Thursday, April 26, 2007

life in general

tuesday we met up with warren and friends at cheesecake factory for dinner. warren comes up from LA once a month and generally will organize a dinner with everyone. it's funny, but even though i live closer to the other norcal people, we rarely see eachother aside from these dinners - just due to busy schedules, traveling, work, sig others, etc. of course it was great seeing everyone for dinner. what was even better was that towards the end of the dinner, the people mixed around so that people at the far end of the table were now closer. it's always hard to have conversations with people when you're sitting at a large table. jimmy and sabrina came over to sit closer to hunny and i. mike scooted down the table also after various people started taking bathroom breaks or had to leave early. of course every time we meet up with the college people, we always start talking about how great college was. truly one of the best experiences of our lives.

additionally, i often think about how i don't see jimmy as often as i should. he lives really close to my house but i don't normally travel to morgan hill. my mom always talks about how she wants to visit jimmy's farm to pick fruit but i've just never actually planned anything. jimmy and i talk about doing smaller dinners but again, it just wasn't planned. time passes too quickly sometimes.

yesterday his mom was sent to the hospital into intensive care. diana and i went to the hospital to see if there was anything we could do, and to just be there for him. i know that in such a situation, as a friend, there is not a whole lot you can do since you can't make the illness go away. but when you hear about a friend who is hurting, you just can't help but try to be there and hope that even the small things you can do can make their lives a little easier.

while at the hospital, i thought about hunny's grandfather as well. jimmy mentioned how he was really glad he had dinner with his mom last sunday. well when i heard the news about hunny's grandfather, my mind flashed to a strange thought. i had seen his grandfather only a few weeks ago and i was really glad that i had brought over a bunch of mandarin oranges (cuties) for dinner at his parents because his grandfather had some and really liked them since they were easy for him to peel. I think he ended up taking the rest of the box home with him. I know it's something so small but i'm glad he liked something i brought over.

i'm rambling...for some reason this has been a really bad year. diana and i were talking - this year has had more bad things happening than most other years. times like this when I hear about family emergencies, it makes me glad that i get to see my parents so often. jimmy is handling everything so well and is such a strong person. His family is very lucky to have him.

Wednesday, April 25, 2007

women 2.0 napkin challenge

I'm going to be attending the napkin business challenge. see below for more info...

Women 2.0 Napkin Business Challenge Pitch Night
You are invited to join the audience of the Women 2.0 Pitch Night as the finalists of the Women 2.0 Napkin Business Challenge pitch live to the judging panel of venture capitalists, successful women executives, and seasoned etnrepreneurs. As an audience member, your vote will help determine who walk away with the two top prizes of $1000 each, a pitch coaching session from Guidewire Group, and 30 minute meetings with Tim Draper of Draper Fisher Jurvetson or Michael Moritz of Sequoia Capital.

The 5 companies pitching on April 25th are the finalists for the Women 2.0 Napkin Business Challenge:
Laser Seal: Exploits ground-breaking interaction between light physics and cell molecular biology to reduce cost and improve quality of surgical wound closure.

QT Star:Video monetization and intermediary ad service company in China and the United States.

YouStyleMe: Online fashion community where men and women who have particular style needs can connect with other consumers who are style-savvy in a fun and engaging way.

Olight: Cutting-edge OLED technology to lighting designs.

FindYourScene: A community website where people can find “their crowd” and post, discover, and rate social events.

Live Judging Panel
» Alka Gupta, consumer media companies
» Carol Sands, The Angels Forum
» David Feinleib, Mohr Davidow Ventures
» David Stern, Clearstone Venture Partners
» Lara Druyan, Allegis Capital
» Marleen McDaniel, Women.com
» Shannon McClenaghan, Jimmyjane
» Sharon Vosmek, Astiav (formerly WTC)
» Susan Mason, Onset Ventures
» Tami Zhu, AOL, New Ventures
» Tim Chang, Norwest Venture Partners
» Venky Ganesan, Globespan Venture Partners

