[natural disasters] deepest thanks to those of you who sent your concerns about me being out in indonesia and the news about the tsunamis. the turbulence moved eastwards, and we are currently situated west of all that action on the island of Java. the pictures on tv and in the paper though, have been horrible. millions of people are missing, and thousands of people have drowned. i can't imagine what the people of sri lanka, india, and thailand are experiencing right now.. :( if any of you have families who are in those regions - i hope all news has been good news.

my dear friend from middle school is meant to have her wedding on the island of Goa off the coast of india this week. i hope she's doing okay...

in any case, if any of you can send relief in any shape or form to these asian countries, i'd highly encourage it. my dad has been trying to send funds today, and i'm sure the UN could sure use all our help. hahaha.

happy holidays again - ta for now :D

['tis the season to be jolly] merry christmas everyone :D

*i've beat all of you to christmas day b/c it's already the 25th here!!!*

hope all your christmas wishes came true :)

[excitement delightment] i'm going home to singapore tomorrow and i can't waiiiittttttt!

just had to express that.

happy holidays everyone!

hopefully vacation = more blog writing. woohoo. not like anyone reads this anymore.. but woohoo!

[is this cool or whatttttttt]

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=535&ncid=535&e=10&u=/ap/20041210/ap_on_re_eu/skating_in_the_sky

thanks b ;o)

[grrrruh] the talk of my email box, every coffee shop, and espn is the #4 Cal football team. there has been 20+ emails exchanged in my yahoo! box, cnn elevator tvs are displaying the news, and every male was explaning how bowls are selected in the restaurant i just ate at. i could hear "usc", "texas", "cal", "cal", "cal" being iterated all over! either males just really like the sound of their own voice, or women are trying to get something from them...... kekekeke =P

[christmas bug bit you yet? i love being in the city again. walking down Market with the crisp and (super) cold air in your face, bums be a-singin' christmas songs as you pass them by, and shoppers everywhere carrying huge bags filled with yet-to-folded boxes and holiday goodies!


hope everyone who ever reads this is doing well, and that holiday cheer is touching you wherever you may be :)

[oo oo oooo] has anyone seen that Pedigree ad with Yo Yo Ma playing Bach in the background? it shows all the dogs faces, and then when they put out Pedigree, they show the doggies sniffing and their tails wagging, and ooooh, did i say they showed the doggies sniffing?!

SO KEEEWWWTTTTTTT!

okay, enough cutey wootey diarrhea.

[a week in the life of di] just a couple of highlights..

monday: fresno - raining, cold, lonely, and not very productive. drove to modesto the same night - covering a good 300 miles in one day.

tuesday: livingston - productive, helpful, didn't have to work at night, and started the running regime!

wednesday: kelso, wa - had to wake up at 5am to catch the foster farms jet, sat in a 9 seater lear with the old boys club of ff, fell asleep in front of the ceo of foster farms. later, played texas holdem with the ceo of foster farms, and won a couple of good hands too! ppl in kelso are nice, and boy is it cold, and very green!

thursday: back in sf - *ah* piled on with work, but 'tis nice to see the water again.

friday: san jose - yet another trek for my well exercised car.

*what a week*

[pop and splat] i don't get it. why do bugs insist on flying in my drive path? aren't they supposed to be chilling on some plant or on some fertile earth or something? the latter strip down the 99-South is just *filled* with them! even with my music on, i'll hear a *SPLAT* or *POP* from time to time, and even though i so diligently wiped my windshield about halfway there, my windshield was still filled with joyous bug guts. eeeeeeeeew do bugs never learn??

[help me name a food club] so a couple of us have started this food club. but we don't want to call it that. it's lame. what else can we call it?? our activities basically consist of: cook food for friends, eat food with friends, plan future meetings to cook and eat with friends! we're trying to foster learning foods of different origins and recipe-sharing :) heehee. it's really very cool - but now we need an equally cool name.

[still in the central valley] so if you didn't guess from my 1st post - i'm still in the middle of nowhere. 14 days and counting....

[i thought it couldn't get any worse] but it just did. if this hotel room didn't come with free internet, it would be quite worthless. the room service was the worst i've had in years, there is no gym *gasp!*, and my fruit has dirt on it! xP

it got severely worse. why i'm in fresno.

but i hafta say that the snow capped mountains of the sierra nevada are a sight for sore eyes after a 3+ hr drive...

[i'm back] not to sound totally melodramatic, but i survived the barrage of turkey legs sprawled all over the campus floors, the stench of turkey insides, and the boredom that comes with living in modesto for 2 and a half weeks. *WOOHOO!*

i guess i take living in a city for granted a lot - i mean, i KNOW that the lives we live here are very different and somewhat extravagant compared to people who live 2 hours south. but i hafta say, that living in a city at least makes some of us aware and exposed. at least i know that cows and chickens live out there and what the average sized ranch is. but apparently, those who live 2 hours south don't even realize that there are big buildings in the city. not surprising, they get claustrophobic in their company :D interesting eh.

we shall see how much better fresno is next month...

[second steve's notion] only a year out of school, and boy oh boy do i feel WAY old :( as always, my perfect amount of sleep is 7 hours. :D

[more sports] anyone playing fantasy basketball this season?

