I started a blog.

Spring! Garden! Veggies!

2010-03-22T23:36:00.000-07:00

It's getting warmer and almost time for t-shirts and shorts (and most definitely flip flops). It also means time to make camping reservations and casino trips. I love this time of year because it no longer gets dark at 5 (when I feel like I'm staying late at work everyday and don't want to do anything once I get out because it's so dark).

And spring also means I get to plant warm climate vegetables in the garden! I've been neglecting the garden because 1) it's been getting dark so early, 2) I get home late from work, and 3) I haven't had to water thanks to the steady Bay Area rain. This past weekend I went to the Flowercraft and picked up some starter seedlings (since slugs and snails and birds have been picking off the ones I grow from seeds). I picked up more cabbage because I think they're beautiful and the last batch made for some good soup. The hard part of gardening is getting rid of all the weeds after letting them go wild for months. I wore my plaid flannel shirt because I knew I'd be doing manly weeding and manly soil-turning and other manly things. It took a couple hours to clear out my two tiny plots.

I love when my plots are nice and tidy. It's much more inviting that way. Below is a photographic inventory of what I've got going in the garden so far. You can bet there'll be more updates soon(ish).

Strawberries

Cauliflowers from last year. One of them finally started to actually get big.

I've been growing zucchinis every year since they produce so much fruit and are so easy to grow. This year I've moved on to round zucchinis.

Three kinds of cherry tomatoes because I'm indecisive. There's a red one, orange one, and yellow one.

Carrots

A mix of regular and Roxanne (red) cabbage

Chard mix

Artichokes, also from last year. There are two plants left after one was dragged into a hole by a gopher.

Hallelujah

2010-01-24T11:27:00.000-08:00

Leonard Cohen is, undoubtedly, the man. His songs are like soundtracks for lonely motel rooms (it's a good thing!)...they're magically sombre.

Remember when they played Jeff Buckley's version of "Hallelujah" on the season one finale of The OC while Seth was sailing away on his boat? Ugh, so heartbreaking.

After seeing Leonard Cohen's performance below, I'm pretty bummed I didn't get a chance to see him when he was in the Bay Area. If he ever decides to come back, I'll be there...pumping my fist for the old man.

A ton of albums that I used to/still love but don't listen to

2010-01-11T22:23:00.000-08:00

I used to buy lots and lots and lots of music—to the point where I stopped learning the lyrics to the songs...or even the song titles. Here is a fun little list of 10 20 a bunch of albums I used to have on repeat on my boombox.

Looks like I've got a lot of listening to do.

In alphabetical order:

Belle & Sebastian - If You're Feeling Sinister
Björk - Post
Blur - Parklife
The Charlatans - Some Friendly
The Cure - Wish
De La Soul - De La Soul is Dead
Digable Planets - Reachin' (A New Refutation of Time and Space)
DJ Shadow - Entroducing (I crashed my first car—not my fault—while listening to this CD on the way to class)
Erasure - Pop!
Erykah Badu - Mama's Gun
Grant Lee Buffalo - Might Joe Moon
Janet Jackson - Janet
The KLF - The White Room
Latyrx - The Album
Massive Attack - Mezzanine
Morphine - Cure for Pain
Morrissey - Bona Drag
Neutral Milk Hotel - In the Aeroplane Over the Sea
Oasis - All of them, including B-sides
O.M.D. - Best of O.M.D.
The Pharcyde - Bizarre Ride II The Pharcyde
Pink Floyd - Dark Side of the Moon
The Pixies - Doolittle
Pizzicato Five - Made in USA
Portishead - Portishead
Primal Scream - Screamadelica
Pulp - His N' Hers
Radiohead - The Bends
The Roots - Do You Want More?!!!??!
Soul Coughing - Ruby Vroom
Stan Getz & Joao Gilberto - Getz/Gilberto
Stereolab - Emporer Tomato Ketchup
The Strokes - Is This It?
Suede - Dog Man Star
Tortoise - TNT
Weezer - Weezer (Blue Album)
The White Stripes - De Stijl
Yo La Tengo - I Can Hear the Heart Beating As One

Better living through computer graphics

2010-01-09T09:33:00.000-08:00

This video has popped up on pretty much every tech (and some non-tech) blog I visit, and it's totally justified. Alex Roman made a short film about architecture that is mind-blowingly beautiful and technically amazing. I couldn't believe this entire thing was made from CG. Even at full-screen, I couldn't tell it was CG because the animation is so ridiculously photorealistic, especially in the beginning. Have a look below. Do yourself a favor and put it on full-screen.

The Third & The Seventh from Alex Roman on Vimeo.

For those who still don't believe this is all CG, check is out:

Compositing Breakdown (T&S) from Alex Roman on Vimeo.

2010, you HAVE to be better than 2009

2009-12-11T13:49:00.000-08:00

Man, I can't wait for this year to be over. There were some good things, but overall it sucked ass. Here's my annual list of things to work towards in the new year.

1. Post more list oriented entries on this blog. This was #10 on my list from last year, so I'm putting it up top this year.

2. End the Ikea takeover in my apartment. I'm 31, it's time.

3. A new car. I know I just got my car only a few months ago, but I'm gonna have to upgrade to a car with power everything. And air conditioning. Seriously, I don't want to have to hand-crank my windows up and down anymore.

4. A classic: exercise more. Mainly for health reasons and to prevent me from feeling like a sluggish slob, but also to look decent while shirtless.

5. Practice philanthropy. I've reached a pivotal point in my life where I've got the means to help others, either through donations or volunteering, so I'd like to try and make the most of it. I'm rejoining Taproot Foundation to put my professional skill set to work and enrich local busineses who can't afford the service otherwise.

6. Be a better friend. I consider myself a pretty decent person and a good friend, but there's always room for improvement.

7. Get to know my family better. Though I love them, I've never been as close to my family as I'd like to be. Maybe in 2010 that will change.

8. Excel at my job. In 2010, with a new job, I'll try to do more than just meet expectations.

9. Less Facebook, more blogging. Facebook is like an ADHD exercise. I've got to learn to commit myself to writing a whole blog entry more often.

10. Dress like an adult. It was inevitable: I grew up. Now my clothes have to do the same. I guess it's good that I don't own very many graphic tees but do own a few pairs of corduroy pants. It's a start.

So here's to an awesome new year for me and you.
N.B. I failed miserably in my resolution to drink more in 2009. May 2010 be a drunken haze!

Wow, ok

2009-12-09T10:23:00.000-08:00

Tonight I got a text from my sister saying that our autistic cousin was missing and she wanted to know what the best way to get the word out about him (tv news, radio, flyers, etc.). I thought it was a joke at first since, come on, how often do you get a text saying a family member is missing?

She was driving around San Jose looking for him without any luck (as you could imagine) while I was calling all the local news stations to see if they could put out an announcement and checking with all the hospitals just in case. Frantic was way of putting it. Shitting bricks is another.

Since he's autistic, he rarely goes anywhere by himself except to and from his adult education class. I was ready to drive down to San Jose to join her in aimlessly driving around when I got another text saying that the police had found him outside of a Target store miles away from where he was last seen. Man, I would have been pissed if I had actually left. What the hell was he doing across town at Target while everyone was freaking out? Ironically, I was also at a Target store when I got the initial text.

Lesson learned: implant a GPS chip under any of your loved ones' skin...immediately.

Not completely wasting my time

2009-12-01T01:13:00.000-08:00

Lately I've been trying to spend my time doing things other than being online or at work. Or being online at work. Last week I volunteered at the San Francisco Food Bank. It's kinda fun in an assembly line kinda way. We repackaged bulk granola and brown rice into one-pound bags, which then went into boxes. My job was to do the initial filling of the bags as close to one pound as possible. I've discovered that I've got a knack for this (hitting one pound more often than not) and one of my teammates suggested that I'd be a good drug dealer.

I didn't really think about the people who would be there, but it was surprising that most of the people there were my age or younger. I guess I expected to see more of the mom type (because that's what I see on the news when they do stories on food banks during the holidays?? I don't know).

This year I'm also doing the Adopt-A-Family program at the Raphael House again. My friend Lucie told me about it and I thought it would be nice to contribute. The house is more or less a shelter for homeless children and families in the Tenderloin district of San Francisco. The program asks that you provide gifts for the children as well as a family gift and a gift card to some place practical like Safeway or Target. Last year I spent way more than I really should have, but it was really fun shopping for my girl and her family (hence the overdoing of the gifts).

My motivations aren't completely altruistic, though. Growing up, we were pretty poor and my parents used services similar to these and lately I've been feeling like I have a responsibility to "give back," as they say. If you have the time or money, you should, too. And not just because it's the holidays, but because I told you to.

You can email Anne at SF Food Bank (more info here) or Anna at Raphael House (more info here) if you are a good, decent person.

This stuff isn't going to repackage itself into one-pound bags.

I'm stressed out as fuck

2009-10-22T00:36:00.001-07:00

So, to relieve some of that stress, I'll revisit this blog, which I more or less abandoned months ago. The thing is, I've got two presentations tomorrow and lots of stuff to design. I'll be working til at least 3 in the morning tonight. But I've got sketches done!

Adult life is tougher than what I had imagined as a child (or hoped for). Recently I've been reminiscing about how stupid I was to complain about life as a kept kid. I didn't have to pay for anything and got everything. Oh well, those days are gone, so I should probably worry about today. And these projects. And the presentations tomorrow.

Back to work.

Oh, and thanks, mom and dad, for the braces and those Nike Cortez shoes you got me way back when.

In Bataan, Philippines

One wasn't enough

2009-07-06T21:57:00.001-07:00

Shortly after starting to contribute to Uyen's food blog, I wanted something even quicker and more instantly satisfying. It's a food diary filled with camera phone pictures of the things I eat throughout the day. Maybe I can sell it as a book one day. Probably not, though.

