5 Days in Kauai

Whew...it has been one crazy week. You know I kinda' look like that Yahoo emoticon, in which the little guy wipes off his sweat and sighs. Vacation nevers feels like one when it is spend somewhere away from home. You are constantly looking at the map, making sure every single attraction is not missed, and the pictures that were taken in a rush justify your "been-there-done-that" attitude. HappyOblivion and I were trying to avoid the whole ordeal of "touring Big Island in 3 days" (ha, that's another story to tell), so we decided to take it lazy and took a trip to our favorite island, Kauai, for the short amount of time we have off.

HappyOblivion's friend was very nice to accomodate us in his new house in Kalaheo. He also let us borrow his brand new Toyota FJ Cruiser to drive around the island and go on our crazy adventures. Little did we know we were going to spend a chunk of time playing Guitar Hero and saving Toad in Super Mario Galaxy than touring the island. One of our crazy adventures was driving in the sand dunes at Polihale State Park, our friend's idea of "breaking-in" the car. The road to the park was bumpy, muddy, and rainy. We splashed every puddle, big and small, along the way while praising the performance of the car. "This car is great!" we boast, or "This car can do anything!" Then...we got stuck in the sand dune, no kidding. HappyOblivion and his friend had to dig, in the heavy rain, away the sand surrounding the barried tire, which didn't work. Luckily some locals showed up and helped pull us out. Of course we had to pay him beer money to do so but 20 bucks wasn't at all an expensive lesson considering we had no way of getting out. Regardless of this unfortunate occurrence, we had a great time on the beach. The water was amazingly clear. I still remember the sparkles that filled the surface of the water, and would reappear after every wave.

Another highlight was our trip to the Kauai Nursery and Landscaping, and the National Tropical Botanical Garden (NTBG). I had wanted to take pictures of rows and rows of seedlings, and bunches of the same plant. Home Depot and regular garden shops just don't have enough plants to achieve the desired effect. At the nursery, I took so many pictures I thought the camera was going to die on me. There were bunches of everything and I was going happy crazy! The next stop was NTBG. It wasn't the greatest botanical garden partly because I had to pay $20-40 to tour the upper parts of the garden. Despite this limitation, I did manage to take some good close-up photos of a butterfly pollinating a large orange flower. I waited 20 minutes in the midst of buzzing bees, scary spiders (those that weave X spiderwebs - I think these are poisonous), and hungry mosquitoes. The entire time I was waiting for the perfect moment, the hungry mosquitoes were feasting on HappyOblivion. Luckily I only got a couple bug bites :D Some of the photos I like from this trip are posted in my Flickr account or below.



Lately, I have been particularly interested in photography. With that said, I would like to start a tradition in which I pick a favorite photo for each collection I create. The winning photo from this trip is...tun tun tun...

Shrimp Chips

I never knew raw shrimp chips are hard like fiberglass. Actually, I didn't know raw shrimp chips are available at supermarkets. This is totally new to me. I have always thought making shrimp chips require major cooking skills. I guess you just need to know how to deep fry, ha! Well, now I can enjoy this unhealthy snack without ordering peking duck at a fancy restaurant, even though I do like peking duck...especially inside the steaming hot bun buns. [That was awkward]

Limit 3 Heads

For a month, I have been waiting for the Kunia Orchid Show. On Friday night, I charged the camera battery so I could take loads of pigtures. I also withdrew some cash in case I bring home a couple orchids. All this time, I thought the show was in Kunia; hence, the "Kunia" Orchid Show. Then HappyOblivion reminded me that the location of the show changed to Waipahu, which is much farther than I expected. ["What? I thought you live in Hawaii," you say.] Yes, but that doesn't mean I know where everything is! I considered making a trip up there on Saturday with HappyOblivion but decided I could make better use of my time cleaning the apartment and running errands in town. Plus, coming up are 5 more orchid shows that are closer to town. Regardless of all these pathetic excuses, I was sad that I didn't go so I made HappyOblivion take me to Star Market where I could choose a plant to lift my spirits. I intended to buy ihi, a native Hawaiian plant I found in my new book Growing Hawaii's Native Plants. Obviously, things didn't go as planned and I bought an orchid instead, which ironically, I had planned on getting since Friday.

Afterwards, we went to eat dinner at our favorite place, Ninja Sushi at Pearl City. We love this location in particular because we know the owner, there is free corn tea to go with the sushi, and the shop is clean and cozy. As we both agree, dinner at Ninja is always a nice date :) Before returning home, we dropped by Foodland to buy our favorite Rosalani Kona Mud Pie ice cream which is still on sale 2 for $8. We came across the cabbage section and thought the sign a little hilarious. HappyOblivion and I have always made fun of each other's heads. Comments such as, "You have a fat head," or "Your head is so fat it blocks cell phone reception" would randomly pop out of our mouths throughout the day. I guess we are both a little cabbage headed sometimes.

Lethargic

Ah, "crazy"...that's the word to describe this past week. I am still trying to remember what kept me from strangling everyone around me. I am sure some of you may have heard this from me either in person or via email, but I can't help thinking that reiteration might aid in restoring the vitality that was slowly drained out of me every minute I spent writing, reading, editing, and formatting five very important documents that were finally mailed out today, hopefully...maybe. Don't get me wrong, I love my job. However, as I have told one of my good friends, "Loving your job is one thing, working 10-11 hours a day and working through lunch for a week is another." Also consider all the misc. things one does everyday but couldn't, e.g. house chores, calling family, laundry, cooking, and blogging. Honestly, I am completely pooped out. The worse was Tuesday when I came home at 6:30 p.m. and didn't get to swim. I was going insane and my body was itching to jump in the pool until the next day, I was determined to swim however late I came home, which was 6 p.m. so I swam until dinner time. I must thank HappyOblivion as he was a great help in cleaning the house, cooking dinner, and washing the dishes, while I was desperately trying to stay awake enough to brush my teeth. For those that usually return home much later than 6 because of commute, don't blame me. Your fault that you live far from work. Ok, I feel good now that I have made some enemies, caught up with my life in my blog and with those that read this blog.

