December 2004

12.27.04, Monday:

[07:15pm] A holiday weekend indeed! ^_^ On Saturday, the Lau Family Christmas Party was goin' down here in da city of C. ^_^ Almost 50 people packed into our home, filling every nook and cranny - from the garage, to the kitchen, living room, dining room, family room, loft, and even in some of the upstairs bedrooms (for the babies that ended up sleeping or got their diapers changed during the night). But was it fun? Indeed it was! I love my family gatherings...the Laus are all funny, funny people! ^_^ Included in the party were DVD and his family, Fred and Jamie, and some of the Lee's (my mom's side) that are here and not in HK, ha ha...like my Auntie Rosa, Uncle Simon, and cousins Anthony and Andrew, and my cousin Simon. We had a GREAT deal of food, including those heavenly pig ears, some dried dates stuffed with walnuts, FOUR giant hams, and a million other things. My mom made her famous "West Lake Beef Soup", and I made two Mango Mousse Cakes. Both of our contributions were hits. =)

I have no pics...I need to get a new battery for this camera, because it runs out too quickly now. But others have pics, and I hope they send them to me soon!!! ^_^

Grace and her family came too! My goodness, I've not seen this cousin of mine in like forever! It was good to see her, but I didn't even get much of a chance to chat with her, because there were too many things that my mom wanted me to help with, all at once, hee hee. But it was still good to see her finally, and hey, I should hang out with her sometime on the west side. =) Like if I ever get the chance to visit other westsiders, like Lorie, or even Tawnya and Romani! ^_^

How I love these yearly parties, even if we did stay up late cleaning up and were dead tired the next morning. It was worth it. =) We all woke up late the next day, but still got to church on time. We lugged with us several trays of dessert goodies - cookies, chocolate, cake, everything! - left over from the party, hee hee...^_^ When I got home from church (amazingly, praise went better than I thought I could do. All praise Him, cuz it was all Him, no doubt! ^_^), my parents and I plopped into our beds and napped the rest of the time away. When I woke up, it was completely dark - the house was dark, and everyone was asleep, and my clock said 5:30. For the next five minutes, while walking around the house, I was completely confused as to if it was AM or PM, hee hee...I was certain it was PM at first, but then with the entire house sleeping and dark, I thought that wait...IS it AM? Did I sleep that long? Noooo way...Not until I went back upstairs and checked my cell phone did I see that it was PM. =) My bro wasn't even asleep - as it turns out, he went down to LA Fitness with the "Lee Musketeers". ^_^

I had dim sum with Heidi at our beloved Sam Woo's today, hee hee. Sooo yummy...=) Heidi, you must, must, must bring those flashcards, so I can make a "dim sum food pronunciation tape" for ya, hee hee...You did well on today's quiz, but you must be prepared for the final practical...! ^_^ Later in the afternoon, Tiffany and Ian dropped by to get some goods from me (I can't say what! Shh! Hee hee) before taking off for the rest of the afternoon. My bro is off with the Lee Musketeers, DVD and James, to Mammoth for the night...while tomorrow, we're all going to be off to Vegas. For the rest of the week, for me. Fun, fun...! ^_^

My mom trimmed my hair today, and took off like four inches. It's just below my shoulders now! Eh, it was really long anyways. Cut, grow, cut, grow...it's always in the same style. I like it though - it's so easy to take care of, hee hee. I'm not one for high maintenance hair. Or high maintenance anything, for that matter, hee hee...=) Sometimes I want a different style, but then I could never choose what, and then it just goes back to the same, either just shorter or longer depending on when I get it cut during the year. Usually, I cut it like twice or three times a year, and it grows right on back. It grows fast!

I'm sure by now you've all all heard of the Tsunami out in Asia, right? Aiya, so karazy...and so many people suffering...! =( Though I don't think they were in the affected areas, I hope that Alison and her family out in Malaysia are all alright...!

12.25.04, Saturday:

[08:55am] Merry Christmas! ^_^ Or in other words, Happy Birthday Jesus! ^_^ Christmas is much more than tradition, trees, decorations, shopping and yes, even family and food...! They're all a part of it, but not what makes Christmas, Christmas. =) Many of us know the story - basically, Jesus came on earth to be saccrificed as the perfect Lamb for all the sins of the world. Out of love, He allowed Himself to be humiliated, shamed and hated - the same way many of us would feel when we sin, when we're caught or not - by many, and then completely separated by God Himself the moment he took on the sins of the world (what happens to any of us when we sin; sin is separation from God and all that is good)...all that to die for us, whom He found worthy to die for, because He loved us purely and truly, unconditionally, despite our many flaws. Is it not in our nature to want to be loved and love? Are we not created in His image? The true meaning of Christmas is of this wonderful love that He has for us, and the least we could do is to return that love. Christmastime, family and food - they're important, yes, but they allow for us to show that love to those around us, and that's why I think it's become such an important part of these times. Even gifts  and decorations - though sometimes, people allow the whole gift-giving and decorating vendetta to cause more stress than joy that it can usually bring.