It was inevitable

2009-06-15T17:33:00.000-07:00

Uyen and I have started a food blog. It's two people who eat too much writing about the food that make, eat, etc.

Brian's gonna wish he never invited me to go camping

2009-06-06T21:22:00.000-07:00

Audrey texted me and told me to download the Mad Decent app for my iPhone. It's a very simple app: you choose an icon, touch the screen, and the app plays the corresponding sound. For instance, the default is an air horn. You tap the screen and it makes a very loud air horn noise.

My favorite is a G.I. Joe-ish looking guy on a hoverboard. The sound he makes is nothing like you'd expect. Have a listen here.

Next weekend when we're camping in Sequoia National Park, Audrey and I plan to wake Brian up each day with a few choice sounds. Good morning, Brian!

Week in review

2009-05-02T23:26:00.000-07:00

Just some bits and pieces of me...to you.

I've postponed the trip Patrick and I were going to take to the Dominican Repulbic, which turned into Costa Rica, but now probably Puerto Rico. It was mostly because it'll be unbelievably hot and humid there, but also because it'll be hurricane season and I kinda want to see if this Swine Flu business will taper off soon.

I found an awesome app for the iPhone/iPod that takes your pictures and turns them into actual postcards that physically gets sent. This will be handy when I'm on Caribbean beaches.

My garden is doing well. This season: tomatoes, beets, butter lettuce, zucchinis, eggplants, okra, and maybe some marigolds and herbs.

I've decided I want a car. But there's that money thing I need to deal with first.

Work has been kind of ridiculously demanding this year so far, but it seems to be getting better...at least until next week.

I am super excited to go camping again this June. Haven't been in a while. I'll probably plan another Big Sur trip soon. I love that place. Who's in?

Here's a photo of Brian being attacked by a blue jay on one of our camping trips.

Microsoft FAIL

2009-04-05T00:32:00.000-07:00

I just saw two new Microsoft ads (ones which follow a trail of distasteful/failed ads featuring little kids taking pictures of stuff, people being fooled into thinking they were using a better OS, Jerry Seinfeld and Bill Gates acting entitled, etc.) via one of the many blogs in my RSS reader. In theory, these ads make sense: with the economy not doing so hot, you want to sell buyers the idea that cheaper is better. But that is exactly it: you're selling them a cheaper product. Of course the PCs are cheaper if the specs don't match up with the competing Macs. Sure, Lauren (who happens to be an actress...aren't these people supposed to be real folk who answered an ad?) got a cheap PC, but one that completely under-performs in all aspects compared to a comparable Mac, including half the battery life.

Also, isn't Microsoft a software company? Why do the requisites of Giampaolo's desired laptop all relate to hardware? The size of the keyboard, the amount of RAM, and battery life have nothing to do with software. Hmmmm. Also, if Giampaolo wanted something portable, wouldn't he want a 13" or smaller laptop and not a behemoth 16" one? Double hmmmm. Another also: why is HP the only PC brand mentioned and bought in these ads? Did HP subsidize these spots? TRIPLE hmmmm (but that's beside the point, so I digress).

I have trouble believing that Cripin, Porter + Bugosky are 100% behind the ads they created. I think that Microsoft's marketing team bullied them into creating ads that would push the "cheaper" messaging at the expense of any real substance. But to the agency's credit, I think these were shot at Fry's. I can spot those shrub-lined parking lots any day. I love you, Fry's Electronics.

The moral of the story? There are a few: 1) Don't trust ads with "real people" who have a long acting history, 2) You get what you pay for and 3) Shop at Fry's.

Link

Link

A new camera, a new venture

2009-03-20T23:06:00.000-07:00

After getting over the shock and disbelief of my DSLR crapping out on me in China (and consequently destroying ALL my photos taken up until that day there, including ones of the Great Wall), I planned on getting myself a newer, better camera.

Last week I finally did it (after 4 months of deliberation) and got myself another Canon, this time the XSi. Instead of 8MP, now I have an insane 12.2MP per shot. I don't know when I'll ever need that many pixels, but whatever.

Today I came up with the brilliant plan to start taking pictures with it to sell as stock photography. I've gotta make it worth my while, right? I got a huge sheet of white paper and started shooting whatever was around the apartment and got some decent images. Maybe I'll make enough money to buy decent lighting supplies one day. Here are a few samples.

The creepiest mask ever made

A bloody latex hand

A souvenir from China

Sock monkey

A stone stamp, also from China

A song I still love

2009-02-23T23:32:00.000-08:00

Sometimes I hear a song that I haven't heard in years and wonder "Why have I not heard it in years?" This Mortal Coil's cover of this song is much more wonderful than the original. Sorry, Tim. Also, how amazing is Elizabeth Fraser?

Link

Emojis, when letters just won't cut it

2009-02-11T23:32:00.000-08:00

There's an app that unlocks the hidden emojis on iPhones not sold in Japan. I love them because 1) they're adorable, 2) they're prettier than letters, and 3) PICTIONARY.

Below is tonight's conversation with Ross*.

*I love my buddy Ross because he humors during moments like these.

It's all about me

2009-02-04T15:14:00.000-08:00

On Facebook, there's this pass-it-on kind of list where you write 25 random facts about yourself and then tag 25 of your friends and they return the favor. I ignored it at first, dismissing it as another bad survey a la MySpace, but I've actually found out a lot about friends that I didn't know before. Strange as it sounds, I felt a little closer to my buddies.

So, I took some time and compiled my own. It falls in line with my resolution to make more lists this year. See below.

1. I have a hard time giving out details of my life to people, except if it's about something I've eaten or somewhere I've been. In those cases, I'll go into detail and provide photos. This list will be an exercise in self-disclosure for sure.

2. I've really never felt proud of my country until last year, when I was moved to tears.

3. I still think about going back to school to become a biologist; biology intrigues and amazes me ceaselessly.

4. Sometimes I dream about winning the lottery. Then I'd take the money, buy an apartment building, live in one of the units and rent out the rest. Maybe I'd knock out the walls between two units and make myself one big one. It would provide a place to live as well as a steady income. Is that weird...or totally rational?

5. I've done the Master Cleanse once before and am considering it again soon. I like the taste of the spicy lemonade and enjoy the challenge. What I don't like are the salt flushes. I won't go into detail here.

6. I haven't had cable since the late 90's. I have to rely on friends or online video services to catch up on the cable shows I enjoy like Top Chef and Project Runway. BTW, anyone know when (if ever) the new PR will be on next?

7. Speaking of which, Jeopardy! is my favorite show of all time. I'll sometimes plan my night around it. I can do without the short one-on-ones with the contestants. I'm usually embarrassed by the trivial (ha!) stories they tell. Also, note to self: brush up on Shakespeare trivia.

8. I wish I could sing, if only so I could do karaoke. (I'd want to do Dolly Parton and Kenny Rogers' "Islands in the Stream")

9. "Have I grown up yet?" is a question I ask myself often. I don't really feel 30 or anywhere close to it. I know I'm an adult by definition but feel strange when someone refers to me as one.

10. I don't drink and feel like it's a social handicap so I've made it one of my new year's resolutions to start. Patrick's been helping me but it hasn't really happened yet.

11. I love gadgets and electronics. LOVE. I couldn't/don't want to imagine life without my phone, laptop, tv, camera, etc.

12. I'm allergic to a lot of foods but still eat them anyway. I enjoy food and won't let a few hives get in the way of my pleasure. Watermelon makes my throat close up, but it's SO refreshing.

13. I miss Barcelona to death and can't wait until I'm there again. I think it's incredibly romantic. It's also very beautiful and has tons of history. Barcelona is easily my favorite city and inspired me to relearn Spanish (though Latin Spanish, via tapes). I'm also going to learn to make paella.

14. On the other hand, I was disappoint with my trip to China. If it wasn't for the amazing man-made and natural structures, I would not have ever stepped out into the VERY polluted air. The food we had wasn't that great, which I was looking forward to.

15. The longest job I had was at Johnny Rockets (over 5 years) as a server in downtown San Jose while in college. I worked short hours, made good tips, and had hamburgers and shakes all day. For five years.

16. I've been a cook, a seller of books and clothes (not at the same time), a tutor, a machinist, a server, an intern, a production artist and a graphic designer.

17. I'm grateful to have kept in touch and on occasion reconnected with old friends through social networking sites. Go Web 2.0!

18. I own a house in Sacramento with my sister which we rent out to sorta crappy tenants. I'm looking into getting a place in the city, but it seems a little out of my grasp right now. Come on, lottery. Big money!

19. I keep a community garden plot where I've grown lettuce, zucchini, watermelon, sugar snaps, broccoli, eggplants, bok choy, carrots, etc. Some were more successful than others.

20. I can't stand how cute cats are. I'm really bummed out that I developed an allergy to cats, even though I used to have two in a house I rented with Jimmy.

21. I love cooking, but enjoy buying cookware even more. I bought a bunch of stuff so I could prepare a couple dishes for a dinner Christmas eve. Then I spent three hours in bed Christmas morning buying even more online.

22. There's a scar on the bridge of my nose from when I fell when I was six months old. There's also a scar on the pad of my right index finger, but I don't know when or how it got there.

23. Oh my god, I'm almost done. My brain hurts from compiling this list. Are you still reading?

24. I can play the flute, drums, piano (and other keyboardy type instruments), and guitar, but don't because I'm not very good at any of them.

25. I love camping, especially if the camp site is next to water. I love to sit and watch the campfire for hours. I love s'mores. I hate breaking down a tent, though.

Ha-ha funny

2009-01-28T21:19:00.000-08:00

I just want to thank Kristen Wigg for keeping SNL funny when Tina Fey isn't doing her Sarah Palin impersonation.

China diaries, pt. 3...FINALLY

2009-01-15T23:59:00.000-08:00

Okay, so I got a little sidetracked with life and haven't gotten around to the last installment of my vacation in China. I barely remember what happened in those two weeks so I'm sure you've already forgotten I was even in China. Remind yourself here and here.