So, funny story. I think it was this past Sunday that I decided to go for a "short run" because the pool was closed. I asked HappyOblivion if he wanted to join me and he did. As I was getting ready, he looked up this mysterious trail that goes from UH to St. Louis Heights. Before we left, he confirmed that the trail was short and that there was nothing to worry about. Well, there went our Sunday evening. Stupid us kept on hiking and hiking until we reached the top because otherwise, we wouldn't be satisfied until we had done so. The trail was beautiful, hot, and slippery (dry dirt). We passed by a huge BWS water tank, couple dare devils, and a college student we wanted to follow because she had a cell phone. Yes, we were desperate and didn't know how long before dark it was going to take to reach the top! Finally we did and it was a nice park we had been before, but by car...unsurprisingly the NORMAL way. Anywho, the walk back down was dreadful because the roads were steep. Our knees were achy when we finally returned home. The hike took us 2.5 hours and hence, my "short run". Sorry, no pigtures because I had meant to go on a "short run" so I didn't bring a camera.

Pig on a Mission

My friend bought me a cute three legged pig from Arizona. Below is the message that came with the pig:

Good Luck Pigs
What's wrong with these pigs? You got it: They only have three legs. But that's a good thing. The three-legged pigs bring good luck to those who possess them, according to legend in South America. People in the pueblo of Pomaire, Chile, famous for its pottery, have been giving three-legged pigs as good luck charms for longer than anyone can remember. This pig from neighboring Peru drives away evil spirits and attracts good fortune.

Since I released this little piggy from its packaging, he's been searching...for something meaningful in life. The following is an account of his mission.


Three legged pig smells food. He finds no pork.


Three legged pig sees brownie mix, delighted at the idea of "NO PUDGE" sweets.


Three legged pig poses for NO PUDGE Fudge Brownie Mix advertisement.
"Support NO PUDGE" he says happily.

A&E, U&Me

Gosh, I have been so pathetic lately. I start work at 6:45 and don't come home until 5 to 5:30. I swim for an hour and it's time to cook dinner already. By the time I am free to do whatever, I try to stay awake desparately so I can finish drawing my oopu, finally.

Ha! Did you notice? That all rhymes! Anyway, oopu is a new character I am creating for my coloring book. I finalized my hihiwai which turned out perfect. I had doubts with all the other versions but this one is just right. The characters can be viewed via the Artsy link soon.

So why the catchy title? After a 2 month hiatus, I finally popped out of my shell and went to American Eagles with a friend. I couldn't believe my eyes. The new styles are so beautiful that I couldn't resist buying something outside of the clearance racks. I am particularly interested in the tops of which I bought a blue hoodie without much hesitation. My friend bought two really nice shirts, one with the poofy sleeves and the other is white nylon with back tie. And that's not all! A&E had a promotion that if members use their A&E credit card, they get a free bag which is probably worth $10. I am tempted to go back and shop more.

On another note, ever wonder if bottled water is safe to drink? Read this article and maybe you'll think twice before buying that 36 pack bottled water at Costco.

On a third note, I have been looking for a good orchid reference book. I took a Borders-Barnes & Noble trip the other day and searched through the entire collection of plant books. I found this one of particular interest. The topics flow great throughout the book and the pictures are fantastic. Though I have to admit, the photos in this book are bigger and better but too little text.

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.

Raiatea

I just returned from the Honolulu County Medical Society Member Appreciation Dinner where they had a feature performance from Raiatea Helm. Last time I heard her sing live was at the 2005 Taste of Honolulu. Since there were tons of people, I couldn't hear her very well...as a matter of fact, I couldn't hear anything at all. Tonight, I had the pleasure of enjoying her beautiful voice without the loud chitter chatter or the rustling sound of trees when the wind blows. Ah, she was amazing. Even though I didn't understand her songs (because she sang in Hawaiian), her soothing voice was enough to keep me entertained the whole night. She is only 23 and her wonderful talent got her 2 Grammy nominations already. At the end of her performance, I bought a CD and got her autograph. It was a rather expensive CD...$20. Well, what the heck. I rarely buy CD's anyway. I forgot to bring a camera so I used my phone which takes pretty good pictures for a 1.2 mpx phone camera.
You can see that my friend suu-paawanpaku came with me too. He was playing in the orchid grove while we were watching the performance. He was also scaring the kids before dinner.

Photo Blog

I am a little slow...OK, maybe very slow. Apparently, everyone is hyped up about photo blogging nowadays. Flickr seems to be the winner among all the photo blogs in the cyber world. I had learned of Flickr maybe 6-9 months ago when I was searching for a good web service to organize the photos that I post on this blog. I ended up with Picasa because it was linked to my Gmail account and the layout was kinda neat. Last week, my co-worker introduced me to the new Flickr which is now linked to Yahoo. It's great! So much better than the old Flickr. First of all, I don't have to conjure up another login name that I won't remember along with 1000 other ones. Second, the screen name is unique and separate from the login in, which is a great feature for the unsettled mind. So...this past weekend, I signed up with Flickr and have been uploading photos to my account. I am dedicating this photo blog to my love of nature, plants, flowers, animals, and all the beautiful scenaries surrounding us that we sometimes take for granted.

It's still in the works but if you would like a sneak peak of my photo blog, click here. I have also added the link to my navigation bar at the top.

