SD Obon 1:09 AM

On Saturday, a handful of us decided to check out the Obon Festival in SD. I've never been to one before, and I figured it'd be exciting. I imagined it would've been like those crazy festivals you see in anime, with lots of people, lights, vendors, and food. Obon was nothing like that hahaha. It's supposed to be a Buddhist tradition to honor the deceased.

It was a lot smaller than I imagined (it was the size of a small parking lot). But a good amount of people were there. I guess that's what you get for not having a big Japanese community in SD. But after getting familiar with the quirks of Obon, it was really enjoyable.

We participated in the folk dances. haha, none of us really knew what we were doing, but you just stand in the outer circles and follow the teachers in the inner circle and copy what they're doing. Each dance revolves around a series of moves that are repeated throughout the song. The moves are really simple once you get it down, but I kept getting confused lmao I guess it would've made more sense if we all understood the songs cuz I think the dances reflect the lyrics.

Here's a massive image dump!

INSANE 11:32 PM

I can't believe it's only been a week since I first started working at AQUAholics Anonymous. I still can't believe how fast I managed to score this internship. They interviewed me on the 10th, and then they called me back 3 hours later asking if I could come in for training the following Tuesday. Ever since, I've been working hard to build water conservation projects with the other intern and student director. It's a really fast-paced job, but it's also really chill.

Earlier this summer, I also found out that I got the Bonobo internship at the SD Zoo starting in the Fall through the Winter. I'm not sure what that one will entail, but I guess I'll find out once Fall Quarter starts. I'm excited.

Even though both of them are unpaid, I'm getting really good experience for my resume. It's unreal. It all started when I had to look for a project for my ESYS Senior Internship. I thought it'd be hard considering my lack of experience, but damn. Now I have 2 lined up, and I'm not sure which one I want to use.

To top it off, I'm going to help a Kiwanian with a PowerPoint project. She's working on a seminar for Mobile TV Systems, and she's paying for PowerPoint help! $10/hour, expected 60 hours. That's $600 + potential bonuses! But the scope of the project seems a bit scary. She's preparing it for a 2-day technical seminar. She said it might be up to 300 slides! Holy crap. I'm going to meet up with her on Thursday to discuss her notes/vision. But yay for a paid job?? haha

I'm in LA trick 4:46 PM

I went to LA this weekend to hang out with Peter and Drew. It was kinda weird at certain times when they had family stuff to do, and I kinda just interjected myself into their lives at home. But it was a fun weekend haha Lots of moving back and forth between Peter's and Drew's.

Drew and I went to a service project Saturday morning with Temple City Kiwanis, setting up for their annual BBQ fundraiser. Afterward, we went to The Hat, a famous pastrami place in LA. He's bought me their Pastrami Dip before, but today, we went on a different adventure.

We ordered a side order of Chili Cheese Fries and split a Pastrami sandwich with Orange Bang (a sort of orange juice). The Chili Cheese Fries were ridiculous. So much meat and chili. I think it's worse than Roberto's Carne Asada Fries. hahaha We managed to finish most of it, and ended up only eating a few bites from our sandwiches. I think I ate a week's worth of meat in that meal.

Drew wanted us to go to his sister's birthday party, but Peter had family stuff to do for dinner. So I spent the rest of the day with Drew, helping with the party and whatnot. There was a lot of food. Mrs. Vo's chicken was reeeally good and addicting. haha When it got cooler outside, we set up the chocolate fountain and the bonfire in the backyard. How cool is that?? haha

After the party ended and we helped clean up a bit, Drew and I met up with Peter at Guppy's for some shaved ice! I was going to sleep over at Drew's, but he thought it would've been nice if I stayed with Peter since I spent the whole day with him already. I think that worked out pretty well since Drew was going to spend Sunday out with his family. So I went home with Peter after Guppy's.

