Yay! Good day today. I spent most of the day in SF at the career center, working on my resume and going to an interviewing strategies class. Yesterday I was approached by an old co-worker at this local company suggesting I apply for a position that is available there.. and today I recieved a call from their HR department telling me they were very interested and wanted me to attend an on-site all day interview next week. Thursday's my birthday, and I think a job would make a splendid present! The job description fits more along the lines of what I want to do, and the company has a well-established corporate structure. Yeah-yaa.

Movie/quote quiz:

See if you can guess what movie these quotes come from:

"fuck fish. FUCK FISH!!!!!!!"
"See that girl right there? I fucked her up the ass. .... Just kidding."

Stole this from Krissy. ;)

EXOTIC FOREIGNER ALIAS = Favorite Spice + Last Foreign Vacation Spot
Posh London (we're talkin' Spice girls, right?)

SOCIALITE ALIAS = Silliest Childhood Nickname + Town Where You First Partied
I don't remember my childhood nickname! *cry*

DIVA ALIAS = Something Sweet Within Sight + Any Liquid in Kitchen
Vanilla Wafer Rum

GIRL DETECTIVE ALIAS = Favorite Baby Animal + Where You Last Went to School
Filly Davis (my personal favorite)

BARFLY ALIAS = Last Snack Food You Ate + Your Favorite Drink
Custard Ginger Ale

SOAP OPERA ALIAS = Middle Name + Street Where You First Lived
Sueyoung Country Club (odd)

PORN STAR ALIAS = First Pet's Name + Street You Grew Up On
Mickey Via Acalones (awesome)

"FLY GIRL" ALIAS (a la J. Lo) = First Initial + First Two or Three Letters of Your Last Name:
J.Rha (ha)

ROCK STAR ALIAS: = Any Liquid on the Bar + Last Name of Bad-Ass Celeb:
Rum Jolie

PROSTITUTE ALIAS = Pet's Name + Mother's Maiden Name:
China Lee (this works)

Steve just gave me permission to kick him in the crotch if he ever comes up north to visit. This makes me very happy! (don't click on his website cuz there's nothing there cuz he's lame yet awesome for allowing me to kick him in the crotch)

Did my Cindy Crawford video again this morning. I'm trying to find out the maximum interval between eating breakfast and working out. I've worked out before breakfast and I get light headed. The dizziness is probably kin to hitting my head so many times last year (along with all the brain damage). The past few times I've worked out I've eaten about 1/2 hour beforehand, just a bowl of cereal, and I can feel it starting to come up when I do sit-ups. So I'm not sure what to do since I'm trying to do my workout in the mornings, but I don't want to wake up *too* early. ya knows?

Must go to workyworky.

Busy day. Went into the city again for a Career Assessment from the Right Management people. I think I'm integrating myself more into the San Francisco financial district'rs. Walk quickly, don't look at anyone, arms at sides or clutching purse, jaywalk when able. I didn't dress the part though.. with my tan cords, black jacket, and blue scarf/gloves. I look and seem much younger than everyone I pass.. plus I don't have cloppy noisy shoes. Must buy cloppy noisy choes. Is it just me, or do you guys like the sound of cloppy shoes? I love the sound.. I notice it in movies and it makes me happy. I don't know why.

It's somewhat of a relief that I seems so much younger than everyone I pass. I'm turning 27 in 2 weeks and it just seems so old to me.. and don't get me started on my direction in life. I think I'm headed the right way, but 27!! gah. sucks.

I had my interview today. It seems I did well, and I looked mighty spiffy and hot in my interview clothes. I looked in the mirror and thought, dizzam! I wish I could dress like that everyday. Still feeling unsure about the job, but I should have an answer by the end of the week.

Gonna veg in front of the TV now.

Ahh, I just spent the last 5 minutes sprawled out in my chair, staring at the office ceiling. Looking for a job is hard work! I've been making calls all day to people I know in the industry, schmoozing and networking, two of my least favorite activities.

Tomorrow I have my interview at LBL. I'm getting a little nervous now.. but I'm excited that I'll be able to wear my spiffy new interview suit. It's an Anne Klein suit I bought at Macy's for something like 70% off.. grey with pink hemming. Very cute. Yay, I can't wait!

You'd think with work being optional I'd have a lot of free time to bum around, but unfortunately I've been traveling all over keeping busy throughout the day. It sucks actually.. I'd like to just sit and vegetate on my couch. However, the Visual Basic class and the stock market studies are taking up a lot of my free time.. as well as China and Isabella. Last night I was able to watch Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas.. one of Mark's favorite movies. It was pretty funny.. I had a good laugh and Johnny Depp is truly handsome as a drugged out psychopath.

I think The Cure's Lullaby is the sexiest song evAr. And if I were a stripper, that'd be my strip song.

Today I went into the city for my first session at the career management training course which Bayer is providing for all of the laid off employees. The session was in 1 Embarcadero Center, smack dab in the center of the financial district (at least what I think it is? I'm not very good at city orientation.) Going into the city is always daunting for me, being raised and spending most of my life in surburbia. Walking around I tried to play it cool, but that quickly deteriorated when I had no idea where I was and had to ask for directions (doh!). I did my best attempt of fitting in by purchasing a Starbucks coffee since it seemed all the people walking around had their grande mocha java whatevera in hand.

I've decided to return to school.. at least online. During my time off I've been reading up on stocks and Warren Buffet's investment strategy which has been fascinating. However, that has no application to my job doing pharmaceutical research.. so I've been researching software engineering courses. Currently I'm taking a Visual Basic beginner's course.. and I'm hoping to take a few other courses which will help me get into the bioinformatics field.

I think when I'm totally rich I'm going to hire someone to do my laundry. I abhor laundry and everything it stands for.

Today was the farewell luncheon for the whole biotechnology department. It was a sad affair.. although the decorations were festive and the music uplifting, it was bittersweet for me to look around the banquet hall and know that I wouldn't have the same connection I did with the people in the room. Coworkers are finding jobs and leaving.. people moving on with their lives. This was my first job out of college, ergo, an end of an era. The past 4 1/2 years have been a learning experience for me.. not only technically, but developing and learning how to build relationships with all sorts of characters I've met throughout the years. Ahh, I sound so sappy..

I try to look forward with a positive point of view. Whatever challenges that lie ahead for me are welcome and I'm excited about what the rest of the world has to offer.

I've decided what I'm going to do with my money. I'm gonna buy myself a hooker! Yes, you heard correctly! A hooker and some hard liquor.. good times this weekend! I'm going to buy hookers for all my friends as well, hooray!

Happy Lunar New Year!

This evening, Walt, Amit and I are headed to a friend's place to have a Chinese New Year dinner. Yum, free food! I had a free lunch today also at the Townhouse Grill and Bar in Emeryville. The BT newsletter I was working on had an appreciation lunch and so 8 of us racked up a 400+ bill (thank you Bayer!) on a lovely lunch with cocktails.. mmm.. I've discovered Parrot Bay rum, which is quite good with ginger ale.

This morning I drove down to Sunnyvale for a Yahoo focus group which I got paid $50 for. Hooray! I also auctioned off my truck's tailgate (which was replaced by a 5th wheel ventilated tailgate) and made a bit of money there. So I think I shall splurge a little and buy myself some interview shoes. Hmm.. what else should I buy..

After yesterday's sad state, I was called today by an investigator at Lawrence Berkeley Laboratories for an interview. It sounds like an interesting position, but I'd appreciate feedback on what you guys think.

My supervisor (plus!):
I only spoke with her for about 15 minutes or so regarding the position, but she seems pretty honest and straightforward in the way she talks. Plus for being a woman. She works in breast cancer research, another plus.

The position (minus?):
I'd be working 50% of my time working for the above investigator, organizing and maintaining her cell banking and working on a project (studying the affects of radiation on human cell lines) funded by NASA. Two times a year I'd be gone 2-3 weeks to Long Island, New York on business so I'd have to find a temporary place for China and someone to check in on Isabella. The other 50% of the time I'd be working for other investigators, providing cell support (seems more like a technician job than a research job).

The pay (minus):
It would be 70-80% of what I'm being paid right now. Low to mid 40s.

The location (plus!):
In the Berkeley hills, I wouldn't have to move, hooray!

Well, I haven't gotten the job yet.. but I'm trying to consider if I should take it if offered. I guess I'd just have to see what the career growth potential is with this investigator. I spoke with a coworker of mine who said academics isn't really a field for everyone.. job satisfaction really depends on how well you get along with your supervisor.

Feedback?

Stuffy.. so stuffy. My sinuses have been under a mild attack the past week or so. I thought I was getting sick, but instead my body is doing a cruel, slow snot/stuffy attack. One of my nostrils is always plugged at anytime. Today it seems the left one is the victim. I needs me some Sudafed.

I'm so unmotivated today. I just found out that one of my coworkers got offered a job that I was lined up for.. *sigh* I'm very happy for him.. really.. but still, it bums me out that I'm not at that point yet. I'm trying to keep my hopes and spirits up, but this sucks. More than my plugged nose.

I just really feel like kicking someone or punching them in the gut. Probably because I'm PMS'ing or something. I want to feel wanted by someone.. but I don't want anyone to get close in a romantic sense. I don't want to feel this way.. it's lame.

Happy day after MLK everyone!

Today I woke up damn early (8:30, ouch) and went into the city with Laquel to watch Young Black Stallion at the Metreon IMAX theater. Although only 45 minutes long, the movie was completely enthralling for the little horse-crazy girl in me. The arab costumes in the movie were breathtaking.. I've always considered getting into costume classes with Isabella, but they can be pretty pricey unless you make them yourself. How fun would that be? LOADS!!!!!!!!!!!

Afterwards we went shopping for a little bit around Powell street and I bought a few things from the Guess store.. inexplicably my favorite (and sadly one of the most expensive) store in the mall. However, I was lucky to get some pretty good deals.. a cute black jacket for $27 (marked down from $58!) and a cute red shirt for $10 (marked down from $24). Good deals! I needed more tops and a jacket anyway.. so yay, score!

After I got home, I vegged out for a bit and watched the first two episodes of "Six Feet Under" which were pretty good.. but not as captivating as '24'. Then went to Amit's and played Halo with a bunch of guys including Walt who showed up later on. My quake playing days have certainly payed off as I kicked everyone's ass (except for Walt and Amit). Go me! WOOOOOHOOOOOOOOO!

Pictures taken today at Pt. Isabel, Richmond, CA. Assorted pictures of China, the low tide, the bay under sepia and b/w filters, and a few self-portraits (looking pissed).

China along the rocks.
Bay and the setting sun.
China running like a maddog.

Just got back from watching Cold Mountain with a coworker of mine. Amazing movie.. its no wonder it's won all of these awards. The movie is long, about 2 1/2 hours.. but the story is beautiful and sad.. both of us were crying like babies throughout the whole thing.

Ah, to live in an era where love was timeless and worth waiting for. Human nature striving on the brink of survival for a feeling so strong and pure. It's sad that those feelings don't exist still today.. everyone takes everyone for granted.. you'll be here tomorrow.. so feelings aren't cherished as they were back in those days. Having someone as hot as Jude Law doesn't hurt either. *rawr* Jack White from the White Stripes is in the movie also.. and he is uber-hot.. MMMmm.

Hmm.. I really have to do laundry tonight or I'm going to have to start wearing dresses.. noooooooooooooooooooooooooo..

I just got back from a job fair my company was sponsoring. I think it went pretty well.. there were a lot of companies hiring people at my level and doing research along the lines of what I want to do, so I came out of it with a good feeling. I met a few HR people that I had been talking with on the phone, and one of them seemed very enthusiastic about meeting me, so that was very good. Yay!

I decided not to email that guy. Bawkbawk.

I feel tired. Schmoozing and selling myself is exhausting. I think my apartment smells funny. Must do laundry, I'm beginning to recycle clothes from the hamper.

WHY GOD WHY???? *shakes fist*

This morning I woke out of bed unable to walk. Literally. That Cindy Crawford exercise video I did yesterday morning kicked my ass!! Today I'm limping around like Rob Lowe's character did at the end of Wayne's World after all of his orifices were inspected by Officer Koharski. When I get up from chairs, I struggle like I'm in my third trimester of pregnancy. It's bad I tell ya. I went to see Isabella this morning, but decided not to ride because I'd probably promptly fall off as soon as I got on. Did I mention I'm sore?

So, I've decided to be assertive about the guy I met and last night I asked the mutual friend for his email. Big move for me.. maybe I'm becoming braver! Hooray!

On a side note, I'm noticing more and more white hairs popping out of my head. Okay, I noticed two. But still.. I'm not sure what the deal is.. am I getting older or what? I can't believe I'm turning 27 in a few weeks.. yikes. I *am* old!! *cry*

I'm in such a good mood!

I have the inside scoop on three different companies today who may be/are interested in my resume. Hooray! Keep your fingers crossed for me.

Last night I had a mellow evening on the couch. I made a yummy dinner of Korean beef my mother made for me which I froze mixed with tons of zucchini. Hooray, healthy.. I also made some cinnamon raisin bread which was pretty yummy too.

I read my new issue of Popular Science chock full of scientific trivia and I have to share my new joke:

Two hydrogen ions are walking down the street. One ion says to the other, "I think I lost an electron." The other ion says, "Are you sure?" Ion #1 says, "I'm positive."

I don't know why that makes me laugh so much.. but it does. It amuses me to no end. Yes, I am a science geek.

Elbow update:

Looks much better, I can go without a band-aid now, however, I choose to cover it up because it still looks mildy nauseating. The new skin is covered in water blisters for some reason that itch like crazy, and the center is a scabby crusty yellow color. The outlines of what is now a scar is lighter than the rest of my arm.

Busy weekend.. I feel like I've been going non-stop since Friday night. Actually all of last week I was up till late, watching movies, hanging out with friends, waking up late.

We'll start with Friday. I had a date.. yep. Your intrepid blogger went out with a guy.. amazing! We met for tea, which went to dinner, which led to drinks afterwards. You'd think that hearing about a long evening like that would've stemmed from a great date, but how wrong you would be thinking!! Okay, he was cute. Not exactly my type.. but he'd turn a few heads if he walked into a club or bar. But Christ, he was not smart. Apparently formulating thoughts were a bit difficult for him, because he would take his time.. and when he did say something, it was so nonsensical I wanted to beat myself (and him) on the head with a log of salami.

Okay, maybe he wasn't that bad.. but I probably won't be going out with him again. He e-mailed me today for a second date.. gah!! What do I say?

The next day I rode Isabella and then went out for sushi with the gang. In the evening, we went to this AMAZING house party in Oakland. It was a Kathryn's birthday, and her house was oppulent. 3 stories, with a trampoline, candles all over the outside, and a DJ playing throughout the night. Through the course of the evening, I had about 10 jello shots and a very strong vodka/coke. I think my threshold of drinking is improving! I was quite drunk, but was eating.. so I maintained a healthy buzz while dancing and chatting with friends.

Towards the end of the evening, they were playing some pretty good house music and Walt and I were dancing away.. after we were done we went to sit down, and Walt introduced me to a guy who I chatted it up with until the end of the evening. He was quite engaging.. and he was easy to talk with and quite attractive to me. A rare combination.. He lives in the same apartment complex as a friend of mine, so I told her to feel free to give him my email, lest he asks. yay! I haven't really been interested in anyone for a while.. so it'll be fun to have someone occupy my thoughts.

Sunday should've been spent recovering from coming home at twilight hours, but alas, my truck was needed to help a friend move.. (I'm slowing gathering minions who are obliged to help me when my moving day comes in May) then in the evening, I went to dinner with Walt and Amit, then promptly fell asleep while watching Shaolin Soccer.

My dreams last night were pretty frightening. I think because right before bed last night I was reading Return of the King - the part when Aragorn is going into the Valley of the Dead. I dreampt I was in the cafeteria of a commune type place. The people there were trying to kill us by spiking the water with poison. Then later, I was in an apartment and someone was trying to break inside. I remember holding the door so they wouldn't be able to turn it and come in. Finally I couldn't hold it anymore and ran into my friend's room next door. The guy was a huge black dude with bulging muscles.. and tattoos all over his body. Both my friend and I were afraid he was going to rape us, but when he had us cornered, he said he only wanted to rape me. Very disturbing.. I think its just been from all the guy "activity" that's been going on this weekend. At the party there were a few guys who were pretty forward and aggressive, which made me feel very uncomfortable and awkward.

This morning I went to my therapist appointment. An hour early. I was there at 9am (I've been getting up at 10 these days), so when I discovered my appt was an hour later, I kicked myself in the head.. DOH! Good thing is, I don't think I need to go very often anymore. Aside from normal anxiety about meeting new people and guys, I've been doing suuuuperbo. Last night I was reading through some chat logs I had (Trillian automatically logs conversations) and I can't believe how depressed I was this time last year. I remember I was so unbelievably sad about life.. and even now its hard for me to talk about it because I don't like feeling vulnerable or exposed.. but I can safely say my life has changed for the better since then.. and mostly because of the way I choose to view it.

I went and bought a VCR through craigslist since the one Walt gave me didn't work very well.. but it doesn't have the three video outputs in the back, just 2.. so I'm going to have to figure out if I need to buy an extra cable or not. Any people out there know? I have the cable with the 3 prongy thingies. Anyways, this girl's house I went to in Berkeley smelled like breakfast sausage.. Mmmmm. When I returned to the car, China sniffed me all over, very excited because she thought I brought food along with me. Now I want some sausage! The food kind, not the other kind. I've been eating like crap lately though.. I've had pizza twice this week and ice cream twice. GAH! Must work out more. With a functioning VCR I can go back to my Cindy Crawford workout tapes. I even have a few Richard Simmons workout tapes.. yeehaw!

Ahh, this is great. I want the purple one.

Walt was kind enough to scan the article from the paper.. Here ya go! I'm not sure why it comes up as so small.. but if you right click and save the file onto your computer, the resolution is good enough to read if you open it that way.

People at my company are beginning to have interviews. This is getting me a little nervous because I haven't been called in for one yet.. well, I had a pseudo one today with a staffing agency, but still. ARGH!! So I spend about 4 hours applying for jobs today at bay area pharmaceutical companies. Hopefully within the next few days I'll start getting calls, I hope, I hope.

Must do laundry tonight. Walt took pity on me and gave me a VCR player (thankyousomuchyourock!!) and now I can view all my VHS tapes again (Titanic, here I come baby). Last night I also ordered a DVD player from ebay (same one Walt has) and I'm totally excited about that.. not only does it look cool, it plays VCDs and mp3s. Woohoo! My puny little entertainment center is growing! Can I afford it? Probably not.. but I justify it by saying that my stocks are doing really well. I've made $600 in the last few weeks.. with the star performer being my little Forest Laboratories at a 30% increase in price since I first bought it. Hooray for mental health drugs!! Okay, I gotta admit I part of my choice for this stock was due to the fact that it sounded eco-friendly and happy.

Anyways, makin' dinner.. gotta return to my teriyaki chicken. BAWK!!

Lookie look..

Elbow update: I don't need the Tegaderm anymore.. I'm using triple antibiotic ointment on the deepest part which is last to heal and bandaging it up in my Harry Potter Band-Aids.

It was very very hard to come into work today. I set my alarm clock at 9am, and snoozed for about an hour. Although I slept around 1am the night before, my thoughts were racing as I slept. My sleeping patterns have been so messed up, I've been having problems falling asleep because I just think.. and think.. and think.. about all the things I want to do. Anyways, I got into work, and now I'm going full-force into finding a job for the New Year. I applied to about a dozen jobs today.. and this month I'll begin going to a career management training course that Bayer has set up for us.

Ah, this is getting stressful.

Happy New Year, everyone!

Sorry I haven't written in a while.. I've really had no motivation although the days have been pretty fun as they've passed. On New Year's Eve, Merima, Walt, Amit (his blog has now been added in my links!), Laquel, and assorted other friends went to a wherehouse party/rave in Oakland. There were several large rooms with lasers (beams on their foreheads) and smoke. We spent the evening there into the morning hours.. the atmosphere was great. No alcohol, so everyone got boozed up back at the car (very ghetto), and the people that came were very friendly and social. I met a lot of people.. and spent most of the time rating girls/guys with Walt on the stairs. Ahh, I could do that for days..

That evening, I was feeling a little ill.. just as the New Year's before, I came down with a cold of some sort. But armed with zinc, vitamin C, Cold-Eze, Air-Bourne, and echinea lozenges, the cold didn't last very long. Yesterday I woke up feeling pretty good.. and today, aside from a slightly snotty nose, I'm doing well. The elbow has been healing up quite nicely as well.

With Merima moving out, I needed to get a new TV system for my place. Ahh!! Cannot live without TV!! So, I called up my horsey friend Sharon, who works in the electronics department at Kmart. She had the inside scoop and could offer me her employee discount as well on anything I bought. She found a beautiful 27" Phillips television for me which was clearance marked in the back. She was able to get me the TV for $229, hooray! Not a bad price for a really nice TV and for someone that will be unemployed for a few months. I could've opted for something cheaper and just as big, but Walt convinced me that I should go for something nicer if I were going to keep the TV for a long time. The TV also has lots of input/output slot thingies if I were to enhance my home entertainment system. Right now it just has the Playstation 2 attached to it.

What else. This morning we had dim sum at Jade Villa in Oakland (very very good). We were celebrating the occassion of Walt's camera getting stolen.. well, kinda. After his digital camera was stolen at a friend's party we all attended, Amit got a bunch of people to chip in to help Walt pay for a new camera.. it was a nice gesture to see everyone come together like that for a friend. Gives me faith that people are truly inherently kind.

So, Happy New Year everyone! Hope life is treating everyone kindly.. and may this year be a prosperous, healthy one for all, hooray!