knock knock!!

office musings

2009-05-27T15:03:00.000-07:00

My situation:

I have several thousand dollars of credit card debt, which I wish to repay as soon as possible.

My Questions:

1. Can I borrow money from my friend and payback my loan? I can payback my friend when I have money in next few years.
2. Can I loan money from multiple friends?
3. What if I receive it as a gift from friend? Which I don’t have to pay back.
4. In any of the above cases, what is the limit (if any) for a friend giving the loan, as well as a limit for me to receive the loan from a friend and all together from friends?
5. Do any of us (me or friend) has to pay any tax?

Essentially, I have friend(s) willing to loan me money; to pay off my debt and save heavy interest charges on the credit card. I am not sure of any tax/other IRS implications with this scenario.

Any help/links will be appreciated.

Thanks,
-N

this is what i called...... technology.

2008-06-16T13:39:00.000-07:00

we were watching the US Open on my friend's LG voyager
mobile phone while we were walking to my car. along the way
in my car, we were yelling and screaming wanting Tiger Woods
to win. when we arrived at the noodle place, those people were
watching Austria and Germany playing. so....talking about
technology, i was watching both games live and i saw
Michael Pollack scored his first goal of the game on the 49min.
after lunch as we were driving back to the office, we saw how
Tiger Woods won the 2008 US Open.

now....this is what i called..... a good lunch and some awesome sports.

now that really caught my attention.

2008-04-03T00:43:00.000-07:00

a very creative way to name a vietnamese restaurant.
it's located along El Cajon Blvd.

Pho (foh) -- beef noodle soup.

what's the problem with this dude?

2008-04-03T00:29:00.000-07:00

i left my office and i was on my way home. i spotted some
very loud noise and i thought some fighter jets were flying
around doing their training.

however, the noise was getting louder and louder and i thought
one of jets was about to crash. i was beginning to freak out and
all of a sudden, the traffic came to a stand still. then i realized that
the light was red and the noise went away.

i started to drive again when the lights turned green and the very
irritating noise was somehow behind me. later, a car passed me and
i realized the noise was coming from that car. i then heard some
people yelling, "You shouldn't be driving this car. You gonna hurt
someone. Get out of the road now. "

i took this photo and i wasn't sure how far did the driver drove the
car with this condition. anyway, someone tailed this car and they
drove into the shooping complex and i lost them. anyway, here is the
photo.

yes, the tire is gone and the car was driven on the wheel and
it was scratching the road real bad and making a deep groove.
i wasn't sure what happened but i was glad that the fighter jet
did not crash onto mira mesa blvd.

the right question.

2008-03-24T16:13:00.000-07:00

the fundamental discussion is:

Is genius born or made?

do u believe that certain people has a gift to accomplish a certain task?

when i look at Ti and Fa, i felt that these 2 people are very creative.

when i look at myself; i wish i have this creativity in me.
i asked myself, how can i be like them? what can i do to be
as creative as them?

am i asking the right questions?

what the h*ll is PERIOD.

2008-01-31T20:06:00.000-08:00

my co-worker was showing me some stuff. i was typing on what
he was telling me until he ended with PERIOD. somehow, i typed DOT.
he was like, stunned ..... what are you doing. afterwards, i asked him;
what is this PERIOD that you are trying to tell me. all of these happened
like in a reflects action where PERIOD just did not register to my
grey-thing-in-my-cranium. he pointed to my keyboard where the
PERIOD is and he looked confused. i was embarrassed and i told him,
for some reason, i knew what a PERIOD is until then. i explained to
him that i was born with a FULL-STOP. at times, PERIOD is just
belongs to the X-FILES.

internet is down. is that good news or bad news to u?

2008-01-31T11:16:00.000-08:00

http://www.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/meast/01/31/dubai.outage/index.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fiber-Optic_Link_Around_the_Globe (FLAG)

http://www.flagtelecom.com/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seamewe

ha..... can we live without the internet? my first initial thought is;
what would happen to the world if the internet is down a week.
if i blog more on this subject, i think i can come up with a movie.
i will talk to John Williams for his music and steven spielberg for
directing. it will sure be a big blockbuster.

no emails. yahoo!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY to us.

2008-01-22T10:22:00.000-08:00

Happy Birthday to myself.

Happy Birthday to Fanny.

mine is on the 12th and hers is on the 17th.
ha.... i wonder what she got for her birthday present.

she bought me a All-Clad Stainless 10-Inch Fry Pan.

THANK-YOU.

yeah sure..... u know what that means when someone
buys u a fry pan.

i had a dream.

2008-01-22T09:53:00.001-08:00

i had a dream.

i was at this place. this place was like a loft with a big room and some
huge pillars with high ceiling. then i saw some things dropped to
the floor. i bent down and they were a couple of the fuses for the
oil candle.

i could remember clearly i was like 8 to 10 years old. my late
mum's mum back in malaysia will always get a glass, fill it with
water and then add some oil. later, she will put the fuse which is
attached to a cork and then the thing will float. she will then light
the fuse and it will keep burning until the oil runs out. those are
for religious prayers. yeah, sometimes i will help her to prepare the
oil candle and she will light them. later, i will help her bring them
to the altar. i will help her refill with more oil sometimes. she
complains a lot about the missing fuses since the mice like to steal
them.

anyway, i picked them up and at this point, things are like super
slow-motion. i slowly picked them up and turned around and saw her.
she looked like the way she was. her hair was well groomed. her clothings
were clean and tidy. her warmth appearance is always there. i would say,
she looked exactly the same like i used to see her when i was a child.
i gave the fuses to her and gave her a hug. upon hugging her, i cried. then
i felt my pillow is getting damped and that's when i woke up..... still crying.
i was like...... WOW...... it was so real.... i saw her!!

she is the one that protects me when i get beat up by my mum. she
evens quarrels with my mum that she was too ferocious when my mum
beat my sister and me. i tried to call my aunty earlier to explain to her but
she did not pick up the phone. let me call my mum tonite.

can u buy me lunch today?

2008-01-18T11:29:00.000-08:00

i wanna shoot myself on my feet. this is the 2nd consecutive
friday that i forgot to bring my wallet. i did not realize that
i left my wallet at home until i am on my way to my office and
half way there. so.....no ID, no $, no visa, no mastercard, etc ....
all this happened after i cleaned up my "library" and get rid of all
the junk knick-knacks and rearranging some stuff. i thought
i had this in mind that, never leave home without;

1) keys
2) cellphone
3) wallet
4) water
5) jacket
6) post-it
7) pen
8) eating "bible"
9) anti-bacterial wipes
10) good CDs
11) cyber-shot camera
12) camcorder

i think that's all. i think i should take a photo of these things.

oh well, hey marty, may i borrow $10 please.

i should get a SmartForTwo.

2008-01-09T14:39:00.000-08:00

it's good to have lunch with co-workers. it's even better since
we always avoid the food from the cafeteria. sometimes we
will walk to our favorite deli place which is a nice 10mins
walk from our office. otherwise, we will drive somewhere.

however, there is a small problem. A and B drives a mustang
and if u know, it's a 2 seater sports car. it's way too uncomfortable
for 2 people to sit behind. i had it once and i felt i was like those
canned sardines. it's way too tight. C drives a normal pickup.
when i say a normal pickup, that means there is only 2 door and
they can only seat 2 people. it also comes with a 6ft bed and the
bed is not for you or me to sit. D drives an old RX-6 and it's a
compact sports car and of course, it only seats 2; way too tight in
the rear seats. E drives a corolla but it's always in a mess in the
back seat. F drives a 4dr bimmer and he drives like a maniac.
G drives a 4dr acura. i drive an old 4dr accord. again, the little
problem comes since F & G seldom joins us for lunch. they would
prefer to get something from the cafeteria. if u are still following
the story, the only eligible person with a decent 4dr car is me
and it could actually seat 5. now, u do the math.

between airport and home.

2007-12-21T09:58:00.000-08:00

when people asked me what i will do during christmas, i said, i will
be in san diego. i continued saying, if u guys need any help, pls let me know.
later, i asked myself, was that a good move?

as people will fly to their home town for a week or two, parking at the airport
can cost an arm and a leg especially in big cities like LA airport and san diego
airport. even, the cab or the shuttle will really pinch your wallet, esp if u have
kids with all the luggages and the child car seats.

anyway, i will be sending my sister and her family to LAX this friday. i cannot
imagine travelling with 3 kids. also, the next day, i will send another family
to san diego airport. they had 1 kid.

well, i guess that's the least i can contribute to my community; sending them off
to the airport.

merry christmas and have a wonderful trip.

i can hear it moo.......

