. l o s t. in . t r a n s l a t i o n .

Essentials: Week #29

2008-07-23T22:14:00.000-07:00

Currently, these things are awesome to me:

Bánh mì thịt- When Anthony returned from Seattle last Sunday, he was awesome. He managed to bring back some bánh mì thịt (Vietnamese sandwich) for both me and Harue. For those who don't know, a bánh mì thịt is a Vietnamese baguette stuffed with thinly sliced pickled carrots & daikons, cucumber, onions, cilantro, a little jalapeños as well as slices of a variety of different types of pork (grilled marinated meats are popular too). It's also dressed with paté, some mayonnaise, oil, and sometimes a little soy sauce. Back when I lived at home, my mom, she would always bring home two bánh mì thịt (nicely accompanied with a can of soy milk drink) for me from the Vietnamese deli when she goes out grocery shopping at the Asian markets because she knew I loved them so much. Damn, I can never stop craving them! I want a special combo please! Bánh mì đặc biệt coming right away!

Mickey's - Geared toward the university-aged drinkers, slightly left of mainstream. Mickey's is a 5.8% alcohol by volume malt liquor. According to The Hipster Handbook, it is "The only deck malt liquor". I agree. It's deck. It also did me well last Thursday night. Packs a lot punch when you've got a 40 oz. bottle to yourself. Thank you Mickey's.

Mean Creek - Feeling a little restless from the summer night heat and couldn't go to sleep and so I ended up watching this dvd the other night. It's one of those movies that draws you in little by little and leaves a lasting impression. I don't really wanna spoil it too much for you and so I won't say much. Mean Creek is about a situation in which all control is lost. The movie is pretty much what do you get when you cross Stand By Me with The River's Edge, add a touch of The Outsiders, and top it off with a light dusting of Deliverance. Just to note, Mean Creek was chosen as feature selections in the 2005 Sundance Film Festival and the 2005 Cannes Film Festival.

Rewind: A Look Back At Week 29

2008-07-23T13:04:00.000-07:00

I'm going to go ahead and filter out the other six days of Week 29 and place emphasis on Thursday July 17th.

Thursday night, July 17th

Sometimes there really isn't much to do here in Pullman during the summer nights as oppose to during the regular school year.
After a hot and blistering summer day, Anthony and I randomly walked from our place and down to Dissmores. We managed to place some contemplation between a case of Corona or a case of Heineken, we ended up grabbing two large bottles of 40 oz. Mickey's.
Once home, we stuck the Mickey's into the freezer to let it chill for a bit and made ourselves some rum & coke with a bottle of Malibu Rum that we had stashed up on the refrigerator.
We chilled and talked at the dining room table. It was like old times back at E202 where it was just guys drinking and talking and attempting to solve life's little problems. Sometimes we drink to partially drown our sorrows and sometimes we just drink to us guys because we feel there needs to be some alcohol circulating in our veins. I guess tonight we just needed to talk while downing some.
Me and Anthony haven't really quite done this together for the longest time. I guess we've been so busy and preoccupied with other parts of our lives. But like I said, this is for the sake of old times.
Time passes by and we consumed two 40 oz. bottles of Mickey's on our own.
We talked some more, but this time it involves my face turning red and Anthony beginning to have his mind drift upon certain matters.
We get too loud and end up waking up our female room mate. I begin to feel bad.
Events began to happen...
More stuff adds to more events...
Anthony and I down a shot of rum each.
A hat gets tossed onto the futon and a pair of swimming goggles finds itself in our presence.
We joke, prank call our friends and leave absurd messages (if you were a victim and happen to find out by reading this, we are sooooo very sorry guys!).
We laugh our asses off continuously.
Somehow we became secret agents and spied...
I head back to the kitchen to make a toasted salami and vegetable sandwich for both me and Anthony as well as preparing two more rum & coke. Anthony requested double shots for his.
I consumed my sandwich.
A bag of Munchies (snack mix) magically appears out of nowhere and falls onto our table.
The Mickey's has got to me and I end up puking and I complain how awful the toilet smells.
Anthony douses anti-bacterial soap on my hands for me to rinse.
Anthony finishes his rum & coke as well as mine.
I end up falling asleep while talking on the phone and Anthony's whereabouts are unknown.
Just like old times...

The End

Rewind: A Look Back at Week 28

2008-07-14T14:36:00.000-07:00

To be honest, I'm going to go ahead and skip last Sunday through Friday and head right onto Saturday. The reason why? Well, not much actually happened throughout the week and if there were any, it's probably best not to mention since it would bore the living daylights out of anyone.

Sunday - Friday: Eat, sleep, read, summer day-dreaming, internet webcaming. 'Nuff said.

Saturday: Shopping. Yes, on Saturday we went shopping. Me, my friends Paul, Anthony and Harue decided that we were going to go ahead and make that 76 miles drive up north to the city of Spokane to make an effort in cashing in on some new threads. Also, being up in Spokane seemed like a little treat because it allowed us to get away from being stuck in Pullman and provided us with a generous change of scenery. Plus, Paul will be leaving Pullman at the end of the month and he has never actually had the opportunity to explore Spokane in his three years going to school at Washington State University.

Anyway, the first thing we did was hit up River Park Square which is in the center of downtown Spokane. The mall is where my little sister Tracey works at the Abercrombie & Fitch. Too bad she wasn't working that day or else we could have met up, but it was my fault anyway for not calling ahead of time. After Nordstrom, Macy's, Banana Republic, and Abercrombie & Fitch, we decided to grab a little lunch. Me and the guys got ourselves foot-long subs from Subway and Harue ended up with some fries from some joint. As usual, Anthony and I ordered ourselves different subs and traded half of what we got with each other. We always do this...it's how we roll.

Afterwards, we walked across the street to Riverfr ont Park. It was a really beautiful day. It seemed like everyone was out to enjoy the sun and warm weather. Girls were sunbathing on the grass, couples walking their dogs, old ladies feeding bread to the ducks in the large pond, little kids soaking themselves in the water fountain, teenagers getting a thrill at watching the river runs its course over the rapids and falls, and you can hear the sound of the merry-go-round just beyond the distance. It was a perfect opportunity to take some photos but both me and Paul forgot our cameras at home. Instead, I had to settle taking pictures with my cell phone, which doesn't have the same quality.

Paul, Harue and Anthony. It was so hot at the park that the shirts had to come off.

Later on, we made our final stop at Northtown Mall before heading back to Pullman during the drive at sunset.

After a long day, we finally got settled at home and chilled. What a better way to relax than to sip on some gin & tonic and a few rounds of rum shots.

Essentials: Week #28

2008-07-13T21:18:00.000-07:00

Currently, these things are awesome to me:

Mei - Haha...I had to put her on here. Well, she's always going to be awesome and it doesn't take her to be on this list for her to prove it to me. Anyway, for those who don't know, Mei is my lovely girlfriend who I started a relationship with this past April. How we began dating is actually an interesting story altogether. Can't wait to go visit her on the 25th!

Nutella - Seriously, this thing is so damn addicting! This hazelnut-based sweet spread created by the Italian company called Ferrero in the 1940s has made me eating it multiple times a day. Goes damn well with English muffins. Although the makers of Nutella deny it, scientific studies have shown that one of the key ingredients is crack cocaine. Ok, I made that up, there's no crack in the creamy hazelnut spread, but it seemed plausible as I typed. And I thought I might get a laugh. What can I say, I just love the stuff. Can't stop eating it. Must have some now.

Kick-Ass #3 - I just got done reading Kick-Ass issue #3 a few hours ago. For those who don't know, Kick-Ass is the latest title from writer Mark Millar’s creator-owned Millarworld line of comics. It's a look at a real world superhero, in a real world. Ever wondered what it would be like to put on a costume and fight crime? It doesn’t take your parents getting shot, getting yourself bitten by a radioactive insect, being a descendant of an alien world, or cosmic rays or a power ring…just the perfect combination of loneliness and despair. Can't wait for issue #4 coming out in August!

Blackberry Pearl - Yeah, I've had my Blackberry Pearl cell phone for quite some time now and I still can't stop raving about how much I love it. Three words to describe it. Small, smart, and stylish. To me, my Blackberry Pearl is damn sexy. The device handles quite a lot of tasks for me while I'm on the run. However, at the moment, I kind of got my eyes on the new Blackberry Bold and flirted with the possibilities of moving onto it. But then, I also have an infatuation for the upcoming 3G iPhone.

The Northwest's premier food festival

2008-07-09T22:50:00.000-07:00

The 2008 Bite of Seattle!

For those who don't know, The Bite of Seattle is an annual food festival that takes place over three days in July a at the Seattle Center, here in Seattle.

Founded by Alan Silverman, the president of Festivals, Inc., the first festival was held in 1982 at Green Lake, with 25 restaurants participating and 75,000 in attendance. In 2003, there were 60 restaurants participating with over 450,000 visitors.

Anyway, we're almost a week away from the festival and hopefully those in the Seattle area can make it out for some great food, delightful live entertainment, fun activities and warm summer weather. I don't think I will be able to make it to the festival this year but from years past, my experiences at the Bite of Seattle had always been a heap loads of fun. Seriously, how can you resist sampling all of those delightful food from some of the finest restaurants in Seattle?

July 18, 19 and 20, 2008
FREE ADMISSION
LOCATION: Seattle Center
FESTIVAL HOURS: Friday & Saturday 11 a.m. - 9 p.m.Sunday 11 a.m. - 8 p.m.

Some fresh beats!

2008-07-08T08:38:00.000-07:00

My Top 10 Favorite Songs from the 1980's

Being born in the early 1980's, I grew up having an 80's childhood. I was old enough during the 80's to truly appreciate and remember it all but not old enough to be cynical about all the crazy stuff we did. Anyway, the 1980's also brought about some memorable songs that I find myself listening to on my iPod and rediscovering. I was perhaps really young during this decade, but they are songs I had a liking for at a young age and somehow they still linger with me in my adult age as if their beats were fresh from yesterday.

Here are my ten most favorite songs from the 1980's in numerical order:

The plethora of summer heat

2008-07-03T13:04:00.000-07:00

A photo shot of me and my friend Yumi by my buddy Brian earlier in the summer when the weather wasn't quite so hot.

Today, here in Pullman, the expected temperature is suppose to be somewhere as high as the mid-90 degrees Fahrenheit. Shit, the past few days have been pretty sweltering and I'm not sure about you, but when the temperature begins to rise and I find myself shedding so much sweat, I begin to feel this sense of lag, not laziness, but lag. I guess it's a sign that my body is being dehydrated from all of that intense heat and that I need to carefully hydrate myself with more liquids so that my body can replenish itself.

Just a few moments ago, I happen to have stepped outside my apartment and this sudden and immense blanket of heat simply just forced itself upon me. I felt the impact of summer heat overwhelming the surface of my skin and the slow penetration of warmth throughout my body. Before minutes could be counted, my body already had began shedding drops of sweat and I seriously realized how engulfed we all are.

Anyway, I'm heading over to the Seattle later today with my friend Paul and my room mates Harue and Anthony. I heard there's some thunder showers on the other end of the state. Perhaps a little rain and a swift cooling in weather is something I need. It'll be refreshing and a desirable change of environment. Spending the 4th of July weekend in Seattle will be exciting just like years prior.

Right now, I'm just lounging in my bedroom, listening to Jack Johnson and waiting for Paul to get off from work so that we can grab a bite of food (leftovers from last night's barbecue) and head out.

Can't wait to see Mei...

Well, if I happen to not have time to post on here (since my schedule will be packed) tomorrow, have a wonderful 4th of July everyone!

Seattle Supersonics Officially Relocating to Oklahoma City

2008-07-02T17:51:00.000-07:00

We are OFFICIALLY...NBA-less in Seattle.

Just minutes ago, it was announced that current Seattle Supersonics owner Clay Bennett has officially began the relocating process of moving the NBA team from Seattle and to his hometown of Oklahoma City.

The Supersonics will move to Oklahoma City for the 2008-09 season as part of a settlement with the city of Seattle, ending a contentious relationship that resulted in a trial in which the judge was due to issue her ruling Wednesday.

The settlement calls for Sonics owner Clay Bennett and the Professional Basketball Club LLC to pay up to $75 million to the city in exchange for the immediate termination of the KeyArena lease between the NBA team and the city.

The team's name, legacy and colors will be staying in Seattle.

After 41 years of some triumphs and some heartaches, Seattle is saying farewell to a team.

Thank you Seattle Supersonics and the community of supporters for those 41 years.

Seattle Supersonics intro at Key Arena at the 1996 NBA Finals.

Dylan Returns

2008-04-01T01:42:00.000-07:00

Photography by Brian S. Chen & post-processing by me.

Lost In Translation is back!

After over a month, I've finally returned to the helm of my blog...
and I've got some stories...

If I lay here, if I just lay here

2008-02-26T00:58:00.000-08:00

The sun is showing a little more often now, but it isn't exactly spring yet. On early mornings waiting at the bus stop, or even at the late stretches of night when I'm fumbling with friends as we walk out of the bar, the coldness of winter still lingers around like as if it isn't ready to depart on its own will. For a change, the snow has said its last goodbyes, but to only lure in the rain in its place. I'm still afraid its going to snow just one last time, but that's just me fearing things that never materialize. It'll be quite soon once more before I finally start to gather those inevitable feelings that always arrive when you begin to sense that spring is in the air. The kind that slowly and carefully brushes upon you and finally envelopes you in one leap of yearning embrace.

