Tokyo & Taipei...here I come!

So...i just booked my Tokyo & Taipei airfare. YAY!! It's finally a reality!
Even though I still don't know where I'm staying in Tokyo...I figure it'll be ok. One way or another, I have to go while my friends are still there and if I have to get my own hotel room, then so be it. So I'm leaving Fri, May 16 and returning Thur, May 29. It came out to only a little over $1000 too! YAY!!! And Bob (who's only coming for the Taipei part) actually got the same flights as me for the last 3 legs of the trip, so we'll be able to travel together for most of it. Yay! I won't be totally alone (cuz I hate traveling alone).

I really hope my professor is on the ball so that I can finish my final before I leave....it's not officially due till Sun 5/18, but I'm sure he'll post it at least a week before, right? I'll just have to be really on the ball and ready to take it the minute it's available.

I can't wait!!!!!!!!!! It'll be my first time out of the country since I started library school. I'll be able to visit friends AND revisit my fav spots in Taipei. Oh the excitement can barely be contained!!

In other news, today, at the light rail station, on my way home from work (downtown SJ), I saw a guy getting arrested on the platform...for allegedly selling drugs I think. There were like 3-4 cops there. Two were horseback riders and 2 were like from the sheriff's office or something. They had different uniforms. I don't really get the difference between all the different law enforcement agencies...but anyhow. That was definitely unusual. I feel like my world has been broadened since quitting the engineering field...especially in terms of the kinds of people I run into now....really all sorts! I guess it's good preparation for working in a public library!

grrr

Dude. I think Singapore's onto something with their chewing gum ban. I personally don't like gum at all...I don't get the point and I hate how gum gets all hard & waxy after a long time...and it loses it's flavor quickly too. I don't get the attraction. But if you must enjoy your gum, please learn how to throw it away properly!!!!!!!! GRRRRRRR. I hate it when I'm minding my own business and I step in someone else's gum that they've carelessly left lying in the middle of the sidewalk or wherever. Then I get a whiff of that sickeningly sweet gum smell and am horrified to discover yellow goo marring the tip of my sneaker. THEN, I get the pleasure of trying to get that sticky gunk off my shoe (and out of the crevices/treads) for the next 30 mins or so. GRRRRRRRRR!!!!!!! I don't chew or enjoy gum, why do I have to live with the consequences of it? geesh

my hands-free headset broke for my cell phone. :( I don't know what happened, it just suddenly came apart and I'm not sure how to put it back together again. I mean, I guess I can still talk & hear thru it, but it's rather disconcerting to have wires dangling about. I wonder if it's time to get a new cell phone (and commit to another 2 yrs with verizon)...

Bye Bye childhood home

I alluded to this in an earlier post updating my list of stuff...but yup. My parents have sold my childhood home and have left CA. It was a bit of a whirlwind, in fact, I think I'm still reeling from the suddenness and all the activity it generated. It was really pretty crazy.

It went down like this:
I had breakfast with my family on a Saturday in late Feb (I think it was 2/23) where my parents mentioned that they were going to start looking for an agent to sell the house with the plan that they would probably list the house in about a month or so after they cleaned and moved out or something. Then on Monday (yes, just 2 days later), they called to tell me the house was sold and the new owners needed it by March 15! I was pretty shocked, and I couldn't believe that I would have to go through the moving process all over again! Yes, I was definitely not looking forward to more cleaning, packing & unpacking. arg. And since my parents weren't going to be taking much with them, everything had to go! So in a matter of 2 weeks, all the stuff that's accumulated in our house for the last ~20 years had to be dealt with.

Crazy, right?!

Anyhow, the last two-ish weeks have been a little stressful as I tried to squeeze in the latest development with all my previous commitments, but I've somehow survived it. The big move (of furniture, piano, refrigerator) happened last Monday (3/10) and then some more cleaning, and I also had to meet the new owners so that if any mail was sent to us there (though there shouldn't be much since we forwarded our mail), I could go pick it up. Then, I dropped my parents off at the airport early Wed morning (they're going to travel the world for a little bit before deciding where to settle down). And now I have a bunch of new piles of boxes to sort through at my place. hehe

A lot of people have asked if I'm sad that my childhood home is gone, but really I've barely had time to consider that. I mean, it's still pretty unreal to me, and I'm not sure if/when my brain will catch up to reality. It was definitely a little sad when I walked out the door for the last time, but that's about it for now. In the meantime, there's more unpacking to do, and I've gotta catch up on school work and get going on that job hunt... I hope I can enjoy some peace and quiet now... I could certainly use a relaxing vacation!

Ultimate is back!

Yesterday marked the beginning of ultimate season for 2008. Yay! It was great to run around and get some exercise again. But man, I got out of breath so easily! Today, I'm a little sore, but that feels good because it means my muscles are getting ready for the season. :) I'm looking forward to many more Thursdays to come.

