Almost 2010

I purchased some ski clothes finally today. I was glad I found them cheaper and on top of that, came with a 20% off year-end blow-out discount. By all means they are still not cheap, but at least I got them at a good price. Dave and Jose decided to join the fun and have a thing on their own tomorrow night. Now I'm going to have to attend their gathering too. Jen is not going to be happy if I go to hers late. But oh well, sometimes, you just have to do what you can to make everybody happy. Of course that means you risk making everyone unhappy too! Ugh! It's so hard to be popular! Hahahahah!

Ski clothes

I was looking at ski clothes and accessories online today. I heard, but I didn't know they were so expensive! There's the jacket, pants, inner layer shirt, inner layer underwear, socks, goggles, helmet, etc. None of that stuff is cheap. I learned from Wayne that during the summer it's the best time to get ski gears, now, not so much. I'm going to try TJMaxx and Marshall's this week and see what I can find. If I'm only going to do this once, I'm not going to spend hundreds of dollars on the clothes. Hopefully I will find good stuff there that fit me.

Is it Sunday already?

I spent most of the day with Dave and Jose. They came over for lunch and we went to Fine Garden for some pure vegetarian bliss. Dave wanted to help me fix my kitchen sink, so we went to a local hardware store and got a washer set. Stopped by Starbucks to get Jose some latte, and Dave checked out the sales at Gamestop to see if there were any Wii games he wanted to have. Finally came back home and Dave fixed the leaking faucet in no time, but the sink disposal, not too much progress. Still, Dave truly is amazing.

We played this board game called Streetcar, it was a brainy one. I was not prepared for such mental exercise, at all. We had to figure out the routes, the directions, how to block others, what would be the quickest way to reach the necessary destinations, etc. It was too much strategy and too tough for me! Of course Jose won! I don't think I'm going to play Streetcar again. They bought a pumpkin pie from Costco, and we all had a slice. It was yummy! For $5.99, it's the best pumpkin pie I've had in a long time. While we were talking about what to do for dinner Dave found a film adaptation of La Boheme showing on PBS, so we all watched the last 20 minutes. It was very emotional, and Dave loved it. I was half asleep though. I think I probably overused my head during the game, hahaha! We finally decided to go to Mandarin Deli for some home-cooked style Chinese food. It was quite delicious! Especially the tofu claypot, it completely warmed our bodies and spirits, and definitely helped Dave's sinus quite a bit. Wait. Is it Sunday already?! I really wish the holidays would stay longer!

PK's dinner party

I stayed home mostly today. Went to the gym and unfortunately one of the stinkiest guys decided to use the machine next to mine. Oh it was horrible. I had to turn my head sideways to try to avoid his stench. I don't know why some people just don't sense how stinky they smell! I shopped a little for myself and PK's party after exercising, and dropped by his place to give him many bottles of soda. Then I came home, fixed myself some food and relaxed a little bit before going back to his pad again. A lot of people showed up, it was nice to see PK feel good in his upgraded apartment and be a very enthusiastic party host. I stayed 'til a little after 10pm. Now I'm home and feeling tired. I wish the holidays are here to stay. They are going too fast!

Merry X'mas Baby

Last night went very well. The dinner at Lu's Garden was warm and comforting. There were 5 of us, Dave Jose Tim PK and me. We even re-ordered some of our favorites because we just finished them too quickly. Then to Chinese supermarket we went. There wasn't a big crowd, so we took our time walking and browsing the aisles. Tim got us a black forest cake for dessert, yay! We came back to my place and after a small ask-around, we decided on my DVD pick: The Hammer! Not 10 min in, Dave was liking it. And winning Dave over isn't easy. So I was relieved. Everyone enjoyed the film. We laughed lots. Adam Carolla is one funny dude, and this is a great small film. The cake was yummy, but Tim had to leave. We finally got to exchange presents, and I think I did well. Dave and Jose, even PK seemed to love the gifts I got them, yay! I love my presents too! X'mas (aka gift time) is awesome! Hahahaha! Today I just slept in for a bit. Woke up and cleaned a little. Of course I went back for another nap. Later I had dinner at Dave's with two of my favorite people. Dave made a white pizza and a red pizza, both with Christmas-y names. I liked the white one more! Cheesy with broccoli and sun dried tomatoes. Yummy stuff. He also baked a blueberry pear pie. Uber-yummy!!! We watched Whatever Happened to Baby Jane... Jose didn't like it too much. It was campy and funny at times, but yea, it's a little long and characters are not very bright. Sorry Bette and sorry Joan! I came home right before 11 and am thinking how blessed I am to have this many great friends. I am so happy too that I don't have a lot to worry about, and I'm healthy & mostly satisfied. Ho ho ho... Happy Holidays to everyone!

