Listening: EPL Soccer on TV

I'm charging my camera battery right now, then dumping the contents of my 8GB card onto whichever computer will take it, because my 250GB external hard drive decided to play hide and seek...and it's still not being recognized by my (or any) computer. Everyone tells me it shouldn't be dead, and I hope it's not--but it's kind of sad that it's barely lasted I don't know how many months. Come on, Iomega!

My baby's back

Joe called me late this morning and told me that they may have had our kitty at the pound. I was already on my way when he called again, and I was scared that it would be to tell me that it wasn't her, but it was! I was happy beyond belief and I rushed home to get her carrier.

It took nearly an hour, but she's home now and getting used to things again. I'm so glad she's back. I was so worried that I'd never see her again. I'm so happy now!

This'll make - h - happy

I'm back. I prefer posting to my tumblog because it's just blurbs, but I guess I should go back to writing in sentences every once in a while.

I got a promotion at work and I'm shooting for the school newspaper now. My friend Said is the Managing Editor and he got me press passes to Blue Man Group a few weeks ago. It was my life dream to get a press pass and everyone keeps making fun of me because I set the bar so low. I'm so happy that my life dream was achieved so soon, though! I had a great time, and I was introduced to the mind-blowing talents of Mike Relm, with whom I am still obsessed. I listen to his stuff on repeat nearly everyday.

Other than that, Joe left the back door open while he was moving the TV in the house and Vada got out. She's been missing for almost 2 weeks now. It's really sad and I'm refusing to move on.

I went to "Purely Dance" today and the last half creeped me out. I'm usually accustomed to weird stuff, but man. It wasn't bad, though. I just wish some of the dancers would learn to land on the balls of their feet so they don't make loud thudding sounds when they touch the floor.

I like...

• dust specks on photos and in videos
• looking at other people's photos on flickr
• e-mail from humans
• getting things done
• cheap flavored coffee for $1 from the machine at school
• lunch with my co-workers
• perfect skin tone in photos
• wide screen monitors
• the travel channel
• doing things without plans
• watching videos on vimeo
• threaded messages on facebook
• receiving comments and messages on facebook and myspace
• exclamation marks!
• panda bears hugging (each other or humans)
• the fresh feeling after showers
• the way everyone smells after a shower
• wind > air conditioning in the car
• walking around with music in my ears
• 10 minute breaks during class
• summer
• barbecues
  
• soccer games
• sunny days that make me squint
• tank tops
• pedal pushers
• bike rides
• anything homemade
• finding the perfect gift for my friends
• watermelon
• quiet nights
• routines
• not caring
  

Seriously, who doesn't procrastinate?

I'm actually studying for my International Relations final and preparing to complete a very overdue paper for the same class, all at once! Do I break even if I'm doing one thing ahead of time while the other is quite late? I can believe whatever I want, right?

Every day at work, I listen to "artists similar to Death Cab for Cutie" on my Last.fm radio. I don't know if it's the way people tag certain artists/songs, but there is some crazy stuff that plays and isn't very similar to Death Cab. Anyway, I don't mind it because it never disappoints. I discover new (to me, at least) artists all the time, like Feist. My interest really peaked one morning when I woke up to the "1234" video on MTV. I was quite drowsy waking up to this, but I loved it. I though to myself, "What is this? I've heard it before somewhere but I can't quite put my finger on it. Is it Cat Power? No, a little too upbeat. Is it Regina Spektor? No, it's not abstract enough. It was Feist, which I say is the perfect mix of Cat Power and Regina Spektor. I have been listening to her/them since and it puts a smile on my face even on the most grumpy of mornings at work. Gotta love it.

So yeah, I'm listening to Feist while reading and preparing for my paper. The animals have all found their comfy places around me and we're ready to finish this.

Naps

I was browsing through the TV guide last night and I stopped on Jay Leno. Bill Cosby was on and he started talking about how much his wife doesn't like it when he takes naps on the sofa. We have this same issue at our house! Mr. Cosby said that his wife just walks back and forth, huffing and puffing because she's so upset that he's napping. Then, she gets the "little people," as he called it, to try to wake him up.

That leads to the reason for this post. I'm bored out of my mind because Joe is napping and has been napping for what seems like ages and I just want to do something already. Argh.

Sad, because my childhood's gone

My parents bought our first house sometime in the mid-'90s and I absolutely adored it. Every little bit of it was fascinating to me: the old '70s carpet and decor, the little quirks left from the engineer who used to live there, finding really old things everywhere. My parents didn't like the old, yellow and brown curtains that hung across the entire living room and on every window elsewhere, so they replaced them with these ridiculous vertical blinds. They tore up the carpet, which was green and dirty, but oh-so-'70s that I couldn't bare to let them go. I liked the hardwood floors underneath, though. They painted the walls a semi-gloss white and the whole house seemed to lose its personality. The one thing they did keep, until we moved, was a large avocado green trash can in the basement. I liked that it was still there and I wish I would've begged to keep it until now.

We moved out of that house the winter of my freshman year of college and I was really sad to be leaving. Sure, the new house was twice as big and there was a pond in the back, but I really did like the old house. Since then, the neighborhood has gotten terrible. My parents couldn't sell the house, so they hired some people to put it up for rent to help pay for the mortgage. About a week ago, they were notified that the latest tenants had just moved out, so they went to check on the status of the house. The neighbor moved and took his entire fence with him, so there is a big gap and a three-sided fence in our backyard. Moreover, the climbing purple blooms on the side of the garage were gone. They left so much junk and trash behind: mattresses, tables, bird cages, you name it. They didn't take care of the house. The carpet was stained black, which I'm sure killed the neat freak in my Mom. I'd spilled a spot of red paint on it when it was first installed and I surely thought she would kill me for that. The basement smelled rotten and the washer and dryer down there have stopped working. Seeing all of these things one by one just killed me more and more inside. I thought I would break down and cry, but I somehow kept my composure. Now, they're changing some things and updating others to try to sell it. I think I can let go now, because it looks nothing like before and I don't really feel associated to it anymore. Sigh...

How Domestic

I guess I got into a lazy rut for the past couple of months, because I stopped caring about dishes and laundry, but now I'm out of that rut. The dishes are done and drying on the rack. The counter tops have been wiped off. The laundry is done and put away (well, most of it). There isn't a big pile of clothes that lives on top of our big pile of clothes anymore. It feels nice.

At work, I'm getting things done, too. It feels good to get the weight of these tasks off of my shoulders.

Next week is already the last week of my summer class! I'll only have one left to go, and then I won't be feeling the burden and stress of school for a while! Do you know what a relief that is?

I've been taking pictures everyday, but I've been shooting in RAW so it takes a while for me to get them up for viewing.

I am content. I hope you are, too!

Best Week Ever?

(Via WANE-TV)

Saturday, summer--how fun!

Yesterday morning/afternoon was quite busy, so I actually forgot completely about the Weiner Dog Race downtown.

We napped, watched some TV, and I made an easy Thai Pud Krapaw (sp?) stir-fry from a package of sauce that was in the cupboard. Oh, how I love my visits to the Asian grocery store!

The paid photo shoot will probably be canceled for good now because my client is way too flimsy. It was canceled/rescheduled twice due to personal reasons and weather, and now I don't know what's going on... but I finally got paid from the school for my note-taking efforts yesterday, so that definitely helps!

I just paid an installment of my summer school tuition and there is another one due already on the 20th! Do they think that money falls from trees in my front yard?

We've started a habit of going to movies at the latest showing possible, but last night, it wasn't as bad as the night we went to see Pirates of the Caribbean 3. This movie, Ocean's 13, was only two hours long and I had energy from my nap earlier in the afternoon. I love the Ocean's series. I don't know what it is about all of them--maybe the characters and their whimsical ways? I just watch them with a grin on my face the entire time.

Plus, Greg and I discovered that the Ham & Swiss Croissants at Arby's are only 99 cents and filled with deliciousness. Mmm!

Today, there is an afternoon soccer game and who knows what afterward. I like the idea of barbeques.

