It has been pretty exciting this week as we invited my mom's friend Rong-Rong and her husband David to stay at our house for two nights. For those unaware, my mom is a member of a women writers association and became acquainted with Rong-Rong through the group. Although they kept in touch on Line, this was their first time meeting in person because Rong-Rong lives in Spokane.
Because the Lovelesses are passing through the Bay Area while en route to a wedding in Los Angeles, the couple asked to crash at our place. Mom had been looking forward to meeting Rong-Rong and was thrilled to host them.
I had to sleep in the master bedroom because we let the Lovelesses use my room. Giving them the master bedroom would have been the most convenient for everyone, but this is said to bring bad luck in some traditions. On the bright side, Rong-Rong gave me three bags of chocolate for my troubles. :-)
An impromptu party — our first in almost three years
We also treated the Lovelesses to a nice dinner yesterday. Rong-Rong also wanted to invite her friend Hong-Yeh over because they had known each other for some time. Mom was more than happy to oblige. Both the Lovelesses and Hong-Yeh also brought food to share. It's been a while since we had a party like this!
Another highlight is that my aunt Cynthia also stopped by our house. She had come to drop off a gift as Rong-Rong had done a big favor for her a while ago. Cynthia had other errands and couldn't stay for more than a few minutes, but at least I enjoyed hearing about her and Cathy's recent trip to Europe. Given that the pandemic has limited our opportunities to get together, this was nice for a change.
I was admittedly a little nervous because the pandemic isn't really over. COVID-19 numbers have actually gone up in the past several days. However, the "good" news is that Omicron and BA.2 have shorter incubation periods. I should be fine as long as I don't get sick after a few days or so.
In any case, let's hope the pandemic will finally end this year. I'd definitely love to have some "proper" gatherings without fear of catching the virus!
Currently listening to: "American Pie" by Don McLean
Friday, May 13, 2022
Tuesday, April 12, 2022
level 99 Archaeology in RuneScape
I'm excited to share that I just reached 99 Archaeology just two years after the skill was released. You can go here to see me level up. It's not the best screenshot because I didn't realize the tooltip was in the way and obstructed the view of my stats. In any case, this one of my fastest 99's ever, especially considering that I've mostly had an on-and-off membership. I only have to get two Invention before I finally get the max cape after all those years. :-)
It should be noted that there is a lot of content associated with the Archaeology skill. Let's hope it doesn't take me too long to get level 120 and the Professor and Guildmaster qualifications!
Currently listening to: "Livin' on a Prayer" by Bon Jovi
It should be noted that there is a lot of content associated with the Archaeology skill. Let's hope it doesn't take me too long to get level 120 and the Professor and Guildmaster qualifications!
Currently listening to: "Livin' on a Prayer" by Bon Jovi
Tuesday, March 29, 2022
some bad news about my car...
So my father got into a car accident a few hours ago. It's the other driver's fault because he was speeding and couldn't slow down in time. He tried to change lanes instead and ended up hitting my 2013 BMW 328i from behind.
First the good news: my dad wasn't hurt at all. As you can imagine, this is something I'm very grateful for. Furthermore, the other car narrowly avoid hitting the gas tank and possibly causing a fire. Someone was watching over him.
But the bad news is that there's quite a bit of damage to the car. Even though it is still drivable, the inner fender is touching the tire. There's also a loud noise when the car goes above a certain speed. It's also a little painful to see that big gaping hole. We therefore decided to stop using the car to avoid further damage.
Dad called our insurance provider, and it looks like the repair costs will be covered. However, this will likely take a while as the body shop needs to do an estimate and don't have the parts. On the bright side, the car should look as good as new once the repairs are done. :-)
Currently listening to: Prelude and Fugue in C-sharp major, BWV 848 by J. S. Bach
First the good news: my dad wasn't hurt at all. As you can imagine, this is something I'm very grateful for. Furthermore, the other car narrowly avoid hitting the gas tank and possibly causing a fire. Someone was watching over him.
But the bad news is that there's quite a bit of damage to the car. Even though it is still drivable, the inner fender is touching the tire. There's also a loud noise when the car goes above a certain speed. It's also a little painful to see that big gaping hole. We therefore decided to stop using the car to avoid further damage.
Dad called our insurance provider, and it looks like the repair costs will be covered. However, this will likely take a while as the body shop needs to do an estimate and don't have the parts. On the bright side, the car should look as good as new once the repairs are done. :-)
Currently listening to: Prelude and Fugue in C-sharp major, BWV 848 by J. S. Bach
Tuesday, February 1, 2022
got the iPhone 13 Pro Max
You may recall we got the iPhone 6 Plus almost seven years ago. However, that is much longer than the average life of a phone. Due to their age, each of our phones has started to have problems:
But switching to the new plan was a pain in the ass. Dad chatted with an agent and placed an order, but never got information on when the phones would arrive. He contacted customer support again but got disconnected due to inactivity several times. Only after some phone calls did we find out they had not processed the order. As a consequence, the phones didn't arrive until after several days.
