• There are bugs ALL over Phuket. Don’t be surprised if you find a dead spider in your rice, fearless flies on your food during dinner and ants and lizards crawling up the wall behind you.
• Sales girls at the malls are hella rude and just sit around talking but employees everywhere else are super nice and definitely knows the meaning of hospitality.
• Most places don’t believe in AC.
• But the beaches definitely felt like heaven on earth.
• Thailand makes you want elephant and monkeys so bad it’s not even funny.

Phuket

Beijing:

• Beijing food was such a huge disappointment; it was okay but definitely not my favorite. I also had the worst PEKING duck I’ve ever had there. Ironic.
• I felt like I was covered in 10 layers of dirt every day from the smog and heat.
• But the heat was bearable because it was dry and cool in the shade (unlike Hong Kong).
• I took a deep breath by accident and my throat was scratchy and irritated the rest of the day. Air pollution is no fun!!
• It was weird that we were in a lot of touristy places (even the airport and a 5-star hotel) and employees barely knew English. It took so much effort just to explain “brown bread” to them.
• I was scared to drink anything because I didn’t want to use their public washrooms.
• If I have to pee in another hole in the ground again with the most pungent smell emitting from it, I’m going to scream! Some of them were so bad that I was willing to hold it in for an hour long bus ride… I give huge props to the cleaning ladies who sits in the washrooms all day. I am so prissy. But I really tried.
• On the other hand, the washrooms that do have 1 or 2 stalls with actual toilets are pretty clean since they are barely used (but still smelly).
• Despite all this, I had more fun in Beijing than I even did Phuket! I’m obsessed with Chinese history so I was in so much awe being in places that I only read about.
• I want to come back again with proper gear to conquer more of the Great Wall. Vancouver trails are nice and some still a good challenge, but the Great Wall really lives up to it’s name and is full of historical significance which makes it that much better (Grouse Grind, my ass). Just don’t wear a dress and sandals like I did.
• Going up the wall is so much easier than going down. Hella steep with uneven and worn-down steps + my weak knees = not a good combination. It took me double the time to go down and I was secretly racing an old man but he beat me.
• I also want to come back to spend more time in the Summer Palace; so beautiful there.
• I already knew this but holy shit, Air China really sucks ass.

Great Wall of China

Hong Kong:

• Hong Kong = food heaven!! There are so many restaurants and bakeries here it’s not even funny— and they are always full.
• But then I don’t think I can survive here because there are way too many people. Not as many as China but still to many.
• The first week we were here, I dragged Boyfriend out and we literally shopped till we dropped every single day …well he just held my bags. It didn’t help that public benches are practically non-exist in HK so we always came home exhausted (and I consider never shopping again), get a really good sleep but then do it all over again the next day.
• He loved it when I went into shoe stores where he can sit and bask in air-conditioned glory— those were the only times he encouraged me to take my time and shop.
• I hate it when “dirty water” drips on me.
• I hate that I have to dress so conservatively while the weather is so hot and humid or else the locals will stare and make you feel like an idiot. I won’t care in Vancouver but I do here even though I’ll never see them again.  The bitches in Vancouver need to take stare-down lessons from the old Chinese ladies here.

60+ DELICIOUS skewers (chicken, beef, gizzards, chicken hearts, lamb, squid) + 8 beers + 1 bottle of nasty but super strong alochol = less than $20CDN. The only catch is that it was from a probably really dirty food stall but then we didn`t get sick so who cares.. I want more!!

Misc:

• I will never take Vancouver weather for granted ever again!! *complains about the shitty weather when I get off the plane*
• I miss clean and smog free air.
• I hope Vancouver bans the use of air conditioners that sucks hot air back outside. It’d be so sad if Vancouver becomes so gross and humid like HK.
• I was standing in the aisle of a supermarket today feeling so bad for myself for living in North America because our [junk food] choices are so boring. Asia has all of it PLUS MORE.
• I like how breakfast at hotels here always have congee.
• I’m so sad that we didn’t get to eat creepy crawlies in Phuket or Beijing but we have one more visa entry to China so hopefully we still can.
• You guys were right, I lost 5lbs from the heat and all the walking but I’m pretty sure I gained like 10% body fat. I don’t know what’s worse.
• We are getting so awesome. AT BARGAINING! But bargaining just for $0.30CAD is sooo ridiculous and tiring even though you do it anyway… because you’re in Asia and will feel like you’re getting ripped off if you don’t.
• I can’t wait to be in Korea for the World Cup. I know I can only hope, but obviously I’m routing for an Asian team and it doesn’t get any crazier than in Korea!
• The country never sleeps!
• I complain a lot but I still love Asia!! Complaining is more interesting than praising.

Edit— Check out this article: Look What I Bought (or Got Free)

I wish for everyone to help create a strong, sustainable movement to educate every child about food, inspire families to cook again and empower people everywhere to fight obesity. - Jamie Oliver

I finally got around to watching Jamie Oliver’s Food Revolution and it’s truly an intense and inspirational show. Jamie is basically trying to start a food revolution in the unhealthiest city in America, according to statistics, by challenging the city and the school system to make changes in what they eat. I never really liked him nor any of his other shows but this one caught my eye because the situation is just fucking disgusting. Even though it’s only on the fourth episode, but I can’t wait to see if Jamie can REALLY make a difference. Schools obviously aren’t the root of the problem but it’ll be interesting to see where this will lead.

