Blog Archives: access old blog entries by date

Blog Search: search blog entries using key phrases

Priscilla came up this weekend, having gotten cheap Southwest tickets during a sale in October. After I went to guitar class on Saturday, we went to the gym, went grocery shopping and made tacos with all the fixin's: corn tortillas, ground turkey, tomatoes, red and green onions, cheddar and avocado, seasoned with some fresh ground pepper. We forgot to get lettuce, but the tortillas were of the small variety so all the condiments barely fit on one anyway. The tacos were delicious as usual. (When are they not?)

After church on Sunday, we tried to go to Tikka Masala for buffet but found them closed, so we wound up instead at Shah and got lots of chicken. Next, we went to my company so that I could do a little work, and then we worked out again (gotta get in shape for our wedding clothes). Then we went to Bed Bath & Beyond in Santa Clara to create a registry, and we added a few household items we'll find useful to have. Our primary registry is still Honeyfund and we'd prefer people help us save for our honeymoon, since I already have most of the household items we'll need. We'll probably figure out where we want to go for the honeymoon after all this wedding planning madness is over.

Priscilla also gave me a batch of invitations to hand to a few people I invited. She bought two types of DIY invitations: a more expensive green floral one that I liked, and a cheaper silver-patterned one. The silver one actually looks better though.

Her dad helped print all the invitations (they look very professional), and a bunch of her church friends helped assemble them. We're getting help in many different areas from church friends. It's awesome to see how much people really want to help!

Today was my fifth time at Planet Granite. I went with Amy, Samantha and her co-worker Kevin, and Pavlina and her co-workers Jeanne and Christina. Jeanne went off on her own somewhere, and I was climbing for a while with a regular, Tyler, who knew most of the people in my group. I was tired after completing my first climb, a 5.10a, so I belayed a few times for Tyler and watched in awe as he made even the most difficult climbs look like cake. He was doing one climb right after another, so my muscles didn't get a rest which wasn't so great. I failed the next 5.10b and 5.10a due to fatigue.

After that, our group got mixed up so I was climbing with Samantha, Amy and Kevin at a more leisurely pace. I did a short 5.9 and 5.7 and we ended with most of us doing a 5.10a.

I'm definitely seeing myself improve. I attempted more climbs than last time, finished two 5.10a's instead of one, and my arms don't feel as sore as they did last time. I'll be happy if next time I complete that 5.10b!

After nearly four years of being in Building 490, I've been moved along with Lisa to an office in Building 460. The company is shuffling people around partly because it's not renewing the lease on Building 400, and because renovations are being done in every building including putting new carpet in the offices in 490.

I'm now further from all the amenities I care about: a break room, restroom, printer room, shipping and receiving, and even the bike racks. On the bright side, I'm closer to the lab where our servers are set up as well as to some team members who frequently have baked goods to share. And best of all, my new office has windows! The view of the parking lot isn't spectacular but it's an improvement over no view. Also, we're on the south side of the building so we get the sun shining through. I like being able to have the office lights off and just work in natural light for part of the day.

So whether I feel better off in the new office is a close call. The window view and being able to save electricity are a nice perk, but there are disadvantages to being in this location. Then again, that just means I have to walk further, which probably isn't a bad thing.

Since Christmas and New Year's fall on Sundays this time around, we get this Monday and Tuesday and next Monday off from work. I could've chosen to use my vacation time for the remaining three days this week and had over a week of not having to work. Instead for whatever reason, I took last Thursday and Friday off, drove down to LA with Fred Thursday night, and came back up today. So I didn't get as long of a vacation as I could've.

On the upside, I get to return to the gym sooner, since when I'm in LA I don't have access to one. Not getting ample exercise plus stuffing myself with a mountain of food everyday is a dangerous combination.

