You know you are a geek when....
discovering a new feature of Adobe Acrobat makes me as happy as a mother whose kid just took his first step. XD
posted by cahalan @ 18:26
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Friday, April 30, 2004
The Big Four
Well, working for two months at one of the big four accounting firm taught me two things: (1) that it is actually possible for a person to hold an important position at a top notch firm AND still be a nice person. Strange as it might sound, it came as a surprise for me. In the past, I've worked with many nasty and snotty people. The more professional they are, the worse they get. And doctors are among the worse of them. And (2) There are people out there who push around millions of dallars a day the same way peons like us push around our pathetic $40 in a casino, once or twice a year. (That's just a figure of speech, I never blew more than $5 in a casino. XD)
Did you read about how the two former Stanford graduates who co-founded Google.com are going to become instant billionaire when Google releases their IPOs? Doesn't that just make you jealous? :) Speaking of which, hubby said I can fool around with his etrade account if I want. Hehehehehe. Watch me turn his four-digit account into a six-digit one while he's at sea. XD
Did you read about how the two former Stanford graduates who co-founded Google.com are going to become instant billionaire when Google releases their IPOs? Doesn't that just make you jealous? :) Speaking of which, hubby said I can fool around with his etrade account if I want. Hehehehehe. Watch me turn his four-digit account into a six-digit one while he's at sea. XD
posted by cahalan @ 18:11
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Co-ed restrooms
So I read this article a few days ago (my newspaper subscription--yeah, I finally caved--didn't start tille today, so I don't have the exact title or author of the piece. Sudolly, get off my back! XD) about boys joining knitting clubs in school and women heading for Deans at universities. And it went on to discuss the kind of issues an individual has to face while performing traditionally role reversal tasks. Then it mentioned some very liberal campuses out there even want to have co-ed dorms (in the same suite, not just same building) and co-ed restrooms (Also quoted that schools had problems before with "women trapped in men's body" wanted to use the female restrooms.) Now, that is just going a little bit too far, don't you think? I think of myself as being fairly liberal, but there is still a line. The idea is good, but the actual implications are problematic. Let's review some of the possible issues that I can think of right off the bat.
I would like to first mentioned that after my first year of living in a dorm sharing a suit with four other girls, I've vowed never to live with another female in my life--with the exception of maybe my (yet to be conceived) daughter and perhaps my mother-in-law when it comes time. But males in the same suite. Hmmm, these are late teens to early twenties males with raging hormones that we are talking about. Isn't that just like asking for trouble? Granted, I have had males roommates for the rest of my college years, but I get to meet these people first and chose whom I wanted to live with. In dorms, you meet your "roommates" the day you move in. What if he's a jerk? Do I want all the sexual inuendoes at my living quarter? All of a sudden we have to worry about not just sexual harrassment at the work place, but also at home. Bad idea. (Guys feel free to defend yourself. I am always open to opposite opinions. :)
Next we look at co-ed restrooms. Oh, c'mon now. Who (women) in their right sense of mind would want to share bathrooms with males who are not their love ones? Let's be honest here, men are dirty and men's restroom are just hedious. They shake when they are done doing their business, for God's sake. I've never been with a man who cleans the bathroom. (To be fair, there are chores that I don't touch either. All good.) But I don't think one should be shaking and flinging their stuff all over if they refuse to clean up afterward! My husband is a pretty neat guy in general. When asked one time to occasionally wipe down the toilet, his answer was, "Why?"
Ladies, do you *really* want to set foot in a man's restroom, just to make a point?
I would like to first mentioned that after my first year of living in a dorm sharing a suit with four other girls, I've vowed never to live with another female in my life--with the exception of maybe my (yet to be conceived) daughter and perhaps my mother-in-law when it comes time. But males in the same suite. Hmmm, these are late teens to early twenties males with raging hormones that we are talking about. Isn't that just like asking for trouble? Granted, I have had males roommates for the rest of my college years, but I get to meet these people first and chose whom I wanted to live with. In dorms, you meet your "roommates" the day you move in. What if he's a jerk? Do I want all the sexual inuendoes at my living quarter? All of a sudden we have to worry about not just sexual harrassment at the work place, but also at home. Bad idea. (Guys feel free to defend yourself. I am always open to opposite opinions. :)
Next we look at co-ed restrooms. Oh, c'mon now. Who (women) in their right sense of mind would want to share bathrooms with males who are not their love ones? Let's be honest here, men are dirty and men's restroom are just hedious. They shake when they are done doing their business, for God's sake. I've never been with a man who cleans the bathroom. (To be fair, there are chores that I don't touch either. All good.) But I don't think one should be shaking and flinging their stuff all over if they refuse to clean up afterward! My husband is a pretty neat guy in general. When asked one time to occasionally wipe down the toilet, his answer was, "Why?"
Ladies, do you *really* want to set foot in a man's restroom, just to make a point?
posted by cahalan @ 07:22
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Okay, I am officially in love with Adobe Acrobat
Adobe Acrobat totally ROCKS. After learning that I can scan magazine articles and save them for later reference, I just discovered that I can also save webpages as pdf. No more need to save the pictures and the text separately, or a long, long, and I mean long list of favorites, only to go back to find the page removed later on. And the files aren't even that rediculously big either. XD Now I can't wait till I come home from work to mess around with that. TGIF!!! I only wish I have a faster scanner. XD ACROBAT ROCKS!!!
posted by cahalan @ 06:47
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Thursday, April 29, 2004
Politically Incorrect
Lots of short blogs to make up for my informercials fillers. XD
Last week we had "Bring your kids to work" day at work. Oh my gosh. Whoever came up with THAT idea? Why would you want to mix kids and work? I groaned when I first heard about it. (Shows you how much I love kids huh?) A bunch of screaming kids running around while I was trying to work (dispite how brainless my job is) was not a pleasant thought. I feel, however, almost politically incorrect to voice my opinion on kids. Luckily, I found out that my boss (temporary boss), just like me, prefers cats to kids. XD
A Mormon X-colleague once called me "selfish" for not wanting kids. Why is it selfish to not want kids? Giving birth when one is unable to tend for their offsprings is selfish. What's wrong with not being an irresponsible parents when I know I don't want to make the sacrifice for having kids? His theory was very interesting (side note: he's actually kinda a nice guy. I've grown fond of him towards the end dispite our different believes): the meaning of life (religion?) is to help others, and there is no greater help than tending your very own offspring. I understood the first part, helping others is sure a noble thing to do, but I never did figure out how did part A lead to part B. Why is tending your young helping it. (I think he said cause babies are helpless.) Though that still falls short in explaining why adopting are less noble. Any way you look at it, isn't it more helpful to tend for an abandoned child than bringing yet another one onto the surface of earth? What an odd concept.
Last week we had "Bring your kids to work" day at work. Oh my gosh. Whoever came up with THAT idea? Why would you want to mix kids and work? I groaned when I first heard about it. (Shows you how much I love kids huh?) A bunch of screaming kids running around while I was trying to work (dispite how brainless my job is) was not a pleasant thought. I feel, however, almost politically incorrect to voice my opinion on kids. Luckily, I found out that my boss (temporary boss), just like me, prefers cats to kids. XD
A Mormon X-colleague once called me "selfish" for not wanting kids. Why is it selfish to not want kids? Giving birth when one is unable to tend for their offsprings is selfish. What's wrong with not being an irresponsible parents when I know I don't want to make the sacrifice for having kids? His theory was very interesting (side note: he's actually kinda a nice guy. I've grown fond of him towards the end dispite our different believes): the meaning of life (religion?) is to help others, and there is no greater help than tending your very own offspring. I understood the first part, helping others is sure a noble thing to do, but I never did figure out how did part A lead to part B. Why is tending your young helping it. (I think he said cause babies are helpless.) Though that still falls short in explaining why adopting are less noble. Any way you look at it, isn't it more helpful to tend for an abandoned child than bringing yet another one onto the surface of earth? What an odd concept.
posted by cahalan @ 19:24
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My Temp Job
Only two weeks left at my temporary assignment. *sniff* I actually like this job, which is rare. This is like naming farm animals. :( Shouldn't grow attach to them if you are going to eat them at the end. Never should have allowed myself to grow fond of my temp job. *sniff*
posted by cahalan @ 19:19
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My thoughts on blogging
I've contemplated about buckling down and keeping a strictly *serious* blog. But not only is it against my personality (I don't generally take life too seriously), I mean, how often do you want to come home and read about a stranger basically bitching and moaning about everything she heard or read? Pretty soon, u've got to think, "Oh, just shut up, biatch." So I decided to keep some less serious, non bitchy posts in between. ^__^
posted by cahalan @ 19:10
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How I became interested in politics
When I was seeking for my soulmate--okay, my partner in life--I have certain preset conditions. Namely, we have to have fairly similar base values: integrities, moral standards, believes, etc. On the top of my list are: (1) pro-choice; (2) open minded towards homosexuality; and (3) atheist or agnostic. Lately, political viewpoints are rapidly climbing up to the #4 position. A year ago--and I am not proud of this--I couldn't tell you the difference between a Republican and a Democrat. Now I am following the presidential run and will be voting for the first time this coming November. So what led to this big change in me?
I wish I can blame my ignorant on being raised in Hong Kong. But that's such an obsolete point I might as well just say I'm a woman, I don't need to know politics. I was just plain ignorant.
So back to my story, three months ago I had a job interview--for a translator position. I was being tested on my oral skill in English. I walked in there thinking it was going to be a piece of cake. Boy was I wrong. The tester *only* wanted to talk about politics. From one subject to another, even though I was obviously stuttering. I wish I had point blank told him to change a subject, a different category altogether, but I didn't. I didn't want to admit that I was ignorant. Even though I was told that I was not being evaluated based on my knowledge but merely my proficiency in English, I left the interview site feeling like a complete moron. It was since then I started following the news feverishly. Of course our current president and all of his ludicrous policies is yet another good motivator.
I wish I can blame my ignorant on being raised in Hong Kong. But that's such an obsolete point I might as well just say I'm a woman, I don't need to know politics. I was just plain ignorant.
So back to my story, three months ago I had a job interview--for a translator position. I was being tested on my oral skill in English. I walked in there thinking it was going to be a piece of cake. Boy was I wrong. The tester *only* wanted to talk about politics. From one subject to another, even though I was obviously stuttering. I wish I had point blank told him to change a subject, a different category altogether, but I didn't. I didn't want to admit that I was ignorant. Even though I was told that I was not being evaluated based on my knowledge but merely my proficiency in English, I left the interview site feeling like a complete moron. It was since then I started following the news feverishly. Of course our current president and all of his ludicrous policies is yet another good motivator.
posted by cahalan @ 18:38
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One Lucky Woman
I saw this bumper sticker today: "I am not spoiled; I am just well taken care of." I guess that can apply to me too. My husband pretty much spoils me rotten. XD And he generally sides with me on most issues, especially when I am in conflict with another individuals. When I was younger, my friends and I never understand why all these mean and nasty women at work get these wonderful hubbies. Now I know, it's a simple cause & effect. Wonderful hubbies lead to mean and nasty women. XD And I am going down that road, fast. :D
posted by cahalan @ 18:32
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My dream house
Well, folks (now that I know I actually have drive-by audiences XD), I saw my dream house on the paper yesterday. It's so nice to find out that my dream house(s) are at the low and affordable prices between $1,500,000 to $3,500,000. (You can stop counting the zeroes now, it's 1.5-3.5 million.) At least when I hit that lottery jackpot, I now know where to look. XD (Does my desire for the perfect house also qualifies me as the consumer queen, Sudolly?)
