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» That Girl is Hoisin

Price of Perfection

I found a packet of oil-absorbing sheets in the back of my bathroom drawer. My mom brought back a bunch from Japan the last time she went. I forgot how neat those things are...this one especially because (as I discovered about 30 minutes ago) it has a mirror on the inside!

The boyfriend is chillin like a villain at my place right now. Lucky bastard.

So my Magnetic North CD has become the latest victim of overplaying in my car. There's this one song that caught my ear..."Price of Perfection". The whole song is the story about a model Asian girl (polite, Stanford pre-med, beautiful singing voice, etc) who eventually snaps ("found perfection in a bullet hole that gaped at the stars"). I guess that at first listen it seemed a bit melodramatic and stereotyped, but I've always felt that stereotypes don't exactly appear out of thin air. There's usually some basis to it, no? What I was reminded of was that one day in AP government senior year (a "cream of the crop" class with enough seats for about 5% of the seniors at school, hand-picked by the teacher [insert eyeroll here]--still not sure how the hell I ended up in there but that's another story) when for some reason we were playing a game that involved a lot of personal confessions. I suppose it was similar to the game "I have never..." except it was more like "Have you ever..." We started off with ten fingers and with each "have you ever" statement he made we would put a finger down if we "have".

I don't know why we were playing this game. We did a lot of things in that class that I never entirely understood the point of. Including watching our teacher have an emotional breakdown. But I digress.

The one question that stuck with me was "Have you ever wanted to commit suicide?". After he asked that question I watched as well over half of this roomful of bright individuals with very seemingly bright futures (and very bright pasts and presents as well), with embarassed smiles, sheepishly lowered a finger.

Now I don't know if this is normal or not. I don't even know if my friends have ever seriously contemplated suicide or not--it's not exactly dinner-and-drinks conversation fodder. Maybe it's just something that most people go through. You tell me.

Maybe it's the feeling of never being good enough that takes people like this to the top. Sure, everyone else thinks they're doing great, but it's the constant feeling of inadequacy that keeps them doing great. But honestly, what good is it to be doing well if you can't enjoy it?

I know this is a little weird coming from me since I'm pretty guilty of uber-pessimism. It's hard to sort out how which of your shortcomings are real and how which are percieved, though. Am I right?

Wow that was kind of longer (and more confusingly ramble-y) than I intended it to be. Excuse my rant. Perhaps I'm just having an off day.


(link) Midori | 0 comments | 3:57 PM


here's another one

stole this baby from damon. just killing time before brian gets here.

whats your name spelt backwards? yllek irodim?
What did you do last night? did laundry and cleaned my apartment (exciting.)
The last thing you downloaded onto your computer? music videos?
Have you ever licked a 9 volt battery? nope
Last time you swam in a pool? wednesday morning
What are you wearing? towel
How many cars have you owned? umm...i suppose none technically. but i'm paying the registration and insurance for the chivic so i'm going to say one.
Type of music you dislike most? opera. i think.
Are you registered to vote? no
Do you have cable? no and never have
What kind of computer do you use? g4 cube and inspiron craptop at home, toshiba laptop and two dell desktops at work
Ever made a prank phone call? i remember calling mcdonalds and singing the big mac song in seventh grade.
You like anyone right now? yes
Would you go bungee jumping or sky diving? i'm a fatty chicken
Furthest place you ever traveled? i don't think i've ever been more than 3,000 miles from home =\
What's your favorite comic strip? pbf webcomics :D
Do u know all the words to the national anthem? José can you seeee...
Shower, morning or night? either or both
Best movie you've seen in the past month? storytelling (yay coworker with the billions of dvds!)
Favorite pizza toppings? cheese and sauce.
Chips or popcorn? chips
What cell phone provider do you have? verizon
Have you ever smoked peanut shells? should i try it?
Have you ever been in a beauty pageant? does it look like i've been in a beauty pageant?
Orange Juice or apple? mimosas
Who were the last people you sat at lunch with? my brother, the virginian coworker, the new dude, the korean coworker
favorite chocolate bar? meiji strawberry chocolate OH. BABY.
Who is your longest friend and how long? neener neener cause' we're "womb buddies"
Last time you ate a homegrown tomato? i'm not sure.
Have you ever won a trophy? i'm a loser. you know...i think i might have gotten one for a science project in seventh grade ;P
Favorite arcade game? i'm horrible at those things
Ever ordered from an infomercial? i hate those things
Sprite or 7-UP? neither or either
Have you ever had to wear a uniform to school/work? Band Geek <--word to your mom
Last thing you bought at Walgreens? can't remember the last time i was at a walgreens
Ever thrown up in public? hahaha...i think the last (and maybe only) times i threw up in public was in kindergarten at school, if you consider that public. nothing like maria's vegas spectaculars.
Would you prefer being a millionaire or finding true love? i just want to be happy.
Do you believe in love at first sight? no
SPONGEBOB OR JIMMY NEUTRON? spongebob carrots?
Did you have long hair as a young kid? my mom wouldn't let me grow my hair long until i was 10.
What message is on your voicemail machine? cell: pre-recorded. work: pre-recorded.
Where would you like to go right now? bed
Whats the name of your pet? brian
What kind of back pack do you have, and what's in it? no backpack
What do you think about most? i try to use my brain as little as possible


(link) Midori | 0 comments | 1:28 AM


another something from my brother

my brother: do you remember what movie
my brother: I peed in?
my brother: the one with keira knightley


(link) Midori | 0 comments | 3:27 PM


japanese people are cOOl

ahhh...the awesomisity of japan

(weird little contraptions with no point...but cool nevertheless)


(link) Midori | 0 comments | 10:39 AM


GEEKBURGER

another something from my nerdy brother

my brother: if I ever write a long CS book
my brother: I'm not going to have a page 404


(link) Midori | 0 comments | 6:06 PM


oLd sKoOL SuRveY!!!

