Internet Brands Holiday

So these are a bit overdue. The company holiday party was on Thursday, December 17. But anyway...

Meet Santa and Elf of the Web Development Team, a.k.a. Rachel and me.

And check out what I won for Best Elf.

So our CEO said at our "Town Hall" meeting that there was a chance to win a Kindle, but he was mistaken. Instead, they had a Sony Reader. I wanted it, but, alas, I did not get it. They had a bunch of prizes for first place in certain categories, including a digital camera, Sony Reader, IPod, beach cruiser bicycles, etc. They raffled off the prizes to the first place winners, and, well, I ended up with the bicycle. Womp womp. The bicycle happens to be too big for me and too impractical, since I will most likely never ride it. I did, however, enjoy riding it around my section on the 11th floor. ;) Hehe. Good thing is, I believe HR will be giving me the gift receipt so I can get credit for it at Target (where they bought it).

Thanks to Kenan for the bicycle photo and Stas for the santa/elf photo.

Blast from the Past

Meet little me. Here are a couple photos of me from years back. I found them in my parents' room on top of their dresser.

Hong Kong, circa 1988-89

Hong Kong, circa 1990

Oh, little me. I wish I could meet her.

2009 U.S. Table Tennis National Championships

I just got back from Las Vegas, Nevada, where I went to watch the 2009 U.S. Table Tennis National Championships. My aunt and uncle from Hong Kong are here visiting, so they joined my parents and me, along with my grandfather from Northern California, on our short Friday-Sunday Las Vegas trip. We stayed at the Las Vegas Hilton, which is right by the Las Vegas Convention Center, where the nationals took place!

My dad and I went to watch the matches while my relatives and my mom did other things (oh, you know, slots, gamble, shopping, etc.). We saw some awesome matches. Gao Jun took the gold for women's singles (no surprise there). Ariel Hsing (only 14 years old!) took the silver. Michael Landers (only 15 years old!) took the gold for men's singles, and Samson Dubina took silver. There was a huge fiasco with the men's quarterfinalists boycotting due to their dissatisfaction with the amount of prize money being given, which was apparently significantly less than that given in previous years. Nevertheless, the show must go on, and the 2 of the 8 who didn't boycott (Landers and Dubina) played their final match.

Here's a shot of one of the women's singles semi-final matches: Gao Jun vs. Anne Deng (who is only 15 years old!). The other semi-final match was with Jasna Rather (formerly Jasna Reed) vs. Ariel Hsing.

During the nationals and the open, multiple table tennis equipment companies have booths to sell merchandise. Here are some little kids playing with a tiny table at the Joola booth. :)

Every time I attend some sort of table tennis tournament, I always get inspired to play more table tennis and to improve. Watching such high-level players is especially inspirational and encouraging.

Anyway, thanks to my dad's amazing hook-ups, I got these babies for only $29 (retail $47.99)!

I've been in need of new table tennis shoes, and I've had my eye on these 808s for a while now. To top it off, they're Cal/UC Berkeley colors!

Welcome to 909 N. Sepulveda Ave.

Welcome to 909 N. Sepulveda Ave. in El Segundo, California. Home of CarsDirect.com.

I've always thought these giant address numbers outside the building were awesome, and I had always wanted to take a photo with it. So here it is, and here I am, in all our glory. Me + the 909, thanks to Jeremy. Except I don't think I'm happy with how I look in this picture. I believe I will be taking another one some time. :)

On another note, my team is telling me to enter the "best elf" contest at our company holiday party, which will be taking place this Thursday. You win an Amazon Kindle! I think I'll do it!

Fun with Josephine, Work, and Random Jargon

Monday, after work, I headed over to Irvine to hang out with my cousin, Josephine. She attends UC Irvine (she's a senior!), but she's originally from San Jose. We ate dinner at Guppy's at Diamond Jamboree, where I had a delicious bowl of kimchi noodles with pork.

After dinner, we took some pictures at Stickipicki.

Here they are for your viewing pleasure.

(FYI, all pics enlarge when you click on them.)

On the way to work yesterday, I spotted this awesome car with an "All you need is love." sticker on the back. I just had to take a picture of it, so I attempted to do so with my phone. You will definitely have to enlarge this photo to see the sticker.

My co-worker, Jeremy, and I have the same fat asian cat! His is white and mine is purple. While waiting for something or other to load (or perhaps I was just getting restless from work), I let our cats have a little play time and decided to take a few pictures.

Work, work, work.

This week will be my fourth week working at Internet Brands/CarsDirect.com. Crazy how time flies. The actual work hasn't been too exciting lately, but I've really enjoyed meeting the people on my team and hanging out with them. What can I say, I love meeting new people, period. :)

An upside of working in El Segundo (right by LAX, by the way) is the fact that my friend, Pam, works extremely closeby at Time Warner. This past Thursday, she joined me and some of my co-workers for lunch at Veggie Grill.


