I Heart Las Vegas

What can I say... three full days in Las Vegas was not enough for me! We were thiiiis close to extending our stay if not for the jerks at Northwest Airlines crippling all thoughts of doing so. The King, in his usual diplomatic style consoled the very annoyed me that since all non-stop flights out to Vegas this summer is going to be cheap (under $250) it's highly possible that we return. Of course, that also means we have to go on another bloody nwa flight - boy do I hate flying with them!

So what did we do besides gamble and of course, not hit any jackpot - I would be writing this entry from my newly acquired condo in LV if I did lol! Gamble we certainly did... after all, I am a true blue Asian. Can't have a casino with no Asians around. The place will go belly-up in a minute lol. But yes, gambling was a pretty major part of the trip - I'd say two fifths of it. So was laying by the pool enjoying the dry dry scorching 100 degree heat by day (no thanks to that I'm now covered in heat rashes lol) and of course, with the Ryans, a trip is never without getting some unbelieavable eats by nights.

Let me preface by saying that I really enjoyed the Signature. Not only is it brand new, it was not at all chaotic or even tacky (like the entrance to the main lobby of the MGM Grand for example). The Signature actually sits across the street from the mgm grand. But, of course, in all Vegas-style, it has a luxurious indoor connection that is air-conditioned, carpeted and equipped with strips of walkalators to take you from the Signature to the main hotel casino, her pools and lobby. So no, there is no casino within the Signature... the lobby is beautiful and modern (like a fancy apartment building)... bell service is prompt and friendly... checking-in easy and quick enough (they did however fail to mention / remind us about our free drinks by the bar lol)... and the rooms... nice! These suites are namely privately owned studio and/or one bedroom suite condos that the hotel manages. You can't go wrong here if you, like me, enjoy Vegas but not the crazy drunk rowdy crowd who might wake you up at four in the morning yelling along the corridor. To be quite honest, I like The Wynn's room better but I prefer how Signature sits at a non-casino lot. Plus... as a Signature customer, you get to use ALL pools around the MGM. ...and since this trip was namely for me to go get some color on my pale skin, we decided to try a different hotel. For the most part, the king and I stayed by the much smaller, uncrowded pool by Tower One where we sipped daquiris and layed out on deck chairs. I kept myself busy with the latest Hollywood gossip and the husband made full use of the wireless access via his Nokia N95. He can go on that thing for hours! I can't even fathom waiting for a site to load much less reading articles and doing research on the bloody cellphone. Also, the pool by the Signature is much more our pace. No kids... mostly couples (young and old) and more then enough space and deck chairs to go around the dozen or so people there many times. I must add, we were there entirely on weekdays, so no idea what the place is like on weekends.

On our last morning in Vegas we also tried the pool on the mgm side... the Grand Pool was voted Best Hotel Pool in the U.S.! Together with the hundreds of morning people (and their kids) visiting Las Vegas, we trotted with our morning Starbucks, magazines and oil & lotion and headed to the much acclaimed backlot river pool. It was a lot of fun to float, swim, walk in that river/pool... it has automated currents - ok not current 'coz that sounds like electric current lol... but yeah, the water here pushes you along once you get into the water... you go through little waterfalls, big ones... lots of palm trees... perfect way to start the morning. We didn't stay that long however. It was our last day in LV and the casino was screaming for our attention lol. I had plans to return to the pool by the Signature but you know what happens when you get sucked in by slot machines... I will see that pool soon I hope...

...and the eats... yum, the food... the husband and I are used to good delicious food. We go through all sorts of distance for good food. In Las Vegas, it seems, good food is not hard to find. Day one, we went out of the strip to Lotus of Siam for Northern Thai food. The nam kao tod (minced sour sausage mixed with green onion, fresh chili, ginger, peanuts, crispy rice and lime juice) and the plar dook yang num tok (whole catfish char-broiled and served with two delicious sauces) were my lunch favorites. Their pad kee mao/drunken noodles was also very good... but since we've had the absolute best by the street of Bangkok, I wasn't as impressed as I would normally be. Lotus of Siam gets a 7/10 from me for food and good service. That night, with still a full stomach but heavy heart (from casino lol), we decided we wanted a light (but good, of course) meal. We figured some sashimi would do the trick. Of course, in all Ryan fashion, we went in and couldn't just have a nice plate of sashimi. A bottle of sake, a big platter of sashimi, two awesome rolls and a dessert later, we staggered our even heavier bodies back to the room and called it a night :) ...Shibuya of the mgm grand gets high ratings from the Ryans. High quality foo, a good wide variety of sake and pretty good service - our first experiance was better then our second. The best meal we had this trip was at L'Atelier de Joel Robuchon also at the mgm grand... I will have to blog about it on it's own 'coz it's just not right to add it to this entry lol. By the way, L'Atelier gets a 9/10 from me. Will talk about it more in a future blog...

