Mightier Than the Pen

Another one to add to the track record of geekery

noreply@blogger.com (Mary Anne) — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 02:21:00 +0000

We recently attended the NVISION 2008 LAN party @ the San Jose Convention Center. It was what you expected of a LAN party. A LAN is a LAN is a LAN. What more is there to say. And for those under a rock, LAN parties are a congregation of geeks and their PCs in which they use to play PC games together in the same room. I know, I know. It defeats the purpose of a lot of things. But in defense of people who do attend LAN parties, particularly the NVIDIA hosted ones, you can play with professional gamers and win prizes. This is the second one I have been to so far and I really enjoyed it. Last year, we went to Oakland for the same event. I was really stoked this year to learn that it was conveniently close to my work, so naturally I took my lunch break to play video games. I've had the honor to meet some highly respected gamers and some not-so-highly respected gamers that I've played with on public servers whom have yet to reach the caliber of the highly respected ones. One of the gamer dudes I've met, I absolutely adore. But I would have to save that one for a later post. For now, I'm enjoying the fact I can play video games at the comfort of my own home...naked.

Here's a video clip someone created of the LAN party. I sit among the sea of gamers.

New Moon

noreply@blogger.com (Mary Anne) — Sun, 24 Aug 2008 18:18:00 +0000

Last night, I finished the first book (Twilight) and ran to my computer afterwards to watch the movie trailer. I also found out on Twilight's YouTube channel that the movie will release in November and not December. A 4 second clip of the actual date appears on the clip. This truly made my weekend.

Today, I'm starting New Moon, saga 2 of Twilight. I can't wait! But first we have to go to SF to take my sister dorm supply shopping. The end of Twilight took me by surprise. I actually had to do a double take and read the last sentence over and over again. I couldn't believe what had just happened. Can you tell I'm hooked?

Twilight

noreply@blogger.com (Mary Anne) — Sun, 24 Aug 2008 03:59:00 +0000

So I've started reading the first book of The Twilight saga and I really can't get enough of it. It is my new guilty pleasure, right next to looking through gossip magazines while standing in line at Target. Why do I care about celebrity news? I don't. I honestly just like to see what they're wearing and how they managed to lose all that weight. Anyhow, the story makes me feel like I'm 14. And if anyone said the word "penis" I would probably giggle behind my book like a damn pansy. I won't spoil it for you, so I will avoid going into detail. It's a good read to follow if you're into romance trilogies. Most of you probably won't read it and that's okay. I totally understand. I find that most of my readership are males between the ages 23-42. I know that for a fact. I don't give beauty tips or parenting advice or recipes on how to bake a fucking pie on this blog very often. Which says a lot about the readers I attract. And perhaps it's the fact that I'm horrible at all of the above, so I have not much to offer. But what I can tell you is that Shawne Merriman not only has a torn PCL, but now has a SECOND torn knee ligament which can only mean he will be sitting out longer than expected this season. I'm sorry, but this news makes me sad, so I had to think about where I could mesh this topic to this post without having to do multiple entries. But do feel free to talk football to me.

So anyhow, about reading. I made a deal with Leo that if he finishes a few books that I've recommended, I will read all his Harry Potter books. *GASP*. Yes, it's true. I have yet to pick up a Harry Potter book. I just don't find wizards, magical kids, and shit all that appealing. But now that I've watched the movies, I think wizards are AIIGHT. For now, I'm all about teenage romance novels. Chh-yeah!

Mary Anne = FAIL

noreply@blogger.com (Mary Anne) — Fri, 22 Aug 2008 05:31:00 +0000

Objective: Climb to the top of rope ladder without touching ground. Press red button at the end of ladder to win prize.

It's not as easy as it looks.

At least you get a nice view of my unflattering butt.

Home Movies

noreply@blogger.com (Mary Anne) — Tue, 19 Aug 2008 05:53:00 +0000

It was just this evening that I realized we've accumilated a good amount of home movies (Not those kinds, you silly goose. Get your mind out of the gutter. And if you were seriously interested, we do accept Visa, MasterCard, or American Express via PayPal. LOL. No, I'm seriously kidding). Most of the videos are pretty candid which makes it even funnier because I don't recollect a damn thing. From now on, or when I feel like it, I will start posting snippets of our home movies. Such as this random one I totally forgot about while I was in New York. I shot the New York City skyline from the Google building. I'm in it for about a second.

**UPDATE: Fixed the sound problem on the video by adding background music. It was staticky.

It's called "vlogging" (video-blogging). Or "too-damn-lazy-to-blog-heres-a-video-instead-sucka."

Totally drained

noreply@blogger.com (Mary Anne) — Mon, 18 Aug 2008 07:39:00 +0000

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

Out of the office

noreply@blogger.com (Mary Anne) — Sat, 09 Aug 2008 19:33:00 +0000

I'm leaving you again, but this time for Maui.
New York wasn't as nearly as fun as this will be.
Will be back to post on the 21st.

Aloha!

Guess who's on Facebook?

noreply@blogger.com (Mary Anne) — Sat, 09 Aug 2008 05:23:00 +0000

ME!

