September 30, 2003

useless information

Where does the egg come from on a chicken? Where does it 'come out' ? Ever thought about that?

I looked this question up on the internet and found answers like:

"it comes from its mouth"
"from its rear end"
"from its love hole" <-- love hole? LOL

The hen -- in fact -- has only ONE hole. It poos and lays eggs, from the SAME HOLE!

See here for a cool cross-section!
asbntr

gone. gone? gone. where'd it go? i wish i knew. :(

so long, alt.sports.basketball.nba.tor-raptors, it was nice knowing you.

:(
it's that time of year again. you can see it in peoples' faces on the subway, the gloomy eyes, the frowns. the bags building up under peoples' eyes. the weather is getting cold, people start remembering what their new years' resolutions were and how far away they are from completing them. it's Q3 for many them, big deadlines coming up. most people have used up their vacations already. some people realizing their lives aren't at the stage they expected to be.

there i was last night, lying on my couch, tired as hell but wired from coffee. i gave up on coffee months ago, but my boss bought be a cup today and so i drank it. coffee takes about 8 hours to kick in for me. dunno why. watched "fear factor". totally grossed out by the 'cave dwelling spiders', they looked more like.. i dunno what, but not like spiders!

watched "everybody loves raymond", and for the umpteenth time, wondered when they were planning to start writing *new* jokes? sipping away on my cup the precious nectar of berry fanta goodness. charlie sheen's new show "two and a half men" is a good one. that kid reminds me of my brother.

at 10:45pm, i realized that there was no chance the Bears would make a game of it. this team should never play on MNF. they are a terrible team and do not deserve to be playing in a nationally televised game. bring me the Chiefs or the Seahawks.. but the Bears? c'mon!

my clock said 11:15 am when i went to bed. startled by the stupid alarm an hour later. the clock said 7:30 am.

...another day...

September 28, 2003

goodness gracious! this stuff is awesome! it truly is the precious nectar of berry goodness!

i'm not joking people... the fanta berry flavor is amazing... i think i'm finally gonna use up that first tank of gas for my car, driving back and forth from the fanta store!
just a quick update on the fanta -- i tried the berry kind.

OMG!!!! It's unbelievably good!!
fanta

this is a marvelous drink. my romanian coworker repeatedly raved about this soft drink, to which i simply laughed and mocked him. but then after reading countless positive reviews (it was almost as if "fanta" was some kind of drink for gods) i decided to try it out.

i drove out to sheppard and pharmacy, to a store called "ABC Delicatessen", a romanian owned convenience/meats store. they had shelves and shelves of meat, and fanta. it was crazy, a huge lineup of people, all european, and i was the lone chinese fellow, standing in line amongst about 30 people, each with a slab of some sort of meat in one hand, and a bottle of fanta in the other.

it was then when i realized that fanta had some kind of weirdo cult following!

mind you, if you have tried fanta you probably had the north american kind. for some reason north american companies think that orange soda should taste like orange colored sugar water. if you've ever tried drinking crush or c'plus, you will know what i mean. it even stains your teeth like cheesies. this drink reminds me of Orangina only not bitter or tangy. also, Orangina needs to be served chilled or it tastes nasty.

european orange Fanta is by far the best orange soda i have ever tried. when i open the bottle a crack to let the gas out, it smelt like mandarin oranges. the aroma was so real!

i also bought a bought of the berry flavored fanta. i haven't tried it yet, but check to read a comment about the stuff, search for "fanta" on this page. I just love the part when they called it the "precious necktar of berry goodness".

berry goodness?

LOL

September 27, 2003

Yesterday my classmates came to Milestones downstairs for dinner, then came up to see the place. They were very impressed, and were making fun and teasing me about how huge the place is. Actually they made me feel pretty uncomfortable.. they made me feel ashamed of what I have been blessed with. I don't know if they meant to or not, but many words were hurtful to me.

I don't think of myself as "rich", just very blessed and thankful for the years of hard work my parents put into their careers just so that my brother and I could have a comfortable life.

I think it's a different kind of culture for them. These are the people who want to move out badly, not thinking really about the closeness of family and being more concerned about their own wealth and privacy. They all thought I was the luckiest man alive, whereas for me, I would trade it all for a 400 sq ft apartment if I could have you guys right down the street.

