christmas with the parkers

i went to pembroke, mass. again this year for christmas. last year was my very first white christmas ever. this year, it was a bit spotty. there was snow the week before and it was slowly melting. ted and i were there for 3 full days and had two flight days. we had pizzeria regina every day we were there, including flight days. it's ted's favorite pizza ever.

it was really nice to see his family. i met them last year and didn't really get a chance to get to know them, well, except for his mother. this year, i was able to chat with them more. with his sisters allison and kaitlyn, their significant others sean and tom, respectively. his cousins doug and joe as well as meeting doug's girlfriend meg. a bit with his uncle tom, not at all with his girlfriend mara. some with his aunt mary. and tons with his mom. i had a great time. can't wait to visit them again...

i hope everyone had a lovely christmas!!!

sorry for the lack of pictures, i made videos of my visit with my new camera (thanks ted!!). here's one... since macy's recently bought out filene's (robinsons-may, lord & taylor), who knows what the filenes building will look like next year.

wow weekend

december 2nd

last friday, my cousin's girlfriend, nina who is one of my childhood friends, turned 29. i've known her since i was 10 and she was 8. nina and her brother morris lived across the street from us. my sister and i played with nina almost every day. nina was in the same grade as my cousin lam. and we really wanted nina to be our family so we thought it would be cool if she married our cousin so she can be our cousin too! we used to tease them... nina and lam, sitting in a tree, k-i-s-s-i-n-g... heehee.

little did we know the harm or rather delay it would cause. when they were at school together, they would avoid each other as a result of our teasing. but somehow, they eventually got together sometime in high school. i think it was on and off and then off to other relationships. about 5 years ago, nina came back from school in new york. we all went out to a club in downtown san jose and despite nina coming to the club with some other guy, she and lam sort of reconnected that night. but then it was off and she went off to paris with a divorcee. then, two years ago, it was on for them but they had their issues but soon after, they were together and definitely on.

so, back to last friday... nina opened lam's gift last. it was in this big red box. i remember thinking to myself, everyone is here, friends, family, her parents, his mom, would he propose in front of everyone? i'd hoped so. and as soon as i saw the jewelry box (unaware she'd asked for one), i knew there'd be a ring inside. if not, there would be a huge sigh of disappointment. from the girls anyway. i felt as though i was going through the drawers as fast as she could. finally, the very last (and hardest to remove) drawer, was a 3-diamond ring on an engraved band. that's the extent of my knowledge on diamonds and rings. next time i see her, i would photograph the ring in detail. but it was beautiful. lam had help from his sister, debbie in picking out the ring. so, when the ring appeared, lam got down on one knee and proposed, in front of everyone. i couldn't help but cry. it was like a fairy tale. of course nina said yes. it was such a special event and i'm so happy to have witnessed it.

december 3rd

the second annual rock against aids benefit featured julie plug as its headliner. i hadn't seen them in a while and they always put on a great show so we decided to head downtown (despite my hate for the dt san jose scene). doors were supposed to open at 8p but it was pushed to 8:40p. the first band started unusually on time, at 9p. there were supposed to be 5 bands but one was a no show and so rather than julie plug started at 1a, they started at 11:15p or so. i think they only played 4 songs and suddenly, the dj started playing some no doubt song after at the end of the song julie plug was playing. everyone was in a state of confusion. perhaps everyone but the club workers and djs. the band was in disarray not really knowing what to do. as the audience booed the club and yelled julie-plug, it was to no avail. dev from the band tried saying something but the mic wasn't working and soon, the organizer made an announcement that the benefit was over but with no reason for the abrupt end. so half the audience rushed out of the club in utter disappointment and anger. damn that club. please join in banning the san jose angels lounge. they suck BIG time. try all you might to hide the ghetto out of your club, no number of white sheets can hide that.

