Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays everybody! I woke up bright and early at 6pm and have been watching A Christmas Story on TBS every since ^_^ And imagine, my first time seeing this movie was less than a week ago! I plan on purchasing it the minute stores open tomorrow. Or whenever I wake up.

Oh, and I'm back in Louisville. I got in last night before midnight, had a delicious Chinese feast, and exchanged presents with Ben. What I gave him: Guitaroo Man. What I got: GUITAR HERO II. I believe I received the superior guitar video game, haha. And that is the reason why I woke up so late, because I was shredding my gi-tar into the wee hours of the morning.

Colorado was fun, I hope that I can go back soon, maybe spring break? I don't feel like recounting it bit by bit, just look at the pictures here. I'm a little sad that I left snow for rain on Christmas day, but after being stuck in a blizzard, I think I should be happy just to have made it out without any problems. Just look at what Denver International Airport was like:

Whew! That is a lot o' snow.

Well, back to the movie. Hope everyone is enjoying their winter break!

Listening: ROCK ANTHEMS (YYZ anyone?) from...
Playing: GUITAR HERO II (PS2) (yes, the game can only be mentioned in caps)
Watching: A Christmas Story

Posted by Joanna at 7:17 PM | Permalink

Hi everyone, I am in Colorado, and I am surviving Blizzard '06!

Stuck on Pecoraro Mountain for about 2 hours...

Mystery snowmobile man who saved our lives!

More photos: http://www.flickr.com/photos/berderp/sets/72157594431106553/

Lesson learned: Don't live on the top of a mountain. OR don't go down the mountain when it snows 2 feet! So now we're snowed in for who knows how long. Luckily Ben's dad's place is fully equipped with pool table, hot tub (though that might not get too much action anymore), home theater and a disGUSTing amount of booze. Don't you wish you were out here with me! Wooooha! ^_^

Posted by Joanna at 1:39 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Too little, in fact. Monday night I stayed until 3am scrubbing floors at Chipotle because the next morning people were coming to grade us. Apparently, our store hasn't passed the past two times, and we're never awarded the "Golden Burrito" or something stupid. Since then, I've woken up every morning with stiff and swollen fingers, sore arms, and banged up knees. Well anyway, we passed! I asked what would happen next. "The managers get a bonus." And all I got was a lousy t-shirt.

But instead of complaining about work, on to the real reason of this post. Let me tell you about another one of my frightening dreams. I blame this on the fact that I watched Jurassic Park over Thanksgiving Break. My church group was having a get-together in this small, one room building, called the "art building" (that will come in handy later). The idea was that we walked through a covered pathway to get to the building, and we were on a "tour" to see something. So we're walking, tra la la, and lo and behold, GIANT ZELDA: OCARINA OF TIME SPIDER DROPS DOWN IN FRONT OF ME. See, this is why I canNOT for the life of me play that game. I'm lucky that it didn't have that horrible rattlesnake sound in my dream. But since this is a DREAM and not real life, I continue on the tour! So we are told that these are giant carnivorous spiders that weigh up to 5 pounds of hairy, hairy flesh. We reach the building and in the room there's a buffet style lunch (sweet), and a lot of chairs and long tables. We're all enjoying our meal and talking about stuff... suddenly we hear the sound of 5 pounds of wet noodles fall behind us. Yea, above every chair, there was a spider rolled up into a ball, and the SCENT OF HUMANS triggered their decent. Where do I come up with this stuff? Either way, when the spiders unravel, they have really really long arms used for STABBING. I think there was only one door out of the building, but there were spiders there too, but everyone ran out of there. Except me, because I am a genius.

Well everyone left, and it's just me and Ashley, and now we're working on art projects. Aaah, art building, right? I have a photography final to turn in on Thursday (in real life), so I'm pretty sure I've just been freaking out about it. We think that all the spiders are gone because they chased everyone outside, but we happen to sit in the row of chairs that no one had sat in before. PLOP PLOP spiders behind us! Wait, hold up, apparently this place is still FULL OF LONG-ARMED HAIRY CRAWLY SPIDERS. Ashley and I run outside, and her trusty mini-van is waiting to take us back to Kentucky, where there are no spiders. ^_^ But what about the spiders? Tonto the Indian is outside next to one of the building's windows saying, "Nothing we can do. Spiders will take over the interstate. But wait!" He dips a piece of cloth in alcohol, sets it on fire, and throws it into the building. It burns to the ground. BURN SPIDERS BURN.

