Grindin'

Construction has begun on IL-53, the highway I take to and from work every day. This is gonna add about 15-20 minutes to the drive each way, increase the wear and tear on my car, and decrease my gas mileage with all the stop and go biznass. >:-o

I'd have to say that right now, the stress in my life is close to an all-time high. It's not even like my job is all that demanding or my supervisors are putting added pressure on me. But working overtime plus the commute takes away my whole week, more or less. I wish I had more time to hang out with friends or just spend alone in peace, but I can't.

The way it is, I come home from work, do a bunch of little things, and before I know it, I'm tired and I need to go to sleep. Eat dinner, wash dishes, make my lunch. Talk to people on IM and maybe write a blog or read other peoples pages. If I feel in the mood to be clean, I'll take a shower. If time permits, I'll play 1 or at most 2 games of Starcraft. Little 15-30 minute things add up and fill up my post-work day to the point where I can't even figure out where my time went at the end of the night.

If I go lift, that's at least an hour right there, plus the time it takes to cook and eat my post-workout Jack's Sausage Pizza. I don't even think about doing anything else on those days.

Kind of stupid, but I'll plan out my week and shoot for doing one task per day. Like this:

Monday - Eat dinner with friend
Tuesday - Stop by Dominicks and buy lunch meat
Wednesday - Bench
Thursday - Fill out rebate forms and pay bills
Friday - Prepare material for teaching Sunday School

On weekends, maybe I'll get to do three or four things:
Saturday - Watch Illini game, change oil/wash car, Barleycorn/Buzz
Sunday - Church, nap, squats, laundry

The sad thing is, I actually feel satisfied and pat myself on the back if I get each of these things done. And I actually feel too tired to do anything else after a grueling session of lunch meat purchasing or rebate form filling out. It's like "dang, I'm so pooped from writing that check and putting the stamp on the envelope. Better call it quits for the day before I get too burned out!"

Notice certain things missing or lacking from the above list:

- Spend time with the girlfriend. Actually, I think she is probably even busier than me. Especially lately, she's had to study for a big wave of exams. No pity for her though - this coming weekend is the beginning of her Spring Break, and she's leaving for Cali on Friday for some playtime. So I won't be hanging out with her then for sure.

- Watch movie. I used to watch at least one movie every week or every other week. But I think the last movie I saw, in either the theater or rented, was 25th Hour. That was around 2 months ago or so. You all know I've been dying to catch "How To Lose A Guy In 10 Days", "Kangaroo Jack", and "Maid In Manhattan" but just haven't had the time.

- Only 2 days of lifting per week. That's not enough. >:-o

- On average, about 2 chances to hang out with friends. In college, I basically lived with friends and did stuff with them all day, every day. Now, it takes extra effort to plan something to do, and maybe a special occasion like someone's birthday to make people motivated to get together. Especially tough with friends who don't live around Darien.

- Read up on Spring Training reports for upcoming fantasy baseball draft. March 16th is the big day for kicking off the 5th season of Dudo/Dizudo league baseball, and I am gonna be ill prepared. >:-o

- Watch TV. Seriously, I barely watch any TV anymore, outside of Illini basketball. I miss Sportscenter and Conan the most. The last memory I have of watching a show is the last 40 minutes of the Joe Millionaire finale. Oh wait, actually I watched some of Smallville yesterday. Here comes a tangent. This show facking blows. The only reason I took some time to watch it yesterday is because I happened to land on that channel when flipping around, and also because I hear Kristin Kreuk is all the rage these days. Well, I guess she is an exception to the suckiness of the show. But really, I couldn't care less if Lana and Clark get together. You all know that it's only a matter of time before it happens anyways. Not to mention it ain't gonna last because Clark ends up with Lois Lane when he gets older. To be fair, the acting is alright but the dialogue can't get much cheesier. All the characters have to act so smug and witty with every line they say. I lasted about 25 minutes and 2 commercial breaks into the show before it drove me nuts and I had to turn it off.

It's kind of surprising to myself that I still somehow write a lot of blogs and make time to read and comment on other people's stuff. But there is something relaxing about writing thoughts down. Reading other people's stuff is nice too. Although I hope reading each others' blogs doesn't end up replacing human interaction. For some friends, like Texas man Vic, that's become my main thread of keeping in touch (other than Battle.net of course). Which is kind of sad, considering he updates like once every 2 months or so.

