Preparation for Taiwan

Tomorrow I leave for Taiwan for the Christmas holidays. I'll be there for 10 days and it'll be nothing but non-stop meeting Ming's family. There'll be 100+ people there and I'm bound to forget names and faces when bombarded with that many all at once.

Tonight I've spent the night packing and trying to make sure that I've got everything. Since I'm meeting most of these people (the Wu clan -- even though they aren't technically Wus) for the first time, I've got to look more spiffy than usual. *sigh* Ransacked the closet trying to find proper spiffy, winter attire and it's such a tedious and time consuming process. Everytime I pack for a trip I come back to the same conclusion: I really will probably end up paying someone some day to do my packing for me since I loathe it so much. O.o

I'm excited to go to Taiwan but, at the same time, a little trepidacious since I've got to be in Cindy-best-behavior mode. Each day in Taiwan will be packed full of activity and there won't be much downtime. I'm hopeful since I've been told I get (nearly) one day of shopping time. Hopefully I'll be able to pick up some trinkets for myself and for gifts to bring back home.

I hope everyone has a merry Christmas. Drink lots of spiked egg nog and go kiss under the mistletoe!

See you in the new year!!

Christmas Season is Upon Us

Since it is December now it is officially X-mas time. The incessant Christmas songs on the radio and Christmas decorations in the stores can finally have a purpose. I started Christmas shopping yesterday and it looks like this season is going to be harder than most. Since I'll be in Taiwan I need to get my gifts earlier than later. *sigh* I guess I can't procrastinate this season as I have in past ones. On the bright side, I can buy some x-mas gifts in Taiwan since my family will also be away for Christmas. ^_^

Post Tryptophan

Thanksgiving went extremely well. We made 2 turkeys and everyone gobbled them up, no pun intended. We BBQed the turkeys and they turned out better than I could have expected. The turkey was so good and I didn't get enough of it so I plan to make more this weekend. O.o Call me crazy but I haven't had too much turkey yet so this weekend's plans include more BBQ turkey. I hope we don't get rained out b/c the weather has been extremely temperamental lately .. good for boarding but bad for BBQ-ing.

2008 Olympic Mascots

China is hosting the Olympics for 2008. *bleh* Can't say I'm happy about hearing that nor supportive. They unveiled the mascots:


I don't like them. The mascots had such a good opportunity to be cute characters and now they look like ... knock off type characters. They remind me of the look alike characters that you find in Chinatown all the time. They're the same style of drawing as the wannabe Snoopy or something. *sigh* I would have looked forward to buying some Olympics memorabilia (despite my feelings over China) because the symbols sounded cute enough: fish, panda, olympic flame, Tibetan antelope, and swallow. I thought they'd be cute. Ugh. Boy how wrong I was. Just goes to show how China can take cute things and give it their on spin.

Hello Kitty at Neiman's

Neiman's now has Hello Kitty items for sale. Can you believe that Hello Kitty has now gone high ticket?

An adorable Hello Kitty® watch glittering with diamonds and a pink sapphire bloom.

• Pink alligator strap.
• Stainless steel case.
• Mother-of-pearl dial.
• Pavé diamonds, 1.6 total carat weight.
• Pink sapphire flower.
• Imported.

New Toys

Playmobil - Security Check Point



They definitely did not have this toy when I was a kid!

amazon link

Honeymoon location set!

Ming and I have finally decided where we're going for our honeymoon: Nuevo Vallarta. It's right outside of Puerto Vallarta and it's nicer and newer than Puerto Vallarta. We're going to stay at Grand Velas. It's an all-inclusive resort that offers beverages and food around the clock. They even have a pillow menu!!! O.o

Oy vey

Trust me to have the most expensive tastes .. I went dress shopping over the weekend and I happened to fall in love with the dress that is 4x more than what I was hoping to spend. The dress that I like is below:

The picture doesn't do the gown justice. The gown totally sparkles all over the place and, the most important part, I look so pretty in it. *sigh* Unfortunately, the dress is way out of the budget and I've got to find something else that doesn't break the piggy bank. x_x

Brothers

I don't think I know a single person who doesn't have a gripe about their brother. Seriously, what in it does a guy (as opposted to a sister) have in him that makes him act like a total idiot? I don't have a clue but I know that I'd definitely say that my own brother isn't the sharpest and makes really stupid decisions. I know that it isn't just sisters who complain about their brothers; guys also complain about their brothers too. These idiot brothers really need to be taken aside and beaten on the head with a very big stick until they start shaping up.

