If you don't wanna hear me bitch (even though I think this is kinda funny), then read no further.

I had a bad past couple days. I typically wish for snow so that we have sweeter conditions on the slopes. Unfortunately that snow came down by the bucket-full on the lower mainland which pretty much cut the expected attendance at my little get-together at Jupiter to less than half.

Add to that the fact that I barely made it there (slipped sideways on several occasions, many close calls) and never did make it back home... had to crash at Alex's. Not sleeping comfortably in my own bed usually means I have nightmares, which I did, and wake up feeling really exhausted, which I do.

But wait, that's not all. I'm still suffering a sour stomach from yesterday's greasy dim sum so I hardly feel like doing anything for NYE, but that's ok cuz the decision was already made for me. There's 9" of snow in Coquitlam, most of it just sitting there in a pile on the side streets. And forget not, the plowed streets in this hilly backwards city are covered in black ice. I think someone up there has it in for me so rather than risk life and limb to feign a celebratory mood at some party, I'm spending my first NYE at home by myself (since I was ever allowed to go out at all).

When I'm in a shitty mood I seem to find depressing shit on the web. Ok, this one is actually kinda funny:

I just saw the funniest link from an MSN article about how companies have been trying so hard to create the ultimate all in one phone/PDA/game/mp3player/digicam etc. and most the time it's basically crap. The site is full of pics submitted by people poking fun at the absurdity of some of these gadgets.

Be sure to flip through all the pages cuz there's some super funny pics here Side Talkin. I particularly like this one.

I went for dim sum with parents today. We don't tend to do that often among friends. Day time activities in general dont happen often with us but that's a different story. Anyways, I don't think I'm used to the grease that comes with dim sum foods. Somehow I can stomach the occasional McD's or In and Out Burger but after dim sum, I always suffer a stomach ache for a good few hours afterward. My mom thinks that you have to go out and eat greasy food once in a while to keep your body accustomed to it or you'll get the runs every time. I have a hard time believing half of what my parents say for fear that it comes from the same line of reasoning as theories like wet hair giving you a nasty cold (did Chinese people of their generation not study biology or what?). One thing I did find out for sure (well I think for sure since I asked a guy doing his residency) is that people who move to a warm place will actually develop thinner blood such that returning home to a cold place becomes really difficult to bear. So there's the explanation for why I'm having such a hard time dragging myself out of the house, much less up to a mountain. I just cannot handle the cold anymore. It's been snowing here in my neighbourhood the last few days and it is cold as f*&% (that would be between -4 to about 4 C at best). Maybe that is causing the grease in my stomach to coagulate.

You know you're getting old when you pass up going to a friend's get together to watch a Meryl Streep movie on TV and finish a reading a novel. Even I'm slightly disgusted by my lameness. OK well at least the movie was awesome. One True Thing I think it was called. Renee Zellweger was in it too. The only thing I didn't like was the title of the movie because it took me the entire two hours to remember what the movie was called.

1:03 am. Time to finish my book. Tomorrow I'll start my needle point project (j/k)

Re: my post about helmets. I ended up getting a Giro Sonic (youth helmet) in a pearl white with orange logo. $60 US. I was scared all the places here would be sold out of every small size but it seems that MEC and stores like SportMart are carrying helmets now too and really cheap. Oh well. I can still argue I paid less tax and the Sonic looks pretty close to the Giro Nine.

I'll prolly be up at Whistler for the weekend and Cypress on New Years Day (with Denny visiting from SF and Alex). Anyone who wants to join us, just call me.

Wow that was a long break from blogging. I had Joe and Jane in for a whirl wind week of partying and sight seeing in SF before packing up to head to Vancouver for the holidays. Now I'm here in good ol' rainy, grey and cold vancouver. Ya gotta love the friends who call you everyday to see what you're up to and drag you out.... as for the ones you go out of your way to call out but won't leave their house to see you... bah to you guys.

Got in Sunday night.. just stayed home. Monday went to Lougheed and Coquitlam Center and, my favourite, Winners to buy stuff. Watched the hockey game and chilled with Clara, Stan, Al and Herman at Wazubeez. Great artichoke dip but hot chocolate tasted like Quik. Went to another favourite place, MEC, today to get me a laptop backpack (for the equiv of approx. $38 USD YAY can't beat that), got simon a sweet top from UpperCut (Hougee, that plug's for you).

Tonite, hooking up with Joe, Jane and Alex, my favouritist people for sweets at Cheesecake etc. The place with fewer items on the menu than even In and Out Burger. *sigh* Rain forecasted for the next 4 days. Damn, I gotta stop taking that blue sky for granted!

So Jong introduced me to Bit Torrent to download stuff from www.suprnova.org. Got lots of good stuff but I freakin accidentally canceled my download of Better Luck Tomorrow at 82%. Dammit. Is there a way to resume? Also, my download of Gothica has sat at 99% for the last 4 days. How do you remedy that?

My next big (well big by my standards now that I'm poor) purchase is a snowboarding helmet. Anyone got any suggestions? I want it to fit my small shrunken head, be nice and light and not too expensive. Bonus if it doesn't look horrible.

I am the world's biggest procrastinator. I'm getting worse and worse with age. Thanks to me there's a ton of laundry to do, no toilet paper and I have about 10 pages of my short story to finish before I head out to tutor at 3:30. I'm so screwed.

Sometimes in life there are difficult choices. Often you're faced with dilemmas that require swift decision making. Unfortunately some people have problems with life's easier choices e.g. whether to go east or west when taking the Cesar Chavez exit. One fellow in a U Haul truck was decidedly, well, indecisive and drove straight into the concrete barrier that separated the lane going west from that going east. Man, UHaul is going to make him pay up big time for the damage he did to that truck. Maybe the man is a martyr (figuratively speaking, not literally cuz he wasn't dead) for all those driving south on the 101 that day who suffer from the nagging disease called indecisiveness. Sometimes there's just no time to mull things over or change your mind multiple times. Just pick a direction and see where it takes you. It won't kill you to back track and go the other way later on... just a little bit of time is all. Not being able to make the decision, however, can kill you. Well that's my deep thought of the day.

OK so I recall doing all this natural shit to combat the ants at my last two apartments. What is it about Foster City and ants. Anyways, it didn't work all that well. So this time I headed straight for the Raid. The one without the offensive fumes. I sprayed the shit out of all the seams along the window, mopped up any ants with a Raid-soaked paper towel and waited. Well looks like it did the trick. As much as I like to do the environmentally friendly, all natural thing, sometimes the environmentally harmful method is just clearly the better choice e.g. Raid versus leaving out dried cucumber, disposable feminine protection versus the washable pads. (yes there is such a thing, they used to sell them at little craft sales at SFU.)

Ants have decided to hide out from the rain by entering our kitchen windowsill to hang out. Some remedies I just found online:
- Johnson's baby powder (interferes with breathing and walking)
- water and bleach solution
- water and citrus dish detergent
- cloves
- cinnamon
- chili flakes
- Lysol
- Windex
- boric acid
- vinegar
- WD 40

San Francisco is a big city, but sometimes weird things happen that make it feel so small. The bouncer at Loft 11 tonite saw Kent's Ontario ID and said... Ah, Canadian but not Vancouver. And Willy and I said no we're all from vancouver. He says, oh yah? I'm from Port Coquitlam!!! What kind of coincidence is that? How the hell many people even know where Coquitlam/PoCo is? Apparently he graduated from Moody Sr. Then at the Crepe a Go Go, Shannph meets a guy (don't ask me how) who graduated from his dep't at UT in '97. Oh we also met a nice couple from Sweden. Very friendly. Not that any of us are Swedish but we had a pleasant conversation none the less. Ya gotta love meeting friendly folks out partying, what could be better.

