JONIZZLE

2009-09-21T23:59:00.005-05:00

Full Circle.Today marks the three-year anniversary of my time in Los Angeles, California. Because of this, as well as an upcoming trip back home to Springfield and Urbana-Champaign for nearly two weeks, and as always, another year of TAF, I've been in reflection mode for awhile. There is a lot to say and I have been unsuccessfully trying to type out in an eloquent and meaningful way. So instead,

2009-07-02T12:00:00.004-05:00

Hip-hop concerts aren't usually something I go to, but I am glad I went because I feel like this could be considered a watershed moment in Asian America. I attended the Far East Movement concert last night at the Roxy in West Hollywood. In my opinion, the crowd, while still plenty Asian, had a good sprinkling of blacks, Latinos, and a noticeable amount of blonde girls -- all there to listen to an

2009-05-01T05:17:00.004-05:00

Two weeks ago I had the wonderful chance to spend a weekend back at U of I for the annual ITASA Midwest Conference. It was a nice "full circle" for me, as I was the Programming Chair for the 2006 ITASA Midwest Conference, where I was one of the people inviting many of the speakers. And now a quick three years later, I was now the one being invited to be a speaker. My topic was about Formosa

2008-11-05T02:00:00.004-06:00

What a night.A few hours ago, Barack Obama was elected to be the 44th President of the United States of America. Barack Obama. A man of color, an African-American, is our nation's leader.I write this for my own memory, because I did not realize until tonight just how momentous of a moment November 4th, 2008 will be in American history. And the pride and joy that I felt for my country when Barack

2008-06-15T15:31:00.000-05:00

Back in the USA. More specifically, back in Springfield. An early departure from Bangkok left me sad, since spending forty days in one place leads you to get to know some pretty great people. I'll miss some people on the crew a lot, but I hope to be back someday, on a real vacation, and not for work. After 32 hours of travel and a quick stop to get my tuxedo fitted, I arrived at the wedding

2008-05-06T19:59:00.002-05:00

Hooray first post in over four months. To recap: Chicago is awesome. I will live there some day and work in production. But for now, I am in Thailand for forty days. Work continues, but hopefully theres time for exploring and massages.Forty days is a really long time. Come visit!

2008-01-01T23:46:00.000-06:00

My time in the Midwest felt like a whirlwind. My first few days shivering in the Chicago cold seem like they happened ages ago, rather than a short ten days. But I guess its because I had the fortune to be placed in an environment conducive to personal growth that makes the start of my trip so distant from the end of my trip. I think its a combination of that, plus the fact that I saw so many

2007-12-02T05:52:00.000-06:00

First post on my Macbook. Hooray.

2007-10-23T02:52:00.000-05:00

In the recent months, I would wonder if I was too young to ponder my own mortality. I always thought of it light-heartedly though, more of a philosophical, thinking man's type of way, rather than someone who has experienced death and the heavy emotions that can come with it. Sadly, the times for light-heartedness are past. Perceptions are completely changed when the experiences hit you in real

2007-10-17T04:54:00.000-05:00

Before Traci and I left tonight, I asked her if I should bring a camera. We both figured no, since we've been here and done that, and while its okay that I didn't, I would still like to remember this night.Augustana gets better every time I see them. Jack's Mannequin, and therefore Andrew McMahon, is actually quite good live, can sing, and rocks it out on the piano. I've never been a big

2007-10-01T15:20:00.000-05:00

What a great sporting weekend it was for me. The Cubs clinched a playoff spot, Illinois upset Penn St., I got to play my first organized game of baseball with live pitching in ten years (damn that's a lot longer than I thought), and I won my fantasy baseball league.The fantasy baseball victory is perhaps the most impressive, if you knew baseball and knew my team (not that great on paper) and the

2007-09-21T15:32:00.002-05:00

I clicked this link in a facebook advertisement, and is it just me? Or does anyone else think its rather...stupid.http://coolchicktalk.org/who-will-i-marry.phpSome sample advice from the website, "Beware of friendly, outgoing guys."Right.

