Storm Trooper

This blog is also called "Just for Fun" and it details the lives of 2 Storm Troopers. It is so creative and fun!!

http://9gag.com/gag/3641891

What the Future Holds

I keep a rather updated profile on Linked n not because I'm currently looking for a job but I use it as my online resume.  I usually have a hard time locating my latest resume...it's saved in a memory stick somewhere or saved in the hard drive of a computer we no longer use.  Plus, the resume is always a few years old.  I have to update everything over again anyways.  So LinkedIn works for me.

I've been contacted by several recruiters before via LinkedIn- they're looking for people to fill retail buying positions for companies like Williams-Sonoma, CostPlus, etc. I usually politely inform them that I'm not currently looking to move companies but would love to keep in touch for future opportunities.  Because the truth is, I know what the future holds for me. 3/4 of our merchandise buying office has moved to Hong Kong.  It is only a matter of time when our last group goes too.  I swing like a pendulum back and forth on both extreme ends on whether I would move to Hong Kong when the day comes.  Some days like today, I just want to stay here, right where I'm at.  I'm happy living here - all my friends and family are here.  I'm a creature of habit and routine - if it isn't broken, why fix it?

Then I think about if I don't move to Hong Kong, I would surely get laid off.  Will I then find another job similar to the one I have now??  Will any of those opportunities in Williams-Sonoma, CostPlus, etc be able to pay me at my salary level and the bonus I get every year?  Will they be able to give me all the perks (vacation time, airline miles, AmEx reward points...)?  All these questions pop up in my head....This is the part where I don't know what the future holds.      

A vacation for my vacation

Even though I just came back from a week-long vacation, I am dying to take some days off soon.  Yes, I need a vacation for my vacation!  Because we traveled to a new city, our agenda for the day mostly comprised of wandering about and exploring the place. We did a lot of walking so at the end of the day, we usually returned back to the hotel tired. And of course, having Sarah with us added to the exhaustion. Although I had a lot of fun visiting the Northwest, I didn't feel like I got to relax at all!  

I actually love to take vacation days to do nothing.  Yep, nothing at all.  Wake up late, go to lunch, go shopping, go get a manicure/pedicure or a facial, take a nap, etc.  Just to be lazy. SQ is different - if he takes a day off, it needs to be productive.  I'm on the opposite end.  I don't mind being lazy, even for a few days.  

Google personalized home page

 I don't know how this happened (must have been SQ)...every time I log onto Blogger or Gmail, and then go to Google, I see this picture as my Search page...















Did you know that if you log into a Google program (Gmail, Blogger, Picasa, etc), you can personalize your Google homepage?  I just learned this and absolutely love it!!  But don't ask me how to do it... I don't know!  I love this picture of Sarah! She was about 2.5 months in this picture..and yes, her pinky is still up like a girly girl. I used to call her "Spidy Hands" (as in Spiderman's hands when he shoots his web) for this reason.

New Addiction: Fashion Story

I know this sounds really silly, but lately, I have been addicted to this game called Fashion Story.  It's one of those free online apps you download for your phone or tablet (I so happen to have it downloaded on both :-))

Basically, you own your own fashion boutique. You are given the essentials such as a couple of clothes rack, dressing rooms, tables, and mirrors to start.  You are also given some coins to purchase some clothes and accessories to start selling.  The items each have different prices and time it takes to arrive, which ranges from 1 minute to 1 day.  The longer the item takes to arrive and be ready for sale, the more units you have and the longer it will take to sell down. When the units are sold out, you will need new items to replace the empty rack/table. The objective of the game is to be in-stock and keep the customers happy.  As you collect more coins from sales, you can expand and upgrade your boutique, buy more tables and racks, etc.  It's really addicting because I constantly want to check if my tables are empty and what I need to buy more in the pipeline because it takes time.  My husband jokes that this is exactly what I do in real life anyways!! hahaha

