Weather: Freaking cold State: Bored silly Music: Lady GaGa cd Last Movie: Step Up 2 (pretty good but formulaic), Wall-E (good but not as great as touted; first half actually kinda boring to me but second half enjoyable), Harold & Kumar 2 (sucks; big, big disappointment considering how much I loved White Castle) Last Pleasure: Getting an awesome deal on my new tv Last Worry: Tom Brady's knee Looking Forward To: Return of regular tv programming, regular life Not Really Looking Forward To: Regular work life, regular commute Tired Of: Not sleeping well Gas Price: $1.79/gallon Clothes: Banana Republic long sleeve navy blue t-shirt, old Gap jeans Today's Headline:Israel moves forward and sends more troops to Gaza Current Desktop Wallpaper: Rooftop photo of Prague (Prague is on my wish list of destinations; hope I get there some day) Last Website Visited: flickr Last Meal:Falafel wrap Last Purchase: Toss pillows from Daiso to put inside the Muji pillow cases I got from Japan Item Off My Wishlist: World peace (haha) Latest Evidence It's A Beautiful World: Planet Earth on blu ray
There is no secret ingredient. That's the message of Kung Fu Panda. It's a great message, actually rather profound for an animated movie. It's a lesson I've yet to learn. I am always looking for something, thinking Oh, only if I had a girl, or more money, or a more interesting job, or a fancy garbage can (more about that later). The truth is, it wouldn't matter because it's what's inside, what I believe I have, that's going to change how I feel about my life. Yeah, it's a big, hard truth to learn. BTW, the movie itself turned out to be quite enjoyable. Three stars. I am checking out Wall-E next, which has all the critics raving on their year end best-of lists...I got the iTouchless garbage can from Costco that has a brushed nickel finish that goes perfect with the kitchen and a sensor-controlled lid. I really wanted a lid on my kitchen garbage can, and it appealed to me to not have to touch it by hand or do the step-on thing. When I first set it up, it was kinda cool and novel. But by the second day, the thing started acting up, randomly opening by itself even when I didn't have anything in front of the sensor. Then after a short while, it plain stopped working. Fortunately it's from Costco, so return will be no problem. Lesson learned - don't try to derive your happiness from your garbage can; you are good enough, worthy enough, likable enough even if your garbage can is just some plastic, Rubbermaid thingy...Unofficial word coming out is that Tom Brady is far behind schedule in his ACL/MCL surgery recovery, due to both infection and that the ligaments remain loose. He might be missing the 2010 season as well, or this may be end of his football career. Sigh. I guess I am never going to be as interested in football as I was in the last few years. This is so freaking sad news for me, but I suppose this too shall pass...Oh on other Brady news, rumor has it that he and Gisele are engaged. He supposedly proposed on a private jet en route to Boston. Family denies rumor though, so maybe not. I am not a Gisele fan, but hey, I wouldn't kick a supermodel to the curb either...Amazon UK is terrific. I got my Planet Earth BBC blu ray edition yesterday, at least one week ahead of schedule. I watched the first two episodes so far. Episode one, where the wolf chased down the baby caribou, is so freaking sad. I honestly thought the caribou would have escaped, but at last, there is no happy ending in nature...I've called Comcast multiple times to try to get a good price for upgrading to HD, but no luck. I guess I'll just wait til my current free DVR year is over and then revisit the issue. I heard that there is this AT&T U-Verse thingy coming soon. Can't wait til Comcast gets some good competition to drive down prices. I hate the monopoly it has now on cable tv. Unfortunately I am not keen on satellite...At my coworker's insistence, I watched this movie called If It's Tuesday, It Must Be Belgium. It's a comedy from 1969, about an American tour group, led by a London bloke, going through nine European countries in eighteen days. I am actually really glad I watched it, because 1) I love travelogues; 2) Suzanne Pleshette is drop-dead gorgeous and charming; 3) it reminds me of being in a tour group in Japan; and 4) did I say Suzanne Pleshette is drop-dead gorgeous? It's actually a very likable, sweet, good-natured comedy. And it has Mr. Roper (Norman Fell) in it...I've noticed that my coworker AT has been chatting up and going to lunch with my archnemesis LG. To my face, he keeps saying that he doesn't like her, that she is sneaky and will single-handedly ruin his career, and then he turns around and asks her to lunch (I overheard him with my own ears). For me, you are either with me, or you are against me. It's like if I saw an Elf fraternizing with an Orc, I am not going to trust the Elf fighting on my side...Israel continues to bomb the bejesus out of the Gaza area, through Christmas and likely thru the New Year. I wish I could say that this too shall pass, but this crap has lasted for generations and will continue. And people continue to die over religion, which is the biggest irony in all of mankind's existence...BTW, there have been so many instances while watching Planet Earth on blu ray that I just can't help but shake my head in awe. Earth is really a beautiful place if you let it be.
