Totally drained

But so glad to be back home.

Hi Guys,

I'm going to make this brief because I am tired as hell. Just got home from the islands and I am exhausted beyond words. All I have to say is that I am ready to go back to work. I feel rested and anxious to get stuff done. I have a busy week ahead of me. My mother and my sis will be in town on Tuesday (tomorrow), meaning I won't have very much time to blog this week. We are helping her move into her dorm in SFSU. Oh god, it is soooooo refreshing to be home. And it is so refreshing to be with family. What a crazy few days this will be. Eek!

Mary Anne

Guess who's on Facebook?

ME!

Actually, Leo and I both have Facebook accounts now.

Hell hath frozen over.

One Year Anniversary in the Bay Area

It's been a whole year! This is a big deal for me. I left a good job in San Diego where I was promoted shortly after I told my employer the possibilities of leaving. We left our cute home that we had just recently bought. I left my family, friends, pretty much everyone I knew. But in the end, it all worked out for the better. And honestly, I wanted to leave San Diego for a long time. All I needed was someone (in this case my husband) to say "pack your shit."

In the course of 5 years, I've moved several times in the same city, but in a different house and area. I really didn't like where I was at. Didn't understand why I was never content. And it was only a matter of time that I realized that no matter where I was in San Diego, It was the same ol' San Diego. Sadly, most of my friends stayed in the same place after graduation. Even cousins of mine were repeating this cycle. It's comforting to know that they will always be there. But from an unselfish point of view, it would be awesome if they realized how nice it is just to get away for awhile and start a completely new life from everything they knew. Because San Diego will always be here no matter where the fuck you are in Egypt. I can promise you that. Living hundreds of miles away from my hometown made such a big difference. And although I'm still in the same damn state, there is so much of a contrast between the regions of the north and south. So many new roads to explore. So much more food to be eaten. So much more culture to be had.

It wasn't till recently that Leo and I decided that we will be moving to Europe in a year or two. Once the opportunity presents itself with his current employer (Google), he is going to jump on it. And then we will be on our merry way to Zurich, Switzerland. How fucking cool will that be? Seriously. When does one have an opportunity to say, "Yeah, I lived in Switzerland for a couple of years. Went skiing in the Swiss Alps on the weekends. And when we were bored, we took a one hour train ride to France or Italy to go shopping." Seriously, folks. How often does that shit happen? Like 1 out of RARELY.

In the meantime, I'm enjoying the Bay Area. I love San Francisco more than any big city that I've ever been to. I've worked in downtown LA and that place is garbage. New York is garbage, but has more to offer. The bay area in general is awesome. There are tons of job opportunities in Silicon Valley. I mean TONS. Lots of good colleges, such as UC Berkeley, Stanford, UCSF, USF, SJSU, CSUH, Carnegie Mellon, SCU, SFSU, etc. If you're feeling beach, there's tons of beaches. If you're feeling snow, there's Tahoe. If you're feeling wilderness, there's Yosemite. If you're feeling Vegas, it's a short flight. If you're feeling Hawaii, it's closer than any state. I already flew there from here and it was painless. And yes, home (San Diego) is only a hour flight away. The weather is just right. The people are so diverse. Food is superb. It's amazing. I would not mind settling down here after Europe.

I love you, Bay Area. You can keep me for another year.

Vegetarian Month is over!

Vegetarian Month was a complete success. Honestly, I wouldn't mind being a vegetarian for an entire year. But for now, I'm tired of having less options to eat anything.

I'm ready for a new challenge. Does anyone have any suggestions?

Just a random list

Lazy blogging at it's finest.

1. Power outage at work today. Went home around 10am.

2. We purchased season passes for Great America. It's an amusement park not far from our house. Totally going to take my lunch break to ride rollercoasters.

3. Vegetarian month is going really well. Not craving meat. And when I do, I make myself watch this:



4. I watched Legends of the Fall this morning since I couldn't go into work. I've watched it hundreds of times and each time I've cried.

Tada!

I admit 5 meme

I've been tagged by, Maria, my blogger pal to list out 5 memes. When it comes to blogging, Maria likes to keep things real, just like me. And that's why I respect her. Normally, I wouldn't do this for anyone. But since I like her, sure, why not.

I admit that 1.) I don't ever leave the house wearing jeans that have not been ironed. Leo thinks it's a bit excessive. But when I was younger, my mom yelled at me for wearing un-ironed pants. Never again have a worn un-ironed pants. Pants are meant to be ironed at all times. As a matter of fact, I spent this morning ironing my pants perfectly. It actually took longer to iron my pants than to shower and fix my hair.

I admit that 2.) I don't ever use the silverware at my house. I use plastic forks and spoons because I have a fear of contracting germs even though I know I washed the silverware myself. In restaurants, I like to use the water in my glass to wash my silverware and then just order a seperate drink. My friend Jane was suprised I brought my own utensils to her house during lunch. "Uh...that's kinda weird."

