Simon "Kick Ass" Yao

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2008-01-28T12:36:00.001-08:00

Google Interview: 1st round

2005-03-14T09:42:00.000-08:00

I just finished my first interview with Carla (from HR) with Google. It was about 20 minutes. I think I over prepared for this. The interview consisted of basics: why I'm leaving, why this position, and why this position at Google. No puzzels or riddles to solve...yet. I didn't embellish my current responcibilities or salary, but when it came down to GPA... I did round up a bit. In order to avoid any future complications, I need to clarify that on my later interview (assuming there are future interviews). Carla said she will report her impressions of the interview to the hiring manager, and she would get back to me tomorrow (Wednesday at the latest). Overall, shorter than I expected and very concise. I don't know if that's a good sign. Oh well, I'll take it one step at a time. I hope I do well. I would love working at Google. So crazy and so fun of a company.

I'm off to shower and prepare for my second interview at 11:00. Two more to go!

My Watch

2005-03-11T14:15:00.000-08:00

This is my watch. No need to zoom in... it's not a TAG or Rolex... it's a Lorus brand. It's not an expensive watch, and can be purchased at any neighborhood Walmart or Target store. The watch is old and full of scratches, but I love it because it's a meaningful watch to me. The value of the watch is greater than the sum of its parts. It keeps time well, it's never failed, and has worked for many years (with only one battery replacement recently). When we were younger, my sisters and I pooled our money together and bought my dad this watch for his birthday. He worn this watch everyday, to all our family events, and where ever our business took him all over the world. Since receiving the watch, my dad has been very successful in our family business, but he never bought another watch to replace this one. He had plenty of opportunities to buy a Rolex (or anything fancy like that), but he always choose not to.

Recently I found out that the link of the watch has been unhooking for the past year, but my dad never mentioned a thing. As soon as I found out, I told him I was buying him a Rolex with my bonus money. He flat out refused, and said he can live with the unhooking. My sister and I pooled our money again, and bought him a new Timex watch. It's the only brand he would accept. It's also the only watch that satisfies his 3 Must-Have requirements: big face, has the date, glows in the dark. We gave him the watch for Christmas and he has worn it ever since. I, in turn, took his old watch.

This watch represents my father's work and family ethics. He doesn't fancy new cars, nice suits, plasma flat screen TV's, or big mansions. Instead, he always put his family ahead of himself and never complained about the stress and crap from work. He holds it in, and marches on. He has goals & dreams and he works hard for them. Every dollar he made he earned with sweat and effort. He was able to build his business from the backroom of a motel to the 3rd largest distributor on the West coast. And along the way, he was able to raise three kids, put them all through college, and save money for his retirement and our future. Bill Gates might be the richest man in the world, but to me, my dad is far more successful than anyone I know. I wear this watch everyday to remind myself of my dad and what real success is. While this watch might fail and be forgotten one day, my dad's legacy won't.

TGIF, bitches!

2005-03-11T13:42:00.000-08:00

This is a pic of my best buddies from work, taken today at Lakeside Chinese. All of the guys are from the operation/engineering side. I'm the only one from Sales. We try to have lunch every Friday together and gripe about all company crap. From left to right: Thomas, Timo, Ricky, Chris, Peter, Eddie, Me, Steve, Tom, Stefan. Thomas & Stefan are engineers here from Austria, here for two months of training.

It's sad that I spend more than 10 hours a day inside this grey, suicide-inspiring cubical. Though it's very private, spacious, and well equipped, it's very sad. Notice the red leather/vinyl seat, the big ass monitor, and guest seats! WoW MoM! I sit in the cubicals like the big boys at our company! It feels like solitary confinement at the state penitentiary sometimes. I'm definitely doing some hard time here. I wanna shank somebody! It reminds me oh how the Japanese make Kobe beef: the cow is forced into a stable and position all day. My firm ass and tight abs are things of the past now.

Please enjoy the view of the Saddleback Mountains from my cubical window. I believe this is the South East view of the foothills. On a clear day, you can lose track of time just staring at this view. I hate it here!

Eye Contact = Confidence = Sex/Job (or both)

2005-03-11T08:12:00.000-08:00

As I begin my interview preparation for Monday, I'm reminded of something I learned a long time ago that have helped me gain and exude confidence when in presence of others: Maintaining a constant, comfortable, but concentrated eye contact. For example, I observe that when I make goodeye contact the other person is more trusting and less investigating. They tend to carry on conversations instead of interrorgations. And when I was taking crap and getting yelled at by my former boss, I would just sit there and stare intensely into his eye, smile a bit, and keep my cool. Then I can see the slight confusion and discomfort on his face, and he would cut the shalacking short and send me off. The shit worked every time.

This may be very stereotypical, but in my own experience, I see that many asian males (and females) have difficult time maintaing constant eye contact me when conversing. Often times, the asian person I talk to would make initial eye contact then quickly look away and his eyes would eventually wonder down which is followed by his head facing down. This, to me, is a sign of submissiveness and being meek. I despise that kind of weakness. It's like a shark smelling blood. Look up... head up... look confident... convey confidence. Then take whoever's on the other side down... downtown, bitches!!!

In every scenario, confidence is attractive. Employers (and members the opposite sex) are constantly seeking confident people. They naturally gravitate to people that show it (but not say it... saying it is like cocky-ness). This is something I have proven time and time again in my career and social life. But it takes constant practice, and though it may seem awkward at first... it's a good skill to have in your arsenal.

Status: New Job Search

2005-03-10T14:40:00.000-08:00

After getting tired of working at my current company for three years, here's the result from my first real attempt to look for a new job. It's pretty crazy, there's apparently a lot growth in the business sector. I got called 4 times for interviews in three days. I have three interviews on Monday! Cough... Cough... looks like I will be sick on Monday. Below is the summary of my job hunting status. I'm not counting the number of companies I submitted resumes to... just the companies where I got/will go to interview.

Hyundai, Administrator of CRM Strategies
RESULT: lost the job, a better qualified (blond woman... that bitch) IT person got it.

Washington Mutual, Business Analyst
RESULT: probably lost the opportunity. After interview, I told the HR lady and hiring manager that the job is not a good fit. But kept a very good relationship with HR lady.

Kelley Blue Books, Business Finance Analyst
RESULT: going in for interview: Monday afternoon. Might be my big break into the automotive industry. Wish me luck

Google, Finance Analyst
RESULT:1st round phone interview: Monday morning. Wish me luck. I really would like to work for this company.

Hyundai, Administrator, Strategic Planning
RESULT: newly open position, on the short list, was requested to interview by hiring manager. Apparently asking for lots of money leaves a good impression on hiring managers.

(forgot the name), Senior Financial Planning
RESULT: got position status upgraded to Senior Financial Planning, and will interview Monday afternoon with HR manager. Wish me luck.

Stupid Meetings

2005-03-10T11:23:00.000-08:00

I get pulled into more and more stupid meetings. This morning I got a call to attend a shipment meeting because I was the representitive for our global sales department. How and when the hell did that happen? I walked into the meeting with the head of our export department, head of our finance department, and head of project management sitting at the table. I took a seat at the far end, and they wasted no time throwing crap my way.

"Simon... what's with your guys?! I need your help getting (SKW) to get those LC's we needed. These shipments are gonna be late and we are not going to be faulted for this. He doesn't relpy to emails or phone calls. You need to get your guys in order"

Okay... So I'm thinking to myself... who's (SKW) I've never met the guy in person, but I think I've seen his name on a few emails before. And what the hell and I suppose to do... I'm just gonna write him an email and call him on the phone... just like everyone else did. What where they expecting to happen? When I got back from the meeting, I emailed and called the guy... nothing. I wrote a email back to the department heads.

"Guys,
I anticipate project 201389 to be a delayed shipment due to outstanding, critical issues that needs to be resolved before shipment. I am working with (SKW) to confirm onsite delivery dates and driving motivations. I understand this is a time sensative issue, and I'll keep you guys in the loop when I can resolution."

So we're all back to square one. This little exercise was a complete waste of my good-looks and time.

Basketball: Game 4

2005-03-09T21:37:00.000-08:00

It's another Wednesday... another league game of basketball. And just like last week, we lost again... but this time, we are back to losing by double. The team's total count is 0 and 5. Freakin Greaaat. But on the upside I scored for the first time. And six points at that, bitches!

Personal ESPN Highlights from tonight's game:
1. Getting ripped on a fast break opportunity after ripping someone else off... Sucks! Get him outta there, Coach!
2. Scoring a contested (estimated) 8-footer jumper... YEAH!
3. Throwing away two lazy passes on fast breaks and we having numbers on them... Boo! Simon sucks!
4. Scoring an easy fast break, two-footer after a bobbled pass to my ankle... YEAH!
5. Scoring on a contested fast break... two on one situation... YEAH!
6. Almost twisting my right ankle while dribbling uncontested ontop of the key, then losing the ball... Boo! Why do they even let me play! I feel like the 'special olympic' charity-case out there sometimes.

Quote of the Day: How are you suppose to soar with the eagles when you fly with the turkeys. - my teammate, Ephron, commenting on how we, young guys, are to raise the level of our game when we play in the lowest D-league.

An Googling Opportunity

2005-03-09T16:26:00.000-08:00

I just got a first round interview with Google for the Finance Analyst position up at Mountain View. I didn't think I had a shot at this because I suspect many talented people would be throwing elbows to land a position with such a innovative company. But I'll give it my best. Plus, it's up at Mountain View... which is right next to Stanford! I always wanted to go to Stanford. My buddy Timo told me I should ask for a butt-load of money because it's so expensive to live up there. Good point, Timo! Oh well... we'll see!

On a side note, I don't know what's going down with my current company. I suspect they are preparing to lay me off somehow. Damn it them. I want my bonus money before they pull any crap like that! My only evidence to this conspiracy theory is that the number of daily company-related emails has gone down from 40+/day to 0 today, 2 yesterday, and 3 the day before. Shit's goin' down! I just know it. This is the 'thanks' I get for having the the balls to SUCCESSFULLY overhaul the business reporting process and saving the company countless man-hours. Bastards.

Those Fun Surveys...

2005-03-08T14:27:00.000-08:00

With more free time at work, I beginning to randomly read other people's blogs. I hate seeing people post those stupid email surveys. It's the "Have you ever..." or "When was the last time you..." ones. Crap like that used to piss me off, but now I want to create my own personality survey that's unique to my own experiences.

About me...
[ X ] Have you ever let a huge, bubblely fart out on the driveway of your prom-date just prior to picking her up not knowing that her asshole dad is three feet to the left of you & smoking behind a large bush.
[ X ] Have you ever superglued your entire right hand and three fingers (including thumb) of your left hand together 15 mintures prior to school starting.
[ X ] Have you ever called for private stripper from a sleezy, dirty flyer you picked up from those Mexican guys standing on the main Las Vegas Blvd.
[ X ] Have you ever had to tell the fat stripper that showed up at your Vegas hotel room that she had to go home because she was too fat.
[ X ] Have you ever had to had take a pill... suppository style (insert through rectum).
[ X ] Have you ever had a fat coworker send naked pictures of herself to you via company email and proposition you.
[ X ] Have you ever walked-in on friends having sex, seeing them in all their pubic glory, then seeing your friend trying to hobble around with his boxers around his knees. (freakin Eric and Anh)
[ X ] Have you ever been told, by the chinese wife of the President of your company, that she think's you're cute. (thanks for the compliment, Rose)
[ X ] Have you ever paid over $600 for crooked Korean engineers to get "champagne room" lapdances.
[ X ] Have you ever tried to jump a 5'2 high jump with a wooden pencil in your pocket, then discovering that pencil was stabbed in your forearm when you landed wrong.
[ X ] Have you ever seen your girl-friends' boobies and nipples because you were a panel judge on a drunken "Who Has the Biggest and Darkest Nipple" contest. (thanks Kristin & Christine)
[ X ] Have you ever seen too much old-hanging, free-roaming balls and dicks in the locker room of an athletic club that now you avoid public showers when possible.
[ X ] Have you ever jabbed your index finger into your friend's ass in front of 50+ other people because you were pissed off at him for hiding your left sandal in the sand and won't tell you where it was. (sorry Byron)
[ X ] Have you ever push down your 3-year old neighbor because he pushed you first and he shouldn't be able to get away with that kinda crap cause you wouldn't. (sorry Lawrence)
[ X ] Have you ever thought it would be funny to seduce a girl, get her naked, and flick her in the crotch and run away.
[ X ] Have you ever cried like a schoolgirl during the last part of Armageddon where Bruce Willis pushed Ben Affleck back into the elevator because Bruce Willis wanted to sacrifice himself and his daughter to be happy... (so freakin sad).
[ X ] Have you ever wished you never said out loud, "Dude, I think Martha Stewart is pretty hot for a old, white lady!" in front of your co-workers and manager.
[ X ] Have you ever punched another boy in the balls because he took your swing when you temporarily jumped off to fix your swing-wedgy... (1st grade was crazy time for me).
[ _ ] Have you ever get hard, then colored your penis with a yellow highlighter, shut all the light except the black light, pretend you're Darth Vader, then wave your penis around like a light saber... all the while giggling like a little school boy. Ah... right... err... me either.

