Go Red For Women

Tomorrow (February 1, 2008) is National "Go Red For Women" Day, so please help raise awareness about cardiovascular disease by wearing something red! This is the number one cause of deaths in women (and men). Be informed on how you can reduce your risk of heart disease and stroke! You can find out more at http://www.goredforwomen.org/national_wear_red_day.aspx.

I have never been very fond of the color red (which is odd, b/c red is supposedly a very lucky and auspicious color, according to the Chinese), so I don't think I own anything in that color. The closest I have is probably maroon, so that will have to do for tomorrow. I don't know... red's always reminded me of blood when I was younger. Now, more recently, I've been associating red with communism (you can thank M for that one). I guess the hubby has influenced me in more ways than I realize.

Poor Pearl

This morning, as I was getting ready to go to work, I decided to get some CDs out of Pearl. I put the key in the ignition, and the dashboard lights came on, but not the radio. Puzzled, I opened the garage door and attempted to turn Pearl on. All I heard was a "chh-chh-chh" sound in response, and the lights on the dashboard kind of going haywire. Oh crap, I thought to myself... what happened?? That was when I noticed the little figure on the dashboard indicating the trunk was open. Darn it... we must've left the trunk open when we came home Sunday night, and that probably drained all the battery power. I called up M to let him know Pearl's battery was dead (at least that's what I'm thinking it is). He called up AAA, and we'll have them come by tonight to take a look at Pearl. I don't know too much about cars, but I'm hoping it's not anything more serious. Now I'm kicking myself for not going into Pearl to get the CDs earlier... I've been meaning to do it all week. Well, at least we find out now and not Sunday morning when we're getting ready to take her out to Chinatown.

Weekend Quest for Glasses & Coat

M and I drove up to Nyack this past Saturday to his sister's store to get me new glasses. I picked out a nice simple black pair of frames at first, but M didn't like them b/c he thought they were too boring. I tried on a few dozen other pairs just to appease him, but at the end, still came back to this one simple black pair. As M's sister was adjusting the frames to fit me, she accidentally broke off the nose piece. So I was back to square one in picking out another pair of frames (I told M he jinxed it when he said he didn't like them). I eventually selected another one, but asked to order them in another color (copper instead of the blue that she had). Since I haven't seen what it looks like, I'm hoping it'll be okay. I'm just excited to get new glasses. The lens on my current glasses are all scratched up, so I haven't been able to see clearly through them for months now.

After M's sister's store, we stopped by Palisades Park mall to look for a new down coat for M. We ended up getting me a bunch of things, and he came out empty-handed. M's sister told us to check out the Marshall's down the road, so we made a trip there, but they didn't have anything. It was probably close to 6:30pm at this point, but since we were up there already, we decided to drive up to the Woodbury Commons outlet. We arrived a half hour later, did some speed-shopping, running from store to store, but still no luck. I couldn't believe how difficult it was to find a warm men's down coat! We didn't want to have made the drive up there for no reason, so M bought a fleece pullover from Nautica, just so we can say we made a purchase. It was such a disappointing experience that I don't think we'll be returning to Woodbury for a very long time.

Then Sunday, we walked up Broadway after church to continue our search for the blasted coat. EMS came closest to carrying a coat we liked, but it made M look like a puffy marshmallow, so we decided against it. Everything else we looked at were either fleece (polyester) or synthetic material... no down. Again, we walked away feeling defeated. Finally, we resorted to looking for a coat online when we got home that night. I tend not to shop for clothing online b/c I don't like not being able to try something on beforehand. But desperate times calls for desperate measures... M has a long walk to and from the bus terminal, and I don't want him getting sick when it's bitter cold out. After looking through a couple of different websites, we were able to find something under $200 with free shipping. I quickly made the purchase before M changed his mind. Hopefully this one won't make him look like the Pillsbury dough boy. Now all that's left is to wait for it to arrive.

Final Jeopardy Question

M and I usually have Jeopardy on as we're preparing dinner when we get home. We don't actually pay attention to it since we're in the kitchen, where the water's running, the exhaust fan is on, or food is frying on the stove. But we try to make it a point to catch the final Jeopardy question, which usually means a mad dash to the TV as we hear the theme song come on.

A couple of nights ago, the final jeopardy answer was to the effect of "the highest paid foreign-born TV celebrity who is not actually an actor" (not verbatim). Two of the three contestants answered Alex Trebec ("I wish" was his response) incorrectly. The third contestant (she would've won by a landslide regardless) got it right. I was quite surprised to see that the correct response was Simon Cowell. Who would've thought? But I suppose it's not just his appearance on American Idol that's taken into consideration... there's also his music production business.