This crazy old survey that I did on xmas of 1998 (like whoa I was 15!)...my brother had it somewhere in his inbox and forwarded it to me.

[Question]: [old answer] [current answer]

**Full name: kelly...midori.......... and that's still all I'm willing to post online
**Birthday: 10.16.83 and yes, that's still my birthday

WHICH IS BETTER?

(1) Slow Dance/Fast Dance songs: slow...who really knows how to fast dance.......? =) oh my lord I can't believe I used to feel that way. Fast songs for sure.
(2) Bitter/Sweet: how about bittersweet? I still like bittersweet chocolate
(3) Boxers/Briefs: on me???? I believe I've had a discussion on this before. Boxers or boxer briefs. On guys, that is.
(4) Coke/Pepsi: coke Diet Coke. Although I can't say I care much for most sodas anymore
(5) Day/Night: night Night. Unless it's sunny and I have the day free for beach-ing
(6) Diamonds/Pearls: diamonds... Diamonds are a girls' best friend?
(7) Disney/Warner Bros. I...dunno? I still don't know
(8) Flowers/Candy/Poems: flowers are fat free Flowers are still fat free but fancy truffles (Vosges, Jin Patisserie, Ghiradelli, etc) are delcious ;)
(9) Gold/Silver: i like both I still like both
(10) Haagen Daaz/Ben&Jerry's: BenJerryzz Cherry Garcia fo life
(11) Heaven/Hell: Umm....yeah Neither?
(12) Kissing/Hugging: PDAs???? I suppose it depends.
(13) Land/Sea: Sea...=) Sea!
(14) Love/Lust: Love How about a healthy combination of both?
(15) Mountains/Prairies/Beach: THE BEACH!!! Beach.
(16) Pen/Pencil: whiteout pen...? Mine is smaller & harder...heehee Pencil. I don't even own whiteout anymore
(17) Smiling/Laughing: Laughing Laughing.

FINISH THIS OFF

I Always: sing Dance. To fast dance songs. Or the music in my head.
I can barely: do anything..? Ugh, some things never change
I feel like: being online being at the beach. I'm online waaay too often.
I Hate: homework being trapped inside on a hot sunny day! Argh!
I Love: my computer a lot of people
I Regret: a lot of things even more now than I did back then
I see myself as: little ...
I Want: an extended winter break to take off my tanktop because the straps are chafing me
I Will Never: survive junior year such a false statement. I did indeed survive junior year.
I Will Never Regret: i don't know things that made me better in some way
I Wish: I could get 9 hours of sleep every night I were brilliant!
I've had days that: go on endlessly [bad thing] go by way too fast
The last thing I need right now: more homework [i'm taking saras answer] nothing in particular.
Today could be the last day of: christmas my life!

FRIENDSHIP & LOVE & ALL THAT JAZZ (cool...maybe now I can actually answer some of these)

Do u believe in love at first sight?: maybe...not for me though absolutely not
Do you have a crush on a school mate/coworker?: um no??? Err...I currently have a crush on someone who was a schoolmate of mine at the time I first filled out this survey?
Do you want children one day & if so, how many?: I don't know but there is no way i'm having 12 children Umm...not sure. I'm pretty sure I don't want more than two, though
First thing u notice in the opposite sex: everything...sort of The first thing I notice is physical appearance, of course. The first thing that makes an impression is personality
Something that makes u jealous about the opposite sex: lets not go there.... I actually kind of don't understand this question...
If u liked someone and they just wanted to use you for sex, would u let them: this is crazie oh gross I spelled crazy as "crazie". Well, the answer is still no.
Least fave thing about the opposite sex: lets not stereotype here I DON'T UNDERSTAND THEM AND THEY DON'T UNDERSTAND ME
Most important thing to u in a friendship is: openess Ha so ironic that I thought being open was the most important thing. I was one closed little sucker. But yes, it is important.
What do you think is a good age to get married?: mid to late twenties Late late twenties...or even early thirties.
Your Best Online bud is who and why: I don't know.... April (for the emails) and Brian (the only one I chat w/ via AIM...which is seldom)
Your Good Offline Buds: todos mis amigos word up

SUPPOSE YOU COULD

Be any animal, what would you be? human or a goldfish.
Have a special power, what would it be?: ooooh.... X-RAY VISION! (that was for April...if she can remember what I'm referencing)
Have a tattoo, what would it be? oh gross get a little drawing injected underneath your skin and then when you get old it gets all faded and saggy and ugly and even if it didn't get all nasty looking its nasty to see tattoos on old people to begin with plus if you regret getting a tattoo then it costs about sixbillion dollars to get it removed word.
Kill someone, how would you do it?: depends skin them and wear them. rawr!
Meet anyone in the world, who would it be?: I don't know Enrique Ongpin so I can marry him so he'll decorate our house (sorry Brian)

OTHER STUFF

Coolest Experience: Being away from home....sans parents....on the east coast.... Having my own place!
Criminal Record: sure...whatever Nope, still don't have one of those
Describe yourself in 5 words or less: strange boring.
Do you gossip?: guilty Absolutely guilty
Do you save AOL conversations?: nope AIM logs them for me
Do you speak any other languages?: heheh.....no hablo anything but ingles 7.5 years 7.5 language classes in two languages later and I still no hablo anything but ingles
Ever done drugs or drank alcohol?: sake....yuck Drugs of the illegal sort, no. Alcohol of many sorts, yes.
Grossest Human Habit is: must it be human? Um, still no answer
Have you ever been attacked by a big dog? no...got chased by a chihuahua. those dogs are freaky [paco anyone....? if you had briceño you know what i'm talkin about] And the answer is still, NO
How do you eat an Oreo?: with my mouth. and you? I still eat Oreos with my mouth
If you couldn't do your dream job/career, what would you be?: Insane Depends on the alternative. Not too shabby.
If you were an inanimate object, you would be: inanimate Still holds true
Last Book you read: Chicken soup...hollies book I'm reading Norwegian Wood right now.
Name the cool items in your bedroom: mi music....letters....stereo....my bed....? I have more of a sleeping alcove than a bedroom...and the coolest thing in there would be my bed.
This makes me cry: listening to my flute.....=P That, among many other things, still makes me cry

