hong kong-poly

today, i was walking with my mum at wing on, a hk department store, and found a deluxe hong kong monopoly game for HK$263 (or divide with me here... ~US$33.00). i don't think it's worth it at that price, but we're going somewhere else to look for it to see if it's cheaper.

so if/when i bring the game back, who's up for a little game of hong kong-poly? don't you want to set up houses and hotels in tuen mun (see picture)?

hahaha, i just saw that the money is in belgian francs... wtf? cuz, hk people use belgian francs on a daily basis???

and on my search for a picture of hong kong monopoly, i found this website. i was interested in reading it, but i didn't have a magnifying glass handy, and i immediately lost interest.

good thing it's mandarin

there's an article on yahoo reporting how more americans are starting to learn chinese (mandarin) because china is becoming a world superpower both economically and politically.

excerpt: ...china's dramatic rise to near superpower status and its telling effects politically, economically and culturally are driving the interest to learn the language, experts say...

all i can say is how glad i am that they are not learning cantonese... phew! if only white people knew what i say to them in front of their faces. haha, i kid. *shaking head*

this probably means i should brush up on my mandarin, doesn't it? or more accurately, learn mandarin.

as my college chinese course TA told me, "francis, what you're speaking is cantonese. this is a mandarin course. take your cantonese outside the door. now try again... but this time, speak mandarin."

what's even more impressive is the fact that 2,400 high schools across the country are interested in offering AP Chinese when it becomes available in 2006 by the (stupid, fucked up bitch of a company) college board (according to 2004, college board survey). and most of these schools don't even offer chinese language courses now.

excerpt: ...two prominent senators [one of which is joe lieberman] have proposed legislation that authorizes 1.3 billion dollars in federal funds over five years for chinese language instruction in US schools... the bill also would increase american consular activity to support rapidly growing US businesses in china and would encourage internet cultural exchanges between chinese and american citizens...

it's interesting to see how capitalist US is buddying up with the commy bastards from china. oh how times have changed. of course, at this point, i don't think china is anywhere close to the communistic ideology of mao. it's pretty capitalistic, if anything. and maybe chinese citizens don't have much civil rights, but is that such a bad thing? just because americans don't agree with something, it doesn't make it wrong or bad.

yeah, so to all y'all crackers out there... start learning chinese. but mandarin only, please. xie xie.

pagination view

i know i'm a bit late on this... my reaction is a bit slow these days, but when the fuck did news websites start having the annoying paginated views? am i the only person who's really fucking annoyed by having to click "next page" everytime i want to continue reading an online article? granted, they usually have a "single page" link so you can click on that and read the article in its entirety. but seriously, what happened to the good days of yore when you can just read an article after it loads without having to deal with extra clicking?

can someone please tell me what the purpose of putting an article on more than one page?

if it's 1. so people don't have to spend a lot of time downloading a page, then fuck them... they should splurge out $20 for broadband or steal it from their neighbors, or 2. so news websites don't waste a lot of bandwidth (which doesn't sound right to me)... well fuck them too.

regardless, someone please let me know why it's so fucked up? look at that picture... i have the options of one extra click or five... FIVE extra clicks. fucking bitch.

and yes, i was playing freecell.

a healthy diet

here's what i've been thinking...

i don't eat nearly healthy enough. anything green... pass. fresh fruit... nah. actually, that's not true. if it's peeled, i'd probably eat it. i'm just too lazy to peel my own fruit. so anyway, i'm basically a meat-potato-gravy kinda guy.

i've decided to eat healthier.

that's right. less beef, more leaf! (*ouch*) but knowing myself, i'm not really too crazy about vegetables. i like chard for about a week, but it's fallen out of favor with me. probably cuz i ate it everyday straight for a week. i like romaine lettuce, but it's such a bitch to have to buy it and chop it 1/3 of it up and then have the rest wilts after a couple of days. and i really like chinese broccoli too. i don't like bak choy though.

i think that's another problem with vegetables. you buy veggies with the best of intentions, but then you ignore them for a few days, and it's over... they stop becoming the vegetables that you bought. they either become 1. rubbery and flaccid or 2. a gooey green mess. and i'm not really a big fan of pre-processed vegetables in a bag.

according to rachel ray's, 30-minute meals, one way to combat this problem is to wash your vegetables immediately after you get them from the market. and after drying them, put them in a zip-top plastic bag. that's almost laughable. i don't think i have the time nor the motivation to do that. i rather watch them wilt and turn into the aforementioned gooey mess.

vegetables should really come in single size (or single meal size) servings from the market. that would solve a lot of my problems. "oh, i feel like having veggies, tonight. i'll just pop over to the supermarket." now, i don't know about you, but i live within a mile radius of three supermarkets, so it's not too big a deal. that would probably work for me. oh, since i have a wive, i guess it should be two-people's serving size.

