Mochi-tsuki

The Ohana Festival was held today at the Japanese Cultural Center. Of course, our piggish nature would never miss an opportunity to pig out. As expected, the line for the Okonomiyaki booth was a mile long since okonomiyaki, a Japanese style pancake/pizza, is not served in many restaurants and is supposed to taste very good. Since the line was too long, we decided to hop over to the Andagi booth. The most interesting part of the festival was the mochi pounding (mochi-tsuki) demonstration. Mochi is made first by steaming large batches of mochi-rice, which is then placed in a huge stone basin (usu) for pounding. Strong men use large wooden hammers (kine) to beat the rice-dough in a rhythmic manner. If their timing is off, someone may get hurt.
When the rice-dough is ready, it is pinched off in small balls and filled with azuki (a sweet bean paste) or other yummy sweet ingredients. This is first time we ate fresh mochi and it tastes really good!

I can see!

After nearly a whole year of procrastination, we finally told the owner our ceiling light fixture is broken. We weren't living in the dark ages all this time. The room was bright even with only one floor lamp. However, after I rearranged the room to a more reasonable and practical layout, I found a working ceiling light would really help to brighten my workspace. Prior to the rearrangement, my desk was next to the balcony where the morning sunlight would creep through the window screens and the curtains, eating my computer screen. So I moved the desk to the opposite side of the the room next to the kitchen where I sacrifice an airy open space for a darker yet breezy and more workable location. With the ceiling light, now I can see!
Inspired by the show FreeStyle on HGTV, I rearranged the living room/working area all by myself.

Home...is wonderful

I don't think any of my friends that are studying away from home are as homesick as I am right now. Everytime I leave San Jose, I have this terrible feeling. I thought I would get better at coming and going but it gets worse. I think I have been so close to my family, especially my parents, that I hate the notion of leaving home and being away from my parents. I try really hard to comfort myself but I just end up missing my family even more. I thought of calling my parents every hour, preventing them from doing anything but answer my calls so they get sick of me...hee hee. My baby niece, who just turned one year old, was so thoughtful to call me when I landed. She repeated, "wah wah wah gu gu wah po po wah". Well, one way to comfort me is to plan my next trip back home :) If only I didn't have school and work.......

Now I will go develop huge pictures of my family to put on the wall. Their heads in the pictures will be so big, bigger than my head! Real people size!

Dream couch

For the past few months, our coffee table has been leaking (sounds kind of disgusting) ... dropping (ah, better word) powdery wood particles on the carpet. It's like bird droppings, one poop here and there. We didn't know what it was so we just left it alone. Then a week ago, we looked under the table and saw 4 piles of powdered wood. We thought, hmmm...maybe it's time to buy a new coffee table. And so begins out quest for a new coffee table. Let me say the furnitures in HI are EXPENSIVE! A freakin dingy end table is $200. Imagine how much a coffee table will cost! On our quest, we found the perfect one and we absolutely love it. It's a bit on the pricy side for mainland people but it's considered a good price for Hawaiians. We love it cuz' it's small and stylish. For $200, this is a pretty good deal in HI. An ugly coffee table at Walmart costs $130. Might as well invest for something nice now and take good care of it. We were going to buy it yesterday but we laid out our options again.

1. Keep the table and wait until it falls apart
2. Get rid of it and not buy a new one ever again
3. Use boxes and a cloth to cover it (college style)

HappyOblivion thought the little creatures eating the table might invade our entire apartment so either way we are getting rid of the table. I guess he is right.

We also did a little window shopping and I found the couch and coffee table set of my dreams. I say dreams because the darn thing costs $13,000.

Christmas Lights

We went chirstmas lights hunting all over Oahu the other night. It's always fun looking at what people have done to brighten up the holiday season. These houses were also on the news, that's how we knew where to look. First we went to Hanapaa street in Kapolei. Three houses were fully decorated from top to bottom. One house even had a christmas tree made with empty beer bottles.
This house had a choo choo train that smokes up every 10 minutes or so. It's really cool! The little guy in the middle moves his hands up and down playing the drums. The next house had a family of snowman and cute looking penquin. I bet the 2 ballons at the very top were bought at Costco, hee hee. Then we went to Kaiakua street in Ewa. The entire street was decorated with christmas lights. This house tood out for obvious reasons. People were actually singing carols at this house. We got scared so we ran away. This was at somebody's backyard. The entire entrance was blocked off by all these Costco bought decorations. Well, at least remember seeing them at Costco. So creative! The most creative and cutie gingerbread boy and girl I have ever seen. They are so adorable. Last stop for the night was Honolulu City Lights. The decorations were the same as last year's so nothing too dramatic. Of course, you can never miss the shaka Santa and the beautiful and gigantic Christmas tree right outside of City Hall. Every year the City Hall display the Christmas tree and wreath contest. These are the ones I like the most even though they may not be first place.

X'mas R2D2

Hallo everyone! HappyOblivion bought me a really super duper cool Christmas gift. Well, he gave it to me a couple days ago but I didn't have time to blog it. It is a 17-inch R2D2 robot! It responds to commands, dances for you, and plays games with you too. If you pat him on the head too hard, he gets mad and doesn't listen to you. Oh and if you yell at him, he runs away. For some odd reason, he never listens to me but always listens to HappyOblivion. I say bad R2 and he shines a red light at me. I tell him to go patrol the room and he wants to play hide-n-seek with me.

