Atypical Asian Syndrome

A whole year later

2012-01-15T20:27:00.003-05:00

Sorry for the extreme laziness on blogging, but I think I've got a good reason. You see, with my day job, child caring, and all the stuff in between, I tend to take care of these things first rather than writing and reflecting about life. I will try to do better this year.

2011, in closing, sucked. We've lost our cats due to sudden illnesses and the only thing we have left now of them are their ashes on our fireplace mantle. Ramen dog, thankfully, is still here with us, and he loves our kid. Even he is getting old and I'm just so hoping that he at least has a few good years left in him.

Noah Maxx is now 17 months old and he has been nothing but pure joy to have around. While he does have a strong personality and got his moments, we couldn't remember our lives before him! So far, he had no major health issues except for his eczema, and food allergy, to peanut, so bad that we had to take him to the ER. He's alright now, just have to make sure that he doesn't eat any more peanut butter and other peanut products. We're hoping that he will start to talk soon, he seems to be delayed in that area.

The GF and I, while we are good, we still have our issues and are basically going back and forth about it from time to time. Our energies are mostly consumed with child caring and keeping a roof over our heads, it seems. It's not completely a losing battle, we have our good and bad moments.

Hoping that 2012 is going well so far for you guys and gals! Until the next update, take good care!

2011-01-22T10:19:00.002-05:00

Howdy everyone! Long time no see! Life is progressing on as normally as possible here in the freezing Mid-Atlantic state! I'd really like to find whoever that raised hell about this whole global warming bullshit and slap him/her/them upside the head!

My boy Noah Maxx is growing and healthy, and he's really a joy to be around! I'm not just saying that because I'm his mom! He's funny, curious, sweet, and already becoming a foodie in his young 5 months! Even though we're not quite like "one of these" parents who insists on organic everything, we have been making his baby food from the mega food processor that my sister had purchased for us as a birthday gift, and so far it's working out well!

My job is going on ok, even though I'd frequently fantasize about doing something else, or more or less being around friendlier people. Not that my co-workers are not nice people but either I'm ass-boring, or they are. My career goal for this year is simply to get through this contract year, one day at a time. Please don't get me wrong! I know how lucky I am just to be working and making somewhat of a decent pay, but sometimes that can feel really deceiving when I'm driving in traffic for an hour and a half each way. Maybe one day this situation will get somewhat better.

Oops, the boy is awake now...must go for now!

The rare and few update

2010-11-21T17:07:00.003-05:00

Hi everyone! Noah Maxx is now 4 months old and I am back at work, doing the work that I had done before, except I'm now with a different company and back to the old worksite. What can I say, I live in the world of defense contracting!

The GF is at home watching Noah Maxx while I'm working, and because I have a almost crazy commute to and from work, I am not able to spend as much time with Noah Maxx as I'd like to. Lately, he has been waking up at 5:30-ish in the morning and that's when I'd go and feed and change him before I have to get ready for work. In the evening, if I can get back at a "reasonable time", then I can get to hang out with him and help the GF bathe him before he goes to sleep at 7 PM-ish.

That is why weekends are great because I get to spend more time with him! He has been such a good natured and calm baby that it's almost scary!

Life has been good, even with its bumps, and now it's even better with a cute baby boy! Yes there are definitely more expenses, but that's a small price to pay for the fact that our lives are now much fuller!

Welcome to the world, Noah Maxx!

2010-09-02T02:41:00.003-04:00

Noah Maxx was finally born on July 29th. 2010, after being induced and 17 hours of labor! Pardon me for the delayed update, but I've simply been sleeping/eating, and doing stuff in an out of whack sort of way. Life is now lived in 3-4 hour increments of feeding and changing diapers.

He, however, has been the best baby, not overtly fussy, sweet, and just about everything that we had hoped for! I'm so glad that he's in our lives! My only regret is that his great-grandparents couldn't live long enough to meet him. I am sure though, however, that they're watching over him from where they are.

My maternity leave so far has been one of the best "vacations" ever! The only annoying parts have been dealing with the disability insurance company, as well as trying to find a new job (will explain further in the next post or two.) after the maternity leave ends.

We've had some relatives visit, to include my aunt, my sister, and the GF's family. Friends are slowly trickling in to see our little man, and I'm so happy to say that Noah Maxx doesn't seem to be weary of people he doesn't know holding him!

Most of the Noah Maxx updates will be on the "Two bad moms" blog, I've hyperlinked it for your convenience. I will update here from time to time.

Rarely are there events in life which can make one as happy as the birth of a new child, and we're so glad that he's finally here!

The latest

2010-07-27T21:48:00.002-04:00

Hi everyone! I'm still here and pregnant! My baby is now about 6 days overdue and the plan is have him induced in another 2 days. God willing it won't hurt that badly, but what are the chances of that?

The GF and I have been taking it easy for the past week. I took off from work about less than a week prior to the baby's original due date, I didn't really feel like being a hero and work until my water broke. I am really grateful to have some lazy days before our lives take new turns, this time as parents.

I'm really thankful to the God that my pregnancy has been one of the smoothest and problem free ones that I know!

I'm sure that parenthood will be fun, tiring but exhilarating, and the perfect remedy for people who don't really have much of a life anyways! :-)

If you're interested, please click on my profile tab on the right and you'll see our other blog "2 Bad Moms", and all the baby details will be there. I will be back here updating from time to time.

Hope you're (my very few readers) all doing well in your lives, see you all soon, and by then there will be three of us!

3D picture time!

2010-05-20T13:37:00.004-04:00

These pictures of our little Noah Maxx were taken two days ago. He is growing right on target and was acting shy with his little fist covering his right eye! However, our ultrasound technician was really good and got these great shots! Just 9 more weeks to go and we can't wait to finally see and hold him in person!

It's a....

2010-03-20T22:06:00.004-04:00

Boy! The GF and I had gone to the radiologist late last week for my second trimester ultrasound exam. It'll probably be the last ultrasound that we'll take before the baby's born, unless the obstetrician finds something that he/she is suspicious about or if the images were not clear enough.
This picture is a shot of my baby's wiener, taken from below his buttocks, and the column like structure to the left of him is my spine, the bright white line in the middle is his thigh bone.

I had no inkling whatsoever of what gender the baby is, but the GF had, about two nights before the ultrasound, she couldn't sleep in the middle of the night and thought that the baby could be a boy, and she was right!
During the exam, the baby was just chilling down in my belly and even peed when the technician was checking his kidneys! They usually check for baby's size, brain size, belly size, heart and its valves (to see if they're all there and working), and kidneys. We know his bladder works because she said he was peeing while she was checking it.

Sorry that we couldn't really capture the face much, his arms were crossed and his fists were covering his face. We do have two profile pics but they didn't scan well.

He has been moving more now, on and off from when I wake up until I fall asleep! He kicks especially harder when I'm hungry. I probably would have done the same exact thing if I were him! I try to eat different types of food so that he'll hopefully one day not become a fussy eater.
We're really excited to finally know the baby's gender! Everything seemed to be going right on schedule so far! The baby now just has to grow and be delivered safely when it's time!

Happy Valentine's Day!

2010-02-14T18:43:00.003-05:00

Happy Valentines to everyone! Especially to my wonderful GF! We've been together now for almost 11 years, and in those 11 years, we've adopted a dog and a kitten, I've been to war (and had her worried to death.), both of us worked what seems like countless jobs to make ends meet, roughing through the various bullshits of life (right now, it's the army.), moved from Texas to Kansas City, then to Pennsylvania, and now in the D.C. area. I give her a lot of credit with sticking with me through everything, and being the my spare brain, and my true home!

I am so glad that in about 5 months we will finally welcome our little Pinhead! Both of us had wanted to be parents for a while now, and finally that is becoming a reality! I know that the GF will be the bestest co-mom ever! She had thought out about how to bring up Pinhead from the kind of books that we'll read to Pinhead, music for him/her to listen to, down to what we'll tell him/her about why we didn't save for his/her college education (we'll have a psychotherapy fund instead.)!

Thank you for putting up with my seemingly selective hearing, my not so best ability to communicate, and all these other bad habits/traits! I love you and cannot imagine a life without you!

Snowed in

2010-02-08T20:42:00.003-05:00

Hi folks! As some if not all of you may know, the great snowstorm of 2010 has paid a visit to those of us who live in the D.C. Metro area! I did not intend to but ended up (so far) taking Friday off (when the snow storm started.), my work location was then closed to all employees for today (Monday), as well as tomorrow (Tuesday).

Being a contractor, I'll pretty much will have to make up for the work hour missed, and that's going to suck. I've only got a very limited amount of work that I can do remotely...so.

We got a one of those fetal heart monitors in the mail, ordered it from Amazon.com, and we didn't get the most expensive model (as they're the most sensitive at picking up heartbeats.). Tried for almost 2 days to detect Pinhead's (that's what we're calling the baby before we know the gender.) heart beat. The GF was very patient was finally she was able to find it.....to hear it was the neatest thing in the world!

We won't be able to find out about the baby's gender until early next month....and I can't wait! I don't really care about whether or not Pinhead's a girl or a boy, I'd just like for Pinhead to be a healthy and happy baby!

So once again we've had a pretty hazy and lazy weekend, with the exception of the GF and I (she did most of the work.) shoveling snow. We finally were able to go out today and get some chick fil-a, and restock some of our groceries (nothing big, just milk, and some frozen foods.). It sure was nice to see the sunlight again....however short of a duration it was!

Forecast called for more snow tomorrow....at this rate I have no idea how long the offices will remain closed!

Nevertheless, I'm taking all the lazy times that I can get, once Pinhead gets here, no more lazy time for the next 18+ years!

Stay warm, everyone!

Week 12

2010-01-09T19:10:00.002-05:00

Hi everyone! Sorry that I had not posted much lately. The holidays and braving the cold winter has taken a bit more out of me than I'd like to admit.

However, I am now in my 12th. week of pregnancy, and so far, everything seems to be going well. I've not had any morning sickness, and my weight gain has been minimal, which is great because even before I got pregnant, I was already overweight.

About the only really noticeable difference in me (at least that I can feel) is that I now tend to get tired more easily....growing a baby is work!

It's way to early still to know the gender of the baby, but I think as long as the baby is happy and healthy, we'll be happy as can be!

Up until week 11, the only person in my side of the family who knows about this was my sister, and she had managed to keep a really tight lip on everything. By the beginning of week 12, I just let it rip and told the rest of my family (surviving members include my uncle, aunt, and stepmom.). My aunt was a bit in shock but by her second e-mail (she is currently traveling abroad.) she was sounding happy about it. Maybe this baby is the ticket to my family finally getting a piece of good news after the past 3-4 years of people passing away.), and accepting my GF.....I mean, we've been together longer than most of the marriages that I've seen!