My top ten songs right now: 10. Around The Bend - The Asteroids Galaxy Tour 9. I'm Good I'm Gone - Friendly Fires 8. Warm Me Up - Elliott Yamin 7. Shattered (Turn The Car Around) - OAR 6. Forget About What I Said - The Killers 5. Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa - Hot Chip & Peter Gabriel 4. Live High - Jason Mraz 3. Skinny Love - Bon Iver
Baby it's old outside. So Christmas is done. Thanks god. Unfortunately there is New Year's to contend with now.
Here are my favorite beverages: - Hong Kong milk tea - Hong Kong iced lemon tea - Jamba Juice smoothie (I usually get the all-fruit variety) - Itoen green tea (I drank truckload of this stuff in Japan; Costco sells them here in cases too) - Peete's jasmine green tea - Serendipity frozen hot chocolate - Mexican fresca fruit drink (any of the melon variety) - Fresh watermelon juice boba drink (I don't like the powder stuff) - Thai iced tea - Hot Vitasoy in a bottle from 7-11s in HK during winter months (ah, childhood memories...) - Hot Horlick's, with condensed milk - Stewart's or Sunkist orange cream soda - Root beer float - Orange Julius (did you know there's egg in it?) - Just plain o' H2O
As you can see, I don't do alcohol. I actually hate alcoholics and generally anybody who acts stupid when drunk.
There is nothing better one can do on the warm and fuzzy occasion of Christmas morning than to make a list of things one cannot stand:
Beyonce (ugh, somebody please stop her already) Branglina (never thought the day I would say I am on Team Aniston) Driving behind a Mercedes (which I swear have the worst drivers on the road) J Crew "final" sales (I hate stores that run sales where you cannot return items) Guy Ritchie (the new Heather Mills) The women of The View (I'd rather listen to fingernails on chalkboard all day long than to endure them for an hour) TV reruns during winter break The Hills or The Real Houswives of Whatever Jenny Humphrey on Gossip Girl My new archnemesis at work LG That Nickelback song Rock Star American Idol The Dubya Sarah Palin New York Giants/Dallas Cowboys Tom Brady's damn knee Muni delays (any given week, I experience delays three out of five days, and that's pretty unacceptable) Michael Phelps the celebrity (as opposed to Michael Phelps the swimmer whom I rooted for) Bailouts Shoddy workmanship from contractors (I swear, you gotta have pride in your work products) Sears appliance warranty service from A&E (when you have a service call and the A&E truck pulls up to your driveway, be afraid, be very afraid) Economy airplane seats No cut-and-paste and no video recording and no GPS text-to-voice on iPhone Oprah and Will Smith going on about how Obama win empowers them and how they now feel like a part of America Shia LaBeouf (damn kid ruined Indiana Jones, or more accurately made a bad movie even worse) Fist bumping (by anybody other than a black kid is just wrong) Bad haircuts Amy Winehouse's self-destructive ways (I love, love, love her music and want to hear more) Extremists of any sort
Cheerios, peeps. Happy hanukkah, and merry kwanzaa to you all.
What bad economy? Like any good superhero, I am doing what I am best at to save the world, by consuming for the greater good. I know every dollar I spent buying things, I am putting a dollar out there to save the world from its downward spiral. Yeah, you can thank me later, when companies stop posting losses and laying off workers, when the stock market goes bull, when real estate becomes unaffordable again.