I had an interview with a start up in the city on 2nd street @ Folsom today. Right in the plaza where I used to go to Lee's Deli to grab a sandwich and worked out at 24 hour fitness after a long day at Scale Eight. Ah the memories. Back when everything was so new, somewhat scary and so unstable. Wait, my life is still unstable, what am I talking about?

Anyways, there were two security guys telling people who looked lost to sign in at the lobby (2 guys, overkill or what?). Took the elevator to the third floor and almost fell over when I walked into their office. It was so stark and bare, you'd think it were empty if you didnt see the tops of people's heads over the cube walls. No wall hangings, no plants, no papers tacked to the cube walls, no awards framed in the waiting area. Next to reception, just two leather seats and an end table with a book of photos of San Francisco. I was walked down the aisle between the cubes to the meeting room for my interview. Each person had a black jacket hung neatly on a hook on the outside of their cube. I swear to God they were even the same jacket. So eery. I didn't look too closely but i dont think these people even had photos or kids' artwork or the tchotchskies you typically see littered in a high tech office space. They've been around since the late 90s and have moved offices but typically people move all their shit with them too. Hell, people at NetIQ had fish tanks, toaster ovens and bar fridges at their cubes. I wonder if they have a "no personal items on display" rule in effect or something.

Holy shit dude. When I googled my own name last year, my ryze page would get listed somewhere on page 3 after all the Vanessa Paradis fan pages (my last name happens to be a common French word). Now I take #1, 2 and 3 spot (and the other Vanessa comes in 4th). I think I'm now starting to worry about my anonymity. Not that I write anything incriminating in my blog or give anyone a reason to stalk me. Frankly, I just bitch a lot about how much life sucks and how certain people are idiots. But still, it's kinda spooky. Hmm I should capitalize on my new found online popularity and try and sell shit. Anyone wanna buy a set of 3 wine glasses (I broke the 4th) or an anti-social hamster with skin problems and patches of fur missing?

How long has it been raining and grey now? It really sucks for someone whose mood depends on the whether. I f*cking hate rain. I even hate the people who like rain because they think it's romantic or cleansing or some shit like that. Rain has a way of making me feel like tranquilizing myself until it goes back up to the Pacific Northwest where it f*cking came from. Today sucks. I can't get anything done except surf the Canadian news and laugh at people who fell off ski lifts and got buried in tree wells. Maybe it's cuz Xmas is coming and I kind of hate that too.

I just read a whole lot about the craziness of this so-called church of Scientology (in Razor Magazine of all publications). Apparently the first thing you do is sign away, well, your life. You give the church the right to hold you "against your will for an indefinite period, isolating you from friends and family, and denying you access to appropriate medical care". You also allow yourself to be lied to and destroyed (words in their "contract"). I had no idea several people have died at the hands of the practices of this church. It seems to appeal to the movie stars because you need to pay big sums of money to reach various levels of seniority (or "clarity"), in other words buying your way to salvation. Those who sue the church find they'll be harrassed to no end and members will even stalk and threaten their families. I guess it's no surprise the whole charade was invented by some greedy science fiction writer. You need some imagination to convince people they came from aliens. What a horrible mess that bastard created.

I cannot believe this could possibly happen. Necknotch, my oldest and favourite hamster yawned and from afar it appeared as though she had no upper teeth. I thought I was seeing things but then noticed she had stopped eating hard seeds and kernels and started hoarding the little seeds with soft husks. Why do freak-ass things always happen to me? Now I have to give her super special care by feeding her egg, tofu, chicken, oatmeal, fruit and small shelled seeds. How can nature be so cruel? So sad!

Until yesterday I was a virgin user of nasal spray. I remember when I was little I could not grasp the concept of how one could spray liquid in one's nose and not drown. I guess I didn't realize that it comes out a fine mist. It is the weirdest sensation. Suddenly the blockage in your nasal cavity goes away but you are still left with a drippy nose at first. Unfortunately it doesn't make the pressure behind my eyes go away and sometimes it makes me sneeze. What's worse, all Saturday night it made me feel like I had to sneeze but couldn't. I looked up at lights, rolled my eyes around, made faces, rubbed my nose... all this made me look like a coke addict (at the Mixed Elements party) but it didn't help me sneeze. That's gotta be one of the worst feelings after having to go pee really really bad.

There appears to be another case that mirrors that of Wen Ho Lee, the Los Alamos scientist wrongly accused of espionage and held in solitary confinement for 9 months. Race played a major factor and it appears that race plays a factor again in the case of James Yee. The lady who headed the efforts for the release of Wen Ho Lee is trying to also free James Yee. I'm meeting with her next week to help write the content for a web site dedicated to this cause.

I think the first time I saw that LG washer/dryer commercial, I only saw the end of it. Where there's a little boy and his golden retriever quietly sitting in front of a front loading washer dryer as the clothes spun round and round. I thought it was really cute. But then I caught the entire commercial beginning to end. The reason they were down there was that the kid woke up in the middle of the night and realized he wet the bed really bad. It was so gross, they show this huge wet spot and for some reason it's bubbling!? Like WTF comes out of this kid's bladder?? He whipsers to his dog, "don't tell mom". And the two of them carry the sheets downstairs to wash. The point is that the washer/dryer is so quiet it won't wake people up in the middle of the night (when you piss bubbling stuff all over the sheets and need to clean them before morning). This commercial in its entirety really grossed me out. Couldn't they have shown him spilling milk on his sheets or something instead?

just showing off two of the newest additions to my hamster family - Oreo and Poopee. I'm told they are both little boys so they can live together. However, I see boy parts on Poopee and not on Oreo. This is a problem, not just cause we don't have room for more babies, but because they have a "mottled" gene and if two mottled hamsters breed, they produce defective toothless eyeless white babies that don't survive... YUCK.

Watch what you blog fellow bloggers.

Here's another borrowed link worth reading (this time from Cec L). Lists of restaurants in Vancouver that have been forced to close due to things like cockroaches, mouse infestation, sewer back up, etc. EEEW, I can't believe how many of those I've eaten at. Here's the list.

Driving home today, I learned a new word from the traffic report - "carbeque". hahaha

Anyone who has searched for scholarships knows that they're tough to qualify for and often have really narrow restrictions e.g. blind, amputee, living in some remote region of Canada, child of slain officer etc. Others are just bizarre. This one require the entry of an original song. Here's the restrictions and instructions:

Legal residents of the U.S. or Canada
Void in Puerto Rico, Quebec and where prohibited by law
Must be 14 years of age or older
Submit an original song about duct tape from any genre of music (parodies are not permitted)

Contact Information:
Henkel Consumer Adhesives, Inc.
Web Site: www.ducktapeclub.com

I do not understand how people can live in filth. I have a box of curtains we took down from the last tenant. I've since sewn nice new curtains. The old ones were originally white/cream and are now grey and filthy...not even close to their original colour and they smell. It sickens me to even touch them.

If you can afford to put a roof over your head, you can afford to buy a few cleaning products and apply some effort to keep your place livable by human standards. The people who own a home next door to where I tutor have THE most disgusting place I have ever seen. Their front door is always wide open so you can see right in. There's dirty shag carpet and rotting boxes piled up everywhere in their living room. There's broken crap strewn all over the front lawn. And this is in Burlingame not Surrey, BC!

I just checked out the Canucks site. They are #1 in Western Conference right now. How come that doesn't happen when I'm in Vancouver with full access to CBC? And, even when they are doing well, how come they lose when I buy tickets to go watch (lose against San Jose of all teams!?!).

I've pretty much established that not having a full time job sucks. The reasons why are pretty obvious.

People who complain about their jobs (and forget they are lucky enough to collect a pay cheque) also suck.

