Month: March 2009

  • Goodbye to BomCamChuoi (For Now)


    BomCamChuoi and I at the San Diego Zoo (January 2009)

    By now, some of you may have read that she was leaving Xanga.  Her site officially shut down yesterday and I’m pretty bummed out about it.  She was one of the closest Xangans I’ve gotten to know in the past few months and it’s a shame that I won’t be seeing that all too familiar screen name popping up anymore.

    I forgot how we initially found one another’s sites.  Looking back at old entries, I found that she made her first comment on a post I made back in November 11th, probably way before most of you started reading my blogs.  In her comment, she mentioned that I visited her page first, but I can’t remember what it was (no way to check either because her whole site is shut down now).

    Ever since then, she has been a regular here on my page, as I was on hers.  I think it would be hard to find many posts or pulses I’ve written without seeing a comment left by her.  It got to a point where I couldn’t think of Xanga without having her screen name pop up in my head as well.

    Eventually, I finally got to meet her back in January, when I took a trip to California.  My friend and I were just gonna book a hotel, but she decided to open up her house for us to stay in.  That was really kind and trusting of her and it meant a lot.  Seriously, how many people who live alone would let two strangers (guys even) stay over her place?  I’m glad she did though, because my trip would have been so much different had she not done that for us. 

    In case you were wondering, the reason why she is leaving Xanga is because she needed “to become an assassin for the government and they needed her off the radar ” (quoted from a text she sent me).  Seriously though, it had to do with a job she is trying to apply for and she didn’t want her page to possibly mess up the hiring process. 

    What does that mean?  Well once she gets hired ( and surely she will), she will come back to Xanga but under a new screen name.  Like a phoenix rising from the ashes (okay it isn’t THAT serious, but you get what I’m trying to say =P), she will hopefully make a return in a month or so. 

    If not, I will personally fly down to San Diego to convince her otherwise

  • If FML was around when I was younger…

    All these stories are true (and yes, I probably deserve some of it).

    Age 6:
    Today, I was playing outside when I felt something land in my hair.  I look up and saw that a flock of birds had let loose a flurry of poop all over the yard I was playing on.  I tried washing it out but I couldn’t get rid of the stench from my hair.  I literally smelled like crap for the next couple of days and I now have a bird phobia.  FML.

    Age 8:
    Today, a neighborhood kid was verbally and physically harassing me and wouldn’t leave me alone  Out of desperation, I threw a small rock in his general direction hoping it would back him off.  The rock hit him in his eye, busting it open.  He ran home crying and his mom had to take him to the hospital to get stitches.  Afterwards, his mom tried suing my family because she thought I was the one bullying her son.  FML.

    Age 10:
    Today, my family finally got cable for our house.  While looking at the TV Guide channel, I noticed a channel called “Playboy”.  I thought it was a channel for little kids that like to play, so I turned to it.  Both my parents were standing right behind me.  FML.

    Age 15:
    Today, I changed my job to one where I sell ointments.  I wasn’t told until after I started working there that everything was commission-based and I had to administer samples to potential customers.  The oil smelled like old people and, ironically, the only people willing to try out free samples were old people.  I spend most of my days rubbing oil on nasty body parts and I was barely getting paid.  FML.

    Age 16:
    Today, I thought it would be awesome to tie the back of my hair into a rat tail, since my hair was so long back there.  Turns out, it isn’t so awesome.  I looked like a redneck Asian.  FML.

    Age 17:
    Today, a couple of stupid middle schoolers were walking by the courts, making rude comments about how tennis is such a sissy sport.  After they said that, I wanted to hit the ball hard to show them how wrong they were.  It was hot that day and my hand was very sweaty.  When I went for a big serve, the racket slipped out of my hands.  I inadvertantly spiked my racket into the ground, breaking it in the process, in front of those kids.  FML.

