HACHOO

Funny Asian Dad quotes...

2011-11-09T13:21:00.000-08:00

My Dad: "How come white people always look so old?

Me: "Because not everyone in the world can be Asian."

My Dad: "Hmmm..." then nods his head and walks away in agreement.

A Fresh Start in Las Vegas

2011-11-07T21:43:00.000-08:00

I've been MIA from blogging lately and the reason why is that I had to make some big decisions regarding my career and my life. So 3 months ago, I decided to leave my law firm, transfer all my clients to my partners, focus solely on my contract work, and move to Las Vegas to save money.

I know, huge changes, right? The last 3-4 months have a been a whirlwind of craziness. Where I played with idea of leaving law totally and finding a different career path and where I had a girlfriend, but then it was a long distance girlfriend and then back to single again.

After all of that, I finally started climbing again in one of the country's meccas of climbing here in Vegas. So you can say a lot has happened. Now that the dust has settled, it's going to be nice to get back to blogging regularly again.

Anyway, since moving here, I've been really excited to see what Las Vegas has to offer. Everyone always asks the same thing about Vegas, "What else is there to do in Vegas other than the Strip?" Well, I guess that's what I'm going to have to find out for all of you!

So lets start! Last weekend I decided to check out the Food Truck Festival next to South Point Casino.

I get to the parking lot and there's over 20 food trucks to choose from. The only problem is that all them have long lines 20 people deep. Some had ridiculously long lines of 40 people deep. Luckily for us, the beer lines were really short. So while one person waits in line at the food truck, the other person would go for multiple beer runs. Excellent.

Long lines at every truck.

After walking around a bit, we decided to try three trucks. We ultimately decided on steamed buns of duck confit and pork belly, Apricot spicy buffalo wings and sweet potato fries. All were delicious and well worth the wait.

Apricot spicy buffalo wings

Steamed buns of pork belly and duck confit.

Overall, it was good weather, good beer, great company and a great time. Hopefully I'll get to find more fun things to do here in Vegas. Now that I've finally met some friends, I'm planning on eating my way through all of the restaurants. Get ready for some more food porn!

Weekend of food...Pho Show

2011-07-12T21:55:00.000-07:00

Pho Show in Culver City

Last weekend, I was in Culver city and I happened to drive by a Vietnamese restaurant called Pho Show. For such a cool name, I really had to walk in and try it out.

I first started out with some pork spring rolls.

Usually, when go to a Vietnamese restaurant, the spring rolls are pre-made which can make the wrappings get a bit tough as they sit in a fridge. These, you could tell were made to order by the soft texture of the rice paper wrappings. It was very tasty. The marinated pork inside had great flavor, but the peanut sauce was pretty standard. I felt like it could have used some herbs like mint and green onion to make the flavors pop more, but that's just my personal preference.

Of course I had to try the Pho Dac Biet

Now, if you're going to be a restaurant with pho in your name, you better have some pretty darn good pho and I have to say, Pho Show delivered. The broth was bright, fresh and tasty and had a decent beefy/anise flavor depth. Plus, there wasn't a layer of fat over the top which I really can't stand.

Overall, I really enjoyed the restaurant. The service was great, the ambiance was cozy and food was good. For me, that's all you can as for.

Iron Man Traverse

2011-06-17T22:56:00.000-07:00

Reposted from ForeverV2

Finally got done editing the video from last Memorial Day weekend. Here's my buddy Isaac sending the Buttermilks classic, the Iron Man Traverse.

Fried Rice Fridays!

2011-06-17T17:44:00.001-07:00

So what do you do when you have rice that's been in the fridge for a week? It's Fried Rice Friday time!

Ingredients:

unsalted butter
olive oil
old rice from the fridge
1 onion
1 carrot
2 celery stalks
diced ham
3 eggs
garlic
pepper
soy sauce
fish sauce
cilantro/green onion to garnish

Fried Rice Fridays = Deeeelicious!

Dinner parties and caramels

2011-06-12T16:20:00.000-07:00

With another dinner party this weekend, I thought I'd get a bit adventurous. Why not try something completely crazy and out of the ordinary, right?

So I decided to try this bacon caramels recipe I found. It looked sooo delicious and since I absolutely love bacon, what could go wrong? Well, if you're not that experienced at making candy A LOT can go wrong.

The tricky thing about making candy, especially in dealing with sugar, is that it's very temperature dependent. For my first batch of caramel, I heated the caramel to the appropriate temperature on the thermometer, but I ended up with a very brittle and rock hard candy. It totally sucked. So what the heck? What did I do wrong?

Well, I realized that candy making is MUCH easier on a gas range stove. This is my pet peeve with my stove. It's an electric range stove so maintaining a consistent temperature is freaking hard. So for the second batch, I heated the caramel to a temperature just below the setting temperature, thinking I'd compensate for the overheating electric stove. I did get a much softer caramel, but now it wasn't hard enough to be cut into squares! Crap. This sucks balls. Well, at least the caramel tasted awesome.

Now I'm trying to figure out how to salvage this too soft caramel. Maybe I should reheat it to the appropriate temperature? Naw...I think I'll just cut my losses and store it in the freezer. Whenever I have vanilla ice cream, I can always warm it up and pour it on. Mmm...that sounds awesome actually.

Anyway, I ended up running out of cream so I think I'll just have to retry this recipe another weekend. Maybe I'll get a small gas range burner just for candy making. Here are some pics of the process below:

Getting the bacon nice and crispy

Boiling the sugar

Waiting for the caramel to reach the setting temperature

The bacon caramel almost set

Another finished climbing video

2011-06-08T07:44:00.000-07:00

Now that I'm not climbing, I seem to have more time on my hands at night. If I'm not climbing, I can at least go through all my footage and catch up on all my editing, right?

So I finally finished editing another video. Here's my friend D.Dokko onsighting The Wave - V3. This was from our bouldering trip last April. I know, that's a long time ago. Work and climbing tends to get in the way, but better late than never!

Reposted from ForeverV2

My video review on KCET

2011-06-06T21:34:00.000-07:00

This is a few weeks late, but my video food review of Veronica's Kitchen is up. You can check it out here:

http://www.kcet.org/socal/food/freelunch/veronicas-kitchen-fufu-goat-stew-with-okra.html

It's always weird seeing yourself on video. It's like, "Man, do I really sounds like that?" or "What's up with my weird voice inflections?" and "Why am I making those funny faces while I talk?"

Anyway, the food was pretty darn good. Interesting, adventurous and different, but still pretty good.

Though I think next time, I'll skip the fufu and have it with brown rice...

Pho cheers up the soul

2011-06-06T08:42:00.000-07:00

Last Friday I saw the doctor and was diagnosed with ulnar neuropathy. Basically, my left arm ulnar nerve is pinched/compressed somewhere which is causing my pinky and ring finger to be numb and lately, my hand would clench up into "the claw." His recommendation was to take a break from climbing which is horribly depressing since all I want to do is climb every single day. Crap...this basically means I'll have to get my exercise doing boring activities like running or yoga. What a bummer. On a positive note, it is better than permanent nerve damage....right?

So, as a way cheer myself up, I decided to make pho! There is seriously nothing more enjoyable than a homemade bowl of pho. Since you really can't make pho for one person, I invited my climbing friends to come by after their day of climbing at Echo Cliffs, which is near my place.

The start of the broth (1 hour)

Prepping the veggies

The broth after 5 hours

Eating pho all weekend long will make anyone happy. Even a climber who can't climb anymore.

Rewards for a good workout

2011-05-12T01:12:00.000-07:00

I had a fantastic night of climbing with my friends. It's great when you're climbing with good partners who push and encourage you to your limits. Afterwards, my arms felt like noodles which made me think of eating noodles which then further made me think of ramen. I mean, that's totally a natural thought progression, right? Plus, what's better than climbing really, really hard? Eating a ton of really good food to reward yourself, of course!

So afterwards we went to Hakata Ramen.

Nothing like two beers and a big bowl of yummy ramen noodles to complete the night.

Sore body and full tummy = sleeeeeeepy, but happy Ha.

Free lunch for me!

2011-05-10T21:12:00.000-07:00

So looks like I'll be getting filmed tomorrow for lunch! Whoa hoo!

Basically, it's a Free Lunch by KCET where their readers get to eat lunch and have their review of the restaurant filmed for KCET's website here:

http://www.kcet.org/socal/freelunch/

I'll be going to a Nigerian restaurant where they specialize in fufu. I've never had fufu before, but from what I learned through my internet search, it's a doughy ball that you have to pull off a piece, flatten out, and scoop up a stew with. This sounds so awesome. After watching the video below, I'm even more excited!

