Just got back from Hawaii. It's not easy coming back from 80 degree weather to 50 degree weather. When did it get so cold in California? Normally I wouldn't mind, since I love cold weather, but i like being prepared for it. I had to go directly from the airport to work and i was not dressed appropriately. But anyway, on to my summary of Hawaii...

I'm probably going to forget some stuff but I'll try my best.

Day 1
Landed at around 1pm, visited the happy now married couple at their apartment and then walked around Waikiki and had dinner at Senor Frog's.

Day 2
Hiked up to Diamond Head Crater. Lounged on the beach and then went to the Rehearsal Dinner. After rehearsal, went to have drinks at random bars.

Day 3
Snorkeled at Hanauma Bay and almost drowned. Went to Paradise Cove luau at night and ate too much and was forced to dance hula on stage.

Day 4
Wedding Day. Had tons of food at Zippy's, Waiola's, some dessert place. Went to my first Catholic wedding. It was definitely very interesting participating in a ceremony where i'm not at all affiliated with the religion. I was asked to do a short reading explaining a cord cermony in traditional hispanic weddings. after the wedding, we partied it up at the reception.

Day 5
Went to the Dole Plantation and completed the world's largest maze in less than an hour. Then went to north shore and had some excellent shrimp from Giovanni's. Dinner at a burger place and then drinks.

Day 6
Hiked up some weird trail and then went to Jackass Ginger and swam in a lake then visited Pali Lookout. Final meal in hawaii and then caught a redeye flight back to LA. Goodbye Hawaii :(

Thanks to Kristin for bringing us to all the cool places, especially the food!

damn this looks good

X-MEN ORIGINS: WOLVERINE HD

happy december y'all! it's finally starting to get a bit chilly. although i think it was still about 80 degrees today. it's supposed to get colder this weekend. woot.

spent last week in vegas. it was nice getting to spend a week away from the office and still get paid. too bad it's only once in a blue moon.

work has been super busy this week. can't wait for hawaii next week. woohoo!

Ok i've decided that i'm going to stop titling my posts because coming up with creative titles is just too much work and i'm not all that creative.

anyhooo, so i saw twilight last night. as in most cases, the book was better. although i think the casting was ok, i felt like some of the lines weren't delivered well enough. much of the dialogue was taken straight from the book; however i didn't get the cheesiness from the book as i did when i from the movie. the lines just weren't delivered that well.

but other than that, the movie was decent. it stayed true to the book for the most part. i'm glad that the new moon has been greenlit. i need something to replace harry potter. although this doesn't even come close.

in other news...it's a 2.5 day work week!!! woots! and then a nice long weekend and then off to a conference in vegas all next week! woots.

To be with you...

So i'm kinda diggin some of the songs on the David Archuleta album. Yes i realize he's a 17 year old boy. But he can sing.

I've been alone so many nights now,
And I've been waitin' for the stars to fall.
I keep holdin' out for what I don't know
To be with you, just to be with you.

So here I am staring at the moon tonight,
Wondering how you look in this light.
Maybe you're somewhere thinkin' about me too.
To be with you, there's nothing I wouldn't do.

And I can't imagine two worlds spinnin' apart
Come together eventually..

OMG!

OMG SO GOOD!!

Random Ramblings

So...a lot has happened this I last posted. We elected a new President (finally!). California decided that it's going to make discrimination ok in the state constitution. I won't go further into this because I feel like there has already been so much rhetoric and debate about this issue, and really what more can I say that hasn't already been said. It's just sad to realize a large percentage of the people who voted for prop 8 are those who have been victims of discrimination themselves. but enough about that.

One of my dear staff members is leaving and getting married this month. Although I am nothing but happy for her, this does leave me in the predicament of losing an excellent employee. At first the problem was just finding someone who isn't an idiot and can do the job sufficiently. But now I can't hire anyone at all as USC has just imposed a hiring freeze across the university until June 2009. Great. So now I'm down one staff member which means my work load is going to increase...by a lot.