but what i should really do is invest some time into eating fruits. they taste great and they are good for you. what more could i want? of course, having someone like my mum (right now, since i'm in hk), peel them for me is a much better way to eat fruit than having to peel them myself. but honestly, it's something i'll have to do to become healthier.

that's right, more fruit and veggies.

of course, i know that it's impossible to eat healthy all the time. that's why i think my friend, brian's, idea is great. you eat healthy monday through friday and spend the weekends eating... well, not so healthy. like no fast food on weekdays, but once during the weekend is okay. no kfc ever though. king taco once a week. i consider subway pretty healthy, so that's okay during the weekdays.

when i get back to la, this is my plan for dinners...

each day: tons of fruits, 1 serving of veggies
each weekday: 2 nights of fish, steamed or baked only
each weekday: 2 nights of chicken, steamed or baked only
each weekday: 1 night of either pork or beef
each weekday: 1 cup (and 1 cup only) of rice or any carbs
weekends: fast foods okay. king taco okay. buffets okay. bbq at carlin's or mark's okay.

kfc and the phoenix should be outlawed.

for lunch during the week, subway is okay. tuna fish sandwiches are okay.

i'm sure i'll be adding to the list what's not okay and what's okay... i can't remember what i normally eat (it's been so long). but i'll try to stick to what i have here to see how well it'll work.

racial killing

when will people stop the hate? bludgeon to death with an axe? what's the point? what does that prove? how will that help?

RIP and prayers for his family.

shit like this pisses me off sometimes.

charging... charging...

i just discovered that i have to take out the sim card from smartone that i'm currently using here in hk in order to charge my cell phone.

i swear i was at my wit's end trying to figure out why my cell phone wouldn't charge regularly. good thing i decided to check the battery and decided to take out the sim card to see what was the matter. and serendipituously, i had my cell phone plugged into the charger and the charging indicator came on immediately after i took out the sim card.

it's a miracle!

talk about scoring...

according to this article, there's going to be a big ass brothel a walk's way from one of the designated cities holding matches for the 2006 world cup in germany.

excerpt: ...named after the virgin huntress of Greek mythology, the "Artemis" complex is due to open for business in September with whirlpool, sauna, cinema, buffet restaurant and a staff of 100 prostitutes.

so why isn't prostitution and drugs legalized in this country? if cigarettes, which kills hundreds of thousands of people each year, is legal, why not drugs likes mj, crack, etc.?

well, i think chris rock had it right when he said that cigarettes are legal cuz it makes the white man rich. you can never legalize drugs that will make the black man rich. and by black man, i'm talking about people in countries that produce these illegal drugs (countries in south america, asia, etc).

you can say that all illegal drugs are bad... just look at the medicinal uses of mj. it's ridiculous.

i'll be back!

one week and counting...

and remember:

ichiro

there's an interesting story on ichiro on espn.com. just thought those who are interested should know.

to my baby

I'll be your dream
I'll be your wish I'll be your fantasy
I'll be your hope I'll be your love
Be everything that you need
I'll love you more with every breath
Truly, madly, deeply do
I will be strong I will be faithful
'cause I'm counting on
A new beginning
A reason for living
A deeper meaning, yeah

[chorus:]
I want to stand with you on
a mountain
I want to bathe with you in the sea
I want to lay like this forever
Until the sky falls down on me

And when the stars are shining
brightly in the velvet sky,
I'll make a wish send it to heaven
Then make you want to cry
The tears of joy for all the
pleasure in the certainty
That we're surrounded by the
comfort and protection of

The highest powers
In lonely hours
The tears devour you

[chorus]

Oh can you see it baby?
You don't have to close your eyes
'Cause it's standing right
before you
All that you need will surely come

I'll be your dream I'll be your wish
I'll be your fantasy
I'll be your hope I'll be your love
Be everything that you need
I'll love you more with every breath
Truly, madly, deeply do

[chorus]

I want to stand with you on a
mountain
I want to bathe with you in the sea
I want to live like this forever
Until the sky falls down on me

(savage garden: truly, madly, deeply)

boom-boom in my pants

more blog-surfing has led me to this...

excerpt:

... is there any possible way we can kill a certain team lead. I'm not going to mention any names, but she's a female and her names rhymes with Angela. I know you guys go back a long way, but she quite frankly about as pleasant as a bleeding hemmorhoid. Trust me I know. Not only would this effect my over all performance here at the company, you would become my personal hero. My phobia of all things faggy notwithstanding, I would be willing to give you the worst blow job of your life if you would consider this...

from the underground

i came across this when i was blog surfing today. it's a bit... i'm not sure what it is.

notice to all passengers: please do not run on the platforms or concourses -- especially if you are carrying a rucksack, wearing a big coat or look a bit foreign. this notice is for your own safety. thank you.

i'm not sure if there are words to describe this... maybe, the world's a-changing.

babe-a-licious

happy second month-a-versary, baby!

first jennifer...

now brooke.












and speaking of jennifer, here's one with her and vince "double-down" vaughn.