2007-09-15T01:11:00.000-05:00

I haven't been listening to as much music in the past year, which makes me sad. A casualty of this is that I also do not listen to many of my past favorites. But as I sit here and make a super cool American mix cd for Jing, I am reacquainted with songs I once loved. In return, they remind me of past thoughts and hopes I had for myself, my life, loved ones around me, and humanity in general. Music

2007-09-12T03:30:00.001-05:00

Honestly, I don't know if I'm right about this. But if I'm wrong, I fear the outlook for mankind becomes a lot less bright and a lot more bleak.Other than that though, life is, as it always should be, good.

2007-08-23T02:09:00.000-05:00

Getting ItPart 1Part 2Before reading my three cents, you should check out Tim's note, followed by Tiffany's note. I'm piggybacking onto them, and just want to reiterate one point that the speakers said all week, that anyone can be a leader.Tim pointed out that he was the camper in the spotlight when he was in JH. In Tiffany's note, she pointed out that she was the camper on the sidelines in JH.

2007-06-29T21:43:00.000-05:00

2007-06-29T01:35:00.000-05:00

I SPELLED TORTILLA TODAY IN LITERATI. IT WAS AWESOME.No really. I'm awkwardly incredibly happy about laying down unique words like that without having to use an S or -ERS or -ING's. (395 might be my highest point total ever too)Also, this doubly taunts Justin because a) He has cravings for Mexican food in Shanghai and b) he can't get on Yahoo! right now to play Literati. SO MAYBE YOU SHOULD JUST

2007-06-27T17:59:00.000-05:00

GIMPING!After 5 days I finally decided to take pictures of my left ankle. And for the first time, I looking on the outer side and it was much more bruised and purple than I imagined.This is the inside of my left ankle, which is what I pretty much only see. Based on the deep bruises and initial swelling, I kind of just assumed it was the worst part of the sprain. Apparently not!The outer side of

2007-06-25T22:49:00.001-05:00

where is justin.

2007-06-14T00:15:00.000-05:00

I had the wonderful opportunity to take part in a TAF conference call tonight. As many of you know last year was my final year as PD, so it has been a little odd for me to not be thinking about TAF and JH 24/7 this time of the year. Normally I would be having conference calls all the time, but this has been my first TAF one in well, almost a year.I spoke to the ED and PD's about what I could

2007-06-09T18:22:00.001-05:00

Today is the one-week anniversary of me and my apartment. I've already had 5 overnight visitors, the Yang's, Roger, and Carolyn. It's been busy with work and hosting, but whatevs. I AM THE HOCHIE OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA. YES.Also, it took about four weeks, but Michelle and I finally solved the Bill Clinton Sunday Crossword from the New York Times. BALLER.

2007-06-01T02:05:00.001-05:00

For my own memory, I would just like to note that tonight was the night that Lebron James got ridiculous all over the Detroit Pistons. And that my uncle fell asleep, didn't see the game, and still is not impressed by Lebron.But oh my. Lebron. You crazy.

2007-05-31T03:48:00.000-05:00

I played a lot of Text Twist today.I was originally aiming to break 200,000 points but I guess I overachieved. I think it is funny that I lost on the word "STYMIE". I thought it was that, but I kept hopelessly punching in STIMEY or STEIMY repeatedly to no avail, as the seconds ticked away. For those of you who don't know what it means -sty·mie /ˈstaɪmi/[stahy-mee]2. a situation or problem

2007-05-30T19:04:00.001-05:00

mmm...sexy new TAF website.

2007-05-28T00:06:00.001-05:00

I go to a great church in Orange County. It's called Rock Harbor, and it is pretty darn tootin' sweet. This was a great sermon.

2007-05-27T02:41:00.001-05:00

Today was a blogworthy day. But I begin with yesterday, or actually, the day before yesterday, Thursday. The production team I was working with all week was for a Walmart commercial. Now most people do not like Walmart already for the way they treat employees and whatnot, and so maybe this will not be surprising.On days when we are filming, the hours usually start early, around 7AM-8AM, maybe 6AM

2007-05-21T01:39:00.001-05:00

I recently spent two wonderful weeks in Illinois, splitting my time between Springfield and Champaign. It was one of my most rewarding trips in a long time if I don't count TAF's. Funnily enough though, I did feel a certain pre-TAF anxiousness and excitement prior to my arrival. TAF has always felt like "going home" to me, and I guess it should be no surprise that with the number of close friends

2007-05-17T04:14:00.000-05:00

MINDFREAKED.After a conversation with Alex on Adam Levine of Maroon 5 and an argument of who is dreamier, him or jmraz, Alex posted this info about Mr. Levine:Levine's major influences include The Beatles and Stevie Wonder, as well as The Police. His ex-girlfriend, model Kelly McKee, was featured in Maroon 5's This Love video. He has been friends with Jake Gyllenhaal since he was in kindergarten.