But there is redemption. Read about how bad some people's jobs really do suck. I hate my job dot com and I work with fools dot com . Here's a short sample:

It turns out that this is Hell- and my boss and the Gen. Mgr are the Devil and his spawn. The most high level thing I have done since I've been here is order a dam coffee pot, which they make me clean every night.. and I don't even drink coffee! I hear them everyday discussing who they will fire. I think they make it a challege. ex. GMgr-"I'll see your termination and raise you two suspensions" heheheh

I shared an office with a woman my age who only spoke baby talk when on the phone with her husband (who called minimum 4 times a day, each conversation easily lasting a half hour). If that wasn't enough, he would sometimes come to the office and spend an hour sitting in a chair between our desks, conversing in baby chatter and kissing her while I was trying complete my work.

We finally finished the first season of 24 on DVD last night at 3 in the morning. It took several sittings but we tend to watch 4 episodes in one go. I don't think I've been this hooked on a show since Law & Order. But that is a different kind of addiction. With 24, there's non-stop action, twists and turns and corruption. I couldn't even conceive of how one would begin to write the screenplay for something like that. So who wants to borrow my Season One in exchange for Season Two?

it's been about 6 weeks since I turned in my grad school applications and neither of the schools i applied to have made their selections yet. That leads me to wonder, what do admissions departments do but review applications and make selections once per quarter? I mean, you've got a team of say 3-4 people and your job consists of nothing but reviewing applications, maybe a recruiting event here and there.

One, does that make for an interesting job? Two, how can it take you more than 6 weeks to review all the applications??? It's getting frustrating not knowing what I'll be doing with my life in the next 2 years. If I dont get into either school for whatever reason, there's no job waiting for me and finding one would be near impossible. I'd basically be screwed and would probably have to move back to vancouver and get some lame ass hourly job or scrape for contract work while living with (God forbid, my parents). So it's kind of important that I find out soon. I'm sure I'm not the only one in this predicament... or maybe I am.

You know you've lost it when you find yourself getting excited about buying multi-colour metallic gel pens or dousing every fabric in your home with plum-scented linen spray.

Good lord I just saw the Halloween pics from the Element party. Some creative costumes from the guys... but, goddamn, what is it that makes the girls in that crowd mistaken Halloween for "how can I make myself look even sluttier than the next girl" day?!? It's sad and pathetic to see that the socially acceptable/desirable attire for men is something funny and outrageous. While for the women it's anything that shows your legs and/or mid-driff and/or makes your breasts look big. It's a self-imposed double standard. I wish the ladies would open their eyes and realize that. The foul odor of inflated egos, narcissism, and silicone at that party makes me ill.

I hate to think about the point at which the amount of time I've spent unemployed will surpass the amount of time I've been employed (at a real job that required a degree). I started working fulltime in '98 and have had a total of 5 years experience. I was unemployed for 9.5 months after Scale Eight and now have been out since May which makes 6 months - that's a total of 15.5 months. A little more than a year. That's really depressing. *sigh* As an amateur bum on that first go round I didnt do much but job hunt and sit at home and eat ice cream.

But I learned since then to make better use of my time. I think I've done a better job of being productive during this bout of joblessness. I've taken golf lessons, gotten contract work, tutor 2 kids, edited 6 graduate admission essays/letters (not my own, but for pay), taken officer positions with 2 clubs (NAAAP and Toastmasters), entered a public speaking contest, wrote the GRE (twice, unfortunately) and applied for grad school. On top of that applied to a shitload of jobs and interviewed with about 12 companies. Oh and now taking a fiction writing course and trying to decorate our now not-so-fancy home. I guess it doesn't seem so bad now that I capture that in writing and it fills out a whole paragraph. Now if I dont get into grad school...then I'll be in a jam. I really don't see myself finding work here right now. *sigh again* And now that I've had all this time for observation, introspection and such... I'm not sure that grinding away fulltime to make someone else rich is for me anymore. Life is certainly an adventure. I've had so little control the last 3 years, but I guess that is what makes it an adventure...

I've copied yet another link off ben's page. Alton Brown's blog. Now how cool is that. It's funny to read because he kinda blogs about whatever, not just his show. He seems like such an intelligent and interesting guy I wish I couldve made it to his book signing. He notes in his rant that he is surprised that more than 3 people at a time show up to see him haha. Anyways, check it out, I've copied the link on the right there.

Last Saturday it was about 32 degrees C. This Saturday evening was cold as a Vancouver late-Autumn day. Unbelievable how weather changes so quickly here. Tank tops and sandals to down feather coat in 7 days. Now it's pouring rain and I haven't seen my umbrella since May. There's something about rain that makes even good days seem like the end of the world is nearing. Maybe I've attached too many bad memories to rain (how can you not when it rains more often than not in Vancouver). Maybe I have an undiagnosed case of seasonal affective disorder (SAD). I should go sit in front of a lamp or something.

I cannot believe that the DC sniper suspect is representing himself in a capital case. The guy has a marine background but is no lawyer. And... he is cross examining victims who survived. How can that be right?

OK too much web surfing lately. First the TravelMate women's urination-on-the-go contraption, then costumes for your cell phone, now this.
Fake perky nipples? Why not just wear a thin shirt and turn on the a/c? If you're going to go for the "flirty" (as they call it, trashy as I call it) look, you might as well go au natural.

I was surfing around getting Halloween costume ideas. Would you believe they are making costumes for your cell phone??

OK so i got this off a comment from Ben's blog but have to re-post it. For women who were jealous of men's ability to do roadside/fishing dock/back lane peeing here's the solution . Pretty clever actually... but the version that comes with a tube and pouch to collect your pee in looks like a reverse Camel Back. EEEW.

I am so very excited. I have signed up for a Fiction Writing class at the Kearny Street Workshop, an organization that supports Asian Americans in the arts. Could this be my first step in writing and publishing my first book?? here's the course description: Students will read and discuss short stories and novel excerpts from marginalized and mainstream writers using speculative elements, as well as analytical texts. At the end of the course each student will turn in the first draft of a longer writing project for the class. The teacher is doing her MFA and is the editor of hyphen magazine. Can't wait to start.

Why is it the good ones suffer most and the bad suffer least? My hamster from hell, named Furry, short for Furious was a mean little sh*t. He would not only bite you when you went anywhere near him, he would bite and not let go til you shook him off violently. You would be guaranteed to lose some blood after the ordeal. I never even picked him at the pet store, he was my freebie after I brought in a sweet little grey hamster, Smokey, who died within a couple weeks of my purchase. You technically get an "exchange" when your pet croaks within a given time. Lucky for me Furry was the loser hamster that no one else would take... the last one in the tank. He was simply untamable. This morning he died a sudden and painless death, as though he just fell over mid-step. While my sweet hamsters suffered with diabetes for weeks, wretched and squeaked until finally coming to a painful end with one last gasp for air. How unfair is that?

It's so ironic to see people promoting Friendster's free competitor, myspace.com, on Friendster. My Space looks so much like Friendster, it almost seems insulting (well if I were the founder of Friendster). Only difference is that the My Space founder seems a little more kick back judging from his funny profile and the fact that he makes himself a friend of everyone who joins.

So I found out yesterday that SJSU "closed my case" because they didnt "receive" my transcript. (ie they lost it) This is just one of many administrative f*ck ups I've had to deal with in applying to this school. Now I have to trek my ass down there in person to hand in the extra transcript than I'm lucky I purchased ahead of time. God I hope I get into SF state instead. SJ can't even get the info on their web site consistent. GRE changed their scoring system a year ago and they still havent restated their minimum scores. Web sites are supposed to be "living" documents but I guess not for them. ARG. I also had a 2.5 month delay in getting my finance records cuz the rep at Bank of America online didnt communicate it to the envelope stuffing people in the other dept (twice this happened). If I only got a dollar for every administrative hassle I endure in my life. Why am I so riddled with bad luck?

Free cable (extended) which means 24 hours of HGTV. This almost makes up for the ugly brown baseboards and linoleum. I think I've already learned how to replace countertops with granite, create faux fireplaces for the bathroom and rip out old tile.

