Same Resolution As Always

So it's that time of year when everyone prepares to make their typical New Year's resolution. You know, the 'I'll get fit', the 'I'll stop smoking', etc types of resolutions. Well my resolution is pretty much the same thing. I believe 2008 will be a great year. I definitely learned a lot about myself in 2007. I've been through a roller coaster of emotions and I think I've grown up a bit this year. So my New Year's resolution for 2008 is:

- Get fit & healthy. I always say I'm going on a diet, but this year, I'm not calling it a diet. I will be getting healthy.
- Fix skin. I haven't had clear skin since puberty and I'm tired of it. Lots of people still have acne after their teen years but my skin seems to be more severe then others. I'm tired of touching up my pictures but the positive part is I'm getting better at photoshop. I'm going to a dermatologist or maybe a medspa to get it cleared. I just hope it works.
- Find love. I want to prove that there are decent guys out there in Las Vegas. I don't want some random hook up. I don't want to date around. I want just one guy out there to prove to me he's not like any other guy in Las Vegas. I think I'll try and give most guys a chance this year instead of being so picky.
- Travel. I want to at least travel out of the country once this coming year. Even if it's Mexico. I learned that a vacation really does wonders.
- Love my job. I want to be able to love my job even if it's not my current job. If an opportunity knocks at my door, I will consider it instead of saying yes then backing out. I did that a lot this year and I'm sure I missed out on a lot of great opportunities.
- Less drinking. Okay, maybe this one will be harder especially when a lot of my friends strongly disagree on this topic. I think instead I'll say, I'll drink less then I usually do when I do drink. Instead of drinking 5 shots, I'll drink 3 shots. This will help my liver too.
- Private life. I've been known to never being able to keep things a secret either if it's my personal life or other lives. If there's drama in my life, I tell everyone. So here's to keeping my mouth shut in 2008. I don't need to tell everyone about my personal life. Only the selected few.

I'll let you know next New Year if I succeeded in any of these resolutions. I'll see you next year!

Not Our Typical Christmas

So this year was the first Christmas without my grandparents and is officially the first year we broke our Christmas tradition. Ever since I could remember, my whole family on my mom's side would spend Christmas together under one roof. And it takes a big roof to house us too. My mom had nine brothers and sisters and each sibling has at least two children. So you do the math. Christmas was never quiet. Even though we all weren't together this year, it was still a loud Christmas. While 90% of my family members were in California celebrating Christmas, the few that were left behind in Las Vegas came over to my house. And if you know my family, the holiday was spent gambling, eating, and singing. It would have included alcohol but the majority of the people at my house were under aged. Instead my cousin brought over a bingo game and we gambled instead. I even walked away with five bucks. Everyone had a singing contest to see who could get the highest point on the magic mic. You are not Filipino if you don't have a magic mic. But the best part was watching my godson Angelo open up his presents. I bought him this K'nex building set and he was so excited that he opened it up right away. The cutest part was that while he was building away with his hands, his foot was holding the manual open. My godson is only six years old and he was able to build all sorts of stuff.

Not So Subtle

My friends and I concluded our party hopping night at Griffins which is a local bar in downtown. Everyone was in the back of the bar sitting and socializing with the birthday girl and her graduate boyfriend. My friends and I wanted to hang out by the bar for easy access to the alcohol. As you can tell my friends and I love our alcohol. We have to be near it at all times. But anyways, seven girls near the bar can sure attract some attention. This drunk guy came stumbling towards our group and started talking to us.

Kathrina: Hey what's your name?
Drunk guy: My name is Robert. Yours?
Kathrina: [points at me] Her name is Monica. [grabs our friend Angela] Ok, we have to go.
Me: Ohhh my gaaawwd.
Drunk guy: Why did she do that? Does she think I'm cute?
Me: She wants me to get some action.

At the end of the night, Angela ended up hanging out with Robert more then me and I ended up hanging out with Robert's friend Nick. And none of us got any action which is okay with me because I'm not like that. I wait till the second meeting for some action. I'm just kidding!

He Looks Gay With His White Buttons Anyways.

So my sister and I were baking gingerbread men when we couldn't figure out how to store them. Their frostings haven't dried yet so we decided to just lay them in a tupperware. We had one more man left and couldn't find a place where to put him. We called this lone man Afro man because he was the only one we made with an afro. We don't discriminate here man. There was only one place to put Afro man. On top of another man. And my sister yelled out, 'No not Afro man! He's not gay! Here take him. He looks gay with his white buttons anyways.' Oh my God. I thought I was going to die laughing. I was on the floor laughing. Ladies and gentlemen....here is the lovely couple hiding in the corner.

Flip Cup

Drinking games suck! They are so fun but in the end, you will lose. Last night a friend of Kathrina's was throwing a house party and she said that it will be a little reunion for us. So we decided to go to the party. A lot of the people there were at a Halloween party we went to back in October. I didn't remember a lot of their names so I ended up just calling them by what their costumes were. After reintroducing ourselves, the fun began when someone mentioned flip cup. Flip cup is the best game ever! But you get wasted so fast. Everyone was using beer for the game and since I hate beer, one of the guys I met before made me a Pepsi and vodka concoction. About 4 games in, I ran out of alcohol so he gave me orange juice and vodka. By game 7, everyone was buzzed and I was feeling good. And of course my team won. But don't you just hate when alcohol just creeps up on you and you suddenly get really drunk really fast? Well that's what happened to me and Kathrina had to help me in the bathroom while I threw up. Not once, but multiple times. And I think by the fourth time, I asked her if we could leave. Since she was the driver, we ended up at her house and I passed out on her bed for two hours. And now I have this lingering headache that's a reminder of last night's festivities. This is the price I pay for having people make me my drinks without me watching them. I don't know how much alcohol was in those drinks but it must have been a lot because just last week I was playing king's cup and I had a lot of vodka without any consequences. Whoever invented drinking games, I hate you! Okay, I'm just kidding. Maybe.

I met this guy last night who was able to finish the rubik's cube in mere minutes! I was really amazed or maybe I was just really drunk that it looked cool at the time.

What Do You Really Want To Do?

Is there really anyone out there who really loves their job? I mean, really LOVE their job. My friend Apple and I had a conversation about careers and school and why we're in situations where we're not happy. She's currently going to school majoring in Biology but doesn't really want to go into the medical field. I finished college with a degree in computer science and don't see myself working in this industry for the rest of my life. So then I told her my dream was to go back to school, preferably culinary school. My dream is to be a pastry chef and make all these creations you can only imagine. The foodnetwork is constantly playing in my room while I mentally take notes on the various techniques the chefs show us. I told my parents my dream of being a pastry chef and they just ignored it and convinced me to just finish school with a degree. Apple understood why I finished school with a degree I didn't want to have. Growing up in a traditional Filipino family, school is very important and you need to finish with a practical degree. That's why she's finishing school in Biology with her dream on the back burner. I wonder how many people give up their dreams for the practical route. One day I'll definitely go back. I'm thinking fall semester I'll take a class or two. It'll also be nice to meet new people. Working in an office isn't meant for me. I need interaction with people, not email. One day. I hope.

Estimated Completion Date

What is your definition of estimated completed date? Do you think January 2008 is a good estimated completion date? Apparently it's not. The jackass coworker gave me a lecture in front of everyone with his high almighty voice that it's too open ended. But that's what estimated completed date is. It's suppose to be open ended to allow flexibility. Whatever. Someone has a stick up their ass. I'm pretty much ready to just throw in the towel and call it a good run. On my way home last night, I was preparing a 2 weeks notice speech for my boss. I'm tired of him. I've put up with his crap for a year and a half now and I'm not getting paid enough to deal with his attitude. I've tried to stay out of his way. Tried being nice. But after his little fit today, I was ready to go off at him. He has more mood swings then a girl on pms. I need to update my resume asap.

I Wasn't an English Major

If you've been reading my blog, you can tell English wasn't my best subject. You know that saying. You're either an English or a Math person but not both. Well I'm a math person. I understand numbers. I enjoy formulas. That's why I became a Computer Science major. More math, less English. I was always docked for not fully commenting my programs even though they worked perfect. Since I was the newest employee at the time, my boss decided I should be in charge of documentation. I know! My worst nightmare! I have to make sure that all our documents are up to date with the latest procedures. Since the addition of the newest members, I've delegated some of the documents to them but not all.