Sunday was kinda just a whatever day. We went to Costco with Vicki, their mom, and little sister; had lunch; and Peter and I napped for the next 2 hours. lmfao GG. We woke up, and it was pretty much time for dinner even though it was a bit early. Peter and I went to Lee's Sandwiches to get food for everyone. Somehow, every time I go to Peter's, I go to Lee's. haha I love Lee's.

After eating, we started heading back to SD. I kinda fell asleep for most of the ride, but now I'm back! So I guess I'm actually in Diego trick. Time to do laundry, wash the dishes, and maybe get some work done!

By the way, what the hell does trick mean in that context?

This Too Shall Pass 11:42 AM

Every year, I've always dreaded the 4th of July weekend. For the past 6-7 years, I've spent that weekend in Seattle for the annual Tao summer youth retreat. I hate thinking about going because I'm always forced to go. But somehow, by the time I get out, I always feel like I've gained something valuable.

This year was no exception.

Among the jargon-filled lectures over the 2-day period, I've found a time of self-reflection. The retreat has always helped me put things into perspective. As we live our busy lives the other 363 days of the year, we eventually forget the reasons why we've met the people we've met, done the things we've done, gone the places we've gone.

Sure, we may consider these things our independent actions, but perhaps it's something bigger than us - fate. Fate doesn't mean that things will just happen. How we live every moment is a choice. And our individual choices will determine the track our lives take. It's like a choose-your-own-adventure story. And with every action we take, there will be results and consequences - whether it be now, 10 years from now, 200 years from now.

I think the hardest thing to do is to understand and to have faith. It's something so fragile and intangible that it's beyond us. But upon reflection, that's all there is left when we leave this world for another, until we return to our true home.

A lecturer brought up the quote "This too shall pass." It struck a solemn note deep inside me. Whatever riches, joys, and troubles we feel now will pass because when we leave this world, we can't take any of that with us. Instead, all we will have is our souls. The purpose of our time here is to cultivate our souls as much as we can so that one day, in another lifetime, we may reach the merits of sage-hood. Using this as a framework to make our choices isn't something easy to do or to understand.

There are still many things I have yet to grasp. Call the BS Card on me, but I hope that one day I find the courage and wisdom to help the people closest to me "see the light," so to speak; to help them cultivate their merits, and to understand and appreciate the complexities that life has in store.

Videos for the win 10:57 PM

Insane!! There's a "Making of" video if you want to check it out.




Hahahaha. I want to try that neck tie thing

Happy Father's Day 5:06 PM

Getting stuff for Dad is always harder than getting stuff for Mom. It's even harder now that he doesn't need any more dress shirts or neck ties. haha But I got lucky! I was walking through Borders earlier this week, and I saw the astronaut pen. I was super excited to have found it. It launches when you press the button. Right then and there, I decided that the theme would be "You're Out of this World, Dad." haha! So clever.

After walking around some more, I bumped into the Moleskine notebooks section, so I picked one out for my Dad to go along with the astronaut pen. Something more useful, I guess. lol I picked out a reporter flip book cuz it looks cooool.

OH. The best part is, the packaging for the astronaut pen looks like a space shuttle! DOUBLE AWESOME. I like getting creative with gifts. I hope he enjoyed it as much as I did. haha

I'm seriously awesome at wrapping obscure packages sometimes.

Pew pew pew! Space shuttle decorating

P.S. My dad tried out the launching pad. The pen really launches! Pretty high too! :D

Coloring Page #1 3:42 PM

Coloring Page #1: Color-by-number saber tooth tiger. Proudly colored and signed.