I've been taking pictures everyday and it's pretty amazing.

It's (almost) summertime and that means fairs, carnivals, and other fun events to capture. Tomorrow, there will be a Weiner Dog Race at GermanFest and who knows what else to come. We're supposed to be going to Indianapolis, but if that doesn't work out, I'll be heading downtown to capture some Daschund racing action.

I love activity.

I like it when I'm too busy to catch up with the Internet. It means I have a life, kind of...

Impulse Buys in the Night-time

I think it's dangerous for me to be sitting at a computer restless at night. I always end up doing silly things that I've been wanting to do for a really long time, like buy a domain or finally get myself a Flickr Pro account (I've been a free member since '03 or so).

I guess I'm just in a really good mood at this time in the night and that leads to incredibly nerdy purchases. There are long-term benefits for each, so that's a little bit justifiable, right? No, Han. It's not. Oh, well!

I'm pretty happy and excited because I have my very first (paid) photo shoot this weekend. Do you know what this means? I can make some money and put it toward things such as lenses and flashes for my camera, bills, gifts, and who knows what else. It's a pretty amazing feeling, this elatedness.

I also had an awesome, productive day at work. Those are always good.

Summer Days

This morning, I woke up late, but I didn't care. I checked the weather and it said, "Partly Sunny, 90 degrees." I put on my new blue tunic (so comfortable, absolute favorite), capris, and my Havaianas to get ready for this beautiful day. I even brought my camera to work. Gotta love summer and all the green outside!
We wanted to get some coffee since the stuff that comes out of the machine is so sub-par, and we ended up at Firefly, apparently a hang-out for Moms and their newborn babies. There were probably more babies there than grown-ups. It was odd, but we just hung out in the back corner and enjoyed ourselves. We somehow started talking about international economics and we believe it was due to the delicious drinks we were having: cappuccinos, vanilla chais, etc...

Oh, Einey

004_4A
Originally uploaded by Han N..

Typical day at our house.

The beginning of an ending

This morning, I woke up to a tiny dog who appeared to have to go outside, yet previously left me two little presents on the floor. Upon my return from letting both the dogs out the back door, I discovered a large branch of my two-year old miniature palm tree from Joe on the floor.

I had the pot on top of the refrigerator because it's not supposed to be exposed to the sun (strange for a palm, non?). I haven't re-potted it with new soil for two years and it'd gotten pretty dry. Plus, the cat probably knocked it down. It was sad.

Oh, the story behind this? Joe got it for me on his trip to Florida, and he kept saying I could never keep it alive. I like to prove everyone wrong. Where can you go to buy half a cup of potting soil? Sigh.

So jealous

Truc, Paul, and I had dinner at the Liberty Diner tonight. During our meal, we heard some loud, feminine voices, so we turned to search for the source. The first thing we hear? "Take a picture, it lasts longer. Why are all these guys staring at us when they're with their wives? Omigosh!" as two girls, heavily perfumed and made up, walked by our table to meet and older man at his booth. He replied that, "they're just jealous." We weren't. No one even stared. We basically reacted naturally as if a dish had broken or if a cell phone rang. The diner is so nice and homey that it was just weird to have a presence like that invade our environment.

We spent the rest of our night playing on the Wii.

The job hunt is on--I'm going into it with full force and absolutely no fear at all. New approach. Maybe it'll work. It's worth a try.

In other news, I have finally discovered the wonderful world of Havaianas rubber flip flops ("the best in the world") with much thanks to dear Emily and I can't seem part from them. In all honesty, I expected them to melt and conform to my feet when I first put them on. They didn't. They do feel incredibly comfortable now and I do feel a big difference between them and my old flip flops: cushy-ness and a feeling as if I'm walking on air. Good stuff, right? I got mine from Endless, where you can get $5 off any pair of shoes in addition to free overnight shipping. Every online store should operate this way. They do run a little long, so you might want to order a size smaller than what you usually wear if you're interested in getting a pair.

Dolsot Bibimbap

Dolsot Bibimbap, originally uploaded by Han N..

Rice topped with beef, fried egg, and lots of vegetables cooked in chili oil. Served with spicy sauce.

This is what I had when we went to Tokyo Seoul last night. It was pretty good. I also tried Cameron's "Bulgogi," Greg's "Fried Pork and Squid," and Paul's "Spicy Fried Chicken." I do appreciate a pretty dish!

On the other hand...

C.S.I.? So very interesting! Jerry Bruckheimer, how do you do it?

Core, periphery, semi-periphery

I started my Intro to International Relations class this week and I already have a test on Tuesday. What am I doing to prepare? Why, I am watching Thursday's episode of C.S.I., of course. I can't believe I actually made it through all of the classes this week. It was really awkward to be the one coughing with audible phlegm in a very quiet room. Oh, and the sniffling just drew in more attention than I ever wanted. Often, my eyes would water and cross, so I couldn't even see straight when taking notes. I can't wait to feel completely normal again.

Goodbye, Gilmore Girls

I was quite disappointed by the series finale of Gilmore Girls. It was filled to the brim with tear-jerkers, but it was so anti-climatic. I've seen much better, such as the series finale of Six Feet Under. That one took my breath away. It was good and it made me yearn for an unrealistic surprise return of the series. When Gilmore Girls ended, I was happy. The development of Rory's character turned for the worse and she wasn't anything more than annoying. At least they brought Luke and Lorelai back together. I hate being so disappointed. What's next, now that the shows I like are officially over?

It's Finally Friday

Long week. It's over in 3 minutes. Good reason to celebrate.

Tonight, we're going to Tokyo Seoul, which, as its name indicates, is a fairly new restaurant that serves both Japanese and Korean cuisine. We went there for Joe's birthday and had a great experience, so when I heard that my friend Cameron would be teaching English in South Korea this summer, I suggested that we introduce him to the cuisine early on. (I wish you were here, - h -, I would take you!)

Coming back from the dead

A lot has happened since my last post. I "graduated," with quotes because I'm actually not finished until August 3. Yes, I am counting the days. What's next? Life as a "grown up."

I also bought a domain one sleepless night and I've been thinking about the layout since. I hope I won't drop the ball and just have a little "coming soon" graphic on my index page until it expires.

I haven't used my camera in over a week!

I've been sick lately, pretty sick to the point that I can't smell anything and my eyes well up every time I step outside, and then once again when I step back inside. It's getting better, but not fast enough. I've been off work for a good portion of this week and I haven't really accomplished much.

We finally have a Nintendo Wii and I have become very addicted to bowling and Cooking Mama.

Movies I've seen lately: Spiderman 3, 28 Weeks Later, The Invisible (not the best, but surprisingly good)

Oh, liberation

Day 2 of my stress-free spree and these are my goals:

• Put a dent in the laundry
• Wash all of the dishes (they are so many, I have to do them in cycles)
• Edit and upload photos from the zoo (it's been a week and I don't want them to go up unless they look good)
• Make dinner
  

Fin

Today, I wrote my analysis and I took my last final of a real semester. I've never felt better walking out of a final. I was giddy and full of energy. I felt like screaming out to the stranger students who walked by that I had finally made it, but I didn't.

The sad thing is that I can't keep myself up now. I am growing old. Good thing I decided not to go to the midnight showing of Spiderman 3.

Good luck with your finals, if you have any left.

Almost There

• Photojournalism final project
  
• Psychology final
• Linguistics final
• French analysis, 6 pages
• French final

I have the whole of next week to relax (once I get off work) without school, then it's back to the grind until August 3. It'll be here before we know it.

Beyond August 3: catch up with life!

Back-breaking and other stories

The weekend (minus Sunday) was fun-filled.

It started early because we had a work party at Chuck-e-Cheese Friday afternoon.

Saturday followed with a free trip to the zoo which included free lunch from Chick-fil-A and cookies from the Cookie Cottage. There was also a balloon artist who was incredible. He used techniques I've never seen before (popping off certain parts of the balloon was one) and created intricate masterpieces! I think we were more amazed than the kids of his talent. He even blew up the balloons by mouth, too! Amazing, I tell you. Included in the whole free zoo day deal was also a free ride, so we got to go on a log ride toward the end of our trip. I took 300+ photos, so I will have to take some time to upload them.

