No really, has it?
Rush hour on "the devil" (aka the 4o5 freeway) is usually from 2pm-9pm so when I hop on the freeway at 6:30pm I fully expect to inch along for a hellish 3 miles or 4 exits. Today, I hopped on the "devil" after work today and zoomed along... at 60 miles per hour on the far right lane... for the entire time! It took me 3 minutes to drive what normally takes me at least 20 minutes.
Wheeeeee!! I was giddy when I drove off the freeway and didn't even have to stop at the signal at the bottom of the ramp. It was a total rush.
I had to come home and immediately capture this moment. I have a feeling this was a once-in-a-lifetime experience.
1/30/2007
1/28/2007
good, bad, ugly
The good: The book, The Namesake_by JhumpaLahiri. Minsoo and I got the book from hannah & sarah and I started it the week after Christmas and finished it up this past weekend. I usually like non-fiction books about politics & religion, but occassionally I get hooked on a really good novel or piece of children's lit (i.e. HarryP0tter). I can't wait for the movie.
The bad: Minsoo is sick... again! He had bronchitis, got better, went to Sundance and now is sick again! I've been sleeping on the futon for the past month to try and avoid the germies. I think Phil is getting annoyed at my attempts to help him get better. I can't help it -- I am obsessed with problem solving, which he calls "telling me what to do." I say it's "being a good wife."
The ugly: I had an "ug1y betty" moment this past week: While most of the time I muddle around, trying to figure out how to fit into my job and my workplace, I had a great meeting with the pres. of my organization -- the first time I'd ever met with him personally since I started interning/working TWO years ago. We talked about my background (i.e. frustrated journalism career, crazy weird non-profit work, urban planning school) and my aspirations (Asian American progressive organizing/capacity building/electoral power/research) and after the convo, I totally felt reinspired by my work. When I got into my car after the meeting, I turned on the radio to hear that KT Tunsta11 song "Suddenly 1 See" -- the same song that played after the first ep. of U.B. when she walks away feeling good about her work after having the worst first week ever. Anyway, when I heard it, I thanked God for reminding me that things will get better and that Betty Suarez is one of my new heroes. Shut up, it's cheesy but true.
The bad: Minsoo is sick... again! He had bronchitis, got better, went to Sundance and now is sick again! I've been sleeping on the futon for the past month to try and avoid the germies. I think Phil is getting annoyed at my attempts to help him get better. I can't help it -- I am obsessed with problem solving, which he calls "telling me what to do." I say it's "being a good wife."
The ugly: I had an "ug1y betty" moment this past week: While most of the time I muddle around, trying to figure out how to fit into my job and my workplace, I had a great meeting with the pres. of my organization -- the first time I'd ever met with him personally since I started interning/working TWO years ago. We talked about my background (i.e. frustrated journalism career, crazy weird non-profit work, urban planning school) and my aspirations (Asian American progressive organizing/capacity building/electoral power/research) and after the convo, I totally felt reinspired by my work. When I got into my car after the meeting, I turned on the radio to hear that KT Tunsta11 song "Suddenly 1 See" -- the same song that played after the first ep. of U.B. when she walks away feeling good about her work after having the worst first week ever. Anyway, when I heard it, I thanked God for reminding me that things will get better and that Betty Suarez is one of my new heroes. Shut up, it's cheesy but true.
1/23/2007
state of the uni0n
The annual address by the prez is always a fun political time. Today I got the chance to get home from work early so I got to watch the political show. Dang it, this is when I wish I got cable so I could watch Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert.
Some "Fun" stats I collected while watching:
- Number of times W used any words related to terr0rism: 19
- other fav words of W: security (9) & enemy (9)
... If we were playing a drinking game, I'd be wasted by now.
Significant moments:
- Addressing the speaker of the house as "Madame." Hells yeah, Nancy,you my girl! The first female speaker of the house and 3rd in line to be president. Historic. Work that pale green suit, girlfriend! I'm a little bit teary eyed at this point... but don't worry, the tears don't last for long...
