Polynesian Cultural Center

During my week in Hawaii, I did what all tourists did and spent an entire day at the Polynesian Cultural Center. First, let me tell you that this place was created by the Mormons of Brigham Young University. Therefore, there was aboslutely no alcohol, no caffeine, no smoking, anything else unholy allowed in this 42 acre park. It was a beautiful place and I learned a lot, but after six hours of walking around, a little Pepsi would have been nice. Anyhow, out of the 130 photos I took during my visit to the center, here are a few of the highlights:

This is Cousin Opi, aka our tourguide. He took us from village to village and give us a history of each of the seven Polynesian countries. He mixed a lot of humor into his bantor so following him around wasn't too lame. Cousin Opi is from Samoa, the land of the happy people. Boy, from the way he was so excited throughout the whole day, we were wondering where he snuck in the caffeine.

The first highlight of the tour was getting a canoe ride from one end of the park to the other. It was romantic for couples, relaxing for all others (i.e. me who travelled without the Boy). The guy steering the canoe was pretty funny too: "ALOHA! How is everyone?", "Fine!", "Good. I'm doing well. Thank you for asking." And of course: "I just want to let you folks know that you are so heavy that you're breaking my back. Go on a diet people." See, they're sneaking in caffeine. And yes, he is wearing a skirt.

The Gods of the Polynesia Cultural Center.... Okay, I forget the real names, but do share if you ever visit there and find out the names of these statues.

I am pretty sure this is the type of huts that the people of Fiji lived in (there were so many huts I forget which is which). Yep, that's me waving from the door. This is the hut for normal village people because you do not see any shells decorating the door. FYI: The Chief's house has four doors, each assigned to different people for use. If you walk into the wrong door, i.e. a door not assigned to you, you'll get your head chopped off, no questions asked. Brutal, isn't it? Another FYI: The Chief would have many wives, but he only has one favorite wife. The benefits of being the Chief's favorite wife? You get to sleep in his bedroom, even if it's on the floor near his bed. The downfalls of being the Chief's favorite wife? You have to die when he dies. Therefore if he dies first from illness, you have to commit suicide. If you don't die after the Chief is dead, you'll be outcasted from the village and your own family will try to kill you for shaming them. This woman is from the islands of Tahiti and she's performing one of their dances. Not only can she shake her booty very well, her hair is hella long! It almost reaches the floor! And it's all real! I don't think she ever got a haircut in her entire life.
These woman are performing the Hawaiian Hula dance. These performances were part of the Canoe Pageant, and each Polynesian village showcased their village's dance and music. Quite colorful and very fun to watch. Mr. Samoan here, from Samoa, of course, is demonstrating how to make fire from coconut husks. He was very entertaining to watch. Did you know that in Samoa, the men cook and clean for the women? Great isn't it? One of his jokes: "Women, you want to move to Samoa? Go ahead, the men are leaving. We are the happy people." He also showed us how to open a coconut in four simple steps (yeah, steps were simple, but probably requires a lot of strength).
After visiting the villages, those who paid for it were treated to a luau. And what's the highlight of the luau? The roasted pig of course! It was actually cooked in a spit that is built beneath the ground, and they dugged it up and brought it out when it was ready to be served.
So, 75% of the employees at the Polynesian Cultural Center are students from Brigham Young Unversity in Hawaii (also run by the Mormons). This is like their work-study jobs. So at every village we visited, and every performance we saw, the announcer would always thanks the tourists for deciding to spend their money at the Polynesian Cultural Center because "your money gives us the opportunity to get an education. Mahalo!"

Can't get enough sunsets

Biking

So, in Hawaii, they had these metal bikes all over the place. It was pretty nice of the state to provide this form of transportation to us tourists.






After some dim sum in Chinatown, I rode the bike to Waikiki...








It got a bit chilly from watching the sun set on Waikiki beach, so I headed home...







...and on my way, I see a two seater bike.








The next morning, I made my way to the Ala Moana beach for some sunning.







I was running late for a dinner date so I had to race back to my friend's house.







Lo and behold, the next day I finally realized the real reason why there were so many metal bikes around. There's an actual purpose for these metal "bike stands" other than for tourists to take goofy pictures on them, of course.

Haunama Bay

I fear drowning. That is why I really don't like to go on boats, ships, or anything that will allow someone else to throw me overboard. Because of this fear, I forced myself to take a swimming class so I would at least know how to float just in case someone evil did try to throw me overboard. After a semester of swimming classes, let's just say that I can doggie paddle for five minutes before I have to flip over and start floating on my back because the five minutes of doggie paddling left me exhausted.

Anyway, even though I fear drowning, I love to play in the water. I love swimming pools, beaches, lakes, etc. As long as my feet is able to touch the bottom and the water does not go past my neck, I'm okay. But everyone tells me that you have to try snorkeling at least once, especially if you're going to be in Hawaii. Going underwater swimming was hard enough to deal with, but then I have to trust that my body won't sink to the bottom of the ocean, therefore pulling down my breathe sprout so I inhale water instead of air? I think not.

However, my love for fishies overcame my fear of drowning. I dragged my friend, who's also afraid of drowning, to the nearest ABC store and we bought ourselves a set of snorkels and masks. We were going to buy fins too, but decided that we probably won't go very far into the water therefore no fins were necessary. We made our way to Haunama Bay, the underwater aquarium spot for snorkeling, waited twenty minutes in the admission line, watched a ten minute "introduction to the reef" video, and picked out our spot on the beach.

Okay, we spent about half an hour trying to get our masks and snorkels to fit right. We looked like idiots:
Then, once we were comfortable with our masks and snorkels on, we decided to venture out into the water. Once we got to waist deep waters, I stuck my head in and tried to breathe through my mouth through the snorkel and immediately stood back up because the first thing I did was try to breathe through my nose and of course that didn't quite work very well. After several attempts of breathing through my mouth, I finally got comfortable enough to start swimming around with the snorkel. AND IT WAS SO MUCH FUN! And with the help of an underwater camera, I was able to catch these fishies in action:

So many fishies.