2007-12-17T10:40:00.000-08:00

i had too much prime rib the last 3 nites......

i was at my co-workers place for dinner on thursday and he
grilled some steaks with baked potato. the following day, my sister
made some sunday roast rib and it was excellent. on saturday nite,
we had a company dinner and of course, i had another chunk of
prime rib. all i can say is that, i ate an accumulated prime rib of
close to 1kg/2.2pounds/34oz. i think this week i should start
chewing on the grass in my front yard to balance my diet. or perhaps,
go down to the grocery store and start gnawing on the salmon just like
Bear in the show, Man vs Wild.

all 3 dinners came with excellent wine and bier. not forgetting the
sorbet that oscar put together and of course, the grand prize at my
company dinner; free trip to anywhere in the US with hotel, car and
some cash. i better check the expiration dates.....

thanks-giving is on thu.... so fast.

2007-11-19T23:36:00.000-08:00

thanks-giving is around the corner. well, it's actually on thursday.
this year it's different since my sister will be in new york. she asked me
to come along to visit her sister-in-law. well, i didn't go since she has
3 kids and the sister-in-law has 10. i just don't think this trip will be
fun esp for young folks. it's just too noisy and 13kids....u gotto be kidding.
with all the yelling, crying, fighting, i will go insane in 2 minutes.

well, everytime during thank-giving, my sister and oscar will cook the
turkey. to me, i didn't really like turkey. i just felt that the meat is too
plain. i am not complaining about her cooking, it's just too plain and too
much calories. on the other hand, the honey baked ham, is hamtastic.
this is the best ham u can get. yes, the store that sells it is called,
the honey baked ham company. i just felt that during thanks-giving,
people are making excuses to eat much more meat and carbs than usual.
oh yes, not forgetting the mashed potato. the gravy of course, comes from
the juice of the 15-20pound turkey being roasted for 5-6 hrs.

we need more vegetables during thanks-giving. more tofu, more greens
not some salad ok, cooked vegetables, and where is the seafood??
oh well, last but not least, the wine and desserts makes it up with
pumpkin pie, tarts, ice-cream and zinfandels.

happy thanks-giving.

some fill in......

2007-11-09T10:39:00.000-08:00

i was so busy for the last month.

my gf's parents were in san diego and of course, they came over
to attend their eldest daughter's wedding. everything was just
all right and i was just busy.

we went to las vegas and san francisco. as many of u know, san diego
was almost burned to the ground due to the wild fire caused by the
dry santa ana winds.

more updates will proceed later......

what we eat.

2007-10-02T11:52:00.000-07:00

from:

Immigrant children struggle with America's junk food
http://www.cnn.com/2007/HEALTH/diet.fitness/09/05/kd.adrians.story/index.html

ATLANTA, Georgia (CNN) -- Adrian McHargh grew up active and skinny in
Kingston, Jamaica. An enthusiastic swimmer, he had the pristine waters of the Caribbean
for a playground until two years ago, when he and his family moved to America.

Pat Crawford, a co-director of the Center for Weight and Health at the
University of California, Berkeley, says "We really would like to encourage immigrant
families to continue the kinds of eating that they ate in their country of origin because
our studies show that the longer they've been in this country the more likely that their
children are going to get fat," Crawford says.

pretty interesting article...... now where is my nasi kandar and my milo-peng??

do you......

2007-09-21T14:39:00.000-07:00

i was wearing my favorite Red Devil cap aka the Manchester United cap
when my friend asked me if i am a fan. i said i am. he asked me to name
any striker and any defender. i could not. but i told him i know the
coach, Bobby Charlton(right??). he then said, how can u be a fan if u do not even
know who is playing.

well, this is what i "wanted" to say.

does your mum know what u eat for lunch at work? does your mum
know what you do at work? your mum loves you right.....
so the same goes with me. to love and to have faith in something does not
necessary means u need to know everything about it.

i guess the same goes to husbands too........

if u do not understand your wife, that's fine; make sure u love them.

do we really know what we want?

2007-09-17T23:51:00.000-07:00

when i was in college, i craved for mcdonald's. i worked
part-time at a local pharmacy too. when my classes were
in the morning, i worked in the afternoon and vice-versa.
i barely made enough to pay for my college, and left a little
for my other expenses.

it all started when i needed to pick up my boss' son after school
and usually he would buy a mcchicken value meal on the way
to the pharmacy. on my side, i barely had any extra money for
luxury food so i would sometimes ate some of his fries and they
tasted so good. and of course, mcdonalds in the third world
country is something luxury and meant for the rich people.
yeah, the value meal is more than expensive than my favorite
CKT and milo-peng(iced milo). CKT = char koay teow.

everytime we got passed the drive thru, i would always ponder
when will i have some extra cash to buy mcdonalds. after i
finished college and got a job, i began to go to macdonalds
pretty often to revenge!! a few years passed and i said, i wish
everywhere i go, i see mcdonalds and i can afford it anytime.

i moved to the US and of course, my dreams are fulfilled. the more
i observed macdonalds and the people, the more i draw myself away
from the fast food nation. my dreams became a nightmare!!

i woke up one day and decided that, what i want is bad for me!!

US Catholic Church settles 144 sex abuse cases.

2007-09-08T10:20:00.000-07:00

http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2007/09/08/.htm

here are my thoughts and some confusions.

1) why are these cases like in San Diego and Los Angeles happened now?

2) why are these lawsuits happen now when the housing market is
bad esp with the sub-prime loans? is this a coincidence?

3) also, when the internet was exploding, how come these abuse cases did not
show up until recently? maybe some folks are too busy making millions that
they forgot about how they were abused?

4) did u know at least 2 million Southern California folks will lose their homes
either this yr or next yr because they buy more for what they can afford?
i wonder what is the best word to describe "buying & spending beyond your limits"?
the ARM expires and their mortgage jumps.

5) did u know that the lawyers take like 50% of the settlement?

6) did u know that most lawyers in this settlement owns many properties in prime
locations are they are "flippers" too?

7) btw, did u know that the USA esp the San Francisco Bay Area is know as
the Golden Hill by the chinese immigrants?

8) finally, i believe that when people are desperate are $, they will do everything.

i wonder....

the 3 people from planet $%#@%.

2007-08-30T10:49:00.000-07:00

1) Miss Teen USA 2007 - South Carolina answers a question.
2) William Hung -- the #1 most popular American Idol reject
3) Sanjaya -- the #2 most popular American Idol reject

what do these people have in common?

either.....

1) good planning, stunning marketing and outstanding performance.

or......

2) plain dumb annoying homo sapiens.

for case #1, people would do anything to place their face on the cover of the
newspaper, magazine, youtube, etc. they need attention. they want people
to know who they are. they want to become the top celebrity. they do
different things to get attention and..... they did it!!

for case #2, refer case #1 except without intelligence.

the truman show and the matrix.

2007-08-13T10:55:00.000-07:00

i enjoyed these 2 movies very much. why?

Mr Anderson aka Neo and Truman Burbank questioned their world
and they successfully found the real truth.

They kept asking themselves about the world they live in.
is that the world that they will accept for what it gives and be happy with it.
day after day they challenge the authority. they challenged themselves by
having reflectings about their lives and the meaning of truth.

they finally took the move. they finally made the first step and the 2nd and
so forth and the real truth unfolds.

this phrase stucks me all the time and i would like to share it with you....

when the going gets easy, we are going downhill.

how true is that!!

when we surf the net all day in our office month after month doing our
personal stuff and do u think you can get a promotion? well, do u think u can
even keep your job?

do u know what is the greatest challenge for a obese person to lose weight?
it's the first step, which is taking themselves to the gym.

let's talk about comfort zone.

we are too comfortable with out lives by having a nice home, a good job,
a lovely spouse, a porsche, etc and this is when the comfort zone kicks in.
we forgot to question ourselves, why are we here? we are too busy enjoying lives.

who am i?
why am i here?
how did i get here?
how did it all began?
where am i?
what do i want?
where do i want to go?
what's going to happen next?

it's time to ask the right questions....... ask them NOW.

i am seeing the real USA.
i am a better Catholic than ever.

why? i asked myself the right question. i took the 2nd step and everything falls
into its place so far......

performance review.

