Catching Up
Lots of things going on as of late. I'll start off by something random here. I don't remember even seeing one complete episode of NYPD Blue and yet even catching a late-night re-run of the pilot episode, I have the theme song stuck in my head these days! If anything, I like the drums in it. I also like the timeless sound of the bassoon interlude.

This weekend, I worked with Manuel, Alvin, Jen, and Nelson to make a movie poster. This is an effort to help further my portfolio. In this particular one, I was going after the Hong Kong action movie look. It was fun putting it together. It was even funnier making it. I have a bazillion out-takes on my laptop of us doing the scenes. Kudos to Manuel for setting up the studio and the camera work. More so to Julie for the chaos in the living room!

It's good to see the the crew (well, most of them) from time to time. We met at Pasta Pomodoro in Sunnyvale for dinner last Saturday.

I got my Digital Rebel this weekend! Good times..

In this mad rush of assignments and deadlines, I've developed a highly irregular sleep cycle. Needless to say, I wake up nearly every morning feeling crummy. I need some order in my life.

Been thinking about what a friend has said to me many times before. In short, she tells me that life isn't about the goal or the end result but of the journey in getting there. I think she's right. All too often, I'm weighed down with what I have to do but I don't pay any attention to the greater opportunities in front of me. Sometimes all it takes is to just sit still. I guess I could use an attitude change.

Being a PAO is a lot more involved than I thought. I realize it's not just a job. It's a lifestyle. It's an attitude.

I want to have drive. I want to be driven. Spirit-driven.

Midnight Oil
Been staying up late making a poster for my portfolio. I am tired..

The Downward Spiral
Lately, I've been a slacker. Yes, I know that we all have our moments, but I must admit, I've been degrading into a lazy guy. I think I've been at a point where I'm just slow. It's like I don't take things very seriously or something. I really don't know how I came to this point.

Am I stupid? Am I just not with it? Maybe it's because of my irregular sleeping habits? Maybe I think too much? Maybe there's too much going on in my life right now? I don't know what I need, but I need to have some resemblance of order soon. Things have already suffered as a result of it.

Don't Look Now...
..But news breaks at the blink of an eye.

To further my portfolio, I've decided on a personal project. To help with this, I've enlisted the help of Manuel for the camera work and advice. Stay tuned for more on this.

This morning, I found out that I will be the new PAO (Public Affairs Officer) for this quarter. In short, I need to be media savvy and learn how to fit that in with the rest of the administration. I guess all those West Wing episodes were going to pay off sooner or later. However, all of this comes at a price. The original person who was going to have this position has been disenrolled from the program. I called her just to see if she was ok. No response yet.

From the tip of a friend, I've been now made aware of how many designers are hired for news agencies. Oooooh.. I think I like this idea. Doesn't hurt to apply, right?

Further Schooling: Online or On-site
Lately, I've been looking into grad schools. I'm debating between an online grad program and a more tradtional curiculum where you show up on-campus to get your lecture. Both have their pros and cons, I'm sure. In the end, I'm told that it really depends on what it is that you are studying. If I were to do an MBA program, I'm advised that on-campus learning is better simply because of the networking you do with people there. In short, it's more about who you know and how you work with them rather than what you know.

The flip side of this is that I wouldn't mind doing some schooling that's a little more convenient to my scheduling. See, I don't think I want to do full-time school again...well, at least not for a while. I'd like to work and do this school thing part-time. Plus I also wouldn't mind saving some dough in the process.

To the best of my knowledge, some programs will let you do part of it in a distance program but requiring you to do one year on-campus full-time. I need to dig some more how prolific such a thing is.

I dunno. I've got plenty of time to think about this. I plan on taking the GMAT over the winter break.

Anybody have any ideas here??

Another Random Scene (you know)
When I'm in class, and the professor starts to sound like the adults in the Charlie Brown cartoons, I keep myself occupied via the laptop. It's funny. I start to do some web surfing or blogging while a lecture is going on. In fact, that's exacly how I posted this blog.

The Metal Laptop Case (of 007 yore)
Every day, I lug around my huge laptop. It's no biggie to me since I did that for quite a bit last year. However, these days, I carry it in a large, metal briefcase. Allow me to explain.

Earlier this year, I broke the screen lamp on my laptop just by simply setting it down on the tiling at my front door. At the time, I was carrying it in a rather flimsy case. My cousin, Alan then got me this huge, silver metal briefcase to carry it around now.

It looks menacing, I tell you. It makes me look like I'm carrying a machine gun, a bomb, stacks of money or even some nuclear launch codes inside! In fact, it looks like I should have handcuffs attached to it!! Every time I bring it to class, people seem to look at me funny. It's like people stop typing all of a sudden just to look at me carrying this metallic case. What gives??

It's not to say that it doesn't work in protecting the laptop. Last week, it managed to slip out of my hand as it bounced a few times on the driveway. I shrieked in terror. However, the laptop worked flawlessly thereon after. Now that's one tough case.

However, I think I'm gonna get something less noticeable (yet equally protective). It's so shiny, I'm worried that it would attract would-be theives. But then again, the handcuffs would be effective and a cheaper solution, wouldn't it??

Nukes are the Greatest Thing in the World!
Since fire, the wheel, and sliced bread. I read this article on CNN and I couldn't believe it. Nuking a hurricane?? I suppose sooner or later, it had to be mentioned.

Ever wonder why nukes seem to be a ready solution for epic calamities? I mean for things like humongous asteroids on a collision with earth to volcanoes to gigantic monsters or even levelling a mountain range to put in a shopping center (well, maybe not the last one), they seem to be the crux for these ideas.

