Rehab

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/18/technology/18rehab.html

I don't even know what to say...

Rahul put it best by saying, "master race protects against threats to its supremacy."

Sunny Days Maybe Aren't Here Again...

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/18/magazine/18wwln-medium-t.html?pagewanted=1&_r=1

A New York Times writer wrote about the earlier episodes of Sesame Street. Basically, if you watch the first season of Sesame Street, it's not something people of 2007 would let their young children watch...

"Back then — as on the very first episode, which aired on PBS Nov. 10, 1969 — a pretty, lonely girl like Sally might find herself befriended by an older male stranger who held her hand and took her home. Granted, Gordon just wanted Sally to meet his wife and have some milk and cookies, but . . . well, he could have wanted anything. As it was, he fed her milk and cookies. The milk looks dangerously whole."

Yep. Psychotically paranoid parents of today would never let their children watch that episode! Go home with an older man! The milk could be poisonous! Think of what could happen to poor Sally!

Although, if I was a parent, I am sure I would be pretty paranoid what kind of message that episode of Sesame Street was sending to young children. Go home with older men, they'll give you cookies and milk! Oh jeebus.

But it's not only the message of going home with older men, cookie monster smoking pipes and eating them, Big Bird's mental delusions of Snuffleupagus, and Oscar's misanthropic behavior, but Sesame Street itself was the backdrop of the inner city.

"The Upper West Side, hardly a burned-out ghetto, was said to be the model."

The show was targeted to young African-American children and basically sending messages that learning might make the days more bearable, but your existence in the ghettos will remain as such. Sesame Street showed you the how to live in the inner city, not how to get out of it.

The Darjeeling Limited

I saw this with Yap and Arlene. Ok, so if you want the plot summary of this movie, IMDB pretty much summarized it better than I would be able to. I always usually go off tangents of the movie and forget where I left off.

"Three American brothers who have not spoken to each other in a year set off on a train voyage across India with a plan to find themselves and bond with each other -- to become brothers again like they used to be. Their "spiritual quest", however, veers rapidly off-course (due to events involving over-the-counter pain killers, Indian cough syrup, and pepper spray), and they eventually find themselves stranded alone in the middle of the desert with eleven suitcases, a printer, and a laminating machine. At this moment, a new, unplanned journey suddenly begins."

So, I would like to begin with saying that I enjoyed this movie. The use of colors was really nice.
Character development, check. All I am saying is, it's a very idealistic way to look at a spiritual journey in another country. I feel like people tend to go to other countries to find the thing they lack spiritually. Like by going to another country this 'AHA!' moment will occur and forever be changed in perspective and life. That just doesn't happen. Rarely does this occur. Or maybe I am just cynical?

Day at the Office

So I have been putting in alot of hours at work this week, to say the least.

I have been getting delerious and producing things like:

This is my ode to what my team feels like this week.

And then a picture to make them feel better.

At least we still have our staplers and aren't stuck in the basement of the building:

But at the end of the day, this is what I feel like:

That's it for today, I hope you enjoyed today's "Day at the Office"

Viva Las Vegas!

So....guess who I saw in Vegas during his last couple of hours of freedom???



**************************





O.J. Simpson!!! Now that's what I call a celebrity sighting!

Fall TV Shows

So I was listening to the radio and they were talking about their list of shows they were most looking forward to...

Here is mine:

1) Project Runway ( seriously, it's been too freakin long...)
2) The Office
3) Heroes
4) Lost

Ok, the TV show that I used to love watching is 24, I auf'd it because last season was terrible.

Anyways, I <3 Tim Gunn.

The Longest Day Ever

Tuesday 9/18/2007 was the longest day ever for me.

Monday, I decided to stay at Yap's because I was tired and didn't feel like driving all the way back up. So on Tuesday morning, I called Yap to ask which way I should go to get to work. He said taking the 92 would be the fastest.

So here I am, feeling great because I left early and everything. 7AM is when I started out!

I get past the terrible 238 and just got on to 880 when the dj on the radio got to the traffic.

"If you are heading towards the 92, don't! It's a terrible mess out there with 3 big rigs in an accident and west bound 92 completely closed..."

Sigh. So I can't get to work that way but I am already in a mess of cars on the 880. 15 minutes later (one exit later) I get off and get on to 880 going the other way.

