THE GIANTS WIN THE WORLD SERIES!!!

THE GIANTS WIN THE WORLD SERIES!!!

THE GIANTS WIN THE WORLD SERIES!!!

August and September are blowing by!

Vicky and Ed wedding





Cal vs. UC Davis game



Drove down to SD to catch the Padres-Giants game (they lost... boo)



dinner... looks good, huh? come over ;)



We're heading to Seattle for our one-year anniversary this weekend. Stay tuned.

July has been a busy month!

Jamie & Adam's wedding in Camarillo:



Hollywood Bowl for the Bird & the Bee/ She & Him/ The Swell season:



(please ignore the fact that I'm horribly flushed. I had a great time.) ;)

OC County Fair:





Doesn't that pig look so happy? I think it's having grown up in the city, but there's something about county fairs... I love them!

I was looking through some old pictures today and realized that 3 years ago (give or take a week), I was here:



which was on the way to here:


which was really the peak of here:




I can't believe we did that.

The wedding season is in full swing!

Wedding #2 - Peter & Irene


Wedding #3 - Phyllis & Ben


Around Berkeley with my cousin

The latest in the mean lady saga: She's baaaaaaaack~

I thought I saw her head peeking over the computer when I got to work this morning. I spoke to the manager here and after speaking with the HR person for that company, he was told the mean lady was going through a lot of personal problems and was given a month off to deal with it. They think things are better now. They also spoke to her about how she interacts with other people on the floor. Not mentioning me, directly, but probably mentioning me.

So we'll see what the future holds. I'm to report back if things persist. Here's hoping for a more pleasant (mean) lady.

We went to dance class yesterday and learned the American Tango. Danny and I were wondering if the class would be empty since the NBA finals were going on at the same time. The class was definitely on the leaner side.

We had a substitute teacher that used funny analogies to teach the class. ('Ladies, when he dips you, turn your face around like he has bad breath.')

At one point in the class, he asked how many couples were married. I counted only 3. But one lady spoke up and said, 'You can tell who's engaged. They're still kissy kissy.' haha. Proves my earlier observations.

I have a love/hate relationship with my bootcamp class. It gives me a great workout but it also wears me out and leaves me sore for days. But the thing that bugs me the most about the class is that the instructor always plays songs by Ke.$.ha. Man, she bugs me. Maybe it's his way of getting people to work out harder. Because when I hear her songs my adrenaline starts pumping out of annoyance.

World Cup Korea-Greece game viewing outside Radio Korea. Approximately 5am. Slightly delirious as evidenced by the 'ojing-oh' hanging halfway out of my mouth.

I have a lot of conflicting emotions about being in LA. I love the Bay Area and it will forever be my home. But more and more I'm seeing the benefits of being away from home (aka my parents) for the first time, especially for the beginning of our marriage.

But then my parents deal with situations where I feel like I should be at home. Yesterday, my parents' place in SF was robbed. It was in the middle of the day in broad daylight, and I can't believe no one saw anything. I would have been at work so it's not like I would have been able to prevent it, but at the same time I could have been there to talk to the police, or take it up with the office about better security.

It's an interesting dynamic because while I want to be there to help them with this stuff, at the same time I can't help feel annoyed when they ask me to call credit card companies, airlines, etc. and immediately feel guilty for it.

Luckily the elder at church followed up with my dad's car insurance and they actually will cover for the loss. At the end of the day, things are just things. But the feeling of not being safe in their own home, of being so helpless... that's going to take time.

This LA office hates me.

First the drama with the receptionist lady (which is over, thank God). Now someone stole my yogurt out of the fridge.

I know it's just a yogurt, but it's a matter of principle. Who takes food that doesn't belong to them??

Apparently one of my coworkers had her food eaten out of her own tupperware and came to find an empty container in the fridge. WTH

Another coworker said if it happens to her she's going to leave a note saying that she crushes her medication into her food and that person better consult his/her doctor. :)

Danny and I started taking ballroom classes at a dance studio on Thursdays. We finally cashed in on a wedding gift from our friends (they took lessons there before their wedding). It's an 8 week session and we're 2 weeks in.

Some observations:

1. It's the same dance studio where they film/practice SYTYCD. Everytime I go through the doors I want to jump in doing something silly.

