I’m a little disappointed I’m not dressing up this year. My office isn’t really into it, and none of my friends organized anything. My friends and past co-workers have always looked forward to my costumes. BWAHAHA Sometimes I’d have two costumes: one for going out with friends and one that was more work-friendly.

The only good thing about Hallowe’en today is that my boss isn’t in the office today. No wonder he rescheduled our weekly team meeting to yesterday.

One thing I really hate about these meetings is that they never start or end on time. Another situation came up yesterday that proved to me that programmers should really stick to programming.

I don’t know how long my boss has been managing people, but he should stick to project management, at best. We had a “light” version of our software released yesterday. (It’s just easier for people to use when bandwidth is limited.)

He sent a mass e-mail to everyone who would be using it. I think the e-mail was supposed to tell everyone it was up and running, but it never explicitly said that and gave only a description of the features. He said he got many e-mails asking people how to use it.

When he reported this to the team, he laughed and said, “I can’t believe how many e-mails I got! I didn’t want to insult anyone’s intelligence by telling anyone how to log in. It’s so obvious! I think it’s easy! Maybe I should have added a screenshot.”

Of course he found it obvious – he was part of the design process. And if I hadn’t seen the (poorly designed) interface, I wouldn’t have known either. It sounds like a new piece of software, but you actually go to the existing URL and click a different button to log in. I can totally see how there’d be confusion.

And just adding a screenshot with no context wouldn’t have been helpful either.

Anyway, I found this girl who pretty much waxes only two body parts. She was so good! She was really meticulous and discussed a lot about after care. She was also extremely personable and was chatting the whole time. Her studio was a little different, but I think it was clean.

So if anyone out there is looking for a good Brazilian or eyebrow waxer in Vancouver, contact me, and I’ll give you the info :)

I asked her why she did only two body parts, and she said she was into visual esthetics. Apparently, it is more of a challenge to get symmetry. Anyway, not only does she do “regular” Brazilians, she also does shapes or adds dye and/or rhinestones.

And it wasn't even creepy when she complimented my legs, either!

For the last year, I’ve kept all my Sent messages in my hotmail, and I kind of forgot. It’s too bad those messages have to be manually deleted. I deleted over 2000 messages, which was 4 MB worth of e-mail.

I think my digital camera has finally died. I can take photos with it, but the photos don’t get saved, and it tells me there’s a memory card error. This has happened with different memory cards, so I know it’s the one card that I always use.

So…I’m definitely buying a new camera this month. I’d like to go into a store and buy one when I’m in Washington in a couple of weeks, or buy one online and have it shipped to a package receiving service there. Personally, I would forgo the savings to buy something like a digital camera when I’m not in my home country, just in case anything happens to it or it doesn’t work properly. Mailing returns is a huge hassle, especially with electronics!

Anyway, shipping to Canada from the US is not cheap. I live fairly close to the Canada-US border, and it is not a huge trek to cross the border. There are services just across the border where you can have your mail orders delivered there for a small fee. This fee is less than the cost of international shipping. So sometimes, you can save a whole lotta dough if you buy something online and the deal is only applicable to Americans.

But back to cameras, does anyone out there have any recommendations for places that sell consumer electronics? Right now, I have my eye on the Canon SD850, SD870 or SD950.

After that “review” at work, I started wondering if I was in the right career. Even though it’s really common for companies to have tech writers but still have people not understanding what technical writers do (or can do), I know there are companies out there who value documentation and tech writers. But there are a lot of companies out there who view tech writers as over priced Word processors, and it’s just something tech writers have to deal with regularly. It’s constantly an uphill battle proving your worth.

Anyway, I was hoping to find out other career possibilities that might be well-suited for my strengths and personalities. I’m planning on going for a career assessment in December, but in the mean time, I went to see an astrologist.

I know a lot of people think astrology is hooey, but I think there is some truth to it. I’d seen this astrologist before, and this time I told him I wanted an update with a focus on career.

In my astrological chart, I have something called a grand cross, which is extremely rare. The astrologist said of his 15,000 clients, only about 10 have this grand cross. He said people with the grand cross tend to be very successful (hmm…I think I am falling behind).

I was a little disappointed about the career advice. He had told my friend what areas would be good for her. But for me, he told me to think big, and whatever I wanted to do, I would be successful. He told me this the last time I saw him, too. He really told me to dream up my perfect job and to go for it. He used George Bush as an example…”lik e he would have ever envisioned himself as president…he was a boozer and a cokehead.”

