Done deal

And it's a done deal now. I just signed the contracts and sent them out in the mail. For better or for worse, this is what I will be doing for the next several months or longer. Hopefully everything turns out alright. My fingers crossed.

I ♥ geeks

While I was reviewing some movies on my facebook, I had this epiphany: I like geeks! Be them a quirky girl looking for her Mr. Right, a high school misfit befriending other weirdoes or even a glasses-wearing nerd that chops off other people's limbs for a feast, I just love them. People say you like things because you see reflections of yourself or projection of aspirations in them. So deep down I feel like a blood-thirsty unpopular outcast longing for someone as weird as I am. Great. Now I feel so much better about myself. :-D

Fabuleux destin d'Amélie Poulain



This girl has a gnome taken around the world to encourage her dad to leave his prison of home and sadness. She comes up with creative methods helping or punishing other people and falls for a guy who works in a porn shop and enjoys scraping discarded Polaroid photos from under photo booths.

Napolean Dynamite



The one-ton TNT seems to always have 3 seconds' delay in response and his mouth is always open forming a perpetual moronic look. His uncle sells breast enhancement products and his best friend shaves his head because a fever makes him feel hot. And then da bomb dishes out this amazing out-of-date dance that totally blows your mind.

And finally my favorite, Kevin of Sin City



Kevin wears preppy clothes and always has glasses on. His smile is ever-polite while he chops limbs off of living humans for a feast. This taciturn guy never speaks a word. He just indulges in his little hobby and actually seems happy when someone shares his liking by chopping him up. How's that for a change from the puppy-eyed Frodo. Totally altered my impression on Elijah Wood.

Not above a hangover

Because I suck at drinking, usually 2 beers will send me under the table (I progressed from one, so I'd say that's a 100% improvement). For the same reason, I always thought that I am not as affected by hangovers as others are. Come on, there is just not enough alcohol in my system to give me one! Is there?

After one pineapple mojito and some retrospective thinking the next morning, I finally realized I was so wrong. All those queasy feelings I got when I woke up could not be contributed to age and slowly but steadily sliding health. So fine, one drink is enough to give me a hangover. Even though I feel sober before going to bed.

Is that going to make me give up my occasional indulgence? Get real.

And I popped the question – No, not THAT one

After two happy years with my current job, it came to the point where I either move on or lay down and wait to bore myself to death. The driving (dark) force behind this urge is of course the plans I have for my life, and for the time being the long and winding road appears to lead me to another country. Or at least I try to trample down all the grass and make my way there. The last straw is what we are doing these days at work – almost nothing. It really saddens me that something that used to give me excitement, gratification, sense of achievement, stomach aches, panic attacks and dark circles now seems to give me only one thing: boredom. When you have a job, you really hope there's something to work on.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not thrilled to get out. I like my boss and I generally have great times working with my colleagues. (Well, maybe I'm too clammed up to really get to mingle with them, but that's not the point here.) That's why when I popped the question at my boss asking him for discharge, it wasn't as easy as I hoped. I felt bad leaving the team at such a bad time, but honestly leaving is just a matter of time. What he said kind of made me feel worse and better at the same time: "My fear just came true. I know I can't keep you here and I'm happy for you. It's a great loss to the company. There are people out there who have a good eye on talents. Good for them. Too bad you are leaving the company so early. I was considering you as a candidate to lead the team if I am assigned to cultivate another market." Whoa. Didn't see that coming. It's always nice to know that you're appreciated, but then that's sadly not enough to keep me there.

That's one thing done. Now I'll just focus on keeping my fingers crossed that the new company will follow through with the offer.

New revelation on who I really am

I hate changes. Not those that I am prepared for. I hate them when I have plans set and suddenly am told to take another route. If I foresee possible changes, they don't count. So maybe in fact what I don't like is being out of control. Yeah. The control freak talking here. Sometimes I just feel that I'm getting a little too good at this "analyze me" thing. Reportedly potentially annoying. But hey, everyone has a right to happiness, right? So figuring out the problem is the answer, right?

How to know your mom rocks and will be the Queen of the Universe

You know your mom can whoop your ass and blow you away when:

10. it takes her 0 seconds to OK your moving out to somewhere 4 bus stops away.
9. she knows what a "bike tote" is when you have absolutely no idea.
8. she seems to know way more Korean stars than you do and can make a detailed list of which films they have been in.
7. she looks up films and drama flicks on the internet. No one ever taught her how to do it.
6. she could swim for more than 1 hour without breaks.
5. she builds a perfectly-crafted sturdy makeshift crib for her grandson in one day.
4. she bookmarks the Playboy site just because she thinks you "might be curious."
3. she stays calm when you tell her your bf is a different race.
2. she doesn't flinch when you then reveal that he's 7 years younger than you.
1. she stands on her head and forearms steady like a rock while you wobble and roll around wildly like an egg. She's 61.

