Refresh

So I moved to a new building today. It's got an industrial/mod feel. I kinda like it. It also feels more open and the lighting is very good. I've got a window seat, so It's not a bad view. I think a marching band and cheerleaders from Stanford gave us a performance at lunchtime to christen the new building.

I got into work a little early to set up my desk. I intend to be more organized from the start. We'll see how long that lasts. Haha.

Anywho, I worked out tonight and feel good. Another crop of people complimented me on weight loss, so that's always nice to hear. I hope the weather gets a little more sunny near the end of the week. :)

American Idol Tragedy!

I seriously can't believe Paul Kim of San Jose was the FIRST to go!? Wtf America? For Reals? I mean the guys were sucky this first round... but Paul was in the top 3 least sucky.

On the bright side, Barry Gibb will be a guest host this season. Yay! Go Bee Gees!

Ahh.... No Sleep!

I haven't got sleep for the past week. I gotta be in at 7am tomorrow... and I just left work like 20 minutes ago. *Le sigh*

Oh... and Mike Piazza is joining the Oakland A's? That's cool beans. Go former Dodgers :)

Trend Alert: The Revenge of Fro Yo

Frozen Yogurt is totally back in fashion. I remember as a kid in the 80's, it was a 'fad' with places like Penguin's.

Now you have fashionable places like Pinkberry in LA or Barenaked Yogurt in the San Fernando Valley (Yay for the remodeled Topanga Plaza!)

I wish SF and the Bay Area had more places like this. It's basically plain frozen yogurt with fresh fruits as toppings. It's delicious and light!

I get my FroYo fix at work. The chefs do a great job. But they don't have fresh fruit as toppings :/

Cosi In So Cal!

Wow. My FAVORITE sandwich place is make a debut in Southern California.

I fell in love with Cosi in Washington DC. I ate there in Chicago too. I even made the trek to the one in Valley Fair Mall in San Jose when it was still open in 2006.

What lucky city will get Cosi?

Hint: Not LA.
Answer: Temecula.

Someplace in the IE is not exactly where I pictured the shop. I hope it sees great success so the franchisers can build brand awareness in So Cal.

Link to Story

Britney Spears Madness

How is it that Britney and me are ALWAYS in the same town when she does something VERY STUPID?!

January 2004 - Britney marries High School Friend Jason Alexander in Las Vegas. I was also there that weekend.

February 2007 - Britney shaves her head at a Tattoo parlor in the San Fernando Valley. I'm in the Valley for vacation visiting family and friends.

How trashy could she be?

American Idol Season 6: The Top 24

Yay! I'm so happy the Asian guy Paul Kim made it! American Idol needs a bit of Asian flavor.

Not only that, but he won my heart over by singing a Bee Gees song ('How Deep Is Your Love') during this round.

Woot!

V.D. vs. S.A.D.

I'm totally into S.A.D.!

It's actually not so bad. S.A.D. is Single's Awareness Day. V.D. is venerial disease Valentine's Day.

I think the only sad part was seeing all of the flowers, chocolates, bears, and such for all of the happy couples. A lot of people brought their Significant Others to work. They were all holding hands. I kind of threw up a little. I got over it. I actually had a very nice lunch with my old temp manager. I miss having her around a lot.

I'm off to LA tomorrow night! Yay!

What I Miss About LA: The Presentation

I'll be flying to LA this Thursday night for a little vacation. I'll be arriving around 8:45 at Burbank Airport. I'll be taking off on Tuesday Night around 8pm. So ya, I'll have 5 days/6 Nights in LA. I think I need a bit of LA injected into me.

I was talking with some co-workers who either are from LA or have spent some time there. We were talking about SF vs. LA clubs/bars. We concluded that SF clubs/bars tend to be pretty grungy and aren't presented all that well. I guess you can call that 'charm' or the fact that the buildings are much much older. LA clubs/bars tend to be really polished. If you ain't polished you hardly have a chance of surviving unless you have super cheap drinks. For example, there isn't a place like West Hollywood's The Abbey in SF. That's an example of nice presentation. It's classy and very well presented 'theme.' SF clubs might have a 'name' but there usually isn't a theme/decor to back it up. A few notable exceptions are places like the Tonga Room in Nob Hill or Dragon Bar in North Beach. Don't get me wrong, there are nice lounges and restaurants, but polished clubs and bars are a rarity to find. There is Danny Coyle's in the Haight, which is the nicest Irish pub I've ever seen. Or you can chill at a place like the Supperclub SF in SOMA or the Bar at Lime in the Castro. I mean there are places in SF that are truly unique and I wholeheartedly appreciate. But I really do want a place like the Abbey in LA to make its way to San Francisco.

