Good Bye Grandma
Today I found out my grandmother died today in Toronto. She has been very ill lately, and was the reason why my sister and mother couldn't make it to San Diego this weekend. So, now it looks like I will need to head back to Toronto for awhile. Time to head back and train in the mountains, once again.
On a Lighter Note...
I put up a new photo album in my online photo album. Entitled "Friends", this album is basically made of digital pics I took all throughout my digital camera's life of all the people I know and love. These photos really dont fall under any other suitable photo album so I thought I cram them all in there. Check it out here at:
http://public.fotki.com/namofni/friends/
There are photos of my T.O friends as well as those in California and Austin. I hope to put more pictures here, taken by myself or sent in from others. So, if you like to donate a pictures, please send it to me.
I hope you all enjoy it. And yeah, I know I dont label my pictures. One day I will...
Friday, March 29, 2002
Crummy
Yesterday was a crummy day. Everything about yesterday was crummy. Work was crummy. I was crummy. Everything I tried to do became crummy. It was just crummy.
That all changed when I got home and started talking to an old friend back in Toronto. I had this wonderful conversation with Mike, someone I haven't spoken to or seen since High School. We chatted online and eventually moved on to a phone conversation in which I took while doing my grocery run at 11pm at night. It was great. We did a lot of catching up and it was great to hear how great his life has been. And that, in a sense, brought up the rest of my day.
If it wasn't for Mike, my day would have been a COMPLETELY crummy day.
IGDA San Diego
On Wednesday, I went to my first meeting (of only the third such meeting in SD) of the San Diego chapter of the International Game Developers Association (IGDA). It was basically a roundtable of game designers, which included one of my good friend, and fellow Angel game designer, Josh (designer of Capcom's Red Dead Revolver) talking about how a game is designed.
It was an okay talk with pretty standard types of questions and answers of game design. Basically, most ppl were there to hear both the current lead game designer on Everquest and the ORGINAL lead game designer on Everquest (who left Sony to start his own Everquest killer) square off against each other. But one did not show :(
After the roundtable, it was the smoozing time. I took the opportunity to introduce myself to an gentleman, who was Gameboy Advance game programmer/designer,and was also teaching a course at a local college about video games. We talked for awhile about getting more interested young ppl into the game industry and the fact that I went to Digipen. He eventually invited me to come talk to his class about my adventures in Digipen and how I got my first job in the game industry. Wow! I now get to currupt a whole class full of young minds ;p
Yesterday was a crummy day. Everything about yesterday was crummy. Work was crummy. I was crummy. Everything I tried to do became crummy. It was just crummy.
That all changed when I got home and started talking to an old friend back in Toronto. I had this wonderful conversation with Mike, someone I haven't spoken to or seen since High School. We chatted online and eventually moved on to a phone conversation in which I took while doing my grocery run at 11pm at night. It was great. We did a lot of catching up and it was great to hear how great his life has been. And that, in a sense, brought up the rest of my day.
If it wasn't for Mike, my day would have been a COMPLETELY crummy day.
IGDA San Diego
On Wednesday, I went to my first meeting (of only the third such meeting in SD) of the San Diego chapter of the International Game Developers Association (IGDA). It was basically a roundtable of game designers, which included one of my good friend, and fellow Angel game designer, Josh (designer of Capcom's Red Dead Revolver) talking about how a game is designed.
It was an okay talk with pretty standard types of questions and answers of game design. Basically, most ppl were there to hear both the current lead game designer on Everquest and the ORGINAL lead game designer on Everquest (who left Sony to start his own Everquest killer) square off against each other. But one did not show :(
After the roundtable, it was the smoozing time. I took the opportunity to introduce myself to an gentleman, who was Gameboy Advance game programmer/designer,and was also teaching a course at a local college about video games. We talked for awhile about getting more interested young ppl into the game industry and the fact that I went to Digipen. He eventually invited me to come talk to his class about my adventures in Digipen and how I got my first job in the game industry. Wow! I now get to currupt a whole class full of young minds ;p
Monday, March 25, 2002
Things I learned at the Game Development Conference in San Jose
1. The GDC is a gathering of enlarged egos of game artists and programmers who think they can also design.
2. There are very few women in the game industry, and those who talk to you, only want to recuit you to their company.
3. Jay Woodward can't drive, line up to board an airplane, hold baggage over other ppl's head or eat peanuts.
4. Just because you are from San Jose and live in San Jose for most of your life, doesn't mean you know where the San Jose Convention Center is.
5. TK Noodles RULEZ!
6. There's a reason why I never went to any parties during the GDC (see point # 2.)
7. San Jose is not close enough from a party in San Francisco for someone to come pick me up to go to :(
8. For a cutting edge technology city like San Jose, cell phones dont work very well.
9. The guy who design the Gran Turismo (Kazunori Yamauchi) games can't give a good lecture.
10. The guy who design Super Monkey Ball (Toshihiro Nagoshi) can give a great lecture.
11. The guy who design Seaman (Yoot Saito) reminds me a lot of my friend Eliot.
12. Brian Moriarty was the highlight of the show. His lecture alone taugh me more about Shakesphere, J.S. Bach, the King James Bible and Radio Shack then I ever needed to know (of course, his talks are rarely about games).
13. Dont wait until after a lecture to get an autograph from the creator of Tetris (Alexey Pajitnov), who happens to be sitting next to you. He will leave in the middle of a lecture!
14. There are even geekier ppl out there in the world (especially at GDC), even more geekier than I am ;p
1000 Hits!
Woohoo! Who would have thunk that there were that many ppl who read this crap ;)
1. The GDC is a gathering of enlarged egos of game artists and programmers who think they can also design.
2. There are very few women in the game industry, and those who talk to you, only want to recuit you to their company.
3. Jay Woodward can't drive, line up to board an airplane, hold baggage over other ppl's head or eat peanuts.
4. Just because you are from San Jose and live in San Jose for most of your life, doesn't mean you know where the San Jose Convention Center is.
5. TK Noodles RULEZ!
6. There's a reason why I never went to any parties during the GDC (see point # 2.)
7. San Jose is not close enough from a party in San Francisco for someone to come pick me up to go to :(
8. For a cutting edge technology city like San Jose, cell phones dont work very well.
9. The guy who design the Gran Turismo (Kazunori Yamauchi) games can't give a good lecture.
10. The guy who design Super Monkey Ball (Toshihiro Nagoshi) can give a great lecture.
11. The guy who design Seaman (Yoot Saito) reminds me a lot of my friend Eliot.
12. Brian Moriarty was the highlight of the show. His lecture alone taugh me more about Shakesphere, J.S. Bach, the King James Bible and Radio Shack then I ever needed to know (of course, his talks are rarely about games).
13. Dont wait until after a lecture to get an autograph from the creator of Tetris (Alexey Pajitnov), who happens to be sitting next to you. He will leave in the middle of a lecture!
14. There are even geekier ppl out there in the world (especially at GDC), even more geekier than I am ;p
1000 Hits!
Woohoo! Who would have thunk that there were that many ppl who read this crap ;)
Thursday, March 21, 2002
Happy Birthday to my Housemate Bert
So many birthdays in March.
March Babies Rulez!
New Giant Robot
I recently acquired the new issue of Giant Robot magazine, one of my most favorite magazines in the world. There are some awesome articles in there, including an great interview with Gedde "Donger" Watanabe, a look behind the controversy of the Gutton Bowl (see early post), 88 things everyone should know (no. 47 Joanie Loves Cachi was a number one hit in Korea--NOW THAT'S FUNNY! (if you dont get this joke, go ask an Korean)) and small burp on those Miracle Insectide Chalk that my mom used all the time! Is that cool or what?
This magazine rulez!
San Jose Weekend
Its about 12 midnite now, and in a couple of hours, I have to wake up around 3:30am in the morning so I can get ready to fly to San Jose for the weekend. And I haven't even packed yet!!!!! I am going to SJ for a conference for game development (oddly enough, called the Game Development Conference) for 2 fun days of listening to other people talk about why they think they know how to make games. Weeeeeee! Now, if I can going get to bed and get those vital 3 hrs of sleep. At least I am not driving to the airport.