I love California farmer's markets

2011-05-08T21:18:00.001-07:00

There are a lot of times where I really miss Chicago. I miss the city, the awesome public transportation, the restaurants, the Midwest friendliness, etc. But I just can't get over how awesome the weather here is in California. And with that awesome weather comes farmer's markets every single day of the week. This means, I get to eat plenty for fresh fruit and veggies for crazy cheap prices.

The local market

Delicious tomatoes

So many fresh veggies!

I got a whole bunch of these cherries....so good.

You can't beat a whole bunch of fresh herbs either.

These were ridiculously delicious...but there's only so many fruits/veggies I can eat in a week.

D.Dokko sending Classic Monkey, V6

2011-05-02T15:27:00.000-07:00

Reposted from www.foreverV2.com

Flat Madison goes to Vegas

2011-04-29T08:16:00.000-07:00

So my friend, Sarah, has a friend with a 6 year old daughter whose class is working on a project. The project is described in the letter above, but basically, she needs us to take pics of "Flat Madison" in different locations and adventures. Since I am in Vegas this weekend, she asked if I could take "Flat Madison" with me and take pics of her on my climbing adventures here in Vegas.

After reading both of the letters, it's really hard to say no to a cute 6 yr old kid. What kind of heartless soul would I be if said no to the hand written letter of a 6 yr old, right?

So today, I'll be taking the obligatory tourist Vegas pics of the strip. Tomorrow, I'll take pics of "Flat Madison" atop boulders while rock climbing.

All I got to say is this 6 yr old will have, by far, the coolest adventures for her "Flat Madison!"

And now, introducing, "Flat Madison," below:

The end of Lent...the return of beer

2011-04-20T18:50:00.000-07:00

Every year I try to give up alcohol for Lent, and every year, I fail. Miserably. Somehow, this year would be different.

In February, I was feeling down, out of shape, tired and overall, craptastic. Then I read an article in Outdoor magazine of one of the writer's experiences with giving up alcohol and going on a detox raw food diet. I obviously wasn't going to go to that extreme, but I thought I could at least try giving up alcohol and eating more fruits and veggies. Then something funny happened....

By not drinking alcohol the entire month of February, I lost 15 lbs. Yeah, 15 freaking pounds all by quitting alcohol. I wasn't working out at all, but I did incorporate more veggies and fruit in my diet and less protein, but man, really? 15 pounds doing nothing else, but stop drinking? You know what else is surprising when you give up alcohol? You actually FEEL GREAT! And feeling great makes you workout more. I mean, I was sleeping better, I felt more rested, I wasn't lethargic and my recovery time after climbing workouts was shortened. It was awesome.

So after the first month, I just decided to just keep going and not drink alcohol all through lent. Granted, I did have 3 glasses of wine the entire month of March and 3 glasses of wine and one beer in April, but 7 drinks TOTAL for the last 3 months!?! Insane for me. I'm a guy who would relax every night with a beer or two for dinner and then have way too much on the weekends with friends. I think what made me stick with it for this long was probably how great it made me feel overall.

Now, with Lent over this Sunday, I can start drinking again without the guilt of church and God hanging over me. The thing is, I don't think I will. I'll probably have drinks here and there during social outings with friends, family or other special occasions (weddings, etc.), but I definitely don't think I'll go back to the regularity I was drinking at prior to this. I've been physically feeling way too good lately and, even though this below can be fun:

it tends to make you feel like this afterwards.

Learning to trad climb

2011-04-17T12:28:00.001-07:00

Reposted from ForeverV2:

Ahhh...trad climbing. How I never had the money to buy your precious gear so that I could learn all your goodness...until now. The climbing gods presented me with a friend who got married and never climbs anymore. With the importance of baby making and future family well-being, you know, considerations us single guys don't have to worry about, his climbing gear was left to collect dust and take up vital closet space. His wife, in need of said vital closet space, ever so gently convinced him to donate all his climbing gear to his one single friend who rock climbs regularly. Me. And so begins my trad climbing adventures.

Enter Joshua tree. An awesome place of granite boulders in the middle of the desert. A place where I will learn the fine art of highball bouldering, painful hand jams, crystal foot smears, and sketchy class 4 downclimbs.

In my first schooling in trad climbing I learned some vital lessons:

hand jams on granite hurt...alot
foot jams hurt even more...especially when you get them stuck
5.6 slabby crack climbs are sketch...really sketch
anchors are better made by more experienced climbers...not by me

I'll leave you with some pics below. Until next climb...

The approach.

Rocks as far as the eye can see.

The Bong, 5.4

too much work...

2011-03-18T00:20:00.000-07:00

After an absolutely great weekend of climbing in Vegas, I came back to Cali with waaaay too much work. Sucks having to work from 7am to midnight for the last 4 days. That left me with no time to go climbing and made too exhausted to blog. Today, while everyone was getting their drink on for St. Patty's day, I was stuck at my desk trying finish another patent search while dreaming of climbing in the pic below. I really hope I catch up on work because the weather's been sunny and beautiful and I really need to get my climb on.

For more on the climbing trip to Vegas, check out my buddies' summary at: http://crammedinavan.blogspot.com/2011/03/set-em-up-for-dead-end-kids-i-dont-know.html

Great Weekend!

2011-03-07T23:21:00.010-08:00

So last Friday I went out to dinner for my friend's birthday at the restaurant Il Caparicio in Los Feliz. It's an Italian restaurant and it was deeeeeelicious. Here are some pics below:

Squid Ink Pasta with Shrimp

Sausage with Mushroom and Garlic Sauce Pasta

Seafood Salad

Group Pic!

Saturday, was a great day of climbing in Malibu State Creek Park. It felt great working on hard climbs again. It's surprising how much of a better climber you become once you lose 10 lbs. All I have to do now is keep up with the training, eat right and try not to drink too much beer. Some pics from climbing below:

Letterbox - 5.11b/c (sent it with one take...not bad after 2 months off)

Suzi on a 5.10a

Group Pic #2

I'm feeling strong, climbing-wise, so I'm super excited for my next climbing trip this weekend in Vegas now. Can't this week go by any faster?

Climbing Malibu

2011-03-06T16:40:00.004-08:00

After climbing all day in Malibu State Creek Park yesterday, I fell asleep at 7pm and woke up at 1 am...what the heck? Right? Is this what happens when you're 31 and out of shape?

Pics soon to come.

Looking the part

2011-03-04T12:40:00.002-08:00

Someone gave me advice today. Actually, I heard it twice from a couple of LA friends. They suggested that I buy a better watch because my current watch looks cheap. They're in sales and they said that if I want to convince potential clients on hiring me as their attorney, I'm going to need to look the part of a successful attorney. I mean, I do always dress nice when networking, nice shirt, tie, shined shoes, but will people really only look at my watch?

It's an interesting dilemma. I never really thought how my watch made me look. Don't billionaires like Warren Buffet drive old beat up cars? I mean, that's kind of the look I was going for with my 2001 dented Corolla. Plus, I hate nice watches and nice sunglasses since I'm always breaking/losing them.

It's also an interesting LA thing. There's definitely a need to look the part out here. People here lease BMW's for more than their monthly rent. But every successful business person I've met out here tends to not dress the part at all. I think that's general trend I've notice. The more money you have, the less likely you dress the part.

Anyway, I don't think I'll be buying a nice watch any time soon. If anything, I'll probably ask my little brother for one of his. He tends to be the fancier one between us.

New city, new year, new blog!

2011-03-04T09:54:00.003-08:00

Now that I'm officially single, living in a new city and meeting new people it's time to get back to blogging again.

I decided to change the name of the blog and start a theme. It's been tough trying to figure out what to blog about lately and I think it'll be easier if I have a theme to focus on. I'm thinking I'll have this blog be about my adventures as an attorney, rock climbing and everything that comes with living in a new city. You know, making new friends, finding new places to eat and enjoying the SoCal weather.

So buckle your seat belts! It's gonna be a fun ride!

Upcoming Labor Day Trip

2008-08-24T13:58:00.002-07:00

So for Labor Day, my girlfriend thought it'd be a great idea to rent a cabin in Kentucky for some rock climbing...a cabin so that her WHOLE family can go rock climbing with us.