Cute Girls that Blog...

2005-03-08T13:42:00.000-08:00

Moving the link section to just an entry. This entry will be periodically updated when new cute girls are found. Send in your suggestions, too! I'm done with my search, so for my singles guy buddies...

Carrie. Korean. She's a got a great face a cute body. And her name is Carrie too (so by default, she's already cute in my book).

Sofia. Korean. She's got a great body and a boob job. Cute personality.

Carol. By request! Chinese. A very successful girl. Attractive in 60% of her pics. But has "angles". Very into herself... but really... so am I... into myself that is.

Ema. Korean. Girl from UCLA. Lean & tight body. Has 'angles', and easily impressed by herself. Not very curvy, but looks good while dancing at parties and with her Halloween costumes on.

New Opportunities

2005-03-08T13:10:00.000-08:00

I just got an email invitation to interview at Kelley Blue Books in Irvine for the position of Business Finance Analyst. It's going to be Monday at 2:00 PM. Crazy and random, eh? This is the company that publishes the standards for suggested retail price for used vehicles. I don't know why, but this isn't a company you think of working for. I totally forgot I submitted a resume to them, so it caught me off guard when the HR lady emailed me. Luckily I was able to find the job posting. This is the posted job description.

Core Responsibilities:This individual is responsible for preparing and analyzing sales and revenue forecasts for internal distribution. Other duties include working closely with the key stakeholders to identify budget issues before they become an "actual". The Business Financial Analyst will assist in streamlining, refining and improving the financial accounting and reporting processes. This resource will assist in development of operational and reporting processes and procedures as well as prepare ad hoc analysis, reports and management presentations as needed.

It's actually what I'm doing now at CCI, so no big deal. I've given up on the Hyundai position. Though it would've been fun to strategicly plan for Hyundai, I think my salary requirement was way too high. But it's justified! Oh well... I hope I work for their competitor one day... I want to crush Hyundai and teach them a lesson about messing with me. Washington Mutual, however, called me back and asked me to in-person interview for their business analyst team in Irvine. I was initially interested, but I declined after finding out it's for the HR reporting department. They were willing to meet me half way on my salary requirement, but that's not good enough. I want to be part of the team that leads a company not the team that cleans up it's messes.

On a side note, I think I'm getting sick. Need to heal up before Monday. Nothing's worse than a slobbery, snotty, sneezing guy trying to be suave at an interview. Fuckin' cold!

I am a walking Ben Stiller movie.

2005-03-07T23:50:00.000-08:00

Taking a break from my GMAT studying, I popped in my latest movie from Netflix to unwind... 'Along Came Polly'. I love the awkward-ness of the characters in Ben Stiller movies. I think I often run through a many of the same irrational, clumsy thoughts that these character do. Though 'Along Came Polly' is a real mindless comedy, the more I watched it the more I realize how applicable the plot was to my early love life, and how one big-eyed girl can turn my world upside down. I'm totally biased for Ben Stiller films, but this movie is mediocre at most. Only rent this when you run out of first choice movies on your Netflix list. But when you do rent it, pay attention during the salsa scenes... Jennifer Aniston is pretty hot in this!

I also saw 'Garden State' with my sister a few weekends ago... it's alright. But let me tell ya... it was no 'Zoolander'!!! Nothing beats 'Zoolander'! My other picks for funny but lame movies are: Dude Where's My Car, Old School, Office Space, Beatlejuice, Space Balls, Airplane (series), Naked Gun (series), Austin Powers (series), Anchorman, and Bedazzled.

Red, Commi Boba

2005-03-07T15:20:00.000-08:00

Strolling through Westwood with Carrie yesterday, I decided to drop in and get a boba while Carrie shopped at a local boutique store. The girl behind the counter was alright (I didn’t barf), and I quickly decided she was Chinese from her faint accent. After taking my order, I thanked her in my broken mandarin Chinese. This helps a bunch when needing speedy and quality service from another Chinese person. *Also, works with Koreans store clerks and old Japanese grandmas, but don't use Chinese... it just confuses people, but still better than Vietnamese.

Moving on... After hearing her mother-tongue being spoken, she opened up to me and told me about her boring studying life and whatnots. I forgot what she said cause I stopped listening after the first 30 seconds… hearing, yes… listening, no. In the two minutes while preparing my boba, she was openly flirting with me. Despite gaining a few pounds (25 lbs) since undergrad, I just know she thought I was cute and attractive (which is very common for girls of Asian decent and of her age bracket). After heat-sealing the elastic cover for my boba, she asked me the following:

Girl: Are you from Taiwan?
Me: Oh yeah… from Taipei. What about yourself?
Girl: Guess…
Me: Didn’t I just guess you’re from Taiwan?... or no?
Girl: You guessed wrong.
Me: Okay (awkward silence #1)… You’re from China.
Girl: Yes.
Me: Okay (awkward silence #2)… You put poison in my thai-ice-tea, didn’t you?!
Girl: Yes (in serious tone... no smiling).
Me: Okay (awkward silence #3)… Well… oookay… bye.

Fine... be that way! I didn't like her commi-bobas anyways. Independence for Taiwan forever, BITCHES!!!

Inappropriate Vegetables

2005-03-07T14:20:00.000-08:00

Caption: (I don't even know what to say here)

Turning Japanese...

2005-03-07T11:06:00.000-08:00

The Japanese are a brilliant group of people. They are responcible for Sony, Honda, & Ninjas. But here are three other reasons why I love Japan: Reason 1, Reason 2, Reason 3 (WARNING: totally inappropriate for viewing at work).

And one additional reason why I love Beyonce. She also has pretty hair and is a snazzy dresser.

I was in Japan one year and watching TV when I came across this show that was ingenius! Here's the situation: it's a stick jumping contest and the contestants are required to jump over a stick (laid sideways). Here's the kick: all contestants are hot girls wearing skirts and thong panties. It's crazy. The camera is positioned from the ground up and the contest... well, who really cares about the contest. Brilliant!

Some other funny shows I saw were:
1. sleep deprivation: two guys battle it out through math lectures, sheep counting, etc.
2. withholding urination: guys drinking beer and sitting on blocks of ice to see who holds out
3. boobies-xeroxing: seeing how much it would take to get women off the street to xerox their boobs
4. smelly bums: the wife would have to smell randomly placed asses to see which is her husband's

Decisions

2005-03-07T09:54:00.000-08:00

It's Carrie's dream to be an Orthodontist. She wants to do this, and I want and will support her. But in doing so, I have to make a series of tough career and advance education sacrifices. Here's the situation... it's complicated: Carrie has one more year of GPR next year in Fresno, then possibly 3 more year of orthodontics after that (depending if she is accepted or not). Strangely, Carrie will start her GPR program in Fresno in June, but start applying for 2006 orthodontic residency in August. The results for the acceptance of the orthodontic residency program will be known by December.

I'm at a point of my career where I'm happy with the money I'm making, but not what I'm doing and people I work for. My career advancement is at a standstill, and I beginning to feel insecure about my position here. I've tried to look for other jobs, but it seems like every interesting job requires an MBA. I desprately feel like pursuing an advance degree but unable to decide what to do due to Carrie's rough schedule. Carrie and I are planning to marry next spring, and Carrie wants us to live together after getting married. And assuming she's accepted into an orthodontics program, she will have to finish her GPR program and leave for orthodontics residency next June. If I start a two-year MBA program now, I will not finish in time to live with her after getting married. We would have to live apart for a year minimum until I finish my MBA. After all the crap that Carrie has gone through these years, I don't think Carrie is not strong enough to live apart after getting married.

Damn it... everything is dependent on Carrie's schedule. But I realize it's not her fault... it's her piece of shit "schedule". If the "schedule" can be represented in human form... I would choke it, drag it into a dark alley, shave half of its head, beat the crap out of it, rape it, write "BALLS" on its forehead, and pour sriracha sauce in its ass! I'm freaking out!

I'm hungry... I want a grill cheese sandwich

Roscoe's Chicken & Waffles

2005-03-06T20:12:00.000-08:00

Deciding that it was 'adventure' night, Carrie and I went out for Roscoe's Chicken and Waffles on Friday night (1514 N. Gower Street in Hollywood). Though it was already 9:00 PM the place was still packed and had a 20 min wait. Inside, the place was lit with dark light (oxymoron... I know) reddish in color I believe, and had a deep rooted sense of history and community. Carrie and I both had... chicken and waffles... and grits! It was the first time I had grits, and I was suprised by the texture of it. It tasted like rice porridge, but a little bit grainier. No taste really... neither bad nor good. The southern fried chicken was really good and surprisingly good with waffles. Weird, but totally awesome. I had the "The Oscar", and I recommend it... here's the menu.

With a few exceptions, everyone in the restaurant was African American... but we weren't the only Asian in there. There was another table of Asians (Koreans I think) to our left, and we were sitting to another Asian couple (Philipinos I think). The only thing I wasn't accustomed to was that they sold soda by the can, but no big deal. The food was cheap, and I even picked up Roscoe shirts for me and my sisters. It was my little sister's 21st birthday... so I had to get her something cool. All in all... a great adventure! I highly recommend Roscoes' Chicken and Waffles. Aside from a great hip icon and LA landmark, it also has good cheap food and caters to the night life. Though they have a chain going (West LA, LA, Long Beach, Pasadena), I recommend the Hollywood one because it's the original one opened by Herb Hudson in 1976. It's a small hole-in-the-wall place (which is the first indication of a great restaurant), and I freakin love that! Hit me up for directions if you're interested.

Happy 21st Birthday, Aileen. I hope you like your Roscoes' shirt. Study hard.

Interesting Things

2005-03-04T09:30:00.000-08:00

No matter how sick or if one-handed, I know I can take most girls down. There's no way a girlfriend should be able to to beat her boyfriend down. There's no justification for that kind of insult...ever! But it sure is fun to watch when it happens. See HERE.

There's a word that comes to mind when I see THIS, 'Karma'. Though very disturbing of a clip, I have no problem seeing people get what comes around. A couple kids are driving down a residential street when the kid in the back seat tries to knock a kid off his bike by slammin his door into him. What comes around goes around, stupid ass!

I wish I can fold my gi-normous t-shirt collection as fast and efficient as this lady. See HERE. I can remember the first two moves... then she does this grab-n-flip that just totally lost me in the end. The Japanese are so efficient in everything they do. Even their subway system is efficient. See HERE. Gotta love that!

The secretary from operations and I came across a singles ad on Yahoo.com that belong to our new, hard-nosed (from what I heard) HR manager. Though it's initially funny, I think it's a very interesting thing, and I wouldn't want to embarass her about it. So I'll just keep the link to myself HERE. She's a South American Asian and speaks fluent English and Spanish. She's 5'8 ft. and has long, skinny legs. For work, she dresses in that professional attire that makes her seem very cold and 'by-the-book'... just what I like! Interesting enough though, her height requirement for her match is only 5'8 ft. and on. I'm IN!... and with an inch to spare... in height that is.

Lost Opportunity

2005-03-03T14:06:00.000-08:00

I just finished talking to my buddy Jenn, who's pulling all the strings for me at Hyundai. Thanks Jenn! But to my disappointment, all initial indicators suggests that I lost the Hyundai interview for the CRM strategist position. The top three choices for the position are:
1. a lady with a MS in IT (that giggles a lot and switches jobs every one to two years)
2. some internal guy (with a 12 year-old girl's voice)
3. Me (a snazzy dresser and an evil mastermind for world domination)

Oh well, the battle is not over yet. But next time at a job interview... I'm gonna show cleavage and giggle at everything. Going 'commando' is also an option... I always knew panty-lines would be the death of me. Oh well, I'm just gonna wait for the next opportunity to come up! It's so hard to break into automotive! How do you do it, Andy! How?! And don't say 'move to Pittsburg' or 'move to Fort Wayne'... I ain't moving from the OC!

Vegas Mantra...

