Winter Solstice

Not sure if anyone knows (or cares) that we just passed Winter Solstice on the 21st.
The days will start to get longer from this moment on; which is good because in a symbolizes that we should become more energized.

Here are some more useless facts about winter solstice:

1) Winter Solstice came about becuse the axis around which the earth rotates is tilted, so in hte northern hemisphere, it is the day where the sun is at its southernmost point in the sky.

2) People often assume that the sun will set later ONLY after Winter Solstice. That is not true. Becuase the orbit of the earth is elliptical, the sun starts to set later at night around 1 week prior to winter solstice, its just that the sun will not rise earlier until the winter solstice.

3) In north pole, this is the day where there is the midnight sun! and vise versa, in south pole, this is the day of lightless day.

Urban myth coming True

Once upon a time, a music aficionado worked here. He had great passion about music and in attempt to share this joy to man kind, he painstakingly, over the course of one year, compile a collection of all the music every known to man (some say its only HIS collection, which is still quite impressive for according to some, he had a collection of more than 2000 CDs of every genre) and transferred this treasure into two external hard drive. Once he finished this project of love, he sailed into sunset with his lovely girlfriend and was never seen again....

This myth, which has been floating around the office for quite a while, and there were many attempts to uncover this treasure, but no one was able to find it. And the treasure was thought to be lost to man kind forever.... Until TODAY. When your truly discovered one of this immaculate collection. I am so touched that I can almost cry now!

Arggghhh!

The keyless entry and engine start function of my new car is really pretty useless option. I mean, why do you even want a keyless entry and engine start button on a car anyway. Are we getting so lazy nowadays that we don't even want to do the simple chore of turning the ignition key? whats next? a car that drives itself?

The reason I brought this up is because today, I locked myself out of the car. and it was a super crappy experience. The morning started off nicely. I was fully energized after the steak dinner last night and a full night sleep. The coffee and Croissant in my favorite morning bakery was fresh as ever, and in my morning commute to work, I did not hit a single light and spent the most of time having a great conversation on the phone. But somehow, amist of this perfect morning, something had to go wrong.

As I pull in to the parking lot, (with one hand on the phone and the other biting on the croissant), I realized that I am actually late for a 8:00AM meeting scheduled last Friday. As I hurried and said goodbye to the person on the phone, I rushed out of the car and pushed the black button on the door. and zip, the door locked down. with my car still running and the key inside.

So there i was, without the company clearnance key, my work laptop, my report, standing there like an idoit and kicking the tires (somehow, I managed to remember my croissant and coffee somehow). What made this worse is that all this happened in front of a lovely blond who works in marketing. After she stopped laughing, she offered to call AAA. But I kindly declined because I didn't want to AAA folks to mess up the new car window. So I called "Tustin Lexus" and after 1/2 hour, they sent over the masterkey and opened my car door.


The lesson learned here:

1) don't get too carried away by a great start to the day - and always, always remember to have the Lexus key in your pocket.

2) Before you start cursing "Mother F$%ker" or any other obsene superlatives to your car, make sure you are all alone.

From happy thoughts to philosophical thoughts...

I have been following this story closely for the past couple of weeks. The more I think about this, the more
I am confounded by it. The moral question I am raising here is “If a person really repents his sins, and as in the case of Tookie, preached a message of non-violence, as mere mortals, do have the rights to decide his life or death”.

http://news.yahoo.com/fc/us/death_penalty


SAN FRANCISCO - Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger refused to block the execution early Tuesday of Stanley Tookie Williams, rejecting the notion that the founder of the murderous Crips gang had atoned for his crimes and found redemption on death row.

My Ride.

Gotta work on my W side sign!!

Black Hawk, The Racoon Killer!

I got my new ride! And it is a 2006 Lexus IS250!

Pictures will be posted shortly (with Eye Drs. awesome Nikon camera if he should have it with him).

I have decided to name my new ride Black Hawk "the Racoon Killer" because a) the car is black, and it really does look like a hawk when look at it from the front. and b) In my first joy ride near Hasting Ranch, I have already ran over a Racoon....Don't worry, there is no damage to the car, but the poor racoon. He must didn't even see it coming...

I still have my lovely Silver Fox, even though it is currently parked at the dealer ship awainting my pickup later today. I shall leave the Silver Fox in my Irvine Den for the week, then decide what to do with it. She has been great to me for the past 6 years. I hope my Black Hawk will do the same.

Steve Jobs Standford Speech

this is truly one of the best speech I have read and I would just like to share it with everyone.


'You've got to find what you love,' Jobs says
This is the text of the Commencement address by Steve Jobs, CEO of Apple Computer and of Pixar Animation Studios, delivered on June 12, 2005.
I am honored to be with you today at your commencement from one of the finest universities in the world. I never graduated from college. Truth be told, this is the closest I've ever gotten to a college graduation. Today I want to tell you three stories from my life. That's it. No big deal. Just three stories.
The first story is about connecting the dots.
I dropped out of Reed College after the first 6 months, but then stayed around as a drop-in for another 18 months or so before I really quit. So why did I drop out?
It started before I was born. My biological mother was a young, unwed college graduate student, and she decided to put me up for adoption. She felt very strongly that I should be adopted by college graduates, so everything was all set for me to be adopted at birth by a lawyer and his wife. Except that when I popped out they decided at the last minute that they really wanted a girl. So my parents, who were on a waiting list, got a call in the middle of the night asking: "We have an unexpected baby boy; do you want him?" They said: "Of course." My biological mother later found out that my mother had never graduated from college and that my father had never graduated from high school. She refused to sign the final adoption papers. She only relented a few months later when my parents promised that I would someday go to college.
And 17 years later I did go to college. But I naively chose a college that was almost as expensive as Stanford, and all of my working-class parents' savings were being spent on my college tuition. After six months, I couldn't see the value in it. I had no idea what I wanted to do with my life and no idea how college was going to help me figure it out. And here I was spending all of the money my parents had saved their entire life. So I decided to drop out and trust that it would all work out OK. It was pretty scary at the time, but looking back it was one of the best decisions I ever made. The minute I dropped out I could stop taking the required classes that didn't interest me, and begin dropping in on the ones that looked interesting.
It wasn't all romantic. I didn't have a dorm room, so I slept on the floor in friends' rooms, I returned coke bottles for the 5¢ deposits to buy food with, and I would walk the 7 miles across town every Sunday night to get one good meal a week at the Hare Krishna temple. I loved it. And much of what I stumbled into by following my curiosity and intuition turned out to be priceless later on. Let me give you one example:
Reed College at that time offered perhaps the best calligraphy instruction in the country. Throughout the campus every poster, every label on every drawer, was beautifully hand calligraphed. Because I had dropped out and didn't have to take the normal classes, I decided to take a calligraphy class to learn how to do this. I learned about serif and san serif typefaces, about varying the amount of space between different letter combinations, about what makes great typography great. It was beautiful, historical, artistically subtle in a way that science can't capture, and I found it fascinating.
None of this had even a hope of any practical application in my life. But ten years later, when we were designing the first Macintosh computer, it all came back to me. And we designed it all into the Mac. It was the first computer with beautiful typography. If I had never dropped in on that single course in college, the Mac would have never had multiple typefaces or proportionally spaced fonts. And since Windows just copied the Mac, its likely that no personal computer would have them. If I had never dropped out, I would have never dropped in on this calligraphy class, and personal computers might not have the wonderful typography that they do. Of course it was impossible to connect the dots looking forward when I was in college. But it was very, very clear looking backwards ten years later.
Again, you can't connect the dots looking forward; you can only connect them looking backwards. So you have to trust that the dots will somehow connect in your future. You have to trust in something — your gut, destiny, life, karma, whatever. This approach has never let me down, and it has made all the difference in my life.
My second story is about love and loss.
I was lucky — I found what I loved to do early in life. Woz and I started Apple in my parents garage when I was 20. We worked hard, and in 10 years Apple had grown from just the two of us in a garage into a $2 billion company with over 4000 employees. We had just released our finest creation — the Macintosh — a year earlier, and I had just turned 30. And then I got fired. How can you get fired from a company you started? Well, as Apple grew we hired someone who I thought was very talented to run the company with me, and for the first year or so things went well. But then our visions of the future began to diverge and eventually we had a falling out. When we did, our Board of Directors sided with him. So at 30 I was out. And very publicly out. What had been the focus of my entire adult life was gone, and it was devastating.
I really didn't know what to do for a few months. I felt that I had let the previous generation of entrepreneurs down - that I had dropped the baton as it was being passed to me. I met with David Packard and Bob Noyce and tried to apologize for screwing up so badly. I was a very public failure, and I even thought about running away from the valley. But something slowly began to dawn on me — I still loved what I did. The turn of events at Apple had not changed that one bit. I had been rejected, but I was still in love. And so I decided to start over.
I didn't see it then, but it turned out that getting fired from Apple was the best thing that could have ever happened to me. The heaviness of being successful was replaced by the lightness of being a beginner again, less sure about everything. It freed me to enter one of the most creative periods of my life.
During the next five years, I started a company named NeXT, another company named Pixar, and fell in love with an amazing woman who would become my wife. Pixar went on to create the worlds first computer animated feature film, Toy Story, and is now the most successful animation studio in the world. In a remarkable turn of events, Apple bought NeXT, I retuned to Apple, and the technology we developed at NeXT is at the heart of Apple's current renaissance. And Laurene and I have a wonderful family together.
I'm pretty sure none of this would have happened if I hadn't been fired from Apple. It was awful tasting medicine, but I guess the patient needed it. Sometimes life hits you in the head with a brick. Don't lose faith. I'm convinced that the only thing that kept me going was that I loved what I did. You've got to find what you love. And that is as true for your work as it is for your lovers. Your work is going to fill a large part of your life, and the only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work. And the only way to do great work is to love what you do. If you haven't found it yet, keep looking. Don't settle. As with all matters of the heart, you'll know when you find it. And, like any great relationship, it just gets better and better as the years roll on. So keep looking until you find it. Don't settle.
My third story is about death.
When I was 17, I read a quote that went something like: "If you live each day as if it was your last, someday you'll most certainly be right." It made an impression on me, and since then, for the past 33 years, I have looked in the mirror every morning and asked myself: "If today were the last day of my life, would I want to do what I am about to do today?" And whenever the answer has been "No" for too many days in a row, I know I need to change something.
Remembering that I'll be dead soon is the most important tool I've ever encountered to help me make the big choices in life. Because almost everything — all external expectations, all pride, all fear of embarrassment or failure - these things just fall away in the face of death, leaving only what is truly important. Remembering that you are going to die is the best way I know to avoid the trap of thinking you have something to lose. You are already naked. There is no reason not to follow your heart.
About a year ago I was diagnosed with cancer. I had a scan at 7:30 in the morning, and it clearly showed a tumor on my pancreas. I didn't even know what a pancreas was. The doctors told me this was almost certainly a type of cancer that is incurable, and that I should expect to live no longer than three to six months. My doctor advised me to go home and get my affairs in order, which is doctor's code for prepare to die. It means to try to tell your kids everything you thought you'd have the next 10 years to tell them in just a few months. It means to make sure everything is buttoned up so that it will be as easy as possible for your family. It means to say your goodbyes.
I lived with that diagnosis all day. Later that evening I had a biopsy, where they stuck an endoscope down my throat, through my stomach and into my intestines, put a needle into my pancreas and got a few cells from the tumor. I was sedated, but my wife, who was there, told me that when they viewed the cells under a microscope the doctors started crying because it turned out to be a very rare form of pancreatic cancer that is curable with surgery. I had the surgery and I'm fine now.
This was the closest I've been to facing death, and I hope its the closest I get for a few more decades. Having lived through it, I can now say this to you with a bit more certainty than when death was a useful but purely intellectual concept:
No one wants to die. Even people who want to go to heaven don't want to die to get there. And yet death is the destination we all share. No one has ever escaped it. And that is as it should be, because Death is very likely the single best invention of Life. It is Life's change agent. It clears out the old to make way for the new. Right now the new is you, but someday not too long from now, you will gradually become the old and be cleared away. Sorry to be so dramatic, but it is quite true.
Your time is limited, so don't waste it living someone else's life. Don't be trapped by dogma — which is living with the results of other people's thinking. Don't let the noise of others' opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary.
When I was young, there was an amazing publication called The Whole Earth Catalog, which was one of the bibles of my generation. It was created by a fellow named Stewart Brand not far from here in Menlo Park, and he brought it to life with his poetic touch. This was in the late 1960's, before personal computers and desktop publishing, so it was all made with typewriters, scissors, and polaroid cameras. It was sort of like Google in paperback form, 35 years before Google came along: it was idealistic, and overflowing with neat tools and great notions.
Stewart and his team put out several issues of The Whole Earth Catalog, and then when it had run its course, they put out a final issue. It was the mid-1970s, and I was your age. On the back cover of their final issue was a photograph of an early morning country road, the kind you might find yourself hitchhiking on if you were so adventurous. Beneath it were the words: "Stay Hungry. Stay Foolish." It was their farewell message as they signed off. Stay Hungry. Stay Foolish. And I have always wished that for myself. And now, as you graduate to begin anew, I wish that for you.
Stay Hungry. Stay Foolish.
Thank you all very much.

