Showing posts with label my life. Show all posts
Showing posts with label my life. Show all posts

Monday, April 5, 2010

still baby proofing...

in 4 months, haley will be 2 yrs old... and i'm just now finishing on baby proofing the kitchen. lol...

even though haley has already open the cabinet in the kitchen countless times, but i figure it's best to complete the project before she gets herself into trouble. ;)

i got 7 more cabinet doors to install the baby latch on, so that means babies r us.. here i come. or at least i'll go there tomorrow.

these things are a PITA (pain in the ass) to install. they come with limited directions and most of all, their directions are not easy to understand. but good thing i'm pretty handy. ;)

once you have a pattern, or a system, in place the rest are installed easily.

ok... time to get ready for a different project called... going to bed. lol~

Sunday, April 4, 2010

Rainy day + Krohn Porto 2003 = GOOD!

it's been raining today on and off. but after 6pm.. it started pouring cats and dogs.

so, on a rainy day like this.. it's best to cuddle up and spoon with your wife or your lover.

for me, i'm cuddling up with my baby chloe and a bottle of Krohn Porto 2003.

just picked it up from Whole Foods and cracked it open.

pairing it with some chocolate angel food cake, i think i'm going to have a wonderful Easter evening.

Salute~!

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Friday, April 2, 2010

Typical joke in the Silicon Valley.. but so TRUE!!

The Joke of Silicon Valley...
一篇在矽谷盛傳的笑話


A butcher watching over his shop is really surprised when he sees a dog
coming inside the shop. He shoos him away. But later, the dog is back
again. So, he goes over to the dog and notices it has a note in its
mouth.

有個肉販看到有隻狗走進他的鋪子裡吃了一驚,肉販把狗噓走,可是沒多久這隻狗
又跑回來,所以他探頭看了一下這條狗才發現狗嘴裡有張小紙條。


He takes the note and it reads "Can I have 12 sausages and a leg of
lamb, please? The dog has money in its mouth, as well."

他拿起紙條,紙條上寫著「麻煩給我12條香腸和一條羊腿,錢就放在狗嘴裡」


The butcher looks inside and, low and behold, there is a ten dollar note
there. So he takes the money and puts the sausages and lamb in a bag,
placing it in the dog's mouth. The butcher is so impressed, and since
it's about closing time, he decides to shut the shop and follow the dog.

肉販低頭看了一下,哇!還真的有十塊錢耶!所以他收了錢,把香腸和羊腿放入袋
子裡以後再放到狗嘴裡。肉販對這隻狗實在太訝異了,想想又剛好快打烊了,他就
決定收攤然後跟著這條狗看看。


So off he goes. The dog is walking down the street, when it comes to a
level crossing; the dog puts down the bag, jumps up and presses the
button. Then it waits patiently, bag in mouth, for the lights to turn.
They do, and it walks across the road, with the butcher following him
all the way.

他們沿著路走,來到十字路口的時候這條狗就把袋子放下,跳起來按了行人通行
鈕,再叼起袋子耐心地等綠燈亮起,再行通過這個路口,當然肉販還是緊緊跟著
它。


The dog then comes to a bus stop, and starts looking at the timetable.
The butcher is in awe as the dog stops a bus by pulling its left leg up
and gets in it. The butcher follows the dog into the bus. The dog then
shows a ticket which is tied to its belt to the bus conductor. The
butcher is nearly fainting at this sight, so are the other passengers in
the bus. The dog then sits near the driver's seat looking outside. As
soon as the stop is in sight, the dog stands and wags its tail to inform
the conductor. Then, without waiting for the bus to stop completely, it
jumps out of the bus and runs to a house very close to the stop.

