Appendicitis

how lucky. first day of the break and I reported to ER to kick off the holiday break.

I wasn't really aware that it could be appendix that was causing the problem. I just started to feel bloated, inflated and kind of painful in my abdomenal area.
Thought i could sleep it away, but it just lingered.

Went to the ER at Kaiser, Redwood City. The ER nurse kickded me to the Clinic. The doctor there, (can't remember her name now)(her name is Malika Kheraj) figured out that it's appendicitis and sent me back to ER.

Had an surgery immediately. stayed in the hospital unti the next morning (12/26). got home that afternoon. Gees, I still can't walk much.

25 degrees fahrenheit

Gees, I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw that on the thermometer. It was horrifying. My car was covered with ice. A white sheet of ice. I missed my train because I need to defrost the car. It was so dangerous to drive.

Rainy Monday

Strange luck. Must be a sign. It rained hard when I got out of Caltrain and then again Light Rail. We will see if the same happens this evening.
otherwise, it is a cold day today.

DOB - Christi Marquina

Just to document the date of the puppy that I purchased on 2/16/09 (president's day) from Santa Cruz. La baby died on 1/12 and I felt the need to get a replacement pet for the Marquina Family.

Can't shake the cold

I came back from Taiwan last Sunday. It's been a week now and I am still having this damn cold. The good thing is that it is slowly fading away. The bad thing is that I can't seem to relax myself. I always have to do something. I don't even want to take a day off or anything. It is because that I have spent all my 5 days of vacation time with Talent Merchants and have no time left. So, I have to be frugal.

since I skipped Thanksgiving, I just haven't felt the holiday feel yet. It is not raining, either. So, I keep forgetting to put on a sweater. So, that slows down the recovery. I also noticed that I was trying to get used to my own crappy bed, too. On top of that, the jet lag is bothering me as well. Luan once commented that "Jason, don't get old". I thought that was quite interesting. She did not know that I am very old already. :)

Caltrain Complaint

I would like to complain about the rude behavior of the female conductor on southbound 216 today (11/12). She is white, overweight with fluffy long hair. The incident happened at Hillsdale Station that today experienced a sudden spike on the number of the passengers.

I arrived at my regular hour, but was forced to seek parking over the other parking lot near TGI Friday's. I finally got a spot # 172, paid the parking ticket and ran to finally reach the last car only to get rejected and door shut at my face. I politely asked her to validate my 10-ride ticket, but she refused and said I should get it validated before I get on board, otherwise, she would write me a citation. The other male conductor was at the last car this morning as well. And as a daily commuter myself, I know that by comparison, he is a much nicer person. He greeted people and provide friendly interaction when checking tickets. That said, he would not have said those things to me, let alone doing such a horrible act to any passenger. So, he and other passengers on the train and across the rails on the northbound platform are my witnesses. He knew that she shut the door at me and I was all peaceful without raising my voice nor creating a scene.

Everyone knows the proper manner to handle this is to let the passenger get onboard, kindly “warn” the passenger that this is to do them a favor and for this time only and validate this ticket. However, I expect more from a “professional” conductor. I expect service, not rude, unprofessional behavior.

I normally buy a monthly pass along with parking permit for $126. Since this is a short month, I opted to get the 10-ride ticket. I know that I will not get any more chance to run into a situation like this. But I certainly hope that this will not happen to anyone at all.

first day of the last quarter

It's the first day of Q209. I was busy pulling the quotes from suppliers. It has been quite a struggle: verifying pricing, trouble-shooting, etc. The good thing is it is getting better and better each quarter. Well, let's make it the last quarter. I have spoken with the boss today and she seemed to want to transfer me out to the other department, since my direct boss, who is on PTO, had already transferred to the other department.
After Paul came by to the cube to circle back to me on the status of the new req, I could tell that it was not going to happen. I wouldn't be surprised if there was another position alloted to Michael once I am gone. However, it seems more likely that there will be more reqs for the asian pacific region. If I were the boss, I would do that. Move the force east. Commodity Managers, commodity specialists, etc.

