[merry christmas] to all, and to all a goodnight! =)

[what kind of advice is this?]

MANILA (Reuters) - An irate Filipino housewife sliced off her husband's penis while he slept after she discovered text messages from another woman on his mobile phone.

A local radio station reported the woman rushed her husband to hospital in Manila Thursday when large amounts of blood flowed from his wound, but that she forgot to bring the severed piece of flesh.

Doctors were able to restore his manhood after she raced home to collect the missing piece. The man, a welder, told the radio station he had forgiven his wife.

Callers to the station, reacting to the news, offered helpful hints to wayward husbands such as never sleeping on their backs and always keeping mobile phones tucked under the pillow.

reactions to this tale: (1) boo to cheating husbands, (2) boo to psycho wives, (3) society is going bonkers.. (4) ICK.

[lovin'] that m&m christmas ad when the red m&m and santa both fall down at the same time, leaving the last *and best tasting* yellow m&m standing! :D

[we don't have finals at work] so may everyone have the strength, luck, stamina, and easy tests to survive through december =) nope, we don't have finals at work (just every day tests where you turn things into your manager and wait to be critiqued! -- i'm just kidding, it's not really that bad), but i do face a pretty tricky challenge once in awhile.

every time i start at a new client, it is such a relief (in the two ways you're thinking about) when i manage to locate the toilet :D *ah*

[the fantasy bball update] i successfully started off my first day of fantasy bball at 1st place -- fell to 9th place -- went up to 3rd place -- went down to 5th place -- and now i am hovering around the 5th, 6th, 7th position.. =P bah humbug.

[you like presents?] tell me waht you want, and you might just get a present :D

[reality] gone are the highs of getting my new laptop and even getting my picture taken for an office badge! it's now up to me to maintain my own excitement about being a peon to my many (helpful and very cool) managers. no more "serviced" happy hours, no more free snacks at break time and by gosh, no more low expectations of us. post training - we are now apparently.. professionals!

[reappearance] so this is why i haven't blogged in so long =P i know it's definitely been a cheap, and by no means preferable, way of getting up to date with people, but it's nice to hear about andy's adventures in north carolina, and sohee's new computer! =) heehee.. (bet you guys don't know i'm spying on you huh ;)) in any case -- i've been stuck in downtown oakland, lacking connectivity and updates on giant playoff games! gaH!! work has really begun now (i know i keep saying that), and i'm getting into the work lifestyle. though.. ha ha! i've still managed to work out after work.. at least 3 times during the week, and of course i continue the regime over the weekends.. =) sigh.

anyways, me stoppage the whining-age now. hope you all are well!

[strange ending thought] why is it when someone tells us they have a kid and their age -- we can't help but ooh and ahh? i mean, for all we know, the kid could get poopy ugly! (though i do admit that most kids are adorable in my eyes) :D

[well] ta ta for now =) will di blog again?! *sob*

[long time no blog] wooo -- 2 weeks in, and a work schedule has already taken its toll on my blogging abilities. actually, we've all been in training these past two weeks, and still have one more, so you'd think i'd be blogging incessantly. in all honesty, the material is pretty interesting -- it's just not presented in the most interesting way =P so yeah...

[how is work di?] so far, out of the 25 or so people in my starting class, we have two married girls -- one girl is from alabama and married her college sweet heart, and one is japanese who married.. for a green card? haha jk, i don't know, but yeah she's married probably for cultural reasons. there are also two married guys -- both are mormon, one has a 4 month old baby who he proudly potty-trained last weekend =) there is also a nigerian girl, who is super cool and left her fiance in nigeria *sniff*, and two other african americans that add just that little big of spunk to our class. of course, there is also a slew of east-coasters, chicks from seattle, and hahaa.. the four asian girls in the crowd? why, we happen to ALL be from haas, uc berkeley of course =D and get this -- we were all in business fraternities too. =O how funny. through happy hours, socials, and lunch breaks, i've been slowly getting to know everyone a little bit better.. the weird thing is, the segregations of the past that you thought would dissippate with age.. just doesn't! the asians still hang out with the asians.. and the white people are still more comfortable with the white people.. oh why oh why!!! i'm trying, i'm trying.. =)

[mood of the month] thankful, appreciative, and tired. in the mood for the giants to win the world series again... =D

[mark this day] tomorrow is the beginning of the rest of my life.......... working. immbl already.

[gratitude] many thanks to everyone who called, wrote, and bestowed their hugs and well wishes on my birthday. i'm truly thankful. my family, my parents who came out and my brother who flew out for only two days right before school started, my uncle geoff and cousin maddie who drove up from LA to celebrate with me. my true friends who showed they cared, and those who remembered and thought of me =) *blush* b -- who went through many stresses these past few weeks, in my honor. lots of love to all of you =D

[and other september babies] i may have kicked off the month on the 1st, but hoo boy are there many others! happy burfday and warm hugs to amy, mike chang, dickie, simon, ellen, christine, mike kim, and ryan. also to my old friends kathy and tiana =D (and okay, happy birthday to you too mark, though you're technically an august baby ;)) another year older, another reason to celebrate, another reason to build memories =D

[simple pleasures indeed] i won my very first ebay auction!!! [yes byron, laugh all you want, hrmph] now my parents can benefit from my week of anticipation and anxiety...

[excuse me] but hey! what happened to my tagboard?! =( excuse the ugliness while they sort themselves out... =P

[must be nice] to be a beautiful woman. you can get anything you want huh. people will buy you drinks. you can get into clubs. people always smile at you. why, people even put you in magazines! haha. though i do kinda object to the idea of *being* an object of observation and such liberal treatment, i guess it would be nice, just once, to be a beautiful woman. just a thought.

[tribute to the fishie] bye bye mister goldfish. *bloop bloop*

[di watches tv.. again] i'm thinking *no wonder* i don watch that much tv -- what happened to the good 'ol days of Family Ties (yeah yeah, i used to watch that show ok) and Growing Pains (and that too)? keke =P flipping through the tv last night, my attention was disgustingly and surprisingly gripped by two shows: Sex2K and Date Plate =D i admit the latter wasn't too bad - why if i could choose to be on a dating show, heck yeah, bring on two guys who will cook for me and i'll pick 'em out from how tantalized my palette is =) sex2k on the other hand.. ummm.. ummmm.. this particular showing was.. the gay cruise episode. ummmmmmm yeah. i know it isn't the friendliest show in the world to watch, but MAN, was i hooked!! i would switch from show to show in anticipation.. will robb hook up with michael? ooooh, what's that dude preparing for dinner? it was a bizarre tv watching experience.

[on a more cultural note] i've decided to spend my days exploring the city =) at least once a week anyways, and during the weekend, i can drag b and whoever else wants to be my exploring companion around and about too =D yesterday, i went to the japanese tea gardens, and went on a photo run =) i got a couple cute shots, which i'll make into a collage for the apartment =) yay! =D it's so nice just meandering on your own sometimes.. quite therepeutic =) just me and my shadow. keke. in the interim, oh-my-oh-me, i saw a man wearing capris!!!

[a personal question] if you could have taken the aesthetic route in your life (and i know some of you have), which way would you have gone? would you have been a singer? a painter? a photographer? me? i'm not so sure. my lump of passion is divided between culinary activities, singing in the shower, and looking at the world through a viewfinder =P

[scariness] i was watching the sopranos with b tonight -- that one episode when dr. melfi gets raped in the stairwell -- and boy oh boy, that scared the poobers out of me!! =O i mean, i've seen scenes where girls get horribly raped, but they never show it in full.. even though it wasn't x-rated, it still seemed really graphic, and i can safely say that i am pretty traumatized. =P girls, beware in those parking lots late at night ok? don't be afarid to ask someone to walk you to your car or where you need to go. things like this -- it makes me understand why my dad makes the paranoid comments he makes.

[on a lighter note] haha not quite the re-opening blog entry i had foreseen, but weeee, di is back in san francisco, and is enjoying the wonderful weather and super company =D hope y'all are enjoying your summers before fall falls before us =)

[waht do you think? true or not] "when we see two people in love, we want to do anything we can to help them. the truth is, we want to be them."