I admit that 3.) I'm obsessed with my weight. I will end my life if I hit 120 lbs.

I admit that 4.) I have a habit of making unrealistic goals and will get mad at myself when I don't reach them.

I admit that 5.) I've made a lot of bad choices in my life.

After completing this list, I've realized I suck as an individual. Something terrible is happening on the other side of the world and here I am ironing my pants and obsessing over what I eat. Somewhere in the deepest, darkest, bowels of hell, an ironing board and an eternal wrinkled pair of jeans awaits me.

Nice to be back home

Hello. I'll post something worth reading when I feel like it. Right now I'm just enjoying the fact that the city I live in doesn't smell like urine. Okay. Thanks.

Going to New York... be back in a bit

Friends,
Leaving to New York City early tomorrow. I will be back to update on Wednesday. Have a great holiday weekend!

xoxo

Google Map's Street View

OMG. You can now see our house on Street View on Google Maps. This is also a fairly new photo because the changes in the front of the house I made is on there. When we moved into our house, it was a gold mailbox. Thought it was kind of ugly, so I installed a new one I bought at Home Depot. And lo and behold, the new mailbox shows up on Street View! Such a trip.

Right now

Right now, Leo and I are both laying on the couch watching a movie at my parents house. It's hot, but we still cuddle each other. The AC is apparently on blast and time can't past fast enough. Our flight takes off in a few hours. I think the best moments are the ones like these. The few minutes of our lives that we take for granted every single day. This post is just to acknowledge that this moment did happen and also serves as a reminder that we should always have more of them. We've been together for almost 5 years now and I can't believe how crazy we still are for each other. It's truly a blessing. I consider myself lucky in so many ways.

Feeling the need to get shit done

It's nice being surrounded by family and friends for an entire weekend straight once in awhile. But I think I'm ready to go home. I'm really San Diego-ed out. I checked my work e-mail everyday since I got here. So anxious to get back to the office. I've already created my mental check list of things to-do Tuesday morning. I'm such a freak. I need to stop this now.

I don't know if this post is about my weekend or food

So we're back in the San Diego area at my parent's house. I just ate a shit load of home cooked food and now I'm ready for my 4th nap. Today, Leo and I will be visiting our old co-workers and have lunch at an Indian buffet. Great... more food. Then afterwards around 5pm, we have to head over to my sister's high school graduation.

Tomorrow, we will be at the San Diego County Fair eating fried food. Then we will be heading over to my relatives house to celebrate my sis and cousins graduation. And yes... there will be plenty of Filipino food and karaoke. Because nothing says "congratulations grad" better than someone singing a Diana Ross song. And there will be Filipino's trying to dance to a dance they learned on the Filipino channel. There will be lots of kissing and hugging and someone telling me that I'm either getting fat or not eating enough. And then I will be reminded of why I don't live here.

Sunday is Father's Day so I will be spending lots of time with my food Dad. And then afterwards, spending time with my father in-law who will be flying in from Alaska. Leo is planning to barbeque and I will be planning to eat the barbeque.

Monday night, all our friends will be meeting us at El Torito in Mira Mesa for our last supper. We will be flying out the same night.

Tuesday, we will plan out a detox diet to rid the nasty food from our system.

Oh what a great long weekend this will be.

Ya'll suck

There's a lot of stupid fucking people in the Bay Area. People in San Diego are a lot smarter. Not bias, just an observation. It probably has something to do with what's in the water. The end.

THE CURE

Leo snagged some free tickets for us to see The Cure tomorrow. No big deal. It's only ONE OF MY ALL TIME FAVORITE BANDS IN THE WHOLE WIDE WORLD!

Dude, I knew I married him for something.

Feelin' down

I've been down lately. I can't really pin point what it is exactly, but I feel it. Part of it has to do with the workload at work. If I'm not working, I'm dreaming about working. In my dream, I wake up from a dream where I was working. On my weekends, like today, I was making a list of things I needed to do on Tuesday when I get into the office.

This afternoon, my boss had to force me to leave early because it's Memorial Day weekend. In his own words, he asked me if I was high AGAIN. It was because yesterday I walked into his office and said out loud "I AM SO HIGH ON DRUGS RIGHT NOW, PLEASE FORGIVE ME." In which he replied, "That's not exactly what you want to say when you walk into your bosses office." I just wasn't myself yesterday or today or the other day. I told him my situation from the get-go, so I'm glad he understands the root of my weird behavior and has shown deep concern about Leo's condition.

We haven't really told the internet yet, but Leo had surgery last week on his spine. Personally, I think this is a private family issue which is why I haven't blogged about it at all. I will go into greater detail after he's 100% (which seems to be sooner than later). I just don't want this blog to end up as a journal of his progression, because I already know for a fact that full recovery is imminent. We're all doing just fine - so worry not, friends. It's only a matter of time now before he's back to normal.

In the meantime, happy thoughts. :)

Annoyed

You know, there's so many things people can be annoyed about right now, like having a hunchback or not being able to drink clean water.