- The Iowa senator started clapping like crazy when W mentioned ethanol (his state makes a lot of corn!) -- It looked like he was playing deal or no deal and just picked briefcase number 10 in hopes that it's filled with a dollar.
- The president briefly mentions diplomacy as part of his "plan" for Iraq... does he even know what that means? Beer almost spilled out of my nose.
- The camera was focused on Condi, who was staring really intently and looked drugged out. She has weird eyes.
- W mentions Sept 11th and connects the war in Iraq. Haven't we gone over this before?
- 92,000 soldiers deployed in the next 5 years :(
- The subway hero is honored in the gallery!! I wonder if it's the greatest moment of his life, but I guess saving a guy who's fallen onto subway tracks by jumping onto of them to hold them down while a train rolls over you is pretty friggin amazing and crazy scary. Being in the gallery during the state of the uni0n address is just kinda exciting.
- Some lady gets a huge old smooch from W as he's walking out of the gallery and signing autographs. She looks all giddy. Ewwwwww.
There you go, now you know some of the most insignificant details from W's speech.
Obama in 2008. Obama in 2008. Obama in 2008.
Some "Fun" stats I collected while watching:
- Number of times W used any words related to terr0rism: 19
- other fav words of W: security (9) & enemy (9)
... If we were playing a drinking game, I'd be wasted by now.
Significant moments:
- Addressing the speaker of the house as "Madame." Hells yeah, Nancy,you my girl! The first female speaker of the house and 3rd in line to be president. Historic. Work that pale green suit, girlfriend! I'm a little bit teary eyed at this point... but don't worry, the tears don't last for long...
- The Iowa senator started clapping like crazy when W mentioned ethanol (his state makes a lot of corn!) -- It looked like he was playing deal or no deal and just picked briefcase number 10 in hopes that it's filled with a dollar.
- The president briefly mentions diplomacy as part of his "plan" for Iraq... does he even know what that means? Beer almost spilled out of my nose.
- The camera was focused on Condi, who was staring really intently and looked drugged out. She has weird eyes.
- W mentions Sept 11th and connects the war in Iraq. Haven't we gone over this before?
- 92,000 soldiers deployed in the next 5 years :(
- The subway hero is honored in the gallery!! I wonder if it's the greatest moment of his life, but I guess saving a guy who's fallen onto subway tracks by jumping onto of them to hold them down while a train rolls over you is pretty friggin amazing and crazy scary. Being in the gallery during the state of the uni0n address is just kinda exciting.
- Some lady gets a huge old smooch from W as he's walking out of the gallery and signing autographs. She looks all giddy. Ewwwwww.
There you go, now you know some of the most insignificant details from W's speech.
Obama in 2008. Obama in 2008. Obama in 2008.
1/21/2007
an open letter to my neighbors at apt #15
Dear Sirs,
I respect the fact that everyone has different living habits, however, I'd like to address the way you like to wake up in the morning. Yes, I'm writing about the obscenely loud stereo system blasting bad -um I mean "rock metal hybrid"- music. Based on my observations, I can only assume that you may have the following ailments:
- loss of hearing (I can hear and feel the thump of each and every word of every song you play on your stereo at 6am -- is the thumping what wakes you up?)
- lack of taste (waking up to nickelback makes me want to rip my ears off in the morning)
- inability to hit snooze (i know that you must love that one song, but it's just mean to make us listen for longer than 5 minutes)
- lack of taste (come on now, blasting NICKELBACK???? At least pick a decent artist... some hip hop perhaps?)
- a sleep disorder (This is why you cannot set your alarm to a normal volume)
Everyday I consider banging the wall with my fist and shouting, "Shut the HELL up you freak with no taste!!" but I'm so exhausted from waking up at 6am to the sound of snow patrol's chasing cars (the cool song you've played, but is now tainted as I cannot listen to it without feeling cheated) I cannot drag my body out of bed to bang on the wall 1 foot from my bed. Sometime I sing along to this song while waving my fist and crying bitter tears, mourning the death of my slumber.
