January 2005

01.31.05, Monday:

[08:18pm] It's the last day of the first month: the first will be last, and the last will be first, right? Happy Happy Birthday to my Dad!!! =) How blessed I am, to have such a wonderful father! ^_^ I mean, he takes care of all of us, in so many quiet, subtle ways, and yet, the impact of his presence is so big. Besides having excellent taste in food and humor, his gentle nature teaches and guides those around him. I really am lucky, because not everyone has a dad. Not everyone that has a dad has such a wonderful dad either.

And it makes me thankful to acknowledge how good I have it. The Lord has really blessed me with so much - sure, I don't have it all, but it's quite good enough, way more than sufficient, and I've had my share of sorrows, but it's nothing that can't be overcome, and I have the support of my family and friends. I figure that if I'm still alive and kickin', despite whatever things have happened in the past, then He's still got some use for me. So serve Him I will, all the days of my life. =)

We didn't go to Penang last night, but ended up going to one of my personal favorite places in the entire world! Diamond Palace Seafood, in Diamond Bar! Mmm. An exquisite birthday dinner of Crab and Fish Maw soup, Lobster (green onion and ginger stir-fry style), Sizzling Beef plate, Crispy Tofu, Dou Miao veggies, some type of steamed chicken, and bbq pork fried rice to go (for my bro, who was sick at home). Well worth the money. =) I think my family does tend to spend most of our money on food - groceries, or eating at Chinese places, hee hee. All still worth it - taste buds are happy, and the palate is always satisfied. =)

01.30.05, Sunday:

[03:48pm] A nice, lazy Sunday afternoon right now. I love these: the weather is neither hot nor cold - just a slightly breezy, temperate climate - my mom walking around downstairs in the kitchen, or upstairs doing whatever, and my dad snoring the day's cares away in a restful nap. My brother, well, he's almost always sleeping, which he is doing right now. And Birdie, who just flew over to the top of the front curtains, and is watching me in the loft as I type away this blog. In fact, we're whistling back and forth for now. =)

I got to see Giang Friday night and finally got to meet Sam! He has my stamp of approval, hee hee hee...^_^ We ate yummy Thai noodles at Thai House out in Redlands. Yum! It's always nice to hang out Giang, and I'm glad she's out here, so that we can hang out once in a while, at the very least, right? =)

Yesterday was pretty chillin'. The big event, I guess, was dinner at my aunt's house, where she had probably close to 50 people over for her church's fellowship. There was a giant potluck that we were invited to; however, because there were so many people, all of us, save my mom, ran back to our own house to eat. Hey, it's only across the street, right? ^_^ Shelton and I watched another one of those old Chinese movies on VHS, ha ha...this time, it was "Mistaken Identity", which is about a car crash that killed one, but destroyed the hands and face of another...they reconstructed the face of the living one, thinking he was the bad guy, but instead, it was just the driver of the car...and then things blew up. Hee hee. *wink* An interesting idea. =)

Today, church was bustlin' with our missionaries for the Missionary Breakfast and Tour. Though I missed out on the breakfast, I got to see their presentation during Sunday School, which is always neat. The Bolsers had been here before, and their stories from Indonesia are always fun to hear. =) Tonight, we're going out to Penang to celebrate my daddio's birthday tomorrow! Woot woot! ^_^

01.28.05, Friday:

[04:33pm] Happy Birthday Anna! =)

Took the day off today for much needed rest and relaxation. So very nice! Rain outside, but relaxed inside. Made those famous Ultimate Chocolate Chip Cookies, and they came out EXCELLENTLY! Come get one before it's too late! =) Going to try making some eggplant wrap thing for dinner tonight (yes, I dare try it!), and I made yummy corn and char-siu fried rice for lunch. The kitchen is definitely a place I love! =)

Another thing I love about days off is being able to watch Regis and Kelly in the morning, hee hee hee...

I've graded, will lesson plan, did some organizing and cleaning, thinking and reading (except I left my Driving Mr. Albert book at school, so I can't read it now...instead, I've been reading things online, like this and that, and THIS (grr!), and finding recipes to try out, muah ha ha...) and simply chillin'...