Venetian Shrimp and Scallops

I don't know what is happening to us but we continue to cook good every night. Even though I am not too fond of Rachael Ray and her "Little R&R Every Morning" or whatever the show is, this recipe is truly easy to make. In addition, the recipe is so flexible that you can substitute whatever ingredient you like and it will still taste good. For instance, I don't have white wine so I added red wine which gave the sauce a rich strong taste. And yeah, the recipe calls for LARGE scallops...I was like, "I ain't from Nob Hill". I used frozen small size scallops instead and the food still tasted good. As I always say, all you have to do to correct a cooking mistake is to add butter. BUTTER!

Salmon with Broccoli

HappyOblivion cooked this. Itsn't he amazing? After playing 2 hours of basketball, he dropped by Foodland to buy fish and poke. Then he came back, took a shower, and whipped up this great looking and tasty dinner in less than 30 minutes. Well of course we ate the whole thing in 15 minutes as always. It tasted really yummy, especially the white sauce (can't reveal his recipe, sorry).

BBQ Chicken with Broccoli

Once in awhile, I make pretty amazing dinners. The oriental Japanese ceramic plate makes the food look tastier than ever. This was last night's dinner - special tomato sauce fried rice and BBQ chicken with broccoli. I learned to make the fried rice from a Japanese recipe for Omahayashi. Instead of topping the rice with a semi-cooked tamago, I fried the egg with the rice so the chicken remained the center of attention.

Bamboo Fun

I have been putting off my comic drawing for two weeks now since work has been very hectic. Let's see, two days ago I came back home at 7:30PM from all day field work. I didn't hike much but I guess standing in cold water and the 4-wheel driving took all my energy. Yes, it was my first time driving 4WD and it was FUN FUN FUN! I was crossing rivers, and going over large boulders and tree stumps. My coworker said it was a good idea that I learn 4WD, as well as driving the big Chevy Trail Blazer (our State car). I look like midget in that car! Yesterday I took the car to car wash. Hee hee, 2nd time going through a car wash. It was so exciting and a bit scary too because I couldn't unscrew the antenna so I went in with the antenna up.

So, I have been researching some kind of drawing pad to help with digitizing my comics. My boss referred me the Wacom Bamboo Fun tablet and I am very interested in getting one. I remember seeing one at Circuit City and was curious at what it does. Now I know it does exactly what I want, which is to digitize handwriting or sketches. There are 3 sizes: small, medium and large. I believe the small will suffice but I do like the medium size just because it gives me more space to work with. The price difference is around $75-100 tho... Then there is the color. I am planning to get an iMac desktop so the white tablet would fit. But the black is better at hiding all the scratches. I guess I have to give it some thought before investing :) If you know of good deals, please let me know!

Bender's Big Score

Good news everyone, I just got the new Futurama movie "Bender's Big Score". All hail Bender, the best actbot in the whole UNIVERSE! (Those of you who are Futurama fans just got a dose of me talking like Professor Farnsworth.)

In this movie, almost all the characters appeared, even HappyOblivion's favorite - Calculon! He is most memorable in the amnesia episode..."Does anyone here not have amnesia?" Or the one where he yells "Nooooooooooooooooo!". Ha, what a classic. I won't give away the plot or the ending but there is a smart twist in the story that almost made me cry. Yes, it was emotional and you won't be disappointed. You will laugh, get confused, frustrated, angry, and surprised from beginning to the end. Now, what are you waiting for? Get up and go get the movie!

Honolulu City Lights

Once again, this post is long overdue. It's already New Year's for goodness sake and I am posting pictures of Christmas in Honolulu. My life is so behind I could really use a vacation. ~Sigh~ OK, Honolulu City Lights...it's the same-o same-o lights. We have a gargantuan tree in front of the City Hall, the tree contest in the main hall and then the wreath contest in the back. This year is quite interesting because there is a feral pig in one of the displays. Celebrating invasive species for the holidays, that's the way to go!


The BIG tree in front of the City Hall. It actually feels quite scary when you are standing at the bottom and looking up at the blinking lights...like you are high without the drugs.


The invasive species theme with the feral pig as the reindeer. Ha ha, how original.


The same display as above but close-up of these little green creatures I found amusing. If I am not mistaken, I think these are coqui frogs!


My favorite coral wreath (ha ha, rhymes with coral reef) from the wreath contest.

Hot Hot Hot!

I actually have a post already in place for today and that is to show you pictures of this year's Honolulu City Lights. However after last night, I desparately need to get this out of my head. The movie "Never Been Kissed" was on last night on BRAVO. I have never seen it and I wish I had. It wasn't a great film and some parts were a bit cheesey...ok, VERY cheesey. The other parts didn't make sense at all not to mention the inappropriateness (damn, is that even a word) of teacher-student relationship. But the ending threw me off and I felt warm inside. It was a very romantic ending and I don't think I would have liked it as much if the guy wasn't so HOT! Michael Vartan, a french guy who was in a bunch of other movies, including "Monster-in-law" which I had seen but never really noticed him. Awwwww, he looked so good in the movie. I wish I had a cute teacher to fall in love with...in high school...crap, did I just say that? He is now officially on my list of HOT guys :)

Will Smith
Johnny Depp
Michael Vartan
Orlando Bloom

(Note: The order the names are listed has nothing to do with ranking. I love them all the same.)

Christmas at Work

This is my cubicle at work, where I spend 9 hours of my life everyday, just sitting in that chair and staring at the computer. My cubie looks festive right now because I decorated it for Christmas and New Year's. Even though this is not my first job, this year is the first year I decorated my cubicle to celebrate the holidays. Now I just dread the week after New Year's when I have to take out the decorations, along with the holiday spirit :(

This is the back side of my cubie where I display pictures of my friends and family. It is also where I show my love for greenery. My bamboo and crazy plant (upper right corner) are adapting nicely to the cold air conditioning of the office.

