Time Flies Like an Arrow, Fruit Flies Like a Banana

As I sit here on board flight MU 586 back to the motherland, I am overcome by a strong sense of nostalgia and sentimentality. However, it is not any of those things that have driven me to pen my thoughts this time…no, it is out of sheer boredom that I have found myself once again conversing with the likes of my keyboard and enjoying the refreshing glow of my LCD monitor.

While I personify the rest of my macbook, others around me are beginning to close their eyes, pull out books and magazines, or standing anxiously waiting for the vacuum flush of an airplane lavatory. It’s times like these that grant me a moment of reflection, a moment where I can shake off the momentum of the arrow and simply enjoy the sweet nectar and the revitalizing properties of potassium as it balances out my potassium-chlorine channel.

Almost as instantly as I boarded and sat down in my tiny little seat, crammed like sardines in a flying metal tube surrounded by jet-fuel 30,000 ft above the ground, I am bombarded by the reasons why I was so happy to leave Shanghai…THE PEOPLE. Don’t get me wrong, the city isn’t full of obnoxious, better-than-thou loogie spitting idiots, but it sure as hell seems like it. And this flight, direct from los angeles was no different. Mixed in with the individuals and families who are simply trying to get back to visit family and friends are the “locals” who will disregard the social order and respect of others and flip off their shoes, releasing wretched aromas into a poorly circulated ventilation system; who will disregard airline regulations and recline their seats even those sitting completely forward; who will snap at innocent bystanders only trying to put their luggage into the overhead compartments, slightly blocking the aisle, only to hypocritically perform the same task moments later. And my only solace to such entrapment on such a flight was the glimmering hope of being able to plug my computer into a socket and bury myself in my love affair with my hard-drive and flash games…unfortunately, as if to rub salt inside an already raw wound, the powers to be that have governed my motions throughout the inception of this trip, have decided to make my socket not comply with the electricity hungry salvation.

Seeing as how I’m ¾ of the way through this page and have not yet written down a single reflection of times past, I realize that I have forayed onto a tangent…away from the initial intention of nostalgia and sentimentality. And as I try to draw myself back to the original train of thought, I find myself drawing a blank instead. I had thought about poeticizing the last six months of my life that have taken on such a different face than I had expected when I first stepped out of my bubble and onto the nascent steps of my future…but I seem to have lost that voice of explanation amalgamated with reflective ambivalence. So I shall leave you all with this question:

“As I pass you from the window to the aisle, do I give you the crotch or the ass?”

My First Real Winter

i knew living here on the east coast was going to have its changes...the snobby new england attitude, the dismal supply of asian food (and faces for that matter), the prospect of car-less transportation, and of course...seasons.

and though it has been cold for quite some time now...and i have readjusted my measurements of what is cold. that low of 50 degrees in san diego so no longer considered sweater, hoodie, and boots weather...that has now become brisk, happy the wind-chill doesn't drop it to 40 degree weather. but through a couple of months of that...the mercury has finally dipped into the low 30s and yes, freezing temperature.

the byproduct of said temperature is of course this crazy, white, powdery substance that is unseen and unknown to those on west coast who do not have boards strapped to their feet staring down black diamonds. to those of us who typically remained at the base of the mountains, we tend to not experience the day to day snow fall. but this transplant has now experienced his first real winter.

this would be the image of the front of my house when i left it this morning at around 10:30am...this sight of white mixed with what's rest of the surviving flora already brought the excitement to my day (it may not look it, but it was snowing at the time as well...as it has for most of the day). however, the prospect of trekking through these meager centimeters of powder were not at all appealing, and the prospect of massive slippage on the ice and the perpetual embarrassment was enough to persuade me to take a bus 4 blocks to the shuttle station for school. yes...that is the west coast mentality (why walk when we can add to the pollution)


but after a day's worth of class and work and then group work back on campus, all the while the sky kept drifting snow...my surroundings became gradually whiter and whiter as green (or more orange-ish...as it was fall just a little bit ago) parks turned into snow-covered terrains fit for snowmen and snowball fights. and at my arrival home at around 8:00pm, this is basically the same view.

it is definitely a different sight to see on a winter day...and i for one am quite excited at the prospect of snowball fights with the guy standing next to me at the bus-stop and the possibility of a city shutdown due to the ineffectiveness of throwing salt everywhere. but i'm sure a few more weeks of these types of temperatures and the constant wetness, this winter wonderland may quickly turn into an icy hell. but until then, snow angels abound.

The Little People

it's always nice when the stars can do something for us little people...

sappy story, yes...but it's still nice

Thanksgiving 2007

maybe it's my lack of fresh posts...maybe i've lost my dry wit and whimsical humor (or maybe i never had any)...maybe i was yesterday's news...but whatever the reason, readership of huspot has definitely dropped and comments have dwindled (if you can tell me the other two words in the english dictionary that start with the letters "dw"...you get a voucher for one hu-hug or high-five).

but i will forage onwards with a determination only overshadowed by bush's stubbornness, and tell you about my thanksgiving...

it was supposed to be a small family affair of two, my mother and i...that turned into a throng of relatives, for which i was meant to cook for. never one to fear the stove...flaming pot of oil or not...i accepted the challenge.
though the turkey was premade, the rest of the food you see on that table was all me....bbq ribs (not very thanksgiving-ish, but still good)...green beans and pancetta...garlic mashed potatoes...candied yams...stuffed mushrooms, like olive garden used to make...arugula and endive salad with a white wine vinaigrette

okay...so i'm tooting my own horn...but hey, i'm proud of myself. this is the first time i've cooked for my family since that damp shanghai evening of burrito stuffed goodness. anyways, it was an overall success in the kitchen, on the dining room table....and even a lot of success on the craps table (but that's a separate story all together)

hope everyone else's thanksgiving was great

Oh Heidi

on this day of thanksgiving, i'm thankful for these...



don't worry...i'm sure i'll feel inspired at some point through the day to release my eloquence onto this blog and let all of you know what i'm thankful for.