Parental Bonding

M, his mom, and I had dinner at my parent's place last night... well, it was only my dad, since my mom unfortunately got stuck working and wouldn't be home until this morning (she is a home attendant and has 24-hour shifts). There are times when I dread going home b/c my dad and I get on each other's nerves a lot (we are both very stubborn and tend to believe that our way of thinking is always correct), and I often leave feeling frustrated and emotionally drained. But I see the way M interacts with his mom - the patience and kindness he shows... and that makes me want to be a better daughter. I need to put myself in my dad's shoes every once in a while and remember that just b/c we have different opinions on things doesn't necessarily make either one of us wrong. If we disagree on something, I should just let it go and not force the issue.

Last night, I was reminded of how lonely my dad is when my mom is not around. As we were getting ready to leave, my dad made a comment to the effect of "Oh, you guys are leaving? Now I'm not going to have anyone to talk to..." I felt so sad and guilty when I heard that. I told my dad to give me a call to chat if he's bored, but I know he's not going to. He always feels like he's bothering me (little does he know that my life isn't very interesting at all), and never calls unless he wants to know if we're going over for dinner. As we were walking to the car last night, M tells me that I need to call my dad more often. I agreed. It doesn't take much to make him happy - the little that we can do, we should.

As for my mom, she's a happy-go-lucky character who can easily find interest in many different things. I really must commend her on her sewing expertise. I needed her to fix a dress for me that was too big, and based on the way the dress was made, she would have to take the whole thing apart in order to take in the sides for me. It's only been a week, and she almost has the whole thing finished already - all done by hand since she didn't have a sewing machine at home. I was very impressed. My dad said that she stayed up till past midnight one night finishing it up. The only problem is, the dress was a little snug after the alterations... I'm hoping it was b/c I tried it on after dinner on a full stomach. In any case, I have a month and a half to lose any weight I need to in order to make sure the dress fits by mid-March. But first things first, I have to thank my mom for fixing the dress when I call home tonight.

Australian Open Update

Federer actually lost in the semi-finals of the Australian Open (http://sports.yahoo.com/ten/news;_ylt=Aj_bCMxh49WYx_.Si.1V5nw4v7YF?slug=ap-australianopen&prov=ap&type=lgns)! And in straight sets too! What a shocker! This guy has been #1 for so long that I thought he was invincible. M is happy - he doesn't like Federer - for the mere fact that he's won so much. I personally think he's a great player and deserves the success he's achieved to date. But guess it's time to make room for the young'uns. Now Novak Djokovic will be heading to the finals against Jo-Wilfred Tsonga (never heard of him). I like Djokovic... he's got a good sense of humor. I remember him from the US Open last year, where he impersonated some of the other tennis players during the interview at the end of one of his matches... it was quite funny, especially the one he did on Maria Sharapova... who, speaking of which, is also in the finals competing against Ana Ivanovic. I'd like Ivanovic to win (I don't think much of Sharapova... she seems a bit arrogant). It would be cool to have two Serbians holding the grand slam title in the Australian Open.

Shower Planning Update

I ended up making two out of the three intended phone calls last night. Ehhh... 67% success rate... better than nothing. Maybe I'll shoot for the third one tonight... if I am not overcome with laziness. I've been really tired the past couple of days, and for no particular reason. It's not like I over-exerted myself on anything or am not getting enough sleep... just feeling blah... don't know why. And no, I did not have Doritos for dinner last night. I was good enough to boil some dumplings. Those college days are long gone... can't afford to be so unhealthy anymore.

KF and I were able to decide on a lot of things for the shower, so that was good. We need to get this catered ourselves since we're not having it at a restaurant, so I've offered to pick up food and drinks beforehand. This is what's on the menu so far:

• finger sandwiches
• dumplings
• noodles (or fried rice)
• assortment of Chinese bakery goods
• cake
• drinks: water, juice, soda, iced tea

That should be a good enough variety for 30+ people, especially since we're not serving lunch. Based on our tentative menu, I won't even need to make a special trip to BJ's. Oh, and the shower favors came yesterday! I hadn't expected it to arrive so fast (only took two days to get here), considering I received no confirmation that the shipment went out, nor did I have any means to track the package. I was a bit skeptical ordering it from this off-the-wall website, but it was cheaper than all the other places I looked at. Now my only fear is whether we'll have enough with the growing guest list!

Tonight

What should I have for dinner tonight? I'll be eating solo, since M is attending a Sunday School prep session that someone at our church is hosting, and dinner will be provided. We have some leftover soup in the refrigerator, but I had that for dinner two nights in a row already. To have that for a third night... hmm... seems a little much. Maybe I'll just boil some dumplings for dinner. We don't have any meat defrosted (not that I would want to cook a whole meal just for myself) and cooking pasta for one person doesn't seem worth it. Yes, bottom line, I am lazy. I don't like making the effort for myself, but I would do it if there were other people involved. I guess that's why my eating habits were so bad when I was in college living by myself... Doritos for dinner... yummy!

