Happy Turkey Day

Happy turkey day everyone! Eat lots, be merry and give thanks to the oodles and oodles of turkey ^_^

The Devil Wears Prada

I finished reading The Devil Wears Prada and although I didn't have really high expectations for the book, I was still left feeling disappointed. Everyone in Europe seems to adore the movie so I thought I'd give the book a shot. Normally the book is always better than the movie so if the movie is good, the book is generally ten times better. Unfortunately, the book wasn't as good of a read as I had hoped. It definitely doesn't keep you hooked like the Da Vinci Code or any of John Grisham's books. Rather, it is through and through a chic lit book. I don't have any problem reading a chic lit book but I was expecting this particular one to have a bit more substance. The book is written from a first person point of view and .. the girl isn't very likeable. She catalogues her life working for as an assistant for some big magazine company and the book is all about how she slaves for a high and mighty fashion editor. The book didn't have any dull spots but, rather, just seemed boring. I love reading about fashion and the book was more focused on dropping descriptions about the fashion labels than it was about developing a complex and intersting story line.

I hope the movie turns out to be better than this book, that'd be a first, because all of Europe can't be wrong ... can it?

Love to Amazon

I love Amazon. I signed up for a trial of their Amazon Prime program. This basically let you get free 2nd day delivery of any items you ordered for 3 months. If you don't cancel within the 3 month trial period then you pay $79/year to continue the program. As with all trial offers, you will automatically get charged the $79 unless you cancel before the trial period expires.

I've been really caught up in work and before I knew it my 3 month period was over and I got charged the $79. *doh* I promptly cancelled the Amazon Prime membership since it was cool to have but not something that I really need. Today I received an e-mail that confirmed my Amazon Prime cancellation AND the CS rep also said they'd refund me the $79 since I hadn't taken advantage of it (meaning I hadn't ordered any items since they'd charged my credit card.) That is so cool! Amazon refunded my money even though it was my own error (I should have been more on top of things) and I didn't even ask for them to do this. Wow.

Amazon has made me a very happy customer and one who'll gladly keep ordering from again.

Jet setters

From dictionary.com:

jet set n. - An international social set made up of wealthy people who travel from one fashionable place to another.


Wealthy people huh? I don't think that I'm considered a wealthy person but I am a jet setter ... this weekend Ming and I are off to Boston. We're going to see all of his old college fraternity brothers and it'll be really cold there (high of 45). *brrr* I guess the only way to stay warm is to stay in Copley Place and go shopping. ^_^

Toys for All

Earlier I had posted that Ming got to buy the TV that he'd been itching to buy. The TV arrived and he's diligently been testing it out with 360 games. Since he got his TV it's only fair that I get something in return too ... so I bought a purse. It isn't just any purse, it's a purse I've been looking for for the past year. I finally found a purse that had all my requirements (roomy, leather, tote style) and I stumbled upon it here:



So now that each of us has some new toy to play with .. how do you find a suitable x-mas gift? O.o

New Toy

Ming got a new toy at the end of last week. In fact, I even went to buy him the new toy.



It hasn't arrived home yet but when it does, I have a feeling we're going to be glued to the couch for awhile. ^_^ The store will have to call us when it does arrive but I'm looking forward to it because it means that everything will be so much bigger and crisper.

Bringing Ramen on Vacation

If you had a limited budget for a vacation, do you think you'd
1. choose to go to an expensive and exotic location but *bring* most of your meals
2. go to a more modest location but go out to eat every meal to sample the local culture

Yes, there are people who have done the first option when going on vacation. Most people choose to live within their means and don't over extend themselves so much that they no longer have any money left for food. Nevertheless, I am sure there are a surprising number of people who choose to BYOB it on their vacation. O.o It's a crazy notion if you ask me but I guess there has never been a place where I've wanted to go where I can no longer afford to pay for my own food.

The people who BYOB it aren't the ones who are bringing food to a condo ... it's bringing ramen and any other instant food (e.g. granola, dry cereal) to some (for example) Caribbean island because they spent all their money on air and hotel and none is left over for food.