Positions

get your mind out of the gutter kids...i'm not talking about the "dirty sanchez" or the "rusty trombone" or the "meat spin" (nsfw)...though the political maneuvering of some of these candidates can be considered just a despicable or yoga-esque. but as the latest round of democratic debates passes, i wonder what kind of platform i would run on...

sadly, it wouldn't be on hope, it wouldn't be on change, and it wouldn't be on truthiness...it would be on bitch-slapping Americans to a rude awakening. it would be a warning that we have become complacent, corrupt, and criminal...that we can no longer call ourselves the world's anything except joke. when our currency is trading so poorly that we can't even get supermodels to take it.

but back to the issues of the day...

health care: comprehensive reform and universal health care. mandate insurance for all citizens and access for all people. i'd open up the federal employee health benefits plan to ALL those who want it...creating a major pool to keep costs down. that radical hope would be to eliminate the "over 65" clause of medicare...see how those insurance companies react when they have to compete against the low costs of medicare on the individual.

iraq/iran/afganistan: get the hell out...caught to do it safely, so it might take longer than we'd like. but until we get political stability, we're not going to do any good in that region. not only are we losing money and lives, we've already given up all political respect and legitimacy. i mean, how can we go on chastising iran for supporting terrorism when we feed billions of dollars into saudi arabia only to have its citizens come back and bomb the shit out of us. hypocrisy is our foreign policy prerogative, and we need to step back and become the beacon we once were.

china: free-trade isn't going away anytime soon, and neither is our trade deficit as long as we continue to charge our war credit cards and enjoy cheap goods. sorry blue-collar population, but if you enjoy wal-mart and costco-esque prices, then we just have to face the possibility of losing some jobs. so what we need is to establish better trade laws...enforce the rules of the wto...and work on producing the advanced technological/scientific goods that can still dominate the export market.

taxes: sorry uber rich...you guys have been getting away with a criminally low marginal tax limit. can't tax over $97,500?? thats not as high as it used to be these days...so what do you say huh? how about helping out the little guys a little...improve some education, feed social security, better society.

there are definitely plenty more hotspots and democratic g-spots that could be rubbed...but i'm honestly just too lazy to get them down. my motivation is almost as strong as the democratic congress's backbone...that'll give you a good understanding.

Get Out The Popcorn

in my quest to culture myself in the arts, i am attempting to screen the AFI Top 100 Movies of All Time. thanks to netflix, i am progressing through the list...obviously also jumping on those new releases...but slowly, it will be done.

why? you may ask, am i doing this. well basically to kill time between work and school, and then work again. sure, i could use that time to study and do homework...OR...i could finally understand all those references made in 20 years of the simpsons. but it's more about appreciating the culture of the film/tv medium that has been degraded into a reality-fest of bisexual curiosity and perversions of fame.

okay...so i'm not really all that self-righteous, and my goal of watching these films is more about my narcissistic ability to regurgitate mindless trivia. i mean, how was am i supposed to have known that the convenient red convertible that wayne campbell hops into on his way to stop cassandra's marriage was actually a clever and hilarious (now that i know it) allusion to a young benjamin braddock in the graduate?

so before i hyperlink you to death and your a.d.d. riddled mind has forgotten about this post that sent you on a imdb and tmz circle-jerk...here is the AFI Top 100 list of films i've seen and are working on seeing.

CITIZEN KANE
GODFATHER, THE
CASABLANCA
RAGING BULL
SINGIN' IN THE RAIN
GONE WITH THE WIND
LAWRENCE OF ARABIA
SCHINDLER'S LIST
VERTIGO
WIZARD OF OZ, THE
CITY LIGHTS
SEARCHERS, THE
STAR WARS
PSYCHO
2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY
SUNSET BLVD.
GRADUATE, THE
GENERAL, THE
ON THE WATERFRONT
IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE
CHINATOWN
SOME LIKE IT HOT
GRAPES OF WRATH, THE
E.T. THE EXTRA-TERRESTRIAL
TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD
MR. SMITH GOES TO WASHINGTON
HIGH NOON
ALL ABOUT EVE
DOUBLE INDEMNITY
APOCALYPSE NOW
MALTESE FALCON, THE
GODFATHER PART II, THE
ONE FLEW OVER THE CUCKOO'S NEST
SNOW WHITE AND THE SEVEN DWARFS
ANNIE HALL
BRIDGE ON THE RIVER KWAI, THE
BEST YEARS OF OUR LIVES, THE
TREASURE OF THE SIERRA MADRE, THE
DR. STRANGELOVE
SOUND OF MUSIC, THE
KING KONG
BONNIE AND CLYDE
MIDNIGHT COWBOY
PHILADELPHIA STORY, THE
SHANE
IT HAPPENED ONE NIGHT
STREETCAR NAMED DESIRE, A
REAR WINDOW
INTOLERANCE
LORD OF THE RINGS: THE FELLOWSHIP OF THE RING, THE
WEST SIDE STORY
TAXI DRIVER
DEER HUNTER, THE
M*A*S*H
NORTH BY NORTHWEST
JAWS
ROCKY
GOLD RUSH, THE
NASHVILLE
DUCK SOUP
SULLIVAN'S TRAVELS
AMERICAN GRAFFITI
CABARET
NETWORK
AFRICAN QUEEN, THE
RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK
WHO'S AFRAID OF VIRGINIA WOOLF?
UNFORGIVEN
TOOTSIE
CLOCKWORK ORANGE, A
SAVING PRIVATE RYAN
SHAWSHANK REDEMPTION, THE
BUTCH CASSIDY AND THE SUNDANCE KID
SILENCE OF THE LAMBS, THE
IN THE HEAT OF THE NIGHT
FORREST GUMP
ALL THE PRESIDENT'S MEN
MODERN TIMES
WILD BUNCH, THE
APARTMENT, THE
SPARTACUS
SUNRISE
TITANIC
EASY RIDER
NIGHT AT THE OPERA, A
PLATOON
12 ANGRY MEN
BRINGING UP BABY
SIXTH SENSE, THE
SWING TIME
SOPHIE'S CHOICE
GOODFELLAS
FRENCH CONNECTION, THE
PULP FICTION
LAST PICTURE SHOW, THE
DO THE RIGHT THING
BLADE RUNNER
YANKEE DOODLE DANDY
TOY STORY
BEN-HUR

now that you've made it this far down...do you have any movies to add to my list to make my $14.95 a month investment in netflix worthwhile?