唉聲嘆氣-鄭秀文

到圖書館無意碰到,鄭秀文的專輯, 不是沒錢買cd, 只是不聽流行歌了. 如果小時候被教導好的話, 就不會耗那麼多時間,金錢在流行音樂上. 這歌極可能是我最後喜歡的中文流行歌了

GSM event

Today we had a GSM event on the lawn between building 20 and 21. It was nice. Well, any free stuff is nice. It's nice to see people that work in this building outside of the building. I had a lot of roast beef. So much that toward the end, I feel sick of it. Reiko and Luan needed to go back early, so I tagged along again. Unfortunately, I didn't get to participate in any of the games provided. The only thing that interests me was the carot reading, but I guess I would not approach her, even if I had a chance. I wouldn't want to be considered sissy. After all, we all know that it is quite a girly thing to do. I had 2 bad experiences with 2 lousy psychics, anyway.

We can get out this afternoon, but I decided to stay in and work on the deliverables, so the presumed new boss of commodity specialists can have some insight on what the girls have been doing and how they have been suffering.

Today's supposed to be the first day of rain in this rainy season. We will see. If it rains, Jose will not work tomorrow, that means, I won't get to help out and do my weekend exercise by doing garden work. I hope it would not rain, really. It is better that I get out of the house and do something physical.

Marco Antonio Solis

No sé por qué Olga Tañon canceló su compromiso a abrir el concierto para M.A. S. Pero, no me importa nada. Es que MAS nos enseñó un buen concierto y nos gustó mucho. Eso es lo que importa.

Otra vez, los mexicanos me molestaron mucho por romper las ordenes a andar en el escenario a tomar las fotos y besar al cantante. La misma situación sucedió en el concierto de Paulina Rubio. Me molestó, pero yo tambien paga dinero para disfrutar el show. A nadie le gusta un concierto interrumpido. He pasado tiempo con demasiados mexicanos y conocido a los mexicanos. La mayoria de los mexicanos no siguen nada de la ley. Traen ese habilitad desde México. Qué lastima.

Labor Day Weekend 8/30

Went down to LA and Tijuana with Jose. It wasn't too bad driving with company. It really makes a difference. I remember that I used to drive alone and it is so boring. Highway 5 used to be endless. Anyway, we went to visit Sergio and Jose. Lupillo and Negro happened to visit them. Damn, what a crowd for a 1-bedroom apt. So, we hung out, visited Laguna Beach and Celestino's house on the Laguna Hills up on Alicia Parkway. A nicely decorated house in a beautiful, gated with security neighborhood...

錯,錯,錯

沒有人不犯錯, 包括我個人. 不管是無心或有意,只要肯認錯, 之後能回改,道歉,或補償等等.. 這個人還算可取.

那個墨西哥女人Georgina Olivera則屬於不可取的那種. 其實, 誰非常在乎1200墨幣, 但是她的態度,推託,撒謊的處理方式就會令人反感. 跟我講清楚有財務困難,收不到學生的繳費, 我就會放過. 反正當時也免費教Rafael.

上禮拜看到她出現在這個部落格撒野,真的讓我覺得這個人非常可惡. 不給錢是一回事, 說有支薪證明但又提不出發票. 空口說白話是另一回事.. 現在反倒自打耳光.

我倒是想看她的發票是什麼樣子. 她如果能夠提出來, 則又是個幌子和笑話. 以當時'打黑工',只收現金的身份, 是不可能收任何支票而兌現的. 整個工作簽證辦不下來,銀行戶口也當然無疾而終.

Sabes qué?

si no pratico escribir en español, lo voy a olvidar.

Pues, estoy esperando a José para que salgamos al cine más tarde. No pasó nada en especial. Tuve un día ocupado ayer.

CPM exam, module 3

I still passed it with very limited preparation. I thought about that. If I had failed it, it was because I did not prepare well. If I had passed it, it's because I have years of experience and they count and help me. Now I am moving to get the module 4 passed and then I can be a Certified Purchasing Manager. Sounds grand, doesn't it?

I missed Renne Zelleweger. Where is she? I remember she said "grand" in her Bridget Jones' movies. Oh, well. her time has passed.

I need to register for the last module and also start preparing.

我的37歲生日

我沒有告訴任何人. 越來越低調.
不過還是有接到生日祝賀. 還是不錯. 至少還是有人知道我的存在. 不過也讓我覺得我越來越冷...
不過本來就沒什麼值得好好大肆慶祝的事. 天底下每件事都一樣重複發生. 太陽底下沒有新鮮事...

美好的一天

今天算是好天. 因為牙齒沒發炎, 嘴巴,舌頭沒破洞, 嘴唇也沒水泡... 太好了.

