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July 28, 2003

The Restaurant (Updated)

Ahhh.... combine 2 of my favorite pasttimes (food and reality tv) together, and you get The Restaurant! =)

Not quite sure where the show's heading, or how long it'll last, but it's pretty interesting to see the life behind the scenes at a restaurant... even if it might be over-dramatized.

Well, after one week on the Cabbage Soup Diet, here are my results and observations:

- I lost 13.5 pounds
- I haven't felt the need to binge on carbos, meat or other things since coming off my diet
- I should have also measured my blood pressure before starting the diet
- The first 2 days are the toughest; if you can make it through, then the rest of the diet is easy.
- I added spicy V8 and a packet of Lipton onion soup mix to my soup... 2 additional cubes of bouillon was way too much salt (next time, I'll try 1)

Posted by stevelee at 01:21 AM | Comments (8)

July 25, 2003

Insert-Title-Here

Wow, this week's Friday Five questions are good... I'll have to put some more thought into my answers!

In the meantime, meet my girl Jenny. Like every other trendy Asian, she has her own LJ, Xanga, AIM and Friendster accounts! ;) But she's extra special, sweet and cool... and as you can tell from her pics, a real cutie! (Even if she does go to that other high school! hehe)

...OK, now where's my 20 bucks?! ;p

BTW, if you can hook me (well, her) up with the Cantonese version of Meteor Garden, she'll love ya for life! Wahine?? =)

Posted by stevelee at 02:00 PM | Comments (4)

July 23, 2003

Cabbage Soup Diet

Not too much to update about... I'm on day 2 of the Cabbage Soup Diet, and it's not that bad so far. The soup is yummy (thanks cspell for the spicy V8 tip!), and I haven't felt an overwhelming desire to cheat yet...

The worst part is constantly feeling hungry, and having to sate that appetite with fruit or soup, which leaves me hungry like 30 minutes later!

Looks like I might have to make another batch of soup... everyone else in my family's been drinking my soup too (greedy people! *shakes fist*)! No, they're not dieting with me... =(

Posted by stevelee at 11:43 AM | Comments (8)

July 22, 2003

Congrats Kaz and Kim!

I'm blessed by your friendship, and wish you all the love, happiness and success in your new lives together! =)

(Sang by Kaz to Kim during the exchange of wedding vows....*sigh* =))

I also had the honor of being one of their unofficial photographers... following them around all day, and capturing the moments not caught by the real photographer.

It involved more work and running around than I expected, but it all was worth it! I got to spend quality time with my friends, help them out, and take pictures of the beautiful bride and her bridesmaids... and the handsome groom and groomsmen. =)

It was my first taste of life as an event photographer, and I enjoyed every minute of it... learned some lessons... (buy and bring a 1 gig CF card!) It's so easy and fun working with cute, photogenic people... probably one of the biggest perks of being a photographer is that you have an excuse to take many shots of hot ladies! Hehe. =p (folks, I'm kidding! *nervous laughter* ;))

Sorry, unless I hear otherwise, I'm not making the wedding pictures public.

Posted by stevelee at 03:10 AM | Comments (2)

July 17, 2003

Purty pics

From AE: 26 Things - The International Photographic Scavenger Hunt for July. Seems like a fun thing to do... hopefully I'll have the time to complete it! =)

Check out AE's pretty fotolog of Chinatowns Around the World, while you're at it!

Posted by stevelee at 04:43 PM | Comments (1)

July 15, 2003

More bizarre tragedies...

First was the lady who got killed when a disease-weakened tree limb fell and crushed her car...

Then yesterday, a tow truck flew across several lanes, fell 30 feet and crushed a SUV in a different freeway.

How can you put into words how horrible that was? 5 people died, and the car behind the crushed SUV were family members who witnessed the entire sick scene happen right in front of them... I can't even imagine how they must feel...

I can only hope that they all died quick, painless deaths... and pray for the family and friends. =(

And as I drove by Lake Merced today, I noticed a significant fire (with lots of smoke) from the Lake... no news yet on the cause of the fire. I pray that no one else died though...*sigh*

Posted by stevelee at 04:07 PM | Comments (0)

July 13, 2003

Anna's bridal shower thingy!