Have a wonderfully, blessed Christmas everyone, sharing in the joy and love that comes from Him! ^_^

12.24.04, Friday:

[10:20pm] Christmas Eve! Yay! =) Quick blog before going to watch Freaky Friday downstairs with my bro. =) Mello, Megan and I had Pho 79 for lunch...mmm...how I loooove that place! I've decided it's my number one favorite pho shop. =) Then we went off to the Santa Ana Zoo, where Ros gave us backstage access to lots of animals! From petting snakes, Smokey the Chinchilla (who loves to be pet! So cute!), Prickles the Hedgehog (who IS prickly and didn't like to be pet so much), baby goats, talking to Gumby, the Yellow Headed Amazon (who says "Batman!!!" after you sing the song for it, and can say things like "My name is Gumby! What kind of bird are YOU? I'm an AMAZON!")...taking pictures of a rooster head-on, petting really soft guanacos, seeing baby monkeys, birds that cry like a baby, and a million other fun things! ^_^ 

After, Ros and I chilled a bit at her place, then had Thairama dinner - Pineapple Fried Rice, Won Ton Soup, and an Appetizer Platter, before indulging in desserts and tea while watching Spy Kids. =) I liked the movie! =)

Still feeling sick. =( Bleah...

12.22.04, Wednesday:

[11:15pm] Happy Birthday Calvin! =)

Went to Macaroni Grill for dinner tonight, and got to see Mei-Chi! =) The food was alright...good, but not wonderful at all, and the Tiramisu, my goodness, wasn't very good. The little coffee ground pieces almost choked and killed me in the first place, and the rest of it was dry. No cream, no nothing. =( Sad. =( Food was eh, but company was great! ^_~

12.21.04, Tuesday:

[6:37pm] Ooo! Must blog...adventures in table delivering...went to Mello's, where Shelton met up with us to take the table down and into our cars for transport. Mello and Megan gave us blended Pina Coladas (non-alcoholic, as Megan said! Hee hee...) for our efforts. Mmm! I'm going to Vons to get me some mix too! ^_^ Then Shelton and I were off to Tustin, to drop off the table and reassemble it. Now, he has a full dining table, complete with chairs, and even some chair mats! ^_^ We finally ate at Chick-fil-A. The consensus was that we liked. =) Their chicken sandwiches, though white meat, were juicy and big, and their chicken nuggets were like, REAL chicken, unlike the usual chicken nuggets (although I DO like McDonald's Chicken McNuggets too!). They even only put one pickle in my sandwich (which I'm sure many would say is a bad thing), whereas Shelton got three slices. I don't like pickles, so I was happy that I only had one, and gave it away to him anyways - they can mind read, almost. =) I don't think it's THAT much healthier than any other fried chicken sandwich, but it was still good. =) It'd be nice if they had some options available, like lettuce on it, or some melted swiss cheese...or to make them spicy fried! Heh heh...^_^ Overall, I was happy with the meal, and next time, I'd get some waffle fries to go with it, because they look so cool. =)

I still have that coupon book with a buy-one-Fatburger-get-one-free sticker in it...hee hee...I'm up for Fatburger anytime, as I've not had it in a while, and there's one in Corona now. =)

[3:52pm] "Like, gag me with a spoon!" Does anyone remember that??? I don't know why, but that phrase popped up in my head, hee hee. Today, I said something (I forgot what it was) and then ended it with "(some comment), man!". How long has it been since that was around? Hee hee. At least that was a decade after the spoon phrase. ^_^

Enjoy some catch phrases from 80's TV. My favorites included Megatron's, He-Man, Fozzie's, TMNJ, Steve Urkel, the "We Ride" one, and soooo many others...spare some time to read and remember, ha ha...^_^ I guess next time I'm angry with someone, I can get my posse and we can all say in unison: "Care Bears Stare!" while glaring menacingly at our victim...hee hee...^_^

Anyways, it's Winter Solstice today. It's a big Chinese dinner day thing. I don't think we've had dinner for this before, but then again, maybe I'm just forgetting it. =)

