«.·°·. Friday, August 29, 2003 .·°·.»
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Holy Warren Buffet, Batman! I can now officially buy a decent automobile on my credit card! How the hell did that happen? Aside from good spending habits and timely payments, making huge lump sum payments off and on also helps stimulate credit worthiness! I always planned on paying off my credit card earlier this year, but there were so many contingencies that I decided, for reasons of positive cash flows, I'd keep a sh*tload of cash in the bank. Well, now that I've secured a new job and settled on a new personal budget plan, I figured I didn't need to hord such a debt load. Well, wrote a check for an amount more than $3,599 but less than $3,601, and viola! they add $8K to my spending limit like that *snap*!
This could potentially be a gold mine! Off and on I get these notices from my credit card company that I can get a 0% APR on balance transfers until the balance is paid off. As such, in theory, I can purchase an automobile with other credit cards at whatever rate (because it's irrelevant), and transfer the balance to my 0% card to payoff! 0% financing with a few flips of the switch! In other words, if I were to finance, for example, $20,000 of the car's purchase price over 48 months with an APR of 6%, I'd save approximately...*types things into Excel*...$2,431.14 over the life of the loan! I'm such a freakin' accounting geek that it's starting to become hilarious!!!
OMG! Before I forget.....
Have a great weekend, folx!!!
***posted by Mouji on 8/29/2003 11:03:00 AM*** ::
«.·°·. Thursday, August 28, 2003 .·°·.»
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Had my first full-on, back-to-back, non-stop meetings this morning. Wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. What I did notice was how big the accounting function here is. What I also learned was that what I was initially hired to do will most likely be a thing of the past come early next year or so. I think it's great timing since I could: 1) move on to another department...preferably the treasury department, or 2) leave the company and work for something "financial services" related since I think I have a certain knack for financial instruments. Either way, it looks like an MBA in Finance is slowly being etched into my destiny, but first comes marriage, I guess...but I'm getting WAAAAY ahead of myself!
I found one person to be a bit "challenging" when it comes to my patience, and it just so happens to be the fugger in the next cubicle. He's a nice enough guy, but he's one of them brown-nosing mofo's. Case in point, I was making idle chit-chat with the Asst. Director of my group, and he butts in to our conversation to ask a totally irrelevant question about some stupid journal entry that's already been posted like he's trying to prove how "technical" he can be. The Asst. Dir. wasn't too pleased, tho. He's also a bit condescending when I ask him questions about operations and stuff, and I'm thinking, "Fool! You're a bit younger than me...they hired you right out of college...you're a supposed "accountant" who has no public accounting experience let alone a CPA license...and worst of all, you're sooooo f*ckin' transparent even Windex will streak on you!!!" Then I put myself in his shoes - he's surrounded by highly qualified, intelligent folx who incidentally are mostly comprised of alumni of Big 5 accounting firms with an average 4 years of public experience. If I were him, I'd be intimidated, too, and adopt an "offense is a good defense" posture in the workplace. However, I should give him more credit, but it's damned hard when he's a proud...and I emphasize "proud"... co-chair of the department's "ergonomic committee"! Jeeezus!
Gloomy day and it's about half over without me amounting to anything that resembles productivity.
***posted by Mouji on 8/28/2003 12:53:00 PM*** ::
«.·°·. Wednesday, August 27, 2003 .·°·.»
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Just a few administrative things:
- Added link to live internet broadcast of Hawaiian 105.1 to the left column
- Deleted my own Hawaiian Restaurants page and replaced with a link to Hal Kop's Bay Area Hawaiian Resources "Food" page.
***posted by Mouji on 8/27/2003 11:35:00 AM*** ::
«.·°·. Tuesday, August 26, 2003 .·°·.»
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Couple of random tidbits...
First of all, I was watching Real Time with Bill Maher on HBO, and on his panel was some unknown hick congressman, Willie Brown, and this wierd lookin' Asian chick. She was this skinny chick with small eyes, pale-as-death skin, goth-like short bangs, and wearing (ironically) a rather conservative green suit. You know how the person's name and title pops onscreen when they talk from time to time? Well that Asian chick was none other than..........MARGARET CHO!!! Man she lost a LOT of weight! Oh no! There goes 30% of her stand-up act! She still has that 60% of her act that take jabs at her overwhelmingly obvious ethnicity, much of which is entirely at the expense of her mother. The other 10% is on other contemporary topics. So where do I stand with Ms. Cho? Let's just say I enjoy 10% of her material and leave it at that, ok?