Moving has kept me busy non-stop for almost a month. Weeks of packing, two hellish days of actual moving, then unpacking combined with houseguest, carpet cleaning, more unpacking and now decorating. I don't think I ever want to do this again, ever. I guess the fun part now is the decorating. Watching 2 hours of Christopher Lowell and two hours of Surprise by Design each day has inspired me (and showed me how tacky it looks to sponge weird stenciled designs on your wall)

this link is already on ben's blog, but just had to post it cuz it was so dull, as its title suggests, that it totally cracked me up. -> dullest blog

new Paul Frank character...soooo cute. It's

Mr. Spicolli (first name Todd) is a young hamster
who feels at home in his hamster ball. Spicolli
left his habit trail when he was young in fear
of being eaten by his parents. Since then he
has learned many things out in this big world
of ours, like how to play spoons, or build a
bomb shelter.

Simon and I met the weirdest guys on Saturday night. We parked a couple blocks up from Butter and Paradise Lounge. When we got out of the car there were two young white guys standing by my car drinking a huge bottle of whiskey. They seemed harmless but I did look back while we were walking away to see if they were breaking into my car. Anyways, we headed out to Butter for the evening, had a great time and all that. At closing time we were headed back up 11th to the car when these two guys stopped us to ask for a light. Then one of them goes, "hey you guys were the ones who parked outside of our place. feel free to park there anytime! what's your name? we're Canadian!". Turns out these two kids, who were still sucking on that huge whiskey bottle, are from Hamilton, ON and were planning to move to Minnesota to start a farm. (to grow what I don't know). They ended up here in SF, one is a web developer, the other a school teacher. Both have dual citizenship and seem to enjoy spending their evenings walking around SoMa getting hammered and serenading people with their guitar. One of them, the school teacher, was a spitting image of Garth from Wayne's world. Ya gotta love meeting people in SF.

I have just developed a new, terribly time-consuming online habit. One that I will never be able to break even with therapy and medication. Surfing the free stuff section on Craigslist.

I just realized that moving means no Internet Connection til the Comcast cable guys come set it up at our new place. Crap. I don't know how to do anything without the Internet. I am so dependent I would rather type than speak. People who responded to my free printer ad in Craigslist with a "please call me at... to let me know when I can get your free printer" got no loving from me. If I'm giving shit away free, don't make me do anything more than email you back. I'm way too lazy to actually pick up a phone and call you!

How safe are safety seals on consumer packaged goods, really? I can open up my contact lense solution and finish the whole damn bottle without ever breaking the safety seal. Someone could've dipped the tip of the bottle in rat poison and I wouldn't know until I went blind! On the other end of the spectrum, what is up with the packaging on cold medicine. The Safeway store brand night time cold capsules require you to rip apart this plastic packaging that can hardly be torn apart with the jaws of life. A cruel joke for someone who is congested, sick and weak. I can hear the product marketing person at that drug company laughing now. It must be fun to work on consumer packaged goods.

So Davis says anyone running for governor should at least be able to pronounce 'California', in reference to Arnie's Austrian accent. He didn't even apologize for this officially, just passed it off as "I was joking." But beneath the "joke" is nothing short of racist remark. I'm in awe that the media didn't make a bigger fuss of all this. A good chunk of California's population is not US-born and have accents and are eligible to vote. I didn't think much of Davis before. Just seemed to be a lazy, complacent old man lacking severely in the personality department. Not a stellar governor by any means, but then again, perhaps not worth the efforts required to launch an overthrow. But after that remark, I can't wait to see him go down for the count.

Reality TV typically makes people look really evil. That or really stupid. Or maybe people who decide to line up for hours to audition to get on these things just are stupid. But the finale of For Love or Money had some crazy twist. I'm not going to explain all the twists and turns here but, in sum, the girl chose Chad and Chad chose her over the money. Ie He chose love. But unbeknownst to him, that meant she won $2M and could do what she wanted with it. She really did fall for the guy (and not the dork, now unemployed, lawyer from the first half of the season) so she said she would split the money with him. Sounds like a perfect ending and wow, that sure made Chad seem like the perfect guy. What confused me is... $2M divided by two = $1M. But the cheque she wrote him only said $500K. That ain't half!

I've only lived here a year but I'm finding things (mostly Simon's) that I had no idea we owned. I thought I was a pack rat but obviously not as bad as certain other people. Do we really need a 5 year old pager, shoe polishing machine, ab machine that practically dislocates my knee caps or a broken printer? arg.

Shopping for movers is a scary thing. The more I ask around the more horror stories I hear of. e.g. movers who break everything, charge an hour's time to clean their truck or move one drawer at a time. I'm not sure what's worse -- that or having Chinese movers who can't speak English or read the word fragile but work hard and don't pull bullshit like extra fees for stairs or have rules like the customer isn't allowed to help with the boxes. Thank God for Rip Off Report .

My latest cool web site find of the day. Particularly when they comment on other cool web sites.

Free food is the best food. Yesterday we got free Bare Burritos from Baja Fresh with this coupon. And that free drink you have to purchase also gets you a big free mug with straw. I dont even like mexican food much but the guacamole and chips they give (also free) was YUMMY!

So I'm apartment hunting AGAIN. This time it's a little more fun because I'm looking for a private landlord, not another mgt company that will jack up rents after the lease is up regardless of market conditions. And rent has gone down a LOT. The last I looked a 1 bedroom with in suite w/d was no less than $1500, now you can get a 2 bedroom or small house for that amount or even less ~$1300. And sometimes get free partial utilities or cable. How sweet is that? The funny thing is when you still see websites like fastrental.com that are charging "premium" members to view apartment listings. Now that half of the workers in the SV have lost their jobs and moved out of state, who do they think are going to pay for that service?

American ignorance regarding people and places outside of their borders is a real beef for me. Here's the latest example. Channel 7 News put up a map highlighted to show the areas in the US and Canada that suffered from the huge power outage. So they had areas of Michigan, Ohio, and NY highlighted, then they had the province of Ontario highlighted and labelled in big capital letters "CANADA". Now I'm sure all the Americans who could've bet their beans that there were some parts of Canada hovering between Alaska and their western states are all confused.

Nothing puts me in a better mood than going shopping at Trader Joe's. Could the people who work there be any freakin' nicer? And it's not fake like Nordstrom.

I just got back in touch with some fellow coaches at the gymnastics club I went to and later coached at all through university. I dunno what it is about coaching gymnastics but it seems to have 4 effects on people. 1. they want to become teachers 2. they want to become lawyers 3. they have some sort of emotional breakdown which may or may not be accompanied by 4. a desire to become a stripper. My old teammate did that for a short time and now I find out another coach also followed route 3 and 4 above. Funny part is some of the parents of the kids she coached saw her... I dunno who ends up more embarrassed the parent or the former coach.

I discovered one of the best gelato flavours today: Horlicks. It tastes just like Horlicks in your milk but with about 5 tablespoons of sugar. YUMMY.

My Seattle send off back to SF was marked by drunkeness and the disappearance of my California driver's license. Ah, no big deal right? Get on the DMV website, fill out a form, get a new one in the mail. If you think that is the process, you are so very wrong. I went on the website and it told me that replacing a license requires going to a DMV office. OK, well at least you can make an appointment on the website. So I tried to do that, and it tells me the earliest appointment is August 26th...I don't think it's a great idea to be driving around without it for that long. So I figure I'll go early and endure the 2 hour wait. So off I go, armed with a Cosmo magazine and 7 Habits of Highly Effective People. I ended up waiting 3 hours and 23 minutes. People all around me were bitching and complaining. e.g. "why are those two guys going out for a break when they've only been working 2 hours?" My ass was numb by the time I got my turn to visit the friendly DMV worker. Then I realize why they are so damn slow there. He spoke reeeeeally painfully slowly. He wasted valuable time making jokes and telling me my name was pretty. The TV screen had advised all of us in the waiting room to enquire about identity theft, so I did. The dude says "identity theft?, hmm well I guess you could be more careful and not lose your ID next time. That's about it." I hope I never have to wait at the DMV for anything again.