Happy Sicky

I should have noticed that when the weather turns super cold and I am wearing a sweater, T-shirt, and sweat pants to sleep in Hawaii, something must be wrong...with ME. Monday morning, I woke up with a really dry throat so I overdosed myself with Airborne. Tuesday, I felt the same so I continued with the Airborne treatment. Wednesday, I felt better so I stopped the Airborne treatment and drank gallons of water at work so I had to pee every hour. Thursday night after I came back from Christmas shopping, I felt terrible. I was sneezing my head off and my runny nose was getting worse. That night, I had tissue flying around my bed and I couldn't sleep. Lucky I didn't break out with a fever. Friday morning, I worked half day and came back to rest. Today, which is Saturday, I feel GREAT! I still have stuffy nose but I have so much energy that I am cleaning the house to welcome the coming of Christmas and New Year's. Happy Christmas and New Year's my dear blogger friends.

So Cold...

Lately, it has been so cold in Hawaii. For the past week, the weather was rainy and windy. I couldn't go for my daily swim because the rain would come pouring down every 10 minutes. The wind was so strong (around 15-20 miles per hour) that generated waves in the pool. My pink umbrella broke because of the wind. At night, I had to wear a thick sweater to keep myself warm.

Yesterday morning, I saw that the rain had gone but it was super windy. I still went swimming because I needed some exercise from all the Christmas parties the previous week. I jumped in and I have never felt soooooo COLD in Hawaii! The water temperautre was freezing because the sun had not warm up the pool yet. It was so cold my muscles were freezing and my head wasn't functioning. Brrrrrr...maybe I'll stop swimming for awhile.

Not a Clue!

I saw this magazine at Narita Airport on the way back from Hong Kong to Honolulu. I took a picture because of the cover. If I am looking correctly, the rabbit is balancing a teapot with its left foot and the panda is imitating the rabbit's position, but without the teapot. Does anyone know what the title is in English? What is the rabbit trying to say to me!!! I am so confused.

Fart Bag

Along with the last few posts, this one is loooonnnng overdue since I bought this bag 2 months ago while I was vacationing in Hong Kong. I call this the "Fart Bag" for obvious reasons (see design). The mischievous looking creature on the bag has a name as with all other cool Japaneseeeee characters. His name is Suu-paawanpaku. Those of you who are Japanese know that "wanpaku" means naughty and "suu" means boy. In short, Suu-paawanpaku is a naughtly boy (even though I don't think he is human enough to be called a boy). There are lots of reasons why I like him: evil, cute, pointy tail, the crooked smile, bomb-shaped hands, etc... However, the main reason is that I can relate to him and that what he does for fun is definitely, FUN! (See him here).

If you have known me for awhile, you know that I have a serious problem with heartburn. I control it by taking meds and eating slower. In my case, gas often accompanies my heartburn so you guessed right, I get gassy. Nothing to be ashamed of because I am sure some of you are in the same situation when eating beans or spicy foods. So when I said I can relate to Suu-paawanpaku and this FART bag, you now know why :)

Thanksgiving Celebration

I believe we broke our record this year by eating 3 turkeys! The first gobble-time was the day before Thanksgiving. After trying the thanksgiving turkey dinner from Foodland and Starmarket, we still thought the one from Safeway was the best. The turkey was more juicy and tender, and the gravy was a bit saltier. The turkey was 8-10 pounds and we finished it in 3 days. However, after becoming spoiled by Bryan's delicious bacon-filled stuffing, I refused to eat the stuffing that came with the turkey dinner. Bacon makes everything taste good!

On Thanksgiving day, we were invited to a friend's house for a gobble potluck. She roasted two turkeys but we only got to taste one of them because we had to save room for a Thanksgiving Chinese buffet that same night. I wish I had 4 stomachs.

Two weeks later, we invited some friends over for a late thanksgiving celebration in addition to watching the UH football game (against Washington Huskies). This time, Bryan roasted the turkey all by himself in addition to preparing all the side dishes (i.e., stuffing, mashed potatoes, cranberry sauce, and yam). He did a wonderful job on the turkey, even better than the Safeway turkey. No doubt the stuffing was delicious. I actually prepared the mashed potatoes because it was the easiest task. The yam was a great dessert. After this meal, I don't think I will buy the Safeway turkey dinner next year. Instead, I will help Bryan prepare our own special gobble dinner buffet :)

Koko Head Crater Stairs

This hike was all frakin' stairs...STAIRS! Some parts were scary because it was more like a bridge. I didn't count the number of steps but my legs were definitely shaking on the way down. We saw this fit and healthy asian girl jogging up and down the entire length TWICE! The time it took her to go twice roundtrip, we weren't even at the bottom yet. Her boyfriend (or so we assumed) was dark and buff. Bryan and I joked we would never be like them simply because we exercise to eat whereas they exercise to be healthy, and not to mention the good looking bods.


November 11, 2007. Koko Head Crater hike.

Tasty Plate

The sunday before Thanksgiving, Macy's had an early grand-reopening event when almost everything was on sale. While my friends were busy deciding whether to buy the elegant and festive white plates, Bryan and I went looking for food when we stumbled on these beautiful and traditional Japanese plates. We had seen and wanted these plates before but never bought because they were $39 each. We couldn't believe how reasonably priced they were - $16. I wouldn't go as far as to say they were cheap because anything over $5 is not cheap.

A week later, I cooked a simple lunch with noodles, fish cake, bell peppers, and bak choi. When I plated the food on the Japanese plates, I noticed how much presentation can entice the taste buds. Even though it was just the mind that was fooling me, the food seemed to taste better.

