realising better that every1 is not me.   sometimes 2nd gen asian.ams can be so immature n' snobby n' so smug in their ethnic identity.   some'f it they learn from the parents, some'f it they learn from each other.   some'f it they develop from the way the gen'l amerikan publik mistreats them, i s'ppose.   however, i guess the biggest cause 4 this rotten attitude's low self.esteem over not being close 'nuff to their family's culture.   it's like, to compensate 4 being so "amerikanised," instead'f embracing their own asian culture, they turn to bashing on other ethnicities w/in the asian race.   'nother kind'f snobbiness n' discrimination w/in the asian race that bothers me lately's the gap btwn 2nd gen asian.ams n' 1st gen immigrants w/in the same generation.   i hate hearing a fellow 2nd gen asian.am use the wurd "fob" as a deragatory term.   if u ask me, 1st gen asian.ams r a great asset to our society n' deserve props ("proper respekt" in late 1990s hip.hop lingo) 4 dealing w/ all the bull$#!+ they face in this country.

    [later] how does this wk look?   well, shoot, it'd look better if i could know i'd get better from my illness soon.   on thurs, we were s'pposed to go to a b.day dinner after taekwondo praktice, but kaela has us going to her classmate's potluck.   that's fine.   u know what i wish, tho'?   i wish that after our dinner n' after the taekwondo dinner (whenever it ends w/o us) that kaela n' i can meet up w/ our taekwondo friends to go 뷡 noraebang!   u know, this fri, i honestly enjoyed the chinese musik.   still, i'd like to do some korean noraebang.   i hope we can go.   that'd be kewl.

    yah, aktually, this wknd, we did 'lot more chinese things than usual.   like, yah, i heard lot'f old chinese musik, n' we also played majong.   we had explicitly chinese fud 4 2 meals, rt?   sat dinner n' sun lunch.   we had explcitly korean fud 4 2 meals: fri dinner n' sat lunch.

    'mongst all this talk'f pan.asian.am identity n' asian.am issues, lemme remind u n' myself that in recent months, i've felt more'f motivation or optimism 'bout being more plugged.in to gen'l/mainstream amerikan society, i.e., i should make more'f an effort to hang w/ some non.asians now n' then or whatever.   yah?   i mean, i consciously made that effort in my early days @ berkeley.   honestly, in the end, i found it to be more unnatural than i expekted n' perhaps just plain a li'l more difficult than i'd expekted, more'f an uphill battle than i'd expekted.   perhaps, as an 2nd gen asian.am who'd grown up in the almaden valley in the 1980s n' early 1990s, i thought that i could let go'f that asian superiority complex that kids in these kinds'f neighbourhoods (like cupertino) devlop n' that all be kewl... but then perhaps i was reminded that it wasn't only my superiority complex or snobbiness that was a racial barrier, but obviously also those'f others.   *sigh* well, whatever, man.   1 can either be discouraged, or else 1 can keep pushing n' have a thicker skin n' more patience.

    [later] , 1033p: i did lots'f good $hopping @ the registry@macy's valley fair.   i bought lots'f stuff.   i ate @ the li'l sandwich n' salad $hop called cosi there. it's aktually really good!   i had a $2 ¢'oupon.   i had their tasty wasabi roast beef sandwich.

    [later] 1052p: i still don't have my voice back. *sigh* voiceless!

    Ű Ȳ ȸ ź ġ
    2005 grx ȸ ź ġ

    keep in mind that as much as some ppl'd call me a liberal freak etc., i am opposed to replacing "christmas" w/ "holidays"!   is the use'f the wurd christmas a violation'f freedom'f religion?   *sigh* i dunno, man.   however, it sure cms like christians' freedom'f religion hasn't been 2 well respekted lately either.


    2005.12.13

    voiceless, voiceless, voiceless

    ȭ ħ: so i still don't have my voice back.   dude, this really is laryngitis.   it's not kewl.   @ times, i feel helpless cos i can't talk.

    [later] : i should be @ the werk.com gym, but i think i'll skip now.   *sigh* as i sed in a previous entry, my "quality of life" is not good these days: poor diet, lack'f exercise, lack'f sleep, 2 much stress... [later] so all, this n' i don't have my voice.

    [a few mins later] oh yah, u wanna hear a slightly interesting story? (well, it's not that interesting, so don't get ur hopes up.)   while walking sooni this morn, i found a skateboard.   i guess some kid left his skateboard out.   sure, it would've been fun to take off w/ it, but that'd be mean.   neway, i rode it 4 a few feet w/ sooni, just to c her reaktion since she doesn't like the sound of skateboards rolling.   well, i think when she 1st heard the wheels hit the sidewalk, she was scared; but then she was just more concerned 'bout marking her territory as usual.

    [later] "should we talk about the weather?" - r.e.m.'s "pop song '89"   days r getting very short.   the weather 4 the end'f autumn this yr's "hazy sunshine."   that's what the weatherwoman on nbc 11 calls it, i think.   "hazy sushine" apparently means much clouds w/ no precipitation.   it's a dry, dry autumn.   the temp's been ok, just a li'l chilly @ times.   a couple'f wks 'go, we had plenty'f frost on green lawns in the morn.   when i took sooni 4 her morn walks, we'd c lots'f frosty lawns.   now? not so much so.   cloud cover @ nite prevents frost.   i can't believe we're almost 2 wks into december, n' i haven't yet gone snowboarding!   this is quite an outrage!   we do need more precipitation.   days continue to get shorter, n' s.a.d. / winter depression thrives.   that's a shame, though.   i ought to extinguish this winter depression.   i'd like my voice back.

    [later] just an ad - smartbargains

    [later] to maximise ur $avings next christmas or maybe even still this christmas, try buying gift cards online 1st, n' then going into stores to use those gift cards to buy presents.   it cms that u'll get some additional di$¢ounts, bonuses, n' rewards this way!


    2005.12.14

    berean

    ħ: hi, how r u? "hello, i saw you, i know you, i knew you.   i think i can remember your name, name." - r.e.m.'s "pop song '89"   2day, i feel maybe 85~90% recovered from my laryngitis.   the worst part's all this phlegm in my throat that i just can't cm to expektorate.   hrm, "expektorate," that's a wurd i 'member hearing in a they might be giants song.   ah, they might be giants n' r.e.m., a couple'f folksy rock bands i enjoyed in hi skool, eh?   these days, they might be giants's best known 4 the malcolm in the middle theme song.   "life is unfair..."   "you're not the boss of me now!   you're not the boss of me now!"   me, i got into they might be giants cos'f their flood album.   it had songs such as "istanbul not constantinople" n' uh... what else?   i know it had the track "your racist friend."   what else?   hrm, there's some other hit single that persuaded me to buy the tape cassette album.   :-?   i 'member 'twas a kewl album.   it had a self.titled (?) track called "they might be giants."   what else?   *sigh* i don't 'member, but there was some hit single.   back in those days, 'nother folksy rock band i enjoyed was the dead milkmen w/ their hit single "punk rock girl," which was a kewl song.   ah, the violent femmes?   yah, there's 'nother.   i s'ppose these folksy rock bands were sometimes classified or categorised as "college rock" if not "alt rock."   i think this was the era in which the term "alt rock" started to replace the 1980s term "modern rock," which was previously abbreviated as "mod."   of course, the violent femmes were best known 4 their hit single "blister in the sun."   neway, dude, that's all 4 ur 1990s folksy alt rock lesson 4 2day, eh?

    in case u haven't heard, my mom's getting baptised @ grx this sunday, december 18 @ the 915a service.   this is a big deal.   we're talkin' eternal salvation here!   this is good stuff.   come if u can.   in ne case, i s'ppose u can pray 4 it to be as great n' glorious'f an event as it should be.

    last nite, i went to taekwondo praktice.   i had no voice.   we kicked paddles, n' it was fun.   2wards the end, i convinced mark to have us do more "demo" stuff (fancy kicks), which was fun.   i couldn't talk n' couldn't kihap.   do u know what our ±ǵ taekwondojang's like?   it's like the barbershop in the movie barbershop.   like, after praktice's done, it's a place 4 a bunch'f guys to sit 'round n' talk 'bout whatever nonsense there is.   i don't think we really mean to make it specifically "an asian thing," but it's like an asian version'f the afrikan.am barbershop in the movie, u know?   well, in that sense, it's a special place.   after praktice, i went home n' ate some random stuff: patjook (red bean porridge), some red grapes, n' some pepper jack cheese.   what a random combination!   i watched this movie ançaise ench.canadian called la peau blanche (white skin), sort'f an indie/foreign film.   'twas quite interesting n' has this major twist @ the end that i can't discuss w/ u w/o spoiling it.