Do you see the rainbow fish?

I guess you can say I made my peace with the water. But I was still able to stand up in these waters, so I'm not really ready to tackle deep sea diving. Peace.

Back in the Mainland

Although Hawaii was wonderful and staying there forever would have been nice, I have been back in "the mainland" for over a week now. I left Hawaii with a cough that turned into a nasty cold, which resulted in a puking fest on the flight home--not a pretty picture.

Currently, I'm still recovering from that illness and trying to lose the "typhoid Mary" nickname at work. And as I'm getting my pictures together, I'll post more about my Hawaii trip.

In the meantime, Happy New Year!

New Year Eve's Dinner

Fifteen minutes of waiting for our food to come and our waiter tries to ease our food anxiety with roasted honey walnuts.

Ah, our first dish! "spicy bean curd on choi."
The yummy main dish, TWO Maine lobsters, ginger and scallion style.

Yummy yummy I got food in my tummy!

Photos

Hawaiian Rudeness

My friend and I were at the Ala Moana doing some shopping and taking some pictures. We wanted a picture with the both of us in it and so decided to ask someone to take a picture of us. I decided to ask this sweet looking woman sitting on the bench next to us because she didn't seem like she was busy or anything like that.

Me: "Excuse me, miss. Would you mind taking a picture of the both of us?"

Her: "Umm, no. I don't feel like doing it and I don't want to take your picture either."

Me: "Well, thanks anyway."

Ouch! Sorry I asked! So we were quite afraid of asking anyone else to take a picture of us after that encounter with the devil.

But that's not the worse blow off I have encountered since I've been in lovely Hawaii...read on.

We decided to go hike the "10-things-you-must-do-in-Hawaii" Diamondhead Mountain (see picture above, which is a view from the top of the mountain). We found our way to Diamondhead area, but couldn't find the main entrance area where we pay for admission and parking. So we decided to stop the car and ask a "local" for directions. A jogger came into view and he was heading straight for us, so we decided to ask him for directions.

My friend: "Sir, excuse me, sir. Can you tell us how to get to the entrance of Diamond...."

Jogger cuts her off: "No, I can't. I'm running" and he keeps on running.

All of us in the car stare at one another, stunned at his rudeness. We were afraid to ask anyone else for directions after that.

Who said Hawaiians had the nicest people on Earth? Someone lied to that person.

LAX FUN

What was supposed to be an hour layover turned into a five hour “where the hell is the plane” countdown fest. United Airlines was claiming “aircraft unavailability” as the reason for the delay of my flight to Honolulu. If you’re ever delayed at LAX for five hours, here are some things you can do to keep busy (yes, I did it all):

1. Walk up and down a few of the terminals. I got off of Terminal 8 and my connecting flight was in Terminal 6. So when I learned of the five hour delay, I took a stroll up and down each terminal. There’s lots of food shops and knick knack stores to look at in Terminal 7; there was a Ruby Tuesdays and Cinnabon in Terminal six, and also a Starbucks; Terminal 8 was pretty boring because there’s really nothing there.

2. Take out a book that you packed and read it. My book this evening was “Ray in Reverse.” Approximately 250 pages and took me an hour to complete. Okay, so I had read the first 50 pages at SJC, but still 200 pages in an hour is pretty fast.

3. Go to Starbucks and buy a peppermint hot chocolate to try to warm yourself, especially your frozen fingers from keeping the book open while you’re reading.

4. Listen to the whole soundtrack to of “The Last Samurai” on your iPod Nano or similar device. In fact, listen to it twice.

5. Walk around looking for a working outlet to charge your laptop.

6. Walk around and count every Dell laptop that you see (14!)

7. Observe the family of 10 adults running after their 10 children trying to prevent the boys from poking the girls’ eyes out with the toy swords (plastic toy swords are allowed on airplanes?).

8. Observe fellow passengers look at the United departure screen, search for Honolulu flight #935, then exclaim “FUCK! A FIVE HOUR DELAY?” or “YOU GOTTA BE FUCKING KIDDING ME!” This is still quite amusing even after you have seen it for the tenth time.

9. Go to a different restroom every time you have to answer to the call of nature.

10. Observe fellow passengers line up at the ticket counter four hours before the new departure time, hoping that a United agent will come and tell them this delay is all a dream.

11. Go search terminal after terminal to find an actual living, breathing, United Airlines agent. Good luck with that!

12. Go into the candy store and pick out all the red Sour Patch Kids. This task is much easier to do when they have tongs for you to use.

13. Observe plane after plane pulling into your designated gate, watch people get off the plane and then watch the plane pull away. “That plane is available! Why can’t it take us to Hawaii?”

14. Slowly eat your red Sour Patch Kids. First biting off the head, and then the legs, finishing off with the bodies. To make it more gruesome, say “No, no, please don’t eat me” out loud before taking a bit of the head and responding to yourself “Yummy.” People will start to stare, but hey, you’re contributing to the people watching industry.

15. Pull out another book and attempt to finish reading before the supposed boarding time in an hour.

16. Scream “Hallelujah” when the United agent finally announces that it’s time for boarding.

How to pass the time on a six hour flight:

-- Sleep.
-- Sleep.
-- Sleep.
-- Sleep.
-- Drink water.
-- Sleep.

My airplane travel started at 3:00pm at SJC. It ended at my final destination at 1:45am Honolulu time.

Thank goodness my return flight is a direct flight to SFO.

Hawaii here I come

In less than 48 hours, I'll be able to take many many many MANY of my own pictures of Hawaii. Wheeeeeeeee!!!!

How can I concentrate on work when I have the beach on my mind?

Advice for next Christmas

Avoid the mall at all costs on Christmas Eve.

Avoid the grocery stores at all costs on Christmas Eve.

Avoid Walmart at 5:30pm on Christmas Eve at all costs (half hour before closing time).

Avoid the parking lots at these places. Or be prepared to circle around for 20 minutes looking for a spot, or stalking other people hoping they lead you to their car but only find out they're taking you around in circles for the fun of it.

