Weekend Update

Friday - after work I went to church fellowship. After that a few of us went to Han-Chon restaurant for late night eats.

Saturday - Went to work for a little bit. Came back to an apartment full of guys. Someone brought over an LCD projector and we played XBox games networked with 2 other XBoxes. Total of 3 of them linked up together on 2 TVs and 1 LCD projector. Only 8 controllers though I think, but when all 8 players are playing, the games kind of lags. It was a lot of fun. After that we went to watch "Better Luck Tomorrow" which is an all Asian cast. It was kind of a good but disturbing movie. It's kind of slow and although it doesn't warrent watching on the big screen it's a definite must see if you are Asian.

Sunday - After first service our church had a congregational picnic. It was pretty fun. Ate hot dogs and stuff, played volleyball, and tried a little bit of tennis. I took home a half gallon of mixed fruit. When I got home I made some delicious fruit smoothie. I also watched "In the Bedroom". It's kind of a tragic love story that won some accolades. Not bad. I'm trying to watch as many movies as I can since I'm trying out this Netflix thing.

Which brings us to today. This morning I had to wake up early again to support a test shot at CSEDS. See Friday's post. After that I drove my roommate Paul to a doctors appointment. Then I had a meeting from 3-5pm. Today was a pretty busy day. Today I made more fruit smoothie from yesterday's fruit cocktail. It was good :P

My gosh it's Friday already. This morning I had to wake up super early because I had to support a 8am-noon test shot over at the cornfield cruiser (aka - CSEDS).

By noon time, half my day was already done. That's kind of cool. However I soooo wanted to sleep in this morning, and also the constant humming of the computer fans, and dim lighting (to simulate the Command Information Center) as making me sleepy the whole time.

Yesterday I found out there is a difference between "recommended" and "maximum" tire pressure. If you look on your tire, only a maximum pressure is listed...but no recommended pressure. I found out the recommended tire pressure isn't based on the kind/type of tire you have, but the type of car you have. If you look on the driver-side door well you should see a sticker or something that states the recommended tire pressure. So this morning I deflated my tires from 45psi to 32psi. he he he. But I was getting crazy fuel economy with overinflated tires!!!

The day has been interesting so far. This morning I got an email from a friend. She matter of factly asked me if I thought of her as more than just a friend. I was pretty surprised to get such an email since I never really talk to her. She wanted to make clear that she only saw me as a friend and nothing more. I'm getting rejected by girls even way before I can even think of it. Gosh, life IS rough!!! Just for the record though, I did not flirt with her, nor was I interested in her. I'm actually having a pretty difficult time deciding on what kind of girl I like. The realization is slowly coming to me that I might be too picky.

Aside from that I had a meeting this morning with a Naval Commander, project managers, and such. It was actually a pretty interesting meeting. The Navy commander looked like someone that came straight out of Top Gun in his white uniform and gold/silver stars.

Again work isn't all that bad, but it does feel a bit daunting when I realize how little I actually know versus how much I SHOULD know by now.

After work I went home to cook some dinner for everyone. I guess I didn't put enough thought into dinner because it wasn't very good. After dinner I watched Ghost Ship. It's actually much better than I thought it would be. I liked the ending. It's not your typical happy go lucky, or happily ever after movie ending.

Yesterday I got the other two tires of my car replaced. Now all four tires on my car are high-performance tires :) The old tires looked really worn. I'm a bit confused as to what the recommended tire pressure vs. the maximun tire pressure though. When having the tires changed yesterday I specifically ask to have them ensure the tire pressure was correct because the first time I had the tires changed, I thought they were way under-pressure which killed my fuel economy. I eventually inflated them to the max pressure and instantly my fuel economy improved. After I received my car though I checked the tire pressure which still showed about 35 PSI. The max is about 45 PSI or something like that. So now I'm trying to figure out why they only inflated it to 35 PSI. Help on this matter is appreciated :)

Yesterday I also got two more movies from Netflix. I watched MIB 2 last night. It was an okay movie...very similar to the first. Tonight I'm going to watch Ghost Ship. I'm not so sure I like using Netflix though. You get your money's worth the more movies you watch, but I feel so rushed to watch these movies. Like you gotta watch the movie that night and send it off in the mail the next day. And without a specific idea of what movies you want to watch, browsing for a movie can take a while. I think this kind of service would work well for some folks, but I'm not quite sure it really fits my lifestyle. I think I'm going to give it a try for one more month, past my 2 free weeks.