May the Queen have mercy on us all.

Screen name calling

Since online chatting software is almost indispensable in my line of work, a neat scene at the workplace is everybody typing madly away on their keyboards. People normally don't talk, they type. When you spend more than 5 minutes speaking to a colleague, you feel guilty making all that noise. With this trend comes an interesting phenomenon, which I'll simply dub "screen name calling." In effect, some people enter a line in their name display to describe how they feel or think. Most of the time you will learn what kind of pet they have, how old their acquaintances are and some other tidbits of their lives, but sometimes you can see pointed statements. And then the guessing game ensues. Is it me or is it the girl in front of me? Or the guy next to the girl in front of me? It's alright if you don't give a damn, but unfortunately 99% of human beings are not designed this way.

As far as I am concerned, screen name calling is probably a very good way to blow off some steam. Other than that, it doesn't have much use. It doesn't get things fixed because no one really wants to stand up and say, hey, that ass is me, isn't it, and it definitely doesn't make people happy if they suspect they are the target, and they would in turn make you even unhappier than you already are. But then, I was boldfaced enough to ask someone some time ago if her screen name complaining about noises was about me. It was not. And I am so thick that I might not even know when it IS about me. So what do I know.

Weird dreams

#1 The Flying Snake Ladies
I went out with my big sis, and she came up with this novel idea of a flying device for me: a dried snake around my torso with a big balloon attached to it. I asked her, are you sure this is safe? She said, sure it is, can't you see that thing is dead? So we took flight and started soaring above the busy streets. The good feeling didn't last long. I felt the snake moving and I panicked and called for an emergency landing. When we got back on the ground, I found that damn thing is turning alive. I screamed at my big sis, why the f--- did you say it's dead?! It's producing blood on its own and it's coming back to life!!! And then I started sucking on the snake in a heroic effort to drink its blood dry (and keep the snake dead). The thing was pissed and bit on my cheek. My last thought was, damn, my cheek is getting numb. If I die from the venom, it's all my bib sis's fault. And man the snake blood is nasty.

#2 50 Cent and the Big Fish
So I was hanging out with 50 Cent. (Yes, THAT 50 Cent. Don't ask me why some rapper whose face I don't even recognize would do cameo in my dream.) And we were talking and walking in this Chinese garden with a tall shelter-like building that's common in Chinese architecture. And then I saw a small pond that's carved out of stone at a turn of the corridor. We went over to find a gigantic fish in the pond. It's so huge that it couldn't turn or even budge that much in the pond. And it's covered with moss that has turned the creature completely green. I said, oh my god, look at that poor soul. 50 Cent said, yeah, that's too bad. And then we turned to walk away.

Don't ask me to explain these screwed up dreams. I have no idea what they are about.

10 years from now

I went out with two ex-coworkers for a dinner date last Sunday. According to what I was told, we were to meet in a bookstore where they wanted to pick up some travel books for an upcoming trip to South America. When I got there, I got a call. It was E telling me that she's in the department store close to the bookstore and I was to meet them there. Turned out she had been stuck in there for the past hour and had picked out a few things that she liked. When I met up with her and T, her best friend, T asked me to join forces with her and stop E from buying any stuff. I didn't get the picture at first, but toward the end of the night, I finally did. It took only 3 hours for E to spend 70k on 3 things and try to get a friend of mine that I haven't seen for a year who happened to work for a boutique there to give her extra discounts. And these are just the consolation prizes she got for not buying a bag she wanted.

T and E have always been idols of mine. They are in their 40's, smart, sharp, strong, unique and accomplished. Most of all, they are not just material girls. They have depth. Which I don't. That's one of the reasons why I admire them so much. I have envied how they have found the professional love of their lives and are making (relatively) big bucks out of them. Something I'm not sure I'll be able to achieve when I hit 40. And man, they can SHOP!!! So will I be there 10 years from now, burning truckloads of money without blinking just because I can (and maybe because I'm loaded) and attempting to coerce some discount out of a friend of my friend? Hmm… tempting… but I'm not sure if these all come in a package. Can I take only the part where it involves truckloads of money?