I guess I don't have to have the perfect house to start. My husband is my DreamLand Express (see previous entry), with him, I think one day my dream can come true. :) I guess we can start from a slightly less than perfect one, then build up on it. Whaddaya say, hon?
I guess I don't have to have the perfect house to start. My husband is my DreamLand Express (see previous entry), with him, I think one day my dream can come true. :) I guess we can start from a slightly less than perfect one, then build up on it. Whaddaya say, hon?
posted by cahalan @ 07:50
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Wednesday, April 28, 2004
Panic Attack
I just discovered weblogs.com today. Don't ask me how, sometimes I can be scatterbrained like that. It's not like I haven't check that "ping the weblog" box many times. Teach us to read the fine prints huh? The idea of people actually *reading* my blog about gave me a heart attack. I mean, I keep hoping that I get a reader here and there. I always thought the *only* way for people to find my blog is maybe the several seconds when the title show up on blogger.com immediately after I post an entry, though I have never seen my own blog on there. Weblogs... are just so much more public. I found myself frantically trying to recall what I had written so far. XD Luckily Blogger offers the ability to delete anything you've posted, else the panic attack would have been even worse. :D
posted by cahalan @ 22:53
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New toy
I discover yet another new and exciting idea that I can do with my new toy--the scanner. I found out from work that I can directly scan pictures/articles into pdf!! That way I can just scan all the articles from a magazine or newspaper that is of interest instead of keeping the magazine or clipping newspaper. Then, I can organize them into a database, and do some simple scripting and I'll have my very personal database with all my collections at my fingertips. I am SO excited at this new discovery. Yeah. I'm a nerd. You should have figured that by the time I mentioned scanner for birthday and PDA for Christmas presents. XD Screw the index box & flash cards for recipes, they'll be digitally stored and retrieved from now on!! Horray to my mastermind!! XD
posted by cahalan @ 17:11
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My kitty
Snuck home early from work today (okay, only 30 minutes early), so I can blog to my heart's contend. ^__^
My cat learned a new trick. *sighs* Now instead of waiting for us to wake up in the morning to cater to her needs, she learned her to wake me up. When purring by my head and walking on my pillow fails, she'll put her paw on my face. Since I tend to forget to clip her claws, her sharp claws tend to draw my attention really fast. I get a feeling that this newly acquired habit will stay.
My cat learned a new trick. *sighs* Now instead of waiting for us to wake up in the morning to cater to her needs, she learned her to wake me up. When purring by my head and walking on my pillow fails, she'll put her paw on my face. Since I tend to forget to clip her claws, her sharp claws tend to draw my attention really fast. I get a feeling that this newly acquired habit will stay.
posted by cahalan @ 17:08
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Monday, April 26, 2004
Informercials for my friend MRyan
I can really get used to this informercial thing. XD I think all the pretty pictures give my blog a very special touch. :)
I like gadgets. Ever since I've seen the commercial on the Nokia camera phone, I've turned into a gadget girl. I have also acquired a PDA last christmas. :) Ever since then I actively seek out new gadgets that I can add to my collection.
Here are some items that I think MR might find of interest. :) I would have purchase them for my own grandma, but they don't offer subscription service internationally. :~(
The following pretty pictures/products are brought to you by The Discovery Store
Check out this Beamer Digital Videophone/Picture Frame. It allows you to do video conferencing and see the person you are chatting with in real time. Sure, you can do that with your computer a long time ago, but you have to be relatively techno-savy in order to set that up. The fact that you can just plug this into your phone line and make it work sure adds a personal touch to it. :) It can also store up to 12 pictures, rotating like a slide show or displaying a single picture. A must have! XD
I think this one is a little pricey considering that it can only store 8 pictures, but it's along the line of product that I am trying to sell to MRyan. XD
This is the one I truly wanted to recommend lah. With a "small" monthly fee, you can deliver pictures to it directly across the country, up to 30 new pictures daily!! A perfect gift for grandparents! Or estranged spouses who don't have custody to the kids, I guess. :)
I like gadgets. Ever since I've seen the commercial on the Nokia camera phone, I've turned into a gadget girl. I have also acquired a PDA last christmas. :) Ever since then I actively seek out new gadgets that I can add to my collection.
Here are some items that I think MR might find of interest. :) I would have purchase them for my own grandma, but they don't offer subscription service internationally. :~(
The following pretty pictures/products are brought to you by The Discovery Store
Check out this Beamer Digital Videophone/Picture Frame. It allows you to do video conferencing and see the person you are chatting with in real time. Sure, you can do that with your computer a long time ago, but you have to be relatively techno-savy in order to set that up. The fact that you can just plug this into your phone line and make it work sure adds a personal touch to it. :) It can also store up to 12 pictures, rotating like a slide show or displaying a single picture. A must have! XD
I think this one is a little pricey considering that it can only store 8 pictures, but it's along the line of product that I am trying to sell to MRyan. XD
This is the one I truly wanted to recommend lah. With a "small" monthly fee, you can deliver pictures to it directly across the country, up to 30 new pictures daily!! A perfect gift for grandparents! Or estranged spouses who don't have custody to the kids, I guess. :)
posted by cahalan @ 22:47
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Gmail Beta Tester
Oh wow! When I was first presented with the opportunity to be a gmail tester, I thought everyone who has an account on blogger.com automatically receive the offer. Only today that I found out from a fellow blog that that was not the case. Apparently only selected users of blogger get the offer to sign up for a test trial. That knowledge made me feel very special and very excited. XD Like winning the price of a raffle that I never knew I entered. XD I wish I hadn't skip through the terms of service when I signed up (I was too excited) and found out what's all that discussion about privacy issues. :) I have a few comments on that, but I think I should do my research on the subject first before I open my big mouth. So more to follow on this subject. :)
posted by cahalan @ 17:51
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Sunday, April 25, 2004
Asian Smilies
If you have hang in one of those Americans chatrooms, you will see that, albeit being creative in many other areas, Americans are not very creative when it comes to emoticons. There's :) and :(, and every once in a great while, you might see :'(, which I guess represent a tear drop. But when you hang in an Aisan (Chinese) chatroom, there are a lot more varieties. There are ^__^, =), :D, and my favorite XD. I was trying to explain to my white friend MRyan that "XD" is really a smiley, not "X" and "D." His remark? "Aren't those slanted eyes? I'd imagine they being kind of derogatory." *rolls eyes* So I had to scan him this following pic:
And then he was enlighted, "Ooooh. Now I see! it's not slanted eyes. It's squinted!" LOL. I think my white hubby had a hard time grasping that concept too. I had to show him the same picture repeatedly. The side effect was: he ended up associating "thumbs up" with that particular smiley--which if you look carefully, the guy wasn't even holding up his thumb in the picture ! XD
And then he was enlighted, "Ooooh. Now I see! it's not slanted eyes. It's squinted!" LOL. I think my white hubby had a hard time grasping that concept too. I had to show him the same picture repeatedly. The side effect was: he ended up associating "thumbs up" with that particular smiley--which if you look carefully, the guy wasn't even holding up his thumb in the picture ! XD
posted by cahalan @ 23:45
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Movie Trailers
Sudolly said all the pretty pictures on my blog makes my blog looks like an informercial. :( (sometimes I wonder why I kept going back to talking to her XD) So back to tedious original blogging of my boring life. XD
So what's with some of these new trailers?! I hate those 30 minutes long (at least it felt that way) trailers that pretty much tells you the beginning, the conflict, the escalation AND the resolution of the movie. Dude! Do you get the concept of a tralier? It's suppose to be a teaser! It's suppose to leave something to be desired and something that entice me to shell out $9.50 for a movie ticket. I didn't ask to be shown "all the good scenes in the movie in 15 minutes."
So funny, I didn't even realize that until "Bruce Almighty." I tought it was a funny movie so I told that to a cowoker, to which his response was, "Was it one of those movies that you've seem all the funny parts in the trailer(s)?" So I started thinking it over. Sure enough, each and every single good scenes were included in at least one of the trailers. "Pirate of the Carribeans" trailer gave me the same feeling; I felt that I have already watched the entire movie, although the real movie was still pretty good. And after yesterday's "Spider Man 2" trailer, I don't know, I felt that I have, once again, watched the entire movie. I guess if I look on the bright side, I've just watched two movies for the price of one! XD
So what's with some of these new trailers?! I hate those 30 minutes long (at least it felt that way) trailers that pretty much tells you the beginning, the conflict, the escalation AND the resolution of the movie. Dude! Do you get the concept of a tralier? It's suppose to be a teaser! It's suppose to leave something to be desired and something that entice me to shell out $9.50 for a movie ticket. I didn't ask to be shown "all the good scenes in the movie in 15 minutes."
So funny, I didn't even realize that until "Bruce Almighty." I tought it was a funny movie so I told that to a cowoker, to which his response was, "Was it one of those movies that you've seem all the funny parts in the trailer(s)?" So I started thinking it over. Sure enough, each and every single good scenes were included in at least one of the trailers. "Pirate of the Carribeans" trailer gave me the same feeling; I felt that I have already watched the entire movie, although the real movie was still pretty good. And after yesterday's "Spider Man 2" trailer, I don't know, I felt that I have, once again, watched the entire movie. I guess if I look on the bright side, I've just watched two movies for the price of one! XD
posted by cahalan @ 23:31
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Something original - How about my weekend? :)
Okay, after all the copy-pasting and picture-borrowing, maybe I should write something original, before I forget that concept. :) So what's better to talk about than my fabulous weekend! XD For starters, we (hubby and I. DINK, remember? XD) went out a lot. Going out a lot doesn't come by easier because my husband is a "homeboy" in its truest sense--whenever we leave the house, he'll always want to go home after about 3 hours. We watched "13 going on 30" on Friday night. Yeah, the hubby picked dinner (he didn't want Asian food ^__^), so I got to pick the movie. Poor thing had to sit through a chick flick with me. :) The beginning was a tad boring, after all, watching a bunch of 13-year-olds bickering about who's cool wasn't my idea of entertainment. But it picked up and overall wasn't too bad of a movie.
The real surprised came Saturday when we went and watched "Kill Bill 2"--hubby's choice. Okay, it wasn't really his choice. I was looking forward to it to because we really enjoyed part 1. It was Godawful to say the least. I thought the movie was just really slow, but it wasn't. It was just plain crappy throughout. God knows what the critics on Yahoo was smoking when they rated it a B+. People were leaving the theater throughout the movie. Ten minutes into the movie some guy in the back shout, "This movie sucks!" Boy, was he right. Almost the entire theater was talking and nobody give a damn. It's certain one of the worse movie I have seen in a while.
Sunday was uneventful but we had a great meal. ^__^ I discovered homemade Tom Yum soup. I think I am starting to fall in love with San Diego. :)
The real surprised came Saturday when we went and watched "Kill Bill 2"--hubby's choice. Okay, it wasn't really his choice. I was looking forward to it to because we really enjoyed part 1. It was Godawful to say the least. I thought the movie was just really slow, but it wasn't. It was just plain crappy throughout. God knows what the critics on Yahoo was smoking when they rated it a B+. People were leaving the theater throughout the movie. Ten minutes into the movie some guy in the back shout, "This movie sucks!" Boy, was he right. Almost the entire theater was talking and nobody give a damn. It's certain one of the worse movie I have seen in a while.
