More Pictures from Lisa's visit

Okay, so I've written a nice summary of the weekend with Lisa, I thought I'd post a few more pictures taken while she was here.

First up, here's all 4 of us during our "Girls' Night Out" at the karaoke bar in Hollywood: Anna, Ev, Lisa and me:



Here's Ev and me belting out Joan Jett's "I Love Rock and Roll"



Sacked out in the limo on the ride back home-- hey, it was getting late!



Next day, at Universal Studios-- here's me (in my Grab polo shirt!) with the Access Hollywood reporters. Yeah, I'm famous and on the red carpet ;-)



This one cracks me up to no end, because it showcases quite perfectly exactly how freakishly tall Allan is-- notice how he, in his sandals, is nearly eye level with Frankenstein (who, by the way, is wearing big clunky shoes!)



Finally, Lisa's last night in LA, Ev and I joined her for dinner in Old Town Pasadena:



And now that you've finished reading all that, hightail it over to Lisa's blog, where more pictures await you :-D

(originally posted at: http://www.myspace.com/hellykwee/blog/241841402)

Lisa does LA

Just as Lisa beat me in blogging about my visit to the UK, I'm gonna blog about our weekend together, when it was Lisa's turn to fly into LA :-D

Unfortunately, I don't have very many pictures to share, so those will have to wait until Lisa returns home and posts them in her own blog (and hopefully zips up the remainder and emails them to me :-D)

Saturday I took Todd with me to pick up Lisa at LAX, after which we stopped by the Northridge Fashion Center, had an early dinner in the food court, and watched Todd play in the indoor playground. Then it was back to my parents' place to quickly change and get ready to go out.

Evelyn and Anna arrived to pick us up-- ostensibly to "carpool"... but when we got out the door, there was a limo waiting for us at the end of the driveway! And moreover-- flowers and booze waiting for her inside the car. It was truly a great way to highlight Lisa's week of living like a princess-- all that was missing was a tiara!

Here's Anna, Lisa and me inside the limo:

We ended up going to a karaoke bar in Hollywood, which was a little quiet at first (and that was a good thing, as it allowed me to totally bomb a song before anybody got there, thus making a fool of myself only in front of the girls) but soon picked up after about 10pm. The place was soon packed with what looked like regulars, and some damn talented ones at that. Like Lisa said, it was like American Idol-- and quite a sharp contrast to when I went out on the pub crawl with my British friends in Wales.

The night was quite entertaining with a variety of performances that never failed to bring the house down, such as "cute guy"'s rendition of "Let's Get it On", Ken's dedication to "Lisa from Wales", and a guy-- that's right, a guy-- doing Britney Spears' "Oops I Did it Again"-- he rocked! Evelyn and I wrapped up our evening with a duet of "I Love Rock and Roll", and thankfully didn't get booed off the stage ;-)

Made it home safe and sound by 1am. Well, it was actually 2am, as that was the night we moved forward to Daylight Saving Time. Talk about an inopportune weekend to lose an hour-- on the very night when I need my sleep the most!

Next day Allan, Todd and I took Lisa to Universal Studios (Ev was feeling poorly and stayed home), where we got plenty of sun and behind-the-scenes views of how movies are made. At one point, during the "Sounds and Effects" studio show, I volunteered for one of the segments that showcased how the blue screen works, esp with one actor playing multiple characters. Here's a shot of me interacting with Eddie Murphy's character on "The Nutty Professor"-- in real life I was sitting on a chair in front of a blue screen. It's not very good quality because it was taken with my phone's VGA camera-- my digital camera decided to die on me upon arrival. That marks the THIRD time in a ROW that a camera has broken down on me as SOON as I get inside Universal Studios. I swear, that place is haunted. Next time, I'm bringing two cameras, one as backup for the one that's sure to break down as soon as I step inside the gate :-P

Blowing kisses at the Nutty Professor in front of the green screen:

And this is how it showed up when mixed with the rest of the movie:




It was a long day full of walking, but we lucked out in not having to wait in many lines. Afterward, we went to Buca di Beppo on CityWalk for dinner, where Ev had laid in reservations for us.