Inline with Josh and Sarah, I too have watched an episode or two of the Wiggles. One thing...actually the only thing...that made me drop my jaw is that the actors and actresses are Australian!!! Another verifiable proof that Australian Invasion conspiracy theory is alive and well! Poor, poor Ashlyn...gonna grow up talkin' like an Aussie, wrestling crocs and gaters, and f*ckin' around with snakes and spiders and sh*t...what's Aric and Peggy to do? I think I remember seeing some kinda oversized crocodile character with f*cked up teeth in it. Yeah...I wouldn't mind wrasslin' with that oversized reptile and rip its f*ckin' arms and legs out! You're bigtime now! Invest in a better costume, you dancing buffoon! One last rant - why is the token "ethnic" dude always sleepy and sh*t? Why?! WHY?!!
I told you yesterday I'd jinx the weather, and so it rained late last night! You all may now call me Shaman Mouji, thank you very much!
***posted by Mouji on 8/26/2003 10:48:00 AM*** ::
«.·°·. Monday, August 25, 2003 .·°·.»
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I know I'm going to jinx everything when I say that the weather this summer has been the best in the past 8 years I've lived here in SF! It's still friggin' hot, and my ass crack is dripping with sweat! It's making funny noises when I walk briskly fer cryin' out loud! Anyhoo, back to the weekend recap:
- Friday *night*: Went to the Sony Metreon after work...was eating dinner when I noticed this guy sitting alone in the public dining area with only a newspaper in front of him...turns out that the motherf*cker was a pickpocket, and I caught that @sshole with his hand down the purse of some lady in back of him...dickhead had the balls of stickin' around after he saw me glaring at him...after we ate, I went to security to report his ass, and as soon as we were heading back to where he was sitting, numbnuts made a break for it and vanished...proceeded to the lady and asked her to check her bag...she gave us this wierd look as if it was all a joke...I explained everything to her, and she just shrugged it off still unconvinced...F*CKIN' BITCH!!!...watched American Wedding...thank gawd it's the last movie in the trilogy...it lost a whole lotta steam in the 2nd installment, and was virtually running on fumes in the 3rd...definitely a rental, folx...called it a night.
- Saturday: Woke up and headed straight for the pool to do a couple of laps and sunbathe (of course!)...scrubbed the turtle tank clean...drove down to Burlingame for a late brunch at Stacks...went shopping at Stanford Shopping Center...ate dinner at Burma Superstar on Clement St....first time there and I was quite impressed!...Probably why there's usually a line outside on most given nights...called it a night.
- Sunday: Did the San Mateo thang since g/f was craving Tempura Spicy Tuna Roll (thanks to DK for ordering it the time the Yamz visitied!)...had to actually go to 99 Ranch to get something...went home...did laundry...went to eat Indian food again, but this time at the Naan N' Curry on Irving St....probably the best one of the 3 we've had in the city...relaxed the rest of the night.
Work beckons...more later...
***posted by Mouji on 8/25/2003 10:26:00 AM*** ::
«.·°·. Friday, August 22, 2003 .·°·.»
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The prospect of not being home in Hawaii with friends and family this holiday season is really taking its toll...and it's still only August! Aside from food, the only other thing that really helps patch the hole in my aching heart is Hawaiian music. Again, let's give praise and thanks to Hawaiian 105.1 FM KINE of Honolulu, Hawaii for sharing their aloha by streaming their broadcast live over the internet.
While listening to KINE, they played a song I haven't heard in years yet still gives me chicken skin (goose bumps) because of the haunting vocals of the Brothers Cazimero (there's ton of info on them...do a search). Anyways, I've searched high and low for the lyrics and it's literal translation and brought them here to you as a rare feature. Hope you Hawaiian transplants as well as all you who live the Aloha Spirit enjoy and appreciate one of my favorite Hawaiian songs of all time!