The first episode is a real eye-opener. Your screen is filled with loads of processed foods, disgusting fats, prideful adults who seem to have given up any hope of changing their obesity-ridden community and won’t accept someone trying to make a difference, indifferent lunch ladies serving pizza to kids for breakfast, kids not knowing the names of basic vegetables and Jamie almost in tears from the horror of it all. Then as the show progresses, you start to see changes in small steps; people finally opening their eyes and slowly starting to embrace Jamie’s philosophy … but how far will it go?

…any judge in whole world would look at the statistics and the evidence and they would find any government of old, guilty of child-abuse.

A while ago, I read a fitness trainer’s blog who thought that people who hates vegetables weren’t raised properly (or they’re parents just don’t know how to cook) and I couldn’t agree more. Parents and teachers are suppose to be role models and should be teaching kids what to eat at a young age so they can develop healthy habits for life.

Let’s be honest, I’m not a total health nut and I won’t give up processed foods entirely (dude, I had a poutine last weekend) but moderation is the key. It wasn’t always like this but I slowly made the change and even though I do splurge, I eat fresh and healthy most of the time and am conscious of what is going in my body. I didn’t grow up in a totally healthy home free of processed junk but my parents made sure we ate our vegetables (and being Asian, we’d get smacked with a stick if we didn’t) and only got treats when we deserved it which of course, made it a lot easier for us as we got older.

I do remember my dad taking us to McDonald’s every [other] Friday after school, where’d I get a Super-Sized Big Mac meal (my scrawny 10-year-old self ate 2 Big Macs + super-size fries/coke once) but luckily I was blessed with skinny genes (I wish someone would tell me what the hell happened to them now though!!). At least we were never “exposed” to it more than once or twice a week. Now that I think about it, it’s kind of ironic because my dad has always been extremely fit and always nags us to get off our lazy-asses and go exercise but I guess McD’s was a special treat? Oh those days of carefree eating (a.k.a. 1.5 years ago)… I kind of miss them but then I’m glad I made a change.

You can watch Jamie Oliver’s Food Revolution online at CTV (Canada) or ABC (USA).

If you haven’t already, you should also watch the documentary, Food Inc. It’ll seriously gross you out and alternate your thoughts on food. [email me for link].

The quotes above were from Jamie’s inspirational Ted Award speech (22 minutes).

Have you seen Jamie Oliver’s Food Revolution OR Food Inc.? What do you think?

USE IT!!!

My biggest pet peeve at the gym is when you have to end a great cardio session early because you can’t stand that raunchy smell coming from the dude beside you… and you can’t move to another machine further down or you’ll risk offending them and you shan’t do that at a company gym. What’s yours?

As in mouse clicks. I surf the web like a bullet train and I want everything right there in front of me and want to do as little as possible (you can call me lazy). If I had it my way, there wouldn’t be anymore “continue reading” links or thumbnails and everything would be laid out right in front of you. And they call me an interface designer. Hah. But of course that can’t happen or imagine the size of websites and not everyone properly saves their images for web!

• Pictures: I prefer seeing pictures resized and laid out nicely in front of me. I HATE clicking on thumbnails— in fact, 95% of the time I don’t. I’d rather wait for big images load which usually isn’t a problem nowadays as long as they were properly exported. Just for the record, my Flickr bar up there is just for aesthetics. I have an online photo album and all the pictures are all laid out vertically (for my viewing pleasure, not yours).
  

  But some thumbnails are okay as long as they are big so I can see what I'm about to click and only open the ones I want to see.

  

  Left/Right navigation arrows makes it a little better, although I still think there are too many clicks. It's also harder to compare images.

  

  Perfect. Everything laid out, simple, clean and all I need to do is scroll. Of course, there is the debate about portfolios needing more 'creativity' but that's for another entry.

• Annoying pagination. Eg: Listing each point of a blog entry on different pages and it’s the worse when the page takes forever to load. WHY? Are you trying to build suspense?! FAIL. AND let’s not forget multiple-paged blog entries.
• Lightbox — It looks good but I can’t stand sites that use it. Is it just me or is it EXTREMELY slow …or the loading icon just makes it seem like it’s taking FOREVER to load?
• Loading Icons. Functional and works aesthetically but I don’t need to be reminded that your page is taking forever to load and it’s ONLY at 19%. I swear, loading bars makes loading seem longer than it actually is.
• STFU I don’t want to “hit the jump.” If a blog has a “continue reading” link, chances are I won’t continue unless it’s an informational post. Sometimes the link is so useless and obnoxious… is your content THAT good for someone to want to see it that bad? And what’s the point of it if there is nothing but one sentence after I “hit the jump?” I applaud you for saving a whole 20px of vertical scrolling though.
• I never use the “back” button on my browser; I’d rather have a billion tabs open. It’s a pretty bad habit because sometimes I’d accidently close a page if I forget to open it in a new tab and I’ll forget which site I was on.

You know how much shit is online and how little time there is?!

What do you prefer in terms of UI?