december 4th
i had breakfast with my favorite (out of the 10 or so i had) college rommie. despite having lived with her for only a quarter, she's the only one i still remain friends with. i hadn't seen her in a while. she drove me down to LA to see ted on our first date from fresno. that was may of last year. we'd been trying to meet up ever since but failed miserably in doing so. finally, on her way back to fresno, we met up for breakfast and caught up. along with my friend betty, we were contemplating a new book. to be called be blassé. in order to attain happiness in a relationship or not, every woman should remember her individuality and try very hard not to mold into a man's ideal because in the end, you won't be happy.

later in the evening, i went to the private shopping event at nordstrom. this year they skimped out on their treasure chest BIG time. plus, they limited the amounts to one per customer instead of one per $100 you spend. i'm taking back half of what i got. damn them. i should've gone to the stanford shopping event.

birthday/thanksgiving 5-day holiday weekend

last wednesday, i turned 23, again. um, for the...8th time. okay okay, i really turned 31 but i don't feel even close to it. maybe it's because when i think about being 31, i imagined i would be married and popping out kids or have popped out kids like pretty much everyone around me. but that's okay, i am enjoying my life as i am right now.

my birthday was great. i took the day off because my manager said since she never works on her birthday, i couldn't work on mine. so i spent the day cleaning and slaving away for my party. i woke up at 8a and cleaned my apartment until 11a which is when i'd left for lunch with my sister at 11:30 so we could beat the rush and then have time to go shopping. by 11:40, banana leaf was so crowded we were relieved we met up early. after shopping, i went on a grocery shopping adventure to 4 different stores. i didn't get back until just before 4p to start cooking away. my brother had gotten us a refrigerator the night before and decided to hook it up just before my party started. despite half the people flaking out on me at the very last minute, it was a lot of fun. lots of food and lots of wine. i had a great time...

thanksgiving was the very next day. there were about 20 people coming over to my brother's house upstairs and his mother-in-law was in the kitchen with my sister-in-law slaving away all day. the dinner was a gourmet asian fusion with a touch of thanksgiving in terms of having mashed potatoes and stuffing in 3 chickens. first, the appetizers included seafood toast, fried bananas, and smoked salmon on shrimp chips and dressings. then for dinner, there was sea bass steam cooked in banana leaves, garlic noodles with grilled shrimp, seasoned rice with quail eggs and shrimp, vegetarian egg rolls, roast beef, roasted chicken, and a spring salad with shredded mango. for dessert, we had pumpkin pie and leftover burnt almond pumpkin birthday cake. it was a grand old time and much fun was had by everyone who came.

i actually didn't really do any holiday shopping yet. we went to the gilroy outlets at midnight after thanksgiving dinner, along with the rest of the asians in the bay area, but only stayed 20 minutes and left shortly after browsing one store. all in all, it was a pretty good and relaxing holiday. it was actually the first year i didn't have to make a turkey, which i actually missed doing. but it was nice not to have to do anything. ted made the mashed potatoes. good stuff.

thank you claire!

prior to meeting my financial advisor, i wasn't getting much back on my fidelity investments for my 403b. but since i had no idea what or how to do it, there wasn't much i could do. after meeting with her and following her advice, i changed my investments around to be more versatile on different types of stocks and bonds. my dividends & investments went from $1.37 in september to getting $162.27 in october!

thank you thank you thank you!

stars and death cab

venue: leavey center @ scu
artists: stars and death cab for cutie
who: ted, alex, andrew, betty, louis, romano, jen & jonathan
when: 15 november 2005 (tuesday)
doors open at 7p

last night we went to santa clara university to their leavey center to see death cab. stars opened for them but sounded terrible! the vocals were so low, we could hardly hear the words in the songs. which was a total bummer for me, i really like them. fortunately, i've seen them live twice and actually met both torquil campbell and amy millan, who were both very nice.

it was quite an adventure to find betty last night sans cell phone. she came solo as well. she called me 20 to 7p saying she was on her way but that she might stop home and that she would look out for us. i hoped she'd be there by the time we got there but not to my surprise, she didn't get there until after 8p. luckily, she ran into louis (avec une cell phone) and was able to contact me. we met up outside after the show.

