I usually don't like personality test, but this one is actually quite detailed in terms of trying to get it right without using any reflective imageries or make-up situations which could lead to different, open-ended interpretations.

I think my results match, not necessary, who I am but at least the type of person I think I am:
http://personaldna.com/report.php?u=e0d633f67fc4

Plus, it provided some tips on what to do if you want to be different. For me, it says:

Try moving beyond the things that you find comfortable—open yourself up to a broader range of experiences.

Question how much you know about things by imagining different possibilities.

I think I really feel too complacent with status quo, especially when it comes to things that are work related. When our company introduced new tools, I will usually take a quick and uninterest look at it and then stay with the tools I can use with my eyes closed. :-P

今日見た映画
=============
Runaway Jury
This is the second time I saw it. Still pretty good but definitely not as good as the first time watching it.

先週末

Last Friday, I happened to catch this movie, We Don't Live Here Anymore, on HBO. We have no idea what this movie was about but just started watching it. While the critics gave it a relatively good review, I am not so sure about this one. I don't think I can relate to anything the movie shows and I don't care about relationships that are not strong. To me, the movie was a waste of my time.

On Saturday, I drove to San Francisco alone to meet up with my sister's family because it was her birthday. I got to the city at 1:30 pm and did not return home until 3 am! This has to be a personal record! While driving back at 85mph on the freeway, I can't help to notice that 90% of the cars were either BMW, or some other luxury sports car. Absolutely no mini-vans! So does that mean one needs a cool car to stay out late in S.F.? Hmmm...

Sunday was completely forgettable (because of the rain and wind) but I happened to watch a 4-hour marathon broadcast of the Project Runway on Bravo and then another 2-hour of Queer Eye. Both are pretty good, entertaining shows. I have yet to watch the Apolo Anton Ohno's 500m Race... I guess watching a lot of TV is what people do when the weather is not good in sunny California. ;-)

すいません

Today is the first time I came across someone saying "すいません"。
It's the short, informal form of すみません (済みません)。
Surprising...

そろそろ花粉症の季節ですね。
今度は絶対油断しないよ！

ちょうど同じじゃない

Some really interesting Kanji:

1. 脅威 きょうい Threat
2. 提唱 ていしょう Proposal

1. is interesting because it is the reverse of the 2 Chinese characters used for the same meaning in Chinese. We say "威脅" instead.

2. is worth remembering because 提倡 is used in Chinese instead of 提唱 or 提畅 (used in many Chinese webpages incorrectly).

Recently, I was reading a Japanese discussion on airline safety and someone provided this link: http://www.airsafe.com/

I looked and saw China Airlines (Taiwan) is probably by far the worst airline. I have flew with them I think a couple of times when I was a self-sufficient foreign student many years ago trying to save some money. But I will not fly with them again based on their poor service and now the bad safety records.

急須

I was reading this website on tea, ほうじ茶 to be specific and saw this Kanji. I could not figure it out what it is so I looked it up.

急須
Kyuusu
Small teapot

Really surprising. I thought it meant "must pour quickly" !! :-P

Also, I was trying to find "抹茶黒豆玄米茶" to see how the package looks like and I think I found it here: http://www.rakuten.co.jp/kawamotoya/767148/658033/

People in front of the computer a lot should drink A LOT OF TEA!

悪夢

What a nightmare when one important thing is done by a group of people that are of different technical levels, aptitudes and personal goals and interests!!!

Last year, we went for Wi-Fi certification under my lead (true, there were many stressful moments) but it was a focus teamwork, fun at times and a good lot of applauses and definitely nothing like this year. This year, I am only taking care of one out of the 2 requirements and someone junior is taking the lead on the smaller requirement. BIG MISTAKE!! Problem was found at the 11th hour, endless meetings, expensive certification fees on the line, too much risk and lot of dependencies. Suddenly, lot of arguments and heated discussions begin and no one is happy. Normal engineers suddenly becomes drama queens and stupid email exchanges are flying back and forth. I am so glad that I am not a part of it but seeing how this is getting all messed up, I stepped in to stop the teamwork-killing-waste-of-time-verbal-massacre by telling everyone we are proceeding the best we could under the difficult circumstances and everyone should just stay the course and support the effort. Suddenly my phone won't stop ringing, people want to say something about what I said... This being a sunny, warm Friday afternoon, I could have easily just gone home and work from home thereafter. But no, I decided to torture myself and stay around to see the drama evolves.

Updates: Yeah, the drama did not end but will when March 1 the deadline rolls around.

