Daily Remix

Technology that has changed my life

2012-01-31T11:11:00.000-08:00

I'm obsessed with the idea of technology having a disruptive impact on people's lives (in a good way). One example is Flipboard, which is an amazing app I have on my iPhone (I hear it's more amazing on an iPad). Flipboard takes news sources (blogs, news sites, facebook, instagram, twitter) and presents it in an application that is not only beautiful but easy to use. The interface reminds me of magazine articles which I flip through with the flick of a finger. I use twitter on Flipboard, since many of the tweets I follow are just headlines + the short URL. The gibberish shortened URL doesn't compel me to click on the site and read it. However with Flipboard, the tweet is shown with a preview of the site which includes a picture if there is one on the site. I'm a very visual person so this definitely helps me in comprehending thousands of tweets I go through per hour. I feel like my brain is literally downloading loads of information by the second as I'm flipping through the tweets.

The next application I'm obsessed with is Read It Later. It takes articles / sites / tweets / flipboard articles that I don't want to read immediately, and bookmarks them for later. I know there are a few bookmark applications available, but I'm convinced Read It Later is the best one. It is simple and easy to use. Also, the bookmarked articles can be organized by tags. Instapaper uses categories. I hate having to bucket articles into categories. Not everything falls exactly under one category. With tags, you can have as many tags as possible and will show up for which ever tag you search for. The best part of Read It Later is the firefox add-in. I can bookmark articles / sites I come across on firefox with a click of a button. The add-in enables a drop down menu on my firefox toolbar with all the articles I saved.

Something else that has changed my life for the better is my iPhone case / wallet BookBook, which I've mentioned previously.

I get compliments on my BookBook case almost every day. I would take a picture of how I use it, but I can't since my camera is on my phone. I have my drivers license, 1 credit card, 1 debit card, cash, 2 IDs for work and my iPhone in one place. When I go anywhere, that's the only thing I need to carry. Plus it looks super awesome because it looks like a book (which makes sense when I do my flipboard reading on it). And it's hipster friendly i.e. guys with beards, skinny jeans, and fake glasses spark up a conversation with me.

I only have one problem with it, which I solved with my handy MacGyver self. The case covers up the camera so people need to take out the phone (albeit very seamlessly and simple) to take a picture. I take way too many pictures on the fly to do this each time. SO -- I took a hole puncher and punched out a hole in the leather so there is a hole for the camera. Now, when I need to take my pictures, all I do is double click the home button and click away.

Lifebooker

2012-01-31T10:37:00.000-08:00

I hate groupons, livingsocials, kgb deals, or whatever else group buying coupon site is out there today. However, one site that I am completely obsessed with is Lifebooker.

So Lifebook is like a concierge for women (or men) on services such as hair styling, waxing, mani pedis, massages, facials, etc. On their site, you can chose from hundreds or even thousands of shops. You can select your service and then choose the appointment time. It's way better than having to speak to a bitchy underpaid receptionist.

SO... here's the kicker. The best part of it is that most of these services are discounted. Haircuts are typically 50% off regular price. Mani pedis are typically 20% off. Massages and facials range from 25-50% off.

I love it because these are "groupon" like prices, but you don't have to buy the stupid coupon before hand. Whenever I buy coupons for these spa services, I never redeem them and lose my money. The good thing with lifebookers is that you can book your appointment as you need it and even the same day! I was in NY over the break and spontaneously wanted a blowout so booked it for the next hour, hopped on to the train, and had my blowout for 50% off which was something ridiculous like $20.

They also have another aspect of their service which is lifebooker loot which is more like a groupon. I've purchased lifebooker loot previously but unlike groupons, I have definitely redeemed these babies.

Anyway, if you're convinced.... Sign up here for Lifebooker and you can hook it up with $20 credit :)

NY is who I am / LA is who I've become

2012-01-04T23:13:00.000-08:00

I've been wanting to write this for a long time, but it's hard for me to articulate my feelings towards NY / LA, but I think this trip back home to NY has helped me shape some of these thoughts about these cities and my identity.

I grew up in Queens, New York. I went to public school all my life. My elementary school had students represented from 30+ countries. My class picture reflected the nationalities of the United Nations. As a high school student, I commuted 3 hours a day to and from school daily. I got up at 5:55AM to be able to make 8:00AM classes in downtown Manhattan. I was almost never late. In the winter, the temperature would mostly likely be below freezing. Sometimes it would snow--I wore boots; other times, it would rain--I carried an umbrella which may or may not flip over on my commute into school. I took the bus, to get on the train, to transfer to another train, to walk a few blocks to the bridge that connected to building next to the Hudson River. I went to NYU and worked 30 hours a week, which was typical of almost all students at NYU. I ate my lunch while rushing from class to my internship. I perfected the art of eating my lunch while walking to the Subway. Sandwiches were simple to master, but salads were a bit more tricky. I usually had to sacrifice the dressing on my salad. I paid for my own NYC pre-war apartment in the west village, which was in total 400 sq ft where I lived in the living room, the shower was in the kitchen, and the toilet was in my roommate's room. These experiences made me who I am.

Everything in LA I have built myself. Not to downplay my experiences in NY, but everything I did was still in the backdrop of my familiarity with NY, support of my friends and family, and circumstances I was familiar with. The stressful (if you will, at least by California standards) conditions in NY was what I thrived in and it was still my comfort zone. I moved to LA not knowing a single person. I met my roommate on craigslist, got an apartment in Westwood, and made a life out of LA. I've made friendships that will probably last a lifetime. I've experienced things that I probably would have never felt in NY. Everything I've done in LA I feel like it's something I have created. The life I have created is still based on who I am shaped by my experiences in NY.

Not sure if this is at all coherent; I'll probably edit it later on.

Fuck AT&T

2012-01-04T21:50:00.000-08:00

So I got a wonderful email from AT&T this month about my iPhone data usage for my unlimited plan.

We're writing because you are in the top 5 percent of heaviest data users for this billing cycle. Smartphone customers with unlimited data plans may experience reduced speeds once their usage in a billing cycle reaches the level that puts them among the top 5 percent of heaviest data users. These customers can still use unlimited data and their speeds will be restored with the start of the next billing cycle.

Beginning with your next billing cycle, we'll send you a text message if you are approaching the top 5 percent of heaviest data users. We'll also send you a second text message if you cross into the top 5 percent of heaviest users, at which point you may see reduced speeds for the rest of the month.

What the fuck.

I've used about 1 gig of data this month and that to me is nothing. Between loading all the articles on flipboard this month, a few purchases on iTunes, and a few youtube videos, that's pretty much 1 gig right there. A gig is literally NOTHING. Apple sells a 64 gig iPhone and I can't use 1 gig of data a month? Half of my usage is spent at the iTunes store downloading music anyways (which I pay for by the way). So let's say I start with a completely empty iPhone. I download 1 gigs of music a month for 24 months (length of my contract). 24 gigs is still less than what my iPhone can hold and what I paid for.

What also angers me is that they don't give you a hard limit on what the 5% is. Is it exactly 2 gigs? Is it 1 gig? How can I stay out of it? What's going to end up happening is that the usage for the top 5% will keep decreasing. This month it's going to be 1 gig. Next month, more people will try to stay out of the top bucket and the cut off will be 0.9 gigs. Each month it will go down, feeding off by this vicious cycle.

How does it make sense that the threshold for when they slow down your internet is a bit over 1 gig under a $30 unlimited data plan, when there is a $25 data plan for 2 gigs? I asked this to the representative at AT&T when I called in. He obviously did not have an answer for me. I also told him that the thought of potentially losing my 3g access on my phone is causing me anxiety, since they cannot give me a direct answer on what the threshold in terms of usage for the 5% is. I literally just need to pray everyday that I don't hit the top 5%.

I've done some googling and apparently, when they slow down you data plan, it's pretty much close to unsable. Emails load after a really long time. Facebook pretty much does not work. Streaming is totally out of the question. Basically, nothing works. If you're interested in reading more, I came across this well written compliant by on an AT&T support forum.

This grievance, coupled with the previous entry about the iPhone's shit battery life, just shows that technology is lagging behind innovation. The problem?

Monopolies / Oligopolies are established due to the U.S.' favoring of BIG COMPANIES making it difficult for other small companies to enter the space and compete (i.e. patent laws, tax shields on debt, lobbyist, etc.)

AT&T can only pull this shit (excuse the excess cussing but obvie this is a very important matter to me) in curbing my data usage because the cell phone providers in the U.S. have an oligopoly. Case in point, part of my love letter from AT&T reads:

Like other wireless companies, AT&T is taking steps to manage exploding demand for mobile data..

Thanks for the reminder that I have no choice but to go with your shitty ass company or another shitty ass company which will also restrict my usage. I'm glad the AT&T and T-Mobile merger didn't go through. Are you fucking kidding me? Having only 4 data providers is enough of an oligopoly, and some geniuses had the nerve to think that AT&T and T-Mobile will not violate anti-trust laws?

Additionally, Apple can get away with putting out a product that essentially doesn't work (i.e. death grip & battery drain issues; absurdly FRAGILE screen), because there really is no comparable device to the iPhone out there. And who ever wants to put out a comparable device, they will line up their patent lawyers and sue the shit out of them.

It's just frustrating that there are so many limitations on what I can do with my technology. I can't use my phone for more than 4 hours without recharging it. I can't pay for songs (thanks SOPA) on my phone when I'm traveling and do not have access to my laptop. Isn't technology supposed to improve and facilitate our lives? Instead, thanks to the infrastructure of our country, innovation is being hindered and progress is not facilitated because these monopolies make a SHIT TON OF MONEY nevertheless. Corporate profits are THROUGH THE ROOF while main street and our broad economy has never recovered.

Ridiculousness of the iPhone

2011-12-25T21:22:00.001-08:00

The iPhone, although amazing in computing power, is completely useless as even a basic cell phone when out batteries.

In LA, it's not so bad given most people have car chargers and can give their phones a midday boost in transit.

I'm back home in NYC at a sorta hipster cafe in the borderline cool part of Chinatown. There are literally 4 people around me charging their phones. Give we can move mountains with technology, there's no reason why as to how we cannot have an iPhone that has enough battery life to last a day. Or even continuous use for half a day for that matter.

#soirritatedfromcarryinganiphonechargereverywhere

And no I refuse to get a Mophie since I love my BookBook iPhone case / wallet. Speaking of which, I get so many compliments on it every time someone sees it. I don't say this too often but this product literally changed my life for the better. Also, if you do happen to have it, it's best to use a hole-puncher to punch out the back where the camera is. I'll post some pictures of it later.

Soundtrack of my life

2011-12-11T22:04:00.001-08:00

This song literally describes my life.

I'm on the train again, jamming on my own again
They think I'm insane, there's no music playin'

OMGZ I x3 EDM

2011-11-15T17:47:00.000-08:00

I know I'm always talking about EDM but I just can't stress how much I love it and how much it moves me. I just love watching youtube videos of sets from Identity Festival, Hard Festival, Las Vegas, Electric Daisy Festival, etc. It obviously has just as much impact on other people (if not more) than myself. I'm so attracted to the passion from the DJs, the energy from the crowd, the lights from the venue, the atmosphere, and everything about it. Most of all, the whole experience exudes happiness. I understand that half the people are rolling but I enjoy the music being completely sober. This music moves people so much and it's something very unique to EDM, not seen in any other genre of music. Any other concerts I go to, most people just stand there and listen passively. At EDM shows, the audience contributes to the energy and people get so into it through dancing and just having a great time getting lost in the music. People just let go of it all. The lyrics in electronic music, if any, don't make much sense so it can mean whatever you want it to mean. The electronic synthesizers brings another level of creativity that isn't available on traditional instruments. the possibilities are endless and it just makes people feel... good...

Despite the hate from some people who don't appreciate it, there has been so much EDM influences in mainstream music. Jason Derulo' Don't Wanna Come Home which takes the riff from Robyn's Show me Love, Dubstep featured in Niggas in Paris, soft dubstep around 2:40 in Flo Rida's Good Feeling and the hook which has a very 1980's Chicago House influence feel, and obviously almost all pop beats feature electronic production. I mentioned this previously, but David Guetta's Nothing But The Beat is such an amazing album despite people's varying opinion on him. Not only because everything on his album is so catchy, but he features so many pop artists that will really bring EDM into the mainstream.

Growing up, pop was the cool thing (i.e. Backstreet Boys & Spice Girls). A bit later in the 1990s everyong was into the whole hip-hop thing. Now, high school and college kids all are obsessed with EDM. I wish I was exposed to it a bit earlier, so I would have had an earlier start to my dream of becoming an international DJ.

To share a bit of what I mean, see the video below. Just to caveat, this is Swedish House Mafia's CLOSING SET of EDC, which means people have literally been hard core dancing for 8 hours already and this STILL there is that much energy.

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Also, see below for Kaskade's set in March at the Marquee in Las Vegas. I think I see myself dancing somewhere in the video. Was looking through youtube videos and this girl referred to 3/12/11 at Marquee "the best night of my life." I definitely speak in superlatives all the time so the validity of this may be discounted, but I totally agree. The energy that night was insane and it was definitely an amazing night where even after 8 months, I remember it vividly in my mind.

Dropbox

2011-11-12T21:26:00.000-08:00

I like technology that improves my life. I feel like Dropbox is one of them. I feel like I can be a nomad and have my files everywhere. Dropbox would be awesome, but I just need more space, which you can help by joining :)

Use my referral link if you like to sign up.

xx

We Found Love Video - Prologue

2011-11-12T17:41:00.000-08:00

Have to repost this because I love it so much.... Plus the accent is really cool.

“It’s like you’re screaming, and no one can hear. You almost feel ashamed that someone could be that important, that without them you feel like nothing. No one will ever understand how much it hurts. You feel hopeless, like nothing can save you. And when it’s over and it’s gone, you almost wish that you could have all that bad stuff back so that you could have the good.”

We Found Love

2011-10-20T14:54:00.000-07:00

I've always like Rihanna... Think I was one of the first ones to really like her starting with Pon de Replay. I love her energy, her cute outfits (I started rocking these colorful cropped hoodies which she wore in the beginning of her career), and the fact that she is a Pisces like me (4 days older than me). Just watched her new video, We Found Love, and got chills and almost cried. I can tell she is just such a passionate person from this video (which I'm sure she gave directional oversight on), Love the Way You Life video, and her relationship with Chris Brown. When she loves, she loves really hard. Everything she does seems so extreme.

People who know me understand me to be like that as well. I am super passionate about my interest, my ambitions, my friendships, life, and love. Everything needs to be an extreme. Car windows all the way up or all the way down. Chai Tea Latte twice a day or totally cold turkey for weeks. However, I feel like throughout the course of life and as I get older, I get more jaded. Jaded in the sense that I can't be so passionate about one thing.

For example:
No longer am I so passionate about my job. I realized my "dream job" isn't what I thought it was and actually makes me want to cut myself. In my first (and only) relationship, I used to love like Rihanna; I was willing to give up everything I had just to make the love work. Now, I'm so closed off to relationships to the point I think I'm asexual. In terms of making friends, no longer am I super excited about making deep friendships because I realize people get scared off by the intensity and are actually mostly flaky and selfish.

Throughout my experiences, I learned that it's definitely not healthy to be so passionate and invested because the crash is that much worse. I've developed as a coping and defense mechanism to be lukewarm about things. This is probably what is killing me inside everyday. I feel like I'm losing my passion for life, because it's the only way to deal with life.

I admire Rihanna for being who she is because I can't be that person anymore. For her fiery red hair. For her apparent obsession with S&M and being in Disturbia. For being in such a passionate / abusive relationship i.e. with Chris Brown. For her statement in her music videos. Anyway, here are the two music videos which I can watch to live vicariously and to feel something that strong about. The lyrics to We Found Love, although a bit lacking, is actually quite beautiful. "We found love in a hopeless place." To tie it in with this blog entry, Rihanna and her boyfriend in the video, were able to love each other that passionately in a world where it's actually safer and better to not feel anything. It's quite beautiful and admirable. In the words of Blair Waldorf, "People don’t write sonnets about being compatible, or novels about shared life goals and stimulating conversation. The great loves are the crazy ones. L’amour fou." The two video below shows this crazy love and I'm so drawn in by it, yet vow that will never be in one of those relationships ever again.

