Transfer: complete!

I finished transferring my music! Only a few hiccups along the way where I would sit at my computer and wonder what was the most logical thing to do.

1. Songs that "feature" an artist. Which is essentially every popular song now. I don't know who to attribute a song to - like, is Rihanna the main artist or is Sean Paul the main artist? Who is featuring who? I generally figure the first voice I hear is the main artist, but this seems unfair to anyone who collaborates with Jay-Z. Jay-Z is always the first to be heard, but I don't think he contributes anything significant.

2. Is Hannah Montana Hannah Montana or Miley Cyrus? Previously, I refused to acknowledge this split personality and just labeled everything Miley Cyrus. But now I realize that there is a difference in a Hannah Montana song and a Miley Cyrus song. So I reseparated them

3. Complete albums? If I like a majority of the songs on an album, I like to have all the songs because then I'll label track numbers and album title. But then I don't know if I should keep songs that I hate. For instance, should I download Matt Pond Pa - Crickets, since it's the only song missing from the five albums I have of his? Even if it is literally just CRICKETS CHIRPING for a good two minutes?! WHY do artists like to put stupid shit on their cds? Like when there's just noise for thirty seconds before the song finally starts. Unnecessary!

So I guess that's one goal I can cross off my summer to do list. Next: Read my "Excel 2007 for dummies" book

This is my new favorite song and I will probably play it until the end of summer.

Set Me Free - The Lovemakers

I just read the following FML (which I haven't read in so long)
Today, it was my 18th birthday. I got one thing: a fancy electric toothbrush from my little sister. I would say I'm happy to have something rather than nothing, except, for as long as the toothbrush works, there will be a Hannah Montana concert going on in my mouth. FML

Sadly, my first thought was actually: "where can I get this toothbrush?!" Here. But they only sell Pump Up the Party and Best of Both Worlds. If they had had Rock Star or See You Again, or Nobody's Perfect, I would have done it. Actually, for SURE I would have done Nobody's Perfect, because I really did use that as my wake up morning song last semester. (proof)

99 ranch dim sum

This summer is kind of like last summer in that I plan out my weekends far in advance to ensure that I'm not sitting at home being lonely and depressed. The only difference is that last summer I HATED the weekdays, and this summer I kind of like them! This weekend I went to another Dine About in SF, this time to Cafe Andree. I was a little less willing to pay for such an expensive meal this time, but I figured ... actually I never justified the price in my head but it's too late now. HA

The dessert: sadly I forgot the name, but inside that cake was an inner chocolate cake with chocolate syrup inside; the ice cream is plum

I went to Li-Ting's afterwards to stay for the weekend and do a ton of shopping the next day. God I love that house. Amazing views, quiet neighborhood with large chain commercial establishments. Every time we drive to her house, I always say "TRADER JOE'S! DSW!" We ended up watching Mean Girls and The Sweetest Thing on TBS. I had heard that The Sweetest Thing is a pretty crappy and wtf movie, which I definitely thought at some parts, but there were also other parts where I'd be like "mmm ... not a TERRIBLE movie." I ended up falling asleep and missing the end of the movie. I woke up and saw Li-Ting giving me a "WTF JUST HAPPENED" look. HAHA It was funnier because at the midpoint of the movie, I had said "this is such a bad movie but I just want to know what happens in the end."

Slept in Tiffany's bed which was very comfortable. There is an Ikea mirror in her room and I seriously believe Ikea mirrors make me look thinner than other mirrors. Trickery!

We had breakfast the next morning at 99 ranch. OMGGG SO GOOD! This 99 ranch and the richmond one both have areas that serve dim sum. I kept saying things like "THIS IS AMAZING" and "OMG! THIS IS SO GREAT" SOOO much better than actual dim sum (except that it's essentially a fast food buffet). You can get 3 items for $2.20. So you can get all you favorites (buns and sweets for me), and you don't have to eat crap that someone at the table wants and no one else wants. Also, there's no awkward "we have four people but there are only three pieces" moments. Great quality (because who can really be that picky at dim sum?) for a very low price!

That's all. I'm so tired of transferring my music, but I've only gotten to the M's.

*songs left to transfer: 1,947*

Time obsessed

I noticed that there are tons of clocks in urban areas. Probably because everyone is concerned about whether they're going to make the next bus or train. But I also noticed that they are all usually off! The analog ones at least. How ridiculous. The clock we should all go by is the Bart's clock, because that is the all-mighty timekeeper.

