Beautiful Seattle Weekend

Lovely lovely weather this weekend. It was super sunny and warm (high at 17 degree Celsius) on Friday. Weather continues to be beautiful through Saturday and Sunday.

Ani got Mariner’s tickets so we went after work to see them against LA Angels on Friday. Got hopelessly beat 8:0. Beer and garlic fries were good nonetheless. Slept in on Saturday; decided to go for a walk in the Olympic Sculpture Park since it was so nice out and neither of us has been there. Ended up spending the whole afternoon in the waterfront area, enjoyed some chowder and clams and mussels at Elliot Bay’s while doing some reading for our road trip to So Cal at the end of this month. Headed home and watched lots of True Blood afterward. It’s a strange strange show and Ani watches way too much TV. o we also got IMAX tickets for Ironman 2 ’cause Ani enjoyed it a lot the first time he watched it on Friday morning with co-workers. Ani’s brother wanted tickets too so I have innocently bought 4 tickets for next Wednesday (without thinking that he would be bringing a little cousin or a date… I kinda assumed it would be Ben :p).

Got up around 8 Sunday morning to get some work done for MBA applications and woke Ani up for the soccer game. Chelsea won so it’s not good for Man-U. We were going to build out the new dresser I got from Ikea last week, but turns out there’s a duplicate of the left side panel and missing 1 right side panel, so we went for a 30-minute run along Eastlake around 1 pm instead. Took an easy pace and totally beat out Ani :p It was actually really nice to have a running buddy but he didn’t like that I out-ran him. He’s determined to get back in shape and beat me. We’ll see… After run we went to Costco for some groceries and the Blue House for BBQ. It was so nice! The weather was perfect, the food was awesome (we tried out habanero with pepper jack cheese sausage from Costco yum!), and it’s been a while since we’ve all hung out (since Hula’s parents were visiting for a month and I was home for 2 weeks during then) and Nanna wasn’t all stressed out even though OP’s dad was there too. Had a good time and left around 7 pm (when sun was starting to set). Ani ended up watching true blood at home while I continue researching MBA stuff.

I was all dressed and ready to go for a row this morning but I overslept in my mini nap and woke up at 5:12 Went back to bed and woke up to heavy rain at 6. Guess I was lucky I didn’t go or I would be drenched and cold. Weather is expected to turn for the better starting tomorrow for the rest of the week. woohoo.

Meanwhile, I have decided to re-study and re-take GMAT by end of August to see if I can get to 750. I also need to find time to sit down and type out some draft essays. Today I will be meeting Gretchen and Katie from the FIUTS BoT after work to see if I can get into the Board. Hula said they’re looking for people to help with the Alumni side of things and I already had long affiliation with FIUTS so this should be good More to my resume and story to tell for MBA applications. It’s interesting to go through personal history to look for stories to tell. Sometimes things that seem so far away and minor may help make a good story (not a lie, of course). Over time, even without intentionally trying to go for a theme, I do ended up doing things I like which all falls in line.

Looking forward to my meeting (interview?) this evening, Ironman on Wednesday and my missing dresser piece in the mail later this week.

Monterey Bay Aquarium

Jellys at the Monterey Bay Aquarium are fascinating. The tanks are clear and filled with just water and the jellys; the background is bright blue and jellys are lit.

There were lots and lots of people. Everybody crowds up close and personal to the tank. The area was dimly lit to contrast the beautiful exhibits. It was actually quite hard to take a clear shot without people or side of the tank in the frame.

There was also some amazing looking seahorses. This one particularly blends into the seaweed look. Super cool

Back from CA

Came back to Seattle last night, just in time to catch my first NFL/ Seahawks game. My apartment is still in a mess, with all the dehumidifiers by the bathroom/ apartment entrance and all my stuff piled up in the living room and bedroom Went home, dropped off bags and took the bus to the Qwest stadium.

Been a long time since I last watched a football game (back in the days when UO football was THE happening thing in Eugene – well, it probably still is). This time we’re in an even bigger stadium, I can actually have a beer, I’m no longer sitting in the ‘student’ aisle, and it’s not freezing cold/ raining out, and I have Ani to teach me all about football play by play. It’s pretty fun and I think we’ll continue to go throughout this season.

Caught up on some Battlestar Galactica (did I mention Ani got me into watching Sci Fi TV? :p this one is pretty addicting) and went to sleep.

Went to level 2 rowing (8 am) this morning. Rusty start, but got mostly back to pre-vacation level by the end of class. Blisters are back. (Calluses mostly went away during my week long vacation; so did my bruises – probably helped that I have stopped taking fish oil).

Brunch @ The Dish was delish. Went to Barnes & Nobles to catch up on work and personal emails.

Urgh. Tomorrow is Monday. Back to reality.

Took close to 300 pictures during my 7-day stay in CA. Probably won’t have time to upload/ share until my apartment get fixed up to a livable condition again though. boo booo.