My summer so far has included a ridiculous amount of DS and nothing. I found this dinosaur coloring book in my bookcase. I think I'm going to try to color a page a day. Not that it takes a whole day to color a page, but I gotta make sure the book lasts me a while! :D

Lil Sibs 7:39 PM

So, I haven't really hung out or really talked with my lil sibs - Kelly Chinh and Wilson - this year. (Not that I did last year either... :/) But ever since Friday, I've been feeling a little bit better about approaching my sibs. I don't know - I've just either been really busy, or really awkward. I felt like my lils didn't really want to talk to me all year or something. And the fact that I've never had a sib before (in a club, or in real life) didn't help. lol

Friday was the first time I actually did something with them. haha, oops. We decided to barbeque some chicken drumsticks by my apartment's pool for the 10th week Beach Social. Wilson and I went shopping for drumsticks while Kelly was in Student Health getting her eye checked out. We picked Kelly up afterward, and started our cooking adventure.

It was fun considering we had no idea what we were doing! We had a hard time figuring out how to start the grill too. At one point, Kelly wanted to stick the lighter into this "hole" in the switch box for the gas. LOL. Bad idea. We stopped her. But we got it eventually! The drumsticks came out pretty delicious, despite our random "marinade" of sesame oil, soy sauce, lemon juice, garlic, garlic salt, and Mrs. Dash. ahahahaha

Since it was finals week (and the end of the year!), I decided I should probably get them care packages. (I think the last time I got them something was at the beginning of the year, when sibs were announced. haha) I bought a bunch of stuff today after my final and packaged them in a plastic shoe box. I made sure I didn't spend over $10-15 per person, so I got a bunch of cheapies from Walmart and Ranch. They were good deals.

Each of them pretty much got the same stuff - large Gatorade (only 94 cents!), candy, chocolate, Goldfish. I also got them each a box of Gummy Rings from Henry's (my favorite). I made sure I had some "healthy" stuff in there too (see Craisins and tea boxes? haha). I delivered them today before getting $0.99 fish tacos with Angela, Leslie, Cheung, Helen, and Honyin. I hope they enjoy the goodies cuz I'm really jealous! haha k, done procrastinating. Time to finish Podcasts for my final tomorrow!

Doggie 10:39 PM

Hello Neglected Blog!

I promise to fill you in on my past month after finals are over. I guess I haven't configured LoudTwitter properly for it to update with my tweets :(

But for now, I have a dog story to tell you! I was waiting outside my 4pm class, and these 2 people were walking by with this little small dog. He was kinda just wandering around behind them, exploring the ground and gaining everyone's attention cuz of his fuzzy cuteness. All of a sudden, the dog became really infatuated with this patch of ground. He'd just sniff and play with the area and then roll over to scratch his back against the ground, while his owners were afar calling for him.

He'd repeat it over and over, and everyone was just like, "Aww. How cute. :)"

His owners eventually came for him. My classmate and I gave a little laugh, and she was wondering what the dog was playing with. I walked over and I saw... a piece of roadkill........ HAHAHAHAHAHA.

Not so cute anymore, right? Haha, so sad..

Spreading the leetness! 10:11 PM

I'd like to consider myself a pretty tech savvy guy. I write for this blog after all. But there are just some things I find a bit... questionable. That includes the Kindle. I'm sorry, I just can't take it seriously. It's just... not the real deal. If I see you standing around the corner reading a Kindle, you can expect to receive some mocking looks from me.

Sure, the Kindle's got some good things going for it, but the thought of it even attempting to replace books makes me cringe.

Read the rest @ technoleet!

Laundry Mania 5:19 PM

Twenty-one called for a mega celebration. Thanks to everyone who hung out with me, who wished they could hang out with me, and who showered me with gifts. Incriminating photos on facebook. I have some of the most amazing friends ever. But with mega celebrations come laundry that needs to be done.

Yesterday, I threw my laundry into the dryer before I left my apt late afternoon, but I guess the door wasn't closed tight enough and the dryer door popped open! I didn't find out until late at night when I wanted to get my pillow cases so that I could sleep. Poopers! I stayed up a bit while I restarted the dryer, but then I decided to just slip my hoodies over the pillows. They ended up looking like bodies. haha

Anyhow, I didn't get to my dried laundry until this afternoon. As I was folding my clothes, I found out that the plastic rings on my board shorts melted! LOL oooops. These were my favorite! I don't know if I'd be able to wear them again cuz there's remnants of plastic stuck on the sides as well. And I definitely can't tie the strings either. hahaha Oh welll.