Tonight would be a good time to make some phone calls and catch up with friends I have been meaning to call but have been too lazy to do so. There's JH from work who had a baby last September... she is still on maternity leave and won't be back until April 2008. The admin in our department knows we're friends, so she came by a couple of days ago to ask about updated baby pictures. I told her I would give JH a call to see how things are going and to have her send us some more recent pictures. There's also PL, a friend from high school that I've been keeping in touch with on and off through the years (unfortunately, more off than on). She's been on my mind as someone I'd like to get together with more often. She's currently looking for an interior design job, so if anyone knows of any leads, please pass them on. And then there's KF, who I'm helping plan this upcoming bridal shower with. There are so many open items on the list of to do's that it would be good just to talk it over and get some things ironed out. Hmm... we'll see how many of these phone calls I actually end up making tonight!

New Blog Added and Adoption

Since M and I are interested in adoption, I decided to look into the organization where Steven Curtis Chapman (a Christian artist whom I got the inspiration from) adopted his little girls. On his website (http://www.stevencurtischapman.com/), I learned that his wife has a blog, so I decided to add that to my list of better blogs.

I found a "How to Adopt" guide to help get us started (http://www.howtoadopt.org/). I got overwhelmed just skimming through the 9-page document! There is so much to learn, so much to prepare ourselves for. If we truly are serious about moving forward with this, we'll need to do a lot more research and make sure we're ready for this mentally, emotionally, spiritually, and financially. I don't think I'm any of the above at this point, but I suppose we have to start somewhere.

Inventory of Travels

I've decided to take an inventory of all the international places I've been to, and jot down some memories from each location. The mind is going these days... hopefully when I grow old, I will still be able to look back and use this as a trigger to remember the things that happened in my life.