Camper Shoes

This weekend I went shopping and Ming bought me my first pair of campers. They make my feet look so small and they are ultra comfortable to walk in. *woo hoo* I'm going to take these shoes to Taiwan (my December trip) and walk in them forever. ^_^ My Campers are a dark brown (as compared to the light brown ones below) and match my new Diesel jeans nicely. ^_^

One Stop Shopping

Yesterday was a complete whirlwind for me. Ming and I went to meet with a potential vendor and it turned out to be one stop shopping. Originally we went to meet with him because I wanted to check out his prices on wedding favor stuff. Not only did he have fantastic prices on that but his prices for other services were great too. 2.5 hours later we purchased wedding favors, tuxedos, flowers, and chair covers. He told me I can have *any* flowers I want in my bouquets for the same price. yay!! I can even get the peonies that I've been eyeing but gotta convince Ming that they're nice enough for the bouquet first.

Mandatory Tipping at Restaurants

There is a restaurant in NYC that is going to add a mandatory 20% to all bills in lieu of tips. I'm totally against that. When there is a mandatory tip you will ultimately get inferior service. The waiter no longer needs to care about whether you had a good dining experience or not since he gets paid the same way. If the restaurant wants to add 20% why not add it to all the entrees instead? That would at least make it seem more fair and makes more sense to the diner. Whenever I go to NYC again I will be sure to boycott this restaurant (and French Laundry too) b/c I think that mandatory tipping at an already elite restaurant is completely absurd.

article link

NEW YORK (CNN/Money) - The last thing you want when dropping $450 on dinner is a catfight to break out between the chef and the server.

But at many high-end restaurants, there's economic tension between the front of the house and the back.

Even if a literal fist fight is unlikely, the disparity is huge between what the kitchen staff earns and what waiters make.

Now, one New York eatery is taking steps in an attempt to close that gap, and it will take the discretionary tip out of the hands of the diner.

Effective September first, Per Se, one of the most highly rated Manhattan restaurants, is instituting a 20 percent service charge to all checks in lieu of a tip. The service charge will then be used by the restaurant to help pay all hourly employees -- kitchen staff, waiters, and busboys -- a flat hourly wage.

"Historically in restaurants, the service staff is awarded significantly higher wages than cooks and other staff who prepare the food on which a restaurant's reputation is based," said Per Se chef/owner Thomas Keller in a statement. "The gap in pay is so great that it is becoming increasingly difficult for young cooks to pursue their passion at the rate of pay restaurants are able to afford."

But the move by Per Se -- which those in the business say will be watched closely by other restaurants across the country -- could mean less money for waiters and waitresses.

Certainly, it will mean less control for those doing the eating, at least if you're the sort who uses the tip to reward or punish waiters for their service.
In the weeds

While Per Se would only say the new system is expected to boost the salaries of those not currently working for tips, some say servers are bound to take a hit.

"We were working with stupid amounts of money," said Bill Guilfoyle, an assistant professor at the Culinary Institute of America and a former wine steward at the Quilted Giraffe, a now-closed upscale Manhattan restaurant.

Guilfoyle said servers and other floor people at the Quilted Giraffe would make upward of $100,000 a year, while those in the kitchen might have taken home $30,000.

He said he saw no way around Per Se tinkering with its compensation without that top figure coming down. "The waiters are going to have to take a pay cut," he said.

With a cut in pay, or even the tip incentive removed from the equation, service could suffer.

"It's kind of like working for the government," said Paul Paz, an Oregon-based career waiter of 25 years and author of the book "Serving at Its Best." "If I know it's automatic, then there is no incentive to work harder."
Stiffing the diner?

Customers may also grumble as the power to tip is removed from their hands.

"They will lose the sense of control that they can reward or punish the server based on the service they receive," said James Oliver Cury, a food writer at the the entertainment magazine Time Out.

A poll by the entertainment guide Zagat Survey backed up Cury's claim. It showed that 70 percent of restaurant patrons surveyed in 2004 would rather determine the tip themselves than have the gratuity included in the bill.

Yet Cury cautioned against reading too much into the impact on the diner or the service. He said people tend to leave the same tip, which nationally averages 18.6 percent, no matter what type of service they receive.
Leave the tipping to us

Management at Per Se doesn't seem particularly troubled by these concerns.

Chef Keller has said he instituted a service charge at one of his other restaurants, The French Laundry in Napa Valley, and it has gone well.

A spokesman for Per Se said the stable salary -- which also comes with benefits like vacation and health insurance -- would create a more professional environment and increase motivation. He also said the customers might find it convenient not having to contemplate a tip.

Eric Lilavois, director of Per Se operations, said profit margins in restaurants are slim and the service charge is really what supports the staff.

But others questioned how slim margins really are at high-end places and the need to restructure the wait staff's pay.

"The owners of those restaurants are making huge profits," said Guilfoyle. "If you have these huge checks and these huge tips, why can't Keller afford to pay his staff more?"

Wedding Website

I finally got my butt in gear and started creating a wedding website. It's here: http://cindyandming.weddings.com There isn't much on it yet but I will slowly start adding to it.

Wedding Plans Update

I've been doing nothing but trying to plan for the wedding in the last few weeks. I have the ceremony location, reception location, and photographer set and booked. After the wedding is all said and done, I can definitely say that I am not looking forward to doing this again. It's a lot of work, planning, and research. I think the hardest part was finding a ceremony location since I know nothing about churches and want a ceremony in the church. O.o A picture of the church is below. I like it for its stained glass windows and lots of lighting.