Avoid making eye contact with other shoppers on Christmas Eve. One look will make that stressed out shopper take his/her holiday cheer out on you: "I know you ain't got more important business than me, so hold your horses!" ; "Don't you dare take that candlestick, I saw it first from three aisles away." ; "I have to pay an extra $4 for an inflated basketball? What kind of &%*) is that?"

If you must visit the mall/grocery store/Walmart on Christmas Eve, wear comfortable shoes and be prepared to wait 30 minutes in the Express Check-out lane.

Avoid the mall at all costs the day after Christmas. Unless you are able to make it to the mall at 7am, it's not worth it. People are still under holiday stress. Only now, they have gift cards for fuel!

Avoid driving to the mall the day after Christmas.

Avoid the parking lots the day after Christmas.

Avoid the Apple Store the day after Christmas. 20 minutes of waiting in line just to make an exchange. It wasn't too bad of a wait when I discovered I could surf the web from one of their computers (the Boy had to wait in line--hee hee).

And if I had to be at the airport on any of these days, I'd probably say avoid the airport at all costs too.

Happy Holidays!

Joy Ride

The actors: Me, the Boy, the Boy's sister, mother and his step-brother.

The scene: Five people (the actors above) crammed into a small Toyota (Camry, I think?) going from Vacaville to the Boy's Aunt's house in Novato. The Boy is driving and his step-brother is in the front passenger seat. The Boy's sister, his mother and I are squished together in the back.

How to give the Boy's mother a heart attack:
***Everytime we're going downhill, the Boy's step-brother and sister raises their arms in the air screaming "ahhhhh!" as if they're on a roller coaster ride. Even scarier when the Boy lets go of the steering wheel to join in. Naturally, the Boy's mother screams: "All of you stop it! You're going to kill us!"

***Everytime we pass by a body of water (i.e. pond, lake or ocean), someone opens the windows all the way down and shouts "water, we're passing by water, please prepare your life vests." Keep in mind the weather was rainy and about 50 degrees.

***Whenever the Boy's mother would tell him to slow down or be careful switching lanes, comments that followed were:
-- "Oh no, watch out, there's one car in front of us."
-- "Come on Toyota, we gotta catch up with the three cars in front of us."
-- "I see red flashing lights!"
-- "Wait, there's blue flashing lights too!"
-- "Wow, that old time Buick just passed us."
-- "Can't you go any faster than 50 mph?"
-- "Watch out for the turtle on the road. Oh wait, that's us."

***Whenever the Boy's mother threatened to take over the driving, comments that followed were:
-- the Boy: "oh no, kill us all now. It'll save some time and suffering."
-- step-brother: "Okay okay, slow down. I'd rather have Quyen drive than let you get into the driver's seat."
-- the Boy: "Hell no. Quyen can't drive either!"
-- sister: "we're doomed."
-- me: "Hey! I have a very clean driving record, thank you very much."
-- the Boy: "That's because you never drive."
-- step-brother: "If [the Boy's mother] drives, we'll never get to your aunt's house."

And that was just on the ride to his aunt's house. I was suffering from a food coma on the ride back to his mother's house, so I kinda tuned out all the ragging on his mother's nagging. By the time we got home, the Boy said to me: "Why did you and my sister fall asleep and make us boys suffer like that? My mom wouldn't stop talking!"

Oh what fun it is to ride in the company of the Boy's family.

Evil Mr. Clean

Remember the smell of a brand new car? So nice and fresh? The dash are all shiny and free of dust; the carpets and car seats free of cookie crumbs? The car is so clean and new, you don't want to do anything to mess it up?

Well, the smell of a brand new house is a gazillion times better than that! And with that, the determination of not leaving a mess around is a gazillion times more also.

The Boy hosted Christmas Eve at his brand new spanking house. The only furniture in the house was his bed and the only electronic gadget was his tv and dvd player. Yep, there was no fridge. As I type this, there is still no fridge in his house. The Boy's "fridge" for the dinner was a small Walmart cooler with ice in it. And we only kept the drinks in there. And since there was no fridge, that meant that we had to do grocery shopping two hours before dinner was scheduled for. Grocery shopping at Safeway at 5pm on Christmas Eve is NOT A GOOD IDEA. I made the Boy wait in line while I went around collecting all the ingredients for a spaghetti dinner. By the time I got the last item, there were still five people in front of us. And let's just say all the other grocery shoppers were not in a festive mood either. I was squeezing between carts and people going in and out of rows and there was this one lady who actually slowed down and would not let me squeeze pass her to get to the bread aisle. I had to back track and go down the milk aisle and take the long way around.

Anyway, since the Boy's sister was not yet at his house by the time we returned with groceries, cooking dinner became my responsibility. Now, when the Boy is at my house, he does not interrupt me while I am cooking. And, most importantly, he leaves the dishes around, throws his socks and shoes whereever he wants, and pretty much leaves a trail of mess behind him. At his brand new house, however, the Boy becomes the Mr. Clean from hell.

"Quinny, you better make sure you don't splatter that oil on my brand new stove."

"Quinny, you better not spill the sauce all over the stove."

"Quinny, you better cover the stove rack with foil before you put that garlic bread on there."

"Quinny, I see oil splatters on the stove."

"Quinny, I see oil spots on the floor."

"If you keep Quinnying me I'm gonna throw this spaghetti sauce on your carpet! I'll wipe down everything with 401 after we're finished with dinner! Goodness you're crazy."

Once I finished cooking dinner, he made everyone huddle around the kitchen island to eat their spaghetti. His poor little nephew couldn't quite reach the counter and couldn't take his cookie back to the living room where the TV was either. The Boy almost had a heart attack when his nephew almost tripped with a can of Coke in his hand.

Mr. Clean from hell didn't stop there.

"Quinny, make sure you clean out the tub after your bath."

"Quinny, make sure you don't leave any water marks on the shower. Use the squiggee."

"Quinny, put your clothes in the closet. Don't make a pile on the floor."