Man, I haven't changed very much, have I =\


(link) Midori | 0 comments | 3:42 PM


japanese boy

"music video" my brother was in for berkeley's nsu. it is le cute (ha!)

oh, he's the lead dude in case you don't know what he looks like.


(link) Midori | 0 comments | 3:49 PM


something i will never understand...

why is it that it always takes me three tries to plug in my usb stick?


(link) Midori | 0 comments | 10:34 AM


omg...

my brother: do you think Mr. T pities foo because it'll never be any program of importance?
me: AHHHHHHHHHH YOU'RE A GEEK!


(link) Midori | 0 comments | 6:27 PM


poopdicks and dirty asians

wikipedia and alaska are cool


(link) Midori | 0 comments | 2:18 PM


kimchee is disgustingly delicious

so kimchee made the list of disgusting foods that are good for you.

mmmm kimchee :)


(link) Midori | 0 comments | 10:10 PM


unicorns <3

this shirt is le funny

i don't know if i'd wear it (hence why i have not bought it?) but i still like it :) esp the unicorn. oh baby baby.


(link) Midori | 0 comments | 12:18 PM


errrr one is getting so old

happy 26thish birthday damon!

holy crapballs you're so old

:)


(link) Midori | 0 comments | 2:33 PM


I am so awesome

So I actually followed through and posted about the whole cruise...it only took me oh, a month to go through with it. Whatever. I'm still awesome.


(link) Midori | 0 comments | 10:55 PM


Carnival Cruise: Day 4

This is going to be a super-long entry. It's more for my benefit than yours, so go ahead and skip the text and just look at the pictures :)

Cruise: May 22, 2006 (Monday)

Disembarking

We got up bright and early on Monday to eat breakfast and disembark. Why does the mirror say "mohammed we love you"? Because he folded my crap and made towel animals, that's why.

Long story short, we ate lots of tater tots, waited forever to disembark (oh, the Korean dude that April yelled at the previous night was in line right in front of us with his knockoff LV luggage) and dealt with an asshole customs guy. I got lost trying to find the freeway, dropped off my stuff at home (and closed my eyes for 45 minutes) and then went to work. All in all, quite the memorable weekend :)


(link) Midori | 0 comments | 10:50 PM


Carnival Cruise: Day 3

This is going to be a super-long entry. It's more for my benefit than yours, so go ahead and skip the text and just look at the pictures :)

Cruise: May 21, 2006 (Sunday)

Last Day

Sunday was superchill. It was our last full day on board and we were going to be at sea the entire time. We slept in a bit. The Mom came to check up on April and her back before heading up to get food (or whatever it was she was going to do). April was doing fine. She was kind of bruised and super tender around her lower back/butt area but no serious damage done :) We took our time getting ready and booked spa appointments for later that afternoon.

We decided to go up to deck to get food. We tried the indoor buffet for the first time...the whole thing was really chintzy looking. An almost Vegas feel. The food was decent enough, though. For some reason the tater tots were really good (sidenote: today I learned that tater tots are made from bits of potato left over from making french fries. why are they so good?)...better than tater tots usually are. In any case, as bad as they are, I cannot resist most forms of fried potato. French fries will be the death of me...

Can you see the decor of the restaurant in the background? Cheesy, no? It's okay. Reminds me of being on vacation or something. We left the restaurant to go look for Darlene and the Mom who were both planning to be in the vicinity of the pool. I was reaaallly craving french fries so we stopped by the outdoor buffet to get a small plate before going to look for them.

We found them on one of the upper decks on some lounge chairs. Holy crap was it cold up there...I was wearing a skirt and a jacket and man I was freezing. The only complaint I have about that weekend is that it wasn't warmer...but I some things can't be helped. Anyhow, we sat there and ate our french fries and the Mom told us that she got a cocktail at which point she picks up this huge coconut-y souvenir cup and proceeds to drink away...haha. She's such a trip. I think it was a pina colada.

Darlene and the Mom told us that they wanted to play ping pong so we decided to seek out a table. Just our luck, they were all in use...the only one that was not really in use (well, not for ping pong purposes anyway) was a table with cups all along the edges and a big bucket of beer on top of it. HMMM I WONDER WHAT WAS GOING ON THERE. We talked to a couple of guys that looked like they'd been playing a while and they said they'd be off in 20-30 minutes or so we decided to hang out (one of them asked April if she wanted to play strip ping pong...she said no). We took turns going to the restroom and April and I went back down to the room to use the restroom and change. Well, I changed.

We eventually got the table. We challenged eachother...first team to get to 21 points wins the game. It was me and April vs. Darlene and the Mom. I sucked muchly but April made up for my lack of skill. Aaron, you would have been proud ;) I think we played best of 3 and we won, 1 to 2. Wooo!