I"ll post ultrasound pictures as I can get them (the first few weren't that clear). Everyone please stay warm! (This has been one of the coldest winters that I can remember!) I will update more as events warrant!

At 7 weeks....

2009-12-09T20:54:00.003-05:00

I'm happy to report that as of now, I am still with child! We're going to get a second ultrasound on Friday before this doctor (the fertility doctor) releases me to a regular ob/gyn. (I hadn't found one yet, but I really hadn't tried either.) Our first ultrasound, which was done at week 4 (give or take) showed a blob the size of a grain of rice with pulsing heartbeats!

So far, I haven't had any overt morning sickness, thank God! I do, however, feel more tired than usual, and have these pangs of cramps to which the doctor explained as my "inside" is trying to grow to accommodate the new life. My pants are starting to feel tighter, so I guess elastics will be my new best friends sooner than later! The GF and I couldn't be more excited about the addition of this little guy/gal!

No one in my family knows except for my sister, I plan to tell what remains of my family at about another 5-6 weeks from now, as that time will be somewhat of a milestone.... the end of the first trimester, I believe. I don't exactly know what their reaction will be, they've not yet accepted my GF as my GF, but for God's sake, it'll be a new child, you know?

A handful of my friends also knows and they seem to be very happy for us. People at work don't really know it yet, but they'll find out as I expand.

I haven't really had regular exercise for the past few weeks and my diet probably could stand to get a bit better. (I don't eat badly normally.) With the holidays and work it has been a kind of difficult to juggle, but I'm sure that things will eventually get to a certain level of normalcy and I'll be back at it!

Lastly, for now, we're calling this baby Pinhead, because when we found out that we're finally expecting, the size of the baby's head was approximately the size of a tip of a pin. That nickname just stuck. No, we're not going to call it Pinhead for the rest of his/her life (I won't find the gender out until about week 24) so don't you worry about that!

Big news to report

2009-11-19T21:09:00.003-05:00

Long time no see! Sorry for the long pause in blogging! My life now involves about 3+hours of commuting time to and from work, and it's not so much the distance that I've got to drive, it's more or less the Northern Virginia traffic. Maybe one day it'll get better, but then again, maybe not.

Things are changing at a fast pace after my grandpa's passing in August...my family make up is changing, with my uncle's upcoming move to China, my sister is working and trying to do what she can to make the ends meet, I'm still at my job and working for da man, and this army thing for me is still neither here or there.

Turn to the last 3 weeks, the GF and I had our 4th. try for a baby, and the what are different this time are that: 1. I had a little bit of help with a hormone shot that the GF administered to me, and 2. I picked a different sperm doner. (I have almost no information about him, except that he's 6' 2", wavy brown hair, and possibly in the military.) It took this time! So at this point, I've been with child (or children) for about 3 weeks now and the GF and I are very much looking forward to finally meet this person!

Next week, we'll go and get an ultrasound to make sure that the little Pinhead (his/her current nickname) is in the right location and that it's growing properly.

It's so hard to make sense of it all, after having experiences 3 deaths in the family in the last 3 years, to having a new life come in, due in July/August of next year. It's too small for me to feel so I'm not really feeling much yet physically, but I am sure that'll be changing sometimes soon!

Here's to the hope of a happy, healthy life for this little being, and end of life as we know it!

A month later...

2009-09-25T21:51:00.003-04:00

Today marks the one month anniversary of my grandpa's passing, funny that it actually feels longer than that, for some reasons. I'm doing alright. Made the decision to go talk to a grief counselor through my work's employee assistance program, but so on the lists of counselors which was provided to me, most are not taking new appointments (in these tough economic times, I guess there are a lot of people grieving over the loss of $) and the one person who was available not only didn't want to work with my insurance, but she'd leave these ass-long messages on my phone that just went on and on. (I guess that she is one of these people who have problems communicating in short sentences... can you imagine being counseled by her? She'd be the one doing all the talking instead of yourself!) I'm not giving up yet and will keep you updated.

I miss my grandpa, and the rest of my folks who have passed away over the last three years, and I think I always will until the Alzheimer takes over or the bus finally runs me over.

My sister has been doing really well, since grandpa had passed, it's now just her and her dog living in the house. I don't even know how I could have handled living alone in that house, so empty but yet so full of memories.

The GF has been trying to keep herself busy, now that her work situation is being wonky. I do feel for her and hope that she'll be able to find something that she'll enjoy.

With my job? Well, I like the pay but that doesn't mean that it's that interesting or I feel a sense of strong bond of loyalty with my bosses. While I am grateful to have a job, in the back of my mind, I'm always wondering what's next and how I don't want to spend such a long time in commutes anymore. My sister called me today right as I got out of work, and during the course of our commute conversation, she had driven from her job to a buffet restaurant, eaten 5 plates of food, paid, and then drove home... while I was still driving. That was just an example of how the commuting traffic is, and today has been a good commuting day!

Still no news to report on the army front of things... so I am still in limbo. As far as I know, I am still a reservist, but my level of involvement is so low now, it's amazing to think that just about this time last year, I was waist deep in the affair of that particular reserve unit. Well, that's life, for now, and I just hope that it'll all end well, whatever outcome that might be. I'd think about some of the people who I had gone to the officer course with, most of them have already finished with their training and have now either gone back to their civilian lives (if they're reservists) while others have moved on to their duty posts (if they're active duty) and I just wish them lots of luck, safety, minimal politics, and knowing when to say when.

I will post more later, but right now, I'm just trying to enjoy life and the people in my life the best that I can.

Rest in peace, grandpa

2009-08-25T20:27:00.003-04:00

My grandfather left this world at about 5:30 PM today. I knew his time was limited so I purchased tickets to fly down to Houston, but I didn't know it was that limited of a time. I've been getting updates on his status from my sister via phone or e-mail, and when I im'ed her today, she told me to fly down to Houston right away, it had gotten so much worse that grandpa was no longer taking any food, and the hospice nurse that the hospital had provided started him on a morphine drip about two in the afternoon. He made it until about 5 ish and when I frantically called the house down in Houston just a few minutes after the im.... my uncle answered the phone crying, telling me that grandpa was gone.

They held the phone close to his ears so I can say something to him while he was still warm. I told him not to worry, go and be with grandma, plus my father and all his friends who had passed on before him, that we'll do the best that we can until we meet again.

So this heaven thing will have to be true, otherwise, I'm going to be pissed!
I will be traveling down to Houston soon, I think his burial will be sometime this weekend.

I'm glad that I was lucky enough to have him for the majority of my life, and that I'm really thankful that he did his best to take care of all of us.

Even though I knew this day was coming, still there is simply no way to really prepare for it.

So until later, we'll do the best that we can until we meet again.

Long time no see!

2009-08-21T23:36:00.003-04:00

I know that it has been awhile since I've last blogged. I've not been entirely dormant in the blogosphere though. I've started my first food blog "Nerdstar Eats", with the encouragement of my GF. I am hoping to post more on the site soon. The writing is nowhere near that of a professional food critic, but simply from my own perspectives.

My new job has been good so far, but the longer commute is something that I can do without. Learning how to adequately arrange time to sleep, eat, work, and exercise is a fine art. I don't really know how these people do it, you know, those upward-mobile carreristas who go to work during the day, then attend graduate school, and still finds the time to party looking like these people from these fashion or fitness magazines.

Could it be that I'm older and slower?

As far as things on the family front are concerned, my grandfather has not been doing too well lately. He was at the hospital for the last week and a half with some dehydration and pneumonia. During his stay, the doctors also found that he has an aneurysm in his abdominal cavity and on top of that, his organs are failing. Being 92, he is already too old to undergo surgery, and as much as we don't want to face it, his time is running out. I'm sad and wondering what's going to really happen after he is gone. Ever since my grandma had passed away, things just have not been the same with my family, as if the glue that held everyone together just all of a sudden gotten weaker. Right now the best that I could hope for is that grandpa will not have to endure so much physical pain and will finally feel some sort of peace. If it's true then he'll join my father and grandmother on the other side, partying it up until it's our time to go too.

Of course, I really hope that he'll be able to make it through the year, but I don't even know if it's a possibility at this point.

I will, of course, update any changes or the lack thereof from time to time.

What about the army thing? Well, lately it has just been "live and let live".

Just have to pay tribute!

2009-06-05T11:27:00.001-04:00

Just thought that I'd share it with you.

2009-05-22T14:23:00.002-04:00

This is a picture of my gorgeous blister that I've acquired from army officer basic officer leadership course. I've been home for about a week now...and so far it has been great getting some rest and just let things settle for a bit.
The army is still being somewhat of knuckleheads about what to do with me, so far, I've got mixed messages to my request to be medically discharged. No matter what happens, I've got to get back to working and generating some $ for the new house that we've purchased and get our lives back on track. I'm just glad that I'm not doing this thing full time!
Without anymore delay, allow me to present to you the image of my war wound!

A turn of events

2009-05-10T00:11:00.002-04:00

Sorry that I've not updated anything for a while, but here is a chance for me to try to do just that.

I'm now in my 5th. week of officer basic training, and it has been very trying at best. I've so far passed about 3 of the 6 requirements for graduation, but not without a price. My feet thanked me for putting them through a 5 mile road march by treating me to two really bad blisters that required emergency medical care. I'm also not very good at the skills of land navigations....I've just completed my second try, and aside from the usual tiredness, my joints/muscles have been screaming for me to give them a break.

That sort of leads to the title of this entry, my cadre (consists of one higher ranking officer, and a few non-commissioned officers) has recommended that I'd be sent home based on the fact that I'm simply not physically fit enough. It really is quite unfair because I've so far passed all of the physical requirements despite that I had injuries (blisters, and twisted ankles.). They wanted me to go home to "get more fit", and heal my injuries and then repeat the whole course. I am thinking no to all of the above and while I don't mind going home, I would like to use this opportunity to make a case for requesting a medical discharge from the reserves.

Some of you might know that I have been contemplating getting out for a while, and just what solidified this intent?

a. I am truly sick of dealing with people whose only intent is to see you falter.

b. My overall army experience, while good at times, have been made up of mostly frustrations.

c. The benefits (for me) of getting out outweighs the benefits of staying in, and it's simply not all monetary.

d. My body is simply not going to magically heal and this is probably the best physical shape that I will have for me being in my late 30's.

e. Why would anyone want to return to Ft. Benning? (Okay, if you are an airborne infantry ranger, you pretty much have to be here for a while.)