This hiring freeze also affects my own job finding prospects. I know I have been saying for years that I'm going to leave financial aid. And i really think that time has come and I was going to start really applying for jobs after the new year. I was thinking that if I wanted to begin my career in advising, the easiest thing would be to get an advising position at USC, get some experience and then move to another university. But now with this hiring freeze, that doesn't seem feasible. I might have to just try to get a job at another university without any advising experience which might prove to be difficult. We shall see.

I suppose that's all that's been going on. Oh, can I just mention how angry I am at the economy for making plane ticket prices go down. I bought tix to hawaii for $766 back in August thinking that they'll just keep getting more expensive. But no...since the economy has gone down the crapper, and gas prices have plummeted, the cost of my same exact flight is now $272 cheaper. UGH!

Ok, now that is all. Oh, and go see Changeling. It's good.

happy halloweenie!

I don't feel like i've gotten to properly celebrate halloween in years and years. with halloween finally being on a friday, it was time to let loose. the last few days have been pretty crazy and i got about 10 hours of sleep total from thursday night to saturday night.

the fun started with a cobra starship concert on thursday night at the house of blues and then headed out to a bar. friday we celebrated halloween at work and then went to a halloween party at night. saturday i recuperated a bit and watched the cal game on tv. Go bears! then at night went out with some friends and got slightly intoxicated. sunday, went to watch spring awakening (thanks scuz!). I think i would've enjoyed it a lot more if i hadn't been struggling to stay awake. i might have to watch it again. but it was a great weekend!

Twilight scene!

Since I'm forced to wait until July for the next Harry Potter movie, i'll have to make do with Twilight, in theaters November 21!.

Yay movies!

So I've made up for my recent movie drought by watching 4 movies in the past week or so. Here's a brief rundown!

Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist - very good movie. cute.

High School Musical 3: Senior Year - I suppose it was pretty good.

Max Payne - eh... I kinda dozed off in the beginning. nothing really special.

Rocknrolla - Very typical Guy Ritchie. Had its funny moments.

Eagle Eye - Pretty good. Action packed throughout the whole movie. The plot is kinda eh.

In other news...I had a pretty good weekend. My weekend started on Friday. I decided to take the day off to take my car in for a service which ended costing me $1100. That part was not so good. I'm pretty sure I got ripped off, but nothing much I can do about it. I don't know squat about cars but my car did need fixing. it was driving weird.

Saturday, spent the day with coworker friends shopping and gallavanting about town.

Sunday, watched a couple movies and bought my halloween costume. i'm going to be an army guy. scary i know.

fun weekend, probably could've gotten more sleep, but oh well.

Twilight Trailer

If you haven't read the Twilight series by Stephenie Meyer, I would highly recommend it. Although it's no Harry Potter, it's very well written and the story is pretty good. I'm very much looking forward to the movie, although the trailer makes it seem kinda low budget. The sequels need to get picked up by a major studio..

D.C.

Soo i just spent the weekend in our nation's capital. It was a fantastic trip and I got to explore the city. Thanks Farouk for showing me around all weekend!

Thursday: Flew in and had grabbed dinner at Pot Belly's.

Friday: Toured the White House in the morning. Really not as impressive as I thought it would be. Then went to the Museum of Natural History, brunch at Heidi's, the Archives, Ford's Theater, the house where Lincoln died, ate some pho, went to the zoo. Dinner at The Front Page where 200 ppl gathered at the bar to watch the presidential debate. Only in DC...

Saturday: All about the memorials. Washington Monument, Jefferson Memorial, FDR Memorial, WWII Memorial, Lincoln Memorial, Vietnam War memorial, Arlington Cementary for Kennedy's gravesite, Pentagon 9/11 Memorial,then shopping. Dinner at Thaiphoon.

Sunday: Capitol Hill to see the Capitol and the Supreme Court building. Then more shopping. Went to the Portrait Gallery and saw the Georgia O'Keeffe and Ansel Adams exhibit. Chinatown...convinced Farouk to get an iphone only just a tad too late. I expect a text from your iphone next week! Lunch at Banana Cafe. Dinner at Matchbox.