Ping pong was fun, but I think half of the entertainment was the guys who staked their claim on a table with beer and cups. They absolutely massacred that table all the while getting drunker and drunker, louder and louder. Occasionalloy we'd mis-hit the ball and it would end up rolling over to their table. When we first started playing one of them would usually see the ball and pick it up for us (in fact one of them asked April and I if we wanted to join them...we declined). As time went on it got to the point where not only did they notice our ball rolling around their feet, but they didn't even seem to notice us scrambling around the floor trying to get it. Eventually some of the ship's staff came up and broke up the party. The table was pretty destroyed...they spilled a ton of beer all over the table and got it all soggy. The surface was a bit sunken and the paint was starting to come off.

April and I had our massage/facials later that afternoon. They had a $99 special that included a 30 minute back massage and a 30 minute mini-facial. April's masseuse asked if she and I were sisters. Because we look so much alike I presume? The ambiance is nothing special. Kind of sterile, even. But she did something to my shoulder/arm area that was just amazing. Ah, if only I could figure it out. I don't think April's experience was quite as good as mine...but for $99 it's not too bad I suppose.

We went down to go change after our spa session. We relaxed for a bit, changed, and then went to the karaoke lounge (as per usual :)). On the way we made a pit stop at the bar...April got herself a Stella Artois and I tried to get a key lime martini. Bartender didn't know how to make it so following April's advice I got something they already knew how to make. Green apple martini. It was pretty good, but I think it was just apple liqueur and water? =\ Oh well.

We went to the lounge and man was it crowded. Unlike the other nights we had a bit of trouble finding a book--plus the queue of people wanting to sing was significantly longer. We chose a song and sat back to watch the others sing. Oh, and since we ran dry well before it was our turn, I went to the lounge bar to get a couple of Stellas for April and I :)

Oh, there was this pair of boys that couldn't have been older than 15 that went up to sing Bootylicious. CLASSIC.

Dinner


LL: Me, Luci (full name Lucilo) and April L: Me, Paul and April R: Taking orders RR: my veal

April and I had a bottle of sweet white wine chilling in the room, so we ran down to go get it so we could have it with dinner. It was a Presidio gewurztraminer I bought at a tasting room in Solvang earlier in the month. ANYWAY. Dinner was good. I had veal (mmmm). I was tipsy.

Oh, I tried to take a picture of Darlene and the Mom in the conga line, but I didn't really get a good shot. I did end up with a picture of this woman though. I think she looks evil. How about you?

Show


I actually wasn't supposed to take pictures (oops)

There was a show in the Normandie after dinner so we grabbed drinks (well, I got a cosmo) and headed on down to the theater. It was decent methinks. I don't know what Darlene was doing in that picture.

After the show we went back down to the room...honestly? I'm not quite sure why. In any case, there was a towel animal on April's bed and I was quite the buzzed one. We later left (not too long before midnight I think) to go to Club Rex. Clubbing on a Sunday you say? Of course! The details are a bit fuzzy, naturally. There was some Korean dude wearing sunglasses (I only know he was Korean because April asked if he was Filipino...don't ask) following us around. We left the club for a while to get drinks and to check out the casino. They had real craps (with dice and everything!) and my drunken April absolutely could not resist temptation ;) She played away $40 and was ready to hit up the ATM for more cash but I somehow (drunkenly) convinced her not to. We stopped by the bar again for some beers and I decided I wanted to dance some more so we meandered back into the club. The Korean somehow managed to find us again ("I've been looking for you all night!") and kept following us (possibly because I was the only other Asian in the club?) until April yelled "SHE DOESN'T WANT TO DANCE WITH YOU!" *ouch* Drunken April is a vicious one ;) We went back down to the room soon after and passed out. Man was I tipsy.


(link) Midori | 0 comments | 10:37 PM


Carnival Cruise: Day 2 (pt. II)

This is going to be a super-long entry. It's more for my benefit than yours, so go ahead and skip the text and just look at the pictures :)

Cruise: May 20, 2006 (Saturday) continued...

Back on the Ship

Was it at this point when April and I hit the dry sauna? I don't quite remember, but I do know that we were freezing freezing after waiting outside the boat for so long so it would have made sense maybe. The dry sauna was nice...all stone and wood with a very wood-y smell. We lay in there undisturbed for maybe 20 minutes or so? It was all good except for the lights...they should have had some sort of frosted shade or cover over the lights in the ceiling. They were a bit piercing.

Captain's Ball

Ahh, the Captain's Ball. Hors d'oeurves and unlimited free drinks made me a happy girl :) I had 2 (maybe three?) glasses of wine. I also tried a Manhattan which was just waaay too strong for me...Darlene had to finish it since I'm too pansy. There were a bunch of waiters walking around with trays of food and cocktails that were ours for the asking. There was a live band playing, but there was only one couple on stage dancing. I think they were probably seasoned ballroom dancers but in my state who knows?

I think the whole point of the ball was not to eat and drink for free, but to get a glimpse of our crew--the ones who made sure the boat stayed afloat and ended up where it was supposed to. Well, glimpse we did and buzzed we (well, I) were. I think the Mom had six cocktails =0 At least that's what I heard.


Drinking up at the Captain's Ball.

Karaoke

Of course, we went to the lounge after the ball was over for karaoke :) What did April and I sing that night? Stay by Lisa Loeb? I was quite tipsy by the time we made it up to the lounge and I think it showed.

Oh, before we went up to sing there was some woman who went up to sing Tina Turner's "Rolling on a River". She started to dance (pictured below :)) which is something I think I accidentally (but quite fortunately) got on video. For some reason I always accidentally film things instead of taking photos of them =\ Happens twice as often after a few drinks.

I believe we left the lounge to go to dinner after singing. It's all good.


L: Rolling on a River R: cocktail-stained cocktail menu

Dinner


the Mom showing Luci who's boss

I don't remember very much about dinner. I don't even remember what I ate...well...except for the cream of mushroom which was very, very good. I probably had wine with my dinner ;P I didn't need it, though. But I suspect you already knew that.