I am trudging along because many other people had decided to do the same thing. All I know is 2.5 hours later, hungry, bleary-eyed, and cranky, I finally got to work.

Then, an hour later, the systems at work decides to crash, and in the midst of all that, we have a fire drill. So, my coworker and I decide to take an early lunch and go.

Right when we get back, the systems are up. But because of this delay and other problems I found in our project.....

I stayed at work until 9pm.

The longest day ever.

Sigh.

Mo' money mo' problems

So in addition to being haggard from work running me into the ground, I found out I am the victim of credit card fraud. I got two late payments because of the credit card company closing my account. Sigh, must call companies to fix all of these problems.

Tired. Sleepy. Looking forward to the three day weekend.

=P

it's been a long time....

So I know it's been a long time since I last posted and I don't really have time to write another at the moment. But here is something that brings me joy, hopefully it'll bring you some???


Until the next time, my friends....

Evites are evil

So I received an evite recently. Now unless I know I am going for sure I try not to open these things because I don't want to get yelled at for viewing them and then not responding. But I got this evite and I didn't recognize any of the names. So I wanted to see who I recognized on the evite or if they just happen to make a mistake?

A name like mine, its not easy to make a mistake, so I knew it had to be first choice.

So I open up the evite and I scroll down the list of names who said "Woo Wee I'll see you at the bobbycue shoog! *mwa* (42)" [which = yes].

Some of the names started to sound familiar as I kept scrolling down. I clicked on the names with profiles. EGADS! They went to the same High School as me! All the Asian fools I kinda hung around in the beginning of High School but then I realized I didn't fit in with them.....they were quite religious and quite Asian at that. I listened to Smashing Pumpkins, they listened to DC Talk. I watched Simpsons. They went to Friday Night Bible Study. The list can go on and on...........

Anyways, I realized my High School classmates are going to haunt me where ever I decide to go. I work with a former classmate currently. We accidentally discovered we went to the same school. Actually, no that's not true. I recognized her name and consulted the only five people I still keep in touch with, if she indeed went to my High School. She did.

So what the ...... I mean its not like I hated High School but at the same time I wouldn't go back if you paid me. It was a time in my life that needed to happen so I can be where I am at now, yaddy yaddy ya. Bullshit. Whatever. It's over and I like it to remain that way.

I have contemplated going to the High School reunion coming up because I was curious what people were up to. But the powers of the Internet and damn My Space has allowed me to find that all out without the painful conversations one has at stupid Ten Year Reunions anyways.

Anyways, which brings me back to this damn Evite. My old co-worker (at the slave factory) sent me the evite and it feels like a punch in the stomach of nauseated, nostalgic feelings. I opened it up and found myself transported back into the mid-90s for a brief second. Blech.

I mean seriously that is so 1999.

FUTURE TRAVEL [Incident: 070613-000158]

So I bought tickets to go to Toronto in August for a wedding. I was quite upset to find that tickets were reduced by more than $200 and to find out that the Customer Service Department for Air Canada was seriously lacking. I don't blame the person I directly spoke to per se. However, I was just upset that nothing could be done, even worse an attempt to do something.

But I was fine with it, because I realize there is nothing to be done. Anyways, I got this response back to my angry letter, and the woman rambles on and on and I am trying to figure out what she's saying and at the end I realize this woman isn't going to do anything for me. Haha. I love these courtesy letters.

Subject---------------------------------------------------------------FUTURE TRAVELDiscussion Thread---------------------------------------------------------------- 06/21/2007 12:24 PM
Dear Ms.XXXX:

Thank you for your e-mail regarding seat sales.For many years, Air Canada has launched traditional sales to introduce new routes, generate new business or fill seats that may otherwise remain unsold.Special discounted sale fares, unlike the more expensive fares, have only a select number of allocated seats, as well as various restrictions and a limited duration.

We regret your disappointment on learning that a lower fare was introduced after you had purchased tickets with Air Canada. Customers already holding non-refundable, reduced-rate tickets, however, are not entitled to any further fare reduction. Fares continue to be a source of concern in the industry and we appreciate receiving feedback from our customers.

