iris flowers

NEW BOARD

2003-10-03T13:33:00.000-07:00

This blog is now obsolete.

I've switched to a message board instead where I will be posting:

http://books.dreambook.com/mithi/brownpaperpackage.html

Remember to bookmark it!

Practice

2003-10-02T13:16:00.000-07:00

dance practice was last night...we're getting down to one month to go. all 6 girls are present now and we're starting to get the hang of it. its finally starting to come together! i just need to get the steps down this weekend but otherwise...the audience will have a blast.

Boba

2003-09-30T14:53:00.000-07:00

Ok, below are the pictures from Vegas. I have more candid ones but these are the best of the best. We stayed out late and just had a general old good time. Since the page is on geo'sucks' if too many people are accessing the page it will go down for an hour or so. So dont refresh! It's the same page! Anyways, come back an hour and it should be up again. What else is there to say, we ate at buffet, had expensive wine and expensive meat, walked around a lot and danced a lot. We had hurt feet but Dhivya and Rethi could still dance still dawn if you let them.

One thing I do want to tell is as we were walking through the desert mid 90's heat from Monte Carlo to Bellagio (which by the way is in their fall theme... see the pic of the Bellagio gardens with the pumpkins behind us), I saw a flashing neon sign that said "Boba"!

I said "Look! A pearl tea place!"

We stopped and 4 girls pondered whether to go in. It was midday and we were all hot and thirsty. It was decided that we will stop by on our way back. But after a block I told them that I was going to get it now, not later. So we all retraced our steps back. As I placed my order, the orange hair Asian guy from Taiwan told me "Our boba isn't ready until later."

"Oh. When will it be ready?"

"About an hour."

An hour! We can't wait that long! We had friends to meet and shopping to do! And what kind of shop doens't have goods ready especially having been open for a couple hours already?!

Smart Rethi says "Well...maybe the demand for pearl tea isn't as it is back home..."

To which I replied, "No demand?" Meaning there aren't enough Asians in Las Vegas to create a pearl tea demand? hmmm...this may be true since at the clubs I did spot out the few Asians amongst the mix crowd easy because there weren't that many.

So we left the shop, me disappointed and having to walk longer in the heat because we had to double back. Sorry guys (especially to Dhivya, who bowed before the porcelain throne and woke up that morning headachey and dizzy and was now walking through desert heat with us).

Needless to say, after lunch we went back and I got my drink. All of us except for Dhivya (not a pearl tea fan, go figure) had one. And sure maybe it was the heat, or the wait, or the long awaited anticipation, but it was THE best I had ever tasted. I even finished off Rethi's because she saw I finished mine first (way before we got back to our room). So in conclusion boys and girls, I have been to the desert and there is pearl tea. Yes there is. :)

I hope you enjoy the pictures and don't forget to post your comments!

Las Vegas Sept 2003

Me back

2003-09-29T11:03:00.000-07:00

I will update Las Vegas more later with pictures. but for now, we made it back from Vegas on sunday morning. We had no sleep since our flight was 6 am, so after arriving back to the apartment at 830 am, i took a shower and then zonked out. i slept the whole day. woke up at 5 pm and got ready to go to the punchline with Ray and his friends, his new thing for getting all his friends to meet each other. i was tired and didnt want to get up but made it there anyway. Punchline was a good show for $5. Went to bed around 1 am and hoped that I would hear my phone alarm for work tomorrow.

I didnt. I woke up at 930 am and arrived here at work. It's going to be a sluggish day...

from yours truly at Monte Carlo...

2003-09-26T16:27:00.000-07:00

I just checked the Monte carlo wedding chapel for my friend Michelle who's thinking of getting married here next year. how odd it was to pretend that i was the bride interested in the chapel to make my questions easier...anyhow, its a nice chapel.

I am at an Internet kiosk at the hotel so I thought i'd update you guys. its been hot but because i like hot weather, its been a nice dry 95 degrees, very bearable sans humidity. Rethi and div are resting in the room, diep is out shopping with Laura and her friends. I'm about to go take a nap too. We're going to have a light dinner and go to club Rain at Palms, supposedly a very good club because everyone we know has said to go there. So far a four hour wait, we're trying to get there by 8 pm, yeah right...So far its been no gambling, lots of shopping, more shopping planned for tomorrow ( not my idea) and then staying out late and partying tonight and then on to studio 54 for tomorrow. its been sort of quiet for a thursday but we expect it to be packed tonight and saturday.

I think Vegas has lost its charm as its sort of getting old. but I dont know...i just know that the first time was a lot of fun. but this time, eh. but to end on a high night, we have plenty of skyy berry, and plenty of other goody snacks in the room to keep us going...

Vegas here we come

2003-09-25T18:40:00.000-07:00

ok, its 635 pm and i'm off to meet Div, Rethi and Diep at div's house to go to Oakland to fly to Vegas! ah! its just us four girls and we're meeting Laura Tang and her friend there. We're staying at Monte Carlo. I'm looking forward to the warmer weather as it is getting chilly here in san jose, its fall alright.

btw, did i mention that Rethi tried out for American Idol this Monday? she didnt make the cut but she did try out! in San francisco, if she had made the first cut, she would have to then audition before Simon, Paula and that third judge i forget his name. I have my digi camera so I'll be posting pictures as soon as I get back.

and on another note, there seems to be some control issues over bridal shower/bachelorette...sigh...bride wants things a certain way and there seems to be discontent over who's making the decisions. ok. well, i'm off. have a good weekend everyone.

Vegas? already?

2003-09-23T11:30:00.000-07:00

i mentioned vegas awhile back and it is this weekend. it seems a little bit trivial with so many other things going on (interview nick, buy bridal shower gift, dance practice is behind schedule, need to start dance practice by myself cuz i suck...). am reading cherry's book, Diary of a Mad Bride, she sent me. amusing yet somehow so real.

favorite song of the moment: White Flag by Dido

i dont think its been released yet since I cant seem to find it at the music stores. Darn lawsuit, can't dl songs anymore and am going through the old fashioned route of checking them out at the music stores.

Message board

2003-09-22T09:06:00.000-07:00

I've decided to call my guestbook a message board since that is the way it seems to be working out. So you can post your messages and responses can be posted back and forth. So enough of that.

It was another hot weekend. And fall is suppose to start in a few days! Saturday was Phil and Anu's going away party and so Ray, Surai, Sanjay, Hai and I all headed up there. The others all came separately and it was fun. I even saw Seenae there! With her roommate Christine? Of course, the person we all have in common is Cherry. Conversation turned to how much contact we have with Cherry. It seems like we are all on different levels as Ray had a PHONE call with Cherry, Seenae had a CARD from Cherry and it was only last Friday that I heard that ok, I'm getting a package from Cherry. Nice to know that Cherry is doing something over there in NC. :)

Wedding party plans for the bride went smoothly yesterday. We have a designated leader and we'e back on track. it will be rushed but i think we can do it with 2 weeks notice. I never heard of someone wanting a bigger rock than what they received. But this one does. She really really really thinks hers is small now, after having it for awhile. An upgrade on your ring? Even if you buy it yourself? my goodness, you're losing the whole picture and buying into the competitition thing! I just can't believe it.

New guestbook

2003-09-19T14:17:00.000-07:00

I switched guestbook hosts since for some reason ppl were complaining. Anyways, sorry if I lost your post! please sign again!

added guestbook

2003-09-17T09:32:00.000-07:00

I added a guestbook per loan's suggestion. Not too bad.

Here is another link if you are interested:

Nick and Diep's Wedding Website

Extremely cute.

anyone have a leader to spare?

2003-09-16T10:39:00.000-07:00

so my posts are a little backwards regarding the weekend. On Friday I got a call from Surai to get pearl tea and we ended up hopping from restauraunt to restauraunt for some food at santana row. one had a blackout and so we had to leave (firetrucks and the whole siren thing). All the waits were for 1-2 hours and throughout it all what I was really craving for was some KFC popcorn chicken, but nooooo...a sitdown place it is then. anyways it was too hot to go home so we just stayed out late in the warm night air. see the results of our trying to kill time...