And now I am at home resting up. We did so much walking this weekend. My feet are still hurting. Pictures will be posted on facebook!

Vacations!

I had a blast of a weekend up in SF. I love love love the bay area. The weather is awesome. On Saturday, we stopped by Berkeley and got top dog fix. Soooo delicious. Walked around campus a bit and then went back to the city and walked around more. At night we went to some ghetto hip hop club that was a tad scary. Fights were breaking out left and right and as we were leaving there was a gun shot. Crazy stuff! Once we got back to the apartment, we saw a loser drunk driver crash into a parked car. He was arrested so all is well. A very eventful evening. Sunday was just a chill day. Walked around the city some more and then went home. Got back at about 12:30 and now i'm exhausted at work.

On Thursday, I'm going to DC! Woohoo...I don't know what i was thinking when I booked an 8am flight...but oh well. I just looked up the weather and just my look, rain all 3 days i'm there. Fantastic. Why does your city hate me Farouk?

Fri
Sep 26

Showers
72°
64°
40%

72°F
Sat
Sep 27

Showers
74°
64°
40%

74°F
Sun
Sep 28

Few Showers
76°
60°
30%

Oh Tina and Amy...

Ok, SNL still has the ability to be funny...

http://www.popeater.com/television/article/fey-shines-phelps-wobbles-on-snl/173107?icid=100214839x1209319712x1200566833%20

oh sweet television

the fall TV season has officially started and it's off to pretty good start.  I've dropped a couple shows, but I still feel like there is way too much watch...especially on Mondays.  I would love to pick Lost and Smallville back up, but I'm too far behind on those. So here's my lineup!

Sunday

Desperate Housewives

Brothers and Sisters (maybe)

Monday

Gossip Girl/Sarah Connor Chronicles

Prison Break

Heroes

Tuesday

90210

Fringe

Wednesday

Nothing! 

Thursday

Grey's Anatomy

Private Practice

I love TV :)

happy labor day!

Three day weekends are fantastic. Those people in Utah have the right idea when they implemented 4 day work weeks. I feel like I got in the perfect amount of fun and relaxation that I'm actually not sad that I have to work tomorrow morning.

My weekend got off to an early start. I took Friday morning off work for an interview at UCLA. I went back to work after, but we got off at 2pm. That night I went with Scuz to a Jack Johnson concert in Irvine. Awesome concert. Excellent chicken kabob.

On Saturday, I pretty much just relaxed. At night, went to the Hollywood Bowl for a John Williams concert. He's a genius but I'm bitter that he never plays the Jurassic Park theme.

On Sunday, went shopping at the Citadel with a coworker and then did some reading. I finished Breaking Dawn which is the last book of the Twilight series. It's an excellent series, but nothing compared to Harry Potter. Speaking of Harry Potter, at night, went to Hollywood Bowl again where we listened to scores from WB movies...one of which was Harry Potter :)

And finally, Monday...today we spent the day at the Cabazon outlets where I spent way too much money. Then went to Claim Jumpers for Happy Hour. Good times.

Ugh go away.

The school year has officially begun. And it sucks. The last couple weeks at work have been super hectic and now that the students are back, it's just going to get worse. The 7:35am tram from union station to campus is usually empty but today it was jam packed and i was barely able to squeeze in. Go away students!! or at least stop taking public transit!!

There is one thing that will be kind of nice this year. I finally don't have to worry about classes. Although this isn't really a change from the past few months, I am supremely glad I am done with school. Forever. Well at least for now.

My weekend was pretty laid back. All I did on Saturday was eat, eat, and eat some more. Throw in an arboretum concert somewhere in there. Sunday was pretty uneventful. Hung out with coworkers, played some guitar hero, and applied for a couple jobs. I finally started my job search. I hate hate hate the job search process. It's so utterly depressing, especially in the current climate. I guess we'll just see what happens. I suppose I should be glad I at least have a job while I search for a new one.