[thrill is] driving my dad's porsche. =O oh my -- 0 to 100km/h in under 2 seconds.

[up for a laugh?] if you want to see a really funny picture, check out my brother's site at http://www.xanga.com/druroxxx (there's also his link on the left). i was somewhere inside at the time, but maaaan, always a good time at mambo :D

[back from jakarta] the trip was incredibly relaxing (i had my very first massage -- and all i wonder now is, why am i sore?), filled with terrific food (sometimes the dirtiest places serve the yummiest food), and shared with plenty of family (i managed to meet up with 6/15 cousins on my mom's side, 3/5 of my mom's siblings, and my grandma is out of the hospital! yay! also met up with 2 second cousins who used to stare at my chest, but now stare at the open air above my head). i had to be my brother's bodyguard to protect him from cheek-pinching aunties and butt-grabbing vulturous women. no, my brother's not a movie star. yes, he's a stud. all i can say is thank goodness there ain't no one pinching mah cheeks no more.

[di rediscovers tv] after having lived in cyberspace for 4 years, tv is slowly becoming a part of my life again (yay to independence, vacation, and new apartment). of course, i never missed the staple Friends and the occasional Simpsons, but that was really about it. i have yet to catch on to reality tv (who's joe millionaire?), and hey, what happened to dharma & greg? in any case, thanks to my male counterparts, i always nodded along to kristen kreuk's amazing beauty and how hot jennifer garner looks in a bikini. finally tonight -- i got to experience these two women in their full-blown wonder. dang, kristen has the most gorgeous eyes, and can i please have a six-pack like miss garner? the only problem was: what the HECK is going on?! if someone wants to save me from smallville cluelessness and alias confusion, feel free to!!!

[dsk dsk] i got the magic stick, i know if i can hit once, i can hit twice, i hit the baddest chicks, sure they don believe me, then call me tonight. and i'll show you magic (waht waht), maa-gggic. :D i got the magic stick, i'm a freak to the core...

uh yeah, sure di.

true, i donno what this song means, but it sure makes me bop. =D

[thought] why is it more okay to *choose* to spend a quiet evening at home with yourself than to find yourself spending a quiet evening by yourself?

[getting game on] i've been at home for 5 days now, and in those 5 days, my brother has gone out-out twice. it's a very interesting process he goes through - first he selects his attire. he starts off with the very staple pair of blue jeans, and then picks whether or not to wear a button-down shirt or a regular shirt. will i get too hot? do these colors match? did my friends see me out in this shirt last time and think me weird? he then lays his picked shirt on the bed, and goes into the bathroom to put on his hair. water - fingers through it - pomade - gel. haha =) oh the turmoils of being an asian boy with spikey hair. you know what, even though it's short and seemingly uncomplicated, i really don't think i could replicate it. perhaps i shall practice. anyways - after the hair is on and the face is cleaned, the shirt goes on. not quite done though.. then you gotta pick the shoes, model in front of the mirror, and stock up your pockets with cash, ID, and the oh-so-needed cellphone.

finally, dru walks out the door, leaving behind an air of nice-smelling stuff and excitement. go dru go. haha =) i saw him at a club last night, and if you ask me, he doesn't hafta do any of this preparation - there ain't no competition out there ;)

[i miss san francisco] the way it smells, the restaurants i could go to, and the fabulous weather. the giants (can they beat arizona pleaseeee, oh disaster against colorado), gargamel & azriel, and 4th street. my jetta, my friends, and my apartment. though singapore holds so much for me (my irresplaceable family, chicken rice, and orchard road!), san francisco just holds more right now. see y'all soon.

[i am officially scary] after 21 years of trying to be intimidating, i've finally succeeded. with every cough i break, another person covers their nose. i'm not joking.. when i was in the pharmacy yesterday, i was coughing a little, and this lady to my left immediately turned around and pinched her nose. i wanted to crack up. YES! people are scared of me! hahaha =) my mom notices the number of guys i seem to be repelling too with my coughing attacks. boy, let's hope that won't be permanent. i *am* getting better though, and the doctor officially declared me SARS-free yesterday =D

[lots to update] yup, di has a lot to share and tell, but mostly di misses communication with those "anonymous" fans, keke ;o) anyhoo, in order of thought process, i think i'm going to be writing about (1) how great it feels to have my very own place in san francisco, (2) 4th of july fireworks, (3) saying goodbye, (4) SARS and me, (5) random tidbits.

[apartment 406] is now where i reside =) it's a great little nook of the city, and a great little nook of my building. i have the comfiest couch ever (those who have visited can attest to), and i'm sooo excited that it's there for me to share with my friends and family. come in -- have a seat -- have a freshly baked cookie -- do you want to sit on the balcony or would you rather roll around on my ottoman =D keke =) yes, i'm super excited about it, which means that i'm also super anal about it. seeing that i've only lived there for 10 days, it's a psychopathic necessity for everything to be put back exactly where it came from (yes, i'm a weirdo like that - so shoot me). smudge on the coffee table, ooh bring in the dish cloth. bed has a butt wrinkle on it, ooh smoothed out it will be. towel is crooked on the hanger, ooh, straighten that sucka out. my point: come visit while i can still keep it in such pristine condition, because i assure you, one month down the line, i imagine you'll be seeing butt wrinkles everywhere.

that aside, i'm actually home-home now. haha. moving from home to home - i actually felt less excited about coming home-home than usual and even sadder than usual to leave my home. i guess it's just that little-kiddy excitement in me. i'm just looking forward to building a life there.

[multiple booms] now if anyone is thinking about moving out of the bay area (and i know people are, because i had to say goodbye to three people before i left), dude, think about THIS. where else in the world can you stand along the water and experience three city's fireworks in one spectacular go?! seriously. where, where, oh where? perched along the embarcadero, bundled in your scarf, and surrounded by the warmth of good friends. *kaboom* on your left, *kaboom* ahead, and *boom boom* to your right. san francisco, berkeley, and oakland respectively. it was pretty amazing =) happy 4th of july - hopefully you made it to a couple of bbq's here and there =)

[see you later?] ... which brings me to my next subject of discussion. you'd think that i'd be used to friends coming and going, after being in an international school system for 12 years of my life, but noOooOooo, it's still happening =P perhaps it's the age? this is just the time when people keep changing themselves, their directions, and the like? grace -- we know you'll make us all proud at wharton b-school. whoa dang. andy -- another b-schooler. why did you hafta move *out* of the city right when i was moving *in*? i just lost a city buddy =( but hopefully not a buddy-buddy. and steve -- i knew you were going to go back, but i didn't realize how sad it would make me =( you jersey boys mean a lot to me, even though i might not have been the best about showing it =P yay to the non-californian connection forevah! keke =) you know where to find me when you come back ;)

[tale of a post-SARS asia] take the most paranoid person you know and blend that with technology to the nth power, and you have asia, in the aftermath of SARS. imagine my coughing spasms then! no seriously -- di got sick a few days before she took off, and i just so happened to display similar symptoms to SARS. i had to fill in this "health declaration form" before entering HK and Singapore.

-- Have you displayed any of the following symptoms in the past 6 days? | Coughing | High fever | Dry throat
-- Have you taken any aspirin medication in the past 6 days? | Yes | No
etc.

*cough cough* Check, check, and check? But of course, being the savvy traveller that I am (uh. yeah.), I ticked no, and didn't get stopped at any point despite my monstrous coughing fits off and on the plane. but check this out. they screen your body temperature at every gate. so you walk through the gate, and there's this camera-looking thing pointing at you, and you see the shape of your body in funky fluorescent green, blue, and yellow colors on the screen! ta da! it's you in infra-red mode? there were nurses standing by, and they even provided thermometers on the plane and hand sanitizers at every corner. boy anyone walking or sitting around me must have been secretly pissin' their pants. hahahah.

but helas, i am home =) made it through custom points and eeeeeverything. yay me.