Primary Shakeup

already a complicated and contentious primary race ahead of us...the electorate will now have another contender to add to its indecision.

with hillary pulling away in all the national polls, my obamatized support is feeling a little worried. hillary's divisiveness has always been the main reason why she hasn't garnered my support...and the threat that her name on the ticket would energize the republican base to elect someone as crazy as rudy.


but now there is hope...no no, not al gore. apparently his nobel and recent commercial popularity is too much of a draw than the prospect of returning to a political life. it's okay, the draft gore movement will have to learn to focus their energy elsewhere. perhaps to south carolina, and the announcement of their favorite son to throw his hat in the ring...


damn...if only i lived in south carolina

Next President?

this is a little crazy...and odd that i'm here posting something against my own party. but who knows if this is true...if it is, then its just a shame how powerful some people are and how they can exert that strength.

bush has done it with the war, the secrecy...basically his entire administration and legacy is a showing of abuse of power. but here is something on hillary.

but don't worry...there's still some comedy to this blog. this colbert report challenge to dennis kucinich was extremely hilarious. maybe he'll get the colbert bump that mike huckabee received....

Organized Brainwashing

there are many many reasons why i stray away from organized religion: too many fanatics raving intolerance, condemnation for not following their beliefs, stringent allegiance to archaic principles...and most importantly, sunday is for football.

and here is a perfect example...
now since i'm not a full-blown atheist...i didn't take much offense. but i can see it now, our nation of freedom of religion...our nation with no religious litmus test...organized brainwashing religion is getting them young.

i've never had a problem with people who believe in religion as long as they don't protholatize or impose their beliefs on me. you guys are infringing on my rights of religious apathy...so get off my back and let me praise the lords of the gridiron on sundays without fear of retribution from god.

Quite the Week - Part 2

so to conclude the recap...

post obamatization, nam graciously organized a small little get-together for my 23rd birthday. ethiopian food...interesting, definitely tasty, but interesting.

seeing how it was only a 23rd birthday...and things can only go downhill from here...i kept it low-key and just had dinner and a few drinks afterwards. seeing how most of us had to wake up early for school or work the next day, i've come to the realization that i have officially become 'old'.

since the actual date of my birthday fell on a wednesday, nam and i had planned a trip to NEW YORK to make up for it. being as how neither of have ever been there, it was new experiences for the both of us. and being our first time...instead of packing normal clothes, we opted for the high white socks, fanny pack, and video camera in hand. and of course, we did all the touristy things...
finally escaping the confines of a 5 hour bus ride that left us cramped and groggy, it was a nice escape to be able to walk the paths of central park and sit with a view of the upper east side (you can see the apartment where carrie got stoned with the comic-book kid while eating kfc)

luckily our quaint little hotel room was fairly close to the the park and conveniently located near a subway stop...making it much more difficult to justify a new york cab ride...even though we could have found ourselves on cash cab, or unknowingly divulging all our secrets on another taxi cab confession.

instead, we continued on our journey through manhattan...scaling the empire state building for a view of the new york evening skyline...and finding ourselves taking pause in the congestion and clutter of times square. i know that isn't me in the picture to the right...but i just thought nam looked really cute in it...and seeing as how i'm not a complete narcissistic ass, i'm fully capable of posting pictures of non-me. besides, the concept of everyone else being out-of-focus only symbolizes the transient nature of the city...allowing only brief moments like this one for some reflection and momentary peace. yeah...load of crap, but whatever, she looks good.

but who can go to new york and not catch on the staples of the city...experiencing a broadway musical. and that is where watching a pale pre-pubescent dude show his ass and a nubile teenage girl flash a nipple are allowed. but hey...thats what you get when you put a group of young, sexually repressed teenagers on a stage and have them sing and dance their way through puberty.

and who leaves new york city without remembering both 9/11 and visiting lady liberty.

found in the extended version of this post...you will also find director's commentary on our trips to moma and the guggenheim. as well as possibly one of the best pre-theater dinners i've ever eaten in my life.

but as we shuffled our way back onto the tin-can of a greyhound bus, i made my judgments of new york...great place to visit, but i wouldn't want to live there. but i will be back...if not just for the food.

An Interlude

for everyone who has ever played an instrument or follow music closely enough...there is typically a section of the piece that strays from the rest. that section is called the "bridge". it is meant to transition between long sections of the overall piece, and in that sense, i might be faulted in alluding to it. but in my context, i'll use it in a more harmonic/musical sound type of way.

so in that sense, the bridge comes up right when you've fallen into a flow...where the notes form a continuous and comforting melody...where your mind and soul intertwine with the sounds that carries you along its bars, and makes you jump at their staccatos. and then, with the flick of a baton, the orchestra pulls you away from that bubble and draw you into a transitional section with notes strewn together violently and erratically...you've been expelled from the symphony of music and impaled on a cacophony of noise.

life also has a similar way of doing that to you. when you finally feel comforted in the consistency of the ebbs and flows of existence, you are jerked overboard and are forced to swim in currents that pull you down, push you left or right, and seemingly keep you static. your body is so accustomed to the melodic waves that you need a moment to regain your footing, to allow your muscles to readjust to the atrophy...

with your body and heart beating together like the percussion section of the orchestra keeping the beat, your mind is the conductor that...again, with a simple snap of the baton...steers you away from the rip tide and brings you back to softer currents. where the music harmonizes and the beats are steady...where life slows down and the externalities minimized.

just like a symphony, life contains its many bridges. but what we cannot ignore or forget, is that no piece ever ends on a bridge.

