2008 Resolutions and Review of 2007

Like most Americans, I make resolutions at the beginning of the years. And like most Americans, I slack off and forget about them. I want 2008 to be different, so I separate the goals into 2 categories: 1) Concrete and measurable goals that I definitely want to achieve by 2008 and 2) abstract/can't be measure goals that I would try the hardest to achieve by 2008 but won't beat myself over the head if I don't. Without further ado, here's the category 1 of 2008 resolutions:

1) Save and invest $ in a taxable account.
-This is a carried over goal from 2006. I accomplished half of the goal in that I did invested in my retirement account but I did not do anything outside of it. In 2008, in addition to continually contribute to 401k, I would invest in a taxable account (leaving money in the money market of a brokerage account doesn't count).

2) Be Stronger
-Since I get bored if I sit on my ass too long, I am usually out doing something active; thus I am in good shape (according to my annual physical exam report). However, I don't feel very strong. In 2008, I would like to get stronger. I hate weight training, but I would need to start doing that to get stronger. In 2008, I would do these types of weight training at least once a week. Goal consider accomplished when I can do one pull up (I can only hang on to the bar for maybe 30 seconds right now).

3) Be More Positive and Grateful
-My solo-trek through the Southeast Asia gave me a lot of confidence and also taught me to be more grateful. However, there are many times this year, especially in the latter part, when I felt quite negative. In 2008, I want to live consciously and when I am down, remind myself to be positive/grateful and not forget what I learned on the trip. To help achieve this goal, I am going to blog about something that makes me happy or feel grateful everyday. Goal consider achieved when I have 366 blogs at the end of 2008. You guys can help me stay on track to achieve this goal! :)

I did not made new year resolutions for 2007 because I was busy dodging terrorist attacks. Looking back, although I can't measure my achievements, I grow up a lot in 2007 and am more comfortable than ever in my own skin.

I hate to repeat the same thing that everyone already said, but it's true, the solo trip is one of the best things I ever done. My parents are very protective of me because I am a girl. Although I am very independent, I always doubt my own common sense and ability to take care of myself because they're always there for me (which I know is a blessing). One of my 2003 goals is to learn Krav-Maga so I can have the confidence that I can protect myself. Although I probably would get beat up if I ever enter a fight, after running around in foreign countries where I don't know anyone nor speak the languages, I am crossing off that goal because now I know I've the common sense to take care of myself in most situations.

Also in 2007, I achieved one of my most illusive goals, I got my PADI License. Considered I can't even swim 25 meters in 2006, me SCUBA diving is more of a fantasy than anything. The closest to diving I can get is wearing a life-jacket when I go snorkeling. However, Los is great at 'nagging' me so I practice swimming every week just so when he 'bugs' me about it, I won't feel like a loser for not doing what I say I would do (I keep my promises!). And thanks to Los and my own gutsy-ness/stupidity, I pass the 200 meters swimming test and got my diving license.

And thanks to various friends, I got exposed to many things in 2007 that further improve my self-confidence and just being happy with the person I've become. I am not as bashful as I used to be, I don't feel self-conscious when I dance, I no longer feel the need to go out on weekend nights just because, and I choose activities because I enjoy them (which sometime mean stay in or just hanging out with friends without help from alcohol).

I have many things I want to achieve and there are so much in life that I still need to experience. Let's all wish for a great 2008!

Happy New Year!

Unexpected Isolation in Your Late 20s

My friend forwarded me this link about people in late 20s find themselves leading solitary and isolated live.

I think this speaks to many of us. Although I feel connected living here (which is one of the main reasons I don't want to move out of L.A.), I am more likely than before to choose stay in over going out, even on weekend nights. Perhaps it's not the same issue, but the situation is the same, my life is more solitary and isolated now than ever.

Do you find yourself in this situation?

I Didn't Cause the Traffic Jam

I am very lucky today. Disneyland was having its holiday firework display when I was driving on the 5 freeway. Since I didn't want to be one of those annoying idiots that created traffic jams in L.A. by going insanely slow due to roadside distractions, I pulled over to the shoulder and watched the firework.

And I took couple pictures to share with you:

Like a Baby

My company shutdown between Christmas and New Year.

I am still recovering from the cold; still coughing. Thus, all I been doing is sleep a lot, being a big baby and let my parents take care of me, watch a lot of videos on youtube (I am grateful for its existence), and hang out with friends.

Life is being good to me :)

Let It Rain! Let It Rain! Let It Rain!

It's raining in L.A. and I love it!

As you all know, I hate rain. I never know how much I hate rain and gloomy weather till I worked in Seattle, when I didn't see the sun for 13 days straight. However, rain in L.A. is cool with me because L.A. rarely rain and when it does, I know the rain will end soon. Other reasons I like rain in L.A. (especially on weekends during winter time) are: 1) Rain is a good excuse to not go out and 2) when I do go out, I have good excuse to wear my leather trench coat.

So, let it rain! Let it rain! Let it rain!

I am Dying and I Can't Hide It

The great thing about being a human is the ability to choose how one present oneself.

If I am sad, I can hide it if I want. If I am stressed, I can hide it if I want. If I am excited, I can hide it (though very hard) if I want. However, when I have a cold and coughing my lung out, I can't hide it no matter how hard I tried.

There's a cold bug going around work since last month, and it finally got me last Thursday. At first, it's just my throat feels a bit uncomfortable. Then I started to cough regularly on Friday. By Saturday and Sunday, I was coughing non-stop and vomited several times because I was coughing too hard and too quickly. It seem dry hot air further aggravate the cough and promote short-fast coughing and vomiting. I was so scare I was going to puke while driving to work and driving home today. I haven't got much sleep either because the cough is waking me up.

Now my throat is hurting, my chest is hurting, even my rib cages hurt. I haven't been this sick since 2004. I hate being sick!

Almay Liquid Eye Liner

Since I've the typical Asian feature (single eyelid with puff-out lower eyelid), when I wear eye makeup, the eye makeup from upper eye lids would smudge onto the lower eyelids and I'd end up with raccoon eyes by the end of the night. This is very annoying, especially for someone low-maintenance like myself.

Through my good friend, I discovered liquid eye liner. Liquid eye liner is awesome. It dries after you put it on and won't smudge. I don't know what brand was my friend's liquid eyeliner and since I was at Rite Aid, I grabbed a bottle of Almay Intense i-Color Play Up Liquid Liner, Black Pearl 023, 0.8 fl oz (2.5 ml) to try at home.

The Almay applicator looks a bit like black toothpick rather than tiny brush. Though it's not pretty, it does the job. However, the liquid liner takes a long time to dry. Furthermore, the liquid liner smudges and wash off as soon as it comes in contact with water. This is a big no-no for me since I get watery eyes whenever the temperature gets too cold. And since it's cold now, I ended up with smudged eye makeup as soon as I go outside.

Have You Ever Notice that...

"LIVED" spell backward would be "DEVIL"

Recession?

My profolio has decreased by 7% from last month. That's a huge change for just 30 days.

What is going on? Are we entering recession? Should I stocked up on T-bills and Bonds?

Better When It's Warm

I baked oat meal cookies today.

The house is now filled with the sweet smell of cookies.

I had a cookie right after I took them out of the oven.

Cookies that are fresh out of oven taste so much better.

Why LA is the Greatest City in the World

Because no one cares.
In L.A. you can grow Fabio hair and go to the Arclight and not be embarrassed by yourself. Every mode of living is appropriate for L.A. You can do what you want.
And I don't just mean that Los Angeles is some friendly bastion of cultural diversity and so we should celebrate it on that level and be done with it; I mean that Los Angeles is the confrontation with the void. It is the void. It's the confrontation with astronomy through near-constant sunlight and the inhuman radiative cancers that result.

This is from an interesting post by Geoff Manaugh on why Los Angeles is the greatest city in the world. Though I agree with him on LA's lack of humanity, I've my own reasons for loving LA.

Wacky Canadians

Many of the nontraditional epitaphs noted in the book are whimsical.

"This wasn't my idea,"
"I told you I was sick."
"He who dies with the most toys wins"
Read more here.

High School Reunion

Tonight was my 10 years high school reunion. Although it has been 10 years since we left high school, most of us still look the same. A few surprised though. My graduating class has 900+ students but only ~80 people show up for the reunion. And out of these attendee, only about ~10% are married and ~5% have kids. I am very surprised by the low attendants but happy to see so many are singles like me, heheh.

And of course, there are the not so surprising parts. All the FOBs sat with the FOBs, the jocks with the jocks, the creatives with the creatives.... I don't recognized 60% of the people, recognized the faces of 20% of the attendee, know and keep in touch with the other 20%. I realized my friends and I did a real good job of keeping in touch with each other. I am very grateful and happy about that. All the people I was friends with, I still keep in touch. Thus, I don't think I need to attend the next one if we still keep in touch like we do now.