A bunch of friends met up to celebrate Anna's upcoming wedding... lots of drunken debauchery and raunchy games ensued!

Riiight. Hung out, ate chocolate, and played some games... I thought the whole point of these things was to embarrass the bride, not the guests?! =p Anyway, thanks Christina, Milly and Sam for organizing everything!

While at The Stinking Rose, saw my studly bro Gil and Victoria, my pledge sister (and spokesperson)! That was cool.. hadn't seen her in years!

Posted by stevelee at 02:16 AM | Comments (7)

July 10, 2003

More random links! (Updated)

Guys: get married, and kiss your criminal genius buh-bye!

Matrix meets Table Tennis!

From wahine: How to turn your penis "tiny tadger into a roaring jackhammer of love"!!!

I think I need to implement a "mini-blog/links" featurette like Ernie, so I don't have to write an entry just for links!
==========
Learned Tango today... and I absolutely loved it! I guess I really do love Latin music/dancing after all! Anything where I get to show off (my lack of) "sensual hip action," baby! ;p It feels pretty damn good when people (especially the cute ladies ;)) notice and compliment you on your dancing.

Then again, I'm blessed to have 2 expert coaches in the form of my parents. =)

BTW, according to the instructor the "trick" to pulling off tango is all in the attitude. You need to exude a confident, almost cocky/smug, attitude while doing it (especially if you're the guy, who has to lead)... perfect for me! Haha.

...I think with some more practice (I spend too much time concentrating on the beat and trying to remember variations =/), I might actually get pretty good at this dancing stuff. ;)

Posted by stevelee at 11:18 PM | Comments (4)

July 08, 2003

Random news

Here's some news about the Square-Enix's upcoming Dragonquest game... I know they're trying to be innovative and all, but seems more like an action/adventure game instead of an RPG? Well, I guess I'll wait and see. =)

And more news about teens that can't distinguish fiction from reality, a la Columbine. Normally, I wouldn't post such news because it helps draw more attention/notoriety, but just had to get this rant off: I can't believe how many sick, twisted individuals exist out there.

I know I shouldn't judge others, but these people should be punished to the full extent of the law. If they want to go around committing "adult crimes" (i.e., murder), then they should be tried as adults.

But of course, people will argue that they're poor, misguided kids...blah blah... slap on wrist... blah blah... playing with guns are bad, mmmk?... blah blah...

What, me cynical?
==========
And for something completely different: Dr. Scott is the MAN! (he's the one in the lower left, btw ;)) Hahaha... I totally admire him for putting up his old pics (and for making me laugh)! But you know, that just further emphasizes how awesome he is... if you've read his journals (if you haven't yet, why not? =)), you'll know what I mean.

Don't worry Scott, I'll post my own dorky studly pics for the entire world to laugh at admire, too! =p

...Actually, maybe not. I'll spare everyone that horror. Hehe.

Posted by stevelee at 01:09 AM | Comments (0)

July 06, 2003

4th of July Weekend (Updated)

Have a great (and SAFE) weekend everyone!

Just watched the spectacular SF fireworks show -- the power of music (and pyrotechnics) never ceases to amaze me! Strangely enough, watching it made me daydream about some day bringing my own children to watch with me... put him/her/them on my shoulders and dance along with the music while enjoying the lightshow. =)

I just feel like there's so much joy and amazement I want to share (I'm still a big kid at heart ;))... which is why I've resolved that if I decide not to pursue a science or engineering related career, I'll go into teaching. I'd love to teach either chemistry, CS, or music... and either grade schoolers or high schoolers.

...I'm also going to play in a symphony again before I die... I really miss the feeling of performing in a large concert hall, captivating both the audience and yourself with the magic of music!

Day 2

Went hiking with some friends to Monument Peak in Milpitas on Saturday. It was a nice, fairly easy 10 mile hike -- great to get away from the hustle and bustle of civilization, and enjoy the outdoors. Too bad the place seemed so barren and desolate. =( Oh well, still good (dirty) fun!