Repetition kills brain cells

I'm not sure if it's because of the nature of my job, but I'm having less and less patience with anything repetitive (or dare I say, redundant). When you have to make a living dealing with repetitive things and being "detail-oriented" (a.k.a. obsessive compulsive), any other repetitiveness outside work is simply unbearable. Like when they play these awful whining songs on the radio. I'm not against pop songs. No, in fact I love them just like I love my junk food. But for god's sake, do you REALLY have to sing those same two words 5 times to wrap up the whole crap?! Even if you're trying to hypnotize me into buying the crap, that's just some overkill that'd drive me out of my hypnosis. And do you REALLY have to say “welcome! You can try on anything you like” every 1 min?! Honestly, I got the point the first time you said it, and I definitely don't feel any more welcome the more you say it. Yes, you are paid to say that and are just trying to do your job, but they might as well put a PA system there to do it. At least I'd know it’s a damn machine and it can't help it.

Knowing more is better… or is it?

Knowledge is power. That's why people encourage you to get more and more of it. But are we really happier? A research just found out that the blood people have been getting during surgeries probably helps little (see here). Oh what irony. All the while we thought we would be fine because of someone else's “greater love,” their love was backed up in our veins stinking our systems up and starving us of oxygen. It's sad that good intentions just aren't enough anymore these days. No wonder there's the saying “to love something is to know nothing.” Now that you know one more tidbit of info, there's just one more thing you'll have to have in handy: mobile human blood bank before going into the operation room.

We are not a vacation destination for typhoons, thank you very much

Like one of my coworkers said, typhoons seem to love spending their weekends in Taiwan this Year. Pay up and beat it, you useless weather system.


****************************
Super typhoon Krosa

Maximum Wind: 105 (knots)
Length of Movement: 2155 (km)
Average Speed: 14.7 (km/h) | 351 (km/d)
Range of Movement: Latitude 11.0; Longitude 11.4
****************************

Other stuff in Boracay

Snorkeling and feeding fish. There are dozens kinds of fish. They all come nibbling on my hands. Hurts a bit. Free exfoliation.






Someone came up with this idea of doing "still standing after 15" at Cocomangas, a local bar. Basically, anyone or any group who takes all 15 shots on the menu gets their names on a plaque on the wall and a T-shirt.





Here are the 15...







15 gone.







Me after the 15... Nah... I did only one, "Chico's Surprise," in honor of my first car. The bailey in it tastes good, but it's gotta be 40% proof or stronger. Took me more than an hour to finish the thing.









The Flying Fish. It's a fan-shaped raft where we sit at one end. The other end goes way up in the air when they start dragging us with a boat. To quote a friend, it's the marine version of the bucking bronco. Lots of fun. Especially when I was one of the only two who didn't fell. Hehe.



Parasailing. One of the several things that I really wanted to do until I tried it. The view is awesome.







Unfortunately, it drifts like a boat does, so after some 5 minutes, I was all ready to puke. Couldn't wait to get back to the boat (?! like it'd help...). Glad I did it, but no one can ever make me do it again.





Wet market. Where we get all the tasty food.








A make-shift walk way in a flooded alley. It seems to flood a lot in Boracay after rain.










Wind shields stores use. This is really clever. Light, effective and easy to move around.







The entrance of our resort. The hotel is clean and not too crowded, just the way I like it. The only thing is that they don't have steady supply of hot water and I really don't take cold showers well.

15 years later

There are simply places so breathtakingly beautiful that seem almost fake. On my first visit to Boracay, Philippines, I was only a whining junior high brat, unhappy about pretty much everything. The weather is too hot. The place is too dirty. The food is too weird. The mosquito bites itch too much. The only two things that struck me head on were the huge school of sea urchins on the bed of the crystal clear sea and the unbelievably simple yet tasty fish roasted in banana leaves. I was all ready to experience it again when we planned a trip there for the Mid Autumn Festival.

So we did, and man it was just so good, beyond imagination. Yes, the awesome holiday destination brochures you saw are actually real, and Boracay has its name on them. The travel time was quite long, consisting of two flights, two bus rides and one boat ride, eating up almost two days out of 4. I wouldn't have minded if we were going to stay there for a whole week or two.

Although the sea urchins are too shy to show this time, but the sea water is just as clear, the fish in banana leaves just as good. This proves one thing: young brats don't know shit. Take them to some A/C'd place, and they're happy.