Pride & Prejudice

The romance, the love, the frustration all portrayed so beautifully in the very little encounters they had. One scene captures your heart and leaves you breathless all because "You have bewitched me body and soul". Such peaceful happiness as the story concludes with "Mrs. Darcy, Mrs. Darcy, Mrs. Darcy..." I absolutely love this movie. Matthew MacFayden and Keira Knightly are spectacular and their performances are flawless. I urge you all to watch this movie because once is just not enough.

Thanksgiving Kraze

Did anyone go crazy shopping for After Thanksgiving Sales?

As always, I never made it to the 5AM shop til' you drop deal. I woke up this morning at 4:30AM to pee and went straight to bed. Then I woke up at 8:30 and thought, maybe I'll go to Walmart and BestBuy to see what's left. I went shopping for exactly 1 hour and came back with nothing. I almost bought this orange flavored chapstick but that was it. Very disappointing sales this year. Or maybe it's just Hawaii because the ads had nothing interesting on sale! I also did one stupid thing. I looked at the Fry's Electronic ads AFTER the sale. I wanted so many things!!! One being the wireless PSII controllers, and the wireless PCcard, the 300GB hard-drive, PSII games...

Next year, next year...hopefully I'll wake up :)

My TiVo Review

When it comes to TV, I am very picky and needy. You may have heard from many TiVo owners that the technology is great. No doubt TiVo can do many wonderful things. However, I would not praise it like others have. Here is why:

1. Cannot record more than 1 show at the same time: This is a BIG negative because many of the shows I watch overlap! To overcome this problem, I split the cable to both TiVo and the VCR so I can record at least 2 shows at the same time and watch a third one.
2. Cannot record one channel and watch another with TiVo features at the same time: Could be good because if you set up the TiVo to record earlier in the week and you forgot the show is on that day while you are watching TV, the channel switches automatically to the channel being recorded. This problem is easily fixed because TiVo uses one of the TV's INPUT channels. So if you want to watch another channel, switch back to regular TV and watch anything you want. However, once you switch, you no longer have the TiVo features.
3. TOO many options: Wondering why this is bad? Well if you are used to the "regular" VCR type of recording shows, setting the timer manually, the TiVO may make you confused and frustrated in the beginning. You have options on 4 quality settings, record on time or a couple minutes early/later, and when to delete the show from memory. You can leave these settings alone but seeing all these options pop up could be overwhelming.
4. Not enough manual options: TiVo sure has many capabilities but one thing that bothers me is the timer setting. Let's say you like to record a show from 1:00 to 2:32 (2 minutes extra because you want to see preview for next time). If you want to record another show after that and you set it from 2:30 to whenever, the TiVo gets confused and asks if you like to clip the previous recorded show by a couple minutes. If not then there is no option for you to start recording the second show 2 minutes later! If you go to manual set up, the time settings are in 5 minute increments so you are bound to miss 5 minutes of either show depending on what you decide to do.
5. Multiple remotes: If you often like to watch one show and record another at the same time, then you are bound to play with multiple remotes. When you are watching TiVo, you use the TiVo remote. If you switch back to regular TV, you use the TV remote. If you have stereo system, you use a different remote. Ok, then you have the VCR remote. Confusing ey?

Told you I am needy. Apart from the negatives, TiVo is worth the money. Below are some of the things I like about TiVo. You can go to TiVo's website for full listing of capabilities.

1. FF, RW, Pause: You can do all those for 30 minutes while watching a show. If you are like me and like to watch TV and do work at the same time, you are bound to miss something interesting. Not to worry, you can go back at least 30 minutes and watch what you missed. Oh and if you have to pee in the middle of a movie, pause it! Take your time to pee and won't miss a thing. This feature is great for watching sports.
2. Ease of recording: In a hurry in the morning but you really have to record a show? No problem. You can set up the TV to record in less than 10 seconds (if you know what you are doing).
3. Watching recorded shows: No more waiting for the tape to rewine back to the beginning. You can pick a show and watch with just a click of a button. Oh and don't you hate it when you over fast forward the commercials and you have to rewine it back to the end of the commercial? Well, it won't happen with TiVo. If you over FF the commercials, TiVo will automatically go back to the end of the commercial! Neat ey?
4. Organized: TiVo is very good at keeping everything organized. The "To Do List" has a list of shows you set up to record. The "Now Playing" has a list of shows you need to watch.
5. Season Pass: Set up a show for season pass and you will never miss your favorite show because TiVo will autmatically record all the new episodes for you. You don't need to set up the TiVo to record every single week!
6. TiVo suggestions: TiVo will come up with a list of shows you may like to watch when you start watching TV. This is great because you get to watch the old shows that are not worth the money to rent. Just go to "TiVo Suggestions" every now and then and see what it has for you. Just yesterday I recorded "Silence of the Lambs" because TiVo suggested it. Oh and also "Gremlins 2", hee...
7. TV grid: When you press the "TV grid" button on the remote, it will give you something similar to the Yahoo!TV grid. You get to see all the shows playing now in all channels.
8. Favorite channels: TiVo has the option for you to set up a list of your favorite channels. You can set it up so that when you want to record or look at the TV grid, only your favorite channels appear. You don't have to waste time by going thru all the other stupid channels.

If you are looking for a reason to buy TiVo, the only reason you need is that you watch ALOT of TV. Otherwise, I advise you not to buy it because you won't benefit much with TiVo.