Is this really necessary?

is anyone else bothered by the article in the latimes about how asian women are purchasing tons of skin-whitening treatment in hopes of attaining paler features?

"It seems tied primarily to colonial history, a fascination with whiteness," he said. "Dark skin gets associated with manual labor, agrarian communities, being less cosmopolitan."

The pursuit of white skin is all the more troubling because it appears to reinforce long-held prejudices in East Asia against fellow Asians with darker skin, Mimura said. Given the cost of whitening regimens, he added, maintaining that perfect milky glow seems reserved for women who can afford it.

"I think these women see skin-whitening very much along the lines of buying a Louis Vuitton bag," he said.

arrrgh!

best mummy award...

and the candidates for award for the best mother of the year are:

this woman:

A mother was under arrest Wednesday on child endangerment and other charges after authorities said she abandoned her 4-year-old son on the Capital Beltway, then struck him with her car when he tried to get back in.

as if abandoning your child in the middle of nowhere wasn't bad enough, hitting him with the car... that's just wrong. of course, what can you expect from a 22 yr. old mother.

or this woman (warning, this woman is damn ugly!):

A pregnant Oklahoma woman who split a case of beer with her boyfriend shortly before giving birth last month is facing felony child neglect charges. Melissa Irene Tanner, a 37-year-old mother of seven, had a blood alcohol content nearly four times the state's .08 limit.

her baby had a BAC of 0.21, fucking shit, i don't think i've ever had a BAC of 0.21.

and finally, you have this woman.

A woman who told police she wanted to be a "cool mom" pleaded guilty to sexual assault charges Monday for having sex with high school boys at parties where authorities said she supplied drugs and alcohol.

and where was this parent when i was growing up?

so i guess thinking about it... britney's kid isn't that bad off after all.

poor kid

you have to feel kinda sorry for this kid...

birthday boy, pt. 2

i thought that being in hk would allot me some time to update my blog, but it hasn't and i'm a bit disappointed. it probably has something to do with my 10pm sleeping time. it just doesn't seem like there's a lot of time during the day.

anyway, this isn't about hk. i wanted to go into the whole birthday experience so i can remember later on in life.

let's see... for some reason i woke up early that day. it might have been because one of the new hamster, i think it was shaq, got free and one of the cats was trying to get at it. deidra, surprisingly, was able to hear the hamster squeal so she woke up screaming at me to get the hamster. i'm still a bit befuddled that she heard the hamster at all.

anyway, so after being so rudely woken up, i decided to go to starbucks to finish up with the dinner menu. at around 9am, i went to get a haircut. right before i got a haircut, jenny called me up and told me she was at starbucks. so afterwards, i walked over to starbucks and we started to strategize about what we're doing tonight.

a little bit before 11am, i went home and showered. went to target to get a water gun, then the chinese market to get some ingredients for potstickers and the beef satay. then went to vons to pick up some limes, chicken, and steak for the bbq. went home and packed up the decorations, got a change of clothes that i didn't use, but really, totally should have used. drove over to carlin's house at around 2:30pm.

at carlin's, i started working on the potstickers and the beef satay. carlin was cleaning the house and the backyard. jenny was having lunch with her parents that day and was going to carlin's later after picking up some ingredients and equipment from her place.

i think it's a good idea to stop briefly here to list out the dinner menu, don't you think?

appetizer
beef satay with peanut sauce,
beef, pork, and, shrimp potstickers,
this toasted bread thing jenny made. (i'll have to get the name for it later.)

entree
bbq chicken and steak
baked ziti

salad
some sort of salad carlin made (have to ask)

dessert
a cake made by david's sister
lemon bars
chocolate espresso bars
jello with sparkling wine

anyway, i can't exactly remember the complete list, i'm sure someone will remind me of something.

so, after a while, jenny swings by and i would like to note (again) that she and david did a lot of the cooking. she was cooking some of her dishes while i was still taking care of the satay and potstickers. david comes with the cake, which had a putt-putt theme (thanks to david's sister). i put david in charge with making the vodka infused watermelon... which never did work out quite well.

mark and rob came by next with several containers of jello shots. oh, i hadn't eaten all day, so i had one to tide me over. :) then i put mark and rob out to do the decorations. by the time they were done, cecil came by, and i put her and mark on potsticker folding duty. while rob and i were putting the sliced beef flank on the pre-soaked skewers.

things were going well, but apparently, we were running a bit behind. luckily not many people were on time anyway. i think dan was the first of the guests to arrive. then brian came and brought the spam sushi dish that he had made that day. it was still warm and it was so damn good. i had three of them and was starting to fill up.