Rest of the Night...

So of course when we got back to the room the towels were folded into an animal shape. This time the animal was a pig that was chillin like a villain in my sunglasses. Did the stupid pig not realize that he was indoors and did not need sunglasses?

We got changed so we could hit Club Rex again. This time we were beyond tipsy. I think I decided to forgo any bar treats for myself since I was already pretty buzzed and didn't want to be trashed. Well all went up, wandered around, danced, etc. It was all good until we went to the restroom...I was in one of the stalls when I saw April's foot come sliding under the door. It seems that there was a puddle of water in front of the sink and alcohol + heels + puddle = not good. Point of impact was her tailbone-ish area (OUCH) and she wasn't feeling the whole club thing after that little spill so we went down to the room to hang out and ice her back. Took a quick trip to the infirmary and then settled down for a night of music videos on the stateroom tv.

Day 3 coming later :)


(link) Midori | 0 comments | 9:44 AM


Carnival Cruise: Day 2 (pt. I)

This is going to be a super-long entry. It's more for my benefit than yours, so go ahead and skip the text and just look at the pictures :)

Cruise: May 20, 2006 (Saturday)

Morning in the Dark

You will not believe how loud it is when the boat docks...or how dark it is in the staterooms. I was awakened sometime early in the morning by these horrendously loud noises that I believe were the sound of our ship coming into port. In my half-asleep stupor I thought that the boat was going down. Naturally, I stayed in bed.

Later that morning the Mom came to wake us up. I think I stayed in bed and got up later...? I don't really remember (April, you must clarify). Anyhow, I got up at some point and took a shower. I think April and I went upstairs to get some food at the same place we went the previous day. April stole a banana from the buffet to take with her but she ended up leaving it in a tray on the ship when we learned we couldn't take food off the boat.

Mexico: Shuttle

We disembarked at around noon I think. We took a shuttle from the boat to downtown Ensenada where we caught another shuttle that was to take us to the open-air market and la Bufadora. Our guide was named Kenya and she was wearing Aeropostale pants and a polo shirt. Just in case you were interested. What I noticed about downtown Ensenada was that about a third of the signs were in English. Felt like Whittier Blvd. But that's just me.


L: April and I on the shuttle R: that kid to the far right was crying his eyes out and his family was totally ignoring him...ha!

The drive took a while. On the way she pointed out American businesses and told us about Mexican tequila and vanilla. Oh, and she pointed out landmarks too. As we got closer to the open-air market she taught us the ins and outs of verifying the authenticity of vendor silver and leather and finding the best food (and safest drinks) during our short time there. On the list she gave us? Cheap churros, margaritas, fish tacos!


Mexico: La Bufadora and the Open-Air Market (doesn't that sound like a children's book title?)

The ocean view from the shuttle was absolutely lovely. Anyhow, we got to the open-air market in due time. We were dropped off amidst a sea of shuttles in front of a restaurant that sold fish tacos (!) and some jewelry vendors. Darlene and the Mom went off in search of a restroom while April and I milled around. Our group (led by Kenya) had already started off to the market before Darlene and the Mom returned so we had to run off in search of our tour group. She showed us some legit jewelry and bag vendors (legit meaning the leather and silver was genuine) and had them demonstrate their methods of guaranteeing the authenticity of their materials.

After we extricated ourselves from the very crowded marketplace we continued on our way to la Bufadora (blowhole). The water is very pretty out there.

After checking out the blowhole, we made our way back to the market for some shopping and eating. We browsed a bit and then headed over to Habana Banana which was one of the places that Kenya advised us to go to for an authentic Ensenada margarita made with safe ice. The restaurant like a Rainforest Cafe tourist-y feel to it, but I wasn't willing to risk imbibing Mexican tap water. The Mom and I got strawberry margaritas and April got mango. For some reason, April was the only one who got her margarita garnished ;P


L: Habana Banana glasses R: April's garnished margarita

Darlene got food but April and I were holding out for other eats (read: tacos and churros), plus we were running out of time. Since it is permissible to wander the market with alcoholic drinks in hand, April and I did just that. The vendors are all very in-your-face, offering up everything from knockoff Guccis to authentic Mexican boyfriends (latter being a joke, naturally). There were even vendors selling prescription drugs asking us if we wanted to take home some Viagra for our boyfriends.

April was in the market for an authentic leather bag but everything that was decent looking had some knockoff logo embossed on it. When she asked the vendor if he had anything that didn't say Gucci he started to pick through his shelves of purses and pulled out some pretty hideous bags. April declined.

We ran into a friend of the Mom who happened to be vacationing in Ensenada. At this point we were getting really close to shuttle departure time and rushed back to meet up with Darlene and the Mom. April and I managed to buy a fistful of churros ($2!) and run back to the shuttle just in time to see that we were not leaving yet ;P We took advantage of the extra time and bought two fish soft tacos at the restaurant the shuttle was parked in front of. They were small, but they were just a dollar each. Plus we got to load on as much pico de gallo and guacamole as our little hearts desired :)


L: April's partially eaten fish taco R: Darlene holding our greasy churros. I think by the time I took this picture we'd already eaten three or four of them.