1. 2000 - London & Edinburgh, UK; Brussels, Belgium. My first trip with M and YX... this was only a month after M and I had started going out.
2. 2000 - Barcelona & Madrid, Spain.
3. 2001 - Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia; Hong Kong; Guangzhou, China. Family trip to Asia.
4. 2002 - Caribbean cruise to Key West & Cozumel. Went parasailing in Key West and had a blast.
5. 2003 - Cancun, Mexico. I got second degree sunburn and my friend got food poisoning.
6. 2003 - Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. My first audit. Spent one weekend with my relatives. My uncle made me try durian. It tastes just like it smells. It's true - you either love it or hate it, and I'm the latter.
7. 2003 - Phuket, Thailand. Weekend getaway while on the Malaysia audit. Got an authentic Thai massage... they really dig into your muscles there!
8. 2003 - Chester, UK. SAP pre-implementation audit.
9. 2003 - Lisbon, Portugal. Spent the weekend here by myself walking around and seeing the sites. I actually stayed in Cascais, but took the train out to Lisbon. I didn't have a map, had pretty much no idea where I was going, and couldn't ask anyone b/c no one spoke English. Upon exiting the train station in Lisbon, I wandered aimlessly for a bit through the empty streets (despite warnings of petty crime). I stopped for a minute just to take in my surroundings, and when I looked up, I saw the San Jorges Castle (which was where I had intended to go), so I started trekking up the road towards the castle. So many things could've easily gone wrong, but they didn't. I tell you... God is really watching over me.
10. 2003 - Edinburgh, UK.
11. 2003 - Munich, Germany. My brother came to visit. One weekend, we rented a car to drive to Garmisch, a ski resort somewhere in Germany. We ended up with a stick shift and my coworker was the only one who knew how to drive it. We were doing fine until we got lost and realized we had to turn back the other way. He couldn't figure out how to put the car in reverse while making u-turn in the middle of a busy intersection.
12. 2003 - Vienna, Austria. I spent the weekend there by myself in November. All the Christmas lights and decorations had gone up... the city was glittering with a holiday mood. The weather was cold outside, but I felt warm inside. I remember eating at a local pub by myself near the hotel I was staying at... some kids at the table next to me were staring at me throughout my entire meal. At the end of it, I told the waiter to take my leftovers away. It was at that time that they revealed to me they had a bet on whether I would finish my food.
13. 2004 - Guangzhou, China. The vending machine in the office sold condoms and was fully stocked. A week later, my coworker passed by the vending machine, and it was empty. I guess that's what people in the office are keeping busy with.
14. 2004 - Xian, China. Our first night at the hotel, I raided the mini-bar and drank myself to sleep. We were watching "Jerry McGuire" dubbed in Mandarin. Surprisingly enough, I woke up and didn't have the slightest hangover. The booze was probably watered down.
15. 2004 - Tokyo, Japan. SOX review.
16. 2004 - Kyoto, Japan.
17. 2004 - Osaka, Japan. Did some sightseeing and got a haircut. The haircut part was totally random, but fun. We even took pictures with our stylists.
18. 2004 - Melbourne, Australia. SOX review. On my second trip to Melbourne, we took a drive down the Great Ocean Road to see the 12 Apostles. The weather was rainy, dreary, and cold, but still awesome seeing the sites.
19. 2004 - Sydney, Australia.
20. 2004 - Great Barrier Reef, Australia. Went snorkeling while some other coworkers went scuba diving. Everyone who went scuba diving ended up with a nasty rash. When we got back to Melbourne, they had a doctor pay them a visit at the hotel to treat the rash, and he ended up prescribing them medicine that they could've gotten for free at the office... manufactured at the very location we were at.
21. 2004 - Tasmania, Australia. Those Tasmanian Devils are ugly little creatures... not like the cartoon at all.
22. 2004 - Hong Kong; Seoul, Korea. M and I took our wedding pictures in Hong Kong, and we were able to meet up with my aunt for dinner one night. The four of us (SC, CL, M, and I) booked a guided tour trip to Seoul for a couple of days. The tour guide just kept talking about herself the entire time, and we found that there really isn't much to see in Seoul. But nonetheless, we made the best out of the trip and had a good time.
23. 2005 - Bangkok, Thailand. Lots of good shopping at the night market. The ride to the office was long - 45 minutes on a good day, an hour and a half to two hours with traffic.
24. 2005 - Chiang Mai, Thailand. Went on an elephant ride and got a massage at a spa.
25. 2005 - Hong Kong. Went to Hong Kong for the weekend to do some wedding planning and pick up wedding pictures. I almost missed my flight from Bangkok. I was ready to head out of the airport and back to the hotel when I looked up at the monitor to see if my flight had left. Luckily for me, there was a delay (I have a feeling the delay was caused b/c they were waiting for a customer). Everyone at the airport was so helpful in getting me my ticket and boarding pass (at that point, I only had the ticket on hold and hadn't even paid for it yet). I left all my luggage there (which in retrospect, probably wasn't a very wise thing to do), ran to the ATM to get some cash to pay for the ticket, and once all the paperwork was in order, I made a mad dash to the gate, only to find that passengers hadn't even boarded yet.
26. 2005 - Hong Kong. I wouldn't have made the weekend trip to Hong Kong three weeks earlier if I had known I was going to be back there so soon.
27. 2005 - Singapore. Paid a visit to good friends SC and CL... they had just moved there and were still living in temporary housing. I was honored to be their first guest.
28. 2005 - Paris, France; Venice, Capri & Rome, Italy. Our honeymoon. There was a heat wave and we did a lot of walking around... Capri was beautiful, but I got bitten, and they all swelled up to the size of quarters. It was pretty bad walking around in shorts with red blotches all over my legs.