    late, late last nite, an ol' friend from the cal taekwondo p. crew (the early days) e.mailed me n' asked me to remove all reference to her name from pic captions on my webpage.   she was very, very nice 'bout it.   yah, i know some ppl don't want, 4 "professional reasons," their names mentioned on ne personal webpages or blogs.   yah, i totally understand even tho' u know that i'm totally not like that.   i'm so frickin' publik 'bout everything i do.   man, yah, employers can find out 'lot'f $#!+ 'bout me w/ just a simple google, 'specially if they realise that i go by "beno."   i s'ppose that's 1 important thing: if they don't connekt the name "beno" w/ me, then they might not get it; but it's not 2 hard.   neway, i started to browse thru some ol', ol' pages to find where i'd referred to her.   wow, that was a trip down memory lane!   frick, that stuff was over 5 yrs 'go now!   time really flies.   i hope none'f us consider those bad memories.   it cmed that ppl were fine w/ my having those pix up on my webpage in the past, n' i hope, even if ppl'd like their names removed, they don't mind the pix aktually being there.   like, shoot, i hope no 1 starts asking 4 me to blur out faces.   that's just disturbing, u know?   sheesh, then we'll have pix that look like stuff from horror films like the ringu/ring series!   what i plan to do is sort'f encrypt her name.   i'll e.mail her 'bout it soon.

    [later] dude, i just realised that w/ my pa1mone tungsten t5's being in the shop 4 repair, i'm missing 1'f my important dj tools.   i mean, shoot, of course the most important pieces'f equipment r my 2 pioneer cdj500s n' my mixer, but as an accurate dj, i use lots'f teknogadgets like my palm. :-/   i'd like to do more dj stuff.   i need to.

    [later] : after quickly reading a few webpages 'bout time management yesterday, i decided to make more'f a habit'f planning out each'f my werkdays on a more hr by hr basis.   i told myself, "micromanage urself, or else be micromanaged by some1 else!"

    [later] : oh i 4got to mention earlier sumpthin' mildly interesting that happened 2day: the beautiful kaela hwang ran out'f gas on the side'f the road, so i went out, bought a 5.gal plastik gas tank, filled it up, n' helped her get back on her way.   4tunately, it didn't take 2 long.

    hey, have u guys ever heard'f a book titled the great physician's rx by jordan rubin?   a li'l while 'go, i got a spam mail from "christian music updates" advertising it.   it aktually sounds pretty kewl, but... *shrug*   apparently, it's been on the ny times best sellers list 4 a long time or whatever.   the link in the spam mail leads to a site that sells the book 4 like $16.95 + 4.95 s&h.

    [later] 955p: 2nite, after werk, after werking out @ the werk.com gym (i was sooo frustrated w/ sumpthin' that happened @ werk 2day, so i wanted to lift weight to take out my aggression), i drove far.   i drove to berean christian bookstore in princeton plaza.   that's relatively far from where we live n' where i werk, but it's very close to where we used to live back when we lived w/ my mom.   it's a shame we never went to berean back when we lived w/ my mom.   however, back then, it wasn't there but instead closer to the ol' hamilton/meridian bally total fitness.   it was very fun to be @ berean.   i really liked being there.   however, i was also very disturbed by the amt'f reublikkkan propaganda being sold.   ugh!

    [later] on my way out'f princeton plaza, i got a grilled premium chicken sandwich meal from mcyukyuk's mcdrive.   the mayo's so fatt'ning!


    2005.12.15

    not much useful fud

    : hi, how r u?   seriously, lemme know.   communicate w/ me.   well, i'm ok.   i still feel a bit sick but also a bit better.   hey, 1 topik that i haven't discussed here but that u might've expekted me to is the execution'f stanley tookie williams.   yah, u'd think that i, as some1 who writes 'bout political issues, 'd talk 'bout this; but i haven't.   in gen'l, i'm 'gainst the death penalty, so yah... i would've sed not to execute him.   @ the same time, i'm basical saying that, in gen'l, we shouldn't execute ne1.   didju know that the ppl that he was in prison 4 killing were taiwanese immigrants?   he shot them pt blank, n' they were elderly ppl.   yah, it's sick to think ne1'd do that.   tookie did apparently insist that he didn't do it, but... *shrug* that's what he was in prison 4 doing. *shrug* neway, i think it was great that he cleaned up while in prison.   i believe ppl can clean up.   i believe ppl can be "transformed," n' i believe in forgiveness.   however, well, the state killed him, n' that's the story.

    this morn, i couldn't find much to eat 4 brkfast.   we haven't had much good fud 'round the house lately.   it's a prob that's contributing to my low quality'f life, which i've mentioned in earlier entries.

    [later] : during my lunchbrk, i went home n' ate leftover bokkeumbap (fried rice), which the beautiful kaela hwang cooked 4 dinner on uh... which nite?   uhm, oh yah, mon nite.   that's rt.   i 'membered 'twas a nite when i ate some kind'f amerikan fud by myself, but 'twasn't last nite, when i ate mcyukyuk's by myself.   dude, what the heck ever happened to the mcveggie?!   dude, is there nuthin' healthy n' handheld @ mcyukyuk's these days?   the chicken sandwiches r loaded w/ unhealthy mayo!   well, i ate lunch, sorted thru mail n' then gloomily left to return to werk.   oh yah, besides the bokkeumbap, i also ate some ol' clementine oranges n' a li'l bit'f tostitos w/ some salsa.   our house doesn't have much useful fud these days, as i mentioned.   yah, that contributes to both my "low quality'f life" as well as my winter depression.   lately, 4 some unknown reason, i'm receiving even less personal e.mail than usual.   *shrug* maybe ppl r bizzy christmas $hopping. *shrug* maybe i need to go gro¢ery $hopping.   i guess i would've liked to werkout in the gym during 2day's lunchbrk.   i'm not 100% sure why i didn't.   honestly, my legs r a li'l sore from taekwondo praktice on tues nite.   in a way, it feels good to be sore cos i know i exercised.   however, it's depressing that it took so li'l to make my legs sore.   winter depression; man, i tell u! winter depression!

    [later] i s'ppose i'm looking 4ward to the winter "break," the winter "shutdown."   i'm looking 4ward to it.   kaela n' i r s'pposed to go snowboarding on sat.   well, shoot; i should be looking 4 ward to that!   to get to kirkwood, i should take 580e to 205 to 5n to 4e to 99n to 88e.   i've gotta 'member that: 580.205.5.4.99.88.

    i've been w/o my pa1mone tungsten t5 4 almost a wk now.   there's sumpthin' wrong w/ the repair process, n' i haven't been updated online w/ what's going on.   just now, i called them, n' gave'em the ups tracking nombre that proves that they received it.   *sigh* now, just gotta keep waiting.   worst comes to worst, i s'ppose they owe me a new (refurbished) pa1mone tungsten t5. *sigh* neway, i definitely want my device back b4 the winter shutdown!   i don't like being w/o my palm.

    [later] last nite, i fell asleep, watching house of flying daggers.   i was already really sleepytired when i tuned in, but i wanted to watch it.   man, zhang ziyi's getting 'lots'f exposure these days, eh?   i mean, w/ memoirs of a geisha n' all...   i dunno, man; she might become the most popular n' most famous asian aktress in amerika, eh?   do u think that's what she wants?   as i sed in earlier entries 'bout Ǻ kwon boa, it's not necessarily the most important thing to be popular in amerika.   4got u not the cheesy 1980s alphaville tune "big in japan."   in a way that describes boa's situation: maybe it's better 4 her to be popular in japan than in amerika.   how old is the movie house of flying daggers?   the 1st movie i saw w/ zhang ziyi was crouching tiger, hidden dragon, rt?

    as i sed a li'l while 'go; i'm lookin' 4ward to the "holiday shutdown."   when i get stressed_out@werk.com, i sometimes think 'bout our hawaii trip (this past oktober) n' how relaxing the environment was there.

    [a li'l later] i think i'm mostly recovered from my laryngitis.   man, i feel like i hadn't been sick in such a disabling way since my fud poisoning in the early autumn.   it really sucked not being able to talk.

