I guess you're supposed to get these after Thanksgiving, but I had a free evening, so I drove down to Chula Vista and picked up a tree:

Will post after pictures in a couple of days after I'm done decorating! (I love the smell of pine needles!)

A picture of the coffee table I got this past weekend (Thank goodness for the Citi Forward card with its insane points for eating out to make this affordable):

Currently listening to: Mariah Carey - Always Be My Baby

After posting that last video, I loaded up my Mariah Carey playlist, and that got me reminiscing back a couple of years ago.

For kicks, I loaded up my LiveJournal account to see who was active. Back before I started working on Tabulas, I spent a lot of time on LiveJournal, kicking it with some random people.

I felt a pang of disappointment when I realized I could never reach out again to most of these people (some had completely deleted their accounts, while others had just stopped posting).

People move on with their lives - I just wish I knew they were doing alright.

One of the biggest downsides to the growth of sites like Twitter & Facebook is that they've destroyed the ability for people to share their stories. I'm of the belief that all of us have a story to share, and we do a disservice to ourselves and others by keeping these stories to ourselves. The human condition is shared, and we should make the most of our ability to reason and communicate.

I used to spend hours just clicking through on LiveJournal accounts and reading on the joys and sorrows of random people. You can't do that with Facebook, Twitter, or Tumblr. I don't know if I simply grew older, or if people just don't do that anymore. I ran across a Tabulas account recently which reminded me of why I grew to cherish Tabulas so much in the early days. Unlike the false truths we throw up on sites like Facebook and Twitter to brand ourselves (even subconsciously), there's a fresh truth in reading anonymous personal entries. I read that stuff and go, "Wow, that was me. I'm not alone."

This journal used to be like that, but I've found it much harder to write like that lately. The truth is that I simply can't go into that level of detail, since most of it is work-related (or is tangentially related to work). With my position at the company, I simply can't share that, even if I'm simply being brutally honest. C'est la vie.

I'm not sure what it is, but I've been on a huge sentimental kick over the past few weeks (ever since my NC trip). For the past few years, I've really grown to appreciate my parents and the sacrifices they made for me, and seeing my NC friends again this time reminded me of all the good times I had with them. It also reminded me how well I had it to kick it with them.

But there's a huge sadness in coming to grips with the reality that as we grow up, we drift apart as friends. I guess that's why I've been getting more sentimental lately, and why I've been getting so worked up about traditional holiday activities like cooking Thanksgiving dinner with good company and putting up a Christmas tree. Every time I do these activities, it takes me back to the memories associated with those activities in the past.

Even if they were just from last year, it's amazing how much I've felt like I've grown over the past year. It's not that there were situations that drove these changes - my position inside MindTouch hasn't changed, and there haven't been anything that's changed in my personal life. I look at life a lot differently than I used to, and that's all that matters.

I know I have my job to thank for that - in a lot of ways, it forced me to grow up a lot faster. I don't know how I ended up here, but I know that it was a series of long struggles and a lot of soul-searching.

My family is healthy, I have an appreciation for those people in my life who've shaped it, I have a wonderful job, and I'm happy. I no longer struggle with insomnia on a regular basis, and I no longer question who I am or what it is I'm to do. I've found direction in my life, and I'm thankful that I have the will, the drive, the people, and smarts to push forward in that direction.

And for that, I'm thankful.

I can't believe it's been a year since my trip to Big Sur:

Currently listening to: Mariah Carey - My All

Check this Korean girl belting Mariah Carey's "My All":

Holy smokes! She doesn't have the fullness of Mariah - she reminds me far more of a younger Christina Aguilera... but still, incredibly impressive.

(I almost busted out laughing at 1:28, cause she lets that Korean accent slip in with that "imagining..." line)

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I got a copy of How to Cook Everything: Simple Recipes for Great Food - I can't believe I hadn't heard of this book before. It's a pretty massive book (I got it used on Amazon for $8, including shipping) and it covers not only recipes, but some "theory" behind cooking - the first chapter covers when to use certain equipment and such. From a cursory glance, I'm not sure about a lot of the recipes - they seem pretty simplistic, but I definitely get the feeling that the recipes here will be something to build upon later.

I highly recommend you go out and get a copy (get it used); I'll definitely be trying out some of the recipes in this book for the next few weeks!

It's kinda ugly to see girls smoke. Don't you think so? Those who're offended, I'm not sorry coz it's the fact. You don't have to keep lying to yourself. 

"The only thing that matters is just following your heart, and eventually you'll finally get it right:"

This entry contained scripting, which has been removed for your safety. Click here to see the entry in its entirety.

