Vacation!!

Its vacation time!! All I want to do is go shopping :)
Or go read.. go eat something good.... catch up with friends... and stuff.

Recently Yen pointed out a manga site! onemanga.com
OMG - amazing the amount of books in there!!! no more sitting in B&N and reading them. Less guilt I suppose.

So addicting.. my new addiction.

My dad said its a waste of time. But vacation is time to be wasted doing stuff you like!

Stupid things you do when you don't think about it.

Today - the upper management sents out an announcement of award winners - of people who was exceptional, going above and beyond what they do.

A few of people in the list I saw I knew. So, I replied to the original note, and sent congratulations - one by one to each of the person I knew. After the second person, I realized, I might have NOT changed the "To: " field ! as it MIGHT still be - the upper manager. Ugh. I am such an idiot. I think the upper management will think I am an idiot too ... (or - I hope - many many people accidentally do the same... and there is an expectation... but idiot nevertheless)

Its still too early in the morning... I am going to stop thinking about it.

A failed attempt to understand my dog

My dog - my old old dog of 15 and 8 months of age approaches me, stared at me intensely.

Figure she wants out - I let her out..

After 1 minute - she barks and waits outside of the door to be let in.

Ok. that's not it.

She continues to walk back and forth and then stop . stare. walks away. walks back. stare.
As if in the old tv show - where Lassie wants Timmy to see something. Just slower.

When she walked away - I went to check to see if she is at the door waiting. Nope. Found out that she wants more food as she stares at the garbage intensely.

I am a failed dog interpreter. At least for my dog.

Tho - this morning, I clearly understand that she wants food - as I saw for the first time - in ages - she drooled - at the sight of my dad eating a banana (which she doesn't like). She stopped staring at me and her mouth just went open and drip.... drip...

I can't stop laughing. But its bananas!!!

Maybe its b/c its my dad. Perhaps in a dog's world, the pack leader can keep the good stuff, where the non pack leaders simply should share. I am the non-pack leader who shows up once in a while.

She ignores me.

I am forgetting my blog!

Ugh - it actually took me a while to remember where my blog is.

I thought - heck - what was it again ?

A bit mored from doing a bunch of testing - I figure I brain dump a bit, rather - play with my various networking addressee. Let see - so far I've amassed the various networking places because of a reason or another :

• facebook (b/c a friend from gradschool is posting his life on it). Now i am a bit addicted to it because of this Game app...
  
• LinkedIn (b/c a bunch of my friends wanted to connect from there. Notably Dan and Phil)
• Plaxo (I think I was tricked. Some person name Stuart wanted to add me to Plaxo - which coincides to a person's name I know)
• Flickr (that's b/c I figure that's my favorite place to post pictures)
  
• This blog (the reason you can read in the first post)
  

Whatelse ? Nothing at this moment that I can think of... but my memory tend to fail me.

Counting the amount of networking apps out there - I actually thought that I might have more - but this is not too bad. Kinda balanced.

What you can lost when you walk around...

My habit of putting my credit card in my back pocket has ended badly. Its gone. I figured that there are a few places I can check to see if its there, but no luck. I've been to - lunch, bathroom, breakroom, it really can be anywhere....

Figure - ok, work is pretty big, if someone found it - how hard is it for them to look me up ?
Then again - why would I trust anyone to be a good Samaritan?

Ok. not a big deal. Figure I should just call in and let the credit card company know.

I found one number for lost or stolen card from my credit card company at their website, so off I go calling.

"Please type or speak your 16 digit credit card number"
"Please type or speak your 16 digit credit card number"..
.. repeat..

DUH! How would anyone who needs to report a lost card know their 16 digit number off the top of their head?

Ok. maybe its the wrong number. But NOOoo that's the only number.

Out of frustration, I pressed 0. I figure, hey - 0 always gets you to someone. That worked. The system said "One Moment Please...." . Out comes this Indian voice, who also asked me what my 16 digit credit card number is. If that's the number for lost card, why does that even make any sense?