Our objective is to offer you the best possible fares available at the time of booking.That said, while we are unable to recreate a conversation that may have taken place with a Reservations agent, please accept our sincere apologies for any negative impression you received. Air Canada is committed to customer service and employee attitude is important to us. We strive to build a rapport with our customers and are concerned when a single experience may leave a lasting negative impression.

Unfortunately, this may reflect poorly on the majority of our staff who are genuinely interested in providing excellent service.Your impression is of great concern to us and we have asked that the situation be reviewed internally. We wish to assure you that we treat these matters very seriously and are intent on preventing recurrences.Once again, we thank you for your feedback and we look forward to being of service in the near future.

Sincerely,

XXXXXXX
Customer Relations

NYC (part deux)

During Memorial Day weekend, I went to NYC with Yap. His brother and his two friends were there as well. I was thinking how the five of us would manage in a small one bedroom apartment in New York. Bless his aunt for having a queen sized bed, it felt like heaven and it is how I imagine sleeping on clouds to feel like, and a king sized foldout couch.

Her view was stunning. I promise next entry will be a picture entry. Everyday was a hunt for good food and things to do. Which was so hard! (ok I am dripping with sarcasm because it's hard to tell in a blog).

Day One:

Landed finally. Took the subway to the apartment. So nice that it's a half a block away from the stop. Ate at a Greek restaurant. They pretty much reminded me of the waiters at Marge's party in their backyard that Homer threw for her.... Oui oui oui snort snort oui oui

Went to Serendipity's afterwards. I really like their frozen hot chocolates. However, I am not a fan of their $8.50 minimum charge per person. First, we were all stuffed from our dinner. Second, we were set on sharing. Third, we had to randomly order stuff to make it $8.50 per person. I think we were off by 50 cents but they didn't charge us for that. GRRR....

Day Two:

Got up at noon (hrmph ... obviously not adjusted to the time change). Walked around Soho. Disappointing shopping trip for me, successful shopping trip for Yap. Ate at a Jamaican restaurant. Beef patties, ox tails, brown rice..... pretty decent not amazing (When I go to Jamaica, I am going to be eating ten beef patties a day) And they say patties like pa-tttees.

Hot, humid. Sweaty. Blah.

We ate at a restaurant I made reservations at called Sapa. It's celebrity sighting place. It has a place on it's website where they say which celebrity ate there. No celebrities that night. They have a thing called Sapa Sundays, the entrees are $15 each. I had shrimp and lobster tempura with a side of fries (the plate was HUGE). Yap and his brother got a steak. It was decent and I am glad we didn't end up spending a $100 each because at this place you probably could spend that much.....

Around 11pm, Yap, Yap's brother's friend, and I went down the block and across the street to a bar called Vintage. We had two martinis (Strawberries and cream tasted so).

Day Three:

Went to go pick up my altered pants from Uniqlo. Then, we hit the Twin Towers site. Sad =(.

Hit Century 21 cause it was across the street. Bought a loose dress to wear in NY because heat and humidity.

Grabbed lunch at Carnegie Deli. Yap ordered the Woody Allen. It was like ten pounds of meat in that sandwich and Yap ate every bite. The only kid I know that has that much dedication to finish a meal. I left a quarter of my sandwich that probably had a half pound of meat.

Got to the Natural History Museum and was told the museum closed at 5:45pm. It was 3:30pm.
My heart sank. Two things I was looking forward to on this trip Lion King and the museum. So to only spend two hours in the museum and then be kicked out forcefully. I was heart-broken.
The first half-hour I was extremely sulky. I realized I had to pick up my mood because I only had such a limited time at the place. Yap was trying to cheer me up but I just had to get over it.
It was really neat to see the exhibits, I'll just have to come back and spend more time there.

Met up with Yap's cousin and went to Crumbs. It's a small bakery on the Upper East side and oh yum. The cupcakes are moist and delicious. After that, we went back and watched hockey playoffs on the TV.

Walked through the mess of Times Square at night. Screens nearly giving me an epileptic episode.

Day Four:

Went to Coney Island. Ate at the Original Nathan's Hot Dog stand. Mural of the Hot Dog eating contest plastered on the side with a counter, counting down the days to the next Hot Dog eating contest...

Walked around the beach. Ok. I don't know about alot of beaches (just ones in California) but Brighton Beach is filled with garbage. The water pulls in trash and dumps more trash on the sand. GROSS. I refused to put my feet in trash water. Yap walked in and out of the water. We walked along the boardwalk until the rides opened.