I don't know what's going to happen as I go and talk to the company commander, but I'm just going to be honest with him and hopefully he'll be receptive to that. 13 years is a long time (my total combined active duty/reserve time.), and hopefully he'll understand how tired I have become.

As much as the cadre has been giving me a overall hard time about me not being as fast and strong as the other 20 something year old officers, I have to say that most of the students here have been really nice to me. I almost never lacked rides if I needed to goto somewhere, never lacked friends to go out to eat with, and have gotten much encouragements/advices (some not so sound ones.) from them, so I cannot complain about that.

I am very looking forward to be going home to be with the GF and our pets! God willing, the departure process will be swift and ultimately, I hope they'll grant me a medical discharge...to which I know will be yet another uphill battle....but at least I could be at home.

Will let you know what the outcome is as soon as it becomes available. Wish me luck on this one!

Back in armyland

2009-04-13T05:40:00.003-04:00

Hello everyone! Sorry for the late update on things. As of 8 days ago, the GF, the dog, and I drove down to Ft. Benning, Ga. to begin my officer basic leadership course. As I checked into the barracks, the GF and the dog drove back home.

To my pleasant surprise, I am not the oldest or the most broken (as in physically unfit/injured) person out there, but it has still been quite an effort to try to keep up with everyone....as in the majority of the people in the age of 25 or lower.

One of the most beautiful part about being a reservist is that for just about the other 28 days of the month, you don't have to think about the army. ( or whatever other branch that you might be a reservist of.) In this particular experience, you're army 24/7 for 7 weeks...with a few days of breaks in-between, until the more "professional" phase comes about in the middle of nowhere, Arizona.

The hardest part so far for me has been the physical requirements....here are some examples of what this school requires for graduation:

1. Passing the Army Physical Fitness Test.

2. Run a 4 mile run in a 8 minute a mile pace.

3. Combatives training. (Kind of like a combination of wrestling/ultimate fighting)

4 Road march with a 35lb. rucksack on your back for 10 miles in 4 hours or less.

It hasn't been a comfortable experience so far, I don't think that it's supposed to be. I miss the GF and the pets, a bathroom with a tub, Chinese food, not having to wake up before 7 AM (way before 7 AM), etc. Right now, I'm living my life one assigned task/test at a time, and feeling grateful that I will not have to go back to armyland once all this is over and done with....at least only for a weekend a month.

It's both cute and annoying at the same time, watching these young 20 something year olds who has yet to be really challenged by life...so far, everything have been college/high school/rotc/boy scouts....

I have no idea if this will end up making me a better person or anything lofty like that, but I do know that this is one of the places that I don't ever want to comeback to! (Sorry Western Ga./Eastern Alabama!) The army, with the exception of one or two forts, have a knack of picking some really depressed, middle of nowhere/bumfuckville places to designate as duty stations.

I will have more posts from this almost surreal experience laster...remember, I've still got 6 more weeks of this!

News

2009-03-07T21:37:00.004-05:00

Hello again! Long time no see in the blogosphere! It has been quite a busy last two months, and my life has been taking on a series of twists and turns.
First of all, I was not able to get out of the reserves with a medical discharge....they promptly lost my paperwork. (Losing paperwork seem to happen a lot in the service.) While I do have an arthritic back, it's not bad enough yet to require surgery or wear a back brace all the time...so I guess that brings me to my destiny for the next 5 months.....army officer basic course.
That's basic training redux for the first 7 weeks, and after that, you'll go somewhere else to learn the "tricks of the trade" for your particular branch of army service. I will start in April, and come back in early September. I don't feel physically or mentally ready for it....but I'll try and hope to God that I'll get through. Not looking forward to trying to keep up with people who are at least 10 years younger than me, but that's just the way it goes sometimes.
In other news, the GF and I have been looking at houses in our area, and there have been a lot of hits and misses. The GF so far have done most of the legwork because I don't have as much time due to my work obligations. We were with this one realtor, but he seemed shady and was kind of sucky in terms of him not returning our calls or e-mail in a timely fashion, plus the fact that he kept showing us these really shitty looking houses. That made us feel really hopeless that we'll find a good place. The GF then found this really nice lady realtor who also is of the same "orientation" and she has been really helpful in helping us look for places. There were a few places to which we had found to be promising...but they fell through due to multiple offers or being under "short sales". (Meaning that the house is bank owned due to foreclosure and the banks usually are really slow in accepting bids...in the hopes that the market would bounce back and they can make a killing on the property.)
We got up early (for a Saturday) this morning, I got an excused absence from my reserve unit (who wants to do weekend drill when you are going to be playing army 24/7 for the next 5 months?), and the GF and I headed out to look at some more properties. We took the dog with us because who could resist his look of "please take me with you"!?
Long story short, after looking at about 5 places, we locked down on this cul-de-sac without a basement or garage, but with a fenced in backyard, a big kitchen, and a good deck. We placed a bid on it and are hoping that it'll get accepted. The property is such a good one that I think that there definitely will be multiple bids on it...God willing, we'll get it.
I will post again before I depart for armyland....and will probably post sporadically during my training pending how much free time I will have.
In the meanwhile, keep on keeping on and I'll see you again soon!

Long time no see...and other updates

2009-01-04T21:47:00.004-05:00

The GF and I started off the new year by attending the "PBR Baltimore Invitational Rodeo" and it was a really neat event! You'd never thought that events like that (the rodeo) would even come to this part of the country, but they do, despite the fact that they don't enjoy nearly as much popularity as they do in the midwest or the southern states. Not that I'm not that big of a fan, but I do enjoy watching those cowboys getting thrashed around and bucked off of the bulls every once in a while!

We went to see the event with our friends J&B, this young (younger than us) and intellectual couple (one has a Ph.D and another one is pursuing his... by the way, they're married and straight couple... we don't have other gay friends that we hang out with.) They actually also spent new year's eve with us.... which is something that had never happened before... sharing new year's eve with friends, that is.

Did I tell you how making friends has since (from my army and college days) become a whole new game to not only myself but also to the GF? The GF had a lot of friends who she had met during her church-going days, and for one reason or the other (I'm sure being with me has got to be one of the reasons) her friends started to distance themselves from her. I don't know what will become of our friendship with J&B, because they're so different than us... but I wish it well!

I've been at my new job for 4 months and counting... and I'm itching to be somewhere else again. What can I say? It's a big fault of mine... I get bored so easily as well as get bored with people that I don't think are "interesting". I will update again when (you know it will!) something happens again in that front! One of the advantages (or disadvantages) of living in this town, and possessing a certain set of so-called skills qualifications, is that you're almost never at a loss for finding a job.... you just have to be able to live with the fact that most of these jobs are the same type of jobs at different places. (Not much as far as variety is concerned.)

Speaking of jobs, in regard to my other job with the reserves.... let's just say that I don't know where it is going. I was hoping for a medical discharge, but now I don't know when/if that will happen. You see, I had turned in medical document to the big green machine, they then promptly proceeded to sit on my paperwork for a whole year without rendering (or close to) any type of instruction or decisions. In the meanwhile, the unit that I belong to became this barely functional unit that I'm wondering why it hasn't been disbanded yet.... so we're all just going through the motions. Thankfully, the blessing in this whole thing is that I don't really have to depend on the army for a steady paycheck anymore... I also think I'm simply getting too old for a lot of this stuff. (Yes, I have heard of, and seen, 40 some odd year old junior officers.... but I also do believe that there are other ways to show your patriotism.)

So, I'm putting all this in God's hands...however it'll all turn out.

My grandfather had a bout with a respiratory condition a few weeks back, he had to go into the hospital, but thankfully has since recovered enough to come back home. I don't really know how he is feeling on the inside, I mean, imagine having outlived your spouse, most if not all of your friends, and even your son. When I do see him, I can see how frail that he had gotten, and sense how tired he just is overall. I really don't know how much longer he will be around, but I do know that my family will not have a patriarch anymore once he is gone.... as my father is now gone (he wasn't really much of a figure of authority while he was alive anyways), and both of my aunt and uncle don't really get along with one another too well.

I am therefore grateful that my sister and I have a good relationship so far. She has just graduated from culinary school, I am really proud of her, and I wish her all the opportunities and luck in the world!

Here is to a great 2009! May you and yours get what you wish for, be it $, or love, or a child... etc.!

My new favorite commercial

2008-11-18T19:21:00.001-05:00

Decision time?

2008-10-27T21:55:00.002-04:00

I'm so lame!

2008-10-14T22:00:00.002-04:00

I just found out that one of my straight friends had more girlfriends (yes she had slept with them) than I'll ever have. Oh, did I mention that she's now married and pregnant?

*Disclaimer: The ladies shown in the photo on the right are not myself or my GF...if we looked like that, we'd be in the porn business!

Not that I'm openly endorsing anyone, but

2008-10-13T22:56:00.001-04:00

Now that's what I'm talking about!

2008-09-14T16:32:00.001-04:00

100 Foods

2008-08-20T17:28:00.004-04:00

One Hundred Foods You Should (not have to) Eat
Taken From Sassy Femme

The foods I've eaten are in bold and italics. There are just too many that are too regional.

How about you? Blog this and bold the foods that you've eaten.