First Trip Of Summer 2007

Tomorrow marks our first trip of the summer. Unlike the last five over years since we got married, we're actually not in a hurry to make an international flight out of here lol. Don't get me wrong, it's not like I'm not in a hurry to lol... but the King did just finish school three days ago and we do have a couple of months to accumulate some serious miles. Gawd knows I need to start flying if I'm planning to make platinum executive again this year... bad thing is, we're not even flying my airline of choice tomorrow - arrgh!

...so it's off to Las Vegas! Another fun city I love. Gone are the days when I lived in Arizona where I could hop on a Southwest Airline plane (and pay next to nothing) and head out to Vegas for a fun weekend. It's now a once a year trip if we're lucky. I just can't wait to hang out and have some relaxing time with the husband. He certainly needs it! All of you know I don't need it but I love it :D ...stting out by the pool, exploring new restaurants and of course, sitting by the slot machines as long as I can resist, I'm sure, the lack of sleep. I'm excited! Don't I sound like I haven't travelled in eons hahaha. I've been wanting to get out of here for at least a month lol - since we got back from Singapore Day in NYC... that seemed like ages ago!

Well, I'll try to blog as much as I can while in Sin City... you can also follow us via twitter which we will update more consistently. Add me here and the husband here.

Ba-Bye Rosie

Well, it's a fact now... Rosie will not complete her last three weeks of contract on 'The View' as I'd predicted. ...and why should she?! I knew she wouldn't want to and ABC would let her leave. But I admit I was certainly looking forward to Monday's 'live' show :)

On a parallel piece of news, Donald Trump today called EH the "dumbest person on tv"! Not just dumb though... the dumbest on tv! Imagine... dumber then Paris Hilton and Paula Abdul... scary huh lol!

Below is the quote taken from this article on Yahoo news.

"I've always said Rosie is very self-destructive," Trump said Thursday in Chicago. "... As far as Elisabeth Hasselbeck, I've always said she's probably the dumbest person on television, but when she called me ... obnoxious, she was probably right."

I will continue watching 'The View' only because I love Joy Behar - and I do miss Meredith... I wonder if they're really going get Whoopie to join them...

The Best TV Argument Ever!

Okay, you asked for it... plus I can't get enough of this. I absolutely LOVE Joy Behar (much to my friend, Ling's chagrin lol). I agree with Rosie and I still hate EH!! She and her stupid lame arguments!

Thank goodness Alicia came out and 'spoke' for all of us muahahaha!

Did You See Alicia Snub Elizabeth?!

Ok, you all know how much I dislike Elizabeth already. If not, you can read one of my outbursts here. But yesterday's show was one that was out of the ordinary... Barbara Walters wasn't around to shut anyone up, fortunately, and EH was able to continue making a bigger ass of herself then usual. Awesome! I will give her this much. She is tough. I thought her eyes were gonna' bulge out of her head when Rosie called her cowardly for not answering the yes-or-no question she directed at EH! But make no mistake... I still think she's an idiot! Her political views are that of a retard and she sure showed us what kind of a friend she makes... though I still doubt the 'kinship' both she and Rosie claimed earlier. Well, Rosie knows now. I'm not her biggest fan, Rosie... but she sometimes makes sense - unlike little Ms I-don't-think-my-President-is-stupid. Come on, the idiot can't pronounce words (no excuse for any leader in the world much less USA!) ...and he bloody'ell choked on a freakin' pretzel! How much of a moron do you have to be to do that!?

But the big argument wasn't the highlight of my day. It was when Alicia Silverstone walked out and snubbed EH! OMG, I just about peed on myself! It was awesome to see Ms I-know-it-all standing down there looking lost, screaming in her head 'WTF?!' hahahaha! I laughed so hard I fell off my couch...