Although the high school reunion was not like those on the TVs nor was it a big networking event, it is still fun to see my friends all dressed up and looking so gorgeous. Plus, the food was good (chicken & pasta was very tender and moist, and the chocolate mousses cake are some of the best I ever had); which made the expensive reunion ticket much easier to stomach.

After the reunion, my friends and I went to Vertical Wine Bistro in Pasadena. I had a glass of 2004 W. Prum, Kabinett, Riesling, Wehlener Sonnenuhr, Mosel. It was so yummy. As I took a sip of the Riesling, I could felt the wine gently coats every inches of my palate with smooth and light honeysuckles sweetness. I couldn't help but to instantly grin ear to ear. I love this wine!

There's nothing better to end a great evening than with a glass of delicious Riesling. ^_^

It's All Good Now

I drop my car at the Honda Dealer yesterday and I just pick up the car today.

The technician traced the problem to a faulty Idle Air Control (IAC) Valve. That was replaced. The diagnostic test also shown that the engine idle speed was too low, so the technician also adjusted the idle speed.

Hopefully that take care of all the problems on this car.

Be Grateful

Oct. 13, 2006 - The transmission in my reliable Honda Accord died. It was part of recalls so I got it replaced for free.

Oct. 9, 2007 - I left work at normal hour and was plan to go to gym then meet up with a friend. However, my car wouldn't start. The car battery was dead. My coworker jump started my car, so I cancelled all my after work plans and drove straight home.

Oct. 15, 2007 - 1 miles after driving to work, while slowing down to brake for the red light, the power and engine suddenly went off and my reliable Honda Accord was dead, again. Strangely, I was able to restart the car and was able to drive to work just fine. Though I am completely spook and am very afraid it'll happen again, I stupidly drove to work again today.

At first, I really want to gripe. When things go bad, the easiest thing to do is to complain. However, things can be much worst. I've learn that I am very blessed and have so much to be grateful from my travels, but daily annoyance can often make me forget. I should be very grateful.

First of all, the Honda Accord had been running on the same battery for the last SIX years. I should had change it long time ago. Since the battery died at work, it was easy for me to get one of my coworker to jump started the car. I would have a hard time to get my car running again (and may put myself in danger) if the battery went dead much later that night, while the car was in the gym parking lot or on some Santa Monica streets.

Second of all, just imagine the consequence if my car suddenly goes dead in the middle of freeway (during non-traffic hours). I don't want that to happen and was lucky that did not happen. I don't want to push my luck so I am bringing my car into the Honda dealer first thing tomorrow morning.

I am safe, I am healthy, I've great family and friends, I live in a city that I love...I need to count my blessings!

PADI Open Water SCUBA Diving Class

I started the SCUBA class right after my vacation. It was a lot more challenging than I thought. The SCUBA class definitely put me out of my comfort zone and made me realize I am more capable than I thought. I didn't even know I was capable of learning so much in such short period. I am glad I took it with my HS pal Los and very thankful it was just me and Quoc in the class. Los is a great instructor and was very patient with us. I wouldn't have stick with (and pass) the class without those extra attention and lessons. Thank you Los, Thank you Quoc, I am very grateful and happy (now is double happy cuz tummy is still full from dinner at Ruth's Chris).

Here's the timeline and a summary of my experience.

Monday - Oct. 1, 2007:
Due to flight delay, finally went to bed at 2AM.
Woke up at 5:30am, went to work.
Left work at 2pm and went to OC to meet up with Los and Quoc to look at SCUBA gears, took the swimming test, and did some knowledge review.
Got home and went to bed around 1am/2am-ish.
Totally exhausted!

Tuesday - Oct. 2, 2007:
Woke up early go to work. Left work at 2pm, went to All Things SCUBA in Lake Forest to buy and rent gears. Had a hard time putting on the thick (6mm) wetsuit. I was very frustrated, I was on the brink of tears, wondering why am I torturing myself with wanting to learn SCUBA instead of doing easy things like watching TV, almost want to quit. Spent 30+minutes just trying to fit into one wetsuit. Finally got in the wetsuit with help from Los. Spent 2.5 hours on getting the rental and buying the personal gears. Spent twice as much as I thought I'd be spending on gears.

Wednesday - Oct. 3, 2007:
First confine pool session.
Woke up early go to work. Left work at 2pm. Last minute change of class location so stuck in traffic for 1.5 hours to get to the new location. Uploading vacation pictures while waiting for others to arrive. After dinner, putting on the impossible wetsuit again. Slightly easier this time but still took good 20-30 minutes. SCUBA gears are very heavy (~50 lbs), almost fell backward trying to walk with it. Shoulder hurt from carrying the gears. I need more fat on my shoulders for padding.

I made every mistakes that newbies would've made, including panicking underwater and end up drank half the pool water, panicking and scrambling up to the surface (which is a big no no and I could've kill myself if I was in deep ocean), taking short and fast breathes, and pulling a leg cramp.

Further doubting my ability and decision. Exhausted!

More knowledge review. Went home at 2am! Exhausted!!!

Thursday, Oct. 3 2007:
Second confine pool session.
Read other newbies' experience on ScubaBoard during lunch. I felt better knowing I am not the only one that got frustrated during the first lesson. I also learned a few tips. Left work at 2pm, in the pool by 3pm. I've learned not to panic since as long as I've regulator in my mouth, I've air. I was much more comfortable in water and was able to learn most of the skills, happy with myself. Regaining some confident of my ability and wanting to learn more. Since wetsuit are hard to put on, I was told to pee in my wetsuit. Excuse me? :O

Friday, Oct. 4 2007:
Played with BCD and regulators. Walked around the house for hours with mask and snorkel to practice only breathing out of my mouth. Mom wondering if I've gone nuts (since she never snorkel nor dive).

Saturday, Oct. 5 2007:
Third confine pool session and first ocean dive.
Woke up at 7am. Although I felt I improved a lot and came a long way since Wednesday, I was still not ready for Ocean. Los said it's OK if I don't want to do the ocean dive. Into the pool ~9:30am. Practicing and learning new skills non-stop till ~3pm. I was amazed at how much stuff I've learned in short time. And was amazed my tummy did not grumbling for food yet. Must be the fact I was actually into what I was doing. I felt ready for the ocean dive when the confine pool session ended.

Had a quick lunch. It was very hot with wetsuit on and the SCUBA gear was very heavy. I couldn't wait to get into water so I could cool off and let water help carry some of the weight. We walked down the stair to the beach (damn heavy SCUBA gear, shoulder and back in lots of pain), walked some more to be near the wave crashed into the shore. More lesson on the beach, then swam out to the ocean. My first ocean dive was messy. I didn't have good control my buoyancy. If I was not dragging on the ocean floor, I was floating above everyone else. I was very glad we were not near the reef most of the time so I couldn't do much damage. After 33 minutes under water, we ascent. Swam back, walked away from the shore, walked up the stair (carrying the goddamn heavy SCUBA gear the whole time), walked two blocks with the back breaking gears to the dive shop so the gears can be rinse off.

Finally got home and went to bed around midnight. Exhausted!

Sunday, Oct. 6 2007:
Second, Third, and Fourth Ocean Dive.

Woke up at 7am, into the ocean by ~10am. Demonstrated skills (learned in the pool) in the ocean. After second dive, we had to carry the heavy tank from the beach, up the stair, and walk 2 blocks to the dive shop to get air refill. Shoulder hurts. I need more muscle to lift the tank and more fat on the shoulders for padding. I got better control of buoyancy with the more time we spent underwater. On the fourth dive, I was able swam above the ocean floor at a consistent distance. Very happy! Both Quoc and I demonstrated all the skills in the ocean that are necessary to get the license, we passed! Yay!

Home and bed around 10pm. Exhausted, but happy!

Monday, Oct. 7 2007:
Ouch! My shoulder, my shoulder! Ouch!

Hey, why is my heavy laptop bag feel light like a feather?

Oh...
:)

Airlines

I haven't write about the trip because I've been very busy, with work and getting SCUBA certification (will write about this later).

I tried two new airlines in my trip to the east coast, Jetblue and Virgin America.

I like Jetblue. It's spacious and provide yummy snack selection. And the many selection of TV shows is great.

I have high hope for Virgin America since I've good experience with Virgin Atlantic. Unfortunately, my flight experience with Virgin America was a great let down. My flight back from NYC to LA was the most stressful flight I ever have to endure (including a few things out of their control, i.e having a baby onboard that wailed every 20 minutes)!