滑らか

とてもなめらかなあたたかいココア。

滑らかな
なめらかな
Smooth

Happy Meal

It is the weekend and just like the weekdays, I like to eat normally- 3 meals a day and not 1.5 meal a day like my in-law. Yesterday we did that, with breakfast around 10:30 a.m. and then lunch/dinner at 4:30 p.m. and then stayed late till 12:30 a.m. and eating plenty of junk food between 10 p.m. to mid-night. That's just BAD! I am not going that route again. It's ridiculous!

So today, I have decided to go on my own schedule. Sleep till I want to wake up so that I am not tired and will be recharged for Monday. Have a full breakfast of a bowl of hearty oatmeal and a croissant. And then around 1:30 p.m. have my happy meal (above).

I love fried rice! Today I made fried rice with garlic, broccoli, asparagus, apple gouda cheese chicken sausage and an egg. (I also added a little bit of ketchup and black pepper, too). It's so delicious, no salt needed, and lot of veggies. Too bad my husband have to run errands with his mom so I am enjoying it by myself.

My in-law wants to go out for dinner later at a Chinese restaurant and at 5 p.m. which is completely something I would not do. Sunday is the day I get grocessories and make something at home and prepare stuff for Monday. That my friend is the joy of having your in-law living with you...but I have decided to go my way. I am too old to be pushed around, or told what to do.

Lots to blog about...

but work has been keeping me so busy that I only have time to think about them and not log them. And here are the list of things that I was thinking the past one week.

1. Not everyone should show their toes, especially at work.

It has been sunny and warm the early part of the week and some people at work just can't wait to start wearing their sandals. It's ok if you have clean feet and well groomed toe nails and all. But man, if you are not going to take care of your feet, then we should not be asked to look at them! Shoot, it was a really nasty sight. And can sandals be a privilege for the feminine specie only please, at least at work?

2. Staying up late.

It seems to me those who grew up in Hong Kong tend to stay up late even after many years they have graduated from high school and college. The education system in Hong Kong had pushed me to stay up late to finish all the home work and prepare for next day's classes and have to pack our 1 ton school bag. Then college was a lot of work as well. We had to stand in line at the computer room to sign up to use the VAX machine and 1 hour per sign-up. So we were constantly standing in line when the assignment is to be due in 72 hours. It was a nightmare imagine 150 people sharing some 20 VAX stations and you only have 1 hour to use it and then go back to the end of the line. Anyways, I noticed many people I know from Hong Kong also staying up late now that they have been working for over 10-15 years. Some said it was the time in Hong Kong that they stayed up late to watch the World Cup or the Olympic Game on volleyball between China and other countries. So said they used to meet up with friends after work for Happy Hours all the way to late night drinking and would be home by 2 a.m. So I guess habits are really hard to kick. Lately, I have been staying up late for the Winter Olympics. I seem to like all the events except maybe Men's Figure Skating. But I still can't help to watch it because it's just interestingly "brokeback mountain". :-)

3. My new T43 Thinkpad is here ...

for over a week now and this time round, I want to make sure I only install software I need and not everything that I think I might need. I have not opened a case to have my stuff in the drive to be transferred because there is just too much junk in my T40 and old project stuff that I don't want it to hog up my new laptop. But I am too busy to clean up the laptop for transfer...so just I am just procrastinating....

4. Winter is suddenly here

Yup, on Wednesday, the cold front from the Seattle direction suddenly came down and giving us chilly nights and snow capped mountains. Seeing the cool snowboarding events on TV, I really wanted to go up to Lake Tahoe this weekend (President's Day Weekend) and do some snowboarding again. Unfortunately, some member in the family already have plans for us. :-(

5. Wi-Fi is here again

Exactly this time last year, we brought our first product for Wi-Fi certification and it was a very stressful process. This year, we are trying to meet the March 1 deadline and trying to get 4 products in for certifications on the last 2 weeks of February. On Friday evening when we were all feeling confident with the last bug fixed, we are suddenly seeing a new issue. We gathered and brainstormed what could be the cause of the problem. We emailed, gmailed, chatted and called our connections related to Wi-Fi all over the place. We had whole-hearted passionate discussion on how we are going to pass next Tuesday until I delivered the solution! ;-) I called the authority and found out there was actually a ReadMe on that particular case which will change after March 1. So, that means the issue is not a new problem but a known problem so if we could workaround it, it's ok to pass! I have never heard policy as such but that we can delivery so we will be ok next Tuesday when we go in for testing! Great! Everyone left and felt good.