Weekend Update!

Oh how I enjoy my weekends. The past few weeks at work have been pretty crazy and it's only going to get worse as the first week of class approaches. It was nice to not have anywhere to go on Friday night. I was able to just unwind at home while watching the amazing opening ceremony for the Olympics. I went to bed at midnight which is pretty unheard of for Friday night.

On Saturday, I watched the Mummy 3 (which is not good...) and then watched the CalPhil perform some awesome movie scores at the arboretum. I love the outdoor concerts they have at the arboretum. It's so close and parking isn't a hassle.

Sunday, i spent the day with some coworker friends and then went to the Hollywood Bowl to watch Les Mis in concert with Scuz. There is really no other musical that can compare to the music of Les Mis. The music is so powerful and moving. I've seen it at least seven times and it never gets old.

So that was my weekend. Relaxing concerts and quality time with friends. Life is good.

birthdays everywhere!

So this past weekend was the weekend of birthdays. Apparently, everyone and their mom was born sometime this past week. Basically my weekend consisted attending bday dinners and celebrations. Tons of money was spent on booze and food. Man i'm never gonna be able to move out at this rate...

oh wells.

To know the future, return to the past..

Finally! the Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince teaser!!



Enjoy!

Song of the moment

Well it kind of hurts when the kind of words you write

Kind of turn themselves into knives

And don't mind my nerve you can call it fiction

'Cause I like being submerged in your contradictions dear

'Cause here we are, here we are

Vegasssssssssssssssssssss

After taking a much needed day off and going to Vegas for the weekend, I feel like I need another day off.

On Friday, I spent way too much money at the Primm outlets, but that's ok cuz I won all the money I spent during a ridiculous streak of blackjacks and awesome Pai Gow hands. Then went to the Mix lounge over at Mandalay. I have decided that I am against paying for a cover to go to a place that is basically just a bar. We're already paying an arm and a leg for drinks...is it really necessary to gouge us just to get in to the damn place?

Saturday...lost almost everything I had won the day before in black jack and texas hold em. And then spent almost $100 on dinner. But that's ok because that was the best rib eye steak ever. Then went clubbing at the Bank at Bellagio. Surprisingly easy to get in and FREE! Then paid another $25 for the ghost bar.

Sunday...went home exhausted. I got probably a total of 6 hours of solid sleep the whole weekend. And now I am dragging at work even though I went to bed early. zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.

For you, a thousand times over

So, I finished reading The Kite Runner today. That makes 5 books since I've started taking the metro! woohoo go me! I didn't know if the The Kite Runner would be my cup of tea. I tend to like fantasy books or stuff that's high in suspense, but I was looking for stuff to read and people kept recommending it to me, so I figured why the hell not. Man, am I glad I read it. It's a terrific book although highly depressing in certain parts. Although it wasn't action packed or anything, it still kept my attention which is hard to do since I've never been much of a reader. But anyway, if you haven't read it, I highly recommend it. The next book on my shelf is The Road by Cormac McCarthy.

It takes my pain away!!

This weekend I went to see Jimmy Eat World at the Avalon. I've been waiting all summer for this concert and it was awesome. There's nothing like watching them perform Pain live. And the Avalon is a nice venue.


And then on Sunday went to watch the Dark Knight. I think i would've enjoyed it more had i not only gotten 5 hours of sleep the night before. It was a good movie, but too long to hold my attention in sucha sleepy state. Although I did not fall asleep, i was dozing off at points. I might have to watch it again.

Feels like burning!

Weekends are never long enough. I normally like to spend my weekend just relaxing, but I didn't get to do much of that, but that's ok.

Friday night, I met up with Mr. Farouk, my college roommate. It's been at least three years since I've seen that guy so it was nice to catch up. If you're reading this Farouk, i WILL visit you in DC before the year ends.

Saturday was actually a pretty chill day. At night went with Scuz and Brian to the Arboretum and watched the Calphil perform Andrew Lloyd Webber and Puccini songs. Would've been a great concert if it weren't for the sudden thunderstorm.