    Age 18:
    Today, my ex-girlfriend, whom I broke up with a couple of months ago, finally found out that I was dating someone else.  I discovered this when my phone started vibrating uncontrollably.  She had sent me over 100 text messages more or less saying she hates me.  I do not have a text message plan.  She knows that.  FML

  • Funny How Inspiration Can Come Full Circle

    (From right to left):  My cousin, grandmother, brother and me Halloween 2008

    As some of you might know, I decided to be an assistant coach at my old high school tennis team.  It requires a fair amount of time commitment and I’m not getting paid for it, but so far I have absolutely no regrets doing it.  The feedback from the kids have really been rewarding to me and makes me want to continue this next year if I’m able to.  Looking back, if it wasn’t for my 15 year old cousin (“Pink Man” in the picture above and who’s currently on the team I’m coaching), I would not have ended up coaching.  How did all this tennis stuff happen between my cousin and I?

    Flashback a year and a half ago (circa November 2007):
    My cousin was experiencing his first couple of months in high school and was not enjoying it really.  His plans to play on the soccer team fell through and they messed up his schedule so he wasn’t having the same classes as his other friends.  Overall, he seemed a bit bummed out.

    Concerned, I suggested to him that if he wanted to I could play some tennis with him so that maybe he can join the tennis team in the spring.  He never really played tennis before, but he decided to give it a shot.  Whenever I came back home from college, I tried to hit with him for a little bit, teaching him techniques and fundamentals that I didn’t learn until after high school.  I didn’t have any real expectations for him; I just wanted to give him a hobby that could allow him to meet new people and keep him occupied.

    January 2008:
    I had stopped hitting with him due to being in Hong Kong for winter break, but when I came back I’ve found out that he had really been getting into the sport.  He would often go to the back of the library and hit balls over and over again against the wall for hours.  Pleasantly surprise at his work ethic, I decided to help him out some more by upgrading his gear.  I passed on my old high school tennis racket to him, as well as a bunch of old tennis clothes and some new Adidas tennis socks.  I also gave him a lot of practice balls and tennis magazines for him to read.  He asked me how he can pay me back, but I told him not to worry about it.  Instead, I just told him to keep doing what he’s doing and as long as he was happy I’ll be good.

    March -May 2008:
    Tennis season has started and my cousin turned out to be the best freshman.  I talked to one of the seniors who told me how impressed he was of him.  “Your cousin is the future of the team”, he told me.  I can’t help but smile.  He ended up having a decent record that season.

    November 2008:
    Many months has passed since the last time I saw my cousin play tennis.  Over those months, he apparently had been playing constantly with friends from his team, which definitely showed when I played with him. 

    I get a call from him one day asking me if  I could help him find a new racket.  He had just gotten a lot of birthday money and he decided he wanted to spend it on tennis gear.  I happily agreed and picked out a nice racket for him, as well as stringing it for free. 

    Present:
    My cousin is now very well known at his high school as the “tennis star”.  Over one year, his confidence has shot through the roof and he enjoys going to school.  At the same time, his work ethics has not waiver.  He is still playing as much as possible and is always asking me for help.

    I had come to find out a little before his season started that his coach got suspended for choking out a student (don’t ask haha).  The team (especially my cousin) wanted some assistance and after some thought, I decided to help out.  I was so worried that these kids would be unresponsive and undisciplined, but they really surprised me.  The team actually has some potential and a lot of dedicated players that really listens and wants to get better. 

    I can’t state how proud I am of my cousin through all of this.  I’m glad one of my passions has allowed him to be so much happier now in life than he was just a year and a half ago.  I’m going to keep on helping him out, as well as the rest of the team, as much as possible because they all really deserve it. 

    Interesting how inspiring my cousin ended up leading him to inspire me

    P.S.  In case some of you were curious, here’s a video of my cousin playing tennis at a clinic at my club.  The clinic is a bit expensive, but I really don’t mind paying for it right now if it can help out my cousin. 

    I’m very impressed with how much better he’s gotten in just a year and a half.  He still needs some work on his transition game, footwork on slow shots, and just needs more experience in general, but his natural racket ability and work ethic is top notch.  If he keeps on improving at this rate, he’ll be better than me in no time.

    First Section:  Forehands and Backhands
    Second Section:  Volleys and Overheads
    Third Section:  Kick Serves and Flat Serves

  • Tell me I’m not the only one that does this.