2007-08-09T14:44:00.000-07:00

i have worked for 3 big big hi-tech companies and one cannot
avoid the annoying performance review. some call it performance
appraisal, etc. some have it once a year and some every 6 mths.

here are the usual things that always apprear on the review.

1) productivity & quality
2) planning & scheduling
3) skills
4) documentation
5) problem solving
6) communication skills
7) teamwork
8) initiative

as u can see, some are related to your skills and some are people skills.
that means, it's not only what u do but who u are that matters also.

things like;
how do you manage your project.
how do you deal with the planning and scheduling.
how do u deal with the project manager, your team-mates and your clients.

when u have your own business, u need to have a better people skills.

Are u like a cat or a dog?

2007-07-27T15:54:00.000-07:00

"Dogs are very good at picking up on emotional changes and
when people are depressed and inactive they are very good
at comforting people in these circumstances. Elephants show
the same altruistic tendencies, but not cats, they are very
much more selfish, solitary creatures."

a better me? a better me.

2007-07-19T01:09:00.000-07:00

Surround yourself with people who are better than you in a hundred
different ways and allow the force of their character to inspire you
to change, grow, and strive to become the-best-version-of-yourself.
** Make sure those people energize you.

Matthew Kelly, the Seven Levels of Intimacy, pg 92.

home made panino....

2007-07-18T21:51:00.000-07:00

yes..... panino.....and it's home made.
it's panino di proscuitto e provolone.

ingredients:
aged provolone cheese
focaccia garlic and cheese
proscuitto
baby spinach leaves
ground black pepper
olive oil

the 5th level.

2007-07-18T00:46:00.000-07:00

It is very healthy just to accept our feelings for what they are,
rather than analyzing them endlessly. Feelings don't always
need a reason.

We allow the people we love into our inner world thru communications.
They cannot read a book about your inner life and they can't take
a tour. You have to tell them about it.

Imagine taking a blind person to an art gallery and trying to describe
each work of art. You must describe the art in ways a blind person
can understand.

We need to describe our inner world to the people with whom we are
in a relationship. Sharing our feelings with another person can be a
powerful release.

Sharing how we feel and the reasons we feel that way, or sharing how we
feel even though we don't know why we feel that way, is very healthy
physically, emotionally, psychologically, and spirituality.

Expressing how we feel helps those around us to know us. It is this
knowledge of each other, gathered in the tiniest portions along the way,
that gives rise to intimacy; to knowing and being known.

Matthew Kelly, the Seven Levels of Intimacy, pg 194 & 195.

the Serenity Prayer

2007-07-18T00:41:00.001-07:00

Lord, Grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change,
the strength to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know
the difference.

written words.

2007-07-18T00:37:00.000-07:00

written words are static; meaning, sometimes they are very difficult to
understand since they do not carry the tone and the emotions to convey
the message accurately. perhaps some good authors can really do that.
those authors of great novels.....

the art of friendship.

2007-07-17T00:02:00.000-07:00

all of us needed to have friends throughout our lives.
the relationships we have are all unique since we approached
those relationships differently. when we talk to our parents,
we speak differently. when we talk to our brothers and sisters, we
talk differently. when we talk to our boss, we communicate
differently. when we speak to our friends, we use other ways.

all of those relationships are unique and we need to understand that
we can be friends too with our parents. we can be friends with our
brothers and sisters and we can even be friends to our spouses.

why is friendship important? why do we need friendship? we need
more than cousins; we need more than relatives; we need more than
spouses, etc. we need people to listen to us. we need friends to share
with us their lives. we need friends to console us. we need friends to
chill out and talk craps. they also need us to listen to them. they also
want us to share their lives. they want to be console by us and they want
to chill out with us.

everyone out there is unique and everyone has a way to talk to us,
to listen to us, to laugh with us, to cry with us, to get drunk with us, etc.
one thing we need to understand is all of us are not perfect. some friends
will not be a good listener, some friends may not be able to speak very
well, some folks will not be able to run 13miles with us, some buddies will
not be able to eat beef with us, etc.... must we discriminate them?????

since everyone is special, it's difficult to find someone who will
complement our needs 100%. here is the thing; if everyone complements
us, then we will never be able to learn to improve ourselves. there are
a lot of times where we needed to fine tune our primary & secondary values.

everyone has their primary values and secondary values.
primary values could be; i think the cow is sacred since they eat only grass
and they provide us milk, leather, meat, etc. that is why i do not eat beef.
secondary values could be; i go to work at 10am in order to avoid the
traffic jam and i leave at 7pm.

we cannot change the world to accomodate our needs but we can improve
ourselves to accomodate the world.

we cannot change our friends to accomodate us but we can improve
ourselves to accomodate our friends.

how far are we willing to go? are we giving them a chance to get to know
us better? are we giving ourselves an opportunity to get to know them
better? are we willingly to put aside all their weaknesses? are we willingly
to lower our shields? most important, shall we forgive them?

there are a lot of people out there who wanted to be friends with
us, do u know? there are tens of people who wanted to speak like us,
do u know? there are hundreds of people out there who wanted to
listen to us, do u know? there are thousands of people out there who
wanted to get to know us better, do u know? there are millions of people
out there who wanted us to greet, how are you?, do u know?

did we try?
did we really try?
did we really really try?
did we really really really try?

are we making excuses after excuses?

the fridge is back!!

2007-07-14T19:35:00.000-07:00

the french style fridge was broken last week. i did not have
the fridge for like 10days. 10days without a fridge!! at first,
i thought i was going to go crazy; no fruit juice, no apple,
no grapes, no milk, no tomato, etc.

i thought i was going to cure some meat and come out with
something like the proscuitto, or starting to preserve my
own apples and grapes with sugar water.

well, i had a little fridge that is dedicated to chill beers and
wine. i took them out and put my ketchup, miracle whip,
eggs, jalapeno, tomato, sausages, etc into it for the time being.

anyway, the technician finally came after 10days and he fixed
the problem on friday. so today, i thought of cleaning the
fridge and this is what i saw.

May I help?

2007-07-13T18:09:00.001-07:00

All of us are born for a reason, but of all don't discover why.
Success in life has nothing to do with what you gain in life or
accomplish for yourself. It's what you do for others.

Danny Thomas

from:
John C Maxwell, pg 82, Developing Leaders Around You.

but......how to give?

2007-07-11T00:56:00.000-07:00

you don't need to have plenty in order to give.

this rich man gave one thousand dollars to this charity.
this poor lady gave one dollar to this charity.

now, u tell me, who gives more?

whatever u give, needs to come from your heart. so the question is,
when is my heart going to tell me how to give.

we are all commanded to love one another. we are all told to,
you shall love one another.

that's all we need to do, love one another.

when you give, you will receive.

2007-07-11T00:32:00.000-07:00

You can only give what you have received?

let's look at this passage.

Love your neighbor as yourself. Matt 22: 39 (NIV)

that means, of course, we love ourselves don't we? we eat healthy food,
we exercise, we read, we pray, we take care of ourselves, we know what
we need, we know what we want, we pamper ourselves, we reward
ourselves, etc.

next, love our neighbors like we love ourselves. that is to say, we are
instructed, commanded to do to others what we do to ourselves. that
means, whenever we step out of our home, we put others first.

we give our neighbors what we give ourselves. we are commanded to give
to others. we are instructed to take the initiative to reach out to others.
we are called(no time to think twice) to stretch our hands and say,
how may i help you?

let's look at another passage.

ask and you will receive, seek and you will find, knock and the door
shall be open unto you. Matt 7:7

this can be best explained as:

You ask and you will receive, you seek and you will find, you knock and
the door shall be open unto you.

this is essentially, take the first step and the next will follow.
take the first step and you will receive.
take the first step and you will find.
take the first step and the door will be open.

in summary, when you take action, you will get/receive.
also, when you give you will receive.

buzy as a bee huh......