Ok, so here we go...

Day 9: Shanghai

Um, so in my notes taken on my iPhone all I have is "Really losing my patience for the Chinese." Apparently everyone pushes their way in front of everyone else...and there are lines just about everywhere you looking in China. So all the pushing and shoving and elbowing that the old Chinese ladies do on the 30 Stockton bus to Chinatown? Yup, they brought that skill from China...it's not just an act for courteous Americans that wait their turn.

I think this was also the day I went to the Shanghai Museum...a museum about Shanghai. It's located inside the Oriental Pearl, the third tallest tower building in the world. The view from the observation deck was pretty cool, but the best thing about it was the museum. The wax figures were the best I've ever seen. My favorite was the opium den with the crackheads (opium heads?). I also dug the miniature city scenes depicting Shanghai through its history

View from the observation deck...so much smog

Wax woman

Opium junkies

Days 10-12: Shanghai/Xiamen

Nothing really spectacular happened the last couple days. I was kind of over it and was really exhausted from walking around everyday. We did get a chance to go knock-off shopping, which turned out to be pretty disappointing for me. After reading about the Chinese government shutting down the knock-off operations because of complaints from the designers about intellectual property and whatnot, I was worried there was only be cheap non-designer things to buy. Leave it to the capitalists to proof me wrong! Only a could minutes on the street and a lady comes up to us with a printout with photos of bags from Louis Vuitton, Prada, Gucci, etc. We were lead down an alley, then through a maze of side streets, and then into a showroom full of fakes. Some were pretty damned good. Our tour guide was able to talk them into selling a 4,000 yuan bag to my sister for less than 400. Lesson: don't pay the given price...ever. I dreamt of going home with an authentic looking Gucci wallet but left empty-handed. At least my sister scored.

Since not much happened, here are some more random pictures from Shanghai. Chay chen!!!

Knock-off Lane

More wax statues

Most enjoy Least annoy

Miniature Shanghai

Miniature theatre

Fucked up shit

2009-01-09T20:10:00.000-08:00

SFist posted an article about Prop 8 Maps, which uses Google Maps to pinpoint people who donated to the Prop 8 campaign. It's kind of fascinating and kind of disheartening to see that so many people donated (I've only scanned San Francisco and San Jose). I hope I don't recognize anyone I know.

Goodbye, 2008

2008-12-31T13:57:00.000-08:00

It's that time of year again. The list from the beginning of 2008 was carried out pretty well, with at least a 50% success rate. Here's a list of what I'd like to see happen in 2009 for myself. See you in OH NINE!

1. Get new DSLR and new point and shoot
2. After getting #1 done, take more pictures
3. Fit into a size 30" jeans again
4. Recycle/reuse/conserve more
5. Be healthier in general
6. Stop renting
7. Go out more
8. Drink (it really is socially crippling to not drink)
9. Smoke less
10. Make more lists

Below is the worst animated GIF I've ever seen in my life.

How did I ever miss this??!!

2008-12-30T16:47:00.000-08:00

Thanks to SFist and their story on how much KRON4 sucks ass and possibly on its last legs, I got a chance to see this clip of Quentin Tarantino going head-to-head with Jan Wahl, the idiotic in-house film critic who rates movies by giving them HATS. It's such a bad gimmick—what the hell do hats have to do with movies? I rarely agree with what she says and would like to buy her an extra large bucket of shut-the-fuck-up popcorn.

I'm haven't been a big fan of Quentin Tarantino since Pulp Fiction, but I like him that much more for schooling J-Dub on feminism and the difference between fantasy and reality. Also, weak sauce on her part for cutting him off at the end. He wasn't done with you, bitch!

UPDATE: Jan is out!!!!!!!

Link here

On turning 30

2008-12-18T01:03:00.000-08:00

Just over an hour ago I turned 30. For the first time on a birthday I felt like I'm getting older. That'll probably change tomorrow morning when I go back into work and do the same thing I was doing before my birthday. But tonight I'll just sit in front of the computer, try to do some work and contemplate 30 for a bit.

UPDATE: It's morning and I've contemplated and yeah, it's like any other age. BUT 30 did bring me this, the MOST ADORABLE birthday wish ever.

ONE MORE UPDATE: I was just sent this. SO cute.

Early birthday!

2008-12-14T01:17:00.000-08:00

I'm taking a break from the China Diaries to report a perfect early birthday. This morning Patrick woke me up with a breakfast in bed. Eggs, ham and tasty toast. He also crocheted a beanie (!!!!) for me (see below).

After breakfast I was taken to the California Academy of Sciences, which I have been talking about on a regular basis. It was a great mixture of old and new. The T-Rex skeleton, the African Hall, the pendulum and the PENGUINS were there. Penguins pretty much are the bestest things on earth. A few new additions to the Academy included a living roof, a shark and ray pool, a new planetarium and a rain forest. The rain forest is by far my favorite new addition, where birds and butterflies zoom around freely. The only thing that sucked REAL HARD was that my camera crapped out again and I lost all the pictures I took at the Academy. Fucking shit fuck to that, man.

We went to Park Chow for lunch since it was right there on 9th Ave. If I had to give it a Yelp rating, it would get three and a half stars. The spiced apple cider and calamari were good, but my Thai-style noodle entree was a soupy mess. Patrick thought his eggplant parmesan was "mediocre," and this from someone who LOVES his eggplants.

Afterwards we went to San Jose to join Micah and Kelsey for a romp at Christmas in the Park and dinner at Johnny Rockets. I love that my old co-workers are still there because I get hooked up! We ended the night with hot chocolate and some Rock Band.

Thanks for an awesome day, monkey!

(Since I lost all the pictures I took with the DSLR, all photos were taken with my phone.)

Saturday morning on the N. Everyone must have partied real hard the night before.

New beanie made with love

Astroman Patrick

Rain forest. It'll frizz your hair, 4realz

Anaconda. It dont want none unless you got buns, hon.

So-so Thai noodles and eggplant parm

China diaries, pt. 2

2008-12-11T23:56:00.000-08:00

The adventure continues...

Day 5: Xian
It smelled like there was a fire going on somewhere in Xian and it was close enough to smell. I was pretty damned sure of this and even Googled "xian fire"...but I was wrong, I think. Maybe the Chinese government was just covering it up? I don't know why they'd do that, but then I also don't understand why they felt the need to superimpose FAKE fireworks into the Olympics opening ceremony coverage. Anyway, it smells like a fire for the next couple days.

The first place we visited was "The Tomb Mound of the Qin Mausoleum" according to the sign. It was pretty much a tomb in the shape of pyramid with lots of trees to make it look like a natural mountain. There were some picturesque views from the top. Also at the top were lots of poor locals trying to sell whatever they had: fake jade bracelets, fake ancient coins, and Chinese combination locks. They are aggressive once you've shown interest in anything they're selling. One woman followed us half way down the pyramid/tomb/mountain until we bought here 15 yuan something or other.

We later went to see the terra cotta warriors made for the emperor of China, which I've always wanted to see first-hand since my first art history class in college. There weren't as many as I had thought/hoped there would be. The ones that were there, however, were pretty fucking cool. The detail that went into everyone sculpture was amazing.

Last stop of the day was the bathhouse made from hot springs that housed some emperor's favorite concubine. This was a former residence of Cheng Kai Shek.

Walking up the Qin mausoleum

Terra cotta army

Soldiers posing in front of the statue of a concubine

Day 6: Xian/Luoyang

Day 6 and still smoggy. I hadn't seen the sun in two days. We took a five-hour train ride from Xian to Luoyang, home of the peony festival. In Luoyang we drove to Shaolin Temple, where young monks are taught martial arts and also the setting of a favorite movie when I was a kid.

We also visited the Giant Goose Pagoda, but that might have been in Xian. I'm not sure; I think the smog is getting to my memory at this point.

Giant Goose Pagoda

Prayer cards

Some lucky German got a "player" card

Day 7: Luoyang

Ugh, the day of the runs!! I went to the bathroom 6 times in the morning. I think it was the weird fruits that my grandma bought at the dirty train station in Xian.

We went to the Longmen Grottoes where individuals and royalty alike carved shrines with buddhas into the limestone along the Yi River. While we were there, a group of women were performing a fish release ritual. They were chanting for a while and the fish they brought were in plastic grocery bags flopping around. Not surprisingly when they finally released them into the river, a good amount of the fish went belly up. :(

Grottoes

Fish in bags

More grottoes

Day 8: Luoyang/Zhengzhou

OMG! The sun came out!! I was so excited to see actual blue skies. It was still pretty cold, though. That morning I found some Imodium AD I always pack when I travel but had somehow forgotten about the day before. Thank god for that because my grandma had some stuff that warned about blurry vision and drowsiness. That's no way to enjoy a site-seeing vacation. I think those saved my life. Also, I found out that Anh Cua, our tour guide, had 11 cars and a few homes. That's when I stopped feeling bad that he was paying for so much of our trip and even considered asking for loans.

I forgot where we went that day, or if we actually did anything, so here are a few random pictures.

Pagoda Forest at the Shaolin Temple

All of us in front of the Shaolin Temple

Lots of buddhas

China diaries, pt. 1

2008-12-06T01:11:00.000-08:00

It's almost kinda maybe a homecoming since, you know, I've never set foot in China, but my forefathers/mothers have. Initially I hadn't planned to go, but decided to make the trip to China after all. Luckily, Lark travels all the time and suggested I sublet my place while I'm away. Subletting was definitely a sound financial decision as it helped pay for most of the airfare.

