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Archive for November, 2008

november 18, 2008

i watched the latest james bond movie, quantum of solace, at kabuki theatre today.  when the movie ended, i was left with a sense of… confusion.  i have no idea what that movie was about.  it reminded me of the last batman movie where the hero fights a villain, villain almost wins… but in the end hero wins.  yah?  in my personal opinion, these movies suck because there is no sense of drama or element of surprise… i could’ve guessed the ending before even watching the stupid movie.  honestly, i would go as far to say that fireproof was a better movie.  i didn’t agree with its ending, but at least it kept me on the edge.

madagascar-2-posterthe movie i really wanted to watch was madagascar 2!  why?  because the original madagascar was awesome.  my aunt and baby nephews stayed with my parents in the summer of 2006 for a couple months, and i got to spend time with them for about a month.  their favorite activity was watching tv… and their favorite movies were ice age, madagascar and the lion king.  feeling they were deprived from having such a limited choice, i went to a nearby blockbuster and bought every disney/pixar animation movie i could find.  ok, that’s a lie, but i think i bought 6 or 7 movies in all, and the bill was ridiculous.  i came back home feeling like a hero, only to find out that all my kiddos wanted to do was watch ice age and madagascar and the lion king… nothing else.  it was amazing to see them watch the same movie over and over, be surprised by the same scenes, laugh at the same scenes, and sometimes finish the sentences to the lines in the movie (amazing because they couldn’t speak english, the little one could barely speak korean!).  and of course, they would make me sit between them and make me watch it with them.  it was actually really cute because sometimes i would walk away, and they would be so into the movie that they wouldn’t realize i wasn’t there for a few minutes.  when they found out i wasn’t there, they would run over and take me back with them.  it was the best when the movie ended and they would say, “again! again!”  of course being the awesome person with no job and no friends, i would sit there and watch the whole thing with them… again.  i watched this movie at least… at LEAST 30 times in that month alone.  we even went to the san deigo zoo to find alex, marty, melman, and gloria… and king julian (finding the characters to ice age on the other hand was a bit of a challenge).  

(동건이 in a fort of pillows, not knowing i’ve left)

(look at the focus in 정민이’s eyes)

i love these kids!  if you haven’t seen madagascar 1, go SEE IT!! and then let me know so that i have somebody to watch 2 with.  spanks.

(aimee aaron and i had dinner at japantown center before the movie)

(i guess i wasn’t supposed to take pictures)

(i love crepes; yum =P)

(the lovely kabuki theatre)

(awesome night with the new front courtyard)

november 16, 2008

i expected to wake up sunday morning sore from football, but i wasn’t expecting to wake up sick.  i woke up realizing:

1. every muscle hurt.

2. my throat hurt

3. i could only breath out of my left nostril

4. i was coughing

5. everytime i coughed, my abs and back hurt 

it was the ultimate double whammy, i coughed cuz i was sick and the coughing induced soreness in my abs and back and every other part of my body.  i know i know, boo-hoo cry about it right?  

(my solution to the common cold… nyquil to knock me out and water water and more awesome water)

moving on…

being sick the last couple days reminded me of my freshmen year in college.  i’m sick often.  actually, i USED to be sick often.  but my colds were very mild, i was always sick but never too sick.  james on the other hand was rarely sick, but when he did get sick he was very very sick.  it was as if only the best of my cold viruses would somehow mutate into an unstoppable beast and feather over to james’ body.  this story starts on a beautiful winter morning.  

one awesome winter morning, i stepped out of class, took a deep breath of air and was feeling as good as you could possibly imagine.  it must’ve been an indian summer day because i remember it was sunny and warm.  vacuuming in our dorms was somewhat of a difficult task because, well… we didn’t have a vacuum cleaner.  luckily, i learned earlier that month that there were rental vacuum cleaners available in the front office.  i got to my dorm room, opened the windows and decided it was a wonderful day for vacuuming, almost like spring cleaning.  i trotted down to the front office, rented a vacuum and cleaned our entire room ceiling to floor.  life was wonderful.

the next morning i woke up sicker than i’ve ever been sick before.  it came out of nowhere; this was the king of all colds.  never had i been, and never have i been since as sick as i was those two awful weeks.  unfortunately for james, the king of all colds further mutated in my body and feathered over to him in the form of a super king cold.  i think he had to go to the hospital because he was so sick.  

in short, i blamed the cold on the vacuum cleaner, james concured, and we never vacuum our room again.  the end :)

november 15, 2008

if you were anywhere near sf yesterday, you’d agree that it was an amazing day outside.  lucky for me, i had a flag football game planned at golden gate park.  it was a great opportunity to get some exercise and competition on a beautiful saturday afternoon.   intramural flag football at michigan is very different in that contact is almost not allowed.  hence, i wasn’t expecting the physical and aggressive game that i was throwing myself into.  getting stiff-armed, held down, tackled and stripped is something i was not expecting, but i got used to it real quick and it was awesome.  we played for almost 2 hours, and although we lost 10-7 (that’s 10TD’s to 7TD’s), it was still a lot of fun.  