...the feelings of youthful naiveness, the vibrancy of wanting to live forever, letting loose like roman candles in the night's sky...

...the climactic emotions that comes with making eye contact with the coy girl in the garden through sheer accidental timing...

... and the perfect symmetry in thoughts when finding yourself standing underneath a whirlwind of cherry blossoms.

Spring isn't here yet. I know it, but I'm waiting. Its been dawning on me that this time of year is Red House Painters season. Been listening to a lot of them lately when no one's around, so I can blast it up to mid volume on my iPod with headphones and lay on the bedroom floor, staring up at the ceiling and window like a late winter dreamer ( the way it should be with that kind of music).

My mind has been drifting towards elsewhere except for here lately. A little bit of it is looking westwards past the Cascades and some more of it looking southwards towards San Francisco. I think it's because of the lack of chilly sunset walks on the beach and the smell of evergreen or even the taste of fresh seafood thats throwing me off. Its going to be almost 30 months at the end of February since I've moved here from Seattle. It's strange to think I've been living here in Pullman for 3 years now. For most of my waking life, I only knew Seattle as a home and was happy when on a whim I decided to move east to Pullman and attend Washington State University. I have no regrets, but eventually I'll need to see the seasons again and allow myself to be bitter at the weather taking too long of a time to transpire into spring and not at anyone/anything else.

Thoughts keep biting at me right at this moment...

4:59am...

2008-02-20T04:59:00.000-08:00

Glancing at the clock, I stumble at the notion that I should be entirely in bed by now. However, I'm not. I'm finding myself sitting here at the dining table underneath what appears to be the loneliest set of illuminated lighting to be found in the entire apartment at the moment. And here is me sitting alone only to be a compliment to the atmosphere of this early morning restlessness . Daring to take a second glance, it finally jumps at me that it's 4:59am and that I am coming to grips of becoming fully aware that I am a part-time insomniac.

By definition, an insomniac is someone who is characterized by persistent difficulties in falling asleep or staying asleep despite the opportunity that is granted to them. For the most part, it is also typically followed by functional impairment while they are awake. Well, for me, I consider myself only part-time in this sleeping disorder because it's not persistent so to speak. I do have nights where I am sleeping perfectly normal without any obstructions affecting me. And it's also only sometimes that I'm awake and struck with realization that I'm functionally impaired.

Perhaps, all of what I just said is just bullshit coming from a part-time insomniac (like me) who really just doesn't want to go to bed, but rather has some internal revelry in spending endless odd hours attempting to defy sleep and squeeze in as much more hour in a day than it is naturally possible. Or maybe I have other intentions.

Well, since I am conveniently up (as oppose to being in bed), I clearly think I will go for a morning jog to make myself sweat, ...to make myself tired, ...to make myself lose some of this energy that's keeping myself awake,...to make myself become cold in order to yearn for the comforts of a warm bed,...and to figure out everything else that I need to make out of myself...

...at 5:28am.

Fuck. it's 5:29am now.

February 14th came and went

2008-02-15T03:38:00.000-08:00

If you think about it (well, this is what I think anyways), Valentine's Day seems to be a little too over-rated. Don't you agree? I mean, the perfect card, the perfect gift, the perfect date...

Seriously, for those who are already attached to someone, isn't there already enough pressure in relationships? And do we really have to add more to this pressure by trying to live up to some romantic ideal on Valentine's Day? I dunno. Perhaps you can disagree with me on what I said but it is no lie that Valentine's Day have become increasingly commercialized throughout the years. In fact, more often we seem to have our love measured by what we buy. Yeah, buying gifts for someone you love is always fun and creative, but this is not what love is all about. Love is much more complex than flowers and chocolates.

If you wish, buy that card or those flowers, but also keep in mind that this is not a maker or breaker of a relationship. Better yet, show the person you love and place them in consideration on the other 364 days in the year. It will make a greater impact on the relationship than simply aligning yourself on just one single day in February. Anyway, that's what I think and feel free to disagree with me.

So you're wondering, just what exactly did Dylan do on Valentine's Day this year? Well, unlike last year, I'm not attached to someone and a Valentine's Day plan was not destroyed by some stupid fight with the girlfriend over ridiculous stuff. Instead, this year I'm single and there really wasn't any plans at all. In fact, I actually spent a good part of it studying for a midterm and eating some Valentine's Day treats given to me from Ning and Sayano.

Valentine's Day cards I made for Ning & Harue.

Before heading on to campus in the morning, I whipped up some omelets and blueberry pancakes for Ning & Harue. I felt that I was running a little late and so I skipped out on making food for myself and simply indulged my hunger in a breakfast of vending machine chips and soda.

The rest of the evening I spent with my female roomies and two guy friends who happened to drop by. All of us presided over a delicious dinner that Harue prepared as well as lots of desserts and two fine bottles of wine amongst the five of us. All in all, it was a low-key, but yet a cozy, warm and relaxing evening.

Images of Valentine's day dinner this year prepared by my roomie Harue.

Three's Company

2008-02-13T14:23:00.000-08:00

me, Harue and Ning

Most of you might have already known that last semester here at Washington State University (from August thru December), I was living with Kelly, Harue and Anthony. I mentioned about this way back in my Nov. 30, 2007 post. And then in my December 15, 2007 post, I talked about how things have changed and that I'll be living with only two girls starting January 2008. Remember that?

Well anyway, as of now...here I am living with two awesome girls, Harue and Ning. They both indeed are very sweet, smart, lovely and always fun to hang out with and I do enjoy their company.

And that's why before I go to sleep every night, I always take the quiet moment to thank the lord for this blessing that I've received.

Thank you lord! Oh how you have blessed me with this brilliant adornment of dual female companionship!

Hahahaha...I'm just kidding about the last two sentences, but I truly am glad I'm living with both of them right now. Aside from the friendship and the companionship, it also gives me a chance to learn and explore the female psych much more in-depth and it also allows me to better understand how I am with females, how they react to me and especially provides me with knowledge of what women want.

Then again, as much as I do know about women (sort of)...I still get confused about the gender type known as "females" (yes, I do get confused about you females, sometimes!). What do you women in this world want from me? Just kidding. So yeah, I'm no expert on the female gender-type (perhaps one day?), BUT I've learned quite a tremendous deal about them (thanks to living with you females). However, I'll always be dumbfounded now and then.

Anyway, life isn't too bad being the only male bachelor in the household. My living situation kind of reminds me of that old television sitcom Three's Company...except we're not Caucasians living in the late 70's-early 80's and there's no Stanley Roper living below our apartment.
But yeah,

Come and knock on our door.....
We've been waiting for you......
Where the kisses are hers and hers and his,
Three's company too.

Happy Chinese New Year!

2008-02-07T05:45:00.000-08:00

I just wanna wish everyone prosperity, longevity and lots and LOTS of happiness.

Year of the Rat

Scenes from Thailand:

People celebrating Chinese New Year in the Yaowarat part of Bangkok, Thailand. (photos courtesy of Masashi)

Realm of the Four Buddhas

2008-02-06T09:57:00.000-08:00

My apartment bedroom...the very place of my nightly slumber, occasional late-night studying, solitary relaxation, moments of self-reflection, and conversational lounging, isn't quite anything extraordinary to boast about. The way I've always seen it to be is that it's simply just a temporary place for me to live here in Pullman (since 2005) as I continue to pursue what I've got to do here at Washington State University. However, one thing that I do get often is friends and people who've been in my room saying how relaxing, comfortable, peaceful and rejuvenating it is. If you haven't seen or been inside my bedroom, it most certainly can be described as very modern & Asian.

Anyway, I think from time to time, I'll showcase some aspects and bits of my bedroom. For now, I'll leave you with images of my four Buddhas that you can find in different spots of my bedroom...

Dylan's bedroom, also known as "Realm of the Four Buddhas"...just kidding.

From top going clockwise:

A high relief carving of an Adorned Khmer Buddha head, Angkor Wat style of 12th century A.D. This one is placed on top of one of my bookshelves where it receives brilliant lighting.
Small jade Gandharan style Buddha meditating on lotus. I like to pretend this is the Emerald Buddha. This one sits right underneath my bonsai tree which kind of gives it the "meditating underneath the banyan tree" look.
The Laughing Buddha or Budai statue, is an interpretation of the Bodhisattva Maitreya. It is considered the predicted Buddha who is supposed to succeed Gautama Buddha in the future. This one is placed prominently in the middle of my desk and faces me and smiles to me everyday whether I'm going online on my laptop or tediously studying.
The Nyorai Buddha. This one sits gracefully on top of my black bookshelf. It is the one most visibly recognized when someone walks into my bedroom.

For the girl who couldn't readily get kimchi...

2008-02-05T08:24:00.000-08:00

So I know I've been teasing you (you know who you are) quite some time now with all of my talks about kimchi...

Dylan's breakfast of steamed jasmine rice, kimchi and pork slices. Of course awaiting Korbua.

I know it's kind of mean, but I've even included the Vietnamese pork (gio lua) just for you!

Sorry to be mean, but Korbua...this is me teasin' ya...

3 things on my mind on this Sunday morning

2008-02-03T10:58:00.000-08:00

1st Thing...

Harue, Anthony, me, Ning, and Brian at the guys' pad last night.

Saturday night, my room mates and I decided to just kick it and chill at Anthony & Brian's place where I ended up making some dinner for everyone. I went forth with cooking up really flavorful & juicy beef steaks that I marinated using a recipe that I conjured up myself which involves chopped ginger, red wine vinegar and a lot of other stuff.

Obviously, I love to cook. Culinary exploration and creation is one of my passions. If you know me, Thai & Vietnamese cuisine is what I mainly cook, but Japanese and especially Cambodian cuisine are my next to explore and conquer. Not too many people know about Cambodian cuisine. It's a world of its own that kind of resembles a blend of Thai, Chinese and Vietnamese, but yet has it's own uniqueness. Cambodian food has stronger flavors than Vietnamese, slightly more subtle than Thai and is not as heavy as Chinese. I personally believe Cambodian cuisine is a hidden gem that is going to be one of the next big trendy thing in dining. Oh, by the way, e-mail me if you want the recipe for these steaks.

A plate of my steak & rice. I think this is Brian's plate.

And like any university students on a weekend night,...we ended up drinking afterwards. We can't help it! It's a given!

2nd Thing...

Just staring out the window and attempting to study on a cold and lazy day like today, I truly find myself miss living in Seattle and having that all-taken-for-granted ability to just drive over to Chinatown whenever I wanted to and have a steaming bowl of kuyteav at Phnom Penh Noodle House. When I was living in Seattle, this used to be one of my favorite places to go and have a bite during lunch.

A yummy bowl of "Kuyteav Phnom Penh" at Phnom Penh Noodle House.

3rd Thing...

I had a really fun conversation with a certain someone (you know who you are) earlier this morning. I hope she was able to find some kimchi close to her office and satisfy her craving, yeah? (laughing).

Lets thank the snowstorm for cancelled classes

2008-02-01T16:34:00.000-08:00

I decided to go out onto my balcony to film the snowstorm.

Going to school here at Washington State University obviously means that I also have to endure the grueling winter months where Pullman receives days of heavy snowfall in addition to the endless cold winds and freezing nights. Seriously, everything over here can become literally frozen over night. No joke!

The snowy landscape of the northern part of Pullman from on top of Holland library on campus. (Photo by me)

This past Wednesday, Pullman was hit by a severe snowstorm that lasted into the Friday morning. As a result, we ended up having over a feet of snow, which was rather beneficial to me because the weather condition actually forced the university to cancel classes for both Thursday and Friday. Lately, I've been ranting so negatively about the harsh weather but all of that was subsided when nature had blessed us students with a 4-day weekend.

The trick is to give them (as in females) curry

2008-01-30T23:36:00.000-08:00

Day #1:
Sitting across the dining table from her last night, while both of us were busy being absorbed in our own personal worlds via online on our laptops, I noticed that girl ...the one right across from me... was feelin' a bit sad. Although I was caught up with my own thing, I couldn't help but sense this frustration emanating from her and the conveyance of restless expressions on her face that seem to have caught the corners of my eyes. I go to bed wondering what the hell is wrong...

Day#2:
So I find out from her what's been really goin' on with herself since for myself curiosity was really placing some low levels of anxiety inside me. Once again, I'm forced beyond my will to play the role of the "nice-guy-friend-that-girls-go-to-for-talks-about-their-problems" guy.

Okay, so how do I comfort a girl and attempt to tell her that everything is alright? Umm...what do I do? I end up cooking her a pot of pork & vegetables curry. Spicy enough to make her temporarily forget her worries and yummy enough to turn that frown into a smile. I dunno. I'm really a big dork. But hey, the smile lit up on her face and my job is done.

Dylan's curry. It temporarily solves all girl's problems. Seriously.

Damn it! Damn it! Damn it! Why am I always the one playin' the role of the "nice-guy-friend-that-girls-go-to-for-talks-about-their-problems" guy all the time???

Hahahahahahahahaha.......

Hrmm...I've got a plan...

Dylan's January Girl...

2008-01-29T21:22:00.000-08:00

My Girl for January 2008

By the way, this is ALL FICTIONAL and MADE-UP (None of it is real!):

Once upon a time at a ski lodge up in Whistler...

Dylan: Umm...excuse me. So...aren't you going to get really cold by going snowboarding with just shorts and a t-shirt?

January Girl: No. Actually, I just got off the slopes. Simply putting my board away, silly. I'm actually getting ready to jump into the hot tub. I dunno, perhaps a weird question, but you should join me, yeah? Probably think I'm weird huh?