Yes, I'm evil. I'll admit it. But I know I'm not the only one who enjoyed it.

Back To Square One

I have been browsing other people's blog recently. A lot! Namely housewives. I know... 'YAWN' ...and what did I find? Well, first of all, some of them can be SO creative it makes my blog pale in comparison. No matter, I'm not out to impress. But I realize that I have absolutely nothing in common with all these women I find online. The only things we have in common: we are bloggers and are housewives and the similarities end right there!

In America, all of the 'real' housewives have kids. I suppose that's usually the main reason why they began to stay at home. A lot of them also work from home... ok, if you work from home, you're not really a full time housewife 'coz you're getting paid (somehow) for some form of work. We might be fellow housewife-bloggers but our blogs defer in too many ways. I have yet to find another housewive who doesn't have a kid, a pet or doesn't work part-time or from home... I applaud those mommy blogs even though they usually can't keep my attention too long unless I already know them and/or the kids; even then, the brain starts to drift after awhile. These mommy-blogs can be pretty amazing but certainly looks tedious to upkeep. From what the kids do and say to what they eat (how it was prepared), how spectecular they are, how funny they are... wait a minute(!) - doesn't anyone want to bitch about their kids (?) at all lol. I can't imagine what I would write if I had kids... nothing. I'd be too busy trying to google for some information on the 1-800 number so I can call to see where I should go to get a receipt to return the kids hahaha!

I did wish, however, that my sil back home would become a blogger so I can keep tabs on my nieces, Emma and Hannah. I am, however, thrilled that my sil here does not blog or she might be internet-savvy enough to find my blog hahahaha!

I guess what I'm saying is, it's time to move away from reading other housewife blogs and return to my number one obsession: food. After all, if it's anything the web is full off (next to porn sites), is food porn! Food blogs these days are a dime a dozen! It shouldn't be hard to find another person who enjoys kuidaore (over-filling yourself with food till you drop) hee hee.

Quiet Saturday

It's been a quiet day. It's too sunny outside and I'm in a pretty mild mood sitting here in the kitchen. While writing this entry, I'm also doing laundry (I know, I really love doing laundry, I've admitted this before). I've cleaned the bloody deck (yes in the friggin' heat), changed the stupid vaccum bag which is a way more disgusting job then I had imagined... semi-cleaned the fridge and watched five 30-minute episodes of 'Ninja Warrior' while the king was up momentarily. On hindsight, I'm glad our weekend to Las Vegas was postponed... normally, I would be sitting here sulking (well, I was bitter for a little 'coz I felt I really had to get away this weekend... until my packages from Saks and Neiman Marcus arrived :D). Now that the husband's been out of commission the last 24 hours, I'm actually thankful we're here. At least he's able to rest without feeling bad about not being able to entertain me :D

Whenever the husband isn't at his 100%, I always feel so inadequete. I never know what's the right thing to do or say. I don't want to be like a mom to him but it seems inevitable! It's the only role I have seen my mom play with me when I'm sick - and I honestly don't remember my dad being sick lol. Plus, how can one be a sexy un-mom-like wife when your spouse is sick?! Ok, not possible. ...and fortunately, I don't think the sick party wants or cares about anything sexy either . I have way too many fears, I suppose. Am I giving him the right treatment. Cooling or heaty? Dry or cold cough? Hot or cold shower? My mom is so far away and my questions seem to always fall at a time when it's past midnight on the other side of the world. ...and no I never call the mil. She'd probably ask me to go over so she can give me medication for her son. I don't think so!! The only home remedy I know are panadol (think that's the same as tylenol) and barley water lol. Fortunately, the husband has come to believe that barley water heels... ok, not heel but it truly is good for the system as it cools it down. Hey, his nose doesn't bleed now that he drinks barley water regularly... see!

Right, the dryer is barking at me and it's also time to do some ironing (arrgh!) and get the kitchen spankin' clean. Might as well be a little productive for a change :)

Shut Up Already!

Short entry.

I just wanted to say... if you go to the gym and/or workout-class, keep your bloody conversations and gossips to before and after class! A group of my fellow exercisers and myself are really tired of hearing your murmurs (some a lot louder) throughout class! You obviously are not working hard enough to be out of breath - get out of class if it's that important or just don't bother coming into the gym at all! It's very aggravating for me when I'm trying to concentrate when people behind me are constantly going on about their husbands, their body-parts or worst of all, their bloody kids!! Arrgh!

