bored

My goodness....this is the first time where I am actually found out that I don't have anything to do. I've completed all the things, well almost....except that i still have to go to the night shift to finish everything up. So technically, I don't have works to do during the day shift :p My supervisor has gone to Detroit on some family matter and couple days ago I was told to start working on the other company starting next week. Well, the company that I'm working right now bought another small company in November 2005. It is a small company. There are only 52 people working there. So right now, the main company wants to make better the other company by hopefully implementing all the lean principles and supply chain management kind of stuff. That's where I come in :) The VP of operations told me to help them with the labor standards a.k.a time studies. So, I'll be working under different supervisor and also working with another industrial engineer there. I'm actually looking forward for this new change eventhough I'm not looking forward to drive there :( With all the rush hours and traffics.....hopefully I can make it there (nervous.....a bit nervous...).

Ok..back to the main story...yeah....having nothing to do really really sucks. Consider this is my weekend (I won't be coming on Friday because i've been working 10 hr/day for this last 3 days and also today)....and I still have to spend 2.5 or 3 more hours sitting here and do nothing before I go home. Sigh...I wanna go home now..... x_x It's amazing how I have been sitting here for 6 hours doing nothing....completely bored. I think I'll probably take a walk or something or if I can't stand it anymore, I'll just go home :) we'll see.....

Amélie

"I had two heart attacks, an abortion, did crack... while I was pregnant. Other than that, I'm fine. — to her father, who is not paying attention" - Amélie

I was watching this movie last night and I have to say that I still enjoy it as much as when I saw it for the first time. I've been watching Amélie more than once but the movie is just so unique and enjoyable that I fall in love again with the character and the story. Below is the sypnosis of the movie. For those who haven't watched it, beware! Otherwise, go on and continue reading it.

Warning: Spoilers ahead

"Amélie is the story of a girl who grows up isolated from other children. Her mother dies when she is young. Her father, a doctor, never hugs her. He only touches her for her monthly checkup, and this rare thrill causes her heart to race. As a result, her father believes she has a heart condition and keeps her away from other children while she grows up. Left to amuse herself, she develops an unusually active imagination.

Amélie grows up and becomes a waitress in a small Monmartre cafe run by a former circus performer. By age 22, life for Amélie is simple. She enjoys small pleasures like cracking crème brûlées with a teaspoon, going for walks in the Paris sunshine observing people, skipping stones across St. Martin's canal, trying to guess how many people in the world are having an orgasm at one moment ("Fifteen!", as she tells the camera), and letting her imagination roam free. One day, behind a loose bathroom tile she finds an old metal box of childhood memorabilia hidden by a boy who lived in her apartment decades past. She resolves to track down the now-grownup man who put it there and return it to him. If she finds him and it makes him glad, she will devote her life to goodness; if not, too bad.

After a bit of detective work she tracks him down and places the box in a phone booth. When he passes by, she rings the number to lure him into the booth. He opens the box and has an epiphany as long-forgotten childhood memories come flooding back. She trails him to a nearby bar and observes him but does not reveal herself. When she sees the positive effect she had on him, she resolves from that moment on to do good in the life of other people, including her father, her co-workers, the concierge of her building, and Lucien, the boy who works for the abusive owner of the neighborhood vegetable stand. But while she is looking after others, no one seems to be looking after Amélie, and internally, she recognizes that this unrequited devotion to the other people in her life is going to lead to her eventual death from despair.

She befriends a recluse painter in her building, who teaches her to do things for her own happiness as well as others'. She repairs relationships, and even starts one of her own with the mysterious man who collects the discarded photographs of strangers. She eventually gains his love by the most delightfully roundabout methods imaginable, involving something almost like a treasure hunt and a constant teasing promise to reveal her identity to him if he continues following her, and still manages to give peace of mind and happiness to her neighbors."

So, if by any chance you haven't watched it, I suggest you should go out and rent this movie...

for bugs lovers out there

I was reading Anderson Cooper's 360 and found out an interesting entry about wasps enlisted in war on terror. A Georgia research scientist figured out a way to train wasps to identify the smell of vanilla and chocolate. Because of that, the U.S. Department of Defense spotted an opportunity and asked him to train wasps to detect nerve gas and explosives like TNT too. And he's actually done it.

"The scientist, Dr. Joe Lewis, trains the wasps by getting them to associate food with the odor they're supposed to detect, almost like giving a dog a treat after he does something well. Wasps have a keen sense of smell and can detect chemicals at very minute levels."