2007-07-10T13:51:00.000-07:00

i have been running a lot. my chiropractor advised me to cross-train
as well. i play ultimate frisbee as well. the running will build my lower
body and the ultimate frisbee will build my upper body. besides those
2 sports, i workout in the gym. i need to strengthen my legs and my
upper body. to be precise, when i workout in the gym, my muscles are
developed more balance. that's what happened earlier. i did not run for
a month. the doctor said my muscles are not working with each other.
they are working against each other. i went for intensive physical
therapy for 5weeks. i feel better right now. she fixed my misaligned
frame and i try to work more ergonomically in my office. i think
everything seems pretty all right now.

i need to watch my diet too. i was advised to intake a lot of carbs
before my run, frisbee and workout since they will give me energy.
after all the activities, i need to replenish my body with carbs,
proteins and electrolytes. yeah, i am getting bigger.....

a bridge that everyone walks.

2007-07-09T16:47:00.000-07:00

the college life and working life are 2 very different world.
everyone needed a bridge to connect these 2 worlds together.
however, there are 2 scenarios.

1) is that a direct transition?
after high school, u go to college. after college, u get a job.

2) is that a undirect transition or interleave transition?
-- after high school, u study part-time and u work full-time.
-- after high school, u study full-time and u work part-time.
-- after high school, u work full-time for a few years and later, u study full-time.
-- after high school, u work full-time for a few years and later, u study part-time.
-- before finish high school, u work part-time and later, either one of the above.

for case 1), 2 things could happen in general,
-- when they got into the work force, they started to network.
they build relationships. these people know they need mentors and they
are humble and they hunger for advices. these people will become edustreetsmart.
they are in control.
-- they do not really know what will happen. they are cautious since
most people are more senior than them. they tend to hang-out among their
fellow graduates. they are not in control.

for case 2), when those events happens, people know it for u have no choice.
2 things could happen in general.
-- they are desperate for financial support. they worked and trying to find
the quickest way to get the most. some did indecent jobs and some did not fall.
they are not in control. some are humble and most are not.
-- they have a plan. they take things one step at a time. they seek advices.
they are humble. they are in control.

internship
-- this is a special kind of bridge but a lot of people do not see it or who could not
predict how powerful/resourceful it can be. it gives esposures to what happens
in the working world.

-- how did u walk your bridge?

sailing.....sailing......home......

2007-07-09T16:11:00.000-07:00

God....have mercy on me........ i am going to learn how to sail!!

ASA 101 Class, Basic Keel Boat Sailing

This is a certification class and in order for you to pass the written
test you need to read Garry Jobson’s Sailing Fundamentals to page 134.
There are only two days on the water and your captain is not going to
have enough time to go over everything that is in the book with you so
you need to have done the reading before hand to have any questions
you may have answered during the class.

You will also want to get an ASA logbook before the end of your second
day of class. The logbook is where your certifications are to be displayed.
Logbooks are available at our locations. If you feel you need a study guide
please refer to either the logbook, or to the ASA web page
(www.asa.com learn to sail/ASA standards summary/101) there you will
find overviews of everything you need to know for the test.

I also recommend bringing with you a snack/lunch, sunscreen, a hat and
water with you for your class. If you have any questions please feel free
to contact me. Thank you for choosing us for your sailing needs!

God....have mercy on me........ i am going to learn how to sail!!

streetsmart.....part I.

2007-07-09T14:58:00.000-07:00

they are not that well educated but educated enough to know
what is bad debt and good debt. they know that life is much
more than paper qualifications. they have friends from all walks
of life because they know smart people comes in different color,
shapes and sizes. they are humble; wanting to learn from them every day.

they know how to find friendships and maintains them well. they
appreciate friendships afterall, we need to network to live.
thru friendships, people shared about their lifes and challenges
and thus, they learned from people's experiences. they pick up
all the bits and pieces and they know someday it will be a
great painting.

they know about "sek do" (in cantonese), knows-what-to-do in any
circumstances, such as what to say. when to say, how to say,
esp know how to respect people's privacy. they know exactly what
they want. they know what they need. they listen with empathy.
they are approachable and willingly to share what they understand.

from Charles Jones.

2007-07-05T11:38:00.001-07:00

What you will become in five years will be determined by what you read
and who you associate with.

Charles "Tremendous" Jones, author of Life Is Tremendous.

What is an attitude?

2007-07-05T11:09:00.000-07:00

It is the "advance man" of our true selves.
Its roots are inward but its fruit is outward.
It is our best friend or our worst enemy.
It is more honest and consistent than our words.
It is an outward look based on past experiences.
It is a thing which draws people to us or repels them.
It is never content until it is expressed.
It is the librarian of our past.
It is the speaker of our present.
It is the prophet of our future.

John C Maxwell -- The Winning Attitude pg 24.

are you ........

2007-07-05T01:32:00.000-07:00

what makes a good story teller? what makes a good joke cracker?

he has confidence.
he is humble.
he has a good personality.
he is a leader.
he understands the audience.
he listens to the audience.
he acknowledges comments from his audience.
he is humble to learn from experienced folks.
he has time to research on topics.
he has been thru a lot in his life.

a GPA 3.95 and the lender.

2007-07-05T01:09:00.001-07:00

i have a MSc in Physics with GPA 3.95 and i demand that u as a lender give me a
4% interest rate for my mortgage.

i recalled someone came to me and said that. i could not believe that!!

ok..... u have a MSc.... and do u think Wells Fargo really care? i think they do,
since u are able to pay for your education in the USA. hmm.... so...u paid for
your education in the USA? u paid? did u really paid?

back to the topic. the lenders care, if u can pay the mortgage on time and how
can the lender determine if u can pay on time? they look at your paycheck.
they look at your credit report. they look at your debt. and so forth. they don't
care if u have GPA 3.0 or 4.0.

did the school of physics teach you about FICO score? or it is that one of your
buddies mentioned it to you. now u tell me, do u think with a college degree,
the lender will smile to u..... yeah, after looking at your 786 FICO score.

i know you studied your butt off to get a GPA 3.95. i know u studied for 78 hrs
straight. i know you studied and had internships. here is the thing. the college
degree will only bring you to the door. u have to survive the phone interviews.
u have to survive the on-site interviews. and most of all, once u are in......
all those paper paper thing, matters no more. all that matters are your
personality, your character, your people skill, and ultimately, getting along
with people and demonstrate that you are a team player. u have to survive
the world with your character and your attitude.... then your school-thing.

beyond the books.

2007-07-04T23:09:00.000-07:00

the biggest mistake i discovered in the higher education system
is that they do not emphasize about effective human communication.
i have been working in the corporate world for a number of years and
i have met a lot of people from all walks of life and from different
education background. i am here to emphasize that the moment we
wake up and until we call it a day, we can never avoid communicating
with other people; whether via face2face, phone call, email, internet
messaging, etc.

i came upon many people who have very good academic background
but when i "just talk" to them, i can conclude that all he knows are;
all he learns in school. PERIOD. i am of course, not an expert nor with
a PhD in psychology but we all need to understand some basic effective
communication.

we need to learn on;
what to communicate(subjects),
when to communicate(time),
whom to communicate(people), and
how to communicate(body language, tone of voice, hand gestures, etc).

'communicate' can be substitute with speak, talk, discuss, negotiate,
confirm, assure, compromise, report, announce, share, etc

when cracking a joke, say it's a joke. do not ever assume. first of all, do u think
you are a good joke cracker? if it's a no, people might be offended. and when
people are offended, you are a plain bad joke cracker. well, believe me, it
takes tremendous skills to be a great joke cracker. as a matter of fact,
u could never earn a PhD thru a university but instead, it's through your life.

and also, there are many occasions where people just can't seemed to know
how to say.... NO. in addition, effective communication also consists of
linking your thoughts and your mouth. more important, addressing an issue.
to me, addressing an issue is part of a learning curve.

so.... what can be done to learn more about effective human communication?

1st step.
observe how people who have more experience in life do it.

2nd step.
be humble and be honest when seeking advice.

3rd step.
practise makes perfect.

4th step.
learn from your mistakes.

5th step.
find a mentor.

home made basil pesto with linguine.

2007-06-26T00:40:00.000-07:00

Boun appetito! haven't made this dish in a while and
it was so so jolly good...... hmm.... the color of the photo
didn't really reflect the actual color.

hmm....fresh basil, roasted pine nuts, EVOO,
fresh grated parmasen cheese, etc etc etc and a food processor.
there you go.....

June 21st.

