strange encounters

just want to share some funny/bizarre encounters i had today:

1. the place where i'm interning is thinking about moving offices, so a lot of office furniture/movers have been calling us day and night. most phone calls are normal and straightforward, but this one call that i received this morning was just too strange to not share. from the moment i picked up the call, the woman on the other end of the line insisted on calling me 'honey', which normally would seem odd, but i'm generally okay with it since it is the entertainment business and let's face it, people are strange. then she asked for my name and digressed on a tangent saying that she has a cousin named isabel too, how her and her estranged cousin haven't spoken in years and this is what happens when life gets in your way, etc etc - which is slightly irritating but understandable since some salespeople just like to small talk. fine, i get it. THEN towards the end of the conversation (i couldn't get her to stop talking, so yes, this sales call became a conversation), she mentioned that i sounded like a famous person. i thanked her politely to get off the phone, but she said, "do you want to know who?" and i sighed and said, "suuure" and she said "you sound just like jennifer tilly." now, i was thinking, great...the woman has gone off the deep end. but no no, she was not done yet. she said "remember that movie she did when she was much younger? what's that movie called? oh yeah, bride of chucky! you sound just like her from that." at this point, i didn't know whether to laugh or feel insulted because i was started to feel like i was getting punked. again, i politely chuckled and said, "ha..ha.. alright well, can you follow-up with us next week...." but she ignored me and continued, "and remember that part at the end? do you remember the movie? how she became a doll at the end and says (note: she actually changes her voice here to imitate jennifer tilly aka tiffany, the bride of chucky) 'barbie, eat your heart out~' remember that?? oh i LOVED that part."

i'm not even going to comment. i'll just leave you with that.

2. has anyone seen this? brought to you by fredflare.com:
















can i be the first to say that i think it's way awesome?? i saw this today in neon orange, attached to an iphone, in the hands of a businessman in a full suit. perfection.

until next time!

never worry about things that are out of your control

these past few post-college years have been filled with many moments of uncertainties and questions - not just for myself, but also for close friends around me. on more than one occasion, i've said the above statement in a reassuring tone to good friends, in hopes that they can refocus their energy on the things that are within their control and keep their minds off of the things are beyond their control. for me, i've gotten accustomed to that feeling of panic that creeps up on me every few weeks, knowing that as long as i focus on the tasks at hand, that feeling will eventually pass. i guess this is what has been dubbed the "quarter-life crisis". i find myself among a generation of very fortunate twenty-somethings who have a world of possibilities in the palms of our hands. ironically, it is this abundance of possibilities that seems to paralyze us from moving forward with our lives sometimes.

maybe it is not so much worrying about the things that are out of our control that makes us nervous, but rather realizing that there are more things out of our control than we are comfortable with. with a world of possibilities, sometimes each opportunity seems to rely on the realization of another opportunity, and there are times when i just want to lay it all out there and say that i'm just not ready to make these decisions! what i end up doing is attempt to prepare all that i can so i can cover my bases. in the case that option #1 doesn't work out, at least i still have options #2-4 to hold me over. i feel like i'm playing a slow game of process of elimination in hopes that something will stick before my options run out.

our parents were getting married and having children by our age - something i cannot even begin to fathom at this stage in my life, but what they had was a clearer path of what they are supposed to do. well, what am i supposed to be doing then? i have no doubt that's the question a lot of us are trying to answer, and at the end of the day, we have to answer to our decisions. when i was younger, whenever i did something wrong, i wouldn't be frightened about being punished by my parents, but rather, i was more frightened about disappointing them, knowing that i did something that they would not be so proud of. now that i have to answer to myself, perhaps it is the thought of disappointing myself that scares me the most.

