These are a few of my favorite things

Blogs

2011-11-12T09:55:00.000-08:00

It has been a long time. I was reading some blogs I used to visit and it brought me back to here. The primary reason I started this blog was to stay positive and appreciate life. No matter how bad my day is, I wanted at least one moment when I can sit down and think about what I love the most. Hence, I keeping this alive! My favorite thing today is blogs!!

Motherhood

2011-01-24T21:49:00.000-08:00

Billions and billions of people have done it over billions and billions of years. Yet, for when it happens to you, it feels so special and unique. Like, no one in the world could possible understand who you feel. It didn't happen right away. In fact, after three months, I was ready to go back to work. In the fourth month, I was wondering how I could ever get through it. Now, though, every time I see my baby, my heart aches. It's overwhelming. Although the connection and bond is strong, I've never felt more vulnerable and mortal in my life. It's scary, yet the best thing that's ever happened to me. My favorite thing of the day is motherhood.

William Hodder

2009-12-11T18:40:00.000-08:00

Because he says he reads my blog. :) Keep in touch.

Is You Is or Is You Ain't My Baby

2009-11-13T21:28:00.000-08:00

Listen to that AMAZING voice! It's actually Louis Jordan singing in the cartoon. One of the things I like best about this version is that it's ONLY Louis Jordan's voice in the chorus. The recorded song in any album has other harmonizing voices that sing along. Not a bad thing, but I like hearing Jordan's voice alone in its purest form.

Of course, you can't get that bass out of your head! To Jerry, that meant a sleepless night, but to me it's deliciously hypnotic. The original version emphasizes the piano.

I had to look up the song on the internet. According to Wikipedia, the song is a jazz stable. There are many covers, remakes and it's a karaoke favorite. The lyrics kill me. Just kill me. Is you is or is you ain't my baby? Seriously, HOW COOL IS THAT? The song is about a guy who's afraid his girlfriend has lost interest in the relationship. It's not sappy or desperate. It just cool. Total and absolute COOL. Here are the rest of the words:

I got a gal that's always late
Every time we have a date
But I love her
Yes I love her

I'm gonna walk right up to her gate
And see if I can get it straight
Cause I want her
I'm gonna ask her

Is you is or is you ain't my baby?
The way you're actin' lately makes me doubt
Yous is still my baby-baby
Seems my flame in your heart's done gone out
A woman is a creature that has always been strange
Just when you're sure of one
You find she's gone and made a change
Is you is or is you ain't my baby
Maybe baby's found somebody new
Or is my baby still my baby true?

The cartoon isn't shabby, either. Jerry takes great care in putting an iron into a pie. He makes sure the iron is totally immersed in the pie. Then throws the whole thing to Tom's face. Was it really necessary putting the iron in pie? Why not just throw the iron? And if you're going to put it in the pie, does it really have to be that hidden? Tom didn't see it coming anyway.

My favorite thing today is Louis Jordan's Is You Is or Is You Ain't My Baby.

Bobby

2009-11-09T15:59:00.000-08:00

My husband had a golf lesson in Foster City and I decided to tag along. I wanted to wait in the bar, have a drink, eat some nachos, and read my book (Pray Eat Love by Elizabeth Gilbert). I wasn't there long when an older man sat down at my table. He wore white pants, white vest sweater lined with green, white collared t-shirt, and a white page boy hat. He had wore dark tinted glasses.

I didn't think much of it him sitting at my table. I thought maybe he wanted to see the TV or hang out with the guy who was playing at the nearby poker machine. I was reading my book, clearly indicating I did not want to be disturbed. Suddenly, he asks me, "How's your game?"

I was a little annoyed. I replied, "I don't play golf. I'm here waiting for my husband." He continued to chat with me. OK, not a big deal, I guess. He was actually pretty charming. We eventually discovered a mutual love for karaoke. He wanted my number. I was reluctant to give it to him, but I did. I didn't know how to refuse without being rude. Bobby (that's his name) said, "Yeah, yeah, we'll sing. I'll call you next week."

I'm not exactly sure how it came up, but he told me he's been married for over 40 years. He said he had a big party to celebrate. I told him that I recently got married September 12th. We chatted a little more, when he left and said, "I'll be right back."

Bobby came back a few minutes later with a paper pamphlet. It was six 8 1/2 X 11 sheets of paper, folded in half and stapled in the center. It was a little booklet with photocopied colored photos of him and his wife through the years. He said his daughter made it for the 40th wedding anniversary party. His wife is absolutely gorgeous. He told me she used to model and that's how they met. He was a singer in a cruise ship and she was working the same night.

The pamphlet was two years old. Worn and a little tattered around the edges. I thought it was cute he kept the pamphlet in his car. I wonder how many people he's shown it to. By the looks of, it looks like it's been thumbed through a lot--either by him or by others. It was crazy to see the first pictures of him and his wife, young in the 60s, to now with four full grown children.

40 years. Wow. That's amazing. I wonder if I'll be blessed enough to spend a 40th wedding anniversary. Even more, I wonder if my husband will go around showing our pictures to perfect strangers at the bar. Probably not. Shin's very shy. Bobby has a history of being a performer: singer, store owner, dancer, and now golf teacher. Letting strangers into his life probably come naturally to Bobby.

I'm glad I met him. I wonder if he'll actually call. I introduced him to Shin after he was done with his golf lesson. Bobby said he could get Shin into the Olympic Golf Club. Before we departed, Bobby said to us, "Yeah, yeah, we'll golf. I'll call you next week."

My favorite thing today is Bobby.

Random Thoughts of the Day

2009-08-27T21:43:00.000-07:00

Not sure who the source is. I tried to find it and one user speculated Aaron Karo's Ruminations.

Random Thoughts of the Day:

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

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

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

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

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

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

  • There is a great need for sarcasm font.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

  • Was learning cursive really necessary?

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

  • Bad decisions make good stories

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

  • It should probably be called Unplanned Parenthood.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

  • I think the freezer deserves a light as well.

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

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

My favorite thing today is Random Thoughts of the Day.

Balloons

2009-08-27T21:18:00.000-07:00

Incident 1:

This is a picture of my boyfriend.

Doesn't he look like Wilson from Home Improvement? (The black circles around the baby and father were added by me. You know, for their privacy.) The thing that I found the most hilarious about this picture is that my boyfriend actually posed for the picture. As if we all have X-ray vision and can see through the balloon and then his face. Why didn't he push the balloon away? Or move his head?

To refresh your memory, here's a picture of Wilson. We never get to see how he really looks like.

Incident 2:

My boyfriend and I were trying out white water rafting for the first time. We finished a 2 1/2 drive to come up to a camping site. We didn't see any signs of a water rafting company and started to walk around the camp lot. We were eventually approached by a woman who asked, "Do you like balloons?" My boyfriend and I looked at each questioningly and I finally answered, "Yes, I like balloons." The women replied, "Yeah, who doesn't like balloons?" We preceded to talk about the AWESOMENESS of balloons. After a while, I said, "Um..excuse, what did you first ask?" The woman said, "I asked if you were Yoon." The woman was one of the instructors of the white rafting company. She saw us coming and figured we were her customers. From the list of attendees she had, she only had my last name and so naturally asked if I was her. She kind of thought it was strange that I came up to her talking about balloons, but she just went with it because really...Who doesn't love balloons?

Incident 3:

We had a company event and used a bunch of balloons to decorate the conference room. After the event, during the clean up, the event committee members gathered all the balloons into one big bunch. I thought it would be funny if we left the balloons at a coworkers desk because it was his birthday. So, me and two other coworkers started to walk the balloon over to his desk. It was after hours and didn't expect to see anyone. As we were approaching the desk, the birthday boy saw us from the end of the hall. Of course, we looked ridiculous walking towards his desk w/ like 50 balloons and he suspiciously asked, "What are you guys doing?" All of a sudden, I hear, "RUN!" The three of us start jamming down the hall. Yes, running down the hall, with a huge bouquet of balloons through the halls of a biotech. We approach his desk, drop the balloons and then run out of the office. There are two particularly hilarious things about this incident:

1) Why were we running? He saw us! He knew it was us. What was the point? And when my coworker said, "RUN!" why did we obey as if our life depended on it?
2) The birthday boy sat next to another coworker who was at his desk on his computer. (What were all these people working after hours ANYWAY?) During the whole ruckus of running into the office and dropping off the balloons and running out, he didn't blink an eye. Didn't turn his head. Didn't ask us what was going on. Didn't chuckle. NOTHING. As if dropping off 50 balloons was the most normal thing to do in the world. Just another day at work.

My favorite thing today is Balloons.

My Small Eyes

2009-03-28T16:06:00.000-07:00

I have a coworker who photographs as a hobby. Every once in a while, for company events, she'll bust out her fancy camera and snap here and snap there. For one event, she grabs me and says, "Gena, Gena...say cheese!" I give my best smile. *click* *flash* *flash* She looks at the digital image and says, "Oh shoot, you blinked."

I did not blink.

Everyone always thinks I'm blinking in pictures. NEWS FLASH AMERICA! I have small eyes. My eyes are, yes, actually open. I told that to my coworker. My coworker, trying to be kind...like the friend who says you aren't fat, just big boned...says, "No! You dork. You're blinking. You don't have small eyes!" I tell her to zoom in on my eyes. She does and sure enough, my eyes were open.

For all those photographers out there, here's some friendly advice from your local Asian. Before you blurt out, "Let's reshoot. You blinked," ZOOM IN on the eyes. It may be the best fuckin' picture you'll be able to get without the person looking like she's surprised or a deer in headlights.

My favorite thing today is my small eyes.

Hating Football

2009-03-25T21:08:00.000-07:00

I've recently been added to the company's Event Committee. We meet every two weeks to plan and think of ideas for company events. A coworker wanted a Beerfest + Football event in September-something to kickoff the 2009 season. I asked him, "Oh are you a football fan?" He said, "Absolutely." I asked him what his team was. He said, "Steelers."

I thought that was a weird choice since we're in California. He explained he grew up a Steeler's fan. All of a sudden, the team sounded familiar to me. My boyfriend's friend is a die hard fan. I asked, "Were they in the Super Bowl?" For some reason, that didn't sound right to me. I didn't want to sound stupid, so I quickly followed it with, "Or rather, they were close to being in the Super Bowl?"

Everyone stared at me in disbelief. Apparently, the Steelers WON the Super Bowl. Is Superbowl one word? I don't even know. You know what the REALLY sad thing about all this is? I actually WATCHED the Super Bowl at a Super Bowl party this past February. In fact, I even put in some bets.

I was in marching band for four years and we went to every football game. I still don't know the rules.I hate football. It's so violent.

My favorite thing today is HATING FOOTBALL!

Talking About Nothing

2009-03-16T22:18:00.000-07:00

My cousin is in town. Usually, when she is, she'll invite her brother-in-law to hang out. We were sitting around the kitchen counter, chatting...you know...hanging out.

My stomach hurt, so off-hand, I told them that my stomach hurt and was hurting all weekend.

"Why?"
"Not sure. I ate at the Slanted Door."
"What's that?"
"A restaurant at the Ferry Building."
"I think I heard about it. What is it again?"
"Like Vietnamese French fusion, I think."
"What did you have?"
"I went with a coworker that likes to order a bunch of dishes. We had a bunch of food."
"Like what?"
"Mussels..."
"Ooo, I love mussels. Was it good?"
"Yeah."
"What else?"
"I don't know a bunch of stuff."
"Did you have a lot of leftovers?"
"Yeah."
"Some people don't like leftovers."
"We usually don't, but there was so much food leftover."
"Are you serious? You don't like leftovers?"
"Yeah."
"Well, what did you bring home?"
"Ribs...and some other dishes."
"Who did you go to lunch with?"
"Um...the project leader for the China project."
"I mean, why did you eat with her?"
"Oh, it was just a business lunch."
"So, how were the ribs?"
"It was OK."
"Is that what gave you the stomach ache?"
"I don't know. I guess."
"I can't believe you don't like leftovers. You never eat them?"
"Well, we'll take them home and not eat them."
"Leftovers are awesome."

