i propose that we chip in and get a website where we can just go to one website and read our blogs within the same page. it'd make our lives much easier. good idea?

EDIT: I jus' wen' an' duhn it.

BOOKMARK THIS PAGE:

http://students.mba.wfu.edu/fulltime2005/chanah3/blogs/blogs.htm

i posted a while ago about mr. alex, who apparently thinks he has the same gmail address as i do. yes, he still thinks he does.

i got two notifications from google today for password assistance, for people who forgot their email passwords and want it reset. this guy really needs to get a clue. i got really frustrated so i reported as spam an e-mail he/i received from someone.

on another note, what a good day for blogs! aileen , ann , dave , jason , steve , wayne , whei , pj and some 'mystery' people updated their blog today! good stuff.

the silent competition between mba's and jd's

or
JDs are termites

(this one needed a title... and for those who don't know, a JD is a law student)

so today a lot of 2nd year MBA's went out to the bars. we were having a good time until... the LAW students showed up. granted, winston-salem isn't a big city, but there sure are a fair number of bars. they just happened to choose the same one the MBA's did.

now let me explain something to everyone here. MBA's may like to party, but it's nothing compared to JD's. the MBA's have work experience, half of them are married, and we all go home by midnight. the JD's, on the other hand, are fresh out of college, and are still in their party phase. they also outnumber the MBA's by at least 3:1.

so the first bar we went to, the MBA's were having a good time listening to the live music. after the JD's showed up, the place was completely crammed. literally, within one hour of their appearance, the bar announced that they had run out of beer. it took me 1/2 an hour to close my tab. so we decided to go to another bar. 30 minutes later, the JD's show up again. the place was again, crammed, so the MBA's started trickling out. i'm telling you, if you want to REALLY party, go to law school. that's why pj is there now.

dell has a new test with customer service, where you can chat with someone online so you don't have to wait on the phone. my customer service rep was Nancy.

i asked if i could expedite my PDA processing and shipping (it was on back order for 2 weeks!), but she said no. instead, she upgraded my shipping from standard to next day for free.

i was very happy, so i started making small talk, but didn't last too long.

me: i hope you don't have to work too late tonight!
nancy (after being very cordial the entire time): thanks for your concern.
nancy: bye.
nancy signs off.

even online, women run away from me.

the cable internet guy is finally coming today. so in the meantime, i have been bootlegging off someone else's connection. it is pretty convenient to have, but not very reliable.

one day, the connection was really slow so i thought about logging in to this person's router and boot everyone else off. so i thought about it for about 2 seconds, and i did.

this person did not change the default password, so it was easy to login to, and there were NINE people sharing the same connection. SEVEN were fellow mba's (two of the connections were me though), and only ONE was non-asian. so i just assumed that the asian people were bootlegging (a fair assumption, i think) and kicked them all off the router and only limited access for three people at a time. that solved my problem of internet connection speed... and did this mystery owner a favor at the same time.

ever since michael phelps took off his wreath during the medal ceremonies, other olympians have been following - but not all.

it's actually federal law to remove all headwear during the national anthem. but since they are in greece, it's okay.

in other news, ronald mcdonald has returned to TV. why does he look so much scarier?

i have a bad habit of saying 'you too' as a response to people. for instance, when people say 'have fun in the bahamas!' i'd reply, 'you too! i mean... thanks!'
other examples include:

gate attendant
'have a nice flight!'
'you too!'

my manager
'good luck in school this year!'
'you too!'

waiter/waitress
'enjoy your meal!'
'you too!'

the only time i ever say 'thanks' is when people insult me. ironic, eh?

yao pushes some chump down to the floor

the onion is just too funny... headline from the latest issue:

'Homosexual Tearfully Admits To Being Governor Of New Jersey'

been watching a lot of the olympics...

two words:

oana ban.

okay. so jason asked a question regarding my 8/03 blog.

i figured now that my internship (and fare sale) is over, it's okay to say what i did. well, if you are a subscriber to their weekly e-mail, then you would know that there is a list of specially discounted fares for certain destinations. if you read that list carefully, you would have noticed that you could have flown from vegas to atlanta for only $11. better yet, you could have flown from denver to atlanta for only $10. yes, $10 each way. they were supposed to be $119 and $109, respectively.

you would have noticed, that is, only if you were on the e-mail list of 1.7 MILLION PEOPLE.

yep. that screw-up was 100% me. thank goodness someone in the reservation center caught it after over a dozen called in to complain that those fares were not listed in the system.