• Drivers who don’t signal. It’s not that hard to make it a habit!! I signal even when driving on an empty street at 3am.
• Social Smokers. Example: people who only smoke in a club’s smoke pit [just because everyone else is doing it].
• People who talk (or text!) on their cellphones while driving. Thank god they may be banning this in BC. I was reading Facebook feeds the other day and surprised to see so many people complaining about this… at least now I know who the shitty drivers are. NO ONE use their cellphones and drive “normally” and if you think you can, YOU CAN’T.
• Cheap people. It’s one thing to be cheap and wanting to save your money but it’s an entirely different thing to be cheap and mooch off your friends!!
• People who seem to be “looking for” special treatment on their birthdays. Little do they know, no one gives a shit that it’s your birthday. Birthdays aren’t a big deal to me and it just an excuse to party but I usually don’t tell anyone when it is if I can avoid it, in fact, I hate people saying “happy birthday” to me. At work, they use to decorate your cube on your birthday and I use to dread it but now they just send out an email to the team but at least it’s not as conspicuous as balloons!
• Not really a pet peeve, but I don’t understand how some people can be so stupid and naive. If your life is full of drama, you have no one to blame but yourself.

What are your pet peeves?

1. If there is one thing that’s “impossible,” it’s overcoming the fear of getting-off-chairlifts. Not like the day will ever come but even if I become a pro-boarder, I will ALWAYS be afraid of it. AAALLLWAYSSS.
2. Football. I will never understand it no matter how hard I try (even though I never tried). Sorry, boyfriend.
3. Why do people always breath out so loudly right when they walk by you? Couldn’t they do it before they turned the corner or something? That’s hella annoying (and stinky). It sounds like a retarded sigh.
4. Boyfriend is so good at everything he sets his mind to that I don’t even have motivation to kick his ass in anything anymore (eg. he started snowboarding 3 years after me and now he seems to be 50 years ahead of me). Why can’t I be as good as him?! Damn you Boyfriend!! At least I’m better at… Photoshop.
5. Anything between $7-$24 seems so expensive but I won’t hesitate to buy anything over that price range (eg. $7 drugstore lipgloss vs. $30 department store lipgloss). This is how you DON’T think to save money. Does this ever happen to you or am I just a freak? I guess deep inside, I’m telling myself I’m getting a better value for my money even though I won’t admit to it because I know that just because it’s a department store product, it doesn’t mean it’s better than a drugstore product.
6. How people drink alcohol like water? It tastes disgusting so I don’t sip on drinks if I don’t have to. Here’s some advice: if you want to make-out with the floor faster, go straight for the hard shots and skip the pussy fruity mixed drinks.
7. Why can’t I just drag and drop songs onto my iPod?! iTunes need to die.
8. Boyfriend and I sometimes have conversations where the two of us are talking about two entirely different topics (eg. his latest soccer game vs. the book I’m currently reading); how we understand each other? I have no idea. Sometimes there just isn’t enough time in a day to talk about everything so you need to do it at the same time.
9. Someone PLEASE explain to me what’s so good about Twilight?! What did YOU like about it?

   I love books but I don’t understand. I read the first book and my goal is to force myself to finish the series because I always have to finish what I start reading (which is why I own every single book written by all my favorite authors) but I can’t get myself to pick up another Twilight book.

   I was also extremely mortified when I first saw the movie preview because I was so embarassed for everyone involved. Not like I should talk since they made millions off it but still, it was horribly lame and cliché.

10. Edward Cullen. How do you fall in love with a fictional character BEFORE seeing him on film (admit it, you were in love with him before the movie came out)? I mean I was crazy over Legolas from LOTR but only after I watched the movie and saw Orlando Bloom with pointy ears, long white hair and in tights (otherwise he’s not that hot in real life). Do I have to read the rest of the books to have a revelation about his supposed hotness?

P.S. Don’t hate me because I didn’t like Twilight… I still love you guys.

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…and Sundays are one of the days I always force myself to go work out when I’d rather be stuffing myself with mac and cheese and Korean seafood pancakes.

Random pictures of the day:

“Nooo this is how a cowboy looks like!!” … featuring their HSM hat.

Speaking of Highschool Musical, we took the kids to see HSM on Ice last weekend and I seriously got so bored I had to whip my iPod (and I felt bad afterwards). I wish I was young again so those things could actually keep me entertained. I guess it didn’t help much that we missed the first half hour of it due to that horrible accident on the highway that morning. When we were driving out to Maple Ridge at around 10am to pick up the kids, the traffic was crawling through slowly and when we were going back at around 3, there was still traffic. It makes me sooo angry when idiots drive on the HOV lane when they’re not suppose to; that’s karma for them which they totally deserve but not the other vehicles involved and everyone else who gets stuck in traffic. It also doesn’t make sense why HOV lanes aren’t opened up to everybody when it’s not rush hour because it’s obvious they don’t help much when it’s not.

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Lately, I’ve been thinking of what makes me different in the way I think and the things I do in relation to everyone else I know. If there’s something that I’m afraid of, it’s losing my identity and just being a clone of everyone else. Of course, I would never deliberately change my opinions just to be different but if I do think or do something differently than others, then I definitely won’t be ashamed to admit it and I’ll tell the world, not like anyone would care but still! I use to be really judgmental when it comes to these things when I was younger but I’ve become a better person now due to being more accepting.