Sunday was uneventful but we had a great meal. ^__^ I discovered homemade Tom Yum soup. I think I am starting to fall in love with San Diego. :)
posted by cahalan @ 22:59
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Consumer Queen III
And more picture. :) This one is brought to you from greentea design:
I think this closet is absolutely adorable; what do you think? :)
I think this closet is absolutely adorable; what do you think? :)
posted by cahalan @ 18:00
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Fillers
Seems like I've been using a lot of fillers lately. :) What's another one, huh? I went back to AlexNg.com and found his entry on March 28 simply hilarious so I'll have to show it to you guys in case you are too busy to check out his site. XD
Here goes:
Jenny pointed out to me, this morning, that in Hong Kong there's probably two things people do on a Sunday morning / lunchtime - and this applies to about 75% of the population. If you're a Christian, then, obviously, you'll go to church. If, however, you're not ... then you'll go to worship the god of roast pork buns and shrimp dumplings at the local dim sum place.
Dim sum in Hong Kong, is unique. Let me tell you why:
1.
In a dim sum place, everyone's hearing suddenly disappears. This is particularly tragic as it means you have to really shout at the person sitting next to you before you think they can hear you. Also, they're shouting at you, so ....
[Sometimes this condition spreads out of the dim sum restaurant where you can find people you don't even know - like old women on the street - shouting at you]
2.
According to the ladies (who seem to hate their job more than most normal people ... they obviously prefer to be eating the dim sum rather than dishing it out) who are pushing the dim sum trolleys around the restaurant, men all become "leng jai" (handsome boy) and women become "leng lui" (pretty girl). This classification is regardless of age, height, waist size and looks. Their classification is basically: has testicles and smells bad = "leng jai"; wearing flowery shirt and has slightly less facial hair then partner = "leng lui."
3.
Do not question what you eat ... JUST STICK IT IN YOUR MOUTH AND CHEW. If after ten minutes of chew, it is still undigestible ... I'm sorry, you just tried to eat your napkin. Things in dim sum places are exactly what they seem ... unfortunately. If you're thinking, "hey, that looks like a segment of pig fat .. haha." It is. Or, "hey, doesn't that look like chicken feet?" Sorry my friend, it is.
4.
Stains. Stains on your table cloth are normal. They're part of the decorations, in fact. Do not try to find a "clean" table. They don't exist. If you wear glasses, take them off ... that'll make the experience all the more enjoyable.
5.
Those cute, authentic circular, bamboo steaming things. That's a nice style feature to make the whole dim sum experience sort of ... um .. authentic, isn't it? Wrong. They use them because most of the slippery dim sum is so difficult to pick up ... if, when you try pick up a dumpling, you find yourself pushing it around with your chopsticks, then at least it won't go across the table it's in the bamboo thingy. Great idea.
[I suggest using one chopstick for the really slippery ones. Stand up. Aim carefully and then SPEAR it ... like a tribal warrior spearing fish in the river. Except don't yell, you might find people staring at you.]
6.
Captain = head waiter. Don't ask me why. I don't see a ship anywhere.
7.
If you have found bones, or anything else un-swallowable, in your food (as is always possible). You can spit it out. Feel free to spit as loudly or as far as you want. If your plate fills up, just spit it on the table. As a result, we get point number 4 (above).
8.
If you're a male and young, you pour the tea. That's just the way it is. Don't even think about eating because they brought you to POUR THE TEA. Just don't get too obsessed that you have nightmares about it.
Here goes:
Jenny pointed out to me, this morning, that in Hong Kong there's probably two things people do on a Sunday morning / lunchtime - and this applies to about 75% of the population. If you're a Christian, then, obviously, you'll go to church. If, however, you're not ... then you'll go to worship the god of roast pork buns and shrimp dumplings at the local dim sum place.
Dim sum in Hong Kong, is unique. Let me tell you why:
1.
In a dim sum place, everyone's hearing suddenly disappears. This is particularly tragic as it means you have to really shout at the person sitting next to you before you think they can hear you. Also, they're shouting at you, so ....
[Sometimes this condition spreads out of the dim sum restaurant where you can find people you don't even know - like old women on the street - shouting at you]
2.
According to the ladies (who seem to hate their job more than most normal people ... they obviously prefer to be eating the dim sum rather than dishing it out) who are pushing the dim sum trolleys around the restaurant, men all become "leng jai" (handsome boy) and women become "leng lui" (pretty girl). This classification is regardless of age, height, waist size and looks. Their classification is basically: has testicles and smells bad = "leng jai"; wearing flowery shirt and has slightly less facial hair then partner = "leng lui."
3.
Do not question what you eat ... JUST STICK IT IN YOUR MOUTH AND CHEW. If after ten minutes of chew, it is still undigestible ... I'm sorry, you just tried to eat your napkin. Things in dim sum places are exactly what they seem ... unfortunately. If you're thinking, "hey, that looks like a segment of pig fat .. haha." It is. Or, "hey, doesn't that look like chicken feet?" Sorry my friend, it is.
4.
Stains. Stains on your table cloth are normal. They're part of the decorations, in fact. Do not try to find a "clean" table. They don't exist. If you wear glasses, take them off ... that'll make the experience all the more enjoyable.
5.
Those cute, authentic circular, bamboo steaming things. That's a nice style feature to make the whole dim sum experience sort of ... um .. authentic, isn't it? Wrong. They use them because most of the slippery dim sum is so difficult to pick up ... if, when you try pick up a dumpling, you find yourself pushing it around with your chopsticks, then at least it won't go across the table it's in the bamboo thingy. Great idea.
[I suggest using one chopstick for the really slippery ones. Stand up. Aim carefully and then SPEAR it ... like a tribal warrior spearing fish in the river. Except don't yell, you might find people staring at you.]
6.
Captain = head waiter. Don't ask me why. I don't see a ship anywhere.
7.
If you have found bones, or anything else un-swallowable, in your food (as is always possible). You can spit it out. Feel free to spit as loudly or as far as you want. If your plate fills up, just spit it on the table. As a result, we get point number 4 (above).
8.
If you're a male and young, you pour the tea. That's just the way it is. Don't even think about eating because they brought you to POUR THE TEA. Just don't get too obsessed that you have nightmares about it.
posted by cahalan @ 15:00
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This is even COOLER!!
10.4" screen AND it rotates AND it can be attached to the back of the headrest in your car! XD
original form 
then it becomes this XD
you can twist it 
instant kids entertainment!! XD
And just to be a decent person, here's where I got the picture from. :)
original form then it becomes this XD
you can twist it instant kids entertainment!! XD
And just to be a decent person, here's where I got the picture from. :)
posted by cahalan @ 13:12
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Queen of the Consumer Culture part II
More gadgets that I desire. (Now that I have figured out how to litter images in my blog, I am going to abuse it. XD) I went out with my hubby yesterday and saw that 7" portable DVD players has finally dropped under $200!! Don't ask me why I need one in a household with 2 DVD players, 5 desktop computers, and 2 laptops. I just like gadgets. XD 'sides, who said anything about "need"? :)
I guess when I used to work around the clock I can watch it in bed at night with the headphone on. Now that I work 8 hrs day, then trying to read/write emails, blog, read blogs, read paper and study, I hardly even have time to watch any movies. XD Oh, I don't know. It's worth posting this just to irk Sudolly. :)
I guess when I used to work around the clock I can watch it in bed at night with the headphone on. Now that I work 8 hrs day, then trying to read/write emails, blog, read blogs, read paper and study, I hardly even have time to watch any movies. XD Oh, I don't know. It's worth posting this just to irk Sudolly. :)
posted by cahalan @ 13:02
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Queen of the Consumer Culture
Parrhesiaste calls me the "queen of the consumer culture," quite frankly, I don't see what's wrong with that. There's demand; there's supply; everyone is happy; keeps the economy rolling--everybody wins. And buying little small stuff really makes me happy. :) Just for that, I am going to put up a few pic--which I realized I have never done in the past!--that I found of interest today. These products can be found on ligne roset's website @ http://www.ligne-roset-usa.com.
a bed with build in trays :)
not sure why you'd need that extra edge/surrounding, but looks very cool. :)
and a vase that shapes like a submarine. :D
a bed with build in trays :)
not sure why you'd need that extra edge/surrounding, but looks very cool. :)
and a vase that shapes like a submarine. :D
posted by cahalan @ 12:41
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Saturday, April 24, 2004
Alex Ng
So I discovered this blog today by this guy name Alex Ng. I think his blog is very funny. For starters, here's the quote on the front page, "Happiness is like peeing your pants. Everyone can see it ... but only you can feel the warmth." Wasn't exactly how I would put it, but to each their own, right?
And one of his posts from his blog. Hope he doesn't mind:
Saw Osama Bin Laden (or another Osama video) on TV again the other day. I think we should just give him a regular slot on primetime TV ... maybe between 7:50-8:00am. We can call it "Ten minutes with Osama" or "Waking Up With A Crazy Dude" and he can tell us about the day's weather, good travel deals or something. I'm wondering a few things about all his video messages here:
1: When the entire Osama Bin Laden video collection will be available to rent at Blockbusters?
2: When is he finally going to get nominated for an Oscar?
3: When he's going to start having commercials in his videos?
4: When is he going to get sponsored ... ie. broadcast his messages of terrorism in a NIKE t-shirt, with a McDonalds cheeseburger in his right hand, a Starbucks coffee in his left and 15 Marlboro cigarettes jammed in his mouth?
5: When is Michael Jackson going to get a "walk on" roll in one of his videos (because they're both crazy enough to be great friends)
6: When's he going to shave his beard?
7: When's he going to get some decent subtitles?
Here are a few things I would like to hear him to say in his videos:
1: [In the style of a news reporter] ".... and I'm Osama 'Madman' Bin Laden, reporting from a cave 13.4km north of Kabul .... My cave's the one shaped like a chicken drumstick"
2: "But enough of messages of terror. Let's look at our starsigns for this week ..."
3: "I've had a few letters this week. The first reads like this: 'Osama .. Please, please, please tell me where you are. I've spent too much money looking for you and I realize that despite all our technologically-advanced systems, we forgot to install a 'look-for-bearded-man-in-cave' function. From George.' Well, George ... my response to that is .. wahahahahaha.
4: "I've decided to call a truce. Peace. I want this fighting to stop now. Why? Because I'm a good man. Because God told me to do it this way and because I want to stop the suffering of innocent people ........................ also, I'm running out of underwear and the people I'm sharing the cave with are beginning to really piss me off. And I miss watching the Discovery Channel, going to the beach and I need to see how 'Sex and the City' ends. Thank you.
5: "And now over to Geoff for the Sport. Geoff."
----------
Hope you guys enjoyed his entry as much as I did. :)
And one of his posts from his blog. Hope he doesn't mind:
Saw Osama Bin Laden (or another Osama video) on TV again the other day. I think we should just give him a regular slot on primetime TV ... maybe between 7:50-8:00am. We can call it "Ten minutes with Osama" or "Waking Up With A Crazy Dude" and he can tell us about the day's weather, good travel deals or something. I'm wondering a few things about all his video messages here:
1: When the entire Osama Bin Laden video collection will be available to rent at Blockbusters?
2: When is he finally going to get nominated for an Oscar?
3: When he's going to start having commercials in his videos?
4: When is he going to get sponsored ... ie. broadcast his messages of terrorism in a NIKE t-shirt, with a McDonalds cheeseburger in his right hand, a Starbucks coffee in his left and 15 Marlboro cigarettes jammed in his mouth?
5: When is Michael Jackson going to get a "walk on" roll in one of his videos (because they're both crazy enough to be great friends)
6: When's he going to shave his beard?
