blah-g

2010-03-10T22:19:00.001-05:00

this blog is not dead...but probably on life-support.

in any case, quick update from a post a year earlier on my materialistic goals... finally got MY dream car. materialistic goals are pretty much done for me.

now all our money goes into future children.

oh and by the way, aileen and i started a joint blog here. i am trying to update it every day and trying to live by the mantra that i overheard on MARTA... learn something new every day.

2009-06-21T13:42:00.002-04:00

on a flight heading to my maternal grandfather's funeral (aileen is sleeping bobbing her head like a bobblehead). very sad that he has passed away, but at the same time, real glad that i got to see him only a couple months ago for the first time in over 10 years.

side note: reading about plane crashes while actually in a flight is probably not the best thing to do.

2009-05-23T15:09:00.003-04:00

has anyone noticed that when you order jalapenos at some restaurants, it shows up as "japs" on your receipt?

i'm not really offended, but i wonder how the japanese feel about that.

2009-05-23T15:08:00.000-04:00

best article ever.

http://www.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/asiapcf/05/23/china.suicide/index.html

2009-04-04T01:23:00.004-04:00

first of all, i'm going to officially copyright/patent/trademark/etc. this idea.

i think it would be cool to develop some type of tool that analyzes a person's personality based on their facebook status/tweets. when i read the things that people share, i have no idea why the hell people share it. seriously... who cares if you have the hiccups? who cares if you just watched a movie? who cares if you just "is..."???

i'm not against facebook posts, especially since i have a blog (which i believe there is a huge difference, but that's for another day), but perhaps the type of messages that people put on their status updates and the frequency is what could differentiate the kinds of personalities.

all i'm really saying it takes a certain type of person to share the most mundane posts (and end it with a LOL), as well as appreciate those types of posts.

2009-03-26T23:52:00.002-04:00

don't know why, but i think it's the cutest thing that aileen is in a march madness pool... and in dead last.

2009-03-01T00:22:00.002-05:00

update: after attending a funeral of the father of a very good friend a couple weeks ago, i finally found a good and justifiable reason to have children. still selfish, but something that i can easily accept: someone to take care of aileen after i die. as morbid as it sounds, i can't imagine leaving aileen with nobody to take care of her and with no family.

2009-02-11T10:57:00.004-05:00

kids. why do people have kids? is it to carry on their family name and/or legacy? to have someone to love? to continue the human race? to have someone take care of you? to 'complete' your life?

let me make this clear: i certainly want to have kids one day and can't wait. but it just seems that every reason that i can think of is pretty much selfish. and if the only reason to have kids is for selfish reasons, then it just doesn't seem right. why would i want to bring a child into this disturbing world we live in today just so i can satisfy myself? i am struggling with the justification. the only legit justification i can think of is because the Bible has told us to... but only in the Old Testament (i think).

here is the most ironic part: i think that people who have kids, for seemingly selfish reasons, tend to be a lot less selfish afterwards. parents learn to take care and prioritize others above themselves. the converse is also true - people who do not have kids tend to be more selfish. they don't have to go through the emotional and physical sacrifices it takes to raise a child.

quite funny how the world works sometimes.

2009-02-03T23:32:00.002-05:00

Abilify commercial... too funny.

From the website:

ABILIFY is the first medication approved by the FDA to help improve symptoms of depression in adults when added to an antidepressant. If you have unresolved symptoms of depression, ABILIFY may help you get additional symptom relief.

Side effects from taking Abilify:

An increased risk of stroke and ministroke have been reported in clinical studies of elderly people with dementia-related psychosis
Very high fever, rigid muscles, shaking, confusion, sweating, or increased heart rate and blood pressure. These may be signs of a condition called neuroleptic malignant syndrome (NMS), a rare but serious side effect which could be fatal
Abnormal or uncontrollable movements of face, tongue, or other parts of body. These may be signs of a serious condition called tardive dyskinesia (TD), which could become permanent
If you have diabetes, or risk factors for diabetes (for example, obesity, family history of diabetes), or unexpected increases in thirst, urination, or hunger, your blood sugar should be monitored. Increases in blood sugar levels (hyperglycemia), in some cases serious and associated with coma or death, have been reported in patients taking ABILIFY and medicines like it

Lightheadedness or faintness caused by a sudden change in heart rate and blood pressure when rising quickly from a sitting or lying position (orthostatic hypotension) has been reported with ABILIFY.

ABILIFY and medicines like it have been associated with swallowing problems (dysphagia). If you had or have swallowing problems, you should tell your healthcare professional.

It must really suck to work in the marketing department for drug companies nowadays...

