Christmas 2011

Hi everybody, I hope you all had a great Christmas like I did. I didn't get any big present or anything but it's just being around the people I love that makes it just great! At work I took Friday off so I had an extra day to just be able to sleep in and relax before the big celebrations. First night was at my cousin's house and I had to hurry up and gather up some last minute shopping presents at Toys R Us and I was on my way to her house.

My cousin likes to have guest around the house, even though she's a little anal about cleanliness and order. We had a great time she prepared some dinner with Christmas music, then some gift opening and conversation. Funny thing that happened one of her friend's car wouldn't start so she had to call AAA... ends up she was using the wrong sets of keys. Later that night I went to hang out with some of my "homies" and partied the night away downtown. I can't recall that much later that night but I guess it was pretty fun.

Saturday is when my parents had a party at the house so some of my family came over and had tons of food. The younger kids did a Secret Santa exchange and I end up getting what I wanted, A FOREVER LAZY! I know it's all a gimmick but I thought it would be funny to have one and wear it around the house. What really was bad this year was that my sister couldn't make it because the cost of tickets around this time is way too expensive but we all try to make the best of the holiday anyway.

The rest of the night, the 'kids' would be occupied playing video games, watching TV and some board games. My cousin bought me Monopoly and I haven't played that game since I was so young so getting back into it was a little difficult now I realize that, that game is not good for relationships. People get really into it in that game with all the property and having to owe money to people. Very intense.


Sunday is Christmas day and really this day was pretty much just a lazy day. I didn't even get out of my PJs, just hung around the house and played another game of Monopoly with my cousins and some Wii... We played Just Dance 3 and I know that my arms will be aching tomorrow. So pretty much that's my Christmas this year, I know I spend a lot of times with my cousins but I really do enjoy their company and I love them so much. I do wonder how they'll act when they're all adults (which isn't too far off) and see how they take on the world. I do hope they do better than what I have done with my life and hope they make better choices and take on any opportunities that's given to them.

Saturday December 17 2011

This picture has nothing to do with the blog. Just a picture I taken today at restaurant Lucky Dragon on 2nd Ave Des Moines, IA)


I haven't got anything to write about recently, so here I am December 17 on a Saturday afternoon just hanging out at home watching 30 Rock on Netlflix. What's going on recently? Well, obviously there's Christmas coming up and I have not got all my shopping done, I just can't think of anything for people this year. We do have secret santa with the cousins and our Cambodian extended family and I already got my present for that person. I hope they do like it...

My uncle got married this year and now he has a wife and kid who I'm not so keen on. She doesn't even know my name or care to even learn it or know anything about me. Also to include that she is only a year older than I am so that's extremely awkward and to call her "my aunt" just doesn't seem right to me. Her little boy is the worse kid I've ever met, he's very rude and knows exactly what to do to drive us all insane. She is a horrible mother and leaves her kid for my disabled aunt to take care of when she goes to work. My uncle is now whipped which makes me very upset because he always came off being independent and having his own opinions. I know he still loves me but it's just so disappointing on who he came to be now with her...

I haven't been really partying much as I use to be recently, I think it's just me being older and also saving a few bucks every week so it's kinda helping me out a bit. I do plan on spending this New Years in Chicago so I'm very excited about celebrating in a different city than in Des Moines, IA. Hopefully that will be my biggest celebration and then will calm down again. I keep saying that I want to travel or move outside of Iowa but I never do it. It's upsetting reading my older blog entries here and I made nothing of it. I will make tiny steps of going on with my life, I'm not and extremest so just going little by little will eventually get me where I want to be at. Trying to get my debt in order is my first step, I calculated my bills and that's what is making me mess up. I just need to get rid of these credit cards that I have and I will be able to live the life I want. I have a pretty good credit score as I pay my bills on time but with how I'm paying it and much balance I have on those, I'm not really going anywhere with that.

