J's left ankle is healing somewhat. He's hobbling around now. He tried to drive his miata the other day around the block and he said it was truly painful. But then he's got a special sports clutch on his car. He drove my civic and did well to downtown PA.

The other day we headed up to the city to go see Vienna Teng and The Animators. But before the concert we headed to Nob Hill to pick up a futon. Kind of looks like a nice version of the one I had growing up. Strange since J was the one who found it online, courtesy of Craigslist. Well Nob Hill vs. the newbie manual shift driver, aka ME. I survived and did well. Of course with my trusty parking brakes I did ok. Of course my heart was racing especially since this lady lived on Mason/Sacramento I thought I was going to slide back into the taxi that was tailgating me. Even the volvo wagon in front of me was sliding back and it was an automatic! Argh! But I survived and feel a little confident too about where things are since we had to navigate to Noe Valley to hang with J's sister and brother-in-law. We had a ton of fun hanging out and J/P survived the Teng concert. It was a strange venue, The Indepedent, for a cafe style Vienna Teng. Oh well The Animators were awesome, even got their CD. Can't wait to get their next one which was just being recorded the week before.

Interesting article from SFGATE about the pressures of growing up early generation asian american.

Inside the Asian Pressure Cooker
Pueng Vongs, Pacific News Service - August 27, 2005

I could imagine that Whitney High School down in Cerritos, CA(my alma mater) was definitely a school full of asian/pacific/southeast asian americans trying to fulfill their parents dreams of successful kids pursuing high pay high demand careers. I remember one girl couldn't go to prom because she got a B+ on an exam. Even for the 2 years there, suicide attempts, fairly sophisticated cheating, and very depressed kids were somewhat common. It was sad but the pressure was so real. Of course most of my classmates landed their Ivy League or UC schools but I often wonder long term the pressure of such high demand parents. It was even real for me...but I didn't give in. It comes back to who really has to end up with all the work and constant demands of the work.

I got myself an oven thermometer since I had this strong feeling the oven didn't get as hot as it used to. So I made lasagna yesterday and preheated the oven. Looked at the new gadget and it was off by 50degrees. Now that's odd...so I crank up the oven and it still didn't get there even when I cranked it up by 50 degrees. Maybe my oven feels it doesn't want to be hot anymore. Maybe it's jealous of the bbq grill. I didn't know appliances could be so tempermental. Oooh...I feel a new kid story on the verge of being born...

First the microwave sibling rivarly...the oversized fridge that sometimes I even need a step ladder to get to the top shelf....and the floor that doesn't stay white...argh. Hoping to redo the kitchen next year...

10 minutes turns into 45 minutes that turns into 2 hours...people who want to run a service business really can't afford to let potential new clients to wait for that long. I'm more than willing to cross you off my vendor list if you're that long. What kind of first impression is that and to even think you'll get any business from me is just short out of luck. Even doctor's offices these days are more mindful of you waiting even 10 minutes. The other industry doing better is delivery services. They used to give a 4 hour window now it's 2 hours and they even call you when they are 30 minutes away. I think cable and utilities are still the long wait folks. But how long are you willing to wait? 15 minutes with a call...as long as the person honestly tells me they will be 2 hours late i just reschedule. What do they think that everyone just sits around and wait?

Waaaaahhhh!!!!

I don't want to buy it off their site...point me to a SF Bay Area Trippen retailer.

No One Ever Slaved Over a Hot Toaster Oven
NY Times.com
Melissa Clar, August 24, 2005

I'm going to have to try the dishes she made using her toaster oven. I've been grilling alot this summer since when the stove/oven heats up the whole house gets too warm. But I never thought to try the various features on my toaster oven(kitchen aid) except for toasting or reheating a slice of pizza(love how it keeps the crust crunchy).

Some folks swear by it. You know the folks who have extreme migraine headaches who opt out of the self-injections but go for the medically prescribed stuff. I remember reading somewhere that it's like the gold ticket for curing migraine headaches. Well for me I think it induces headaches. My neighbor's house guest (no it's not Kato) smokes his special stuff every afternoon around 3 or 4pm.

My desk is by the backdoor so I definitely get a nice whiff of it and my headaches start to act up. I don't know what it is. In college, most folks smoked it and it didn't do anything for me...but now my headaches put me into a tailspin and I have to keep the windows shut all afternoon. I can't even enjoy my backyard. I'm super bummed. Can't someone just make him some special brownies!!!!

I miss my 94 gold camry. I guess there were many made for that year because I see many of them in and around where I live. It's funny because it's been a year since I sold mine. It went to a neighbor around the corner but when we came back from HK they didn't have it anymore. I used to like seeing it parked out in front of their house. I wish I told them if they decide to sell it that I would take it back, but they probably sold it while we were gone. So when I see a 94 camry in the same color I try to see if it is the same license plate. Now I just wonder if I should go on the waiting list for the hybrid camry. They look really nice but the price is just so out there. Or perhaps I just give in and get a used 94 camry. I miss the capacity of hauling. The Civic is not anywhere close to the same capacity. Oh well just move forward and continue my research for V70Rs, Siennas, or Odysseys.