接下來這條狗來到公車站,開始盯著時刻表瞧。肉販很震驚這條狗居然懂得舉起左
腳來攔車,然後搭上了這台公車!肉販跟著上了車,狗把綁在項圈上的車票秀給車
掌看,看到這一幕,肉販就像其他的乘客一樣簡直要暈倒了。狗狗接著坐在司機旁
邊看著窗外,當下一個站牌出現,它就站起來跑去車掌那兒搖尾巴示意他要下車
了,不等公車完全停妥,它就迫不及待地跳出公車往一間離站牌不遠的房子奔去。


It opens the big Iron Gate and rushes inside towards the door. As it
approaches the wooden door, the dog suddenly changes its mind and heads
towards the garden. It goes to the window, and beats its head against it
several times, walks back, jumps off, and waits at the door. The butcher
watches as a big guy opens the door, and starts abusing the dog, kicking
him and punching him, and swearing at him. The butcher surprised with
this, runs up, and stops the guy.

它打開了院子的大鐵門,衝向房門,當它接近那道木門的時候忽然改變主意往花園
跑去,它朝向窗戶走去然後用頭去撞它好幾次,然後再跑回房門前等候。肉販看到
一著彪形大漢開了門,然後開始凌虐這條狗!他打它、踢他、還大聲咒罵它!肉販
實在不能忍受這種事,就跑去阻止這傢伙!


"What in heaven's name are you doing? The dog is a genius. He could be
on TV, for the life of me! "To which the guy responds: "You call this
clever? This is the second time this week that this stupid dog's
forgotten his key."

「你他媽的再幹什麼!?這是一條天才狗耶!我用我的性命擔保它絕對可以上電
視!」

這男人就回答肉販:「你說它聰明?這是這條笨狗第二次忘了帶鑰匙!」


Moral of the story.....
You may continue to exceed onlookers expectations but shall always fall
short of the boss' expectations.
It's a dog's life after all.....

這個故事告訴我們.....

不管你再怎麼拼命,老闆都不會滿足的!

這就是做為一條狗的宿命啊....

Sunday, March 7, 2010

My dental coverage sucks!

today is the day that cherie and haley went back to taiwan. i can't blame anyone except for the dental coverages we have here in US. it really sucks big time.

last year, i had two dental insurance coverages and had to do 2 root canal + 1.5 crown. guess how much it cost me? that's right... try $700+. that's on top of the max. allowance possible from 2 dental insurance coverage. can you believe that?

well, maybe it's not only the dental coverage sucks, but the dentist here charges an arm and a leg just for the dental service. they always bill above the max and guess who have to pay for it... that's right.. me! sigh...

i'm starting to feel like there's no dentist i can trust... it seems they are all like an used car salesman. i've changed 5-6 different dentist in the past 5 yrs. the best of all, i trust those dentist farther than i can throw them, which isn't very far at all!

so back to the reason why cherie and haley went back.. cherie needed to get her root canal + crown done plus other dental works. it's cheaper to send her home with haley than to pay the dentist here and use the weaksauce coverage we have.

although that idea sounded good at first.. it sure didn't feel good when i have to wave goodbye to my daughter and wife. haley was giving me a kiss bye and just before they were about to enter into the custom's door, haley started walking towards me. i burst into tears and couldn't hold back from then on.

now... i miss both of my babies...

Wednesday, September 23, 2009

Ever met a famous person?

recently, i just came back from a business trip in boston, ma.

on my flight back from boston to new york, i took the airline JetBlue. there was this very neatly dressed business man sitting by the window seat next to me. he seemed very anxious and was constantly looking at his iphone and checking his emails, browsing the web, etc. probably because the flight got delayed by 40 mins or so.

i couldn't help but to noticed there's something special about him but in a good way.

during the 55 min flight, i was so bombed from the boston esc show, i decided take a quick nap. just when the flight was about the land, i woke up and turned on my android phone, G2 phone the MyTouch 3G.

that's when our conversation started. he asked how i liked using the android phone and i told him the pros and cons as well as how it compares to the iphone. so our conversation started to take off and i started talking a bit technical. as a sales person, i can always tell when someone was starting to lose interest in the subject, so i quickly change the topic. he then got curious and asked what i do for a living, so i replied "semiconductor related or more specifically SSD for industrial and embedded application".

he then said "no wonder you seem technical when you talk, kinda have to for your line of work." i admit, i'm a total nerd when it comes to techie stuff.