Oh it wasn't just Quinny this and Quinny that all night. He did it to everyone.

"Take off your shoes! This is an Asian house now."

"Don't you leave my kitchen with that plate of food in your hands!"

"You better not give your son anything to throw in my house!"

"Stay away from the walls, I don't want you marking it up!"

So the Boy's family and I took a bet that his Mr. Clean tirade won't last longer than a month. But then we were wondering how the Boy will handle the situation when he rents out his house to complete strangers who will surely not give a damn about his brand new house.

here's a new one

So instead of the usual "Holiday Lunch" or even holiday dinner, my firm decided to have an office luncheon and then bowling as our holiday activity this year.

Festivities started at the office at 11:30, which means the catered food was set out in the main conference room, the booze was chilled and flowing, the office phones were turned off and the office was closed for the rest of the day.

The food was a bit interesting. Other than it being catered "potluck" food, there really wasn't a theme going on. There were crabcakes (not good), battered shrimp (really not good), chicken terriyaki on a stick (so-so), some kind of carrot rolled in a slice of beef on stick (don't know how it tasted because it was still bleeding and I don't eat bloody meat), sushi (ehh), and fresh veggies to dip in ranch. Although I tried out a little bit of everything (except for the bloody beef thing), I pigged out mostly on carrots and cucumbers and ranch dressing. There was a dessert plate of brownies, blondies, lemon bars and vanilla cake, but I didn't induldge because it wasn't too tasty.

After muching on food at the office, the staff and attorneys walked over to the Yerba Buena Gardens to continue the holiday festivities with a couple of hours of bowling. These people I work with are sure competitive in nature. Even though the majority of us sucked at bowling (I mean we sucked big time!), we were all talking smack and trying to ruin the other's concentration. In the first game, I lost to the Managing Partner by two points ("I only let you win because you're the Boss Man."). In the second game, I beat out the Junior Associate ("Guess who's getting a bunch of work dumped on her desk tomorrow."). Then the third game was men vs. women, and let's say that didn't work out quite well. The men were scoring 275 points after Round 5 and the women were only scoring 125! The women were only barely catching up by scoring 245 after Round 8 when the pre-paid time ran out and the bowling managers didn't allow us to continue (the men didn't bowl past Round 5 because they were bowling so hard that they broke the pin setter/re-setter thingy at the end).

It wasn't a traditional firm holiday party, but I sure enjoyed this much more. Boss Man joked that next year we're all going to New York for skating in Rockefeller Center.

=)

Calling all Bloggers

Can you attach a video clip to this blog? If so, how do you do it?

Thanks much,

-Q-Pig

Cat Nip

I recently bought some cat nip for Jelly Belly Fatty Catty because Q said cats go crazy for catnip. She was not kidding. I didn't realize I also needed to buy some sort of toy that has a compartment for the catnip, so the Boy was just holding the jar with the lid ajar so Fatty Catty could sniff it. She went into a cat high. She kept rubbing against his hand and when he took the cat nip away, she followed him from room to room. He let her sniff some more and then she kept purring and rubbing against his legs. He finally put the cat nip away.

I was cleaning in the kitchen when the Boy was feeding cat drugs to Fatty Catty. As I walked back towards the bedroom, this is what I found:

The Boy put the cat nip on the second shelf. Fatty Catty saw this and pounced up trying to open the jar. And when I tried to take it away, she tried to swipe at me! What the heck is in this cat nip?

iPod Nation

Even though it was pouring buckets of rain in San Francisco today, the Boy and I did some Christmas shopping (mostly his xmas shopping) in Union Square. You would think that people would stay indoors when Mother Nature is crying a river upon the earth, but no, every one and their mother were out shopping. If you thought the malls get crowded during a Saturday afternoon in sunny 80 degree weather, take that times two and that's the atmosphere you get when you go shopping during a downpour the weekend before Christmas.

Macys was especially crowded because they had a huge sale, an extra 10% off your entire purchase--that's on top of the 40-50% off they already discounted on most items. This sale allowed the Boy to buy his mother a really nice Calphalon nonstick pan at half the cost of the original price (for those who are not cooking enthusiasts, Calphalon is the Seven Jeans of cookware). The sale also allowed the Boy to splurge on himself with new bedding for his new house. Hotel Collection king size down comforter--$560; Charter Club king size down filled pillow, firm--$120; total price the Boy paid after discounts and gift cards he accumulated from work--$141.02. Told you it was a good sale.

Of course the Boy wasn't the only one shopping for himself. With the great bonus I got from work, I decided to spoil myself for once by visiting the Apple store and joining the iPod nation with the purchase of a sleek iPod Nano in black.

It was pretty cool that we spent an exactly five minutes in the Apple store. There was this express iPod station where you tell them which iPod you want, then they ring you up with this portable credit card machine the size of a brick and email the receipt to you. Pick, scan, and leave with product in hand.

It's so pretty and so small. I haven't been able to put it down. I put all of my songs on it, plus some of the Boy's songs and I still have over a gig left of space on this 2G thing. Guess I'm not one of those hard core music lovers.

And if you're thinking about getting a sound dock for your iPod, the Bose system is the way to go. The quality of the sound is worth the price of the Bose. And don't bother looking for any deals. I tried and failed. But at least the Boy is happy with his early Christmas gift.

I love my Nano!

December is great!

10 reasons why I love December!

1. Work slows down A LOT. Instead of running around like a mad-chicken-with-its-head-cut-off trying to meet deadlines, I have time to sit and enjoy a cup of tea while reading the news online.

2. It means the year is almost over and a new year is soon to start!

3. Vendors that we use keep sending us goodies all month long (cookies, chocolates, sandwiches, calendars, pastries, keep it coming!).

4. Lawsuits get settled b/c peeps are looking for some quick x-mas money.

5. I now have time to blog!

6. Holiday parties -- nothing's better than seeing the people you work with make drunken fools of themselves.

7. Having photographic evidence of all those drunken fools at holiday parties.

8. SHOPPING! Okay, this is good all year round, but it's just a more meaningful experience for me to be able to spend 4 hours at the mall hunting for that specific snowman print pajamas for that special person who will shout "YAY! JUST WHAT I WANTED!" when they open it.