Taiwan's Election

For those of you who knows me well, you might have noticed that over the past few years, I have become less vocal about politics, less ideological and more indifferent about world affiars. In additional as a sign of maturity to not talk about these issues, the truth of the matter is that I still DO care. But I am less inclined to talk about these topics because they will inevitibly create frictions. I am just waiting for the moments when the world becomes more of a centrist place before I share my views with friends again, and as always, I am also open to different point of views. Just not those that are absolute. The election in Taiwan yesterday, I hope, is a great starting point...

The local (county) level election in Taiwan concluded yesterday. Among the total 23 seats of county-level mayors, the KMT won 14 seats, compared with the former eight seats, and the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) won six, down from 10, according to the results announced by the Taiwan authorities late Saturday. For the past six years, the ruling DPP really disasppinted me. Six years ago, when Taiwan elected President Chen as the first none KMT president, my hope, like everyone elses, was high. While I am not a believer of some of the more radical DPP policies, such as seeking independence, I did have high hope that the DPP leadership would create a more developed civil society. Unfortunately, the result over the past six years was the opposite of my hope. The DPP, over the past six years, has created nothing but more ethnic frictions amongst the various groups in Taiwan. The economy of the country has been stagnant for 4 years, corruption and incompetence is rampant amongst the DPP officials (not saying the KMTs are much better). and the people who truly suffered are the everyday citizens of the country. Taiwan, in my eyes, over the last six years, was without direction. And it is sad to see.

I hope with this election, paving the road for next years house and legislature election, and the 2008 presidential election, things will change.


As a person born

...

This song is called "Vidicated" by Dashboard Confessional.
I am strangely drawn to this song. I can certainly empathize...

http://www.ifilm.com/player/?ifilmId=2642903&refsite=7103

Crazy Thur.

I had a crazy day today...had plans to just go about my business at the library for some GMAT prep. then got a call from a friend who invited me to a house party---the requirement, LOTS and lots of beer. It was a pretty happening party. tons of hot chicks there! (somehow, my co-worker has managed to get to know the model friends next door) but somehow, my heart was just not into it....had about 6 beers and a few shots of taquilla. then this girl that my friend brought started talking to me and make small talks...she seemed quite sweet and cute. But for some strange reason, i was totally not into her. i think it must be the alchohol buzzing. so i spent the remainder of the nite just chilling with my friends....(hope i didn't offend that girl :P)


okay, i am totally buzzing now. i think i should get to bed now....

Joseph Campbell

As an on going attempt to re-kindle what I enjoyed intellectually as a youngster, I have borrowed this Audio Book from the library.
Joseph Campbell’s view on mysticism and religion has had a profound influence on my view about religion and the after life since the first time I watched his program on PBS in high school.
I highly recommend it. The great thing about him is that he is a tremendous story teller, and engaging. And ultimately, I think from him, I have developed some sense, thru all the mysticism and breakdown of world religions, about the existentialism of our humanity--> Check it out, its worth it :P

Strange but Cool Song...

Not sure if it is the changing season or what not. I actually went through my entire music collection and try to find music to fit the season. It must have taken me until 1:00AM to finish it. Sometimes I wonder if I really do have ADD or OCB...
But back to the main point. By "trying to find music fit for the season", I don't mean Christmas music. That would be too easy wouldn't it. The words that kept coming into my mind are cold, lonesome, reflective, meloncholy, yet introspective.

As I dug through my collection I have compiled over the years, I found on pretty fitting for the season. It is called "Babylon" by David Gray. I wish I could pod cast it to everyone, but for some reason, i thing this is a quite fitting song for this time of the year.

Mini Road Trip

Heard a horrific story from a coworker this morning about his traffic experience yesterday. It actually took him 3 hours to get home last night! From what the news is reporting, it looks like today will be even worse.
Since I am taking a co-worker to John-Wayne Airport later today so she can catch her flight up north, I am basically stuck here in Irvine until 3:30PM. I don’t even want to imagine how the traffic would look like on the freeway by that time. If I leave Irvine by 4:00PM, can I get home by 7:00PM?? To combat this problem, I am going to do a little adventure! I’ve decided to go LOCAL for my weekly drive back to SG.

My planned route:
Starting at John Wayne Airport, I will drive west on McArthur (And of course, have my sun roof down and watch the planes take off). Once I hit Harbor Blvd. I will turn north and drive through the lovely Santa Ana with more doors securely locked and windowed rolled all the way up (I am debating if I should blast Gangsta rap out loud just to blend in), on the way, I will also stop by Alberto’s Taco for some refueling, they make the best damn Taco in the world. Okay, back on the planned journey, I will continue north on Harbor, driving through Santa Ana, Garden Grove (where I will make a pit stop to unload), and Fullerton, and eventually, I will hit Commonwealth near where my professional career started (maybe I’ll drop by the building just to see how it looks). And then I will turn left on commonwealth then Alondra Blvd to see all the old industrial center of LA before heading north again on Lakewood/Rosemead Blvd. Keep on going north and north, thru the neighborhood of Pico Rivera where there is a park pack full of people playing soccer ( I am sure I’ll see some matches there), the lakes of legg lake where I use to fish as a kid, and the terrible road conditions pass the 10 fwy and then finally the Santa Anita race rack and the lovely Huntington Dr. And then! I’ll be home! In two hours time!! (if my car holds up).

Happy Driving’

X Box 360

The most coveted Toy this Xmas....
I was so excited about this I couldn't sleep last night. Drove by Costco near work to checkout if there is a line for it....man, there were about 150 ppl waiting already.
this sucks....

Black Friday!!!!!

Well Folks, Black Friday is upon us again. Are you guys ready for some crazy deals? Are you guys ready to line up at 3:00AM to shop!?!? I certainly am. I want to get myself a nice Epson printer and Gateway computer this year. Seriously, nothing out there in the market beats these two brands!!! nada!