These days are needed. ^_^

01.26.05, Wednesday:

[06:15am] Mmm. I DID have the sticky chicken Gilbert. Tell your mom "Thanks!" for the little packets of goodness - they were yummy! =)

It's supposed to rain today! =)

Sometimes my cough seems to get better, and at other times, it seems to get worse. Sigh. =(

I bought this package of tortillas on Sunday. Nobody in the house really eats them, so it's up to me to eat them all before they mold, hee hee hee...I made a cheese and salmon quesadilla yesterday for lunch. Mmm! It was quite tasty, so I shall have to do it again this week! =)

The step class yesterday was changed to a S.E.T. class (Strength Endurance Training). My muscles aren't sore today, though I was half-expecting it to be, because we used so much weights! But it was fun, and I think Tuesdays after school would have to be a gym day from now on. =) I still like the Elliptical, and so there's more reason to go more often now too! ^_^

Oh yeah...I'm hooked on this little game...haven't hit it again since Sunday, but I know that if I do, I'll spend a few hours on more of these, muah ha ha! ^_^ It's from Shelton, who nabbed it from LV Melody. =)

01.25.05, Tuesday:

Yep yep...3 months...or about 19 years. ^_^ However you want to look at it. =)

25s are always nice. =)

YOU are absolutely wonderful! ^_^

Praise Him indeed! =)

01.23.05, Sunday:

[08:43pm] Hi hi! =) Highlights from this past week:

Happy Birthday to Kathleen, Fred, and Josiah! ^_^

I got fresh, FRESH veggies from the janitor who cleans my room at school. He is AWESOME! He goes down to Mexicali, and often tells me of how good the Chinese food is there (there are Chinese people there), and I always talk to him about Spanish/Mexican things. Anyways, he has a friend that has acres and acres of fresh asian veggies that is sold to Chinese markets up here. He promised to bring me some next time he went, and he DID! He brought me fresh and hugggge veggies, like ching gong choy (bok choy-ish), green onions, carrots, spinach, broccoli, and all that good stuff. =) In return, he got a fresh patty of turnip cake that my mom made the past weekend. He looooved it! =)

From out of nowhere, someone threw out to me a spontaneous judgement call...I was confused and a little shocked, because it was from someone that doesn't even really talk to me...or really knows me that well! But I realized, the more I thought about it, the angrier I got about it - so after some healthy venting to kind, kind ears, I was a-okay and it's long gone from my mind. =)

I didn't go hiking up to the C as I wanted to Friday night! I had dinner with Junko at Riverside's only Tapioca Express, and got home late and tired to go back out there to hike up what I heard was a strenuous mountain (I thought it was a hill...it seeeeeems small...hee hee...but I must be wrong, hee hee...^_^). Sorry I didn't get to go, guys...next time! I want to hike still! =)

Went back out to UCR with Shelton the next day to take the CPR and First Aid Class. My goodness...MT AGAIN??? I won't say his full name here - what if someone searched for him, and found this??? Actually, that might even be a good thing. Ha ha...but my goodness, it was a stupid 8 hours, and that is a nice term for what we went through...One mannequin for 17 people, because he thought it'd be too much trouble to monitor 17 adults to move from one room to the one next door to practice on the mannequins over there. Adults can act like middle schoolers, but hey, we paid money, and are more than willing to get our money's worth of education. So instead, we spent almost an hour every time we had to use the mannequin, and each of us would wait and take our turn while one person at a time would go up to explain each step and show the steps to the instructor (of which few of us could even see, since it was in the ground, on the front). However, there were good things that came out of it - I met this cute guy who invited me out to lunch (I think his name was Shelton? Hee hee...), had $1 Rubio's fish tacos, and we had dinner with Jin at Fugu, for some good though pricey Japanese food. I had the tempura dinner, and it was way too oily...not real tempura...probably accounts for an unsettled stomach later in the night...=( No more tempura for me, for a long, long while...Well, that and that I had all three meals out - though I didn't eat a LOT, it was still a lot of eating out. The Sausage and Egg McMuffin in the morning was well worth it though - haven't had one in ages! =)