Not driving to the airport rulez!
So many birthdays in March.
March Babies Rulez!
New Giant Robot
I recently acquired the new issue of Giant Robot magazine, one of my most favorite magazines in the world. There are some awesome articles in there, including an great interview with Gedde "Donger" Watanabe, a look behind the controversy of the Gutton Bowl (see early post), 88 things everyone should know (no. 47 Joanie Loves Cachi was a number one hit in Korea--NOW THAT'S FUNNY! (if you dont get this joke, go ask an Korean)) and small burp on those Miracle Insectide Chalk that my mom used all the time! Is that cool or what?
This magazine rulez!
San Jose Weekend
Its about 12 midnite now, and in a couple of hours, I have to wake up around 3:30am in the morning so I can get ready to fly to San Jose for the weekend. And I haven't even packed yet!!!!! I am going to SJ for a conference for game development (oddly enough, called the Game Development Conference) for 2 fun days of listening to other people talk about why they think they know how to make games. Weeeeeee! Now, if I can going get to bed and get those vital 3 hrs of sleep. At least I am not driving to the airport.
Not driving to the airport rulez!
Wednesday, March 20, 2002
Monday, March 18, 2002
San Diego Asian Film Festival
Okay...its official! I started my first volunteer job here in SD. I am now working as a team leader for the 3rd Annual San Diego Asian Film Festival in October. Basically, my job is to go out and promote the festival and its awareness of independant Asian movies. I also get to smooze with some cool famous Asian hollywood type (like John "every independent asian film" Cho) and screen potential movies for the festival. I met with the organizers today and thought it was interview, but in actually fact, they were there to meet and tell me they wanted me to help out. I even got to meet my first local celebrity, Lee Ann Kim, a local anchor woman in San Diego. She was super friendly and I could tell, a very proud Asian American (who actually started the San Diego Asian Film Festival).
I am so glad that I am doing this. Its going to be a blast.
Minor Site Updates
First off, I like to appologize for my last post. DAMN! I didn't realized how long it was!
Secondly, I added a new photo album to my online photo album. Check out the photos from Weekend O Fun here:
http://public.fotki.com/namofni/weekend_ofun/
Enjoy.
Okay...its official! I started my first volunteer job here in SD. I am now working as a team leader for the 3rd Annual San Diego Asian Film Festival in October. Basically, my job is to go out and promote the festival and its awareness of independant Asian movies. I also get to smooze with some cool famous Asian hollywood type (like John "every independent asian film" Cho) and screen potential movies for the festival. I met with the organizers today and thought it was interview, but in actually fact, they were there to meet and tell me they wanted me to help out. I even got to meet my first local celebrity, Lee Ann Kim, a local anchor woman in San Diego. She was super friendly and I could tell, a very proud Asian American (who actually started the San Diego Asian Film Festival).
I am so glad that I am doing this. Its going to be a blast.
Minor Site Updates
First off, I like to appologize for my last post. DAMN! I didn't realized how long it was!
Secondly, I added a new photo album to my online photo album. Check out the photos from Weekend O Fun here:
http://public.fotki.com/namofni/weekend_ofun/
Enjoy.
Sunday, March 17, 2002
24
My name is Jack Bauer. Terrorists are planning to assasinate a presdential candidate. Kahn is saying good bye for the last time. There's an arcade auction in LA. Resident Evil movie is out. Jon is here from SF. Somewhere in SD, there is illegal street racing. Today, is the longest day of my life...
The Following Takes Place at 8 am to 9 am on the day of Kahn's final stay in San Diego (Friday)
--woke up at 8am for work
--need to make final preparations for Kahn's final outting here.
--we will be going to On Broadway in Gaslamp for dinner and clubbing.
--this will NOT be for my birthday (this got cancelled cuz it felt weird to celebrate my birthday one week later)
*insert 24 count up clock sound (doot Doot DOOT doot)*
9am to 10 am
--got to work
--sent email to confirm tonite clubbing excursion.
--Everyone has til 2 pm to confirm tonite before I make the reservations.
*insert 24 count up clock sound (doot Doot DOOT doot)*
10 am to 11 am
--cell phone msg my friend Jing Jing about tonite. She could not make it.
--msg her again about Sunday's museum trip.
--get a surprise email from my sister. My mom and her want to come see me in 2 weeks.
--I am shocked by this because of the short notice and the fact that when they come will fall on a very important milestone at work.
--even more shocked that if they can't make it then, the next time they can only see me would be as early as November.
--she needs response ASAP
*insert 24 count up clock sound (doot Doot DOOT doot)*
11 am to 12 pm
--taked to my producer and fellow game designer about the possibilities of my family coming during that milestone.
--they think it would be fine that I could take some time off during that time
--still dont know myself if its a good idea, plus I need to talk to my roommate
--my sis and I email back and forth on subject. I now have till the end of next week to tell her.
--Jing Jing msg me back and is forced to cancel Sunday.
--but she also tells me about her little bday party on Wednesday.
--I will attend.
--Forget to call Abz (in LA) about tonite. Leave msg at his work.
*insert 24 count up clock sound (doot Doot DOOT doot)*
12 pm to 1 pm
--went around work to find out who is coming tonite or not.
--a few ppl did cancel, some still remain tenative. The 2pm deadline looms.
--find out from Josh that his gf Cindi may not be able to go cuz her goldfish died. Josh sez I had to email her now to comfort and convince her to come.
--aiyaaaaaaaaaaaa! more conflicts to deal with!
--went to lunch with Producer Steve at Nacho Taco Stand.
*insert 24 count up clock sound (doot Doot DOOT doot)*
1 pm to 2 pm
--tried to make final confirmations with everyone about tonite.
--sent email to Cindi tellin her she had to come tonite cuz it was my birthday (lie) and it would be the last time she'll see Kahn.
--as soon as I emailed her, I get an email that sez she's coming.
--get cancelation from one more couple.
--still no word from Abz.
*insert 24 count up clock sound (doot Doot DOOT doot)*
2 pm to 3 pm
--call up On Broadway to make reservations.
--can't make a 8:30 pm reservations cuz it full already. Only can make 7:30 pm reservation.
--that's too early for us (takes us awhile to get down to SD), so suggested she try 8 pm for us, but she'll have to call me back.
--I said OK, so I wait for her to call me back.
--please note that tonite, a special guest DJ was going to be playing there. The cover would have been $20 but since we were going for reservations at the restaurant in the club, then no cover was needed. That's why reservations was suddenly so difficult.
--I finally get a call from Abz. It wasn't good news.
*insert 24 count up clock sound (doot Doot DOOT doot)*
3 pm to 4 pm
--Abz told me about the server problems at his work and the fact he had to stay and fix it.
--he would have left NOW to meet me to go tonite, but now he didn't know when he would be ready to leave. He would have probably had to meet me at the club in SD. I am iffy about that since he's never been to downtown SD.
--he sez he would call me when he's leaving.
--finally get call from On Broadway. Our reservations have been confirmed for 8pm.
--tell everyone of the new time.
--call Kahn and tell him about tonite. He is excited.
--FINALLY, I can actually go do some work ;)
*insert 24 count up clock sound (doot Doot DOOT doot)*
4 pm to 5 pm
--I get a call at 4:30 pm from Abz. He's done! And is taking off to meet me at my place (instead of club) at 6:30pm.
--I set up with Perry to meet at Kahn's place at 7pm where he volunteer to drive us all tonite.
--I tried to get some more work done.
*insert 24 count up clock sound (doot Doot DOOT doot)*
5 pm to 6 pm
--its 5:30 pm. I get call from Abz. He calls me from home.
--it took him 1 hour to just get to his home in LA. He sez traffic was horrible.
--he sez there's no way he can even get to San Diego in time.
--Abz cancels his arrival.