People like to make fun of me for reading so much and what do I do in response to that? I’ll whip out my 1300 paged book and start reading right in front of them. If people ask me why the hell I’m listening to so and so while driving, I’ll just blast the music even louder (besides, you’re in MY car). I know they’re joking but my point is that there’s nothing wrong in doing something you love even if other people like to criticize it.

I remember when Facebook officially switched to their new look, I changed my status to “I LOVE the new FB!” because I was getting 20 invitations a day to groups hating on the new look. A friend asked me if I only did it because everyone else was being a hater and to tell you the truth, I did. Don’t get me wrong, I actually liked the new look A LOT but the only reason I did it was to differentiate myself from everyone else and hopefully piss some people off in the process because their non-stop whining was getting unbearable. I bet most of them are those who would stick animated GIFS and backgrounds and other atrocities on pages if they could anyway.

Another example is when I changed my font size to something overwhelmingly big last week. There was generally positive feedback but a lot of people also thought it was way too big… of course I totally respect their opinions but it just goes to show how change isn’t easily accepted. I realized that the huge font doesn’t work with my particular theme but I still think the huge font DOES work. Check out diaua.com for example, It’s an image-less layout and I think the huge font looks awesome and appealing; but not surprisingly, she some lost points for the overwhelming font size (like I did) on rev.iew.me. Apparently, if it doesn’t look like your standard blog, then it’s not up to par. The whole topic is a little controversial though because you’re suppose to design a website for the visitor in mind but still, it’s a shame. And just for the record, my next theme will have a 14pt size, like it or not. Hehehe. Luckily, all you have to do it a CTRL + or – if you don’t like it!

^ I know the above paragraph is a teeny-bit irrelevant but I just had to add it in there to justify my thoughts on my huge-ass font!

Sorry that was a lot of rambling up there (something I’m good at) but if you didn’t read the whole thing, the point I was trying to get across is: DON’T BE AFRAID TO THINK DIFFERENTLY DESPITE OTHER PEOPLE’S CRITICISMS. In the end, you’re the winner because you’ve made yourself stand out from the rest of the crowd.

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Did I mention I lost my second-last tube of Mac Chromeglass in Show Coral (again)?!?!? I had an annoying little voice inside my head telling me not to bring it that night because I knew I’d lose it and little did I know, everything was in my bag at the end of the night EXCEPT for my precious Show Coral. I was hammered out of my mind but I remember seeing my purse dangling on Boyfriend’s arm WIDE OPEN and I was worrying about my damn lipgloss— I didn’t even give a crap about my credit card and drivers’ license that was probably sticking out but I was too wasted to do anything about it. Now I’m only down to one more tube of this wonderful, limited-edition, retired lipgloss. Thankfully I just ordered one off eBay so I don’t have to face the fear of running out (yet) but I swear I’m gonna lose it again next time I decide to take it out with me… but how can I NOT bring my favorite lip gloss with me?

I’ve got to start looking for a look-a-like but it’ll be hard to find that “chrome-y” pink-coral shimmery shade with the same non-sticky, thickly-whipped texture and vanilla scent. Sigh.

Oh and the swatch above doesn’t do justice, it’s a pinker and lighter.

This makes me sad… I’ll have to go to the Mac store sometime this week so I can stock up on some Lipglass to cure this depression.

MAC’s Chromeglass lip gloss is ultra thick, ultra luscious. This formula layers lips with incredible shine and depth, with a rich, plumping effect. Show Coral is a tied and true peach with pearl and the slightest hint of pink undertone. The intense pearlized chrome finish creates an amazing depth and lusciousness for your lips. A great classic peach shade with a special kick only MAC can deliver!

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• Craved like crazy for a Monty Mushroom Burger from White Spot (best burger ever). So crazy that I couldn’t concentrate on anything else— unfortunately I never got it because Boyfriend hates eating at White Spot. P.S. The image was stolen from hoyummy.com.
• Was about to see a movie after dinner but forgot to buy movie tickets at work (why pay $12 and we can get it for $6?) so we went home to start another Korean drama instead. ♥
• Went for dim sum with the family and boyfriend (haven’t done that in sooo long). Totally not satisfying because my black bean chicken feet never came— never going to a dim sum place where they push carts around again. Boo. P.S. The image was stolen from savagexi.com.
• Bummed around Boyfriend’s house like the good old days (a.k.a. last month).
• Tried Jackfruit for the first time in my life because they brought home this huge one from Vietnam. It tasted like shit and made the house smell like alcohol. Um.
• Got so stressed out while looking for a gift for a 2-year-old. Him: “Why are you so hot and stressed out? I’m not.” Me: “Because you’re not thinking hard enough!!!” And he really wasn’t— he was just kicking a soccer ball around Toys R’ Us.
• Went to his niece’s birthday party and almost fell into a swarm of kids scrambling to pick up candy from the broken piñata.
• Wore new eyelashes that were less than $2CDN for 10 pairs (from Vietnam) from L*— they were soo much better than my $5 (per pair) Ardell lashes. This is why I always stock up when I know people going overseas. My sister brought back 2 boxes for me in 2006 and I’ve only used half of one box.
• Got lots of good deals including a $30 Tweezerman tweezer for only $17.50!
• Spent $30 on cereal and granola bars.
• Fell asleep at 10pm on Sunday night— can you believe it? I haven’t slept before 2am for almost a year! But then it was a shitty sleep and ended up waking up at 6:30 this morning, contemplated whether to go to gym or not, lied there and fell asleep again until it was time for work. I hate sleeping early.