2007-05-05T01:57:00.000-05:00

Here at home sits my old and dusty desktop computer. The screensaver is every picture that I have taken or accumulated since the year 2000. While I type away on my newer laptop, some photos and faces catch my eye in the background on my old monitor, and I'll find myself staring at picture after picture and recalling old names, old faces, and old places.It's a great personal joy for me, as these

2007-04-25T00:33:00.000-05:00

http://foodasaurs.blogspot.com!!!

2007-04-19T01:24:00.000-05:00

I saw Matt Leinart at Nordstroms today. I got really excited, and it was probably the first time I have felt really star-struck in LA. I think most guys like me WOULD be more star struck by athletes though. We have a closer connection to them, ie: watching them all the time in games, on Sportscenter, reading about their bio's for fantasy sport purposes, etc, than we would for movie stars (usually

2007-04-13T02:18:00.000-05:00

Another good Augustana concert tonight here in LA.Off to ITASA tomorrow, where I will get to see some of my dear Illinois friends. That'll take place at Stanford, which will be followed by fundraisers in the Bay Area Sunday and Monday. Then I get two "down" days, where I will just probably work hardcore for Will, because Thursday and Friday will be spent filming an ESPN commercial (yes!). And

2007-04-11T01:19:00.000-05:00

I was sent to do a pickup today at NBC-Universal Studios. I few good stories came from this. First, like all studios, security is pretty tight so I had to give my drivers license at the guard gate and wait for a pass, etc. Unfortunately, my Coordinator had yet to call to inform them that I was coming, so the security guard, and older gentleman about 60 years old, looked at me with a dead blank

2007-04-10T00:45:00.000-05:00

Day 2 of 2 for filming T-Mobile commercials. I've always said that there is food aplenty in film production. To express this better, I kept track of what I ate today (in the form of text messages to Klai to mock her for not being able to eat everything I was able to eat, wahahahaha!).8:30- A plate of corned beef hash, two eggs, side of bacon, side of sausage, half of a danish from the catering

2007-04-06T23:53:00.000-05:00

I've been working on a new T-Mobile commercial this past week, and into next. We filmed one of two new commercials today. It was a good time, being a relatively simple shoot with 8 PA's, so it is pretty chill. This commercial also has some stunts and pyrotechnics, which are pretty cool to set up and watch executed.As usual, way too much food was present, and I ate a lot. I think I ate too much

2007-03-29T01:38:00.000-05:00

Bits & pieces.- I've had a heavy heart and a thrilled soul the past few days. But then at the same time, I have been convering two jobs, so the body is almost too tired to remember. but yea, a heavy heart, and a very happy one as well, all at the same time.- Filmed at Disneyland today. To gain entrance into their parking structure, I had to tell the guard a security code. The security code was "

2007-03-25T23:45:00.001-05:00

i recently got sick with a sinus infection because i was cleaning my ears too much with that asian wood stick thingy. (this generaly produces a laughing response from whoever i tell). yes, i love the wooden ear cleaning stick, and in fact i wish my body produced more ear wax so i would have more to clean, but alas, i do not even know the proper name for it.but thanks to karen and the internet!"

2007-03-23T04:36:00.001-05:00

This has long since been my favorite sports video. My version now sits on a hard drive on my old computer collecting dust back in Springfield. So thanks youtube.