Quest for the 3 eye dude

Believe it or not, I have never watched Toy Story I with the cute 3 eye alien. For the past 2 weeks or so, HappyOblivion and I were particularily crazy about this little guy. When we walk to go play basketball, we always stop by Foodland (supermarket) to check out the 3 eye dude trapped in toy machine where you have to use a claw to grab it. We could not get to him because he was stuck in a corner against the glass. So we decided to go on what we call a "Quest for the 3 eye dude." HappyOblivion looked online for all the Foodland locations on Oahu and for 2 separate days, we went to at least 3 locations each day. The first day was disappointing. We put $5 and got nothing. They were so cute but stuck. One of them had another stupid looking girl doll on top of him and was flashing her naked butt as us. I was so mad!!! Anyway, the second day, which was 3 days ago, we went to another supermarket (Starmarket) and thought we'd go check it out. There he was, lying face up on the top waiting for us to grab him. First dollar in, nothing. Second dollar, HappyOblivon strategically calculated the angles and mathematically worked out the curvature of the claw and he got it! We saw the claw grab it, slowly go up and down he goes into our hands. I bet he was saying "the claw, the claw" when the claw grabed him. We were so happy and loud that the people in the cashier registers looked at us. Well, what can I say, it was hard work. We also could not find any toy store that sells these guys. Starmarket is a truly five star experience!

Tea for 2 & 2 for Tea

This is by far the best Pillbury creation. If you love Pillsbury biscuits but don't want to eat 8 all at once, then this new product is for you. The biscuits come in vacuum sealed packs with 2 in each pack. Perfect for two. The commercial is just so very cute! Muah!

http://www.pillsbury.com/View/breads/perfectportions.asp

TiVo

As most of you already know, HappyOblivion and I are HUGE TV fans. We are also extrememly busy and sometimes we don't have time to watch all the shows for a particular day. Now, the VCR can only record one show at a time but often we have to watch 2 shows at the same time. What to do? We bought a TiVo!!! It was a great deal and it was very hard to resist. I figure now it's the time to buy it since we are both very busy. Yeah yeah, $13/month but if we pay the lifetime fee we don't have to worry about anything until the DVR breaks down. I am so excited!!!

In a Quandary

Hmmm...I have been looking at pocket PC's and I finally found one today with the right price. It's a really great deal but I am hesitant because I don't really know if I need one. Completely blinded by my desire to own electronics and advanced technologies, I become impractical and make irrational decisions. Why do I need a pocket PC anyway? To tell the truth, I just want to have one. $250 to satisfy my "desires" is a pretty high price. My brother-in-law gave me great advice regarding which PDA's are worth buying and I am greatful for that. I keep on fabricating various situations when I might need a PDA but all I came up with were TV schedule and school. All this time, I tend to remember things pretty well and for those that I forget, I guess they are not that important anyway. Hmmm, I will keep thinking...

20 Facts About Angelpoo

Victim of a vicious crime of blog tagging, I am to write 20 facts about myself. Well, here it goes:

1. Just like my parents and my cool roomate Jenn, I LOVE to get rid of stuff. Everytime I go back home (SJ), I end up donating 3-5 bags of junk! I like to dump other people's stuff too :)
2. For some reason, people never succeed in getting me drunk. I am very alcohol tolerant...hee.
3. Stepping on HappyOblivion's back and hearing his spine crack makes me feel good. I just hope I don't get too excited and hear other things crack...
4. I am allergic to peanuts. So if you hate me, feed me peanuts. Beware, I might punch you in the face.
5. My dream job is to dive with sea turtles but that will never happen because I am scared of sharks. Hey, that's why it's called a "dream" job!
6. I draw comics about my favorite stuffed animal pig and panda (Achoo and Oreo), hoping someday they will act out my comics.
7. In my future house, I will build a huge pond in the backyard for my lovely pet turtles. I really hope someday they will stop fighting and start mating :D
8. I am sucker for cute Japanese characters (Momoten, Kogepan, Kodama, Totoro, MonoKuRobu, etc...)
9. I want to have a farm with pot bellied pigs, sheeps, ducks, chickens, and llamas. Although I would hate to maintain it.
10. I have seen cows trying to mate and it is not a pretty sight :(
11. I am secretly planning to kidnap my niece and bring her to to the beautiful beaches of Hawaii to check out the local boys :) Doh!
12. I wish to buy TiVo but am afraid I might spend even more hours in front of the TV than I already am (15+ hours/week).
13. I bought a yellow body pillow at Costco for the usual "pillow comfort" but end up giving it a name (Tamago) and treating it as a stuffed animal. I yell at HappyOblivion when he tries to hug it or squish it in any way.
14. I hate swimmers who fail to swim in a straight line and end up in MY lane. So I swim close to them and pretend to kick them accidently so they would go away.
15. The point of mosaic puzzles is so you can have months of fun. Well, I usally get impatient and finish a 5000 piece mosaic puzzle in 3 days or less.
16. I am a secret admirer of a sushi chef at Imanas Tei. I hope that one day I have enough courage to ask for his name, take a picture with him, and buy all the Tamagoyaki in the restaurant.
17. I read a comic called Sherman's Lagoon. I hope to visit the lagoon and find Sherman the shark. He is the one shark I am not scared of :)
18. I have no sense of direction. People look at me weird when I say I got lost in Davis, CA.
19. I am not religious because I cannot find any religion that approves of my ironic beliefs in the good and the bad.
20. I hate writing about myself...