2009-01-31T15:16:00.004-05:00

i hated doing kumon as a kid. i hated it more than piano practice and lessons, more than yard work, more than chores. but as much as i hated it, our kid(s) will certainly be doing it. how do i know this? because the math capabilities of some people i know are just sad:

examples from this week alone
person1: what's 5% of 1 million?
me: you serious? i'm not going to even answer that.
person1: ummm.... 5 thousand?

person2: what's 1/2 times 3/4? i mean, i know what it is in decimals [she had her calculator open] but what is it in fractions?
me: .... you serious? my kids are doing kumon.

2009-01-27T20:26:00.003-05:00

why do people use "Status Updates" on Facebook or "Tweet" on Twitter? not sure why.

it doesn't really upset me (unless aileen does it), but maybe it's a self-confidence thing. or maybe it's a lazy blog thing. who knows.

what does upset me is when people laugh at their own Tweets or Status Updates.

"Andy Chang just got a question right on jeopardy! LOL"

first of all, nobody cares what you did. second, when you preempt anything you say publicly with your own laugh, it simply is not funny anymore. it's just dumb.

the problem is, they're semi-addicting to read.

2009-01-20T22:03:00.007-05:00

Would most people consider the following people to be asian?

Ben Kingsley
Phoebe Cates
Keanu Reeves
Dean Cain
Rob Schneider
Jennifer Tilly
Kristin Kreuk
Mark-Paul Gosselaar
Johnny Damon
Greg Louganis
Norah Jones

Well...they are half-asian, but not many people know that. people are usually surprised to hear that they are not 100% white. they are known as caucasian, not asian and not even half. and there's an even much much longer list of celebrities who are half-black and you'd be surprised.

so if that is the case, why is it that Barack Obama (and Halle Berry for that matter) is considered black when he is also half? he's just as much white as he is black... but he's considered our first "African-American President." it's technically correct, but not completely in my book. i just don't get it. it doesn't piss me off, but i do want to know why he's considered "Black."

my observation is that people have difficulty putting a person in the 'half' category. you're either black, white, asian, etc.. nothing in between, and it is all determined by how you 'look.' aileen is half, but she looks asian, so people consider her asian and are very surprised to know she's actually half (by the way, aileen is 'half' to me).

so if my observation is correct, then would barack obama have gotten the awesome support from the african-ameican community if he happened to look more white than black? would people say he is our first african-american president?

p.s. for the record, i don't care that obama identifies himself as black (even though he was raised by a single white mother). it doesn't matter what he thinks. if he is proud to be black (or even white), then so be it, makes no difference. what matters is what everyone else thinks about him, and they think he's black.

p.p.s. did you also know that he and dick cheney are distantly related? they are 8th cousins.

interesting articles on his bi-racial heritage:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/11/28/AR2008112802219_pf.html

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/12/14/ap-many-insisting-that-ob_n_150846.html

2009-01-18T10:26:00.002-05:00

aileen and i had one of our rare 'intellectual' conversations last week on why so many "dumb" people are successful and why so many smart people aren't successful (as measured by money/status only).

her theory was that some people are so smart that they rarely ever had to try to do anything growing up in school and thus, it causes them to be lazy later in life. for instance, an extremely smart kid rarely ever has to study to do well in school. the parents and peers only encourage whatever the kid is doing, and this behavior is not only reinforced but it is encouraged. the kid learns that he has to do nothing and he will be successful. in other words, he has no will and no drive to put any effort into anything, and he pays for it when thrown out into the real world. he ends up not realizing his full potential (even if he knows how much potential there is). he is ill-equipped to handle his job, relationships, etc. we all know someone like that who we thought for sure was going to be successful in high school or college, but ends up struggling just to find a place to live. and what ends up happening? their bosses are the kids who didn't go to as prestigious universities or in the advanced math classes or even struggled in school. aileen said that some people were 'cursed' for being too smart.

my theory was not because they were too smart, it was because the parenting was lacking. we all know that, aside from the chance opportunities that are given to us as a result of our environment - a la Gladwell's Outliers - it really comes down to the drive or hard work that needs to be put in to be successful at anything. where does this drive come from? i believe it comes from the home. kids with deadbeat parents rarely push themselves harder because that is what they learn, regardless of how smart or dumb the kids may be. on the flip side, kids with very successful parents also may rarely push themselves because they never want their kids to struggle, as the parents may have had to growing up. both of these groups of kids are taught that if something is too hard, then it's just not worth doing. i believe it is the parents' job to teach their kids discipline, and through discipline, the kids learn how to apply themselves regardless of intelligence. through discipline, they know that nothing in life is free and they have to work for it. those are the kids that end up being "successful." the best example i could think of was George W. Bush. if he could become president, then it's obvious that the intelligence wasn't a prerequisite, it was the drive that he had (regardless of whether he was qualified for the job). extreme example, but you get my point. the presence or lack of drive, hard-work ethic, discipline, whatever - comes from the home, not because of one's intelligence.

after our conversaion, as almost always happens when we have these types of talks, aileen proceeded to get mad at me because i somehow always apply it to her life.