I've considered walking next door and telling you to shut up, but I think you already know. I think you already know because when I see you in the hallway, you don't look me in the eye. I think you know you already messed it up when your apartment smelled like ass for a month and the stench made me gag as I walked by your open window each day. And I'm not even going to go into your recent re-tiling effort and the way your creepy friends glare at me through the windows when you're playing poker and I walk by.
I'd like to ask for your consideration, however, I highly doubt you will change your ways. So I guess this letter is just a way for me to let you know that just in case you hear a thumping and shouting coming from the southern wall of your apartment, It's me, crying out for one more hour of sweet, sweet sleep.
Your neighbor,
Me.
I respect the fact that everyone has different living habits, however, I'd like to address the way you like to wake up in the morning. Yes, I'm writing about the obscenely loud stereo system blasting bad -um I mean "rock metal hybrid"- music. Based on my observations, I can only assume that you may have the following ailments:
- loss of hearing (I can hear and feel the thump of each and every word of every song you play on your stereo at 6am -- is the thumping what wakes you up?)
- lack of taste (waking up to nickelback makes me want to rip my ears off in the morning)
- inability to hit snooze (i know that you must love that one song, but it's just mean to make us listen for longer than 5 minutes)
- lack of taste (come on now, blasting NICKELBACK???? At least pick a decent artist... some hip hop perhaps?)
- a sleep disorder (This is why you cannot set your alarm to a normal volume)
Everyday I consider banging the wall with my fist and shouting, "Shut the HELL up you freak with no taste!!" but I'm so exhausted from waking up at 6am to the sound of snow patrol's chasing cars (the cool song you've played, but is now tainted as I cannot listen to it without feeling cheated) I cannot drag my body out of bed to bang on the wall 1 foot from my bed. Sometime I sing along to this song while waving my fist and crying bitter tears, mourning the death of my slumber.
I've considered walking next door and telling you to shut up, but I think you already know. I think you already know because when I see you in the hallway, you don't look me in the eye. I think you know you already messed it up when your apartment smelled like ass for a month and the stench made me gag as I walked by your open window each day. And I'm not even going to go into your recent re-tiling effort and the way your creepy friends glare at me through the windows when you're playing poker and I walk by.
I'd like to ask for your consideration, however, I highly doubt you will change your ways. So I guess this letter is just a way for me to let you know that just in case you hear a thumping and shouting coming from the southern wall of your apartment, It's me, crying out for one more hour of sweet, sweet sleep.
Your neighbor,
Me.
1/15/2007
crack tax?
Today I was in the car, talking to minsoo, when I caught the end of an NPR story about the "crack tax."
I was like...the what??
I didn't catch the whole story so I wasn't sure what they were talking about but I was hoping that it was a tariff on girls who wear such low riding pants that you can stick a nickel in their ass-cracks. Even better would have been to add a tax for the "muffin-top" offense. You know what I'm talking about.
It turns out, though, that the tax is on drug dealers in Tennessee. They pay it annonymously and if they are caught dealing drugs they must prove they paid the tax or else they'll get in more trouble for not only dealing but also not paying. Yes, a weird tax.
I was like...the what??
I didn't catch the whole story so I wasn't sure what they were talking about but I was hoping that it was a tariff on girls who wear such low riding pants that you can stick a nickel in their ass-cracks. Even better would have been to add a tax for the "muffin-top" offense. You know what I'm talking about.
It turns out, though, that the tax is on drug dealers in Tennessee. They pay it annonymously and if they are caught dealing drugs they must prove they paid the tax or else they'll get in more trouble for not only dealing but also not paying. Yes, a weird tax.
1/09/2007
Abundance of what?
It's been less than a week since I resumed work after our winter break and I'm already working long hours. There's already a bunch of changes that are going on with work stuff and it's only the second week of January!!!