The funny thing is spending so much time in that waiting room you get to see a lot of things and talk to a lot of people. One guy told me he just came from the Daly City DMV where security had to deal with an 80 year old man who was having a tantrum about the wait. On another occasion two ladies got into a scuffle about who was next in line. After a couple hours I tuned out the complaining for fear of losing my mind. When you do that, you begin to pay attention to other things. Most notably the 2 preschool age kids behind me. All they had was a couple matchbook cars and some plastic chairs to roll them around on. They were having such a fun time playing with those cars for hours it makes you wish that you could be a kid again. I think it's only when you're free of pressures, expectations, mental checklists and the like, that you can keep yourself amused for so long with so little. Otherwise you spend the time reviewing those mental checklists, wondering if recent decisions made were the right ones, making plan Bs in case current plans fall through and on and on it goes. Or maybe it's just me.

Wow, it's good to be back. Nice queen size bed where there's no risk of rolling onto the floor or kicking stuff, like the wall. It was nice to watch local Vancouver news for a change. The biggest topics were the Paul Tracy's Indy win, forest fires and people drowning in lakes or hurting themselves cliff jumping. I come back here and there's some standoff in S. SF with some guy who killed a professional kickboxer the previous week holding a gun to his head. Now there's another standoff in Oakland. I think the Bowling for Columbine guy certainly made his point.

tomorrow is my second shot at getting a decent score on my GRE but I got suckered into watching another documentary. To Have and Have Not talked about how China might change as a result of new membership in the WTO. Really good one. Partly showed how all the glitz and glamour of Beijing and Shanghai was a front for impressing the rest of the world, while the country's majority still lives in poverty in the farm areas. Even getting from the farms to the city requires crossing a border that's as bad as INS. They don't want migrant workers going to cities. But rice farmers are continuously getting taxed so their livelihood doesnt enable them to support their families. They end up sneaking into the city and working for low pay at city construction sites while their daughters go into prostitution. While they're there, they live where they work, on those construction sites. China is one fuckt up government. Some argue that WTO membership will revitalize the country and a country doing better economically thru trade will naturally improve things like human rights abuses and dealing with poverty. Others say that the gov't has never admitted to these abuses and never will, so they won't be making efforts to improve anything in that area. There's enough Chinese around the world now. We really should be helping the poor people back "home." Man, I haven't written an Amnesty letter since 1997...probably time to start again. Guess my career blinded me for a while.

not sure what kinda coverage the SARs benefit concert got in the states but it was pretty awesome here. canada's premiers were flipping burgers and it appeared to go off without a hitch. that's a really big deal for an event with 450K people. whoever conceived of the idea and planned the whole thing out should get a medal. what a great way to get people pumped, raise money and awareness, and to pay tribute to the health care workers. apparently the artists themselves only get to split $500K among them (15 groups of musicians) and did it as a favour. the funniest part was probably the fact that justin timberlake got pelted with water bottles. quote of the event from justin "if i were here to see ACDC i probably wouldn't want to see me either." hahaha

The web for me is the ultimate time suck. I have that special talent for spending up to 8 straight hours online through heat, cold and hunger. Often avoiding doing things that would make me a more balanced, healthy, productive and happy person. If only web surfing could burn calories and earn me an income, I'd be the fittest, richest person in the world. I just discovered a few other activities that keep me glued to my monitor aside from matchmaking and reading absurd profiles on Friendster. Reading and writing reviews on Epinions and Citysearch. As if it weren't enough to assume that everyone wants to read my blogs, I gotta go out there and offer my opinion on everything I buy and every restaurant and club that I frequent. I wonder if I really could turn a job of doing nothing but reviewing stuff. But who'd listen to me? I wish I were one of those ladies on that new Canadian show, Shopping Bags. All they do is go and try out things like blenders and roller blades. I could do that. What a fun job. Wanna read my crap? my User ID on citysearch and epinions is vau604.

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Gettin' killed on my GRE is putting a damper on my vancouver visit cuz now I'm retaking it on my second to last day here. Oh well, at least the weather is nice and warm during the day and night too.

It's funny that I figured out that I only live 25.4 km or 16 miles from downtown Vancouver. While Foster City is 22 miles from SF. But with a road system fit for a small town in the Yukon it takes me 45 minutes or more to get home to Coquitlam and only 25 minutes at night to get back to Foster City on the 101. With the olympics coming and more growth into our suburbs, something is gonna have to be done to get people in and out of the city faster.

oh man, exam time is in t minus 34 hours (+/- a few hours cuz i suck at math so bad I can barely add). I'm scoring consistently in my practice tests but there ain't nothing like the real thing to mess with my attention span. I used to be a superstar test taker but my Kaplan practice gave me so much anxiety I couldnt figure out where in the booklet the test started. I started on a question and realized I was doing the sample question (duh, what the fk?).

OK, totally unrelated, my parents obviously aren't used to me being home because my dad just walked by in his underwear (not boxers). I've totally lost my train of thought now.

After so many of my business flights on America West, Southwest and Frontier, Air Canada felt like Airforce One. The attendants were friendly, the seats were spacious, there weren't any crumbs on my seats and I didnt even feel any springs going up my ass. And the French safety instructions were like music to my ears. Once I arrived, the Canadian customs agent greeted me like an old friend. A far cry from the rudeness and arrogance we put up with from the INS.

The one thing that the states does better though is build efficient highway systems. I nearly forgot what a pain in the ass it is to get downtown from Coquitlam via Lougheed "highway" which allows break neck speeds of up to 65 km per hour, 70 on this one stretch east of Brentwood mall. I see they increased that bit by 5 KM. I caught myself hitting 80 on more than one occasion and remembered that, although the traffic cops here won't beat the shit out of you like in some American cities, they will politely reward you with a several hundred dollar fine.

I went out to Sonar last night to see Doc Martin. Great party, mature mixed crowd that was really into the music. Too bad the management was too cheap to turn on the damn A/C. Vancouver was surprisingly hot and humid and the cloud cover and low winds (unlike SF) kept it toasty over night. Clubs are open til 4am now but I was outta there by 1:45, it was just too hot to stay. Even the floors were getting sweaty and slippery. Oh yeah, and my friend Josh bought me a Bavaria beer. It was yum. Apparently they have really racey commercials I have yet to see.

Anyways, got up this morning and, surprise, it was raining. I havent seen rain in a really long time so I guess it's OK. Helps keep me home and studying anyways.

So I'm sitting here Googling for some parties to hit in Seattle. Checked Spundae to see if there were any Seattle events...nope none. Checked Groove tickets - the big cities like NYC, DC, SoCal and Bay area were listed, even Tenessee, Alaska and Texas were listed but no Seattle. When I searched for Seattle club listings, half the parties listed were actually Vancouver events. Yeah, the party scene is so bad that people trek 2 hours to north to party, of all places, in Vancouver. I didn't think the party scene could get much smaller than Vancouver. I guess there are a few small but fun parties - Lotus, Rowing club parties, Drink on Fridays and all the nice lounges - but I didn't think that it'd be more happening than Seattle. Sucks!

I was so shocked at one time when an American dude asked me where Vancouver was. I told him above Seattle. He wasnt quite sure where that was. I said directly above Oregon, and he wasn't so sure about that either, which is really pathetic since he's from California. Also, a coworker of mine didn't know how to pronounce Calgary, while another colleague was not sure how near or far away Vancouver was from Niagara Falls.

Well, I was shocked once again by Americans' lack of understanding of the geographies outside the United States. Ben K found this .