The good news is that setting up the phones and transferring the data turned out to be a very simple matter. I was able to start using mine right away. Although the other two could not send or receive calls, the issue went away after several hours. At least we didn't have to call customer support again.
In any case, the iPhone 13 Pro Max is awesome. One cool feature is the voicemail transcription. It's nice to be able to tell when a message is spam without having to listen to that crap. Another nice thing is that the iPhone 13 Pro Max has a much longer battery life. I can also run newer apps that don't support the iPhone 6 Plus. RuneScape on the go, anyone? :-)
Currently listening to: "Infernal Galop" by Jacques Offenbach
- Mom's phone had a short battery life
- Dad's phone had a broken Home button
- my own phone had become unusable due to a "ghost touch" issue
But switching to the new plan was a pain in the ass. Dad chatted with an agent and placed an order, but never got information on when the phones would arrive. He contacted customer support again but got disconnected due to inactivity several times. Only after some phone calls did we find out they had not processed the order. As a consequence, the phones didn't arrive until after several days.
The good news is that setting up the phones and transferring the data turned out to be a very simple matter. I was able to start using mine right away. Although the other two could not send or receive calls, the issue went away after several hours. At least we didn't have to call customer support again.
In any case, the iPhone 13 Pro Max is awesome. One cool feature is the voicemail transcription. It's nice to be able to tell when a message is spam without having to listen to that crap. Another nice thing is that the iPhone 13 Pro Max has a much longer battery life. I can also run newer apps that don't support the iPhone 6 Plus. RuneScape on the go, anyone? :-)
Currently listening to: "Infernal Galop" by Jacques Offenbach
Thursday, January 6, 2022
third time's the charm
I just got my booster shot at our local Safeway store. Let's hope that's the last one we'll ever need for this pandemic. Although there were several people in line, the process was pretty quick compared to getting my first and second shots. Another nice thing is that Safeway gave us a 10% discount for our next purchase. It should certainly come in handy because we go to Safeway all the time. :-)
Because it's only half of a normal dose, the side effects should be less severe. However, some people have reported the opposite. For example, my boss said he didn't feel well for a few after getting his booster. Let's hope that's not the case for me!
January 6 update: I felt a bit lethargic yesterday due to the side effects. However, the good news is that I'm feeling a lot better now after a good night's sleep.
Currently listening to: Rondo alla Turca by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Because it's only half of a normal dose, the side effects should be less severe. However, some people have reported the opposite. For example, my boss said he didn't feel well for a few after getting his booster. Let's hope that's not the case for me!
January 6 update: I felt a bit lethargic yesterday due to the side effects. However, the good news is that I'm feeling a lot better now after a good night's sleep.
Currently listening to: Rondo alla Turca by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Monday, January 3, 2022
an eventful holiday season
I'm heading back to the office tomorrow as Christmas break is coming to a close. One nice thing about Energous is we shut down over the holidays. I don't believe I've ever gotten more than a week off since college. Although we didn't go anywhere due to the pandemic, this was one of our best breaks ever.
Getting into stocks
You may recall that Dad suggested we make some investments during the holidays. Because stocks are often volatile, there was much research to be done. I was a little tired at times because we had to collect a lot of data to put into an Excel file. We narrowed the list down to about 40 stocks after countless hours. Here's to hoping our hard work pays off soon. *insert rocket emojis*
A new laptop and an iPad Pro
Dad wanted another computer to store old emails and decided to buy a new HP Pavilion laptop. It has a 2.9 GHz dual-core processor, 16 GB of memory and a 500 GB solid-state drive. Because my father only needs it for emails, he decided to trade it to me for one of my older devices. Although I didn't need a new computer, this was an offer I couldn't refuse. :P
I also got an iPad Pro a few days ago. Dad got it for me so that I could check stock prices in real time. Compared to our older devices, the iPad Pro is much faster. I appreciate all he's done for me. Christmas was great this year, that's for sure.
Bread machine repair
Mom has a Sunbeam bread machine that stopped working after being taken out of storage in the garage. Dad and I took it apart and found that the belt had gotten brittle and cracked. We decided to replace the belt because the machine was in good condition otherwise. Installing it took a while because the Sunbeam 5891 is hard to disassemble. However, the good news is we were able to get the machine running again. So glad we didn't have to spend money on a few one.
RuneScape gains
Of course, there was time for RuneScape too. Having almost two weeks off allowed me to gain about 35 million total XP across all my accounts. I also obtained the golden party hat on my main account and two alts. It's too bad I didn't get one on Rs2 Ixfd64 due to time constraints. However, that's not a big deal because I rolled a green Santa hat from Treasure Hunter on that account a few days ago. Guess I can't complain too much. :-)
So yeah... Christmas was nice even though we mostly stayed home. Let's hope the pandemic ends this year. It's been too long since we went on a vacation.
In other news...
I'm getting my COVID-19 booster shot tomorrow at the local Safeway store. It's often reported that the side effects are less severe because it's only half a dose. Let's hope that's the case for me!