    There’s something wrong with me.  I’m starting to notice that when I see certain people’s user names, I end up singing some song in my head that has their user name in the lyrics.  Sometimes it’s because their names are very similar to a song lyric and sometimes it’s just because of some random connection I made.

    Here are some examples where I’ve found myself doing this:

    wutuwaitn4:  Everytime I see his name, in my head I automatically start going “what you waiting, what you waiting, what you waiting, what you waiting, what you waiting for?  Tick tock tick tock tick tock tick tock…”  (In case you haven’t figured it out, that’s a Gwen Stefani song.)

    BomCamChuoi:  I have mentioned this before to her, but before I got to really know her I used to have a hard time remembering her screen name.  Somehow whenever I thought about her, I end up singing “Bom chika bow wowww”.  Yeah, that little ditty =P

    mi1kandcerea1:  She actually has two things.  First, everytime I say her screen name in my head I say it like how that old VH1 show used to say Pop Up Video (you guys do remember that right, or am I dating myself -_-).  “Milk and cereal!”  See?

    The second thing with her involves the title you see on her page whenever you visit her site.  Right on top it says “Stop.then read”.  Of course being the weirdo I am, I say it to the chorus of OneRepublic’s “Stop and Stare”.  “Stop then readddd….” 

    Please tell me some of you also do this so I’m not the only crazy person here!  Did I get some of you to start singing those screennames now in your head?  If so, excellent! 

  • My Spontaneous Trip to New York

    First San Diego, now New York.  After this trip, I’m sure this won’t be the last time I will make a random trip somewhere in the world!

    How did I end up deciding to go?  I was chatting with Erin, aka charmed1alwayz, and NY came up in our conversation.  Out of curiosity, I checked to see how much a bus ticket and a hotel would be if I went and found out it was really cheap.  Hey what the hell, why not? 

    I ended up taking one of those Chinatown buses up to NY Monday morning.  The bus stop was in Baltimore and that place was seriously shady.  Luckily, I saw an Asian girl with luggage at the stop as well, which I awesomely deduced was also going to NY.  We sat together on the bus, which made my ride less lonely.  When we got to Penn Station in NY, she gave me some directions before we went our separate ways.  (If you’re somehow reading this Sunny, thank you!)

    It wasn’t too long before I met up with Erin at Macy’s.  We headed over to a nice Korean place called Li Hua, where we met up with Rosalie, aka pasaway4eva

    Chilling with two fun gorgeous girls in New York.  No complaints from this guy

    We proceeded to go to my hotel next so I can check in.  The hotel was called the Mayfair NY Hotel, a nice little European style place right next to Time Square.  The rooms are small, but then again I didn’t really need too much room for myself.  Not too shabby for $90 room rate.

     
    Wish the room could have been less…pink haha.  Oh well.

    So one of the things I really wanted to do was see some museums.  I ended up only seeing one museum and it was one that I um, didn’t imagine I would be going to.  I was thinking maybe to see a museum with modern art or whatever, but we ended up going to the MOS.  What does that stand for?  Well, I’m sure you can figure it out from the pictures below.  I am now very aware what “g-g rubbing” means =P .


    Told you the panda picture I took was gonna be interesting, BomCamChuoi!

    These are actually the more innocent pictures we took in there!  I censored some of the shots for obvious reasons.  Yeah, lovely memories with this museum experience.

    We wandered around the city for a little while before Rosalie had to part ways with us around dinner time.  Erin and I met up with a mutual friend of ours, Derek, for dinner that night (who, ironically enough, I met initially through Xanga!  We would later be officers of our college’s Chinese Student Association).

     
    Dinner at Zen Japanese Restaurant

    The next day, I met up with Erin again for a walk around Time Square and brunch at Bubba Gump.  According to our waiter, all the waiters there are actors.  He himself was in Gossip Girls the other day apparently!  I thought that was interesting.

    In case you’re wondering, I trying to clean up my spilled drink that I somehow sent flying off the table

    She had to work that day, so she quickly gave a tour of 5th Avenue before leaving me on my own.  I spent most of the time this day exploring Central Park, Rockefeller Center, 5th and 6th Avenue by myself.  I was hoping to check out the Musuem of Modern Arts, but it’s closed on Tuesdays!  Bummer.