Dylan: Errr....ummm...urghh...

January Girl: By the way, I'm Cindy, what's your name?

Dylan: Umm...my...my...my name is...Cindy. Shit! I meant Dylan. I'm Dylan. I don't spit hot fire. Shit!...umm...pfffff....

January Girl: Oh yeah? You seem awfully nervous Dylan. Hehehe...you're sweating quite a bit there. Are you alright?

Dylan: Umm...err....umm..uh...Do you like pho?

January Girl: Excuse me?

The End

My impending doom as seen in my friends' dreams

2008-01-28T20:18:00.000-08:00

This afternoon as I logged onto my Facebook account, I came across two very disturbing wall posts from two of my friends today and both of the messages seem to have this really eminently eerie correlation with one another. Can you guess? Check it out...

Kevin's original message to me at at 2:06pm:

" hey remember those dcs that you gave me years back at wherehouse with south, cooper temple clause, black rebel motorcycle club, and whatnot. i was listen to south and cooper temple clause last night and had a fucked up dream that made me wake hoping you're fine. for whatever i'm working and you come in and have trouble making sentences and normal speech. i didn't say anyhting but after you left reesha and stan go on about some accident you had that left you mildly retarded. that was horrible to hear, make bush retarded or soemone who deserves it. distraught i awoke confused and from there laid awake for an hour or so. been in any accidents lately? "

Rachel's original message to me at 4:39pm:

" hey Dylan...sorry I haven't been on MSN lately, work has really got to me in the past few days. Anyway, I hope your doin' alright. This morning as I was driving in Burnaby, I couldn't help but think about this really weird dream I had of you last night. It was strange but we were at your funeral :(
you're doing ok, right????? I hope you are. LOL Get on MSN tonight so that I make sure you're not dead! Hahaha j/k...but do get on! "

All I can say is that when I read both of those messages, I had the worst chills down my spine. Am I really doomed? Am I heading towards my final destination...?

Nah, can't be right?

Life as I know it has come to an end

2008-01-27T19:21:00.000-08:00

...Well, not exactly. Life as I know it isn't entirely coming to an end. Hahahahaha...at least not yet anyways. However, the feeling couldn't have been more apparently felt than last night.

I think late last night was so overwhelmingly bad that I even took the necessary liberty to just lock myself in my bedroom today and sleep in all day. To describe late last night? Do I even want to bother? Shit, I don't think I even want to consider listing and analyzing a play-by-play of my downward spiraling into drunken stupor and erratic confessional behaviors.

So after a few moments of flip-flopping thoughts, I finally decided that I was going to write to a certain person a letter of apology because I think she was highly annoyed by me and irritated by my temporary pursuit to drink all of Pullman's alcohol dry. I saw it in her face last night as she was sitting across from me. Damn, I think I'll just leave it on her desk tomorrow morning before I head out to class. I hope this letter can bring forth some light of understanding between us and if not, then hell...perhaps life as I know it is indeed slowly coming to an end. Hahaha...

I love to tease Harue...

2008-01-25T07:11:00.000-08:00

...especially when we're in the library for hours and she's very hungry and wants to go home.

I think at 7:52pm, I saw the most saddest face on a girl to ever sit in a library and read a note.

Our creepy-looking snowman

2008-01-24T01:02:00.000-08:00

I meant to post this much earlier, but never got around to it. On the night of January 15th, me and Harue became extremely bored and decided to go out into the snow and build ourselves a snowman in the parking lot. I can't remember the last time I even made a snowman...maybe 3 years ago with my ex Kaori or perhaps 4 years ago with my nephew? Can't remember. Anyway, the snowman me and Harue made, we both agreed looked very creepy. Too bad the next morning someone kicked it's head off and was followed up by being driven over by a truck. Poor thing.

What I'm striving for in 2008...

2008-01-17T01:03:00.000-08:00

I'm reminded every morning of what I've got to do.

I think a while back, I promised everyone that I'd come up with a list of goals and endeavors for 2008. I know that it's been a couple of weeks since the new year began, but here they are:

Keep myself motivated in my university studies and strive to achieve constant success. Meaning, I've gotta FOCUS FOCUS FOCUS and graduate!
Try not to think way too much over things that doesn't necessarily need to be analyzed so in depth. Meaning, do not overthink to the point of paralysis. Both one of my good friend and I tend to do this quite too often and it always kills us.
Don't assume that opportunities will be here forever.
Find things in everyday life that engages my mind and my passions and don't abandon them.
Find love. And when I do, I want myself to love - mutually, completely, and without fear - and to have that love revered and respected for what it is.

So there ya go! My goals for 2008.

Waiting for class on a Wednesday

2008-01-16T12:18:00.000-08:00

Here's the clip of the Dallas Cowboys' wide receiver Terrell Owens crying after the New York Giants vs. Cowboys Playoffs Divisional Round from last Sunday. (Cowboys lost by the way):

Is it just me or does Terrell Owens' press interview slightly remind you of Chris Crocker's "Leave Britney Alone!" video?

Right now, I'm actually in Holland Library going online, eating up my home-made turkey sandwich and waiting for my next class at 1:10pm. On Wednesdays, from 11:45am-1:10pm is when I have time in between classes and I pretty much don't really do much except to rest & lounge around with my laptop.

Ever since classes for Spring semester here at Washington State University began last Monday, January 7th, I failed to realize how my busy school schedule (which includes both class attendance and time set aside for massive studying) would totally drain me of time to post on my blog. I guess there is always time, but after a whole day of attending lectures, working in lab and coming home to finish up even more homework, I'm already so exhausted and completely lagged that any attempt to update my postings results in complete utter failure.

Anyway, last Sunday afternoon, after waking up from a night of intense drinking, singing and whatever else university students do on weekend nights, my friends Brian, Anthony, & Helen came over and took me and Harue to the see P.S. I Love You at the movie theater. The movie which stars Hilary Swank and Gerard Butler, is actually based on a novel by Cecelia Ahern. The movie is basically a sappy overlong melodrama. It's not a bad movie at all, but I wouldn't consider it a memorable one either. I think most girls will find this movie to be somewhat of a tear-jerker.

Well, hello there 2008...

2008-01-04T21:14:00.000-08:00

Honestly forgetful that we've already arrived onto the 4th day of this new year, I kind of feel like it's still somewhat 2007, don't you? I'm not sure if it's just me feeling this way or whatever. I guess it's still way too early into the year for anything to say. And of course, the fact that I didn't really celebrate New Year's Eve pretty much moderates how well the idea that 2008 is happening now, is sinking in. Oh well, I'm pretty sure once Spring semester here at Washington State University starts this Monday, I'll most definitely begin to sense the emanate arrival of 2008 with a clear slap on the head.

Well, this is my last night of having the whole apartment to myself. Starting tomorrow afternoon, my very sweet roomies will begin to trickle in as they end their winter breaks. This is terrific because after three weeks of solitude, I'm actually dying for company and I really do want to hang out with my friends as they too will begin returning to Pullman.

Anyway, as I was eating dinner earlier tonight, I looked out the glass slide door and noticed that the sky was on fire. Yup, the sky was on fire. Actually, not really. It was simply the sunset here in Pullman. I thought is was rather dazzling and so I went out into the cold and took a shot of it from my balcony.

A view from my balcony here in Pullman.

This photo reminds me of a poem...

" The heavens are ablaze with orange embers....
Splinters of steel-gray clouds pierce the radiance
Wisps of haze emerge like smoky smudges....
Winter sun's twilight heat dances over the snow and affects the changing light
Fiery reflections shimmer against the fading hues.
Like a fire in the sky the sun melts into the horizon. "
-Unknown author

Nice poem Mr. Unknown Author. Anyhow, I think in my next posting, I'll talk about my goals for 2008, New Year's resolution and some other stuff.

Dylan!...What's in your bag?

2008-01-03T00:42:00.000-08:00

Here is what's in my bag...

My bag: EXPOSED

Things in my Kangol messenger bag that I carry on campus and occasionally elsewhere:

Currently I'm reading Alex Garland's The Coma
Dolce & Gabbana sunglass
iPod
Samsung cell phone
Coach wallet (sometimes I don't like it in my pants pockets)
TI-89 graphing calculator (hey, I take a lot of math & science courses!)
A Korean brand pencil pouch (bought it at Richmond Night Market)
A very handy Pilot pen
Keys
Notebooks

Ever had that slight curiosity where you find yourself wondering what's in other people's bags? I normally don't nor do I care what others store in their backpacks, messenger bags, totes, purses, etc. However, earlier today when I was at Starbucks waiting in line to order a nice hot grande soy vanilla latte, this lady in front of me seemed to take forever finishing up her transaction. I'm pretty patient and so I didn't mind at all. But then I was a little bit curious and as I glanced over, I witnessed the lady taking out about a million items from her Coach purse. I was somewhat baffled as to how she can miraculously fit every single one of those items into her bag? Must be a magical bottomless Coach purse?

Anyway, this little experience reminded me of a trendy photo pool on Flickr where members would empty out their bags, lay the items out for display, take a photo of them and upload it onto this Flickr photo pool called What's In Your Bag? I thought it would be amusing to do one and submit mine on there.

Farewell 2007...

2007-12-31T19:47:00.000-08:00

My life in 2007. Take a look...

I try to take lots of pictures because I always wanna have something to remember people, places and experiences. Out of all of the photos I've taken during 2007, I was only able to select about 1/10 of them to include in a slide show. This was a slide show I made that pretty much captures some of the moments in my life during 2007 (in chronological order).

Anyway...

Time and time again, especially since 2007 is only a few hours shy of expiring, I'm becoming more aware of how exceedingly fast a year can make itself appear in front of your doorsteps one day, and then cast itself farewell, the next.

I know for a fact that 2007 was overwhelmingly full of special moments and course-changing decisions, but I never realized how so much can just happen in 365 days. Believe me, those 365 days can flash by so fast that even within a blink of an eye, changes have already conspired with the universe to let themselves to occur. Honestly, 2007 has taught me so much in terms of love, friendship, heartbreak, happiness, determination, personal will, and the painful struggle of trying to hold onto something but at the same time, letting go.

As 2008 approaches, I find myself once again single, inevitably growing older, still studying at a university and piece by piece, putting together a future for not just myself, but for whoever that will come my way and join me in a journey through the depths and splendors of what tomorrow may bring.

Well, as you might know, the past couple of weeks were just...I don't know how to best describe it, but it clearly wasn't how I imagined my last few weeks of 2007 to be. However, 2007 is about to end and I guess it's better that I simply just look forward to 2008 and focus from there.

Yup.

*sigh* You treated me well 2007 and I thank you for 365 days of remarkable experiences, but it's time to move onto 2008. Farewell 2007...

Here's to longevity, prosperity, and serendipity for 2008! Cheers...

11:56pm...December 30th...Letting go...

2007-12-30T23:56:00.000-08:00

If you're one of my roommates or one of the few who know me well, you'd definitely know that I have trouble sleeping most nights. What ends up happening is that I'll get in bed and just lay there in the bleak & calm darkness staring my mind away and think of something that's been bothering me, or even something that I should have done, or said. One thought leads to another, and pretty soon I find myself wide awake, at 3am in the morning, trying to solve all my problems.

During summer, when I was at that time living in Seattle, I came up with this idea where I would write down thoughts that were running through my head onto a notebook that I bought especially for this purpose.

I'm trying to write something in it each day, ideally before I go to bed. That way, hopefully, I'll be able to go to sleep knowing that I've done something about it, or that I can figure it out the following day.

My notebook entry for tonight is reflecting some remnants of my thoughts from the past three weeks and a song... Damien Rice's "The Blower's Daughter" . Listen...

I hate and love this song at the same time. I hate it because I find myself listening to it too often. I love it because it's so melancholic, so sad, but so immensely beautiful.

I've been listening to it quite a lot lately...

Coincidently, I also found out my friend Woojae, who is currently going through the same emotional state as me for the past few weeks, is listening to it non-stop...

The song is about unrequited love. It's tragically beautiful. The song reveals a guy who loves her to death, but any feelings she may have had for him are long gone, as she loathes him, and now he has to move on and find someone new...

...but he just can't move on, not yet...maybe someday, and until then he won't ever stop thinking about her...

My Christmas...

2007-12-25T22:42:00.000-08:00

So I ended up spending Christmas this year here in Pullman alone. I could have easily chose to travel out of here and be with my friends and especially my family. Honestly, it just wasn't in me this year to really want to celebrate Christmas at all nor be around anyone.

I woke up this morning to find myself with only one present to open up. It was a present given to me from one of my best friends, Sayano. She gave it to me earlier last week and I had previously planned on saving it to bring down to San Antontio and stick it under the Christmas tree at my parent's house. That obviously didn't happen and so fortunately I did have something here in Pullman to open up on Christmas morning. And so I can't say that I didn't get anything for Christmas, right?

My Christmas can be completely summed up in just six photos.

My whole day was spent watching a total of six movies and eating several bowls of pho (which took over 6 hours to preapare) that I made especially for only myself.

Hours passed by and before I even knew it, my day had gone by relatively fast. At around 4pm, I went out onto my balcony to marvel at perhaps one of the most beautiful winter sunsets I've seen here in Pullman in such a long time. If movies weren't enough to entertain me, at least sunsets can.

Spending Christmas alone didn't make for a somber day at all. Perhaps bittersweet, but truthfully there's not much I can expect.

I promise you next year will be different.