Yeah...so it's me, as the rock climbing tour guide, taking my girlfriend's mom, dad, little sister, and little sister's boyfriend, out to the crag for 4 days and 3 nights. Oh, and their dogs too.

Am I nervous? Yes. Scared that things may go wrong? Definitely. Excited for the trip? Of course!

I'll admit, I'm totally freaking out on this one. There's nothing like the possibility of miserably failing to impress your girlfriend's family. Right? Whew, talk about pressure!

I'm sure the trip will go well and everyone will have tons of fun, but it'll definitely be a sigh of relief when it's all over.

Another bad idea...

2008-07-08T09:27:00.004-07:00

Check out this story about a website that composed solely of "hot" female attorneys.

http://www.law.com/jsp/article.jsp?id=1202422828879

To sum up, the website posted pics and bios of female attorneys that they considered "hot," from law firm websites. But after some national exposure and very unhappy female attorneys, the site was recently taken down.

This totally reminds me of conversations my fellow law school colleagues would have about our law school's newest addition of the "Who's who" while drinking copious amounts of alcohol.

Good thing we sobered up to know it was a bad idea.

Getting up there in life...

2008-07-03T07:56:00.003-07:00

I just realized today that my birthday's coming up this month and I'll be 29. This means that I have one more year before I officially hit being the 'old guy.' Yes, I know. 30's not old. But isn't it the age where your body starts going down hill? Where I won't be able to climb at the gym 4 days a week with 2 soccer games on the weekend and bikram yoga during the week? Where I start saying things like, "I can't drink any beer tonight because I have to run tomorrow" or "I really need a recovery day" and the recovery day is not because of drinking?

Ugh, just 3 years ago, I'd go out drinking on a Friday night with my friends till 4 am, then wake up at 8am for a soccer game during an excruciatingly hot summer day. Now the very thought of more than 4 beers the night before a soccer game sounds horrible.

Well, at least I still drink on Fridays, right? I guess I'll officially be 'old' when I choose not drink at all. But until then, 4 beers the night before a game it is!

dumb song in my head...

2008-06-03T07:38:00.002-07:00

Every time I see an article covering the R. Kelly trial here in Cook County, Chicago, I get the song "I Believe I can Fly," in my head for the rest of the day.

so much work...

2008-06-02T14:40:00.002-07:00

So when I got back from my Memorial Day Weekend vacation, I had tons of work waiting for me. Nothing like getting my butt kicked with work as punishment for having such a fun time.

The training period for my job is over and my docket is now filled up with work that will keep me busy for a very long time. I wouldn't really call it training, but more like giving me lots of time to finish projects. I went from lots of time to get it done NOW.

The bad: I'll be working late nights and weekends for probably the next few months. The good: the more work I do, the more money I make. Plus, the faster I get at my job, the more time I'll have for fun later. So overall, I've been pretty happy with my new job.

On a side note, my girlfriend is meeting my parents for the first time this weekend. She's freaking out and I find it hilarious.

Memorial Day Weekend

2008-05-23T11:08:00.001-07:00

I'm going climbing at the Red River Gorge, in Kentucky, this weekend. I'll post pics when I get back.

Bikram Yoga vs. Me....Bikram wins

2008-05-15T10:01:00.004-07:00

So my girlfriend has me doing bikram yoga with her. If you didn't know what it is, it's yoga done at the ideal temp of 105 degrees with appropriate humidity--between 60-70%. Sounds horrible, right? Oh...it is.

Every time I go to a class, I come out completely drenched in sweat, I can barely walk afterwards, and I'm sore for 3 days straight walking like a gimp. It's brutal!

The thing is, though I hate it every time I do it, I feel awesome after the class is done. Not awesome in the traditional sense, but awesome more like I'm on a high.

I've always heard of runners talking about "runner's high" but I swear it's just a lie people have made up so that you'd go running with them. I've gone running plenty of times and I've never experienced this mythical "runner's high".

So I think that bikram has something similar. A "bikram high" maybe? I'm not joking. I feel like I'm on cloud nine after I'm done.

But maybe, after cutting off my circulation for 90 minutes, it's just the combination of all the oxygenated blood rushing back into my head while walking back into a cool room of 70 degrees. Either way, it feels pretty sweet.

New Job!

2008-03-25T06:22:00.003-07:00

So after living in Chicago for 2 years, working various part-time jobs as a server, a climbing instructor, and as an independent contracting attorney, I finally got my first full-time job. Yes!

My new position is as a patent search guy where I get to read lots of patents and draft patentability reports. I know, sounds like super fun times, right? But there's plenty of higher positions that I qualify for where I can get promoted into if I work hard and do a good job. Plus a legal department where I can transfer into depending on the amount of private clients that come in.

I'm just happy to actually get a job in this crappy legal market here in Chicago. When I was going over the resumes for attorneys to replace me at my last part-time legal job, the resumes coming in totally kicked my resume's ass! It's such a shock to see so many highly qualified attorneys with stellar resumes without jobs here in Chicago. Especially attorneys who should be full-time, settling for part-time work because they're just trying to get anything that's legal work in general.

It's one thing to hear/read about the US economy going into a recession, but it's another to actually experience not having a job and seeing other highly intelligent people unemployed as well.

I feel very fortunate to land this job. Let's just hope I'll actually be good at it too.

Random thoughts on the Lions and Labor Day

2007-09-07T13:22:00.000-07:00

I swear, if the Lions lose to the Raiders this weekend, I will repeatedly punch myself in the face and cry myself to sleep. Michigan already lost to Appalachian State and if the Lions lose, my usual football season enjoyment will be reduced to a black hole of hatred of all Michigan sports.

On a happier note, I got back from a kick ass climbing trip! The Red River Gorge in Slade, KY was fantastic!

Here's my girlfriend rocking her first climb outdoors ever.

CRAZY STORMS!!

2007-08-24T07:54:00.000-07:00

So I don't have power at home cause of the crazy storms that hit Chicago last night. Every flight at O'Hare airport was canceled, trees were falling down like twigs, tornadoes were sighted everywhere, and flooding all over the place.

As I got off the bus on the way home from work yesterday, I was welcomed by a WALL of water. Yeah, it wasn't just raining, it was more like ginormous wall of water moving horizontally at me rather than the normal droplets falling vertically. My little bitty umbrella just got its ass kicked.

Here are some pics I took this morning of the aftermath. If you imagine it dark, with a river of water in the road, then that's what I walked through last night.

These pics are just on my street as I walked only TWO blocks. It looks like war zone out there. Com Ed is gonna fricken take FOREVER to get the power back on cause there's crap down ALL over the place. On top of it all, MORE thunderstorms are forecasted today. Looks like I'll be spending lots of time at this coffee shop tonight!

In front of my apartment.
Down my street.
Sucks to be this car!
Did EVERY tree fall down? Sure seems like it.

Here's one more pic of me cooking dinner by headlamp.

It's nice to know that we still have gas.

DVR's awesome!

2007-07-19T10:58:00.000-07:00

What's better than watching Top Chef, Hell's Kitchen, and Rock of Love? Watching said shows anytime I want and replaying all the awesomeness over and over again.

I just caught my first episode of Bret Michaels "Rock of Love" on VH1 and thoroughly enjoyed the trials and tribulations of a rock star trying to find a "hot girl who rocks." Nothing's better than seeing a guy rationalize keeping a hot girl around after expressing how dumb she was. It's like how every guy who meets an attractive girl is, at first, enamored by her beauty, but then the second she opens her mouth, the sad disappointment sound of "wah, wah, waaaaaah..." gives the guy a cold slap in the nuts.

Bret, of course, is not deterred by such cold slaps. He seems to embrace them by keeping the dumb hot girl around because maybe, just maybe, she'll have one rational thought in the future. I guess any sign of an actual working brain, no matter how small, is enough for Mr. Ex-Lead Singer of Poison. Hey, she's walking in a straight line?! Good enough for me! All I look for in a woman is coordination! By far my favorite line is when a girl said her favorite song by Poison was "Every Thorn has a Rose"...yeah, that's what she said.

I know you're asking why I watch such dumb reality shows. But when all you do is read patents all day, I really don't need to think anymore when I get home. Especially when there's lots of eye candy on the tube.

What about those cooking shows? I'll be first to admit, I'm a whore for Food shows. Maybe because I'm ex-chemist and cooking new dishes is a nostalgic hobby that takes me back to my younger college days, I don't know. But I will watch the Food Network 24/7.