After the zoo, Holly, Emily and I went shopping for graduation clothes/accessories. I actually bought a few things, which was pretty much the first time in the history of our shopping trips that it has happened. They were proud. My dress is perfect and was reasonably priced (I didn't want to pay $40, and I only had to pay $25).

Saturday night, we went bowling and I beat Joe and Greg several times. They told me that they would deny this to other people, but we all know that I should be trusted over them. We bowled 6 or 7 games in 2 1/2 hours. It was really fun, especially when Truc didn't look where he was throwing the ball and threw it down the walkway outside of our lane (we were on the end). The worker there said that had never happened before so that made it even better.

Unfortunately, I kind of broke my back from bowling so hard, because I woke up at 8am Sunday morning due to sharp pains in my back. I thought it was temporary, but my back hurt no matter how I tried to fix it. I could only lie on my stomach and even then, it hurt. I took some medicine to try to relieve the pain, but I couldn't eat much (can you believe that? It was that bad.) so that combination caused me to throw up at night. I can't remember the last time I threw up because I was a kid when it happened. That's how long it's been. Man, it was terrible. You think it'd be nice to not do anything all day, but when you're stuck lying still in one position the whole time, it's pretty terrible.

I woke up feeling much better this morning (I can sit and stand), but my back still hurts and my neck is stiff. Woe is me.

Hooray for less than 2 hours left of work!

Oh, and this is how my day at work is going:

• I put 75 cents into the coffee machine just to notice that there is a scrolling message indicating, "Temporary Out of Order." No, I did not get my money back.
• Pizza Hut charged me 10 cents for a cup of water.
• Danny (co-worker) and I walked to the library (about 20 feet away) to see if the coffee machine was working there, and I discovered that their machine has Vanilla Chai! It was okay, but it needed a lot more spices. It just tasted a lot like Vanilla Cappuccino to me.
• We hung out in the library to wait out the rain, then we just decided to walk back to work in the rain. Flip flops/sandals & rain = dirty feet!
• My workload has tripled.
  

Zooomr!

State Street Sunset Hosted on Zooomr

I'm not sure if they're still giving away free Pro accounts, but I'm giving it a try. Thanks in advance, Zooomr!

Update: Zooomr just gave me a free Pro account. You should get one, too! Wise Bread wrote a great article (with instructions) about this.

This all started when I was considering a Flickr Pro account. I did a search and found that Zooomr had been giving out free Pro accounts since last summer, so that pretty much made my decision for me. Sorry Flickr, maybe next year.

Dear Wait Staff of Fort Wayne,

My friends and I really appreciate you and your [hard] work. We always tip, even if your service wasn't exactly deserving of it. We're not bad customers. We're not picky (except for Paul), we usually order what you have on the menu without special instructions. We only send our food back if you bring out something completely different from what we've ordered.

That said, we would like to make some suggestions for those of you who are not exactly as good as the waitress we had at Outback a few weekends ago:

1. We would like to be provided with silverware before you bring us our food. Sure, we understand that everyone makes mistakes and forgets once in a while. When you bring out our appetizers or orders, please take a moment to wonder why we haven't unopened our napkins and begun eating. If you forget, that's fine, but could you make an effort to remember next time you come around rather than exclaiming, "Oh, I'm sorry, I've forgotten your [insert item here]."
   
2. Please notice that we're dying of thirst sometime before we finish our meal. There's no need to ask whether we'd like a refill when it's evident that we're merely halfway through our meal and our glasses are completely empty. Furthermore, the waitress at Outback (Sarah was her name, by the way) brought our drinks to us before we could even get thirsty again, and she didn't even ask. She just knew that we would probably be thirsty. She is an angel.
3. We don't know if we have enough room for dessert at the beginning of our meal, so we like to wait until the middle or end to figure that out. Please, just ask us if we'd like to order some before throwing our checks on the table. The past few times we've gone out, we've wanted dessert, but the waitress has never taken that into consideration.
   
4. Lastly, we really appreciate when you ask how we'd like our checks/bills separated. Please don't become so overwhelmed with a table of eight that you can't make separate bills. I reckon it takes up 2-3 pages of your order book, and if you give us each a number, it isn't so bad. We've seen this in action before, it works. Don't make us try to remember what we ordered. It's not that hard, but it's not our job. You're the one who wrote it down.

Okay, so I'm sure that some people will get mad at me, but just remember, I really appreciate the angelic Sarah at Outback and I don't hate all wait staff (of course not). It's just that lately, the service has been really bad everywhere.

Pet food woes

Our animals' food supply had been running quite low, and yes, we had noticed. We just held off for so long because we weren't sure which foods to buy for them ever since the dog/cat food recall earlier this month (or maybe even last month). Sure, the food we get them may not be on the list, but who knows whether the next bit of news will tell us that the brand of dog or cat food we just purchased is the newest discovered brand that has been contaminated?

It took me nearly an hour to decide which food to get them at the pet shop and it made me sad that I had to pretty much guess which food would be the least likely to kill my animals. I decided on The Good Life Recipe for the dogs and the cat. I hope it was a good decision. As I was browsing the huge variety of overpriced and overly lavish shampoos, conditioners, and colognes for my pooches, I overheard this:

The bell rings or the automatic door opens and a man hurries in.
The man (to the cashier): Hi, my wife just told me about the food recall, and I have this (he hands her a receipt or UPC).
Cashier: Was it the xxxxx kind?
The man: Yes. We just heard about it this morning. We don't have the bag. Our dogs have eaten 3/4 of it.
Cashier: Let me get my manager to see if she can help you.

Everything just seemed to fade out for a while, then I heard him say to the manager, "I thought they were just cold. I didn't know." How sad is that?! They didn't even know and it's been maybe more than a month since this first surfaced. I wanted to cry for them and all the other people whose animals got sick or died. I would solve this problem myself by cooking food for them, but I don't even do that for us, so I don't want them to starve.

Spring Fling Carnival

Wow, today has been a blast! It's Carnival Day of the Spring Fling week, so there was plenty of amusement just outside of the building where I work. It was so much fun that we had to go back for more.

Reasons why Carnival Day rocks:

• Carnival games you can't lose, and prizes that included: gloves, headbands, mini games, frisbees, and more!

• Free stuff everywhere
• Street vendors! Everything was free: cotton candy, popcorn, fruit smoothies, pulled chicken & pulled pork BBQ sandwiches, pitas, and more!

• World Tour of Butt Drawing

• Balloon man on stilts

• Life on campus!

Tomorrow's Forecast

According to my favorite weather man:

• High: 62 F
• Low: 37 F
• Sunny & Warmer, Overnight Rain

Do you know what this means? It means I can go outside and take pictures without freezing! I can wear my capris! I don't have to wear a winter coat! I've been waiting weeks for tomorrow to come.

In other news, I used my new camera to finish up my photo essay shoot at the nail salon where Mom works and I messed my photos up by using some automatic setting. The photos are unevenly exposed and I may have to go back since I'm a perfectionist. It's okay--the more, the better, right?

When Dreams Come True

A few weeks ago, when the free food on campus craze began, I wished it would last for the rest of the semester. I think my little wish is coming true, because the school's been feeding us (with our money, of course) each week since. What's the big deal this week? Why, it's Spring Fling week!

• Monday: Game Show Day
  
• Game Show: We Can Make You Laugh
• Free Chick-Fil-A (Chicken sandwich, potato chips, brownie, choice of soft drink)
• Free t-shirts
• Tuesday: Sports Day
• Performance by Diana DeGarmo from Season 3 of American Idol
• Inflatable games
• Free food from Catablu: hot dogs, brats, peanuts, and Cracker Jacks
• Baseball game
• Free t-shirts
• Wednesday: Board Game Day
• Free food from street vendors
• Inflatable games and carnival games
• Thursday: Field Games
• Free food from Nelson's: chicken and ribs
• Walb Parking Garage Luau
• Performance by JunkFood
• Free food at luau: hot dogs, hamburgers, Maui Wowi fruit smoothies
• Free leis
• Friday: Racing Day
• Free food from ice cream vendor(s)
• Reality stock car racing
• Saturday: Battle of the Bands
• "Take Back the Night" dance

This week will be exciting! I'm also grateful for these events because my current photography project is to document campus life and shoot a feature photo. I'm giddy, but at the same time, I'm on the verge of crying for the families of the victims from the Virginia Tech shooting.