Actually, Leo and I both have Facebook accounts now.

Hell hath frozen over.

A couple of photos of Monterey, CA

noreply@blogger.com (Mary Anne) — Thu, 07 Aug 2008 17:03:00 +0000

Last weekend, Leo and I went to Monterey to check out the town. The weather was gorgeous. Fresh air. Nice views. It was simple and sweet. Too bad for us everyone and their moms decided to go the same day.

Leo and I ate at The Whole Enchilada off Hwy 1 in Moss Landing.

I know. I take a lot of photos of our food. But this was a really good seafood enchilada Leo ordered.

My dish, the chamachon es muy excellente.

Leo's dessert. Chocolate mousse.

My dessert. Creme brule.

If you've read the Steinbeck novel "Cannery Row" this is the famous place. Lots of tourist.

Monterey is beautiful. But I'm really looking forward to Maui this weekend. :)

One Year Anniversary in the Bay Area

noreply@blogger.com (Mary Anne) — Mon, 04 Aug 2008 21:54:00 +0000

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!

noreply@blogger.com (Mary Anne) — Sun, 03 Aug 2008 06:22:00 +0000

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?

A search engine that claims to search more pages than Google

noreply@blogger.com (Mary Anne) — Mon, 28 Jul 2008 21:50:00 +0000

http://www.cuil.com/info/

What a bold statement.

Oh and read this article on CNN.

http://money.cnn.com/2008/07/28/technology/cuil.ap/index.htm?cnn=yes

Day 25: ...

noreply@blogger.com (Mary Anne) — Fri, 25 Jul 2008 17:27:00 +0000

Resisting meat is not the hardest part. I know I can do it. No problem. However, I'm having all sorts of health issues now. Before I started this challenge, I was already border line anemic. I told myself I would eat nuts, beans, spinach to help with that but I feel like I don't get enough. I've lost my apetite for eating. I've been emo for a few days now. It's hard to motivate myself to get up in the morning. I'm awake, but I don't want to get up. During lunch, I'm affraid to leave the office. I think I prefer to go home during lunch and just lay or sit there than go anywhere. So I started taking vitamins to suppliment what my body was lacking. Don't think it helped much. I do eat a lot of vegetables and fruit here and there, but what the funk is wrong with me? My body is probably still getting use to it. Oh well.

Just a random list

noreply@blogger.com (Mary Anne) — Wed, 23 Jul 2008 04:59:00 +0000

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!

Photos from NYC

noreply@blogger.com (Mary Anne) — Mon, 21 Jul 2008 05:40:00 +0000

So I didn't really tell anyone I was going to New York City because I didn't know myself till a few days before the actual trip. I figured since my husband would be on work travel during 4th of July weekend and I had some friends cancel out on me last minute, hey why not tag along with him.

We started our morning @ YouTube. Parked our car in the garage and took a taxi cab to the airport. Long term parking gets expensive.

San Francisco International Airport

If you haven't already flew on Virgin America, you should. However, flights are limited to only major cities. At least for now. But if you have the opportunity to, do it. They're affordable and all the seats have a view of this. You can play music, watch tvs, order movies, play video games, order food/drinks, the works.

The fog machine and the lights give it a club feel.

We arrive at our 4 star hotel (according to HotWire) and was surprised how tiny it was. Literally a shoe box. But we figured we wouldn't spend as much time here anyways.

We stayed in midtown, also known as "crowded as fuck", which is also known as Time Square. Tourist central.

Never again will I stay in midtown. Next time I'll stay in the Chelsea area known for the yuppiness of all yuppy. It's better.

We ate at this crappy English Pub-like restaurant above a main intersection in Midtown. Although the location and views were nice, the food fucking sucked. NEVER ORDER ITALIAN FOOD FROM AN ENGLISH RESTAURANT. NEVER.

Playwright Tavern is the name. It was so bad that I had to remind myself what the restaurant was called by this photo.

Best part of my meal was this flower.

I pulled out my camera to take a photo of Leo's New York hot dog. But by the time I snapped the photo, he ate most of it.

Funny story: I walked above some grates in Harlem and my mini dress blew up above my head. So anything below my chin was probably visible. I probably made someones day. Oh well. This photo was taken while we were waiting in line to see Rent on Broadway.

I could finally cross off "SEEN A BROADWAY SHOW" on my list of things to do before I die. You know, right next to "SWAM WITH A LARGE SHARK IN HAWAII."

This was in the New York Times building. A bunch of articles shuffle through these tiny marquees.

Also this phrase. Don't know why.

We took back a few slices of New York pizza to our hotel room to make up for the crapppy dinner. Gotta love these open very late kinda joints.

Entrance to Central Park.

The famous Central Park fountain.

I'm proud of this photo. I placed it on a ledge of a wall and used the timer feature. Not bad.

We rented a little row boat. T'was romantic.

Near the place where Borat washed his tighty whities.

Boat pond.

106 and Park. Not too sure why Leo took me here. I guess the whole reference to hip hop being concieved here or some shit like that. Luckily we didn't get shot.

It was basically this basketball court and a huge graffiti wall...

...and this bridge.

Funny sign.