Santana Row Pictures

There seems to be some lost leadership amongst the girls for a certain friend's wedding. fingers aren't being pointed but it is suffice to say that with no chosen maid of honor, no one is taking it upon themselves to be the lead in plannning for bridal showers/bachelorette. i personally dont feel up to it myself but we will be meeting to discuss some logical flow of plans so that it will happen. sigh. i was surprised myself to see that it is for all intents and purposes October, and one month til the wedding! and counting in lead times for save the dates...mailing...responses....blah. we need to hack this out with the group is all i can say.

Pictures inside!

2003-09-15T10:24:00.000-07:00

Jay Mohr was funny at the Improv! We had dinner and then it was over to the Improv. After that we walked around downtown san jose, and ended up at south first billiards until 2 am when they closed. this may be the last warm night of the summer as the night remained comfortably warm. ok, so its picture sharing time. thanks to Loan for throwing this page together.

Wine festival and others

some saturday

2003-09-13T16:11:00.000-07:00

well it must be freaking 100 degrees outside and my sisters and i went hiking. what a smart idea that was. but it was still good, no one passed out and we had a nice time. so hot. i'm over at my parents house and loan is scanning my pictrues right now. what am i going to do when she gets a job and not have all this free time?? ha.

went to the mall to cool off and had pearl tea. always nice. got a skirt for ten bucks, I love it when i can find deals like that. anyhoo..off to go home to get ready and rest before going out to dinner tonight. have a nice rest of the weekend!

Diep's link added

2003-09-11T09:45:00.000-07:00

I just added diep's link. now everyone is connected except for alvin. got my pictures back from the wine festival. turned out pretty good. i'll scan them in saturday when i go home. i have been eating pasta for this entire week because of my stolen wallet. loan must be getting annoyed by my constant did i get any mail questions? as my bank has my old address on it.

i put in my old yoga dvd and i realize what i good dvd it is! something about doing any exercise tires me out. i realize that i dont have enough calories so either eat more or not exercise...hm...well maybe next week when i get my atm cards. funny how essential these cards are. ..

Just a work day

2003-09-09T17:13:00.000-07:00

work was interesting. the old butterflies with giving a presentation never really goes away. always there, especially since your audience includes the CEO, your bosses and all your colleagues and they are all older by 20 years min and you are the only young one. blah. i wonder if it gets better with age and experience or is it just because i still feel out of my league even though they seem to think I am superwoman at work?? i never hid my un-experience but they all seem to think i can do it all.

anyways, what a gray day! its fall and winter now?? how sad as it marks another season. you can always live your life waiting on the smallest of light rays but you need the darkness in order to turn back on the lights. that's just my thought of the day. no further explanation will be given.

If you are bored, go to here for some money origami ideas...i made the bow and its pretty cool.

Money Origami

Wine tasting! and wedding invitations

2003-09-08T13:47:00.000-07:00

weekend is over and it was a lot of fun. friday went to sf for some drinks but really was a waste of my money over there. saturday had a nice massage and saw some homes for the heck of it. then had a "whatever" dinner and hanging out with surai and michelle. then diep and alvin came over to watch lotr Two Towers at which i was so tired from the 5 am the night before that I fell asleep. sunday woke up at a reasonable hour, 11 ish and went to the scu wine and food festival.

that was fun! must have had at least 10 glasses. and we were just downing them all. everyone got toasted. see, if i had a digi camera by now, i'd have pictures up already. but alas, they are on my old camera and so i need to get the roll developed. since dance practice is cancelled, i have tonight free so i'm planning to stop by fry's to check out some. but the festival was such fun! it will be an annual thing now perhaps.

despite our levels of giddiness, we all went back to my place and got to serious work helping diep with her wedding invitations. we folded, we tied, and we stuffed. ah yes, it is the Wedding Friends once again to help out a bride in need.

lost wallet

2003-09-03T10:50:00.000-07:00

well i lost my wallet over the weekend while hiking around marin county. its not entirely a big loss, just a couple atm cards and the pictures that i have of my friends (even the wallet ones that tin and cherry handed out) so now i'm out. didnt lose my license or credit card or anything...but still, those pictures were quite sentimental. but oh well.

we were in sausalito and the sailboats and the the setting was just so pretty. makes me wonder what san jose really has except for suburbia. but oh well again. i'm looking forward to the weekend cuz its a short week and i'm going in for a massage finally. good timing too.

happy anniversary

2003-08-29T14:11:00.000-07:00

you guys are looking at my pictures! aww... :)

geocities has a page counter and that is where i host my pic pages. so i'm getting a count. i dont know who all you guys are, but i'm getting hits!

it just occurred to me that it is Jamie and Lorson's as well as Tin and Cherry's First Wedding anniversary coming up! both couples got married around this time. what craziness. i wonder if cherry has the souvenir top tier from their wedding cake. i did wrap it up for them. how time flies. Anyways, i couldnt find a scanned pic of tin and cherry but below is one of my favorite pictures of everyone at Jaime's wedding. happy 1st anniversary u guys!

a look at us last year

Mars and garlic fries

2003-08-28T11:08:00.000-07:00

Last night I had dinner with ST and SM again at Gordon Biersch. We had some yummy garlic fries and then headed up the winding roads of Mt. hamilton. We went to the Lick Observatory where other star gazers were and watched as Mars shone brightly in the sky. Everyone else saw a shooting star except for me. :( but it was a great warm summer evening and remote. We saw the lights of the valley and enjoyed the night sky. The drive, about 40 minutes each way, was tiring though. Fell into bed at quarter til 1.

I keep forgetting that Labor day weekend is this weekend. I have jury duty next week, wont know how that will turn out, but will need to be near a computer for work email ( am waiting for an important email ). No big plans for the weekend other than getting some things in order...

Mars at night

Happy bday to Surai

2003-08-25T11:15:00.000-07:00

Friday i hung out with ST and MY at Bingo. It was a quiet night. :P

On Saturday was Surai's birthday. We wanted to go check out Hooters but the line was for a 1-2 hour wait and it was already 930 pm. So we went to Rainforest cafe instead, a children's restauraunt. We had fun because it was sort of planless but we still ended up with what we wanted to do. The night was not cold at all and other than from hurt feet, it was a nice night. Digital cameras are so cool now. They are so fast, duh, and thanks to SM, here are the pics from this past weekend!

Surai's birthday night

Vacation plans

2003-08-21T10:59:00.000-07:00

i seem to find myself being the event coordinator for the things that my friends are doing. i dont mind, but i am taking a break after this last one, I feel like someone else should get some ideas and i'm not opening it up to the whole world anymore. Mostly they are just information about where, what and when we are doing stuff and getting the people to go and if more want to come, then great.

so what is coming up. we're going to the wine and food festival this year. yay. should be fun. then later on in september we're going to las vegas for a few days. and the big vacation trip, which i have to carefully decide, is in december to thailand! last night after dinner at gordon biersch i went over to sanjay's place and surai was already there. it's mostly his trip but he invited us along. so we started looking at brochures and all the things u can do for little US dollars! plane faire would be through this deal he has. i'm already planning things to do and getting my clothes made by a tailor...cant wait.

Bennnzzzzz...

2003-08-20T10:29:00.000-07:00

Yesterday Allyson let me drive her brand new Mercedes E-something. It is NIIIICCE. $60,000 worth of luxury and you know what, it drives heavy. It is suppose to be the top of the line of its class and is a very popular model that people are supposedly buying. It actually looks very sporty and not like the boxy car your parents would drive. It screams MERCEDES, pewter gray, and all that. It is very big and has all the automatic everything that you expect. I took it on the freeway and that was fun too. But where is the zip? Maybe i wasn't used to it yet but it certainly didnt feel light to drive. The ignition start is a button that you just push! Anyways, its nice, but not for me. It would be something that I am not yet ready for nor would it signify my own personal status. Something that I like build on my own.

curtains and congratulations

2003-08-19T09:39:00.000-07:00

This past weekend i went out and bought curtains for the living room. i thought the kitchen needed shorter ones since it would be touching the floor and it gets dirty a lot more. but now the shortness of it looks odd next to the longer ones. the colors are great but somehow it looks off. anyways, its nothing permanent. i like shopping for home decor but its sort of not fun when i have think that it wont last beyond a year or so. got new pillows too.