The conversation goes like as if she needs to follow a script. Seriously. No room for changes. She had to repeat her condolences about how losing this card will make my life absolutely inconvenient. HA. That was repeated two times - and a 1/2 . Half b/c she can't get the words thru to me while I was talking and asking questions. Perhaps they add this for the holiday seasons.

Then she asked a bunch of questions... which I figure I need to answer them properly. I did. Slowly. Enough so she has time to spell it out. Not too bad all together. I figure - oh well, it gotta be done.

At the end, I asked for a confirmation number... you figure that - for things like this, it would be good to have a reference number or some sort so that you can call back and say - hey - I reported a lost card the other day and such .. such.. Nope. There isn't one.

I'll be waiting for the arrival of my new card... soon :)

Memo to myself...

I figure somewhere out there - there must be a place where you can make a list of stuff. Doesn't have to share with people - but just as a gentle reminder for those things you don't need often.

Like - what booked I read that I liked, don't like, why. what size shoe I wear, what's my social security number... where I stash my money.. you know ? In case I get amnesia.

That's b/c I finished reading this really good book (second book from the golden compass - the subtle knife) , that I need to write to myself - that was a good book!

Maybe that's a website idea i should keep to myself if i don't forget it. Tho - I am not sure if I trust a website that stores everything like that....

Super mold.

I finally ran my dish-washer today... after perhaps a week or more or so.

If you want reasons :

1. I am being a responsible citizen. Raleigh is having a water crisis. Its recommended that we don't wash things till its a full load. That includes the dishwasher.
2. I don't hand wash, as dish washing is more efficient.
3. My usage of dishes is limited to breakfast and dinner. Limited.
   

I really only cook on weekends - and now even more occasionally.

So - I got home - ready to put away my dishes... and found that my cutting board has some black color spots on it.

What the heck ?

Look closer - was little spots of mold. Somehow - whatever I was cutting - was mold food.
Some how - the mold didn't die with the heated water temperature.

*UGH* - does that mean I need to wash everything in my dishwasher again b/c possible contamination of mold spores from my cutting board!

Super mold. I am soaking them in water full of detergent as I type.

Lucky me.

No no no no... didn't win any lotteries... or anything..

Today, is the day where I plan to clean up my yard, re-pot all my plants, mow the lawn.. so that I can leave my house in a decent shape before I head out for my Thanksgiving at home.

A lot of soil and a lot of mixing and potting later - I was all good. I was ready for my lawn.

Getting to my lawn mower requires the car to be moved out of the garage. Attempted to start the car.... Nothing. Tried again. Nothing. It go like clump and nothing happened. Oh no!

Chris happens to be playing video game in the house, so I called him. He thought - either the battery died or the alternator. Ok. Not good. My week is going to suck without a car.

So - he got the car into neutral, and had me push the car out of the garage - as he steered. It wasn't so bad really. I was surprised how easily the car moved...

The car jump started, and I drove the car to Advanced autoPart. Yup. Death of a battery, that was barely 3 years old. At least the guy was nice and mentioned the warranty that's 2 years.

I thought... wow was I lucky. If I didn't attempted to mow my lawn, I wouldn't have moved the car, which means I wouldn't have seen the battery problem till Monday morning when I really needed it and Chris won't be around to help.

Lucky me. :)

My alarm went off!

This morning, I opened the door forgetting that I had "armed" the house...

*Gasp*

The controller started to beep .. beep. . beep.. as I frantically tries to : Find my remote, remember my code.

Due to the earliness of the hour, attempting both tasks requires searching my memory .. before a coffee, that is futile..

The controller started to beep faster! Suddenly, remembering the code, I rushed to the panel.

The panel simply won't budge... I pried, there must be a way!! It opened! But too late.

Off the alarm went. I quickly punched in the code.. and noticed the off button realizing that's probably what I must press... and it stopped. I can't imaging having the alarm going off this early in the morning when people are probably sleeping.

I thought... ok it went off... what now ?

After about 5 minutes- the security person called me - inquiring about the alarm going off. To pass the test, she asked a few questions to ensure I am who I am...

Good stuff.

At least now I know it works. :)

Posted all Toronto pics

Finally had some time to sort out the Toronto pictures that I took while visiting Amy.