6. Cooking

The past week, I had some ideas of what to cook but when I come home, some of the ingredients were used up and it was late at night already. Instead of getting mad, I actually came up with simplier ideas and they turned out great. So I think my E.Q. is definitely getting higher and higher.

7. Party ideas

Lately at work, everyone expressed that they would love to come by my house and if I could throw a party that would be best. If it was me last year, I would think that's very imposing to suggest. But having the experience of living with my mother-in-law the past months, I now think friends coming over would be something very enjoyable. So I have been listing the things I want to serve if I am to host a party at home. First I just have some simple ideas but as I think about it more everyday, the ideas are getting more and more refined depending on who are coming, will there be kids, etc. I actually got quite excited thinking about it during work. :-)

8. Movies

I watched "Crash" earlier and it was one great movie!! I enjoyed every minute of it and I highly recommend it.

Last night, we finally saw "Batman Begins". This is the one and only Batman movie I was able to stay awake. I had tried watching the previous Batman movies for a couple of times but not once was I able to stay awake. So I guess this one is interesting enough.

At work, we were joking around with one of our favorite topics - Winning a Lottery. Yes, we all want to retire early and young. Anyways, I brought up the movie "Waking Ned Devine" and surprisingly, no one had heard about it! Not even the movie buffs! So I feel compelled to recommend it here in my blog. It's a very enjoyable movie - should see!

9. Japanese

Have not been reading too much Japanese lately. I blame it on all the Olympics games on TV. :-P

Loving hearts

This is the ring I wear to work.
これは左手の薬指に指輪です。
仕事だけのためのです。

How to spend the upcoming weekends

Our yard and the pathway leading to the house need work. Thanks to my mother in-law who is taking up the project and making it the way we want plus what she thinks will be nice, it's slowly improving. With all the natural stones picked and purchased. The contractors could finally finish up the work.

It has been sunny the whole last week with temperature in the mid-seventies. This week look the same so definitely, the front and back yard work should be done. If the early arrival of good weather, we should plan our weekends ahead of time. Recently I saw on the web about a couple who don't own a car but would spend $50.00 to rent one on the weekend and pack their weekend with activities using the rental. It's actually not a bad way to live! They do so many things and have so much fun and in the end will always have so many good photos to share. There is really no better way to live than that. I should start planning mine soon since work is keeping me tied down to where I live till around May.

Blog (English, short for Weblog)
ブログ (Japanese, just based on the English pronounciation)
部落格 (Chinese, a really smart translation and interpretation of the English word)

Chocolate Cafe

This is a place I plan to visit the next time I am in Japan.
今度日本へ行くときは 、100% Chocolate Cafe に行くつもりだ。

Valentine's Day is around the corner. A place like this will be wonderful (and very affordable) to go!

Today's Japanese Word:
=========================
山吹色
やまぶきいろ
Bright golden yellow

Winter Olympics 2006

Boy, have I been waiting for it! I love the Winter Olympics. I like to watch all the events. I would love to take time off and just watch all the games. Good thing we have HTPC at home! We can record all of it! :-)

I think my favorite event has to be speed skating. I will definitely be watching Apolo Anton Ohno. (I am starting to sound like a crazy fan...) I also like skiing, snowboarding, ski jumping, ice skating and in that order.

Torino is 9 hours ahead us in the PST zone and here is the event schedule. This is just too exciting!! I can hardly wait!!!

I happened to come across an interesting Japanese message board read among people with Blood Type O. They generally agreed to the saying "肉が無いとご飯食べれない ". I was definitely told I am like that when I was a kid! 「 無肉不歡」in Chinese. I am still a bit like that now. I probably can go without meat for 2 meals in a row. :-P

Not to be mentioned at work

There are a lot of things we should be careful not to speak about at work. I think stock gain is among one of them. Come to think of it, it should be a definite No-No. I am glad I have not made that mistake yet because it dawned on me before I was even going to share with my husband.

What is the BIG DEAL, you would ask. Well, here is what I think and could see it happening:

1. If it is review time at work, the fact that you made some stock gain earlier in the year will give your boss and other people an excuse to say you were not such a dedicated engineer afterall because you were using company time to research, trade and involve in some sort of stock related activities during work hours since the market opens from 6am-1pm, with most of the activities starting around 9:30am till the market closes.

2. If it is around bonus or reward giving time, your inarguably unrelated stock gain will make the person making the decision of how much to give an excuse to give you less since you already have that extra income on the side. Others in the group probably can use that money more than you do.

3. Stock gain - that would become the keyword about you. Everytime people talk about you, they will bring out the fact that you made how much stock gain earlier. Possibly in an evious and sometime even jealous tone of voice.