2007-03-20T00:57:00.000-05:00

I'm in Dallas now, here for the Taiwanese North American Chamber of Commerce conference. Tonight was the closing banquet. The Dallas Cowboy cheerleaders performed. Jerry Jones walked around. And remember, this conference is dominated by first-generation Taiwanese American moms and dads.Anyways, Dallas is a lovely city. I probably feel that way because there was a lovely girl in the Taiwanese

2007-03-10T03:35:00.000-06:00

I see pictures of a loved one and feel a rush of blood to the chest. A smile and some warmth, a laugh and a sparkle. Heart of stone heart of stone, or heart of caring and compassion. A heart that gives more than it takes. They call it the wellspring of life, and yes, it is. But for whom does it serve? Is yours your own wellspring? Or perhaps it is for others, for your family, for your friends,

2007-03-06T16:11:00.000-06:00

Here's the Albert Hammond Jr. music video I worked on a few months ago with Karen Lin.It's always interesting to see how the final product turns out, because it is hard to always tell when you're actually on set and watching it being filmed. Scenes are recorded out of the final order, and you don't know what the actual shot is unless your watching a monitor. Also, I think the part with the Jesus

2007-03-06T13:42:00.000-06:00

Sunday was a good day. I met up with Nicho, some of his friends, and our visitor Stephanie from back home in Springfield. We played beach volleyball in the 75 degree weather. And then I had crabcakes for dinner. Yes, a good day it was.

2007-03-05T12:25:00.000-06:00

Page one of the San Jose Mercury News. Word.Focus on dark past TAIWANESE FUND CONTROVERSIAL FILM ON SPYING ERA IN U.S. By John BoudreauMercury NewsLINK Will Tiao is pitching Silicon Valley a different kind of business plan -- one full of international espionage and even murder. Sound like a Hollywood movie? Well, it is, but one based on real events that pitted the

2007-02-25T07:27:00.000-06:00

Musings from Taiwan (and after)- This time around, I don't have any friends from the states visiting at the same time as me. And with plane tickets to Shanghai ultra-scarce with a long waiting list, it looks like I won't be able to see Justin & Erin. So a quiet week lays ahead, which means I can do other things. I'm going to try to go Sedaris on my travels (minus the gay banter).- I saw the

2007-02-13T08:18:00.000-06:00

I'm in Taiwan right now. I had initially hoped to hop over to Shanghai for a few days to visit Justin and Erin, but alas there are no tickets. However, I made up for a lack of Justin by meeting Justine, a friend to Will Tiao and a former Formosa Foundation participant. It has been suggested to me to participate in the Formosa Foundation's two-week all-expenses paid program (read that again, "

2007-02-06T03:04:00.000-06:00

I hear its cold back home, as well as the rest of the midwest and the northeast. I'd just like to mention that it was 86 degrees today in LA. But hey hey, there are side effects to the heat, like the two small brushfires I drove past on the 101 freeway. Or the multiple semi-truck accident that backed up traffic for eight miles (during non-rush hour). See, things in SoCal aren't always great.But

2007-01-13T17:32:00.000-06:00

Overheard last night on the LA area evening news preview, when it was FIFTY-FIVE DEGREES outside, "New lows have people in LA wondering, 'Are we headed for a deep freeze?!?!'".Right...There is this Cingular commercial some of you might have seen where two guys are dancing and singing to a song playing off a cell phone. Like many songs, they mishear the lyrics, and think it's saying "Lock the

2007-01-09T03:51:00.000-06:00

Whatup Justin.Randoms:- It was 85 degrees today. Yea.- I had little emotional investment in the game, but it is pretty ridiculous that OSU had 51 days in between bowl games. The NCAA is stupid for scheduling that long of a break, then also claiming a playoff system would take too much time.- I need to start growing my abs more. Abs abs abs. Grow your abs.- Illinois football has a really good

2007-01-02T01:18:00.001-06:00

As the new year begins, I have much to look forward to. Beginning this month, I will start working for Formosa Films with Will Tiao on a feature film which some of you may have heard about entitled Formosa Betrayed. For the first few months, I will be working as an assistant to Will, who is the Executive Producer of the project. And hopefully if I prove myself to be competent enough, I'll be even

2006-12-27T21:57:00.000-06:00

I ran/walked for over 8 miles yesterday, 5.5 of it running. Surprisingly, my legs arent too sore.