Everything are here:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/yings_alter_ego/sets/72157602683997888/



This is my favorite pic - just a nice street scene :


Poll: what's your favorite pic ?

More stories later.... time to sleep

Dead ants in the house...

No soccer today. Its not quite end of the season yet - the play offs are next week.

This morning when I was taking the little amt of trash I have out - I noticed that I got dead ants - scattered around the corners in my kitchen. Dead. All curl up.



Not sure why they ventured in, or when they ventured into my house.. or even HOW they got into my house... just dead. Probably from the insecticide that I put down a while back .. about a month ago.

I wonder...

Perhaps they were driven into the house due to the extremely high amt of rain last week... and in an attempt to head into the house... crossing that chemical residue , they died . Scattered. Like between a rock and a hard place - no way to survive.

I was glad that at least they seems to die quick... as they didn't venture too far from the corners.. or perhaps those who had escaped - went far away ...

I think I am a pushover ... maybe :)

This week, I am in Toronto visiting Amy. Just hanging out and checking out the city a bit. Also, I got to work from the Toronto lab .. meet the team... meet the people I work with... etc... Kinda neat. The lab is pretty nice. Cafeteria can be improved...

We also try to eat at as many places as possible. Dinner today was at "The famous Owl of Minerva restaurant" at First Markham place. Initially, we were really excited about trying a Taiwanese Beef Noodle soup place we saw the night before... But , when we walked into the door, there was this waft of weird smell that came toward us. (wasn't anyone).. so we quickly decided that it'll bother us, and head out. We saw the Owl of Minerva restaurant near by and decided that we should give the Owl a try. Not too bad. Tho I was hoping for noodles and didn't get too much of it.

We have been eating dinner a bit at First Markham place near work. It has a lot of good Chinese restaurants that we've been sampling... and a strip mall-ish place with lots of Chinese stuff in there. Things like those you see in NYC's Chinatown. Trinkets, stuff animals, and DVD's... lots of DVDs. Today, we went thru the stores a bit more. Check out the many DVD's in there all low low low price... :D

Then we ended up at a snacks shop. I was amazed at the amount of Pokey selections. I got "Seaweed wasabi", "Tahitian Vanilla", and "milk honey" flavored pockey. Then at the check out counter, the guy was trying to get me to purchse this concentrated green tea milk candy. He said - its soo good that you can't stop eating those, and I'll give you a discount ... 10% off no tax..

So I got some.

Ok. Maybe I wasn't totally a push over. I was kinda interested in trying a new candy out, but I guess having extra mention of discount totally pushed me to actually purchase it...

Ugh... I can't believe I am talking about trying out new candy... Just in case these are Concentrate Milk Green Tea candy. Not too bad.

This is the candy:

Mosquito bait....

Today I decided to head home early so I can give my yard a bit of a quick mowing before I head to Toronto. To keep my neighbor happy... or at least the perspective buyer for my neighbor's house happy. Tho, its not like my grass is really growing well - its just uneven and full of weeds. (that's the stuff keeping it green and fresh looking)

After mowing I started to notice some buzzing around me.. Oh no ! I quickly grab some insect repellent and spray everywhere. I proceed to do a bit more yard work, pulling those weeds that didn't blend well... and get ride of some brown leaves on my tree... When I finally finished, I realized that I've been bitten a lot! The repellent didn't work much at all!? (or was there simply so much mosquitoes around b/c its so hot again ? )

That's 16 bites all together. Very itchy. Not sure how some of those got thru my socks :(
I suspect some got into the house too.....

Half game of soccer and living in the stone ages

Today I was only able to make it for 1/2 a game of soccer. The game starts at 6:30pm, and I had a meeting at 6. Thank goodness the meeting ended early, so that I quickly changed, and head to the soccer game.

Upon arrival, the field was all empty. I thought to myself - did they not start the game yet ? or was it so bad that it ended early ? Totally forgot about the half time.

Within minutes, I was on the field, running around. Today, I got to be the center to start... (ie - tap the ball to the other start person - who then kicked it to the other guy on the team - center forward) Again, still clueless. The other team was really good... for some reason. This was a team we played before, and we tied. Today, that's a totally different story. Apparently they've scored 3 pts already the first half !! (we were also short on people to swap out) . Quickly, they scored another pts right at the game start. It sucks. At least the rest of the game went well, and we managed to get a point in.