29. 2005 - Athens, Greece. Our hotel had a view of the Acropolis. It looked quite nice at night when it as all lit up.
30. 2005 - Santorini, Greece; Larnaca, Cyprus. Lots of sunbathing... I actually got tanned! Too bad I lost the tan within two weeks of being back.
31. 2005 - Johannesburg, South Africa. Had the worst food poisoning of my life. To this day, I don't know if it was bad sushi from dinner or a bad burger from lunch earlier that day. I woke up in the middle of the night and started vomiting. Every half hour or so, I'd have to run to the bathroom to throw up. The next morning, I had to get up for a scheduled warehouse tour at an offsite location, but once that was over, I was taken back to the hotel and slept through the day.
32. 2005 - Capetown, South Africa. Stayed at a great hotel... everything was new and modern looking, free PCs and Internet access in the rooms, huge comfortable beds, inexpensive rate... couldn't ask for anything more.
33. 2005 - Kruger National Park, South Africa. We rented a car from Johannesburg to make the drive to Kruger National Park. It was originally suppose to be an automatic, but something happened with the car they were going to give us... either it got into an accident, or was not returned. In any event, we ended up with a stick shift. My coworker started teaching me how to drive it that night after dinner, and somehow I was able to bring us back to the hotel in one piece. With just that one lesson under my belt, I was put behind the wheel again the next day... inside Kruger National Park. At one point, I couldn't get the car started. I remember a giraffe staring at me, as if taunting me b/c it knew I couldn't move the car in my life depended on it. After numerous tries (and when I say numerous, I mean so many times that I lost count), I finally got the car started and we were on our way once again. It was a good thing no one was behind us...
34. 2005 - Agen, France. (Where in the world is Agen?) It's south of Paris, near the Bordeaux region and Spain... which is why we took weekend trips to both those places during the two weekends we were there. There's really nothing much in Agen. We stayed at a B&B owned by an elderly lady who didn't speak English and her grandson. There were no laundry facilities on the premises, so one day we had to leave work early just to make it to the local laundromat to wash our clothes (everything also closed very early there). What a team bonding moment - watching our knickers spin through the dryer. Oh yes, and there was another stick shift driving experience. One night we were working late in the office. It was probably close to 9pm and we had not gotten dinner yet. The manager was the only person who knew how to drive a stick shift well, but he was on a conference call, so the team decided to drive to McDonald's to pick up some food. My coworker had a couple of lessons driving the stick shift, but when we were in the parking lot, he couldn't get the car to go in reverse. I offered to take a stab at it, and was able to back the car out, but it was the accelerating forward that got us in trouble. We made it out of the office complex, and were well on our way. But at one point, I had to stop at a stop sign, and once I did, I couldn't get the car started again. We were stuck in that corner for probably 5 minutes before I was finally able to move again.
35. 2005 - Barcelona, Spain. We had no idea where to go once we arrived at the city limits. It probably wasn't a very smart thing to do not to bring a map with us. But we eventually found our way after stopping at a couple of gas stations.
36. 2005 - Bordeaux, France. We walked around the main city area on Saturday, expecting to visit the vineyards on Sunday. We drove around for hours on Sunday, but to our disbelief, nothing was open. There wasn't even a place we could stop for lunch anywhere. At least the drive was scenic.
37. 2006 - Sao Paulo, Brazil. My last official audit. M came to visit. We had the best mango we've ever tasted there.
38. 2006 - Iguassu Falls, Brazil. Simply amazing. This place puts the Niagara Falls to shame.
39. 2006 - Buenos Aires, Ushuaia, El Calafate, Argentina. I would say this is one of the best vacations yet, in terms of location. It was amazing seeing the beautiful scenery and being able to trek on the glacier. On our last day in El Calafate, we were suppose to get picked up at 6:30am to catch a 8am boat ride to a ranch. 7am rolled around, then 7:30am came, but still no show. We had the hotel call the travel agency, and apparently, someone forgot to pick us up. They finally got a taxi to come get us past 8am, but by the time we got to the pier, the boat had left without us. The taxi driver was nice enough to wait for us in case we couldn't catch the boat, so we had him drive us to the travel agency so he can get paid. The travel agency placed us on this other lame tour to a farm b/c that was the only excursion left. We walked around the farm and watched a sheep get sheared... it was so depressing. Afterwards, we had the driver take us back to the travel agency to complain some more. We got in touch with the person I originally booked the tours with, and she said that if we were willing to stay an extra day in El Calafate, we can go on the excursion the next day. We agreed, so she changed our flight to leave the following day and arranged for us to stay at the hotel another night at no extra charge. Meanwhile, I called up the Marriott in Buenos Aires and changed our hotel reservations there, and it worked out perfectly b/c I ended up being able to use points for the entire stay (originally would've had to pay for one night). Staying an extra day was well worth it... being able to see the Upsala Glacier from the top of a mountain... words don't do it justice.
40. 2007 - Royal Caribbean cruise to Puerto Rico, St. Martin, St. Thomas, and the Bahamas.
41. 2007 - Stockholm, Sweden. Joined the loaner program with internal audit. M and YX came to visit. Everything was expensive. I didn't get to go to the Ikea there, but M and YX did, and just like the Ikea in Elizabeth, NJ, there was a free shuttle bus that took them there from Stockholm.
42. 2007 - Bermuda. Friend's wedding. Weather was beautiful, and it was fun just being able to hang out with so many friends outside of NY.