[*muah*] on a final note, i just wanted to say how lucky i've been feeling lately. if i ever feel down and out, someone just tell me how lucky i am to have wonderful friends & family, a warm home, shoes on my feet, food in my refrigerator, and love in my heart =) also, i hope b is trekking along safely in god-knows-where, canada and that he knows i'm thinking of him ;) taaaaaa for now =D

[disconnected] probably won't get to blog much in the next couple of weeks, because the new place won't be connected yet. di is living in the city! di in the city. hmm. kinda like the sound of that.... :D

[di just needs to write] though summer is a great opportunity to relax, soak in the sun, and spend time with yourself, there is only so much relaxation, sun-soaking, and spending time with oneself a person can do. remember when you were in middle or high school and summer let out? were you not semi-devestated that you couldn't see your friends for... potentially 3 months? i know i was.. i mean as a 12-yr old, that's a big deal my friend! i guess it's still kind of the same in college... for me right now, my younger friends are at home, and my older friends are getting on with their yuppie working lives.. so, what is a girl to do? =) [get sucked into sex and the city's season 4 dvd, that's what]

on that note, i've been really caught up in things lately.. so much so that i think i'm starting to lose a sense of *me*. of who i am. the people around me help define me, and i haven't been able to get a healthy dose of that. and i haven't had a chance to really write (until now!) to assess my inner-di. as natalie says -- moving is the single most stressful thing a person could do. Time says it's the #1 most stressful thing too. go figure that i'm running around in circles, feeling unstable, and all shooken up. i know change is a good thing and always comes with a dash of pepper, but i've never had to deal with the kind of instability that i've been feeling. relationships come into question. self comes into question. the world comes into question. i just gotta roll with the punches i guess... but i nonetheless ask again: what is a girl to do? =)

i'm really excited about moving into my new place. this weekend -- it's all happening, yup yup yup. i gots me a couch. i gots me a dining table. and i gots me 20 odd boxes to fill it all up with. weeee-haaaaaaa! =) come visit me okie? me will bake you cookies..... =D

so i guess what i'm really trying to say is that i'm attempting to define this place i'm in. i know my life is going in a certain direction, but it sure is taking a real long time for me to move through it right now..

till then.

oh di's head hurts =(

[on a sports note] thank GOODNESS the giants finally beat those darn dodgers. woo giants!

[naked man scares shark to death] yes, you read correctly. i definitely had to take a double-take when i read that headline. it totally cracked me up this morning! :D
http://www.cnn.com/2003/WORLD/europe/06/13/offbeat.scared.shark.reut/index.html

[friendster? enemy-ster?] okay i admit i got that one from rishi, but what is going on with this friendster craze? is it one huge pot of singles trying to meet their soulmate? is it a popularity contest? is it an invasion of personal space? true, it is pretty interesting to see that everyone seems to know the SAME people (aiyoh) around here, but at the same time, it does also bring about the uglier side of me. are you not compelled sometimes to click on someone who just quite isn't your bud, someone you'd jump in front of a zebra for? on another front, are you secretly surfing for that hunky guy even though you're "in a relationship"? what about those testimonials? what are they supposed to do? (and no, i'm not bitter because i only have one. *waaaahh*) anyhoo, i guess i finally succumbed to the emails that were flooding my inbox out of curiosity and interest, but....friendster, though a social phenomenon, is evil i tell you -- it's evil.

[consumer heaven or hell?] if i learned anything from my four years of economics in high school, it's that consumer sovereignty is a PLUS. that's one of the great things about being in a free market system, and it's one of the traits that all economies should aspire to right? ehhhhhhhhhhh. last night, i spent (wasted?) a good two hours of my evening surfing through internet and cable companies.. now for convenience, all i really wanted was a cable company that could provide me with DSL as well so that i wouldn't hafta pay a gazillion million bills. my other criteria was that it be affordable and that it had the option to purchase the nba league pass, for b of course =) and helloooo there are just too many options! but none of them fall precisely into the box that i have made =( so there's comcast.. there's castle cable.. there's at&t.. there's direct tv.. and for internet there's yahoo!sbc, there's at&t, there's also comcast.. and what else? good grief, someone save me.

[hachoo] di has the sniffles. stay away from her!

[empty house, empty mind] so the last of my roommates moved out today, and now the house is empty. actually i lie. one of the new girls has moved in, and it's just so weird to be living with someone i don't know. yes, she is undoubtedly a very cool girl, but she is 2 years younger than me, and i imagine we don't have much in common. di can't wait to move to her very own place =)

[ridiculous] that i have a midterm next week. hahahaha. oh sigh.

[lost momentum] either my mind is failing me or i have lost all momentum to write. i remember thinking all these quirky things that i saw this past weekend that i would share with my limited audience, but i can't remember jack! but here is what i learnt about other people: there are some people who just hate the sound of silence. they will talk about anything and everything, even maybe make up stories, just to fill up the silence. there is nothing wrong with silence, and *not* filling it up is overrated sometimes... perhaps one of the greatest signs of how progressive your relationship is with someone is the fact that you can sit in silence with them without the discomfort. dontcha think? another thing i learnt about people is that when faced freebies, kids say thank you and adults don't. haha =) just something small i picked up from a few street fairs this weekend..

[very excited] about the diana krall concert at yoshi's this week. it should be kick ass. hope everything is having a great summer!

[this madness] alright. so i've survived a relatively mild, but brain-crunching set of finals, and now i just have to survive graduation. did you ever think that graduation was more for other people than it is for yourself? that's what i'm feeling right now. parents are here. brother is here. family friend from germany is here. uncle from LA is here. cousin from LA is here. friends from across the bay are coming. thank you so very much -- i definitely do not deserve all of that attention, but i really appreciate it. =) you all are amazing people who have helped me reach where i am today.

i haven't been able to make it out to as many graduation celebrations as i would have liked because all these out-of-towners are here, but i'm with all of you in spirit =) i feel ya bruthas and sistahs =) this will be one of the rare moments i have till next next week to sit down and say hi and conjugalations -- so -- hello and the warmest conjugalations to all of you =) don't think i don love you :D

...and as calm as i may be sounding right now -- i am really feeling quite hectic. my home is in disarray. my parents are on the other side of the bay, so i hafta commute twice a day to see them. my dear b is on the other, other side of the bay, and dah! what happened to the gorgeous weather?! =O

[don't go] without saying goodbye guys =) gimme a ring so i can give you a HUG! :D

[we made it] sigh. this crazy ride that is college-mixed-in-with-some-life-lessons-and-perhaps-a few-tips-on-how-to-do-differential-equations is almost over. hang in there.

[doh] make finals go away. make finals go away.

[sorry -- i've been busy] .. so busy in fact, i don't think i've been sitting at my computer all that much. my friend petch, has come and gone from the UK, and in the interim, i hope i got her to fall in love with this cozy nook of the US that i've come to adore so much. had a great weekend though.. went to napa with nat, jack, and christina, and tasted wines straight out of barrels! woo! =O also took her to senior banquet, only to reunite her with oh-so-drunken josh (hahaha). made her sit through tons of speeches from people she doesn't know (thank you b *and* petch), as well as dragged her across the bay, only to witness a horrible accident on the bridge. we finally made it to bubble lounge at midnight, and well.. she thought it was worth it! it's interesting to let someone see what your life is like.. i think that's the greatest thing about visiting an old friend.. it's just living their life for a few days =)

[i'm no doctor dolittle] i have unanimously (me, me and me) decided that i will never have birds as pets. they don't seem to fluorish around me :( i remember when i was living in jakarta, my grandfather had a weakness for animals, and when we were taking a walk one day, we found one on the side of the street. so we took him or her... in! we made it a little nest *heehee*, and bought a dropper and some food, and nurtured it till it could fly away on its own. but when i got back from school one day, i went to go check up on it.. and why oh why, i was the first one to discover it frozen in position under the sun :( a similar thing happened this weekend. while walking around my future apartment complex, petch found a little bird on the sidewalk -- he (we decided to name it "peep") probably fell out of its nest, and was injured. the top of its beak was gone, and it had a little dent in its head. it spent the rest of the sunday with us, and at home, b fed it honey water and mushed cornflake.. though i imagine it missed its mommy =P it wouldn't stop cheeping! monday morning, it was still cheeping, we tried to keep feeding it, and i started calling up bird shops who might take it in. the lady who would entertain my silly story told me that the feathered baby bird probably wouldn't survive, and that i should take it to the montclair vet. i planned to do so after class. but helas. after i got back from class, there was little peep, tucked in the corner, frozen into position in a bed of tissues. sigh.

my name is diana. baby bird killer extraordinaire. :(

[trivia] who knows what YAHOO stands for? :D

[crunch time] and it begins -- the last day of college for some. the last day of school till summer for others. good luck studying everyone and drop by to say hi when you can :D

[read linus] since i haven't had much luck so far adding linus' blog to my page, here it is: read linus!