Blair Waldorf vs. Serena Van Der Woodsen

2011-10-11T01:04:00.000-07:00

I know it's a bit ridiculous to blog about Gossip Girl literally right after writing a thesis on the structural problems with the US economy, but I'll try to make this as less vapid as possible. After watching the new episode of Gossip Girl and thinking on my treacherous bike ride dodging cars and construction trucks on Wilshire, I gained some insight into the behaviors and attitudes of Gossip Girls' two main protagonist, Blair and Serena.

These two girls are completely different, yet they are best friends. The most obvious difference is their fashion choice. Serena wear a lot of Haute Hippie and Vince, while Blair wears more Dior and Moschino (props to you if you understood the connotations of that loaded sentence). Anyway, there are tons of material in which i can use in the shows 5 seasons to compare and contrast them, but let's take for an example their relationships.

Serena in Season 4 was dating Nate. Then, she revived her relationship with Dan. Then she goes back to Nate because she thinks that she likes him more. oooh I think I love Dan. ooooh I think I love Nate. No I actually love Dan. blah blah. At the end, she "chooses herself," whatever that means. To me, she is just the most shallow, unassuming, and for a lack of better word, stupid... character on the show. She has no depth, and she never had to work a day of her life (for her social status or whatever it is, let alone money) and everything falls in place for her.

On the other hand, there is Blair Waldorf. The most powerful woman I know. (I know she is fictional, but there is no other women else I can look up to in the real world. Sad, but true. Let me save that discussion for another day.) In Season 5, Episode 3, she gets a paternity test on who the father of her baby is. The audience never knows who the father is, but she goes ahead and tells Chuck that the baby is Louis' (Prince of Monaco, and also her fiance) and remains her composure with Louis telling that he is the father. She is such a control freak in that her curiosity wouldn't even allow her to open the envelope to reveal who the father is. Her thinking is that.... it doesn't matter. It doesn't matter if she deep down inside loves Chuck. She always wanted to marry a royal and she is so fitting for a princess. She knows exactly what she wants and will "even bend DNA" to get it.

What I admire about her is that she knows what she wants. After knowing that, she goes for it and doesn't stray from anything, not even true love. That is really her method to everything she does. Her college choice, her career, her social status, and even Chuck.

A good friend (also very wise) told me, "the hardest thing is knowing what you want. Once you know what you want, you can just go for it." Amen to that sister. Even if what you want is the moon, at least if you know that, you will strive in the right direction. I think I am quite capable of whatever I want to achieve. My problem is that I really don't know what I want.

Maybe I'll figure it out but before then, it makes me really uncomfortable that I'm not working towards it and not even knowing how to work towards it.

Next New Thing...

2011-10-11T00:41:00.000-07:00

In light of unemployment remaining at 9.1% as of last week, a CNBC headline caught my eye: US Has 3.2 Million Jobs Openings. The article says that as long as we fill these jobs, we can bring down the unemployment rate by 1% without spending a dime of the tax payers money on the creation of new jobs. This is when sensationalist journalism takes over and the claim not being rooted in facts. This alarming statistic has to do with fundamentally structural problems with the U.S. economy, and the unemployment rate cannot simply be lowered by filling those jobs. The problem has do with the discrepancy between the skills needed for the job and the skill set of the population. The jobs simply cannot be filled.

It's about a concept of specialization, which has gone through all societies tracing back to the hunter / gatherers. Some of the primitive people became hunters.... and other became gathers. They then focused on their own jobs and society progressed. The problem with the U.S. (or global) economy is that the work force was never properly trained for the specialization. The specialization is required with new technologies, new systems, and business models.

How did this problem seem to occur so quickly if it is and has been structural problem? It's actually been a problem for quite some time. However, due to the Fed / Wall St. feeding one bubble after the next (dot com, real estate, credit market, etc), the issue with our workforce not being properly trained did not seem to be a problem. These bubbles were able to hide structural problems by masking growth and keeping it artificially high. When times are good, businesses expand and hire anyone they can get. They don't necessarily need the right person for the job, but hired anyone willing to do the job. As much as I talk shit about my industry, Investment Banking does fuel businesses. M&A activity (counter-intuitively) creates jobs. Availability of capital (cheap credit markets coupled with open equity markets) funds growth. Everything was going so fast, workers were exactly properly trained or even competent for the job at maximum efficiency.

We indeed are in a special time different from all other decades, and centuries. Because of technology, progress happens at an exponential rate (as per Moore's law). The problem is that the workforce didn't adapt to this technology. The people who did are the few guys in Silicon Valley that made a shit ton of money and are not even really all that talented (or even all that smart). They had an edge over the general population because they were the only ones who could take advantage of the progress and the new opportunities. Their skillset is rare, and are being overly compensated for it (eg internet start up company valuations).

Anyway, I predict the next big thing to be training the work force to understand the technology, new business models, and processes. Most likely, there will be a boom in human resources companies that train employees.

But then again, what do I know? I only predicted the rise of Netflix in 2005 (along with the downfall of Qwikster), the growth of Chipotle as a franchise brand, and the ubiquitousness (?) of the iPod since 2003. #notconceitedjustconfident

What else do I think will be #trending the next few years?
+ The rise of Los Angeles as a major cultural hub and the next cool place to be
+ General acceptance of organic / healthy foods
+ Asia as the next big financial hub (give props to Daddy Chang for this one for thoroughly convincing me)
+ Internet security (refer to a previous blog entry about this)
+ Integration of location based services (for social media, mobile application, advertising)
+ Product placement embedded into entertainment (i.e. whole season of Entourage to promote a tequila brand)

Late at Night

2011-10-09T00:22:00.000-07:00

I always google this, but to no avail. Why is it that I am uber introspective / emotional (not necessarily emo) / reflective / reminiscent at night?! Does this happen to other people as well? I'm so happy I found Pier 212 Cafe in Santa Monica which is open 24 hours where I can come and just chill Saturday night.

David Guetta

2011-10-09T00:17:00.000-07:00

I never really liked David Guetta much (too mainstream and I didn't really like his first hits) but am on Spotify now but really digging his new album: Nothing But The Beat. My current favorite is Sunshine feat Avicii. Literally everyone song off that album has potential of being a huge hit. The album it's just so loaded with good beats, big name artists (Will I Am, Nicki Minaj, Usher, Avicii, Akon, Chris Brown, Afrojack, Lil Wayne, etc etc) and good music!

Renewed Domain

2011-10-05T00:47:00.001-07:00

Procrastinated on renewing my domain for a day and it was down. Don't worry, I'm back at least for another year. :)

Kaskade

2011-10-04T01:02:00.000-07:00

Anyway, I finally learned a way to distinguish my favorite genre of music. I think they call it "Progressive House." Examples are songs by Kaskade, Morgan Page, Avicii (more mellow songs and not so much the dubstep ones), Armin van Buuren.

Kaskade's music makes makes me so happy I really can't describe it. Pure ecstasy. It's the only thing that keeps me going when I have to work late until 4 AM. So I think I'm a freak for being so obsessed with Kaskade, but then I go on youtube and below are some of the comments by people who share the same views as me and have their own little experience with this music.

"Train Ride into New York City as the sun is rising... listening to this song.... it makes you fall in love with NYC even more... or Kaskade."

"I have a Business project to finish, I have to study for pre-lims, I need to submit an important application.. But I cant seem to leave this page. I cant seem to stop pressing the replay button. I cant seem to stop listening to this song. Kaskade has won this battle"

"I found this on a CD today in my car, having almost forgot this track. I put it on when I merged onto the highway, shifted down (2008 turbo Audi), and blasted it up to 130. The roads were empty and as the lights were passing me by, I was free for just a moment from the responsibilities of adulthood and corporate America."

"So addicting. I've listened to this like 200 times in a row in the past 5 hours."

I'm tired as fuck and should probably really go to bed when I get home, but I really just want to go for a ride and listen to Kaskade.. Something about listening to 4 AM by Kaskade at 4 AM that is almost like a religious experience for me....

Money, Power, Respect...

2011-08-14T23:50:00.001-07:00

Blog entry to come after I formulate my idea based on lyrics from the Lox song.....

1 year anniversary...

2011-08-14T23:48:00.000-07:00

My 1 year anniversary upon moving to LA. I know I blog about my geography incessantly, but I think it defines who I am - at the moment at least. It defines what I do, the news I encounter, the people I meet, the culture / art I am expose to, and my everyday life.

Anyway, I think I'm finally over New York. Not that I don't love it and wouldn't want to move back, but I had a funny feeling a few days ago. I came across a NY license plate on the road, which I always get excited about. I looked over and felt a feeling that I couldn't describe. It was a kind of happiness and fondness, yet knowing that the experience was in the past. It hit me. The feeling I felt upon seeing the NY license plate is the same feeling I got when I was finally getting over my ex boyfriend.

For accepting LA and getting over NY, I almost feel like a different person, it's weird.

The carmageddon that wasn't....

2011-07-18T10:24:00.000-07:00

Seriously, I hated that term "Carmageddon" and never even mentioned it. I am adverse to things that are hyped up and I knew going in that it wasn't going to be all that bad. There were probably 80% less cars on the road this past weekend than usual. Most people either went up to the Bay, went to Vegas, biked, walked, public transpo-ed it, or just stayed home.

What I am impressed is the PR campaign by the city of Los Angeles. They have sufficiently scared everyone enough by coining the term "Camageddon," posting enough signs everywhere weeks prior, and the mayor's reminder of what is going down over the weekend to everyone who lives under a rock.

It just goes to show that traffic doesn't have to be bad in Los Angeles. If there weren't such a social stigma against taking public transportation and they set up more bike lanes, the traffic (or lack of) this weekend can be something we can have every day.

Informational Overload

2011-07-13T02:11:00.000-07:00

Just came back from biking from a cafe in Santa Monica at 1:30 in the morning. Went there to try to catch up on some reading. Came across an idea that is super interesting in the Economist: Informational Overload. (The irony of coming across the article about informational overload while trying to catch up on reading by cramming 10 back Economist issues).

"Information overload is the biggest irritation in modern life."

This is so true. I check my facebook news feed way too often a day finding out way too much information about my friends' (or rather random people I've met once at a party) favorite dish at a place they checked into. I get inundated by blast emails at work, yoga deals on my personal email, car detailing special on my drive to work, not to mention the plethora of links whenever I google something.

According to the Economist, information overload raises stress levels and is bad for your health. I personally could care less about the two. The problem I have with information overload is that the more information I come across, the more I realize that I know nothing. I pride myself on being somewhat informed about life, the world, technology, current events, culture, people, or whatever. However, the wealth of knowledge out there which is so easily accessible makes me think I should be way more informed than I am now. I seriously don't have the resources, time, or energy to be that informed. For me, the irritation comes from feeling inadequate of not knowing enough.

Coffee Bean epiphany

2011-07-13T01:57:00.000-07:00

I've been hitting up the Coffee Bean next to the CAA building everyday to get a chai tea latte. I told the barista that I used to hate chai, and now I'm addicted and need at least 1 chai tea latte a day. He made a simple but a soul-searching statement. He asked me, "Why does it have to be so extreme? Why can't you find a happy medium?"

Not sure.... I guess I just have an extreme personality. My sister tells me that in psychology, they say that people who think in extremes (i.e. don't understand gray areas) are typically people who have a mind of a child due to the under-development of the pre-frontal cortex.

Why cars drive without their lights at night in California....

2011-06-30T18:47:00.000-07:00

*Just to caveat, this is definitely not a rant entry, just a small observation.*

Riding my bike at night along Wilshire / Main Street / Santa Monica Blvd at night, I realize a lot of cars drive without their lights on. This almost never happens in New York. It's not because people are less forgetful in New York, or they have more cars that automatically turns them on.

I think this really speaks to the sociological aspects of the two places. There has been a few times where I forgot to turn on my lights in New York, but people would high beam me to remind me. Everyone knows to do that, and everyone knows what it means. In contrast, I was driving in torrential downpour (yes, it does rain in LA) one night, and kept high beaming the car in front of me who forgot to turn on his light. He didn't understand why I was highbeaming him, so I drove next to him and opened my window to try to tell him. Not only did he not understand again, but he turned at the next intersection thinking I was a crazy aggressive driver.

Because of the population density in New York, people need to look out for one another. Because there is human interaction on a daily basis, people have unwritten rules. Case in point, when merging two lanes in New York, it's always left lane merge in, then right, then left, and so forth. In Los Angeles on the other hand, you have certain drivers that just never go, and certain drivers that are too aggressive that prevents the driver from the other lane from entering.

So though New York is chaotic, crowded, and full of crazy people, some kind of order is naturally established. On the contrary, this kind of natural order never developed in Los Angeles.

Why my job is so painful....

2011-06-07T22:55:00.000-07:00

Don't want to innudate my facebook with negativity so will rant here and would rather strangers see than my friends. My job sucks because while I get in at 9AM, working fully ramps up at 10PM. FML

Bonjour, Happiness...

2011-06-07T17:11:00.000-07:00

Kinda stupid but I bought this book Amazon: Bonjour, Happiness! The writing is painfully bad, but I did learn a few things from the book about happiness. Don't really want to elaborate on it now, but I realize I need to chill the fuck out. Another thing I've learned is to find happiness in simple things. I've done this excercise before where I list things that make me happy, which is actually really effective in brightening my mood. In light of my pessimestic posts about an internet crash, misogynistic men, and potential WW3 arising from developments in the MENA region, I'm going to list things that make me happy. Remember this is a personal blog, so I don't care if you don't care! :)

Reading my French Vogue at the Urth Caffe in Santa Monica
Listening to Kaskade, Morgan Page, Sebastien Tellier, or 90's music
Santorini scented reed diffuser by Antica Farmacista
Driving with the windows down in beautiful Southern California weather
Macarons with coffee
Gossip girl and seeing New York City in the backdrop and their beautiful outfits
The Police, Sting that is
Riding my awesome Linus bike along Wilshire Blvd with a baguette in my basket pretending I am in Paris....
Singing letters / emails with "xx"

The next big thing...

2011-06-07T16:57:00.000-07:00

In light of the Blake Lively's hacked pictures and iOS5 hacked the day after the release, I anticipate the next big thing to appear in our zeitgeist is internet security. People definitely don't take it seriously enough. Most people don't realize that sitting at a cafe with public wifi access, anyone on the same wifi network can access your files / what you are doing through a simple app that anyone can download. Don't believe me? Read this NYTimes article. I know absolutely nothing about hacking, but I am an ardent believer that anything and everything can be hacked. The consequences of this can be huge and potentially cripple people's lives, large corporations, and even economies. More and more hacking incidents will happen in the years to come.

The implications of this relates to valuations of internet companies. I understand that the dotcom boom 2.0 is not as irresponsible as dotcom bubble 1.0, but the valuations for some of these companies is a bit ridiculous. I am a product of the 21st century and cannot live without the internet, my iphone, and google, but I also realize how relying too much on technology can be potentially crippling.

Groupon is now valued at $20 - 30Bn. Just to put that into context, Starbucks has an enterprise value of $25Bn. Starbucks has 137,000 employees. They have 17,000 physical locations. Groupon has a server somewhere and a few people working for them. All of Groupon's value may potentially be wiped out with a click of a button by a hacker (i.e. customer data erased, domain hijacked, credit card information stolen). As for Starbucks, that will never happen. The $25Bn would take months to liquidate. The only button that can wipe Starbucks' value is a button to detonate an atomic bomb.

I understand that they are very different companies and I'm comparing apples to oranges. But my point is this. Because of the implications of hacking, the internet is so fragile and one easy catastrophe away from it all coming crashing down. Doomsayers mentality? Maybe.

iCloud / iTunes

2011-06-07T16:06:00.000-07:00

Why would I use the iCloud / iTunes interphase, where users can only listen to the songs they have paid for on iTunes, when I can use Pandora, which gives me access to songs I never paid for. Besides, the bulk of my music collection was not purchased on iTunes. Good move on Apple's part though. They don't need to pay for storage individually for each person's music library since its an aggregate library people can access (but only if they paid for it). I would much rather support the Music Genome Project and pay for Pandora Premium than to help Apple's earn a buck and plans of world domination.