Yesterday in the gym, I was on the ellyptical trainers and the lady beside me and the one next to her were talking so bloody loudly I could hear them with my earphones on and the volume of the tv almost to the max. I was SO annoyed. Much more annoyed 'coz I perssonally know the woman next to the one beside me and didn't want to let her know I saw her. She's that annoying lush, wife of local celebrity radio dj, whom we have banned from coming to our annual Chinese new year party lol!

My Russian friend says she's going to confront one of these groups and probably will get into an argument of some sort and be thrown out of the centre hahaha! She's a lot more annoyed about this situation then I am but she doesn't have a blog :) So this one's for you, N :D

Mother's Day 2007

For weeks I've dreaded today's celebration of my mil. Mother's day. Blah! I don't dislike my mil. She's a nice lady (most of the time) but she just says the most painfully insane things to get people's attention - especially her son's. She's not mental-institution-insane (yet) though one might be able to make a good arguement if you knew her like her son lol. But for weeks, she's been threatening to have us at her house for this celebration. I should have taken the husband's word and believed that she would not be able to keep her word about having her house cleaned out (even though it's not her doing it but simply getting other people to clean). I should have trusted her son, my husband, who knows her through and through. But because I didn't, I upset myself on more than one occasion, which in turn, upset the husband over at least one meal... but it's now 5:22pm on mother's day 2007 and I'm happy to say, that's all over and done with. Hallelujah!!! Praise (fill in the blanks with whatever fictitious character you believe in here) ______.

I wrote the below when I was upset - thought I'd just add it in here, why not :)

If I'm a mother...

I wouldn't feel like less of a woman on damn mother's day
I wouldn't have to share it with anyone else but my own mother, my husband and my kid... and if the husband wants to share it with his mother, hey, that's ok by me (maybe) lol
I would understand why mothers love their mama's boys
I would understand unconditional parental love to idiotic un-returnable kids
I wouldn't upset the husband about not wanting to go to his mom's eeiky house for dessert
I would be pampered (extra) on mother's day
I would add 'everyday's mother's day' to my now, 'everyday's my birthhday!' comment
I might understand how and why my married friends with kids cheat on their husbands
I wouldn't be writing this crap and probably screaming at my kid now
I wouldn't be able to buy expensive bags and shoes 'coz I'd be buying expensive kids' crap
I'd have to deal with other people's kids and worst, their parents and teachers
I'll be 37, look 47 and feel 57! (no mail from you moms out there thank you very much!)
There goes all my freedom travelling whenever, wherever

...SO BLOODY GLAD I'M NOT A PHUCKING MOTHER! Just for one sorry ass a day in a year to be appreciated!? No bloody thank you!!! ...'coz you know... my son will come home with a wife a gazillion times more evil, more selfish then myself hahahahaha!

The King Makes The Papers (Again)!

Unlike the last time, the king did not make another all-feature article about him - if interested, you can read that article here. But... he did get named by his college friend, Geoff, writer of this article, to be not only a math teacher but math genius hahaha! We had a good laugh this morning when the husband read the article to me in the midst of my third nap :) Now Google's got no excuse not to give him a phat expat package lol!

If you're into basketball and how the draft lottery is calculated (I assume most of my readers are not that into conditional probability), then all you're interested is what they said specifically about my husband? Well, this is it :D

Did you confirm this with a local math genius?

Yes. His name is Bruce Ryan, he went to Harvard and he teaches math at Memphis University School.

Cool. Are the MUS kids developing an interest in probabilities because of the lottery?

"Actually," said Ryan, "they're interested in probabilities because of poker."

But, if you're interested in the depth of the NBA draft lottery (yawn!), below is the entire article... :)

NBA draft lottery

With top pick and a brighter tomorrow at stake, Griz could really use good bounce

By Geoff Calkins
May 13, 2007

Andy Dolich, president of business operations for the Memphis Grizzlies, was stopped by a fan the other day.

"So," the fans said, "how does it feel to have the No. 1 pick in the draft?"

Dolich pondered this question for a long moment.

"Does he know something I don't know?" he thought.

Nah, couldn't be.

So he explained the NBA Draft Lottery. Or tried his best.