After a while, I just had to stop the conversation. I told them that we were getting way into a comment that I meant to be off-handed. They were tag-teaming me on the questions. It was a bit tiring. I was waiting for my dinner and hungry. They asked why I was hungry and I told them I didn't eat lunch.

"Why not?"
"I never eat lunch."
"You never eat lunch? How can you do that?"
"I don't know. I never take lunch."
"Never?"
"Well, as long as I've been at this job. It's my first full-time job."
"This is your first full-time job?"
"Yeah."
"Oh, so then what do you eat?"
"I don't know, like today I had coffee...then yogurt...and that's it."
"You don't get hungry?"
"No."
"Did you eat breakfast?"
"No."
"No breakfast!? Geez. I have to eat, I get so hungry around 1pm. Oh, but the yogurt is your breakfast."
"No, I eat that around lunch time, around 2pm or so."
"Geez, what did you do before this job?"
"Well, I was part-time, I didn't really have a lunch hour."
"But, would you eat lunch?"
"I'd work from 9a-2pm and then go home and eat cereal."
"Oh, I LOVE cereal. What would you eat."
"Uh...Cinnamon Toast Crunch."
"We have that at work. What else?"
"Uh...Pops."
"We have that work. I love Cherrios."
"Cherrios is so plain" [This is my boyfriend who just walked in and out of the kitchen.]
"Not the plain one, but the honey nut one. Oh...so good! What else do you like?"
"I don't know...other stuff."
"Cereal is awesome."

Once again, I just had to stop. I was laughing too hard. It was like talking to a couple of four year olds! Definitely a Seinfeld moment. We must of had two hours of conversation about absolutely nothing. It seemed exasperating at the time, but looking back, it was pretty awesome.

My favorite thing today is talking about nothing.

Kids sticking things up their noses

2009-03-14T17:09:00.001-07:00

My boyfriend was driving me and my coworker to work. My coworker starts to tell a story, in a hushed tone and prefaced with, "I'm not sure if I'm supposed be to telling you this..." She proceeds to tell a story about her boss' three year old son. In preschool, he stuck a doll's eye up his nose. The teachers tried to make him blow it out, but he didn't know how to and kept sniffing it back up. My coworker figured it was an embarrassing story for her boss and didn't want to spread it around.

I responded, "Dude, WHATEVER! I worked in a doctor's office and kids would stick things up their nose all the time, especially boys." I told a story of a boy that stuck an orange, peanut M&M up his nose. It came out brown because the shell had melted in his nose.

My coworker said incredulously, "REALLY?!" I said, "Yeah! Ask around your guy coworkers, I bet you most of them stuck something up their noses." By this time, we had arrived at work. My coworker asks my boyfriend, "Have you ever stuck anything up your nose?"

My boyfriend sheepishly answers, "Yeah. I stuck a bean up there once." We head for work laughing.

All day, it became a mission to find out what people stuck up their noses. I told the chat friend my story and he said, "I think I stuck a marble up my nose once." I asked the Facilities manager and he said a match and the end of a spoon. I asked someone in my department and although she didn't stick anything up her own nose, she stuck dried pasta up her sister's.

My coworker asked her two lab mates. One girl stuck cereal up her nose and the other didn't like peas, so stuck them up her nose.

I'm not sure what the fascination is for kids to stick up their noses. I, personally, have never had the desire. Apparently, there's something very alluring about it. I'm thinking about doing it now. You know, just to see what all the fuss is about.

My favorite thing today is kids sticking things up their noses.

25 Random Things About Me

2009-01-26T22:01:00.000-08:00

I got this mass-tag on Facebook:

I was tagged by XXX...here are the instructions:
Rules: Once you've been tagged, you are supposed to write a note with 25 random things, facts, habits, or goals about you. At the end, choose 25 people to be tagged. You have to tag the person who tagged you. If I tagged you, it's because I want to know more about you.

(To do this, go to “Notes” under tabs on your Profile home page, click New Note, copy/paste these instructions in the body of the note, type your 25 random things, tag 25 people (in the upper righthand corner of the note, where it says "Tag People") then click publish.)

Here's my list:
1. I was in Vegas the same time Britney was and somehow was invited to her elopement to Jason Alexander. But, never actually met Britney.
2. I won a relatively modest Lotto jackpot
3. During the time I lived in Korea, I released a single on a very small record label.
4. I tried out for American Idol and met Simon, Paula, and Randy.
5. At a golf course, the staff thought I was Michelle Kim and I got VIP service.
6. I crave strawberry ice cream topped with anchovies at least once a week.
7. My left, pinky toe doesn’t have a nail. Some weird birth defect.
8. In college, I shoplifted $5,000 worth of clothes & accessories from Nordstrom at one time.
9. One arm is approximately 1.25” shorter than the other, so I have to tailor most of my clothes.
10. While he was drunk, Keanu Reeves proposed to me.
11. I still can’t read an analog clock. I’ve tried...trust me.
12. I met a guy at a bar and told him my idea for coffee sleeves. He ran with it and became a rich man.
13. .sdrawkcab sgniht lleps I semitemos, nuf roF
14. When I was five, some Korean family took me home from a Korean supermarket, mixing me up for their kid.
15. There’s a typo on my birth certificate. Instead of saying I was born on February 2, 1977, it says February 2, 1797.
16. I don’t think OJ Simpson killed his wife.
17. I tried to break the Guinness World Record for the most two-inch matches lit at one time, but I was about twenty-seven matches short.
18. I’m fluent in Klingon.
19. For one year, I would only eat purple foods.
20. I don’t have the patience to boil water over the stove.
21. I can never remember how to spell “encyclopedia.” I always have to look it up.
22. I graduated from college without reading a single book in its entirety.
23. I’m 1/64th American Indian.
24. I was in a really bad car accident and rushed to the ER. I was actually dead for about three seconds before they were able to revive me.
25. I lie to get attention.

For that last one, I should have said, "I don't lie to get attention" to make it consistent with the rest of the list. Oh well. My favorite thing today is 25 Random Things About Me.

Inspired by Norman Rockwell

2009-01-22T23:14:00.000-08:00

I've always been a fan of Norman Rockwell. I like artwork of people in general, but Norman Rockwell had a talent for capturing the human spirit. By capturing a single moment, Norman Rockwell was able to express a variety of emotions: love, happiness, desire, sadness, nostalgia, and many more. His paintings are timeless because they're so relatable. Regardless of time, a person can view his art and know exactly how the character in the painting feels.

In Spirit Magazine, they were to a featured on Randal Ford. He recreated a few of Norman Rockwell's paintings through photography, using real actors and putting a contemporary twist on them. I've included some of them here. Hopefully you'll recognize them. Beautiful.

I actually have the black color of this dress! It's Calvin Klein.

The Smurfs

2009-01-21T23:15:00.000-08:00

I was watching the commercials OnDemand and The Smurfs are not available. The Smurfs! Brings back wonderful memories. I remember watching them as a kid. In high school, wearing the Smurf t-shirt. In college, having lively debates on The Smurfs as a metaphor for Communism.

I remember having a little, purple purse with Smurfette on it. I think I stole it from my little sister. I carried it to church and one of the girls asked if she could look in it.--just being girlie and wanting to see what kind of girlie things were in there. Carrying a purse was more play, at that age. A week later or so, I carried the purse again and the same girl asked if she could look in it. I told her she already did and she said, "Oh yeah, it's full of junk." Granted, it was just pieces of paper and stuff in there and not like lipgloss or anything. At the time, my feelings were hurt a little bit. I eventually lost the thing at the mall. I remember going down an escalator and then realizing I didn't have it. I tried to retrace my steps, but my mom eventually wanted to leave. I didn't want to tell her I lost it and get in trouble. The strap was really a piece of thick, purple string, and the clasp part was plastic.

The Smurfs are the inspiration to many great things, e.g. little girl's purses and childhood memories. My favorite things today is The Smurfs.

Uh...yeah...don't know about this:

Lost Generation

2009-01-20T21:52:00.000-08:00

I thought this presentation was clever. I had a coworker who told me she thought that words were one of the most powerful things on earth. I pointed out, though, that words are only a medium for communication. A deaf person will use sign language, a baby will use grunts and giggles, and music is a series of tones.

It reminds me of a scene in The Phantom Tollbooth, where Milo was faced with a world of just words and a world of just numbers. The two worlds both claimed to be the best and at war with each other. When you really think about it, though, words and numbers are the same thing. They're all symbols to represent a concept and arranged to relay a message. How the symbols are arranged is an art and a skill.

In this particular poem, I didn't find it difficult, but definitely creative. The author created a formula with variables and then eloquently dumped in words to each variable. Like I said before..clever.

My favorite thing today is Lost Generation.

I Have a Dream

2009-01-19T22:12:00.000-08:00

This speech will never go out of the style. In honor of a great man with an even greater vision.

I am happy to join with you today in what will go down in history as the greatest demonstration for freedom in the history of our nation.

Five score years ago, a great American, in whose symbolic shadow we stand today, signed the Emancipation Proclamation. This momentous decree came as a great beacon light of hope to millions of Negro slaves who had been seared in the flames of withering injustice. It came as a joyous daybreak to end the long night of their captivity.

But one hundred years later, the Negro still is not free. One hundred years later, the life of the Negro is still sadly crippled by the manacles of segregation and the chains of discrimination. One hundred years later, the Negro lives on a lonely island of poverty in the midst of a vast ocean of material prosperity. One hundred years later, the Negro is still languishing in the corners of American society and finds himself an exile in his own land. So we have come here today to dramatize a shameful condition.

In a sense we have come to our nation's capital to cash a check. When the architects of our republic wrote the magnificent words of the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence, they were signing a promissory note to which every American was to fall heir. This note was a promise that all men, yes, black men as well as white men, would be guaranteed the unalienable rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.

It is obvious today that America has defaulted on this promissory note insofar as her citizens of color are concerned. Instead of honoring this sacred obligation, America has given the Negro people a bad check, a check which has come back marked "insufficient funds." But we refuse to believe that the bank of justice is bankrupt. We refuse to believe that there are insufficient funds in the great vaults of opportunity of this nation. So we have come to cash this check — a check that will give us upon demand the riches of freedom and the security of justice. We have also come to this hallowed spot to remind America of the fierce urgency of now. This is no time to engage in the luxury of cooling off or to take the tranquilizing drug of gradualism. Now is the time to make real the promises of democracy. Now is the time to rise from the dark and desolate valley of segregation to the sunlit path of racial justice. Now is the time to lift our nation from the quick sands of racial injustice to the solid rock of brotherhood. Now is the time to make justice a reality for all of God's children.

It would be fatal for the nation to overlook the urgency of the moment. This sweltering summer of the Negro's legitimate discontent will not pass until there is an invigorating autumn of freedom and equality. Nineteen sixty-three is not an end, but a beginning. Those who hope that the Negro needed to blow off steam and will now be content will have a rude awakening if the nation returns to business as usual. There will be neither rest nor tranquility in America until the Negro is granted his citizenship rights. The whirlwinds of revolt will continue to shake the foundations of our nation until the bright day of justice emerges.

But there is something that I must say to my people who stand on the warm threshold which leads into the palace of justice. In the process of gaining our rightful place we must not be guilty of wrongful deeds. Let us not seek to satisfy our thirst for freedom by drinking from the cup of bitterness and hatred.