2005-03-03T13:27:00.000-08:00

Here's a great quote for all my friends that are heading out to Vegas this Spring Break. Remember to go get a fried Tweenki and see the cute girl in Downtown Vegas' Mermaid Casino. She's so worth it!!! And get me some Spam Musubi from the California Casino. I can eat that all day! Have a safe drive and all the luck to you guys!

"The safe way to double your money is to fold it over once and put it in your pocket." - Frank Hubbard.

Basketball: Game 3

2005-03-03T10:46:00.000-08:00

So last night was my usual basketball night with Landon's church team. Nothing surprising about the outcome of the game, we lost... again. But more importantly, what was the score you ask?! 33 to 29!!! Booya baby! We didn't get doubled this time! We kept it to a 2 pt margin uptil the last 15 seconds when they picked us off from a bad, lazy pass on top of the key. This was a tall team with solid ball-handlers, too. Any of their 6 players could've been a center on our team. A key factor contributing to our semi-success was that the other team was bitching the refs all night for dubious calls, thus annoying and pissing the refs off. 90% of the calls were questionable (in my honest opinion) but in our favor... so no complaints from our team. Considering that the calls were going in our favor, the other team couldn't make a free throw, and we were out-husseling those guys... in our last minute and half, we resorted to "hack a shaq" with good success, but weren't able recover the last rebound. Oh well... a good run nevertheless.

I was winded after running up and down the lanes just two times (as usual), but was able to play a solid 5 minutes. Haha... I suck! My contributions were the following:
1) shooting a high-off-the-glass-but-badly-missing 8-footer (not even hitting the rim) .. BOO!
2) in bounding twice
3) air-balling on a ill-selected shot... BOO!
4) playing good, solid 'D ontop of the key
5) cheering from the bench

As you see, my most significant contribution to my team was warming the bench. But I don't care. I had fun... I ran around... and I tried hard. If there's one thing I want to pass down to my kids, it's to take chances... even if you expect to lose. There's a great quote from the West Wing (TV show) I heard recently, "...it's not the ones we lose that bother me, ... it's the ones we don't suit up for."

My Obituary

2005-03-03T09:47:00.000-08:00

Reading through the papers today, I came across the obituary section. Though I typicially wouldn't read through this section, today I decided to glance through to see how people lived their lives and how they are remembered. Nothing in these postings mentioned how fast a person climbs up the coporate ladder, their advance degrees, what car they drove, square footage of their house, what social status they were, or how much the person was earning. Instead, the people's lives are summed up in a short paragraph describing who they loved and who loved them.

Though a morbid thought, I decided to write my own obituary. Thinking it over, writing my own obituary is actually a great way for me to set long term goals. This shows me that all the immediate grievances I have about work, money, etc. is actually not that important and will pass with time. This is what mine would be. Short and sweet.

Simon Ethan Yao, 85, of Orange Country-California, a loving son and brother, devoted husband, proud father of 2 and grandfather of 4, past away in his sleep of natural causes sorrounded by his wife, children, & closet friends. Simon was born in Taiwan and immigrated to California with his family when he was 7. He attended Cerritos High and UCLA. Simon was a retired business man, an elementry teacher, and active contributor in his community. He loved his wife, his family, hanging out by the beach, spending time with friends, playing basketball, and playing taiko. He is survived by his loving family, wife Carrie, his children, four grandchildren, and sisters Tina & Aileen. Private Service to be held.

My Three Essential Wardrobe Styles

2005-03-02T15:00:00.000-08:00

Doing some self reflection, I have deduced my unique fashion style to the basic three types: STAYING HOME, CASUAL OUT, and NIGHT OUT. I also have "everyday work" and "wedding fancy", but those aren't really worth mentioning because everyone has (pretty much) similiar taste and style in those categories. For each of the three styles, I have a few fundamental elements that are essential.

STAYING HOME style:
1. boxer briefs or boxers
2. no socks
3. slim fit tee with vintage fit
4. cargo shorts (perferrably Abercrombie)
5. no watch
6. no accessories
7. sandals (when necessiary)

CASUAL OUT style:
1. boxer briefs (any color)
2. dark-colored (preferrably black) cotton socks
3. slim fit tee with vintage print
4. collared shirt with vintage print (button collar)
5. standard fit jeans with vintage wash with length cut just enough for the jeans to rest on shoes
6. brown, leather belt with brass-finish buckle
7. jacket: old, comfortable corduroy
8. no watch
9. no ear-ring, necklace jewelery
10. square-toe brown leather/suede slip-on oxfords

NIGHT OUT style:
1. dark-colored (preferrably black), boxer briefs
2. dark-colored (perferrably black) black dress socks (some kind of cotton blend)
3. no undershirt
4. dress shirt: pressed, cotton, slim-fit, narrow spread collar, french cuff
5. dress slacks: pressed, wool crepe, slimmer fit, lined, plain front, (perferrably) black
6. black, dress plaque belt with high-polish, silver buckle
7. jacket: cotton/wool/leather, collared, hit below waist, lined, internal pockets
8. black, leather-band dress watch
9. no ear-ring, necklace jewelery
10. square-toe black dress oxfords with high shine

Wardrobe Preference

2005-03-02T14:13:00.000-08:00

I am very particular about my wardrobe. So particular I hate getting clothes as presents because it's probably what I don't want to wear. It's such a peeve for me that people often question about my sexuality over it. I'm not "metrosexual" or whatever... I just value image very much because I'm realistic. I understand that a person's exterior looks makes a very big impact on what another person thinks about you. Though it may be a conscious or unconscious decision, a decision is made. I am not the type of person that says "I don't care what they think of me, and I wear whatever I want".

I am more concerned about the end result than the process. Therefore, in order to maximize the chances for a "good decision" I arm myself with a wardrobe of clothes that fitting to every season and occasion. I have a walkin-closet, oversized-mirrored closet, and a guest closet full of my clothes. Taking a quick, mental inventory of my clothes I estimate the following:

Suits: 2
Dress Jackets: 6
Casual Jackets: 15
Dress shirts: 52
Casual shirts: 20+
Casual Polos: 10+
Dress slacks: 20+
Casual trousers: 5+
Jeans: 10+
Casual shorts: 5+
Basketball shorts: 8+
Short Tee shirts: 70+
Long Tee shirts: 30+
Dress Shoes: 5
Casual Shoes: 8
Basketball Shoes: 5
Sandals: 5
Watches: 4
Wallets: 5
Belts: 5
Ties: 20+

I don't even want to think about the money that was spent to get all that.

My 'Singles' Ad

2005-03-02T10:53:00.000-08:00

I always wanted to make a 'Singles' ad, so after reading a few singles ad in the local newspaper... this is what I would put down. I wonder if any decent girl would even take it seriouslly.

PERSONAL
Name: Simon Ethan Yao
Age: 26
Height: 5'9 ft.
Weight: 165 lbs.
Ethnicity: Asian
Hair: Black
Eyes: Dark Brown
Body Type: Athletic

BACKGROUND
Occupation: Engineering/Sales Management
Languages: English, Chinese-mandarin, Spanish (basic), Japanese (basic)
Astrology: Leo
Religion: Spiritual, but not religious
Political Views: Middle of the road
Drinking: Yes, socially
Smoking: No

SOCIAL HABITS
farting: accepts open farting from the opposite sex, I openly fart and grade farts of others
sleeping: in a t-shirt and boxers, on my side with a pillow between my legs, require my own side of the bed, hate blanket-stealers
eating: with my mouth closed, with a slight tendency to 'squirrel-stuff' my cheeks when hungry, will eat most of what is put in front of me without complaints
tv: flips through channels incessantly, with volume at above average to loud
kissing: lips with a little tongue (at most), hate too much PDA... a little from time to time is fine
training: able to not get caught looking at other women in public, will hold purses during shopping trips, volunteer to drive all around town, open doors, pay for meals, pees with the door closed, and compliments often

Any takers...?

2005-03-01T20:32:00.000-08:00

Mature but so hot! Naoko Kamishurato.
Why can't Andy, Jason, Brian, or Danny meet a nice girl like her... she seems so smart and outgoing.

Sitting on my hands...

2005-03-01T08:43:00.000-08:00

Damn it Hyundai call me back and offer me the big dollars!!! I think I blew it with the salary requirement section. I need to better prepare myself next time. This was a great opportunity, too! Alright... suck it up. One more week to wait, until I put the pressure on.

Matt's Bachelor Party - Part 2

2005-02-28T13:32:00.000-08:00

After gambling, we decided to head back to the room and relax and dress for dinner at Lawry's. So freakin expensive but so sweet. On our way back, we stopped and got a fried Tweenki (so sick but so freakin good). In the same casino we saw the hottest asian girl in Vegas... she was a drinks girl, but so freakin cute... she was dancing to the music and looked so incredibly fuckin fine! I wanted to hump her leg! After drooling for her for 10 minutes, we headed back out to the downtown strip and watched the lame show on the downtown ceiling. We got back to our respective hotels and dressed in our finest garbs for the evening ahead.

We then met at the Hard Rock Hotel on the strip and hung out at the Hard Rock casino waiting for our 9:30 PM dinner appointment at Lawry's. After much discussion, we decided to go to the full-nude bar after dinner instead of the topless bars (discussion of difference later). After eating a very enjoyable, but expensive, 'california cut' prime steak with cream corn we headed out to the bars. Arranging for the sleazy Vegas transportation was not enjoyable. Every cabby there has "special" connections to their "guaranteed" best strip place. After being digusted with a shady limo-driver, we called another cabby we met earlier and he took us the Palomino strip bar. After spending $60 of my last $100 dollars paying for Matt's 30 minute lap dance, we decided to head back to the Cal and just gamble the last night away. Most of us stayed up until 5:00 AM before turning in. Landon and I were planning to take a buddy of ours to the Vegas airport at 6:30 AM then drive back home. It seemed like a great plan then, but when Landon woke me up at 6:20 AM to start the trek after only sleeping one hour... I was in pain! Landon didn't like my driving style so he volunteered to drive back home.

I was falling in and out of consciousness the entire way home. I would try to stay awake by singing and eating, but it didn't help. I felt bad for Landon. I tried to talk to him as much as possible, but I was so freakin tired. Unlike my drive up to Vegas, the drive home was easy... no traffic at all. We made it in 4 hours with no drama. After getting home at 11 AM, I just slept the entire day away. I woke up only twice to feed and relieve myself. I woke up Monday morning refreshed but weak from all the Vegas smoke and sleep-deprivation. Though it was fun... I need to limit myself to two bachelor party per year. It's just too costly and weary. Happy Bachelor to you Matt!

Matt's Bachelor Party - Part I

2005-02-28T10:30:00.000-08:00

This past weekend was exhausting. Though it was spent in 'happenin'Vegas celebrating my buddy Matt's last days as a bachelor, I was worn down to my last ounce of strength and dollar. After only sleeping 4 hours Thursday morning, I woke up at 5:00 AM to drive back down to Dana Point to the Directors' Meeting. After working the entire day, I returned home to pack for Vegas and pick up the rental car with my neighbor, Landon. Then at 9:00 PM, I took the wheel and we were off to Vegas! The first leg of the drive was smooth and easy, until we hit the Fontana speedway where a bunch of white hicks just go out from the races that night. That killed the momentum we gathered. We sat in traffic for about two hours before picking up a little speed. Then just when I thought it was smooth sailing again, we were delayed another hour driving in traffic. I hate freakin' traffic and wish a slow, painful death to all those that cruise in the fast lane. Landon eventually fell asleep, and I had to sing to keep myself awake. Landon and I finally rolled into Vegas at 1:30 PM and met our party at the Golden Nugget in Downtown Vegas.

After checking in at the Nugget, Landon and I met the fellas down on the casino floor at the California Hotel (Cal). We then proceeded to gamble... and gamble... and gamble... until 6:30 in the freakin morning. God damn! I was so so freakin tired. But I still was able to win 45 dollars from Blackjack, before giving it all back 5 minutes later! Sucks! Should've walked away like I planned. Oh well... lesson learned. When we walked outside to return to our hotel room, the sun has already risen. I felt like a vampire seeing the sun for the first time. My body was worn, my spirit low, and all I wanted was to sleep. When we got back to the hotel room, Landon wanted to shower and change before sleeping in the bed. What a hoot! Landon's wife had this rule of no outside clothes in the bed, so Landon was used to that. Hahaha... I don't know how long he stayed up until because I fell asleep 1 minute after hitting the sack.