[i'm in modesto right now] i'm going to smell like chicken feed when i get home and my car has about 2,967 bugs on it.

[nicely tanned and always hungry] will be the result of ANY cruise you go on. *sigh* i think all 8 of us are thoroughly satisfied with our cruise experience - it was *fantabulous*! i actually kind of miss the rocking motion and seeing the same 7 other people every day... i do, i really do. :D

an off-the-top-of-my-head list of what we did

- lots of good eating (1 appetizer, 1 entree, and 1 dessert became 4 appetizers, 2 entrees, and 3 desserts..)
- lots of drinking (mango tangos, pina coladas, chambord 7 *my new drink, thanks to chris!*, jaegar)
- BONUS WHEEL (my beloved slot machine - as far as i'll go at the casino)
- swimming in the pool on ship (filled with salt water)
- played bingo (i was 1 number away from winning a couple hundred bucks - gosh darnit!)
- played arcade games (time crisis 3 baby)
- ate at johnny rocket's (weird, i know, but free for all at $3.95 a head)
- clubbing
- salsa classes
- played lots of big two, egyptian rat screw, and speed
- jet skiing at labadee (oh the exhiliration, and ouch to my bouncing butt)
- hiking up dunns river falls in jamaica (one of the best experiences i've ever had)
- shopping and eating jerk chicken :D *yummmmy*
- snorkelling in cozumel, and riding scooters and little buggies around the island (what a great day that was!)
- eating true mexican food
- getting bitten by fish (in the most inappropriate places!)
- meeting very interesting people along the way (mystery celebrity's agent, dennis the bartender, and becky the cruise director, haha)

oh helas. i miss it.

[on another note] I WON!!! :D I am my fantasy baseball league's CHAMPION! *and not afraid to share it!* of course, i owe it to my many fabulous advisors - b, quinn, and a couple of my EY managers. haha :)

but..

[sadness is] the giants losing that one game 7-3. aiyoh giants, and darn hermie :( *pout* next year...

[Navigator of the Seas] is where i'll be for the next 8 days. yup, gone to get to know Jeanne and the remnants of Ivan. hopefully, i won't get to know them *too* well - eeps. just in case - you can check where i'll be on http://www.royalcaribbean.com.

[burfday shoutouts] to andy chang - where in the world are you? i tried calling your phone, but for the past year, i've had no luck?! weird. happy burfday 8 mile paul - don forget to eat some noodles on you birthday for the long life k? happy burfday richard - don give out too many dollar bills now ;)

[bop bop in the office] as much as my new mini ipod makes me concentrate at work - drowning out the noise of others' conversations, the funny old man who burps and farts without realizing it, and regular cube bustle - it makes me want to sing! how can you not bop to BEP's "let's get retarded", and how can you not sing to On The Rocks' rendition of Coldplay's "Yellow"? (thanks steve, i listen to it ALL the time -- isn't peanut vendor just the funniest song?)i had to seriously stop myself from singing singing singing :) it's kind of a nice feeling -- but boy could it potentially be embarrasing. xP

- yesterday's bulb relit -
just b/c it was interesting to me and i got inspired by "golf for dummies"
A brief history of golf
There is general agreement that the Scots were the earliest of golf addicts but who actually invented the game is open to debate. We know that golf has existed for at least 500 years because James II of Scotland, in an Act of Parliament dated March 6, 1457, had golf and football banned because these sports were interfering too much with archery practice sorely needed by the loyal defenders of the Scottish realm! It has been suggested that bored shepherds tending flocks of sheep near St. Andrews became adept at hitting rounded stones into rabbits holes with their wooden crooks. And so a legend that persists to this day was born!

The very earliest club makers were thought to be the skilled craftsmen who produced bows and arrows and other implements of war! The first authentic record of a club maker was in 1603 when William Mayne was appointed to the court of James I of England to make golf clubs for the king and his coherts! Two Scottish club makers are recognized from the late 1600s, Andrew Dickson of Leith and Henry Mill of St. Andrews. These clubs featured carved wooden heads of beech, holly, dogwood, pear or apple and spliced into shafts of ash or hazel to give the club more whip. Improvements were made by filling the back of the head with lead and by putting inserts of leather, horn or bone into the club face.

In 1618, James I of England commissioned James Melvill and an associate to make feathery balls for the court. It was an exclusive grant for 21 years with the balls stamped by Melvill and any other ball found in the Kingdom not bearing his trademark were confiscated! You may well be surprised at the distances achieved by these feathery balls. In dry weather, a well struck feather ball could travel 180 yards (165 m) but when wet only about 150 yards (135 m). The gutty as it was known was not an instant success as the smooth ball tended to duck in flight. Players soon found that its performance improved at the end of a round when the ball received some nicks and scratches. Therefore, newly molded balls were scored all over with a saddler's hammer with such good playing results that the demise of the feathery was certain.

