AT&T Park

木曜日(6/29)、会社同僚(32人)とAT&T Parkで野球観戦に行きました!

この日の試合は SF Giants vs. Texas Rangers でした。
初めて野球場を見て、周囲で応援する人たちのコメントと助言が面白かったです。
もちろん、全てGiantsの応援だ！！

(結果 : 巨人勝)
初体験の感想は凄く嬉して、応援できるほうが楽しかった！
ぜひまた行くつもりですね。

2 predominant feelings

Over the weekend, we had to move the remaining stuff we were storing at the house we recently sold. To get rid of it quick, we posted those items on Craiglist at really dirt cheap prices. We had 3 dining sets, 2 coffee tables, 2 end tables, 4 tube TVs, 4 VCRs, 2 recliners, a 6-drawer dresser, 3 TV stands, one 5 DVD-changer/player, one full-size electronic keyboard, and many other stuff for sale. And guess what kind of people we get? Yes, the worst kind. The perfectly working 20 inch color TV was already selling for $10.00 and they want to pay only $5.00. The real wood 6-drawer dress was asking for only $25.00 and the stupid guy took it along with 1 cherry wood coffee table and 1 wood end table for $20.00! And my husband had to help him load everything into his junk car because he claimed to have a bad back! WTF?!! Another guy also took our solid wood dining set with 4 chairs for $15.00! These are pieces of furniture in really good condition and not piece of junk we just store in our garage!! I don't like to curse, but these people are just really the worst kind of human beings on earth. Not only do they want a good deal, they basically want to take what you can't store and rip you off. After feeling so being taken advantage of, I decided to give everything to our City using the freecycle.org website. I would rather give the TVs and VCRs away for our City's conference room or library than having to cross path with these kind of scumbags!!

Then last night, I finally picked up the Memoirs of a Geisha DVD and watched both the movies and the making of the movie. I think all together it was 4 hours long. I quite like what I saw despite the dialogues are in English. I like the whole built-by-Hollywood Hanamichi, the overall preparation, the music and the cinematography of the movie. I guess I am either not too picky or I just enjoy my movie without being too analytical.

Stocks

I have been very busy at work so typing in Japanese is just out of the question. Please excuse the name of this blog for a moment. In fact, I have not been reading anything Japanese for about a week!! :-(

Anyways, one thing I still try to do now and then is to trade stocks in between meetings and phone calls. But while making a few bucks is possible in this market, the risks are so much higher now, especially this year. I can still make some gain on one stock but 2-3 other stocks will drop a few bucks each on me!! My original strategy was to hold for a very short term but now I guess I'll have to sit it out, like many of my other stocks from the early 2000. Today, I checked the stock market for the first time at around 11:55 p.m. and saw a stock I sold 3 days ago is now 6 bucks under. Boy, do I feel happy and proud of myself !! :-)

But who knows, they said every 4 year is a big dip and this is the 4th year so the nasty one might be coming...

Latest collection

So here is where I am right now...
I may forever be missing the elusive Lightning McQueen. :-(
But at least now I know I have a tolerating, supportive husband who went to 7 different McDs with me in the last couple of days and bidded multiple times on eBay for me. :-P

Today is one interesting day!!

I was just thinking to myself I need to talk to someone in Finance at work to see what skills are required to get into jobs in our Finance department. And then today, a finance consultant moved in to the empty cube next to mine! Our whole area should be engineering so I am a bit confused how he got the cube assigned but that's great! He came by to say Hi and we chatted for 15 minutes. Like myself, he also worked at Apple before and we graduated the same year! He is very well travelled and really loves his job! Though I got my CPA long time ago and and he did not (nor did he feel he had to), he seems to be very successful! I guess the key is not to start out working in Audit for the Big Accounting Firms. :-( Well, at least now I know.