We must forever conduct our struggle on the high plane of dignity and discipline. We must not allow our creative protest to degenerate into physical violence. Again and again we must rise to the majestic heights of meeting physical force with soul force. The marvelous new militancy which has engulfed the Negro community must not lead us to a distrust of all white people, for many of our white brothers, as evidenced by their presence here today, have come to realize that their destiny is tied up with our destiny. They have come to realize that their freedom is inextricably bound to our freedom. We cannot walk alone.

As we walk, we must make the pledge that we shall always march ahead. We cannot turn back. There are those who are asking the devotees of civil rights, "When will you be satisfied?" We can never be satisfied as long as the Negro is the victim of the unspeakable horrors of police brutality. We can never be satisfied, as long as our bodies, heavy with the fatigue of travel, cannot gain lodging in the motels of the highways and the hotels of the cities. We cannot be satisfied as long as the Negro's basic mobility is from a smaller ghetto to a larger one. We can never be satisfied as long as our children are stripped of their selfhood and robbed of their dignity by signs stating "For Whites Only". We cannot be satisfied as long as a Negro in Mississippi cannot vote and a Negro in New York believes he has nothing for which to vote. No, no, we are not satisfied, and we will not be satisfied until justice rolls down like waters and righteousness like a mighty stream.

I am not unmindful that some of you have come here out of great trials and tribulations. Some of you have come fresh from narrow jail cells. Some of you have come from areas where your quest for freedom left you battered by the storms of persecution and staggered by the winds of police brutality. You have been the veterans of creative suffering. Continue to work with the faith that unearned suffering is redemptive.

Go back to Mississippi, go back to Alabama, go back to South Carolina, go back to Georgia, go back to Louisiana, go back to the slums and ghettos of our northern cities, knowing that somehow this situation can and will be changed. Let us not wallow in the valley of despair.

I say to you today, my friends, so even though we face the difficulties of today and tomorrow, I still have a dream. It is a dream deeply rooted in the American dream.

I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: "We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal."

I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave owners will be able to sit down together at the table of brotherhood.

I have a dream that one day even the state of Mississippi, a state sweltering with the heat of injustice, sweltering with the heat of oppression, will be transformed into an oasis of freedom and justice.

I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.

I have a dream today.

I have a dream that one day, down in Alabama, with its vicious racists, with its governor having his lips dripping with the words of interposition and nullification; one day right there in Alabama, little black boys and black girls will be able to join hands with little white boys and white girls as sisters and brothers.

I have a dream today.

I have a dream that one day every valley shall be exalted, every hill and mountain shall be made low, the rough places will be made plain, and the crooked places will be made straight, and the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together.

This is our hope. This is the faith that I go back to the South with. With this faith we will be able to hew out of the mountain of despair a stone of hope. With this faith we will be able to transform the jangling discords of our nation into a beautiful symphony of brotherhood. With this faith we will be able to work together, to pray together, to struggle together, to go to jail together, to stand up for freedom together, knowing that we will be free one day.

This will be the day when all of God's children will be able to sing with a new meaning, "My country, 'tis of thee, sweet land of liberty, of thee I sing. Land where my fathers died, land of the pilgrim's pride, from every mountainside, let freedom ring."

And if America is to be a great nation this must become true. So let freedom ring from the prodigious hilltops of New Hampshire. Let freedom ring from the mighty mountains of New York. Let freedom ring from the heightening Alleghenies of Pennsylvania!

Let freedom ring from the snowcapped Rockies of Colorado!

Let freedom ring from the curvaceous slopes of California!

But not only that; let freedom ring from Stone Mountain of Georgia!

Let freedom ring from Lookout Mountain of Tennessee!

Let freedom ring from every hill and molehill of Mississippi. From every mountainside, let freedom ring.

And when this happens, when we allow freedom to ring, when we let it ring from every village and every hamlet, from every state and every city, we will be able to speed up that day when all of God's children, black men and white men, Jews and Gentiles, Protestants and Catholics, will be able to join hands and sing in the words of the old Negro spiritual, "Free at last! free at last! thank God Almighty, we are free at last!"

LAS VEGAS!

2009-01-18T21:02:00.000-08:00

Las Vegas is fun, but I've never really been into it. I don't drink and hate clubbing, so that's scratches that off the agenda. Before, I wasn't making a lot of money, so I never wanted to gamble or shop. The only thing that was willing to do is go to a show. So, other than the fun of staying in a hotel, Vegas has always just been alright for me.

This past weekend, I went to Las Vegas with my boyfriend and had A BLAST!!!!!! Here are the highlights:

1) Staying at the Venetian. Staying at nice hotels is fun for me. I've stayed in the Venetian before and the suites are nice. The best is housekeeping service.
2) Phantom of the Opera. I originally wanted to see the Criss Angel show, but the online reviews said it was horrible. Our taxi driver, on the way the hotel said it was horrible, too. We were able to get tickets to Phantom. Third row, center. I'm blind, so I try to get as close as possible. I think the musical itself is old-fashioned and corny, but the costumes and scenery were amazing. They had real fireworks and flashes of fire. It was like a rock concert. The singing was wonderful, too.
3) WHEEL. OF. FORTUNE!!!!!! Before this weekend, the most I've won on the slots is $150. This weekend I won $250!!!!!! I absolutely ADORE this game. I strive for the Spin. When I actually get it, my heart skips a beat. When the wheel spins, my palms get sweaty with excitement. Very addicting. Don't touch it if you have a history of addiction.
4) Three card poker. My boyfriend kept telling me to play, saying it was super easy. I'm not ready for table games. Or so I thought. The dealer was a Korean guy named Ken and really nice. He encouraged me to try a hand. Then I just kept playing and playing. It's easy! And fun. Addicting, as well.
5) Grand Lux and BOA. We didn't do buffet, but had really good food. At Grand Lux, we had their homemade cookies. We bought a dozen and snacked on them all weekend. They were delicious. Then at BOA, I had the best steak ever. It was the night's special. When I first got it, the portion was tiny and I said, "This is $64?" My boyfriend said the meat is really expensive. I took the first bite, rolled my eyes and said, "Oh my gawd, this is so good." The meat was superb.
6) Strawberry daiquiri's. This is my drink. It's awesome that drinks are free in Vegas. The first one I had was perfect, the second was too strong for me. I turned bright red.
7) Bath. One other reason I like hotels is their huge tubs. My boyfriend used to live on the edge of Santa Monica and he had a huge tub, but we never used it. I totally regret it now. Nothing beats a nice warm bath with accessories (crystals, bubbles, etc.)
8) Two cool taxi drivers. We had a really amiable taxi driver on the way to the airport and a real funny taxi driver on the way back to the airport. They were good conversationalists and made the ride more enjoyable!

My favorite thing for the weekend is LAS VEGAS! I can't wait for my next trip.

I can't believe Chad Allen is gay

2009-01-15T21:10:00.000-08:00

I just to watch Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman religious. One of the reasons being CHAD ALLEN! It was his eyes. Ah! His eyes. As a teenage, I thought they were so intense and thoughtful. I fell in love with his demeanor. I always thought I could feel safe with him. Cuddling up, under the nook of his arm.

Yes, I lusted after him. LUSTED!

I'm watching a show with an interview clip of him and he mentions, "...coming out..." WHAT?! Chad Allen is gay? Quick search on Wikipedia and I found out that Chad Allen was caught kissing his boyfriend in 1996. How did I miss this?

I'm so shocked. This guy was the focal point of many, many, many memorable fantasies. And...he's GAY?! It's like dismissing my entire adolescence.

WHAT?! Chad Allen is gay?

I think I'm going to have a fantasy tonight. Not that it'll mean anything, but for old time's sake.

*sigh* My favorite thing today is I can't believe Chad Allen is gay.

Wide calf boots

2009-01-14T21:50:00.000-08:00

I'm overweight, but I'm not a plus size. Meaning, I don't have to go to Lane Bryant or the like to shop for clothes. This isn't a value statement, just trying to give you an idea of my size.

For some reason, though, thanks to my Mongolian ancestors, I have HUGE calves. A normal calf is like 14". Mine are 17". That's a whole three inches. Think of it in terms of pants. A size 32" is pretty thin, but a size 35" is a little on the heavier side. That's just the waist! Imagine that same difference on your calves. In conclusion, my calves are HUGE!

Thanks to widewidths.com, I was able to find a pair of boots that I love. I was so happy when I got them! I've always wanted knee-high boots, but could never wear them. Now, thanks to supply and demand and the technology of shoemaking I have a pair of nice boots. Since then, I've been hooked and it's been an ongoing quest for another pair.

I've looked and looked and looked. I'm too embarrassed to try on boots at the stores, so I'll buy them and try them at home. I've never found a pair from a store that fits. I do the online thing, too. I've probably gotten at least five pairs of boots delivered to my house, only to be returned. The online ones, either they're too small or they're too big. Also, when you get in the plus size boots, they don't look trendy or nice. More like something you'd buy at K-mart.

Last night, though, thanks to Zappos.com (who, by the way have a WONDERFUL return policy/procedure), I found another pair of boots! Oh joy!

They're comfortable, suede, and little bit of a wedge. They're LOVELY! So happy. My quest has ended.

My favorite thing today is wide calf boots!

Question of the Day

2009-01-13T22:30:00.001-08:00

If you were an actor/actress, would you want to be known for a long-running television series or a single award winning movie?

Chevy's Chicken Tortilla Soup

2009-01-12T21:32:00.000-08:00

Over the holidays I got sick and I discovered something wonderful. Chevy's chicken tortilla soup. I know the true Mexican food connoisseur would poo poo the Chevy's soup as gringo, but it tastes good to me. It has the perfect amount of spice and I like the flavor.

The soup looks really simple. There doesn't seem to be any tricks.

I cannot find the recipe on the internet. Can you help me?

Today I tried to duplicate the soup on my own. I failed. Of course. I'm not a good cook to begin with, I don't know why I thought I could duplicate it. My soup pretty much tasted like chicken soup with tortilla strips in it. We put some taco meat and lettuce on it to make it a taco soup. That tasted pretty good.

Help me! Any one have the recipe??? My favorite thing today is Chevy's chicken tortilla soup.

John Wooden interview

2009-01-12T13:42:00.000-08:00

In Sunday's sermon, the pastor mentioned an interview with John Wooden. I tried to look for the article, but no luck on my first try. John Wooden is 98 years old and he was talking about his daughter...who is, by the way 74 years old. John Wooden said that his daughter was having physical therapy issues and he wanted her to live with him. The interview asked him if he still saw her as his "little girl." He said, yes, paused and chocked with emotion, then said again how he'd like her to live with him.

I thought that was touching. The heading of the interview was: I'm not afraid to die, but that doesn't mean I'll intentionally hurry it up. Or something like that. I can't tell you specifically without the interview in hand.

In the new year, I know I've had a lot of postings about how short life is. Probably because as I get older and I start to think of starting my own family, life has a whole new meaning. It's no longer just about defining my self, but now it's more becoming about making my mark. I never thought that would important to me because, who cares if I'm remembered 100 years from now?

However, it's not so much as I want to be remembered, like Gena Yoon existed from whatever to whatever, but more like I want to be the block of brick that builds the big wall of humanity.

My favorite thing today is the John Wooden interview.

I'm nobody! Who are you?

2009-01-10T22:04:00.000-08:00

I'm nobody! Who are you?
Are you nobody, too?
Then there's a pair of us — don't tell!
They'd banish us — you know!

How dreary to be somebody!
How public like a frog
To tell one's name the livelong day
To an admiring bog!