Here is what I purchased to make the world a better place recently: - Sony Bravia KDL-46Z4100/S - iTouchless 13 gallon garbage can (it's a garbage can with a sensor flip top) - Canon SD770 camera (gift) - New Balance shoes (gift for my mother) - Marmot Thunder Ridge 3-in-1 jacket - REI duffle bag - REI backpack - Planet Earth blu ray dvd, BBC version - Buffy the Vampire Slayer collector's set dvd - J Crew broken-in khakis - Gap original khakis - J Crew shawl collar jersey - Target newsboy-style cap - Subscription to Men's Journal - Tickets to Wicked (gift)
I actually think there is more, but I don't want to brag on. Humility is an important superhero trait.
Getting close to xmas. Shopping mall is packed. The air is frigid. A few Christmas cards have made their way to my mailbox. Not as much as when I was a kid with lots of friends. Nah, now they trickle in, just like the people. But it's alright - I don't need a lot of people in my life. I just need a few. I need my family, and then I need you-know-who. Yeah, this many years later, I still feel a knot in my stomach everytime something reminds of what it used to be like. Today I was going thru my cell phone bills; they remind me of how much we used to talk, talk about nothing at all.
I just rewatched Chungking Express tonight, first blu ray movie I watched on my new tv. At one point, Takeshi Kaneshiro says that he wished people didn't have expiration dates, like cans of pineapples. Sigh. I know. I wish people, people I love, would stay around forever, unconditionally, whether I am acting strange or not. But no, people are actually worse than cans of pineapples. At least with cans of pineapple, there is ample warning. With people, sometimes you turn around and they are gone, for good.
Anyways, on this cheery holiday note, I am sharing this humorous Jason Mraz video:
News flash: Edward just got a haircut, and teenage girls and movie studio execs are working themselves into a frenzy as to whether this is a good move or not.
I am freezing my butt off these days, putting on the hood of my hoodie even indoors. I totally look like the Uni-bomber as I clean the kitchen, watch Hong Kong soap opera, eat oatmeal, and make slider burgers for dinner.
As I try to clean the house, I realize how things accumulate so fast and how easy it is that I have left certain things in the same spot for years without me even noticing the passage of time. For example, I have this eraser sculpture that I made while I was bored at work when I was still a fresh-faced wee lad. And then somewhere along the line, I brought it home cuz I thought it was cool and put it inside my tv cabinet. Before you know it, years passed, the rubberband that was part of the sculpture had dried. The paper clip rusted. And the bottle cap that was its crown had come loose. And while it disintegrated, the sculpture just sat in its exact spot unmoved, through winters, springs, summers and falls, through good times and heartbreaks, through wars, natural catastrophes, and global warming. Yup, it's worse for the wear but it just sat there without a warning sign. It could have told me, Hey, dude, life is passing by, and you need to move, you need to change, you need to turn over a new leaf. Nah, it just sat there quietly dying its death.
Yeah, I am a nostalgic, sentimental fool. Even cleaning the house can bring me down. I wish I had taken better care of things, taken better care of myself.
By the way, I tossed the erasure sculpture out today.
Thank you for throwing your shoe. One last statement before he goes. One last reminder that we disapprove. We've always disapproved. Don't know how he carried on the way he did for the last eight years. All is not forgiven. He made the world a worse place. He was the most inarticulate, most inept president, like, ever. He made me hate Texas even more than I did before. He made me hate Ohio and Florida and any other red State that gave him another four years to mess things up even more. He fostered a U.S. government that ignored the Geneva Convention. He bypassed the UN and went about his cowboy ways in invading Iraq. In the process, he made it uncool to be an American. Being an American when you are in a foreign country now carries a little bit of apology and a little bit of shame. So yeah, I say, throw your shoes. Not one shoe but both. Throw them high, throw them mighty. Throw them for your people. Throw them for mine.