9. Did I mention the cookies? Yes? Well, bonuses at work makes a good December too.

10. Only fifteen more days until my trip to HAWAII!!

Whoo hoo!

The life of a cat

When Mommy gets home, I curl up on her lap and watch tv with her.

Sometimes I hide in Mommy's closet when she's at work. I really like the laundry basket, but only when it's empty, and Mommy doesn't empty the basket a lot.

I really like this orange blanket. It's really nice to nap on.

It's also Mommy's favorite blanket to use for naps.

Why are you interrupting my nap for pictures, Mommy?

I'm tired now. I'm going back to sleep.

White Christmas

I went to see White Christmas yesterday at the Orpheum Theater in San Francisco, and it snowed! It snowed inside the theater, I mean. There's no real snow in San Francisco. Anyway, back to the snow part. It snowed at the end of the last scene of the show. It snowed on stage, then it snowed out into the audience. Such pretty pretty snow. The light small flakes floating gently to the ground. And the best part? There was no -12 degree weather with the snow! And the better part? There was no real snow when we left the theater!

I've been missing the snow since I moved here from the East Coast (I just miss the snow, I still do not miss the freaking cold weather). And this show brought such a big smile to my face. Yay!

Okay, the snow glee is out of my system now. Oh, White Christmas is a wonderful musical and you should go see it if you get a chance. It snows!

Tiffany's

The Boy and I went to Valley Fair Mall today to do some holiday shopping. As we're walking around, we just happen to stop in front of Tiffany's jewelery store. I was trying to figure out what shop to go to next, but the Boy kept nudging me towards the front door of Tiffany's.

Me: I don't want to go in there.

BF: Come on, let's just go take a look around.

Me: Why? You'll never get me a ring from there. Ha ha. You'll never get me a ring period.

BF: Well, we know that, but let's just take a look anyways.

Me: We're dressed in jeans, we can't walk into Tiffany's like this.

BF: Come on. We're not the only one dressed in jeans. Let's go take a look. You've never been in here before.

Me: Fine.

So we walk into Tiffany's and everything I saw was so sparkly and shiny. There were diamonds everywhere. Big ones, little ones, necklaces, tennis bracelets, and oh the diamond rings. The solitaire, the three diamond anniversary ring, princess cut, emerald cut, F grade, G grade, sparkly, sparkly shiny shiny diamonds everywhere.

Me: Oh, they're so shiny!

BF: Of course, it's Tiffany's diamonds. These are the best.

Me: Oh, this is so mean of you to tease me like this.

BF: That's right. You can look but don't get attached. Like I told you before...

Me: If I want a diamond ring, get a new boyfriend. yeah yeah, I know. But these are so shiny...

So of course I had to share this experience with the Boy's father. I called him up a few days later and told him what his son did.

Me: Hi!

BF's dad: Qui Qui? How are you doing?

Me: I'm well. But you won't believe what you're son did this weekend.

BF's dad: What did he do?

Me: He took me into Tiffany's!

BF's dad: He did?! Ohh. Did you buy anything?

Me: Well, that was just it. He just let me take a look around. We didn't buy anything.

BF's dad: Wait, did you want to go into Tiffany's?

Me: Oh no, he was the one nudging me in there. I said I didn't want to go, but he kept pushing me in.

BF's dad: Oh, well that's new. This is a big step for him then.

Me: Oh please. We both know he's just toying around with me. You know what he said once we were inside?

BF's dad: What?

Me: "You can look but don't get attached because if you want a diamond ring, you're not getting it from me."

BF's dad is laughing: Qui Qui, he's probably trying to surprise you. You two belong together forever.

Me: Ha Ha, [BF], you're dad says we belong together forever! I think we're a long way from forever, sir.

BF's dad: He told me that he wants to get you a 3.5 carat diamond.

Me: You know why he wants to get me a 3.5 carat diamond? So he can legally have it back if our engagement breaks up.

BF's dad is laughing harder: He did say that!

Me: Oh you know he would and he did.

BF's dad: Oh, he doesn't mean it when he says he won't buy you a diamond ring. Just you wait, he'll get around to it. You two will be together for always.

Me: Okay, here's [BF]. He wants me to get off the phone with you now.

As soon as I hand the phone over to the Boy, he tells his father: "Father, don't you go feeding stories to her. You know the apple doesn't fall far from the tree."

Oh, I still can't get over the sparkly diamonds. It reminds me of the engagement scene from the movie "Sweet Home Alabama." If only I had a romantic boyfriend to propose to me inside Tiffany's and let me choose the ring. A girl can dream. *sigh*

It's Over

7:00am - wake up to prepare to go to the test center

7:30am - leave SF and drive to Millbrae where test center is located.

8:00am - get to test center, Marriott Hotel, and stand in line to be checked in for test (note: there was already 50 people in front of me and 50 quickly lining up behind me).

9:00am - finally get checked in for test and proceed to ballroom where test will be administered.

9:30am - been waiting for 30 minutes, and still waiting for the proctors to finish checking everyone in.

10:30am - proctors finally start reading instructions for the LSAT

2:30pm - finish writing portion of the LSAT which means finished with the LSAT exam!

3:45pm - arrive home, ready for lunch and a nap.

Planning too far ahead

BF: I have a few moments to talk before the Judge returns. What are you up to?

Me: Aww, that's sweet of you. It's slow at work, so I'm looking up hotel information.

BF: Why are you looking up hotel information?

Me: Researching where we can stay when we go to the Aerosmith concert in San Jose.

BF: The concert's not until February, right?

Me: Yeah.

BF: Aren't you planning a little too far in advanced?

Me: I know it's far away, but just wanted to see what hotels are in the area.

BF: Don't plan so far ahead.

Me: Why?

BF: That's going into 2006 territory. You don't know if we'll still be together by then.

