Sunday, January 25, 2009

Congratulations to my cousin Tom!

We just got word that Tom got married in China on the 10th. I remember when he introduced us to Sarah on our visit to Taiwan and China two summers ago. Though I only met her that one time, she and Tom were clearly a great match. So without further ado, congratulations to Mr. and Mrs. Hu!

The downer is that we couldn't be there in person. For starters, the wedding was in a remote location. It would have been difficult to get to China on such short notice, not to mention last-minute flights generally aren't cheap. That said, I was definitely there in spirit. Here's to wishing Tom and Sarah nothing but love and happiness as they begin their life together.

In other news...

1. The dance last week was pretty fun. Here is a review for those curious.

2. I'm considering switching to another blog platform as MySpace is buggy and often unreliable. The other reason is that sites like WordPress and Blogger are more professional. Expect a decision in a few weeks.

Currently listening to: Billboard Top Hits: 1987

Saturday, January 17, 2009

one more semester to go

I've moved back to Berkeley for my spring classes. You're probably expecting another rant about how the break wasn't long enough, but I'm actually glad to be back this time!

Holiday break in review

Things started out great as I did well last semester. Hard work certainly pays off. Just after the semester ended, my family went to Tahoe to see the Nutcracker ballet. This was followed by an amazing Christmas Eve gathering at Carol's house.

Our own New Year's Eve party was canceled because most people couldn't come. But I probably shouldn't complain as we had dinner with the Shiehs instead. Though our New Year's Day party was also nice, there was nobody my age. Damn generation gap. ^_^

Aunt Cynthia and my cousins came over the next day to make bread with Mom. That was also pretty fun. However, they left shortly after lunch because Cathy was feeling stressed about her SATs. Speaking of which, I was pretty busy studying for the GRE myself - not exactly the most exciting thing in the world.

In any case, I'm thrilled to be back at school. It's so nice to see my suitemates Bryan, Danny and Tyler again. I'm also looking forward to tomorrow's dance. :-)

Currently listening to: Pure Disco

Thursday, January 1, 2009

New Year's Day party report

You may recall that our New Year's Eve party was canceled due to the lack of guests. However, Mom felt we should have a gathering after all and invited the Liangs, Chus and Guans over for dinner. I'm definitely not complaining. :-)

A cool thing is that our family friend Fennah is a travel editor for a well-known Chinese newspaper. I enjoyed hearing about the places she's visited. That's my dream job for sure. ^_^

Speaking of Fennah, she gave me a box of Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory truffles. I've always wanted to try their confections but could never bring myself to buy them. It's definitely nice to have generous friends. Thanks, Fennah!

The downside is that Emily and Stacey didn't come. This was a little disappointing as there were no other young people. On the other hand, my aunt Cynthia and cousins Connie and Cathy are coming over tomorrow to learn how to make bread. I can't wait to see them again!

Currently listening to: '80s Gold

a quiet entrance into 2009

Just a while ago, I was writing about how awesome our last New Year's Eve was. It's hard to believe a whole year has passed. Where does time go?

New Year's Eve report

Yesterday was a mixed bag. The plan was to have a party at our house. But because only two people said they could come, Mom decided it wasn't worth the trouble and called off the party altogether. This was a let-down as I had been looking forward to it for several weeks.

To make matters worse, my laptop got infected with viruses again. Getting rid of that shit was a major pain in the ass. That is definitely not how I wanted to spend New Year's Eve. Fuck the losers that write these things. >:(

On the other hand, canceling the party made New Year's Eve much less stressful. For those who have never hosted a party before, cooking all that food and cleaning up the house can be daunting. It was nice to get some rest before the New Year. They say every cloud has a silver lining. So true.

But what really made our day is that the Shieh family had us over for dinner. There was lots of good food as Aunt Cynthia is a great cook just like Mom. Though it was just our two families at first, Connie's friend Michelle later came over. The more the merrier!

I saw Saving Private Ryan on TV while the girls made chocolate toffee cookies. All of us then gathered to watch the Times Square ball drop. The cookies were soon ready - and they were absolutely delicious. Just because this was a quiet gathering doesn't mean it wasn't fun.

However, Cynthia and Uncle Dong are both early sleepers. Therefore, my family left around 10 p.m. so they could get some rest. Considering that our own party was canceled, I'm grateful that the Shiehs invited us to theirs.

The other good news is that my mother has planned a New Year's Day dinner and invited three couples over. In addition, my aunt and cousins are coming over tomorrow to make bread and will be staying for lunch. I guess the New Year won't be so bad after all. :-)

2008 in review

The past year certainly had its highlights. For me, the best part of 2008 was when we we went to Yellowstone and the Upper Midwest during the summer. That was extremely exciting as I had always wanted to visit Yellowstone a second time. The trip to Southern California was enjoyable as well.

The downer is that I had to miss out on Anne's wedding in Taiwan because of my summer physics class. The wedding was a big deal as Anne was my first cousin on Mom's side to get married. At least there are the anniversary parties to look forward to. ^_^

I'm proud to say that my New Year's resolutions for 2008 were overall a success. Aside from getting my driver's license just two weeks into the new year, I also did rather well last semester. Considering that Berkeley isn't exactly known for easy classes, receiving an "A" in Stat 157 gave me a huge confidence boost. Two out of three ain't bad.

For those curious, my goals for 2009 are to not stay up too late, kick a few bad habits, be more independent, be more confident around girls and make more "offline" friends. Yeah, maybe five is a bit ambitious. Haha.

Currently watching: Saving Private Ryan