Mexico: Downtown

I had to pee like you would not belieeeeveeeee. About halfway into the drive I was going mad. When we got downtown, Kenya stopped the shuttle so she could go do something. Another woman got off of the bus to use the restroom. Unfortunately, I had no idea where she went. Darlene pointed me in the general direction of where the restroom was supposed to be so I jumped off the shuttle and practically ran in that direction. I seriously had no idea where I was going so I just ducked into the place that I supposed was the location of the restroom. It turns out that it was some tiny historical gallery and with no sign of a restroom. There was a man sitting off to the side so I asked him in my broken and shamefully accented spanish where el bano was and hightailed it over there. Well, I found the restroom but just my luck...no toilet paper. And when I say no toilet paper I mean no toilet paper. There wasn't even a toilet paper dispenser or any empty rolls...not even a sign of toilet paper. Just then I realized that I was still clutching a handful of extra napkins from the churro vendor. Saved! I finished up and ran back out (thanking my restroom savior in my disgusting Spanish as I ran) and somehow quickly located April, the Mom, and Darlene.

We took some time to just shop around downtown after my bathroom adventure. We visited some drugstores and souvenir shops. The Mom bought a bracelet from one of the children running around selling things. April and I still hadn't found anything suitable to bring back for Brian and Aaron so we were still on the lookout. We found some little bottles of tequila with sombreros. Very cliche, but we thought they'd appreciate the alcohol ;)

We headed back to the boat at around 5PM and had to wait FOREVER before we were able to get on the boat. Naturally, everyone in line was rambunctious and drunk. There were so many old mid-life crisis looking folk who were acting like teenagers. We were in the shadow of the ship and I was freezing my butt off. We made it back on in one piece, though. Plus they let us take our tequila with us :) All good in the hood.


Coach! Fendi! Louis Vuitton!

Will post remainder of Day 2 later...


(link) Midori | 0 comments | 6:18 PM


Carnival Cruise: Day 1

This is going to be a super-long entry. It's more for my benefit than yours, so go ahead and skip the text and just look at the pictures :)

Cruise: May 19, 2006 (Friday)

Embarkment

So I went on a cruise last month. We went on Carnival cruise lines which is the cruise line I think everyone and their mom sails when taking a trip down to Ensenada. Literally. I went with April, April's mother, and April's mother's friend Darlene. Believe it or not, it was really, really fun :)

I took a half-day off at work so I could leave by 2PM and make it to port by 4:30. The drive was nightmare-ish. Traffic, plus the street I needed to take to get to the parking structure was freaking closed. I panicked and kept driving, hoping for the best, and by some miracle managed to locate the structure after only one wrong turn and one u-turn on a hideously busy street.

My luggage was so f-in heavy thanks to my monstrous laptop. I had to carry it down 3-4 flights of stairs after parking. April's dad dropped the other three off maybe 5 minutes after I got to the bottom floor. We tagged our luggage and went through security then began the fifty-jillion mile trek to the boat. We FINALLY reached the boat and had our photos taken (I think they were associated with our cards) and tried to get on the elevator so we could go to our rooms. We entered the ship on the 7th level and we needed to get down to level 5. It was a madhouse...they were doing some sort of safety drill with those who arrived earlier so hoardes of people were going upstairs with life vests. The elevators were packed and we couldn't seem to get one that was going down. Some idiot told us that the elevators on one side only went up (I don't know what he was talking about). We finally gave up and took the stairs.

Paradise


April taking photos of her mom and Darlene

April and I had one room and April's mom and Darlene had one next to ours. I believe our room was M-17. After dropping off our stuff and deciding not to go to the safety drill thing, we decided to take a look around the ship. On our way out, April and I met one of the guys on staff...Mohammed was it? He was the guy who was going to take care of our room for the duration of our stay. Nice guy. Anyway, we ended up at the buffet-style restaurant on level 10 (?) where we got a little food/drink. I think we were sitting up there when the boat started to move. We sat up there and people watched for a while. The only two people I remember clearly are the drunk guy who was trying to dance with a group of strangers and some girl in a one-piece jumpsuit type thing...and man she had the huuuugest booty EVAR I mean baby had back and she was shaking what her momma gave her with a vengeance. Darlene said that she was suddenly reminded of "that song...that Laffy-Taffy song" haHA!

Anyhoozles, I think we wandered around the ship a little while longer before heading back down to our respective rooms. We chilled for a bit, got changed, and then headed up to the Normandie with April's mom. There was a booze-tasting...some sweet drink that involved kaluha and milk or something. We hung out around there for a while since we had time to kill before dinner. After Darlene came up we decided to go to the 7th floor bar (you can see a birds'-eye view of the bar in the photo above). Drink prices on the ship were super a-ok. We got some copies of the ship schedule for the evening so we knew what we wanted to do for the rest of the night. After the bar we went to sing karaoke in one of the lounges...April and I sang some Sherly Crow :D

Dinner was at 8:30PM. We met our waiter for the duration of the trip..."Luci" which was short for something. I have to look at his nametag again. For the rest of the night (and following nights as well) he would call Darlene and April's mother "Darling" and "Mami", respectively. Anyhow, I had a glass of wine with my dinner and was buzzing quite nicely by the end of dinner.

We went back to the room to change before going up to Club Rex ;) On the way down, some drunk dude (I assume he was drunk) who passed on his way upstairs as we were going downstairs looked at me and said "Mo-shi mo-shi..."

wtf


Look at how neatly everything is folded...! I wish I had someone to do this at my apartment.

Anyway, we got back to the room and discovered that Mohammed had folded the clothes I had thrown on my bed and had folded an elephant out of towels which we found on April's bed. Too awesome.

I changed into jeans and the four of us headed upstairs to the club. We got in and got some drinks. April's mother drank half of her screwdriver and left April and I standing at the bar holding her drink as she and Darlene went to go dance. After standing at the bar for a few minutes longer, trying to figure out why we were left holding drinks instead of being out on the dance floor we went out to where Darlene and le mom were and April told her mother that she had to hold her own drink because we wanted to dance too at which point April's mom (who I think I will refer to as the Mom from here on out since "April's mom" is a bit cumbersome) downed the rest of the drink in under 30 seconds and resumed dancing.