I, on the other hand, am annoyed by these juniper trees in front of our living room window. They don't do anything but collect cobwebs. On my weekends, I go outside with my broom and remove those suckers from touching the wall. And then I take a hose and wash it out of the trees only to find them there AGAIN the very next day. It's very annoying and I'm sure the spiders feel the same way about me. But these trees... they're useless and unattractive. I went on the city website to check if there are any ordinances about removing trees of that size. I don't think there are. *evil grin*

It's hot hot hot

The temperature for this week is averaging triple digits in our area. There's a heat wave advisory so I suggest you Bay Area folks to keep cool and drink plenty of water.

Kailee and I went to Central Park this afternoon to chill, ride her bike, and watch the ducks in the pond. Santa Clara has their own mini Central Park which I absolutely love. To beat the heat, there were plenty of trees and shade so we didn't worry too much about skin cancer.

The park's recreation is also a plus. They have an International Swim Center that includes one diving pool, a huge lap pool, and a shallow kiddy pool. People who have participated in the olympics have practiced here. There are volleyball courts and basketball courts that are open til 3am. They have bowling greens (whatever that is), a humongous new library, playgrounds for the kiddies, a big barbeque area, people taking tai chi lessons on the grass, and tennis courts. There's heaps of things you can do in this 52 acre park. It's a great place to take a walk and hang out with the kiddies.

I got me a piano

On Sunday afternoon, my piano will be delivered to my house from Scotts Valley. I bought this used as you can tell from the picture, but it's in good condition. I actually pulled these photos from the ad so the quality sucks. I can't tell you how excited I am. I've wanted a piano in my house for a long time now. And since we have a pretty decent sized living room, this will fit perfectly. Last night, Leo and I moved our couch closer to the fireplace and tv. He's always wanted the couch closer to the tv so it worked out for the both of us. It's small and simple. Best part of all, I can finally revisit some pieces I've been meaning to practice for a very long time. Maybe I'll post a YouTube video of me playing a tune for you. =)

Foodie

Since the restaurants in the Bay Area are all new to me, I've decided to give this website a new spin on what to post, like my own personal Yelp. However, I still contribute my opinions on Yelp. So if you guys are ever in the area and can't decide what to eat, check out my recommendations (maryannerodis.yelp.com). I don't have much yet, but I'm sure as I discover more restaurants in the area, I'll have more to contribute. Plus, my pal Jane is always nice enough to have me tag along with her on her lunch breaks. She's been a local forever so I can trust her to guide me to good food.

One of the biggest differences between San Diego and the Bay is that there are a lot more choices when it comes to food. A lot more mom and pop owned restaurants and hole in the wall joints that you don't see very often in San Diego. As Jane and I were driving to Japan Town today, I probably saw 15 new restaurants that I want to try out. And that is just one part of San Jose. I've worked here for several months now and I've never even seen those 2 blocks of restaurants before. Am I really sheltered? All I really knew from my old job in San Diego (or Del Mar) was Subway, McDonalds, and Starbucks. Holy crap. Good food, where have you been all my life?!

Public Schools = teh suck

As we're winding down the final weeks of Kailee's school year, I've came to the conclusion that I hate our school district. Last year, Kailee went from the best school district in San Diego County to a piece of crap school where she has regressed her ability to learn at a snails pace. Why? Because the f-ing teachers don't pay attention to the gifted students, which is like 2% of the class. We spoke with a real estate area specialist dude in our neighborhood last week who also claims that the teachers in the area focuses on the kids who are struggling. Motherfuckers.

Before we moved, we heard the schools weren't stellar, but they were decent. Why didn't anyone tell us the part about how the schools suck so much ass? Just south from us, is the Cupertino School District which is nationally recognized as one of the top school districts. That fact alone sells homes in that area like hotcake. That fact alone will get any soccer mom to drop her panties. Don't get me wrong, I love our neighborhood, our city for that matter. But the schools are nothing to rave about. I guess you can't have everything in life, right? But you sure can try.

So I tried. I did my research on private schools this afternoon. Found some that were really great and some that were a bit sketchy. Our ideal school would require a challenging environment for Kailee. This has been a major issue with her current school. Hence, the downhill spiral to retardness she has succumbed. Also, before and after school daycare and food that is included in the tuition. Better technology is a factor. Better uniforms would be nice. Happier paid teachers who have the desire to teach would be awesome for a change. A lot of things in general.

I can't tell you how much flack I get from other people who think I over-react about the schools in our area. Like dude, I know they suck. She goes there. I see these things. I point them out. Not only that, but we currently pay the public school $5k for daycare. What's an extra thousand dollars more for a better school that includes daycare and then some?

I understand that public schools are federal, state, and locally funded. So quality wise you get what you pay for. But with all the fundraisers public schools do in a year, it takes away the focus on education. Wouldn't it be better for parents just to pay upfront for these funds included in the tuition, rather than having their kids go door to door or having the parent's co-workers purchase something they don't really want just for the sake of the cause? I guess that's just one of the many reason why private schools are so benefiting for some people.