In other news, I really wish the zoo wasn't closed.

Listening: Jay-Z - The Black Album
Playing: Mission in Snowdriftland (flash)
Watching: The Goonies

Posted by Joanna at 12:15 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dPXVIaJbROo

Teehee, Gap is no more! Spike Jonze made this commercial, but why did Gap make the mistake of not airing it? Hehehehehe!

Posted by Joanna at 5:01 PM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)

These are my confessions (cue Ursher):

- I exaggerate numbers and time. Though not by a lot, because I want to be believable, and when I want it to be ridiculous, I go into the millions and billions. But when I want to say the amount of times for something or how much time something took me to do, I will always increase the number by 1. No more, just 1. So for example, "I saw three car accidents today!" I really saw two. As for time, I will increase by half an hour. So if I say something took me two and a half hours, guess how long it really took me?

- I don't remember people's names when they introduce themselves. I've been going out with Ashley and Amy a lot, and they've been introducing me to all of their friends which is really nice of them, thank you! But so-and-so will say, "Hi, my name is -hazy blur-, nice to meet you." For some reason, right after they say that line, I will try to recall their name and it's as if they just said, "Hi, my name is BLAORGHAILEIBLABRAH, nice to meet you." If I repeat their name back right to them, the chance of me remembering it is raised to 50%. However, I make it my business to remember my co-workers' names. Perhaps I should treat everyone like my co-worker?

- I am more competitive than I should be in many situations, especially with games. When I go bowling or play poker, I get really INto the game and will be really irked if people quit trying or don't finish. As for board games, I must keep score and finish, like with Scrabble. But generally I'm just upset that I can't find people to play with in the first place. Sigh. Play with me? I get easily addicted to games too. Especially repetitive games like these. Hoo boy, it's dangerous. I will not want to move for hours, and will shun humanity in exchange for more time to plaaaaaay...

- I am fiercely proud of the way my parents raised me, and I have trouble incorporating new ways of living, for example, using the dishwasher. When I read that using the dishwasher was actually more cost and energy efficient (and therefore, more green!), I was pretty devastated. Though I still like hand washing better ^_^ I will change once I own my own place, I swear.

Part two still to come?

Listening: No Doubt - Tragic Kingdom
Playing: Tetris (DS)
Watching: The Road Home

Posted by Joanna at 2:21 AM | Permalink

I don't know if anyone has heard or has been keeping up with this story, but a family of four went missing in Oregon over Thanksgiving Break. James Kim, an editor for CNET.com, his wife Kati, and two daughters, ages 4 years and 7 months, left for a Thanksgiving road trip to the Pacific Northwest, and were last seen at a Denny's on Saturday, November 25th. When they didn't show up for work on Tuesday, co-workers began to worry - they always kept in touch daily through email and phone calls.

Since then I have been religiously checking the news and Digg for any sign of their return. That's the great thing about the tech community - everyone is like family, and when one of theirs is missing, they do everything they can to help or at least keep everyone informed. After nine grueling days of searching, Kati and the two daughters were found alive this Monday by a helicopter. She had put reflective strips on an umbrella marked "SOS" and was waving it in hopes that anyone would see them. They have since left the hospital in good condition and have been reunited with family. However, James had left two days before to find help; he said that he would be gone for about 5 hours, but two days later he still hadn't returned.

Search teams followed his footprints which lead into a creek drainage, and then they started finding articles of clothing left by him in what looked like a pattern, probably to signal anyone that would try to look for him. That was all the news from last night, and I couldn't get to sleep knowing that he still hadn't been seen by anyone in four days. The weather there is below freezing at night, and with each passing night the chances would be slimmer. I prayed that at this point, I just wanted him to be found, alive or not, for everyone's peace of mind.

Today I got off work at 4pm and immediately got online to see if there were any new developments. And sadly, the first website I checked stated, "James Kim found deceased." I didn't know of James before this (I don't know much about CNET), but for some reason I have been really affected by this story, perhaps because I was hoping so hard that there would be a happy ending. He seemed like a wonderful husband and father, and his daughters are SOOO cute (but so young!). He and his wife also own a clothing boutique and a store that sells organic health and beauty products. They are firm advocates of independent business, which I am very much for. And while I never saw any of his reviews on CNET (he reviewed MP3 players, I think), apparently he ALWAYS used photos of his daughters. What a loving father.