It has been a tradition in our family to shop on Black Friday. Last year, Steph and mi madre waited with me in the cold outside the Best Buy in Pasadena along with a few thousand other eager shoppers. The crowd roared when the store opened at 6:00AM, and everyone rushed into the store like rock group groupies....What did we buy? Abosolutely NOTHING....nada! Everything we wanted are gone by the time we squeezed our frozen body into the store....Well, this year, mi madre is kind enough to fly half way across the world to join me in this annual tradition again. mom, if you are reading this, I promise I'll take you to Costco to buy those Centrum Vitamins if you help me wait in line this year :P

weekend Update

Friday - Got off work late so decided to spend a quiet evening at home sipping my Cognac with some Puccini in the background and catch up on past issues of Economists. Woke up the next morning on my lazy boy. That was the yuppie moments for the month.

Saturday - Went out drinking with an old friend who just came back from China. Also met some interesting new friends in the bar. I was truly impressed by how much 30 somethings can party. Three shots up S. Cheers! Also bumped into the sorority president twins who were my neibor back in the days. They still look the same, and its funny to see how some early 20s younglins tried to pick them up. Were we that blatantly aggressive back in the days?

Sunday - Lexus, Taste of Luxury event at Irvine all day . Great job your agency did Michelle, how much did Lexus budgeted for you guys in this event? but they certainly did a great job. It will be my next car. not that I needed any additonaly convincing :P The highlight of the event was going 130mph and pulled .9G in a hairpin turn while dusting the BMW 330i. Hope everyone like my comment on TV.

Also last but NOT LEAST, Amour is in the air!! Big Shout out to Da Bull! Congradulations on popping the BIG question

. And to the future Mrs. Bull. I can't think of a better person that will make Fernando happy. Congradulations! (I don't have any new pics of you two, so this is a rip off from Ferny's blog! )

Germ Factory!!!

It is a germ factory at work! I have finally succumbed to the multiple virus attacks. This sucks! I am bombarded by huge doses of coughing attack from co-workers sitting to my left, right, and back….maybe I’ll get a face mask from the dentist tomorrow.

Do I look like this dude!?!?!

Seriously, Do I? My VP seems to think so!?!?! He called me into his office to his morning meeting today just so he can show the other VPs. I think he's got too much time on his hand...
it would be nice if I could fight like Jet Li though :)

The New IS

Finally, I am getting ready to take a test drive! Who knows, it less than 1 month :P

Manly Chicflick!?

Engaged in a conversation with co-workers during lunch about if it is possible (or okay) for a man to have a favorite chick flick? My answer is YES. and here is my Manly Chick Flick...shuuuu!

PLAYING BY HEART (1998) is a character-driven drama about the sometimes funny, sometimes painful (and always complex) ways love can touch your life. Set in Los Angeles, the film weaves in and out of the lives of a group of eleven people of varied generations and lifestyles, all of whom are experiencing love in one of its many maddening stages. Some people are finding it. Others are losing it. What they have in common is an intense desire to express how love makes them feel.

Give it a try at your local BlockBuster or Netflix. Its worth it. and to my friends who are having (or lack of) relationship issues, hope this will help :)

November Music Review....

Well, if you are like me who dreams of one day play a mean spanish guitar, you will undoubtly appreciate the Gypsy Kings.
I first heard about the band a few years ago in Cairo of all places...then I asked my aunt about their music.
Gipsy Kings are largely responsible for bringing the joyful sounds of progressive pop-oriented flamenco, called Sevillana in Spain, to the world. The band started out in Arles, a village in southern France. Their best songs, I think are"Michael" and "Luna De Fuego"

Check out the sample sounds on itune. I think you might just like it:)

Whatzup with the weather!?

Can you belive it was 94 degrees the first day of November here in Irvine. And just a week ago, the weather was in the low 60s. Like lizzards, I don't adjust to weather changes well and this sudden temperature change has been giving me splitting headache for the past two days... But its all cured now after a nice quiet lunch by the lake yesterday. If you haven't done it already, I would highly recommend it as a stress release therepy. On the days when you are stressed out, just take your lunch and sit somewhere quiet, really quiet, for 30 min. Relax and just listen to the sound of nature. It helps.

Tiger! Tiger

Recently, I have received many phone calls from various charitable organizations asking me to donate money. It seems there are so many non-profit organizations out there asking for money. Well, here are my responses to most of the time to these unsolicited calls: A. I don’t care about any of these charities because I don’t care about these people. and B. I also don’t believe these charities are doing any goods.

All except for one. And this one I have been donating regularly! "The Save the Tiger foundation". I will also donate $$ to any other foundations working to save this majestic animal….and it is so refreshing read about story in the paper today that the Chinese government are making a concerted effort in tiger preservation.

Drinking....

A friend called me up as I was studying and we went drinking. We each had a BOTTLE of wine. Yes, a bottle each. and boy, do I regret it now. I am having the worst hangover ever, and it didn't help that I didn't sleep until 2:00AM this morning. I don't think I'll do that again anytime soon...

Places to Study....

Since I really do hate to study at home, there are four places I go afterwork to study between 5 to 9:30 each night, and here are their pros and cons.

1) Irvine Library - Pros: Library atomosphere, Internet Connection. Cons: Closes at 9:00PM, Low desk and table, and not the best lighting out there.

2) Diedrich Cafe - Pros: Internet connection, Pretty girls and lots of them (especially the Japanese Exchange students :) I think I'll talk to one of the regular patron next time). Cons: Bad coffee, Bad lighting, Loud, and of course... Pretty Chicks.

3) Starbucks Cafe - Pros: Quieter than Diedrich, better lighting than Diedrich. Cons: No Wireless (can you believe they make you pay for it), Bad coffee table and chair (hurts your butt).

And here is your winner:

4) Coffee Bean - Pros: Great lighting, Good coffee table and seats that are actually comfortable, no crowd, internet connection. Cons: Its a bit cold here...and there is this girls who always stares at me (she is doing it now now) which is a bit scary....

There you have it. now back to study :)

Random Thoughts...

I had dinner with my God sister today. I have not seen her since she got married last December, and it is good see her again. We had a simple dinner at the Tea Station in Irvine, she seems to be very happy with her new job at Argent and her married life and I am very happy for her.

After dinner, as I drove to Diedrich some studying (no library today, since Irvine library closes at 9:00PM and my dinner did not end until close to 8:00PM), I came to realize why some people in this world are happy. Like my God sis. I think Happiness is a derivative of contentment, meaning being comfortable and satisfied with what you have now, at the moment, rather they looking back and try to justify what could have been, what should have become. I think that is happiness. it is funny, for every person that you know (ask yourself that) you know that are happy, there are 10 people who are not, simply because they want more than what they have at hand. As that movie "Garden State" says (BTW, it is a pretty artsy movie, not the best, but artsy) Life sucks, so live with it. Don't find excuse and try to see the bright side of it :P

For myself, I think I am in the "inbetween" stage, which is good because I don't want to be too happy so that i lose sight of the rainow i am chasing. nor am I too coughtup in this whole late 20's symdrom where confusion and unrealistic and selfish wants and expectations set in.

Well, here is my 150 words of warm up for my writing excercise...now back to GMAT :P

Quote of the day --"Life is good when you wake up, have some food to eat, have some beverage to drink, have some cash to spend, have something to do, and at times, have some tails to nail" that is all... that my friend, is happiness (I forgot where I read that)

October Music Review

Those who knows me well will undoubtedly know that I have great taste in music. And I have, from time to time introduce to my friends new music I came across. Here is the latest. I will make a point to do this once a month from now on; after all, I would love to see you learn to have musical taste too, just like yours truly:

This month, may I present to you Anna Tatangelo.

Well, for those of you who are not familiar with who she is, Tangangelo is a very talented Italian singer who came into the European music scene in 2003. I first heard about her music during a train ride from Milan to Florence last year and am immediately impressed by her vocal range and emotions she injects into her songs (though I had to read the translations to the lyrics in later dates). Unlike artists like Britney (Who can’t sing, but whines with nostral voice), Christina (who yells when she sings), and Jessica (who yells and seems detached when she sings), Anna Tatangelo is a great singer in typically Italian fashion. She won the San Remo music festival in Northern Italy when she was 15 and the duet she sings with Federico Straga was one of the best duet I heard in terms of composition. The only artist I think I will compare her with here in the States is probably Alcia Keys, Albeit different style.
Anna Tatangelo has had two albums out, and they are:
Attimo X Attimo (2003 and Ragazza di Periferia (2005). And they are all great songs.

For more information, visit: www.annatatangelo.com

Booooo.

There are only two things in my mundane daily life I enjoy more than anything else. One of them is watching Dragon Ball Z on the cartoon network week days from 10:30PM to 11:00PM. I enjoyed it not only because it is something I grew up with, but also that the storyline is continuous, albeit slow, it still provides something for me the relax, after a long day of work, study, and off season training (I usually don’t get home until 10:00PM).

Well, just like my waterloo with the GMAT, what do you know! I found out yesterday that the Cartoon network, CANCELED, Dragonball Z (just when Goku was about the fight Captain Ginynu). This totally sucks. Last week, they took away my pride, and this week, they took away the only thing I look forward to every night. I even wrote to the Cartoon network today and try to find out when and if they will bring the show back. I really hope they do.

Back to the drawing board...

Here are some GMAT experience and advise.

1. Don’t take the test if you feel you are not ready.
2. Don’t take the test when on the day of the test, you found out your driver license has expired and need to rush home to get your passport.
3. Quite the test when you see easy problems.

