I just got back from the Liang family's Christmas Eve party with my parents. Because we already had a party planned for last night, Mom moved it back to New Year's Eve. That means we'll have a proper New Year celebration after all. Sweet!
At any rate, Carol's party was a blast. I got to meet her nieces Ariel and Stephanie for the first time. Emily and Stacey were obviously there too. The girls were playing Scrabble as we arrived; I teamed up with Stacey and almost helped her win. That was the highlight of the evening. :-)
Several other families showed up before it was time for dinner. All of the food was delicious; no wonder it was quickly gone. The girls decorated cookies and watched Friends afterwards; because that wasn't really my thing, I mostly played Super Mario World hacks on my laptop. Until Emily's boyfriend Daniel arrived, I was the only guy at the party aside from the dads. :P
Mom had suggested leaving early as the Liangs are leaving for Tahoe in the morning. However, Carol insisted that we stay until midnight, to which we obliged. Everyone then opened their presents as it was technically Christmas. To our surprise, there were some for us as well: Carol gave me a battery-powered pottery fountain while my parents got coupons for discounted flights. This was definitely a wonderful experience.
The memories from this party will certainly last a long time. It was nice to see the Liangs again after almost a year. Speaking of which, they're coming over on New Year's Day as well. I'm so excited!
Currently listening to: The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time soundtrack - Gerudo Valley theme
Thursday, December 25, 2008
Monday, December 22, 2008
Tahoe trip report
Christmas break is off to a good start as we went to Tahoe over the weekend. The reason for going there was to see The Nutcracker at MontBleu. The trip was lots of fun!
Day 1
We left around 9 a.m. to catch the 3 p.m. show in Stateline. Dad wanted to leave earlier, but the preparations took longer than expected. I also needed to stop at Berkeley to check out of the dorms for the holidays. However, the process was quick as most people had already left. There was also some traffic, although we managed to get to MontBleu with about half an hour to spare. Thank heavens for small favors.
The show began shortly after we arrived. This was our first time attending a ballet in over 10 years. While I'm not a huge ballet fan, the performance was incredible. The only downside is that we weren't allowed to take pictures.
The package included a night at MontBleu and admission to the Opal Ultra Lounge. After some cup noodles and vegetables for dinner, my family went to the ultra lounge for drinks. There was a DJ and a dance floor. I did my best to not look like a fool. Despite my inability to dance, this was my favorite of the trip.
Mom also wanted to see the art show at the convention center. The event had a live jazz band and complimentary wine. However, our stay was short as we were all tired. The day ended on a positive note: I found out I got an "A" in Stat 157 after checking my grades. Sweet!
Day 2
The three of us headed to Incline Village and checked into Hyatt Regency Lake Tahoe Resort, Spa and Casino. Our plan was to go to Soda Springs as we hadn't skied in over four years, but the weather changed our minds. On the other hand, Dad took us for a drive around Lake Tahoe. The scenery made for some great pictures.
Back at the hotel, my mother and I watched The Bucket List on our portable DVD player. The movie wasn't that bad despite the critical reviews. Mom then watched A Good Year while I played Super Star Wars on my laptop.
It was then time for dinner. I wanted to try the buffet downstairs, but the price was exorbitant. The food at other restaurants wasn't any cheaper. Greedy bastards. In the end, dinner consisted of smoked salmon and more cup noodles. The evening ended with a stroll around the hotel and a workout in the fitness room.
Day 3
The plan was to go to Soda Springs as the weather had cleared up. However, my family went to Truckee instead as the storm picked up again. But the weather in Truckee started getting even worse, so we high-tailed it out of town and began our drive home.
The fun didn't end there as we stopped at WinCo Foods in Vacaville. The best thing about WinCo is that everything is so cheap. The last stop on the way home was the Hong Kong Seafood Restaurant in San Jose for dinner. The food was absolutely delicious.
Conclusions
This trip wasn't just about the Nutcracker ballet. Even though we didn't ski this time, all of us had a great time. I've posted some pictures from our adventure. They were taken with our new digital camera. :-)
In other news...
The Liang family has invited us over for Christmas Eve. Because we can't be in two places at once, Mom is moving our party back to New Year's Eve. Two parties to look forward to - I'm definitely not complaining!
Update: The pictures are now online.