To make a long story short, China has breathtaking natural and man-made sites to see, the food was disappointing, greasy and sometimes unidentifiable, and the air is smoggy. I took daily pictures and brief notes daily on my beloved iPhone and this is what I ended up with:

Day 1 - Fujian Province/Xiamen

SFO to Hong Kong to Xiamen. Flying into Xiamen, I could only see the peaks of the tallest mountain tops—everything else was hazy at best. From the airport my sister and I were picked up by my aunt and grandma who had arrived a week earlier. With them were a van-load of distant relatives. The first stop we made was to a restaurant in a small town where my grandma grew up. We ended up eating shellfish I'd never seen before and I swear I ate tubeworms.

Touching down in Xiamen

Family grave site

Neighbor's cow

Day 2: Beijing

Flew into Beijing hoping that the air would be clearer and was disappointed. It was also nutshrinkingly cold. Thank god for thermal underwear. Our tour guide, or Anh Cua ("uncle") took us for a walk around Tiananmen Square area for a bit. The Forbidden City was closed so we kept wandering. Street vendors sold starfish, scorpions, pupas on stick. As tempting as that was, we ended up eating at palatial restaurant where we had a Peking duck with its own serial number.

Crikets and scorpions

Peking duck restaurant where the servers just stood around waiting for patrons

Balconies of the hotel we stayed at; the colors were constantly changing and must have been real fun at night for the building across the street

Day 3: Beijing

We went to the Great Wall where the memory card in my camera stopped working. I was completely bummed out and gave up climbing the extremely steep wall. I had to start using my aunt's horrible Panasonic point-and-shoot which was better than my iPhone (or nothing at all). There were lots of vendors at the Great Wall, all of whom were extremely aggressive and tried to sell me things in Chinese which I didn't understand. Our driver made me nervous so I couldn't watch the road while we were in the car. I learned that lane markings were to be used as a rough guide and by no means mandatory. After the Great Wall we drove to the nearby tombs of the emperors of the Ming Dynasty. The tombs were deep, deep underground and there were LOTS of stairs.

Late in the afternoon we made it to the Bird's Nest, which was pretty crowded. Huge screen TVs played bits of the opening ceremony of the Beijing Olympics.

Shot of the Great Wall of China

Posing at the Bird's Nest

We also made a stop at the Summer Palace

Day 4: Beijing and Xian

For some reason it went from really cold to pretty warm in Beijing the next day. It might have been because we hiked the Forbidden City from beginning to end. It was a massive walled city which housed Mao's mausoleum. MASSIVE. The architecture was definitely beautiful, but it got repetitive after the third or fourth building.

Tiananmen Square

One of the buildings in the Forbidden City

Dragony turtle

In other shopping news...

2008-11-30T23:17:00.000-08:00

...Audrey will no longer be the lucky recipient of these mittens:

black friday

2008-11-30T20:50:00.000-08:00

the day after thanksgiving, i went to macys at 3:30am so i could get a pair of limited edition crocs winter boots for $59.99

when i saw how beautiful they were in person, i got a pair in orange and electric blue as well! my favorite part about them are the random pieces of wool lining the plastic and suede.

p.s. audrey is so cool and i am so lame

My recent obsession with the Emanuels, particularly Rahm

2008-11-13T13:58:00.000-08:00

With Rahm as Obama's Chief of Staff and Ari being portrayed by Jeremy Pivens in Entourage, the brothers have been getting lots of attention. The brothers fascinate me because 1) they're super successful/intelligent siblings that remind me of Salinger's Glass family or a more functional Tenenbaums, 2) they scare the bejesus out of me and 3) Rahm is foxy in a psychotic maniac kinda way.

During a Charlie Rose interview with the three brothers (Zeke, the oldest, is a bioethics director for the U.S. National Institutes of Health), you can see Rahm waving his hand with the stub of a middle finger around. Supposedly it got cut off while working at an Arby's, but I'd like to think that he lost it doing something much more heroic and dangerous.

UPDATE: There's a post today over at the HuffPo about Rahm Emanuel roasting Stephen Colbert! Awesomeness.

Regarding Prop 8

2008-11-05T09:05:00.000-08:00

This morning I checked the results for Prop 8, hoping that there was a chance it had failed. The margin was a lot smaller, but it still passed.

I'm at a loss to understand the amount of hate it takes to want to change a constitution specifically to discriminate. While walking home from BART last night, Patrick and I saw some kid jumping up and down shouting "YES ON 8, MOTHERFUCKERS!!" He didn't look old enough to vote. Why would it affect him aside from validating his hate? But that's beside the point of this post.

An overwhelming feeling of camaraderie overtook me during the course of this election. Everyone I knew pumped their fists for Obama because it was time for a change. But presidential election aside, people were also rooting for the failure of Prop 8. I was so touched by the amount of support from close friends, family, co-workers and total strangers. Even celebrities and big corporations gave their support for a cause they thought was worthy of their attention. Though I don't have as much at stake in the failure of Prop 8 as the people who have fought for their marriages, it was still a very personal matter at the core.

Getting texts and calls from my friends asking about the status Prop 8 last night meant the world to me. The disappointment in the faces of my happily married straight friends as they found out Prop 8 was winning meant the world to me. Reading all the posts from people voicing their outrage of Prop 8 meant the world to me. I'm honored to have these people in my life and feel that with this much support.

We lost this battle, but won one as well last night. One step at a time.

One day I'll get a chance to make many horrible marriage decisions like Britney.

America wins

2008-11-04T23:41:00.000-08:00

Living in America's not going to be so bad, I think. The blue states won; we won. I'm genuinely proud to be contributor to a great moment in American history. Tonight was awesome and inspiring. But, you know, when you've got Oprah endorsing you, how can you fail?

Also, Michelle will need to hire a stylist.

I voted today

2008-11-04T11:48:00.000-08:00

And so should you if you haven't. Plus, you get free donuts, ice cream and coffee. If you don't do it for your country/future, do it for the free food...you fucking mooch.

The California Academy of Sciences

2008-09-21T15:05:00.000-07:00

I read an article on SFGate.com about the opening of the new California Academy of Sciences today and I can't wait to visit it for myself. I'm really excited about the swamp, rain forest, and living rooftop exhibits. The sustainable design is wonderfully sci-fi, most notably the rooftop where there are living plants which acts as insulation against weather for the Academy.

The coolest thing of all, however, is the penguin exhibit. This exhibit has always been a favorite of mine. PENGUINS! The new Academy outdoes itself this time around with a live, streaming cam feed of the penguin habitat. That's right: STREAMING. How awesome is that?

Below are some photos I found on Flickr. I'm definitely bringing my camera.

Bonus photo:

On a side note: Lysol wipes are amazing! I used one sheet to wipe off my dirty keyboard, scanner, table, and even the garbage can before I threw it away. I've got a full canister waiting for me and I can't wait to use them.

David Foster Wallace

2008-09-14T09:37:00.000-07:00

In the last day, three of my friends¹ alerted me to the suicide/death of David Foster Wallace. First it was shocking, then it made me extremely sad. I own two of his books and have only read one². Today I will start the other one.

RIP, DFW. You've been a good to me³.

This is the first image of DFW I ever saw, the one on the back cover of ASFTINDA.

__________________________________________________
1. I've shared DFW stories with Audrey, Tristan and Ross. Maybe we should all go see the John Krasinski's film together.

2. I started my relationship with DFW some time back in college when I got an offer in the mail from QPB (Quality PaperBack) for 5 or 6 books at a dollar a piece. Even though I had never heard of DFW before, I thought A Supposedly Fun Thing I'll Never Do Again: Essays and Arguments was a charmingly long title so I bought it. Why not? It was only a dollar. I also order some art reference books that I've never attempted to read. Once I received ASFTINDA, it sat on my shelf for a loooooong time. I didn't quite have the ambition to tackle the lengthy book, most of which was set in tiny, tiny type via footnotes.

After reading it, there hasn't been a televised tennis match where I don't think of DFW. Last year I bought Infite Jest when it was released at a reduced price of only $10 (!!). It hasn't been read yet, but I will make time for it.

3. DFW's stories have kept me company while waiting to be called for jury duty and rekindled my interest in David Lynch which led me to buy his films at inflated prices on eBay.

It's been a while

2008-09-07T22:15:00.000-07:00

Work, and life in general, have kept me away from my blog, but I'm back.

Since my last entry, I've been (predictably) addicted to my iPhone. I've been downloading apps, uploading photos, and Twittering (which helps me stay up to date with friends like Ross and Nicole!).

To those who have to interact with me on a regular basis (e.g., Patrick), I apologize for ignoring you in favor of my iPhone. True, it can't give me the same companionship that friends and lovers can, but it has Bejeweled 2 and texting.

On that note, I'll take my leave. There is freelance work to do and it's a resolution of mine to tie up the loose ends on these projects. TTYL

One more thing. Patrick posted a YouTube video of Fatass.

Fun with predictive text

2008-08-03T23:17:00.000-07:00

Patrick sent me a head-scratcher of a text tonight. Wonder if he's getting Romania and Slovakia, too.

Music I can listen to without getting bored

2008-07-31T23:07:00.000-07:00

I've been listening to the new Girl Talk ablum, Feed the Animals a lot recently (thanks to my new iPhone!) when I'm wondering around the city. I never really cared for mash-ups until I was introduced to Girl Talk's "Night Ripper" album. But even then, I don't consider it mash-up, per se. He's kind of like a pop DJ Shadow. It was perfect for me. There's enough going on in every song to appease my ADHD tendencies, there's throwaway pop songs as well as classics, AND Rick Astley is involved. It's multi-genred music goodness for those with short attention spans. Check it out.

Audrey don't know no style

2008-07-28T13:56:00.000-07:00

This chat spawned from this Flickr photo I posted.

First link
Second link

A Sunday afternoon WTF

2008-07-27T13:12:00.000-07:00

So I was reading SFGate.com and there's an article about Gavin Newsom's wedding to a rich, blonde bimbo. Ok, so it's SF Gate and I guess Gavin Newsom is the mayor of San Francisco so it's kinda almost relevant to write about his wedding, right? But, uh, did they have to get former SF mayor Willie Brown to write it? The article reminds me of Gizmodo's liveblogging of an Apple event, except it's not entertaining and there's no iPhone hype afterwards. Oh, but Huey Lewis played at the wedding! That was pretty exciting.