Quite the Week - Part 1

to open, i'd like to apologize for my brief sabbatical away from this blog. though i'm glad that my readership has remained at a constant ONE (so whomever you are, thanks for checking up on good ol' huspot). but there has been a whirlwind of activities surrounding my life this past month, but i shall focus my particular attention on this past week or so.

with nam making her second visit of the summer, it brought a great amount of happiness to my typically monotonous day of school and bumming. the only downside was that i had to start up working again the week she came...good thing i was recruited back at NACHC for this fall, which meant i had some pull in dealing for half-days that week...too bad on top of work, i still had school to hold me back.

but not to worry, this first part of the recap will have a topic point of interest. having decided to strongly and more actively back a presidential candidate in Barack Obama this year, i decided to partake in one of his rallies that have drawn so much attention.

and i'll tell you this, his stage presence and oratorical prowess definitely meets up to expectations. though he gave his stump speech, just being amongst the thousands that were there to hear it live has quite the feel to it. i've always been an obama supporter, and after hearing him speak...i've never been more secure in that decision. i have securely been "obamatized".

BUT...thats not all...nam and i were lucky to be situated perfectly on the rope-line, which means we were nicely positioned to shake hands with the next president of the United States.

my hand briefly appears...but when you see him do the reverse handshake, THAT'S MY HAND HE SHAKES!! (oh yeah, and he shook nam's hand too)

and in case you never get the opportunity to see him in person, here is a bit of his speech that i got to capture on my new camera (thanks nam!)...

We're Number 1!!!

warning!!! political ramblings follow...

not my only...but more current inspiration for this type of rant...

is it ironic that the one thing Americans need to realize actually sound the most un-American? and that notion is that we must prepare ourselves for the day that America is no longer the world’s everything, that we are no longer the world’s only superpower, that we are no longer the world’s hegemonic master.

the problem is that in order to prepare ourselves for this day, we need leadership that can take us away from our current mantra of “America - What Are You Gonna Do About It?”. we have somehow managed to alienate ourselves from the entire world while still feeling superior to it. how can we take any credible “for the people” stance in Darfur when we, in a unilateral and imperial fashion, invaded a sovereign country and left their citizens exposed to civil war? how can we take a moral high-ground to China’s political prisoners when we went through Abu Ghraid? how can we continue to take credit for the largest producing economy when we’re in a consumer-induced trade deficit?

i don’t say this to promote an isolationist environment or believe that that is what this country needs. quite the opposite in fact. i believe we should continue to provide foreign aid and that we should continue to pursue free trade. both those things lead to an America that the world can respect and an America that the world can relate with. sooner or later, China or Russia or India or any of the other up and coming nations, will join us on our world pedestal. and we’ll need to abide by the Golden Rule and learn how to share and treat others with respect. our continued path of world superiority can not sustain much longer.

if we keep this up, an old saying comes to mind:

“What do you call a leader with no followers? Just a guys taking a walk.”

True Friends

as i take stock of the people i call my friends, i realize that i am proud of them all. they have all done so much and accomplished so many things...some are going on to pursue masters, others md-s and jd-s...and some are already prospering in the work force. and as i was taking stock, i began to compile a list of needs attributes that each of us need in our close friends, or at least on your respective peripheral circle.

1. the computer "technology" guy
everyone masters the use of technology at their own pace. there are those who will have one eye focused on the video playing on their iphone while being wirelessly connected to "LEETaznPWN95" via their nintendo dses at the local mcdonald hotspot. and then there are those who still think 'mac' is short for mcdonalds and 'pc' stands for price club. so for everyone who falls into that latter category, be sure to have a computer guy in your web of friends...to deal with that pesky virus that keeps eating up your harddrive or to remind u to unplug ur power cable during long vacations for fear of unexpected power surges.

2. the lawyer
this one is almost a must. not that any of ever plan on getting dealt the type of charge even roberto gonzalez can't forget his way out of, but it's still nice to have a lawyer friend handy every now and then. whether it is to help you weasel your way out of that annoying parking ticket you got from that meter maid that just wanted to check out ur ass or when you need help annulling that regrettable vegas "i do" you vowed a few years back. whatever your reason, offer to help turn the pages of that 5,000 page tax evasion textbook he has to study, for you never know what can come up.

3. the doctor
now this one can get a little trickier. though doctors are bound by doctor-patient privileges, friends are not (i guess this could go for the lawyer bit too...but i still find it a little more embarrassing to ask a friend to check out that rash you got from that girl you thought was so nice than it is to ask a friend to get you out of some lewd sexual conduct in some local bathroom). so whether it's to get your monthly physical or a discreet prescription for those little blue pills, keep providing the caffeine for when they're pulling that all-night study session for their next exam class.

4. the pr specialist
this friend may be more vital for the social-butterfly, but even the most reserved of us would enjoy a night out on the town every once in a while. so keep this friend at close calls for their rolodex buddy list may be able to get you that table no one else can book or get you into the sold-out show or the hottest party of the month. as long as your friend doesn't represent the likes of brit brit or lilo, i think you'll be okay.

of course there are those special few who you would but on your alltel inner circle, so make sure you keep those too. but it definitely wouldn't hurt to have a few of these guys on your list too...so keep in touch with those friends of friends of friends, you never know what kind of friends with benefits you might have.

B.O.

to most, B.O., or body odor, is that nasty coating smell that you exude after an intense cardio workout or the nervous anxiety you feel after trying to hide the fact you ripped the nastiest fart in a crowded room and you hope no one knows it was you...but typically, B.O. is simply removed by applying a solid coat of deodorant...and generally, that's the solution that most of us think about when talking about B.O.

but no...there's more to it than just that. now that i live in a city basically built on a swamp, i have to deal with those pesky mosquitoes. besides the fear of contracting west nile everytime i get bitten, i have to deal with incessant itchiness and the constant desire to scratch that will lead to all levels of insanity. it's been a curse of mine that mosquitoes seem to be attacked to me.

i know it's a bad picture, but yes...that is a swarm of bites on my right bicep. if you can count them, it would be five bites...but that's not all!!! i also have a few on the other side of my arm as well as one on my left forearm. damn them and my sweet, sweet blood.

now there seems to be research as to why that is. and yep, as i foreshadowed before, it is my B.O. my specific mix of sweat and gases seem to be a very attractive and delicious scent to my mosquito nemeses.

so for all my fellow well-scented members of the "mosquitoes love me" congregation, let's all pray that they will come up with that ultimate of ultimate deet filled repellents, and we can be spared from this annoyance.