I guess they don't think about things like that because they take that for granted. Maybe they are less mature in that sense, still feeling like their parents are a burden to them, rather than realizing they are in fact the burden of their parents. It's interesting comparing these people with church people.

Church people, the instant I tell them that my family is moving to the States, they ask if my brother is going, or why I am not going with them. Whereas my classmates, instantly they ask me if I will have my own place, will I get a car, etc. I don't know if that reflects their priorities in life or what.

I think this directly correlates with what I learned about many christians and how they cut off their relationships with non-christians. This past evening has made me think about my classmates in a different light altogether. Are they my true friends, or just people I happen to know?

September 26, 2003

so tired today

i've been really tired all week. i think it coincides with me play wc3 all night, but i'm not sure.. but for some reason everyone at work has been tired all week too, and they're all too old to play wc3.

maybe it's the air, or the change in weather that leads to a sadness which leads to tiresome feelings.

i was a little stressed yesterday after i found i was being sued. but now i'm calmer, i didn't do anything wrong, i mean i didn't do anything wrong on purpose, so hopefully my wrongs can be overlooked for that. for some reason my body and mind freezes at the thought of my reputation going down the tubes. the thought of losing the respect of my peers, or losing my dignity, or losing face..

i've always thought that stuff like that doesn't bother me, but now i find it really does. i hate the feeling of being under attack, it's worrisome and because i shy away from confrontation it bothers me even more that someone would try to attack me. especially someone i considered a decent person.

well, i'm not going to go to court, i'll have my father represent me. hopefully everything goes well.. i guess we can only leave it in God's hands now.

btw, 41 days to go!

September 25, 2003

i'm lost, in translation

on tuesday i saw Lost in Translation with monchichi and marion. i remember marion possibly from many years ago like maybe 10-15 years ago. but anyway, on with the commentary.

the movie was funny. especially for us watching as asian canadians, there were parts that were so hilarious! the acting was pretty good too. the story also was good.

i keep thinking about how great a movie it was, but i can't pinpoint what was so great about it. most of my 'fans' are asian, so i encourage you all to go see it! support in the indie films!

there is minimal swearing and no real adult situations although there is one adultery situation. it's funny, has some meaning. there are some parts i feel might be way funnier if i knew some japanese.

i give this movie 10/10.
to the people who are spamming 15 times a day


Can you please stop? You're filling up my mailbox with 15 of these per day. It is too much.

Besides, this is a web-based email, they have virus checkers built in, so no one is going to fall for these stupid attempts anyway. Give it up already.

And go outside.. there's a beautiful world out there for you to enjoy! Do something useful with your life!

September 23, 2003

joe schmoe

i don't claim to be a huge reality tv fan, but i do happen to watch Amazing Race, and Survivor. i was also watching paradise hotel until i realized the whole thing was fixed.

joe schmoe is the reality show that is all fake. they took a poor average joe american and put him on a show called "the lap of luxury". they have him think he's on a reality show, where the grand prize is $100,000. but everyone on the show are fake. he's the only person who's REAL on this reality show.

and it's hilarious because they picked the perfect guy. the guy talks about boobs and how he wants to hook up with some of the contestants on the show... each of the actors/actresses play the stereotypical roles of a reality show. the "ass", the "bitch", the "schemer", the "best friend", the "virgin", the "homo", the "veteran", etc.

it's a great show.. kinda cruel at times, i mean you really start to feel sorry for "matt", last episode he absolutely broke down because someone got booted off. he cried so hard the producers started to doubt if they could continue.

first episode, the immunity challenge was how long you could stay in contact with a hoooker. the "hooker" was played by a porn star, and the funny thing is as soon as she went topless, "matt" recognized who she was. LOL. anyway it was all fixed, they would have him go down the wire with "the ass", but he let go right in the beginning (he was assigned to put his left hand on her right breast) and it surprised everyone, including the director, he was so shocked! and the actors too, they were like "omg!!"

so anyway.. it's a really funny show, you should check it out if you get a chance to!

September 22, 2003

i was just reading that the emmy's have been getting bad ratings lately, year after year less and less people are watching it. i have some theories on this matter:

a) people who grew up watching the current shows are getting older; more mature, and just couldn't care less anymore about it.

b) award shows in general are overrated. do you really need awards to feel good about yourselves? aren't the $1M per episode salaries good enough? i mean really, what should other industries start giving out awards for best manager, or best telemarketer? best phone answerer?

c) the two times i tried watching it, there was a black woman doing the hosting. she was terrible. apparently she has her own show! goodness, what were the networks thinking??

something that disturbed me deeply a week ago was when the metro (free newspaper in toronto available in the subway stations) had news of "J Lo" and ben affleck's relationship on the front cover, as the headline story. what the hell? who cares?!