     
    Random shots I took that day

    My bus was scheduled to leave at 6:30pm, so I met up with Derek and his girlfriend for one quick meal at TenRen’s before I left for my trip back home.

    I heard the NY TenRen’s wasn’t so good, but I thought it was fine enough.  The service was pretty shotty however.

    I got back to Baltimore around 10pm that night.  Remember how I said that stop was shady?  When I arrived, there was a guy on his knees in the street.  Uhhhh, wtf??  An ambulance did come by soon afterwards though, so hopefully he’s alright.  As for me, I quickly rushed over to the nearest gas station to wait to get picked up.  Note to self:  don’t go back there alone at night.

    Overall, it was a nice little trip that really should have been longer.  I guess I’ll have to remember that next time I go, which will hopefully be very soon.

  • Hey Asian American Community, a Xangan Needs Your Support!

    A fellow Xangan, InlUvWiTuRsMiLe, begged me asked me to help her find more submissions from the Asian American community for a contest being held by her cultural club.  Here’s the information that she sent me:

    It’s time for MASA’s Cultural Contest! If you are Asian-American, an artist, creator, designer, a virtuoso, talent, comedian, dancer, singer, prestidigitator, contortionist, or anything else not mentioned, this is for you!

    We are looking for any short video submissions (5 minutes MAX) from Asian American communities everywhere to showcase cultural awareness, denigrate stereotypes and preconceived notions about race, break the barriers of ignorance, and most of all, have fun!

    These submissions may be ANY sort of work, not excluding written prose or visual art; however they must be submitted through a video format.

    The select few whose videos are chosen will WIN the opportunity to have their video SCREENED and PUBLICIZED FREE OF CHARGE in front of thousands of audience members at FUSION, an annual hip hop dance competition hosted at the University of California, San Diego. FUSION is the largest dance competition on the west coast. This event, now in its 10th year, has grown immensely since its start of a few hundred supporters and now attracts views and attention from people of all backgrounds across America, not limited to the dance community. More recently, it has been gaining the attention internationally from as far as Europe to Australia.

    Does this prospect excite you? Then submit your video today! Pieces will be accepted between NOW and Sunday, March 29th, 2009. Please email masa.culturalvideo@gmail.com to announce your entrance in the contest, and provide a YouTube link to your video upon submission. Please include your name, preferred contact information, and a small description of your video.

    For more information, submission guidelines, and updates, please visit:

    Youtube link at http://www.youtube.com/user/masaculturalvideo.

    FUSION Website at www.fusionhiphop.com

    Facebook event “2009 FUSION X: MASA Cultural Contest” under the MASA (Multi-Asian Student Association) group (http://www.facebook.com/home.php#/event.php?eid=57406777413)

    Best regards,

    MASA Cultural Crew

    Sounds pretty cool, no?  I hope some of you can make submissions for this contest!  Here’s my submission:

    Yeah, totally just kidding with that video =P .  I’ll try to come up with a real submission once I think up something good.

    *******
    I’m getting ready for my quickie trip to New York right now.  I’m going to be there Monday and Tuesday, so I won’t be on much until after then.  I hope I have a great time!

  • Five Love Life Tales

    So, I guess I did do a really good job disgusting the false statement amongst the four true statements.  Out of everyone who guessed, only four people got it correct.  I’ll go through all the true stories first before I get to the false one.

    I have dated a girl I initially met through an online dating website. = True!
     
    A lot of people thought this was the fake one because it seems either they misread a comment I left on another post (I wrote I never dated anyone I met through Xanga, but I didn’t say anything about other sites!) or they thought I was too good to try out an online dating website.  We make friends all the time online, so why not find dates as well?  As long as the internet isn’t your ONLY source of meeting people it seems normal enough to me.


    Press it, you know you’re curious…

    In reality, I actually did partake in a dating website not too long ago, although not for the the obvious reasons.  I used to be a pretty active user on OkCupid, mainly because I was addicted to all the tests on that site as well as answering questions that shaped my personality awards.  I got a few of my friends (both guys and girls) to join as well, and we would sometimes compare test scores and what not. 