Today I woke up really late. Didn't get into work until 11:30am. I gotta go home soon and cook dinner though since I volunteered.

A while back I bought 2 MTEC lightbulbs for my car. It was only recently that I've been able to use them at night. I LIKE THEM ALOT. They give off a very white and bright light. I'm actually kind of worried that they are too bright since the street signs and road markers light up like a...well a light! I replaced just one light bulb first to see the difference between the two types, and boy was the difference night and day. Everytime I turn on my headlights at night now it's kind of nice surprise to see how bright and light they are. No more yellowish light. I highly recommend these over OEM lights. I still have OEM bulbs for my high beams, I'm thinking it'd be good to have two different color spectrums for a light source rather than just one.

Anyway I have to go install my other two tires on my car now. Last time I did it, I had it done at NTB (Nation Tire and Battery) and they charged me $60 for the whole process. What a freaking rip off I thought. I called my dealership and they said they would do it for $12.99 for each tire. So total should only be around $26!!! I'm still a bit skeptical about hidden charges the dealer is going to try and spring on me at the last moment, but I'm determined (although I don't have anything on paper yet) not to pay more than that. We'll see. Finally we'll have a little more room in our apartment (since my tires were hogging up one corner of our apartment).

Watched "Brotherhood of the Wolf" yesterday. I'm going to try and watch as many movies as I can with Netflix. I have a week left on my free trial memebership left. The movie was kind of strange. It was a bit hard to follow though since it was originally a french film dubbed in English, so the translation and lip sync throws you off a little. I'd probably have to watch it again to fully understand the movie, but I'd rather watch other movies.

I have a Hyacinth in my work cube. It's a pretty aromatic flower and makes the place smell nice. I got it from church the other day. I also have zennias sprouting in a small starter kit I got from K-Mart. People think I'm going to end up with a zoo here soon...and why not...today is Earth Day. Do something for the environment, whether it's using half as much paper towel to dry off your hands, turning off lights you don't use, using less water, and reusing stuff instead of throwing it away.

Weekend Update
Saturday - I woke up and went to work. I had to make up 4 hours at work. I came back and washed my car, vacuumed the inside and wiped the dashboard down. Ed and Dave came to our apartment, and all of us went out to eat at Empire Buffet. I wasn't terribly hungry before going but I sure did stuff myself when I got there. I was still eating and everyone got up to leave. Oh well it was good. The place isn't as nice as it used to be though. After dinner we went to watch "Anger Management" starring Adam Sandler and Jack Nicholson. It was a pretty funny movie and I enjoyed it a lot.
Sunday - Luckily I didn't have to wake up for early morning Easter Service which was at 6am. I went to the normal 10am service. There was free lunch at church. I had two helpings of bi-bim-bap. After that a bunch of us went to Cosi's for a drink. The weather was beautiful and we talked for a while. Later Ed and I went to play some pool at a billards place. I won all 4 games, 2 of which Ed should have won, but ended up scratching as he sunk the 8-ball in. It was pretty funny. After that I went to Praise and Worship. After that I went to Scott's for a late dinner. It was fun to hang out there. Scott and Debbie got engaged a couple of days ago.

Yesterday I left work early. I just didn't feel like staying at work and plus the work I was doing was so darn dull...and I was falling asleep behind the computer too. So I left early and went to Home Depot to get some potting soil and pots to plant my Calla Lilies. Yesterday Yujin brought his younger step-brother, and his dog to our apartment. I wonder if his younger brother is having any fun since none of us have really talked or played with him. The little dog is such a little squirt and it's fun to play with him because all it does is bark...and so I can't help but pretend I'm a bigger dog barking back at it. I don't understand why such a little dog would be so aggressive at something so big that can easily snuff it's life out with one step of the foot. I think my guinea pig is smarter than his dog because at least my pet stays quiet and tries to get out of your way...he he he.