Kahana Valley

Looking back at my photo collection, I discovered two months of my life that I had completely forgotten, probably because I was frantically getting ready for my trip as well as preparing for my first day of work. Before the vacation (early September), we did a hike at Kahana Valley on the North Shore. I died many times on that hike as the frakin' razor grass was relentless in trying to carve out my skin. Every "ouch" was followed by profanity, then threats to kill my friend who convinced me the hike was "moderately easy". Then he tells stories of night marchers in the valley and that he had seen them before. If one of these night marchers see you, you die. Myth or truth, I definitely wasn't thrilled at the idea of bumping into one. I actually thought of hiding in the bamboo grove but then the bugs would get me. Despite the razor cuts and the ghost scare, the hike was fantastic! The forest was calm and filled with sounds of bamboo wavering in the gentle breeze. Bryan wanted a bamboo so he picked up a plant that looked like baby bamboo but was actually a baby razor grass that is now growing in my lanai. The fun part was hiking with poki, my friend's dog that I absolutely adore. I want to thank my friends for inviting me to this hike because it prepared me for the more strenuous hikes at work (to be blogged later).


Giant taro plant...NOT!


One of the river crossings.


Poki :)


Another river crossing.


Sea turtle at Lanikea Beach.

Note of Character

When I came back from swimming this afternoon, I saw this cute note on my desk. Most of you may think this is just an ordinary note. To me, this note says everything about Bryan. Since the handwriting is not as neat as his class/hospital notes, he wrote the note in a hurry (probably in a rush to go play basketball). The drawings resmble those of a little child so he is definitely a kid from within. He drew a TV to "hint" that completing this task TODAY is necessary to keep up our TV schedule. Lastly, the happy face is him :)

Voodoo

My cousin Jenny gave me this Japanese voodoo doll as a souvenir from Japan. This stirred my interest in finding the true meaning of voodoo. Nowadays, many people associate the word "voodoo" with black magic and cult mysticism, in which the doll is commonly used as a torture medium. (This was demonstrated in Indiana Jones.) However, voodoo is actually a religious tradition that originated from West Africa. The word "voodoo" comes from the West African word "Vodun", meaning spirit. Contrary to the modern belief, voodoo is a deeply spiritual process that involves healing and dieties. When the Europeans enslaved Africans of different ethnic groups, they came together as a community and shared a common faith - voodoo - in the misery of slavery. This makes me a little sad :(

Trip to Hong Kong

Hi hi! This post is long overdue. It originally started as a draft and has been sitting on the server for the past month because I haven't had the time to update it. As some of you know, I started my new job on October 1st. I work for the State as a hydrologist. (Oh, I love that title!) So far I have been working on creating GIS-maps. I also created a database that allows the user to search for data (e.g. area, land cover, etc) on specific watersheds.

I never thought I would feel this but I miss Hong Kong. Originally, I had the impression that HK was dirty (open markets commonly know as "gai see"), polluted (smog and smoke), and dangerous (pick-pockets and gangs). Well, all that but to a lesser extent. Besides, my parents made sure not to take me to the "BAD" places so I won't comment further on the subject.

Let's talk about the positives. Transportation is extremely convenient. Hop on the MTR (Mass Transit Railway) and you can tour the entire HK. Almost every MTR station is directly connected to a mall so you can go shopping in a Category 3 typhoon (because you don't even have to step outside!). All the malls are at least 5 stories high with the escalators strategically placed to enhance the architectural design of the building. I shopped so much that I bought something everyday, even on days that I didn't visit a gigantic mall!

I stayed at my parents condo near the airport. Looking outside the window, I could see planes taking off and landing. Many flight attendents and foreigners live in the complex as well. The complex has a fitness gym with basketball court, tennis court, volleyball court, billards room, swimming pool (indoor and outdoor), kid's play room, and computer room. Everyday, I would swim in the gigantic outdoor pool for at least an hour. Gotta say tho, some people didn't look while swimming so I had a couple near-collisions.

A few days after I arrived, my parents and I left for Fukuoka, Japan. It was an awesome trip because the place was so peaceful (completely opposite of Tokyo). Fukuoka is a rural area where not many people understood English. As I looked outside the window on the tour bus, I saw rice patties and cute little villiage houses everywhere. Fukuoka is sort of like the village in the film "Totoro". We had breakfast and lunch buffet almost everyday. Unlike the sushi buffets in CA and HI, the Japanese buffets had fresh fish and delicious cooked food. Of course, I couldn't stay away from the HUGE tamagos. I remember we had a gigantic sushi boat for dinner one night and I had warm sake to go with it. Oooooooooooo, it was the first time I felt good even when I was 120% full :)

It is impossible to list all the places I visited. Maybe you can look at the pictures below and figure out yourself...ha ha :) Someday, I will put captions...someday.

Spying?

I think someone has been spying on us to get new ideas for Drabble.

Big Island Vacation

The start of my vacation was truly an interesting experience. We originally planned on going to the Big Island on the 13th, the day that my sister and brother-in-law arrived to Honolulu. However, Hurricane Flossie (a category 4 hurricane) was expected to hit the southern portion of Big Island on the 14th. It was pretty exciting yet worrisome to see that Flossie was all over the news with updates every minute. Not knowing what to do, HappyObilvion and I called my friend who called his friend on the Big Island to ask about the situation. His friend said Walmart and Costco were ransacked. She couldn't even get gas because the line was a mile long. I also called my friend who has lived in Hawaii for a long time. She suggested to stay in Oahu because of the unpredictable nature of the hurricane which may wipe out the entire island. Plus, we wouldn't be able to go anywhere with the heavy rain anyway. So, we decided to stay. With only a couple hours of time, we had to make important decisions and reschedule everything. First, we decided to go to the Big Island after the storm, which was the 15th. I called the vacation home owner and requested a refund for two days of rent. Then I arranged with the airline company to change the flight. HappyOblivion was busy getting a rental car for Oahu and the Big Island. After dinner, I called many hotels and finally reserved a room for my sister and brother-in-law. Even though it was a crazy night, I am glad I took control of the situation because I learned so much! My friends (Sue and Dale) were a great help! Mahalo!