Anyway, he said over the next 5 years, I’d feel this burst of independence, and it was a perfect time to be switching careers. Luck is with me, and employers will find me attractive. Actually, he said I was heading towards a powerful transition that a lot of people never experience in their lives. Or if f I was old like 80 or 90, however, it’d be time for me to prepare for my death.

I had purposely avoided asking about relationships because I like how things are going with Mr. Nick. And if he said anything bad, I wouldn’t change things with Mr. Nick. Anyhow, he asked me if I was in a relationship, and when I said yes, he said the relationship wouldn’t make it past this transition. Not only will I be desiring all this independence, but I’d also be attracting a lot of male energy. When he asked me if we ever talked about the future, I said yes. He said then he would propose in the next year and a half.

Basically, during this transition, he thinks Mr. Nick and I will either break up or have something more permanent. Nothing will stay constant. He even asked me for Mr. Nick’s birth information. My friend who’s always asked about her boyfriends, this astrologist has always said to wait and see. I should be hearing back from the astrologist about me and Mr. Nick. I don’t think he will get too specific since he never makes predictions. Even though there are influences every where, you can’t predict free will.

I was on the bus after work yesterday, and there were slim pickins’ for seats. I was about to sit in the back row, but I ended up sitting on the seats that face towards the aisle (over the wheel) next to the back row instead. I hate sitting in the back row because my feet can’t touch the ground. But there was a bum sitting there, too.

My seat was still really close to him. He was reading the paper or doing something, and he kept jabbing my hair accidentally. He was also really sniffly and snotty.

Sitting next to me was a guy who took up about 2/3 of our seat. He leaned forward and proceeded to sleep. However, he kept falling into me.

I was leaning forward to avoid the bum, but I still had to lean towards the bum because of this sleeping giant. If I hadn’t leaned away, the guy’s head would have been right in front of my face. And I couldn’t tell if the stench was coming from him either.

I didn’t want to stare at the bum, but I think he was changing. At one point, he was shirtless because he changed out of a shirt and put on a vest??

Tomorrow is a full bus day. I’m leaving the car at home after I get my snow tires on. I’m bussing out to the movie theatres to lead a training session for the Vancouver Asian Film Festival. Then I’m off to get some career advice from an astrologist, and then it’s off to Mr. Nick’s!

Oooh, tonight I’m going to do some baking. I hope it doesn’t take too long. I want to watch TV. I’m baking peanut blossoms for a friend’s birthday tomorrow. I call them breast cookies because they remind me of breasts. And I’m going to try these peanut butter and jam cookies, too! Oh oh. I think I gave Mr. Nick the jam that I would have used!

You see, growing up, I always saw my dad being extremely touchy-feely with my mom in a pervy way, and I’m sure subconsciously that’s how I think men show love (I am touchy-feely in a pervy way, too) . It doesn’t help that other people tell me I’m attractive because I want to be attractive to Mr. Nick. When I tell him I don’t feel attractive to him, he reassures me that I am. But I don’t really feel it.

And it would help if he made a move on me from time to time. With me making the first move most of the time, I feel like I’m not very desirable and especially if he’s not really into it. I have this fear of having a horrible sex life for the rest of my life. I don’t ever want to be in a relationship again where there was hardly any sex. I think my threshold has been a year where I either dumped the guy or gave into temptation elsewhere.

Mr. Nick and I talk about this regularly (again last night) but I’m not really sure what it’s going to take for me to feel better about things. I don’t think my wants are ridiculous, and I don’t think I am counting on him too much to boost my self-esteem. Or maybe I am just too insecure and need to do something about it. Ugh.

I'm on a mailing list for a particular site that sells products that would be interesting to geeks, and I think I have found what I want to get Mr. Nick for Christmas! I just hope it's not too costly to ship to Canada.

At the same time, I feel so broke right now. It doesn't help that I keep spending money on going out. It's been an expensive couple of months for me with massages, concert tickets, movie tickets, hotel bookings...seasonal events. I know I'm not supposed to keep track, but I feel like I've been paying a lot for the stuff that Mr. Nick and I do lately. I brought it up to him last night, and now I feel all guilty, as if I was accusing him of not paying for anything!

But he does. He tends to pay more often for the more casual things we do, and I pay for the pricier "special" events. 

I saw a commercial on TV for Thrive gum, which is nicotine gum.

However, when you first see the commercial, you have no idea what it's for. You just see black and white images of this really gorgeous woman smoking and doing sexy things...sitting around...riding a motorcycle.