2006-12-17T02:48:00.000-06:00

I've posted before about Plato's quote, "Time is the moving image of eternity," before. I am never good at explaining this, but in a nutshell, the Universe/Time can be considered a series of events, which when viewed as singular instances, are "frozen in time," and therefore eternal (because they have no past, no future, just 'are'). And when one recognizes this as it happens, it's like seeing

2006-12-09T23:28:00.000-06:00

Today is December 9th. I have been here since September 20th. Today, it rained for the first time since I have been here.This past week was busy. I helped produce four commercials, two for Publix, a major supermarket in Georgia and Florida, and two for Bubblicious. One of the Publix one's featured the little girl from the DLP HDTV commercials, the one who says, "it's the mirrors". I think she's

2006-11-25T00:55:00.000-06:00

Further evidence of Scrabbles signifigance in my life:1) I came back to Vince's house, and I found my guitar tuner which I had lost last winter. Vince and Ming had looked for it for me back then, but no luck. And where did I find the guitar tuner eleven months later? In the Scrabble box. 2) I'm posting this while Vince and Alex (team #1) and Ming and Helena (team #2) try to complete their Speed

2006-11-20T18:33:00.000-06:00

I have been back in Illinois since 5am central time at O'Hare International, and I am now sitting in my bedroom at home in Springfield.And all I can think about is how freaking cold I am right now.

2006-11-19T16:51:00.000-06:00

Alfonso Soriano! With Derek Lee and Aramis Ramirez for the next four years! Yea yea yea! Oh and to point out something, the Cubs handily defeated the Cardinals head to head last year, thus backing up my fact that the Cubs are the BEST TEAM IN THE WORLDDDD.Go Cubbies!

2006-11-17T02:16:00.000-06:00

I listend to USC visiting USC for a basketball game tonight. As in, the University of South Carolina vs. the University of Southern California. Both of the schools happen have a maroon/goldenrod logo. I've also held this belief for years that there is some jokester conspiracy between the nicknames of the schools. Southern Cal is popularly known as the Trojans, while Southern Carolina baseball

2006-11-15T19:26:00.000-06:00

Some days this job can be very easy. For instance, a day like today. My only actual "job" activities or assignments included: walking the hundred steps to pick up the mail, walking the two hundred steps to drop off Fedex, ordering and picking up lunch, organizing some books on a shelf, and keeping the office kitchen tidy.The rest of the time was spent: playing literati, filling out the LA Times

2006-11-14T18:28:00.000-06:00

my aunt and uncle have a guava tree in the backyard. i also have been having amazingly huge and tough (physically) poops lately.and conclusively:"Guava leaves are used for medicinal purposes, as a remedy for diarrhea[citation needed], and for their supposed antimicrobial properties. The same anti-diarrheal substances which are useful in folk medicine may also cause constipation in the case of

2006-11-12T22:07:00.000-06:00

Cndncrippler1 signed on at 6:24:00 PM. thendxcrd: this is oooouuuurrrr countryCndncrippler1: noCndncrippler1: dont do thatAhem. Following up my last post, I went to church today, and leading worship was Tim Hughes. And if I hadn't gone to church today and had my rental car, I would have been working on The Shins music video. So, yea, famous people everywhere. And I'm sharing this with you like

2006-11-11T05:29:00.000-06:00

I wonder what it must be like to grow up in Los Angeles, California. With my Midwestern eyes, I feel like it would be somewhat surreal. Film, television, and music are arguably the most accessible global entities, being consumed across the United States and the world twenty four hours a day, 365 days a year. The vast majority of it starts and finishes here in Los Angeles. I could argue that this

2006-11-07T21:59:00.000-06:00

I broke 400 in Literati for (I think) the first time tonight.In a nice coincidence, I had hot pot tonight for dinner, which is my favorite partly because of huo guo's association with using sah-tsah sauce. In said Literati game, I used the English spelling for sah-tsah, SATAY. What gloriousness this day has brought forth.

2006-11-07T03:28:00.000-06:00

Well, today was not the best of days.First, as we were wrapping up set location last Saturday for the music video I was helping Karen produce, an unfortunate accident involving (not) my car's trunk and the driveway gate of the house we filmed at occured. It was one of those things were there was nothing more I could have done to be cautious, but I still end up with a $1100 estimate for damage.

