It’s about gone, kids. 2011. All done. 2011 has been a serious roller coaster for me professionally and personally. It seems like it was just yesterday when I was updating the 2010 end of the year list! Golly. 2011 in Pictures Jan – March: Welcome to the family, Robin Hood the Hyundai Sonata! / Custom made truffles from Drago Centro / Got laid off April – June: New Zealand vacation / Cochon 555 / The Nerd Machine Slave Leia PSA

On March 31, my 6 years stint at the LA Non Profit came to an end.  Things were changing at the office and the brunt of it fell on me, the only person in the office to get such brunt. But then God/Universe/Karma/Fate/Circumstances opened a door for me to walk out on.  After all of the signs through my MP3 player and other means, I wasn’t going to ignore this opportunity. I seriously have followed the lyrics of Defying Gravity. 

There has got to be a better way to learn to appreciate life than having 3 dead colleagues in 3 months. I lost a former colleague in December. The guy retired in the summer and took up part time with another company. Friday he was at a conference as healthy as he could be. Sometime over the weekend he died in his sleep. Brandon lost a coworker in January. The health nut and gym rat played tag football with friends

I lost a former colleague yesterday. Well, I lost him once before when he retired last year. But this time it’s forever. He was an older gentleman whom we all adored.  For most of us, if not all of us, we have never been in this office without him. He was youthful for his age and I chalked it up to his childlike wonder.  His office was the first one I have seen since my dot com days to have

Oh yes. The tradition is back. First of, in this blog, soccer will be called by its proper name of football.  Thank you. You know, I’m not an all-the-time football fan.  But every time the Olympics and the World Cup come around, I’m all into it all over again. It’s a family tradition that I just can’t shake. Having grown up with 2 older brothers, it’s not difficult to get roped into the spirit of all of the teams.  Frankly,

When disaster strikes somewhere in the world, if the media and celebrity is on board especially, suddenly you see the surge of donations and fundraisers everywhere. But what about the everyday?  Where did that overflowing of generosity and kindness go? Last week, my bus buddy was sitting with a bunch of other commuters waiting for the bus.  There was no room to sit so I was standing around the corner.  Once these folks got up to get on their bus,

Today, the Universe decided that it hates people in my life. 1. Brandon tore his calf muscle As he changed the oil on his car on Friday, Brandon discovered some coolant leakage. Upon further inspection by the auto shop, there are more than just that. We think the Anniversary accident knocked things loose. So, this morning, instead of waking up to drive me to my stop, the Mister decided to sleep in a little. I left my car 5 blocks

I’ve been pushing through work and juggling my social life through February.  It seems I’m making new friends and reconnecting with old ones all the time.  Weekends and evenings were no longer just the quiet moments but full of activities. There have also been changes at my work.  We have created a new department which roped my marketing team of 2 in with 2 other departments to pursue new directions.  The new Boss Man is first a friend.  Much like

Breakfast Half of a giant blueberry peach scone I got from the farmer’s market over the weekend. I ate the other half on Monday. A mug of lemongrass-pandan tea. . Lunch An avocado tomato sandwich: 2 slices of 7 grain bread lightly toasted, mayo (yeah..I didn’t think about the egg content…), seasoning salt, a few shakes of Tapatio, strawberry tomatoes, and half of an avocado. The other half of the avocado with seasoning salt. Split a giant Asian pear with

It was a LOT easier waking up at 5 a.m. when you go to bed by 9:30 p.m. I have been doing it for a week now, waking up at 5 a.m., shower, make a mug of tea, sit at my computer and work until 6:15, get dressed, leave at 6:30 to catch my bus. This morning, instead of sitting until 6:15, I caught the 6:15 bus instead. Do I even dare say it? Guys, I might have been converted