Other neat things were that there were like 5 deaf students, and so it was fun watching the interpreters and the students go crazy with sign language! =)

Plus, I got to see Heidi, with her new hair shade. I love it! Heh heh...it's darker than before. Before you know it, she'll completely look her inner-Asian too! Yes! ^_^ She gave me a bunch of goodies, including Driving Mr. Albert - I can't wait to read it! ^_^

I came back that day to see that my parents went shoooopping for some excellent deals - like nice silk embroidery pictures for the house, and porcelain vases for my uncle's calligraphy. He did some nice ones, and they're in scrolls, rolled up. My mom had been looking for a nice vase for his work. ^_^ Besides that though, they got this really cool bike! It's small, and foldable too! I love it - it fits me so entirely perfectly! I wish I lived close enough to work where I could just bike there. I'd certainly do it. ^_^ It's been a long time since I've been on a bike - that bike helmet law pretty much stopped me from riding it back in middle school, because in my middle school mind, I thought it was entirely too dorky. =P

Today, I gave Anna, Lauren and Josh a ride. It was great! We infected Anna's mind with Phantom of the Opera. Yes! ^_^ And you should DEFINITELY go see it. =) Derrick popped in from the San Gabriel area as well! =) At church, Praise went AWESOME, and we Winter Camp Counselors had a good meeting together. Can't wait till Winter Camp...I hope it snows like crazy! Well, except when we're driving. ^_^

I think I'll turn in early tonight, for once. Woot woot! ^_^

01.18.05, Tuesday:

[09:03pm] I had such a lovely yesterday. ^_^ Shelton came out to hang out with me, and we went to the dreaded Wal-Mart *gasp*, Target (*sighs of adoration*) and Staples (to use my $10 gift check), as well as browse at a few other places along the way. We finally got to watch Phantom of the Opera (woo hoo! It was good. Though I still think the Phantom was somewhat psycho, and the girl plain stupid. But it's the classical-ness of it that I like, and still one of the first musicals that I've ever wanted, and still want, to see!), and had some yummy Lotus Garden for dinner. Nice. =)

Today? A long day. School. Quizzes. After-school help. Went to Starbuck's after, only because I didn't want to stay on campus - the last kid had left, and if I stayed, who knows if MORE will come and I'd be stuck there foreeeever...and since it's not a Monday or Thursday (my usual late days for student help), ha ha...I graded at Starbuck's, near the gym, because I wanted to try out the gym again, which was only about an hour and a half later, and I didn't want to go home, grade the quizzes, and then go back out East for it all. Anyways, there HAS to be life there after hip hop, right? So I tried out the Step class, and liked it. =) I also played with the Elliptical a bit - I was hesitant to try it, but you know what??? Since The Simpson's was playing on the TV right in front of the machine I was standing at...it made it waaaay easier to stay and watch the episode (about the "Be Sharps"!) while I fake-run for the half-hour. I have to admit, it's much more fun that really running, which I despise. It's kinda hypnotic, and at the same time, I can mindlessly entertain myself with premium television. =)

I might go again tomorrow to try out the SuperStreet class, although I don't want to go to Starbuck's and buy something from them. Not only can I afford it everyday, but I'm still not a big coffee fan, and buying water from them is too costly anyways. Maybe tea. I wonder if I can just sit there. Would they even know I'm there? Ha ha...probably...sigh...Any ideas???