Harlem.

Brooklyn Bridge

Happily.

Gift from the French.

Trying to pinch the lady.

Gotcha.

City skyline from the ferry.

We ordered room service to send us this delicious brownie with ice cream. This was seriously the best brownie I ever had in my life.

We ate at Little Italy at a restaurant called Cafe Sorento. It was good compared to the crap we've had.

Best part of my meal was dessert. Leo had a canoli while I had a tiramisu. They should just rename to tiramagood.

City view from the Google building.

Despite the humidity and the urine smelling streets, I like New York. A LOT. Leo and I have contemplated moving here, but for now, I'm going to say no. As a Californian, I realized how spoiled I am. Having so much space and cleaner air. It's great. Besides, if I wanted big city, San Francisco is right here.

My new best friend

noreply@blogger.com (Mary Anne) — Sat, 19 Jul 2008 21:55:00 +0000

The Dark Knight

noreply@blogger.com (Mary Anne) — Sat, 19 Jul 2008 01:27:00 +0000

Leo, Melody, Jane, Don, and I are going to see The Dark Knight tonight in Cupertino. I'm really excited. I haven't been excited about a movie in a long time. And I heard Heath Ledger's performance was amazing.

If you haven't already watched the trailer, here it is.

Then watch this one. I nearly fell off my chair laughing.

The best scene:

Criminal 1: "What are you proposing?"

Joker: It's simple. Kill The Batman.
As you can see from my charts, we use to be at awesome. Now we dropped. I don't know what happened. But I want us to reach back up to awesome.

Criminal 2: Get back up to awesome... why didn't I think of that? We should kill Batman. Wow, what an idiot I am. Geez. He's the Joker right? He's the smart one.

Criminal 3: What did you major in?

----

I'm easily amused. Can't you tell?

This is another post where I talk about my hair

noreply@blogger.com (Mary Anne) — Thu, 17 Jul 2008 05:59:00 +0000

Finally did my hair after much debating. I was hoping to have my entire head light brown, but since my stylist said that I had too much color in my hair already, I would do some major damage to it by bleaching my entire head. So I had it trimmed and added brown highlights. It turned out fantastic. I think I may have found a winner and found my new stylist in the Bay Area. Thank God for these guys. My only gripe is that they spelled compliments as "complements" on their website. They are totally going to get dinged for that on Yelp.

Sorry, my webcam's quality is not so hot.

Blew a fuse

noreply@blogger.com (Mary Anne) — Wed, 16 Jul 2008 18:07:00 +0000

Last Monday, Leo and I went to lunch and had a wonderful vegetarian meal at a Thai restaurant close by the data center where he was working. He's been really supportive about this whole vegetarian thing that I have to repeatedly tell him that he doesn't have to eat vegetarian just for me. He's always like, "It's okay, I want to do this." When really he probably hates it. And I hate it when he says things like that. Makes me want to slap him in the face with a t-bone steak. I sometimes think he does it just to impress me. Like he wants me to return the favor with a humongous blow job.

Anyhow, after our meal, we make our way to the data center. He gives me the grand tour and then enlightens me about the stuff he does when he's not playing online games. The stuff that normal people like myself call a job. I'm just bitter because I don't work from home like he does. On our drive back to my office, I was thankful that he didn't quiz me about what I learned from my experience at a Google/YouTube data center after his whole spiel. Cus dude, if he did, my only response would be FLUX CAPACITOR!

Upgraded to the new iPhone!

noreply@blogger.com (Mary Anne) — Sat, 12 Jul 2008 18:45:00 +0000

I assume you all know the new iPhones were released yesterday. Lines were wrapped around the stores and how it was complete mayhem and yada yada yada. So Leo and I walked in this morning to our local AT&T store and upgraded our iPhones. No lines. No wait. On second thought, there is a wait. They're delivering the phones to the store. Apparently Leo couldn't wait, so he ordered his on rush. Mine is on standard delivery. I could wait 7-10 days for GPS and faster interweb. No biggy. So they'll call/e-mail when they are ready for pick up. Sweet.

His and Her's. Leo bought the black one and I got the white. Both 16GB!

I admit 5 meme

noreply@blogger.com (Mary Anne) — Fri, 11 Jul 2008 16:15:00 +0000

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

noreply@blogger.com (Mary Anne) — Thu, 10 Jul 2008 06:24:00 +0000

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

noreply@blogger.com (Mary Anne) — Fri, 04 Jul 2008 19:31:00 +0000

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

xoxo

noreply@blogger.com (Leo) — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 20:42:00 +0000

must.... eat.... meat.....

Day 2: Thought I ate a piece of meat

noreply@blogger.com (Mary Anne) — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 18:25:00 +0000

Yesterday, I had an eggplant sandwich with a humongous slice of mozarella cheese at Maison de Patisserie . The cheese fell out of my sandwich and I immediately panicked. It looked like a piece of chicken! I poked at it and looked over at Jane, who was sitting to my left. I asked her what the hell it was. Sure enough, it was a piece of cheese trying to play mind games with me. I blame the cheese for making me look like an idiot in front of my co-workers.

Day 2 was easy mode.