Oh god, I'm so glad I had the foresight to move my red bean bread to the kitchen. I'm too lazy to get up and eat some, even though I am very hungry. I need to sleep soon so this hunger doesn't continue to plague me. Now I understand why I did not buy bread at 99 Ranch. The Richmond 99 Ranch bakery is complete shit! My red bean bread has barely any red bean. It's just bread! RAH. Shing Kee Bakery forever. Out of all my diet food rules, the only one I haven't been able to do is "take home half of anything you buy outside." I am very opposed to taking leftovers that are wrapped in aluminum foil, because I have to go through so much effort to microwave (and I hate eating cold foods that are meant to be warm). Unfortunately, most of the largest food items are wrapped in aluminum foil. Chicken bakes ... burritos ...

Going back to the time theme of this entry ... I figure I got most of my schedule down. If I want to catch a bus on Bancroft, I leave 3 minutes before arrival. Walking from my work place to the transbay bus station is 11 minutes if I speedwalk, 15 minutes if I walk at a casual pace. It takes me 12 seconds to comfortably cross a SF crosswalk, but if it's at 9 seconds, I can make it to the other side right as the light turns green for opposing traffic. The bus ride home is about 40 minutes and I'm usually asleep for 20 of those minutes. I think the most useful number is knowing how long it takes to cross a crosswalk, because I am too proud to run but I also don't want to be honked at.

My project at work has been google searching a huge list of rich people who are likely to donate to gay causes. It is really interesting. I am a little creeped out by how much information you can get from the internet. Granted, these are rich people who probably have more public information. But I bet someone could find out an uncomfortable amount of information just from this blog. I know from my personal experience that if I'm interested in someone, I can find out A LOT about them - creeper stalker amount. *loud laugh to cover up awkwardness*

I was looking up one person and found an article about him... keep in mind that I work for a legal organization that works on gay rights... Skadden is the name of a law firm

According to a Skadden tradition, the spouses of new male partners receive bouquets of red roses on the day partnerships are announced. (New female partners receive the roses themselves.) When a single man makes partner, flowers are usually sent to his mother. But when new York tax attorney Kirk Wallace's partner, Mark Sexton, got home that April day in 1997, he found a bouquet from Skadden waiting for him, with a card that read "Dear Mark, welcome to the family.

I literally read that paragraph five times before I realized that partner meant LAW FIRM partner, not marriage partner. Then I had to reread it another two times to finally figure out exactly what the paragraph was talking about. MASSIVE CONFUSION! I thought I was picking up on tons of grammatical errors at first. Turns out I was just stupid.

And then I read a pretty interesting interview on a gay Ford executive. My favorite quote in the article is when he says "gay people don't lie; they dissemble." HAHA

I really need suggestions for new music! Not even just artists - if you know of some keywords that I can type into imeem.com, let me know! Keywords like "Laguna Beach," "house music," "lounge music," or "cute love songs." I think next week I'll be emo and listen to something like "sad breakup songs."

YAY the weekend has arrived. This week went by crazy fast. I think I went out too much. I need to spread the fun out! It interferes with my swimming schedule.

Super full yet super empty

I was just in the most amazing house I have ever been in. I don't think I will ever be in a house that nice again. HAHA It wasn't nice as in mansion with gleaming granite countertops and marble floors. It was one of those huge North Berkeley houses that feel incredibly homey the second you walk in. The rooms were perfectly sized to feel lived in, not cramped but not excessive, there were huge windows in every room, the bathroom felt like it was three times the size of mine, and the kitchen was like my dream kitchen. Countertops that were like huge cutting boards, a high table with stools, and even a dishwasher that blended in with the painted walls. There were stacks of books (but not so many that it was overflowing) on tables, all the furniture went well together but they weren't bought as a set. To enter the house, you have to climb an incredible number of stairs but once you reach the front door, you feel like you've just entered your own private kingdom.

The backyard was huge and overrun with weeds - from the back porch it looked like just another Berkeley houseyard gone wild. But once you get down to the ground, it looks less so and you start to feel comfortable even within the huge mess of brush. I wasn't even able to go to the other half of the yard, where it looked like there was a greenhouse and some two story tower looking thing.