We sat in the JFK runway for an hour and takeoff at 8pm instead of 7pm, then when we arrived LAX, we sat in the runway for 20 minutes before the plane taxi to the terminal. Furthermore, the flight attendants that day were not in the best mood. There was only one serving cart for the entire plane. I sat in seat 17E (which is in the middle of the plane) and it took them 1.5 hours after take off before they got to my row. I never waited this long for drinks/food on any flights!

In many ways, Virgin America copied Jetblue. Virgin America also use A320, so the legrooms are the same. However, Virgin America charge for snack ($2 each) and food ($7-8 each). I ordered a sandwich ($8). By the time the flight attendants got to my row, all the sandwiches ran out and the flight attendant cancelled my order.

However, when I checked my credit card statement tonight, there's a $8 charge. I called 1-877-FLY-VIRGIN, but was told to call Virgin America Customer Care at (866) 647-7060 to dispute the charge. And of course, I'll have to wait till tomorrow because Customer Care center close at normal business hours. Argh, when would this end?

In conclusion: I'll fly Jetblue again but I'll avoid Virgin America.

My Vacation in Boston and NYC

My vacation so far (still have 1.5 days in NYC :) can be summarized in these words:
Eat a lot,
Drink a lot,
See a lot,
Walk a lot,
and pretend to learn a lot.

Pink Martini at the Cocoanut Grove

I just got back from one of the best shows I ever watched: Pink Martini at the Cocoanut Grove. OMG, the show was awesome!!! Pink Martini was great, they played so many good songs. The special of the night was Pink Martini, but they also invited 2 other special guests (forgot their names now cuz I was too buzz from the delicious wine) and the marching band. The guests was super funny and the music are like what I'd expect in the good old time where the girls are classy and guys are gentlemen. I was dancing in my seat the whole night, especially when they were singing "Razzle Dazzle". They also sing several songs in Italian, Spanish, and Arabic. There's just something so sexy about music in languages I don't understand, so very sexy! And the firework to the Bolero was suprisingly awesome, who knew that romantic music such as Bolero can go well with firework! I love the show! The good wine (my girl friend brought) and brie with mushroom cheese (I brought)totally enhanced the evening. It was such an awesome show, I love it! And on top of that, on my shuttle bus ride back (don't drive, parking is horrible there), I sat next to a 70+ year old lady who shared similar interest in music and art, we had such great conversation on music and art that I wish the bus ride was hours longer so I could talk to her more (and I never expected myself being on of those gals that love community service and talk to elderly, except my grandmas). I am still buzz and high from the night! What a great way to end my summer! I am so happy (and that's not just the wine talking)!

I am so glad I bought the whole series of Hollywood summer concert tickets because I got to share what I love with some of the people that I love. I only wish that I have a lot of money so I can buy tickets to share what I love with all the family/friends that I love.

Of all the concerts I attended this summer, these are my favorites *drumrolls*:

Most spectacular fireworks: July 4th fireworks spectacular: Riders in the Sky

Most fun concerts: Jump, Jive and Swing! with Big Bad Voodoo Daddy with Fireworks

The best show concerts: Hollywood Bowl Finale - Pink Martini at the Cocoanut Grove

I love hollywood bowl! Hollywood Bowl is one of the many reasons I love LA. I can't wait till next summer for more Hollywood Bowl fun!

Me So Horny

This is such funny song. I love the music and the dancers. I love that they doing the same dance at all these random locations, kind of like that guy travelled around the world and did the little white guy dance in front all the famous sites (what is his name again). I'd totally do that - but only if someone would do that with me so I am not the only one making an ass out of myself :P.

Toyota Concept Cars

I will buy this car if it's available. I really like the sleek/futuristic look.


This one reminds me of Transformers.



This one reminds me of a stroller but for adult. I'd be afraid I'll get squash in this car.

Yay for Cramming

I took the first practice test 4 weeks ago and got average (I think 520).

My goal is 700 or better. I studied the last 4 weeks. I still get very frustrated at times.

I took my second practice test today and got 680. I am very surprise and happy. Now if I can get that on the actual test, it'd be sweet!

One more week of studying to go.

Most importantly though, I need to figure out if this is what I want to do SOON (hopefully before the end of 2007).

Can't Stop Yelping!

HELP!

I AM ADDICTED TO YELP! =O

Another Side of Mother Theresa

"The smile," she writes, is "a mask" or "a cloak that covers everything."

she sounded desolate: "Such deep longing for God — and ... repulsed — empty — no faith — no love — no zeal. — [The saving of] Souls holds no attraction — Heaven means nothing — pray for me please that I keep smiling at Him in spite of everything."

Martin, responding to the torch-song image of Teresa, counterproposes her as the heroically constant spouse. "Let's say you're married and you fall in love and you believe with all your heart that marriage is a sacrament. And your wife, God forbid, gets a stroke and she's comatose. And you will never experience her love again. It's like loving and caring for a person for 50 years and once in a while you complain to your spiritual director, but you know on the deepest level that she loves you even though she's silent and that what you're doing makes sense. Mother Teresa knew that what she was doing made sense."

"The tendency in our spiritual life but also in our more general attitude toward love is that our feelings are all that is going on," he says. "And so to us the totality of love is what we feel. But to really love someone requires commitment, fidelity and vulnerability. Mother Teresa wasn't 'feeling' Christ's love, and she could have shut down. But she was up at 4:30 every morning for Jesus, and still writing to him, 'Your happiness is all I want.' That's a powerful example even if you are not talking in exclusively religious terms."

Interesting article from NY Times (Thanks AA)

Nose Bleeding

LA has been really hot lately, so the AC is on all the time.

I've nose bleeding in both morning and evening the last few days.

I think my body is not used to the dry air.

Childhood Games

Instead of going out to bars and clubs on this Saturday night, Daphne, Sally, and I spend the night at Cha For Tea (which may explain why I am up at 5AM in the morning, but I'll save that for another post).

How did we decided on doing this low key activity for a Saturday night?

Well, it started out with Daphne and I were itching to have a competitive game of Go. This being her last weekend in LA, it was either now or a long time later. Since I didn't own a set of Go at home and Chinese boba cafes usually carried stash of games for their customers to play, we thought that we could play Go at one of those cafes. I must'd called a dozen places, unfortunately, none of the boba stores had Go. However, by then, the idea of going to a boba cafe already planted in our head.

At Cha For Tea, instead of going for Chess or Checker, we played tons of childhood games. We started out with Connect 4 (played in elementary school). However, that's a 2 persons game and we didn't want to leave the 3rd person out, so we moved on to Jenga. After Jenga, we decided play cards. We played Speed (I loved this game in junior high), Slapjack (junior high/HS era), Go Fish (kindergarden era), and Bullshit. It was great fun. Our favorites were Jenga and Speed (I also really like Slapjack) so we played these several times. We were screaming and yelling the whole time we were playing. Although Cha For Tea was full of high school kids since this is a popular hang out place for teenagers, our table was probably the loudest.

Board games are so much fun.

I should start a collection!

How Old Are You?

According to this Real Age Test, I am 12.7 and expect to live for another 61 years.

Where Do You Want to Live?

The city one lives in affect many aspects of one’s live. Thus, where to live is a big decision. Big city offers more culture and entertainment than small town. However, small town is often cheaper and makes greater financial sense.

“It is more important to live in the city you like. I want to live in San Diego, so I move here and things eventually fall into places.” My college landlord told me.

He met his wife in Texas, whom is a native Texan, but he always wanted to live in SD. Accordingly, as soon as he finished his military duty, they moved to San Diego. They managed to buy a charming house and raised a family with just their teacher salaries. They seem quite happy.

On the other hand, with the housing market being sky high, many people are starting to look for more affordable cities to move to. In this blog entry, the author argues that by moving to a small town, one’s living of standard will improve since less money goes toward rent/mortgage; consequently, cheaper housing and lower expense also increase one’s options to pursue his passions.

In many ways, especially from financial standpoint, I agree with him that it is a smart move to relocate to cheaper housing areas. Living in Los Angeles means I have to live with many disadvantages that do not exist in small town USA, some of these includes sky high rent/mortgage, traffic, smog, pay premium for parking, etc. Nevertheless, I like living in Los Angeles and have no plan to move in the near future.

There are many great reasons for living in Los Angeles. Many cite beautiful weather, beaches, culture, food, and variety of activities as their top reasons. Since I am young, having all the above reasons definitely enhance my live. Most importantly, my (both immediate and extended) family is here. Although I am very independent and do not spend as much quality time with them as I should, I like the fact that I am near them.

Would you choose small town USA over big city?

