04/30 - for the past 2 days i've been finding myself staying up really late (or very early in the morning) watching this very interesting program on the PBS channel called Manor House.  i don't plan to stay up late to watch the program, i've just been stumbling upon Manor House when it's re-airing while i'm up late completing homework or just unwinding before i go to sleep .  here's what Manor House is about: 19 volunteers from the modern 21st- century spent 3 months turningback the clock to re-create life in early 20th-century England (Edwardian era).  The Olliff-Coopers family lived upstairs in the amazing Manderston estate (located on the Scottish Borders) while a team of 14 lived & worked downstairs tending to the family's every desire & need.  Life in the Edwardian period before the 1st World War was socially divided.  People were utterly divided & ruled by class & social standard behaviors.  Every participant in the experiment agreed live w/ just Edwardian technology, & to abide by Edwardian standards of behaviour & adapt to a complicated set of rules that governs everything in their daily lives. doesn't that sound like an interesting show to watch ?? well, i think  it is.  it's intriguing to see people struggle w/ the hardship of letting go of modern technology & living standards to revert to a lifestyle that is very different.  you gotta check it out to understand i'm talkin' 'bout, but you better do it quick 'cause the show is ending tonight.
 

04/29 - LOL !!!  the electricity @ the restaurant went out for 'bout 1/2 an hour today around 1:35 p.m. !!!  can you believe that ?!  i was just about done ringing up the last customer when the radio, lights, cash register...anything needing electricity to work suddenly went all out.  since i just missed pressing the subtotal button by a couple of seconds to get the cash register to open to give the customer his change, me & my mom had to scramble rounding up $$ in the back. from our restaurant & down toward the Waikiki side, the electricity was out.  that's the 1st black-out i experienced @ restaurant or any food service places.  i gotta go finish my 8-12 pages paper for ES 331, but i wanna mention Legally Blonde which i watched yesterday & again today.  i love Reese Witherspoon !!  she was so cute & funny  in Legally Blonde.  the storyline is off the hook & so hilarious .  i can't wait 'til the sequel comes out. (sorry my journal is sounding more like a movie review section.)
 Synopsis: Elle Woods has it all.  She's a big hit on the campus of her sun-drenched L.A. university as the president of her sorority, a Hawaiian Tropic girl, Miss June in the campus calendar, reigning Homecoming queen, & a natural blonde.  Warner Huntington III is the wealthy East Coast blue blood whom Ellie is involved w/, & wants nothing more than to become his wife.  Before Warner heads off to Harvard Law School, he dumps Ellie & reunites w/ an old sweetheart from prep school.  Determined to win back her man, Elle rallies all her resources & enrolls to Harvard--quickly becoming an object of scorn & ridicule--especially to Warner's current gf Vivian Kensington.  Despite her penchant for malls, make-up, & tanning, Ellie is no dummy & is soon showing elite Ivy League snobs a thing or 2 about class, self-confidence, & courtroom victory.  (found & altered from imdb.com & blockbuster.com)


04/28 - i saw the funniest  thing today in school.  after i was finished attending my 3 classes, i had to walk over to the parking structure to find my older sis's car.  before you get to the parking structure, you have to pass through the Law library & law school building.  close to the crosswalk is a statue of 3 life-size people conversing w/ each another.  it's a bronze statue that can sometimes be mistaken for real people standing around--or that's what happens to me sometimes.  the funny  thingwas that the women statue were dressed up in muumuus & the man statue had a colorful aloha shirt & bright pants on..LOL ! when i drove by & had to stop @ the stop light, i could see quite a few people laughing  'bout the dressed up statues, too.  it was quite an interesting sight.  you had to be there to see it.  before i forget to mention...Happy 20th Birthday Anna  !!!