Good Karma = Starbucks Coffee

So something great happened to me today, during my lunch break at work today I wasn't hungry so I thought I'd get something at a nearby Starbucks. Decided to go through the drive thru so I don't have to get out of my car I ordered my Venti Iced Mocha. Coming to the window I was ready to give my card for the amount and be on my way but as the Starbucks lady give me my coffee she said to me, "the guy in front of you paid for you coffee, Merry Christmas!"


I didn't know how react to this, I didn't even know the guy or even remember the car he was driving or if it's even a guy or a girl for the matter. Just some generous person decided to pay for the person behind him and drive off without any credit or receiving a thank you. I don't know could it be the good karma coming back to me from the blood I donated yesterday? Did the person actually know who I was from the rear view and thought, 'hey I'll pay for his coffee' whatever it is it's a very generous thing to do. I know it's just a coffee but the thought of it is just so overwhelming and it truly made my day. I really couldn't be in a bad mood after that even if you tried to bug the hell out of me or say derogatory or racist to me. I was just so full of happiness by a stranger for doing a simple thing for me.

I seriously feel like I should change the way of thinking recently, instead of being the pessimist I typically am I would try to do the opposite and just live life and expect the best. I'm sick of always dwelling on my past and thinking that I'm incompetent or unworthy of what comes my way but I think it's time to be more confident and have a stronger hold of my life. It's a good day and will be paying it forward again soon.

Bloody Donation

So today at work a blood vehicle or bus or whatever you call them was here today and I agreed to give some blood. I just thought why not, anything that can help others I'll be down for. This was the first time donating so I was a little bit nervous doing it. I'm not afraid of needles or anything but it's still an unsettling feeling of some foreign object in you and sucking away a little bit of your life.

It was actually a simple process just a few forms and questionnaire to fill out and I was ready to give up the blood. I have to say the ladies that were working made me really feel at ease. They explain the whole process of what they're doing and talked to me the entire time doing it and before I knew it, I was done with it all. I recommend you all to donate blood if you're healthy and you know it then donate your blood. There's always need for it and the feeling of doing your part to help others is actually a real good feeling.

Can't Sleep

So right now it's 1:47am right now and I'm trying to get myself to sleep. I've always had a difficult time sleeping, I don't know what it is. I would sometimes go through a whole day without caffeine and still find it difficult to sleep at night. I've been using Melatonin to help me sleep which most of the time it does work but recently it seems to not have any effect on me anymore. I should consider seeing a specialist or something.

Fall is Over Too Quick

I don't know what it is about Fall but I just love it, I love the smell of it and I love all of the colors that come with it. As much as I would love to live in a constant 70 degree weather or at times tropical heat you can't get some of the visual you see when you live in a place that has actual seasons. Here's a picture I've taken when I was hanging out with my cousin and her dog at a nearby dog park.

Halloween! 2011

It's a little weird here in Des Moines, no one seem to celebrate Halloween on actual Halloween day. All the trick or treaters go out the night before and we call it "Beggar's night." Anyway I I was Steve Jobs this Halloween, I don't think I did a great job all I had was the black mock turtleneck and a pair of glasses that I was not able to see anything from a distance with. It was a fun Saturday night though, went to house party and pretty much drank a lot. Good times with the homies!

Rest in Peace Steve Jobs

Steve Jobs died a couple days ago and as most of the tech world knew was such an amazing man. He was the co-founder of Apple and long time CEO for the company as well. I'm not going to give a history of his career at all as you can easily google that information or read up on his wikipedia page.