Today, I asked my coworker if he could review something before I assign it to a manager because I know my wording wasn't that effective as to what I was trying to say. And his response was to just take responsibility and accept the consequences if it's incorrect. Talk about team player. And then he had to bring up the subject of my documentations. I thought my documents were well organized and very professional. I made them less wordy because no matter how professional you are, no one wants to read a 50 page document when it can be done in 20 pages. Is it my choice in words? Just because I don't have a big vocabulary doesn't mean that my documents should be called less then acceptable. I'm sorry that I wasn't as well educated as you. Oh wait, you didn't even graduate with a degree! This jackass coworker always seems to find something wrong with the way I do around here. It's because of him, I know I will not be here forever. I would love to find a job where everyone is willing to help. My other coworker is the busiest person in our department and he is always willing to help out. I've always been told our department works as a team by my jackass coworker, but leaving me high and dry to fend for myself doesn't show teamwork. If you're going to play like that, then game on!

I'm Trapped!

At work, in order to leave, you have to push the exit button and push the door open. So on my way out, I pushed the exit button and pushed the door. It didn't open. I figured I didn't push the button all the way so I pushed the button again. Nope. I'm still stuck inside. Craaaaap. So I tried the button again and this time I pushed the freaking button harder and the door even harder. Nooope. I'm shaking the door and in my head I'm yelling, "let me out of here! I don't want to be stuck in hell!" Good thing someone was killing their lungs outside. They scanned their card on the scanner and the door unlocked. Thank God Almighty! I'm free! You can lock me out of the office but please don't lock me in the office.

Google Is Hiring

Every time I open my gmail account to check my email, there's always an announcement that Google is hiring. Right now, I'm pretty content with my job. It's not really exciting, but is there really a job where you look forward to going to work? I like my coworkers and the job isn't too difficult. But of course I'm searching for that one job where I look forward to Mondays. Where I can say I want to hang out with coworkers outside of work. No offense to my coworkers, but they are out of my age range. It's really hard to find something in common with them. I want to be able give a more interesting answer then 'eh' when someone asks me 'how's work?'

So I went to their website to check out the type of job that's available. 30 minutes later, I want to work at Google. I've heard so much about how Google is currently the best company to work for. How Google really takes care of their employees, but is it really true? Do you get all these benefits because you work long hours? I wonder how many hours they work in a week. And the food! Everyone knows I love food. But Google takes it to a whole new level. They offer free gourmet food. FREE!! Oh man. If I worked there, I would never have to learn how to cook. I'm just kidding. But seriously, when I hear free food, I get excited.

So am I going to send in my resume and apply for a job? Probably not. I'm at a point in my life where I'm not ready to drop everything I'm familiar with and leave. I want to be able to afford a good life if I leave Las Vegas. So for now, I'm stuck at my job. Maybe in a year after I've saved up all my money, I'll apply at Google. For now, I'll just have to daydream about the free gourmet food. Maybe one day I'll end up at Google.

I Might Really Be Addicted

Okay, so I think I really am addicted to Vick's vapor rub. Since I've been sick the past few days, I've been bringing Vick's to work. I'd take a good whiff of that bottle to rejuvenate my nasal passages. Aaahhhhh! That's what it feels like when I inhale that stuff. Well I'm completely devastated that I left the bottle on my desk at work. I was even tempted to buy another bottle but I glanced at my fuel gauge and it's either that menthol scent or work. And believe me, it was a tough choice. I almost did go to the store but I decided that I still have nyquil at home. Once shot of that and I'll be knocked out for the rest of the night.

It's That Time Again

Sore throat, runny nose, coughing, and the fever. You know. The symptoms of the winter cold. Or just an excuse for me to get addicted to cough drops and Vick's vapor rub. I love inhaling Vick's vapor rub when I feel congested. It sucks that I can actually pinpoint the exact time I got sick. It was yesterday. Such a nice day. I was feeling great then all of a sudden at 12:30 pm my throat felt scratchy. Then I felt a sudden chill. Oh crap, I'm getting sick. I had Tylenol in my purse so I quickly took a dose but the chills did not go away. I drank some hot chocolate. Still feeling cold. That's when I knew it was going to be a long day. On my way home I picked up some Nyquil to help me sleep. I did not know that I needed to be 18 to buy medication! I guess it makes sense since the bottle indicated that Nyquil had 10% alcohol. I actually do take my Nyquil like alcohol, chase it with some juice. Ah, the start of the winter season.

You Know...

Your family is full of alcoholics when at Thanksgiving you test each other on the ingredients in various cocktails. Yeah we tested each other just to see if we could stump each other. We always look forward to get togethers so we can just sit back and have a few drinks. My family loves playing drinking games. One Thanksgiving, we were in the backyard playing BS and if you got caught telling a lie, you gotta take a shot of hennessey or jack. After a couple of lies you'll be goooone! Ok, maybe my family likes to drink a little too much, but it seems like that's what our generation is known for...drinking. At least we'll all be in AA together one day.

Chocolate in Candy Form Please

My nephew's birthday was on Thanksgiving and they had chocolate cake. Everyone was eating the cake and admitting how much they love chocolate cake. My cousin handed me a piece of chocolate cake and I politely refused the slice because I had to admit it. I don't like chocolate cake. Everyone was shocked as if I committed a sin. Don't get me wrong, I love chocolate. Chocolates are my weakness. But I'll only break my diet at the sight of chocolates when it comes in candy form. Please don't hate me when I confess that I don't like brownies, chocolate cake, and even chocolate ice cream. What's funny is that I will not have a chocolate shake if it has chocolate ice cream but I'll have a chocolate shake if it has vanilla ice cream with chocolate syrup. And I can taste the difference. I know it sounds weird but that's how I like my chocolate.

Thanksgiving Rules

Thanksgiving to me means to be surrounded with family and lots of great food. It's rare to have my whole family together nowadays because we're all busy now but Thanksgiving is one of the holidays where my whole family is under one roof. Over the years, we've established some unwritten rules that we live by in my family during Thanksgiving.

1. Survival of the fastest. It's tradition that everyone brings at least one dish and once that dish is set on the table, you better get a portion of it as fast as you can. You blink and it might be gone.

2. Once you find a seat (which is rare), you better not stand up. Your seat will be occupied once you stand up. So I'm thankful for my cousin's boyfriend for standing up so I can steal his chair since my cousin stole my chair.

3. We start the Thanksgiving at noon and eat all day until the food is all gone.

4. Even as adults, the saying 'finders keepers, losers weepers' still goes. If you pack food to take home later, you better hide the food. It doesn't matter if it has your name on it. If someone finds it and likes it, they will eat it.

These rules may sound crazy to you but that's what I love about my family. We take food serious and we love to eat.

What I'm Not Thankful For

I know I should be thankful for everything but what I am not thankful for is the fact that I have to work late on Wednesday while everyone in the company gets to leave early. Granted my coworker stayed behind as well, but I just found out that I could have left early if the damn managers took some responsibility and fixed this OS 6 days ago when the fix was available. Instead, they waited until the last minute as usual to release it to me and of course there were issues. Issues that could have been prevented if they took someone's advice and fixed it. Their excuse to not fixing it earlier was because they weren't sure if this fix will break something else. Well at least they would have had 6 extra days to find another fix if the OS broke instead of making me stay behind the day before a holiday. It sucks how I have to suffer for someone's irresponsibility. I definitely need a vacation after this. I'm leaving early on Monday just to make up for my time tonight. I hate being salaried.

Life Doesn't Slow Down For Anyone

Wow! I can't believe Thanksgiving is coming up in a matter of a few days. Life sure doesn't slow down for anyone. You blink and you can be left behind. I can still remember the beginning of this year like it was yesterday. Next thing I know, it'll be New Years and I'll be ringing 2008 the same way I rang it every New Years eve. I remember when I was young, I couldn't wait till I was an adult. Now that I am an adult, all I want in life is to slow down. I'm really tempted to quit my job and travel around the world for a year. Am I having a quarter life crisis? If only I was brave enough to just pick up and leave. I think just the idea of quitting my job requires more bravery then picking up and leaving. My goal in 2008 is to at least travel somewhere, anywhere. I hear Europe is calling me for the summer. We shall see...