04/27 - i got lucky today.  i didn't have to go work @ the restaurant for te 2nd time in the row.  i wasn't much productive today however.  i'm trying write my ES 331 paper right now, but i'm not feeling motivated .  i did watch the Saving Private Ryan dvd i borrowed earlier.  i enjoyed  the movie, but i felt i was a bit morbid to watch 'cause of what's going on in Iraq.  oh well .  now i'm watching Circle of Friends on the Fox Family Channel.  i started watching Circle of Friends during the 2nd half of the movie, but now it's being replayed all over again.  therefore, i'm watching it all over again.  i sound kinda stupid & pathetic for spending my time watching so much damn t.v. & films, huh ?  well, i really like Circle of Friends.  i watched it a long time ago.  i have no idea when i'll get to watch it again, so i'm just gonna enjoy it while it's on.
 Synopsis: An adaptation of Maeve Binchy's novel set in Ireland during the 1950s.  It's the story about the lives, loves, & betrayals of 3 Irish girls (Bennie, Eve, & Nan) attending a university in Dublin.  Benny is a some-what plump, plain-looking young woman who meets & quickly fall in love w/ Jack, a handsome star of the university's rugby team. He surprisingly reciprocates Benny's glowing admiration.  They're drawn together as soul mates, & their love is dramatically contrasted w/ a sub-plot involving Benny's more conventionally beautiful friend Nan.  Nan's appetites for older men leads her into a misguided, & ultimately tragic relationship.  A betrayal by Jack sets the stage for potential heartbreak.  The Circle of Friends have lessons to learn about life & love w/ grace, humor, & heartfelt sincerity.  (found & altered from amazon.com)


04/26 - cleaning--that's all i did today, but i'm not done.  i thought i'd try to tidy up & clean my room before i begin worrying & studying for my final exams in a few weeks.  in the late afternoon when i was still cleaning, i found the USA network's miniseries Helen of Troy playing.  boy was there a whole lot of fighting, killing, & dying going on all because of 1 woman--Helen & her god-like beauty.  the guy who played Helen's love, Paris, was scrumptuously good-looking .  he had such clear & bright blue eyes that it made me melt .  i didn't really know much 'bout the war between the Spartans & Trojans before the movie, except for the famous story 'bout the deceiving Trojan horse statue.  i can't believe the destruction 2 men fighting over 1 woman could do to 2 civilizations--that's so amazing .  Helen of Troy was pretty good if you're willing to sit & watch it for 4 hours.
 Synopsis: It's the story of an epic war fought to win the love of the most beautiful woman in the world.  Helen's god-like beauty was a curse from which no 1 could escape.  Her father, the king of Sparta, kept her a prisoner in her own home out of fear the desire of other men to possess Helen's beauty would destroy his kingdom.  Only after arranging her marriage to his successor to the throne did he allow Helen to be seen in public, but Helen's husband & his allies quickly realized Helen's beauty could indeed cause a devastating war, & vowed no 1 would ever sleep w/ her.  However, a young Trojan warrior named Paris knew nothing of the vow, & when he 1st saw Helen, he knew they were destined to be together.  The pair fell in love the moment they meet, & together they fled Sparta for the city of Troy, risking everything to be together.  The Spartan king was unwilling to let his bride go w/o a fight, & began 1 of ancient civilization's greatest wars.  The Spartans sailed an army across the Aegean to mount an attack the Trojan city, which raged around their formidable walls for almost 10 years--nearly causing the collapse of both civilizations.  It took history's most infamous deception (the Trojan Horse) to finally bring the brutal conflict to an end. (found & altered from usanetworks.com)


04/23 - i love the weather today.  it's spring so there's a little warmth, but add in some tradewinds, rain, & a little chill--you've got my perfect cozy in bed  weather..hee hee !  i was quite productive today.  i loosely washed my older sis's car.  it's her car but i mostly drive it to pick up our bro & her, & to run errands for her & my mom.  apparently the birds were aiming for the car last night 'cause there were 5 spots of bird poop on the front window--quite nasty looking.


