Dim Sum Diaries
Here is an interesting article, which states that according to research, parents who are of different races, such as a white father and an Asian-American mother, spend more time and money on their kids than parents who are both of the same race.

Let me tell you, feeling the pinch on the finances. If I want to enroll the kids in YMCA summer camps for 2 weeks out of each month for the months of July and August, bloody over $1k. And, in trying to be a good, green environmentally forward person...the catalytic converter on the 2003 Honda Hybrid went out. $1300 to fix because its not covered by warranty. Basically next time we have to get the car smogged, we'll have to get it fixed before then because otherwise it won't pass inspection.

"Lame Californian shit," laughs one person I told. "We don't have those lame laws where I live."

*Bangs head against wall
Ok, I am in fact, not dead. The jump was canceled due to horrible weather. Have much to post about but going through PMS...and yeah...so will post more in a bit.
Well, it is the night before the big jump tomorrow. I thought this weekend would be hella stressful because of all the driving I need to do, but it's actually turned out to be rather relaxing. Rita just called me, she is 10 miles from where we are skydiving tomororw and guess what:

4/15/07 - Day: Chance of light rain showers with slight chance of thunder with small hail. High 62F, humidity 35%. Winds WNW at 10 to 15 mph.

Apparently not optimal conditions for jumping. She will call in the morning to tell me how the weather is. So, we'll see! I also thought I'd post some pics of the Cocary BBQ place we went to for dinner (me and the 'rents).



Here is the definition of shabu shabu. The restaurant has just moved from their old location to this new one, and has a cool new feature which included a bar area, with bowls set up at every seat, and a train chugging its way around the perimeter of the bar, carrying little bowls of yumminess you could pluck off and eat at your leisure.



Also, this warning was posted:



Great place, but for the fact that your hair and clothes smell of bbq when you exit the building.

Some other interesting things happened today as well. Hubby needed to buy his fancy schmancy designer shampoo, so we stopped at this Kamay Beauty place (also had its own salon). Apparently some guy calls the salon. Sales clerk answers, gets this funny look on her face.

"Umm," she asked the aesthestician, "Do we give guys Brazilians?"

"OMG," I chimed in, scandalized. "Do a lot of guys ask for that? What if he is a big, fat, nasty, hairy guy?"

The Aesthestician shook her head firmly. "NO. Please, tell him I'm not available."

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Say a little prayer for me, dear readers. Isn't that from a song? Anyways, I'll be skydiving with my long-time friend Rita. I am normally quite a timid person (read: wussy) when it comes to trying such new and daring things. But once in awhile, the rebel in me throws her head back, roars a mighty roar and does things like getting really sloshed or getting a tattoo shortly after she births her first child (geez that was almost 9 years ago).

Other then the usual busyness with work and family, not too much more going on. But here are some interesting links:

--Miranda July plugs her new collection of short stories in a very neat and interesting way. I'm thinking about buying it based just on her creativity on this website design alone.

--A new BBC TV series from Dawn & French along w/ Joanna Lumley called Clatterford is coming out on DVD soon. It looks promising (as I like Dawn French) and I can't wait to get it.

--I am reading Carol Shields' book on Jane Austen's life, titled, Jane Austen ~ A Life. It is an artful and sensitive look into Austen's personal life, and what influenced her as she wrote Sense & Sensibility, Pride & Prejudice and others. Shields won the Pulitzer Prize for her book, The Stone Diaries, and I really dig her writing style, so checking out some of her other books might be worth taking a look at.

--Interesting article about the rise and flourishing of interracial marriages in the U.S. But hey, how about MORE THEN 3 PARAGRAPHS DEVOTED TO MY ASIAN PEOPLES?? Big fucking duh right there.

Okay, back to work now. Will post more soon. If I'm not dead on Sunday. :)
This is what I'm feeding the brain over the next few days:

--Watch The Namesake. Its been getting rave reviews and I'm keen to see Kal Penn (of Harold & Kumar fame) in this.

--The field is full of presidential hopefuls vying for the spot of Democratic nominee for Prez. I know a lot about Hillary Clinton, but have been hearing a lot about Barack Obama. What's all the fuss about?

Quote from a recent article:

"His appeal is that he sounds a lot more like a president you would hear on "The West Wing" than on CNN: the soaring rhetoric, the commanding presence - he's like the visionary political leader out of central casting," said Robert Thompson, founding director of the Center for Popular Television at Syracuse University.

"There's this appetite for Josiah Bartlet," he said, referring to the fictional president played by Martin Sheen.


I am therefore downloading Obama's book, The Audacity of Hope onto my iPod (this is the first time I will be doing this, yay for being a latecomer to technology) to listen to whilst at work to check it out.

Because after 8 years of the SAME DAMN THING, I've kinda tuned everything out and am content to sow my own garden. Not necessarily the best attitude, but I am growing more optimistic that things will change for the better.
One Million Blogs For Peace, is an event that is rapidly gaining momentum. 217 bloggers joined together in opposition to the Iraq War on its fifth anniversary. They hope to have one million blogs signed up by the sixth anniversary. I think the current blog count is now 308. Help them in their efforts by Digging this story.