2006-11-03T00:45:00.000-06:00

Since no one watches it anymore, here's a play-by-play summation of tonight's The OC.thendxcrd: the oc has gone downhill right.Mahoney575: i didnt even dvr it tonightthendxcrd: yeup.thendxcrd: i didnt realize it was on.Mahoney575: thats how little interest i have in it anymorethendxcrd: im watching it for old times sake.thendxcrd: its kinda like watching a car accident ya know? so bad, but you

2006-10-27T01:37:00.000-05:00

- This morning I woke up to Mei Mei barking outside, for a long time, without my Aunt reprimanding her. I was confused. But when I woke up for real and came downstairs, my Aunt told me when she let Mei Mei out to the backyard, another dog was hiding in there and came out and tried to take a bite out of Mei Mei. It turned out that the other "dog" was actually a coyote. But Mei Mei is ok. Whew.-

2006-10-17T19:51:00.000-05:00

Random niblets that have been floating around my mind to blog about (I started this earlier in the week):- In my 27 days since arriving in Los Angeles, I have refeuled the Jetta five times, for a total of $168.47.- It should come as no surpise then that on working days, I spend at the minimum three hours a day in the car. That means on a good day, about 12.5% of my day is spent in traffic.-

2006-10-09T00:55:00.000-05:00

Just to get this off my chest.Chien Ming Wang.Good pitcher. Taiwanese. Great. But you know what? I was a Cubs fan since I was six years old. Being a Cubs fan was part of my identity before anything else. That includes calling myself Taiwanese American. I have embraced my Cubs a full decade longer than I have embrace Taiwan. So, this is why despite being very proud of my Taiwanese heritage, I do

2006-10-08T04:07:00.000-05:00

"music acts as a total catalyst for pleasant introspection and quiet musings... not unlike night time driving on a deserted road lined with backlit trees, fond memories of love, childhood, or past epiphanies swelling, and the urge to either relish in the aloneness or to hold someone's hand.-explosions in the sky"Also, the pilot for Friday Night Lights, which, like the film, features Explosions in

2006-10-07T03:03:00.000-05:00

Friday's are great when you work. I am finished with my first week in the film production world, and despite little sleep and lots of driving, I enjoyed it. I will continue working with Uber Content throughout the next week as we film a commercial for Honeybaked Ham; just in time for the holidays!I went to a dinner with the TAP, Taiwanese American Professionals, tonight near UCLA. Met some new

2006-10-04T00:15:00.000-05:00

Work has been great so far. I'm an intern at Uber Content, which is mainly a commercial house, ie: they make commercials. The past two days have been busy, prepping everything for our shoot tomorrow for a Microsoft internet commercial. It feels a lot like prepping for TAF or ITASA, like the final frantic and busy few days before (although it isnt so much that for TAF, since you know, the staff is

2006-10-02T02:21:00.000-05:00

I saw Mischa Barton and Ken Oak today.

2006-09-29T02:44:00.000-05:00

Later today (a bit before 10am) I will arrive in Hollywood, CA and start my first stint with a film production company. It's not that big of a job, I'm only an intern, but it is also only till next Wednesday. My boss on this project says after this, I can get paid, which in all reality is quite quick. I don't think it is often that recent college grads with no experience in film come out to LA,

2006-09-27T00:28:00.000-05:00

Let's see. Today I:- Woke up to the neighboors dogs barking (which they always always do).- Drove to a neighborhood up the hill called Vantage Point on a street called Vantage Point Lane. I had a hunch that it had a good view of the valley. I was right, and then I took some photos.- Played Konstantine on the piano and FIFA on the playstation.- Drafted an all-white fantasy NBA team. Haha this was

2006-09-26T13:19:00.001-05:00

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/15004160/page/2/Click on the video link. In my Media Studies curriculum, we are always warned about Fox News for their non-journalistic practices and having a clear slant and agenda. Here, as many say, is FOX trying to sandbag Clinton about it being his fault for Bin Laden and the 9/11 attacks. Apparently that is what the Bush Administration is trying to do (revert

2006-09-25T00:58:00.000-05:00

I went to church with Grace today. The event was funny to me, because the church was in Costa Mesa, which borders Newport, aka the home of Ryan and Seth and Karen/Summer etc on The OC.I secretly hoped I would see the characters there, but, you know, that makes absolutley no sense at all (mainly because the characters aren't real people). But regardless, the church was very good. I usually lose

2006-09-24T03:43:00.000-05:00

- Little Miss Sunshine...totally a great movie.- I'm going to a church near Newport Beach tomorrow. It's like I'm in The OC! Except I guess it would The OC with something like Seventh Heaven. Ok that was pointless.- People on imdb.com messageboards are idiots. Because the love to pick fights with each other on very irrelevant things. Oy.- Little Miss Sunshine...yup, still can't get over it.