On the food note, on Saturday there was a Pang family reunion where various people brought short ribs, sticky rice, vegetarian skewers and pasta; and for desert, a very delectable Kentucky Derby walnut pie courtesy of Johnson. The guys also faced off against the girls in Wii Pictionary and got our butts kicked.

Priscilla and her parents came over Sunday night and brought chicken and duck. My parents made jook, bean threads, chicken drumsticks and curry salmon. The next day, my dad and Aaron made chicken pie and pizzas in the oven while I was out with Priscilla and her mom at David's Bridal, where Priscilla tried on a few wedding dresses. We were there for two hours, but it wasn't so bad since I had my iPod Touch with a bunch of games with me. And we were able to pick out a simple yet elegant dress for $250 after tax! That's one more thing crossed off our long to-do list.

As of today, after a five-year relationship, Priscilla is now my ex-girlfriend. Unfortunately for her, that's because she's now my fiancée, which means that she's stuck with me for another five years, and another, until the end of our days. Muahaha.

I woke up this morning before dawn to have breakfast at Priscilla's house and take her to the Long Beach cruise terminal. She of course had no idea what we were going to do today or that I had been planning a second trip to Avalon on Catalina Island for months. I'd booked a one-way trip to Avalon by helicopter, and after a quick weigh-in and safety video at the Island Express office at the cruise terminal, it was off to Avalon on a calm, 15-minute ride.

After we landed, we took a shuttle into town and took a walk up a residential street and found an amphitheater-shaped terrace half enclosed by the backs of some nice houses. The terrace was composed of high stone walls and grass. The area is probably the most serene and secluded place two blocks from the main part of town.

Next, we walked down to the mini man-made "beach" next to the pier, and I brilliantly decided to stand too close to the water and got my jeans and shoes soaked when the tide suddenly came in. I'd brought a towel, so we sat in the sun for an hour trying to dry me off. However, socks don't dry well in partly-cloudy November weather. I had to go without socks for the rest of the day. Serves me right, I guess.

After resting on the beach, we took a stroll on the pier and found a company taking signups for a 50-minute scenic bus tour. Our guide, an older lady named Becky, took us around the island and shared some interesting facts with us. For instance, 99% of the residents rent their homes from the Island Conservancy. There's a 15-year waiting list to bring a car onto the island, and a gallon of gas runs for $7. The only export good out of Catalina is rock from the quarry.

Instead of going to a restaurant for lunch, we got a rotisserie chicken, chips and ginger ale from the local Vons store for $9- less than what we would've paid per person at a restaurant.

After the late lunch, we walked through the town and up the main road to the entrance to the Wrigley Memorial and Botanical Garden, but we didn't want to pay the $7/person to get in, so we started heading back. I wanted to take a detour and go on a 1.75 mile hike up a mountain and propose at the top, but Priscilla's feet were hurting by that time due to all the walking and her uncomfortable shoes. Still, I managed to coax her into going up about halfway, which during the whole time she was probably hating me. At the point where we stopped, we could start to see the town at the bottom of the valley (a semi-nice view), and the sun was starting to go down, so I decided that that was the right moment to propose.

Over the course of the day, I had let her read segments of "The Book" in which I handwrote 100 things that I appreciate about her. The final segment transitioned into a corny "proposal speech" and she started crying just reading it. I told her to hurry up and get to the last page, and when she did, she was met simply with:

Will you take the next step with me?

Will you marry me?

And two checkboxes- one for "Yes" and the other for "Of course!". I also said something corny and did the one-knee thing. She was totally crying at this point but managed to say yes. I then pretended like I didn't have a ring, which she said was fine, but then I fished it out of my backpack. She loved it. And the rest of the way back to town, her feet mysteriously stopped hurting. Love conquers all, I guess.

