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2002-10-02, 10:42 a.m.
Chancellor Tien died. boo. work project stinks. but hooray, it's the weekend! good things:- getting back into my usual workout routine (kickboxing 4 days a week, pilates 1 day) instead of my summertime slack of 1-2 days a week (if i'm lucky).
- my brother is turning 21. so at his request, i'm making him a chocolate cake. and it's going to be an old school cake--a throwback to our days as poor kids (government cheese!). devil's food cake, cool whip, and his name spelled out in m&m's (the hard candy shell will bleed into the cool whip). i'll skip the reused birthday candles that are inevitably the wrong number for the age that you are turning. as an aside, i've only ever met one vietnamese kid who did not know what government cheese was. my aunt used to buy a whole hell of a lot of that stuff from the chinatown black market.
- made my first meatloaf (with modifications) the other night. even though i forgot the eggs, it was tasty! served with rice and vegetable stir-fry. i live with four chinese boys-- they don't cook or eat enough vegetables. i'm vietnamese. i was raised on vegetables.
- finally decided what to be for halloween (was just going to repeat last year's stroke of brilliance--mail-order bride--but now i won't have to.)
- almond tofu and fruit cocktail
- costco saved me $50 on contact lenses!
- halloween party at my cousins' house
- knitting classes
- will finally see my friend again, after two months of hibernation
quit bitching and just remember how good you have it. have a good weekend!
When I got my new cell phone (from AT&T) a few weeks ago, I gave my old cell phone (Cingular) to my mom. Every few days, I get a very confused call from my mom with more cell phone questions. It wouldn't be so frustrating if I didn't have to translate technical terms (which my mom doesn't understand anyway) into elementary Vietnamese. Troubleshooting over the phone is hard enough, but this makes it impossible. Small tip: don't give your parents a teeny phone (Nokia 8290). They have a very hard time reading the screens and dialing numbers. Next time, I should just dig up a phone from the mid-90s or even earlier. It's easier for them to use AND they can't lose it. Unfortunately for them, cell phones are just getting smaller and smaller (which I like).
HOORAY! Happy Friday. Good things:
- new Costco card
- Shanghai meatball soup for dinner last night (lion's head soup or something like that to you Chinese folks)
- red wine
- no more car payments after next month! (thanks to living at "home"--wheeee!!!!)
- red corduroy skirt and knee-high boots
- clean room
- glade plug-in neutralizer (eliminates all odors)
- oysters with the family...fondue next month *poot*
- Blazing Arrow - Blackalicious (courtesy of Scott)
- pajama pants
- new red jacket with fur trim
- beer and wings tonight
- thai banquet tomorrow night
- spa/massage on Sunday (company benefits rock!!)
- new issue of Lucky in my mailbox
- NO MORE CAR DEBT!!!
have a great weekend y'all.
I didn't get up in time to take a shower this morning, but for some reason, my hair is cuter than usual. Stayed up too late last night drinking wine at Yancy's and Little Shamrock and eating oysters and po'boys at PJ's Oyster Bed. Man, I miss New Orleans. Oh yeah, and I think I may have convinced my cousins (who own an Edwardian tri-plex together) to apply to be on Trading Spaces. Yay!