This is Just a Taste

So Town Square just opened up near the airport on Wednesday and I was really excited to check it out. They've been working on the project for some time now and it's near my work so I see the construction workers building stuff all the time. Wednesday morning, my friend leaves me a comment on myspace asking me if I want to check it out. I wasn't prepared to go shopping but I suggested we go during my lunch break. The best part of being salaried is that no one watches your every move. It's so relaxed. So it's 11:45am and Kathrina picks me up and we head off to Town Square. We were pretty much just walking aimlessly and taking random pictures. This has got to be the best lunch break I've had in a long time. Random shopping trips are the best especially when the weather is nice and you have great company. The moment we walked into H&M, I fell in love with the store. I couldn't buy anything since I had to go back to work, but as Kathrina said, "this is just a taste of H&M. We will definitely go back and do some damage." I did go back later that night and did some damage to my credit card in H&M. I guess so much damage that my credit card company called me the next day to make sure it was me who actually charged the clothes to the credit card. Glad to know that my credit card company monitors all the charges.

We Won How Much?

When my friends and I first turned 21, we would always go to this ghetto bar for their cheap drinks. Even thought it was ghetto and creepy guys always hit on us, we kept on coming back. What better way to celebrate a reunion then to drink up at Ellis Island Casino. After lots of shots, we all headed to Tangerine for some drunk dancing. My friends Aprille, Julia, and I were tired so we decided to wait for the rest of our group in the casino so we can rest our feet by sitting at a Wheel of Fortune slot machine. We were minding our own business by gossiping and taking pictures with one another when some random guy came up to us and asked what we were doing. We thought he was trying to hit on us, so we said we were doing nothing and continued on with our conversations. He then said, "do something useful, here's $8. Go gamble." So Aprille told me to put in 5 bucks while she was pushing the buttons. Being drunk, we didn't know what we were doing. Aprille decides to see how much 'max bet' was by pushing it. We realized that it's 4 bucks down the drain. Or so we thought. We watch the screen light up 'bonus, bonus, bonus' and in the center of all the machines was a gigantic wheel that started spinning.

Aprille: Holy crap we are spinning the wheel!
all: Wow! x400! What's x400 come out to with 5 cents?
Me: 20 bucks?
all: Yay we won 20 bucks!

The screen showed otherwise. It showed that we won 100 dollars!

all: Holy shit! We f*ckin' won 100 bucks! Quick cash out!

As we're taking pictures of our $100 ticket, the guy who gave us the money walked over and asked us if we won anything. Aprille being the sly one takes the ticket and hides it while I being the quick thinking one said, 'Oh, we're just putting in the 3 bucks right now.' I'm sure he heard us say we won since the three of us were loud, drunk, and 100 dollars richer. As we showed him we lost the 3 bucks, we left him to find a cashier to cash the ticket.

How Much Did I Spend?!

So a few days ago my friend Angela asked me how much I spend on a monthly basis every month. My response. 'I have no idea and I don't want to know!' I seriously didn't want to know because I know I spend a lot more then I want to. I try to keep a budget but everyone knows budgets are made to be broken. I like to call it my flexible budget. Anyways, for the month of October, she spent over a grand, which was shocking because we didn't even see each other at all. So our conversation got me curious as to how much I spent almost 800 bucks on food and entertainment. Just to let you know, I still live at home with my parents so I don't even pay rent. 800 bucks isn't that much. It's when I saw the month of June. June was pretty much an evil month. I spent almost six grand! I paid off my car around that month but it was only three grand. Not sure where the other two grand went! It freaked me out. I need to start keeping track of my money. This just makes me more stressed then I really am. Great. Thanks Angela!

In other news, I can't wait till Thanksgiving. It will be nice to see the family together for the first time since my grandmother passed away. It'll be different this year but at least we're still a close-knit family.

Reply ASAP Please.

Not sure why I'm feeling like this but for some reason I've been feeling anxious lately. Or maybe a little bit stressed. Or is it annoyed? I'm not sure, it might be a mixture of all those age-increasing moods. When a developer sends an email request to release their product and it sits in our inbox for more then 10 minutes, something inside of me wants to yell out at the newbies to wake up and reply to the damn email. I'm not sure if they just stare at the email for a few minutes but it bugs the crap out of me! I'm so used to replying within a minute that when it sits longer then that I'm fighting the urge to reply to the email myself. Come to think of it, I might be having one of those monthly moods because who really feels this way with emails? It might be a deeper issue maybe I'll save that later with an appropriate title so my one reader can just skip over that post. For now, I'll leave it at this. When you see an email and you're not busy, reply to it! Please! Save me from insanity and maybe having high blood pressure.

Almost Hitting a Kid

Am I old or are kids these days have a different perspective of what's fun? Earlier tonight, I was driving in the parking lot of a casino looking for a parking spot when two teenagers purposely ran right in front of my car for amusement. I was freaking out because I almost hit them, but they were joking with one another that they almost got hit by a car. Their other friends caught up with them and they were yelling out loud about how this wasn't the first time they almost got hit by a car. It seems that kids nowadays think they're untouchable and won't get hurt. Or maybe they think that since they are on the receiving end of the accident, they'll get compensated for their injuries and be set for life. Whatever, maybe one day they'll learn their lesson that life is too short to be putting their lives in danger.

Tweek Ow Tweet

It's so cute when little kids can't pronounce their r's especially when they're saying 'trick or treat' with a huge smile.

What Happened to Watching Our Backs?

Since I started working for my current employer, the senior engineer would constantly remind me that we work as a team and we watch each other's back. If we see someone is backed up, we help pick up some requests to take the load off their backs. We help each other when someone doesn't understand. So when the senior engineer discovered a mistake the new girl did, he said he'll cover it up from our manager and help fix the problem. He called the operating system's manager and confessed to him what the problem was and told him it was our fault. While he was releasing the new operating system to cover up the mistake, our manager needed his help so he asked me to finish the release. It was no problem for me since operating systems are easy now. I was able to release the OS to our testers by 4pm and that's when it went downhill from there.

I sent the OS without saying why a file was changed. I didn't think we needed to send out an email to everyone that states it was our fault a file was changed if it wasn't discovered by our testers in the first place. Our senior engineer made a big deal out of it and said that since I had more experience then the new people, I should step it up by realizing I needed to make a note of the change. And then he goes on saying that he went out of his way to prevent our manager from finding out this mistake and I should have appreciated his nobility. Then next time he will not help us out and we will be on our own. Talk about being selfish. The only thing he did was not rat out the new girl for her mistake. I could have done that! He barely spent any time on the OS. I was the one who spent 6 hours releasing the f-in' OS. He's always been a jackass, but I thought with new people in our department, he would mellow out. Guess not.

I've Been Sober For...

Not sure what made me think I could kick the drinking habit but it sure didn't work last night. Last night I had my first drink in over a month. And you know what? If felt good. Oooh so good. I missed drinking and last night I made up for my month long thirst. My friend Kathrina and I went to two Halloween parties where peer pressure made me break my sobriety. It was the mention of Jager that made me break it. And also the power of convincing my new friend Cheryl the DD to take a shot with me. No worries, she only had one shot and a beer. She was good to drive. Me on the other hand had about 4 shots back to back and I was nowhere near good to drive. Good thing Kathrina was my DD. After leaving the first party, we had to stop at a gas station because I had to go to the bathroom. Going into the next party, I was greeted by many hugs since I disappeared for a month. Don't worry guys, I won't disappear that long again. Even though Halloween had a slow start, it was a great holiday as usual. I love Halloween.

Just a Spoon Full of Cinnamon

It's impossible but funny to watch.

If you can do it, you rock.

Brace Face at My Age

I hate going to the dentist because they always give you bad news. I floss everyday and brush my teeth at least twice a day. What more can a girl do? Apparently, that's not enough. On my last visit to the chair, my dentist recommended I get braces. Braces?! I'm 23 already. By the time I get them off, I'll be....old enough to be past the brace face age. I've always said that I wanted braces to fix my imperfect teeth, but I didn't realize all the imperfections until my dentist pointed them out. Apparently I have an overbite that requires jaw surgery to correct my bite. My dentist only wants what's best for me, but is it really necessary to get JAW SURGERY?? It's surgery! If I get this surgery done, I won't be able to eat for a few days and after that, I'll be able to eat soft foods for weeks. This is a dieter's dream! But the pain. I have such a low threshold for pain. Alcohol might have to compete with viccadin for my attention. I'm going to call an orthodontist just to get a consultation. And if surgery is necessary, I'll have some thinking to do.