7: When's he going to get some decent subtitles?
Here are a few things I would like to hear him to say in his videos:
1: [In the style of a news reporter] ".... and I'm Osama 'Madman' Bin Laden, reporting from a cave 13.4km north of Kabul .... My cave's the one shaped like a chicken drumstick"
2: "But enough of messages of terror. Let's look at our starsigns for this week ..."
3: "I've had a few letters this week. The first reads like this: 'Osama .. Please, please, please tell me where you are. I've spent too much money looking for you and I realize that despite all our technologically-advanced systems, we forgot to install a 'look-for-bearded-man-in-cave' function. From George.' Well, George ... my response to that is .. wahahahahaha.
4: "I've decided to call a truce. Peace. I want this fighting to stop now. Why? Because I'm a good man. Because God told me to do it this way and because I want to stop the suffering of innocent people ........................ also, I'm running out of underwear and the people I'm sharing the cave with are beginning to really piss me off. And I miss watching the Discovery Channel, going to the beach and I need to see how 'Sex and the City' ends. Thank you.
5: "And now over to Geoff for the Sport. Geoff."
----------
Hope you guys enjoyed his entry as much as I did. :)
posted by cahalan @ 23:44
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Hubby and Overtime
I had to stay late and work overtime yesterday, which I didn't mind even though it was a Friday--the pay was quite hefty. And I knew my husband, being home instead of at work, would definitely call at least a few times asking me, "When are you going to be home?" I noticed that whenever a female colleague work overtime, their husbands always call, repeatedly. What's up with that? Don't they know that the more times they call, the longer it will take? So I wanted to tell him I was "憒���怠�����" (the last character pronounced as "tea" to irk him) and "瘞湔楛��怎��", but my hubby is white so I guess certain things I'll just never be able to get across to him. :)
posted by cahalan @ 10:20
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Babes and Boy
So I was walking down San Diego Downtown yesterday and I couldn't help but notice all the hot babes on the street. For some odd reason, San Diego seems to have a disproportionally high concentration of attractive men and women (and everyone seems to have money coming out of his/her ears!! But that belongs to a different blog). So I was thinking to myself, I wish I've met my husband when I was 16 or 18 and was still hot. Then it hit me that my husband would only be 12 1/2 when I was 18.... I think that would post a little bit of a problem. XD
posted by cahalan @ 09:46
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Friday, April 23, 2004
Newspaper Subscription
I have been dabating about newspaper subscription. $15 for 8 weeks, that's practically a steal. Problem is I wonder if I'll ever have the time to read it. Those of you who have subscribed and never had the time to read will know this: after a while, the piling up of the newspaper inside the house--usually immediately next to the front door, and subsequently to have to throw them all out will both became a task in and of itself. XD Decisions. Decisions. :)
posted by cahalan @ 14:45
|
Overview of today's news headline
Collision of two trains in N. Korea led to estimated 3,000 being injured or killed
And what did the government do right away? Shut down internation phone lines so the news can get out. Um.... What if I want to find out if my love ones in N. Korea are okay? I sure hope they also remembered to shut down the cell phone and satellite phone lines.
Two suspected SARS cases reported in Beijing
Oh, c'mon people. Are you stupid or what? Eating comprises a major part of my meaning of life, but if they suspect that eating civic cat is the cause of SARS, can't they just give up that ONE item from their diet? Let alone that it's game meat, it's never in the regular menu to begin with. I wonder how stupid can these people get.
Local: Ban on voting machine urged
Probably a good idea. With our luck Bush just might get re-elected from machine errors. Next thing you know, we'll be drafting and shipping out 18 year old boys to Iraq to fight the war that never should have started in the first place.
And what did the government do right away? Shut down internation phone lines so the news can get out. Um.... What if I want to find out if my love ones in N. Korea are okay? I sure hope they also remembered to shut down the cell phone and satellite phone lines.
Two suspected SARS cases reported in Beijing
Oh, c'mon people. Are you stupid or what? Eating comprises a major part of my meaning of life, but if they suspect that eating civic cat is the cause of SARS, can't they just give up that ONE item from their diet? Let alone that it's game meat, it's never in the regular menu to begin with. I wonder how stupid can these people get.
Local: Ban on voting machine urged
Probably a good idea. With our luck Bush just might get re-elected from machine errors. Next thing you know, we'll be drafting and shipping out 18 year old boys to Iraq to fight the war that never should have started in the first place.
posted by cahalan @ 14:28
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Thursday, April 22, 2004
Dreamland Express
I caught a ride on the Dreamland Express last night
I was sailing on an ocean of blue
And right there by my side, much to my surprise, was you
I said, come over here baby, let me look in your eyes
Let me see the very heart of you
And I couldn���t believe it, TO conceive that my dream would come true
Cause you said, hey there sweet daddy, everything is alright
for miles there���s not a telephone line
There���s not a soul to disturb us don't be nervous
Just come and be mine
You said, let me be the end of your rainbow
Let me be the stars up above
Let me be the one that you long forgotten
Let me be the one that you love, oh, oh
Let me be the one that you love
And now it���s four in the mornin���,Honey I can���t sleep
I can't seemed to get you out of my mind
I keep tossin��� and turnin���, I���m yearnin��� for the sun to shine
I���d like to send you a ticket on the Dreamland Express
And take you far away with me
I���ve got a vision of heaven and you livin��� there with me
Let me be the end of your rainbow
Let me be the stars up above
Let me be the one that you dream of baby
Let me be the one that you love, oh, oh
Let me be the one that you love
Let me be the end of your rainbow
Let me be the stars up above
Let me be the one that you dream of baby
Let me be the one that you love, oh, oh
Let me be the one that you love
The first time I heard about John Denver's Dreamland express--heard being "made aware of the existance of this song--I read it in a Chinese book. Huh? You might say. The author was referring to what was meant to be the translated lyrics of this song. I've came to like this song, even though I have never listened to the song (not that I am aware of anyway). This was before the generation of the internet (yeah, I'm old. Shuddup!). Many years later, I've finally decided to look up the song to get the complete lyrics from the internet. To my surprise, the original version was quite different than the one that I've known and loved all these years.
The English translation of the Chinese translation go something like this:
I boarded a train called the Dreamland express;
Over the mountains,
Over the oceans,
*snip*
As long as you are in the train with me,
All of my dreams will come true.
----
So which version do you all like better? :)
I was sailing on an ocean of blue
And right there by my side, much to my surprise, was you
I said, come over here baby, let me look in your eyes
Let me see the very heart of you
And I couldn���t believe it, TO conceive that my dream would come true
Cause you said, hey there sweet daddy, everything is alright
for miles there���s not a telephone line
There���s not a soul to disturb us don't be nervous
Just come and be mine
You said, let me be the end of your rainbow
Let me be the stars up above
Let me be the one that you long forgotten
Let me be the one that you love, oh, oh
Let me be the one that you love
And now it���s four in the mornin���,Honey I can���t sleep
I can't seemed to get you out of my mind
I keep tossin��� and turnin���, I���m yearnin��� for the sun to shine
I���d like to send you a ticket on the Dreamland Express
And take you far away with me
I���ve got a vision of heaven and you livin��� there with me
Let me be the end of your rainbow
Let me be the stars up above
Let me be the one that you dream of baby
Let me be the one that you love, oh, oh
Let me be the one that you love
Let me be the end of your rainbow
Let me be the stars up above
Let me be the one that you dream of baby
Let me be the one that you love, oh, oh
Let me be the one that you love
The first time I heard about John Denver's Dreamland express--heard being "made aware of the existance of this song--I read it in a Chinese book. Huh? You might say. The author was referring to what was meant to be the translated lyrics of this song. I've came to like this song, even though I have never listened to the song (not that I am aware of anyway). This was before the generation of the internet (yeah, I'm old. Shuddup!). Many years later, I've finally decided to look up the song to get the complete lyrics from the internet. To my surprise, the original version was quite different than the one that I've known and loved all these years.
The English translation of the Chinese translation go something like this:
I boarded a train called the Dreamland express;
Over the mountains,
Over the oceans,
*snip*
As long as you are in the train with me,
All of my dreams will come true.
----
So which version do you all like better? :)
posted by cahalan @ 21:16
|
I spoke too soon...
I refer to my post about the scanner... Just when I thought my home office is complete... I am missing a LAMINATOR!!
Are you reading this, hon? *hint* *hint*
Are you reading this, hon? *hint* *hint*
posted by cahalan @ 21:14
|
Wednesday, April 21, 2004
This Post is Dedicated to Sudolly, or Those Who can Read Chinese Characters
I love idioms, in any languages (well, I really only know two XD). I think idioms are the essence (蝎暸��) of a language.
Sudolly said she like reading my direct translations so here's another one for her:
擐祆香��賢�啗��
trans: horse dead, walk on ground
Am I ingenious or what?! It even has the same number of words!! XD
And for those of you who can't read a lick of Chinese, I believe the idiom means: push come to shove. :)
I'll try to put up more as they occur to me. :)
Sudolly said she like reading my direct translations so here's another one for her:
擐祆香��賢�啗��
trans: horse dead, walk on ground
Am I ingenious or what?! It even has the same number of words!! XD
And for those of you who can't read a lick of Chinese, I believe the idiom means: push come to shove. :)
I'll try to put up more as they occur to me. :)
posted by cahalan @ 18:08
|
My Husband and His Femininity
I always hear women complainting about how their men are not "in touch with their feminine side" and I never understand that. Why DO men need to be "in touch with their feminine side"? Why do men even HAVE a feminine side? Are they complainting that their men are too manly? Mind you, that's a very specific complaint local to the US. Perhaps because I've never been with a man who's truly from Mars, I do not understand the merit of the complaint.
Once upon a time, a (female) coworker happily told us how she and her husband went and bought new bedsheets; how it was her turn to choose it so she wanted her floral pattern. Well, I was (relatively) young back then, so I've always thought that men detest floral stuff. Well, when purchase our new house, guess what my husband asked? "Does these (floral) draperies come with it?" Since then I've always made fun of him for being so in touch with his feminine side. :)
Ever notice those little 2-3 mm hole in the back of the new SamSung cell phones? Ever wonder what they are for? Well, in Asian cultures, we have all these little gimmicks that you can tie to them. Some allows you to wear your phone around your neck; others just for decoration purposes. Needless to say, most of them are pretty feminine. :) Being a person with no immunity to cute-sy knick knacks, I bought a whole bunch last time I was in Hong Kong. I would have brought back more, but my white husband have no idea why I'd need more than one. *rolls eyes* Well, we don't wear uniforms everyday, do we?! We need changes, options! (Oh, he's in the Navy, he does wear uniform everyday. LOL) Anyway, I bought a t-rex one and conveniently placed it on hubby's phone.
Hubby, being a man, not from Mars but a man nonetheless, tends to just shove his phone into his pocket, along with everything else. (He also does that to our new digital camera, and wonders why there's a mark on the screen now.) Soon, Mr. T-rex fell off and died a horrible death. Not wanting to give up my other cute collections, I tied another one to his cell phone. This one is a nice bluish, translucent tag that says ��砌�����蝺�. It also has a cute little bell attached to it. I felt for sure he'd remove it soon as he saw it, but his response was, "Oh, whatever."