Here's a sample of the article:

The theme of the wedding is "Out of Africa," Montana style.
So I had to get a new outfit for the wedding: white silk and linen sun blazer, white Riviera collar shirt, Brioni khakis and brown-and-white spectator pumps.
Robert Redford would be proud.

Bravo, Willie!

SRSLY, SFGate, WTF?

We chat with grace

2008-07-18T13:57:00.001-07:00

Also, this is what what Sheila thinks about all day:

iPhone happiness and rediscovering "California's Gold"

2008-07-17T22:10:00.000-07:00

After that sad, sad Friday where I wasn't able to get an iPhone, I didn't give up. Uyen and Andrew were in town this past weekend from New York for a wedding. Unfortunately, on Sunday, Uyen drank a little too much the night before and spent the day getting to know my toilet. I wanted to give them a chance to sleep at my place, so I grabbed Patrick and made him go to the Apple store just to check out the line. It was the shortest I'd seen it (still about 50 poeople) so I had to jump right in. After about 45 minutes I was a proud owner of a black 16GB iPhone. It hasn't left my side since; I'm totally in love.

The iPhone has since taken the friendship between me and Tristan to a new level (we've texted each other on our phones!). Incidentally, one of those texts was about "California's Gold," a show I used to watch as a young man. It was hosted and produced by Huell Howser and often showed him on a train full of dining senior citizens or standing on a dry lake bed somewhere in the California desert. Thanks to Tristan, now I know that there are podcasts that I can download and watch!! There's a "spinoff" called "California's Gold Visiting" where Huell goes to different countries. I've downloaded the Russian one and will watch it soon. Check it out!

Day of iPhone sadness :(

2008-07-11T08:35:00.000-07:00

I could barely sleep last night, imagining a new iPhone up against my ear. This morning, waking up to an alarm set an hour earlier than usual, I got up and was out the door by 7:15 so I could get in line about half an hour before the 8 am sale time. Approaching the AT&T store across the street from my office there was hope. The line seemed short, but the closer I got the longer it got. I didn't want to stand in that long of a line so I went up Market Street to the next closest one. The line was even longer and I think might have been two or three deep.

Since it was about an hour and a half before I usually show up to the office, I decided to go back to the Mission to see what the line was like at the AT&T store there. At this point desperation started setting in. I NEED AN iPHONE! When I saw the line, which extended the length of the long Mission block, the possibility of me being an iPhone owner died a horrible, bloody death. I haven't given up yet. I'll try again at lunch. Maybe I'll even try the Apple store, though I couldn't the lines being any shorter. But now there's a new dilemma. Black or white?

Humboldt pictures

2008-06-12T18:59:00.000-07:00

Testing out a new player. Right arrow goes to the next photo, or you know, click on the picture.

It's blazin' hot

2008-05-15T16:04:00.000-07:00

San Francisco's been hit with a couple days with summer-grade weather (93˚ right now). It's a welcomed change from the freezing May weather we've been having lately. It does, however, make me super sweaty when I'm riding my bike and dries out my plots at the community garden super fast so I have to go water it everyday. Other than that, I can't complain. Summer in the city...it's a nice feeling.

Today's also the perfect kind of day for frozen yogurt. Everyone else seems to think so as well.

Gone in a couple minutes.

I've been making stuff

2008-05-09T00:41:00.000-07:00

My sewing machine impulse buy hasn't been a complete waste of money. I've made a couple birthday gifts, a mother's day gift, and just random gifts in general. Oh, and I hemmed a pair of new jeans and saved myself $12. Take that, friendly neighborhood tailor!

Learning how to sew isn't as intimidating as I thought it would be, but I've mostly been using straight stitches without any fancy techniques. I'm sure there are ways to do what I'm doing in a fraction of the time if I'd only research the proper techniques...but who's got time to do research when there's so much fabric waiting to be sewn??!

Felt's been my material of choice. It's colorful, soft and comes in convenient squares (rectangles really, so why the hell are they called squares?). An Etsy store has even been create to give my craft a home.

My fascination with evolution/genetics has also been reignited recently, so I'm working that into the crafts/art pieces that I'm making when I can. Does a felt pea pod that spills pom pom peas scream "RECESSIVE GENES!!!" to anyone?

Just finished.

"A" is for Audrey.

A mountain of felt squares.

iPod Nano case for Ruth's birthday.

Bird wallet for Lucie, but she doesn't like red and wanted a green one.

Pea pod drawing on fabric swatch.

PEAS!

Part of a (tongue-in-cheek) mother's day surprise.

And the latest project, a muslin apron for Uyen to tie-dye, as modeled by Patrick.

SRSLY, Mother Nature, I'm gonna kick your ass

2008-04-22T09:25:00.000-07:00

The weather in San Francisco has been completely horrible lately, especially for allergy sufferers. A few weeks back we had awesome hot, park weather which lasted for all of 3 or 4 days. Then the wind picked up, and the weather dropped to WINTER LOWS, then the trees and plants started blooming. Thank you, Mother Nature, for my clogged sinuses, for the goopy, watery, itchy eyes that I have to pry open every morning, and for the annoying headaches...I HATE YOU.

Also, my neck's been fucked up and that's made me extra cranky about all this. Luckily, it's supposed to be really nice this weekend. Hopefully the nice weather will extend down to Big Sur, where I'll be camping. Of course, it's supposed to rain tonight before we get to the nice weather. Sigh.

On a side note, Sheila loves the Counting Crows.

Sheila's a stinky mess

2008-04-08T13:43:00.000-07:00

People (aka Sheila) will confess strange things in chat.

A new hobby*

2008-04-07T21:56:00.000-07:00

*I tried REALLY, REALLY hard to not use the word "sew" as a pun in the title. You're welcome.

Impulse buy of the week: sewing machine. Well, truthfully, it wasn't really that impulsive. I've always wanted one and have borrowed from friends for small projects. Besides a straight stitch, I don't know much more about a sewing machine.

After going to a couple of art shows recently, I've been inspired to start making things. This coincided perfectly with my desire for a sewing machine; I figured if I had a sewing machine, I'd be more motivated to create. One plus one equals two, so the research for the right machine started. There were a couple that I wanted that were completely out of my price range (but one did embroidering and had an LCD display...hott), and would have been ridiculous for me to consider.

After a few hours of research, the Singer 7444 turned out to be the perfect balance between value and features. It's a nice, boxy design with electronic controls. A test drive with a piece of fabric proved that it wasn't too difficult to use. So far, I love it. Hopefully it'll be used regularly, unlike other impulse buys I've made in the past.

Oh! I also bought a caddy for all the threads, shears, needles and bobbins I'll be buying in the future. God, I'm gay.

Love.

A few test stitches. My favorite is the alternating squares.

April fooled ya

2008-04-01T14:37:00.000-07:00

The best April Fools Day prank has to be YouTube linking every single featured video to Rick Astley's "Never Gonna Give You Up" video, Rickrolling internet surfers to a degree never before imagined. Just now, Sheila sent me this video: a scene-for-scene re-creation of the video. Kind of like Gus Van Sant's "Psycho," but much more entertaining. The guy who "plays" Rick could have been a bit more passionate about his role.

Also, I apologize for all the Rick Astley posts lately, but he's totes worth blogging about.

Happy Easter

2008-03-23T20:17:00.000-07:00

We have a lot to be thankful for on this holy day. The video below symbolizes the body of Christ which, after two days of death, rose once more. In this case, however, it's not the body of Christ, but a Rick Astley song. And instead of two days, it's been two decades.

Eat lots of pretty eggs.

"Proper" use of punctuation: a (brief) discussion...or is it!!!!??!?!

2008-03-14T15:57:00.000-07:00

Virgin America emergency diagram

2008-03-10T18:48:00.000-07:00

On the flight back from Los Angeles this weekend I was bored and decided to read Virgin America's emergency procedures card. I noticed an uncanny resemblance between the emergency exit guy and, erm, myself. He's kind of a looker.

Rickrolled

2008-03-07T13:25:00.000-08:00

As in my personal life, I'm very vocal about my appreciation of Rick Astley at work. Recently, I got an email from my co-worker Craig asking me to take some screenshots of a video supposedly from a client. Thinking it was an odd request that I should be the one to take the screenshots, I played the video. A familiar melody started and soon enough, Rick was on my screen doing the Astley shuffle.

That's when I realized I had just been Rickrolled.

Later, the office manager hands me a FedEx package and said "This came for you." Eagerly opening it, I found a piece of paper with Rick on it, front and center. Well played, Tristan. Rickrolled twice in one day...what a great honor. Perhaps I can add my experiences to this database.

The email, with video attached.

The package.

Lord of the Rings, a tearjerker

2008-03-02T09:55:00.000-08:00

In the last couple weeks, I've been geeking out and watched all three movies in the Lord of the Rings trilogy. Each of the three movies spans over two discs and is four hours long. It's totally worth the time. I kind of love these well done fantasy movies...and there are hot men in costumes. Funny thing is I don't think any of them are that attractive outside of these movies (i.e. sans LOTR garb).

I've watch the movies three times now, and every single time, there's a part that chokes me up. I know, shut up. I can't help it. At the end when Aragorn gets crowned as king of Gondor (and awkwardly sings in a Tolkien language), he walks up to the four hobbits and they bow to him. Aragorn, being the humble king that he is, says "My friends! You bow to no one." Then a wide shot of the entire courtyard and everyone is bowing to the hobbits. I mean, come on, that has to be the most touching scene in cinematic history...isn't it???

Judge for yourself:

(link here)

Also, fans take the story into their own hands. Oh my.

No, that's not Liv Tyler, that's Orlando Bloom.

What the hell?

Oh happy day!

