Goin' Back to Cali...

I'm going to California for the rest of this week for my grandmother's funeral. She fought off the last stage of Alzheimer's disease as long as she could. We'll all greatly miss Lola as she was a strong-willed, funny, and good woman. I wish I had kept in touch with her more often over these years - like sending a card to say hello and how I'm doing - even if she wouldn't remember who I am. It's a sad reason to be going back to the place my family and I once considered home but these things happen and we unfortunately knew it was going to .

There are never any winners in the battle and it's shocking that 1 in 20 people over 65, and 1 in 4 people over 85 are affected by Alzheimer's.

My employer and client manager were very understanding and allowed me to take the rest of the week on bereavement leave. I'll be in San Jose/Santa Clara for most of the week and I may go down to Los Angeles to visit family there as well. Yes, some Goldilocks Ensaymada and Polvoron treats are coming back with me - along with King's Hawaiian Bread.

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I finished reading "The Rule of Four" and I found it was a so-so read and I'll explain why when I get back.

Template Reloaded

I changed the Blogger template from "Rounders 3" to a slightly customized "Minima". I might switch to "Minima Blue" if the dark-on-light colours become 'boring' to me. Hmm...the boredom is starting already. But I like its simplicity.

Two and a Half Days Old

Yesterday my family and I visited the latest bundle of joy in our lives - my new nephew! So what do very newborn babies do? They love staring at you while you hold them. They sleep a lot. They cry a lot. They pee a lot. And they poo a lot. He's wonderful.

A New Addition to the Family

My first nephew, Jackson Thomas, was born early this morning! Or should that be multiple exclamation marks, eh Seinfeld fans? Anyhow, all are doing well as my sister called me at work this morning and told me her wonderful news. After work I went to the hospital to see the new parents and their adorable baby boy. "Jax" (or maybe "JT"?) was very quiet during the visit and weighed in under 7 lbs (just over 3 kg). He has really big eyes and he likes looking at whoever is peering down at him. Guess my first niece, Kaitlyn, will have a very nearby cousin to play with in a few years! And no, I'm definitely not in a rush to join the baby race happening around me. This bachelor will look forward to having a D.I.N.K. household - so my future wife and I can travel the world. DINK. Gotta love those marketing terms that really mean "we eschew the ultimate responsibility in life and choose to pamper each other until we're ready."

Whipple-Scrumptious Fudgemallow Delight

Most of the Slushee Gang went to the movies last night and first up was Charlie & the Chocolate Factory. This is what cinema is about - watching characters you care about develop around a sensible plot (yes, you do still need suspension of disbelief) and watching detailed and imaginative sights and sounds. I can't remember when I last read the book and I don't believe I ever saw the original movie. But this was a great film and along with Batman Begins, Sin City, and - from its teaser trailer alone, I'm predicting - The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch, & the Wardrobe, are the best movies of 2005 I've seen. However, I still want to see Wedding Crashers and March of the Penguins and they may end up on my best-of list, too.

As for the second film we saw it was far from fantastic. The story and characters of Marvel's Fantastic Four have enormous potential on-screen, but this movie was a frustrating disappointment after another. Sure, Jessica Alba was smokin' hot in just about every scene she had, but that's what "Into the Blue" will be for. There were just so many problems - terrible script, bad acting, weak plot, and cheezy visuals. Surprisingly, I found FF to be more entertaining than Dark Water. Sorry Jennifer Connelly and fans...

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On another note, I've been reading all kinds of praise being given to the all-new 2006 Hyundai Sonata, which also surprises in a comparison test with a Honda Accord and Toyota Camry (see this Inside Line review). I priced the new Sonata to be similar to my ideal Mazda 3 Sport GT trim and I have to admit that this Hyundai's appeal is increasing. Of course, the 3 will be more fun to drive but the Sonata is pure value. And I'm all about VALUE when it comes to purchases. If I do get a car (in 2006?), it'll probably be leased so I can readily expense all the monthly payments through my work. Booya.