Congrats to my friend Allyson as she just found out she is pregnant yesterday. Married in May, due in April. When things like this happen to other people, you can't help but introspect...

recap

2003-08-18T09:30:00.000-07:00

well here it is monday morning again. the thing about work is that it keeps you on a schedule. otherwise we'd all be floating around doing nothing. sure we'd hang out with friends and go out, take vacations, but all that gets boring after awhile. which leads one to ask what will you do if you won the lottery? all the initial fun will end and then what? i actually dont like to think about questions where you wonder what if. waste of brain power to plan something that will never happen.

anyways, the comedy show was really good. we got good seats and dl huhgley is talented. something about old friends are good but the days of hanging out also are bound to change. we'd used to be able to go out late and eat, and it would be ok, but now there is little interest in staying out that late at all.

the library is great. unfortunately it was opening day so they had a ton of ppl. i dont like crowds like that. i still forgot to return the book so will need to go there. the coffee shop is nice too. div is especially excited about the internet cables they have everywhere.

weekend plans

2003-08-15T14:49:00.000-07:00

ok the plan for the weekend looks good. tonight is tv night to finish watching sex and the city. but we're eating sushi first. that will bring season 4 under our belts. tomorrow i'm going to the library. the new one downtown. surai laughs and giggles every time i tell her about it excitedly.

then we're seeing DL huhgley at the improv in san jose. it will be so funny! a night of comedy! cherry would have loved it. the new improv is doing a good job of bringing big names.

and i'm getting my haircut too. i've decided to grow it out a bit more. keep it long as i always do regret it a little when i go shoulder length. but this time i'm going back to the long haired look from the best hair stylist so far that loan found.

Pics inside

2003-08-12T14:21:00.000-07:00

Part II of the decorating blitz are the curtains. Part 1 was the impromptu rug i found on clearance at Target. Ty put up the curtain rods last night so that means we can put up curtains in the living room! yay. Emily and her new roommate came by to watch some TV. It is nice to have a friend who stops by, literally two doors down. sort of like college but not. weird how we all work now and that yes, I know what it was like in college because emily and i used to be roommates! oh so nostalgic but yet life moving on. time flies.

anyways, back to the martha stewartness side of me, I can't wait to bargain shop for curtains. :P the bug bomb seemed to have quieted all the bugs and the ants seem to be gone. but it is only a day so we will see the next week how well it worked. the smell was nil which i was worried about. Add a can of air freshener and the place is good.

been emailing Cherry and i got a call from her reference for work as she put me down as someone to vouch for. One thing for sure that you can tell it is the east coast, down south, they never heard of a "nguyen" and said "I can't pronounce her last name but it is the same as yours". Hope she doesn't think we were trying to do anything shady, like as if we'd be stupid enough not to change our names if we did. Anyway here are a few pictures from the hike this past saturday. If Loan can just change the maroon color to some forest green...(hint HInt)

Muir Woods Pixies

Hiking and other stuff...

2003-08-11T13:17:00.000-07:00

Back from the weekend.

Friday surai and i met up with sanjay and danny at valley fair. had food court food and watched the view from the outside terrace. nice. we shopped a bit and sanjay had a great rec for a perfume that I have been seeking! except its armani for men and next time i go back, i'll look for women's. I have been searching for the perfect perfume for months. as a signature, but have never found anything i liked. well this looks promising as Acqua di by Armani is so fabulous.

after the mall we went onto Fibber McGees in sunnyvale and had some drinks and listened to the live band there. talked, had a good time. moved on to in N out late at night and went to bed at around 230.

on saturday woke up a wee bit late at 845 and rushed to get ready for the hike. Anu came at 9 am exact and Phil came approx 10 minutes later. we left my apt at 920 and were on way to Marin. it was a great day in the city. turns out that car #2 was right behind us as we fought for parking. met up with 8 other friends and it was onto the wooded areas of dirt trails. Muir woods was packed and the hike was good. all uphill which i hated but going down was good. fell once but no bruises. went to ghiradelli square and had sushi. everyone had a nice time. dropped everyone off and came home to sleep at 10pm.

woke up nice and late on sunday and surai came over. we talked and then had a late late late brunch at a nice bakery on almaden. went home to do laundry and watched beaches on alvin's new computer. went home at 6, cleaned, prepped the apt for the bug bomb and went to bed early. feel rested but sore monday mornng. i hope the bug bomb works on those ants when i go home later.

a friday in august

2003-08-08T14:40:00.000-07:00

what a nice friday outside. for some reason i am especially in lighter moods lately. everything is funny and light banter is full of laughs. i'm meeting some friends at valley fair and then onto the jazz festival maybe for some drinks. tomorrow is the all day hike at mt tam and then sunday im doing my laundry at home.

Dance practice

2003-08-05T16:00:00.000-07:00

last night we met again to practice the dance for diep's wedding in mountain view. it will actually be very cute. if anything its going to be fun to do. but its slow going. while looking over the calandar we realize that we dont have that much time to practice! i hope we pull it off. came home around 11 and was tired so i went to bed. i definitely need more sleep as i got up around 830 this morning. thank goodness traffic was light.

Mayflower for lunch

2003-08-01T10:27:00.000-07:00

so today my lunch is going to be at mayflower for dimsum. i realize this is a long way to drive, as i have done it before with allyson but who's to care if you take a 1 or 2 hour lunch? salary is the way to go. i've never met up with personal friends all over the bay area to have lunch before. One, it is not practical and two, it is NOT practical. but here we are, all 4 or 5 of us going to be meeting at 1 location from our respective workplaces. go figure. and i do have the longest drive. but what the heck, workload has lightened up and dim sum is always good!

No layoffs

2003-07-29T14:01:00.000-07:00

hm...so i hear that there won't be layoffs. it will be the status quo until the end of the year, when a new budget will be in place which will raise that question again. but this gives me time. i'm not worried. i'll be set by then and by that time I will be ok to leave, 2-3 years at CPTS is good enough on my resume and my experience would be just right for the next jump. whew.

Gambling and Wedding pictures

2003-07-28T11:31:00.000-07:00

reno was good. i learned two new games and that was worth it for itself. roulette and craps. diep went gambling crazy but she had fun. she is the funniest, trying to win big...tsk tsk...it was a nice couple days away. and it was hot. driving was long. seems like all i do is go on long drives...

picture day yesterday was fun. it went by really fast and hopefully they got a lot of good shots. this photographer is suppose to be super good. we saw his studio and he does have good shots. but while on the shoot all day, he didn't really pose us. i wonder if they will turn out alright. they were sort of quick and not much attention was paid to detail. we had to tell him what we wanted and he was receptive. but for my own personal taste, i have no clue how to pose or how it looks from his end. we're all amateurs! so if it were my own, i'd have a photo coordinator to tell us where to stand, hands in pockets or not...just a thought. our dresses look great in natural light. the groomsmen were handsome in their tuxes. we got to see some sf landmarks. scenic spots.

*I took off the link to some pictures at the request of the bride.

Last one for the day

2003-07-24T17:02:00.000-07:00

You may notice that my site has changed a bit. I like this one much better! the colors bring me peace and relaxation...Loan did all this and we worked on some pic pages. When i get some it'll come up. Thanks LOAN!

I'm taking tomorrow off to take in my car for its 60k tune up and then its onto Reno friday afternoon. This is the first sibling trip i've taken so it should be interesting i guess. My sisters and I are driving to Reno for friday night and then coming back Sat evening since Diep's wedding picture day is sunday. Not really going to gamble but just watch others do it. Eat at buffets...

