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.