We're heading into the year of the pig, which symbolizes abundance. I am hoping for an abundance of wealth. I have a feeling this year will be about abundance of work.
We're heading into the year of the pig, which symbolizes abundance. I am hoping for an abundance of wealth. I have a feeling this year will be about abundance of work.
1/04/2007
Oh-seven, schveven
This is the obligatory holiday overview/new years resolution post.
I had a lot of holiday fun with family & friends. From Christmas with my crazy family (our annual family gift exchange included swapping TWO copies of the new Flower Drum S0ng DVD... yes, we are interesting) and minsoo's cousin's baby party, we had a good time full of crazy Yu/Kim/Lee/Wu family craziness. I also think I hosted my favorite new year's party ever. I got to see NU friends, especially our favorite third member of the loser's lair and had a really fun time with friends from LA.
My favorite parts of the holiday?
2 copies of the Flower Drum Song DVD at our family gift exchange... my weird family
Hanging with my sister Jess and my other sisters Hannah and Sarah [beh-tah Not]
Baby Eric Turns 1
Margaritas @ New Year's Eve made by small group peeps
Father's 0ffice Steak Salad & Sweet Potato Fries & Anchor Steam/Red Sail
Messing with the messy
Seeing friends from out of town like Summer & LoloSu
Sleeping in
My two-week holiday vacation was cut short on Wednesday morning when I got a call from my boss telling me that I was supposed to come into work. I thought our office was closed THROUGH Jan 3, when in fact, it was closed UNTIL Jan 3. Uh-oh. I spent my first whole day back moving furniture from the first floor to the second floor and rearranging our new office space, which kept me awake and away from actual work, but made my first day back seem very strenuous. I think I already need another vacation.
In terms of a new year's resolution, I kind of don't believe that resolutions work because every year I think of the same resolutions. In reality, each year is an opportunity to continue doing the good things you started last year, or try and stop the bad behaviors you started last year. Resolutions are always a continuation of last year's. In any case, my new year's resolution
is that it will be sucka-free. Whether that means I will not be a sucka or that I will not be around suckas is up for interpretation.
There. I am done. Ah, this post was boring. Maybe I should make a resolution to write interesting posts in 2007.
I had a lot of holiday fun with family & friends. From Christmas with my crazy family (our annual family gift exchange included swapping TWO copies of the new Flower Drum S0ng DVD... yes, we are interesting) and minsoo's cousin's baby party, we had a good time full of crazy Yu/Kim/Lee/Wu family craziness. I also think I hosted my favorite new year's party ever. I got to see NU friends, especially our favorite third member of the loser's lair and had a really fun time with friends from LA.
My favorite parts of the holiday?
2 copies of the Flower Drum Song DVD at our family gift exchange... my weird family
Hanging with my sister Jess and my other sisters Hannah and Sarah [beh-tah Not]
Baby Eric Turns 1
Margaritas @ New Year's Eve made by small group peeps
Father's 0ffice Steak Salad & Sweet Potato Fries & Anchor Steam/Red Sail
Messing with the messy
Seeing friends from out of town like Summer & LoloSu
Sleeping in
My two-week holiday vacation was cut short on Wednesday morning when I got a call from my boss telling me that I was supposed to come into work. I thought our office was closed THROUGH Jan 3, when in fact, it was closed UNTIL Jan 3. Uh-oh. I spent my first whole day back moving furniture from the first floor to the second floor and rearranging our new office space, which kept me awake and away from actual work, but made my first day back seem very strenuous. I think I already need another vacation.
In terms of a new year's resolution, I kind of don't believe that resolutions work because every year I think of the same resolutions. In reality, each year is an opportunity to continue doing the good things you started last year, or try and stop the bad behaviors you started last year. Resolutions are always a continuation of last year's. In any case, my new year's resolution
is that it will be sucka-free. Whether that means I will not be a sucka or that I will not be around suckas is up for interpretation.
There. I am done. Ah, this post was boring. Maybe I should make a resolution to write interesting posts in 2007.
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