    [a li'l later] even tho' i look 4ward to the holiday shutdown when i get stress_out@werk.com, i shouldn't depend on it being the answer to nething.   even tho' i have great, great memories from our hawaii trip; it obviously had it's stressful pts such as trying to book activities, getting seasick, finding parking, navigating thru bizzy streets in the touristy area; no doubt!   the only answer to life's probs is jesus.   i gotta say that last nite, being @ berean christian bookstore made me feel more relaxed.   however, even that's just an earthly building made by man.   it's not perfekt.   4 example, just think 'bout how i mentioned the overabundance'f republikan propaganda 4 sale.   nuthin' on earth or 'least of earth's perfekt, rt?   no person, place, or thing.   there's no person quite like jesus, no place quite like heaven, n' nuthin' else as good as god's pure love.


    2005.12.16

    steak lunch

    ݿ ħ: somebody bought sumpthin' from my paragon sports link on 20051212.   thank u very much!   i appreciate ur using my link! :-)   how's christmas $hopping going, y'all?   good?   i christmas $hopped on wuhlyoil bam / mundae nite but haven't really done so 'gain since, eh?

    [later] : i'm still@werk.com.   the beautiful kaela hwang, since she's done w/ finals, went down to santa cruz this morn w/ some friends from skool.   then she had some happy hr celebration this evening.   i guess, since she's @ that, i might as well stay n' werk late since i'd rather be here late 2day than a wk from 2day.   2day, @ lunch, my division went to the santa clara convention center n' had our holiday luncheon.   the fud was pretty good.   i had steak.   dude, i ingested 2 much fat tho'.   it was hard to c the fat on the steak w/ the dim lighting, but ugh... i tasted it in my mouth n' figured it was impolite in a bizness setting to spit fat out.   well, i ingested more than i wanted but 2wards the end'f the steak couldn't stand it nemore n' did spit out a li'l fat.   ugh!   neway, the fud was good, but man! i need exercise.

    [later] *sigh* well, kaela's still @ her happy hour thing.   me? *shrug* i guess i'll keep werking, but man... it does feel pretty depressing to be werking late on a fri nite, worse knowing that the most i have to look 4ward to 2nite's eating dinner by myself.   it's not gonna be a fun fri nite.   i gotta get our cr@p ready 4 snowboarding, do cr@p like put my boardrack on the roof'f my car, etc.   *sigh*


    2005.12.17

    hwang solo

    , 953p: 2day, i aktually drove up to kirkwood n' snowboarded all by myself.   can u believe that?   it's not the 1st time i've snowboarded all day by myself.   i guess it's the 2nd.   i dunno: 1) i'm not very popular these days; n' i guess i just don't have friends like i used to, n' 2) i'm a serious snowboarder.

    [later] 1010p: so last nite, the beautiful kaela hwang went to some party w/ her chiropraktic skool friends.   we were s'pposed to go snowboarding 2gether 2day, but she didn't come home until like 100a or sumpthin'.   yah, she asked if i wanted to join them, but really... i want to have my own friends.   i can't just tag 'long to all her social events... like, really; think 'bout it.   like, if she wanted me to hang out w/ her hi skool friends or sumpthin' that's diff cos 1st off those r friends she made b4 she was w/ me, n' 2ndly it's just diff.   if we hang out w/ ol' berkeley taekwondo friends, those r our common friends.   yah, we have common friends from berkeley taekwondo, from our current u.s. taekwondo akademy, from church... then there r my friends, i s'ppose: like, my ol' hi skool friends, my ol' college friends, my cowerkers, n' to some extenet my friends from community connections @ grx.   i feel really bad that i haven't made much'f an effort to keep in touch w/ my ol' community connektions friends from this summer.   the thing was that w/ community connektions, i had lots'f fun but always felt guilty being @ church instead'f w/ kaela.   she had some chiropraktic skool club thing on wednesday evenings neway.   however, she'd sometimes get home 1st, n' i'd still be @ church, u know?   so i always felt guilty 'bout that.   n' yah, in gen'l i prefer to go to church events w/ kaela instead'f by myself, but... u know?   i've learned thru.out this yr, that that's just nonsense.   however, i don't want her to start saying that our church friends r just my friends n' that when we hang w/ church friends it counts as hanging w/ my friends, n' thus she can expekt me to hang out more w/ her friends.

    on thurs nite, we ditched taekwondo n' a very important taekwondo party to go to this christmas party @ kaela's classmate friend's apt.   yah, her friend is gay n' he n' his bf hosted this party.   we've hung out w/ this gay couple b4.   it was a fun party, n' i admit that i had fun.   however, really! as much as ppl r nice to me in the chiro crowd, i obviously don't share ne common bond w/ them as i'm not in skool w/ 'em.   *sigh* u know what?   even when i hang out w/ my cowerker friends, i often feel 2 old, n' man... u know? i dunno why.   i'm not that much older, so i should get over it.   i do believe my cowerkers do make kaela feel welcome.     *sigh* neway... this entry doens't have cohesive paragraphs.   what can i say?   i've been depressed lately, n' this feeling that i don't really have friends nowadays makes things worse.

    so how was 2day? yah, i drove up to kirkwood all alone, snowboarded all alone, n' went home all alone.   it does sort'f remind me'f the smiths' song "how soon is now?", which i did listen to in the car.   "there's a club if you'd like to go.   you could meet somebody who really loves you.   so you go and you stand on your own, and you leave on your own.   and you go home, and you cry, and you want to die. . .   just shut your mouth.   how can you say i go about things the wrong way?   i am human, and i need to be loved just like everybody else does. . . i am the son and the heir of a shyness that is criminally vulgar.   i am the son and heir of nothing in particular."

    on thurs nite, while kaela was @ her happy hr n' party, i drove sooni to get gas 4 my car n' then 'round san josé's wonderful christmas in the park.   i wanted to hear the smiths' "there is a light and it never goes out" but didn't have it on my europop mp3 cd that was in my stereo.   "take me out tonight where there's music and there's people who are young and alive.   driving in your car, i never never want to go home because i haven't got one, anymore.   take me out tonight because i want to see people and i want to see lights.   driving in your car; oh, please don't drop me home because it's not my home, it's their home, and i'm welcome no more."

    so how was the day on the slopes?   the snow was fine.   it wasn't fresh powder but wasn't bad.   i spent pretty much the whole day on black diamond n' double black diamond runs.   i didn't hit the terrain park till my last, exhausted run.   i guess that's fine cos i can ride freestyle next wk in socal.   yah, @ some pt 2day, i sed to myself in my head, "shoot, r u a freestyle boarder or not?" since i was mostly riding downhill.   however, i did take some li'l hits along the downhill runs n' even pulled a small 360 just to prove to myself that i can still do 'em.

    i didn't eat ne brkfast.   i stopped relatively early, @ noon, to eat a hamburger n' drink a gatorade 4 lunch.   it's interesting; i noticed that the employees r visitors from europe or south amerika that want so badly to praktice their english.


    2005.12.19

    29th monthversary

    ħ: 2day's the beautiful kaela hwang's n' my 29th wedding monthversary.   2 yr n' 5 months.   last nite, i took kaela out to a "steak dinner."   we always have fun w/ that term cos'f how leonardo dicaprio sed it in catch me if you can.   while hittin' on some bank teller gurl, he sez sumpthin' like, "i'll take you out for a steak dinner."   he sez it so proudly, u know?   i'm sure 'twas sumpthin' super.special in those days, but these days, u a steak dinner could mean a ¢heap steak @ denny's or an expen$ive steak @ harris ranch or ruth chris's or mccormick n' whoever's.   maybe steak isn't always the aristokratik meat it used to be.   however, last nite, we went to the relatively new, ritzy, blingin' alexander's steakhouse in cupertino's vallco fashion plaza or whatever that ghost town mall's officially called.   from searching online 4 info, i was prepared 4 the hi pri¢es, but 'least the fud lived up to the expektations.     kaela had the filet mignon, n' i had the "all 4 one."   b4 our entrées, we had a beet "carpaccio" salad n' some lobster n' shrimp dumplings.   w/ our entrés;, we had this awesome kabocha squash n' this above.mediocre, unnecessary artichoke.   4 dessert, we had this "fire n' ice" raspberry souflé w/ lemon sorbet.   we had a bottle'f 2003 côte du rhone wine w/ our dinner n' some white tea w/ dessert.   dude, white tea n' beet salad in the same meal; that's pretty hip!   what do kids say these days?   i think they say, "that's hot!"   the server tried to sell us the kobe beef filet mignon, but i'm glad kaela resisted it cos we figured out that it must ¢o$t over $100, maybe like $125~150.   the amerikan filet mignon wasn't ¢heap, but it was good.   the all 4 one is this: (raw) beef "sashimi" rolled 'round jicama w/ black sesame n' ponzu sauce; prime rib w/ horseradish sauce; braised(?) short rib w/ green olives n' some kind'f creamy sauce; n' this other, small, delicious steak.   sounds extravagant?   yah, it was; but they were small portions'f each beef dish.   we definitely can't eat like that every nite, definitely not every wk either.   we noticed that the restaurant's really into using chives n' mint oil; not necessarily 2gether.