01.16.05, Sunday:

[11:59pm] Sunday School was fun...we made a list of word we're used to saying, and I suddenly BANNED them as cuss words, ha ha...^_^ So our goal was to NOT say these words (our lesson was on taming our tongue, and godliness), such as "Yeah...Umm...Like...Okay...What?...Why?...". It was difficult. In fact, I got the most marks because the kids kept answering by staring at the board and concentrating on not saying them (thus talking was very laborious in Sunday School as well!), while I was just, well, talking to them instead, hee hee. =)

There were so few CCF'ers today at church! Only a small handful of us did Kitchen Duty - and there were tons of dishes today! Ed Lu commented on my fashionable attire for cleaning out the mops and mop bucket - I was wearing church clothes: a skirt, neat fishnet-ty stockings and ballet flats, ha ha...^_^ After that, we had to practice for next week's Praise Worship...then finally, I was able to do some chillin' at home for an hour and some before my bro and I picked up Rita at Loma Linda, and we went over to James' for Fellowship - waaaay out in Oak Hills, where my little SUV enjoyed a bit of off-roading to get to his lovely house. Lovely indeed, because it had a mini fountain inside, nice stone flooring, and music playing in the background. Eating the five-cheese lasagna dinner (with salad and garlic bread...and chocolate frosted vanilla cupcakes!) at his home was like eating in a fancy restaurant, hee hee. It was fun, as it was Rita's and Jin's first time to CCF, and Las Vegas Kevin and Derrick joining us too. =)

Yep. My Sundays are pretty much church-related. Especially on the 1st and 3rd Sundays (CCF; 3rd Sundays are Praise practices after lunch) and 2nd Sundays (Governing Board). 4th Sundays, we lead Praise Worship, but that happens during service, and is not at time consuming, I guess.

Wow! 12 campers for Winter Camp! And one of them is my student, who is Amy's best friend from forever! ^_^

I'm glad it's a day off tomorrow. Aren't many of you out there thinking the same thing? ^_^ Hooray for MLK - one person can make a difference. There's that quote from Ghandi: "Be the change you want to see in the world". Indeed!

 I will be doing a little bit of schoolwork; however, I still am thankful that though I don't work 9-5, I still get my occasional holidays. The only rough months with not a single day of break during the school year would be October and March. All the other months are wonderfully sprinkled with an occasional holiday, one way or another. =)

I got so many wonderful phone calls today - all in the same day! From Lorie...Yay! However, she won't be visiting tomorrow. =( Sometime soon, I sure hope...And I got a voicemail from Huy! Awesome! I will have to call you back soon!

I got another phone call, and it wasn't great news to hear. =( There was a problem going on somewhere...I wish I could do so much...I wish I could change things for them, make it better by doing this or that...but I can't...and it sucks when you see something going on and you want to right things, but you can't...=( The same thing is going on for one of the kids I used to student teaching - she seems so full of anger, hurt, and is going through so much...well...angst? I don't know the word. And it's like, I just want to FIX it and make everything okay. And those students of mine that I have now, that as a 13 year old, have more problems in their family than most of us will ever go through in a lifetime...or another person that seems SO bent and gung-ho on hating and disproving religion and the Bible for a reason that is unexplained (I know many who don't believe, but at least respect another person's religions; stop the hate...I think that I personally believe that love will show the way, and that's why it's so important to show God's love to those that don't believe. They'll at least see that it's different, and maybe, just maybe, it will mean something to them one day. I can't change a person's heart - that's up to God to do. However, I can show why He's important to me to those around me, right?), at least to me...and with all this...I can't fix anything. That's when we're reminded that no matter how resourceful, skilled, creative, or whatever we are, we still need God - we need to depend on Him, pray to Him, and not just when something happens, but all the time...Sometimes...all you can do is to show you care, and to pray to the One that can make things happen.

In other news, Jin says that "Gummy" in Korean means Spider. Ewww. I detest spiders...and most especially after that one infected bite I got a few months ago...>_<

01.15.05, Saturday:

[12:20pm] So nice to wake up late...=)

Besides work and the usual, on Tuesday, I dropped by Ralm's to help him and his ASU Officers make sushi. We made sushi with things like unagi, crab, salmon, cucumbers and carrots. I've become more tolerant of sushi this past year (Sushi-Mon was the breaker! ^_^), though I can still say with confidence that raw fish ain't my forte. Salmon has always been doable, and I've always liked octopus and cooked things (like Tempura!), and I'll try the rest, but it still isn't too appealing. I've also become more tolerant of eggplant. Hmm. ^_^