A Christmas less ordinary

2007-12-24T07:59:00.000-08:00

In the past few days, after awakening myself from the flu, I spent most of my days and nights alone living in what appeared to be a recreation in my mind of my past. Set forth both consciously and unconsciously through efforts spearheaded by my yearning mind, I found myself rediscovering certain avenues of my not too distant past.

It was surreal, but I knew it was just my mind playing tricks on me or better yet, emotions taking the upper hand over my rational thinking.

For the past few days, it seemed that time was halted, but obviously time was moving forward as it had always been. Maybe I wanted time to stop. Perhaps I wanted to go back in time. I succeeded, but like I said, it was just all in my head. Reality finally re-emerged fully today and that's when I realized I can't stop time and no matter what or how hard I can try, I can't go back in time either and live in it.

Today also sunk in the fact that I'm not in Texas. I never really did make it out to my flight. To differ from what everyone might have assumed, I didn't at all make that trip to Seattle to catch what was suppose to be my flight down to San Antonio. (Thank goodness being a member of United Airlines Mileage Plus program lets me receive a refund for my missed flight). I told my parents and everyone that I wouldn't be able to make it down there to spend the holidays with them. My family protested my decision, my dad was caught off guard and my mom was terribly upset but like always, they came to understood me. I greatly apologized to them. I felt bad but this was my first holiday season ever where I just simply cannot get myself into the holiday spirit and wanted to escape it.

I prefer being alone this holiday season because there's just too much to reflect upon and I definitely need the space, even if my bubble requires a 300+ miles radius. Sorry if you're reading this and realizing how depressing it is. In all honesty, I'm not depressed at all. Perhaps a little sad, but I really do need to be alone and I've always realized that being alone allows me to think much more clearer and acquire a better perspective on things.

I value my thoughts and at this very moment, I need to think. I know later in life, when I look back to this very Christmas, I'm gonna think how shitty it turned out to be because for the first time in my life, I'm leaving my friends and family out of it. But seriously, the past few days was really confusing and I really need to sort my thinking out. I'll be okay, trust me.

Merry Xmas everyone.

J'en Ai Marre

2007-12-22T08:24:00.000-08:00

My favorite French singer Alizée, with her song "J'en Ai Marre". This song came out way back in 2003, but nevertheless, it's still something I listen to, as well as love. She's not bad in her live performance either. There's also an English version called "I'm Fed Up". The French version makes more sense. She's pretty much singing about the real world being a drag and everything and so she takes a long nice bath to get away from it all. It's better in French, but the way she says "water", is delicious.

I first became aware of Alizee back in my senior year of high school when I was corresponding with a female French student living in Lyon as part of a project for my 4th year French language studies course at my high school. She sent me a cd of one of Alizee's albums and somehow I became a fan ever since. I actually had a poster of the French pop singer taped on my locker door. I have to admit, at that time, I also had this huge crush on Alizee. It's long gone now, although I do have to say her music is the only thing in French that I can actually remember the lyrics and sing along to. A way I can practice my French these days, I guess. Though in all honesty, I had long outgrown my fandom of Alizee over the years, I still listen to her music.

Last Christmas

2007-12-20T22:18:00.000-08:00

I forgot when, but there was a time that I was somewhat obsessive with a television series called The O.C. . This was a while back because obviously the series ended and I don't have that much time for television these days. But anyway, on one of the Christmas episodes, they happened to play this one song called "Last Christmas" and it was a version done by the rock band Jimmy Eat World. Ever since I heard, I totally became infatuated with it because it sounded really good and much more updated and modern than the 1980's version. I really don't like the George Michael version, but I love the Jimmy Eat World version.

"Last Christmas" by Jimmy Eat World. Really simple video (nothing to brag about) done by me, Dylan. Listen...

Memento

2007-12-20T14:49:00.000-08:00

To be honest, I'm one of those people in this world that tends to keep certain things such as little notes, movie stubs, cafe matchbooks, railway passes and so on, as mementos. I keep them because to me, they hold sentimental values and I figured that on some later day along in life, by rediscovering them, they will always remind me of a past experience and eventually lead me to recollect something such as a memory or a feeling.

I've always discovered that inanimate objects carefully seemed to be connected to particular circumstances, places and individuals, and in turn, reflects upon a feeling during a moment in a certain part of my life. And as years go by, these feelings seemed to get hidden, but not lost. Then it is when you stumble upon these mementos, you curiously decipher its physical and emotional attachments you have with it. After a few moments, you start to lose awareness of your surroundings, and you begin to embark upon a journey...

...a journey through space and time, back towards that very moment you've once lived and that very feeling you've once experienced.

Thoughts at 3:26AM

2007-12-20T03:27:00.000-08:00

We're all unlucky in love sometimes. When I am, I go jogging. The body loses water when you jog, so you have none left for tears.

It's 3:26AM...I think I'm gonna go for a jog.

Bleeding love...

2007-12-18T08:38:00.000-08:00

Just recently, I came across this one certain song when I was at Brian's place this past Friday night. To be honest, most of you might have already heard of it more than a while ago, but for me, it was just only a few nights ago that I heard it for the very first time...

The song happens to be Bleeding Love by Leona Lewis.

The first thing I did was immediately download that song when I came home early Saturday morning. Before I talk about it any further, here's a video of the song from YouTube. Take a look...

I don't know what it is, but there's something about this song that I love. I'm not quite sure if it was due to the fact that when I first heard it, I was drunk? And perhaps being in that state, I felt the song more than I heard it?

...and somehow upon hearing Leona's voice sing about unrelenting "tortured love" in this song makes me want to rescue her or any other girl (from the song's intense music video) from a 'tug of war' with hearts emotions as she (or they) go through the motions of being stabbed, having their hearts ripped into pieces, and themselves thrown aside...to have someone forget that they even exist.

If it isn't obvious, this song is about the turbulence that comes with a stormy relationship. The kind where no matter the cost, you still and will love that person even if the pain never goes away. You love them more than they can ever love you. And yet there’s this love that never ceases because that heart ties its self to what it can’t have.

That is really torture...

I feel like shit with the FLU!

2007-12-18T02:05:00.000-08:00

Fall Semester here at Washington State University had ended a few days ago and so I'm currently on my winter break. All of my room mates have left for the holiday and like usual, I'm still the only one here, and not just that, but I'm also really sick as well. What was originally just a sore throat on Saturday night, had developed into a full-fledge fever with massive headaches, horrible sinus, high body temperature and tremendous lost of appetite. So obviously, with all of the symptoms, I realized I am having the flu.

I managed to get myself to the clinic earlier today and was prescribed some Tamiflu medication but what I am taking now is seriously making me so damn drowsy that I have the hardest time keeping awake. It also doesn't help that it won't stop snowing here in Pullman and so just getting down to the clinic and afterwards picking up my prescription from Rite Aid was a tremendous hassle.

Anyway, since I'm pretty much stuck in bed, I guess there's no better time than to start on some episodes of Death Note right now from the discs Anthony let me borrow. Hopefully, along with the medication and by getting addicted to this anime series, I will soon start to feel better. You know what else would make me feel better? A cute nurse...to help treat me and allow me to recover.

Okay...I'm just kidding...I'm just kidding! Hahaha...I'll stick to my Tamiflu.

2 Girls and a Guy

2007-12-15T11:31:00.000-08:00

Okay, so obviously the above picture isn't us, it's just a stock photo, but you get the idea.

Just recently, both Kelly & Anthony had moved out of our apartment and in addition, we had another friend moved in (just last night). It's a she. Oh, and she's also a very close friend with my best friend Sayano. So now the sex ratio is no longer a balanced 50/50 as previously, but has evolved into two girls and one guy. I guess it would be very nice to have another male room mate to even it out, but me being the only guy and living with two female room mates (in perfect sense) ain't bad either!

Here's how it works...refer to above diagram

It's gonna be a lot different from the past few months... but you know, nothing stays constant forever and the only thing that does stay constant, is change.

"Change" isn't bad. Sometimes it's meant to be because sooner or later, it will fall in your favor. The way I see it, life is a process of becoming, a combination of states we have to go through. Where people fail is that they wish to elect a state and remain in it. This is a kind of death.
With that said, I shall toast to it...

...and I shall also toast to the fact that I'm living with two girls!

McDull for Harue! (Self-made cards are in)

2007-12-14T06:03:00.000-08:00

Dylan creates yet another masterpiece! McMug! McMug! McMug!

I don't know about you guys but for me, when it comes to giving out Christmas, birthday, and Valentine's Day cards to very close friends (more specifically females), I tend to end up making them one, rather than purchasing one from the local Hallmark shop or wherever. It's not that I'm being cheap or too lazy to go out, but it has more to do with the fact that cards that are made with hand-drawn pictures, personal hand writing and such seems to be more creative, authentic, more personal, and also shows how much thought you've given towards that person.

Don't get me wrong, I still do go out and purchase those store-bought Hallmark cards, and in some cases, I rather much prefer them. But it's when I do have time and the creative juices are running in me, that's when my artistic and expressive self comes into play.

Anyway, the card I made tonight is one that I made using premium eggshell card paper, colored pencils, drawing pens and my own personal blend of creativity. The cartoon character you see on the card is that of McDull. It says "Merry Christmas" written in Japanese katakana. Hopefully, Harue will enjoy this card because I think I've spent way too much time on it and even more time blogging about it. Plus, I think the card looks cute, yeah?

Paul's last night in Pullman

2007-12-13T03:10:00.000-08:00

(Left to right): T, Paul, Cyrix, Anthony, Dylan (me), Harue (taking picture)

My friend Paul is one of my friends who just recently had graduated a few days ago here at Washington State University. Last Tuesday night was his very last night here in Pullman and so a few of us decided to go out for some drinks one last time since we're probably not going to see Paul for who knows when, or if ever, since he's going back to Thailand. We ended up hitting Wiley Night at Pete's Bar & Grill where we filled up our Wiley cups (resembles giant over-sized wine glasses) with some really great mixes. Me, Anthony and Harue shared two giant cups of Wiley drinks. I forget how much sugar, in addition to alcohol are in those drinks. To be quite honest, I've done 3 days* of hardcore drinking and wasn't quite sure I can handle a 4th* in just 5 days, especially on final exam week!

But you know, for my friends, I'll do it! It wasn't bad at all. We pretty much all just chilled at a table, grooving to some really good music and the way the place was decorated for the holiday season, made it seemed all too cozy. I think the only time we even got remotely crazy was when the dj played a techno version of "Sweet Caroline" and all of us was passionately singing along to it.

So Paul has left Pullman as we speak and later today it's gonna be Cyrix's turn. Then finally, on Friday it's gonna be my friend/room mate, Kelly's turn to leave.

Also later today, one of my best friends (also room mate) Anthony is moving out to a new place and so I guess for next semester, it's gonna be a little different but still good. So for now, me and my other friend/room mate, Harue are the only ones left in this apartment but we have a new girl moving in this Friday. For me, it's gonna be like Three's Company.

*Drinking that has been done:

Day #1: Friday- Anthony & Sam's huge birthday party at my place.
Day #2: Saturday- Celebrating with friends who had just graduated, at Mike's bar and later crazy drinking and partying 'til 7AM at Paul & Cyrix's place.
Day #3: Monday- Late night drinking with roomies and friends where somehow my bedroom door broke apart.
Day #4: Tuesday- Wiley night at Pete's Bar & Grill with friends.

Congratulations to my friends!

2007-12-11T07:30:00.000-08:00

I just wanna congratulate my friends who have graduated from Washington State University this past Saturday, December 8th, 2007...Kelly, Paul, and Cyrix. Way to go guys! Proud of you all!

From left to right: Dylan (me), Kelly, Harue, Anthony

Left to right: Dylan (me), Paul

Left to right: Harue, Cyrix, Dylan (me)

Wow, I cannot believe they have graduated and on their way to pursuing their future endeavors. Kind of weird to think that they won't be here anymore in a few days. These are friends who I've had some of the most memorable experiences with and it's sad to realize that when Spring semester starts, they are not gonna be around. Totally gonna miss them when they're gone!

My friend Woojae, a year ago...

2007-12-04T06:07:00.000-08:00

A few weeks ago, our close friend Woojae, who used to go here at WSU with us, wrote both me and Anthony a letter (via air mail) from his military base in South Korea. For Woojae, he had to leave and take time off from his university studies and temporarily head back to South Korea to enlist in the mandatory 24 months military service in the Republic of Korea Armed Forces. So far he has almost served 8 months. I remembered back in April, in his taxi ride from his home to the military base, he called me one last time to pretty much tell me everything about his personal life and whatnot. I remembered telling him that when he ever decides to come back to the United States, things will probably have changed. Pullman will have changed, WSU will have changed, most of the friends who are here will have graduated and have left, but he will still have two friends...and that's both me and Anthony because wherever we might be in two years from that time, we'll still wait for him.

It's been a few months now and since it's closing-in on his birthday, I can't help but reminisce the times we hung out and did crazy stuff as well as the late night talks about our problems (while drinking beer).

I remember during this time, a year ago, my friends Anthony, Woojae, and I did one of the most random and memorable things ever on a Friday night.

All three of us had pretty much decided that we were just going to study at Zoe Cafe that Friday night. I mean, it's Friday night and most university students would rather prefer loosening up, partying up a bit, go to the bars and drink and just have some fun to release some of the stress from the school week. For us, we begged to differ. Somehow we decided that it was in our best interest to do some productive studying. Well, we did just that...

A few hours later, we were like "Screw this! Why the hell are we studying?! Lets drink!". Both Anthony and Woojae had birthdays that week and so the three of us decided that we all should go out to the bars to drink, celebrate and just simply have a good time.