Currently Enjoying

• High Dynamic Range (HDR) Images: Learn how to make them and look at some examples. I love how these images are photos, yet so incredibly surreal.
• LensEnvy: I love it when I stumble upon outstanding photography.
• JPG Magazine: I knew about its existence, but I never really looked at it until today. There's so much more to it than information--there's interaction, which I think is what attracted me.
  

Reasons You Should Skip Class

I'm listening to a live web cast my boss has running about the shootings at Virginia Tech. I think I'm in awe because I'm trying to ignore it. This is twice as bad as Columbine. Why is this even happening? I guess there was a bomb threat on Friday, too... bad stuff like this is the reason I'm always paranoid. Poor people and their families--this was absolutely unnecessary and quite possibly the worst way to lose a loved one. Someone, please fix this.

Update: They're saying that the death toll is rising and the gunman was supposedly an Asian guy who was upset over a girl.

Sigh.

Another Update: I didn't really think much when reporters started questioning why the classes were not canceled after the first shooting took place until I looked at the map of the Virginia Tech campus. Why would a school still function after 2 people were shot and killed on campus? Students could've left class and gone back to their dorms (or homes) with caution, and perhaps the 30 killed would still be here. I think the second shooting could've been prevented if the authorities/administrators would have taken action immediately after the first shooting. I bet there are some very hurt and angry families and friends out there wondering how and why this ever got so bad that it made history. My eyes were welling with tears thinking about how much pain they're in right now and how it could be different.

Wants and Needs

Want:

• new messenger bag, so I can carry my new camera with me comfortably
• camera bag that will fit inside a messenger bag
• black shoes suitable for most occasions
• graduation outfit
• zoom lens
• wide angle lens
• neutral density filter
  

Need:

• camera bag
• money for summer semester tuition
• to do homework
• to read
• to finish projects
• to make reservations for anniversary dinner
• to buy Mother's day and Mom's birthday presents (and arrange lunch/dinner)
• to concentrate on needs, and not wants :)
  

Let's Go Outback Tonight

I spent the day being a lump around the house--napping, watching TV, shopping for clothes online. After I woke up from my 3-hour nap (I don't know how it happened, I was just trying to watch Monk), I decided that I needed to get out of the house. It was snowing, but I still drove to see Emily at work. We caught up a bit, then she had to work, so we're planning on some major hang out time after the semester is over--something to look forward to.

I went home and made some Turkey Fried Rice for dinner. It's pretty darn easy. Thanks for the cooking lesson, Truc!

Even though we'd already had dinner, we agreed to go to Outback Steakhouse for round 2. I forgot to take pictures, but that's pretty obvious. We had a top notch waitress who brought us drinks before we ever got thirsty again. This was good and bad, as I drank 4+ mugs (we stopped counting) of raspberry iced tea and my belly was full before my entrée arrived. The bloomin' onion was yummy, too. I had some sort of cheesy pasta dish with chicken, sun-dried tomatoes, and mushrooms, but I wasn't able to enjoy it because I was so full. It's nice to be filled up at dinnertime though...right? There was one moment when our waitress forgot to bring us our boxes, but then she remembered and brought them right away! This is amazing for us, as our waitress last night at Ruby Tuesday never even gave us straws or silverware. Joe was disappointed in his steak salad, but I don't think the two make a very good combination anyway, so maybe that was the problem in the first place. Isn't it always grilled (or crispy fried these days) chicken on salad that makes it good? Eh, who knows...

We walked outside and the heavy snow made it feel like we were awaiting a big blizzard in January. Good thing we have a remote starter for the car.

Tomorrow, the guys have a soccer game and Adam's supposed to be there. We haven't seen him in ages.

Good things, 04/14/07

• getting enough sleep to feel awake at 8am
• going places
• my new camera--thanks, Joe!
• funny little kids
• seeing a man in slacks and a dress shirt, but carrying a Ninja Turtles wallet; admiring that he could care less what other people think
• salad bars
• raspberry iced tea
• Naked smoothies; the "Blue Machine" tastes like blueberry fruit-on-the-bottom yogurt--yum!
• seeing the guys all dressed up
• taking tons of photos everyday
• the feeling of relief
• pay day

Oh, school!

School has been very enjoyable lately. Yesterday, a couple of Canucks entertained us while we feasted on free food. Today, the Human iPod came and won me over by playing Jack Johnson. This guy can pretty much play 600+ songs on demand; pretty amazing, non?

I also get to work while listening to good music. What I've been listening to:

One step closer to growing up

Yesterday, I messaged my best friend to see if she was still alive since I hadn't heard from her for a whole week. She messaged me back to confirm that she was still alive, and she even came over to Walb to have lunch with me this afternoon. I love it when things come together so well.

We had a pretty long lunch and it wasn't really rushed at all. It's amazing how much you can share in such a small amount of time (say, 45 minutes). She was nervous to tell me, but she's planning on moving to New York next year. Although I'm worried, I'm genuinely happy for her. She's moving on with her life. She's not settling. I'm proud of her for not being too scared, even though we're both a little bit scared. That's what life's about right? It'll be sad to have her so far away, but I'm glad that she's being brave and doing her own thing. She was so happy to hear that I support her fully. I just hope it works out, but don't we all?

Easter Goodness

How was your Easter?

Ours was much like Thanksgiving. We went over to Joe's parents' house first, where we had turkey, stuffing, deliciously prepared peas with mushrooms, and roasted potatoes. After that, we went to visit my Mom and had some Vietnamese noodle soup. Gotta love meal-after-meal holidays.

I hadn't seen Mom since she came back from Vietnam last month, so she had a stack of gifts for me:

• a little phone ornament from Japan (I'd asked her to get me something Japanese during her 2-hour layover)
• pair of jeans
• sweater
• $10 Chanel purse (hey, it was Vietnam, after all)
• Zeiss Ikon camera from my grandfather (photo from Wikipedia)

Best gift ever, non? I can't wait to use it.

The Joy of Discovery

I really want to be a decent photographer, so I'm always looking for tips and inspiration. I browsed the Internet and learned a bit about the effect(s) of neutral density filters, so I set out to get one for Bo's camera (Olympus Evolt E-500) from Sunny Schick today.

The weather was dreadful on the way to the nice little (and I stress the this term) photo shop downtown, as there was drifting snow reminiscent of the blizzard we had two months ago. It was winter then, snow was allowed. I'll spare you the rest of my complaints. Anyway, I arrived at Sunny Schick and I squeezed my way over to their filter section. I thought I'd found one, but it was in a rectangular form and I wanted an actual circle filter. I searched, then one of the employees searched, and we couldn't find one for the lens size (58mm). There were a lot and it seemed that none of them were in my size. This was disappointing, but I persisted and looked more carefully. It wasn't at all distinguishable, so that's why it was so hard to find amongst the others, but I found it in the end, and $20.99 plus tax later, I was shooting photos of anything and everything in sight. I have yet to meet with a water fountain or other streaming water source since the purchase, so I will have to wait to test the "soft" effect later.

I did, however, shoot some photos of the dogs playing in the yard while Joe was putting things away after work. They were halfway decent, but I'm still having trouble with the focus. Is it just this camera or is it just me? I'm getting better, but it seems the camera should be more focus-friendly. Ha.

I just like this one for the expression on Vada's face

"Mmm...glass!"

...probably wondered why I kept calling his name

Stalking the neighbor's dog

Joe fell asleep, so I had to find something to do during this time (which can last for hours). I decided to get out the tripod and start playing around with the long exposures. Oh, and Einey's not dead, of course--this is just how she sleeps. I promise.