Speaking of a buck, I am loving this song: I Need a Dollar by Aloe Blacc.

A Man's World

2011-05-13T19:59:00.001-07:00

It's 5AM and literally I cannot sleep before I get this down....

I was watching "the first motion picture to be made for the internet," called Girl Walks Into a Bar. I was watching the scene where Emmanuelle Chiriqui's character, Theresa plays a stripper. I really like the way it was filmed, because the men at the strip club seemed like regular men across different age and ethnicity at a strip club - but Theresa was able to see through their normal exterior to misogynistic ways. She freezes the scene, and in an overlay commentary, runs down on each one of their women-hating ways. One of them sexually harasses a young mute girl at the library. Another will slip something in his neighbor's drink later on in the evening. Another beats his mistress. Later she gets off her shift, and another one of her fellow stripper asks her, "How do you deal with it? They were extra douchebags tonight."

After watching that, I started having somewhat of a panic attack and had to go for a walk at the mall next to my office. Not sure why it bothered me so much. I'm definitely no feminist and anyone that knows me can attest to this. I obviously don't encounter as much misogyny as a stripper. But the fact of the matter is, there is so much truth to that scene and parallelism to what I go through on a day-to-day basis.

It's a man's world. Women activist complain about "the glass ceiling" but honestly I could care less. I understand I will never be as successful as men. That's just a fact of life. The only women who are powerful are intimidating or undesirable i.e. Ms. Secretary of State and Oprah Winfrey. The other ones are powerful because of who they are married to. I will never be CEO of a company. Not to say there are no women CEOs but that's just bc I not only have the the glass ceiling holding me back, but also the bamboo ceiling working against me (something I will probably blog about another time). What does bother, however, is how men see women.

For some reason, guys feel like I'm like "one of the guys." One of my friends in HS compared me to Robin from How I Met Your Mother - which I actually found to be flattering. Maybe that's a product of me watching / playing sports, growing up around hanging out with guys, or always commenting on Megan Fox's hotness. Whatever it is, guys just feel comfortable being totally open with me - unfiltered and uncensored. I guess that's something that I do like, but the amount of exposure I get to men and their machoistic-everything-is-about-sex-legs-and-breast ways is really disturbing.

I was out for lunch with 2 co-workers whom I adore and think are amazing people. We were in an elevator when a middle-aged woman who is slightly out of shape commented on something my co-worker said. Small elevator talk - nothing special. After we got off the elevator, they said about her - "She totally wanted it. She might as well have a sign on her face that says 'ejaculate here.'" Of course, I was completely shocked. I completely didn't see it as that, and she was probably happily married and had kids or something. I know obviously this is a joke, but how did they even come up with that. Other than that, my contributions to social conversations in my office bull pen (8 guys) include my opinion on the ever-so-important question: "will you sleep with him?"

I'm effectively living two guys right now, again they are people that I adore and love but the workings to how they think is a bit ridiculous. Somehow - everything is about sex, legs, strategy on how to get girls, how to study at a cafe and get girls, how to get jacked to get girls, whether he would sleep with the girl.

I don't know why it's bothering me more now than ever. I used to read Maxim just for kicks. I've always known that guys think about sex every 10 seconds, and the only thing that crosses a guy's mind when he sees a girl is "i'd hit it / i'd not hit it." Maybe it's because I don't have any girl friends here in LA to balance out all the exposure to testosterone in my life but it's literally driving me crazy. And the only people I meet are in the context of bars - mostly guys that just want to talk to me because they want to sleep with me. And now, when I want to make small talk in the elevator - I certainly don't want to be branded as having a sign that says 'ejaculate here' on my face.....

Two TV shows

2011-04-19T09:48:00.000-07:00

So for some reason, The Secret Millionaire was recorded on my DVR. Neither my roommate or myself has ever heard of it or set it to record. Anyway, watched a few episodes and I must say it is an amazing show. On one episode, one Florida millionaire sold his online marketing company for $500 million (um... what...?!) and was placed in Skid Row of LA to find charities he wants to donate to. I've always known Skid Row was infamous for the amount of homeless people, but the images on TV and the fact that it is right in downtown LA is really incredible. Anyway, the millionaire is walking aimlessly along - and someone not from the area pulls up with a van. He (we later find out his name is Amir) brings out clothes and hangs them up for the homeless people to have. Amir also hands out hygiene kits that he made in zip lock bags. What really touched me is that when he came back on another day, there was an older gentleman (probably a veteran) on a walker. They described on TV that his shoes were covered in excrement. Amir asks him what size shoes he wear, and goes through his collection to see if he has size 8 shoes. All of the sudden, Amir realizes he himself is a size 8, and immediately takes off his own shoes for this man. He offered his own shoes for this man - but that's not even the touching part of it. It was Amir's humility. He didn't offered his shoes condescendingly, or even in a patronizing way. Amir made it seem like it was his own luck that his shoes happened to be size 8 and he can offer this gentleman. Anyway - decided to google this guy later, and on his twitter he writes: "Secret Millionaire is a great show and I'm so fortunate to be on a small part of Secret Millionaire." Just the humility of a philanthropist is really refreshing.

Anyway, totally on the opposite end of spectrum - I was watching Gossip Girl yesterday. I got into it this season a few episodes ago, which is somewhat late for the GG fans out there. I enjoy watching it because it takes place in NY - so I get to see how NY has changed and the restaurants, stores, scenery etc. I also enjoy the fashion on the show. Most people don't realize this but what they are wearing is totally off the runways of the latest collection of fashion week. Just seeing NY and the fashion simply makes me happy. The convoluted plot and the drama is something I can't stand. Anyway, in last night's episode, The Kids Stay in the Picture, Serena has a cousin who is raised by a hippie mom who apparently rejects materialism and "shallowness". (Not to mention she herself is clothes top down in the latest fashion and her face is totally botoxed up). Anyway, there's this scene where she is convinced to stay in NY. The film her trying on a pair of Louboutin nude pumps. She's playing with Serena's Chanel moisturizers. The look on her face is just amazing. She looks like she's been completely brainwashed and that materialism is the way to life. The way the whole scene was filmed too like the Louboutins is the holy grail or something. I obviously love fashion and a pair of nice shoes, but this show definitely takes it to an extreme and definitely highlights the problem that American young girls / women have with materialism.

So that's the extent to my TV watching - besides Fox Soccer Channel - which according to my roommate is like softcore porn to me (totally true). And Knicks playoff games, which I probably don't have many games left to watch unfortunately.

My take on NYU

2011-04-13T10:41:00.000-07:00

Last month when I was back in NY, I saw a pretty wide-eyed girl on the 6 train with her parents with NYU brochures in hand. It was around college decision time, so I figured they took a trip from a small town in the midwest to see if NYU is the right school for the girl. I was in my California-mode i.e. smiling at everyone on the street and wanting to have human interaction - so I was compelled to talk to the family. Unfortunately, they got off - so never had that conversation. This blog entry that conversation I never had with that family - and anyone else out there asking the question: "Is NYU for me?"

If you are accepted to NYU, that's probably one indicator that NYU IS for you. I beileve that the college admissions process is about "fit." Definitely more at NYU than any other school. It's really not just all about academics i.e. if you get a 2400 on your SATs with straight A's - doesn't mean you will get into NYU. If you got in, that means the admissions office saw that you have "an edge" making you a good fit for NYU.
NYU is not a traditional college experience. It's literally "in and of the city." There are no walls to enclose the campus. There actually IS a campus. It's just within the city, and there are non-college students within that campus as well. It's not a bubble, where all you encounter are people affliated with the University. With that said, being around Washington Square Park still felt like school - and our buildings were definitely our campus.
You will meet the most interesting people - ever. There is such a hodgepodge of different people - striving for different things in life. This will especially happen freshmen year where people are just making new friends and all freshmen are in the same dorms. There was a professional piano player on my floor, right next to the nerdy econ major, and also film production majors. I know this is true of some other colleges as well - but like I said, NYU students all have some sort of edge that makes them interesting.
You will get tons of travel experience. I know at least for Stern, they encourage you to study abroad 2 semester in different places. Plus, there's the junior year ISP trip, where the school pays for your international trip during Spring Break. Just in my 4 years, I've been to Athens (scholars trip), Rome / Florence (scholars trip), London (studied abroad), Buenos Aires (ISP trip), Barcelona, Madrid, Lisbon, Milan, Paris, Nice, and Cannes (study abroad travels).
You will probably work at a really legit internship during school. I was able to work at the larger financial services company - since that's the field I'm in. I have friends that worked at Vogue, LV, Madison Square Garden - whatever industry you are interested in, you can have opportunities to be exposed to the field. NYC is literally the mecca of (beside basketball :)) finance, fashion, media, journalism, and literature. My friends that have not gone to NYU think that my resume is stacked, but they need to see the resume of some other Stern students.
Be prepared to grow up - really quickly. Not being in the bubble of a campus, and being in the real world, let a lone NYC, forces you to grow up. I have a friend that was accepted to NYU, but chose to go somewhere else because she didn't want to grow up too quickly. I think that is completely true. I had friends that had to work 3 jobs - to pay for college and living expenses. Also, the interaction with really smart, cynical, experienced, and jaded New Yorkers will also make you grow up.
You will know more about the world - culture and current events. This also relates to the fact that NYU is "in and of" NYC. There are people from all over the world living in NYC. You are just exposed to a lot more about what is happening around the world - a stark contrast from California. Also, being amongst people of different backgrounds breeds familiarity with different cultures.
Princeton Review's Dream School: "2004-2007" and always placing amongst Ivys. (3rd after Stanford and Harvard in 2011 - only really because of the financial aid factor being better at Ivy League Schools).
Graduation at Yankee Stadium is kinda of amazing. And also - 2010 Graduation Speaker: Alec Baldwin, 2011 Graduation Speak: Bill Clinton

Anyway - these are just some thought off the top of my head. I'll definitely add to this later. In conclusion, my time at NYU was the best experience of my life. I know this is the case for most people and their college experience, but I would not change my experience for anything. Knowing what I know now about NYU, I wouldn't trade going to NYU for any other school in the world - no matter how prestigious. Plus, I know my college experience was unique and is not comparable to any other college in the world, even other colleges in NY.

Just FYI

2011-04-12T22:58:00.000-07:00

I guess there is a method to my madness. Got really bored so decided to go through my old FB entries and came across this on March 21, 2009 at 5:41pm. "AJC: kinda wants to move to california... or somewhere warm..."

Monday night epiphany

2011-04-12T22:31:00.000-07:00

Last night, was running from Santa Monica along the beach down to Marina Del Rey and realized something - I actually really like LA. I always fall in love with LA when I'm running along the beach. But this time - I know it's something more permanent than a transitory feeling of happiness as a result being able to run outside any time of the year by the beach and the release of endorphins from my pitutary gland, increasing the release of GABA and therefore disinhibiting the dopamine production.

Point being, I am shy of 2 days from being in LA for 8 months. I guess that's how it takes for me to get used to - and finally LIKE LA. It takes me way longer to get used to LA, just because it is a shitty city. I do like for certain qualities, but that doesn't change that it's a shitty city and not even on TimeOut's list of 10 greatest cities: http://www.timeout.com/travel/features/362/the-worlds-greatest-cityr

TimeOut bases their rankings on: architecture, art & culture, buzz, food & drink, quality of life, and world status. The following scores are that of NYC and London, which I agree with 100% from living in both places:

1. New York, USA

Architecture: 9 
Arts & culture: 10 
Buzz: 10 
Food & drink: 9 
Quality of life: 6 
World status: 9  
Total/60: 53

2. London, UK

Architecture: 7 
Arts & culture: 10 
Buzz: 9 
Food & drink: 9 
Quality of life: 6
World status: 9
Total/60: 50

If I had to score LA, I would probably give it the following:

Architecture: 3 (baller beach houses does not count as good architecture in my book)
Arts & culture: 3 (what culture?)
Buzz: 8 (only because of Hollywood and the celebrities)
Food & drink: 4 (hardly any restaurants with more than 1 Michelin star)
Quality of life: 9 (can't argue with this fact - it is an amazing place to live)
World status: 6 (just because most of the world does not know that LA isn't even a real city)
Total/60: 33

Anyway, I miss math so I'm trying to come up with a function f(x) = y, where x is the timeout NY score, and y is the number of months it will take me to get used to a city. That way, I can predict how long it will take me to get used to living in Paris, Berlin, or Chicago, if I wanted to move there. It's obviously an inverse relationship with probably some sin curve, but I'm probably not enough of a math nerd to figure it out.

SO - next time I complain about LA, just ignore me since it's probably just for attention. I do like LA....

On The Sartorialist Today....

2011-04-05T11:37:00.000-07:00

I know its cheap to just steal pictures off The Sartorialist and write a blog entry on it - but I no longer have my DSLR camera and am not in London / Milan / Paris / NY so here goes my fake blog entry.

I love pictures of pretty things: scenery, fashion, and art. The only feeling I can describe it as is that it makes me happy. I get inspired and it makes me want to live life a bit diferently - whether it inspires me to try a new nail color, work a bit harder so I can go on vacation, or have a prespective on life. Sometimes, I can't even pinpoint how it inspires me, but it doesn't necessarily need to inspire me to an action. I am simply inspired. Anyway - these pictures on Sartorialist inspire me today. I love the elements of the fur, the neutral colored theme, and the black plastic shades!

Melvil Poupaud

2011-03-24T17:38:00.001-07:00

I love Melvil Poupaud, but why is he always playing someone who is drugged up, has cancer, or dying?!

Anyway - just watched an amazing film over the weekend: Monsieur Ibrahim

My Review of Yelp

2011-03-24T15:04:00.000-07:00

I used to use yelp to find literally everything: restaurants, bars, dentist, church, but I've stopped relying on it because I realize it's really flawed in its ratings. Here are the reasons in which I think yelp is flawed.

People are way too critical of higher-end restaurants. Just because you're paying $80 for a bottle of wine doesn't mean servers need to lick your shoes. Most people who review restaurants on yelp are people who don't go to nice restaurants all that often - and expect way too much just because they are paying a bit more than what they are used to. Literally I have seen reviews such as: "server didn't say bye... MINUS ONE STAR." Restaurants in the $$$-$$$$ price ranges are skewed down atleast 1 star due to this.
Hole in the wall food joints have way too high ratings. $1 fish taco with ingredients from unknown sources does not deserve close to a 5 star rating. People on yelp also tend to think the more hole in the wall it is, the more "authentic" it is.
Because there's an overwhelming percentage of Asians on yelp - ramen, pho, udon, korean food, etc. ratings tend to skewed higher. Don't get me wrong, I love Asian food - but not all asian food places are amazing and deserving of 5 stars.
Esoteric services tend to have the highest reviews. It's all about supply & demand I guess. For example, iPhone repair places all average a near 5 star reviews. It's because some guy in the back of their basement replaced their iPhone screen with a dingy digitizer from China worth $0.05 for $100, when the Apple store charges $200. The service they are selling is iPhone repair. If he fixes your phone, he is simply doing his job - nothing more. These people are way too estatic about their iPhones functioning again that they fail to realize this is exactly what they are paying for. Compared to the Apple store, obviously it's going to be cheaper. But somehow people don't realize this and just give a 5 star review to any shitty quality job that anyone does.
Another rant about esoteric services.... People just don't have anything else to compare to. i.e. I got my Marc Jacobs bag restitched in NY - completely redone for $100. In LA, this one guy boast himself as the best bag repair service in the area, and charged me $150 to put a patch over my bag. Didn't even attempt to restitch it and said he would charge $500 do to so. Somehow on yelp - everyone thinks that this guy is a god and gives him 5 stars for service that I can probably do myself - and charges way too much. Ignorance is bliss I suppose?
New or exclusive bars / lounges / clubs are never on yelp. Yelp is for the masses - not for the exclusive. Also, most clubs are reviewed by the B&T crowd. I know B&T crowd is a term that only applies to NY as it stands for Bridge & Tunnel (i.e. people from the outer boroughs, CT, or NJ going into the city to party). But I use the term B&T crowd can be used generically as "Bougie & Trashy."
I guess this is an underlying problem that I have alluded to in my previous bullet points, but the frequent users of yelp (i.e. the "Elite Users") are not people that I would trust in taste of restaurants / bars / clubs / services / etc. Most of them are people who spend the majority of their day (albiet - some while they are bored at work) "managing" their yelp account - so they have the most creative review of the restaurant they went to the night before. Or if they have the best pictures on their profile. I'm certainly not like that - so can't really agree with their choices of places they frequent.

