Stupid Screw

Got a flat tire today. Didn't find out until I was driving out of my work parking lot. Boo...stupid screw. It's so damn big just look at it.

Going Home

I'll be flying home in a couple of hours. I need to check in a bag and I'm hoping that most people are out of town by now and that the airport will be slow like usual. I hate going to LAX and I'm so happy that I live close to the Burbank Airport. I'm going to get a rental car for the first time and I'm anxious to see what small car I'll get. My very good friend is hooking me up with a great deal for the week. Yeah, thanks! They better not upgrade me to something big like a Ford Taurus though because that car is a giant. Can't wait to see everyone
: )


View from a Window at the Old House

Light Festival

Took a walk at the DWP Holiday Light Festival for the first time the other night with some friends. It was a cold night, but I was prepared and the sight was worth it. I mean, it wasn't the best light show of my life or anything, but if you live in LA, it's something that you should definitely check out once. It's something about seeing these lights display and being able to tell what/where they are in LA that made me happy.

Enjoi!

I Love Magic!

Thanks to my magician co-worker, my work holiday party was at the Magic Castle this year. Everything about it from the food, magic shows to the architecture was awesome. As a guest, you must have dinner then you're free to walk around and watch any shows that available throughout the castle. We even got to meet Milt Larsen, who's the creator of the Magic Castle. Too bad that I can't show you any pictures of the inside, but maybe it's for the best so your own experience won't be ruined by them. For the big magic show, we got to see Ed Alonzo (The Misfit of Magic). Ahhh, magic.


Magic Bunnies
By the time the party ended, these lights and the fountain were actually turned off. Thanks to the connection, he got them turned on for me to take this picture. Yeah, best holiday party ever!

SantaCon at Hollywood & Highland

Watch Out! Santas Coming Through
Glad to have my camera with me that night. What a great unexpected sight to see.

Oasis

Oasis gave a great performance the other night at the Staples Center. They played all the right songs like Champagne Supernova, Wonderwall, Slide Away, Song Bird, and Don't Look Back in Anger, that got everyone to sing along. I just love when the audience do that. Also took the Metro there for the first time and have been taking it a few more times since then to avoid the stress from driving.


"Don't Look Back in Anger" after Encore


Here's One with Liam

Beach in the Winter

I went to Venice beach the other day as part of being a good friend even though I was dead tired from already a long and busy weekend. My friend ended up hating the weather wondering what happened to the nice blue sky and the hot sun that she came to see. I, on the other hand was enjoying every bit of the cool breeze, gray sky, and an empty beach. It was a perfect recipe that made me instantly miss home and the places where I used to hang out when I was younger.


Reminds me of Half Moon Bay

Thanksgiving with Me

Today started out with a wake up call from Lihwa, who got to my place earlier than expected b/c no one else was on the freeway. We ate breakfast from Porto's then headed to Echo park to volunteer at the Echo at an event called, Gobble Gobble Give by 9:40 A.M. We both wanted to work as part of the food conveyor belt and the clean up crew, but more people showed up earlier than expected, so we were asked to wait outside : ( Instead, I appointed myself to be part of the documentation/pr crew and started taking these pictures, since I always have my camera with me anyways. It turns out that it was a good thing that it was too busy inside b/c it felt nicer to work outside in the fresh air and to also see and give things to people.











Anyways, after taking a few photos, I noticed that there were other things that you could help out with that were non food related. There were clothes and toiletry that needed to be sorted and bagged for drivers to take with the food to be delivered to people. I realized that we were low on plastic bags and got my self to two groceries stores nearby to ask for bags donations, which turned out to be a success.

Got back to the Echo and started helping out with the clothes area until we actually ran out of clothes. There were some clothes that were wet, which I'm not sure how that happened, but some people took them anyways. Saw a few celebrities there who actually volunteered, but I won't say who b/c Lihwa thought that one of them was someone who's homeless.

So more volunteering and cleaning time past then we left and headed to the House of Pie for some food. There was a long line there of course, but luckily it was the to-go line. We ate and caught Twilight afterward at the theater across the street from there.

It was my second time seeing the movie and my opinion of it is completely different now than before. I must share that I don't usually watch the same movie twice at a theater, but I feel like my first viewing experience was such an unexpected let down. I concentrated too much on every little thing that wasn't the same as the book, so that distracted me from really enjoying it as a movie alone. Also with the audience being mainly young girls, I felt like their loud emotions may have muted my own movie experience. I hope that makes sense.

Then this time, I completely enjoyed the movie. This theater was much smaller and everyone was very quiet. I didn't really have to worry or be anxious about anything anymore b/c I have already seen what would happen. So yes, I do like the movie and hope that it will only get better from now.