This portabello mushroom burger was delicious, by the way.

Hello, Pamela!

Allan and Ji. Ji was totally not digging the lack of real meat.

Ji and Jeremy


I take Mondays off from Internet Brands to do some web/graphic design work for an art gallery in Laguna Beach. I enjoy driving out there because I absolutely love the area. On my lunch break, I enjoy walking down a block from the gallery and admiring the ocean with a nice cup of coffee. (Yes, the gallery is THAT CLOSE to the beach) I'm so jealous of the houses that are located right along the coastline - their frontyard is the ocean! Maybe if my hard work perseveres, I'll be able to own one of those houses some day. ;)







Yesterday was Halloween, and of course I didn't want the day to go to waste! Pamela and I went to Michelle's Halloween party at her apartment in Costa Mesa followed by Josephine's friend's party in Tustin. Pamela was the cutest mime ever. ;)

Terrible internet.

So I have plenty to blog about - new job (at Internet Brands/CarsDirect.com), new friends, small trips, fun excursions. Pictures, too!

But for now, let me show you all how crappy my internet was being just now:

10:50 pm: thisxgunforhire disconnected
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10:59 pm: now sending from: thisxgunforhire


FML.

Berkeley Open 2009

My, oh my, it has been a while since I've posted. Don't get me wrong - I've got tons of pictures, just have been rather lazy to put them up. Number one (blogging) fault of mine.

In any case, here are a couple photos from Labor Day weekend when I went up to Berkeley, the weekend during which the Berkeley Open table tennis tournament occurred (and yes, I played!). I pretty much lived at the RSF (gym) while I was up there. o_O



My table tennis homies.


Table tennis homies @ hot pot @ Coriya.


Table tennis homie, Brian, who likes to tease me. :( Haha.


Oh, by the way, I am still too lazy to upload my own photos - these are pictures I stole off of Facebook, courtesy of Brian Taylor. :)

Self-motivation.

It's time to get crackin'.

Click to enlarge & see what's written in the middle of the screen!


[edit: 09/11/2009 2:46PM]
Shortly after making this post and realizing I couldn't quite fall asleep yet, I got out of bed, pulled out my old resume, redid the entire thing and updated it, then submitted it to two job positions - one at the Walt Disney Company and one at Technisource. Hurray for late-night productivity! Today, I finally made a cover letter and updated my resume again (I had forgotten about two work experience items that should have been included). I submitted my resume and cover letter to 7 more positions at the Walt Disney Company. Here's to hoping I hear some positive feedback from at least a few of those positions!

Cue! Pictures with Tiffiny

Here are the Cue! pictures I took with Tiffiny that I mentioned in the last post. I resorted to taking pictures of the pictures because I haven't had access to a scanner yet. :( Click the pictures below to enlarge; I think uploading them to blogger reduced the quality by a lot though, unfortunately.

Reconnecting.

It's been a while since I've posted, but boy do I have a lot to post! My days have been filled with catching up with old friends that I don't see very often. So, let's begin.

Saturday, August 8, 2009

Ryan Hsu & John Zhang were down in SoCal for John's little sister's birthday, so I went over the day of the little shindig. John's house is in Diamond Bar, and I must say, it is huge! For dinner, we went to the Hong Kong Plaza in Rowland Heights. John's cousin works at the Lollicup there so she knows a lot of the people who work at various restaurants and places at the plaza. I saw 臭豆腐 (stinky tofu), my favorite!, and I had to have it. Thanks to John's cousin who has the hook-ups, I got some for free! Yum. I couldn't resist taking a picture with the sign. Haha.



Wednesday, August 12, 2009

BeiBei heard of this place called "Iron Grill" in Los Angeles that had a 1/2 off special on sushi, so we decided to check it out. It was great! We shared a "Love Boat." and the total came out to only $28, split between the two of us! There was way too much sushi for both of us - we even had leftovers!





After sushi, we watched G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra. It wasn't too bad, actually. After the movie, we stopped by Phoenix Dessert to grab some quick desserts, headed back to BeiBei's to down our desserts, then I went home. Tummy quite satisfied. :)


Friday, August 14, 2009

Paul and I watched The Time Traveler's Wife. It was pretty good. I cried! T_T Haha. I had to ask Paul if he had a tissue. Afterwards, we ate at Del Taco. Mmm satisfying. ;)

Paul's in Boston now and heading to New York tomorrow for architecture school @ Columbia! How exciting! I hope he has a blast there. Can't wait to hear all the crazy stories about his experiences. :)


Saturday, August 15, 2009

Chinese school reunion! I had Korean BBQ with Pam, Christine, and Dorothy. We hadn't all hung out in 4 years! (Ever since college). I've missed these girls. It was great hanging out with them. We had a lot of laughs, and as Pam said, my abs got a great workout! ;) Hopefully I'll be seeing more of them from now on since we've graduated and are all back in the area. :) Pam graduated from UCLA & Christine graduated from UCSD.