Here in US or California in general, people seldom ask if you are married or not, especially not on the first meeting but I guess being well travelled, he felt comfortable to check my marital status. Anyway, it's fine with me but he went on to ask if I like snokeling and what I do for fun and let's grab some lunch together some time... Honestly, I could not even remember his name at that point but I figured it's ok since we are now neighbors at work.

Then it was my quest for the Pixar Cars... I keep getting the yellow Ramone no matter which McD I visit or it's the Doc or Sally which I already got. Finally, the last McD I went swap my extra yellow Ramone with a Green Ramone!? Why is it so hard to get a legitimate purple Ramone??? :-( Is there one out there? Also, at one of the McD, there was a kid with his non-English speaking grandparents. He being only 5 or 6 did all the ordering. When he saw what Pixar Car he got with his Happy Meal, he cried and talked to the cashier saying he already have that one and want another one and they showed him what they have but he did not like any and started crying and pulling on his hair. At the point, I was looking at the kid in awe and my husband was smiling at me. I wonder if I look like that in front of others... Haha!!

A Yellow Ramone??

I am no fan of McDonald's but with the cool Pixar Cars they are giving with the Happy Meal, I actually bought and ate it twice!

The first McDonald's I went to near my work just gave me Mater. I was not particularly happy to find out what I got but then I realized it can tow other cars and will wobble when it runs so I was cool with my new toy.

Then tonight, I went to a different McDonald's near my house hoping I will get something different, the Lightning McQueen if possible. So I specifically asked if I can have that one. Unfortunately, "No, we don't have that one anymore" was the answer I got. :-( What to do? I drove all the way from home ... I need another car for Mater. So I bought yet another Happy Meal. They only have Fillmore and Ramone, so I went with Ramone.

When I got home, I could not believe it: A Yellow Ramone!! I quickly checked the Pixar's website, Ramone should be in purple not yellow !?! :-( I am again little unhappy!!! But you know what? This Yellow Ramone is just as cool! It can do the same bouncing trick and it's special!! So after like 10 seconds, I was cool with it and actually like it a lot! :-D

I think I will just pay McD $20.00 tomorrow to get the set and skip the Happy Meal all together. They are just too cool to miss out and I don't want a heart attack from the food! I need to get it quick or they will start giving out the Pirates of the Caribbean toy next.

Updates: The Pixar Cars will be available till July 6.

Stay connected

One of the very many benefits of working for a big company is that resources and opportunities are many and you make quite a few friends along the way.

Recently I have been meeting up with a few of my work friends whom I have not seen for ages and we talked about everything from work to life in general. First of all it was amazing to see how everyone has changed in their physical appearance and then it was how our lives have all changed so much! We used to go biking, fishing, hiking, skiing or rafting together but now we are all so busy with our little lives around the family. But the conversation and personalities fortunately are still good as 5-8 years ago! Talking to them has really lifted my spirit and given me a better perspective of my own career goal and direction. I learned how other business units operate and compensate their teams and how progressive they are in terms of training and working on the latest technologies. My business unit definitely pales in comparison. :-( The reason for my tiredness and lack of motivation is not unfounded. I need to come up with a new plan for myself every year and have checkpoints to ensure my efforts are channeling to the focus I set for myself. Without which, I am just doing what the company wants me to do and I am not happy. Not all managers or department cares about their employees, you will be really lucky if you have such mentors in your life. So meeting with friends from other parts of the company will serve the same purpose. It's more than networking which is meeting new people, these are staying connected with your friends who can be your career mentors indirectly and friends for the long term.

幸せの日

今日は出勤しませんでした。
昼頃に家で食事しました。
その時テレビでワールドカップ観戦できたから、
2時間見ました。ちょっと楽しみだ。
そして、仕事のメールをチェックし、重要なメールが返信を書きました。
その後に、2時間の昼寝をしました。
シャワーを浴びた後には、会社友達と寿司豐味で食べに行きました。
2時間に刺身と焼きものを満喫した！
帰りにうちの辺りのスーパーで果物や野菜や卵やパンを買いました。
良い一日を過ごすことができだ!