Virtual Weight

I just discovered this site that shows you models of what you'd look like given a certain weight. Virtual Model It's a pretty cool site. I compared myself with my current weight and what I'd look like 10 lbs lighter. I didnt' seem to change all that much. Looks pretty much the same ... Good for me I guess. ^_^ I can gain weight and no one but my scale would know it.

Wedding Planner

I've been busy planning the wedding ever since I got back from vacation. I never imagined how hard it would be. Not only are there tons of details to oversee but, being the Bay Area, you need to move fast or you won't get your top choices for vendors. I *think* I've figured out the ceremony (church) location, reception location, and photographer. After god knows how many hours already, I did the biggest steps and now it's off to the fun stuff: dress shopping! ^_^

No longer a girlfriend

Just got back from Playa del Carmen and I had an absolutely wonderful time. I got engaged! Ming proposed over dinner our second night in Playa. He bought a rose and got down on one knee. I'm totally ecstatic!! =)

As for the rest of the vacation I spent it getting lots of R&R. I spent 3-5 hours a day on the beach and/or pool. It was so relaxing and the food was totally awesome. I had an amazing time and highly recommend it to anyone.

Playa del Carmen here I come

Getting ready to leave the office soon for Playa del Carmen. *woohoo* Vacation time again. Gotta love it. ^_^ I hope hurricane Emily didn't completely mess up the beaches. I need a break from work. It's a perfect time to get away from it all and sip on margaritas all day. >_< Even though I just came back from Boston 2 weeks ago (less actually) I'm ready for vacation again. Boston was a different type of vacation. Boston was a city-metro area type of vacation. While there we also went to Cape Cod which is more relaxing but not very beachy. I am in the need for beach weather and Playa should do the trick. Cape Cod is more about a New England feel, in my mind, and that area has a charm of its own. Playa is a beach resort that parties at night. Hope to come back feeling refreshed and having done my fair share of partying since its been something I haven't really done in awhile.

Must be nice to be Young

Since I've started working I've become mature and responsible. Instead of squandering very paycheck I have to think ahead (retirement, savings, etc.) I have to budget and plan carefully otherwise I'll end up without anything when I retire. My sister, on the other hand, is still in college and has the mentality of a college student: spend whatever you want now and never think about what you've got to pay for in the future. She recently acquired $600 worth of Tiffany jewelry. O.o Dear god. I can't remember the last time I was willing to spend that much on myself for an out-of-the-blue purchase. *sigh* Sometimes I wish I was still young again =(

A Vacation Nightmare

The b/f and I are going on vacation to Mexico later this month, approximately 3 weeks from today. We bought our airline tickets months ago because we wanted to get it all out of the way and have one less thing to worry about. Out of the blue b/f asked me for our itinerary. I gave it to him and he wasnt' sure if we had an e-ticket or not. He called up the travel agent we went through only to find out that our tickets were cancelled and we currently did not have any tickets to Mexico. *argh* Both of us were absolutley livid! The travel agent, www.onetravel.com, had even called us to confirm that we had our tickets. Ah!! After much frustration and ranting we managed to get some tickets that weren't insanely expensive, although still more than we originally thought we were paying. Long story short, never buy tickets through one travel.

Sports on TV at the Gym

Whenever I go to the gym to get a bit of cardio in I try to grab a machine that is near a TV that does not have sports on it. I find watching "the game" on TV extremely boring. Watching that is the equivalent of watching nothing at all to me. I don't like running for an hour and it makes the time go by so much faster if I have some type of distraction. Unfortunately, most of the TVs, if not all of them, always have some type of baseball game or something on them. Boring! The gym is filled by an equal number of men and women on the cardio machines and I don't know many women who enjoy watching sports. In fact, I think that most cannot tolerate it. So why are the TVs normally turned to sports channels? Beats me. If I had my way, I'd ban it except for one solitary TV that can have sports just so that I can appease those guys who must watch their sports games. Hell, many guys I know don't even like watching sports. I think that a mere 1% (of not less) of the people on cardio machines at any point in time actually care about sports. The rest of the 99% of people would be happier if it was some sitcom re-run or CNN that was on the TV

Scarves

I bought bf's mom a scarf for her birthday. I never thought much about scarves until I started looking for scarves suitable for her. I never realized how cute scarves are and how cute and chic they make an outfit. ^_^ I'm going to start looking for scarves for myself next. Unfortunately, all the ones I like happen to be in the range of 100+ dollars for a little square of silk. *sigh*

Pet Peeve with Kids

One of my biggest pet peeves is adults who think their kids are oh-so-precious that you want to see them when the kid is sick. eww. No way do I want to be near a contagious child. It's bad enough being near a kid when the kid is being 'fussy' so why on earthy do I want to be near this kid when the kid is sick? Ugh. I will definitley not impose my sick child on anyone else and if my kid starts making a scene in a public place, I'll spare everyone the embarrassment and take the misbehaving kid away.

