MMVIII

Once again, I am faced with the daunting task of packing, and not wanting to deal with it. Despite that, I am grossly looking forward to finally feeling like I'm on vacation. For the next five days, no working, studying or running of errands! Just pure, unadulterated relaxation and drunken debauchery. If you're not doing anything at the stroke of midnight, look for me on your local news partying it up Vegas style. And if you're really bored, come find me at the Platinum Hotel.

Merry 2008 to all my loved ones, old and new, near and far. May the New Year be everything you hope it could be. Peace, love and daisies. =)

--The Kim

Neverending Finals

My finals week doesn't want to end! I thought I would be stress free tonight, but instead, one of my exams has been postponed until Saturday due to a severe snowstorm in Boston. Good thing I booked my flight for Saturday afternoon. Sadly though, I was hoping that I could be properly vegetating right now instead of still harboring a basal level of stress.

So, in an effort to speed things along, and because I've now lost part of my Saturday morning to pack, I'm attempting to throw some stuff into my suitcase right now. I am uber annoyed that I can't find this particular purple shirt that I like! I hope I didn't toss it in with a bag of donated clothes that I managed to part with last week. Alas, if I did, I guess at least it's going to someone else who will enjoy it now.

I know I complain a lot about the cold, but the early part of a snowfall is actually very pretty. And now, there's lots of soft, fluffy snow outside. It makes me want to go outside and play, but it's dark now, and I just saw a really chilling episode of Law and Order: CI that will paralyze me with fear while walking alone in the dark for the next few days. By tomorrow, the snow will probably be icey and hard. =P

Can't wait to be back in the land of not freezing cold weather again! =)

1/4 Century

I'm a round 25 today.

Weird.

My Right to Veg

Finally, a minute to purely vegetate.

This semester of school has been the most exhausting thus far. I've barely felt like I had a minute to breath. If I'm not in class, I'm at work. If I'm not at work, I'm cramming for an exam or lab session. If not that, then I'm putting together crap for all the group projects and case studies we have to do. And these past 6 weeks have been a nightmare. There was at least 1 or 2 exams each week... and during the height of this nightmare (when I think there may have actually been 3 exams, can't remember, may have been delirious) I was sick! What had started out as an annoying runny nose morphed into a painful cough, a sore throat, and fatigue (which definitely was not helped with all the running I around I needed to do). For a while there, I really think I had some kind of pneumonia. I had contemplated going to the Student Health Center and hopefully get a prescription for industrial strength cough syrup and a Zpak, but my friend told me that the Student Health Center sucks and they probably wouldn't have done anything for me except give me Robitussin DM. I miss my mom's health insurance. =(

Suprisingly, I ended up doing fairly well on my exams, despite being at sub-par health. For one of the exams, I had not managed my studying hours very well and only had one night to study for it. I had only 3 hours of sleep, woke up at 6 in the morning and crammed for the next 5 hours. During those early morning hours, I was totally out of it. I had drank some of that smoothie-yogurt stuff in an effort to boost my blood sugar, and I guess my stomach decided it was too early in the morning for dairy, so I ended up regurgitating all that stuff into my toilet. Then, while trying to study, even though I was trying my darndest to focus on my notes, my head was pounding and my vision literally could not focus. I was staring at the pages and everything was blurry. Eventually, I got passed it and was able to cram more effectively. It was a very strange experience though. Even when I used to do all nighters for UCI, I had never felt like that before.

Even during all the exam madness, I still make room for my beautiful TV. Of course, every time I was watching TV when I knew I should have been studying, I felt super guilty. But now that feeling of guilt can step aside. This past Tuesday marked the last of weeks of our exams marathon. Since then, I have happily relaxed and vegetated with my oldest friend. I've slept in, I've not cracked a text book open and I've been in heaven. Even today (thank goodness I didn't have work today) all I did was watch tv, eat, and take several naps. I will continue to enjoy this loveliness until my next round of exams, which I can assure you, is not far off.

needs

OK. so i've relented myself to the fact that i can't have as much KB out here as much as i would like. however, i have found that just using sesame oil/salt/pepper with my home cooked meat can make a decent substitute!! =D

question

can somebody exlain to me why, in superman returns, when they show clark as a kid, he is wearing glasses?

i'm a fatty

KB! (a last hoorah later tonight, plus fro yo!)
boiling crab
stinking rose =(
lawry's =*(
shinsengumi (just the one time at the beginning of summer)
anjin's
joe's sushi =(
the standard
skybar
sea world?
another wine tasting
spa day
curry house
clean/goodwill (i'm working on it!!)
review OTC/pharmacology =(
sf? sd? (santa barbara instead)
harry potters 1-4!
bonfire? =(
haircut (later today!)
bo 7 mon (at home!)
neaten up ipod files
the melting pot

so, earlier this evening, i had boiling crab goodness, yogurtland goodness, followed by mom's home cooking goodness (all for dinner). and i'm hungry right now. wtf?

august 30

I never have enough suitcase space. =P

104 degrees F

that is the forecast for this weekend in vegas.

