oprah!

one of the perks of my work place was this. i finally got to see oprah winfrey live. after watching her for years on tv and figuring out how to get on her show in chicago, i finally got to see her. all i did was enter my name on a website and i got a ticket! even though this lecture was for students and geared towards students, it was such an amazing experience and i feel so fortunate to have been there.

the thing about oprah is that she is so personable. it feels relatable as if she is your friend and that's probably a big problem for her. after she finished speaking, about 20 people rushed the stage towards her. you could see the panic and fear in her face. i was a little scared for her and luckily, her body guard(s) whisked her away to safety. but you know, i never thought that i would get to see her in my lifetime. check!

santa party #3

it was my third year going to the party. last year, i didn't post about it. as i went solo this year, i thought, i must post about it. i went solo again and stayed until the very end. i had an amazing time! the food was delightful and the company was fun. it was very festive. pictured is me with the host, stephen. he is awesome.

first time @ the gilroy garlic festival

almost every year, i pondered going to the annual gilroy garlic festival. i made a very pathetic attempt a couple of years with my sister to the festival but the traffic was so horrendous that we made a detour to the gilroy outlets. plus, it was hot as hell. this year, however, we had a work outing there so i made it! not only did i make there but i made it with a couple of kids in tow. we got there when it opened so traffic wasn't bad, at all. and to top it off, it wasn't as hot as it usually is. this was our reaction after tasting garlic ice cream for the first time. chunky and i didn't mind it, however, chris and lollipop head hated it.
here, the kids are enjoying some $6 "frozen lemonade". yes, it is minute maid and a complete rip off. but it made the kids smile so so big. there was much for the kids to do. they rock climbed and played inside plastic bubbles in water like hamsters in those plastic balls. (video to come soon). i walked around in my comfy 3" heels which was a mistake. after hours of walking in the sun, my feet were killing me. this is something to remember the next time, if there is a next time. though, i am thinking this was a one-time only thing.

next image is of the kids with the garlic torch. if you have never gone to the garlic festival in gilroy, it is huge and vast. there was this whole other area that we missed initially. it is this enormous arts and crafts fair. that's where the garlic torch is. i walked through the festival in uneven dirt and grass for hours, carrying the kids' jackets from morning.
finally, the last image is of me with the kids at the very end of our time there. we were under a tent waiting for the others to meet us. we had a good time but it was quite warm and i was ready to leave. since we were there and all, we made a pit stop at the gilroy outlets on the way home.

birthday goodies!!!

as i have in previous years, i spent my birthday with my dear sister. she took the day off to go to the city with me.

the rings above are from her. they represent us and our birthstones, in the form of diamonds. they are cognac diamonds on yellow gold (topaz for november) and blue diamonds on white gold (turquoise for december).

i picked up this pair of shoes for such a bargain! i picked up some other goodies too. we finished our day in the city with a birthday dinner at the house.

the monday i returned from my birthday week off, my office staff surprised me with these flowers. this was the first year that my staff has done something like this for me. they are too sweet.

and this was my 3rd year taking all of thanksgiving week off. i'm hoping to make it a tradition.

europe - next stop: venezia

it was my first time in venice. we had a conference on hebrew literature co-hosted with the ca' foscari university which was the first business university in venice.

lisa and i arrived at the venice marco polo airport around 4:30p. we took a bus to the piazzale roma and checked into our hotel by 5p. we missed the opening talk but thankfully, made it to the dinner reception. the reception was hosted by our very gracious italian hostess at her typical venetian home which was absolutely amazing. something from the 16th century or so. she had this great room where there were about 30+ of us, hanging out comfortably. we had good food and good drinks. it was lovely to finally meet the people i had corresponded with in the last few weeks.
the next day, we headed over to the piazza san marco (st mark's square). we were there a week after the carnevale of which there were still remnants of (confetti everywhere). we walked around for 4 hours and barely made it back for lunch. venice has so many small alley ways that all look the same. it is very easy to get lost. in fact, we got lost every time we went out. unfortunately, it rained very hard on our last day there. so much that we stayed cooped up in our hotel room. it finally eased up in the evening and we decided to set out for some shopping... to our dismay, we only had one hour. it took us quite a while to get back to the hotel but we did eventually get back. luckily, venice is super safe and a great place to get lost, even at night.i bought two pairs of shoes in italy. this pair was the one that was more fun.