Rode on the Ferris Wheel and the Cyclone. The Cyclone put my stomach in my mouth. I haven't screamed on a ride straight through for a long time. Actually, the last time was when I rode my first roller coaster ride. My legs felt like jello.

Took the train back to Manhattan and got ready for the Lion King. It was everything I imagined it to be and more. I got chills at the opening scene. It was amazing.

Day Five:

Got up earlier than we have been. Went to Central Park. Watched an old lady painting the park in watercolors, people rowing each other in the lake, and dogs frolicking around.

Went to the Shake Shack by Tanya's recommendation. We couldn't eat it right away because we had to get back to the apartment to get ready to go home. So we took it with us. Half-hour later I was able to consume the burger and fries. It was very good but I think I would have enjoyed it more if it was hot. Oh, the lines are ridiculously long, prepare for a long wait.

Hopped back onto the subway to go to the airport. BOO. Had to go to work the next day. =P

At least I like NY a whole lot better this time around.

Like Straight Out of a Movie or Something

From May 18-20, I went semi-backpacking with some friends at Point Reyes. We ended up getting to Point Reyes sometime around 11pm. We ended up hiking in using head lamps and trying to find our way through a narrow sandy path.

We got to the campsite around midnight and proceeded to set up our tents and ate some freeze-dried food. NEVER EVER get the Pad Thai. Blech.

The time spent at Point Reyes was a windy one. A few of us went on a hike and detoured to Sculptured Beach. That was a lot of fun. We had to time ourselves to get around each rock before the waves came crashing in. So when the waves pulled back, we ran for it. We climbed some rocks and took in the beautiful view from the beach. There was this cavernous rock, on one side was the water and the other side was the beach, we ended up trying to time how long and how far we could stay in the cave. (most of us eventually had soggy shoes and socks)

After the hike, my allergies inflamed and I took a nap as the wind blew full force through out the land. I could hear cups being knocked over and the tent flapping like crazy.

At night we ate steak with vegetables and seasoned rice. Thank you Roger. Yum.

The next day we packed up our stuff after breakfast and hiked back to the car. I was wearing too many layers and decided that I should take some off. I handed my stuff off to Yap and he stuffed it in my bag and shut the trunk door.

Roger came over and calmly told us the keys were in the trunk. I told him not to worry since the doors weren't shut, but apparently he locked the trunk release and the back seats so there was no access to the trunk.

Luckily, his roommate followed behind us and had a car. Unfortunately, he only had enough room for two people. So Yap and I were left behind at 2pm. They left us at the visitor's center so that at least we would be surrounded by people.

We looked at the small exhibit in the Visitor's Center and read about the different animals found in Point Reyes. We watched a short documentary from the Discovery Channel on Point Reyes.

After that, we walked on two short trails, one was the Earthquake Trail and the other was Kule Loklo Trail.

This kept us occupied until 5pm. We sat on different benches ( we almost sat on every bench in the Visitor's Center ).

The sun began to set around 7pm. It was starting to get a lot windier and I was pining for the clothes I shed at the car. We walked around to keep ourselves warm and moving to spots with the most sun.

Since Yap had the only cellphone which of course received no reception at the Visitor's Center, my anxiety set in and I devised an emergency plan. Lekky and Roger were the only people who knew that we were stuck at the Visitor's Center and we had to realize we could only wait up until a certain point, especially since it was getting colder.

I was heading for the open bathroom to shelter me from the wind when Yap saw their car. We ran over with smiles of relief and we drove to get the other car and head back home. We stopped off at a restaurant for burgers, beer, and soda (which were not refillable).

We got back home at 10:30pm. Took long hot showers and flopped onto the bed with a sigh of relief.

Rain vs. Colbert

I get to work, hop on gmail, and Tanya sent me this:



No words can convey how I feel about this....

Rain better watch his back.

Double Whammy Entry

Last weekend, I went with Yap to his hockey tourny up in Lake Tahoe. His team rented out a house right on the Lake. Huge house decorated with fake animals and hideous trinkets, it really had a cabin-like feel. Seriously, I don't understand it but that's okay. Here is the view:

So, if you really want to know what one does in Lake Tahoe for a hockey tournament, it's pretty much hockey. I woke up went to the house, watched hockey movies. After that, it was watching the hockey game. Then, it was back to the house to watch the NHL playoffs. Then, it was off to bed. Repeat, repeat, repeat.