1. Venison
2. Nettle tea
3. Huevos rancheros
4. Steak tartare
5. Crocodile
6. Black pudding
7. Cheese fondue
8. Carp
9. Borscht
10. Baba ghanoush
11. Calamari
12. Pho
13. Peanut butter and jelly sandwich (grilled is awesome!)
14. Aloo gobi
15. Hot dog from a street cart
16. Epoisses
17. Black truffle
18. Fruit wine made from something other than grapes
19. Steamed pork buns
20. Pistachio ice cream
21. Heirloom tomatoes
22. Fresh wild berries
23. Foie gras
24. Rice and beans
25. Brawn or head cheese
26. Raw Scotch Bonnet pepper
27. Dulce de leche
28. Oysters
29. Baklava
30. Bagna cauda
31. Wasabi peas
32. Clam chowder in a sourdough bowl
33. Salted lassi (mango lassi and sweet lassi)
34. Sauerkraut
35. Root beer float
36. Cognac with a fat cigar
37. Clotted cream tea
38. Vodka jelly
39. Gumbo
40. Oxtail
41. Curried goat
42. Whole insects
43. Phaal
44. Goat’s milk
45. Malt whisky from a bottle worth £60/$120 or more
46. Fugu
47. Chicken tikka masala
48. Eel
49. Krispy Kreme original glazed doughnut
50. Sea urchin
51. Prickly pear
52. Umeboshi
53. Abalone
54. Paneer
55. McDonald’s Big Mac Meal
56. Spaetzle
57. Dirty gin martini
58. Beer above 8% ABV
59. Poutine
60. Carob chips
61. S’mores
62. Sweetbreads
63. Kaolin
64. Currywurst
65. Durian
66. Frogs’ legs
67. Beignets, churros, elephant ears or funnel cake
68. Haggis
69. Fried plantain
70. Chitterlings or andouillette
71. Gazpacho
72. Caviar and blini
73. Louche absinthe
74. Gjetost, or brunost
75. Roadkill
76. Baijiu
77. Hostess Fruit Pie
78. Snail
79. Lapsang souchong
80. Bellini
81. Tom yum
82. Eggs Benedict
83. Pocky
84. Tasting menu at a three-Michelin-star restaurant
85. Kobe beef
86. Hare
87. Goulash
88. Flowers
89. Horse
90. Criollo chocolate
91. Spam
92. Soft shell crab
93. Rose harissa
94. Catfish
95. Mole poblano
96. Bagel and lox
97. Lobster Thermidor
98. Polenta
99. Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee
100. Snake

Seattle, Hawaii, and Monterey in 25 days Pt. 1

2008-08-03T21:09:00.005-04:00

Hi all!
I just came back from the aforementioned trip, courtesy of Uncle Sam! Overall it was a bittersweet trip, bitter because I have the sense that this will be the last trip of this sort for me. My company commander also found out about my orientation (but at this point, I'm just so tired so I am beyond caring about what she might do do me at this point... as far as she claimed that she opposed the "don't ask, don't tell" policy, you just never know what people are thinking.) I tried to act as responsible as a leader as I could, but also at the same time, I had a bad attitude towards the command staff because they were being one-sided and very inconsistent.

Those of us who are in the leadership positions flew out to Ft. Lewis, Washington a few days earlier for some last minute detail planning and also a ride in a Chinook helicopter, courtesy of the aviation unit to which our unit's now housed in. They flew us over Mt. Rainer and it was simply beautiful! I am waiting for the pictures to be sent over this way electronically so I can show some to you guys.

I also got a chance to finally meet up with my friend Cindy. We have known each other for the last 15 years and she swore that neither of us had changed... at least in appearance. I had dinner with her and her new man, Delaney... he's a whole 10 years younger than her and I just have to say that I'm so proud of her! They both are happy and living it up in Seattle... I wish that I had more time to visit with them!

Then I flew to Hawaii and spent two weeks there, the first week was very hectic, with my work schedule from 6 A.M. to 2 P.M... and an hour of commute time from our hotel to the work site.. I had to wake up at around 4 A.M. ... there were a lot of afternoons where I was just struggling to keep some kind of awake. I think I must have consumed just about all sorts of the so called "energy drinks" available.. and you know what? None of them work as claimed!

We finally had one day off, after about 6 schedule revisions.... and what army unit is a real army unit without one of these "mandatory fun day"? For that, we went to one of the local military hotels and ate at the exact same restaurant that we had eaten at the year prior.

More in the next entry...

Happy 4th!

2008-07-04T20:37:00.003-04:00

Happy July 4th. everyone! I hope most of y'all are able to watch some fireworks from your backyard, local parks, etc....and that there were lots of bbqs going on also!

The GF and I are going to an instructional kayaking trip tomorrow, and so we've kept it low key today. It's not exactly like we knew people who are having bbqs, that sort of comes with not knowing many people or having many friends here. The boob tube has been tuned to Turner Classic Movies channel most of today.

I am about to embark on my second annual training with my reserve unit, and I really hope that it'll be my last as an army reservist. This past year has been difficult for me, personal stuff aside, I also have realized that I lack the patience to cut through politics and red tape. Working for this unit feels like a whole bunch of people just got together and have been running around in circles without any purpose or reason. More on that saga as events warrant.

One of the things that I've also realized lately is that I'll need to find someone professional to talk about dealing with grief, loss, and just to make some more sense out of it all. I'd go from feeling numb and empty to really sad...and I never know when I'd feel either way. Not a very good for paving a way for a new life to make his/her debut into this world!

But most of all, happy 4th.!

Memorial Day

2008-05-26T23:27:00.004-04:00

To all the veterans of the past, present, and future, happy Memorial Day! I hope all of you were able to get some rest and relaxation in, think about some of your experiences as soldiers, and be able to look forward into the future.

This picture was one of the many that I've taken from my tour in Iraq, and I'm sorry to say that I don't remember who the people in the photo were, but I do remember the circumstances to which we had gotten there. It was in a part of Mosul, Iraq, and we had driven in a convoy to a local school to distribute supplies, as well as say hello to one of our guys who was not stationed with us but at another Forward Operating Base (FOB). These two guys were simply chilling between tasks and entertaining themselves with a harmonica.

I thought about posting some really patriotic pictures that I could find on google images, and then I decided that I'd rather just pick one or two that came from my experience as a veteran. There are other pictures which did not depict the nice and easy going scenes....and I'd rather not focus on those.

To tell you honestly, I don't really feel that much like a veteran, one reason is that I am still serving in the reserves, and another reason is because I didn't want to become one of these people who just cannot leave that part of that experience or live at peace with their experience in the military. I treat my experiences in the military as a part of my life, like a school that I've attended, and the like. There were good and bad times that I've had, just like with all things in life.

I am proud to have served, and I still am, even if I don't usually get dramatic about it.

My trip to Taiwan

2008-04-29T20:58:00.004-04:00

I did not post too much about my trip back to Taiwan to cremate my father. I needed some time to process everything....and I think I'll always be trying to process that experience. In Taiwan, they've used the Buddhist tradition to hold the cremation ceremony. So my sister, my stepsister (I'll write more about her in a later entry), and myself donned black robes and escorted a wooden container which represented my father from the small temple which housed similar containers and to the temple that the service took place. What I did not know was that my father's remains was placed on a stretcher in the back of the temple which also served as a kind of staging area for the remains of the deceased.

My sister and I had to positively identify my father's body. He was still, frozen, and his body looked a bit swollen due to the embalming and the freezing process. He did look like he was asleep. The whole ceremony involved a lot of incenses, bowing to the portrait of my father, Buddah, and there were a lot of chanting by the monks and the Buddhist nuns, in language that I could not understand. A lot of distant relatives, and my father's old friends showed up, even my mother, whom I have not seen in more than 10 years showed up.

There were a lot of crying, smiling, and exchange of thanks for the people who had showed up. At the end of the ceremony, my sister, uncle, my mother, and I went to the crematorium. One of the funeral directors for my father's funeral was more than nice, explained how everything was going to proceed, and what to expect to me, that was very comforting, and I'd like to thank her from where I am to where she is.

The conveyor pushed my father (in his casket) into the oven, and we were told to wait by this small resting area until the cremation process was completed. It took about a hour and a half. At that time, we were told to gather in this small room.....according to Chinese tradition, the oldest child of the deceased was supposed to pick up some pieces of the bone fragments and place them into the urn picked by the family. I didn't know what to think or expect.....seeing my father in the flesh one moment and then seeing his skeletal remains the next. When they wheeled him in, there were a lot of large joints and fragments of skull, and I remember especially his lower jaw bone...with teeth already gone. My father was a tall man, and his bones were quite strong, my sister and I definitely got our physiques from him! (Minus the boobs!)

I picked up a few pieces of my father's bones with these extra long chopsticks and place them in the urn, followed by my sister, and uncle. After that, they sealed the urn and wrapped it in this gold colored cloth. The urn sat on my lap as we drove to the temporary holding place of his ashes. It was strange, holding the remains of my father in my lap....I was trying to remember when I had sat on his lap when I was little, but that was sort of blurry.

It was a rough few days in Taiwan, battling jet lag, as well as trying to get through the unfamiliar customs of Buddhist burial. All the past regrets aside, I was really pleased to see that my father had a lot of friends, and that part of him will live on through his children. Even though we were not close, it still is a major regret that he will never see his future grandchildren....and not being the best at storytelling, it'll be hard for me to try to explain and describe those in my family who have passed on before they were even born.

Here is a picture from way back when, of my father (he was the oldest of three kids), my aunt, and uncle....from a much more innocent time (I'd like to think)...and one of my most preferred way of remembering him....young and innocent.

My GF and I

2008-04-08T20:52:00.003-04:00

1. How long have you been together? It will be 9 years the 23rd of this month.

2. Who pursued who? I think I pursued her, I just stayed and didn’t leave her apt. after we first met in person.

3. Do you wear any type of wedding/commitment ring? We've both had rings for a long time now, but we need new ones due to fingers getting fatter I like plain rings but I think she might like a piece of rock of two on hers.

4. What was the hardest thing about learning to live together? Me eating stuff that she considers smelly. I’m a mess and she’s neater.

5. Who takes longer to get ready in the morning? I do.

6. Do you usually eat breakfast together? Only on weekends.

7. Do you ever share clothes? Yes.

8. Who does most of the cooking? We mostly eat out, but when we do cook we both cook, or she supervise and give instructions and I cook.

9. Who usually takes out the trash? Me

10. If you have pets who usually does litter box or poop patrol? Me

11. Which one of you is more likely to answer the phone when it rings? We only have our cellphones, no landline.

12. Who's in charge of the remote if you're watching TV together? She is, I can't use the remote as well as she does.

13. Who usually drives when you go out together? She does, she’s better at it.

14. Which one of you takes care of spiders and bugs that get into the house? I think that's pretty shared.

15. Facing the bed, who sleeps on which side? I'm on the right, she's on the left.

16. Who usually checks the (postal) mailbox? Whoever gets home from work earliest that day.

17. If something breaks or goes wrong in the house, which one of you is more likely to either fix it or call someone to fix it? She does.

18. Who is generally the neater of you? She is, I’m a total slob.

19. Who handles the checkbook/pays the bills? She does.

20. What was your last fight/disagreement about? Her bugging mer about getting offline and getting things done.

21. When you slow dance together, who leads? Neither, I can’t dance.

22. What do you love the most about your other half? Her intelligence, her 1900 hotline voice, she smells good even when funky, she’s kind, animals love her, and her funniness.

Happy birthday!

2008-03-27T23:02:00.002-04:00

To my lovely, great smelling, and very sexy GF! I love you! I am sorry that we could not drive down to NC and on top of that, I will have to fly to Taiwan soon.....I will definitely take care of things when I get back. Thank you for putting up with me, and I hope you'll have many, many more birthdays!!!!