If I were give yelp a rating - I would give it 3 stars. Mehh - I've seen better.

Los Angeles...

2011-03-24T09:47:00.001-07:00

Ok - so after being in LA for 6 months, did I finally realize that most stores / services are closed Sunday and Monday.

Um what?! What kind of city does that?!

Making manufacturing sexy

2011-03-08T20:49:00.001-08:00

Finally caught up on the last few issues of the Economist and came across something that has me so excited about innovation: 3-D printing for manufacturing of.... Well things. I've been exposed to the idea of manufacturing items in the context of nanotechnology - which is more theoretical in nature and not widely implemented. This article tells me that 3-D printing is full on real and happening right now. So essentially what it 3-D printing is using blueprints via the computer to manufacture items without the need of a factory. What are these items? Anything really - from airplane components, dental crowns, to the latest Louboutins. Imagine that - being able to create any THING from your own home. This will surely move forward innovation and creativity.

I guess I'm personally excited because I'm such a DIY person. I try to do everything myself from medical diagnosis to fixing my own iPhone. Manufacturing is one of the fields I have found a way to do it myself (in addition to surgery). 3-D manufacturing eliminates the need for me to... Shop? Why buy things if I can make it myself? I'm also very particular about the things I like - so being able to design it and make it myself is the ultimate customization.

What also gets me excited is that this can potentially change the way businesses are run. Obviously this revolutionizes manufacturing - since 3-D printing produces superior products (cheaper, better quality, lighter material) and it eliminates fixed costs on virtually the production of - anything.
It's easier for anyone to create a product. It's like a democratization of - manufacturing? The same way the internet enabled people like Perez Hilton to be a source of news and information - every regular Joe can create products on their own. Except the impacts of this is even greater - since the Internet is still a virtual space while manufacturing is producing tangible items.

My mind is running wild from business ideas that can be implemented with the popularization of 3-D printing manufacturing....

New Branded Consumer

2011-03-08T20:49:00.000-08:00

3 people I think just kind of get it are: Steve Jobs, Richard Branson, and Steve Wynn. They create products / services that sell simply because they understand the consumer. They understand that a product / service is more than functionality.

Apple products are revolutionary not so much for the technology - but really the value add for the consumer in terms of functionality. The first iPods were latter to Mp3 players and MD players (mini disc players - anyone remember those?!) but somehow captured the market and revolutionized portable media. White headphones are ubiquitous and I believe actually expanded the portable music industry and brought it to people who otherwise wouldn't have owned a mp3 player.

Richard Branson (let's talk about Virgin Airlines since I'm on a Virgin flight now) creates a service - and somehow creates a flying experience that is superior to other airlines. With boring flight demonstrations by flight attendants replaced by funny cartoons for the flight evacuation info and purple lights emulating the ambiance of a swanky lounge - I, for some reason, don't mind paying a premium on my tickets.

What makes staying at the Wynn and Encore in Vegas just simply better than let's say the Mirage? Steve Wynn understands what people want - a full on experience - and focuses on the details on the furnishings and providing the best entertainment on the strip (XS?! Surrender?!).

All three companies trade at a premium to their peers because they give to consumers something that the other products / service lacks. These three men just kind of intuitively understand what that is.
Not to toot my own horn - but understanding the consumer fascinates me - and I think I kind of just intuitively get it. I can see trends and spot what the next thing that will take off because it connects to the end user. If only I can make a career or make some money off of such currently useless talent....

Fire in Your New Shoes

2011-02-10T16:00:00.000-08:00

I LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE this song. I love Kaskade. If I could listen to only one artist for the rest of my life, it would definitely be him.

Not to mention Kaskade will be the resident DJ at Marquee in the Cosmopolitan every second Saturday of the month. He's going to be there this weekend on Feb 12 - anyone want to go with me?!

Photojournalism

2011-02-09T16:27:00.000-08:00

I am obssessed with photojournalism - since I just simply love photographs and I love a good story. I especially love historical photographs of setting of places I'm familar with. I aboslutely love Henri Cartier-Bresson - loved his exhibit at the MoMA. Anyway, here are some photos of New York City by Paul McDonough @ the Sasha Wolf Gallery courtesy of gothamist.com since I can't physically be at 548 West 28th Street. Why do people in the 70s look so cool?!

I believe this is near 5th ave where the plaza / apple store is. Love matching ensemble!

I believe this is downtown in Tribeca near Broadway? I could be wrong. I absolutely love the coats.

Superbowl Ads...

2011-02-08T14:55:00.000-08:00

Maybe youtube has raised my expectations for how humor and how funny superbowl ads should be... These companies pay way too much for mediocre ads by mediocre ad agencies! Someone getting hit by a log saying "my front hurts" and a dog running into a glass door knocking someone over is just not that funny...... Anyway, two of my favorite. The first one is cute, and second one is because I can relate to. Both are more of a lifestyle and cultural reference that really speaks to people who get it.

Lastly, I didn't catch this one during the superbowl for some reason, but found it on youtube the following day. It's from Chrysler about Detroit feature Eminem. It's so powerful - literally gave me chills from watching it.

Modeling = Indentured Servitude?

2011-02-08T14:38:00.000-08:00

This movie is kinda mind blowing: Picture Me: A Model's Diary

Most girls are from small towns across America or towns in Eastern Europe that are living in "debt" to their modeling agencies - just working until they can pay back the bills they've accumulated (i.e. flights, photographs, cars, apartments, etc.). So what difference is that to indentured servitude? Plus, these photographers sexploitation of these models is kinda gross. Don't just hear me rant about it - just watch it - it's a really powerful story.

Anyway, on the bright side of things Sara Ziff gets to buy her first apartment on Bleecker Street at age 20. That's kinda awesome.

Materialism....

2011-02-07T02:07:00.001-08:00

Some wise words from my pastor today

Americans spend money they don't have to buy things they don't need to impress people they don't like
The more you let go of this world, the more you can enjoy it

Oh another note, I officially quit church after today

Electronic music is now mainstream...

2011-02-02T14:28:00.000-08:00

As much as I love electronic music, it's a bit annoying that it is now mainstream... Does that make it less cool? Heard Robyn - Dancing on My Own and Miike Snow - The Kids Don't Stand a Chance at H&M. Hear Alex Gaudino pretty often on the radio in LA. Just heard Kaskade - Fire In Your New Shoes on Gossip Girl. Kaskade - Dance for Me was in Entourage Season 7. Don't forget Britney Spears and dubstep on her new single Hold It Against Me.

Chinese New Year

2011-02-02T12:04:00.000-08:00

Something that I think I always took for granted. I was always irritated that my mom would ask me to wear something more festive, or clean my room right for Chinese New Year. I saw it as any other day - and didn't really recognize the significance of it since I celebrate new years on Jan 1st. But every single year, I've always spent it with my immediate family every for the past 22 years of my life. This year it's different. I have no family in LA and it feels kind of weird. It still feels like any other day, but there's definitely no one nagging me to make this day more special. I kind of miss that nagging. :(

If you want to know where to find me on Chinese New Years eve, I will be trying to locate the nearest hot pot place on the west side LA eating hot pot by myself. If you understand what hot pot is, you will find that super depressing because hot pot is not meant to be eaten alone. Either that or I'll be stuck at work...

High maintenance much?

2011-02-01T10:09:00.000-08:00

So I joined a perfectly okay gym. It's down the street from where I work, lots of classes, good facilities, reasonably priced, and normal young professionals that go. I have no reason to not like it except for the fact that it's not $220 / month and $1500 initiation fee.... And yesterday at Whole Foods, I got VOSS water.. UGH what kind of monster have I become? I'm becoming the type of person that enjoys paying a premium for things just because it makes me feel better?!

History repeats itself

2011-01-31T12:33:00.000-08:00

Why is it not obvious that what's happening in Egypt is a repeat of what happened in Iranian Revolution / fall of the Shah in 1979? My prediction that one of two things will happen, with the last one being a joke:

1. "Orderly transition" which probably involves Mubarak stepping down -- appointing someone else to take over who is non-religious affliated / non-extremist / US-sympathetic. These protestors will not stop until Mubarak steps down. The tipping point has been reached and there's no way to stop it unless what the masses get what they want (or think they want). As much as I sympathize with Mubarak, he had 30 years to do something, and hasn't. I think stepping down in an orderly transition is the smarter thing to do without completely ruining Egypt and allowing for chaos and a potential coup.

2. Mubarak doesn't step down. Protest goes on for weeks. Mubarak loses the allegiance of the army. There is utter chaos and the Muslim Brotherhood organizes itself together to take over. Mubarak is thrown out by force. Coptic Christian Egyptians flee Egypt to escape persecution. Israel loses its biggest ally in the middle east. Someone bombs Israel and World War 3 commences.

3. ElBaradei takes over. HAHA yeah right - that tool wished.

J'adore!!!!!!

2011-01-29T10:57:00.000-08:00

JAK & JIL Blog

This is so ridiculously cute :)

2011-01-26T14:38:00.001-08:00

Boys of Milan & Paris FW2011 from Justin Wu on Vimeo.

Jingle Bell Rocks! from Justin Wu on Vimeo.

Can't Sleep...

2011-01-25T23:47:00.000-08:00

Can't sleep because I'm looking through my old pictures of when I used to be college / studying abroad / on vacation to really cool places. Instead, I'm in this shitty city, sleep-deprived, and so not wanting to go to work tomorrow.

Santa Monica Blvd at Sunset

2011-01-25T18:13:00.000-08:00

SOAP.COM

2011-01-25T18:11:00.000-08:00

Seriously this site is kind of amazing. Three stores that I love shopping at: Bloomingdales, Staples, and DuaneReade (or CVS, Walgreens). With my current job, I literally don't even have time to buy toilet paper - considering how drugstores in LA close at midnight and are not 24 hours like in NY. Thanks so soap.com, everything that I could ever need is accessible with a click of a button. I got myself some organic shampoo / conditioner, body wash, toilet paper, and Moraccan hair mask. It's literally DuaneReade or CVS -- all for you online. They sell things like trash bags, detergent, batteries, vitamins, sex toys (if you feel uncomfortable buying it in the stores), tampons, light bulb - anything really. The best part is that shipping is usually free (over $25 and next day) PLUS there no tax if the shipment is to California. Why would I ever buy anything in the stores when I have to make the effort to go, pay for tax, deal with annoying cashiers, if I can just buy it online cheaper and get it the next day? This is kinda amazing.... I love the internet.

Use this coupon code: ANNI150951 to get 15%

Enough rambling about my very amature take on venture capital investment ideas......

2011-01-25T10:32:00.000-08:00

Not sure if this will be a coherent entry - but I guess writing for the sake of writing. I also have more posts in January 2011 than any other month in my 2 year blogging life... My question is this: Who are these people that are googling me in California if I don't even have any friends here?

I had a conversation with a friend who is moving to DC. We were talking about how we both want to be in NY. So in LA, you're the shit if you're in the entertainment industry. In DC, you're the shit if you work on Capitol Hill. In NY, you're the shit if you work in finance. And by "the shit" I mean being impressive to girls at bars. Another way to be impressive to girls at bars, smell like money.

Tenka is kinda cool

2011-01-24T17:35:00.000-08:00

I'm making this assessment before actually having used it. I am slow to jump on the bandwagon but it's not really my fault. When Tenka started getting big in NY, I had already moved to LA. Anyway, I think Tenka provides a far superior product to the consumers than GroupOn / LivingSocial / etc. Tenka points out an interesting statistic on their site: 50% of pre-paid deals are never redeemed. So here I am rambling on and on, about how these groupons are not actually a good deal, since you are trading cash for highly illquid assets. Now I have at least a sense that what I'm saying is not way off. Don't buy those things! They are totally useless. I have 3 and have yet to use it.

Anyway, about Tenka. It's basically an iPhone app that allows you to access deals / promotions (usually free stuff) at restaurants, bakeries, bars, etc in your neighborhood. Who doesn't like free shit? It's also synched up with facebook, so frequently, I would see facebook statuses like "Betty just scored a deal on Tenka - a free Mojito at Bar X." The more consumers advertise, the more that the store will reward that customer. In terms of profitabability, not sure where revenue comes in besides through advertising which is not as lucrative as groupon's model of it being commission based. I still think that it provides way more added value than those coupon sites can provide for the consumer.

I'd invest as well if I had money. But I don't, which is why I said the same thing about Netflix right after they launched and lost out on a cash cow opportunity.

Amazing soundtrack for an amazing movie...

2011-01-19T21:15:00.000-08:00

So this French movie L'ArnaCoeur or Heartbreaker (2010) is recommended with 5 stars (personalized stars) via Netflix. I've not even gone through 10 minutes of it yet and am convinced that this will be one of my favorite movies of all time. Anyway, I had to share this song which plays throughout the movie.

Doing the Wrong Things by Rebecca Young

Edit: Finished the movie - didn't like it all that much. Besides the movie takes place in Monaco and is super pretty, the plot is pretty lame. The song is still amazing though...

Solid business model

2011-01-19T18:33:00.000-08:00

After groupon's $6Bn bid from google, and IPO valuation of $15Bn - more of these online coupon sites are proping up. I've encountered 10 the past week from website ads, emails, pop-ups, etc. One that I'm sorta impressed with is livingsocial.com. The interface is legit, the geographic coverage is good, and they actually have a really smart online marketing campaign.

First it's linked up to facebook, which is why I've seen it shared by 20 of my friends on my feed. Also, if 3 of your friends buy it, your coupon is then free. The concept of word of mouth marketing and being compensated for it has been explored with flash sale sites, but has not been implemented well. Usually, to invite your friends, you need to have their email address. Who knows anyone's email address?! Anyway, this livingsocial site makes sharing with your friends seamless and it makes people incentivized to share.

Lastly, it's kind of genius to start with a 50% off coupon from Amazon. I personally didn't buy it because I wouldn't pay $10 for a less liquid asset, even at a 50% discount from face value. (seriously - it's not that good of a deal if you think of it that way) But I think 99% of the demographics they are target have bought something from amazon in the past. Which makes these people think that swapping for a way illiquid asset is actually a good deal. 1 million people have already purchased it, which means they have the email address and credit card info of 1 million people already on their first day.

Solid business model. I'd invest if I had money.

Les films que j'adore

2011-01-19T15:46:00.000-08:00

So the best way to learn a language is to pratice using it - so I'm going to start writing pieces and parts of my blog in French, i.e. the title of this post. Apologies if you find this to be incredibly annoying or pretentious. Anyway, just listing some movies I've seen the past few months that have changed my life in some way or the other.

Un Prophete - Made me question the true meaning of identity - is it defined by your ethnicity, morals, occupation, allegiance? and if you aren't bounded by any of these, does it mean you have no real identity or have such a strong sense of identity that none of this matters?

An Education - A precocious school girl who wants to grow up way too quickly and desires / does things that most people her age does not - hm sounds familiar.

Welcome - What an amazing film. Made me cry like no tomorrow. Also made me think about what unselfish love, not necessarily in a romantic sense, but from one human being to another.

Priceless - This was life-changing simply because the Azzaro dresses Audrey Tautou wears are so beautiful.

L'Auberge Espangole - Made me question what I'm doing with my life.... And why I'm not abroad and enjoying life like I should.

Au Revoir Les Enfants - Beautiful story of friendship between two boys during World War 2.

Jeux D'Enfants - This film isn't really mind blowing or life changing, but it's super cute and so is Guillaume Canet.