Almost X'mas

Today was a slow but long one. I kept thinking it was ending, but it kept going. I think I finally got my last email out and I let out a big SIGH of relief. Not that I had anything fun or exciting planned for tonight. I just was glad it was all over. Tomorrow I'll be wrapping up presents. That's the most pointless part of gift-giving, at the same time, everybody does it. I suppose it does have a point: you kind of want the people who you're giving presents to to have that nanosecond of suspense, then bang! SURPRISE! I don't know how I'm doing on the wrapping paper though, hopefully I have enough.

The Feast has begun

I went to Dave's tonight. Wednesday is usually our night to hang out, but given that we are going to eat every night this week, it is good to skip tomorrow and give our tummies a break. Dave baked his famous vegan turkey tonight, and there were also other side dishes to go with the "bird." Corn, mashed potatoes, gravy, pecan pie, and "baby Jesus" bread. There was organic "no sulfur" red wine too. It was truly a mini-feast. And what a way to kick off the holidays. We watched Shaun of the Sheep, which was very Nick Park and Wallace & Gromit. We chatted about my phone selling, which wasn't going very well. Jose and Dave recommended that I get a T-Mobile prepaid card and just use it with my old Sony phone. What a splendid idea! I might do just that. This will save me a few hundreds for sure.

Selling my phone

I made a big decision. Well, not that big a decision but a significant one nevertheless. I decided to sell my cellphone and possibly go back to T-Mobile. My MetroPCS phone is not bad, but the coverage is just too spotty. Anyway, hopefully someone will pay a good price for it. Two months of owning this phone, I'm surprised I do not feel attached to it at all. I'm just not that satisfied. It is less expensive per month, but sometimes it's not just about the cost. Of course, I will have to transfer all my numbers to my new phone somehow, if someone buys it. Probably will go to the store tomorrow, armed with Dave and Jose's opinions. Haha, maybe that's not a great idea? I can just imagine they disagree and I end up having to choose two phones. Fun times! We'll see.

Family Party

The party at Anjelo and Regina's was a lot of fun. It started out a little tense for some of us, because one of Dave's past acquaintances was sitting on the couch. I felt a little awkward, but in the end we were fine. Anjelo's family was super friendly and gracious. Dave made this amazing vegan turkey, or "quail" dish that was a big hit. Regina's sweet marshmallow potato also rocked the party. Everyone had a great time meeting each other and enjoyed the food. We also played a boardgame called Apples to Apples, that started out a little slow but won everyone over once we all "got" the game.

Today I slept in 'til 10:30, was kind of happy about that. Woke up and booked the tickets to Seattle. Checked work emails and answered a few. It was a slow start. The gym was not busy at all. Came back and made myself some salad. Caretas and Eduardo gave me some steak and sausage right off their grill. So I ate some more :) Met up with Sylvia and gave her her present. She was screaming in joy when she saw the camera case. That was a good sign. We went to the mall, which was not very smart. There were so many people! The lines were just crazy. At the same time, it was good to see that people are shopping and spending to save America's economy! After that we went to see my dad's friend so I could get pineapple cakes from him. Could I pack any more driving into this evening? We had dinner with Dave and Jose at Hong Yei, again a great time. Then I took Sylvia back to where she parked her car, all the way back in Rowland Heights. Finally came back home after 10PM. Lots of driving today it seemed! Still, a wonderful day to spend with friends and have laughs with each other.