anyway, about this time, i stopped caring about the cooking and left that to carlin, jenny, and david. so very SORRY about that! i think jenny got a bit ticked off at me for leaving her to prepare what she said was an "elaborate menu." yeah, that was really my bad!

i ended up having some water fun with some of the guests, whichwas a real blast for me. hahaha, i got some people good but not as good as how some people got me. and i got deidra a bit wet as well, which was great. at one point, robert a. and chris ran after me with this incredibly big plastic container of water. anyway, i spend most of the night doing that and walking people to their cars. melva and soo ended up cooking the satay and david ended up making the peanut sauce.

after awhile, i realized that i haven't really been drinking at all, so i ended up doing some shots in the span of 5-10 minutes. 1 hennessey shot, 2 jager shots, 1 whiskey shot, and 1 151 shot. yeah, that 151 was a real bitch. and i discovered that jello shots are not really good chasers. hahaha. after that, everything was good.

also, i don't know if it's me or not, but some people are a bit more funny when they are nice and intoxicated. see, who says drinking is bad?

amy and gordon brought the settlers of katan game and i think deidra and a bunch of people were playing it. when it got really late, we did the cake thing... unfortunately, some people left by then. and then we did the presents thing, at which point, more people had left. i do appreciate all my gifts though.

random thoughts:
- some of my school friends were suppose to come, but only one made it.
- deidra really loves mojitos
- i remember amy crashing on the recliner, gordon passed out underneath the archway between the living room and the dining room.
- brian, reyna, and myself polished off some dumplings (broiled version of potstickers).
- mark walked cecil to her car at one point. jay and i were outside and spotted them, so we sneaked back into the house, grabbed some water balloons left by soo (who was brilliant enough to bring her own ammo), and ambushed them. jenny and david found out what we were up to and decided to join us. i think i nailed mark pretty good on the thigh.
- this girl i went to elementary school with, sandy, dropped by because she went on a date with carlin and she remembered some of the south pas gang.
- tony passed out on carlin's floor.
- reyna was the last person to leave.
- it was a really fun birthday.

this is just wrong...

Q: What is the opposite of Christopher Reeve?

A: Christopher Walken!

birthday boy

wasn't it apropos that the los angeles angels of anahiem beat the minnesota twins, 7-6 on my birthday? i thought that was extremely nice of the angels to do that for me.

i had my birthday party at carlin's last friday. i realize now that doing so is not very cost effective and it's way too much work. unfortunately, i caught a cold after being outside and soaking wet for most of the night. but it was really fun regressing to an age where water fights are somewhat accepted as normal behavior.

i have to thank a number of people for making my birthday a real blast. deidra for providing all the awesome decorations, carlin, jenny, and david for cooking, mark and rob for the jello shots and putting up the decorations, melva and soo for cooking the satay, and cecil and mark for folding the potstickers.

it took me several days to get back to normal after being up most of that night.

Edit: rob also helped with the potsticker folding. thanks rob!

shaq, kobe, and mr. wellington

we commemorated yoshi's death by purchasing two new hamsters (russians) and a guinea pig. they are doing well, but now we have like six animals living in our very small apartment. it's insane.

the two hamsters, kobe and shaq... for now, are pretty fun to watch. the russian hamsters are not very human friendly, but they are more social than the normal short-haired hamsters. they are also much smaller. but they are cute. i don't particularly want to call kobe, kobe. but i don't know what to call him. it would be weird to call him dwayne, wouldn't it? is there a better name out there? any suggestion? and no batman and robin please.

the guinea pig, mr. wellington, is a bit shy. but apparently, if you play with them often, they get more and more social. we've been feeding it timothy hay like they recommend and it really loves that stuff. it's actually pretty interesting watching him (even thought it's a her) eat. *munch, munch, munch* the cats have taken a peticular interest in him. hopefully, he'll be okay with them.

i finally went to see kung fu hustle with deidra sunday. parts of it were really hilarious. i can't say i loved the movie, but it was entertaining. deidra actually loved it. she kept raving about it. she should see shaolin soccer. i thought it was a bit more funny. but the best stephen chow movie, imho, is fight back to school 2. that was hilarious. i'm not too big a fan of all the digital effects in kung fu hustle and shaolin soccer. it's just too fake.

i went to ucla (link on the right) last friday to have dinner with several friends and since i was there, i decided to get some ucla stuff for my sister's baby. i can't believe how bad my memory is because for the life of me, i can't remember if it's a boy or a girl. so anyway, i bought him/her a bib and do know how much the fucking bib cost me? $12. can you believe that shit? $12 for a fucking bib that says "UCLA" on it. it begs the question: why is tuition that high when they are robbing you blind at the student store.

one week and counting... *sob*

RIP

yoshi sadly passed away last night. RIP little one. *sob*

funeral services will be held today in my backyard. it'll be a public funeral.