So obviously, this woman is very exciting and a smoker. She makes smoking look very sexy.

So when in the world would you want to stop smoking??! Aren't ads supposed to make you want to be like the people in them? 

Bondage tape is fun.

Sneezing uncontrollably with a mouthful of food is not.

The coworker I ended up hanging out with on the corporate retreat extended an invitation to me to hang out. It seemed weird and out of the blue to me.

I have an e-learning workshop all day tomorrow, and he said to give him a call if I wanted to get together afterwards. My first thought was…why?

Luckily, I have other plans. And I’d rather see Mr. Nick. And I am still not interested in forging personal relationships that are too personal with co-workers. Am I shooting myself in the foot with that attitude?

The Vancouver Asian Film Fest is coming up soon, and I am volunteering again. I can’t remember if this is my 4^th or 5^th year. Every year I say it’s going to be my last. There are quite a few programs I wouldn’t mind catching. I miss going to the movies regularly. I used to go see movies once a week. Now it’s more like once every couple of months :(

I guess with my infrequency of going, it makes me feel ripped off when I see a movie I don’t enjoy!!

And I must buy The Office Season 3 on DVD before the price goes up. I just watched last week’s episode last night, and I am finding myself very fond of Kevin’s character. BWAHAHA Regarding an unfavourable pizza place’s pizza: “It’s like eating a hot circle of garbage.” BWAHAHAHA

Not much else going on that seems blogworthy. I’m still bummed about my job situation, and I still need some time to unwind, but once again, I have a lot going on.

It was not a very pleasant bus ride this morning. This woman smelling of stale cigarette smoke and cheap shampoo and perfume sat down beside me. Movement from her part wafted her aroma over to me. *gag*

Last night, Mr. Nick and I went bowling on a whim. I was happy that he suggested something to do that was a little out of our usual realm, so I agreed to go. But at the same time, I was feeling so tired and drained and would have appreciated some veg time. But if I think about that, I need to veg alone. It’s been a busy week, and my VHS tapes are piling up!

I hurt myself after I threw the first ball in the first frame of our first game!! I don’t know what I did, but I thought I hurt only my wrist until the pain shot up from my wrist up my forearm to my elbow! I just kept massaging my arm between throws. I knew that continuing was probably the worst thing for me to do, but we already paid, and it would have been too dramatic to ask Mr. Nick to bowl for the both of us for both games.

Mr. Nick got progressively better throughout the night, and I think I got worse…until about the 5th frame of the last game. By then, I had lost a lot of steam and was peeved about my injury (and that Mr. Nick was beating me. BWAHAHAHA) I got 4 strikes in a row! And then Mr. Nick thought it was his turn, so he bowled. He ended up getting a strike – for me!! BWAHAHAA I doubled my score as a result of the last 5 frames. BWAHAHAA So I came up from behind and won. He came up from behind and won the last game, too, but it wasn't as dramatic.

Every year, one of our universities hosts an Apple Festival. Yesterday was my first time going, and it was crazy busy!

You can buy all sorts of apples (and they're not your usual supermarket variety), and Mr. Nick and I picked up about 20 and  a half pounds of apples! I wanted more! These should last us for quite some time. BWAHAHHAA

At the festival, you could sample apples. Who knew there were so many varieties. But my question, where can you normally buy these exotic varieties?! You could also buy apple pie (we were going to have apple pie a la mode yesterday but we were too full from dinner. D'oh), apple juice, and candied apples. What you could do at the festival wasn't a lot, but it was sure neat seeing all those apples!

The whole bottom shelf of my fridge is packed with apples. When I get a cooler, they're going on the balcony!

I'm going into overdrive for the next couple of weeks and won't be participating in the blog world as consistently as I have been! *sad*

I will only be able to do this for a couple of weeks before I burn out.

I wish I could say I am looking forward to the weekend, but I plan on working on Sunday. ugh.

Hope everyone is doing well, and if I read your blog, I'll be by soon!

The review really did ruin my day and night. I had a really hard time falling asleep last night.

It totally marred the fact that I was celebrating an anniversary!! We out for dinner at a modern French place, and we exchanged our gifts. Both of us got each other framed photos. BWAHAHHAA And Mr. Nick was so happy that he was TB free. Actually, I was ecstatic too when I heard the news!

Time to move on. I just need a bit of help.

So, to be honest, I have been slacking off A LOT at work, and my boss took an opportunity to have a 3-month review with me yesterday. I thought it was a little strange since I wasn't due until 6. Anyhow, my coworker said it wasn't out of the ordinary.