Tho I heard that the first point that they scored was a bit unfair b/c we were still trying to figure out our positions while the other team just kicked the ball right into the goal. And that the 4th goal, was done incorrectly (inpass or something) . The ref just didn't see it.

I also managed to take a picture of our team in action:


This is the first game we lost I believe....

On a total side note. I got home and decided to turn on the TV. Nova was on. And OMG, there are some really cool things happening in the genome world that I am not aware of. Absolutly no clue. (not paying attention but, how come I've never heard it in the news?) Googled it a bit, found a Wire article about it - dating back to 2005. WOW. I feel like I've been living in the stone ages!

Check it out! Nova : Ghost in your Genes

It totally reminded me of Nature vs. Nurture...

how to properly take a compliment... ? and other things

Soccer Tuesday
We had a good go at the soccer today. There were many attempts from our team toward the goal - but nothing made it in. So didn't their team. There were definitely a few close calls... from both sides. I guess we were evenly matched. Tho I think the girls on their team had to work extra hard today b/c there wasn't any subs for them. Good for us, b/c they were really good.

Me, on the other hand is still learning to play. I started being the forward center. Just running around, and try to get the ball away from the opponent. I found that while running toward them is a good attempt. Unfortunately, I was an easy person to get around... (blame my legs for being a bit on the short side). At least I tried. I attempted many times to get the ball away from the other team, especially if they are coming straight at me. Either they just kick and dribbled past me, or quickly kicked it away to someone else (who happens to be not guarded) .

Pretty exhausting chasing the ball. Lauren suggested that I should watch the eyes a bit more rather than the feet... b/c that should tell where they are getting ready to kick the ball. The problem there is that I am very afraid that I'll trip over and break something.

The other thing I learn is that - its good to step a bit back as a defender. I think strategy wise.. it makes a lot of sense. Especially if the ball is in the other team's field. Its a good position to make sure if they kick the ball to my team's side, it is a quick kick back to the other side. Besides.. I am less tired that way b/c I would just walk closer and watch the game. :)

Tho - overall, I didn't think I did a good job. But people watching on the side say that I give a good try out there... I quickly replied - no.. I need to do this.. and do that.. and improve on this .. and that. Now to think of it - I should've just said "Thanks!". Probably the whole being a women thing... will try to practice that next time.

Other Random Things:

• Golden Compass: Very good book. Easy read. I am at page 255 already on the second day.

• Passionately Pink for the Cure : http://www.flickr.com/groups/passionatelypinkforthecure/ - I've been posting pink pictures there. "In honor of Breast Cancer Awareness Month, Yahoo! will donate $1 to Susan G. Komen for the Cure, for each pink photo added to this Group from October 1-31, 2007 up to $50,000!" Very cool.
  

Check out my photos in Schmap!

Today - I got a note from Schmap (travel website), who wanted to include photos that they found in my flickr stream!!

Linzergasse
www.schmap.com/salzburg/tours_tour2/p=145422/i=145422.jpg

Horsepond
www.schmap.com/salzburg/sights_attractions/p=143379/i=143379.jpg

And previously ,St. Mary's Column
www.schmap.com/munich/sights_haidhausen/p=276163/i=276163.jpg

I think its pretty cool!!

Today I learned that cafeteria opens at 7:30

This week, I've attempted to wake up early so that I have time to finish work, and stuff that requires the focus of an awake person. As, by the end of the day - I am about to call it quits. I've come into work earlier too. Mainly due to the early morning meeting sessions that I have, which are inconvenient to do over my must-be-upgraded-soon cellphone.

Today, was no exception. I have an 9am, which means its a pain to go thru traffic and try to get to work right before then. And, today, I got into work at 7:15am. Traffic was light and really nice :) Figure I should have some food in my stomach before I start the day, I walked over to the cafe, and to my amazement - it is closed!! Woah. That had never happened. Never. Never in my whole entire IBM life.

Next time - I'll know. And knowing is 1/2 of the battle.