Whoa, Nelly! Guess what I bought today? Yup, it's a sparkling new Sony Bravia! And no, it's not a 37" or a 40". No, no, no. It's a freaking 46". And it's not a V series, or a S series, or a W series. It's the damn Z series!!! Yeah, I went for it big time, with gusto, throwing caution to the wind. Sigh, I wish I were like that with girls. Anyways, don't worry. I haven't blown my entire life saving on this. My brown belt in internet shopping really paid off today (much like it did when I bought a washer and dryer during Thanksgiving weekend for $600 off!) - I only paid $1000 for this baby, which normally goes for $1500 at least.
I still need to figure how I am going to house this thing. It's so freaking big that I don't have any shelving for it right now. I need to do some furniture moving for sure. But once I have it set up, I am going to sit back and watch The Dark Knight, Iron Man, and Chungking Express all on Blu Ray. It's gonna be sweeet.
Anyways, this should conclude a very, very expensive year of being me. Next year I will practice my Buddhist ways and live minimally (now that I have a fancy tv and all). Next year I will realize that all these material things do not enrich my life and when all is said and done, it's what's inside my heart that counts. Next year...
Day Two. My list of what I want for xmas (materialistically speaking): - Jason Mraz's We Sing. We Dance. We Steal Things. expanded edition - Joby Gorillapod SLR Zoom - REI Cordura Duffel Bag medium, orange - Planet Earth, Blu Ray, BBC version - World War Z and The Zombie Survival Guide, by Max Brooks - Zojirushi electric water dispenser - Nikon 18-200mm f3.5-5.6G IF-ED AF-S DX VR Zoom-Nikkor lens - PS3 Rock Band - A nice enameled cast iron skillet - LCD tv - 40" plus for $900 or less, specifically either a Sony Bravia, a Sharp Aquos, a Toshiba Regza, or a Samsung 500 series and up
On the first day of xmas: First official day of vacation. This past weekend doesn't count cuz everybody gets weekends off (well, not everyone, but salary men and office ladies normally do, and as I am a salary man, I am not counting it). I actually did quite a bit today. I made a sour cream cheesecake; I am making cornish game hens with a pepperjack cheese sauce for dinner; I returned four pairs of Keen shoes to REI; I bought a Marmot jacket (hedge color Thunder Ridge Medium) from REI while I was there returning the shoes; I went grocery shopping at Lucky's, Safeway's and Sunset Super; and I got a haircut at Hong Kong Hair Salon.
Oh and I made a list of my 58 favorite songs of 2008. Why 58, you ask? It's because I was trying really hard to narrow to 50 and then realize that was not going to be fair to the eight orphan songs I was going to leave out.
58. Shut Up And Let Me go - The Ting Tings 57. I Will Possess Your Heart - Death Cab For Cutie 56. Who's Gonna Save Your Soul - Gnarls Barkley (Best video of the year.) 55. Pocketful Of Sunshine - Natasha Bedingfield 54. If I Had Eyes - Jack Johnson 53. If A Song Could Get Me You - Marit Larsen 52. Mercy - Duffy 51. I Kissed A Girl - Katy Perry 50. Cry Just A Little Bit - Cloetta Paris 49. Sunset Shell - Ossian Ekenger 48. Paparazzi - Lady GaGa (I need to get her cd. I hear it's awesome.) 47. No More Rain - Kylie Minogue 46. The Show - Lenka 45. Petite Bonheur - Loane 44. Lucky - Jason Mraz with Colbie Caillat 43. LES Artistes - Santogold 42. Just Behind A Brickwall - Tobias Froberg 41. Digital Love - Alphabeat (Made me go back and appreciate the Daft Punk original.) 40. We Got Some Breaking Up To Do - Private 39. I Know Your Girlfriend Hates Me - Annie (Can't wait til 2009 for brand new cd from her.) 38. Bruises - Chairlift 37. Hello Seattle - Owl City 36. New Soul - Yael Naim 35. Walking On A Dream - Empire Of The Sun 34. Live High - Jason Mraz 33. Stop And Stare - One Republic 32. She Loves Everybody - Chester French 31. Soul On Fire - Spiritualized 30. Sexual Eruption - Snoop Dogg with Robyn 29. Lights & Music - Cut Copy 28. The Kids Don't Stand A Chance - Vampire Weekend 27. True Affection - The Blow (Love the line You are out of my league.) 