It's almost time to pick up and move AGAIN. Rents all around us seem to be dropping but since our apartment is the newest one around they seem to be able to continue charging rents well above market price. Sucks, we have soooo much crap to move and the move in was really painful. Hopefully we'll find a nice place that we can live in for more than a year! The requirement for in-suite laundry, patio and top floor suite makes it tough. If only it were convenient to move to sunnyvale where there's been a mass exodus of former tech workers. But it's so damn far south :(

I have been slacking so bad and now my practice GRE is coming up on Saturday...gotta put the job hunt on temporary hold and focus on studying. Been having too much fun barbequeing and fishing to hit the books.

I have, for the second time in my life, a sunburn. I used to play in the sun all day when I was kid and get REALLY dark but never burn. My first burn was from a DrinkClub picnic on some mountain top in San Bruno. Yesterday's was from running around in the sun for 8 hours and getting my sunblock washed off from water fighting. I did re-apply but I guess I did so rather unevenly. I have a new respect for pale skinned people who have to deal with this all the time. Is my skin getting more sensitive or is the sun getting hotter (as a result of global warming which will one day kill all living organisms?)

omg it is 100/38 degrees out. That's all I have to say. I haven't been in weather this hot since Florida and Montreal. I'm gonna go to the library and study in the nice a/c. Too hot to think here. My main floor is 83 degrees. And my hamsters are laying out on a frozen water bottle.

New most annoying commercials - 1. The Smart & Final commercials with that kid with the terrible voice and no acting talent whatsoever. 2. Any Western Career College commercial especially when they have the children of the graduates singing the jingle. Children in commercials is cool, but only if they're cute and they can act!

For the few people who read this. There's a bunch of stuff for sale: http://www.craigslist.org/for/12801966.html
That's Shervin's stuff that I'm helping to sell. One thing I forgot is the 19" monitor also for sale.

For some reason we've become addicted to watching American Chopper. I never would've imagined that I'd be so interested in a show about a shop that builds custom motorcycles. But, while the bikes are certainly works of art, I don't think it's the mechanics that captivate me. It's the mad arguing between the father/shop owner and his son, the head designer. There's as much yelling as there is welding and it's funny as all hell. Anyways, we're on hour three of the American Chopper marathon tonight so I'm getting kinda sick of it now. Anyone else watch this show?

I won my first Toastmasters award today. Yay me! Best table topic speaker, ie I did the best at delivering a 2 minute speel on a topic that I am assigned on the spot. Mine was hiring your friends as your direct reports. Well, that was easy. I talked about how many of my friends are unemployed, out of visa status and in need of help etc etc. I'd, of course, be happy to help. However, when you have friends like Ray, whom I described as the type to roll in just in time for lunch and leave at 5ish to ensure he saves enough time in the day for a full workout at the gym...well that makes things tough :P But, hey, friends first. I guess I have to thank Ray for my entertaining and award-winning speech. Getting ribbons is fun. This reminds me of elementary school.

Something borrowed from Yahoo News that needs to be shared...There's currently a lawsuit against Abercrombie & Fitch for hiring a disproportionately white sales force, cultivating a virtually all-white image and discriminating against minorities in hiring and firing. The lawsuit, filed by nine Hispanic and Asian plaintiffs in federal court in San Francisco, alleges that Abercrombie discriminates against blacks, Hispanics and Asians by enforcing a nationwide corporate policy of preferring white employees for sales positions, desirable job assignments and favorable work schedules. All this after they were blasted for those sickening, racist images on their shirts.

oh yeah I bought a ticket and lost on another week of California Super Lotto (aka "the stupid tax", coined by Shannph). I think I've collected enough "down on my luck" points to deserve to win something. Either that or I'm simply destined to live a life of misfortunes. The only good thing that has happened in the last few months is that the guy who almost mowed me over at a cross walk with his big American car missed. Shit, maybe even that was a bad thing. A broken bone or two could've won me a sweet settlement.

does it seem to you that there is no longer such a thing as a web site that doesn't force you to log on? There are some companies at which I might be eligible for one position (ever in my lifetime) but in order to apply, I need to fill out a gerjillion page survey that asks me everything short of my blood type. I couldn't even shop for flight specials on United or cheap ink jet cartridges without first logging on. I'm going to boycott these sites. well at least for today.

don't you hate it when you're not prepared to eat at home and then you find nothing to eat but some frozen ox tail, olives, eggs (only because I bought the two 18 egg cartons for $3 on sale at Safeway), and cookies?

So the latest turn in the adventure of Van is the possibility of doing my Masters in Mass Communication in January if I don't find a job by then...Nice to have a plan B. It was stressful the last time I was job hunting to not have a back up plan and know that I was too stubborn to accept unemployment even though there might be no other way. Well last time I was lucky to find a job. I may not be so lucky this time.

Reading Friensters descriptions is really cracking me up. In the "who I want to meet" category, one girl wrote "Yea...umm...to be honest...I'm trying to avoid making new friends. I'm actually in the process of getting rid of some unecessary friends." The people at Friendster did a nice job, 'cept they've probably gotta fix some UI in the initial set up page. There seem to be a LOT of people who checked that they're interested in dating both men and women. I don't think there are *that* many bi-sexual folks out there!

ok this disappearing archives issue on blogger is really pissing me off. Anyone else have to do this reconfig and republish crap to get their archives back?

Some lady here found an old lotto ticket in her purse from April and realized she had won 7 million dollars. She said on the news that although she did take time off to collect the winnings, she does not plan to quit her job. Look lady, you can quit kissing your boss' ass now. Enough with the "I love my job enough to keep working even though I'm a multi-millionaire" act. That is not the point. There are people out there digging into their 401Ks to buy groceries and new clothes for their kids. Don't take up a job if you're only doing it to kill time, there's plenty of people who need it more desperately than you!! Go do some volunteer work or something, jeeesh!

Since all the Canadian teams got ousted from the NHL playoffs, we adopted the Ducks as our home team. Went to Scores, our neighbourhood sports bar, last night to catch the game. Several dissapointing things happened - they don't serve beer in pitchers, they have only chicken "tenders" not real chicken wings and the Ducks got shut out. But that's ok. See I justify it like this. Either way Canada won! There were Canadians on both sides so it's never a real loss for Canada! (This is a defense mechanism commonly developed by fans of losing teams like Canucks and Leafs)

Today I met a 61-year-old man who is an officer at his Toastmasters club in Pacifica. VP of Public Relations, in fact, just like me. Difference between he and I -- he only has a grade school education. He did manual labor and construction and later took all the night school he could to become an electrician. I thought that was pretty darned inspiring til the lunch keynote speaker came on. He's a man who was homeless for two years while he was in his late teens. Now he's achieved distinguished TM status and is an entrepreneur/ motivational speaker/ consultant/ magician. He didn't go into detail about how he made it off the street but now I'm curious to find out.

So MSNBC today hosted a preview of Katic Couric's interview with Laci's family. The piece was titled "Laci Peterson: An American Tragedy". And in the video the voice over says "she had an all-American life that many people envy." It's a sad case indeed but what irks me is the fact that almost the exact same thing happened in the Bay Area a year or two back. A pregnant Hispanic woman's body was found washed up on the shore. They got no press coverage until this Peterson case came about and all they said is that something similar happened before and the killer has not yet been found. So this brings into question the definition of "American". Most know that non-white victims rarely recieve the press coverage and fanfare of white victims of violent crimes. That's just the media bias that we put up with. But had they publicized the Hispanic woman's case, do you think they would've named the piece "An American Tragedy"? I'll bet my life they wouldn't. This supports my theory that "American" in the media is effectively a synonym for "white". Just like when Amy Chow of the "dream team" US gymnastics team missed a top finish, a headline stated that she was beat out by an "American". I guess Chinese-American means she isn't a "real" American.

This link comes from Winston. But what really made me laugh is Ben's comment about this Mini Shini Knee Hockey Pad, "If a fight breaks out, can you only use your elbows then?"

