Decided to start a blog thread for myself here -- when the new version of HKSS launches (whenever that may be), I plan on implementing a Blogging system as well for site visitors to talk about whatever.
Here's what I've written in the past:
Saturday, December 10, 2005
Ever seen "A Moment To Remember" before?
Current mood: mellow
I watched this Korean movie not too long ago starring a daughter of a wealthy building contractor/engineer who somehow falls in love with a construction worker. The movie starts off, in typical Korean romantic movie fashion, goofy and cute but slowly progresses to more emotional subject matters towards the latter part of the film.
Without giving away the plot, a what seems to be perfect marriage suddenly is challenged when the lead actress finds out she's got Alzheimer's and her memories slowly fade away. How does that affect the marriage?
I couldn't imagine how devastating something like this would be to ANYONE. It really made me think and it's definitely a movie I'd recommend to someone currently in a relationship.
One of my co-workers called me the following morning after watching it: "Mike, I cried for hours last night. Thank you, THANK YOU for sharing the movie with me. I cried when driving to work too!" We had a conversation for a couple hours about the film, and other co-workers who were listening in suddenly wanted to see it too. It was a great discussion.
One of the greatest films in recent years... Go watch it with your girlfriend/boyfriend
Ciao!
Michael
Last edited by Mikey_ on Mon Jan 02, 2006 4:16 am, edited 1 time in total.
Life always seems to find a way to work things out
Current mood: determined
Just read a post by someone who seems to be at the end of her string....
You know how people say that things happen for a reason? That fate dictates who you become? Perhaps. But I've come to believe that people are who they are now as a RESULT of past choices that were made -- failures, successes, and everything in-between. The things you do wrong (and right) prompt you to learn and adapt -- and hopefully improve. As a result, you could become wiser and stronger... and happier.
No matter how bad things may have been in life, somehow you always come out better than before. I agree, life can seem tough at times, but then nothing good is always easy. It's the challenges one faces that brings you out on top to enjoy the wonders that surround you and to smell the fresh air that's above all the chaos and pollution.
Just don't give up, and if you do, you better slap yourself out of that coma and look for things to improve upon! Kick tough choices in the butt and choose to be strong!
As for me, I'm going snowboarding this coming weekend. Mountain High, get ready!
Snowboarding at Mountain High West
Current mood: cheerful
Going snowboarding for the first time this season was a BLAST! Boy, having some cool snow under your feet after a long, dry, warm season has been very welcome. The culture up on the slopes seems vastly different from what you see in daily city life: teenagers all boarding around and trying to show off some snowboarding tricks even if they don't have the skills (yet) to properly do what they tried to do. Then there were those who rode down the beginner slopes in great fear, screams emanating from their wide-open eyes and mouths, only to fall and then laugh about the mishap. Joy, pain, attitude, love, nurture... you name it. Almost every emotion can be found on the snowy trails -- even stupidity (although that doesn't qualify as an "emotion" hehehe)
A few of my friends went as well and picked up snowboarding remarkably well. I'm proud of them and look forward to seeing them improve further in about two weeks from now.
It's been quite a workout this weekend, and I can only smile from cheek to cheek while reminiscing the events of the past 48 hours
Don't really have one -- it's the same as it has been every day the past year: Make tomorrow better than yesterday and the day before. Get more stuff done! Simplify things. Relax and grin from cheek to cheek ... like this:
Or, hmm... hehehe... I haven't done this for a long time: ( / ) ( | ) ( .. ) ( | ) ( / ) ... Shake my butt at the world's challenges and laugh it all off! haha... Oh, gawd. That's so freaking dorky.
Michael
Memory Lane
Current mood: cheerful
I took a drive in the rain this evening -- just for the heck of it. First went shopping for food at Albertsons (chicken, beef -- gonna have a blast cooking them tomorrow!), a helmet at Sports Chalet, and then a drive to Fullerton Community College with Melissa to show her around the campus before her class starts. She's going back to school to get her Bachelor's in Finance (go, girl!)