This poem is a clear reflection of Emily Dickinson's life. She wrote thousands of poems, but only published about a dozen, all anonymously. Based on this poem, Emily wasn't shy or not even socially awkward, it seems. She chose to be anonymous.

The last line, Emily Dickinson compares the public like "a bog." Dictionary.com defines a bog as wet, spongy ground with soil composed mainly of decayed vegetable matter. The verb of bog is defined "to sink in or as if in a bog (often followed by down." In literature, the word "bog" generally has a negative connotation.

Most people would see the admiring crowd as positive, but Emily Dickinson sees them as negative. The tone of her poem is confident, too.

Maybe most people don't see attention as positive. Maybe it's just me. My favorite thing today is I'm nobody! Who are you?

Schindler's List ending

2009-01-09T23:18:00.000-08:00

I've never watched Schindler's List all the way through, so I added it to My Queque. I watched it tonight and I agree with the critics, touching and powerful. I was most moved by this scene:

Am I living in gluttony? Should I feel guilty for being comfortable? Makes me wonder.

Another thing I really liked about this movie was the transformation in Schindler from greed to compassion. His life, even after the war, is tainted with many failed businesses. Maybe it just wasn't his thing. Maybe the reason for his failed business was that he couldn't commit to profit.

My favorite thing today is the Schindler's List ending.

Savin' Me music video

2009-01-09T23:17:00.000-08:00

[I accidentally posted this on the wrong blog last night.]

I don't like Nickelback...like at all, but they had an intriguing music video. The music video was a story line about a man who could see red, digital timers above people's heads. The timers were counting seconds backwards and indicated how much time a person would live. For example, he could see the timer above a baby's head and the number would be really high versus the timer of an elderly woman, who's number was really low. Then when a person passed away (e.g. hit by a car), the timer would speed down to zero.

The music video reminds me how time ticks away and we can never get it back. As I write this post, minutes are passing and I'm that much closer to death. Every time I lay my head at night now, I think, "Wow, that's one more day gone." I started thinking about it because I realized that I was already a week into the New Year. A week already! Life seems to be getting shorter and shorter and go by faster and faster.

With such a limited time, I wonder if I'm spending my life as if it's the last chance I'll ever get to live. Am I treating my life as a precious, rare gift? Or taking advantage of it?

My favorite thing today is the Savin' Me music video.

Doodles by Taro Gomi

2009-01-07T23:50:00.000-08:00

My friend gave me this book as a gift and it's so cool. It's a coloring book slash activity book. Each page has a picture, in which you can color, but there's an activity attached to it. For example, there's a picture of an ice cream stand, with a large path following up to it. You have to color the scene, but the activity is "What kind of people are waiting in line for ice cream?" Then you have to draw whatever your imagination brings. There's a lot of different varieties of pages.

When I was little, I read one of those girlie series books (e.g. Babysitter's Club) and the girls playing a game to identify your personality based on your doodles. For a few minutes, the girls in the book would doodle and then they would analyze it. I think one girl drew a bunch of shapes and she was the analytical one. I'm not sure if there's any truth to this, but after that I was always conscious of my doodles. I draw a lot of faces and flowers. What do you think that means?

My favorite thing today is Doodles by Taro Gomi

Sneetches by Dr. Seuss

2009-01-07T00:01:00.000-08:00

I was reminded today how I absolutely LOVE children books. (i was trying to refrain from using the phrase "I love" here because I noticed I use it often. However, in this case, it's warranted.) I like what some people call "adult fables"--Children's stories that have life lessons for all ages. The stories have simple words and sentences, but can say so much.

Dr. Seuss was a master. Genius. Right now, he's famous for Horton Hears a Who.

The story is about an elephant who tries to save a civilization living in a flower. This story is meaningful on many levels. I can see how the elephant and his peers can represent first world nations, while the civilization on the flower represent third world nations. It's about the "big people" taking care of the "little people" without getting anything in return. Sticking up for the "little people" simply because they exist, e.g. human rights efforts in other countries, as Africa.

I really wanted to talk about Sneetches. This story is awesome. It's a parable about discrimination. There are two types of people, the in-crowd and the out-crowd. Someone comes into town with a machine and tells the out-crowd that he can make them look like the in-crowd. People pay him to make the change. Soon, the original in-crowd gets made and pays the guys to change them to make them unique and once again the in-crowd. Then, the original out-crowd changes again to be the in-crowd again. Chaos ensues and people become all different colors and after a while, no one can remember who was in and who was out. In the meantime, the person with the machine is rich. He moves on to pull the same scam in a different town.

The story is meant for children, but it has a powerful message that adults can learn. LOVE IT!

My favorite thing today is Sneetches by Dr. Seuss.

Impromptu bookmarks

2009-01-05T21:55:00.000-08:00

I carry a little notebook to write random notes. I don't remember when I wrote it, but I came across this muse:

Anything became a bookmark. A torn scrap from the envelop of a piece of junk mail. The airport luggage tag from the most recent trip. A brand new yellow, square Post-it. It didn't didn't matter what it was, as long as it could be slipped between two pages of a book without ruining the binding.

She tried buying bookmarks. Like the shiny metal ones that clip on the pages like paperclips. But, it never worked out. Not only did she see these pretty store-bought, brand new bookmarks as a waste of money, they weren't very practical. The shiny metal ones, as mentioned previously, usually had a cute icon sticking out on top of the book. No doubt, very pretty to look at. However, whenever she crammed her book in her purse or threw the book on the table or left it on the chair to later sit on top of, the weight of the cute, little icon almost always flicked the clip off the page. Losing her place in the book.

Another annoying habit she had that made brand new bookmarks totally impractical was she was always losing the damn things. Sometimes, as she read, she'd stick the bookmark in another place in the book, so when she was done reading, she could simply replace the bookmark back to the appropriate place. Unfortunately, more often, she put the bookmark down. Then when she suddenly had to stop reading, either a phone call, someone dropping by, riding on the bus and then her stop coming, she'd put her finger right where she left off and leave the bookmark forgotten. Once it was time to bookmark, she'd have to scan her surroundings for another bookmark. An old receipt, a torn piece of shopping bag. The bus ticket. The lid of a box of freshly opened toothpaste.

Not Shakespeare, I know. It has potential. One of these days I develop it more. My favorite thing today is impromptu bookmarks.

San Francisco outdoor artwork

2009-01-04T21:01:00.001-08:00

We spent the weekend taking pictures of different things in San Francisco. A lot of the pictures were outdoor sculptures and fountains. I like nontraditional fountains. Hearing, seeing, and smelling all that flowing water is rejuvenating. All together, not just this past weekend, we probably took about a hundred pictures. Here are handful of ones from today that I really liked:
I wrote down the names of these things, but don't want to bother getting them now. This is one of the few sculptures in front of a business building.

The real cool thing about this was looking inside the diamond:

This is one of the sculptures from Walton park. It's called Two Side Rectangles or something generic like that. I liked it because it moves with the wind, like a pendulum.

This is sculpture, I think given by Korea. The plague said something about it being a symbolic gesture for the present and future alliance. The thing was covered in graffiti. The sculpture is placed in the middle of this big, circular bench where bikers hang out. Not motorcycles, but bicycles. Apparently, if you sit in that area and are not a biker, you'll be rudely unwelcomed. There some old bicycle tire tubes in the trees. I guess the bikers think it's cool to throw them all up there.

There's a few sculptures in front of the Ferry Building. This is a giant robot looking thing. At first glance you can't tell it's a humanoid, but if you look at it for a few seconds, you can make out the body.

There are a lot of cool fountains in San Francisco. This one looks more impressive in person. Here it just looks like a block of cement.

San Francisco isn't my town, but I have to admit they have a lot of art everywhere. It's inspiring. My favorite thing today is San Francisco outdoor artwork.

Mural on Columbus & Broadway

2009-01-04T00:04:00.000-08:00

We were walking around North Beach tonight and saw this mural in North Beach, in the heart of Little Italy. San Francisco has a lot wall murals like this--definitely a plus of the city. However, that's not what caught my eye. At night, there's these neon lights that flash from the top, right corner of the mural down to the bottom, left corner. It's a flash of books open and "flying" down. It looks pretty cool. I tried to look up the history of it or even a video of the light spectacle, but couldn't find anything right away.

I did pick up that the mural is an Italian heritage mural by Bill Weber. Looking at the picture, it doesn't look all Italian, though there are the fishboats and I believe the tower of Pisa in the background. I guess I should look more into it.

My favorite thing today is the mural on Columbus & Broadway.

Gidget

2009-01-02T19:29:00.000-08:00

I apparently have "a thing" for old sitcoms. Yesterday I wrote about the Twilight Zone and I religious watch The Facts of Life OnDemand every week. Today, you what I discovered OnDemand that wasn't there before??? (I discovered it looking for Silver Spoons, which is no longer on there.)

I'm not particularly a Sally Field fan, but I think she's adorable as Gidget. Watching these old episodes, it reminds me how young she used to be in this show. Also, how great she looks in a bathing suit. :) Actually, all the girls on this show have the cutest bathing suits. If I was a beach bum, I'd definitely try to bring some of these fashions back. Maybe the hair...the hair is pretty dope, too.

I like the way Gidget talks. The tone of her voice reminds me of Brenda Lee when she sings. Her slang is still cool. "That's what I like about you dad, you dig." Oh and you can't forget, ""Toodles!" I'm definitely going to have to bring that back. Even her gestures are so...teenager...the way she flails her arms and twists the telephone cord around her feet. She curls her tongue up the corner of her lip. Adorable. I'm so excited these are OnDemand!!!!

My favorite thing today is Gidget.

Twilight Zone

2009-01-01T21:04:00.001-08:00

The SciFi channel had a marathon of the Twilight Zone. 2009 marks the 50th year anniversary of the show's first episode. I haven't seen the new ones, but my favorites are the original series from 1959-1964.

"There is a fifth dimension, beyond that which is known to man. It is a dimension as vast as space and as timeless as infinity. It is the middle ground between light and shadow, between science and superstition, and it lies between the pit of man's fears and the summit of his knowledge. This is the dimension of imagination. It is an area which we call the Twilight Zone."

As I watched the episodes, the plots were familiar. I didn't remember the exact details, but I had a sense of how they were going to end. The plots are clever for a 30-minute show. They portray suspense, drama, and leaves you with a uneasy sense of the unknown. The episodes I watched were:

1) the father murdered by a doll
2) William Shatner with the beast on the plane
3) the old man who becomes young again playing kick the can
4) the residents of Maple Street killing each other because of the aliens
5) the selfish family who end up faces that match the masks of their personality

I think if I have have a kid or class or something, I'm going to make them watch all the original series and have them create artwork inspired by The Twilight Zone. I should try to create a Twilight Zone story.

My favorite thing today is The Twilight Zone.

(The host is series creator, Rod Serling.)

Clean Slate

2008-12-31T22:26:00.000-08:00

New Year Resolutions:

1) Run 30 miles a week (unless I'm sick or major holiday/celebration)
2) Write a song
3) Write one children book
4) Write in my blog everyday
5) Write in my journal everyday
6) Read the Bible everyday
7) Read a book a month (I go to school, so this is a lot)

Does that seem like a lot? Even though the New Year is really just any other day, the fact the date will be 1/1 means something. A psychological clean slate. At that last stroke of midnight, I start my new life!

My favorite thing today is a clean slate!

Time

2008-12-30T21:45:00.000-08:00

[Sorry for the lack of posts. The holidays and being sick slowed me down. It won't happen again!]

The day after Christmas, my cousins, sister and my boyfriend bought tickets to a movie, but had two hours to kill. We went to a Starbucks to hang out. My sister showed me a little book. She said that Starbucks has a holiday story competition. The winner gets his/her story published and sold in stores. This year, the book is The Traveler by Daniel and Daren Simikin. The first time authors and brothers call the story an "adult fable." It's about a little boy searching the world to find the perfect way to spend his time.