I guess I've been complaining more than usual these days. Well, I hope nobody gets depressed from reading what I write. But a lot of people lately have been telling me that I look tired. See, it's not so much that I'm tired, but that I'm drained. Phyiscally and emotionally both. I haven't had a chance to sleep in for a long time. My relationship with Olivia is basically limited to a phone call once every few nights and maybe a quick lunch on Sundays. I don't have much quiet time alone other than the 40 minutes it takes for me to fall asleep.

Yeah, I don't mean to complain so much. I don't think I am a complaining-type person normally, usually I just go with the flow and I'm happy. And it's not that I'm unhappy, cause I think there's still a lot to be happy about in my life. It just sucks to not have much free time, I guess. I don't even have a wife and kids or a house to take care of, which makes me wonder how much worse it could be if I did.

But right now, I'm really just looking forward to the point when I get off this overtime schedule, and move to a place closer to work. The time could come in as early as a month from now, I think. That will potentially give me 3 extra hours per day, just in subtracting the hour of overtime and 2 hours saved in driving time. 3 hours could be huge, maybe I would be able to do two things instead of one on weekdays. We'll have to see though.

Currently playing on my Winamp: Evanescence - Bring Me To Life
I've been steadily losing interest in hip-hop/R&B stuff for the past year or so. Almost everything I hear is annoying and unoriginal these days (with the exception of R. Kelly's Ignition Remix of course). On the other hand, I'm getting back into so-called "white music". Not the pop-guitar kind of stuff. But this song is great, I like the sound cause it's fresh and original. That plus the Linkin Park song is dominating my playlist. I think I will probably have to get the Linkin Park CD, METEORA, when it comes out March 25th.

Roger Powell is pure... nuff said. In honor of the Illini Mucking Fichigan today, here is a list of my top 5 moments in sports. (no contest this time, just the list)

Best Sports Moments

5. Jordan announces comeback (first time) - I was living in Taiwan at the time, missing Chicago, and when the news broke, I couldn't believe it. It totally sucked to see the Bulls losing to the Knicks in the playoffs, and we all knew he had at least a few more seasons in him. Then he came back, and the first time he played at Madison Square Garden he dropped 50-some points on those foos. One day my kids and grandkids will ask me about how awesome Michael Jordan was and I will tell them "he was good, he was very good". Well, at least on the Bulls he was.

4. Marcus Griffin last second shot vs. Wisconsin - This is a interesting story overall, not just the shot itself. One of Dennis's friends found 4 tickets to the game, and he called Dan and me to go. We get there, sit down, then about halfway through the first half, the original owners of the tickets show up and we get kicked out of our seats. So that part sucked, but security took us downstairs to the ticket center, and they let us buy legit tickets and watch the rest of the game. Ok, maybe it wasn't that interesting of a story now that I think about it. Anyways, at the end of the game, we're down 1 with only time for a quick shot. Inbounds to Marcus in the paint, he puts it up and in at the buzzer for sweet sweet victory for the Illini. Me and Dan high five each other and like 20 strangers sitting near us.

3. Bears comeback to beat Cleveland - Down 2 TDs with less than a minute left, I thought the game was over. So did everyone else I was watching it with. Then they scored, recovered a onside kick, and hail mary caught by James Allen to tie. In OT, Mike Brown returned a INT for a TD and the win. Madness ensued at Skylight Court and many blood vessels were shattered in my hand from the high fives. If you are a Bears fan, you should also remember this moment forever too. Also, it was the week after another OT comeback win against the 49ers.

2. John Paxson 3-pt shot vs. Suns, Game 6 of the 93 NBA Finals - You can't be from Chicago and not remember this moment. If you didn't watch it live, at least you must have seen the replays about a million times in the years after. As for me, I remember watching it with my sister and dad. Down 2 with like 15 seconds left, you could cut the tension with a knife. Ball comes in, Horace Grant has it under the basket, kicks it out to Paxson, Bulls by 1 with 3.9 left, me going nuts. Next play, Kevin Johnson drives to the hoop, stuffed by Horace, and Bulls 3-peat. Good stuff.