75 Cents?

Yesterday could be called the luckiest shopping day of my entire life. What could you buy for 75 cents? Candy, newspaper, cheapo notebook, paper, pencil, pen, etc... Well, guess what I got for 75 cents :) I went to Walmart last night looking for kitchen towels but found Panasonic women's shaver replacement foil and blade set for 75 cents! I couldn't believe it! Where can you find ANY shaver replacements for less than $20 nowadays. I guess they were trying to clear the stock so the prices went plunging down to entice people like me to buy 7...hee hee. Yup, I bought 7, which will last me for the next 10 years or so.

Sudoku

Just yesterday I heard on the news that there is a new craze going on about a new mind puzzle that got thousands of people hooked! The game is called Sudoku. I wanted to see why it was so addictive so I went to Barnes & Noble last night and bought a book on Sudoku puzzles. My conclusion is, THIS GAME IS ADDICTIVE! I have done 10 puzzles so far and it's been only one day! When I get addicitve on something, it's bad news. Just like Katamari, my impatience will drive me to become an expert in the game because I am so ambitious. Then I end up spending most of my time doing this stupid mind game instead of my research or paying attention in class. Crap! I have included a link on the left (along with Jumble) in case you want to give it a try.

Busy? or Not...

The past 2 weeks have been a SOB (sorry, just couldn't find a better way to express my intense antagonism toward the piles of readings I had to go thru). I don't know how I did it but my crazy exam weeks have finally come to a pause...but will resume in another month. How did I manage to take 2 exams, 2 quizzes, 1 research proposal, and 4 homework assignments AND still keep up with my TV schedule (15 hours a week) , I DON"T KNOW. I am just glad it's over. Wait, I still have another quiz tomorrow and another homework assignment due on Friday. Crap!

Enough with the sad part of grad school. The happy thing is, I just got an offer for an RA position. That means I either will have to quit my TA position now and take the 11-month appointment RA position or do both and get paid more. The research is on modeling a particular watershed to assess the impact of land-based pollution to coastal areas. Very interesting and I can actually do a thesis on it. OR I can do 2 projects and my thesis will be on establishing a soild connection of nitrogen runoff as a possible vector for the spread of FP in sea turtles. Hmmm...well, now I am going to lunch to enjoy the little and precious free time I have before I have to write my report on forest ecosystems. Food...................

I've gone loco

This is a picture of mini angelpoo. Itsn't she weird looking but otherwise a creative piece of art work? HappyOblivion gave me an avocado seed so I decided to fancy it up. I drew some eyes and the mouth is carved by accident when he took the seed out from the fruit. HappyOblivion gave me weird looks when I showed him my new friend...he ran away :(

This is exactly what happens when I study too much, I go crazy. Back to the books...

Aji Ichiban

If you love Asian snacks, go to Aji Ichiban. I went crazy when my parents brought home some snacks from the Hong Kong store. As usual, I ate everything they brought back and I had to find the same store in San Francisco. Prices were more expensive in the U.S. so I didn't buy too much. After I moved to Hawaii, I thought I would never see that store again. Just 2 nights ago, I found Aji Ichiban in the shopping plaza we happened to eat dinner at and I was so HAPPI! The prices were cheaper and the selection was great. I bought so much and I am planning to go once a week to fill up my snack cabinet. These snacks are not the usual chips and fatty fattening oily junk food. These are the yummy crackers, dried squid, salty n' sour plums, candy that makes you jump off the floor kind of snacks. In a sense, they are less fatty so more healthy...at least I don't feel guilty eating them. Anyway, this is the website: http://www.ajiichiban-usa.com/.

Wallace & Gromit

Don't forget to watch on opening day!

Results: 5K Run

It was a disaster! We were both late to the race because people wouldn't move on freakin' Kalakua!!! Then there were all these cops taking up the entire road. So we didn't hit the starting line until 22 minutes later. Even worse was we had to RUN to get to the race because we parked very far away. So we were tired by the time we got there. I am happy that we didn't finish last. My official time was 52:27. Subtract 22 minutes so that would be 30:27. Hey, not bad for my first 5K. It was only 27 seconds over my goal. I am proud and I will run another 5K maybe....in another year or so. For now, I will eat and play some Katamari.

Niketown 5K Run

Tomorrow is the day, my first 5K run. I ran about 5K a week ago and it was not very fun. I almost died! My goal for tomorrow's run is to get up early enough so I make it to the run on time, ha ha ha! Well, second goal is to finish the run under 30 minutes. Not impossible but very challenging. Wish me luck.

Visit http://www.niketown5k.com/honolulu/ for more information on the Honolulu Niketown 5K Run.

Smallville

So, guess what I have been up to this past week aside from the 5 homework assignments and 2 exams I had. I was catching up on my Smallville episodes. Smallville has become my new favorite TV show and I have been watching the old Smallville episodes on ABC Family so I won't be clueless when watching the season premier. Call me an idiot but I had no idea Smallville is based on Superman. Can't blame me because I have never watched Superman. I don't think they had Superman in Hong Kong!!! Anyway, Clark Kent lost his powers in the season premier. So what's gonna happen next? I like him for his powers and now he is trying to ruin the show for me??? Crap...

Emmy's

I missed the Emmy's, how disappointing:( Well, I only wanted to see Lauren Graham in her beautiful outfits. I managed to find a picture of her from the Emmy's and yes, she looks elegant as always. Hmm...looks like she gained a little weight, but she still looks amazing. Who won best actress and actor by the way? What about best series? I can't believe I missed it for Family Guy (which was disgusting btw) and American Dad (also disgusting). For some reason, both shows had the same disgusting content, which I won't mention and am sure you know what I mean if you watched them last night.