The movie we all went to see was the Curious Case of Benjamin Button. I didn't have a real interest to watch this movie. I don't really like Brad Pitt and the movie looked slow and boring. However, I ended up loving it and left the theater a little sad.

Although Benjamin Button was getting younger, the fact that no one around him was doing the same only accentuated how short life really is. There's a small window of years in which Benjamin Button is "normal." The years in the middle of his life which matches the middle of the lives of his peers. When he was first born, he looks only starts to look forward to that middle and as he "grows younger" and the window passes him by, he starts to miss it. In essence, his life is shorter than anyone else's.

This movie and the book share a common theme for me. Life is short. There's so much in the world and just not enough time to do it all. Life is inevitably going to be full of regrets because of all the missed opportunities due to the lack of time. I'll always wonder, have I spent my life in the most perfect way?

Life is short, so be choosy how you spend it. My favorite thing today is time.

The Saucy Boy by Hans Christian Andersen

2008-12-22T21:46:00.000-08:00

When I was in 6th grade, I wrote a whole report on Hans Christian Anderson. I absolutely adore his stories. I love children's stories, in general, but his are special. The stories are simple, yet, make a huge impact. I can only dream to write like that.

Hans Christian Anderson was a social misfit of sorts. Reading a biography, I remember a scene in his life when he professed his love to a woman and she rejected him. Not in a cruel way, but it was unrequited love, nonetheless. He was a tall, lanky, awkward man, so I think this blow was more devastating than it normally would be for someone else. Really though, how do you quantify that?

The first time I read this story, I remembered that scene in his life. I wonder if he wrote this story shortly after the rejection. I guess I could look it up if I wanted. It made me sad thinking about it. I'll have to go back to his biography and see if he ever did find love.

The Saucy Boy by Hans Christian Andersen (1835)

ONCE upon a time there was an old poet, one of those right good old poets.

One evening, as he was sitting at home, there was a terrible storm going on outside; the rain was pouring down, but the old poet sat comfortably in his chimney-corner, where the fire was burning and the apples were roasting.

“There will not be a dry thread left on the poor people who are out in this weather,” he said.

“Oh, open the door! I am so cold and wet through,” called a little child outside. It was crying and knocking at the door, whilst the rain was pouring down and the wind was rattling all the windows.

“Poor creature!” said the poet, and got up and opened the door. Before him stood a little boy; he was naked, and the water flowed from his long fair locks. He was shivering with cold; if he had not been let in, he would certainly have perished in the storm.

“Poor little thing!” said the poet, and took him by the hand. “Come to me; I will soon warm you. You shall have some wine and an apple, for you are such a pretty boy.”

And he was, too. His eyes sparkled like two bright stars, and although the water flowed down from his fair locks, they still curled quite beautifully.

He looked like a little angel, but was pale with cold, and trembling all over. In his hand he held a splendid bow, but it had been entirely spoilt by the rain, and the colours of the pretty arrows had run into one another by getting wet.

The old man sat down by the fire, and taking the little boy on his knee, wrung the water out of his locks and warmed his hands in his own.

He then made him some hot spiced wine, which quickly revived him; so that with reddening cheeks, he sprang upon the floor and danced around the old man.

“You are a merry boy,” said the latter. “What is your name?”

“My name is Cupid,” he answered. “Don’t you know me? There lies my bow. I shoot with that, you know. Look, the weather is getting fine again—the moon is shining.”

“But your bow is spoilt,” said the old poet.

“That would be unfortunate,” said the little boy, taking it up and looking at it. “Oh, it’s quite dry and isn’t damaged at all. The string is quite tight; I’ll try it.” So, drawing it back, he took an arrow, aimed, and shot the good old poet right in the heart. “Do you see now that my bow was not spoilt?” he said, and, loudly laughing, ran away. What a naughty boy to shoot the old poet like that, who had taken him into his warm room, had been so good to him, and had given him the nicest wine and the best apple!

The good old man lay upon the floor crying; he was really shot in the heart. “Oh!” he cried, “what a naughty boy this Cupid is! I shall tell all the good children about this, so that they take care never to play with him, lest he hurt them.”

And all good children, both girls and boys, whom he told about this, were on their guard against wicked Cupid; but he deceives them all the same, for he is very deep. When the students come out of class, he walks beside them with a book under his arm, and wearing a black coat. They cannot recognize him. And then, if they take him by the arm, believing him to be a student too, he sticks an arrow into their chest. And when the girls go to church to be confirmed, he is amongst them too. In fact, he is always after people. He sits in the large chandelier in the theatre and blazes away, so that people think it is a lamp; but they soon find out their mistake. He walks about in the castle garden and on the promenades. Yes, once he shot your father and your mother in the heart too. Just ask them, and you will hear what they say. Oh! he is a bad boy, this Cupid, and you must never have anything to do with him, for he is after every one. Just think, he even shot an arrow at old grandmother; but that was a long time ago. The wound has long been healed, but such things are never forgotten.

Now you know what a bad boy this wicked Cupid is.

My favorite thing today is The Saucy Boy by Hans Christian Andersen.

Wrapping gifts

2008-12-21T20:21:00.000-08:00

I have a ton of wrapping paper, tissue paper, cards, gift tags, gift bags, ribbon...everything. Wrapping gifts is one of my favorite things to do. Wrapping CHRISTMAS gifts is even more fun for me.

Can't stand that cheap wrapping paper. The kind that rips easily. I like the thicker paper. If it has the grid on the inside, that's helpful. Makes cutting easier. The best, though, is the two-sided paper. The 2-in-1 wrapping paper.

Ribbon. The more glitter THE BETTER! The wired kind makes it easy to create bows, but not totally necessary. My signature is the double bow, probably. I tie a bow, then with the extra ribbon on the bottom, I tie another bow. You have to be careful that all the loops are the same size. It's easy to make them all different. Hmm...that actually might look cool if done the right way.

Gift bags are whatever to me. I don't really like them. However, they come in handy when you have odd shaped gifts. Or, if you have a lot of little gifts going to one person. Gift bags look sloppy and messy to me, though. Also, there's no real mystery. There's nothing to really "open."

Meaningful cards go a long way. I can stare at them and marvel and its beauty. Writing meaingful words make them more significant. Gift tags can serve the same purpose, if you write small enough. Once again, the more glitter the better.

Sometimes I get sad thinking that my wrapped gifts will soon be ripped and torn then thrown away. Almost makes it seem like a waste of time and resources. I can't let it go, though. The first impression of a gift is in the wrapping. Not to mention it's PRETTY! I probably spent hours wrapping today, watching Christmas cartoons. Probably like being one of Santa's elvves.

My favorite thing today is wrapping gifts!

Free stuff with gift cards

2008-12-18T00:00:00.000-08:00

My coworker asked me to pick up a gift certificate for her at Panera Bread. They had a promotion going with every $25 gift card, you get a free $7.99 lunch! Oh, and a snowflake tin to hold the gift card, that was marked as $1.99.

Later in the night, we went to Cheesecake Factory. They had a promotion with the purchase of a $25 teddy bear, you get a free $25 gift card! We bought two different bears.

Has this happened every year or is it because of the recession and stores are trying to seduce the consumer. In any case, they were nice surprises. Yeah free stuff!

My favorite thing today is free stuff with gift cards.

Shin Chan show

2008-12-16T22:54:00.000-08:00

My boyfriend saw a commercial for a cartoon called the Shin Chan show. It caught his attention because of the name. It reminded me of a few months ago when I discovered the comic strip, Secret Asian Man, which caught my attention because of the name. (http://www.secretasianman.com)

The Shin Chan show is on Adult Swim, a network with...um...interesting...cartoons. I would probably describe them as experimental or if I wanted to be more cool, "alternative."

To enter the site, you have to sign in because it's PG-13. The cartoon follows the stereotypes of a typical Japanese cartoon--like using drawing in big, sweat drops. However, the cartoon definitely has a contemporary Western twist. I've only seen part of one cartoon, but there's a line in which the main character, a five year-old shin Chan, says "A man must have honor. Honor and a penis." Get it? Stereotypical Asian with a contemporary, Western twist.

Check it out! http://www.shinchanshow.com/ My favorite thing today because it reminds me of my own is the Shin Chan show.

Runner's high

2008-12-15T23:37:00.000-08:00

I had a goal to run 30 miles a week by January 1st. I set the goal about ten weeks ago and worked my way up from 5.0 mph for 30 minutes. Every week, I raised the time by three minutes and the speed by 0.1 mph. I'm doing OK, but now my joints are staring to hurt. For example, this week, my knees were hurting. I think I might have to cut back, much to my disappointment. However, the last thing I want is to get injured because then I'll REALLY be disappointment.

Running so much is hard and painful, but afterwards, you get a rush of happiness. Yes, the notorious runner's high. It's like a squirt of adrenaline or something. I feel light and strong and...good.

I'm kind of bummed out right now because I'll have to cut back on my running and let go of my goal. I know it's for the best, but it makes me a little depressed. Nevertheless, my favorite thing today is runner's high.

Charlie Brown Christmas tree

2008-12-14T22:53:00.000-08:00

I went to a Senior Director's office the other day and he had a single branch with a single, red, round glass Christmas tree hanging on it. The weight of the ornament made the branch sag. I immediately saw it and said, "The Charlie Brown Christmas tree!" He laughed and said that he's always amazed how many people recognize the tree.

I went to Urban Outfitters and saw the store was selling it.

I look forward to watching Merry Christmas, Charlie Brown every year. In fact, I love all the Charlie Browns. I even bought the Schulz biography. The cartoon reminds me of Norman Rockwell paintings. They portray everyday life with nostalgia. It makes me think, "I wish I could go back to those days." Also, how can you NOT love Charlie Brown? His vulnerability makes is the thing that makes you love him.

Christmas is almost here and I'm in the spirit! We're sitting her wrapping gifts and sticking on glittery gift tags. Corny, huh? I can't help it. It's my favorite time of year. Merry Christmas, Charlie Brown just brings it all home. My favorite thing today is the Charlie Brown Christmas tree.

Castle in the Sky

2008-12-14T00:39:00.000-08:00

My boyfriend used to work in the toy industry, so he owns all these random DVDs they he got from work--e.g. Lindsey Lohan's Confessions of a Teenage Drama Queen, a movie no 37 year old unmarried man should own normally.

He also has Hayao Miyazaki's Castle in the Sky. Before my boyfriend and I dated, I used to hang out at his house and watch movies. We watched all the Miyazaki's he had, like Kiki's Delivery Service (one my favs), Princess Mononoke, Porco Rosso, My Neighbor Totoro (another fav), etc. Yes, we watched a lot of movies together. It was our way of being on a date, without really being on a date--just two friends "hanging out."

Castle in Sky was one of the movies we were watching right before we started dating. The first time we tried to watch it, we ended up talking through it and didn't see any of it. The next night, we tried again and same thing. I think we even tried a third, but just gave up. I think it was the last movie we attempted to see before we started dating.

I came across it by chance tonight. It's so great. I don't know much about Japanese anime, but I think Miyazaki has such a great imaginationg. Even more so, he's a superb story teller. Castle in the Sky was released in 1986 or something, but you can't tell from the move. That's what is so great about fantasy, it can be timeless.

My favorite thing today for so many different levels is Castle in the Sky.

Bullies Never Win

2008-12-11T21:28:00.000-08:00

APPARENTLY, I was a bully growing up. Yes, it's true, I was always picking fights and trying to create sides among my cousins. I had no idea it was so emotionally scarring. HAD I KNOWN it was, I doubt I would have done it.