今天沒去參加GSM All Hands, 結果被Hang 抓包. 跟John Hu 聊了一下,才知道自己知道的真的很少. 應該好好再加油.

South Park 已經看完第六季了.

cold sores

ok. What is going on? What is the matter? eyes, mouth, lips, prostate... what's next?

Interview with Tyco

I went to meet with Jamie Zimmerman and Joy Embry at starbuks and then John Feldmeyer over at Tyco. He's been with Raychem for 31 years. Imagine that. that's something I won't be able to do.

Well, it is strange that Mary Tong just told me that they extended my stay until October 24th. So, what does that mean? Well, I have to stay poor for another 4 months there. Yeah, right! It just feels good and sounds good to work for Cisco. I am an "individual contributor" as categorized, as opposed to someone at a managerial level. Oh, well, stay put for another 3 months then. I don't have to go out for interview for another 3 months.

I have had 3 interviews so far. another 1 phone interview with Oracle. We will see how it goes.

Canker sores gone

Just in time for the weekend. Well. This is just to keep a record of the attacks.

South Park Frenzy

I have been watching south park like crazy. The new girl at Cisco, Margaret Anderson, likes South Park as well. I'm at Season 4 right now.
I'm also going to wach the Sopranos Season 5 as soon as it gets in the Library.
I'm 1/4 through the last season of OZ,w hich is season 5. Oz is quite boring now.

damn canker sores again

probably since last wednesday. I just don't know what do to with them. 2 of them right now.

遺囑

-捐贈所有有用器官.
-立即火葬. 骨灰灑太平洋. (無須棺材, 我不喜歡. 佔空間, 浪費資源又浪費錢)
-免除任何禮俗. (省了, 我死後會怎樣是未知數. 也不是一個禮俗就可改變的. 再則,我不信教.
-如有任何保險金,銀行存款等, 全數歸父親及哥哥.

Damn Canker Sores

I really hate them. They like my periods that visit every month and stay for a week or so. Right now I have 2. One on the left side of the blade of the tongue; the other on the left wall of the the mouth, close to the lips.
I never really documented it. But I have those since 3 or 4 days ago.

Naturalization Interview

With officer Yuen. She refused to take "Jason" as part of my legal name. Furthermore, she made me sign my name the old way just like when I first got here and when I used to sign chiasen li. Well, I pretty much forgot how to sign it that way. I'm used to signing Jason Li now.

Anyway, I failed 3 questions out of 10 and I still passed.

tax return filed

I did not take any itemized deductions. I don't know why I put $400 into the tax rebate and take $399 return.
the stupid turbo tax costs $80.00 to file just state part. I even picked the cheapest filing method. 1040 ez, maybe. I don't remember that.

My will: no ceremony. Burn my body. Scatter ashes in the ocean.

I think I have watched too much "six feet under". Anyhow, I don't think it is necesary to spend money on funeral. What a waste. What a dead person would care. He or she is dead.

I think it is better to save the space, save the time, save everybody's energy and make it as simple as possible.

There should not be any ceremony. If it is my ceremony, I prefer not to have any ritual. It is not how the people want my ceremony to be. It is how I want my ceremony to be. People should not determine what kind of coffin I would prefer. If they know me, they should know that I don't want any coffin. Just burn my body and scatter my ashes in the ocean. Simple as that.

Where the Sopranos live (Season 2, Episode 10)

Meadow Soprano got accepted to UC Berkeley. How interesting. I wish I were able to attend Berkeley. Well, I had been here for college, I would have gotten accepted to Berkeley. I think I am at that level. It's a public school. You know, just like National Central University. It's a good school in Taiwan.

Anyway, this episode shows their address:

633 Stag Trail Road
North Caldwell, NJ 07006

Carmela Soprano is having an affair with the decorator.

Brazil...

I was singing Roberto Carlo's "Amada Amante" and I remembered seeing a clip on youtube that some young kids were singing the Portuguese version and it led me to think that if you see a portuguese speaking person, chances are, he or she is from Brazil, because Portugual is falling back to become, well, more of a third country than Brazil. Now that the Brazilian population is way, way more than that of Protugual. It's a breeding country. People are having unprotective sex, thanks to their culture and religion. Isn't religion part of the culture? Well, what do I know? They don't like to use condoms and so, they would either get pregnant, or Aids, or some type of STD, I guess.