O_O

what's in a name?

I get that it will always be hard for non-Viet/Asian ppl to get my last name right, but where does Noo-jen come from?

N-G-U-Y-E-N

The second "syllable" (if we want to call it that, even though technially all Vietnamese words are one syllable) starts with a Y, not a G or a J. Noo-jen? Noo-JEN?

Meh.

Happiness consists in realizing it is all a great strange dream. - Jack Kerouac

cheers!

Happy National Champagne day! (Aug 4)

yogurtland

for us north county kids:

Yogurtland
(714) 525-2912
501 N State College Blvd
Fullerton, CA 92831

as usual, time flies

having finally decided on what my last day of work will be, i just realized i will only have a little over a month left to enjoy good food and friends. that's only 5 weekends folks! and some of those weekends are devoted to events already mapped out months ago on my pocket pc calendar. SO, some things i must do/eat/see before departure:

KB!!!!!!!!!!!!! (i think i'll have to start eating it twice a week...)
boiling crab (at least once/twice more)
stinking rose
lawry's
shinsengumi
anjin's
joe's sushi
the standard
skybar
sea world?
another wine tasting
spa day
curry house
clean/goodwill (i swear on all that is good and pure, i WILL do it this year!)
review OTC/pharmacology (this should've been ongoing throughout the summer... meh)
sf? sd?
harry potters 1-4!
bonfire? (still have wood leftover from rodel's bash)
haircut
bo 7 mon

wait, is that all? when i was thinking about this earlier, i really thought it was longer. anyhoo... i'll have a week free before i cross the US again, and then when i get there, i'll have a week free before school starts. speaking of, i need to purchase my plane ticket before it gets too expensive. it's quite sad, but jetblue is not as affordable as it used to be.

life is weird. it begins, it ends and somewhere in between is a middle. are you having a good middle?

saw sicko over the weekend. i'm sooooooooooo moving to france.

simpsons this friday, yayuh!

nostalgia

So cute! My new late night hobby is to search random things on wikipedia.org. Upon looking up SBTB, I found out about this photo. It is from an issue of Details magazine from a few months ago. The fangirl in me is sad that I missed the opportunity to pick up an issue so that I may also have a hard copy. Zack and Kelly forever!

sighs

another day

At work I've been working on a PA for nearly a month, and today it was approved! Yayuh! It's nice to be able to take small pleasures in one's work now and then.

I was reading over an old post from December 2004 and felt the need to comment on a few things.

Who thinks In-n-Out is one word?

I was complaining about boys playing WOW during 12/04. Has it really been almost 3 years since this monster of a machine has overtaken the masses? As usual, time flies.

i love food and wine

Last Thursday I went to a food and wine tasting at South Coast Plaza. Yum! Everything was tasty and I of course could not get enough of the flowing wine. I was carded twice, which I suppose is expected because of the wine, but it really surprised me at first when they asked for ID. I guess I've been feeling a lot like an old fogey lately, so I forget how young I actually am.

Anyhoo, back to the food. Now I know what everyone is talking about when they rave about Lawry's. At their booth, they sampled prime rib sandwiches. Omg. 'Twas to die for. I shall be having dinner there soon so that I may fully appreciate the prime rib's awesomeness.

Funnily enough, while this was a wine tasting, the beverage that I was most enamored with for the evening was not a wine, but a sparkling sake. Fantastic! It had the taste of sake, but slightly sweeter and fruitier. And as always, bubbles are a lot of fun. I am now on the hunt for a bottle so that I may merrily inebriate myself and friends. I think this is the one that we sampled (though I short google hunt has told me there are at least four different types in the US): Harushika Tokimeki

While on the topic of liquor hunting, another fine beverage that I've been on the hunt for is an italian red, first tasted while on my cruise to the Caribbean over spring break: Secco Bertani

It has thus far been an elusive search. I've only seen it online and on the Olive Garden's "limited time" wine list.

I've been working a lot. My boss is cool enough that I could just work whatever hours I wish, but I have requested full time, because quite frankly, I need the money. There are many (expensive) things on my summer shopping list this year. ^_^ Not to be totally self-obsessed, I do also have many wedding/shower/birthday gifts/checks to account for as well. Many celebrations are fast approaching!