So yeah, have a great weekend ppls...

testing new page

2003-07-24T14:25:00.000-07:00

Test

2003-07-24T14:17:00.000-07:00

click here

good friends

2003-07-24T10:01:00.000-07:00

so last couple days i've been doing stuff with friends sans tin and cherry and it was fine. life goes on and they will too. div and i got our bridesmaid dresses from diep on tues and they were so much fun to wear because we looked good! it was amazing, and the shawls were elegant! my idea thank u very much.

then last night i went hiking with sanjay, who just got back from malaysia and surai and andrew. rancho san antonio was nice and we got caught up with all that sanjay saw and did while he was on holiday. we had dinner at the Afghan house, expensive but oh well, i at least have cash for reno now. good friends make the time fly and you are in the moment all exclusive. you dont wander, wishing you were doing something else, thinking of other things, but are out there, in that moment. so now i am tired. past 3 days of going out has taken its toll and tonight, after drinks with this new guy i'm suppose to meet, i'm going home. iron the dress so that when i get back sunday i can just throw it on, prepare for reno and then i'm going to bed early, like 10 or something. can't believe july is over and its august next!

T3

2003-07-22T10:18:00.000-07:00

saw T3 last night. it was ok. the second one is still my favorite. they chose a bad john connor. he didn't fit the movie at all. guy/girl friendships are weird. and how old do you have to be in order to have adult communication? probably never. unless one is drunk or some things are on the table as facts.

i have never met a guy who embodies so many female qualities and typical thinking. what guy has ever put so much thought into his wedding before? even I haven't thought that far. maybe some ideas but nothing clear that i really say I definitely want. anyways, had some super strange dreams this morning around 430 am and couldnt really sleep. so i woke up late.

warm, warm and still warm in sj

2003-07-21T09:15:00.000-07:00

well its been really warm these past weeks. its nice to be outside in the evening on days like this. heard tin and cherry made it to NC and are doing well. sometimes their love can be so sickeningly sweet... :P and of course its only a reflection on what you yourself lack.

Anyways, what did i do this weekend. well friday thi dropped by to crash but before that we went to santana row and had some pearl tea. i need to try another flavor because the old passion fruit is getting tired. santana row has been a frequent location of mine as of late. its easy to go to, just sit and people watch. better yet, go with a friend and have ice cream or pearl tea and sit near the chess tables and chat. i was there must have been 3 or 4 times last week.

sat i found out the sports center hiked their fees for use of their pool. so eh, we'll see if i'm willing to rationalize it. went to a wedding. i've decided that baby pink must be the only color option available to rent out because all vietnamese weddings rent and so they must re-use those pink table cloths all over town. because come on, if you had to choose would you really choose this color pink???? anyway, people getting married, people trying to meet people, people trying to attain some goal. blah. i must say this past week has been especially mercurial mood wise. day to day. and i'm defintely not pms'ing. sunday went to this bbq with thi in sf. it was actually pretty fun. met a whole new group of ppl and hung out, they played tennis and just chatted. totally very laid back and easy going. came home and watched the rest of Amelie. its a pretty good film. didnt think i would enjoy subtitles but it worked. back to work here on monday and i hear new rumors of layoffs.

surprise? probably not since this new ceo wants us to be profitable with whatever money we have and layoffs and budget scrutiny have been in the air a lot. i guess i got used to it over the weekend and know i'll be ok.

Pretty Flat

2003-07-14T11:35:00.000-07:00

dont really have too much to say. went to Up and Down on friday, what a waste of money and a lame club. saw Sex and the City season 2, its really good and i still have two more disks to go through. saw family on sunday. i guess becoming a priest is a big deal. or, it goes to show how big a deal it is in the family? scary to think about it sorta. anyway, its nice to be back at work, strange statement yes but i dont know.

Tin and Cherry, see you later!!

2003-07-08T14:14:00.000-07:00

Today Tin and Cherry left to start on their 2500 mile drive across the country to North Carolina. I already said my goodbyes on Sunday. But there were some things which I didn't get a chance to say because it would probably have started more tears so here it is:

I wanted to apologize for not being able to give you your bridesmaid speech on your wedding day. You may or may not know this, but I was told that I had to give one an hour after the reception started and two hours before speech time. If I were given at least a day's notice I would have come up with something coherent and tangible. But I had so many thoughts in my head that I had wanted to say and they were all jumbled around and I felt like I would just be babbling. I was so honored that I wanted it to be perfect. But I failed and the drinks that I had to help me relax made things worse so I told Ray that I couldn't do it. It really hurt that I had to inform him of that fact.

But if I had been able to, the theme of my speech would have been like Phuong's. Thank you Cherry, for your friendship. You may think that you leaned on me, but it was never that way. I love how you always made me laugh guaranteed even if I was in a serious mood or how I just didn't feel like being social at all. It was always fun to run errands with you, eat with you, watch you eat, and share in your knowledge of food. But mostly it was always in our cars where we always ended up talking. For some reason we would be driving, be at a stoplight, or at a gas station, and you'd make some comment that would just cut through my very core. It would be so blindingly true and what you said as a response of some discussion we were having was what I couldn't come out and express for myself. Because I never said those things to you directly, and yet somehow you were just able to filter it out, turn it around, and say it back so clearly that sometimes it made me cry.

One of my greatest joys has been your true happiness. It is being a witness to your meeting and falling in love with Tin. For awhile there, I was worried how you were ever going to be happy, your outlook so bleak and dark. To see you look so beautiful today, the changes that have resulted; less anger, better care of yourself, joy...all as a result of your happiness is more confirmation that your black dowdy outfits are in the past (sorta).

As for Tin, in the short amount of time that I have gotten to know you now, I am convinced that your shotgun wedding is so perfect. I admire your inner strength and strong sense of character. You will do well by Cherry.

I will miss you guys. Especially since we've had such good times these past few months. You are in my lifetime. I hope I am in yours. 7/8/03

many goodbyes...

2003-07-07T09:51:00.000-07:00

what a weekend. full of laughs and tears and end of a "spinoff". Thursday went to the America festival downtonw and it was a nice warm day out on the lawn and festival food with tin, cherry and ray. live music was playing and it was a little festival outside to get started for the 4th. it was really fun with the four of us and I was feeling relaxed from a full day at work. decided to have a sleepover and so after Tin changed my flat tire as we left the festival (thank you!) we left to see Legally Blonde at 11 pm. Got home at 1 and stayed up till 3 sleeping in my apartment living room.

We meant to leave early for the beach on friday but it was the whole, well waiting around thing. left san jose around 11 and went to davenport beach. it was windy and cold, and after being pelted by sand, left an hour later. went to seabright beach near the boardwalk and it was crowded. it was the location for sunbathers and really hot weather and cool dips in the ocean. Around dinner time it was over to a thai restauraunt amongst heavy traffice and then we tried to head back to san jose for the firewarks at the america festival. ended up at santana row and saw the last 10 minutes of the fireworks. it was nice. we walked around santana row a bit and had coffee at borders. it was another late night.

Saturday surai came over at 830 am to talk and 2 hours later, i was back in bed as i was really tired. wanted to do that the whole day but had to get up at 2 to safeway and make my time capsule cards and potluck dish. we decided to make a time capsule since things were changing, friends leaving, married whatever. so in ten years we'd open it and see. Around 530 Ray came and Surai and I went over to cherry's house. stayed till 230 am eating and watching tv, mostly hanging out as this was their last formal get together before NC.

Sunday wasn't too tired as i thought so went over to Mountain view and worked on songs for diep's wedding. left at 5 to go to tin's house for a final get together with the four of us. got home at 12 after we said our final goodbyes in the parking lot of jujubi's. Ray has a perverse thing of seeing girls cry and out of nowhere, after seeing cherry cry i started on mine too. but not too long as you just have to stop thinking about it. i got them a housewarming gift even though i wouldn't be there. a plate of "cherrys" and a display frame of photos filled with some group pics. We all got a folding tool kit from ray for our foursome. that thing is too slick. back at work here on monday. it will be so slow and empty.