Ok, now you know my current silly addiction - please don't judge me. :-) 

Flashbacks

Lately I have been getting a lot of flashbacks of my time in the hospital.  I don't know why.  A couple of  weeks ago when I was on the plane to and from Hong Kong, I adjusted my seat to recline. That very moment reminded me of the hospital bed.  I used to recline my bed upwards to a sitting position and recline it downward to a sleeping position all day long. That was the only way I could get up and off bed because I had no strength to do it by myself.  Then last Thursday when I brought Sarah to the doctor's for her fevers, the smell of the hand sanitizer at the office also gave me a flashback of my hospital stay. Various doctors and nurses would come into my room everyday on the hour and the first thing they did was to use the hand sanitizer.  So I could sniff that scent a mile away!  Just this last Saturday, I sat on the sofa and looked out the window at a sunny skies.  Again, I had a sudden flashback of the time when I was in the hospital, sitting on the sofa outside the lobby on the 6th floor, gazing out the window at the blue sky...wondering how nice it would be to leave there and go home...

During that period, I didn't write/blog at all.  I wasn't in the mood to document my progress or my feelings, not to mention a good portion of my time I was physically unable to write.  I did tweet though, mainly to my family, of my progress. Here are some of the tweets:

• In hospital right now. Thanks bontee for taking care of Sarah 10:22 AM Jun 13th, 2010

• still waiting for cultures. I can't leave until I can hold my fever down for 24 hrs which has not been possible Monday, June 14, 2010 1:19:50 PM
• 3 people tried and still can't get an IV into my arm. I have skinny veins. Always a problem Monday, June 14, 2010 11:59:00 PM 
• So the lab results of the bacteria the docs thought I had turned back negative. It's something else. The question is what is it???? Tuesday, June 15, 2010 12:18:59 AM
• Finally got the IV in after the 4th try Tuesday, June 15, 2010 12:19:28 AM
• Swelling is not just limited to the feet. My entire leg is swollen Tuesday, June 15, 2010 12:20:40 AM 
• Now I have redness on my tummy. It's one thing after another... :*-( Tuesday, June 15, 2010 10:31:16 AM 
• in room 6315 Saturday, June 19, 2010 7:20:53 PM 
• CT scan shows more drainage needed on left side. Will really position tube tomorrow Monday, June 21, 2010 12:14:21 PM
• White blood cell count is climbing again, which means body is trying to fight yet another bacteria :-( Monday, June 21, 2010 12:33:05 PM
• Is it a bad sign when there is a bacteria inside me that even the Chief of Infectious diseases can't figure out what it is. Monday, June 21, 2010 1:00:35 PM
• The 7cm abscess did not drain as expect. IR will try to reposition drain tomorrow. Abscess very hard to get to. Monday, June 21, 2010 8:00:05 PM
• It's in front of a major artery vein. If IR doctor has no confidence that it's possible, then I have to do surgery again (cut me open) Monday, June 21, 2010 8:01:49 PM
• Doctor describes surgery as "morbid" and high risk. I don't know what to think anymore Monday, June 21, 2010 8:03:07 PM
• Doctors couldn't drain out the really hard abscess near the artery vein. Now they need to access whether if antibiotics can take care of it Tuesday, June 22, 2010 6:25:12 PM
• Need to wait 4days b4 next drain check.. Good progress means no fever & no high white blood cell, which means body not fighting infection. Tuesday, June 22, 2010 10:18:59 PM
• Going to IR today at 3pm. Pray that they are able to get that hard to reach abscess out. Pray pray pray!! Friday, June 25, 2010 2:50:43 PM
•  Fever still not under control. Woke up with a temp of 101.4 Saturday, June 26, 2010 9:30:42 AM
• stomach is still very tight and swollen. dr will monitor thru-out the nite to see if tummy softens. ct shows no add'l abscess. Monday, June 28, 2010 3:59:05 PM
• whte cell count is higher, body trying to fight something. fluid in the lungs. no action plans yet other than close monitor. clear diet only Monday, June 28, 2010 4:00:05 PM
• not passing gas means bowels are still irritated, causing stomach to be tight. feel more energized today from blood transfusion yesterday Monday, June 28, 2010 4:01:40 PM
• Tummy still very hard and swollen today. No gas. Never knew farting is so important. Tuesday, June 29, 2010 6:52:40 AM
• Today complete rest of bowel, cannot drink any fluid at all, will be on IV. .. on boy Wednesday, June 30, 2010 7:13:34 AM
• It's like reliving my icu days and restarting my entire recovery process all over again! Wednesday, June 30, 2010 7:15:11 AM
• may need to put another drain to clear fluid under lungs. Bowels still not moving, may need to insert tube thru nose to pull gas fr stomach Wednesday, June 30, 2010 1:02:56 PM
• Woke up with a 102.8 fever two days in a row. Takes about 3 hours to get bk to nrml temp aftr tylenol. Dunno what's causing the fevers Saturday, July 03, 2010 12:03:02 PM
• On clear liquid diet only. Juice just doesn't cut it. I'm still starving! Hunger pain is the hardest to bear Saturday, July 03, 2010 12:09:14 PM 
• I did not have a good day today. Fevers, nausea, and outright miserable. Just don't feel good. Saturday, July 03, 2010 8:44:27 PM 
• God please oh please get me out of this misery and let me feel better Sunday, July 04, 2010 12:40:02 AM
• I AM GOING HOME TODAY! Wednesday, July 07, 2010 12:04:23 PM      

