tonight will mark my being in san diego for one entire week and i've loved every minute of it. well except for when my stmache blows up to the size of a balloon after each meal but that's another blog entry. for those worried (yes i know there are many of you out there. ha), i am going to the doctors as soon as i get back to san jose under my mom's strict orders.

i'm not even quite sure why i'm loving my stay in san diego so much. i haven't done all that much. made several jaunts to downtown to watch hong being macked on and show off his dancing skills but besides that...being the dutiful good daughter i am i've come home each night to just hang out. but really, i think i've said this several times before in my other blogs, it's just being surrounded by family and friends. we started off strong hanging out each night with rock bottom, islands, niban, fumari's but then slowly weaned off towards the latter of the week but tonight it'll be picking up again. tonight marks gene's cd release party of which i plan to be a raucous as i can. oh how he wishes he never told us about it. but everyone will be down. i think anyways. ameer should be in town. amit came in friday. ms sharon kim is here for two weeks. and of course the old crew (with the new and improved jimmy!) with the exception of grace who ditched us because we weren't fun enough. and oh we're missing sagging monk because he's traversing the mountains camping somewhere.

yesterday i met up with my girl's group from college and out of the six of us, one is married and pregnant, one is getting married in less than a month and another just got engaged. it's really crazy actually. talk yesterday consisted of how much weddings cost, where the best florists are and essentially all wedding advice one could ever want. seeing how i'm nowhere in the vincinity of anyplace close to getting married, they all promised to keep their wedding books for me. pretty convenient really. and of course there was baby talk and talk of sonnograms and i even went maternity shopping for a bit after dinner. very different than my usual conversation with the sd group which mostly consist of yo where you at? when are we meeting? let's go eat. ha. but you know i love it.

besides all that i went on a huge shopping spree yesterday with jen and well, let's just be glad i brought a big suitcase down here.

hot diggity damn. don't know where i got that from but it's been running through my head for two days now. in either case, i think i can get used to living in a mansion. in the mornings i wake up to my own suite, take a shower, take my sweet time getting ready because the conference room is only a two minute walk away, come to work, and sit at my desk by myself listening to launchcast until the simulation starts. and i'm actually having fun with it. not being rude because i've decided it's beyond impossible for me but just seeing them try to figure out what's going on and the overwhelming looks on their faces. pretty similar to what i have even now at times. the class even clapped for me when i walked into the room at the end of the day. thank you thank you...i'm sure an oscar is in the works somewhere. ha. yeah right.

breakfast consists of basically anything and everything you could think of. well, not scrambled eggs and such but more along the lines of tons of pastries to choose from and fruits and drinks. i've also been drinking coffee the mornings that i'm here too. very unusual for me as i try to refrain as much as i can. maybe because we have a start time of 8am here and we all know my day never starts that early. then after a couple hours of playing client and internet browsing in between, it's off to lunch where yesterday i had chocolate covered strawberries for dessert. big strawberries too.

then around 3 or 4pm snacks come out. the first day we had freshly baked cookies and little tins of ben and jerry's ice-cream. i had the cherry garcia flavor. on top of that, it was one of the new hires birthday so we had this huge chocolate cake and well, it was only right to take a piece. yesterday we had nachos and more chocolate cake with coconuts inside and i'm usually not a fan of coconut but it was there and i was bored so why the hell not.

i'm then regulated to a couple more hours of getting some actual work done and going around trying to find blogs to comment on as me, suj and jon are mired in this commenting revolution. but it seems our efforts may be harder than i first thought. there just aren't enough updates these days but we will prevail! i never thought i'd say this but browsing the internet gets pretty boring after a couple hours. there's only so many news articles, gossip columns, fashion pictures, and blogs to read before i run out of places to go. plus i'm no longer addicted to friendster.

but moving along, night time consists of a gourmet cooked dinner and afterwards it's so nice to walk into your room with the towels all folded and tidy with your bed turned down with two pieces of ghiradelli chocolates waiting for you. is this the life or what? the staff here are all so helpful and even drove some of the new hires to the nearby long's and safeway as they didn't have a car. what service!