vinci park

earlier this summer, my friend jolene was in town from alabama where she is an assistant professor. i met her last year when she was still a student. all summer, we talked about going to happy hour at xanh restaurant in mt. view. she would tell me how her boyfriend, han, was always going there. but he would never take her because he told her they didn't serve any vegetarian items there (she's a vegetarian).

well, jolene and i finally made a date to go. and while we were catching up and enjoying the various types of vegetarian food we ordered, she was texting her boyfriend about it. he was going to come and pick her up as she was staying with him during the summer. when he showed up, she introduced us. as he offered his hand to me, he says, we've met before... i know you. he didn't look familiar to me, at all. and when he knew what my last name was, i got a little scared. i told him i was really sorry but i didn't remember him. i asked him where/when we knew each other. was it high school? he said, no, before that. we know each other from vinci.

i went to 4 different elementary schools (meadow homes, burnett, northwood and vinci) and i was at vinci park elementary from part of the 4th grade through the end of 5th grade. so i asked han, was it in mr. snydal's class? was it 4th or 5th? he didn't remember. he only remembered that it was a combo class (which meant it was 5th grade) and that he hung out with two kids in that class. one was me and the other kid was a boy named brian. han moved to cupertino after vinci so we went to different schools after that.

i knew i had that class picture so i told jolene that i would go home and find the picture, scan it, and send it to her. upon returning home, i directly went to my room in search for that class picture. after 15 minutes of looking, i found it! there is only one asian boy in the class and i remember him. coincidentally, i remember his name was han. i also recognized the brian kid as well.
after showing the picture to several colleagues and friends, it turns out that i have not changed at all. well, maybe the hair is different. what do you think? can you find me?

new job!

today, i accepted a job offer. after nearly 5 years in my current position, i am leaving colleagues, students and great friends. i've been very happy there but i feel it's time to move on. especially when the opportunity is too great to pass over.

the thought of leaving truly saddens me. i hope the reality will be better. wish me luck!

mcdreamy is back!

yep, he's back. and i had a really nice chat with him in the office the other day. all i can say is that despite his leave, nothing's really changed. he's the same super nice, cool guy... **sigh**

last week: 3 consecutive days in the city

on wednesday, i drove up to san francisco after work to attend a special screening of the latest documentary by a former student of mine. despite the traffic (an hour and a half from palo alto), it was worth it to see her and her film. sharmeen obaid-shinoy was a student in the program i worked for back in 2002. this was my favorite cohort i worked with. it was the first year of students i worked with from application to graduation. start to finish. sharmeen went on to complete a master's in communication. which was nice because she was around for an extra year. i haven't seen her since 2004. it was really lovely to see her.

her latest film, iraq: the lost generation, is amazing and i admit, a bit difficult to watch. it's raw and touching. what documentaries are made of, i suppose. in a matter of a few months, she visits iraqi refugees in syria and jordan. the tribulations as a result of war is beyond devastating. it's hard to imagine it, right? the violence, crime, and poverty as result of wartime on the lives of women, children and families is utterly horrendous. and to think this was just a glimpse of what's happened. if you get the opportunity to watch this film (or any of her documentaries), you'll know what i'm talking about.

sharmeen was scheduled to go to the airport after the screening so i was able to catch her for a quick hug and chat. she's coming back in the fall so hopefully, we'll get to plan something and spend more time together.

on thursday, my good friend joe was up visiting from LA. so we planned to go to popscene to see maps & atlases and foals. the last time i was at popscene, was early may when the mary onettes played there. the last time i was there or any club with joe was nearly a year ago and more. as we are waiting to get in, jorge says to me, your bf is here, (points to joe) i'm telling.... at the exact moment, who else walks out but chris, my popscene bf. i never expect to see him there. i kinda always hope to see him but am mostly disappointed. i'd given up on him a while ago.