When I get the random flashbacks and scenes from this dark period of my life, I realize how far I've been. Only time will eventually erase my memories. Just glad that it's all over now...  

The Orphan Sock

After MONTHS of holding on to one of Sarah's teeny weeny single sock, I was convinced that I would never find the matching pair. So I threw away the orphan sock. But fate has it that the very next day, I found the matching twin in the laundry...!!! Don't know how, when or why it suddenly appeared after being lost for so long! Maybe he realizes that the hide and seek game is over that his mate is gone forever. :-(

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Bag of Junk (Necessities!)

For some reason, my shoulders begin to hurt and I noticed that my bag getting heavier and heavier by the day. Today I took everything out of my Longchamp handbag and this is the amount of junk I found:

1.  My big fat wallet

2.  House key

3.  Purell disinfect handwash

4.  Pocket mirror

5.  Dentyne Ice gum

6.  Extra bib for Sarah

7.  a Pen

8.  Lip balm (blue & white tube next to pen)

9.  Floss

10. Various gift cards to Carters, Target, Old Navy, Borders, Barnes & Noble, Gymboree, etc

11. Sunglasses

12. Wash cloth for Sarah (just in case of any mishaps)

13. Hat for Sarah (in case it gets cold)

14. Aquaphor travel tube

15. Pacifier in case

16. Glasses (in Dior case)

17. Icebreakers sour candies

18. Various Coupons (in the Floppy Disc mailer) 

So you might ask, do I need all this crap??!  The answer is yes!  Believe me, the ONE day that I didn't bring one of these items is THE ONE day I needed it most.  yes, it is just that silly.  Well, maybe I can do without the sour candies, but that's about it!  This is for sure a mommy bag!! Notice I didn't even have any of my make-up stuff in here!! 

What's in your bag??

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Jury Selection

You know how some people have their passport flagged by the government so whenever they pass through security, they will always go through tough scrutiny? Fortunately, I don't have that. But what I think I have, is a "Flagged Juror status." I feel like every year I get summoned (the joy of living in SF). Last time I got summoned (and served) was back in Nov 2008. So it has been 14 months. I guess I missed my 1 year exemption by 2 months!

