Archive for February, 2003

the friday five… from last week…

So these are the friday five from last week… I know it’s not Friday, but who cares?

1. What did you have for breakfast this morning? If you didn’t have breakfast, why not?
No breakfast today… was waiting for my sushi lunch on the Promenade.

2. What’s your favorite cereal?
No favorite cereal… not a huge cereal fan.

3. How often do you eat out? Do you want that to change?
I eat out an average of at least 1-3 times a week. If I could afford it, I would eat out almost all the time… but that’s not practical.

4. What do you plan on having for dinner tonight? Got a recipe for that?
Dinner is whatever I find when I make it down there. It may be popcorn. Again.

5. What’s your favorite restaurant? Why?
I have too many favorite restaurants to name. I am just a big ol’ food lover. Todai comes to mind, but it is by no means my favorite.

Backyard Sushi Bar

After a family discussion on the Case of the Missing Fishies, it has been determined that birds are not the likely culprits, but rather animals of a more feline nature.

Dad and Bro both witnessed a big, fat, grey cat bounding over the fence when they went out to the backyard. I guess with no more doggies running around, the kitties can start sampling the freshest sushi bar this side of Kitty Cat Heaven.

Don’t they know they need to leave some fishies in the pond so it can repopulate and restock their exquisite new dining facility?

Blogchalk

This is my new blogchalk:
United States, California, Los Angeles, Westside, English, Chinese, Joz, Female, 26-30, Entertainment, Taiwan. :)

Hooray for “progress”

Thank goodness we are so much more advanced in our thinking than our parents and grandparents, who lived in a much more racist time. We’ve learned from experience so the horrors and injustices of WWII could never happen today…

Oops, is that sarcasm dripping out of my pores?

North Carolina Republican congressman Howard Coble is the point person on legislation to expand surveillance and curb privacy protections, as chairman of the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism and Homeland Security. He is also the man who, in reference to the incarceration/internment of Japanese-Americans, said he agreed with President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s decision to put 120,000 Japanese-Americans in internment camps during World War II.

For the record, there was never evidence of disloyalty among Japanese-Americans. For another thing, the “explanation” that it was dangerous for Japanese-Americans to be in the streets was (and still is) a total sham. It was an excuse that the government used to “justify” the evacuation and incarceration of an entire group of innocent Americans. If putting people in camps was for their own protection, why were all the machine guns pointed inside and not outside the camps?

For an interesting editorial piece from the Mercury News, click here.

Even more laughable is Coble’s “explanation” of his comments by his spokesperson (note, he did not have the balls to address this himself… only through a “spokesperson” was a statement made. Also note that he does not make any apologies).

Can we soon expect innocent Arab-Americans to be ‘locked up for their own protection?’

does joz = fishie reign of terror???

I went to visit my parents this weekend and Mom informed me that the fishies in the pond were all gone.

The birds decided to have a feast in the pond this week.

Or as I put it, the birds were having sashimi.

Mom and Dad laughed at that… if only it weren’t true.

Unrelated dying fishie problem

It is a problem for me that another fishie died. But what he died of was most likely unrelated to what is causing the fish in the tank to die, since they have zero contact with each other.

This time it was one of my bettas… the red one I bought almost a year ago to put in my office at work. It’s been living at home since I left that job. For the most part, he lived in the bathroom.

That’s why he was named “The One in the Bathroom.”

Farewell, TWITB.

joz = crazy doggie lady

I’m convinced that in some language “joz” means “crazy doggie lady.”

It just isn’t normal how excited I get when I see a dog. Not only do I have to look at it, I also have to shriek “DOGGIE!” and point.

I’m still getting over the loss of our two dogs, Mei-Mei and Chu-Chu. Mei-Mei passed away suddenly about 6 months ago & Chu-Chu only a couple of weeks ago. I still talk to their pictures everyday and say goodnight to them before I go to bed. Perhaps someday I’ll share happy (and sad) stories about our dogs, but I still can’t bear to write about it, yet.

All I can do is point to their pictures. I hope you’ll enjoy.

All my good ideas are at 2am

All I know is that before I fell asleep, I was certain that I had a great idea. It was so great I was going to write about it in my blog.