Well, that pretty much summarized my first GMAT experience. Needless to say, it was not a good one and I was extremely depressed. But after a good day and a half of R&R, it is back to the drawing board again. At least I’ll now what to do the next time, and hey, I am 100% sure there is nothing buy upside…

So so sick of it all....

Damn GMAT. My nemesis! I am finally facing you for the first time this Saturday.
You make me sick... On Saturday, I will test out how good you are and see if you will need to face you again….punkassbitch.#$%!$&

Holy cow...

Holy Shit! I am 29!

My 28 was a great year. Lots of things happened last year. Some I am proud of, some I am not. But it sure was fun. I hope this year will be even funner!

Special shoutout to those who made an impact on me this past year. Positive or negative. You know who you are! Thank you! or...Sorry.
But remember, our prime is not behind us. Lets get stronger, faster, and wiser this coming year.

Here is a glass of Hennessey XO to you.

"Real Estate Agent" I might have to ask you to buy me another bottle on your next oversea trip. I drank it again... BTS, I'll just give you the check next time I see you.

thoughts of the day

I had a deep conversation with a Dr. Friend over late night beer session (all I had were tw beers, and the conversation turned philosophical).


Here are the scenarios
a) My Dr. Friend had a patient who is on respirator, he is not conscious, and is unlikely to never be conscious again. The family thanked the Dr. for Saving his life. Should they thank him? Is the Dr. doing the right thing? Would it be better for the good Dr. to let the man go and have his salvation, or is it his duty to save lives no matter the circumstances.


The conversation then turned a tangent.


b) Where is the progression in all the scientific leading us? Will it lead us to answer the big bang, the start of life, and ultimately the meaning of our existence? Is there a limit to what science can explain? Or will philosophy takes over?

If so, what is the reason if it is reason at all that philosophy come about?

This then leads back to a conversation with a lovely young lady who I cherish very much when I dined with her.

The question raised was:

c) "Is there a perfect someone for you out there" if so, how would you know? Does perfection exist? Or is happiness merely equates to satisfaction of what you have because that is all you can have? If so, is happiness really happiness with satisfaction?
d) Also what will the world be if all countries are developed and there are no more poor ppl? What happens when we run out of ppl to exploit?Semi deep shit….my head hurts…

Spiderwoman

Spiderwoman and MasterLee after the race.
hey, where is Estella?













Congradulations to Spiderwoman for her first Triathlon! Sorry I can't go cheer you on this time :) but MasterLee and the Good Doctor are there, so are JellyFishes, so there were plenty of moral support for you. But again, Congrad. on your first Triathlon. Now you just have to sign up for next year's LA triathlon and the Tahiti Half Ironman in two years with us :)

BTW, Male Jellyfish and Eye Doctor. I am taking away your "Man Cards"! You two are in the same league as the Wang Twins and the Banker :) You can redeem your Man Card next year byt completing either the LA tri or Malibu tri !

go for it.

What a Joke

This is such a joke..

Oprah gets her way... again
I'd open the door if it was Vivica Fox or Tyra Banks!! j/k


CHICAGO : The tabloid war between Oprah Winfrey and French luxury retailer Hermes International ended in a decisive victory for the US talk show diva Monday when the company's president of US operations apologized on-air. Winfrey, who was recently named the most powerful celebrity in the US by Forbes magazine and is considered a cultural icon with an immeasurable influence over her millions of viewers, instigated a boycott after she was turned away from a Hermes store in Paris in June. Tabloids were abuzz with the snub and Oprah's conviction that she was turned away because she was black.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

hile I do believe that Oprah got slighted. I don’t think there is anything wrong with what the story employee did. When a store is closed, it is CLOSED. You help the customers that are still in the store and NOT let any new customers come in. I do like Oprah as a person, however, bringing race into it is just absurd… Sometimes I just wish the “Race” card is not being played every time something is wrong.

Funny TV Show

Mondays: 10:00PM. Travel Channel. Anthony Bourdain, No Reservation. http://travel.discovery.com/fansites/bourdain/bio/bio.html
The funniest travel show out there. Similar to Globe Trekker but with more edge to it. The best episode so far is when he travel to Vietnam and hung out with some of the local officials It was hilarious.

Here is a brief web rip of Chef Bourdain’s bio. Obviously a talented and funny individual.

Biography: If I may quote right from the book as the good chef describes himself during his post high school days..."I was a spoiled, miserable, narcissistic, self-destructive and thoughtless young lout, and badly in need of a good ass-kicking". And then it started to go downhill from there (my words). Born in New York in 1956, Anthony Bourdain began his journey as a dishwasher (he needed the money) and was so moved by the events at a wedding reception that took place at his first restaurant that he decided to become a chef (see chapter 2, titled "Food is Sex".) He enrolled at the CIA, and graduated to a career that can only be described as amazing. He is now executive chef at Brasserie Les Halles in New York City. Chef Bourdain is also the author of two novels, "Gone Bamboo" and "Bone in the Throat" (Canongate). His first non-fiction work, "Kitchen Confidential" (Bloomsbury) caught the attention of the public, and is must reading for members of the hospitality industry (for all kinds of reasons), This is a book that will make you laugh; make you wonder; and will possibly scare the hell out of you. Please be advised that "Kitchen Confidential" is not for everyone.

Marriage of "The Banker"

(Johnny with his "Guns"...notetice how he likes to compare the size of his "Guns" to the statue in the background!!)

On Sunday, Johnny surprised all of us by announcing that he is getting married on the 29th OF THIS MONTH! Though the wedding ceremony will be in Taiwan in mid October, the 29th will still be the official wedding day. Johnny sure doesn’t waste time doesn’t he J Congratulations buddy! I promise I will not cry this time J

Studying in the Cofee Shop (Another Mental Training)

BTW, Studying in cafes in Irvine is another form of mental training. The light, the crowd, and in most cases, gorgeous girls, are major distractions. Just the other day, I saw the most gorgeous Persian Girl in the coffee shop sitting across from me (why are there so many Persians in the coffee shops anyway, hummm! I wonder), even though I had my ipod on and my favorite Rachmoninov Concerto on. It is still really hard to concentrate, but I must TRAIN myself to do it because on the day of the GMAT, the test room will be quite noisy too. Maybe I should get a seat facing the wall or something.

Mental Toughness!!...?

I’ve been feeling a little bit down lately. I am not sure if it is the post Triathlon syndrom, or the changing of the seasons. I have been feeling a little bit “Empty” inside. Not just about the direction I am heading in my career, the goals I set for myself to achieve, and regret and repent I have inside about past actions. I just had this uncertainty feeling inside me. Especially late at night when I get home from work or from my GMAT study in the coffee shops around town.


This feeling of directionless emptiness, I know, will only be temporary. I am fortunate to have great friends surrounding me, and random messages from fellow bloggers are also encouraging. What helps even more is that little book by Coach John Wooden about the simple meaning of life! (To summarize, just do the best you can and think simple and you will be happy). I know that is true. The key is how to think and view life in a simple tense.

I think I am in need of some meditation. Will make a date tomorrow morning to the temple to just meditate.

6th Annual City of Los Angeles Triathlon

Well, the day has finally come. Here goes nothing!
here is a quick recap of my thoughts during my Triathlon experience. I want to thank those who came out and cheer me on! you guys are the best. FW, lets go to Malibu yeah? I'll call ya :)

9/10 (Day before the race)

10:00AM (Downtown LA) – Why is that policy car following me so closely, shit I am getting a traffic ticket! This totally sucks.
10:15AM (Downtown LA) – Well, just got a ticket for not having my front license plate, LA cops sucks, and it is not even the end of the month yet…

11:00AM (Sheraton Downtown LA) – Okay, finally dropped off my T2 transition bag. Where are all the freebies?

4:00PM (San Gabriel Home) – Still feeling my brains pounding against my skulls. I really think I am catching a cold. Well, better take a nap now before heading down to Mike’s place tonight…


9:30PM (Mike’s house) – Went over the course map for the last time with Mike, Money seem to be very excited about the race. I wonder if she knows she can’t come tomorrow? The UCLA vs. Rice game is a joke. Can’t believe UCLA put Rice on the schedule. I am optimistic about UCLA’s chances against OU next week tho. OU and all the teams in the Big 12 SUCKS…. Okay, better head to bed now. But I am feeling jittery. Good thing I brought my Sony Vaio S360 and 1st season of Southpark with me….that Butters is so funny.

9/11 (Race Day)

1:00AM (Mike’s house) – Still awake. For some reason I can never seem to sleep the night before the triathlon.
3:00AM (Mike’s house) – My Razor is beeping. Time to wake up, do some last min. carb load and do some stretch. I think I should start drink Gatorades from now till the race.
5:00AM (Venice Beach) – Arrived at the start of the swim. Why are we here so early, there’s hardly anyone here….man, I gotta pee, is the bathroom open?
6:30AM (Venice Beach) – okay, putting on my wetsuits now…the water feels fine, better get Mike and head into the water for a warmup. Less than 1 hour before my heat starts…
7:15:AM (Pacific Ocean) – Man, I hate ocean water…so salty. I hope my TVR goggle ($30) will hold up in the water. That is the most expensive goggle I can find yesterday, beat my speedo one…oops, I goota pee again….should I? ney…..

7:25AM (Venice Beach) – The gun is off. Everyone is rushing into the ocean. Here we go!