So of those 500 people or so sitting inside the Jury Room, I will most likely get called into a court room. And then, among those 50 people inside the courtroom, I will get "randomly" chosen to sit inside the jury box for questioning. I've served on 2 cases before, 1 criminal, 1 civil. And I've been called into the jury box about 2 times now, including today. Today, I got excused though I was in Seat 17 but would have easily qualified as an alternate or move up the ladder as other jurors get struck out by the attorneys.

I actually don't mind sitting in a jury - especially when the case is short. Some cases are just dead boring, and the afternoon slump is hard to get through especially inside a stuffy, windowless room. I sometimes question my impartially. I don't know - I doubt my fairness and biases to some level. I guess everyone is a little bias...just depending on what level?

Holey-Moley!

It has been over 4 months since I last posted an entry on the blog! Bad, Bad, Bad me! Well, one of the reasons is that my 4-yr old laptop died. I have a Tobisha and over the past few months before, the battery was dead. I have to plug in my laptop with the cord no matter where I went (so much for wireless). But one day, even the cord (transformer) died. It could not be revived.

We tried to find a replacement cord online but haven't had much luck. So I want to buy a new laptop instead. But between holiday gifts, parties, car insurance, and not to mention, property taxes, our expenses were sky-high in November/December. So we decided to wait. We're still searching for a good, reliable laptop that won't cost me a fortune. I don't do much on my laptop - mainly write on my journal, organize photos, and go online. Sometimes, maybe a couple of Excel projects for work. So nothing too fancy. Any recommendations? I really want to buy one soon so I can start blogging again!

House Auction

SQ, while browsing some real estate website, came upon a house in the Richmond District, listed for $625K. For a Central Richmond house, this is unbelievable value so we went to check it out today. When we got there, we found out that this house is being sold as an auction and the auction was today!

The house was old, in its original, dated, and deteoriated condition. An addition was added to the back of the house, which was all rotted out and in very poor condition. Outside of the house looks decent, it's just because it was recently painted. 4 beds, and 2 baths, around 1800 sq ft (though I question the legality of some of the work). A very nice size flat backyard, full of dirt at this point, but can be landscaped nicely. Downstairs basement is unfinished, low ceiling, with tons of books on shelves - once made into a library I guess). There was stairs access to the backyard but had about $20K in termite damage. We guesstimate that it would cost about $150K-$200K to have everything gutted out and rebuilt to a more open floorplan and replace all the plumbing, etc. Either case, we knew we weren't serious about bidding but registered anyways and stayed to watch the auction.

There was quite a lot of bidders/spectators when the auction started at 3:15pm. When the bidding got to around $750K though, there were only 4-5 serious bidders at that time. One was them was a granny who stood right next to us... she was bidding into the high figures too!! My heart was beating for her...what is she thinking? She was with her husband, a man in all gray hair - and a young child. I overheard her talking to one of the auction assistants that they were just "walking by," but when she filled out the registration form, she wrote down that she would pay all CASH for the purchase. Holy, is she for real??? The bid got up to $787K or so, and she was still raising her number! The situation was soooo intense that I HAD to just walk away! The final bid was $791K to a Chinese guy with his wife and small child. With $200K in reno costs, it will put this house in the $1M range, which is very comparable to the neighboring houses... I guess he didn't necessarily overpaid, but definitely didn't get a good deal either. It's about right -- but if he's to pay $791K and $200K in renovation costs, that's like buying a house at $1M so why not just get a nice, fully renovated house for that same amount? Or maybe the houses there can go for MORE than $1M? Glad that granny didn't win... We question whether she even knows what she's getting herself into? She barely looked at the house! Too much for our little hearts to handle. Whew!!

Ouch! This hurts...