I could go on and on about this because when it comes to Kailee's education, it's something I feel strongly about. For those who have kids that will be attending school in the near future, I hope I can give you some insight on whats to come. I just hate seeing someone else go through the bullshit we went through with public schools.

Into the Wild

My friend Jane lent me her book, Into the Wild, which now out on DVD. I told her I'd rather read the book because if I don't, I'll probably spend another 5 hours playing a game on my new PC.

Speaking of which, that was the highlight of last weekend. Leo built another PC for me. My other PC was a piece of crap. Hence the acronym for PC (piece of crap). Anyhow, I'll elaborate more on the uberness of my computer later. In the meantime, check this book out by Jon Krakauer. If not, watch the movie. It's suppose to be real good.

Good Karma Vegan House

This afternoon, I went with Lily and James to a vegan restaurant in downtown San Jose called Good Karma Vegan House. It was actually my first time eating at a vegan restaurant. And since we're all in the weight loss contest at work, this was the place to go. The restaurant was quaint and hip like most mom and pop restaurants in downtown. Surprisingly, they had a variety to choose from. To substitute the meat, they would use tofu on most of their entrees. I had the tofu potato curry and spicy basil tofu with brown rice. It was pretty damn good! The owner was a hippy who was uber nice- made us feel at home. Definitely will be back.

Weight Loss Contest @ Work

Last Monday, my boss brought his scale for everyone in the office to weigh in and then in about six weeks, weight out. He took us one by one in the conference room to keep the information confidential. We pretty much trust my boss to keep a secret considering he knows everyones salary. There are three categories you can win. 1.) How many lbs. you can lose 2.) Lower your BMI 3.) I forgot the third one. It's possible to win all 3 categories which is a total of $450.00. Meaning each category is $150.00. The fun part about this contest is that everybody is participating. Not just for the money (450 bucks is crap), but to change/control what we eat and to build better habits. As you can tell from our push up video, our office promotes good health and it's because my boss is a total health nut. Everyday while we were in Hawaii, my boss wanted us up at 6am to go on a 16 mile hike or snorkle. Such a great motivator, he is. I'm really amped about this contest. I've worked out a lot this week, but I still have a lot of work to do. My co-worker Melody thinks she can beat me. Pfft. Game on, sista.

Wish me luck.

Cookie's new do

Since it's getting warmer in the bay, Leo took Cookie to get his hair cut. My dog is typically a ball of white fluff. But now that he's all groomed and shaved, he looks like he could fit in my purse. lol

The Show

Yesterday, my day started at 10:00am at the theater. The show started at 7:30. We had a good amount of time to prepare beforehand, so by showtime, I was really tired. The director kept reminding us to pack breakfast, lunch, dinner, and snacks. Meaning we would have to eat in between dressing up before the next performance. We ran through the show several times to get the lighting and sound right so it was a long long day. Plus there were a few guest performers who needed time to know their cue. By the second tech run, I had a headache. I drank lots of water but my head kept throbbing. Luckily, my yoga teacher who happens to be a contortionist, was there that day performing. He also does accupuncture/massages/and apparently curing headaches. He worked his magic by pressing the pressure points near the back of my head and neck. It worked! By showtime, I felt better. I could tell because during the performance, I nailed it. Well, compared to how I performed during practice, it was better. We don't have material to show you, however. No photos or video. We have to buy the dvd to watch the show so once that's out, we'll definitely post my performance. But I did find one of the performances on YouTube. Performed by Soul Conspiracy. You could tell these people are from the bay, because the camera person says, "hella" cute. LOL.

At the end of the day, I realized just how much I love dancing. For a person who lacks a lot of confidence, I danced my fucking heart out

and

it

felt

so

good.

i said a hip hop the hippie the hippie to the hip hip hop and you dont stop the rock it to the bang bang boogie say up jumped the boogie to the rhythm

Tomorrow is the big performance night. I'm in 3 dance pieces and in between numbers, I will act or try to act or act like I'm acting. So I will make a good amount of appearances throughout the night. Leo will try to video record the show, even though the theater prohibits video and still cameras. I can't really guarantee we'll get any video, but we'll try.

See you at the show!

A beautiful, yet busy weekend

So my parents came up this weekend from So Cal. By god, I missed them so much. But at the same time, I am so happy that they are gone. We have this endless love and hate thing and so these small weekend visits are just right. Believe me, if my folks raised you, you would understand that you can only take them in doses. Very small doses. Not Heath Ledger sized doses. Anyhow, we pretty much took them back to the city. My sis is going to attend SFSU this fall, so they were checking out the school. Yay, more people moving to the bay. I feel selfish, yet more at home. I even tried to recruit Marny (Hi Marny!) to find a new job up here. Speaking of Marny, she came to visit on Friday night from So Cal. Her and her friends wanted take le grand tour of the Google Campus, so Leo was nice enough to show them around. He's a cute wannabe tour guide. I'd totally pay $100 dollars to see his tour. Not just for the cuteness, but because I know that money is going straight back to our bank account. It's just fun to role play. Like, "hey there, do I get private tour inside your pants?" Bow-chicka-wow, betch. So overall, my weekend was great and tiring and short and busy and GAH! But you should of seen the gorgeous weather in SF. We were at China Beach yesterday and it was hella warm compared to how deathly cold it was last weekend. Such a rare time during the spring.