We all danced for a while before we left to go check out the comedian at the Normandie. As we were leaving some really short guy with sunglasses (and when I say really short I mean he was really short...I was taller than him in my 3.5 inch heels) stopped me and said "I just have to know, what [ethnicity] are you?".

"Japanese"

He paused for a second. "Moshi Moshi".

WTF

We went to the 18 and up comedy show and couldn't figure out why it was so tame...until we realized we were an hour early and watching the (very) g-rated comedy show. We waited for another hour to see the adult show, but in all honesty he wasn't that great. I think we went back to our stateroom after this and just went to bed.

Day 2 coming later :)


(link) Midori | 0 comments | 3:19 PM


test


(link) Midori | 0 comments | 3:08 PM


eventful weekend or not...

congratulations to...

linda and kirk...who got married this past saturday.
steph, who is now officially grizzaduated from davis

and happy fathers' day one day late :)


(link) Midori | 0 comments | 12:12 PM


omggggggggg

SOMEONE LEFT STREAKS OF BLOOD ON THE TOILET PAPER IN THE BATHROOM GAHHHHHHHH WHY ARE THE PEOPLE IN THIS BUILDING SO GROSSSSSSSS


(link) Midori | 0 comments | 3:10 PM


my lungs are working!

For the past couple of mornings (and the past couple of evenings) I've dragged my sorry butt out to the pool to get in some light cardio because man I really need it. The apartment pool is tiny and is in the most retarded shape ever...like a kidney that's really small at one end. Actually, it's more like an angular xmas stocking. You know, not quite like a regular sock, very small at the "foot" area. It's impossible to do laps so I've resorted to swimming the perimeter. What sucks is trying to swim the "toe" area. It's so small that rounding the bend churns up the water like no other and usually results in me taking in a nose/lungfull of water. GAHHHHH.

Consultant brought in doughnuts. I went for a short jog and a short swim this morning SO I'M GOING TO EAT ONE.

Wedding tomorrow. I still need to wrap the gift.


(link) Midori | 0 comments | 9:49 AM


buy buy buy buy buy

just bought magnetic north from cdbaby (same place i got my yesan damen cd) because cdbaby sends such sweet emails to confirm your order :)


(link) Midori | 0 comments | 3:50 PM


bumblebees and mars

last night i dreamed that...

- there was a wingless bumblebee hopping around my room
- it was raining insanely hard
- steve was planning on moving to mars

all of this took place at my parents' home in the sgv so after i woke up and before i opened my eyes, i thought i was in my bedroom at home.

which reminds me, i woke up without an alarm for the second day in a row...but only because i managed to shut off my alarm in my sleep. time to change my alarm ring.


(link) Midori | 0 comments | 2:55 PM


postal service

"I'll be the platform shoes and undo what heredity's done to you/you won't have to strain to look into my eyes

Ahh, a song for the vertically challenged. Lyrics I can appreciate :)


(link) Midori | 0 comments | 12:02 PM


curse the alarm clock

So I woke up this morning at 7:20AM in a panic thinking I had overslept. I hadn't. So I went back to sleep thinking my alarm would go off at 8. Turns out I hadn't set my alarm so blahhhh I ended up waking up at 8:40 which wouldn't be too bad except that I've been dying to take advantage of warm mornings and hit the pool for a morning swim before my morning shower. Needless to say, I had no time. Maybe I'll go after work instead if it's still warm-ish. And if there are no kiddies in the pool.

On another note, sometimes it smells like food in the restroom around lunch. I know it's not just the women's restroom either since a few months back a male coworker walked into the office saying that the men's restroom smelled like a burrito. My guess is that one of the office kitchens shares a vent with the restrooms (oh Irvine company what will you think of next?) and boy do I feel sorry for them because as unnerving as it is to smell kitchen-y lunch smells in the restroom (male coworker who peed to the smell of a burrito said he couldn't decide whether he felt hungry or disgusted) it probably is not nearly as bad as smelling bathroom-y poop smells in their kitchen.


(link) Midori | 0 comments | 10:30 AM


Magnetic North

Magnetic North

Asian rappers (one male...and one female!) from Berkeley with a sound reminiscent of 90's hip-hop...and they're good. How cool is that?

Must listen: Drift Away (check the media portion of the website for a snippet or their myspace to listen to their streaming audio)


(link) Midori | 0 comments | 1:18 PM


Best of the best of

The New U police logs are freaking awesome :) They actually did a "best of" in the latest issue.

Location: Palo Verde Road
Two possibly drunk Caucasian males try to take a tree

Location: Admin Circle
Possibly drunk subject witha Toyota pickup and a U-Haul asks students if they need help moving couches

Location: Verano Pre-school
Male subject wrapped in a blanket for several hours.

Location: Frost Street
Dispatch receives a call from a child saying, "there are bugs in the water, can't swim."

Location: Langson Library
Officer locates a triangle sign painted green. Log note only; facilities notified and will remove paint.

Location: Middle Earth Housing
Report of an upset male, looking for a girlfriend who has been cheating on him.

Is UCI not awesome? Ha!

On another note, had a nice weekend. Dinner at Chat Noir in Costa Mesa last night. More later. Maybe.

edit: I just noticed that on the cover of the new u under "contents", it says "Police Lob".


(link) Midori | 0 comments | 12:15 PM


How many UCI students does it take to screw in a lightbulb?
Eleven. 1 to change the bulb and 10 to sit around watching because honestly, what else is there to do at Irvine past 10pm?


(link) Midori | 0 comments | 10:40 AM


I sang to a pickle because that's how I roll

Here's an email from the Lefty.

This is funny - type out the sentence you end up with in the subject line and forward to your friends...and also, send it back to the person that sent it to you.

