46 reasons to be m.a.a.d

46 reasons I am pissed off today:

1. Some asshole dumped a xmas tree on my driveway this weekend. I have to call Sunset Scavenger for pickup. This happened six months ago with a chair. Fuckers!
2. People are ragging on Madonna for her appearance at the Grammys. It was to support marriage equality, for Christ's sake. Leave her alone.
3. Aisha Tyler on The Talk also hating on Madonna. Et tu? And I liked you.
4. Did they seriously suggest Madonna brought her black son David to the Grammys to compensate for the #disnigga controversy? Wow.
5. The Broncos and the Seahawks are going to the Super Bowl this week. Can both of them lose?
6. Downton Abbey. Anna raped. Bates vengeful. This cannot lead to anything good.
7. Cast of Amazing Race All Star announced. Why must they bring annoying people back? This is not Big Brother or Survivor. You don't need to create drama.
8. I bought a jacket this weekend and blew my spending limit.
9. I sat down and wrote down a budget and realized I am poor. Damn it.
10. People actually liked Beyonce and Katy Perry's performances and looks yesterday. Seriously?
11. My hair is not behaving right.
12. My mother driving me nuts preparing for Chinese New Year.
13. Colorado student sets himself on fire in cafeteria. What's with Colorado? I know it's a mad world, but it's better to make it better than to make it worse.
14. My car leaks. My sink links. My house leaks.
15. There was no Revenge yesterday. Not coming back til March.
16. I have over 20 items on my work to do list that I cannot get to.
17. I pay over $100 a month for water. It's one person. That's gotta be a mistake?
18. People hating on Macklemore winning best rap album, probably cuz they are white. White rappers never catch a break. So unfair.

Ah screw it. I just watched an episode of Gilmore Girls, and I am all warm and fuzzy about the human race again. I want to live in Stars Hollow.

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46 thoughts

46 random thoughts on Sunday:

1. Man, there's a lot on tv today. Football, Golden Globes, Downton, Revenge.
2. Wish that damn red Honda would leave the parking space in front of my house so I can move my car there today.
3. Is it normal for me to have runny nose every morning?
4. Should I cancel my Home Depot in-store pickup order? I don't need more flashlights but they are so damn cheap.
5. Crap, I cannot believe I have to go back to work tomorrow.
6. Sean Penn and Charlize? Run, Charlize, run.
7. I think I would like Her a lot. It's my type of movie - whimsical romance a la Eternal Sunshine.
8. Madonna should work with Ryan Tedder of OneRepublic. He's a genius songwriter.
9. Go Chargers! Or more accurately, die, Broncos, die!
10. Grilled pork vermicelli < grilled pork rice at Loi's.
11. People who work at hospitals are always really nice to my mom whenever I take her to appointments.
12. I need to go buy tofu to make hot and sour soup tonight.
13. I am pro-12 Years A Slave and anti-American Hustle. But I haven't seen either movie.
14. Movies I love hardly get nominated for anything.
15. Colin Kaepernick is a class-less thug. Hate it that he's a Niner. Hope he gets whipped by the Seahawks next week.
16. Note to self - need to spot clean interior of the BMW.
17. Yup, canceling the Home Depot order.
18. Must resist buying boba drink while shopping on Irving Street.
19. One day I am gonna walk my grandpa self into T-Pumps and be like, "Wassup, bitches!"
20. I don't get how Mark Wahlberg is a movie star while Taylor Kitsch is not.
21. Zooey Deschanel has bad taste in red carpet fashion.
22. Look it's Lady Mary on the red carpet, actually smiling. Whoa.
23. Lupita Nyong'o is beautiful! She's wearing a cape. She wins.
24. Emma Watson is wearing a dress and pants! So she wins.
25. The Tina Fey/Amy Poehler joke about George Clooney rather floating out to space to die than spending another minute with a woman his own age is pretty funny.
26. Can someone explain to me the appeal of Amy Adams?
27. Let's try this new comforter cover.
28. I like laundry day. It's like a fresh start every Sunday.
29. The hot and sour soup recipe turned out pretty good. I wish the Kid could taste it.
30. What should I do with the other half of the ground pork?
31. Naomi Watts is beautiful. She wins.
32. What is it about Uma Thurman's face that looks so off to me?
33. Do I eat that last piece of birthday cake in the fridge?
34. Seth Meyers > Jimmy Fallon
35. Amy Poehler as Tina Fey's son from prior secret relationship is hilarious.
36. Don't get Matthew McConaughey appeal either. Imagine the set with him and Woody Harrelson. Must smell like a Grateful Dead concert.
37. Olivia Wilde - Alex from The O.C. is preggers.
38. Do only gay guys watch award shows? Is that a thing? Does watching football on the sane day offset that?
39. But then does watching figure skating offset watching football?
40. Figure skating is the most rigged sport ever.
41. Oh god. Then I end up watching Revenge and Downton. I really am gay, except for sleeping with guys part.
42. Daniel is so despicable now on Revenge. And he is not even fun-despicable like Victoria. He is just a douche.
43. The door in the Downton library camouflages as book shelves. Is that odd?
44. WTF. Did they really let Anna get raped? Fuck.
45. God I hate the new ladies' maid, whatever her name is. Skank. And Branson is so stupid.
46. I really have to go back to work tomorrow? Can they not just pay me without me working?