I've been trying to avoid looking at my 401K for 1/2 year now... I didn't want to face the truth. I didn't want to know how much I've lost and how much my hard earned savings have wiped out. But today, I took that leap. I logged on to my account.... and boy oh boy!! I now really regret even looking at it. Since Jan 1, 2008, I've lost a whoppinig -29%!! This really breaks my heart. :(

Your Personal Rate of Return This Period : -29.1%

Your Personal Rate of Return is calculated with a time-weighted formula, widely used by financial analysts to calculate investment earnings. It reflects the results of your investment selections as well as any activity in the plan account(s)shown. There are other Personal Rate of Return formulas used that may yield different results.Remember that past performance is no guarantee of future results.

There are no "safe" asset allocation - mid-cap, large-cap, international, even bonds are losing money and risky. The only bright side is that at least I am not retiring right away so hopefully, I can make up some of this loss in the upcoming years. I guess I can feel for those baby boomers near retirement age. If their life savings are wiped out by 30% just like mine (against a much bigger dollar value)... I can see why they are angry and upset.

Gave up

Ok, I give up. I gave up. I don't know how to add the header date onto my old template. I searched online to find some help but I can't find any answers. I even left a message on the template designer's site, but I didn't get any answers. I tried. I really have. So I picked this template. It's nice and simple.

New Look

I randomly stumbled across a website that allows you to download free templates to enhance the look of your blog site. So I said why not? So after a few pages of templates, I decided on this one. It has an Asian-feel to it, with the calligraphy pens on the right and the koi fishes on left. So I performed all the steps required and Voi-la! my weblog was updated within minutes.

Though I love this template, I don't like the fact that it does NOT have a header DATE on any of my posts. My old template had both the date ad allowed me to assign a title to each post. This one...nope. Just the title. The bottom of each post only has the time. I want the date. I want to be able to read back my post and know when the post was written. Right now, I am unable to do this.

So I thought I was smart enough to figure this out - perhaps type in some HTML code so I'll be able to keep the new template AND have the header date. But after a couple of hours of trying, I gave up!! I don't know HTML enough to make it happen... so if you know the HTML codes, please let me know ASAP!! Otherwise, I will just have to change to another template that will give me the header date. It is WAY more important to me that a beautiful template. Hopefully, I can have the best of both worlds.

AT&T DSL issues

We have been getting really spotty DSL lately.... it's really annoying. We are going to cancel the service but want to connect to Comcast before we cancel. We are getting no where near the speed for the service plan we're paying for. We've called in to complain and they just keep on telling us to work with Tech support. Over multiple phone calls, we got no where. So I filed a BBB (Better Business Bureau) complaint against them.

A lady from AT&T called me and we have been playing phone tag for the past couple of days. I want them to refund me. They are committing fraud. They are not providing the service they promise and charge. I will let you know of the outcome.

Jury Duty

Last Monday, I got selected as a juror for jury duty at the Civil courthouse on McAllister. Here is my recollection of these couple of days. Waited around for 1/2 hour and then got assigned to a courtroom by 9:30am. Out of the group of 60, they picked 28 for questioning. I was chosen as #24. After all the questioning and people getting struck out (excused) by the lawyers, I ended up as Juror #4. I don’t know why I am so lucky when it comes to these things! By the afternoon, the 12 jurors and 2 alternates got sworn in to serve.

This may be the SHORTEST trial that the court ever had. 1-1/2 day!!! There were only 2 witnesses, the plaintiff and the defendant. The case is about an ex-employee (plaintiff) suing the ex-supervisor (defendant) for assault and battery. The events happened between April 2003-May 2005. The plaintiff accused the supervisor of using her hips to bump her (the supervisor is pretty fat), pinning her to the desk, holding a fist against her face and of course verbally abusing her. All these events have no witnesses. The plaintiff did most of the talking, recounting the events. She was too dramatic - she tried to re-enact all the scenes; fake-crying on a couple of occasions .

