The happiest place on earth

Well. Life got a little hairy again and I stopped blogging for a couple of months. But I'm back.

Right now, life is grand. We're on summer break right now and have about three more glorious weeks of freedom before we have to go back. Lance and I celebrated the well deserved break by flying out to California as soon as school ended. We had a fantastic week at Universal Studios, the LA Zoo, the Griffith Observatory, Knott's Berry Farm, and California Adventure. And of course, no trip to the area is complete without a couple of days at the happiest place on earth, Disneyland. It was Lance's first trip to the world of Disney and he was not disappointed. He's already ready to go back. :) Anyway, some highlights from our trip:
So as I said, we flew out of Hawaii as soon as we possibly could. We actually were in California by 5 am on the first official day of vacation. We busted ass at work before we left because we knew that absolutely everything had to be finished before we left and we both didn't sleep well on the plane so we were pretty exhausted by the time we got there. Unfortunately, we weren't able to check into our hotel until 3 and oddly enough, not many places were open at 5 am. We ended up eating breakfast at McDonald's and driving around LA. We also decided to get our trip to Trader Joe's out of the way since it was one of the few places open before 11 am. We bought some omiyage and much to my delight, found one of the yarn stores that I wanted to go to. The people here were really friendly and helpful and I had tons of fun poking around their yarn. Lance took a short nap on one of their comfy chairs while I shopped. We ended up going to a mall to kill the last few hours before we could check into our hotel.
On our second day, we went to Universal Studios. We had decided to pay a little extra for front of line passes and it was totally worth it. The passes allowed us to jump to the head of line for the attractions and gave us the opportunity for behind the scenes access for many of the shows. We went pretty early in the season and the area schools weren't on summer break yet so the crowds weren't too bad. The new Simpsons ride was pretty awesome and the tram tour was just as enjoyable as I remembered it. I got soaked on the Jurassic Park ride and as Lance was pretty dry, he found this immensely funny. Between the wetness and the looking of terror on my face as we plunged towards our death, the picture came out pretty funny so Lance purchased it. For some reason I managed to get soaked on all the rides on our trip where getting wet was remotely possible.
On day three, we went to the LA Zoo and Griffith Observatory. The LA Zoo was humangous and I'm glad we decided to visit it. The habitats were so much more natural than the Honolulu Zoo habitats and the way they have it set up allows visitors to really get a good look at the animals. They have this alligator there named Reggie that they actually got from a lake...in a California park. We also had fun distinguishing the nannies in the zoo from the mothers/grandmothers.
We switched hotels on Day 4 and were pleased that the hotel's promise of being right across the street of Disneyland was most definitely true. We dropped off our car at the new hotel and went to California Adventure. We had planned our California Adventure/Disneyland days before we left using Ride Max and our planning really paid off. Using the itinerary from Ride Max and taking advantage of as many Fast Passes as possible, our ride wait times were minimal. The longest wait we had was at the Toy Story ride and there was little we could do about it since it was a relatively new ride and Fast Passes weren't available here. I wasn't sure if I wanted to go on the Tower of Terror and I was contemplating making a run for it the entire time that we were in line. But you know what? It was an awesome ride. We followed a poor little 6 year old girl who was sobbing as we left the ride. We actually saw this kind of thing quite a bit where kids were taken on inappropriate rides and ended up sobbing as they left the ride. Lance took quite a bit of video on our trip and we have one that he took on California Screamin' which was the hugest rollercoaster. One of the coolest rides was Soarin' Over California were you "hang-glided" over California. It was really realistic and I found myself lifting my foot a few times so I wouldn't hit the virtual mountains.
I was really looking to Day 5 of our trip - Knott's Berry Farm. I love Knott's. I love the historic feel of the park and I love that the crowds aren't nearly as bad as they are at the Disney parks. When we first got there, we were able to ride the log ride three times before the line started to get a little long (we were trying to take the best picture possible). I convinced Lance that we had to pan for gold and $7 and 20 minutes later, we each had discovered gold! Hopefully we can retire on our riches.
We spent days 6 and 7 at Disneyland. Lance got his first pair of Mickey ears and I got another pair since I got my last pair when I was four. We also picked up a "1st Visit" button for him from the Town Hall and he proudly wore both throughout the park. We had developed itineraries using Ride Max and used as many Fast Passes as possible for Disneyland as well and like at California Adventure, we were glad we did. I highly recommend downloading Ride Max to anyone who's planning to visit the Disney parks. We had to zoom around the park to meet our itinerary on the first day but our wait times were minimal and we got to slow down on the second day. There are no words to describe the greatness of Disney. They really go above and beyond to make it seem like you're not just in an amusement park but in a completely different world. What I love about Disney is that they do everything better than everyone else. They really have created the happiest place on earth.

