For the sake of leap year

This year is a leap year and I feel like I should post something, anything to commemorate this special day even though the only thing special about this day is the fact that today is the 60th day since Jan 1, 2008 instead of the 59th day. I have worked 59 days since the start of the year instead of 58 days. Wow, the more I think about it, the less I think a leap year is that commemorable. On another note, take a look at this article about the first attempt to fit a prosthetic flipper to a sea turtle. Now this is something to celebrate about!

DIM Silk-Screening

I am so excited about my next project which will be "DIY silk-screening" my own designs on shirts and bags. I found a pretty good site that outlines the steps to silk screen without buying the expensive silk screen sets that are sold at major craft stores. I have bought shirts from an online store that does direct printing, which turned out ok but could be better. This is why and I going to DIM (Do-It-Myself) and see how that turns out. I hope my good crafty friend (mlesnapshot) will try this with me because honestly, I am not very confident when it comes to ink. I might get more on myself than where it needs to be. Ha!

In memory of Dr. LK

Certainly this is not something to blog about as if it's a casual matter that can be forgotten once I push the "PUBLISH POST" button. Nor can I ignore the fact that it happened so sudden and writing about it may help ease the sadness that I am feeling. I learned today that a well-respected individual who happened upon my life 7 years ago passed away in November of last year. His accomplishments in the medical society cannot be judged by the number of awards or honors he has received in his lifetime. Rather, they should be appraised by the number of young people he has helped to set foot in the studies of medicine, nursing, public health, social work, and many other professions for he taught the science of living and doing what one loves, either it be related to medicine or not. I am no doctor but I thank him for making my undergraduate experience the best years of my life. He will be missed.

Pan-Pacific Championship

After two very long weeks, the Pan-Pacific Championship soccer games finally happened. On Saturday, we arrived at Aloha Stadium in hope of finding my co-worker who invited us to a tailgate party before the game. We had every intention of bringing muffins that we bought the previous day at Costco. However, my unsuccessful attempt to reach my co-worker on our way out discouraged us from doing so. Plus, we didn't want the muffins to spoil in the heat before sundown. We ended up BBQing with a bunch of soccer referees and their wives. There were grilled shrimp, steak, ribs, veggies, potatoes, and best of all, wine. We had such a great time that we were late to the opening of the first game. It was my first time to a real soccer game so you could imagine how excited and anxious I was to see the players and experience the thrill of yelling and jumping with thousands of other people. The first game began at 6pm and it was LA Galaxy vs. Syney FC. I was determined to get a good picture of Beckham so I ran down to the "prime" seats near the sideline. I took a couple pics but was enjoying the game so much that I eneded up watching the entire game near the sideline. I couldn't believe what some of the people yelled out to Beckham. I remember one shouted, "Come on Beckham, make some goals. That's what you are paid to do right?" With all the criticisms and pressure from the sideline, Beckham managed to get two assists and won the game 2 to 1.


The second game began at 8:30pm and it was Gamba Osaka vs. Houtson Dynamo. Of course 80% of the people at the stadium were cheering for Houston because of Bryan Ching who is from Hawaii. I, on the other hand was cheering for Gamba because I knew they wouldn't get much support from the crowd. The first half was a lot of cheering for Houston and silence for Gamba. The second half was a disaster and embarrassment for Houston because Gamba scored 4 of its 6 goals and won the game 6 to 1. Houston was doing so badly that the crowd grew louder and more excited when Gamba scored. Let the truth be told, Gamba WAS very good. They were quick at passing the ball and the brazilians on the team were good scorers. All in all, they deserve the medal and respect from all the people at the stadium that night. One of Gamba's goals is captured below:


I am becoming addicted to these soccer games. Those bambams kept me awake for 5 hours during the games. Knowing me, I usually cannot stay awake that long. I only wish the european leagues would come and play someday.

Change is good

I have made quite a bit of changes lately, one of which is pretty obvious if you have been paying attention to the design elements of this blog. I thought a white background would give more pop to the green and the turtle banner. Second, I have updated the "About Me" page so I am no longer a graduate student trying to stay alive in school. Take a look because I changed the style to an interview format. Third, I created a new "Artsy" link in the navigation bar for all my artwork. I have yet to design the page layout so check back later. Fourth, I finally cut my hair! It's been 6 months since I last went to the barber...I know I know, it's pretty disgusting. Fifth, this is more of a happy news than a change but my orange epi is finally blooming! For the past one and a half years, it's been growing taller but no bloom. It is now about 4 feet tall excluding the roots and the bloom. You can see the full bloom in the "Garden" link. The photo on the right is also of my orchid. Amazing ey? Finally, I am super excited about the Pan-Pacific soccer games tonight. Beckam and Ching will be there!