I guess this will be edited as I think of more things to write about.

Taking Care of Pearl

Surprise, surprise... we ended up not taking a look at Pearl's brake pads this weekend. Well, to our credit, we did try, but we didn't know what we were looking at, so that didn't do us any good. After some more research online, I don't know if we'd be able to tell anyhow. Depending on the position of the brake pads, we may need to remove the wheel in order to see how thin the pads are. All the online forums are so inconsistent... some people had to change their brake pads at 20K, others were still fine after 45K. I would like to think that Pearl's 30K is mostly made up of highway miles. Unfortunately, we do subject her to local driving when we're in NYC... all that stopping and going (it's more stopping than going) to avoid reckless taxi cab drivers, bicyclers, oblivious pedestrians looking the other way while talking on their cell phones, and jaywalking senior citizens in Chinatown who think they own the road, expecting oncoming traffic to stop at the rise of their hands. Maybe we should just suck it up and make an appointment with the dealership. It's better than taking the risk of something going wrong. I just didn't think brake pads will wear out after 30K... thought they'd last longer than that.

Times like this, I can understand why M prefers to lease a vehicle rather than own one... don't have to worry about maintenance work, and once the term is up, the car goes back to the dealership and becomes someone else's problem. But Pearl's our first car, and will always be very special to us. We need to take good care of her.

MLK Weekend Plans

It hasn't hit me yet that today is Friday, and I have a 3-day weekend coming up (thank you MLK!). People have been asking me what I have planned, and it takes me a minute to realize that I don't have work on Monday. It'll be nice just to relax... I've neglected my piano long enough (think it's close to two weeks since I've played it), so will try to take some time out this weekend to practice. We also have a ton of laundry piled up, so that'll be our first chore on Saturday morning. M ripped out a bunch of overgrown weeds (they looked more like dead trees to me) from our backyard last weekend, so we'll need to clean that up... oh shoot... today is garbage day and we forgot to put out our garbage bins that is currently overflowed with dead branches... arghh... okay, so maybe we won't be able to clean up all the ripped up weeds, since we don't have any more garbage bins to put them in. Oh well... guess there's always next weekend.

Then Sunday will be the usual drive into Chinatown for church. After choir practice, I'm accompanying a friend to check out some potential venues for an upcoming bridal shower. Hopefully we'll be successful in finalizing the location then. I haven't decided if we're going to my parent's place for dinner yet... guess it depends on what time we finish checking out the venues. I feel kind of bad b/c we didn't have dinner there last Sunday either... weather was bad and we were both exhausted. Hmm... which reminds me, I still need to give my dad his wool slippers... we bought them at Old Navy (Jersey Gardens) last Saturday... thought they were $3.49, but were pleasantly surprised to see them come out to $1.74 when we paid. What a bargain! We wanted to go back and pick up couple more, but by that time, the queue to the cashier had grown exponentially, and neither one of us had the patience to stand on it again.

I digress. Back to weekend plans... there's really nothing planned for Monday at this point. M wanted me to make an appointment with Honda to replace Pearl's rear brake pads (they told us we needed it when we brought her in for the 30K maintenance service). But before I make the appointment, I'm trying to read up on whether we really need it done, or if the dealership just wanted us to spend more money. Apparently, rear brake pads in the newer Honda Accords (after 2003) wear out faster than the front ones do. All these online forums have different opinions on how long brake pads last... can't get a clear answer out of any of them. There's a way to inspect the pads ourselves to see how much is left, but I don't know how to do that. I suppose it's time we learn... maybe that can be added to our list of to do's for Saturday.

Random Little Rantings

The snowfall ended up turning into rain, so we didn't have to shovel after all. Yippee! We ordered Chinese take-out for dinner last night. At the end of the meal, we opened up our fortune cookies. Mine read "You enjoy participating in competitive sports." How is that a fortune?? At least it gave us a good laugh, being that that is the furthest from the truth. BTW, a good friend of mine had a blog entry about fortune cookies recently... did you know that they originated from Kyoto, Japan? Guess that's why you wouldn't find fortune cookies handed out at the end of a meal in an authentic Chinese restaurant.

What is the deadliest animal in the world? Surprisingly enough, it is the mosquito, which causes $2.7 million deaths in a year due to malaria infections. Second on the list is the snake. Now what is the deadliest animal in the US? Even more surprisingly, it's the deer. How on earth did the deer get on this list, you may ask? Well, they're not a very bright creature, so they tend to jump in front of people's cars, causing about 150 deaths annually. All you drivers out there, watch out for bambi, especially now that it's winter and they're out scrounging for food.

Cloning technology is being used to make 5 human embryos out of skin cells. See full article here: http://www.reuters.com/article/scienceNews/idUSN1721774620080118?feedType=nl&feedName=usmorningdigest. Scary thought... humans cloning themselves. Gives me the shivers just thinking about it.

White Stuff

As I left work and walked out of the building tonight, I was surprised by the huge flakes that welcomed me into the cold brisk air. There's something very calming and serene about the snow. Looking around me, all I saw were the white flurries covering the roads, the trees, the cars, the grass... it was like a Thomas Kinkade painting (only there would be no cars in the painting). And for that split second, I forget about all the worries in the world... the problems at work, the personal struggles I'm dealing with, the uncertainties in life, the everyday stresses, etc. For that split second, all I saw was God's wonder and amazement. But then, reality hits and I shuddered at the thought of having to shovel when I get home. I was also reminded of the dirty, slushy, slippery roads that materialize after a snowfall. Nothing's perfect in this world, but if only we can savor the good moments a little longer...

(BTW, the title of this entry is courtesy of M.)