We arrived Big Island on the night of the 15th. It was so dark it took us a long time to find the vacation home. The home was very nice even though the pool was a bit dinky. The floor of the shower in the master bedroom was made of rocks, supposedly used for foot massage. It was painful for me!

The next day, our first stop was Mauna Kea. I have been to the Big Island twice and still have not made it up to Mauna Kea (Grrr! That drives me crazy). We took a 4-wheel drive up there because the roads were not paved for the most part. It was a very bumpy and scary ride. We were above the clouds during the ride and we could see a fluffy sheet of cotton balls below as. If they were pink like cotton candy, I would eat them. Near the top, the heavy fog and clouds limited our view to only a hundred feet in front of us. I thought we would drive off the cliff! Finally, we arrived at the Keck Observatory, the largest telecope in the world! I don't know much of telecopes and planets, but these cute domes were neatly situated on the mountain like snow cones. One was very shiny too. On our way back home, we visited Manua Loa Macadema Nut Factory (my dad's favorite) and Akaka Falls which was pretty nice considering the amount the rain the hurricane brought.

On the second day, we started off with Punaluu Bakeshop. Everyone loved the bakeshop because of the soft yummy bread. My sister bought 6 loaves home and I bought two. I can still smell the wonderful freshly baked bread :) The next stop was Punaluu Black Sand Beach Park. Luckily, we saw at least 5 sea turtles swimming and basking in the sun! Then we drove for another 2 hours or so to get to Volcano National Park. We saw the usual stuff - lava rocks, steam vents, caldera. There was no active lava flow because of the recent movements that shifted the lava to flow east instead of into the ocean. Oh, I forgot how much I loved the brownie looking lava rocks!

On the last day, we decided to tour the resort area and do a self-guided tour of the coffee farms in Kailua-Kona. I woke up early so I went for a half-hour run around the resort. When I came back, HappyOblivion wanted me to run with him because he felt bloated from all the eating and sleeping :D I took him to the Mauna Lani Hotel to run along the beach. Then he decided to keep on going to who knows where! I followed him until he stopped and asked, "Where the heck are we?" I looked at him and said, "WHAT!!!!!!" I was so scared because I have no sense of direction and I always rely on him to get me home. If he has no idea where we were, then we were LOST! All around us were lava rocks. I was so scared and on the verge of crying. After half an hour, we finally found our way back to the vacation home. In the end, we took a one hour run and I was exhausted because I ran half an hour before that. We quikly took a shower and packed our stuff. Our first stop (which was 11AM already) was Mauna Lani Hotel. We went to see the baby sea turtles and the juvenile ones that will be release into the ocean on next independence day. Then we went to Ueshima Coffee Company and Kona Coffee Joe to do a self-guided tour. I have never seen a coffee tree in my life, not even a picture of one! How rediculous is that! Our last stop was the Mountain Thunder Coffee Farm which I learned has a pet feral pig. Yup, we drove almost 20 minutes just to satisfy my desire to see a feral pig :D It was worth the drive because we saw geese too!

I had a great time on the Big Island especially with my family. Too bad Frankie, Paul, Ellyse and Elliot were not able to join us. We missed you guys everyday! I want to thank you Vincent and HappyOblivion for driving us around the BIG FAT FAT FAT island. I know it was hard work and drained most of your energy. Mahalo!

Um...

It's been ages since I last posted. What kind of trouble was I in since June? Well let's see. HappyOblivion went to Kaua`i to do locums for two weeks. Feeling a bit lonely, I joined him for the last four days. Since we have been to Kaua`i many times, we visited random places...mostly waterfalls of course. My favorite was chasing the roosters and the chicks (duh, my relatives!).



The entire month of July was the busiest and most stressfull period of my life! I had to finish my research paper which went through 5-6 drafts. On top of that, I had to wrap up a couple of other projects. There was also a last minute project that I had to set up the week before my trip to San Jose. By the way, I passed the oral presentation and the written thesis. Whew, I can finally graduate! It was no vacation in San Jose. My daily schedule was: Day - spend time with family, night (10PM to 3AM) - work on research projects. Oh, and I went to my friend's baby shower. It was nice seeing all my high school friends again. I still cannot believe she is having a baby! HappyOblivion came for the last week to interview in Davis. It was nice having him around because I had an excuse to rest for a couple days to entertain him. Below are some pictures I took of my niece and nephew, and my beautiful turtles. There are also pictures of Davis.



I came back for my graduation ceremony which was on August 12th. I was so happy that my parents came to see me in my oversized Ph.D. gown. So stupid I wore the wrong gown. Well, can't complain because my good friend (Susan) let me borrow hers. Knowing how "pake" (cheap) I am, I ain't gonna pay $35 for something I will wear only once. I was mad paying for the hood and tassel already. We all went dim sum after the ceremony where my parents met some of my friends. My parents really liked the dim sum place. Mahalo HappyOblivion for organizing everything.