seeing him is just what lisa says it's like when guys see a beautiful girl. dazed and confused, kinda. just looking at him puts me under this spell. he's got this great smile. and his eyes are nice and big. and beautiful. and i'm like putty in his arms. he gives the best hugs on top of the irresistible smile. even joe said he had pretty eyes. haha. we hung out for a little bit. he left early so i walked him out and waited with him for his ride. it got cold so he put his jacket on me. when his ride came, he kissed me sweetly on my neck and said he'd call me. it's always nice seeing him...

foal was fowl, so joe and i left for some munchies. we went to sparky's in castro. i think i got to bed by 3 am. fun fun fun.

i'd taken friday off to hang out with joe. we planned to have lunch at xanh. i'd never had lunch there before. they have this great lunch special for $15. you get soup, an appetizer and an entree. it was sooo filling! mmmm...

luckily, we were heading up to the city to walk around (to walk off our lunch!) and shop. joe and i took bart to the sf shopping center from millbrae. it took longer than i thought it would despite being so close to sf. we were there for 3 or so hours and surprisingly, i came away with nothing. joe got sunglasses. that was it. it was the start of the memorial weekend sales and nadda. i'm still in disbelief that i didn't get anything...

shoe friends

this morning, as i headed towards the marguerite shuttle from the train station, this girl comes up to me and says you know, you really have to stop this. and i'm thinking, what the hell? she continues to say you have to stop wearing such cute shoes because it's making me all jealous. hahah!

after taking the train and shuttle together for the last 4 or so years, we finally introduced ourselved to each other. her name is valeriana. very pretty name. pretty girl too. i've noticed her outfits and shoes during the last few years as well. we chatted it up on the shuttle. she told me she really liked the red pair i'd worn last week. and yesterdy, i wore my zebra print boots and she mentioned those as well. i remember people on the shuttle sort of glaring at me when i stepped on the bus and sat down. but i didn't think that people actually talked about what shoes i would wear this day or that. it was a nice beginning to the day. and has made my day so far. :)

my office space

the other day, my manager starts telling me about how i should hang out in the computer resource center on campus. that she saw a cute guy there but that she didn't know they existed on campus. it's funny, despite having crushes on my faculty, i'm not at all interested in meeting anyone at work to date. anymore. after nearly 7 years of working here, i've realized that i don't want to date academics or students (watch, knowing my luck, my next relationship will be with one of the two and i will have to eat these typed words). prime example was the kid that lied to me about his age. okay okay, so i met him at popscene. he was still a student here.

back to my manager, basically, she's scoping guys out for me! it turns out she went to a meeting and met some IT guy who was really cute. funny. then she was trying to make an excuse to get him to come over and help us so i could meet him! so sweet of her to be looking out for me like that. she's super awesome.

it's things like this that make it nearly impossible to leave this department. alas, the only way to move up is to move around. still, i'm so happy here... it would have to take an unbelievably fantastic offer or a horrendously bad situation to make me go.

mcdreamy sighting

last year, i discovered i had a crush on one of my faculty. if you'd asked me about him before, i would have told you, very unlikely. we referred to him as mcdreamy. i even went to dinner with him alone, once. but it was merely a school girl crush. especially after i found out that he had a girlfriend in the uk. it stayed a crush. how could it be anything more? after all, i was on a mancott.

anyway, mcdreamy was here this past week for an orals exam of one of his students. i had two really nice chats with him. one was when he first arrived from london (where he shares a flat with said gf). it was great having him around again. i even sort of might say that i missed him. but of course, there was no mention of the gf. at all. there is never any mention of the gf. i found out from someone else. the second chat was the see you next year chat. last august, i'd told him that i might start looking for another job on campus. he didn't approve. he asked me how the job hunting was going and i told him it wasn't. that the department was too good to me. it would be hard to leave. he responded, i'll see you next year then. that was thursday.

today, i was up in the city shopping. on powell street. as i crossed the street with my friend funie, i see mcdreamy crossing the street with his baggage probably on his way to sfo. he didn't see me and i was too shocked to say anything. it all happened so quickly. i think it might have been a sign?