I started cleaning out my old room (at my parents' house) on Saturday. Looking through my old journals made me very glad I am where I am today. Despite having to go to work every day, I have the money and personal freedom to do what I want. If I see a cute pair of shoes, I can buy them. If I want to fly to Paris, with a little preparation, I can. If I don't feel like going to bed until 2am, nobody is going to bug me. I also looked through some old paystubs from when I was only making $4.87/hour. My god! I know that there are a lot of people who still work like that (although I think the minimum wage is a little higher now), but I had forgotten that seven or eight years ago, that was also me. I threw a lot of old junk away, but ended up keeping some old paystubs to remind me how hard I used to work for so very little. It's a good reminder that can help me keep a better perspective from time to time. I have much to be thankful for. I have J, a college degree, a 2-year-old (in February) car that won't fall apart for a long time, good friends, cousins will look out for me, DSL, two arms, and two legs. Unlike a lot of people, I had a good time in high school, but reading the "Notre Dame Student Handbook" made me remember some of the stuff that wasn't so fun. Since it was an all girl's Catholic school, there were a bunch of heinous rules. I still lived at home, so there were a whole other set of rules laid out by my parents. I had very little freedom: everything was set out before me. Right after I graduated college, it was a little disorienting not to have anyone telling me what to do with my life. But now I'm used to it, and it's a good place to be. Scary and confusing, but the good by far outweighs the bad. Sometimes I feel like I haven't accomplished anything, but looking back, I've come a long way. And I've fulfilled part of my dad's dream for his children: I make more than him. If something happens, I have the means to help them out. Life is good. Oh, and here's another thing be happy about:
Normally, most Berkeley companies don't get Columbus Day off...even if it has been renamed Indigenous Peoples Day. Someone accidentally gave us the day off...so I'm spending the day in SF with some unemployed friends. It's been a month since I downloaded any pics off my camera...so here are a few images from the past month:
things that make me happy today (in no particular order):- deliciously fresh lemon bar from the place next to cafe rouge
- buying presents
- L'Occitane Lotus solid perfume (I smell GOOD)
- two more people crossed off of my Christmas list (I will conquer this thing very early!!!)
- three-day weekend looming
- nice smelling candles
- scarves
- hot tea
- smoked gouda cheese
- pinstripe pants
- fast trak (finally installed it yesterday)
- friends
- date with J
- hair cut tomorrow
- and...did i say three day weekend?!
Just picked up the latest J5 CD (Power in Numbers) in time for their show Monday night. Good stuff. I love Chali 2na's voice. D'oh. I just remembered that I'd bought a J5 record a while back. I wonder what happened to it. I haven't had a functional record player in years.
Last night, I went to go see Baz Luhrmann's production of La Boheme. It's previewing here in SF for a few weeks and then going straight to Broadway. I wasn't sure what to expect...but it was AWESOME! The sets were magnificent, the singers were wonderful, the supertitles were creative...great great show. Usually, I fidget during operas--they're too long. This one kept my attention the whole time. And I think he has an obsession with midgets, as this opera also included a midget. I mean Little Person. I'd never seen La Boheme before. But I've seen Rent (a 90s adaptation of La Boheme) many times-- it'll be five in November. Knowing Rent so well gave me extra insight on the characters of both Rent and La Boheme...Jonathan Larson (creator of Rent) stayed pretty true to the story line of La Boheme while giving it a very 90s facelift, making it relevant to the 90s audience. When I first saw Rent six or seven years ago, the set and costumes appeared very modern to me. I saw it again a year or two ago, and it was visibly dated. I guess that just means I'm getting old.
Has anyone ever done Team In Training?
yesterday, i bought two christmas presents. i am determined to get all my christmas shopping done before the madness begins post-thanksgiving. otherwise, christmas shopping is never any fun. but right now, i'm having fun. besides, i get the joy of the purchase without the guilt of spending more money on myself. i like that christina aguilera has gotten bigger. everyone else is too skinny these days. has anyone seen the Zumba informercials? It cracks me up. Yes, I watched a lot of TV this weekend. I watched the The Battle of Mary Kay last night on TV. Only because I love Parker Posey. I found a case of CDs in my desk...so it's old music day. It's a Case Logic full of music from late-highschool/ early-college. Right now? Dance Hall Crashers. Maybe later, the Specials or Juliana Hatfield.
love
this store.
I dumped Cingular this weekend in exchange for AT&T. No more dropped calls and terrific reception: I can finally talk on the phone in my own house! Unfortunately, I had to give up my easy-to-remember phone number and I think I already lost my hands-free set. I've been a bit discombobulated with the flu these past few days. |
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