Note: Do not fall asleep while in the presence of crazy girl with camera.

Trademark sad face

Lit by "America's Most Wanted" on TV

I'm Too Sad

Last night, I went back to Jessica Williams' website to look at her I'm Too Sad project, and by chance, I clicked David Drennon's Flickr link to discover the wonders of night-time photography. As soon as the photo shop opens, I'll be in there to get a Neutral Density filter! I'd always wondered how the photos of professionals always had that "muted" (if that is the correct term to use) look to them.

Thank Goodness

It's Friday, I got paid (from one of my jobs), and there were refreshments at the meeting this morning. Pretty good finish to the week, I say.

Filled to the Brim

My "glass" is filled to the brim with happiness and excitement. Call it what you may, but I'm absolutely enamored by...everything.

This morning, I woke up late--at the time I was supposed to be at work. I couldn't sleep last night, so I guess my REM sleep kicked during the time the alarms were sounding and I didn't hear them at all. It was okay! I didn't think it was the end of the world, as it isn't, and won't ever be.

I called Bo (and woke him up, as I usually do) to see if he was still home so that I could pick up the camera from his house, and he was, and I did!

This camera is so amazing and it zooms, which is excellent since my rather old (but still very awesome) Canon AE-1 Program only has one lens and it's just a 50mm. This guy goes to 140mm or something. Amazing? Definitely.

During some "down time" at work, a fellow employee and I decided we would test some of the functions of the camera, and we discovered the "Burst" mode. There are videos to come, I tell ya. So much fun! I love creative opportunities.

I'm either on a natural high or this Cherry Coke contains a lot of caffeine. Maybe it's both.

What did I have for lunch today? It cost a dollar, so it wasn't free, but it was still delicious: Nissin Souper Bowl--Picante Shrimp flavor. I also used what appears to be the oldest microwave ever. Maybe I'll snap a photo to show you later.

Oh, what a lovely day! Too bad the weather dropped about degrees and I have to wear my mittens in April...

A few things

• I skipped class today and took a nap instead. I don't regret it.
• I stabbed Emily repeatedly with my pencil today.
• I think I'm addicted to rich chocolate Ovaltine. I mean, it's so amazing because it melts in cold milk. Nestle Quik does not.
• I just sent out my resume for a grown-up job.
• I get to play around with my friend Bo's digital SLR soon! I don't think I'll be able to work tomorrow.
  

Four to go

There are four weeks left of school, then it's finals week, then summer school. It's okay, though, because I will be done after August 3rd! Things are going well. I will be in the French poetry competition by force in a few weeks, and this is the poem I will be reciting to spite my professor:

La Grenouille qui veut se faire aussi grosse que le Boeuf

Une Grenouille vit un Boeuf
Qui lui sembla de belle taille.
Elle, qui n'était pas grosse en tout comme un oeuf,
Envieuse, s'étend, et s'enfle, et se travaille,
Pour égaler l'animal en grosseur,
Disant : "Regardez bien, ma soeur ;
Est-ce assez ? dites-moi ; n'y suis-je point encore ?
- Nenni. - M'y voici donc ? - Point du tout. - M'y voilà ?
- Vous n'en approchez point.". La chétive pécore
S'enfla si bien qu'elle creva.
Le monde est plein de gens qui ne sont pas plus sages :
Tout bourgeois veut bâtir comme les grands seigneurs,
Tout petit prince a des ambassadeurs,
Tout marquis veut avoir des pages.

The Frog who Aspired to Become as Big as the Ox

A Frog espied an Ox that seemed to her of a noble size.
She, no bigger than an egg,
Envious, stretches, puffs up and labours
To match the animal in size,
Saying: "Hey watch me sister;
Is this enough? tell me; am I there yet?
-No way! -How about now? -Not at all. - Is that it ?
You aren't even close." The puny, pretentious creature
Swelled up so much that she croaked.
The world is full of people who aren't too wise:
People with some money wish to build like royalty,
Every minor prince has ambassadors,
Every marquis wants servants.

I happen to enjoy it, and I know that it'll kill my professor that it's not some crappy romantic sonnet by Victor Hugo.

Talk to me, Mac

I forgot to add that I accidentally (I'm sure that's the wrong term to use, but it's the only one that comes to mind) discovered my Mac's text-to-speech capabilities over the weekend. I was trying to force refresh a Web page, but I forgot that I was on a Mac, so I hit Apple+F5 and my computer started talking to me! It was "Alfred," and he was a bit weird, so I changed it to some alien voices. I like some other lady's voice best, but I thought aliens would be more fun. There are over 10 voices from which to pick, so you know I was just sitting at the computer and giggling to myself while I went through all of them.

Cha-ching!

No, this post has nothing to do with money. I just remembered the end of the Mika song, so I thought it would fill up the title bar.

This morning, I somehow made it to 50% of my obligations. I was too tired and sore to drive all the way to the old office to fill out some paperwork regarding my resignation (pfft, like I really care now that I've quit), but I did make it to the car dealership to get my oil changed. I also decided that I should baby my car, so they sold me on the tire rotation/10,000 mile service. I was dropped off at school minutes after by their excellent shuttle service, and I am now slacking instead of working on my French paper. That's just how it goes sometimes.

Friday, we went to Applebee's and Giff got the short end of the stick again. He's always the only one whose order they mess up, every single time. He ordered the sirloin or whatever with fries and asparagus, which is pretty close to what they have advertised on TV, but instead, they brought out a steak and two orders of mashed potatoes. Those silly people even put the mashed potato on both sides of the steak instead of together, in one big pile. They brought him back some steak, fries, and broccoli the second time, and well, that's when he just gave up. The waitress didn't even ask us if we wanted dessert, which a lot of us did, before she brought us our checks. She stayed in the tanning bed too long. Sorry, I just had to say it.

M-m-music!

Listening to music for hours on end at work is wonderful. I've been introduced to some really good music by Stars, the Postal Service, and so many more artists. I love it when there's such loveliness coming into my ears.

In other news, it's incredibly rainy and windy outside - so much that it turned my umbrella inside-out!

Pumped about life

Spring is has finally arrived and I've been busy enjoying school, work, and free food. I lied about the first two.

Student Body elections are in full swing this week, and in order to get students to vote, they have bribed us with a week full of free food. I thought yesterday was wonderful because they provided pizza, popcorn, soda, and slushies, but today? Today, they gave us the option of free Taco Bell or free Pizza Hut! How amazing it is that people have to go to these lengths to get some votes. I am not complaining. I guess this happens every year. This afternoon, I enjoyed myself at lunch time by consuming pizza and breadsticks (yes, both!) while listening to some pretty good guitar & beat-boxing plus blues-y singing, all in one. Good stuff, I tell ya.

There was also a concert outside after that. I love activities! The bands were pretty decent, too, so that definitely helped keep my levels of joy up very high.

Tomorrow, I imagine there will be another free lunch. I'm saving so much money this week and all I had to do was vote once.

Regarding schoolwork, there will be a test in Psychology and a presentation on Cyrano de Bergerac in French Theatre on Thursday. Friday? We get to discuss our photo documentary projects! Exciting, exciting, exciting!

Also, there are just weeks left until the end of this semester. Tell me why I shouldn't be pumped about life.

Hot Water

Our landlord replaced the old water heater with a new one and we have hot water once again.

In other news, Joe took his car out of the garage and someone egged it after one night.

Cold Water

Thursday night, we discovered that there was hot water leaking from the hot water heater. Friday, our landlord replaced a valve. Today, we discovered that it's leaking from another place. Tomorrow, I hope that we can fix this, so that we can have hot water without extra hot water running. I can't wait to see our water bill. Good thing it's not our house.

Calling All Mac Nerds

I've a bit of a problem: I can't seem to open any Adobe products on my Mac mini. Whenever I double-click on a program icon to open it, the program starts to launch, then I get an error that it's ended abruptly. I tried deleting the user preferences folder, but that didn't work. I also installed the latest OS X updates, no luck there, either. Does anyone know how I can fix this? I'd like to get into Photoshop and dabble with that "Orton effect" for some photos.