2007-06-26T00:33:00.000-07:00

yeah!! free baseball ticket!! yeah!! free lunch!!
i never thought i will be going to a baseball game; afterall,
i have no idea how the game works until that day. and, and
the worst was, i forgot to bring my camera. duh!!! this photo
was taken the day before the game. well, at least i was
smart enough to take a photo of it. i don't think i will buy a
ticket to watch baseball...... unless...... ahem ahem....

the summer is officially here.

2007-06-25T18:12:00.000-07:00

wooooo...... it's just nice........ not too warm and just nice.....

temp between 16C and 23C. i am not sure that reading is for
the coastal, the inland, the mountain or the desert? yeah......
it's definitely not for the desert temperature. we have 4 reports
on different cities throughout san diego depending on where
you live. of course, if u lived at the coast, the weather is pretty
stable and cool, even in the summer. the desert is 38C and rising.

who's driving?

2007-06-25T17:57:00.000-07:00

have u ever try to be nice and yet feel that people are taking
advantage on you? is it because you are pessimistic? or people
assumed that you are just plain too nice and do this and do that for them?
or people do not realize any of the above?

i called up A and he said ok. let's go for a drink. after some phone calls,
we managed to get 5 people. when i was at A's place, B came and he
drove a mini van. we walked to the car and i asked if B could drive.
he said he had a lot of stuff in his mini van. C drove a pick up and it's a
sports version; 2 seater truck and i did not asked her. after discussing
for 5 mins, i volunteered to drive. as everyone get in the car, i said,
since you all are not driving, then you all needed to drink at least
2 beers each. i want to drink 2 beers but i am driving. if anyone of u
plan to drink a coke, then you are the best candidate to drive. duh!!

Open your mouth please......

2007-06-25T17:27:00.000-07:00

yeah...... what were you thinking? i went to the dentist this afternoon.
well, i was actually looking forward to it since my last visit was in
the fall of 2005. i know i know..... we need to go to the dentist every 6mths.
i know i know..... u need to brush your teeth twice a day, gargle with
listerine and floss your teeth regularly. i did most of it ok.

anyway, i filled up the form and the receptionist smiled when she
looked at my health insurance card. of course, a lot of coverage from my
health-insurance!! that translates to...... oh Mr, u need to visit us
every 3mths since it is already july. i have this feeling that "fully utilize"
the resources will happen again; just like when i visit my chiropractor
doctor. my health-insurance will cover 24 chiropractor visits and
24 acupunture visits per year. there are more stuff to list down btw.......

of course, i need to pay a $10 co-pay for every visit and those are
tax-deductible. "since it's already the month of july, and u really need
a lot of "adjustments"; i am scheduling u for treatment twice a week
for this month and we'll see what's going to happen."

back to the dentist....... i then had a little interview with the doc and
he asked if i am happy with my smile. hmm..... i said i am ok.
i think he was trying to convince me that he can help me to upgrade
my smile to smile2.0. do i really need it??? he thinks i need it.

the nurse later brought me to my seat. the doc came and "open your
mouth please." he explained to me before doing anything which is good.
later, he said he needed to take some x-rays and some photos as a
reference before doing anything. hmm.....i think what he was trying to
do is, compile everything, put everything into a powerpoint slide, and
hopefully it will convince me that i needed smile2.0.

i went for x-ray rev2.0 and the nurse asked me to put on an armor suit.
i was told to stand next to a machine and hugged it real tight. later, she put
a stick into my mouth and requested me to put on a smile. how can i smile
when there is a stick in my mouth and i am hugging a thick iron log????

last but not least before taking off, the nurse said i needed to come back
next week for a follow up visit and that's when they will present to me
a presentation about my smile, my teeth and so forth. of course, nothing
took place yet..... we'll see what will happen next week....

resume and beyond.

2007-06-13T17:16:00.001-07:00

Job descriptions on a resume address skills, not character. Most employers
agree that character and attitude are the most important factors in
hiring a new employee. Skills can be taught.

John C Maxwell, Developing the Leaders Around You, pg 29.

Can Grown-up Siblings Learn To Get Along? Follow-up.

2007-06-13T15:36:00.000-07:00

when siblings are too far apart in age difference,
1) they get along
2) they don't get along
it doesn't matter what culture you are in.

and so as, when siblings are around the same age.
1) they get along
2) they don't get along
it doesn't matter what culture you are in.

parents play an important role when raising their kids. parents needs
to encourage their kids to get along with one another, depend on each
other, learn from each other, love one another, etc because when the
parents are not around, all the kids have are their siblings. most of all,
they are blood related. they all come out from the same womb.

here is the thing. people change as they grow older and this is unavoidable.
however, when A changes to the left and B changes to the right, then
it's very difficult to bring them together. they are so "far apart". they didn't
grow with each other and didn't walk the same path, thus they didn't experience
the same cirsumstances.

i guess it all comes down to communication skills in essence. parents play a
big role to communicate with everyone in the family. parents needed to
motivate all the kids to communicate with each other so that whoever had
experienced in one thing can share with the rest like; the French teacher in
this high school. avoid her class in any way.

so what can we do if we are already 'far apart' from our siblings.

START to pick up the phone and say Hi!! How are you doing? Be sincere most of all.

here is the challenge, you can't clap with one hand. in order to communicate/clap,
u need both parties. what if the other party doesn't want. is it, doesn't want or
don't know how, to start the ball rolling.

i had CAY yesterday.

2007-05-31T09:40:00.000-07:00

what is CAY?

this is what happened yesterday.

11.15am to 12pm -- Aerobics
12.15pm to 1pm -- Yoga
4.30pm to 6pm -- Chiropractor

now u know why i am blogging today instead of yesterday.
yes.....my whole body got dissasembled and rearranged, all in one day.

Can Grown-up Siblings Learn to Get Along?

2007-05-17T11:52:00.000-07:00

from:
http://www.psychologytoday.com/articles/pto-20070320-000003.html

my thoughts for now.

1) siblings relationships in the eastern and western culture.
we need to cover both these cultures since we are afterall asians from the
eastern culture influenced by the western culture and the article is written
by an american from the western culture and addressing primarily to the
western culture. some stuff may not apply to us but some do.

2) the article did not elaborate on the age differences. i can break it down into.....
a) siblings age difference of more than 4yrs for example.
b) siblings age difference of less than 4yrs
and also, we need to compare and contrast between the 2 cultures.

mentor and apprentice.

2007-05-17T10:38:00.000-07:00

1) mentors who will give advices whenever the apprentice asked for it.
i guess this is more like a cultural thing esp in the western culture.
and esp in the US, people don't simply give opinions from their
point of review or even from how they feel about things, unless u really
know them very well. why? it's just the American thing.

the question is, what to ask and how to ask to get the right and fruitful
response that u can consider and possibly hard-coded it into your brains.

2) mentors who will just simply give comments and opinions.
this is probably gear towards the eastern culture and most parts of europe.
whatever u are doing, when people see u doing it the wrong way, they will
simply let u know. i.e. Hey mate, that is the wrong way to drink a beer.

before i moved to the States, i went to college, i worked in a pharmacy and
i also worked in a hi-tech company. i must say that throughout those years,
i met many mentors from #2. each of them shaped me in a very unique way.
mentors are like road signs on the highway. without them, u will take the
wrong exit and ended up somewhere.

when i am in the States, things are different. it was after my 2nd year that
this gentleman shared with me the bad news. i meant, the good news.
people in america don't usually give their comments about your stuff unless
u asked for it. later, i began to realize that i am hearing tons of

what do u think about this/that?
i need your opinion about this/that?
do u think my way is going to work?
etc etc etc

here is the thing. when i need advice about aggresive real estate, i call up AB.
when i need advice about automobiles, i call up CD. when i need advice about
catholicism, i call up EF. when i need advice about marathons, i call up GH.
when i need advice about religion, i call up MN. when i need advice about my
work stuff, i call up KL. the list goes on.

i want to continue to ask the right question at the right time and at the right
circumstances. most of all, i want to always remind myself to:
what u ask is not as important as how u ask.

and of course, i always try to remind myself to listen and not to hear and to
be silent cum attentive in a right manner when listening.

i do discover that some mentors are bad listeners. some folks just like to
share about what they know. yes, it is as simple as that.

finding the right mentor? have u heard of, charity begins at home? yes, it still
points directly to us; who am i? who are u? what do i need? what do i want?

edrick's big day.