it was my first time seeing death cab for cutie. they played songs from all albums including moviescript ending which was the first song i heard from them. the sound was a lot better than stars so i'm not sure what exactly it was, the band or the venue that screwed up earlier. ben gibbard truly has a great voice. it was a pretty good show despite the dry refreshments and obnoxious undergraduates...

his holiness, the dalai lama

last friday, i was given an opportunity of a lifetime. i got two complimentary reserved tickets to see the dalai lama talk on nonviolence. the last time his holiness was here was in 1994 and tickets for all 3 events had been sold out for months. i went with my sister-in-law's brother, dochi. he's a big buddhist and has a tibetan name that means being a rare diamond. we sat next to these vietnamese ladies who knew him, his tibetan name and how they met him. it was very cool.

the talk was political and a bit on the dry side. but the q & a afterwards was great. words to describe being there and the dalai lama...

amazing. humble. hopeful. positive. intelligent. humorous. playful. genuine. so down-to-earth.

it was so wonderful to know that he didn't have all the answers (who does?). and that in the presence of such greatness, he just seemed like a sweet old man. especially with all that he's been through, being exiled from his home country, he was just so positive and made me want to be a better person.

combat baby

venue: slim's
artist: metric
who: ted, betty, alex
when: 03 november 2005 (thursday)
doors open at 8p

last night, we went to see metric at slim's. it was a sold out show. even the balcony area we love to settle ourselves in was completely booked and blocked off for ticket holders with dinner reservations. kinda like largo but that's never happened at slim's before...

they had two unnecessary opening bands so by the time metric started, it was past 11p. my feet were killing me from wearing my high heels, so i could see better but who was i kidding? making me just over 5 feet doesn't do me any good with men like ted, 6 feet plus towering over me. oh well, i tried.

after 3 tom collins and two bands that sucked, i was ready to go. then metric came on and i didn't recognize any of the songs. but the singer, emily, has a very lovely voice. it was nice to hear her sing live despite the one song we knew which we (excluding ted) were just waiting to hear. finally they played combat baby and that was our que to visit alex's toothless boyfriend at the crepe truck. alas, when we got there, he'd gone but we still got our savory crepes! they were delicious after midnight on a cold and drizzly day.

ted finally showed up after metric finished 7 more songs after we went for crepes to take us home. i crashed as soon as i got into my seat. overall, metric sounded great live. emily haines has an awesome voice. and despite not being able to see her funky dance at the keyboards (as told to me by ted) and standing in really uncomfortable shoes (we meant to be sitting upstairs) for about 4 or so hours straight, it was a good show.

stanford bonus

today stanford university gave out university-wide bonuses to the staff and faculty. we were given $250. and after taxes, the amount came out to $142. apparently, the university has never shown such display of generosity before and i'm not sure they ever will again. it was a nice surprise, especially with the holidays and family birthdays coming up... including mine.

this is what i'm getting myself...they cost $245 and they are mbt shoes. mbt stands for masai barefoot technology developed by the swiss. the swiss are always developing comfortable shoes, aren't they? they say these shoes are the smallest gym and help your posture, which i definitely need! there's a video on how you should start wearing them to get used to them. i'm so getting these by the end of the month...

meeting emily

last saturday, i flew down to burbank to meet kelly's little arrival. she looked so small and pink (heehee). she just slept and ate and slept and ate. but kelly's house was full of visitors, her parents were both down from san jose. her cousins were over and her sister joy, the girls and wade showed up too. there was a lot of food and fun. i was there for about 5 hours, i think. it was lovely to see kelly...
...more pictures to come...

funny random incident...

i was just in the copy room at work and one of our faculty walks in...

he says, "how embarassing! we have matching jeans" as he points to his seven jeans.

i say, "why? i'm not that young, it means you're stylish"

silly rabbit, i mean, professor.

introducing emily-anne yoshiko burich...

at 8 lbs and ½ oz. and 19 ½ inches and delivered on october 22, please help me welcome emily-anne to the world!!

emily-anne's delivery...