The review wasn't really a review. It was him calling me out on my wasted time and missing milestones. I've been in the software industry only and I guess I got too used to moving deadlines. It probably would have been better to give him a heads up. So, in all fairness, me getting in trouble for missing my deadlines and wasting time on the Internet was valid.

However, I am once again working for another manager who doesn't think my work or my line of work is particularly important.

I was a little hesitant accepting this job offer to begin with for the following reasons:

-the vacation time sucks, and they wouldn't budge on negotiations
-the pay is less than what I asked for, and in fact, I took a paycut to work for this company
-it wasn't the company's idea to hire a tech writer; it was part of the deal with a partnership
-the HR woman was never specific about the "great" benefits (I've gone from 100% coverage for a lot of extended health benefits to now having to pay for some of them)
-the HR woman said with bonuses, I would be closer to my desired salary (after I looked at the HR Manual, I realised that I would technically be closer...but not really. THat's like saying "yeah, $1 would be closer to your desired salary")
-the company isn't large, and I was looking to go back to working for a large company

The job objective at the top of my resume always states that I want to work for a company that values documentation.

My boss clearly thinks software developers are the cream of the crop. He really is a typical developer who is now in a management position. He constantly checks on how his developers are doing, and he'll drop by their cubes and ask how things are going. He's never dropped by my cube and asked. In fact, he seems rather uncomfortable talking to me. Maybe it's because he's been mad about my performance.

I've regularly brought up my other skills acquired from my past experience, and I talk about what else the company could benefit from. "Well, right now, we have to finish the document set because that is part of our contract." I don't get why he wouldn't be open to discussion about what's going to happen after that last deadline. From what he's described, I am going to be maintaining that document set, but he mentioned, "nobody will be really reading it though. It's just there to fulfill the contract. I mean, everything changes so quickly around here."

The best part of the "review" was him telling me that i was being paid more than most people in the company. My first thought was that everyone must be underpaid. And because of what I was being paid, I should be showing a little more. Quite frankly, I've been bored with what I've been doing. And he told me the company chooses salaries based on making comparisions. That just told me that raises in my future were not going to happen or that they won't be very large.

When I had my interview with the COO, I told him the impression of my job description based on my interview with my manager. The COO said, "no...it's not really like that." Well, since I am working with my manager and not the COO, my impression of the job is reality. And my boss doesn't like job descriptions. "Everyone's jobs are so varied and change all the time, what's the point?" Well, the point is for salaries.

So...I am working for someone who thinks I'm overpaid and whose work is not important. This boss has me feeling extremely shitty and not valued at all. I am really tired of working for companies who do not value my work or my line of work. Why didn't I listen to my gut? Ugh. I don't know how many times my boss has stressed that my work is to fulfill a contract and that the developers are the most important. In fact, I hate that he singles me in out in our team meetings to say "oh, this doesn't really apply to you...only the developers."

As for the rest of the "review, " I had to ask him what he thought of my work. He simply said, "it's fine. I am fine with it. It is satisfying the contractual obligations." Also, I think their regular reviews actually has some sort of form to go with it. This 3-month "review" was just a bullshit way to point out my time wastage.

As for what I'll be doing...I'm going ot keep my head down and catch up on my overdue work. In due time, I'm going to reassess what I want to be doing or where I want to be doing it.

Mr. Nick doesn't have tuberculosis!!

He's been going through a series of tests. He can't have TB (or be a carrier) if he's to take this super duper mouse protein drug for his Crohn's disease. I wish he didn't have to take the drug, but it looks like he is going down that path. Once you start the drug, you pretty much have to take it for life. I wish he was able to hold off on taking the drug because a possible side effect is some uncurable cancer.

And I am so scared right now! An hour ago, my boss scheduled a meeting for my 3 month review...in 45 minutes. I wasn't expecting a review until the 6th month mark. EEEEEP.

Oh, look! The sun is out! 

I have a habit of getting really interested in something, and I totally get right into. And then my interest disappears as quickly as it came on!

I want to learn how to decorate cupcakes! That will be my next thing. I see all these cute and pretty cupcake designs and I just want to make my own! Not that I was ever an arteeest, but having some tools would be nice :) Unfortunately, I won't be able to take any of the cake decorating classes that are being offered over the next couple of months!!

It's me and Mr. Nick's one year today. Time sure flies. And we've sure had our ups and downs (mostly ups). He's taking me out for dinner tonight and hasn't revealed where! Not even a hint!!