Happy 4th of July

2003-07-03T17:09:00.000-07:00

So of course I ask Aileen via email if she was celebrating the 4th over in EU. And she says duh, we left england of course they don't celebrate it here. ha! i already knew that though.

so anyways, going to the beach tomorrow and see some fireworks. hang out with cherry and tin all day tonight, tomorrow and then its their going away party on sat. why do i do that with friends?! Plan like 3 or 4 days in a row with them, get tired of them and then want to never see them again? oh well. it just turns out that way i guess. cuz last week surai and i saw each other 3 days in a row. am running late to go home. everyone has left already but because of the audit had to stay here and am still here. there's only like 3 ppl in the building now. shoot. just listened to my vm. darn. ok. well i wish i had my phone dont I?

full stomach

2003-07-02T09:27:00.000-07:00

the food was great at the bbq last night. i had 3 plates and was entirely full. their friend tony gave us free cds. its a nice mellow complilation as I listend to it on the way to work today. company meeting and bbq today. intersting to see what they have to say. our new ceo is definitely doing some work.

first of the month

2003-07-01T08:12:00.000-07:00

I made it to 8 am! by a few minutes shy but still i'm here. going to a pool/bbq party at div's apt today. probably a small get together. emily came over last night. she's changed a little. crazy thing is that she just may move in two doors down. its a good price and the place is good. she was excited when she left. she just needs to find a roommate. it'll be intersting if she does. have to go to the last audit meeting of the inspection. i hope it ends today. 4 days of sitting in a conference room is starting to wear me out.

TGIF

2003-06-27T10:13:00.000-07:00

what a week. the FDA auditor called in sick today so now we have to wait for monday to finish up the audit. in the midst of this my cube is a mess because we all did the cube shuffle and i was the last one to move. by being in the audit all week i was unable to do my regular work so now its just sitting there.

i am tired. i needed at least 6 more hours of sleep this morning but did not. its been hot. i haven't been home. mostly just hanging out at santana row because its been so hot. people are out in droves, its good people watching. surai and i get pearl tea, ice cream and stay until 11 or so and of course the hot weather is fun becuase it makes you want to stay out later.

this weekend is full. going to see charlie's angels tonight. should be relaxing after this crazy week. thanks to loan for going with diep to the wedding this weekend!! i really couldn't have made it until after work. but i am going to another wedding this sat anyhow. probably go swimming at div's place since we're there. then sunday will be trying on bridesmaid dresses for diep's wedding. have to give someone a call tonight. i've been too busy to get a chance to so hopefully he still remembers me! so yes. looking forward to a hot, busy weekend trying to stay cool.

2003-06-23T10:05:00.000-07:00

hm...re-read some of my posts today. i took off the archive feature so that only i can go back into the history. but a month of posts stays up until it falls off the edge. realize i sound pretty cocky on these posts. which is interesting considering how that's not how I feel at all. i dont think that i should post a defense on that since it would say more than I need to. other than this is my blog and it represents my stronger feelings on these subjects. its either that or i have nothing to write about. with these stronger feelings it usually comes out as being opinionated. my opinions, of course. ok do i need to be justified in doing this? if so then i'd rather not continue. hm...thoughts to ponder...

2003-06-23T09:45:00.000-07:00

well back from the weekend. nonetheless came into work around 9 again. but no one really cares so its all good. i swear i will try to come in around 8 but its not happenng yet. that will be my goal for the summer, come into work around 8. anyhow, hear we are having and fda audit this week. what fun but stress for the heads who are doing it. :P

what can I say about this weekend? lynn's party was great. met so many people and it was defintely skewed in one direction now that i think about it. some news came out which doesn't bother me except for the principle of it. anyways, amazing enough i talked to a lot of guys. none worth pursuing except for the one that left early but oh well. ray threw up like there was no tomorrow, which there was, 3 more times...and good times by all. Beck concert was all for Cherry. i turned a full shade darker from the sun.

to clarify the last entry. it is where i want to be in relation to where i am now. but i am not there yet. period.

2003-06-20T11:48:00.000-07:00

tgif. great weekend coming up. hm. i look at where i am now and it's exactly where i want to be. except for the vietnam for a year thing, but thats coming up. i go to parties. i go to concerts. i go on dates. i go to life marking celebrations, graduations, weddings, etc...its never been fuller. i guess i go on life. life is interesting.

Anyhoo, the whole living by yourself thing is not all that great. its too much in the know of what is not going to happen at the apartment. i dont know. tonight i have sam's grad party, tomorrow shopping with her before she gets super busy, then Lynn's birthday party, and then Beck concert on Sunday after which the san diego scooby snack friends are watching the video of the san diego trip. combine that with great weather and its a go.

2003-06-18T17:06:00.000-07:00

buuuusssyyy...on the phone at work all day, dealing with nit picky details, 2 or 3 projects going on...staying later doesn't help it seems. only so much you can do in one day before you want to start again tomorrow. its like i have to be here to handle these small fires or else it doesn't go forward. plus my sleep this week has been interrupted all week by this stupid cough. why doesn it go away? i feel fine but can't sleep!

2003-06-17T14:56:00.000-07:00

work's been busy. place is clean. work is busy.

2003-06-16T11:30:00.000-07:00

have this lingering cough which is annoying at night from my bout of being sick for a day. i must admit this is the second time where i've gotten "sick" but only for 24 hours. A fever, it breaks, and then i'm on the mend. no colds/flus for the past ...gosh, since 3 or 4 years now. am i really that healthy??!! :P

Anyays, I'm on a cleaning binge with the apartment now that Aileen has left. i've been putting it off becasue i knew it would just be revert to its old messiness with the whole Europe planning thing. got a vacuum cleaner and the floor is finally particle-free. bathroom and kitchen is next. how can anyone not live in a clean and orderly home??!

Weekend was good. graduation was nice, exactly like mine, no nostalgia or sadness...saw a couple of scu alumni, got a bit burned, had good food at home. the house is a mess now that i'm no longer there to fight the losing battle of neatness with diep. diep has taken over the house and her stuff is EVERYWHERE. no one seems to mind so i no longer care. i wouldn't be surprised if you dig up one of the piles and find old garbage under there. feel sad whenever i see them. want to make them happy but its a big order that i'm trying to work on, ok? dad seems happier, but there's stress and worry about his job. relations have improved with him and i'm looking forward to the day it will be for a bigger celebration. anyway, this weekend should be fun.

already the week is picking up as i walked into the office today and was called in to help with some attorneys. patent law..sheesh...how more obscure and difficult to prove can that be??? didn't realize i knew so much until i found out hey, i can answer their questions just fine!! Attorneys...pshaw. :P

2003-06-13T10:19:00.000-07:00

sore throat. blah. at least its not a serious cold or flu since i made it to work today. its a friday so who really cares on a friday? anyhoo...nevermind the molasses of slowness, june is busy up till july 4 th weekend. life in general is good.

2003-06-11T15:06:00.000-07:00

Cut and paste below to see bay to breakers 2k3 pictures. Only 2 are on there. More from San Diego will come on along with other random events on my camera.

http://www.snapfish.com/share/p=76111055368912147/l=15275399

2003-06-11T15:02:00.000-07:00

trying to fix a link problem with my archives...

2003-06-11T12:55:00.000-07:00

san diego was great. weather was overcast the entire time but otherwise, we had a great time! gaslamp quarter and lots of good food. expensive french restaurant, beaches, playing games, staying up late, talking, driving and more food. it was fun. only a 3 day work week! hopefully some quiet time this friday and then loan's graduation and hanging out again on sunday. the place is a mess but aileen is getting ready for her europe trip. so on this i'll let it slide. totally am getting a vacuum cleaner next week. feel a bit groggy, really just want to sit and ponder stuff but i can do that later i guess.

its a countdown to tin and cherry leaving for north carolina. we are trying to spend as much time as possible with them before they leave. once they go though, it'll be this big hole from all the time that we did spend together! :(

2003-06-04T10:20:00.000-07:00

well today is the last day in the office before san diego!! yipee. wasn't too excited about it until last night when ray was excited for all of us. tin and cherry told us they are definitley going to NC. sucks. what am i going to do without them? 4 years gone, no more down the street and lets have dinners and get togethers...it will be so sad. but i guess that means north carolina visits all the way. anyhoo...june will be half over by the time i get back. funny how time is flying by...but definitely slow as molasses after loan's graduation. does she have a job yet?