Someone should lock me up and not let me go anywhere. I somehow spent $250+ this weekend and have nothing to show for it except for cereal and granola bars. So now the question is— to buy or not to buy?

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Anyway, I tried to shop my troubles away online but didn’t succeed because I’m still upset. Maybe it was because I didn’t buy enough (since I was in a rush and the internet was so slow today for some reason).

Terrible day (not to mention I was behind some idiotic Richmond drivers and then got stuck behind a train crossing on the way home). Sigh.

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We arrived at Tsawwassen at 12:30 hoping to make the 12:45 ferry but we obviously missed it so we played Shithead and ate at the salad bar until 3:15. At Nanaimo, we ended up getting lost going to Tofino because we underestimated and totally ignored Tomtom (GPS), so we ended up arriving at 9:30pm. Funny thing is when we go with the girls, we’ve never gotten lost before thanks to Google Maps. Damn you Tomtom.

They had no shot glasses (!!!), so we had to use these tiny sauce containers to shoot Gray Goose.

N forced us all to have a candle-lit dinner of pasta and lemongrass chicken. LOL. The guys were soo annoyed because they couldn’t see their food but couldn’t do anything about it.

Then we drank and made smores in the backyard.

The next day we chilled out and tried to dig for stuff like geoduck (we bought a shovel for it afterwards but decided not to after we found out about red tide and didn’t wanna die trying = waste of $15).

And then we tried to fish (or pretended to).

And then we went kayaking. The last half hour was horrendous and pure misery for N and I; we were complaining and dying the entire way because it was cold, wet, windy and we were fighting the current while everyone else took it like it was nothing (and we were on a double!!). But nevertheless, the overall 3 hours was still fun.

And then we went home and had a nice meaty dinner. Sorry it’s a little ironic since N is making vegetables in this photo.

And of course, vacation foods (watermelon and wine!!!). We all ended up passing out early (with no alcohol whatsoever except for wine) because we were all pooped from kayaking.

N and I went tanning at Long Beach the next day (featuring a yummy smoked salmon and cream cheese sandwich in the bottom-right corner).

Then we headed back to Chesterman Beach to look for the guys who were surfing but instead, we found this guy who was surf-paddling?!

Then we went home for another hearty meal with lots of chicken noodle soup, steak, pork hash, mash potatoes, grilled zucchini and most importantly, mac and cheese.

Did I also mention that we got bitched by a crazy, “ignant” (her way of saying “ignorant”) white lady because we turned into the wrong house and she claimed that we crushed her [illegal] pipes? The sad thing is that our house was 3 doors down hers so we were scheming on what to do to her house when we leave. Except we got lazy and ended up doing nothing. I was just kidding anyway.

Oh, and the 10×568560569 heart attacks we had while trying to get on the 3:15 ferry on the way home today. We were one of the last cars on and we were getting ready to be soooo angry if we didn’t make it on. We seriously gotta work on our timing.

The BEST part of the trip was that N and I got to be LAZY for once and not worry about what needs to done or what isn’t being done!!!!! Usually, it’s us (and a couple other girls) who are ALWAYS doing the house work while other people are always slacking off and never doing their share. The pathetic part is that they are OBLIVIOUS to the fact that they are doing NOTHING compared to the work we put in so it’s really fucking annoying (and if we don’t do it, it doesn’t happen; we even tested them once but got so pissed off we ended up doing it ourselves). The last day is always the biggest pain in the ass because they only pack up their own stuff and barely help with cleaning the house. This was an awesome change. I guess if this happens in future and upcoming trips, some serious bitch slapping needs to happen so they finally realize how “ignant” they’re being. HAH. I honestly think we are just way too nice to let them get away with it for the last couple years.

Anyway, I don’t go back to work until Friday (and then a stat next Tuesday!). Now I get to catch up on sleep, my freelance projects and playing with my puppy (and maybe a little shopping here and there). I think I need to lie in bed, eat watermelon and watch TV for the rest of the night (after I finish reading blogs). Ta.

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First off, I’d like to say that I HATE YOU DONALD TRUMP!! I enter my email on his website to download this PDF to make me a richass, and the next thing you know? I GET SPAMMED WITH VIAGRA (and other shizz) EMAILS!! Is that the price you pay for trying to be rich and retiring at 21? I’ve spent the last 2 years taking very very careful of that one email account from spam and a billionaire finally ruins it for me. GRRR. I guess it’s kinda by fault for not using that account I started just for things like this. Sigh.

Speaking about spam, here are my top 3 tips to prevent you from being spammed (assuming that you haven’t been already):

• Start a new email account to sign up for things on the internet and especially when signing blogs. Ironically, I’ve NEVER been spammed at this address before so I can’t guarantee that it works. But I think they just haven’t gotten to me yet because this one is quite new. Muhehehe.
• NEVER put your email address on your website in plain text. If you need to, use this code (change the bolded text):
  

  <script language=”JavaScript” type=”text/javascript”>
  <!–
  var string1 = “trump“;
  var string2 = “@”;
  var string3 = “likestospam.com“;
  var string4 = string1 + string2 + string3;
  document.write(”<a href=” + “mail” + “to:” + string1 +
  string2 + string3 + “>” + string4 + “</a>”);
  //–>
  </script>

  …which will be displayed as: trump@likestospam.com

• And last but not least, don’t look at porn or sign up for anything related.