In the parking lot I spied an amusing sight-- a Hummer cramped inside a space marked "Compact". The sad thing about this picture? The owner of this vehicle actually did a much better job of parking as best as he/she could within the tiny space, than most SUV's I've seen-- SUV's that are much smaller than a Hummer! What gives??



All in all, a busy but fun-filled weekend. It was nice seeing Lisa again, and having fun showing her my neck of the woods. On more than one occasion has she shaken her head and said "Only in America".
That's right, babes. It is one unique country :-)

(originally posted at: http://www.myspace.com/hellykwee/blog/240611958)

5 and 10 years ago

Swiped from Scot:

10 years ago-- March 1997:
1.) How old were you?  19
2.) Where did you go to school?  I was winding down my senior year at UCLA
3.) Where did you work?  Full-time student
4.) Where did you live?  With my parents (I commuted)
5.) Where did you hang out?  In the (Army ROTC) cadet lounge :-P
6.) Did you wear glasses?  Yes
7.) Who was your best friend?  Hmmm, Ella and Jenniper?
8.) How many tattoos did you have?  None
9.) How many piercings did you have?  None
10.) What car did you drive?  My mom's 1984 Toyota Corolla
11.) Had you been to a real party yet?  Just some military balls, those were always fun!
12.) Had you had your heart broken?  Nope
13.) Single/Taken/Married/Divorced/Bitter:  Single

5 years ago-- March 2002:

1.) How old were you? 24 :-P
2.) Where did you go to school?  Wrapping up my first year at UCSB
3.) Where did you work?  UCSB, as a teaching assistant
4.) Where did you live?  Santa Barbara, CA
5.) Where did you hang out?  The computer lab on campus :-P
6.) Did you wear glasses?  Yes
7.) Who was your best friend?  Didn't really have best friends per se, had my little "gang" of friends that I spent the most time with, though-- Wayne, Darren, Dallas and Ly.
8.) Who was your regular-person crush?  What, as opposed to an irregular person? :-P
9.) How many tattoos did you have? None
10.) How many piercings did you have?  None
11.) What car did you drive?  My beloved baby-- a 1998 Plymouth Neon
12.) Had you had your heart broken?  Nope
13.) Single/Taken/Married/Divorced/Bitter:  Single

Today-- March 2007:

1.) How old are you? 29, going on 30 VERY soon
2.) Where do you work?  Amgen
3.) Where do you live?  Split my time between my parents' house and Santa Barbara
4.) Do you wear glasses?  Still do!
5.) Where do you hang out?  At home, with my son
6.) Who is your best friend?  Lisa :-)
7.) Who's your crush?  No crushes
8.) Do you talk to your old friends?  Not really
9.) How many piercings do you have?  Still don't have any
10.) How many tattoos?  Still don't have any
11.) What kind of car do you have?  2003 Mitsubishi Galant (my poor Neon is kaputt)
12.) Has your heart been broken?  I plead the Fifth
13.) Single/Taken/Married/Divorced/Bitter:  Married, though still in denial and disbelief over that fact :-P

(originally posted at: http://www.myspace.com/hellykwee/blog/237594794)

More Working Daze

I think I'm starting to become a fan of this comic strip. This is today's comic, and this time it reminds me of none other than: me.

Not that I would consider myself "bad with computers", but here's the deal: I have a "reverse Midas touch" when it comes to computers. Every single computer I've ever touched goes kablooey at one point or another. Doesn't matter what kind of computer. Desktop, laptop. Mac, Linux, Windows, even Solaris. Bring on the blue screen of death. Or simple freezes.

Hmmm... perhaps I should rethink my chosen profession, which deals solely with computers.... eh?