Sunday, I woke up ass early to go kayaking in Malibu. It was really fun and really exhausting and I got massively sun burned on my legs. Now I hurt. Afterwards, went to see Hellboy 2, which....isn't really good. I wasn't really a fan of the first one, but the previews made the 2nd one look much better than it really was. Damn the marketing geniuses. It could've been that i was just too tired to care about what was happening in the movie. But yea...i wasn't impressed.

Now it's back to Monday and work blows.

Hot Hot Heat indeed...

On Friday I went to the Hot Hot Heat concert at the Roxy. I'm starting to enjoy these really tiny venues that are standing room only. It's quite different from sitting far away in the larger venues. Although, I think I almost passed out at the Roxy since it was packed and there was basically NO ventilation or AC.

I'm glad I got to see Hot Hot Heat again. I missed them when they opened at the Foozer concert. They are really good live and played most of their good songs.

Next on the agenda: We are Scientists, and then JIMMY! woots

Living on a budget..

Ok, so I've decided that I need to put myself on a budget. If I'm ever going to move out and buy my own house, I'm going need to be a bit more frugal with my spending. This is the 2 month in a row where my credit card bill has topped $1600. Granted that some of it was buying stuff like concert tickets that people will pay me back for, but still...that's a lot of money to be spending on my meager salary.

Speaking of concerts...i LOVE going to concerts...there's nothing like watching a band you love perform live. But i really should cut down. So far I've seen only seen Orion Experience, Robyn, and Kanye and I'm going to see Death Cab, Hot Hot Heat, We Are Scientists, Jimmy Eat World, and Coldplay. And on top of that, i'll be going to see the Cal Phil thoughout the summer as well as 5 concerts at the Hollywood Bowl. AND i've also bought season tickets for Pantages in 2009 and that was quite the chunk of change. If you total all that up, it's gotta be well over $1000 that i've spent on concerts and shows alone.

Sooo hence the budget. I'm hoping I can survive on a monthly budget of $300 for food, $175 for entertainment, $500 for car/insurance, and $100 on random expenses. If i can stick to it, i should be able to save a decent amount each month. We'll see how long this lasts......

i'm obsessed with you

I went to the Orion Experience concert the other day. I gotta say, I dig this band. It's not something I typically like but they're quite good. Their songs are fun and upbeat. Give it a listen!

flashback to the 90s

So my coworker friends talked me into going to a Robyn concert this weekend. I had no idea she was still singing, but what the heck, it was only $5 through Goldstar events. I had a pretty good time considering I didn't know any of her songs. Plus we saw Perez Hilton and took a picture with him.

I finished a book!

....that doesn't have the words "Harry" and "Potter" in the title! Ever since I quit wow, I've been wanting to do some reading to occupy my new found time, but I never really got around to it. Now that I'm taking public transportation (yes I made the commitment and got rid of my parking permit), I have been given the gift of time and actually finished reading a book that isn't school related and not written by J.K. Rowling. Although, I did become interested in reading the book after seeing it recommended on Mugglenet. Wow I'm such a nerd.

The book is called Twilight and it's a series written by Stephanie Meyer about a girl who falls in love with a vampire. It's very Buffy and Angel minus the slayer part. The first book in the series was quite good but girly. Most of the book was about the two falling in love and nothing violent happens until the end. I just ordered the next two books in the series but while I wait for those to arrive, I am reading The Ruins, recommended by Scuz.

Toss toss!

Ah....it's good to be home on a Friday. Thank you USC for holding Commencement on Friday no matter how inconvenient it is for the attendees.

I finally saw Wicked the Musical last night and it was quite good. Gotta love Goldstar Events for providing discounted tix. The musical had quite a few good songs:

Defying Gravity
Popular
I'm Not That Girl
As Long As Your Mine
The Wizard and I
What Is This Feeling?
For Good

I also saw Mamma Mia! the other day which wasn't bad. I've never been a fan of ABBA, but it's pretty amazing how they were able to string all their songs into a story. It's a fun musical to watch and I'll definitely be watching the movie version. It's a good thing I didn't hate it though...since I have to watch it again next year. Woots for season tickets to the Pantages!

go metro!