This weekend was beach weekend, then recovering from beach weekend.


We went to China beach and of course as all beach bbq's go, it ended in playing two hand touch football. I exercised some muscles I have never exercised before. So the next day was limping around trying hard not to laugh or move much so that my muscles don't send me pain signals for over-exercising. I still have my gym membership that I haven't used in over a year. Please do not make me think about how much money I could have saved if I didn't have a gym membership...

Arabian Nights

It's funny when I tell people that I have been in Africa.

"Really?! Which country have you been to?" they ask.

"Morocco."

"Isn't that in the Middle East?"

Our perception of Africa is dark-skinned people in tribal nations hunting lions or zebras. I always have to clarify, "Yes. Morocco is on the North-west side of Africa. It is a mixture of Arabic people and Berbers."

I laughed at their ignorance until I realized my own.I fantasized Morocco to be like Arabian nights or something straight out of Aladdin. So when I was actually there and realized there was no square filled with flame-swallowing, snake charming, gypsy like people, I was disappointed.

Ok Ok. I should have actually read up on more stuff before I actually booked the trip. I was very ignorant on the culture but at the very least, I learned alot. This is one important lesson I learned, adding salt to dishes does wonders for flavor.

The News

After hearing about the shootings that occurred at VA Tech, I felt so sad. Honestly, I was not all that shocked because after Columbine, this type of violence is not unexpected. But I hate what the media is already doing. They are already spinning the fact that the shooter, Cho Seung Hui, emigrated to the US. They are trying to show that he was an outsider. They write about how Koreans are ashamed they are from Korea because of what happened.

I am not ashamed that my family is from South Korea. He has no bearing or consequence of who I am or what I do. I feel sad for all the families that lost someone during this horrific experience, but I am not to blame because of what he did. Don't try to make me feel bad for who I am.

When the shootings at Columbine occurred, did the media write about white people feeling ashamed that white kids turned and shot their own peers?

I know the media is trying to sensationalize the story, but it's always at a cost of alienating a group of people. WW II, Iraq, 9/11, and these shootings at VA Tech are no different.

I was at dinner and heard a story of how a guy's friend working at an all Chinese company heard a guy (obviously white) exclaim, "Don't shoot me." when he realized he was surrounded by Asians.

You know you can only hope for change until reality hits you square in between your eyes and tells you to wake up.

Flushing Meadows

Signs. I think God was giving me signs all week long about NY.

It starts off on a sunny Thursday morning. I get up do my usual and finish packing. Except, I realize I am running late and slurp down my udon as fast I can get those squiggly noodles down. I realize my cab driver is waiting for me outside to take me to the airport. I rush to finish the last of everything and manage to get out of my place by 10:30. Aren't cabbies always late?

Anyways, I am two hours too early for my flight. So I sit and read. I read and read and read. Around noon, I realize I should get something to eat but as the udon still sits in my belly, I get a scone and a cup of coffee at the restaurant that also serves niman ranch products. Its supposedly Peets coffee, and its not half bad. But that scone, I can't say the same for that scone. Pure cardboard. After three bites, that thing ended up in the garbage. No music was played at its funeral. It deserved the ending it got.

After the five and a half hours of flying over the US, the captain's voice comes over the intercom, "JFK is congested, we are advised to fly around NY until we are able to land."

I grumble. Strike one JFK!

We finally land at 10pm. I was guided to carousel 4 to claim my bags. I stand and patiently wait at carousel 4. As I watch bag after bag glide by me, my patience starts to wear thin. Finally, it stops. A few others are staring in disbelief, bordering on panic. I keep muttering to myself, 'it better not be lost.'

A girl exclaims, "its on 1." We all rush to carousel 1 and there I see my lonely red bag going around and around.

STRIKE two JFK!

I wander around looking for my driver, when I realize he's nowhere to be found, I call the number on the email the HR person sent me.

"Go to Area B, your driver will meet you there."

Ten minutes later, ten minutes shivering later,

"Go to the departure side, Cross the street, go through the building to the other side, your driver will meet you there."

