happy holidays

may this holiday season bring peace and joy to you all

see you in 2008!

all packed!

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europe trip countdown: 1 more day!

present you yoda, i will

i had the pleasure to visit ILM/Lucasfilm LDAC campus in the san francisco presidio, and oh my, what a fun and unforgettable experience!

before check-in, we were greeted by the jedi master himself


then a miniature yoda welcomed us again with holiday spirit


R2-D2, where's C-3PO?


i forget if this is jar jar binks... frozen in carbonite together with han solo? (help me out guys, i have no knowledge of star wars!)


ok, i know this dude - darth vader


let's hold hands and be friends~


umm... i seriously forgot which side this trooper came from, even the guys mentioned about it... is he good or evil?


i do remember that they're called storm troopers


besides the star wars episodes, lucasfilm has also done special effects for many movies, including king kong. the harry potter series, deep impact, lemony snicket's a series of unfortunate events, etc. were among the rest.


~o christmas tree, o christmas tree~
(chika with her star wars goods)


the boys strive to become jedi masters


THANK YOU jonathan for giving us the tour and treating us to a really great lunch - with a view of the golden gate too!!! i'm so glad we got to visit you because this little field trip was definitely a highlight of my vacation~


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europe trip countdown: 4 days

pre-christmas celebration

since i'll be out of town over christmas, my friends diana, winnie, allen, and i celebrated early this year. we picked Castro Point in mountain view (another choice through yelp recommendation) and had an enjoyable meal~

santa brought me a gift because i was nice :)


we're honored to be dining with santa and rudolf the rednose reindeer!


these didn't last on out plates too long...

the '80s

a few friends "introduced" me to some hit '80s american songs at karaoke last weekend. i had to be "introduced" because i wasn't exposed to many american songs during that era. you guys did a great job!

coincidentally, i started watching this 1984 hk drama recently. if you grew up in hk, you'll know about 新紮師兄 (Police Cadet). this drama made 梁朝偉 (tony leung), 張曼玉 (maggie cheung), 劉青雲 (lau ching wun) and 劉嘉玲 (carina lau) famous. they're all superstars now. OMG, they were super young! on top of that, the clothes, the hair, the exaggerated acting, and the cheesy sound effects were impressive... haha!

but the most impressive of all is that the drama reminded me that cell phones did not exist in 1984; they were still using rotary dial phones...



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europe trip countdown: 6 days

food for thought

this list is quoted from someone's blog as i find it pretty meaningful:

1. There are at least two people in this world that you would die for.
2. At least 15 people in this world love you in some way.
3. The only reason anyone would ever hate you is because they want to be just like you.
4. A smile from you can bring happiness to anyone, even if they don't like you.
5. Every night, someone thinks about you before they go to sleep.
6. You mean the world to someone.
7. You are special and unique.
8. When you make the biggest mistake ever, something good comes from it.
9. When you think the world has turned its back on you, take another look.
10. Always remember the compliments you received. Forget about the rude remarks.
    

as the year is concluding, try to forget about all the negative things and welcome the new year with the above in mind ❤

get a mac: santa claus

on a lighter note :)




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europe trip countdown: 7 days

what's your dæmon?

i went to watch The Golden Compass without much expectations, as i've never been a fan of the fantasy genre (Lord of the Rings, The Chronicles of Narnia, etc.), and have never read the books either. but to my surprise, i actually enjoyed the movie! i liked how it was fast paced and ONLY 2 hours (i don't do so well with slow and long movies). the story was quite interesting and the computer graphics were amazing~

in the film, each human character's soul lives on the outside of their body, in the form of a dæmon (read as DEE-mon). a dæmon is a representation of the person's character and nature.

this is my dæmon, a possum* named Philotheus.


i personally don't think its appearance is very attractive...
now meet your own dæmon here!

*updated:
i guess the dæmon changes according to what my friends agree/disagree with my characteristics... you won't see a possum anymore...

✩wishing Matthew a happy birthday!✩

✩thinking of Angel Ryan too...✩

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europe trip countdown: 9 days

id photo

yaaay! my renewed driver license came... with a normal looking photo!

the old license had the original photo taken right after i passed my driving test at 16. it was a HORRIBLE photo because my eyes were half closed! the lady who took my picture didn't even tell me she took it, nor did she retake it after noticing that my eyes were closed. i was absolutely in shock when i got it in the mail! i had been living in embarrassment everytime i had to show my id... i always felt that people were trying hard not to laugh when they saw my photo...

now with my new id photo, i won't have to feel uncomfortable anymore! the next time you have to get something with a "life-long mug shot", make sure you're able to review and approve it~


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europe trip countdown: 10 days

c'est très chic

today, i went to the city to run an errand and to meet up with a friend for lunch. she suggested a few choices around her work, which was near the baseball park. i could choose between a hearty burger parlor, a healthy greek wrap place, and a french inspired bakery. because my heart had already flown to paris (my trip coming up in less than 2 weeks!), we decided to go to Patisserie Philippe.

this place is such a gem! the sandwiches and salads we got were great~ there was a good variety of pastries and cakes but i didn't get to try this time. i gotta admit it's a very girly place though... pink and silver everywhere. they even tie tiny pink bows on each set of silverware! now that's what i call "attention to detail". but guys, don't be afraid to go in and try! i don't want to sound too much like a yelp review, so check out its yelp feature for more info and pictures. :)

merci beaucoup to my friend C for taking me there!


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europe trip countdown: 12 days

long vacation

december 1st marked the first day of my long vacation.


what i've done so far...
* sleep in each day
* watch tv all day long
* yoga
* not change out of my pj's (on some days only!)
* play with my new macbook and ipod nano
* eat
* renewed my driver license
* got a haircut
* hung out with some friends
* not think about work :p

nice, huh?



last friday, misa and paul threw me a party at their house. paul's bbq was yummy! and thanks for everyone who came, especially my little friend Addison, who stayed past her bedtime to play with me!

isn't she a cutie~


addison has her own blog too (one of my inspirations to open a blog), but i'll have to ask her mommy and daddy if i can share it with you. :)


happy birthday mom!


celebrating in style with lobster sashimi and abalone ;)




went to visit lilo, who's on vacation in the bay area while her mommy continues to be a jetsetter.




can't forget about this annual ritual - christmas cards~















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europe trip countdown: 13 days