Life of Artist

Several friends and I went to watch El Cantante tonight. El Cantante is about the rise and fall of one of salsa's most inventive vocalists, Hector Lavoe. I left the movie sad and depress.

There seem to be a correlation between fame and happiness, the more famous you become, the more mess up (drugs, womanizers, depression...) you are. And it also guarantee that I will get sad and depress after watching these movies. That holds true from all the movies I saw so far about famous artists; such as Frida, Ray, and the movie I just watched, El Cantante.

Note to self: Do not watch any movies about the life of famous artist.

Want to Know the Secret to My Youthful Skin? ;)

The combination of exercise and caffeine increased destruction of precancerous cells that had been damaged by the sun's ultraviolet-B radiation, Read more here.

On another news, I can't date vegans since I love beef.

And my love for beef is contributing to the global warming.

Gotta love odd news! :D

Wedding Weekend

Congratulation to Dennis & Jean!

I've a wonderful weekend attending D&J's wedding and hanging out with all my bay area friends. Here are some pictures from this weekend.

Whole Lot of Nakedness

This is a weekend of new experience.

First, there's the breakthrough in swimming that I am ecstatic about. Then there's the concert where I'd fear for my life. And today, for the first time ever, I'd see some of my closest girl friends in their total naked glory during our first visit to a Korean Spa (I mean, why else would we walk around naked?)

After filling our tummy with food at Galleria in K-town, us five girls drive to Century Spa on Crenshaw and Olympic. In Korean spa, everyone walk around butt naked and all the massage tables are in one room; this is the first time for four of us. I always thought it'd be really weird to see my girl friends naked or being naked and be seen by my girl friends, especially since I know some of these girls before we reached puberty. After locker room and shower, only wearing our birthday suits, we go into the jacuzzi while waiting for our turns to be massage. Strangely, it is not weird at all. When I see my girl friends without clothes, there's no weirdness or anything about it. It's as if I am seeing them with their regular t-shirt and jeans, except it's "there's __inser_name__ and she's naked. Ok, whatever." Maybe I've matured and less bashful now or maybe I am just desensitized by all the nakedness in the gym locker room.

We've requested the Marine Layer Treatment, which is a complete-from head to toe-treatment. It includes milk scrub, exfoliate, facial, hair wash, oil massage, and a few others. I thought milk scrub will be luxurious. Instead, the Korean lady use some sort of grainy glove and RUB EVERY INCHES of my body with it. I thought my skin is going to fall off and I am going to bleed all over the massage table. All the treatments after that are more soothing and gentler.

If you want to get the most bang for your money (in term of treatments), Korean Spa is definitely the way to go. However, I prefer typical American/European Spa. The amenities in American spa (such as Four Seasons, Glen Ivy, Burke Williams, etc) are usually very luxurious and massage are perform in rooms with soothing music and dim light. Usually after a visit to those American Spa, I feel like a million bucks. They charge twice or more than Korean spa, but I think it's totally worth it.

OzzFest is CRAZY!

The rumor is true, rock concerts are crazy!

I went to OzzFest today and it's the craziest concert I ever attended. I actually had no idea what kind of music Ozzy made but since I never been to a rock concert, I thought it would be interesting; and it was!

Majority of the attendees are white, some Hispanics, very few Blacks and Asians. 95% of the attendees have tattoos and piercings. Cindy and I totally don't fit in, despite my black rocker chick make-up. This is the first time I feel scared for being in a concert.

I saw a few people got escorted out, three people were on those ambulance/emergency rescue cart, and one event staff with bloody eye; there were tons of event staff/sheriffs/EST walking around; people smoking weeds and snorting cokes all around us; people walked around topless (including girls), it's almost as if this was a tattoo exhibits; fist fights were happening all over the place; there were 5-8 mosh pits going on simultaneously, each circling a BONFIRE that were lit with trash, which led to black smokes everywhere from burned plastic cups; foams and water were sprayed into audience; there's even a human stampede that could rival the Africa wildebeest's. (Click here for a few pictures taken with the camera phone)

As for the music, I actually really like the first band that played in the first stage (started around 6pm). I forgot their name though. The second band was "Lamb of God" and their music was OK. People were going crazy with mosh pits when "Lamb of God" was on. Ozzy showed up last. The music was great but the vocal (Ozzy) SUCKS! He sounded like an old grandpa. Did he always sounded like that or it's just now? If it's the former, how the heck did he became so famous? His craziness? However, the audience still went crazy for him. We left after the 4th song.

I had a lot of fun. OzzFest is my first rock concert and it probably will be my last as well.

Swim Like a Fish...

...Maybe not quite but as close as I ever gotten.

I was having a bad day, so I went swimming after work. At last, things started to go right.

I swam effortlessly, going back and forth, doing laps. It's as if there was something different about the water. I was floating easier than usual and moving smoothly across the pool like a fish in the water. I couldn't remember the last time I felt this good for just doing laps. I could go on forever!

Afterward, I met up with a few (new) friends for delicious Cajun food at "The Boiling Crab," followed up with ice cream at Fosselman's. The company was awesome and the food was delicious.

My day started out not so great but it ended very well (I am full & happy now).

---------------
The Boiling Crab
742 W. Valley Blvd.,
Alhambra, CA 91803

Review: We ordered fried catfish with fries, shrimp, crawfish, sausage, and corns. Since my visit to New Orleans, I had pretty low expectation for all Cajun restaurants in LA. The Boiling Crab totally surprised me. The food was delicious, with the right amount of spiciness and as good as what I had in New Orleans(with the exception of crawfish. The crawfish was good, but of course, not as good as in New Orleans and I should not expect fresh crawfish in LA.).

Thus far, this is the best Cajun restaurant I visited outside of New Orleans.

How to Stay Interested?

There are many things that catch my fancy. However, I usually only able to focus on that particular interest (for example: tennis) for certain duration then I will lost my enthusiasm. Then after a period of not thinking about that interest, something will pop up and remind me of that interest and I'll be all into it again. And the cycle repeat itself; thus, I am still 'Jack of all trades and expert of none.' :(

I realize that if I want to become an expert in something, anything, I will need to shorten the 'resting period' or just force myself to do it regardless of how I am feeling at that moment.

Do you have this problem? If so, what do you do to keep yourself engage in that interest?

Work Out Routine

I went to the gym today to do some weight training. After the usual warm up on the elliptical machine, I was lost. I would be more effective if I planned out my work out routine prior to arriving at the gym.

I just want to tone my body and get stronger. Anyone got a good work out routine they would like to share?

Natural Genius

In the August issue of Seed Magazine, "Natural Genius" article includes a few portraits by Peter Badge, whom was selected to be the official portrait photographers of all the 295 living Nobel Prize winners.

The portraits are amazing. I am definitely going to check out the book when it come out.

How I Spent The Independence Day: Beer, Firework, Music, Cowboys...

It's becoming a tradition of my to visit Hollywood Bowl every summer. This year, I'd be visiting Hollywood Bowl many times as I purchased several concert tickets during March pre-sale. My first Bowl concert for this summer was yesterday, for the July 4th fireworks Spectacular: Riders in the Sky. Here are more pictures from last night.

Not Using My Brain

I should go out more often, like what typical single young people should be doing; instead I been doing a lot of vegging.

Spent the entire past weekend finished up season 2 & 3 of Battlestar Galactica.

Spent tonight watched all three of the Infernal Affairs Trilogy .

Oy...

Great Career or Great Life?

Would you rather

1) Working ~70 hours/week at a job with a lot of growth potential but also a lot of stress and responsibility. Leave little time for social life.

or

2) Working ~40 hours/week at a job that treat you well but not much growth potential and limited stress and responsibility. Have time for social life.

Wine Tasting in Santa Barbara

Ever since watching Sideway on my birthday two years ago, I been wanting to go up to Santa Barbara for wine tasting. However, due to various reasons, I finally visited Santa Barbara today.

Everyone met up at the organizer's place at 9AM, his roommate made egg and toasts for the group before we left for wine tasting. All nine participants were in jolly spirits and the day just flew by. We hitted five vineyards and finally left SB around 5:30pm.

Summary:
First stop: Sunstone. $10 for tasting. Tasting list consists of 2005 Sauvignon Blanc, 2005 Viognier, 2006 Syrah Rose, Rapsodie du Soleil, 2003 Fred's Red (steak wine), 2004 Estate Syrah, and 2004 EROS (blend of merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc). Most of their wines are pretty good. If you like red, this is a good place.

Second stop: Rideau vineyard. $15 for tasting. Tasting list consists of 2006 Siempre Sauvignon Blanc, 2005 IC Estate Viognier, 2005 Estate Syrah Rose, 2004 Sangiovese, 2004 Chateau Duplantier, 2004 IC Petite Sirah, and 2006 Riesling. This is the best winery of the whole trip!