last thursday night, my best friend kelly's water broke. her baby was due around sunday. i called friday evening after work, kelly had yet to give birth and it was 18 hours after her water broke. then on saturday afternoon, i called kelly again and her husband chris, and no one picked up. after brunch that day, kelly called me back. she sounded exhausted but still herself. emily-anne was delivered at 3:37am on saturday morning at 8 lbs and kelly had been in the hospital for 27 hours. that's right, 27 hours. i know, i can't imagine either.

anyway, this weekend, i am flying down to meet the new baby and see the new parents! i can't wait... i'll bring back pics!

death cab and muffin spa day @ bliss

on sunday, death cab for cutie tickets went on sale at 10am online. betty and i have been waiting to go to their show for ages. last time they were here, we completely missed out on them. as soon as we heard about the show, they had already sold out. so this year, with the new album, we decided we would definitely go.

after getting tickets, i left for muffin spa day at bliss spa at the w hotel, which had just opened in july. it is on the 4th floor and is oh-so-blissful. there were the four of us, me, muffinslut, murdock muffin, and blueberry muffin. we were there for 3 hours filled with relaxation and pampering. it was lovely. we plan to go back soon!

while still in our very blissful moments, we decided to get a piece of heaven and go to kirala's for sushi. most of our favorite characters including louis the bartender and conrad, one of the sushi chefs. it was an absolute smurftastic day! ;)

my inner geek

ted and i have been watching this mini series called taken on dvd. when it was on the sci-fi channel a couple of years ago, my brother and i watched it with much excitement. i was a huge x-files fan and this show was right up my alley. there are a bunch of no names in it and a couple actors that are in the mainstream now. for example, dakota fanning is in it and stanford from sex & the city. i don't know his real name.

anyway, each episode is about an hour and a half so we are limited to watching one episode on a work night. the mini series starts in the 1940s at the time of ww2 and follows 3 different families that intertwine with each other over a few generations to present time. there are so many new characters being introduced and the make up on the aging characters is horrible but the story line is absolutely riveting.

i actually bought the dvd for my brother's birthday and couldn't wait to start watching it. he has yet to get the chance to watch it again because of his very busy schedule but i'm sure he will get around to it. it doesn't make me a bad person, right?

happy 33rd to my big brother!!

last friday, my big brother turned the big 33. my lovely sister-in-law (his sneaky wife) sent out an email saying that they were throwing him a birthday party on saturday with him included. then she turned around and sent outanother email excluding my brother about his surprise birthday dinner at maggiano's.
here is my 4-year old nephew in his fancy tuxedo that he never gets to wear. the story was that i was taking him to a dress up party at my friend's place and that there would be other children there, um, yeah right. likely story...

us girls with the birthday boy & two little boys

all the men

after the parents left, the shots came out. it was a grand ole time for all but 3 sick ladies. too many shots, apparently for some...

my younger cousin's blog

so i've been secretly reading my younger cousin's blog. i'd say little but she's twice as big as i am. but i am 10 years older. which makes me feel old... i guess i'm not really secretly reading her blog, i told her once, and she was embarassed! but she's so full of sass on her blog. she's usually very sweet and quiet and respectful around me. it's refreshing to know how much attitude she has. she's also a sagittarius which means sass was a given.

despite the whole open to the world blog thing, i still feel like i'm secretly doing it. i wonder what she would think if she read my blog? hmmm...

shoes from the nordstrom sale earlier this summer

aren't they pretty?

summary of events...

i've been bad with posting lately because i've been SO utterly busy!! anyway let's see what's happened in the last few weeks...

sunday, september 4
my lovely cousin debbie got married to her sweetheart of almost 10 years, roger. it was in morgan hill and despite the very hot weather, a very beautiful occasion. i saw family i hadn't seen in ages! and the nordstrom crew, as always, is a pleasure to spend time with! my sister-in-law thuy played this hilarious joke on the bride and groom. it was after we saw my other cousins (the bride's siblings) make the couple eat a spring roll from each end. it was sort of like the spaghetti scene in the lady and the tramp. anyway, thuy got a piece of cold broccoli, tied it when something she found out of the centerpiece and dipped it in hennessey! so, jacob (lisa's bf) hung it over their heads for them to bob and eat it together. they said it was the nastiest thing they'd ever eaten. but she told us she loved us anyway... :D