[make me cute] di wants dimples. she has seen, touched, and gawked with her very own eyes, and she wants dimples. woo to those lucky people who have them =) is this a hereditary thing? if so, that's it, i'm finding me a man with dimples :D

[allow me to redeem myself] from the quite ridiculous previous blog entry. it was kind of retarded no? hahaha =) anyhoo, let's see.. waht can i entertain my limited audience with today? oh! okay, me was walking down telegraph earlier.. and walked past STA. everytime i walk past, it's quite exciting to envision that you could be in another country in a mere 10 hours =) but san jose?! they had a price listing in the window to san jose for $307. hahaha =) dude, if anyone wants to pay me $307 to drive them to san jose, i would more than gladly oblige! i'm there at least twice a week anyways! kekeke =) the illogical things you see on the street.

speaking of which, i relived some of those good 'ol freshman days waiting-for-the-bus-and-armed-with-my-class-pass this week. i forgot how peaceful it was to *plan ahead* and wait for the bus, people watching, and anticipating that darn 52 or reverse perimeter shuttle. waiting at the bus stop gives you time to think, it gives you time to pause your hectic day for a little, and it certainly gives you time to cram for that presentation!

[ready.. set.. may!] it's going to be one of those crazy months again. just like march, every weekend is filled with an event, visit, or person, and hoo boy, before i know it, i'll be graduating! =O so this weekend, andyah will be here, and b & i are meant to entertain =) shall be fun, and we get to uncover this new.. certain someone =) kee =) next weekend, my friend petya is coming from england! it will be her first time in the US, so i'm determined to show her the bay area way.. taking her to napa (anyone wanna come?), and then to my senior banquet (holy crap?! it's my senior banquet!), and then just around the city and what-not. show her the charm that has me hooked on staying around here for another couple of years.. =) the following week is the last week of classes, which means, *dun-dunh-DUNH* finals studying time, and then my dear brother is coming to stay! =) weeeee! hmm. entertaining dru or cramming for 2 accounting classes. oh hmm. =P and then finals will surely roll around, my parents will be here, and then it's time for graduation! *gasp* and that's when it's all over ... no wait. the weekend after that, i am off to miami to meet up with b for our late 1-yr anniversary celebration.. thanks b :D what a swell gift =) part of me wants to embrace berkeley a little more this month.. but luckily i'll be here for most of the summer and i can embrace it (and all of it's good weather i hope?) then =)

[have a great weekend y'all] *nods* stay dry =)

[*ouch*] my brain hurts. it is the final stretch of school, and hoo-boy is my brain working.

[mind reading] b and i were in the city on saturday meandering around after checking out the asian art museum (which is absolutely fab btw -- woo asian pride!), and it was so funny how someone can know what you want without them telling you. mebbe it's a girlie thing, mebbe it's a dumdeedumdi thing, or mebbe it's just him trying to cover up how much he wants to browse the store, but i was pleasantly surprised =)

b: ooh look it's diesel..
d: yup!
b: do you want to go in?
d: nah that's okay.
b: okay then. i know you want to.
d: awe alright.

... or something to that effect. basically, it didn't take much cajoling to get me to walk through those diesel stores (and btw annie, a pair of jeans *is* $125 =O ) now as trivial as that sounds in writing, (boy, it does sound trivial, doesn't it?) it wasn't because i know b asked me knowing i'd say no when i really meant yes. it was a small sacrifice to a larger cause =)

hmm. okay never mind, this story isn't going anywhere and i'm just starting to blabber =) point of this story: i did not do any shopping this weekend though tempted to no end =D *weeeeee~*

[shoutout] to the Thetas for crossing =) it wasn't that bad right?

[premature reading?] in one of those rare spare moments, i sat in bed reading this morning highly reluctant to immerse myself in the cold, rainy surroundings that awaited outside mah blankie :D so on a monthly basis, i pick up Wine Spectator , y'know to try and read up on good buys, good keeps, good wines to try =) it was never a big deal.. i would just flip to the buyer's guide or the featured article (this month, australian is in da house! -- but more about that later) and it'd be part of my recreational reading. today more than ever though -- i am clearly reading out of my league! the second ad in the magazine is for Flight Options . at first, i was like.. flight options, waht is this? ooh, a new ticketing system online? alright! but no. it was an ad for jetplanes. pre-owned starting at $199,500. factory-new starting at $368,750. it is a jet-plane sharing program. uhhhhhhhhhh. i think it's time for di to read that trash US again! bring on those breast pump ads! i'm not quite in the market for a jet plane yet.. (though nor am i in the market for a breast pump, don't get the wrong idea now =P )

anyways, for something publically useful -- if you're interested in trying a very drinkable and affordable wine:

Rosemount's Shiraz-Merlot blend 1999. (and i think it has a tinge of merlot in it too - mmm) it's got a purple label and might be tough to find on the shelves, since they've now been replaced with the 2000, but it's still possible. they go for $7/bottle, sometimes $6 if safeway is having a sale :D good drink, great wine.

if this becomes at all popular, i'll post up some other wines from time to time.. i pretty much try to try a new one every weekend (right b? keke) =)

[shock horror] madness! di is infesting her blog with posts! =O

[the truth] tonight my brother accused me of being whiney and ungrateful. i seriously resent that =( if anything, i'm *not* ungrateful -- but he said that i kept whining about my parents coming up for my graduation. the only reason i'm concerned was that originally, they were thinking of coming on may 17th, a good week before graduation! i don't end finals until the 20th -- and what kind of daughter would i be if i didn't entertain and spend quality time with my parents? =( the same dilemma faces me with my brother. boy do i miss him, and there is nothing that i would love more than to chill with him and let him live my life for a bit over here. he's thinking of coming over on may 15th now -- again before my finals are over =( i guess -- there goes my accounting career! haha =) well, i hope that they still know that i'm looking forward to them coming and don't misinterpret my concerns for something else...

[nba update] oh my for the lakers. hahaha =) i didn't watch the game, but i can't stop hearing about it tonight. allow me this shameless plug for b -- goo Suns! man, i *know* the kings are gonna make it far again this year, and let's hope i can go watch another one of their playoff games like last year. we were *right* on the top corner, but arco is so small that it made no difference. only problem was that the slightly large people kept on bumping our backs =P haha *whoops* =)

[feeling like friday] even though it's only thursday night -- i managed to get all this week's crap out of the way, and =O it's only 12:30! super! this means sleep for di! unlike the rest of the week... thank you for everyone's support and understanding through this intensely academic four days =) i will live to see another friday...

[guest post] or rather guest excerpt -- but yeah, i've been meaning to post this for a few days now, because when i read it, i cracked up to nooo end, hahaha. so let me introduce to you guys again: my dear brother dru and his shower experience.