to top it all off, i don't need to go back to work monday as i'll be at training again, this time as a participate in san diego. of course i'm sure the amenities won't be quite as nice and i'll have to share with a roomate but no complaints here. everyone should live in a mansion sometime. even better if it's free.

so today marks the first day of my role playing instructor for our new hires. it's not bad actually. mainly because i haven't had to do much yet but i will in a bit. i've arrived, gotten my conference room, received a ton of handouts i'm not quite sure what to do with, databases with too much information and was served lunch. to top it off, training this year is at the hayes mansion (for those who know, the place where josh had his wedding reception). i'm actually in the same building but just downstairs in the conference room. and i've been told i'm allowed to stay here for my two night duration. hopefully i won't get a roomate. after all, i'm not a participant this time, i'm an instructor. i've moved on up...a bit anyways.

as i meet the other two instructors, they both seem pretty young and hip. like me of course. and as i was making my little speech introducing myself and telling them exactly why i'm here (my role is to be the client. hence the role playing. i'm told to be rude, sarcastic, mean but that is yet to be seen whether i can pull it off or not. that's just not in my nature...at least not when it's make believe), i look around and don't feel like an instructor. the room is filled with recent college graduates and basically i don't feel much older than them. i wish they weren't so formal when talking to me. can't they see that i'm fun? one of them?

i feel like it's a bunch of kids leading a bunch of kids. if that makes any sense. i don't really have any clue what i'm doing. nobody told me there would be this much prep work. a whole binder of materials to learn for only three days of training? that does seem to be a bit on the excessive side. plus i'm supposed to role-play four different people and i can't even remember their names much less who i'm supposed to be and when. maybe i should have read my binder a little more closely.

i remember when i went to training, one instructor stood out in my mind because he was so laidback and wasn't uptight and yuppity like the others. actually, the other two instructors are actually both pretty young and i like it. it's a fun atmosphere. beats sitting in my little cube for eight hours a day that's for sure.

either case, it's only for three days then i'm off to sunny san diego for one blissful week of training. but first up is our social event for tonight. ropes course for teambuilding at city beach fremont. an event that i've already made perfectly clear to everyone that i will not be participating in. flashbacks of sixth grade camp ran through my head and although those ropes courses were fun looking back, there is no way you'll get me into a harness again.

i decided at 1am last night to take the iq test jon sent me. i found myself guessing on a lot of questions mainly because i wasn't in the mood to exercise any brain power. i mean, memorizing street addresses and doing addition is not my idea of a good time. of course all this defeats the purpose of taking an iq test in the first place but at the time it seemed like a good idea and having already started there was no way i was going to quit. for those of you that took it, how annoying was it to have to wait for the timer to run out before going on to the next question? but moving on.

just really how much correlation is there between scoring high on a test of this type and intelligence? there's been tons of articles and studies done so i won't go into much scientific detail...not that i'd know it in the first place but really, ever since the first time we step into a classroom and even to this day, we're conditioned to take tests. tests for finals, tests to become certified in a certain field (in my case the dreaded cpa exam which i can not for the life of me get motivated to sit down and study for), and the king of all tests...the SAT's. i remember back in high school when jon would give me his sat review books and was always telling me to study (what a role reversal we have nowadays don't we?) but i never did. i would go into the tests blind and not really care. all the while everyone else would be taking review courses and their scores would jump a couple hundred points but if anyone could go in and just study the type of questions and memorize vocabulary words, how is this a measure of how smart you are? it's really more of a reflection of how good of a test-taker you are.

back in college, getting good grades wasn't entirely about knowing the material. it was also about being able to read the instructor to see what type of exams were given and the type of questions that would be asked. everyone knows this. to achieve a high score on standardized tests, there is systematic way to study for them. how else does kaplan or becker's earn so much money? why are students and even professionals so willing to plop down thousands of dollars to attend?

for me, i see any type of tests as being pretty useless. how many tests, finals, quizzes, pop quizzes have i taken over my lifetime and without a doubt, i know i don't remember half of what i memorized anyways. i do remember sohcahtoa...how handy was that little acronym. everything was crammed for that one or two hour duration and then the minute i walked out the classroom door, poof, it was gone. and i haven't really had to recall on any of that information anyways. so what was the point?