Twenty minutes freezing later,

"You Miss Chang?"

Strike Three JFK.

The driver was extremely nice, chatting the whole way. Really working for his tip. I tell him how I didn't have any dinner and he told me that I had the car for the rest of the time and that he could stop by to a place and I could grab food. "What kind of food do you want?"

I told him that it was ok, I know he wanted to get back home as well. I told him I would order up some room service.

I get to the front desk, "Do you have room service?" "No. There's continental breakfast in the morning though."

*****************

I suddenly wake up the next morning, I look at my cell and it reads 9:55. I shot up, 9:55! I have to be at the office by ten! I throw on clothes and call the front desk asking if they could order me a taxi. They tell me to come to the front desk and some one will arrange it.

I get to the front desk and ask, the guy tells me to go outside and hail a cab. Furiously annoyed by that answer, I wave him off and start rushing off to the office. I started off on Broadway, getting closer and closer to the numbers. Somewhere in between, I realized the numbers were off and I was on Sixth Ave, Avenue of the Americas.

I start running back to almost where I started and realized that Broadway broke off in the other direction. I cross the street and run up six blocks on Broadway and finally get to the office. I am twenty minutes late.

The receptionist tells the VP that I am here to see her. A couple of minutes later, I see a blond woman pop her head out and tells me to come in. I follow her through a narrow corridor and end up in her brightly lit office. I sit at the round table and stare at this woman.

She's very skinny with weathered skin. Her lips look recently injected and her skin stretched tight over her narrow face. She starts talking to me. Asking me the same questions and telling me the same things I hear over the course of seven people. Seven VPs all telling me exactly the same thing. I wonder if they were given a sheet in preparation of what they should tell me once they met with me. I had no real questions for them.

24 hours since I last eaten, my director takes me out to lunch. Giggles. I almost died in french fries bliss.

My director, completely enamored with the city, has a light gait, and turns to me "Isn't there an energy to this city? It's just electric." I nod secretly thinking otherwise.

After a long day of talking and walking, I end up in my hotel room, which is the size of a walk-in closet in the good old California. I kick off my heels to see two fat blisters on the bottoms of my feet.

I change into some jeans and head out to meet my Director for dinner. I get to Bryant Park early so I walk around. It was nice to walk in solitude. It wasn't exactly a picturesque park. But I had a good time walking around, alone in my thoughts.

I see my Director, we talk for a few minutes. She brings up Gis, and we smile awkwardly in silence. She's leaving, she found a better place, can't we just leave it at that?

She, another Director and her husband, and I end up at Koi, a super chi chi restaurant right by Bryant Park. We ate appetizers and entrees and desserts and drank wine. By the time were done, I didn't even want to know the damage. She just handed her amex card over and the company took care of the rest. Ahhh, living off the company's dime is nice.

I met up with Tanya later that night. She took me to downtown and we ended up at some Japanese tapas place with some good sake. Two bottles of sake and many tapas later, we start wandering around. We walk to the Lower East Side, peed in a bar packed with frat boys from out of town, bought some pastries at an italian bakery, and tanya and I ended up at a Starbucks talking until the early morning. Tired, extremely cold, we ended up taking the taxi back to my place and she got the taxi driver to take her back to Queens, which she tells me they hate taking her back to Queens from Manhattan because its far away and they don't get the fare coming back.

The next morning I met up with my brother's wife. She took me to Times Square, Fifth Avenue, up to Park Avenue, we had lunch at the Whitney Museum's cafe (which was pretty darn good), by Battery Park to see the Statue of Liberty, and ended up in Soho. I bought some jeans from Uniqlo (which is the Japanese version of the Gap but better).

We end back by my hotel, which is in the middle of Koreatown, and sat at a cafe and I drank some chai tea (which wasn't the best idea of after downing two cups of coffee earlier). My car company calls me to let me know that it is there waiting to pick me up. I grab my suitcase from the hotel and run up an down the street harassing all the black car drivers until my sister in law found my driver. I run to him and throw my suitcase in the trunk. Throwing me an annoying glance, "Are you done? I am blocking the street." I steal a quick hug to my sister in law and thank her for taking me around and jump into the car. I take swigs of my water.