Lisa's Soulmate

I was catching up on web comics while eating lunch, and had a good laugh when I came across this one, because it sooooo reminds me of Lisa! I can relate to the girl in the cartoon, too, there's been a couple times where I've been left in the dust in a daze, after Lisa dashed off a quick "brb" email to me before scurrying off to catch BG.

So, Lisa-- I guess this is evidence that you are, indeed, a bona fide geek! :-D



(originally posted at: http://www.myspace.com/hellykwee/blog/235322229)

Unexpected Free Food

A few minutes ago I stopped by the vending machine to get a snack. I made a beeline for the bag of Sun Chips that had caught my attention yesterday. As I plunked my coins into the machine, my eyes wandered over the rest of the selection, and I noticed that in the same column as the chips, a Kit Kat bar hung precariously from its holder (I could just hear the frustration of the person who had attempted to buy it and left empty-handed).

When my bag of chips fell, it knocked the Kit Kat bar down along with it, so I ended up with two snacks for the price of one. Cool little windfall :-D

Okay, so it isn't really much to write about, but I've been having a pretty crappy week (and it's probably going to get worse before it gets better), so I thought I'd revel in the small rewards while I can!

Yum :-9

(originally posted at:  http://www.myspace.com/hellykwee/blog/230622190)

The Smell of Gasoline...

... assaults my nose as I sit here at my computer. Unlike most smells that you grow accustomed to, this one is still annoying the hell out of me.

This morning, I arrived at work a few minutes early, so I decided to pull into the gas station next to my office building and fill up so I wouldn't have to bother with it when I go home tonight (and when it's guaranteed to be colder outside).

I topped off my tank as I normally do, but this time, instead of causing the handle of the pump to switch off automatically once the gasoline reached a certain level with respect to the nozzle in the tank, it didn't. Next thing I knew, gas was spraying out like a geyser. Most ended up running down the side of my car, and a little bit ended up splashing on my pants.

It dried quickly enough, but the stench remains. Obviously, since I'm at work, changing my clothes and chucking my jeans into the wash is NOT an option.

So... anyone have any ideas for how to quickly and effectively get the gasoline off my jeans? Any household hints? Or at least-- something to mask the smell?

(originally posted at: http://www.myspace.com/hellykwee/blog/229621596)

A Note to the Lunch Thieves

Several weeks ago I blogged about the thieves running rampant, raiding our office kitchen's refrigerator and stealing unsuspecting frozen dinners-- I've been a victim twice, and have commiserated with other folks in the same situation.

In case you've forgotten, you can refresh your memory on that entry here.

Apparently one victim had enough. Yesterday as I ambled into the kitchen for a drink, I saw this hand-written sign posted on the freezer door:



Made me giggle-- "borrowed!" What a euphemism.

In case you can't read it, the sign says "Please replace my Smart One lunch you borrowed" (Smart One is a brand of frozen dinner).

Wonder if it worked... may have to find Alice and ask her one of these days ;-)

(originally posted at: http://www.myspace.com/hellykwee/blog/224000699)

To Chew or Not To Chew

Anyone that knows me knows that Smarties are among my absolute favorite candies. No, not British Smarties (which are like M&Ms)-- American Smarties, which are chalk-like candy wafers-- little more than tangy sugar and color:



This weekend, while shopping at K-Mart for some snacks to enjoy indoors (since it rained all weekend and we couldn't really go anywhere), I came across a bag of "Bubble Gum Smarties":



The bag didn't have any immediate outward indications of what the product actually entailed, so I assumed it was the classic Smarties candy-- just with a bubblegum flavor. After all, it's not unusual to find your favorite classic candy in a variety of flavors (like Skittles), right?

Right. Or so I thought.