I just got out of the shower. I had an eventful time in there today. Sick fuck, what are you thinking? Im talking about Kiddy Shampoo. It said "no tears," so I thought I would try and keep my eyes open. True enough, I didn't tear when I was shampooing the sparse quantity of hair I presently have with my eyes open. So since I trusted the no tears shampoo, I decided to be its friend and really rub it into my eye. So I took some of the foam and rub it into my eye. All I can say is that its a scam. Those bastards, I feel betrayed! No tears, bullshit. So yeah, that was my lesson. Also here's another shower adventure story. Okay so I use Dove bar soap, and those of you who use it will know it lathers alot, and consequently, it doesn't last very long. I had a small piece left, and I started to use it. Then I lost it. I was looking for it and I found it under my armpit muahahahahahah NICE.

no he's not a freak -- he's just a very funny guy who takes pleasure in the small things in life. as we all should :D take care y'all =D

[for what seems like an eternity] is it me or are my blogs becoming less frequent? =T oh poopers. i remember the days when i really used to have "di-time" just for di :D now it's.. homework time.. project time.. chatting time.. baking time.. shower time.. gym time.. friend time.. brian time.. :D and though i love every single time i do all of these things (no pun intended, ha ha), i wish i had more *down* di time. anyways, that little whine-fest was not the point of my entry. the point of this entry is to...say HALLO :D

[merry easter] and here's hoping that everyone's easter was filled with smoked ham, turkey, roast beef, and any other kind of baked good (for those vegetarians out there) =D easter was spent at my uncle vic's pot luck, chowing down on family food and catching up with distant relatives that i haven't seen in months. have you noticed that older people don't really look much older as the years go past? it's like.. if someone reaches 60, you really can't guess how old they are after that.. they just look forever 60. unless of course, they become physically delapidated *knocks on wood* and drool from the mouth constantly =P i keep my fingers crossed for the older generation -- though we don't notice it all the time, they really do enrich our lives and bring out issues and wisdom that only an older generation person can...

but anyhoo -- so for Lent, what did i end up doing? i ended up realizing that as the months have passed, i have become less tolerant of my weaknesses and inabilities. though it may sound like a selfish syndrome in a weird way, i guess in the long run, it'll benefit my psyche and my health, which is a good thing right? i've noticed that i nit pick at myself when i do something wrong.. i get frustrated at myself for being frustrated at something -- when really, i should just embrace who i am. it's hard being self-critical, and it's also hard not being self-critical enough, but at the end of the day, the most important and fulfilling thing is simply finding that balance. so don't worry guys -- even if you don't think anyone loves you, everyone really does, and if they don't, you take 'em to see me! *hrmph* =T

[yayness] hallo byron. hallo michelle and chris. hallo howard and amy. hallo annie! hallo natalie (but only over the phone). hallo christina. i'm glad i've managed to talk to or see people this week.. =) it helps me remember who i am.. thanks :D

[bake-a-holic am i] for the record, i have baked 5 times in the last month. 4 times in the last 2 weeks. =O i made brownies. i made chocolate chip peanut butter cookies. i made mango pudding from scratch (ok it doesn't count as baking, but it's kitchen work right?!). i made easter sugar cookies. and i now have loaves of banana bread going in the oven. what is going *on*?! if you haven't managed to sample any of this baking and given me your constructive criticism, then you're clearly not bumping into me enough =P

[just wanted to] send out hugs to everyone :D i know there are simultaneous rough patches going on in every nook and cranny of the bay right now. take it easy and take care =D

[the html blackhole] apologies linus -- technical difficulties. i type your link in, and save it, and publish it. and then *poof*, it's gone. i've tried this 6 times. heeeeee-lpppp.

[welcome linus] since he kept his promise about adding me to his list of blogs, i have done the same =) welcome to the list linus! (his blog is usually part of my morning reads anyways, why shouldn't it be conviniently located too? :D)

[dream a little dream] more and more lately, i've been thinking about my dreams. actually -- i take that back. i've been trying to recollect my dreams. i can't technically think about them if i don't know what they are =P only certain snippets of it come through, or sometimes just a general sentiment. why is that? i can remember how to record journal entries for a purchase commitment gone wrong, but i can't remember a full-blown experience that i had in my head? eh? does anyone know why the memory of dreams dissipates so quickly? =T dangit, i just want to remember what that *hot* guy looked like.... kekekek *jk* :D

[my pointless saturday...] logistics. are a tough matter. the giants-dodgers game got rained out on saturday, much to the dismay of b and i who had been sitting in the car for two hours!! in the rain! and then we proceeded to spend another two hours!! sitting in traffic!! daaaaaaah. oh the misery. oh my sore buttocks. though the rest of the evening went well, and though i loooove my vroom-vroom, doing something pointless is.. frustrating. =I oh oh oh! hahaha.. also watched "Bend it like Beckham", which if no one has heard of it, is completely roll-on-the-floor hilarious. there is this one line: i can make these swollen mosquito bites look like juicy juicy mangoes!! hahahaha =) which of you has the most perverted mind of all? hiak hiak =) plot-wise, it was super, and it brought up a lot of issues that i know many of my close friends are facing. the dichotomy of tradition and modernity. tradition is tried and tested, it is proven, and it is safe. but tradition usually means going against your desires as a young person. modernity is new, refreshing, and with it! but it's viewed as risky to your parents, and often times, unsacred. pooj and richa, if you ever read this, i hear ya babies =D look on for love...

[and my purposeful sunday] which brings me to my next thought -- arranged marriages. yes or no? for a moment yesterday, while watching "Coming to America", i had a flicker of belief in arranged marriages. how you could grow to learn someone who, by the book, had been perfectly suited for you. regardless of whether or not you felt passion for that person, you could grow to love him or her, and it would work. realistically, i don't know of an arranged marriage that hasn't worked out. on the other hand, who wants to be imposed onto such a lifelong commitment as marriage? with someone you don't know? =P blah. i'm still going in circles about this. maybe it just has to do with what point of life you're in.. *get me a wife already! says andyah* kekeke =)

but sunday wasn't purposeful because of that. it was palm sunday. it was a day to gather old friends. and it was a day of good 'ol shopping on college *awe yeaaaah*. plus -- it was sunny =D

[have a good week] last week was rockin', this week will be even better. hope to see all of ya soon =D

[coming out of the weekend] i realized that you don't need to be party-hardying every single day to have a *super* weekend =) funnily enough, i had the most balanced weekend ever, sneaking in some apartment viewing, some bar-hopping, some exercise, and pleeenty of studying. and coming out of the weekend (apart from the doom-gloom feeling of having two midterms this week), i felt great knowing that i was productive in most facets of my life =D got to see friends, got to spend time with b, got to eat yummy food, and got to address my health and academic needs. the only thing missing in all honesty... was a movie :D

[don't you hate it when] you come out of a midterm knowing exactly which part of a problem you screwed up.

[don't you hate it even more when] you knew exactly how to do it -- but just forgot that you were supposed to =( AAH.

[it's me again -- this time with a test] every time i come out of my social responsibility class, i seriously just want to become a better person. is that weird? am i easily swayed? =T anyways, kellie spent most of today just story telling.. and the class spent most of its time story telling too.. just about spring breaks and stuff. kellie was at a conference for one part of the week, and left with a very interesting sentiment after she took this quiz. here's a taster:

how is your code of ethics?

1. have you ever gone over the speed limit?
2. have you ever taken office supplies?
3. have you ever bought an outfit, worn it and returned it 2 days later?
4. have you ever fibbed on your resume or job application?
5. have you ever taken overwhelming amounts of free food?
5. did you lie on this quiz?

a shocker huh -- but it goes straight to the truth of many ethical matters. small, but mighty. on that note, did you know that 10% of mba students who applied to haas this year got their acceptances rescinded because they lied on their resume or application. this is the first year that haas decided to check out the validity of mba applications, and looky what happened... *shocking*.

[go shorty] it's your burfday! we gonna parteh like it's your burfday! happy burfday markang! hehehe =)

[oh the insanity] so here is what my brother posted recently:

I am tired. Even though I had 12 hours of sleep last night I am still tired. I think the very thought of school makes me tired. I am so tired that yesterday I packed my bag for economics, then took the elevator downstairs to go to class. When I reached the first floor, I got out of the elevator and thought, "shit, forgot my bag upstairs." So I took the elevator back upstairs. When I got out the elevator, again I cussed, this time aloud. The backpack was on my back all along. Wah lao man! "How can?" you ask. Can! I did it.

I am so tired. Very, very, tired.

hahahaha. poor dude. to add to that very candid story, i have one of my own, that so happened to occur at a similar time -- this morning, as i was getting ready to head out to class, i was peeling and cutting up an apple to pack for my healthy-snack-of-the-day. so i peeled it, packed it up in a zip lock bag, but instead of putting the apples in the zip lock bag, i put the peels in the zip lock bag. i didn't even realize this until i was walking back to my room and thought "hmm, this zip lock bag is awfully light". thank goodness i didn't chuck the apples into the bin... *pheu* this is what school drives me to. that is what school drives my brother to. i technically have no excuse. i go to cal. he does, he goes to columbia =O. "How can?" you ask. Can!

oh the insanity.