[8:33am] Went to eat dinner last night with Fred, DVD, James, Simon and my bro down at BJ's in San Berdoo! Ewww. Their food completely didn't impress me...so sad, because I was hungry, and hoping for something warm and yummy...! My bro and I shared baby back ribs, which had good flavor, but it wasn't juicy. Instead, it tasted old and dried, and their creamy garlic mashed potatoes were more dry, chunky, and barely warm. *sigh* Fred's food didn't come out that well either - the meatloaf was also barely warm, and the mashed potatoes were the same, and the gravy was burnt. The clam chowder was tasty though, and everyone else's food was within standards. Oh well...it was still fun to hang out for dinner though. After, all of us sans Fred went to Simon's apartment and played Texas Hold 'Em for a bit. I never knew how to play, so I learned, and won the second game, ha ha...! ^_^ I'm ready for Vegas, baby!!! j/k j/k...it's much easier to play with colorful chips than real money, right? ^_~

Delivering a table today, so I gotta bounce, like a fat boy loves cake! ^_^

12.20.04, Monday:

[3:43pm] Mmm...I just consumed the most gooey, wonderfully warm and splendid pasta for lunch! I made penne with some pesto, sautéed with red onions, mushrooms, and green onions...sprinkled with black pepper, and generously cooked with mozzarella cheese...yummy! The cheese got crazy-stringy...which made it all the more fun to eat! ^_^ It was a well earned lunch though - I drove around for several hours this morning, delivering Christmas gifts for my parents all over SoCal, and then stopped to pick up our Honeybaked Ham for the Christmas Party this weekend, and refund something from Target for my parents (a blade sharpener: my dad likes gadgets; my mom complained that it takes up too much space; my dad used it to sharpen a blade or two...shhh!...and sent me on my merry way to return it!). Needless to say, I was hungry when I got home. =)

Having cheese in the house (I bought some last weekend) certainly makes me wonder about its nutritional value (can't help that. Nutrition is fun. Especially the eating part!). Besides the calcium intake, what would be the world's "healthiest" cheese? As it turns out Mozzarella is pretty good candidate. Moderation though, like anything, is important, I'm sure. ^_^ I also found "100 Healthiest Foods". I'm sure we eat almost all of these, hee hee...but it's how you cook it, right? I like tempura anything - even with eggplants - but even that could give me a heart attack if I only have that. =)

I haven't updated in a week? Woah! Heh heh...Well...last week was pretty hectic, working long work days and what not. But come Friday, and it was break! Yay! =) Friday night, we had the College/Career Fellowship Party - about 16 and some people were over, which is a pretty big crowd. We had a delicious potluck dinner (I made cinnamon apple cider, Heidi's spinach salad, and a steamed catfish!) that included three pizzas, duck, little wrap hors d'oeuvres, rice and bok choy/chinese sausage mix, ribs, lime chicken wings, lasagna, and everything else imaginable to your taste buds! ^_^ Besides playing games and chatting, we had our white elephant gift exchange - the most popular items were the big stufffed bear (dog?), a hammer, a moshi pillow, and the Brita water filter. =) Tiffany also announced her move to Hawaii - how I'll miss ya girlie! Towards the end, a few of us took off to watch House of Flying Daggers at Ontario Mills till the wee hours of the next morning.

On Saturday, Takako and I went down to Victoria Gardens (my goodness. This is the THIRD week in a row I've been there. It's nice, but dang, I can't keep going there! Heh heh...) to chill and hang out, and to have lunch in the Food Hall. =) 'Twas fun, especially finding excellently priced ice cream bowls for one of her friends! ^_^ After relaxing for a bit at home, Shelton and I went off to his work's Christmas party, at a fancy house located on the hilltops of ritzy Laguna Beach. It was fun! I got to practice some Chinese with XiaoSan's wife (I liked her particularly!), play with the good doctor's dog, Bianca, check out their view from their giant, brick laid balcony, and enjoy Cambodian dining. There were the famed quails plate, where you get a whole little roasted quail that had its head still attached on it - the wings were so tiny, I just ate the whole thing, bones and all, because you couldn't even separate the meat from it! Heh heh...^_^ There was some educational documentary on Cambodia on the LDC projector during dinner, which was later switched to Cambodian karaoke...hee hee...that didn't last too long. That soon got switched to a bunch of other Karaoke songs, including oldies and ABBA. ^_^