2007-05-13T02:38:00.000-07:00

Edrick's 1st birthday....... and he is my nephew. good for you..... more to come....

another video clip.

2007-05-13T02:20:00.000-07:00

This is my favorite video clip so far. why? we had a good saturday afternoon.
it was just a beautiful saturday. the weather was just gorgeous though it was breezy.
in addition, she bought a nice dress at the outlets. i guess that was why she was with
all smiles the whole afternoon. she always wanted to check out the flower fields and
we missed it everytime we go to the outlets. yeah, we had too much of a walking from
store to store over there. later, we asked around about the u-pick strawberries.
she was so exciting and anxious since we got lost on the way. we almost went to
legoland instead but we found the place finally . i parked my car and just then i realized
that the little hut won't take ATM card. my wallet had only $3 and i need to pay $11
for the big bucket. she forked out $5 and i managed to uncovered $3 worth of quarters
from my car. wow!! and u know what, we actually paid $6 for the little bucket earlier
and we returned for the big one. yeah.... Thanks!!

there we went marching into the strawberry field armed with 2 pairs of hands and
some common sense. we were so excited since we found many many of them and
they appeared to be fresh and ready to munch on. as we picked, i munched a few and
a few and more..... it was juicy and crispy, unlike the ones i got from the grocery store.
the first 20minutes of treasure hunting was fun. later, my back started to ache and my
shoes were covered with mud and so was my pair of jeans. well, we took off after we
filled the bucket and my tummy. i had never had so many strawberries in those couple
of days after this trip. it was good.....

and of course, the music blends very well with the flow and the rhythm of the clip.
i love it!! enjoy!!

from Forbes 90th anniversery issue.

2007-05-11T00:54:00.000-07:00

what is n00b?

2007-05-10T16:11:00.000-07:00

n00b means i love u from head to toe in progeekurl language.

what is gah.

2007-05-09T20:58:00.000-07:00

gah means i love u in progeekurl language.

slimming and lifting undergarment

2007-05-05T00:30:00.000-07:00

i was watching this infomercial about this kind of undergarment.
u wear it and u will look like an hour glass. well, come to think of it,
ladies that pay $40 for it, i think they had this in mind:

1) i don't like how i look

2) i want to look good the quick & easy way anytime

3) i want to look good but i don't want to watch my diet & i do not like to exercise.

hmm...... i guess whenever they step out from their home, they want
to feel and look good. they want attention. here is the thing. that is on the outside.
what happens if they are at home?

what i am trying to say is, don't judge a book by its cover. whenever u see
people that looks gorgeous, most likely there is something going on.
isn't that true in this modern world. u have botok, this undergarment thing, etc.

attentions? observations? complements? minimalism?

bottom line...... if u want it, u need to work for it. so....eat right and exercise!!
and..... be content and have self reflections.

othello.

2007-05-02T00:41:00.000-07:00

i won!!

my friendly odometer and speedometer.....

2007-05-02T00:22:00.000-07:00

yup...... it's 170,000 miles...... i bought this car when it was 51,000 miles in Sept 2001.
that translates to.....i drove 119,000 miles in 5 1/2 years.

argument #1:
how much time have i spent sitting on the driver's seat?

argument #2:
how much pollution have i created?

argument #3:
what was in my mind all this time when i was driving?

argument #4:
how much time did i spent talking on the phone while driving?

argument #5:
how much did i spent on gas?

argument #6:
how much did i spent maintaining this vehicle?

argument #7:
how many people did i pissed off while i was driving?

argument #8:
how many people pissed me off while i was driving?

argument #9:
how many bugs did i killed when i drove?

argument #10:
how many times did i went passed the speed limit?

argument #11:
what was i thinking when i zoomed beyond the speed limit?

argument #12:
when will it hit 200,000miles?

argument #13:
when will it hit 250,000miles?

argument #14:
when will it hit 300,000miles?

argument #15:
when will it hit 350,000miles?

argument #16:
when will it hit 400,000miles?

well...... i need my KFC and it's 5mins drive away.

buzy beezey bsie

2007-04-30T23:35:00.000-07:00

first of all, my bread & butter project. i need to put in more hrs and i need
to work weekends too. this project that i am working on is
very new to us. in addition, we learn as we go along. it's kinda
like a pipe cleaner and as the pioneers, we pick up the dirt,
flush the system, grease the parts and so and so and so.

next on the list, i did my second half marathon last last sunday, april 22nd.
it was a little tuff since i need to find time to run either at lunch time or
at later in the afternoon. most of all, i need do a long run on sunday morning.
i felt this time, i was more prepared since i knew excatly what will be my
weeknesses. this time, we ran from del mar to la jolla cove. we went via
torrey pines and going up was a lot better than coming down. my legs
started to ache when i descend. anyway, my final leg of the half marathon
triple crown will be in august, the AFC half marathon.

of course next on my list are the video clips. it took me a while to get the
picture on putting everything together. editting can be fun and can be tiring.
there were times where i spent 4hrs straight editting the clips and when
i feel tired, i just have to do it some other time. i need creativity when editting
the clips and i just need to go. right now, i managed to crunch out 4 clips and
i can't wait to upload more.

see u @ youtube.com

my 3rd and 4th video clip.

2007-04-27T09:49:00.000-07:00

Yes..... my clip dated April 24th has more views that my earlier clip dated April 9th.
Yes......keep it going..... keep the momentum......

thanks again....

my 4th video......

2007-04-26T00:15:00.000-07:00

yes...... i am picky about food. why? when u see this video, u will
realized that i was born and raised with tasty delicious food around
the clock.

enjoy!!

Bella.

2007-04-18T12:08:00.000-07:00

this movie will be officially screen on Aug 15th.
well, i saw it on monday after some generous folks
paid for the entire auditorium.

http://www.bellathemovie.com/

schedule for summer.

2007-04-17T13:44:00.000-07:00

Jan 21st -- Carlsbad Half Marathon (checked)

Apr 22nd -- La Jolla Half Marathon (c--h--e--c--k--i--n--g)

June 2nd -- intra-company football/soccer tournament

Aug 20th -- America's Finest City Half Marathon

i finally emailed to this guy who is looking for players for
the june 22nd game. i figured out that running and football
are two different sports. i really want to play football again.
i have my football shoes, a deutschland jersey and i am ready.
it's been a while since i last played in a team sports. we'll
see how it goes. that guy supposed to email to me the
schedule for training.

2 awesome video clips......

2007-04-13T01:49:00.000-07:00

thequickbrownfoxjumpsoverthelazydogsoareyouthelazydogwoofwoof

case closed.

2007-04-11T16:20:00.000-07:00

i mentioned that i knocked down a bicyclist earlier.
my auto-insurance agent met up with me to conduct
an interview(taped recorded) and she took some photos of my car.
i got a call from her saying they will close the case since
i was not at fault. well, good news to me and i hope that
man is fine. thanks AAA.

monday inspirations........

2007-04-09T19:41:00.000-07:00

1. A day without sunshine is like night.

2. On the other hand, you have different fingers.

3. 42.7 percent of all statistics are made up on the spot.

4. 99 percent of lawyers give the rest a bad name.

5. Remember, half the people you know are below average.

6. He who laughs last, thinks slowest.

7. Depression is merely anger without enthusiasm.

8. The early bird may get the worm, but the second mouse gets the cheese in the trap.

9. Support bacteria. They're the only culture some people have.

10. A clear conscience is usually the sign of a bad memory.

11. Change is inevitable, except from vending machines.

12. If you think nobody cares, try missing a couple of payments.

13. How many of you believe in psycho-kinesis? Raise my hand.

14. OK, so what's the speed of dark?

15. When everything is coming your way, you're in the wrong lane.

16. Hard work pays off in the future. Laziness pays off now.

17. How much deeper would the ocean be without sponges?

18. Eagles may soar, but weasels don't get sucked into jet engines

19. What happens if you get scared half to death, twice?

20. Why do psychics have to ask you for your name?

21. Inside every older person is a younger person wondering, "What the heck happened?"

22. Just remember -- if the world didn't suck, we would all fall off.

23. Light travels faster than sound. That's why some people appear bright until you hear them speak.

24. Life isn't like a box of chocolates. it's more like a jar of jalapenos. What you do today, might burn your butt tomorrow.

?Que es ........ B.L.O.G?