[left london] i did. and so very unwillingly. london was marvellous and i loved pretending like i lived there for 5 days. had high tea. shopped on regents street. partied in leicester square. watched the lion king. visited cambridge. rekindled old friendships and fostered new ones. it was the only trip where jetlag did me good! managed to get up at 7am, go to the gym, and zip out of the hotel by 11am for a day of fun-filled action! wooo! =) to view some fun stuff, check out pics here, and don't fret about signing up, it ain't no biggie k? go to: http://www.ofoto.com/BrowsePhotos.jsp?collid=50754909205&UV=992086347835_48121229205

[coming home to madness] here is what is on di's plate: two group projects this week, one presentation this week, two homeworks this week, two homeworks next week, two midterms next week. can we say oh my

[so i apologize] that these next few weeks is going to potentially be a little humdrum since my mind will be on nothing but academics. BLAH.

[but] i'm glad to be back and have a chance to see everyone =) hallo there.

[london baby] is where i shall be for the next few days. granted i'm a little worried about flying during times like these, i still believe in not letting adversity stop you from living the life you were meant to live. it'll be a good time -- london always is =) me so excited about seeing some high school friends and being in a different country where pubs are the law. hiak hiak =D nah, i'm just looking forward to a change in culture =) heeee. can i bring anyone anything? =D see you next week.

[shooting guard or small forward?] it was brought to my attention by p that i was poorly mistaken about shawn marion -- he is a shooting guard. i apologize to all parties affected, and thank goodness shawn marion himself didn't read this, because i'd surely be kept out of phx suns game in the future =( also, p was pretty adament about pointing out that centers are actually really skilled players.. except that they're only perceived at not being so skilled due to their rather unswift and tall nature at times. he pointed out players like alonzo mourning (who i loved back in the day when he was on the Hornets! woo!) and david robinson are excellent and valuable centers. i stand corrected, and thanks for keeping the learning moving (that can't be grammatically correct, but oh well, it sounds good) =D

[disappointment and confusion] seems to follow me around when it comes to people. a friend and i had a really great conversation on friday (whom i deeply thank) about relationships with people. mainly friendships. just when you think things are in that ~pinky promise~ mode, they don't seem to be. i also noticed today that it doesn't take much to hurt and be hurt, and that people can be so oblivious to other people's feelings so easily. stunning realization: exclusion is the root of all evil. i indeed speak in large paraboles and with immense vagueness because i don't want to offend anyone i care about, but yeah.. =P usually, i'm not one to complain that much, but i just get really disappointed and dismayed when people treat me like i don't exist. hello, i live in the same house, street, city, country as you -- yes, i exist. gootness. i donno waht else to say except... poop. di is confused.

[the psychology behind picking a toilet stall] is something i realized actually exists! i'm not quite sure how it works for guys, but for girls.. it's a subconsciously strategic move if you want to find the one immediately. either you pick the one right at the end that you think *no* one goes to, or you pick the very first one. those are the strategic suckers. the not-so-strategic-suckers go into every one, inspecting the quality of the toilet seat and availability of toilet paper before settling on relief. just a subtle daily act that i noticed. =D i wonder how it works for guys.. i recently found out that there are actually some urinals that aren't encased? =O eeeee good grief.

[shopping is good for the soul] y'know after a long day of sorts.. or just.. after a day, it's so therepeutic to browse in stores. naturally, the likelihood of spending more money increases by mounds, but for some reason, it's also very comforting -- and that, my friend, is insurmountable value right there.

[personal social responsibility strategies] i haven't spoken of this class very much, but i really should because it's had a profound effect on me. or i hope it will anyways =) honestly though, it's the only class i've taken at the business school that i have really felt connected to. the subject material really strikes a chord with me, and it's made me think a lot about being a better person along with trying to make better, more socially responsible businesses! many of my high school friends would say this is my "yi-ching" -- the essence of di -- because it's all about doing good.. somehow... somewhere. lately though, i don't know if i've been spreading that charma around enough =T

so anyhoo, we got an assignment due after spring break, which our professor touts, will take longer than a night to do if we want to get a good grade. hehe (don't all professors say that?!). it's a paper/mobile/interactive game on my personal social responsibility strategies. what are my core competencies? and what have i done with them in the community? the great thing about this assignment and this class, is that it doesn't shout philanthrophy -- instead it shouts practicality -- how do you integrate a company's core competencies and business goals with responsible business strategies. i think it's a great realm, and one of these days.. just maybe i'll make a career out of it somehow. so yah -- much like with my Lentian duties -- i have to think about and search within for what i believe. our professor gave us an example of this one girl who found a lot of dichotimies with her personal SR strategies. for example, she loves wildlife and outdoors, and is environmentally friendly, but the last time she went backpacking or hiking was a year ago. similarly, she loves and values her family, but she's always tardy with their birthday presents when they're supposed to symbols to honor them on their day. so it's just all very interesting and tantalizing for me =)

just in case anyone is interested, it's a ba 196 class taught by professor kellie mcelhaney. she is a new professor from umich, and is *awesome* i tell you. =)

[tornado time] looks like a storm is coming... =P

[http://www.fanta.dk/default.htm] i don't know how many ppl would appreciate this, but it was rather amusing to me :D

[this odd] i think i have a magical underwear and sock drawer -- sometimes, when i do laundry, i have a missing side of a sock, and when that happens, i just put my sock away and pretend that all is dandy. the wonderful thing is, when i do laundry again, i all of a sudden have a pair of socks again. odd this.

[pooped] is di today. so pooped in fact, that she was telling ellen how tired her hair was. *blah* =P happy midterm-ing everyone.

[i don't mean to sound morbid] but the Father told the most compelling story about death in church today. as many of you know, today is ash wednesday. no one really knows how to describe what its significance is, but it all kind of revolves around the dramatic saying that goes something like from dust we came and to dust we shall return . basically, it means it's the start of Lent -- so Happy Lent y'all! =) heehee. anyhoo -- it was so weird because even though it's the start of Lent, and i really should know by now what it is i want to do *for* Lent.. i still haven't got it figured out. last year, i decided to donate to a bum every day -- instead of giving up something, i decided to do something proactively that would somehow make the world a better place. this year though, i'm truly stumped. i'm all for self-improvement and i know i try my bestest to be a better person on a daily basis.. but.. you need something a little more than that for Lent.

so the Father told this story after the reading. not only did i like the message behind it, but the story helped me figure out a project for Lent! he was describing how an obituary was usually written. so it goes.. [full name] died today on [insert date here] of [insert cause here] in [insert place of residence here]. he or she is survived by [who will speak of you when you've passed] and is remembered for [insert thing you're remembered for here]. now.. the thing he pointed was that clearly, none of us know right now what goes in those brackets (apart from our full name of course, but as a girl, that might even change for me! =O ] he asked questions like.. when would you want to die? (not that any day would be good).. what do you think you would die of? where do you think you will be? and basically, a lot of questions about the future that he urged us to ponder about.. i guess, to help us embrace where and what we are now. the most significant thing to me though was that he asked, who will you be survived by? family? friends? and.. what will you be remembered for. now *that* really got to me. what will i be remembered for? to be honest, i can't really think of anything wonderful that i'd be remembered for -- i'm not saying that my life is empty and i conduct myself in a meaningless manner, but.. there isn't one large, overarching thing that i can say is truly di. can you? =T this disheartened me a little. the Father then went on to say that wouldn't that make a great Lent project -- discovering or enhancing something about your life that you could potentially be remembered for. so guess what? that's my project =D it may feel a little vague and intangible, and no way am i striving to be remembered as the person who could eat the most marshmellows in one sitting, but i'm looking for something worldly. =) and in order to find that -- i'll hafta try out all sorts of things. but yah -- it's so odd because i went into church without a project.. still searching for one.. and uncannily enough, church gave me the answer =D quite funny and unexpected.

so yeah, i truly don't mean to sound morbid -- but they're just some interesting thoughts that really invigorated me =)

happy Lent everyone.

[long time no write] just to preface the rest of my entries -- i just wanted to say that the last 5 days have felt like an eternity. do busy days make time fly by quicker? or does it make time feel longer?