It is really sad for me I have to say because I really do enjoy Apple products, you can say that I'm a 'fanboy' I'm okay with that. I just really like what they offer and the ease of use of their products and also how great their customer service is. Whenever I had an issue with my Apple stuff I would take it to the Apple store and either they would fix it or replace if needed simple as that. I didn't have to go through such a long process for it either. The best experience I had is when I had an issue with my Macbook Pro and it would not power on, took it to a "genius" where they explained to me they would have to take it in to do further troubleshooting. They estimated the cost of being around $200 since I had an older model (not the unibody) and did not purchase an extended Applecare for it. I really needed my computer so I had no choice but to agree and they took it in for me. Probably less than week later they called saying it's fixed and all is in working order. I was excited that they fixed it so quickly and while on the phone I just wanted to confirm with the lady how much it would cost. I heard her flip through few papers and she said to me, "Well, Merry Christmas to you because it's free. No charge!" I was ecstatic I thought I would have to drop 200 bucks on a repair but not even they decided they were going to do for me free. They replaced a few things inside my computer and I would not have to pay a dime for their work. This is why they're ahead of the game when it comes to customer satisfaction, because this is what they do. They seem to actually care.

Since my very first iPod I bought that was 20gigs and a black and white screen, I've been following all of the new gadgets they put out and when I was finally old enough to get a job and buy my own things I picked up other iPods, iPhones, Macbook Pro, and my latest the iPad which I later sold my 1st gen to the iPad 2.

I want to thank you Steve for everything you've done. Rest in Peace.

Vegas Day Three (Los Angeles)

Day started waking up early around 7 or 8 in the morning. We're heading to the city of Angels for the day and I just thought this would be a great opportunity to see my sister up there since I've never actually seen where she lived and got much LA time that I wanted last time I was here. My uncle is a hard person to persuade at times and it seems like he didn't even want to go to Los Angeles at all he just went so he can show the grandmas around the west coast a little while. I had to pretty much beg of him for him to drop me off at my sister's house for a couple hours and that would be all I need. I don't see my sister very often so for him to not allow me be able to see her when I'm this close would be such an asshole move so he gave in and dropped me off at my sister's house in West Hollywood area.

This is probably another highlight of my trip, to be able to just hang out a little with my sister and her dog, Teddy. My sister has been complaining about her boyfriend's computer how it hasn't worked because of some spyware installed and would ask for help constantly over the phone. Without me actually without the computer with me, it was pretty difficult to troubleshoot. So right as I got there she had me take a look at it and I think to this day it's in working order now. Pretty good I say for being a Mac user for a few years now. While fixing the computer we drank a beer, watched some daytime TV and played with Teddy. Her place is actually really cute. It's a tiny a place with big windows, and with the LA weather it seems perfect as you're not too hot or too cold.


After hanging out at the house for a little we had lunch at In-N-Out Burger. We don't have one here in Des Moines, IA so she thought it would be a cool thing since so many people talk about it. I think I got a double (animal style, whatever that means...) I actually enjoyed it, I know it's suppose to be all fresh and the beef isn't frozen or whatever so that's always a good thing, the fries were just okay. After lunch we drove around for a while, driving up "The Hills" and Beverly Hills. We were trying to get near the ocean but we didn't make it as my uncle called me up saying that they're ready to get back to Vegas. It was a nice 3 hours with my sister that day and I really wish I could have spent more time there but unfortunately it wasn't my choice and have to be on uncle's stupid schedule. For some reason my uncle thought 5pm would be the best time to try to leave LA. We were stuck in traffic for hours and I think it was around 7 where we finally left Los Angeles. It was completely stupid I could have spent more time with my sister there but my uncle only cares about himself and needs to see himself to a Pai Gao table as fast as he can.




Going back to Vegas we were in old Vegas area around the Fremont Street. This side of Vegas was not glamourous as what we have been seeing and by this time I rather just be at the hotel where I can chill and upload pictures on Facebook. Soon as we got there we ate at this nasty ass cafeteria type of food serving some nasty Chinese food that's worse than Panda Express. Of course because of another horrible food place and after losing a couple bucks already at blackjack I was done gambling for the night. I ended up later walking up and down Fremont Street by myself and got one of those alcoholic drinks that comes in one of those big cups that looks like bong. I was okay with that part, walking around aimlessly a little tipsy by myself watching some of the free entertainment out there and crazy people just wanting some attentions. Just thought for myself that I'll just hang out for a while my uncle and the grandmas gambled a little more. Later with all of my tweeting my phone was dead and I couldn't be without a phone at a city I'm unfamiliar with.