I ka ho`opulu `ia i ka ehukai
Kou maka onaona ka`u i aloha
Kou leo kani hone hone i ke kula
Ha`ina `ia mai ana ka puana
Aia i Ka`ena ku`u lei momi
Translation:
There at Ka`ena is my pearl lei
Moistened by the spray of the sea
Your gentle sweet eyes are mine to love
Your sweet voice heard on the plains
Let the story be told
There at Ka`ena is my pearl lei
***posted by Mouji on 8/22/2003 01:30:00 AM*** ::
«.·°·. Thursday, August 21, 2003 .·°·.»
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The following are a bunch of random things to fill in an "end-of-the-week" entry...right before the weekend!
Movies and such...
Deliver Us From Eva - As admitted by the director, this movie is not your typical movie about African-Americans meaning no thugs or significant gangsta attitude...just middle-classed, successful people. For that alone I was pretty enthusiastic about the movie. If not that, then Gabrielle Union is reason enough! What I didn't find enjoyable was LL Cool J's "smoooov" performance. I swear he licks his fuggin' lips in ever freakin' scene! Now I know what the "LL" stands for - LIP LICKER!
The Lizzie McGuire Movie - Don't even ask me why I had this in queue. Perhaps it was the challenge of being one of the few peeps to receive the movie the week of the release. In any case, we all know it's a Disney sanctioned flick, so I went in expecting a syrupy-sweet storyline. That aside, I really didn't like the movie at all, and the main contribution for my distaste in the movie was Hillary Duff (Lizzie). She has that kinda voice that gives me a splitting headache...AND her singing voice is even more ear-shattering!
Now THIS movie I can't wait to watch! I'm SO there opening night, folx! It's such the perfect movie for guys and gals alike. Gals can wet themselves a new set of panties with the likes of Antonio Banderas, Johnny Depp, and Enrique Iglesias! On the flip-side, guys will have ample excuse to leave not one but TWO hands in their pockets as Salma Hayek reprises her role! That's all we need, really...just one. Any more and we'd be forced to Free Willy in public!
Computers...necessary evil...
So my fuggin' ole P3 600Mhz 'puter is slowly dying. It's running slower and crashing a lot lately. I constantly use Norton Utilities to do maintenance work, but somehow I think I've might have done more harm w/ Norton than if I just used the system tools available in Windows. I mean is it normal for Windows disk defragmenter to last over 24 hours while Norton takes only a few hours? Which is better? Did I mention I'm still on Windows 98 SE? Hey, I don't claim to be a techie just because I run a website!
But I'm planning on upgrading before the year is over. Dell Dimension 4600C with a few added bells and whistles looks quite promising. I just hope it's not outdated before I get myself one...which is always the case with me. What a f*ckin' curse...
Turtle update
I'm happy to say that Byron the turtle has made a 99% recovery from his bout with pneumonia. He's eating like a champ and growing steadily. As some of you might already have noticed, the Turtle Cam is back on. Due to my firewall, the streaming cam is still a no go, but I'm working on it.
New Job
Nothing much to say about this other than the fact that there's just too many damned f*ckin' acronyms to get acquainted with let alone memorize. That's what you get when you work for a regulated company. Ah wells, it's home for now, and I quite like the people I work with, and that was one of the issues I had with my former employer.
Me Mochi Long Time
I made some butter mochi all by myself! I don't usually bake desserts, but BriYam inspired me to after IM'ing about baking things. If this turns out well, I'll experiment with vacuuming it for a week and see if it's still good (which I'm guessing it very likely it will be). A successful experiment will most likely mean a buttload of yuz out there will be receiving nice little packages this holiday season hehehehehe!
Final Thoughts
I miss home...Hawaii for those of you who are still not in the know. I can't go until Feb. 2004 cuz thats when I earn my vacation hours. Booooo!
Have a great weekend folx!!!
***posted by Mouji on 8/21/2003 11:08:00 PM*** ::
«.·°·. Monday, August 18, 2003 .·°·.»
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Welp...started my new job today. A whole lotta doubts and regrets crept up in my mind, but in the end, I had to accept my decision in the company that took a chance on me. Worse comes to worse, I'd just find myself another job, right? Well, at least my responsibilities are highly visible to the boyz up the ladder hehehehehe!
One thing I'll comment on briefly is that the company's system security is like the Pentagon! Nothing other than email (to a certain extent) can go in or out of my computer. Thank the LORD for the web version of Yahoo Messenger! It's still a beta version, but it appears to work pretty well. Just click on the link and go all the way down to the bottom for the link Hope this helps you out there at the mercy of them Network Nazis.