Next destination: Monterey Park for dinner then home.

Love This Weather

I don't usually like the rain when I have to drive somewhere, but without it I wouldn't get the After the Rain weather that I love. The sky somehow seems brighter and the streets definitely are cleaner. Plus, I get a free car wash and save $15 instead of having it cleaned at work.

I want to go to the Roxy tonight, but this weather makes me feel sleepy. Hmmm. Wanna dance?


Leaving Work
Not the cars. Look at the bright yellow mountains in the background.

Last Night at the Echoplex

Went to see a few bands at the Echoplex last night for the first time and the space is amazingly beautiful. It's nothing like the echo. This place is much bigger with more places to sit along with accents of red lights everywhere to give whatever mood that the color red gives you.

Both The Rosebuds and Lemon Sun were awesome as expected. A surprisingly another good band, Dazzler, performed last in front of a smaller crowd a little bit after midnight. I should've taken a picture of them, but I don't like to sometimes when there's a performance at a really really dark place. I didn't set my LCD screen to off earlier, so I didn't want to suddenly have this white light shining at people. Why do I think about these things? So if you have never heard of Dazzler, imagine a bunch of mixed matched musicians, with all different instruments from a keytar, vocoder, percussion, to other rock band instruments. There I stood thinking how could everything fit, but after they started playing, they were right on and the crowd started dancing. Aside from good music, it was pouring outside.


Rosebuds from North Carolina


Lemon Sun with my Old Boss's Nephew as the Lead Singer


The Entertainers between the Shows Who Biked from Glendale

Volunteering with Kids

Last night I volunteered to play with kids at a housing center. It's supposed to be the only housing center in L.A. that accepts families with teenagers. The kids that came out last night seemed to be around the age of 3-12 yrs. old. We gathered into the play/library/art room where there were 2 tables, a bunch of little chairs, a couch and a big T.V. that doesn't work anymore.

I recognized some of the kids from the last time that I was there, which was way back in May. It made me so happy to see how much they've grown and how some of the kids even recognized me from last time. We played Thanksgiving Bingo where instead of numbers there were pictures of things related to Thanksgiving. Before the game, we introduced ourselves and shared one thing that we are grateful for. One little girl was so honest and sweet. She shared with us how happy she is to have her Mom in her life b/c she knows that her Mom always tries very hard to make her happy and keeps her company when she is lonely. Other kids mentioned families, friends, cousins, and toys.

I also read a couple of books to some of the kids there and they just loved the attention. I'm not sure how much attention these kids are getting, but I can't imagine what their families are going through right now. I'm just glad that at least there's a place like this housing center that will help people who are in need. This Thanksgiving I want to volunteer at a soup kitchen, since I won't be going home until Dec., hopefully. If you know of any places that will be doing this, please let me know.

LOVE not H8

Honk to Support Same-Sex Marriage
It was a good day to be out. So much love and support everywhere.

Observing L.A. Drivers

On my way to work this morning, I noticed this woman in the car next to me. She was drinking something hot in a to-go cup, while tailgating. I could see her frustration, but doesn't mean that it was right for her to cut me off so she could pass who ever that was in front of her. A few seconds later, we all stopped at a red light and I wondered if she still thinks that it was worth it to do what she did. I'll see something like this everyday here in L.A. and I guess anywhere else where there are slow drivers vs. fast drivers, too.

I'll admit that sometimes, I am one of those slow drivers on the freeway. Well, if you count the time when I wanted to stay below 65 mph so I could save on gas. But then there are other days when I'm feeling like everyone is moving like a turtle and instead I was the fast driver.

I especially hate it when I have to change lane, but I'll be stuck in between two slow cars where one is in front of me and the other one is right next to me. Can't people tell when someone is in their blind spots? I also dislike when people change more than one lane at a time without pausing to check their blind spots each time. I mean, if the freeway is completely clear then go ahead, but don't do it when you see a bunch of cars behind you. You're just asking for an accident. Sometimes, I wish that I have an old beat-up truck so I can just let people run into me.

Sneak Peek of October

Taipei Metro


Wow, it's empty


National Palace Museum, Taiwan


Night Market,Tainan


The Wisdom Path, Hong Kong


Taoist God, Taiwan


Dragon and Tiger Pagodas, Taiwan


Halloween at Disneyland, Hong Kong

What are You Doing Here? Go out and Vote!

Take advantage of your rights. Please vote today if you can!

I waited in line for about an hour this morning to vote in Burbank. Usually I'm an absentee voter, but this time I really wanted to feel the whole experience of waiting anxiously in line, casting my vote in a booth and walking out with my "I Voted" sticker. Yeah! I'm so happy right now. Obama better win or something crazy is going to happen here.