Interesting isn't it? It turns out that we can use bugs for that purpose. So maybe in the future, instead of seeing dogs to inspect luggages or items, we might see the TSA working with a handful of wasps to detect killer substances in the airport. But still the thought of going to the airport full of bugs....i have to say i hate bugs...and eventhough they are helpful and have some advantages over dogs, to be surrounded by them will definetely make my skin crawl. i'm not looking forward for that...the airport security itself is already unpleasant enough without wasps buzzing around. What happen if the wasps start running out of control and start attacking people? As we know, the lifespan of wasp is only 3 weeks. so does that mean that every 3 weeks, they have to find a new set of wasps and train them? It's not that efficient, isn't it?

curious george

"The adventures of Curious George, the inquisitive little guy with an insatiable taste for adventure. George's spunky and fun-loving nature endears him to new friends, but also lands him in a series of (mis-)adventures. "

Yesterday, I went out and watched this movie. I have to say that don't expect something big from it as it's intended more for children (family) more than adults....I mean I'm not saying that you won't enjoy it if you are an adult, it's funny, cute and fun to watch, and also you don't have to think much when watching this movie. I haven't seen the Pink Panther (steve martin) yet. I am not even sure if I want to watch this movie....i know it's currently in number 1 spot in box office but the thought of steve martin doesn't really interest me at all... I think i'll just wait until the next big movies are out....I know for sure that I am waiting for the Da Vinci Code. Can't wait for that.....and also pirates of the caribbean2 for sure....and x3. heheheheheh too bad they are out around may (spring). Anyhow....back to curious george, check out the OST if you like jack johnson (is that how you spell his last name? :p).

loucee...

I was browing through lola-news and I stumbled upon this blog by loucee. I have to agree with laura....loucee's stories are very enjoyable to read, entertaining and encouraging. Keep it up loucee....

ps. pic taken from laura's blog...by the way....lola how are you doing? it's been a while yah....i hope you are doing ok in sydney :)

Bon anniversaire!

Bon anniversaire, Gelukkige Verjaarsdag, Shēng rì kuaì lè, Hauoli la hanau, Buon compleanno, Otanjoubi omedetou, Saeng il Chuk ha hae, Boenos Anos, Gratulerer med dagen, Selamat Ulang Tahun, Happy Birthday!

yep...today is my birthday. I'm definetely getting older and....wiser? lol..i think i'm still far away from getting wiser. It's still in the process heheheeh....anyway....boy, oh boy, life sure passes you by so fast without you even realizing it. The next thing you know....boom, you'll hit 30. Yeah I know....it's still 7 more years ahead but as I said before, time moves fast....and you won't really notice it until it hits you and then you start wondering about your life, what you have accomplished till that point in your life. For me, it's all seems so blurry. I don't remember that well what happened when I was still a baby. All I know is that I grew up, we moved to our new home when I was around 6 years old. I also had a younger sister at that time. We went to States for vacation when I was around 10. I can't really remember all, but I know we went to disneyland, vegas, san francisco and hawaii...it was a fun one....After that it's all so straight forward, went to school....and just like that....didn't do anything wow at that time...just school, school stuff, and more school stuff, and some private lessons outside school. Nothing grand at all. Then after high school, I went to Seattle to continue my school. I got accepted into UW with 2 other friends of mine (interestingly enough...three of us were from the same high school and same class but we didn't know that we applied to UW until later). At first, I thought 4 years were going to be long but when I hit my senior year and graduation day kept getting closer and closer, I was thinking "wow....time flew by so fast... Can't believe that it's been 4 years ago when I arrived here and I can still clearly picture myself during freshman year. It all seems like yesterday for me and now I have to step into a new part of my life, the real world." I didn't say that I didn't life in real world but it's just that when you were still in college, your focus was to study hard and get good grades in hopes that you can get a good job when you graduate. But after you graduate, you are faced with new things. Some expectation to be met, some responsibilities that you have to take and all other things.

Some ups and downs during 22 years of my life and I don't know how my life will turn out. But in this new chapter of my life, I hope that I can be wise enough to choose my own path and be happy with that. Granted there will be some rocky roads and intersections ahead of me....but I hope that God gives me the strength to overcome all the rocks and help me choose the right paths. Life has been good, is good and will always be good. So in this happy day, I want to wish a Happy Birthday to myself....All the best for me and may all my wishes come true :)

Bamboo Shade

Bamboo Shade
I was checking the next blog button and stumbled upon this unique blog. I haven't read everything in there yet but just by reading couple entries, I decided to blog this site. I like the writing style. It's simple yet powerful in conveying what the writer is thinking. A must read blog :)