La Vie en Rose - Really amazing story of how out of brokenness comes success. Also Marion Cotillard (Mal in Inception) did a superb job of playing Edith Piaf. Don't know how Edith Piaf is as a person, but her Cotillard's acting totally convinced me that she is the physical reincarnation of her.

Le Fils de L'épicier - I guess nothing really that special about this movie besides the fact that Nicolas Cazle is so darn good looking. It moves pretty slowly and really has no climax, but I've gotten used to and learned to appreciate movies like such.

Black Swan - Not to be a total elitist, but it's annoying how everyone is saying this is such an amazing and artistic movie. Darren S. Aronofsky is good, but his style pretty typical of movies outside Hollywood. Anyway, this movie is life changing for me because after watching it, I really want Lily's tattoo (Mila Kunis) of the wings on her back. SO HOT. lol. Anyway, enough of this pretentious list non-Hollywood films. Let me end with this SNL spoof of the Black Swan. My favorite part is how they call out on Vincent Cassel's character. Repetitive and only serves one sole purpose in the movie, to tell Nina that her white swan is good but black swan sucks.

LA neighborhoods to live in

2011-01-19T15:03:00.000-08:00

So I live in Westwood, on what they call the Wilshire Corridor, or the Golden Corridor, or whatever condo real estate agents want to call it to make it appeal and conducive to condo sales. It's definitely not "golden" or anything fancy like that -- besides the fact that every other car is a ferrari which I find stupid. I convinced myself that the Wilshire Corridor is where I want to live, because it reminds me of NY with all the high-rises. The ironic thing is I would never live in financial district, murray hill, or hells kitchen, where they do have the high rises in NY. I would rather live in a brownstone in the west village, chelsea, or soho. Anyway, there are several neighborhoods in LA that I didn't really know about before moving here that I would actually enjoy over my current location.

Brentwood: Super cute neighborhood wih nice restaurants / cafes / stores. Currently my favorite place to go for food or coffee. Lots of younger people live in the area, although there are families as well. Another plus is that Brentwood park has pick-up basketball games. I think the air in Brentwood is better there for some reason. Smell of money? Who knows.

Santa Monica: I wanted to live in Santa Monica when I knew I was moving to LA. People who lived there talked me out of it, telling me I really don't want to sit in 30 mins of traffic going to work. Instead, I chose to live 3 minutes away from the office, which is kind of amazing, but not as amazing as being by the beach. I would love to run by the beach every morning. Also, Santa Monica is super walk-able and there are stores / restaurants / brunch places / and Bloomingdales!

Downtown: Granted, I've never even been downtown (crazy I know), but I think I would feel like I were living in a city if I lived there. There's public transportation, people of other nationalities (unlike the west side where there are only white people or Persians), bars with happy hour, and sidewalks. Also, the Los Angeles Athletic Club is downtown. It's silly to move to an area just for the gym, but that's essentially why I moved to Chelsea - to be next to Chelsea Piers. The commute to work would be horrible though and probably not worth it.

lol @ Britney Spears and dubstep

2011-01-19T14:48:00.000-08:00

Converging evidence that electronic music is the way to go....

Tom Hardy at Lakers Game with Dior Homme Chiffre Rouge

2011-01-18T12:15:00.000-08:00

The photographer here does a good job of capturing the pensivity of the subject, while watching a basketball game. The subject is stagnant, while the action of the sports game is captured in the eyes. Also, the subject has one foot forward, almost like he would like to participate in the game, but ends up just running the plays in his head. His style is somewhat casual, represented by the faded jeans, sneakers, and t-shirt, but is offset by the accessories. The choice of the Dior watch adds to the dressy aspect of the outfit.

Fuck it - who am I kidding. There's absolutely nothing to analyze about this picture and no good reason to post it whatsoever. I just like Tom Hardy....

Goal for 2011 - scratch all the previous ones

2011-01-11T11:52:00.000-08:00

So speaking of authentic Asian mothers, had a 4 hour long convo with my mama yesterday. As per this conversation, I realized what my goal for 2011 really should be: stop setting goals. This conversation came about when I told her I want to run the LA Marathon in March. Of course the typical Asian mother reaction is to not run to avoid muscular legs so that guys won't be scared off by me (haha thanks mommy) and also didn't want me to drop dead given I have WPW syndrome. But the she was mostly concerned with my results-oriented / goal-drive / accomplishment-whore personality.

I like collecting accomplishments. That's not to say I'm so amazing and have so many accomplishments - but I am a very efficient person, so I tend to get things I want with minimal effort. The problem is that I've never been content with anything. I work towards one thing, am happy for a brief moment, and then totally forget about it and disregard it. That just means I'm always chasing something and am never actually content with life.

I think a sorta stupid example would be the attitude towards this big framed photograph I have next to my bed. It's a night scene of The Seine looking towards the Effiel Tower. Of course, being that it is Paris, I wanted it for a long time. I couldn't find a way to bring it home, but somehow managed and hung it up in my room. I've had it there for four months, but I realized I never looked at it until yesterday on the phone with my mom with nothing else to do but stare at it. I started to notice how beautiful the photograph was - the details in the lights, the cars, the buildings, the bridgs. I guses that's my attitude on everything. I get something I want - and then do not cherish it. I wanted the job I currently have for a really long time, and now that I have it, I don't appreciate it at all. I wanted to live off campus in the West Village, but when I got an apt there, it was like whatever, what's next? I spent $400 on an Alexander McQueen skull scarf that I NEVER wear. I mean the list goes on and on.

I guess all this would be ok if I were actually content with my accomplishments. I kept blabbing on and on about my goals of running the marathon, learning French, HBS, doing a masters in foreign policy - my mama stopped me told me "slow your step." She stressed that inner growth is more important than outside accomplishments. I could technically achieve all these things and still never be happy. I guess that's why I'm so terrified of getting older. My ambitions get wilder, yet my time / opportunities to do so just keep dwindling. Like my cici told me verbatim, "Dude you're 22 years old. You should be optimistic about life, not dreading it."

The other takeaway from this entry: Amy Chua - you are dead wrong. Just because you are an overly driven Maoist like mother that force your kids to over achieve so you can sell more books, doesn't mean all other Asian mothers are. My mom actually cares about my happiness way more than my accomplishments to the point where she literally wants me to stop setting goals for myself.

My Review of the Article "Why Chinese Mothers Are Superior"

2011-01-10T19:19:00.000-08:00

Ok - so in case you live under a rock or do not know any Asian people, this article, "Why Chinese Mothers Are Superior" by Amy Chua from the Wall Street Journal has been in the spotlight as of late. She basically advocates the parenting style of ignoring your children's feelings and calling them "garbage." She also forces her daughter to be a master at the piano, dispite a lack of natural talent. I know the article spurred on a lot of controversy, as some readers pointed out that she over generalized Chinese mothers to be protrayed as Maoist leaders. Others are concerned about the implications of this article, with mothers changing their parenting styles creating low self-esteem, drugged-up, and suicidal children.

My problem with this article is about the authencity of this piece. Amy Chua - we get it. You're kind of a big deal - graduated magna cum laude from Harvard, then JD from Harvard Law School, to then teach at Yale Law School, with two beautiful children and a hot husband. Obvie, you kind of have a perfect life. I was curious to know about her parents - to find out that her dad has his own wikipedia page. So apparently. he is considered to be the "father of nonlinear circuit theory and cellular neural networks", he is also the inventor and namesake of Chua's circuit and was the first to conceive the theories behind, and postulate the existence of, the solid state memristor."

Um what? Most of my Asian friend's parents definitely did not have a cellular neural network circuit named after them - let a lone a whole wikipedia page with proper citations. My parents are small business owners, and like most the the Asian parents I know, are pretty middle class. So that begs the question, what does is an Asian mother usually? (Lets broaden the term to an Asian mother, as opposed to a Chinese mother as Amy Chua coined it, because I frankly think its ignorant.) My research comes from http://mymomisafob.com/ - a blog where users send in communication they have with their mom where they speak in broken English resulting usually in a hilarious misinterpretation or a ridiculous situation.

Reading through the entries, my abs hurt so much from laughing, but also arrived at a few conclusions about Asian parenting (predominately East Asia, as most of the mothers were either Chinese, Korean, or Japanese).

Asian mothers can't spell / text since apparently Merphin w Dosage = Muffin w Sausage.
Asian mothers tend to mix up words like organic and orgasmic. Cheesecake and G6?. or Institution for Prostitution, in front of a college admissions officer.
Asian mothers like to give dating advice using squirrels as examples and give explict tips for keeping a boyfriend.
Asian mothers are blunt - and will let her daughter know that her hair cut is ugly and to not run marathons to avoid muscular legs to look nice in a skirt.
No matter how blunt or how ridiculous, all the things that an Asian mother does or say comes from love. Case in point and also this. Amy Chua, what do you say to Joyce Fung's mom who cheers her daughter on instead of puts her daughter down? I'm sure Joyce is doing fine in school, and frankly, Joyce's mom is more authentically Chinese than you will ever be.

What makes me angry about the article is that given Amy Chua's success in life, she feels like she has the authority on what it takes to be a good Asian mother. She obviously was raised in a different social economic background than most of my Asian friends' familes. She is also second generation Asian, married to a white guy. Whatever worked for her, or will work for her daughters, is definitely not going to work for everyone else. Also, it just makes me mad that she thinks she is the authority on "Chinese mothers" parenting. Asian parents do show affection, tell me not this is the sweetest thing you have ever seen.

Chanel 2011 Spring Le Vernis

2011-01-10T17:23:00.000-08:00

So having a slow computer at work means I need something to do while my Excel is running macros on my models. The perfect solution -- nail polish. Seriously, the fumes cannot be good for my brain cells as I'm applying and reapplying 3 times a day. Anyway, I picked up the Chanel 2011 Spring collection and here it is.

Pêche Nacrée 515:

I'm automatically attracted to any pink / coral / peach nail color so natural it was the first color I went for out of the 3 colors of the spring collection. I do like it, although I don't think it goes well with my complexion. It kinda blends in, even with 3 layers. I wouldn't recommend it, since it's really nothing special.

The Black Pearl 513:

So I was a bit intimidated by the color at first but after seeing it on C, I thought it was super super pretty and had the courage to get it. Besides, they featured it in French Vogue so it has to be cool. This color is supposed to emulate the look of a black pearl, which it does! It sorta has a greenish undertone, which black pearls do have. It's actually really cool, seems like I have pearls on my finger nails. :) I also wore it for a full 2 days, which is saying a lot since I change my nail color twice a day usually. Anyway, if you are rocking this color, definitely go for shorter nails since dark nail color and long nails look kinda trampy.

Pearl Drop 511:

Don't have a picture of this one. This one is supposed to emulate white pearls. I tried it on, and didn't like it. It was too sheer, even after 2 layers. Besides, it has a yellowish undertone, which nice pearls are not supposed to have. Who wants to get nail color that emulate shitty pearls?

Reasons why I am addicted to soccer

2011-01-10T17:07:00.000-08:00

There are no timeouts -- so my ADHD self can't channel surf
It embodies passion -- I am a passionate person... yeah...
Supporting your team means extereme dedication -- I would know a few things about that being a long-long Knicks fan
If Europe thinks its cool....
The players are pretty damn hot

My relationship with B

2011-01-03T10:16:00.000-08:00

So I always knew of you mostly from TV, but didn't really start a relationship with you until high school. We even tried to make it official in high school, but I realized that it's much better to just play around and not have any obligations around our time together. In college, our relationship was on and off, depending on my work and school schedule. You were alright with that. Whenever we did spend time together, it was always fun. Maybe it's because you remind me of my dad, or because we always have a great time together. Time with you was always destressing. I haven't seen much of you since I've moved to LA, but on my winter break back in NY, we spent some time together at NYU. Sorry for neglecting you and I realize how much fun we have together. I'm going to try to make an effort to work and spend more time on our relationship.

In case you haven't figured out by now, B = Basketball. :) I need a place to play in LA, and NOT Sports Club LA because it is so trashy despite meeting Ron Artest there.

House Music

2011-01-03T01:17:00.000-08:00

Going to sleep, but gonna blog tomorrow about how house music, by objective definition and the elements of music, is the most perfect genre of music :)

Being Comfortable with my Asian-ness

2011-01-03T01:06:00.002-08:00

I'm pretty sure I have blogged many times about my identity crisis in the past. To stop myself from reiteration, if you are interested in Part 1, 2, 3, feel free to be creepy and go through all my blog entries to find them. Just kidding, I love my readers. :) Anyway, another one of these "goals" (not resolutions) I have for myself in 2011 is to be more comfortable with my Asian-ness.

Honestly, it sucks being a minority in this country. Growing up, none of the TV shows I watched had Asians for me to look up to. (except for the yellow power ranger... why is she yellow by the way?! and the black ranger black?!) I essentially wanted to be white growing up so I can be pretty like the blonde girls on TV. I obvie grew out of that, thankfully (but managed to go through other phases like wanting to be black, and now French...)

T pointed out to me something interesting. Being a minority makes you interesting. Being Chinese, there is a 5000 year history associated with my culture. It's not really something to be ashamed of, or to hide. Its silly but when people talk about Chinese culture or something I'm familiar with, I would pretend I don't know to not accentuate my "Asian-ness." Sometimes, I would even say something way off to throw people off. In effect, they can think that I'm super not-Asian since I'm way off track. Yes, dumb, I know.

In my defense, being Asian comes with a whole can of worms and stereotypes that I just don't want to be associated with. I want to MYSELF as an individual and not just another Asian girl, which is probably the contributing factor to my extreme personality. Basically, to avoid being pigeonholed, I tend to do crazy shit. (L, I know you share this belief).

Anyway, in learning to celebrate and accept my Asian-ness, I'm going to start a list of reasons why it is super duper cool to be Asian. (Asian Face) ^__^

Just got my hair digi-permed at a Korean salon. Gonna post pictures later and dedicate a whole blog entry later, but it's probably the best thing a girl can do to her hair. :)
Haircuts are $30, as opposed to $100
Asian food is the best food in the world, which is probably unfair because it includes 6 types of cuisine. And by best, I mean the most hearty and flavorful. i.e. Ramen, pho, Kimchee jigae, korean bbq, shu long bao, pho, dim sum, bubble tea, and all types Taiwanese food
If I were homeless, I would probably never starve since Asian food is so cheap. 4 dishes and rice for $5 midtown Manhattan?!
I will probably look like I'm in my 20s until I'm 50. Which then, I will proceed to look like my 30s.
China's GDP will surpass America's in 2019, as per the Economist Daily Chart.

Free Spirit...

2011-01-03T00:41:00.001-08:00

Just got back from NY and the trip was definitely much needed and appreciated. Caught up with most of my friends, and I realized how awesome all of them are. :)

Anyway, as per the conversation I had with T at Ace Hotel... she called me a free spirit saying the person I will eventually marry will be more grounded. The point is, I'm not sure if I'm really a free spirit. Obviously, I'm flattered that she thinks of me that way because I strive to be a free spirit. I try to have a "I don't give a fuck" attitude and do whatever I feel like. (i.e. keeping this blog, despite the fact that unknown people are googling me and finding more way more information about me than anyone should ever know which can probably be incriminating in the future)

But honestly? Investment banking is not exactly the epitome of the job you would expect a "free spirit" have. And although I do stupid shit, I try to be smart about the stupid shit. I try not to do anything that would have a long-term effect. Things I can do and just pretend like it never happened and get back to my normal-conservative-Christian-good-girl life. Like I would never do drugs, because I would never want to compromise my intelligence (or whatever intelligence I have) and kill my brain cells.

If I really were a free spirit, I would be living in Provence right now learning French and sipping on some good wine. But obvie, I can't just live life like that. I have goals I want to accomplish, and being a free spirit would unfortunately sidetrack me from them. I guess life is a dichotomy and a struggle between what we want to do and what we should do. I believe when we are younger, it's better to focus on what we should do and save the what we want to do for retirement. Which is why this super interesting Economist article believes that we are happier past middle age.

Words of wisdom

2010-12-23T12:58:00.000-08:00

So two phrases I've learned these few months from friends, experiences, work, etc.