It was snowing during that time and we thought it would be worthwhile to trek on foot to Mike's (one of the bars that everyone goes to here in Pullman). However, before doing so, we walked over to Woojae's place to drink a little bit. Anthony on the other hand drank quite a lot. He was even drinking on our way to Mike's. All three of us walked up a huge hill, mind you that there was still snow and ice on the ground and that it was freezing outside. As we got inside Mike's, we all started downing drinks after drinks within a short amount of time. The music was great and I wanted to get shitfaced (also known as "getting extremely drunk and wasted". Anthony wanted to get shitfaced. So did Woojae (sort of). We all got shitfaced eventually. We got tipsy, we got buzzed, we got ourselves a hell of a good time. We danced, we bought more drinks and the cycle endlessly continued...

And the rest was unfathomable drunken history...

Wish he was here to do all of this all over again with us in a few days. We're not gonna forget ya buddy!

Craving sticky-sweet rice with mango

2007-12-03T02:35:00.001-08:00

Sticky-sweet rice with mango, also known as "khao neeo mamuang".

Sitting here in my bedroom late at night, I can't help but feel so hungry for something that I just simply can't readily get here in Pullman. The only way I can actually get it is either in Seattle or find the ingredients and make it myself (which I will probably do when I have time). What I am talking about here is khao n eeo mamuang, also known as "sticky-sweet rice with mango". As the name itself implies, the Thai dessert basically consists of sticky-sweet rice covered in coconut milk and toasted sesame seeds served alongside fresh and riped slices of mango (can be Thai or Brazilian mangoes found at Asian markets). It's simply the most popular Thai dessert and everyone eats it all the time.

Eating khao neeo mamuang at a restaraunt.

Seriously, this is what I'm craving for. I've been eating it all my life since my mom makes it all the time, especially during summer when she has much more free time on her hand. Since the years I've no longer been living with my mom, the only time I've ever had the chance to eat khao neeo mamuang is either when I'm dining at a good Thai restaurant in bigger cities or when I make a trip and visit my parents and relatives elsewhere.

For me, I love sweet sticky rice so much as if there's no tomorrow and for now I've somewhat grown accustom to and accepted the fact that I can live without it for a while. However, tonight I sense that this tolerance can no longer be handled patiently and I MUST have some right now. If I had the ingredients, I would totally make some right now even though it's 2:50 AM. Thank goodness I'm heading down to San Antonio this Christmas! I simply cannot wait to have my mom make some for us.

In the meantime, I found a good recipe on how to make khao neeo mamuang right here.

I also found a video on how to make it on YouTube as well. Take a look...

The Fantastic 4

2007-11-30T14:35:00.000-08:00

(Left to right) Harue, Dylan (me), Kelly, Anthony

As some of you might have already known, since the beginning of the school year (early August 2007), I've been living with three other room mates ...Harue, Kelly and Anthony at our Churchill Apartment here in Pullman where we all attend Washington State University. For me, I don't think I can ever ask for a better group of friends to live with than the one I have right now.

Throughout the past few months, I've got to know and become closer with each and everyone of them (even from Anthony who I already knew for over 2 years). All of us here at the apartment are simultaneously similar and dissimilar. Each and every one of us adds a unique sense of dynamics upon the living situation. We have our idiosyncrasies as well as our mutual affairs for certain things. But it's the process of experiencing everyday life with them and learning from each one of them in a unique and special way that in return allows me to learn even more about my social, intellectual and emotional self...a never ending journey of self-discovery and change.

To be honest, I still have quite a lot to learn about who I am and the every aspect that life presents itself. Here at this apartment, we are all students. Not just students studying and focusing on our majors, but students learning about friendship, love, our weaknesses, how cruel life can be, how beautiful life can be, and the wonders of our tender college years that we know can never last forever.

I know that one day we will all go our separate ways, but in the meantime, it feels good to be around a great group of individuals. This is what's great about university life. When else in your life are you gonna ever live with two girls and another guy in one apartment? Like I said, I wouldn't trade anything else in the world for this. Definitely, these are some of the best days of my life.

Oh my goodness! It's a cute girl in my car...

2007-11-29T01:07:00.000-08:00

Girl: "So...what took you so long? I've been waiting in the car like forever. It got kinda hot so I decided to slip into my swim suit to cool down while you were gone.

"Can we go for a ride? Pretty please...? "

Okay, so this is made up. It's fake. Like this would ever happen to me! *laughing* Only in my imagination...

Cute? I think so. She's very cute. Too bad that's not my car and too bad the above scenario is not real.

Maybe if I pray really really hard, this could actually happen one day, yeah?

Dream on Dylan...

Flowerparts

2007-11-27T23:22:00.000-08:00

Dylan's 10 very easy steps on how to make this video:

Go study for something from one of your university classes (preferably a hard subject).
Get tired and bored from studying after a few hours.
Grab your iPod from your messenger bag.
Select Flowerparts by Bob Schneider from your iPod.
Play it and listen...
Grab colored pencils from your pencil pouch.
Begin to imagine about future moments that hasn't happened yet, but if they do, they would make you happy.
Select one of them that you hope would one day come into existence.
Start doodling on your homework notebook.
The rest is just simply pure magic...*laughing*

Anyway, I came across this song while listening to internet radio on Pandora one night and somehow it sparked in me that I must have it. So I ended up downloading the song and eventually made it as part of my iPod playlist.

Victory for Washington State University! WSU beats UW in 2007 Apple Cup

2007-11-24T23:52:00.000-08:00

Earlier tonight, the 100th year of the annual Apple Cup once again undoubtedly re-newed and like always, fueled more animosity between the already intense century year old rivalry between Washington State University (my school) and the University of Wash ington.

Score: WSU 42, UW 35.

For those who don't know, the Apple Cup is the annual college football game between the two largest universities in Washington and cross-state rivals, the University of Washington (UW) Huskies and the Washington State Univ ersity (WSU) Cougars. Traditionally, it was the final game of the regular season, played on the Saturday preceding Thanksgiving at Husky Stadium in Seattle during odd years, and WSU's Martin Stadium in Pullman during even years. This year however, the game was played after Thanksgiving.

This year both football teams entered the 2007 Apple Cup being non-ranked and one of the bottom teams in Pac-10 conference. The last year that both teams played in the Apple Cup as powerhouses in the Pac-10 was back in 2001 when WSU was nationally ranked at #9 and UW was ranked #16.

Anyway, so once again, WSU has beaten UW in the 2007 Apple Cup with a final score of 42-35 at Husky Stadium in Seattle.

Also thank you Alex Brink (WSU quarterback) who has passed for 10,514 yards and 71 touchdowns here at WSU, joining only six others in Pac-10 Conference history to reach such heights. I know WSU couldn't qualify for a bowl game (again) but Brinks is the first WSU quarterback to beat UW 3 times in their carreer. Hey, kicking UW's ass in their own territory is good enough for me, but we'd much rather have a team reminiscent of the glory days of 2001-2003 any day. Brinks' numbers are definitely up their with WSU quarterback greats Jason Gesser, Drew Bledsoe and Ryan Leaf.

What a nice way to end a not so nice season. GO COUGS!

Xiaxue (下雪)

2007-11-19T21:28:00.000-08:00

下雪, pronounced xiaxue...literally means "snowing". There's a blog called Xiaxue or xiaxue.blogspot.com that I've been reading on an occasional basis for quite some time now. The author is Wendy Cheng , a Singaporean Chinese. She's kind of cute too, I guess. She has a strong Sing-lish accent which I guess can be quite hard to understand sometimes if you're not used to hearing it (as evident in her YouTube video The Princess Room). I dunno, it's really quite fascinating to come across and read some of her entries. Undoubtly, they're quite entertaining I must say and I waste a little on it too much sometimes *laughing*. The topics range from anything such as measuring penis sizes and shopping for slutty clothes at the infamous City Plaza mall. She is also known to be rather defensive towards criticism though...you'll see when you start reading her posts. For some reason, she kind of reminds me of one of my female friends. Hrmm...

Anyhow, speaking of xiaxue, last night, here in Pullman, we finally saw our share of the first snowfall of the school year. Seriously, it was so damn cold last night that certain items I unfortunately left on the balcony froze and I myself was huddled inside a blanket doing things like reading and going online. Anyway, it didn't snow much but the sight out the window is heavily apparent. Even though there's only a light cover of snow stuck to the ground, it's still awfully cold and the roads outside are bloody dangerous, especially at night when it begins fog and the ice begins to form. The photo I have up is a view from my balcony.

Thursday night's gettin' vertical

2007-11-17T21:14:00.000-08:00

This past Thursday night, me, my room mates and a couple of friends got together at my place for some drinking and simply hanging out one last time before everyone leaves for a whole week of Thanksgiving Break here at Washington State University.

Since me and Anthony both own a keg and a tap to go along, we thought it would be an insanely wonderful idea to get it refilled with beer at the local beer dispenser place since we haven't used our keg for a while. So with our keg, we decided it would be seriously a whole lot of fun if we all take turn to do keg stands on it. Plus, a lot of the friends who came over, especially the girls who are international students from Hong Kong, Japan, and Taiwan, have never in their life tried this classic drinking ritual before and so I wanted to be the first to introduce "keg stands" to them,... and have them experience something they'd probably never ever have the chance to do.

They all got their share of doing keg stands and hopefully when they graduate from WSU, leave the United States and many years from now look back at their experiences here at WSU, they'll remember a time in their life when they were once university students, studying on the weekdays and partying on the weekends, in which one particularly crazy night, they all performed the beauty of "getting vertical" for the first and last time. And with that they'll remember it with a smile and sense of nostalgia...since college life is a one and only time and age of your life in which the lifestyle and frame of mind of this particular time only exist once and can never be duplicated and returned to.

Top 5 Things I want this holiday season

2007-11-17T00:33:00.000-08:00

For the 2007 holiday season, I've managed to come up with time to write up with a wishlist of my Top 5 Wants. Here they are:

Canon EOS Digital SLR Rebel XTi (silver) Right now, I truly want to get back into photography as well as play around and experiment much more in-depth with a SLR camera. What better choice than to get a Rebel XTi. It's advanced, sophisticated but yet a great entry-level SLR. It offers an unbeatable combination of performance, ease-of-use and value. I think this camera is well-suited for me at the moment because it's under $900. Can't wait until I get my hands on one of them!

Abercombie & Fitch Wilcox Jacket (olive)- For the coming cold winter, a guy like me must keep warm and look good at the same time. I really haven't shopped much of A&F these days (used to ritually shop there two years ago), but this jacket is something I'll definitely want in my closet!

Triple Five Soul Worker Outer Bomber (black - I simply just love this jacket. What else can I say? Triple Five Soul is one of the clothing brands I sport among others. For sure, it can be found at Urban Outfitters. I want it!

iPod Classic 160GB (black) - Well, it appears that my 30GB iPod can no longer have additional song files uploaded onto it simply because it ran out of hard drive space! So, at the moment I'm pretty much stuck with shitloads of new music files on my Sony Vaio laptop that needs to eventually get onto my iPod. And I'm tired of having to replace some songs on my ccurrent iPod with newer songs that I want to hear because it is annoying and inconvenient. Therefore, I need a newer one with more hard drive memory.

Shortcomings by Adrian Tomine - Simply the most anticipated graphic novel of 2007, Adrian Tomine’s first long-form graphic novel, is the story of Ben Tanaka, a confused, obsessive Japanese American male in his late twenties, and his cross-country search for contentment (or at least the perfect girl). I'm a big fan of Adrian Tomine's works and so this is a must have for me.

Elton John, WSU Basketball, house party,..Oh my!

2007-11-14T00:41:00.000-08:00

I just recently found out that Sir Elton John will be performing here at Washington State University for Mom’s Weekend on April 12 at Beasley Coliseum. Elton John will be touring in support of his new album “Rocket Man: Number Ones” which was released in March. That album features John’s number one hits over the past three decades. Tickets for the WSU concert on April 12, go on sale at 10 a.m. on Jan. 25. This sounds really exciting and I definitely will secure my ticket when the tickets go on sale. I've never seen Elton John in concert before and so this would be a fantastic opportunity and would make for a charming spring Friday night.

Anyway, WSU (our college men's basketball team) beat Boise State Univeristy last Tuesday night in a non-conference match-up with a final score of 86-74. Currently Washington State University's Men's Cougar Basketball team is ranked #9 in the nation with a 2-0 record. Go Cougs!

Well, tomorrow night, me and my room mates are having a party at our place. Once again, we've filled up the keg and bought a lot of booze. It'll be a pretty fun get-together before Thanksgiving Break. I'm excited. Everyone's excited. We're all goin' to hell tomorrow!

Just a proximity infatuation

2007-11-12T23:08:00.000-08:00

You work with someone. You spend all that time together. You believe that you were meant to be together. Then you get to know them a little bit better. Maybe go out once or twice. Within a few days? You wonder how this person you couldn't live without, ...you wonder what you ever even saw in them. That I suppose is 'proximity infatuation', yeah?

In other words, lets take another look at it. So Fall Semester here at Washington State University has already been in full swing for some time now. I meet people all the time. I meet them on the first day of class, I meet them at parties, I meet them while waiting in line at a espresso stand, I meet them at the bus stops, sometimes at bars & clubs, I meet them through friend of a friend, and so on. In through all of that I also meet girls.

An example of me + girl = proximity infatuation...