    yesterday wasn't only the anniversary'f kaela's n' my wedding engagement (2001); 'twas also my mutha's baptism.   yup, she got baptised @ the 900a (i 4got 'tisn't 915a nemore (since we've been going to the 1030a service more these days)! :-o) service @ grx.   pastor bobby gave the sermon 'bout 'membering the true meaning'f christmas instead'f just doing the family traditions.   he talked 'bout how the magis that found jesus chose to defy king herod n' thus kept herod from finding n' killing jesus.   @ the end'f the service, pastor steve baptised my mom w/ the whole h2o submersion baptism.   i dunno if u know or not, but kaela n' i didn't have immersion (submersion?) baptism but were just sprinkled.   as we're not baptists, we honestly feel all these methods r valid.   was there not a simpsons episode where somebody (maybe flanders???) tried to baptism a mass ('f ppl, a crowd) w/ a firehose???   neway, my sista came w/ our nephew nolan (even tho' mason n' steve stayed home cos mason was sick), n' 'twas a really glorious event.   my mom wrote a very good testimony 4 the bulletin.   every1 loved it.   after the service, we headed over to joy luck place 4 a celebratory dim sum lunch.   some ppl from my mom's small group bible study came: judy, john, n' ray.   'twas kewl to meet them.   i'm glad my mom has a grp'f supportive fellow christians to study the bible w/.   sure, they're more like my age than hers, but that's no big deal.   wow, we had such nice dim sum.   joy luck place does, i admit, have the best, most innovative dim sum.   i've avoided that place lately cos it's so crowded n' pri¢ier than other places, like canton delites or that so.so place in sunnyvale near the sunnyvale towne center ghost town mall.   (dude, i can't wait till sunnyvale towne center n' vallco get totally redone.   the silly valley [amerika's real heartland] deserve those 2 places to be turned 'round into nice hangouts!)

    after dim sum, kaela n' i ventured out in the rain to santana row's farmers market.   we bought some expen$ive chilean sea bass (but the fishmonger did "hook us up" w/ a good deal) n' some seedless, red flamer grapes.   (uh, what r they really called?   red flaming grapes?   red flameless grapes?   nah, couldn't be that.   maybe just red flame grapes. *shrug*)   then we went home n' chilled 4 a bit, watched a dokumentary 'bout "big wave" surfing n' then the tail end'f some awesome korean pop concert to benefit needy children in 3rd world countries.   oh, then we watched our drama city show that i like so much.   then we went out to dinner 4 our monthversary.

    [later] : 2day, 4 lunch, i went home.   kaela cooked, n' she didn't just cook sumpthin' simple; she went all out!   she cooked the chilean sea bass we bought from the farmers market yesterday.   she gave it some kind'f sesame miso vinegar mustard mushroom green onion sauce.   it was awesome.   she also baked these baby potates w/ shrooms, carrots, onions...   it was very good.   i won't c her 2nite cos she's going off 'gain to do sumpthin' related to her skoolstuff. *shrug* i'll try to go to the werk.com gym 2nite n' then... *shrug* maybe i'll go to costco?   well, i badly need gasoline.   this morn, i bought 2 gallons'f gas from the shell station by our house.   it's not ¢heap there, so i only bought 2 gallons.   [later][ aktually; maybe, instead'f costco, i should go to a korean supermarket.   i'm s'pposed to cook dduhkbokki on wed nite w/ kaela 4 some1 in our couples bible study small grp.

    [a li'l later] during lunch, i mentioned to kaela how i've had more dreams lately.   i wish i dokumented all my recent dreams.   i know 1 was a bad dream 'bout werk.   aktually, most'f my recent dreams've been bad dreams.   1 dream i 'member from 2day was 1 where sooni bit this midget darth vader.   then the midget darth vader turned out to be the devil (satan), n' the devil got very mad n' was gonna do sumpthin' bad to me.   i was scared.   after i realised it was a dream, i told myself sumpthin' 'bout how it doesn't matter what satan does to me cos i'm eternally saved.   hrm... i must sound like a total wacko, but... *shrug*

    [later] i realised via www.onlineconversion.com/dayborn.htm that i was born on a thursday.   that's interesting as i'm rather indifferent to thursdays.   like so many other ppl, i prefer fridays n' saturdays.

    914p: after werk, i werked out in the werk.com gym.   it was more crowded than usual.   i guess lots'f other ppl had the same idea as i did: get exercise b4 the holiday brk.   after werking out n' showering, i went to galleria market to buy a li'l bit'f gro¢eries; just a li'l.   i came home n' steamed myself up some ġ kimchi son mandoo.   i ate that n' 1 big fuji apple.   oh, i alos had an o.doul's non.alkoholik bier cos i knew it'd go well w/ the mandoo.   *sigh* just a few more days till the holiday brk, n'... shoot, i've got so much werk to do.   *sigh* i don't wanna get my @$$ kicked @ werk, u know?


    2005.12.20

    winter solstice eve

    ħ: well, i don't really have time to write an entry; but, hrm... i feel i should write 'least a li'l.   lessee, what should i say? [later] w/ the yr winding down, i'm soon gonna need to discuss the top events'f 2005 (in my life).   crazy, crazy.   2morrow's the shortest day'f the yr, rt?
    season scientific consumer
    spring 321~621 easter (nowadays v.day) ~ memorial day
    summer 621~921 memorial day ~ labour day
    fall 921~1221 labour day ~ t.giving (nowadays halloween)
    winter 1221~321 t.giving (nowadays halloween) ~ easter (nowadays v.day)

    [later] i need to 'member to buy an av switchbox to make recording tv from the dish netwerk receiver to our camcorder's (built.in) vcr easier.   *sigh* i also wish i had sumtphin' to split the audio signal from the dish netwerk receiver to the audio receiver/amp as well as the tv, so that we can have audio from both.   my yamaha reciever doesn't have a line leverl out.   it was made 4 musik not tv.   it's rather inconvenient that my pa1mone tungsten t5's still in the shop.   i called them this morn, n' they sed they'd call back w/ an update 2morrow morn.   funny; both times pinay women answered my call.   @ 1st, i thought, "wow, florida (813 area code) has lots'f pilipinos."   then i realised 2day, "wait! is it that the call center itself's aktually in da pilipines?"   the repair center's s'pposed to be in pharr, texas.   i don't s'ppose they ship the repair orders to china or nething; i don't think that'd be ¢o$t.effi¢ient... or is it?   imagine if all they do is collekt broken devices n' ship out refurbished 1s.   in that case, maybe, they could collekt broken devices in texas, send 'em off to china 4 repair in a sweatshop, n' then have the refurbies sent back to texas to be shipped out.   eh! i highly doubt it; they'd need to be sellin' 'lot more palms b4 they a complikated operation like that'd be profitable.   i mean, of course, the original manufakturing's all done in chinese sweatshops, but... nah, i doubt the service'd be.

    as u know, the dry early part'f the snow season has. . .[interrupted]

    [later] : gadget talk: let's talk 'bout bluetooth stereo headfons.   well, there's the bluetake i.phono bt420ex bluetooth headphones - stereo sound w/ a boom mic(rophone), funktional w/ ne audio device via its dongle w/ a 3.5mm plug.   it retails @ a whoppin' $249.99.   there's the logitech "wireless headphones for ipod," which retails @ $119.99.   there's the iogear gbmhkit wireless stereo headphone kit that can be found 4 like $135 online.