See melted plastic there and there!

And a close up!

Also, I'm gonna try Loudtwitter and see how it works out. It compiles my tweets into a daily blog! haha

Technoleet Update! 8:57 PM

Mini flash games are addicting, and game developers well know it. Coupled with catchy hummable tunes and simple but quirky cartoon graphics, you’ve got yourself an irresistible winner. Developed by the same people who brought you WarioWare, Rhythm Heaven for the DS delivers a similar onslaught of minigame craziness.

This music-genre game delivers hours and hours of frustrated fun. Part of what makes Rhythm Heaven so awesome is the action screen play associated with each rhythm game. It’s not like DDR or Guitar Hero where you’re just pressing keys - it’s like.. you’re actually playing a game.

Read the rest @ technoleet!

Jello Cheesecake Cupcakes! 11:31 PM

I stayed up til 4am last night writing my ESYS paper. I don't know why, but I always take forever writing papers now! Maybe because I actually have to research, and I put that aside until I have to start writing. hahaha But aside from having that due today, I also had a BILD midterm, which I didn't study for until this morning. @ @ I could've done better if I'd studied more, but ah, whatever. I also waited an hour at the bus stop because the 150 failed.

So after I got back, I decided to be lazy. I threw in some laundry; made myself a Grilled Cheese to go along with The Office; and made cheesecake cupcakes! From the box, no bake! :D haha





They came out pretty well. I think the filling wasn't as thick as it should've been, but whatever haha. It's a Jello no bake dessert :P It only took 15 minutes to mix everything, and 1 hour to chill it in the fridge. So, yay for easy boxed desserts! loool

Class, Gym, Shaved Ice, and Watermelon 1:21 AM

That pretty much sums up my day. haha

I was going to go home after the Shaved Ice Fundraiser, but I had JUST missed my bus. I saw it leave the stop I was going to, and I frowned. My bus only comes once an hour during that time, so I decided to just stay at the library until the GBM dinner @ 6.

I changed my wall. It used to be this emo pic of a rain cloud pouring on a guy. It made me laugh! But I decided to change it to another Threadless wall instead. It's from a shirt called Found Anything Yet? I added the text, which I spent 30 minutes finding a font for and adjusting. looool But yay! Adventure wall.


Then I spent the next hour trying to read, but falling asleep instead, and being an inadvertent inspiration/model for one of Eileen's drawings. She even forced me to go back to sleep so that she could continue.. lol. I have yet to see what it looks like.

We bought this watermelon for the sleepover on Friday, but we never got around to cutting it. So I decided to cut it today! It reminded me of the giant watermelon Electrode from the Pokemon episode we watched at DCON. lmfao. I cut it open and the halves looked like a face! Cool B) The watermelon was delicious and juicy. There's still half of it sitting in Peter's fridge. Yum.

At least I Twittered :P 9:52 PM

So much for this blog! I haven't updated in more than 2 weeks! hahaha. My life's been updated on Twitter though, so I guess that kinda makes up for it :P

My past 2.5 weeks in bullet points and a lack of pictures:

• Spring Break was way too short. I spent 5 days at home, most of it playing Pokemon Platinum! and stressing/slaving over DCON spirit items. But they turned out well. Yaaay :)
  
• DCON was amazing. Maybe cuz I basically skipped all the workshops this year, haha.
  
• Lost my voice for a week after DCON from all the shouting and cheering. It's still a little scratchy. haha oops! But mucho fun :)
• My opportunity to be Paradise Ltg came and passed. I think I'll always be 20/80 (yes/no). Sometimes even 30/70. Meh. Oh well.
  