I got my hair "cut" yesterday. I sure was choked I had to wait half an hour. My hair dresser said there was a bomb scare. Luckily, there was no real bomb. Unfortunately, I ended up missing my meeting about my leaky condo repairs. I hope I can find out what I missed (and whether there will be repercussions for that HUGE underestimation!). I guess I could have been late for the meeting, but Mr. Nick and I ended up having a talk.

If I ever get another condo, I am going for something concrete! My dad's condo might be leaky, too! Something must be up with his strata since 5 out of the 7 council members resigned recently -- all at once!! 

Long weekends rarely seem long enough. Maybe because mine are often so action packed?!

Some highlights...

Attended my friend's son's 1st birthday party. Holy cow were there ever a lot of presents! I've only recently learned about white man traditions for 1st birthday parties. I don't get the big deal with the kid and the cake and why it has to be such a big production to watch him eat it with his hands? My friend's son was not even remotely interested in the cake (eating or playing with it). It took a good 15 minutes before he put any in his mouth. Demos didn't help.

Went to our anniversary massages. That was the surprise. I had booked Mr. Nick and myself side-by-side Thai herbal compress massages. He enjoyed his, but mine was kind of sucky. It felt like the masseuse wasn't that experienced, and I experienced a lot pain or tickling. If I am experiencing being ticklish, is it me or the masseuse? Even though I'm a really ticklish person, I rarely feel tickled during massages!

Had dinner with my dad. He left for Hong Kong yesterday, but it sounds like he is in the process of moving to Mainland China. If things work out, he will only be home for half the year. He had mentioned before he was thinking about living in China, but of course he hasn't kept me abreast of his plans. I was still a little surprised by his announcement. I am worried, relieved, and sad about the thought of him being gone.

Made some chocolate pumpkin cupcakes on the weekend. I think I will have to make the again! I seem to do my baking late at night.

Felt extremely out of it yesterday, especially after Thanksgiving dinner at Mr. Nick's parents' place. I don't know if it was from poor eating habits or from an intense workout earlier that morning.

I think I need some chill time. 

As much as I'm trying to curb the spending, I can't resist when I see the perfect gift (or so I think it's the perfect gift...). I found out that Herman's Hermits are coming to town! So I bought two for my dad. I don't know who he's going to take. But if he didn't want the tickets at all, I'd be happy to go! I love 60s music! LOVE IT!

The songs were simpler then...

And this weekend, Mr. Nick and I are finally going to experience my anniversary gift. He has no idea what it is. I'll share after the weekend. I printed off a custom made gift certificate so I don't have to verbally tell him what we're doing. I hope he likes it. I know I will!! The question is...when do I give it to him? I think I will do it tomorrow morning.

My head is itchy. I really need to wash my hair. Ugh. But now there is no time after work! It's the Canucks (hockey, if you seriously don't know what I'm talking about) season home opener!!! My friends and I are watching the game at a pub. Ew, pub food. But mmm...nachos.

Oh yeah, speaking of food. On our corporate retreat, we were on Holland America's Oosterdam for the Pacific Coastal cruise. The only thing I liked about this particular ship was the size of my room. We had a balcony :-) (I've done my fair share of cruising over the year: Mexico a few times, the Caribbean, Alaska a couple of times, Hawaii)

I've experienced better service on other cruise lines. There were holes in my linen. Oh, actually, our room was always very clean. I liked that. I was only able to catch one night of entertainment: Janine Gardiner the comedienne. Most people didn't seem to like her. I thought she was okay. What I liked least about the cruise was the food.

I know you're supposed to indulge from time to time, especially on vacations, but they didn't even offer any healthier alternatives on their menu. I found the food extremely salty or overly sweet. They loved breading meat. And there were hardly any vegetables on the menu, aside from their salad appetizers. It was all meat and starch! On our last night, the culinary staff did their big presentation of their baked Alaskas. The meringue was good, but they used really cheap ice-cream otherwise. The food gets two big thumbs down from me!

Maybe taking a break for my muscles to heal was what I needed. I finally made progress on my over the shoulder mount in dance class!!! However, I have yet to master holding on, so I fell - flat on my back - a couple of times.

The over the shoulder mount is where you're standing with the pole behind you. You reach over your head for the pole, hold on to the pole with your hands, and pretty much do a crunch until your legs are over your head. Then you hold on to the pole with your legs.