Though bittermelon...sigh...sorry Jason...not anytime soon yet...>_<

Anyways, on Thursday, I stayed at school till late, having dinner with Lynda (including Jake and Caitlyn), Sharon and Julie at Islands, before going to the Awards Ceremony. Wow - it was so much fun! Kids all happy and excited, hollerin' and smilin', and parents takin' pictures like the paparazzi. I got to announce names and hand out medals for the kids that got 6 A's (I wish I got a medal back in the days...they hand out medals for just graduating high school nowadays. Why not in '96? Hee hee...) and shake many, many hands. Our school's rock band played too, and two of them are my kids - they did AWESOME. And they're only in 8th grade! Alan and Davis were both really excited about it, and told me up front about their performance for daaaaays, hee hee.

Friday night, I went down to Fullerton to chill with Rosalyn! We went to downtown Brea, where we rented a movie, tried the Chantico (good. But too much...much too chocolate-ly...won't be getting another one for a while; I might just have to dilute it and share it with others!), picked up some Spam Musubi, and headed back to her place to watch The Forgotten and eat chili, cornbread, mashed potatoes, musubi, and drink our Chanticos. Fun, fun, fun! ^_^

Since I'm done with grading, I get to Lesson Plan all weekend long...! I also have the honor of bubbling scantrons for mid-trimester reports. Anyone like bubbling with a No. 2 pencil? =) Our school got randomly chosen to have random kids tested for the Nation's Report Card, so I have to read and bubble in some more for some questionnaire they have for me. =P

01.10.05, Monday:

[06:43pm] Hello-ello!!! ^_^ I got some good stuff in the mail today! My Staples rebate check for a whole $6, and my Staples $10 Rewards Check! So I hear somebody wants to use this...??? ^_^

Events since last blog:

Jin is here from Korea! Awesome!!! ^_^ I picked him up Wednesday night from his dorm, and we went to Greenland and 99 to get him some kimchi, rice, nori, and a rice cooker, hee hee. Essential food groups (except the rice cooker. That's just plain essential !) for him. =) I think I'm more complicated...I'd need rice...eggs...chinese sausage...green onions...shitake mushrooms and white mushrooms...onions...vermicelli...lettuce...vietnamese pork roll...mayonnaise...chicken...wasabi shrimp chips *wink*...and well...almost anything else that is edible??? Muah ha...^_^ Oh! He will be here for two years...! Such a long stay, and so much to get used to, indeed. I know that I liked Beijing, but I don't know if I'd want to stay there two years. A year, the most, to see how the different seasons are...and there's also more to do in Asian countries (by simply walking down the street, I mean). Here, there's not much to do in most areas by simply walking down the street...=Þ

Tiffany left for Maui on Sunday...how I'll miss her...she made me these awesome, funny little action figures!!! If you look carefully, I'm the shorter one. ^_^ We both have the earrings we gave each other on, our bandanas/head scarves, and she's "wearing" the purple ribbon top I gave her, hee hee...^_^

I missed out on Takako's Engagement Party...Congratulations Tako...! ^_^ Ros and I were weaklings, and too intimidated by the crazy downpour drive that we had ahead of us into the dark and mysterious Harbor City...>_< Hopefully you're free to play with us soon...! ^_^

I like the rain...though it's a little intimidating and a little too much...I just watched The Day After Tomorrow this weekend. On my way to work, I heard about Ventura County's tornado warnings! Woah...!

Sleep is always good for you, and now there's scientific research to say that it's quite possibly important in weight loss. I remember when I was little, I used to think sleep was almost a little scary, to not know or remember the moment that you fall asleep - you just...do. Anyways, while we're on the subject of weight, it's really scary that Houston tops Las Vegas as the Fattest City in the U.S. I mean, you think of just HOW much food is available in Las Vegas, and if Houston tops THAT, then yeah...I really do wonder how Houston is like! Is the food as tasty? Do I want to visit? I don't know...Texas always seems a little bit intimidating, with stories of humid weather, giant insects (cockroaches or mosquitoes, I forgot which, but neither of which are my friends) that I've been told of in the past. The only part of Texas that even interests me really is Abilene, because my dad has talked about it before many times -that's where he went to for college backk in da' days. =)

