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!"