--I get a lot of work done considering everything else.
--I go home to change.
*insert 24 count up clock sound (doot Doot DOOT doot)*
6 pm to 7 pm
--changed for tonite.
--took longer than expected.
--will be late to meet up with Perry and Kahn.
*insert 24 count up clock sound (doot Doot DOOT doot)*
7 pm to 8 pm
--got to Kahn's place late
--so did Perry.
--but before we can go, Perry needed to pick up his credit card from a restaurant, in which he left there last nite.
--he didn't get his card back.
--we drive to SD.
--we were even more late.
*insert 24 count up clock sound (doot Doot DOOT doot)*
8 pm to 9 pm
--we get at the restaurant a little late.
--some ppl were already there.
--the place is kinda dead except for the restaurant part.
--last year, I had my birthday party there and I dont remember it that dead before at this time.
--we eat and be merry.
*insert 24 count up clock sound (doot Doot DOOT doot)*
9 pm to 10 pm
--we finish up dinner and start to talk and chat
--got to finally meet Marc's mysterious gf, who is one of the nice and coolest person I have ever met.
--not only is she a musician, she's also a bit goth, loves video games and cartoons!
--they kick us out of our table so that the next group can eat there.
--the place is still dead.
*insert 24 count up clock sound (doot Doot DOOT doot)*
10 pm to 11 pm
--we start hanging out in the many dance floors of the club.
--the club has 3 dance floor (dance, retro and hip hop), and a cool vault room that houses the pool tables (this place use to be a bank)
--the retro room is dead but the hip hop room starts happening.
--we hang there.
*insert 24 count up clock sound (doot Doot DOOT doot)*
11 pm to 12 am
--the club is now very busy.
--every dance floor is jammed with ppl, especially in the main Dance floor, where the guest DJ was playing.
--we danced a lot everywhere but it was getting difficult to stick together, because of the crowd.
--some of us start to leave. The sad good byes for Kahn begin.
*insert 24 count up clock sound (doot Doot DOOT doot)*
12 am to 1 am
--we spent a lot of time in the Retro room.
--the music was JUST awesome. We sang to every song.
--both Kahn and Perry got free disposal cameras from someone, and started taking pics with random hot girls.
--most were very willing. Some just watched away with disgusted faces.
--we got pics of that too.
--can't wait to develop the film.
--Perry was not having too much fun at the beginning but now he's having way too much fun.
--he drank way too much. So much so, that I decided to drive everyone home in Perry's car.
*insert 24 count up clock sound (doot Doot DOOT doot)*
1 am to 2 am
--we were ready to leave.
--but Perry didn't want to leave.
--we ended up there til last call (1:30am) in which the club closes as well.
--I drive Perry's car for the first time back to Kahn's place.
--lots of reflecting while in the car.
--we say our final good byes to Kahn.
--it was very emotional for us all.
--Good Bye Kahn! see ya in Philly.
*insert 24 count up clock sound (doot Doot DOOT doot)*
2 am to 3 am
--finally got home
--check email
--reflect
*insert 24 count up clock sound (doot Doot DOOT doot)*
3 am to 4 am
--can't fall asleep for a while
--oh shit. I have to go to some arcade auction at 7 am!
--need to sleep for the next couple of hours
*insert 24 count up clock sound (doot Doot DOOT doot)*
4 am to 7 am
--sleep (hey, even Jack Bauer got to sleep for a moment on 24)
*insert 24 count up clock sound (doot Doot DOOT doot)*
7 am to 8 am
--get waken up by Troy. Time to go to the arcade auction.
--I get up, and shower and meet him at my place.
--I am very tired
*insert 24 count up clock sound (doot Doot DOOT doot)*
8 am to 10 am (yah yah! I know this is not over 24 hours, but it does continue!)
--drive up to Pomona for arcade auction.
--during the drive, it was a combination of intense chats with Troy, with bouts of passing out for me.
*insert 24 count up clock sound (doot Doot DOOT doot)*
10 am to 12 am
--there were a lot of cool games at this arcade auctions.
--highlights included an original Donkey Kong arcade cabinent which sold for 500 bucks and a Twilight Zone pinball for 1700 bucks.
--Troy was looking for a sitdown cocktail table arcade machine.
--they didn't have it.
--Troy wanted this box of old arcade boards.
--he was outbid by someone for it.
--we walked away with nothing.
*insert 24 count up clock sound (doot Doot DOOT doot)*
12 am to 3 pm
--drive back to SD
--really bad traffic
--slow
--we somehow ended up on the wrong freeway, but we really didn't know how.
--continue to doze off during the drive.
*insert 24 count up clock sound (doot Doot DOOT doot)*
3 pm to 4 pm
--nap
--actually, couldn't really nap, cuz my roommate were playing Monkey Ball and GTA3 very loudly in the next room.
*insert 24 count up clock sound (doot Doot DOOT doot)*
4 pm to 6 pm
--drive down to La Jolla to meet some other friends to go watch Resident Evil the movie.
--met at Starbucks
--explained the past 24 hours to the group there.
--told them its still not over.
*insert 24 count up clock sound (doot Doot DOOT doot)*
6 pm to 8 pm
--watched Resident Evil the movie
--Movie Review: Resident Evil: 3.5 Denstars (out of 5)
About a group of ppl sent to a secret base and their battle to get out of it against a horde of zombies. This a very good reproduction of the video game on the big screen. I was very impressed. The story is more like a prequel to the whole RE universe and ties into part 1 and 2 very well. Lots of little things from the game that was put into the movie. Very gory at the beginning, but it dies down to just typical guns and zombie killings. Am I the only one who finds Michelle Rodriguez hot? This is director Paul Anderson's second successful games to movie, the first one being Mortal Kombat. Recommended to those who played the games.
*insert 24 count up clock sound (doot Doot DOOT doot)*
8pm to 12 am
--went to meet my friend Jon from SF who was in town.
--he was staying at his friend's INCREDIBLE new mansion in Encinitias, which was in the middle of nowhere (and no cell phones work there either).
--the house was huge, spacous, and had a lot of cool stuff everywhere, including pool and hottub.
--probably the nicest house I have ever been to.
--Rich people ROCK!
--I finally got to meet Vivi, Jon's ex girlfriend. I've heard SOOOOOOOOOOOO much about her.
--had a wonderful dinner of grill fish, pasta, tofu with all the fixins. The food was awesome.
--spent the rest of the nite listening to wonderful stories, from Trevor's Pot Brownie story, to what happened to Denny's shoes to Jon's infamous Jar Tree Story.
--also listened a .mp3 of one of there friend getting arrested during an illegal street racing event.
--this gave us ideas.
*insert 24 count up clock sound (doot Doot DOOT doot)*
12 am to 2 am
--drove down in Justin's Audi to find illegal street racing in SD.
--met up at the "meeting place" where all racers met to decided where to race in SD.
--meet up with "Robert", an older gentleman who races. He was very friendly and told us everything we needed to know about the scene.
--his wife was there too. Very nice person. I kept thinking of her as the Grandmama of illegal street racing.
--its a very mixed crowded of ppl, young and old, domestic and import cars. And there were different cliques too. Grandmama refered to some groups as the Fast and Furious crew (with souped up cars with decals and neon lights).
--she gave us a walkie talkie and to follow us to our first race.
--we were at a deserted road near the 5. Lots of cars and ppl were there to watch and compete.
--Justin decided to race his Audi. He did 2 races. He won against an Eclipse but lost to a 'Vette.
--there was some dispute about some guy taking pictures of the races.
--and then all of a sudden, cops showed up.
--as soon as someone yelled "COPS", everyone started to run back to their cars and take off. It was pure chao!
--we parked up a hill so we had to run up it.
--we drove back to the "meeting place" only to have the cops waiting for us.
--we decided to go home.