Me: Aw, crap. That's right!

BF: hee hee!

Me: I have to worry about our relationship surviving Christmas first!

BF: New year, new girl!

Me: Lord, why me?

GF / BF

Me: Did you get the pumpkin bread I sent you?

BF: Yes, I did. It's delicious. I had to share because I opened it in the war room, so the attorneys liked it too. They thought you were very sweet and was teasing me for the note you wrote on it.

Me: My "honeybuns, hope you like the bread" note? ha ha. With a note like that, I guess you can't say that your "good friend" sent you the bread.

BF: Oh no, she's going on about the "good friend" thing again.

Me: Well, that's how you introduced me at Thanksgiving..."Who's that? Oh, she's my 'good friend.'" and you used the finger quotes and the eye wink with that.

BF: What's wrong with "good friend"? Isn't that what "GF" stands for? Good friend?

Me: No, GF stands for girlfriend, and BF stands for boyfriend. What would BF stand for if we were going by your "good friend" translation?

BF: Better Friend!

Me: Oh gosh. "Hi, I'm his 'good friend' and he's my 'better friend'." This is how I'm going to introduce you now? With finger quotes and all?

BF: Yep, isn't it cute?

Me w/ voice of sarcasm: Adorable!

Jelly Belly Fatty Catty

After leaving Jellies at home alone for 3 days, I think she's getting a little more plump. She's not bony to the touch anymore, and plus I notice that she feels heavier when she sleeps on my stomach. Makes me wonder about my boyfriend's comment: "Why does every living thing you own end up getting fat?" Food is good!

Memoirs of a Geisha

I saw the previews for the movie and so I just have to read the book to compare it to the movie. And now, I CAN'T PUT THE BOOK DOWN!! This is so bad. Especially with an LSAT test for this Saturday. I should be reading LSAT questions, not Memoirs of a Geisha. Thank goodness for MUNI trains--20 minutes of reading on the way to work should satisfy my cravings.

Boyfriend Quote of the Day: "Stop reading! It's not healthy for you! Reading causes cancer! You know you would enjoy the movie more if you didn't have to compare every scene to the book. They can't fit 700 pages into 2 hours!" (He's referring to Harry Potter and The Goblet of Fire. I haven't told him that I have been reading Memoirs of a Geisha yet...)

Massages and More

More about our spa weekend getaway:

So, after reporting my running shoes as lost on Saturday morning, we proceeded to the spa to continue to pamper ourselves with a massage and body wrap. Now, I am uncomfortable with strange men touching my body, even if it is in a professional setting like a doctor's office or a spa facility. So, I was quite surprised to see a male masseuse waiting for me in the treatment room. I had also had a male specialist work on my facial on Friday, but he was clearly gay so I didn't care. My masseuse, however, was not clearly gay, so the entire time he was "massaging" my body, all I could think about was whether or not he was gay, whether this constitutes as cheating, whether or not I should enjoy this massage or be wracked with guilt that a strange man is touching my body. It was even weirder when he started digging his fingers into my butt...I mean, it felt good, but it also hurt like hell because my glutes were still sore from a workout two days ago. In comparing this male masseuse to the female one I last had, he was more forceful with his motions, therefore resulting in getting deeper into my sore muscles, which was good. In the end, however, I didn't enjoy the massage as much as I could have because I couldn't confirm whether he was gay or not.

After my massage, I waited for my seaweed body wrap. You can imagine my surprise when my gay facialist was waiting for me in another treatment room. Okay, I didn't care that a gay man was working on my face, but having him see me naked was another thing, even if he is gay. Anyhow, I felt rushed throughout the process and seaweed stinks, but the sixteen head shower was pretty cool.

I later learned from my friend that they had disposable panties for the body wrap so the exfoliant/scrub/pasty thing didn't ruin your real undies. I was not offered the disposable panties from my gay facialist/beautician/dude. I was buck naked. This discovery did not make me feel any better.

Upon our return from the spa, I decided to call the guests in Room 799 to ask about my size 7 Aasics running shoes, with red paint in the left shoe, that I left in a small black bag in the closet of Room 799. After a day of shopping at the Napa Premium Outlets, watching the Christmas parade in downtown Napa, spending oodles of money at Wal-Mart, and watching RENT at the movies (never seen the theater version but I hope it's much better than the corny movie), we return to our room with absolutely no message from the Resort or the Guests from Room 799 about my shoes.

So before we checked out of the resort on Sunday, I first call the Guests in Room 799 to ask about my shoes. When there was no answer, I call the front desk to ask about the shoes again and they had my shoes! It was turned in by the Guests of Room 799 on Saturday evening! And they didn't think to call to tell me about it??? WTF??

Well, I finally get my shoes back and we pack up to head home. We had lunch in the downtown Napa where we also visited numerous chocolate stores (mint chocolate truffle is yummy).

Overall, it could have been a better weekend.

Why me?

It's 8:20 am and I'm supposed to be sleeping in, but here I am typing away to let off some steam. Why do I need to let off steam, you ask? Because I was supposed to have three days of "rest and relaxation" but have yet to experience that. And it's only the second day!

So my friend and I reserved this weekend to pamper ourselves at the Silverado Resort and Spa for the weekend. We arrived two hours before check in time so that we can explore the resort, enjoy the pool, maybe sit in the jacuzzi for half an hour before our first spa appointment. HA. That, apparantly was too much to ask for.

2pm: We check in at the resort and everything is going well. They assign us to a standard, cozy king-size bedroom. There's a phone, a tv, a mini-bar and wireless internet--what else could we want? So I had my laptop with me to aid us in looking up directions and finding things to do around Napa. Who needs to prepare weeks beforehand when you can look things up on the spot? That's what a laptop and INTERNET is for, right? Well, when we tried to connect my laptop to the wireless network, there was absolutely no signal (no available networks). After calling the front desk and the internet provider, both of whom were no help, we decided to take my laptop for a little walking expedition since the Resort boasted that we could even access the internet at poolside.