1. Cover your ass. So I've always tried to go above and beyond in life where I wouldn't be in situations where I would need to cover my ass. From my job, I've learned that its probably better cover your ass. I don't usually like throw off responsibility or not see things from start to finish, but that's just being naive and idealistic.

2. Milk it. I was always so against this because I never used to like to take advantage of situations. But milking it really isn't taking advantage of anything. If someone offers, just milk it honey. Like is too short not too.

Eat, Pray, Love

2010-12-20T08:22:00.004-08:00

So the irony is that this movie teaches about the "happiness of doing nothing," yet I'm watching this movie on my flight to NY, while trying to blog, trying to manage my fantasy basketball team, and trying to watch another movie on netflix. I also keep trying to fast forward through it. I guess my point is, is that I don't really love the movie. I wanted to watch it, looking for answers. Answers about life, about self-discovery, and all that good stuff. I found a movie version of the blog stuff white people like.

Her charity and giving money to others - #134, the TED conference
Her whole trip going to Italy, India, and Bali - #120, taking the year off
Her learning Italian - #115, promising to learn a new language
Her trip to exotic places - #71, being the only white person around
Her divorce - #66
Her giving money / gifts to others - #62, knowing what's best for poor people
Her whole trip - #19, traveling
Her going to India for meditation - #16, yoga, or the same reason they like yoga
Her going for a spiritual journey in India - #2, religions their parents don't belong to

I guess I watched this film looking for answers. I guess the self-discovery of Elizabeth Gilbert into book or movie form, wouldn't necessarily help me. I should just take it as face value -- one woman's path on self-discovery, as opposed to a step-by-step process and something take notes and learn from. If it were that easy, we would probably all be a lot happier.

2011

2010-12-20T00:56:00.001-08:00

So my roommate inspired me to make just 1 goal every year and work towards it. Not so much a resolution, but just a target. This year, I'm going to learn French, Portuguese, and Arabic.

Ok maybe not 1 goal, but 3 :)

How To Be Alone

2010-12-16T11:25:00.003-08:00

... is the title of the collection of essays by Jonathan Franzen. I used this book for my expository paper for Writing The Essay (Freshmen Composition class), and remember my paper being horrendous. Jonathan Franzen's essays were related to sociology and critique of culture on "How To Be Alone" in a post-modern society. I guess this entry has more to do with the literal sense of the phrase - an introspection - rather than how Franzen uses it.

Being in NY, I've always had friends / family around me. I thought I was more of an "outgoing introvert", especially when I used to avoid my friends on the subway going home. It's an 1-hour trip back home to queens from school. I figured only introverts / loners would rather sit alone than to spend it in the company of friends. But I realize that I wasn't actually alone. I made the choice to sit by myself and be anti-social. I wasn't actually alone, since my friends were still around me. I could easily hop into the next cart and there would be right there. I was in a city of 8 million people, amongst my friends and family I have known for a lifetime.

So California was supposed to be my experiment on how to be alone, but I realized I haven't really been alone in LA. Not knowing anyone here, I thought I would learn to be independent and embrace alone-ness. I realize that I always have people around me, which is probably a product of my choice in living situation - to live with a roommate rather than in a studio.

Yesterday, was one of the few occasions where my roommate + L weren't home yet before I got home. I was alone in my apartment and didn't really know what to do - no one to complain to about my job and no one to watch a movie with. I decided to put on some deadmau5 and watch Fox Soccer Channel. It's so hard to put into words and describe these blissful ephiphay moments, but that's exactly what I had. It was so simple, yet so beautiful. Being alone, listening to house music while watching soccer highlights gave me such intense joy it was really hard to describe.

During my alone time, I usually feel the need to do something productive. Whether it is studying for a test in the distant future, catching up on the Economist, reading French magazines to learn French, or working out -- these are all things I do to towards something I want to accomplish. I guess during this yesterday, I realize that it's okay to just chill - and not really work towards anything.

I've also gotten better about relaxing on the beach. I used to think going to the beach was the most useless thing ever. I never really wanted to tan much, so the idea of just laying there not accomplishing anything made no sense to me at all. Maybe it's because I'm so burnt out from working, but I realize I can't be productive and doing something -- all the time. Maybe it's the California effect. :)

Things I like right now

2010-12-13T11:59:00.002-08:00

Kinda useless post, but trying to stay optimistic and happy, I'm going to list random things right now that make me happy:

Virgin America, even if they charged me $850 to go back to NY
Vegas, even if I only stayed for 4 hours
French films, specifically anything with Vincent Cassel
The Knicks being so good + Danilo Gallinari (Michelle Trachtenberg, really!? Come on baby you can do better i.e. yours truly)
The Economist, the only souce of any intellectualism since work started
87 degrees sunny weather in the middle of December
Larchmont Village / West Village
Thought of being back in NY + being with my family / friends :)
Parties in NY at nice venues and DJs with legit music + a normal crowd, not like the shit here in LA
Holiday season + shopping, while listening to Christmas Music
French Vogue, JAK & JIL blog, The Sartorialist, Garance
Kaskade, Deadmau5, Sebastien Tellier, Miike Snow, Alex Gaudino, Bruno Mars, Selena Gomez - Year Without Rain

Work vs. School

2010-11-30T18:37:00.001-08:00

Real quick, just some difference between work vs. school which makes me wish that I were in school:

With regards to this wikileaks thing, there isn't a forum in which I can discuss this with people. If I were in school, I would probably at this moment be debating against other students who believe in the liberal political theory of transparency to keep the government accountable
So there's a sale going on NYC to Barcelona for $260 roundtrip including taxes and fees. (Which is by the way HALF of what I paid ONE WAY to get from LA to NYC). If I were in school, I would so jump on this deal and take a random trip to Europe. Working doesn't allow me to do this :(

Wikileaks

2010-11-29T16:14:00.004-08:00

My parents hate it when I blog about anything controversial, but I really can't help myself on this one.

I'm not a huge fan of the confidential reports being leaks on wikileaks. In my opinion, it is not only irresponsible, unpatriotic, it's also unethical. I get it, transparency is a good thing and the American people as well as people in the rest of the world have a right to know, but this is just airing out dirty laundry to the public. In America's democracy, there's a reason that our founding fathers left foreign affairs is in the power of the executive, and not congress (except in the matters of war). What good does leaking these documents lead to if the American people can't even locate Iran on a map. Those documents were not meant for the public, and were labeled confidential and such for a reason. This compromises not only the integrity and power of our country, but also the safety of people in the world.

To me, it's just someone scorned trying to get revenge and it's just plain dirty. Who ever leaked it deserves the condemnation of the international community and should be held personally responsible for any reputational harm of those who were mentioned in the leaks, as well as innocent people in countries whose lives will be impacted because of this. It was already bad enough that the site leaked the names of the Afghans who had worked with the American government. Imagine WW3 starting because of really sensitive materials in these leaked documents.

Can the governments of the world stop being pussies and just shut wikileaks down. Or plan a DOS attack on the site or something. It's the world's most powerful countries vs. this tool. Really? Y'all can't do anything about it? Clinton was right. This is an "attack" so fight back USA.

NY, I'm not cheating on you

2010-11-29T09:25:00.000-08:00

So I got to go home to NY for thanksgiving and it made me come to terms better about being in LA. I also am able to appreciate LA a lot more. I wasn't escatic as I thought I would be. I was still irritated at the crowds and the subway. I thought literally I would just bask in and love the smelliness and the crowdness of the subway, just because it is NY. The weather was shitty few days I was there, and I thought I would appreciate cold rainy days just because of the variation in weather LA lacks. This wasn't true.

My main takeaway was that NY didn't change much, and NY is still there and will still be there. Sure there are a lot more cool new restaurants, but I bet half of them won't even be there the next time I go back since there's such a high turnover rate for restaurants. Maybe the location of hottest club changed from being on 17th street to top of the Standard Hotel, but it's really all the same. Still the "the same ignorant ass people in the same ignorant ass clubs" (as my friend would put it). Subways are still the same. People are still the same. My family is still there for me and still loves me. And my friends are still there and love me.

I think getting away from NY has helped me grow up. I've also experience another city, made new friends, have different experiences than I would if I had stayed in NY. I guess I was afraid to fall in love with LA the same way I love NY so therefore, I keep rejecting LA looking at the bad, rather than the good. I think I can come to terms better with enjoying my setting now. I can learn to love LA, but NY will always be NY.

California Love...

2010-11-21T14:30:00.000-08:00

So instead of bashing on California, it's time to talk about some of the things I like about here.

Driving. To me, driving is definitely therapeutic. I had to drive back and forth from Long Beach to Westwood 5 times on the weekend of my marathon (40 miles one way, 200 miles total). It definitely was an enjoyable drive, blasting music from my iPhone, singing along, thinking about my life, or not thinking about my life. It's also just more liberating to drive than to rely on the MTA. Albeit not as convenient in terms of dealing with parking or traffic, but it's better than the frustration of taking public transportation. Also, I don't have to lug around my life in a purse, since my car is essentially my purse.
Urth Caffe. I'm literally there 10 times a week. It's my way of filling the hole in my heart that Westville has left when I relocated from the West Village. Urth's green tea lattes are kind of amazing.
Shorts. I wear shorts every single chance I can get, which is every Saturday and Sunday. Everyone knows I hate pants / jeans (haven't wore a single pair in more than a year), and I'm kind of tired of dresses, so being able to wear shorts despite the fact it is November is kinda amazing.
Appeasement. People here aren't as aggressive, and they tend to appease others. i.e. When I drive, I can weave through traffic pretty quickly, since people tend to let me change lanes and cut in front of them.
Less sleazy guys. Maybe it's because it's so easy for guys to get some in NY, that they feel like they can treat women however they feel like. But men here in LA are definitely more like gentlemen (or relatively at least). Because of the lack of nightlife and therefore a lack of a hook-up culture, men actually have to treat women nicely to potentially be in a relationship to get access to any. Also, a date consist of the guy driving, parking, and picking up the girl from her house to go to the location and then dropping her off at her home.
Movie sets. Walking around Century City or Beverly Hills, I recognize it as the backdrop of various movie sets. In NY, all we really have is 30 rock, law & order, and sex and the city.
Swimming. I get swim on my roof in the middle of November.
Things I have yet to fully take advantage of: the beach, surfing, hiking and wineries.

Subconscious

2010-11-21T13:57:00.000-08:00

I'm pretty obsessed with the intrigue of the subconscious. I really believe that everything we do, feel, think, is all the result of our subconscious. Our personalities are dictated by our subconscious. There is an overarching theme on how we will behave in all situations. Small things are also dictated by our subconscious, whether we realize it or not.

Yesterday morning, I decided to go running. Right before I went running, I thought to myself that it would be nice if I got new sneakers. I've kept them in good shape, running through the streets of west side highway in NY, Sunset blvd in LA, and during a half marathon at Long Beach. I didn't necessarily make an effort to keep them clean, but they just were. During my run, for no reason, I decide to run through a giant puddle, getting mud all over my sneakers and my legs. Thinking back on it, it wasn't for no reason. I had the subconscious thought that I wanted new sneakers and by running through the puddle, I was destroying them, and therefore HAVE to get new ones. Obviously, this didn't go through in the front of my mind, since it was literally a split second between when I saw the puddle and then decided to run through it.

Of course, there are more examples. Every single time I think about getting the new iPhone 4, I somehow drop my iPhone 3GS the same day and break the screen. Granted most of the times this happens is when I am drunk, but that may just illustrate that we rely even more on our subconscious when we are intoxicated.

So why does this even matter? I guess it's because to other people, I seem to make rash decisions. Decisions on who I like or not on first impression. Decision on school I should go to. Decision on what job I should take. Decision on moving across the country.

So I told everyone my decision to move to LA to work was based on Miley Cyrus' song "Party in the USA"and Entourage. Obviously, this is a joke. I may not have articulate reasons or I may not even consciously know the reason why I chose to do this, but I know that my life is dictated by certain overarching themes - which aren't all that obvious to me at times. This includes my pursuit of success, my inclination to take an unconventional road, and my attraction towards challenges.

Problems with California....

2010-11-02T16:48:00.001-07:00

Don't like to see myself as a judgemental person, but here's what I think is wrong with Los Angeles, or California that I've noticed since being here:

California is very provincial, or regional. The UC school system fosters students that have no that have no wordly knowledge. This is what happens when 90% of all UC students are from in-state (the other 10% being FOBs from Asia who pretty much do not interact with the rest of the student body anyway). Essentially, the whole student body is all the same people. How much of a learning experience can you really get from your peers from that? I met some kids that went to UCLA, and in the middle of the BP oil spill, they managed to not know a single thing about it. Because California is such a big state, in some ways it is self sufficient (maybe not fiscally....). People especially from Southern California, live in a bubble. The weather is always nice, and there's no reason to look outside of the state, or even the city for anything. Apparently this applies to current events.
Los Angeles' strong reliance on the Entertainment Industry. It's kind of ridiculous. Everything is centered around "the industry." I couldn't attend a church lunch session because I didn't work in "the industry." What? Honestly, people in NY are not elitist about finance, why are people in LA so elitist about working in entertainment? I'd rather not get a Stanford MBA just to work in the copy room at Ari Gold's agency... As a result of being so obsessed with Hollywood, people are way too concerned about how they "look." Just chill out. If you were in NY, no one would take you seriously. Still don't understand the need to drive a $10,000/month leased car that is 5x the amount you pay for rent....
Things are just inefficient... i.e. Traffic. I can drive down the west side highway in NY for about 100 streets in heavy traffic flow and not run into a single red light. Because of there, there is heavy traffic flow, but the cars are all moving at a decent pace. In LA however, I run into a red light at every intersection on Santa Monica Blvd. I don't think the traffic is that bad in it of itself. It's just the inefficient lights and the bad drivers that make it horrendous.
The need to VOTE for every small thing. Prop 1, Prop 2, Prop 3, etc etc. Seriously? What's even the point of a federal government if there's going to be state exemptions on federal legislations anyway. California should just be its own separate country. Oh wait, it can't. It's about to default. The reason why California is in such a bad debt problem is because they are essentially letting the masses run the state. I'm not for a dictatorship, but when you have people voting for everything, it just simply doesn't work. Obviously people don't want to pay taxes, yet they want to reap the benefits of a big state government.
The weather. I must really hate it here to be able to turn beautiful sunny weather into a problem with California. But here goes. I alluded to this in my previous point, but the weather in Southern California has made people oblivious to any of the world's problems. I think because it is always 70 degress and sunny, people lose perspective on life. No rainy days to sleep in just to be introspective about.... life. The lack of seasons make people lose track of time. New Years resolutions don't mean as much when the New Years Day seems just like a regular summer day. No time to reflect over the year that has gone by as the trees lose their leaves.

The Longest Road

2010-10-25T18:41:00.001-07:00

The Longest Road (Deadmau5 Remix) - by Morgan Page

This is a pretty amazing song. Not only do the electronic beats makes me introspective and conjure up emotions, the lyrics are pretty sick as well. Not really sure what the words are supposed to mean, but this is what I make of it and how it applies to me:

You go down the longest road to nowhere
You pull it apart and you're just left there

I slightly do I feel like I am on the longest road to nowhere... Always chasing the next new thing. The best job I can have right now. The best job I can have after my job now. The best business school to get into. But then, what after? It's almost like I'm chasing a bullet train that and I'm not sure where the destination is.

Superpower...

2010-10-25T16:51:00.000-07:00

If you could have one superpower? What would it be?

My roommate is convinced that the best answer is the abilty to be at more than one place at one time. I gave him shit for it, saying it's such a staple interview answer. "Oh, because I work so hard I would be way more productive if I could be at two places at one time." There's so many other cool options out there like ESP, ability to read other people's mind, being able to fly, being able to communicate with animals, you name it.

I've actually come to agree with him. I really think being able to be at more than one place at once (or omnipresence) is a really powerful superpower. My brother is in town this week and I didn't get to hang out with him at all, because I had to work. If I had the superpower of being in more than one place at once, I could be working, and also hanging out with him.