sure i like watching the history channel or learning about it but i'd much rather do it without worrying about the the specifics. half the time i don't remember the year it took place or which countries or persons were involved. who was fighting who or who signed what treaty. i just don't remember. or maybe my short-term memory is just not all there. that wouldn't be surprising to me either and i know why. looking back i never really got to enjoy the books we were assigned in school because i was more concerned with remembering names for the quiz tomorrow or the essay i had to write. but nowadays, without anyone on my back telling me to finish chapter five by the end of next week, i find myself wanting to go back and re-reading those books for my own curiosity. the classes that i learned the most in were surprise surprise pass/fail and taken because i wanted to take it not because it was a requirement to move on to the next grade/year.

our culture of measuring everything by a number or grade leads to students who think inside the box. i'm a victim of this myself i believe. but no one ever gets famous or rich by thinking inside the box. it's those who can succeed by thinking outside of the norm that really are the most impressive. otherwise, the xbox may never have been invented and where would all those halo die-hards be then?

is it possible for someone to learn to be a good hip hop dancer? i went to hip hop class last night and it wasn't as hard as i thought it would be. of course my class was at 24 fitness and not at a decked out dance studio with professionals but details details. did i also mention that i was surrounded by older people who obviously had never heard of any of the songs being played before?

in either case, is this type of dancing something that can be learned? can you practice and practice and be good? or is it something that you're born with? by the way, i've said this several times before. if you've got the gift of dancing, use it all you can. you must not let it go to waste. if you're trying to pick up a girl or guy, dance around them a bit. dancing ups the attractiveness factor by a ton. more than a ton.

even though i was able to get all the moves last night i just didn't feel it. i'm not sure what it's called but certain people have that sass or spunk to them that catches your eye. i don't have it. my hips shake funny and when you start adding the arms with the foot movements, i get a bit confused and just make up my own. it's too bad i couldn't be more like mr hongshin and make it to the top 40. my point is this. i've seen people dance that know all the moves but they're almost a little too on the beat. does that make sense? sure they've got all the moves memorized but it's a little too perfect. i tend to like those that are a little off-beat and put their own oomphs into it. what those oomphs consist of i'm not quite sure seeing how i don't know how to dance but i know it if i see it.

the funny thing is that when i'm out clubbing, i feel like i have rhythmn. of course those who have gone with me can beg to differ. i don't ever feel awkward dancing and i think i move my arms and legs in time to the music also. i'm always surprised at people who just seem to have no coordination or a dancing bone in their body. aka white guys. most of them anyways. ever go to a white club and stand on the second floor and see the people swinging back and forth? like trees on a windy day almost. very amusing.

i think i've come to the conclusion that hip hop dancing is something that you're born with. i don't care how much you practice or redo the steps, it won't look the same. it'll either look too perfect or too awkward. one must have that little hip hop and a shake to set them apart. make it unique. not very many people have that. at least that i've seen anyways. but for those that do, and i think you know who you are, you must work it. do it for us non-dancers or dancing challenged folks. i beg of you.

as if aim, yahoo and now friendster wasn't enough to kill what little productivity i had, i've now been introduced to yahoo launch. it's a radio station where you can customize and rate the songs played and then based on that, it decides the type of music to be played in the future. jason wallace told me about this last week but i've only had the chance to try it today. and guess what i've been doing all day. this radio station thing has basically rendered me useless at work. it's even better than friendster. i think i'm pretty much over that obsession now.

but this radio station thing. it's great. you're probably thinking, gee it's only a radio station. it shouldn't cut into your work time THAT much but oh it does it does. i'm pretty horrible at remembering artists and song titles but with this, it shows you exactly what song is being played and i get to give it a rating between 1 and 10. i keep going back and forth to make sure i rate each song and to see what the title of the song is. to increase my limited knowledge if you will. it gets pretty addicting. plus the more songs you rate the higher you move on up in the levels. right now i'm only a newbie but jason is already an enthusiast having rated more than 300 songs. i'm not even sure what benefits you get as you move on up the rankings...probably nothing but i like seeing the countdown. only 112 songs until the next level!

another great thing about this is that you can listen to other people's radio stations as well. get a peek into what type of music they like. and you can rate their songs and that also influences what songs get played on your customized radio station. ingenious. because really why would i want to be listening to someone else's radio station while i can be working on my ranking but ranking your friend's songs benefits you too! they've thought of everything. well almost everything. everyone should really try this. just don't forget to give me your yahoo id.