We're Meant to Be Friends

Everyone seems to know everyone, especially in Las Vegas. It's pretty much 6 degrees of [insert your name here]. I thought that my work life would be different since we're all different ages. Nope. Doesn't work that way. Yesterday, I was sent to a different department to fix their network. I was sitting at this woman's computer fixing her network when I minimized all her windows to reveal her desktop picture. What was on that desktop you ask? It was a picture of her children. What was my connection? I went to high school with her daughter! I haven't seen her daughter since we graduated high school, so it was exciting to see that we can reconnect again without having to wait for our 10 year high school reunion. I've been working with this woman for over a year and we just found out I went to school with her daughter. Amazing how life brings people together.

Bite of Las Vegas

Bite of Las Vegas is a charity event full of food and music to help a worthy cause....Hunger. People brought canned foods and the money raised will benefit the homeless shelters in Vegas as well. For 8 bucks I was able to see Colbie Caillat, Vanessa Carlton, and Fuel perform. My friends and I wanted to see Lifehouse, but apparently 50 mph wind is a bit too dangerous to get on the stage. It was disappointing since we were there mainly for Lifehouse but walking back to our car was on our minds more then missing Lifehouse. Some people would think that being in a wind storm in 60 degree weather was not worth it to see these artists but it was well worth it. The best part of Bite of Las Vegas was when Vanessa Calrton was performing 'White Houses' and in the middle of her performance she blurted out,'Oh crap, I forgot the fucking words to the song'. I swear she was drinking that day because she also forgot an intro to another song. It made her performance more entertaining and her mistakes just meant she wasn't lip syncing unlike other artists...ahem Britney. Overall, I can't wait till next year!

She Hates Me Because...part 2

So I forgot to update you on this whole situation because it's pretty much high school drama 5 years too late. I'm not sure why drama seems to be following me nowadays, but I want it to stay in high school! So the reason why Linda hates me is because she thinks I'm a freeloader which I know is untrue because I'm very generous with my money. There was one incident where she assumed that I said that our friend Bobby will buy me all my drinks. In my defense, I was minding my own business with a friend at a casino waiting for them to finish at the bar when he handed me and a friend a drink and walked away. My friend asked me how much the drink was and I said I don't know but Bobby said it was for us. Does that one little incident make me a freeloader? I don't think so! I returned the favor to Bobby by pitching in and buying him a digital camera for his birthday. A freeloader doesn't do that man.

But the cowardly thing my friend Jill told me was that the last time I saw Linda, she was trying to convince her friend to fight me. Come on! Do the dirty work yourself bitch! Anyways, so that's the whole drama and I don't even care about it. I know she won't do anything because she's too chicken sh*t to. She wanted someone else to do it.

It's a Sign...Literally

Last night was the first Halloween party of 2007. It's never too early to have a Halloween party. Come on! Halloween should be celebrated the whole month! When can girls dress up in slutty clothes and get away with it? We need to let loose for a whole month to make up for the 11 other months we're inhibited. An hour before meeting up with my friend Kathrina, she called me with some surprising news. Our friend Carla was joining us which was a big surprise since I haven't seen her in months. When we arrived at Kathrina's house, we were trying to figure out when was the last time we were all together. We thought it was Carla's birthday in November 2006! But we realized we were together for our friend Rei's birthday back in March. It's still a long time ago. After stopping by two other parties, we were finally on our way to the party in Anthem, which is a housing community known for their gorgeous homes, when we passed a street called 'Reunion'. We all got excited because it was literally a reunion for us and we just passed a street sign 'Reunion'. We probably sound like dorks but that's how we are. We like to celebrate the smallest things. We even tried to take a picture with the sign but it was too far and high for us. We were fine by it because to us it was just seeing the sign during this little reunion that counted.

Dads and Periods

Girls like to openly discuss how periods are a punishment from God and complain about why do we have to suffer every month. My friend Tiff and I were discussing periods and this reminded me of a conversation I had a few years back with my dad about the same subject.

Rewind back to 2003. I'm at a hotel getting ready for my cousin's wedding while my family is at my aunt's house. As a bride's maid, I get to get my hair did and my make up done by a make up artist. Before it was my turn, I went to the bathroom but came back in the room horrified because I've been punished by God. I asked if anyone had something for my monthly punishment but to my disappointment, no one had anything. I called my mom but my dad picked up the phone.

Me: Hey dad, can I talk to mom?
Dad: Why?
Me: Because, I just need to talk to her.
Dad: Why? You can't talk to your dad? You use to tell me everything.
Me: I just need to tell her something.
Dad: Well you can tell me.
Me: I just got my period. Can you bring me a pad?
Dad: Here's your mother.

There are just some things a dad doesn't want to hear and one of it is 'can you bring me a pad?' Now whenever I ask for my mom, he never asks why. He just hands her the phone.

The Fork in the Road

I've been traveling in the real world for over a year now and I've come across a fork in the middle of my journey and I don't know what to do. Like all forks in the road, the opportunities for the different paths are all unique. Should I leave this comfortable position I've established or journey out to the unknown with the possibility of great opportunities being thrown at me? I'm not one to make big decisions towards the unknown. That's how I got stuck here in Vegas. After college I ran into a similar fork and I chose the safe route with minimal opportunities. Maybe it's time be brave enough to take that leap. Who knows, maybe I'll even fly.

It's Called Being Cultured

We need some culture in this fast pace city we call home every once in awhile. I always look forward to Shakespeare in the Park when it comes to Las Vegas. But my friends think otherwise. They think plays are pretty boring. It's good to have a wide range of hobbies instead of the usual hobbies that plagues the 20 something crowd. They were playing ‘Twelfth Night’ and when I was watching the play I realized that the movie She’s the Man is a modernized remake of the play. And let me say that for it being October, it was really cold last night. I thought I was going to be comfortable with just a sweater, a beanie, and a blanket. We even brought hot chocolate to try and keep ourselves warm. Nope, we were freezing our butts off and once the play was finished, we were glad we found a close parking spot. Once in the car, we blasted the heat. It was a good experience and next year, I'll know that even if it's October, we should bring more blankets then we need. Just in case.

She Hates Me Because...

There's this girl whom I met last year through a few of my friends and she instantly hated me. Was it my personality? Was it because my friend Bobby had a crush on me and she secretly had a crush on him? I thought it was the latter because she hated Bobby's ex-girlfriend of 7 years too. But it was neither. I just found out from my friend Jill that Linda hates me because she thinks I'm a freeloader. Shocking isn't it? I'm not mad at her assumption of me because I know I'm not a freeloader and when people make assumptions, you know the saying right? They make an ass out of themselves. Ok, that's not the saying but it works for this situation. She has only hung out with me like at most 5 times. So I'm not sure how she got the assumption I'm a freeloader. Granted, when people offer me to buy me drinks, of course I'll accept it. Who in their right mind turns down a free drink? I offer to buy rounds of drinks for my close friends. I give them presents on their birthdays. So how does she think I'm a freeloader? Not sure how she got the idea I was a freeloader but Jill promised me the whole story later. I hate when people give me cliff hanger stories. I'm so impatient that I make up the ending myself. For now I'll have to wait.

Flakers

Is it even worth trying to stay friends with flakers? I have a friend that is known as a flaker in our little circle of friends. We all know never to invite her because we already know she'll never show up. I love the girl to death, but I'm getting tired of trying to get her to hang out with us. I'm not saying she's an awful friend or anything. Overlooking the fact that she never puts the effort to see her friends, she is a sweetheart. But how can you be a friend when you don't see them? Her main excuse is that she's tired. Tired from what? Yes she works and goes to school but that's what college is all about. Balancing your life in the real world. All my friends work and go to school and still have time for people once in awhile. You know when was the last time I saw her? July 7, 2007. Guess it was my lucky day huh? Sometimes I feel like this friendship is a lost cause and in the next year I'll probably stop trying and we'll never see each other again. She already deleted her myspace. Once her facebook is gone, I'm sure our friendship will be as well. Friendships are like relationships. It can't just be one sided. Eventually that person will stop trying and the friendship will eventually fade away. It's sad but that's life. People will come and go in your life, it's the one's who fight to stay in your life that matters. Hopefully she will fight to stay in my life even if it's just a little while.