Third stop: I couldn't remember the name since I skipped out on this tasting and napped on the lawn instead. I would have to ask others for their opinion regarding this vineyard.

Fourth stop: Firestone. $10 for tasting. Free wine tour. Tasting list was similar to that of sunstone. All the wines had really strong oak/wood flavor. I didn't like any of the wines. At first, I tried to drink each of the 1 oz sample but it was so bad that by the time I got to the 3rd, I gave up and tossed the wine after first sip.

Fifth stop: Curtis. Free for tasting since it's part of Firestone. Tasting list was similar to that of Firestone but more syrah. Curtis wines were much better than Firestone wines, however, none really stand out.

Conclusion: If you love wine with fruit flavor, you'll love Rideau vineyard (all the bolded wines are the ones that I like and plan to buy for future consumption). Rideau vineyard kept amazed me more and more with each sample. The 2006 Riesling was orgasmic. The only Rieslings I like are those from Germany, after so many disappointments from American Rieslings, I was happily surprise to finally find an American Riesling that I love. I love the 2006 Riesling so much that I begged them for a second.

Another reason to love Rideau vineyard, their Sundried Tomato Dip/Spread. Put a bit of this on a bread and you've instant gourmet appetizer. They also have other flavor dips that my friends love (e.g. feta cheese dip, olive and basil, etc).

-----------------------
Update: Email from my friend
The third winery that we visited is called "Lincourt", and we tasted 5 different wines there: '05 Sauvignon Blanc, '04 Chardonnay, '05 Pinot Noir, '05 Syrah, and '03 Cabernet Sauvignon. None of the reds were particularly good, although the whites were decent.

Jambalaya

I am easy to please. Just feed me something delicious and you'll see me grin ear to ear. Through my travels, I get to sample authentic dishes that are only available in certain city/region. Unfortunately, that also means my palate has become much more refine and I have become a much pickier eater.

That mean the food has to be extraordinary good (to others) to please me. For example, I avoid ordering creole dishes now because they are never as good as the dishes I tasted in New Orleans a few year ago (I had the best gumbo, at The Gumbo Shop, and Étouffée , at The Acme Oysters). This past weekend, I had the most expensive and the crappiest Étouffée at New Orleans Cajun & Creole Cuisine in Hermosa Beach (the other choice was Raging Cajun but the food there is not good either, but at least Raging Cajun does not charge $20 for a bowl of Gumbo).

Luckily, I can cook so good food just require a bit more effort. I made the yummiest Jambalaya since New Orleans and had it for dinner and lunch. I used this recipe from Epicurious (my favorite recipe site) :

JAMBALAYA
(Makes 6 servings.)

ingredients
1 tbsp olive oil
1 large onion, chopped
2 medium cloves garlic, peeled
1 large green bell pepper, cored, seeded and chopped
2 celery stalks, diced (I used carrots since I didn't had celery and bell pepper)
3 tbsp fresh Italian parsley,
minced4 oz extra-lean smoked ham, cut into 1/2-inch cubes (used spicy sausage instead )
5 oz boneless, skinless chicken breast, diced (used spicy sausage instead )
1 large bay leaf
1 tsp cayenne pepper (Ancho Chilie Powder work too)
1 can (28 oz) diced tomatoes
1 can (8 oz) tomato sauce
3/4 cup brown rice, uncooked (add more rice if like thick, ~2 cups)
1 1/2 lb medium shrimp, peeled, deveined and chopped into bite-sized pieces
(I also added a can of chicken broth and tons of water because I like my Jambalaya in soup form)

preparation
Add oil to a large nonstick saucepan. Over medium heat, sauté onion, garlic, bell pepper and celery until onion is translucent. Add parsley, ham, chicken, bay leaf, and cayenne pepper. Cook, stirring often, 5 to 6 minutes. Add tomatoes (with juice), tomato sauce, and 1 3/4 cups cold water (I also added chicken broth and more water). Gently simmer, uncovered, stirring occasionally, about 5 minutes. Pour rice into the pan and stir well. Bring mixture to a boil. Lower heat and simmer, covered, 45 minutes or until rice is cooked and absorbs most of the liquid (Since I prefer Jambalaya in hearty-soup-form, wait till rice is cooked). Stir in shrimp and cook 5 minutes more. Remove bay leaf. Season to taste with cayenne pepper and salt.

(Tip: Taste even more flavorful the next day).

INFJ

Did you know that INFJ is the RAREST personality type of 16 MBTI?

Some interesting facts:
-Unusual in his or her eating habits and living arrangements (It's call I do it better ;).
-A bad speller (Good thing we've MS Words to solve that problem).
-Possessed of a mischievous sense of humor (Who? Me?)
-Single (I am doom to spinsterhood)
-Usually the eldest or an only child.

Note to self: Read Dolphin Cove and links for more interesting info.

And for those of you that thinks I am outgoing and for those of you think I can be anti-social, this paragraph should explain to you why I am this way (see, there's explaination for everything).

INFJs are deeply concerned about their relations with individuals as well as the state of humanity at large. They are, in fact, sometimes mistaken for extroverts because they appear so outgoing and are so genuinely interested in people -- a product of the Feeling function they most readily show to the world. On the contrary, INFJs are true introverts, who can only be emotionally intimate and fulfilled with a chosen few from among their long- term friends, family, or obvious "soul mates". While instinctively courting the personal and organizational demands continually made upon them by others, at intervals INFJs will suddenly withdraw into themselves, sometimes shutting out even their intimates. This apparent paradox is a necessary escape valve for them, providing both time to rebuild their depleted resources and a filter to prevent the emotional overload to which they are so susceptible as inherent "givers". As a pattern of behavior, it is perhaps the most confusing aspect of the enigmatic INFJ character to outsiders, and hence the most often misunderstood -- particularly by those who have little experience with this rare type.

You're Just Like Me

While IMing with a friend about his recent trip back to East Coast, he asked: "How often do you fly back East?"

(I am not from back East.)

I find it very interesting that people tend to assume their friends are just like them. Logically, we know that is not the case, but why do we make this assumption?

Is it
I don't like cilantro. You're my friend, then you must not like cilantro too.

Or is it
I don't like cilantro. You don't like cilantro too? Great! Let's be friends!

PS. I found my people ^_^ ---> http://ihatecilantro.com/

Heroes

Heroes finale was last night. I was very disappointed that the show did not delivered like it did in past episodes. There were many plot holes.

Just in case my 3 readers haven't watch it, I won't spoil it here. If you already watch it, this message thread contains the plot hole discussions.

Being a Dance Instructor

I know enough Swing to have fun and dance to the music, but my skill is nowhere near expert/professional level. One of my friend called me up at last minute and asked me to partner with him in teaching East Coast Swing in a private party this past Saturday night.

Me? Seriously? You must be kidding, right?

After he explained that only beginner steps would be taught, which I know pretty well, I agreed to partner up with him.

It was a bit surreal being in a stranger's private party and not knowing any of the party guests/hosts . I wonder if this how one would feel if one were to crash a stranger's party. While waiting for the guests to finish their dinner, my friend and I spent 5 minutes or so going over the steps that we would teach them.

The lesson itself wasn't too bad. About 7-9 brave couples joined us on the patio for the lesson. At the end of the one hour lesson, only one couple remained. Other guests watched and heckled, everyone looked like they had a good time. I had fun too and was less anxious than I'd anticipated.

It's even more surreal at the end, when we were leaving, the host paid us.

Does this mean I am a dance instructor now?

Interesting, But Not Surprising.

In this month's Psychology Today, Helen Fisher M.D. wrote an interesting article on The Law of Chemistry.

The premise of the article is that people fall into four broad biological types: Explorer, Builder, Negotiator and Director. The Explorer is novelty seeking, risk-taking, and curious. Builders are often social, traditional, orderly and cautious. Negotiators tend to be sympathetic, intuitive, verbal and flexible. The Director tends to be direct, decisive, focused, and analytical. Fisher's research and data find that we tend to be attracted to people who are biologically not like ourselves, perhaps to create more genetic variety in our offsprings. For example, An explorer would be attracted to a builder. This Fisher's blog entry pretty much summarized the article.

I took the test within the article. Not surprsingly, I am an EXPLORER director.

Nightlife in LA

It's approaching midnight, you're wide awake and want to go out, what can you do at this hour (besides clubbing or bars)?

This the question that I was pondering this past Saturday night. I had no desire to go clubbing or to go drinking (bars/lounges), what could I do at this hours? I searched online for events around here but found nothing.