2009-01-11T22:54:00.004-05:00

i'm going to blog more... like more than once every other year.

some random thoughts from the past year:

facebook status updates is the lazy man's new blog.

a HALF-black man is elected to be president.

went to many events where i got to meet some cool (and mean) celebs.

still love my job.

got a dream car, TV and sound system (just need one more dream car and my materialistic life-goals will be fulfilled).

got married.

lost a lot of weight.

for the first (and only) time ever, aileen looked fatter than i did in a picture.

book genre of choice: 1) business; 2) biographies.

and to top it all off: had a nasal tampon stuck in my nose for three days...and counting.

that is all.

2007-12-24T14:41:00.000-05:00

Our First Home

The building

Living room

View of downtown

Master bedroom

View from guest bedroom

2007-10-02T00:51:00.000-04:00

you've got to be freaking kidding me. someone needs to investigate that umpire. can't believe i stayed up just to watch crap like this.

2007-08-22T23:25:00.000-04:00

Rik "The Dunkin' Dutchman" Smits - Former Indiana Pacers Center. He's a couple inches taller than me... but I wear bigger shoes.

2007-08-22T23:12:00.000-04:00

James Denton - from Desperate Housewives.
Andy: My fiancee is a big fan of yours!
James: Tell him that I said thank you!
Andy (to himself): Him?

2007-08-22T23:01:00.000-04:00

Tony Dungy

#1 NBA Draft Pick - Greg Oden (he's obviously sitting down)

Peyton Manning

Jerome "The Bus" Bettis

2007-06-03T17:29:00.000-04:00

Pictures of some celebs that I met over the years...

gene simmons

bob costas

danica patrick

2007-06-03T17:18:00.000-04:00

on the 'grid' with tony kanaan

chuck person

peyton manning

archie manning

2007-06-03T17:15:00.000-04:00

tony stewart

cal ripken jr and tony stewart

tony dungy

sam hornish jr.

2007-06-03T11:13:00.000-04:00

i already know i'm the biggest nerd in the world, so i can safely say this: i can't wait until guitar hero 3 comes out! it's going to have weezer!

2007-03-11T16:31:00.000-04:00

RottenTomatoes.com released their "worst of the worst" list. "The 100 Worst Reviewed Movies of All Time."

So what is the worst reviewed movie of all time?
Ballistic: Ecks vs. Sever

That reminded me of a post from almost three years ago.

2007-02-18T12:51:00.001-05:00

when i saw this headline, for some reason i thought of aileen.

http://www.cnn.com/2007/US/02/17/death.television.reut/index.html

2007-02-12T21:15:00.000-05:00

the many faces of allie.

2007-02-12T21:12:00.000-05:00

squirrel allie.
purring allie.

2007-02-12T21:11:00.000-05:00

freaky allie.
gremlin allie.
earless allie.
pissed allie.

2007-02-12T21:08:00.000-05:00

tired allie.
chillin allie.
guilty allie.
chubby allie.

(no animals were harmed in this photo shoot)

2007-01-13T23:43:00.000-05:00

we reached a new low today. we spent $100 at the grape... THE GRAPE!!! it's like spending $50 at wendy's. for two people. un-freaking-believable.

2007-01-01T20:41:00.000-05:00

2007 - what a random number.

2006-12-31T00:33:00.000-05:00

testing out the new version of blogger. there have been a lot of re-launches lately, which i guess is another recap of 2006:

- firefox (love it)
- IE (hate it)
- blogger (eh)
- AIM (hate it)
- xbox 360 (love it, but only on hdtv)
- ps3 (love it)
- nintendo wii (don't know yet... but dying to try)
- ipod (eh)
- bmw 3 series (love it)
- toyota camry (love it)
- itunes (eh)

i realize that this is nothing unique to 2006 per se, but just makes me realize how times are changing. earlier this week, i saw a screen shot of the old netscape browser and i also played a little bit with the new IE 7.0. amazing how times have changed.

Netscape 4.0:

IE 7.0:

this blog has become incredibly boring.

