1011

Something else I am waiting on is the American release of 1Q84, Murakami's latest. It is finally available for pre-order on Amazon, to be released in Oct. That would be my Christmas vacation reading this year for sure.

apple says yes

My iPad 2 is due to arrive on Wednesday. It's so exciting. This must be what it feels like for expecting parents right before their due date.

To anticipate my new toy, I am shopping now for a case. I bought a cheap TPU one for under ten bucks from Hand Held Items while I look for something permanent. I am considering a Portenzo one or a Grove one. These are like works of art in themselves. But works of art cost money - these will each set me back about $80, so I am still thinking.

Funny story I heard on morning radio. This guy returned his iPad 2 to Apple with a sticky note that said, "Wife says no." When Apple VPs caught wind of this, they sent him back the iPad with a sticky note that said, "Apple says yes." That's why I am an Apple fanboy.

you're in my blood

Top ten:

10	.	Lotus Flower	Radiohead
9	.	Helplessness Blues	Fleet Foxes
8	.	Heartbeats (The Knife Cover)	Ellie Goulding
7	.	Tonight's the Kind of Night	Noah And The Whale
6	.	Need You Now	Cut Copy
5	.	I Follow Rivers (Acoustic)	Lykke Li
4	.	Towards The Sun	Alexi Murdoch
3	.	What Was It You Said About Luck	James Blake
2	.	Youth Knows No Pain	Lykke Li
1	.	A Case Of You (Joni Mitchell Cover)	James Blake

James Blake's remake of Joni Mitchell's A Case Of You is so crazy good that I've been listening to it for the last month. Here are the lyrics:

Just before our love got lost you said
"I am as constant as a northern star"
And I said "Constantly in the darkness
Where's that at?
If you want me I'll be in the bar"

On the back of a cartoon coaster
In the blue TV screen light
I drew a map of Canada
Oh Canada
With your face sketched on it twice
Oh you're in my blood like holy wine
You taste so bitter and so sweet

Oh I could drink a case of you darling
Still I'd be on my feet
oh I would still be on my feet

Oh I am a lonely painter
I live in a box of paints
I'm frightened by the devil
And I'm drawn to those ones that ain't afraid

I remember that time you told me you said
"Love is touching souls"
Surely you touched mine
'Cause part of you pours out of me
In these lines from time to time
Oh, you're in my blood like holy wine
You taste so bitter and so sweet

Oh I could drink a case of you darling
And I would still be on my feet
I would still be on my feet

I met a woman
She had a mouth like yours
She knew your life
She knew your devils and your deeds
And she said
"Go to him, stay with him if you can
But be prepared to bleed"

Oh but you are in my blood
You're my holy wine
You're so bitter, bitter and so sweet

Oh, I could drink a case of you darling
Still I'd be on my feet
I would still be on my feet

bushido

It's strange that I don't really cry at tragedies but at the drop of a hat I cry at acts of courage and kindness. Watching the coverage of the Japan earthquake/tsunami/nuclear meltdown triple disaster, I teared up a number of times, not so much at the death and destruction but rather at the humanity. I cried when I saw people in Sendai standing in three-hour-plus lines outside a supermarket just so they are allowed to buy a maximum of ten essential items. What moved me was how orderly and respectful they were. Mothers and fathers with their small children in tow were just patiently standing in the long queues. In America and most likely other places, the supermarket would have been looted, and chaos would have ensued. Then there was the incident in which Diane Sawyer ran across a group of survivors gathered on the street eating their small food rations. As soon as she approached them, they offered her a share of their food, as if she were an invited guest to their house for tea on a typical Sunday afternoon. And what about the daughter who carried her disabled elderly mother on her small back to safety? Finally, the Fukushima nuclear power plant workers who volunteered to go back in to carry forth with whatever the task is to try to fix the reactors to prevent a complete nuclear meltdown. It is a march to their certain deaths and an unimaginable act of heroics and duty and honor to save their families and their towns and their country. The Japanese people are an amazing lot. I am in awe of their display of dignity and pride and bravery during these horrific times. I respect them so much and wish I could do more than just donating a few bucks to help. And I pray to whichever God is responsible that He would show some mercy to these people, who do not deserve this tragedy. Nobody does.

you can't always get what you want

- I am still sick. Feel this pressure in my chest and am still constantly coughing. The sore throat and slight headache/fever seem to also be hanging around. I tried over-the-counter stuff, tried Chinese herbal tea, and yesterday finally went to see Dr. Wong for some antibiotics. So far, even the antibiotics are not showing any effect.

