30 things about me

I did this for one of the email lists I belong to - basically write down 30 things about you that you can think of in one sitting. I like it because it's kind of like those email surveys, but more interesting.

1. I've been playing video games since first grade.

2. I went to USC.

3. My favorite country that I've traveled to is England.

4. I want to take a sailing trip across the Pacific some day, making stops in Hawaii and other Pacific islands.

5. I grew up in Taiwan until age 11.

6. My father lived and worked in Taiwan from when I was 11 to age 17, while the rest of my family was in Los Angeles.

7. I love British food.

8. I went to a Catholic all-girls school for high school and enjoyed it.

9. I've been wanting to quit my current job for the last two and a half years (I've been here for three).

10. I don't have a favorite book or movie, because I like different ones for different reasons.

11. I almost never re-read books (especially fiction) or watch movies more than once, except for musicals which I never get tired of.

12. I don't like a lot of popular music because the lyrics are too vague or don't make sense.

13. I want to sing in a choir again. I haven't done it since high school.

14. I won't marry until I find the right man, whatever age that may be.

15. But I don't intend to marry until at least age 30.

16. I am happier with my life now than I've ever been.

17. I've been an on-again, off-again vegetarian. The longest I've lasted was about 4 months.

18. I rarely watch TV.

19. I used to love animated movies until they all turned into mediocre 3D talking animal stories (except for Pixar, of course).

20. I stopped buying licensed products (action figures, figurines, and such) because I tend to get tired of them after a few years.

21. I hated exercise until I tried Pilates. I love feeling myself get stronger with muscle-toning workouts. Still hate cardio though.

22. I have never been to China and have no strong inclination to go.

23. I read almost exclusively nonfiction books these days, whereas I used to read mostly sci-fi/fantasy fiction, and romance novels at one point.

24. Personal growth is a favorite hobby of mine. I love working on my issues.

25. I want to open a metaphysical store in the near future.

26. I have hung around the same Star Trek forum on and off for 10 years.

27. I had wanted to be a novelist during high school and college, but now I have very little desire to write fiction.

28. I often screw up my verb tenses when I talk (usually by using present and future tense when I'm supposed to use past tense). I know the rules when I write, but when I'm thinking about something I'm trying to say, it's harder to pay attention.

29. I hate looking for parking on a crowded urban street.

30. I like rain.

unsustainable

the deficit
"health" care system
wars against ideas
exploitation in the name of economy
social security
selecting one person to represent a multicultural nation

commuting acrobatics

Today I tried out a different route from Pasadena to Santa Monica by taking the 134 to the 101 to 405 south. It took about an hour and 20 minutes, including the extra time I took (saved?) after having missed the on-ramp from hell to the 405. It was a one-lane on-ramp that goes from one jammed freeway to another - I drove by and was kind of glad to have missed it. I'll have to remember to take the previous exit next time and get back on the 405 from Sepulveda. If I can make this kind of time in the middle of the week (Mondays have lighter traffic), I'll be taking this route instead of the 10. Taking the 10 from Pasadena to Santa Monica (110 south to 5 south to 10 west) takes me an hour and 45 minutes.

I hate LA traffic.

Oh by the way, I've "moved" to Pasadena and will be staying there for the next 3 months, courtesy of my aunt who is traveling through Asia.

i hate this town

This weekend, I was going to move into my aunt's apartment in Pasadena while she's out traveling. She told me I was going to need a parking permit to park my car on the street, since her car will stay in her spot at the complex. I said, OK, not a problem. So I look up on how to get a parking permit, and this is what I come across:

1. I can't get an annual permit because my car is not registered to my aunt's apartment, and I'm not going to change the address on it since I'd only be there for a few months.

2. In order to get a monthly permit, I have to not only bring in my car registration, but also my aunt's and her roomate's.

3. I have to take time off work to put in the application because their office doesn't open on weekends.

4. Because my car is registered to my father and not to me, I have to get a letter from him saying that his daughter is authorized to drive his car.

5. After I bring in my application with all the paperwork, the Department of Transportation will investigate me to make sure there's no paid parking available in my complex or within 600 feet of the apartment, or that I'm not using my garage for storage or some shit like that.

6. And then I have to go to their office again the next month to renew the temporary permit.

This is enough to make my hair fall out. I think I'll try and move my aunt's car to my grandma's house so I can use her space.

"fitness season"

As you may or may not know, I work for a company that markets infomercial products internationally. The first half of the year, from January through May or so, is we call the "fitness season" -- that is, when people make new year's resolutions to exercise and lose weight (people who go to the gym regularly know about this). It lasts until May or so because as the temperature warms, people start exercising outdoors, or they go on vacation, so the sales of exercise equipment drops.

I mention this now because for some reason reading this phrase today, it felt icky. I felt sad that so many people start exercising each year, fail to keep it up, and then start all over again the next year in the hopes that this year they'll finally lose those 10, 20, 30 pounds. And some people make money off of this cycle and call it "fitness season." I swear, probably a good half to two-thirds of the infomercial products out there are either exercise equipment or something that promises weight loss in some way. Not that I begrudge people making money when the opportunity presents itself, but it all just seems so pointless.