2008-02-26T19:07:00.000-08:00

After years and years of sweets-induced cavities, I ended up with a mouth full of amalgam fillings. Yes, those are the ugly silver ones. Today, this holy Tuesday, I got the last of them replaced with enamel-colored fillings. It all started here.

The lower right side of my mouth is still numb and I occasionally poke at it just to make sure of it. You can totally see the effect of the novacaine in the photo...my mouth doesn't always look that retarded.

Yay for teeth!

Dim sum!

2008-02-18T16:32:00.000-08:00

Dim sum, the perfect feast for gluttons. It was a little over a year ago that Pooh and I had this great meal, as retold here, and today we relived it. As last time, we ordered way too much. It was good, though. I hate pronouncing the dishes correctly in Chinese because the person taking our order will inevitably respond in Chinese. This proves to be a problem since I'll reply in English with "I don't understand" and a chuckle. I end up feeling like I've disappointed them and feel guilty (both because I can't speak the language of my people and I let the years of Chinese school my parents put me through go to waste).

After dim sum Pooh bought a tea infuser and we went searching for teas. We found The Aroma Tea Shop, which is a kind of tea tasting bar. We picked out a couple different kinds and tried them with the rest of the people at the bar. I ended buying a flower tea combo set and 4 oz. of chrysanthemum tea (just like grandma used to make). I'm sipping on some right now. Delicious!

Flower tea buds

Dried chrysanthemum flowers ready for brewing

Wall of tea

It's a sad day for photography

2008-02-13T00:46:00.000-08:00

I learned late last week that Polaroid will stop production of their instant film to focus on newer technology like portable printers and television sets. The news was kind of heartbreaking, though admittedly I haven't been using the film that much of late (because of 1: the price and 2: the even more instant digital photography). Still, knowing that it would be there when I needed it was comforting. My collection of 20+ cameras will inevitably become useless. Now, many hipsters will suffer the consequences when they want to shoot their next MySpace photo. What a shame. Maybe now my earlier post about a Photoshop filter will come in handy?

Goodbye, old friend.
P.S. Who wants to buy some Polaroid cameras? Or sell me some cheap film...
P.P.S. Update: Or you can do this to your cameras.

Photos I forgot about until this post.

Sometimes drunk people aren't so bad

2008-02-08T09:46:00.000-08:00

Last Sunday I went outside of my comfort zone (i.e., my apartment) and actually went out...to a bar! As I approached the Latin American Club (neither Latin American nor is it a club), I saw Alexis withdrawing cash from the ATM so decided to stop and wait for her. She then proceeds to greet me with some well-aimed punches to the shoulder. This drunken roughhousing would be indicative of the night to come.

During the course of the night, there would be headlocking, verbal threats, fallen hot dogs, more punching and a general hubbub of drunkenness. The night ended with Alexis freaking out over a candle with a baby's face on it and Brian begging to go home so he can throw up. See for yourself.

Yup.

The photog says "hi."

Me and my Bro...phy.

Brian votes Obama, Audrey suffers. Alexis is plastered. Thanks Katie.

It was good, really.

Brian's first bite proves unsuccessful.

Another poignant chat

2008-01-18T12:14:00.000-08:00

And here's one to close out the week.

Things to strive for in 2008

2008-01-16T17:04:00.000-08:00

1. Learn to speak Spanish fluently
2. Work on creative projects outside of work
3. Explore my city
4. Learn new skills
5. Eat at new restaurants
6. Take more photos
7. Get cable (maybe)
8. Buy an iPhone
9. More time at the gym
10. Save money

Fist sandwiches

2008-01-14T16:05:00.000-08:00

No babies were harmed.

Ceci n'est pas Michael Kors

2008-01-10T23:10:00.000-08:00

There's something very conceptual and existential about this picture, like what Duchamp and Nietzsche would sell to Us Weekly if they were BFFs and became paparazzi, or like being stoned out of your mind. Or maybe it totally freaks me out that he's not as orange as he usually is on Project Runway.

Top 10 bands/artists to work out to

2008-01-06T20:07:00.000-08:00

Ten of my favorites while on the treadmill, in no particular order:

1) Sally Shapiro
2) The Jesus and Mary Chain
3) Andrew W.K.
4) Sean Paul
5) The KLF
6) The Faint
7) Timbaland/Justin Timberlake/Nelly Furtado (let's count them as one)
8) VHS or Beta
9) Madonna (I had to include her)
10) Old School vs. New School hip hop remix album

Related: I bought an ab roller at the thrift store yesterday. I haven't really got it to work my abs yet, but my triceps seem to get pretty sore using it. I wouldn't mind firm, non-flabby triceps.

Today might be the end of the world

2008-01-04T09:23:00.001-08:00

I woke up this morning to a strange, loud whistling noise. It wasn't unlike a kettle that's ready. Once I became oriented, I realized it was the wind. Outside, a huge pool of rainwater collected at the corner of my block, something that's never happened before. See, growing up in California, I've never really experienced weather. Fifty degrees is way too cold, 80 is too hot. A 15 mph gust is too strong for comfort.

In the two blocks it took me to get to BART this morning, I became completely soaked. My umbrella was useless in the 40-60 mph winds so I put it away and secured my faux fur-lined parka hood. By the time I got to work, I had raisin hands.

I pray the huge windows behind me don't implode and impale me with shards of glass.

Christmas time is here...

2007-12-25T15:17:00.000-08:00

...and the best thing about it are the songs. Here's a video of Mariah doing possibly one of my favorite Christmas songs of all time. Be warned, the video is equal parts nauseating and cute. There are dancing gingerbread men at one point! Also, I think my neighbors have opened up a dance studio in their apartment. Why are my walls and ceiling rumbling??!

Old school Barcelona and fishes

2007-12-20T15:32:00.000-08:00

More walking around and taking pictures today. I ate in the Barri Gotic quarter last night and thought it was worth coming back during the day for some pictures. Not only are the buildings unbelievably beautiful, the alleys are equally awesome. The only thing is that the alleys are hard as hell to navigate. I had to consult my guide book after every turn. I think I heard school children laughing at me (every school in Barcelona decided to take a field trip to the Barri Gotic today).

After a couple hours I got tired of getting lost and decided to head over to the aquarium. I love, love, love geeky science excursions, so it was kind of perfect. I met an octopus that kept staring at me and followed me back and forth. Creepy! I also picked up Raymundo, my only friend in Barcelona. Raymundo, I love you.

Finally, I took the metro to see Gaudí's unfinished La Sagrada Familia. Thought I had enough yesterday? Think again. It was monstrously huge. The outside looked it like was melting stone with blockhead statues attached. The statues all looked extrememly sad, which added creepiness and awe to the whole experience. I only stayed at ground level and went to the museum. The line for the elevator to go up to the upper level was way too long.

It's been a Gaudí kinda day

2007-12-19T14:09:00.000-08:00

Today was my first full day in Barcelona and I did a lot of sightseeing. When you travel by yourself, you get things done pretty damned quickly. I ate breakfast, took the Metro to the end of La Rambla and visited the waterfront. I walked La Rambla up towards L'Exiample, where I did the recommended neighborhood walk. After that, I went to Parc Güell where Gaudí's old home is located.

After walking around for what seemed like forever (and taking pictures), I visited the museum, which also used to be Gaudí's home. I really could have done without it and saved myself four euros. I was pretty exhausted, but when I checked the time, it was barely 2:30. After much deliberation, I decided to suck it up and keep sightseeing. The only thing in my book that interested me enough to pull me out of my slump was Casa Batlló...designed by Gaudí. From the outside, the windows look like Tim Burtonesque skulls. It's pretty amazing to see it first hand. I had no intention of going inside, but it was still too early to quit. The hefty seventeen euro entry fee didn't help, but it was worth it. I think it's even more awesome inside than out. (Photos to come!) After that I started to walk around again, but my feet hurt and the Metro station beckoned.

Beautiful mosaics scattered throughout the overhang.

Balconies constructed from stones.

Gaudí home and museum.

The truly awesome Casa Batlló.

There were lots of arches inside the house.

Looks much more impressive in person.

Huge, low hanging chandelier in the drawing room.

Zach Braff rules my world

2007-12-11T11:40:00.000-08:00

Using Zach Braff's image as leverage to annoy co-workers is my new favorite pasttime.

UPDATE: Jocelyn has written her own account of the day in The Braff Wars.

Me and Zach on the beach, courtesy of Jocelyn.

Zach on a print ad.

Analog Braff in a digital world.

Jocelyn's husband body snatched by Zach Braff.

Braff v. Braff

Brian isn't that good at making words

2007-12-02T23:01:00.001-08:00

Lately I've been semi-addicted to Scrabulous, a Scrabble application for Facebook. It's an intense scramble to make words like "riel" and "jins" and "coilers." Extra points if the tiles land on one of the designated colored squares. Even though there's a dictionary that the game compares the played words to, my opponents (read: losing opponents) still dispute their validity.

One of the said disputers is fellow Outdoorsy Adventure Clubber Brian. In a losing rage, Brian has made accusatory statements such as:

"what the hell? Bads and seemings are words? I call bullshit."

"alright, I let "riel" slide and "doer", but reify is just complete and total bullshit."

"Ay think y'all make up words"

"shit"

See the games in which these colorful words were spoken below.

(click for larger shot)

Sheila and I shop

2007-11-27T16:51:00.000-08:00

Fighting our inner shoppers is hard. We went shopping for Christmas sweaters last night and ended up putting a jacket each on hold. Today, we debated going back and buying them.

Happy Gorging Day!

2007-11-21T23:33:00.000-08:00

Now I can official hunt down a Christmas sweater. Why is it that after three years of looking for the perfect one, I'm still searching? It's not like my requisites are extremely. All I ask is that it's knitted, has reindeer and snowflakes, and can either be red or green (but preferrably the former). If anyone sees one, grab it for me.

But for today, let's give thanks. Who better to do that than William Burroughs?