What I do know is that when I woke up, I had no idea what the hell I was thinking at 2am, except that I was supposed to remember this great idea.

Now it’s nowhere to be found.

Dying Fishie Problem

It sucks to have to admit this, but I am a bad fish mom.

My 40 gallon tank (which was left to me when my friends moved to New York) was in great condition for more than a year until recently when some sort of bacterial or fungal infection started running rampant through the tank. Despite (literally) hundreds of dollars on medication, they’re still dying. Today, I had to flush one of my feeder fishies down the toilet because he was getting all poofy. That’s not supposed to happen.

Some people seem to think that fish are disposable pets. But when you’ve spent more than a grand on fish, fish food, fish supplies, fish medicine, fish plants/furniture, not to mention the several froggies that have died… they don’t really feel that disposable.

Maybe it’s just me, but I get emotionally attached to some of my fish & have even named some of them. One of them (still alive and flipping) is a white molly that I brought home from Petco a while ago. What I did not notice (until after I brought him home) was that he only had one eye. I was initially grossed out by the fact that there was no little fish eye in the socket, and I almost took him back to the store. But I was convinced that if I took him back, they’d just let him die because no one would want to buy a one-eyed fish on purpose. So we “rescued him and we named him Jack, for one-eyed Jack.

I got especially attached to my frogs (all of whom had names, all of whom are now dead). My favorite frog was Gil (no relation to Wil’s evil twin brother), an African Dwarf Frog. He lasted almost a year and then one day stopped swimming. I cried that day, no joke.

The people at Petco, though nice, don’t know much about fish. I used to think I was a good fish mom, but until I figure out why my fish are all dying, I can only say that I am a bad fish mom.

Send good wishes for my fishes!

Lost Luggage Heaven

I hate it when I wake up too early. I always end up doing stupid stuff like playing games on pogo or surfing weird-ass sites.

A while back, I somehow ended up at UnclaimedBaggage.com. According to their Company Info, Unclaimed Baggage has over one million items passing through the store annually. About 60% of the merchandise is clothing with the balance of the store dedicated to cameras, electronics, sporting goods, jewelry, designer optical, books and of course, luggage. The vast majority of items are from unclaimed baggage which, after at least 90 days of “intensive” (the emphasis is mine, but the word “intensive” is actually used on the site) tracking by the airlines, are declared unclaimed.

Though the prices of most of the stuff they sell online suck (I guess the *real* bargains are for the locals), I spent a good amount of time surfing the site, simply fascinated at the crap that people pack in their luggage.

My favorite section is ‘What is It?’, a (not-so-frequently-updated) contest about weird/unidentifiable stuff that they found in someone’s luggage.

I also love the travel tips that this company provides. Anything that mentions labeling your underwear is good advice in my book.

A special thanks goes out to all the airline carriers whose ineptitude and amazing ability to screw things up make this store possible. Thanks again.

The Greatest Video Ever Made

Leonard Nimoy sings Bilbo Baggins.

Need I say more?

Those Amazing Taiwanese Reporters…

As far as I can tell, my dad spends most of his days online on his laptop reading Taiwanese newspaper websites. Dad is the ultimate news junkie. There are piles and piles of old papers stacked neck high in the garage. There are few things he loves more than Taiwan and the news. Taiwanese newspapers are the ultimate combo for Dad.

Anyway, I was at my parents’ home this weekend in Orange County, visiting family for Chinese New Year (Happy Year of the Sheep/Ram/Goat) and was just waking up when I heard my dad leave the garage and head into the living room to turn on the TV… LOUD. I could not hear what was on TV, except that it was (surprise) the news.

I got my butt out of bed, brushed my teeth and went into the living room to see what earth-shaking news had occured for my dad to get off the internet and watch it on TV. It was then that my dad told me that the space shuttle Columbia had blown up. I was shocked and horrified.

What I am going to tell you next is not meant at all to trivialize this tragedy, but rather to share with you what I have to go through with my Dad being my dad.
Continue reading ‘Those Amazing Taiwanese Reporters…’

Year of the Sheep/Ram/Goat/Lamb… no, IBEX!

Happy New Year!
:P