So ya, It isn't that I particularly miss the people in LA clubs/bars, but I do miss the polished look. You can call it pretentiousness, I call it design. There is something comforting about that. I dunno, but we all sort of concluded that.

SF clubs remind me of DC clubs/bars. It's not that they aren't cool or super fun, it's just they don't have that polished look or wonderful presentation.

I mean, If I were to move back to LA, I probably would complain about how I miss Badlands or Jet in San Francisco. Just as I miss SideTrack in Chicago or the dive bar 'The Big Hunt' in DC. I guess you can never win.

Conclusion: First Stop will be the Abbey in West Hollywood later this week. Who's with me?

Bread, Heroes & Wario

Nai and I had a nice relaxing afternoon. We woke up late and met up around 1 for lunch. We went to Panera Bread in Cupertino. I miss going there. I used to go there when I first moved the the Bay Area, mainly because they had free wi-fi and a mean Chai Latte.

Nai got Soup and a Sandwich. I got a Salad, Sandwich and a Chai Latte. It was super yummy. It makes me wanna go back. We had a leisurely conversation about random things. Fun as always.

We then headed back to my Apartment and watched the latest episode of Heroes. It was really good. I can wait for tomorrow's episode.

We then played a lot of the Nintendo Wii. This was the first time I played 2 players for Wii Sports. It was really fun. We played Tennis, Baseball and Bowling.

We then cracked open Warioware: Smooth Moves. This game is soooo fun. It's so random and highly amusing. Too bad it's only single player until you beat the game and unlock multiplayer mode. But we had a really good time. I can't wait to play more.

Snow Globe 2007: The Aftermath of the Snow Virgin

I had such a good time at the Google Company Ski Trip, AKA Snow Globe 2007. Did I ski, snowboard, or do anything sporty? No. I just chilled in our nice hotel and shops nearby. I was originally going to go tubing and maybe ice skating. I probably should have, but I got too lazy and was picture crazy.

It was a much needed break from all of the franticness of life. I felt like this was one of the best bonding experiences in my life. I already love my co-workers, but to just chill and hang out in the middle of Lake Tahoe was great.

We stayed at the Resort at Squaw Creek. It was absolutely gorgeous. The interior is what I picture a hotel in a cold weather area to look like. Rocks and Fireplaces are all around. I roomed with Alex. I left around 8am and got there a little after 12pm on Wednesday. I chilled in the Lobby with Vince and then met up with some co-workers to go eat at the Village at Squaw Valley. It's a hotel with some restaurants and shopping. We ate at Fireside Pizza Co. A few of us split some garlic bread and a large BBQ Chicken Pizza. It was super yummy.

After that, we strolled at the shops, took lots of pictures and drank some hot chocolate near some wood burning fire areas. It was a perfect first 'snow' experience. I'd never seen snow up-close in person in my life. It was beautiful. The day we arrived was the first day it snowed in a while. So we got really lucky. I threw a couple of snow balls at Alex. Haha.

After that, we chilled in our cute hotel room and watched some trashy TV. (MTV, VH1, etc.) I hadn't watched daytime TV in a while. Damn. We then had to get ready for the Party down in the Lobby. A few people pre-gamed in Amanda's room while we played Catch Phrase. That was pretty fun. I didn't really drink cause who wants to embarrass themselves in front of a ton of co-workers?

I finally arrived at the Party. There were 3 distinct rooms with food, music, video games (PS3!), and photo taking areas. One was a Rainforest Theme, one was a Ice/Snow Theme and one was a Underwater theme. All of the rooms were cool. I took way too many photos and danced the night away. We even had the 80's Cover Band, Tainted Love. They have great energy and got the crowd going.

All in all, a wonderful evening. I called it quits at 12:30pm. I woke up around 7:45, ate breakfast and jetted back to shuttle that went to Mountain View at 9am. We arrived around 1:15pm this afternoon. Steph, Tin and I went to eat lunch and had a massively fun conversation. I love my co-workers so much! More pictures to come soon!


The Snow Virgin in Lake Tahoe

Ski Trip!

So tomorrow I'm off bright and early to Lake Tahoe. This will be the first time I'll see snow in person in my life. Did I buy the appropriate clothing? No... I'll wing it.

We're staying in Squaw Valley! I've heard it's pretty. Yay! 4 Hour Bus rides... ugh.