what was i thinking?

this may be a little mean but i prefer being brutally honest. its always so comforting to me when after a relationship goes wrong that the ex turns into this disgustingly gross slimeball of a human being and that his new girlfriend is just as repulsive.

i don't know what in the hell happened to him but i'm glad i'm no longer with him.

yikes!

happy 30th ben gibbard!!

venue: the greek theatre in berkeley (sold out)
artist: dcfc
who: betty, cousin lam & nina
when: 11 august 2006 (friday)
show starts at 7p

ok, i'm back dating. i wouldn't really be up this early on a saturday morning but i haven't been online for a while...

the opening bands were spoon and mates of state. i think we missed spoon but made it to mates of state. they seemed a bit 80's rock to me. but i've listened to some of their stuff and it's actually not bad.

i took pictures with my camera so i'll upload them shortly. the stage had props that were really visually appealing which we didn't get at the last show. if you've ever been to the greek in berkeley, you'll know that the acoustics is awesome. anywhere you sit gives you a pretty good view of the stage. there are tall trees surrounding the theatre so it feels really enclosed. they had these two little houses and these trees in the background that almost looked 3-dimensional. with the lights, it gave the impression of being in a forest. kinda.

the great thing about death cab is that they are just awesome live. it's almost flawless. and ben gibbard with his swaying. he really got into it too! he looks like he's shed some pounds. midway through the show, his band mate (don't know their names) announced that they were in the bay area 10 years ago on ben gibbard's birthday, 10 years ago that day. and that it was his 30th birthday! it was really a nice touch and for some strange reason, made the show even better.

lam & nina hadn't seen dcfc before and i know nina loves them. so, it was fun to go with them. great show. great company. awesome time.

rating: ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥

congrats aileen & billy!

on saturday, i went to aileen & billy's wedding in redwood city. since my cousin debbie was doing aileen's make-up, i came along to get ready with the bridal party so i can get my hair & make up done too.

it was a lovely wedding. i got most of the ceremony with my canon powershot sd450. my hand was a little unsteady and tired and the video looks a little like the wedding version of the blair witch project. hopefully, people won't get nauseous when they watch it.
aileen is friends with my sister lisa. lisa was one of her bride's maids. but i also know aileen from ucsd. we all went to college together. it was like a mini-reunion. with almost the same small group of friends at hao's wedding last may.
after the ceremony, there was an open bar and appetizers. i had plenty o' bubbly. i was seated with bryan and kay as well as thao and her sister lily. much to my delight and surprise, the food was pretty good. and the dancing was highly entertaining.

i still remember clearly at lisa's birthday dinner in 2003. it was after dinner and we were at this bar/club. when aileen wasn't there, billy said to me that she was the one. and that he planned on marrying her. i love hearing that sort of thing from men. i think it's so rare that men are vocal about romance and love. and the fact that he followed through. it makes me really happy for aileen and billy. there's so much love in that relationship. as it should be. ♥

eye probing - graphic details

yesterday, i had my eye intubation surgery. the same one i had done last year. i didn't go into detail previously but perhaps i should have. i suppose i didn't think i'd have to go through it again so i didn't feel the need but in case you get queasy with details, i recommend you stop reading now...

they actually called me to come in earlier than scheduled since they had a cancellation. so i got there an hour earlier. i figured, i just want to get it over with. i didn't really think of it as surgery since it happens at the eye clinic as opposed to a hospital and i'm in and out in about an hour. i guess it's more like an out-patient surgery.