New Beginnings

tomorrow is the start of a whole new chapter of my life...well i guess it started back in late may when i first moved to DC...but tomorrow will be the first day of orientation for my masters program, so let's just say the whole new chapter of my "academic" life.

not only will it be a day of uncomfortable meet-and-greets with my fellow students of the MPP program class of 2009, i will have to begin the day with an interview for another possible internship. this time straying away from my knowledge of health policy toward the issue of alcohol and drugs at the National Association of State Alcohol and Drug Abuse Directors...definitely a mouth full, and for something that i'm not even sure what they're for.

things seems to be moving rather quickly these days. taking a break from working on our new food-blog (thefoodingpost.blogspot.com) and in the middle of teaching ting (who has finally moved in) how to make farting noises with her armpits, i began to reminisce on the good ol' days...when i could just wake up at noon without a worry of being late because there was nothing to be late too; or when i could just sit in my underwear all day without the need of getting dressed because there was no place reason enough to leave the house; or when i could surf the web for porn jobs all day without worrying pages i hit are nsfw...oh yes, the good ol' days.

fine fine...since i guess...technically...actually...i was doing all those things today, i shouldn't be allow to reminisce about days that have not yet passed. but TOMORROW, my fellow netizens in the blogosphere, i will be awash with nostalgia of days gone by.

Beloved Sea Bugs

with chang making his return pit stop from spain, i felt it customary to at least show him some maryland delicacies...yes, the Chesapeake Bay crab.

with last minutes reservation, we were able to secure ourselves a dozen x-large crabs. and here is what ensued...
this is what a dozen crabs covered in Old Bay seasoning looks like

ting's indulgence

a best friend's feast

12 crabs...a pitcher of beer...a few scoops of ice cream...and large drinks from mcdonalds later, we finally made it home a little bloated, a little tired, a little disgusted with ourselves...but plenty satisfied

God Bless America

in a nation built on the shoulders of freedom and upheld on the back of liberty, how have we come so far only to see all that slip into the butt-crack of fear and false truths? how can we allow our rights...the rights earned through revolution, through bloodshed, through anguish...be diminished and trampled upon all under the pretense of "anti-terrorism"?

as we made our way through the monuments...Jefferson, who defined freedom; Lincoln, who defined equality; Roosevelt, who defined strength; and of course, Washington, who defined America...it was chilling to imagine the reactions of these men if they were able to see what the country they built has become.

but this is not a time for blame or riding a high-horse, it is a time for real Americans, for all of us to enact our duties as citizens. we are responsible to challenge and question our leaders, it is our job, it is our duty, it is our right.

and with all that, i'm moving to china...

Everyone's Got Them

i don't have much to input...just a link to a video that most people in our generation know about. it's kind of a cult phenomena that has swept it's way into books and blogs.

it's always shocking to know how many people feel the same way you do...or just the sheer honestly that some have...or the intense evil and hate felt by others.

but...it's all just a secret anyways...

Cat Person

i never used to be a cat person...as i grew up with my beloved giant of a dog who looked like a bear but had the friendliest demeanor, sunny...passed away of old age after suffering two career ending torn-ACLs a few years back.

but ever since i've gotten fish sauce...fishie to most...i've slowly turned the tide from canine to feline. however, it is unclear whether my true love and fondness of my dog and my cat are due to the two of them being the two of them...or because they're just fuzzy and who doesn't have an 'oooh' and 'awwww' afliction for small and fuzzy animals?

now i'm not going to put fishie's cuteness on a pedestal...

just a couple of her in my room

but this kitten comes pretty close...

Summer Blockbusters

forget the technological extravaganza of the transformers...or the thrill ride finale of the bourne ultimatum...or the culmination of 20 years of the simpsons...

this summer, there is only one major blockbuster that i wish to see. with all the excitement of the unknown plot of a minefield, the intellectual intrigue of mathematical theatrics, and the suspense of blind anticipation...this film will definitely capture the imagination of a generation far greater than a boy wizard ever could.

i bring you...

Calling It A Summer

in one more week, my term with NACHC will be over. it was a quick 10 weeks of policy analysis, survey reports, legislative wrangling, and more. soon it will be a return to the school life...i've survived my brief foray into the working world and now have a better understanding of what my Office Space future entails.

but until that moment comes again...here is a brief slideshow put together for the summer. though i put it together, i'm not a big fan of it and would rather not put my hu-seal-of-approval on it...which is why my name is on there and it is being broadcast on my blog (good thing i can count the people who read this on one hand)

Busy Busy

so most of you know that i've been spending my days interning at NACHC...where i split my time between data analysis, fact-sheet research, attending hill meetings and the consequent memos, and lobbying congress...and when i say "data analysis, fact-sheet research, attending hill meetings and the consequent memos, and lobbying congress", i mean facebooking and rss-ing and general day dreaming.

but to tell you the truth, i've been sneaking off to purse my true passion and the real reason why i'm here in dc.
yes...that's right folks. i've open up my own women's shoe store right in the middle of Georgetown. apparently, my store provides the fashion forward and refined footwear to the DC community.

so i've ditched my political aspirations and shirked my responsibility to the 16 million people i help represent at NACHC to cater to the feet of the Georgetown elite and dedicated my time researching...and by that, i mean earnestly keeping my eyes fixated on the shoes of carrie bradshaw.

Forget Debates

as for the upcoming Youtube/CNN Sponsored Democratic presidential debate, the blogosphere is heating up. people are posting their questions in Youtube videos and candidates will be put on the spot to answer them.

for some people, its those answers that will determine how one votes. for others, its simply a gut feeling. but for me, i'm going to leave the politics and the issues aside...i'm voting for the candidate with the best hot chick dancing and lip-syncing video.

thank jeebus for me, this just so happens to represent my choice in candidates.