We woke up 11:30 AM that same morning. Only 4 hours of sleep. Damn it! Though Carrie had called me twice, I don't really know why we all woke up then. We got dressed and headed out lunch at the Cal and more gambling. Some of the guys got Matt started on a few beers and shots and after 30 minutes of waking up... Matt was drunk and swaying. While finding a table for lunch, I saw Colleen at a blackjack table. Amazingly, Colleen was Matt's ex from a summer long time ago at Hawaii. She looked cute as usual, and we chatted it up a bit. Then I thought it was be awesome to have Matt see Colleen again after 10 some years. I told Matt to come down cause I had a surprise for him downstairs and for him to follow me. He did and soon he found himself toe to toe with his summer fling. Surprisingly, he didn't recognize her and when he finally did... he was just talking jibberish to her. After that I took Matt back upstairs and had lunch which was then followed by more gambling. Damn those Hawaiian addicts.

Training Day – 1 of 2

2005-02-24T13:39:00.000-08:00

I’m sitting with the big boys at 1st Quarter Director’s Conference in the ‘Catalina’ conference room at the Marriott Laguna Cliff Resort in Dana Point. I’m sitting with the top 3% of the global sales force and top 2 percent of the entire company worldwide. Excluding the secretary, I am the youngest person in the room by at least 14 years. It’s not necessarily fun, but it’s exciting and ego building. I had lunch in a private dining room at the resort with the Executive Vice President and 10 of his sales directors. Furthermore, I was able to achieve this visibility and status in just shy of three years from undergrad. Crazy… eh?! I don’t wanna toot my own horn, but fuckin’ TOOT…TOOT!!! Can you feel IT!!! Can ya?! TOOT TOOT!

I sorta, kinda feel bad about planning to leave this company, because the Executive Vice President and my Sales Director is taking the time and resource to train and expose me to senior management culture. Currently, the Vice President is grilling everyone one of us on the accuracy of the forecast… boring… the numbers are accurate… I know cause I made them… oh well… one more day of this… then I’m to Vegas for Matt’s bachelor party…. KONICHIWA BITCHES!

I learned one very fascinated thing today from our Vice President. He always has something generic to say and is probably read off one from one of those cheesy posters in your cafeteria room. But this time it’s something different, and it’s a thought I had personally toss around in my head many years ago, but today was the first time I heard someone else say it out loud.

“The best and most experienced salesmen/teachers/mentors out there are the guys who do a lot of different things and made a lot of different mistakes… once.”

Sucking it Up and Down the Lanes...

2005-02-24T08:43:00.000-08:00

Yesterday night was my second basketball game my neighbor Landon and his church team. Though I still didn't score and wasn't even close to score one. The first game was a lot of nerves and I was walking on pins-and-needles all night. Last night was a lot better. I was gradually building confidence and attacking the hoops a lot more. Endurance, on the other hand, was no where in sight. I believe this is due to my lack of experience playing regulated, full-court games... and my engineering education. Sucks! We lost another game with the abysmal score of 29 to 64. The worst part was losing to a team that I originally thought, "Dude we can totally take these guys... they're old and only has one reserve on the bench... we're gonna out run them... it's gonna be our first win." This proves that I'm no freakin Nostrodamus.

ESPN Highlight Shoots from last night's game:
1. me, dribbling the ball off my shin and out of bound on first possession...
2. me, attacking the hoop and laying it 2 feet past, behind the rim, no contact...
3. me, on a fast break, 3-on-1, and passing the ball directly into the sole defender...

Being "In"...

2005-02-23T22:19:00.000-08:00

I dunno what's going on recently at work, but I'm getting the red carpet treatment from the executive staff. This is making me rethink my new-career search effort, but then I quickly realize that I should work towards long term goals and benefits instead of being a silly school girl that is easily impressed. Wise up, asshole! I was recently invited by the director of factory sales to the quarterly strategic planning meeting. This is a big deal because usually only high level executives and sales directors are invited to this posh meeting. This meeting is also a great way for the senior management to waste money on resorts stays, golf, and other stupid rich people stuff. This year it is being held at the Laguna Cliff's resort down in Dana Point. I was originally slated to attend only one day, but today I got this email from our Executive Vice President.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
From: XXX
Sent: Wed 2/23/2005 6:18 PM
To: Yao, Simon
Cc: XXX
Subject: Directors meeting

Simon plaese plan to attend the directors conf from lunchtime onwards tomorrow. Dana point Marriott Lagune Cliffs resort. Please get a map from XXX if you need directions.

Regards, XXX
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Nice, ain't it?! Though this has no monetary impact to me... it's like being selected to hang out with the popular crowd at high school. People at work are already gossiping about it. Nothing really else to say to the nay-sayers but... Konichiwa BITCHES!!!

Hectic Day

2005-02-23T08:28:00.000-08:00

I spent the better part of this weekend preparing for my Hyundai interview yesterday afternoon. I've been pretty restless lately and been looking around for a new position. I've done well here at CCI, but this position is terminal (meaning no where to advance). Though CCI has treated me well and promoted me through the ranks, it appears that neither my manger nor the company has a plan or route for me. I ask myself where I would be in 5 years (or even two years) and the answer is... same place. Not good for growth. So I've fixed up my resume and started browsing on all the online job search site. Though my education is in engineering, I think my gravitate towards business. My friend Jennifer at Hyundai was able to put my resume in front of a newly hired manager at Hyundai in the corporate planning division in Fountain Valley (north of Irvine), and I was able to get an interview with them.
The interview I think went well, until the salary requirement section. I thought I should've prepped myself better for this portion of the interview. The manager asked for a range that would suite me, and I just blabbed out my CCI salary history to him. I don't really know what to think about it. I gave him my current salary and asked him to please at least match my current salary or higher! Stupid Stupid! What was I thinking?!!! This position is one away from being manager, and I just found out from Jenn that the manager makes $150K! What the freak! I think I might've sold myself way short. We'll see what happens. They said they will call in two weeks or so. I dunno what to think.
After my interview at 4:00PM last night, I returned to the office to face a huge pile of work and demands. I stayed until 11:00 PM and emailed my boss to let him know the work was completed and I was leaving the office. I got home, showered, slept, and now I'm back to work. Freakin great. I have another interview today (phone) with Washington Mutual. This position is also similar to corporate business management (Business Analyst). I need to readup a few articles on Washington Mutual, so at least I appear a little interested and knowledgeable about the company.

Good Impressions

2005-02-18T13:23:00.000-08:00

Today I met with a high-profile client of ours. I had previouslly had dinner with him at the Charthouse about month ago. He's a softspoken, older (50ish) British gentleman working in Saudi Arabia on Gas projects for British Gas (GB). His company fly him around first class to vendor sites to make sure paper works are in order for about $15,000 to $20,000 a trip. And the duration for each of the vendor meetings... 3 hours max. How does the company justify spending $15K for paperwork that could've been email or faxed for free? The worst part about these trips are that he gives very little prior notice before flying out to see us. Because he only gave us one day notice, we didn't even have his product assembled for him to review. We anticipated that he would be royally pissed... so we had brought our head of project management to meet him and do damage control. But to our shock... nope, he didn't mind at all. All he wanted to was to make sure the documents are inline and to take pictures of the parts that aren't ready for assembly. Weird.

But all of that is of no concern to me... that's operations stuff. What was pleasant was that he remembered me by name even though our last encounter was brief and not very indepth. Then he brought me a present. A book that I mentioned I was interested in. Though I hate reading... it was a awesome gesture. It makes my crappy week all worth while for the moment. I think I might even read this book. I just hope there's few words and lots pictures... like a magazine.

I Suck

2005-02-16T20:26:00.000-08:00

Today Landon (my neighbor) invited me to play basketball with his church friends in a community sponsored league. I was excited, because I've never play organized ball before and was happy that there will be referees calling out fouls for me. No more of that "no blood no foul" street ball stuff. Well, after work Landon and I drove to the gym and met his team. Every was very nice and nobody seemed like the "we gotta win... no matter what" kind of person. BTW... everyone was either asian or half asian... but mostly Japanese American. Out of respect for the other guys, I volunteered to ride the aluminum pine first. The other team had a few tall guys, and we did not. But what made them dangerous was their time spent playing together and basketball fundamentals. Those guys played a standard zone defense and shut us down. Due to unfamiliarity with one another and overall inexperience of playing organized ball... we lost 59 to 26. Sucks! I was 0 for 3. But these guys on my team weren't sore losers. They had good attitudes and just called it exercise. It's partially due to the fact that this is a church team, and two of the guys are Pastors. I like that. .. no yelling "hike up your skirt and shoot... D-up asshole, you're the guard...hey dumbass, you're out." I'm getting flashbacks of company softball all of a sudden... sucks.

FYI... I need to learn about the intricate ettiquettes of shooting-foul-shoots. I didn't know where the hell to stand on the key. I had to be gestured out by the Ref. Sorry team... I suck. But Landon was there to let me know that he doesn't have experience either... so now I don't feel so bad. Thanks Landon... what a good friend!

Scapegoat

2005-02-16T09:40:00.000-08:00

I've been seeing two interesting issue come up frequently on the news lately. It's about the 14-year old kid that was shot to death by the LAPD when he drove a stolen vehicle into the police. For the sake of my arguement I will assume this is true, and the police is not lying about the details in which boy drove his car into them. Moving on... The community was outraged, and demanded that the LAPD reform their policy. This is a mind-boggling situation to me, because I've always been brought up to be responcible for my own actions and to see situations from other people's perspective. But at the same time, did this young kid, who nevertheless did something very serious, deserve to be shot at 10 times and die? I think also understanding the police officer's situation is very important. What is the officer to think when a full size Toyota Camry is driving into him. He, who is in charge of law enforcement and protection, risking his life to arrest a unknown-person-with-unknown-motive-driving-a-stolen-car driving erractically.

John Mack, president of the Los Angeles Urban League, said the following, "We have a pattern here where some police officers don't value the lives of young African American males. There's a frustration here that's building up and makes it difficult to build a partnership with police." I wonder if the opposite is true? Is there an growing pattern where young African American males don't respect the authority and laws of establish society, that makes it difficult to build a partnership and acceptance with society? I don't know. I have no data to prove or disprove this.

I believe losing a love one is hard to accept, and it's often very human to look for something or someone to blame and/ or explain for the loss. Let it be the lung cancer caused by years of chain-smoking or the stomach cancer that is the will of God. But logic and sobriety must eventually prevail against reaction and emotions. A person, of unknown age and motive at the time, drove an automobile into police officers, whose jobs are to protect and serve. Taking the role of the police officer. You are standing there in the open. A car, that was reported driving erractically, is being used as a weapon and driving at you. What would you do?

Extreme Makeover: Blog Edition

2005-02-16T09:22:00.000-08:00

First of all... congrats to myself for mimicking my friend's (Andy) blog site! Yeh! Boo! Hiss! Though it took awhile to get back into the minor HTML coding, I finally completed it to my satisfaction... at least for the moment.

2005 Valentine

2005-02-15T09:29:00.000-08:00

On Saturday, Carrie and I (actually... more me than Carrie) got the idea of making coconut shrimp from watching Ming Tsai's cooking show, East Meets West. While Carrie watched TV and took naps, I was out on the hunt for cooking recipes and ingredients. While at Ralph's I asked a store clerk if flour and baking powder meant the same thing, and the guy looked at me and said, "Dude, you don't know?! What are you doing here." That's a pretty damn good question. I've never fried anything before and I not sure, with my current cooking equipment, if I can even properly attempt it. But I must ford on. After spending an hour (seemingly) gathering all the necessary groceries, I then went to a local sushi place and ordered a few rolls and soba to go.

After getting home, I started to unpack the shrimp, flour, milk, spice, baking powder, etc. Carrie helped me de-vain some of the shirmp and I began to mix the fry-batter. It was very frustrating to discover that I overlooked the slight difference between 'teaspoon' and 'cup' and had to remake the batter twice and get in a fight with Carrie about being suppportive. After the third try... Success! We had oil in a pot and started to dip the battered shrimp in. After a minute of frying, the golden brown shrimp were ready to be taken out. Though the kitchen was a major mess, Carrie and I were too tired to cleanup before eating. We scrubbed up and sat down to a romantic dinner. The coconut shirmp was good... I guess. It's just not the same as the ones at the restaurant, but I believe this is also due to the fact that we lacked a good dipping sauce. Anyhoot, I consider the entire dinner a success.

2005 Valentine's Dinner

Last night I drove up to LA to see Carrie and she had a Valentine surprise for me! She had setup a romantic dinner for the both of us using her bedsheet as tablecloth and candles to set the mood. We had pasta and chicken parmesan from our favorite Westwood Italian restaurent, and spent the rest of the night watching TV together. It was fun I guess... I was made to watch the 'Bachelorette'. Oh well, I got to spend time with Carrie... that's always a success for me.