Anyway here are some click-worthy links:

www.worldometers.info; ever wonder how many hours people diet in the U.S. this year or how many books are published? Well now you get to know all this useless but uber cool statistics!

www.blackle.com; been wanting to post this for a while now (been sitting in my drafts for 6 months now) but here you go… introducing the earth-friendly version of Google.

www.blublu.org; awesomely freakish video made by Blu (and the rest of his art work).

And one more shameless plug for Tiff because she made me fall off the couch laughing my arse off: Extreme Makeunder.

But anyway, just kidding, I don’t hate Donald Trump… I just really envy and admire him.

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Anyway, I’ve been feeling like shit on a stick the whole day today. My head was pounding all day like somebody just stepped on it. I swear my whole body had needles sticking in it and I could barely keep my eyes open although I didn’t really feel tired at all. Don’t ask me how that’s possible but it is.

It looks like we might go to Tofino again this summer! This will be my only trip this summer aside from going to the Oregon Coast in August with the girls and probably lots of random shopping trips to the states with Boyfriend throughout the summer. Boyfriend wants to go to New York for a week but I declined his invitation. What? Did I just decline an invitation to piss off Boyfriend by over-spending and stumble drunk in Times Square?! BUT I think I’d rather save up and go to Asia… I swear I’ll need at least 20gs to invade Asia, knowing my shopping habits and because we plan on going everywhere. Being Asian, I think Asia is a lot more culturally-interesting than New York anyway. We can always go to NY but I won’t always have the chance of always being able to go back to Asia. Sometimes I wish I was one of those spoiled Honger kids who flies back to HK for a weekend.

Anyway, please don’t proceed if you get can’t take criticism, get offended easily or is just overly-sensitive.

Speaking about planning events and trips, don’t unreliable people make you sooo mad?! Sometimes we plan things months and months ahead but as time gets closer, some sell out saying they have work or other engagements to attend at the same time. You have months to submit a vacation request at work yet you don’t do it until last minute and end up not getting it. It’s obviously your fault but the only reason we give a crap is because gives us a headache as well. I hate waiting for people (and having people wait for me) but I guess you don’t feel it if you are like most people who only show up for the ride, but rarely make an effort to help out. Some don’t understand how much effort, stress and anger (in my case) goes with planning a multiday trip that involves more than 5 people!!!

Hopefully Boyfriend will help me plan the upcoming one and I can just go along for the ride for once. ♥

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Just like every morning on the way to work, The Bill Good Show was blaring on my radio and his guest today was Richard Dawkins, author of The God Delusion. As a lover of controversies and everything controversial, I was instantly hooked onto this discussion once he introduced his guest. I label myself as Agnostic, but I started thinking (under no influence of Dawkins, since this was before he started talking and I’ve never read his book – which I just ordered online), why don’t I just accept that I’m an Atheist? Deep inside, I know I don’t believe in God and I question is there even the slightest need for “God” or some higher being in my life?

I am against established/organized religion and I consider my life as near-perfect (there is no such thing as straight-up PERFECT) already and there are no religious influences whatsoever in my life right now. I grew up making my own decisions and believing what I want to believe, not what others suggest is true. I have strong morals, dignity and good judgment. I know what is right and what is wrong. I learned from my mistakes in the past and changed for the better. Being involved in an established religion did not teach me this. At the same time, I do my share of “bad” things and isn’t afraid of committing a sin as long as it stays within bounds of my morals. My “sins” don’t need to be forgiven by a god because if I choose to change for the better then it’s good enough (and in some cases, if I don’t then I don’t care either). That could be the equivalent to a Catholic going to confess their sins, but that doesn’t make me Catholic.

Would being religious make my life better? As much as I respect religion and those who choose to follow it, I don’t know and I personally don’t care much to find out. I LOVE my life as it is and wouldn’t want anything to change (except maybe make my closet a little bigger ). Another question is, would religion make me NICER? I’m known to be bitchy but I like my bitchy-self; besides, I’m only really “not nice” to people I don’t respect and I don’t see any need to when I try not to associate myself with them anyway.

I think my reason for being “Agnostic” and believing that there might be some higher being out there (but it’s not our place to know and physically find it) is that I’m afraid that I am wrong. I don’t want to believe there is a god that controls our lives and created us but at the same time, I don’t want to be wrong, which, along with failing, spiders (and losing my external backup hard drive), is one of my greatest fears.

The God Delusion is not just a defense of atheism, but it also goes on the offensive against religion. Dawkins considers this hostility justified because he sees religion as subverting science, fostering fanaticism, encouraging bigotry against homosexuals, and influencing society in other negative ways. He is most outraged about the “indoctrination” of children. He equates the religious indoctrination of children by parents and teachers in faith schools to a form of mental abuse. Dawkins considers the labels “Muslim child” or a “Catholic child” equally misapplied as the descriptions “Marxist child” or a “Tory child”, as he wonders how a young child can be considered developed enough to have such independent views on the cosmos and humanity’s place within it.