The unspoken girl rule

Soccer again tonight. The game was at 6pm, and I almost forgot!! I mean, I didn't forget this morning, but it was 5:39 when I realized that I should be running off and get ready!

We were against a team that was suppose to be top notch. They are. Its amazing how well they can control the ball - and that the fact that the two girls in the team really can play!! I ended up chasing the other team left and right. :( not good. I need to be better at guarding.

I took a break after a while - and just hangout chatting with my teammate. He said - the girl from the other team pushed him and went for the ball. So he pushed back - and then that girl and the other team complained about it. He said - he'll be nice to girls but - if they want to play rough - then no excuses and no complains.

So.. ah ha - an unspoken rule for girls. Tho my other teammates said that the other team doesn't play nice at all. We are the nice guys. Nice guys tied the game with a 3~3 score! Yeah!

"Do u want to know me?"

I get spams thru all the different email accounts that I registered with. Most of times, I am not even sure how the spammer's found the email.

The spams comes in different categories: The phishing type, such as : you've won something, your account is changing, your unknown relatives has left you millions. The advertisement type: buy these drugs online and save, go to this site for xxx stuff... and the last type - the looking for a good man letters.

For some reason, I've been getting the "looking for a good man letters" thru google, and only google. I must have somehow sent an google email out to something somewhere..

These are particularly funny b/c inevitably, there is a link pointing to a Russian site. And, all looking for a nice man... (which - I am not ) . They always sounds kinda nice. I think :)

This is the latest sample :

"Greetings to you!

I know that you are a very attractive man, and I hope for our future relationships, I want you to know that it is very important for me, so please tell me much more about you in your letters, I'll be waiting for your answer impatiently at web site deleted

And now I'll tell you something about myself, I believe in faith in my life and I will meet my real second half when the time comes. However if you don't take any action in life nothing is going to happen, right?

I have heard that some people on the net always use prepared notes to make a communication easier which I really don't like and I don't think it is good for both parties involved. I'm really interested in you and expect the same
in return:
Have a nice day"

Nice huh ? apparently the writer believes I am an attractive man.... heh

We won!!!

Yeah !!!!!!!!!! We won!! with a 2-1 win.

While I didn't did anything to impact that result.... (ie - didn't made the goal) it was still really cool to watch it happen!

This was a perfect night for soccer. Cool enough, not cold. And we got most of the team members there - ie - 2 extra girls and 2 extra guys for subbing. Yeah! I got in a bit late but I still made it in time for the girl to sub out. BTW - its all about subbing - it really gets tiring and not fun when you are on the field all the time....

I got in sometimes in the middle of the first half.. Left Center. Ok. I know what to do there. The ball didn't come by my side too often.. and remembered that I just go back and forth a bit. But this was the half where we got 2 goals. :) Yeah!!!!

Breaktime! The girls talked about boots and fall fashion while the guys probably was talking about how to improve the game. I took some sips of water.... ack..

The second half comes around, we got a great game going. .. I was on the bench watching the game with Lauren ... then Chris K came back after a sub and said - think its time for you guys to go out - since Lan is limping a bit. We were both like sure! Lauren was getting chilly!!

Got out in the field and got assigned as Center forward. I was like - huh? what do I do there? I am not totally sure what that does but I think I try to stay in the center a bit more rather than being on the side.... I found that - I don't like being in the center. I have this fear that if I have the ball and everyone comes to me.. I would freak out. Besides - I like running sideways .. and that's perfect for being on the side.

In the middle of that game... a ball came straight at me, and it was an easy catch. But I was clueless what to do next. Before I can think about it, a lady from another team got close and kick my ball away!! just like that!! but then I chased after it and kicked it back out to someone in my team.... thank goodness.....

We let one in accidentally b/c we were all kinda tired.. and decided that three people should be enough to defend the goal. The other team didn't even bother to gather everyone closer. But someone - somehow, got the goalie away on to one side.. and the big gap happened... *darn*

Oh well. But hey ! we kept to the last minutes and keep the points out! Yeah!!!

Its sooo cool :) I wasn't even that tired... woah!

Watch out for #29 !!

#29 - that's me !!!