American Idol Top 6, well, no, Top 7

First off, I don't know why the judges chose to save Matt Giraud. He's not going to win and the judges will be kicking themselves if Adam, Kris, or Allison have a crappy night. This so should be the Top 6 instead of the Top 7. And hello, it's disco night. Bad things happen on disco night. Let's see if they can at least manage to keep the show to the hour...haha, okay, I guess they're dealing with it by eliminating the video introductions. Let's hope that means they're letting all of the judges speak tonight.

Lil Rounds: Wow, this was a great karaoke version of I'm Every Woman. Did she change the song at all? For real, Lil Rounds is the biggest disappointment for me. She's not as bad as some of the other contestants but I had high hopes for her. Time for her to go home, yes? Oh look, the judges agree with me. Thank goodness they're all speaking tonight. Haha, she doesn't look sad, she looks like she's gonna flip out again. No itunes purchase.

Kris Allen: Wow, I really liked this arrangement. He actually managed to turn this song into something contemporary. itunes purchase.

Danny Gokey: He sounded really off in the beginning. I like Danny Gokey and he sang this song decently enough, but eh. It didn't excite me. I just don't think I'm going to remember this in the morning. And at the end of everything, I just don't think he's going to win. He's just missing...something. No itunes purchase.

Allison Iraheta: WTH is Allison wearing? Who's dressing her? Seriously, whoever's in charge of making these people look decent needs to be fired. Wow, I didn't even recognize this song until she got to the chorus. I loved how she managed to make this song more rock-y. It's funny how I forget how old she is until she's done singing. I really loved the performance, minus the outfit and the, well, the song itself. No itunes purchase.

Adam Lambert: Okay, Adam's back to the clean cut look. Oh, Paula, dry your eyes, it wasn't fantabulousy good. It was good, but cry your eyes out good? No. No itunes purchase.

Matt Giraud: Haha, what an appropriate song for Matt - Staying Alive. Is he purposely trying to be like Justin Timberlake? Did he change the song at all? I can't watch him, he reminds me of a werewolf. Oh, Simon's right. It reeked of desperation. No itunes purchase.

Anoop Dawg: Ahh...another person who needs to go home this week. What's up with the facial hair tonight? He reminds me of a teenage boy who's all proud that he's a big boy and can grow facial hair. Good lord, he sounds really bad tonight. Is he even trying anymore? What is Randy talking about? It sounded totally off. I actually liked the arrangement and I would buy it if Anoop was able to sing it better. What in the world are these judges talking about? Are my ears off tonight? I feel like I've been disagreeing with them all night. Oh, nevermind. Simon agrees with me so it must not be me. No itunes purchase.

All in all, disco night wasn't as bad as it had the potential to be. Did anyone else notice that the host dude who loves to hear himself speak, crap, I can't remember his name...oh. Did anyone else notice that Ryan Seacrest didn't sit down to chat with all of the contestants. That's not cool. Some of the contestants are getting way more airtime, giving them more of an opportunity to connect with the fans. Seriously, what is up with the production of this season? Someone needs to be fired.

Well, since the judges decided to give us the Top 7 again, I think we should have the bottom three people again - Lil, Matt, Anoop. I'm fine with seeing all three of them leave.

10 and 4

Lance and I celebrated two big events this spring break. Well, they're actually very related but I count them as two events. Our ten year "together" anniversary and our four year wedding anniversary. This is not gonna be a mushy mushy post about how fantabulous my husband is. He is, but let's face it. No one wants to read mush, right?

We started dating during spring break of my senior year of high school. Back then it was a fairly big deal. Partly because I had a fairly short attention span when it came to boys during my sophomore, junior, and senior years and partly because Lance was a lot older than me. The age difference isn't a big deal now but it definitely was then. When my friend found out, she was supportive to my face and then immediately marched herself over to my class advisor's room and asked, "Did you hear what she did during spring break?!?" It was funny.

Lance really snuck up on me. We worked together for months at a Kumon center and I while I was aware that he was there, I wasn't smitten with him and I wasn't crushing on him. Eventually, my friend, Diana accused me of being attracted to him but I thought she was crazy. I did like talking to him but I liked talking to lots of people (that hasn't changed). He was just Mr. Lance. It wasn't until we actually went out that I fell for him. Still, I was 18 and never thought that ten years later we'd be married. I mean, he was allergic to cats, for pete's sake. But here we (and our dog) are. It's been a great ten years.

American Idol Top 7

And here we go again. I wasn't able to blog about (or really watch) last week's Idol as it was TheConvention week and I was "playing" at the hotel. I was really bummed because I missed Adam Lambert's performance last week since Idol went overtime. It sucks that only two judges are going to be allowed to share their opinions because I think Simon is the only one who's consistently spot on. Man, what's up with Idol this year? Do they have new people running the show? Are they TRYING to kill the show?

Hmmm...movie week. I'm really interested to see what Adam Lambert does tonight. The only way this theme would be better for him is if it was Broadway night.