Upon settling on the sofa to watch a movie, I opened up a roll and popped a couple of the Smarties into my mouth. Hmm... rather than being hard and brittle and "chalky" like I expected, they were soft and chewy. But they're not the first hard candy to come in soft and chewy form (think Jolly Ranchers and LifeSavers), so no real shock there. And they seemed to dissolve in my mouth okay, so I ate the entire roll. It wasn't until I was finishing up the last wafer in that roll that I realized that it was sticking to my teeth a bit. That made me raise an eyebrow, re-examine the package, and then make a dash for my computer.

A Google search on "bubble gum Smarties" yielded several pages that indeed confirmed what I feared I had done: I had eaten bubblegum.

Including the product page from the official Smarties website itself:http://www.smarties.com/products.html

Sigh... yeah, my tummy's gonna have fun processing that one. Luckily I realized my error after eating only one roll, and not the half-dozen I usually go through in one sitting. Count my blessings, I suppose...


(originally posted at: http://www.myspace.com/hellykwee/blog/223483682)

Forbidden?

Hmmmm, I wonder if my frequent polling of Grab blogs on my feed reader and the accompanying frequent web traffic attracted the attention of our IT guys. My feeder showed a bunch of red entries on all the Grab blogs, so I figured the blogs were just down, as they've been prone to do in the past. But when I actually checked on the web, I realized that all of the blogs.grab.com domain was filtered out, for I got the following HTTP 403 error:

403 Forbidden
You were denied access because:
Access denied by WebWasher DynaBLocator content category. The requested URL belongs to the following category: Malicious Web Sites.

Right... but I can still access the REST of Grab, just not Grab blogs? WTF?

And now they've caught up to filtering Myspace-- not all of Myspace, mind you, otherwise I wouldn't be able to post this blog entry. I can still access my homepage and I can access blogs-- but I can't view anyone's profiles. The category? "Pornography". And while I concede that there are numerous Myspace profiles out there that fit that category, I was a little displeased to not even be able to access my friends' profiles, or band pages, because of the full-out banning of all the Myspace profiles.

Now how am I supposed to change my Myspace profile music if I can't get to the band's page? Worse yet, how am I suppose to change my layout, etc... if I can't preview my own page to make sure I got it right?

At least I can still blog... for now!

Can you say "GRRRRRR"?

(originally posted at: http://www.myspace.com/hellykwee/blog/221611857)

My New Phone

Earlier this week I added my mom to our T-Mobile family plan, as there have been too many times when she or my dad have found themselves in a situation where they needed a cell phone and had none handy.

I took the opportunity to upgrade my own phone, as I had been using my ancient Samsung r225m for nearly 2.5 years.

I had initially had my heart set on the Samsung t619 flip phone, as it had gotten great reviews and had everything I wanted, plus I thought it was about time to give flip phones a chance after years of using a bar phone.

But alas, the T-Mobile retailer I visited no longer had them in stock, so I looked around and played with their inventory to see what else appealed to me. And there it was: my second choice. The Motorola RAZR. I thought it was much overhyped, and its reviews weren't as stellar as those of the Samsung t619. Still, I figured there HAD to be a reason it's been the best-selling phone for 2 years already.

I gave the store models a test drive and liked it so far. And in the end, I did it. I got myself a RAZR. Not just any RAZR. But one with a cool tattoo designed by one of the artists on "Miami Ink"-- as you can see from the photos, I opted for a dragon tattoo. You can't see it show up too well on the first photo, but you can see the entire dragon in the second photo, where the phone is open.

So far, I'm a happy clam. I love my new phone. It is sleek and sexy and so thin I can do something I've never done before-- put the phone in my pocket and not even feel that it's there. Sure, it's a fingerprint magnet (as so many users have complained about), but I'm pretty fastidious about wiping my phone's screen and keeping it clean anyway, so those habits will serve nicely in keeping my phone in pristine condition.