Women on Cars

CNN had an article on cars that women want to buy versus what men want to buy. I am so not the typical female compared to these women. All the cars the women chose are, imo, heinous and I'd never even consider getting behind the wheel of any of them. I think I lean decidedly male for this study.

Top cars: men vs. women

When it comes to cars, it's easy to figure out what men are after. It's women who are complicated

NEW YORK (CNN/Money) - A look at marketing data showing which cars men prefer and which ones women like revealed something I'd long suspected.

While men may, indeed, be from Mars, women are from someplace much more complex and difficult to figure out. Maybe Boston.

The figures, supplied by NOP World, a market research firm, show specific car models and an index number representing how many men -- or women -- intend to buy that car and no other compared to the percentage of their gender-mates who intend to buy the average car.

In other words, these are cars that seem to sell most disproportionately to just one sex or the other.

The most striking thing about NOP's data is how easy it is to figure out what guys want.

The Porsche 911 -- the most overwhelmingly male passenger car -- has an "Index Male to Total" of 214.3, for example. That's more than double the average. The car's "Index Female to Total," on the other hand, is just 14.3.

It's surprising the 911 doesn't grow hair on its hood and eat Krispy Kreme for breakfast.

Other cars at the top of the masculinity dial include the exotic Ford GT supercar, Maserati Spyder, Jaguar XK8 sports car and the Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution.

You get the idea: If it's very fast, awfully fast, terribly fast or way, way too fast, guys like it. Also, they tend to be expensive.

The one common trait among cars that women like is that they are not expensive.

The most womanly car, with a "Female" index of 200, is the yet-unreleased Pontiac G6 convertible. (You go, Oprah! Plus, it's a convertible.)

Actually, the G6 has a wide lead in the "girl car" category. The closest other passenger cars are the Suzuki Forenza with an index of 150 and the Volkswagen New Beetle with an index of 147.6.

How do women decide which cars to buy?

"If you picture a fraction with cost as the numerator then, as the denominator, you have things like reliability, performance..." said Doug Scott, NOP World's automotive analyst.

He went on with a long list of factors.

To sum it up, women add up the good things, subtract the bad things, then compare the result with the cost of the car. Then they think carefully about the result.

Men, it seems, just add stuff up then wonder if they can afford it without having to switch to domestic beer.

If a typical male mind -- take mine, since I'm evidently not doing much with it -- were expanded to the size of the United States of America, that portion of the mind dedicated to responding to the word "enough" would be the size of a bumper pool table in a New Jersey bar.

That portion of the brain dedicated to responding to the word "more," on the other hand, would occupy everything west of the Rockies, including Hawaii and the territories of American Samoa and Guam.

That is why the Mustang GT has four headlights. Not because men want more headlights, but because those two extra headlights -- Ford calls them "fog lights" but, really, they're headlights -- are only available on the V8-powered Mustang GT.

The male driver of a V6-powered Mustang, with its 210-horsepower engine, clearly has "enough" power. Probably more than enough.

But when stopped at a red light next to a four-lighted 300-horsepower Mustang GT it is immediately obvious to everyone that the other driver has "more."

This is the same reason that Dodge has greatly increased the size of the "Hemi" badge on its cars for the 2006 model year. The larger badge makes it very easy to see, at some distance, who has "more."

Dodge has stated outright that it designs and markets cars for men. So it has given us the Dodge Magnum, a muscle-car station wagon. It has also given us the new Dodge Charger, a muscle-car family sedan with four doors, roomy back seats and a nice trunk.

Clever, those Dodge boys. Clearly, they understand that, even though they are marketing cars to men, most men don't just go out and buy cars on their own. They still have to get the thumbs-up from someone else. Someone who knows what a "numerator" is and how to use it.

Women. Always making stuff complicated.

Hamburger Buns Lead to America's Obesity

Bf and I wanted to have hamburgers for dinner tonight. Given that it is only two of us we didn't want to buy too many hamburger buns. We plan to only make 2 burgers, one for each of us. I have searched high and low and have not been able to find a grocery store which will sell the hamburger buns by the piece; buns are only sold in packs of 4, 6, or 8. O.o There is no way we could finish that many buns between the two of us. *sigh* My search had to end with me settling on a sourdough round where we'll have to cut our own slices off of it to serve as our hamburger buns. What does everyone else do? I can't be the only one who's had this dilemma. I know there are tons of couples out there who must grapple with this problem. What's the solution? I am sure most people end up buying the 4 (6, 8) pack of buns and reconciling it to themselves with "oh, we'll just have a few extra meals of hamburgers to finish up these buns." What does that lead to? Fat Americans. Let's face it: hamburgers aren't exactly the healthiest thing in the world for you. An occassional one is ok and your body can tolerate it without exploding on you. Many servings of hamburgers, however, will cause you to grow love handles. The extra buns we were forced to buy caused us to eat the unplanned hamburgers, thereby causing my little, now large, love handles to sprout up .. er, out. What's the solution? Find a local baker (aka Mom or some nice neighbor) to make you 2 homemade buns at a time so that you don't overindulge on hamburger buns.