so, i get there and they are preparing me for the procedure. the nurse puts in drops of anesthesia in my left eye. it's already taking it's effect by the time the doctor comes in. then i lay down on the operating table. he sticks this tools into my left nostril (which apparently keeps it open to work in) and stuffs in this huge blob of cotton that's soaked in some sort of anesthesic fluid which goes down my throat a bit. it's really gross. and here is the part i didn't remember from last year, he gives me two injections in my eye!!! the nurse puts her hand on my arm, either to comfort herself or me, i wasn't quite sure which. now, everything is ready and he just has to put the tube through both tear ducts and tie them together. the tube goes into my lower tear duct just fine. it's really smooth. i can feel something being pulled through my eye & nose but it wasn't bad at all. however, the upper tear duct didn't turn out quite so simple. the tube got stuck somewhere. and he's pushing and shoving this tube through my eye. and he can't figure out why it's stuck. but all the pushing and shoving gives way and it goes through but then, he can't find the tube in my nose. after fiddling around with a q-tip in my nose, he sees the tube and ties it up. the last time, it was too tight so he's taking extra time to make sure the tension of the tube is just right. finally, i'm done and good to go. until my post-op follow up anyway.

the nurse hands me some dressing for my eye. i should of course, expect bleeding in my eye and nose. sure, people get bloody noses all the time, but i very much doubt it's as common for people to bleed through their eyes. it's really quite disturbing to see bloody tears. and if you haven't experienced it, i don't recommend it.

i also got some antibiotic drops for my eye. he says to put a lot of drops in today since my eye went through a lot of trauma. ugh. trauma in my eye. yikes.

i got home and couldn't do much despite the excitement of the kiddies to have me home all day. i took my nap around the same time they did. they woke up from their nap earlier than i did. they came back later and saw me emailing sometime before 7p. i hung out with them until 10:30p and crashed again. ugh, what an ordeal!

over and over...

venue: the independent (first time!)
artist: hot chip
who: betty
when: 01 august 2006 (tuesday)
doors open at 8p

last night, betty and i went to see hot chip at the independent off of divisadero. parking was horrendous. we couldn't find anything for the longest time. and finally, score! only one block away! it was almost rock star parking for that area. heehee.

after playing real-life frogger to get to the independent, we found the venue to be very charming. it was big but small. bigger than venues like cafe du nord and smaller than slim's and gamh. the first band... um, fabulous something, sucked. they had these two bimbos on stage with matching platinum wigs as well as voices and cheap dance moves as a poor distraction to their awful music. it was like a storm. random and noisy. the music was bad. the songs were bad. the lyrics were even worse. the band was just bad. next was some bobby something's solo set. while he was a lot better than the first opening, after two or three of his songs, we'd had enough. he was like a cartoon character. he had a great voice, reminded me of sondre lerche. but his style seemed better on a tv jingle than live before a band like hot chip.

i wasn't sure what to expect when hot chip came on. there were 5 guys and a ton of instruments on the stage. i couldn't really see, as usual, so i ask betty, who the heck is singing? just like the good friend she is as well as brilliant, she suggests i sit on top of the railing by where we were standing. my first attempt at hopping (it was pretty high up) was pathetic and a little embarassing. so, i put some effort into the next jump and made it! and what a difference! to be able to see a band like them. it was amazing. there are two singers, alexis taylor and joe goddard. alexis does most of the singing. he's amazing. he's the short one, looks really young and kinda cute and is crazy on the keyboards and guitar. joe is older and a bit of a fatty but his voice is deeper like damon albarn and compliments alexis's soothing vocals very well. they were so lively on stage. it was refreshing to see such energy. which of course was contagious. i looked down at the crowd and almost everyone is dancing! it was just like a dance club.
i'm listening to the warning right now and it's great but hearing it live is no comparison. everyone there felt the energy. they were gorgeously amazing.


rating: ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ (i've decided to start rating the shows with hearts. 4 ♥'s means i loved them and would see them again!)

the best irish car bomb ever!!

so if you've ever had an irish car bomb, you may or may not know that they are usually lit on fire. hence, the car bomb. but with the fire hazard, they won't/don't light them up anymore. some places won't make them because some retards have been chipping the glass when dunking the shot.