Currently listening to: the ataris - in this diary

Back to college again. SIGH. And it's not AS anymore.. ssshhiiiettttt. I so don't wanna study Econs and Math again ;_;

But I can't wait for THIS FRIDAY! I might be meeting up with Steph unnie to watch Ninja Assassin 8DDD!! Wooo so much Rain and Joon goodness >:D But I don't know if I can stand the violence in that movie ㅠㅠ We'll see. Gosh I've so much fangirling to do with her but that babo hasn't been online for days and I've to rot coz no one to talk to OMG even JINN HASN'T BEEN ONLINE. WHERE YOU PEOPLE WENT LAAA!! T_______T THE MAMA PERFORMANCESSSS! AND AWARDS. C'MON DDD8!!! (But I know Steph unnie has been marathon-ing "You're Beautiful" kdrama LOL)

2PM won best artist of the year, that's just fucking awesome! All the more Jae should just come back. THEY SO DESERVE IT OKAY. ALL HATERS TO THE LEFT! D8<

Chansung: Jaebum hyung, you're watching this right? Saranghae.

*HEART GETS PIERCED, MELT & DIED, SOMEHOW REVIVED & DIED AGAIN!!!!*
 

Btw I SERIOUSLY think Kpop made Lester gay HAHAHAHA.

 - yυмι ♥ parkjaebum says (9:57 PM): omg la i so geram she kept touching him asjdhajdkasdhaskds how can he let an old aunty touch him?

(was talking about Ivy and Nickhun's performance on MAMA. She was being all touchy!!)

Lesтεя 8 ] says (9:57 PM): YES AH MAHAI

- yυмι ♥ parkjaebum says (9:57 PM): YALA WTF U MAHAI AHAHAHA

Lesтεя 8 ] says (9:57 PM): I ALSO WANNA TOUCH HIM LOR

- yυмι ♥ parkjaebum says (9:57 PM): WTF

But I can 't blame him since, Nickhun is so freaking lovable ;_; Even to guys LOL. Don't get me started on how Lester fanboy-ed Lee Byung Hun... HAHAHAHAHA! *Died*

URGHRGURGHURHUG!! THIS IS IVY SEDUCING KHUN T_T I damn beh syok when I saw this. But somehow I didn't mind it when Baek Ji Young and Taec were at it. Somehow. STILL, DONT PLAY WITH OUR INNOCENT THAI BOY, NICKHUN ;___;

Sigh college tomorrowww I don't wanna face lecturers againnnn. AND YES MABEL, WE HAVE THAT FREAKING MATH TEST. MR TAN SO HATE US 8D~~! I can barely remember what I learned for second semester since we're all too busy with AS studies -_____- Blame me or their stupid system? D: Ok, me.

I'll probably eat pan mee with Xinyi and the rest. I MISS IT SFM. I'm kinda hungry now. Sigh. I'll go watch Starking now then off to bed. OH Christine is finally coming back from UK tomorrow. Welcome back to Malaysia man :D

Steph unnie if you're reading this, you totally owe me lotsa fangirling moments... T^T I ALREADY DREAMT OF US ATTENDING A.N.JELL'S FANSIGNING EVENT OK!!!! *kicks steph* D8<

잘자 ♥

Currently listening to: 2PM - Again & Again

One of my many weird quirks is spreadsheeting of my car's gas mileage. I track every gas fill-up: the date, the mileage, and the total spent. I started keeping this data with the intention of one day figuring out the long-term value of owning a Mazda 3 versus getting a hybrid (I almost bought a Prius three years ago).

Some numbers from owning the Mazda3 for three years:

• Total miles: 16,462
• Total gas consumption: 533 gallons
• Average MPG: 30.85
• Average price per gallon: $3.02
• Total spent on gas: $1,611.58
  

If I had gotten a Prius, assuming a 46 MPG, I would have spent $1,081 on gas. That's a difference of about $600 spread over three years. With a price differential of ~$8K at purchase time (even with the $3K tax credit), I managed to save significant amounts of money by getting the Mazda3.

And as a general three year review of the Mazda3? I love the thing. Getting it in Carolina blue was a mistake; if I could go back, I'd also get the hatchback. My one complaint about the car is that the angle of the back window causes it to catch a LOT of dust - it gets dirty incredibly easy.

But besides that - it's a fun car to drive (pretty responsive), perfect size for the city, well sized for passengers, low maintenance (no problems thus far), and has managed to be able to transfer almost all the furniture I've bought without a problem! (This streak was unfortunately broken today when I mistakenly assumed the Benchwright Coffee Table from Pottery Barn came in pieces - it comes in one big piece).

(And now I finally have a coffee table!)