Twenty minutes later, I feel the sharpest pang to pee. I try to think of anything to take my mind off peeing. We get stuck in traffic. The car lurched forward, the seat belt pressing on my bladder, I silently cried. I started to breathe heavily. I tried everything to make the pain go away.

I looked out the window and saw the sign 'Flushing Meadows.' I would have laughed if I wasn't crying. It reminded me of the Simpsons episode where Homer goes to NY to retrieve his car with all the parking tickets. He has to stay by his car until the policeman comes. He waits and waits and a bus rolls by with the sign Flushing Meadows. He day dreams of running through a meadow filled with toilets flushing.

After another jarring movement, I almost cry out. It becomes more and more torturous as I sit and wait to get to the airport. When I see signs to exit to the airport (40 minutes later), I ask him if he has change for a twenty and tell him to keep ten, he starts warming up. I was too busy thinking of the bathroom to notice that his manner had changed as soon as money was exchanged.

He gets my suitcase out of the trunk and I thank him and run towards the bathroom. I almost sang out in a full rendition of Hallelujah.

******************

As the plane took off, I saw the lights of the city. The lights became smaller and smaller and I said goodbye to all those lights that I did not recognize.

When the plane descended into the Oakland Airport, I was glad to be back. I was glad to see the same old dingy airport I left 48 hours ago.

Herman the Cist

me: omg i am laughing so hard
but its true
Sent at 1:50 PM on Monday
Giselle: wait what's true...
i forget what we were talking about
me: hahahhaahahahaha
omg
Giselle: wuaaaaahahahah
me: the ovarian cyst
with hair and teeth and nails
Giselle: DAMMIT
see i blocked it out of my memory
soooo DISTURBING!!!
me: can you imagine?
Giselle: YUCK
me: what if it bit your ovaries
?
or scratched them
Giselle: what if i have one and don't even know
i'll name it herman
me: they would through your pap smear
HAAH
HERMAN?
you know this is going in the blog right?
muahaha
Giselle: Herman the cist
me: Cyst
Giselle: with tiny teeth and tiny hair
me: omg stop making me laugh
i feel ill
Giselle: you know what i mean DAMMIT
me: haha aok
this is going in the blog
Giselle: great i'm just incriminating myself more and more
me: i am setting up the thing now
Giselle: i'm going to shut up now
me: hehe you can't
Giselle: :
me: its in your nature to talk
Giselle: hey
?
i think i just threw up a little

I heart-attack Indian food

I'm having a mild heart-attack as I type these words. Giselle (my co-worker) took me out to lunch. She decided on Tabla, a little Indian restaurant near work. Too much naan and butter chicken later, I am sitting at my desk, my head is feeling dizzy and I feel sweaty. My metabolism is functioning again.

Why does (americanized) Indian food feel so heavy in your stomach? I love love eating it, but I always don't feel quite right afterwards. It's like a tasty death. I mean if I had to choose a last meal on earth it would consist of Indian food and three different types of cheesecake. Oh and my roommate's Icebox cake. Take that death!

Anyways, I think I will rest my head for the rest of the afternoon.

Hmm. Just got my itinerary for New York. Bastards. I get into NY at 9:35PM on Thursday and leave NY at 6:15PM on Saturday.

How can you tell if you like a place if you are there for barely two days? What the hell can I do in a day? Actually half a day?

welcome ever-ee-bod-ee!

The office is so quiet. Half the team is here today. I turned on some music to help me from falling asleep while working. One time I caught myself from crashing my head into the keyboard. It would have made a funny pattern had I fallen asleep that way. The 'S' key would be jabbing my ear.

I guess that shouldn't really surprise me since I did fall asleep on the toilet at work once. I only woke up because my head crashed into the stall door. I woke up with a 'bang.' A painful not funny at the time 'bang.'

But then again it is in my nature cause I'm Korean and legend has it we came from bears. And bears like to sleep. I do that very well. I curl up on my multiple fleece blankets and fall asleep watching the many programs recorded on --- (the best invention on earth since peanut butter) --- Tivo.

I'm going to be in NYC next thurs to sunday.Checking out my company's digs there on Broadway to see if first I like it, then if they pay me enough to go.

Before and after that, two interviews lined up. Running out of excuses to go to actual interviews. I mean how many Dr. appointments/sicknesses/etc... can one person have in a month?