04/21 - did y'all have a good  Easter weekend ?  mines was alright.  i wasn't very productive though.  i planned to start working on my PS 336 & ES 331 paper, but i didn't...  i'm a Naughty girl--spank me !  well, i went to the library to borrow some books & movies to watch.  i renewed some books i borrowed weeks ago to use to write my ES 331 paper, & borrowed Bridget Jones's Diary & the sequel to read for fun.  hopefully i'll have the time to read it.  on the topic of watching movies, i caught the movie Center Stage on the Oxygen channel. it was the 1st time i watched it, & i thought it was an interesting glimpse into the competetive ballet world. the lead actress is from Hawaii, & she's a very good ballet dancer. i've never been much interested in watching people in tights & a tutu tip-toe around the stage, so  Center Stage was quite a good film to introduce ballet in an exciting way.  damn were the people in the movie so thin !
 Synopsis: A group of young dancers prepare for a recital that'll determine who'll be asked to join the American Ballet Company.  Tensions mount between Jonathan, the company's aging choreographer, & Cooper, his best dancer, who yearns to choreograph.  Brilliant Maureen seems poised for success, but finds life is passing her by.  Jody may have the wrong body type & ragged technique, but elicits Cooper's interest.  Edgy, smart-mouthed Eva loves to dance, but seem destined to be stuck in the chorus.  They deal w/ the ups & downs of trying to find their place in the world while their profession places an enormous physical & psychological challenge before them.  They train w/ the rigor of championship athletes knowing only a few of them will make it.  The recital will decide their fates.
(found & altered from imdb.com & blockbuster.com)


04/19 - i finally called up Shan today for a little chat.  i think  it's been close to a month since i last talked to her.  i've been planning to call her for a week now, but i keep forgetting.  when i do remember to call it's late @ night in Hawaii, & too early in Colorado to recieve phone calls.  it's good to hear she's doing well up there.  i like talking to here.  she puts me @ ease w/ my odd self--not caring if i'm such a freak  or a dork.   ha ha , y'all should hear our conversations.  we spend most of the time calling each other names...!  but i still LOVE you SHAN !!


04/18 - my older sis just left for her Sorority Ball @ Pacific Beach Hotel.  i helped her get damn gorgeous .  i'm the freakin' beautician in my family.  when proms & banquets came, i was the 1 who did the hair & make-up for myself, older sis, & older sis.  people have complimented them 'bout it thinkin'  it was done professionally.  i must be so damn good .  i've thought  'bout becoming a beautician, & i'm gonna turn to that if my dream of working in the broadcast journalism field don't work out.  on that note, i was making some copies @ Office Depot, & the cashier girl said she liked  my haircut.  i thanked her & i said i cut it myself.  she then asked if i was a beautician, & i politely said i wasn't.  i guess i do have quite a talent to turn to that career if i wanted to.  now on to other things.  since older sis has her Sorority Ball to attend, i'll be working @ the restaurant later tonight.  she's sleeping  over @ a hotel, so i might have to fill in for her again tomorrow.  finally i watched the Bridget Jones's Diary i borrowed from the library.  Renee Zellweggar looks  good w/ a couple of extra pounds.  i don't know why she prefers looking like a stick when she can look curvy & sexy.  Bridget Jones's Diary is a great movie--a must-see chick flick that is very funny  [the "grandma panty" scenes].  Colin Firth played Darcy in my fav. movie Pride & Prejudice, & plays Mark Darcy in Bridget Jones's Diary.  isn't the name a coincidence ?
 Synopsis: Based on Helen Fielding's novel about Bridget Jones--a post-feminist, 32 year-old British woman w/ a penchant for alcoholic binges, smoking, & an inability to control her weight.  As a New Year's Resolution, she decides to take control of her life; starting by keeping a diary.  @ her parents' Christmas party, her mum tries to set her up w/ Mark Darcy, the visiting son of their neighbors.  Snubbed by Mark, she instead falls for her dashing boss Daniel Cleaver who begins to send her suggestive e-mails that lead to an affair.  Daniel reveals he & Mark attended college together, & Mark had an affair w/ his fianc�e.  When Daniel is found cavorting w/ an American colleague, Bridget quits her job & becomes a TV presenter.  @ a dinner party, she bumps into Mark who expresses his affection for her.  Then Daniel claims he wants Bridget back. Which guy deserves her affection?  (found & altered from imdb.com & blockbuster.com)