It doesn't seem like a real vacation to me unless I'm able to go mingle with people and eat out at restaurants with them ... figuring out how some of the locals eat or eat at some of the best restaurants the area has to offer.

What would you do? Would you spend all of your money on air and hotel or would you spread it out more evenly such that you have enough to eat at the local restaurants?

Back from Sin City

We went to Las Vegas over the weekend to celebate my sister's 21st birthday. My entire family went and we had good times. We took my sister to Tryst and got her liquored up (with the help from Mr. Effen Cherry and Mr. Belvedere) but the boys were disappointing. There wasn't anyone good looking and they were all old -- as in the same age as my dad! The music was good but the DJ jumped around genres too much for my taste.

We did a bit of gambling and we didn't do so well in that area. We ate a ton and overall had some good family time together and terrific memories.

The only bummer from the weeken dis that I ended up getting sick. =( Too much smoke in the casinos and a/c lead to me getting sick. *sigh* Well at least I can say that we had a good enough time this weekend to make up for me now feeling the ugliness of a cold.

Twiddle Dee and Twiddle Dumb

I saw an episode on the Food Network featuring Paula Dean's sons and they truly are twiddle dee and twiddle dumb. The sons were raised in the south so they are supposed to have a bit of a southern charm to them and definitely have the southern drawl. Unfortunately, as I sat on the couch watching these two all I could think was "you guys cannot be for real." They go to various restaurants and show what the restaurant is well known for (cuisine-wise.) For having a mother who's become somewhat of a tv cook juggernaut they are really clueless. They act really dumb and as though they've never been in a kitchen before. They like to dip their grubby fingers into everything and always go "ooh ahh" over everything, especially bourbon or whiskey.

These guys act like completely simpletons. They are like southern frat boys who've been dropped on their heads a few too many times as a child. *sigh* This goes to show that nepotism is definitely not a good thing -- leads to us innocent TV viewers being subjected to 30 minutes of watching immature idiots on TV

The Cat's Away this Weekend

While the cat's away will the mice play?

I took Ming to the airport this morning. Traffic was horrendous; it took us an hour to get from Palo Alto to SFO. I am so glad that I don't have a long commute anymore. If I had to deal with bumper to bumper traffic (and stop and go) every day I'd go crazy. Right now I'm completely spoiled by my 3 mile commute. ^_^

Ming is away on business through the weekend so it means that I have from now to Sunday to do whatever I please. While he, lucky guy that he is, gets to go shopping at Riccardi, I am left in the Bay Area to find my amusements. What would you do if you had the entire weekend to yourself without worrying about repercussions?

Love Parade is happening this weekend but its become so commercialized that I'm not really incentivized to go. While I love the music that is played I don't look forward to seeing all of the commercial aspects of it that now exist.

I suppose I could take this time to clean house ... but I think it'd be better to wait on that so that Ming can join in "joys" of tidying up too. x_X

Oh the possibilities of what to do ...

What Celebrity Do I look Like?

I recently discovered this new site called My Heritage and it allows you to upload a photo of yourself and it then tells you how close you look compared to other celebrities. Its pretty cool. According to my results (I uploaded one of my wedding photos) I look most like Joey Yung followed by others (as seen below). The photo they have of Sammi is really out dated



Who do you most look like? ^_^

Fashion

Maybe I've been watching too much Project Runway but this dress from Fashion Week really caught my attention



I just had to share with it you because I love the dress but it's price is probably way out of my league and I'll have to be content with simply viewing it from afar.

Jusice on Fox

Last night I finally got around to watching the tv show Justice. It is a tv series about a group of lawyers who try to win a case for the defendent. The lawyers try to convince the jury that their client is innocent. At the end of the show you will see what actually happened and if the jury was right in their sentencing of the defedent.