- I am off again to Dallas tomorrow for another fun-filled week of work (that's sarcasm by the way). God, this job really, really blows. To make matters worse, I actually have to sport a coat and tie this week and am flying out on Sunday so we can all start early Monday morning. I am very anxious about this whole thing. The only thing I can count on is that, regardless, in six days, I'll be flying home, and good or bad, it'll be over (til the next trip in early May).

- Chi Young didn't get into UCLA, despite his 4.2 GPA and excellent SAT. This means he likely won't get into Berkeley either. I feel so bummed for him. In the end though, he wasn't even so sure he wanted to go a UC the first two years; he was originally thinking of going to CCSF first and then transfer as a junior. It's just disappointing that you work so hard and you don't get what you want for it, and it's always good to be the one making the choice instead of someone not giving you a choice.

- Looks like I am not getting my iPad 2 delivery til 4/6. Bummer. I should have ordered first thing in the morning, but I hesitated and thought maybe I should take my chances at the stores. When I came home from work yesterday, I decided to not bother with the lines and people and went back online to make the purchase, and now my order status shows shipment on 4/1 and delivery on 4/6. That's a whole month away! Oh well, maybe then, I will be in a better state of mind and health to enjoy my new toy, so it's all for the better, right?

meltdown

The epicenter of the Japan earthquake is in the Pacific Ocean, 80 miles east of the city of Sendai. Sendai is located about 200 miles northeast of Tokyo. Death toll is right now officially at 686, but is expected to soar as the days go by. In the town of Minamisanriku in the Miyagi Prefecture alone, there are 9,500 people missing. I honestly cannot imagine what an 8.9 quake feels like. They said it's like 8,000 times stronger than the Bay Area Loma Prieta quake in 89. That's just mind-blowing. And then there was the tsunami, sweeping six miles inland and destroying everything in its path, and now the threat of a meltdown at a nuclear power plant located in the quake-stricken area. Japan holds a dear place in my heart, and this disaster is just heartbreaking. Not to mention that it is stirring up one of my greatest fears - that it will soon be our turn for another big one, or THE big one. I have some supplies, but don't feel the least bit prepared. I guess it's time to go down to the garage and assess my supplies and inventory once again. Anyways, to anyone reading this, please donate what you can to help the earthquake victims out. Red Cross is probably the most logical choice.

tiger blood

My tiger blood still has not recovered from the bad flu that knocked me for a loop two weeks ago. I am still rather unsteady and congested and find it difficult to go more than fifteen minutes without breaking into a coughing spell. I have to tell you, being this sick for the past two weeks has made me remember that when you ain't got your health, you ain't got nothing. I didn't even care about my tv or my iPhone while I was lying dead in bed. All I wanted was for the aching and the agony to go away. It is a blessing to be able to just breathe and function like a normal person. Nobody who is breathing and functioning like a normal person would ever appreciate that. I attended a funeral this morning, in memorial of a former coworker Lawrence. I worked in the same Division as the guy for many many years, and he retired about two years ago. He's always had a respiratory issue, tethered to an oxygen machine most of his days. I think he ended up with some lung infection and fell into a coma. Last week his family pulled the plug. Lawrence is black, so obviously his funeral was full of singing and praise-the-lords and fried chicken and corn pudding. It was both exhilarating and hilarious at the same time. I mean, the choir singers, with all their Mariah-esque runs, did remind me of American Idol performances, and I couldn't help but chuckle when everything the pastor said was followed by somebody saying "Yeah!" or "That's right!" or "Amen!" And the pastor did go on and on, either about Jesus coming home, or somebody coming home to Jesus. By this point, he had lost me to my fantasizing about my iPad 2. Nonetheless, as much as I am amused by religion and all its comedic doings, I have always maintained some sort of envy of its followers. How wonderful it is that they can find comfort in that Lawrence's passing is something to rejoice instead of mourn, that they truly have faith that he is now in a better place, that he is now with his God, with no more pain and suffering and that damn oxygen tank. It's a magical sort of power, to have such faith that a man's journey always leads him home to his protector. Yes, I can make fun all I want, but it is them who have the upper hand. I will always concede this. They win. Lawrence and all his goddesses. They are all winners! I and Charlie Sheen can only wish to be on that drug.