orange and black wednesday

The Giants win the World Series in a four-game sweep of the Tigers. And we get a crazy parade today, on Halloween.  Here is some photo evidence.

if i didn't know u better

This is Sam Palladio and Clare Bowen from the show Nashville. They are not the main star, but they should be.

pain, an illustration

Not having the best weekend pain wise, so let's draw a picture about it. 

I went to Chinese doc/herbalist/acupuncturist this past Tuesday. He kinda freaked me out, cuz he basically says my systems are all screwed up. He said something about my thyroid, my pancreas, my heartbeat, my blood vessels, my prostate and a whole bunch of other things I couldn't really understand (my Chinese is kinda limited). Oh, while I was lying there with needles poking out all over my body, he gave me a lecture about how I need to find a girlfriend cuz I am getting to that age where it's not possible and people are gonna think I am a homosexual. And he says the Buddha bead bracelet I was wearing was bad luck cuz it's dark in color.  Oh my lord.

After the first session and two rounds of drinking his bitter herbal tea, I don't feel any difference.

I am going to give him probably a few more tries cuz I am a masochist, and desperate for help, and I just don't want to give up too soon.

I am gonna beat this thing even if it kills me.

my boo

Happy Halloween!

inevitable

It's not a journey...every journey ends.  Where I begin I look around at the constellations, sparkling diamonds in the void.  I see my mothers and their mothers.  I see their sons and their sons.  Their stories are infinite, like the river that flows into the ocean, with their secrets rising and falling and tumbling towards the ending we know too well.  A story like any other story.  An ocean like any other ocean.  All the ebbs and flows like our body we've been there before.  We touch. I caress the beginning, the middle, and the end as they were mine.  I sail for a million years as if it were my home, as if it were my fate to know you.  Your mothers and the mothers before.  All the beauty that you show to me, I claim as if they were mine all along.  Wherever I go, there you are. Inevitable.

- Brad Pitt Chanel No. 5 commercial babbling extended mix by me

a sufjan christmas

So tender and heartwarming! Sufjan has Christmas boxset coming out soon.

sometimes it goes the other way too

Ok - another voice mail from the doc delivering bad news.  Even though my lower left ab pain is still undiagnosed (thank goodness though it's confirmed not to relate to any kidney problem), I now probably have an ulcer (new burning sensation/pain I feel around mid-abdominal area).  Oh boy.  I am gonna see a Chinese doctor tomorrow for a change - I am kinda tired of Western medicine at the moment.  Give me some herbal tea and poke a few needles in me please!

But I always know when things are going badly, sometimes it goes the other way too.

So let's count the way things are going the other way right now:
-  Giants in World Series!  (I am hardly a baseball fan, but I love bandwagons and the colour orange!)
-  The Pats pull out one against the lowly Jets in OT yesterday.  (If they had lost, it would have been disastrous.)
-  I settled the case involving the rear end accident from January.  My shoulder finally feel fine enough for me to just put this thing behind me.  Progressive (the other party's insurer) gave me $335 for the copayments I incurred and the time I took off to see the doctors.  If I were picky, $335 actually doesn't cover my salary for time I took from work.  But I said to myself I am not out to profit from anyone (I kinda believe in karma), so as soon as I felt my shoulder was better, I just let it go.
-  I got a care package from a friend in Japan (instant coffee and milk tea with a mug).  Sometimes people are lovely - not because they give me gifts but because they thought of me.  Who knew that sometimes people think of me???
 - I ended up picking up a Canon Powershot SX260 for $199!!!  That's like $80 cheaper than my original purchase price from Costco.
-  Uniqlo finally now has U.S. online store, following the opening of the physical SF store.  Muji is coming to SF soon too.  It's Japanese retail heaven for me.
- Two separate people at the lab (when I was getting my blood test) did a double-take when they saw my birth year.  They thought it was a mistake.  Yay to people thinking I am younger than I am!  They can take my blood anytime.
- My Madonna youtube video of Love Spent has almost 8,000 views.  And it's not even me clicking repeatedly.  Initially I was happy that it got 1,000 views.  Then I wanted 3,000, and 5,000.  Now I keep monitoring the view count hoping it will hit 10,000.  Ah, fame is a two-headed monster - isn't it?  By the way, Madonna is gonna be on Ellen next Monday - woohoo!
- Amazing Race still makes me happy.  Go, Team Chippendale!  Who knew male strippers were so good-spirited and amiable?  And down with the Twinsies (who knew twin sisters from Sri Lanka were so annoying?)!
- Bristol Palin voted off DWTS.  Ok, I haven't been really watching this season, but anytime Bristol Palin or anybody named Palin gets booted - I am happy.

crowded hobbiton

You know how sometimes randomly you wonder what has so-and-so been up to lately?

Like just five minutes ago, I was thinking, how about Neil Finn?  Neil Finn is an amazing songwriter, and Crowded House is one of my favorite bands.  So I checked his website for news, and this is what I read:

28-09-12-The end credit song for the upcoming Hobbit movie is one of Neil's as well, so a lot of people will hear that one!