Here's the snapshots of my newest toy:





(originally posted at: http://www.myspace.com/hellykwee/blog/216653410)

Trend-setting friends

My friends are cool. They set trends. They follow trends. A couple months ago, I teased Scot about changing his display name to match Jen's, and he did! Here's the proof:



Then, a few weeks ago, after all the pictures from my surprise visit to Wales had been distributed online, Lisa started a trend that had Scot, Fuzzy and me following suit: setting our profile pictures to pics of the visit.

As luck would have it, Jen's top 4 row consisted of the 4 of us, so I was able to capture this screenshot before we all switched to Christmas-themed avatars and display names:



Now I can stop being confused by who wrote what in blog comments and guestbook comments, as the pics were all similar! :-D

It was short-lived, but hey-- it was fun while it lasted! Thanks, guys! :-)

(originally posted at: http://www.myspace.com/hellykwee/blog/204182995)

Thievin' Little Buggers

I usually bring my lunch to work everyday. Pack up leftovers from last night's dinner in a tupperware dish and eat at the comfort of my desk. But on occasion when there's nothing to bring, I bring a couple of frozen TV dinners, and round it out with a healthful salad and fresh fruit. I've taken to keeping one dinner in the kitchen freezer just as a spare in case I ever have a day where I don't have time to bring or buy lunch, I'll still have something to grab out of the freezer, heat up, and eat.

Well, today was one such day. I ambled into the kitchen, opened up the freezer, and... nothing. There was stuff in there, but none of it was mine. The kicker? This isn't the first time it's happened. It's not the first time someone has swiped my Banquet TV dinner out of the freezer. First time it happened, it was one meal amongst other people's Banquet-brand meals, so I figured someone had gotten it confused with theirs. But this time? I made sure to keep the box wrapped up IN the grocery bag, hoping that would alert people that it isn't theirs. Apparently that did nothing to foil the thief.

And so I'm sitting here, hungry and chowing down on lettuce and carrots (thankful that I at least have that) and drinking fruit juice, hoping that the appetizers I get at a farewell event at 3:00pm today will make up for my lack of a filling lunch.

Blasted thieving buggers at work. Next time I'm packing my food into a container that I can padlock :-P

(originally posted at:  http://www.myspace.com/hellykwee/blog/202648131)

Early Grab Meet of sorts

So, at long last I'm getting around to catching up on telling my side of the story-- the same story that you've most likely already read about on both Scot's and Lisa's blogs :-)

I went on a last-minute trip to the UK on business last week, and when I talked to Fuzzy about it and learned of his plans to visit Lisa in Wales, decided it would be a perfect opportunity to join him and surprise her!

I didn't tell anyone about my trip, so don't feel too bad if you've been left out of the loop. I wasn't actually sure if I'd be able to make it to see Lisa at all, and I didn't want to get our hopes up only to be disappointed. As luck would have it, that wasn't the case.

So, I had a layover in Chicago where I got to meet my first Grab friend-- Scot! He's blogged all about it, so you can read the details there, here's the two of us at O'Hare International Airport:



The first few days of my stay in the UK were pretty uneventful. Watched a lot of German TV, something I miss from my days in Germany :-D Did some shopping, got my hair cut, and brrrr-- tried to stay indoors as much as I could!

I was able to get time off on Thanksgiving to join Fuzzy and Alex on the long drive to Wales. We checked into the hotel and after Fuzzy phoned Lisa to let her know we were there, I made my way to his and Alex's room. We wanted to position Fuzzy by the door, videocamera in hand, to film Lisa's expression, and were still working out the logistics (freakin' closet was in the way) when there was an unexpected knock on the door. We looked at the time and stared at each other. Lisa!? Nah, too early!

So Fuzzy pushed the peephole cover aside and peeked through, then jumped back in a near panic, whispering loudly: "It's Lisa!"

Flustered, We scrambled to try to get him in position with the camera, not realizing that Lisa could hear our whispers and movements through the door.

After a second knock, we gave up, and Fuzzy and Alex retreated to the back of the room while I flung the door open.