It was a good class. And I am making good progress with the descending angel. You're upside down on the pole, with one leg and one arm holding you up. The other leg is bent back, and you take your other arm and hold the foot. Next step is to have only one leg holding you up!

Oooh, Herman's Hermits are coming to town! I have to see if there are still some good seats left. I might buy a pair of tickets for my dad. Maybe he will take his "maria".

My dad and I made some dinner plans, and I suggested he bring Cindy, too. Even though I am still choked, I've never been introduced to this woman, she's the only one around right now who looks after him. And what does he say?? "I wasn't planning on inviting her. Anyway, she's just a maria."

The disrespect he has for women never ceases to astound me. Did he not learn anything from his first marriage? Of course not...he did no wrong. Anyway, "maria" is slang for a filipina maid. He went on to explain she's just there to cook and clean, etc. for him. Ugh. And I don't understand why she'd stick around for my dad.

Apparently, on his last trip, he didn't take her and didn't tell her where he was going. He is always pointing out how insignificant she is to him. What's his problem?? There is no need to make any sort of emphasis!!

I had a Fisher-Price Chatter Phone when I was a kid, and I loved it! I was going to get my best friend's son a stuffed animal for his 1st birthday (along with some really cute firetruck shoes and matching socks), but then I saw the phone at Toys R Us. I got that instead!

I forced myself out of bed this morning to get to the gym. I hadn't been since I got sick, almost 2 weeks ago. It was tough!! And it was so tempting to get more sleep instead of heading out at dark-thirty. But at least I got to nap on the bus. I hope I wasn't leaning too much on the guy beside me. I like my window seats but I rarely get one these days. However, the buses don't see as busy as they were when school was first in session.

Canadian Thanksgiving is this weekend. I am thankful that it's a long weekend! I'm all booked up with a birthday party, lunches, and dinners. I'm pleased :D And I will have time to catch up on my TV shows :D By then I could have about 14 hours to whiz through?? BWAHAHAA

I hope my UPS package comes soon, and I hope it's my credit card. When I finally got home to check my mailbox, I was quite disappointed that my credit card hadn't arrived yet. At least the upcoming bill will be small. (That doesn't mean I haven't been using my other credit cards though!)

I need to pick up a new set of dryer balls. I feel so gypped. One of them exploded during the last use! I don't know that could have happened.

And I am kicking myself a little that I wasn't able to explore more of the food at the Pike Place market when I was there. When I go back (I'm hoping to take a trip there with Mr. Nick next month), I will have to go to the French restaurant, the crepe place, the doughnut place, and the piroshky place! I wish there was time to go to Portland though. Hmm. Maybe there is...

And digital cameras...I was really tempted by the Canon SD900...but now I am also consider the SD850. Even though the 850's is 8.0 megapixels (as opposed to the 900's 10 megapixels), it has 4x optical zoom instead of 3x optical zoom. I rarely use digital zoom, but more megapixels would be nice for the rare occasion I like getting my prints blown up.

Some guy from UPS called me today and said they needed my buzzer number to deliver something.

Anything I've ordered recently has already arrived, so I don't know what it could. They are going to deliver the package to my work tomorrow instead. I hope it's not big and bulky! 

And my Brentwood Martex pillows are heavenly. I imagine it'd be the way sleeping on huge marshmallows! 

I cannot get over what an amazing performer Chris Cornell is. According to his Web site, he was due to start around 9:35 last night. Unfortunately, he started earlier than that, and I missed probably 1.5 songs or less. (Hopefully, not more!)

He had such a stage presence...at one point, he was singing in the crowd but I couldn't see him. I could only tell because of all the cameras going off. And even more unfortunately, I didn't bring my camera. See, back in my day, these things would have been confiscated! And I had a PERFECT view. I think I was about 8 rows back on the side, but I think everyone would have gotten a good view in that venue.

There was an orgy of guitars....The sound was *so* good. The picks were flying all night. I saw more musician butt crack than I would have cared to.

And for most of the concert, Chris Cornell played with his shirt unbuttoned. All I could wonder if he was a metrosexual. He had nice pecs and washboard abs and no chest hair. I was trying to look for the treasure trail, but I couldn't tell if there was one or not...Mmm...so deliciously hot.

Anyway, he played for at least two hours, and he was amazing. I hate when you go to a concert, and the band sounds just like their CD. He did a lot of acoustic stuff. And I loved all the jamming the band did. The drummer was crazy! During the encore, one of the guitar players broke all his strings except one. They looked like they were having so much fun. I was expecting him to do a cover of Billie Jean, and he did, but they also broke into Whole Lotta Love, too. AWESOME!