[thick &juicy] no silly =) not steak! but The Roots concert! =) never have i been to a concert that felt so *real* before (though standing in the first row with my arms on the speaker cables probably helped). these musicians are amazing and every song that they hip--hopped to were full of layers. the bassist was incredibly talented, and haha, the drummer.. and the guitarist and the rapper and the.. and the.. and you get the picture =) the music was just so thick you could.. feel it in the air. grab it. rarrr. keekee. it was amazing. i've said this before, and i'll say it again... nothing beats live music =) *ah*

on another note though, the Fillmore is super!! *bounce bounce bounce* airy, baroque-looking with chandeliers, and pleasantly lit, me wants to go to more concerts there =D a lovely way to top off the weekend indeed.

[what di learnt in her NBA class this week] i'm definitely liking this class more and more.. guess what we did for half of the class today? we watched the NBA all-stars game! haha =) something i missed too, and i was more than happy to watch snippets of it. we also had a really interesting debate in class about individualism. do you think the NBA is all about individuals? when do you think the NBA became so individualistic? i mean, when you think NBA nowadays, more people think players than they do teams. the rael debate today though seemed to circle around MJ and whether or not his success can be attributed to him alone or him and the support of players he's had over the years. waht do you think oh-male-ones? teehee.

so anyways, as a recap:
- did you know that cheryl miller is reggie miller's sister? (thanks again steve!) and apparently, she's a better baller than him! oh, she's a reporter for TNT Sports btw =D
- i learned what the five positions in the team are -- though i've never really heard of a small forward before? do you really need one?
- that a center player doesn't really hafta know how to do jack. hahaha =) (i still think you're cool yao ming)
- that shawn marion is a point guard (haha, thanks again steve)
- what "post-out" means. uh....
- what a board is. and in the bball sense of course. =D

yeah yeah, i'm a lame wannabe basketball fan =( but i still thoroughly enjoy watching basketball games live even if i don't know what all the technicalities behind the game are =) at least i know the rules? hiak hiak =P

[yay to long hair] okay so i have been discovering the last few days that the small pleasure of being female and having long hair is brushing it out at the end of a long, hard day right before you go to sleep. now i'm not trying to be gender-biased by any means, but come on, how many guys will decently long hair do you know (and in berkeley?! uh... ) and of those guys who have decently long hair, how many of them actually *brush* their hair? anyhoo, my point -- *ah*

[small thanks] to those of you who said hallo in my new message board. no thanks to any of you though, i've decided to employ buzz lightyear in my quest for never-ending clean teeth =D

[tee-gee-i-eff] i'd just like to say that friday......... has never felt so good.

[talk to me] so thanks to george (for discovering this nifty thing).. to ellen (for bringing the link to my attention, hehe), and to bri (for helping me with my html-retardedness), di's blog presents: tagboard! you're it! heeee. (yeah yeah, lame di)

but the real question now is: which toothbrush should replace Blue?! =D

markang: you wanted to comment? keke

[senses] so tell me my oh-so-very-limited-viewership. which of your senses are the most powerful? i think it probably varies from person to person, but i realized yesterday that my sense of ~smell~ overpowers all others. like, something could look bad, it could feel odd, but if it smells good... mm mmm mmmmmm. come to mah-mee. odd that.

[manic mode] you'd think being a senior and all, that i would have gotten the hang of this studying-for-midterms thing =) um. no. i think it is perhaps a skill that detiorates with time, rather than ameliorates. it's sooo easy to get better at.. taking lazy mornings and strolling to the rsf.. reading blogs for an hour...chatting with your loved ones till it's lunch-time *oops!*. but studying -- well, it's a tough one to crack, that studying. (can you not tell i'm going mad?)

[me] so how have i been? the better question to ask is, how have we been? -- but since no one can respond, we'll work on half of that response. me? i have been dandy. i am truly embracing my days and wishing i could share it with more people.. but i think everyone thinks i'm an old fogie now, so it's rather uncool to hang with an old fogie =( ish okie, i understand. luckily, i have other old fogies to hang out with =D hehe... i was thinking the other day.. have you noticed how the evolution of friendships become less and less natural as you get older? like when you're a kid -- "can i have the swing after you?" -- and bam! you become life-long friends, teaching each other tricks and swinging together like the gleeful youth of the world should. when you're in high school -- "*sob* sob* that bastard forgot to call me again! -- and bam! instant bondage, and you'll have something to connect over for years to come. in your freshman year of college -- "hey dude.. know where i can get some weeeed?" -- and bam! you and your new bud are 4-yr long druggies together =D in your senior year of college -- "so how's recruiting going?" -- and bam! the person you asked instantly hates you b/c they're still recruiting and you happen to.. just be studying. hahaha ok i know that's a tad overly cynical, but i guess what i'm trying to say is that.. i miss you guys. all my dear friends who are either across the pacific and atlantic oceans, down the street on channing, a way's way in emeryville, or have simply graduated from di. let me know how you've been doing?

[repentance] what should i give up/do extra for Lent this year?

[a matter of clean teeth] okay so one last thing -- help me out here. i think that my oral-b Blue's Clues toothbrush is just about worn out, and by the end of the week, i'd like to retire dear 'ol Blue. i have two incredibly attractive, yet somewhat puzzling choices.
(1) a Stages 2 Oral-B Winnie-the-Pooh-is-scratching-his-chin toothbrush. Meant for ages 2-4, designed for child learning to brush. May have full set of baby teeth. (oh, this is sooo me, isn't it?)
(2) a Stages 3 Oral-B Buzz Lightyear-is-flying-into-the-atmosphere toothbrush. Meant for ages 5-7, designed for child who is brushing with less help (hardie har har, no wise-cracks now). Some baby teeth may have fallen out and some permanent teeth may be in.

so now you're probably wondering how old i am. hey my dentist told me i have a small jaw and need to use smaller toothbrushes to clean those hard-to-reach back molars ok? so help me pick one already =D my clean teeth depend on it.

[di is going to be a baller] ha! yeah right -- if only i could dribble... and pass... and shoot =P no for real, i'm taking this decal class called The Organizational Dynamics of the NBA , which is supposed to address how the NBA functions as an organization from an OB point of view and how the teams work and all that, but really, it's a whole bunch of guys gossiping about the latest news and game scores. yay! fun for di! so here's what i learned this week (and i'm so proud of myself):

- gary payton is from oakland! wow! (thanks steve for filling me in)
- what a salary cap is (and how obscene it is that the nba actually needs one?)
- current trends in the nba: high schoolers going straight into the nba, international players and what they do for the game, large player contracts
- that tim duncan, grant hill, vince carter, and chris webber all have a college diploma =O
- the lakers have the most valuable team in monetary terms (and before you bash me, i said *monetary*, not in play, performance, or anything else)
- that the playoffs are now a 7-game affair (wooo, more games to watch!)

let's see.. what do i hope to get out of the class? to get me a favorite team already! before you know it, i'll be spitting out nba jargon like no other ;o) *teehee* then mebbe i can contribute to some dinner conversations :(

[professor cerf says] "it's more important that you talk loud than if you know anything." that's right -- i'm learning intermediate accounting. to be fair to professor cerf though, he has been teaching this class and others like it for a good 50 years of his life now, so i don't blame him for trying to be realistic about his students. hehe. he's a funny and silly old man who takes 15 minutes to walk down two flights of stairs. everyone say hi to professor cerf when he zooms by.

[reflections on eating cereal] when you're really hungry right, and you don't want to splurge on chocolate or a box of cookies, what do you do? why you dip your hand into a box of healthy Post cereal! *awe yeah* thing is, by the end of my munchfest, i end up having cereal all over my lap.. and my dear laptop =T does anyone know a way of gobbling cereal neatly without putting it into a bowl of milk? =D

[on a final note] di time is important. di needs more di time. as much as i cherish all the time i spend with my near & dear ones, i realized today that i just need some di time. be it di-bathroom-time, di-baking-time, di-sleeping-time. di time is important.

