checking in...

just checking in... let's see, i'm severely congested, often times coughing up blood. and with a mustache of sterile dressing which needless to say, disables me from speaking clearly. i have splints in my nose that will be removed this coming week. if anything, those are the only things that hurt me, well, all the time. and breathing through my mouth while sleeping or doing anything (eating, drinking, talking) is never fun.

i'm not in a whole lot of pain, anymore. i've only had to take one vicodin tablet since i got home. as my sister says, it's good to save the "good stuff." she's funny, isn't she? when i take vicodin, it completely knocks me out. the bleeding has slowed down but hasn't stopped yet. my upper teeth hurt a bit. and to top things off, i look like ms. piggy. ugh.

i'll check back in later...

impending surgery

to my dear faithful readers (all 3 of you out there):

i'm sorry i've been out of touch lately. as you probably know, much has happened but has yet to be posted. for the past two weeks or more, i have not been sleeping well. as in getting less than 5 hours of sleep every night opposed to my usual 6-7 hours. i imagine i am subconsciously and thoroughly anxious about my septoturbinoplasty scheduled for tomorrow. well, now less than 12 hours away. and since i usually post at the office, i've been quite busy getting ready for my leave and trying to take care of everything to do with the current admissions cycle.

i don't think i am particularly stressed out about the surgery itself but the recovery part. the potential risks for infection (which comes with all surgeries) is making me quite worrisome, not to mention the pain i will experience. despite having gone through my thyroidectomy and having had much worse levels of pain (getting my neck cut open and having an organ removed), that was nearly 4 years ago and memories of the pain have been successfully suppressed.

i know the surgery is fairly routine but it's not everyday that one has surgery, right? i have great confidence in my ent doctor so i'm not as worried about the actual procedure. and, for those who participated in my pop (pre-op potluck) party and/or sent me well wishes, i just wanted to thank you. it's tremendously reassuring to know that people care. i feel very lucky to have such great friends & family. you all rock. i love you all, seriously. ♥

ugh, okay, time to sleep now. good nite.

march pumps

on its way is my march pair.

pre-op appointment with dr. wong

on monday, i had some pre-op stuff to take care of, including an ekg. i don't recall getting this done for my thyroidectomy but it was on my check list. i'd made an appointment with my pcp for the ekg but she was out of town and her office rescheduled me with dr. wong.

i went in a bit early to get some bloodwork done, which left my arms with what looked like track marks. that's what the ups guy said. shooting up again? after getting blood drawn, i went to the radiology department for my chest x-ray. and it was done just in time to go upstairs for my ekg appointment.

i'd never seen dr. wong before so i didn't know whether the doctor was male or female. surprisingly, i was seen on time. the nurse took my blood pressure. normal, she said. then dr. wong comes in. he's this attractive tall asian man. i could feel my heart rate going up. so, he's asking me why i'm there and what i need the ekg for. i told him i was having surgery next friday. he asked if i exercised, if so, what kind do i do, etc. then he took my blood pressure. he said, it's a bit high, are you stressed? uh, just a little nervous about the surgery (riight). he said he didn't think i needed the ekg but we'll do it anyway.

the nurse comes back and sets it up for me. the set up is longer than the actual ekg. she sticks these wires all over my body. after it's set up, something starts printing out. that was it! she takes the report to dr. wong and says he'll be back to let me know if i'm ok. he comes back in and says that it was perfect as he'd suspected. yay!

the year of the fire pig

according to chineseastrology.com, here is my overview:

For Tigers, your "ching qi" (sexual energy) is at it's peak this year as your soulmate, the Pig, surrounds you with an atmosphere of love and indulgence. Matters are felt primarily in the realm of the physical this year as your life palace of "unions" is highlighted. You'll desire to stay closer to home this year and redecorating your abode would be enjoyable and uplifting. Appeal is the name of your game this year and in both personal relations and at work, others are powerfully drawn toward you. This passion poses some danger and yet, such delightful opportunity. Magnetism aside, avoid confrontations with Monkeys and Snakes.