There was a Good Friday service at church. After the service we were discouraged from hanging out or getting anything to eat like we usually do, in order to keep this weekend sacrosanct. I stopped by Wendy's on the way home though.

I finished watching the movie XXX. The movie had lots of cheesy action. Stupid stuff like Vin Diesel blowing up a man smoking a cigarette with a heat seeking missile in a tiny room. SUUUUURRRRREEEEEE!!!!!! Whatever!!! Just incredible and I mean INcredible stunts really detract from the movie. I'd say the movie was basically a cross between "The Fast and the Furious" and "James Bond". A couple of days ago I saw "Harry Potter - The Chamber of Secrets". The movie was alright I thought, but definitely not as good as the first, and the actors look like they are hitting their growth spurts because all the adorable little actors in the first movie are nowhere to be seen in the second movie. The all look like teenagers now! These movies are based on the 7(?) part book series, but I seriously can't imagine the movie sequels continuing much longer without losing lots of steam.

Yesterday I had an early morning meeting, so I got to work before 9am. My co-worker was surprised to see me in so early. I also had a doctors appointment yesterday. I went to see the Rheumatologist. He seemed like a pretty intelligent guy. He prescribed me some Colchicine which is an anti-inflammatory medicine. I also had some blood work done, and if that wasn't exciting enough, I even got a parking ticket for overparking by just a few minutes. I also stopped by UPenn to pick up another prescription and on my way out I ran into my roommates "dream girl". I swear it, he is SOOOOOOOO OBSESSED over this girl. Yesterday night he went on about how perfect she was. I'm don't think it's love as much as it is infatuation.

After work I went to pick up two dozen eggs and when I got home I colored the eggs. It's kind of fun. I wrote on the eggs with a clear wax crayon messages on the eggs like "Eat Me", "Bite Me", "You crack me up", "Eggcellent", etc. and then placed them in the coloring dye. It was kind of neat. I don't think I boiled them long enough because the insides are very soft...but I know they are cooked very well since I left them in the hot water for a long time.

Anyway this morning on my way to work I'm going down this one stretch of road and there isn't a car in front of me so I'm kind of zooming along, but not like crazy fast. I didn't even notice until it was too late but the 2nd oncoming car was a cop and he flashed his lights at me. As soon as I passed him, he turned off his lights, so I guess he was beaming me with his radar gun. He flashed his lights I guess to warn me, which is much cooler than getting pulled over I guess. I thought most police cars couldn't get a reading of you unless they were stationary. I'd better start thinking about getting a radar detector...he he he.

OMG...this is so pathetic. I'm so out of shape. My back is killing me after a 15-minute bike ride to work. I looked at the forecast and it looks like it's supposed to rain tonight on through the weekend. I guess I don't have to ride my bike tomorrow...wooo hooo!!!

I seriously need to get my shit together. I'm so unorganized and careless with stuff. Yesterday I thought I shouldn't have any problems doing my taxes. I wanted to do my taxes using the regular 1040 form. I finally completed it around 10pm, but it said I OWED money. I'm thinking that can't be right, so I decide to try it online. With only an hour left before the deadline my internet connection does down. I call my brother and both him and Debby are laughing hysterically at me because I waited so close to the deadline (I must admit though, if I heard the same thing I'd be LMAO). I was so sure I was going to get money back. Anyway I finally enter in the info online and that too said I owed like $800. I'm thinking there's something wrong. So with no time to delay I e-file it completely around 12:10am. I'm hoping they aren't that strict with the deadline, otherwise I'll have to pay a penalty as well. I was planning to just do everything via paper forms, and my roommate even poked fun at me because I ended up paying $30 (turbotax/e-file fee) to pay for a $800 bill!!! How screwed up is that.

Anyway this morning I looked at my W-4 info online at work, and found out that I've claimed 3 exemptions!!! THREE!!! WTF...I never put down 3!!! I think Lockheed Martin somehow screwed up my W-4 form or something. So now I got to file another one, otherwise I'll be screwed for Year 2003!!!

On a different note, I rode my bike to work, and guess what? It takes me 15 minutes to get to work...which is about how long it takes me by car!?!?! Anyway I got to work and my legs felt all weird. I remember back in high school I would ride my bike every and anywhere. I need to get back into that kind of shape.