Foreign Exchange Fee Settlement

A settlement was reached on the Foreign Currency Conversion Fee Antitrust Litigation. You can get additional information on this at http://www.ccfsettlement.com/. If you traveled outside the country and withdrew money from an ATM or paid using a credit card (Visa, MasterCard, Diner's Club, and maybe some others) between February 1996 to November 2006, you can file a claim and receive a refund. Apparently, us poor consumers were overcharged in foreign transaction fees during this time period.

There's a couple of different refund options. M chose the first refund option, which was to submit the claim form with the bare minimum information (name and address). If the settlement goes through, I believe that's a straight $25 refund. I chose the second option, which was to include the number of days I've been out of the country during that time period, and the reason for travel. The third (and last) option requires the most work, which would have been to list out all the foreign transactions you've had in those 10 years (who even keeps records dating that far?). The deadline is not until May 30, 2008, so still plenty of time. I'm very glad they made filing online an option... makes life so much easier.

The Booby Wall

Rethink, a breast cancer charity foundation, has launched a campaign to try to educate women about breast cancer. Here's the full article: http://www.reuters.com/article/internetNews/idUSPAR07287320080110?feedType=nl&feedName=usmorningdigest

As part of Rethink's "touch, look, check" (TLC) early detection program, women are being asked to do just that. They are taught how to check their breasts for abnormalities, and asked to take a photo of it (could be fully clothed, in a bra, or topless) and upload them at www.boobywall.ca. I haven't gone on the website to check it out, and I don't plan to. I'm in full support of spreading the news about breast cancer and educating people on how to do self-examinations, but what is the purpose of posting the pictures online? I just don't see how exploiting women is going to benefit anyone or get the word out.

Since we're on the topic, I attended a breast cancer awareness seminar a couple of months ago. Here are some tips for early detection and prevention:

• Know your breasts - how they feel and how they look. It is nothing to be ashamed of. Many breast lumps are found by women themselves.
• See your doctor for a clinical breast exam.
• Don’t take combined hormonal therapy (estrogen + progesterone).
• Exercise daily, eat a healthy low fat diet, limit alcohol intake.

Some risk factors:

• Age: risk increases with age. 2 of 3 women with invasive breast cancer are 55 when diagnosed.
• Genes: 5–10% of breast cancers are due to changes in genes. Women with BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes have an 80% chance of developing breast cancer.
• Family History: risk increases if a close family relative is diagnosed with breast cancer. A mother, sister or daughter doubles a women’s risk. However, 70–80% of women diagnosed with breast cancer do not have a family history.
• Personal History: a person with cancer in one breast has a higher chance of developing it in the other breast.
• Race: white women are more likely to develop breast cancer, but African American women are more likely to die of the disease. Asian, Hispanic and American Indians have a lower risk of developing breast cancer.
• Menstrual Periods: periods before age 12 and/or menopause after age 55 increases risk slightly.
• Previous breast radiation therapy.
• Treatment with DES (diethylstilbestrol). Women and their daughters (exposed to DES while in the womb) are at slightly higher risk of developing breast cancer.
• Not having children or having the first child after 30. Being pregnant more than once at an early age reduces risk.
• Birth Control Pills: role is still unclear, but women using birth control pills may be at a higher risk. Those that stopped taking the pill over 10 years ago have reduced risk.
• Post Menopausal Hormonal Therapy (PHT): Combined Hormonal Therapy (estrogen + progesterone) - long term use (several years or more) does increase the risk of breast cancer and may increase the risk of dying from the disease. 5 years after stopping PHT the risk drops back to normal. Estrogen Replacement Therapy - use of estrogen alone does not seem to increase the risk of breast cancer. Long term use (> 10 years) does increase risk of developing breast and ovarian cancer.
• Breast feeding and pregnancy: breast feeding may slightly reduce risk if done for 1½ to 2 years. Pregnancy may also reduce risk (due to reduced number of menstrual cycles).
• Alcohol: 1 drink a day = slightly increased risk. 2–5 drinks a day = 1½ increase risk compared to women that don’t drink at all.
• Obesity: increased risk if weight gained during adulthood or after menopause and is located in the waist area. Studies of fat in the diet have yielded conflicting results.
• Exercise: risk is reduced with exercise. Recommend 45-60 minutes 5 days or more a week.

Spread the word! Every female should be routinely (i.e., monthly) doing a self-exam. Early detection is a major factor to an increased survival rate. As for Rethink, while I commend them on their cause, I cannot condone the way they are going about to achieving their objective.

A Dry Spell Approaching

Things at work have been quite hectic since the start of the new year... I haven't been that busy in a very long time. But with each passing day, a deadline has come and gone, and I see my list of to do's dwindling down. And now, I finally have a moment to breathe and put an entry in my blog.