Modern balls have a more durable cover of balata or surlyn and various solid core balls with new synthetics have become popular. As well, we have seen the art of club making go from the original wooden clubs, to forged irons, then steel shafts and finally all manner of metal heads with many types of synthetic shafts. Technology has done wonders for the average golfer but practice, dedication and raw talent still remain a factor as witnessed by Greg Norman's amazing 63 at Augusta on April 11, 1996, during the first round of the US Masters Championship.
-the end-

[secret korean hide out] thanks to terry, b and i now frequent this korean market on junipero serra on our own. to me, it's a little hide out - it's right off the freeway, behind this fence of bushes, and it's standing there alone amongst the mcd's, denny's, and krispy kremes of the united states! the sign actually says "ASIAN FOOD" - do i sense some korean pride? in any case, they have a morning glory store!! yay to the days when cc and i used to rampage one of these and emerge victorious with multiple pencils and colored pens! haha :)

are you guys ready for it?
- today's new light bulb -
(for the love of golf - how to prevent injuries)

1. Take it easy

Most golfing injuries result from overuse. You might practice your swing for hours, with the hope that it'll help your game. However, if your musculoskeletal system isn't conditioned for the extra strain, over-practicing a swing will do more harm than good. As with all sports and exercise programs, start out slowly and work up to your desired level of activity. "Get in shape to play your sport. Don't play your sport to get in shape," Dr. Laskowski says.

2. Warm up

Several practice swings are definitely beneficial, especially if you go through the motion slowly before taking full swings. But before grabbing your clubs, walk — or jog — a few minutes and be sure to go through your stretching program. Golfers who rush from the parking lot to the first tee often report that they don't really get into the groove until the fourth hole or so. Avoid this by giving yourself plenty of time to check in and get warmed up. Who knows? You might just shave a few strokes off your score.

3. Be flexibile

A daily stretching routine is recommended regardless of your athletic pursuits. Improving your flexibility helps your muscles accommodate all sorts of demands. In golf, stretching is important to make sure that your body can move through the range of motion required in the golf swing without causing excessive stress on the muscles or joints.

4. Strengthen your muscles

You don't need bulging muscles to hit a long drive, but strength training is important for overall fitness and avoiding injuries. For golfers, Dr. Laskowski emphasizes strength training and flexibility in the lower back, abdomen and hip areas, as well as your shoulders. Aim for balanced strength. Work the front and back of your shoulders equally, as well as the muscles around the shoulder blade and the front, middle and especially back deltoid muscles —the top muscles of your upper arm. Balanced strength in the front and back shoulder muscles provides protective stability to the rotator cuff, which is prone to golfing injuries — especially as you age. Similarly, strive for a good balance of strength in your lower back muscles and abdominal muscles. It's beneficial for golfers to improve the strength of their forearm muscles, as well.

If any of this gets to be an utter bore, please provide feedback :)

[drowned in work, dry of knowledge] my one year anniversary at my first job has passed - and no longer can i resign myself to "don look at me, i dunno nothin'!" the cool thing is though, that i don't think i have to resign to that anymore. as i interact with our new set of first years, i'm reminded of how much i've learnt in the past year. not just accounting knowledge, methodology, and what-not, but also about how to balance my work life, deal with people, and extract what you need to get the job done. haha, indeed, i may sound like a ruthless corporate type, but to me, my attitude at work is to get the job done with as little harm to others as possible. so far so good.. but who knows what that'll be like as the working years progress..

given all this -- b and i bumped into his old boss yesterday, who is the well of all possible knowledge. a harvard grad, i think his brain is always thirty for more quirky and unusual things to know about and tell other people about. perhaps that's the difference between students of elite schools and the regular lot - the regular lot is happy knowing what they know, whereas the other group is always searching for more. me? i've realized the hole i've dug myself into at work and in the whirlwind of life i'm living, and from now on, i'd like to dedicate this space to knowledge. perhaps you all will find it more interesting than reading about me anyways ;) i'll post one knowledge-worthy every time i post (ideally, every day? ha!) it'll simply be called...

- today's new light bulb -
(since i went to the geisha exhibit this past weekend)
"Gei" means arts or performance in Japanese. "Sha" means people. Geisha are professional hostesses who entertain guests through various performing arts. Geisha girls and women are not ordinary hostesses and are not prostitutes. Geisha girls and women are trained in a number of traditional skills; Japanese ancient dance, singing, playing instruments (a three stringed instrument called shamisen is an essential instrument), flower arrangement, wearing kimono, tea ceremony, calligraphy, conversation, alcohol serving manners, and more. Geisha girls and women are talented Japanese women who patiently go through extensive training. Even after becoming a geisha girl, they keep improving their skills by taking many lessons. When you do request, make it clear that what types of performance you would like. There are two basic types of geisha. One is called "tachikata" which mainly does traditional Japanese dance (mai). The other is called "jikata" which mainly sings, or plays an instrument. Tachikata are usually maiko girls and jikata are older geisha women. The cost for a party with geisha varies depending on the number of geisha, food, drink, hours, and so on.

[another day, another year] thus begins the days of punching in 23 on the precor machine. thus begins the days of no more "21 in 2001" on my driver's license (it's expiring soon). thus begins another year. sigh.

not much to reflect on except that it's gone by far too fast. i'm catching up with y'all! thanks to the people near and far who remembered and helped me celebrate through techno music cards and capitalized subject lines. :D *muah*

ta for now.