Between my reality shows, food shows, and Japanese anime, my roommates are so glad I have my own DVR in my room. It's amazing I get out of the house at all...

The Hugo

2007-07-15T12:21:00.000-07:00

I realized I never introduced my new roommate's dog. Hugo! He's an English Bulldog that slobbers everything. He enjoys having his tummy rubbed and he's 60 lbs of solid muscle, but jumps on you thinking he's still a puppy, which crushes your nuts while you're lying on the couch.

I'm sad...

2007-06-19T18:16:00.001-07:00

Well, not really. It just that today I realized that I haven't rock climbed outdoors in 5 months. What's worse is that I haven't climbed at an indoor gym for 2 months. So basically I feel like my forearms are getting all tiny and wussified while all my clothes seem to be getting bigger on me cause of the fact that all my muscles are getting smaller.

I quit volunteering at the climbing gym I used to work at mainly because the wall manager has less climbing experience than the majority of the 14 year climbers I've met and is an inconsiderate prick. It's hard to respect a climber's opinion when you have had way more experience than that person has. It's even harder to respect a person when that person is a dick to you.

Basically, the guy was a moron and every climber in the Chicago area completely hates the guy. Quite a reputation if you ask me. You know it's bad when random strangers in Kentucky who've climbed in Chicago, tell me they hate the guy after I tell them what gym I climb at. Yeah...it's that bad.

So now I need to find a new climbing gym. I think I'll become a regular at this tiny bouldering gym called Hidden Peak. But first thing is to get the pesky Patent Bar out of the way. I hate that Patent Bar...

Little Brother's Graduation

2007-05-20T10:51:00.000-07:00

Congratulations to my little brother who graduated from college! We're all proud of you!

Weekend Fun!

2007-04-30T08:26:00.000-07:00

It was my friend, Ali's birthday so she had a party at her place. This party had two things that made it awesome. Beer + Karaoke = FANTASTIC!

My new flip flops

2007-04-22T15:34:00.000-07:00

I just got these new flip flops from Reef and guess what? It has a frickin bottle opener on the bottom of it!!! How cool is that? So whenever I need a bottle opener, I can now just take off my flip flop, open my beer, and enjoy the sun. Too cool.

So last night, what did I do? I bought a 6 pack of heinekin, sat on the porch, and drank beers opened by my flip flops. The f'in awesomeness was incomprehensible.

NBA playoffs, Here we come!

2007-04-19T10:25:00.000-07:00

With the end of the regular NBA season, I am PUMPED to see my Detroit Pistons make another deep run into the playoffs.

Even though I'm super excited for the playoffs, it's also a sad realization that with the end of the NBA season, it's the beginning of the god awfully long baseball season. Granted, I have a renewed interest in baseball ever since my Detroit Tigers are not bottom dwellers anymore with their impressive run to the World Series last year, but I am not the biggest baseball fan.

Living in Chicago, all I hear about is Cubs this, Cubs that. Um, the Cubs suck and will for awhile and tickets to the games are super expensive. It's gonna be another long summer of people hopelessly thinking the Cubs have any chance of a winning season with tons of their boring baseball games on TV which means I won't be seeing many Tigers games. God, I hate the baseball season.

I really can't keep up with the other teams, though I am intrigued by Dice-K of Boston and how he pitches. Other than that, I'm bored out of my mind watching games on TV. It's not a surprise that people go to Cubs game for the ambiance...aka "drinking heavily in the sun". I once went to a baseball game and fell asleep in my chair. I felt bad, but then I realized that people around me were asleep too or pasted out. Yeah, I don't fall asleep at other sporting events

Ok, enough ranting about baseball. I need to get back to studying.

Quick question....

2007-04-10T15:06:00.000-07:00

How would you react to a very attractive girl who likes you, but tells you that she doesn't believe in monogamy?

This could be a very bad situation for me.

Ha and Paul's Sweet Moab Trip

2007-03-22T14:23:00.001-07:00

Hey, so I finally took my old rock climbing footage and made this clip. Enjoy you guys. I was up to 2:30 am last night editing this and every time I watch it, I get PUMPED!! YEAH!! FANTASTIC!!

Dorkage Vol. 1

2007-03-05T23:17:00.001-08:00

My buddy, Juan's climbing movie. Now, I'm inspired to make my own climbing movie.

Dunkin Donuts Lady Loves me...

2007-02-19T07:32:00.000-08:00

There's nothing like going to Dunkin Donuts, ordering a coffee with cream and sugar, a muffin, then go back up to the office, open the bag, and find a whole extra muffin in it. Awesome!!!

This isn't the first that this has happened. The little Indian lady that works at the Dunkin Donuts really enjoys talking to me and is always giving me extra donuts. I once ordered 2 donuts and opened the bag to find a pleasant surprise of 4! Now I appreciate the lady's kindness, but is there a reason why I would want to eat four donuts? I'm wondering if she thinks I'm too skinny and I need to fatten up a bit. I don't think I'm too skinny. Plus, it's wintertime and I'm bundled up so she wouldn't be able to tell if I was too skinny.

Or maybe because I'm a regular there and she does this for all the regulars. I do go into the store after the rush hour so maybe because I have time to say hi and talk she rewards me with the lovely goodness of donuts.

Whatever the reason, I'm not complaining. Donuts and muffins are the equivalent of hand held baked happiness. Extra, is always a good thing.

So broke right now....

2007-02-06T10:56:00.000-08:00

I can't believe how broke I am right now. My boss doesn't pay me on time, I don't have medical insurance, I need more money to renew my attorney registration, it's freezing cold outside, I have to think of something for Valentines Day, I still need to retake the Patent Bar, and there's so much pressure on me to get things done at work.

I'm trying to stay positive, I'm trying to keep up my motivation to work hard, and I'm trying to not really show how stressed I am, but it sucks. It's hard to stay motivated at work because I don't get paid very much and I don't get my paychecks on time. It's hard to study for the Patent bar because all I want to do is relax when I get home from work. It's hard to be in a good mood when its freezing cold outside. It's hard to find a new job when you're working and studying all the time. It's hard to make the people around me happy when they all want to go out and all I want to do is curl up in a ball in my bed at night.

Here's to the real world kicking my ass.

Back to blogging!

2007-01-30T12:48:00.000-08:00

Man, its been forever since my last post. I just got super busy with the holidays, my buddy's wedding, and trying to meet deadlines at work to even think about blogging. I mean, I never even got to post about New Years, which, BTW was a fantastic time!

So here are my New Year's Resolution:

1.) Get a six-pack;
2.) Climb a 5.12 or a V7;
3.) Eat healthier;
4.) Stop smoking;
5.) Get a better job;
6.) Ease off the beer (to lose beer gut); and
7.) Do a one-arm pull up.

The common theme above is to basically live a healthier and more active life. Yeah 2007!

SNL - Digital Short - A Special Christmas Box

2006-12-30T08:35:00.001-08:00

I thought this was appropriate for the Holidays.

Christmas! Yeah!

2006-12-28T15:42:00.000-08:00

Me and my siblings celebrating Christmas together. No parent in this picture because they were partying it up in Las Vegas. Silly crazy parents.

Irony

2006-12-20T16:40:00.000-08:00

Me reading the book "Fast Food Nation," while eating a Whopper for lunch.

This sight would be more humorously ironic if I was fat. I'm not fat, so it's just ironic.

Sickness...I hate you

2006-12-11T20:16:00.000-08:00

I'm sick. I hate being sick. I cannot function while I'm sick.

Here's me:

1.) one nostril I breathe from, one nostril is a snot faucet.
2.) I go an hour without coughing, then I go intp a 15 minute hacking fit.
3.) I have that scratchy, deep, nose is plugged, phlegm in the back of throat voice.
4.) I have a constant hungover look. Messy hair, unkept clothes, red eyes, and bags from no sleep.

Yet, I'm healthy enough to work. This is the worse kind of sickness. The, I'm not sick enough to call into work sick, but I'll be around to ruin your day...for 7 days straight, sick.

Yeah, that's right. I've been sick for a week now and I'm as sick now as I was last week.

Sucks big hairy balls.

Bo Schembechler, 1929-2006

2006-11-17T10:44:00.000-08:00

Let us all take a moment of silence to remember Bo, a great man and a great coach.

Michigan vs. Ohio State - are you ready!?