Golden Gate and China Beach.

Lovers.

Ladybug. Perhaps a male.

A dog named Leo. No really - his name is Leo. Looks very similar to our dog, but fatter. A fat dog named Leo. So cute.

An old bridge at Golden Gate Park.

A duck family. I counted nine chicks.

A tip for the photo is what the guy wanted. This was on Haight Street.

Again, on Haight. Graffiti galore.

I love the fact that San Francisco embraces all types of art like no other city. Lovelovelove<3<3<3.

Bay Area Eight Months Later

Tomorrow will mark 8 months of us living here in the Bay. Wow, it only seemed like yesterday that I was blogging about our move (you can find all those posts labeled under: Moving; it chronicles from the day we've contemplated with the idea to the actual week we arrived). But by god, I can't believe it's almost a year! For the first 2 months here, it was really difficult adjusting to the area and the roads and the people. First of all, I was unemployed. And then Leo travelled a lot. I hated it. I hated not working because the days felt so unfufilled. So I enrolled at a gym and a yoga studio nearby to past the time. I even started to take a liking in cooking. Unfortunately, soon after that I was employed, I never held a spatula ever again. I even planted a few plants in our yard which eventually died. Not all, but some... okay, most. There were a few times where I would drive to the city (San Francisco) and then drive back to get used to the roads, the street names, and freeways. The first thing Leo and I both noticed about this place is that people drive a lot slower and fast lanes do not exist and the veins on my forehead - they're ready to bust open. But aside from the being unemployed part and crappy Mexican food, I actually really like it up here. I'm learning a lot from my job. One of my good friends that I've made is a good Mormon girl. I've learned to cuss less. I've learned to drive a little safer. Yesterday, a co-worker of mine taught me how to say "please" when being demanding. I am revisiting my manners that I've learned in second grade, people! I spend a lot of time with Kailee =). Lots of good food up here - which is bad news bears for me because I will inhale food like blue whale eating plankton. Lots of culture. Lots of history. Lots of events. Lots of farmers markets during the summer on Saturdays. There's literally road blocks for these markets in every town in the bay. Summers are warm. During fall, the leaves paint the grounds gold and red. Winters are cold and Lake Tahoe is only 3-4 hours away to go snowboarding. Lake Tahoe! We've gone to China Town just to eat. Santa Cruz is a beautiful hippy college town. Lots more trees. Lots more art. Lots of new coffee shops for me to continue my quest to find the best chai latte ever. And a whole bunch of other stuff we have not done yet. So yes, we are doing just fine. So fine, that we've considered buying another house here in the future. But we're still playing with that idea because we are also thinking of transferring to Dublin. No, not the Dublin in California. Dublin, Ireland. But that's just talk right now. In the meantime, we are going to enjoy our time here in the golden state for another year or so.

Palm Springs!

Last time I was in Palm Springs I was 7 years old. 17 years ago! My parents, siblings, and I hiked a trail and rode the tramway. Tomorrow, I'm flying out to the desert with the co-workers and it's going to be sweet. I'm rooming with my co-worker Lily, who happened to be my Hawaii roomy.

We're both guilty for snoring loud so we figured we'd actually do the other girls a favor and keep the snorers in one room. I get really stoked about office outings because the other girls in my office always want to room with me. Makes me feel wanted. Like I'm the popular kid in class.

Anyhow, I don't think I'll get much sleep that night. I have a feeling I'll have tons of girls in my hotel room or I'll probably be dragged to join people at the pool around 10pm. Learned from my Hawaii experience that these trips means less sleep. But I'll make sure I'll have fun for you.

Ciao!

Push-Up Contest

The other day, I mentioned on my blog that my office was going to have a push-up-athon. Well, it happened. And I failed. The most I could do was 10. On this video you can see me (well the back of me) wearing a white cardigan and silver shoes trying to do a push up with really really bad form. Holy cow. Not a very proud moment. I'm also the voice behind the camera counting along and laughing. And my boss is the one who does like 60 push ups.

I'm glad we have a really fun office.

Oahu

I can cross off Oahu on my list of islands visited in Hawaii. Although, I've been to Oahu a couple of times, it really doesn't count. That was because it was a connecting flight to the Philippines or to Maui. Aside from all the tourist traps, Oahu has tons of history. I would stay longer just to visit these landmarks, but we only had five days to do anything. Five days is long enough when you're away from your family. I would actually like to go back with Leo some day. Leo being the history buff and all, I think he would enjoy it.