I'm Back

i must apologize...i've had guests that have taken my attention away from the blogosphere. but alas, i make my triumphant return to this world, i trust that you all have reserved me a seat in your routines of xanga and blog reading while procrastinating from studying or sneaking peaks from work. whatever ur escaping from, i have returned to fill those needs.

there has been a lot going on in my life lately...the first visitors to my new home, continued vigilance at work, and feeding my addiction all things electronic media. say hello to the newest additions to my home:

this is obviously a terrible picture of the whole view...but yes, after an excruciating and teasing ordeal with UPS, i finally received my tv. it fits wonderfully with my $30 DVD player and my newly purchased DVI adapter which will allow me access all the wonders of the technological world.




most of you also know of my cat (though nam will undoubtedly claim ownership)...fish sauce. seeing as how nam won't be around to take care of her for a while, she has found new residence in my bookcase, under my bed, on my numerous window sills, and in this case, on my coffee table. minus her shedding and the inevitable stench of her litter, she is a very welcome guest.




and of course...nam herself decided to grace me with her presence this past month. it was great fun and always nice to have her around. granted she did eat all my food and drive me to near insanity, she was useful in that she brought over fish sauce.

no no...it was awesome to have her spend my first real month here in DC. definitely took the edge off living alone. good things come in tiny little packages...and i definitely enjoyed mine.


i failed to mention that my best friend from high school also decided to take a pit stop in DC before he headed off for Spain. i somehow lost many pictures from my camera so he will have to be excluded. but always nice to have visitors...and i definitely hope to have more (TAKE THE HINT ALL YOU PEOPLE WHO COMPLAIN ABOUT BOREDOM AT HOME).

now i'm sorry that this hasn't been one of my rants on the continued failures of this administration or one of my insightful defenses of britney's love life...but i did feel that after such a hiatus from the internet world (where i best communicate with the world), i owed you the cliff-notes version of my life this past month or so.

so here you go...i hope this minor update can at least quench your thirst of knowledge on this hu for just a little bt longer.

The Forgotton Millions

fair warning, this is purely a rant piece on the shameless and inexcusable system with all health care in America. now its not a random venting on how we should socialize medicine, or a propaganda piece promoting my personal beliefs...but more of a plea for some human decency. so hopefully u'll continue to read this...

i've been a pretty big advocate of socialized health insurance and care since i grew interested in politics...and the issue is definitely getting a lot more attention with the elections rolling around. but its not enough, and its moving too slowly. i read this article about the failure of our system both on a logistical and human side. seriously....it's just sad.

i don't see how Americans can have so much pride and camaraderie under the ominous daze 9/11, but at the same time can be so ignorant to the millions of us who are slowly dying because they can't afford to take care of themselves in our system. sure on 9/11 we were attacked and we were killed...but by ignoring these millions, aren't we attacking their rights to live? and aren't we killing them?

anyways...hearing stories about this makes me disappointed in our system. but it makes me proud of what i'm trying to do, and it makes me work harder to get there at NACHC.

Orientation

how quickly do we forget how wondering it is to have nothing to do. having spent the past several months mastering the skill of spending an entire week to accomplish things that could have been done in one day...having a set work schedule has definitely been a jolt.

*its not actually a picture i took...but thats pretty much the view i have

since i've started my internship at NACHC...i've had to wake up early, make the 45 minute commute downtown, grab my customary iced caramel macchiato, and spend the next 7 some odd hours in an office building. now all of this wouldn't be worth it if it wasn't for the fact that i'm getting paid, earning valuable experience, actually doing something worthwhile, and a view of the White House every morning.

so after one week of work, i've realized how cliché the image of me working is. everyday...i'm in slacks, a dress shirt, and a tie...sling my bag over my shoulder...slip my ipod into my pocket and stick the headphones in my ear...hop onto the bus/metro...and head to work. i feel like a movie extra in the peripheral being overshadowed by the pervading presence of the star.

but all in all...not too shabby first few weeks.

A Humble Abode

so it's finally done...through blind online searching, a stroke of luck, and quick thinking...but i've finally settled down into my OWN place. though it's not yet completely furnished and i'll be living off of paper plates and frozen food for a little bit, it feels good to be home



*more pictures here

yeah i know it looks fairly sparse, and it sure as hell feels that way. but it'll be cozy once i get the time to put my touches on it...so basically, it'll look like this months from now until Ting gets here and does all the decorating. don't worry though, i've already bought one item that is a must for survival. now if you just so happen to be in a generous disposition...house warming gifts are always nice :)

Is A Soda Too Much To Ask

having spent the past few hours meandering about the streets of DC in a desperate search of a Bank of America, i turned to the local 7-11 outside the foggy bottom metro stop to rehydrate. as i perused the tiny store, i was drawn to the fridge full of sodas and other sugary soft drinks that my health conscience tells me to avoid (seeing how a trader joe's was only a few blocks further...but as i had just spent the last 2 hours metro-ing and walking, i was too lazy to make the effort.

now i wouldn't say its hot by any DC summer standards, but it's definitely too warm for my san "perfect weather 75% of the year" diego ass. so i succumbed to that little person inside of me that says: eat and drink whatever, i'm still young and heal...i was gonna say healthy, but i had just almost passed out from walking about 2 miles. i ended up pulling out three bottles of soda...all of which would definitely be considered unhealthy by any means.

having escaped from the heat of the unwelcoming and scary "outdoors", i returned to my haven of Digg-ing and updating myself on Lindsay Lohan's rehab recovery DUI. and in the daily navigating of the web, i stumbled upon this article about the increasing health risks of drinking soda.

already feeling the effects of not having exercised in the past YEAR...now drinking my beloved dr. pepper may put me at risk of serious disease. damn you health conscious scientists!! wasn't the world just dandy when we were getting sick and dying earlier and thereby not over-populating the planet which has now been super saturated with our toxic wastes to a level where we face catastrophic risk from an unstable environment when world leaders who were meant to work for their respective constituencies are busy trying to shape their legacy around policy and wars that has made no one safer and everyone angry...

so all i'm saying is...can't i drink my soda without having to be worried about dying one day?

East Coast Madness

now this is a story all about how, my future came calling right about now. so take a moment, just sit right there, while i tell you how i became the "fill in the blank yourself based on how much you like me" of a town called DC.

in west America, born and raised, breathing in smog is how i spent most of my days. chillin' out maxin' and relaxin', enjoyin' SD weather out there on the beach...when an ungrad degree, after a grueling four years, i was finally forced out to see the world in the clear. so my mom was proud, she said, "ur gonna get a masters out in DC"

i landed with my folks and when we arrived, the hotel said wait so we left to go play. and after the red eye, i had nothing to give...but i said naw forget it, lets go get me someplace to live.

three, four, five days later and not having seen a sight, we closed a deal and realized DC was alright. so i've looked at my kingdom, i was finally there, to challenge my future, as the "fill in the blank yourself depending on how much you like me" of DC.