Getting Old and Settling Down

I know that bf and I are definitely in a comfortable relationship because all I feel like doing when we go on vacation is sitting and relaxing. Any idea of going to check out the clubs and bars is not that appealing to me. I'd much rather see the sights of the town and spend the evening relaxing and soaking in the city's culture. Prior to meeting the bf I'd always be ready to check out the night scene and stay up late looking for various local "watering holes." Now I'm content to spend time with bf and not do anything except stay put.

Whirlwind of Activity

This past weekend was extremely busy. I saw the first showing of Star Wars on Saturday morning. The showing appeared to be sold out. O.o I didn't realize so many people would wake up early on a Saturday to see this movie. *wow* Luckily, bf and I were able to get some decent seats even though we arrived 10 minutes prior to showtime.

Spent Saturday afternoon shopping for food for the house warming for my family. I never realized how tiring and how much work is involved for preparing for a house warming when you only have 2 people doing the prep work. The house warming on Sunday went smoothly and was ended with some yummy home-made almond jello, by bf, and double strawberry ice cream. ^_^

Monday was spent trying to relax and regroup after a weekend of running around. Went to the gym for an hour since I've been putting on some weight, and it shows too! O.o Attempted to do some of the work that I needed to do but I failed miserably. On the plus side bf and I bought a microwave. The one he has doesn't work and needs to be replaced so we made lots of phone calls to all the nearby retailers to check if they had the model we'd settled on. Found out his parents are going to be in town in a couple of weeks and I'm sure they'd be happier if they had a working microwave.

Jade Empire

The long weekend is finally here. *hooray* My boss gave me strict orders to play Jade Empire, the XBox RPG, this weekend and to give him a full report of it on Tuesday. I've got a good boss. ^_^

So Sexy

Ming just got this dvd recorder and it's one sexy machine. Looks quite sleek, don't you think. Hm... I wonder if this is considered sexier than me j/k >_<

Hotels in Cape Cod

Why is it so difficult to find a hotel in Cape Cod? There are sooo many cities in the area that it's hard to nail down exactly which city to stay in. Upon doing oodles and oodles of research I also found out that nearly all fo the hotels in Cape Cod don't let you cancel your reservation without a penalty fee, or a "processing fee" as they like to put it. Grr... I swear Cape Cod is just too touristy. Just because a hotel is on Cape Cod they feel they can charge you $200/night for a hotel that, in any other place, would only charge $120/night. *sigh*

XBox 360

Microsoft unveiled the new XBox. The person in the above photo is actually an MS employee. (!) She's actually pretty cute.

Article can be found here linky

Microsoft fired the opening salvo in the war of the next-generation videogames Thursday night by unveiling the successor to the Xbox on an MTV special.

Sleek and off-white, the new Xbox 360 system looks like an iPod on steroids. Scheduled to arrive before the holiday season (no price set), the Xbox 360 will usher players into what Microsoft calls the "third stage" in the evolution of games - one of high-definition images and larger environments to be explored through greatly expanded multiplayer and online games.

"Remember going from 2-D games to 3-D? We're going from today's 3-D worlds to high-definition worlds that really will look like a movie or television show," chief Xbox officer Robbie Bach says. All games will be in HD, but only HDTVs will show them at highest quality. Microsoft estimates that 100 million homes worldwide will have advanced TV sets by 2008. "That is going to lead to fundamental changes in expectations, and Xbox 360 is going to deliver."

By releasing Xbox 360 this year, Microsoft hopes to leapfrog Sony, which is expected to announce plans for next year's successor to the PS2 next week at the Electronic Entertainment Expo in L.A. "Sony was dominant in terms of market share this round. It's going to be hard for them to match that (again)," says David Cole of DFC Intelligence. "With Microsoft getting out first, it's going to be more of a level playing field."

Nintendo also will reveal plans for its new system, Revolution, due in 2006. The system will support wireless Internet and play DVD movies plus current GameCube games.

No word yet on whether the Xbox 360 will play current Xbox games. If not, that would disappoint many of the devoted 20 million Xbox owners who will want to play their old games on the new system. And retailers may not be thrilled about devoting space to a fourth console game system (including the current Xbox, PS2 and GameCube), along with the growing lineup of portables (Nintendo's DS and Game Boy SP, plus Sony's PSP), says Richard Doherty of The Envisioneering Group.

Beyond that, the added detail needed for HD games may tax developers and divert resources from making games for other systems this Christmas. "Artists do want to see this higher quality, but it is adding to the cost and time of developing a game," Doherty says.