We stayed at the dead center of Waikiki. Meaning we were surrounded by all the tourist crap, malls, crowds, street performers, chain restaurants and whatnot. So the whole islander experience is something that you do not find on the southside of Oahu. That whole area thrives solely on tourism and tourism alone. Unless of course, if you like Prada and Starbucks at every corner, you are in luck. Our hotel overlooked a mall that was open till 10pm to cater to all the Japanese people on Japanese time. I would say 95% of the tourist were Japanese. During my stay at the hotel, I've probably seen 14 non-traditional Japanese weddings. Which is so ironic considering the Japanese totally obliterated that side of the island a few decades ago, killing 2,403 people. But that was hatchet buried a long time ago. It's the fact that Hawaii is only 8 hours away from Japan and that the beauty of Hawaii is too hard to resist.

On Oahu's famous, North Shore, they have this thing called "shaved ice." I know that sounds stupid alone, but it's actually really popular. It's shaved iced with ice cream. I've never had it, but the lady sitting next to me on the plane told me all about it. I thought it was kind of weird that she asked "have you ever had shaved ice." Being the asshole that I am, I gave her a funny look that said, "hey lady, I wasn't born yesterday." So I found a link to better explain what I'm talking about. My co-workers tried it (without me, bastards), and said they loved it. Check it out and see what you think. I didn't live one of my dreams, however. And that would be surfing at North Shore. With the little time we had, it was something I never got to do. Surfers are a lot territorial on that part of the island, according to a local. And the waves aren't something to mess with unless you know what the hell you are doing. So I guess it probably wouldn't be a great idea to go unless I went with someone who knew what the hell they were doing. I can't really rely on my girly-girl co-workers to save my life.

On my previous post, I told you about my shark siting while I was snorkeling with my boss. Well, I did my research and found out that Hawaii has all sorts of sharks (not just great whites, thank god). Harmless and aggressive sharks. Commonly found sharks on Hawaii are the whitetip reef sharks that are found on the sea floor resting beneath the coral reefs. I do believe that is what I swam with and we should just leave it at that. But the fact that the shark was bigger than me, scared me shitless. I can't wait till my boss develops the underwater photos. You can be the judge. Now I can check "swimming with sharks" off of my list of THINGS TO DO BEFORE I DIE.

Hoping our next island stop will be Kauai. I read and heard how absolutely beautiful it is. It's the kind of island where you sleep on the beach and roll into the water. And plus it's where they filmed Jurrasic Park! Oh yes, and they have lots of sharks for me to swim with.

Sweet Escape

Hi. Remember me? I use to blog very long blog post. But that was before I knew I was broke and needed a job. Oh, and friends. So the update on the new job: I've met new friends along the way and even learned a new trick or two. It has been very busy. So busy I don't have to clean my work area and get myself organized. But there are a lot of good things that out weight the bad. In the course of 4 months, I've been to ground breaking events, company paid for trips to Disneyland for an entire weekend (car rental/hotel included), flew us out to bowl in Orange County with other developers, gave us iPod shuffles, took us on a $50 shopping spree at one of the stores we've built, and fed us to death. So has work been good? I guess I can't complain.

This Thursday, my boss and my boss' boss is taking our entire office to Hawaii for 4 days for our "team building event." Now tell me if you know of any other company that would do this for their employees? My boss and I plan to wake up early in the morning and hike/jog on the beach on Friday. I don't think the rest of the clan is up for that. They plan to be beach bums during their stay. My boss and I will be packing our own snorkeling gears so we can snorkle in Hanuama Bay, Oahu. Later, the gang will be visiting Pearl Harbor and the famous North Shore. At night, we will attend Luau for our team building. And somewhere along the trip, we'll get massages and a day at the spa. It's going to be fun. And best of all, it's all expense paid for. Except for the souvenirs. I'll make sure I bring back tons of photos. And souvenirs for Leo and Kailee. And maybe some video.


This is me scuba diving at Wailea Beach, Maui, in 2006.

Be back next week.

Aloha!

Slammed

Last couple of days at work have been killer. This weekend (actually beginning Thursday), is going to be sweeeeeeeet. I'll elaborate more later. Just wanted to drop in and say hello. Haven't done a serious post in forever.

Looking for a maid

When we lived in San Diego, we had a really great maid who come to our house regularly to clean. It was great. She was great. And I really do miss her because she gave our home personal attention. Probably knew where we kept our home movies and the unmentionables. Bwaha. Anyhow, it's been months since our new home had that personal care. I haven't done much research or phone interviewing as of yet. But if anyone living in the bay area would please refer me to one, that would be great. Not an actual company. More like a hispanic women by the name of Maria. Thanks.

The Internet hath no fury like a gamer scorned

First, watch this:


Then read the reviews of Cooper Lawrence's book on Amazon:

The Cult of Perfection: Making Peace with Your Inner Overachiever

Lastly, read this Article from the New York Times of her apologizing:

The Internet hath no fury like a gamer scorned.