Currently listening to: Rondo No. 1 in D major, K 485 by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Getting into stocks
You may recall that Dad suggested we make some investments during the holidays. Because stocks are often volatile, there was much research to be done. I was a little tired at times because we had to collect a lot of data to put into an Excel file. We narrowed the list down to about 40 stocks after countless hours. Here's to hoping our hard work pays off soon. *insert rocket emojis*
A new laptop and an iPad Pro
Dad wanted another computer to store old emails and decided to buy a new HP Pavilion laptop. It has a 2.9 GHz dual-core processor, 16 GB of memory and a 500 GB solid-state drive. Because my father only needs it for emails, he decided to trade it to me for one of my older devices. Although I didn't need a new computer, this was an offer I couldn't refuse. :P
I also got an iPad Pro a few days ago. Dad got it for me so that I could check stock prices in real time. Compared to our older devices, the iPad Pro is much faster. I appreciate all he's done for me. Christmas was great this year, that's for sure.
Bread machine repair
Mom has a Sunbeam bread machine that stopped working after being taken out of storage in the garage. Dad and I took it apart and found that the belt had gotten brittle and cracked. We decided to replace the belt because the machine was in good condition otherwise. Installing it took a while because the Sunbeam 5891 is hard to disassemble. However, the good news is we were able to get the machine running again. So glad we didn't have to spend money on a few one.
RuneScape gains
Of course, there was time for RuneScape too. Having almost two weeks off allowed me to gain about 35 million total XP across all my accounts. I also obtained the golden party hat on my main account and two alts. It's too bad I didn't get one on Rs2 Ixfd64 due to time constraints. However, that's not a big deal because I rolled a green Santa hat from Treasure Hunter on that account a few days ago. Guess I can't complain too much. :-)
So yeah... Christmas was nice even though we mostly stayed home. Let's hope the pandemic ends this year. It's been too long since we went on a vacation.
In other news...
I'm getting my COVID-19 booster shot tomorrow at the local Safeway store. It's often reported that the side effects are less severe because it's only half a dose. Let's hope that's the case for me!
Currently listening to: Rondo No. 1 in D major, K 485 by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Saturday, January 1, 2022
a hopeful start to 2022
Hope everyone had an awesome New Year's Eve. Due to the pandemic, things had mostly remained the same. We only left the house for essential reasons and didn't have anyone over. However, the holiday season has been pretty great so far. I actually still have a few more days to relax because we don't return to the office until the 4th. :-)
2021 in review
It seems 2021 was marginally better than 2020 at first glance. Life had been returning to normal now that vaccines are widely available. One highlight is we got to meet up with the Hsuehs last summer. But all changed when the Delta variant showed up. We're currently still in the middle of another surge.
To me, the worst thing that happened was when Dad hurt himself after falling from a ladder. Gardening isn't all fun and games as some make it out to be. We insisted that he go to the hospital to make sure he was fine. The good news is that the doctor said he had no serious injuries. I was definitely a little worried for a days.
On the flip side, the best thing about 2021 was getting my current job at Energous. It's no secret that Energous is going through growing pains. However, the company and its products seem to have great potential. We're actually going to be at CES 2022 in Las Vegas. Of course, the benefits are nice too. I can't complain about all the free lunches and snacks. :D
An optimistic 2022
One thing for sure is that 2022 has much to look forward to. According to some predictions, the pandemic will finally end this year. Let's hope there won't be more variants. Life has not been normal for almost two years. It's time to put this damn pandemic behind us.
For those curious, my New Year's resolutions are to kick some bad habits and get up to speed on the piano. Here's to a happy 2022 and a bright future!
Currently listening to: Prelude and Fugue in C minor, BWV 871 by J. S. Bach
2021 in review
It seems 2021 was marginally better than 2020 at first glance. Life had been returning to normal now that vaccines are widely available. One highlight is we got to meet up with the Hsuehs last summer. But all changed when the Delta variant showed up. We're currently still in the middle of another surge.
To me, the worst thing that happened was when Dad hurt himself after falling from a ladder. Gardening isn't all fun and games as some make it out to be. We insisted that he go to the hospital to make sure he was fine. The good news is that the doctor said he had no serious injuries. I was definitely a little worried for a days.
On the flip side, the best thing about 2021 was getting my current job at Energous. It's no secret that Energous is going through growing pains. However, the company and its products seem to have great potential. We're actually going to be at CES 2022 in Las Vegas. Of course, the benefits are nice too. I can't complain about all the free lunches and snacks. :D
An optimistic 2022
One thing for sure is that 2022 has much to look forward to. According to some predictions, the pandemic will finally end this year. Let's hope there won't be more variants. Life has not been normal for almost two years. It's time to put this damn pandemic behind us.
For those curious, my New Year's resolutions are to kick some bad habits and get up to speed on the piano. Here's to a happy 2022 and a bright future!
Currently listening to: Prelude and Fugue in C minor, BWV 871 by J. S. Bach
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