Engagment Dinner

2005-02-11T09:02:00.000-08:00

Before I can post about anything else, I think I should remember to jot some thoughts down from the engagement dinner last weekend. The attendees include: Simon, Carrie, George, Grace, Tina, Aileen, Ronald, Cheryl, Eric, Grandma Imoto, Grandma Ozawa, Linda, Allen, Lauren, Ashley, Gail, Connie, Gerry, Daniel, Sharon, Wesley, Kevin, Karen, Elyse, Kayli, Staci, Tony, Jane, Jake, Jennifer, & Katie. Prior to the dinner, everything was pretty calm. Tina & Dad went to their Long Beach convention in the morning, and then my family and I watched TV until 5:30 PM. The mood was very casual til just prior to 6:30PM. Things started to pick up quick. My dad started to dress, and, at the same time, quiz himself on Carrie's family tree information. My mom started her usual "event-panic", and rushed out the door promptly at 6:00 PM. We ended up driving 3 cars to transport 5 people... "california-carpool".

When my family got to the restaurant, we found out that Princess Garden/Prince Seafood had booked three events in one venue. It appeared that three wedding related events were all upstairs in the banquet rooms, only separated by small folding walls. Fortunately, the other party wasn't noisy and our party was not disturbed. But the other party had decorated the place so well that my party had a difficult time finding our banquet room. Oh well, no worries. Everyone got to meet and talk to each other a bit. My parents and family was great supporting me and being the great "salesmen" that they are. My sisters are as always charming, and even Jake was able to make the event.

The dinner itself was okay. I like the lobster, of course. The rest of it was okay. It wasn't the usual stuff that Mom & Dad order, but I guess it was expensive and people liked it. Found out that Auntie Connie is allergic to Mango's and Ashley is allergic to shellfish (she threw up after dinner apparently...opps). After dinner, my family returned home to a well derserved rest, but I had more "celebrating" to do at Carrie's parents' hotel suite in Torrance. After spending about an 2 hours or so "celebrating" in Torrance, I returned home to rest.

It was a great day, and everything went well. I'm happy that everyone was able to make it, and that my family was so supportive. Now for the wedding!

Mystery Stench

2005-02-07T15:22:00.000-08:00

My car smells like feet! Why?!!! Evertime I return to the car after twenty minutes... it smells like feet! It's hard to describe... but it's like "feet-walking-and-sweating-in-wool-socks-and-leather-knee-high-boots-all-day smell. Sick! Damn it... that smell is eating up my "new car" smell. I think it's my $9.95 all weather floormats from Walmart. Damn them! I need to sniff my floormats to be sure.

Growin' up

2005-02-04T14:51:00.000-08:00

It's been an exhaustive week. I've grown weary of the usual company shenanigan between me and that asshole Joe and his little-man-complex. I also found out that my calculations of company wide bonuses were off and my boss had to fix the problem himself... saving my ass! Fuckin fuck. Then to top it off, I was busy all week preparing my house for a possible visit from the inlaws this weekend. My list of tasks included: rebuilding the storage shelves, buying & assemblying new furniture, rearranging current furniture & rooms, and reorganizing storage files. I'm feeling burnt out... and my focus and attitude are not at my best. My days are constantly filled with neverending tasks. I stayed up til 3:00 AM last night working on last minute bonus calculations and reporting. Fuckin fuck!
I wonder if my dad ever had these days. Working 12 hours a day just to return home to a nagging wife, three needy kids, and never ending bills. Actually, I know he's has had these days... but he always had to just take it and move on. I bet he would view this as a light day for him. I think this part of my grownup training. I should be able to take this small fraction of my dad's stress level without buckling. More and more, I realise that my dad is one crazy muchacho... and I want to be everything he is.
On the upside, I had dinner with my old high school buddies TWICE these past two weeks. Once last week at the Irvine Spectrum's Cheesecake Factory and last night at the Block's Wolfgang Puck's. Word of adice, always choose Cheesecake over Wolfgang's... it's like night and day... Cheesecake has better variety and quality of food. I love just hanging out with those guys, talking non-sense, and just relax and let my guard down. My cousin Jake also changed his mind and is now able to attend the family engagement dinner.

Jason, Eric, Andy, Brian, Me, Song , Lee

Curse of Samson

2005-02-04T14:28:00.000-08:00

So before my big engagement dinner, I decided to get a haircut and be presentable for the in-laws. I lucked out and got the asian lady I always wondered about and she did a pretty good job... including a shampoo wash. A pretty good job... that is... until I got home and looked in the mirror! That bitch, not only, cut my long sideburns... she forgot to match the right side to the left side. I was freakin pissed! I loved my long "Brandon Walsh" sideburns. I was cool with them... they were my source of rebel confidence. And that 'Delilah' bitch took it away! Damn it! And she spoke mandarin to me too... I feel so tricked and used!

Dressed for Failure

2005-02-02T14:29:00.000-08:00

Carrie's depression from her bad orthodontic interview process is taking a toll on her self-esteem and our relationship. Her lack of interview-self-confidence is affecting the rest of her life. This, inturn, is affecting her compensating behavior. What "compensating behavior"? Shopping. Though it's usually a light-hearted stereotype of most women, I think Carrie's shopping habit is getting compulsive. She pick outfits and accessories in order to make herself feel better, and builds her confidence from her exterior image. She rather feel pretty than knowledgeable.

For example, during her Orthodontic interviews this past winter, Carrie would spend time excessively shopping than practicing interview questions and researching potential schools. The majority of her free time were spent driving all around town, researching shoe stores on the internet, & calling stores for inventory for the "perfect" pair shoes. Though I am not an orthodontic-interview expert, I have interviewed for competitive jobs before, and I believe orthodontic and job interviews share many common characteristics.

Before my job interviews, I would sit down and read through their website , then do a web-search of articles that can help me gain insight and perspective on the company. So by the time I'm at the interview, I know what the company's mission statement is, what they have done in the past, and what they plan on doing in the future. Although this is obviouslly different for Orthodontic interviews, I believe the process is the same. During her winter interviews, I told Carrie I was concerned about her interviews and asked her to research and read recent Orthodonitic articles, and do a bit of information on each school she's interviewing at. Her answer, "I have no time... It's hard... I can't find anything!" Then she would fly off to her interviews just to come home and tell me things like, "It was... alright, I guess. It was quick. He really didn't have much to say... and I didn't either. I don't think they like me." What the crap is that?! That just means you lost that interview! This happened 8 times out of her 8 interviews! I would think she would wise up by the third time it happened, but no... she kept on shopping during the entire interview process.

Now (since December), Carrie dwells in self-pity and asks silly, rhetorical questions like, "Why doesn't anybody like me?" and "why doesn't anybody like me for who I am." This then lead to her self-consoling-defiance mode, where she would tell herself that she will not act "fact" just to get a residency position. Understandably, every person would go through a mourning period after a catastrophic setback, but the mourning period is often followed by a critical self-evaluation, then re-allocation of focus and effort. But in Carrie's case, she's still stuck in mourning period. Since not being accepted into an orthodontic program, Carrie was graciouslly offered 4 opportunities to interview for General Practice Residency (GPR) program in LA, Long Beach, & Fresno. But due to her everlasting stubborness and self-pity, she was unprepared and struggled through those in the same way she did her orthodontic interviews.

This past week, Carrie found out that she didn't do so well at her LA and Fresno interviews, but was accepted at Fresno at a hospital that her dad works at as well. It appears that the local hospitals (LA & Long Beach) optioned to have open spots rather than considering Carrie as a potential resident (which means you didn't do well at the interviews). The mourning period returned and self-pity was quick to follow. Carrie has been studying for her upcoming dental board examination these past two weeks, but all of a sudden... she decides that her study time would be better spent shopping for dresses for our engagement dinner. I understand that this is an important day for Carrie (and for any girl) and she deserves to feel pretty and confident, but her shopping habits is again taking her down the wrong path. In this past week, Carrie has shopped almost everyday after school until 9:00 PM then come home to unwind, study a little, then sleep. She fits in a little studying here and there, but I don't think she has her attention vested in this critical board exam.

This is bringing up all my reservations from the orthodontic interviews... because now Carrie has to do a year of GPR... this means an additional year of not working and having kids. But I can't blame her for that. I see failures as learning experiences... but man is it a bitch!

Another bites the dust...

2005-01-31T14:26:00.000-08:00

Friendster just ate 2 more friends of mine... what the freak!

Day 1: The Birth

2005-01-27T15:52:00.000-08:00

Inspired by my buddies, Andy and Jason, I have created this. This... this... something. Right... now I'm bored... Thanks Andy and Jason.

California Dreams

2005-01-19T08:33:00.000-08:00

According to the new report of the LEAST AFFORDABLE HOUSING MARKETS (published by National Association of Home Builders), California took the top 11 spots. These spots are ahead of places like New York... crazy. And I actually OWN a house in the top five least-afforadable-housing-market area. Gosh darn it... I'm good looking AND successful!!! Wow... I'm becoming more Taiwanese by the day... I define success by the crap I own.

25 LEAST- AFFORDABLE housing markets National rank

Santa Barbara-Santa Maria-Lompoc, Calif. 162
San Diego, Calif. 161
Salinas, Calif. 160
Los Angeles-Long Beach, Calif. 159
Orange County, Calif. 158
Yolo, Calif. 157
San Luis Obispo-Atascadero-Paso Robles, Calif. 156
Santa Cruz-Watsonville, Calif. 155
Merced, Calif. 154
Stockton-Lodi, Calif. 153
San Francisco, Calif. 152
Nassau-Suffolk, N.Y. 151
New York, N.Y. 150

Unfortunately for my buddy, Danny... Ohio is all over the list of the top 25 MOST AFFORDABLE areas = Crap states (#1,4,5,7,13,17,18,20,22,23). Not to rub it in or anything, but this just further proves the need for you to be here in California with me living the good life... pointing and laughing at the crappy people.

Upgrades at the Office

2005-01-19T08:31:00.000-08:00

I finally got the managers' style cubical... the 'holy grail' of office-spacers (such as myself). Wait... actually having a real office, with real walls, and a real door is the 'holy grail'. This is more like the 'Shroud of Turin' (if you don't know what this is... ask a nerdy Christian friend).

In order to quantify this auspicious upgrade, I need measure the new space... but I don't have a ruler. It seems that I need to 'MacGyver' this: Using sheets of standard American issue 8.5x11 white copy paper, I was able to determine the dimension of my upgraded cubical to be: 13 x 8.75 sheets of paper. Which translates to: 143 x 96.25 inches = 11.916 x 8.02 feet = 95.57 square feet of space. This is an upgrade of 29.4 square feet of cubical space (from my old office occupying 66.17 square feet). Additional to my new "U-style" desk setup, I also have two guest chairs, filing cabinet, and two new half shelves. Kick ass!!!

Then there's the new slim laptop they gave me and the additional 21 inch (viewable) flat monitor. Nice stuff. It kinda makes me feel bad because most everyone else is using a crappy-ass desktop and dusty 15 inch (viewable) CRT monitor. Oh well... sucks to be them.
But this is the crappy part: Now people hate me. Great... So what else is new? It isn't my problem there are people that has worked here for the past 11 years that still has the small standard issue cubicals. It's also not my fault that my current status and visibility took other managers at least 15 years of working experience to attain. Oh well... can't help it. They're all fired when I'm executive!

So the finally tally:
getting a new office: +1
getting new office equipment:+1
coworkers & management resenting me:-2
not getting a raise: -1
having higher status: +1
having longer, more stressful days: -1
having a 2004 sales target of $155 million: -1
meeting... then exceeding the sales target: +1 (BONUS baby!!!)
having a 2005 sales target of $177 million: -1

RESULTS: - 2. How the heck did that happen?!! I’m supposed to be having a good week!!!

A Day at the Office...

2005-01-19T08:30:00.000-08:00

Got into the office at around little past 8:00. Strategy meeting with senior management at 10:00...worked through lunch, but snacked from the vending machine throughout the day... ... forecast meeting with the worldwide director of sales at 2:00... got my annual performance review (which was pretty good) at around 3:00... and finished at a little past 6:00.
Then it was on to cocktails at the Regatta in Dana Point with my boss at 6:30 then a dinner meeting at the Chart House with a client from Egypt at 8:30... Three full-plated dinners, five plates of appetizers, and two bottles of Cabernet Sauvignon later, I wrapped up dinner at around 10:45 and got home at around 11:20.
Prepared a few emails and meeting setups for the morning... then watched an hour of CNN to unwind and catch up on my world-events. Turned in for the night at 1:30.
Got up at 7:30, showerd, and now back at work.
The highlights of my day yesterday was the 2 brief half hour I had to myself while driving to my "post 9 to 5" events where I'm just alone in the car. The lobster at the Chart House was also pretty good, but I think I'm going to get the Macadamia Crusted Mahi Mahi next time.

