Another Reunion

This time with college buddies.

 

Reunions with Classmates

College

Last weekend, we had a reunion of sorts with some college friends as Jason and Patrick visited LA. We got the chance to meet up with Trisha as well on Friday night.

Both guys stayed in the apartment that I share with my family. It's amazing how the three of us were able to fit in the living room as we retired at night.

We planned on going to more places than we actually were able to visit. But I had a great time and I hope everyone had as well.

Friday: Universal Studios Citywalk, "Four Christmases" movie.

Saturday: Hollywood, Wax Museum, Guinness Records Museum, shopping.

Sunday: Beverly Hills, Rodeo Drive, shopping.

Monday: Topanga Mall, Zen Buffett!


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Elementary/High School

I had to wake up at 4am on Friday morning just to catch my elementary/high school friends online. Vicky celebrated her birthday and she invited school and church friends at her house. The party was virtually a reunion for some members of Hope Christian High School Class of 2002.

It's been hard to arrange a get-together among the folks. We went to different universities and pursued different career paths. Everyone is busy with a hectic work schedule. We may never even get the chance to gather everyone together at the same place. So an opportunity where several of us can attend (via webcam on my part) is hard to skip.

Unbelievable as it sounds - I can't even get myself to wake up at 6am on a typical day - I was wide awake by 4:15am. Skype allowed us to see each other via webcam. It is unfortunate, though, that my mic isn't working so I had to type whatever I wanted to say to them.

My shoutout to the folks (even though they probably won't be able to read this):

Vicky - Happy birthday again! Thanks for letting me know about your birthday party. It was perfect timing that I saw you online in YM on that day.

Donelle - Happy birthday as well! Get a project in the US so we can meet up haha!

Rickie - Congrats on your successful visa application!

Delia - Hope you have a quick recovery. And I still haven't replied to your last email.

Smith - Nice to see you again. Wow! this is cool. I saw you almost every day from kindergarten to high school. And then I never saw you again, not even once in college, until now.

 

Buying a Leather Jacket and Being on the Slim-Skinny Side

GQ's guide on how to buy a leather jacket.

I read through the guide just after buying a leather jacket for myself. In spite of that, I'm very satisfied with my purchase and I wouldn't have bought it if I didn't think it's a good buy.

Realization: it's hard to find slim-fit jackets and buttoned shirts for me. Size S is still a bit large for me and not all brands offer XS sizes.

So I'm wondering which one is more likely to happen: overwhelming majority of designers offering size XS (or adjusting size S to fit people of my type) or my buffing up? It may be a tough choice considering that the American market has, I suspect, only a very small segment of size XS people and that I always find what to me are more interesting things to do than working out. Running, basketball, and very occasional push-ups are my only exercise.

 

Congrats, Manny!!

Manny Pacquiao TKOs Oscar dela Hoya in 8th round.

 

"Bracing" for Some 2009 Expenses

I set aside $2,500 of my salary to my Health Care Spending Account primarily to cover the cost of the dental braces that I plan on having next year. The treatment duration is expected to be 18-24 months so I will just pay for the remaining balance through the amount I will set aside in the account for the year 2010.

The Health Care Spending Account gives me some financial benefits because it is taken from my pre-tax salary. The downside is that it is a use-it-or-lose-it option. Should I decide not to have braces, that amount cannot be retrieved back to my salary and I have to spend it on any qualified health-related spending.

The alternatives that I have thought of so far are:

1. LASIK (eye surgery)
2. A pair of really cool eyeglasses
   
3. Psychiatric care
   
4. Lots and lots of Tylenol/Advil bottles

 

Hello, CIGNA?

Here's an unexpected message that I got as I was navigating through the CIGNA website (dental insurance):

 

Jon Stewart and Bill O'Reilly

A meaty tit-for-tat (especially Part 2).

Part 1:



Part 2:




I love how Bill thought the stuffed animal is a panda.

 

President-Elect Obama

Congratulations!

 

A Mental Game about the US Presidential Elections (sort of)

With the US Presidential Elections just around the corner, I've been playing this little game on my mind. The challenge is to come up with a person, outside of those currently running, who I think is most qualified to be the president. This leaves out anyone who at least has a greater than 0% chance of winning the presidency (i.e. McCain, Obama, Nader, Barr, Biden, Palin, etc).

Now, I understand that the US has this thing called the democratic process, which is basically similar to how my country chooses its leaders. And that the question of who the best person is to lead the country is answered through the collective decision of the citizens. But, to emphasize, this is just a game I've been playing so I don't want to argue for or against the futility of this mental exercise.

How did I come up with people to consider? Simple. I just narrowed down the list of people who I read about, listened to, and/or watched in the news and the internet. Evidently, my biases came into play. But who isn't biased anyway?

I didn't include people who I previously haven't heard about prior to this political season despite how highly they are regarded by supporters - just because it was "too late in the game" and I didn't want to learn about them just to expand my list which would have led me to exhaust my mind and ultimately bore myself. This rules out the likes of Pawlenty (Republican) or Kaine (Democrat) who were thought to be solid picks for Vice President by a lot of people. I tried to zero in on someone whom I already have some (previous) knowledge of.

To cut to the chase, I singled out someone who I believe has a very impressive record both in the business world and the government. He also has a good grasp of issues within and beyond his direct domain of responsibility. I've heard him talk about domestic issues, immigration, energy, global warming, and the current financial crisis and I'm always interested in what he has to say. I can't think of anyone who would be better than New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg.

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A quick note on the elections. As an outsider to these issues, I closely followed both the Democrat and Republican primaries. Back then, I was all for Obama and McCain in securing the presidential nominations. I thought they were the most impressive of all the candidates in their own respective parties. Amidst the back-and-forth mudslinging between the two, I'm still glad that they were the ones chosen by their parties.

Here's to hoping that America chooses wisely on November 4th. As they say, the US president is also the most powerful person on earth and the de facto leader of the free world.

 

Office Skeleton

On the door to the lunch room in our office...

Happy Halloween!!!

 

First Work-Year

It's official. My three-week February hiatus aside, I already have one year's worth of work experience under my belt.

 

Go Lakers!!!

63rd NBA Season starts tonight. LA Lakers open their season against the Portland Trailblazers.

 

The Alaska Rap

This might be Amy Poehler's last skit performance in SNL (I hope not). And yes, it's the real Sarah Palin you're seeing in this video - not Tina Fey.

See Amy's mad rapping skills:

 

With Manny Pacquaio

I tagged along with my cousin to a party after finding out Manny Pacquiao would be there.

 

The Gergen Bandwagon

Count me in.

I'm one of the observers who, if "polled", will have a "very favorable view" of CNN political analyst and former presidential advisor (to Ford, Nixon, Reagan, Clinton) David Gergen.