So I recently decided to try out the public transportation system by taking the subway and bus to work. I was very paranoid that I would screw something up like get on the wrong bus. Although I managed to get on all the right buses and trains, I missed my stop so it took me an extra 15 min. And then I find out that I didn't need to take the bus at all because USC has a tram that goes to and from Union Station.

I think I'll try to keep this up and cancel my parking permit. Although it actually takes longer than just driving, it's a HUGE money saver. Let's see how long I can last with this...

damn rain

fan-freaking-tastic. the first time i get a car wash in like a year and now it's raining. mother f-er!

Happy Cinco de Mayo

Awesome weekend! BBQ'd at Scuz's and the food was delicious. Carne asada and cluck....mmmmmm...and the pico de gallo we made was excellent. go us!

then watched iron man! pretty good.

finally washed my car and gave my room a massive cleaning. dont think my room has ever been this clean.

DONE FOREVER!

I AM OFFICIALLY DONE WITH CLASS FOR THE REST OF MY LIFE!!!

Harder better faster STRONGER

So I gotta admit...I was never the hugest fan of Kanye West; however he puts on one hell of a one man show. I went to his Glow in the Dark tour concert last night a the Nokia Theater and I was quite impressed. His set was pretty much just him rapping on stage in front of an awesome back drop. No visible band and no back up dancers. He had enough energy to keep the crowd on their feet and entertained for the full 1.5 hours. It was basically just song after song since he didn't stop to really talk to the crowd, which was nice because that would've slowed down the pace.

I also gotta download Lupe Fiasco's albums. His set was pretty good. I could've done without N.E.RD. and Rihanna was eh eh eh. Nothing special about her set. She's not attractive, her dancers weren't good and her songs are just ok.

I wish the concert wasn't on a Monday since it didn't end until after midnight and now i'm exhausted at work. BOOOO!

Summer Movie Madness 2008!

Well, it's that time of year again. The annual bet between me, Scuz, and RY on which movies will be the top 5 domestic grossers of the summer. With a $60 pot on the line, we're not talking about some chump change! But anyway, here are our picks!

Me:
1. Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull
2. The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian
3. Wall-E
4. The Dark Knight
5. Iron Man

RY:
1) Narnia 2
2) Indiana Jones 4
3) Dark Knight
4) The Incredible Hulk
5) Wall-E

Scuz:
1. Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull
2. The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian
3. Wall-E
4. The Dark Knight
5. Hancock

As you can see, mine and susie's are pretty much identical with the exception of the 5th slot. Personally, I don't think RY stands a chance, but we shall see. Go Iron Man!

In Memoriam

I just got back from New York after attending my uncle's funeral. It's the first funeral (thank goodness) that I have ever been to so I really have no basis for comparison, but damn my uncle knew a lot of people. The viewing had to be spreadout into 4 sessions over 2 days with a service during the last session. I only attended the sessions on the 2nd day, but I would estimate that there were probably around 400 ppl total who attended the viewings. At the last session with the service there were about 100 seats and they were all taken and the room was filled with people standing for the 1.5 hour service.

I learned a lot about my uncle over the past few days and it's sad it had to happen posthumously for him. I really wish that I had spent more time with him. Attending his funeral really made me think about what my funeral would be like if I dropped dead at this very moment (morbid thought, I know). First of all, can I say I led a fulfilling life? Definitely not. Granted that my uncle was twice my age, but still by the time he was my age I'm sure he had accomplished a lot more. Not only was a he a successful lawyer, he was a partner in three companies, president of an asian leadership organization in New York, had a HUGE guitar collection, had a passion for cars and motorcycles, avid skier, and a family man. I'm sure the list goes on.