books i read this summer:
1. the alchemist - an awesome story, an awesome translation, an awesome book
2. purpose driven life - 'the alchemist' written out as a self-help book
3. lateral thinking - how to think creatively
4. who moved my cheese? - how to deal with change in your company/industry
5. moneyball - how the A's did it, and how the pads do it

in progress:
1. the secrets of word-of-mouth marketing - nice but a tad boring
2. brand portfolio strategy - very interesting stuff

my first spa experience cont'd...

i walk into the room, and it is a small room that is the size of a patient room in a doctor's office, complete with sink and bed. it is lit only by 3 candles, so it is quite dark. the music playing is some light music that you would hear in an album in the Discovery Store... very light and boring... obviously trying to be relaxing. the massage therapist (MT) told me that she will leave the room, which is when i should remove my robe (with nothing underneath), lie on the bed, and cover myself with a towel. she leaves the room, and i scramble like heck, because what if she comes back in while i'm still naked? i jump on the bed, face down, and cover my butt with the towel. i'm like a hostage trying to break free of his chains - frantically trying to get the towel to cover the important parts even though i can't see... all before the enemy comes back. the MT does, and my face is planted in those donut pillows. i have always wanted to try those things, and they are extremely comfortable.

so anyways, i still haven't really made eye contact with my MT, even when we were introduced because i was so nervous, so i didn't get a good chance to look at her (but i could tell she wasn't attractive, which they probably do on purpose for men). but i sure knew what her hands and forearms felt like... and she sure knew what my butt felt like.

woah there, let me back-up.

the type of massage i was getting is a swedish massage, but in the resort it was combined with aroma therapy oils. they called the 'senses swedish massage' because it was at the Senses Spa, and because they try to involve all your senses at once. so the MT put a lot of oil on her hands and started massaging my back. she asked if the pressure was okay, which it was, but didn't really work my knots like i wanted to. it's not a shiatsu or sports massage, but a pampering massage. a sensual massage... the type zoolander had. so yeah, of course, the only thoughts going through my head are: i really hope she doesn't massage my butt, i really hope she doesn't tickle me, and i really hope that i don't fart.

well, she eventually gets to my legs, and i really start getting nervous - hardly a relaxing experience. the way she was massaging my thighs was very soothing, to the point where i was holding my breath to hold in laughter. but she didn't stop there. she uncovered my left side, entirely, with the towel, then in one big motion, she went from my thigh to my butt, and she did it repeatedly. she spent a LOT of time massaging my butt, and not only did i feel uncomfortable, i kept telling myself that this was part of the routine. she was massaging hand-over-hand the bottom half of my gluteus maximus, and probably stayed there for a good 2 minutes. that is an eternity. so of course, my natural reaction is to flex my butt since i was so nervous, but then i kept telling myself, 'no - don't do that, just stay calm, relax, relax, i'm spending tons of money on this, relax, this is all part of the the routine, be mature, relax, be mature, this is a really expensive massage, relax.' my mind finally won out and i 'relaxed.' it still wasn't enjoyable, but it wasn't bad. my butt was so oiled up though, i could have slid on the ocean all the way to africa. (i found out later that aileen didn't get her butt massaged.)

then she moved to my calf and feet, and i was holding my breath even more. when she massaged the bottom of my feet, i couldn't hold it, and chuckled a little. 'you're a little ticklish, eh' she says. 'i'm REALLY ticklish.' i reply. she stopped massaging my feet and i let out a little sigh. she did the same thing on my other side. when she finished with my feet, i was hoping my 50 minutes was up. it wasn't. i had to turn over, and she would do exactly the same thing.

how did i turn over? she held up my towel that was high enough to cover her face, and told me to turn around. simple? not really since i almost fell off. nothing else was in my mind, but to prepare myself for her massaging my upper thighs. well, she again lifted half of the towel to expose an entire half, and i am SURE she saw some... well... some pubes. i don't think she could see the whole package, and that is what i'd like to think (she probably had to try hard if she wanted to anyways...). so yeah, she was massaging my upper thighs... and i was so sure that i would laugh (or cry)... but i didn't. it actually felt good, which kinda disturbed me.

then she oiled and scrubbed (gently) the bottom of my feet. i tried extremely hard to hold my laughter in, breathing in and out like i was running a mile, and finally, she covered my feet with a hot towel and it was over.

what if the MT was a man?

so i have two killer gmail addresses. achang and of course, the ingenius, asdfqwer. it's interesting because this idiot, whose name is alex with the same last name as me, thinks he has the same e-mail address. every other day, i will get an e-mail from one of his friends. last week, i received a welcome e-mail from ofoto. it read 'Welcome Alex to Ofoto!' I know his vacation plans, who he is going to go with, what hotel he is staying in at London, and that his friend, jon, also just got a new gmail account. this guy needs to get a clue.

