the adventures of!

First day

2009-02-25T00:17:00.001-08:00

I went to kickboxing for the first time in about two years. There are so many muscles I forgot I even had. The teacher even came up to me and made me kick on the kicking pad and was like "You used to come here all the time!" Doh! Hahaha. I plan on getting back on the train and try to build muscle and lose those love handles!

Week 8 picks

2008-10-26T02:13:00.000-07:00

Since I haven't been following football (except for my Fantasy team) for the past 2 weeks because of my business trip, I will just pick randomly and see how that goes. This week should be cat week - Panthers, Jaguars, Bengals.... My costume for Halloween this year will be a Tiger! I need to find some orange body paint and paint myself like this person:

Oakland vs. Baltimore.
Kyle Boller used to play for the Ravens. Oakland is beating teams I hear. So I choose..
Oakland (+7)

San Diego vs New Orleans
Saints beat the Niners and stupid Reggie Bush almost got in a fight with our players. I hope Kim Kardashian and him totally get in a fight the night before the game and she's about to release a sex tape and he's too preoccupied and so he can't play. HMPH! Go LT!
San Diego (-3)

Kansas City vs New York
Um... I don't even know which NY team this is, so yeah. They don't even have LJ. I can't even play LJ this week! BLAH. THis is a bad week for my fantasy team.
New York (-14)

Buffalo vs. Miami
Dammit, didn't Miami beat the Patriots? Well this one is for Jack. Go Trent Edwards.
Buffalo (-1.5)

Tampa Bay vs. Dallas
No Romo, No problem.
Dallas (-2)

Atlanta vs. Philly
No idea. I guess they can cover. I don't even know what's going on with these two teams.
Philly (-7)

St. Louis vs. New England
St Louis can cover. OJ will intercept.
St Louis (+7)

Arizona vs. Carolina
THis is for my Halloween costume.
Carolina (-4)

Washington vs. Detroit
Yeah, if the niners can beat them....hahah come on now.... Even though a "lion" is a cat, and the "king of the jungle", I really can't pick Detroit at all....
Washington (-7.5)

Cleveland vs. Jacksonville
I have no idea,Hm... but I am going to be a tiger for Halloween....so...
Jacksonville (-7)

New York vs. Pittsburgh
Oh yeah.... BigBen is playing. This is hard....
New York (+3)

Seattle vs. San Fran
SF duh. (-5.5)

Cincinnati vs. Houston
I'm starting Schuab this week. So he better give me some good numbers. I mean, who loses to the worst team in the JTO'Sullivan Time league? Oh man, I was going to choose the Texans this week. But since I'm going with a Halloween theme....
Cincinnati (+9) Ugg... I think I'm already going to lose this one.

Indy vs. Tennessee
errr. Flip a coin
Indy (+4)

There you have it. My picks for Week 8.

shanghai nights

2008-10-25T05:43:00.000-07:00

my insomniac nights are not faring well for my skin. am i still on shanghai time or is it i only need two hours a sleep a night? i only wish i had these super human powers to release myself of this need for sleep. ironically, i love sleep and can't get enough of it.

shanghai is like hong kong merged with a taipei of 20 years ago that is high on steroids and laced with coke. if you have enough money, you can practically get away with anything, practically anything. it's amazing how much loyalty you can buy with money, promise of prestige or position. it's all that i remember of taipei but exponentially more. if you're a male ABC, it's your playground to roam and pick as you please. just remember to don't get girls pregnant. if you're a female, good luck finding clothes that fit. it's the wild west, dog-eat-dog world of asia. actually most of china is like that.

i'm still thinking back on my experience of last week. one thing i know for sure - people are definitely rude. i've never been kicked out of a taxi until i got to china. not once, but twice.

am i even making sense? maybe it is time for bed.

Man I am terrible.

2008-10-04T15:27:00.000-07:00

I should just go pick the opposite of whatever I think is going to win or cover.

Here is for Week 5:

Houston (+3)
I would usually go for Indiapolis to cover, but since this week is opposite week, I'm going to say Houston.