I dont normally watch lawyer shows, e.g. Law and Order, CSI, but this one got me hooked. There was never a dull moment and I was completely at the edge of my seat (well, the couch) and trying to figure out if the defendent was really innocent. It's a really good show and I'll be hooked to it until 24 comes back on -- and even then I'll be watching both 24 and Justice religously

Weekend in Napa

We spent the weekend in Napa and it was gorgeous. It's been quite a few years since I've been wine tasting in Napa/Sonoma so it was really nice to go back. I'd forgotten how gorgeous the area is. Unfortunately I haven't had a chance to upload the pictures yet so you will have to take my word for it. :)

We went to a ton of wineries:
- Cakebread Cellars
- Peju
- Niebaum Coppola
- Markham
- Close Pegase
- Chateau St. Jean
- Carneros Creek/Mahoney
- Rochioli

By the end of it all we didn't want to drink anymore wine or see any wine for at least 24 hours .. but we did end up joining 2 wine clubs


Carneros Creek


Chateau St. Jean

Yes, we joined 2 clubs and still brought back 2 cases of wine with us. Wow .. who wants to help us drink up :)

Fountain of Youth

Supposedly David Copperfield has found the fountain of life on some island that he just purchased near the Bahamas.
News Story

Hmm .. I think I'll believe it when I see it. With all of the uber smart people in the world, wouldn't they have found the fountain of youth first? Instead, an entertainer is the one who made this miraculous discovery? Sure ... yes, I'm a bit cynical but with everyone who's much smarter and research oriented then a magician would have been sure to have found this miracle water way before him.

Renewing Wedding Vows

Nope, I am not renewing my vows. For goodness sake, it's only been a little under 2 months. I am talking about Britney Spears and her renewing her vows to the slimeball, er, Kevin F.

story

After a whole 2 years of marriage they are renewing their wedding vows. I think the whole idea of renewing vows is a bit silly ... and it's even more incredulous when you haven't been married for very long. It's a sign that things are going downhill really fast and that the couple is fooling themselves (for a few months longer) that things will work out.

Good-Bye Name

I had my name legally changed today to my new married name. It's sad saying good-bye to my maiden name. :( It's always been a part of me and it's sad to see it go away. I couldn't keep it because, let's face it, Wong Wu sounds just way too much like a joke. On the plus side, I have a new signature that I've got to learn to perfect

It was good having you by my side these past 26 years name .. at least I still get to have you in my Chinese name. :)

Superman Returns

I saw Superman Returns last night. Ming made me see the previous Superman movies with Christopher Reeves and after seeing those, the new Superman cannot hold a candle to Christopher Reeves. Christopher Reeves has a sort of classy, gentlemanly aura about him while Brandon Routh just kind of fizzles in that department. Brandon Routh does a decent job at the role, I suppose, but everytime I see him, I think of him as liking the other white meat instead of Lois Lane.

All and all, the movie was good but I'm not sure I'd go see it again.

Ron's Farmhouse

If you've ever met me you'd know that I'm the type of person who'd never set foot in a dive bar. It isn't because I have something against them; it's because that isn't generally where I choose to go nor where my friends choose to go. So ... where am I going tonight, Friday night? I'm going to one of the oldest dive bars in the area: Ron's Farmhouse. It even has a MySpace page: MySpace page

I'm going to attend a comedy night. I don't have any expectations of it so maybe it'll end up being a really fun night. We'll see just how "divey" Mountain View can get. I'll report back later.

Wedding Bells -- They are a Clangin'

It seems like we've got a whole bunch of weddings to attend within the next year. We've got a bunch of wedding invitations from friends and more on the way. I thought that we were done with wedding stuff for awhile until I see the mailbox with invite after invite ... I guess that is to be expected since we're at the age where we're getting married and our friends are too. We've got:

1 wedding in August (Bay Area)
1 wedding in September (LA)
1 wedding in October (LA)
1 wedding in Spring 2007 (details TBD)
1 wedding in May 2007 (Italy)
1 wedding in June 2007 (Bay Area)
----------------
6 weddings!

We're going to be doing a ton of wedding gift shopping and travelling. I guess it is time for me to go out and buy more outfits to wear. ^_^