And Sony's next system is expected to have twice the power of the Xbox 360, so Microsoft may not be able to siphon off many Sony fans. "It may not be the full giant step the PS2 was from the PlayStation," Doherty says, "but it certainly marks the beginning of a new era of games designed to be richer ... and to depend on multiplayer gaming as their main mode: not you vs. the machine, but you vs. a friend."

One Xbox 360 game in development from Rare, Perfect Dark Zero, supports up to 64 players at a time. Most current games top out at 16.

"In every transition, processing power and memory take a certain level of jump," says Glenn Entis, chief visual officer of Electronic Arts, which is examining the possibilities of the new technology. Environments will be more lifelike - you'll see leaves on trees moving in golf games, and the ball will behave differently when hit out of varying degrees of rough. Athletes' faces may be so well defined that "you will start to read the eyes of NBA players, so that head fakes and no-look elements become a part of the game," he says.

Microsoft appears to be on the right track, says John Davison, editorial director of Ziff Davis' videogame magazines. "It's debatable about whether we really need another Xbox right now, but there's no denying the excitement about 360."

SF Opera

The SF Opera is offering discount tickets, 50% off retail prices, to selected shows to celebrate Asian Pacific Heritage Month. If you are interested, here's the link with more details (you go through the BART website first):

SF Opera discount tickets

I've never been to the opera before but I've been wanting to go. Got tickets for the Queen of Spades showing. I'll keep you posted on how the show turns out

Attempt to Stop the Aging Process

In a futile attempt to deny my age ...

I'll be turning 24 again at the end of the month .. and that will continue to reoccur every month ^_^

15 lb Burger

This is a huge burger! I was thinking of eating Brix burgers in the near future and then came across this article:


NEW YORK (CNN/Money) - Starting last weekend, a Pennsylvania restaurant put a 15-pound burger on its menu, claiming the largest burger available anywhere.

Dennis Liegey, the owner of Denny's Beer Barrel Pub in Clearfield, 120 northeast of Pittsburgh, said the "Beer Barrel Belly Buster" weighs in with 10 pounds of meat molded into a 20-inch patty on a specially baked, 17-inch bun.

The balance of the weight comes from 25 slices of cheese, a head of lettuce, three tomatoes, two onions, plus copious quantities of mayo, ketchup, relish, mustard, and peppers.

Any two people who can eat it within a three-hour sitting get it for free. For everyone else, it costs $30.
Long-running challenge

"We've been running a burger challenge since 1991," said Liegey. "It started out with two- and three-pound patties, and went to a six-pounder in 1998 with five pounds of toppings."

Over the years Liegey said he has sold more than 10,500 of the two- and three-pounders, and 853 of the six-pounders.

He has kept careful count of how many diners have finished each offering: 256 ate the whole two-pounder and 39 finished three-pounders. And last February, one person, a 100-pound female college student, Kate Stelnick, from Princeton, New Jersey, ate the entire six-pounder. (The burger with toppings represented 11 percent of her body weight.)

The 15-pound burger can feed a family of 10, according to Liegey. He has sold two so far to teams of two people, and neither team did much more than put a dent in it.
link to article

Ideal City

Took a test recently and the results for my ideal city are as follows:

American Cities That Best Fit You:

70% Honolulu

65% Austin

65% Denver

60% Atlanta

55% San Diego

Which American Cities Best Fit You?

Bunny Lights

Aren't these bunny lights just too cute?

Bring a room to life instantly with some exciting lighting. These glowing bunnies are just too cute for words!

Glowing rabbits might sound like something out of Chernobyl, but don't worry; these cute little bunnies aren't radioactive. What they are is a highly unusual set of party lights with an ‘awhhh!!!' factor that's off the scale. Animal lovers will melt at the very sight of them.

This 6m chain carries 20 bright bouncing bunny bulbs (is that enough things beginning with ‘b' for you?) Because of the length of the chain, you can arrange your lights virtually any way you want; around a window, across or down a wall, or even in a pattern.

If you never thought a light could make you go gooey inside, prepare to be surprised. Compared to these, that bog standard 40W bulb looks a bit dull, doesn't it? Perfect as a party accessory, or if you just fancy something different.

Includes four free bulbs! For indoor use only.

Aftermath

I finished a full week at my new job and it's certainly been a very busy week. I've completely immersed myself in the workings of the company and the work seems interesting but there seems to be quite a bit of it. *eek*

Insomnia

For the past two nights I haven't been able to sleep well. I've had a hard time falling asleep and when I do sleep, it isn't for too long. Too many things on the mind I think, most prominent is the new job. Hope it goes well and that it ends up being the right decision for me. I wonder how long one can function experiencing insomnia every night...