Another soccer game today - and while we had one extra girl in the team, we were short on guys. (ie no extra bodies to switch out). I was lucky enough to be sitting out early beginning - then after I got switched in, I didn't get to switch out again.

Tired, but not as much as last time. Probably all those walking in NYC.

But - it was fun. While we didn't win... my highlights :) (pure Ying ego boost right here )

Highlight 1 : The lady guarding me, when my team was close to the goal, getting ready to pass the ball in . She yells "Watch out for # 29 ! " . Woah. I didn't figure anyone would be "watching out" about me.

Highlight 2: As I tried to get the ball away from the attacking team... the guy on the other side said to the other teammate - "guard her" . Same stuff. Crazy huh ?

Highlight 3: My favorite. Near the end of the game, I was playing defense. The goalie on the other team has the ball, and kicked it all the way - right toward me. It looked like I can actually kick it.... and I did. (to my own amazement). And it went right to someone on my team :)

There were definitely mistakes, missed catches... There was a time where I actually got the ball from the other team, but not quite sure what to do with it... but hey !! Remember the good stuff!!

Ants in the house

I don't like ants too much. At least those that tried to bite me, or crawled on me.

So, when I got home today, I saw a bunch of ants: by the sink, on the counter, on the walls, in my plants , and my oven! Ack !!! I tried to figure out what is getting them interested, because generally there are only a few scouts... or if they found food - there will be a line formed. Its sort of like in between scouting and food find. Think they are confused by bad information.

Not sure where they are coming in either :(

The attempt to get ride of them involves:

• Squeezing them individually. That was too slow.
  
• Spraying them with Chlorx
• Sqeezing them - after Chlorx was sprayed. They were still alive.
  
• Spaying them with those insect spray.
  

That worked. Tho its pretty poisonous. So I scrubbed the counter top with soap before i forget and eat stuff off it.

I left some ants in my garbage and tossed it out. Now I feel a bit bad. Is it better to have them killed than leaving them living in the garbage and die of a slow death? Sometimes I think about molds like that too...

Food food food...

Dumplings!!!

Getting the place ready - a tub of fillings and pan:


Filling the pan with dumplings


After putting it in boiling water and cook it - finished!


Add a bit of soy sauce + vinegar ..... good stuff!

I think I might have ate a worm...

In which Chris replies - what about me ??? (as he took a bite off the peach I was working on)

Its peach season in the Chen family, and yeah - Dad's peach tree yielded a lot of peaches. While its not as much as last year, but these were much larger, and sweeter. And there was plenty.

(see the other veggies behind the peaches ? Dad grew those too... )

Dad doesn't believe in pesticides. Besides fighting his daily fight against the evil black squirrel that pillages his veggies and fruit with water, he wraps each peach in a plastic bag to really prevent bugs from getting at them.

That really took a lot of time. But he likes it. Tho, there are sneaky little worms that still manages to get inside the peach... I saw Mom this morning using a magnifying glass to check for worms after she cut the peaches out. She said - earlier on she saw a long skinny pink worm that went really fast, up the kitchen wall (which she then kills) , and so she has been checking the peaches ever since.

At least all the sliced ones have been Mom approved. But not the one I was working on...


One of the perks of working at home in NYC is being with my dog and my family. Here is a picture of the old girl.

and being able to just head into the city and check things out... good food. Grass anyone ?

Its not fair being the girl...

First soccer game tonight. Ugh. Tired. Really tired.

Chris came to be the cheerleader. I had no clue what to do...
Having a cheerleader is nice :) He bought me water .. as I was too tired to get them.

I was assigned to play center - right or was it left. Don't know. I managed to kick the ball a few times - away from the opponent, and attempt to pass it on . I think that ability decreases as the time goes on.

So, apparently, in a co-ed team, there needs to be always two girls in the field at all time. And today, there are only two girls (Kim and me) . That means we don't get to sub out, and we had to play the whole game.... Kim sticked it out... and so did I. But it sucks. Toward the end of the game, I focus on - standing up, not trip, and follow the ball. I attempted to block the ball from the opponent but I was just too tired.