Job hunting is tough these days. Not just because there are fewer posts but because employers have raised basic requirements demanded of their candidates. I just saw a post for a BD/Marketing Specialist (yes "specialist", not even sr. associate or manager or sr. manager) that required 10+ years experience in technical work in the field of aviation, a masters degree and knowledge and experience in air traffic control and/or airport operations. I understand that industry knowledge is important but a graduate degree and 10 years technical experience in addition to your typical marketing/BD experience? If I had that level of experience and education I'd be looking for something a little higher level than a specialist position. But then again, I hear there's plenty of director and VP level folks with graduate degrees or better working at Home Depot. *sigh* Maybe I should've fulfilled the ultimate Asian parents' dream and gone to med/dentistry school.

oh i think i finally got my blogextra thing working...

So I've become addicted to this Friendster.com thing. Interesting to see what people write about themselves and what others have to say about them. The funniest thing that I've noticed though, and I can't help laughing as I write this, these Asian car show hoochie/model wannabe types often seem to share a common theme in their testimonials:

1. They tell everyone how hot and sexy their friend is
2. They also like to talk about partying, shopping and... not much else
3. They like to ask each other if they're horny or comment on their plans to terrorize men or other women who get in their way

I know it takes a pretty low IQ to think that getting a boob job and then getting photographed laying half naked on some Japanese sports car will help them achieve supermodel status, but nothing demonstrates my "not the sharpest pencil in the box" theory better than testimonials they write to each other. Allow me to cite some examples for your entertainment (keep in mind these are posts from other women!? Is this a huge step backwards or what?):

- WooohOoooo Hottie Goddess ALERT Hiiiiiiiii Glad to meet'cha, and you are most definetly a puuuuuurrfect 10! XOXO
- This girl is a hottie! were gonna make out one of these days! hehe ex oh
- You need to get your fine ass back to LA so we can shop till we drop and party every night again!! :)
- X is so damned sexy! I molested her in her sleep every night for a week straight and she has no idea!
- as hot as you are sweetie... and you ARE HOT... you can have a lifetime supply babe, it would be my pleasure! hehe *wink wink* Lovely.. just lovely!!! =P
- damnnnnn girl..u sizzlin' on my platter~ ..OUCH~ why u soooo damn HOT??? You would need two fire-trucks to tame this baby down. IF ever ur in my neighborhood girl..holla at me and we'll burn the town togetha~ ahahah
- is way cool and terrible sxxxy. she's keeping it asian which, as we all know, is obviously the Way to go. we should "run away together" some time. if only for a weekend. hearts are already breaking at merely just the thought!
- X and I are gonna fuck shit up in every town we come through so you bitches better watch your backs cuz were tough as fuck! xoxoxoxoxo we look damn good holding our guns.

OK i give up on this BackBlog commenting tool.

Today I helped Simon post a job to kitlist for Televigation. On the email I noted specifically "Please do not contact me about this position. I'm just helping to post it. Send all cover letters (required), resumes and inquiries to hr@televigation.com." Pretty simple directions right? It's a tough job market, you'd assume people would take special care in applying to the few jobs available out there. Well, never assume anything. A couple hours after the post went live I got this email

"Gretings Vanesa,
I have attached my resume in Word Doc.
Please feel fre to call me shoud you have any
questions- Thanks ..."

OK first of all, I said not to contact me. Second of all, even if you are too idiotic to follow simple instructions and do assume that I'm the HR contact, you could at least spell my name correctly. Finally, if you still haven't learned how to spell the words "greetings", "free", or "should", I'm not sure how they let you graduate from high school, and you probably have no business taking a director level position in any department of any company.

Test blog to fix my damn lost archives.

The Matrix Reloaded should be renamed The Matrix (so horrible, I'd rather stay home alone and get loaded). The ideas behind the original Matrix were innovative, the plot was complex and suspenseful, and the dialog pulled you in and left you hanging on their every word. There was nothing innovative about Reloaded other than the special effects, which were admittedly very impressive. The producers must've known that too because every fight sequence went on far far too long. It started to feel like I was watching someone play a video game. I expected the concepts of parallel dimensions and time travel, which made the original Matrix so interesting, to be taken to a new level of sophistication. Instead, the characters rambled cheesy high-tech nonsense throughout the movie to force the impression that there was a whole lot of depth to the plot. There wasn't. There was nothing original about this movie. They even borrowed ideas from Superman and, for the love of God, Scooby Doo!? Pay attention to what happens as they race through the mansion and into the library with the French dude's wife. People were laughing out loud in the theatre at many points in the movie. You can pretty much use that as a "cheese-meter" for a movie that is not meant to be a comedy. And, for crying out loud, the producers need to remember to keep Keanu's dialog to a minimum. The man cannot act and anyone who's seen A Walk in the Clouds would know that. The old Chinese man who played the key maker delivered his character with greater depth. The scene on the park bench with Neo consulting the oracle was nothing short of torturous to watch. And the "ending", if you could call it that, was an obvious ploy to sucker Matrix fans into seeing part 3 this Fall. I will not be one of those suckers.

Ok so I bought my first California Lotto ticket couple weeks ago. And I got one number right but that didn't win me anything but a yellow scrap of paper. And so my job hunt continues. I'm averaging 1-2 interviews per week consistently so it's feeling good so far. It's only been 21 days since I officially entered this non-voluntary "transition period" or "adventure" as my former co-worker calls it. But 21 days too long if you ask me. If I don't get something soon I'm going be on the board of every non-profit organization in the Bay Area just to keep myself occupied.

Wow daytime television for those over the age of 5 has gotten really lame. Who is this blond bimbo on Regis' show? There's dalmations out there smarter than her. But Rosie's replacement, Caroline Rhea, is equally pitiful. Why are people that dumb allowed to speak on television, much less have their own show? Thankfully I'm finding things to do during the day so I don't have to torture myself with Regis & blond bimbo, court shows for trailer trash and infomercials for tape to "eliminate wrinkles and neck sag". Apparently you use this stuff (called Bring it Up) to pull your crow's feet taute by yanking your eyebrows right up to your hairline so that you look permanently surprised. I have to say that's the funniest product I've seen since spray-on hair. Alright, time to head out for a run before I find myself having to purchase those fitness videos by the buff dude with bad '80s hair.

My first day of real unemployment. i.e. home by myself rather than entertaining bf's family who stayed at our little apartment for 2 weeks. I wish my parents were as cool or that I had a sibling to share attention with...but I sure don't miss coming home at 3 in the morning and trying to get in without waking anyone. What a bitch that used to be. I'm not sure how anyone my age can still be living with their parents.

Anyways, trying desperately to create goals for myself and schedule my day with productive shit so I don't start getting up at noon and watching Dr. Phil and then surfing the web all day while eating ice cream out of a bucket. The first layoff was good training ground for my second. I'd better make good use of my time this go round. Or better yet, find a job sooner. Everything I read points out that the economy has not gotten better. Not sure what my alternative is unfortunately. School sure isn't free and what I want to study won't make me rich...just happy. I think. Ditched the MBA idea because it won't add to my income level that much, puts me in the hole $50k+ plus living expenses and I think I've abandoned the idea that it'll be great to join in all the political fun (if I can ever manage to break through the glass ceiling) at the VP ranks.

Alright past bedtime...off to bed.

I just realized I'm a terribly unhappy blogger. I should say something positive. I know... Better Luck Tomorrow. Now that was a kick ass film. Way to portray Asians sans the stereotypes -- docile, nerdy, 2 dimensional geeks (who never land the girl) and chicks who like to lay half naked on import cars. Refreshing to see edgy intelligent Asian characters with depth. I wonder where the heck Justin Lin got the budget to do this film, there was not a hint of amateurishness in it.

But wait there's more...the day of the layoff, I went to Scores to chill and watch the Canucks game...and dammit again they lost 6-0 to St. Louis. I think it's time to buy a lotto ticket. I need to shake off this jinx.