    [later] 2day, 4 lundh, the beautiful kaela hwang picked me up from my office, n' we ate @ thai chili.   kaela had the shrimp silver noodle pad thai, n' i had the cashew beef.   when the waitress asked me how spicy i wanted my cashe beef, i sed "spicy."   then she questioned me, "are you sure?   have you had spicy here before?"   i thought 2ice, knowing that the 1st time we went to thai chili, we were w/ our friends susan n' gregory; so we likely didn't order the spiciest stuff that time.   however, i was very sure that the 2nd time i went, w/ cowerkers, i definitely ordered my spicy catfish as spicy.   i gave my consent 4 them to make my fud "spicy."   it was fine.   that waitress had me a li'l worried, but 'twas all 4 nuthin'!   c'mon, do i really look like a guy who can't handle his spiciness?   i'm a spicy guy.


    2005.12.21

    winter solstice

    suyoil achim: 2day's the shortest day'f the yr.   2day's the official start'f winter.   whadya think?   i know the beautiful kaela hwang enjoyed yesterday's surprisingly warm while overcast weather.   i commented to her that we experienced very similar weather in the spring'f this very same yr.   crazy, huh?   it's like last winter ended in the same manner that this winter is starting up.   strange, strange, strange.   it's been a very strange yr in weather, 2005.   2day's date (w/o the yr) is a palindrome: 12.21.   last nite, after our lite taekwondo werkout, kaela n' i went to fantasia to get some boba drinks: hot taro milk tea w/ boba.

    [much later] 1145p: i'm very sleepytired since i've been waking up earlier these days.   2day, i had lunch w/ my mom @ udupi.   i cooked dduhkbokki 4 dinner @ home.   in the evening, kaela n' i watched lots'f science of the bible episodes on the national geographic channel.


    2005.12.22

    planning 4 socal

    : 2morrow, evening we'll go down to socal 4 a li'l over a wk.   (i'll get duk kyung to watch our place, so well... in case, u read my journal just to figure out when u can break into our place, be warned.   also, our neighbours r home all the time n' can keep a watchful eye.)   i've gotta 'member this time, while driving to take 5 to 210 to 57 to 71.   on past trips, we've overshot the 57 n' gone all the way to the 15 b4 looping back west to chino.   oh yah, i've gotta get into socal mode, i.e. i'm taking the 5 to the 210 to the 57 to the 71.   is it (the) 210 east?   east or south?   (the) 5 south, (the) 210 east, (the) 57 west (or east???), (the) 71 south...   ok, here r the official, google, correkt direktions: 101s.152e.5s.210e.57s.71s.   yes, that makes sense: 10115252105771.   it makes sense; everythings south, east, south, east; either south or east.   ah, even tho' roadtrips can be boring, w/ that long stretch'f the 5 n' all; i really feel like i'm lookin' 4ward to this roadtrip.   i guess i'm anticipating the christmas brk.   it sad tho' cos i'm anticipating christmas 4 all the wrong reasons :-(, 4 all the secular reasons instead'f the spiritual reasons.   4 goodness sake, i'm s'pposed to be celebrating the birth'f our lord n' saviour.   last nite, the beautiful kaela hwang n' i wathced some national geographic channel shows 'bout jesus n' the bible.   sure, it's not like really spiritually edifying material; but it's still interesting to watch.

    i wonder if centro basco (12432 south central avenue; chino ca 91710; 909.628.9014) is a worthwhile ançais/basque restaurant to check out in the inland empire.

    2day, kaela came to pick me up 4 lunch.   we went to the nearby sweet tomatoes, not a creative choice but an opportunity to get some greens, u know?   as 'twas really crowded as usual, we ended up eating out on the heated, covered patio.   wow, 'twas quite a neat experience.   we were nice, warm, n' relatively dry, while the rain poured down hard in the surrounding parking lot.   crazy!   kaela remarked how it felt so tropical, n' she was absolutely rt.

    [later] , 1145p: argh, it feels like 300a cos i've been waking up earlier this wk n' getting less n' less sleep as the wk progresses.   2morrow evening we drive down to socal, n' i need to stay 'wake.   i'm trying to watch mason's preskool winter holiday show


    2005.12.23

    holiday brk eve

    ݿ ħ: last nite, the beautiful kaela hwang n' i met up w/ my dad @ san josé j.town's minato sushi restaurant.   my dad n' i both ordered this special bento box, which was 'lot'f fud.   it had sashimi, teriyaki chicken, gyoza, n' katsu.   crazy, huh?   'specially considering it also came w/ soup, salad, rice, n' some other banchan type stuff.   awesome.   kaela had the "minato nabe," which is their yosenabe, i guess.   it was also lot'f fud.   i got sleepy n' went to bed relatively early last nite.   i haven't showered.   since i've been waking up earlier this wk, i get sleepytired earlier.

    as the yr winds down, i'll need to post a list'f my top events'f 2005.   i'll also soon need to make 1 or more new yr's resolutions, i s'ppose.   lemme hook u up w/ a hot tip on what my resolutions'll include: i'll mostly likely resolve to write in normal amerikan english (not benospelling) 4 like 1 month or so.   we'll c.   what else?   *sigh* i think i'll resolve to be more proaktive 'bout my career, not that i haven't been aktive @ werk, but what i mean is to be more proaktive 'bout my best interests.   like, yesterday, i did shoot off an e.mail to my manager 'bout some software issues that've been impakting my produktivity.   yah, i could've just grinned n' bared it n' not rock the boat, but i realised that shoot... if there's a prob like this that's impakting my produktivity, then it's making me look bad, unless i make sure ppl know there's a prob that's beyond my control.   it's not that i'm out to make excuses, but that i'm sincerely trying to make sure this roadblock gets removed.   neway... i won't go into 2 many details 'bout my werk n' comopany cos then i don't like to talk 2 much 'bout werk here.   [later] hrm, i meant to hook u up w/ 'nother tip on what my resolutions'll include, but i cm to have 4gotten it. *sigh*   oh yah! i'll prob'ly resolve to buy some mutual funds cos i realise that lettin' ur $$$ sit idle in a money market a¢¢ount's the tool'f the devil.   well, i don't mean to get religious there, but i'm just saying that lettin' ur $$$ sit in a a money market or "$avings" a¢¢ount is evil.   "make ur $$$ werk 4 u," rt?   i can't believe that 4 so many yrs'f my young career, i let my $$$ sit idle, doin' absolutely nuthin' in stinkin' money market n' $avings a¢¢ounts.   dude, i could have so much more $$$ now if i hadn't!   well, not that i'm greed or $$$.driven... but u know, i realise that i've been lazy 'bout $$$, n' most likely it comes from the confucianism that just goes 'long w/ being born asian.   well, shoot... in the past yr, even tho' i'll always cherish asian culture, i've reach that pt in the cycle (my life's very cyclical), where i'm sort'f questioning certain asian, 'specially confucianesque, ways'f life.   *shrug* it's just sumpthin' to ponder, nuthin' absolute.   like sumpthin' to ponder's this: abnegation's great but only abnegation 4 a purpose not abnegation just 4 abnegation's sake.   well, shoot; 4 a few yrs now, i've realised that $aving $$$ just 4 the sake'f $aving $$$ is a bunch'f b.s..   rather what we ought to do is $ave $$$ 4 a specific purpose, a specific goal!   let us not simply horde $$$.

    [later] : so i went to watch mason's preskool show.   ha ha, he looked like he was having so much fun.   *sigh* man, it was so kewl that i pretty much arrived just in time to c his entire set.   kewl!   it's funny cos 4 the main set, he sang so enthusiastically; but, 4 the closing song, he got distrakted by the guitars and drums resting on the stage that he seemed to forget about the performance.   ha ha, it's so cute how kids' minds werk!   well, what a fun experience.   later, (nephew) nolan dropped (brutha.in.law) steve's keys, n' we had to search 4 them.   luckily, kaela pushed me to look further down the sidewalk, n' we found them. :-) later, just now, i read a very mildly interesting article on the mercury news website 'bout a man who found his wedding band: "man's lost ring found in fruit basket" (http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/13473956.htm).

    [later] awesome! cal beat brigham young university (byu) last nite in the las vegas bowl!   35 to 28; kewl!   here's an article: "A bright future: SOPHOMORE LYNCH PAVES THE WAY WITH 194 YARDS RUSHING" (http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/sports/colleges/cal/13472890.htm).

    this yr's new yr comes w/ a "leap second."   didju know that?   article here: "New Year's will arrive -- but late" (http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/13475572.htm).