if only i can get rid of the commercials now, this thing would be perfect.

purely hypothetical of course. if a friend is interested in another one of your friends, are you obligated to set them up? or at least make the initial introduction? if both parties were interested, this would be a no-brainer question but what if without even asking your friend (the one whom the other friend is interested in), you already know there's no chance. well let's not be absolute here. let's just say very minimal chance. very. is it rude to just say so? after all, you are friends and friends can be brutally honest. in theory anyways.

nowadays with members of the opposite sex so hard to meet, friends of friends is your best bet. but being the middleman, what is our duty? can i help it if all my friends are just oh so hot? but being hot also comes with certain criterias to be met. in other words, they don't just want to be hooked up with anybody. and it's for this reason mainly that being the middleman is not very appealing. not at all.

is it enough to come up with a lame ass excuse? but those get old over time. should i at least set up a group gathering as a foiler to the first meeting? do i go so far as to exchange numbers? all very important questions i'm sure. i can only hold one's hands for so long but at some point or another the relationship has to blossom on its own. sad but true.

at least once a week i get the standard old question, wow you have some really cute girl/boy friends. hook me up. HOOK ME UP. i believe i've blogged about this before but as long as the same topic isn't broached twice the same year, i've deemed it to be ok. my standard answer nowadays is nothing. silence. and just wait until the next topic comes along. you'd be surprised at how long i can be silent for. looking back over the years, my success rate in setting up my friends isn't all that great. in fact, i can really only think of one couple off the top of my head that i've been the middleman for. i do take great pride in it though. partly because well...i didn't have to do anything and i still get the credit. i do get the credit right? and my handsome reward is a nice fat piece of juicy steak.

i'm not really expecting any answers and no, i won't lash at you if i hear the words hook me up again. or any variation of it. but just know deep down that the job of the middleman is not an easy one but seeing how we are all friends to others, it must be done. we should not shirk from our responsibilities although i really would like to. one can wish right?

i had quite the domestic little weekend. it all started with an impromptu jaunt to target to buy patio furniture. patio furniture! can you imagine me getting excited about this but alas i was quite the happy little shopper. images of me basking in the sun all the while sipping my ice cold drink. so i came out of target with two plastic chairs (high-ended ones too for only $8.99) and a foldable white table. my favorite of the three items. not to shatter my image i insisted on buying some country time pink lemonade mix to round it all out. so there you could find me, on a nice sunny sunday afternoon with my cup of pink lemonade on the table, sunglasses as to not harm my eyes and my current reading by dave eggers. can't you just smell the the freshly cut grass and the white picket fence? ha. of course i only lasted about a hour before the sweat getting into my eyes and the little bee buzzing around forced me to duck instead but all was not lost. i got sunburnt and my feet are no longer a pasty white. at least i don't think so anyways.

if you think my domestic-ness ends here...you're in for a treat. for some odd reason, i received recipe cards in the mail and in a fit of ambitiousness...decided to make the sirloine steak. and for good measure i decided i'd try to make the ketchup rice as well. my favorite item in all of san jose. the rice came out tasting like well...rice with ketchup poured over it. not quite the effect i was going for but it's still a work in progress. i did learn however that flipping rice can get very tiring especially if you have no arm muscles. the sirloin steak was perfect. p-e-r-f-e-c-t. of course i really should not take credit for it as my only job was to brush on the marinade but still..it was my idea. that deserves a little credit no?

i even ordered 24 more recipes to be sent in the mail for only $5.95 plus shipping and it comes with its own filing box with pre-made dividers. i'll look like a professional for sure. actually, the recipes are really easy. one recipe per card so it easily fits in your purse (or man purse if you happen to be a guy) to bring to the grocery store and i actually have heard of most of the ingredients unlike other cookbooks i've seen. and the best part is, if i reply within ten days, i get a free wok! i may have missed the deadline though. in either case, you have an asian martha stewart in the making. pretty soon sagging monk and i will be throwing poolside barbecues and he'll supply the homemade patties while i slave away at everything else.

iron chef watch out!