7:45AM (Pacific Ocean) – This water sucks. It is so not clear, who gives this a A+ water quality rating must be an idiot. The guy behind me is hitting me…dumbass can’t swim straight or something….let me hit him back. Hey, I am at the 750 meter mark already. That was easy. Time to turn back!!!
8:02AM (Venice Beach) – wow, made it on shore already. That was easy (37 min. on my ironman watch). I am doing better than I expected in the swim. I wonder how far ahead is Mike. Hey, where is my fan club? My squire (Aka Spider woman), the Wangs (all four of them)? Johnny little John John? Da bull? Hayama? Oh well, I guess they can’t wake up. That is cool its just me and the road now!
8:07AM (T1 exit) – Okay, Mike’s bike is not here, so he is definitely ahead. I gotta put the HAMMER DOWN now.

9:00AM (Hollywood Blvd) – Almost 1 hour into my Bike. I am making good progress. Lets paddle harder. The condition couldn’t be more perfect, there’s no sun at all. My hamstring is a bit sore tho. Better get some Gatorade at the next fluid stop.

9:15AM (Downtown LA) – The downhill from Grand to Staple Center is AMAZING! I THINK I just hit 45MPH on my Bike. Now I know why I do this. It is for moments like this, the best natural high you can feel.

9:20AM (T2) – Allison just informed me that I am 2 min. behind Mike. Lets do it!!!!!

9:24AM (Grand) – Man, this hill sucks! Did I just say I love the natural highs of downhill.. well, this sucks….I don’t think I can run up there…should I walk? Ney! Just a little bit of push.

9:45AM (Near little Tokyo) – Just saw Peggy passed me by, man, Jerry’s wife is FAST! Hey, that is mike too. I think I am still only 2 min. behind….time to refuel and kick some ass. My legs are not feeling too well tho. Lets IMAGINE that I am actually running at a fast pace, maybe I’ll go a little bit faster than this pathetic pace….hey who is that girl? She looks nice…

9:55AM (Running away from Little Tokyo) – Hummm! Who is this girl. She’s got nice long long legs. Nice hair. Nice nose. And those lips….they look like Cherry….smells nice too!! Whoo hoo, this definitely makes my day. Hey, there is a camera man too. Lets pose a little, who knows, maybe I’ll be on TV!!! Hee hee. Wait, should I run faster?

10:05AM (Near Disney Concert Hall) – Well, the girl is gone now. She is HOT HOT HOT! Who is she. Man, the guy in front of me smells….really smells. Lets pick up the pace and pass him.

10:20AM (Near the finish line) – Man, the downhill run is even harder than up hill. My body is falling apart….Wait, I hear cheers. I think I see Mike, Fanny, and Allison….Lets sprint. I gotta at least passed the smelly guy!!!
10:23AM (Finished) – THAT WASN’T TOO BAD WASN’T IT!!!! Under 3 hours…Lets do it again next year!!!

The scariest moment in Triathlon...

The start of the swim...always the scarest moment in any triathlon....

you are diving into the dark, unknown waves, not sure what is facing you...

but once you are out. it is a feeling like no other....and there are the joy of biking and test of running awaiting you.

But it all starts here!

Crappy Training Day....

Today is the WORST training day ever. Woke up at 6:00 and wondered where Masterlee is. turned out that MasterLee's back is giving out on him and that he could not make it to our weekly training session. After learning this fact, I decided to taper my training a little bit. instead of diving into the cold cold morning pool, I decided to do a longer bike ride and a longer run to compensate for the lost time....

Well, the day started off great. Without swimming, I was FLYING on my "Red Fox" (for some reason, i like to name my things foxes, my car is Silver Fox and my bike is called "Red Fox"...who knows...Anyway, back to the main point. So I was flying on my bike and reached Hyatt New Porter in no time (10 miles away). Then all of the sudden, I rode mybike into the slid again...and once again, i poped both tires...

My training day was done. so I spent the next 3 HOURS, YES 3 FREAKING HOURS. walking home. there are lots of people offering help along the way. But since my bike is a special tri bike with 650X23 tube, no one can help me....

THREE HOURS DAMN IT!

well, that was my training day....

at least I taped the south part "Butters" episode....It makes me a little bit better...

Seriously. Isn't Butters the coolest ?!?! :P

5th Wheel?!?!

It was a very interesting night indeed last night. For the first time, I played part of a role in trying to introduce two strangers together. One of them, obviously is very attractive. And the other would of course be a nice guy. The night turned out to be quite interesting. I now owe Chewy’s mom BIG TIME, for behaving in such charming and lovely manner yesterday, even tho she is probably pretty pissed off after stuck two hours in the horrible LA traffic. It didn’t help that I could not help her find a gas station when her car is making funny noises. (Ah hummm! If you are still thinking of selling your lovely RR car, let me know, I’ll sell my house for it!) Well, as for the rest of the story…lets just say I owe Chewy’s mom big time. Well, better head to Barnes and nobles and find her that “Best” Damn GRE book in the world before she calls me ho bag for the rest of my life….

Sometimes, I really feel like Leopold “Butters” Scotch….

Favorite Southpark Character

Since I moved down to Irvine, I have been following two shows religously. Called me childish or what not, "Southpark" and "Dragonball Z" are two damn good shows, and I watch it every single day after I am done studying...

In Southpark, my favorite character is definitely Butters. Of all the characters in Southpark, Butters is nicer than the rest, and he is quite gullible and innocent too. He just enjoys minding his own business and help other people in need. After Kenny dies, Butters becomes the 4th friend of the regular gang and he has had many interesting adventures...

here are some great quotes by Butters, and of course, everyone's favorite, Cartman.

http://www.southparkquotes.com/characters/butters-quotes.html

Enjoy...

O' I hope this brings out a chuckle out of a certain pianist :)

My Taste...

Everyone has things they want to have in the short term, mid term, and long term durations. Usually these are material things, because they are usually the best motivators for us to push forward in this material world. I don’t necessarily disagree with this notion, as long as there’s also a proper balance between material growth and spiritual growth.

I thought about the things I want yesterday, and here is what I came up with.
And I definitely thinks I will get all them soon…



The first thing on my list is an IWC Spitfire Mark XV watch. For those that knows me, you will undoubtly know that I appreciates aesthetically pleasing things that are not overly flashy. IWC watch is definitely one of them.
I almost bought this watch in Geneva last year in my Euro trip 2005. But Albert stopped me from it. Well, Albert, I just might fly to Zurich or Geneva to the Bucherler store and get one soon….

the second thing on my wish list is a SLK280. My Audi (Siverfox) has served me well over the past six years. I think it is about time for her to retire into the sunset and enjoy the occassionally leisure rides to the grocery store....

And I've always wanted a convertible, and since Masterlee has taken the previous generation SLK from my and the Real Estate Agent took the Posche Boxter S from me, I guess the new gen SLK will do. This might happen next Apr. or May....depending on my budget by then.

The third thing I wanted is to be a Trojan/or Bruin. I am studying hard for my GMAT so I can one day put a Marshall or Anderson license plate on my SLK. Hopefully I'll be there next Sept.

under the weather...

I have been under the weather the past couple of days. I think since I started to pickup my training a notch, I have lost some body fat. Now I am always cold and have running noise after my morning swim. Maybe I should take a day to just rest and recover.

Four more weeks to go till the Tri and I am very excited. As for my GMAT progress, I am actually getting a bit glittery about it. My co-worker is painting it as a super hard test that requires 100% dedication. We shall find out. But again, he is a Standford MBA with Bain experience…

Lastly, Watched Harold and Kumar go to Whitecastle. I love that movie. Espeically the girl Harold kissed in the end. That is the exactly the type of girl I am looking for. Is she Julie Drefus?

Music Review

Today, I will go into details about the first of ten essential songs every music lover should have in their collection. The first song is of course, Al Green's timeless classic, "Lets Stay Together".

If you are a music lover or have watched Pulp Fiction. You have undoubtly heard this song before. This song, simply put it is one of those very rare songs in modern music history that has got "soul" in it. The classic 70s motif; the feeling of despair, love and hopeless desire can be felt thru Al Green's masterful vocal and the smoke feel motif the bass, the drum and the tumba depictded.

this song is best to be heard in the living room with a darken light and a glass of XO and of course a cigarette on your hand...

FULL ON!

It has been a while since my last update to the blog. Work, Tri training, and GMAT amongst other things have really kept me occupied. But alas, on this gorgeous late Sunday evening, with a glass of martini in my hand and Michael Buble's "Home" playing in the background, I would like to share some of the epiphany I had recently.

To borrow a lament term, I think I am finally going in the direction of turning “Full On”! Challenge myself to do more than I have in the past. The laps I have done in the pool, the hours I have spent running around the lake, the pain I feel working uphill on my bike, and the frustration and joy I feel when completing a GMAT question, is all coming into a synergy. There is no greater joy in life by saying to people, to the pool, to the road, the track, the GMAT that “You have got nothing on me!” it is almost a spiritual feeling, one that has been dormant in my life for too long.
Faster, Stronger, Higher, and better are the goals I am trying to reach. And it is so rewarding to see little bits of improvements in all front. The feeling is comforting with humility. But at the same time brings the confidence, conviction, and satisfaction I am enjoying every single minute of it!

Weekends...

It's the weekend once again. This week, At least from Monday thru Friday, I feel that I have utilize 80% of my time effectively. Triathlon training is on the up swing, with more emphasis put on the run portion. As for GMAT, I still have not loaded the online sample tests to my new Sony VAIO VGN-S360P computer (A great price and great buy from DaBull). But will definitely do that this weekend.