if you know me, you know that i looove car bombs. they are my drink of choice when dancing because it's a quick and substantial amount of alcohol i can dance off for a while if not hours. but of all the car bombs and of all the places i've had them, i've never had one lit on fire. until, i went to this gay club in west hollywood on saturday that we've decided to call corndog because it's so corny. it's actually called hotdog. they don't seem to have a web site i can link to.

back to the car bomb. it was me, kiki, and our friend jodargo there. his friend met up with us. we asked the bartender for car bombs and it was odd, he went to talk to another bartender about it. who sort of looked us up and down. straight, i gathered. so they say, yeah, they'll make us car bombs. they started them as usual. filled up half a pint of guinness and started the shots of baileys and whiskey. then, he brought out some barcardi (?) and topped off the shots with it. in addition, he put some barcardi in a separate glass. he told us to move back and by this time, EVERYONE is watching us. he dips his hand into the barcardi and lights it on fire! then he put his hand on the bar where our shots were and part of the bar is on fire! and he dunks our shots into the guinness pints and we down them. i don't know if it was the fire or what but it was the best tasting car bomb i've ever had. that was the only redeeming thing about that stupid club.

let's get out of this country

venue: great american music hall (ugh, the tenderloin)
artist: camera obscura
who: ro, lou & betty
when: 20 july 2006 (thursday)
doors open at 8p

betty and i got there a little late but didn't miss much. it was quite an adventure getting to the venue as we parked about 3 blocks away. the tenderloin is filled with freaks & crazies. camera obscura had just started their first song. romano & lou were at the hemlock tavern waiting for us. afterwards, we headed over to popscene.

i'd been listening to their new album let's get out of this country almost everyday since i got it. tracyanne campbell's voice is lovely. it sounds sweet and innocent, even a little angelic. the six member band is very dynamic. with instruments that include a trumpet. and it makes all the difference in the songs. they played most of the songs off of their new cd. i was very impressed with them. it was one of the best shows i've been to in a while.

i'm still impressed... would definitely see them again.

i now have video...

my lollipop head

recently, my nephew has been coming downstairs in the mornings (before i wake up) to see if i would play with him. most of the time, i'm still sleeping and i just tell him to be a good boy and go upstairs.

i've been thinking about it more. i want to try to get up earlier and spend some time with him reading to him. i think it's very important at this age that he gets this everyday. we could have breakfast together while doing this. i just hope i can wake up early enough. i'm going to have to make an effort. while he is not my child, he (as well as his sister) is the closest i have to having kids. i love them like my own. i think this is really important and it's something he needs right now.

i'll post progress reports... wish me luck!

anniversary sale

today is the first day of the nordstrom anniversary sale. so i went shopping this morning! despite the two and a half hours of sleep i got as a result of going dancing last night. i'm still doing pretty good. i think i'm still energized from popscene.

it was a mad zoo at the nordstrom valley fair store. i got there 20 minutes after they opened and i parked on the second floor of the parking structure. that never happens! it certainly didn't for the half yearly sale. there are all these things on sale that wasn't in the catalog! i saw people (mostly ladies) with arms full of clothing. it was a little scary. i decided to skip the clothes and head straight to the shoes.

i wasn't sure if this pair was going to be very comfortable but they were, surprisingly. so i got them. i got a pair of 4 1/2" michael kors platform pumps too. i'm still debating about them though. they are also dark brown. i've been on this dark brown color phase these days.

i made friends with two funny asian women who were checking me out in the michael kors pumps. they thought it was too high for them but it looked like they needed the height as much as i did. they would come by together or separately to ask my opinion about what they were trying. it was a lot of fun.

next was cosmetics for me. i'd put these two items on pre-sale so i had to go pick them up. my cousin is an assistant manager in the cosmetics department so i did my pre-sales with her. i got some other goodies in my bag too! yay!
my sister and i are going back tonight... nordstrom closes at 10p.