Allison Iraheta: Oh, I loved this song in high school. It was one of those songs that I played repeatedly. I didn't really care for the beginning of the song but I really liked the ending when she started belting it out. In general, I love Allison. itunes purchase.
Anoop Dawg: Huh, he's still in it? Odd, because I think he's reached as far as he can get in the competition but let's see how he does. Okay, it was just eh. It was boring. He should have taken Quentin Tarantino's advice and grunged it up. The vocals were nice but it was boring. Boring. Boring. No itunes purchase.
Adam Lambert: Well, he certainly had fun with that performance. I don't really know how I feel about this performance. A part of me likes it. Another part of me hates it. Even if you're not an Adam-lover (ahem, Matt), you have to admit that he really knows how to make each performance his own. No itunes purchase.
Matt Giraud: Is he trying to sound like Justin Timberlake? Ooh, I did not like that. Part of it sounded like he was putting so much energy into making his voice gravelly that he completely lost some of the notes. Hahaha, Simon's face was fantastic. His jaw actually dropped and he just stared at Matt and it looked like it was killing him that he couldn't say anything. No itunes purchase.
Danny Gokey: I always wanted to learn to play the harp. Okay, I loved the soul of his voice but I agree with Simon. It was a good performance but he didn't change it around that much. Lionel Richie also had a real soul to his voice when he sang the song and I don't need a version of the song that is fairly close to his so no itunes purchase.
Kris Allen: Okay, now, see! This is why you need more than two judges speaking. WTH? One judge completely loved it and one judge completely hated it?!? Hmm...it would be nice to get a THIRD opinion, wouldn't it? Anyway, I really liked parts of this song and I think he put a lot of emotion into it but it was pitchy in some parts. itunes purchase but I'm getting the original.
Lil Rounds: WTH is up with her face tonight? Who did her makeup tonight? Yes, Paula, you're right. She couldn't have sang a lovelier song but hello, she COULD'VE sang it a lot better. Haha, Paula actually said nothing constructive. And I totally agree with Simon, Lil is not turning into the artist that I thought she was going to be. I think I am most disappointed with the way she's turning out. I had high hopes for her. I don't even care that she is my "person", it is time for her to leave. No itunes purchase.

I don't know how it happened...

Ahhh...another convention done. Well, almost. I'm taking the weekend off and then I need to send out invoices and finish up some stuff. But for the most part I'm done and I can breathe again. It was easier and more fun this year with the exception of the times that well, that just weren't. Those parts were not fun enough that Jen and I had decided that we were done after this convention. We were determined that we were not gonna be in charge after June and we were turning over the reins to someone else. As the convention got closer and I had to deal with unreasonable people day after day after day, I became more determined that I was sticking to my decision and I was done. I told everyone around me that I was done and they all applauded my decision. They all didn't believe me but I was insistent that I knew myself better than they did and by golly I was not gonna go back on my word.

Jen and I (and really Bruce) are doing it again. How did this happen?

American Idol Top 9

Okay, we decided to watch Marley and Me last night instead of American Idol so my post is late again. Yea, for DVR. Here we go...

WTH? itunes top download week? For real? Oh for heaven's sake. Well, at least we'll (probably) hear current music. Ha, I'm sure I'll probably find some music that I want to download, though it may be the originals instead.

Anoop Dawg: Eh. Once again, boring. Anoop is starting to lose his appeal for me. This song was a poor choice and is Anoop getting more boring every week? Wow, Kara's comment was Simon-esque, wasn't it? Funny, though. Yes, perhaps frat guys dared him to sing Usher. Simon's right. It was a "complete and utter mess." No itunes purchase.

Megan Joy: Oh, this song should be good for her. Oh...I was wrong. This was not a good song for her. Maybe if she sped it up a bit? What is up with her pronunciation? That's not how she talks normally, is it? Yeah, I can't watch her perform. She needs to not dance and her mouth looks funny. That was horrible. Let's see what the judges say...haha, Kara's starting to grow on me. She's right. All these boo-ers should go ahead and try and be a judge. Oh wow, the judges have a mean streak to them tonight, don't they? Like "watching paint dry?" Yes, it's time for her to go home already. No itunes purchase.

Danny Gokey: Alright, it's about time someone performed well. Wow, I really liked the quality of his voice. Haha, I like how Simon is able to compliment Danny while simultaneously insulting Anoop and Megan Joy. itunes purchase.

Allison Iraheta: Ahh, I love Don't Speak. I used to play this album over and over and over again in high school. Oh my, the hair. And the outfit. I had a halloween costume like it when I was younger. I liked the beginning of the song and I thought I would like the faster part better, but hmm. It wasn't bad but it definitely was not her best performance. I still love her, though. I don't know whether or not I'll buy the song. There were good parts, maybe the recording will be better. But for now, no itunes purchase.

Scott Macintyre: Wow, he's sporting a very early 90s hair style, isn't he? Didn't Patrick Swayze have this haircut in Ghost? Although it is better than his original hair style. The performance was good, but something about it bored me. The judges liked it though so maybe I'm just not easily amused tonight. Haha, Simon's right, I'm glad that Scott didn't listen to Paula's ridiculous advice. No itunes purchase.