*insert 24 count up clock sound (doot Doot DOOT doot)*
2 am to 3 am
--finally got to go home
--time to sleep
--sleep
*insert 24 count up clock sound (doot Doot DOOT doot)*
My name is Jack Bauer. Terrorists are planning to assasinate a presdential candidate. Kahn is saying good bye for the last time. There's an arcade auction in LA. Resident Evil movie is out. Jon is here from SF. Somewhere in SD, there is illegal street racing. Today, is the longest day of my life...
The Following Takes Place at 8 am to 9 am on the day of Kahn's final stay in San Diego (Friday)
--woke up at 8am for work
--need to make final preparations for Kahn's final outting here.
--we will be going to On Broadway in Gaslamp for dinner and clubbing.
--this will NOT be for my birthday (this got cancelled cuz it felt weird to celebrate my birthday one week later)
*insert 24 count up clock sound (doot Doot DOOT doot)*
9am to 10 am
--got to work
--sent email to confirm tonite clubbing excursion.
--Everyone has til 2 pm to confirm tonite before I make the reservations.
*insert 24 count up clock sound (doot Doot DOOT doot)*
10 am to 11 am
--cell phone msg my friend Jing Jing about tonite. She could not make it.
--msg her again about Sunday's museum trip.
--get a surprise email from my sister. My mom and her want to come see me in 2 weeks.
--I am shocked by this because of the short notice and the fact that when they come will fall on a very important milestone at work.
--even more shocked that if they can't make it then, the next time they can only see me would be as early as November.
--she needs response ASAP
*insert 24 count up clock sound (doot Doot DOOT doot)*
11 am to 12 pm
--taked to my producer and fellow game designer about the possibilities of my family coming during that milestone.
--they think it would be fine that I could take some time off during that time
--still dont know myself if its a good idea, plus I need to talk to my roommate
--my sis and I email back and forth on subject. I now have till the end of next week to tell her.
--Jing Jing msg me back and is forced to cancel Sunday.
--but she also tells me about her little bday party on Wednesday.
--I will attend.
--Forget to call Abz (in LA) about tonite. Leave msg at his work.
*insert 24 count up clock sound (doot Doot DOOT doot)*
12 pm to 1 pm
--went around work to find out who is coming tonite or not.
--a few ppl did cancel, some still remain tenative. The 2pm deadline looms.
--find out from Josh that his gf Cindi may not be able to go cuz her goldfish died. Josh sez I had to email her now to comfort and convince her to come.
--aiyaaaaaaaaaaaa! more conflicts to deal with!
--went to lunch with Producer Steve at Nacho Taco Stand.
*insert 24 count up clock sound (doot Doot DOOT doot)*
1 pm to 2 pm
--tried to make final confirmations with everyone about tonite.
--sent email to Cindi tellin her she had to come tonite cuz it was my birthday (lie) and it would be the last time she'll see Kahn.
--as soon as I emailed her, I get an email that sez she's coming.
--get cancelation from one more couple.
--still no word from Abz.
*insert 24 count up clock sound (doot Doot DOOT doot)*
2 pm to 3 pm
--call up On Broadway to make reservations.
--can't make a 8:30 pm reservations cuz it full already. Only can make 7:30 pm reservation.
--that's too early for us (takes us awhile to get down to SD), so suggested she try 8 pm for us, but she'll have to call me back.
--I said OK, so I wait for her to call me back.
--please note that tonite, a special guest DJ was going to be playing there. The cover would have been $20 but since we were going for reservations at the restaurant in the club, then no cover was needed. That's why reservations was suddenly so difficult.
--I finally get a call from Abz. It wasn't good news.
*insert 24 count up clock sound (doot Doot DOOT doot)*
3 pm to 4 pm
--Abz told me about the server problems at his work and the fact he had to stay and fix it.
--he would have left NOW to meet me to go tonite, but now he didn't know when he would be ready to leave. He would have probably had to meet me at the club in SD. I am iffy about that since he's never been to downtown SD.
--he sez he would call me when he's leaving.
--finally get call from On Broadway. Our reservations have been confirmed for 8pm.
--tell everyone of the new time.
--call Kahn and tell him about tonite. He is excited.
--FINALLY, I can actually go do some work ;)
*insert 24 count up clock sound (doot Doot DOOT doot)*
4 pm to 5 pm
--I get a call at 4:30 pm from Abz. He's done! And is taking off to meet me at my place (instead of club) at 6:30pm.
--I set up with Perry to meet at Kahn's place at 7pm where he volunteer to drive us all tonite.
--I tried to get some more work done.
*insert 24 count up clock sound (doot Doot DOOT doot)*
5 pm to 6 pm
--its 5:30 pm. I get call from Abz. He calls me from home.
--it took him 1 hour to just get to his home in LA. He sez traffic was horrible.
--he sez there's no way he can even get to San Diego in time.
--Abz cancels his arrival.
--I get a lot of work done considering everything else.
--I go home to change.
*insert 24 count up clock sound (doot Doot DOOT doot)*
6 pm to 7 pm
--changed for tonite.
--took longer than expected.
--will be late to meet up with Perry and Kahn.
*insert 24 count up clock sound (doot Doot DOOT doot)*
7 pm to 8 pm
--got to Kahn's place late
--so did Perry.
--but before we can go, Perry needed to pick up his credit card from a restaurant, in which he left there last nite.
--he didn't get his card back.
--we drive to SD.
--we were even more late.
*insert 24 count up clock sound (doot Doot DOOT doot)*
8 pm to 9 pm
--we get at the restaurant a little late.
--some ppl were already there.
--the place is kinda dead except for the restaurant part.
--last year, I had my birthday party there and I dont remember it that dead before at this time.
--we eat and be merry.
*insert 24 count up clock sound (doot Doot DOOT doot)*
9 pm to 10 pm
--we finish up dinner and start to talk and chat
--got to finally meet Marc's mysterious gf, who is one of the nice and coolest person I have ever met.
--not only is she a musician, she's also a bit goth, loves video games and cartoons!
--they kick us out of our table so that the next group can eat there.
--the place is still dead.
*insert 24 count up clock sound (doot Doot DOOT doot)*
10 pm to 11 pm
--we start hanging out in the many dance floors of the club.
--the club has 3 dance floor (dance, retro and hip hop), and a cool vault room that houses the pool tables (this place use to be a bank)
--the retro room is dead but the hip hop room starts happening.
--we hang there.
*insert 24 count up clock sound (doot Doot DOOT doot)*
11 pm to 12 am
--the club is now very busy.
--every dance floor is jammed with ppl, especially in the main Dance floor, where the guest DJ was playing.
--we danced a lot everywhere but it was getting difficult to stick together, because of the crowd.
--some of us start to leave. The sad good byes for Kahn begin.
*insert 24 count up clock sound (doot Doot DOOT doot)*
12 am to 1 am
--we spent a lot of time in the Retro room.
--the music was JUST awesome. We sang to every song.
--both Kahn and Perry got free disposal cameras from someone, and started taking pics with random hot girls.
--most were very willing. Some just watched away with disgusted faces.
--we got pics of that too.
--can't wait to develop the film.
--Perry was not having too much fun at the beginning but now he's having way too much fun.
--he drank way too much. So much so, that I decided to drive everyone home in Perry's car.
*insert 24 count up clock sound (doot Doot DOOT doot)*
1 am to 2 am
--we were ready to leave.
--but Perry didn't want to leave.
--we ended up there til last call (1:30am) in which the club closes as well.
--I drive Perry's car for the first time back to Kahn's place.
--lots of reflecting while in the car.
--we say our final good byes to Kahn.
--it was very emotional for us all.
--Good Bye Kahn! see ya in Philly.
*insert 24 count up clock sound (doot Doot DOOT doot)*
2 am to 3 am
--finally got home
--check email
--reflect
*insert 24 count up clock sound (doot Doot DOOT doot)*
3 am to 4 am
--can't fall asleep for a while
--oh shit. I have to go to some arcade auction at 7 am!