Luckily I did make sure to have my chargers in my pocket so I had to find an outlet somewhere... I was walking all around Golden Nugget trying to find a slot machine with an outlet close to it so I can just play a little and wait for my phone to charge but that didn't happen. I found an outlet later probably right in the middle of the hotel and sat on the ground for while to get to at least 20%... Oh I got a call a couple minutes later from my uncle, but it wasn't that they were leaving it was because he ran out of money and asked if he can borrow some. This is exactly what happened the last time I went with him and I thought he changed a little from that but of course once you're an addict... I regretfully gave him $100 since that's all I really had without being completely wiped out. I got another drink and then after losing my money we drove back to our hotel.

Vegas Day Two! 2012

Funny that we got a hotel at MGM Grand but we barely spent much time there. Woke up and had breakfast at the worse buffet in Vegas. If there is something to not do in Vegas it would be this place, the buffet in Excalibur has to be the worse on the strip. It's expensive for absolutely no reason. Everything was just bland, nothing had flavor I had to use all the condiments that were offered on the table to put some taste in it. There were some fast food places that were across the hall that I would have preferred but for some reason the people I was with we had to go to this buffet. I thought I made it clear that I didn't like that buffet from actually stating that I didn't like it and going up only once and not finishing my plate. Whoever reads this and are going to Las Vegas, PLEASE GO SOMEWHERE ELSE!



After breakfast we went on a quick run through of a few hotels in Vegas, not even getting a chance to take in our surroundings. Talking with my family, including my mom and dad, he's infamous for that. He makes a vacation into this hectic schedule of moving and trying to show as much as he can in the little times he has. These poor grandmas that we were with are walking trying to catch up but he doesn't seem to care or ask them if they need a break or anything until I had to suggest it. We went through MGM Grand, Luxor, Mandalay Bay and Caesar's Palace. When we got to Caesar's we went around the Forum Shops and he dropped off the grandmas there to watch this "show" until he gambled a little. I took this time to walk around the shops and just browse a little went to a few stores and finally had a chance where I can take in the sculptures and fake Rome. I finally made it back to the grandmas where they were questioning me where my uncle is. We finally met him up at the Pai Gao tables so then we end up gambling for a couple hours. I was actually up 40 bucks there so that wasn't too bad of a time there.




Later we went to Chinatown in Vegas, all it really was is just a strip mall a little ways from the strip and we had another disgusting meal at this restaurant called 'Sam Woo BBQ,' I only remember what it's called because of my check in on Foursquare, but yes the duck was very sweet and and noodles we had was bland. What is up with the places we're going to? Obviously, they weren't my choice because when I did say something about let's go here instead my suggestions were just thrown out and were decided by my uncle to where we ate. He even had the nerve to order for me there. Okay, I have to say that I'm a foodie and to order for me is such a slap in the face. I was so upset about that I didn't even talk to my uncle almost the rest of the day.

Finally back on the strip we did our quick run through the strip again. We walked quickly through the shops, once again not being able to take in the surroundings, and then to the Bellagio and had a bad angle of the fountain show.




Getting back to our hotel we did end up going to Cirque du Soleil "KA." I wish I was able to take pictures or anything from that show because it was simply amazing! It literally took you to a whole new place and all of the acrobatic skills of these talented people are breathtaking. There were times where I was holding my breath because I was scared for their lives because what they put on the line just to entertain us. Some didn't have any safety harnesses and were so high up in the air, I was at the edge of my seat thinking I was going to witness a tragedy or something. This something I really do recommend doing when you're in Vegas, shell out the money for one of these shows because it's so worth it.

Vegas Day One! 2011

MGM Grand - Hotel we stayed at
So I did go to Vegas just a week ago and my trip well... Okay. I've been there before so it's not like I'm seeing anything too new but it is Vegas so you would think that I would go all out with tons of drinking, gambling, clubbing, and girls. Sad to say that there was nothing of the sort, just a little bit of drinking and tons of gambling.