I am thankful that Kati, Penelope, and especially Sabine (the 7 month old) survived and were found in relatively good condition. I am amazed at their fight for survival - the parents didn't eat the little food they had to save their children; they ran the car heater, and after the gas ran out, burned the tires to stay warm. I am grateful for today's technology - although they couldn't get reception, a split-second signal from their cell phones were tracked at a cell tower and guided rescuers to their location. I am angry at James for leaving his family because he would still be alive, though after seven days of being stranded in the wilderness with no sign of rescue, I would also do anything to save my family. I am relieved that at least his body was found; now we can rest assured that he is still not out there alone, fending for his life. But most of all, I am heartbroken that this is the way the story had to end; I wanted so badly for the whole family to be reunited. The world has lost a loving father and husband, and I'm sure to many, a great friend. Rest in peace, James Kim.

JamesandKati.com, website set up by family members.

Posted by Joanna at 4:43 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gWTmg4dHiKg

In response to "Yellow Fever" and how Asian men can't get girls: They just need to squat in nice business suits! DUUUUH. Have I mentioned how much I love being Chinese? ^_^;

Posted by Joanna at 10:48 PM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBacks (0)

What I would like for Christmas: The Casino Royale lifestyle, elegant and glamorous. K thx.

And the thing is, I hadn't even seen commercials or trailers before I went to see the movie. I just heard that it was the hottest most awesomest movie evAR, so I blew nine bucks to see it. And now if Daniel Craig were standing next to me, I would be throwing a lot more than money at him. For instance, compliments. :ahem: But I would agree, this movie is fantastic, and I want to watch it everyday in hopes of absorbing the socialite lifestyle. I feel prettier, richer, and more in-shape after watching it, ha!

So how goes it for everyone? Thanksgiving break was a nice six-day vacation for me, and I spent the majority of it playing the Wheeeee! But I already wrote about that on Kawaii Gamer so check that out there. Actually I find that I'm updating that site more frequently than this one, so if you find that you need your Joanna's-bad-humor-and-terrible-writing fix, you know where to go now. My friend James summed it up pretty well over the break, "So how are you these days? No wait, I take that back, what are you playing these days?" Sigh, has it really gotten that bad?

I'm looking out my window, and the sky is purple! I am nervous about driving back for winter break, I'll be the little Asian lady driving 30 mph with her blinkers on. I hate this weather so much that I'm tempted to switch schools AGAIN, simply because I fear for my life every time I hit the highways. I'd like to have a more interesting death than sliding off the roads into a semi. Ahhhh the fears, the fears!

So anyway, Christmas is around the corner (only 2 more weeks until I am home!), and that means time for the consumer spirit (sadly). I regularly check these shopping sites: Outblush (for women), Popgadget (for women), Uncrate (for men), and Trezr (for coupons, discounts, free swag). I've found a lot of really great stuff on these sites, and my wishlist is ridiculously long. It's mostly nice laptop bags or tea sets or cute little toys or video game-related items, but here it is. This is why I love del.icio.us, I just tag all these bookmarks, and click on "wishlist." Yay simplicity! I wish they had pictures though.

But the question is, what do I get for everyone else? I've found a couple of fun t-shirts that I'd like to get some guys, but what is something nice and generic that everyone can enjoy? Like party favors? I've always thought the mixes in a jar were fun, or hot chocolate cones, because I am very food-oriented. Heh, maybe I should just put fried rice in little baggies? Eeeew. I remember when I used to do Secret Santa, I would buy a nice pair of socks and stuff them with chocolates. Because I also like nice pairs of socks. Ah well, I will continue to brainstorm.

Well I think the wind outside is finally less than 20 mph, so maybe I will head out and sell my dumb textbooks that I've never cracked open. I hate you, Ohio. Soon I will be skiing in Colorado and well, doing Californian things in California; think happy thoughts!

Posted by Joanna at 11:55 AM | Permalink | Comments (3) | TrackBacks (0)