Thanks much,
Han

Here's a tissue, sissy pants

I hate that my eyes get warm and well up with tears when I'm too sensitive about certain subjects.

As you may or may not know, I will be taking some courses this summer in order to finish my degree. I will be taking French Civilization II -- Independent Study, and I've been trying very hard to keep up with registering and other details just to make sure nothing disastrous happens to prevent me from graduating. I have asked the professor in charge several times regarding the details of this class, and each time, she's blown me off (without any exaggeration, here) by telling me that: "We can talk about it later," or "E-mail [her] and she can give me more information when she has the time," and today, "Don't talk about it. I don't even want to think about it right now." This struck me like a ton of bricks, especially since the rest of the class was there (minus Lesli) to witness this professional courtesy of hers. You know the best part? I was just starting to tell her that I'd gone to the department secretary and taken care of the registration process when she cut me off with that.

It just made me feel sad. Defeated. How does anyone treat another person like this, especially on a professor-student level? Why do I have to cater to her? Shouldn't she give me two seconds of her time? I have never had a professor treat me so poorly in all of my 17 years of school. Seriously.

Oh, Mac mini...

This little guy has stolen my heart! Unless you're booting it up or recovering from "Sleep" mode, the Mac mini makes absolutely no noise at all. There isn't even a faint purr or hum. My laptop, on the otherhand, is sounding like the fans of a house in Vietnam on a hot day.

I wasn't sure how I would get my files from the laptop to the Mac mini, but last night, this little guy proved to me that he is all that and a bag of chips. Thanks to Airport, which was built in, I was able to connect to my existing network and pull my files from the laptop. The bookmarks, photos, contacts, and now, the mail is on its way over to a much prettier place. Gotta love technology.

Highlights, lowlights

The first day back from Spring Break was pretty wonderful, with much thanks to the 70-degree weather and the sun smiling down on us the entire day.

I started to drift off in Psychology, so I stopped by Higher Grounds to get a medium-sized Chai that almost cost as much as an entire meal at Chung King. I felt terribly guilty afterward for spending that much money on a drink--especially one that was merely sub-par, but I comforted myself with the fact that I usually only spend a dollar at the vending machine when I need to, or I make myself some tea at home. Since we don't have ice, I made some tonight and put it in the fridge for the morning. It's amazing how we grow up without ever realizing it.

When you get to college, there aren't that many highlights of coming back from break. You can usually see your friends outside of school (should you want to) and there isn't anything exciting going on when you get there. No more field trips after middle school. Sad, but true. Sorry, kids.

Linguistics was bearable, except for the part when a girl in front of us let her shirt ride up and revealed to us about five whole inches of her crack. I'm not even exaggerating. Ask Emily. Not okay. Why did that even happen?

Highlight of the Foreign Language Lab: getting distracted and going on trips to different buildings with Emily and Jake

I didn't do such a terrible job on my French exam. I may still be able to get that A!

Best Day Ever

• successful Asian grocery shopping trip with Truc (and BONUS: his ridiculously cute little nephew)
• quail eggs for the photography project
• work! I got to work!
• finding out that it's okay to listen to music, browse MySpace, check personal e-mail, and do pretty much anything at work
• we get our own cubes!
• receiving the best e-mail ever, from Joe's Mom:
  
• If you and Joe would like my MAC Mini - you can have it. I'd like to keep the mouse but you can take the [19"] monitor and keyboard.
  
• the aforementioned had me giddy and high on life for the rest of the night
• Flat Top Grill--everyone but Greg came! The Bringer had just come back from his trip in Tennessee, and even Chan was there!
• 2-minute wait to seat 9 people; pretty impressive!
  
• pad thai recipe = best eating experience ever
• flat bread...mmm!
• 300 was so entertaining! It's amazing how they carried their apples back then.
  

VideoJug is the Best Thing Ever

I think I've become addicted to VideoJug. You mean I can watch instructional videos on pretty much any topic for FREE? So far, I've already learned:

• How to Keep the Television Dust-Free
• How to Clean the Kitchen Floor (I love this because of the cute old man!)
• How to Make Naan Bread (Mmm...)
• How to Make Hot and Sour Soup
• How to Clean a Door Mat the Right Way

It's amazing!

Two Hours Later

I'm still awake because that extra strong (2 pouches), chilled Chai latté is finally working. I've been trying to find a good place to put my Google Adsense ads, and I think I've found it. I don't know why I'm bothering since I'll be changing the layout soon. It just seemed like the fun thing to do this early in the morning.

Good things:

• Monthly Newsletters by Heather Armstrong. I look forward to them every month and they never disappoint. Every time I hear a new story about Leta, I want to have a baby right then and there. <-- If that's not a sign that I'm ready to nest, I don't know what is.
• Poker nights with the guys (and sometimes Holly). I look forward to this exciting event every Wednesday. Most of the time, Paul and I are bickering because he's pushing my buttons and I don't want to deal with him anymore--but the rest of that time is quite enjoyable, and I've begun to actually win back the money I put in.
• All-you-can-eat Fridays. This is a new "tradition," and I love it. Last week, we spent hours at a Chinese Buffet laughing over crab legs.
• Spring Break. I'm glad I didn't go anywhere. I've had time to power clean our house, and maybe tomorrow, I'll do my homework.
• The animals. They're so darn cute. Wherever I am, there they are. They all squeeze on the sofa with me when I'm watching TV and they sleep at my feet when I'm at my desk. Sure, they'll come in from the backyard sometimes covered with mud, have accidents (only Ira does this), and whine for silly things, but their cuteness definitely trumps their faults.
• Routines. I would be out of my mind if I didn't have any.
• Empty sinks! I've washed so many dishes, but my work is well worth it. I am a dishwasher.
• Home-cooked meals. My favorite source for recipes is AllRecipes.com. Yesterday, I made Hot & Spicy Tofu. It was delicious! I felt like I'd made a fancy Thai dish. Today, I made Fish Fillets Italiano for Joe, and he told me he liked it. This is better than the usual "it's alright," so I think I did well. It didn't fill us up very well, though--we were hungry about an hour later. Thankfully, we were saved by Giff, who brought us leftover pizza from his meeting at work.
• Sleep. Spring Break has brought it back to me. I think I'll miss it next week, but I'm glad that I got to catch up these past few days. I don't remember when I last woke up at noon. It's nice!
• Emily's not dead! She just had a hair emergency. I hope I'll get to see her tomorrow.

Mumbo Jumbo

We just finished our weekly Poker game not too long ago and I'm exhausted, but I thought I would share some neat things with you.

• Joe's Mom just sent me an e-mail to announce that her MacBook Pro just came today (as you may imagine, I am beyond jealous)
• I was searching for some recipes today and I stumbled upon an instructional video for cooking a Thai breakfast on VideoJug
• Plans are coming together for Joe's birthday!
• His present is due to arrive on Friday
  
• Truc and I are collaborating to make delicious Vietnamese dishes: Lau Thai (a seafood hotpot served with vermicelli noodles) and Crab & Asparagus soup
• I will also attempt to make: cream puffs, snicker doodles, a yummy cake
• I convinced everyone that we should eat at Flat Top Grill on Friday, and we're going to see 300 afterward

I've been putting my Spring Break to good use. Do you know what I did last night while Joe did his paperwork? I cleaned--a lot. I scrubbed the grout between the tiles in the bathroom. I removed the gunk from the sides of our bathtub. I went on a cleaning frenzy. I think that Monk is having an effect on me. I can't believe he got beat up in the last episode! How sad is that?