01.07.05, Friday:

[06:23pm] Hello-ello! ^_^ I was out of the classroom from Tuesday through Thursday, attending a Quantum Learning workshop. WOW! It was soooo awesome! I couldn't WAIT to get back to school today to try out the things I learned there. I had fun, and the kids too. Yay! ^_^

The tsunami death toll is climbing up to 147,000...that's so many people, so many lives...! It's horribly sad - when you think of the lost that can happen in minutes, and how those that survived still have to deal with the aftermath - loss of family, friends, homes, earthly possessions, food, and even health! At the same time, it's a reminder that no matter how much progress we've made and advanced in technology, we still can't control nature. Despite how grand we may feel at times, we are still so little and but a speck in this universe...no matter how much we know and learn, we still only understand a speck of His great plans. It's incredible, isn't it? This life we all live and the universe that we are a part of...!

The tsunami didn't just affect people and land. Animals too! Few animals actually died from it - I think none even. I forgot where I read it at, but yeah...animals had their "sixth sense" to help with fleeing away early enough to avoid death. However, a few animals have run into problems, being swept off course or away from where it usually is at. Take this incredibly cute story of the baby hippo and tortoise for example! =)

Starbucks's hot cocoa hasn't impressed me. I haven't had it for a while, but Diedrich's has always been the best - bought from a coffee store, I mean - next to the ones I used to make for myself when I worked at Fox & Bean. Maybe Starbucks's new Chantico will impress me?

01.02.05, Sunday:

[05:15pm] Wow...2005 already! Happy New Year!!! And back to work tomorrow already! Karazy...! I certainly ain't ready at all. The week in Vegas was fun, fun, fun! =) Is it possible to recap everything? I'll try...

Tuesday - Left with my parents in the pouring rain...took about four hours, but we got there in time for dim sum, followed by unpacking, relaxing, visiting Chinese supermarkets (Shun Fat) and having a massive hot pot dinner at Shelton's. =) Auntie and Uncle had so much food prepared, thinking that the guys were going to be there - as it turns out, my bro, the Lee Muskateers, DVD and James headed off to Mammoth instead! It was snowing crazy there...and despite a 180, they're all okay. Whew! To eat the food, the Yuen's invited over the god-relatives, Kevin and Tyrone (he's Chinese, not black. ^_^), Auntie Wanda, and Sherry. =) Later that night, Shelton and I watched Two Brothers, finally! It was good, yes, but sloooww...and kinda depressing, with all the animals dying here and there. =(

Wednesday - Breakfast at Louk Ding Gae. Mmm. I wish we had some of these jook/fun/mein shops here that would open early, serve porridge or won ton noodles. These breakfast cafes were a highlight the last time (ha ha...looong time ago...almost 10 years ago!) we went to HK. After walking around Caesar's Palace and its new forum shops, we went down to the Chinatown area for some really good noodles and green onion pancakes at Shanghai Noon, rested from the day at home, and ate a big, home-cooked dinner in lieu of the buffet planned. Eating three solid meals a day - and I mean, the meals are biiiig - is a bit overwhelming. Though it was hard to NOT eat, with the food being so yummy! =) After, while the dads played their games of Chinese Chess, the moms, Shelton, and I played Mah-Jong till almost 1am, hee hee. I was the big loser, but I learned a bit more this time, hee hee...I'm up for playing again, anytime! And let's all bet with sunflower seeds next time...^_^