More Photos

More photos of the house:before and after photos

Playa Del Carmen

I'm going to Playa Del Carmen (near Cancun) in July for a wedding. I can't wait to get some much needed R&R there. =)

The Birds and the Bees

It's springtime and that means puppies! I've seen so many ads for puppies on Craiglist. The puppies are totally adorable. It makes me want to get one. *^_^*

Celebration

There isn't any better way to celebrate than with champagne and strawberries. Last night Ming and I had flutes of champagne with many, many yummy strawberries to celebrate the purchase of the new house. ^_^

HK-ers told not to eat dim sum

The Hong Kong goverment has issued a warning stating that dim sum should be eaten cautiously since it is very high in fat.

News Article

Sausage Biscuits & Gravy vs. Boba

vs.

While I have always known that boba is high in calories, anywhere between 500-1000 calories per cup, I had no idea how it related to other foods. I've been researching and found out that other supposedly highly caloric foods aren't that bad compared to boba. Biscuits and sausage gravy, something that should be highly fatty and caloric, is only 300 calories per serving. Wow. Considering that there's actually nutritional value to the biscuits and gravy, I think I'll be consuming that instead of boba. =)

Coffee's Hidden Calories

I never realized how many calories my occasional cup of latte was until I looked it up on Starbuck's website. A normal cup of coffee contains 5 calories for a tall (12 oz.) A latte is made from espresso and milk. An espresso contains 5 calories per shot. Now 5 calories isn't something to even think twice about until you add milk. Once you add milk, a latte suddenly contains 200 calories! O.o Holy smokes! How did the calorie count suddenly go up so quickly? It's the milk. Now I know why I've never had a fondness for it. It's time to think twice about running out for that quick cup of coffee. Watch your calories people otherwise you'll end up in the obese American category.

Getting the condo up to snuff

Spent the weekend working on the house and I am so physically tired. We did so much work and our hard work has paid off. The condo looks awesome! The paint turned out very nice and the track lights look really good. Ming put in a new kitchen fauce that looks and works far better than the one that was there before. He also installed shower doors that make the bathroom look a million times better and bigger (since the doors are clear glass instead of privacy glass). He also put in a new front door handle that looks really good.

I'm such a girl. Whenever I went to Home Depot, OSH, or some hardware store an employee would see my lost and bewildered look and would ask, "Do you need help miss?" Haha ... I think that somehow everyone can immediately sense how I am so out of my element whenever I am in that type of environment. It turned out to be very useful since I was able to find my items, written down verbatim from whatever Ming told me to buy, and I was able to get out of the store fairly quickly.

Don't have pix yet of the condo but will post them as soon as Ming takes them off of his d-cam.

Edit: Photos added

Making the House Cozy

So today is the day we [Ming and I] begin to make the house cozy and liveable. By cozy I mean that we start installing the fixtures that were old or just something we didn't like. Today we also start moving boxes in. It's going to be a rather longer evening for us and a long weekend all together. We plan on doing the following this weekend:

• buy materials


• installing track lighting


• install new kitchen faucet


• change door knobs for interior and exterior


• line shelves w/contact paper


• install new shower doors


• install new shower heads


• install new curtain rods


• ... other stuff that i'm sure i've overlooked

I'll post pix once it's all done. As for now, I've got a long manual labor weekend ahead of me.

New House

Ming and I have been looking at condos recently since he's ready to buy. A few weeks ago we saw a place we really liked and our bid was accepted. We close escrow tomorrow and then the place is officially ours -- well, his. He bought the house and I'm helping him to give it the feminine touch, i.e. not become a bachelor pad. ^_^ Lots of work coming up in the next week or so to put the place in order so that it's ready to move in. I'll post pix when the place is in shape for public viewing ^_^

The Dating Scene

I just finished reading an interesting article, located here. It discusses arranged marriages and dating in today's society. The article compares arranged marriages versus meeting someone via the normal dating circuit. The journalist is an Indian American and it was enlightening to learn about Indian society's views on marriage. It was a very interesting read, and put in that perspective, maybe the non-Indians should consider arranged marriages or meeting perspective suitors via their parents. It does give you something to think about O.o

Losing an Hour

eek. I just realized we lose an hour this weekend. *sigh* I guess the only remedy for it is to make sure I enjoy myself as much and as long as possible on Saturday night. ^_~

Dim Sum "Dynasties" and the Mixing of Cultures

Yank Sing is one of the most well known dim sum restaurants in SF. It's well-known because prices are high and, as such, caters more to a Caucasian -- or Americanized -- clientele. I've never eaten there but have wanted to try it to see if the food is really worth the extra price. I read an article in SFGate (here) about it and am dismayed to discover that it's now managed by a white guy and his Asian wife. *sigh* Will yellow fever know no bounds? Pretty soon I'll be eating at Chinese restaurants only to discover that the cook behind the scenes is white. O.o I know that lots of people have no problem mixing Asians and whites (in terms of relationships) and while it is not something I condone, I'll put up with it but now it's come to the restaurant business?! eek. Makes me seriously think twice about going to the restaurant because, afterall, how good can it be if its run by a white guy? Granted, the cook is still Chinese, but do I want to pay higher prices for something that may eventually be cooked by white sous chefs or, even worse, head chefs? Don't think so.

sore

Incredibly sore and stiff right now. I went boarding on Saturday and my muscles are now all screaming in protest. I'm so sore today -- note, this is two days later -- that I don't think I can go to the gym today. *sigh* Hopefully I'll be better by tomorrow so that I can resume my normal gym routine and start losing more weight.