As I sit here at the pool side with a martini on my hand and a lap top on the desk feeling the breeze blowing in from the lake, I can't help but feel that this is one of those rare simple moments in life that I cherish (perhaps the only relaxing time I can have all week). It is nice to have this kind of break once in a while. After a quick rest, it is time to face more grueling challenges this weekend. On the agenda tomorrow: 1) Run from my house to Huntington Library (7 mile run) really should start that early in the morning to avoid the heat. 2) 3 hour GMAT crunch with concentration on critical reasoning and problem solving and data sufficiency.

that is Saturday. Then Saturday night, I will be back in Irvine hosting my poker night. I hope enough people will show up so I can win some grocery money for next week. Sunday will be a long training day with MasterLee and Da Bull and Mrs. Bull who is coming down as well...
when are we going to see little calves? I predict with in the next two years. As for little MasterLees, I think it will be within the next 3 years or so as well. And definitely, I will not be surprised if there are little bankers running around there somewhere?

As for yours truly. That part will have to wait :P until I get tired of this sojouring path")

Meaning and Diection of being 20s and 30s (41, 67 days to event!)

For the longest time over the past couple of years, I've been relaxed and not thinking or planning about the "Meaning" of my being as I grow older. Obviously, some of the Taoist literature may have contributed to that. But lately, that sense of urgency is begining to kick in. What is the meaning of my being as I will have leave my 20s behind in two years. What is the purpose for me in the next decade. In today's world, 30 something is a very interesting age. When we were young and even in our college days, 30 something seems so far away. But alas, it is approaching. What will the legacy or the accomplishment I will achieve in the next 10 years of my life? I hope I have not squandered too much time and there is still time and sense of purpose to salvage. But first things is first. lets get this Tri-GMAT party started :P


On a personal note, I think this past year, I have seen my ups and downs in my social life. Lately tho, I feel the current simplicity is the happiest. strange indeed. I am not a recluse. but it sure seems like I can find lots of interesting things to do on my spare time.

Currently reading "Commanding Heights" "The Rule of Three"

and i've been hearing about this book the little prince quite often, wonder what all the fuss is about.

42 Days left till Triathlon and 68 Days till GMAT

Counting down the days to each event is a good thing. It provides that sense of urgency and set timelines for each event. Reading works of John Wooden before sleep also helps. I guess there is no time to do some leisure readings. "Commanding Heights" and "Red Storm Rising" would have to wait.

Over the weekend, Master Lee and I had another good tri training session. We started even earlier this time at 6:00AM so to dodge the unrelenting heat. 1 mile swim (pool) and 20 plus miles bike came easy to me now, either I am not pushing myself hard enough or I am actually in okay shape for these two diciplines. It is the run that worries me. I am still not in the condition to run at a good pace after the swim and the run, so to compensate, i tried to dash the last 500 yards or so...it was painful. but good pain.

The rest of the sunday consists of sleeping to regain some energy for the rest of the week. I will not train today. GMAT will take priority (in about 15 min. or so). I want to do a 2 and 1/2 drill today. hopefully I can keep up my concentration. Mind over body right?

tomorrow will consist of morning swim with the spiderwoman and afterwork run and weight training session with the Banker. Nonethelss, I would need to squeeze in some GMAT time,


on a sidenote. I wonder if my monk like desire will hurt my social life, which has been quite interesting in the past few month. well, I guess it is a sacrafice I am willing to make.


John Wooden is a great consultation for it.

45 Days...and other challenges

Woke up at 6:00AM this morning and jumped into Spiderwoman’s pool for an 1800 meter swimming drill. Water was over flowing a bit, so my time came down by another minute, but I am not sure if this is enough to challenge MasterLee in the race. He seems to be getting faster in the water and I am amazed at how long he could keep it up. The good news is that I think I still have room to improve there.
As for the bike training, I logged another 25 miles at a brisk 20mph pace yesterday afternoon. With my tri-bike, and hopefully no hills at this years LA tri, I am hoping I can gain some advantages here. I was following closely with this well-train Triathlete yesterday and I was able to keep up with his pace on the flat for about 15 min. Next time I see him, I’ll try for 20.
As for the run. My most dreaded discipline. It will just come down to Will Power on race day. Nonetheless, I still need to allocate some time to improve that part.
On a side note, my favorite real estate agent gave me a call yesterday. Seems like she is determined to get into Yale B. school! She has always been the over-achiever. I know she will make it. And I will need to push myself to get into her mindset. She always tells me that I am not trying hard enough to reach my full potential. Sadly speaking, I think she is somewhat right. Can I do it? We shall find out soon enough. Don’t you just love the pressure you can put on yourself? Ha.

47 Days...

Trained with THE Spiderwoman in our weekly swimming clinic. Our coach did not show up again, so it was up to us to make the training regiments. The pool was crowded yesterday so we changed our routine a little bit. Started off with a 35 min. run. I don't know if I am getting faster or if Spiderwoman is lagging in her training, I felt fine running at a leisure pace while spiderwoman was huffing and puffing. In the end, I decided to try to lap Spiderwoman...but just missed that goal :)

After the run, it was into the pool for a quick 900 meter cool down rather than our usual 1600 meter swim. I feel faster in the water too. Hopefully the 1 mile ocean swim in LA Triathlon will not be much harder.

Because of our delayed start in training, I did not get home until a few min. before 10. too tired to study for GMAT. should make it up tonight!!!!

48 Days...

I was feeling a little bit under the weather yesterday (the annoying fat chick in the next cube kept on coughing and spread her germ everywhere), so I decided to cut my training in half and run just 4 laps around the lake. The distance is about 4.2 miles and it took me 33 minutes to finish it; a slight improvement over last time. The best part is that my left calf doesn’t hurt this time, I think I will make it a habit of icing my muscles and joins after each workout. After all, as much as I hate to admit it, I am not 19 anymore…

Running around the lake has its pros and cons. The biggest con is the fact that there are so many people walking their dogs in the late afternoon, so you would really need to watch your step so you don’t step on manures. The pro is that the weather is generally nice, and in the late afternoon, you can feel the breeze in your face cooling you off just slightly.
However, one more thing annoys me somewhat. There are many “posers” in Irvine who thinks they are athletes (I don’t consider myself one yet, if I can finish the LA Triathlon under 3 hours, I would consider myself fit) but really not. There was this couple who dressed in synchronized pro gear. But the funny thing is that they look cocky especially the dude, a WOH yet they are hella slow. We all ran the same distance, and in the first lap, they were way ahead. But I passed them in the 3rd lap and never look back. That is satisfaction!

I am swimming today! Hopefully the pool at Nancy’s will still be clean at 7:00PM with no little kids blocking the lanes. I am shooting for 32 min. in a mile swim! A 1 min pace increase every 400 yards.
Oh, also signed up for GMAT on 10/8. I better not put my foot where the mouth is again! Knock on wood.

49 Days....

Counting today. There are exactly 49 days left until this year's LA triathlon. I am feeling the pressure now. Pressures are good for me, need more of that in my life so I can push myself out of this mellow doldrum I am in now.


In terms of training, I’ve been training at around 70% capacity for the past few weeks and thought it would be enough to get by. Yesterday's test proved me wrong. Masterlee and I started the day at 6:00AM with a 1 mile swim. I improved my time slightly from 36 min to 34 min. this was followed by a 35 mile bike ride in scorching heat in the back mountains of OC. The ride was a humbling experience mainly because the temperature soared to the low 90s by 9:30AM. Don't think I will take it lightly again. Then finally, Master Lee and I tried to finish the last leg of the practice with a short 3.5 miles. I thought it would be a easy one, but boy, was I wrong. The heat proved to be too much and I succumbed to the combination of the heat and dead leg due to the long ride. Needless to say, it was not fun for us to struggle, even at a snails pace. Time to up the running dicipline.

For this year, I have one goal for the LA triathlon. and that is not to get embarrassed by my co-worker the blonde bomber.

I think there is no time to rest from now on. After work today, I shall stick to my plan of doing another 1 hour study (if i don't dose off) and run 3 laps around the lake when the temperature cools down a bit. Shooting for 26 min!!

Life is fun isn't it. JUST DO IT!

10 Weeks till LA Triathlon

It's been a while since my last post. Here is a quick recap of what has been going on for the past few weeks. My mother flew in early July for a quick one week stay. Not sure why she doesn't extend her trip, but its nice spending time with her. She will be here again in October. During her short stay, I took her to look at houses near Corona. We have our eyes on a Four Leaf Home house with 4,000 feet. Five rooms (Three master bedrooms) and a guest/entertainment room. The price tag starts is $650K. Expensive, but doable, and my mom fell in love with the European interior room arrangements of the house. But bringing things back to reality. My cousin made a great point by saying "who is going to live in that house in you were to buy it", great point! Additionally, upon further investigation, I found out that property tax in Corona is a whopping 1.8%. adding that to the association fees, the annual tax payment on property would come close to 2%. that is $13,000/ year on taxes along. Crazy....

well, for now, i guess i'll continue to live my high life as Charles in Charge in my friends Irvine vacation home and return home to visit my dogs in San Gabriel in the weekend.

Absolutely the Worst Song In The World

Today, I will discuss what is perhaps the worst song ever made…In the world. The song is Hellaback Girl by Gwen Stefani. If you ever turn on any radio station, you will no doubt know which song I am talking about. Just on the drive to Quiznos during lunch today, I heard the song on two different stations. The very beat, and Gwen Stefani’s singing in this song (aka. Bananas….f#%king bananas) annoys the hell out of me and makes me having road rage and wanting to pull my brain out from my ears. This song is terrible and should be pull off the air and be shit on immediately!!!

The worst part is that many girls, including some that I know, actually thinks this is a cool song (You know who I am talking about). And they actually go crazy and rush to the dance floor when this song plays in the club. I am sorry, if you like this song, you have very very very bad taste in music and possibly everything else, and I am seriously embarrassed for you. I suggest you check into a mental institution immediately.