Your dorj

Question

2008-03-23T23:12:00.005-04:00

The GF has been really concerned about my emotional well-being, with my father having just passed away, and not knowing exactly when he'll be brought to his final resting place -or even where that'll be. (Because my father had passed away abroad, their police will probably need to perform an autopsy on him so that a cause of death could be determined... which does not sit easy with my stepmother, and frankly, I am not sure that I want his body to be invaded like that... however, that is something that is most likely required by law than anything else.)

I have to admit that I've had a medium scaled breakdown... thinking about how my grandfather would feel once he found out that his son is gone, just like that, also the slow and seeping realization that I will NEVER see him, hear his voice, or smell his foot odor (he had really bad foot odor) from the next room ever again... not on this green earth... just hit me like a ton of bricks.

I have dealt with the loss of a loved one once, but that event was not something that was completely unanticipated. I was devastated, but eventually, I got to a point where it's feeling more "okay" now than immense sadness. In this case, even though I was not close to my father, the regrets and little memories of him nevertheless are just as intense and the unexpectedness of his death is not only sad but confusing to me.

Some in my reserve unit, like my commander, have offered for me to call them anytime to talk should I feel the need to... but I know stuff like this just makes them cringe and very uncomfortable... so I simply thanked them politely. People at work have offered their condolences... but (not that I am doubting their sincerities) ... but it just feels so surreal. When I wake up, the first thing that comes into my head is "my father has died"... like some kind of reminder that this is not, unfortunately, a dream.

The GF asked me how I felt, because I don't always show my emotions on my face. I asked her how do you show sadness, confusion, fear, and regret on one face?

Rest in peace, dad

2008-03-20T18:39:00.004-04:00

My father passed away suddenly last night, while he was vacationing in Taiwan. The whole family's still in some kind of shock right now... my grandmother had just passed away not too long ago. Although me and my father were not close, it nevertheless is just as sad and shocking to me. My stepmother is inconsolable and is on her way to Taiwan as I am typing this. I will most likely be traveling back also to escort his body back to the stateside for burial... in his usual fashion, he never did leave a will to the effect of what he wanted to do with his remains. My grandfather doesn't know it yet.... I don't know how or when to tell him... you just don't expect your own son to go before you do.

I hope that he's in heaven right now with his mother, as some sort of weird coincidence, or some kind of pre-destiny, both mom and son had passed away in their sleep... I only hope that I'll be as lucky when it's my time to go.

Below is a short eulogy to him. I typed it in Chinese, my father never really learned much English while he was alive so I thought that I'd type it in Chinese so he'll be able to understand.

爸爸:

很難相信, 您昨晚離去這地球. 我抱歉,我們不是像父親和女兒能一樣緊密, 但我還是很哀傷的. 我希望您將平安的休息,並且對祖母說你好......您兩個現在是在一起....我肯定的在天堂. 很多人說,我們真正的相似.....我希望我能繼續您的優良,並且以某種方法使您驕傲. 我們將設法照顧繼母,您不要擔心! 到我們再見面時,好好睡吧!

您的大女兒,

蛋蛋

This is funny

2008-03-19T20:32:00.001-04:00

see more crazy cat pics

What's been happening

2008-03-06T21:37:00.002-05:00

Hey folks!

I haven't posted lately because not too much has happened lately. The GF and I are about to hit our birthdays in a few weeks from now. I have gotten that much closer to getting out the of service, my grandfather, although healthy, has been fading in energy and just general interest in things, the GF has cut down her work hours as an effort to maintain her sanity and have time to do some volunteer work that she has been wanting to do. I have been at my "new" gig now for about 4 months now....and while I'm okay with it, the sitting in traffic everyday kills me a little everyday.

Things are not that bad, and with the occasional trips out of town, there is actually some sense of excitement.

Like when we drove up to New Jersey to see "MacBeth", and then a visit to Kevin Smith's "Jay and Silent Bob's Secret Stash".....it was good to see the old home state!

For our birthdays, we are going to drive down to Asheville, NC...to visit with these two friends that we've met through blogging and we hope that it'll be a good trip and meet up! (We've never all met in person before.)

I am sorry that I don't have any newer and exciting detail....but stay tuned!

2008-02-15T18:46:00.001-05:00

moar humorous pics

2008-01-19T12:15:00.000-05:00

My dog Ramen had an operation a few days ago to remove cysts on his head and his chest. He also had a much-needed dental cleaning while he's under anesthesia because for the life of me, I could not brush his teeth no matter how much I had tried.

Poor dog, now he's got two bald spots where the cysts were removed....looked like he had a lobotomy! He was also quite groggy for the next day and the half. It was sad but also a bit funny to see him stumbling around like a drunk!

Cute, but no depth.

2008-01-01T23:11:00.001-05:00

Thank you, Tian!

2007-12-30T22:52:00.000-05:00

End of the year....

2007-12-29T23:14:00.000-05:00

Hello everyone! As the GF is watching the historic game between the Patriots and the Giants, I am in my 2nd. hour of net surfing. We also recently flew back from her family in Dallas. It was really good to see the nephew... all six years old full of energy, stubbornness, and snuggles! We got the GF's parents a computer and we hope that as they enter the information age, they'll be able to communicate via e-mail, shop, and even surf some porn on their new computer! They (her folks) have worked hard all of their lives to raise their kids and now they're raising their grandson, and I just hope that one day, they'll finally be able to live a more comfortable and peaceful life.

I am going to fly back to my family for the new year and try to spend some quality time with my grandfather and my sister. I wish that we all lived closer, because the older I get, the less time I get to spend with them. Things don't feel the same since the passing of my grandmother, and I still miss her immensely. I still, however, have my grandfather and I am really appreciative of him! About my own mom and dad? I wish that things were different, and as much as we are civil with each other, I think they dropped the ball on my sister and I shortly after we were born... even though I don't really think that it was our fault, I think that sooner or later, the effects of their actions or inactions will come back to haunt all of us.

Nevertheless, 2008 is coming, and I am hopeful that it'll be a good year. I think I am going to try and make this military thing a part of my past, so wish me luck! I think the army has a lot of other young and motivated individuals that they can choose from instead of me, a semi-motivated, aging, and achy atypical Asian woman! I hope that I'll be able to understand my pets better, treat my GF better, maybe add an addition or two to our family, be more healthy, read more, and talk to God more.

I hope your new year will be a good one for you and yours too!

2007-12-08T21:37:00.001-05:00

This is my dog, Ramen, and this is a picture of him in full "combat gear" for his walk in the snow a few nights ago. Doesn't he look thrilled?

I've arrived at my new job, the higher paying but longer commute and much more taxed one. I don't know how long I'll be there, but at least I'm not in that pot of drama at the last job post anymore. Even my then manager has managed to get another gig...yes, the upper management was that bad that everyone of us have decided to leave.

My last day at the previous job went better than I had expected it to be. Thank God! Maybe fate, or whatever is at play will somehow bring all of us back again, hopefully in better times and circumstances, you know?

The GF and I are going to her home for Christmas, and I'll then travel to my grandfather and sisters to be with them for a few days. I am guilty for not calling my grandfather more often. Granted, he doesn't like to talk on the phone much, but it's the effort that counts, right? I think it'll be good to spend some time with both families....and even better to be away from the traffic and the blahness of this place.

The GF is not having a good time at her job because of the various lazy people with attitudes who work around her. Listening to her, it makes me sad for her that, for someone so smart and hardworking, she still has to put up with this shit. It makes working from home or working in a smaller doctor's office setting so much more attractive. She has updated her profile on monster.com and will do some more research so that she can find some other opportunities hopefully come beginning of the year. I just wish that her next work crew will be so much better than her current ones.

More later....still got to get X'mas gifts!....Trying like heck to avoid the malls!

Updates

2007-11-25T22:04:00.001-05:00

The picture to the left is the city that I've been to 2x now this month for some of my reserve duties. Okay, I didn't exactly work in Seattle, but close enough. ( I was at an army post in the nearby area.)

First of all, I just wanted to thank my GF for being so patient with me and my travels (including the travel delays), taking care of the pets, and just keeping everything in order. I really wish that I could have taken her with me to Seattle, but then again....I probably was too busy playing soldier that we most likely could not have done much.

While I cannot say too much about what had happened with the army stuff while I was in Seattle, I do have to say that I am realizing that I am just not the type to play politics in order to climb up in rank. I have put in a lot of time and effort into the army thing and it's really starting to interfering with my job, as well as my personal life....as much as I really like the people in my unit, there is just no way that they can know about my GF....even if the current chain of command is made up of some really good people, it's not a guarantee that the good attitude will stay the same...with all the different people that I'll be in contact with.

I think a lot of people that I know in my unit are feeling burned out also, with obligations at their day jobs as well as their reserve duties. It is really hard to please everyone.
I have also decided to start a new job that'll pay me more $. I don't know how long I'll stay at that job, but for the time being, it'll help us pay off some of our debts, and that'll be less of a weight on our shoulders.
We didn't goto our homes for thanksgiving, instead, we spent it in our apt. and cooked a 19 lbs. turkey. The GF knows how much I LOVE eating turkey, and the broth that it can make :-) We'll do X'mas at her home and I'll most likely do new years at my grandfather's in Houston. I so wish that my grandmother is still here....she really loved the holidays.
I hope that y'all had a good thanksgiving! I'd like to give a shoutout to all the good folks of the Pacific Northwest and hope to visit again soon!

2007-10-27T22:38:00.001-04:00

Well, there was a job proposition that I had received a few months ago for a lot more $. Uncertainty about the company and the nature of the work involved prompted me to say no to them.

Now to the present, I am feeling a kind of sick and depressed about my job....everyone from my company that works on site is contemplating going somewhere else to work. About a week ago, that same company approached me again, offering me that same job for that same amount of money.

Needless to say, I am very tempted. I also don't want to get screwed by being naive about this. So next week, I'm going to meet with one of their managers, along with a friend of mine, to see if they're full of shit or are they at least halfway sincere.

Next week is also the week that I'll be flying to my reserve unit's headquarter for this leadership conference. Which is kind of funny and sad to me at the same time. My unit is so new, unbalanced, and almost kind of broken because no one really knows what roles they're playing and how to do their jobs. I've got this guy in my platoon who is supposed to help me out in managing the troops but so far has been nothing but a whiner about every little thing. I don't have enough rank to move him or fire him.....so that will be really interesting. Wish me luck because I really don't deal with that sort of folks will. Of course, a big part of me is hoping that I'm wrong about how messed up things are.

For now, I'm enjoying the weekend with my GF...cleaning the house, eating well, and getting enough sleep. My hat tip to her because I really enjoy her company, and I'm really happy just lounging around with her, laughing with her, and snuggling! Without her around, I'd just sit and drool, and feeling really lost!