26. Impossible Germany - Wilco 25. Mansford Roof - Vampire Weekend 23. Miles Away - Madonna (Guy Ritchie is miles away but $90M richer for it) 22. PGDM - Pretty Good Dance Moves (Any video that features people dancing with motorcycle helmets on is cool with me.) 21. I'm Good I'm Gone - Lykke Li (Sweden represent!) 20. Ara Batur - Sigur Ros (Iceland is not bankrupt for musical genius, as long as it's got Sigur Ros.) 19. Homecoming - Kanye West with Chris Martin 18. End Of The World News (Live) - Tom McRae (From the live cd I acquired during my first Tom McRae live experience - you know, the one where I shook his hand, twice.) 17. I'm The Worrying Kind - Maia Hirasawa (The namesake of this blog.) 16. Time To Pretend - MGMT 15. Speed Feels Better - Michael Tolcher (From the Summer Beijing Olympics.) 14. Strawberry Swing - Coldplay (Oh, what a perfect day...) 13. True Love Will Find You In The End - Daniel Johnston (An oldie. I first heard of this as a remake but thought I would include the original here.) 12. She's Not Me - Madonna (Infectious, fun, and vengeful. We like Madonna this way. Way better than preachy Madonna.) 11. Electric Feel - MGMT (These guys are just plain cool.) 10. Human - The Killers (I am human, not dancer. I am addicted.) 9. California - Joey Ryan (A beautiful ode to my home state. Like that Phantom Planet song.) 8. Leaving - Jesse McCartney (Jesse McCartney? Seriously? Yeah, I am such a tween.) 7. Viva La Vida - Coldplay (My favorite band hit it big big time this year. This song reminds me of that HBO show The Tudors, even though I have never seen The Tudors. It's epic, with strings and all.) 6. Button - Shugo Tokumaru (Intricate, experimental, beautiful. It transports me everytime to a new musical wonderland.) 5. Made In The Dark - Hot Chip (Hot Chip can slow it down and bring it to a melancholy simmer.) 4. Ready For The Floor - Hot Chip (And then they can turn it up and bring it to a full boil. What a slick dance anthem.) 3. Lovers In Japan - Coldplay (Dreaming of the Osaka sun still.) 2. American Boy - Estelle (Don't like his baggy jeans, but I like what's underneath them...haha.) 1. I'm Yours - Jason Mraz (He made the Jack Johnson cd I wanted Jack Johnson to make. I love the vibe of this song and the whole cd. I'm a big fan now and would love to see him live.)
Wait - that's not all I'm giving you today. I am also sharing this hilarious video. The Dubya is in Iraq and got not one but two shoes thrown at him:
It's Monday nite. I've got Gossip Girl recording on my Tivo. Will probably watch it later tonight. I'm surfing on the internet, watching QVC, and listening to my iTunes 2008 playlist (playing Hot Chip's Made In The Dark at the moment - looove that song) all at the same time. I've got four more days of work til work is done with for the year. Thank god. It's another hard year. I know, I am not some farmer in China doing farming things under the hot sun all day long (I easily could have been if my mom never moved to Macau back in the day). But trust me, some day I wish I were farming and feeding chicken cuz I reckon chickens to be less treacherous than my coworkers and all the crap I have to deal with. But then again, I am kinda sensitive to the sun, like my neck breaks out in a rash everytime I get sunburnt, so that wouldn't be good. Anyways, I am not a farmer in China but instead an office worker in the United States of America, sitting in a cubicle, tapping away on my computer all day long, so that's the life I have to deal with and the life I get to complain and blog about. It's cool though. I just pretend I am Batman or something, and all my nasty, gossipy, sneaky coworkers and managers are my arch-nemesis. They are the Joker, Two-Face, etc. Too bad Catwoman has yet to show up. She will, for sure. Black catsuit and all. She will help me do the right things, which is always the guiding principle for me - do the right things, with all the right intentions. Sometimes it may come out bad. Sometimes people don't understand. Sometimes it may drive people away. But being a superhero is a lonely job. Sometimes I come home and wonder if I could have just