Day 1
We left Des Moines pretty late I think our flight left around 8pm so I had pretty much the whole day to myself in Des Moines preparing for my trip. I didn't have a lot do actually as I already packed everything the night before so all I really did was just hang out with my cousin, Tina all day. It was a pretty tamed day had lunch with some friends and then we just drove around doing a few errands a little shopping. Finally it was about that time to leave and I'm so ready for hopefully what I was hoping to plan a pretty fun trip.

Let me start by going on that I've been on a vacation with this particular uncle before and if he ever comes to find this blog of mine, I wouldn't care for him to find out what I really feel about my trip. I'll link the entries of the last trip to Vegas I had with him at the bottom of this entry. Anyway, I know he has a gambling problem the whole family does anyway and we have tried many times to try to help him out acknowledging that problem and trying to get help. Sad to say that it didn't help and he still continues on losing more and more money and breaking promises. For me, I was planning on doing this trip solo and pretty much take my own cab rides to places and just experience Las Vegas my own way while he sits at a gambling table spending the amount of 6 months of paychecks for me. I wasn't aware that we were going on this trip with 3 old FOB (Fresh off the boat) ladies and we were going to show them around Vegas so right there my plan was already going to shits.

The first day wasn't too bad actually since we got there late all we did was gamble a little and ate at 'Wolfgang Puck Bar & Grill' where I had probably the best Spaghetti and Meatballs I've ever had in my life. I don't know how to really express how amazing the spaghetti was but it's just the perfect sauce not too sweet like I've known a few restaurants that I've been to in the past has done and also the meat wasn't salty that I've also found in many places too. As I hate to use this word because it just doesn't sit well with me but it's the only thing I can describe it, but the meatballs were just 'moist' It just about melts in your mouth with powerful flavor. Sadly enough, this was probably one of the biggest highlight on my trip. If you know me, you know that I am a foodie and I don't eat just to satisfy my body I eat because I really enjoy food so coming to this restaurant was just the perfect thing to do for my first day in Vegas. I was hoping to have more of these experiences.



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Vegas '07 - First day
Vegas '07 - Second Day
Vegas '07 - Third Day

Olloclip

So I take a lot of pictures on my iPhone 4 and I was trying to find different ways to make taking pictures even more fun. I'm a techie so one of my frequently visited websites is Engadget. I don't remember when the original post was but I remember when they were announcing something called the olloclip, it's an actual physical lens you can attach to your phone and it will take wide angle, macro and fisheye shots. I was a little skeptic about it at first because it's just a cell phone camera and normally you can never take that great of shots on them and to add on such a lens would be almost no point.For $60 it's not so bad, I've been having so much fun snapping pictures and posting them with instagram twitter, and Facebook. The downside to this product is that if you have a case for your iPhone, which most of you would have a case with all of the antenna issues and what not, you wouldn't be able to use it unless you take it off. I have problems with buying products just sporadically which is bad because rumor has it, is that there will be a new iPhone next month and most likely the olloclip would not be compatible with it. Here are some shots I've taken with the Olloclip.

Here's a quick video I shot using the olloclip that I took at a Tai Village Celebration.

Let's Change Chapters

I can't stand my current job anymore, I don't know how anybody is able to just continue to come into work do the same exact same thing everyday and be okay with it. I just need something different that changes it up every now and then that gets the juices flowing and keeps my always keeps me busy. I think my problem is that I get bored too easily that I start to get crazy when I'm just sitting there doing 'my job.' Isn't that a symptom of ADD? Maybe I should take a look at that, I don't really have problems with the job but it definitely not in my future to be with that company.

Maybe I should go back to school if not finish at least get some classes in that actually does grab an interest, career-wise. After I come back from my trip to Vegas next month I will be out there again looking for a job. I really hate job searching but I feel it's time to say adieu and welcome another opportunity in my life.