At the actual service, there were probably about 150 people in attendance. How many people would attend my funeral? Aside from my family, I'd say probably about 20 to 30 people would show up, MAYBE 40. 150 people just seems amazing. Of the 150 people, about 10 or 15 of them spoke. People ranging from childhood friends to high school classmates to current business partners. All of them echoed each other and spoke about my uncle's generosity and willingness to help out those he cared about. It was obvious that my uncle touched a lot of people throughout his life and those people really wanted to thank him for all he's done.

My uncle is survived by my aunt and my two cousins. My heart truly goes out to them. I can't even imagine what it would be like to lose my father, especially at the ages of 16 and 19. Watching my aunt bring them up to the viewing for them to see their father for the first time since he passed was the most heartbreaking sight ever. There was literally not a dry eye in the house. I wish my aunt and cousins the best as they go through this difficult time, and Uncle Irwin, I hope to accomplish half of what you accomplished throughout your life. Rest in peace, Uncle.

Boston: Day 4, 5, 6, 7, ....290582050

Day 4: Sunday began with a trip to Bodega, a shoe store in Boston. It's not just any shoe store. Apparently there's this whole underground shoe culture that I was completely unaware. Bodega has contracts with major shoe companies where they get specially designed shoes that are rare and can only be found in certain parts of the country. So it's pretty much shoes with funk colors and fabrics. The coolest part of the shoe store is that the front of it is like a mini mart. There's a Snapple Machine in the store that opens up (either automatically or the guy in the mini mart opens it) and leads to the shoe store in the back. It's like secret hideout for shoes...so awesome. After we all bought some shoes, we headed over to the Barking Crab where we again ate too much.

That evening I went to a social with past and present students from my masters program. Ate some free appetizers and chatted with some ppl. Then met up with Susie to eat at Chicago Uno Grill.

Day 5: Monday morning, I actually made it to a conference session at 9am. After the session, went with Susie to see Haaaarvard and MIT. I gotta say, I wasn't all that impressed with Harvard's campus. It's really small and all the buildings look the same. Perhaps it looks better when the grass and trees are alive or when covered in snow. We didn't make it to the business school which apparently is the nice part. MIT's campus is ugly although I didn't really expect it to be nice. The campus looks really depressing. I suppose ppl really just go there for the academics and not much else...

The rest of the Boston trip was pretty uneventful. I went to a few more conference sessions but didn't really go out much to see the city. We had pretty much walked the whole city in a few days and there wasn't much to see. By Tuesday, I was ready to go home....but not back to work. But all in all, Boston is a very nice, chill city. I like how it's not super busy like NYC. The food was amazing, but a little pricey, as evidenced by my empty wallet. Next year, the conference will be in Seattle. I need to find a new job that will pay for me to go...or perhaps just find a job in Seattle!

Boston: Day 2 and 3

Day 2: I don't think I've ever walked so much in one day in my life. Susie, Andrea, and I started off the morning by walking over to the Cheers bar and had some appetizers and beers. Then we walked to Faneuil Hall and then over to the aquarium where we watched the Deep Sea IMAX3D show. Then we walked to the USS Constitution. We pretty much walked all of the Freedom Trail and then some. After the USS Constitution we walked back to the aquarium area and at dinner at Legal Sea Foods. That was some good eatin'. I dropped over $100 bucks on dinner but it was so worth it. We got a bottle of wine, had an appetizer sampler that was delicious, and then I had the surf turf which included an 8oz filet mignon and a 1.5 lb lobster. MMMMMM MMM GOOD. After dinner we headed over to the Black Rose which is supposedly the best Irish Pub and some drinks. Then we met up with some of my student affairs people at the hotel bar where we had crappy $15 Irish car bombs. All in all, good times, but my feet ached like crazy.