How about this for an idea. Worried about global warming? Set off some nukes. With the impending nuclear winter, that should cool things down. 4th of July fireworks a little hum-drum? Set off some nukes. Now that would be one for the photo album (if your retinas aren't fried by then). Not getting your tan in a less than sunny summer? Set off some nukes. Not only will you get your tan in no time flat, summer has just gotten a few notches hotter (get some SPF 10,000 before you try this).

Sheesh...

Color Guard
Last Saturday, I helped out with the ROTC color guard for the pre-season ceremony at a Stanford game. It was good to be there. It was the anniversary of 9/11, afterall.

The Birthday of Nel
Yesterday, we celebrated Nelson's birthday. Earlier this week, Paul and I brainstormed a little on what to do for Nelson. We kinda envisioned a rather nice dinner at Santana Row. Since I was in the area, I scoped out a few of the restaurants there. Maggiano's seemed fairly nice, but the only time available for the size of our group was 4pm and 10pm. What gives?? Apparently, we needed to put in a reservation a week in advance. hmmmppphhh. Next on the list was Strait's. They took 24 hour advance reservations, but for the group our size, we had to select from 4 set menus only. After eyeing the menu items (complete with fixings that I could not pronounce), I came to realize that each of the items would cost each person $40-50! I looked over the menu at The Citrus (at the lobby of the Valencia Hotel) and realized that $$$ was gonna be a bite in the book too.

I stopped walking and I called Paul for some ideas. He suggested Dave and Buster's. Not too bad I guess. The next day we did some leg work to get the gift and the cake and spot checked on ppl to make sure they knew where to go.

Paul and I got to D&B early to get a table. However, for a group our size the wait was gonna be an hour and a half @#$%@#^&*!!! They suggested the Show Room. I was desperate to not have people standing around. The down side of this was that it happened to be karaoke night. I'd be ok with that if the singers were just halfway decent. However some of the people there were terrible. I mean some of them sounded *ShRIlL!!!* And this is to say nothing of us sitting right in front of the speakers! argh..this did not at all pan out how we envisioned it. I envisioned more of a stately dinner.

Anyhow, I suggested to Paul that we have the cake at his house instead. He gladly agreed. So I yanked the cake from the D&B fridge while Paul directed ppl to his place. The rest of the night was rather serene (thank goodness) as we had cake and played some games.

As it turned out, Nelson was really nervous that we were gonna make him sing. I'd never do that to Nel though ;-) Anyhow, Happy Birthday, Nel. Hope you like IKEA.

Learning Grace
I met with Freddie for breakfast this morning. Generally, we talk about life type stuff. Long story short, I realize that I need to really learn how to forgive. By this, I don't mean forgiving out of convenience. I mean really understanding the full meaning of grace and forgiving from the heart. For me, in the end, it's really about thinking of the big picture and realizing the scope of it.

Being Chill at School (and stuff)
I still can't believe school has started. I think my laid back attitude right now is gonna get me in trouble. This is so evidenced by me bringing that laptop to class and doing everything but pay attention to the professor. I hate to admit it, but its been true thus far. Sure, some of the professors just aren't all that great as lecturers. But even so, I think it's gonna be a problem for me sooner or later.

In between classes, I tend to hang out with the AACF-ers at their table. In a small way, it very much reminds me of my times at Davis.

Since midterms aren't yet here, I'm scrounging my old files to update my online portfolio. I swear to you, I have a a LOT more stuff that I should have put online by now. I guess since it's a low priority project, I've been putting it off for many months now. Oh well. Just look for some stuffs in the next few weeks.

I'm still gathering information on digital SLRs. If you guys have any comments, please drop me a line! I'd greatly appreciate it!

I went clubbing with Thomas (who's a youth pastor) last Sunday. Man, this guy is wild. It's a riot to watch him dance!

Been training recently. I can only say this: Don't get in a fight with me. Especially in a gun fight. I may go down, but I'm liable to take down perps, terrorists, and other scumbags in the process. Grrrrrrrrrrrrr...

So much to say, so little time...

Thoughts on Friendships (REAL friends, that is)
Had an interesting talk with a friend about something. From that conversation, we hit a serious point. This is in regards to friendships (and true friendships at that).

I guess I've also come to realize that one's manners say much more about a person than I had thought previously. I used to be very forgiving if someone was a social dunce. However, in light of our conversation, I see it a tad differently. Someone who doesn't have any decent manners may indicate that such a person is really selfish and cares very little for the consequences of their actions. Long story short, some "friends" just don't have any respect for anyone else.

On another level, some friends I trust to tell me the truth (and some of these truths can be harsh). I love these people because I know they love me enough to tell me what I need to hear (as opposed to what I may want to hear). Some friends aren't quite at this point. I still think that is fine.

However there are those who's friendships are are tenuous at best. They exist notionally and not much more. It's like maintaining a mask of falsehood. In short, it's a more drawn out way of lying. Sure, I can be forgiving. Some believe I shouldn't even give them the time of day. Whatever the case, I can surely say this: They simply aren't my friends...period. You know who they are. Those are the ones who'd rather lie straight to your face in both their words and actions than to bear any notion of honesty and accountability for what they do.

This afternoon, I was browsing at Berean (a Christian bookstore) and I came across something that spoke to me as clear as day. In it, I found this interesting line: Being passive isn't love. Love is getting in people's faces and telling them the truth. Well, ain't that the real McCoy...