--need to sleep for the next couple of hours
*insert 24 count up clock sound (doot Doot DOOT doot)*
4 am to 7 am
--sleep (hey, even Jack Bauer got to sleep for a moment on 24)
*insert 24 count up clock sound (doot Doot DOOT doot)*
7 am to 8 am
--get waken up by Troy. Time to go to the arcade auction.
--I get up, and shower and meet him at my place.
--I am very tired
*insert 24 count up clock sound (doot Doot DOOT doot)*
8 am to 10 am (yah yah! I know this is not over 24 hours, but it does continue!)
--drive up to Pomona for arcade auction.
--during the drive, it was a combination of intense chats with Troy, with bouts of passing out for me.
*insert 24 count up clock sound (doot Doot DOOT doot)*
10 am to 12 am
--there were a lot of cool games at this arcade auctions.
--highlights included an original Donkey Kong arcade cabinent which sold for 500 bucks and a Twilight Zone pinball for 1700 bucks.
--Troy was looking for a sitdown cocktail table arcade machine.
--they didn't have it.
--Troy wanted this box of old arcade boards.
--he was outbid by someone for it.
--we walked away with nothing.
*insert 24 count up clock sound (doot Doot DOOT doot)*
12 am to 3 pm
--drive back to SD
--really bad traffic
--slow
--we somehow ended up on the wrong freeway, but we really didn't know how.
--continue to doze off during the drive.
*insert 24 count up clock sound (doot Doot DOOT doot)*
3 pm to 4 pm
--nap
--actually, couldn't really nap, cuz my roommate were playing Monkey Ball and GTA3 very loudly in the next room.
*insert 24 count up clock sound (doot Doot DOOT doot)*
4 pm to 6 pm
--drive down to La Jolla to meet some other friends to go watch Resident Evil the movie.
--met at Starbucks
--explained the past 24 hours to the group there.
--told them its still not over.
*insert 24 count up clock sound (doot Doot DOOT doot)*
6 pm to 8 pm
--watched Resident Evil the movie
--Movie Review: Resident Evil: 3.5 Denstars (out of 5)
About a group of ppl sent to a secret base and their battle to get out of it against a horde of zombies. This a very good reproduction of the video game on the big screen. I was very impressed. The story is more like a prequel to the whole RE universe and ties into part 1 and 2 very well. Lots of little things from the game that was put into the movie. Very gory at the beginning, but it dies down to just typical guns and zombie killings. Am I the only one who finds Michelle Rodriguez hot? This is director Paul Anderson's second successful games to movie, the first one being Mortal Kombat. Recommended to those who played the games.
*insert 24 count up clock sound (doot Doot DOOT doot)*
8pm to 12 am
--went to meet my friend Jon from SF who was in town.
--he was staying at his friend's INCREDIBLE new mansion in Encinitias, which was in the middle of nowhere (and no cell phones work there either).
--the house was huge, spacous, and had a lot of cool stuff everywhere, including pool and hottub.
--probably the nicest house I have ever been to.
--Rich people ROCK!
--I finally got to meet Vivi, Jon's ex girlfriend. I've heard SOOOOOOOOOOOO much about her.
--had a wonderful dinner of grill fish, pasta, tofu with all the fixins. The food was awesome.
--spent the rest of the nite listening to wonderful stories, from Trevor's Pot Brownie story, to what happened to Denny's shoes to Jon's infamous Jar Tree Story.
--also listened a .mp3 of one of there friend getting arrested during an illegal street racing event.
--this gave us ideas.
*insert 24 count up clock sound (doot Doot DOOT doot)*
12 am to 2 am
--drove down in Justin's Audi to find illegal street racing in SD.
--met up at the "meeting place" where all racers met to decided where to race in SD.
--meet up with "Robert", an older gentleman who races. He was very friendly and told us everything we needed to know about the scene.
--his wife was there too. Very nice person. I kept thinking of her as the Grandmama of illegal street racing.
--its a very mixed crowded of ppl, young and old, domestic and import cars. And there were different cliques too. Grandmama refered to some groups as the Fast and Furious crew (with souped up cars with decals and neon lights).
--she gave us a walkie talkie and to follow us to our first race.
--we were at a deserted road near the 5. Lots of cars and ppl were there to watch and compete.
--Justin decided to race his Audi. He did 2 races. He won against an Eclipse but lost to a 'Vette.
--there was some dispute about some guy taking pictures of the races.
--and then all of a sudden, cops showed up.
--as soon as someone yelled "COPS", everyone started to run back to their cars and take off. It was pure chao!
--we parked up a hill so we had to run up it.
--we drove back to the "meeting place" only to have the cops waiting for us.
--we decided to go home.
*insert 24 count up clock sound (doot Doot DOOT doot)*
2 am to 3 am
--finally got to go home
--time to sleep
--sleep
*insert 24 count up clock sound (doot Doot DOOT doot)*
Thursday, March 14, 2002
Tuesday, March 12, 2002
Weekend O' Fun
Sorry for the lateness of this post. Just was soooo tired after my SF trip. But it was fun. Probably one of my best birthday weekends I have had. Special thx to all those who remembered by birthday :) Anyways, without further ado, here's what I did that weekend (in classic Densetsu point form):
Friday--Kahn's Going Away Party
--spent a good part of the day working (it was Friday, y'know), though I did spend a good part of the early moring and lunch to get a present for Kahn, which consisted of the complete volume of those "Worst Case Scenario" books (my favorite is the Dating and Sex one).
--my team at work surprised me with a wonderful chocolate cake for my birthday. You guys are the best!! The whole team couldn't possibly eat the whole cake themselves so I invited others in the company to join in my festivities.
--after work, we ended up at some fine Italian restaurant in Encinitias. Great food, afforable and good portions. I think this was the best Italian food I had since I been here in Cali.
--went then head up to Kahn's place for merryment, drinking and joy. A good number of ppl showed up, but small enough to remain intimate and unformal.
--it was a very cool layed back party. I took pictures while ppl took turns reading the pick up lines found in the "Worst Case Scenario Guide to Dating and Sex." Some of them weren't too half bad.
--Highlight of night: watching Kahn try to pick up on Jennifer S.
--Lowlight of night: watching Kahn try to pick up on Jennifer S.
Saturday--Hockey Night in SF + Retro Formal
--needed to prepare for somekind of retro formal party I was going to in SF, where I needed to dress nicely based on a certain era of time (I was only told this on Thursday). I ended up packing my suit jacket and pants, 3 different color shirts, suspenders, good shoes, trench coat, black bow tie and tie.
--got to SF around 3pm, picked up by Jon and Rie and went shopping for groceries/food for the hockey party tonite.
--if you recall, I wanted to make poutine with curd chees for this party. No dice on the curd cheese, so ended up just buying Mozarella cheese, frozen french fries and lots of gravy.
--Some of the potluck food highlights: Top Dog Lemon Chicken Sausages (grilled), these great BBQ pork sausages (from this famous place in SF), fresh homestyle Coconut Banana Ice Cream and Jon's famous homemade Cobbler (which was so good, Jon had to make a second one during the party).
--Ppl brave enough to try my poutine, did enjoy it very much. The deep frying of the fries (with the infamous Fry Daddy) made the differences. One problem with the use of Mozarella cheese was if it was cubed too big, then it wouldn't melt fast enough. Next time I will shred the Mozarella cheese.
--As an added surprise, I bought along two cases of Kinder Surprises (Kinder Eggs), shipped from Canada, for everyone at the party. Needless to say, they were a hit with the Americans. (Special thx to Danny and Wendy for shipping them to me on such short notice.)
--there was a mini hockey pool going for the game (Vancouver vs. San Jose), featuring "wonderful" prizes. Not only could you win from predicting the score, but prizes were givin out based on who got into a fight, or who scored or who got injuried. This kept us actually watching the game.
--I won a Microsoft Voice Command for my computer. Sam won the best prize: a box of VCD Japanese porn, with some VCDs in the box still unopenned and some that were missing.
--San Jose beat Vancouver, 2-0.