Man, just writing about this song pisses me off. F$%king Bananas….what about those F#@king Bananas…B-A-BLAH BLAH BLAH…hella back girl!! Shit, I can’t get that crap out of my head!!!!! NOOOOOO!!!

Peace on the mountain top

On Sunday, our team captain, the illustrious Spiderwoman, decided that it is time for the Whitney Summit Team to do some “real” training in preparation for our 14,505 feet Mt. Whiney hike – the highest peak in the lower 48 states. So off we were to Mt. Baldy (10,064 feet), which is only about an hour drive from Diamond Bar. The team started the 18 mile hike in high spirit, Master Lee was running up and down like a school boy; Da Bull was taking pictures of the various wild lives (Lizards) along the mountain trail; the chemist was telling her Husky adoption stories; and the Spider woman was deep in thoughts to make sure we don’t get lost. The easy atmosphere at the start prompted me to believe that the hike would be as easy as the one we did at Crystal Cove! Wishful thinking. After about 1 hour on the main trail, the team decided to take a more challenging ascend to the summit. And it became one of the most interesting and challenging hike the team had ever faced. The start of the summit trail to the actual summit is only about 7 miles; however, it took us more than 5 hours to get to the top. The Dentist, who did not have the proper equipment, was the first to succumb to the high altitude. Soon after, all the team members began to feel nosiating headaches and shortness of breath. Nevertheless, the team fought on and kept on going. Soon after 2:30. The team finally reached the summit, and the view was spectacular making the entire experience worth it.

Maintaining your heart

Recently, I’ve been feeling discomfort in my chest area, especially after a long day of exercise. I hope it is nothing major and will seek out medical advise shortly.
I think we are approaching the age that we should really take care of our bodies. Although I may not look old, the body, after 28 years of wear and tear needs some maintenance work. So lets all eat healthy, exercise right, have good mental healthy and we should have no problem living till 2076. Just in time to witness the transatlantic train tunnel open.

Perfect Day!?

Recently, I have found great joy in my physical and to certain extent, mental training. I’ve become more appreciative and enjoy after work hours doing lap in the swimming pool, peddling hard on my bike, and run around the blocks. I don’t know if there are any results yet, but I can say that I don’t get winded as much as before. Great start to the summer training season.


On the mental side. I am reading this book “Commanding Heights” by Daniel Yergin and Joseph Stanislaw. A very simplistic book for everyone interested in what is shaping our world today. I certain find it very enjoyable accompanied by a bottle of Hennessey XO and Bach in the back ground while sitting on that huge lazy boy in the living room.

I think these are my everyday simple pleasures that I come to enjoy and appreciate. What are yours?

Mi Familia Part 1

I always thought my family, the Chen’s, is a very unique clan unlike the other Chinese families at the time. Our family members, well, at least my dad's generation are extremely gifted in Art and Culture...We have musicians (aunt Bing and uncle Y’tu), chess master (uncle Ching-tao), calligrapher (my dad), painters (aunt Bing and aunt B’yuan), poet (uncle Migimi)…The four classical Confucian virtues of Chess, Music, Poetry, and Painting, they mastered them all, and I am not being condescending, just spend a few hours with them and you will know. But above all, they are free spirits in a traditional society.

Saturday, I went out with my Aunt Bing and Uncle Victor (her husband, Aunt Bing and Uncle Victor are even more interesting individuals, more on that later) to an art fair near Sierra Madres. It was nice. My sister Tina who is back for a few days with her husband Morgan to visit was with us, and we just strolled thru the kiosks by various artists. It is so refreshing to see that they are, at certain areas, culture and art still flourishes without LA superficiality. We struck up a conversation with this Peruvian artist who’s style and them (about the native Peruvian Indians) I really like (too bad I didn’t bring my camera). Afterwards, just before sunset, we just chilled at this small and quaint bar near all the kiosks and talk about everything and nothing at all. I had 4 beers (Corona, no Hoegarrden), it was nice. Brings back memories of Southern France and Cyprus….

Deep shit!?!?!?!

As I stepped into the shower getting ready for work today, in my daily routine of pondering about the meaning of life and the origin of universe, I came across this conclusion about this common oxymoronic statement that people often make. “that was such a bad decision”

Here are the reasons:

If we take Hobbe’s theory (was it Hobbes, I forgot in all those stupid political philosophy books back in college) that human being is innately evil and selfish, and add that to Social Darwinism theories of competitiveness, we should come to the following conclusions:

1) There are no bad decisions in life. It is impossible in our cognitive human nature (self serving) to make any “bad choices”, every decision we make is a progression from the previous. The goal in all of us, simply put it, is to maximize our perceived value at the moment.
2) Of course, inevitably our “perceived value” would need modification from time to time called compromise. ‘Compromise’ does not mean it is bad choice. It merely means it is a tradeoff from the ‘bestest’ decision to the 2nd best decision.

With these two conclusion. Utopia (in biblical term, ‘Eden’) should be all around us. They answer ties back to Hobbes and Social Darwinism. If everyone is happy and content, then how can one know that their decision is better then others. So by human nature, the easiest way is the suppress others from maximum gain.
Hence you have today’s capitalism society…

Marx tried to break this tie, but Communism failed, simply because of this reason.

Tie this to some of the more practical things we see today. One of the AP headlines today stated that tension between China and the US is rising over currency exchanges and textile industry. I think the competitiveness by these two countries, one to ‘maximize’ returns, one to prevent the other from reaching full potential is gradually surfacing. Ultimately, it will be a lose-lose situation in the long run if my logics above is correct. In the short term basis, US is still dominant, but this “tradeoff” to prevent growth of China, if passed, will raise tension between the two. By China curbing the fixed currency to a market currency rate, Chinese goods will be more expensive, thus hurting US consumers…..

More on this later.

Car of all Cars

Recently, I've been debating if I should get a new transportation tool in the near future. My '99 Audi which I had owned for over 6 years with 125,000 miles is starting to break down. As much as I like Audi's aesthetic design both in the interior and the exterior, I don’t think I will buy another Audi for a long while. The car simply is not as well built as your Honda/Acura’s or the Toyota/Lexus’. Japanese cars are still by far the most reliable and well made. I really fear for GM and Ford’s well being in the future…

Now here is the dilemma. There are several forms of motorized land transportation machines I fancy and have tested. Here are some of my considerations with my budget structure (From top choice down):

1) 2006 Lexus IS250 (in the market Oct. of this year). Specs. Not available yet. (The price should be around $32,000 MSRP) – Xenon light standard.
2) 2006 BMW 325i with Automatic transmission, and Sports package (Price at $33,500 MSRP) –Xenon light standard.
3) 2005 BMW 325Ci with Automatic transmission, Sports package and Xenon light (About $32,000 MSRP negotiable).
4) Kawasaki Ninja 250R ($3,000MSRP) – Since my daily commute is only 3.5 miles, this would be a safe form of transportation.
5) Vespa PX150 (brings back nostalgia from my dad’s age, $2,800 MSRP, license required?)
6) My current man powered Quintana Roo Tequillo Tri-bike ($1,850 MSPR, pedals included).

Tough decision isn’t it? But here is the million dollar question that I’ve been asking myself over the past few weeks “Do I really NEED a new car right now?” Cars, above all else is the one item that almost guarantee devaluation or depreciation whichever way you want to define it. Unless you own some of the classics of all time, such as the ’55~59Mercedes Benz 350 SL Gullwing, ’61 Jaguar XJ150, ’68 Shelby Cobra, ,55 Porsche Speedster (Jimmy Dean’s car), which are artworks. Cars nowadays within our budget inevitably devalue. So in a sense, isn’t getting a new car just fueling my vanity, which is one of my vise…


It is a touch decision, and what if I decided one day soon to try different things in different parts of the world. Then what happens to the new car?
Well, we shall see how long I can hold out.

Now where is my IWC Mark XV watch? Better yet, where is my Vecheron Constatine? J

I am so vain….

The joy of being alone

The joy of being alone.

Just a random thought as I sat by the lakeside eating my Quizno’s sandwich during lunch today. The sun was peeking through the lingering clouds from the past few days; weather was warm enough that I don’ fill the chill in the air; the ducks were washing themselves by the shoreline, and there were a couple of old people walking their dogs. As I sat there enjoying my usual black angus, I suddenly had an epiphany. “How wonderful it is to be alone!”…

Perhaps one of my all time favorite movie line was a quote by Sean Connery in Entrapment. When he first brought Catherine Zeta Jones to his Scottish castle, Catherine was in awed by all his artworks collection. Then she proceeded to ask “Look at all these wonderful artworks, do you take any one here to see it?” To that, Connery replied “No, I never brought anyone up here.” “Isn’t that a shame, that you have all these but no one to share it with, don’t you get lonely?” To that, Connery replied, “No my dear, I like to be alone, alone is good.”….At that moment by the lake, I felt that. I felt that enjoyment of solitude. Free from the rest of the workday, free from all other worries, and free from all human interactions. Just me and my thoughts and my sandwich, and unlimited imagination and freedom….

Sadly, after 20 minutes of that, I am back at the office, working my butt off to achieve that man made definition of responsibility, succeed, and happiness….

Formula One

There is no other form of motor racing faster, more advanced or more prestigious than the F1 racing. I watched the F1 San Marino Grand Prix this morning and am in awed by the sheer speed, technological advances, and driver skills of the people participating in it. At the same time, I can’t help but wonder why isn’t F1 more popular in this country? Why would people in the United State settle to watch the boring, unskilled and slow NACAR? And the funny thing is that most people here even came to believe that NASCAR is the best???? Call it redneck mentality or frog in a well mentality if you will…

Decision Time...