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on a much lighter note: big, HUGE congratulations to GS/JB, one of the happiest couples that i know! it has been some time coming, but i am sure the journey is ALL worth it right? whether it is in love or in career, i look up to you two to know that there are successful, happy people in this world who are able to find what they are passionate about, inspire those who are around them and, best of all, able to share life's happiness with a significant other who is equally amazing :) i cannot wait to dance to 90's music on your special day!

move-in date: oct. 1

perhaps it was the finger-crossing or perhaps the powers may be decided that it was our time, the stars aligned and we now have an apartment ready for move-in on october 1! for the past five days, we have looked at apartments all over downtown - east/west village, soho, lower east, and up to gramercy. there were a few in which we grunted "hmm eh okay..." but for the most part, they were all pretty disappointing. either the spaces were too small, the natural lighting too dim, the neighborhood isn't ideal, the building looks worn down or the prices are too high - there was always something wrong with it.

then we walked into this 3-br in the east village, one block away from union square. first of all, it is on the second floor - HUGE plus. i've been living on the 5th floor and my future roommates' current place is on the 6th floor, so let's just say, we all have buns of steel by now (not really, just sore, bad knees). then, the moment we walked into the apartment, i think the three of us shared a silent moment during which our hearts all skipped a beat. it is, by no means, a spacious apartment - the rooms are small (2 full-bed sized rooms, and 1 queen-bed sized room without a closet), but i'm just going to take a moment here to yell out...

WE HAVE A PATIO!

YES. a patio. our very own outdoor space to put a small table (beer pong, perhaps?) and chairs, pot plants, hang xmas lights, hang out and be merry in! maybe we are putting too much emphasis on this patio, but let's be honest, this city is so small and cramped with people that to have our own patio is like having a never-ending slice of that last piece of cheesecake in the box. on top of that, the unit is going to be newly renovated with stainless steel appliances, granite counter tops, marble bathroom, dishwasher and a washer/dryer if we choose to have it and oh, did i mention? A PATIO! :)

all in all, for the price that we negotiated down to, i think we are happy with the outcome. we are essentially giving up bedroom space to be in a desirable neighborhood, a clean and well-maintained building and in a unit with brand-new everything. hopefully we won't get sick of each other in that small space. we joked about having a 2-roommate-at-once-only rule for the common room, meaning one roommate has to always be out on the patio. let's hope that that stays a joke ;)

yes, i've been slacking...

i didn't realize that it has been three weeks since i wrote my last blog. sorry to all the loyal readers - all 5 of you ;) life has been pretty hectic with a short 1-week trip to taiwan, no access to internet and a final week of moving out of my east village hole of an apartment.

i promise i will update more in the coming days and will also have an extensive post about taiwan. in brief, it was my grandfather's 90th birthday, so the cheng side of the family had one big family reunion, complete with grandchildren and great-grandchildren. it was incredibly wonderful to see my extended family; i think the last time i saw everyone together was at least 5 years ago. one of my cousins' kids are already old enough to attend elementary school! still though, i have to admit, the idea of new york puzzled some of my relatives, leading to more questions and inquisitions - let's just say unemployment is not the hottest topic at family reunions. generally, everyone is supportive of my decision and excited for the possibilities; that is, if possibilities will soon transform into realities.

another big decision is the possibility of signing a one-year lease at a 3-br apartment in the east village. i do want to stay in nyc, and the reality of it both excites me and makes me nervous at the same time. i guess these nerves are a good sign though - making sure i will continue to focus on the objectives i had set out for myself before i moved here. i will need these nerves to stay on track, however unclear this track is.

apartment hunting has been, in short, a ridiculously painful process. not only are apartments in nyc all shapes and sizes, brokers and agents are a whole different human race to deal with. i think they rank up there in the skeevy scale with used-car salesmen. here's to hoping that in the next few days, i will have exciting updates to share. fingers crossed!

life without an ipod

so among all other mundane things in life, my nano broke over the weekend. the geniuses at the apple store diagnosed it as a hardware issue, saying that the keys have stopped responding. nothing's wrong with the actual ipod, i just need to get my keys replaced - for $79.

considering a brand new nano costs $149 and a shuffle is as low as $49, i thought it would be silly to get mine fixed for $79. instead, i decided to finally utilize the 5 GB of space left on my iphone, ordered a cheap armband from amazon, and will be using that when i go on my runs as an alternative.

