Pet Peeves

Today I started reading over someone else's code and realized that one of my biggest pet peeves is misspellings. It really makes it hard to read someone else's work when there are many words that are wrong. I wish people were more diligent and made sure that their submitted work had gone through a spell checker. Grr. You'd think that professionals would have pride in their own work to be able to send the sucker through the spell checker. Honestly, how hard is it to spell? It's something that has been ingrained in us since grade school.

Sick ... again!

I don't know how I managed to do it but I got myself sick, again! I've now been sick 3x this winter season, all within about 1-2 weeks of one another. I would have thought that I'd have built up anti-bodies by now to defend myself but those germies are better than my body is at defending itself. *sigh* I hope this bout of sickness doesn't last long.

24

Last season of 24 was amazing. It was a really good season and so far this season promises to be just as good. The season premiere (4 hrs) left me on tenter hooks and as long as they get rid of the weanie president (totally spineless man) then I'll be happy. =)

Back From Taiwan

I'm back from the holidays and I had a blast. Taiwan was so pretty. I went to the non-industrialized part of the island and it was very pretty. Met many of Ming's relatives and they were all so nice. Here's a small sampling of my photos...


River in Kaoshiung




I can fly!








Fanta with a moo moo print and lots of yummy food for lunch.


The 'woot woot' bridge






This was my home for the past few days. The bus is festive -- red and green


Our very awesome hotel room.


They gave us a plasma tv in the hotel. That's nicer than my tv at home!

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! ^_^