    [later] : dude, i'm gettin a li'l sleepy this afternoon.   i can't believe i'm sick 'gain.   i was sick going into last wk.   then i got better.   then midway thru this wk, i started getting sick 'gain.   argh!   as we sed in the late 1990s, "what up w/ that?!"   (in fakt, we sometimes sed, "what up w/ dat?!", "wat up wid dat?!", or maybe even "waddup wid dat?!"   many variations existed.   ah, funny to think; we also used to say "doo" instead'f "dude.")

    [later] man, it's crazy, the snow conditions in socal look really bad.   like, snow summit doesn't even have ne black diamond runs open. >:-( n' trail ratings r inflated there, a black diamond's relly more'f a tahoe blue square!   however, i still hope to go snowboarding this wk.   [later] dude, check it (as we sed in the 1990s [instead'f saying "check it out"): snow summit has 12" of snow, while kirkwood up here in norcal has 80"!   dude, man; it's gonna be all freestyle riding in socal this wk cos there's no snow 4 real downhill riding.   how're my knees n' back?   ready to jump n' catch air?   ready 4 landings?   maybe it'll be my chance to werk on railriding. *shrug* hrm, funny.   i could call it "railsliding," but it cms like "railriding"'s more appropriate 4 snowboarding whereas "railsliding"'s more appropriate 4 skateboarding.   there rn't ne rails in surfing.   there could be rails in wakeboarding, i s'ppose; but seriously: the big 3 boardsports r snow, skate, n' surf.   4 some reason wakeboarding as an extreme sport more often falls into the same category as bmx, motorcross, snowmobiling, jetskiing, etc; most likely cos it requires a motorboat, rt?   man, i still would like to learn how to surf 4 real.   [later] so i'm really worried 'bout snow conditions everywhere this season.   yah, 2day, i was talkin' to steve (brutha.in.law) 'bout the poor snow conditions, n' he sed everywhere's having bad (little) snow this yr.   *sigh* yah, i'm really gonna hafta take back up skateboarding in order to keep up my boardsports.   i was just researching mountainboarding, i.e. offroad skateboarding on mountains... u know, a mountainboard aktually isn't 2 expen$ive.   u can get 1 4 like $120, which isn't that bad, considering a good street skateboard ¢o$ts 'bout that much.   however, if i were to buy 1 n' not like it, that surely would be a waste'f $120!   hunh, this mbs jeep cj5 mountainboard even has brakes.   really?!   oh wait... this mountainboard 4 $120.99 is 4 riders up to weight 100 lbs n' recommended 4 ages 6~12. *sigh* nuts!   apparently, a real mountainboard ¢o$ts more like $250, which is in the low.end snowboard range, eh?   dude, where can u rent a mountainboard?   newhere?


    2005.12.23

    holiday brk eve

    ݿ ħ: last nite, the beautiful kaela hwang n' i met up w/ my dad @ san josé j.town's minato sushi restaurant.   my dad n' i both ordered this special bento box, which was 'lot'f fud.   it had sashimi, teriyaki chicken, gyoza, n' katsu.   crazy, huh?   'specially considering it also came w/ soup, salad, rice, n' some other banchan type stuff.   awesome.   kaela had the "minato nabe," which is their yosenabe, i guess.   it was also lot'f fud.   i got sleepy n' went to bed relatively early last nite.   i haven't showered.   since i've been waking up earlier this wk, i get sleepytired earlier.

    as the yr winds down, i'll need to post a list'f my top events'f 2005.   i'll also soon need to make 1 or more new yr's resolutions, i s'ppose.   lemme hook u up w/ a hot tip on what my resolutions'll include: i'll mostly likely resolve to write in normal amerikan english (not benospelling) 4 like 1 month or so.   we'll c.   what else?   *sigh* i think i'll resolve to be more proaktive 'bout my career, not that i haven't been aktive @ werk, but what i mean is to be more proaktive 'bout my best interests.   like, yesterday, i did shoot off an e.mail to my manager 'bout some software issues that've been impakting my produktivity.   yah, i could've just grinned n' bared it n' not rock the boat, but i realised that shoot... if there's a prob like this that's impakting my produktivity, then it's making me look bad, unless i make sure ppl know there's a prob that's beyond my control.   it's not that i'm out to make excuses, but that i'm sincerely trying to make sure this roadblock gets removed.   neway... i won't go into 2 many details 'bout my werk n' comopany cos then i don't like to talk 2 much 'bout werk here.   [later] hrm, i meant to hook u up w/ 'nother tip on what my resolutions'll include, but i cm to have 4gotten it. *sigh*   oh yah! i'll prob'ly resolve to buy some mutual funds cos i realise that lettin' ur $$$ sit idle in a money market a¢¢ount's the tool'f the devil.   well, i don't mean to get religious there, but i'm just saying that lettin' ur $$$ sit in a a money market or "$avings" a¢¢ount is evil.   "make ur $$$ werk 4 u," rt?   i can't believe that 4 so many yrs'f my young career, i let my $$$ sit idle, doin' absolutely nuthin' in stinkin' money market n' $avings a¢¢ounts.   dude, i could have so much more $$$ now if i hadn't!   well, not that i'm greed or $$$.driven... but u know, i realise that i've been lazy 'bout $$$, n' most likely it comes from the confucianism that just goes 'long w/ being born asian.   well, shoot... in the past yr, even tho' i'll always cherish asian culture, i've reach that pt in the cycle (my life's very cyclical), where i'm sort'f questioning certain asian, 'specially confucianesque, ways'f life.   *shrug* it's just sumpthin' to ponder, nuthin' absolute.   like sumpthin' to ponder's this: abnegation's great but only abnegation 4 a purpose not abnegation just 4 abnegation's sake.   well, shoot; 4 a few yrs now, i've realised that $aving $$$ just 4 the sake'f $aving $$$ is a bunch'f b.s..   rather what we ought to do is $ave $$$ 4 a specific purpose, a specific goal!   let us not simply horde $$$.

    [later] : so i went to watch mason's preskool show.   ha ha, he looked like he was having so much fun.   *sigh* man, it was so kewl that i pretty much arrived just in time to c his entire set.   kewl!   it's funny cos 4 the main set, he sang so enthusiastically; but, 4 the closing song, he got distrakted by the guitars and drums resting on the stage that he seemed to forget about the performance.   ha ha, it's so cute how kids' minds werk!   well, what a fun experience.   later, (nephew) nolan dropped (brutha.in.law) steve's keys, n' we had to search 4 them.   luckily, kaela pushed me to look further down the sidewalk, n' we found them. :-) later, just now, i read a very mildly interesting article on the mercury news website 'bout a man who found his wedding band: "man's lost ring found in fruit basket" (http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/13473956.htm).

    [later] awesome! cal beat brigham young university (byu) last nite in the las vegas bowl!   35 to 28; kewl!   here's an article: "A bright future: SOPHOMORE LYNCH PAVES THE WAY WITH 194 YARDS RUSHING" (http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/sports/colleges/cal/13472890.htm).

    this yr's new yr comes w/ a "leap second."   didju know that?   article here: "New Year's will arrive -- but late" (http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/13475572.htm).

    [later] : dude, i'm gettin a li'l sleepy this afternoon.   i can't believe i'm sick 'gain.   i was sick going into last wk.   then i got better.   then midway thru this wk, i started getting sick 'gain.   argh!   as we sed in the late 1990s, "what up w/ that?!"   (in fakt, we sometimes sed, "what up w/ dat?!", "wat up wid dat?!", or maybe even "waddup wid dat?!"   many variations existed.   ah, funny to think; we also used to say "doo" instead'f "dude.")