they also mention that this year is best for tigers! i'm very curious to see why. in addition, this year is a good year for sagittarians as well. so my luck is doubled this year. which makes me very very excited!!

it's funny they say i should avoid confrontations with monkeys because ted is one and i'm happy to avoid him altogether!

happy lunar new year everyone!!

if looks could kill

venue: bimbo's
artist: camera obscura
who: cousins lam & nina (plus jen, anthony, lou & ro)
when: 16 february 2007 (friday)
doors open at 8p

i hadn't been to bimbo's since... i can't remember! i just remember the night i met david gedge from cinerama at bimbo's. he was really cool. loooove his voice. wow, that was about 3-4 years ago. it'd been too long.

however, it was not that long ago the last time i saw camera obscura. it was the gamh show back in july of last year. it was nice to see them again. the sound at bimbo's is awesome.

the night started off straight after work. i'd picked up my car from the train station downtown, got gas and headed up to mt. view to meet my cousins. we had planned to get dinner in north beach since bimbo's is right on columbus. on the way to the city in the car, i get this call from lou asking what i was doing. i say, uh, heading up to the city? despite emailing him earlier that day about the show, he asked if it was in fact that night. that's affirmative unless they had a second show the following night. apparently, both ro & jenn thought it was saturday! i'd been there before (confusion on show nights) and even missed a show once. so he called them to get everyone's arse in gear for the show.

we had dinner at this burrito place. they claim the best burritos in the city so i had to have a burrito, right? it was good, not sure if you can really go wrong with a burrito though. yet they had very interesting combinations. i had a "british" burrito which included steak, potatoes, and mushrooms. and the blended pina colada was quite delightful. after dinner, i looked to see if i had the tickets with me but couldn't find them!! i was in complete and utter disbelief. what the hell was wrong with me? i had them in the car. where could they have gone?? my cousins were so nice and calm about it. we retraced our steps back to the car and there they were right outside my side of the car. so lam was now the assigned ticket holder.

there was this huge line for will call which we were able to skip since we had our tix in hand. it's interesting, either it's because i haven't been to bimbo's in ages or it's because they recently changed their sign. it's a little more modern now and it no longer says "since 1931" outside of it like it does on their web site. that takes a bit of its charm away. unfortunately. however, after sitting foot inside, it really takes you to the 30's or 40's. at least that's what i imagined it to be. it's very lounge-y. i expected to see fedoras all around me. but alas, i didn't see any. it was too dark and i hadn't really paid much attention.

the opening band listed as "portastic" called themselves "portistastic" would've been confusing if i cared. but i didn't. i just thought, what? portisheadastic? random. they were very folky and bohemian. not particularly appealing if you ask me. i want to see rock stars out there. kinda. it's not to say that camera obscura are the epitomy of rock stars. at least tracyanne campbell has a look of her own that she's going for. which many of the female audience members were trying to unsuccessfully copy. i don't know, maybe i'm in a fowl mood today. hating on everyone. oh well.

if you haven't heard camera obscura, the lead vocalist, tracyanne has this sweet voice that makes me think of du-wop music. the kind that makes you sway without knowing it. the slow songs are lovely but a bit hard to stay awake for. the faster songs are upbeat and makes you wish you too had a floral dress on so you could swing the pleats of it with the music. whenever i hear if looks could kill, i can't help but tap my feet with some sass.

we left after the last song before their encore. it was such a long day. and as my cousin said, we are getting old. ugh. after getting home, i got a call from lou. he said they hung out at the bar after the show and tracyanne showed up. he got a picture with her! i'm totally jealous but seeing as i was half asleep, i couldn't imagine having stayed and driving myself home from mt. view.

rating: ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥

memorable valentine's days

last night, i went to xanh to pick up some calamari & garlic noodles for a valentine's day potluck i was going to. i went to grab a truffucino from red rock café across the way while they were getting the food ready. at the cashier, there was this sign on their tip jar. it read please contribute to the s.a.d. fund (singles appreciation day). it was a little depressing to see that because being single isn't sad. it's kinda lucky sometimes.