Thanks for everything!

Photos are taken

2007-11-14T23:52:00.000-08:00

So after spending a fortune on new camera equipment, I still have a laundry list of things I have yet to buy. Those include a circular polarizer, a diffuser for the flash, perhaps another flash for more complex strobe photos, a wide angle lens, and of course, a new camera bag to carry all the new stuff in.

I'm trying to take as many photos as I can to justify the cost of the equipment. Here are a few examples.

Christmas came early

2007-11-06T21:52:00.000-08:00

My sister texted me a few days ago and wanted a Ninteno DS with Brain Age (which is kind of fun, if not a bit frustrating) for her birthday this year. Our birthdays are close enough to Christmas that we sometimes just give/get one gift. Since I blew a big chunk of cash on camera equipment very recently (see previous post), getting a game system would put another a big dent in my budget. But, what the hell, I'll try to get something good out of the deal. What should I ask for? There was only one logical answer to that question: Guitar Hero for the PS2 I inherited from my cousin.

I've played the game briefly and it's pretty addictive. Guitar Hero is probably my second favorite time-waster; number goes to the world wide web. There are no minors or majors, no callused finger tips, no broken strings, and absolutely no bar chords. It's a (non)guitarist's dream. You just press one (or two or three or four) of the five button on the plastic guitar controller as the notes fly by on screen. As Audrey noted while we were playing, I tend to heel-tap and chicken-neck to the beat of the songs I like, particularly Cheap Trick's "Surrender."

Who's going to let me throw a Guitar Hero party at their place??

It's Frivilous Friday!

2007-10-26T16:24:00.000-07:00

That's why it's perfectly fine to buy a $300 lens with only one focal length and bid on a $250 flash on eBay (which could eventually go up even more). Nevermind that I recently put myself on a monthly budget. These two things have been on my radar for a while, so it's not really that impulsive like most of my other large purchases. I wanted the lens for its HUGE 1.4 f-stop. I'll be taking a lot more perfectly lit flashless photos. If you're reading this, you're probably my friend. And if you're my friend, you're probably narcissistic, so you'll love the fact the Canon f/1.4 50mm lens is one of the best portrait lenses. And if I win the flash, I'll be able to take your portrait even in pitch dark.

UPDATE(!!!!): It's here! I was going to bring my camera to work just in case it comes, but in my haste this morning I forgot. Looks like my ginkgo supplements aren't really doing their job.

My friend, the dummy

2007-10-23T22:27:00.000-07:00

Stay in school.

Corn mazes and pumpkin patches

2007-10-22T11:50:00.000-07:00

I'll admit...I love the holiday season. It's a time of year filled with lots of indulgent foods. Halloween is the gateway holiday. It starts with candies and pumpkin related food (pies, seeds, bread, etc.) to get you ready for the larger meals later in the year. What better way to kick off the holiday season than to spend a night at a pumpkin patch with a 30+ acre corn maze?

I prepared for the long journey by eating a tri-tip sandwich and a polish dog in 5 minutes flat. I didn't have a soda, I'm watching what I eat. Who needs sugar when you're pumped on adrenaline? The first 15 minutes in the maze were filled with confidence and excitement. I knew where I was going and would hit the first bridge in the maze soon and get an idea of how long it would take to finish the maze. Another 15 minutes go by and I'm getting hungry and cold. I was Jon Krakauer, a modern adventurer, enduring hunger and pain for the greater good. Eventually we found one of the bridges and the exit shortly after that. I celebrated our journey with a churro and strawberry banana "smoothie" which was more of a slushee. It was a bad choice for a cold October night.

I managed to get some good photos despite being famished.

The patch.

Posing for photos.

Alexis enjoys a sandwich.

The rest of the crew.

Trying to survive on corn.

No love for pumpkin.

Pumpkin hill.

Me and Frank, shootin' the shit.

Project Runway is almost here, or Where is Andrae?

2007-10-18T00:56:00.000-07:00

It feels like a few years since Project Runway's season finale aired. I've waited and waited for the new season to start, and guess what? I'm still waiting! What the hell??! Another month? That shouldn't be right.

Since I don't have cable and rely on Audrey for all my Bravo needs, I haven't really had a chance to watch Tim Gunn's show. In my heart of hearts, though, I know even that wouldn't quench my thirst for PR.

For fans of Season 2 (the best!), here's a gem I found on YouTube:

I need to be somewhere like this

2007-10-17T13:33:00.000-07:00

I really need to be where the leaves change colors. So, so pretty. I'm tired of green and brown all the time. Every now and then city living misses big time.

Apple swag

2007-10-17T00:05:00.000-07:00

I finally booked a time slot to see an Apple specialist (aka "Genius") about my laptop. For the last couple months, it would charge to 100%, only to completely shut off 15 minutes later without warning. This was strange considering that my battery only had about 115 cycles (a normal battery goes through 300-500 cycles before totally losing its charge). I also brought in my Airport Extreme, which I use with an external drive as server for my computers. It was having trouble showing the disk and pissing me off regularly.

It paid off to book a time because my wait was about 10 minutes, instead of the usual 30+ minutes. The guy was really understanding and after making sure that my battery was a dud, gave me a brand new one. Then I whipped out the Airport and without even testing it, he went and got me another. I was pretty shocked, but nonchalantly said "Oh, cool." I'm sure he saw through my facade, though. My jumping up and down while clapping my hands probably gave it away.

Brand new Airport Extreme and battery.

I love New York, but I still love SF more

2007-10-16T19:12:00.001-07:00

Every time I make a visit to NY, I love it a little more. It's the city that doesn't know how to be boring (though I can't say that for myself when I'm there). The 4am bar closing time kicks my ass every time.

The best part about New York is hangin' with my main bitch, Uyen. She was nice enough to let me stay with her the whole week I was there. "Ban, ma," she would say. Thanks to her I now know how to make eggrolls (why didn't I take pictures of them??!).

Thanks, also, to my other friends who were nice enough to meet up with me while I was there: Ryan, Caitlin and Jeff, Alicia, Jarron and Ben, Joey, and Ellie, who showed me around Philly.

Though my time in NY was well spent, the heat and humidity got to me. I was so glad to be home and walk out into crisp, cold, dry air. Hello, San Francisco!

When When on the rooftop.

Fun building across from Uyen's apartment in Brooklyn.

Stairway to a hot, sweaty hell.

Young City Fish Balls

Alleyway that looks like other NY alleyways I've been down.

Guilty! (In Philadelphia)

Hangin' by the Delaware River.

FroYo and Andrew's ass (I think).

Lookin' good, feelin' good.

Halloween is near

2007-10-15T19:50:00.001-07:00

A festive neighbor's door. I feel like I should dress up this year. But what?

They took my water away

2007-10-03T10:41:00.001-07:00

Airport security took away my water but left my lighter, which was hanging out right next to the water.

Look Around You

2007-10-03T00:01:00.000-07:00

Every so often I come across something worth watching on YouTube. That something is called "Look Around You." It's a BBC comedy clip (of about 10 minutes each) that parodies science shows from the 70's and 80's. The beginning is similar to something you'd remember from 3-2-1 Contact. The narrator is reminiscent of (Sir) David Attenborough. The show tackles such scientific topics as water, the brain, germs, and ghosts.

Here's a clip about sulfur (or sulphur, as it is spelled in the UK). The best part of this episode is how they go about disproving sulfur's magnetism. Time is well wasted with this one.

Fruits and veggies

2007-10-02T09:44:00.000-07:00

Recently I decided that my diet is not what you'd call "good." In addition to the sheer quantity of food a day, the quality of what I eat doesn't help (read: pastries with frosting/icing, candy, anything fried, etc.). After this realization (and the fact that I couldn't fit into my slim 29" shorts anymore), a change in diet was needed. This means that, yes, I will have to cut out all but three meals (with little snacks between each). For the first week, I felt hungry all the time (I know, I know. You're thinking I'm hungry all the way regardless...screw you!).

I started reading The Man Who Ate Everything by food critic Jeffrey Steingarten and at the very beginning of the book, he lists all the food that he wouldn't ever touch. These things included kimchi, Greek food (!!!), anchovies, clams, okra, and coffee ice cream. I thought: I would happily eat all these things, and quickly so. Then I realized my problem: I have no food aversions...at all. I'll eat anything. It's a great survival mechanism, but it also makes it very easy for me to over eat.

My game plan? Start eating more veggies and fruits. Fruits are easy because they're sweet and don't need much preparation. Also, work provides fruits, so all I have to do is go to the kitchen and pick out something that isn't rotten yet. I've also been doing pretty well with the veggies. I snack on cherry tomatoes and baby carrots. A favorite of mine has been kale, with some lemon juice and pepper. So far so good. Keep your chubby fingers crossed for me.

Kiwis, plums, and grapes.

Banana, apple, pear.

I feel like I need to confess

2007-09-28T13:13:00.000-07:00

I'm listening to Counting Crow's August and Everything After (an album that I bought when it came out, then sold it out of embarrassment, then re-bought after getting over being embarrassed by the music I listen to) and am really enjoying it. If Adam Duritz is good enough for Courtney Cox, he's good enough for me.

Doesn't he kind of look like Kid of Kid 'n' Play except with dreads instead of a tall flat top?

Life is pretty tough

2007-09-26T10:02:00.000-07:00

A little taste of a chat with Uyen where we discussed body image. She claims I bring out the bitch in her. This is why I love her.

The garden is growing

2007-09-25T22:41:00.000-07:00

A month after planting the first seeds, they're finally starting to look like something I'd buy at the grocery store. The sugar snap vines are starting to take over the trellis that I put up, but they're kind of lanky and fall over a lot. The beets aren't as lanky, but they fall over even more. My favorites are the spinach and butter lettuce, with carrots coming in a close third. The spinach and lettuce leaves, I think, are really pretty (especially the spotted lettuce). The carrot tops look like a mini forest. See more photos of the veggies here.