That’s the lesson Fox News and a self-help author learned this week after a program on that channel featured a discussion of the sexual content of the hit video game Mass Effect.

Bound by global message boards, blogs, chat rooms and of course the games themselves, gamers are perhaps the single most intense subculture on the Internet — fiercely protective of their pastime and at ease with the byways of cyberspace.

So the game world has been ablaze with indignation since the Fox News program “The Live Desk With Martha MacCallum” said on Monday that Mass Effect, one of the most critically praised games of 2007, contains frontal nudity and explicit depictions of sexual activity. The assertions of virtual lasciviousness first appeared earlier this month among conservative bloggers incensed by brief YouTube clips excerpted from the 30- to 40-hour game.

Mass Effect, a science fiction game, includes a complicated romantic subplot that is no more risqué in its plot or graphic in its depiction than evening network television.

To exact their revenge, gamers have turned their vitriol on Cooper Lawrence, an author who appeared to mischaracterize the game when she said: “Here’s how they’re seeing women: They’re seeing them as these objects of desire, as these, you know, hot bodies. They don’t show women as being valued for anything other than their sexuality. And it’s a man in this game deciding how many women he wants to be with.”

In fact Mass Effect allows users to play as either a man or a woman, and the few suggestions of intimate contact occur in the context of a detailed interpersonal story line. Asked on the air by Geoff Keighley of Spike TV whether she had ever played the game, Ms. Lawrence laughed and said, “No.”

Irate gamers have flooded the page on Amazon.com selling Ms. Lawrence’s most recent book, “The Cult of Perfection: Making Peace With Your Inner Overachiever,” sending its user-generated rating into oblivion.

By Friday afternoon 412 of the book’s 472 user reviews were the lowest possible rating, one star. Another 48 ratings were for two stars. Only 12 of the ratings were for three stars or higher. In addition, 929 Amazon users had tagged the book with the keyword “ignorant.” Tied for second place with 744 tags were “garbage” and “hypocrisy,” while “hack” and “hypocrite” tied for fourth place with 710 votes. Gamers have also attacked the book on the Barnes & Noble Web site.

Many of the reviewers admit that they have not read Ms. Lawrence’s book.

As one Amazon user put it: “I know all about this book but have never fully read it. Why? Due to the overwhelming backlash, I have no choice but to agree with the 1 star ratings. The rumors are rampant that this book was poorly written and poorly researched. So without verifying the contents myself — I give it a 1 star. Good thing video games aren’t judged in this manner — whew!!!”

On Friday “The Cult of Perfection” was ranked the 346,106th best-selling book on Amazon. Mass Effect, by contrast, has been a hit, selling more than 1.6 million copies since November. An Amazon spokeswoman said the site would soon begin to remove reviews written by users who had clearly not read the book.

In an interview on Friday, Ms. Lawrence said that since the controversy over her remarks erupted she had watched someone play the game for about two and a half hours. “I recognize that I misspoke,” she said. “I really regret saying that, and now that I’ve seen the game and seen the sex scenes it’s kind of a joke.

“Before the show I had asked somebody about what they had heard, and they had said it’s like pornography,” she added. “But it’s not like pornography. I’ve seen episodes of ‘Lost’ that are more sexually explicit.”

Electronic Arts, the giant publisher that owns Mass Effect, has asked Fox News for a correction. A Fox News spokesman would say only that Electronic Arts had been offered a chance to appear on the channel. An Electronic Arts spokesman said the company had not yet decided whether to accept the offer.

By telephone from Edmonton, Alberta, Ray Muzyka, the medical doctor who is chief executive of BioWare, the Electronic Arts studio that made Mass Effect, said: “We’re hurt. We believe in video games as an art form, and on behalf of the 120 people who poured their blood and tears into this game over three years, we’re just really hurt that someone would misrepresent the game without even playing it. All we can hope for is that people who actually play our games will see the truth."
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Let's blast her into space. Who's with me?

I would like some cheese with my whine

I've noticed the past few days have been hell trying to get up from bed. I blame the rain and the cold. Most mornings I feel so unmotivated. And the past few nights we have watched American Idol at LATE O'CLOCK. Damn you, DVR. Why must you work around my schedule?

I saw snow today while I was driving to work. I was like "where am I? Oh yeah, this is not San Diego." My co-workers says you can drive a half an hour to get to snow. I might want to take Kailee to the snow. She's never been. And now that we are closer to Lake Tahoe, we should really take advantage of that. For some reason we don't because "lazy" is scheduled for the entire month. It would be fun to snow board again since it's too cold to surf or to do anything for that matter. I think we just need to go through one bad year of hell-like weather, so come next winter season we know what to expect. It doesn't seem to phase anyone I know who live up here. So I need to quit being such a big baby because that seems to be the only topic on my blog nowadays.

Here are some photos from last night:


Kailee's Domo Kun @ In-&-Out.