the potluck was just with the ladies. and it was much fun. the food was yummy. we had this delightful chicken that was flavorful and moist. we had bread and salad. the calamari and garlic noodles i picked up. kir royales and bubbly. lots of random conversations about what rochambeau means and associations with the "junk in the box" song. it was quite entertaining.

afterwards, it made me think about past v-days and i couldn't really remember any. then i remembered the time my ex and i broke up on v-day of 2001. and i moved back here two weeks later. there was also the time i got into my first major car accident on v-day of 1992 because i drove my lame ex-bff thao vu in the pouring rain to eastridge just so she could pick up her paycheck. yes, we hate her.

yeah, i'm not a big fan of v-day. but i ♥ my muffin ladies!

february boots

just in, my new cowboy boots.

lost in time

venue: bottom of the hill
(sold out!)
artist: stellastarr*, monsters are waiting & minipop
who: sis (plus ro, jen & jonathan)
when: 10 february 2007 (saturday)
doors open at 8:30p

the show actually started at 10p. not sure why doors opened so early. we got there around 10p so parking was good and there was no line to wait in the rain either. good stuff.

minipop started on time. the lead vocalist is this cute petite blonde chick. they are a local band. she had a voice reminiscent of that of emily haines from metric. the sweet, potentially angelic sound yet with some sauciness mixed in. i'd heard of them but hadn't really heard their music. lisa seemed to enjoy them. and lucky for us, ro got their last cd.

next up was monsters are waiting from los angeles. i'd seen them at popscene before and remembered liking them. not quite what they sounded like but i just remember thinking, they're not too bad. this band had yet another female vocalist with a voice similar to minipop's lead vocalist. however, the music was a bit different. but when this woman spoke, it was the most annoying thing. she sounded like a little girl with this little voice. she spoke as if she were ten y/o. i absolutely hate women who do this. for some reason, there are many large women that do this too. as if it was a way for them to seem smaller. i just want people to speak normally!! is that too much to ask? apparently so. i think this smallish voice is more common with asian girls. betty and i bitch about this all the time.

finally, sometime after midnight, stellastarr* came on. and the lead singer, shawn, is quite cute. the pics don't do him justice. he's the one with his hands on his knees in the above pic.

in the last few weeks, i've been listening to them online on and off. i wasn't sure whether there were female vocals as this one song sounded like shawn but like a girl. so i mentioned this to ro. i said, i think he sounds like a girl sometimes. and ro looked at me as if i were crazy. and when i heard the first song (lost in time) which has him singing in this very deep, manly voice, i thought i was crazy too! then there was this song, the one he sounds like a girl in, and i ask both ro & lisa, doesn't he kinda sound like a girl? they both concurred with me. i knew i wasn't crazy!

even though we left a bit early (i wasn't feeling well), i really enjoyed the show. the range of music they play is quite eclectic. songs that were slow and fast, deep and upbeat. someone had mentioned that they thought they were like the band interpol because they are both from new york, but i beg to differ, stellastarr* are much better. i don't think of interpol at all when i listen to them.

rating: ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥

smile

venue: gamh (sold out!)
artist: lily allen
who: lisa, cousins lam & nina
when: 6 february 2007 (tuesday)
doors open at 8p

i went to the lily allen show last night. and even though i only knew one song by her (thanks ro!), i went along because my cousin wanted to go. my sister lisa hadn't even heard of her at all which would have pissed off the fan asking for extra tix out front. i guess i mostly went for the company.

we got there at around 8p. there was this really long line for will call and then another line to get in. the crowd was so-so. we went straight upstairs to get some dinner. there were these little girls with matching outfits in front. i think someone's mother was there to chaperone. there were these older creepy men who pulled out all their dance moves. it was more distracting than entertaining. needless to say, lily allen brings in a wide range of people. which is not particularly good.