Full Saturday

So glad the weekend's here. Yesterday work was kind of weird and intense. It sure made the day more eventful. Later went out with PK and David for some frozen yogurt. Then we went to PK's for some chat and gossip. For some reason, hanging out at PK's always involves watching Youtube at some point. We did that again last night. Some were fun, some were kind of dumb. I would love to sleep in some more this morning, but my routine wouldn't allow me to. Woke up fairly early and spent a good amount of time online reading and emailing. Did a little of apartment hunting too, nothing good it seemed. Whatever happens it will work out just fine. Later I'm going to meet with Judy. She just got back and is going to bring me some yummy snacks. After that I have to run to get a cake or dessert, then head out to Dave's. We are going to visit Anjelo and Regina. A nice full Saturday this is going to be.

Scoops finally!

Finally went to check out Upright Citizens Brigade last night with Dave and Jose. It was not good. I barely laughed. The jokes were flat and unoriginal. We were there to support one of Dave's actor friends from his theater show. I was going to say a lot of negative things but Jose did it for me. Secretly I thought if this was one of my friend's show, or one of my films or tv show, Dave would tear it apart immediately and ruthlessly. He was actually not too mean about the whole thing, I guess he liked the actor friend. We had Thai food at Yai's, which was just okay. I used to love the food there a lot, last night it was a little disappointing. Lastly we went to Scoops for some mind-blowing ice cream. I had pomegranate & marscapone cheese and vegan caramel & Oreo cookie. They were SO good! Totally made up the disappointment that was the "comedy" and dinner.

Nice apartment

So tired from work today. So glad the weekend's here. The rain is falling. The temperature is still freezing. It's going to be slow, cold, and barely movable. Speaking of moving, I saw one of the better apartments tonight. Caretas came with me. It was a very nice unit. Too bad the carpet was all dirty even though the owner claimed they steam cleaned it twice. The walls were painted blue, from the living room to the bedroom. I am a fan of the color, just not sure I want the whole place to look like pool water. There's no in-house AC, so that means anyone who wants to live there will need to get two portable ones for each room. I also wished the garage would have washer and dryer, but oh well, it is what it is. I liked it, not enough to move into it. I guess that means I will stay. Until I find something I really love. Isn't one of life's big lessons is to love what you have? Let's see how well I can learn and appreciate this lesson.

Freezing

Got a phone call today from one of the apartments I checked. Again, they wanted more than I was willing to pay every month. It is starting to feel like more and more I should stay put, which really isn't a problem. After doing all the housing research in the area, it's probably a good idea to wait a while. LA rained finally yesterday. This year has been so dry. I suppose it's better now than never. Of course along with rain, the temperature just drops a few more notches. My bedroom becomes freezing every night and in the morning it's like I just slept in a refrigerator. Yea... So what was that about staying in this apartment again? Sigh. Nothing's truly perfect. I'm sure if I do move into a newer apartment I will most definitely find many things wrong with this room or that room. We'll see. I'm always open to change, but never forcing myself into one.

First day apartment hunting

I did a little apartment hunting this afternoon. It wasn't very successful. Although I did visit some nearby areas that looked very pretty. The apartments I saw or heard back from were either more expensive than mine, or not an 1 bedroom apt, or smaller than mine. It was disappointing, but I reminded myself this was just the first day. And also, I don't HAVE to move. I mean, it really depends. If there's something awesome out there and I happen to find it, great let's make a deal. But I'm not going to lose sleep over it. Then again, I probably will. I'm just complicated and contradictory like that.

Moving out

So my rent is going up finally. Is this a some kind of sign prompting me to get my butt out of this place? Not sure. I do think it's funny my landlord still has one unit vacant for months, and somehow decided that raising every tenant's rent was a sound idea. I used to like living here. I still do, to some extent. Then again, my "sinkerator" hasn't worked in a long time, my bedroom is always freezing because of the poor temperature insulation, my carpet feels old and gross, paint is falling off all over, I can go on and on. I do love Caretas, my awesome neighbor, who is mainly the reason I'm still here. Then again, consider that I live above two parking storage areas, and my landlord drives a big ass truck and that weird neighbor with the old beat up Nova that takes forever to get going and I get to hear all the lovely noises these two dumb gas-guzzlers make every morning and many nights... Yea it's time. I'll have two months to hunt down a place and get my stuff out of here. Done thinking about it. Now get on with it.