September 19, 2003

john mayer

i bought the new john mayer cd last weekend. forgot to mention it. i bought it because i had his song bigger than my body stuck in my head for about 3 days straight.

this album has a different flavor from the first. room for squares was a more fun album, more acoustic stuff. while this new album is more.. almost jazzy. like he brought together a band and they just started jamming at a bar. what i mean is, the mind behind the music it is gone, like he didn't spend as much time delving into the music as he did the first album. just 'threw' it together. well, that's what it sounds like.

most of these songs will not make it on the radio other than the song i was hooked to, which means although it is a good cd, he won't make as much money on it as the first.

i'll admit that this cd took some time to grow on me. at this point, i'm really starting to like it alot (i listen to it all day at work), whereas at first all i did was listen to (track 2). it doesn't have the same feel as songs like 83 or 3x5 or No Such Thing, on the first album.

well, anyway i suggest only true john mayer fans buy this one, otherwise you might feel you were robbed of the $15-20.

September 17, 2003

isabel, among other things

The case I could have been jury on is all over the news these days. I never realized what a big following it would have, but lots of people are talking about it. I guess many people have thought that police brutality was an important a real issue. Possibly many people have felt they've been treated unfair by police because sometimes they unfairly use their power. Whatever the case may be, it seems this case will make a statement one way or another.

Canadian Idol ended yesterday with some dude named Ryan Malcolm winning it all. Will anyone remember this name 1 year from now? I mean no offense, I heard him sing and he's pretty good, much better than the other guy Gary Beals, but seriously will anyone remember this guy?

The way I figure it is this. It's not just about having a good voice, but also the marketability, good looks, and what I call a "hook". With a hook I mean some kind of theme that gets to you and makes you want to buy his cd, or see him on TV, or would make me want to meet him. Ryan Malcolm, has no hook. I guess it also depends on the music they feed this guy to sing. Let's see, what kind of music does Canada listen to these days, and what kind of music is Ryan Malcolm suitable for singing?

Hmm..


Meanwhile, the hurricane Isabel is coming along. Some of us at work are hoping that it will die down as it passes through States, and then miraculously pick back up again to Category 5 status again while it comes through Toronto. That would be so sweet..

September 15, 2003

close call
Today at court, we all waited impatiently to tell us they had picked their jury and so we could go home. They dragged it out til about 10:30am. I dunno why they had to drag it out so long.

We piled into the courtroom and sat and waited. The 12 jury members filed in. We waited some more. "All rise!", we rose. I'm not sure why they were wasting our time, I mean does it have to be so formal?

Then, the judge explained that one of the jury members had written a letter to him explaining how her mother was near the brink of life and that she simply could not serve the 2+ months of trial. The judge excused her and told us that one of us would have to replace her! DOH!!

So they started calling out at random the next panel. Judge said he'd call 10 people who would be brought to the back, and then one by one would be interviewed to see if they'd qualify to be the next juror. I was picked (argh..) 5th!

So we were all sitting in the back room, I was totally petrified. The bailiff came in and asked the first lady to come out for her interview. I was really scared at this point, because I knew the #3 guy was self-employed and would be able to cite financial hardship has a valid excuse not to serve. And the #4 guy was a student, so obviously he couldn't serve a 2+ month case!

So we all waited there. 5 minutes later, the bailiff came back in to get the next person, only instead she told us we were free to go home! Praise GOD!! They picked the first lady.. haha..

I was so relieved, I blurted out "HOLY CRAP THAT WAS A CLOSE ONE!" and everyone laughed.

That's my experience with jury duty.. and the best thing is, I'll be exempt for the next 3 years!

Here's the case if anyone is interested. It's kind of scary, thinking about it. This morning I was in the washroom and all 4 guys came in. I was thinking 'good Lord get me out of here!'. I was pretty scared!

September 10, 2003

no pauley shore for me
Today I had Jury Duty. It was basically just the selection process. I got really lucky. Basically there are about 200 people brought in the courtroom, and first they do screening for like people who are physically unable, or might know the people involved in the case, or might know the witnesses, etc. This process took all morning, from 10am til about 12:30pm.

