¿ù¿äÀÏ ¾Æħ: monday, monday... muhndae, muhndae... i'm back in the silly valley.   this is home.   i feel i owe a big recap'f the wknd.   the beautiful kaela hwang n' i were in vegas this past wknd; but now kaela's back in skool, n' i'm back @ werk.   'twas 3 days in vegas... 3 days n' 4 nites... a relatively short vakation, but somehow a very effektive vakation.   i dunno why.   well... gee, maybe it's cos we had a rather luxurious vakation where we $pent lots'f $$$.   :-/ it's a li'l disconcerting 4 me to experience that $$$ can sort'f buy me happiness (temporary happiness); but shoot... everything happens 4 a reason, so maybe 'twas just the the time 4 that. *shrug* we ate lots'f good fud, watched a vegas show, attended a wedding, saw lots'f hotels, $hopped... yesterday, kaela'd pted out that i was long overdue 4 some new clothes, even new underwear.   several yrs 'go, i bought new clothes all the time.   i feel that i was more hip back then.   recently, i've kept in touch w/ knowledge'f the latest fashion but hesitated to buy a lot'f new clothes.   i've been trying to be less vain, i guess.   perhaps, i've been trying to be less materiali$tik. *shrug* i guess i'd been hearing stories'f my guy friends' wearing the same clothes since middle skool n' starting to thinking that was sumpthin' i ought to try to do... i mean, i can't go back in time to get clothes from middle skool, but... heh, i guess i mean, i'd try to wear the same clothes 4 as long as possible.   i guess several yrs back, i chucked out all the clothes from when i was heavyset.   then, since i haven't really gained or lost 2 much weight in the past several yrs, i'd slowed down my buying'f new clothes.   i dunno; in some ways, i don't need to be really trendy.   rather, in some ways, i'd prefer to define my own timeless style.   ("timeless" is a song by the group sg wannabe.)   u know what i'm sayin'?   nah whadahm shayin'?   what is my style?!   *shrug* in some ways i'm into the whole "metro" kenny cole, br, club monoco thing; but in other ways, i'm into the whole skater/slacker, funky chic look cos i "came'f age" thru the early 1990s grunge era, rt?   during college, i had a phase where i experimented w/ the whole big designer logo, sort'f hip hop look; but i don't think that's me.   i've often liked the whole skate fashion thing; but i've been trying to tell myself to some extent that i don't need to buy into the skate fashion industry thing just cos i've started skating 'gain.

[later] ¿ÀÈÄ: bike to werk - during my lunchbrk, i drove my 1999 subaru forester back home, dropped it off, ate some salad w/ some veggie bite thingies, n' rode my (new) bike back to my office.   dude, it took me only as long as driving to get back to my office!   i hadn't realised just how much'f my commute time is spent waiting @ red lites!   wow, who knew?!   i thought i was pushing it, just giving myself 15 mins to get back to werk, but shoot... i made it w/ time to spare.   not bad!   maybe i need to bike to werk every day that i don't go to the skate park b4 werk.   is that a good idea? *shrug*

• 07³â05ÀÏ, ¼ö¿äÀÏ
• sunnyvale skate park in the morn b4 werk, rt?
• 4 lunch, kaela cooked lasagne from skratch!!!   'twas delicious!   she crumbled omaha steak burger patties 4 the ground meat.
• sports basement $hopping party
• in order not to appear like "the typical asian," i got to the store rt on time instead'f fashionably late, on "standard asian time (ak s.a.t.)."   i didn't expekt this, but almost every1 who came was asian, so maybe it was important not to look like "the typical asian."   most'f the ppl who came were my cowerkers, but i really didn't think it'd be almost only my asian cowerkers.   i felt pretty self.conscious 'bout having such a racially homogeneous group as my "party," but whate'er, man.   i shouldn't be ashamed'f my race or nething or purposely avoid making asian friends, which i sort'f did back in my freshman yr @ cal.   i mean, sure, it's good to be an open minded guy that doesn't discriminate, but 1 also shouldn't discriminate 'gainst his/her own race.   that does happen, prob'ly 2 often.
• neway, kaela n' i $pent like $1300!   crazy!   we bought bikes, bike accessories, exercise clothes 4 kaela, a nice nalgene h₂o bottle 4 kaela, $15 binoculars, new balance crosstrainer shoes 4 kaela...   i wanted to buy some fitness clothes but didn't find ne i liked.   also, i wanted to buy some nice, brown o.neil beach shorts that i saw b4; but they were all sold out'f'em.   i guess most'f the $$$ was $pent on the bikes, which were $440 each n' the bike accessories.   well, i hope to make the $$$ back w/ gas $avings!