04/16 - today was a good day.  i was a good girl , & attended my 3 classes.  luckily my Chinese quiz was pushed back for tomorrow--whew !!  plus, the class was quite fun today (since the T.A. is teaching--filling in for the professor 'cause he went to Harvard Univ. for a job interview).  then there was a special guest speaker in my ES 331 class.  actually, today's class turned into an open lecture/discussion--meaning anyone outside of class or in the community interested in the lecture could attend.  you must be wondering  who this special guest speaker, right ?  sorry, it wasn't  a famous celebrity.  the guest speaker was writer Pam Chun [click on name to visit her webpage], the author of The Money Dragon (released 2002 as a hardcover & now in paperback).  i didn't finish reading the book yet, but the part i have read are enchanting.  Pam Chun discussed her book & her great-grandfather--the main focal point of The Money Dragon.  it's strange  how his presence in 19th-century Hawaii is not mentioned in history books regarding Hawaii.  Lau Ah Leong was 1 of the founders of Honolulu's Chinatown (owning 1/2 of it), the richest Chinese merchant in Hawaii, & 1 of the few Chinese people naturalized as "American" citizens during the days of the Chinese Exclusion Act.  she also talked how Lau Ah Leong was well-known to many, many people who lived during the days of old Hawaii in Chinatown, yet he's not talked about though there's a building named after him.  ain't that strange ?  i really enjoyed  the lecture.  it gave me new insights into learning 'bout my own family's history & geneology.  i hope you people find what i'm writing interesting, & persuade you to possibly read The Money Dragon, so here's the synopsis:
 Rising from his status as the son of a poor beggar in China, Lau Ah Leong embarks on a quest for honor & power.  He acquires his wealth & power as a merchant in Hawaii.  He has 5 wives, fathers a large family, & returns to China in a burst of glory to impress the people who once considered him insignificant.  However, he fails to take in to account the essential conflicts in American, Hawaiian, & Chinese culture, & the infinite stubbornness of his equally formidable 1st wife Dai-Kam, whose jealousy even poisons her relationship w/ her own sons.  Narrated largely by Phoenix, wife of 1st son Tat-Tung, she suffers watching Tat-Tung slowly be destroyed by his parents' bickering of obsessively finding fault w/ him, each other, & his father's other families.  Lines between greed, ambition, love, & duty become blurred when sides are taken, & the family tears apart by greed.  The Lau children & grandchildren gain peace only after Ah Leong's death.  (found & altered from Pam's page).


04/15 - ugh ..i'm not feeling too well.  for the past 2 days, i've been having really bad stomachache .  it got so bad in my 1st class yesterday that i didn't attend my Chinese class.  i felt like i was going to vomit, too.  however, i hadn't eaten anything that morning, so it was more like a dry heave.  still...i felt like crap . damn it, what the hell is wrong w/ me ?  well, i don't know if it was the effects of my sickness, but i felt the urge to cut my hair short. damn my freakin' "hair-cutting fetish"!  now my hair is extremely short. i can spike it & make it really messy looking--just the way i like it . i wasn't so sure if i made a mistake after i cut my hair, but now i'm actually really loving it.  once you cut your hair short, you just never seem to really want to go back to having long hair--or that's how it is in my case.


04/10 - it's Spring everybody!  i didn't even notice how beautiful Hawaii can be in spring until days ago. i know Hawaii's weather is practically sunny & warm everyday, but not all the flowers & greenery are as bloomed & beautiful  'til this wonderful time of the year.  i was walking from my Chinese class @ Moore to the Bus Ad. building, which is on the other side of campus, when realized UH-Manoa has a cherry blossom tree near Hamilton Library.  i love cherry blossoms!!!  i was mesmerized by the beauty of the cherry blossom tree, & it brought back memories from my San Francisco spring break trip 2 years ago.  i remembered visiting the Japanese Tea Garden where there were cherry blossom trees everywhere.  it was like heaven to me.  the petals of the cherry blossoms would fall like snow, & standing under it was total bliss.  times when you see amazing flowers in full bloom makes you wanna play hooky.  wanna join me ??