I don’t think it’s right to argue that God doesn’t exist either because even if he really didn’t, the belief in him has made some people a better person who contributes positively to society = better world for all of us BUT I have to 100% agree with Dawkins that some religious beliefs should be questioned. One thing I would NEVER want to do if I could help it is put my child in a religious school or make them go to church and have them be preached to at such a young age (which is the easiest way to “manipulate” a person). They can find religion on their own later on in their lives if they want to but I don’t want to “force” them to submit to it when I don’t even think it’s right. For example, if they had a choice, do you think the children in those polygamist camps would choose to live that way? Probably not but they grew up believing it was the right thing and didn’t know any better.

I’m not even sure what or who in my life has influenced my way of thinking towards religion either. Maybe it’s my lack of “faith” and refusing to believe a book written 2000 years ago without strong evidence that it hasn’t been corrupted over those years. Maybe it’s confusion over the thousands of religions out there. Maybe it’s the string of new religions popping up everywhere (I’d be laughing from my grave if a joke like the Church of Google becomes mainstream in a couple hundred years). Maybe it’s the fact that my parents aren’t religious (although a good portion of my relatives are). Maybe it’s because most of my closest friends aren’t religious. Maybe it’s the rebel in me to refuse the mainstream and what SEEMS good and what SEEMS right. Maybe I’m just hard-headed. Nevertheless, religion is good in a sense that it enforces order and gives people something to believe in, therefore making them a better person but I personally don’t think you need it to discover those things.

The funny thing is that some religious people believe Atheism as a religion as well and we are just contradicting ourselves. If that’s true, then I guess I’m not an atheist either… I could say I lean more towards Humanism but I’d rather just say I am my own religion. No more “ism” bullshit.

Now for something that may seem contradictory to this post; I’m sooo fascinated by religious history [of all religions] and that would be one of my choice subjects to study if I had to go back to school. But then I love history in itself anyway.

But anyway, completely unrelated but I just realized that I love listening to Brits talk with their English accent. They make everything seem so much interesting and intellectual. When I think of England, I think of accredited literary accomplishments, high fashion and Spice Girls but when I think or North America, I think of double bacon cheeseburgers and smelly socks. What the heck does that say about us? I don’t know but that will be in another blog entry (which I don’t think I’ll ever write).

And I applaud you if you actually reached the end of this entry without falling asleep.

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I hope everyone participated in EARTH HOUR last night! I looked outside and ALL my neighbours’ lights were on. It made me sooo mad even though some of them probably didn’t know.

There was a forum topic about what you like to stock up on. Here is what I like to make sure I have:

• Urban Decay Potion Primer. Always stock up when we go to the states… I have 3 new bottles lying around somewhere.
• Bonne Bell Eye Definer. I’ve been using this eyeliner since grade 9 and it has never failed me! Plus it only costs $1.99. The last time I stocked up, I accidently grabbed Black Shimmer instead of Black Ink. GRRR.
• False eyelashes. I barely wear them because I like wearing glasses 95% of the time but for some reason I like buying them just “in case.” PLUS they’re pretty! I have over 40 pairs at home and just purchased 10 new pairs of Ardell Lashes online.
• Crest White Strips. Because they are cheaper in the states.
• K-Pak Hair Reconstructor. Fake/Bleached blonds should always have extra bottles lying around.

I planned a surprise birthday party for my best friend on Friday before we headed to the club; it had all the works including a hot stripper, a limo and … fried chicken! Hah. All the stress was totally worth it although it became a very expensive night after I cracked the screen on my cellphone (and none of my contacts are saved my Sim card when it should’ve been!!).

Speaking of cellphones, I paid $500 for mine when it first came out in Asia, but now it’s selling for $250 and everyone in North America has it too. Boo. Since mine is cracked, I’m using Boyfriend’s for now until I get a temporary phone tomorrow except we keep on getting confused because when his’ rings he picks up and vice versa (my phone still works except you can’t see the screen). I want a smart phone with WiFi, GPS and a Qwerty Keyboard but I don’t know if I want to spend that much money on another phone unless it’s a Nokia because they are super durable. Stress! I should be happy that I have an excuse to buy a new phone but I’m not because I can’t make up my mind.

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I think the hardest part about being a “designer” is that I’m always so critical of my own work and always give myself a hard time when I “release” anything to the public. The general public usually won’t even notice or critique your work but you know where all the flaws are and what parts of the design you didn’t have time to “perfect” which in my case, is usually 90% of it. Another thing I’m also plagued with impatience and I usually try to finish something too quickly so it’s never as good as it could be, or else I just loose motivation and give up. This, I’ve been doing a lot lately. “You are your own worst critic.” Oh really?

Anyway, I was practing saying Chuc Mung Nam Moi with Boyfriend last night and I got it except I can never pronounce the “moi” part right, so I keep on saying “Happy Salt Year!” or “Happy Beggar Year!” Or “Happy Cloudy Year!” But yeah, I give up; Vietnamese is too hard for my Chinaman brain. Chuc mung nam moi… lemon fat thai! Ahahahah.

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I just watched two seasons of one of my guilty pleasure TV shows and now all I wanna do is swear, swear and swear (but not in a way to offend anyone). I’m saying what I’m typing in my head but when I read it over, it just makes me sound more of a bitch than I already am and how I use to write back in the day so I went back and censored out as much as I can.