(it’s a difficult task taking pictures of a game… and hence the only picture i have is the field we played)

the day continued with dinner at tom yum in the marina followed by bowling at serra bowl.  bowling used to be a weekly routine in ann arbor, but it has fallen to a rare occasion since i moved to california.  i’m not sure if this is because there are no bowling alleys nearby, or if it’s because there is no $1 bowling, or because there are other (better) things to do… it’s probably a combination of the three.  i bowled a surprisingly well for playing for the first time in months, yay.  the other team got off to a hot start, and although we made a run in the middle, we couldn’t overcome the early lead in the end.  my awesomeness in terms of balance and shot is displayed below:

(aimee <3 turkey)

(bowwwwling)

(bowling shoes are awesome)

(for losing, my team had to buy the winning team ice cream at michell’s; twas good ice cream as evident by the ridiculous line and wait)

(the crew admiring the people inside)

(we were ecstatic to finally get our delicious ice cream)

november 9-14, 2008

i worked from our firm’s palo alto office this week, and although the commute was exhausting, it was a great experience.  i got a look at the caltrain for the first time and like all the other public transportation, i loved it.  for the most part the first day was a success, except i didn’t know you had to validate the ticket before boarding.  go me.  i gave the ticket lady ‘i’m real sorry, i’m a newb’ look, and she let me go.  phew~  the only painful part of the commute was monday’s after work, where i had to take a 2 hour commute palo alto to berkeley for a 3 hour class.  that is something i’d like to never ever do ever again.  

i’ve gone with no car for almost a year now, and i’m loving it.  sf has a fairly good network of trains and buses, and i took advantage of all of them today. i traveled from sf (home) to palo alto (work) by caltrain, then to berkeley (class) by caltrain + bart, then back home by bart + muni, all for just under $20!! how wonderfully cheap, convenient, and effortless! with the approval of the california high-speed rail system that’ll provide transit from norcal to socal and vice-versa, the transportation system in california will only get that much better.

(commuting with the train felt like i was in some kind of movie, an old movie, but a movie nevertheless)

(nice view; on a side note, i sat on the left side of the caltrain and everytime the train on the other side passed, it scared the crap out of me.  i sat on the right side going forward)

(on my way from the station to the office; first time seeing red leaves this fall!)

(awesome palm trees)

(the pretty fountain at the office)

(make sure you validate your ticket!… this only applies to the 10-ride tickets btw)

(bart <–> caltrain; bart/caltrain transfer at millbrae)

(i missed cake on monday because i left early for class, but a coworker saved a slice for me! best coworker ever)

(in return, i gave pepero to everybody at work in honor of pepero day)

november 13, 2008

the detroit pistons made their only visit to the bay area today.  since it would be awwwwwfully rude to not see such important visitors, i had to go to say hello.  the game was close almost the entire way, and the crowd really got into it towards the end.  it was a great atmosphere and the pistons pulling out a win at the end added to a great game.  

i’ve been to a visiting pistons game before, but the golden state warrior fans were far louder and more passionate about their team than the previous city.  it’s always somewhat intimidating to go into somebody else’s home town and cheer for your visiting team, especially when the fans love their own.  however, i felt like it was fun in a different way from cheering the pistons at the palace, and i had a lot of fun.  i found the tickets on craigslist and got these $100 tickets for $60, woohoo!

i also saw allen iverson for the first time, and he was faster in real life;  quick as a bee.  as much as i’ll miss mr. big shot, the new look pistons are faster and more exciting.  it’ll be interesting to see what these guys can do down the road as ai gets more comfortable with the players and the new system.