    Eventually, we decided to try out the website for the reason it was intended, just out of curiosity to see if it actually works.  It was then that I started talking with a girl from that website whom I later found out went to my college.  After a few messages, we eventually arranged to go on a date that went pretty well.  We went on a few more dates before one day we just stopped.  I think we were both cool with each other, but we never did achieve that chemistry.  It was still a more or less good experience.

    In case you’re wondering, I’m not very active on that site anymore.  I do a few tests here and there, but I’m not regularly looking for people on that site.  I have nothing against using online dating as one of the ways for people to find others to date.  Although there can be some weirdos on there (like there are in real life), it is definitely a legitimate way to meet someone (especially for people that are busy all the time).  Girls seems to have more luck though; guys mostly initiate messages and it seems like there’s a whole lot more guys than girls on those sites.  Go figure. 

    I wore a sash that said “Cupid” on a Valentine’s Day date. = True!


    Circa February 2005

    Yup, there’s the photographic proof.  At the time, I was planning to go out to eat with my then girlfriend for Valentine’s Day.  I didn’t plan to wear a sash though; it just sort of happened.  I was helping a club at my school find some old props in a box when I came about this sash that said “Cupid” on it.  The club didn’t really have much use for it, so I asked if I could take it.  They said sure, so I decided “Oh why not?” and put it on just for my Valentine’s Day date.  It was kind of silly now that I think back, but at least it gave my girlfriend a good laugh.  Hmm, I wonder what ever happened to that sash.

    I went out on a 7+ hour date at a bubble tea shop. = True!


    Bubble/Boba tea, both refer to the same thing

    I was surprised that people didn’t believe you can be at a bubble tea place for that long, but it happened to me.  I decided to take this girl out to this bubble tea place for our first date.  I’m really fond of the drinks, food, and the laid back atmosphere of the place, so I was sure she would dig it.  She and I ended up clicking extremely well all night, talking about everything without any moments of awkward silence.  What also made our stay there so long was the television that was right in front of our table.  I forgot which movies were playing, but we ended up watching three whole movies while chilling on our comfortable couch. 

    That was one of the best dates I’ve ever had where everything went right.  What happened between the girl and I?  Well, we ended up in a pretty good relationship soon after that date, but it didn’t last as long as it should have due to her moving away.  Long distance is a killer .  It’s alright though; there were many great memories and I’m thankful for the time we did have together.

    I have given roses to a girl I’ve only met once. = True!

    Okay, so I might have stretch the truth a little with this one.  While I did give roses to a complete stranger, those roses weren’t really meant for her.  Confused? 

    Back in early November, I wrote up a protected post about a recent failed mission of mine where I was going to admit my feelings to a good friend (very difficult to do, in my opinion).  Maybe if enough people are interested I’ll make that post public for you to read (UPDATED:  oh why not, I’ll make it public.  Here’s the link.), but long story short everything that could have gone wrong went wrong that night.  At the end of that night, I was holding onto a dozen pink roses I had bought for her but was not going to give to her due to some um, unforeseen circumstances. 


    The flowers looked like these, minus the vase

    “What am I going to do with these fresh roses?” I wondered.   I thought about just giving it to my mom, but I knew she would just chastise me for spending money on something that would just die soon.  I also thought about giving it to friends for them to give to someone, but that didn’t work out either.

    In the end, I decided not to throw away the flowers and instead give it to a random girl.  I browsed around the mall for a while before I found a girl working as a cashier at Starbucks.  I went over and delivered the flowers to her, under the pretenses that I was doing it on behalf of a secret admirer.  She seemed super happy about the flowers, so I’m glad the roses ended up making at least one girl’s day.  Hopefully, she isn’t still waiting for her “secret admirer” to make his next move 0_0 .

    I asked out my first girlfriend mainly due to a dare. = FALSE!!!

    The very first statement I listed was the fake one.  I thought it was interesting how so many people didn’t pick that.  I wonder why.