2006-11-15T15:29:00.000-08:00

Damn, I'm so psyched about the Michigan vs. Ohio State game this weekend. IT'S GONNA BE HUGE!! I mean, it's crazy! BOTH teams are undefeated. This game is...damn I getting goosebumps just thinking about it!

I hate Ohio State. I hate everything about them. People truly don't know how much emotion is involved in this rivalry. When the game is on, I have seen people pull their hair out at a shift in momentum and cry after a losses. It's that intense. And the hatred for the other side is so strong that people will winced whenever they find out that the other person went to their rival school. I guess you have to be a true sports fan to really know how monumental this game is or at least have an idea.

Here's a story: my buddy Paul and I were watching ESPN a couple of years ago. A commercial came on which involved a guy and girl, on a couch, kissing each other, with the camera focused on just their faces. As the camera pans out, you realize that the guy is wearing an Ohio State t-shirt, the girl a Michigan t-shirt. My buddy Paul, lying on the couch, immediately gets up, looks over at me and says, "Dude, what the f**k is this!"

I, on the opposing couch, get up, look at him and respond, "I don't know, but it's f**cking bulls**t!"

As they continue to make out, Paul yells, "Seriously, what the f**k is this?!!"

Then, on the lower corner of the TV screen appear the words, "Without Sports This Wouldn't Be Disgusting."

Awesome commercial.

Now that's the best way I can explain how people feel about this rivalry.

I love my iPod...

2006-11-13T14:36:00.000-08:00

I was riding the El to work this morning, tired, achy, and unhappy.

Then my iPod, on shuffle, played the song "Danger Zone" by Kenny Loggins.

I proceeded to get pumped and dance. It was awesome...

studying...and surrounded by babies

2006-11-01T09:32:00.000-08:00

I'm at a coffee shop trying to study for the patent bar when a group of nine mothers with nine babies all sat down around my table.

Awesome...babies EVERYWHERE. I don't mind really. They're pretty quiet and I have my headphones on anyways. One lady made a joke to me though. She said something to the like of, "All these babies must be a sign for you to get married and have kids," to which I answered, "Um...not really."

It's a humorous sight. It's like the coffee shop became a nursery with mother's gossiping all over the place. It's so cute, I just might poke my eyes out...

*update* Two late arrivals so make that eleven babies now.

Bruce Leeroy and Fraggle Red

2006-11-01T09:26:00.000-08:00

So I finally got a pic from Halloween...unfortunately it's of me dancing. I looked more like a 70's breakdancer than Bruce Leeroy, but oh well.

Slightly freaking out...

2006-10-30T06:54:00.000-08:00

I'm taking the patent bar this Thursday, Nov. 2, and...

I'M FREAKING OUT!

Well, not really. I just don't feel confident, but I'm sure that after studying today, tomorrow, and a little more on Wednesday, I should be ready for it. I don't like feeling unprepared, but I'm not the type of person who overly prepares either. I'm what you call a procrastinator. I always get things done on time, just not done early.

I guess I'm only slightly freaking out because my job's been dealing with a ton of patent issues so it's like I'vr seen/done everything I'm supposed to know for the patent bar. If it wasn't for that I'd be in full blown freak out mode. I've gotten through all of the material, now it's just more of a memorizing thing. The exam's still open book, but as I've learned from taking many standardized test, it's all about speed and there's no better way than memorizing...or praying.

Wish me luck!

I love Halloween Parties.

2006-10-29T20:47:00.000-08:00

Why do I love Halloween Parties? It's really the only time of the year where you can act like a totally different person with virtually no consequences. What other times of the year can you randomly walk up to someone and start the conversation with, "I really like those hot pants. It really completes your Dallas Cowboy cheerleading outfit," and still have the girl talk you like it's nothing out of the ordinary occurred? There's also nothing funnier than a drunk dancing Wonder Woman.

Unfortunately, my costume wasn't as awesome as it's been in past years. I thought it was still pretty good, but no one knew the character or the movie I was referencing.

My costume consisted of a yellow, 70's style track suit, and an afro wig.

Can you guess my character?

I was BRUCE LEEROY!! From the kick ass movie "The Last Dragon" circa 1985

Since I'm asian, when I took off the afro wig, I was Bruce Lee, and with the wig I became Bruce Leeroy!

"When I say, 'Who's the master,' you say "Sho' Nuff!!!"

"Who's the Master?"

"Sho' Nuff!!"

When I get pics from the Halloween party I'll post them up.

I love Halloween...

Some lawyers don't seem that smart...

2006-10-23T14:45:00.000-07:00

So we got the opposer's reply to our response of their motion for summary judgment.

Reading the reply feels like I'm reading, "Hi! I'm the other side and I really know nothing about trademark law." It brings quite a feeling of disbelief and many, "Are you serious" types of reactions.

First, you really can't bring up an affirmative defenses without first bringing them in the pleadings. Their reply just brings one up out of no where. Nice, huh?

Second, they cited the wrong case law in their motion and we cited the right one. The correct case law makes our client win, no exceptions. This is because we have priority over the mark, as a matter of law. So they argue to make an exception by bringing up some random affirmative defense, but bringing that defense still makes a genuine issue of material fact, which still defeats their summary judgment motion anyways. Yeah...I know. Just flat out weird...

The perfect girl...

2006-10-18T08:16:00.000-07:00

Have you ever wanted to take the personality of one girl, the body of another, and the face of another to make one super, perfect girl?

Yes, I know. Nobody's perfect, blah, blah, blah, but this is my blog and I feel like being a little superficial today. Here's the thing, I have a few friends that are girls and I just can't date any of them. It's like one has this awesome personality and we have the same interests, but I'm just not that attracted to her. But there's this other friend who I'm really attracted to, but her personality sucks. I think of these women like they were the Constructicons from Transformers. You know, as separate robots they suck, but together they would make one super awesome robot.

This is seriously what goes through my mind when I hang out with them. It's like I keep waiting for the moment where cool personality girl starts rubbing off on the attractive girl or attractive girl's attractiveness rubs off on the cool personality girl. I mean, if that happened then there would be TWO awesome girls, not just one!

I'm not saying I've never met the perfect girl for me. I have...but they have boyfriends, of course. So to pass time before I actually meet a girl I could date, I'd now like to make up an imaginary girlfriend made from the parts, abilities, and personalities of all my current girl friends.

Her name would be Sasha and she's made from: Sarah's chest, Erin's personality and intelligence, the athletic nature of Diana, the drinking ability of Haley, the waist and butt of Kim, the heart and kindness of Beth, and the face as cute as all those cute girls I meet that have boyfriends.

*sigh* my super woman...I have dreams about you

Mmmm...dunkin donuts

2006-10-17T07:27:00.000-07:00

I love Dunkin Donuts. They're not around alot of places in Michigan and they're sure not around in Oregon, but man! Where have you been all my life Dunkin Donuts! Do I want cream and sugar in my coffee? Damn straight I do! No longer do I have to step aside and put the cream and sugar in myself. I can keep that newspaper in one hand, grab the coffee in the other, and be on my way!!

It's like the magic land of the quick and fast! Everybody in line knows what they want and they want it fast and the employees get it to you fast. No more, "grande super frapa whip soy i'm watching my figure" latte person in front. Just coffee, cream or sugar. It's so cool!! Do you want a donut with that? Sure! Make that two donuts! Heck, make that 3!

I once timed the line at Dunkin Donuts. A 10 person line takes about 1.5 minutes for me to get my coffee with cream and sugar along with 2 donuts. How fricken cool is that!!! Granted, I do go to a DD downtown so everybody there is off to work. No chit-chat, just give them their coffee and they're off. But seriously, it's fricken cool.

In one month, I'll officially have been a lawyer for one year.

2006-10-16T07:35:00.000-07:00

Granted, I was probably only officially doing lawyer work 6 out of the past 11 months, but November was the month I got sworn in.

So what's my opinion on my first year of being a lawyer? Every single day has been frustrating and slightly demoralizing. Try waking up every day and knowing when you go to work, you'll have know idea what the hell you're doing. Then you try to finish all your work, hand it to your boss, and get it back all marked up telling you that you're wrong. It's a pretty humbling experience.

But it has been a good time for me. There's no better way to really learn patent/trademark practice and I feel fortunate to have a boss patient enough to train me.

In about 2 and 1/2 weeks I'll hopefully be taking my last exam ever, the Patent Bar. I'm so ready to get this test over with. I probably should've taken it while I was in law school, but in hindsight, I also probably should've gotten better grades, gotten more work experience, and started the job search earlier too. Oh well, I guess I'm a late bloomer. Actually, it's more like I didn't really care. I hated law school, but that's a whole other post...