Currently watching: The Bucket List
Day 1
We left around 9 a.m. to catch the 3 p.m. show in Stateline. Dad wanted to leave earlier, but the preparations took longer than expected. I also needed to stop at Berkeley to check out of the dorms for the holidays. However, the process was quick as most people had already left. There was also some traffic, although we managed to get to MontBleu with about half an hour to spare. Thank heavens for small favors.
The show began shortly after we arrived. This was our first time attending a ballet in over 10 years. While I'm not a huge ballet fan, the performance was incredible. The only downside is that we weren't allowed to take pictures.
The package included a night at MontBleu and admission to the Opal Ultra Lounge. After some cup noodles and vegetables for dinner, my family went to the ultra lounge for drinks. There was a DJ and a dance floor. I did my best to not look like a fool. Despite my inability to dance, this was my favorite of the trip.
Mom also wanted to see the art show at the convention center. The event had a live jazz band and complimentary wine. However, our stay was short as we were all tired. The day ended on a positive note: I found out I got an "A" in Stat 157 after checking my grades. Sweet!
Day 2
The three of us headed to Incline Village and checked into Hyatt Regency Lake Tahoe Resort, Spa and Casino. Our plan was to go to Soda Springs as we hadn't skied in over four years, but the weather changed our minds. On the other hand, Dad took us for a drive around Lake Tahoe. The scenery made for some great pictures.
Back at the hotel, my mother and I watched The Bucket List on our portable DVD player. The movie wasn't that bad despite the critical reviews. Mom then watched A Good Year while I played Super Star Wars on my laptop.
It was then time for dinner. I wanted to try the buffet downstairs, but the price was exorbitant. The food at other restaurants wasn't any cheaper. Greedy bastards. In the end, dinner consisted of smoked salmon and more cup noodles. The evening ended with a stroll around the hotel and a workout in the fitness room.
Day 3
The plan was to go to Soda Springs as the weather had cleared up. However, my family went to Truckee instead as the storm picked up again. But the weather in Truckee started getting even worse, so we high-tailed it out of town and began our drive home.
The fun didn't end there as we stopped at WinCo Foods in Vacaville. The best thing about WinCo is that everything is so cheap. The last stop on the way home was the Hong Kong Seafood Restaurant in San Jose for dinner. The food was absolutely delicious.
Conclusions
This trip wasn't just about the Nutcracker ballet. Even though we didn't ski this time, all of us had a great time. I've posted some pictures from our adventure. They were taken with our new digital camera. :-)
In other news...
The Liang family has invited us over for Christmas Eve. Because we can't be in two places at once, Mom is moving our party back to New Year's Eve. Two parties to look forward to - I'm definitely not complaining!
Update: The pictures are now online.
Currently watching: The Bucket List
Sunday, December 14, 2008
done with the fall semester + holiday break plans
Friday was my last final of the semester. It's hard to believe Christmas break is already here!
One awesome thing is that the Stat 152 professor made the final exam optional. I'm fairly satisfied with my grade and decided to opt out. I certainly wish more professors would do something like this. Well, I can dream, right?
As for our plans, my family is heading to Tahoe this weekend to see the Nutcracker ballet at Montbleu. Though ballet isn't exactly my cup of tea, I'm super excited about the vacation. It's not often that we attend these events!
Mom also had a party planned for New Year's Eve. However, one of the couples will be out of town on that date. Therefore, my mother moved the gathering to New Year's Day after conferring with the other guests. Of course, that means the ball drop will have passed. Celebrating the New Year just isn't the same without the countdown. I guess we'll see how things go.
Other than that, I'll likely spend the rest of the break preparing for the GRE and my spring classes.
Update: It looks like the party will be on Christmas Eve. I'm not sure of our New Year's Eve plans, but this is definitely better than no party at all. :-)
Currently watching: Blade: Trinity
One awesome thing is that the Stat 152 professor made the final exam optional. I'm fairly satisfied with my grade and decided to opt out. I certainly wish more professors would do something like this. Well, I can dream, right?
As for our plans, my family is heading to Tahoe this weekend to see the Nutcracker ballet at Montbleu. Though ballet isn't exactly my cup of tea, I'm super excited about the vacation. It's not often that we attend these events!