Aside from taking the ferry back to the mainland, we ended up doing completely different things today than the first time we visited Avalon, which was totally unintentional. I'm happy with how the day turned out and wouldn't change anything about it. Well, except maybe the part about having wet shoes the whole day. ;)

From September through October, I took a 6-week guitar class with Rich Hawthorne at Santa Clara Adult Education. I rented a guitar for two months before I borrowed Priscilla's, partly because I wanted to surprise her with my new guitar skills when she visited in October, and asking to borrow hers before then would give everything away.

When I went to return the guitar at The Guitarist, Rich's studio, Rich asked me if I wanted to join one of his 8-week continuation classes. It would be held on a different day, Saturday, than the Wednesday continuation class he previously announced to our class. I decided that Saturday would fit better with my schedule and eagerly signed up.

Today was the first session of the new class. A few people were absent, but from what I can tell, all the other students are older and are from the De Anza Community Education class that Rich also teaches. The pace of instruction is still the same- Rich goes step by step, covering and building upon the very basics. We're currently learning how to read notes on a scale, how to find those notes on the guitar and how to play those notes in different positions. In the community course we played "The Groovin Blues" at the end of each session. In this continuation course, we're going to be strumming along to "Brown Eyed Girl". I like that song a lot better. I'm going to know it very well by the end of this course!

Well the planned proposal is coming up in 7 days, on Priscilla's and my 5th anniversary. Obviously this post will be hidden until then. I picked up the ring this week- it's gorgeous and quite unique- 14k white gold with a round green sapphire.

Originally I was going to look for an emerald stone, since green is my favorite color and emerald is Priscilla's birthstone, but I learned that emerald has a tendency to chip and thus a lot of jewelers don't sell them in rings for everyday wear. I learned that Shane Co sells green sapphires which are a lot harder than emeralds and a little less expensive, so I figured I'd just get a sapphire- I don't care what it is as long as it looks good. So last week I headed to Shane Co's Cupertino store to look at rings.

I was originally looking to spend $200-300 on a setting, but the ones in that range were all thin and flimsy looking. I found a thicker ring with a swirl shape that came with a wedding band that slips in through the middle. Quite unique.

I was also looking to spend $300-400 on a green sapphire, but the ones in that range were small and not the deep forest green that I wanted. The guy helping me, Steve, went into the backroom, looked all over and was able to find a larger one with the perfect color- and it sparkled brilliantly. The setting and stone each ran for about $700, a bit more than I was expecting to spend, but they were perfect and thus to me worth the extra money.

So now that the ring is squared away, and the preparations to Avalon on Catalina Island have been made, all that's left is to finish writing "The Book". I never and still don't know what to call it. A few years ago I gave Priscilla a small diary-like book in which I handwrote quotes of encouragement and Bible verses. I asked for it back a couple years ago in order to add things to it, which I never got around to. Now I'm going to add 100 things I like about her, grouped into 10 sections, which she'll be allowed to read a couple sections at a time during our day trip. The last section will be read at the right time (I'm thinking when we go biking and are in a secluded place overlooking the town), after which the book will transition to the (probably corny) start of the proposal. So the book will play a key role throughout the whole day. You can say that my keeping it this long was part of the plan all along. ;)

I can't wait until next week! Priscilla has no idea about any of this, so I have to hide my enthusiasm from her. One thing's for sure- it'll certainly be a day to remember.

San Jose Bike Party was supposed to have a third test ride tonight, but it was cancelled because everything was worked out during the first two rides. The guy who sends out the SJBP emails also blogs regularly about bike events all around the Bay, and through his blog I found out about Modern Ohlone, a ride that happens yearly. They were doing a 20-mile test ride in Sunnyvale tonight, so I figured I'd join and do a ride tonight after all.

I went expecting actual Ohlone people, but the ride was merely named in honor of them, not actually consisting of any. About 17 people showed up, I was able to talk to most of them, and some told me about various rides that are popping up all around the Bay that probably amount to something going on nearly every night.