"With certainty, there are two things I cannot explain in an intelligent fashion," Dolich said. "They are the NBA lottery and the plot line to 'Lost.' "

You think he was kidding? Here's an excerpt from an actual an e-mail from a reader named Mark Wright.

"The math analysis looks at the entire draft with multiple variables, or as applied here, what is the Grizzlies one chance of landing in one of four spots," he wrote. "But my analysis is based upon only one variable, the first pick as an independent event with a 25-percent probability."

It went on from there.

Oh, and then Dolich weighed in with this bit of zen.

"It's good that it's so confusing and it's bad that it's so confusing," he said.

Got that, grasshopper?

If not, it's time you do. The most important moment in the history of the Memphis NBA franchise takes place in exactly nine days.

Over the course of those nine days, the CA will tell you everything you need to know about the process. A story a day. Nine stories in nine days. Today, we tackle the essentials of the lottery in the standard question and answer format. For example:

Is it really the most important moment in the history of the Memphis NBA franchise?

If you don't count the debut of Heisley's golden nuggets, yes.

Har. But why is it so important?

Because it would be embarrassing to have a base of 273 season-ticket holders. If the Grizzlies don't get the first or second pick in the draft, it's hard to imagine they'll have a lot more than that. People have lost hope. The ownership situation has chased a lot of fans away. The Grizzlies need the first or second pick to give the franchise a jolt.

Why the first or second pick?

Because this draft has two superstars, Greg Oden of Ohio State and Kevin Durant of Texas. The Grizzlies would prefer to have Oden -- every NBA team would -- but from a marketing perspective it doesn't matter which they get.

Did you ask Dolich if it mattered?

Yes.

What did he say?

"From my perspective, no, it doesn't matter. The debate over which player is better is already raging and it will continue to rage until they are voted into the Hall of Fame. The fuel of either one or two is jet-propelled."

And the fuel of either three or four?

"High test," he said.

The price of gas is really getting to him, isn't it?

Evidently, yes.

But what number will the Grizzlies pick?

Anywhere from first to fourth. The first three picks are chosen by the lottery. After that, the NBA slots in the remaining 11 lottery teams, from the worst record on up. As the team with the worst record in the league, the Grizzlies can't pick any lower than fourth.

So how does the lottery part work?

Like any other lottery, really. The NBA actually rents a lottery machine from a company that manufactures them. The machine spits out four numbered Ping-Pong balls, which is the winning number combination. The team that has the corresponding number combination gets the first pick.

How are the number combinations assigned to teams?

Randomly, by a computer. But the lottery team with the worst record (the Grizzlies) gets 250 of 1,000 possible number combinations. The lottery team with the best record (the Clippers) gets five of 1,000 possible number combinations.

So the Grizzlies' chances of winning the first pick are?

Twenty-five percent. Or, as Dolich said, "seventy-five percent that we won't."

Kill-joy.

"I'm just being realistic," he said.

But we had enough realism during the season. Besides, you said either of the first two picks would do the job. What are the chances that the Grizzlies get the second pick?

That depends on which team gets the first pick.

Huh?

The Celtics had the second-worst record in the league. If the Celtics get the first pick, their 199 number combinations are out of play. The Grizzlies would then have 250 chances out of 801 to get the second pick, or 31.21 percent. On the other extreme, the Clippers had the best record among lottery teams. If the Clippers get the first pick, their 5 number combinations are out of play. The Grizzlies would then have 250 chances out of 995 to get the second pick, or 25.22 percent.

Well, if that's true, how come the NBA says the Grizzlies have a 21.51 chance of getting the second pick?

Because that's accurate right now, before we know what team is going to get the first pick. The league figures this out using something called "conditional probabilities." The Grizzlies might end up having a 31.21 percent chance of getting the second pick if the Celtics get the first pick but, at this moment, considering everything that might happen -- including the Grizzlies getting the first pick and being ineligible to get the second -- their chances of getting the second pick are 21.51 percent.

Did you confirm this with a local math genius?

Yes. His name is Bruce Ryan, he went to Harvard and he teaches math at Memphis University School.

Cool. Are the MUS kids developing an interest in probabilities because of the lottery?

"Actually," said Ryan, "they're interested in probabilities because of poker."

OK, so we know the Grizzlies have a 25 percent chance of getting the first pick and a 21.51 percent chance of getting the second pick. How do you figure out what their chances are of getting either the first or second pick?