2. During the class the guys/girls switch off learning their parts. After the guys learned their parts, this girl came up to me and said, 'He is really good!' (referring to Danny). And then a little bit later, again, 'You guys are one of the good couples.'

I don't think we're that great (you can see the concentration in our faces as we're counting steps), but it still makes me feel good nonetheless.

3. I took a hip hop class a few years back at city college and the vibe is the same. You have the show-offs, the uncoordinated-but-tries-really-hard, and the in-betweens.

4. I think there are a lot of engaged couples in that class. But the PDA needs to stop. (Yes, I'm especially talking to you, other asian couple).

We're both a little bummed because we have to miss class next week (the class is learning turns and the waltz). I'm going to be in SF for work. Hopefully we can just pick things up the following week. I'd recommend it to other couples. It's been a really fun experience so far.

The latest in the mean lady saga...

The manager here that's been helping me out with the situation hasn't been able to connect to the HR person of that company for a while. We're getting the run-around. But last week we had a fire drill and he cornered his contact at the other company, since we were all standing outside. The other guy thinks it's been taken care of, because he says he hasn't seen the mean lady in about a week.

And it's true. Whenever I get off the elevator now there's no mean lady peeking over her computer staring me down. It's just a white clipboard asking people to sign in.

So we don't know whether she got fired or just simply transferred. She could just very well be on vacation. Who knows. We're still trying to contact HR to bring closure to the situation. I guess it's still to be continued...

For now, I'm content to be able to go to the bathroom or the elevator in peace.

Some fun pictures from the last few weekends. We squeezed in some trips before wedding season begins.

Big Island





Chicago

Just another Tuesday night... (aka we're still in vacation mode)

We're finally going on vacation! Off to the Big Island we go.

Truthfully, I could use the time to unwind. January and February were busy at work (leaving no time for snowboarding... and from what I hear it was an awesome season). So now we've moved on to our next activity - backpacking. I'm looking forward to laughing with friends, soaking up sun, and enjoying the beautiful views HI has to offer.

I've had a situation at work where the receptionist of the other company on my floor has become increasingly hostile to me. I have never talked to her before last week, and although they're just words, it's made going to the bathroom or taking the elevator increasingly uncomfortable. I found out from my coworker that other people in the office have been subject to her rudeness. It's somehow comforting to know I wasn't the only one targeted, but really her behavior has to stop. It got to a point I had to speak to my manager about it last week. He's contacted HR and we're going to see if a manager here can go and talk to her supervisor.

Hopefully this gets taken care of while I'm on vacation. As of today at 5pm, I plan on not thinking about anything work-related for the next few days. :)

Danny and I went hunting for the Tilamook Mini VW Van last week. It's on its 'loaf love' tour. The van has been modified to look like a mini loaf of cheese:

My dad sent me a friend request on fb.

My dad.

What in the world??

I looked at his profile and his security/privacy settings aren't very good. I know the password he uses for most of his accounts so I logged on to try to change it for him. Very different from this. Anyway, everything is set up in Korean so I'll have to try again next time.

My mother-in-law gave me a jar of face moisturizer. I've been having on and off issues with my skin lately so I'll try anything.

Only, in this case, anything means placenta cream.

Yes, you read that correctly. I did a quick search online, and apparently it's a very popular item in Australia and NZ. Made from sheep placenta. It's supposed to be very moisturizing (and good for wrinkles).

Danny and I went to the Magic Castle last night. First off, let me say it took us an hour to get there from Ktown (a distance which should only take about 15 minutes) because it coincided with both the Paul.McCartney concert at the Bowl and the premiere of the Clash.of.the.Titans. I guess that's Hollywood for you.

But the shows were pretty amazing! Danny was chosen to volunteer for a trick and he ended up with a nice deck of cards as a souvenir. The main show was a lot of fun, although a little cheesy even for my taste.

Speaking of Hollywood, here's my souvenir from the weekend with my cousin:

Net gain this week: +0.8 pounds

Total gain after this 6 week 'plan': +1.0 pounds

Sheesh. I do have to say although I started working out a lot more, I haven't really changed my eating habits. Until I do so, I guess I can expect these results.