GAH every time I hang out with Angelica and Ryan's friends I feel INCREDIBLY stupid and very limited in life experience. I think 80% of their jokes go completely over my head. Most of them are physics majors but they know a crapload about biology and chemistry and many of their jokes stem from knowledge of the natural sciences. It's not even book smart, they know everything about EVERYTHING. They are also amazing story tellers too - whenever they tell a story that I actually understand, I find myself laughing uncontrollably. Also, they are generally pretty fit and I spent a long time today discreetly looking at each person, remarking to myself "GOOD GOD LOOK AT THEIR JAWLINES."

I ate way too much - BECAUSE I HAD NO ONE TO SHARE MY FOOD WITH! I am jealous that Angelica has Ryan because she could just share her hot dog and other foods with him. Everyone who came to the BBQ would bring a six pack of beer - but it would be really nice beer. We must have had at least ten different types of beers by the end of the night. I think it's really cute when you throw a little shindig and your guests bring a little six pack and just nonchalantly put on the table. It makes it seem like they get together all the time and it's just a weekly kickback or something.

I always think to myself, I'm GOING TO STOP BLOGGING SO MUCH! Seriously, how can I talk so much when all I do is go to work? Somehow, I find it possible.

Things I ate today:
- a crazy good salad that had spinach, grapes, some sort of nut, and a dressing that was created by the host. It was made of 2:1 olive oil and balsalmic vinegar, honey, and dijon mustard, sprinkling of salt and pepper
- hamburger. this is where I was impressed: they had set out a dish of condiments that included red leaf lettuce, tomatoes, onions, avocado, and pineapples, all freshly cut
- hot dog, or specifically, a bratwurst
- a chocolate cake made with williams sonoma mix
- smores. a REAL smore with graham cracker, giant marshmallow and chocolate
- corn

God. Why is this summer turning out so well?

To be as cool as Ryan's friends, I'd have to
1) go rock climbing
2) be in school to get my phd OR be Alice Water's personal assistant (GOOD GOD)
3) form my own band
4) GSI for a class
5) do research
6) travel internationally every year
7) drink more
8) Be 27+ in age

Why is MY life so meaningless in comparison? Seriously, each time I meet one of Ryan's friends I'm like "ok, this has to be the end to his parade of talented and sociable geniuses." And then I go to something else and meet five more.

Dumplings!

Today I went grocery shopping with Alvin at 99 Ranch. At work, I also did the most e-mailing I have ever done. This internship has made me read much more news and talk to more friends than I ever would have otherwise. Oftentimes I finish my projects and my supervisor doesn't have anything prepared for me to do, so she tells me to play with the computer. I do so very obligingly. So e-mail me if you want to start an e-mail chain with me!

I optimistically bought a ton of garlic and many vegetables at 99 Ranch. Not quite sure what I will do with all this garlic. Generally I just cook vegetables and I feel like they taste just fine without having to go through the trouble of mincing garlic. We made dumplings (Alvin, Jackie and I) which I thought was really cool. The dumplings ended up taking about 90 minutes to make, but we started eating them once a batch was done, so I was not painfully hungry. I think we may have made about 210 dumpings, all for about $9! We each have a tray of 60ish left to eat at our own leisure, which is awesome (although it increases the chance that I will have rotting vegetables at the end of the week).

I have been trying to gather recipes in my head to determine what ingredients I need to make delicious foods. I need to go through my kitchen and take inventory and throw out shit. I have thrown away so much food ever since I started living in an apartment. I imagine that I'm going to feel REALLY depressed if I'm old, still single, and I constantly throw out food because there is no one for me to eat with.

I wish there were sites with more Chinese food recipes. I am SERIOUSLY going to learn to make delicious foods. Best case scenario: I learn how to cook well and people think I am amazing. Worst case scenario: I die of food poisoning.

I have been steadily transferring music. I just broke into the D's. Sometimes I'm very conflicted about whether I should transfer a song or not. For example, Celine Dion - My Heart Will Go On. I don't think I could ever listen to the song in its entirety. I'm not in fifth grade anymore. But at the same time, how can you NOT have that song in your itunes?! What if I have friends over and Titanic works itself into conversation and we want to sing My Heart Will Go On together? Prepare for the unexpected.

*songs left to transfer: 3193* Oh god, I was going to finish up the D's but I just hit David Tao and I have 24 songs and I definitely do not want all 24. I'll do this tomorrow. Damn those random asian music phases, where I just added songs all willy nilly.