I always think about this kind of strange and boring "who cares" stuff. Well, this is me. I am boring, strange and "who cares".

Hang just sent out an e-mail taking her PTO tomorrow. So, abrupt and such a short notice. Perhaps this is the downtime, before the new quote cycle kicks in.

No news is not good news

have not heard anything from Brock at Oracle. Maybe a little celebration with Alex at Sundance Steakhouse will turn the luck. I have justhad lunch with the X1 temp team. Some of us get to stay while others don't. Looks like Robert, Michael and I will stay for a little while. Hui-Ping Lo will stay for another 6 months. I dont' know if she's happy with that. It seems that her job is lighter than mine.

回美一週年

今天是回美國的一週年. 也是在思科半年. 很巧. 我竟忘記我是在聖派屈克節返美的.

一年了. 感覺沒什麼長進... 但事實上發生了很多事情. 能夠進思科有這樣的歷練也就夠了. 我覺得我的英文很差.倒是真的...

Tools and Phrases While at Cisco

Workaround=alternative
Takeaways=key points
bandwith=time
wfh=work from home
passdowns=announcements
eol=end of life
lobby ambassador
reco=recommendation
writeback=update. your splits will not writeback.
Emerging Markets = developing countries = third world

EMCO:
Inbiz - Item attribute display
Combat Report Portal - Spend Usage, Item attribute update, Quote Analysis
EMCO Access management - supplier onboarding, company profile, user profile,
Oracle E-biz:
Sourcing Buyer with Supplier Quote, DF Tac report, Component Splits and Standards (CSS), Impersonation, MFG subcontract Purchasing(Cost Roll)
GSM:
Supplier Business Review(SBR), Business Units(BU), Aravo (Supplier Contact Rolodex)
EMS:
Education Management System

Oracle - Brock Musgrove

tuve una entrevista por la teléfono. No pienso que lo hice muy bien. Ahora no tengo much estima, de veras, después de que me rechazaban unas pinche compañías. ¿Qué me importa?

Me siento bien que tenía algo que preguntarle a Brock, aunque no estaba preparado.

hasta el fin de abril con Cisco

Pues, esta mañana me avisó Mary que podía quedarme hasta el fin de abril y luego se iba a extender mi contrato por un cuarto a la vez si lo llamaba la situación. No está bien. Por que tengo planes de arrglar mis dientes. necesito un mejor seguro dental. Solo puedo lograrlo con una nueva compañía que ofrece mejor seguro dental.

Sin embargo, está bien. Ya lo sé que me rechazó autoridad residencial de oakland.

Entrevista con Autoridad domestica de Oakland

今天去面試. 真的是面試. 是一種考試. 被三個人考問. 問一些無聊的問題.

Sometimes the most courageous act is what you did not do.

That's the catch phrase fro the movie "Paradise Now". A movie feature/preview from the "good night and good luck" DVD. I think it is a good one.

I need to finish "GN & GL" at home. This is a serious film and I have to watch it at home, not at Joey's apartment.

I found Galavision on Channel 73. I have been watching it a little. I want to continue watching it. But I don't have anything on TV at home. It was cancelled by the Marquina Family. Well, life goes on. I get to watch a lot of movies and TV series on DVD.

Overcast Saturday.

I stayed in San Francisco. It feels like I'm vacationing in San Francisco, staying at Joey's Apartment. San Francisco bay area is very beautiful. I don't feel so depressed as I was living in San Jose. That was when it hit me really hard. I can not imagine going back to living in San Jose. The most boring and depressing place on earth. For me, that is.

I went to check out Oakland Housing Authroity for Next Wednesday's Interview. I am glad that there is going to be an interview.

Patrick said that the interview is very robotic and formatic. The scoring system is so mandate that it ensures it is easy to score and objective. A panel of 3 interviewers that will consist of a lady, a minority at least. He said I should not worry about it. There is nothing to prepare. Just go in and be myself. He said a good night's sleep will be good.

I am very grateful that Hang Nguyen has been very helpful. It has been quite a honor and pleasure to work with/for her. I am surprised to find that she was a contractor for 2 years before they turned her permanent. Well, I am not sure if I am heading down that road. But I really don't think I have engouh

Guacala!

Que malo el resultado. Se me rechazo expeditors international. Jajaja... Lo espere. todo esta en mi expectacion. jajaja... No es a mi gusto, pero es un aspecto de vida.