 

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46 meals

46 things I like eating:

1. Porridge, Chinese fried donut, and soy sauce chow mein
2. Pad Thai, with Thai iced tea
3. Fruit smoothies
4. In N Out or Five Guys burger
5. Scones
6. Vietnamese chicken noodle ho fun
7. Vietnamese grilled pork with imperial rolls over rice
8. Costco pizza
9. Costco polish dog
10. Unagi sushi
11. Ramen
12. Ribeye steak
13. Baby back ribs
14. Onion pancake, or ox-tongue Chinese fried donut, with hot soy milk
15. Bibimbap
16. Naan, washed down with mango lassi
17. Baked pork chop rice at a Western style Chinese cafe
18. Fruit tart, particularly pear tarts
19. Tiramisu
20. Macau style pork chop in a bun
21. Korean dry fried chicken wings
22. Clay pot rice
23. Banh mi
24. Curry fish balls on a stick
25. Meatloaf with mashed potatoes and lotsa gravy
26. Mango pomelo sago dessert
27. Snow Azuki from Hello Dessert in San Jose (it's basically a red bean shaved ice topped with green tea ice cream)
28. Taiwanese shaved ice
29. Bun rieu
30. Kale
31. Garlic sautéed pea sprout
32. Turkey sandwich from Little Lucca
33. Lobster roll
34. Fruit salad
35. Macaroni in broth, Hong Kong style
36. Mochi with red bean paste and whole chestnut inside
37. Waffle with condensed milk and peanut butter, from streets of Macau
38. Vitasoy, warm in bottle
39. Root beer float
40. Dessert crepes
41. Potato chips
42. Pastrami sandwich from Katz in NYC
43. Khao soi
44. Chicken pot pie
45. Rice noodle rolls, beef or shrimp
46. Steamed turnip cake

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46 problems

I've got 46 problems. And they are:

1. The Kid is in Ireland.
2. I ain't got no girlfriend.
3. I am uninspired by my job.
4. I have SIM card reader error on my ipad 2.
5. I have horrible posture.
6. I have thinning hair.
7. I still constantly think of the name that shall not be spoken.
8. I have a leak at the side of my house.
9. I have an online shopping addiction.
10. My knees hurt.
11. My mother is getting old.
12. I have an accent that Siri cannot make out.
13. I love Buffy and Veronica Mars too much.
14. I have high cholesterol.
15. Madonna won't sit down and make an adult album a la Ray of Light.
16. Earthquakes.
17. I cannot figure out what is taking up the space on my laptop's c drive.
18. I have a leak in my Honda.
19. It's gonna be at least another 9 years til the sequel to Before Midnight, if they ever make one. I need a redo.
20. People I don't like keep getting popular and winning awards.
21. Ben Affleck is Batman.
22. Some insects keep eating my plants in the backyard.
23. My pipes rattle everytime I use the washing machine.
24. I need to have my house exterior painted, but it's really expensive.
25. My retirement fund is not growing fast enough.
26. I cannot find my Gorillapod.
27. I hate my refrigerator door.
28. The finish on my stove knobs are peeling off from the heat.
29. Grouts are impossible to clean.
30. My comforter won't stay put right inside my comforter cover.
31. I like traveling except I hate planes.
32. I text like an old person.
33. I cannot get my contact prescriptions right.
34. I would like to have kids.
35. I have no idea how to replace the batteries for the console on my exercise bike.
36. I have too little faith.
37. My mother turns her tv on too loud.
38. Matt Smith is no longer The Doctor.
39. Coldplay is not British anymore.
40. ios 7 makes my iPhone 5 battery act weird sometimes.
41. I don't know what to do with all the spare love I've got.
42. I have extremely short attention spa...
43. I cannot find cool shoes that fit my feet.
44. I cannot find button shirts that fit nicely - they are always too tight or too loose.
45. I have a bad bite.
46. Polar vortex. Global warming.

 

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stay

I don't know how people have the heart to leave.  I know I wouldn't.  I understand people feel the need to get on with their lives, make choices that take them away.  But I honestly don't get it.  How do people make those choices without regard of the people around them?  That - people - is always what weighs heaviest on my decision-making.  For example, I would never make a choice to leave my mother to her own devices, regardless of what the opportunity is or how my life would be enriched.  It wouldn't matter to me.  I deeply understand that no matter who I am, I am nothing without family.  When I look at myself, it's not just me I am seeing; it's me and all my attachments.  Do I think my attachments hold me back, bound me?  No, I think my attachments keep me together.  My attachments are my glue, rather than my shackles.  I happily stay for the people.  It's not a sacrifice in my eyes.  It's just what you do.

But a lot of people don't think this way.  And it's depressing as hell to me.  I have a big pit in my stomach tonight.  I learned the Kid may end up staying in Ireland.  It may not end up just being a one-year stint.  Yeah, this news killed me.  I am not good at letting go, setting things free.  I feel as if I were to put my cards in, invest, other people should too.  It should be an honor system.  That's the thing about life, the way people come in and out - I don't understand it.  Why not stay?  Why not make that choice?

get your hands off my lobby boy

Weather:  Fair
Mood:  Anxious
Music:  My 2013 top songs playlist
Last Movie: Jack Reacher on Amazon prime (it's ok, but no Ghost Protocol)
Reading: Nothing
Last Pleasure:  Cream Palo Alto ice cream sandwich, with salted caramel ice cream between a snickerdoodle cookie and a sugar cookie.  I can eat this stuff for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.
Last Worry: My mother's ultrasound test result and Chi Young's flight tomorrow back to Ireland.  Hope the airport situation eases up.
Last accomplishment:  Shredded all my crap from last year
Looking Forward To:  A banger 2014, new Sherlock 
Not Really Looking Forward To:  2014 not living up to the promise
Gas Price: $3.919/gallon premium
Clothes:  Old Navy's blue fleece sweatshirt, Gap jeans (whoa - this is exactly the same thing I wore the last time I did a snapshot)
Today's Headline:  Record Freeze Extends To Eastern U.S.
Last Website Visited:   jetblue.com (please, please, please don't cancel tmw's flight out of SFO to JFK)
Last Meal: Fish porridge
Last Purchase:  Instant ramen from Korean supermarket
Item On My Wishlist:  Zircon leak alert (who knew this stuff existed)
Latest Evidence It's A Beautiful World:  The art direction of Wes Anderson movies

better

Third day of January.

