mtang's Xanga

O Christmas Tree

Wed, 24 Dec 2008 06:24:58 GMT

Never huts to add a little character to Christmas like a Charlie Brown Christmas Tree. :D

Gloria in Excelcis Deo.

Ike and Mike

Mon, 08 Dec 2008 21:38:51 GMT

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Nov. 12: Mike buys a vacuum cleaner from Sears sales associate Ike
Nov. 16: Mike goes back to Sears for a price adjustment on the vacuum cleaner. Sales associate rushing out of the store but helped Mike anyway? IKE

(fast forward a couple of weeks)

Dec. 7: Mike goes to buy lunch meat from WinCo (local discount food store)...

from IKE

Recall the Nov. 16th incident. Ike was rushing from his Sears gig so that he could go to his next job.
AT WINCO.

I was in disbelief. They say that the world is a small world...but this takes the cake.

Very odd indeed.

Gloria in Excelcis Deo.

Baseball Cards

Sun, 30 Dec 2007 23:30:22 GMT

CONFIRMED to make a 10 year old American boy's day. Two for two! (see previous entry for more details)

If only gift giving were that simple for people of ALL ages! Haha.

Delivered.

How To Make a 10 Year Old's Day (even at night)

Wed, 12 Dec 2007 05:26:24 GMT

If they are a boy living in the United States, this is sure to work. 100% success rate! (1 for 1 so far)

Me: "I don't know if Steve would like this.
        (hands the 3"x5" plastic-wrapped package to Steve's dad for evaluation)
      What do you think, sir?"

Dad: "WELL I DON'T KNOW EITHER I DON'T THINK STEVE WOULD LIKE IT THAT MUCH!!!"
        (emphasizing his voice so it can be clearly heard, while displaying the classic smirk)

Steve: Oh OH! What is it? I'll do ANYTHING!

Oh REALLY?

So after getting him to do some ridiculous dancing (he had too much energy at 10PM anyway!), he then became the proud owner of a humble set of baseball cards.

I can't even begin to describe the reaction. It was electric. Even at 11PM (which was past his bedtime), he was still going through the cards. Amazing what a pack of sports cards from Target can do.

Next test case: cousin. Review to follow soon.

Delivered.

Growing Pains

Wed, 05 Sep 2007 06:14:30 GMT

Recently I ran across this AMAZING blog about the life of a mother. Not just any ol' mother -- but one who is trying to manage the homelife of her not one, two, three, four, nor five... but SIX CHILDREN and the adventures that accompany it. Her writing is fresh, witty, and hilarious. Check out her online journal here!

She made the front page of the the local newspaper in her hometown. If you've never heard about her, read this article FIRST. Then it will put her blog posts into perspective!

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In light of these ridiculously stories from this very gifted and talented writer, I too begin to wonder myself about life as people get older. I used to think (and sometimes still do) that growing up is a really hard thing to do, as it often involves change, discipline (most people abhor that!), & increased personal responsibility, to name a few. But now after reading several of this mom's entries and talking to others that are more accelerated in life, I've come to the not-so-eureka realization:

Life don't get any easier from here on out.

Though the fig tree does not bud
And there are no grapes on the vines,
Though the olive crop fails
And the fields produce no food;
Though there are no sheep in the pen,
And no cattle in the stalls,

Yet I will exult in the LORD,
I will rejoice in the God of my salvation.

Delivered.

eBay of the State

Tue, 12 Jun 2007 01:46:05 GMT

Delivered.

Alias

Wed, 06 Jun 2007 01:35:52 GMT

I know of a couple who have recently adopted a baby boy. Babies are really fascinating, as they exhibit such an innocent and naive demeanor, in addition to their regularly scheduled arduous regimen of eating, being cute, and ("depending" on the situation), what I would call assisted living - if you know what I mean.

(That was supposed to be a bad joke, if you didn't catch it on the first wave)

What is actually more interesting than the main event itself are the parents. The reason being is because, when put in the presence of a little one, they somehow transform from something of a quasi-grown-up into an emminator of strange, irrational actions and noises.

For example, the couple that I mentioned earlier, named their son Jack.

Instead, they regularly refer to him as "Noodle".