*sigh* *swoon* Definitely one of the best concerts I've ever been to. I don't usually get a rush of excited emotions when I am at a concert, but I did with him. Mmm.

What is the opposite of sour puss??

While I was away, I heard only the BEST news EVER! Agent Provocateur is opening a location HERE!!!! HERE!!! No need to travel abroad to get to my favourite lingerie store! I wonder if it'd still be cheaper to buy the stuff in the States. I bet it would be.

I cannot WAIT! I'd better start budgeting...

Anyway, aside from all the work related stuff from my weekend, I was able to have a small - yes, only small -- amount of fun.

My roommate is a party animal. I always knew that. I thought she was in her 40s, but she actually only in her late 30s. I think she slept in the nude one night? I wish I could get her cleavage...without having my boobs get any bigger. The first night, she was snoring so loudly that I actually woke up. BWAHHAHAA

My hair dryer exploded. Wall socket: 115V Hair dryer: 125 V Shouldn't have been a problem, right? I was using my hair  dryer, and it went *POP* Then something smelled like it was burning. RIP, hair dryer. It was the ionic travel hair dryer from Brookstone that I bought last Easter. I was hoping to be able to return it, but they wouldn't take it because I didn't have the original packaging or the receipt. I bought a new one. Hopefully, Brookstone will get another visit from me within 30 days. I can return it in 30 days or get it exchanged within a year. There is a limited warranty on my hair dryer. I wonder if I would be covered? I did a product review for it at their Web site. I wonder if they will post it. This is what I said:

I was looking for a travel ionic hair dryer and was thrilled to find one (and with the cool shot button) from Brookstone. I'm Canadian and have had to make two (yes, two) trips to buy this hair dryer twice.

I've used this hair dryer in Europe and it was fine. Mostly I use it at the gym or whenever I need to travel.

I love that detachable nozzle, and I love that it has the cool shot. It dries my hair pretty quickly. My hair is about waist length and quite thick. I can dry my hair in about 15 minutes with the dryer.

It's definitely not cheap. At first I thought the hair dryer was almost worth its price. But then I took the hair dryer with me on a North American cruise ship. I had set the dryer to 125V, and the ship used 115V. All my other doodads requiring an outlet were fine.

My first 10 minutes of use with the hair dryer were fine. I had turned it off, and then turned it on again, but it went POP and something smelled like it was burning. When I turned on the dry again, there was no more hot air coming out.

RIP, hair dryer!

I got in some shopping. Prior to my departure, I had researched all the stores I wanted to visit. I definitely wanted to go to macy's. I got two pairs of brand name jeans, and 6 pairs of undies. I found the Fit Flops, but they were not comfortable and they looked SO cheaply made. I ended up not buying them.

I got some makeup at Sephora. They didn't have all the Stila stuff I wanted. I definitely need to find a new makeup brand. Stila now SUCKS. Their new products aren't impressive. They discontinue a lot of their old products and colours, and then I noticed that the eyeliner I bought was made in China. I wonder if it's just for different markets. My previous purchases were either made in Europe or the US. I may only be loyal to their foundation and concealers and powders from now on.

I also went to the cheese store and bought Mr. Nick's parents their Christmas gift. It's a cheese cutting board. From it, you call pull out a bunch of cheese serving utensils. With it, I bought them some fig spread and some cracker-type things. I love the crackers. I wish I could have brought home some cheese though.

I had a chance to visit the Pike Place Market. Produce is expensive there! If I had driven, I would have bought flowers. They had so many beautiful and inexpensive bouquets! I wish we had more time in Seattle. Everyone was forced to disembark. Apparently, one passenger did not return to the boat when we were in Victoria. I could have used more shopping time.

I bet my shopping time would have been better spent if I hadn't agreed to hanging out with my co-worker. I thought he would have just wanted to walk around a bit and then go back to the ship. His original plan was to stay on the ship and not leave at all. So I went shopping feeling like I didn't want to keep him waiting. I do not like shopping for myself when I am with any one else. So ugh. I had to rush buying underwear. I had to rush buying makeup, too!

And he is a nice guy and all but I find his opinionated-ness extremely overbearing and he has horrible table manners. He is also extremely overweight and out of shape, so my usual speed walking was out of the question. Every time I go anywhere to eat with him, he never ever waits for everyone else to get their meal before he starts eating. We shared a grilled cheese sandwich. I think he ate his share in 5 big bites. It took me about 5 minutes to eat mine. He had disappeared to the bathroom...I think he was gone for 10 minutes?? People who think their opinion is the correct one really piss me off sometimes. He is one of those people. But he is okay in small doses.