Playing Telephone

It's amazing how a story can be misconstrued when so many people are telling the same story to other people. This is my life story of the game called telephone. Remember playing that when you were a kid and how the beginning story is never the same in the end? Well, yesterday my friend Jill told me the some news she heard from our friend Abbie. Remember on my birthday when my friends plotted a birthday present for me? Well, the next day I realized that he and I didn't have anything in common and I was just lusting over his physical features. Yes he's cute, but he's boring as hell. Anyways, back to the subject. Telephone. Yes. Jill told me that Mr. cute but boring told people that I was calling him after my birthday asking for closure and that I was extremely sad that he never called me back. My response? WTF?! CLOSURE?! Why would I need closure? And I've never called him even when I was attracted to him. I was pretty pissed off because I found out he also told people we slept together when we didn't. What are we? In high school? And then he tells people that I'm sad that he didn't call me and I need closure?? With me pissed off, Jill was getting fired up and was ready to beat the crap out of his lying ass. Trying to find out the whole story, Jill called Abbie again to find out more details. Apparently, Abbie heard from our friend Thuy who heard my side of the story of what happened the night of my birthday. What I told Thuy was, yes Chris and I semi-hooked up. Sorry kids, no sex was involved. I'm not one to sleep around but of course other things happened. Just use your imagination. And I told Thuy that I'm disappointed in how ungentleman-like he was acting for not even calling me to make sure I didn't wake up with a hangover or anything. Last year I met my now good friend Shawn the night of my birthday through a friend. The next day of my 22nd birthday, he made sure I was okay by calling me and I didn't know him at the time! But anyways, I'm not sure how she interpreted that story to I kept calling him after my birthday and wanted closure but that's what I get for putting my business out there. Abbie apologized to me for bringing up some drama and told me that Chris never said that. But I did find out that he's avoiding me. I'm sure it's because I didn't sleep with him. What a cowardly creep. Thank goodness for boring guys.

Autumn

Autumn is what I look forward to every year in Las Vegas. You can't beat the 80 degree weather with a light breeze. I love wearing sweaters and the 80 degree weather will be enough to get me to wear a light sweater. The only thing Las Vegas lacks is the changing of leaves that signifies Autumn. I've always wanted to experience a true Autumn season by walking through an accumulation of red, yellow, orange, and brown leaves. I will one day go to New York and run through Central Park with the deep autumn colored leaves crunching at my feet.

People say smell is the best sense to vividly trigger a memory. The smell of pumpkin spices and apple pie stimulates my memory of past holidays with my family which leaves me excited for the upcoming holidays. Thanksgiving and Christmas are the holidays where my family is big on traditions. This may sound corny but my family loves to have a color-themed holiday. A couple of years ago girls had to wear pink, and the guys had to wear brown. I can't remember what our theme was last year, but I'm looking forward to what it will be this year. Although, this year will be different now that both my grandparents are gone. We were worried that when my grandmother passed away earlier this year that this family will rarely see each other. But we've proven that traditions will still live on even if the matriarch is no longer with us. We just have two angels watching over us now. Making sure we keep the traditions we grew up with through the years.

Sugar Daddies

Every woman says they want one, but it's mostly in a joking matter. I always playfully ask for a sugar daddy. But of course I don't need one because I don't really want to be financially dependent on someone. To me, nothing lasts forever. If I am financially dependent on a man and that relationship ends, I'll be screwed.

After work today, I went to an electronic store waiting for time to pass before my friend went on her lunch break. We met at the cafe and stood in line so she could pay for her lunch. We were talking when we were interrupted by a man who was paying for his food in front of us. He looked our way and apologized to the cashier by saying he was being distracted by a beautiful girl. At first I didn't think he was talking about us. So I tried to confirm it wasn't us by looking behind us only to find that no one was there. He finished paying for his food then came up to me.

"Hi I'm Robert. What are you studying?"

Turning red from embarrassment, I was able to answer him with "I'm finished with school."

"Oh, what do you do?"

Trying to get my hand back from the hand shake, I said, "I'm an engineer."

"I studied engineering as an undergrad then I did business because no company can afford me. I love to travel and I'm looking for my princess to spoil."

My facial expression screamed 'help me!' as he continued to speak. He handed me his card and asked me to call him so he can spoil me. He walked away and my friend asked me if we've spoken before meeting in the cafe. I told her I've never seen him in my life. It was so random! My friend said he reminds her of a recruiter for the porn industry. I reassured her that I'm not going to call him because he totally creeped me out for being that forward. When I said I wanted a sugar daddy, I didn't mean a creepy cocky sugar daddy who looks like he could be a child molester.

I guess the lesson here is always be prepared for what you ask for because you might just get it even if it's not exactly what you expected it to be.

Oh, My Aching Back

Aching back and not being able to bend over to pick up something are symptoms of what older people experience right? Unfortunately for me, at 23, I'm experiencing these symptoms. A little worried, I had my chiropractor cousin take a look at my back and see if he can align my back so I didn't have to live with the pain. He tells me to stand with my back to him so he can examine my posture. Apparently my left shoulder is higher then my right and my right hip is higher then my left. What a great combination I have. He told me that by touching certain problem points will turn the muscle on and off. He explained how he turned some of my muscles on and off but there was one point where he couldn't turn it back on. All I kept saying was, "turn it back on! I don't want it to be off!" I never thought I would ever say turn on my muscle. Such an awkward sentence. He said that my back is unusual where sometimes the muscles will be turned on and other times it'll be off. He was able to find the exact spot where I was having the majority of my pain and he even found a problem spot I didn't realize I had pain until he touched it. He told me what he did will temporarily fix me until he is able to work with me more. At least I'm able to bend over without any pain. Yes, I realize I just wrote that sentence and you probably have dirty thoughts right now. If not, then I'm the only one with dirty thoughts at the moment.

I'm Tired!

September is such a popular month for birthdays! Every week since the beginning of the month there have been at least two people I know who has a birthday to celebrate. And guess what, I'm exhausted! It's been fun, but I'm ready to hibernate for awhile. I know, I know, my twenties are suppose to be the most exciting time of my life where I push my body to its limits and go out and party all the time and waking up the next day in pain from the choices I made from the night before signifies that I had an awesome night. I guess this is why a lot of people don't finish college until they are in their mid 20s since their education takes a back seat to the indulgence of alcohol. I guess I’ve reached my body’s limit and I’ve been feeling exhausted lately. All last week, I was excited to go home to do nothing but watch tv and sleep at 9:30. I guess everyone goes through a homebody phase and just wants to do nothing but hangout at home and watch movies on the couch snuggled up under a warm blanket. My friends say it’s the changing weather, but I know my body. It’s exhausted and I need a break. So for now, after this weekend*, I’m taking a break. If I do go out I'll want to be home by midnight. Something I haven't done in years, but I think it's needed. And it will also help me cut back on my alcohol consumption. I'm trying to decrease my tolerance so I don't need to have 5 drinks just to get a buzz. Shocking how a tiny Asian chick can drink so much huh? Alright nightlife, see you later until my body rejuvenates itself!

* I say after this weekend because I already agreed to have a girl’s night out with my girlfriends. I couldn't say no to free tickets to Beacher’s Madhouse. And plus, I have to end my partying month on a high note, it’s only fair for my body.

Kids Say the Darndest Things

Me: Hi sweetie, what's your name?
Kid: Carla. What's your name?
Me: I'm Monica.
Kid: Where's your hunnie?
Me: Whaaat? I don't have a hunnie.

It's so cute hearing a 5 year old girl ask me where my hunnie is. You don't realize how much kids can pick up just by hearing you talk to your friends in front of them until they use it against you.

You Got Caked!