2006-12-25T17:41:00.000-05:00

highlights of 2006:
- getting promoted to my dream job
- chargers going to the playoffs
- padres going to the playoffs
- wake forest going to the orange bowl (cal was a disappointment!)
- staying in touch with friends and family, who all have good health
- proposing to aileen in paris
- a lot of engagements and weddings (pj, varun, jason, steve, etc.)
- finally beating that level in guitar hero
- playing golf with nfl cheerleaders

to be continued...

2006-11-29T00:25:00.000-05:00

my scores in parantheses

http://jakemandell.com/tonedeaf/ (80.6%)

http://tonometric.com/adaptivepitch/ (1.05mhz)

2006-11-20T21:57:00.000-05:00

it's been a long time since i updated. but out of all the things that have happened the past couple months, the event that made me blog again is this.

aileen has never seen the following tv shows:
- bosom buddies
- greatest american hero
- head of the class
- small wonder
- mask
- gobots
- airwolf

the humanity...oh the humanity...

2006-10-03T22:04:00.000-04:00

my sister's latest blog entry has some pics from Cambridge. i guess being the photography editor of the student newspaper does pay off.

2006-09-19T20:33:00.000-04:00

holy crap. this is amazing.

the new TMX Elmo

2006-09-17T15:52:00.000-04:00

What's wrong with this picture?

******
(from the WSJ)
In his address at the University of Regensburg, Pope Benedict cited the words of a Byzantine emperor who characterized some of the teachings of the Prophet Muhammad as "evil and inhuman," particularly "his command to spread by the sword the faith." The pontiff didn't endorse that description, but he didn't question it, and his words set off a firestorm of protests across the Muslim world.
******

So basically, Muslims around the world become very angry that the Pope suggested their religion spread through violence, which is understandable. But what I find humorous in a morbid way, is the reaction of some Muslims to the Pope's "Muslims-are-violent" speech.

******
(from the WSJ)
Anger and violence -- including attacks on seven churches in the West Bank and Gaza...

In the West Bank, two churches were set afire early Sunday. In the town of Tulkarem, a 170-year-old stone church was torched and its interior was destroyed, local Christian officials said. In Tubas, a small church was attacked with firebombs and partially burned, Christians said. Neither church is Catholic, the officials said. Muslims hurled firebombs and opened fire at five churches in the West Bank and Gaza Strip on Saturday.

(from the WSJ)
Two gunmen killed an Italian nun and her bodyguard at a hospital Sunday, and a security official for an Islamic militia controlling the capital speculated the attack was linked to world-wide Muslim anger over a speech by Pope Benedict XVI.
******

Summary: Pope says, "Islam was spread through violence." Muslims say, "How dare you suggest that!" and bomb churches and kill nuns.

2006-09-04T14:53:00.000-04:00

It's been a very busy month for me... so sorry for the lack of updates. But as they say, a picture is worth a 1000 words, so here's a few pics of what I've been up to.

It involves a Peyton Manning charity bowling event (same one I went to last year), an Indy Car race in Kentucky, and the Cal vs. Tennessee game in Knoxville, TN. Other pictures have been posted on Aileen's and other people's blogs.

2006-09-04T14:51:00.000-04:00

Sam Hornish, Jr., winner of the Indy 500, and my coworker Jared.

2006-09-04T14:50:00.000-04:00

Tony Dungy, head coach of the Indianapolis Colts, and my coworker Jared.

2006-09-04T14:49:00.001-04:00

Bob Costas... he's a short guy!

2006-09-04T14:49:00.000-04:00

With Cal Ripken, Jr. and Tony Stewart

2006-09-04T14:48:00.000-04:00

With Tony Stewart, NASCAR driver (Home Depot car)

2006-09-04T00:38:00.001-04:00

on our way back, we stopped by the tennessee aquarium in chattanooga. the last time i was here, i was a sophomore in high school.

2006-09-04T00:38:00.000-04:00

the lower cal section. we sat right next to the band. the alumni office sold 5,000 tickets! but in a crowd of 110,000... still outnumbered. and yes, the game sucked.

2006-09-04T00:37:00.001-04:00

one of the cal sections.

2006-09-04T00:37:00.000-04:00

neyland stadium starting to fill up with a lot of orange!

2006-09-04T00:36:00.000-04:00

the Cal tailgate party at the knoxville convention center. true to Cal form, the food sucked. veggie burgers and soggy chicken breast. no red meat!

2006-09-04T00:35:00.001-04:00

This past weekend, we drove to the Tennessee vs. Cal footballg game. An example of one of the many many cars we saw in the UT get-up.

2006-09-04T00:35:00.000-04:00

aileen and andy in the grid.