Your Love

Happy Oblivion heard this song on Kauai and got the lyrics for me. It is pretty funny and the song has a nice beat too :)

Performed By: Rukkus Entertainment

Intro

Woh yo yoy woh yoy woh yoy It’s a song about your love
Come (follow me 7x) now

Verse 1

Woke up this mornin’
There was a hurricane warnin’
Went to the store to get some supplies
Can goods and wata, but there as not a
Single roll of toilet paper inside
And it made me think that a oooh

Chorus

Your love is like a good toilet paper (good toilet paper)
It never falls apart when the going gets tough I said uh
Your love is like a good toilet paper (good toilet paper)
When its stormin’ outside, I cant get enough
Said uh I can’t get enough

Verse 2

Baby when I think about you
Can’t think of something that I want to
I know I couldn’t live without you in my life ooh-o-o-oh
I gotta have you near me (near me)
Don’t want your love to disappear see (see)
Don’t know what else I can say for this next line
But it makes me think that uh ooh

Chorus

Your love is like a good toilet paper (good toilet paper)
It never falls apart when the going gets tough I said uh
Your love is like a good toilet paper (good toilet paper)
When its stormin’ outside, I cant get enough
Said uh I can’t get enough

Rap

Oh yo oh yoy
Can you hear me now good!
If you ever wonder why I say what I say
Da good toilet paper keep me clean everyday
You stay by my side never ever go away
And never running out is what I hope and I pray
Your lovin’ is so fresh and so clean and so strong
Girl like a roll of charmine girl your lovin’ last long
Your love is so good and you girl are so pretty
With your love behind me girl I never feel shhh LORD!

Chorus

Your love is like a good toilet paper (good toilet paper)
It never falls apart when the going gets tough I said uh
Your love is like a good toilet paper (good toilet paper)
When its stormin’ outside, I cant get enough
(Said uh I can’t get enough 3x)

Source: http://www.tropicalstormhawaii.com/

Aiea Orchid Festival

Hello orchid lovers. I went to the Aiea Orchid Festival on June 16th and took some beautiful pictures to share with you. These are only half of the pictures. I will be uploading more later. Please check back next week!

I passed!!!

I officially passed my oral examination on Tuesday, June 12th, 2007 at 12:10PM. Hooray! From Saturday to the very start of my defense, I was super nervous. I kept on practicing my presentation, looking at previous studies, and thinking of possible questions that may come up. I reviewed my slides probably 100 times, checking for errors and making them colorful and easy to understand. On the day of the defense, I woke up at 7:30AM to practice my speech again. Then I spend 30 frakin' minutes dressing myself. For some odd reason, I looked like a dork in every single outfit I tried on. Then my hair was stupid-looking. Grrrr!!!!!!!! During the defense, I was not paying attention to what I was presenting. The entire time I was thinking, "Oh no, these people are looking at me. Great, I am not going to pass. Can they hear me? Some people are sleeping!"

After my defense, the lab had a mini celebration with me and we had lovely cheesecake. Then I went to lunch with HappyOblivion at Asahi Grill (my favorite fast food place) to pig out more. Now I have to work on revising my written thesis so I can finally relax and not have this big fat weight over my shoulders wherever I go.

Orchid in bloom

My baby Nalo orchid finally bloomed! I have been waiting so long for this. I bought her when she was a baby seedling so I didn't know the color of the flowers. Over the past year, a few flower buds appeared but they all died. I guess the plant was still too young to push out any flowers. Look at her now! She has matured and her flowers are beautiful! There are more pictures of this orchid and my other plants in the "Color me life" blog. Check it out :)

Fireworks in the rain

Such a pretty sight. We went up to our top floor to see the beautiful fireworks. I have no idea what the celebration was but the fireworks were more grand than the ones on July 4th!

Noah's Ark

5,000 rare animals found floating off the coast of China

Jonathan Watts in Beijing
Saturday May 26, 2007

Endangered, hunted, smuggled and now abandoned, 5,000 of the world's rarest animals have been found drifting in a deserted boat near the coast of China.

The pangolins, Asian giant turtles and lizards were crushed inside crates on a rickety wooden vessel that had lost engine power off Qingzhou island in the southern province of Guangdong. Most were alive, though the cargo also contained 21 bear paws wrapped in newspaper.

According to conservation groups, the haul was discovered on one of the world's most lucrative and destructive smuggling routes: from the threatened jungles of south-east Asia to the restaurant tables of southern China.

The animals were found when local fishermen noticed a strange smell emanating from the vessel, which did not have any registration plates, on Tuesday, the Guangzhou Daily reported.

When coastguard officials boarded the 25-metre craft, it was reportedly deserted and stripped of identification papers. They found more than 200 crates full of animals, many so dehydrated in the tropical sun that they were close to death.

The animals - which weighed 13 tonnes - were taken to port, doused with water and sent to an animal welfare centre. "We have received some animals," said an office worker at the Guangdong Wild Animal Protection Centre. "We are waiting to hear from the authorities what we should do with them."

According to the local media, the cargo included 31 pangolins, 44 leatherback turtles, 2,720 monitor lizards, 1,130 Brazilian turtles as well as the bear paws. Photographs showed other animals, including an Asian giant turtle.

All of these south-east Asian species are critically endangered, banned from international trade and yet openly sold in restaurants and markets in China's southern province of Guangdong, which is famous for its exotic cuisine.

The accidental discovery highlights the negative impact that the growing power of Chinese consumption is having on global conservation efforts.

According to wildlife groups, China is the main market for illegally traded exotic species, which are eaten or used in traditional medicine. Pangolins are in great demand because their meat is consider a delicacy and their scales are thought to help mothers breastfeed their babies.

As a result of demand, the pangolin populations of China, Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia have been wiped out. With traders moving further and further south, the animal is declining even in its last habitats in Java, Sumatra and the Malaysian peninsula. It is a similar story for many species of turtle, tortoise, frog and snake.

Despite China's international commitments to get to grips with this illicit activity, the trade is booming. Border controls are lax, and smugglers know that fines are usually far lower than the potential rewards. As a result, raids and seizures of banned products occur regularly. One recent raid on a restaurant in Guanghzou turned up 118 pangolins, 60kg of snakes and 400kg of toads.