random work incident

i'm usually at work until 5:30p to catch my 5:49p train. our office closes at 5p and there's a room in front of my office which i am responsible for. the room is our grad student mailroom so mostly, people i know come through this entrance.

last night, sometime after 5p and as we were closing up shop, this random student comes through my office. i start towards him and say i'm sorry, we're closed.

he says as he continues through the office like he belongs there, oh i'm sorry, i just need to drop something off.

i'm sort of in his way and he just moves around me. i'm in complete shock. i'm speechless (rare, right?). and i just give him this combination of a dirty & confused look. i stare at him while he puts this card into one of our faculty mailboxes and heads out. he turns around and apologizes again and finally leaves.

i follow him out so i can lock up behind him. this is why i work with grad students. undergrads here have this sense of entitlement and they feel like they can do whatever they want. ugh, drives me up the wall!!

this morning (less than an hour ago), the same guy comes into my office. his name is steven. and get this, to apologize! this NEVER happens. he says he wants to apologize for being rude last night and had been thinking about it all night. again, i'm speechless with shock. finally, i tell him that i appreciate his apology. it's funny, after going off on undergrads doing what he did, it turns out that he's a grad student. figures, undergrads who do this never apologize later.

is there a full moon coming up? no, there was one recently. maybe an earthquake? totally bizarro.

mcdreamy

i've decided to code my work crushes... or crush. and the older one is my mcdreamy because he is oh-so-dreamy. heehee. i suppose the younger one can be mcsteamy. but steamy in a different kind of way.

monday events

*** yeah, yeah, i'm back dating again***

on monday, i had two events. . .

the first one started in the morning. it was my second opinion for my blocked tear duct condition. i met with an otolaryngologist (ear-nose-throat physician) to get an endoscopic dcr done on me. the initial procedure was the external dcr which leaves an unnoticeable scar on the side of my nose. i already have a few unnoticeable scars in my upper body. i'd really rather not have one in the middle of my face. would you? especially if there is a similar procedure that doesn't leave a scar.

anyway, so the ent doctor gave me his typical exam. he checked my ears (fine), my throat (fine), but my nose was a problem. apparently, i have a deviated septum in my left nasal cavity. and it's a little deviated in the right cavity as well. he sprayed my nose with the most distasteful anesthetic (i suppose they are all distasteful), then stuck this probe up my nose so he can take a look. i know, gross huh? hahah. so, he started with the right side, and it went up pretty far. so far that it made me tear a bit and without the help of my blocked tear duct, er, on my left side. when he tried the left cavity, apparently, it's so deviated that the probe couldn't move. ugh.

my doctor had asked me if any of the two opthalmologists that i'd seen told me what or why was the cause of my blocked tear duct. i couldn't really remember because, well, they didn't really say. i remember something along the lines of dirt. but it would have been years of dirt build up, hence, most of the patients with this condition are very elderly. then, he asked me about allergies. when did i get them. year round, i told him. and he asked me if i snore, um, i used to but i think i've got it kinda under control. i'm mostly sleeping alone anyway so who cares? i did not just admit to the public that i snore, did i? uh... back to the doctor, he said that this deviated septum could be the cause of one and all. that if we fix it, it could take care of everything, including the blocked tear duct! it would be like a one-stop shop, kinda.

the causes of a deviated septum are as follows:

getting punched/hit in the face;
trauma of some sort;
and being born that way, the septum never developed correctly, which turns out to be the case for me.

before scheduling the surgery, he wanted me to go on flonase and this other nasal spray for a month. he mentioned that might solve it. anything to avoid surgery. so far, it's helped with my breathing but my eye is still very teary. the air way in my left nasal cavity is barely breathable. it's strange that i never stopped to notice. isn't it? i suppose i was overcompensating with my right side. strange. so, i go back in a month to see him.

my second event was dinner with my work colleague. the so-called date, which proved not to be a date so much anyway. as it felt totally and utterly platonic. maybe some of you men can clue me in because i just can't seem to figure him out. and perhaps there's nothing to try to figure out. i guess that would be best, just not to think more about it than i have to.