so then i asked what kind of industry he's in, and he simply replied "software" or more specifically something to do with downloading music from the web.

right then and there my gut feeling shot out of my mouth and said "NAPSTER"? needless to say, John was very shocked and surprised to hear that. Immediately, he asked for my business card and gave me his.

the famous person that sat next to me on the plane whom i had the pleasure of speaking to about technologies in cell phones is John Fanning, the original Founder and CEO of NAPSTER! HOLY COW!!

what's awesome was right afterward we exited the plane, John took off running to get to his next meeting as I wished him good luck on a great meeting, he turned around and said thanks.

after that, a couple ppl walked up to me and asked me did that guy just said he's the founder/ CEO of Napster? i proudly said yup and showed them his business card. after which, the only words coming out of their mouths was "HOLY SHIT"!

never thought what it would be like to meet a famous person and yet all this time, i thought he was just a regular joe like me. even as a millionaire, John is a very down to earth guy and very humble. i wish him the very best of luck...

Monday, May 4, 2009

Definition of LOVE

recently our CEO came to visit our US branch office. everyone, including me, were scrambling around trying to get our presentations together.

well, after a long day of presentation and meeting, we had a company dinner. it was very tasty and expensive, like around $800+ for 10 dishes. lucky me...

anyway, so after a few drinks, our CEO started to share many things about business, life, etc. one of which that really caught my attention was when he is definition of LOVE. now, if you ever see our CEO and his wife walking in the streets of Taipei, you'll see them holding hands like a pair of old lovers.

he's been married for about 33 yrs and still going strong, i guess. this is what he had learned from his many years of marriage of what LOVE really means.

i really like how he defined his many years of marriage and know that cherie and i will be the same; if not more passionate~ ;)

* honey.. did i tell you how much i love you today? *


L = Listen (God gave us 2 ears and 1 mouth.. meaning to listen more and to speak less)

O = Open Mind (marriage is an union of 2 families, so need to be open minded to accept other's differences.)

V = Virtue (marriage is very sacred, likewise, be moral and righteous to each other)

E = Ever Lasting (live and love each other like there's no tomorrow, love as if it's the first time you fell in love with each other.)

Sunday, April 5, 2009

Vespa baby~

i remember when i was a kid growing up in taiwan, i use to see a lot of people riding around in vespa. since then, i have noticed that vespa are still around even after 25yrs later.
especially since gas prices has been pretty high before, many people have switched to riding instead of driving.

as much as i like to ride a vespa around town, my wife would be worried sick if something should happen to me. after all, i'm very important in my family. they (cherie, haley & chloe) all think of me as their personal ATM. haha ;) they are definitely my sweet burden and i love them dearly~

here's cherie posing on customized itali styled vespa... isn't she lovely?



here's me posing on the same vespa... yup.. i've gained a lot of weight~

Saturday, March 7, 2009

Proud to be Parents~

when we were young, people around us would always say "just wait till you become a parent, then you will know, etc. etc. etc."

well, now that i'm a daddy, i must say... i do know now. the minute haley was born at 7lbs 2oz., the nurse placed her into my arms. all the while holding her fragile God given body, her pink little hand and fingers was wrapped around my finger and squeezed tightly. right then and there, that's what being a parent is all about. being there for your child, doing whatever it takes to protect her from anything and everything.

i'm sure when i was born, my parent felt the same thing.

here are some photos of what proud parents and grandparents looks like:

proud parents



proud grandparents




this photo below was taken at SFO on 1/18/09, when my parents were leaving back to Taiwan.