    [later] man, it's crazy, the snow conditions in socal look really bad.   like, snow summit doesn't even have ne black diamond runs open. >:-( n' trail ratings r inflated there, a black diamond's relly more'f a tahoe blue square!   however, i still hope to go snowboarding this wk.   [later] dude, check it (as we sed in the 1990s [instead'f saying "check it out"): snow summit has 12" of snow, while kirkwood up here in norcal has 80"!   dude, man; it's gonna be all freestyle riding in socal this wk cos there's no snow 4 real downhill riding.   how're my knees n' back?   ready to jump n' catch air?   ready 4 landings?   maybe it'll be my chance to werk on railriding. *shrug* hrm, funny.   i could call it "railsliding," but it cms like "railriding"'s more appropriate 4 snowboarding whereas "railsliding"'s more appropriate 4 skateboarding.   there rn't ne rails in surfing.   there could be rails in wakeboarding, i s'ppose; but seriously: the big 3 boardsports r snow, skate, n' surf.   4 some reason wakeboarding as an extreme sport more often falls into the same category as bmx, motorcross, snowmobiling, jetskiing, etc; most likely cos it requires a motorboat, rt?   man, i still would like to learn how to surf 4 real.   [later] so i'm really worried 'bout snow conditions everywhere this season.   yah, 2day, i was talkin' to steve (brutha.in.law) 'bout the poor snow conditions, n' he sed everywhere's having bad (little) snow this yr.   *sigh* yah, i'm really gonna hafta take back up skateboarding in order to keep up my boardsports.   i was just researching mountainboarding, i.e. offroad skateboarding on mountains... u know, a mountainboard aktually isn't 2 expen$ive.   u can get 1 4 like $120, which isn't that bad, considering a good street skateboard ¢o$ts 'bout that much.   however, if i were to buy 1 n' not like it, that surely would be a waste'f $120!   hunh, this mbs jeep cj5 mountainboard even has brakes.   really?!   oh wait... this mountainboard 4 $120.99 is 4 riders up to weight 100 lbs n' recommended 4 ages 6~12. *sigh* nuts!   apparently, a real mountainboard ¢o$ts more like $250, which is in the low.end snowboard range, eh?   dude, where can u rent a mountainboard?   newhere?


    2005.12.25

    ſ ź !

    merry christmas!


    2005.12.26

    waiting 4 philip

    , 1244p: well, i'm waiting 4 phil, esq. to call me back; but he's not calling.   we're s'pposed to luncheon 2gether rt now; but... *shrug* yesterday was christmas, as u all well know.   how was urs? merry?   i hope so.   'how's socal so far?'   it's good.   dude, cos i didn't bring ne exercise clothes, i aktually went out to the chino spektrum on sat, n' pur¢ha$ed a whole new set'f exercise gear, i.e. a new pair'f blue* adidas running shoes (made in indonesia or somwhere other than china but not as good as usa, i.e. i'd prefer made in u.s.a. like the ol' new balances), a pair'f green warmup pants, n' some baby blue t.shirt that says, "always be nice to the lunch lady."   i dunno why that shirt sez that.   i normally wouldn't buy a t.shirt in that manner, but i don't have ne shirts to wear while jogging cos i mostly brought sweaters, erroneously thinking the weather here'd be chilly.   well, shoot; even tho' saturday was really warm, it's now cooled down considerably.   this morn, i jogged w/ sooni up the hill in chino to petsmart, where i bought sooni some after christmas goodies.   it started to rain, so we were sort'f stuck there.   i called the beautiful kaela hwang to have her pick us up in my green 1999 subaru forester. ٷ

    * i don't usually wear white shoes cos i don't wear white socks.   i'll make an exception 4 taekwondo shoes that look sbest when they match the colour'f the ±ǵ taekwondobok, i s'ppose.   these shoes r mostly blue but have a li'l white trim.


    2005.12.29

    2005 top events

    ħ, 1103a: b4 i run out'f time this yr, i ought to write 'bout the top events'f 2005.   i believe that in previous yrs, i've waited so long; just in case sumpthin' big happened on the 29, 30, or 31; that i had to post up the top events'f that yr on the journal edition 4 the following yr.   otherwise, i had to write entries 4 the earlier yr during the latter yr but post them on the earlier yr.   those r all sloppy retrofit patches, so i prefer simply to "call it a yr" now n' get writin'.

      top events'f 2005 (order may be slightly messed up... most likely):
    1. kona hawaii trip
      • this is ok to put as my #1, isn't it?   i don't travel much, 'specially if it's not 4 sumpthin' like taekwondo, snowboarding, or djing, rt?   i've always, as u know, been 1'f these dudes that lets my interests or hobbies take me places but doesn't really initiate travel.   it's funny cos i believe ppl think i travel much more than i do.   1st of ppl assume that ppl'f my age (late 20s thru early 30s), 'specially w/o kids travel 'lot.   1 reason 4 that assumption's that ppl think that we make 'lot'f $$$ n' have no kids to $pend it on.   they use terms like "dink" to misnomer us.   well, no... we're not quite dual income, no.   as i've sed b4, we're more like single income, 0.5 kid(s) (i.e. sooni).   after hangin' w/ s.mike last nite, i realise cos i'm friends w/ ppl like s.mike n' the ol' time p.crew peeps, ppl might believe that i travel more often than i aktually do.   the original p.crew peeps, yah, they travel quite a bit, n' to nice places.   (well, i dunno if we should say "the original" p. crew, that's aktually not fair.   this subset has openly been called either "the mini p.crew" or sometimes "j.crew.")   neway, me? i don't travel like them, but ppl might think i do.
      • [after a short brk] 1133a: when i travel, i normally don't ask to go to typical vakation spots, as i hate being a tourist, as u know.   i prefer to go places where i can feel more like i have some kind'f inside connektion, perhaps places where i have friends.   well, i s'ppose, heading off to hawaii, i hoped that i'd have some kind'f inside connektion just cos there's lots'f other asian.ams there.   did i? *shrug* i dunno; not really.   perhaps, in hawaii, the respekt asians more than they might in mississippi or west virginia, but... *shrug*
      • neway, hawaii was great.   i finally experienced it.   the vakation was filled w/ beautiful weather altho' 2 much skin.killing sunshine.   i had the chance to surf 4 the 1st time, n' that was important.   the aktual ironman triathlon?   eh, it was fun to watch even tho' i'm still not that not clueless 'bout the world'f triathlons.
    2. my grandfather's funeral in taiwan
      • ok, so my top 2 events r travel events, in a way.   of course, the trip was not a leisure vakation.   it was a family duty.   i had to take it seriously.   yah, as a family event, the trip n' all taught me a li'l more 'bout my family n' heritage, i s'ppose.   as u know, i'm obviously not a "whitewashed asian.am altho' a 2nd gen asian.am.   there4, i already am in touch w/ my asian heritage, etc.   however, yah, being in the muthaland definitely accelerates the learning process etc.   neway, spending time w/ my family n' relatives taught me more 'bout them.   the funeral procedure taught me more 'bout taiwanese culture.
      • the trip was short, but it aktually really badly, adversely affekted my career.   it just plain came @ a bad time.   i can't regret or resent it; but yah...
      • some hi.lites'f the trip from an aktual "trip" perspektive?   taiwan costco (which kicks major @$$ n' is waaaay better than costco in amerikkka), the mcyukyuk Ұ nooroongji bulgogi burger, meeting up w/ jason n' walkin' 'round the underground subway mall while it rained above, buying expen$ive, japanese designer hair accessories 4 the beautiful kaela hwang in the department store (maybe mostly cos i had the chance to condukt bizness in taiwan...
    3. my mom's coming to church (n' community connections in the summer)
      • i might've been able to bump this up in the list cos it's such an important event; but in a way, it's her life more than mine, rt?   however, it's just great to ensure her eternal life.
      • the fakt that she got baptised this yr?   man, that really makes this a big deal.
      • neway, i don't want to let this be a temporary thing.   this is sumpthin' 4 life.
    4. toby n' betty's getting a house
      • ok, this event isn't so much my life as it is their life, obviously.   however, it gave me a chance to hang out w/ them more, rt?   it's great that kaela had our friends as clients.   that should happen more often.
      • they found a beautiful house.
    5. permanent position @ werk n' ensuing stress
      • @ the beginning'f the yr, my college program @ werk ended, n' i had to find a permanent position.   it was a li'l frantik.
      • well, since then, werk has been a li'l'f an emotional rollercoaster.   what can i say? *shrug* the company's a great company, but... *shrug* my emotions there have had their ups n' downs.   i've werked under pressure.   i've found some good cowerkers but also some very discouraging 1s.
      • neway, man... i just hope 4 the best, i s'ppose.
    6. getting new car stereo
      • ok, now we're getting to a couple'f materialistik entries in this list.
      • keep in mind that 4 a good part'f this yr, i was driving 'round w/ a boombox in my back seat 4 musik cos my original car stereo died.
      • getting this sony mp3 cd receiver/deck really made things 'lot more pleasant in my car.   having mp3 n' atrac capability makes life a bit better cos i can have sooo many songs w/o changing discs.
    7. getting dyson vaccum cleaner ($ummer'f $pending)
      • in a way, this was a major pur¢ha$e, n' that's why event makes the list.   however, 'twasn't that expen$ive, 'specially since i bought the dc07 n' not the dc14 n' since i bought a refurbie (refurbished unit).
      • a better reason (than the pri¢) that this event makes the list is cos it opened doors to a new era'f keeping our house cleaner than it had been in the past.
    8. anniversary trip to carmel / big sur / hearst castle
      • it's my duty as a husband to take kaela to nice places.   yah, it is 'lot'f pressure; but *shrug* like last yr's short trip, this slightly less short trip was fun.
      • i dunno what to say 'bout this trip, but we had the opportunity to c some beautiful, beautiful natural scenes.   man, california rocks!
    9. cca conference in lake tahoe in the summer
      • as u know, kaela n' i $pend 'lot'f time in tahoe.   however, that's in the winter.   we hardly go in the summer.   back in 2003, i went 4 a wknd in the summer 4 ken's fishing bachelor party, which was fun; good clean fun.
      • like the hawaii trip, this was initiaed by kaela 4 her skool/career stuff.   it is obviously unfair that she gets to 4ce me to go places 4 the sake'f her skool n' career but i hardly get to make her go places 4 my career or interests.   @ best, i'll have her go down to socal w/ me 4 a dj gig now n' then... but that's never a chore'f ne kind 4 her.   neway, the trip was fun.
    10. nephew nolan's birth
      • dude, this so obviously could n' prob'ly should be further up the list than this.
      • however, this is 'bout his life n' my sista n' bro.in.law's lives more than it is 'bout my life.
    11. spring brk in socal n' tahoe
      • well, shoot; these places r my 2 homes 'way from home.   i s'ppose my company's spring shutdown gave me a chance to have a li'l vakation, eh?   as expekted, 'twas fun.
      • we were worried that we'd get stuck in tahoe b4 our socal trip.   @ alpine meadows, i parked in deep snow.   luckily my forester got out.
      • i rented a ¢heap car n' drove us down to socal.
    12. meeting the new ucmap kids @ uc open n' combined b.day paty (04/25)
      • [later] 1227p: well, 'twas nice to know that the taekwondo club up @ cal 1) alive, 2) kickin', n' 3) still socially aktive.
      • the new kids r good kids, n' i wish the best 4 them.
      • it's just a total shame that they didn't come to dr. min's b.day.
    13. numerous, numerous weddings:
      • susan n' gregory
      • fahad n' wendy #2 (indian ceremony)
      • nick n' kim
      • will n' alice
      • melanie n' oliver
      • mark n' grace
      • stannelise (stan n' annelise)
      • julia n' dean
      • missed gordon n' meredith
      • wasn't invited @ all to brian chong n' sunny's
    14. discovering the google cafeteria
      • it's awesome, n' i wanna go there more!
    15. software usability studies
      • thru these, i made a li'l extra ¢a$h... well, not ca$h, but gift checks.
    16. partial fast 4 grx
      • 'twasn't a real fast; or else it'd be higher up the list.   however, 'twas a good spiritual experience.
    17. household economic scare/panic (summer)
      • oh, this just plain sucked.
      • we bought lots'f furniture.
      • the 1 thing that was super unnecessary was the heater duct cleaning.   the guy came n' sed our ducts were clean, which was good n' true.   but then he asked kaela if we wanted to get some kind'f sealing thing done to the vents.   well, kaela sed yes; but really 'twas unnecessary.   then after i paid 4 lot's'f plane tix... man, it was so scary how poor we were... or *shrug* *sigh*
    18. numerous (short) socal trips: winter, spring, early fall...
      • i believe we spent more time in socal this yr than in ne other yr... well, ok... 'least 4 me.   kaela used to live in socal, not me.
    19. uncle george's funeral
      • altho' this even took a total'f maybe 2 hrs out'f my life, it was a bit significant.
      • 1st off, it brought me a li'l closer to my family n' relatives.
      • 2ndly, it gave me the chance to find a cousin i'd never really met.
    20. dave n' emily's baby shower (prior to ian's birth)
      • honestly, i'm not totally sure why this made the list'f my top events'f 2005.   i mean, obvsiouly, it'd better make the list'f their top events'f this yr; but 4 me???
      • well, it gave me the chance to c n' converse w/ some ol' p.crew friends i hadn't cn in a long time.
      • perhaps 'twas also signifikant cos this was the 1st time 1'f my friends who's exaktly my age (well, 1 day older) had a kid.