Flood mgmt ppl will be re-assessing apartment situation tomorrow. We’ll see how it goes…hopefully things will return to normal soon so I can get some laundry done and stop living out of a bag. bah.

Ooo So Excited!

Had a last minute panic attack last night when Ani told me none of my skirts is appropriate for attending a wedding. Luckily it was pouring rain outside so we decided to not go rowing and have time to visit Macy’s/ Nordstrom for some last minute shopping (per Nanna’s brilliant advice).

We started with Macy’s. The awesome thing is that they have a corner squared out for special occasion dresses, which makes zooming in and picking out close really easy. The tricky part is that they don’t have size 2 or 4 for most of their dresses. Beth, the lady who was working there, was very helpful in picking out pieces that have my size and may work with my style and the occasion. I tried out 6+ dresses and we’ve decided on a dark navy blue dress. It’s knee length with an A-line cut; pretty conservative and classy. There’s also a flowy purple dress that I like but it’s a bit long so it makes me look even shorter. We put a hold on that dress and waltzed across to Nordstrom for more options.

Nordstrom was slightly trickier since they are laid out by brands but I quickly got the attention of another lady that works there to help me scout for a size 2 – 4 dress to attend the wedding. She was familiar with the clothes in the store and was able to quickly whip out a few dresses for me to try on. My experience in both store was awesome probably also because it was after 7 and there aren’t many others shopping at the 11th hour

I ended up with an adorable and classy blue dress. The price tag started at $98 but there was a penned in change to $69.90. We got a very pleasant surprise at the cashier.

Got up early and finished up packing. Packed pretty light for a week-long hiking/ camping/ wedding trip. Hopefully I’ve got all I need and nothing not used. The saddest part is I’m missing my swimsuit delivery -_-||| I placed the order with Victoria’s Secret 9 days ago and the estimated delivery date range ends today. Typically deliveries would arrive a couple days before the range. Very disappointed with the last minute delivery. Still contemplating trying to catch it; wishing that it would be delivered before noon so I could sneak home during lunch time and pick it up. Not that I can’t go to the beach without it….just really wanted it.

Taking off for CA tomorrow

Flying off to SFO tomorrow, getting picked up by Lesley to crash at her place in Cupertino. Fiona & Thomas’ wedding is on Saturday in the Bay area.

Sunday we’ll be kicking off our week long road trip. Starting from Santa Cruz, Monterey Bay, staying over night at camp in Big Sur on first night, spending second day exploring Big Sur down Highway 1, Hearst Castle, camping nearby Avila Beach, day 3 (Tues) we would go through Lompoc, Point Conception, and landing in Santa Barbara/ Ventura.

Day 4 we’ll spend a full day on Channel Islands National Park, probably back in Ventura that night. Day 5 is assigned to LA (and surrounding area). Leaving us with Friday and Saturday half day to take our sweet time traveling back North.

Should be spending plenty of time in sun and beach, as well as hiking/ camping. Hopefully this would all turn out alright. As much as I want to plan everything out, without knowing the destination too well, being prepared may be tricky. *fingers crossed*

In Response to Dooce…

Got the questions from Heather Armstrong @ dooce.com. Looks like a fun exercise. So here are my answers.

1. What are your middle names?

He doesn’t have a middle name, and my middle name is really my Chinese name.

2. How long have you been together?
We’ve been dating for 514 days (or 1 year 4 months and 25 days) according to my day counter app on Google.

3. How long did you know each other before you started dating?

We first met on the Badminton court in college. We were both avid players for over 10 years and enjoy pick-up games. For 2 years we didn’t really talk, we just see each other on the court and play our games (I believe we’ve even partnered in double games, but we are both experienced enough to know where the other person is and no talking is needed). We graduated 2 years later and ran into each other in the bus close to where we worked; we exchange contacts and agreed to lunch. The rest is history.

4. Who asked whom out?

I think technically neither of us did. It was mutual understanding and affection. I might have pushed a little harder to stay together when he was freaking out about the idea of us dating.

5. How old are each of you?

We are 2 years apart.

6. Whose siblings do you see the most?

I’ve met his brother twice, he has met my sister way more. The first time I introduced them we weren’t dating yet, and then it was my big birthday dinner, and another birthday dinner, and my big Chinese New Year feast at home. There’re probably some more outings here and there with my friends when they were both present. I like to make sure my sister likes him and accepts him, or at least they could relatively comfortably be in the same room. Same with my friends and our mutual friends; I have not yet met ‘his friends’.

7. Which situation is the hardest on you as a couple?

Can’t quite think of ‘hardest’ on top of my head, but one of the tougher scenarios is when he loses his cool. Both of us know and well understood that I’m quite a short circuit and I could blow up really quickly, and for a really short time. Usually he would just keep quiet and let that moment go, then I’d come back to my normal self and apologize, and cuddle to make things better. Otherwise, it’d just be a vicious spiral downwards. We’d get mad at each other for the other person being mad for no apparent reason, etc. But we’d eventually hug and make good.