2006-09-22T23:42:00.000-05:00

I really enjoy reading Bill Simmon's articles on Page 2 at espn.com. He makes great commentary on the sports world, where I oftentimes find myself lauging out loud. You should read his rants about Art Shell and the Raiders in not one, but two, recent entries.But I like this article not because of the humor, but because of his own reflection on society, with the hint of a hopeful vision to change

2006-09-22T03:10:00.000-05:00

thendxcrd: did you watch it tonightLittleBonnieFuFu: yeaLittleBonnieFuFu: of coursethendxcrd: hehethendxcrd: yeathendxcrd: you and every other girl on my buddy listLittleBonnieFuFu: hahaThat Grey's Anatomy. You crazy. Including the fact that you also make every girl on my buddy list love love love Chasing Cars by Snow Patrol. Not that it's a bad song. In fact its the first song I liked on their

2006-09-19T23:43:00.000-05:00

I was going to take a picture of my luggage, but the camera cords are packed up so I wouldn't be able to show you anyways. So since this cannot be a "pictures say a thousand words" moment, I'll just tell you the bags are packed. But am I ready to go? Good question. People keep asking me if I am excited or nervous, and I don't have an answer for them. I haven't thought about this enough to have an

2006-09-10T19:30:00.000-05:00

I just got off the phone with another United ticketing agent to confirm my tickets. She asked me if I was going into the radio broadcasting business, because "with a voice like yours, you should."This isn't the first time I have been told this either actually. So maybe I shall consider doing it, or doing voiceovers. Coincidently, www.jonlee.com is owned by a guy who does the commercial voiceovers

2006-09-10T03:58:00.000-05:00

I'm going to the casino tomorrow for the first time!...with my Mom.

2006-09-08T01:42:00.000-05:00

1. ^Springfield, Illinois! The capital of fun!2. I was booking my plane tickets to LA tonight. I had the sales agent forward my itinerary to my email address."Yea, it's j-o-n-i-z-z-l-e at gmail dot com""Oh okay so its...""Yea...it's pronounced...'jonizzle'..."She couldn't stop laughing the rest of the time I was on the phone.3. Courtesy of Errrn:"Facing the future, we treasure the past,for

2006-09-05T04:39:00.000-05:00

I woke up after falling asleep for about an hour and a half. Annoying. But I woke up to see that Facebook has gotten even crazier and more stalker-friendly, and finding more ways for us users to spend time on it, as if 90% of college students didn't already spend enough time on it.I want to rant a lot more on it, but I feel like I would be giving it more attention than it deserves. I googled "

2006-09-03T02:28:00.000-05:00

I remember seeing some quote somewhere sometime recently that I wish I would have written down. Maybe one of you knows it, and it goes something like,"Our history is rooted in the past, and with out roots, we can't grow for the future."Ok, it is defintly NOT that because that does not sound eloquent at all. But, that is the meaning I took from it.In relation, I'm looking at my sister's TAF '91

2006-09-01T14:35:00.000-05:00

Oh yes yes, about LA.So I'm going to be heading out to LA in about 3 weeks, and I will be living with me aunt and uncle (Andrew's parents), and hopefully, I will be interning/PA-ing for Karen Lin (GO TAF!) on any projects she has, or for any other people that she knows "in the business." I guess I will be there indefinitly, and basically I am just going to get some experience and see if I like

2006-09-01T00:41:00.000-05:00

I went to the mall today and got hit on by a group of trashy 15 year old girls.I was looking into Hallmark to see if Adrienne was working, and I overheard, "Ooh look at him, I think hes Chinese or Mexican." I turned around to walk back because Adrienne was not working, and then I looked up and saw five faces smiling at me and whispers of, "oh say something to him!" I smiled and walked past