we agreed to meet downstairs at around 6-6:30p. he showed up at my office at about 6p almost on the dot. maybe he was just waiting around, who knows? so we leave together and he drives us to the restaurant. here's some background info... basically, i told him about my brother's restaurant in downtown mt. view. he'd mentioned he liked this other place that was similar. so i said to him, hey, i think you might like it here. he said mt. view was a bit of a ways from home (sf) but that he had friends he hadn't seen in mt. view. the next day or so, slyly, i emailed him the web address and say, hey, if they can't go, i'll go. just let me know! and he did. he said it would be fun to go with me. heehee. there was some tiny bit of flirting going on in between the emails. but it ended with, sure, it would be fun to have dinner with you again. weeks passed and nothing else. finally, about two weeks ago, we were alone in the office after hours and having our somewhat usual-after-hours chat. as i was about to leave, he asked if/when we were going to have dinner? i said i would get back to him. that's the gist of the background.

back to 6p... this is when we started talking. and it continued to when we were at dinner. we talked about work, friends, life, family, love, events, mostly everything. he said that he was glad i was in the office. he said that a few times actually. he knew that i'd applied to a different position, (not sure i remember telling him this myself) but even though he knew i could run an office somewhere else, it might be nice that i stay a bit longer. it was endearing of him to say. isn't it? very sweet really. i don't quite know how i brought up ted, (i think i was saying how i never keep in touch with my exes), but i mentioned ted. and he asks me, was he the one you brought to last year's department dinner? i'm thinking, shoot, i don't remember you being there! i did in fact bring ted to last year's dinner. it's quite amazing that he remembers. that he might have noticed me back then. we ate and talked until nearly 10p. when he dropped me off at my car, we both said, that was fun... uh, bye. and that was it.

despite the lack of obvious interest the night before, he walked by my office about 10x on tuesday. going to the storage room, to drop something off in the students' mail box, etc. he didn't really say anything as he repeatedly walked by. just a smile here and there. i never see him that many times in a day without purposely trying to. this whole thing is really odd. after talking to lisa about it, she thinks he's got these new feelings for me. that apparently, he has no idea what to do with. not sure what to do with that. i suppose there's really nothing to do with it. so nothing, it is!

confirmed distraction

i so have a crush on one of my faculty. the older one. even though, he has the same first name as my brother, not to mention is the same age. weird, i know. isn't it? the long hair is kinda weird too but since he ties it back, it gives the illusion of short hair (right muffin?). anyway, i was chatting it up with him the other day. he just gets nicer and cuter. ugh. still on my mancott though. oh well.

i was thinking about ted today. about whether i loved him or not. i don't think i did. i wanted to so badly because i didn't want douglas to be the only one i said those 3 words to. lame. i was talking to my sis-in-law the other day about douglas, how she thought he was in love with the person i am now, how i am single. strong. slim. fun. when i'm in a relationship, i'm this pathetic useless person. and a fatty. totally lame. how do i stop myself from becoming that girl again? stay single. i think that's the answer.

nervous habit

so, i have this bizarro nervous habit that makes me look like a retard. i do this thing with my lips which keeps me from speaking clearly. and i'm already stumbling over my words because i'm nervous. on top of that, my lips (if you know me, you know that they are kinda full sized) are in the way!

last night, there was a work dinner and i was seated next to a colleague whom i hardly speak to. mostly because he's a little intimidating. i was the only one sitting next to him (there were two empty seats to his left) so we were talking almost the entire time. i was surprised how nice and funny he is. i thought there would be these uncomfortable silences but he always said something when our conversations ended.

i realized i was nervous after seeing someone else there and interestingly, noticed how i didn't have to struggle with my lips when speaking with him. weird huh?

new crush

so, there's this new guy at work. and apparently, we have similar taste in music. my manager told me stuff about him before i actually met him. i also corresponded with him via email and phone before we met in person. so, i had an idea that we listened to the same type of music. which is one of those non-negotiables for me...