I'm misunderstood. Whenever I saw my other cousins together, I was sad and jealous because I wasn't included. SO SUE ME!

I came across this picture over the internet and sent it to my cousins. They thought it was hilarious. I especially like the elephant. Probably some mascot in some after school special. Like Ellie the Elephant or something.

Lesson of the day? Be confident. Bullies don't like people who are not afraid. BULLIES NEVER WIN!

Brenda Lee

2008-12-10T21:45:00.000-08:00

I remember going to Target with my dad and he picked up two cassettes, Brenda Lee and Tom Jones. I was so surprised that my dad knew any American artists, I kept asking him over and over again, "Who is that? Who is that? Who is that?" My dad kept saying, "Brenda Lee. Tom Jones. Brenda Lee. Brenda Lee."

I listenedd to Brenda Lee over and over and over and over again. I memorized the lyrics, sung the songs, and danced to the music. I absolutely loved her songs. For some reason, at the time, I was embarrassed to be such a big fan. I already thought I was weird being Asian in a WHITE, upper-middle class neighborhood, but to like music that wasn't even on the radio made me the biggest nerd of all. I had no idea that Brenda Lee was a classic icon. Why would my dad know anything about that? He's a FOB.

Turns out, he knew his stuff. As an adult, I'm still in love with her voice. I can't pinpoint it, it's the tone and clarity of her voice that sounds so crisp. Even in this shoddy black & white, her voice sounds HD. I remember seeing a Christmas special when she was much older and her voice still sounded like it could cut glass. I hope someone famous eventually does a cover of her songs. A GOOD cover. She's classic. Absolutely pure class.

My favorite thing today is Brenda Lee.

Family

2008-12-09T23:14:00.000-08:00

I have moments in my life when I feel like no one likes me. If someone's behavior changes in anyway towards me, I automatically trace back to my interactions with him/her and wonder how I offended them. It's a insecurity that no one really understands me.

Then there are those (many) moments I really don't give a shit. But I digress...

I don't know if I'm flawed or if it's human nature to feel disliked. One day I was moaning to my boyfriend that I had no friends. The next day, I thought it was kind of funny, so I told my coworker about it. She relayed that she has those moments, as well. She said, "I don't think people realize that as adults, we're really isolated beings." A few days later, my friend, Cho was woeing about her non-friend situation, as well. I think people are more lonely than they'd like to admit.

And this is why family is so nice. My cousin recently came to visit and I was sad to see her go today. In any other life, I doubt that me and my cousin would ever be friends. We have different interests and run in different social circles. However, as family, I feel secure that she REALLY knows me. She's grown up with me and lived through all major stages of my life. So many things unspoken are understood between us. Even if she met me for the first time at the age of 30, "family" will somehow bind us closer than mere strangers.

I feel secure, also, that as family, she has to make that extra effort to like me. When you're not family, it's so easy to dismiss someone, who offends--even if it's minor or based on a misunderstanding. Even if it's your supposed "best friend." With family, though, you know you'll be stuck with this person for the rest of your life, so might as well learn to get over it.

Maybe the real problem is not so much that my friends aren't like family, but more like my family should include my friends.

Thinking back to my cousin's visit, I have to say my favorite thing today (and most days) is family.

The Rock Band drums

2008-12-08T23:10:00.000-08:00

OK, OK, OK, I can't believe that I'm actually going to admit this, but here it goes.

In college, I was a huge No Doubt fan. I first saw them in high school because a friend of a friend knew them. I remember the first time I saw Gwen up there, I fell in love. Actually, the fact that they had trombones in the band was what intrigued me. I played trombone in marching band and it wasn't exactly the coolest thing in the world. When I saw No Doubt and those trombone players and they were COOL, I was hooked. This was before I even knew what ska was.

Anyway, as part of my obsession, I used to watch the Tragic Kingdom concert video everyday and dance around like I was Gwen Stefani. The. Entire. Concert. It was my daily ritual for a couple of years. I've always felt like I missed my true calling of being a rock star.

Unfortunately, I'm not the best singer, so I'll settle for the hottest rock drummer. Playing Rock Band drums is SO fun. Whoever invented the game is a genius. I really feel like I'm part of a band. Sometimes I'm tempted to throw the whole set to the TV screen where my audience is cheering me on.

For some reason, i can't get the drums. I can't hit those tabs at the same time the colored squares pass the orange line.

My cousin is in town with her coworker and we played for a couple of hours. It really is addicting. My favorite thing to day is Rock Band drums! By the way, have you seen any of the crazy players on You Tube? I think there's this one of an eight year old going insane on Guitar Hero. It's a trip.

Being CLUTCH!

2008-12-07T23:40:00.000-08:00

I learned about "being clutch" from my boyfriend who's a huge sports fan. (Eh. More of a sports fan than I'd like.)

Yesterday, my boyfriend wanted to switch his Comcast remote control because it was broken. We're both TV whores, so having a broken remote is really annoying. Little things like that drive my boyfriend crazy.

We went to the local Comcast store and the line was OUT THE DOOR. We were shocked. We didn't realize it would be so crowded. I could tell my boyfriend was disappointed and said, "Let's just come back early in the morning or something." We were actually late for a red egg and ginger party.

I walked around the store to see if there was another kiosk or something for just remotes or whatever. The store was so small, there wasn't anything, but that long line. Before I gave up, I went to a woman behind a desk, who happened not be helping anyone, and asked, "Do we have to stand in line to replace a remote?" She looks at me and says, "You came to the right person. Give me your old remote." We did and she gave us a spankin' new one and we were out of there in less than a minute.

I bragged to my boyfriend, "Dude, that was clutch, right?" He agreed.

Today, it happened again! My cousin is in town and we went to Mama's a really popular brunch place. The line to get in is usually around an hour. It's also in Washington Square, which has horrible parking. Actually, San Francisco, in general, has horrible parking. We decided to split up. My cousin and her friend would wait in line, while me and my boyfriend would find parking. Just as we dropped them off in front of the restaurant, I noticed a guy walking to his van. My boyfriend was about to pull around the corner, but I said, "WAIT!"

My boyfriend said, "I don't think he's leaving." Fortunately, he was and the spot was RIGHT IN FRONT OF THE RESTAURANT! Total clutch. I started to brag about that, as well.

I like being clutch. I think it should be my new nickname. My favorite thing today is BEING CLUTCH!!!!!!

Black quote by Louis Nevelson

2008-12-06T23:39:00.000-08:00

I don't know how it happened, but every since I moved to San Francisco, my entire wardrobe became black. I think it's because it's my way of looking rock 'n roll at work. In a corporation, I can't dress the way I used to dress in LA. Black is rock 'n roll and black is allowed in the corporate world. So, in advertently, I only wear black now.

Well, not completely. I'll allow red, metallics, and animal print.

Anyway, my boyfriend and I went to the sculpture garden in Seattle and there was a black sculpture with the following description sign:

Sky Landscape I, 1976
Aluminum, painted black
Louise Nevelson
American, born Russian, 1899-1988
Collection of Jon and Mary Shirley

”I fell in love with black; it contained all color. It wasn’t a negation of color...black is the most aristocratic color of all..you can be quiet, and it contains the whole thing” -- Louise Nevelson

I loved it so much, I took a picture of it. I was showing our Seattle pictures to my cousin and I saw it again and fell in love with it again. Now, whenever I wear black, I won't feel bland.

My favorite thing today is ”I fell in love with black; it contained all color. It wasn’t a negation of color...black is the most aristocratic color of all..you can be quiet, and it contains the whole thing” by Louise Nevelson.

Costco ornaments

2008-12-05T21:43:00.000-08:00

We have a Christmas tree,
That is very special to me.
Unfortunately,
It's a little bare.

Lo and behold, I see,
Costco ornaments, Oh Lookee!
Perfect for the tree
Because they are red.

Now, please look at our tree,
It is beautiful and pretty
It stands happily.
I love it so much.

My favorite thing today is Costco ornaments! Do you like the golf clubs in the background and the single present?

A good grade!

2008-12-04T21:59:00.001-08:00

No post yesterday. I had a major migraine and had to sleep.

I don't know how it started, but about ten years ago, I was known as super internet searcher. My friends often made fun of me as the Google-meister. As a joke, for one birthday, I received a bunch of Google paraphenalia, e.g. t-shirt, hat, etc.

One day, I was flying to Korea with a ticket I found on Priceline. Good news, the ticket was dirt cheap, bad news, I had over a four hour layover in Japan. I didn't mind, though. I brought a couple of DVDs and sat and watched movies. During one of my intermissions, I went to the bathroom. I was washing my hands and the woman next to me at the sink asked me, "Oh, do you work for Google?"

It was a woman I never met before, so she couldn't have known about my nickname or anything. I gave her this weird look like she was crazy and said, "Uh...No..." She looked embarrassed, apologized and quickly left the bathroom.

I finished washing my hands and looked up the mirror, stared at myself a little bit, and then had an Ah! moment. No wonder she thought I worked for Google. I looked like Google had thrown up on me. Just by pure coincidence, I was wearing almost every single Google thing I received for my birthday--the hat, the watch, the shirt, the sweater, the light-up pin, everything.

As the Google-meister, I was really excited to take Online Searching for school. I thought I could learn to use my powers for good. When I received my textbook, I got REALLY excited.

I was going to be an EXTREME searcher. Read the title, the book is only for the SERIOUS searcher.

Unfortunately, the class wasn't what I expected. It's actually very frustrating. At one point, I was so mad, I was throwing things across the room and slamming doors. My boyfriend thought I was crazy. I was doing OK on my assignments. However, the fact that I thought I was turning in my best work, only to get it back with a billion marks, made the class seem hopeless. I was the Google-meister! My ego was bruised and I wanted to do well.

However, I got my final assignment and received 16 our 15 possible points. I got AN EXTRA POINT! YEAH! Bust out the parade and confetti! The grade made me temporarily forget my migraine. The class average was 13.95.

Thinking about it now, I have remenants of happiness from yesterday. My favorite thing today (and yesterday) was a good grade!

Van Gogh's Room at Arles

2008-12-02T23:44:00.000-08:00

I had this print in college. When I went back to my parents' house, they had taken it out of storage (the garage) and hung it in the bathroom. I'm not a student of art, but the moment I saw this picture, I absolutely loved it.

The picture probably wouldn't have as much significance to me, if it wasn't Van Gogh. The depiction is a very, very, very simple room for a very, very, very complicated guy. When I was in college, I didn't have a lot of money and lived a basic life. I refrained from a lot of things because I was more into having a little financial cushion than skydiving or whatever was cool at the time. When I saw Van Gogh's room, I felt better about myself for having a modest lifestyle because he had a modest lifestyle.

I think in the corner of the room, is his self-portrait painting. I thought that was neat because it made it more believable that it actually was Van Gogh's room. After staring at this print for so long, I was inspired to sketch my room. Hee hee hee, I can't remember if I actually did it. Maybe I'll do it now.

Seeing the picture hang in my parents' house brought back good memories of my days as a college student. Things seemed so much more simple back then. Maybe not, but definitely more fun.

My favorite thing today is Van Gogh's Room at Arles.

1. "I choose to be a happy person"; 2. video chat; 3. walking to work

2008-12-01T22:47:00.000-08:00

One:

I was watching a documentary about a person who said, "I choose to be a happy person." Recently, I've been really hating work, which bled into hating my life, in general. Nothing seemed to satisfy me. It was driving me crazy. I decided that I need to have more creative outlets. This blog being one of them. I started coloring. I asked a friend to help me with songwriting. Always take my lunch hour. Started running. These are things that I didn't think I had time for. Actually, I really don't have time. I've been sleeping less. I'm behind on my school reading, too.