Despite that, my evening turned out well. I met up with a friend for tea, we walked around downtown Alhambra and in a random gallery exhibit, we bumped into someone from my High School that I lost touch with since graduation.

LA has a lot to offer, but it seem if one does not want to be in an environment that encourages drinking or dancing but still wants to go out, there is really nothing to do in late evenings. Maybe that's why people over the age of clubbing/drinking popped out babies to keep themselves busy in late evenings ;). Maybe I am just ignorant, if so, please enlighten me.

Besides clubbing or bar hopping, what is there to do (in any cities) in late evenings?

The Dangerous Book for Boys

The commercial is so cute. The book looks like it has a lot of potentials.

I am going to get these books for my cousins' boys when they're a bit older.

Check Out the Fingers

Another interesting article from Psychology Today:

Because of the influx of sex hormones at this prenatal stage, men tend to have ring fingers that are slightly longer than their index fingers. In women, these fingers are usually the same length or the index digit is just a bit longer.

Females with masculine digit ratios have more masculine behaviors, he says. Likewise, males with a typically female ratio exhibit more typically feminine behaviors.

Do your fingers exhibit the typical female (or male) ratio?

Seriously? :O

From Psychology Today:
Sixty percent of the world's marriages are arranged.

A Few Pictures From This Weekend

(using camera phone)

Celebrity Sightings

A building name after my friend?


Lunch at 3 Square Cafe on Abott Kinney, Venice
(Beautiful presentation, so so taste)

Sandwich Sampler

Avocado Fries (Greasy)

I Love My Mom

Especially when I am not feeling 100%.

She would obsessively fuss over me at the first cough, despite my protest that I'll be fine. I been 'force' to eat a lot of speciality dishes that suppose to have healing power. Having my mom around is the only perk of not feeling well.

Guts

That is what I admire most. All of us have guts, some have a lot more than others.

I realized that when I look back in my life, the occasions when I just go for it despite being scare shitlessly are occasions that I am most proud of.

I also realized many of my friends that I admired (yes, I admired you!) is because I think they got guts. They may not see it that way, but as an observer/outsider, I see they acted in courage.

There is really nothing in life that can stop us if we can face the fear but still go for what we wanted. Of course, it's easier say than done, we just need to keep remind ourselves that "It's no big deal, what do we got to lose? JUST GO FOR IT!"

Discovering Culver City

Winston and I decided to explore Culver City tonight and discovered it has many cool places. Culver City deserved more frequent visits.

We started the evening with dinner at La Dijonaise. It's a cute little cafe at the corner of Washington blvd and Helm.

The french onion soup was really good. The onions were hearty, with just right amount of saltiness. The cheese are lightly toasted on top but definitely melted, which made for lots cheesy stringy fun but probably an appalling sight. I'd imagined French Onion Soup being a bad dish to order on a date. Since Winston and I already know each other for a decade (scary, isn't it?), we thoroughly enjoyed the soups and all its cheesiness. This is definitely one of the best french onion soups I had. I was pretty much full after the soup as it was unexpectedly hearty (yum!).

Pricking the meat out of the shells is one of the thing I greatly enjoy about savouring escargots. The escargots came in the typical 6 holed escargot tray. Unfortunately, the shell was already gone and despite being soaked in the butter and pesto sauce, the escargots was rather bland. The complementary bread was pretty good, so I put the escargots on top of a piece of bread and added salt to make the escargots a bit more flavorful.

The Quiche Lorraine was very moist, though I think the dish would be better if added spinach. The salad green accompanied the Quiche was lightly dress with vinaigrette; it was delicious. Since I was already full from the soup, I only ate half the Quiche but I did managed to finish the salad.

Winston's research indicated that La Dijonaise is known for its desserts, so we shared a chocolate mousse cake. It was good but did not wow us like we anticipated it.

Overall, I really like La Dijonaise as the food is pretty decent (really good french onion soup) and the price is very good (entree from $7-$20). I probably will go back and try more of La Dijonaise dishes.

Across the street from La Dijonaise, there is an Asian fusion restaurant called Beacon. It seem very chic and there are many things on the menu that caught my interest. Beacon is now on my list of restaurants to check out.

After dinner, we walked around downtown Culver city and added another place to the list of places to check out: Bottle Rock (for good wines and tapas). We ended up at the wine bar, Vinum Populi, next to Ugo Cafe (good value Italian restaurant).

I love Vinum Populi's approach to wine tasting. There are 4 sets of vending machine style wine dispensers around the bar, 3 for reds and 1 for whites, each set has ~10 different bottles of wine. To sample wine, insert the prepaid card into machine reading slot (price listed on each wine dispenser, ranging from $1 to $6 per 1 oz sampe), put the glass under dispenser, push the botton and 1 oz of sample is shoot into the glass. Additional wines can be order from the bartender (e.g. an 1 oz sample of a 1927 dessert wine for $3.75). And I am not the only one who think Vinum Populi is cool; the place only been open ~4 months but it is already packed. This is a great way to sample wines that maybe out of budget (several samples cost >$100 per bottle).

Whitney is the one who told me about Vinum Populi and he joined us in wine tasting. We drank, we chatted, we gossiped, we people watched, we sang birthday song to some guy name Brook (whoever he is) and ate homemade cake from some girl that baked the cake for Brook. It was great fun!

To visit places in Culver City:
Beacon
Bottle Rock

Note to Self

Dear Self,

As much as you love a cup of coffee on a lazy Sunday, AVOID IT!!!

You'd a small cup of coffee after brunch, mixed with too many hazelnut shots and too many bags of 'natural' sugar. You loved the sweet bitter taste. And now, you're paying for it!

It's 4AM now. You have to be ready for work in 2.5 hours because of early Monday morning meetings. By noon (if you can stay awake that long), you're going to feel like shit and you will continue to feel like shit until your head hit the pillow. But you can't rest yet, according to the work calendar, you will be in meeting until 5PM (4PM if you're lucky).

Then you will feel even more shitty because you are suppose to go to the gym with your friend at 6pm, but now, because of the sweet tasting coffee, you will be too exhausted and you will have to flake on her. You'll feel like you're dying by 6pm so you'll flake on her and then feel shitty for being a flaker. If you can drive yourself home without causing major road accident on the LA freeway, you will go to sleep early on Monday evening and then wake up ungodly early again on Tuesday because you go to bed too early. And you will feel shitty again on Tuesday. And the cycle shall repeat itself until Friday night, when you can finally sleep till whenever on Saturday morning.

See how one sweet tasting cup of coffee can hurt you? Coffee is only allow on special occasion, like on vacation (or Saturdays) when there is no such thing as early morning meetings.

You hate feeling like shit, so don't drink coffee the day prior to a busy work day. No matter how much its deliciousness is calling out to you, you must resist!

Love,

Self

Review of "Chasing Daylight"

Chasing Daylight: How My Forthcoming Death Transformed My Life is a memoir of Ex-KPMG CEO, Eugene O'Kelly. This book chronicled his last days in life after being diagnosed with terminal brain cancer.

After reading so many raving review for this book on Amazon, I had high expectation. Unfortunately, it fell short. My opinion of this book mirrored this reviewer's opinion.

Because I like list, I'll list what I like and don't like about this book/author.

I admire O'Kelly for:

• Able to see the silver-lining despite being given a death sentence.
• Facing death calmly and dealing with it in a logical and methodical manners.
• Have discipline to get things done.
• Having good intentions to make his death easier and a more positive experience for those around him.

I dislike O'Kelly (and this book) for:

• The constant self congratulatory tone in the writing. He constantly mention his past accomplishments. Yes, his career accomplishments are very impressive. However, the frequent mentioning of these and the name dropping make him come across as selfish and arrogant.
• He proclaimed how much he loves his family and yet he did not talk much about them in the book.
• O'Kelly spent most of his last days writing and people in the 'outter circles' that he rarely spent his good days with his wife and daughters. I feel sorry for his wife and daughters. Despite having good intention to make his last few days on earth more meaningful (consciousness), with more perfect moments, stop and smell the roses....he still doesn't get it, even at death.
• It seems that his purpose in writing this book was to let his family know how much he loved them, but more so to let them and everyone in the world to remember him, to not be forgotten. Selfish?

"Chasing Daylight" is more of a self-congratulatory book that chronicle Eugene O'Kelly's accomplishments as CEO of KPMG than an insightful book on life and love. If you want to read a good book on life and love, read Joan Didion's The Year of Magical Thinking. I will write a review for it later. The Year of Magical Thinking is the best book I read this year!