God damn it happened. The dreaded "Vanessa, can I see you in my office for a sec?", followed by uncomfortable shuffling of paper and the all in one breath like they taught us in HR training, "you know there's some organization changes going on right now. Some positions are being eliminated and one of them is yours". Since this has happened to me before. I've daydreamed about really dramatic things I can do on the day I get canned... like flip over my desk and scream "then why did I work til 11:30pm last night for you unappreciative *&%$?". But then I realize that my desk is attached to a cubical...and so it'd be real tough to flip over. And if I could, no one would see me anyways. hmmm actually thinking about these Dilbert-like situations kinda cheers me up. hahahaha. Job hunting is kind of exciting at first but after 9.5 months it can realy suck. Hopefully it won't take as long this go round.

First there was war, then SARS and now I'm at risk of being part of the 7% reduction in workforce (AGAIN). Nothing is for certain yet, but the lady processing my green card mysteriously dropped out of the Exchange listings with no warning, no handover of work, no good bye. Ditto for the guy who recruited me. What the hell is next? You know, high tech = large salaries but hard (really hard) work often goes unnoticed, loyalty is nil, and to the company you're just a "headcount". I think I need a job with a little less anonymity, a little more love and work days that end at 5:30pm, not 8:30 plus weekends. Burn out and frustration at age 27 couldn't be healthy. How am I going to last another 30 years? Is academia, perhaps, where I really belong? or is university politics just as bad? Is that possible? Does it matter so much when you get a fat pension and 2 month vacations and a whole slew of students who admire you? Well whatever...still need to pay the bills til I can find time and money to go back for more school anyways. grind grind grind...

Holy cow, we're at war again. This time I'm living in the US. It's a whole lot scarier on this side of the fence than at home in Canada. There's armed guards at bridges and airports. Super paranoid people were even duct taping their windows. Man, if I even get the sniffles I'm going to go checked out to make sure I'm not the first victim of a bio-terror attack. :(

Back from Orlando finally. I was gone 11 days and it's one of those places you tour and you kinda don't need to go back to ever again. The reality of life in Orlando is a far cry from the artificial perfection inside the gates of Disney -- cars that don't stop for you even when there's a big flashing walk signal, greasy sales people pushing time shares EVERYWHERE (even from our hotel lobby and inside the McDonalds), cab drivers with an open can of some strange Jim Beam-in-a-can concoction in his cup holder -- you get the picture. I'll boil down the vacation portion of my trip to some key highlights and low lights.

Highlights:
- the Medieval times show was surprisingly entertaining and you sure as hell don't go hungry with their feast-sized portions of chicken and ribs (no veggies though unless you count the mush in the vegetable soup). The story of love and corruption was a simple one but it was kinda cool to watch people knock each other off horses. The most exciting part though was watching to see if they could scoop away the horse shit in time before a guy fell in that direction during a staged sword fight. Be sure to get a coupon from their website to get $5 off the $45 entry fee for the 2 hour show. Oh, and the tickets from the timeshare guy also cost $45 so you wouldn't save any money from him anyway.
- The Space Mountain ride at Magic Kingdom. It's not huge, nor does it go upside down, or faster than 30 miles an hour for that matter. But I've never been on a roller coaster indoors in the dark before. You don't know your next turn and that makes it actually kind of thrilling
- Fast passes at both the Disney and Universal Parks. What a great idea. You can pick a ride and take a ticket thing out of the machine. It's time stamped with a half hour range of time that you can come back to get on the ride without lining up. Huge time saver.
- Islands of Adventure rides - These were the best rides ever. My favourite, though, was the Spiderman ride. You get these 3-D glasses and get into this car that takes you through a comic book adventure. Unlike most rides, this thing engages all your senses. Bad guys jump in your lap and shake the entire car. Then they throw fire (and you feel the heat on your face) and ice (yup, you get a splash). At the end you take a really scary free fall (well you're not really but the wind and image of a building firing upwards makes you feel like youre falling) and then Spiderman comes to your rescue. That part actually made me a little motion sick but it was exhilirating, even the second time. Dueling Dragons, Hulk and Jurassic Park were also awesome.
- Shopping. Tax there is 6.5% and the Premium Outlets have a tonne of stuff. East coast stores always seem to have better selection and there were a lot of small sizes(because there sure aren't a lot of small people out in Orlando). We hauled back the most stuff from Kenneth Cole, Max Studio, Banana Repulic, and Nike. Simon and I actually had to buy another suitcase (real cheap from one of the hundreds of souvenir stores lining the highway).

OK now for some low lights.
- So about that Medieval Times show. There was this peculiar sign outside the building that said "If you have allergies please take appropriate precautions". We're thinking, maybe they have peanuts in their food? Well no. As I demonstrated during the show, some people might not realize they're allergic to horses!!
- Magic Kingdom park at Disney World. I don't think they've updated this place since 1979 or so. I thought there'd at least be a couple cool rides but Space Mountain was about the most thrilling one there. Everything else was just a moving story book type ride where you sit in a car and listen to a story as you move past mechanical Disney characters. The Peter Pan one was kind of memorable because you get the perspective of a child flying over a town but that's about it. Oh, and the Asian dolls in It's a Small World still have those exaggerated slanty eyes. If, like me, you've studied any sort of media ideology/deconstruction and the whole Disney thing makes you ill, I'd recommend skipping this and going to the MGM park instead. It's the newest one with some cool rides like Tower of Terror. Remember, each park is $50 a pop unless you get the multi day park hopper pass which costs a big wad of money.
- The promised free shuttle to and from the theme parks. From our hotel, which was further from the parks than it looked on a map, the shuttle took almost an hour to stop at every other hotel on the highway before pulling into the Disney park. And there was no shuttle to Universal. Pick your hotel wisely, it's worth the extra bucks to stay closer so you don't need to take a cab.
- The most memorable lowlight for me happened in the restroom at McDonalds where we ate breakfast before hitting the parks. First of all I must mention that one of the first things I noticed was that there are not a whole lot of non-white or black people in Orlando in general. That alone makes me uneasy but this incident took the cake. I was washing my hands in the rest room when this old white lady turned to me and said "oh, are you performing over at the Splendid China?"!!! I'm thinking, holy shit, are the only Asians you see the ones serving you chop suey at the local Chinese-American restaurant or spinning plates at some cheezy Asian-themed show? I was so shocked by what she said that I simply could not spit back a nasty come back. I guess my really sarcastic "no" was not enough to make any impact on her because after I left the bathroom, I heard her say to her friends, quite as a matter of factly, "see the lady over there. I was asking her if she performed at the Splendid China but she didn't"

Once upon a time I had more than an ounce of artistic ability. Now I'd be lucky to draw a recognizable cartoon figure. What the hell happened? Now I have to debate whether or not to pay someone to develop a web site for my dad's little entrepreneurial venture, whereas ten years ago I would have taken up the challenge with the energy and determination of a kindergartener about to tackle a jungle gym. Ah shit.

Procrastination is sure a funny thing. All day I long to crawl into bed, yet as night falls and midnight nears, I develop an attachment to this stupid box that I already spend 10 hours staring at each day. My eyelids get heavy, my body is exhausted and still I cannot force myself to make my way to the bed I so longed for just 3 hours ago. There's really no importance to this post. I'm just procrastinating because I have a lot of work to do before bed but would rather sit here and write about nothing.

Fellow Canucks fans, we lost 3-0 to (I am still in shock) the Sharks. I've never watched my home team win a game and this time I thought it was a slam dunk. People say it's vain to think that your presence as an individual has an affect on the fate of anyone, but call me vain. I think it must be my fault they lost. I've never watched so little hockey due to my lack of satellite cable and look how well the Canucks have done this season. I must be to blame. Sorry guys!

Wow my first post. I wish I were diligent enough to do the ftp to homepage thing since I actually pay for a homepage I don't use except to post my now outdated resume. oh well.