Will have a better update later in the week. Still trying to get used to the new job which requires a lot of my time...meaning I actually got to do some work! Holy sh*t! Imagine that!!!
***posted by Mouji on 8/18/2003 08:58:00 PM*** ::
«.·°·. Wednesday, August 06, 2003 .·°·.»
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Just for a very brief second, let's not take into consideration my g/f's very biased opinion of me sportin' a goatee...what do y'all think? I look like a "dai lo" (Chinese triad gangster), huh? Move over Andy Lau, now there's something meaner!
So...it's back to the workout routine. For those interested, here's what I like to do in 1.5 hours:
- Burn 400 calories on any one of them Precor Elyptical Trainer machines...either "weight loss" or "cross training" course.
- Hit the weights for 3 different sets isolating a different muscle group.
- Swim a few laps in the pool. I just started to do freestyle properly instead of flailing around like a chimpanzee thrown into the middle of the Pacific Ocean.
- Two words..........HOT TUB!
***posted by Mouji on 8/06/2003 02:02:00 PM*** ::
«.·°·. Monday, August 04, 2003 .·°·.»
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First off, thanks, Cyn, for your kind words for poor ole Byron. He's making real progress, but 3 more shots of antibiotics left...doh! As you can see from the pic above, he's happy enough to start basking on the little half-log I gave him so he can make a mad dash inside for security after I give him his "medicine". Don't mind the mess on the desk, but all that stuff is for the friggin' turt! Kinda looks like a Tijuana abortion clinic, huh? I should organize the meds...or not...
Perhaps it's all coincidence, or there's something more "significant" that's happening, but I've been watching a lot of stuff about Wyatt Earp recently. The first thing I watched on cable was the Kevin Costner version of the movie, then the Kurt Russell version ("Tombstone" I believe the name of the movie was), and finally a segment called "Shoot Out at OK Corral" on the Discovery channel. I won't bore you about all the research I've done since, but I can confirm for sure the sunuvabitch was the Wild, Wild West's original fuggin' BADASS!!! What's even cooler is that his final resting place is in Colma, CA!!! You might think I'm fuggin' wierd...even goth-like...but I think I want to visit his gravesite (or tomb...or urn...). Yeah...I'm a nut job...
And here's a fact that either went in one ear but out the other only to be reiterated one day by watching yet another program on TV is that Colma, CA is dubbed the "City of the Dead" where there are approximately 1,500 - 2,500 residents above ground and about 1.7 million residents below ground! Holy F*ck!!! And then I just thought of something...the coastal fog we SF'ers enjoy ends/begins (depending which way you travel) near the southern border of Colma! Coincidence??? I think NOT!!! Mommy, hold me!
***posted by Mouji on 8/04/2003 03:01:00 AM*** ::
«.·°·. Friday, August 01, 2003 .·°·.»
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So this week thus far has certainly taken a course that was unplanned for. Byron, one of the two baby turtles has come down with pneumonia...that's right! - pneumonia! It all started one day when Byron just lost interest in food all of a sudden. Due to a ton of research I've done prior to adopting the critters, I knew instantly this was a really bad sign since turtles usually exhibit "symptoms" when they're in REALLY bad shape. Anyhoo, took him to the vet (confirmed the he is indeed a "he"), the Doc gave him a shot of 0.01 ml of this antibiotic called Baytril, filled him up with fluids, and sent me packing with 6 more shots for me to administer...ouch x 6!!!
So I gave Byron his 2nd shot yesterday, and boy was I fuggin' nervous! I needed to use a towel to subdue the biting creature and pin down one of its front legs. Dude, my hand was shaking worse than a vibrator hooked up to a car battery! Poor dude's arm must be a mangled mess inside after I gave him a shot...probably need crutches for life...but he's a real trooper since he's hobbling around muttering curses my way. You can tell by the pic how distrustful he is every time I look at him. Since when do turtles need another shell to hide in other than the one on their back?!! What an ingrate! Well, at least my g/f is overjoyed that he's finally eating on his own again and doing laps around his dry-docked enclosure.
Just couldn't resist posting this pic...I suspect my head will be in that toilet when she finds out I did this...
***posted by Mouji on 8/01/2003 02:55:00 AM*** ::
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