• But Jeff came down and hung out with us for the first half of Week 1! And we finally did the Hoedown Throwdown and recorded it for McJoe. haha
  
• Week 1 went by hella fast. Two of the three classes I'm taking are reading/research intensive. Geez. The third one is BILD 1. ahaha
  
• My wrecked car finally got towed. But my dad also surprised me with a new Camry. Wth o.o
• Kiwanis One Day was excellent! Despite waking up super early to catch the weekend bus to go to campus, I had a really good time at the event.
  
• And now it's Week 2! Ack! Gotta get more reading and research done!

Flight Home 7:46 PM

For some reason, everyone from UCSD decided to fly home today. At the same time. Haha, probably because the prices were cheapest during the noon-time hours. And then some people's flights were delayed. But holy crap, there were so many people we knew at the airport!

It's always fun when you sit next to someone who talks to you on the plane. I was planning to read Plan B 3.0 to get started on next quarter's readings (lmfao), but I would've probably fallen asleep out of tiredness anyway. The guy was a 2nd Year Int'l Studies/Poli-Sci Warren student named Bryant ("like Kobe Bryant") who just got evicted from his on-campus apartment for a drinking violation. (Sucky Resident Dean!) But we ran into conversations about all sorts of random life/academic stuff, like our majors, interracial girlfriends, Ethnic Studies, profesors, education systems, etc. lolol, so nerdy, but this guy was "dope." (He used that word a lot.)

While talking about internships and such, I found out that he's running for AS All-Campus Senator with Student Voice. We started talking about that since I knew a couple of people on that slate. I brought up my former housemate Daniel, who was running for AS Physical Sciences Senator with Student Voice also. I told Bryant about all the great freegan progressive adventures Daniel has had, and that he should talk to him more about it cuz he seemed really interested. Hooray for connecting people. haha

He started falling asleep after we landed. At one point, I saw a drip of drool. ahahaha I woke him up as we were de-planing.

Anyway, so I got home. Usual greeting/feeding routine, etc. I went to my room and found a surprise there! Two, actually, from my (cool) cousin Tien who's working in Shanghai as an interior architect. She got me name stamps, with cartoony stuff on it. ahaha, I like them a lot! She even made them for two names! Jotan and Dante. ahaha I don't really know what I'd use them for, but what coolness :)

Why do we fall, sir? 12:14 PM

So that we might learn to pick ourselves up again.

Cluttered Mind 2:29 AM

With the end of Winter Quarter Finals, I found that I still have a lot of things on my mind. Maybe this is why it doesn't feel like I'm done with finals?

Friendship failures. Recurring theme of my life? Maybe I should just hermit up forever.

Mega Nervousness 9:37 AM

Today is the last day of finals for me. I got ready for my death by "dressing up." lolol I have 2 lined up - BIEB 150 and ESYS. I'm so nervous. I just want it to be over! I'm glad 150 (Evolution) comes first. I'm excited/prepared to see what'll be on the final, but I'm scared at the same time. Ah!

Then comes ESYS. I don't really give a crap about ESYS. Haha. How sad. I think the final will be annoying/hard. But good thing I blogged because I was about to forget to bring my ESYS homework. Good luck to me!

Study Break Blog! 12:30 PM

I'm tired of studying. I've been studying for the whole weekend, and it's only been for one class! :( So I'm taking a study break to blog haha These are a bunch of pictures I took over the past week that I haven't uploaded.

I drew these in the library last weekend. Peter was going insane cuz he had so much to do. Drew and I were just chillaxing studying. And Honyin. Well, Honyin was dreaming and drooling.

This was a comic from The Guardian from Thursday.
This is totally my music selection. lmfao

I saw this etched on the cement block while I was waiting for the bus at school. So I snapped a quick picture with my phone. I don't really know what it's saying - "Biar"? - but I thought it looked cool. haha