More later!

Lazy, hazy Sunday

2007-10-21T17:54:00.001-04:00

The GF and I woke up early this morning to take part in her monthly women's' bike ride. We were supposed to meet up with a few of the riders at this bagel shop in another town. We did meet them at the parking lot of the bagel shop....however, the GF's bike also had a flat tire that basically ended our motorcycle ride.

We had to call a tower, took the bike to a repair shop (it was closed on Sundays), and the tower man was nice enough to take us to the nearest train station so we can get back home.

One of the good thing about having to wait for the tower was that we found a Chinese grocery store and got ourselves some almond cookies!

The GF was really disappointed though. I was a bit too....but there will be other rides and I am sure that we'll make them.

After we got back to the apt. We napped, watched t.v. (mostly sports), and now we're trying to figure out what to eat for dinner.

Oh, I think it's time for me to look for another gig....I think most people in the office are thinking the same way about their own jobs. This friend of mine from work and I are going to attend a job fair together next week....I wish that I could just somehow land a job (besides the army) that I can work until I retire....but my life is about change, I guess....I am so not like that though!

2007-10-21T17:52:00.000-04:00

2007-10-15T21:51:00.001-04:00

2007-10-11T11:01:00.000-04:00

About this day job

2007-10-07T12:57:00.001-04:00

As some of you may already know, I'm not in love with my day job right now, far from it, in fact. There is a lot of favoritism, bad rumors flying around about the security of our jobs as contractors for this particular company, and it just sort of all came to this point where I just had to say something to my company's local manager, who works just a few floors above me.

I sent her an e-mail in which I told her that I think that my days at this job are numbered... and that coming to work is starting to feel downright bad. My manager then summoned me upstairs so we could talk about it. I wasn't really afraid of anything at that point... she could have told me to suck it up or just quit, and I wouldn't really have cared. I probably could go back to active duty assignments with the army, and there are people who will help me get on orders. Or, I could always get another contractor job... although a less desirable option... having just gone through one.

To my surprise, my manger agreed with my points of view and even told me that she is thinking about leaving the company herself by the end of this year because of the lack of support from the headquarters of our company. I was sort of surprised but not overtly. I think out of the 6 of us contractors from our company, at best, there are two people who could say that they're somewhat happy, but if they have the option, they will get to somewhere else.

I think this thing called career is a very illusive one. I've never done the same thing for any of my jobs. I was a supply clerk in the army, then I became a linguist, and now I'm an intelligence analyst (just not fully trained). Who really knows what I'll do next? I'd like to think that I'm trying to be well rounded and flexible... but maybe I'm just being not very grounded and flip-flopping from one thing to another.

Oh well, at least for now, the bills are getting paid.

Gross! Yet kinda neat!

2007-10-05T15:08:00.001-04:00

Courtesy Pop Candy.

I gave in.....

2007-09-20T22:50:00.001-04:00

Yes, I am now a watcher of "The View"!!!! After years of trying not to watch the show,the GF and I have started to watch this show when Whoopi Goldberg started to co-host the show. We both enjoy Whoopi Goldberg and some of her comedy, and she has definitely been a lot better co-host than Rosie O' Donnell.
The GF would DVR the show every day, and we'd watch it after we get back from work.
We're definitely waltzing toward middle agehood! I'd even found myself wanting to be a member of the studio audience so that I might be able to win a free trip or something!

Adventure in armyland

2007-09-16T17:42:00.000-04:00

As some of you might know, I'm now a weekend warrior, which is a army reservist. From the description, I should be doing army stuff one weekend a month and two weeks of annual training a year, right?
That's not the way things turned out to be. When I became commissioned as an officer, the unit that I was in gave me 11 people to be in charge of, as well as made me a program manager for the linguists/translators in the company.
Needless to say, I'm experiencing growing pains big time. Even though this reserve unit is mostly virtual, the needs of soldiers do not diminish, there will always be people who are looking to the reserve unit as a way of getting some work to support their families, some of the superiors still have the "holier than thou" attitudes, and there will always be complaints of a unit not better taking care of each soldier's needs.
Since I made the conscious decision to stay in the army for now, I'd figure that I should just buckle down and try my best to see if I can do at least a good job. I know full well that I might just throw my hands up one of these days and say "fuck this sh*t!" and leave it all behind. It seems also like that, this is payback for the times that I was only being an half assed soldier.
But I am trying though......even when I don't feel like others are....
Pity the GF though.....because of this "part time" job, she has been neglected too much... :-(

Feel better B!

Awesome!

2007-09-13T21:52:00.001-04:00

The above is the poster for Werner Herzog's documentary, "Encounters at the end of the world". The photography of this poster was done by my old college friend Cindy Ogasawara, world traveler and I think, a brilliant writer.

I will definitely see this documentary when it comes to town! Most of it was filmed during one of Cindy's sojourns in Antarctica. It is now being screened at the Toronto Film Festival. If any one of you could catch it, you will not regret it!

Got to check this out!

2007-09-12T21:23:00.000-04:00

The Chinese backstreet boys doing Chinese opera!

2007-09-09T10:30:00.001-04:00

Have a nice labor day weekend everyone!

2007-08-31T10:31:00.000-04:00

Will fill you in on the dramas in life and work when I come back......in the meanwhile, here's another view of Hawaii.....

What has been going on

2007-08-25T17:59:00.000-04:00

For today, most of the day has been spent clearing out the two boxes of shoes that I've yet to sort and move them to another place. Yes, it was sad for me because I finally have to say goodbye to some of my trusty old shoes .... yes I do have somewhat of a strong liking for shoes.
I like to express my condolences to Eric and Jeff, friend of mine and the GF who hail from Asheville, NC. They just lost their dog, Star, due to a sudden illness. All deaths are difficult to deal with, and this one is no different.

I will be posting some photos of my annual training in Hawaii up soon....sorry that it took so long to post!

There has been some dramas at work and it has to do with my manager and her boss at the agency that we work. I was on my way out of the office this past Thurs. when I saw my manager (this really smart 25 year old whiz kid) wiping away tears. I asked her what was the matter, she told me that her boss (who is not a part of our contracting company) is being manipulative and unusually demanding towards her. This guy, mind you, had about 3 complaints lodged against him from before, for hostile treatment toward employees.....all of them were females. My manager didn't think that her complaint to her managers would amount to anything, except maybe her transfer and even maybe severance. I felt sad for her, and tried to tell her that she wasn't as out of options as she thinks....first of all, she's young, she's got some money, and she has options that some might not have....meaning that she didn't necessarily have to sit down and take this bullshit. I'm learning about the indignity of being a contractor in this town.....$ is only part of the puzzle.

I've been working pretty hard also at my reserve unit business....I'm now in charge of 11 people and then I've got two other additional duties...I'm trying my best to balance the two....and I think there is really no balance to any of this. Oh well, I'm obligated to do both, so I'm trying my best....but somehow, in the back of my mind, I think I'm just filling in the space and time until one side fires me or tells me to do something else.

More as events warrant.....Next weekend, the GF and I are finally going back to Texas to see the nephew and enjoy Austin once again! I can't wait!

Here's a bit of Hawaii.....

RIP

2007-08-25T07:54:00.001-04:00

For Doc

2007-08-16T10:21:00.000-04:00

Throw it all away

Toad the Wet Sprocket

Take your cautionary tales
Take your incremental gain
And all the sychophantic games
And throw em all away
Burn your tv in your yard
And gather round it with your friends
And warm your hands upon the fire
And start again
Take the story you've been told
The lies that justify the pain
The guilt the weighs upon your soul
And throw em all away
Tear up the calendar you've bought
And throw the pieces to the sky
Confetti falling down like rain
Like a parade to usher in your life
Take the dreams that should have died
The ones that kept you lying awake
When you should've been all right
And throw em all away
With the time I waste on the life I never had
I could've turned myself into a better man
cause there ain't nothing you can buy
And there is nothing you can save
To fill the whole inside your heart
So throw it all away
Wont fill the whole inside your heart
Help me empty out this house
The wool Ive gathered all these days
And thought I couldn't do without
And throw it all away

Happy belated Chinese Father's Day!

2007-08-10T11:56:00.000-04:00

To my father and grandfather, as well as to all the Chinese dads in the world!

The Chinese father's day usually falls on the 8th. of August of every year.

How ironic

2007-08-06T22:56:00.000-04:00

If they only knew who they were talking to....

When I was in training in Hawaii, my commander, in some random conversations that we were having, told me that people like me and her could probably tell if someone's gay within the first 10 minutes of meeting that person. I thought that was funny because I wonder if she knew who she was talking to, and nope, my own gaydar has never been activated as of yet.

Flash to yesterday, I've got this former collegue in the army who sent me a e-mail telling me that as I progress in my military career (really?), I should consider moving to the Pacific Northwest, but as long as I don't mind the "angry lesbians" running about town, protesting about everything under the sun. He obviously does not know half of the story!

Would I be out if they got rid of the "Don't ask, don't tell" policy? Not likely, because even in my civilian job, I don't really think it's anyone's business who I snuggle with at night.

What do you think?

The Hawaiian breakfast

2007-07-31T12:49:00.000-04:00

While I did not get to do nearly as much sightseeing and sampling of island cuisines, I did have the pleasure to have the supposedly very traditional Hawaiian breakfast, over at of all places, the Burger King located near the main gate of Schofield Barracks, Hi.

The ingredients for the breakfast are steamed white rice, scrambled eggs, and a few slices of Spam, lightly sauteed. They're incredibly simple to make and probably an almost perfect breakfast if you have one of these busy mornings that requires a lot of running around. For a lighter version of the same dish, try doing mostly eggwhites for scrambled eggs and turkey Spam.

Finish the meal with a cup of Kona coffee....and you'll be good to go!

I'm baaaack!

2007-07-30T03:15:00.000-04:00

From my two weeks of reserves annual training, will get try to get over the jet lag and settle back to some kind of routine before I post again, and yes, I will include some pictures!

This annual training has been one of the best, worst, and the most challenging two weeks in my life in the reserves, and I will elaborate on that soon!

Hope everyone had a good past two weeks!

2007-07-08T13:57:00.000-04:00

Yawn....zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.........

2007-07-08T12:25:00.000-04:00

Read this report on this reservist who is about to lose his job and house due to numerous (his fifth) deployments. This reservist and his wife have written to everyone under the sun who could possibly help in deferring his deployment or delay it, but so far to no avail.