2007-04-06T16:22:00.000-07:00

what is B.L.O.G?

for men:
Best Life of Gentlemen

for ladies:
Boring Life of Gals

thru my observations, is it a coincidence that
all men's blog are very interesting loaded with many many
cool activities going on & happened, but on the other hand,
for ladies.....it is the opposite?

or rather, gentlemente and ladieswomente expressed
their thoughts and feelings differently? or, de gentlemente
put only good stuff on their blog? if that's the case, what is
hidden under the rock? a shrimp? a lobstar?

the tooth is out there.....

today's run...... S.H.I.T.

2007-04-04T16:35:00.000-07:00

i learnt something today or rather last nite. before planning for a 8 miles
run the next day, don't... don't... or rather never eat too much roast beef.
in addition, do not eat too many strawberries. lastly, never fill up your
mouth with 3 mouth-fulls of whipped cream. i think it's 5.
there u go ...... and earlier today i was in deep S.H.I.T. -- Special High Intensive Training.
and i only hit 6miles. what a shame!! sob....sob.....

new hires.

2007-03-31T01:54:00.000-07:00

Harry, meet Tom Dell. Tom meet Harry Viao.
Today is Harry's first day and he is going to be
the future CTO.

as u see Tom, Harry is full of energy and he
helps me so much with youtube via phone. he is
bright and he has this 17 inch thing. i believe he will
make a huge difference the way things are right now.
as far as i know, he is creative and packed
with astonishing ideas. in addition, he is
effective and efficient and most of all, he will
travel with me wherever i go. he has the
thing called..... YHigh in his brain. i will talk to the
HR dept to arrange an early retirement package
for you Tom, so that u can play hide-and-seek in your
10acre ranch at crawford Texas. u will have lots
of fun over there with all the plant, tree and bush.

well Tom, i will have to relocate u to store 23-a-2 until
further notice. meanwhile Harry will assume
all the responsibilities with immediate effect.

and also, Sony will be helping Harry on
this project, MuFYEO aka Music For Your Ears Only.

lastly, let me once again introduce to you,
Joe Blast Loud and he is our lawyer and
also our spokesperson.

Thank-you.

introducing one of my breakfast buddy.

2007-03-30T17:15:00.000-07:00

Hint hint!! check out the black circles.

u eat and .....

2007-03-30T13:17:00.000-07:00

Quote:
i eat anything that grows from the earth and crawls on the earth,
everything that falls from the sky and flies in the sky and all that
swims in the sea and dives into the deep blue sea. it's better to die
being stomach-full than to die being hungry....so eat!!

is there a phobia for ..... afraid of dying hungry?

anyway, when u eat right, your body is in harmony, it powers
your physical body, in turn, it fuels your brain and warm your heart;
and after all the whole nine yards, u said...... i need to go to the bathroom
and u ran out of toilet paper. sigh!!

got a link to.......the side-effect of ice storm.

2007-03-30T10:45:00.000-07:00

there goes my Porsche Boxster nicely wrapped in bone chill I-C-E.

http://www.pbase.com/scherrer/january_2005_ice_storm

it looks really cool huh but i don't think i wanna be there when it happened.

what happened to my car????

yeap....youtube is getting into my brains.

2007-03-30T00:07:00.000-07:00

the digital camcorder...... the movie maker software....most of all,
youtube.com ..... it's addictive.......it's fun.......it's ...... amazing.
yes.....it's getting into me. i am glad i had my new laptop with 80GB
of hard disk. my older one has only 30GB and it's dying. i have
enough storage haha.......

taping events is different right now. i used to have a analog SLR
and i still have it but it's inside my ziplog bag sitting comfortably.
then came the digital camera. now, it's a digital camcorder and
it burns DVD.

capturing history with audio and motion video is totally cool.
u can hear and listen to people and the atmosphere. everything
is recorded. here is the problem...u want more and more out
of it. i.e. having a better camcorder, more creativity in making
video clips, more astonishing audio and all the editting stuff.

the first problem is...... i borrowed de DVD camcorder. in the
current market u have also, a MiniDV and hard-disk camcorder.
so....which one shall i buy?

anyway, i want to make good quality video clips. that's the goal.

since thanks-giving...... it's back!!

2007-03-29T23:57:00.000-07:00

my stereo was stolen last thanks-giving. finally,
kevin helped me to install it last weekend. as u can see, i was
without music for the past Dec, Jan, Feb, end of Mar.
it was torturing. it was bad esp when driving for more than
1 hr. what i really need is traffic report. u will never know
what will happen to the freeway since there is only 2
major ones to LA, the 5 and 15.

anyway, Usher is back!! well, as u can see, it's a sony
stereo. i paid around $80 for a brand new stereo. a good
deal huh. what i can say is that, my stolen Pioneer player
can really explode my car. for some reason, the Sony
thing is missing the kick. i really felt that something is
missing...... if this Sony gets stolen again, i won't install
anymore. in addition, i will remove all the 4 Sony xplode
speakers too.

lastly, thanks to Kevin.

project #2 all right.

2007-03-29T23:53:00.000-07:00

project #2 DONE. i am so happy. i hope he and she will like it.
anyway, i decided to cut the clip since i want to do another
clip with the lunch at evergreen. you will see it later.

1st video uploaded to youtube.com.....YEAH!!

2007-03-27T01:00:00.000-07:00

all right!!

wow....it took me...... many many hours to film, rip, edit, put together, etc.
of course, the most important thing is, the digital camcorder. thanks to f.
and then, all the legal software to rip the video, to download and to
convert the audio and my laptop with software to all of them together.
again, thanks to f for her support, advice, etc. without her, i wouldn't
have done it. well, project #1..... COMPLETE..... project #2..... COMING SOON.
enjoy!! and once again, congratulations on your new home.

de man is back to his pan.........

2007-03-20T21:31:00.000-07:00

finally....... i have returned to my land.....the kitchen.
well, my company provides dinner and sometimes,
there are tons of left-overs from lunch meetings.
besides, sam woo is not too far away and of course,
there is a good vietnamese supermarket that sells
food in a la carte. 1 lb of curry chicken is around $6.
anyway, i stir-fry bok choy with garlic and oyster
sauce. it's pretty good actually. !salud!

no news is goods news.

2007-03-15T21:27:00.000-07:00

i was driving my car and F was driving hers. we wanted to go to
panda express but it was closed since it was already 9.30pm.
she took off first and i followed. she hit the main street and
i was looking to the right and then to the left and slammed on the
gas. the moment i slammed on the gas, i saw a cyclist in front
of me and in no time, he flew. he was knocked off from his
bicycle. i was shocked!!

when i left the parking lot, i need to make a right to head west;
towards her place. i looked to the right and to the left and when
no vehicles, i turned. i was positive that i did not see anything
on the right. the cyclist was towards the east, against the traffic.

anyway, i was shocked and without hesitate, i quickly dialed 911.
the operator needed to calm me down since i was ..... really really
shocked. that guy was on the ground and passerbys came to help
him since i was on the phone. i explained with anxiety and the
operator had to calm me down a few times.

the parademic and the police came in no time. they asked who are
the witnesses, the injured, etc. later, they asked me more questions
and i called F. she came back and became my witness.

here is how i analyse the situation.
1) i think u need to cycle with the traffic flow.
2) he wasn't wearing a helmet.
3) he didn't turn on the lights.
4) he did not wear a reflective clothing.
5) i drove out from the parking lot and i was slow..... 4mph?
it was the acceleration that made the impact.

anyway, the paramedics took him to the hospital. i talked to the cops
and they said, whatever happens, do not leave the scene until everything
has been documented.

well, i did not get any phone calls today from anyone about the accident.
most of all, i do not have the victim's name, number, etc. i am praying that
he only suffered minor injuries and .... i guess..... no news is good news.
PTL.

Updated snow-boarding trip..... Dec 2006.

2007-03-12T23:04:00.000-07:00

badminton.

2007-03-08T10:40:00.000-08:00

yup...... there is baseball, basketball, american football and also,
badminton..... it's not shuttle-cock but the bird.....

http://sandiegobadminton.org/images/PlacestoPay.pdf

a creative way of utilizing the parking meter.....PG style.

2007-03-05T00:10:00.000-08:00

hoongpau....... red packet.......