Lately, he has been working on redesigning our personal page. He asked me to look at the prototype and on there was the image of a beautiful butterfly, photographed by him, with nice, soft, mellow green color background. My response? "Lucky you are married." :D
Once upon a time, a (female) coworker happily told us how she and her husband went and bought new bedsheets; how it was her turn to choose it so she wanted her floral pattern. Well, I was (relatively) young back then, so I've always thought that men detest floral stuff. Well, when purchase our new house, guess what my husband asked? "Does these (floral) draperies come with it?" Since then I've always made fun of him for being so in touch with his feminine side. :)
Ever notice those little 2-3 mm hole in the back of the new SamSung cell phones? Ever wonder what they are for? Well, in Asian cultures, we have all these little gimmicks that you can tie to them. Some allows you to wear your phone around your neck; others just for decoration purposes. Needless to say, most of them are pretty feminine. :) Being a person with no immunity to cute-sy knick knacks, I bought a whole bunch last time I was in Hong Kong. I would have brought back more, but my white husband have no idea why I'd need more than one. *rolls eyes* Well, we don't wear uniforms everyday, do we?! We need changes, options! (Oh, he's in the Navy, he does wear uniform everyday. LOL) Anyway, I bought a t-rex one and conveniently placed it on hubby's phone.
Hubby, being a man, not from Mars but a man nonetheless, tends to just shove his phone into his pocket, along with everything else. (He also does that to our new digital camera, and wonders why there's a mark on the screen now.) Soon, Mr. T-rex fell off and died a horrible death. Not wanting to give up my other cute collections, I tied another one to his cell phone. This one is a nice bluish, translucent tag that says ��砌�����蝺�. It also has a cute little bell attached to it. I felt for sure he'd remove it soon as he saw it, but his response was, "Oh, whatever."
Lately, he has been working on redesigning our personal page. He asked me to look at the prototype and on there was the image of a beautiful butterfly, photographed by him, with nice, soft, mellow green color background. My response? "Lucky you are married." :D
posted by cahalan @ 18:06
|
Saturday, April 17, 2004
I'll Always Love You :)
Whenever i'm alone with you
you make me feel like i'm home again
whenever i'm alone with you
You make me feel like i'm whole again
Whenever i'm alone with you
You make me feel like i am young again
Whenever i'm alone with you
You make me feel like i'm fun again
However far away
I will always love you
However long i stay
I will always love you
whatever words i say
i will always love you
i will always love you
Whenever i'm alone with you
you make me feel like i'm free again
Whenever i'm alone with you
you make me feel like i'm clean again
However far away
i will always love you
however long i stay
i will always love you
whatever word i say
i will always love you
i will always love you
you make me feel like i'm home again
whenever i'm alone with you
You make me feel like i'm whole again
Whenever i'm alone with you
You make me feel like i am young again
Whenever i'm alone with you
You make me feel like i'm fun again
However far away
I will always love you
However long i stay
I will always love you
whatever words i say
i will always love you
i will always love you
Whenever i'm alone with you
you make me feel like i'm free again
Whenever i'm alone with you
you make me feel like i'm clean again
However far away
i will always love you
however long i stay
i will always love you
whatever word i say
i will always love you
i will always love you
posted by cahalan @ 11:28
|
Get a Good Laugh
I think this site is a blast. (If you don't find this interesting and is seriously thinking about purchasing it. I suggest you to get help and not the product.>
I followed a link to this website and I had to click on the "purchase now" link to believe that it's a real website. This is like a home shopping commerical live on a website. Oh, c'mon. How to catch your cheating spouse? When you strongly suspect that your significant other is cheating on you, to the point that you are going to spend $39.95 to find out for yourself, perhaps what you really should do is leave this person. Or if you love this said person so much that you can't leave him/her, then what's the point of finding out whether he/she is cheating or not? Chances are, if you suspect it so much to want physical proof (unless you are trying to get alimony/ammo out of it), you are probably right. At least the websit is honest by stating that it's not how to survive/rebuild your relationship.
To me, trust is the single most important thing in a relaitonship. If there is no trust, there is no relationship. Save your $39.95 and buy something nice for yourself. (If Dr. Laura can give advices, so can I. :D)
I followed a link to this website and I had to click on the "purchase now" link to believe that it's a real website. This is like a home shopping commerical live on a website. Oh, c'mon. How to catch your cheating spouse? When you strongly suspect that your significant other is cheating on you, to the point that you are going to spend $39.95 to find out for yourself, perhaps what you really should do is leave this person. Or if you love this said person so much that you can't leave him/her, then what's the point of finding out whether he/she is cheating or not? Chances are, if you suspect it so much to want physical proof (unless you are trying to get alimony/ammo out of it), you are probably right. At least the websit is honest by stating that it's not how to survive/rebuild your relationship.
To me, trust is the single most important thing in a relaitonship. If there is no trust, there is no relationship. Save your $39.95 and buy something nice for yourself. (If Dr. Laura can give advices, so can I. :D)
posted by cahalan @ 10:38
|
Scanner
(Back to my tedious blogging :D)
With the new domain name, it will allow me to put up pictures AT WILL!! How exciting is THAT?
Hubby bought me a scanner for my birthday, thus completing our arena of office equipment: fax, phone, photo printer, laser printer, and now a scanner! I can't wait to set up my home office next year!! :D
With the new domain name, it will allow me to put up pictures AT WILL!! How exciting is THAT?
Hubby bought me a scanner for my birthday, thus completing our arena of office equipment: fax, phone, photo printer, laser printer, and now a scanner! I can't wait to set up my home office next year!! :D
posted by cahalan @ 10:35
|
This is so sad...
I didn't pay for Blogger.com (part of it was because their paid service was temporarily not accepting new users), but I discovered this website that allows you to put their minigames on your website... so I purchased my own domain name. XD
Oh, all the toys one can find on the web.
With the internet, sky is the limit. :)
Oh, all the toys one can find on the web.
With the internet, sky is the limit. :)
posted by cahalan @ 10:33
|
Friday, April 16, 2004
Our Service Men and Women
It's been a while since I've done a serious entry. This blog is getting progressively more scattered and unfocused. :D But there are already so many blogs out there focusing solely on politics, and so much more insightful than mine. :)
***
So couple days ago I was watching TV in the morning. It was announcing that these service men and women of ours, literally a minute before they board the plane to come home, were told that their service had been extended, for AT LEAST another 90 days. Can you imagine what that is like? To be excited about finally seeing your loved one, siblings, children, only to have that happiness taken away from you, and the last minute no less.
Then my husband called me on the phone. He has been working "midshift" (0000 to 0700 hours) to tell me he was on his way home. And I couldn't help but started crying; thinking about how the love ones of those service men and women would feel; thinking how lucky I was that even though my husband is in the military, I don't have to worry about him going to Iraq.
So support our serivce men and women with a little more than just words. Make a donation:
Operation Uplink is an operation that gets phone cards for active military personnel to allow them more talk time with their love ones. Remember, anything helps!
***
So couple days ago I was watching TV in the morning. It was announcing that these service men and women of ours, literally a minute before they board the plane to come home, were told that their service had been extended, for AT LEAST another 90 days. Can you imagine what that is like? To be excited about finally seeing your loved one, siblings, children, only to have that happiness taken away from you, and the last minute no less.
Then my husband called me on the phone. He has been working "midshift" (0000 to 0700 hours) to tell me he was on his way home. And I couldn't help but started crying; thinking about how the love ones of those service men and women would feel; thinking how lucky I was that even though my husband is in the military, I don't have to worry about him going to Iraq.
So support our serivce men and women with a little more than just words. Make a donation:
Operation Uplink is an operation that gets phone cards for active military personnel to allow them more talk time with their love ones. Remember, anything helps!
posted by cahalan @ 22:03
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Wednesday, April 14, 2004
Interesting Gaming Sites
See if you can get out of this Crimson Room
And if you enjoyed Crimson Room, you must check out Motas
posted by cahalan @ 23:03
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Blogs
Blogs are definitely horribly addictive, perhaps more so than nicotine. XD Okay, that's a bit exaggerating it. Maybe more like chips. Once you started, you can't stop. Now not only do I want to blog everyday (can blog even be used as a verb?), sometimes just blogging because I needed the fix, I found myself frantically going through the list of blogs on the blogger.com page. I have to skim through each blog real quick to determine if I like it, bookmark it, then move onto the next one. After all, it displays 10 blogs every minutes. Here's the ultimate irony. If I do that everytime, when will I have time to return to read the blogs I bookmarked? :D
See? Yet another sloppy entry. LOL.
See? Yet another sloppy entry. LOL.
posted by cahalan @ 20:16
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Tuesday, April 13, 2004
Calling
You know how people always talk about their "calling in life"? Kinda like how they talk about "you just know when you meet the right person" or "he(or she) will rock your world." I don't know. To me, my marrying Tom was more like a "Why Not?" :D
Anyways, I was raised to become a career woman--or I should say--a professional. Doctor, engineer, lawyer, architect, it doesn't matter; just some type of professional. It's the whole Asian thing, you know? So I went to college because it was an obligation. Well, four years and $16,000 student loan later, I still don't know what I want to do "when I grow up." :D
But a couple of years ago, I think I have figured out what my calling is--SELLING STRESS TOYS!!! :D (If you don't know what a "stress toy" is, they are these promotional squeeze balls that you get as promotional items a lot, but you can't buy them individually. Check out some of them on these two sites. :)
Garrett-Specialties
epromo
I think it'll make me a very happy woman to have my own booth in a shopping center selling stress balls. XD And boxing up mail orders every day. XD And maybe one day it'll become a chain like the JellyBean shops. :) People will come inside, grab a basket, browse and pick out all the different size, shapes and colors that they want. ^__^ Just thinking about it is enough to make me happy. :)
If anyone out there is interested in pursuing this idea with me. Do drop me a line!!! :D
Anyways, I was raised to become a career woman--or I should say--a professional. Doctor, engineer, lawyer, architect, it doesn't matter; just some type of professional. It's the whole Asian thing, you know? So I went to college because it was an obligation. Well, four years and $16,000 student loan later, I still don't know what I want to do "when I grow up." :D
But a couple of years ago, I think I have figured out what my calling is--SELLING STRESS TOYS!!! :D (If you don't know what a "stress toy" is, they are these promotional squeeze balls that you get as promotional items a lot, but you can't buy them individually. Check out some of them on these two sites. :)
Garrett-Specialties
epromo
I think it'll make me a very happy woman to have my own booth in a shopping center selling stress balls. XD And boxing up mail orders every day. XD And maybe one day it'll become a chain like the JellyBean shops. :) People will come inside, grab a basket, browse and pick out all the different size, shapes and colors that they want. ^__^ Just thinking about it is enough to make me happy. :)
If anyone out there is interested in pursuing this idea with me. Do drop me a line!!! :D
posted by cahalan @ 22:49
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Tid Bits
Inspired by Kamigoroshi's Introduction page:
The most sexist man I have ever seen (RL & TV):
Thomas Gibson as Greg Montgomery in the show "Dharma & Greg".
Note: Very specifically that character. I liked his look with Greg's personality. It's the combination of both that makes me think he is sexy; not one or the other. :) I've seen some earlier pictures of Thomas Gibson. Let's just say there were room for improvement. Keanu Reeves wasn't too shabby in "Speed", but that was short lived. XD
Other celebrities that I also attractive:
Bill Pullman, Brandon Fraiser, Ben Affleck
First time I noticed that all their first names start with the letter "B". And you got it! I strongly favors all American boys with brown hair. ^__^
Favorite actors:
Will Smith, Bruce Willis, Mel Gibson
I like characters that crack jokes under duress. All of the above mentioned characters have play at least one of the roles that fit that description.