It was quite peaceful as we were walking in the rain (without an umbrella), observing the little droplets drip onto our jackets, down the body, and splashing silently onto the ground. It was a dancing musical of droplets: some danced up, some sideways, some just stayed down.
As I was approaching the college's Quad where I used to hang out with a bunch of Vietnamese colleagues back in the late 90's, I noticed how MUCH has changed there. Instead of the student center, there was this grandious structure that was just completed two months ago. It was the new library, and boy, what a change it was. I took a tour through practically every crook and cranny of the small campus, reflecting upon all the cherished memories of that time. It was nice and painful at the same time, particularly when we walked back towards my car that was parked in front of the Machine/Automotive building. I used to walk up and down that path a lot and even remembered where all the professors' classes were at
Then I decided to stop by one of my past residences, 2442 E Nutwood Ave. There I was, car parked in the Disabled parking spot facing the apartment window that used to house my brother and myself. In that very same spot, I remember a tragic scene where this tall, Taiwanese guy coldly ignored this female who was crying with a broken heart. Once very close friends used to walk by there often as well. Now there's nothing but shadows and memories that still whisper through the grass growing beside the sidewalks. Even remembered the laundromat I used to go to at that apartment complex, and how much of a shy, introverted person I used to be.
Much has changed. That was an understatement... A LOT has changed the past two to seven years. From seclusion to shyness to love to joy to pain to violence to broken-heartedness to slapping myself awake to betrayal pain to finding the strength to take just one more step up that steep mountain of life and finding that light of wisdom, trust, and joy once again... Much pain still lingers within my heart's chambers from the events of the past -- a pain still strong enough to make me cry at times and seek loneliness. At the same time I have received much laughter -- and even love -- that are constant reminders that challenges will always be ahead of you and that decisions you make at those times strengthen the person you have become.
Trust. What a powerful word. So many meanings, yet a word so strong it can tear entire civilizations apart. It's something that's hard to come by and hard to find. Some may even wonder whether trust even exists. It takes time to give and receive trust, but it's something so powerful, yet delicate, that it must be cherished.
2005 was quite a year. The growth that resulted professionally and personally... Thank you. Thank you whoever guided me on the road of wilderness.
As one of my close friends stated, this year is going to be a big one for many where the butterfly finally comes out of its cocoon. "A sleeping dragon is in the midst of waking up" (as someone once told me would happen), faced with new days of sunshine (and hopefully snow -- I NEED my snow to snowboard! hehehe) and exploration. This year's looking to be a very bright one, and I look forward to sharing this momentum with those dear to me.
Tonight, I drove to Mile Square Park in Westminster right after work (it's only a few minutes away) to take a little stroll, and came across a playground. Oh goodie! Like a little kid did I slide down the ramps, climbed up the ladders, looked through the plastic binocular, trampled on the bridge ... and then I relaxed on the swing, looking up into the starry night. Childhood memories. Nice.
What was also nice was when I was sliding down the ramps, static was just about EVERYWHERE. Shock here, shock there hehehe... It was weird. Even saw a spark come out of my shoes when I stepped onto the ground. My hair was standing up too.
I later walked to the Gazeebo and looked at the surrounding lake. And there they were: 5 female ducks and a male sleeping along the shore. One of them noticed my presence and woke up right away. It proceeded to swim towards the duck next to her and pushed her awake with her head. That duck proceeded to wake up the one next to her and so on until all ducks were awake. It was cute and funny at the same time. They eventually calmed down and went back to sleep. i decided to sneak up and sit right next to them. They were literally within a hand's reach away from me! It was nice seeing them sleep peacefully right next to you.
Oh, one of my favorite quotes:
We are continually faced by great opportunities brilliantly disguised as insoluble problems.
-Lee Iacocca
Thursday, January 05, 2006
Things I want to do this year
Current mood: nerdy
Explore San Francisco, Yosemite/Sequoia/Redwood, Mammoth, Vancouver, Mexico (for a lobster feast when the season comes -- Van, you ready?) Maybe even New England (North East USA), China (for me, that's within the next 2 years), and Australia (within the next 5 years.)