First snow fall of the year!

2006-10-12T08:24:00.000-07:00

It's snowing today! Well, not really. It's more like a tease snowfall because it's barely coming down and tomorrow, it'll be back to a high in the 50's again.

It's that weird transition time of the year. You know. That moment where you wake up and don't exactly know what to wear. Is it cold enough for my wool coat? Should I wear a sweater? Will a light jacket be enough? Is it time to break out the warm socks yet? Can I start gaining my winter weight?

Ok, I just added that last part because I feel like I gained 10 pounds. I haven't been really eating well or working out lately. Maybe that's why I've been feeling so bland these last couple of days. I'll solve that problem once I go grocery shopping and stop eating out.

So I saw someone with an umbrella today for the snow. It's SNOW. It isn't rain. You don't need an umbrella for snow. But then again, no one in Portland ever uses an umbrella for rain either. I don't think they even sell umbrellas in Portland. I guess to each their own, right? Maybe the guy just didn't want to mess up his hair...but he was balding though.

Coed rec league soccer

2006-10-09T20:56:00.000-07:00

So because I was a waste of space today at work, I decided to leave early and make my soccer game on time. I would've been late had I stayed at work till 5pm, but I didn't really have anything due for a couple of weeks. I'll just go into work early tomorrow to make up for it.

Anyway, my team sucks. I could sugar-coat, but that's just not my style. We really suck. How much do we suck? Imagine a vacuum powered by a jet engine. That's how much we suck. Am I sad about it? Not really. We suck so much it's actually pretty fun. It's hilarious when a 24 year old adult kicks the ball in the wrong direction because she didn't know that we switch sides at half-time and then say, "Oh!! That's why everyone was going that way!"

Awesome. It's also fun to make a good team play at our level. They'll say stuff like, "Come on! We're playing like shit!" and get all mad at each other because they're actually taking it seriously.

Good times. BTW we lost 2-1 to the best team in the league. Sweeet...

Monday's suck.

2006-10-09T11:32:00.000-07:00

Man! I do NOT feel like working today. It's just one of those days where you just stare at your work and try your darndest to get something done. My brain is NOT cooperating with me today. I'm supposed to draft up this patent application and I can't even get past the brief summary of the invention. That's suppose to be the easiest part too.

I hope I get a second wind soon.

Seeing the coolest thing last night...

2006-10-05T11:31:00.000-07:00

I saw two ladies fully making out in the front seat of parked car last night...

Sweet...

Feeling better...almost.

2006-09-27T21:09:00.000-07:00

After a weekend of staying home, sleeping, drinking hot tea with lemon and honey, and overloading on vitamins, I finally feel better. I think that's what I needed. I'm not one of those, "work hard, play hard," kind of guys when "play hard" equates to drinking an enormous amount of alcohol and getting little sleep, which is what pretty much the majority of the young adult population of Chicago do everyday. I'm more of a "work hard, play a reasonable amount" kind of guy. Which means I try keep my drunkeness to once a week and not on a weekday. I have a friend who only needs 4-5 hours of sleep a night. Are you frickin kidding me!?! She's also a ball full of energy which can piss you off sometimes because she's out till 2am on weekdays and gets to work at 7am. Are you serious? One time we went camping and she would whisper to me "You awake? What time is it?" at 6 AM and then repeat the question every 10 minutes.

To which I responded, "Shut the fuck up...sleeping." over and over again. Cool girl, though, fun to hang out with.

On the subject of this weekend, I was insanely annoyed by my roommate. First, I was feeling sick. Second, every muscle in my body ached from me starting to work out again. Third, I had a huge headache. So I wasn't in a "good mood", but I wasn't necessary in a "bad mood". You know? Just not feeling my best and a little quiet because who feels like talking when they're sick? Well, he's like, "Why are you in such a bad mood?"

...I wanted to punch him in the face.

Why the hell would you say that to someone?! I wasn't really in that bad of a mood, but NOW I am you asshole! Oh, and he didn't say it once, he said it multiple times throughout the day. Um...I thought me telling you I'm achey and sick explained that. Sorry I can't hop on one foot and entertain you this weekend. Surprise! I can't be jolly ole, happy go lucking guy 24/7.

Seriously... What makes people say shit like that to people? If I notice someone in a bad mood, I walk away and leave them alone. ESPECIALLY, if they don't want to particularly talk to me. I DON'T say, "Hey, you're in a bad mood." because that'll just piss them off even more. It's the equivalent of rubbing salt in my eye and then TELLING ME that, "Hey! I just rubbed salt in your eye! No shit Sherlock! Way to point out the obvious!! I wasn't in a good mood! Do you want a fucking cookie for being so observant? Do you want a prize? How about an award for biggest prick?

Still in a bad mood now...so you don't need to tell me. I KNOOOOOOW!

Sick again?

2006-09-22T14:51:00.000-07:00

Crappity, Crap, Crap! I think I'm getting sick again. It sucks. I can't get sick now! I need to study, I need to train, I have 2 soccer games this weekend and I need to get things done at work. Crap...

It seems that anytime the weather drastically changes, I start getting sick. I'm going to be smart about it this time. No alcohol since it just lowers my immune system. Although, one of the law clerks who works with me is having a birthday party tonight. Hmmm... Law students and alcohol. Sounds like a crazy fun time, huh?

Weird to be a working man...

2006-09-13T14:20:00.000-07:00

After spending the last 8 months unemployed, it's now nice to be working and getting paid. Emphasis on the paid part. I'm now working on what I went to law school for, Patents and Trademarks. Though I do missing working on Copyright stuff, it's nice to to be getting a paycheck along with gaining great experience.

Remember all that hard work (unpaid might I add) I put into my last job? Well, that case is now getting a ton up publicity. You can check it out here.

http://recordingindustryvspeople.blogspot.com/2006/09/riaa-says-that-without-pretrial.html

It's funny how I helped write that motion, but because I hadn't filled out my petition for admission to the federal courts yet, I couldn't put my name on it. I'm a little sad now. All that publicity and none of it for me. Oh well. Hopefully my old boss can get attorney's fees. That way I can get some money for all the hours I put into that motion. It's never fun to work your ass off and not get paid, but when it's for a good cause and an innocent individual, it definitely makes it worthwhile.

It was still a great learning experience though. I now know way too much about the RIAA and copyright infringement for downloading music. Let's just hope that the RIAA doesn't try to drag it out further. Bad precedent usually would deter someone, even when they have a lot of money to throw around, but you never know with the RIAA. I mean, they did sue a dead person for copyright infringement once. With that kind of track record, any things possible.

2006-09-13T14:19:00.000-07:00

What I did Labor Day Weekend

posted by Show Stopper

2006-08-01T14:26:00.000-07:00

So on July 22nd, me and my friend had a combined Birtday Party because we have the exact same birthdate.

posted by Show Stopper

2006-08-01T14:24:00.001-07:00

Still dancing.

posted by Show Stopper

2006-08-01T14:24:00.000-07:00

Me and my friends.

posted by Show Stopper

2006-08-01T14:23:00.003-07:00

Seriously, girls love this guy.

posted by Show Stopper

2006-08-01T14:23:00.002-07:00

Yes, everyone started dancing.

posted by Show Stopper

2006-08-01T14:23:00.001-07:00

The Birthday Girl!

posted by Show Stopper

2006-08-01T14:23:00.000-07:00

"The tongue" makes an appearance.

posted by Show Stopper

2006-08-01T14:22:00.001-07:00

The ladies love this guy.

posted by Show Stopper

2006-08-01T14:22:00.000-07:00

Free shots = awesome

posted by Show Stopper

2006-08-01T14:21:00.000-07:00

And everyone had fun!

posted by Show Stopper

2006-08-01T14:14:00.000-07:00

My Birthday Party F'ing ROCKED!

posted by Show Stopper

So busy with so little time...

2006-08-01T13:40:00.000-07:00

Wow, is this summer going by fast!

This is why the city of Chicago is the best city around. There is just so much to do here! Festivals every weekend, concerts, street fairs, improv comedy, and TONS of house parties. Seriously, this is a city where every young professional seems to be like a college student who just turned 21 and acts like they've just discovered drinking for the first time. I've done more keg stands here than while I was in Portland for law school. Oh wait, that's right, I didn't do ANY keg stands while I was Portland! With tons of friends' parties to go to, you tend to meet more fun people and the group of cool people to hang out with just keeps on growing.