Now I understand these are well-educated individuals who are mentally stable, more or less. BUT NOODLE? The poor kid is going to be permanently scarred for life, especially if his mom makes appearances at public functions (i.e., organized sports, school functions, etc.) and discloses that form of "affection". And in such shameless fashion as well.

On a related note (more or less - keep on tracking with me here!) I've heard that calling somone/something by another name (other than their own) is a form of affection. Let me give you another example.

I have a (crazy) wonderful sibling who, in the privacy of the confines of home, exhibits some rather erratic behavior. As a result, the name "Dot" has been assigned to them. Yes, same as the Warner Sister from the classic animated show, Animaniacs.

(I too have been assigned an alias by her...but those details don't need to be disclosed, right?)

My sibling and I rarely - check that, NEVER - express affection towards each other whatsoever. It's more of a chin-nod or offensive-joking type of dialogue that we have when addressing the other.

So, what does that mean about me and my sibling? Do we actually *CARE* about each other?! :-O

Or is it merely a mechanism to exert sibling/gender domination over the other?

Delivered.

Strange Encounters of the Chevron Kind

Sun, 22 Apr 2007 04:40:34 GMT

Yesterday was a normal day at work (as normal as a Friday can be).
Until our lab telephone rang.

It was from a non-internal number, showing a "Pacific Bell 510" display on the caller I.D. With nobody else around to answer the phone, I answered it. (Later I would realize that it would change the course of the rest of my day.)

Me: "Hello? Elemental." (Elemental is the name of the lab I work in)
Caller: "Hi Michael, this is Win, your co-worker. Could you do me a BIG favor?" (Win is a quirky co-worker in the adjacent lab)
Me: "What?"
Win (the identified caller): "Can you go into my lab...get my shampoo and bring it to me in the bathroom?"

I obtained his requested items and, in my navy blue lab coat and blue-nitrile gloves, I sheepishly walked down the hall with the bag of shampoo in my hands. Walking into the bathroom, I could ONLY ASSUME what was going on.

Upon opening the door, he knew that it was I who had entered. He popped his face out of the shower stall, took the shampoo and gave a brief word of "thanks". I was now finally able to reconstruct the situation of awfully strange events:

1. Win was taking a shower, and found out (too late) that he forgotten his shampoo.
2. Using his phone (since Verizon is the only service that works on site), he called MY LAB to get someone to do the "dirty work".
3. I was the lucky one caught in the crossfire.
4. It was a weird day after that.

Delivered.

Letters from a Resolved Nut

Tue, 20 Feb 2007 05:45:33 GMT

"Kiet Doke"

Hahaha!!!! Only C.J. could pull this off

Delivered.

Close Encounters of the Richmond Kind

Wed, 14 Feb 2007 04:05:04 GMT

1. On my way to pick up tickets for Legally Blonde: The Musical on Friday afternoon, I sat in my usual place on the BART train. 4th train car, facing the direction of motion, on the right side. As I lifted up my Ziplock container of nuts to "drink the snack", I heard some one call out my name EXCITEDLY.

IT WAS HIM.

No one but the great J.J. Hau - UCD's fearless 2004-2005 UIC leader.
Talk about an awkward and embarrasing moment as I froze in my tacky state with my container just stuck on my mouth!

He had just completed a meeting with a client in El Cerrito and was getting on the train to go back to The City. So since we were both going in the same direction, I invited him over to an adjacent seat, where we had a lot of time to talk about life/career and investment business. It was a surprise & delight to have seen a familiar face in the midst of unfamiliar life territory, with everyone going and being spread out every which way OTHER THAN YOUR OWN.

2. Today as I was running across campus to catch my carpool, I had a double take on someone whom I thought I knew. But then I came to the realization that IT WAS HIM.
(Starting to notice a theme here?)

Sorry folks, not the man in BART/1 - but rather, the infamous SOY.

It felt like some tofu had been thrown in my face.
But at least it wasn't a confrontation or interrogation. THIS TIME.

Resolved is quickly approaching
And the anticipation is intensifying tenfold daily
However, is it so wrong to be excited
To imagine hearing strains of "Soli deo gloria"?

Delivered.