[love is in the air] despite my cyncism towards valentine's day being a money-making holiday and despite the fact 7th Heaven this week almost made me barf (i needed something to watch over dinner, ok?), i think it is *incredibly* endearing how everyone is running around berkeley buying flowers, overflowing the card store, and making reservations at the last minute. it's not like we start instantly caring for people more on that one day, but in the end, it's kind of nice to have a day devoted to completely loving and appreciating the ones near and dear to you =) i strongly believe it's not a "lover's holiday" but just a loving holiday -- so to everyone who ever reads this.. just know that you are loved, even though i may not say it all the time =)

[poor pinky toes] you never realize how important your little baby pinky toes are... until you bruise them. then you realize how much you actually need them for balance, for climbing hills, and for general comfort. imagine only walking on four toes.

so lame di bruised her pinky toes last night. yikes they hurt, and it's really impossible to walk without discomfort. let's hope this doesn't keep up too long.

[angry weather] i think the weather is mad at berkeley. boy is the wind strong.. i think i nearly got pushed down bancroft this morning. eeps. not to mention, it makes my nose run, kills any sensation on my face, and works my abs. good luck to all you east coast folk. us west coasters aren't used to this kind of thar-she-blows.

[slow down] when was the last time you consciously lingered in the shower one extra minute and said "*ah*, this feels goooood"?

[second new start] chinese new year was this weekend. starting from february 1, it's supposed to be fifteen whole days of celebration (ie. stuffing your mouths and nostrils with food, food, foood!), and then on the last day, we're supposed to have another very special meal. does everyone but me see the correlation between food and prosperity? =P anyhoo-- one of those seasons where i wish i was with my family back home, but i'm not. my parents threw an open house at our home yesterday, and had a lot of people over. it's the one time of the year where you see alllll those people that you haven't seen in a year. hahaha =) funny that. here's wishing everyone a joyous, prosperous, and healthy year of the ram.. =D

[when a song and life become synonymous on the radio] you know some real bad tricks and you need some discipline, but lately, you've been trying real hard and giving me your best. And, you give me the most gorgeous sleep i've ever had, and when it's really bad, it's not that bad. you're really lovely underneath it all. you want to love me underneath it all. you want to love me, underneath it all. i'm really lucky, underneath it all... you've used up all your coupons, and all you've got left is me. somehow i'm full of forgiveness, i guess it's meant to be.

ok-- what does this song really mean?

[ain't no mountain high enough] i suddenly miss my brother. i know he doesn't read my ramblings, so it's okay for me to write this, hehe. he has an uncanny way of making me laugh and keeping my attention. he also has the most entertaining sneezing fits of anyone i know. he's the only one that asks me how a shirt looks on him and actually cares about my opinion. he's one of the only guys i know who'll hold the door open for me. he's also the only one who can piss me off like no other. hahaha =D but ah, that's what makes us siblings. anyhoo-- i wish he was here =P

[last craving] i need a kit-kat =T.

[just what i needed to end my icky day] http://www.people.cornell.edu/pages/dah18/america/ (cut and paste this if you can't click it) *duh* but seriously, it's great for laughs. MarkANG, if you're reading this, i think you shall appreciate it =D

[amalgamation] gootness, it's been awhile since i've written. i'm sitting here now going through my regular morning routine.. sipping my coffee.. dipping my rich-tea biscuits in my coffee.. waiting to eat my hawaiian papaya.. and reading about all the news online. so i just read this story about the heir of the Onassis family who is 18 years old and just "earned" 2.9 billion dollars, or something of the sort. she earns another 2 billion when she turns 21, but gosh, will she be able to enjoy any of that? all her relatives had tragic and very young deaths, her father is involved in a scandal, her aunt was clinically depressed and had four failed marriages, and this poor 18 year old girl naturally lives a very sheltered and abnormal life. the moral of the story -- money isn't everything the people who don't have it wish they did, and the people who do have it couldn't care less. is that not true of everything? instead, we should probably embrace what we do have.. health, friends, family, people who care about you, and most importantly, your sanity.

the past two weeks have definitely been a roller coaster of emotions for me. the first day of my last semester.. my car kapooting on me... thinking about my relationships with people.. pondering my current and future responsibilities. BLAH. as 311 sings... all mixed up, donno waht to do..

[goodbye humidity] maaaaaan. it's time to go back to berkeley-- and though i am excited, a small part of me also wishes i could lounge in my pyjamas all day in my singapore home. it's been super - home always is. thank you to my dad, mom, and brother for spending such great times with me. thank you to all my friends who made the pilgrimage back to singapore to create even more super memories. and thank you to my bed for always keeping me warm and safe at night =)

[speaking of which] last night, i watched a video of my brother's graduation ceremony with him. it definitely reminded me of the evening my class of '99 crossed that wonderful threshold (and how young we once all looked =O ), but most of all, it made me realize how different i am now. not my personality or character per se, but just how i see the world. sadly, a lot of idealism has dissipated and my high school worked sooo hard to instill values of tolerance, peace, and understanding in all of us. yes, i've always held such values, but how far am i going to actually practicing it or even spreading it? all of us used to be so active in promoting ourselves in environmental activities, community service contributions, and the like.. but what happened? hmm. perhaps this should be one of the 2003 resolutions... hrm.

[phlegm] go away already. =T

[i wish] watching the australian open on tv is both exciting and semi-depressing at the same time. man, why can't i play like that? it's like no matter how hard i try, i don't think i could ever be good at one thing. i was not born to be magnificent at one thing-- otherwise.. i'd be on tv playing at the australian open =P so yah.. i wish i had one thing i could boast about.. one thing that i love to do, and it shows =) because thennnn, i can share that one thing with everybody else! hmm. so that brings me to the question of.. if i could be really good at one thing.. what would it be? hrm. hrm. hrm. tough question that. for now, i'll just stick to eating i s'pose =D i'm *really* good at that-- and i can share that with lots of people! weeee! oh sigh.

[is the world ending?] so i went out and about today with one of my more thoughtful friends. he and i have a grand history together, friendship-wise, and despite all the years that have passed, he still stands to be one of the more thought-provoking ones. anyhoo. so today he announced that the world was going to end in 20 years-- more or less. he posited that in 20 years, countries would develop so much tension, hatred, and resentment against each other, that they would pretty much get rid of one another. he actually said it might be a good thing because he thought the world needed a wake-up call in this kind of way. he had a point-- does anyone really remember all the lessons from world war I or II for that matter? peace was supposed to have started and continued-- but here we are, on the brink of another war... =T

on a more micro-scale, we ended up talking about what *we* - us little puny people -- could do about it. though i'm not usually this pessimistic or cynical, i did exclaim that i didn't think we had any power. unfortunately, all the power lies in world leaders such as bush. wee. i mean, someone could commit suicide in the name of some cause, and he or she will appear in the paper and have his or her respects paid to.. and then what? no one remembers what that person stood for in the end. sad huh. well, to end on a semi-positive note, my friend & i came to the concensus that, though we have little power, we can still spread goodness in our own way, and that's what really matters. messages like love thy neighbour and think we, not me stood out to the both of us. our society is becoming so me-oriented as of late, and that really bothers me. so the moral of the story? share the love and spread the love. we need more good people around.

[trip to taiwan] couples with matching clothes, fruit for breakfast in the morning, andrea bocelli singing through the walls, cute babies in puffy jackets, delicious food that is *so* bad for you, lights lights lights!, bad dancing (haha), tea and the lovely tea sets you drink with, cute mr. & mrs. wey, swervy driving, b , expensive drinks, 7-11s, qoo-qoooo, happy-happy-joy-joy =)

[sticky] okay, i can't quite capture the essence of a marshmellow fight in the same manner as my brother. so please mosey on over to www.xanga.com/druroxxx to read his epic story of our marshmellow fight, and what happened to the last marshmellow. yes. we're weird.

[question] why is that when you whisper into the phone, the person on the other line reacts by whispering too even if they don't need to? funny funny schtuff. =D

[a sign?] on the way home from a new year's potluck last night, i saw an ad on the bus that said "Invest in your Health. Drink Alcohol". i swear that's what it said. when i took a second look it said, "Invest in your Health. Drink Anchol." *doh* =O

[changes] oh my. it's 2003!! *gasp!*