2006-09-04T00:34:00.002-04:00

a picture of one of the apaches that did a fly-by during the national anthem.

2006-09-04T00:34:00.001-04:00

this is how close i could get!

2006-09-04T00:34:00.000-04:00

dario, the canadian club/klein tools driver (and also airtran), getting into his car.

2006-09-04T00:27:00.001-04:00

the marlboro team, right before the national anthem.

2006-09-04T00:27:00.000-04:00

the target car.

2006-09-04T00:26:00.000-04:00

at the indy car race in sparta, kentucky. we had access into the "grid" where all the drivers line-up and prepare for the race.

2006-09-04T00:24:00.000-04:00

i haven't updated in a while, but a picture is worth a 1000 words... so here's a few to make up for the lack of updates.

2006-08-07T23:13:00.000-04:00

a recent study found a correlation with kids listening to raunchy music to sex. "Teens who said they listened to lots of music with degrading sexual messages were almost twice as likely to start having intercourse or other sexual activities within the following two years as were teens who listened to little or no sexually degrading music."

the study was conducted from 2001 to 2004. there may be externalities that could contribute to the result, such as parenting, peer pressure, friends, etc. but the bottom line is there is a direct relationship between the music and sex.

as of this week, here are seven of billboard's top 10 singles. the lyrics are a sign of things to come:

1. promiscuous girl
3. me & u
4. deja vu
5. london bridge
6. buttons
7. it's going down
10. hips don't lie

wow, what a boring and serious entry... i'm getting old.

2006-07-05T23:22:00.000-04:00

no. freaking. way.

Transformers, the movie (July 4, 2007)

Voltron, the movie (2008)

2006-07-04T00:18:00.000-04:00

just came back from watching Cars. great movie. i always come out of a pixar movie in awe on how creative people can be. but which pixar movies left me in awe more than the others? definitely not easy, but if i had to rank them (favorite to least favorite):

1. the incredibles
2. monsters, inc
3. cars
4. toy story
5. finding nemo
6. toy story 2
7. a bug's life

2006-05-25T23:33:00.000-04:00

when i first started as an mba intern, i was constantly in awe of all the benefits that people got in the department... free tickets to almost any event in atlanta (any game, concert, events, etc.), free car rentals, the nice dinners that sales reps would take us to, the free travel, free lunches, random goodies that people would send to us, having my own office, and so on. i remember the first time meeting the president of the company, and being extremely nervous to even shake his hand.

but as time passed, i started taking all this for granted. all the perks became something i expected from my job, and regrettably, i became spoiled. now with the new class of 2006 interns, watching them squeal with delight even if the president MAY come in to visit, or when the vp of another department stops in to say hello, it reminds me of how exciting things used to be and how nonchalant i've become. even to be included in a conference call with a business partner or going out to a wasteful lunch meeting, is very exciting to them. to think that i used to be like that makes me a little sad, not because it seems pathetic to want to be in a conference call, but because of who i have turned into. a corporate junkie.

it's only been a week since the interns have started, but i have already learned more from them than they have learned from me. it's always interesting to see things from the other side. it helps me see a lot more... and realize how pathetic i've become. taking things for granted, or in other words, humility, is something that i see a lot of people lose at the upper echelons of corporate america. but it is one thing that i am determined to keep.

2006-05-18T20:40:00.000-04:00

one of the riskiest decisions is whether to become friends with your direct reports and tell them more than they should know. using my boss as someone to follow is definitely not the way to go. i need guidelines.

2006-05-11T23:57:00.000-04:00

went to a concert today. jason mraz. he is a very talented musician, and that is more than obvious. it was the second time i watched him perform, and i am always impressed at his abilities. the problem is, i don't know any of his songs and don't really care to learn them. the solution? beer. beer is very good at times like these.

ironically, the only song i did know of his(Remedy), Jason wasn't really into it. he must get really tired of the fact that people only know one of all his talented songs.

2006-04-29T12:58:00.000-04:00

The model Aileen.

2006-04-29T12:55:00.000-04:00

More flowers.

2006-04-29T12:54:00.000-04:00

So pretty... and the yellow roses look good too.

2006-04-29T12:52:00.000-04:00

These look cool. I have no idea what this is, but the woman from Marriott Rewards said this is a "Hanging Flower Plant." So descriptive.

2006-04-29T12:50:00.000-04:00

Even the trees are pretty.

2006-04-29T12:49:00.000-04:00

I have no idea what kind of flower this is.

2006-04-29T12:48:00.000-04:00

purty.

2006-04-29T12:46:00.000-04:00

Another part of the Sunken Garden.