Movie Review: The English Patient

"In Love, there are no boundaries."

Beautiful story and the quote is very well portrayed. This is an old movie and I didn't have the chance to watch it until yesterday. Now I understand why people thought the beginning was boring but the story is more intense after the 1st hour. Sad story indeed but their passion is so strong and so wonderful. It's amazing what love can do to a person. The movie is a bit long (3 hours) but it's worth my time.

TV Fanatic is BACK

I am so happy my life is back to normal again. For the past few summer months, my best friend has been on vacation. Now he is back with season premiers and new shows. Oh, I can't wait until next week when I sit in front of the TV for 3 hours each day, sippin' my wine cooler, eating cheetos and enjoying my favorite shows. In addtion to all those that I continue to watch (Gilmore Girls, SVU, Joey, Will & Grace, Crossing Jordan, One Tree Hill, Battlestar Galactica, MI5), I am planning to add a couple more, or at least watch a few to see if they interest me. The new additions are Living with Fran, Smallville, Prison Break, Numbers, 3 of the CSI series, and Supernatural. Living with Fran, Smallville, and Prison Break are for keeps but not sure of the others. Yes, I am a TV fanatic and thanks to HappyOblivion for that.

Let's talk about Gilmore Girls. I am so happy that Luke and Lorelai are engaged but this happiness won't last very long because I know they won't get married!!! If they did, everything will be happy happy joy joy and that's not what Gilmore Girls is about. It's a drama and bad things are bound to happen. I just hope their engagement last for at least until the end of this season.

We Love Katamari

September 20th is a very big day for me and all those Katamari fans out there! Katamari is back with new and improved characters, challenges, and graphics in We Love Katamari. I am soooo excited! Too bad the ugly King is still there. Anyhow, I heard the new Katamari has an option of team play, meaning 2 people rolling one katamari. So if you and your roommate never agree on stuff, don't choose him/her as your teammate for this game. Also, I saw some previews of this game and they have different looking katamari's. One was a huge sumo wrestler...so funny :) Well, I spent today cleaning up the TV shelfs to make room for this new game (I am so silly). If you want to learn more about Katamari, its website is http://katamari.namco.com/. Enjoy!

PS. I beat Katamari Damacy already. Haha, that 300m ball was huge!!!!!! I got to pick up roads, bridges, and islands!!! I told you sticking all of Honolulu on my katamari is possible! Oh and below is a picture of the King of Cosmos in Katamari. I told you he's weird looking.

Katamari Damacy

Ohhh, this game is addictive! Japanese people always come up with cutesy games that make people sit on the couch all day and play. Believe me, the concept of this game is very easy to understand. This king (who is really ugly and scary looking and wears a purple robe) did something wrong and accidentally destroys all the stars in space! He then orders the prince to carry this big adhesive ball (katamari) to Earth. His goal is to stick as much stuff as possible on the katamari and bring it back to the King. The King will then release it to space and make it a star. Easy right and somewhat stupid and weird. Just don't ask any questions. No matter how stupid this game may sound, it is driving me crazy! Doesn't this sound ridiculous, "I stay up all night trying to glue stuff on a ball so I can make it into a star." Yeah, even I laugh.

So the katamari...you have to start with little things and then work your way up. The katamari won't stick to big things at first. Let's talk about levels. First level is to make a 5m ball in 3 minutes. Second level is 10m in 5 minutes. I am at a level where I have 23 minutes to make a 300m ball. That is intense! Just 3 days ago (when I got the game) I was rolling this little dingky katamari trying to find pencils and erasers to stick to it. Now, my initial targets are fences and I end up with elephants and giant octopus on the katamari! Now you know why this is stupidly intense. I play so much now that when I take the bus to school, I stare at buildings and picture myself rolling the katamari, sticking all of Honolulu on it and bring back to space.

If that's not enough, let me tell you about the 2 player part. You can compete with your buddies in making the biggest katamari in the time alloted. If your katamari is bigger than your opponents, you can actually stick him/her onto your katamari! Isn't that great! The one thing I wish to do is to stick the stupid King onto the katamari. Why? Because whenever I fail to accomplish a level, he calls me names and say I am a failure. Then he tells me I am no good and sends me away to cry. It was his fault for destroying everything in space and I am just being nice to help him rebuild his kingdom.

Anyway, if you have PS2, BUY THIS GAME!

TAing

Hmmm...being a first time TA, I feel so much pressure just from grading papers. Imagine that! I thought it was just taking points off whenever I see a wrong answer. Well, it wasn't like that. The hardest part was figuring out how much points to take off. These assignments I am grading are really easy to get an A but I see papers that are so trashy that I don't think they even deserve a grade. Then there are those stupid math problems that all you have to do is show your work to get the full 10 points. My professor urged me to be lenient and not grade so hard and I am. Let's say a problem is worth 10 points and there are 5 problems to make 50 points. I see students answering half of the questions and they get only 25/50, THAT'S AN F!!! I feel so bad for flunking them that maybe....just maybe I can lower the bar and take off less points. Grrrr! What to do, what to do...

Oh and I caught 2 students with the same answers. That was the highlight of my day :) Not that I want the students to get zeros on their homework assignements. I just feel so smart and bright (for one second of my life...finally!).

