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! :)

Spontaneity achieved!

So...on Tues, I was suddenly possessed with a strong desire to go boarding at least once this season. So I emailed a bunch of known boarders/skiers, but imagine my surprise when all my old slope buddies were unable to ditch work (when did we ever let that be our excuse?!) and join me!! Unfortunately, I couldn't pass up the golden opportunity I have as a student to go on a weekday when there are no crowds/traffic, so I had to ditch my workaholic friends (sorry all!). After much vacillation, I finally decided to go up on Thur with Bob, Chris (his roomie) & my bro. That's as impromptu as it gets for me folks! As it was, we only decided on Wed after Bob & Chris were able to secure the day off! Then, we had to work out all the logistics of car, rentals (for Bob & Chris), food, etc.!

It was sooooo worth it though!!

Beautiful weather, good snow (packed powder), no lines, and great company. It was wonderful and I'm so glad we went. The day trip wasn't even that bad either. Of course, I'm in no rush to do it again anytime soon. But I was surprisingly awake & energetic throughout the day (but crashed for about 1.5-2 hours on the car ride back). We kinda went crazy with the no lines thing and didn't really stop for lunch (had trail mix on the lifts). So we got in a good 10-13 runs! And I'm not too sore either (tho a little burnt). All in all, a very satisfying boarding experience. Enough for this season I guess. :)

Never here

I love my place, but I'm never here...at least I'm never here when my roomie's here. Monday was the first time we've ever had dinner together. Our schedules don't seem to have much overlap. She's up early & sleeps early....and I'm up....late....and get up....late. :)

But I've been unusually busy these last few weeks, so hopefully things are calming down. I've submitted some stuff for my culminating project, so I'm eagerly awaiting feedback from my adviser. But I'm also scared to find out how badly off the mark my attempt was. In the meantime, I should be continuing on with it, but I've been unmotivated this week. I should be catching up on my other class (which I've neglected for a week), but...there's nothing actually due. hehe In fact, today was a super nice and relaxing day where I did practically no work all day. I went to play with my niece, went grocery shopping with my sis, worked out (and listened to part of a lecture), came back & made dinner which I enjoyed while watching CSI on DVD with my roomie, washed dishes, looked through some ads (Safeway, Lucky, etc.), talked on the phone with Bob, updated some expenses on my spreadsheet and now, typed up a blog. It was a wonderfully low-key day. It was so refreshing and, I think, just what I needed. *whew*

Oh and the latest thing I've discovered about being grown up is what a hassle eating is and having to figure out what to eat for lunch and dinner each day. Ugh! It's been a pain (but still, a welcome one). I'm also going to have to keep better track of my groceries because I had to throw out some stuff that went bad AND when I go shopping, I forget what I've got and end up getting stuff I don't really need! So yeah...no more grocery shopping for me for a while...but stocking the pantry does take a bit of effort at first. The other thing about food is that I don't really have a good gauge on how much I actually eat, so I end up getting a lot more than I need and on top of that...I don't really snack much (or maybe I just don't have snacks I really like yet?)...so I don't think I'll be able to buy much snacks cuz they'll go bad or I'll get sick of it before I finish them. Or else Kittoe (Bob's place) will be seeing a lot more of my half-eaten stuff. :)

Setting up my place is lots of Fun!

I'm having lots of fun setting up my new place. It's so great and feels so grown up too. Anyhow, I was inspired last night and I've pretty much unpacked all my boxes except for 2 left. Now, I actually have space to walk around my room and get to the closet. I can even open & close the closet doors without obstruction. YAY! There's something very satisfying about emptying boxes and moving things around so it looks/works better. And at the end of the work, you can sit back and see the difference your work has made.

It's weird. I wasn't really that tidy a person when I was living at home, but I've been pretty darn tidy here. I want to wash the dishes after cooking/eating to the sink is clean, and I'm more aware of untidiness in my place as well. Maybe it's cuz everything's so neat & tidy already and I want to keep it that way? I don't know, but I've never been so inclined towards tidiness before so this is weird. And there's a bunch of things I want to reorganize & clean out (shoes, clothes, kitchen cabinets). So I'm trying to figure out the best way to organize things...which is kinda fun.

But yeah. I think, for now, it's enough that the boxes are almost gone. I think it's time to get back to school work (definitely not as fun)... =P

Moved!