But, you know what? I have to say, this past month, I've been MUCH HAPPIER! Work is still work. People irritate me, but I'm finding I care less about it. I have to consciously tell myself that I'm not going to stress over it. After hearing that quote from the documentary, I realized that I, too, have chosen to be a happy person.

Today is a special day because I actually have three favorite things! I know favorite means one, but I don't care.

Two:

Over the weekend, my parents bought two webcams on black Friday. I showed them how to use video chat on Meebo. They love it. I've been trying to get my relatives in Korea to get it forever, but they don't understand how setup is so easy. Now that I've been able to show my parents, they can relay the information to my relatives in Korea.

Coincidentally, my friend, Erik, bought a webcam for his mom in Illinois. For some reason, it wasn't working on Meebo. We decided to use another software, Gmail video chat. It worked! The picture is so much more clear on Gmail, too. We were giddy with our troubleshooting abilities.

Three:

For over two years, I've taken the train everyday to work. Generally, I guess it's not so bad, but there are days I want to kill myself. Well, rather, days when other people kill themselves. You'd be surprised how many suicides there are on the tracks. Regardless of frequency, it delays the train at least a couple of hours.

Another annoying factor is that my train only comes once an hour. So, if I miss it, I have to wait another hour before the next one. It's at an inconvenient time, too. I have to wake up earlier than usual to catch the morning train.

Today was the first day of my new work location. I'm proud to say I can walk to work! It takes exactly 18 minutes and 14.22 seconds, at a pace of a casual stroll. Also, I can SLEEP IN! No anxiety about catching the train. I was grinning from ear to ear and practically skipping to work today. So luxurious!

My favorite things today are video chat and walking to work! Oh, and let's not forget the quote, "I choose to be a happy person." Who said it you ask? I hope the source doesn't diminish the impact of the quote. She has quite the reputation. Despite the rumors around her life, the fact that she still chooses to be happy is admirable by its own rite. The quote is from no other than Britney Spears.

Christmas Decorations!!!!!

2008-11-30T23:28:00.001-08:00

We flew in from Los Angeles last night. Today, I begged my boyfriend to put up our Christmas tree. We go to LA for Christmas, so it's not worth getting a real one. However, I couldn't stand not having one, so I got a fake one from Lowe's last year.

The first Christmas my boyfriend and I were together, I made him get a real tree for the place he was living in four years ago. I have this obsession with the color red (don't know where its comes from), so I made a rule that all the ornaments had to be red.

Today, I'm sitting in front of our fake tree, and the red ornament rule still applies! I love it.

We went downtown today and it's beginning to look a lot like Christmas. The trolleys have trimming, the Christmas trees are up, the skating rink assembled--the city is transformed.

There are a lot of people against the holidays, saying it's commercial or that people should be good all the time, not just once a year. Whatever. I LOVE CHRISTMAS! It is commercial, but it's only as commercial as you allow it to be. Also, with our economy now, it wouldn't hurt if we go out there to buy and get some revenue going. My current excuse to shop. I don't see the harm in celebrating goodwill, either. It's true, you should be good all the time and you can. Christmas doesn't discourages goodwill outside of December.

Christmas always brings fond memories and I look forward to it every year. The decorations are only the beginning. My favorite thing today is Christmas decorations!!!!!

Experience at the Huntington Beach salon

2008-11-29T23:38:00.000-08:00

This morning, I had breakfast with my good friend, Ed, at a Hawaiian cafe in Huntington Beach, where I grew up. After breakfast, I noticed a salon next door. To save time, I decided to get my eyebrows waxed before I went to Los Angeles to pick up my boyfriend. I had a lot of errands to run before I flew out to San Francisco.

I walked in and an old lady asked if I needed any help. She was a tad bit senile. Hmm, senile is the wrong word, but maybe sort of slow because she was elderly. She had a thick accent, that sounded from Ukraine or Russia. Lots of makeup. The sky blue eyeshade and the really pink blush. She had on a beret and a white granny sweater.

The old lady said someone could see me right away. I didn't think they could see me so quickly. It was sudden because I didn't even say good-bye to Ed, yet.

Outside the salon, I was trying to make my good-byes and the old lady was waiting at the doorway repeating, "Come on. We can take you now." I finally had to said, "I'm going to say good-bye first. I'll be right there." She said OK and walked inside.

I turned to Ed and did this girlie, high squeal, "Bye, Ed! It was good seeing you..." and waved my hands rapidly back and forth. You know, just waving good-bye. The old lady walks to the doorway again and said, "I took a class learning sign language at Goldenwest community college." I said, "Uh...that's great." Then I realized why she said that, so I replied, "Oh, I wasn't doing sign language. I was waving good-bye."

She obviously wasn't trained well, if she thought my waving was sign language. This is what I mean by a little senile or slow. Ed thought it was hilarious and pretended to do sign language.

Finally, after saying good-bye, I went inside. The lady who waxed my eyebrows was also the owner. We chit-chated a bit. After she was done with my eyebrows, she said, "Oh. You have a little bit of a moustache. Do you want me to do that, too?" I said no. She said, "Are you sure? I'll even do it for free." Do I have a moustache? I never thought I did. The owner continues, "You'll want to wax that off. It's dark." I looked at myself in the mirror and just said, "It's OK. I like looking like a man." She giggles and said, "Oh, I see. Sexy, huh?"

Do I have a moustache? I watch The Hills every once in a while and Lauren Conrad has this shadow of a moustache and it drives me nuts. I thought it was just me, but I Googled it [keywords: lauren conrad moustache] and other people were commenting on the moustache, as well. Now, apparently, I have one. Not sure if I'd describe it as sexy. Maybe if I was a transvestite.

*sigh* Despite the rude awakening, I love recounting funny experiences and this is definitely one of them. My favorite thing today is my experience at the Huntington Beach salon.

Just Dance by Lady GaGa

2008-11-28T22:46:00.000-08:00

While working on a school projector for hours, I turned on MTV Hits for background music. I came across Just Dance by Lady GaGa. Not my usual cup of tea. I have more rock 'n roll tendencies. However, visually, the video is rock 'n roll. I lean towards that bad girl thing.

The song is catchy. At first, I thought it was Christina Aguilera. Her voice is full and rich. Waiting for the song credits, I found it was Lady GaGa. No one I had heard at the time.

I checked out other music videos by Lady GaGa. Her genre of music is something I'd probably tune out. However, all of her videos are interesting to watch. Lots of colors, concept based, and nostaglic of something like Studio 54, if not New York, then London. In addition to her voice, she's also a good performer.

I think she's climbing the charts. I heard her song at Kabuki restaurant and my cousins commented, "I like this song." For no real explanation, songs that hit the mainstream lose their uniqueness. I really don't like the song's bridge of rapping. I think that REALLY cheapens the song. A sell-out move to sell records.

Nevertheless, the Just Dance is alluring enough for me to be my favorite thing today. Few lyrics that I find particulary poetic, for no particular reason:

1) Where are my keys? I lost my phone phone
2) Wish I could shut my playboy mouth
3) How'd I turn my shirt inside out

Telephone-Pictionary game

2008-11-27T23:26:00.000-08:00

Note about yesterday's post: I asked my mom what 성북동. It's a district in Seoul, it has no real meaning.

Every Thanksgiving and Christmas, my family from SoCal gather for dinner. Usually, the night will run long with the adults in one room gossiping about church members and the "kids" in the other room. It's been an unofficial tradition of ours to play games. Last year, my cousin introduced this Telephone-Pictionary game that's makes my cheeks and jaw sore from laughing.

Here's how to play:

1) Count the number of people in your group. As an example, let's say 10.
2) If there are ten people in your group, every person needs ten pieces of paper about 3x5 inches
3) Pick a category, let's say Movies
4) In your stack of ten, little pieces of paper, write on the to piece of paper, the name of a movie. Let's say, for an example, Breakfast Club.
5) Now, pass the entire stack of paper to the person next to you. The piece of paper with your movie title should be on top.
6) The next person reads the movie title, Breakfast Club. Then puts that piece of paper to the bottom of the stack. Then proceeds to try to draw "Breakfast Club," like you would in pictionary, on the next piece of blank paper on the top of the stack.
7) When everyone is finished. You pass the stack of paper along to the next person (you can go clockwise or counter clockwise). The piece of paper with your drawing should be on top.
8) The next person sees the picture, and then puts it on the bottom of the stack. On the next piece of blank paper that's on the top of the stack, the person writes what they think the picture represents.
9) Continue the cycle until the stack of paper returns to you, with your original "Breakfast Club" on the next piece of paper on top.

It may sound kind of confusing, but when you play, it's a very simple concept. It's funny to see how, like in the example I give, Movie Title gets warped because people can't understand the picture. For example, in our game, someone chose Shrek. The stack of paper went from Shrek, to Beauty and the Beast, to Wizard of Oz! We laughed at some of the indecipherable drawings.

Does it sound lame? Because, it's acutally a lot of fun. Try it! My favorite thing today is the Telephone-Pictionary game.

성북동

2008-11-26T21:58:00.000-08:00

Living in San Francisco, I'm deprived of good Korean food. You'd think a city with so many Asians would have good Korean food. Unfortunately, they don't. The theory I've come up with is that ingredients are more expensive there, since things are generally more expensive in San Francisco. Therefore, restaurants are forced to use cheap ingredients and it affects the taste of the food.

My boyfriend's coworker recommended a place in Los Angeles that's supposed to serve bomb-ass 갈비찜.

I'm not sure if it's because it's been a while since we've had good Korean food, but it was BOMB-ASS! We got 칼국수, as well, and it was delicious. There's this place in San Francisco that serves decent 칼국수, but the seasoning at 성북동's was much better. My boyfriend is the pickiest eater on the face of this earth and even he liked their 갈비찜. My diet (I'm always on a diet) went down the drain with this meal.

I'm not sure, but I think 성북동 translates to "of the northeast." Korea is in the northeast part of Asia, hence the connection between the name and the restaurant. Another theory I created.

It's good be back in LA! My favorite thing today is 성북동.

I Heart LA

2008-11-26T00:49:00.001-08:00

Home for the holiday! Yes! I said HOME!!!!!!!!

P.S. I didn't post yesterday, simply because I forgot. Apologies.

Music performances from award shows

2008-11-23T21:38:00.000-08:00

The American Music Awards is on tonight. I caught the opening act, Christina Aguilera performing a montage of her hits. New Kids on the Block (NKOTB) was the second performance, performing a montage of their hits. The Christina Aguilera one was OK, nothing spectacular. She looks like a little doll with her platinum blonde hair, giant Shirley Temple locks, and bangs--accented with her red lips and porcelain skin. NKOTB were horrible. The harmonizing was off, the dance moves were outdated and listless. The performance overall was boring.

Besides the stand-up comedy and watching the outfits, the best parts of award shows are the live musical performances. I"ll sit there and analyze the performers, the music, the clothes, the dancing, energy, everything. A good collaboration gives me chills. It's all in the spirit of a live performances. A live performance is a true test of a musician's talent. LIVE! So unpredictable. Who can forget Ashley Simpson's lip syncing debacle?

Good or bad, live performances cannot be duplicated. I didn't see this next one, but I read about it. Kelly Pickler broke down singing a song about an absentee parent at the 2007 CMT Awards. Kelly's mother abandoned her when she was a baby. Ten minutes before Kelly Pickler was to perform, she found out her biological mother was watching the show:

I haven't finished watching the rest of the American Music Awards, still recording. I can't wait, though. My favorite thing today is music performances from award shows.