Favorite Actresses:
Alexis Bledel (Gilmore Girls), Selma Blair (sooo happy to see her getting a non-airhead role in "Hellboy"), Pen矇lope Cruz and many other hot actresses. ^__^
Favorite Books:
"The Little World of Don Camillo" by Giovanni Guareschi (I especially loved the introduction. :)
"Memoirs of a Geisha" by Arthur Golden
Favorite Novella:
"Beggars in Spain" by Nancy Kress
Favorite Genre of Movies:
In this order:
(1) B-line romance comedy (I watch almost all of them :D)
(2) Comedy (Slightly more picky about this genre :D)
(3) Actions/Drama
(4) Monster Flicks
Favorite TV Show:
(1) American Dreams
(2) Gilmore Girls
(3) Fear Factor (I watch this religiously XD)
Favorite Photographer:
Tom Brakefield (I am unable to find his website, but you can see some of his work here. I love his big cats the best. :)
Other interest:
Photography (except I don't take pictures. I merely enjoy looking at them.) Webshots.com, American Photo Jounalist
Collecting big picture books, especially those with animals, insects, buildings, or interior design :)
I go through phases when I really get into technical gadgets: camera phone, PDA, etc. :)
I also like this magazine called "Communication Art", I collect their "Photo Annual" (I happened to pick up their 2003 issue last year, then I backordered the previous 10 years' "Photo Annual" :)
Oooh, and knick knacks. I have absolutely no immunity to cute knick knacks. :D
***
This will also be a constantly growing list. :D
The most sexist man I have ever seen (RL & TV):
Thomas Gibson as Greg Montgomery in the show "Dharma & Greg".
Note: Very specifically that character. I liked his look with Greg's personality. It's the combination of both that makes me think he is sexy; not one or the other. :) I've seen some earlier pictures of Thomas Gibson. Let's just say there were room for improvement. Keanu Reeves wasn't too shabby in "Speed", but that was short lived. XD
Other celebrities that I also attractive:
Bill Pullman, Brandon Fraiser, Ben Affleck
First time I noticed that all their first names start with the letter "B". And you got it! I strongly favors all American boys with brown hair. ^__^
Favorite actors:
Will Smith, Bruce Willis, Mel Gibson
I like characters that crack jokes under duress. All of the above mentioned characters have play at least one of the roles that fit that description.
Favorite Actresses:
Alexis Bledel (Gilmore Girls), Selma Blair (sooo happy to see her getting a non-airhead role in "Hellboy"), Pen矇lope Cruz and many other hot actresses. ^__^
Favorite Books:
"The Little World of Don Camillo" by Giovanni Guareschi (I especially loved the introduction. :)
"Memoirs of a Geisha" by Arthur Golden
Favorite Novella:
"Beggars in Spain" by Nancy Kress
Favorite Genre of Movies:
In this order:
(1) B-line romance comedy (I watch almost all of them :D)
(2) Comedy (Slightly more picky about this genre :D)
(3) Actions/Drama
(4) Monster Flicks
Favorite TV Show:
(1) American Dreams
(2) Gilmore Girls
(3) Fear Factor (I watch this religiously XD)
Favorite Photographer:
Tom Brakefield (I am unable to find his website, but you can see some of his work here. I love his big cats the best. :)
Other interest:
Photography (except I don't take pictures. I merely enjoy looking at them.) Webshots.com, American Photo Jounalist
Collecting big picture books, especially those with animals, insects, buildings, or interior design :)
I go through phases when I really get into technical gadgets: camera phone, PDA, etc. :)
I also like this magazine called "Communication Art", I collect their "Photo Annual" (I happened to pick up their 2003 issue last year, then I backordered the previous 10 years' "Photo Annual" :)
Oooh, and knick knacks. I have absolutely no immunity to cute knick knacks. :D
***
This will also be a constantly growing list. :D
posted by cahalan @ 20:10
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Monday, April 12, 2004
From Love, Stems Fear
��望�����������
��望�����������
��仿�Ｘ�潭�����
��⊥��鈭衣�⊥��
From love stems worries
From love stems fear
Those who possess no love
Are free of worries and fear
��望�����������
��仿�Ｘ�潭�����
��⊥��鈭衣�⊥��
From love stems worries
From love stems fear
Those who possess no love
Are free of worries and fear
posted by cahalan @ 23:11
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Life Should be a Choice
This was originally meant to be my response to Kamigoroshi's entry, but the length of it just got way out of control so I've decided to use it as an entry on my own blog.
Kamigoroshi's question was: if I want to live forever, or at least 500 years, or at least 200 years. Forever? HELL NO! Forever is a very scary concept. It implies never ending. What would be this one thing in life, or afterlife for that matter, that you'd want to go on forever and still enjoy it? Imaging your favorite food/dish, now imagine it every meal every day. Your favorite spot, favorite scenary. Now imagine being stuck there forever. I've heard many people talked about how they want to just stay home and not have to work. I can't speak for everyone, but I have been on vacation so long that I missed going back to work. It's only work that makes your free time precious. And that is also what death is to life.
I studied science in college. My passion being biological sciences, I have a slightly different view on death than most people. To me, death is as natural as birth. There is life and there is death, one is not necessarily worse than others. Imaging lives being created everyday but no death ever occurs. Can you imagine the kind of social/environmental problems it would create? Some already said that earth is overpopulated. (I have a lot to elaborate on this subject; but I will leave it for a different day.)
My answer to Kamigoroshi's question will vary depending on when I was being asked that question. There had been phases in my life when "tomorrow" didn't bear any hope or joy and I had embraced death. There had been period of my life when I would have voluntarily given up my own life, or trade it with someone who'd appreciate it more. Now I still don't believe that life in itself has a meaning. It's really not all that it's hyped up to be. Being a Darwinian, I believe that the meaning--or at least the purpose--of life is the continuation of the species. One cannot say that reproducing is all that meaningful in a spiritual level. But now that I have met my husband, whom has brought happiness and content in my life, I am not against being alive. I think 250 years can't be that bad. I guess I would not mind "hanging around" for a bit longer. There are times when I wish I can live longer to see where technology will take us. (This can change in the next 30-50 years. I might just decided that I have seen enough.) I am also curious whether we'll come into contact with some form of extraterrestrial life form one day. (I do not doubt their existence. It'll be such a bigotry to think that there is only life on earth in the entire universe. Those who think that failed miserably to comprehend the vastness of the universe.
Again, I digressed. I would also like to clarified that not afraid of death doesn't mean I am not worry about it. I worry sick everyday that it will descend suddenly on my loved ones. (There aren't a lot of those.) I told my husband to "drive safe" every time he leaves the house. I understand how abrupt tragic can happen. I don't take any day for granted. I see everyday with my husband a blessing.
Finally, to really answer Kamigoroshi's question: in my current mindset, I'll choose the 250-years option. But if and when what I perceive as my "meaning of life", namely my husband, is taken away from me, let that be by accident or a change of heart, my answer could potentially vary.
Some (including my husband) would say that it's the behavior of a coward to escape for sadness. But as I have said, I don't perceive being alive is necessarily better than being dead (after all, how can one say that death is a bad thing when no one really know what it is all about?). Religions tell us that we should strive to survive. Darwinian believes that it's an animal's instinct to live on regardless of the quality of life. I believe that life should be a choice, my choice.
Long answer to a short (?) question, but that's why I started a completely different entry. :) My question to you now is: what do you perceive as "the meaning of life?"
Kamigoroshi's question was: if I want to live forever, or at least 500 years, or at least 200 years. Forever? HELL NO! Forever is a very scary concept. It implies never ending. What would be this one thing in life, or afterlife for that matter, that you'd want to go on forever and still enjoy it? Imaging your favorite food/dish, now imagine it every meal every day. Your favorite spot, favorite scenary. Now imagine being stuck there forever. I've heard many people talked about how they want to just stay home and not have to work. I can't speak for everyone, but I have been on vacation so long that I missed going back to work. It's only work that makes your free time precious. And that is also what death is to life.
I studied science in college. My passion being biological sciences, I have a slightly different view on death than most people. To me, death is as natural as birth. There is life and there is death, one is not necessarily worse than others. Imaging lives being created everyday but no death ever occurs. Can you imagine the kind of social/environmental problems it would create? Some already said that earth is overpopulated. (I have a lot to elaborate on this subject; but I will leave it for a different day.)
My answer to Kamigoroshi's question will vary depending on when I was being asked that question. There had been phases in my life when "tomorrow" didn't bear any hope or joy and I had embraced death. There had been period of my life when I would have voluntarily given up my own life, or trade it with someone who'd appreciate it more. Now I still don't believe that life in itself has a meaning. It's really not all that it's hyped up to be. Being a Darwinian, I believe that the meaning--or at least the purpose--of life is the continuation of the species. One cannot say that reproducing is all that meaningful in a spiritual level. But now that I have met my husband, whom has brought happiness and content in my life, I am not against being alive. I think 250 years can't be that bad. I guess I would not mind "hanging around" for a bit longer. There are times when I wish I can live longer to see where technology will take us. (This can change in the next 30-50 years. I might just decided that I have seen enough.) I am also curious whether we'll come into contact with some form of extraterrestrial life form one day. (I do not doubt their existence. It'll be such a bigotry to think that there is only life on earth in the entire universe. Those who think that failed miserably to comprehend the vastness of the universe.
Again, I digressed. I would also like to clarified that not afraid of death doesn't mean I am not worry about it. I worry sick everyday that it will descend suddenly on my loved ones. (There aren't a lot of those.) I told my husband to "drive safe" every time he leaves the house. I understand how abrupt tragic can happen. I don't take any day for granted. I see everyday with my husband a blessing.
Finally, to really answer Kamigoroshi's question: in my current mindset, I'll choose the 250-years option. But if and when what I perceive as my "meaning of life", namely my husband, is taken away from me, let that be by accident or a change of heart, my answer could potentially vary.
Some (including my husband) would say that it's the behavior of a coward to escape for sadness. But as I have said, I don't perceive being alive is necessarily better than being dead (after all, how can one say that death is a bad thing when no one really know what it is all about?). Religions tell us that we should strive to survive. Darwinian believes that it's an animal's instinct to live on regardless of the quality of life. I believe that life should be a choice, my choice.
Long answer to a short (?) question, but that's why I started a completely different entry. :) My question to you now is: what do you perceive as "the meaning of life?"
posted by cahalan @ 22:40
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Sunday, April 11, 2004
TOS
TOS, if you don't already know it, stands for terms of service. As I was creating my FOURTH blog on blogspot.com I decided that it's probably a good idea to finally actually read through what they have to say in their TOS, instead of just checking the little box. I wonder how many people really read those "fine prints".
To my surprise, the TOS is actually not as dry as I thought it was going to be. Especially #2 & #12. And I quote:
#2. ".... Now, this next part seems really damn obvious, but everyone else has it in their TOS's so someone's probably gotten sued for not having it. ..."
and
#12(e) IF YOU HAVE READ THIS FAR THEN YOUR EYES PROBABLY HURT. ALL CAPS, WHAT WERE WE THINKING? HOWEVER, WE ARE NOT LIABLE FOR THIS OR ANY OTHER OCULAR MALADY.
This has got to be the funniest TOS I have ever read. I wonder if their attorney has adviced them to NOT include anything that's not standard in their TOS, especialy with verbage like "damn". :D But I liked it, makes you feel like there's actually a person in flesh and blood on the other side of the screen. When's the last time you've noticed that.
I also wonder if I need a legal disclaimer on here for quoting wordings from their TOS... I suppose one can never be too careful...