You add those two numbers together.

That seems too simple.

Doesn't it though? But it's true, the Grizzlies have a 46.51 percent chance of getting the first or second pick. Which means they'll probably get shafted, like the Trail Blazers last year.

The Trail Blazers got shafted?

They had the worst record in the league and got the fourth pick.

How often does that happen?

Way too often, as it turns out. In the 13 years since 1994, 15 teams have had the best chance to win the NBA lottery. (In both 2002 and 2003, two teams tied for the worst record in the league). Of those 15 teams, only two (Cleveland in 2003 and Orlando in 2004) ended up with the first pick in the draft. Five other teams (Dallas in 1994, the Clippers in 1995, Vancouver in 1999, Chicago in 2002 and Atlanta in 2005) ended up with the second pick in the draft.

Yikes. That's terrible. Are the Grizzlies doing anything to improve their chances?

Naturally. They're having a good-luck charm contest. They've given out nearly 50,000 Ping-Pong balls that double as antenna balls.

How come you don't see them on cars around town?

"It turns out most cars don't have antennas any more," Dolich said.

Ahhh, the best laid plans, and all that. So what else are they doing?

They're painting one of those vast cement balls on the plaza to look like a Ping-Pong ball.

Wow. A 10,000 pound Ping-Pong ball?

"You should see the paddle," Dolich said.

-- Geoff Calkins: 529-2362

Guess Who's Older Today

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME!!!

I'm 37 today. Yikes! That makes me late-30s and too close to the big 4-0! Scary... well, not really scary but it's weird to imagine that I'm getting older. That only happens to other people! I still feel no different from being 20... or even yesterday; on the last day of being 36. So far, I 've been mostly indifferent about my age. But today, being 37 seems hmmm... weird. Like I'm suppose to know better... wiser (not!)... well, it was different enough to wake up at past 2am and went shopping on Saks.com to buy myself some of make up (without having to pay tax and shipping) and a handbag and what else, shoes shoes shoes lol. Hey, at least they were all on sale :)

Speaking of presents, these are some of the things I got from the king. The last few years, I usually opt for household items; washer / dryer, oven, fridge, you name it lol. This year, the husband probably decided he was tired of asking me what I wanted... so every time I bought something since the year started, he'd repeat the familiar chant 'that's part of your birthday present'. The poor guy... I'm not kidding when I admit, everyday is my bloody birthday lol! He did well this year though... he got me an Isqueeze (which is AWESOME!) and my Dell flat screen monitor. There is SO much real estate on my screen now - and my desk too! ...and it couldn't be more timely that the tv set in the kitchen that only I usually use died on me yesterday... so yup, guess who got also a flat screen Mitsubishi 57" tv hee hee. Nice!


Thanks to the many friends who've called, sent me e-wishes - one crazy (but sweet) one even posted a blog entry in honor of my birthday :D My lovely niece Emma who left two hilarious messages on our answering machine while I was out made my day! When her mom asked her to say 'Emma sayang auntie Karen' (meaning Emma loves auntie Karen), she not only refused to say it once (as she does as always) she ran away from the phone the second time. When she finally returned and was asked again to repeat after her mom 'Emma sayang auntie Karen', she uttered, loud and clear... 'Uncle Bruce!!' Yes, it's a known fact. Uncle Bruce is certainly her favorite... dammit lol. Thank you all for remembering - or at least enough to care to enter my birth date into your computers :) ...'coz guess what!? I have no idea when any of your birthdays are lol. Yes yes, older and if possible... bitchier! :)

No special plans today - that's why I always say, 'everyday is my birthday!'. I'm going to the gym to keep myself from opening the darn fridge one more time... go get my manicure and pedicure this afternoon, and then have my hot birthday dinner date with the husband at 6:15pm. No idea where he's taking me. For a change, I can't seem to come up with a right guess where he's taking me tonight - and he's thrilled about that :)

What Is My Name?