(the jumbo screen; warriors vs pistons)

(chris’ awesome cup, hahaha)

 

(AI’s intro)

(pretty good seats)

(hah, i tell everybody to shut up)

(taytay seals it up for the stones)

(gs fans go home, i’m happy)

november 11, 2008

peperotoday is pepero day (click on link for more info)!!!. it is unfortunate that this glorious day is little known beyond koreans, and therefore i’m here to promote this awesome day of eating pepero to all! what? i sound ridiculous? huh? i should be working? well, maybe you’re right, but for those of us that remember eating pepero before the age of time, it is surely a holiday (eh-hem, it IS a holiday) worth celebrating. besides, who doesn’t like pepero?

here are some videos to show the awesomeness that is- pepero day. happy pepero day everybody!

november 5, 2008

my presidential vote appears to have counted towards the winning party!  i thought it was no surprise that obama won; what i didn’t expect was the chaos and euphoria that would break out in the streets of sf following the results.  i couldn’t resist and joined in on the party.  i feel like obama’s greatest asset is his ability to inspire, and that’s important, but i can actually care less about it.  i’m excited because i feel that his youth puts him at an advantageous position compared to previous presidents, and his vision is more in line with me and my generation.  a president that has a vision of the future that isn’t measured by a few years, but by decades.  now that’s something to be excited about.  i also realized i know nothing about this man.  wikipedia does a great job of summarizing his life in 5 mins of reading.  as far as if he can actually execute half the things he promised… we’ll have to hold off on that one.   i’m also sad to report that we will not have a george w bush sewage plant in sf, sad.

(for now, a victory drink!  a victory drink for the passing of the high speed train from norcal to socal!)

(chaos in the bar)

(chos in the streets)

(my souvenir.  not will, the sign)

nov 4, 2008

the good news is that i did my civil duty and voted this morning.  unfortunately, the teams i root for usually lose, especially when i’m in the vicinity.  this has been a sad, but true story of my life.  this entry is not about obama or mccain, or detroit: this entry is about me.

 pistonsexample 1: the detroit pistons

the pistons have won the championship 3 times since i was born, but never while i’ve been present in detroit.  i moved to detroit in 1991, right after their previous championship seasons (1989, 1990).  they did not win another one until 2004, while i was interning in korea.  i was excited and happy to see them win on tv, but also disheartened to see the jubilation that was happenening not 10 miles from my home in michigan while i was halfway around the world.

michigan-loseexample 2: michigan football

the michigan football team has alwaysbeen held to the highest of standards.  we fans don’t want just a win, we want a rout.  we want our defense the knock out quarterbacks, and our offense to run up the score.  you don’t agree?  well, ok, at least i do.  during my college years, michigan went to the rose bowl 3 times, but it wasn’t quite enough as 1. they weren’t national championships 2. we lost all of them.  the last time michigan won a national championship in football was 1997.  where was i in 1997?  that’s right, korea.  i moved back to korea and lived there from 1996-1998.

Red Wings Predators Hockey

example 3: the detroit red wings

i grew up playing hockey, and the red wings were naturally my favorite team.  the wings have been a dominant team as far as i can remember, and it has been fun to watch these guys win the championship more times than any other detroit team in the last decade or so.  the most recent stanely cups have given me hope for a brighter future, but their first two of my lifetime was a painful reminder of the effect of my presence in detroit.  you can guess when they won back to back stanley cups… 1997 and 1998, the two years i was in korea.  ouch.  however, the wings won it again in 2001, where i was in detroit.  when they won it last year, i was in sf, not detroit, but not korea either.

i missed the 2000 presidential elections by just one year… but if i could’ve voted, i would have voted for gore because i felt that a pansy leader was better than an idiot leader.  gore as you know, lost.  in 2004 when i finally turned old enough to vote, i voted for kerry becuase again and stronger so, i believed a pansy leader was better than an idiot leader.  kerry as you know, lost.  i was a big supporter of hillary this year during the democratic presidential nominee race because i believed her experience in the white house was too valuable to overlook.  despite being a dominant favorite not only to beat obama, but to win the presidency, she didn’t even get out of the first round.  

now we know that obama is a huge favorite coming into today’s election, but mccain is technically not out of the race.  and considering i voted for obama, i’ll be keeping my fingers crossed.  did i feel silly taking pictures of my votes?  yes.  did i do it anyway?  yes.

(my polling place was in my apt building! how convenient!)

(the line wasn’t too bad either)

(this ‘secrecy folder’ did little to keep my votes a secret.  there weren’t enough tables, so i had to fill my votes on the ground)

(lots of ballots)

(probably the most humerous of proposals- to rename the oceanside water pollution control plant to the george w bush sewage plant, i voted yes)

(my reward)

october 31, 2008

i’m not much of a festive halloween partier, but i never lived in sf before either.  since it seemed like everybody here was dressing up for a halloween party, i was planning on doing the same.  UNTIL… i realized i would have to get up bright and early for a 7 hour class at berkeley.  cancel the costume.  cancel the parties.  

i did however, get a pleasant surprise at work when my supervisor treated us with a halloween cake.

(twas good cake)

(cake and coffee)

it was a quiet and early night for me.  hope everybody had a happy and safe halloween!

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