One good note for "Chasing Daylight," the book does remind one that life is short, live the moments. This book also bring to mind a forward story:

A professor gathered his students around him. And while they watched, he filled a gallon-sized Mason jar with about a dozen fist-sized rocks. Then he asked the students a question. He asked: "Is this jar full?" And everyone in the class agreed that it was. Then he reached under the table and brought out a bucket of gravel and poured it into the jar. The gravel worked its way down between the cracks and once again the professor asked his students: "Is the jar full now?" The students weren’t so sure this time. Next, the professor pulled out a bucket of sand and poured it into the jar. And the students watched in amazement as the sand filtered down among the rocks and gravel. And the professor asked again: "Is this jar full now?" Of course, the students were believers by now and all responded with a single “No.” The professor agreed and pulled out one last bucket. This one had water and he poured that into the jar as well, filling it up to the very top.

“The jar,” he said, “is now full. But what’s the point?”

One eager student raised his hand and said, “The point is that, no matter how full your schedule, there’s always room for more.”

But the professor had another lesson for them. “The point is,” he said, “that if you don’t put the big rocks in first, you won’t get them in at all.”

As you begin to struggle with the everyday kinds of questions about what direction your life should take. As you struggle – as we all do – on what you need to focus on ... and what you can let slide. Let me suggest that, like the professor, you focus on putting the big rocks in first.

What are the big rocks in your life?

Garden Clogs

So ugly!So comfortable!

Dear Future Me...

Just want to share with you this awesome website ( FutureMe.org ) that let you email your future self. LA Times write a story about it.

Ok, going to write a letter to myself.

"Man's Search For Meaning"

by Viktor E. Frankl.

The book is divided into two parts. First section chronicle the author's experience in the concentration camp and the second section describe how logotherapy can help man finds meaning for his life. Click here for more in depth reviews.

Quotes from Man's Search For Meaning that speak to me:

• A human being is not one in pursuit of happiness but rather in search of a reason to become happy...through actualizing the potential meaning inherent and dormant in a given situation.
• Humor, more than anything else in the human make-up, can afford an aloofness and an ability to rise above any situation.
• We who lived in concentration camps can remember the men who walked through the huts comforting others, giving away their last piece of bread. They may have been few in number, but they offer sufficient proof that everything can be taken from a man but one thing: the last of the human freedoms - to choose one's attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one's own way.
• Man's will to meaning can also be frustrated, in which case logotherapy speaks of "existential frustration." The term "existential" my be used...to refer to...the striving to find a concrete meaning in personal existence, that is to say, the will to meaning.
• Having shown the beneficial impact of meaning orientation, I turn to the detrimental influence of that feeling of which so many patients complain today, namely the feeling of the total and ultimate meaninglessness of their lives. They lack the awareness of a meaning worth living for. They are haunted by the experience of their inner emptiness, a void within themselves; they are caught in that situation which I have called the "existential vacuum."
• No instinct tells him what he has to do, and no tradition tells him what he ought to do; sometime he does not even know what he wishes to do. Instead, he either wishes to do what other people do (conformism) or he does what other people wish him to do (totalitarianism).
• Live as if you were living already for the second time and as if you had acted the first time as wrongly as you are about to act now!
• By declaring that man is responsible and must actualize the potential meaning of his life, I wish to stress that the true meaning of life is to be discovered in the world rather than within man or his own psyche...the more one forget himself - by giving himself to a cause to serve or another person to love - the more human he is and the more he actualizes himself.
• Thus far we have shown that the meaning of life always changes, but that it never ceases to be. According to logotherapy, we can discover this meaning in life in three different ways: (1) by creating a work or doing a deed; (2) by experiencing something or encountering someone; and (3) by the attitude we take toward unavoidable suffering.
• A human being is not one thing among others; things determine each other, but man is ultimately self-determining. What he becomes...he has made out of himself. In the concentration camps, for example, in this living laboratory and on this testing ground, we watched and witnessed some of our comrades behave like swine while others behave like saints. Man has both potentialities within himself; which one is actualized depends on decisions but not on conditions.
• Ultimately, man should not ask what the meaning of his life is, but rather he must recognize that it is he who is asked. In a word, each man is questioned by life; and he can only answer to life by answering for his own life; to life he can only respond by being responsible. Thus, logotherapy sees in responsibleness the very essence of human existence.
• When we are no longer able to change a situation—just think of an incurable disease such as inoperable cancer—we are challenged to change ourselves.
• Fundamentally, therefore, any man can, even under such circumstances, decide what shall become of him - mentally and spiritually. He may retain his human dignity even in a concentration camp."
• What man actually needs is not a tensionless state but rather the striving and struggling for a worthwhile goal, a freely chosen task . . . the call of a potential meaning waiting to be fulfilled by him.
• A man who becomes conscious of the responsibility he bears toward a human being who affectionately waits for him, or to an unfinished work, will never be able to throw away his life. He knows the "why" for his existence, and will be able to bear almost any "how."
• It did not really matter what we expected from life, but rather what life expected from us. We needed to stop asking about the meaning of life, and instead to think of ourselves as those who were being questioned by life - daily and hourly. Our answer must consist, not in talk and meditation, but in right action and in right conduct. Life ultimately means taking the responsibility to find the right answer to its problems and to fulfill the tasks which it constantly sets for each individual.
• What matters is not the meaning of life in general but the specific meaning of a person's life at a given moment. Everyone has his own specific vocation or mission in life to carry out a concrete assignment which demands fulfillment.

In Pursue of (_____)?

Just got out of my annual performance review. The company is very happy with my performance, so I got a 'good' raise (though in this industry, 'good' barely match the inflation).

I am content being where I am at this job (the responsibility, the pay, the environment, the hours, the frustration...). Knowing that my company is happy with me is good too. However, is being content good enough?

For some people, being content is a beautiful state and it is enough. Perhaps is human greediness or the desire to be of a use (purpose) to this society or some other subconscious reason that I am yet to be aware of, but right now, being content does not feel like is good enough for me.

Then where should I head to?

House Sitting

Do you know anyone that do house sitting? Or know someone that hire a strange to take care of their house while they're on vacation?

It'd be awesome if I can be a house sitter for a house in South Bay.

Heroes

One of the best TV shows! And best of all, I can watch any episodes at anytime on NBC.

If you have a choice between having power or not having any power, what would you choose?

If you choose power, which power would you pick?

I'd like Claire's regeneration ability.

Photo Entry

Pictures from this weekend, taken at various spots in LA.

Loft (Fullerton)




Downtown LA


Los Feliz




Friend

Me

All is Quiet at Three in the Morning

Everyone is deep asleep. The only sound in the house is of my fingers hitting the keyboard.

I love this hour of the day. There is no noises. My mind is calmer. I feel free. It's just me and my thoughts.

Too bad I have to be asleep at this hour for 300+ days of the year.

Lyrics and Songs

Lucky for those of us (i.e. me) with no musical talent, there are plenty of talented artists who create songs that verbalized exactly how we (I) feel at the moment. Thus, I love songs with meaningful lyrics, such as Natasha Bedingfield's songs. The lyrics are meaningful/inspirational and goes nicely with the upbeat music. I love that "Unwritten" is so inspirational while I can think of several occasions that "These Words (I Love You)" would been perfect.

This song is great for those of us that are single.


I also love "Not Ready to Make Nice" by Dixie Chicks. I love this song because the Dixie Chicks risk their career to stand up for their belief. I admire people with guts.

Something Not So Funny, Something So Very Funny

PMS

According to wiki, 80-90% of women experience PMS. And for some women with PMS, the symptoms are so severe that they are consider disabling. If that is the case, can women call in sick and not work for a week, every month? I think I would like that very much. In the mean time, I guess all I can get is having PMS to blame whenever I feel irritable/depress/anti-social/insomnia/....

MadTV sketch that pokes fun at both Steve Jobs and George W. Bush

Girlfriend and Wife

Girlfriend

 

I find it interesting that my male colleagues always seem hesitated to admit they have girlfriends.

 

Example 1: While chatting with my coworker about his weekend plan and he mentioned that he's going to a celebration party for a friend that just received her teaching credential. I remembered I met this said friend at his house party a few months ago and asked if it is her. He confirmed it is her so I asked "Isn't that your girlfriend?" Finally he relented with "yeah, I guess she's my girlfriend."

 

I met the girl, she's normal and not ugly; nothing that would cause a guy to be ashame of. Why did he hesitated to admit he has a gf? If he is a player or something, I would understand. I worked with him for a year and from what I know, he seem like a honest good guy. Then what gives?

 

Example 2: The customer for my program is visiting this week. While making small talks, he retold how he injured his finger while taking care of this plant that he's 'baby-sitting' for this girl that is temporarily leaving the country. An hour or two later, we were talking about his vacation plan for this year, and he said "we are going to ....(the country this girl is at)" I put 2 and 2 together and was pondering if it'd be too intrusive if I asked him for confirmation. Perhaps my curiosity showed on my facial expression, he finally explained that he and this girl has been dating for a few months. 