No goals from me. The score was 2 - 1 (we lost). We didn't do too bad tho :)

That's my first soccer game. I am looking forward to the next one tho, and I hope we got all the girls there so we can sub in and out.

Very hungry... need to shower and eat...

Hmmm... can it be even hotter ?

We went wafting with a group of IBMers this Saturday. Wafting, as our guide 'River Dave' describes.. is his favorite word. A word he uses for the activity of just drifting along the river, and observing nature around us. Yup. Lot of info. Didn't realize that story telling comes with this too.. It was too hot to complain so, any welcome time to take a break under the tree - even the cosmic ones are very welcome.



We waft till we reach a stopping point.. where Dave describes it as the 'worlds most amazing swimming hole'. And that - in order to connect with the nature, we all should be in the water.. and not be a "no body". Maybe being a no body was ok, as I was not equipped to be in water. But... the heat drove me to hide under the water to cool off... and drag Chris along too.

The way back was really much more relaxing. I guess, no more of the - follow Dave and listen to his stories, and no more worries about falling into the water ... Just wished that I had bring a book to read, and more snacks. I suppose I can waft for a little more... next time.

Sometimes things just go bad...

Sometimes - things just go bad in my house. Food wise. Yogurt.. apples... pasta sides... cookies.. even chocolate. For those who know me, they would always check the expiration date before eating anything that's in my fridge or cupboard. Just to be safe.

This morning - as I go about making boiling water for my coffee and oatmeal, I remembered that I have a rice cooker in the sink I should wash. It has been sitting there soaking in water for about 3 days.. (that'll get all the rice off the sides). As I opened the lid up.. I saw bubbles on top of the water. I thought hummm... why would there be bubbles ?

As I look closer, a waft of smell came close to me almost make me choke. It was pretty nasty - like rotten milk smell... but with water and rice. The little bits of rice left over in the water has fermented..... ACK!!

What a way to wake up in the morning...

Taking on a new sport

Last week, I decided that I will play in a IBM soccer league - after getting the assurance from the captain that - its ok if I have never (ever since elementary school) played that sport before.

Saturday was our first practice, so Chris went with me Friday night to Dicks to outfit me with the requirements :


Yes - pink soccer ball :) . Dicks was having a youth soccer set sale - which made the ball cost about 4 dollars extra (b/c I was picking up new cleats). I didn't know what a shin-guard was till I saw and tried it on... its like a helmet - but for your shins.

Pretty excited. Soccer is one sport that I remember liking a while ago... so I was looking forward to see if it was how I remembered it.

Saturday was practice ... started in the morning. Practice was fun but very tiring... We stayed out for about 1 1/2 hrs and its really just way too hot for any type of activities. But so far so good. no major injuries (and that's my goal).

Found in mail

Not so mad at Sprint today. Got a wrapped package containing "return package" in the mail yester. Finally! It was dated Aug 10 and if it had arrived a bit earlier (without the previous card that said please call them), I would've saved 2 hrs and no paranoia about giving my SSN away.

ying todo: be more patient.
ying todo: never call Sprint ever again.

evil shall be blogged..

I am really annoyed at Sprint, again. At least I wasn't today until after 2 hrs of wasted time getting thru to them to try to return a phone. The third time I was ask what my phone number was - I wasn't happy and basically said I'll file a complaint and have a good day.

The story starts end of July when I saw an site pointing to Sprint Employee Referral Program. The deals was too good to be passed up, as I don't have a contract for ages... and needs a new phone.. really (my poor old phone).

July 29 - Went thru the website and ordered a phone. Very excited. It offered me to transfer my phone number over - I was fine w/ that. No problems. At least no problems the online site can see.

Then... everything went downhills from there...

It took me 3 calls to Sprint (each with a bit of wait time from 10~20 minutes) to finally figure out where my phone was, and it finally arrived on Aug 7. Still not too bad. I wasn't annoyed - not till when I checked my account and noticed I have two phone lines. Two phone lines!! why would I want that ? maybe someone does but not me.

*about 2 hrs wasted - 3 reps*

I called immediately back to Sprint with the new phone to sort that out. After being on hold, and got transferred over... I got to someone who seems to know what is going on and explained to me b/c how I ordered it. She suggested a solution that needed basically another phone line so she can call me back with instructions. Unfortunately, nope, can't do. She leave notes on my account and said to call back and someone can help me sort it out.