Here’s an article I read on a forum that I always wanted to post but I never found the source for it. Until now…

Richmond is one of Canada’s top two havens for stores selling counterfeit goods.

But a local company that for years thumbed its nose at the federal courts has had its nose rubbed in one of the largest judgments of its kind in Canada. K2 Fashion, which operated out of Parker Place Mall, was ordered last week to pay $260,000 in compensation to Louis Vuitton by Judge Judith Snider of the Federal Court of Canada.

K2’s profit from the sale of fake Louis Vuitton merchandise was estimated at about $90,000 every year, said Vancouver lawyer Michael Manson, who represented Louis Vuitton…

Click here to continue reading.

How come it’s my people whose flooding the world with counterfeit items? How embarassing but I guess that’s how we’re gonna take over the world someday.

And damn all of you with a fake version of the Chanel bag that I’m saving up for! Just joking. Not really (_{I’m mad!!!}).

Here’s another interesting article: The 53 Places to go in 2008

Oh I almost forgot. Laibar Singh friggin’ won another freaking reprieve to stay in the country!!! If there is one thing that I’m TOTALLY AGAINST, it is ILLEGAL immigrants and refugees who come into OUR country under false pretenses and expects equal rights and benefits coming from OUR tax dollars. This is not about race; if this man was Chinese my opinion still wouldn’t change because this man is a LIAR. On the Bill Good Show yesterday morning (this must’ve been one of those things I knew I had to blog about), someone argued they come here illegally because they don’t have the resources to leave their own country or they simply can’t. The reply? IS THAT OUR PROBLEM? Hell freaking no.

As demonstrated yet again by another botched deportation attempt for Laibar Singh, not even the most rational arguments about immigration and refugee issues have been able to subdue the passionate backlash that, in Canada, has dogged all efforts to reform the system. It has been hijacked by a self-serving, lucrative and all-powerful immigration industry of refugee lawyers, politically appointed Immigration and Refugee Board judges and the demographic dictates of electoral politics. They all cave in to what amounts to mob rule…

Click here to continue reading.

And yet our government failed us AGAIN. They just showed how weak they are and how they can’t even stand up for themselves us. What about those whose been waiting for years LEGALLY to get into our country? What right does Mr. Singh have to stay in our country? Why should we care that he will be prosecuted if he goes back to India? He has criminal offenses against him. He entered Canada with a forged passport.

“This poor guy will have a hard time getting medical treatment if he returns to India. It is very expensive,” Gill said.

The group protesting against his deportation is offering to raise funds for this medical treatment in Canada. Why can’t they raise it for him to get treatment in India? If they let him stay, how many others would be allowed to? F. that.

Go home, biotch.

I have a feeling I’ve written this all before. And that I have. I swear, this will be the last time I ever mention that guy here. Waste my time and my money. Who pays those people who are going to ultimately decide his fate? The citizens of a country with a weakass government.

Yes I know I didn’t even bother to write with a tiny bit more class this time (but do I ever? Now that is the question). You know how many books and jeans I can buy with all that moolah deducted from my paychecks? YEAH.

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Or until they fix their stupid bugs.

You know the one that sometimes doesn’t let you copy (CTRL+C) and paste (CTRL+V). That’s an essential especially when you’re blogging. And sometimes I need to use the apostrophe but when I press the button on my keyboard, I get that annoying “quick find” bar in the bottom of the browser. The only solution is to restart Firefox. These irritating little things really lengthens my blogging time when I could be doing better things (oops, did I just say that?). This wasn’t a huge problem until I downloaded the latest FF update.

Anyway, I am using Safari again! My computer is a PC on the outside but a Mac on the inside so why not? Well, technically it doesn’t even come close but aesthetically it is a wannabe. I’ve always like Safari when I used it at school but I don’t know why I never used it at home. I know I didn’t delete the Firefox shortcut yet because my bookmarks are still all in there and I’m too lazy to import them right now.

SAFARI:

• fast (the difference is amazing)!
• tabbed-browsing
• folders in link bar
• sexy interface + sliding bookmarks
• makes my PC feels goooood

FIREFOX:

• slow
• BUGS BUGS BUGS
• waste my time

And just for the record:

INTERNET EXPLORER:

• sucks
• spam house
• worst WWW epidemic ever since… animated GIFs?

I know this advertises Firefox but it’s funny and still browser-related:

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(The bag was full too! I just gave some to the sister)

Talk about smart advertising. They were giving multiple bags of samples these to everyone so they can give away but I’m gonna keep all mine and just refill the full bottles we got when it’s empty (it was N’s idea not mine). Hahaha kidding.

Anyway, weekend was awesome. Out with the old regulars just like the old days. Perfecto.

Tomshitters + E:

You know what is so freaking annoying? When people blast their music in their cars. You are not cool, idiots. And why is The Beat so annoying now? I turned to it for the first time in months and they are playing some crappy Top 40 stuff that isn’t even “hip hop.” I know it’s been like this for ages but it still pisses me off that their all hip-hop concept somehow disappeared.

And Bill Good can kick Kid Carson’s arse anytime.

Sorry, I haven’t been posting much. It’s all Jack Bauer’s fault because he is too damn cool.

PS. I’m glad you’re thinking of me.

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