So I moved to my new place on Saturday (Feb. 2). Some friends from my community group (+ Dan) came to help me out for which I'm very grateful! :) Here's some of the boxes that got brought over (the picture below is missing about 13+ more as well as the bed, dresser, bookshelf & desk that were also moved...hehehe). But it went surprisingly quickly. The guys took care of the furniture & boxes and the girls helped me move all the clothes in my closet as is (to save me from additional unpacking).

And here's my bed in my new room! It's a little funny looking cuz I set the timer on 2 sec so I had to jump. (You can't see much of the room, huh? ah well, guess you'll just have to come over some time!) But yeah, unpacking's a slow process and it's quite a struggle to juggle that on top of catching up with school and having to go to work too. *sigh* Vacation is really & totally over for me (not that I was vacationing while I was cleaning & packing, but it was nice to use that excuse to postpone school work). :( Here's what my boxes look like in my new room right now. Look nice, don't you think? Like I should just keep it that way...hee hee You probably can't tell, but that's actually better than what it was when I moved in cuz I've actually done some unpacking...
And after ~7 hours of installation trouble-shooting, and technical support frustrations, Janet (my roomie) and I are FINALLY able to connect to the Internet wirelessly from our laptops!! YAY!!! (Now, I really have no more excuses for not doing homework anymore....) And I'm making my first meal at home tomorrow (steak & potatoes)!! So exciting! And my car's really loving the garage.... :)

cleaning progress

omg! I'm so not enjoying cleaning/packing up my room. ugh! I've sure accumulated a lot of stuff over the years. And I have to look at every little thing and decide if I should keep it or throw it out. If I keep it & it's some sort of information, would it be better to transcribe it and just save it on my computer? I spent all of Monday cleaning and I was soooo drained. On the bright side, I've made a dent in my room. Now, I'll need to look at the closet and my clothes...

But today, I got a break from cleaning in order to deal with applying for financial aid. I talked to a financial aid advisor (finally!) and got the scoop on all the stuff I needed to do to start the LENGTHY process. She was nice and very helpful, but the amount of paperwork I've gotta fill out is *such* a pain.

It also turns out that I didn't have a letter proving my termination from Intel that I'll need, so I had to call and then get put on hold and routed to a 3rd party (apparently this function was outsourced). I was put on hold again, routed a few times (with more holding in between). Then, I was finally told I couldn't be helped. They don't give written confirmations directly to me. So I had to call back to Intel employee services, find out there's a special term I need to use to get the info I want (in the process my call was dropped and I had to call back, get put on hold and explain the whole thing to a new person!!!). THEN, I called the place again, struggled to get the option to talk to a person since I don't have some code I needed and got stuck with their automated operator in a long cycle of frustration till I wanted to kill the thing & the stupid person who designed the system to be so hard on users!!!! Was put on hold again, and finally....FINALLY reached someone who told me I'd need to print out a form, make copies of my driver's license & some proof of address (thank goodness I'm still living at the same place!!), fax it in and wait ~15 days!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

*cry*

Moving day set & school starting

Booo! I can't believe break's already over! :( It officially ends on Wed (the first day of instruction), but since I had to go to campus for an orientation of the culminating experience class (equates to the master's thesis I need to graduate; see the handbook - which I've gotta read soon - for more info on what this is and here's a basic example of what I'll have to do, I'll probably post my progress periodically), I count it as over. No longer can I ignore the impending assignments for school stuff. *sigh*

I'm moving in on Feb. 3! I'm getting soooo excited!!! I dropped by the new place to check out my room again and figure out where I'd wanna place things. I'm totally cleaning this week and then I've gotta pack next week. I'll post pics of my new place & room once I'm settled. Oh!! And if anyone has an extra hairdryer, scale, plunger, toilet bowl brush, dirt devil-type thing, full-length mirror, etc. they wanna get rid of, please let me know! I guess I'm gonna have to do some household-y type shopping.

I'm still working on getting the financial aid too. I finally got a hold of a counselor who will answer my questions, but since today's a holiday, I'll call her tomorrow. I hope the info needed is not as detailed as it sounds cuz that'll be such a pain!