1. Bo Jackson hits a 3 run jack to clinch the division for the Sox in 93 - I didn't even see this one on TV, I was listening on the radio. But baseball has always been my favorite sport, and the White Sox my favorite team. So even though I was just listening to John Rooney and Ed Farmer call it and didn't see it for myself, I remember being so excited that they were gonna go to the playoffs. Didn't matter that they got owned by the Blue Jays in the playoffs and that the strike screwed us the next year. Nothing can take that moment away from me.

Deep Thought Of The Day

I noticed 3 morning radio shows are holding contests that send people to Jamaica, Mexico, or Costa Freak-a. I wonder if the radio stations in Jamaica give out vacations to Chicago. Probably not.

Song Of The Day

Alice In Chains - No Excuses

Yeah it's fine
Leave our rain
a cold trade for warm sunshine
You my friend
I will defend
And if we change
Well I love you anyway

Word Of The Day

Ostentatious

Joke Of The Day

Hydrogen Atom #1: Oh man, I lost an electron!
Hydrogen Atom #2: Are you sure?
Hydrogen Atom #1: Yes, I'm positive

Picture Of The Day

Normal Blog

I guess lately my blogs have been extra long and all based on a certain topic. It's time for a break, this is gonna just be a normal blog on what's goin on in my life. There's still a lot going on so I can't promise it won't be long.

Some of you probably already know this, but Olivia's brother bought a townhouse in Palatine and he asked if I wanted to be a housemate. So within a few weeks you all might see me leave hometown Darien to the Northsiiiiiiiiiiide.

The most exciting thing is the location. It's about 2-3 miles from where I work, which will save me at least an hour and a half of driving a day (and 1000 miles put on my car per month). Not only that, it's about 5 mins from Miss Cindylee's townhouse. So then it will be easy for us to continue the old school tradition of eating out and washing cars together, started way back in the Champaign days. We might even be able to study for the GMAT together. Unfortunately, she has already vowed to screen my calls on her caller ID. That calls for a furrowed eyebrow, gaping mouthed angry face >:-O.

My mom is in Taiwan until next week. So lately, it's been just me and my dad (and today, my sis came home). I was supposed to share the cooking/cleaning duties with him, but he's ended up doing all the cooking pretty much, and I just wash the dishes. Until yesterday... I decided to be clutch and pick up some Quarter Pounders and Big Macs with the 2 for 2 deal at Fricky D's. That's good stuff.

It's been kind of a cute thing to see how my dad is when my mom isn't around. Like when he had a bad day, I noticed he kept checking the clock at night, mentally figuring out if it was late enough in Taipei to call my mother. And almost every day my mom calls here to check up on him. It reminds me of back in the day when me and Olivia first started, we were at different schools so we talked on the phone every night cause that's all we had.

My lips were so dry last week it wasn't even funny. It cracked in the middle bottom, and on the side where the top lip meets the bottom. Not only did it look nasty, it hurt like hell. Unless it has happened to you, you have no idea how much pain and misery it is when your lips crack on the side. It hurts when you open your mouth to eat, or to talk, or even just to breathe. Sucks.

I don't know why it is especially bad this year, maybe it's extra cold. But if I had to guess, I would blame Chapstick. See, before this year, I never used any of that stuff. Then after I started using it, my lips must have developed a tolerance for it and now it needs more and more. I don't know if that theory is medically sound, but think about it - if Chapstick really did its job and healed your lips, they would've been out of business a long time ago. But no, it has expanded. There's medicated chapstick, SPF 15 chapstick, all these new flavors, plus competitors like Blistex, Carmex, or N Sync Lip Gloss. I dunno, but something shady must be going on there, I'm telling you.

If it isn't Chapstick's fault, it's definitely the cold. I grew up around here so I'm used to it by now. But I'm ready for spring to get here. I'm sick of having to wear a scarf around and looking flamish. I'm sick of waking up when it's dark outside. I'm sick of all the salt on my car. Hopefully I'll be able to give my baby a bath sometime soon. This year I'm gonna start using Zaino stuff. Before, it was all Meguiars Gold Class everything, but I'm gonna see how the Z1/Z4/Z6 combo works. Or is it Z5/Z6? I forgot.

Currently playing on my Winamp: Linkin Park - Somewhere I Belong
After downloading about 10 files that turned out not to be this song, I finally got it. Kazaa is pretty ridiculous sometimes with all the fakeys and looped songs floating around.