I also can't decide where is the next place I want to live. I want to live somewhere else I have not lived before, but I just love New York. It would be so simply fixed if I could live in Paris, London, and be in New York as well. And it's not that I hate LA. I don't mind it that much. I just really miss New York.

I'm back

2010-10-15T17:59:00.001-07:00

Forgot to renew my domain... but I'm back.

I really really really really really really really really miss New York........ What the fuck am I doing here?

New invite only daily sales site...

2010-09-24T10:58:00.003-07:00

I have daily emails to every single one of them out there: gilt, ruelala, hautelook, ideeli, milliondollarbabes, etc. Here's one that I think is pretty cool by Daily Candy: Swirl or http://beta.swirl.com/invite/dailyremix

Plus, BRIDES20 gives you $20 off your first purchase, expires Oct 20, 2010!!

biz xx

Hows the weather?

2010-09-16T16:33:00.002-07:00

So the expression, how's the weather, is such a generic/cliche way to start a conversation -- however, I'm amazed at how it brings people together.

So apparently, there was a tornado/storm in NYC today, and twitter and facebook went crazy with updates. Everyone in NYC was unified because of one subject: the weather.

And who can forget that crazy afternoon last summer in NYC, where the skies were filled with the pretty pink popcorn clouds. NYers are usually unfazed by things, but everyone stopped to take pictures with their phone.

As for LA, things like this doesn't happen because the weather is always 74 and sunny.

New Yorker in LA: Delis

2010-09-15T10:07:00.002-07:00

So I'm gonna start writing a series of entries bitching about LA and how much I miss NY. I did this to London too, but now, the next place I want to find a job is London, so these rants aren't really indicative of how I feel about this place.

Growing up in Queens, my only lunch/snack/dinner source was from my local deli. There was "the red deli" because it had a red awning. There was also the "blue deli" which had a blue awning, but ironically named Green Farms or something. I would get typically an egg sandwich with sausage, cheese, and ketchup; an Arizona Green Tea in a can; and maybe a bag of Wise New York Deli Kettle chips.

Other choice I would get would be a toasted bagel with butter, a pizza bagel (a bagel with cheese and tomato sauce), blt, gatorade (if I was just in the park playing handball or basketball), honey bun, etc. Delis were always around, and they always typically sold the same thing.

Going to high school in Tribeca, it was the same. There was Terry's which was closer to battery park, and Morgan's which was closer to Greenwich Street. At NYU, there were a few places including Campus Eatery, University Cafe, this Deli on the corner of Waverly Place and Broadway which I don't know the name of, and a few places on West 3rd. Near my apartment in the West Village and Chelsea, there were in the vincinity some delis, or bodegas, as is the cooler term now.

I guess this is something that I took for granted. Waking up today earlier than usual for work today, I started seriously craving a sausage egg and cheese on a roll with ketchup for breakfast. I got to work and finally tracked down on google on place in the area that sold breakfast sandwiches and other sandwiches called City Cafe. They also had the Boar's Head seal of approval on their website. It was a down the block from where I worked, but it ended up taking 15 minutes to walk there. Of course when I got there, it was NOT the same. The place was pretty empty, with the exception of 1 aisle of food. I got my sandwich, but it was on a crossiant, since they didn't have any rolls (which led to much confusion when I asked them about "rolls"). Side story, some guy placed an order, which I saw on their counter of the store, the same thing: a sausage egg and cheese on rye bread. I looked at the phone number, area code was 917.

Anyway, what is this post really about? I miss bagels and rolls. I miss 99 cents Arizona Green Teas. I miss the convenience of grabbing breakfast on the way walking to school/work/destination. The things that I kinda expected to be the norm, is just so unobtainable here. Seriously, it feels like I am living in another country.

Finding my blackberry

2010-09-12T09:44:00.000-07:00

Ok- Just because I dedicated 22 hours of my life just on ONE single thing, I think this warrants for a blog entry. Couldn't find my blackberry from yesterday morning 11am and didn't leave my house the whole day, just searching for it. My room isn't that messy or big, so literally I looked at every inch of my room 10 times. Got to the point where I thought I couldn't see it with my naked eye and started using a metal detector app I downloaded on my iPhone. After going through a metal search of my room, I realized it wasn't in my room, and finally found it in my car.

So for those who are looking for answers as to where their blackberry is on google (as I did myself), here's what you should be doing.

Caveat: The list of steps only applies to MISPLACED phones, not stolen phones. If your phone is stolen, sucks for you and the chances if you getting back are close to slim, so don't try texting the thief or calling the thief or enticing them with a reward or whatever. It will NOT work (and I know this from experience). If your phone is lost on a cab or something, you MAY be able to get it back, just keep calling it. If there isn't any proactive attempt to reach you from the party who found in the first day you lost it, most likely they will not change their mind.

Don't waste your time on the internet searching for answers. Google will not find your blackberry. There was this thing on google "Click to Dial" but that was disabled in 2007. Those sites that say that they can track your phone through a GPS is bullshit. That will never fly, privacy-wise. We may have the technology to do it, but it's not accessible to non-FBI/CIA folks, and definitely you will not be able to buy it online. The only thing that may be able to track your phone, are those applications you must download PRIOR to losing your phone. For most people, they wouldn't be looking for those applications until AFTER they realize they lost their phones, so those internet solutions are also useless.
Call your phone and listen for it. If you don't have another phone, use whereismyphone.com, google voice, or skype
NEVER put your phone on silent. But if you already did, turn off all the lights in your room/car/where ever you are searching. Call your phone, and look for the phone being lit up.
If you have a daily alarm, wait for your alarm clock to ring, and have different people be in multiple vicinities when it does to listen for it.
Look in your pillowcase. Apparently, that was one of the popular places people had misplaced their phones, as discussed on the internet.
Look in your car.
Look in your pockets.
Check the couch.
If all else fails, go to sleep, and look for it the next day.

Difference between LA and NY

2010-09-07T17:23:00.005-07:00

I've been meaning to write this entry for awhile, but couldn't really do so without enough first hand experience and evidence.

Lack of pedestrians. So before my car arrived from NY, I've been walking everywhere. I would walk from my apt in Westwood to my office in Century City which is 1.4 miles. I can run that in under 10 minutes, so I didn't think it would take much longer to walk. Except, it took me 30 minutes to walk it. One of the reaons being that I didn't know I had to press the button to cross the street, causing the traffic light to not change for a good 10 minutes, while I stood there waiting... My coworkers were joking how they will interview me for the morning news, being the ONLY pedestrian in LA. It's also just not safe walking. I was jogging, trying to cross a street with no traffic light, only then realizing that I must cross an exit ramp for cars coming from the freeway....
Mexican food, everywhere. And really good Mexican food too. I've been mostly to fast-foody places, but that's typically the Mexican I like. Even Chipotle is cheaper here, with a steak burrito around $6, which is $9 in NY. There's also avacado/guac on everything possible, not necessarily Mexican food.
Bad Chinese food. I live in Westwood, or the broader term for the entire area west of downtown may be characterized as "West LA." There really aren't that many Asians in West LA (other than outside of UCLA, which is probably like 60% Asian). Being this is the case, I can forget about any decent Chinese food. Even in San Gabriel Valley (Hacienda Heights, Rowland Heights, etc), where people can get by in their communities only speaking Chinese and not a word of English, the Chinese food isn't all that great. I'm still convinced that NY has the best ________ (put ANY type of cuisine here) food in the world.
People actually make eye contact. This one I am still adjusting to. If I'm walking down the street and there is someone walking in the other direction facing me, my reaction pretend I got a text and look down at my phone or avert my gaze to the left to avoid eye contact. People here actually try to make eye contact, and when eye contact is established, they smile and actually say something. This still freaks me out...
Expensive, but generic fashion. I find that people here have no style. They LOVE designer labels here, especially things with monograms. LV LV LV LV! GUCCI GUCCI GUCCI! CHANEL CHANEL CHANEL! It's actually kinda tasteless. Everyone looks very generic, and no one has any style that is inspirational. I can't say that I hate their outfits, but it's just very expensive and plain. It's unfortunately, but goes to show that money cannot buy everything, including style!
Waiters/servers/employees of stores/services are all sycophants. It's a bit ridiculous. I'm about to leave a restaurant, and the maitre d' from 20 feet away runs over and asks to open the door for me, when literally I was 3 inches from the door. Anyway, they all kiss up to your ass, it's kinda sick. I guess it's because there are such high maintance people in LA that they must do things like that. This is kinda related to the next point....
Pretentiousness. I mean, this one is fairly obvious, given it's LA. But this pretentiousness is on a whole other level I could not have envisioned before experienceing it. I park next to a Ferrari at my apartment, and there's an Aston Martin 3 cars down. We all live in the same apartment and are all renting. I cannot honestly see how they would be able to afford such cars, anymore than I can since I certainly can't afford a $8,000/month car. Driving in Westwood or Beverly Hills, a BMW 3-series is probably the cheapest care you will find on the road (beside my own of course). There's probably a Lambo to the left of me and a Phantom to the right of me. This is NOT even an exaggeration.

Starbucks

2010-08-30T09:13:00.000-07:00

NEVER would I get Starbucks in New York. Occasionally when I want a dessert, I may get a coffee frap--double blended. Or, when I need ice water. I mean, why would I? There are too many amazing coffee shops. My favorite place right before I left was Jack's on West 10th in the West Village.

I find myself getting starbucks 3x a day here in Los Angeles. I think is my way of combating homesickness. It's kinda like how American tourists never go to McDonald's in the states, but go to Mickey D's when they are abroad since it's something they recognize and can connect with. Starbucks is the same, here in LA or in NY: The really bad ice coffee they have. The way they ask for your name and write your drink order on the cup. The green straws. The selection of Tazo drinks, yogurts, and fruit plates. Oh and THE BAGELS. One of the few convenient places to get bagels.

I also learned that if you register a gift card, after 5 drinks, you start getting free refills on coffee or tea, free shots of syrup, free soy, and other little perks. After 30 drinks, they mail you your own Starbucks Gold Card.

There's also no good coffee in LA so I'm actually left with not much choice. Maybe it's time to invest in a Nespresso....

Team USA

2010-06-26T15:36:00.013-07:00

So the joy amidst screaming fans at Donavon's penalty kick, and the disappointment at USA's defeat evoked my love for America deep within me that was always there, but truly experienced during these games (and during the Olympic games). Here are some pet peeves and thoughts related to my love for America observed during this World Cup tournament:

This whole anti-America because the USA is the evil empire bullshit. I'm on FIFA.com and people schadenfreude-ly write about America's downfall because of America's "special privilege." Ironically, all this America-bashing is in English. First off, America does not have special privilege. If anything, FIFA and the refs have had it against the US from the beginning. The US have had 3 goals waived off, with pretty much no reason. Calls are blatantly in favor of the opponent of the US in terms of fouls. I'm convinced that there is a conspiracy that FIFA wanted the USA, Italy, France, and other large nations out. In some ways, its to even the playfield, democratizing the sport in some degree. This makes people from "smaller teams" happy and want to participate in the world cup, thus spreading popularity of soccer. At the core of it, it's all about more money.
People who refused to participate/watch/talk about in the world cup because they "don't like soccer." This tournament was not about soccer. It was about patriotism. It was about US of fucking A. It was about America. Atleast show some support in the country you are living in.... Which leads to my next point second point. People living in the US, who refuse to support America really piss me off. As for myself, I was born in Taiwan, ethnically Chinese, but I love America. I immigrated here and live here so I owe my allegiance to the land of the free and home of the fucking brave.
The NYC tour bus merchants by the empire state building. I watched the USA v Ghana game at Legends 33, right by the empire state building. Those guys in red vests selling the tour bus packages came in screaming cheering (basically throwing salt on a open wound) after USA lost. Ok- first if you hate America, you are in the wrong profession. You sell NYC (the "capital" of the USA) packages to tourists. You are selling America. Second, you immigrated here, albiet most are new immigrants. But like my second point, why would root against a country you have left your own for.

Loyalty is obviously very important to me. Loyalty to your country -- or patriotism. America definitely always gets the short end of the stick. Yes, America does have problems but we are not all that bad. Immigrants come here and reap the benefits of freedom, education, social mobility, free markets, and yet refuses to acknowledge any of this and choose to hate America. I know many Chinese from mainland China that are like this. They basically want to earn their education and go back to China to plot against America. Not to be an elitist white supremacistic self-loathing bastard but these people do not deserve to be in America. This isn't specific to just people from mainland China, but immigrants from other nations as well. This also does NOT mean that all people from there, or even a majority of people are like that. The US immigration service should way more selective in who to grant visa and citizenship to -- based on who truly wants to be here. Based on allegiance to the red white and blue. You don't like the US -- don't come here. There are plenty of people who would like to. GTFO.

Throughout the racism and disappointments in government I have experienced in the US, I still love America. I love her for the good and the bad. Objectively speaking, the good far outweighs the bad.

Go Team USA. I love you America. World, be ready for a 2014 USA World Cup Champion.

Bill, Carlos, and Bud. So fucking American -- I love it.

How I have changed...

2010-06-20T21:38:00.005-07:00

So was in Europe for 11 days and California for 10 days and I realized I have changed a lot. Not saying necessarily these places changed me, although they may have. But people don't really understand themselves unless they are taken out of their element, which I was.

So when I was in Europe, the € was at a 4-year (don't quote me on this) low against the $, trading at 1.19€/$. This accounts for shopping savings of atleast 30%. I could have saved $500 on a Balenciaga bag, which I have wanted forever. Wasn't even remotely interested in buying it when I was there. As a matter of fact, didn't even go shopping at all. Only thing I got was two dresses I got from topshop in London, which I wore my entire trip because I didn't pack enough clothes.

I also don't fuss as much putting together an outfit -- I put in minimal effort. For example, I'm wearing the same jeggings and t-shirt I did yesterday. Sounds kinda gross, but atleast I still shower and don't smell. My favorite outfit consist of $10 t-shirts from Forever 21. I also realize that I can live life on a single carry-on luggage. I mean, I've explored this idea after watching Up In The Air with George Clooney. Everything we own is a burden. What if everything we own is lost? What material possessions do we really honestly need in our lives? I was forced to pack light in Europe thanks to easyJet and ryanair and it was fine. I didn't need 25 bottles of toiletries, and it wasn't that bad not having 20 outfits to choose from.

I've also definitely mellowed out. I realized this getting off the plane at JFK. I was in the passenger pick up area in terminal 8. These guys that work there are trying to regulate the cars that are picking up passengers since many cars wait there before their party arrives. These guys start screaming at 1000000 decibels "GO GO GO!!!!!!" To me, that was completely unnecessary. My brother claims it's because california "made me soft." Perhaps, but I was so taken aback by it. I've also mellowed out, in terms of a bit less road rage.

Anyway, I'm happy about these changes although I'm not sure how they have come about. It could be as a result of growing up, or because of the environment. I have prayed, although semi-casually, about being less materialistic so maybe this is God answering my prayer.

World Cup Eyecandy

2010-06-18T14:56:00.006-07:00

This is to give some women (perhaps some men) who aren't that excited about the World Cup a reason to watch.

Yoann Gourcuff, France

He plays as an attacking midfielder for France and also plays for Bordeaux having played for Rennes and Milan in the past.
The coach, Raymond Domenech, has assigned Yoann to playmaker, with the former playmaker on Les Bleus being Zidane.
Yumminess factor: dark hair, light eyes, good body, athletic, and he is French. My sister (who is not a francophile like myself) and I came to the conclusion that he is the best looking person in the world.

Benny Feilhaber, USA

Plays midfielder for USA in the World Cup tournament and plays for ARG Aarhus.
Born in Rio de Janerio, Brazil. New York, and then went to UCLA.
Yumminess factor: dark hair, gorgeous eyes

Carlos Bocanegra, USA

Carlos is the captain of the US National Team and plays as a center-back. He also plays for Rennes in France.
Originally from California, he played football for UCLA.
Yumminess factor: dark hair, dark eyes

David James, England

He is the goalkeeper for England and plays on Portsmouth F.C. as the captain.
He has done modeling for Giorgio Armani and H&M.
Yumminess factor: He has set up the David James Foundation to help farmers in Malawi. He has a scholarship in his name at University of Westminster.