My training session on Tuesday for the job at school was very entertaining because my boss obsessed over his craving for a Big Mac the entire time. Randomly, he would announce, "Ooh! A Big Mac sounds so good right now..." or "Man, I want that Big Mac so bad!" and so on and so forth. I hope he got his Big Mac. I'll ask him about it next time. Speaking of the training session, we (one of the guys and I) got to see our "office." We're going to be working on laptops, which seemed strange to me, but I'm used to working on one anyway, so it doesn't matter. The boss cracked me up again because he got red staplers for us specifically to reference Office Space. I guess the office has been nicknamed "The Hole," because yeah... it's in the basement, behind some doors, and in the most hidden place I've seen on campus. I don't mind being a hermit, though.

High School Days

This weekend brought us back to high school days. Hungry and determined, the five of us piled into my Yaris and braved the icy roads. It was terrifying. Sure, it wasn't anything like what they had in Versoix, Switzerland:
...but it was still pretty dangerous--so dangerous that while we were eating and laughing our heads off, Truc and Giff noticed some sirens at the intersection just before the entrance to IHOP. "Is that a red truck sitting on the median? Yes, it is..." and then Greg called to let us know that he it was him. He slid while turning and he jumped the median, then hit a guy who was just trying to eat some chicken while waiting in the turn lane.

We told Greg that we'd give him a ride home, and after an hour or so, we piled six people into a tiny Toyota Yaris. I was the one sitting on the floor, being held up by some legs nearby.

Spring Break

It just recently dawned on me that today is the first day of my Spring Break. While everyone else will be in Tennessee or Florida, I will be here. I'm not sad! I do have to be at work for Holly at 5am, but I'm not sad. Why? I have a whole week to relax, not worry, and start working my butt off for the job at school. I got hired a month ago, but we'll finally start working after Tuesday. Hooray for progress!

For the time being, I need to mess around for another hour, then:

• go to the store to get Joe some Band-Aids
• do some laundry, and fold the mountain I've already done
• dishes

Do these things ever stop? Ugh. Life is good.

Getting Fresh with Sara Snow

Still watching Discovery Health and Get Fresh with Sara Snow is my new favorite show. She helps you learn how to "go green" in the office and at home, and also gives advice on healthy eating...all that while remaining a pretty tolerable host!

• What? Clothes made out of bamboo, which re-grows?
• Organic cotton?

Some of her advice is common sense, we just choose to ignore it. She helped a guy clean out his work area by buying him a giant bottle of ketchup and gave him silverware to re-use so that he wouldn't create more waste. What I did find interesting and that I never really thought about was how much energy goes into making the simple things we use everyday. Oh, and of course, she spoke about paper and recycling.

I'm adding her series to my DVR!

No Ricin for Me, Thank You

I just watched a really shocking episode of Diagnosis: Unknown on Discovery Health. A man ("Mike") kept getting sick and his doctors didn't know why. This happens when he goes home, it stops when he goes to the hospital, so on and so forth for a while. Then, one day, he finds some Castor bean seeds and Chemotherapy medicine in his wife's bag. It turned out that she was poisoning him with those seeds, which contain Ricin, a very potent plant toxin. Not only did she try to kill him, she set fire to their house after he moved out (they were going through a divorce) and killed 2 of their 3 kids! Now if that's not a crazy story, I don't know what is.

Whoops!

I'm sorry that I was messing around this afternoon and left a really ugly layout up (something was wrong with the code) for more than 10 seconds.

Other than that, today was pretty decent. Here are some highlights:

• I've already shot my photography assignment for Friday. I drove around for 30+ minutes to look for a good spot, then I couldn't stop at those good spots...so I remembered that duh, there's a cool park about 5 minutes away from our house.
• Before that, I stopped at the train tracks by my old house and took some photos, but I didn't last long because I couldn't find my gloves (I'd just washed them) and my fingers were going to fall off any minute. I went all out--I even brought my tripod. I released the hold on my camera attachment, then I wanted to use it...well, anyway, I dropped my camera in the dirt and there was gunk everywhere. I tried to wipe it off, but then I got it all over my fingers. What did I do? I drove home to wash the dirt off of everything and I found my gloves. I don't think I could've done it without them!
• Franke Park provided me with tons of photo opportunities. I walked through goose poo, dirty snow, and ice to get my photos! I thought that I would slip off the icy steps that led up the bridge, fall into the little stream, and die, but luckily, I didn't. I found an area where the snow was still pure and white--nothing had been touched, really, and there were only a few footsteps. It was quite wonderful!
• I didn't want any buildings to show up in the photos, so I decided to go deeper into the park, to the hill in the back where Holly led us one winter for sledding...it was nice and empty. I finished my roll there.
• On my way out of the back parts, I saw a young couple (high school-age) who kept staring at me as I drove by...probably because they didn't think anyone would venture into such a remote part of the park in the dead of winter...and probably also because they thought they were being caught for doing some naughty stuff. Ah, kids. It was funny, because they pretended to be gazing at the wonders of the BMX park as I drove toward them, but as soon as I drove away (I looked in my side mirror) they were already holding each other (again).
• Oh, the best part is that it took only 30 minutes to develop my film and scan my negatives!
  
• $0.97 half gallon cartons of juice at Wal-Mart
• I won $11 at poker tonight! I was just hanging out, then a pair of Kings accelerated me to that much. Hooray for good poker nights! All of my proceeds will go to Joe because that's what you do when you love someone.
• The Bringer fell asleep on our sofa. It was cute to watch.
• Talks about the Rock, Paper, Scissors Tournament in all the bars around town (especially when they come from The Bringer)
• Sleep. I need some of that now.

How was your day?

$5/hr. Vietnamese Translator

Joe just called and asked if I could translate for him, "because it's just like talking to your Mom." I am a darn good assistant because not only did I communicate with the customer, I found out where he needed to be! Who can find you an address that's not on the map? Han can!

If you ever need any help, let me know.

The Wonders of REM Sleep

Luckily for me, Joe must've woken me up during my REM sleep this morning. I remembered my dream that - h - drove "across the pond" just to hang out with me. It was fun, then it was time to go, so she just packed up and left.

Terrible Tuesdays

Tuesday is my least favorite day of the week. I have classes all day, then I head straight to work afterward for some good-time physical labor. I'm lucky that I don't fall asleep on the drive home each night. I got to come home to a fresh-baked pizza and To Catch A Predator, so that made up for however tired I was.

Things that still make us wonder about the events on To Catch A Predator:

• Why haven't they caught a woman? We've checked the National Sex Offender Registry and we've found many women listed among all those men.
• Almost all of these guys tell Dateline that they've seen the show, and some of them admit with the "decoys" in their IMs...so what on earth are they doing?
• Why didn't that guy drink the Kool-Aid? It looked delicious.
• That old man was way too creepy! "Phew! It's hot in here. Do you mind if I take off my jacket?" (as he's walking at an increasing pace toward the decoy)Um, someone get this guy some better lines.

Speaking of heat, I don't know what's going on but I feel like I've been getting hot flashes for the past few days. I was complaining about this to Emily this afternoon because I seriously felt like I was going to pass out from heat and humidity that only I could feel.

In addition to the wonderful two things aforementioned, the linguistics book I ordered (Language: Its Structure and Use) last week was waiting for me on the sofa. I began to read it, but then I got too distracted by the fact that 10:00pm was fast approaching and I couldn't wait to see the new Schedule of Classes for this summer. I need to take 7 credit hours' worth of classes to complete my degree and certificate. I've been worried about the availability of classes since I know which classes I really need to take (French Civilization and Intro to International Studies, 3 credits each), but I didn't know if there would be a good 1 credit hour class. I expressed this concern at poker some time ago, and Truc suggested a Physical Education class. I looked it up, and there is only one class available for exactly one credit hour: YOGA! I'm so excited. I will be one of the first people in the Internet line to sign up for these classes. I'm so pumped! Don't you just love it when things work out perfectly? This usually never happens to me, so I am very shocked and thankful at the same time. Hooray for things working themselves out in the end!

Another sign that today has taken a toll on us? We went to bed around 9:30pm. That's just sad.

Senior Salute!