Motorcycle Dreams

2004-11-18T08:27:00.000-08:00

2002 Honda CBR600 F4i

I finally sold the bike. This is a sad end to another entry on my list of "Wild, Dangerous, Playboy-ish Things I do". Next item to be deleted from the list: curbing the daily, chronic masturbarion rate to just 5 times a day!!! It's gonna be tough upcoming week with the Thanksgiving holidays... all that free time. Just hang out with my wang out... rock out with my cock out. Hahaha... that's for you Eugene... you sick canton!

Halloween Costume

2004-10-20T08:48:00.000-07:00

While every other guy is buying the gangster suit or pimp suit for Halloween, this is my costume pick this year.. the Austrian/Bavarian/Alpine outfit. I want the authentic 'Lederhosen' (leather pants) shorts, but those range from $99 to $200 per pair... then there's the suspenders, high socks, feathered hat, and fluffy shirt. Oh yeah, baby! Sexin' it!

Koreans versus Chinese

2004-10-20T08:37:00.000-07:00

I read (then ripped off) this recently from someone's blog... thought it was kinda interesting:

Korean Guys vs. Chinese Guys:
- Korean guys drink, smoke, and fight too much.
- Chinese guys may drink or smoke on occasion... but rarely fight.- Korean guys boast constantly.

- Chinese guys are judgmental and opinionated.
- Korean guys rebel against the pressures from home and rebel against the expectations their parents have for them.

- Chinese guys have a hard time dealing with the pressures from home but try as hard and make themselves miserable trying.
- Korean guys would rather hang out with their guy friends than be around their girlfriends after a few months dating.

- Chinese guys would rather spend time with their girlfriends and find things they both enjoy doing together instead of doing what they normally do for fun with "the guys".
- Korean guys are usually either "preppy", "thuggish", or "AzN" types.- Chinese guys are usually either "preppy", "geeky", or "banana" types...

- Korean guys are convinced that Asian girls are the only race they have a chance with.
- Chinese guys usually have a better shot with a non-Chinese girl because they have friends who are non-Asians.

- Korean guys are on average from 5'6"-5'11".
- Chinese guys are on average from 5'9"-6'2"

Korean Girls vs. Chinese Girls:
- Korean girls try to act really ghettofied and badass (which is annoying) when they're around guys.
- Chinese girls can act really prissy and almost helpless (which is also annoying) when they're around guys.

- Korean girls act like they lead a life of privilege and act really spoiled even if they're not that well-off.
- Chinese girls act relatively down-to-earth even if they come from a wealthy background.

- Korean girls may express guilt about their parents giving them so much yet they do little to please them.
- Chinese girls respect their parents and feel bad when they feel like they've let them down.

- Korean girls give their boyfriends a really hard time and are super high-maintenance.
- Chinese girls do all that they can for their boyfriends and are grateful for even the smallest of gestures.

- Korean girls have a love/hate relationship with other girls... they are threatened by girls who may be seen as "better".
- Chinese girls feel closer to their girl friends than their guy friends.

- Korean girls are generally more reluctant to enter an interracial relationship due to their parents' dislike of non-Koreans.
- Chinese girls are generally more accepting of dating outside of their race.

- Korean girls are on average from 5'1"-5'6".
- Chinese girls are on average from 5'3"-5'8"

Damn Friendster

2004-10-07T08:47:00.000-07:00

God damn it... I just lost three more friends on friendster. That's ontop of a few others missing ones that I noticed Or is it that the friends-counting-meter just off? I know the new-message meter is off right now. Oh well. I don't really care.

Shattered Image

2004-09-20T08:46:00.000-07:00

I just found that the man behind KITT (Knight Industries Two Thousand)'s voice in Knight Rider is the man that plays Mr. Feeny in "Boy Meets World". Frekin blew my mind!!!

Potty Mouth Eugene

2004-08-19T08:42:00.000-07:00

Eugene's the kinda kid that your mom told you to not hang around with, because you pick up their dirty lingo. This is what I learned from hanging out with Eugene:

CONVERSATION WITH EUGENE:
Simon: So where do wanna do tonight? Go hit up a bar or just hang out?
Eugene: Hang out with our wangs out.
Simon: What?
Eugene: Rock out with our cocks out.
Simon: Ah.... okay. That's funny. I wanna say it too.

Thanks Eugene. Haha... too bad, Mom!

P.S. I saw you (Eugene) staring at me when I was pretending to sleep. It's alright that you stare... just don't make that tongue slurping noise and don't make it so obvious! Hahaha!

2004 Birthday

2004-08-02T08:49:00.000-07:00

The big 2-6 came and went. Spent most of the day at the company picnic and then laying out at the beach. It was nice to see people outside of work with their families. It makes you realize that though they are assholes at work... amzingly there are people in the world that apparently would have sex and rear children with assholes. It was hot but the since I was late to the picnic I wasn't able to enter the raffle. Our president gave away about $20K total. Fuckin fuck. Oh well. Then after an uneventful day at the beach, I went over to my neighbor's place to hangout with my neighbor's family and a few new friends. Anyhoot, a day well spent. I don't really know why, but I hate birthday parties. I just enjoy people hanging out without a focus on a specific person. I gonna have a hard time with that bachelor party then...oh well, I'll deal with it when it comes up.

Freakin Eugene

2004-08-02T08:39:00.000-07:00

This is a conversation between me and my friend, Eugene. He’s classic Caton with all the fine touches that makes him irresistible to all the San Franciscan black girls (with asian fetishes).

ITCHYUDDER: let's go out though
Ass: yuuuuuuup thats y i dont wanna goto LA till i can party it up again
Ass: aight
ITCHYUDDER: I want to see your game
Ass: my game is hella blunt
Ass: "so u wanna goto lawrys"?
Ass: hahaha
ITCHYUDDER: hahahaha... no coke for them though
ITCHYUDDER: that's only if you put out
Ass: yeah they'lbe like SURE lawrys soudns great..."thats only if u suck my dick at least"...if u go all the way u get the coke"
ITCHYUDDER: hahaha dude, does that work?
Ass: haha no, cuz usually i try to bone them b4 lawrys
Ass: i jus know that treating girls to lawrys JUST to me nice is a crapload of shit
ITCHYUDDER: I should learn from you
Ass: haha no u gotta learn from danny

Kalexin's Bachelor

2004-07-26T08:50:00.000-07:00

Just got back this Sunday from my buddy Kal's bachelor party at Vegas. Since we got to Vegas late and didn't get to check into the hotel til around 1:30 AM, we didn't do much except minor gambling at Bellagio the first night. I was so freakin tired that I was walking laps around the casino floor just to keep awake while the other guys gambled. We stayed til 5:00 AM to see the Vegas sunrise as we walked outta Bellagio and back to the hotel.

Kalexin's Bachelor Party at Vegas

After sleeping for only 4 hours, we were rudely awakened by Kal's antics! He didn't want to waste time, and maxminize this gambling time... waste of money. But we did have a good buffet at the Alladin (nothing special), and looked around the a few hotels and hotel/malls. Then we tried to sneak into Mandalay Bay's kickass swimming pool, but no success. They were checking and scanning hotel keys. Sucks...cause there were so many cute girls there. I'm definitely staying there next time. Anyhoot, after that Kal went back to gambling at the Imperial Palace and I laid out by the pool for a little bit. After that, we hung out and had dinner at the Venetian before heading out to Rain at the Palms. By the way, Vegas was about 110 F degrees for the entire weekend, I hated walking around!

The line at Rain was freakin long and took 2+ hours. We got there at around 9:15 or so, and didn't get into Rain til about 11:45 or so. But it was my first time and the place rocks. Jammed pack with hot girls and a kickass atmosphere. We hung out met a few people and just sustained Kal's buzz with a few shots and beers. Kal's buzz, thanks to his cousin, started at around 11:30 AM and lasted til about 4:00 AM the next day. That's awesome! By the time we got back from the Rain, we were all so pooped out, but we still packed for the next day.

After eating at the Paris buffet... where I had kickass-all-I-can-eat flan...we headed out to the airport. I was so freakin tired and broke, but it was freakin fun. I'm just cruising in it at work this morning, nothing is gonna get done today... I just know it. Which is just like any other day.

Me, Kalexin, Andy

Vegas Plans

2004-07-23T08:51:00.000-07:00

Answer: Soccer shorts with no underwear

Question: What do you wear to a Vegas all nude strip club?

Hahaha… I’m flying out today for my buddy’s bachelor party in Vegas! I think this is a great end to my crappy week of working. I wonder... food first... or strippers first?

Strippers... Strippers... Strippers... (that's for you, Shaunin!!!)

7 Jeans

2004-07-22T08:52:00.000-07:00

I bought 7 jeans... am I a bad person? Does that make me semi-metrosexual? Sucks. The guilt is settling in. But jeans are what I love to wear the most for casual days. Does this excuse justify paying premium dollars? And are these jeans really better than my usual Gap jeans? I dunno, but I'm freakin keeping them! Sucks to your ass-mar!

Mountain View Obon

2004-07-19T08:52:00.000-07:00

Just came back from Mountain View. What a shithole that place is... yeah right. In Grandma Ozawa's neighborhood, the cheapest house is 1.2 million. Freakin rich ass people of Palo Alto. Stanford was just a nice 20 minute drive away.

Obon was great as usual... a lotta freakin fine Japanese girls. But most importantly was the goldfish booth where I won 1 fantail, biatch!!! Oh yeah, I was the envy of all the little kids there!
BTW, I waging war against everyone that types in intermixing small cap/large cap letters. Also, against asian teens that favors the following words: babee, qt, gurl, grl, gurlie, eternity, pinay, angel, & azn in their screen names. Join me on this epic battle.

Immortality awaits us.... take it! It's yours!!!

2004-07-14T08:53:00.000-07:00

Tomorrow... I'll be in Mountain View... but I'll be driving up in my nice pretty car.

BUT next weekend... it's VEGAS BABY VEGAS for Kal's bachelor's! Oh yeah! But the downer... I'll be flying in instead of driving... Boo! I have to part with my car for more than 10 hours... that's the longest we've been apart. I"m sad... maybe I should cancel the bachelors... or find out how much it costs to send my car to Vegas so we can be together. Hmmm, got much research to do.

I hear Happy_Toki will be there too... let me know if you and your friend wanna meet up for drinks!

Mindless Conversations

2004-07-09T08:54:00.000-07:00

I think sometimes I'm too good looking for my own sake. This conversation exerpt is with my old college buddy.

CONVERSATION WITH EUGENE:
SA: i'l l turn gay for u
ITCHYUDDER: dude...
ITCHYUDDER: as long as you are tight
SA: i'm saving my ass for u
ITCHYUDDER: I like the grippyness of a new ass
SA: never been touched back there
ITCHYUDDER: I'll stretch you out man
SA: hahahahaha
ITCHYUDDER: tickle your stomach
SA: hahahahahaha

I have good friends like that. By the way, SA's co-workers thinks he's gay too! But I'm still not convinced yet... only like 90% convinced. But I'll still let him snuggle up to me if we sleep in the same bed, cause us hetero guys can do that without feeling weird about it. Alright... that's sick.

2004-07-06T13:10:00.000-07:00

Anyhoot, the point of the story is. I've become that guy that young 15 year olds gaulk at. Sorta like what Tom Cruise & Pierce Brosnan was to girls our age in the 80's. Not that I'm comparing myself to Tom Cruise or Pierce Bronsnan. Because I'm way better!!! Maybe not better than Pierce. I need to slap a rug on my chest before I even enter the contest against him. Anyhoot. But I've become the old guy that girls like when they tell people that they like "older men". That freakin sucks! This just makes me think back to all the recent months when I'm at the bars. Do I look like the pathetic old guy lounging at the bar. But I still have girls approach me... but is it out of sympathy... like how you would talk to the old guy at a bus station. Man... this sucks major.

My First New Car

2004-07-06T09:06:00.000-07:00

I finally broke down and decided on a car. My mom finally won her battle and I didn't get the Boxster. BOOO! Apparently, the lack of backseats to fit the future babyseats (for her grandkids) is a big deal. Go figure! But it would've been nice to drive a Boxster... I don't see many asians driving those around. So thus I decided, if I'm not going to get the Boxster... then no european cars either. Going for the Bang-for-the-Buck decision.... (drum roll please Maestro)... 2004 Acura TL with Navigation.