precious moments

last night, i came home late and wanted to see if my chunky & lollipop head (niece & nephew) were still up... and they were. my nephew says to me, i want you to have a baby so i can have a cousin to play with. omg. i don't know if someone put him up to it or not but isn't that the cutest but craziest thing?

later, i was getting ready for popscene and put some perfume on. then chunky says to me, you're yummy and asked if she could have some too. since she was going to bed soon, i told her i'd let her have some tomorrow.

i absolutely adore these babies. i don't even need to have children of my own as long as they are around. they give me so much love. ♥ ♥ ♥

back log - the 4th, blocked tear duct, & a baby shower!

4th of july

i spent independence day at muffin's new pad with sir gb. they had a grill going out on their balcony which is on a corner and faces the street. so there's no one next to you. it was quite nice actually. getting there was a little bit of an adventure as my friends(betty & gillie) & i got lost getting to her apartment. the food was very yummy and i met some cool new people i could go dancing with. heehee. all in all, it was a nice low key event. we saw some fireworks but it doesn't seem to impress me like it used to. i just wasn't interested. i think the food was distracting me. food or fireworks? food or fireworks? i took food.

thanks muffin! ♥ it was great fun.

eye update

it's been nearly a year since i had my intubation, i went back to the opthalmologist last week for a check up. i thought i was just going to have surgery and get it over with. but there were some problems... he said i had three options. they are:

1- some sort of balloon intubation where they stick a tube inside my tear duct that is blown up to stretch the tear duct. but he said that procedure almost never works. so, scratch that.

2- do another intubation. last year, the tube was too tight and rather than leaving it in my eye for a few months, it was there for a few weeks. initially, i felt drainage so i was excited that it was working. but the tightness created problems. my eye started to get infected and my tear ducts were getting stretched and droopy.

3- the last option is surgery. he'd open up the side of my nose and make an incision to try to stretch out my tear ducts. the problem here is that my condition isn't that bad. and apparently not ideal for surgery. if i went through it, i would end up with a scar on my face, which is likely to become infected since the area we are dealing with isn't sterile (my nose) and that would make the scarring worse. plus, it may not even work! ugh.

we talked it over some more and i decided on doing the intubation again. i don't think i posted in detail the whole procedure. i guess i said it didn't hurt but it really did. in fact, it was a bit traumatizing. although, now that i've been through it, i know what to expect and it may not be so bad the second time around. so, the plan is to leave it in for 4 months instead of 3 weeks. the procedure is scheduled for august 2nd. wish me luck!

my cousin's baby shower

this past sunday, my cousins (proud parents-to-be debbie & roger) had a baby shower. they are expecting a baby girl. it's very very exciting. they got married last september and were together for over 9 years before that! as they are still attached at the hips, they have been very much in love for the entire time. it's refreshing to see that kind of love still exists.

i was asked to make tiramisu and cream puffs and bring drinks. well, i was a little overzealous with the alcohol. i bought a case of champagne and two bottles were barely touched. i spent most of saturday (until well in the am) trying to finish baking the cream puffs (baking them in my mini convection oven was 30 minutes for every 9-10 cream puff, i made 40) and the tiramisu. which was a total disaster! i had total of ten tubs of marscapone cheese. out of the ten, only two was good. the rest came out curdled. i'd never been so frustrated at 4am before. on two hours of sleep, i woke up early to get more marscapone cheese to make at least a batch of it for the shower. out of the four, i purchased that morning, only two worked. so i had 13 single servings of tiramisu for about 30 people. oh well. thank goodnes for my sister who came over to help me finish up with the cream puffs. the custard didn't turn out for that so we put cool whip inside with strawber- ries. oh yeah, i cut my thumb (while cutting the strawberries) and smashed my index finger closing a door on it. all on the same hand. at least it was my left hand.

there were fun games, good food, and great people. kelly was also there for it. she sat with us in our "winning" table. each one of us (even though i was the last one to win something) got picked for prize from a game. i will post more pics when i upload them from my camera. despite everything, i had a wonderful time!