Church on Sunday included the Youth's Secret Santa Gift Exchange. Chris had me, hee hee, and he gave me a bling-bling pin in the shape of a bee - I can wear it when I teach! ^_^ It was a busy Sunday, but fun - gift giving, hanging out, and clean-up duty, as well as some newcomers. =) After, my mom spent what seemed like forever at Kohl's buying gifts for people, hee hee...we delivered a dress to Maile on our way back (she was outside playing. Maile and Noelani are both the cutest little nieces I could ever ask for! ^_^), before going home to wrap a few things...and then taking off to Kevin's for Fellowship! This time, we had a Beijing dinner, cooked by Kevin's mom, which included the fried eggplants and corn/green onion/egg drop soup. When we got home, my bro and I watched "I, Robot"  (really good!) until the wee hours of this morning as well. Yeah...it was a nonstop day...but perfectly fine with me - no work the next day, and having the chance to spend time with wonderful people! =)

12.13.04, Monday:

[8:27pm] Mmm...yay! I'm more than happy about this...finally, one that's a little bit closer...^_^

12.12.04, Sunday:

[9:35pm] Happy Birthday to Kevin! ^_^

Though it's been an activity-filled weekend, it was also lots of fun, spent with dear, dear friends everywhere! =)

On Saturday, I had dim sum with Crystal and her mom, down in Monterey Park! Mmm...dim sum is one of the best inventions ever, eh? =) When I got home, my bro, Shelton, Kevin and I headed down to Victoria Gardens. We got lost on Foothill (aka Route 66), and ended up passing all sorts of interesting things, including a man wearing a hat made of cheese, who was selling more cheese hats (Green Bay Packers fan) for more than we were willing to pay for (we didn't care for the Packers...we just liked the hat!), and Bono's Historic Orange. We finally arrived at VG after asking for directions from some African Americans at a gas station - hee hee...you DO know the joke of how Asians are supposedly afraid of black people, right? And when it looked like I had disappeared, Kevin came out to check and see if I was still alive, muah ha...! ^_^

At VG, in the day time, and without rain, it looks a lot like the main street area in Disneyland, where you're in your own little world. It should be pretty neat once everything else is built up too. I like it - I'm glad there's one of these down in the Inland Empire. =) We picked up two pagers for dinner, and decided to go with Yard House when we saw that they had more chicken wings than Lucille's BBQ. Kevin was in a chicken wings mood. =) We filled up on appetizers - the Jamaican Jerk Wings (not so great - too dry!), Bufffalo Wings (spicy and tasty!), Firecracker Wings (flavorful and our favorite for the night), a Hawaiian Poke stack (just alright...wasabi killed my bro...hee hee...), a Sea Scallop and Ahi Sashimi (actually pretty good!), and warm and creamy Spinach Cheese Dip! I enjoyed my Cherry Lemonade there as well - tangy and tart. ^_^ Thus, we celebrated the December birthdays! =)

After some shopping (and running into a student from last year, Travis!), we got home in time to relax a little with people that came from church for the Chinese Fellowship, and then exchange gifts in a White Elephant exchange, hang out and chat, and clean up in the end! =)

Today was also a long day - church, clean-up duty, practicing for worship, and then Targetting with my bro and Shelton before coming home. If I've said it once, I'm going to say it again, hee hee...I'm going to die next year...! January starts off with going back to the Governing Board, officially as a Secretary, as well as teaching Sunday School for the Junior Highers (which means I can't sub for the high schoolers at that time - sorry guys!). Back to teaching after break, and planning for Winter Camp (youth, and maybe, predictably, for CCF as well...!)...at least I'm not studying for the MCATs and volunteering on top of all that this time, hee hee...well...teaching covers most of that, right? =Þ

Ooo...must put up...Shelton did an orange smile with me, hee hee hee...^_^ AND, the smallest apple I've ever seen is found at our house for now...until it's eaten, muah ha...and while we're on the subject of pictures....here's the poster that my bro got me a long time ago, hanging above the computer. It's titled "The Key to Life Is Balance". =)

12.08.04, Wednesday:

[10:25pm] Happy Birthday to my brother! ^_^

After work, I stopped at Kohl's. I had a coupon for a free mascara! Hee hee...I don't ever really use mascara...but it was freeeeee...and that makes all the difference. =) Then I went to Target to get toothpaste - and they had it on sale! 3 for $5! Woot woot...! ^_^ And then, I went to Staples, where I spent my $10 gift certificate (I seem to get a lot of these. Those teacher reward points are useful, and I usually only go there to get ink, which I'm compensated for. ^_^). I can't say what I got, because I got something for my Secret Santa at RCAC...but it was something neat. =) Basically, I racked up on my free stuff today. =)