the nano was a generous gift from my best friend back when the first nanos came out (since she put me in her last blog post, here's a shout out to hers! check it out) my broken nano sort of signified a stage of our lives coming to an end. as melodramatic as that sounds, she bought me the nano as a xmas present after starting her first full-time paying job. jan had graduated a year earlier and started working the summer of 2006. we had exchanged multiple presents growing up, but the nano was definitely a gift that was far beyond the budget of a college student. i remember being speechless and in awe because i couldn't remember a time when we gave each other such pricey gifts. beyond the price tag, it was a gesture of independence and adulthood- an indication that she is successfully supporting herself in the real world.

now fast-forward three years, she is in LA pursuing acting, and i'm looking for a job here in nyc. in terms of finances, i don't think either one of us today can compare with the times when we could afford to buy and give the more lavish presents. yet, perhaps this is a different kind of independence. i certainly hope that learning to cope with life's changes, finding our own paths and pursuing goals and dreams that we've set out for ourselves make up the other layers of adulthood that cannot be quantified with dollar signs.

life without an ipod is definitely more quiet than before. it's interesting how easily-accessible technology has drastically shortened our attention span and made us crave instant gratification. i think it's good to have this literal peace of mind from time to time. i don't think i can happily survive for long without music when i go running, but at least for the next few days, i can hear myself think when i'm on the track.

a healthy dose of homesickness

i bought my plane ticket today for a short visit back to the bay in september. strangely enough, a few hours later, a small inkling of homesickness crept up on me while i was studying at starbucks. perhaps it was the soft acoustic jams they always play at starbucks or it was a reminder of the familiarity of suburban san jose/milpitas - i started to miss home for the first time.

for the past two months, i've been waiting for homesickness to descend upon me, and have been pleasantly surprised that it hasn't. i even told a few friends that i felt a bit guilty that i haven't been homesick since moving. i love the accessibility of this city, the bustling streets, the anonymity and even the cramped spaces, and have definitely missed my family and close friends in california, but have yet to feel nostalgia for the bay area, itself. until today.

i don't think it's the novelty of this city wearing off, but rather, an appreciation for where i came from and where i'll always call home. most people who grew up in the bay will probably agree with me that there is a level of comfort and security about the place that nowhere else can replace. i always find it interesting that the bay area is both a safe place to settle down and yet, is also the epicenter of technological change. all in all, i'm looking forward to the trip home, and will always be proud to be from the yay area :)

the real nyc apt experience

two events this week sum up the real nyc apt experience: 1) a 24-hr blackout and 2) killing a giant cockroach.

it all started on tuesday when our electricity cut out at about 3:30pm. my first reaction was that we blew out the power (wouldn't be a wild guess, considering every time a hair dryer is turned on, the lights in the entire apt dim...), but none of the switches in the breaker box had flipped to off, so i thought perhaps it was just temporary and that the power would be back soon. clearly, i had more faith in this city's utilities service than i should.

the calling-our-management-then-waiting game started at 4:30pm and didn't end until 4pm the next day. pretty much, i was calling the building manager every 2 hrs until we went to bed, and resumed again the next morning. electricians were sent over on 3 separate occasions, and my 24 hours were consumed by sitting and staring at the wall in our heated apt and running back and forth to starbucks to charge my phone and computer. long story short, power eventually came back, and when i called the management, complaining and voicing our frustration and inconvenience, i was told to "email propertymanagement@jakobson.com with my comments and suggestions".

....i almost threw my phone out the window.

then this morning, we found a HUGE cockroach lurking in our bathroom behind the toilet. at first, i couldn't see the cockroach, so i grabbed the closest spray bottle (thank you, air freshener) to "smoke" it out from behind the toilet. in between screaming like little girls and calling my parents for cockroach-killing advice (which my dad found hilarious and announced it to the entire group of family friends he was with...), floria and i devised a plan - i would stand guard and watch it while she ran to walgreens to get something deadly. the plan worked and we sprayed the roach with so much raid that, five hours later, our apt still smells like a strange mix of floral air freshener and chemical poison.

here's a photo. for those of you who know my mouse story, this is part two of my saga with household pests. please note that there is nothing to compare the size of the roach with, but do take my word that it was at least 2 1/2 inches long.