they are a lovely couple and i'm so very excited for them! congrats debbie & roger! i ♥ you both!!

adventures at kirala's

i'm posting late (sorry melissa!) because um, i was sick on thursday and have been super busy since...

last wednesday, we went on a ladies night out at this very yummy sushi restaurant called kirala. betty used to go there all the time when she lived in berkeley and she knows the owners. as well as everything to order.

as we are chowing down our scrumptuous food, i see, in the corner of my eye this really cute guy. he's in the kitchen somewhere and i see his face peek through the circular window. and he's such a cutie! i think i was pigging out on ice cream when i saw him watching me. i laughed as i caught his eye. and he returned my giggles with some himself. it was all very high school. which made it cute and obnoxious at the same time. one of the owners took me back to the kitchen to meet him but as soon as i got back there, he sort of ran away and hid from us. so, i went back to my seat. after exchanging more looks, the owner came over to me with a piece of paper. it had his name (ogi) and phone number on it. i sent back a piece of paper with my name and phone number. then we decided we were going to stop being annoying so we left.

on the way to the car, the owner was saying goodbye to us from a window above and ogi was with him. that's when we introduced ourselves. betty said it was like a scene out of a cheesy japanese movie. it was funny in a cutesy cheesy way. and we were off to the next adventure...

we end up at a bar in oakland. i can't remember the name. the bar had nice ambience. and jonna's friend charlie joins us. we were there for about one drink or so and decided we wanted to go dancing. so we head over to luka's. while en route, i get a phone call. it's ogi and it turns out he lives right by luka's. so we invite him to join us. about an hour or so later, he shows up with his friend agi. we find out that ogi is 24 and is from mongolia. he also speaks russian! but as luka's is closing, ogi suggests this korean karaoke place somewhere off of telegraph.

we get there and the karaoke is closed so we sit in a booth and drink. ogi & agi order 2 pitchers of beer and some alcohol. we have these sake-bomb-like drinks. so it's me, betty, joahnna, melissa, jonna, ogi and agi. and i remember having a forth shot but nothing much after that. apparently, betty said i had 6 or 7. which freaked me out because i wasn't sure what else i didn't remember. and um, i didn't remember the making out part. ugh.

i don't really remember much else but waking up in betty's spare room and being sick all day on thursday which wasn't so fun. :(

a carnival with the kiddies

last thursday, my sister invited me and the babies to her work family carnival. she took our nephew last year but as it was just the two of them and he didn't want to go on any rides, it was a bit boring. this year, chunky is old enough to go so we both took them.
we waited in line for... gosh, it could've been an hour or so, for this water ride inside this kiddie pool. and at the last minute, jaden didn't want to go. thank goodness chunky still did. but it only lasted a minute, she started looking very lost and then cried until she was taken out. i have it on video, it's actually quite hilarious.
the train ride was better. the line was shorter and it went faster. plus, lisa & i could ride in a train car with them. the train went in circles around the parking lot.
there was this huge pokemon where kids were playing inside. chunky kept saying poke! poke! and there didn't seem to be much of a line so we went over to check it out. it was okay. just a bunch of babies inside chasing balloons that were being blown by a fan. chunky seemed to really enjoy it. she wanted to stay even though our turn was over.

we took a food break after all this waiting and playing. they had hot dogs, soda, popcorn, beef taquitos, cheese & bean quesadillos, hummus, spinach dip with flat bread, meat balls in tomato sauce (random), egg rolls, and ice cream. we oinked out. it was fun.
jaden saw someone with a stuffed tiger so he decided he wanted one. we went to where they had them. it was this bowling game. it seemed kinda hard so i didn't want to play. i was sure i would've lost it for him. so, we had jaden play. the guy in charge was really nice. every pin that jaden hit, he gave him. he even gave jaden 3 extra balls to bowl. the last one was soooo close. it ricocheted off the side and hit the very last pin. and he got his white tiger.