I met this one girl in particular during summer while I was taking courses at the University of Washington. I swear I'm in love with this girl from one of my labs. She wasn't my lab partner, but she sat next to me in class and also her lab station was right beside mine. So I've been sitting next to her for a few weeks now and it's obvious we're meant for each other. We share lab notes and grab coffee together whenever possible. I think she's it. Well, in my mind I came to that conclusion. I told my friend this...

He said something like this:

"Well, lets see...do you even know anything else about her and have you two even hung out? I bet you've just made up a life outside of class for her in your head. You're getting caught up in a short-sighted proximity infatuation man, just wait a couple weeks after class is over and you won't even remember her.".

Yup, that's what proximity infatuation is.

Long weekend alone

2007-11-12T01:41:00.000-08:00

So for the past few days, I've had the whole apartment to myself. Kelly's down in sunny Miami. Harue is across the border in Vancouver, BC. And Anthony is back at home in the Seattle area. This resulted in myself being home alone all weekend long without the room mates. And because there are no classes on Monday (due to Veterans Day), the weekend is even longer. However, weekends like these do kind of gently remind me of how quite lonely it can be when you realize that your room mates can always go back and visit their family or boyfriends while you're stuck having to stay and work or lack of a significant other to visit.

For the most part, I've found this three day weekend to be a chance for me to catch up on some reading and pretty much rest & relax. I kept my presence here in Pullman this weekend very low-key...meaning that I did not go out and party nor did I attempt to do anything with friends. I can't really say that I've been heavily productive in my days but I can assure you that the time I do spend on wasting time doing absolutely rubbish tasks is well worth it. Seriously, it's not every day that you're given an extra day in the week to take advantage of whether or not you plan to use that day as a means to catch up on school work and other things.

Cigarettes During & After Alcohol

2007-11-11T04:01:00.001-08:00

Okay, so for the last two years, I've found myself lighting up a cigarette during and after drinking alcohol at parties, clubs and bars. And these cigarettes aren't even mine, but rather, they are my friends'. Seriously, I don't even buy cigarettes and the only time I do smoke is through the convenience of bumming one off a friend during and/or after drinking.

However, I'm not addicted to cigarettes at all. I don't really find myself craving for one when I'm sober and not drinking. For example, you're not going to find me lustfully waiting every passing minute to smoke a cigarette or feel craved when I don't have access to one. But when I do drink, I feel as though I must have one and if I don't, I feel kind of bummed out, not deprived, but simply...bummed out. I also found that I love & enjoy puffing on a cigar as well when I'm around friends. And this is during when we drink as well.

Perhaps, in my mind... smoking after alcohol consumption,... just fashionably feels good and satisfies me in some sort.

Gossip & Rumors

2007-07-19T22:11:00.000-07:00

Here in Seattle, even though the Asian (including Asian-American) population is pretty large compared to other major cities, the Asian community seems small in some respects when you isolate it to just the university students around my age. When you do this, it starts to become really fascinating how small of a community we are. We end up making friends with our friends' friends and we realize that the friends we have in turn have mutual friends with our friends and our friends' friends and their friends. So most of the time, everyone somehow seems interconnected in some way and this is what makes the Asian university students community here in Seattle seem as if it is a small world.

Because of this interconnectedness, problems such as gossip kind of spread really quickly to you almost like how wildfire spreads within a forest. For the most part, I can care less with what people are gossiping about and the rumors that somehow make it into your ears.

This afternoon, someone told me about something and like any other day, I would 100% of the time just dismiss it or shrug it off as if I didn't hear it in the first place. However, this rumor somewhat kind of hit close to home for me and for the lengthiest time today, I couldn't manage myself to get over it. It really bothered me quite a lot and I was at the point in which I couldn't decipher truth from non-truth, who to believe, and what exactly to believe. I think it bothered me to the point that I didn't want to get out of the house and all I really wanted to do was just go to sleep and try to forget what I just heard....which was exactly what I did.

But, I guess the best way for me is to try and get over it and realize that what I heard is probably some misunderstanding from some part and that it is not true. I think I like it better to believe that it's not true and so therefore, I'm discounting this gossip, dismissing it now and not thinking anymore of it...

FYI

2007-07-16T00:52:00.000-07:00

Sorry I haven't posted any entries lately...
...just too much going on in my mind that I simply can't concentrate when it comes to writing & posting...
However, I'll be back later this week...so check back soon, okay?

雨

2007-06-29T14:57:00.000-07:00

消失的下雨天...

我好想再淋一遍

心裡的雨傾盆而下也沾不濕她的髮

My gloomy Thursday

2007-06-28T19:49:00.000-07:00

So today the weather has been pretty much bi-polar. I couldn't figure out whether or not, it's going to be warm, or cloudy, bright outside or simply rainy. Anyway, from looking outside my living room windows, I gather that I simply don't care anymore. Just please let it rain! I don't mind the gloomy and grayness because somehow, it's the perfect mood for me right now.

Just a little highlight of my day. It's simply a thank-you card that Leanne made for me. I came home from class and found it standing on my desk. The only part of the day that you'd see me with somewhat of a smile. Thought I'd share it here...

Things happening tonight:

Kerri is arriving here in Seattle at 9pm from Italy.
Jenny is coming over tonight.
I think we're having a movie night with all of us here at the house!
Oh, the Sonics just traded aw ay Ray Allen! I'm sad.

I'll be forgotten

2007-06-28T17:21:00.000-07:00

I realize that she really meant it when she didn't want to have anything to do with me ever again. I promised her over a month ago (at the will of her request) that I'd leave her alone and that I'll still be here if she did ever decide to want to approach me and make that first hello. I guess a part of me waited. A part of me goes onto MSN Messenger late at night before going to bed to see if she would be the first to send me a hello message. A part of me leaves his MSN Messenger on and notices that she's on too but hesitates to message her because he knows that he can't break his promise. A part of me is still waiting.

I quietly and gently wait but nothing happens. And then there's a part of me that knows I'm simply just a past and that I should remain to be so because I know that I'm no longer a reason for her...especially now that she is doing much more well in her being and since now I'm just a forgotten person, ...place ...and time.

前塵往事成雲煙　消散在彼此眼前
就連說過了再見　也看不見你有些哀怨
給我的一切　你不過是在敷衍
你笑得越無邪　我就會愛你愛得更狂野

Poetry reading & smores bonfire

2007-06-27T01:06:00.000-07:00

Earlier tonight me, Leanne, Jenny, Gina, Erin, & Zach decided to head out to Tainin's house up in north Seattle to just chill around a bonfire out in his backyard and underneath a clear summer night sky. It was a very sensual and relaxing way to unwind from a hot and busy day. We talked, told stories and goofed around the fire and did some little wood carvings. For the most part, we roasted some marshmallows and made some smores while taking turns reading poems out loud to each other amidst the candles & bonfire. We had a good time. It was a beautiful night to be outside & to feel the ambiance.

Back from San Antonio (along with a little nostalgia)

2007-06-26T12:22:00.000-07:00

I must say,...I think I have fallen in love with yet another city. This is in addition to Seattle, Vancouver, Paris, Bangkok and Santa Monica. Although San Antonio is unlike the previous that I have mentioned, in some way (perhaps more than one) there's a unique charm to it that is much more like a mingle of southern Texan hospitality, nascent cosmopolitan splendor, wild unexpectedness, optimistic growth and a flavor that spices things up. It's something that once you've experienced, it lives along side you within the time you spent there and it also dwells deeply in your heart once you step onto the airplane and fly away.

I was down there for the last five days and that's the reason why I haven't made any blog entries since then. I guess at the moment, I don't really know where to begin in terms of writing about all of the stuff I've experienced down there but I guess in the coming days I'll slowly reveal myself...the self that was a Texan for the past five days. But for now, I think I'm just going to go ahead and let my thoughts seep in a bit more before I can squeeze them all out in the form of some writings.

...but it's also good to be back in Seattle.

First day

2007-06-19T09:01:00.000-07:00

After much anticipation & waiting, I finally began my first day of Summer Quarter here at the University of Washington. To be honest, I never quite realized how so much bigger UW is when compared to Washington State University. It turned out to be a rather nice first day of classes. For some reason, I copied down the wrong building & room number for one of my classes held at the health sciences buildings and so I kind of made myself lost. But thanks to a kind female stranger, I was given directions and was on my way. Aside from that, all of my classes went perfectly well. It feels kind of strange sometimes to attend a rival university but you gotta do what you gotta do...and in my case, none of that rivalry stuff matters when it comes to me getting my education.

Afterwards I met up with Daisuke & a girl I just met named Aya. We had lunch at this Korean place on The Ave called Yummy Bites. After my last classes ended at 8pm (yeah...crazy, right?), we headed down to University Village to do a little shopping. The heat from the day slowly died down and was driven away by this soothing eloquent evening breeze that just totally makes you wanna linger outdoors. Later on that night, me, Leanne, Gina, Erin, Zack & Nikki just had a couple of beers and popped in a movie and it was a good way to rewind from the day.

My goals for today:

Grab some Vietnamese sandwiches on The Ave (I love them so much!)
Get a little studying done at Odegaard or perhaps at Starbucks
Head down to the salon and get a bottle of Paul Mitchell hair-styling balm
Work out at the IMA with Anthony, Tony, & Minh
Cook dinner for my roomies

Right now, I'm currently studying (or what appears of it) on campus. Thanks to Gina this morning, I didn't have to wait for the bus. She dropped me off at school on her way to work. Oh, did I tell you she also got me a bag from Banana Republic?

Anyway, this song has been stuck in my head all morning. "Cute Girl" by Jay Chou...

Moved in

2007-06-17T00:00:00.001-07:00

Last night, me and Anthony got into Seattle at around 11pm. I met up with Breckie (who's room I'll be taking over during my 2 months stay in Seattle). Afterwards, I spent the night at my Pullman room mate's house up in Bothell, where his mom made some delicious Vietnamese food for us. After 4-5 hours of driving across the state, the taste of home cooked Vietnamese food just simply enlightens the soul.

So finally today I moved into my new place in which I'll be living during the summer here in Seattle. Currently, I'm living in a house near University Village with four other girls named Leanne, Erin, Gina and Keri (who's currently in Italy). They are all really friendly. I am very happy to have settled in their house. I'm hoping to get to know all of them better and become friends. Hopefully summer will allow us to do some things together. Tonight we all actually went out for dinner together in Shoreline. We later dropped by Home Depot to pick up some paint for Leanne's bedroom and finally to Hollywood Video to grab a copy of the movie Breach. I decided to stay in tonight on this rainy Seattle night just simply so that I can get more settled in and relax a bit. I was suppose to go to two birthday parties and meet up with one of my friends to do some farewell drinking but I'm way too tired to go anywhere right at the moment.

A letter from a time ago

2007-06-13T16:00:00.001-07:00

For the past couple of days, I've been slowly cleaning up & packing things here and there at the home. The reason is that when both me and my room mate return from Seattle in mid-August, we both have to move out from our current place and into our new place.

As I was cleaning out and boxing up belongings in my bedroom, I stumbled upon my old biochemistry 303 notebook from Fall 2006 semester here at Washington State University. When I opened it up to look over my past exams, I realized that I stuck a letter in there that originated from the beginning of the school year. It's actually a letter with very nice handwriting that's written on notebook paper which was folded twice. I still to this day I don't have the slightest clue as to why I decided to keep it but,...I may do now, but for the longest time...I ended up keeping it anyways.

The first time I read it, I had this horrible build up of anxiety and finally when I reached one line of that letter...

...my whole world just somehow came crashing down upon me. I was just in disbelief. I felt this slow calming of myself as if everything around me went silent and I was traveling 1,000 miles an hour in my mind. You begin to start getting that choking feeling. Finally, it's when you slowly exhale...you feel something inside you have just shattered. And that's when you pick up your senses and realized that you have become broken.

I think the reason why I kept it was to compare it with the future and one day perhaps come to an understanding that everything in existence in this world, present and future...proved that the letter to be false & just an imaginary inanimate object.

There had been a few times in which I've somehow managed to re-read the letter a couple of months ago and I think every time I finished reading the last word, I admit that I slightly become teary-eyed. And yes, today...after reading it...I couldn't help but begin to choke up and a part of my eyes became a little misty.

But this was for the last time. I later finally tore it up and threw it away...

Plans

2007-06-09T22:24:00.000-07:00

Well, it looks like I've only got like 6 more days until I'll be (once again) living in Seattle. This time though, it's going to be with four other girls near University Village. It'll be an interesting summer, don't ya reckon?

Things (but not limited to) I'm trying to accomplish for this summer while I'm in Seattle:

Workout everyday at the IMA.
Fly down to San Antonio for June 21-25 to be with my family. Parents are dying to see me!
Take road trips down to Seaside, OR and make a lot of appearances up in Vancouver BC. Don't forget the night market up in Richmond!
Play some tennis & do some kayaking on Lake Washington.
Chinatown! I need my weekly dose of dim sum.
Do a lot of shopping! I need some new threads. UrbanOutfitters is a must!
Get back into clubbing mode. Trinity, Level 5 & War Room...I'm back!
Concerts! Lots of them! Definitely have to see The Fray on July 28th.
Take my MCAT in August.

Summer classes at the University of Washington starts on the 18th. This whole upcoming week I'm pretty much going to be wrapping up stuff at work and also doing some packing up of our apartment so that when both me and Anthony return in August from Seattle, we'll have less to deal with in terms of moving to the new apartment. It's going to be a pretty busy week. Tomorrow, after I get off from work, we have to head up to Spokane and meet up with Kelly and one of her girlfriends for lunch. It'll be fun! Later on into the night, me, my room mate, Sayano and Anley are all having dinner together for one last time at our current apartment. It'll be a nice, cozy and relaxing way to end the weekend...