My cousin came to visit this past weekend from SF. It was her first time meeting Danny but she said she feels like she knows him already. Apparently my parents put up a ton of wedding pictures all over the house so she's been seeing his face every day.

My parents drove down Sunday evening to celebrate my birthday. It's been a while since the whole family got together.

Yesterday Danny and I saw this while driving around.

I want one.

It's perfect for me. It's mini. Anything mini is cute. It's cheesy. Ok, it's actually promoting cheese, but with a line like 'Fall in loaf for the first time,' how could you not love it??

I'm going hunting.

Giving up your seat for the elderly and pregnant women

I read through this blog entry and the comments today. Having seen and experienced all this first hand on the MUNI, I can't help but say I fear for the future. I hope I can raise my (future) kids to be more courteous than some of these commentors.

I was home alone and in the mood to watch something silly last night. 'Honey' was the movie of choice. It's so cheesy but I'm a sucker for dancing and feel good stories. Believe it or not, that was not my contribution to our joint DVD collection. :)

Net gain: +0.4 pounds

After taking about a week off to fight off this cold, I suppose those results were expected. I think I'm just meant to stay in this range. (does that sound like I'm giving up?)

Danny and I picked up our tent from REI yesterday. It was supposed to be our wedding gift... about 6 months overdue. Can't wait to put it to use in HI next month!

I'm congested. Whenever the weather starts turning warm I always find myself sick. I can't taste my food but that doesn't stop me from eating.

Today is our 6 month anniversary. Man, that went by fast.

Net loss: -0.6 pounds.

Woo hoo!

Although, when you consider where I started from, that's not much of a loss. haha.

I'm starting to get sick. My voice is husky. I think it's the change in weather. It's starting to warm up in LA.

Just thought I'd post something different for a change.

Net gain: +0.4 pounds.

Gah. But my fat % went down slightly. That should count for something, right?

Who am I kidding. It was the all you can eat sushi last weekend and the korean bbq on Monday night that did me in. I'll try harder.

Net loss: 0

This is kind of discouraging. I think the only way I'll see any loss is to go back to eating salads. Ugh.

Week 1

Net loss: 0

Big fat ZERO.

Considering how much I ate over the weekend, I should be happy with those results. Man, I hate the gym.

My gym is having a biggest loser competition. I missed signing up but I'm going to participate in the challenge nonetheless. The requirement is weekly weigh-ins and going to the gym at least twice a week. I've printed out a spreadsheet and I'm going to weigh myself weekly. This goes along well with giving up certain foods for Lent.

I won't advertise my weight on this blog, but I'll try to post a weekly +/- number. Hopefully it'll all be (-).

Anyone want to join me???

JUST survived a minor heart attack.

I'm in the SF office today and my coworker and I grabbed lunch from Specialty's and brought it back to the office. Towards the end of our lunch I started cleaning up when I noticed my sapphire was missing. The sapphire from my engagement ring.

I started freaking out.

Pretty soon the entire department was looking for it. In the kitchen. Near my cubicle. In the bathroom.

And the entire time I'm telling myself, 'breathe. breathe. breathe.'

I figured it was a lost cause, but my coworker and I went outside to try to retrace our steps. I was hoping it'd be right outside the door to our floor or the entrance where we badge in. No luck.

We went outside and started walking back towards Specialty's. I was starting to lose hope but my coworker was optimistic. And you know what? She found it.

SHE FOUND IT. She found that little blue stone in the middle of the plaza next to my building.

Thank you, Lord!!

The power is out at work. They sent us home.

My mother-in-law gave us some bear sausages a while back. You read that right. BEAR. We didn't even know that was legal.

Last weekend we finally decided to give it a try.

Very gamey. This is what we made with it.





It gave the kimchi jjigae an interesting taste. Not a favorite of mine.

Southern California has been getting quite a bit of rain lately. People have been reminding me that this is like Bay Area weather. And it was during a downpour that I came to the realization that whether I like it or not, I'm sloooooooowly growing accustomed to life here.

I've told myself repeatedly that I'm getting soft. In San Francisco, I'd have to walk to the bus stop in this same weather. It'd be a normal occurrence to show up at work dripping wet. Now? I find myself running from car to building. Getting just a little bit wet is annoying me.

I think I need to just go stand outside in the rain. Re-train myself...