2003-06-02T13:40:00.000-07:00

coldplay concert was awesome! it was great and what a great night for it too. saturday had a dentist appt and saw Hot chick with sanjay, danny and thi. its quite a funny movie. sunday had some good thai food and went to the nearby greek festival. onwards to valley fair and saw italian job. at times i think time is very short for what we have to do/accomplish. and then i freak out and then i think everyone else must be in the same boat. sigh. just want to be where i am where i can feel secure enough about the future to start counting on things that will happen for me.

tonight, dinner with jyoti and amrita. havent seen them since amrita's wedding. its been 3 months since. time to play catch up and in a way its good timing as i am ready to reflect.

2003-05-30T10:26:00.000-07:00

what a mercurial week. started out so hot and now its cloudy with chance of showers. going to see the coldplay concert tonight. it'll be soo cool! i hope it wont be too cold. then dentist appt tomorrow. sanjay is leaving to go back home so now i have to hang out with him before he leaves. hm...then its san diego on the 5th! things are quite busy until after aileen leaves for EU.

2003-05-27T13:24:00.000-07:00

nice long weekend. Allyson's wedding was such a nice break. had a great time with people from work. saw so many people but didn't get a chance to talk to all of them. a great view of the valley and got to dress up. saw bruce almighty and people were laughing hard. then hung out and ate all along stanford mall. these are the days of having nothing to do. looking forawrad to san diego of more meaningful nothingness wtih friends. woke up today really tired. dont know why since i had enough sleep this weekend and didnt go to bed late.

2003-05-20T15:32:00.000-07:00

am still sore. expecting to feel like this for a couple more days. saw "bend it like bekham last night". good movie for an independent. what am i going to do memorial weekend?

2003-05-19T10:19:00.000-07:00

what a great weekend. b2b was great! i had so much fun and it was all becauase I was with friends and we ran, walked, talked, ran and waited, ran some more... and it was such a beautiful day! you couldn't ask for more. and the parade of people. the 7.5 miles went by so fast! we finished it in 3 hours, most of us felt blisters in our shoes...but oh how fun. then we walked, and it was so tiring, but we walked to haight and ate arabic food. i'm on a middle eastern food thing and the kabobs were good. then we shopped a little and from then on, we hiked it to bart and took it home. got home around 6, took a shower and tried to sleep before bachelor, but woke up and then zonked out 3 hours later.

and i feel soreness in my legs today. i always loved that tiredness from being physically productive. so satisfying. addictive too i think. just can't do the exercise for exercise's sake thing. it has to be an activity like hiking, or being outside for game day...anyway, cant believe allyson's wedding is next sunday already. weather is warming up and its time to pull out skirts and sunblock. does anyone else like sunblock like i do? the scent of it always remind me of good times.

toady i am going to go look for a bath plug. surai says they're easy to plug, our bathtub at home doesn't have one. and i like baths and she mentioned she took one for the tired muscles from running last night and so now i am going to go to home depot on my lunch to look for one. am excited about it. (weird? maybe. but this is what life is about! :P , the simple pleasures)

2003-05-16T10:06:00.000-07:00

am bleary eyed and could use 8 more hours of sleep. but its friday morning and i had to get myself to the office. saw matrix last night! it was good. i mean, it was the first movie ever to be have a "to be concluded" which sucks cuz it left you hanging, probably why the third one is out so soon in nov, but the fight scenes were the best. its a dance and its a show and its fun to watch because its soo cool. hai said it was defying laws of physics too much, well Hello! its a movie and its the Matrix where there are no rules. and neo only gave life to trinity. oops, hopefully you've seen it by now. anyways, went straight to bed at 3 am.

no plans tonight except to maybe get some sleep. listen to some music. thats actually very fun for me, doing some closet organzing and listening to some house radio. do some thinking, some reflection time because last night was also new. there was no "fluff" last night and it got to be pretty annoying. i wonder if deep down it really hurts but the roommates of div, rethi and lynn are at each other. in a fun way, where they dis each other in a cute way. well ray and i and even surai got into making fun of each other. but they're zingers of mean remarks and its supposed to be funny? i've decided that i'm too nice for this. i'm sure thats what they think but deep down these lines are pretty mean. and is funny...but sorry its not funny when someone can so easily take it the wrong way.

2003-05-13T10:32:00.000-07:00

ran again yesterday. i am sore. geesh. busy today and tomorrow evening so not sure that i can get a run in. had to cancel dinner wed and giong to see a movie instead with John. Nice weather is finally here! love it. work is good. i can't believe they pay me to sit here and not get stressed. i am so going to get a better job after this goes on my resume. and i'm learning still and my boss is great and he likes me and he looks out for me...ah..i can do this for the next couple years, save my money, and start my 70k+ job easy. heck in two years i'll be close to 70 already. i should stop. this is too funny. so why am i still broke (because its all invested).

if you are intersted, check out My Yodlee its an online aggregator and it lets you gather all your online accounts in one. its like an online version of quicken but simpler. i put all my accounts there instead of going to each individual website to log in, and log out...this way, it collects it all onto one page and displays it for you. Anyways i figured out my net worth. i didn't know i was in the black until i did this. so if you want to know my net worth, as of late, send me an email and i will send you the statement. its something to strive for, kids.

2003-05-12T09:50:00.000-07:00

the long weekend was nice. took mom out shopping on friday. she got a dress that she liked and it worked out because she actually needed to buy something. got caught up on family gossip a little and headed out to michelle's birthday dinner at cheesecake. met her sisters and then went on to the comedy club in sunnyvale. pretty funny for the 12 bucks that we paid. all day my newly extracted wisdom tooth didnt bother me at all. i didnt even have to take a tylenol. this was the best out of all 4 extractions for wisdom teeth.

Satuday went to the flea market with Surai. it was fun, things will always be a dollar at the flea market and you get to find little things for cheap. in the afternoon went over to Tin's house where we did Cherry and Tin's hair. I now have rainbowed colored friends. blue, yellow, and green. and i'm not letting them touch my hair no matter how three toned it is. In the evening we went to have dinner at cucina cucina as Ray was going to quit soon. he complains we dont go there but hello, the food isnt al that great. so as a gesture we all showed up. after dinner went onto Nick's house to play some poker. it was actually fun once i got the hang of it. cherry is hilarious. sunday cleaned a little and went to alvin's confirmation. nice to see the family again and dad seemed relaxed a little. for the next month or so my weekends are booked. i guess its good to keep busy. and i ran yesterday thank goodness. need to run everyday before bay 2 breakrs this sunday.

2003-05-08T09:40:00.000-07:00

it was japanese dinner last night and surai did really good salmon! my tempura was pretty authentic and the batter from the box is a hit! next time i'm sticking with yams and onions. they were the best. well its a busy mothers day weekend and i have been out of shape. haven't been running and its in less than two weeks! i dont know, i just dont want to lose any weight from all the running. but i should get into some sort of mode.

2003-05-06T13:26:00.000-07:00

saw xmen 2 again last night. why oh why do i say yes when i really economically should say no. but anyway, i saw it the first time on sunday and then again last night. it was not bad. i dont think i'm that critical but i really though it was only slightly above average. it wasn't great but it was better than the first one for sure. but two times? not really. it was only because ray needed someone to see it with. matrix is out in 9 days!!! ooooh so excited about that. but maybe not that much to see it at midnight??!!

2003-05-05T14:25:00.000-07:00

haven't posted in awhile. a lot on my mind. but pretty much the same i guess. had bachelorette party saturday. nice night in the city considering it was so rainy down here. saw xmen 2, not bad. but can't wiat for matrix even more. maybe see the midnight showing of it will be fun. dont know really. Its May now and i seem to be stuck still, but at least with a better compass i am navigating the sea better. I definitely am having fun but with a sense of purpose that defies my naivete. what i had sensed as what i had always wanted i got a peek of. and i want it more than ever. looking forward to the day it becomes real.

2003-04-23T16:01:00.000-07:00

thi and surai are coming over for dinner tonight. its thai night and the menu looks pretty good actually. coconut pork chops, chicken curry with potatoes and sticky rice for dessert. i'm starving already. this week seemed to have whizzed by. but a lot of things on my mind.