Yoku Moku Cookies

These are some of the best cookies I've had!



They are light and totally tasty. Not too sweet but defintely high in calories. If someone wants to get me something just cuz .. *heehee* You can buy them here

house hunting

This weekend Ming and I went house hunting. The market has definitley changed since I last looked at homes. Everything is so much more expensive (for a lot less) and the amount of interest in each home is phenomenal. Everyone wants to buy now and properties are getting 20 offers on them. *eek* It's a very stressful market and you can only hope that
1. you will find a place you like
2. the price you pay for it isn't going to make you forfeit your (future) kid's college education
3. the market won't tank later on so you didn't end up losing money on this investment in the future

Flilp Flops

I found my new show purchase! I want these! They are sooo cute. Too bad it's $145 for a pair of flip flops. *sigh*

Chocolate Chip Cookies

I want choco chip cookies! I found out Alton Brown had a show recently on chocolate chip cookies. Mmm.. in it he made three different types of cookies:

• puffy (and slightly chewy)


• chewy


• thin

I don't know which I will make first but definitely looking forward to them. *yummy* I have to wait until I eat some more girl scout cookies first since the supply of cookies at home is quite enormous right now O.o Will let everyone know how my cookies turn out when I get around to making them

Sephora

I love Sephora. Yes, yes, I am echoing the sentiments of legions of women now. I never used to care about Sephora one way or the other but last week I had a very good experience there that made me really enjoy shopping there. I wanted to try on one of the mascaras at the Lancome counter at Macy's but they said I couldn't try it on because of health reasons -- even though I saw testers for other mascaras out on the counters. I went to Sephora and they let me try it on and even created a brand new tester for me since they didn't have the mascara I was looking for in a tester. I ended up buying the non-Lancome brand because I found the Shu Umera brand worked better. They had tons of displays that helped me compare the different brands of mascara and help me make my decision. I also found the sales people there really helpful. The girl who helped me definitely educated me a lot about mascara that I never knew before. She was really helpful and she didn't work on commission since no one ever asked me for the sales person's name when I was ready to check out. I think I may buy directly from Sephora from now on but it's got to be on a non-weekday. Non-weekdays mean the sales people have time to help you figure out all the differences between the brands.

Haircut

I got a haircut this weekend. I've gotten tired of my old hair stylist. He's pretty good but the reason I'm tired of him is:

1. He doesn't cut long hair as well as he cuts short hair
2. His location is way too far (deep into the Richmond area of SF)

I went to the same hair stylist Ming goes to and was very satisfied. He did an excellent job! Ming surprised me by treating me and paying for the haircut. *wow* Ming is so sweet to me. Is it any wonder that he's the best >_<

Ray and Jamie Foxx

I watched Ray last night. While it was a decent and enjoyable movie I don't think Jamie Foxx should have won an Oscar for it. He did a decent job portraying Ray Charles but no where near Oscar-worthy, IMO. All actors shine much better when they are trying to portray someone than when they are acting in a fictional role. Jennifer Lopez is a prime example of someone who cannot act yet she did a very good job when she was in Selena. Jennifer Lopez is, in fact, a terrible actress. I would never pay $10 to go see one of her movies. She won critical acclaim when she was Selena because, simply put, portraying someone isn't that hard. I don't know if she (and all other actors who portray someone) did a good job because the director forced them to act a certain way, thereby curbing their own artistic expression, or because the public perceives the actor did a good job portraying someone else (since that someone else was a legend in his own time).

Gaining Weight

I've been slacking lately and eating whatever I want whenever I want. The result has been for me to put on a little bit of weight. *eek* I'm going to be better (again) and watch what I eat. No more eating tons of yummy food and I must practice portion control. No snacks, something I haven't bee doing much of anyway, and no more desserts. *horror* I need to practice self-control so that I can confidently wear the bikini I plan to buy for my Cape Cod and Mexico trips. ^_^

Clean Car

I washed my car this weekend. It hadn't been washed in over 2 months so it desperately needed a bath. It's white again! ^_^ I even went so far as to spot clean the interior. I ran out of energy to wax it. I might go to Tahoe again this coming weekend and, if that happens, the car will need another bath.

Messed up Knees

I think I messed up my knees. I went snowboarding last weekend and ever since then my knees have hurt. When I bend them at more than a 90 degree angle they hurt. *sigh* I'm going to stop going to the gym for a bit to see if it helps them heal.

My First Post

Testing ... first post here

Trying to decide if I should make the URL to this new blog
http://cinderella525.blogspot.com or http://googlybears.blogspot.com.

What do you think?