Shorter line than this morning. Grrr!

Back in the States

A preview of the trip to Taiwan and Hong Kong will be posted soon. I had a great time filled with temples, night markets, crowds, and street food all in the 90+ weather. I'm back and super tired. The flight back wasn't as comfortable as the flight there, but I'm very thankful for the extra hour that we gained here.

P.S. Finished The Twilight Series before the trip. How could I not? I probably almost missed my flight because of it, too. Well...not really,but I slept less than 3-4 hrs. every night until I finished it. I also read the partial draft of Midnight Sun. Ahhh Edward!

Hooked

Two of my co-workers were talking about books that they're reading and the name Stephenie Meyer came up. I felt like an idiot not knowing who they were talking about when I have been seeing the poster of Breaking Dawn (her recent book) in front of about every bookstores for the past couple of months now. I always thought that the cover art was interesting and that was how I figured out that they are related some how. As soon as one of my co-worker mentioned Vampires, I knew that it would be a book that I should check out.

So I got myself to lapl.org and within all the zeros in the Copies in Library column, I spotted one number one. Lucky for me, it was at the branch that is the closest to my work. I quickly drove there during lunch and when I thought that it was already taken, I found a copy of Twilight. The info. guy said that I was really lucky because any of Stephenie Meyer's books were hardly available. I just smile not knowing how I would spend my Friday night. As soon as I started reading it, I was hooked. It is just so romantic and who doesn't like to read about vampires?

It's Sunday now and I'm craving the next book, New Moon. I may have to just go out to buy it because I don't think that I can wait any longer to get it from a library. They're all unavailable, plus it's Sunday so most libraries are closed. I just want to know what will happen next. This is exactly how I was after reading one of the Harry Potter book...but it's worse because I know that there are more that I can read and don't have to actually wait for them to be published. What to do...what to do?


Have you heard about the movie?
See twilightthemovie.com

Tough Time

Lately, it seems like people have been dying left and right because of heart attacks around one of my co-worker. This morning, he dropped his car off at a dealership for some minor services. He just got back from there and shared that he found out that one of the service guy that he saw there today just dropped to the floor from a heart attack. All three people that my co-worker knows of who recently past away were 56 years old. Isn't that strange?

People have been going through a lot of tough time lately because of many things like the economy, relationships, jobs status, lack of supplies, weather, etc. Things have been difficult for me, too. But I know that there are many others out there, who are in worse situations than I am and I'm going to try to help anyone, especially my friends, when I can. I may offend someone who may not welcome my help, but I think that it's better to take risks to offer someone a hand than not do anything at all and just wonder. I've lost a part of me and in a way, I'm trying to be happy that because of such, I'll gain something new in myself that I have never experienced before.

On another thought, I tried Papa John's Pizza last night for the first time. I had The Works and spicy buffalo wings. Did you know that they don't do the whole "Take and Bake" thing anymore? I feel so ancient or maybe it's just about time that their marketing campaign needs to step it up a notch.


Spotted in Burbank, CA

Sarah Palin Please Sit Down

I'm so glad that McCain chose Sarah Palin as his running mate because watching all her videos is just so entertaining. I especially like Katie Couric interviews with her on Day 1, Day 2, and this. It just shows how sheltered Palin is and her lack of exposure to popular issues that she should definitely have a clear understand of and position on. Anyways, I would like to see how far she could go if she were to be on a TV show like, Are You Smarter Than a Fifth Grader? How could she not even name a single source of news if she only relies on books and newspapers as her way to explore the world? This is ridiculous. You could tell that even Couric was getting bored. She didn't even have to try hard to get to the juicy part. Palin just keeps talking and eventually she will just start making stuff up when she's clueless. Can anyone really support her after watching these? Wake up people.

Vote Obama.

No Gmail at Work

My work joined the line of putting web restriction to any web mail and social networking sites on Monday. It was something completely unexpected because I thought that there was this silent trust that as long as you get your work done, something like this just wouldn't happen. I know that by blocking these sites, maybe more work would get done, but there are definitely some down side to this too.

Access to personal e-mails help keeps the number of phone calls down. What if there's some type of an emergency? With e-mails, you can multitask without bothering your co-workers, but when you get a phone call, you definitely would need to step out of the office. What if you're going through some difficult time or your friend is? Little emails here and there during your breaks to and from your friends can help you stay positive. So how does this affect your work? Well, if someone is in a good mood then they're most likely to work more, but if someone is stress or unhappy then they would most likely not get any work done anyways. But then again, it could work the opposite way as well.