I guess the only problem I have is trying to find some alone time. I haven't had a quiet weekend/week at home in a while now. I know. Boo hoo hoo. What a terrible life I lead. Too many people to hang out with and no time to stay home and read a book. Seriously, I'm not complaining...though I feel my liver might be.

So I'm supposed to call this very attractive girl I met last week. We're supposed to hang out some time this week. Notice how I don't say that we're going on a "date." I feel that if I act like it's no big deal, then I won't feel any pressure and will be more relaxed. All my girl friends have told me that I act like a "water-down-less-funny-not-as-hilarious-version" of myself when I really like a girl. It makes sense since why she did give me her number while I was drunk off my ass.

Here's a funny story of how I charmed her:

I was supposedly having a VERY long conversation with her and her friend at my birthday party. (of course I don't remember any of it) Anyway, I was talking about how awesome it was to have everyone getting along so great and that how we should all hang out some time afterwards. Her friend responds, "Well, it's easy for everyone to get along when everyone's drunk."

To which I respond with a long pause and said, "No...I think if I was sober, I would still want to hang out with you."

silence for 3 seconds...

Then I exclaim, "Wow, that came out SO wrong." along with everyone laughing their asses off.

It was after this that she grabbed my phone and put her number in. Awesome to the max, huh?

Yeah Birthday!!!

2006-07-27T15:56:00.000-07:00

I am officially 27 years old now! Whew, that sounds old. Lucky for me, I have a face of a 16 year old. That's what happens when you're asian.

Anywho, I spent the bulk of my day working on my motion for summary judgment. It's going pretty well. All of my facts are there so all I had to do was put in the right standard and change the words from "did not plead the facts" to "has no evidence for a genuine issue of material fact" or something to that affect. Yeah Celotex case law! I didn't think I'd be citing that shit anytime soon.

Does it suck working on my B-day? Not really. I actually had my Birthday party last week on the 22nd of July. My buddy Lish and I have the EXACT SAME birthdate so we had a combined birthday party. If fucking kicked ass! 30-40 some people came out to the bar and it just became an awesome drunken mess. I had a bunch of shots, but I don't really remember how many. It was in the 8-10 range. Also, when I get drunk, I tend to grab people's asses. It's a horrible quirk of mine, but since all my friends know about it, they tend to join in on the fun.

In summary, my birthday party was a drunken, ass-grabbing, everyone dancing, awesome to the max, time. I'll post some pics later. When I have a little time and not working my ass off...

Now ain't that a bitch!

2006-07-25T16:02:00.000-07:00

So remember that 12 page motion to dismiss I just drafted? Well, my boss just realized that I should've been writing a motion for summary judgment. Yeah, I know.

ARRRRGGGGGGHHHHHHH! I can't believe I spent 2 weeks writing this thing and I had the fucking wrong standard the whole fucking time! Now I have to start all fucking over and fucking write a new motion!

I knew something was wrong. I mean the research, the cases, what we wanted to do with the case...it all just seemed off and since I suck at the practical sides of Civ Pro, well, mistake number 1 in my legal career has occurred. Yes! Bend me over and call me Susie...

*sigh* I'm so tired right now.

1 am and I got a decent draft done...

2006-07-19T22:59:00.000-07:00

Alright, it's 1am and I've just sent my boss a 13 page draft of my motion to dismiss. Awesome! Awesome to the max!

I'm really enjoying this whole "jump in the water to learn how to swim" thing. Actually, I'm so stressed out, a punch in face would be such a relief just because it'd get my mind of this fucking case.

Do I have any idea what the hell I'm doing? Fuck No! But at least I'm practicing law in a cool ass case. How lucky am I? I mean seriously. As a law student you sit in class thinking to yourself, "Man, it's bullshit how the big corporate guy is picking on these poor people, forcing them to settle and create bettter precedent for themselves. I wish I could be involved in one of these cases."

Well what do you know! Here I am writing my first ever motion to dismiss in just that type of case that I daydreamed about in class. I'm not just involved, I'm the fucking man that's got to defend this shit in court! Seriously. I never thought this would happen so soon in my law career. Scariest thing ever...

On a side note, my boss said the funniest thing to me. After informing me that this is one of the first cases to go through this district she pauses for second...smiles at me...and says, "Better not fuck up." Then starts laughing.

*sigh*...I actually didn't find that funny at all.

Anyway, if you'd like to know more check out:

http://recordingindustryvspeople.blogspot.com/ and http://www.eff.org/IP/P2P/RIAAatTWO_FINAL.pdf

Also, don't illegally download music.

Where has the time gone!?

2006-07-17T12:23:00.000-07:00

Crap! It's mid July already! Good news, I'm going to start getting paid at the small firm I'm working at. Bad news, client has to pay the firm first and that won't happen until I get this motion to dismiss finished. Yeah!!

There's alot of pressure on me lately. Here's what needs to get done:

1.) Finish a motion to dismiss. This has to be a great motion because it's against the RIAA whose been making an example of poor people by suing them all for downloading music. It'll be the first to go through the Illinois courts and if I fuck up I'll be fucking up precedent for the rest of our possible future clients. Yeah me! Cool thing is that I'll probably be defending it in court. Scary...

2.) Look for better legal employment. Though working for a very small firm gets me great hands on experience, it doesn't pay the bills. This leads me to what I need to do next which is...

3.) Study for the Patent Bar. Ok, I need to take this test so that I'll be registered to write patents. If I pass this test, it'll be alot easier for me to get a job at a bigger law firm where I can actually get paid.

Other than that, there's not much else going on with me. I'm just happy to be posting again because real life has been making a bitch out of me. When life kicks you in the nuts, you might as well bend over and ask for another. Am I right? Then after your balls heal you can put it behind you and move on? Or is the saying you're supposed to make lemonade out of your busted up nuts?

Whatever, I'm not in mood for fucking optimism right now anyways.

"10 Things I don't like and generally annoy me list."

2006-03-31T12:36:00.000-08:00

Well, I woke up to some annoying things this morning and instead of writing a rant, I thought it'd be easier to make a simple list.

"10 Things I Don't Like and Generally Annoy Me"

1.) That yellow pit stain in your white t-shirts. Fuck you pit stain. I hate you.

2.) Fucking Fruit Flies. They're the main reason why I don't buy bananas. Why can't you fucking flies die? Why do you fly around my eyes mockingly as I swat?

3.) That wart on my finger that I've frozen off twice, only to have grow back three months later. You're unsightly and disgusting. You get caught on my clothes and get hurt. You make people NOT want to shake my hand. I hate you finger wart.

4.) Unattractive people that expose their underwear/thong/crack to the world. Key word here is unattractive. Hey, nice thong...you giant ass. That's what I enjoy seeing when I'm eating lunch. Mmmmm...hairy much 250 pound man? Yes, you're a fucking gorilla. We don't need to know what gorilla's ass looks like either.

5.) Great weather one day, Crap weather the next. Yeah! It's fucking sunny and awesome! Yeah!! Tomorrow...punch me in the face. Fuck you weather.

6.) Unemployment. We're not going to hire you unless you have experience. Fucking hire me so I can get experience you fucking asshole.

7.) Volunteer work to gain experience. Hi! I work my butt off so that I can get experience, but you don't pay me. Awesome...awesome times. You know, I haven't experienced being poked in the eye while rubbing tabasco in it. Maybe you can do that and not pay me too!

8.) The, "What do you do?" question. I don't fucking ask you what you do, nor do I care, so why do you need to know my business?

9.) Gigantic people who want to try Rock Climbing. Um...yeah. You're ginormous. You're not getting up the wall. Now you're frustrated and generally become a distasteful person to be around. Try running first, then climbing later. Baby steps buddy. Baby steps.

10.) My air mattress. Nothing signifies being broke more than you. You prevent me from taking girls back home with me and mockingly fuck up my back the following morning. I hate you air mattress. You remind me everyday that I am broke. Fuck you.

Hoped you enjoyed my list. There'll probably another one next month...or next week.

St. Patty's Day pics

2006-03-30T13:32:00.001-08:00

I keep on forgetting to post things up. What's up with that?

Anywho, I went out with a bunch of my new friends for St. Patty's day and stayed out until 5am. What a killer night! Here's some pics of us out on the town.