Thursday - After a Chiu Chou Jook breakfast, my parents went home to Corona. Auntie, Shelton and I joined their neighbor, Uncle John, for breakfast at IHOP (Swedish Pancakes - what else? Mmm! ^_^). Uncle John is neat, neat character - in his late 60's, I think, and so full of life! ^_^ Afterwards, we visited Home Depot (have you ever seen those neat Air Tubes there?) and Wal-Mart (yes, I feel shame...! >_<) before going home to repair a few things here and there. We picked up Shelton's Melody (not the Melody Ma I know! Hee hee!), a colorful character (I liked her! ^_^) and headed to the Grand Lux Cafe at the Venetian, where we met up with more of Shelton's friends - Connie and Mindy. Mmmm...Grand Lux Cafe, so tasty, and full of Cheesecake Factory flair. I loved it!!! Ooo...there's one in Beverly Hills...oh well...there's still new Cheesecake in Brea (30 minutes away), and soon, Victoria Gardens (also 30 away), so my stomach can still be happified! ^_^ After loitering a bit, we went out to see the Siren Show at Treasure Island. Bleah! It was sad, because the old show was kinda fun, with pirates jumping here and there, mixed with sword fighting and what not. This one had no point to it, and didn't make sense - and it was teaching little girls to become such scantily-clad...uh...well, you can finish the phrase. =T We visited the big UFO covered Fashion Show Mall, Best Buy, and then met up with a few friends over at Sushi-Mon! Kevin and Chris, as well as Tiffany and Ian joined us.  Mmm. I got all the shrimp tempura sushi I wanted, ha ha...it was all you can eat, and we more than out-ate the price we paid. In fact, we ate so much that they had to close the store early - they ran out of rice on account of our little group of six, hee hee...^_^ We ate everything too! In fact...if you had anything leftover, you would have to pay the a la carte price for it...so yeah, I like the idea...=) I think the crowning sushi was the Monster Sushi Roll. Normal sushi rolls have about...what...a 1 and a half inch diameter? This one had like a...4 inch diameter...hee hee...^_^ The Lychee Ice Cream was heaven...I wonder if I can find any at 99? =) Later at home, the movie of the night was Elf. I liked it, but I didn't think it was overly wonderful. Cute, but eh, that was it. =P

Friday - Woke up...went to Luxor and visited King Tut's Museum...loitered throughout Mandalay Place and Mandalay Bay, before going to Paris for lunch. We wanted to eat at the Eiffel Tower Restaurant, but apparently, they don't do lunch! Oy. So high class! So instead, we filled out stomachs at "Le Cafe" (everything was "Le" something, ha ha...) on Shrimp Cocktail (mmm!), using the cocktail sauce on the bread and filling it with the vegetable garnishes for mini sandwiches, Beef Bourguignonne (which had Lardon bacon in it! Yummy!), and Fettuccine Provencal, and water, of course. =) We toured out to the Strip, visiting nearby Aladdin, finding the Harley Davidson Hog to take pictures with, going through the M&M store, Adidas, and the new Hawaiian Market type place. The streets were filled with beer people with their big trucks full of kegs, selling beer in funny containers (football containers and what-not) and hat/jewelry trinkets to ring in the New Year. I'm glad I wasn't on the strip for that...I'm sure I'd have been pummeled into the ground by tall, drunken revelers, heh heh...While looking all over the parking structure for the car (we forgot which floor we parked it on, hee hee), we ate a yummy éclair that was picked up on the way. ^_^ After a restful nap at home, we went to Kevin's for dinner (yummy mushroom sauvignon pasta and home-made gyoza!), watched Bourne Supremacy, played cards, and then headed to a nearby park to watch the fireworks. Kevin, Shelton and I climbed up the batting cages to watch the fireworks, while the rest stayed in the car, hee hee. It was more fun up there though - cold, windy, freezing...but worth it! The view was neat! ^_^

Saturday - One last shot of dim sum, earning ourselves some dahn taats, eggplants (okay, I'm getting used to its strange flavor...little by little...), steamed beef balls and coconut mochi balls, before heading back to Corona...and we're back! Yay! We relaxed and delighted in Totino's for dinner with my bro. Hee hee. =)

Sunday - Today! Church! Busy for 2005, as expected - taught Sunday School, and had to take care of Winter Camp details, as well as start on Governing Board goods. Oy. Chillin' for now, as I'm blogging so much, and getting ready for work tomorrow. Tonight though, is CFN, and we have something special set up for our Purple friend...! ^_^

My buddy from China, Jin, is coming from Korea this Tuesday! Woot woot! =)

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