2003-04-22T15:10:00.000-07:00

this rainy weather is draaaaginng ooooooon for sooo long. when is it gonna end? thi is coming over lately until her school gets out in may. so she's been staying at the apartment. hard thing is do i have to entertain her? sometimes i just want to veg out. but oh well, its only a few days a week.

2003-04-17T15:46:00.000-07:00

Pictures from first cooking night and cake surprise below, copy and paste to browser:

http://www.snapfish.com/share/p=70171050600951752/l=13862785

going to take tomorrow off to wait for delivery of my bed. i'm excited about it if you can believe it. going to browse, get myself some pearl tea, see a musuem for myself. goodness knows no one else seems to go. Weekend is set. my weekend starts as of now...

2003-04-16T15:20:00.000-07:00

weird week. talked to someone in new york today at work and they are feeling 88 degrees. i can't decide whether or not to go to hawaii. i can go and have some fun with surai and geri but what will i do? i guess look around. not sure if anyone else would want to go. but i can't really afford it right now. not until this summer but i need to pay now for flight tickets. i do need a vacation. have too much time acrrued and no plans for summer. so a vacation would be nice to look forward to. but then again i dont want to go away...but i should blah blah and blah. anyhoo, this limo thing this weekend should be interesting. haven't drank in awhile so it should be fun to do that.

2003-04-11T15:59:00.000-07:00

customer service sucks when you dont get it. who wins in the situation? not the customer, and not the company either. both become frustrated and upset. sheesh. where does the blame go.

for some reason this is starting to be a bummy weekend. and its suppose to be tgif.

2003-04-10T14:32:00.000-07:00

Seattle was cool. City pretty clean and peaceful, definitely not hectic and fast paced like SF. got to walk around a lot and did some shopping. finally got my pics up. takes forever to finish a roll. Anyway below is the first set of pictures from Amrita and Jasmeet's wedding. You will probably need to log in with an email and password. its simple and easy and you can order the prints if you really want them. enjoy.

Copy and paste into browser:
http://www.snapfish.com/share/p=344101050008588977/l=13731247

2003-04-04T15:28:00.000-08:00

I just realized yesterday that my net worth is positive! my sisters know how much i make and they wonder how much i've saved and i tell them none. which is true. all my savings have been going towards long term retirement accounts. it wont be until awhile that i will have actual cash. anyway, when figuring out net worth, you add and subtract all your savings and loans and debts. i don't bother with my current expenditures, just long term numbers. And after all are considered, i'm in the black! wow. this is so cool.

by the way, i am going to seattle next week for work. checked out the hotel location and its in dowtown seattle. sounds pretty prime too as within blocks of each other is a mall! and shops like nordstrom, banana, gap, restauruants! so now i'm looking forward to it. sometimes the hotel they put you up is in the middle of nowhere and you dont get to see anything. but the westin sheraton sounds more fun so can't wait for that.

2003-04-03T16:05:00.000-08:00

the years go by fast. used to be that we think in terms of never seeing someone again if they changed schools or goodness no, they moved away. but now, people move, but they come back, u'll see them again. you'll bump into them and you can keep in touch. if not, its always a small world. i plan in years, think about lifetimes. life and the world is shrinking. and somewhere out there, the people you meet, the people you know, the people you've lost touch, will get to meet, be introduced to, you will meet again. no one is really ever gone forever. there's a comfort in that knowledge. stay in one locale long enough, the bay area, and it will happen.

2003-04-02T08:25:00.000-08:00

i woke up this morning thinking i was late. thougt it was 8 am and after i left the apt it was 830. but when i got in my car i noticed it was 730! so i wasn't late and even a bit early. funny how i checked the clock twice and my watch and still didn't see it clearly enough. anyway, i guess its practice for sunday's daylight saving. saw a movie last night and watched thorn birds. that miniseries is so addicting. it was back then and still is 20 years later. tonight's the final part and i'm planning to be watching tv all evening.

should be nice since it's so cold outside. weather forecast was right, it is a turnaround from sunday. still running, but i dont think I want to do any others except B2B. i'm not a runner and this is all a one time thing only. anyway, another rant. why can't plans be made for trips? not easily thats for sure.

2003-03-31T11:29:00.000-08:00

birthday weekend was good. friday went to this club and saw a guy from college who haven't seen in 4 years. but when you say 4 years, it becomes bigger than it seems to me to be only a month ago? time is flying by! anyway, he was a crush and he still looks good and all and he made it to med school and he seems to be doing great. but i dont know. it never occurred to me to see it as beyond oh, i used to see you around campus and you're so and so. anyway, got to to meet and talk to some new people and that rounded out the evening. the girls were upset that i didnt exchange any contact info at all but i'm dense like that. but again, no big drama.

Had a nice italian dinner and good friends were around for some cake. home seems to be full of drama. things are complicated and its sort of hard to come up with a solution. not easy is all i can say. spring means allergies and i'm sneezing full time now. where's my benadryl.

2003-03-28T15:13:00.000-08:00

nice beautiful weekend coming up! its going to be busy and i'm turing the 2-5. no big deal. i stll feel young. my co workers surprised me with a cake in a conference room today. they had me thinking it was a conference call and there was cake! and singing and the CEO thought I was 30! i laughed at that and no offense was taken. he said if he had my demeanor he would be somewhere right now. yes i am the kid amongst 40 something people. its great. i love my spring birhtday, weather is always turing warm and so full of summer hints.

2003-03-24T10:58:00.000-08:00

the erasure concert was so good! he is a great singer and he sang all the old songs. it was a good evening despite being blocked by traffic all the way around by protesters. its definitely spring, and you know what that means! beaches and more game days. it feels like its been forever since i've been to the mall. but its only been a month. which is good because i always find something every time and thats not good until after June, my arbitrary date for savings. ppl know i like to save. or at least manage my money. can't say i have too much savings yet because of the car and other funding issues. but why go crazy of purchases when i get so much more joy out of non impulse things that I do purchase? anyhow, my birthday is coming up and i feel...hmm...i feel the same i guess. 24 or 25. its still a good age.

2003-03-21T13:12:00.000-08:00

it's spring outside! i love the nice weather. got pearl tea for lunch and then came back here. going to the Erasure concert tonight with my friend. its in san francisco so it should be nice there as we grab dinner and then get to our seats. i have so much laundry to do this weekend too. and there's a war going on somewhere?

2003-03-18T16:19:00.000-08:00

got inundated with work. what a challenge :)

2003-03-18T11:47:00.000-08:00

got invited to watch the sharks game last night. i was there on the dot at 7 but my friend thomas came 15 minutes late. sheesh. Anyway, the sharks were having a bad season. in the end, they lost 3-2. even though i'm not a sports watching fan overall, a sharks' game once in awhile is pretty cool, you cant help but get caught up in the suspense. we had luxory box seats becuase one of the guys had just won the tickets from his work. it was niiice. you are at the highest seats and its just a private box. other people have tickets too but it could be a private party with enough people. anyhow, the arena is called hp pavilion now. got home around 11 pm and went to bed.

2003-03-17T09:45:00.000-08:00

had a nice weekend at the film festival. it was a great way to see all these independent films for free! the actual work was minimal and i think the best part was just hanging out and doing stuff with your friends. and then it was one of those days where people are doing slow stuff so anything you do together becomes fun in itself. what happened to the big nights of going out? seems like i dont do those anymore. but quality time is always premium with good people. monday mornings are always harder after a full day before. you need that extra day of rest or else you really loathe going into work, because work is not as fun as what you just did!

2003-03-13T09:56:00.000-08:00

saw Bash the Machines last night at the film festival. i enjoyed it, was pretty funny and the film festival is actually a pretty good thing going on. i realize i do like the arts. art museums, films, shows, musicals etc. funny how they were so boring before but now is actually pretty good. goes to show how much older i'm getting. which reminds me, i will be in the 25 and up age group soon. no longer checking marking the 18-24 year olds on forms that you fill out. anyway, i haven't been home lately after work and looking at thurs and friday, i wont be either. i certainly feel the lack of personal time when i dont get it.