Saturday, February 28, 2009

A day of fun for a gloomy Saturday

when we first check the weather late on friday night, we thought, man.. another weekend ruined by the rain. but to my surprise this morning, the weather was a tad bit gloomy but very nice for a change. when i took chloe out for her morning routine, the weather was nice with a light breeze.

but later cherie had her migrane headache, which hasn't happen in a very long time. so, she started vomiting, pounding head, etc. it was very tough for me to see her like that, since i would always feel helpless to help her at all. usually, she would take a special medicine, but since we're breastfeeding, we have to be very careful of the type of pain relief to take. but unfortunately, even motrin didn't help :(

so after numerous times of vomiting later, cherie took a nap and we woke up at 1pm. by then she was all fine and dandy and ready to roll. thus, we took my mom in law to arbys for a late lunch. it was the first time haley has even dined in at arby's and as usual, she just laid there in her carseat and looked around.

afterwards, the weather go very warm and we had to make a quick run to costco for food. on the way there, haley fell asleep.. like deep asleep. she didn't even wake up when cherie strapped her on to our baby bjorn air carrier.

then saw a picture moment i had to take with my cellphone. take a close look at haley's face.. it's just too cute to pass up a kodak moments like this. look how high haley's chin is lifted up naturally. looks a bit snobby.. haha ;)

cherie and mom with haley.



a quick family photo of all three of us...



closeup of our sleeping beauty... by now, she's a bit aware that her daddy's taking the photos.. so you see a little frown.


after my numerous trips of sampling freebies in costco, i was nearly full. boy did they have a lot of samples today. but honestly the one i like the most was the organic baby carrots with johnny's ranch dressing. i had to go back a couple times. ;)

during that time, haley was awake and was having fun being carried around facing forward in the baby bjorn enjoying the view. she did try to steal my food samples but too bad she can't eat those just yet. at 6 months, she's very curious to taste everything. if not careful around her, she'll have your cake and eat it too. haha...

next trip was toward babies r us. we're in need of a high chair for haley, since she's starting to eat baby food. everytime, cherie would hold her while daddy me feed her. but from time to time, haley gets tired and want to move around, thus making her mommy uncomfortable.

we had our eyes set on the combi hero 3-in-1 but unsure if haley would like it at all. so, today was a perfect chance to put haley into the combi hero to see if she would like it. she was ok at first.. but then started balling her eyes out. our guess is that her "kimochi waruii"; which means, she was in a bad mood. even when we put her in other high chairs that was much more expensive or even cheaper, she would still cry her darling little eyes out.

what to do? mommy to the rescue... and picked her up and carried her around the store away from the high chair. haley probably thinks that we would just leave her in there and walk away. i read that baby at 6 months will start to experience separation anxiety, i guess that's why haley cried so much when she mommy is not holding her. too bad for this daddy... :(

later on, i found something that was super interesting. something that even i would want to sit in, but it probably wouldn't fit around my belly. it's called a bumbo. the name itself reminded me dumbo the elephant.. but the foamy material is super soft and comfy enough for haley to sit in.

so, i put haley into the driver's seat for a test drive. needless to say.. she did well for the first 30 sec. and then started to cry and wanted mommy to rescue her. she's such a sweetheart, even when she cries. plus, it was getting close to her feeding time, so probably that's another factor for the fussiness.

after that.. we went home and haley ate a TON!

if you look close enough.. u can see that haley's is just about to cry...

Wednesday, February 25, 2009

The Family Stone

wow.. it's sure has been a while since i last posted. work has been quite crazy and at time difficult to manage. but nothing that a cup of joe in the morning and tea in the afternoon won't cure.

as i was looking past my posts from last month, i thought about the movie called "The Family Stone." it an old film released back in december 2005. if you never seen it, you should watch it.. its the bomb! Sarah Jessica Parker from "Sex in the City" is in that movie. let me tell you this.. never have i EVER seen a movie in which case i felt so embarrassed by the role that Jessica played. she was the bomb in that movie. it made me wanted to get off the couch and slap her silly.

so how does all this relate? well... it just reminded me of my childhood memory of our family taking a family trip together.

here's my mom and i fishing. * hey, no laughing at the hair.. it was in style then~ *

and here's one of my mom and i visiting a dairy farm.



and finally.. a family photo of our trip to Japan, Hokkaido to be exact, when i was 5 yrs old.
now time to play "where's waldo?"