TAX DEADLINE says it all. I haven't finished and I didn't finish last night like I had planned. I got lost in the confusing paper shuffle and gave up. I'm going to attempt to do the paper method once more before resorting to the easier online method. I'm only working a half-day today so I can give the attention my taxes deserve.

To give you an idea of an exciting day at work. I had a guy call me on my cellphone voicemail from a collection agency threatening me to respond, otherwise legal action would be taken against me...only problem was that he was calling for an Edward R. I called the guy to make sure I wasn't the guy. The collector had a very husky deep voice (totally fits the bill collector stereotype). Either Edward R. gave them a bogus number or it was truly a mistake. Just listening to the guy intimidated me, and all I could think of was Vin Diesel on the other end of the phone. Scary!!!

This weekend wasn't all that great. My parents are fighting, and it all stems from my oldest brother's relationship with his fiancee. Basically my dad doesn't approve of her. My dad has threatened to disown my brother and stuff like that, but it escalted to a whole new level now that my mom has sided with my brother. Saturday night my brother "talked" with my dad and I use that term loosely...since I think my dad did most of the talking. Sunday morning my parents woke up late and decided to go to a later church service...while we went to the morning church service. When we got back home we found out that they had a pretty big fight because they decided to SKIP CHURCH!!! It had to have been a pretty big stinkin fight if my parents don't go to church. We got back and we could see my mom fighting back tears. The whole day my dad avoided us, didn't say anything and didn't eat anything...they even slept in different rooms. What's funny is that my brother said he checked around the house after they fought to see if anything was broken. he he he. This morning I woke up early and I dropped my parents off at the airport, all without them saying a single word. I hope this gets resolved soon.

Something that's been on my mind lately has to do with Deut. 5:16 (also Ex. 20:12) "Honor your father and mother...". This is so incredibly difficult to do when they are fighting, and in fact is quite easy to dishonor them. I feel like yelling at my parents like little kids and telling them to go stand in the corner or something...but to them I'm still the little kid and probably always will be, even after I have my own family. One thing I do wish is to build a stronger relationship with my father...one that involves more than just saying "Yes Sir" or "No Sir" to my dad. One thing is for sure, I don't want to have a family where my kids can't talk to me.

I came into work at 10am which is early for me. After lunch I started to get tired and almost fell asleep in front of the computer. So I went outside to give my new electric scooter a test spin. This morning I also tried it out and realized that this thing doesn't work well on rough roads. If the surface is too rough, your vision goes blurry from the vibrations. The parking lot at work is a bit more smoother, but it was really windy. The motor on this scooter hardly works on a slight incline, against the wind, with a 160 pound person on it. This scooter sucks outdoors in less than ideal conditions. I think it's more of an indoor toy, where all those factors aren't an issue. I also think there's a screw missing on my scooter. So far I'm pretty disappointed with this product.

So yesterday after work I went to K-Mart and did some shopping. I was looking to buy a few things, but one thing I wanted to get was a small plant starter kit...so I can grow little plants and flowers in my work cube. I got this idea yesterday as I was working in someone else's cube, and saw a little clear egg shaped container with little cacti sprouts growing.

I also bought a bunch of other things. Boy does it feel good to spend money :) I'm also supposed to get my electric scooter today. I'm actually goin to go home in a bit to receive the package. I can't wait!!! Unfortunately it's raining so I won't be able to test it out until next week.

Oh...BTW...I want to get a scooter so bad. Target is giving away more than 1,000 Vespa scooters (one for each store location and one online give-away). Be sure to go to a target store or Vespa Sweepstakes to enter. If you win, I'll buy it off of you :P

This morning I was able to wake up at 9AM...but I still didn't get into work until 11am. I took my time and also stopped by the grocery store along the way to work. We now have dishwasher detergent :) I also bought some V8, because my mom won't get off my back about drinking vegetable juice. She wants me to blend my own, but we all know that ain't going to happen.