[watching olympics is fun!] dang! -- amanda beard and her breaststroke! is it the amount of elevation she gets with her shoulders? if it's her legs, then why doesn't she catch up with her freestyle? ehhhhh?

gymnastics has been fun too! flipping on the balance beam.. those crazy flips. and those dudes' arms on the rings! =O i think it's pretty cool. =)

one thing i've definitely found irritating though is how the US never shows anything LIVE!!!! xP back in singapore, they'd just be showing olympic events whenever it happened.. but instead here, they show it in one go at 8pm - 12am. i was home during the day this week... no olympics on tv!! now the angst that this causes me is simply that.. when i'm opening up say... the Yahoo homepage.. a headline pops out that tells me who won. that's like knowing the end of the movie before you see it. it's still fun watching, but i'm not quite clutching my pooh bear like i usually do =T

hope the olympics have been entertaining for you toO! amazing these athletes.

ps. this one's for joshie - are you enjoying svetlana on the uneven bars? ;)

[tissue with vitamin E and aloe lotion is my friend] no seriously. these babies feel good when you've just about scraped the last layer of your nose's skin off from overblowing. i have no idea how you boys can take bog roll or even worse! paper napkins from a hot dog stand, to blow your nose. ouchie.

on another note, it's amazing the clarity that comes with a stuffed nose. it makes you value the simple things. ie. the things you can actually do when you barely have enough energy to squeeze a fist! for example:

1. love your loved ones - suddenly, the time when your loved one brings you a warm glass of water is even more special than last week when your loved one brought you a cold beer.

2. become intimate with your reading material - (get your minds out of the dirt) what i mean is that b/c your eyes are too blurry to watch television and your coordination is too distorted to play video games, you're forced to spend quality time with your books :) i'm trying to move onto the sequel of bridget jones' diary..

3. food tastes so good - that is, during those brief moments when both of your nostrils are clear, and your sense of taste returns for a second or two.

these are all the things that, on a normal healthy day, i know i would pass over. i usually eat way too fast to taste my food, i usually read blogs and news articles instead of books these days, and i know i don't stop and think enough about how lucky i am to have loved ones around me.

maybe it's the stuffed nose (and brain) that is making my whole world about ten times slower right now, or maybe it's the lack of sleep. either way, the moral of this story is: stay healthy and don't get a cold from di. b/c i sure wish i could walk along the pier right now on this sun shiney day instead of planting my butt on the couch. (and thank goodness for wireless internet)

[funny thing] the CFO of the client at i'm working at wears Old Navy khakis. i'm not passing judgement except to say that, it's nice to know that CFOs are normal people too :)

have a great weekend!

[winnie-the-pooh and friends] i went to disneyland last weekend, and boy was it fun. my thoughts on going to disneyland as a 22-yr old? well, it certainly doesn't matter what age you are - you can enjoy SOME aspect of disneyland. be it the greasy fish & chips, the incredibly crisp churros, the laughter and buy-in of other kids (speaking of which, the kids sitting in the front of Star Tours SOOOO believed they were flying, it was so cute!), or the splash of Splash Mountain. there is something for everyone :)

my favourites? -- in no particular order -- Splash Mountain, the Matterhorn, the Indiana Jones ride, and riding the Disney Monorail :) Oh, and I still love Fantasmic. I remember seeing it when I was 10 years old with my parents, and hahaha, it hasn't changed much in 12 years, but it sure is still entertaining.

my more grown-up side debated how much money it took to run Disneyland. the group was discussing how much they thought it cost Disneyland to operate for one day. from 8am - midnight on weekends, mind you. b ballparks 5-10 million? i say.. 3 million? we'll see if we can find out. i also thought it was incredible how someone designs these rides. which way should we twist our customers now? the indiana jones experience was particularly impressive.. all the way from when you're waiting in line (btw, fast pass is da BOMB) to when you exit.. the skulls on spears, the texture of the floor. i thought it was just all quite incredible.

the 15 hr round trip ride was a little turbulent, but when in good company, you never feel it :) thanks guys.

on to rancho santa fe and vancouver... di's adventures continue. :)

[oh yeah] another berkeley friend is proposing next week - how honored i am to find out before the bride! =O

[i'm getting my teeth cleaned tomorrow] why is it that some people are scared of the dentist? you don't really do much there apart from lie down with your mouth open. don't get me wrong - i've had my own share of traumatic teeth pulling (pre-braces installation, got 4 molars out) and embarrassing balls of spit incidents, but i still think my dentist is my friend. :) why i think about this at 4:18pm on a thursday afternoon - beats the heck out of me.

[the season to be... married?] my coworker sophie is getting married - and she must have the most practical wedding ever. her wedding gown is a white top and skirt.. she wanted to be able to wear it again AFTER her wedding. her after-wedding dress is a pink flapper dress, reminiscent of the 20s, and her hair, why she's just typing it up. how practical is that!! i keep telling her.. lady, you're only doing this once!

on the other side of the spectrum, brian's coworker is getting married at el rancho something rather, between san diego and LA. she is having the ceremony and reception under a tent, and why, the day after, there is even another brunch reception. i haven't inquired as to how many dresses she has yet, but i imagine she'll look utterly enchanting nonetheless.

'tis really the season to be... married.