--now we needed to kick everyone out of the house by 10 pm so we can go to that Retro Formal party. Everyone (including us) ended leaving the house at midnight.
--Everyone in the group was dressed really "fly". I looked like a cross between someone going to a funeral and that Sprint PCS guy.
--The Retro Formal was held at some art gallery in downtown SF. There wasn't a very big crowd (it was kinda dry) but everyone did dress up, but not neccessarily based on an era.
--Though we got there after midnite, ppl did start leaving to go to Bas, another party set up by another organizer. Even the organizer of the Retro Formal ended up going to Bas.
--Yeah, this party sucked. I am so glad we didn't paid to go to it. But I am sure, the organizers lost a lot of money that nite.
--We all ended up leaving just before last call.
Sunday--Movie Day
--today was a very lazy Sunday for us all. We cleaned the house, went Hong Kong DVD/VCD shopping and then watch a few of them.
--Movie Review: Shopping for Fangs: 3 Denstars (out of 5)
About the lives of 3 Asian Americans and their battle against their boring normal lives. A small Asian American Indie film from Justin Lin, with a great performance from the Trinh character. Those who live in the Alhambra/San Gabriel area of LA will recognize the locale of this film. Also starred Mr. John "MILF guy" Cho, who seems to be in every Asian American Independent film. I've been looking for this DVD for awhile and I finally found it. I always wanted to see it especially since I found out about Justin's second movie, Better Luck Tomorrow (also starring John Cho), was the buzz film at this year Sundance. Can't wait to see that one now.
--Movie Review: Battle Royale: 4 Denstars (out of 5)
About the 42 Japanese school kids and their battle for survival. Its the Japanese version of Survivor and Lord of the Flies, but much more brutal and shocking. Despite the fact the movie was about 42 kids, there was still enough character development which made some of the characters very compelling to watch. Great performance from Beat Takeshi and from the video girl. Kids are violently killing kids in this movie. I really liked the lighthouse scene the best. This movie will never be released here in the US. Find it and watch if whenever you can.
--we were actually planning to check out a flick or two during the San Francisco Asian American Film Festival that was running, but none of the movies shown that day seem interesting enough to go and line up and see.
--ended day by taking Denny, and Jon and Megs and Rie to a Korean BBQ dinner (where THEY did all the cooking for you). Good food with good friends.
Monday--Back in SD
--flew back Monday afternoon.
--didn't have to go back to work so I didn't. Spent day doing errands.
--Ran into this nice girl. Should have asked for phone number (soooooo stupid).
--Ended up getting a new cell phone and cellular plan with ATT Wireless. Got sick and tired of Cingular and its bad reception and high cost of long distance to Canada.
--now I can call ppl inside my house and work and call Canada for 15 cents a minute.
--the only difficult now is moving my address book to my new phone and contacting everyone about my new number (damn, I have a lot of friends).
--I got the Nokia 3360 phone, btw.
Sorry for the lateness of this post. Just was soooo tired after my SF trip. But it was fun. Probably one of my best birthday weekends I have had. Special thx to all those who remembered by birthday :) Anyways, without further ado, here's what I did that weekend (in classic Densetsu point form):
Friday--Kahn's Going Away Party
--spent a good part of the day working (it was Friday, y'know), though I did spend a good part of the early moring and lunch to get a present for Kahn, which consisted of the complete volume of those "Worst Case Scenario" books (my favorite is the Dating and Sex one).
--my team at work surprised me with a wonderful chocolate cake for my birthday. You guys are the best!! The whole team couldn't possibly eat the whole cake themselves so I invited others in the company to join in my festivities.
--after work, we ended up at some fine Italian restaurant in Encinitias. Great food, afforable and good portions. I think this was the best Italian food I had since I been here in Cali.
--went then head up to Kahn's place for merryment, drinking and joy. A good number of ppl showed up, but small enough to remain intimate and unformal.
--it was a very cool layed back party. I took pictures while ppl took turns reading the pick up lines found in the "Worst Case Scenario Guide to Dating and Sex." Some of them weren't too half bad.
--Highlight of night: watching Kahn try to pick up on Jennifer S.
--Lowlight of night: watching Kahn try to pick up on Jennifer S.
Saturday--Hockey Night in SF + Retro Formal
--needed to prepare for somekind of retro formal party I was going to in SF, where I needed to dress nicely based on a certain era of time (I was only told this on Thursday). I ended up packing my suit jacket and pants, 3 different color shirts, suspenders, good shoes, trench coat, black bow tie and tie.
--got to SF around 3pm, picked up by Jon and Rie and went shopping for groceries/food for the hockey party tonite.
--if you recall, I wanted to make poutine with curd chees for this party. No dice on the curd cheese, so ended up just buying Mozarella cheese, frozen french fries and lots of gravy.
--Some of the potluck food highlights: Top Dog Lemon Chicken Sausages (grilled), these great BBQ pork sausages (from this famous place in SF), fresh homestyle Coconut Banana Ice Cream and Jon's famous homemade Cobbler (which was so good, Jon had to make a second one during the party).
--Ppl brave enough to try my poutine, did enjoy it very much. The deep frying of the fries (with the infamous Fry Daddy) made the differences. One problem with the use of Mozarella cheese was if it was cubed too big, then it wouldn't melt fast enough. Next time I will shred the Mozarella cheese.
--As an added surprise, I bought along two cases of Kinder Surprises (Kinder Eggs), shipped from Canada, for everyone at the party. Needless to say, they were a hit with the Americans. (Special thx to Danny and Wendy for shipping them to me on such short notice.)
--there was a mini hockey pool going for the game (Vancouver vs. San Jose), featuring "wonderful" prizes. Not only could you win from predicting the score, but prizes were givin out based on who got into a fight, or who scored or who got injuried. This kept us actually watching the game.
--I won a Microsoft Voice Command for my computer. Sam won the best prize: a box of VCD Japanese porn, with some VCDs in the box still unopenned and some that were missing.
--San Jose beat Vancouver, 2-0.
--now we needed to kick everyone out of the house by 10 pm so we can go to that Retro Formal party. Everyone (including us) ended leaving the house at midnight.
--Everyone in the group was dressed really "fly". I looked like a cross between someone going to a funeral and that Sprint PCS guy.
--The Retro Formal was held at some art gallery in downtown SF. There wasn't a very big crowd (it was kinda dry) but everyone did dress up, but not neccessarily based on an era.
--Though we got there after midnite, ppl did start leaving to go to Bas, another party set up by another organizer. Even the organizer of the Retro Formal ended up going to Bas.
--Yeah, this party sucked. I am so glad we didn't paid to go to it. But I am sure, the organizers lost a lot of money that nite.
--We all ended up leaving just before last call.
Sunday--Movie Day
--today was a very lazy Sunday for us all. We cleaned the house, went Hong Kong DVD/VCD shopping and then watch a few of them.
--Movie Review: Shopping for Fangs: 3 Denstars (out of 5)
About the lives of 3 Asian Americans and their battle against their boring normal lives. A small Asian American Indie film from Justin Lin, with a great performance from the Trinh character. Those who live in the Alhambra/San Gabriel area of LA will recognize the locale of this film. Also starred Mr. John "MILF guy" Cho, who seems to be in every Asian American Independent film. I've been looking for this DVD for awhile and I finally found it. I always wanted to see it especially since I found out about Justin's second movie, Better Luck Tomorrow (also starring John Cho), was the buzz film at this year Sundance. Can't wait to see that one now.
--Movie Review: Battle Royale: 4 Denstars (out of 5)
About the 42 Japanese school kids and their battle for survival. Its the Japanese version of Survivor and Lord of the Flies, but much more brutal and shocking. Despite the fact the movie was about 42 kids, there was still enough character development which made some of the characters very compelling to watch. Great performance from Beat Takeshi and from the video girl. Kids are violently killing kids in this movie. I really liked the lighthouse scene the best. This movie will never be released here in the US. Find it and watch if whenever you can.
--we were actually planning to check out a flick or two during the San Francisco Asian American Film Festival that was running, but none of the movies shown that day seem interesting enough to go and line up and see.