Today at work, there was food in one of the break room...just left overs usually after manager meetings or something. There was slices of sandwiches on this huge bed of lettuce. Most people went for the sandwiches...I went for the lettuce...to give to my guinea pig :P

Well yesterday I got my laser pointers in the mail. It's kind of cool, but now I want a cat to play with...he he he. One more day before I get my electric scooter. I'm so excited. If I like it a lot I think I might buy another one off of ebay. I saw one starting at $35....Oooops...back to my blog. I was just looking at maybe getting a REAL scooter at www.mojoscooters.com. I can get one for around $1000 and it's free delivery...sort of. The only thing I don't like is the fact that I'd have to go through Department of Motor Vehicles Services..and we all know how much of a pain that is...no matter what state you're in.

Ha ha ha...after less than an hour, my aquarium light bulb burned out. I guess I'm not that good of a handy-man. This sucks. The bulb was rated at 2.7V at 300mA...but the only plug I could find close to it was one rated at 3V at 500mA. I guess it was too much current for the bulb to handle. Looks like I'll have to find a better bulb.

Argh...this morning I got into work at 11:30am. But then again I didn't go to bed until like 3am. Yesterday I sucessfully rigged up a small light for my small desktop aquarium at work. It's pretty cool looking and I feel like a proud do-it-yourselfer. Also this morning I woke up and peer out the window to see a winter wonderland. It's freaking snowing outside and accumulating on the ground. It's thick, heavy, wet snow that's falling. I don't think it's going to stay long though. This Wednesday I'm supposed to get my electric scooter. I'm excited. As long as the weather is nice by Thursday so I can TRY and ride to work. The range of the electic motor is supposed to be about 4.5 miles, and work is only 4 miles away. Also I should be getting my laser pointers this week too I think. I looked on ebay and found out I can get like 10 cheap ones for the price of the two "nicer" ones that I got...but even that is concidered cheap. Anyway I'm going to look for an RC boat (since we have a pond in front of our apartment) and some super white headlight bulbs...and maybe another neon undercar kit. EBAY here I come!!!

Weekend Update

Friday - after fellowship I went to no-reh-bang with a bunch of people. It was a lot of fun. Jimmy is a pretty good singer, even attempting to sing Jo-sung-mo (really high-pitched singer...and incredibly difficult to sing). I realized I got to learn more Korean songs.

Saturday - Shao's ex-g.f. came down for the weekend and slept in Shao's bed. I felt kind of strange sleeping in a room with another "single" girl so I slept downstairs with Shao...but not in the same futon (you have a sick mind for even thinking that). In the morning I went to my friend's wedding. I was like half an hour late, but when I got there they still hadn't started. The church was spacious and pretty. It was kind of a small wedding. Reception that followed was at Bryn Mawr college at one of the alumni houses or something. THEY HAD NO LUNCH...so I tried to load up on the hors d'oeuvres. Interesting...I just looked up the definition of hors d'oeuvres and found out that it's an appetizer served before a meal. So technically I guess they weren't hors d'oeuvres. It was nice to catch up with some people I knew back in high school. After the wedding I went to Phileo's one-day bowling tournament. I got there late so I didn't get to bowl. Afterward we went to dinner as a small group. I had sul-lung-tang for dinner. During dinner I got into a heated debate with my small group leader about N. Korea. He seems to think that N. Korea positively has nuclear weapons. I think the Bush administration has done more damage than good in that area of the world. Anyway I lost a great deal of respect for my small group leader. Anyway after dinner we all headed to my apartment. Clara brought some friends from her program. One of her friends turned out to be someone I recognized from Carnegie Mellon. She was one year below me and she reminded me that we even took a class together. She seemed to know who I was pretty well but I worry it's not in a good way.

Sunday - woke up kind of late for church AGAIN. We lost an hour of sleep overnight due to daylight savings. I made it to church just on time though. After service a few of us went out to eat lunch at Top Dog. After that I went to work to record my work hours...and spent the rest of the evening relaxing at home.

Man I just need someone I can complain to. Someone I can dish out all my problems to, and expect that everything will be taken care of. ARGH!!! Yeah yeah I know all you guys are thinking, just go to God for all your answers. Well these aren't the kind of things you'd go to God for. RAAAAHHHHHHH.

Well time to go to church.