Napping

2008-11-22T23:21:00.000-08:00

When I was in elementary school and junior high, my mom made me enter the annual Korean storytelling contest at church. For three to five minutes, I had to tell a story in Korean by memory, preferably with body motions. I never won, not even with the stellar body motions my mom would created for me. For example, marching in place to indicate "walking" in the story.

One of the stories I recited was about a chahm-geh-goo-lee, someone who sleeps excessively. In the story, the chahm-geh-goo-lee loves to sleep so much, he wishes he was a cow because they sleep all day. He gets his wish. In the beginning, he's stoked. Then one day, his parents come along to kill him for meat, not knowing the cow was their son. Right when the ax is about to reach his head, he wakes up. It was all a dream!!!!

Yes, I know it's a wonder how I never won with thrillers like that one.

You know what, though? I think that chahm-geh-goo-lee had it right. Not that I want to be a cow, but I LOVE napping. I have some internal clock in me, so whenever I lay my head to nap, I'm out for two hours. I wake up feeling refreshed. During certain-times-of-the-month, naps are vital. As the cherry on top, we have THE BOMB bed. It's king size with an extra cushioned mattress top and four fluffy pillows. I also have two, huge comforters that I bury myself in deep and snuggle.

Today, I laid my head at 1:10pm and woke up at 2:53 and it was time well spent. My favorite thing today is napping.

Preview of the new Star Trek movie

2008-11-22T00:14:00.000-08:00

Yes, I love Star Trek. I'm really a TNG girl, but I like it all. No, I've never dressed up as any of the characters or been to a convention, but the show brings only happy memories. I remember going into my parents' bedroom, lying on the bed, and watching the show on our 26" screen TV. I used to get so excited when there was a new episode and was very sad when the show ended. The best episodes were those that featured Data. Data's Day is probably my all time favorite. My sister and I watched that one and laughed and laughed and laughed.

Today, my boyfriend and I watched Quantum of Solace. The highlight, was definitely the Star Trek preview. It looks cool. Usually, the movies leans towards the scifi audience, but this one looks like it could appeal to a wider audience. I don't generally like prequels, but for this one, I'll sacrifice.

Sylar is young Spock!

Beam me up! My favorite thing today is the preview of the new Star Trek movie!!!!!!!!!!

http://www.startrekmovie.com/

Bradicon

2008-11-20T22:37:00.001-08:00

I subscribe to a blog called Tip of the Day. The blog posts cool things from the web. One of the posts was about Bradicon (ico.bradleygill.com.) The site converts any of your images into computer icons. I love it! On both Windows and Macs, when you have a folder, the system default to an icon that looks like a manilla folder. BORING!

Here's the first icon I created from a picture of me and my boyfriend:

Cute, right? Try it! My favorite thing today is Bradicon!

Don't Let Go performed by En Vogue

2008-11-19T21:14:00.001-08:00

I took a bunch of songs from my friend back in LA. Listening to my iPod is always a surprise because I don't know what songs I've downloaded from him. Today, on the way back from the train, I listened to Don't Let Go by En Vogue over and over again.

The song reminded me of their Saturday Night Live performance.

I remember watching thinking, "Geez, they're so angry." I wouldn't characterize the lyrics as angry, maybe more frustrated. In any case, I LOVE the performance. I love how they wear black, but in different outfits. I LOVE that syncing of the hip swaying after the lyrics "They'll be some lovemaking, heart breaking, soul shaking..." I guess, I even like the angry thing because it portrays them as so strong.

I think En Vogue was such a great group, a real classic. They all had powerful voices and the harmonizing is mesmerizing. i don't think they even compare to Destiny's Child, who they're often compared. The voices of En Vogue are solid, like a house of bricks. Destiny's Child are more like a house of sticks, not straw, but sticks.

I could see this performance and listen to the song over and over and over. My favorite thing today is Don't Let Go performed by En Vogue.

The Knowing-Doing Gap

2008-11-18T23:18:00.000-08:00

A coworker and good friend of mine has a neighbor, who is a flight attendant. The neighbor gives her miscellaneous, women magazines that she collects on her flights. My friend then passes it on to me. Today, I was reading the August 2008 issue of Oprah, where I discovered the Knowing-Doing Gap.

I'm haunted by bad habits. I'm most tortured by the fact that I KNOW exactly what I need to do, but I don't do it. Then I get depressed that I've failed. For example, I might say to myself, "I need to lose weight. Let's order chocolate cake!" Then when I eat the chocolate cake, I feel like a loser. It's a psychological roller coaster. However, after reading about the Knowing-Doing gap, I realized I'm not alone! It's a common enough phenomenon that it's written in a whole book!

From what I understand, the Knowing-Doing Gap is the bridge between knowing what you have to do and actually doing it. The article summaries some of the points of the book. One of them is the to stop talking, talking, and talking about changing, rather than actually changing. I do that all the time! I plan and strategize how I'm going to change, but hardly ever follow through. I feel that if I keep planning and talk about changing, I'm somehow making a difference. But, I'm not. Talk is cheap, as the saying goes. If I do plan, it should be measurable goals that require action.

I'm motivated by this concept! Although I haven't read the book, yet, the idea something like it exists encourages me. My favorite thing today is The Knowing-Doing Gap.

Spring in the Fall

2008-11-17T22:36:00.000-08:00

I take the train to work everyday. From work, to get to the station, I have to walk up the hill of roadside landscape. So many people have climbed that hill to get to/fro the train station, a little path has formed.

The weather in San Francisco has been wonderfully warm. I love it! I'm a LA girl living in SF. My zip code is 94158, but my cell phone area code is 310. I'm the girl that misses having a seat belt tan from sitting in traffic on the 405 for over an hour. Some feel the warmth and fear global warming, I soak it up and think of home.

Last week, I was climbing up the path after work and I distinctly smelled fresh dirt. I looked down and saw the ground, usually rocky and dry, was wet and dark. I had a fleeting thought, "It smells like spring."

Didn't think much of it at the time, but today when I walked up the hill, I saw bright green sprouts of new grass! It really is spring...in November!

I'm sure the city gardeners have been doing their magic, but the warm weather is probably a contributer as well. Nevertheless, I'm going to believe in the magic, as my favorite thing today is spring in the fall.

True Affection by The Blow

2008-11-17T00:03:00.000-08:00

When I first heard this song, the lyrics that popped out to me were "I was out of your league..." I thought that was funny because the singer was telling someone that she was too good for him.

However, further investigation of the lyrics, I found I was wrong. The line is a reference to 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea. I wanted to see if there was some double meaning, which I thought would have been really clever, so I read all the lyrics very carefully:

I was out of your league
And you were 20,000 underneath the sea
Waiving affections
You were out of my league
At a distance that I didn't wanna see
Down to the bottom

I wanted a junction and often there was one
You'd surface face first and we'd share our thought bubbles
And I still believe in the phrases that we breathed
But I know the distance isn't fair to cross

I was out of your league
And you were 20,000 underneath the sea
Waiving affections
You were out of my league
At a distance that I didn't wanna see
Wanted you nearer

Your depths made a pressure that punctured my works and all your fluids couldn't tolerate the force of my thirst
I love the place where we shared our tiny grace
But because it's real doesn't mean it's gonna work

I was out of your league
And you were 20,000 underneath the sea
Waiving affections
You were out of my league
At a distance that I didn't wanna see
Wanted you nearer

And true affection floats
True affections sinks like a stone
I never felt so close
I never felt so all alone

I was out of your league
And you were 20,000 underneath the sea
Waiving affections
You were out of my league
At a distance that I didn't wanna see
Wanted you nearer

The song doesn't have anything to do with the 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, but more about the distance felt in a relationship. In the book, Captain Nemo argues with his crew that league is a measure of distance and not depth. It seems that the lyricist makes the same mistake here. Maybe.

Nevertheless, I really like the song. I can't tell what the instrument is, but the song starts with this staccato of two notes that carries the beat of the song throughout. It sounds like a bouncing ball or even heavy raindrops, which underlines the water theme of this song. The melody raises and lowers, like waves of the ocean. The song is carried by a single, clear voice and reminds me of a single person floating out to sea. It's nice effect.

I like the lyrics "waiving affections." When I first hear "wave", I thought about waving a sail or something. But, in this case, it's about forgoing affections. I also like "And true affection floats/True affections sinks like a stone/I never felt so close/I never felt so all alone." During this verse, there's a bridge. The confusion and ambivalence of the voice is accented.

The song is lovely. So, my favorite thing today is "True Affection" by The Blow.

A cigarette and iced chai latte

2008-11-15T22:58:00.000-08:00

My boyfriend will be disappointed that I'm writing about cigarettes. He doesn't like that I smoke. I know smoking is terrible for my health and I discourage anyone from the habit. Nevertheless, though I know the severe, negative effects of smoking, I still do it.

On a scale of 1 to 10, ten being the best day of my life and one being the worst day of my life, I would rank today as 3.5. The main reason being I have a school assignment due tomorrow and I'm only about a third done. The assignment is very frustrating. Finally, at 6pm, I decide to break from computer work.

Although, it was dark, it was so warm, which is extremely unusual for San Francisco, especially in the fall. The night felt so still, almost as if I was the only person on earth. Well, not really, there were people and cars around. But. I wanted to feel like I was the only person on earth. I put on my headphones so the only sounds I was hearing were from my playlist.

I took a sip of my iced chai tea from Panera Bread, my new obsession. The drink is a tad too sweet, but the combination of everything else is perfect.

Finally, I light my cigarette and after the first puff. After the first puff. My worries disappear. School? Who care? Stress? What's that? At this point, I really am the only person on earth.

Five minutes later, my cigarette is down to the nub and my drink is nothing, but ice. I'm disappointed and contemplate getting another drink and smoking another cigarette. I refrain, but I think, "My favorite things today are a cigarette and iced chai latte."

Norman Warne

2008-11-14T18:05:00.000-08:00

I thought I didn't like Renee Zellweger. On the train, I was watching Miss Potter on my iPod and really like it. I then realized, that although I say I don't like Renee Zellweger, I like A LOT of her movies. I even dare to say, I like all of her movies.

So, I guess I like Renee Zellweger.

My train ride to/fro work is about 20 minutes, so I'll watch bits and pieces of a movie during the commute. Today, I was at such a captivating part of Miss Potter, I actually waited outside my home door so I could finish the scene. It is the scene Beatrix Potter and Norman Warne confess their love to each other.

Norman asks Beatrix to marry him at a Christmas party and she says, "Yes!" He leaves the party and Beatrix steps outside her window to wave good-bye to his carriage. He sticks his head outside his window and waves good-bye, too. At that moment, I get so happy! That's the best feeling in the world. When you realize you're in love. How do you describe such a feeling? For lack of a better cliche, you feel like you're on top of the world!

At that point, I had to stop the movie and go inside the house. I wanted to know if the love story was true, so I looked up Beatrix Potter on Wikipedia, only to be devastated that Norman Warne dies shortly after their engagement. They never wed.

Once again, I'm at a loss for words!!!! Thinking about it brings tears to my eyes. In the movie, Beatrix Potter and Norman Warne are both social misfits, but they felt right with each other. Finding someone you are kindred to is rare and then to lose that someone so quickly is tragic. They probably never spent any real time alone. It makes me so sad.

In the movie, Beatrix asks Norman's sister's approval for the marriage. The sister, Mellie, says, "Get married tomorrow!" She may not have meant that literally, but more to make a point of, "Seize the day!" However, now I think that maybe Beatrix should have married him the next day. They would have had, at least, a month of married bliss. (He died a month after the proposal.) It's silly I know, but it makes me so sad. I think about if that ever happened to me, I would be so devastated. For the rest of my life, I would feel like there's a hole in me.

Even though the story makes me sad, the fact that it makes me feel is the reason why my favorite thing today is still Norman Warne.