--ended day by taking Denny, and Jon and Megs and Rie to a Korean BBQ dinner (where THEY did all the cooking for you). Good food with good friends.
Monday--Back in SD
--flew back Monday afternoon.
--didn't have to go back to work so I didn't. Spent day doing errands.
--Ran into this nice girl. Should have asked for phone number (soooooo stupid).
--Ended up getting a new cell phone and cellular plan with ATT Wireless. Got sick and tired of Cingular and its bad reception and high cost of long distance to Canada.
--now I can call ppl inside my house and work and call Canada for 15 cents a minute.
--the only difficult now is moving my address book to my new phone and contacting everyone about my new number (damn, I have a lot of friends).
--I got the Nokia 3360 phone, btw.
Friday, March 08, 2002
Amelie
I can't believe it took me this long to see this movie...I should be shot or something...
--Movie Review: Amelie: 5 Denstars (out of 5)
About innocent and naive girl Amelie, in Paris and her battle to try to make everyone around her happy. This was such a wonderful movie which was just incredibly imaginative and joyful. The girl who played young Amelie was just so "button-nose" cute, and Amelie herself wasn't too bad either. Everything was brillantly and beautifully shot. This was just a GREAT MOVIE. A very happy and pleasant movie that made you wish that everyone had a friend like Amelie. Much better than that horrible other French film, The Brotherhood of the Wolf. Everyone needs to see this movie (Amelie, not the other one).
This is by far, the BEST MOVIE OF LAST YEAR, even though I saw it this year. I think I want to see it again...
I can't believe it took me this long to see this movie...I should be shot or something...
--Movie Review: Amelie: 5 Denstars (out of 5)
About innocent and naive girl Amelie, in Paris and her battle to try to make everyone around her happy. This was such a wonderful movie which was just incredibly imaginative and joyful. The girl who played young Amelie was just so "button-nose" cute, and Amelie herself wasn't too bad either. Everything was brillantly and beautifully shot. This was just a GREAT MOVIE. A very happy and pleasant movie that made you wish that everyone had a friend like Amelie. Much better than that horrible other French film, The Brotherhood of the Wolf. Everyone needs to see this movie (Amelie, not the other one).
This is by far, the BEST MOVIE OF LAST YEAR, even though I saw it this year. I think I want to see it again...
Tuesday, March 05, 2002
Personality Test
A while ago, my company made all us team leads of a project take personality test for the "benefit and future of the company." Today, we got to meet with the man who helped administered and analyzed our results.
Though I was very skepitical about taking these tests, I am now very happy that I did. I got some very valuable incites to the way I think and feel. Though some of my analysis was kind of hokey, there were some things that he nailed about me EXACTLY. Here are the highlights:
--I am a I N F P, which stands for Introverted-iNtuitive-Feeling-Perceptive.
--I am nickname as type "Questor" and I make up about 1% of the population.
--I am shy but cool and reserve towards others.
--I care greatly about people around me, especially those I know, and take genuine pleasure in pleasing people, even in small things.
--I have a great amount of friends and acquaintances, in which I am very loyal to (especially during work).
--I am more willing to do something for the benefits of others before myself.
--Because of my high values towards others, I tend to avoid confrontations. If I do have an conflict, I either end up apologizing afterwards or "blowing up."
--I am very abstract in my thinking and like things very unstructured and free.
--I tend to over analyze things (you were right Meedo!)
--I am more of an artist and would do really badly in business.
--Commitment is very important to me, especially working on a project from start to finish.
--I communicate myself better thru actions and may offer a flower or smile rather than word to express my feelings.
Wow! All this from a simple survey. Now, will my company use this information for good or for evil....hmmm...
Still interested in my psychie? Check out my Colorgenics Test.
Or better yet, do your own!
A while ago, my company made all us team leads of a project take personality test for the "benefit and future of the company." Today, we got to meet with the man who helped administered and analyzed our results.
Though I was very skepitical about taking these tests, I am now very happy that I did. I got some very valuable incites to the way I think and feel. Though some of my analysis was kind of hokey, there were some things that he nailed about me EXACTLY. Here are the highlights:
--I am a I N F P, which stands for Introverted-iNtuitive-Feeling-Perceptive.
--I am nickname as type "Questor" and I make up about 1% of the population.
--I am shy but cool and reserve towards others.
--I care greatly about people around me, especially those I know, and take genuine pleasure in pleasing people, even in small things.
--I have a great amount of friends and acquaintances, in which I am very loyal to (especially during work).
--I am more willing to do something for the benefits of others before myself.
--Because of my high values towards others, I tend to avoid confrontations. If I do have an conflict, I either end up apologizing afterwards or "blowing up."
--I am very abstract in my thinking and like things very unstructured and free.
--I tend to over analyze things (you were right Meedo!)
--I am more of an artist and would do really badly in business.
--Commitment is very important to me, especially working on a project from start to finish.
--I communicate myself better thru actions and may offer a flower or smile rather than word to express my feelings.
Wow! All this from a simple survey. Now, will my company use this information for good or for evil....hmmm...
Still interested in my psychie? Check out my Colorgenics Test.
Or better yet, do your own!
Oh my god...
NZ FINALLY updated his journal! Whatcha doin here? Go to his site!
http://www.ventrella.net/enzo/index.html
Long live the Poop Patrol!
NZ FINALLY updated his journal! Whatcha doin here? Go to his site!
http://www.ventrella.net/enzo/index.html
Long live the Poop Patrol!
Monday, March 04, 2002
Kahn Dinner #2
So a bunch of us go hang out with Kahn again and eat dinner with him, as though he was leaving or something. We checked out this "New Shanghai" restaurant on Convoy, here in SD, in which was recommended by us by our friend Jason, who "goes there often with friends."
Anyways, the place wasn't half bad. The food was good, especially their Mongolian Beef, Shredded Tofu and Shanghai style Chow Mein (my favorite). The only thing that I really didn't like was the service (really slow to even get a pot of hot tea) and its limited food selection (it was a Shanghai restaurant), but they did make up for it by giving us a free plate of fried bread.
Hmmm...I wonder where else we will be eating with Kahn in the next couple of weeks?
So a bunch of us go hang out with Kahn again and eat dinner with him, as though he was leaving or something. We checked out this "New Shanghai" restaurant on Convoy, here in SD, in which was recommended by us by our friend Jason, who "goes there often with friends."
Anyways, the place wasn't half bad. The food was good, especially their Mongolian Beef, Shredded Tofu and Shanghai style Chow Mein (my favorite). The only thing that I really didn't like was the service (really slow to even get a pot of hot tea) and its limited food selection (it was a Shanghai restaurant), but they did make up for it by giving us a free plate of fried bread.
Hmmm...I wonder where else we will be eating with Kahn in the next couple of weeks?
The Quest for Poutine and Curd Cheese!
Okay, long background story short:
--this saturday, I am going up to SF for Denny's Potluck Dinner and a Hockey game.
--the game will be Vancouver vs. San Jose, essential Canada vs. USA with Denny and I being the only Canadian in the house.
--for the potluck, I wanted to bring/make something that is completely Canadiana (well, almost Canadiana)
--so, I decided that Poutine would be an great choice to introduce the Americans there with.
--Poutine is a French Canadian meal, basically consisting of French Fries and Curd Cheese, all smothered with hot gravy (Mmmmmm...)
--click here for an awesome visual recipe for Poutine.
So, now you know about the Poutine part. What you dont know is how hard it is the find this Curd Cheese that is needed to make poutine, POUTINE. I have always known that Poutine was made with Curd Cheese, NOT mozarella cheese (and NOT grated either), and now I can confirm this with all my internet research.