Oh, the look on Lisa's face-- priceless! The expressions on her face changed from brow-furrowing confusion ("Who the hell..!?") to eye-widening shock ("I recognize her!") to jaw-dropping shock ("It's Helly!") before the inevitable screech of "OH MY GOD!" and the big hugs that followed.
To be honest, she didn't cuss us out as much as we'd expected! I guess she was too stunned to call us many names.

You've already seen most of the important pics on her blog, so I'll just showcase a few of my favorites (forgive any duplicates):
 
Lisa and me, posing as two innocent angels (quit laughing so hard!)



Here are 3 Grab CLs: Lisa, Fuzzy and Helly



Can't leave a shot of Alex out:



This menu cracks me up-- "pud"s?? Sounds sooo dirty!



This picture cracks me up too-- I came across quite a few establishment that sell not just Chinese food, but "Chinese and English food". This one sold Chinese take-out AND fish 'n' chips:



A COUPLE OF AERIAL SHOTS:
The view of the sun-kissed English countryside (hey, where are all the rain clouds??)



These next two are my favorites:
First up, a view of the English Channel as we flew over the last of England



And then, a view of the start of France on the other side of the Channel:



So there you have it. Quite an adventure, and a mini-Grab-Meet across the ocean and across an entire country!

We spent Thursday evening enjoying dinner together, and then a little pub crawl. Coming from California, where smoking is banned in nearly all public establishments, I'd forgotten how smokey it gets in the bars of Europe. And having karaoke at two of the pubs was a plus-- both Alex and I enjoyed our turns up on the mic :-)

On Friday we picked up Lisa at her house and had lunch together, then went shopping-- or more aptly, as Lisa pointed out, Alex shopped while the rest of us looked on.

All in all it was a good trip. I enjoyed seeing a different country, and being scared out of my wits driving on the wrong side of the road. Realizing first-hand (well, I'd already had an inkling of it from my conversations with my British friends) that English, contrary to popular belief, is NOT really a universal language. Reminding myself to be eternally grateful that I live in southern California, where not only is the weather magnificent (yes, I've had enough of the bRRRRR-inducing weather of England and Wales) but the cost of most everything is much lower than in the UK.

And last but not least, it firmly cemented some friendships forged online-- friendships I hope will last a lifetime. So Scot, Lisa, Fuzzy and Alex-- I truly enjoyed meeting you and hanging out with you, and look forward to many more meets across the miles! :-)

(originally posted at: http://www.myspace.com/hellykwee/blog/199046647)

They Come To Life...

Ever since I was a little kid and lovingly played with my huge menagerie of stuffed animals, I always maintained a sincere belief that my stuffed animals came to life when I was either sleeping or not around. Kind of like in the Disney movie "Toy Story".

As I got older, that theory obviously diminished in veracity, but to be honest, I never discounted it entirely. Sure, I know the odds of that really happening are very very slim, but unless I can prove with certainty that they DON'T come to life when nobody's looking, well-- that possibility is never zero, is it? Kind of like Schrödinger's cat in the box...

This morning I arrived at my desk with an interesting surprise. I keep Shaun the Sheep and Wallace (of "Wallace and Gromit" fame) on my computer at work. Today I found this:



Wallace apparently keeled over in the middle of the night and did a face-plant right onto my computer. Notice how his hand is still on Shaun's head, perhaps in an attempt to catch his balance and break his fall? Doesn't look like it helped. Makes me wonder how much he had imbibed last night ;-) And just makes me wonder even more if my stuffed animals really did have a raucous party last night when the last of the staff had gone home and all was quiet in the building....

(and in case you're wondering, yes, I propped the Rottweiler up next to them, with pen and pad. When I came upon this amusing "crime scene" this morning, my imagination went into overdrive and I decided that Rocky would serve quite nicely as the investigating police dog :-D)

(originally posted at: http://www.myspace.com/hellykwee/blog/194391348)