Jobs are like girlfriends, but a career is like finding a spouse to marry. In jobs, you will, if you make the effort, inevitably, learn something valuable that will make you grow as a person, in good time and in bad time. If it works out, great, if not, you will still learn from it. And it is always a tango between you and your job. Don’t step on her toe and don’t let her step on yours cause you’d lose that aesthetic beauty….And above all, always cherish the good memories and don’t dwell in the sad.

In a career. A career is like that vision that engrained in you since you are a teenager, like the perfect someone you will marry someday. You stick up for her, stick up for that belief, that principle; you pour your heart out and make all your efforts and more, and you give it all your energy and love and grow old together.

Sentimental feelings? Maybe. But I am listening to Coldplay’s “The Scientist” now and The Clash’s “Should I Stay or Should I go”…The prior summarized my sentiments about these two strangely similar topics….The later is something heading my way….

Regardless, I am moving. Not Static, not hurried, not rushed. It’s all good and I am so looking forward to the weekend to just eat those Korean BBQ and drink my beer and let things play out by itself…

As my lovely shrink once told me. “Eddie, don’t you ever have expectations, expectations bring disappointments” Let future be surprises and deal with it as I come to the bridge. What positive thoughts.

Beyond Good and Evil...

One of my favorite writer of all time whose work I still don't understand at all is Friedich Nietzsche. I bought one of his book, "Thus Spake Zarathustra" (Zarathustra, as in metophor to the the great Persian philosopher 3000 years ago, Zarathustra who I believe was the the person that came up with the original concept of monothiasm) four years ago. Yet till this day, I get more and more confused each time I read it and try to comprehend what he is saying (And it doesn't help that the germen to English translation was horrible and that Nietzche wrote this book just before in went insane). Buy anyways, back to my point. Eventhough apparently I am not smart enough to understand his work. A few of his interesting quotations still linger in my head even today. And of course, as usual, I went off tangent and came up with my own unique and interpretation about his definition of things.
"Beyond good and evil." My favorite. Well, if you know me well enough as a person, you will undoubtly wonder why I always want to and have the tendency to cheer for the bad guys (Cheering for the Celtics in the late 80 when living in LA, playing Lord Bane in that whatchumaycall it video game back in the 90s). Well. The reason is so simple. As a person, I just don't think the concept "Good" and "Evil" exist in this world. My world is grey and dynamic, and that is why it is so fun. Bismark/Mao may not be all evil. Churchill, Kennedy may not be all hero. History is always written by the winners, but still if I had to choose between Good and Evil. I'd pick the latter. Because at least I feel that is real :)

US war on terror and spreading the devine concept of American Democracy. Good? I doubt it. But phony for sure.
War to gain control in the Middle East, setting up puppet regimes and control the oil in the region to benifit US--Evil? Yes, but hey, at least it is real, and I like it. and I would stand behind this reason whole heartedly... As Milton says "the law from Lion to Ox is...Oppression". And that, is just nature.

Apply this on my personal level. If I beleive the concept that I just wrote. Woudn't you think that I'd rather be a selfish evil jackass than a phony goodie two shoe gentleman. I am learning it gradually aren't I? And definitely let me know if I am lacking behind in my progress.

Music essential

Well. I don't usually share these with people. But hey, I am just in the mood I guess.
Here are essential song from each genre that every one and anyone who loves music should have in their collection. You will be a better person for listening. I will publish this list periodically so you can purchase them thru iTune, or if you buy me a lunch, I'd burn them for you :)

1) Oldies, Rock R&B, Soul and Funk. a) Al Green, "Lets Stay Together"--Definitely the best mood music for all occassions. b) Marvin Gaye, "What's going on".--Period piece that reminds you what is important in life. c) Ray Charles, "Georgia in my mind".--If you been to the plantations, you would undertand and appreciate what this song means. The southern value and southern beauty. d) Beatles, "Hey Jude". Love the lyric after you learn about the story.

2) 80's Pop/Rock. a) U2, "With or Without you". Need I say more. The best ballad ever.
b) Depeche Mode, "But not Tonight". Great lyrics, good for driving. c) The Cure, "Picture of you"--Gotta listen to this song when you drive thru PCH up Big Sur and Thru Monterrey.
d) Morrissey "The more you ignore me, The closer I get"---Best attitude adjustment song ever! Also love the guitar rift in this song!

3) This is more eclectic, but its must haves too. a) Chungking, "Voodoo"---Tell me how it is after you listen to it :) b) Frou Frou, "Shh"--great beats. c) DJ Shadow "You can't go home again"--Drum Master. d) Bjork, "Pagan Poetry remixed"---great for driving again.

3) Classical. a) Rachmanonoff, "Piano Concerto Nbr 2"--Darkest and most powerful concerto in the world. b) Ravel, "Bolero"--Repeating the same tune, but effective. c) Wagner, "Taunhauser overture"--Eternal dramatic song. Powerful stuff. d) St Saen "The Swan"--Must get Itzak Pearlman's rendition!

VALENTINES DAY!!!!

Since Mike is on my case about not keeping up with this blogspot. So inspite of the fact that I am totally swamped with work, here my latest update. If you are a avid reader of mine, I got nothing deep this time. Very superficial, but as always, enjoy (and try to find those grammer and spelling errors :P)

Well, Valentines Day has finally passed us. Here are some observations I noticed about the female specie’s and their reacts to this most important day of all. It is really quite entertaining.
Perhaps even more so than the New Years Eve. Valentines Day is that one symbolic day when girls have the most unatural state of mind. It is the day when they are most nervous and most high strung. Like a day long bad PMS. And us guys are the tampons that stop the bleeding!
For the guys, it is easy to notice that in the morning when we first walked in the office, immediately, we will notice that almost all the female co-wokers have something red. However, As usual, the girls would just carry on the morning as if it is just like any other morning. Nothing special. They would gather around in the coffee room, chit chatting about the weather, the movies, the shoes they saw the other day, blah blah blah. But in reality, you know when you walked in the room, they really don't give a fuck about any thing they are talking about. What they care about is:
“Who is going to send me flowers and Candies this year?” “Am I getting flowers from my boyfriend?” “What if I don’t, I am going to be so embarrassed!” "I don't care anymore more, I want flowers, any flowers, even if they are from that dork johni...ah humm, Johnathan whom I will never sleep with." “Gosh, it is 10:00AM, where the hell are those damn flowers.” “That bastard Edward, I can’t believe he forgot to send me flowers this year!” “Man, I can’t believe he is really not sending my anything this year, I am going to be the laughing stock of the office..weep weep”, “Oh god, how beautiful these flowers are, Edward does care about me after all....now I can parade these flowers infront of the other girls. The other flowers better be not as expensive as these!” (Notice, everything in the female species' mind this day starts with ME first, but alas, it is their right no this day…)
Once the female specie finally received the flower(s) sent by us male suckers, immediately, big smiles and sighs of relieve will be seen and heard across the office... as if they have just taken the best dump in their lives…
”WHAT A RELIEF!” sigh*
Well, for the rest of the day, it is just a matter of seperating these flowers to piles from those sent by suckers who's got no shot (Dorky Johnii...Johnathan) and those from the guy of their dreams (Handsome Eddi...Edward). Isn't this just cut through your heart, kick you in the nuts unfair to Johnathon, who pured his heart out hoping for some recipricating returns from that gorgeous girl of his dream?
Well guys, here is the advise. Around this time of the year. JUST SAY NO!!! Guard your wallets well. Don’t let the female leaches sucker you into being a P whipped sissy or a stupid sucker. whatever you do, don't get suckered in by the atomosphere, those delicious cookies or that cute Disney ad with two dogs in love. Unless you know for a fact that you are the Alpha Dog in that fair girls life. DO NOT, DO NOT SEND FLOWERS/GIFTS/CANDIES ETC. ETC.
The whole purpose of Valentines day is to provide the female specie that confidence booster to play guys on their finger tips for the rest of the year and also a platform for single girls to compete against one another (see who gets the prettiest flowers and best gift). The more you receive, the more, in ebonic, "got it" you have! They will not care who the sender of these delicate flowers are. It could be the guy of their dreams, their platonic friend who they will never sleep with, your grandpa, or even some chump on the street. you name it. As long as flowers and candies are delievered pronto to the office where EVERYONE can see them, that is fine. So guys, again don’t be a sucker. Save your wallet. It is your best move. More so than staying in school.
Well, if you are bored enough to read this far, You may think that I am just super jaded this year to write about all these blah blah blah stuffs dogging valentines day. But in reality, after the debacles of past years. I am actually quite reliefed that I didn’t have to do any of these charades this year. Save me self some $$$ for my scuba diving lessons in Mar…. But yours truly did score a nice lunch date with the hottest girl I've seen in years... AFTER valentines day that is! (The key word is AFTER, so theirs no pressure and I would not have to pay). Remember all those hot girls I use to know back in my college days? The twins, the Hot Econ club officer, The Czech exchange student. Well, this one ranks up there with them!....Sigh* I guess after all I've written, I am still just a sucker for all pretty girls... This one will be no different. But hey, pretty lady such as her is totally worth it....( humm, isn't that what I say every year?)


(Disclaimer, the above article was written after huge dosage of alcohol. Things written may or may not neccessary represent the author's character, integrity his upright, wholesome, respectful attitude towards the fairer sex...the author is actually quite a upright, dapper, polite gentleman)