I just ordered two keychain laser pointers online. Shopping online is pretty cool. I think I could get used to this. Yesterday I went to PetsMart, Office Max, and Staples to look for a laser pointer, but none of them had what I was looking for. My sister-in-law has a cat that lives at her parent's house...and the cat goes crazy over the red dot. I bought them a cheap laser pointer a long time ago. The cat seriously could not resist chasing the red dot even after it was so tired. The cat started to act strangely which worried Debby...but Brian kept teasing the cat with the laser pointer. I think Debby was upset at Brian since Brian would listen. Anyway I think Brian was trying to hide the laser pointer from Debby once and it fell between the cushions in the couch. So we know where it is, but just can't get it out. Anyway hopefully with a little more restraint, it'll be a fun tool/toy for the cat. It's amazing the effect a red dot has. I even pointed it at an aquarium and ALL the fish darted for it. I guess they thought it was dinner. I'm wondering if this red dot will have any effect on my guinea pig. There are lots of Canadian Geese that loiter around the pond in front of our apartment. I wonder if they'll chase after it.

Today I woke up late again. Well actually I woke up at 9:30, turned on the TV and fell back asleep until 10:30. I got into work a little after 11am. I ordered Chinese food, beef with vegetables. My fortune cookie said "Someone dreams of being with you". Either these fortune are wrong, or Shao is in the fortune writing business. I still like the other fortune I got a while back. The fortune read "If you continually give you will continually have". But they forgot to add nothing to the end.

You wouldn't believe the day I've been having so far. Get this...I wake up at like 7 am and can't fall back to sleep. So I decide to get up and go for an early morning jog. The air is clear, cool and crisp, and reminds me of the days when I was in elementary school waiting for the bus in the cool calm morning. As I run around the block I run into a deer and and her fawn. I must have spooked it because the next second I'm running for my life. I dart across the street and almost get run over by a car, but just then the car slams into the deer. Deer are amazingly resilient animals because it just got up and trodded off with a slight limp. I come back and shower up for work. Already on an exercise high I decide to bike to work. I get to work and I find a note on my desk that my boss wants to see me. I go into his office and tells me to brace for what he's about to say. 2 things. First, that the KDX contract is ramping up staffing and production, and they would like me to go to Korea!!! Second, because of move required, they'll be giving me a raise!!!

Sounds too good to be true huh? Well that's because it's April Fools Day!

I just bought an electric scooter from Sharper Image's auction site. It was a total impulse buy. Well actually I've had my eye on it for quite a while, but never thought to look on the auction site until now. And since you can get stuff at like 1/2 the price, I decided to place the bid with only like 3 minutes left. So now I have an $80 electric scooter that looks a lot like those Razer scooters, except with a tiny electric motor.

Yesterday I had to leave work early for a dentist appointment. I had one or two more fillings put into my lower right teeth. I'm wondering if the guy pulled a fast one on me because I didn't see no cavities. Anyway he had to shoot me up full of anesthesia since I kept wincing in pain when he drilled. The sensation in my mouth didn't return until right before bed time. For dinner we all took out Paul for dinner. It was his birthday. I bought him car shades for his NEW car. Since summer is soon approaching I figured it'd be a nice gift.

Weekend Update:

Friday
Friday night I went to church late since I didn't have to do the projection. Billy did it instead. I got there just as praise ended and small group started. Jen got back from Cuba and she even had some goodies for some of us. Thanks Jen ;) After small group I went to this place in Center City that had cheap food, but drinks were EXPENSIVE. Even the soda was like $2.50 for a little 8oz. glass bottle. What a freaking rip off. I don't care where you go...soda should NEVER cost that much. Anyway food there was pretty good, but I can't eat very well so I didn't eat very much. I'll probably go back once I get better.

Saturday
Slept in and took my dandy ol time getting ready to go to work. Had to finish up some hours. It rained most of the day so I decided to stay in most of the day. Pretty uneventful day.

Sunday
Woke up kinda late again for church. Had to rush to get ready and made it to church with just a few minutes to spare, however Se-A did the projection since I won't be there next Sunday, she wanted the practice on her own. After church we went to lunch at Sang Kee, a Chinese restaurant. I went home to prepare the place but I was so freaking tired that I napped for a couple of hours. All my friends came over at 5pm for my house-warming party. We had pizza, wings, and Yuengling.