• it took a while 4 kaela n' i to get our bikes home cos i could only fit 1 in my car @ a time.   i may need to buy a bike rack someday.
• we ate leftover lasagne, but i fell asleep as we watched the chronicles of narnia: the lion, the witch, and the wardrobe.   i really wanted to stay 'wake n' watch it, but i fell asleep. nuts!   i'm totally not a nite person nemore!
• i started to pack 4 our vegas trip but didn't finish till rt b4 we left, of course.
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• sure, i would've liked to hit up the sunnyvale skate park b4 werk but didn't.
• instead, i rode my bike over to blockbuster to return the dvds.
• @ lunch, kaela was gonna make beef stroganoff, but i suggested that she save her energy.   she had 2 much going on.   instead, we ate more leftover lasagne.
• i left werk @ a decent time n' rushed home.
• duk drove us to the sjc mineta aeroport.   kaela n' i ate (shared) a whopper meal from the aeroport burger king. it was mostly just a snack, not quite 'nuff 4 a full dinner.
• we picked up our rental car, an off white (pearl) pt cruiser n' drove off in search 4 fud.   we ended up @ an ihop (international house'f pancakes), where kaela had a crispy chicken salad w/ ¿À·»Áö Á꽺 oreinji jyooseu n' i had some big turkey stack sandwich w/ seasoned fries n' an iced tea.   lately, i've been drinking lots'f iced teas n' "arnold palmers" (50% iced tea, 50% lemonade).
• we eventually found our way to the house that we rented.   wow, it was in a bit'f a scary neighbourhood but w/in a gated community.   i surely didn't feel that it was a really secure house, altho' it was a decently nice house.
• it was warm, n' there were lots'f bugs out.
• 07³â07ÀÏ, ±Ý¿äÀÏ
• being the explorer.type, adventurous guy i am; i got up early n' drove in search'f some bottled h₂o n' breakfast fud.   i ended up @ a von's on craig road near mlk blvd in north las vegas.   i bought a couple'f big things'f bottled h₂o (overkill), 2 bags'f bagels (overkill but bogo), activia yogurt, some cherries, n' some peaches.   b4 returning to our house, i explored just a li'l n' discovered a 24 hour fitness on craig road.
• in the afternoon, kaela n' i went to that 24 hour fitness to werkout.   i was on the precor thing (w/ the arms) 4 an hr.   'twas a good werkout.   i also lifted n' werked on my abs.   it'd been 2 long since i last lifted.
• after our werkout, we headed back to the house to shower up n' change 4 dinner n' the show.
• we had a bizzy skedule, n' we made it to everything only cos god's great.   dinner @ alizé @ 600p (we got there @ 640p or so); trade in the rental car by 900p @ the aeroport; back to new york, new york b4 1030p 4 zumanity.   crazy!
• dinner was delicious altho' pri¢ey.   kaela started w/ a baked phyllo dough anjou pear salad n' then had sea bass.   me, i started w/ kobe beef carpaccio n' then had duck.   we shared a chocolate ganache 4 dessert that tasted more like soufflé than ganache.   we passed on wine n' just had 2 bottles'f overpri¢ed evian h₂o.   i'm glad we didn't have wine since we had to hurry all over vegas.
• after the show, we strolled thru new york, new york, out, down the street, n' thru the bellagio.
• kaela's parents n' bro arrived @ the house while we were out.
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• kaela n' i skipped the family brunch @ the pharaoh's pheast in luxor.   the table that the family got wasn't big enuf to fit us, n' we didn't feel like going over to that buffet if we couldn't even sit w/ the family.   instead, we pulled into a marie callender's n' had a great brkfast 4 ¢heaper.   kaela had some kind'f cheesy hash browns, n' i had meatloaf n' eggs w/ a huge blueberry muffin.   we both had decaf coffee.   oh yah, the nite b4, w/ our dessert, we also had decaf coffee.   both times, the coffee was good, better than what i drink in the office.
• after that, i guess we went to von's to get some laundry detergent (just a 75¢ trial size, single use pack) n' went back to the house.
• we got ready 4 the wedding, jeanna n' robert's wedding in the chapel @ the luxor.   kaela n' i got to the wedding late, n' the ceremony was hecka short!   we barely caught it.