Facebooked!

2007-06-09T18:53:00.001-07:00

I think most recently, I've begun the extreme gradual shift from MySpace to Facebook. A lot of friends that I know are doing the exact same thing. First of all, MySpace has one of the biggest problems with users getting spammed. Second, logging onto (and staying logged on) has become one of the major problems these days. It seems that I always get some sort of error message everytime I perform some sort of task! Third, the features and designs on MySpace are really archaic in comparison to Facebook. Facebook is built to last because it enables real life interactions. MySpace is built to die because it enables irrelevant, non-friend communications that empirically kill online communities.

Facebook’s utility puts it in a class of its own – MySpace is not in that class. Facebook’s privacy options enable users to share only what they want to share. Facebook is the biggest photo site on the internet and has achieved that because friends share photos with friends they otherwise would not share with anyone else. Facebook users are comfortable with sharing in the Facebook environment. In contrast, MySpace has to deal with friend, comment and messaging spam – as a result, MySpacers are restricting their profiles to just their friends. Even with that privacy, MySpace does not and will not have the same structural advantages as Facebook.

It is too late for MySpace to change. Any adjustments they make now will only patch underlying competitive disadvantages to Facebook. Facebook, in the long run, is the only network that matters. Beyond that, Facebook can build useful tools MySpace simply cannot. I'll still have my MySpace account but I'm keeping it only to keep in touch with friends who don't have Facebook. For me, Facebook will be the essenital and the standard.

Oh, by the way,...Facebook me!

Regina's bulgogi!

2007-06-08T00:01:00.000-07:00

It seems that now and then, I end up eating dinner extremely late. It's definitely not good for me, but I do it anyways. Well, tonight my friend Regina came over pretty late and cooked some bulgogi for us. I love bulgogi! We totally scarfed it down with some rice and afterwards, we threw some Polish sausages over the small grill on the balcony and had some of that as well.

Oh, and I also realized that Regina used to never liked me when she initially first met me! She told me tonight. I thought it was very funny. She ended up apologizing and felt really bad. I told her it was alright. Hahaha...but now that she's got to know me and my room mate Anthony better and that we've all spent lots of time together...she finally admits that we are a bunch of cool guys and her dislike for us is TOTALLY gone. Silly girl.

Right now we're watching some new episodes of Naruto at our place. Can't beat new episodes! Well, she's watching new episodes with Anthony. I'm heading to bed. Gotta wake up at 5am to go to work! Eww!

The two songs in my head

2007-06-07T20:34:00.001-07:00

So all day, this song called "Back Here" by BBMak for some reason just started to get stuck in my head ever since this morning when I first heard it in a friend's car. I guess the fact that for songs that you haven't heard in such a long time, when you finally hear them again; they tend to become attached in your head. At first it's like, "oohh..wow, haven't heard this song in a while...sounds kind of good!". Then hours later, your mind is like, "shit! get this damn thing out of my head!".

Speaking of songs, have you heard of The Clientele's "(I Can't Seem To) Make You Mine"? Well, it's a song that I've been recently listening to quite some time and I can never ever get tired of it. The song has this good feel vibe and is nostalgic and melancholic, autumnal, hauntingly reflective as well as painterly. The song kind of draws upon feelings and images in your mind the same way a past experience does. It was actually featured in the movie The Lakehouse. Here's the music video for it:

Sayano & I

2007-06-05T22:17:00.000-07:00

Earlier this evening, I finally bumped into my close friend Sayano ( we call her "Saya") who (two days ago) just recently came back from a visit to her parents in Japan. I haven't talked to her since early May. She lives right across from me and so most of the time we end up bumping into each other as we both open our doors to leave our apartments at the same time. This is something that isn't planned but somehow it's eerily synchronized and has been happening throughout the year. Anyway, so me and my jetlagged Sayano talked for a bit and planned out some stuff we were going to do together for the upcoming the week, which included a bunch of random stuff. She also happen to have got me a pair of chopsticks from Japan while she was there as a gift.

This summer, as I've mentioned before, I'll be living in Seattle for a few months to attend the University of Washington as well as prepping for my MCAT that I'll be taking this August. As a result, I won't be able to spend much time with Sayano this summer and so we're both trying to cram as much spending time as possible within the next few days. We had a lot of fun together last year. Sad thing is, this July 3rd I'll miss her birthday (again) for the second year in a row...

Some Diesel jeans and some char siu

2007-06-05T15:07:00.000-07:00

Okay, so I couldn't have just waited until I get to Seattle to go into the downtown UrbanOutfitters shop to buy my jeans and had to buy them online today so that I could wear them in the next three days. Anyway, I ended buying these Diesel Zathan 772 jeans. Damn, I love them! For me, most of my clothes are a combination of Nordstrom, UrbanOutfitters, Armani Exchange, Express and Abercrombie & Fitch. Living here in Pullman, non of these places exist and as a result, I end up not being able to shop for clothes unless I find myself in the Seattle/Bellevue area. This is pretty tragic. But hey, this summer I will be living in Seattle and attending the University of Washington and so I'll be having the chance to grab me some nice summer threads.

Anyway, last night it finally rained here in Pullman and so it felt really insanely satisfying to get a little change of weather scenery. I must say though, the complimenting mix of a hot summer night with the warm and cool feeling of showering rain, along with thunder and lightning feels all too much sensual. Me, Anthony and Paul pretty much just barbecued some char siu on the small grill over the balcony,...safe from the rain and thunder. I love char siu almost just as much as I love roast duck.

We had our char siu with rice and pretty much just called it a night. I later on crashed on the futon out in the living room.

Water...

2007-06-03T16:40:00.000-07:00

Today proves to be certainly one of the most scorching hot days here in Pullman. As we are speaking, it's exactly 5:00pm over here and the temperature is around 92 degrees Fahrenheit. To seriously withstand this type of dry heat, it's always best to be safe by hydrating yourself with lots and lots of water so that your body can keep cool and be hydrated and this will less likely cause you to get heat stroke or become fatigued. For me, I've been pretty much armed with water all day. Water keeps me on the equilibrium with this type of weather...and by all means, water is what keeps me going throughout the day. Of all the compounds, water is the one that most mixes with us. We begin life in an amniotic ocean in our mother's womb and throughout life, water has always been an essential part of us. Water itself goes through so many cycles. Cycles that are eternal. And like us, the cycle is an endless process of transformations.

Ice, water, vapor, solid, liquid, gas. Water is the element of change and transformation

We are one with water. We are water and water is us. Just like water, we end up getting dirty. Sometimes we are too cold. Sometimes we are too hot. Sometimes we are frozen in one place. Sometimes we are wasted by others. At other times, others see us as the most precious thing. Others might see us as essential in their lives and others might just only see us as resource. Sometimes we can become refreshing for others and other times, we can also drown them at the same time. Most of the time, we try to stay somewhere in between. We also become purified. Our lives revolves around it and our paths are intertwined everyday and every moment.

Life is the path of water. Transformation is the course it takes. And the only way to go, is to flow.

To me, water is sexy. I love the warmth. I love its translucent features. The way it feels on me on a hot scorching day at the beach and the way it envelopes me during a hot bath. Sometimes I love its absolute passivity. It's versatility is beyond admiration. It can be very dirty and very clean. It can have shape or no shape. It's unpredictable and independent. I adore the way the sun is glimmering in the water when it's on your skin. However, the most sexy thing about water is...

it's the best excuse for getting undressed.

I am so thirsty.

Emotional maps

2007-05-31T22:21:00.000-07:00

For reasons, geography does weird things to you. It makes you look and experience things differently. The situationist had and inkling...and the phenomologist, like Heidegger, had a way of de-constructing geography from a physical to the purely psychological. So when I talk about "closeness" and "nearness", ...that's where we should meet. In the area between us. Words like "far", "near" and "distant" don’t exist when we speak...I'm just glad you are "here NOW".

Psychogeography is "the study of the precise laws and specific effects of the geographical environment, consciously organized or not, on the emotions and behavior of individuals,"

A bunch of situationists once had a project in which they mapped the "psychogeography" of Paris. I wonder if you can still get the map somewhere. They basically cut up a normal map and arranged it in order of emotional experiences, a soft beginning building to a crescendo and then the denouement. There was no way to use it to navigate through the city, but it made a beautiful work of emotional/spacial art.

The space between you and I:

The last thing you wanna do when you miss someone terribly, is not go on the internet and look them up. It only makes it harder that they are hundreds of miles away. The terrain isn't tough to travel over, its the waiting and mapping out the points between until you get there. It is so much space.

Rainy Monday...

2007-05-28T13:20:00.001-07:00

It's Monday...

And it's also rainy...

so I guess...it's a rainy Monday, right? Along with rainy Mondays,...for some of us, there's a thought and holding hands with this thought, is a feeling that's attached. Inspired by this thought and this feeling, here's a video I made today (starring me of course, duh!)...

Music: "Rainy Monday" by Shiny Toy Guns

Summer day blues

2007-05-26T15:00:00.001-07:00

Today, I ended up getting off of work early. I think while at work, I just felt that I wasn't really in-tuned to working and my mind kept on drifting and leaping from place to place. There was a point in which I actually just went to the office and just sat there. It could be just my lack of sleep or it could be something. Perhaps a combination of things. I guess for me, I end up thinking way too much sometimes and in doing so, a lot of energy is drained out of me. My boss said it was okay for me to take the rest of the day off. As I was driving towards home, I decided to not go home, but instead, take the exit and drive out of town. And that's what happened. I ended up driving 150 miles away from Pullman.

I guess today is much or less, just one of those days....in which someone who really isn't there with you anymore, sort of left this feeling inside of you...one that never fails to find you on one of these types of days. And you think to yourself, "how come I'm feeling this way?" when you know the other person probably doesn't even hardly think much of you and have already moved on with their life. Their least concern is you. While for you, their essence still gently haunts you. I guess for me, I'm trying to move on too but I feel like I'm just stuck in a moment that I can't get out of,..as if time and space is suspended. I just wish it wouldn't have to be that way. I wish things between me and her would have worked out because right now, I feel like not only did I lose a relationship,...but I also lost a friendship. I feel like I lost my best friend.

*sigh*

Anyway, snap out of it Dylan,...you've got a dinner to host!...

Burned by love?

2007-05-24T16:44:00.000-07:00

It is proof positive that heartbreak is nearly universal human experience, searing into virtually every living heart the humbling trauma of romantic loss, almost as if it's an essential part of our development, an upside down "coup de grace". Suffering after all, is the first spark of enlightenment.

Even loves that last can rake us over the coals, and fast-burning passions can destroy precisely what they inspire.

For me, I've been burned by love at least twice. The first time, I was crushed. I didn't know that the girl I was with, actually had a fiance back in Japan. I found out when it was too late and too little to do. I felt robbed, used, and deceived. The relationship lasted about a little over a year but i spent the last week and a half with her under a false sense of intimacy, but it was the first time I had really been hooked and filleted. Each of us went our separate ways in the same fast and intense way that we found each other.

The second time, in another relationship...it was a bit more complicated. There are ups and downs to falling in love with your best friend. Romantic love has a way of making itself superior to other feelings, but we all know that's not always true, and the bond of friendship is sometimes more valuable than the shallow sizzling of newfound love. The rash type may be ready to sacrifice one for the other…to confess your love to your best buddy and risk losing her forever…while the romantics will nurture that hidden love and hope it'll one day evaporate, or even better, that it'll be melded into the vein of everlasting friendship. Simply, we can risk losing a best friend by revealing our true feelings for this person or just maintain a platonic relationship while suppressing your desire inside. In this relationship, it was me who wanted more than just being best friends. Over time, my feelings for her grew. I was ready to go towards the next level, but she wasn't. Somehow we ended up being in a relationship, but even in the relationship, she treated me more like a best friend than a boyfriend for the most part.

I realized that with a bestfriend...it can be that in a relationship...she never fell in love, it was only the company of a best friend that she ever really wanted and needed and she only was pressured into being in a relationship with me so that my feelings wouldn't be hurt. And for me...I simply never fell out of love.

Looking as you are (Part I)

2007-05-23T14:41:00.001-07:00

So obviously, back in the early 80's, my mom decided that it was best for her dearest only son to dress up in a bright red overall. Come on, if I were to ever get my little self lost, I swear my mom can spot me from a mile away as that little moving red dot in a sea of big people. I think that might have been part of her plan as you probably don't know, when I was little, I was that silly two-year-old who would see a butterfly, be so damn amazed by it and as it was fluttering away from me, I would giggle and try to catch it and go after it until I would realize that I was no longer within the eye sight of my parents. I guess back then, I didn't really have the option to protest to my mom as to what types of clothes goes on me. My mind was probably more occupied with wanting ice cream and concentrated on chasing ducks at the park.

So last night, my mom called me. She does this all the time and usually calls me perhaps twice a week just to make sure that I'm still alive and breathing and haven't yet died in squalor. Even though I am the age that I am now and have been living on my own for six years now, she still finds it in her to always be concerned that I'm going to injure myself in some way. The reason behind this is that when I was younger, I got into so many injuries such as falling off of trees that everyone thought I was going to die so young. But anyway, because of my history of past injuries, my mom tends to always try to think for possible case scenarios and sometimes I think she gets a little too paranoid with it. Damn those stitches and broken bones.