Time Well Spent

ahhh...now that i find myself filling out a bed alone again, i guess i'll return to my blogger world with an update on yours truly.

while bush added more "compromising" rhetoric to his iraq funding stance, i've just been chillin' out, maxin' and relaxin'...and where better to spend my brief hiatus between china and DC back where i've called home for the last four years...sunny san diego (although the weather ranged from as cold as sd gets to as hot as it gets...i soaked it in as i look ahead to the smothering humidity of a DC summer).

now having spent the previous 6 months in shanghai, what better way to celebrate my return by enjoying my second most favorite pastimes...yes yes, stuffing my face with food.
*warning...the pictures below my not be suitable for the health conscious:


i know, i know...however strong my love for food may be, it can never compare to the voracity of my fellow blogger and brother, aptly named, the sushipanda.

but beyond the burritos, chili rellenos, double-doubles, buckets of kfc, donovans AND flemmings...there were plenty of other great moments which i will list in order of awesome-ness:

1. a one-year anniversary for myself and nam (to the stalkers who notoriously attach themselves to my girlfriend...BACK OFF!!). you made it :P

2. a hilarious and unforgettable spin on the classical tale of Oz.

3. a musical experience with a concert under the stars.

4. a comedy show of unending laughter.

*the video quality sucks, but just enjoy the material

there were definitely innumerable memories beyond those, but i'll cut it short as to take into account the slightest possibility that there will be another reader of this blog who might not be as interested or invested.

but one last thing...thank you, Nam, for letting me stay at your place...feeding me...entertaining me...and above all that, being you.

Praying For A Miracle

after one of the most embarrassing Lakers games i've seen in my entire life this past tuesday, i ended what was a promising night with disdain and frustration. the euphoric daze of having scarfed down a 8-piece bucket of kfc, i looked forward to an exciting, contested playoff basketball game...only to be completely let down by my beloved Lakers.

but today is thursday, game 3 is in progress...and after a first quarter, i find my boys trailing by 14 again. so am i in for another disappointing night as i wait for an inevitable sweep in the first round? or maybe a kobe vs. the Suns offensive bananza? or am i just going to hope above all hope to see a unified, energized, competitive Lakers team with a dominant Odom, an involved Kwame, and a defense unsee in a gold jersey in quite some time?

now i'm not expecting the Lakers to pull out 4 games in this series, but i do expected my boys to put up a fight...much like the jump-off the seat, heart racing games of last year's series. so here i am, praying for a miracle to the pagan basketball gods of Magic, Doc, Bird, and Jordan. please please please...from a fan to his team, i just want to watch a game worth watching. and hopefully, with that, a win.

Post Hoc, Ergo Propter Hoc

*Post hoc ergo propter hoc is Latin for "after this, therefore because of this", is a logical fallacy which assumes or asserts that if one event happens after another, then the first must be the cause of the second.

there are no words that can be said about the recent tragedy at Blacksburg...so i'll leave it at that.

i know this story has been unfolding for a few days now, and i hadn't planned on an entry for this issue. but after watching continuous coverage and numerous pundits speaking practically verbatim, i've gotten annoyed at the politicizing and the war-drum beating.

and because we don't have answers to why something like this happened, we will undoubtedly do what we always do...find something or someone to blame and try to add reason to the unexplainable. whether it be the continual failing gun control argument...or the violence in video games and media discussion...or the lack of magical premonition by police debate. whatever it is, we're all going to be drawn into this blame-game frenzy perpetuated by the media's need to feed our hunger for reason.

my beef with all this is this...why must it take such a tragedy to prompt the discussions of stricter gun control? why do we profile all gamers as mass-murderers because one kid snapped? and most importantly, how is it conscionable for us to just exploit the lives of these victims to push a political agenda?
perhaps its my idealism...or i'm just naive...but none of this happened because of any of the aforementioned reasons. we find it easier to place blame than to accept what we do not understand. if finding a cause for this individual's blatant mental health issues is the only way we can cope with this, then at least find some reasonable excuse...and not just pass blame. there are many perfectly sane, perfectly safe individuals who play video games or enjoy a violent action flick or own a handgun. lets not unfairly profile them into a category of mentality unstable murderers. and lets return to the real topic at hand...the tragic loss of life, the heroism of those who reacted quickly to save others, and the hope that we can recover and never see these types of headlines again.

Jets Cause Lag

i took off around 5pm a few days ago, and arrived around noon that same day...that accounts to correcting my 15 hour time difference. naturally i'll face some pretty nasty jet lag...and being how i'm up at 4:30 in the morning writing this, its obvious that i've got it pretty bad.
there have definitely been some needed readjustments to this 're-culture shock'. its been 6 months since i've tipped...and i almost forgot to the first restaurant i ate at. its been 6 months since i last drove my car...and i almost ran the red light at a right turn and balked when someone waved me past. its been 6 months since i used my pc...and i can't hit the hotkeys anymore.

but looking past the tipping, graciousness, and annoyance...it definitely is good to be home. i've missed a burrito with no zucchinis, a bite into a double-double, a juicy slab of ribeye. of course it's not all about the food...i've missed a loving hug, a night out with friends, even a little playful feline entertainment.

so now the only thing i need...is to get over this damn jet lag. but i'll give fair notice, i'm only going to be in san diego for a few weeks. so readers, make your plans now before i'm whisked off on another wild adventure. now with that said...i guess i'm looking at a lot of free nights :)

My Fellow Americans

ahhh...i'm glad that i'm going to be entering an environment where free speech is still rule (allowing me to blog freely without having to go through the hassles of proxies and ish), and where it is our duty to question our leaders (a duty that has been forgotten by many of our leaders who fear or just completely ignore criticism...i'm looking at u BUSH!)

many of you now know that i'll be heading to the hub of global politics for grad school. american university will now be the home site of my procrastination and your beloved source of hu-casts from this blog. but also, it will be where i will exercise my rights to challenge my government, just like these guys (i would've reverted back to our evolutionary predecessors and thrown a bag full of my feces at him).



but hey, i'm heading off in that direction to add to the madness. hopefully i won't lose my idealistic ways under pressure from the zero-sum attitudes of DC. but send karl rove back over and just watch out, you might catch me and ting on the next article coming out of the AU gossip columns.