Thank you cards

Does anyone still do that nowadays. Ever since James told me to send thank-you cards to all the interviewers at NeoPhotonics, I started to do that when I could.

Yes, it makes me feel very pretentious to send Sebastian and Halil each a thank-you card, but what can I do? Now I feel it is completely a waste of time to do the interview and now the cards. But what can I do? It does not hurt to be courteous, right?

Oakland Housing Authority

Chrstina Something-Perez just called me during my interview with Expeditors International.

The interview was quite boring in a simple Q&A format. They Q'd and I A'd.

星期六...

有很多雜事要辦:

到圖書館去還DVD,借DVD-Reno 911, Six Feed Under, Oz, The Sopranos, etc.
到大華超市去買電話卡.
到safeway/BofA去換硬幣.
到永和超市去買牛肉乾,寶礦力,巧克力豆漿, 菜肉包, 豆乾
上健身房去運動.

這個

You are confirmed for a professional Interview with Expeditors International

My first impression was this: What kind of trashy people/low-educated slackers they have been interviewing?

Well, I am lukewarm about this position and the interview. But since it had dropped on my lap, I would just take it like a free gift. I don't really have to work for it. All it takes is an interview, so I will go in anyway.


You are confirmed for a professional interview

Thursday, Feb 14th at 4:00pm. Expeditors425 Valley DriveBrisbane, CA 94005www.expeditors.com

Attire: Professional – business suit attire (shirt/tie/jacket) Upon arrival: please ask for Sebastian McClure, Distribution Services Manager. While he is not the Direct Supervisor for this position, he is conducting the initial interviews. You will meet with him and the current Process Analyst, Halil Gursoy.

Que pasara?

es domingo y trabajaba por un rato para mañana. Me siento apresionado.

Saturday alone

Well, another saturday night alone. But. But I went out last night with Jorge and Anotonio to Splash. It was no pressure, because I was not in the mood to hook up with anyone. And I danced like crazy, like never before. It was really good to burn off so many calories.

陰冷潮濕的天氣.

長週末的三天就在這樣的陰雨天下告一段落. 還好我也沒有出去啪啪走. 亂花錢. 就呆在家裡.］

Writing Macros

I am fascinated by Macros. I was thinking about the sequence, how to run it, etc, etc... There was something wrong with the cisco VPN. It was awefully slow. I couldnt' take it. So．．．

晚孃

看了鍾麗緹拍的泰國片. 晚孃. 堪稱為泰國的三級片, 全片以情色貫穿. 她的戲分不多,但是是屬靈魂的角色. 看到了她的假胸.

Commute by Train, Company Shuttle, Light Rail

I managed to go to work by public transportation. The morning air is piercing. The way back is stressful, because I kept worrying that I might miss the baby bullet at Mt. view, because the light rail train was delayed. But I finished the whole route. I am glad to have to commute by public transportation. I know better what to do when I am at the train now. I don't need to read, but I could if I want to. I think I should.

I am just glad that I can commute by public transportation.

Here's my schedule:

Out of house @ 07:25
Hillsdale Station @ 07:32
Baby bullet train @ 07:40
Mountain View Downtown/Cisco Shuttle @ 08:00
Cisco Building D @ 08:25
Out of building D @ 17:08
Light Rail/Champion station @ 17:18 (today it arrived late. @ 17:23, I think)
Mt. View, Baby Bullet @ 17:59
Hillsdale Station @18:18


Cost:
parking at hillsdale: $2:00/daily
10-ride ticket from hillsdale: $34.00

So weekly cost will be $34.00+$2.00x5=$44.00

趕場.

不清楚為什麼那麼趕, 下班之後趕了這些地方:

GOODWILLS MOUNTAIN VIEW 去看有沒有西文小說可以買.
SALVATION ARMY, SUNNYVALE 同上.
POPEYE'S, SUNNYVALE 買晚餐. 三根炸雞: 兩腿, 一胸.
GOODWILLS, SUNNYVALE, 去看有沒有西文小說可以買
MT. VIEW LIBRARY 去還DVD. romero 和 fresa y chocolate.
BARBERSHOP, MT. VIEW 理頭髮.
REDWOOD CITY LIBRARY 去借Panther Panchali 和 The world of Apu. (昨天,不小心看了三部曲的第二部:Aparajito.) 順便借了兩捲西文DVD: best rock 和Semen. Aparajito 在Redwood city library竟被歸到西文區. 哈哈...
SUPER SAVERS, REDWOOD CITY 去看有沒有西文小說和白色的衣架可以買,
BEST BUY, SAN CARLOS 去看有沒有筆記型電腦的護套賣, 我決定就買Cisco的就行了.
FOSTER CITY LIBRARY. 去還書: Excel formula