Grad school

First 2 days of school, neither hectic nor carefree, just blah. Lines in the bookstore, lines to get an ID, lines to get a discounted bus pass (which is still a rip off), lines EVERYWHERE! So many classes to choose from with only 4 semesters to procrastinate. Most of those courses are only offered freakin' once a year! Then there are those stupid stupid stupid prerequisites. If you don't take this, you can't take this, it's best that you take this before you take this. Did I mention they are stupid? To avoid being on the waitlist, you register for 6 classes and drop as you go. So for the first week, you end up with 3 labs and 12 lectures to attend because you are STILL not sure whatcha wanna take. Then after the first week, you have to wait in that loooonnnnnnggggg line to return all the books you thought you needed. And...so you think your schedule is set right? Wait until the professors change the syllabus. If the syllabus is a contract between the students and the professors, why the heck do professors have the power to change the syllabus on a whim? Then at the end of the semester, you have 20 copies of the syllabus all with edits here and there. That's grad school. So, how's your life?

So True!

I hate Spongebob. Go Pig!!!

Calculators

For this Fall semester, I have to take an Experimental Biology course. The professor asks that students have an "electronic calculator" that does the following functions: built-in programs for calculating the mean, standard deviation, sum of squares, correlation, linear regression and calculation of new points. So what kind of calculator do I need, scientific or graphing? Do you have a recommendation as to which one I should get? I used to have an HP graphing calculator that's 5 years old...yeah, pretty old. Should I have that one shipped over from California or just buy one in Hawaii? I checked out the new ones and they are pretty advanced...full blown USB, memory, connection to PC, game options, etc... Please advise, anyone :)

Dream of loneliness

This morning I had a terrible dream, so terrible that I was in tears when I woke up. I was in San Jose, CA with my parents and sisters. I had just stepped in the house and saw them packing. Confused, I asked my mom where she is going. She said, "We are leaving but we don't know where we are going yet." "What about me?" I asked. She looked at the others and told me I had the choice to stay. I didn't know what to do so I returned to Hawaii to seek advice from HappyOblivion. When I entered the house, he was packing to leave as well. He also didn't know where he was going. I was very scared, confused, and frustrated because suddenly everyone that I cared for are leaving me. Then I woke up...

Homesick

Back in Honolulu today...I miss home sooooo much. I miss mom's cooking, fighting with dad for the TV, the funny things that my turtles do, my beautiful niece, my sisters' yummy cakes (and shopping), and my other sister's motherhood life (she is so much different, so tired but happy to be a mother and a sister). I slept 12 hours everyday, do nothing during the day, eat every 2 hours, watch TV at night. THIS is vacation! No worries, no responsibilities (la la land). I can't wait to go back again and be lazy.

Tomorrow I have orientation, school, work, blah..... :(

MonokuRo Boo

In addition to Kogepan, I also find these two pigs very adorable! When I went to Kinokuniya Bookstore today, I couldn't stop myself from buying at least one thing from this collection :) There wasn't much to choose from so I ended up buying a pen.

My niece

This is my niece and she's about 7 months old now. She is soooooo adorable! The one thing I notice about her is that her head is very big. Sometimes she bobbles her head everywhere and wacks me in the face. Oh! She loves to watch my pet turtles. One time at family dinner, we put her on a chair facing the turtles while the rest of the adults eat. Suddenly she started to yell and giggle. We all stared at her while she was talking to my turtles! I keep saying, "One day, she will become one of the greatest turtle researchers in the country. I wait for that day..."

We all know very well that she will be spoiled by everyone that loves her. Whenever the aunties go shopping, she usually gets the most stuff because she looks good in everything! I usually don't buy stuffed animal turtles for anyone (because I end up keeping them for myself) but I bought one for my niece. Watching her sleep is sooooo peaceful that it makes you fall asleep as well. Oh and you can never get mad at her for scratching you or pulling your hair because she is soooo innocent and beautiful.

Aeropostale

American Eagles and Pacific Sunwear are two of my favorite stores. I love the styles and the prices are decent. However, my family introduced me to a new store which has recently become one of my favorite places to shop. At Aeropostale, the prices are CHEAP and the styles are casual - great for daily wear. Shorts are $10, sweaters are $15, tanks and other tops are mostly $10. Since I began shopping at Aeropostale, I bought 2 pairs of shorts and 4 shirts. I anticipate another visit before I head back to the islands. The website doesn't do justice to the variety of clothing available at the store. If you are looking for non-work casual lounge-around kind of clothing, I suggest this place.

New Kitchen

Hallo! As some of you know, I am back at home with my parents. They have told me before that they remodeled the kitchen. However, I didn't know it was gonna look THIS nice! Looks like one of those on the Food Channel! So professional, with marble countertop, glass cabinets, lights inside AND below the cabinets, wooden flooring, huge sink, etc... It's like 100% makeover.

Sicky

I am a sicky again :( Presently, I am trying to retrace my steps as to how I got this terrible sore throat. On Tuesday, I spent the entire afternoon with a very adorable kid. We played PSII, went swimming, ate at McDonald's, then played more PSII. The next morning, I woke up with crazy runny nose but felt ok when I went to work. That afternoon, we celebrated HappyOblivion's b-day. When I went home, I felt so tired I went to sleep. That's when I knew something was wrong. The next morning, I got a tiny sore throat so I drowned myself with liters after liters of water. That night, I passed out because the sore throat got worse and I had to take Tylenol to relieve the pain and the fever. It is Sunday already and I still have a sore throat but no fever. So, what is wrong with me??? I am going to CA tomorrow and I need to get better!!! Oh and there is this white spot in the back of my throat. I thought it might be strep so I got some penicillin just in case I don't get better by tomorrow. Many people called me during the past few days. I am so sorry if I missed your call because I didn't feel like talking...it hurts :(

Comic of the Month

It is time for comic of the month again! HappyOblivion sent me this comic and I vote this to be the best comic for the month of July. Let me know if you think otherwise and have a runner up.