My sister and I celebrated our birthdays together on Saturday. It was a nice afternoon with lots of food, family, and close friends. What I didn't expect was getting caked. My friends used my own weakness against me, taking pictures. I love getting my picture taken and so my friend JenJen said that she wanted to take a picture of the two birthday girls. She had the camera ready but she paused for a second. Then the countdown began. Oooooone. Twwoooooo. Threeeeee. Then Bam! My sister and I both got cake in our faces and it was all captured on camera. My mom was already use to our friends caking each other that all she did was get the dust pan and cleaned up the cake on the floor like it was nothing. I have to admit, it was a good plan. All the years I've known them, they finally got me. Good job! Just watch out on your birthdays because you know how the saying goes. "Paybacks a bitch!"

Are You Interested?

Sinn: You remember my friend Moses?
Me: Vaguely. Why?
Sinn: He has the hots for you. You interested?
Me: No
Sinn: He's really nice.
Me: No
Sinn: He's really sweet and can treat you really nice, but he kinda has extra baggage.
Me: Hell no

I will never ask my friend to set me up if he thinks I want a guy with extra baggage. I'm not that desperate!

Immature Boys

Ok so maybe not all boys suck, but I think just the boys I seem to attract that suck. As you can tell I didn’t use ‘men’ because it seems that only immature boys do this. If we didn't have sex, don't tell everyone we did! I was not that drunk that I don't remember us having sex. It was actually me sobering up that stopped us from continuing to what would have lead to sex. This isn’t high school where you have to lie about what happened. Eventually everyone will know the truth and now everyone thinks you’re a jackass. Thanks for showing me your true colors and that I can do better then you no matter how hot you are.

Birthday Weekend

Last night a couple of my friends and I decided to celebrate my birthday once more. We went to melting pot and ate some chocolate fondue. It was good but too sweet for me. I drank about 3 glasses of water to cut down the sweetness. Then we went to a nearby bar and we literally went around the building looking for the entrance. We parked right near the entrance but for some reason we missed the gigantic door. I guess we were too busy talking that we weren't paying attention. Or maybe we were distracted by the lamest pick up line. This guy was driving by and yelled 'ay bay bay' at us. We pretty much just walked away and laughed while he kept trying to get our attention. Seriously, are we still in high school? Think before opening your mouth.

Then we were off to a house party for my friend Bailey's 22nd birthday. At first I didn't want to go to the party because I don't know that many people there and I was with my friend Angela and she doesn't know anyone there. I didn't want her to feel awkward with a bunch of strangers. When I walked in, a lot of people looked familiar. I've met a lot of them at least once but I just didn't know their names which was funny because they knew my name. But last night, lots of juicy gossip was being spread around about Andrew, the last guy I dated. That punk ass is a little bitch. He's so whooped that it's amusing to us. He's such a gold digger that he doesn't realize that he's sacrificing his manhood for money. But I guess that works both ways. When women are gold diggers, they do whatever it takes to keep the man happy in order to get whatever she wants. Where are all the decent people in the world nowadays?

Third Times a Charm

Happy Birthday to me! Yesterday I celebrated my 21st birthday for the 3rd time. I can't believe I'm 23 already. And guess what! This time I didn't throw up and I remember everything. 3rd times a charm! I told everyone I wanted to remember this birthday so they helped me get that nice buzz and kept me hydrated. They knew when I had hit my limit and made sure I didn't drink anymore until I started sobering up and then gave me another drink. The only thing I don't remember is how much I drank. My friend Angela said when she saw me, I had about 5 drinks and I know I had a few more before I saw her. My friends are so awesome. And their birthday present for me? They had this guy I was crushing on make out with me. Thanks guys. Planning things behind my back. Buuuuut I'm not complaining.

Promotions Are For Losers

Today was my yearly review at work. Last year I didn't do so well only because I was new to the company and they didn't have much to base the review on. So a year has passed and my boss had a lot to say about me. He believes that even though I'm still a junior engineer, he considers me the leader of our department of 4 people. He says that my personality is really laid back but also professional when I need to be. I'm always calm and I can explain issues thoroughly so everyone can understand how to fix them.

So how did my review go? My average was a 4.05/5 which was pretty good compared to last year, but not good enough for a promotion. My boss said that since there's only 3 of us, he can only promote one person and it's not my year. He assured me that next year will be my year and that he'll fight for a big promotion. Riiiight. I'll believe that when I see my paycheck. He was calculating some random numbers on his calculator and according to his calculations, next year I'll be making 12k more. That doesn't sound right does it? I think he miscalculated from the pressure of doing simple math in front of me. But I better get a raise next year or else I'm quiting! It makes sense though right? You can't be at a company for 3 years and not get promoted. Especially when your boss says you're doing an excellent job. He constantly praises me yet no promotion. So if next year is not my year, I'm sure I can find different job where I can climb the ladder within a year. And if I make 12k more, that would be awesome.

Anonymity

I've decided to remove my picture for now just in case my work finds my blog. I don't want to make my blog private, for that one reader I have out there. But I don't want my work to see that I've been writing during work hours. Hey, I've read that most Americans pretty much slack at work and surf the net during work hours. They were able to find my myspace when I first started work so that's now private. There's no privacy anymore!

A Bad Side of Town

You know you're in the ghetto when you're in the parking lot saying bye to your friends when a helicopter above you is circling the building right next to you with a spotlight focused on God only knows what. My friends and I were leaving a bar and we were just hanging out in the parking lot. You know how it is. Saying goodbye takes a good 30 minutes when you’re with good friends. And those goodbyes also include taking pictures. In the middle of our picture taking session, we hear a helicopter come and we think it’s just passing by. Nope, it stayed near us and started circling Crystal Palace, an indoor skating rink. We hurry up and take our pictures together and said our goodbyes because if there was any type of criminal activity going on, we don’t want to get caught in the middle. The only upside of a criminal activity is we can have our 5 minutes of fame and get on the local news. Other then that, the thought of any crime at night in the middle of the ghetto is not too appealing. When half of my friends leave, the other half and I tried to decide what to do for the rest of the night. Come on, it’s 1:30am and it’s too early to head home. As we’re discussing where to go, a cop in a SUV pulls into the parking lot. To me, a helicopter and a cop in a SUV pretty much means that everyone should leave right away and that’s what we did.

My First Country Bar

My friend Monica celebrated her birthday a few days early last night at Dylan’s, a country bar. Yea we have the same name, and our birthdays are pretty close together. But anyways, when she told me we were going there, I automatically said, ‘I’ve never been to a country bar.’ In her evil voice she said, ‘Nice. We’re going to make you line dance!’ It might be the Asian in me, or I might just be deprived from the country scene, but I asked, ‘What’s line dancing?’ But then I realized that I might know what line dancing was. I confirmed with her that the electric slide is indeed line dancing and that is the only one I know (which they didn’t play!)

We’re sitting at the bar listening to country music and watching people line dance when Monica kept looking at her watch. I asked if she’s checking what time it is so she can leave soon. And she said she’s waiting for midnight because they play hip hop. HIP HOP?! Yea don’t get too excited. They played two hip hop songs which were a few years old. Apparently, if they play hip hop, the DJ gets charged 100 bucks each song he plays. So we head to the dance floor dancing when after the second song, they go back to country with a ‘simple’ line dance. Monica’s friend Judith was teaching me and after awhile I got the hang of it. Off the dance floor Monica felt accomplished to have the Asian girl who’s never stepped in a country bar line dance. Then this one song came on where they tell you what to do. I think it’s like a new version of the electric slide. That was my favorite because I just had to listen to the song. Seeing people try not to pull a muscle while trying to stay on that mechanical bull was quite amusing. Overall, it was a nice experience but I don’t think I’ll be visiting anytime soon. At least I can say I’ve been to a country bar and I've line danced.

The Other Side of Me

It’s funny how everyone will only show certain sides of their personalities to certain people. Last night I was at E-bar with some friends when we were talking about what I do for a living.

Esther: What do you actually do for a living?
Me: I’m a software release engineer, also known as being in cubicle hell.
Esther: I can’t picture you as an engineer. The Monica I know is a drinker and a partier.
Me: I do other things besides drinking and partying, you know!
Esther: I know, but to me, engineering and Monica do not mix.

I guess it’s because a lot of my friends are still in college that it’s hard to believe that I actually have a grown up job. Well, a job that I can probably call a career but I don’t. A career just sounds too grown up for me and I’m everything but that, a grown up. I’m not ready to leave behind my childhood just yet.