This is one nice ass car. Though all the bad-talking has been about the FWD system, but I've been driving the car pretty hard since I got it yesterday and the under/over steer issue hasn't been even noticed. But everything on that car is hooked up through the steering wheel. From the radio to the A/C system and even the Navigation... it's all hooked up. I'm one good looking bastard in one good looking car.

Deterioration

2004-07-06T09:03:00.000-07:00

The big 2-6 is approaching. I think I've begun my mid-life crisis. There's not much else to look foward to from this point. Once you hit the quarter century mark, your life is just a downhill sprint. All is lost. I'm dead to me. Walking around at the July 4th fair this past weekend, Carrie saw a group of girls giggling and making googgly eyes at me. Paying close attention to the prices of shave ice and beef teriyaki skewers, I was totally oblivious to this fact. They didn't even look away when I turned around to verfy this... the balls on these girls... amazing!

Anyhoot, the point of the story is. I've become that guy that young 15 year olds gaulk at. Sorta like what Tom Cruise & Pierce Brosnan was to girls our age in the 80's. Not that I'm comparing myself to Tom Cruise or Pierce Bronsnan. Because I'm way better!!! Maybe not better than Pierce. I need to slap a rug on my chest before I even enter the contest against him. Anyhoot. But I've become the old guy that girls like when they tell people that they like "older men". That freakin sucks! This just makes me think back to all the recent months when I'm at the bars. Do I look like the pathetic old guy lounging at the bar. But I still have girls approach me... but is it out of sympathy... like how you would talk to the old guy at a bus station. Man... this sucks major.

2004-07-02T12:47:00.000-07:00

I think the Porsche best incases my personality into one 4-wheeled package. Flashy... Shallow... Fast moving... and will end up passing you everytime but you 'll always catch up at the light. I don't know what that last one really means... but it seems like that's what happens everytime I see a Porsche.

2004-07-01T23:18:00.000-07:00

Must decide soon... but which one?

1. Lexus RX 330. Well built, well equiped, very refined SUV at $45K. Best balance of versitility and driving pleasure. But I would automatically inherit the "mom" image.
2. BMW 330i. Great name. Great looking car. But on the verge of restyling... but not quite there yet. Must spend $43K to get 75% of Acura's $35K package (that's if it even comes that way). Great driving machine, RWD, well balanced.
3. Acura TL. The best car-for-your-buck. Blue tooth, Navigation, hands free access, leather, 4 doors, sedan, 270 HP, Bose DVD stereo, recently re-styling. But no name, no emotion evoking, FWD. But great bargain at $35K.
4. Porsche Boxer. Totally inpractical, but what a name and what a driving machine. Great for image and total driver-oriented car. But with high sticker price of $45K, and small ass trunk space... actually almost no trunk space.

What do I do. It seems like whenever you don't need to buy a car, you know what exactly you would pick. But when it comes to actually buying it... the once obvious decision seems a bit blurred. I think this drama is pretty petty right now, but still a decision must be made.

2004-06-30T17:16:00.000-07:00

I have to confess this... I used to watch scrambled porn like there's no tomorrow. But that was a long time ago... a person can grow so much in 6 months.

You do weird crap like that during puberty. For example, I would be turned on when I would see a naked but heavily box-pixelated censored chick on TV. There's no rhymn or reason to that... who in their right mind would enjoy watching discolored boxes running bouncing on TV.

Man... high school was tough as well, my mind was going at "Olympic-record-setting-speed", yet it always comes comes out "Special Olympic" style. I don't think anything I said then really made sense then or now. I guess nothing has really changed in 10 years. Sucks . Furthermore, the problem of keeping the hormone in control was probably worsened due to dating a very religious Mormom girl... for 3 years. That did not help one freakin bit. With that 3 year dry run, I could've been a freakin monk by senior year. Again, sucks to be me.

2004-06-30T17:13:00.000-07:00

Talking to a good friend of mine (who also is a super cook and has a nice rack) recently, I realize that sex is really important. Not that I didn't know it was fun and I liked to do it, but "important" in the sense that it brings couples together... like they share something personal that they wouldn't share with others. Which leads to a relating idea. I think anal sex would be fun too. Probably more fun for me than for her... I'm almost positive of that fact. Should I ask the girl ahead of time... like during a dinner discussion, so she'll know it's gonna happen? Or should I just try to sneak it past her during... so it'll be spontaneous. I tend to think the latter is not the best way to approach anal sex, but how do you really bring it up? I had a friend who just asked and his girlfriend said she would be willing to at least try it and see if she like it. I'm really jealous. That shows a lot of trust and will to please your mate. My friend is a lucky man, I hope he knows it... but not just because he has anal sex... 4 times! Sucks to be me.

I think my fascination is not with sex or anal sex... but with people that are willing to try new things just with their mate and would compromise their status quo to please their mate. I think the will and the decision to do it is more impressive than the act itself. For example, I'm pretty proud of myself for even considering wearing Target brand jeans... not that I've tried them on or anything... but I've at least considered the possibility that a purchase might be possible. Kudos to me.

2004-06-29T15:00:00.000-07:00

I feel bad, but another girl to let down easy. Seem like girls are getting crazy about marriage. It must be trendy to get married or something. It's is the fourth girl recently to scope me out using the marriage intro. Maybe it's the Newly Wed show's (on MTV) influence.

CONVERSATION WITH EVA:
EngineerFriend: so, are u getting married soon?
Simon Ethan Yao: why… you gonna ask me?
EngineerFriend: oh, I guess I asked a wrong Q.. maybe u are married alrady cuz it took u a long time to reply...
Simon Ethan Yao: hahah… so you gonna ask me or what?
Simon Ethan Yao: I come from good stock
Simon Ethan Yao: I'm tall, good looking, in shape, & successful… and most of all, I'm chinese
Simon Ethan Yao: I'm your mom's dream for a son in law
EngineerFriend: i dont' wanna be the to ask u.. someone is still in line and I must be in wait list #XXXX
Simon Ethan Yao: who's in the wait list?
Simon Ethan Yao: I didn't know I had a list?
EngineerFriend: dono. I guess u must have many fans
Simon Ethan Yao: hahhaa… thanks for the compliment though
Simon Ethan Yao: you can ask me if you want...
EngineerFriend: but I cannot wait ar... u keep on shifting target everyday... .so, I don't borther to join the line...
Simon Ethan Yao: but you are interested in join the line if it wasn't so long
Simon Ethan Yao: the line isn't that long by the way
EngineerFriend: still there's a LINE
Simon Ethan Yao: you just gotta work through a few
Simon Ethan Yao: you wouldn't compete against a few people?!!!
EngineerFriend: I guess I rather pick someone that isn't that popular so it will make me feel better.... (not in wait list at least.. haha)
EngineerFriend: dont' feel sad, u still have a lot of fans.....

2004-06-28T08:47:00.000-07:00

Carrie just finished her externship in San Antonio and she was telling me about a conversation she had with the chair of the Orthodontics department. The guy told her, “Admittedly there are only a few Orientals in my program. And also being oriental, you’re gonna feel more pressure to do better than everyone else, because Orientals generally perform better academically.” Crazy ass shit. This asshole Texan must’ve been drunk, because that kind of crap just doesn’t flow in California… or do they? I think Carrie was so taken back by that comment that she didn’t even know how to apply to that except for, “Hmm? I understand.”

I think one of the interesting experiences about being Asian American is being able to observe how stupid white people act when in the vicinity of an Asian (American). The day-to-day crap I encounter can only be laughed off due to the sheer stupidity of the comments and actions. But living in Southern California has only shielded me from the national reality (aka my counter racism statement): No matter how hard they try. White people (for the most part) ARE NOT going to be PC. And why do they have to be? At most, Asians only comprise of 10% of the national population and has one of the worst voting percentage. But here are some of the more outstanding actual encounters. I got to write them down before even I get numbed from all the crap.

A woman came up to me and commented on the way I comb my hair in the morning. "Oh that's interesting. It's so short and spiky. You know, that's like all the other oriental kids running around these days. Oh not that I have something against Orientals. My youngest son plays baseball with an oriental kid on the team. And I distinctly remember the neighbors down the block are oriental. I think they're Korean or something like that." That entire thing was said to me without me having an opportunity to answer.

On my second week on the job, a senior salesman came up to me and pulled his eyes back and asked me, “How do you Orientals see like this? Hey how much do you see with eyes like this? No really, I want to know. Do you only see a small rectangle? Do you have to keep moving your eyes around to see everything?” I didn’t even know how to react to this. This guy was serious about asking this question. It’s one of those things that are so awkwardly offensive that you aren’t able to register it until at a later time. Then, by the time you realize how offensive it is, the moment has already past.

I was introduced to a few clients during a sales conference, and I was stuck making small talk with a few of them during lunch. “So you said you were Chinese, right? You know, my wife just goes bonkers for that stuff. The food that is. Whew! Personally, I can’t stand the stuff. The spices you guys put in them darn food just gets my system all inside out. And don’t get me started on eating stuff raw. If I can’t grill it on the BBQ, I ain’t eatin’ it. Man, but I can really appreciate the culture though. So ancient and complex. Everyone respectin’ one another and stuff. I meet the friendliest oriental folks on my trips. Everyone is so polite.” Nice… I always love to be referred as “you guys”.

Another lady working down in the engineering department came up to ask me about a possible mathematical computation error on one my previous project. “Hey Simon, this doesn’t add up at all. Did you even check this before releasing. Hmmm… and I though you Orientals were suppose to be good in math?” Wow. Good assumption. To be fair, she does have a high success rate (say 95%) with that one… until she met me.

2004-06-25T10:42:00.000-07:00

Here's an example of a typical conversation with my buddy Walter from Japan:

CONVERSATION WITH WALTER:
Itazura96: a donkey and a zebra had sex and had a Zonkey
ITCHYUDDER: yeah I saw that
Itazura96: so funny
ITCHYUDDER: I want the donkey to screw the chicken
ITCHYUDDER: so it be a zecken or chicbra
Itazura96: i want the zebra to hump your mom
Itazura96: and make a Yaobra
ITCHYUDDER: I want to do you
ITCHYUDDER: and make a BITCH
Itazura96: hahaha
Itazura96: fag
ITCHYUDDER: you like that last one eh
Itazura96: yea, it was real original

2004-06-14T14:31:00.000-07:00

My friend Jenn was upset that she was being told who not to talk to at her company due to her friends’ having higher positions than her, and the phrase “Chain of Command” was continuously brought to her attention. I think that’s pretty sad…

Sad, that she needs reminding that is. I say... respect the "Chain of Command". To all my “friends”... from now on please use the following "Rules of Engagement":

RULE OF ENGAGEMENT

1. Never just “drop-in for a visit”. Please schedule an appointment with my secretary before approaching my cubical. This ensures a livelier conversation when approached because I would be prepared for the topic at hand.

2. Always look down and to the right when we pass in the halls. There’s no reason why I would really want to wish you a good morning or care to know about your activities of the previous weekend. Actually, when you see me coming down the hall:

1) stop

2) lay flat against the left (my left, your right) side of the wall

3) look down and to the right

4) wait 5 seconds until I pass then quietly resume your (whatever that you do…I don’t really care.)

3. Never look at me directly with the naked eye, because the “superior management glare” might blind the common worker.

4. Never show your back to me. Instead, walk backwards when walking away from me. And always button all buttons on all collar shirts, polos, and blouses (to the very top button) when in my presence. Unless you’re a girl with nice hoohaa’s, then please button just enough buttons so the feedbags are not going to fallout yet still very visible to the common glance.

5. Always brush your teeth before talking to me directly (that’s assuming you made an appointment to talk to me directly). The taint of your breath should be the last thing I have to force myself to ignore when trying to ignore the rest of your petty conversation.

Thank you for your attention.

2004-05-27T13:37:00.000-07:00

I took a life expectancy quiz which takes account of lifestyle and everyday practices. I learned that in order to increase life expectancy do the following: Take a crap at least every 20 hours. Here's the result from that quiz:
Your life expectancy is 85.2 years.
The average life expectancy for men is 84 years

According to the government's Body Mass Index (BMI), standing at 5'9 at 165lbs, I fall under the "Healthy Weight" category and have a Body Mass Index (BMI) score of 24.4. And according to the thousands of ladies I've surveyed, I'm freakin' HOT. Thanks Mom and Dad.

2004-05-25T09:19:00.000-07:00

Did I forget to mention that I'm now part of "senior management". Senior mangement is one up from "industry management" but one below "executive mangement". Some how I skipped the "industry managment" level and just went up to "senior mangement"... freakin nice.