Anyways, this weekend, I decided to go look for this cheese. I started at my local Vons and Ralphs and Albertsons but to no luck did I find this cheese. I couldn't really ask anyone who worked there if they had any because the majority of them were just stock ppl and had no idea about anything about cheese. So then I went and checked out those "speciality" cheese stores in the areas (which there isn't much of them around...had to drive all the way down to La Jolla) and here are my results:
Good News: They know what Curd Cheese is :)
Bad News: They dont carry it :(
Good News: They know where I may be able to find some :)
Bad News: They said that they carry them at the Vons and Ralphs and Albertsons, which I already checked :(
Good News: I know more about cheese now :(
So, I will continue looking a little longer and harder this week before I go to SF on Saturday. Most likely, I will probably make the Poutine with Mozarella cheese (its still good) or just serve plain ol Fries with Gravy (still uniquely Canadian!).
Okay, long background story short:
--this saturday, I am going up to SF for Denny's Potluck Dinner and a Hockey game.
--the game will be Vancouver vs. San Jose, essential Canada vs. USA with Denny and I being the only Canadian in the house.
--for the potluck, I wanted to bring/make something that is completely Canadiana (well, almost Canadiana)
--so, I decided that Poutine would be an great choice to introduce the Americans there with.
--Poutine is a French Canadian meal, basically consisting of French Fries and Curd Cheese, all smothered with hot gravy (Mmmmmm...)
--click here for an awesome visual recipe for Poutine.
So, now you know about the Poutine part. What you dont know is how hard it is the find this Curd Cheese that is needed to make poutine, POUTINE. I have always known that Poutine was made with Curd Cheese, NOT mozarella cheese (and NOT grated either), and now I can confirm this with all my internet research.
Anyways, this weekend, I decided to go look for this cheese. I started at my local Vons and Ralphs and Albertsons but to no luck did I find this cheese. I couldn't really ask anyone who worked there if they had any because the majority of them were just stock ppl and had no idea about anything about cheese. So then I went and checked out those "speciality" cheese stores in the areas (which there isn't much of them around...had to drive all the way down to La Jolla) and here are my results:
Good News: They know what Curd Cheese is :)
Bad News: They dont carry it :(
Good News: They know where I may be able to find some :)
Bad News: They said that they carry them at the Vons and Ralphs and Albertsons, which I already checked :(
Good News: I know more about cheese now :(
So, I will continue looking a little longer and harder this week before I go to SF on Saturday. Most likely, I will probably make the Poutine with Mozarella cheese (its still good) or just serve plain ol Fries with Gravy (still uniquely Canadian!).
Sunday, March 03, 2002
iNfoCity's First Review
As my goal to build a better blog, I will add new type of entries into my journal, aside from those wonderful excerpts from my incredibly exciting life *yawn*. So, without further ado, here is my first movie review of the site, presented in Densetsu Chronicle's style!
--Movie Review: A Beautiful Mind: 3.5 Denstars (out of 5)
About brilliant mathematician John Nash and his battle against his very usually mental disease. I actually thought the first half of the movie seem too "Hollywood formulatic" for me but got really into the movie after his "hospital" stay. Every man should have a wife like John Nash's. And when I am sitting at a table, and you want to congraduate me, I want everyone to leave me their cellphones and PDAs ;p
I hope to add more reviews in the future, but not just for movies. I will definately do some games reviews in the future (hey, I do play games for a living!).
As my goal to build a better blog, I will add new type of entries into my journal, aside from those wonderful excerpts from my incredibly exciting life *yawn*. So, without further ado, here is my first movie review of the site, presented in Densetsu Chronicle's style!
--Movie Review: A Beautiful Mind: 3.5 Denstars (out of 5)
About brilliant mathematician John Nash and his battle against his very usually mental disease. I actually thought the first half of the movie seem too "Hollywood formulatic" for me but got really into the movie after his "hospital" stay. Every man should have a wife like John Nash's. And when I am sitting at a table, and you want to congraduate me, I want everyone to leave me their cellphones and PDAs ;p
I hope to add more reviews in the future, but not just for movies. I will definately do some games reviews in the future (hey, I do play games for a living!).
Saturday, March 02, 2002
Join the Fight to save Denny's shoes!
I have decided to take up arms with my fellow Canadians, Buckets, to help another fellow Canadian Densetsu to get back those (Americans) who have taken his shoes (as well as try to get it back). You can find all the information you'll need on how you can help by clicking here:
http://www.craigslist.org/sfo/com/3033247.html
When one Canadian's shoes has been taken, who's to say more wont be taken.
*insert Captain Picard* "The line must be drawn HEEEEEEEEEEEERE!"
I have decided to take up arms with my fellow Canadians, Buckets, to help another fellow Canadian Densetsu to get back those (Americans) who have taken his shoes (as well as try to get it back). You can find all the information you'll need on how you can help by clicking here:
http://www.craigslist.org/sfo/com/3033247.html
When one Canadian's shoes has been taken, who's to say more wont be taken.
*insert Captain Picard* "The line must be drawn HEEEEEEEEEEEERE!"
Buca di Beppo
Last nite, I finally got a chance to eat at this fine Italian restaurant that I heard so much about (plus I have been dying for good Italian food...must be from living near Little Italy all my life) . We had dinner reservations at 10:30pm (yes, that's the only time we could get) in the Downtown SD, Gaslamp restaurant. We were there to celebrate Kahn's last day at the company.
Kahn (or K-dawg) is a good friend and a co worker to me and it would be sad to see him go. But I totally understand where he's coming from and why he needs to go. Its just too bad that's he's doing so and leaving us all behind during the time when I think we are having the most fun together.
Anyways, as a group of 4, we all showed up at the restaurant, and the first thing that everyone will notice when getting seated, is that the hostess takes you around a mini tour that has you walking thru their kitchen. The whole theme of this restaurant is about "family" in which they truly emplasis, from having menus on the walls (in which you have to walk up together to see) to huge plates of food meant for more than one person. I have to admit, I really liked this place. The food was really good and the atmosphere was great. It was good time hanging around with good friends. *insert really bad Italian accent* It was like a "family."
So, this one of the few times we will get to spend with Kahn before his road trip across America (and a bit of Canada) back to Philly. He's planning a little get-together next Friday at his place, which we were planning to make it both a "going away" party and to celebrate my birthday. But I think that that party should just be about him, saying goodbye to friends. He needs it and deserves it. I will have many others birthdays to deal with so, giving up this one is no big deal. Besides, I really only started celebrating my bday like last year. I dont know if I want to do something for my birthday the following week (since I am going to SF that weekend as well), but even if I did, it wont be the same, because he wont be there.
Last nite, I finally got a chance to eat at this fine Italian restaurant that I heard so much about (plus I have been dying for good Italian food...must be from living near Little Italy all my life) . We had dinner reservations at 10:30pm (yes, that's the only time we could get) in the Downtown SD, Gaslamp restaurant. We were there to celebrate Kahn's last day at the company.
Kahn (or K-dawg) is a good friend and a co worker to me and it would be sad to see him go. But I totally understand where he's coming from and why he needs to go. Its just too bad that's he's doing so and leaving us all behind during the time when I think we are having the most fun together.
Anyways, as a group of 4, we all showed up at the restaurant, and the first thing that everyone will notice when getting seated, is that the hostess takes you around a mini tour that has you walking thru their kitchen. The whole theme of this restaurant is about "family" in which they truly emplasis, from having menus on the walls (in which you have to walk up together to see) to huge plates of food meant for more than one person. I have to admit, I really liked this place. The food was really good and the atmosphere was great. It was good time hanging around with good friends. *insert really bad Italian accent* It was like a "family."
So, this one of the few times we will get to spend with Kahn before his road trip across America (and a bit of Canada) back to Philly. He's planning a little get-together next Friday at his place, which we were planning to make it both a "going away" party and to celebrate my birthday. But I think that that party should just be about him, saying goodbye to friends. He needs it and deserves it. I will have many others birthdays to deal with so, giving up this one is no big deal. Besides, I really only started celebrating my bday like last year. I dont know if I want to do something for my birthday the following week (since I am going to SF that weekend as well), but even if I did, it wont be the same, because he wont be there.
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