as for her music, i was pleasantly surprised by this 21 y/o. her sound was upbeat and crisp. really crisp. can i say that about music? that was the first word that came up. the songs were danceable and fun. there was a lot of dancing going on around us. and she was as cute as a button. i was really impressed by her. i've been listening to her other songs on her web site and they are quite good.

rating: ♥ ♥ ♥

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.

superbowl sunday

i didn't do much this past superbowl sunday. i spent the day with my sister shopping. it was the best day to go to costco after the last-minute superbowl party stock up, which was sometime after 1p because it wasn't the zoo it usually is on the weekend.

when i woke up that morning, i got to thinking... wow, it's been a whole year since ted moved out. it's strange to think about him sometimes. but the negative always outweighs any positive attributes he might still have. i doubt that will ever change since that's the case with all my former boyfriends. it's a bit sad to think about because at one point or another, i thought the world of these guys.

thanks to my lovely muffin, i got out of helping him move last year. i told her, i need to be busy and not around for it. i knew he would assume that i was available to help him. i hate that jackass. can you believe he had the nerve to ask me? see? yet another negative. so thankfully, i was invited to a superbowl party (which is quite funny because i hate american football) and not only that but i found out later that some guy was checking me out at that party. even though this guy may not have been my type, it's flattering and a great ego boost when you are feeling your lowest. oh, life.

dreidel dreidel dreidel

i have a little dreidel... i made it out of clay

les poupées russes

i'd been wanting to watch l'auberge espanole with audrey tautou for a while now. then i heard there was a sequel, called les poupées russes (russian dolls). i got them both on netflix. there was an interesting concept with the russian dolls. so i don't ruin the ending (as i seem to always do), i won't go into detail how it relates to the movie. but the concept was simply that love is like the russian dolls. in life, you go through so many "dolls" until you get to the last one. and i suppose that last one is the one. it's kinda hopefully romantic of me, isn't it? ♥

response to comments on my last post

dear anonymous commentator:

thank you for stopping by and for your uninformed note. perhaps your green-eyed monster should retract her fugly head (and snide comments) and return to hiding.

what i would like to know is... what the hell is wrong with being ecstatic about having had a brilliant surgeon who did his job magnificently? i still have thyroid cancer. a bit of sensitivity would be nice from someone who's been there.

christ, what the fuck is wrong with you?

scar? what scar?

here is a mini comparison that i thought was neat. the top image is my scar 6 months post-op. the one in the middle is the 12-month post-op scar.

and finally, the above image was taken just last week. no wonder my surgeon was patting himself on the back only 2 weeks after my surgery. he knew how it was going to look. and it looks like there is no scar!

january shoes

my one pair this month. i got them at the rack for less than $40! aren't they sexy?

upcoming surgeries, ugh

i saw my ent doctor this morning. he's scheduled me for a septoplasty and a turbinoplasty (aka septoturbinoplasty) in march. and a month after that, i need to schedule an endoscopic dcr which is the initial reason for seeing him. i just have to check in with my endocrinologist on my body scan to make sure when it is okay to have the dcr done. hopefully i will be as good as new once i recover from everything.

random - nordstrom reward certificates

today i got my nordstrom reward certificates. for those of you who can share in this bit of joy when receiving one, i must offer some background details. i went to two customer appreciation events and the half yearly to get these. when i opened the envelope, i saw $20. and i thought to myself, hmmm... i swore i would have gotten at least $40. then, i opened it up some more and i see another $20... but then, i got to the last part of it and i see... $40! so, it was a total of $80 in rewards. um omg, i blame the holidays for that.

but yay! $80!!

2007 new year's resolutions, so far

*in no particular order*

- update debbie's website!!!
- drink more water
- work out 3-4 times/week
- travel boston/dc
- limit purchasing 1 pair of shoes/month
- buy 1 pair of dark brown boots
- limit purchasing 2 pairs of designer jeans this year
- buy 1 handbag
- be nice