Chris is Scottish so the kilt is authentic.

posted by Show Stopper

Joe and Allison

posted by Show Stopper

2006-03-30T13:31:00.002-08:00

Alicia and I.

posted by Show Stopper

2006-03-30T13:31:00.001-08:00

Mmmm...green beer.

posted by Show Stopper

2006-03-30T13:31:00.000-08:00

I think it's like 4am here in this pic.

posted by Show Stopper

2006-03-30T13:30:00.000-08:00

Chicago Skyline...

posted by Show Stopper

Still here...

2006-03-23T12:12:00.000-08:00

Haven't posted in a while. I don't really know why. Alot has happened too, so what's up with the lack of posting? I think maybe because I'm in that transition period of trying to kick start my career and that's been my focus as of late.

It's funny, I have 3 jobs now. That's right...3. I'm a climbing instructer 2 days a week, a part-time server, and a volunteer law clerk for a sole-practioner. It's been crazy the last few weeks with trying to find time to study for the patent bar exam, trying to network for paying lawyer positions, doing research/writing memos, and all the while trying to make money to pay bills. This has kept me super busy and a little scatter brained. At least I'm not sitting on my ass anymore.

My dad just called me. If you haven't heard, Delphi, GM, and the UAW have reached an agreement to offer buyouts to hourly workers to retire early. So my dad's taking the money and retiring. Crazy, huh? It's weird for my dad to retire. He's been working on the line at GM/Delphi for my whole life and now he's going to stop. My dad's in his 60's though. He's been wanting to retire for awhile now and this is as good as a time as ever. But still, it's weird. My dad...not working? Crazy...

Anyway, I'd like to post more, but I have to go to work. Maybe this is some kind of karma/energy/circle of life kind of thing. My dad stops working and I go and get 3 jobs. Awesome stuff...

Interesting thought on Valentines Day...

2006-02-14T13:39:00.000-08:00

Isn't it funny that the initials for Valentines Day, VD, are also the initials for VENEREAL DISEASE.

That's right boys and girls. Go out and spend tons of your cash and celebrate the Venereal Disease of all American holidays...Valentines Day.

Think how cool Valentines Day cards would be if they just used the initials VD:
"Happy VD!"
"May VD be good to you"
"VD is in my Heart
"I love you more when it's VD" or
"VD is the best!"
These would make sweet VD cards.

Wouldn't it be funny if you were actually dating someone who had a VD and you gave him/her a card like this on Valentines Day? Would they think it's a card celebrating the contraction of their disease or an expression of your love?
"Life would be great if you had VD everyday"...Oh wait, baby. You do!

A tolerance for deodorant?

2006-02-08T13:21:00.000-08:00

Lately I've been noticing that I'm stinkier ealier in the day rather than later. Now I'm not saying that I'm having a no-deodarant-wearing-overpowering-"musky" scent, but it's more of the I-raise-my-arms-to-stretch-and-catch-a-whiff-of-funk scent. Not only that, but during exercise I seem to be much more funky than I usually am. It's definitley the "Whoa...that stinky guy is me" reaction.

It seems to me that I have built a tolerance to my current deodorant. Did you know this could happen? I mean, it makes sense since I've been using the same deodorant now for a couple of years. I really love this deodorant because it kept me dry and while wearing it I smelled like a fresh ocean breeze on a clear sunny day. How cool is that? But, alas, the good times have come to an abrupt end. My deodorant doesn't seem to keep me dry anymore and from what I can tell, the fresh ocean breeze has been replaced by a suffocating stench of 100 wet dogs.

Yes...that stench of 100 wet dogs is coming from this guy.

Mmmm...Alito hearings...

2006-01-10T17:29:00.000-08:00

So has anybody else been watching the confirmation hearings of good ole Sammy Alito?

Since I don't have a TV in my apartment, I tend to listen to alot of NPR. Unfortunately for me, NPR was playing the live confirmation hearings of Sammy ALL DAY LONG. I mean, I would listen to music, but there's only so much music you can listen to before you go insane.

The problem for me is that listening to the confirmation hearings combines 2 aspects of law school that I hated. Constitutional law and suspenseful hostile grilling. Those things for me are like grabbing handfuls of dog doo doo, sticking it up my nose, and slapping me in the face with it...many times over. All of which would wake me up in a cold sweat if I were to dream of them. Well...not like I had a dream of dog doo being in slapped in my face before, but I definitely still have nightmares of a professor calling on me.

"Show Stopper."

"Yes?"

"Can you handles this case?"

"Um...Yes?"

I would say yes only to later have the professor grill the crap out of me and thus prove to the whole class that I should've definitely, emphatically, affirmatively, said, "NO sir. I am a moron." OH and all the above occurs WHILE I AM NAKED.

Worst dream ever...

So I guess Alito doesn't have it that bad. At least he's got clothes on.

I got new furniture and I cooked dinner to eat on it.

2006-01-07T18:07:00.001-08:00

Who went to Ikea? This guy.

posted by Show Stopper

So I finally got off my ass, went to Ikea, and bought some furniture. A couch, a kitchen table w/ chairs, and a bookshelf. The place is starting to actually look comfortable and inviting instead of cold and barren. I'd like to think that my apartment reflects my personality. When I first move here, I was cold, pissed off, w/ no paying job, asshole. Now I'm a happy go lucky, let's have a slap-stick drunken time, but still doesn't have a paying job, smiley guy!

Another angle

posted by Show Stopper

I still don't have a bed though. Instead...an air mattress. It's actually pretty comfortable, but again...what will the ladies say?

Anyway, to celebrate my new furniture, I decided to cook dinner. Dinner is so much more enjoyable at a kitchen table...with lights. Not on the floor using milk crates as a table...wearing a head lamp to see what the fuck I was eating.

Well, here's some pics.

My pork tenderloin.

posted by Show Stopper

Mmmm...dinner.

posted by Show Stopper

Doesn't that look good?! Me eating well, and sleeping well equals a one happy little fella.

No more holidays!

2006-01-03T15:11:00.000-08:00

It is January 3, 2006. I have officially NOT had an alcoholic beverage for 2 days now. Whoa hoo!!

Ever since all the siblings in the family turned 21, my parents have this new thing of drinking a class of wine every day. It's the whole, "a glass of wine a day is healthy" thing. I personally think that it's more of "I'm old and really, really enjoy the coma-like sleep I get from just enough alcohol" thing.

Well, it was a glass of wine for my parents, but 3-5 glasses of wine for me...every...single...day. Now add this with my mom over feeding me 24/7, plus all the beers I drank with my buddies equals me constantly bloated from over eating and buzzing/drunk from all the alcohol.

Now you're probably thinking, "That sounds awesome! So much fun!" Yeah...fun...if you have the stomach/liver of an obese alcoholic Irishmen. Unfortunately, I have the stomach/liver of a 90 pound asian lady...on speed.

So after drinking and eating way too much since Dec. 21, I'm happy to have woken up this morning NOT hung over and NOT bloated from the gorging upon food last night.

How could I tell the holidays were officially over? Well, I naturally woke up at 8:00 am...NOT at noon...With no urge to puke my guts out. Now THAT is awesome.

Anyway, here are the pics from the Holidays.

Christmas http://www.vince.smugmug.com/gallery/1077214

New Years http://www.vince.smugmug.com/gallery/1094805

Santa on a low-calorie diet.

2005-12-19T15:33:00.000-08:00

Merry Christmas!

courtesy of P. Perrault

From the skinniest Santa I know. Just call him Santa Lite.

The ABS bouldering comp.

2005-12-16T20:33:00.000-08:00

So I'm finally getting around to posting the pics from last weekend's American Bouldering Competition. It was held at the Climb On climbing gym in Homewood, IL. It was an real good time. There were great problems, good prizes, and great friendly people. I was just happy to have some of my Michigan climbing buddies come into town to keep me company in Chicago.

Here are the pics below. I actually got 3rd place in Men's Intermediate! Go me! I guess I'm climbing strong, but to be honest, I felt like ass the whole time.

Tara placed 2nd in women's ADVANCED! Whew...that's hardcore. While Aaron beat me and got 2nd in Intermediate.

Anyway, enjoy the pics!

ABS comp 7 at Climb On.

posted by Show Stopper

2005-12-16T20:31:00.005-08:00

Tara warming up.

posted by Show Stopper

2005-12-16T20:31:00.004-08:00

Me picking my nose.

posted by Show Stopper

2005-12-16T20:31:00.003-08:00

Aaron and Tara enjoying the festivities.

posted by Show Stopper