Monday, April 23, 2007

saving caused me to lose

i had earned a southwest rapid reward ticket to fly anywhere southwest goes for free. and what did i do? well i wanted to save it for somewhere which was more expensive than just LA. i already bought tickets for a wedding in NYC but i had found cheaper tickets on a non-southwest airline. so i didn't use my reward. i also bought tickets for an LA wedding, and i didn't use the reward because again i wanted to use it for a flight that was more worth it. then then, i look today to try to buy a ticket to see amy, and the reward ticket expired! i didn't know they expired. :-p

ugh...

lesson to me, don't save things. use them right away!

movies movies movies

this weekend was a chill weekend. aside from the mba networking event i went to on friday evening, i didn't do much but work out and watch movies. i was going to cook dinner for hunny and his brother saturday, but it turned out his brother cooked for us! pork tenderloin, sauteed cabbage, and wild rice. we watched episodes of entourage most of the day, hunny washed his car, i went gymming, and we watched eragon after dinner. last nite hunny's bro cooked for us again! and invited hunny's mom and dad over. we had roasted cornish hen, chopped salad, and wild rice. it's so nice hanging out with someone going to culinary school! :D hunny's bro still has one more year to go.

we also watched the movie blood diamond. watching that movie really made me think again about buying diamonds. i think from now on i will try to look for conflict free diamonds. i actually hope synthetics get better. right now they only have very limited public offerings - only a few shapes and colors and most are 1ct or under.

feeling sore feels good

since i was sick last week i only went running last monday. i spent the rest of the week recuperating. then saturday and sunday i gymmed both days. one day of cardio and abs, then another day of lowerbody weights, abs and cardio. i'm so sore. but it feels good to feel sore again. just before i got sick i noticed my weight was finally starting to drop. i always initially gain weight before i lose weight. just before i got sick, i was able to go running for 1 hour and not feel sore afterwards anymore. i hope i haven't lost that ability after 1 week. although i'm hesitant to run for 1 hour today because i'm still feeling a little bit of a cough.

Friday, April 20, 2007

tagged by cindy - 5 reasons why

i've been tagged by cindy for 5 reasons why i blog.

1) i initially started my blog when i moved to pits to start grad school. i wanted a way for me to let my family and friends know what i was up to since i didn't have the time to talk to them over the phone so much anymore.
2) i feel like after grad school i am reinventing myself again since i was in engineering before school. now i am more involved in the exciting world of start ups, biotech and tech and i want to document my journey to see how i grow and change for the better
3) at times when i'm not feeling motivated, i'll read older entries in which i was feeling more motivated and i'm ready to go again
4) i blog about restaurants so it helps me keep track of the places i really liked so i can go back to them again
5) when i'm blogging about an issue that i have, it helps me to clear my head and think reasonably

i tag warren g, john, jon, soopahviv and hydride
post 5 reasons why you blog!

Thursday, April 19, 2007

virgina tech

i first heard the news on monday. so tragic to hear about all those deaths. as a reporter was listing the names, ages and majors of some of the victims, he couldn't stop crying. yesterday i saw the released videos from the killer which were sent to nbc. it was chilling to watch - he really seemed deranged and sick in the head. when they interviewed his roommates and asked if there were any warning signs, the roommates listed typical antisocial and shy behavior. they also said he stalked girls and found out information about them on the internet. but to be honest, i know plenty of shy guys who would find out information like that only because they were too shy to talk to girls and would get fixated on particular girls since they didn't meet that many girls in the first place.

the thing is, i know plenty of antisocial and shy people. sure they are a little eccentric at times but they are harmless. especially among asians, there are many who are extremely shy. i was extremely shy until after high school. what if schools will now target shy kids and call them killers? i don't think picking on a shy kid even more will make them come out of their shell. i hope shy kid targeting doesn't happen.

however i do hope schools will do more thorough screening when alarms are sounded on a kid. the virginia tech killer was sent to a counselor because he talked of suicide. i'm sure he could have easily lied to the counselor to get out of more sessions. what are ways to get around that? to really find out what's going on in their heads and be certain it's safe to release them back into society?

perhaps responsibility lies with the close friends and family of such kids? because although it's easy to lie to a stranger, it's harder to lie to someone closer to you. don't just assume everything is ok with that quiet and shy friend or relative. what is going on in their heads could be far greater than you imagine.

my heart goes out to all the family and friends of the victims.