This is further proof of working hard & making connections is always better than being smart. Yesth... that suits me just fine gov'ner!!! Anyhoot, I work with at the directors' level building business models and reviewing models for annual booking, backlogs, and book-to-ships. Which is pretty cut and dry except for the fact that I'm cut and dry and love this freakin crap!!!

Further more, I"m finally moved out from my crappy-ass boss, Joe! I'm gonna rape that guy some day in a dark alley... and make him bleed from the butt! I'm kidding... I kid!

The position is sorta stressful because the executive management has direct visibility of me at all times. Every report, decisions, & mistakes I make is seen by all the executives. Aside from creating the business model from the fiscal model, my position also places me in the position where all industry managers must report to me their monthly target status and project list. Which is kinda fun because everyone that used to give me crap work now must report to me. Ya freakin bastards!

The worst part about the job is not the high stress... but the low pay. I took this position without a pay raise. Though I am doing the job at the directors' level, I am not getting nearly getting what they are being compensated for , which equals about $100K plus. Those assholes. But at the same time, which other 25 year old do you know is in senior management?!!!

The best part about this position, so many people say hi to me in the halls now. Also, when I ask for tasks to be done... people do them now. Weird.

2004-05-25T08:58:00.000-07:00

If I had boobs... would I still head out and look at other girls' boobs? Probably not. I think I would stay home a lot more. Yesth...

Am I dense? Or just totally oblivious to other people's feelings? Or are those two the same? Hmmm... I wonder.

2004-05-12T01:12:00.000-07:00

New conversation with an old engineering girl-buddy:

CONVERSATION WITH EVA
ITCHYUDDER: so you wanna come over and we can shower together
ITCHYUDDER: to save water of course
July18Chan: NO!!!!!
ITCHYUDDER: wait a minute... I'm beginning to think that you have a problem with me seeing you naked...
July18Chan: haha... sorry, take your own bath la...
ITCHYUDDER: why don't you wanna see me naked?
ITCHYUDDER: it doesn't turn you on as a woman
July18Chan: no interest in it
July18Chan: i don't wanna see u naked.... that's the reason... I don't wanna show off my body to anyone either....
ITCHYUDDER: what if I had a graphing calculator taped to my penis?
ITCHYUDDER: how about then?
July18Chan: oh my god.... so gross
July18Chan: I dont' wanna talk to u then.....

Hahaha...I love messing with girl-buddies...

2004-04-19T14:43:00.000-07:00

If you're name is Kalexin and you're reading my Xanga.... get back to work! And finish planning your wedding or else no strippers with big boobs for you!

2004-03-10T12:30:00.000-08:00

this is what having good honest girl-friends are all about. They tell you everything you want to ask other girls but were always afraid to ask. Here are some good exerpts:

CONVERSATION WITH JENN
itchyudder: didn't you say I'm kinda cocky
itchyudder: but funny
jennh_tui: More like kinda funny, but cocky.
jennh_tui: :D
itchyudder: okay... about the same thing
jennh_tui: I don't know if you are exactly desirable.
jennh_tui: I think at first glance, you definitely are.
itchyudder: hahaha

CONVERSATION WITH MARY KAY
itchyudder: do you think we would ever go out
MissYukochan: no
MissYukochan: your ego turns me off
itchyudder: why not... I"m good looking though
itchyudder: or are you past that already...
MissYukochan: looks can only get you so far
itchyudder: so you think I'm goodlooking though right
itchyudder: an asshole... but a goodlooking asshole
MissYukochan: think what you want
itchyudder: you mentioned before that you took I was goodlooking but I was too cocky for you to be attracted to me
itchyudder: right?
MissYukochan: yea

ITCHYUDDER: could you rate me on a 1 - 10 scale?
MissYukochan: looks only?
MissYukochan: or with personality?
ITCHYUDDER: looks...
ITCHYUDDER: then personality
ITCHYUDDER: do it separately
MissYukochan: i'd give you a B
ITCHYUDDER: what's a B?
ITCHYUDDER: 8
ITCHYUDDER: 7
ITCHYUDDER: 9
MissYukochan: around there
ITCHYUDDER: wait... are you giving "+" and "-" too
ITCHYUDDER: or just solid scores
ITCHYUDDER: cause I'm thinking I'm a B+ / A- category
ITCHYUDDER: but if you're just giving solid scores... I think rounding up is only fair
ITCHYUDDER: okay... so now I konw you think I'm cute... but a total jackass... but a funny total jackass...
MissYukochan: haha
MissYukochan: like i said you are way too funny
MissYukochan: you dfnitely know how to make someone laugh
MissYukochan: thats a good quality
ITCHYUDDER: wait so personality is a what score?
MissYukochan: 6
ITCHYUDDER: god damn that's low
MissYukochan: hmmm make that 7

2004-03-03T16:13:00.000-08:00

I hate people that do this... posting their personality test results, so I'm doing it too!

ARTIST (Dominant Introvert Abstract Feeler )

Like just 4% of the population you are an ARTIST (DIAF)--creative, adventurous, and deep. Although you are an introvert, your dominant ideas lead you to assert yourself often--especially through your work. You actively put your creativity to constructive use, and because you are ruled by your heart you are less likely to be inhibited by logic.

You have an intuitive understanding of emotion and know how evoke it in others, but the real world can be a prison of foolishness and embarrassment if you don't get your head out of the clouds a little more. Also, you are 87% likely to write poetry. Please, for the love of God, stop now.

IDEALIST (NF)

Idealists, as a temperament, are passionately concerned with personal growth and development. Idealists strive to discover who they are and how they can become their best possible self -- always this quest for self-knowledge and self-improvement drives their imagination. And they want to help others make the journey. Idealists are naturally drawn to working with people, and whether in education or counseling, in social services or personnel work, in journalism or the ministry, they are gifted at helping others find their way in life, often inspiring them to grow as individuals and to fulfill their potentials.
Idealists are sure that friendly cooperation is the best way for people to achieve their goals. Conflict and confrontation upset them because they seem to put up angry barriers between people. Idealists dream of creating harmonious, even caring personal relations, and they have a unique talent for helping people get along with each other and work together for the good of all. Such interpersonal harmony might be a romantic ideal, but then Idealists are incurable romantics who prefer to focus on what might be, rather than what is. The real, practical world is only a starting place for Idealists; they believe that life is filled with possibilities waiting to be realized, rich with meanings calling out to be understood. This idea of a mystical or spiritual dimension to life, the "not visible" or the "not yet" that can only be known through intuition or by a leap of faith, is far more important to Idealists than the world of material things.

Highly ethical in their actions, Idealists hold themselves to a strict standard of personal integrity. They must be true to themselves and to others, and they can be quite hard on themselves when they are dishonest, or when they are false or insincere. More often, however, Idealists are the very soul of kindness. Particularly in their personal relationships, Idealists are without question filled with love and good will. They believe in giving of themselves to help others; they cherish a few warm, sensitive friendships; they strive for a special rapport with their children; and in marriage they wish to find a "soulmate," someone with whom they can bond emotionally and spiritually, sharing their deepest feelings and their complex inner worlds.

Idealists are rare, making up between 25 and 30 percent of the population. But their ability to inspire people with their enthusiasm and their idealism has given them influence far beyond their numbers.

Four types of Idealist are: Healers, Counselors, Champions, Teachers.

2004-03-03T11:30:00.000-08:00

Last weekend: Went to California Adventure with Carried and looked around because it was too crowded to even get in line for the good rides. We had free bread and tortilla though. Then went over to Landon & Miko's for dinner with Thu and Matt (my long lost brother). Played a type of 'Remember this 90s' game and lost to the girls...but only by a narrow margin! Damn it... the color of Thelma and Louise's car was blue, not pink... ah fuck me! Then on Sunday, Carrie and I went back to Cerritos for Aileen's birthday party. She's turned 20!!! Dad and I talked about selling the company to a friend of ours in Taiwan, but I think the price is a little low for all the work Dad has put into it.

This Week (thus far): I think I'm slowly dying from all the McDonald and Taco Bell I'm eating. My heart races if I do a little work around the house, and my belly is getting bigger... even in the morning. And it doesn't help that Carrie pets the belly!

2004-03-03T11:21:00.000-08:00

So previous to this post, here are the major social events I can remember and not in any particular order.

1. Landon got married to Miko on Feb14, 2004 and went to Hawaii for honeymoon.

2. I won $2600 at my company Christmas party. Spent the night at the Monarch Bay resort, as usual.

3. I went on a Europe trip to France, Germany, Switzerland, England, Belgium, Holland in December 2003. Spent Christmas in Germany eating pig feet. Left my camera in my hotel room after the second night there and didn't pick it up until my last night.

4. Started actively looking for a new job. Something in the automotive industry. Even went to a UCLA job fair. Nothing good there though.

5. Quit actively teaching Hikari Taiko. Now I plan to go back and just teach workshops.

6. Started shopping around for THE ENGAGEMENT ring. Man is that sucker expensive!

7. Attended my first bachelor party (for Landon... see event number 1) in Las Vegas. Went to the Ghost bar at the Palms casino, rode around in limos, met the Maloof brothers (owners of the casino), and stayed in downtown Vegas.

8. Attended 12 hour course for Driver Training.

9. Survived 2 more massive company lay-offs.

10. Started on home inprovement projects: front yard work, chair molding, mirrors, painting, headboard, night stand, tv stand, curtains, etc.

11. Danny came to visit and stayed with Me, Terry, and Ed. Terry, Danny, and I played basketball.

2003-08-04T13:13:00.000-07:00

08/01/03: Went back to Club Boogie with Carrie, Guy, Jimmy, Luke, and Andy. Another 18+ fun fest. The guys were all up and ready to go in the parking lot, but were degraded to gulking teenagers once the go-go dancers were spotted. Carrie and I, on the other hand, had our usual dance fun. Not too many eye candies in there, but the music was good and the price was perfect! Carrie and I left the club at around 12:00 and grabbed a meal at the nearby Denny's... try the "Zesty Nachos"... best Nacho's I've had in a long time. The guys went back to Sahara's after club boogie!

08/02/03: Carrie and I woke up at around 11:00 and headed out to Disneyland (with our Disneyland backpack, of course) with our PREMIUM annual passes, of course. We had McDonalds french fries with sodas, jelly beans, ice cream, beef jerky, fried apple with carmel, and lots of water. We rode many of our usual rides and finally rode the Pooh ride... despite having it break down on us and making us wait in line for 30 mins! It was okay. But we love the "citylights" set in the Peter Pan ride! I had a really good time and so did Carrie... i think! We got tired so we left the park at around 4:00 PM... and we gave away our fast passes to another couple.... they were white, we couldn't find another asian couple. Oh well. We then went to Ron Jon's to look around then headed home. Did nothing much at home... then grabbed Taco Bell and spent the rest of the evening... resting... grrrw! Carrie owes me a 45min-er!

08/03/03: Went home to Cerritos with Carrie to have my birthday meal with my family + 2 guests. 1 was my dad's business friend and the other Tina's 30+ year old boyfriend. He's a cool guy, but way old for Tina. Aileen was doing well also. Had a great dinner that mom cooked and a great cakes and presents as well. Mom and Dad gave money, and tina gave me a surf CD and a gift certificate! What a good family!

2003-08-01T15:27:00.000-07:00

Headed up to LA at 7:00 PM and got there at 8:30. Damn do I need that navigation system! Anyways, we had my birthday dinner with Carrie at our favorite curry house, Hurry Curry. But we were too fatty for boba afterwards. Carrie gave me a red polo from Banana (even though I told her not to), and made me Flan! What a girl... she's a keeper! Stay around til 1:00 then went home. Got home around 2:00 and dicked around on the computer til 3:30. Now I'm paying for it at work.

Don't know what's going on tonight, the interns wanna head back out to the Boogie again then the strip bar... but I'm not too keen on going back to that strip bar.

2003-07-31T09:04:00.000-07:00

Played basketball with Luke, Jimmy, Guy, Andy, & Crockett afterwork yesterday. Then headed over to Ikea for another nightstand.

I also missed l0 calls from Carrie last night... I'm in trouble.

Today is my birthday!!!

2003-07-30T10:26:00.000-07:00

Hung my Tsunami wave picture up and went to Fry's last night to pick up a new video card and some thermal glue-thing for the processor. Damn that computer is killing me. Nothing much after that... just hung around. I think I might go surf afterwork today.

2003-07-29T08:30:00.000-07:00

Balled up after work yesterday with Jimmy, Guy, Kalexin, Luke, & Andy.