Tennessee (-3)
I think this was the only team I got right last week. So they are my lucky Titans!

Miami (+7)
Normally I would think that San Diego can cover, but Miami did a great job last week.

Kasas City (+7)
Yeah, I think KS can cover.

Washington (+6)
6 is a lot of points considering that they did pretty well last week.

Chicago (-3.5)
Niners beat Detroit.

??

Seattle (+7)

Denver (-3.5)

San Francisco (+3)
Always choose your team

Arizona (-1.5)

Cincinnati (+16.5)
Ocho Cinco power!

Pittsburgh (+4.5)

Minnesota (+3)
Boo on the Saints. They beat JTO. :( Reggie Bush is dating Kim Kardashian.

Last week: 2-11
Overall : 7-22

Week 4 Supplement.

2008-09-25T22:32:00.000-07:00

I think I'm supposed to post a blog about completely random nothingness next to Jack's picks. (Because that's what Sports Gal does).

Well, anyways, not sure if anybody actually reads this blog. Here goes...

I have this unnerving feeling that my Dad is right about oil and gas. You can say he's sort of an "expert" in this field. That one day the way we travel will dramatically change, that one day most areas will be locally focused and people will not wander to far off places. Something like that. I feel like I'm half pannicking and wanting to travel to as many countries as I can with all the miles I accrued in this job of mine so I can "see the world" before the shit hits the fan and half acting oblivious living my day-to-day life as if the next will be the same.

Now and then I'll come across a cnn.com or NYT.com article detailing all the polar ice caps are melting or there's not enough gas or random graphs depicting the end of oil by 2070. :(

Hopefully, by then, somewhere somebody will be building electric vehicles for me to drive.

So what new fall season TV shows are people watching? I just caught the first episode of Lipstick Jungle on Hulu.com and the latest Stephen Colbert. He won an emmy!

PS. China is sending Chinese people into space??? What the..... Hopefully they're not using any powdered milk!

Picks for Week 4

2008-09-25T22:07:00.000-07:00

Denver (-9)
9 seems like a lot of points. Jack said that the KS coach is running the team down the drain, but then I saw them on Hard Knocks last season.... he seems like such a nice guy. Jay Cutler is my QB, so I'm going to go with my Fantasy Football guy. Sorry Chiefs...

Cincinnati (-3.5)
Don't the Browns really really suck?

Jacksonville (-7)
I know Houston sucks, so I'm going for the other team.

Arizona (+1.5)
I think Arizona is going to come back with a win against the home team. Where did Matt Lienert go? Am I missing something here?

San Francisco (+5)
Always go for your team. JTO'Forever.

Atlanta (+7)
I think Carolina can cover.

Tennessee (-3)
Al Gore is from Tennessee.

Green Bay (+1.5)
Cal represent! Aaron Rodgers has got this.

St. Loius (+8)
Yeah, after last week's game with Oakland, St. Louis can totally cover 8 points.

Oakland (+7.5)
I'm starting to become a believer. Don't get me wrong. I'll be niners fan for life, but Baaahhhhhyyy Areaaaa!

Washington (+11)
Yeah, Dallas won over Green Bay, but I think Redskins will do a better job. 11 points? That's too much. Tony is dating Jessica. I hope he is hung over game day.

Philladelphia (-3.5)
Go cheesest

Pittsburgh (-3)
um.... no idea.

dammit. i will never pick my teams when jack is sitting next to me.

2008-09-22T21:34:00.000-07:00

Tennessee (-4.5)

St. Louis (+9)

San Francisco (-4.5)

Baltimore (-2)

Dallas (-3)

5 out of 16

man i suck

Week 3 picks

2008-09-21T00:45:00.001-07:00

Kansas City (+6)

Buffalo (-9.5)

Tennessee (-4.5)

New York Giants (-13)

Arizona (+3)

New England (-12.5)

Chicago (-3)

Carolina (+3)

St. Louis (+9)

San Francisco (-4.5)

Denver (-5.5)

Philadelphia (-3.5)

Indianapolis (-5)

Baltimore (-2)

Dallas (-3)

New York Jets (+8.5)

This whole Twilight phenomenon and my BD review. (Warning - contains spoilers!)