To be or not to be

Is it really ok or am I just trying too hard to convince myself it is? Is this what I’m looking at or is it just a phase? Am I being petty and unreasonable or am I made so? No idea. All I know is I haven’t figured out a way to make whatever chokes my breaths go away and don't want it to come back to bite on my ass. Indecisive, thou art my middle name. If only personal affairs were as easy as others'.

Human beings are such funny creatures whose happiness interests no one except themselves but whose plight intrigues everyone including themselves. O.B.S.E.S.S.I.O.N. Can I just get over this once and for all please?!

Reality call

There are some days that you just know will go well. When I got on the bus which arrived within 1 min, I knew it would be one of those days. I stood there behind a separator from seated passengers, and when the bus got to the next stop, a gorgeous guy came on and sat in the seat on the other side of my separator. His profile was just 15cm from me. Big pensive eyes, thick shapely brows, nicely curved lips, and those batting curly long lashes. God, a woman can kill for those. I thought to myself, thank you, God, I am sorry for ever doubting your existence. You do have works of wonders. I spent about 5 min drinking in his beauty and counting my blessings while trying very hard not to be caught staring. And then something amazing happened. He raised his hand, and started vigorously picking his nose. Yeah. Right. Now I know why absolutely everybody loves the real world. Who could ever hate such a rosy lovely place?

The long and winding road

A problem with people is that we tend to ignore what is close to us. That's why G and I were amazed to be lead into a well-hidden trail on a mountain about 1-hr drive from downtown. There was only a small sign indicating there was anything at all on the side of an asphalt road. Once in there, it was a brave new world. Took us 1.5 hrs to get back out. Special thanks to Daddy G (ha-ha! How else should I address him?) for knowing his mountain trails apart from contributing to the creation of my best gal.

Xitou: Backyard of a university

Well, maybe not exactly, but Xitou is home to hectares of forests, all of which properties of one sole university-- my alma mater National Taiwan University. For a place sitting right next to the epicenter of the earthquake of the century (921 Earthquake, 9/21/1999), Xitou has recovered amazingly well. Not even one trace of that killer event from what I could tell. It's not hard to see the efforts they put into the land, and the NTD200 admission definitely doesn't hurt, either. All the trails are clean and well-planned. While you go higher and higher in altitude, you'll start to be surrounded by misty fog. Talk about walking in the cloud.

The last time I visited Xitou was 15 years ago. At that time I hated the long walk and the all too fresh air (proof that kids know nothing except whining). I honestly didn't quite know what to expect when G and I decided to spend the weekend there on the spur of the moment. It turned out to be a pleasant surprise. The walk on the trails could be hell (i.e. the "shortest" way to the 2800-year old tree), but most of it was refreshing and comfortably cool. The 4-hour drive makes sure that Xitou won't be a frequent weekend destination, but hopefully it will be just as beautiful next time we are there. And note to self: Don't ever stay in a hotel where they offer a bed as hard as a rock. It hurts your bony ass.

College Pond. Thus named due to its ownership, I'd say.








A tree in the fog near the 2800-year old tree. It's just a baby.

Progression of an appendicitis scar

!!Due to graphic content, viewer discretion is advised.
Do NOT click on the link if you are easily upset.!!

Click here to see how my appendicitis scar has been doing.

And just in case anyone is wondering what those impressions vertical to the scar are, they are created by the medical tapes to prevent bulge.

Something about Appendicitis

There have been some inquiries regarding my departed angry flesh that does nothing. I guess people are curious because this is something 98% of the population will never have. Lucky them. I've heard a lot of the rest 2% describe the pain as "agonizing", "acute" or "just kill me", but maybe I'm half dead, maybe I'm numb, I thought I was simply having a stomachache. Looking back, that should have been alarming since I have a stomach of iron, but who would ever guessed when you have indigestion, a piece of you is actually getting inflamed and unhappy? Two days later, I sat in my office, wondering why the sense of needing to go to the bathroom wouldn't go away. I pressed on my belly, figured out it's the lower right area that hurt most. I thought to myself, wow, isn't that where the appendix is? As the doctor later told me, it sure is. And then I found myself in an ER, fiddling with my fingers for 5 hours before they found a doctor to operate on me.

This whole event enlightened me with a few things.

1. Appendicitis could start with a stomachache. It could be hard to detect. Suck it.


2. If you go to the hospital 3 days into the appendicitis, your belly will be flooded with dirty water produced by the equally dirty appendix. At this point, doctors with less experience will suspect your location of appendix is "abnormal" because you hurt almost everywhere in your lower abdomen where they poke relentlessly.