 
 

[the simplest things are still the best... and the funniest]

duMdEEdUm di: so vaht is new wif ya?
p h a d d i u s: boogers?
duMdEEdUm di: oh really?
duMdEEdUm di: don't you have new ones every day?
p h a d d i u s: no, i keep the same ones
p h a d d i u s: they become very big in my nose
p h a d d i u s: then i shoot them out at ppl
duMdEEdUm di: oh dear.
duMdEEdUm di: i was going to say - can you breathe??
p h a d d i u s: sometimes when i breathe through my nose, a booger comes flying out accidentally
p h a d d i u s: and i get sad cuz i was saving that for my boss
duMdEEdUm di: hahaha
duMdEEdUm di: i cannot even BEGIN to tackle that
duMdEEdUm di: except that, i'm sure your boss appreciates it
duMdEEdUm di: do you have a collection?
p h a d d i u s: no, but i remember when i was little i used to pick them and put them on the wall
duMdEEdUm di: oh wow.
duMdEEdUm di: were they different colors?
p h a d d i u s: now they were all green, some brown, though
p h a d d i u s: one time, my brother was joking around, and he flicked a booger at me from 10 yards away, and it landed on my ear
p h a d d i u s: it was a gross wet one too

[at 325 degrees F] i started baking sugar cookies last night. it was hard! i'm very accustomed to making drop cookies - the kind where you mix all the ingredients together, and spoon them onto your cookie sheet. but cutting out shapes from batter, as fun as it was, and as creative as i felt, is NOT something a little kid could do. =T once you remove the batter from the cookie cutter, the shape starts to meld away unless placed on the pan with the greatest of precision. of course, this makes putting on sprinklies an extra complexity. helas, perhaps my dough was too soft and my hands too warm. perhaps my hands are too unskilled to create the marvel that is the sugar cookie. helas, i will try again tonight.

[mvp baseball and tejada] like i told quinn today, i can't even hit as many homers as tejada (27, mind you) did on mvp baseball.

[is anyone out there?] hallo?

[my cute mother rationalizes] my parents' visit was marked by many classic moments - the "phat" sightings, the heels that kept sabotaging my mom, dru's 10 hair products, and my dad's daily coffee breaks on union square.

but the conversation that i remember most must be the one the family had on my mom's newly purchased green sandals. thanks for all the wiseness mom.

green shoes are like leaves. leaves are on every flower, and they match with every colored outfit!

so clever. so clever.

they've gone home, and i will miss them. 'twas a fun week.

[my weekly commute to anaheim] the strange thing about travelling for work is that it makes coming home feel like you're going on vacation. being away from home for 5 days a week makes me feel a little detached from home - in the best way possible - to the point that when i come back, i feel like it's holiday time. of course, that's helped by the activites, the people, and b :)

this weekend was FABULOUS.

friday: came home to a refreshing shower and home-down indonesian food with terry, van, mary, kenny, vera, byron, and thi-en! went to see dodgeball, the perfect thing for a friday night state of mind, and then crashed crashed crashed .
saturday: gymed, took a gorgeous walk down the embarcadero to the ferry building. got me the new bill clinton book in line to get his autograph on monday,
and had some incredible apricots from the farmer's market. BOUNCED my way all the way from the no doubt concert that same night (my, gwen is amazing at 30 yrs old),
and woke up on
sunday: to a grand slam by alfonzo at the giants game! GO GIANTS!
what a FABULOUS weekend.

[mothership lands in SF] which means that my parents are coming to town. now that they've released their iron clad grip on me (to a malleable iron grip at least), i'm definitely a lot more excited to see them, and i'm looking forward to spending quality time with them. what's on the plate? -- dinner at sushi ran, potentially at firefly *mm*, a trip to half moon bay, and a bill clinton book signing.
of course - they don't know this yet. :)

[final note] BEAT LA.
please please please

oh me oh my.

Would you punish your kids like this?

Thanks Quinn :) For the record, I am extremely happy with my Gamecube :)

[from the surface] i was reading the last couple entries i made, and BOY, do i sound like a boy! i don't know how i got sucked into baseball so much, but i find myself incessantly watching sports center (also b/c there is nothing else to watch on really bad hotel tv) and checking scoreboards. weird. in any case, i thought i'd splash in a dose of girlie-ness..

so. lately, i've really enjoyed wearing skirts. it's funny b/c when i was in middle and high school, and tight-strapping, dull grey coloured skirts were mandatory, i absolutely dreaded it. i even celebrated the onset of knee length shorts for girls. (what was i thinking?) it just made it hard to sit cross-legged on the floor while chatting with friends. it made it difficult to run to the bus, and worst of all, the heat and straight lined skirts just did not get along.

on the contrary, the spring breeze and sunny weather makes flouncy flowery full circle skirts a delight! they swish when you move and they blow in the wind with your hair, creating a rather pretty silhouette if you ask me. :)

and with that, let's get back to baseball. *just kidding*

[ICK] oh woe to 28.8kbps dial-up modems. (i'm dying here)

[final thought - made on an airplane] i know it's a question you've asked yourself in grade school, but undoubtedly the answer changes from year to year - so for now, as of may 2004, if you could be anything you wanted to be, what WOULD it be?

[new blogger] does anyone else find the new one hard to use? =?

[so mad] maaaaaaan, giants pitching STINKS like a big bowl of stinky POOOOO. grrrrr.