• the wedding reception dinner was @ ricardo's, ktity corner from the marie callender's, where we broke fast that very morn.   ricardo's's sort'f like el torito.   the dinner was served buffet style.   kaela n' i ordered a freakin' $6 cerveza (canned tecate) that we didn't even finish cos they later came out w/ margaritas.
• after dinner, kaela n' i drove cousin peter to his hotel n' then jay w/ us back to the house, n' we hung out there 4 a while b4 heading out to quark's bar in the hilton.   heh, it's a pretty interesting place, n' definitely a safe haven 4 geeks in vegas, a place where geeks won't get beat up or even wedgied! ha ha.   'emember? i used to watch star trek all the time, mostly tng n' voyager.   i never really got into ds9 n' totally don't watch enterprise.   we ought to watch to support the korean.amerikan aktress from san josé, but somehow the show just isn't appealing.
• well, after having some weak/lite, fruity cocktail @ quark's n' sharing chili n' chips, we headed over to the luxor to hang out in the honeymoon suite.
• kaela n' i drove over w/ jay, but we really should've driven jeanna n' robert w/ us.   instead, we ended up waiting 4 the couple 4 a long time, while they rode the monorail.   we hung out @ the suite, but i felt bad 4 keeping the newlyweds up.   it's just that that was the very 1st time that we met the groom.
• 07³â09ÀÏ, ÀÏ¿äÀÏ
• i wanted to wake up earlier.   when i finally got up i went back to the 24 hour fitness to werkout.   i lifted wts 4 'bout an hr, n' that's it.   i figured we had to go to 'nother family brunch @ the flamingo, but we ended up not going.
• we had to "check out"'f the rental house by 1100a; but there was really no check out procedure.   we ended up leaving by 1100a, heading out to the wynn hotel.   jay, kaela, n' i took kaela n' jay's parents out to dimsum @ red8, an overpri¢ed but delicious contemporary chinese restaurant.   it's s'pposed to be southeast asian, but i feel it's really just chinese.   i noticed that 2'f the waitresses that served us had korean names on their nametags (jung n' miyeon) but necessarily didn't really look distinctly korean altho' they might've sounded it a li'l... i just mention this cos it's kind'f funny to have kaela's parents talking to these korean ¾ÆÁܸ¶ ajoomma in straight up english when they might've been able to speak in korean, but... *shrug* it looked like the employees had a strikt english only policy or sumpthin'.   never 4get that las vegas = los angeles - asians.   seriously!   i did mention that already in this entry, didn't i?
• we walked from wynn to the fashion show mall to treasure island (ti) to the venetian n' back.
• after kaela's family left 4 socal, kaela n' i 1st went to fill up on gas @ ¢0$+¢0 @ $2.839/gal n' then $hopped 4 a long time @ the las vegas premium outlets.   we ran late there n' grabbed a subway (12") tuscan chicken sandwich meal to go 4 dinner.   we returned our car n' boarded our plane. we'd thought we'd be late, but the plane was just a li'l late.
• duk picked us up from the sjc mineta aeroport n' told us 'bout how he brought sooni to petco n' she got into a li'l altercation w/ a li'l beaglish dog.
• duk came over n' finished watching munich.   as kaela n' i didn't c it from the start, we were pretty lost.   i didn't understand it @ all.
• 07³â10ÀÏ, ¿ù¿äÀÏ
• i went to may's 600a turbo kick box (tkb) class @ the east arques 24 hour fitness.   'twas a small class.
• i walked sooni n' drove to werk.
• @ lunch, i drove home, ate some salad n' rode my bike back to werk.
• just b4 730p, i left werk, hoping to hit up sach's 730p turbo kick box (tkb) class @ the east arques 24 hour fitness in sunnyvale but discovered that i had a flat back tire!!!   instead, i walked my bike over to the sports basement n' got the inner tube changed out.   the guy there was really nice, but they really should've given me my inner tube 4 free since i'd just bought the bike days 'go.   oh well...
• i thought 'bout hitting up the fremont ave 24 hour fitness in sunnyvale 4 just a simple werkout but decided instead to go home to take care'f the house.
• i cooked some ³ìÂ÷ ¶ó¸é nokcha ramyuhn 4 dinner n' watched an episode'f the popular korean celebrity gameshow x-man on youtube.
• kaela came home from werking out @ the fremont ave 24 hour fitness.   i was tired n' fell asleep.

national bike registry

(2006³â07¿ù11ÀÏ) 2day i wanted to wake up early n' try to hit up the sunnyvale skate park b4 werk but didn't.   instead, i walked sooni n' biked to werk.   i came home 4 lunch by bike n'll go back by bike, i guess.