Emily and I have been excited about today for a little while now. Why? Senior Salute! We got a medium-sized postcard in the mail that said today is our special day: 10% off our cap and gown, information, and best of all--freebies! We were devastated when we arrived to merely 5 display tables on the Ground Floor of Kettler. I did get confirmation from a nice lady that I will be graduating with that International Studies Certificate; she also gave us a cool lapel pin! That was the only thing we got for free. We got black caps and gowns with white tassels for our degree and department (Arts got pink! Labor Studies got green! Some other department got peacock blue--we were jealous) and some more information. Hooray! We're so pumped about graduating that we're kind of silly, but hey, it's something we are definitely allowed to do after all this hard work. Oh, we also signed up to win an IPFW briefcase. YAY. We're going to try putting polka dots on our gowns so that we'll be cute.

Sharing is Caring

I love it when other people share, so I thought I'd do my part and share my favorite links. This set of links will feature FREE stuff. Who doesn't love the word "FREE?"

• The Free Site: I'm pretty sure this is where it all began. I've been going here since I first got the Internet.
  
• Cheap Stingy Bargains Freebies Forum: I've received a free Venus razor, countless free magazine subscriptions (good ones, too!), and so many other things for free.
  
• Free stuff on Craigslist.com: Free stuff from nice people.
• Free stock photography websites: Most of them have photos with great quality that you can use for free. Don't you just love that?
  
• Free software: The kind that doesn't tease. Links to absolutely free software in categories such as 3D graphics, anti-virus, photo editing/manipulation, video editing, and many more.
  
• The 46 Best-ever Freeware Utilities: Why pay to make your computer clean and happy when you can get it all for free?

That's all I have for now.

As We Wait Patiently

Joe and I e-filed our taxes last night. I made more money than he did, but he's getting more back. I kept thinking that I made a mistake, but I double checked and everything looked okay. Joe did mention that they start taking money away when you make a certain amount, so maybe that's it. Thanks a lot, IRS. Just kidding--kind of--I'm grateful that I'll get some money back to pay for the summer session of school, and that Joe can have some extra money to spend on something fun rather than those dreadful bills. I'm just sad because I'm poor. You know how that goes.

She's not dead!

Last week, I began to worry about my Mom--she's on vacation in Vietnam. She usually calls me often, so when she hadn't called for over a week, I automatically thought that she fell ill with SARS or the Avian Flu from enjoying her exotic foods. My Mom's gutsy and she doesn't like normal things. Have you ever heard them talk about "blood pudding" on the news? Thanks to Mom, I know exactly what they're talking about: duck's blood that's been set. I don't know the proper way to prepare it, but I know that it's served raw because that's how a lot of people in Vietnam got sick. At least, that's what TIME magazine told me in an old issue. I think it was TIME magazine...that, or BBC News.

Anyway, I thought that she was either dead or deathly ill, so I turned from merely worrying (ha, I kid, I never just worry) to panicking that my lively mother had given her life for the sake of a good meal (is this where I get my appetite?). When I saw my brother at the soccer game on Thursday, I asked if he'd heard from her, and he did--only a few days ago--so I stopped worrying and resolved that she's just too busy having fun to call me and calm my nerves. Good for her!

P.S. I didn't call her because I don't have her number over there. I'm not that silly.

A New Prescription

I've been getting pretty bad headaches from my glasses lately. I think I might need a new prescription. It's been 2-3 years since my last eye appointment...but now, I've just turned 23 and that means I am no longer on my parents' insurance. What to do? I wish eyeglass stores would list their prices online (they probably do somewhere) because I don't really want to go through the trouble of calling different stores. Does anyone out there know how much it typically costs to get a new pair of glasses (non-fancy ones) without eye insurance?

Childhood Snippets, Part 1

Before I was seven years old, my parents were making me take art and penmanship lessons. I remember my Mom dropping me off at the art teacher's (an elderly man) house with a couple avocados so that I could have a nice snack at the end of my lesson. My teacher was so nice, he would take those avocados and turn them into delicious avocado smoothies! Art lessons were definitely worth it just for the snacks. I'm terrible at drawing.

I feel like a slacker because I decided to sit down for a break and I'm still here 2 episodes of C.S.I. later. I will generate a list of things I have done today in order to make myself feel better.

• Dishes
• 2 loads of laundry
• Started cleaning our very messy office (Update: I am beyond proud of myself because I cleared out all the boxes that were in the way--all 6 or so--and I also cleared the table off, so now I actually have some space to do my homework! I am, however, writing to you right now from the sofa with the computer on my lap. Ha.)
  

I'd like to have children now, please.

I worked for less than an hour yesterday, then I got to go home early and hang out with Joe before his soccer game. Paul was there! It was his first game and he didn't know that you just sub during game play and that offsides doesn't exist in this league. The other team was playing dirty (hacking, pulling on shirts, etc.) so Joe got frustrated at times and took them out. I might've missed any more action (including a goal by Joe) because there was a little kid (he belonged to one of the players) sitting close to us and he was adorable. I wanted to take him home with me. Needless to say, he was a big distraction and I spent the whole game watching his silly antics instead of looking at the field.

At one point during the game, he grabbed his bottoms and told his Daddy, "I have to PEEEEEEE!" They came back with a new drink for the little boy (whose name is Joe, I found out later). It must've been a cold drink, because he would take a swig, make a face, then set the bottle down and let out a big, "Aaaahhhhhh!" He did this several times and I squealed after each one of them. I told Renée, Zach's girlfriend, who was sitting next to me, that my ovaries were going to burst just by watching his cuteness.

They ended up with a tie at the end and I had to part from the cute little boy. Maybe he'll be there next time! Gah, I love kids.

Reno and Freezing Rain

We walked into a very empty theatre for Reno 911: Miami last night while everyone was at home avoiding the freezing rain. It had just started when we got there. By the time we left, there were icicles hanging from the bottom of our car and 1/4" sheet of ice on the windows. We were still able to roll down the windows, so I had fun knocking out the ice as if I was a criminal breaking glass.

How was the movie, you ask? It was silly and ridiculous, as one would expect from watching the show. It did fulfill its job to entertain us. There was roaring laughter and chuckles and man, those shorts were short! My favorite character: Deputy Trudy Wiegel. This is her bio from the film website: "Trudy Wiegel has been a member of the Reno Sheriff's Department for 9 years. Before joining the force she worked in yogurt sales."

Other than the movie and the freezing rain, I've been training a lot on ChaCha. I was promoted to Master level in just one day! Let me know if you'd like to have me as a Guide for your searches and I will send you the link to the ChaCha toolbar. Any search you perform from the toolbar will be guided by me. Cool, huh?

Looking Forward

Yesterday, a guest speaker visited our Photojournalism class. He started taking pictures of the Burmese people in this area, then his boss sent him to Burma! The pictures were phenomenal--National Geographic quality! This guy, he knew what it was all about. I was blown away throughout the whole presentation. He was also very funny and entertaining. I think I have a new favorite local photographer. I've tried finding his series on Burma on the Internet, but without success. I may take the effort to e-mail him for more info. I'm that interested. Whoo! Hooray for inspiration!

My next photography project requires me to take photos of a treasure chest in different places. I'm excited. It's a class project, so we'll get to see what everyone else did at the end of the project. Our professor showed us a slide show of her last class' photos and it was pretty cool; I'm just glad I don't have to lug around a full-size chair like they did.

I recently became an apprentice/guide for ChaCha search. It's a service that allows you to have a guide assist you in your searches, rather than a robot. Pretty cool idea, non?

Things to do today:

• Loads and loads of laundry
• Dishes
• Vacuum
• Clean out the spare room
• Read the rest of Polyeucte and Tartuffe to brush up for the upcoming French exam

Good things:

• Opportunities
• Good TV nights with Joe
• IHOP
• Meijer cereal
• Eating a bit healthier
• Inspiration
• Creative ideas (where have they been all this time?)
• Finally get a good night's sleep at the end of the week
• Bell peppers! I can't get enough of them.
• Progress
• Having something to look forward to
• Correspondence
  
• Dreamweaver classes for FREE (thanks, work!)
• A new layout is on the way!
• Reading - h -'s blog
• My back is hurting less...yay!