2006-04-29T12:40:00.000-04:00

The Sunken Garden of the Butchart Gardens of Victoria, BC. Amazing place. I think this is what Heaven could look like.

2006-04-29T12:38:00.000-04:00

On our way from Seattle to Victoria, BC via the Clipper. The entire ferry was rented out to our group... with open bar!

2006-04-29T12:35:00.000-04:00

Otherside of The Herbfarm

2006-04-29T12:32:00.000-04:00

The Herbfarm restaurant at Willows Lodge(the resort we stayed at in Seattle)

2006-04-29T02:09:00.000-04:00

compromise - i'm a huge believer in it. i believe that you simply cannot have a sustained long-term relationship with anyone without compromise. it does not matter if it is with your wife, husband, boyfriend, girlfriend, friend, acquaintance, boss, coworker, business partner - you get the point. compromise is extremely important, and if only one party decides to compromise, it is not enough. everyone has his or her breaking point, and once that point is reached it is hard to make amends.

however, there are some things that one should never compromise in - such as faith or conscience. but in terms of the less important things, no matter how petty it may seem, people need to learn that compromise is the heart and bond of a relationship and without it, it cannot survive.

2006-04-17T08:00:00.000-04:00

PEOPLE. STOP GETTING MARRIED (for at least until the end of the year).

That being said, I'm going to be doing a lot of traveling this summer, not including the travel I already do for work:

Seattle
Bahamas
New Jersey (twice)
Las Vegas
San Fran
Miami

And it won't even be August.

2006-04-02T00:35:00.000-05:00

"i know size can be daunting... but dun be afraid... i love you."

I cannot wait for this movie to come out...

2006-03-29T22:34:00.000-05:00

two topics i need to write about, one for now and one for later: 1. hogging the middle of the road; 2. the fear that a person will walk in the bathroom and choose the stall next to you when you're in the stall going poo.

this scene should be all too familiar to my fellow dorks and nerds: in high school, you are walking down the hall and there is someone walking towards you. if you both continue on the straight path, you will bump shoulders. do you move out of the way, or stand proud and see if the other person moves?

now in this situation, there are three different types of people: those who are oblivious (talking to a friend or cramming for a test), those who moved out of the way (me), and those who didn't move out of the way (jerks). the question i always asked myself was, should i stand my ground and face potential hostility or just move out of the way and let life go by? considering that i was, and still am, highly conflict averse, i was afraid of the jerks, and just moved out of the way.

now that high school is long over, it now spills on to the road. there are those drivers who, on a two-way local road, refuse to stay in their right-hand lane forcing the other car to either swerve out of the way or just stop completely. it annoys me to no end, and lately, i've been cutting it pretty close. sometimes, i leave just enough distance to get by, hopefully sending a message to the other driver that he/she can't be hogging the entire road. but i know all this does is piss the driver off, which is also fine with me. other times, i think about not moving at all. let the cars scrape, and collect my insurance money. if the driver is hogging the road, leaving almost no room for me to squeak by, then i can argue that it's his/her fault. just take a quick picture with my camera phone and voila! cash money. i know that's insanely stupid for me to do, so it will likely never happen, but you never know. maybe it'll just happen one day by itself, and i will finally be able to get a new car.

i just hope that the lawyers never find this blog.

2006-03-06T22:36:00.000-05:00

(sorry for the vague post before.)

native asians living in the US has always been a hot topic for me. in china, pushing, shoving, and cutting in line is the norm. but in the states, most people understand the concept of waiting in line... and if you're in the south, embrace the concept. it has been a long time since i've seen asian people trying to cut in line all the time, and being in vegas the past weekend, a very big international tourist trap, it reminded me of my life in california and how mad i would get at times.

in any case, when we went to see cirque du soleil, the doors were not open yet so a line started to form. a few moments later, in comes an asian couple, they cut straight to the beginning of the line, and just proceed to walk in. the young hostess, who was guarding the line, was a little shocked and didn't really know what to do. so she just let them in. the rest of us who were in line were a little shocked as well, and followed the asian couple in through the doors. whether we were supposed to go in or not, who knows.

but the question is, are asians just oblivious to lines? i saw it almost everywhere i went, and even for the most insignificant events. to get on the escalator, to go first into the revolving door, to pay for a drink, etc. so again i ask, do they know the line is there, but just don't care? or do they just not understand the concept of a line?

(sidenote: i know i'm stereotyping here, but stereotypes don't come out of thin air...)

2006-03-04T13:00:00.000-05:00

it's amazing how quickly the crappiest week in your career can become the best week of your career with the turn of a single event.

time to enjoy the weekend... vegas, baby, vegas!!!!

