======= May 2007

05.21.07 

A couple friends back from high school asked for some photos. Instead of sending them the photos, somehow I ended up creating this page. We'll see where this goes.

05.23.07

Design Review today, that's a whole day of fun. Tomorrow, we are off for a five day trip to the North West with stops in Seattle, Victoria, and Vancouver.

05.28.07

We had a blast from our trip to the Northwest, very relaxing and satisfying. Victoria is a great, clean, and beautiful city, with genuinely nice people. The Butchart garden is magnificent... We substituted exotic tropical fruits for meals in Vancouver... The Pike Place Market, and to some extend, downtown Seattle, is way too touristy. Beautiful flower stands though. The W is a little too hip for me.

A four day vacation is about all I can handle from the food intake standpoint. If you know me, you'll find it hard to believe, but it was really close to the inverting point on the utility curve. Photos will come soon.

======= June 2007 

06.04.07

Looking to book a ticket to Boston to visit friends at the end of the month.  It's too damn expensive, almost twice as it used to be last year.  Anyhow, one of my best friends just casually dropped the line "By the way, I just got married ..." in the middle of our conversation last week.  Well, I guess we'll have his bachelor party a little later.

06.06.07

I made small talk to the cab driver during a 30 minute cab ride from Seattle airport to Pier 69 on our Northwest trip.  He sent his two kids to his native country, India, for middle and high schools.  He thinks that the grade school environment here is not good.  He plans to have them back here after finishing their high school, and together they will open a garage.  I didn't feel comfortable enough to ask for all the thoughts and reasonings behind his decisions.  It just seems very odd.

06.07.07

Congratulation to the newly minted Ph.D's: Miles, Todd, Lunal, John, and Albert.  I'll see you guys soon for a drink ... or two.

06.14.07

After a couple weeks of missing the gym because of vacation and busy work schedule, I hit the gym hard this week, running, lifting and playing volleyball.  I need to get back in shape soon to play on grass with my old crew in Boston next week.

Speaking of Boston, I really do miss the city.  Besides the many close friends that I always want to see and hang out with, I really miss the bike trails, Fenway Park, the T, and the morning brunches.  Well, the fact is Ha loves it as much as I do too.

06.15.07

It was really hot last night, and I didn't go to bed until well past midnight.  I arrived at work a *little* sleepy this morning, even after TWO large and extra strong coffees.  It's a Friday, and half of the office is empty.  It's gorgeous outside (from the view of my wall size window).  And for some reasons I keep hearing this voice in my head, reminding me that I am only 2 miles from the beach.

Just wondering, when the voice will go away... 

06.26.07

I was in Boston for the weekend, and had such a great time.  My only regret is Ha wasn't with me on the trip.  Some of the highlights are having a cozy and relax bbq with Nga's family, brunch at SoundBite for the first time (and dig it), eating about a dozen oysters and a 16-ounce steak at my favorite restaurant - the EastCoast Grill, playing volleyball on grass with my old crew for 4 hours, having a great time at Foxwood including lamp chops for dinner and still came out half a grand richer, having way too much scotch for night cap each night.

Well, that didn't leave much time for sleep.  Monday, I went to the airport at 5am (2am PDT) to catch the 6am flight back to SF, got in at 10am local time, and drove straight to work.  Amazingly, Monday was one of the most productive day.  I managed to get a lot of things done, felt sharp and focused the whole day.  Well I guess the guilt of spending such a great weekend without Ha had a lot to do with it.

======= July 2007

07.02.07

I am taking two weeks off from work next week to take on some projects around the house that I've been putting off for a while.  Building an 80-foot retaining wall should be fun.  We'll see how it turns out.

07.10.07

After four days of digging and hauling, the preparation for the retaining wall and paver rock deck is almost done.  It's been a lot of fun, but very, very tiring.  My whole body aches every night.  The good news is that the back-breaking work is over, the bad news is the next part requires skill, craft and experience.  Ever heard of the expression, "fake it till you get it"?  Well, we'll see how it turns out.

07.20.07

I am back to work after two weeks of "vacation".  Man, do I feel like I am on vacation right now after days of moonlighting as a construction worker.  In any case, after mixing and pouring more than 14,000 lbs of concrete, the retaining wall is more or less done.  It's 60' long and 4' high.  The base for the paver rock deck is almost done as well.  We'll pour concrete next week, then put the paver rocks in.  I think a b.b.q. is in order after that.  I'll try to put up some photos when it's all done.  I am really excited about how it's going to turn out.

07.27.07

On the way to work this morning, my  wheel's odometer scrolled pass 30,000 miles.  I got the car with 5 miles on it on 10/18/2005.  That's some serious commute.

I got two birthday wishes, and a homemade noodle soup for dinner this year.  I am truly grateful for the love of my family and friends.

07.30.07

It's our 3rd anniversary this month.  Time really flies, it feels like yesterday.  But yet, so many things have changed in our lives.  We were in two different time zones, had very different jobs than our current ones, were asked "when's the wedding" rather than "are you pregnant yet?" (trust me, they are equally annoying)

I've tried my best, but I think Ha and my parents have made the transition work seamlessly.

07.31.07

The outside thermometer on my car dropped 12 degrees (F) within a span of 4 miles on my way to work this morning.

 ======= August 2007

08.03.07

Anyhow, really looking forward to catch the latest Bourne movie this weekend, and ... finish that paver rock patio job that I started a few weeks ago.

08.08.07

08.09.07

08.13.07

The ipod couldn't have come at a better time.  I sprained my lower back over the weekend carrying some rocks for the backyard.  Instead of laying on my back as the doc ordered, I've been sitting at my computer for many long hours fixing thousands of DRC errors.  The ipod saves me from going insane of pain and layout boredom.

On a brighter note, unless you ask my saving account and my vacation allowance, the next two months are going to be heavy with wedding travelings and way-way-out-of-town visitors.

08.27.07

Carrie just bought tickets to a 9ers home game in December.  Should be a lot of fun.  Speaking of sports, it was great to see Ortiz hitting the long balls with regularity again.

I was talking to a fellow volleyballer the other day about injuring my back carrying rocks for the back yard patio, and he said, "well, anh, you are not 30 anymore!"  I guess I've never felt any different since I turned 30, but thinking about it, my body condition is not what it used to be.  I used to be able to go 5 hours of sleep a day for weeks without any problem just a few years ago.  Now 5 hours of sleep just makes me grumpy.  Well, I guess I am a grumpy old man.

08.29.07

My work commute includes a 12 mile stretch of the hilly winding 2 lane highway 17.  Most people are pretty good at staying in the right lane to let fast traffic passing on their left, but every now and then there would be slow spokes hogging the left lane and slowing everyone down.  Normally I would politely pass them on the right when condition permits.  Occasionally, on the rare days that I am in a pissy mood, I would just tailgate the slow spokes.  On those occasions, I always have this nagging fear that the people I am tailgating happens to work in the same complex.  It'll be awkward to tailgate someone, i think, then say hi to them in the elevator a few minutes later.  Luckily, that never happens.  Anyhow, a young woman in a new beemer kept tailgating me this morning even though the traffic was jam-packed.  Well, she didn't really say hi to me in the elevator.  A greeting should be in order after you ride someone's ass for that long, don't you think?

08.31.07

I love kids, I just hate the inconsiderate stupid parents who swing doors open into traffic without looking out for coming cars and bicycles, who walk their kids into the streets without checking both ways for traffic, who double park in the slow-lane and drop their kids off into the FAST-lane.  I mean the kids would be better off in both manners and chances of survival if they just walk to school on their own.