afterwards, we took them up this high slide. actually lisa took them, i was in charge of taking pictures. but the battery in my camera died so i couldn't get one. i tried taking it with my camera phone but it crashed my phone. i had to restart the phone. then, the kids got their arms painted with flowers (for chunky) and butterflies (for jaden). i took a picture of it with my camera phone but it didn't come out.

everyone had great fun. can't wait for the one next year! thanks lisa!

like two peas in a pod

after the grad party, betty and i headed up to the city to meet up with her friend huy. we got there a little late but it was still hopping in the castro. i haven't gone on a saturday night in ages. it's been so long that i don't even remember the last time i went. we met up with huy and his friends at the bar. there was an event earlier in celebration of hunter's (huy's best friend) return from north carolina. he moved for school and is back. he's really cute and has this sweet southern accent.
between huy & hunter, they seemed to know everyone and anyone. we were stopped so frequently when we left the bar on the way over to another club/bar destination. what would normally take 5 minutes, took 10-15 minutes! i guess it didn't help that it was packed everywhere. there were gorgeous and friendly men everywhere we went! at the second club, we met keith and azul who we chatted up for a bit. the great thing about gay men is that they are totally honest (well, to straight women anyway), fun, hilarious and so complimentary!
despite having to work the next morning, i didn't look or notice the time. well, i couldn't because i left my phone in the car but, i never asked what time it was. afterwards, we went to have pizza. it really hit the spot. we ran into more of hunter & huy's friends there too. surprise, surprise. they saw us eating inside and came in to say hi. even though we'd only just met hunter, it felt like we'd known and hung out with him & huy for ages. it's no wonder they are best friends. they are both lovely. their friendship reminds me a little of mine with betty. it's so refreshing to meet new people like us, hahah.

spike's graduation party!

on saturday, spike had her long-awaited-not-quite-done graduation party. her parents dr. tom & kathy drove across the country to be with her on her special day.

there was a lot of good food, drinks, and 4 different cakes... mmm. i think the carrot cake was my fav. it was a lot of fun. nice to catch up with some people i hadn't seen in a while. both betty and i were happy to be a part of it. congrats muffin!

we ♥ you!!

finally, everyone is looking at the right camera. yay!

adventures in curling chunky's hair

fun fun fun

out celebrating with betty

when betty and i are together, we have too much fun. it started off at the village to celebrate the end of the school year teaching for her. we went to the village for drinks and dinner before heading out dancing. the strangest thing happened to us there, we sort of picked up on this guy, together. his name was sebastian and is from montreal. we asked him to come dancing with us. and he did. we never ever do that. play tag team in picking up men. he was such a cutie. he was so charming and friendly. maybe we couldn't help ourselves.

at popscene, he was even more fun. he danced with us all night, bought us drinks, and humored us with our paper-airplane-making games. will was there too but at first, he ignored us. not sure if he was trying to get us to go to him as he is always coming to us. he even walked right by us and didn't say a word. whatever will. eventually, he saw us and ended up in the vicinity of where we were. i guess his friends met up with him there so he was dancing with them. and after his friends had gone home, he finally came over and danced with us. i was a little intoxicated so i was jumping all over the place and jumping into will all over the place. i think he loves it. he loves the attention anyway.

it was so much fun. we might see sebastian again tonight. i'll have to bring my camera.

good news for coffee-addicted alcoholics...

i heard about this on npr this morning:

A study shows coffee may help offset liver damage caused by alcohol abuse. Alcoholics who drank more coffee were far less likely to develop cirrhosis. But researchers warn that coffee does not erase all risks of heavy drinking.

i guess i don't need to cut down on my coffee intake!

my new shoes

they are dark brown mary jane wedges with a 3 1/2 inch heel.
aren't they the cutest?