I've been married to the king now for almost six years... some of his family still can't grasp my name. Now I can understand if I insist they call me by my Chinese name but hello... Karen is hardly a name that anyone in this country can say is 'foreign'. Well, of course the in-laws live in Arkansas; maybe everyone there is named Bubba and Bo lol! (Ok, I know they're not so no crazy emails from Arkansas folks!) It irritates me when my father-in-law's wife keeps calling me 'Sharon' - and then goes on to tell me about her 'friend' Sharon who works at the local clothier and how great she is. I Don't Phucking Care!! She does this practically every time I see her... thankfully, I have not seen her in eons. No love lost. I try to cut down the number of visits to her house since she called me 'huge' to my face under our roof - can you imagine what she'd say under hers!? The other person who deliberately messes up my good name is the six year old niece. It was funny (well not THAT funny) the first time she 'mistook' me as Gram-Mimi (of all people) - the above mentioned person she calls her 'other' grandmother. I'm not childish, 'fighting' with a kid... but omg, you should see the look in her eyes when we make her say my name right - which she does (immediately) when presents are at stake.

I will turn 37 in a few days. Nah, I'm not too overly concerned. Not that it would help anyway. So, as tradition goes, I get a personalized card made SPECIALLY by Mimi. Whoop-d-doo! As usual, she sends the card addressed to me - Mrs Bruce Ryan. Come on already!! Can't she just write my bloody name on it? Even people who send junk mail addresses it correctly. Shit! Just 'coz she has no identity doesn't mean that other women don't. Not to say she's wrong but it's a personalized birthday card for crying out loud! Not that this is anything new however. This is the card she sent me last year when she thought I was black. This year, I'm apparently an eight year old white boy lol! No, nothing wrong with that... except I'm a practically middle-aged Chinese woman lol.

Some people will probably say I should at least appreciate the fact that at least someone remembered. I did reflect on it for a little and like the don't-send-me-invitations-if-I-don't-know-you issue, the I-really-don't-care-about-you issue, I realize that no, why should I appreciate it? She doesn't really care about me in any shape or form - trust me, she doesn't. ...and yes, it's a two way street here. So no, not the slightest appreciation on my part. Besides, the computers at the local retailers too remembered that my birthday falls on the month of May. At least they sent me shopping coupons - now those, I appreciate. Ok, not really lol! They too, will eventually end up where this card is. I'm just saying... if you know me at all, you wouldn't bother sending me a birthday card. Send cash lol! ...like dad does - he obviously knows me best lol!

The King Saves The Day (Again)

Have I ever told you how awesome my husband, the king, is?! Okay, to most of you, I have uttered this a gazillion times and you have already stopped reading and closed the window. But to those of you who continue reading... let me say this one more time. My husband is the best!

Not just because mere minutes ago, he helped in a problem that has exasperated me all day; but because sometimes, when you love someone, you just have to come out and say it loud and clear and give them the props they deserve :)

My husband not only helped me regain access to my flickr account, he went to ground zero of the problem and got me access back into my yahoo account - an account that I'd written off when yahoo wanted me to pay them money to reset the password - and I'd told him no way in hell any password works. It was one of those email accounts I'd created when I was practically a teenager back home and probably entered jibberish for personal information. For some reason, after a few tries, he figured it all out! I still don't know how! When it came to the security question, all it said was "usofa". He looked at me with that bemused yet highly irritated what-kind-of-a-security-question-is-that look and made a few guesses and voila(!), he got it! My goodness, he even remembers the zip code of my address in Tucson from 1989 lol! Where does this man store all that kind of useless information - sure it came in handy today but still... it boggles my mind how his brain works... or do I just have a really small brain and that's why I'm impressed lol. Either way, a full day of being distracted by this stupid yahoo / flickr problem, I can finally heave a big sigh of relief.

...last week, after the piggish wife of his fell asleep practically after dinner, the king actually cleaned up the kitchen, put the leftovers away and let me sleep! Ok, some of you may be used to men like that... but coming from an Asian culture, that is just unheard of! Sure, there are maids to do that kind of stuff (back home) most of the time... but I certainly have not seen the men in my family do that - ever! Not my dad, my brother, none of my male cousins or uncles. That is just not their 'job'; which has nothing to do with socio-economic background at all. I told my mom about it the next night and after accusing (correctly) that I had overate and thus fallen asleep right after the meal, she chuckled. She told me to thank my lucky stars for the man I call 'sweetie' - yes, the husband... not forgetting the original sweetie, my little black pug back home, Lucky :)

One note: I usually can't rescue the king out of his issues like he does me. Fortunately, there aren't too many people who can do that for him so I don't feel overly threatened lol!