無心工作

最近開始對工作感到很煩厭﹐就算是很重要的公事也不放在心上。
每天起床時﹐心情總是只有C左右。
上班時不是想著今天中飯要吃甚麼﹐就是想大概甚麼時候可以(溜)下班。
有時候就查看今天是哪一隊有比賽(去看和打氣一番)﹐
或者是去看看我愛的網站(也真是夠多的)。
我想請著我這種高薪做事又少的員工﹐公司也蠻倒霉的。
不過希望我這種頹廢只是短暫的而已。

おすすめDVD

先日家のBig Screen でジュード・ロウ主演の映画、「Alfie」を観てました。
映画の内容は男の恋愛論を基に、なかなか面白いけど･･･
結局最後にはちょっと辛かったかもですね。
でも、この映画が好きな理由は、たぶん･･･
ジュード・ロウ演出がいいんだ
映像の撮り方がいいの感じ
映画の曲もめちゃ素敵です。

オニオン スープ

I think I can now claim to make a mean onion soup!
My inspirations came from the picture above.
I finally know some of the secrets to making onion soup!
でも、 初めて作ったのでいろいろ反省点はあるよ。
Hopefully, I will be able to do my 7-course meal at home pretty soon!

ソフトボール

In our department of some 300 engineers, with maybe about 15% female, how come I am the only one who is willing to play softball in our Summer Olympics? 私はソフトボール初心者です。( 写真から見ることができそうだ。^^") でも、とても面白くて、今一番好きなスポーツです。

And the cool thing is we won! 21 : 4!!

Our team will be in the semi-final next Monday. 頑張れ～Argonauts!!

Sugoi

I came across this artist today while reading a Taiwanese blog.

李玖哲

He is actually quite cool. A Korean grew up in LA but can speak Mandarin and have records selling well in Taiwan and other parts of Asia. I saw a clip of him on You Tube and surprisingly found his personality is quite charming and is a down to earth person on top of being a talented artist. I don't mean to say I know 李玖哲 but I have known quite a few Korean guys in my life and each and every one of them never fail to surprise me in a good way.

Marie Antoinette

Throughout my Europe History class in high school, Marie Antoinette, this character has always been the one that peaked my interest. She had said and done a lot of stupid things that really give you a glimpse of her shallow, royal life. And now with Sofia Coppola's movie Marie Antoinette debuting at Cannes Film Festival and showing worldwide in October, I will be really looking forward to seeing it. And I love the fact that Kirsten Dunst is playing the part of Marie Antoinette. She is a good actress with a nice figure and this goofy smile that I think fits perfect for the role. :-)

October...still a long way to go.

懐かしいイメージ

I have been so busy and lack of sleep lately.

At work, I am organizing a 300 people summer Olympics on top of my regular work. There are just so many things to coordinate and people and volunteers to work with and I only had 2 weeks to get it to go from conception to happening. Fortunately, it has started without delays. It will go on for a month and ends right before the July 4th weekend.

At home, a very important member of my family has fallen sick. He was hospitalized but is doing better now. I am keeping my fingers crossed. I can not imagine my life without him around. He will always come to my calling without fail, and the fact that he is a cat just makes it that much more special. Taking him to the vet, feeding him his medications and cleaning and watching over him had made us all very tired. But it's all worth it if he is truly, slowly recovering. I am not sure if he will need to take steriods later on to help him get back to his old self.

I bought a few books from Amazon. com and could not even start on the 2nd page of one book. I tried to read a Japanese magazine but fell asleep! That is just the first!

Heard about a high school classmate committed suicide in Hong Kong. It's a bit shocking and I felt weak inside for a moment... I am not religious but I want to say a prayer for her.

And to top it off, stocks were terrible the whole month and I am down a lot!! May was just a very bad month for me this year. Let's see how June turns out.

*The picture is a view I won't be seeing again because I don't own the house anymore.