4. Reason to treat everyone. The fact that you made some stock gain, despite how much loss you are trying to cover with that gain, people would expect you to treat them since this is so called Free Money. You are supposed to share this gain and not the risks. If you don't share, Stingy will become the key word about you.

5. In times of layoffs, just because you once made some stock gains, laying you off is like laying half a person off since half the time is on trading stocks and not working. You are being viewed as capable of working full time at home to justify and rationalize their guilt of laying you off.

So trust me on this one. Don't ever mention about your stock gain, ever, to anyone at work.


おもしろい単語
=================
割り勘
わりかん
Warikan
Splitting the cost; Dutch treat

*Literally "Split the bill"

Step back

Sometimes we are in a situation where we have to listen to, or work with, or be in the same room with someone you don't enjoy. It's either the chemistry is wrong or you guys just don't see things eye to eye. What do you do in that situation? I tend to stick with what make sense and ignore or filter out what does not. I would not like to compromise what I already know and believe in that's working well for me. I don't like people to sell me ideas or suggestions that I did not ask for in the first place. Does that make me a stubborn person? I like to think we are old enough to make decisions on our own and be accountable of the choices we made. But that in the end proves to create a lot of frictions and of course unhappiness.
Look at this picture. If we look at it by zooming in and in, all we see is a tangled mess. If we are willing to learn to step back a little, we will notice it's actually a wired Christmas tree with lights and it can actually look pretty. So the key is to step back and zoom out a little in time you feel you are in a tangled position.

Anyway, another way is to put your focus on something or, somewhere else. Like my goal this year is to do more active stock trading.

Saw this movie last night while working on my laptop:
========================================================
素顔の私を見つめて (Saving Face - 2004)
I am not sure if I like this movie or not. It's a simple story with a few interesting scenes. It turns out the guy at the train station in the movie was my husband's dormmate at UC Berkeley. Would I recommend this movie? Sure, something to watch at home.

iPod

I think everyone should own an iPod. It is not because I really like the product or I have any interest of Apple's stock to go up. It's because I think when you put on your headphones you can politely and officially shut out the world around you. When you don't feel like chatting, or having to hear the discussion on a well-covered topic, just put on your iPod headphones (make sure the ones with the white cables) and officially show the world to leave you alone. You are enjoying some good music using your expensive iPod. It is YOUR TIME, you are in YOUR WORLD. You are not to be disturbed. There is just no better way to tell people to shut up than that. Just point to your iPod and gesture that you can't hear anything that was said and then just close your eyes and slowly move along with the music and away from the people you want to avoid. People will only blame the iPod for being addicting and not you. Also, you can turn up the volume easily and inconspiciously which is just sweet!! I wish I can use the same trick at work.

昨日の睡眠時間 、起床時間、就寝時間
====================================
睡眠は4.5時間はとりました。 朝5時半に寝て10時に起きました。

Living on the edge

I am currently using an IBM T40 laptop with Windows 2000. The HD is close to full and the system is full of problems. But because I am so close of getting it replaced with a T43, our company's tech support is trying to revive my laptop from time to time without replacing anything.

My laptop have these problems which I have been living with for the past 3-6 months:

1. Can not open any PDF files, it will drive my CPU to 100%
2. Can not launch Netmeeting, it will fail with an error message.
3. Can not close Firefox properly, have to close by clicking "End Task"
4. Very slow operation when using iTunes...
5. Can not put the laptop to sleep or in standby mode without draining the battery.
6. Can reassociate to an access point but will not have connectivity. A reboot is always required.
7. Sometime the laptop failed to boot with Loader 3 error. <<--Thank God! It was successfully revived.
8. Most of my stuff on my laptop are not backed up due to the slow backup process that will make my laptop not usable...
9. Can not have browers and ReflectionX opened at the same time, will have screen redraw problems.
10. Desktop picture sometimes failed to load...
11. Laptop sometimes boot with "HSIL Win Error: OUCH!", how wonderful.

I have to be careful when I use my laptop between now and when I get my new replacement. Hopefully the transition will come soon.

今日の単語:
*****************
弁護士
bengoshi
Lawyer

Ziyi Sighting

I saw this on the web and immediately wonder if my friend in Japan has visited Shibuya lately? :-)

Zhang's posters for Asience has generated a lot of negative and harsh comments from the Chinese web communities and I (even though don't feel one way or the other) can understand why.

Today's Japanese saying:
=====================
見るに値しない
Miruni atai shinai
It's not worth seeing