*about 1 hrs wasted - total 3 wasted hrs. - 5 reps total*

Next day ( Aug 8 )was pretty bad. Besides the waiting time that's about 20 minutes... I was first routed to a lady who said she knows what is going on.. but when she started to fix it, she said - oh I can't do that.. I need to transfer you to someone who can do that on both lines. Hold . transfer again .. ACK. I was so tired of repeating myself .. at least the rep over the phone said - oh let me pull your info up. Luckily the instructions are there. But - she can't do a thing.. she said what the person previously said can't be done. OK. Fine. I'll cancel the new thing I signed up.

The rep said she'll send me a return form. Good.
Sometimes I think Sprint has some people who are really good and helpful but they are just getting screwed by the corporate policies. Like now.

* about 2 more hrs wasted - total 5 hrs wasted - 8 reps total*

The night isn't finished yet... as I got home, I discovered that I can't use my old phone!! I check my account, and noticed that I got a completely different phone listed as my phone. I called back immediately with the new phone, more wait time - finally got to someone who gave me instructions on how to program my old phone.... at least she knew what she was doing.

She ended the call with - would I like to renew my contract. Nope. Not a chance. In fact it will be bye Sprint soon.

*more time wasted - ~6 hr - 9 reps*

So its back to normal now...... right......
I got a "return package " that consists of a sheet of paper including instructions on how to contact a rep to ensure i am eligible to return my phone. Some process. Fine.

Today 8/14 - was when I finally had some time to call Sprint to see how I can return that phone. I just want my phone returned!! don't they want their stuff back??

The saga starts 6:26 pm .
6:26 pm: rep #1 picks up the phone, was surprised that I was there (this was like within 15 secs of me calling the number that someone picked up)
- rep #1 was confused about which phone I want to return.
(apparently the new phone is no longer listed in my account )
- rep #1 understood.. and attempts to find my number + account into
- in between - many mini holds (1~5 minutes) to longer holds (~10 minutes)
- rep #1 comes back and asks me to repeat my information.
- rep #1 then tells me that she can't seem to find and asks for my SSN
- me #1 - refuses
- rep #1 puts me on hold and when return said she really can't find the phone... asks me for SSN.
- me - refuses.
- that goes on for a while.. till she said - I can't really help you at this moment
- I gave up - and said - ok. here it is. (totally bad idea and don't try this at home! )
- rep #1 puts me on hold again and then got back to me and tells me that she needs to transfer me to someone who can give me a package slip.

7:10 pm - Got routed to rep #2 - picks up.
- this rep was really giggly. She asked me for my account number and really wasn't paying much attention at all... and I was pretty pissed at that point. Determined to get thru this, I just waited..
- rep #2 puts me on mute (without telling me but I know) - probably to get herself un-giggly.
- rep #2 gets back to me and asks for my passcode to my account.
- me - gives passcode
- rep #2 said - ok. I need to put you on hold and bring someone to help me with this.

7:26 pm - put on hold. Again.
8:00 pm - hold music changed.
8:16 pm - After on hold all these time... I thought - ok - that's finally over... NOPE.
- rep #3 - Hello , can I have your account number please?
- me - ranted about how I started at 6:26pm, and no info got transfered.
- me - let rep #3 know that I'll be filing a complaint with BBB - and thank him.

* 2 measurable hrs wasted- total 8 hrs wasted - 11 reps.
Lesson learn: Sprint is evil , and deals that are too good to be true probably are not good deals.*

Nothing resolved. Maybe I should just bring this phone to Sprint store and see if they'll take it back. Take it back Sprint!! Good bye 4 years of being a customer.

Now that's some bad customer service. And that's a full day of time I wasted.

no skills necessary ...

Today marks.. the first time I actually consider, and more importantly - ACT - on getting my blog created. Really really long story involving Sprint (evil) - which I thought - EVERYONE should know what happened.. (for me a documentation). I am amazed at the simple process that it took to get it going.. see how long I get this updated.