Kooza

Bob took me to my very first Cirque du Soleil performance on Thur in SJ as part of his bday gift to me (along with a very sweet mix cd of "our" songs). Yay! I've been wanting to see a cirque show for ages! It was pretty amazing & fun. :) He sums it up very well on his blog. I really enjoyed sitting behind 3 little Vietnamese girls who struck up a convo with us throughout the show. I think they made the show more special. And yeah, my favorite act had to be the wheel of death (see his blog for full description)...it was crazy when they started doing stuff on the outside of the wheel! There were plenty of moments throughout the show when I gasped/cringed in fear that someone would fall...but the performers were all really great! It was fun to watch the juggler too because, at least for the most basic stuff, I could see how he was doing it but knew there's not way I would be able to imitate him! Also, he did a LOT of tricks. Way more than any of the other performers. As for the clowns who provided entertainment between sets, I sorta just endured their performances and felt like they were maybe more for the kids than the adults. But one of the clowns was really good! He did a lot of slight of hand stuff and was quite funny. It was amusing to watch them involve the audience, and made me grateful that we were in the back! :) hehe

~It's my thesis...sorta

Just wanted to invite you all to peruse progress of my e-Portfolio (= my culminating project = my "thesis" = what I need to complete in order to graduate and get my master's). It's not really a thesis in the traditional sense of like this hugely intense research paper. But I've been calling it that cuz it's just easier than explaining what I really have to do. :)

So what I actually have to do is prove that I have met my school's competencies, the skills/knowledge they've determined all librarian & information professionals should have. This involves writing essentially 16 short papers and compiling all the work I've ever done (school work, work work, life, personal projects, almost anything's fair game) in order to serve as evidence of my competency for each point. It's been an interesting process so far. Not nearly as horrendous as I thought it would be when I first started, but I find it a lot easier to write the papers if I have a day or so to mull on the competency and work out what it really means to me. It's surprising how much I have to say about each competency...such deep thoughts I didn't even know I had!

Anyhow, I guess I'll let you guys take a gander at my work as it progresses. I only publicize things that have been reviewed & approved by my adviser so there's work there that you can't see yet. So yeah, take a look at what's consumed so much of my time for the past 1.5 years. And for those of you who were involved in the active online participation survey I sent out a few months ago, you can see the results of that under the evidence for Competency L. It's a research paper, but there are charts that are nice on the eyes. If you really don't wanna see my paper, then you can just look at the unanalyzed data. :) Thanks again for all your support during this whole process. I can't wait to graduate (and then again, I'm in no hurry to start work either *grin*).

And if you want to take a look at my Guide to Taipei website, it's back up for about 6 more months! If you want to listen to soothing sound of my voice...I've also made a podcast and a screencast (but click on the link to watch the original screencast in 640x480 because the embedded one is incompatible with the latest versions of Flash so I'll sound like a chipmunk..which may appeal to you as well)...

Do you have...?

Update: after inheriting a bunch of stuff from home (my parents sold the house) and a few other donations/gifts (thanks!!!)...my list of needed items has greatly dwindled. YAY!

As I'm setting up my new digs, I'm coming across things that I need. Some of this is physical stuff, but some is just a need for advice/suggestions on how best to set up/organize the stuff I have.

For the actual stuff, in the interest of reuse/recycle, I'd like to see if you want to get rid of any of these things first. :) So, if you have any of the following items and are willing to sell/give, please let me know! They're listed in order of importance.

Needed Items:

• letter paper sorter (the upright kind cuz I don't have much desk space)
• a laundry basket
  
• paper shredder
• laundry basket (darn it! I forgot to get it from home when I had the chance...)
• pant/skirt hangers
  
• shoe rack/hanger
  

Needed Advice:

• a way to insulate the window in front of my desk so my fingers don't freeze off on the cold nights...
  
• how to store shoes for convenience & space saving
• how to organize closet...by seasons? by color? by tops/bottoms? by usage?
• how to hang pants/skirts
  

(List will be updated periodically to reflect new needs & acquirements.)
originally posted: Feb. 6, 2008 at 12:11am

Thanks everyone!

I feel very spoiled today with all the well wishes. Thanks to everyone for remembering my bday. :)

I had a delightful brunch with Bob at Southern Kitchen in LG (mmmMMMmmmmm...country fried steak & apricot french toast=heavenly!) and then we walked around a bit (I bought a shirt at Life is Good - my FAV store!!! I can't wait to wear it tomorrow!!) and finally (after waiting long enuf to feel like more), we stopped at Cafe Delatti for Pinkberry style fro-yo (delish!). :) It was super yummy. I recommend the original flavor (there's also mango=more sweet & blueberry=more tart) w/captain crunch. I especially like that they have lots of fresh fruits to choose from too. Their mochi balls are ok, but too soft for my taste.

Then we came back and I got to work on hwk and other stuff I've been putting off/too busy to do. Kind of a sucky way to spend my bday, but at least I got to be productive with someone very special. ;) =D Yup...unfortunately, since we had that big brunch at 2pm, we didn't really feel like having dinner till really late as well and Bob's plans of making me ribs will have to be postponed. But I can't wait!!! I LUV ribs.

Next will be a long string of celebrations lasting all the way till mid-March! hee hee I love my birthday. But man, so hard to pick things to do! :)