2008-08-14T15:45:00.000-07:00

I admit. I am a total geek for reading anything related to the Twilight series. I even found myself at the Twilight panel in Comic-con, waking up at 6am to line up for a seat, sitting next to many moms and the other 6500 screaming girls. I shouldn't be doing this as a grown 26-year old, but I am!

I wasn't like this, really. In the first three books, I was so aggravated by the main character, Bella, for her constant "damsel in distress" syndrome and needing to be "saved" by her boyfriend vampire every time she was in trouble. So is Stephenie Meyer saying girls can't take care of themselves without guys? Yes, Bella is smart because she's in Advanced Bio and has strong character since she takes care of both her parents. But I think I'm too far removed from being a ridiculously in love teenager, however, I do remember that time of my life, as I'm sure every other girl who reads this book does too. I found myself wanting to read more as if this ridiculous story were like Brangelina's first pictures of their twin babies. I need more! Twilight totally feeds on the aggravated teenage angst and desire for something you can't have - which I think most teenagers go through. I felt like I was 12 again satisfying this guilty pleasure of mine with these novels. I think tapping into that emotion is the appeal and how internet-savvy Stephenie Meyer is in embracing the online community that has caused this phenomenon.

Breaking Dawn starts off rough. The first half book rambles on. Instead of being a page-turner, it was more like a page-skipper. Why was Bella pregnant for like half the book? Did anybody else notice the underlying messages like no sex before marriage, anti-abortion, etc..? Stephenie Meyer's writing isn't even great, but I did go back and re-read some pages because I do like a good vampire/buffy-ish story. The longing, desire will cause anybody to swoon over Edward Cullen's perfect body!

I could finally relate to her only when she turned into a vampire and became a lot more tolerable. No longer the weakest pawn, but finally the Queen of the chess board like that of the cover. I felt the 2nd half of the book is what I've been waiting all this time - yes, the vampire wedding, vampire sex, and vampire babies. I think I was a lot more interested in the world and universe that Stephenie created versus the indulgent Bella/Edward relationship. Having a vampire boyfriend carry your books to/from class? Drive you to and from school? Cater to your every desire and need? Understands how "human" you are because he reads minds? Takes you to a secluded island for a honeymoon? My Gawd! What kind of expectations are these for little 9-year-old girls who read this book? That's what most aggravates me. That's what causes crazy girls!

I even think the story of how Meyer became a writer is spectacular. Why can't I have a dream about a couple arguing because one of them is a vampire, then wake up, write it, and publish it within 6 months? Damn. Genius. Nevertheless, I enjoyed the story. I even got my two roommates hooked and we're going to watch the movie in December. I just don't cross the line in getting Twilight tattoos like the girls on the twilightlexicon.com forum. It's like how I'll dress up for Comic-con but never an anime character.

..one more thing...

2008-07-14T22:04:00.001-07:00

One more thing about today....

...I can't believe I woke up and I got to the airport on time. I hate 6:30am flights. I hate morning flights in general. But I do love Jack for driving me at 5 in the morning!

the OC

2008-07-14T21:55:00.000-07:00

I think I found the Little Tokyo of Orange County! I'm so happy! Finally, some decent Japanese food, Boba, and some international fare - a great escape from the cultural wastelands of the southern part of Orange County - a.k.a Mission Viejo, Aliso Viejo, Rancho Santa Margarita, etc...

I decided to Hotwire my hotel this time around since my coworker has done it and has gotten great hotels instead of staying at our usual business Courtyards, Hilton Garden Inns, or Fairfield Inns. I like the Hilton Costa Mesa so far. It reminds me of the Hilton I stayed at for Cindy and Eugene's wedding, but not as big, not as new, and not as bright. Why is it that I always have to pay for parking down here? ugh!