The defendant looked mean. She didn’t seem nice; and she admitted that she would raise her voice to get things and exercise authority. She didn’t recount her recollection of the events ; she said she doesn’t recall any of them. The jury deliberated for about 1 hour. IMHO, I thought the plaintiff exaggerated the physical violence she claimed had happened (the hip bumps, the pinning) - so not guilty on the Battery charge. The other 11 people concurred. But on the Assault charge - which is defined as the “intent” to cause harm, I voted guilty on that. I believed that she did put out her fist. But unfortunately, I was overruled. 9 other people didn’t agree with me, so the non-guilty verdict passed. Many people had a problem with the fact that there were no witnesses subpeonaed to testify. In Civil cases, only 9 people need to agree vs. in criminal cases, it has to be an unanimous vote (12 out of 12 have to agree). So the case was done… in 1-1/2 days! I wonder why this would fall in the Civil court if it is an assault/battery case? Well, the answer is that the plaintiff is seeking monetary damages and do not necessarily want the defendant to go to jail. So it was kinda weird…

Every once in a while, I don’t mind serving as a juror. It’s only when I get super busy at work that makes it stressful for me to sit through a trial & then go back home to do regular work. But this was just fine.

Random

Every night when I come home from work, after dinner, I go online and hit my usual sites. Check email, check Facebook, check 360, read up on people's blogs, etc. I like reading blogs -- friend's blogs, or sometimes even random stranger's blogs. In fact, when you're in Blogger, you can click onto "Next Blog" and it will pull the next random blog for you. Most of the blogs I've ran into usually fall into 2 categories: Hobbies and Babies/Families.

After clicking through a few, I always get inspired to write an entry on my own blog...but most of the time, I end up not posting anything at all. I feel like I have nothing to share. I don't have a hobby and I don't have kids. My life seems very normal and there is nothing to rave about. Sometimes normalcy is a good thing. As they say, "no news is good news."

Well, glad tomorrow is finally Friday. This week passed by extremely slow. Labor day this Monday so we have a day off! Yipppeeeee!!!

Haute Couture

During our World wide Fashion team meeting, my collegue based in Paris came in to do a presentation on Brands. She explained how difficult it is for a true luxury brand to balance between (1) maintaining the brand's image and heritage, and (2) renewing itself to evolve with modern times so it can always be fresh and set the trend. A brand is always constantly looking for ways to connect to the customers with their own uniqueness which won the hearts and following of these customers in the first place.

She did a case study on Christian Dior and Louis Vuitton. It was a great presentation and intrigued me to further research on what these brands are all about. I ran across a BBC documentary on the internet named "The Secret World of Haute Couture." Haute Couture, according to Wikipedia, is a French for "high sewing" or "high dressmaking," and refers to the creative of exclusive custom-fitted fashions. Apparently, there is a group of very very rich women who would make it a seasonal event to attend all the fashion shows by the most famous designers and then purchase that special piece. It will be only one produced in the world, custom-fitted to the buyer, of course. A blouse will normally costs $10,000 and a dress can $300,000 or upwards to $1 Million. Now, this is CRAZY!! Anyways, the BBC documentary is really interesting and worth a view if you have time.

Wild Parrots in San Francisco?

Since his new job is near Levi's Plaza, SQ told me that he "finally" saw the parrots today. I said "what are you talking about?" Apparently, even though I considered myself a San Francisco native, I didn't know that there are wild parrots living on Telegraph Hill in SF. I wikipedia'ed it and surely, there is a flock of Red-masked parakeets proved to be living there. They are probably descendants from escaped or released pets as this breed is originally from Peru or Educador. In fact, this homeless failed musician named Mark Bittner who fed and documented the parrots for over 6 years became an overnight hero, writer, and the subject of a documentary called "The Wild Parrots of Telegraph Hill (2005)." Interesting. Very interesting. Everday, I learn something new about this beautiful city I live in.

What a shocker

What a shocker ... the death news of Heath Ledger. News has it that it was an "accidental" case of drug overdose (sleeping pills). I guess you can never know what combo of drugs can be deadly. What a shame. I thought he did an excellent job in "Brokeback Mountain." I really liked that movie. He was only 28 too... sad. Just sad.