he's sooo my type, which is actually really very bad. plus, he's a work colleague. i figure i could use him to get new music. kinda like how i want to use will.

anyway, i'm not so sure about dating these days. i think i just want to be single for a while ...

mee's going away

last saturday, april 15, i had my first dinner party in a really long time. i love to cook, especially for friends & family. i used to have these theme dinner parties during the mlk days. i almost forgot how fun it is.

the menu started with caprese. then there were three main pasta dishes, lasagna (of which the sauce i'd started making since noon and finished at around 4 or so), pesto, and carbonara. i used ground turkey in the lasagna and turkey bacon with turkey sausages in the carbonara. so, it's a little leaner than if i used the regular stuff. i also made some garlic bread. and for dessert, i made tiramisu with khalua, as always.

jackie is my former boss. she actually hired me. and connie is the one who convinced her to. so, i have the both of them to be eternally grateful to. they are also great friends to me. i no longer work with them but this is what we call our ips gang. jackie is married to rob. spiro & mee are former ips students back when jackie was the ips administrator, my previous position. anyway, the lot of them brought me flowers and ate my food with a full appetite. i could not ask for better guests. even little cena (she's 2!) was a gracious guest. may is her lovely mother and also expecting another little one.

mee is finishing up his phd in political science. he will return to thailand and work for their ministry of foreign affairs with his good friend netty (who was also part of our ips gang but finished up last year). i have known both mee & netty since i started at stanford nearly 5 years ago. it's hard to believe that mee is leaving. on the one hand, it's great for him and thailand. on the other hand, he will be missed very much. he's been a great friend to me over the years. i suppose i will just have to go to thailand to visit them both!

so busy these days

this weekend flew by so quickly! i guess that's what happens when you are a busy busy girl like me. ;)

work has been pretty crazy, planning and organizing... our admit day was friday and despite going to popscene the night before, i made it there on time to set up for all the events. i even remembered to wear a green ribbon for st. patrick's day. at the reception later in the day, the students came up to me one by one to tell me how much they liked my new hair do. it was so sweet. even one of the student's 8 y/o daughter told me that she liked my hair. her father, one of our students, asked me where i got it cut because apparently, no hairdresser will cut layers on his wife's hair. strange. gina will do it in 10 seconds too. so, i have to remember to send him gina's information. at the end of the reception, he was telling an admit (who only applied to ivy league schools except for stanford) that a great reason to come to stanford was because of me! and another student who was still there, seconded that vote. i love my students... they are so sweet to me! when his daughter was saying goodbye to me, she told me she thought i was pretty. aw... what a cutie...

i left work around 6:30p and headed home to drop off some things before going over to my best friend's parents' house. kelly was back home all week but sick and very busy so i didn't get to see her and emily until the end of their trip. we hung out catching up with one another. it was so lovely to see her and just chat with her. she lives in burbank and i'm hoping she will move back up. but despite the distance, we're still very close and always have a great time together. we went to the nordstrom trend show early the next morning. they gave out these really cute make-up cases. see above, isn't it cute? she left later saturday evening and i miss her already!

on saturday night, betty and i went to berkeley to a birthday party (happy 31st heather!). heather is a great salsa dancer so there is always dancing there. we got there a little late but people were coming even as we were leaving sometime after midnight. it was a lot of fun. except for the lame girl who, the first thing she said to me was that she didn't like the beer i was drinking. um, okay, whatever stupid girl. sometimes, i just hate people.

today was a full day. i had planned to do laundry for my trip but ended up not doing any at all! i had lunch with my brother and sister-in-law, their kids and their friends. ugh, i was stuffed so i helped them clean up while they caught up. then betty called me up and asked if i wanted to go out for dinner. sure why not! not long after, my cousin debbie calls me to see if i was busy for dinner. so i call betty and we planned to have dinner with my cousin and her husband at xanh. but betty flaked and my other cousin lam and his fiancé were invited so it was the five of us. we had a great time. the food was delicious as usual. i love my cousins and their significant others, i always have a wonderful time with them.