I don't think I can live without Yelp. I only wish I had an iPhone where I can use the GPS enabled Yelp to find great places to eat around the area instead of having to go to my Hotel or at the office to look up places. I guess in a way I am excited to see what other technologies come up.

I drove past this little Japanese Grill on the way back from my Yoga class (where I also Yelped and found a cute little studio 3 miles from the Hilton.) After reading a bunch of reviews, I learned this little block is considered "Little Tokyo". How opportunistic that it's only located a block from where I'm staying.

You order and pick up at the counter. There's a "Members Only" area blocked off with rows and rows of Manga books. I wonder what it takes to become a member... It's 9pm, so there are a few people in this restaurant. Two Japanese older ladies sit two tables down. They serve Boba so I guess this isn't "truly" Japanese, but it is a cute cafe that provides free wireless! The food doesn't blow you away, but feels more like a home-cooked family restaurant where I can get $6 Yaki Soba than a "Grill" like its namesake.

Overall, pretty good hangout spot. Okay, time to finish up and go home!

the OC

2008-05-20T15:50:00.000-07:00

I have this love and hate relationship with southern California. At one hand, I love hanging out with my friends that are down here. The food selection is better than the Midwest, upstate New York, and most parts of Texas. The weather is gorgeous, and there's plenty of places to go work out. It's civilization!!!

However, every time I land, I hate getting in a car and driving around. Too many cars and too many people for me. People give me attitude at the airport, at the Hertz rental station. There's only Starbucks in the OC. And every Starbucks I go to, there is nowhere to sit. Nothing! Not even at 8am or 3pm or 7pm. I look up cafes in my GPS and on google. For every 1 independent cafe, there's about 10 Starbucks. One in every corner. I believe it's a ordinance to have it zoned for Starbucks and whatever chain and retail store there is. UGG!

All the palm trees here are imported. My coworker who's really into trees and gardening said the taller ones are from Saudi Arabia and the shorter ones are from the Caribbean. That's so sad. Nothing is natural here. It looks uncannily green since this whole area is very dry. I also notice pipes along every flower and grassy area since I bet they use TONS of water to keep everything from dying. Everywhere I drive from Rancho Santa Margarita to Aliso Viejo to Irvine or Mission Viejo kinda all look the same. Same Starbucks, same Albertson's or Ralph's, same Target or Home Depot. I guess that's suburbia for you. But one thing I gotta say, the condos and the homes here are beautiful! They're all very new and clean looking - so I guess I can see why people want to live somewhere comfortable.

So here I am, in my hotel room, updating my blog before I go out running because I went to two Starbucks and none had open tables.

F*CK! I'm 26

2008-04-24T15:39:00.000-07:00

I'm going to resurrect this blog from the black-cloud-of-death that is the internet. Today, I decided to work from home because I'm recovering from a nasty cold that took out my voice, clogged my sinuses, and rendered me helpless and useless in my apartment. I can't even watch TV since the cable guy disconnected our free cable on Monday. (Dammit!!! Whoever heard of *paying* for cable....) And I already watched the latest episode of Battlestar Galactica on Hulu...so what else is there to do??? At least I still have free internet thanks to GoogleWifi.

I'm thinking I should write down goals or like a list of resolutions, but I'm not quite sure why I need to start now just because it's my birthday. It should just be an ongoing process of self-improvement. I already made a list during New Year's, so I guess I will just keep that list and work on it more now that I'm straddling the "mid" and "late" 20s. Now, that's going to take awhile to sink in.

I'm excited for the things that are coming up and pretty happy with things that have happened so far. There's not much to complain about. Sure, there are things I want to improve and there are things I wish I had more time to do. Hopefully I can do all that I want in the time that I have. We all have 24 hours in a day. Time is the most precious resource, as my high school econ would say.

My battery is running out. Time to log off. Well, this post obviously doesn't really have a point except to just say, "Hey, I'm back! And, I will try to stay back and post more..." We'll see. :)

Putting things in Perspective

2008-01-13T19:33:00.001-08:00

"You can always pay off debt, but you can't relive your life."
-Miss F. Hui