Having only been been informed 2 days prior to my deployment and also being on deployment for more than a year, I understand where he's coming from. I got really lucky in getting my current job and not have to depend on active duty tours in order to get the bills paid. Also, for the first time in my life, I'm finally making more (not too much) than what I would had I stayed in active duty.

Some of the people that I knew from my deployment have already left military duty altogether, while others are on their second or third deployment overseas. I got myself involved with this new unit that pretty much doesn't have anything to do with deployments in the current theater of war.

So what do I have to complain about?

I've got a 6+ months long officer training that I've got to get out of the way or risk losing my security clearance and commission, to which, thanks to my employer, I got it delayed because my employer would like for me to, due to the recent transfer. I've also got the baby thing to do....so I have no idea what is going to happen. My employer is already not feeling too happy with the amount of time already spent away from my work (5 days in April...and possibly 11 days sometimes this month), even though legally they cannot fire me for performing reserve duties, promotions and other similar perks may be just that much more diffucult.

I never joined the military in the hopes of getting a retirement check every month when I turn 65, despite of all the bad things that I've experienced, I've also been very lucky at getting opportunities to be paid to use my native language, and to be able to be granted the clearance so that I could use that also in my day job. It's a hard call either way on whether or not to just resign my commission altogether. Now I've got as stable of a life as I could have with my GF and the pets, it's just so hard to pack up again and leave for months at a time. Yes, it's important to serve your country and most of all, fulfill your obligations, but there are also heavy prices to pay which cannot be ignored.

I know you

2007-07-05T16:29:00.000-04:00

By Henry Rollins

I know you You were too short You had bad skin You couldn't talk to them very well Words didn't seem to work They lied when they came out of your mouth You tried so hard to understand them You wanted to be part of what was happening You saw them having fun And it seemed like such a mystery Almost magic Made you think that there was something wrong with you You'd look in the mirror and try to find it You thought that you were ugly And that everyone was looking at you

So you learned to be invisible To look down To avoid conversation The hours, days, weekends Ah, the weekend nights alone Where were you? In the basement? In the attic? In your room? Working some job - just to have something to do. Just to have a place to put yourself Just to have a way to get away from them A chance to get away from the ones that made you feel so strange and ill at ease inside yourself

Did you ever get invited to one of their parties? You sat and wondered if you would go or not For hours you imagined the scenarios that might transpire They would laugh at you If you would know what to do If you'd have the right things on If they would notice that you came from a different planet Did you get all brave in your thoughts? Like you going to be able to go in there and deal with it and have a great time. Did you think that you might be the life of the party? That all these people were gonna talk to you and you would find out that you were wrong? That you had a lot of friends and you weren't so strange after all? Did you end up going? Did they mess with you? Did they single you out? Did you find out that you were invited because they thought you were so weird?

Yeah, I think I know you You spent a lot of time full of hate A hate that was pure sunshine A hate that saw for miles A hate that kept you up at night A hate that filled your every waking moment A hate that carried you for a long time

Yes, I think I know you You couldn't figure out what they saw in the way they lived Home was not home Your room was home A corner was home The place they weren't, that was home

I know you You're sensitive and you hide it because you fear getting stepped on one more time It seems that when you show a part of yourself that is the least bit vulnerable someone takes advantage of you One of them steps on you They mistake kindliness for weakness But you know the difference You've been the brunt of their weakness for years And strength is something you know a bit about because you had to be strong to keep yourself alive You know yourself very well now And you don't trust people You know them too well

You try to find that special person Someone you can be with Someone you can touch Someone you can talk to Someone you don't feel so strange around And you find that they don't really exist You feel closer to people on movie screens

Yeah, I think I know you You spend a lot of time daydreaming And people have made comment to that effect Telling you that you're self involved, and self centered But they don't know, do they? About the long night shifts alone About the years of keeping yourself company All the nights you wrapped your arms around yourself so you could imagine someone holding you The hours of indecision, self doubt The intense depression The blinding hate The rage that made you stagger The devastation of rejection Well, maybe they do know But if they do, they sure do a good job of hiding it It astounds you how they can be so smooth How they seem to pass through life as if life itself was some divine gift And it infuriates you to watch yourself with your apparent skill at finding every way possible to screw it up

For you life is a long trip Terrifying and wonderful Birds sing to you at night The rain and the sun the changing seasons are true friends Solitude is a hard won ally, faithful and patient

Yeah, I think I know you

On this July 4th.

2007-07-04T11:02:00.000-04:00

Between the BBQ's, the fireworks, and the keg parties, please don't forget that we've still got folks out there doing most of the work to keep us safe.....

The weekend......

2007-07-01T19:50:00.000-04:00

Never underestimate the power of napping. It's got regenerative effects and that was what we did this weekend, with viewing of "Ratatouille" and an episode of "Prime Suspect" (That early 90's Helen Mirren/female detective t.v. show).

The rest of the time we spent on mindless net surfing, eating, and taking the dog to the dog park so he can socialize with other humans/dogs and get his pooping out of the way.

The GF is all sore and frustrated because of a possible chiropractic dilemma in her hip, and this co-worker of hers who's getting away with not what you would call model employee behaviors. I really hope that her situation will get better soon, there's nothing worse than being bugged to no end by stuff like that.

I'm going to take the day off to take a language test, as a possible future job possibility. I'm not sure how easy/diffucult the test is going to be, and I don't even know if it's going to be a real job possibility... You would think that I'm staying at my current job for good, after turning down a 85G job proposition (but a shady 85G)... but in all truthfulness, my current job doesn't pay too much.

But for now, I'm not going to think that much about that... the dog just told me that he needs to be walked.

Cute!

2007-06-26T15:51:00.000-04:00

So far....

2007-06-21T21:51:00.000-04:00

First of all, a big shout out to Jeff and Eric for sending us the lovely leaf shaped ornament, "Kafka on The Beach", a bar of the most natural and great smelling soap, a copy of their local gay newspaper, and two great CD's that Jeff had made for yours truly....thank you guys very much!

Life has been good so far, I'm learning more at work, and the GF is doing great at her work. I've visited the baby doctor and we're thinking about perhaps adding to the brood of two humans, one canine, and two felines......all of us feels like we need a new playmate! I'll update on how that goes...it's not as easy as it was originally perceived...especially with someone as forgetful as I am! (Timing of the cycles, taking temps...etc.) If that doesn't happen? That's okay too...we'll be like Brangelina....only not as many kids...we can't afford all of them!

This job that I had said no to a while back has come back to stalk me. The project manager of that job practically begged me to take the job for 5 grands more than the previous offer....and it's really tempting because I've never been offered that much money before. I haven't made a final decision yet, but I think more than likely that I'll stay at my current job because I can make a living (even though I'm the lowest paid person there, but I'm also the least experienced person there.), and I am learning new things, even if they're not the most interesting things, but I'm better off for having the skills. I know.....I can just hear others tell me (and some of them have) about how stupid I am to reject all that $!

More later!

The root of all evil

2007-06-21T21:50:00.001-04:00

Happy father's day!

2007-06-17T20:49:00.001-04:00

To my dear grandpa. This photo was taken in Feb. of last year. I talked briefly to him last night, he sounded good and relaxed. Now that he's staying with my aunt in the cooler and more comfortable climate of the Northeast. I still wish that my grandma is here to stay with him, but you know, I believe that it's sort of like the Billy and Ruth Graham thing, they've been together for so long that their time apart will seem only like a short separation.
I hope he'll be happy, comfortable, and healthy while staying with my aunt! I will also talk and visit with him more often!

Rest In Peace

2007-06-16T22:45:00.000-04:00

Ruth Graham
June 10, 1920-June 14 2007

Small update

2007-06-13T22:30:00.000-04:00

My grandpa has travelled up to New Jersey to stay with my aunt and her clan for a while. We have no idea how long he'll stay over there, but it was certain that he just wasn't as happy living in Houston now that grandma's no longer around. I hope that he'll be more active and occupied instead of feeling bored and hopeless.
My sister is traveling to Europe for a little R&R. She has worked pretty hard in chef school and I hope that she'll have a great time there!
My work is going okay, sometimes the pace is faster than the other days. There are much interplays of personalities going on, not all of which end up with good feelings for everyone involved. That is the office environment.
The GF's work is going well, she's doing really well and she's trying to navigate herself between some really undedicated fellow workers.
On the way back from work today, I received a call from a friend of mine who was on active duty with me in Japan. He has been struggling to find a job ever since he had gotten back from Japan. The problem is not that he doesn't qualify for a lot of the jobs that he had applied for, the problem really comes from the fact that he wanted these military or federal jobs that takes a lot of breaking through red tapes, and such. I feel for him! I guess I really got lucky with this job, it's not the dream job, but you know what? I don't miss not knowing where my next paycheck is coming from.
More as events, or thoughts warrant.

2007-06-10T20:31:00.000-04:00

Bring it back!

2007-06-10T12:30:00.001-04:00

A little rant

2007-06-09T21:16:00.001-04:00

To the three biggest non-actors of "Ocean's 13", it takes a lot more than just pretty faces and flimsy scripts .... you guys are just getting so old and boring.... lacking in depth or acting skills.

Mr. Sharpton, I don't give a flying flip about what you're saying about anything in general, if anyone is a racist and a bigot, it's you.

Mr.Bono, if I was the Prime Minister of Canada, I wouldn't want to consult with you either.

You were okay with U2, but now your band has depleted itself of originality and creativity. If you care so much about global debt forgiveness, how about letting go of some of your millions? You know, practice what you preach?

Get over it, please! Just sit your rich butt in jail for 23 more days and go back to your simple life. I am so sick of seeing you on headline news, fox, abc, etc.!

Hug

2007-06-06T22:42:00.001-04:00

My achy breaky back

2007-06-04T21:54:00.000-04:00

A minor detail about me, and that is that I've got a case of the arthritis, actually, the osteoarthritis of the lower back. It was diagnosed about a year ago and it was supposedly the result of an old injury from when I was a toddler, it just took about 30 some odd years to manifest itself.
My back would hurt big time every few months, and this past weekend was such occasion. Not being a fan of painkillers, I used heat, icy hot, and limited my activities so that it wouldn't get worse.
Tried to find a good chiropractor, just any doctor that would be good at taking care of this, and I think I finally succeed today by looking up this directory of chiropractors in town, the good part about this particular search was that there were ratings from patients. Found this place that was about 15 minutes away from my work and my first treatment was a good...rather a good start to many more treatments to come. My back is so messed up that I'll have to start treatments all over again, that includes doing exercises aside from the basic stretches so the joints don't freeze up.
Yes, I'm not 20 anymore, but you don't usually hear about 30 something year olds getting arthritis. While I am glad that I'm fairly healthy, I do know that it's time to try to be better to the body and mind.
The GF is becoming more physical now with her new job, and I know that both of us have a long way to go....to be able to keep up and not be in nursing homes in our 50's!