2006-08-31T20:01:00.000-05:00

From the Hoch:Looking for your TAF Stories...Hello TAF friends! Summer is coming to an end for most of you... how sad... But before it does, and the memories of another exciting and inspiring TAF start to take a backseat to school activities, I'd like to ask a favor of you! So, one of our TAF consultant projects is to collect YOUR STORIES & TESTIMONIALS of your TAF EXPERIENCE. Why? Well, for one,

2006-08-27T00:01:00.000-05:00

TAF2006To all of those who attended TAF2006, thank you for a wonderful week. To me, TAF2006 another blur. A swirl of memories and moments that I hope were captured enough in my mind or on film to remember and reflect upon. A lot of other people dear to me have already shared feelings and thoughts about the week and many have said things better than I could say, or have remembered to mention

2006-08-23T20:16:00.000-05:00

Holy nugget cakes you can read my blog from my facebook profile now. This is insane.Anyways, this is interesting.I don't know what to think. On one hand, its seems pretty confrontational to draw clear lines between races. On the other hand, it's just reality TV. And then even more, its the Asian-American tribe (tribe? hah!) rather than Asian tribe.So...yea...

2006-08-05T04:18:00.000-05:00

Off to North Manchester for the week. A little place called TAF. See you later.

2006-08-03T21:14:00.000-05:00

Someone once said,"My self esteem was at its lowest point in middle school. I didn’t think I was good academically, physically, or socially. I was convinced that I was just a bad person, and that there was no way to change it.I carried this belief with me even when I went to TAF. When my small group counselor would praise me or spend time with me, I told myself that it was his job to like me,

2006-07-30T03:37:00.000-05:00

Someone once said,"When I first came to TAF in August of 2001, I was a pessimistic, shy child. Just a few months before, my parents told me I should go to TAF to learn about my Taiwanese heritage. By these words, I hated the camp even before I got there, since I did not think that it was important to learn about Taiwan, when I lived in America. Besides, I always had the same overnight camp

2006-07-28T01:16:00.000-05:00

Thanks for the birthday wishes, text messages, calls, emails, etc! And...this.facebook. the newest expression of love.

2006-07-27T02:21:00.000-05:00

My room looks sad. All of the pictures are taken down and moved out. I have 56 picture frames by the way. That's a lot of money. I haven't purchased anything other than food and gas in awhile though. Yea! And I don't plan on it cuz you know, I have too much crap.Augustana and The Fray on Friday. Hoorah.Lots of packing and cleaning and planning for TAF. Im excurted! IMMA GET TO PLAN SMALL GROUPS

2006-07-18T22:50:00.000-05:00

Too much. Almost. But what else can ya do? So I smile.

2006-07-18T00:45:00.000-05:00

hahaha. fun with little people!

2006-07-17T09:36:00.001-05:00

After arriving at O'Hare, one of the first things Roger told me was that there was a massive heat wave in Chicago. It was on the front page of the newspaper and people were encouraged to stay hydrated and watch the elderly.Now, it was 93 degrees yesterday in Chicago, 100 with the heat index. Last week in Taiwan, it had been up to 115 degrees. And of course, it was just normal, no massive heat

2006-07-13T03:58:00.000-05:00

flying through a typhoon. oohh boy...

2006-07-08T08:41:00.000-05:00

On a flight from Shanghai to Beijing last week:my dad: Oh! Hey Yao!Yao Ming: Hello.my dad: (pats Yao on back)end of story.

2006-07-08T03:35:00.000-05:00

Today I went to lunch with some family. I got to meet my cousin's son (nephew then? or anything?) Darren. He's 2.5 years old and like most kids, loads of fun. He's bilingual! But still a kid, so random words sometimes, but he really is quite smart for his age. My cousin, his dad, was asking him if he rememembered the time he was goofing around at the dinner table and rocked back and forth so hard

2006-07-05T03:53:00.000-05:00

the trip so far:Berkeley dinner.People on the OCAC trip.Hooters Taipei for the novelty of it all.Fun with e-cards at a museum.Mom's side except for an aunt and a few cousins.Very pretty cousins! Second from left looks like Emily Huang. I deduced the one on the right is an example of what I would look like if I was a girl. Like how I just called myself pretty? She also looks like Nancy Chen. I