saturday, september 10
the big moving day. i flew down on thursday night so i can help ted move. i spent half the day on friday packing up his stuff. good thing he doesn't have much. i'm so not looking forward to packing my stuff up. i really need to learn to throw out stuff. the actual moving day was a big mess... it started at 9 in the morning to pick up the uhaul truck and the tow dolly (to tow his car). there was a problem with the two dolly and one of the lights didn't work. so they had to take it to a different location. we were starved and went to the café tropical in silver lake for a snack and coffee (really good cuban food, the coffee is SO good! and at great prices). we then decided to run to the osh hardware store to pick up some rope for his piano. and on the way back to the uhaul, we saw an american apparel store and ted stopped to get a shirt for work. by the time we got back, it was 11am. we still had a lot of packing to do!

sometime after 2pm, ted's friend mal showed up to help with the piano. it was a tough job despite the ramp. there were two other guys that came and helped them lift the piano up a little step to the back of the truck. i spent most of the time finishing up all the packing and doing some cleaning. then my friend (and ted's) joe showed up after mal left and help tremendously with the move. we still need to take joe out for helping us.

after all the packing and cleaning, we were finally done! so we took the truck out for some gas and some dinner. then we got back to put the car on the tow and had no clue how to do it. so ted called uhaul and they told him to stop in and they would do it for him. it was 20 minutes to 7 and they closed at 7. by this time, the other light of the tow dolly had gone out! it was so frustrating!! when we got to uhaul, the guy that was helping us didn't speak an ounce of english and had no idea what ted was asking him. finally, some other guy came along. but he wouldn't help us because they didn't want to be liable so he just showed us what to do. finally, we got on the road at 7:20p. and while merging onto the freeway, some stupid jerk tried to cut us off. he sped up while we were getting into the right lane and almost hit us but went onto the pavement to avoid it. what an asshole.

we stopped once to get gas 3/4 down to empty. it costs us $75. the whole way, ted went 65 mph or slower. the speed limit for the tow dolly is actually 45 mph. it was going fine until we saw some flashing lights. it was a copper. he said one of the chains from the tow had fallen out and that we might want to secure it. apparently, it had been dragging on the road that part of the hook had disintegrated! the cop probably noticed the sparks from it dragging. it was close to 3am when we finally got back to my apartment. we just brought in the necessities.

the next day we unloaded in an hour! and it took a while to get someone to help with the piano but we finally dropped it off at my parents' house and dropped off the truck. good riddens. i don't know if we'll tow a car again...

yesterday, september 13
i had my follow up with my ophthalmologist. and the intubation didn't work. my tear ducts are still completely obstructed and now, it means i will need surgery. the surgery entails opening up the side of my nose to stretch out the tear duct sac. he says it would happen on a friday and i would be able to go back to work on monday. eek. good to know it's a fast recovery time. he wrote me a prescription for eye drops and wants to see me in 6 months. what a pain...

tube free!

on tuesday, i had my appointment with the ophthalmologist. i wasn't sure if he was going to remove my tube just yet or just check it out. so, i asked him, when do i get this thing outta me? and he sat pondering... and finally says, i'm trying to decide whether to do it now or not? he wasn't sure 20 days was enough but he decided to go ahead and do it.

it wasn't nearly as painful as when the tube was inserted but i am so relieved it is out. my eye feels so much better, especially when i rub it. i know, i should stop that. my tear ducts were stretched from the tube that they're a little droopy but it's not obvious.

i see him in 2 weeks and he predicts that i will be very happy and smiley when i see him... let's hope!

baby shower #3 & baby kane

on saturday, kelly's mom hosted kelly's 3rd baby shower. it was great fun and the food was delicious! we played games and shared horror stories on giving birth. um, so i think i'll take my time when i have a baby...

then on sunday, i went to see my cousin lily's 11 week-old baby boy. he was so sweet and chunky. he fell asleep in my arms while i caught up with her on family stuff. her sister debbie is getting married this coming sunday! i can't believe it's already here... i best get myself to the gym.