The past week has gone by like lightning. Keeping busy is good... makes the time go by so much faster. Unfortunately, I sense a dry spell will be coming soon enough. I just wish there was a happy medium, where the work can be distributed evenly throughout the year, instead of it being so rough around quarter-end and year-end. I guess that's just asking for too much. When it rains, it pours; when it doesn't, there's a drought. Hmm... I should try to get out of Finance for my next job.

So with the dry spell approaching, I've planned out some extracurricular activities to keep myself occupied: a) Finalize Costa Rica trip. We have all the hotels and a couple of day excursions booked... need to figure out transport from San Jose to Manuel Antonio. It sounds too shady to catch the public bus at the main terminal, so we may give into paying a private shuttle van to take us there. Oh, and I need to call around for prices on car service to Newark. b) Assist in planning a friend's bridal shower. I've been assigned the tasks of deciding on the favors and managing the costs (the only problem with managing the costs is, I don't really know if we have a budget to work against). c) Put together a list of all the 2007 tax stuff (i.e., W2, 1099 statements, donation receipts, etc) we will need when Uncle Sam comes knocking come April 15. Our taxes shouldn't be too difficult this year since I don't have the relocation expenses anymore... maybe we'll even attempt to do it ourselves. d) Decide on praise songs for Sunday service... M and I are leading worship in early March. Best to decide on the songs early and give them to the pianist so she can practice. I've led worship a couple of times already, but still get nervous and scared standing in front of the congregation. Hopefully I won't trip coming down the podium like I did last time. (Ack! How embarassing!)

My 2008 Bible verse - Proverbs 19:21 "Many are the plans in a man's heart, but it is the Lord's purpose that prevails."

My Day At Work

Figures... the minute I create a blog to give me something to do when I'm bored at work, all of a sudden I find myself bombarded with work, barely having the time to gulp down my lunch (speaking of which, they raised the prices in the cafeteria by 20%, increasing what was already expensive to what is now unaffordable... can't justify paying more for food here than what I would pay in Manhattan... arghh... must start packing own lunch!). Now I am forced to log on at night to keep this blog up, as if I don't spend enough time in front of a computer during the day.

It's year-end closing for us, so everyone in Finance is required to go to work tomorrow, as well as next weekend. M will probably drop me off at work, go shopping in the area, and then come pick me up. Hopefully I'll be able to get out by noon... although if I work the full day, I get an extra vacation day. Still, I'd rather get the Saturday off. Times like this makes me miss my old role in Internal Controls, where weekend workdays were never mandatory for us. But if I were still in that role, readers probably wouldn't be able to keep up with all the writing I'd do on my blog.

Today was an interesting day... the fire alarm in our building went off. At first, I thought it was just a normal fire drill, so I reluctantly put on my coat and went outside to the assembly area. But when I started talking to my coworkers, apparently feces (or other offensive particles) were dripping down in the front entrance of the building. One of the pipes must have burst that caused the leak and triggered the fire alarm. I did notice a foul smell when we were outside, but don't know if that was the source of it. The fire department came... not sure what they did, or what they could've done. We were back inside the building at that point. There were tons of people congregated at the front entrance, curious to see what the fire department and maintenance crew were doing. I was too busy with work and pressing deadlines to care, so I didn't bother joining in on the crowd. By the time I left at 8pm, there were still people in the front entrance trying to fix whatever was broken. They closed off the entire area, so I had to exit through the back. Of all the times not to bring my flashlight, it had to be tonight, when I needed it. After trampling through what I would assume to be grass, I eventually made it to the front of the building and into the parking lot, where the fading glow from the lampposts aided me to my car.

Wombs for Rent

Happy New Year! (A day late... and hoping this year will be better than the last...)

I read an article last week about women in India who are serving as surrogate mothers... they are impregnated in-vitro with the egg and sperm of couples unable to conceive on their own. In return, they are cared for during the pregnancy and delivery, and get paid more than what they would normally earn in 15 years. The doctor working in the clinic that matches infertile couples with local women defends her work as being mutually beneficial for both parties: "There is this one woman who desperately needs a baby and cannot have her own child without the help of a surrogate. And at the other end there is this woman who badly wants to help her (own) family. If this female wants to help the other one ... why not allow that? ... It's not for any bad cause. They're helping one another to have a new life in this world."

While this concept of "wombs for rent" is legal in India, that doesn't mean it's right. Women shouldn't be exploited like that, not to mention the risks involved. The article talks about all the success stories, but fails to mention the times when things went awry (and I'm sure there were). I understand couples want to have a child of their own, but what is wrong with adopting? There are so many unwanted children out there who needs a loving home and family... why not have one of those be your own?