Also had a chance to play with various photography techniques, and my polarizing lens (aka my sunglasses ;))... I think I need to start taking my tripod along with me everywhere!

P.S. Handheld GPS devices are sweeeeeeet!

Day 3

(Due to poor lighting, most of the pics didn't come out too well... I should've brought my tripod, so I could take pics with the flash off. =/)

Went with some other friends to cheer on the sexy Rachel at her Tahitian Fete today in San Jose.

In a word: wow!

Oh, Rachel and her school's performance were impressive too! Hehe. ;p

But man, it was unbelievable how many hot ladies (and guys) were there! We're talking great tanned bodies, amazing pecs/abs/shoulders for the guys (and butts too, according to Jeanes ;)), and the women... wow.

It's a good thing I ran out of drool in time to concentrate on the performances, because there were some damn impressive ones -- ranging from cool to sexy! It's all about the hip action...*rawr*

Finally, for my friends at the Fete: hot pink tanktop, baby! =D

Posted by stevelee at 09:09 PM | Comments (6)

July 02, 2003

Warp speed, Mr. Sulu!

"So if you had a choice between driving any car in the world, or having sex with any woman in the world, which would you choose?"

"The car. In an instant."

I remember a co-worker asking me that years ago... and I don't think my answer's changed. ...Then again, I guess that's why I'm still single, eh? ;p

There's just something absolutely heart-tingling about hearing a sports car at WOT (Wide Open Throttle) -- whether it be the thunderous, snarling bass of an American V8, the passionate symphony of an Italian V12, or the metallic hum of a German straight/inline 6 engine.

Even more addicting than that is the thrill of driving such a beauty yourself -- feeling the gut-wrenching g's increase as you cleanly take Turns 8 and 9 at Laguna Seca, for example. I love auto racing in many shapes and forms (sorry Chris, I just can't consider NASCAR "real racing" -- hello, right turns?! =)), but particularly GT class racing (hence the GT in my "name")!

If you consider yourself a performance enthusiast, I highly highly recommend taking a high speed driving school/class, if you haven't already! Words can't describe the thrill of discovering, and pushing, the limits of your car on the track... not only that, but you learn to appreciate how much skill professional racers possess (and how much you need to learn!). You start realizing that driver skill is much more important than lowering your ride, adding a turbocharger, or anything like that.

People ask me why I haven't upgraded this or that on my M3, and the truth is: (besides not having the money! ;)) I'm not a good enough driver to handle that increased performance yet. I see too many people rush off to add this or that "go fast" part... when they really haven't learned to drive their current car to its potential yet. Forgive me for being preachy, but: sure that 500hp [insert car here] that can pull 5 g's is damn impressive, but if you're not used to it, it's a sure-fire accident waiting to happen.

Another thing you learn from performance driving classes/schools is becoming a better (and SAFER) driver!

I had the treat of watching an Acura RSX-S race against an S2000 today. I recognized the S2000 driver from a previous autocross, so I knew he had some serious skills. Anyway... in a straight line, they both were about equal. But once they got to some good curvy stretches, it wasn't even close -- the S2000 absolutely destroyed the Acura! Man... Oh, there was also a sports bike kinda piggybacking on their race... but once they got to that curvy section, the sports bike was so far behind, it was hilarious (in a sad sort of way)!

Too bad I had to leave... a Nissan 350Z came in and wanted to play; it'd be nice to gauge its performance relative to the other cars, since I don't have too much experience with them.

Posted by stevelee at 04:05 PM | Comments (3)

July 01, 2003

On_Line

While reading Mare's blog, found a link to a movie called On_Line... seems interesting, eh? I wonder if the entire movie's all about cyber, or they'll have scenes on online games like Counterstrike and Everquest?

"I ow17 j00!"
"WTF?!?!?!?!?!?!? u c0r17i176 hax0r!"

Posted by stevelee at 04:28 PM | Comments (6)