Also, on the bus home from the garden, a couple girls were doing what I can only describe as "speed talking." Kind of like the Micro Machines guy in the 90s, except they were having a conversation. Well, it was more like they were trying to talk over each other (and loudly), but they could understand each other. It was pretty amusing. And then they got into a fight with a preaching drunk.

Pretty lettuce.

A row of baby spinach.

Carrots!

Luggage locks are cuter than babies

2007-09-20T13:17:00.000-07:00

Audrey and I recently bought luggage for our (seperate) upcoming trips to New York. After reading this post at The Consumerist, I thought it might be a good idea to get a luggage lock. Up until now, I've never thought to use a lock on my luggage. Anyway, Audrey beat me to the punch and got a set of two locks, one of which she gave to me. To my surprise, it didn't look or feel cheap. In fact, it was probably the cutest lock I've ever seen (is that even possible?). So much so, in fact, I felt like I had to take a picture of it and blog about it. See for yourself.

More candy food

2007-09-17T20:10:00.000-07:00

Fortunately for me, I've been blessed with very generous co-workers. Today, Stephanie carried on a tradition that began with Ross and Lucie and the holiday Sno-Balls. And let's not forget the candy ice cream. Anyway, what Stephanie got me was probably the best/worst fake candy food by far. It was Mallow Fries with a packet of Kandy Ketchup. I ate a couple of the "fries" and thought they were actually kind of tasty. Even then, I only ate a couple. Come on, they're called Mallow Fries.

So, thanks Stephanie for the delicious fries!

Chat with Sheila

2007-09-14T17:10:00.000-07:00

Legally, Panasonic can't promise you anything

2007-09-07T21:31:00.000-07:00

Panasonic has a line of semi-rugged laptops called ToughBooks. The campaign for these computers (done by Sigma, I believe) have taken over BART's Montgomery station. There are maybe 6 or 8 different executions—one for each of the models of ToughBooks. These ad are essentially selling us implications...legally, they can't say that you can work wirelessly from anywhere, but it's implied. Similar non-promises are made on the other ads. Great ads or true lies?

Sorry for the crappy phone picture.

Uses for index cards

2007-09-07T10:25:00.001-07:00

Through much clicking on the world wide web, I came upon this gem of a blog. Jessica Hagy's a copywriter that loves her diagrams. Her drawings are insightful, clever, and sometimes hilarious. Here are a few samples of her work.

"Nobody's perfect."

"I hear you! I hear you!"

"Dude, seriously."

"Behave, or else!"

Will Arnett, I love you

2007-09-03T00:28:00.000-07:00

Gob was definitely my favorite character on Arrested Development. An irresponsible, wannabe magician wins my heart every time. Yesterday I watched Blades of Glory for the second time at Kelsey and Micah's and tonight I saw Let's Go to Prison per Micah's suggestion. Will Arnett tends to play the villain that you empathize with. He's an ass, but you love him anyway. That, and I kind of have a crush on him. Amy Poehler, you're a lucky bastard.

UPDATE: I also forgot to mention that he's in a new movie I want to see, which was kind of the whole reason for the post in the first place. My good friend Ross, in his cute roundabout way, has just volunteered to see it with me, I think.

Will Arnett bargaining for his life with a white supremacist in Let's Go To Prison with forks in his legs.

One of my favorite outfits from Blades of Glory. Will and Amy Poehler as a brother-sister figure skating team.

OAC in Big Sur, a photographic retelling

2007-08-27T20:08:00.000-07:00

The Outdoorsy Adventure Club rebanded and made its way south to beautiful Big Sur, the subject of at least one novel, one song, and many, many pictures. The weekend involved tents, squirrels, kebabs, a beach, a swimming hole, and go karts (that was later).

$300 worth of food and supplies.

There was no bad blood between mortal enemies/BFFs Brian and Audrey this time.

A taste of the California coast.

Long exposure with embers.

The gang.

The most delicious kebabs. They come in beef and shrimp.

Our tent village.

The girls.

The boys.

The squirrel we loved to hate. I threw a little rock at him to scare him off and it caught it and tried to eat it.

The swimming hole. Yes, I'm throwing out two peace signs.

The beach bums.

Bringing glass bottles onto the beach. We're so punk rock.

My feet meet the ocean.

THE cove.

Tunnel under Highway 1.

Audrey sent 793 texts in 3 days.

Brian sets up chips for poker. I beat his 3-of-a-kind with a straight on the river. Sucka.

Some dead plants. They're now my wallpaper at work.

We ended a day of driving by racing little cars.

73 seconds. The best time.

Audrey wanted to keep Alexis safe, so she drove her car at a walking pace around the track.

Eff the farmer's maket

2007-08-19T08:05:00.000-07:00

The "eff" is for "forget."

Lately I've been seeing lots of veggies being harvested, including Joshua's giant cucumber, so my green thumb started itching to dig into some soil. That being said, it's not easy to find a good bit of ground for seed sowing in an urban area.

Lucie suggested community gardens, which I thought was a great idea. With enthusiasm, I started dialing all the numbers I could find. To our disappointment, every garden I called had a 3 to 8 year waiting list. Ridiculous! I also emailed a couple places, but had already given up the fight for a plot. Surprisingly, the person running the 25th & De Haro St. garden wrote back and offered us two "very small plots." Man, was I excited. I saw tomatoes, okra, pumpkins, and eggplants flash before my eyes...until I was told that those were all warm season vegetables. Fuck. Well, that didn't stop me from being excited.

Yesterday I went to see the garden with Audrey and even cleared off one of the plots. I also got a couple pairs of gardening gloves and a bunch of cool season crop seeds.

Seeds w/ pretty illustrations

Hangin' at the gate

Someone else's zucchini

One of the plots before it was cleared out

Weeding the garden and shredding my hands

The view of the Mission, Noe Valley, Castro, and Twin peaks from the garden

Goodbye, silver tooth fillings

2007-08-15T17:03:00.000-07:00

Today marks the fourth(!) time I've been to Dr. Atrouni's office in the past three weeks. Every visit has been a sweeping success. Most of my disgusting silver fillings have been replaced by enamel-colored ones. Dental artistry indeed! Besides from the great dental work, the hospitality of the staff is hands down the best I've ever received from a dental/medical office. They talk to me and ask about my day. They even take pictures of me with my phone for my blog (thanks, Lauren!).

Whenever my teeth are being worked on, I get headphones and a DVD of my choice. For some reason I always pick Friends. I guess I'm just hoping it's one of the Thanksgiving episodes. Thank you, Dr. Atrouni (and various assistants), for being there with me when Rachel and Ross broke up and for being there when they got back together (remember when Monica had to cook with Mockolate?!!).

Till we meet again, I promise I'll floss (more) regularly!

Dental dam doesn't taste good.

A shot of my digital x-rays that I snuck in.

My mandibular central incisors.

Also...

2007-08-11T23:02:00.000-07:00

The best Jezebel post I've ever read.

I loathe scammers; or how I learned my lesson

2007-08-11T18:47:00.000-07:00

Having sold some useless and some not-so-unless stuff on Craigslist myself, I assume that most people who sell on there are like me and describe their products honestly and don't try to scam. I was wrong.

The last few months I've been trying to get my hands on the Sony Ericsson W880i phone (there's nothing wrong with my old one, except that it's not new anymore), which is pretty price here since it was only released overseas. The price finally came down low enough where it was fathomable to buy one. Current price is about $300. I found a guy on Craigslist that listed it for $300 but after some sweet talking, I got him to give it to me for $280...if no one else offered him more.

Long story short, I bought the phone. I tried to import my address book via Bluetooth and that's when my troubles began. I called Sony Ericsson and they said that it would be free for the original owner, but if I couldn't show them proof that I was, it would cost $100 just for them to inspect it, and then another $200 for them to fix the problem. I laughed, said "That's absurd!" and hung up.

So I called the guy and said that the phone is not working properly and I'd like to give it back in exchange for my money. Obviously, this idea was as ridiculous to him as Sony Ericsson's price quote was to me. "What am I going to do with a broken phone?!" he asked rhetorically. "No one's going to want it when it's broken. How do I know that it was broken before I sold it to you? You probably put a virus on it!" I wanted nothing more than to reach through the phone and smash his face in with something large. After many more lies and accusations that I was responsible for the phone, I told him I just wanted my money back, that as a seller it is his responsibility to give me my money back for a faulty product.

In the end, he gave me back all but $40 of the money I paid for it, saying that he didn't feel right giving me back al my money since the phone doesn't work correctly. If I had ever had to hurt anyone physcially, it was this guy.

Goodbye, Rossa Jean (or Ross Goodman)

2007-08-02T15:10:00.000-07:00

Today marks the last day of Ross Goodman, web author of Gyro International. It also marks the first day of Ross Goodman, a man who enjoys spending time with his wife. He's been an exceptional co-worker, in-house computer expert, cubicle neighbor, and unconditional friend (except the times when he doesn't want to speak to me). I wish him success with his upcoming endeavors. I'll see you on the courts, my friend.

Ross passes webbie-type knowledge on to Lucie.

Baby Bella is a year old

2007-07-30T23:53:00.000-07:00

Bella's first birthday bash was fantastic super fun times. She was smiling the whole time and only cried for a brief second when she realized the wrong Asian (read: me) was holding her. Once she got a taste of the sugary strawberry lemonade I had, you couldn't pry her away.

Becky and Ziad did a great job organizing/hosting the party/BBQ for the 30+ guests, babies, dogs, etc. It's hard to believe, but I haven't eaten that much in a while. The tofu and veggie kebabs were amazing!! The other culinary highlights included Sarah's tofu pate and Becky's chocolate chip cookies. My belly thanks you.

Guests vs. Ziad and Bella.

Becky takes a break from running around to pose for me.

Bella with second favortie Auntie Lark.

Peace.

Brent and the girl that kept following him around.