Aparajito

I am glad that I watched the movie. It is the first regular Indian movie I've seen. I happend to watch parts of various Indian "musicals". I didn't like them.
I could identify with the movie,especially the interaction between Apu and his mom. It reminded me of my mom when she's waiting for Apu to come back. It was very saddening.

This is weird. How can anyone start a trilogy from the Middle/second one. Well,
I checked the library catalog and found that Foster City only has Aparajito. For "Panther Panchali" and "The world of Apu". So, tomorrow I would need to check Redwood city.

林明俊.

跟楊承逢一樣, 是我從高中(台中二中)時就認識的好朋友. 不同的是林明俊是我的同班同學,但我們畢業後就失聯. 楊承逢則是個有趣的案例. 他是隔壁班的. 但是是林明俊的室友. 我已經忘記是怎麼跟他打熟的. 高中畢業後的十年是我跟他最熟的時候. 期中我去法國, 之後他來美國. 現在我們比較沒常聯絡.

Bill Richardson

Richardson, 60, announced his decision at the state Capitol, saying he was returning to "the best job in the world" as New Mexico's governor.

“Hablé de los temas que considero son claves para el futuro del país. Pero, lo ocurrido en Iowa y en New Hampshire nos han aconsejado el repliegue. Por eso he decidido regresar al mejor trabajo del mundo”,


Question: If it is the best job in the world, why did you even think about leaving it?

He dyes his hair black and sports a very unnatural tan. How can anyone that is untrue to himself be true to others?

Croatian Beef Cabbage Roll with Red Rice

I thought I'd note the dish I had for lunch. It was okay. the meatloaf inside the cabbage roll takes like the beef in Sopa de Albodigas. I don't feel super impressed. I should have taken a picture, but my camera is out of battery.

Contract extended from Jan 25 to March 7

Well, with the work and involvement like this, you can extend it forever, baby... Well, it is good that there is some extention, because I would feel good that I am taken advantage of the hard work of other team members, although I have no idea what everyone is doing and how much work they need to do. Mine is pretty minimum and I should not complain, other than that, I think it is really really minimum. Luckily, I am not paid well, either. So, I should not feel bad.

Fingerprints for Immigration

I went to SF for the fingerprints and I'm glad that's another step done toward citizenship. It wasn't too bad, although I was kind of worried that something might go wrong. Luckily, there was parking and I got in okay and went back to work at 11:30am.

KLA Tencor (through Butler International), Oakland Housing Authority

Talked with Anthony Urbina about a contract position and I got excited about it. It is right next to Cisco. I think that since my term with Cisco will end in 2-3 weeks, I should really get going and start looking. I wouldn't mind if it is only for 3 months. I will play by ear. I guess I would still have to stay here in the bay area for a few months.

The idea of taking Bart to Oakland to work is very enticing and I think it would be a great opportunity and it willl open the door for me to have a career in the public sector. I briefly checked their benefits: quite nice. 12 sick days per year. 10 days of vacation, and 10 paid holidays. So, that is not too bad. 32 days. Besides, the pay is pretty nice. at $5500 per month. I can live with that and also keep putting savings in the 401K. Sounds pretty damn good.

Jugué con José Durán

Me gusta geografía mucho y empezó a jugar con José por Borders en Milpitas. Pero ya creo que las preguntas son demasiado fáciles.

El no sabía que yo hablo español. Es que nunca lo mencioné tampoco.

重新交一個老朋友.

林明俊講的好. 我的高中同學. 我們很久很久沒有談這麼久. .
我們似乎也有好一些共同點. 他人在法國. 我在美國. 他已經有固定的伴侶.我沒有. 不過我們有很多過去的事可以聊,可以涵蓋很多議題..

Yong Le's Fusion: Worst Restaurant Ever, a terrible date made it even worse

It's good that the day ended with a nice, insteresting movie to take away the tragedy of a combination of a lousy date and terrible restaurant. How in the world would anyone recommend that restaurant. Sure, everyone is entitled to their opinion. But that restaurant should have gone out of business in an instant.