8. Did you go to the same school?

We both graduated from UW. He graduated with EE master and I graduated with Business and Econ bachelors.

9. Are you from the same home town?

No. Vastly different background. He’s from Kollam, Kerala, India; I’m from Hong Kong. I still haven’t been to India and have very little concept of how big/ crowded of a town he’s from. I most often hear people comparing Hong Kong to NYC, whereas Kerala, as far as pictures go, looks like a beautiful tropical forest. The truth seems to be closer to some sort of a dense city though.

10. Who is smarter?

Depends on subject matter. I’m the planner/ control-freak so I’m really good in making sure everything is done on time and proper. Otherwise, he’s pretty smart too.

11. Who is the most sensitive?

Me… very self-conscious and needs constant reassurance/ recognition as I achieve perfection.

12. Where do you eat out most as a couple?

I’d say either my favorite hole-in-the-wall sushi place Musashi or the taco truck around the corner from his house Rancho Bravo Taco.

13. Where is the furthest you two have traveled together as a couple?

San Francisco…

14. Who has the craziest exes?

Don’t think either of us has any really. If one day I became an ex of his, I would be it.

15. Who has the worst temper?

Me again. I lose it when things are not perfect that way I want it (surely there’s a range of emotions, starts from sulking to snapping off for 1 second to completely pissed off for a day).

16. Who does the cooking?

He’s the head chef; I’d help if I really need to. I don’t like to cook because I don’t have any creative ideas (in general and cooking in particular). My top of mind recipe is top ramen + fishballs, or any instant dinner like frozen pizza, canned soups, toasts, or chips.

17. Who is the neat-freak?

I just know how things need to be kept in order to avoid situations where one is likely to lose or forget about things, as well as maximizing sense of space in a small room with lots of piles.

18. Who is more stubborn?

hmm I haven’t thought about that for a while. I think we’re both stubborn up to a certain level, but not too bad really. We’ve grown up. lol

19. Who hogs the bed?

That’s up for debate.

20. Who wakes up earlier?

Me, and I stay up later too. He’s the ‘weaker sex’ (just kidding)

21. Where was your first date?

Neither of us grew up with the concept of ‘dating’ so there wasn’t really a first date, future dates unlikely either.

22. Who is more jealous?

lol ask him.

23. How long did it take to get serious?

I have always been serious. Then again, if we define serious as “planning to get married” that takes thing to a whole new level that neither of us can be sure. After all, it’s India vs. China.

24. Who eats more?

If the question is ‘who CAN eat more’ the answer would be him; after all he’s 0.7lb/ inch heavier. Otherwise, it depends on the day.

25. Who does the laundry?

We do our own. He’s the one who has piles all around the room though.

26. Who’s better with the computer?

He is.

27. Who drives when you are together?

So far, mostly me, mostly because my car is older and I have more confidence driving in the States (he’s used to driving in India where there are no lanes nor traffic rules). So when we go to Snoqualmie we’ll take focus when we’re traveling between our own place and / or other errands, he’d drive. Otherwise he prefers to drive when he’s comfortable enough.

I love him for making me a better person.

California Octuplets Mom

I’ve been seeing some news about this mom in California who gave birth to octuplets recently, while also caring for 6 older children from age 2 – 7. Finally had time to read more about the situation on the Associated Press and realize how seemingly ridiculous this is.

Nothing wrong with being 33, or single with children, but unemployed AND 14 children? The fact that Nadya Suleman is living on food stamp should have been clear enough a sign that she couldn’t afford her own living expenses, let alone taking care of 1 or more children. Even if she couldn’t think of this on her own, whoever agreed to do in vitro treatment with disability money should also have had concerns beyond money in their pocket. Have they not thought about how this lady would support the children that would result from the procedure, if she’s paying it with disability payments??

Her spokesman Mike Furtney asks for understanding and consideration for her situation. I don’t know why she is unemployed and that is irrelevant, but having more than 6 children by undergoing in vitro is clearly a decision she made and not by accident/ miracle. The very reason that she’s receiving death threat and pressure from the society is because in this country it is culturally unaccepted to keep children you can’t care for. That is why there are cases of “child abuse” where a child is not cared for properly and need to be put up for adoption. There is a system in place to ensure children been well cared for, be loved and fed and kept warm as they deserved.

Not only does she not have the money, she also doesn’t seem to plan on spending time on her 14 children and plan on continuing misuse of borrowed/ granted funds. Just as her children’s disability payment shouldn’t go to in vitro treatment, her student loan also shouldn’t go into supporting her children.

The right thing to do is to put them up for adoption.

Children are not a gambling game. Love may be a key component in nurturing children, but sufficient resource (time and money) is also crucial in raising a healthy family.