I was actually sick in bed all of New Year's Eve Day and New Year's Day.  So much for my plan to roar into the new year with renewed optimism and new hope.  There was very little roaring and just a bit of wanting to vomit (but not quite).  Regardless here I am on day three of the new year, feeling rather good about another chance to start over.  I know the subject is tired, and I have not given you much to believe in.  Me and my resolutions are like ships passing in the night - we just don't stick.  But see, the thing about new beginnings is that you get to swipe the past away.  Your past failures don't count.  Only today and tomorrow and the day after that and the day after that matter.  It's sort of like Catholicism, except without the abuse of altar boys.  So I am ready to throw it down and kick some butt.  Or at least regenerate into someone who doesn't come home everyday from work all tired and beat and just crawl into bed after dinner and fall asleep with the tv and lights on.  I really hate that habit of mine.  To wake up in the middle of the night, with my icky contacts and stale breath, to me is a worse feeling than having to do a walk of shame out of Lindsay Lohan's apartment (but probably not as bad as waking up and realizing you are married to a Kardashian).

So yeah, the first baby step is to not crawl into bed at night unless I've brushed my teeth and taken off my contacts and washed my face and set the tv on sleep mode.

It would also help to not eat after eight pm. I actually just bought a huge bag of chips from Costco yesterday, so this would be a real test.  I can consume probably half of a Costco-sized bag in one sitting if I don't watch myself.  (Of course, this resolution might lead to me simply shifting my acts of gluttony to the Jeopardy and Wheel Of Fortune time slots.)

I am also going to set myself a budget for any non-food, non-household essential purchases.  So purchases for things like electronic gadgets, music, blu rays, toys, clothes, etc. would be limited to $100 a month.  Is that feasible?  I am not sure.  I guess I am going to test it out for January.  For 3 days so far, I've bought a duvet cover set from Amazon for $30 and Before Midnight from iTunes for $10, so I have $60 for the rest of the month.  I was thinking of $50 a month, but that's just crazy talk.

At work I resolve to gossip and complain less, and approach work with a clearer sense of purpose.  I will try not to worry about what's going to happen with everything on my plate and just focus on the tasks at hand.  I fret too much about work and the sense of doom just drains too much of me.  I mean, for Gandalf's sake, it's not as if my job involves stealing a jewel from right under a dragon's nose.  I need to just take a step back and chill.

I will try to be a better housekeeper.  Like more regular cleaning.  I do feel kinda ashamed to invite people over to my place, and it's not because I have Doctor Who action figures on my shelf (heck I am very proud of that).  The source of shame is the dust build-up.  Dusting is just not a thing with me, or has not been.  I don't remember that being in the life lesson book that my mother made me when she sent me off to see the Grandmaster up in the mystic mountains.  But I know it's a thing that people do and expect other people to do, so I guess I will add that to my repertoire.

Speaking of my mother, I promise to be more patient.  I am not a bad son, but I am very impatient.  She is hard of hearing.  She asks me a question, I answer in my normal voice, she cannot hear me, I repeat myself, she still cannot hear me, I end up frustrated and shouting my response, and she accuses me of raising my voice to her and being an ass (well, she doesn't exactly say that, but that's how I end up feeling).  It's a vicious cycle.  She has hearing aids but she doesn't use them.  Getting my mom to use hearing aids is like getting Ellen Degeneres to wear a dress - inconceivable.  So it's up to me to just be more patient and realize time with elderly parents is precious.  And in this whole wide world, nobody has your back more than your parents - nobody!

Hmm, lastly, I guess I should say something about dating and girls.  You know the Spike Jonze movie Her with Joaquin Phoenix falling in love with a computer (voiced by Scarlett Johansson)?  Yup I think that might be my only option now.  Not Siri though - I don't like computers who discriminate against people with accents.  It's not my fault that I am an immigrant who never learned to enunciate properly (ok - maybe it's partially my fault).  If I can find a computer who can overlook my inability to pronounce "tests," I will overlook her inability to escort me to functions as my plus-one.  Man, I've always wanted to have a plus-one!  Nobody ever even thinks I would have a plus-one these days.  One day, I would just like to go, "Boom!  I see your Patricia Heaton and raise you a Sophia Vergara!  In yo' face!"  (I actually am not a fan of Sophia Vergara and have nothing against Patricia Heaton, but I am just illustrating a point.)

Alrighty - that's all I got for 2014.  I swear I am going to get better.