2:30pm: Okay, so lugging my 10 lb laptop to the pool, we were able to get it to recognize that there is a wireless network available but the signal was still too weak to connect to it. So then we lugged my laptop to the "Mansion", the place where we first checked-in and tried getting a wireless signal there. Lo and behold it worked! Excellent strength and everything! But before we decided to pay for the $9.99/24 hour internet usage, we wanted to see if we could change rooms so that we were located closer to the Mansion because it seemed that the closer we were to the Mansion, the better the wireless signal.

2:45pm: Being the accommodating Resort, the nice, blond lady at the front desk tells us that Room 499 is available. But before we agree to change rooms, we lug my laptop to where Room 499 is located to check the wireless signal. A full four bars, which is great! So just to be sure, we walk around the area to make sure the wireless signal was still strong, and it was. We walk back and tell the nice blond lady that we do want to switch rooms and we'll take Room 499. But oh no, she gives us the keys to Room 451. We figure it's in the area of 499 so we take all our things out of Room 799 and move into Room 451.

3:15 pm: Upon arriving at Room 451, we realize they gave us a Suite instead of a Standard room. There was a separate living room, a kitchen and a bedroom. We thought they gave us a free upgrade and were very excited about it. But then we thought maybe they thought that we wanted a bigger room instead of a room with better a wireless signal. Not wanting to go through the drama of having to argue with the Manager over the higher charges for the room, we call the front desk and ask the blond lady if she assigned us the Suite on purpose. She thought we were assigned to a Suite earlier so therefore she gave us another Suite. We asked if we would get charged more, and she said yes. So then we asked to get a Standard room and wait for her to call us back and give us another room, Room 431, and a bell boy comes by a few minutes later to give us the room key.

3:45 pm: We see the bellboy drive up and run out to meet him and grab the keys and then walked around in a circle to find Room 431. We saw the room, but we didn't see a real door. So we circled the building in an attempt to find a real door (Room 431 had one of those patio doors that slides instead of opening like a real door). As soon as we figured out there was no real door, we walk towards the sliding door, with key in hand, to attempt to open it. You won't believe what happened next. Another bellboy was opening the door to Room 431 and helping two other guests with their luggage. They were going into Room 431. And it didn't look like they were gonna go out. So we asked the bellboy if that was indeed Room 431. He agreed and we cried "NOOOO!!"

4:00 pm: The bellboy took our bags and gave us a ride back to the Mansion, where we hunt down the blond lady and inform her that someone already checked into Room 431 as we got there. She apologized and went to investigate why that happened. Something about a computer system switching over, some laughing in the back, and the blond lady assigned us to yet another room, room #4, Room #498. The bellboy helps us with our luggage and gives us a ride to Room 498. It's located upstairs and we follow the bellboy as he's carrying our luggage to our room. To all of our surprise, my friend, the bellboy and I, Room 498 was in no livable condition because it wasn't cleaned yet. My friend and I were about ready to kill someone. The bellboy calls the front desk, tells them what happened and adds that they should assign us the presidential suite for the troubles we've gone through. No such thing happened.

4:15 pm: The blond lady calls back and tells the bellboy to take us to our fifth room, #444. So we all hop back into the golf cart and ride on over to #444, where we tell the bellboy to check the room first because we didn't feel like getting off for no reason. He tells us the room is decent and looks fine. We give the room glance over and agree that it's fine, mainly because we had a 5pm spa appointment and we had to be there a half hour early. So we throw our things in the room but the bellboy tells us that he has to go to the front desk to grab our room keys so we had to wait for him to return. About ten minutes later, he returns with the keys so we can lock our patio door and he whisks us to the spa. We got there at 4:30 but we were so not relaxed.

Our first spa treatment for the weekend was decent. My 50 minute facial sure wasn't worth the $120 price, and my friend's deep tissue massage worth the price either. However, we had a great dinner at a tapas restaurant in town and enjoyed Harry Potter 4 (it skipped so many chapters that everything seemed to happen so quickly!).

Upon waking up this morning, I realized that I didn't have my running shoes. As I was re-tracing my steps, I realized that I had left my sneakers in the closet of Room #799, the first room we were in. Of course these things only happen to me.

Gobble Gobble

My first real, traditional Thanksgiving dinner was great! I still can't believe how big the turkey was! Here's a photo diary of the event:


I made mashed potatoes for the first time in my life. I think the cranberry sauce came from a can.







Green Bean Casserole--a bit creamy for my liking but good, nonetheless. And cranberry sauce.







Baked Ham.








And of course, the Turkey.






And we are all suffering from a food coma. Naptime.

too early for holiday cheer?

On the MUNI this morning, the conductor announced over the intercom:

"I don't know if you know this, but MUNI loves you. I love you. I don't know if you love MUNI, but MUNI loves you very much. God bless, have a nice day and a very Happy Thanksgiving."

The first time he said it, we all smiled and thought "how sweet and kind." But then he kept making the announcement at every single stop. So after the tenth stop, most of us were wondering if he wasn't just a bit tipsy this morning.

On a Thanksgiving note, I'll be having my first traditional turkey dinner tomorrow. Whoo-hoo! Looking forward to seeing what a real oven baked turkey looks like. And then there's pie. yummy thoughts

More Jellies

Just wanted to post pictures of the latest addition to my household. She's so pretty!.

Exploring the new digs...Chilling Out

Jelly Belly

litter box - $14.99
kitty litter - $5.99
food and water dish - $2.99 x 2
cat food - $7.99
cat toys - $3.99
cat condo - $35.99

This precious furball of love sitting in my lap -- priceless.

Thank you, Q, for letting me adopt her!

How to easily get noticed

1. Wear slacks and long sleeved button down shirts to work every day for a month. Not hard to do with San Francisco weather. Note: With the San Francisco weather, you may have to wear this outfit for more than a month (and even toss in some scarfs, mittens, turtlenecks, etc. to keep warm).

2. At the first sign of sunshine and 70 degree forecasts from the weatherman, wear a simple skirt and fitted top and some comfortable work pumps. No need to go all out, just show some leg.