3. It takes only seconds for the blood to go to your heart. The imaging fluid they shot me with felt warm, and that was how long it took for me to feel it in my heart. So don't ever piss off anyone good with poison injection.


4. When they put you to sleep, you're out like a light switch. If only that's how fast I fall asleep every night.


5. And the anesthesia makes you puke when you wake up. Your entire system is at a halt, so you have to keep walking and walking and walking to wake your intestines up. The downside of this approach is it nauseates you too.


6. Sneezing and coughing right after the surgery won't blow you up. It hurts like hell, yes. Explosion effects, no.


7. It takes about a month or two for the appetite to come back. That really sucks.


8. The scar tissue will form a ridge inside your belly. It's fun to feel and all, but I can't wait to bid it goodbye in 6 months. Ciao. Buh-bye. Adios.

My conclusion is that the older you get the worse an appendectomy could be. You heal so much more slowly. I know the lacking appetite part is very appealing to a lot of people, and you will sport a neat scar you can brag about, but take it from me, it's not worth it. But then, it's not like you can have a say in it if the angry flesh decides to rebel. To health.

Gimme back my 2kg

So I'm on this rigorous weight gain regime in a long shot to get fat. A lot of people must be royally pissed off by now after finishing my first sentence. But really, a weight problem is a weight problem. Being too skinny is just as much of a problem as being overweight. People call you a liar when you say you've never been on a diet. Your mom is upset that you consume all that food without any visible results. Your nephew refuses your hugs because you're so bony that he can't find a nice soft place to rest his cute little head on. It is simply harmful to your social life. Anyway, this whole thing just got out of control after I got an appendectomy. What happens after they cut you open and take out a piece of angry flesh is you can't eat and digest well for a period of time. Probably the revenge of the appendix for being ditched after doing nothing for 30 years. So there went some more of my desperately needed weight. I can't say that makes me a skeleton, but pretty close. BMI-wise, I just plunged from "underweight" (possibly anorexic) to border on "starvation."

Source: Wikipedia, Body mass index

To tackle this problem, I started doing what all people working on weight management do: reading the calories information on the back of the package. The higher, the better. Believe me or not, when you eat because you have to and not because you want to, the joy and gratification wears off pretty soon. I complained to G, and was met with a snapping response: "What do you think this is? It's WAR!! You don't eat for pleasure! It's just like going on a diet. You suffer!" Thanks G. Now I remember why you are my best friend. And hopefully my lost 2kg comes back to me pretty soon. I want to get off this horrendous diet.

Typhoon categories - the way they are supposed to be

Ask anyone who has a job but doesn't have the luxury to work from home and they will tell you this: the weather bureau doesn't know jack about categorizing typhoons. How can you measure a typhoon by its strength alone?! This system leaves out so many important factors. Unbelievable. This is how a better system should look like.

• Category "We Luv U":
  Little wind, little rain, no damage, and paid days off. Please come again soon.
  


• Category "Nuisance":
  Some wind, some rain, some or no damage, no paid days off, and lots of wet pants and musky socks. Smelly and uncomfy and unsanitary but basically harmless.
  


• Category "Average Joe":
  Strong wind, heavy rain, lots of damage and paid days off. Nothing special about them.
  


• Category "Frigging Useless":
  Strong wind, heavy rain, lots of damage, arrival on weekends and holidays, and tens of millions of grumpy people stranded indoors. Please go away and stay away, you worthless mass of clouds.

*************************************************
Supertyphoon Sepat
Typhoon warning: Friday, 8/17/2007 night through Sunday, 8/19/2007
Movement: NW 18km/hr
Maximum Wind Speed: 51m/s
Gust: 63m/s
Radius of 15m/s: 250km
*************************************************

My Associate Totoro

This is such a weird thing to say, but here it is: I think I work with a Totoro. Totoro has small beady eyes, a bulging belly and a distinctive child-like state of mind. It is amazing how in the anime land, this creature makes kids and adults alike wiggle in pure excitement; in the grownup world, not so much. Totoro likes loud music and entertaining phone conversations with friends while everybody else eavesdrops (and no, you can't opt out). His most outstanding characteristic, however, is the chant-like ohhhhhhhhhhhms. From what I can tell, the tones vary depending on the music he is listening to or the thoughts he has at that very moment. Back when I heard the first ohm, I thought it came from the very core of the earth 'cause everything was pretty much shaking. Maybe this is how he connects with his inner self. Or he's communicating with a greater existence. Whatever. These funny sounds always crack me up. I just love such mysteries as a 30 something grownup Totoro.