Tuesday, April 17, 2007

meet grizzly chung

hunny's bro got a new doggie! meet the newest addition to the chung family - a yorkie named grizzly. watch out! he's vicious!

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his church friends' doggies had puppies and so they gave them away to friends at church.

so let's see, what happened last weekend. a little late i know.
friday i went with diana to a big sibling fundraiser at 111 minna. it was fun to be dancing and see friends. teddio, jeff, and various other ucla people were there. saturday we went gymming and cooked dinner for hunny's bro and his little cousins. we also watched in pursuit of happyness. awesome movie! and very motivational! sunday i went running again - now i'm up to 1 hour of running! :-o

some bad news though - i didn't get that job i really wanted. oh well, that's how things go, even after three interviews. time to work on more leads so i've sent out more resumes and emails today. i was supposed to attend a conference today to network. however i woke up with a terrible sore throat, cough and runny nose. so that means chilling out on networking events so i can save my voice. i've gotten this kind of cold before and i know that if i exert myself, i'll lose my voice. ugh, i hope i get better soon.

Friday, April 13, 2007

epitome of coolness

i just fixed a rubik's cube for the first time. i got a rubik's cube as swag from the last stirr mixer. hunny messed it up and now i fixed it using this site.

rubik's cube solution


coolness...

Tuesday, April 10, 2007

passing away and putting happiness first

hunny's grandfather passed away and we went to the funeral and wake this weekend. i also found out that an old friend from HS's mom passed away from cancer. jon had another funeral to attend on sunday and monday as well - a friend from high school fell asleep at the wheel and crashed.

what's going on this weekend with all the funerals!?!

the extended family has had some disagreements regarding my grandmother's care. after going to the funerals and hearing about all the other passings, i say let grandma do whatever makes her happy - that should be the main concern. not who gets credit and who's doing the right thing. the main concern should be her happiness. she's 86 for heaven's sake!

LA trip

so i finally went to see irene's new house after she's already been married for a year and a half! it was a really great hanging out with her and jimmy. and to meet her kids! - her pekingese named skippy and her shiatsu named gizmo. i really want a doggy now...hunny's bro stanley might get a yorkie since his friends dogs had puppies.

i was also able to meet up with sab, steve and rita as well as hunny's cousin amy and friend sonya. i haven't seen some people in over a year. steve hasn't changed a bit and is still his cool self. it was a fun filled three days. when we were not eating (killer shrimp, sushi in Pasadena, Versailles, and awesome brazilian at tropicalia in los feliz). during the day while people were working, we went rollerblading along santa monica beach - ah i miss that beach. we sat looking at the waves for a while but it got too cold and we didn't bring sweaters. thursday we went down to long beach to visit cmu friend rita (weedawee). she is living in condo overlooking the beach. gorgeous! who knew that the price of condos would be almost double, depending on your view. her parents made the investment and purchased a few condo's years ago. i really would like to get more into real estate investing eventually so that i can have additional income coming in when i'm old and gray. anyhow, while in longbeach we ate at a mediterranean restaurant where i had a beef shwarma pita and shared some lamb kabobs. we then made our stop to coffeebean so i could try the blueberry and pomegranate tea and ice blended drink. i already had my black forest fix the day before (ice blended mocha with ground espresso beans and cherries).

i'm chubby! i spent the last few days working off the added weight at the gym. these days i'm pumping up the weights and trying to turn them into combined cardio workouts by going a lot faster and having really short breaks. doing circuit training and alternating machines. i like it since i don't really like sitting and waiting around resting. plus i feel like i get a better work out.

here are some pics of the weekend!

eating fresh sea urchin with irene and jimmy - the spikes were still moving!

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steve! eating with us at Versailles. woooo garlicky!

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sabrina and irene at killer shrimp. it was irene's first time! killer shrimp virgin!

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hunny and i with our bibs.

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irene's cutie pies skippy and gizmo

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hunny and rita at the segway store.

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segway fun!

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