[vroom vroom] so after taking multiple photos with my jetta and giving it a kiss goodbye, i welcomed my new audi a4 3.0L to my driving experience.

can i just exclaim how WONDERFUL and FUN it is to drive?! =O

it really is quite wonderful. hopefully you guys will get a chance to sit in it soon. :) kekekeke.

[new york, new york] can't wait to see some of y'all :)

[thanks for the content blam]

Blam: you chose the wrong car di
Blam: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/4891758
dumdeedumdi: oh don't tell me this now!
dumdeedumdi: hahaha
dumdeedumdi: hey, that was my status message on tuesday
dumdeedumdi: at least audi is second
dumdeedumdi: and how can you have sex 2.2 times.
dumdeedumdi: audi is 2.1 times
Blam: oh i can picture having sex .2 times
dumdeedumdi: hahaha

[some other bits of trivia i heard on the radio] my drives into work have been very entertaining lately. b/c of the distance i have to drive, knbr 680 and kcbs 740 are my commuting companions! in the past three days, i heard three interesting tidbits (all strangely sexually related):
1. (see above) those who drive beamers have the most sex.
2. it was found that men who drink a lot of caffeine have sperm who swim faster! who woulda thought that
sperm could get caffeinated
3. the oldest man to take viagra lives in singapore! and he is 99 years old.

that's all for now...

[on my dove chocolate wrapper today] Small things can make big differences. :)

[good weather makes me happy] why is that? some people looove the rain, and other people get all depressed when it rains. do our affinities to different types of weather involve our personalities somehow? if you're generally an optimistic person, do you like sunny weather better? if you're generally a pragmatic or pessimistic person, does rainy weather put a grin on your face?

me is a-ponderin'.....

in any case - it's GORGEOUS outside and i'm very excited about potential outdoor activities during the weekend! :)

[solved] well i took care of that withdrawal :D now i have me a fantasy baseball team~! alright!!

here is my lineup: c'mon you baseball junkies, what do you think? *cough cough* pjchoi, bork, byronsiron*

C.Wilson
A. Pujols
J. Kent
S. Rolen
K. Matsui
J. Dye
S. Podsenik
J. Burnitz
T. Glaus
R. Belliard
P. Nevin
T. Hafner
J. Reyes

and pitching for me...

J. Schmidt
R. Johnson
D. Kolb
M. Herges
J. Peavy
A. Eaten
S. Chacon
C. Pavano
R. Nen

*weee!*

[*gasp] never thought i'd feel this way, but HELPPP MEEEEEE!!! i have fantasy basketball withdrawal!!!! i came in 4th place though :D out of 11! not bad for my first season eh. :) i already can't wait for next season...

[hahaha!] you know that song by hoobastank - the reason? it's a pretty song, right? and wow, it's so sweet.

well.

according to hilary of channel 104.9 - the singer of the hoobstank wrote that song for his gf..... when he stepped on her toe!!

hahahahhaa!

just when you thought guys could be sweet. they prove to you that they are sweeter ;) just thought i'd share.

[for real] i've realized that you only really get to know a person when you play video games with them. :) hahaha! for example:

b busts out his profanities to no end. every missed nba street shot, every putt that stops just behind the hole, and every bo-bomb he runs over with his mario kart. vera suddenly sees her fellow players as her enemies, "i hate youuuu, OHHH i HATE youuuuuu!" to everyone who is above rank in mario kart!, hahahaha. van is predictably calm and collected as always, and kenny , the gentleman that he is, admits defeat: "aweee yeah, well. i suck. yeaaahh, i suck, maaaaan, i suck".

and as for me?

well, you'll just hafta find out for yerself ;)

[so happy] that baseball season is back! saw bonds' 661st homer last night, and ooh, we even got fireworks! :)

[...] sometimes i just want to scream.

[life is for living] now i never meant to do you wrong / that's what i came here to say / but if i was wrong, then i'm sorrrry / but don let it stand in our way. / 'cause my head just aches when i think of / the things that i shouldn't have done / but life is for living we all know / and i don wan to live it alone. / say AAAAHHHHHHHHHHH / say AAAAAA-aaaa-AAAAAH / just say aaaaaaaaaaaah /

[tickled] and maybe only ppl in the service industry can understand this, but....

12 Tips From a Staff to a Senior/Manager on How to Enhance the Relationship

1. Never give me work in the morning. Always wait until 5:00 and then bring it to me. The challenge of a deadline is refreshing.

2. If it's really a "rush job", run in and interrupt me every 10 minutes to inquire how it's going. That helps.

3. Always leave without telling anyone where you're going. It gives me a chance to be creative when someone asks where you are.

4. If my arms are full of papers, boxes, books or supplies, don't open the door for me. I need to learn to function as a paraplegic and opening doors is good training.

5. If you give me more than one job to do, don't tell me which is the priority. Let me guess.

6. Do your best to keep me late. I like the office and really have nowhere to go or anything to do.

7. If a job I do pleases you, keep it a secret. Leaks like that could costme a promotion.

8. If you don't like my work, tell everyone. I like my name to be popular in conversation.

9. If you have special instructions for a job, don't write them down. In fact, save them until the job is almost done.

10. Never introduce me to the people you're with. When you refer to them later, my shrewd deductions will identify them.

11. Be nice to me only when the job I'm doing for you could really change your life.

12. Tell me all your little problems. No one else has any and it's nice to know someone is less fortunate.

ah the woes and joys of work!