(Please ignore my fat arm :[)

Thursday was Christine's 22nd birthday, so we got her a cake to celebrate! The restaurant also gave her that cute little green critter. We couldn't quite figure out what it was. Haha. :p



Monday, August 17, 2009

Tiffiny was going back to Berkeley on Wednesday, so we had a little lunch date Monday prior to her departure. We ate at China Bistro near her area, El Monte. We also took Cue! pictures - those cutesy asian pictures that you take in a booth and draw on, but I haven't been able to scan them. Once I get those scanned, I'll post them up too!




Wedneday, August 19, 2009

Wong Fu Productions, David Choi, and Far*East Movement were having a meet and greet at the It's A Grind in Cerritos, and my little cousin, Reycel, really wanted to go. So I took her! I really wish I smiled better in these pictures, though. :(


Reycel and I with Jsplif and Kevnish from Far*East Movement


Reycel and I with Phil, Wes, and Ted from Wong Fu Productions and David Choi


Saturday, August 22, 2009

Long Beach Table Tennis Club hosted their Summer 2009 Tournament. I helped out and participated in the under 1400 and under 1600 rated events, as well as the under 2800 doubles. My partner and I got 2nd in the doubles event! I almost advanced from my round robin group in the U1400; it came down to a tie-breaker for a 3-way tie! It was very tiring, but I had a lot of fun, and I think I played pretty well. Individually, I won three matches and lost three matches; two of the three games that I lost were played up to 5 games (so I lost 2-3), then the other one I lost 1-3.



Sunday, August 23, 2009

My dad, Reycel, and I went to the Beatles Festival, hosted by KEARTH 101 radio station, by the Queen Mary in Long Beach. It was pretty fun! Two groups of people brought their instruments and started jamming to Beatles songs. Crowds started forming around them, including us, and people were getting into the music. It was cool. Here's a photo of my dad in front of the Beatles Rockband stage. Yes, that's right; Rockband released a Beatles version of the game!


Isn't he cute with his Beatles shirt? :p

So that's what I've been up to lately, in addition to slowly putting away my clothes from my move from Berkeley, slowly cleaning my room, and watching and finishing the Taiwanese drama, Devil Beside You, starring Rainie Yang and Mike He. :)

Wushu cutie!

This little girl is pretty amazing! ^^

Colorado (Part 2)

Welcome to a very picture-heavy post that sums up my Colorado trip, from August 1-August 7. All of the photos below can be enlarged by clicking on the photo. (FYI, I am the second oldest of the cousins present on this trip. Clement is the oldest, then I follow next).

August 1: Arrival @ Denver airport; waiting for my uncle, dad, and older cousin to return with the rental vans

My cousin, Ryan.

Mom and Auntie Anna (Ryan's mom) in the back. (L-R) Grandma, Grandpa, Ryan, Karen, and Kathy on top of her.

August 2: Garden of the Gods

August 3: Royal Gorge Bridge

Me & Grandpa (爺爺)

Mommy!

August 4: Part I - Garden of the Gods: Balance Rock

Ryan doing a headstand.

Auntie Leanne (Karen, Kathy, and Katie's mom), my mom, Auntie Anna (Ryan's mom), Auntie Hannah (Clement's mom)

Cousins! Katie, Ryan, Me, Clement, Karen, Kathy

Katie & Me

August 4: Part II - Broadmoor Hotel (5-star)

Ryan & Me

Mom & Dad

August 4: Part III - Seven Falls

Clement, Me, Ryan

August 5: Part I - Dinosaur Ridge (Fossils!)

The dark areas are fossils!

August 5: Part II - Red Rocks

The Beatles performed here on August 26, 1964!

Clement, my Dad, Ryan

August 5: Part III - Coors Brewery

Ryan

Ryan, Me, Clement


Sup, family? ("Silly" pose)

August 6: Castle Rock Factory Outlet

"Car #2"

Dinner @ Texas Roadhouse (yes, there is one in CO!); Clement & Ryan

August 7: Downtown Denver; lunch @ Johnny Rockets followed by airport for flight home.

Ryan got smiley face ketchup!

(L-R) Karen, Me, Ryan, Clement

It was overall a good trip. Colorado is nice; lots of nature and clean air. I wouldn't want to live there though (hehe). Sometimes I had a hard time breathing due to the altitude! I love spending time with my family, especially my cousins. In fact, I miss them already. So, guys, what's next?!