    ok, so that's the list.   ne questions?   comments?   if so, sign the new edition'f my gbook.   i never answered my own questions last time but shall.

    lsat nite, kaela n' i hung out w/ a bunch'f single friends.   wow, this trip so far, we've hung out w/ lots'f single ppl.   2nite, we'll finally hang out w/ some newlyweds.   wait, no; we already hung out w/ newlyweds mark n' grace earlier.   man, last nite was interesting.   [a li'l later] 110p: in a way, lately, i've talked more to married ppl, mostly married guys (obviously).   these past few days, i've hung w/ phil n' then s.mike n' heard more from the perspektive'f single guys.   last nite, kaela n' i hung out w/ s.mike as well as nelson, austin, n' 2 divorced friends our age: nick n' grace.   wow...   man, i dunno where to begin w/ how last nite's conversations were.   i guess, 1st off, i'm glad s.mike also believes in how feminism has totally gone wrong in recent decades.   he's like me n' abhors sex & the city.   s.mike just came out'f a long, serious relationship; so he fit in w/ the divorcée n' divorcée.   these single ppl talked 'bout sex 'lot.   maybe i'd 4gotten that the ol' p.crew bunch maybe talked 'bout sex 'lot.   i 4get.   maybe i wasn't so uptight back then?   heh, heh...   i know; i know going back to church, as a side effekt, a negative side effekt, has made a me a li'l self.righteous n' $#!+.   yah, i know, as a single person back then, i used to hang w/ lot's other single ppl that talked very freely 'bout like premarital sex n' stuff...   n' guess what? they were moral, uprt, good ppl.   that's sumpthin' that christians who hide in the church all day n' nite don't realise, just how good, moral, n' righteous some non.churchgoers r.   i mean... sure they talk freely 'bout premarital sex, n' hey... some per4rm the aktion.   it's a shame, yes.   however... whadya gonna do?   the pt isn't to dwell on the sin but focus on salvation, man.   sorry, if u want me to be the judgemental, self.righteous kind'f christian; i'm trying my hardest not to.

    neway, so what did i learn from last nite's conversations?   well, 1st off, talkin' 'bout my career was honestly very discouraging n' depressing.   what can i say?   honestly, i've taken 'lot'f abuse from ppl @ werk in recent months.   'lot'f abuse...   why?!   *shrug* man... werking 4 my company started out really good, n' i believe it can be... however, yah... sumpthin's gotta change in my career, man.   ok, what did i learn 'bout stuff other than career?   well, 1st off, i was of course reminded that i don't travel 'nuff.   however, i dunno what to say: 1) i can't afford to travel like certain other ppl, n' 2) i don't have the time off from werk to do so.   yah... in a way, it's depressing; but well... it's not so much depressing that i can't travel than it is depressing that hearing 'bout travel makes kaela want to travel n' then me? i can't afford to take her to nice places, etc.   now, that's depressing.   ok, what else?   what did i learn 'bout marriage or relationships from these divorcé(e)s?   well, they sed that communication's the ultimate key, that if we stop communicating, things'll go bad.   :-/ yah, i believe that.   they approved'f our monthversaries.   they sed that system's definitely good.   what else?   shoot, i dunno... the convesration (w/ nelson n' s.mike) was often steered 2wards sex, i s'ppose.   s.mike talked more 'bout how it's wrong that muthahood is so disrespekted these days.   he's so rt!   back in the ol' days, muthahood was an honour.   nowadays, it's a shame.   that's wrong.   he's rt.   the sex & the city brand'f feminism sez that if u'r a mutha, u'r a loser.   well, shoot... now no1's takin' care'f the kids.   just like i've been saying all yr: 2 wrongs don't make a rt!   the sex & the city kind'f life?   it's all a big fallacy.   4 centuries, men've been judged harshly by their careers etc., now women want that as well?   it really sucks 4 us guys.   it's true; he's rt.   guys like us, we can appreciate the idea'f a person who takes care'f his/her family.   that's a worthwhile valuable life.


    2005.12.31

    new yr's eve


    beno n' sooni on christmas day