I did no schoolwork today when I came home...my goodness...I came home, wrapped a ton of gifts and made cards all evening, and then decorated the Christmas tree. Hmm. Nobody helped me. Bleah. But it's okay...it looks as nice as I can get it, and I added the only ornaments we have in the house - 3 that I have that were gifts from friends, ha ha...^_^

Okay...I think I will turn in early tonight...^_^

12.06.04, Monday:

[06:25pm] Saturday was Sally's birthday, and Sunday was Josh's - Happy Birthday Sally and Josh! ^_^ It's raining lightly around here, and though it's nice, the coldness of it also made the crack in my car window get bigger. I got in my car this morning to find that crack spreading a scary lookin' line across the bottom on my windshield...oy...must...fix...I have a few things on my car that I want to take of this coming Saturday, including that window and giving it new tires. My old ones are wearing thin, and I'm having paranoid thoughts of my tires blowing out, and now my window cracking in my face. =P

I spent the weekend at Jenny's! So much fun! It included good food - "Chinese&qquot; quesadillas and blueberry waffles, for example - and lots of good chats on everything possible, from girlie things to life and relationships amongst people and the church, and well, lots of important stuff...=) We also went shopping at Victoria Gardens. It's so cute! Like a downtown style shopping district, and almost like a little city in itself, as it's going to have a cultural center (for Broadway musicals and such!), apartments, a library, and of course, food and shops. There was even a little town center where there are fountains and snowfalls for the month, hee hee...There wasn't TOO much snow, but then again, it was starting to rain then, and it DID rain later in the night. =P We had a Pear and Gorgonzola pizza at CPK - wow! It was tasty! I liked it quite a lot...! ^_^ Aw, I'm sure it'd be expensive to live there...and if it's only apartments to rent, and not for sale like in the cities...then...bleah...this teacher here ain't gettin' paid enough for a place there, hee hee...=P

We went off to Ralm's for pool shooting and fellowship, hee hee...and some really tasty food, like salmon spaghetti and yummy, fatty style pork ribs. Mmm. My mom made soup for tonight as well - how I loooove soup on cold days...it's one of the best things about cold days, ya know? =)

I know many may think I'm graceful, but I'm prone to clumsiness, hee hee...I regularly sport bruises (the most recent being Friday, when I banged my knee into my desk at work) and my appendages are always flailing about somehow. This morning, I almost tripped off the stairs as I was rushing upstairs in my bear slippers. I slipped off a stair, and luckily, caught myself before falling face and shin down onto the stairs. Anyways, as a result, sometimes, people around me may be injured too. Poor Shelton...I elbowed him in the face this weekend when again, my limbs were flying about, hee hee hee... Quite unintentionally, might I add. And yet, here he is, still putting up with me...=)

I guess one thing is good - I've never had a broken bone. The worse thing that has happened was when I sprained my ankle back in 2000, running down a snow-filled hill, hee hee...=) I guess it balances with bruises and cuts. =P

Mmm...dinner time...and then massive grading...I'm being evaluated again tomorrow - we're just passing papers back and reflecting on the past trimester, and making a poster. I think it will be good, because reflection is important. But we'll see...

12.02.04, Thursday:

[06:53pm] It's December! ^_^ How I love this month...full of birthdays (Happy Birthday Wendy! ^_^), cold weather, and always lots of things to do, like shopping, wrapping gifts, enjoying hot chocolate and warm apple cider, the meaning of Christmas, that warm feeling you have when you're hanging out with friends and relatives, and a nice two weeks off at the end...^_^

Femi's off in Chicago for the weekend...! Hee hee hee...I won't say why here, muah ha...but have fun, fun, fun, my friend! Or should I say, my "black friend", as I don't seem to have too many black friends for some strange reason. I don't do it on purpose...it just happened that way. =) Maybe, just maybe, because I'm Asian, I scare them (instead of the other way around? Hee hee...)! J/k j/k...^_^ I doubt he hangs out with many Asian people either, so it works out both ways. It was the BEST going to the movies to watch Rush Hour back in the days, so that he could root for Chris Tucker, and I could root for Jackie Chan, hee hee...^_^

Which reminds me...have any of you ever watched Jackie Chan Adventures? That's one of those more recent (kinda) cartoons that I doooo like, unlike that strange SpongeBob hyper-ventilating-self-ADHD-induced freak on TV...=P How I miss the days of Ducktales and those other 80's cartoons that I used to watch for hours, and hours...hee hee...^_^

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