[competition] uhoh - that evil competitive side of a person that shockingly emerges when video games are near is beginning in me. fortunately or unfortunately, i am getting addicted to nba street. it's all about the blocks and michael olowakandi. on an equally sporty note: i'm in 4th place in fantasy bball! what an accomplishment for meEeeeeeee :D kekekeke!

[it's about time] for two things really -- (1) that i finally post something and (2) that steve finally has a blog!everyone welcome steve to my list of blogs, kekeke :)

inspired by steve's daily postings, i thought i should let my remaining ever decreasing number of readers know what i've been up to. to sum it up:

work.

i think back over the last 3 months of this year (good god, it's already april?!), and the only thing that sticks out in my mind is work. how sad is that? not the other wonderful things i've been up to -- san diego, monterey, brian getting me a gamecube (oh thank you thank you thank you), phil moving to town, charmaine coming to visit, all the fun and happy moments and conversations i've had with friends (i love you all, don't get me wrong). sigh. not to mention the numerous march birthdays! =O (for the latest and greatest pics: march celebrations! )

i hafta say i'm getting better at it though - waking up at 530 in the morning is no big thing anymore. i'm up and at 'em! :D

but boy, does it let me appreciate the little things. when it takes me 40 mins to drive to work instead of 1hr15. going to get a jamba juice in the middle of the day instead of staring into office-space for all 10 hours. coming home to a big fat hug from time to time :D a good portabello mushroom omelette on a sunday morning. 8 hours of sleep.

hahaha :) i sincerely hope you all are doing well. would love to keep in more constant touch. hang in there. it's almost summer!!! (which unfortunately, does not mean vacation anymore)

ta!

[quick precaution] be careful when using your credit cards. now with camera phones a lot more prevalent, who knows if someone is taking a picture of your card during your fabulous shopping transaction. a new pair of shoes that you thought would refurbish your wardrobe might turn into identify theft beyond the new-found spring in your step.

take care everyone :)

[giddy like a school girl] and i'm usually never that girlie to be as giddy as a school girl. hahaha. but after the Linkin Park concert.. aaaAaaaaaaaAAAaaaaAAH! cheester! mike! *swoon* LP busted out the best of their old and the best of their new (which is just about everything), and gave the most rockin' concert i've been to since.... Puddle of Mudd. energy was unbelievable, and i couldn't help but sing to every song -- it's a wonder that i didn't lose my voice from all the screaming and shout-singing i did. haha. the girl in front of me must think i'm a retard. oh well. thanks to brian and markie for coming with me :) *bounce bounce bounce* all the way! i wish that dru was there, he would have loved it when they pulled a kid from out of the mosh to play Faint with them. he woulda rocked hp pavillion :) but YES! one of my dreams come true! ~ di got to see linkin park!!! (aren't you proud of me lan?!) :D

...... now just don't ask how hard it is to keep my eyes open at work today. haha ;)

[one's cube] walking around offices here at the client, people are very elaborate in decorating their cubes. i guess that's a good thing b/c when i see them working, they really just look like worker bees. head down, eyes on the computer screen, somber look on their faces. their cube decorations, on the other hand, is wholly representative of their world! [and no kidding, since they spend ALL day at work anyways] family photos, favorite cartoon characters, even donuts, candy, and wine bottles!

i want a cube to decorate :(

[happy lovey dovey day] *muah*

LaZTiGGeR: oh hey, did you know there's a mathematical equation that proves girls are evil
duMdEEdUm di: noooooo way
LaZTiGGeR: observe.
LaZTiGGeR: stipulation 1: women like two things. your time, and your money.
LaZTiGGeR: therefore, women = time x money
LaZTiGGeR: stipulation 2: time is money
LaZTiGGeR: therefore, women = money*money or money^2
LaZTiGGeR: stipulation 3: according to the good Bible, money is the root of all evil
LaZTiGGeR: therefore, money = root(evil)
LaZTiGGeR: by subtitution...
LaZTiGGeR: women = (root(evil))^2
LaZTiGGeR: therefore, women = evil
LaZTiGGeR: sorry di, it's in the math.
duMdEEdUm di: hahaahaha
duMdEEdUm di: how convenient that was =P
LaZTiGGeR: indeed?
duMdEEdUm di: my only reaction is that: men are good bs-ers and loooove putting blame on women ;-)
LaZTiGGeR: bah, i'd date one anyway

we still winnn! kekekeke.

[spring is coming] i noticed yesterday that the sun is setting after 530 now! (that is, if it isn't raining over)

[akpsi-ing] even though i hadn't been back to berkeley or haas in such a long time, it felt *so* good seeing all those friendly and familiar faces again (though my fellow recruiters must have thought i was some kind of school freak). i felt so proud seeing so many of you accomplished in your future internships and jobs, and as for the rest of ya, let me know how i can help! ooh i got to meet some iotas and good grief, we're recruiting for the kappa class?! =O surprise of the night: irene balatro. who woulda thought she'd pop her head back in haas?

[*great gasp*] i just found out that i only have 3 episodes of alias season 2 left to watch. oh no oh no oh no. alias withdrawal alias withdrawal alias withdrawal!!!