Rawr!

Photos via iPhone

A moment to reflect

I know. I'm a procrastinator. This post is over due. Suck it.

So...what can I say about 2007? Well, 2 major milestones happened. Getting through one year of being married and moving to a new city. That pretty much sums up the excitement of that year. The End.

Haha. All right. 2007 was not a bad year or a good year for me. You know, I lied. It was such a sad year for me. One, I missed my friends and family. Two, I was unemployed for almost a quarter of the year. Three, I've cried myself to sleep a lot. But on the same token, I am happy to be alive and healthy. My family is good. Friends are great. So lots to be thankful for.

(This is the part where I get really serious and semi-sappy)

Last year was the biggest wake up call that I am indeed a full fledged adult. Such a trip. The whole moving thing and trying to get our house rented out. Finding a job in a new city. It was scary and liberating at the same time. Scary because it was all so new. Liberating because I can finally live my life without any distractions and really focus on my own family. Lots of good descisions were made that year. But we won't really know how it pans out till a year from August.

Last month marked our one year wedding anniversary. There were a few bumps in the road. No major bumps. But enough to say that this marriage is definitely NORMAL. Moving was the ultimate test of patience for the both of us. Leo and I would fight about the stupidest things. For example, while we were trying to rent our condo out, we got in a huge fight about the paint on the walls. We've tried several types of white paint and made several trips to Home Depot. Leo was frustrated because he refused to paint over the new paint after I told him that "it didn't fucking look right." So instead, we hired some migrant workers. We were so tired and overwhelmed with all the changes that we were both going to go through. I had recently quit my job and so our finances were strapped. It was so bad that we both fell to our knees and cried. Embraced each other and said we were sorry. I remember sitting on the ground of our empty house just reaking of paint and my shirt all soaked in tears. At the time, this was not something I wanted to share on my blog. Although I did blog a lot during July, I remained coy about my feelings. It was a rather difficult moment. Lots of yelling and crying involved. Lots of curse words being thrown back and forth. It wasn't the best of times. But by god, am I glad it's over.

So now we are in 2008. We celebrated new years at home. And for the first time we celebrated it quietly. We watched the ball drop from the comfort of our living room. Although the excitement wasn't there, I was secretly celebrating that 2008 was here to stay for awhile. And that this would be a time to start over, move forward, and leave all that shit behind.

Photos from the move (via crappy camera phone, pre iPhone days):


My dog, Cookie, and the paint cans we cried over.


One of the two migrant workers we hired.


I cancelled my flight and decided to drive Leo's car up to the Bay. So I packed it with the left over crap and some over night clothes. The rest of the stuff in our house was in a seperate trailer heading for the Bay the following week.


My car being trailered for the long journey. This will be the last time it will see San Diego ever.


There is NOTHING IN MIDDLE CALIFORNIA. It was quiet a depressing drive after LA. The coastal scenic routh (I heard) is beautiful. This was the fastest way.


House warming package from dad - so we don't forget who we are when we look at ourselves in the mirror.


Cookie looking out from the window of our new house. This was his first day home.

Feeling a little better

I've been sick for a few weeks now. I came down with a really bad cough and cold. So bad that I've lost my voice more than once. Off and on. I have thyroid problems and most days I am so fucking fatigued out it drives me nuts. Going to see a doctor next week. This is the longest I've ever been sick and I can't stand it anymore. I can't even type up a decent post without sounding like I want to shoot my fucking leg off. Finally, after weeks of being ill, I'm starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel.

Since we are newbies to the area, we are now experiencing the rainy season in Nor. Cal. All I can say is wow wow wow wow. It doesn't stop. In the course of 5 months we have lived here, we've already experienced bad storms and two earthquakes. One of the earthquakes we actually slept through. Haha.

About the (fairly) new job, it's great. Best place I've ever worked for thus far.

Everyone back at home (San Diego) seem to be doing great. I heard my older bro finally got a job. A decent one. Yay! There were people in San Diego that I really really miss that wasn't able to see during Christmas weekend. I was bummed. I didn't realize how bummed I was until I got over being pissed off about the holidays. Which was seriously, um, today. Haha. I told you I was in really weird funk.

Here's a random photo of a really cute puppy taken awhile ago by Leo at Petco. It was some stranger's dog but I couldn't refuse the cuteness. I was like, "excuse me sir, but can I pet your dog?" Haha.



Finally, I just want to say that I am back to posting mode. I feel so out of touch with my internet friends. Feel free to hit me up whenever.

a chance to start over

It's a new year. No more excuses. Time to move forward and have a better year.

Happy New Year, everybody.

Happy Holidays

We've been in San Diego spending our xmas with the family. We are driving back up this afternoon and I'm not looking forward to another 11 hour drive. No joke. Hope you guys had an awesome xmas. I know I did! I finally got my Mac for my bday/xmas present. =) I'll post more later. Better yet, I'll post a new video on YouTube that I produced on my Mac.