Kayaking? Let's do it! Scuba diving? Horseback riding! Dancing classes? (No ballet for me please. Yuck.) Huntington Library in Los Angeles? Getty Museum in Los Angeles? Bonfire. Hiking. More hiking. Camping. Tennis (haven't played that for a while.) Ice skating.
Above all: try to do all of the above with the least amount of money spent. I know I can do this.
Mmmm... Nem Nuong Rice Paper Spring Rolls
Current mood: exhausted
It was soooo good having them at Brodard's in Westminster again (Brookhurst/Westminster.) Ordered myself 8 pieces and brought some extra ones back for my little bro and Melissa to enjoy before we'd be heading off for workout.
Charbroiled pork (Nem Nuong), cucumber, fried egg roll wrapper, veggies, and a special dipping sauce. Going to make them next weekend with a bunch of friends of mine and have a nice dinner together. I'll have to look up a dipping sauce to make instead of using the usual sauce my mom prepares from time to time.
My also make a shrimp variation or a BBQ beef one (Thit Nuong), we'll see. Van is going to make her own version as well. It's going to be yummy!!!
Oh yeah, I hurt myself at the gym today... could barely walk and drive back. So, for now I'm just exhausted and getting ready for bed.
One more thing: I'm very likely going to start my MBA program next week or so depending on if I can work it out with my manager. Hopefully I can also apply the company tuition re-imbursement program towards the classes! Yay!
Glad to hear that you are thinking of perhaps earning your MBA. You don't seem like you really need one though. It was my understanding that in your field, earning various different certificates was more valuable. You seem to know your way around a computer very well without a graduate degree. You should do whatever you deem best though and I wish you all the best in everything you do. I plan to come back at the end of February and maybe we could swap career plan stories when I get back.
I am home right now. My mom has been sick and I came home to check on her. I wish I didn't have to go back to work tomorrow and could stay home for good. It's nice to be home.
My heart is happy and I get the feeling that 2006 is going to be a great year for me both personally and professionally. I continue to get back into the swing of things and I am just kind of enjoying life. Life is good, Mikey.
That's not to say that I have forgotten certain things. Some days are still rough but by and large, I am a much happier camper these days. I read the blogs you posted and as usual, I am sure you know exactly what I mean.
Oh! Almost forgot! HAPPYBIRTHDAY!!! I hope that you got everything you wished for this birthday!
Mel: I am so glad that you are going to FC! It's a great school and I know that you will love it there. Just take it one day at a time and before you know it, you will be done with school. What are you majoring in? I am so happy to hear that you are going back. I love to see young ladies empowering themselves through education. Let me know how your classes are going when you have time and if you ever need a tutor don't be afraid to ask.
Since Fullerton College doesn't have a Finance department, I'm planning on getting my AA in Business Administration and when I transfer, I'm hoping to get my Bachelors degree in Finance.
"The greatest pleasure in life is doing what people say you cannot do."
Went snowboarding today and the evening sky was just GREAT! Tints of purple, blue, white, and black... I have yet to work on the digital pictures and post them one day.
Went to Albertsons tonight to buy some drinks and food when the lines were extra-ordinarily long for some reason. Best part: EVERYBODY who waited in line got a 1.75qt Breyers ice cream. Woot!
"Brothers Grimm" movie was rather dull.
I'm expecting a very odd surprise birthday celebration at work tomorrow (what those girls are going to come up with sort of scares me), followed by lunch at Hooters. Yuck. Don't really wanna go, but I'll go anyway for the heck of it. Could be fun
Oh, if you've never been to Hooters before, their chicken wings are pretty good. I only went there twice to pick up take-out orders.
It's take a lot of time and energy to go back to school...but it's all worth it in the end (as long as you are doing something you love).
To make you feel any better mikey.. I have started school on the 17th....My 12 hr clinical days days are long are exhausting. But I love what I do....=)