I would love if there was a job out there where I would be able to just blog all day and I would be in control of it all. #wishfulthinking

I Love You Porgy

Everybody that knows me, knows that I just love females with great vocals. I only saw this performance by Christina probably a year ago but it was a performance she did at the 2008 Grammys covering the great and late Nina Simone's, 'Porgy.'

I love the old school Jazz, like Billie Holiday, Ella Fitzgerald, Louis Armstrong and Frank Sinatra to say the least. When you can actually hear and identify the instruments being played makes it just seem like you're actually there. Well I know that Christina is a pop artist and sadly this isn't the type of music she typically puts out there but just with her voice with this song just makes it sound sweet in the ear.

Amy Winehouse... Rest in Peace

I'm very upset about her death today. I'm not as hurt as when Michael Jackson died for obvious reasons but I really was keen on her music and her unique voice. I love her 'Back to Black' album and I remember I would have the whole album on repeat constantly in my iTunes for weeks. Seeing her in the media, I just find it completely devastating watching her go from an old soul that has the love of jazz music to her alcoholism and whatever narcotics she was on that week. Also seeing new images of her wither away to just skin and bones. I really love her music and not just her "Rehab" song which I'm pretty sure everyone is making jokes of the irony of the message in the song to her death.

I was really rooting for her to get better and come out with new music that I will love just as much as 'Back to Black' but unfortunately that didn't happen but I will remember her more for the music rather than her personal life and her relationship with alcohol and drugs. I still love you Amy! Rest in Peace.

Want

I've had too much time recently to just sit and think and it's driving me insane. My week consist of going to work, home and dinner, then fuck around a while until it's time to sleep and do it all over again. My past weekends have been completely empty and being alone just gets me thinking of what I'm doing wrong and how I should be doing this and doing that. My own company is the worse company I just can't stand it anymore.

Just thought to add a picture to grab interest...
But now I'm calling, tweeting, and texting to find out what people are doing and offer myself to do various errands and even helping my cousin move out of her apartment. I don't know what this feeling is all about but even when I'm around people I still feel lonely. Maybe it's lack of attention I'm getting and feeling like people aren't happy when they see me or would want to see me when I'm trying to reach out to others.

I'm feeling a little selfish as I just said that because other people have drop their problems on me and of course what I do is simply be there for them and try to give sympathy and advice or help when they need it. I really don't know where else to go from here and don't know how to close this entry so I'm leaving it as that.

Monday Trip - Mall of America

I'm not too much of a shopper at all I was wanting a day off from work and my uncle and a few cousins were going to the Mall of America in Bloomington, MN. I decided to tag along because one major thing was that it's not Iowa, even if it's just a one day trip it's something. Well we left around 9:00 and made it there around 1:00 it was kind of boring trip just looking out at all of the cornfields. I was trying to stay up to at least keep my uncle company while driving. I didn't get anything there at all, I was just there for the trip. Actually all of us didn't really do too much shopping there, some bought a few shirts and my cousin bought a hat. Here are some pictures...

Art Festival 2011

So unfortunately the only time I had time to go to this even was on Sunday evening when everyone was about to clear everything out. I got to see very few things while out there though. Here are some pictures.

Adele - Someone Like You

"I hate to turn up out of the blue uninvited but I, couldn't stay away I couldn't fight it, I hope you see my face and hope that you'd be reminded that for me, it isn't over..."

I haven't listen to the full album "21" yet but this song in particular has made me fall in love with her even more than I already was before. Just the way she sang the the song and the lyrics just about to bring tears in my eyes. It amazes me even more that she's really young. I'm shocked when reading her lyrics and it's coming from a young 21 year old when she wrote them.

Sunday June 5th - Easter Lake

I bunch of us cousins decided we need to enjoy the great weather we're having but didn't want to go too far. We decided to just chill at Easter Lake at the dock. Pictures are taken with Hipstamatic App.