Over priced: we order spring rolls as an appetizer. main courses: wasabi noodles, seafood curry and steamed rice. it costed $43.00, including tip.
Why is $43.00 bad/over priced: well the ambient is ok. The chair is not steel molded with its back at the 45 degree angle, which makes it very uncomfortable when leaning back. The owner lady/hostess give us a cold, oblivious look when pouring the water.

THE SALMON IN THE SEAFOOD CURRY WAS NOT THOROUGHLY COOKED.

If I want it raw, I would have gone to a Japanese restaurant, instead of an Asian Fusion crap.
The spring rolls need to be improved. Wasabi noodles is mediocre. Seafood curry was aweful, on top of the raw salmon. Besides, I never had salmon in the seafood curry before and I have been to so many different thai restaurants. The clientile there is dominately white with 2 other asian americans there. That really explains why it does not appeal to me.

Of course, I didn't want to make a complaint, let alone "a scene" in front of the date. I didn't even know why I agreed to drive so far, or even show up for someone that I knew I would not like at all. Of course, it turned out to be kind of a disaster. Not good looking to begin with. Cheap. Cynical. I blamed myself for this total disaster, because I had total control over my situation.

Shall we Dance?

Just finished watching the movie Shall we Dance?. It is always good to watch some feel-good movie once in a while. Now I feel quite inspired to maybe take a dance lesson at Mission Colllege or somewhere. I just started to work out regularly and I am starting to feel good about myself. I guess making myself feeling fit and nice makes me feel more confident and happier.

I watched the US remake of the Japanese hit, featuring Richard Gere, Jennifer Lopez, Susan Sarandon. It's fun to watch. very light and inspiring.

Cisco Gym

If I don't have anything planned for the evening, I am going to start hitting the gym across the street from Building D after work. It's so convenient. Why not? I feel stronger and better.

I put the Calendar that Reiko Soga gave me as a Xmas gift on my desk now. It is a very delicate, beautifully made calendar. I really like her style. Very neat, clean, delicate and thus high quality.

My days with cisco are numbered, although I haven't heard anything from Lily Liu yet. I keep hoping that it will be the end of January. For some reason, I am starting to feel strange about my current lifestyle. I want to really finish the naturalization process and get to Miami and settle down right there. I have no idea what's in store for me over there, but I do know that I really enjoy a nice warm/hot summer there.

2008 plans

1. CPA
I need to pass the CPA test this year. Probably one in March and one in June. Only 2 more modules to go: Value-adding strategies and Management. Both are quite fun.
I think I need to expedite the process: the preliminary test dates: march 1st and May 3rd.

2. Spanish Class:
Mission College. Spanish 004
I don't care if they won't let me register. I can audit the class. I just need to talk to Monica Rivas and have her sign something to approve it. I can finish it this semester. I don't think they are going to offer any further class than 004. Because most people will transfer to a regular 4 year college after that point.

3. Citizenship:
I need to get the citizenship and so I can finally put this immigration stuff behind. After almost 14 years, I think I really need to get it and to get the feeling of belonging. I have been feeling like an outsider. Now that the citizenship is close, I have started to care about the stuff that's happening in the U.S., meaning I am starting to read more and more political news. Well, I can't deny that I would be able to work overseas in Costa Rica or somewhere else. I think I want to be free, finally.

Who'd thought that Canada would fail my immigration application and that Mexico would deny my work visa. It is like of like the college application. You got accepted by Harvard or MIT and rejected by San Francisco State and Ohio State. Isn't it funny or rather ironic? I would never want to live in Canada because it's so cold. Mexico is nice, but the living standards are still falling way behind.

4. Miami
I think I have made enough sacrifice for Miami. Well, maybe it is just because I am lazy and because I am very good at finding excuses. Jorge Marquina is my best excuse. I keep telling people that I wouldn't leave people in a bad situation without lending a helping hand. Well, it is really not my fault how he fell ill and got hospitalized and so on. But I think it is a good excuse for not moving to Miami last year before I started the N400 process.

5. Real job
It's funny that I should say that. It is not like that I am a bum. I have been holding real jobs. Real contractual jobs. :) I think I really need to be gainfully employeed with all the benefits such as medical, dental, 401K and stock options, if possible. So, my life can take off. So, I can bring my finance back to normal. I can think about buying a house when i hit the big 4 zero.