Thoughts Of A 23 Year Old

I got to talk briefly with birthday girl Lizzie this weekend and it made me suddenly more conscious about my age. When I turned 23 last month, I didn't think much about it at the time. But now, it's kind of hit me that I'm officially knee-deep in the post-college, early-career stage of my life.

Which may or may not be a good thing, I haven't decided yet. You know, my whole life, I've always wanted to get older. In elementary school, you looked up to teenagers because they seemed so cool. Once you become a teen, you can't wait to turn 16 so you can drive. Then you want to turn 18 so you can graduate high school, and feel like an official adult. Of course, you're not really an adult at 18. After 18 the next big age is 21, when you can get into bars and drink legally.

Since I turned 21, what's left for me to look forward to? Turning 25 and watching my car insurance rates drop? Not really. My 22nd and 23rd birthdays were fun, but not so much as a celebration of getting older, more because it was a good excuse to get everyone together and hang out.

There's a certain something special about being 21 that makes it different from any other age. I mean, girls buy clothes at Forever XXI, but how many people would shop at a place called "Forever XXIII"? It's an age when most of us feel young and invincible, when all we really have to worry about is studying, and the rest of the time is spent meeting new people and chilling with the people you already know. You can eat the most unhealthy food and live the unhealthiest life without caring about consequences. You can skip class if you really don't feel like going. You work a job not because you need to pay the bills, but because it lets you spend more on things that are fun. You have no idea where you are gonna be at in 2 years, but you couldn't care less.

At 23, I guess I don't really feel like I've passed my prime or anything. But there's definitely been moments when I have noticed myself getting older when I never have in the past. I can't stay up much later than 11 or 12 without getting tired anymore, when that used to be the beginning of my night. I go to the movie theater, and I'm like the oldest person there. I eat the same things for breakfast and lunch every day and my weeks have become a routine cycle.

I find myself taking my paycheck and leaving it in the bank so I can save up for a house, when in the past that money would probably have gone to modding my car or buying more clothes. Pretty soon, I'll be filing my own taxes for the first time. I'm thinking more about the future; where I'll be in 5 years, 10 years, not just worrying about the exam next week.

My mom and dad's friends start asking me when I'm gonna invite them to my wedding. Some of my own friends are starting to get engaged and married. I'm meeting new people, but not on a daily or weekly basis like it used to be. When I talk to old friends, half of our comments start with "remember when..." because those times past were so much more interesting than times present.

Don't get me wrong, it's not all a bad thing becoming older. At some point, we all have to grow up. Unlike Stork, I don't wanna be Wooderson in Dazed and Confused, or Trip McNeely in Can't Hardly Wait.

The working life might not be as exciting as college life, but I honestly do appreciate being where I am. For once, I'm doing something real, not just working out a made-up math problem for homework. When I leave my cube to go home every day, I'm tired but also feel a strong sense of accomplishment, like I earned the right to sit down and relax on the couch for an hour or two.

Something entirely new to me is that when I talk to my mom and dad these days, I feel like they treat me more as an equal than as a kid. Of course, Chinese parents never quite see their children as being on the same level, but our relationship is definitely different now than before. It's feels a little weird, but it's a good sign which shows that you are truly grown up now and your parents can see that as a fact.

Eventually, I'll be moving into my own house, get married and have kids of my own. At this point, it all seems so far away, but in reality, right now is not too early to at least be thinking and planning for those days. It's actually exciting to me to know that I'm moving along in life, towards different, bigger and better things, and I do want to continue moving forward.

Though I'd be lying if I said I didn't miss college, I'd also be cheating myself of enjoying the life I have right now if I kept focusing on the past. When I stop and think about it, being 23 isn't bad at all, and I don't see why anyone should fear being 24, 25, 30, 60, or 100 for that matter. When the time comes, it comes. That's how life goes.

At this age, I no longer look forward in anticipation of getting older, but I don't wish to be younger either. So far, the first month of 23 has treated me pretty well. I think I'm just gonna ride it out and see where this 23 business takes me.

Currently playing on my Winamp: A Tribe Called Quest - Can I Kick It
Can I kick it? Yes you can!

Also, I'm gonna bite Vira's idea and put a pic from school on my page. It's Chras, P, Anuj, Greg, Cindy, and Me outside Foellinger after a CLCIV 100 test. For kicks and giggles, I'll also put up a picture of me tackling Chras about 5 minutes later.