[revision to yogurt review] so i had another Horizon yogurt thingamabobber today, thinking that it was the last one in my stash before i went back to 'ol Dannon. BUT -- this time, it was good! it was a Fruit on the Bottom one, and it was delish! :D so, apologies Horizon, i like you again :) but only when you have fruit on the bottom. kekeke. (btw, the Dannon Fruit on the Bottom one was icky poo potty) xP

[lessons at work] i overheard a Dad at one of my clients on the phone this morning. he was calling his kid at home to check up on how they were doing b/c apparently, he/she had fallen ill. he said: "how are you feeling? what are you doing? see, we all hafta look out for each other. when you're sick, i must check up on you to make sure you're ok. when i'm sick, you hafta check up on me to make sure i'm ok, okay?".. and i thought that was the cutest thing. it made me think that i should do that for more people around me :)

[small pleasures indeed] i'm a simple girl looking forward to shooting at my newly acquired D&B hoop at home. :D

[gong xi ni] the chinese year is back again -- and with it, i can't help but remember home fondly. everyone gets the rest of the week off.. children collect their lucky money.. and adults STUFF their faces with delicious home-cooked food and special dishes that are only concocted at this time of year. my dad told me a story about how when he was a kid, he looked forward to the first day of new year sooo badly because he got to wear his new socks, underwear, and clothes! the night before, he would lay out his clothes so that he could snap his new clothes on instantly and bring in the new year. my mom, on the other hand, says that she would sleep in new pyjamas so that when SHE woke up, she'd already be wearing new clothes :)

[prelude to my uninterestingness] though i still worry that i'm often quite bland, i remember that if i weren't special in one way or another, i wouldn't be loved by my near and dear, nor would i find pleasure in finding a free bag of skittles in the vending machine :D same goes for all of you :) don't forget you're special too - xin nien kuai leh!!

[sex and lucia] good God, Blam gave me soft porn for christmas!!

so the story behind this gift is that the infamous Andyah watched it with a girl one evening, and by the end of the movie, she was SOOOO *in da mood* that Andy didn't have to turn on any charms whatsoever! =O why blam gave it to me, i donno why... mebbe it should have been more for brian? hahahahaha.

[=P] is how i'm feeling about the new Horizon yogurt I bought. It's much too thick. I don't like my yogurt thick. I'm not eating custard, I'm eating yogurt. Dannon still rocks. Trust me on this one. MMmmMm. Nevertheless, a grand grand WELCOME to the newest addition to SoMa -- WHole Foods!! Oh me oh my, Di is very happy now :)

[still one of the funniest people i know]

its Rishi: german cars are known for strong drivetrrains
its Rishi: but like the little things go wrong a lot
duMdEEdUm di: hrm
its Rishi: i guess it goes back to the personality thing
its Rishi: its like having a hot girlfriend
its Rishi: more maintenance
its Rishi: but it could be worth it
its Rishi: with a japanese car u trade blandness for ease of maintenance
its Rishi: haha
duMdEEdUm di: hahahaha

[i am horrible] the new year's is off to a dispicable start! even though i don't really have any new year's resolutions, i know one of them was definitely to save, save, save i am not a frequent spender, i rarely make impulse buys, and i allow myself little pleasures now and again. but TODAY -- while waiting for my work computer to be fixed, i meandered into an unbelievable sale and..... *gasp* purchased myself two pairs of jeans. oh d-d-dear. well - here are my new clothes for the chinese new year.

[welcome] to the newest member of my readers list :D blam is back! i'm sure you'll obtain hours of joy from his posts..

[realization] i was thinking on my long drive back from work the other day that i've really become quite an uninteresting person. wait - i am an uninteresting person! now here is my rationale:
- in the last five days, i've communicated properly with three of my friends.
- i've only baked once in the last month! :(
- i want to go to sleep by midnight.
- i can't think of much i want to do during the weekends (apart from sleep and get some exercise)

now this is sad. this is not how 2004 is supposed to be. but there is one consolation to this uninteresting-ness of mine -- i get to spend a lot of time with myself :)

anyhoo, i really shouldn't be complaning b/c with my family here for 2 weeks, i didn't get much time to spend with myself. that's ok though. it's funny because when they *were* here, i was constantly in this hectic-manic mood, and just wanted to sit and do *nothing*. now that they're gone, the apartment is really quiet, and i miss hearing dru watch his trashy tv and guitar strumming, my mom nagging me to rearrange the kitchen, and shuttling my dad back and forth to his hotel so he can take his afternoon nap. haha! ah well.

[inner di] just feels like dancing!! (i'll hafta settle for bouncing in my car for the time being.....) i don't usually make music recommendations, but i am just HOOKED onto the new jack johnson song, "taylor" -- it's a great driving song and a good song to sway to :) download!! and since i've been spending so much time in my car, has anyone heard that ridiculous bartending school ad? it starts with this dude reciting all the drinks he learned, and then when you think it's over, ARNOLD's voice comes on! "STAHP! WAIT..." hahahaha. the strangest things have been tickling my funny bone these days.

[ta for now] happy new year everyone! :) wouldn't it be great if i could give everyone a hug at the same time? think of all the happy endorphins my system would experience simultaneously. *wow*