It's really stupid, but just thinking about the prime rib that I may be having this weekend has put me into a really good mood. Yay meat!

cold water

our water heater is broken. showering in cold water is zero fun. on the bright side, it will for sure wake me up in the morning before work. this only happened to me once while living in boston. it was not fun back then either.

they finally got my pay rate right! now, i look forward to some back pay. ya-yuh!

ocean's 13: meh. not terrible, better than 12, but 11 is still the best by waves.

knocked up: very funny. i like katherine heigel again and have almost forgotten all about the gizzie thing (almost). 40 year old virgin was funnier, i think, but there were a lot of more relatable things in this movie in terms of dating and relationships. be warned, there was on scene with way unnecessary visuals.

pirates 3: i liked it! again, better than the second, but not as good as the first. however, not as meh as the 3rd ocean's installment. i liked the ending, though some may disagree.

spiderman 3: i know a lot of people thought it was lame, but i thought it was fine. i wish there was more of venom, as i thought he was a more interesting villian. plus, i heart topher grace. i think tobey maguire is a terrible/ugly crier. most of the time, when the hero/heroine is crying, it will evoke some tears/sympathy of my own, but i was just blech when peter parker had his sob fest.

the anaheim ducks won the stanley cup!

sigh, i don't look forward to showering tomorrow morning.

cheese!

random post

I finally got around to seeing the Gilmore Girls series finale tonight. I think I may have subconsciously been putting it off because I knew it would be the last. As expected, I cried like a baby when Lorelai and Rory talked about how hard it would be for them to leave each other. It reminded me of the time me and my mom cried when I first moved to Boston. (Yea, I know, I'm such a crier.) Sigh, another great show to wave goodbye to.

I got my nails done today and didn't like the paint job. I got my hair cut on Saturday and didn't like that either. Here's hoping my next beauty event will not go the same route.

I had KB with Kressler and Rodel tonight. I always enjoy it, but I know it can't be good for me to keep all-you-can-eating all this meat. I think I will have to stop after this Saturday... for at least a week?

Yesterday someone told me I had nice skin. What a fantastic compliment. =)

Tomorrow I get paid. Yay money!

May 22

Maroon 5 -- It Won't Be Soon Before Long
Kitchen Confidential DVD

eeeeeeeeeeee! =)

my new favorite website

TuneFind

You can find music that was played on TV shows. I'm addicted! Why didn't I find this sooner?

health and fitness

Working in pharmacy has slowly led me to develop certain "worries" of potential future ailments: hypertension, high cholesterol, osteoperosis, etc. And so, in order to increase my overall health i will try to do the following:

floss more (it only figures that I start worrying about my teeth now that I no longer have dental insurance)

drink water more (because that's just good sense)

drink milk everyday (stronger bones AND studies have shown that you lose weight more effectively with a glass of skim milk that with just exercise alone... now if only I knew if the skim milk they pour into my latte every morning counts...)

take a vitamin C now and then (so many benefits!)

In regards to fitness, I totally refuse to go to the gym until the 24 hr fitness at BP mall opens. I REFUSE! They keep pushing the opening date back. Geez, people in BP need to work out too! To make up for my lack of physical exercise, I promise not to eat Popeye's until I start working out again. I think I can adhere to this vow... KB, however, is still fair game. =)

real life application! (sort of...)

On last night's Grey's Anatomy, the interns were studying for their intern exam. While they were reviewing, one of the questions asked was, "What is the primary cause of diarrhea in hospitals?" I am proud to say that I knew the answer.

Clostridium difficle!

I may have hated virology, but at least I know I learned something. =)

i can't wait for summer

I listened to home radio stations via the net in order to familiarize myself with the current music scene. It was very odd, and yet, very comforting at the same time, to listen to the traffic reports regarding the 405, 91, 5, etc. Evidently, the 5 still sucks. =)

I want to watch Battlestar Galactica and Lost 3 on DVD over the summer. Maybe 24. And Veronica Mars. AndmaybealsoPrisonBreak.

I want to travel abroad this summer. (Ok, this isn't going to happen, but it is what I want.)

I want to eat KB everyday, even if it will balloon me up and I have to work it all off at the end of the summer.

I want the stupid 24 hour fitness by my house to open already!

Speaking of, I think if I opened an all you can eat KB place, or a cafe that served vietnamese coffee here in Boston, I would make a fortune! Too bad I don't consider myself business savy. Nor a halfway decent chef for that matter.

Wicked is playing at the Pantages theatre. Who wants to see it with me??? I've already seen it once, but I heart it so and would love to see it again.

I am SO tired of the snow and the cold. I literally get angry at the cold. It needs to stop being cold! Oh California, I long for your warm arms.

Three more weeks!!!

inspiration

everything on my ipod is old. i haven't listened to the radio in months. i tried to order the mraz "inspirations" album online at target, but they said my gift card was invalid. i won't have time to go to best buy (or even target, which is much farther away) until this weekend or the next. i feel so behind and out of date. i did a brief skim of apple itunes to see what was recently released, but being my usual lazy self, did not venture past the first page. what is new and interesting in music?

apologies

i'm trying to blog right now but i can't think of anything to blog.

sigh. i used to be more interesting.

The Future

Things I'm looking forward to:

"Memory Man" -- Aqualung, 3/13/07
"The Well" -- Waking Ashland, 4/17/07
"It Won't Be Soon Before Long" -- Maroon 5, 5/22/07

Gavin, where are you??????

blogging to blog

i haven't blogged in awhile... so yea.