taken the easy way out and if life would be so much easier that way. But then, Batman wouldn't do that - he won't settle for just being a handsome billionaire playboy, so why should I? Speaking of Batman, my Dark Knight Blu Ray dvd has just shipped from amazon. I can't wait to put it into my PS3. Only if I have a super fancy LCD tv to play it on. I will, likely by Christmas. I am thinking of getting rid of my antique 27 inch CRT tv in my living room. In fact, this Christmas I am going to clean up and get rid of a lot of stuff. I am just so tired of the clutter. I started with the kitchen and the dining room, which I just finished painting this weekend. I used Benjamin Moore Stonehouse for the wall and Cottonball for the baseboard and crown molding and ceiling. The colors turned out really nice, except I had to touch up the edges numerous times cuz I didn't put on the painter's tape right the first time. Big note to self - next time, take time with the painter's tape - it pays off later. So I am trying to decide whether to tackle the living room painting this month. If I do, should I do it a light yellow, a light grey, or white? I want something airy feeling. I also want to move my armoir into the dining room and replace it with a stand for my soon-to-be LCD tv. Anyways, we shall see what happens. I also need to upload my Japan pics onto Flickr. It's hard to sort out over 1500 pictures and edit it down to less than 200. So many tasks to take care of, so little time. Too bad I don't have an Alfred who can help me out. He can then help me end this blog, which is always difficult, cuz you have to find a way to tie it up, make it meaningful, so that all that rambling is not just random. You gotta give your reader something to chew on, something to bring it all home. But by saying that, I've just dug a big hole for myself, because now I've set the expectation too high. Now you, the reader, will wait for the last sentence. An aside - The Reader: Did you check out Kate Winslet at the premiere of her new movie The Reader? Phew. That's some fantastic woman there. I've been a fan for a long, long time. I've loved a lot of things she's done, including The Holiday and Little Children from recent years. I should write her a fan letter. Maybe she will reply, unlike Julie Delpy. I mean, maybe she's less rude than those French people. Just kidding. I still heart Julie Delpy and all French people. I am just saying, maybe Kate Winslet will reply and acknowledge the effort. Okay, now back to the point, which is, I am not a farmer like my father used to be. In fact, like Bruce Wayne, I lost my father when I was really young. And that has haunted me all this time. I am not sure if my father or the tragedy of losing my father has shaped me more. Yes, I am playing the dead father card. So there. Everything, all the random things I concern myself with, ties back to that night when we left the theatre early. Made In The Dark, indeed.
That's Kate Winslet at the recent premiere of her movie The Reader. She also has Revolutionary Road coming this Oscar season. Sexy and talented, and British. Sigh.
Weather: Fair State: Relaxed Music: Coldplay, Prospekt's March Last Movie: Role Models (so freaking funny) Last Pleasure: Merry Christmas, Drake and Josh (I love Drake and Josh!) Last Worry: Work Looking Forward To: Time off from work, starting in one week Not Really Looking Forward To: Amazing Race finale, which means I have to wait another year for new season Tired Of: L.G., my super-annoying kiss-ass, fake-ass, lazy-ass coworker Gas Price: $1.99/gallon Clothes: An Old Navy light blue "Atlanta" graphic t-shirt, Lucky jeans Today's Headline: Indian Police Arrest 2 Men In Mumbai Investigation Current Desktop Wallpaper: The Dark Knight (dvd coming this Tues) Last Website Visited:http://www.boston.com/bigpicture/ Last Meal:Leftover chow mein Last Purchase: Samsung washer WF218ANW & dryer DV218AGW Item Off My Wishlist: 42 inch LCD tv, maybe a Sharp Aquos or Samsung 5 series or above Latest Evidence It's A Beautiful World: These guys having a drink while Venice is flooding right under them -