Matt Giraud: Oh, he should not have changed this song this way, especially since it's such a current song. Changing the key actually just makes him sound like he's messing up. Wow, how many guys dream about being surrounded by adoring screaming girls? No itunes purchase.

Lil Rounds: Wow, I hated her entire performance. From the hair to the makeup to the dress to the actual singing, I disliked it all. I am getting increasingly annoyed that I picked her as one of my people. No itunes purchase.

Adam Lambert: Uh oh. He's gonna do the complete opposite from last week? I'm scared already. What is up with his hair and outfit? He looks completely different from the beginning of the competition. Who's dressing him? He's really good at being shrieky. I actually really like his shrieky (how do you spell that?). Crap, why do I like Adam so much? I was surprised he even made it to the Top 13 and now I like him. I liked the performance but I don't think I will purchase it. No itunes purchase.

Kris Allen: Ooh, I like this song. Wow, I liked his performance a lot. That was definitely his best performance and for me it was the best of the night. And he's a lot easier to watch when he's in back of the piano because his weird mouth isn't as noticeable. itunes purchase.

Alright, overall, I did not care too much for this week's performances. In addition to Allison and Danny, I think (and I'm embarrassed to admit this) that Adam is becoming one of my favorites. Crap.

American Idol Top 10

I had to take notes again since I wasn't able to use the computer while watching American Idol tonight. And I couldn't find a pad of paper quickly enough. But I found a bunch of used empty envelopes. From convention registrations. Grr, it's convention time again. I'm amazed at how difficult it is for some people to fill out a simple registration form. Wait, that's another post for another day. Anyway, here we go.

Matt Giraud: Okay, I missed his performance last week because I was counting stitches so I made sure to pay attention this week...well, sort of. I paid attention to his vocals but I was busy painting a closet door so I didn't actually watch. Anyway, I initially thought his song choice was really stupid. But then I heard it and I really liked it. He's growing on me. But no itunes purchase.

Kris Allen: Gah, I do not like looking at his mouth. But I liked it. It was fun and different from the original. This was one of the first songs that I've liked from him in quite awhile. itunes purchase.

Scott Macintyre: Okay, I hope he ignores Paula's dumb advice from last week and keeps the piano in. Oh good grief, what in the world is he wearing? Are they dressing him like he's a motown singer? What horrid pants. Oh good, he ignored Paula's dumb advice from last week and he kept the piano. Interesting, the background singers are by the piano this week. Haha, he "moved it closer." Oh good stuff, I love this song and I loved his interpretation even though it was quite different from the original. Hahahaha, Paula's being dumb again. She thought that Randy was agreeing with her even though he obviously wasn't. She actually said, "Oh, you're agreeing?" And Simon tells Paula to "answer the question, answer the question, answer the question, answer the question" at least once a week. Her presentation of crayons and coloring books was funny but it was funny how she pulled it out and managed to avoid answering the question. Anyway, itunes purchase.

Megan Joy: Did she drop the Corkey from her name? Why don't they have it anymore? What in the world in she wearing? She looks like the ocean. Haha, Lance said she looks like she should be on the Love Boat. Yikes, she's really off and parts of it were really shouty. Oh, yes, My Guy would've been better. It's funny how Paula tells these contestants how great they look when she has nothing nice to say about their performance. Aww, she looks like she's going to cry. No itunes purchase.

Anoop Dawg: Was this the same guy who sang My Prerogative? How boring. Did he change the song at all? Yawn. No itunes purchase.

Michael Sarver: Something's weird about this performance? What is it? Yes, the notes were off but something else was weird. Oh, I know. The whole performance! I really liked him during the early auditions but I think it's time for Michael to go. No itunes purchase.

Lil Rounds: Wow, that dress looks like it would be fun to wear. Are they dressing them like motown singers on purpose? Well, her voice doesn't sound like Fantasia's tonight so I like this performance better than her other recent performances but she sounds a little shouty tonight. This was an interesting song choice for her...oh, yeah, I Heard it through the Grapevine would've been way better. No itunes purchase.

Adam Lambert: What the hell is up with his look tonight? He looks like Elvis (the young, good looking one, not the fat one). Haha, maybe he's trying to make up for the creepiness of last week. I thought I knew what kind of performer Adam was but now I'm not so sure. Huh, that was really good. Crap, I really liked his performance. I really didn't like Adam before the Top 13 began and it's really bugging me that I've liked his last three weeks of performances. itunes purchase.

Danny Gokey: Oh, he should've listened to Smokey Robinson. I liked that he danced with the background singers because it was very motowny and he looked like he was having a lot of fun. Overall it was alright but it was not his best performance. No itunes purchase.

Allison Iraheta: I wish they would stop showing the mentor videos right before the performance. I think I would freak out if I had to hear Smokey Robinson worrying about whether or not I was going to forget the lyrics right before I performed. Anyway, Allison was awesome again and I keep forgetting that she's only 16. Why the hell did Paula let Simon draw on her face?!? It's like that Above the Influence commercial that has the kid lying on the couch with marks all over his face, saying that he let people draw on him when he was all high. Oh. Haha. I wonder if Simon realized how appropriately funny his drawing was? Anyway, itunes purchase.

Obsession

Lance woke up early on the first official day of spring vacation to go to Walmart. Why? To get me this!Yup! My most awesome husband went to buy me Twilight early Saturday morning. I am a happy, happy camper. What a fabulous way to begin a much deserved (and anticipated!) break.

My obsession with Twilight first began at the beginning of February. I had been wanting to read the series for awhile but resisted until the day that I read Matt's blog. He's not a big reader but loved the book (and then went out to buy the next three books...) so when he said that he loved them, I knew I had to read them. I do not have anything resembling self-control when it comes to books so I didn't open the book (I borrowed his) until after the holidays. Well, it was all downhill after that. I flew through the book and then sent him an emergency text the night that I finished it, begging for the second book. Even though I was really sick that day, I stopped by his school to pick the book up and was thrilled that Matt, being the saint that he is, had the remaining three books with him. By the end of the night, I had read New Moon and had started reading Eclipse. I forced myself to slow down during Eclipse and Breaking Dawn and managed to drag out both books a bit.

One of the things that I noticed about myself is that I can be a wee bit obsessive when it comes to my interests. And I know this about myself and accept it but even I have to admit that I've really gone off the deep end with this Twilight thing. For awhile all I thought about was Twilight. I woke up and thought "Edward". In the video game that I was playing I named my cows "Bells" and "Alice." My co-worker was working with a kid and he said "push". And I immediately thought, "La Push?" I've read all the books, reread Twilight, reread Breaking Dawn, and reread my favorite parts in New Moon and Eclipse. I'm tempted to completely reread the other two books but I'm trying to wean myself off.

There were many reasons for my (admitted) insanity but I've narrowed it down to three:

1) The series was just awesome. Stephenie Meyer has such a strong voice and you can really tell that she really knows her characters. The fact that it's written in the first person also really puts you in her characters' shoes as well. I can't really describe how fantastic the series is but if you haven't read them, then I strongly suggest that you do.

2) Stephenie Meyer's website. I've never seen such a fantastic website for an author. In addition to FAQs, she's also posted stuff that was left out during editing as well as extra stuff that she's written in addition to the books. She's even posted pictures of the cars that were in the books.

3) I entered the Twilight world when Popo was in the hospital. It was a lot easier (although perhaps a little unhealthier) to immerse myself in the world of Bella and Edward. I thought I would pass the time in the ICU waiting room knitting but I discovered that knitting left too much time for thinking. Playing video games while waiting was also a good distraction, which was a strategy that many of my family members employed (the first night that Popo was in ICU, my cousins, aunties and uncles, and I all played Mario Kart on our DSes).

Now if you excuse me, it's almost 12:30 and time for bed...or some special features on the DVD...or another reading of New Moon...

American Idol Top 11 Rewind

Yes, this post is a few days late. We were to a friend's house for St. Patty's Day dinner Tuesday night so we DVRed American Idol and were too tired to watch it when we came home. So we watched it on Wednesday night, but we were eating dinner while watching so I couldn't blog during the show. So like a dork, I took notes so that I could blog later and compare my assessment of the show with Matt's. I was out again Thursday night so unfortunately my assessment's a little late. Yeah, that was a long and unnecessary explanation. Anyway, here we go!
Michael Sarver: Why would he pick this song? It had so many words in it that it was virtually unintelligible! I'm a speech-language pathologist and I'm used to listening to people who are unintelligible and even I had no idea what he was singing. Additionally, it was like the same note throughout the song so it really didn't show off his talent. I really liked him in the early auditions but not so much now. No itunes purchase.
Allison Iraheta: How old is she again? She carries herself so well that I forget that she's a teenager. Crap, I really wish that I had picked her. I didn't like the song, though, so no itunes purchase.
Kris Allen: Why was his leg shaking the whole time? That's just weird. And what is up with his mouth? Well, he did do much better than last week but still, no itunes purchase.
Lil Rounds: Huh, Carrie Underwood did this song, didn't she? I hope she does better this week because I'm disappointed that she's starting to have the Fantasia tone to her voice. What's up with her look tonight? The hair/dress/jewelry combo makes her look like 40. Okay, she started out with that gross Fantasia-like quality to her voice but she got better near the end. She looked a little uncomfortable, kind of like when Jason Castro had to sing Memory last year. No itunes purhcase.
Adam Lambert: Could his pants BE any tighter? This song wasn't actually all that bad, although disturbing to say the least. It would actually be pretty good on a movie soundtrack for a weird movie like Romeo and Juliet. Good grief, there are probably tons of country singers and fans having a fit right now. No itunes purchase.
Scott Macintyre: Wow, how would you like to hear a video of Randy Travis saying that he didn't know about how well you were gonna do right before you started singing? I really liked his performance, though. Paula's an idiot. I think he's connecting with his audience just fine. What does she want him to do? On the itunes fence, but leaning towards yes.
Alexis Grace: I really liked the song, but she sounded really off in some parts. And she's another one that looks weird tonight. She looks like she belongs in a bar with a cigarette dangling from her lips. Haha, Lance thinks she looks like a Pink Lady from Grease. No itunes purchase.
Danny Gokey: Well, I wasn't thrilled that he chose this song. Everyone who's tried to sing this Carrie song has sucked. Huh, I actually thought it was pretty awesome. Oh, now what did Paula say? Gibberish as usual. itunes purchase.
Anoop Dawg: Oh yeah, Anoop can sing! This was a really smart choice for Anoop. I forgot that he really is able to sing. Hahaha, the way Paula announced that Anoop was "back" made it sound like she really thought that was physically gone. itunes purchase.
Megan Joy Corkey: Wow, her dress really accentuates her "assets", doesn't it? I actually can't stop looking at them swing to and fro. She sounds a little weird, though. Nasal and...something else but I can't put my finger on it. What's with the wiggling? How did she manage to work that in? Ohhh, she's nasal b/c she's sick! Although something else in her singing sounded weird that probably couldn't be attributed to her illness...No itunes purchase.
Matt Giraud: I really wasn't paying attention to this performance b/c I was too busy counting stitches for a hat I'm making. I'm gonna say it was boring since it couldn't capture my attention. Oh, the judges are saying it was the best of the night. Maybe I should rewind...nope, don't care enough to have Lance rewind it. Oh well. No itunes purchase.

And that's the end of my American Idol commentary for this week's show. Overall, country week wasn't as horrendous as I thought it was going to be. A few last thoughts: Paula's getting wackier and don't you think Randy Travis would make a really good action figure? Like if you stuck a cowboy hat on him then he could be like Woody from Toy Story?

30 days

I don't usually post anything too personal on my blog. Even when I got initially got engaged, I didn't really blog about it. I just posted a bunch of bouncing happy faces. Things that touch me too emotionally I generally keep to myself, I guess. Which is why I originally wasn't going to post this. In the end, though, I realized that I couldn't not post it.

My family and I just finished our 30 days of mourning. Popo, who just turned 90 in October, past away on February 9. It was hard. Harder than when we lost Kung Kung because we kind of expected his passing but I don't think anyone expected Popo's. Although she was 90, she was still fairly healthy. She still lived alone and still volunteered at Senior Citizen. And although she would always forget our names (she ran through two or three cousins' names before saying the right one), she was still cognitively sharp. She fell the day before the Chinese New Year and had to be hospitalized but initially seemed not too bad considering her age. She past away two weeks later.

I was lucky enough to live with popo during my first year of grad school. We drove each other absolutely crazy. I studied so much that I didn't relax or sleep as much as she thought I should. I was in my 20s, but she wanted to still take care of me. She wouldn't let me cook. Wait, I take it back. She did let me make won ton soup once (I just had to boil water, throw in the frozen won ton, heat up chicken broth), but that was because she had badly sprained her ankle. Even then she sat in the kitchen to make sure I wasn't going to burn down the house. We eventually compromised. She finally agreed that I would be in charge of washing the dishes.

We are a relatively tight knit family and a large part of that is due to popo. One of her sisters once expressed that she was a little jealous how close my family was. We went to popo's house every week for dinner. We're going to try to continue this tradition. Popo would be disappointed if we didn't.

As is Chinese tradition, my family and I mourned for 30 days. We didn't participate in any celebrations, including my birthday. Truth be told, it was nice to have an excuse to not celebrate it. I just wasn't up to it this year. I feel like I was walking under a cloud but I expected it to get better after the funeral. I avoided anyone not in my family or that I needed to interact with because of work. And when I was at work, I wasn't really there. It's a good thing that I took data while I was testing and doing therapy because I have no idea what happened in those weeks. We were all busy preparing for the funeral, especially since everything was done very traditional, so I thought that maybe the problem was that I hadn't properly mourned. It wasn't. In the week following the funeral, I felt the same. Interestingly enough, now that the 30 days are over, I do feel better. We went to the temple for the ceremony on Wednesday and I feel better. Maybe there's a reason why the Chinese mourn for 30 days.

Anyway, on a lighter note, here's a picture that Joy sent me during this time:She gave me permission to post it on the blog, but I forgot to ask if I could use his real name. Oh well, I don't even use M*Bark's real name here. Anyway, let's call him LB ('Lil Brad) since he looks just like his father. :) Anyway, here's LB in his fish sweater that I knit him for Christmas.

American Idol Top 13

[Note: So I was going to write my first blog back after the dark tomorrow but tonight's American Idol and I thought I'd take a chapter out of Matt's book and bore people with my take on the contestants. It'll be fun to compare our opinions on tonight's performance as I'm sure he'll have a post on it tomorrow. I don't really vote much, though, so I changed his vote/no vote comment to itunes purchase/no itunes purchase because I will probably do that.]

It's Michael Jackson night and I couldn't be more thrilled. It's about time that American Idol has a Michael Jackson night, because, hello, Michael Jackson is music. Lance and I "drafted" our contestants before tonight's show, with each of his picking two people to win. Like a sports draft, I picked first, Lance picked second and third, and then I picked fourth. Even though I really want Danny Gokey to win, I picked Lil Rounds because she will probably go far. Lance got Danny and Anoop Desai and I finished off the draft with Scott Macintyre (though I originally picked lots of other people first).

Yikes, what is up with this stupid introduction and entrance of Ryan and the judges? Dumb. Anyway, here we go:

Lil Rounds: Gah! What a horrible song for her to pick! She sounded like she was shouting throughout the entire song. The judges have compared her to Fantasia in the past but I never understood that comparison. I actually liked Lil Rounds's voice and I hated the shriekiness of Fantasia's. But I finally heard the similarities tonight and all I can say is gah! No itunes purchase.
Scott MacIntyre: I like Scott's voice. I think I've been working with special education kids for too long, though, because I actually look at him and immediately think of him as one of my people. I loved the video they had of him and I loved his performance. Scott and his piano were awesome. I don't remember this Michael song and I didn't like it much. Michael has so many wonderful songs that Scott could have chosen and this wasn't one of them. Once again, Simon was spot on. I'm gonna go look for my album (on a good 'ole audiocassette) at my mom's house because maybe the original sounds better. No itunes purchase.
Danny Gokey: I love Danny Gokey and I've loved him from his first audition. When he began the song, I wanted to cry...because it sounded like crap and I was scared that the rest of his song was going to be crap. I loved his performance tonight and I totally agree with Randy. Simon was right and the dancing was hideous but it was awesome because it totally looked like he was having a blast. On the itunes fence.
Michael Sarver: I actually liked Michael's Sarver's version of this song way better than Michael Jackson's. I'm a Michael Jackson fan but I do think that Michael Sarver's version was less creepy than Michael Jackson's. On the itunes fence.
Jasmine Murray: What do I think of this performance? Um...eh. That's it. Just eh. It was okay but it was boring and she sounded a little off in some parts. I'm surprised that she picked this song, though, because not only does she run the risk of being compared to Michael, but she also runs the risk of being compared to Mariah. What are Randy and Kara saying?!? Guys, she did okay, but it was boring! Oh, wait! Paula's actually saying something constructive and I actually agree with her! And of course Simon is brilliant, as usual. No itunes purchase.
Kris Allen: Well, this is interesting. Remember the Time with an acoustic guitar. Yikes, this whole performance was just weird. The combination of the outfit, the guitar, the song, and the off notes just made for a weird total package. Oh, and Paula just reminded all of us that she's a little wonky with her "adorable sexy" comments. Yeah, I did not like this performance but he is cute. No itunes purchase.
Allison Iraheta: What did she do to her hair? It makes her look older and more polished but there was something appealing about her long hair. I loved her performance! I love her voice and I love how she's all rock. itunes purchase.
Anoop Desai: Only children unite! Yes, Beat It! This should be fun, but why would you pick this if you wanted to show off that you could sing? Plus this is so Michael's song and it's one of those that can't be performed by anyone else unless the artist completely changed the arrangement. Granted, this is the dude who sang My Prerogative last week (though that was totally awesome). Yikes, that was horrible. It was almost painful to watch. He actually made Beat It...well, boring. Oh look, the judges agree with me. No itunes purchase.
Jorge Nunez: What song is this? Is this a Jackson 5 song? And what is up with his creepy smile tonight? Yikes, this was almost as painful as Anoop's. How unfortunate because I really like his voice and I really liked him last week. No itunes purchase.
Megan Corkey: What a hideous dress. What is up with those straps? It looks like someone found their grandma's old doilies in the attic, cut them up, and added them in. Hmm...interesting song choice, let's see how she does...hmm...not bad...not good, either. I like her tone, but it was kind of like watching a performance at the county fair. Ooh, Gordon Ramsay! I think I really like Gordon Ramsay. No itunes purchase.
Adam Lambert: Oh, let's just vote this guy off already. He should just go be in a musical already. Huh, amazing, I actually kind of liked his performance. Well, I liked his performance as long as I didn't have to look at him. I even liked his interpretation of Black or White. I'm surprised to admit it, but, itunes purchase.
Matt Giraud: Wow, Matt is pretty good with his piano. I liked it. Yeah, not much more to say. Ha, Paula's keeping it short, I wonder if the producers told her to hurry the hell up because they're running out of time? Oh, must be because Simon was kind of short too. Or maybe they were like me and thought it was good but don't have too much more to say. No itunes purchase.
Alexis Grace: I don't know if it's this outfit or what, but she looks unhealthy. Like she would really benefit from a good doughnut. She looks way skinnier than she did a few weeks ago. Haha, Lance thinks that her outfit would be complete with a little cotton ball on her butt. Then it would be a playboy bunny outfit. Yeah, not a fan of this performance. No itunes purchase.

Aftermath

Well, the storm is over and we're all still standing. Luckily, it wasn't nearly as bad as we all anticipated so Friday actually turned out to be a pretty good day. We got the day off from work and my house is still standing. The half of one of my backyard trees fell down, but it was actually a good thing because we were starting to cut down that tree since it's ugly, it attracts bees, and it's pushing out our wall.Here's Lance breaking it down the next morning:The one yucky consequence of the storm was that this little guy somehow managed to work his way into our house and up our wall. Of course, I spotted him first and then let Lance deal with him.M*Bark was glad that the storm wasn't as bad as we had anticipated because she doesn't like storms. When it was all over, she passed out with her pillow.

The world is ending

I, along with a good portion of the state, have an unexpected and unprecedented day off. Since the first week back to school after vacation is always hard, this day off is very appreciated. I'd like to thank the storm that is moving through the state.

It seems like we've been having way more emergency-like days and inclement weather in the past three years or so. Let's see, there was the time where it poured for weeks and weeks and then there was the earthquake that shut everything down for a weekend. In 2007, there was another storm that brought high winds with it that knocked down trees (huge ones, too) and knocked out the power and (the best part) shut down a lot of schools. The funny thing about that one was that the day before it happened, my friend from New York was grumbling because the weather was so horrible and she had just been told by us that Hawaii never has "snow days" unless there's a hurricane. And just the other month, it was raining so hard that rain in come through my sky light, parts of the island flooded, and some schools were closed.

So the reason I think the world is ending this time is because during all of these events, this is the first time that the public schools have actually been shut down the day before. Every other time they waited until it was very clear that having classes would be unsafe. Even when Hurricane Iniki hit in 1992, the state waited until that morning to close the schools. In addition to the schools being closed, they actually decided yesterday to also shut down the UH campuses and give all non-essential state and city workers the day off. This is crazy. I don't think its ever happened before, at least not that I can remember. I'm amazed that the state is actually taking precautions early for once.

We put everything outside away and tied down the outside furniture yesterday so all we can do now is huddle under some blankets and enjoy the ride. Thankfully the electricity's up and running.

On the last day of vacation I...

played Animal Crossing played with M*Barkate a yummy lunch from Ninja'sand knitWhy, oh why is it over?!?!?

The scary one

My head hurts, my blood pressure's up, and I am mighty pissed. I just got off the phone after dealing with...guess. MACY'S. Again. Even though my account is closed. WTF. And I need to call them back tomorrow morning because apparently the office that has the authorization to fix their screw up is closed. That is unfortunate because I really don't want to deal with this company yet again, especially since I was so mad this time around that I actually used the phrase, "I shouldn't be screwed over just because you guys f***ed up." Yes, I am ashamed to admit that I used such foul language but I've never been more frustrated nor more furious with one company in my life.

In our relationship, Lance is the more logic/spatial person and I am definitely the more verbal person. But I am also starting to suspect that I am also the scary one. And that maybe Lance thinks that I'm the scary one. I got my first clue a few months ago when we bought something from a local pet shop. When we went home we discovered that a key piece was missing. We went back to the store and Lance told me to "yell at them." I didn't because they quickly apologized and replaced the item but the fact that he told me to yell at them was my first clue. And then last week we got a notice from our mortgage company that was a concern and Lance told me to "get em" (everything was actually fine). And now that I think about it, everytime we have to deal with stupid companies, he tells me to "get em." Hmm. Yes, I think I'm right. He thinks that I'm the scary one.

Macy's better fix their screw up tomorrow.

Missed Blogs

There were many bloggable events the last 2 1/2 months and for the last 2 1/2 months I kept thinking, "Oh, I'm gonna blog about that." Sadly, all I did was think it, not actually do it. So now that 2009's here, I'm gonna clean up some stuff from 2008. I now present the titles for the "Missed Blogs."

1. A new family member









2. Happy Birthday, Popo!









3. A wonderful opportunity and a decision to make...

4. Welcome, new friend









5. Halloween Fun









6. Haircut









7. Yes we can

8. Spending time with an old friend

9. Surprise birthday party









10. I love 2nd Quarter

11. I learned!

12. The sky is falling!

13. The craziness is starting...

14. I didn't sign up for this

15. Thank goodness for vacation

16. Mahjong fun - I wish Brandi lived in Hawaii

17. Merry Christmas but I think I'll skip this one this year

18. Christmas kicked my arse...again









19. 2008 in Review

Wow, I didn't realize that I had 19 blogs taking up space in my head. No wonder I sometimes forget stuff...