2006-02-22T19:36:00.000-05:00

in tucson, az right now at the loews ventana canyon resort. very nice place, and tucson is surprisingly nice. they have a lot of airplanes parked here (air force, commercial, migs, etc.). the weather is always perfect too. it hasn't rained in over 180 days, and 65 degrees is considered cold.

in any case, i had my second massage today and it was great. i was very nervous because i thought i would be very ticklish. but when she worked my feet, it was actually nice. however, there are a couple things i need to remember before going to my next massage:

1. Don't get a haircut right before - and if you do, make sure to shower. when they massage your scalp, it's embarrassing when the masseuse's hands are covered with hair.
2. Keep your shorts on.
3. Try not to think about anything but the massage.
4. Hot stone massages are great.
5. Masseuses are stronger than you are. If you want them to add more pressure, make sure you know what you're asking for... or else you'll get bruised.

2006-01-31T19:03:00.000-05:00

yesterday was probably the first day i've ever had when i was not motivated to work. it was scary because i've always told people that i loved my job, and i did - until yesterday. things were just not going well. projects were being delayed, customers were complaining, and i just did not know how to fix anything. worse, i didn't even care. maybe it's because it was a monday? maybe it's because i was really tired? maybe i just hit the point where i wasn't having fun anymore?

it has been a little over six months since i started fulltime. i became a lot more depressed when aileen told me, "my job was okay for the first six months too!"

but don't worry. today was a good day. i still love my job.

2006-01-22T19:51:00.000-05:00

bathroom stalls that are lower than 5'8" should be banned. absolutely, positively, ridiculous. shame on you barnes and nobles.

2006-01-13T23:34:00.000-05:00

it just hit me while reading through my alumni magazine - this year is my 5-year reunion... of COLLEGE! holy crap!

2005-12-29T12:21:00.000-05:00

during christmas breaks, i come home to visit my two families - my natural family and my high school family. my high school family is the close friends i grew up with since i was 10 years old, and christmas/new years never feels complete without hanging out with the guys till 4am every other night. ironically, we've been doing nothing but the same thing the past decade either. yesterday, wayne bet that we would still be doing the same thing 30 years from now. this is the tradition:

- play poker (except steve)
- play video games
- eat at hoagie haven
- watch a sappy movie (as in, dave and wayne or dave and steve go watch alone)
- gamble in AC (where derek somehow pulls a straight flush every year)
- crash dave's family's annual christmas party (and eat all their delicious food)
- visit new york (and freeze our ass off)
- comments on how fat i got

it sounds boring, but it has been our tradition for as long as i can remember. i'm not exactly sure why we go through the same exact routines every year the past 10+ years, especially when it's so rare that this many high school friends keep in touch for this long, so here are some possible theories:

1. we are very restless people and constantly need to be doing something. the concept of sitting around in a bar or restaurant and talking is just boring.
2. we are all very immature
3. it's simply tradition, nothing more

regardless of the reason, having the guys together is still something that i look forward to every year. however, now with some of us getting engaged/married or moving away, things are changing. there has been a lot more focus on the significant others and real family, as there should be, but the question is how they dynamics of the group will change. better yet, i wonder what's going to happen when we start having kids... probably neglect our children to stay up all night playing dr. mario or super smash bros.

2005-12-13T23:21:00.000-05:00

alright, a lot of career talk on people's blogs lately. after seeing jason's comment, reading dave's entry , and steve's entry , i realized that nobody really knows what i do either. not that anyone cares, but hopefully it will give you an idea why i love my job.

when i started at my company, i was in charge of anything related to numbers. if it had anything to do with reporting, analytics, metrics, budget, marketing research... it was my responsibility. the nerd in the back with the calculator, yes, that's me. and proud of it. i thought it was awesome that so early in my career, i had the responsibility to make very important decisions. recently, i've been given the opportunity to have more responsibility - managing our entire frequent flier program. so along with all my previous duties, i now have to manage anything that has to do with our 3 million member plus program, including relationships with all our partners (credit cards, car rental companies, etc.), the brochures that you pick up at the airport, the membership kits you receive when you get your card, handling all the problems with our website, e-mails, revenue line items, another budget, etc. etc. etc. so from a career standpoint, it's great because i am probably the youngest person with this role in my industry. i'm learning a TON, and can probably leverage my experience really well to whatever other profession i choose to move to.

but here's the real reason why i love my job (aside from the people i work with) - and i think the same goes for dave and steve. our results are visible and have a relatively quick turnaround... or in other words, we make a noticeable difference. whenever i make a decision, it is a very public decision that effects many people. the same goes for steve - he makes/fixes/resurrects buildings and bridges, which is also very public. it is also relatively quick, and you can literally see the progress being made. with dave, his results are not only visible, but dramatic as well.

there is of course, the x-factor that has not been discussed - personality. it is very possible that someone in a similar position as ours is not satisfied... so maybe it's just that the three of us has learned to be content in life. maybe it's the other way around - people with our type of personalities fit into our type of work best. so in summary, steve is dumb.