Internet Redneck Style

This has got to be the craziest thing ever. Type in a web address and the website translate the whole site in whatever slang you choose. My favorite is the redneck.

Making the internet Redneck friendly

A Date?

So…I think I have a date tomorrow. I met this guy through a friend about a year and a half ago and ever since then, he’s been trying to get my friend to hook us up. After being unsuccessful for about 3 months, he gave up. I was just not attracted to him and I have way too many walls up to give him a chance. We talked every now and then about random stuff through myspace but that’s about it…until last week. He messaged me asking if I wanted to hang out with his friends because it was someone’s birthday. I made an excuse saying I was too tired from my vacation to do anything. Well it wasn’t really an excuse. I was genuinely tired. I barely slept while I was in California. Then he said, one day we are going to have dinner because you’ll run out of excuses. So I felt bad so I said I’ll have dinner with him on Friday if I don’t do overtime at work. I’ve been told that in order to find the right guy, you should give everyone a chance (everyone as in both guys and girls? Not sure if this person knows I only swing one way...towards men). So I figured, why not give him a chance and get free dinner while I’m at it. Awesome deal!

I'm Moving!

I'm moving....not homes, but cubicles. Actually, my cubicle is practically my home. I’ve been working more hours ever since I got back from vacation. Smart move boss! You gave me a vacation to replenish myself from being overworked just to overwork me when I get back from vacation. Nice. I wish I wasn’t salaried so overtime would mean extra money. Anyway, back to moving. My boss told our department that we’re hiring both people we interviewed. Yes, the boring girl and the hot guy. O la la. Now I can actually look forward to going to work. The new girl will take my cube and I’ll be moved to a different cubical with the hot guy near me. Work life can’t get any better then this. Well, maybe less overtime and a raise, but we all can’t get everything we want right?

That's What Family Is For

Me: I hear you're coming down for my birthday!
Karizsa: Yea!
Me: What time will be you in Vegas?
Karizsa: I'll be there late, like 2am late.
Me: I'll be gone by then. Not gone as in leaving the club, I mean I'll be drunk by then.
Karizsa: It's ok, I'll hold back your hair for you while you throw up.
Me: You will?
Karizsa: Duh! That's what family is for.

I love my family. I'm glad my cousins will be in town for my birthday. I'll feel complete.

That's Going To Bruise.

It was dinner time and I felt lazy to wash dishes because I was extremely hot from running around the park. I suggested to my mom that we use paper plates instead of dishes so I don't have to wash the dishes. As I searched the pantry for the paper plates, I overlooked how close I was to the gigantic thermos we use when we go on picnics. It probably holds a gallon of water and it’s pretty big. Next thing I know, I feel excruciating pain shoot up my foot and telling my brain that the thermos just fell on my foot, thus signaling my mouth to yell out loud. As I limp into the kitchen with paper plates in my hand, my mom asked what happened. I told my mom that the thermos fell on my foot and you know what she asked me?

“Did you break it?”

I was expecting some sympathy since it hurt so bad that I was limping. But I didn't even get an, ‘are you ok?’ Nope! She was more concerned about the thermos. Thanks for showing me you cared mother. Pfff! I'm going to have one bruise tomorrow! Now is not a good time to be bruising since my birthday is coming up. Showing off my new tan with bruises is gonna look hot right?!

God Must Be Angry

Remember when you were a kid and a thunderstorm came, your mom would tell you it's because God was angry? Boy was God furious last night! I woke up at 2 in the morning to a deafening sound of God yelling. For a good 30 minutes, I couldn't sleep because of the thunderstorm that paid me a visit. What did I do God?! I was talking to a few coworkers and they said they woke up around that time as well because of the thunderstorm. Well at least he wasn't angry at just me.

Endless Pain

Have you ever had one of those days where you just feel like crap…all day? Man, I woke up with the worst stomach ache ever and it’s still lingering at the end of the day. I don’t know how to cure my ailing stomach. I don’t even know what medicine to take because I don’t know how to describe what I’m feeling. Growing up, I’ve been told that ginger ale or 7up will always cure a stomach ache. I tried that and it didn’t work. Just my luck huh? I start work tomorrow and the night before I have a stomach ache that won’t go away. I hope it’s just a 24 hour bug and will go away soon.

Tan Lines

In less then 2 weeks I'll be turning 23 so yesterday I started my search for the perfect birthday outfit. This outfit has to be complimenting to my curves, be low cut enough to show off my lack of assets on top and be tight enough to compliment my bottom assets. I found a long top that is long enough that I can use it as a dress. It complimented my top assets perfectly until I saw my hard work during my vacation kicking me in the ass. I spent the week in California tanning so I wouldn’t look so pale for my birthday, so when I put on the dress I saw how much darker I got. Well when I put on the dress, my chest was perfectly tanned, but my boobs were white! Talk about random tan lines! I have this lotion that’s a subtle self-tanner that I used last night. It says in a week I’ll have a nice glow. We’ll see.

Curb Talk

Vivian: Is the curb white?
Me: No
Vivian: Oh it's red?
Me: No
Vivian: Oh then it's yellow?
Me: No
Vivian: Uh, then what color is the curb?
Me: :::thinks::: Uh....ceemeent color?
Vivian: What?! (uncontrollable laughter) That means the curb is white!

I'm Monique in California

Growing up, I answered to two names, Monica and Monique. Monica is my given name and Monique is a family nickname that only family members and close family friends can call me. My friend Joyce and I have been friends since birth so she is pretty much family and she calls me Monique. Whenever I visit her in California, Joyce would take me out with her friends and she would always introduce me as 'Monique' which confuses everyone when I introduce myself as 'Monica'. Joyce tried using 'Monica' with me but it just sounded weird for the both of us so we decided that in California, I will use 'Monique' with everyone. Having two names in California reminded me of that one Las Vegas commercial when these two women come down to visit Vegas and one of the girls kept using different names to introduce them. It's fun using a different name and it's easier for me to recognize since I already use the name. I'll update on my summer vacation in California tomorrow. High School Musical 2 starts soon. I didn't get to see it over the weekend since I was out and about with Joyce. And yes, I said High School Musical 2. Got a problem with that?? I'm a kid at heart!

Beach Bum

Today is my last day of work until my vacation starts. I started working at my current job after I graduated college a little over a year ago. I am 22 and yes, this is my first job. Ever since I started this job, I haven’t had a vacation and it’s long over due. Sometimes I feel like my life is on autopilot and I just do the same thing everyday. Get up, go to work, wait for the time to pass, and then go home. It’s an endless cycle I’m excited to break tomorrow. Once in California, I was promised multiple trips to the beach so I can try and not look so pale. So for a month, I’ve been going to the gym to try and get into shape so I can look somewhat decent in a bikini. It’ll be nice to be lying on the beach, trying to get tanned, and not get caught gawking at the hot bodies. I wonder if they’ll notice if I take a picture of them. I love vacations. Even if it’s just for a week, it’s nice to get out of Vegas sometimes. But it makes me loathe Las Vegas more and more.

A Cute New Hire?

We’ve been looking for someone to hire at work for quite some time now. My department is extremely understaffed. There are currently three people in my department and that’s not including my boss. I don’t count him because he doesn’t do any releases that my coworkers and I do. Our first interview was with this new graduate and it looked promising...until she failed her drug test. Come on! If you’re interviewing for a job, there’s bound to be a drug test. Geez! So the next candidate was this cute guy who was from Colorado and had 2 years of experience. I gave him a mediocre score only because I felt like he wouldn’t want to do releases for a long time. I didn’t want to be known as pulling a Rachel Greene and hire him because he was cute. (For those of you who don’t know who Rachel Greene is, you should be ashamed of yourselves!) I was hoping my boss would look pass that and offer him a job. At first he did until we got another resume that surpassed his resume. We interviewed this girl and she seemed very interested, but a bit boring. Anyways, the cute candidate called my boss and asked how the interview went and my boss was straightforward with him. He was asking too much and we felt that he wouldn’t enjoy releasing games as much. He said he’s willing to do anything, even a pay cut! And then the boring candidate called right after saying she’s really interested. My boss is considering hiring both people. Deep down, I’m praying the cute guy gets the job. Even though he might not be happy staying there for so long, who cares! I’ll finally work with someone cute! I’m tired of working with middle aged married men or foreign men where I need a translator to communicate with them.