2003-03-12T15:10:00.000-08:00

hair is funny. it's not really suppose to affect how your face looks but yet it DOES. long hair, short hair, it presents a totally different picture of the person. i've been wearing it semi-short for awhile now and i can't decide what i like better. u're suppose to go short as you age, long hair is for the younger (think hippie women in their 50s with long hair) but yet when are you suppose to go short? i prefer long, but yet i dont have style in long hair. short hair is so maintenance free. hm. anyway, i think i will grow it long for a bit just for a change. i wonder if guys have this problem. they always have to go with short right?

2003-03-11T13:02:00.000-08:00

got my license renewed today. they required the current id and even though i didnt want a new picture they took one anyway. from now on, i'm sending in my renewals. my picture will be stuck as a 25 year old for years before i step back in there.

why are we addicted to reality tv? i too scoffed at the reality tv shows that they came up with. just the premise of it is ridiculous. but i found myself channel surfing and landing on Married by America last night. they were doing the proposals for the 5 arranged couples who for the next 5 weeks have to see if they really will marry them by living together. and i was fascinated. its nothing new, yet these are supposedly real people! maybe its a thing for " it could have been me". not some screenplay written by a paid writer. what will their emotions be? how will they react? would I do the same? anyhow, u cant watch all of them.

2003-03-10T09:27:00.000-08:00

leave it to murphy's law that as soon as I said daily logs are going well, i skip a couple days. ah well. got busy. weekend was weird. had a nice dinner with surai and then a full day of wedding on sat. i think i was a big wet blank when i woulnd't dance bangara with everyone but it was not my style. and i know jyoti and amrita would have loved it if i did, and they tried, but i just wouldn't. when someone says no i think that should be ok. then it made me feel worse that i didnt dance with them but their dance is too way out there for me. anyhow i would never force someone to dance if they chose not to. even though i believe that it would be fun, i never will really know if they are going to have fun at it. anyhow, big disappointment from me. sunday cherry and i hit the laziness button and copped out of volunteering duties. bad. i really do need structure or else i just tend to lie around. I better not make that a habit.

2003-03-05T13:41:00.000-08:00

I know this goes both ways but white people look the same to me. white engineering guys who I rarely see because they work in the other building. anyways, one came by my desk today and he's relatively new but not really (4 months) and i wasnt sure who he was. same build, same height, blah. was it randy or chris? and he starts talking to me about something and then i go "oh! i got your email...yes..etc." and i dont think he knew that i didnt know. sheesh. we should start wearing name tags nowadays...but actually it still wouldnt help me because I wouldnt be able to read it unless i'm obviously staring at it for a minute in which case it gives me away so i'm just going to stick with letting them speak first.

2003-03-05T11:16:00.000-08:00

i must admit i'm actually trying to keep up with these daily blogs. its so quick and simple, goes back to my diary keeping days where my sister Loan (i know you're reading this) would steal my diary and try to read it when we were small. :P Except she can just read it all she wants now online.

hmm...in case anyone wants to know why i'm running, some friends and i are trying to do the Bay to Breakers, run in May. It's coming up fast so we're trying to train for it. so far so good. although it is still cold out.

2003-03-04T09:42:00.000-08:00

did my run, happy i did it. planning to stop by the house sometime this week. need to pick out a dress for saturday from Diep's closet (my one stop shop). maybe i'll wear a sari. amrita would love it and i've had two offers to wear one already. i dont know. i'd feel weird but maybe i'll just do it for the morning ceremony. anyway, plenty of pictures if i wear one and Anu wants to go with me so maybe we can meet up there. hopefully jyoti will forgive her for not rsvp'ing. Which i dont get. when it says rsvp, just stop what you're doing and reply. people are so frustrating sometimes, why can't they get their act together. u can't count on them for too much.

2003-03-03T14:34:00.000-08:00

first day where surai and i are suppose to run. she beat me by actually doing it. but i wasn't planning on starting it yesterday anyhow. suppose to be today...

2003-02-28T16:46:00.000-08:00

Have a great weekend kiddies! I'm off to my second date of the day. This is the most I've ever been on. Too bad there isn't potential with either of the two. but hey, at least I'm experiencing new guys to talk to. always something to learn.

2003-02-27T13:47:00.000-08:00

the hum of productivity is exactly that. you get on a roll and it keeps you moving from one task to another. you dont want to take a break, anything becomes an interference that isn't related to your task at hand. just be careful not to get sidetracked. or else all is lost and you get into a bog of procrastination...

2003-02-26T13:00:00.000-08:00

i love a clean house. nothing is more satisfying knowing that all the dust has been swept, no dirty dishes in the sink, and you can settle in and enjoy all the cleanliness. you can leave the house and come back, knowing that it's CLEAN. it's comforting and even a very secure feeling for me. And then second best to all that, is snuggling in a freshly clean bed. so clean. so wonderful.

2003-02-25T15:27:00.000-08:00

first impressions

-unapproachable
-high maintenance
-party girl

i beg to differ.

2003-02-25T10:28:00.000-08:00

A bit tired this morning. Went to bed at 130 last night and didn't want to get out of bed this morning. I try not to stay up past midnight on worknights but for the first time ever I brought work home. Work should stay at work and I shouldn't even be thinking about any work related thing when I step out of the office. I can see how work can take over and people don't have a life anymore. Before 5 pm, when I thought I wouldn't be working at home, I had things that I needed to do (re-arrange furniture, dishes, clean out fridge from party, etc) but that got all pushed aside with work. It gets pushed aside for "later" and before you know it, your life is all about work. no way. thats not what I want. Balance=important priority in life.

2003-02-24T15:41:00.000-08:00

Houswarming went well I thought. Plenty of people showed up and they made all the noise they wanted until 9 pm when it started dying down. I may be cautious but I'm the one that lives with the neighbors! Just came back from a meeting and I can't wait for the day when I have information that I can contribute. This is a new recurring meeting that I'm attending and all the attendees are people with double digit years of experience! I'm the youngest there with the least experience. I can't wait for the day when I can run my own meeting. Right now I feel like I'm attending a grown up party and I'm the kid.

2003-02-21T09:05:00.000-08:00

today's topic is "fluff" as it was brought up at dinner last night between ray cherry and i. fluff is when a friendship is so secure that you don't have to deal with the natural politeness and etiquette-ness when interacting with each other. No need for the "fluff". It makes for great times and laughs as you act real with each other. Just be yourself. Dhivya actually calls it "family". It means the same thing, when you're family, you don't have to worry about asking to you use the bathroom or eating each other's food. It may sound rude to other people, but underneath there is the love. i swear.

i dont have to lose weight anymore! yay. the only reason i had to was because of the bridesmaid dress that my friend Allison had made. the measurements were off which resulted in a too tight fit and I had to lose a few pounds to fit it. but fortunately, this awesome tailor I met was able to do magic to the layered, wire enmeshed red concoction so now it fits! whew.

Anyhow, my housewarming party is this Saturday and there's a lot of prep work to be done. Good thing I dont have plans on a Friday night so that I can devote some time to it. :P

2003-02-20T10:51:00.000-08:00

nothing like a hot cup of cocoa to warm your insides. what could be better? anyway, went home yesterday to pick up my laundry. i feel sad whenever i go home. my parents were so disappointed when I moved out and although they've accepted it, its a little bit awkward. but I know that i need to keep in touch and see them somewhat often. it'll just get harder if i show up rarely out of the blue rather than doing these little visits which are easier. but i dont know what to talk about or say. it's certainy not joyous when i'm there. sort of quiet, like "what am i doing not living at home?" not from my sisters but my parents. it's really sad. and i feel guilty.

2003-02-19T14:07:00.000-08:00

We reached young adulthood I think, in our late teen years. The world starts seeing you as someone to hold accountable for and you take on responsibility because it was expected of you. Do people really change beyond what you see now? Do fears take hold because of a comfort zone maintenance?

This was a thought I had during work today. I swear, I'm one of those people who work best under pressure. Because right now, I feel like I have all the time in the world. Somebody tell me they need something asap.