Anyway, so my mom asked me when exactly I was going to visit her and my dad this summer and I told her this mid-June. Then she asked if I was going to bring my girlfriend along with me and for some reason, during the whole nearly two months, I failed to tell her that it's almost been two months since me and my girlfriend are no longer together. My mom totally adores her and think she's one of the sweetest girls that she's ever met. My dad thinks so too. They always question me about her. Since my parents live in San Antonio and I live in Pullman and Seattle, when me and my girlfriend were together, we never had the chance to all spend time together. It was something that my parents wanted to do. I guess for my parents and especially my mom, she wants me to be with a girl who will definitely make me happy and also at times kick my ass and hit me with a rolled up newspaper for her when I "act" bad.

So yeah, last night I somehow forgot to mention once again to my mom that I'm no longer with my girlfriend. Yikes!

Discovering our "hidden" beach

2007-05-22T19:44:00.001-07:00

A few days ago, me and my friends Anthony & Mine stumbled upon a hidden beach. Well, it's not exactly "hidden" nor is it in the proper sense, a "beach". But you know,...we like to think it that way and thinking so, it makes our idea of this location just a little bit more surreal.

Anyway, here in Pullman (where I go to university at), we are pretty much in the middle of nowhere. It's true. It feels as if when you look out into the horizon, you can actually make out the very edge of the world as if anything beyond it...is nothing. To give you an idea, Pullman is pretty much surrounded by rolling hills, wheatfields and long stretches of small creeks and long arrays of grass & shades. We are actually 300 miles away from the nearest ocean shore.

What we discovered on our little roadtrip 40 miles away from Pullman was an area of sand dunes near a pretty decent-sized river in which the banks of the river was a wide stretch of nice beach-like sand. The water was really warm too. We ended up jumping into it to cool ourselves away from the scorching sun. Not too many people know of this place and I think we like to keep it that way. Years and years ago, students from Washington State University frequented this location but in recent years, access to this place was prohibited and so no one ever ventured here again. As students who had knowledge of this place graduated, there were not that many people left to pass on the word. As a result, knowledge of this place was forgotten...up until now. So in the middle of nowhere, there's a place of dunes and sandy beach-like river banks. A place that seemed unlikely, out of placed and a best kept secret.

Natsu...

2007-05-21T13:37:00.001-07:00

Ever seen the Japanese film Kikujiro by director Takeshi Kitano? Well, I'm not going to tell you anything about it (because I want you to watch it and I don't wanna spoil the enjoyment for you), except that one of the most beautiful aspects of the film has to do with the music score. The score was composed by Joe Hisaishi and one of the pieces is called...

...Summer.

For me, every time I hear it playing, it just totally and sweetly overwhelmingly brings dearly to my heart and memory, the seemingly magical aura of summer time, of both past and present and the anticipation of summer adventures and moments that are yet to come.

*sigh*

1,000 paper cranes

2007-05-20T14:30:00.001-07:00

I think it was close to about two weeks ago, I began the arduous but yet desired process of folding 1,000 paper cranes. An ancient Japanese legend promises that anyone who folds a thousand origami cranes will be granted a wish by a crane.

The reason behind why I started folding the paper cranes has to do with not my own personal wish for something remarkable to happen for myself, but rather...it's something I'm doing for someone else.

I know that it sounds a little bit too silly and juvenile to think that by folding a thousand origami cranes, some sort of wish (that I'll write on the 1,000th crane) will actually find itself to manifest into reality. There's been a few days in which I actually found myself questioning how ridiculous and naive this belief is and even contemplated clearing out my table and just trashing all of them away. One of the days, I did exactly that because the person who I was making them for told me that it's stupid and doesn't work. I realized that yeah, it's actually quite dumb and childish and was feeling overwhelmingly pessimistic about what I was attempting to accomplish and thought to myself, "what the hell am I trying to do? geez!" But then I said to myself, "screw it" and took all of the paper cranes that I had folded out of the waste basket and resumed the process. I decided to myself that..."well, of course it's not going to work and we all know it". However,..."why not just give it a try and see what happens?"

Bookmark me

2007-05-16T22:40:00.000-07:00

So as I was browsing through my bookshelves and going through the my many books, I suddenly came upon a book and to my surprise, I found a bookmark that I had been looking for at least for a good long several months.

I don't know, there's something about this bookmark that I love so much. Is it the fact that it is "cute"? Perhaps. Nevertheless, it's something that I adore even though you might think it's silly. I was given this bookmark back in high school by a female Korean friend who had a slight crush on me (me and her wouldn't have worked out anyways) and ever since then, I've always used it for whenever I'm reading some novel. It doesn't really have much sentimental value to it or anything. I guess I just have this attachment to it more or less.

I guess what I really love about it is the adorable little picture of the guy chasing the girl and the message reading...

"love is...never wanting to lose her."

2007 Seattle International Film Festival

2007-05-16T13:00:00.000-07:00

Hey, it's nearing that time of year again! You've guessed it...SIFF! The Seattle International Film Festival (SIFF), held annually in Seattle, Washington, is purported to be the largest film festival in the United States and among the top film festivals in the world. Audiences have grown steadily; the 2006 festival had 160,000 attendees. SIFF runs for three weeks (24 days) and features a diverse assortment of predominantly independent and foreign films and, in recent years, a strong contingent of documentaries.

This year, SIFF runs from May 24 - June 17, 2007 and kicks-off with Son of Rambow and concludes with the North American Premiere of Molière. The 25-day celebration features 405 films, 107 premieres, and more than 600 Screenings. Also Sir Anthony Hopkins to be Honored with Lifetime Achievement Award.

Hopefully, this year I can at least make it to some of the films, if schedule and travel permits. With past years, I've always attended SIFF on numerous days and saw many films. I'm a really huge film enthusiast and love film festivals and so for me, SIFF is like visual and even emotional heaven. In the recent years, I've seen films (that later became my favorites) at SIFF such as Whale Rider, Sex and Lucia, Amelie, Hero, March of the Penguins, My Sassy Girl and In The Mood For Love.

Anyway, go check it out! I'm sure there will be at least something for everyone and if not, get yourself lost in SIFF and discover! Browse the entire festival online, or pick up a copy of the Seattle Times Guide to the SIFF 2007 line-up at all Tully’s Coffee locations.

Who knew soccer could be so hot?

2007-05-15T13:07:00.000-07:00

I'm a big soccer ("football" to all of you non-Americans) fan and I've played soccer back in high school and also when I have the time, I catch up and follow what's going on in the world of international soccer. If you don't know me, I'm a somewhat crazy fanatic of the English Premier League team Liverpool.

Last night, I came across these series of photos that I found while browsing through portfolios of many different photographers. The ones I found, well...I thought they were really neat and of course, a bit sexy. Overall, when you combine the beautiful sport of what is known as soccer with the sheer graceful beauty of God's creation known as females, you acquire something that is beyond divine perfection. Come on, don't you think so? Yeah you do. But anyway, Steven Young has posted a team of gorgeous Asian females playing soccer and getting dirty on Flickr. The photography work is just amazing to say the least. The filters and post-processing work applied to the photos make each shot look like they should be on the billboard of Times Square.

Seriously,...who knew soccer could be so hot?...

Why "clean" is better.

2007-05-15T11:44:00.000-07:00

So a couple of days ago, I finally got around to cleaning up my living room as well as the rest of the apartment. For me, I love being clean and having the knowledge that I don't tragically gross others out. It's very painful to see your friends stepping back away from you just because there's something wrong with yourself. Not that it happens to me, but I've seen it around friends. Also, I love being around (living in) a clean environment...meaning that things are set accordingly to where they're suppose to be, furnitures are dusted, and basically nothing around me is going to present a hygienic or physical hazard to me and other people. I enjoy having guests over and seeing them feel comfortable and being able to chill and relax. Plus, the other night, my friends Regina, Nisha and Paul came over for dinner and so my cause for cleaning up was even much greater.

I also tend to be in a slight irritated mood when things get really dirty and messy.

For example, if my bedroom becomes messy with books, clothes and homework scattered all over the floor and desk, I seriously cannot let myself be in there to study because for whatever reasons, I cannot study when things are laying out in about. Same with the living room. If the living gets way too cluttered with random junk, it's hard for me to stay out there to lounge and relax. Since dead week and finals week, I became extremely occupied with work and massive studying that I didn't have the time to upkeep or tidy up the apartment. As a result, it gradually became a huge mess. Thankfully, now that my schedule is much more freer, I tend to have more time to clean up after myself and keep the apartment looking spotless and chic and even enjoy sitting while listening to music and ponder what such a nice job I had accomplished. *sigh*

Sway...

2007-05-12T14:05:00.000-07:00

As I was laying here on the futon, just allowing the breeze to enter the living room through the slide door and letting the warmth of the sun shine right over me, I realized as I'm listening to my iPod (connected to the living room sound system) that there's one song that totally captures with exquisite hold of how I am feeling for the past couple of days

I guess, the reason why I love this song so much is that the lyrics are really sweet and it expresses me and what I am harboring. The song is called "Sway" and it's by the band The Perishers. Here's a video of the song...

Letting summer begin...

2007-05-10T19:25:00.000-07:00

So here I am, on another day amongst another warm and sunny summer here in Pullman. For us Washington State University students, school ends (with the exception of summer session), right after the first week of May and so summer arrives somewhat comfortably early for us. Sometimes, we don't really notice it but summer hits us very fast like the way someone jumps in front of us from a bush and surprises us. We get caught off-guard a little.

For me, I always look forward to summer whether or not I'm living in the metropolitan hustle and bustle of Seattle or simply here in the laid-back calm of the rolling hills of Pullman. Either way, my mind becomes excited for anticipations and the random moments that are yet to come. At the same time, my mind also tends to draw back memories of past summers as if it wants me to not ever forget them and also at the same time, gently remind me of what I once was, what I once had,...and what I once felt and where I yearned to be. I guess right now what I'm trying to convey is that I'm feeling immensely nostalgic for last summer.

And I guess it's quite normal because certain individuals, certain places and certain moments that existed in the past; things that meant so much to you, never seem to go away. They live deep inside you and you harbor them because it's hard to let go of them when they've already became a part of you and grew inside you. And you don't want to let go of them because they remind you of how happy you were once. The memories and the emotions attached to them never fails to find you, especially on those lonely summer days when you just simply lay there on the grass and as the wind gently sweeps over your face, you close your eyes and the silent images starts to drift slowly inside you and the emotions begin to flood through your body.

Right now, I'm thinking of last summer...

...we didn't have much...but we had each other. things didn't go right sometimes, but there would always be days where everything seemed perfect and I felt like I was in a dream and didn't want to wake up...

...and some of those days, were truly some of the best days of my life.

As summer is beginning, I realized that I really do miss someone right now that isn't here with me. I can honestly say that this person is not right beside me as I lay here on the this grassy hill, underneath this summer sky, but I can still feel this person, shine inside me.

...I just wish.

Coming back.

2007-05-10T17:36:00.000-07:00

I guess since my last post back in November, a lot has happened and even more so has changed. Places change, people change, circumstances definitely have changed and I can honestly say a part of me have changed as well. A lot of them I had a great deal of a hard time accepting because in doing so, I was bending a part of myself to adapt. And sometimes when you try to bend yourself, you eventually force yourself way too strong that you realize you weren't strong enough and you find yourself broken. Then that's when you begin the long process of picking the pieces of yourself up and attempting to glue yourself back together, but only to your realization that not all of you can be found,...some of it you gave away to someone you loved.

Stuck with not much to do

2006-11-21T16:27:00.000-08:00

I spent a small portion of my day just standing outside on my balcony as I watched the clouds raced by amidst a sunset drenched sky. It had just rained earlier today and finally the sky had began to clear up and allowing the setting sun and the pastel colored sky to blossom. Looming in the distance is another part of Dabco's construction of another series of apartment complexes. For lord's sake, I swear Dabco has this masterplan to take over all of Pullman with their developments.

After a few days into Thanksgiving Break, I'm probably one of the only few students here left in Pullman. For the most part, a great amount of my friends have already left for their parent's home. Anthony, who is back home, I pretty much communicate with on and off during the day on AIM. With not really a single soul here in Pullman, I pretty much go through my days meandering through chores and pathetic attempts to entertain myself so that I can beat the boredom miserably out of me.

So yeah, I ended up washing three days worth of dishes not too long ago because everytime I entered the kitchen, I always was hit by this stink of dirty dishes and left over meals. Believe me, it's not a great way to help keep the apartment smelling decent. But hey, thank lord for the dishwasher, right? Otherwise I'd be slaving over the kitchen sink for a good deal of time.

Well, now that I'm done with the dishes, here are my list of things to do as compiled by my lovely Wendy (who is so lucky to be on the westside of the state already):

Clean up the bedroom.
Set up wall coat hanger.
Get cell phone re-activated.
Return movie back to Blockbuster.

Lets get started...shall we?

2006-11-21T15:33:00.000-08:00

Okay, so I finally got a around to taking the first few baby steps in launching a new blog that I've been planning to do for the last few months. I originally had a blog a few years ago which I took the liberty of deleting because for a period of time, I just seem to have lost interest in posting things up. However, with a few days of no classes (thanks to Thanksgiving Break) and a new sense of renewal, I found it in myself that this is the perfect time to get back onto what I used to love doing...and that is blogging. As you can see now, my blog Lost In Translation is currently in its creation birth phase and so for the next coming days, I'll be tinkering with how I wish to present my blog. If you are wondering about just what the hell I'll be posting in this blog, well...I'll just say, "everything and anything". It'll be postings about me, my life, the friends and strangers around me, where I am, the big things, and the little things.