All My Bags Are Packed

since my last entry was more of a farewell to the city of shanghai, i felt it necessary to at least remember those who made the experience what it was.

when i first came to china, i wrote about an "event" in beijing which seems to have become quite a common recurrence whilst in shanghai. as a going away party, our "crew" and few others threw down for one more night at guandii. and needless to say, it was quite a party. who really remembers how it happened or who made it happen, but i know i ended the night with my head buried in the bushes expelling what was left of dinner. nights like these are definitely going to be missed as i balk at paying 100 kuai for a damn drink.

*yes, thats a bottle of water in my hand, and as you can see...i'm semi-dancing, a tell-tale sign of a drunken andrew

but lets not forgot all those adventures to beijing way back when this journey was in its nascent days with vickie and cindy...to my revisit of historical beijing and hangzhou's west lake with namers...to climbing huangshan with derek and theresa...to the many many nights out with the crew and others...to tibet and jiuzhaiguo adventures. and of course, it wouldn't have been shanghai without my brother and lydia at good ol' one park avenue enjoying good times with the wii and good company with hundreds of dvds.

just wait...i'm sure in a few months, if not drawn by the beck and call of my mother wishing to see me for the xmas holidays, or pending the possibilities of an internship with American's next president, i will return for an abridged version of that past few months. see you all then.

Goodbye, Shanghai

it seemed so long ago that i reluctantly found myself trapped in your breakneck society...trying to avoid being swept aside by the ferocity of the constant reinvention of yourself...cursing your inhospitable amalgamation of reckless drivers, incessant spitting, and unbreathable smog.

but what can i say, beneath your developing exterior, you have also surprised me with the openness in which you have welcomed me...you have seduced me with your grandeur and potential...but most importantly, you have inspired me to experience and nurtured me to grow.

it will be nearly five months since i've joined you, but now we must part ways. but fitting to your temporary and transient nature, i will just be another momentary character in your continual existence. and i will also remember you as you are...a city of history, a metropolis of potential, a personality that has captivated my mind.

One Eastern Coast to Another

yep...it's official, i'll be jumping ship here in shanghai on a heading for DC, with a pit stop in san diego. with my fafsa filed and my statement of intent mailed and my deposit paid, there are no more paperwork obstacles in front of me. American University...be prepared to regret accepting me.

and for my new foray into my future, i will be accompanied by my good friend mrs. hsiueh ting wu yamane (i think i spelled ur name wrong, sorry!) ahhh, the adventures of living with ting...AGAIN! hopefully we will motivate each other to experience all the wonders of the DC political atmosphere, challenge each other in debates about which candidate to back, and network ourselves to future benefactors. but realistically, we'll probably end up lounging on our couch watching reruns of scrubs and sex and the city while arguing over who's turn it is to take out the trash and procrastinating on our respective job hunts...yeah, that sounds about right.

but anyways, here's to new adventures with an old friend.

*pictures will be accredited to mr. david pohaokalani estuo apana yamane wu and put together by ting

Justification...Part Deux

after barely containing my anxious self through a 3 hour plane ride, i sprung from my seat and bounded off the plane and instantly fell to my knees and praised my return to "modern" civilization. quickly finding my bag and dashing to the bus home, my face stretched wide in a beaming smile at the prospect of...not taking a long, hot shower, not worshiping the comforts of my private bathroom, not reveling in the sights and sounds of shanghai traffic...but the prospect of turning on my magnificent white Macbook which has been sitting, lonely, for the past 12 days.

oh the feeling of ecstasy when i heard that low "ddrrrummm" of the computer turning on and the freedom to jump from webpage to webpage with ease. after a few minutes of reading news headlines in an attempt to trick myself that i'm more affluent than i am, i quickly returned to blogs and xangas to dish on the latest gossips and lives of my friends. BUT to my immediate dismay, i learned that China has gone out of its way to protect its citizens from the dangerous influences of the blogsphere, as they have censored ALL blog sites. aggghhhh!!!!

but fret not, via some massive searching (my brother told me) i have found a way to evade the evil hands of chinese censorship...allowing me to blog about the remainder of my journeys. having divulged my Tibetan adventures, i will follow with descriptions of a wonderful hosteling experience, a unique panda experience, and one of the most magnificent scenic landscapes i've ever seen. so here we go...

hostels:
having used chengdu as our home base, we were forced to spend a few nights there. being the typical poor backpackers (excluding the fact that we flew everywhere and traveled via tours), we found ourselves hosteling for these few nights. and after having spent time at two different hostels, i will recommend both to fellow travelers.

i already described the first hostel in the previous entry, so i will move on to the other. instead of being in a quaint little part of old-town, this hostel is built in a renovated factory. The Loft, as it was so fittingly named, fits all the bills of a good hostel: easy access to food, cheap and clean rooms, a large common area with FREE internet, pool table, tv with ur choice of pirated DVDs and even a PS2...but most importantly of all, a great environment to meet and mingle with fellow backpackers. though...some things are still a little off limits.

pandas:
i'll just let the pictures speak for themselves here...but i must say, there must be some panda blood in me by watching the way they just lie there and eat. i can definitely find the resemblance. enjoy ur 'awwws' and 'so cutes'.

Jiuzhai Guo:
designated as one of the world's most protected and amazing natural wonders, Jiuzhai Guo is as awe-inspiring as they say (as long as the wind doesn't pick up and the water reflection remains crisp).

for the western world who may never actually see this first hand, please imagine the scene from Hero when Broken Sword and Jet Li are having their sword fight over the lake. for those of you who haven't seen Hero, WATCH IT...or at least look at these.

so thats that...for those of my friends who actually read ALL of this and the last entry, i applaud you for your loyalty...or i guess, boredom. but that is my trip, my justification for not returning to see you all sooner...was it worth it? it had its moments.