2007-03-04T23:59:00.000-08:00

mine....all mine......

bad package...... used the wrong glue for the
self adhesive???

my #1 pick....... FRONT.

my #1 pick ..... BACK

the best hoongpau.......

2007-03-04T23:50:00.000-08:00

my best hoongpau......from mum and grandmother.

I am finally back to San Diego.

2007-03-04T23:20:00.000-08:00

it was fast; my 2 weeks trip to the Pearl of the Orient.

the only 2 problems i had were:
with the customs; when they confiscated 2 bottles of my drinking
water when i was at LAX. i forgot about my water bottles in my
hand carry. i thought they asked me if i needed my water. i said, take them
away. i was just wondering what would happened if i had a bottle of cognac
and another bottle of wine. shall i finished them on the spot???
hmm...i guess not.

the other problem......
after sleeping at the right time this weekend. i clocked 23hrs of sleep. rewind!!
i arrived on monday evening. oscar came to get me and after all the
whole nine yards, i finally drove my car getting ready to head home.
it was then 11.30pm. hmm.....i thought i was flying for the last 25hrs
and now another 2 hrs of driving??? i touched down at 7pm btw.
anyway, i arrived safely at 2.30am and by the time i got to bed, it was
3.30am. do u think i have the energy to get up the next day, i mean,
in another few hrs to go to work? no. i took the day off.

the jet lag really got into me. i wasn't productive and to add insult to
injury, i was down with a cold. i thought i could do some work but
the cold really got me. i finally recovered on sat after i woke up at
1.30pm. i slept at 2.30am on friday and that was a whopping 11hrs.
i felt so much better and on sunday, i hit 10hrs. i guess my jet lag
is finally ..... gone.

the trip was good. i had too much good food and now, my training
is back....... running like a mad dog. i met a lot of people and many
relatives. well....all i can say is, there are too many people living
on the island. i could not believe so many condos are being build and
my last trip was in 2004. what a big difference.

of course, it was hot and humid and i slept on the sofa all the time.
yeah, i did not have real sleep and besides, going to bed at 4am was
quite a normal sleeping time.

i was glad i have time to sneak out to kiasuland for lunch with
some nice people. thanks again and it was good to see all of you.

Happy Chinese New Year.

2007-02-21T01:28:00.000-08:00

Taking a break...... wishing all my family, relatives and friends,
a happy chinese new year.....

GONG XI GONG XI.....

i will blog more when i return......

hands clean.

2007-02-09T15:51:00.000-08:00

my dad is still a mechanic after all these years and my mum is
a housewife. she works a little in the afternoon in a clothing store.
when i was very young, i helped my dad a little esp on sunday
afternoons and my mum always reminded me to tell my dad to
eat whenever he's hungry. my dad will always say later since his
hands were dirty and greasy. when he managed to grep some food,
that will be an hour or two later and he will be complaining
about his gastric.

i helped my dad did some stuff. we can't obviously fix the car without
getting dirty and i hate that. on top of that, we need to make sure our
hands and fingers are really clean before munching on anything
we could get. my poor dad has a very very bad gastric and i wished i
could help but for a kid, how much can i really help.

sundays after sundays passed and i always observed what my dad
was doing and how his fingers got really dirty. in addition, his fingernails
are always the tuffest to clean; the dirt will always stuck to it and he
has to brush real hard and i was like, that is painful!!

weeks after weeks of sundays and one day i said to myself,
when i grow up, i will never get my hands dirty and greasy like my dad
and i want to eat whenever i want.

so....here i am.....in an office with a computer and a 24 inch flat screen and
my cabinets are always stock with ...... chips, finger foods, asian desserts, etc.
my office also supplies unlimited coffee and tea......

GALA DINNER MENU....... Bon appetito!!

2007-02-08T11:39:00.000-08:00

i want....i want.......

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/6335419.stm
http://www.epicureanmasters.com/web20/home.html

The meal will cost diners 1m Thai Baht - about $29,000, or £15,000.
Tax and service are not included.

==

Dish: Creme brulee of foie gras with Tonga beans
Wine: 1990 Louis Roederer Cristal

Tartare of Kobe beef with Imperial Beluga caviar and Belons oyster
1995 Krug Clos du Mesnil

Mousseline of pattes rouges crayfish with morel mushroom infusion
2000 Corton-Charlemagne, Jean François Coche-Dury

Tarte Fine with scallops and black truffle
1996 Le Montrachet, Domaine de la Romanee-Conti

Lobster Osso Bucco
1985 Romanee-Conti

Ravioli with guinea fowl and burrata cheese in a veal reduction
1961 Chateau Palmer

Saddle of lamb "Leonel"
1959 Chateau Mouton Rothschild

Sorbet "Dom Perignon"

Supreme of pigeon en croute with cepes mushroom sauce and cipollotti
1961 Chateau Haut-Brion

Veal cheeks with Perigord truffles
1955 Chateau Latour

Imperial gingerbread pyramid with caramel and salted butter ice-cream
1967 Chateau d'Yquem

X-marks the spot.

2007-02-06T00:09:00.000-08:00

heart to heart.

2007-02-06T00:07:00.000-08:00

ne-ne-neh-neh-neh..... my heart is bigger than yours.......

pudding from Mt Ararat?

2007-02-05T23:47:00.000-08:00

Noah's dessert......Asure.

oh crab.....

2007-02-05T23:41:00.000-08:00

Alaska King Crab.... USD9.90 per pound. there are supposed to be 8 legs and 2 claws.
can u imagine how big they are.

what u are seeing are;
1 leg and 1 claw. i think this crab is bigger than all my craps......

My Director was in my office this morning.

2007-02-05T23:30:00.000-08:00

My Director doing a demo on effective email.

my Director giving me some suggestions.

I am doomed.........

Be realistic in life since u live only once.

2007-02-05T14:24:00.000-08:00

Do u know what are the difference between a goal, a dream and a fantasy?

Tell me.......

well, here are my thoughts.

a fantasy
an imagination that will never ever come thru.

a dream
an imagination that might come thru with aspiration and inspiration and without a dateline.

a goal
an imagination that will come thru with aspiration and inspiration and with a dateline.

Do u have any fantasy, dream or goal?
Think again.....

when I wake up

2007-02-02T22:16:00.000-08:00

1) at 2am, he looks at his cellphone seeing 012-407-3910, he will say,
what's your problem and he will continue saying, no life ah?

2) at 7am on weekdays, he will sleep again.

3) at 8am on weekdays, he will say....Oh shoot, 8 already?!?!?!

4) at 9am on weekdays, he will yell...... s#&%@ 9 already ?!?!!?

5) at 10am on weekdays, he will......call in and say...i am not feeling well.
i'm gonna take the day off.

6) at 7am on saturday, he will sleep again.

7) at 8am on saturday, he will still sleep again.

8) at 9am on saturday, he will still still sleep again.

9) at 10am on saturday, he will say......Oh, that was GOoooD.

10) at 5am on sunday, he will say..... Run Chin Run....it's my marathon!!

11) at 6am on sunday, he will sleep again.

12) at 7am on sunday, he will still sleep again.

13) at 8am on sunday, he will still still sleep again.

14) at 9am on sunday, ..... it's time to run!!!

15) at 10am on sunday, .... do i need to run today????

16) at 11am on sunday, he will say, where am i? what happened?

Fast Food Freestyle.........

2007-01-26T00:18:00.000-08:00

i'm gonna try it at the drive thru at green lane.......

the lyrics
----------
I need a double cheeseburger and hold the lettuce
Don't be frontin' son no seeds on a bun
We be up in this drive thru
Order for two
I gots a craving for a number nine like my shoe
We need some chicken up in here
In this dizzle
For rizzle my mizzle
Extra salt on the frizzle
Dr. Pepper my brother
Another for your mother
Double double super size
And don't forget the FRIES...

couples........ today......

2007-01-22T17:18:00.000-08:00

brad pitt and angelina jolie --> bradgelina

i wonder who are these people........

1) Chanstein and Berndini

2) Bebrina and Sanedick

3) patanne and jorick

Quote of the day.

2007-01-22T11:34:00.000-08:00

The world today is hungry not only for bread but hungry for love;
hungry to be wanted, to be loved.
— Bl. Mother Teresa

my training log file.

2007-01-21T23:52:00.000-08:00

the christmas long holidays and new year holidays jeopardized my
trainings a little..... and of course, i had a bad cold and i did
not run for a week........