A song I still love

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

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

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

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

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

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

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.

On turning 30

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!

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

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