Wubby Day

For Valentine's Day, HappyOblivion bought me the silliest card ever. To 70% of the population in Hawaii, it may seem like a ordinary card in the normal to weird rating. To us, the drawings gave a pretty accurate account of my character. I am not proud of what I do around the apartment but I can't seem to quit. Luckily, HappyOblivion is not too fond of changes...so, I can stay as I am and brrraaaap my life away! He also treated me to a nice 5 course dinner at Hiroshi's, of which the crispy moi and the trio dessert were my favorites. A few days after, he brought home an empty heart shaped chocolate box. I first saw this box at Costco in a 10-pack Valentine gift set with different designs on every box. I fell in love with this one in particular for obvious reasons. Since it would be evil of me to give only the chocolates away and keep the box (yes, my good angel won), I had to walk away. I guess fate brought us together again:)

Great Aloha Run

This President's Day was quite the special one. Instead of chillaxin on the beach or couch-potatoing with the TV, I ran 8.13 miles. Sounds pretty ridiculous :) This is my first year doing the Great Aloha Run. The route is from Aloha Tower to Aloha Stadium. I ran at a pace of 9 min 3 sec per mile and finished in 1 hour 13 min and 41 sec. Out of some 20,000 people, I finished 1513rd place. I could've been in 1510th place if only I hadn't stopped right before the finish line thinking why people were yelling at me to "KEEP GOING! YOU ARE NOT DONE YET!" Despite my stupidity, I gotta say I was pretty impressed with myself. I only stopped briefly (5 seconds) for water at the 4th, 6th, and 7th mile markers...well, and one foot before the finish line. Hopefully next year, I can beat this time.

Turtle Transport

I have been stressing over the issue of transporting my pet turtles to Hawaii. For one, they are an alien specie since Hawaii is not their native land. Second, what are the procedures for legal transportation of reptiles? I did not particularly like the idea of quanrantine because who knows what kind of environment my turtles will be placed in and for how long! And if they happen to go into quarantine, I can't help but worry every single second of the day that some dog might eat them or another person accidently takes them home as their pets. Gosh, I would go insane!

Thanks to HappyOblivion and his doctor friend, I found out my turtles can be legally transported to Hawaii without the long and dreadful quarantine (fingers crossed). According to the Hawaii Department of Agriculture, Chrysemys picta (painted turtle) is among the animals conditionally-approved to be imported to Hawaii.

Other requirements are as follows:
1. An Import Permit (Form PQ-7) from the Plant Quarantine Branch.
2. Remit the application with the $5.00 fee (cashiers check or money order). Processing time is about two to three weeks.
3. Permits are valid for one shipment within one year of date of issue.
4. Multiple pets of the same species may be listed on one application as long as the pets are traveling together. Pets of different species require separate applications.
5. At the time of travel, pets are required to be accompanied by a health certificate issued by an accredited veterinarian within 7 days of arrival in Honolulu. The health certificate should indicate that the animal is free of external parasites.
* Honolulu is the only port of entry for animals on the Conditionally Approved List. Once inspected and cleared in Honolulu, pets may be taken to neighboring islands.

This is very exciting news for me! When I go back to work on Tuesday, I will make sure that my lovely turtles are on the conditionally-approved list and if there are more "hidden" requirements not on the website that I should know about.

Chinese New Year

I have always loved celebrating Chinese New Year with my family. Now that I am away, I become nostalgic of the good times we had. I remember back in Hong Kong, my cousin Jenny and I used to "house hop", wishing our relatives a prosperous year before asking for red pocket money. Then mame would tell stories of my sister who enjoyed setting the crispy dollar bills free as the gentle wind blows them off her tiny fingers, sending the green out the window and down the building. And the sound of majong that fills the room with excitment. This is the only time when I could get away with eating a whole tube of Princles then getting a fever the next day. In California, we would do essentially the same things except with a little less families to visit. There was always candy, the jello ones with a clear plastic wrap that melts in your mouth.

This year, I celebrated New Year's with my good friend and his family whom graciously invited us to their house for a feast of a thousand beasts. We had lots of good food including "lean gau" (my favorite) and tea egg. When I ate the turnip cake, I remembered how much I enjoyed eating my sister's home-made ones. When we left, my friend's mom gave us a daffodil. I had forgotten that my mame planted those during the New Year's as well and the smell of the flowers would permeate every corner of the living room. Yes, those were the good times. Happy Chinese New Year mame and babee!

Last of the January Creations

These are the last of our January home-cooked dinners before Chinese New Year. HappyOblivion was the proud chef of both dishes and all I did was to capture the deliciousness of the food with these photos. The first was enjoyed on the 25th. The salmon was pan fried in miso paste topped with mushrooms and onions. Even though we forgot to use our lovely Japanese ceramic plates, the food still looked undoubtly presentable. The second dish was enjoyed on the 31st. You may wonder why we have so much salmon. Simple answer, Costco made us do it. This salmon had a citrus taste which may or may not appeal to everyone's appetite but it sure pleased my taste buds.