Pick the month you were born:

January--I kicked
February--I loved
March--I smoked
April--I dry humped
May--I choked on
June--I murdered
July--I did the Macarena with
August--I had lunch with
September--I danced with
October--I sang to
November--I yelled at
December--I ran over

Pick the day (number) you were born on:

1-------a birdbath
2-------a monster
3-------a phone
4-------a fork
5-------a Mexican
6-------a gangster
7-------my cell phone
8-------my dog
9-------my best friends' boyfriend
10-------my neighbor
11-------my science teacher
12-------a banana
13-------a fireman
14-------a stuffed animal
15-------a goat
16-------a pickle
17-------your mom
18-------a spoon
19-------myself
20-------a baseball bat
21-------a ninja
22-------Chuck Norris
23-------a noodle
24-------a squirrel
25-------a football player
26-------my sister
27-------my brother
28-------an ipod
29-------a permanent marker
30-------a llama
31-------A homeless guy

Pick the color of shirt you are wearing:

White----------because I'm cool like that
Black-----------because that's how I roll.
Pink------------because I'm NOT a homosexual.
Red------------because the voices told me to.
Blue-----------because I'm sexy and I do what I want
Green---------because I hate myself.
Purple---------because I'm cool.
Gray----------because I was drunk
Yellow--------because someone offered me 1,000,000 dollars
Orange-------because I hate my family.
Brown--------because I was high.
Other-------because I'm a ninja.
None--------because I cant control myself

Now type out the sentence you made in the subject line and forward to your friends. And don't forget to send it back to the person that sent it to you.

Please don't email me. Just leave your sentence in the comment box :)


(link) Midori | 0 comments | 5:01 PM


omega hay qua!

OH and my veronica mars dvds did come in last night woooooo!


(link) Midori | 0 comments | 12:10 PM


today marks a milestone

so, yesterday i spent my very first OMEGA LATE night at work!

woooooo!

however today i am sleepy and lazy and i want to put my swollen, allergy-ridden eye out.

where did the sun go? :(


(link) Midori | 0 comments | 12:06 PM


the apple store is a good place to pee

This past Saturday...

Thanks to Huntz and Christine for directing me to the nearest restroom (Apple store!) when I ran into them outside of Barnes and Noble in Pasadena.

Big huge thanks to Skim's dad for stuffing us full of korean BBQ at Seoul Garden in k-town mmmmm YUM.

Saw The Break-up Saturday night. Yes, it has been ripped to shreds by the critics. I still liked it, though. A lot of it really hit home.

This past Sunday...

Way too much food. Starting with picnic. Arrr.

And then dinner for my grandpa's birthday. Dinner plus beer. My mom didn't even bother asking me if I wanted any or not she just got me a glass, nevermind the fact that I was the one who drove them.

Today...

My allergies went haywire last night and now my left eye is swollen. I think my tear duct (not tear gland) is inflamed. Woeee is me.

Oh, and it's our 13 month anniversary. Because we're lucky like that.

In other news...I think my Veronica Mars season one dvds are arriving today WOOOOO!


(link) Midori | 0 comments | 11:34 AM


please meander over here and wish le boyfriend (mine, not yours) a happy 25th birthday!


(link) Midori | 0 comments | 10:17 PM


look for my little brother. he's the stripper in the cowboy hat

i'm actually not sure of the quality of this video...i got to see this performance in all its glory on dvd ;P


(link) Midori | 0 comments | 4:18 PM


like a croissant

derek's 23rd bday was yesterday happy birthday bubbleboy

ay i missed it by a day

i am becoming very birthday-flaky (eep)


(link) Midori | 0 comments | 9:54 AM


like a croissant

derek's 23rd bday was yesterday happy birthday bubbleboy

ay i missed it by a day

i am becoming very birthday-flaky (eep)


(link) Midori | 0 comments | 9:54 AM


Question(s) Du Jour

1) Do you think that I am whitewashed? Why or why not?

2) What does it mean to be whitewashed anyway?

I'll follow up on this later...


(link) Midori | 0 comments | 1:53 AM


annndddd....

things to look forward to (i just typed thangs to look forward to. accident?)

-seeing les girls (nishi girls) at picnic (yes neener i'm going :)) oh, and eating lots of food at picnic. yum.
-pirate party on the following thursday? am still not sure why it is a pirate party but it's all good. in the hood.
-bf coming down in june. yeeyee.
-wedding. actually, i'm still trying to decide whether i'm looking forward to that or not. in fact i find it frightening that the people getting married are getting closer and closer to my age. guh.

okay i have to pee. happy june everyone!

yay summer :D


(link) Midori | 0 comments | 12:45 PM


I'm lazy so what

Okay so I suppose I'll post something about the last two weekends...

Pictures will come as soon as I get them off of my camera. Which may or may not be soon. Get over it.

Weekend One: 5/19 - 5/22

Cruise weekend on Carnival's Paradise.

Food food food. And lots and lots of alcohol. Clubbing three nights in a row...with April's mom to boot. Free wine corkage thanks to a lovely (male) waiter named Luci. Free Mexican boyfriends? CHURROS. Sunburned scalp. Food. Alcohol. Food.

Weekend Two: 5/26 - 5/29

(Too much) Japanese food (and beer!) at Sushi House. Veronica Mars. Terrible terrible allergies. Getting lots of sleep. 3-ply tissue and lots of medication. Marscapone gelato. Zachary's spinach and mushroom deep dish pizza. Italian food. Syrah and Chianti. San Francisco. Berkeley. Moscato d'Asti from Bonny Doon. Soggy tiramisu. Lava flow.

Okay so neither of those are very descriptive. Better post later, I promise.


(link) Midori | 0 comments | 12:37 PM


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