Ashley Cole, England

Ashley plays as a left-back on the England World Cup team. He also plays for Chelsea F.C.
He was married to Cheryl Tweedy, member of English girl band, Girls Aloud.
Yumminess factor: He is just that good at football. Also his ex-wife is hot.
Not-so-yumminess factor: He has cheated on Cheryl :(

Joe Cole, England

Plays midfield for England, and also plays for Chelsea. He will probably be a free agent after this year
Yumminess factor: dark hair, buzz cut

Hugo Lloris, France

Goalkeeper for France, but also plays for Lyon in France.
He was born in Nice, France.
He's 23 years old -- although he looks like hes 4.
Yumminess factor: his baby face. Oh yeah, and he is French.

Niklas Bendtner, Denmark

Plays as striker for Denmark, and currently plays for Arsenal.
Yumminess factor: He is 6'4. He is also my age :)

Medhi Lacen, Algeria

Plays midfield for Algeria, and also plays on Racing Santander.
Born in Paris, France, he is representing Algeria because his father is Algerian.
Yumminess factor: Buzz cut hair cut. Oh, yes and he is French.

Developing countries vs. Developed countries

2010-06-18T13:34:00.001-07:00

So this world cup is pretty indicative of what is happening globally in terms of economics, politics, and power. Developing countries are finally standing up to developed countries -- not only standing up, but upsetting in victories.

Serbia scores on Germany
Algeria nulls England... Algeria is seed 30, while England is seed 8. Everyone expected England to blow out Algeria.
Mexico beats France... France won world cup in 1998 and is first time in history being defeated by Mexico.

USA should have won against Slovenia -- which is also indicative of global dynamics. Don't rule out USA!

Anyway, I'm definitely getting too addicted to this world cup mess.

Smartest thing NYU has ever done...

2010-06-09T05:33:00.000-07:00

Right before leaving for LA, I decided to stroll through the city one last time. Came across the newly-opened NYU bookstore on Broadway. I was obsessed with it the moment I walked in... endless supply of NYU sweatshirts, great selection of books, Think Coffee, and school supplies.

I am convinced that opening a swanky bookstore on Broadway is the SMARTEST thing NYU has EVER done. NYU has had some developments which took a lot of resources, which I'm not crazy about. i.e. NYU Abu Dhabi, Governor's Island proposal, Polytech, etc. However, this book store is an amazing idea.

It builds brand equity for NYU. Just the fact that it is on Broadway makes NYU that much more ubiquitous in NYC. Also, the bookstore is now accessible to millions of tourists that come to NYC. They buy an NYU t-shirt and will wear it in their respective countries. The fact that the bookstore has coffee, lounge areas, and books, makes it a regular stop for everyone in the neighborhood, not only NYU students. Also, gotta love the children's section in the bookstore -- get them while they are young by selling stuffed animals with NYU shirts.

The Sartorialist

2010-05-20T12:30:00.003-07:00

Not sure if you guys know, but I'm a big fan of Scott Schuman of The Sartorialist.

If you follow his blog, you will love this. Source: Refinery 29

Plentitude

2010-05-20T08:09:00.001-07:00

So I'm bumpin to this new song called Billionaire by Travis McCoy ft B.o.B. and I'm totally feeling it. But it also conjured up some thoughts about wealth and money.Ok don't get me wrong, I like money. I like buying expensive bags and taking vacations, but it's actually quite sad we are all so caught up in the pursuit of money. I know I sound a bit Buddhist-like, but if we had no desires, we wouldn't need to work so hard for money. Obviously, no one can have no desires. Whether it be a nice meal, or trips to the Santorini, it costs money.

I glanced at this book at barnes and noble called Plentitude. Read the book jacket, and came to theconclusion that it is some horrible book about someone's personal thoughts about econ. And I will pay $30 to read this, why? What I did like about it was the title: Plentitude.

Plentitude (totally irrelevant to how the author is using it) to me suggest an attitude of having enough. It may not be much, but it is plenty. For me, I rather much be in a state of plentitude, than to be wealthy. One may be wealthy, but feel like he never has enough -- causing a cognitive dissonance of unhappiness. But perhaps, my idea of plenty is a net worth of $5mm+. I'm not saying it is, but it shows the contrast of the attitude versus the actual wealth.

KISS

2010-05-20T08:09:00.000-07:00

So my favorite books are usually non-fiction books that explain why things the way they are or how things work. I think most of the time, people categorize it as economics of everyday life. Think: Freakconomics, Malcom Gladwell's books, Nudge, etc.My problem with these books is that they are usually too long and too repetitive. These books can usually be summed up in a 3-page (max) magazine article. By the time I finish the first chapter of the book, I'm already irritated for even buying the book. It's because authors don'tmake money from articles, but make more money from selling books. Also, I feel like they feel the need to elaborate -- so they throw tons of information at you so they feel smart.Be concise. Like my 5th grade teacher would say "kiss - keep it simple stupid."

So about being concise, I've been getting feedback that my blog entries has become too long-winded. I will now keep it short.I've also gotten feedback that I should post more entries with pictures -- for the lazy ones. I will when I come back from vacay.

The 20s...

2010-04-30T11:03:00.000-07:00

So I had a Stern Scholar reception today and got my 2 minutes in with the dean of my school, who is moving to be the dean of Kellogg Business School. She is one person that I really admire, simply because I think she is very intelligent. I remember hearing her speak when I was considering NYU for college and her speech won me over. (Along with the many times I heard J. Sex, or John Sexton speak). I think Stern was an incredible place for underguate business because of her strategic direction and leadership.

Anyway speaking to her today, she imparted these wise words upon me: The 20s are just as difficult as the teen years.I didn't think so, at first thought but as it is lingering in my mind, she may be right. My previous post is a blantant representation of how confusing my teen years have been. But really, growing up and finding yourself as an adult is even more important than finding yourself as a teenager. The former has an impact on the rest of your life.

I'll elaborate more the next few days.

Insanity

2010-04-28T10:40:00.002-07:00

Ok so sitting on the train going home conjured up some funny incidents I have had with bus drivers which make me think I used to be an insane little teenage girl.

So one time I was waiting for the bus at the second stop. The bus came but wouldn't stop even though he saw me because it was moderately full, about 70%. I waited for the next one, and again it didn't stop, with even less people on it. This got me really upset since I had been already waiting 45 mins. The next bus that came slowed down, but didn't seem to have an intention of breaking. My crazy ass self got in front of the bus and just stood there. I just wouldn't move. Some other people waiting for the bus with me were screaming telling me to move. I think one looked moderately amused. So I stood there while the bus driver wouldn't open the door. Mind you, this is an one lane street, so traffic was pretty backed up for 20 minutes. I heard sirens and I was pretty sure the cops were coming but that really wasn't going to make me move. What made me finally move was when another bus came behind it and let us from the stop on the bus.

Another bus driver incident was in London. I wanted to get off at Oxford Square an the bus wouldn't stop at my stop so I kept pressing the bell. Unlike buses in NYC, buses in London will ring every time the bell is pressed. I was right next to the bus driver, who sit basically in this enclosed glass cubical. He called me a bitch and I got mad so I hit the glass. He proceded to open the glass door and hit me with it. Then, he made everyone get off the bus and called the police. When they came, the bus driver said I assaulted him... What? He's behind his glass cubical. If anything he hit me with his door. That's when I realized I could be in pretty deep shit if they believed him and be deported, considering I was on a student visa. I wasn't too worried because CCTV caught the whole thing, but who knows right? I didn't even know if people had constitutional rights in England. So I started to cry, saying how everyone in England is so mean. There were two cops, one a maternal type, and one tall black cop, whom I was pretty sure was into me. The maternal one kept telling me I shouldn't do things like that. The tall black one kept giving me hugs and shit. Creepy much? Anyway they eventually let me go on my way. (which by the way ironically was the police station, since I had my camera stolen the day before)

So I guess question for myself is why do I do such things? How do I even get myself in such situations? I guess the common denominator in both stories is that I won't let things slide. If I know I am in the right, I'm going to be very adamant about it, to the point I will jump in front of a moving bus. I guess I also take things to extreme measures.

Looking back on it, I guess I am a bit embarassed about my behavior. I guess not enough considering I am blogging about it. Would I act the same way if today in the same situations? Definitely, no. This implies that I did grow up and mature as hard as it is for myself to believe. Besides, I just don't think I have the teen angst anymore to do things like that. I'm also too old to cry myself out of situations where I am close to being arrested.

Privacy is dead

2010-04-28T08:14:00.002-07:00

So my friend got a phone call last week on her Sprint cell phone from a random international number. The lady said in Chinese, "do you speak Chinese?" Being smart, my friend responded "who is this" in English and refused to say anything. She told me about this and I thought it was a scam artist employing Chinese girls $1/hour calling every single phone combination until someone who spoke Chinese answered and will try to scam the person some money. Something along the lines of, hi I live in China, and I have a bank account but can't access it. Send me a money order and I'll give you the $10g in that account.

I was wrong. It wasn't a scam. I got the same call today (AT&T network) and I kept asking "who is this" in English as well. I wasn't about to give out personal information like that without knowing who the person is. Turns out, she answered in Chinese that she is a tech company (I think) wanting me to take a survey.

So my issues with this: Where did she get my number in the first place. How did she get my number and my friend's number, both of us being Chinese. My theory about the $1/hour girls calling every phone combination is probably wrong. She probably accessed somehow the customer database of AT&T as well as Sprint and went down the list to see if the customer name is a Chinese sounding name. How much of my information then, is really safe? How did a random company in China, or perhaps the US, get our phone number and the name on the account? Does this mean she has my social security number as well?

Which leads me to conclude that privacy is dead. Thanks to indexing of information on search engines, everything is public. Forgot what I was googling one time, but came across an excel spreadsheet with customer information. It's a shame that most companies with online business transactions don't understand how to use the Internet or the implications of data privacy. Also, with the likes of zabasearch.com, spokeo.com , and pipl.com, and best of all intellius.com, you can find out everything about anyone.And thanks to archiving and showing cached links, nothing is ever deleted. Ever. That means that the really embarassing website I made when I was in the 7th grade may come back to haunt me one day.

Leading me to another issue, facebook. I know I previously blogged about how keeping your facebook employee and auntie and uncle friendly is pretty much common sense. I retract this statement. This was before facebook going through massive changes, to the version now: users being unable to control what information is shown to people you are friends on fb. ie, my wall post on my sister's facebook is on the feed
of all 900 friends I have. I read that facebook is rolling out with a new version where brands that you "like" can see everything about you, including your wall posts, pictures, etc.

Now, I'm obviously not a fan of anonymity, just look at this blog. I'm also not the type to not write any information or show pictures on facebook because of paranoia of divulging information. I just would appreciate it if I am able to CONTROL and MANAGE the information about me. What makes me angry about those people search sites is that I never signed up to be put in those databases. What makes me angry about the new facebook is that I don't have control over what is shown ABOUT ME on other people's news feeds. I have no problem, however, keeping a blog and sharing my thoughts, with my named signed at the bottom.

Mirror neurons

2010-04-26T18:39:00.000-07:00

Mirror neurons are basically neurons that internalize the behavior of other people through observation as if you were doing it yourself. For example, if someone is happy around you, you will also be happy. So positive energy is contagious, and so is negative energy. In light of this, I'm going to write about some of the good personality traits of people that are close to me. These are traits that I admire, so definitely things I'm striving towards. Some I have down cold, but some not so much (Borat voice). I'm not going to mention names, so feel free to stipulate if I am speaking about you. Pronouns can be clues.

Never being superficially judgmental, no matter who it is. The ability to have a conversation with anyone, without looking down on the person's occupation, social class, or appearance. This one seems simple, but I rarely see it in people. A lot of people are PC, but disingenuous about it, which shows. A genuine heart of accepting also shows, which translates into people enjoying their time around you. I have a few friends who are like this, but one friend is always talked about in the highest regard whenever people talk about him.
Treating friendships with delicate care. Whether it be a promise or something said in passing, this friend always lives up to her word. It doesn't seem much, but it shows the amount of energy and thought she puts into the friendship. Even after we have dinner, she's thinking about the fact that I said I want pinkberry and will bring it for me next time time we meet.
Wisdom beyond her years, a sense of precociousness. The ability to take a situation and semantically decipher it breaking it down into the heart of the matter. This is a trait that adults love, and her ability to win people over because of it.
The ability to dedicate himself to a specific goal and not let anything alter that. Determination, in short.
Being able to see through people's motivations. This one is especially important to me because I care about people's intentions rather than actions in friendships. A lot of times, I'm not so good at understanding peoples' motives which always lead me to being surprised and hurt.
Being a vegetarian. Haha because I sure can't do it.
Not being persuaded by what others do and staying true to her preferences. I agree with one friend that going out to clubs is kind of lame and we would rather have substantial conversations with people. Except, I still go out and she rarely does.
Again, dedication to friendships. But this time, remembering small details of trivial conversations and then later asking about it.
Boldness to call people out on bullshit.
Being incredibly down to earth with a great sense of humor and a really caring person, despite how hot he is.
A general sense of, it's all good. Like I said, the positive energy is contagious and it just puts people around her at ease.
Lack of inhibition to tell others that he loves how much they mean to him. Being very open about emotions to friends, without a fear of appearing too forward.
Knowing everything about everything. He is the most-well read person, reading everything from The Economist to French literature.

Saks and Bloomies

2010-04-20T06:27:00.000-07:00

Saks Friends and Family Sale, completely useless to me because everything I want to buy is excluded:

FRIENDS & FAMILY

ENJOY 20% OFF*
(10% off cosmetics and fragrances)

Online Only: April 20 - 21
Online and In Stores: April 22 - 25

For saks.com orders, use Code FRIEND3 at checkout.
For in-store purchases, click here to print your invitation.

** Designer Exclusions include: David Yurman, Chanel, Bugaboo, Fendi, Dior, Gucci, Prada, NorthFace, Hermes, Graff, Cartier, H. Stern, Pomelatto, Buccellati, Garrard, Bvlgari, St. John, Miu Miu, Balenciaga, Marni, Loro Piana, Akris, Azzedine Alaia, Bridal Salon, Chado Ralph Rucci, Doo Ri apparel, Dries Van Noten apparel and shoes, Erdem apparel, Giambattista Valli, J Mendel apparel, Piazza Sempione apparel, Brian Reyes apparel, Escada apparel, Etro apparel, Brunello Cucinelli, Ralph Lauren Women's Black Label and Collection, Ralph Lauren Men's Black Label and Purple Label, TSE apparel, Celine shoes, Oscar de la Renta, Commes des Garcons, Jil Sander, Loro Piana, Marchesa Couture, Marc Jacobs apparel, Mario Schwab apparel, Marni, Junya Watanabe, Peter Pilotto apparel, Vionnet apparel, Zegna, Givenchy, Alexander McQueen, Christian Louboutin, Manolo Blahnik, Jimmy Choo, Bottega Veneta, Versace, Yves Saint Laurent shoes and handbags, Valentino, Lanvin, Ugg Australia, Sergio Rossi, Moschino, Donna Karan shoes, Dolce & Gabbana, Alexander Wang apparel and handbags, McQ, Opening Ceremony, Under.ligne by Doo Ri, Ann Demeulemeester, Derek Lam, Tod's shoes and handbags, Roger Vivier shoes, Camilla Skovgaard shoes, Charvet, Kiton, Maison Martin Margiela, MM6 Maison Martin shoes and handbags, Roger Vivier, Isaia, Mikimoto on saks.com only, Marco Bicego on saks.com only, Jude Frances on saks.com only, Ippolita on saks.com only, Charbonnel et Walker, Giuseppe Zanotti shoes, Peter Shoiket, John Allan Men's Grooming Salon, Louis Vuitton, The Fur Salon, Watch and Jewelry Repair.

Bloomingdales Private Sale, April 20-22. This sale is "bomb", to coin a term from my friend. All regular merchandise is on sale 15-40%, sale items are 40-50% off, and you get to use $25 off coupons for every $100. On top of that, you get $15 certificates for later to encourage even more spending.