My List

So I was talking to my good friend Tiff about what I want to do with my life and that I always say I want to do things, but I'm never brave enough to take the initiative to do them. She suggested making a list of things I want to do near and far. So here it is! My list!

1. Visiting Europe has always been my dream. But I don’t just want to visit Europe. I want to live in the UK or in France for a year. Italy or Spain is dangerous for me because Spanish and Italian men are so suave that I might never come back to America.

2. Visit Japan, Australia, and the Philippines.

3. Take a cooking class or go to culinary school and be a certified baker.

4. Learn a different language or fine tune the languages I already know.

5. Skydive! I think it’ll be exhilarating to see the earth from above.

6. Go to NYC during the Christmas season and go ice skating at Rockefeller Center or go to NYC during the fall and actually see autumn.

7. Find a job that I actually love and have awesome benefits.

8. Go to a concert. I know it’s shocking that I’ve never been to a concert. It’s either too expensive or I just don’t have the time.

9. Leave Vegas and start a new life. Ok, this might take awhile. I’ve never been away from home for more then a few days. I’ve relied on the comforts of home and I think my parents made sure I didn’t gain independence from home. If they had it their way, I would live with them till I was old and gray.

10. Have a guy take me to see The Nutcracker. I’ve always wanted to see The Nutcracker and I think it would be amazing to see it in NYC.

11. Go scuba diving and take pictures of the beautiful creatures of the sea. Hopefully there are no sharks though!

12. And of course, settle down and start a family, preferably not in Las Vegas. I don’t think Las Vegas is a good city to raise children and our school system isn’t all that great either.

That’s a mighty long list, but I think I can definitely do it!

A Heart to Heart Talk Got Us Lost

Last night was my friend Vivian’s birthday and she invited a few close friends to come out and celebrate her birthday. On the way home, she decided to drop off her two friends from Reno to their hotel first. When her friends left, she told me how she felt bad she didn’t invite some friends to come out. But at the same time, she thinks that since she moved to Reno and was gone for 4 years, her friendships with these people aren’t the same anymore. We were talking about how the friendships in our lives, and as we transition to adulthood, we will grow apart with each other and it’s just the way of life. Then we realized she was driving towards her home and we had to turn around because I didn’t make any plans to spend the night at her house.

So we drove towards the Las Vegas Strip and we were now talking about relationships and how she still holds a place in her heart for her first love. And even if she’s been with her current boyfriend for a year now and loves him, she still feels hurt how she and her first love couldn’t make it work. They couldn’t even be friends. She never met Andrew and so I told her about my dysfunctional relationship with him. We didn’t understand how the two of us were getting emotional over relationships that we thought were behind us. As the two of us were sitting there with tears rolling down our cheeks, we start laughing not because we were emotional wrecks over stupid boys but because we were lost again. We weren’t paying attention where we were going and the whole time she was driving, I just kept pointing to a street signaling Vivian to turn. We joked around how I’m not meant to go home. A Lesson learned. Never have heart to heart talk while driving. You will get lost!

Ruuuun!

Driving around town, I sometimes forget how lucky I am to have a car in Las Vegas especially in the summer. I realize how grateful I should be with my life when I see a little overweight person running for dear life trying to catch the bus. I wonder if the bus driver sees the person and leaves them behind on purpose. I feel sorry for them because they probably pulled a muscle trying to catch that damn bus only to be left behind. But I don’t feel sorry enough to pick them up to take them to their destination. Come on, they might eat me! Just kidding! But seriously, I would never pick up a stranger on the streets. Well, unless they’re good looking. They can have their way anytime.

Back to the Stone Age

So our email server at work has been down since Tuesday and everyone is at a lost on how to continue with their daily routine without email. It seems people easily forget how people in the corporate world used to work before the internet was invented.

On Tuesday, everyone decided that since the email server was down, they wouldn’t work. So it was a pretty relaxed day. One that was much needed since everyone was being overworked for about 6 months to get a multi-game out the door.

Well, come Wednesday, everyone was freaking out because everyone realized they couldn't just skip another day of work. We’ll loose money! We’ve already lost a few contracts because of this email disaster. So everyone was trying to figure out what needs to be done by visiting people they usually interact through email. Let me tell you, this was interesting. I went over to the game developers department to look for a couple of people I normally email when a game comes to me. The second I entered a room, a man welcomed me with a warm smile and calls out my name. I pretend I know him by smiling back and asking him how he was doing. Let me tell you, if you really don’t know this person, don’t pretend. This has backfired on me so many times and yet I never learn. Anyways, he asks me what I was doing there and I tell him that I’m delivering an ‘email’ notification that I’ve released their game to the testers since the emails are down and that I’m looking for David. Low and behold, I was talking to David! How embarrassing!

We all had to adjust by using alternatives to keep the business running. Everyone had to learn a game has come in by word of mouth. A game developer came over with a post-it that had all the information I needed to release the game. My other coworker created a document so I can fill out to send to hand deliver to testers in another building once a game is ready to be tested.

Let me just say, I think I lost 5 pounds in the 2 days I’ve been walking around. Today was my rest day from the gym because let’s face it. I worked out all day today by walking to everyone delivering our version of release emails.

I'm Back!

Lots of time has passed since I've updated my blog and a lot of things happened in my life. I went through all the spectrums of emotions God has given us to experience from my grandmother passing away earlier this year to finally paying off my car to reuniting with old friends. It's somewhat hard to talk about my grandmother passing away especially since the last time I made a post is about visiting her in the hospital. I never did make it to the hospital after work by myself, but I was at the hospital the night before she passed away. It seems like I'll never be ready for loosing loved ones, but it was a lot easier then loosing my grandpa only because he was my first experience with loosing someone.

I finally got the courage to end the non-relationship I had with Andrew. We were dating from the beginning of November to the end of April and never became an official couple. I never know why I stayed with him that long especially seeing we will never work. Not to sound shallow or anything, but I need a guy who will be able to take care of me financially. Well not necessarily me, since I make enough money to take care of myself. I need a guy who can pay for his bills every month and Andrew was not able to me with provide that. He was always complaining why he never had money. Well my advice to him is to stop drinking everyday. Don't go out everyday and waste your money on frivolous thinigs. Other then him being financially unstable, he had other issues I couldn't get past but I don’t want to put him on blast. So we can leave it at that we were not meant to be and it just took me 5 months to realize it. That time I spent with him were a big waste of 5 months of my life. Just kidding! I never regret.

i just can't do it.

So my grandma is in the hospital because a few weeks ago, she fell trying to pick up the newspaper outside my aunt’s house. She was in a lot of pain so they kept her in the hospital to keep her comfortable. Well the hospital she is staying at is located near my work and my mom keeps insisting that I visit her after work. I seriously have a phobia of hospitals and going there by myself.

I hate the idea of hospitals ever since I saw my grandpa in the hospital months on end laying there helpless and then finally dying. Whenever I go to hospitals, I think of my grandpa and then I think the worst and that the person will never get better.

When she first arrived to the hospital, it took me a week to finally visit her. She was sleeping and I seriously saw my grandpa in her. I couldn’t help but think, is this it? Is this where it ends? Just thinking of that made me so scared I’ll loose her and that this family will fall apart. My grandma is the glue that holds this family together. I’m not ready to say goodbye again.

I just can’t do it. I just can’t get the courage to walk in that hospital without anyone with me. And when I do go, I can barely stay in the room for so long. And while everyone is comfortable sitting on the bed with her, I can’t even be near her. I am the one that’s closer to the door looking in. For now, I will have to watch on the side lines.

a common face

Is my face really that common? I had a conversation with a friend about how everyone has at least one person who looks like them, related or not. But with me, it seems like everyone I meet knows someone who looks like me. The other day, I met my friend's boyfriend and he asked me about a recent event that he went to. And I told him that I just met him that day. He was convinced that we met in January because I looked like someone he's met before.

Is it because everyone thinks all Asians look alike and since I'm Asian, they don't see any major differences in my facial features and is just convinced I look like an Asian that they know too? I seriously don't know. But I would love to meet these 'twins' people say I have. I want to meet these people who look like me. Let's compare our facial features and see if we can fool people into thinking we are really twins. That could be fun.