Traffic - an organisation that monitors and tries to prevent the smuggling of endangered species - welcomed the fact that China's authorities had reacted swiftly to rescue the animals but said much more needs to be done to prevent similar cases.

"Unfortunately, this is all too common. This trade is a far bigger threat to these species than habitat destruction," said Chris Shepherd, senior program officer with Traffic Southeast Asia. "The vigilance on the border has to be improved, cooperation with source countries needs to be strengthened, there should be better monitoring of dealers, and the people violating the laws must be penalised severely."

Despite the ban on pangolins, many restaurants offer their meat. The Chaoxing restaurant in Shenzhen said yesterday that pangolin was available but was only suitable for large dining parties.

"The animal is very big - about 10kg," said a waitress contacted by telephone. "We serve it in hotpot. That is the tastiest way."

According to recent reports in the Chinese media, the price of 1kg of pangolin served in Guangdong or Yunnan is between 600 and 800 yuan per kilogram (between £43 and £50).

A Guangdong chef interviewed last year in the Beijing Science and Technology Daily described how to cook a pangolin.

"We keep them alive in cages until the customer makes an order. Then we hammer them unconscious, cut their throats and drain the blood. It is a slow death. We then boil them to remove the scales. We cut the meat into small pieces and use it to make a number of dishes, including braised meat and soup. Usually the customers take the blood home with them afterwards."

Guardian Unlimited © Guardian News and Media Limited 2007

GO SUNS!

I absolutely adore Leandro Barbosa. He is fast, handsome, and Brazilian! His accent is so cute too. Even though I am from CA and I should be rooting for the Warriors, I really want the Suns to advance. I love every single player on that team. Go Suns go!

The Great Turtle Race

Sorry I haven't had time to post. Working 70+ hours a week is a pain. All I do is run simulations one after another. In between simulations, I work on writing my thesis. I now have 5 pages of what is to become an 150-page blabber of why I deserve a Master's Degree. At least that's how I see it. Anyway, this is a little late but the The Great Turtle Race has begun! Go to the website below and choose your turtle. Try to avoid peeking at the race standings before you pick the winning turtle because that would be cheating. By the way, my turtle decided to abandon the race...ha ha!

Today is also my daddy's birthday! Let's have a cyber-celebration! I bought him a bunch of stuff here in HI. I hope he likes them. Happy Birthday Babee! Here is a cyber-birthday card for you. Just for the record, I didn't design this one :)

Winning FOOD

I thought the award winning days were over when I finished undergrad. Ah, those days were all about honors and awards that would get you into a reknowned college for a Master's Degree. Well, except for the partying and drinking that also got you into trouble. Until yesterday, that was what I believed to be true.

For the past few weeks, I have been busy preparing for a conference knowing that I would be doing a poster presentation because I love graphic design. (I shoulda' gone into a design school instead). Then my friend in the lab convinced me to do an oral presentation because it was much less time consuming. Since I was scramming to finish my research, I had no choice but to take that option. I am usually very calm for class presentations. I also talk and act very "natural" if I take a shot half an hour before my presentation. By shot I mean alcohol...imagine that! I walk up to the front of the class, look at everyone with a smile, when I start feeling happi, I know the alcohol is doing its thing.

I went through the same routine on the day of my conference presentation. The conference room was quite empty when I arrived. After 10 minutes, it was filled. Then my entire lab came. I said to myself, "These are just people, not monsters. Relax and concentrate on the alcohol." When it was my turn, I could feel myself shaking because I was so nervous. That damn alcohol didn't work! In front of me were over 10 professors and 5 judges. How in the world am I gonna get through this!

Well, I did and I won 2nd place for the best M.S. Oral Presentation at the CTAHR Student Research Symposium. I am not bragging...ok, maybe a little. Give me a break, I haven't won anything since 2003! I deserve to feel a little pride, just a little. Ok, it was just a student presentation, nothing important. Pride gone, but still cofident :) The best part, I get to spend that award money on FOOD. Yup, I'm gonna buy myself a nice sushi dinner, bring it home and eat while watching my favorite TV shows. Ah, what a prize.

Life is NOT full of surprises

It's been a month since I last posted. Amazing I didn't even post my endless complaints of anything and everything that goes wrong in my life. If only I had the TIME! Yup, I have concluded that time is THE problem.

Since college (which was 6 years ago), I have never had a REAL vacation. Spring and summer breaks were all excuses for the professors to dump more work on the us because "Oh, you have the entire break to finish the project" seemed to be a popular phrase among the educators.

Finding a job was the only thing occupying the minds of the recent graduates because no job, no $$$. Ever wonder how stressful and painful it was to write down EVERY single frakin' achievement over a four year period on your resume? YES, really painfull because there were none and I was stressed of my incompetence.

Ah, finally found a job with a decent salary. Let's just chill and relax after work. Yeah right! As a community representative, I was on call almost everyday. Checking emails, working on last minute projects, attending meetings while trying to understand what the meeting was about because my head was screwed from the 50 meetings in the past week.

I needed to get out of this hole so I moved to the land of paradise - Hawaii. Beautiful beaches, handsome lifeguards, just full of life and energy. Oh no, where do I live, how do I support myself, work or school, my head is exploding! So I deceided to go back to school and get a Master's degree in something, anything that made sense to me. Lucky me, I was hired to be a TA and then RA so my tuition is paid for. Now I have to graduate, AGAIN, for the fifth time!

Well, I did have one tiny vacation two days ago when my professor took the laptop for a conference. I had absolutely no work to do from 7PM to 12PM the next day because all my work was on the laptop. I felt so relieved and my muscles were very much relaxed. Now that I have my laptop back, everything is back to normal routine...no surprises.