I'm gonna start budgeting this year as well. I started in Nov actually and made an excel spreadsheet for the purpose, but silly me, deleted the whole thing (which took hours of pouring over old credit card statements, receipts, check book, etc. for 2007) in order to make the template for 2008. Cuz I forgot to save it under a different name first. *sigh* All that time & energy down the drain. I'd backed up an older version of it, but I probably won't go back to fill on 2007 again unless the financial aid app really needs that detailed an account of my expenses!! I think I should get one of those budgeting softwares because that'll make things so much easier.

Ok. That's my update. Hopefully, I'll really keep this better up-to-date this year.

Happy New Year & more changes for me

Wow. It's been a Looooong time since I last wrote. I wonder if I'll be keeping this blog at ALL this year. Hrm. Must think about it.

Anyhow. news update from me is that I'll finally be moving out of my parent's place! I can't believe it. I'm totally dreading the packing & cleaning & moving part...but it's exciting to be living on my own (well, with a roommate). I'll be moving to Campbell probably at the beginning of Feb.

The Fluid Diet

I'm on a new diet...It's what I call the fluid diet. I basically only have fluids and fluidy solids. Hot cider, Tea, Soups, Soup noodles, Rice Porridge. Ah! So many choices! And I'll lose weight in no time!

Ok. fine. You guessed it. I'm sick. :(
But I'm pretty convinced that this new diet is gonna help me loose some extra pounds while I'm on it too. Besides, between my burnt tongue (from a very very hot cider) and sore throat, I can't really taste much of anything anyhow. And it definitely feels like a true diet cuz I'm constantly hungry!

Yesterday, I had soup, soup noodle (courtesy of bob), and 3 cups of liquid in the evening. I woke up around 5am to use the bathroom (the obvious result of dinner) and the weirdest thing happened! I was only semi-conscious (who wouldn't be??), but it felt like I had absolutely no control over my limbs. I sorta weaved my way to the restroom, almost falling a few times. Thank goodness the bathroom's right across the hall from my bedroom! It was almost like I was drunk, except my brain was totally aware that my body was having trouble obeying its signals...it was trippy.

Anyhow. Time for another bathroom break and then I guess I'll have another "meal"...

Addictive Games

These are pretty fun and once I get started, it's so hard to stop!!

The ESP Game - labeling images...the words you come up with have to match something your anonymous partner types. Get as many pictures as possible in like 2:00. Unfortunately, you have to sign up for an account.

20Q - play 20 questions against their AI. It's really pretty good! But I've beaten it several times. :) There are several categories of 20Q games too. It's horrible at the Name Game (I think that's a nearly impossible game for it to win). But it's pretty good at Harry Potter. It uses the answers of all players to determine what to expect for each thing.

wedding in the library??

So a while ago, one of my friends dreamt that I got married in a library. I thought that was soooo weird (so did he)...who'd wanna do that?? But that was till I saw a blog post on the beautiful libraries around the world (Curious Expeditions, Sept. 6). I wouldn't mind getting married in some of those (plus, many of 'em are in Europe and I wouldn't mind going there either! hehe). These are two of the prettiest ones (Austria & Portugal) that have a nice aisle and lighting...no seating though..hrm.


This one's got built in seating, but it's only in Boston....

A dialogue

S: (walking out the door) Ok. Gotta go! See you later.
M: What? I thought you were gonna have some soup.
S: Nope. Don't have time. Gotta go!
M: (getting a bowl) What about 1/2 a bowl?
S: No. I'm late. I gotta go.
M: (pouring some into a bowl) Just one sip!
S: (grabs the bowl and quickly drinks) Geez. I'm already late. Wha..(starts coughing)...
M: Don't forget to bring a jacket! (spots jacket on S's arm) Oh. You're coughing. Are you getting sick? Your water bottle is so small. Is that going to be enough water?
S: (finishes coughing) ......No. I choked on the soup. And I can get water at work.....Ok. Really gotta go now. Bye!


My parents are back.


(Thank goodness, still made it to the train on time!)
So yes, I was home alone for 2 weeks. I thought that having to cook, clean and what-not for myself would make me appreciate my mom so much more...and it has. But to a lesser degree than I expected. In fact, it really wasn't all that bad, and I really enjoyed the freedom. Which led me to realize that it's really time for me to move out...as in...I'm really really ready. Not merely to escape the suffocation of the 'rents. But because I've reached the maturity level that sorta requires moving on in order to continue to grow. Too bad I still have at least 8 more months of grad school and the impoverishment that's associated with student-hood before I can do anything about it though...