    So what’s the true story?  Well, it was junior year of high school (I was a late bloomer).  My friend recently bought this book called “The Art of Seduction” and was reading it in school.  I made fun of him, saying that he was an idiot for believing that crap.  We argued back and forth about whether the book was legit or a scam, so I finally agreed to read the book and try out some of the tips before I made my final opinion on it.


    Psh whatever, like THIS would work

    I chose a female friend of mine to try the techniques on.  We were long time friends but weren’t that close, so I thought she would be an ideal person to test it on.  I figured if it failed (which I was sure it would), it wouldn’t cause too much overall harm.

    Oh my God, I can’t believe that book worked.  Within a couple of weeks, we got close enough that I was able to asked her out and she said yes.  Amazing.

    We ended up only dating for just a month however.  To be honest, I really only saw her as a friend and we really only got into a relationship due to that book, not due to real feelings.  She and I are good friends now, so it all worked out.

    Don’t worry, ever since then I’ve only gone for girls I truly have feelings for.  If anything, I have to thank that book for giving me the confidence I have now.  I guess my friend was right about the merits of that book all along.

    **********************************
    Kudos to TheCheshireGrins, Spyder_V, superblessed and snowy87days for guessing correctly (and ch10n9, I suppose )!  I hope you enjoyed reading about my experiences.

  • Can you pick out which of the following love life stories of mine is false?

    I did a post a few months ago where I listed five statements and had people guess which statement was the false one.  It was a fun little post, so I feel like doing another one like it.  However this time, all the statements will relate to something that may or may not have happened in my love life. 

    I will tell you which of the following statements is fake on my next post, as well as tell a quick story on each of the statements I have listed below.  If you guess correctly, you’ll get a shout-out on my next post and possibly some minis!  Hopefully I didn’t make it too obvious.

    Okay, ready?  Here we go:

    1.  I asked out my first girlfriend mainly due to a dare.

    2.  I have given roses to a girl I’ve only met once.

    3.  I went out on a 7+ hour date at a bubble tea shop.

    4.  I wore a sash that said “Cupid” on a Valentine’s Day date.

    5.  I have dated a girl I initially met through an online dating website.

    Four of these statements are true and one is not.  Which statement do you think is false? 

    P.S. Feel free to tell me why you thought the statement you picked is false.  I enjoy reading people’s reasonings

  • Quick Follow-Ups on Recent Pulse Items

    Birthday Boy
    As of right now, I can officially say I was born 23 years ago here in good old Maryland!  I definitely don’t feel that old yet.  I normally would do something for my birthday, but I don’t think I’m gonna do anything major this year.  Perhaps I’m lazy to plan something or because turning 23 isn’t really a big deal haha.  It’s okay though; I’m fine having a laid back birthday this year.

    However, you know what would make my (birth)day?  If any of you make a video imitating a dance similar to this guy:

    Or this guy:

    I would seriously be grinning for the rest of this week!

    Btw, those numbers I posted (4 8 15 16 23 42) were the Lost numbers.  I’m surprise nobody mentioned that!  Are there that few Lost lovers here on Xanga?    It’s my favorite show, so I highly recommend checking it out sometimes.

    High School Coach Decision
    I decided to follow my instincts and go help out my old high school tennis team this year instead of coaching at a rival high school’s tennis team.  Had I decided to be the head coach at the rival school,  I would have made some money from doing it as well as be coaching one of the stronger tennis teams in this county.  However, I figured my old high school team could really use my help more, seeing as their head coach got suspended for choking out a student 0_0 and they could benefit from having a coach that actually knows how to play tennis, unlike some of their recent coaches.  Plus, my little cousin is on the team, so I get to work with him as well.  I would just be a volunteer coach and wouldn’t make any money from helping out, but it’s the experience that matters to me.  I’m rather confident I made the best decision.

    P.S. I can now honestly say I’ve attended a Xanga wedding =P.  It was pretty cool being one of the best men at the wedding of  one_eared_batman and Toetally_surveysx3 .  If you haven’t already, go check out the pictures here .  Trust me, those pictures reek of awesomeness!