I know that I definitely needed access to my personal e-mail on Monday. I had some work done on the weekend and because my work email can't receive any files larger than 10 MB, I used my Gmail instead to send the work to myself. After finding out the hard way that Gmail was blocked on Monday morning when the project is due that afternoon, I had to waste time driving home to get the file. I used yousendit.com to send the file to my work email address and luckily also added a copy to a memory stick. After I got to work, found out that yousendit was also blocked. Isn't that ridiculous?

Anyways, I completely understand why companies choose to do this, but it just sucks to know that if I really needed to check my email then I can't anymore. So for some of you who understand what this feels like, you might want to read this: Ten Things Your IT Department Won't Tell You

Updates: It turned out that whatever the IT guy have been doing at work, something went wrong and that's how all these web restrictions started. He had no idea, but everything is fixed now so we're back to normal. Yeah!

Thai Cultural Day

Attended my first MeetUp event at the Thai Cultural Day in Hollywood yesterday. I have never been to Barnsdall Park before, but have always wanted to visit the Hollyhock house that was designed by Frank Lloyd Wright.

Working Saturday

Today at 12:30 PM is when my very first working day on a Saturday will start (For this company, not in my entire life). It's not a new work schedule or anything (Yeah!). It's just for this weekend because there will be a big BIG meeting with a new potential client on Monday and it'll just be awesome if they fall madly in love with us. My boss is going to bring in lunch from Porto's, which will be awesome. Alright, I have to go now, but will continue this topic later.

...

It's now 2:26 AM. No, I didn't just get home from work. Anyways, I just wanted to share that I feel lucky that I'm one those people with a Mon.-Fri. work schedule...at least for now anyways. I know many people who work all the time and rarely take any vacation, so compared to them, one working Saturday is nothing. My first job out of college was 6 days per week and the schedule was insane (7:ooAM - 6PM). I can't imagine working like that now and I'm not even that old. And that's just the office hour, so it doesn't even include the time that I actually have to be there by or how much longer I have to stay afterward to close up the office. Ahh, I need sleep now. Good Night.


Work Parking Lot

Today in Pictures

Miso Ramen at Hokkaido Fair
Inside of Mitsuwa in Torrance, CA.


Wilson and Pearline (W+P)
I didn't get a picture of them today, but they were the one who invited L, K and I to the fair for lunch. We also went to see Burn After Reading afterward, which was funnier than expected.


Water-Saving Dual-Function Handle at Symantec
Isn't this awesome?


L at Moon Festival in Chinatown


Via Cafe for Dinner


K in Black


459

Yeah, I Don't Have to Cook!

There are some days when I just hate to come home and cook. It's when I just feel like shutting down after a long work day. Cooking should never feel like a chore though especially after a successful turnout of a new recipe. I can't remember the last time that I made anything new from my Indian cook book. I remember getting it about almost three years ago and I'd try to make something new almost every week. Now, I would like to be better at baking. So far, I have only baked cupcakes and different type of bread.

So the point of all this is that L's brother, K, is staying with us for a week. Last night, he made us dinner then we had a tea ceremony with desserts. Yum. All fresh and organic!


Mmmm
Thanks, K.

Don't Want This Cold

It sucks to have a cold. It started with a sore throat three mornings ago. Does it always start in the morning? Now it's full on with sneezing and stuffy nose. I hate this. I'm constantly going to the restroom because of all the water that I'm drinking. I'm probably secretly known as the "Bathroom Queen" by now. Some sites recommend drinking cold water to help the sore throat feel better, while others suggest warm water for when you have a cold. What to do...what to do. All I know is to have extra soft tissue paper ready and face lotion for my nose. Yesterday, I felt like my nose was going to fall off : ( My trash can that is usually empty is almost full with tissue paper. If it can look any better than it sounds, I would take a picture of it, but it doesn't. I'm glad that my work has tissue paper for us to use, but too bad that it's not the super soft kind that I like, so I had to bring a box from home.

On a brighter note, I'm going to see Nada Surf tomorrow at the Troubadour.

One of my co-worker is going to be in You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown. How exciting!


Me Familia
On a good day with good health.

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A Week of Family Fun in Los Angeles

On Sunday evening, I said goodbye to my family: dad, PB (older sister) and A (brother-in-law), after a week of them visiting me for the first time in Los Angeles. They got along extremely well with L, who drove us everywhere on the weekend. (Thank You, L!) I did my share of driving on Wed.-Fri., since my work gave me some time off. The week was both fun and tiring because we did so much from morning until night. Hanging out with them made me realize how much I really miss being with my family. We crave the same food and speak words that can't always be translated to English. Both my dad and PB were especially excited about Thai Town, which we visited almost everyday to pick up more desserts for their trips back to the bay area. Here are a few pictures from last week:


Chinatown


Grand Central Market


Bradbury Building
Have you seen Blade Runner?


Caltrans District 7 Headquarters