I hate it when people make those kinds of comments when you're buying desserts for a party.

There was a guy at Safeway impatient to get a price check at the bakery section. I didn't say much...just that it wasn't for me...J said I should have asked him if he was going to eat all those nitrites since he had a package of ham and sausages in his hand.

I mind my own business when I shop...

There's a new deluxe librarian action figure available!

Comes with her own computer and a more diverse set of books...and yes she still shushes!

UPDATE: I got my own in the mail last week. I'm super excited. I've put it on top of my bookcase.

All these past couple of weeks I was a bit frustrated...actually frustrated sounds too negative. I guess I was just a bit thrown out of the loop when my intended project got pushed out a few more months. I was kind of expecting to get started part-time and then go full-time in the fall. Sort of ease into things since I haven't worked since I quit last summer.

Well life at home has been really fun. You know redecorating and playing general contractor to minor projects. I'm really amazed at the differences in just 3 months. We're still getting new doors and adding windows shortly. But the thing is everything is winding down and I was hoping to work to challenge myself in a different way.

Well God had a reason for that change in my work situation. Last weekend J got into a vball accident and at first we thought he sprained his ankle. Nope, confirmation from podiatrist today said that it looks more like a fracture. So looks like several weeks in crutches with a couple weeks in a cast after a surgery to put Ti pins in his ankle. Sounds painful. What about going through the airport screening? It's his left foot, so that means with our manual shift cars that he won't be able to drive for several weeks. Which comes back to why I think God had reasons for me not working. It would have been quite frustrating to drive him all the way up to SSF and then come all the way back down to Milpitas for my project. More reason I have trust in Him for all things that happen in my life. So every day I've been praying to find out what's planned for me, to make itself real. And then "BAM!" I realize it's to serve in any way to anybody anywhere.

Here are a list of books I'm selling on Amazon.

What Should I do with My Life?

The Sixteen Pleasures: A Novel

Without Reservations: The Travels of an Indepedent Woman

The Millionaire Mind

The Millionaire Next Door

Will be posting more as I get through the boxes of books.

I think the whine is back!

So I keep thinking I can get back into the saddle of IA work, but somehow the writing projects come to the front. I'm not sure if I'll ever be back in IA when the track record seems to be directing me closer to the writing. Ok I put my arms up in the air and just remind myself, "I"M NOT IN CONTROL."

I can be pretty overconfident sometimes about my abilities but it's not documented in the same way as traditional IA folks are. Like I can show you a great excel spreadsheet of a taxonomy project I did last year and then describe the card sort exercises we did on business topics, but heck my IA and interaction design portfolio is of some really old stuff like 4 years old. Gosh who would have thought that 3.5 years doing management work would challenge me getting a job in the trenches. And then I remind myself that maybe it's not the trenches where I should be, perhaps it's more project management and relationship building in the context of product development...who knows. I think this week is going to be a contemplation week, aka whine.

I guess I can tap the IA network again but my heart seems to be growing more towards the 2 picturebooks I have in hand. Now I guess I need to rewrite/edit/review and start my assembly line for publshing house submissions and attending the many workshops and get togethers in the SCBWI community.

It's starting all over again. The excitement of meeting new people, finding out who are the stars, reading up on the "how to's" and of course attending my annual conferences. Maybe I should do websites in the next month, one for my IA portfolio and one for my writing. Right now I think whining is helping me get through this.

Or maybe I should accept the fact that I'm a comfortable housewife dabbling in the stock market. Yes with a hired housekeeper. "Ngoh haih tai-tai" Now I just need to find a group of housewives who are free for book clubs/hikes during the day/lunch/or afternoon tea. Perhaps Hong Kong is really where I need to be, dim sum every other day, tai chi at the local park, tea in the afternoon, life drawing classes at the Y, writing workshops at the local club... It also seems that there are more tai-tai in HK.

So if you're a stay-at-home mom, unemployed, in between projects, housewife, or indepedently wealthy, I'm free for day activities or travels to NY/HK/Europe j/k :)

Highs:
Hung out with cousin doing a program in DC.
Hung out with best friend in DC.
Lunch with best friend at the Department of State Dining Hall...and no this wasn't just your cafeteria...this was really swank dining room with view of The Mall.
International Spy Museum - pretty cool
Taking public transportation and missing Hong Kong again.
Getting lots done at the house.
Great pasta dinner made by 3 girls from church.
Will probably start drawing sessions again next week.

Lows:
Project put on hold for 3 months, would like to find some contract work again. However no work means I can travel with Jeff to TX and NM.
Need to put my business website/potfolio together.
Spiders everywhere around the house!
One day garage sale = $35 in sales.