 

He seem like a really nice guy too. Why didn't he just said "I am taking care of my gf's plant" and "my gf and I will be vacationing..."?

 

I don't get it. Can someone from the male species enlighten me?

 

Wife

Most of my colleagues are male and married. After working with them for awhile, stories of their domestic live would come up here and there. I find it funny that they always portrait their families in such a way that the wives are the one wearing the pants (the decision makers).

 

Example 1: One of my coworker and his wife has been married for decades now. From his description of his weekends and such, it seem like he has a normal happy family and he loves his wife very much. I find it funny that whenever his cell phone rings, he would say "the boss is calling" or whenever the manager wants him to go on business trips, he usually replied with "I need to check with my boss (the other boss)."

 

Example 2:  In my old company, a group of us used to have lunches together. Among them is a happily married male colleague, whom has only one daughter. One time we rode in his new Lexus with GPS system that provide him directions in a female voice. He purposely drove on the opposite directions from what the GPS voice told him to. We were perplexed. He explained this is the only female voice he can disobey so he is disobeying it. I think he is just joking and thought it's really funny. However, from our interactions, I know he is very dedicated to his family and seem to comply with whatever the wife and daughter want.

 

I wonder, is it more common (maybe even necessary) for a happy family to have the woman (wife) be the one wearing the pants?

Gym

After spending last month being a sloth, I finally start to go to gym again.

After another busy day at work, I went to 24 S.E.T class. The class mix weight and cardio. This is my first time attending 24 S.E.T and I really like it because I hate doing weights but this class make weight training tolerable.

I am so sore now.

Favorite Souvenir

I got this pair of earrings from a Taiwanese artist that has a table at the corner of Shi Lin night market. She made all the jewelry herself and been doing so for the past 10 years. All the jewelry she made are beautiful and unique, which is what made me stopped at her table.

Since I don't have pierced ear lopes, it's been impossible for me find cute earrings for myself (and the ironic thing is I love shopping for earrings). When I told her that, she changed this pair of earrings to clip on for me.

This is my first pair of earrings. I love it. I wish I bought more from her.

Happiness and Success

"For success, like happiness, cannot be pursued; it must ensue, and it only does so as the unintended side-effect of one's personal dedication to a cause greater than oneself or as the by-product of one's surrender to a person other than oneself. Happiness must happen, and the same holds for success: you have to let it happen by not caring about it."

-by Viktor E. Frankl, author of Man's Search for Meaning.

Grateful

people often said solo traveling was the best thing s/he ever done because it changed her/his life.

I am very glad that I travelled through Asia by myself but I don't think my solo trip change my life. However, it did taught me to be more grateful (and the world is really not that bad of a place, people are generally good).

It might not mean much to the nice man that made phone calls on my behalf or the countless kind strangers that gave me directions when I was lost, but it mean the world to me as it could mean ending up in the hotel by night fall or in some shady alley. Being alone by myself, the kindness of strangers no longer seem as ordinary as in daily life. Through out the trip, I felt very blessed for receiving so much from others, I was touched and wanted to give back (I think perhaps this why some rich people are also some of the most generous people). Thus, sometime I did so by gave up my seat or helped other lost tourists.

Now I am home, with all the chores/works that need to get done, it's easy to overlook my blessings. Perhaps the effect from my solo travel has not wear off (and I hope it never will), I often feel grateful when I am reminiscent the events happen during the day.

Today, I am very grateful for my brother. He is the nicest guy and he also take care of all my computer and car troubles. Because of my brother's expansive knowledge on cars, I didn't have to do anything and the headlight for my car is fixed. I am also very grateful for my Taiwan relatives. When I visited, they never met me but welcomed me into their home. Then a month later, they spent their own time, money and effort to pick up and mail my glamour photos to me (you can see most of them on my photo sites now). I did not give them anything nor had anything to give them, and yet they were so kind to me. I am very touched and grateful for having nice relatives.

Yesterday, I felt very grateful for having girl friends that are fun, intelligent and open-minded. I can talk to them about any sort of topics (mind it be something serious like career and money; or something fun like men and sex, or something close to the heart like family and love). Because of them, I had a very wonderful Sunday.

Saturday, I felt very grateful for not having to work so I could lounge around in my PJ the whole day.

I should just start writing daily gratitude entry instead of back-tracking.

Lazy Weekends

Though I love meeting new people and socializing, I am an introvert by nature. Thus, I usually need a day or two to recuperate after a busy social period.

One months on the road took a lot more out of me than I'd imagined. I been back for three weeks now and yet I still feel not totally recover. I did not go out at all last weekend. Therefore, I felt like I should go out this weekend but I rather be at home, in my PJs (like how I am now, at almost 2pm on a beautiful Saturday afternoon).

Stumbling on Happiness

I haven't step out of my home since Friday night because I have been immersing myself reading "Stumbling on Happiness" by Daniel Gilert.

In "Stumbling on Happiness," Daniel Gilert use scientific data to explain how due to limitation of our brain (and necessity of our survival), we don't really know what make ourselves happy. Even though this is a science book, I enjoy reading it (and it does not tell me how I can find happiness). The review on the book cover sum up the book beautifully:

"Think you know what makes you happy? This absolutely fantastic book will shatter your most deeply held convictions about how the mind works." - Steven D. Levitt, author of Freakonomics"

Beside the conventional wisdom of money doesn't buy happiness, here are some interest points that I remember (with my own interpretation) from "Stumbling on Happiness":
-Variety is the spice of life, but unnecessary (and variety actually have diminishing return) if the pleasure things/events are spread out by time.
*Example: I love foie gras and as long as there are sufficient time between each sampling (say every week), I will get more total pleasure from eating it every time I go to nice restaurant that have it rather ordering different appetizer each time. However, if I am to go to that nice restaurant everyday, then I will get more total pleasure by ordering different appetizer.
-People value things more (happier) when they are stuck with it.
*Example: In a photography class, students can pick one of their two photos to keep. First group cannot change their mind while second group can switch picture a few days later if they choose. At the end of the experiment, students in first group are much happier with their choice than students in second group. This point is discuss in great details by Barry Schwartz in "The Paradox of Choice, Why Less is More."
-People are often hurt more by small losses than by a large ones.
*Explanation from the book: If a foreign country fire tons of missile at US, it would detonate the US defense missile system to shoot all of them down. Our brain is like US defense system. If we suffer a major loss, then our mind would trick ourselves into making the loss not as painful as we imagine it would be. Thus a small losses, unexpectedly like a terrorist attack that bypass the defense system, we suffer intense emotional pain.
-People often imagine the pain of losing something is greater than the pleasure of getting it.
-The ending affect a person's overall satisfaction.
*Example: The author love 98% of "The Schindler's List" but hate the movie because he does not like the ending. And many years later, he only remember that he hate the movie but not remember his feeling for the beginning of the movie. Another example: If a relatively good relationship have a horrible breakup, then the ex-couple will mostly remember the bad things in that relationship.
-We have blind spot in our sight, so our brain fill it in with imagination. The brain does the filling-in so flawlessly that we never realize it and we trust it faithfully as the reality.
-It is easier for our brain to notice what is present vs. what is absent. But what is absent is often as important (if not more so) than what is present.
-Same is true with our memory. Memory are not record in the brain like computer data, instead brain stores experience fragments. When we try to remember certain event, the brain retrieves the fragment and fill in the rest with imagination.
-We imagine our future using our present perception (aka present feeling and knowledge), thus we cannot accurately predict the future (i.e. how we will feel tomorrow when we enjoy a bag of chip). We can better predict our feelings using surrogate.
*Example: reading restaurant review can better predict how we would like the food than us looking at the restaurant menu.
-Certain genes and ideas are transmit from generation to generation because they are easy to transmit and/or necessary for survival.
*Example: Research find raising children is as pleasurable as doing house chores. However, people only remember the joy of raising children because it is necessary for continuation of human race.
-People tend to repeat the same mistake because they imagine what will make them happy.
*Example: You love every bite of the turkey dinner at your aunt's but have a lousy time because your aunt & uncle are super noisy, and you vow to never return. However, you return the next year because you imagine how happy you will be when you have a piece of juicy turkey in your mouth.
-Most of us are average but all of us think we are unique (smarter than average, sexier than average, richer than average, etc), there is no one out there like us.
-Explanation robs events of their emotional impact. Unexplained events can amplify and extend their emotional events.

With that, I'll end this entry so you can find out rest of the intriguing facts about the brain by reading this book.