Your student.cs account has expired

That was the email subject sent to my old UW email account just over a month ago. Today's the official expiration date for my CS undergrad account and I've copied off any files from my user directory for sentimental value. There's some truth in the last statement as my webspace that I first populated way back in my 1B Winter 2000 term for an online essay assignment still shows up if you Google for me.

For UNIX users, you'll know what a .plan is - and here's my .plan that I initially created in my freshman year:

Get MBA.
Own (or drive) the following: Mazda6, Acura TL, Infiniti G35 Coupe, BMW M3 SMG,
Porsche Boxster S or 911, Audi RS 6.
Witness a space shuttle launch in person.
Visit Angel Falls, Chichen Itza, Easter Island, Galapagos Islands, Grand Canyon, Great Barrier Reef, Great Wall of China, Leaning Tower of Pisa, Legoland, Pyramids at Giza & the Sphinx, Sahara Desert, Stonehenge, Yellowstone, etc. (& not in any order)...
Retire before 50.

And now my updated .plan as of this date:

Get MBA before I turn 30.
Own the following: Mazda 3 Sport GT, Acura TSX, BMW 545i
Drive the following: Mini Cooper S, Chrysler 300C, Acura RL, Infiniti G35 Coupe, BMW M3 SMG, Porsche Boxster S and 911.
Witness a space shuttle launch in person.
Visit (in no particular order): Angel Falls, Chichen Itza, Easter Island, Galapagos Islands, Grand Canyon, Great Barrier Reef, Great Wall of China, Pyramids at Giza & the Sphinx, Sahara Desert, Stonehenge, Taj Mahal, and view the Northern Lights.
Retire by 55.

Fair Consorts, let us alight...

"When Adam's flesh and Adam's bone sits at Cair Paravel in throne, the evil time will be over and done."
"But battles are ugly when women fight."
" - he had just time to duck down and plunge his sword, as hard as he could, between the brute's forelegs into its heart."
"... and both girls flung themselves upon him and covered him with kisses."
"He was covered with blood, his mouth was open, and his face a nasty green colour."

You need to read "The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe" (LWW) to understand the context of the above phrases before you misinterpret them. These lines may not seem to be from a children's book, but they really are. I just finished it today and am looking forward to reading the rest of the Chronicles of Narnia. I hope the upcoming movie will do the book justice as Mr. Lewis was very descriptive and careful in his writing. Huh. I just noticed that LWW is actually second in the order of the series. Schnap. I'll read the rest of them (in proper order) once I'm done reading my next book: "The Rule of Four" by Ian Caldwell and Dustin Thomason.

Missing Collar Bones...

Forget about the abyss in your dryer where missing socks go after doing laundry - where the heck do those little plastic "bones" in shirt collars disappear to?? Of course, some shirts have that part of the shirt collar sewn shut so the plastic is forever trapped. Brilliant. Or is it? How does a removable or permanent "collar stay" indicate quality and durability of a shirt? From the few shirts I have with a permanent collar stay, it looks like they wear out faster than those with removables. But this doesn't help to keep the collar's shape if I've lost the removable collar stays - also, the name should be printed on them to remember which goes into what shirt - maybe that's an indication of quality. Or at least overpaying for a brand...

Edit: Holy shit, this company has the solution!

PDG Update

I finished reading "Jack: Straight From the Gut" on Monday and am halfway through "The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe." I've been real busy reading the latter during my brief sub-10 minute commutes - I haven't had time to read the book while at home since I wasn't there much of this week. As for what did I think of the former? The autobiography was mostly dry as Mr. Welch would mention some GE colleague after the other and what influences they had on the company. There were many notable business strategies, initiatives, and ideas by Jack that worked out brilliantly - you could gauge that this was a CEO with lots of passion for his employees, his company, and his customers to succeed beyond their expectations.

I have been getting up just after 07:00 actually, so I still have to work on waking up earlier - esp. when I start going to the gym next month...

I'll make another post later about why this was such a busy (but fun) week for me - but I'm heading out now with a busy Sunday as well.

Happy 138th Birthday Canada!

Canada Day 2005: a nighttime shot of Horseshoe Falls with blue and purple lighting effects.