I guess he would also be open to the concept of open relationships...He is single and has been for 10 years. I don't think his previous relationships have been really serious. But he was saying that people who cheat aren't really cheating. They're just bored. After all, they always go back to their significant others, so that is okay. 

I got about two and a half hours of sleep last night, and I am back at work. I don't know why I did that to myself knowing full well that I have a late tonight. Hello, Chris Cornell! I hope I can fit in a nap at some point.

Anyway, I was up quite early every day during our corporate retreat, but I was finding that I wasn't tired when I'd go to bed at 2 or 3 in the morning.

Our corporate retreat was a cruise leaving from Vancouver, BC going down to Victoria, BC and Seattle, WA, and then back home. It was 3 nights. It's nice that the company would spring for something like this, honestly. But I really didn't care for  all the strings that came along with the trip.

I'm not completely sold on the culture of my company. Maybe I am just too stubborn and still wishing for something at my real previous company. People were a little more conservative but still fun and always helpful and friendly. We also had more social events. My current company .... I feel like I am working for a bunch of partiers and the only way to get ahead is to be heard (not necessarily professionally). I guess I do not like working for a marketing company right now. I've always disliked doing anything marketing-related. And it's all very clique-y here. People think it's a fun company to work for, but there aren't a lot of social activities. I am not sure where all the fun comes from.

My face is tired from plastering a fake smile on my face all weekend and fake laughing at jokes and situations that really weren't all that funny to me. The point of the retreat was to 1. thank us for our work, and 2. team build.

1. If you really want to thank us, give us more money, vacation time, or benefits. Keeping us all stranded together for 72 hours and then a week of work is not something I really want! I am quite tired of seeing my coworkers. I am bored of them. And I could have really used some alone time.

2. Team build...there was one full day of activities that involved "work." (Oh, the wine tasting event the first night didn't count.) This full day was our second day. We started with an all-hands meeting, and then did a short brain storming session. After lunch with the modified Urban Triathlon.

That was the lamest team building experience ever. We were divided into 3 big teams and then 3 smaller teams. Each small team had to go take photos based on clues, and then work together as one big team in order to finish gathering all the photos. We did all this in Victoria. There was no team comraderie because everyone just broke up into even smaller teams. However, my team did win, and each member won a "Night Out" package, which is a movie package for 2 movie tickets, 2 drinks, and a popcorn to share.

I did enjoy having all our meals together, though. And I do admit that I got to know some people better. But I've always had the mentality of keeping coworkers at a distance. I don't wish to have coworkers become friends outside of work. 

I'm back from my retreat, and I will post about it later! I got this in my e-mail box while I was away. I'm on a mailing list for this astrologist , and she sent out an email forward (with some really horrifying news) on top of her weekly forecast this week:

We just got phone call with our sister living in Yangon about a few hours ago.

We saw on BBC world, saying that 200 monks were arrested. The true picture is far worse!!!!!!!!!

For one instance, the monastery at an obscure neighborhood of Yangon, called Ngwe Kyar Yan (on Wei-za-yan-tar Road, Yangon) had been raided early this morning.

A troop of lone-tein (riot police comprised of paid thugs) protected by the military trucks, raided the monastery with 200 studying monks. They systematically ordered all the monks to line up and banged and crushed each one's head against the brick wall of the monastery. One by one, the peaceful, non resisting monks, fell to the ground, screaming in pain. Then, they tore off the red robes and threw them all in the military trucks (like rice bags) and took the bodies away.

The head monk of the monastery, was tied up in the middle of the monastery, tortured , bludgeoned, and later died the same day, today. Tens of thousands of people gathered outside the monastery, warded off by troops with bayoneted rifles, unable to help their helpless monks being slaughtered inside the monastery. Their every try to forge ahead was met with the bayonets.

When all is done, only 10 out of 200 remained alive, hiding in the monastery. Blood stained everywhere on the walls and floors of the monastery.

Please tell your audience of the full extent of the fate of the monks please please !!!!!!!!!!!!

'Arrested' is not enough expression. They have been bludgeoned to death !!!!!!

Aye Aye
Hong Kong

edit: I noticed my copy and paste job wasn't complete! Tashi Wangchuck's e-mail address is: wangchukster@gmail.com