We had rest areas at Baylands Park, a hill next to the SMART Station that covers what used to be a landfill (nice views though), and atop the parking structure at the Sunnyvale Caltrain Station. There was a lot of pot smoking at each rest area, which is cool if that's peoples' thing, but the smoke bothered me. The ride was also cut several miles short because people were getting tired and wanted to hit up a bar. Again, that's cool, but I'd prefer to ride the whole thing out with minimal stops.

The most awesome set of wheels was a recumbent trike belonging to a guy named Cosmo. He had a windshield attached to it decorated with EL lights, headlight fixtures, a phone mount, and a sound system with amp powered by a 120V battery.

I like the smaller rides more than those with thousands of people. I can get to know everybody when the ride is small, things don't get hectic on the streets, and people are less inclined to ride/act like idiots, because if they do, everybody in the group will know.

Priscilla bought plane tickets to visit me this weekend (again from the previous Southwest sale), and after picking her up early Saturday morning, we joined some church friends at Planet Granite for some fun and strenuous climbing.

It was her second time climbing indoors, the first time being at a place that had a difficult and limited selection. She completed a 5.6 and a 5.8, better than I did my second time. I completed a 5.8, 5.10a and made it halfway up a 5.10b. The last climb was pretty technical and required switching between the side and the front of the wall and strategically using cracks. I couldn't find a handhold halfway up and I was dead tired by then, so I bailed. I will get it next time!

Afterwards a few of us went to Sunny Bowl in Mountain View at my suggestion for some bibimbap. I've been there a few times but it was everybody else's first time; everybody seemed to like their food. The place actually moved a couple doors down into a much larger and nicer-looking space. They added stone pot to the menu and kept the original bibimbap prices the same, but sadly they no longer serve free frozen yogurt for dessert.

Priscilla and I did plenty of home cooking as well. I bought turkey burger patties, salmon and a bunch of other stuff from Sprouts. Saturday night we cooked salmon in the microwave and had salad. The salmon didn't come out too bad. Sunday night we grilled the remaining salmon and turkey burgers with my grill pan. The burgers were tasty and can be a healthier substitute for beef. The salmon came out pretty good- grilling it has the advantage that each side gets cooked while the center remains slightly uncooked.

Priscilla also brought pasta and Soyaki chicken up with her, and we had some when we went to my office to work and work out. We got a lot of studying/work done this weekend. She's studying for her online accounting class, and I figured out the root cause of an intricate problem that I've been working on for four weeks. I'm glad that we can help each other get so much done!

The weather was perfect this Saturday so my uncle and aunt invited me to go sightseeing in San Francisco with them. They took me to the scenic spots along the northwest coast, and wow, I never knew the coast was so beautiful!

Our first stop was Fort Funston, where we spent an hour walking the trails, looking at the ocean and taking pictures. My uncle brought two DSLRs and he and I traded off back and forth. Little did we know that he had the wrong filter on one of the cameras, so most of the 250+ photos from that camera would turn out too blue.

After Fort Funston we continued up the coast to Cliff House and the Sutro Baths. A picture of the Sutro Baths from before the place burned down shows how grand and immense the place was. It was seriously impressive.

From there we visited Eagle's Point, China Beach and other parts of the Golden Gate National Recreation Area, taking more pictures of the Golden Gate Bridge the closer we got. We made it all the way to Fort Point, which is just about right next to the bridge.

Our sightseeing concluded at Twin Peaks, where we took lots of pictures overlooking the city as the sun was going down. Half the city was cast in shadow and the other half was still light- a perfect shot.

To reward our all-day "hike", we wrapped up the day with Chinese food at All Season Restaurant. It was alright- they had a corn egg flower soup with crab meat that I really liked. The bowl was huge and I finished most of it, since my uncle and aunt didn't want to get full on soup. There was also a Chinese wedding banquet going on in a partitioned-off area. They had people drumming while two dragon costumes came in and did the dragon dance. The drums were a little loud and went on for maybe 15 minutes, but it was an interesting experience.