04/06 - whew , what a night i had yesterday.  as i mentioned in yesterday's entry, it was Brent's B-Day & he organized a hotel party @ Pacific Beach Hotel (right across from Waikiki Beach).  i worked earlier in the morning @ the restaurant, & went down to the hotel around 7 p.m..  everybody was supposed to meet @ 6:30, but only Brent & Raymond were there besides me.  it's so typical of our friends to be late .  around 8 p.m. we went to have dinner after Tara arrived.  it was a "fancy", "expensive" dinner  @ Denny's..hee hee !!  while there, Thu & Tommy arrived.  my sandwich was very delicious --i've never eaten @ Denny's before that.  laters the gang walked back to the hotel, & more of Brent's friends arrived.  later that night, i decided to go clubbing @ Waterfront Cafe @ Aloha Towers w/ Tara, & meet up w/ Brandi, Cole, & Kelsey after she told me they were going.  my Older sis had invited me earlier in the day, but since Brent wasn't going I didn't plan to go either.  it didn't really matter whether i was going out clubbing or just staying @ the hotel 'cause i planned to sleep  over there anyways.  my Older sis gave me & Tara a ride down to Waterfront Cafe w/ 3 other friends of hers.  that was an interesting ride .  anyway, Tara & i met up w/ the others near the bar, & had a very, very fun  night after that.  the club was totally packed. i even saw a guy from my Chinese class there, too.  however, i got burned by some girl's cigarette while leaving the club--ouch! the ride back to the hotel was funny , but everybody still @ the hotel was sleeping .  therefore, the 4 who went clubbing woke some up--aren't we mean ? then there was a funny  incident w/ Cole in the shower, & Tara trying to give him some shampoo.  let's just say there was a little porn show...LOL !  i didn't sleep  'til early in the morning, so i'm really tired  now.  but, for some strange  reason, i can't fall asleep .  i think  i'm getting sick now.  hmm, that'll suck .


04/05 - Happy 20th birthday Brent !!!!  beware of the 21 punches coming your way !!!


04/01 - 1st off & most importantly, Happy 20th birthday Brandi !!!!  look to the right, i got you a cake--ain't i the sweetest ?  blow out the candles !!  you must be happy  to know you've been on earth for 2  decades now.  now you have to wait 1 more year before you can legally drink.  okie, now on to other less important things.  i wanna mention a 2-part mini-series i watched on the PBS Channel.  i tend to watch the Masterpiece Theater from time to time--especially ones w/ an 18th-century England setting.  this week they aired Daniel Deronda (based on the novel by Georg Elliot).  i didn't watch it from the very beginning, but as soon as it caught my eye while channel surfing--i was smitten .  the show had so much twists & turns, & great acting.  i'm gonna read the book when i find the time.  Daniel Deronda was amazingly, wonderfully made.
 Synopsis: The adaptation of George Eliot's last & most ambitious novel charts a love story set in Victorian high society & the hidden world of English Jews.  Daniel Deronda 1st met the eyes of beautiful Gwendolen Harleth @ the roulette table, & is struck by the vulnerability & despair that lurks behind her brilliant facade.  Her family have recently fallen on hard times, & have pinned their hopes upon the proud but charming Gwendolen to attract a rich husband.  Gwendolen reluctantly succumbs to the advances of rich bachelor Henleigh Grandcourt, & later discover he had a mistress & 3 children.  When Gwendolen's family's fortune worsens, she accepts Grandcourt's proposal even though she promised his former mistress she wouldn't.  Meanwhile, Daniel has been troubled by haunted doubts of his own identity.  He's frustrated his uncle & lifetime guardian, Sir Hugo Mallinger, won't tell him about his biological parents.  While boating on the Thames River, Daniel saves a woman, Jewish singer Mirah Lapidoth, from attempting suicide.  He takes her to stay @ the home of his friends, the Meyricks.  As Daniel's friendship w/ Mirah grows, he helps  secure her work performing for London's high society.  When Gwendolen realizes she's trapped in a doomed marriage, she turns to Daniel (also Grandcourt's cousin) for help--building a intense friendship.  As Daniel searches for Mirah's family, he's drawn into the world of London's Jewish community, & befriends Mordecai, the strange & mesmerizing Jewish mystic.  Mordecai is convinced Daniel is Jewish, & is the chosen leader of their people.  When Daniel's birth mother finally summons him, all is revealed--the final step of the relationship between Daniel & Gwendolen, Daniel's new found interest in Judaism, & finally the identity Daniel has been anguishing over.  (found & altered from pbs.org)