People were coming up with the stupidest excuses. After they read out all the possible witnesses (there were about 50 of them), one guy claimed that "one of them might be my fiancee's second cousin". Uh-huh... yeah right.

One old guy said he couldn't hear higher pitched voices of women. The judge said "I think most of us suffer from the same thing!" and told the man to sit back down. Haha...

One lady claimed to know two of the doctors listed on the witness list. But when she was asked how old each of them were... she got them both wrong. Haha.

One guy claimed he'd be a bad juror because he has a bad short term memory. He went ahead and explained how he forgot the room number of the courtroom, minutes after someone told him.

After the screening, they separated the group into different panels.

First panel goes through interviews to see if lawyers from both parties agree on them. That group was to go through the process this afternoon. I sat there anxious that they might call me.

They estimated the case would take at least 2 months, which would have been bad for me since my contract ends in two months. It would be highly unlikely for me to get a contract extension, if I had spent the last two months in court!

Anyway, there were 5 panels in total of about 20-40 people each, the last one being ordered back for Friday afternoon. I was one of the lucky few at the end!

The judge ordered us to return on Monday at 9:15am in case they had not found the 12 jurors they were looking for out of the first 150 people.

Hopefully they will have selected the 12 by then..
first day
today is my first day at jury duty selection. i'll keep you guys posted what happens.

yesterday i picked up my car. i was so excited! the car drives really nice! when i accelerate, i don't feel it much, the car is really smooth. i drove it at night and the lights looked pretty nice inside. all orange.

the stereo deck is probably the only disappointing feature. i guess being used to drive the van, i didn't have to reach as far to change stations and skip cd tracks. but the sound system is also pretty good. i don't think i'll get new speakers.

some people mentioned i should get tinting. i might. hard to tell if i need it since i drove at night.

of course its got the new car smell which is nice. i am hoping i get sent home earlier today, instead of 6pm, because that way i can drive around and have some fun, maybe go and buy some clothes or something.

i'm bringing my owner's manual and my bible for reading at the waiting room at the courthouse. i gotta go now.. ttyl!

September 07, 2003

my brother told me about this song. i hadn't gotten a real chance to meditate on the words until last week. it's a good song!

come home running - chris tomlin

Oh heart of mine, why must you stray?
From one so fair you run away
And one more time you have to pay
The heaviness of needless shame

Oh heart of mine, come back home
You've been too long out on your own
And He's been there all along
Watching for you down the road

So come home running
His arms are open wide
His name is Jesus
He understands
He is the answer
You are looking for
So come home running
Just as you are

Oh child of God so dearly loved
And ransomed by the Savior's blood
And called by name, "daughter" and "son"
Wrapped in the robe of righteousness
guess who's back?

Okay.. I gotta keep this more up to date. It's just a matter of me opening this up every day.

This Saturday I went to see a film from the film festival. It was called "Zatoichi", which is a legendary character, a blind guy who kicks ass. The movie was funny, and tons of action. It was a samurai thing, done in japanese, with sub-titles. It reminded me of many of the anime movies i've seen. It started out really cool, Zato kicks ass, like 5 guys at once, blood squirts out and gushes everywhere. Lots of blood, that's what I remember most about it. There was so much blood that at some points people were just howling in laughter because it was so unrealistic.

And just like many of the anime's, the ending made absolutely no sense at all.

I went with my old highschool buddy Max. I hadn't seen him in about 6 months. I've found that even though we're still friends, due to the 5-6 years between of "growing" up, we have absolutely nothing in common anymore. No similar interests, other than ice cream.

Listening to him talk about things made my mind wander and think about how I've changed since highschool. The experiences I've gone through, how much closer to I've grown to my Lord. The different people I've met that have changed my life forever.

September 03, 2003

free bible for pda's

My friend at work told me about this.. which is odd coz i don't think he's a believer. anyway, here it is, it's free. They don't have the NIV, but they do have a couple that are free, and those should be fine. I got the American Standard Version. I'm also planning on getting another. Cool.. I can read the bible on the way to work now (yea yea i know).

i bought a guitar stand yesterday at steve's music store. it was a long time coming, i have been storing my guitar in my laundry basket.

anyway.. i'll update about my labor day weekend later.. so sorry.. late for work!