Thursday, January 15, 2009

US Airway plane lands in Hudson River - NYC

holy cow.. this is the first time i've ever heard of a plane landing in a river. apparently a bird flew into the engine and cause the malfunction, so the plane had to do an emergency landing into the hudson river.

the most unbelieveable part of this is that earlier this week, the convention center i was at was next to the hudson river.

this was a photo i took just outside of the convention center with a view of the hudson river.



good new is.. good thing everyone was safe and no major injuries. the bad news is.. the bird that flew into the engine didn't make it out alive.

Wednesday, January 14, 2009

Back from the North Pole... NYC

actually, i just got back from Manhattan in NYC. man, such a tiresome trip. i had to fly out last sunday night 1/11 via jetblue from SJC -> NYC. it was a red eye flight from 10:45PM and arriving in JFK airport at 6:30AM. barely had any sleep at all. i had to go to the largest retailer show called "RETAIL BIG SHOW 2009" or aka NRF (national retailer federation). there was over 600+ exhibitors there selling POS (definition: point of sale; not your standard Piece of Shiat) and various other hardware and software solutions. it was pretty cool there, except i felt like a nanny since my VP and one of my coworkers tagged along. it was fine, just felt dragged down if you know what i mean. there was some cool shows at some booth. one of which was the amazing "rubberboy". he was able to bend and twist his body like a rubberband. David, the rubberboy, is a Guinness World Records holder. here is a photo someone took for me of David posing his butt off.. hahaha



you can see a video of David performing below. i know the quality sucks but i should have set the resolution on high on my cell phone.





as you know at the show, there will always be some "interesting" people walking around like an advertisement. so how about this green hair martian with antenna ears?



anyhoo, the show was a long one, from 9AM till 6PM. by 5pm there was happy hour... with free wine and beer to chit-chat and network with ppl with. by night time, we went to a Sichuan Chinese restaurant called Ollies on 45th ave, between 9th & 10th street. what can i say.. that place is the BOMB!!!

they have a dish called "Spicy Grilled Shrimp" and man... that will numb your tongue. the spicy shrimp will BITE YOU BACK!! just look at how much chili red peppers in that dish. my coworker ended up eating 3.5 bowls of rice along with a spicy wet stewed beef.


after that, we walked around towards Time Square took a left somewhere toward their fashion district "It's all about Fashion, Fashion, Fashion..." ok that sounds gay, but if you love watching Project Runway like i do.. then u'll know what i'm talking about.

while walking towards the fashion district, we saw this building called 1411 where apparently that's where they have all the fashion designers work at. what's interesting was that in front of the building there was a piece of art of a giant button with a needle going through it. at first i thought it was a flying saucer, but after my coworker did his tour guide talk, then i knew it was a button with a needle going through it.








that night it was cold, but still ok, it was around 31 degrees so walking around with my long johns underneath my slacks and super thick jacket, it was actually a nice walk at night.

anyway.. i kinda miss NYC.. though I hate the cold there, but it was nice to see the snow.

Thursday, January 8, 2009

Another one bites the dust... May God BLESS you even more!!

today, one of my fellow co-worker that's in engineering got the axe. tomorrow is his last day. it seems in this corporate world and economy slump, everyone is replaceable.

this reminds of the news i heard this morning on klove radio 91.1FM. it is said "As many as 600,000 jobs – equivalent to one every 52 seconds – are predicted to go during 2009. " (quotation from Telegraph.co.uk)

talk about depressing news to hear early in the morning.

so the Church of England offers a simple prayer:

for those that still has a job, ask of God: "In the midst of this uncertainty, help me to keep going: to work to the best of my ability, taking each day at a time." (quotation from Telegraph.co.uk)

may God BLESS those that are unemployed and BLESS those that still have a job for now. corporate life is like california lottery... "You could be NEXT!"

just keep your head up high and remember.. when one door is closed and slammed in your face, God will open another window of opportunity.

must have faith in the Almighty God and know that HE and only HE loves you and will carry you through your toughest times. though easily said from someone not in his position, but i will definitely keep "you" in my prayers.

may this song be in your heart and keep you lifted high...

"By Your Side - Tenth Avenue North" (posted on youtube by giulianoaugusto)