Day 3: Today we went to the Sam Adams Brewery which was pretty cool. It was a free tour and they give you samples of 3 different beers and you get a free souvenir glass. Then we went and stuffed ourselves at the Fanieul Hall Marketplace. There is SO much good food there. I ate a pastrami sandwich AND a polish kielbasa while Susie and Andrea shared a lobster salad sandwich, a side of teriyaki chicken, a swordfish skewer, soups, and a potato ball thing. After that we headed over to the aquarium and actually walked around inside. You can't go anywhere with Susie without staying at the local aquarium for a few hours. We were exhausted after that so we went back to the hotel to nap. Then we went to Finale, this bougie dessert place which was kinda eh. Then we went to Gypsy Bar and had a drink. I retired early and Susie and Andrea are currently at some Glow in the Dark pub.

The end.

Boston: Day 1

Well, so far Boston is a pretty nice city. Not as cold as I thought it would be but still pretty darn cold.

I landed last night at about 10pm. I got to the hotel and walked around the city looking for some food. Then I tried to get some sleep cuz I had a couple friends fly in at 7am. When they arrived we went to get breakfast and then they napped while I tried to do the job placement thing at the conference. I don't think I'll be finding a new job anytime soon. :(

After napping for most of the day, we went walking around Boston for 5 hours. Went to the bar that inspired the TV show Cheers and then went to Faneuil Marketplace for dinner. Now I am back at the hotel and getting some work done.

I can't wait to try Boston seafood!!! WOOOOTS!

OSCARS BOOOO!

Oscar voters are lame. Or perhaps I'm just not smart enough to see the brilliance behind No Country for Old Men. Everyone was raving about how it must've been so difficult for Javier Bardem to play such a demented killer. Honestly, give anyone that creepy haircut and they can play someone who goes around shooting ppl and not show any emotion about it.

Anyhoo, so over the weekend, I watched Vantage Point. It was alright. The audience was frustrated at how the movie kept repeating the same 15 minutes from a different perspective. I didn't really mind it because each time something new was revealed, and there was a enough suspense to keep it interesting. Much better than stupid No Country for Old Men.

3 day weekends rule.

If only every weekend were 3 days. I don't think I've enjoyed a weekend so much. I didn't even do anything that was extraordinarily special. Watched a few movies, did laundry, hung out with people. Oh wait, I did go to Pink's which was pure heaven. After waiting in line for 1.5 hours, those hot dogs were the best thing I've tasted in a long time. Pastrami + Polish Sausage = Win. And watching a coworker smother her face in sour cream and chili was pretty priceless. Who knew there were people out there who eat more messily than I do.

Anyoo, as for the movies, here's a brief rundown:

Definitely, Maybe - Not bad for a chick flick. Definitely had its moments.
Spiderwick Chronicles - I have to admit, this was better than the first Harry Potter movie...but will it be better than the book? I doubt.
Jumper - Much better than people made it out to be. Sure the acting sucked, but the story wasn't bad and the action scenes were pretty cool.

That pretty much sums up the weekend. Now I shall enjoy the residual effects of the 3 day weekend....the 4 day work week!

Happy New Year!

Yes I realize I am a bit late ...or am I? Happy Chinese New Year! I haven't really been keeping this blog thing up to date, but whatever. Work has been crazy busy so far this year and I haven't really had time to slack off, sadly.

I've had some work drama that has caused me to hate this place even more, but it has since been resolved. Basically, I'm supposed to go to Boston for a conference in March that the office is paying for. I got a budget approved for the conference back in September which included hotel, airfaire, transportation, food, and conference registration. And about two weeks ago, my boss tells me that the office can't cover it anymore because the money just "isn't there." Obviously, I panic a little because I can't afford to spend a week in Boston on the crappy salary that I get paid. But anyway, to make a long story short, I had a meeting with the dean and miraculously, she found the money to be able to cover my airfare and hotel. Although it's not what I had originally planned, I am ok with paying for the rest of it. Beggars can't be choosers, especially when the main purpose of this conference is to find a new job.

So that is what has been happening in my life. Oh and btw, I don't understand why No Country for Old Men is getting SO MUCH Oscar buzz. It's NOT a good movie. I hate when there is so much praise for movies like this because it's obviously only praise for the sake of seeming hip and indie. Javier Bardem's acting was nothing special. Anyone can be stoney-faced and reticent. LAME.

ok that is all.