Chips

Today I got a call from my program offering me the TA position and guess what? I accepted it! Full tuition paid PLUS stipend. Itsn't that great! AND...I thought I couldn't get my classes because the timings didn't work out BUT the faculty changed the times today so I can take all three courses of my choice! Today is such a perfect and wonderful day and I was so happi so I thought about chips...hee hee.

Favorite #1:
Barbara's Natural Cheese Puffs
I first tried this at Maui on the way back from Hana. Awww, this was so delicious and so cheesy. And I am not talking about the Cheetos kind of cheese. It really taste like natural cheese! It was crunchy, cheesy flaky, and super ono. I think only Foodland on Oahu sells this kind of chips.

Favorite #2:
Wasabi Funyuns
Everyone loves a bag of Funyuns. I am not a big fan of wasabi but for some odd reason, I just can't stop myself from munching on these wasabi-flavored funyuns. If you are sick of the regular BBQ and cheesey flavors, try this because it will give you the kick.

Favorite #3:
Cheetos
Who doesn't love the famous tiger and his "DANGEROUSLY CHEESY" Cheetos! You know what's the best part? Licking your fingers after you have been continuously poping these guys in your mouth for a hour or so.

Honorable mention:
Terra Chips - veggie potato chips for a low fat low cholesterol salty crunchy snack.
Quaker Quakes - taste much healthier than my favorites above.
Stacy's Soy Thin Crisps - tastes like Quaker Quakes but much less variety and less fat!

Teacher's Aid

I have been offered (or so I think) a TA position today and I don't know what to do...oh dilemma, crisis, confusion, frustration, absent-minded. I would love to give it a try but there is always that fear of public rejection, own stupidity, and total nerviousness. Now I really have to know my stuff because I have to teach it! The TA benefits are great and workload is great also. I am sure it will be a challenge but the uncertainty is killing me. Does anyone know what exactly a TA does? What does it take to be a TA? A genius? Oh gosh, I rather get stuck on Jumble than making this decision. Help...

Movie Review: Batman Begins

So, what movie did I see after War of the Worlds? Batman Begins! A good movie but not great, at least better than the stupid machines. Oh and this movie has a better looking guy - Christian Bale is CUTE! I mean, not checking out guys... Katie Holmes was too goodie goodie and she didn't do much acting so let's forget about her. I mean, all she did was argue and faint. Overall, this movie gave me the answer of how and why Bruce Wane became batman so I am satisfied. Graphics were good, a little scary especially the parts with crane and the hallucinations. I give this movie a C+.

Movie Review: War of the Worlds

Bad bad bad movie! I was so mad after the movie I went to see another one just to get my money's worth. No plot, overly modernized, and stupid dumb looking machines. Tries too hard to depict that humans are not on the top of the food chain but ends up throwing the theme away and created a horror movie that wasn't even scary. There was no acting involved, just people running away from machines that were not even real...so basically people were just running. A total waste of time. I give this movie an F.

To Draw

For all artists or those who just like to doodle, a must read by Danny Gregory.
His daily journal at http://www.dannygregory.com/weblog/
I really enjoyed this particular post by Danny Gregory because it changed my perspective in drawing. I have always tried to draw what things should look like and not what I see. Now I know...the difference is amazingly beautiful. Danny's drawings are unique and personal as you will see in his blog. Enjoy!

Slow=Know

Dear H______:
Think less. Draw more.
When you draw a thing, see it just as that. Not a head, not perspective, not crosshatching, just pure observation as if you've never seen it before. The more preconceptions you bring to the drawing, the shittier it will be. Clear your mind, and start drawing what you see. Start anywhere. I tend to start in the upper left hand corner because I am right handed. I move across observing, recording, until I get to the lower left hand corner. Then I am done.
If my subject is sufficiently complex, this will take me a half hour or more. I go as slowly as I can stand to go. But I don't know how long it is usually; my left-brain has no sense of time.
As I draw, I avoid evaluation. I avoid thinking of the purpose of the drawing. I avoid commenting on what I am drawing, even in the quality of the line. I am empty and the drawing fills me up. Drawing is meditation, not production. Drawing is entirely in the present with no attempt to create context.
Do not think about style. Add shadows as you see them. But better to avoid shadows all together and stay engaged with the contours of things. When you have done that for months, even years, then add shadows and crosshatching (My pal, d.price has been drawing for a dozen years. Only on his trip to New York last week did he decide to start concentrating on the effects of light. He still almost never uses color). For now, none of that is important. What matters is to see deeply and let your hand respond.
And if you start at huge length before you draw, you risk becoming bored, or forming mental notes, theories, ideas about what you are seeing. The reason to let your hand and pen take over is to shut the hell up, silence the internal voice, the endless chattering of the mind, the distractions, the pointless pontificating that insists on meaning for the meaningless. The moment does not need meaning or context. It just is.
Drawing is about reaching for pure being. Not making pretty pictures to put in frames and on websites. The world doesn't need more pictures. It needs peace and connection. It needs people who can accept reality and don't feel compelled to control their environments. If you can look at a boot, at a rotting apple, at car's worn tire, at an old man's foot, and see it for what it is, without value or judgement, can see the beauty and particularity of the thing, you will find peace. You will avoid being covetous. You will be happy with what you have. You will accept others more readily, will see the sunshine on a cloudy day.
Life is a wonderful business, though fools blow up London tube stations and sell each other crap and waste time with gossip about movie stars. If you can draw, you will always have a place to go that is beautiful and honest and true. As you sit in an airport you will find pleasure in the folds of a crumpled lunch bag. As you bide your time in a doctor's waiting room, you will find peace in the arrangement of the shadows on the wall. Even without putting ink on paper, you will be able to slip in to Drawing Mind.
The point is not what your lines look like or how accurate your crosshatching might be.
The point is not the drawings on the page or the pages in the book.
The point is not the opinions of others who love/hate/ignore those lines you made on the page.
The point is not the money you make selling your work to galleries or publishers.
The point of practicing your craft is not to rise in the rankings of those who draw. It's not to have your style dominate (sorry, Dan!).
The point is to more easily gain access to the moment, to the deeper more peaceful recesses of your Self.
The point is to live as well and as fully as you can today, right now, whether your pen is in your hand or not.
The point is to See and to Be.