While we are on legal jargon, it reminded me of a joke that my husband forwarded to me one time, here goes:
For your enjoyment,
We wanted to send out some sort of holiday greeting but it is so difficult in today's world to know exactly what to say without offending someone.
We met with my attorney today, and on his advice we want to say to all of you: Please accept with no obligation, implied or implicit my best wishes for an environmentally conscious, socially responsible, low stress, non addictive gender neutral, celebration of the winter solstice holiday, practiced within the most enjoyable traditions of the religious persuasion of your choice, or secular practices of your choice, with respect for the religious/secular persuasions and/or traditions of others, or their choice not to practice religious or secular traditions at all.
We also wish you a fiscally successful, personally fulfilling, and medically uncomplicated recognition of the onset of the generally accepted calendar year 2004, but not without due respect for the calendars of choice of other cultures whose contributions to society have helped make America great (not to imply that America is necessarily greater than any other country or is the only "AMERICA" in the western hemisphere), and without regard to the race, creed, color, age, physical ability, religious faith, or sexual preference of the wisher.
By accepting this greeting, you are accepting these terms: This greeting is subject to clarification or withdrawal. It is freely transferable with no alteration to the original greeting. It implies no promise by the wisher to actually implement any of the wishes for her/himself or others, and is void where prohibited by law, and is revocable at the sole discretion of the wisher. This wish is warranted to perform as expected within the usual application of good tidings for a period of one year, or until the issuance of a subsequent holiday greeting, whichever comes first, and warranty is limited to replacement of this wish or issuance of a new wish at the sole discretion of the wisher...
"HAPPY HOLIDAYS"
Thanks to Daylon Walton
To my surprise, the TOS is actually not as dry as I thought it was going to be. Especially #2 & #12. And I quote:
#2. ".... Now, this next part seems really damn obvious, but everyone else has it in their TOS's so someone's probably gotten sued for not having it. ..."
and
#12(e) IF YOU HAVE READ THIS FAR THEN YOUR EYES PROBABLY HURT. ALL CAPS, WHAT WERE WE THINKING? HOWEVER, WE ARE NOT LIABLE FOR THIS OR ANY OTHER OCULAR MALADY.
This has got to be the funniest TOS I have ever read. I wonder if their attorney has adviced them to NOT include anything that's not standard in their TOS, especialy with verbage like "damn". :D But I liked it, makes you feel like there's actually a person in flesh and blood on the other side of the screen. When's the last time you've noticed that.
I also wonder if I need a legal disclaimer on here for quoting wordings from their TOS... I suppose one can never be too careful...
While we are on legal jargon, it reminded me of a joke that my husband forwarded to me one time, here goes:
For your enjoyment,
We wanted to send out some sort of holiday greeting but it is so difficult in today's world to know exactly what to say without offending someone.
We met with my attorney today, and on his advice we want to say to all of you: Please accept with no obligation, implied or implicit my best wishes for an environmentally conscious, socially responsible, low stress, non addictive gender neutral, celebration of the winter solstice holiday, practiced within the most enjoyable traditions of the religious persuasion of your choice, or secular practices of your choice, with respect for the religious/secular persuasions and/or traditions of others, or their choice not to practice religious or secular traditions at all.
We also wish you a fiscally successful, personally fulfilling, and medically uncomplicated recognition of the onset of the generally accepted calendar year 2004, but not without due respect for the calendars of choice of other cultures whose contributions to society have helped make America great (not to imply that America is necessarily greater than any other country or is the only "AMERICA" in the western hemisphere), and without regard to the race, creed, color, age, physical ability, religious faith, or sexual preference of the wisher.
By accepting this greeting, you are accepting these terms: This greeting is subject to clarification or withdrawal. It is freely transferable with no alteration to the original greeting. It implies no promise by the wisher to actually implement any of the wishes for her/himself or others, and is void where prohibited by law, and is revocable at the sole discretion of the wisher. This wish is warranted to perform as expected within the usual application of good tidings for a period of one year, or until the issuance of a subsequent holiday greeting, whichever comes first, and warranty is limited to replacement of this wish or issuance of a new wish at the sole discretion of the wisher...
"HAPPY HOLIDAYS"
Thanks to Daylon Walton
posted by cahalan @ 15:06
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The Goal of a Blog
Today a friend asked me in his email to me what is the "goal" of a blog. See my very first entry, does a blog need a goal? I told him some does, others don't. Some write so a bunch of friends can read. Others prefer to write for complete strangers. (Like me. :) But now that I have told more and more people about my blog, I almost feel the need to start a new blog so I can continue my mindless rambling with no filters of any sort.
Lately I have been on a roll here and just wanted to blog. So essentially I am blogging just for the hack of it and thereby turning my blog into what he would call a "damned disjointed, scattered, and generally unfocused" blog. Well, Sinefeld, by his own admission, is a show about nothing. Look how many audiences it reached? I mean, look at the title of this blog. Does it sound like its going to be a coherant blog to begin with? Maybe I should tone it down and continue following my more series line of blog like how I started this. But doesn't seriousness get boring so fast? And there are SO MANY serious blogs out there! Regardless, thanks to this said friend, now I am very conscious what I should or should not include in my blog. *sniff*
Hmmmm, thinking about it. Isn't the idea of a blog to allow one to jog down random thoughts any time, any where? :D
Lately I have been on a roll here and just wanted to blog. So essentially I am blogging just for the hack of it and thereby turning my blog into what he would call a "damned disjointed, scattered, and generally unfocused" blog. Well, Sinefeld, by his own admission, is a show about nothing. Look how many audiences it reached? I mean, look at the title of this blog. Does it sound like its going to be a coherant blog to begin with? Maybe I should tone it down and continue following my more series line of blog like how I started this. But doesn't seriousness get boring so fast? And there are SO MANY serious blogs out there! Regardless, thanks to this said friend, now I am very conscious what I should or should not include in my blog. *sniff*
Hmmmm, thinking about it. Isn't the idea of a blog to allow one to jog down random thoughts any time, any where? :D
posted by cahalan @ 12:42
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Blog URL
Ack! I've got to stop giving out my blog addy to people I actually KNOW. Waaay before I started my blog I read this guy's article on some geeky magazine. He said this business associate of his company once gave him her blog URL. Then she must have forgotten about it cuz she referred to his company as "the worse client" (or something to that effect) in her blog. He said he never told her that he knew about her blog but everytime she came over to his company, he'd happily awaits what she has to say in her blog. For the same reason, he did not publish his blog's addy in the article. Well, I wasn't planning on bashing anyone I know... except maybe for that strange guy at work! But it changes my mentality when I blog.
An author once said, "work (writings) that has no audiences are nothing but diaries." So essentially I have been keeping my diary on blogspot.com. But that's okay, because in my twisted mind I DO have many public audiences! :D Don't we all bloggers think that way? That's why we BLOG in the first place, right? So naturally when I blog, I assume a public voice. But now that I have given out the link to a few people, I am confused as to what voice I should use... and it also inevitably interferes with the "everything goes" part. :D
An author once said, "work (writings) that has no audiences are nothing but diaries." So essentially I have been keeping my diary on blogspot.com. But that's okay, because in my twisted mind I DO have many public audiences! :D Don't we all bloggers think that way? That's why we BLOG in the first place, right? So naturally when I blog, I assume a public voice. But now that I have given out the link to a few people, I am confused as to what voice I should use... and it also inevitably interferes with the "everything goes" part. :D
posted by cahalan @ 02:02
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First Time is the Best
With the exception of an awkward first date or the lousy first time sexual partner, I've got to say first time for anything is always the best. (Okay, so I am exagerating a little here, I can probably come up with a few more things). Even when I watch one of my all time favorite movies again, I like to watch it with someone who hasn't yet seen the movie. It's always fun to see if another person shares the same viewpoint as you. Watch their reactions during the parts that I found funny... The first time I made curry when I am with my hubby he came running over after I put in onions in a pan coated with butter and asked me if I was making lasgna. Why would union pan fried in butter smell like lasgna? Have I mentioned that he is white? :D
posted by cahalan @ 01:45
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Saturday, April 10, 2004
Sexy Grammar
Okay. I know I'm a bit off as an individual. Lately (the last two days really) I have been reading a lot of online sites as well as my text book trying to brush up on my English grammar. Apparently, my grammar is more horrible than I am willing to admit. And spending a whole day studying it made me feel that grammar is very.... exotic.
How many individuals can, off the top of their heads, know what a conjunctive adverb is? So I am weird, I think guys who know these different parts of speech and correct grammatical rule like their second nature is just plain sexy. Okay, maybe I shouldn't say "grammar is sexy", I should probably say that "all knowledgable men are sexy". :) Of course by that I mean "knowledgable" strictly in the academic sense. Surely someone who's very in touch with the pop culture are also very impressive. I just don't particularly find these individuals as sexy is all. :)
How many individuals can, off the top of their heads, know what a conjunctive adverb is? So I am weird, I think guys who know these different parts of speech and correct grammatical rule like their second nature is just plain sexy. Okay, maybe I shouldn't say "grammar is sexy", I should probably say that "all knowledgable men are sexy". :) Of course by that I mean "knowledgable" strictly in the academic sense. Surely someone who's very in touch with the pop culture are also very impressive. I just don't particularly find these individuals as sexy is all. :)
posted by cahalan @ 19:22
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Donations
It crossed my mind to put a donation button up much like many sites out there. But when you really sit down and think about it, why would a stranger throw their hard earned money at me for no obvious reasons? My blogs are mediocre at best. So instead I am going to put the links of my two favorite charities in place of a paypal donation button. The two charities are:
Operation Uplink - A program that supply US military personnel overseas with phone cards so they can call their love ones back home. :) With the war and stuff going on. They can really use all the support they can get. Show them your support by allow them more time to talk to their love ones!!
and
Grameen Foundation - An organization that promotes mirco-economic to help people in third world countries living in poverty to have starting capital for small business and allow them to have a skill to sustain their livelihoods. Loans are only made to women.
So for whatever reason if you feel the dire need to throw money at me, throw them at one of the two above charities. Thank you!! :)
Operation Uplink - A program that supply US military personnel overseas with phone cards so they can call their love ones back home. :) With the war and stuff going on. They can really use all the support they can get. Show them your support by allow them more time to talk to their love ones!!
and
Grameen Foundation - An organization that promotes mirco-economic to help people in third world countries living in poverty to have starting capital for small business and allow them to have a skill to sustain their livelihoods. Loans are only made to women.
So for whatever reason if you feel the dire need to throw money at me, throw them at one of the two above charities. Thank you!! :)
posted by cahalan @ 02:30
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Thursday, April 08, 2004
A Strange Guy at Work
Yeah, I know, I started this blog like all I ever going to talk about is my commentary on bits of information that I got off of newspaper or radio, but that was not the original idea of the blog and it will stop here.
***
I really envious one kind of people. Have you ever met someone for the first time (and I do mean the first time, that's before you have time to even get a feel of his/her personality OR even had the opportunity to open your big mouth and piss the person off) and he/she'll make these comments that you can't tell whether they meant to be rude or this guy is just has a total lack of social skill or neither, it's just his/her personality? (Sometimes I'm the latter, people sometimes will misunderstood me because I have an odd personaly and a strange sense of humor.)
Or better yet, people who'd just blurt out rude comment whenever they deem necessary. Totally oblivious about burning bridges or what not. Now how far these people can get in life I have no idea. But aren't there times that you just wish you can not care about the consequences of your words and just blurt out things that you want to say?