:-)

2007-05-31T22:00:00.001-04:00

This past weekend

2007-05-30T10:17:00.000-04:00

I had a good time hanging out with my sister and grandpa back in Houston! We really didn't do too much, just grocery shopped, watched Chinese t.v. shows, played mahjong, and walked my sister's dog.
I had a sense that grandpa was really bored and was not interested in going out to do things such as strolling in the park, window shopping, etc. I think he still misses grandma a lot and it's just not the same without her around. He's planning to goto my aunt's house in NJ for a while, at least there are people there 24/7, and with the summer coming up, the heat won't be as much of a problem over there.
I also got the feeling that I don't feel grandma's presence as much in the house. Whatever people have said about the departed having moved on, I can almost say that it feels true in this sense. Oh, she's always going to be in my memories, and unless I get some major problems with my brain, nothing will change that. I hope she's having a blast wherever she is!
Now it's back to the daily grind! I'm grateful that I got to be in Houston! Not the best place in the world, but it's familiar and it's in Texas! (Best reason of all!)

Memorial Day

2007-05-28T03:18:00.001-04:00

So far....

2007-05-21T21:31:00.000-04:00

We're watching the season finale of "Heroes", definitely one of the best shows of this season! I think the rest of the major t.v. shows are crap, with the exception of "Friday Night Lights", and "How I met your mother" (Even though that show suffers from overacting).

I spent the whole day at work today, feeling a kind of invisible. No one said much of anything to me, I just pretty much sat in front of my desk, typing away and consistently checking the clock to see if time is close enough for me to dash out of the office and go home. While I am grateful for this job, I really cannot picture myself spending more than another 6-9 months in that office. Where there's a constant battle of those who wanted to get ahead by ass-kissing, those who are so steeped in the old ways of doing things that they simply refuse to hear of anything new and different, and of course, lots and lots of really smart and ambitious people whose sense of ambition is strong enough that you almost feel like you are chocking.

The GF is doing well at her job, with a combo of different personalities, and some body aches to go with it too.

We'll see how things go, but for now, I'll keep on typing away at my desk.

Floyd Landis

2007-05-18T13:47:00.001-04:00

Dude, I'd love to believe that you didn't dope while you were biking your ass of during the tour, but I wasn't there so I don't know exactly what went on and if there were serious infractions by the authorities against you. If you're right, then I wish you all the luck and justice in the world, and then you can come back to competition again.

For now though, things don't look too good....

Greg LeMond

2007-05-18T13:31:00.000-04:00

I don't know if any of y'all have heard about the
fiasco that have taken place during Floyd Landis's
pre-trial trial. Greg LeMond had testified yesterday
as a witness for the prosecution. Was the testimony
bizzare or what?
Look on just about any of the major news sites and there will be an detailed description of the whole event which took place.
I doubt that Mr. LeMond's testimy will have a lot of weight to the entire trial, since he never took part in any of the testing done on Mr. Landis.
I did feel sad for Mr. LeMond though, I got a sense that this was a man, whom, despite of his achievements, endorsements, and a sound business (He had his own bicycle company which he sold to Trek for a large amount of $), this man is still not satisfied. He gave me the impression that he just have to be in the limelight again. He just have to have his say in doping scandals of other athletes who had nothing to do with him whatsoever.
Okay, he had also claimed that he was sexually abused when he was six years old. If that was true, then I'm deeply sorry that he had to go through that ordeal. Perhaps that was something that should have stayed between him and his therapist. He might have felt that he needed to tell Mr. Landis this secret so that Mr. Landis would be courageous enough to admit to doping, but I fail to see the relevance. If Mr. Landis did indeed practice doping, that was on his own accords, wheras, Mr. LeMond's ordeal was probably not something that he had wanted to happen.

2007-05-15T21:32:00.000-04:00

Happy mother's day grandma!

2007-05-13T14:13:00.000-04:00

For your first mother's day in heaven!

I can't believe....

2007-05-12T21:19:00.001-04:00

that I've just gave up on a job that'll pay me 80 grands a year! It was from one of those defense contracting firms who pimps out linguists to government agencies.(I can read and speak Chinese). After a lot of talking back and forth between the hiring company, the GF, me going to "interview" the site manager for that gig, and some people in my family, I decided that I'd rather take less $ for a bit more stability, and the chance to learn more about things in this job.... even if it meant feeling like a second fiddle for a bit longer.

I saved the offer letter as a souvenir, because who really knows when someone might offer me lots of $ again? Granted, my company is cheap, but I've got a good manager who makes sure that people get taken care of, and that's rare....so I'll stick around for a bit longer.

It's a cool Saturday night with a hint of a rainstorm, rather nice. We took the dog to the local dog park and had him running around off-leash. The dog greeted everyone and tried to keep up with the other dogs...you see, our dog don't exercise much (and that's my fault) and it shows. Now that we know where the dog park is, we'll try to make it a weekly treat for him!

Later this afternoon, we met up with my friend Chong, her hubby, and baby Constantine. They took us to the local Korean grocery store that she likes and I was really happy to know that someplace like that is in the area. We got some groceries and then some bread from the Korean bakery, with a delicious Korean lunch in between.

I was hoping that Chong would bring her family to see our humble apt., but then Constantine had to get his nap on, so we took a raincheck.

It was a good Saturday. :-)

To my GF

2007-05-10T22:54:00.000-04:00

I just wanted to say that kudos to my GF for going through the rigors for returning to the workforce, trying to wake up early, and bravely dealing with all sorts of different people, not all of them easy to deal with.

Even if I may seem so tired lately, I still wanted to let her know that she's still the funniest, smartest, and the nicest GF there is!

MmmmMMmMmMmmmm!

For your eyes only

2007-05-10T22:46:00.000-04:00

But I think some republicans think this way too....

2007-05-10T22:37:00.000-04:00

Lately....

2007-05-08T22:19:00.000-04:00

Life has been quite full, with a new cell phone, the GF starting a new job, longer walks with the dog, finally getting into some kind of rhythm at work, and finally getting to meet and hang out with Doc and Tragic from the famous "Doc in the Box" blog! They were in town for the Milbloggers' conference and got a lot of press coverage, do look at his interviews on CNN, and other media outlets! (I've enclosed their picture so y'all could marvel at what a gorgeous couple they are! Not only are they great looking, but they're funny as well as kind!....I'm not kidding!)

It's such a departure from the first several weeks of our lives in the D.C. area, with the broken down apartment, and the worries over jobs and money. I still haven't gotten reimbursed from my move yet, nor did I have been paid yet for my reserve drill, but life is definitely better now!

The GF finally found a job that she thinks that she'll enjoy, and I'd like to welcome her to the traffic and the hustle and bustle of working in the city!

Will post in more details later...right now I need to catch up on some sleep and get this crick out of my neck!

2007-04-15T18:03:00.000-04:00

Cold and rainy in the East Coast this weekend. For some, I guess it's a welcomed event, since part of the state (Va.) has been in a somewhat dry condition.

The GF and I have finally found ourselves another apt. to live in, and of course, with better quality of residence, there will be higher rent price too. Nothing an extra job or a miraculous promotion won't take care of. Most of all, I hope that we'll find a peace of mind finally.

Last night, the GF and I went to a friend's place to have dinner. We were supposed to have dinner at the local Koreatown, but on the way there, her baby threw up...and he threw up a lot! So, we had to goto her apt., where her husband cooked up some good pork chops for us to enjoy. Unfortunately, her baby did not get better with the vomiting and could not keep down pedialyte, so they called an ambulance and off we all went to emergency room. I hope that they're all doing a lot better now. These stomach viruses are just nasty to deal with, especially in babies.

I don't really know what it takes to live even semi-comfortably in this town, it looks like that unless you're earning in the 6 figures, then everything is a struggle. My friend and her husband, despite of both being highly educated and competent adults, still are struggling with monetary issues even with both working and doing what they can not to overspend and going into debt.

Will update more as long as internet access is obtainable.

In the meanwhile, feel better, little Constantine!

Update

2007-04-13T00:12:00.000-04:00

We've all moved to DC and I've started work at my old/new workplace. Being the new kid at the job again is beginning to get a bit to old for my taste.

We've got a little dilemma that we're trying to deal with right now, and that is we are trying to move from one apt. to another. In the effort to trying to go cheap, we've landed ourselves on a ticking timebomb of a apt. No hot water, bugs, noisy neighbors, and a seemingly clueless managment are making us feel that we should (especially me) try to get the heck out of here as soon as we can!

Since we don't have internet access right now (I'll explain why later), we're at this diner near where I work and trying to use their free wi-fi so we can check on stuff. I promise that I'll give a more detailed update once things calm down a bit.

Hat tip to the pets and the GF, for all the stuff that they put up with from me!

Goodbye, J-Town!

2007-03-31T17:28:00.001-04:00

I miss them

2007-03-28T22:28:00.000-04:00

Happy birthday to my PQ

2007-03-27T11:20:00.000-04:00

To the smartest, cutest, and the best smelling PQ on the planet, I love you! Happy birthday!

Happy birthday, Ramen dog!

2007-03-25T21:40:00.000-04:00

Update

2007-03-25T20:56:00.000-04:00

Today's my 35th. birthday, and while I don't feel 35 mentally, I think physically, I am already feeling 35 and beyond!

The GF took me out on her motorcycle and we rode around town for a bit. The weather was really nice and that made the motorcycle ride really relaxing. Then we got some steaks and stuffed mushrooms for a great steak dinner! Thank you my PQ for a great birthday!

I also need to mention that we've found a ghetto apt. that we could maybe afford to rent in Va. This whole transition at work thing is happening really fast, and it was made more complicated by the fact that we had limited time to look for a place to live and make all the other arrangements. I don't know how my job will be from this point on, but I hope it'll get better from this point on. Both my GF and I are still longing to live back in Tx....and if I can somehow manage to find something to do back there, we'll be on the first U-Haul back!

The last few days has been stressful for us because of looking for a place to live, and fighting the nagging feelings of insecurity and the frustration of navagating the complicated roads of the DC Metro area....but the hotel bed was comfy and we had our faithful dog with us, so it wasn't completely that bad.

BTW, today is also the faithful dog's birthday! Well, we're not exactly sure when he was born, but it was 5 years ago today that we adopted him from Townlake Animal Shelter in Austin, Texas, so, happy birthday, Ramen dog!