I am like, WHAT???  Neil Finn and The Hobbit!!!!!  That's like alchemy or something - right?  Sometimes things are right in the world - that's all I got to say.

that infinite feeling

Whoa did I just finish reading a book?  Ok - it's not 1Q84 which I vow to do by the end of the year.  But I did just finish The Perks of Being a Wallflower because I wanted to read it before I watch the movie.  Not to pat myself on the back too much - the book is like middle school reading.  That's not to say it's not good, but it doesn't change my life.  That's the measuring stick - does a book or movie change your life after you read it or watch it?  Like Norwegian Wood or Before Sunset does.  This one - probably not. (B)

But I do like the line about feeling infinite.  And how Sam tells Charlie that it's not enough to just feel things inside but you have to let people know. 

"Charlie, don't you get it?  I can't feel that.  It's sweet and everything, but it's like you're not even there sometimes.  It's great that you can listen and be a shoulder to someone, but what about when someone doesn't need a shoulder.  What if they need the arms or something like that?  You can't just sit there and put everybody's lives ahead of yours and think that counts as love.  You just can't.  You have to do things."

I think that's one of my biggest problems.  I don't do things.  I just feel.

ugh there you are

Things that made me go ugh recently:
-  Khloe Kardashian named host of X-Factor
-  RobPat took cheating KStew back
-  My left abdominal pain & pain of opening coinsurance bills
-  Getting roped in at work for pumpkin carving contest
-  Listening to my boss use "basically..." in every sentence
-  Team Amy & Daniel (she of no legs) getting eliminated this early from Amazing Race
-  Christina Aguilera's boobs on The Voice
-  Dang people keeping parking in front of our driveway
-  Cher Lloyd's grunting in Want U Back (ruining a perfectly good pop song)
-  The Pats keep losing close games
-  Romney & Ryan ticket (Ryan really makes me go ugh) 
-  Brad Pitt in Chanel ad
 
Thank goodness for Conan:

anything could happen

Ten songs I am listening to right now:
10. Skyfall - Adele
9. If I Needed You - Mumford & Sons
8. I Know What Love Isn't - Jens Lekman
7. Kill The DJ - Green Day
6. Now Is The Start - A Fine Frenzy
5. Feel Again - OneRepublic
4. Small Bump - Ed Sheeran
3. It's Time - Imagine Dragons
2. Oh Love - Green Day
1. Anything Could Happen - Ellie Goulding

the world were as it should be

Just finished watching the "Deep Down" episode of Angel, in which Angel is rescued from the depth of the ocean and returns to tell his son Connor this:

Nothing in the world is the way it ought to be. It's harsh and cruel, but that's why there's us: champions. Doesn't matter where we come from, what we've done or suffered, or even if we make a difference. We live as though the world were as it should be to show it what it can be.

I love that.  We live as though the world were it should be.  That's right - that's what we need to do, no matter how bad life treats us, how many curve balls get thrown our way, how many misfortunes and heartbreaks befall us, we have to live as though this were a beautiful world, a beautiful life.  Everything is just.  We are all brave.  We fight through things.  We love as if nobody has ever tore our heart out before and discarded it as if it were worthless and meaningless.  Because that's what we need to make this all better.

the (stomach) pain of life that you know

Weather:  About perfect
Mood:  Worried (go figure)
Music: One Direction
Last Movie: Looper (B)
Reading: 1Q84 and Perks Of Being A Wallflower (because when you take a whole year to read one book, you should remedy that by reading two books at once...)
Last Pleasure:  MDNA, MDNA, MDNA
Last Worry: Now I have general stomach pain/weird sensation on top of my lower left abdominal pain
Last accomplishment:  7,000 views on my Love Spent youtube video - so this is what it feels like to be a youtube star - I will try not to let that get to my head.
Looking Forward To:  Going to new Uniqlo store in SF
Not Really Looking Forward To: Another doc/hospital bill (I am pretty sure my copayments and coinsurance have reached upwards of $2000)
Gas Price: $4.90/gallon premium
Clothes: Gap fleece shawl collar cardigan
Today's Headline: Shuttle Inches Toward Retirement Home At L.A. Museum
Current iPad Wallpaper: Photo of Madonna I took at concert
Last Website Visited:  Boston Herald
Last Meal: Marie Callenders frozen chicken pot pie
Last Purchase: Amco Lemon Squeezer
Item Off My Wishlist:  In The Mood For Love blu ray from Criterion
Latest Evidence It's A Beautiful World:  

everybody come on dance and sing

Here are all my videos from last Saturday night. I cannot believe it, but I actually have over 5000 views on Love Spent and over 2500 views on Everybody!!!

everybody get up and do your thing

Yesterday was the 30th anniversary of the release of Madonna's first single Everybody.  Thirty freaking years!  And by happy coincidence, yesterday was also at long last the San Jose stop of the MDNA tour.  Therefore, I was there when Madonna sang Everybody for the first (and maybe only) time on this tour.  Amazing!

The concert itself was a pure feast for the senses.  There was just too much to take in.  I wasn't sure which way to look most of the times.  I love those moving blocks that rise up from the main stage floor.  I loved Open Your Heart, Like A Virgin/Love Spent, and Express Yourself/Give Me All Your Luvin' and so on and so on.  The last eight months of waiting since I got the tickets have been like a thousand years.  Sitting there from 7:45 til the 10:30pm starting time was equally torturous. But the two hours that she was on stage went by in a magical flash.  I seriously don't know how the old gal does it.  She reaffirms my faith as a fan over and over. She's earned every success that's come her way in the last thirty years.  Congratulations, Madonna.  Thank goodness your dreams came true, so ours did too.

Here are some photos I took: