Wednesday already!

I'm at work at the moment.. yay, blogging from my new job. I really like it here so far.. my supervisor's great, the people in my group/department are really nice, etc. Waking up early is painful, but I'm slowly getting used to it..

Last night I rode Isabella.. we rode in the arena because she's been getting a little sassy with me whenever I push her so we worked on that. Donned helmet, chaps, saddle, crop, the whole shebang. She did give me a little piss and vinegar when I asked her to canter, but that quickly went into a whole other wave of frustration as we worked on our right canter lead. Being right-handed has resulted in a slightly uneven body position when I ride.. which is why I had so much difficulty.

Time to go home. Ciao.

Belated Tahoe pictures from Valentine's day. These are a few photos that Walt took.

Hot tub.. so gross. Walt's trying to accost me here. GAH!!! SICKO.

Thankfully Mark gets him back by trying to hump him. Yay for little brothers.

Standing on a thin sheet of ice along Lake Tahoe's shoreline. Back when my hiking shoes were clean.

This picture was taken before Amit killed us all in the truck.

Me and some strange dogs that kept trying to hump China.

I love this picture.

Wheee.

Amit fell asleep in the back seat. So naturally we took a picture of him.

Amit, just before he killed Mark.

I've been spending a bit of time at this site. It provides endless hours of entertainment.. however, it doesn't load on my browser all the time.. so, bummer.

First day of work went well. I'm wondering, though, since I used my julienne@insidehermind.com address for my resume, how many of them have visited this site.. toilet paper talk and all. Hence, I've been censoring my chatter a bit.

Sometimes I just want to listen to this song over and over again.. I like the synthesized violin melody at the end of the song.

This is so so very wrong. So I had to share.

Akasha1557: you're a sick disturbed soul
Akasha1557: and that's why we get along
wjquestus: yup!
Akasha1557: haha
wjquestus: if you said, "eat shit and die!!!"
wjquestus: I'd go..."mmmmmmm...shit"
Akasha1557: *drool*
wjquestus: one of my pick up lines at bars is, "so... you like scat play?"

I just bought this. Insanely more expensive than anything else I would normally spend on myself.. but I figured since I'll be spending a lot of my time commuting.. to work, to see Isabella, I needed to make my time inside my car pleasant. And this will make it ROCKIN'..

Cottonelle brand toilet paper with ripples is the best TP ever to touch my bum. I highly recommend spending the extra money for this heavensent luxury.

<--updated my 'me' page

I'm back! And pooped. Apparently I was pretty disoriented because I was on my way to Mountain View to pick up China at Bob's place and kept getting lost.. forgot to take the Dumbarton so I had to go all the way around the peninsula, then didn't know what exit to take, etc etc. But in the end I'm sitting at my 'puter at home with a messload of clean laundry to fold but I don't want to cuz I'm pooped and hungry. What to eat.. it may be a cereal dinner tonight, folks.

Yesterday was awesome. In the morning we went to the Empire State Building and ventured up to the top to see the view. It was positively freezing up there and the wind was blowing hard.. but it was an amazing experience.

Afterwards we went to the World Trade Center.. words can't express how sad it was being at Ground Zero.

In the evening, we went to Chinatown and ate at this cheap, small restaurant tucked away in a side street. There were a lot of Chinese people so we figured it'd be pretty good.. and it was! Mm... I love duck, and I had this dish called shrimp congee which was yummy.

So now I'm back.. I have to meet with my tax preparer tomorrow and get ready to start my new job on Monday. My framed picture of the NYC skyline broke in my suitcase so I had to throw the whole thing away.. :(

It's wierd how travelling to a different part of the world changes your perspective on life. I remember before I was going to take off how annoyed I was at my roommate.. she's not a very clean person. But coming back I'm okay about it all.. it's messy but I'm coolio. She also didn't water my plants and most of them died. :( FUCker. But hey, I'm cool.

Julienne: Poop. I forgot to wear deoderant today. That's okay.. I don't get BO. Anyways. Today is our last full day in NYC. Tomorrow we get up at the ungodly hour of 5:45am (that's 2:45 california time) to make it to the airport in time for an 8:30am flight. Did I mention they don't feed you on JetBlue? I guess that's how they keep their costs down. Bring food if you fly JetBlue. Today we go to the Empire State Building and down to Wall Street. You know, despite the stereotypes, New Yorkians have been suprisingly nice. Yesterday 3 different people helped us on different times to find the right train for us to board. Nice.

Mark: A Thoroughly Modern Millie was _thoroughly_ entertaining HAWHAWHAHWAHHFSADKFHA:DSKHFASDFSAF. The Village was nice to visit as well.

Quote of the trip: "Let's eat at Hooters!!!!" - Mom

Julienne: Let me just say, the walking thing is getting very very old. Yesterday we walking into Central Park to go to the Metropolitan Museum of Art. I love looking at all the Greecian statues and the paintings. I especially loved all of the Van Gogh paintings.. prints and lithographs do nothing for the original beauty the canvas portrays. I have a blister on my middle right toe. :( I think I'm done with shopping. Today we're going to try and get Broadway tickets at the 1/2 price place in the middle of Times Square. We're also headed into the "Village" since apparently we are from there.

It's interesting to see what other people are looking at in this Internet Cafe. The other day we saw this guy with a lady bent over on the screen pulling her buttcheeks apart. He stealthily tried to close the window, but I saw it!! MUHAHAHA.

Mark: Cental park was pretty amazing... it was a nice break from all the city. nothing was flowering... too cold for that, but I am thankful for the green grass and the dirt... all the concrete was getting to me. The suffocating effect of the city, though, really makes me understand how NY harbors so many artists and musicians. The gray environment sucks so much out of you that you just want to explode in creative blah blah blah.

The Met was pretty amazing. I doubt a whole day would be enough to appreciate everything inside... I saw a lot of amazing things, but had no time for the Roof Garden, or the Ancient Egyptian exhibit. ah well. Still glad i enjoyed the Mediterranean and Mesopotamean (sp?) sections, as well as the Ancient Eastern art exhibits... American (abstract...? I'm not an art person) painters of the early 1920's were way ahead of their time. I wouldn't think people back then were capable of such craziness...

Yep. Central Park, and the Met are pretty amazing places. Wish I could have stayed longer but..... ah well.

Julienne: What a crazy busy day! We met up with Wayne (who is a total hottie) and went shopping at Macy's and the Manhatten Mall. To get there, we joined a protest march that was walking along the street we needed to cross. I think we were the only asians in the group and probably the least-smelliest as well. I bought lots of very cute clothes and later on in the day, bargained with the Chinese people in Little Italy on a really nice purse. We went on the NY subway for the first time and saw rats in the railings.. they provide immense amounts of entertainment for bored passengers waiting for the train. The ride went pretty smoothly, aside from the fact we let the same train pass three times before we realized that was the train we needed to be on. Tomorrow we hit Rockefeller Center, Central Park, and the Met.

Mark: Like I said before, this place is devoid of all life... the only things that thrive here are pigeons, rats, roaches and... humans... i'm sure there's some deep meaning behind that, but blar blah blahb lbhafhsdfhsdhfsdf.

Something odd happened today... while walking with my family towards Time's Square, some lady standing net to me asked me "You're not from here, are you?" I replied "no I'm not..." She then said "You should be in China town. What are you doing here?" I replied cordially, "Well I'm visiting from..." But before I could explain I was from California, she said "You should be in 'The Village.' That's where your people are from." That's really racist. stupid old lady.

Fortunately, that old lady doesn't ruin my image of other old ladies of New York. Apparently, late at night, the walk and stop walking signs are shut off, so police manage the pedestrian traffic. So the police begin blowing on their whistles to stop traffic flow in one direction, and these old ladies are hurrying as fast as they can to cross the street. I hear the police men yelling "Come on, old ladies... come on ladies, move it!" Heheheheheh. That group of old ladies moved their butts off.

okay. that's it then.

Good: Here, there seems to be a very healthy ratio in terms of races... I'll bet anyone could be comfortable.

Bad: It feels like, save for Central Park, this place is devoid of all plant life.

Julienne wanted to mention that she drafted a complaint against a taxi driver who charged us too much. He also talked on the cell phone. Take that, taxi driver.

She also wanted to mention that the NYPD officers are pretty hot. really hot. very hot. apparently, they look like models.

-Post by Mark

Julienne: I'm in snowy, blizzardy New York right now! Mark is sitting next to me and we're at a kiosk at Kinko's right now. There is a man loudly snoring across the room right now - I hope his computer isn't being time-logged because they're charging $18/hour, madness! Kinko's snoring man.. awake!

After a full day of traveling yesterday, we awoke today at 8am for a "New York" style breakfast consisting of yummy bagels. Today Mark and I will wander around the snowy streets along Broadway to Times Square to do our initial day of exploring. Mom will meet up with us later tonight.

Mark: There is snow on my scarf. This is the first time I've seen falling snow. Here's something interesting... the NY trip, from the perspective of Julienne's boobs. "We can't see shit. She covers us up in too many layers of clothing."

Julienne: That's just wrong.

(taking lots of picture, including one of the snoring man. will share after I get back)

These past few days have been insane. I've just been stressed out of my head for many reasons, but things are finally beginning to settle in now.

The big news of the day is that I went this morning to Exelixis to sign my job offer papers. Starting March 29th, 2004, I'll be an Assistant Informatics Scientist II in their Computational Drug Discovery department. I'm too excited for words.. I think I'll really like the position and everyone in the department seems very nice. I actually had a much better offer from another company, but I took this position because informatics is where I want to be.. woohoo!

Tomorrow I'm headed off to New York City with Mark for 7 days. Hopefully we'll catch Letterman, Rockefeller center, the Chrysler building, Empire State building, Statue of Liberty, the huge Macy's, hot dog vendors, NY style bagels and pizza, Times Square, Wall Street, Central Park, ahh.. the list goes on. Yay!

I am also putting in a deposit for a very nice 1 bedroom apartment 5 blocks from where I'm living now. I didn't need the extra bedroom, plus the new place has a big patio for BBQing.. or having China hang out while I'm out working. My upstairs neighbor also has a black lab so I think they'll be good friends.

I ran into my dogwalker yesterday while I was walking around Pt. Isabel. China loooooves her. She was walking a bunch of dogs around and after we said our goodbyes, China kept running away from me towards her.. even when she couldn't see her anymore. She'd come back when I called her, but I'm now developing a complex that my dog doesn't love me enough. I'm trying to bribe her with treats and extra pets.. any other suggestions on how to get my dog's love and approval will be appreciated.

I had a lovely ride on Isabella today.. I'm going to miss daytime rides with no one else out at the barn once I start working again.

A random, short conversation with Walt:

Akasha1557: Maybe you should mail me some M&Ms
wjquestus is away at 7:01:22 PM.

tee hee.

Took this test and got this result:

We call one type of guy that you seemed to consistently like "Pups." Their look goes
with a certain loveable, puppy dog appeal. They're nice-looking guys, but they are
imperfect enough to be approachable. Their big eyes and goofy smiles convey warmth
and kindness. Like puppies, these guys can be a bit awkward and clumsy, so be
prepared to have a drink or two spilled on you! Only about 1 in 10 women (11%) are
attracted to this unique type, so they'll be flattered that you appreciate their
charm.

Both these guys are really cute...



or



However, the test said my "ideal" was this guy:



The typical "puppy-dog", boyish look.

I take China to this dog park in Berkeley frequently so I'm getting to know the "regulars" at the park. One of them is this older lady, Geri, who has two scrumptiously cute rat terriers. The other day I approached the park bench where she was sitting to pet her female, Sunny, and had an amusing conversation.

Me: Sunny! Hi sweetie.. *pet pet*
Geri: Oh, you know Sunny? (wierd question since I see her all the time, again, she's an older lady)
Me: Of course I know Sunny.. we go way back.
Geri: I see. Say, are you married?
Me: (taken aback) Uhmm.. no.
Geri: Do you have a steady?
Me: Nope. (turning red)
Geri: I should introduce you to my son. He's sooo handsome and he deserves a nice girl.. he's a wonderful family man and I know if he had kids, he'd pour his heart into taking care of them. You wouldn't even have to lift a finger!

She then proceeds to tell me his whole life history, the position he was in when she gave birth, painful childhood memories which I'm sure he'd love to know his mother was sharing. She told me he works at the Chrysler dealership in Oakland and says I should "accidently" bump into him. He's 29. Dodge is partnered with Chrysler. Perhaps I need my oil changed.. hehe!

The South Korean president was impeached today!

If plans go smoothly (ie, I sign an employee contract by then), I'm going to NYC for 5 days starting Thursday evening. (wanna get lunch, Wayne?) I'm taking my brother and mom along and we're going to go around and do all the touristy things. After all, I was born in NYC, I should be able to tell people I remember what it's like. Jetblue has amazingly low airfares, and with my severance and house income I can afford to treat my family to a nice hotel (except Lizette, who has to work :( )

Have you seen the new commercials for Hellboy? Is it just me or does he look like Ted Danson?

LOOK AT THIS THING!!!!!!!!!!!!! YUCK!!!! IT'S SO DISGUSTINGLY WRONG!!!!!!!

To answer Rachel's questions regarding my dream, etc..

I agree that the tidal waves and water elements represent the circumstances right now in my life that are "out of my control". I am confident I'll find a job soon, but when/where is up in the air right now and it is a bit stressful to deal with. My lease on my apartment is due in May, so I am beginning to look for another place right now, but where I'm going to be depends on where I end up working.. so I'm just waiting for these elements to fall into place before anything can be settled. I don't foresee the "settling" until after May.. so these will be a rough few months ahead. Oh yeah, I am an Aquarius.

When I was in fourth grade, my family and I moved to a very affluent area.. Palos Verdes Estates. My father was becoming very successful with his medical practice, so he was able to afford a HUGE mansion. There is no other way to describe it. There were 7 bedrooms, including maids quarters and an in-law residence, a library, entertainment room, digital kitchen, sauna, and a grand entry-way with a beautiful crystal chandelier hanging down the center of a spiral staircase. My room had 2 large picture windows which looked straight out onto the ocean and coastline. The property had a tennis court, an elaborate treehouse, acres of fruit trees, a pool, hot tub, and a looooong driveway with a private gate where visitors had to be buzzed through.

Sounds perfect, doesn't it? For the most part it was.. I spent most of my childhood outdoors playing in our safe, sheltered property. However, we learned later that the house had a bad curse on it. I know, it sounds paranormal and unbelievable, but even later we found that a Feng Shui practitioner had found the house to be filled with sharp angles, trapping bad luck into the household. We learned after we moved out that every single family that had moved into that house had some sort of financial disaster or family tragedy like we had. The room I grew up in was always cold.. it was never warm like the rest of the house. I was woken up one night by a child crying. Thinking it was one of my siblings, I rose and walked over to their rooms, both which were open. Peering my head in I still heard the crying but it was coming from neither of their rooms. I was young at the time and became frightened enough to go back to bed and try to sleep.

So, I'm not sure about Mark (my younger brother), but Lizette and I have nightmares about that house all the time. It's a constant in our lives, negative thoughts about that house. I never have dreams about the 2 places we moved into afterwards with Mom, or even the small house in Lakewood I spent most of my elementary school years.

Interview today went well.. but tomorrow is the position I really want. It's my "longshot" but dream position that I'd love to have. It's early in the morning and I have to cross the bay bridge. :( Commuting to South San Francisco might suck. I may have to think about moving.

Not much to write about.. except for the fact my dreams have been riddled with nightmares lately. I've had recurring nightmares about water in any form.. most frighteningly, tidal waves.. without being able to escape. The past few nights I've been inside a house (last night was the big mansion house I grew up in) and I see huge waves hitting the windows, and the house slowly being submerged in ocean water. I looked out the window and saw another house which was being carried by the water and crushed by the force of the current. I wonder why my nightmares are always like this. Either I'm trying to escape a flooded area or there are powerful, strong waves I can't escape. I wish I knew.

Not sure what's going on, but I have 2 more interviews next week. Possibly a 3rd. Good times. I am really excited because one of them is the informatics research scientist position I applied for back in January. This position would get me out of the lab and doing software/IT work for scientists. Rad.

I went to the Berkeley Marina today after work to get some fresh air.. today was our last day. I turned in my badge, my credit cards, everything. It wasn't too sad because I tried to slip away without saying goodbye too a lot of people.. I'm sure I'll contact them via email to see how they're doing.

This Sunday it should be dry enough for me to start my weekly hikes in Tilden with China again. I'm getting very bored of the workout videos/elliptical machine and I can see that I'm gaining weight because of that. :( :( Ugh. Trying not to get too bummed out because of that.. just workout more and eat better, yes.

I <3 my new printer/copier/scanner! I printed a billion pages today and I have several paper cuts to show for it.

Superscore, another interview on Tuesday. This one looks promising.. keep your fingers crossed for me. :)

Bloody penguin game, just for Lizette.

I went to Office-Max a few days ago to buy a 3 in 1 combo printer. With a mail-in rebate, it's $59.99. Good deal. I also bought a few cans of air spray. The kind with a straw thingy that you clean out your computer and keyboard. I can't stop blowing it into my mouth. I don't know why, it just feels right.

I made the most kickass grilled cheese sandwich just now. I don't even remember the last time I ate a grilled cheese sandwich, but I will surely make more now that my awesome grilled cheese sandwich making capabilities have been unleashed. Just one word.. Velveeta. The Spam of cheeses.. mm.. can't get any better than that.

Oh yeah, superscore for me.. I found a gift certificate for 1 pound of See's chocolates in one of my drawers this morning. Woohoo!

Isabella's leg is doing much better.. her hooves were trimmed today and the farrier said her feet were excellent. While we were at the barn, I hopped on her and walked up and down the driveway. I noticed as we walked nearer to the chicken coop that the chickens were out and about.. China immediately ran for them. The next few seconds were a blur.. I began yelling at China to come, she was chasing chickens around everywhere, she eventually caught one and began munching, Sandi came out and whistled, China looked up and went 'huh?', feathers flew every which way, chicken escaped*. This is the first time I've seen her "lab" instincts come out. I mean, this dog doesn't retrieve, she doesn't like the water, she's not hyper crazy like most labs.. but I guess she likes munching on chickens.

*No animals were harmed in his fiasco. The chicken was a rooster. Er, cock. Cawk. Caw.k.

This weekend went by pretty quickly despite all the days running into each other lately. My poor Isabella has a swollen right front leg from a superficial cut she most likely got from running around like a maniac in pasture. Tomorrow I'll check on her to make sure she's okay.

My weekend consisted of:

Saw "Monster" - excellent movie. Even if the story was false, Charlize Thereon was awesome and I love Christina Ricci.

Helped Travis move - developed massive biceps.

Saw "Secretary" - another good movie. Sadomasicism (sp?) and bondage galore.

Took China to Pt. Isabel. You know, when I spend too much time with someone I eventually get sick of their presence (with very few exceptions). I'm beginning to get sick of China. It's not indicative of my love for this person, because I adore my dog.. however, being around her too much is getting to me.

Watched the beginnings of the Academy Awards.. woohoo, "Return of the King" kicked some major butt.

Dinner/Halo with Amit and Walter (with a little bit of Merima)

I'm going to buy a printer today from Office Max. That is all.