so my options are:
1. write back to all his friends and ruin his life. "anne... how could you make such idiotic reservations! and WHY did you invite george?!?!?! p.s. i'm gay." this would be an e-mail that is CC'd to everyone on the e-mail list.
2. write to his friend jon, and say, "who cares if you got gmail, biznatch, i do too."
3. login to his ofoto account, reset his password, and post all these lude photos of myself.

i almost did option #3. since he registered the account under my email address, i have the power to reset his password and just use his account any way i want. i almost did it too, but i just had a sweeping feeling of guilt so i stopped halfway.

i also got an e-mail from his grandparents, and even though this is probably wrong, i'm going to post parts of it anyway.... actually, no. actually, sure. the Subject was "Future Godly Spouse" and this is what the grandparents wrote for this couple's two Harvard graduated sons:

Pray that our Lord provide a godly spouse each for [Son #1] and [Son #2] so that [Son #1] and [Son #2] will provide a crown for [parent #1] and [parent #2].

good stuff.

(this is more of a reminder to myself)
other posts:
- spa experience
- saying the wrong things
- books i've read

i had my first 'pampering' experience this week. i went to a spa, and had a swedish massage. quite the experience. it went something like this:

i check-in, and they gave me a robe to change into. keep in mind, i have no idea what to bring, wear, anything. i was planning on changing into my bathing suit, which i brought in a plastic bag. someone escorts me into the men's locker room, and assigns me a locker, and tells me to wait in the whirlpool and they will come to get me when it is time (it's a personal whirlpool). so what do i do now? do i change into my bathing suit? i look around to see if there are any other men, and see what they are doing... in a way, i'm looking for naked men. i look for men in robes, who happen to be naked. so yes, i see a guy, in a robe... naked? i wait until he takes it off. yes... bam. definitely naked. so i think to myself... 'crap. what do i do now.' another guy comes in, naked, carrying a robe. nobody seems to care. 'well,' i think to myself, 'i guess that's what you're supposed to do.' but i keep it on anyway.

i head to the whirlpool (it's a personal whirlpool... awesome stuff), start the water, and wait for it to fill up. another man was also filling up his whirlpool. he was also in his bathing suit. 'good, so it's okay.' then his fills up. BAM! he takes it off, sits in the whirlpool, and relaxes. 'great. so i guess we're supposed to take off our bathing suits in the whirlpool.' many thoughts race through my head... were other people naked in the whirlpool? does this guy know what he's doing? are people supposed to be naked during massages? the end thought is this: 'when in rome.'

so when my pool is done, i get nervous, and walk around some more to see if there are other nekked men. yep, another guy in a robe just entered the sauna with nothing but a towel. he's young too, so it must be okay.

so fine, i give in, and take off my bathing suit and get in the whirlpool as fast as i can. but... i completely forget that the water is steaming hot, and i nearly burn my manhood off. i jump out of the pool, and just sit for a little bit. my legs are closed, but then it just looks wrong when a guys legs are closed and he's sitting naked, so i open them a little. then i notice that i forget to turn on the bubbles. i play with the buttons (all two of them) for a reallllly long time just to waste time. the other guy notices that i have jets but he doesn't. he tries to press the buttons on his whirlpool and nothing happens. i pray that he won't ask me how i did it. but sometimes, God doesn't answer prayers. the naked man comes to me, asks if i can help turn on the jets. i say 'okay' and go to his pool, naked, and try to turn it on. i forgot to mention that he wore glasses (as do i), and neither of us put them on - which is a good thing i guess. so now there are two naked guys, who are just leaned over. that could have been a very bad time for someone to enter the room, since the first he would see would be two bright shining moons. what makes it worse is that he's right, the buttons don't work, so we stand there for a little while. i notice that there is a switch on the wall, so i flip it, press the button, then it works. thank God.

so we both start bubbling in the whirlpool, and as relaxing as it is, it's just too awkward. i get up and leave, and sit in the locker room. just then, the person comes in, calls my name, introduces me to the masseuse (sp?), then lead to a very dark room lit only by candles.

this is getting too long, i'll post more later.

this is actually real... heard it on the radio this morning.

http://www.takeoneforthecountry.com/

random facts of the day...

1. if you subscribe to a1rtran's weekly e-mail and noticed a HUGE screw-up... that was me.
2. search for "RECENT PICTURES OF TIFFANY AMBER THEISSEN" on msn... you'll see this blog.
3. the word 'hayeun' is searched quite often.
4. the ex-CFO of my old company, deltagen, was indicted for embezzlement.