Your pal,
Danny

What's for Lunch?

I found the following pictures on a random website from Google. Look so cute and I bet they taste good too because they are sushi! However, I don't think I can eat the panda one...so adorable. There are more here but these are just a couple that I really like.

Movie Review: March of the Penquins

A wonderful loving documentary about penguins. I loved it. The movie was funny and very real. Even though many people call it a documentary, it was more like a story with a beginning, climax, and an ending. The life of penguins, the harshness, the love, the warmth, and the will to survive are all captured really nicely in this film. It doesn't hide the cruelty of nature on these penguins. Instead, the death of the unborn and the young reinforce the strength and power of the mammal. They may be viewed as stubborn birds, refusing to leave the freezing weather. However, they have evolved and adapted, and they are respected and admired for their determination to continue their tradition. I give this movie a B+. Way to go penguins!

A Day at the Zoo

I am very happy to invite you to see some of the tortoises that I work with every Saturday at Honolulu Zoo. Simply click on the picture and it will automatically take you to a page with all the photos. You are welcome to comment if you like. Enjoy! BTW, on the left is Jaws and he is my favorite tortoise : )

Honu Beer

I have just heard from my honu connections that Honu Beer will be discontinued and it's last bottles are being sold in supermarkets at very low prices. The brand might be sold to Kona Brewing Company but nothing is set yet. I am very sad because the turtle organization that I volunteer for, World Turtle Trust, receives funding from Honu Beer. Now we have less money to help the endangered sea turtles of Hawaii. I have tasted Honu Beer and I didn't like it THAT much but I hate beer in general. My sister loves it because it is a light beer. Well, that's not the point. The point is, we have to find other ways to raise funds for our organization.

R2D2

http://www.kingfeatures.com/features/comics/grimmy/about.htm

Movie Review: Mad Hot Ballroom

This movie is cute, funny, innocent, and educational. I laughed the entire time because these impressionable kids are so darn adorable. Listening to what they say and how honest they are with their words just makes me long for my childhood years. Oh and now I want to learn ballroom dancing. I love the Indigo pair that danced the maranga and the swing. Oh and the swipe your hair look at your watch move in rumba. If these kids can shake it, I can too! I give this movie a B. Way to go, you kids did better than Tom Cruise and Brat Pitt!

Habushu

I first saw this thing at Tokkuri Tei. It is Okinawan sake with fermented snake inside. The waitress said the snake poison is also inside the bottle. I love alcohol but this...is kinda' weird. The waitress also said just one shot will kick my ass. Um...anyone wanna try it with me?

Photo Blog

It's me again. In case you haven't found out yet, you can now use Blogger to post directly to your blog instead of using Hello. The only thing is you don't have the fancy options to add borders and junk. However, you can fool around with the HTML and add image styles that way. So now that you know and if you are one of those people that hates to clutter up your computer with useless programs, you can say bye bye to Hello! Weird...

Oh yeah and sorry, I made some major changes (mostly design) to my blog...as you can obviously see. I like to design so I am constantly looking for ways to improve the look of things. Lately I have been working on this blog and my comic strip blog. Hopefully that's ready soon.

Tag Me

Hey peeps! I now have a tag board at the side bar for you to write messages to me. It can be a mini online messenger if your work computer blocks instant messenger websites. It's great! Write me!

New Years Resolutions

Remember your New Year's Resolutions? Well, since it's the middle of the year, I think it's time we check on our progress. I can cross off 4 on my list!

1. Take GRE - done and got good scores too!
2. Get into UH - yup, back to school in August.
3. Maintain my weight - so far so good.
4. Eat at all the yummy restraunts on Oahu - still eating.
5. Watch as much MacGyver as I can - I think I watched all 7 seasons.
6. Learn to sing Totoro in Japanese - still learning.
7. Teach my niece to say "Bryan has a fat head" - doing this August.
8. Learn to sing one song in German from American Continental Radio
9. Learn all of the confusing functions in Adobe Photoshop - It's all good.
10. Collect all 10 Sherman's Lagoon comic books - I have 4 more to buy!
11. Kiss Jaws regardless of the salmonela??? - ummmmm.....
12. Draw comic strips - launching my comic strip soon.
13. Play with my baby niece in the water.