Mom also had a party planned for New Year's Eve. However, one of the couples will be out of town on that date. Therefore, my mother moved the gathering to New Year's Day after conferring with the other guests. Of course, that means the ball drop will have passed. Celebrating the New Year just isn't the same without the countdown. I guess we'll see how things go.
Other than that, I'll likely spend the rest of the break preparing for the GRE and my spring classes.
Update: It looks like the party will be on Christmas Eve. I'm not sure of our New Year's Eve plans, but this is definitely better than no party at all. :-)
Currently watching: Blade: Trinity
Friday, December 5, 2008
early Christmas presents :-)
Just because Black Friday and Cyber Monday are over doesn't mean the deals are. Case in point, I came home today to find that my father had picked up various goodies while I was at school. The things he got were:
Getting early Christmas presents is always nice. Thanks, Dad!
- Two LaCie external hard drives with 1 TB of storage each. Considering that one of my hard drives failed last month, Dad figured we needed something to back up our files.
- Some Eneloop batteries and a charger. These will go well with my green lasers.
- Several Eco-i-Lite Home LED flashlight from Capstone Industries. They're intended for emergency lighting but should still be useful.
- A Nikon Coolpix S550 digital camera. This means Mom and I won't have to fight over the Coolpix 5200 anymore. :-)
- An Acer Aspire One netbook for himself.
- A 22" AOC Envision LCD HDTV monitor. It will allow us to continue watching TV when the digital TV transition comes.
Getting early Christmas presents is always nice. Thanks, Dad!
Sunday, November 30, 2008
the rest of Thanksgiving break...
Just because we had an awesome party for Thanksgiving doesn't mean the rest of the weekend wasn't fun.
Friday
Dad wanted to look for Black Friday deals and took us to Fry's Electronics and Wal-Mart after breakfast. He had hoped to buy some hard drives, digital cameras and an iPod. However, they were all sold out; no wonder people are willing to camp out in the parking lot.
Our intention was to visit my cousins Connie and Cathy in the afternoon. But what we didn't know is that the Shiehs already had plans. They were actually just getting ready to leave when we showed up. We didn't want to delay them and only stayed to give them the presents. Seeing that it wasn't too late, my parents and I went hiking in the nearby Stevens Creek County Park instead.
Other than that, I saw the 2007 film Next after before going to bed. The ability to see a few minutes into the future would be cool and terrifying at the same time.
Saturday
The three of us went hiking again on Saturday morning. This was relaxing as the temperatures were just right.
The Shiehs must have felt bad about turning us away because they invited us over for dinner. That was certainly a pleasant surprise. I then watched Rambo at their house. The movie had lots of great action!
Sunday
The nice weather allowed us to go on yet another hike. Henry Cowell Redwoods State Park has always been one of our favorite places. The rest of the day was uneventful, although I saw Spider-Man 2 in the evening. So yeah, my Thanksgiving break was awesome.
Having said that, I should probably get back to work as I have two class projects due soon and an upcoming final exam. Peace!
Currently watching: Spider-Man 2
Friday
Dad wanted to look for Black Friday deals and took us to Fry's Electronics and Wal-Mart after breakfast. He had hoped to buy some hard drives, digital cameras and an iPod. However, they were all sold out; no wonder people are willing to camp out in the parking lot.
Our intention was to visit my cousins Connie and Cathy in the afternoon. But what we didn't know is that the Shiehs already had plans. They were actually just getting ready to leave when we showed up. We didn't want to delay them and only stayed to give them the presents. Seeing that it wasn't too late, my parents and I went hiking in the nearby Stevens Creek County Park instead.
Other than that, I saw the 2007 film Next after before going to bed. The ability to see a few minutes into the future would be cool and terrifying at the same time.
Saturday
The three of us went hiking again on Saturday morning. This was relaxing as the temperatures were just right.
The Shiehs must have felt bad about turning us away because they invited us over for dinner. That was certainly a pleasant surprise. I then watched Rambo at their house. The movie had lots of great action!
Sunday
The nice weather allowed us to go on yet another hike. Henry Cowell Redwoods State Park has always been one of our favorite places. The rest of the day was uneventful, although I saw Spider-Man 2 in the evening. So yeah, my Thanksgiving break was awesome.
Having said that, I should probably get back to work as I have two class projects due soon and an upcoming final exam. Peace!