Okay, here goes. I worked with this odd guy yesterday, right? (Just say right so I can go on with my story.) All of a sudden, out of the blue, he's like, "Where you from?" Naturally I thought he had heard that I've just recently moved here so I told him I which city I was from. Then he asked again(rephrasing his question this time), "What nationality are you?" So that's what he meant by "where you from?". Have I ever mentioned that this is one of the questions that I absolutely hate being asked? I take offense to that. There are many colored Americans here, do you ask them all where they are from? No! Do you ask a White where they are from? No! ('cause most people assumed that White = American. Same way they assumed that Jesus is a White, which, in my humble opinion, is debatable.) So why do they ask ME where I am from? They might as well just say, "hey, you speak English with an accent, where are you from?" Yeah, so I have issues. Feel free to throw a rock at me if you believe you are completely issues free. (Of course people who are truly free of issues won't have possess the hatred to throw a rock at a stranger, so I think I am pretty safe. :D)
So I told him I am Chinese. And he told me he has been to many Asian countries (I think he really only named Japan. Maybe he said he's been to many parts of Japan. I don't remember for certain) and was wondering if I am from somewhere that he has been to. So here I am thinking, Oh great, this guy has a BAD case of yellow fever. (Yes, normally I think the term "yellow fever", used in this sense, is pretty offensive too. But this is the time that I can actually justify the use of it.) Although, on hindsight, most individuals with such a severe case of yellow fever tend to be able to tell different types of Asians apart. (This is sounding so bad. I just made Asians from different countries sound like different breed of dogs.) Well, this guy had never been to where I was from and I have never been to Japan, so there's really not much we could talk about.
This said guy then proceed rolled up his sleeves to show me his tattoo (just what you'd expect from a guy like that). His tattoo is, of course, two Chinese characters. (He called them "kanji". Who knows if they are Japanese or Chinese. Close enough. I can read them.) And he asked me what they meant. Imagine how hard I had to try NOT to ask him why he got a tattoo (two tattoos?) that he has no idea what they meant? (I'd type the characters on here but I am using my husband's laptop, and him, being a cracker*, does not have Chinese word processor installed on his laptop.) So I said, "Health? Sufficiency? Excess?" Then HE told me he was told they meant "peace" and "health" and he just wanted to make sure that they didn't actually mean something like "hit me" (he followed his remark with some dry laugh). And just what did he plan to do if the tattoo artist totally screwed him over? Anyways, by this point, I am thinking like, "Okay, you are weird, stop talking to me." I would think he's hitting on me if I don't think he is gay. Or who knows, maybe he's straight and is hitting on me. But please, anyone who'd make a comment like that can't be a day over 19 (I'd say 18 except I know he has to be at least out of high school to be working a full time job at an office).
This didn't end here. He went on explaining his tattoo to me. "That's what we need in this world. Health and peace and everything will be fine." Now this brings me to my original point. If only I have a confrontational personality, I would really like to ask him how did putting two characters that he can't read (or write for that matter) on his arm help bringing about peace and health to the world?? Did he donate the same amount that he spent on his tattoo to a charity? How about some volunteering work on his free time? (My bad, I never did find out, perhaps he does do volunteering work on his free time). Better yet, why not just skip the tattoo and just donate the money?
There's really no deep meaning to this post. I just want to rant and I am done now. Hope you all enjoyed your read. :D
*if you have never heard of the term "cracker" before, I was told that it's a derogatory term for White men.
***
I really envious one kind of people. Have you ever met someone for the first time (and I do mean the first time, that's before you have time to even get a feel of his/her personality OR even had the opportunity to open your big mouth and piss the person off) and he/she'll make these comments that you can't tell whether they meant to be rude or this guy is just has a total lack of social skill or neither, it's just his/her personality? (Sometimes I'm the latter, people sometimes will misunderstood me because I have an odd personaly and a strange sense of humor.)
Or better yet, people who'd just blurt out rude comment whenever they deem necessary. Totally oblivious about burning bridges or what not. Now how far these people can get in life I have no idea. But aren't there times that you just wish you can not care about the consequences of your words and just blurt out things that you want to say?
Okay, here goes. I worked with this odd guy yesterday, right? (Just say right so I can go on with my story.) All of a sudden, out of the blue, he's like, "Where you from?" Naturally I thought he had heard that I've just recently moved here so I told him I which city I was from. Then he asked again(rephrasing his question this time), "What nationality are you?" So that's what he meant by "where you from?". Have I ever mentioned that this is one of the questions that I absolutely hate being asked? I take offense to that. There are many colored Americans here, do you ask them all where they are from? No! Do you ask a White where they are from? No! ('cause most people assumed that White = American. Same way they assumed that Jesus is a White, which, in my humble opinion, is debatable.) So why do they ask ME where I am from? They might as well just say, "hey, you speak English with an accent, where are you from?" Yeah, so I have issues. Feel free to throw a rock at me if you believe you are completely issues free. (Of course people who are truly free of issues won't have possess the hatred to throw a rock at a stranger, so I think I am pretty safe. :D)
So I told him I am Chinese. And he told me he has been to many Asian countries (I think he really only named Japan. Maybe he said he's been to many parts of Japan. I don't remember for certain) and was wondering if I am from somewhere that he has been to. So here I am thinking, Oh great, this guy has a BAD case of yellow fever. (Yes, normally I think the term "yellow fever", used in this sense, is pretty offensive too. But this is the time that I can actually justify the use of it.) Although, on hindsight, most individuals with such a severe case of yellow fever tend to be able to tell different types of Asians apart. (This is sounding so bad. I just made Asians from different countries sound like different breed of dogs.) Well, this guy had never been to where I was from and I have never been to Japan, so there's really not much we could talk about.
This said guy then proceed rolled up his sleeves to show me his tattoo (just what you'd expect from a guy like that). His tattoo is, of course, two Chinese characters. (He called them "kanji". Who knows if they are Japanese or Chinese. Close enough. I can read them.) And he asked me what they meant. Imagine how hard I had to try NOT to ask him why he got a tattoo (two tattoos?) that he has no idea what they meant? (I'd type the characters on here but I am using my husband's laptop, and him, being a cracker*, does not have Chinese word processor installed on his laptop.) So I said, "Health? Sufficiency? Excess?" Then HE told me he was told they meant "peace" and "health" and he just wanted to make sure that they didn't actually mean something like "hit me" (he followed his remark with some dry laugh). And just what did he plan to do if the tattoo artist totally screwed him over? Anyways, by this point, I am thinking like, "Okay, you are weird, stop talking to me." I would think he's hitting on me if I don't think he is gay. Or who knows, maybe he's straight and is hitting on me. But please, anyone who'd make a comment like that can't be a day over 19 (I'd say 18 except I know he has to be at least out of high school to be working a full time job at an office).
This didn't end here. He went on explaining his tattoo to me. "That's what we need in this world. Health and peace and everything will be fine." Now this brings me to my original point. If only I have a confrontational personality, I would really like to ask him how did putting two characters that he can't read (or write for that matter) on his arm help bringing about peace and health to the world?? Did he donate the same amount that he spent on his tattoo to a charity? How about some volunteering work on his free time? (My bad, I never did find out, perhaps he does do volunteering work on his free time). Better yet, why not just skip the tattoo and just donate the money?
There's really no deep meaning to this post. I just want to rant and I am done now. Hope you all enjoyed your read. :D
*if you have never heard of the term "cracker" before, I was told that it's a derogatory term for White men.
posted by cahalan @ 17:47
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Friday, April 02, 2004
The Perfect Wife???
I heard on the radio just the other day about this class they are contemplating about offering to girls between the ages of 13-18 called "The Perfect Wife" in Mexico City. First let me say that I was enraged before I found out the location was Mexico City (I thought it's some obscure state on US soil). After the not teaching evolution in Kansas and the whole debate about homosexual marriage, HOW MUCH MORE BACKWARD DO THESE PEOPLE WANT TO GO?
Anyways, it's in Mexico City, not US, so that's a moot point. But I would still like to rant about the idea of a "Perfect Wife" class. Alledgedly it will teach skills in cooking, sewing, child rearing and some budgetting. Oh, and get this, boys are NOT allowed to take this class. Why are they proposing such a class? Because the divorce rate is on the rise! Personally I think the person who was brave (dumb?) enough to propose this said course should be shot. (Extreme? Yes. But I am entitled to my own opinion. According to this person whom I think should be shot I will probably never become "the perfect wife" anyway.)
So, um.. what's the deal here. Are they saying that the divorce rate is on the rise BECAUSE women are not doing their job? You know for the longest time Asian countries always blame the women for not giving birth to male kids. Of course now we all know which gender is to blame for the gender of the children. But my point is this logic is just about as backward.
I mean, what's the big idea? Are the women NOT suppose to work or is she suppose to work, contribute to the household income THEN do all the housework afterward? Then dare I ask WHY do any women want to get married? It's nothing but to bring more stress and choas to their lives for um, forgive me for sounding practical, nothing to gain really.
What a horrible idea to install in kids's (of both gender) mind that household chores are strictly the women's responsibilities? While they are having this class, should residence there in Mexico City also pull the girls from going to school altogether? Cuz, um, God forbid, learning brings intelligence. We don't want our girls to "accidentally" do better than the boys and thereby hurting their pathetic male egos. Also, IF (again, God forbid) girls how to think, they just might have OPINIONS and IDEAS of their own. They might even (GASPS!) contradict the opinions of their husbands thereby not being the PERFECTLY SUBMISSIVE WIVE WITH NO OPINION OF THEIR OWN. And while they are at it, perhaps they should also considering adopting the old Chinese tradition of foot binding. It will help make the girl even more helpless and render them useless without their PERFECT HUSBAND.
Anyways, it's in Mexico City, not US, so that's a moot point. But I would still like to rant about the idea of a "Perfect Wife" class. Alledgedly it will teach skills in cooking, sewing, child rearing and some budgetting. Oh, and get this, boys are NOT allowed to take this class. Why are they proposing such a class? Because the divorce rate is on the rise! Personally I think the person who was brave (dumb?) enough to propose this said course should be shot. (Extreme? Yes. But I am entitled to my own opinion. According to this person whom I think should be shot I will probably never become "the perfect wife" anyway.)
So, um.. what's the deal here. Are they saying that the divorce rate is on the rise BECAUSE women are not doing their job? You know for the longest time Asian countries always blame the women for not giving birth to male kids. Of course now we all know which gender is to blame for the gender of the children. But my point is this logic is just about as backward.
I mean, what's the big idea? Are the women NOT suppose to work or is she suppose to work, contribute to the household income THEN do all the housework afterward? Then dare I ask WHY do any women want to get married? It's nothing but to bring more stress and choas to their lives for um, forgive me for sounding practical, nothing to gain really.
What a horrible idea to install in kids's (of both gender) mind that household chores are strictly the women's responsibilities? While they are having this class, should residence there in Mexico City also pull the girls from going to school altogether? Cuz, um, God forbid, learning brings intelligence. We don't want our girls to "accidentally" do better than the boys and thereby hurting their pathetic male egos. Also, IF (again, God forbid) girls how to think, they just might have OPINIONS and IDEAS of their own. They might even (GASPS!) contradict the opinions of their husbands thereby not being the PERFECTLY SUBMISSIVE WIVE WITH NO OPINION OF THEIR OWN. And while they are at it, perhaps they should also considering adopting the old Chinese tradition of foot binding. It will help make the girl even more helpless and render them useless without their PERFECT HUSBAND.
posted by cahalan @ 16:37
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