3. Go to work on sunny 70 degree weather day, smile and say "Thank you" as your co-workers compliment you on how pretty you look in a skirt and ask why you are suddenly so dressed up ("Does someone have a special date tonight?").

I guess I'll have a special date every night this week if the nice weather keeps up for the week. =)

Lost in Translation -- Part 2

How funny that as soon as I write about one language, I get an email with a link that opens up a cartoon making fun of the Vietnamese language. People mess up my name all the time, and I can probably relate to many who also have had their name butchered by someone who doesn't speak their language.

Anyhow, this cartoon is funny, but if you're easily offended by racial jokes, I suggest you don't click on the link. And for all those who wants a laugh, click here for a short demonstration of how to make Vietnamese Beef Noodle Soup aka Pho.

Lost in Translation

The following are Cantonese sentences we did in class today. These sentences are the nine points of Chinese grammar. The following is an example of using one of our vocab words to demonstrate the sentence structures.

Sentences in Cantonese:
1. Ngoh daaih bihn.
2. Ngoh mh daaih bihn.
3. Neih daaih mh daaih bihn a?
4. Neih daaih bihn ma?
5. Neih daaih gan bihn.
6. Neih daaih jo bihn.
7. Neih wuih daaih bihn.
8. Neih daaih mh daaih gan bihn a?
9. Neih daaih jo bihn meih a?

The following is the book's English translation of the above sentences:
1. I make a bowel movement.
2. I do not make a bowel movement.
3. Do you make or not make a bowel movement?
4. Do you make a bowel movement?
5. You are making a bowel movement.
6. You made a bowel movement already.
7. You will make a bowel movement.
8. Are you making a bowel movement?
9. Have you made a bowel movement?

These are the actual words used when one of the students translated the above sentences into English:
1. I shit.
2. I do not shit.
3. Do you shit or not?
4. Do you shit?
5. You are shitting.
6. You have shitted.
7. You will shit.
8. Are you shitting?
9. Have you shitted?

I kid you not. He used those exact words in translating. The teacher could not stop because his mouth was kept open in shock.

Boyfriend Quotes

The Boy has been working a lot lately, but all the overtime hasn't stopped him from giving jerky comments. I think being overworked only encourages the Boy to be more jerky with others.


BF: "He needs to go out and hump the world!"

Me: "But he's married. He's settled down. He CHOSE to get married."

BF: "He was forced! What a waste! He still needs to hump the world!"

Me: "Oh, is that your philosophy too? Do you have to go hump the world?"

BF: "Oh no, sweetie, this doesn't apply to me. I have you and you're all I need." [and then he turns around and fakes gagging.]

This conversation was about his college friend who just got married recently.

--------

BF's friend: "I'm a charming person, with standards. I don't just date anyone. Your BF, however, wants me to give up those standards and just go for anyone walking down the street."

BF: "That's right. Who needs standards? Hump the world!"

Me: "No standards? Does this no-standard-hump-the-world policy apply to you?"

BF: "Of course not! Who needs the world when I have you!" [again, he fakes gagging.]

BF's friend: "How do you put up with him?"

Me: "Usually, my answer would be 'I don't know." but since he's been working so much, I haven't had to put up with him."

BF: "All her friends always ask 'How, and why, do you put up with him?' Heck, all my peeps and my family asks her the same question."

Me: "Because you're the sweetest, most cutest person in the world and all I want to do is squeeze you tight!" [as I'm pinching his cheeks and saying this in the most sickening lovey dovey voice ever."

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About his upcoming Vegas trip:

Me: "Your brother is going now too? Oh great. Are you going to act like you don't have a girlfriend?"

BF: "Oh no, I'll still have a girlfriend. I'll just cheat on her."

Me: "FINE! Let me make it easier for you. We're through!"

BF: "aww, isn't she so cute. She's trying to make a stand. You're so adorable!"

------------------------------------------

How can you get angry at someone if they don't take your anger seriously, and their terms of endearment ends up making you laugh?

#1 rated joke(s) in the world

I was at a seminar today, learning about how to better prepare for trial through today's technological capabilities in the courtroom. These are two jokes that the first presenter opened with. He said they were rated #1 on CNN. Read the jokes, then tell me if they're really that funny. Note: This is from memory and not verbatim, so the funniness *might* be lost.

Joke #1: Golfing

Two men are out golfing and they both hear a funeral procession nearby. As the minister is leading the mourners to the gravesite, one of the golfers kneals down and bows in prayer. The other golfer was touched by this action and says to his fellow golfer: "That is so kind of you to bow down in prayer. I didn't know you were so spiritual."

The other man replied: "Well, it's the least I could do. I was married to her for the last 40 years."

The moral of this joke is that a paralegal should not devote his/her entire life in supporting his/her attorney. It's only a "working" relationship. Don't drop everything for a dollar. Learn how to say "NO."


Joke #2: Hunting

Two men are out hunting deer in the woods when one man suddenly collapses onto the ground. The other hunter pulls out his cell phone and calls 911.

911 Operator: This is 911. What is your emergency?

Man: Hello? I need some help. My friend collapsed and I think he's dead.

911 Operator: Ok sir, calm down. First, we have to make sure that he is really dead.

there is silence on the line, and then it's followed by a gun's BOOM!

Man: Okay, what's next?

The moral of this joke is that one must always use common sense and NOT FREAK OUT!


After 7.5 hours of listening about document production, digital imaging, trial presentation software, we get a personalized "Certificate of Completion" as proof that we did actually attend and learned from this seminar. And in addition to people not being able to say my name, some apparantly can't read and copy the spelling either. Today, my last name was Thile. At least they spelled my first name correctly.

Boyfriend quote of the week: "I don't know when I'll have time to see you while I'm working on this trial so I'm not making any committments to see you. Don't count on me to show up for any pre-scheduled cuddle time. Just assume that I won't be able to visit. That way, it'll be a surprise if I actually do show up. And then you can tell everyone how you always get 'surprise' visits from me!"