2005-12-06T23:35:00.000-05:00

something i miss about my old position is the analytical work. that's why i was brought into the company, and thought it was what i would be doing. i was dead wrong. the last few weeks have been complete hell - solving problem after problem, traveling city after city, returning call after call, and deleting e-mail after e-mail. i have already come to the point where people need to call me three times before getting a response from me (except for my coworkers of course). the number of people that i have to deal with and manage has grown exponentially, which also means my dependence on other people to complete my work has also grown just as much. by the end of this month, i will have traveled to chicago, orlando, philly, and dallas... oh, and ny/nj for vacation.

the point is, even though i'm in a new role and despite this long whine session - i still love my job and hope to stay here for a while (despite the pay... sorry aileen). someone in my industry, at my age, given the opportunity i have been given is really awesome. the lesson is, the more responsibility you are given, the more you depend on your instinct to make decisions and less on spreadsheets. and you better be right, most of the time.

the next lesson learned is nobody really cares about this entry.

2005-11-27T20:51:00.000-05:00

it's no surprise that having to take care of another as your own teaches a lot about yourself and others as well. already, aileen and i have had several disagreements on the best way to raise allie - and i have never seen aileen so posessive over anything before. it scares me a little knowing she is going to be a lot more posessive when we have actual kids, but at least we can use the kitten for practice.

in any case, another lesson that i learned is that catnip does wonders for cats. amazing.

2005-11-24T10:45:00.000-05:00

allie learning that my shoes are not fun.

2005-11-24T10:38:00.000-05:00

our newest addition... allie.

2005-11-17T07:52:00.000-05:00

so weird... every night this week i've been having dreams on people i have not spoken to in a long long time.

in any case, i don't really want to say what's been going on with work, but i hate being so vague. i'll just say, if you are my friend, you will sign up for our frequent flier program.

2005-11-16T08:20:00.000-05:00

quick update: work work work. workload has increased by at least 200%.

2005-11-08T00:03:00.000-05:00

on a more general note, "the list" is now unavailable. wake forest finally shut it down... which means, i'm going to buy a new domain for all three people that use it.

what should it be?

2005-11-07T21:18:00.000-05:00

I have several 'generic' e-mail addresses, which means I get a lot of e-mails that I should not be receiving. I average about three a week, per account. Today, I got one from someone who took a tickle.com IQ test, but did not want to subscribe to their services. So of course, they used mine.

On the bottom of the "welcome to tickle.com" e-mail, it read this:

Not your account? If you did not request this account and wish to completely remove it from Tickle, click the link below and sign in (password required):
http://web.tickle.com/account/profile/cancel.jsp

Now how the heck am I supposed to remove an account I never signed up for AND have a password?!?!

2005-10-29T02:32:00.000-04:00

no offense to those people out there who read my blog, but something that bothers me is changing fonts to emphasize certain words. for some reason, i get so distracted when i read it and my eyes just naturally jump from bold phrase to bold phrase, skipping everything in between. i have to concentrate very hard to read the text, which i think defeats the purpose.

another reason is that i feel it makes the writing a little too melodramatic. if you exaggerate the words, it seems that you are exaggerating as a whole, thus you lose some credibility. but that's more of a distant secondary reason.

it's weird that it never really bothered me until about a year ago. i noticed that i couldn't really read easily for those blogs with different size, color, and bold/italic fonts all over the place.

i'm sure i do things every day (like not capitalize words) on this blog that annoy people. but i had to update, because PJ told me to.

on an unrelated note, here's a pretty cool quote that i heard. it's not verbatim, but close enough: "people don't remember what you said, they remember how you made them feel."

2005-10-17T22:40:00.000-04:00

all credit goes to andy lee for this link.

three words: awesome. awesome. awesome.

http://www.rit.edu/~jck4580/page2.html

2005-10-13T20:18:00.000-04:00

bathrooms with linoleum floors should be banned. might as well put mirrors on the floor with halogen lamps under the toilets.

2005-10-12T20:38:00.000-04:00

supreme court nominee miers and emperor palpatine... is it me or is there a resemblance...?