Currently watching: Spider-Man 2
Thursday, November 27, 2008
Thanksgiving party report
You may remember that we had a big Thanksgiving party last year. That was so much fun that we decided to throw another one tonight. Our guests were the Liu, Wang and two Lin families. The Tsaos couldn't come this time, but I'm not going to complain as there were already close to 20 people!
The nice thing about having a potluck is the large variety of food. Here is a picture of the dinner table for those curious. I bought some chocolate Newman-O's and Fig Newmans at Berkeley after figuring it would be a great way to honor the late Paul Newman. The snacks must have been delicious as they were gone in less than 15 minutes.
The party also doubled as a birthday celebration for Charlie, who just turned 16 years old. His parents brought out a huge cake after dinner. Of note is that Charlie also loves fireworks; he and I went to the backyard to light some sparklers later in the evening. It's always nice to meet a fellow fireworks enthusiast. :-)
Charlie's family also brought their Wii. The kids had a great time with Wii Sports and Wii Play in our family room. Even the non-gamers got into the action. I thought the cow-riding mini-game in Wii Play was hilarious. Yet all good things must come to an end: our guests soon began leaving as it was getting late. On the whole, I really enjoyed the gathering. Only five weeks left until New Year's Eve!
This year, I'm thankful for supportive parents, great professors and my religion, Buddhism. While I may not be that devout, I can attest that my faith has gotten me through hard times.
The fun isn't over because there is a chance we'll visit my cousins Connie and Cathy tomorrow. After all, the long weekend has only just started. :-)
Currently listening to: John Denver - Live in the USSR
The nice thing about having a potluck is the large variety of food. Here is a picture of the dinner table for those curious. I bought some chocolate Newman-O's and Fig Newmans at Berkeley after figuring it would be a great way to honor the late Paul Newman. The snacks must have been delicious as they were gone in less than 15 minutes.
The party also doubled as a birthday celebration for Charlie, who just turned 16 years old. His parents brought out a huge cake after dinner. Of note is that Charlie also loves fireworks; he and I went to the backyard to light some sparklers later in the evening. It's always nice to meet a fellow fireworks enthusiast. :-)
Charlie's family also brought their Wii. The kids had a great time with Wii Sports and Wii Play in our family room. Even the non-gamers got into the action. I thought the cow-riding mini-game in Wii Play was hilarious. Yet all good things must come to an end: our guests soon began leaving as it was getting late. On the whole, I really enjoyed the gathering. Only five weeks left until New Year's Eve!
This year, I'm thankful for supportive parents, great professors and my religion, Buddhism. While I may not be that devout, I can attest that my faith has gotten me through hard times.
The fun isn't over because there is a chance we'll visit my cousins Connie and Cathy tomorrow. After all, the long weekend has only just started. :-)
Currently listening to: John Denver - Live in the USSR
Sunday, November 16, 2008
damn hard drive failure...
Long story short, the hard drive of my Dell Dimension 3000 failed. The PC started acting up last Thursday and wouldn't boot most of the time. Windows would occasionally load but invariably display the Blue Screen of Death.
Dad took the computer to my uncle Dong (who is good with these things) and was told that the hard drive had died. The good news is that I was able to recover most of my files. While some of them were corrupted, the critical ones were intact. Phew!
Of course, every cloud has a silver lining: I got a shiny new HDD with 466 GB of free space. The downside is that I had to install all those programs and Windows updates again, but that's ultimately better than losing years of data. I'm also extremely lucky that this didn't happen in the middle of an important project. Lesson learned: I should probably start doing regular backups soon.
I did have to miss the dance at Stern last Friday as a result, although that's a relatively minor inconvenience. Oh well, one cannot expect everything to be perfect.
Dad took the computer to my uncle Dong (who is good with these things) and was told that the hard drive had died. The good news is that I was able to recover most of my files. While some of them were corrupted, the critical ones were intact. Phew!
Of course, every cloud has a silver lining: I got a shiny new HDD with 466 GB of free space. The downside is that I had to install all those programs and Windows updates again, but that's ultimately better than losing years of data. I'm also extremely lucky that this didn't happen in the middle of an important project. Lesson learned: I should probably start doing regular backups soon.
I did have to miss the dance at Stern last Friday as a result, although that's a relatively minor inconvenience. Oh well, one cannot expect everything to be perfect.
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