Ever since dropping my phone in the snow, the camera works only about 1/3 of the time, and the phone functionality only works half of the time. With that said, I’ve recently been on the lookout for a cell phone to use until I can renew my contract in a few months. I’ve been trying out craigslist, but I’ve only had two experiences on there, so I’d have to describe my CL experience as fairly limited. At a cursory glance, all the listings look slightly shady. I have noticed the following trends on craigslist though:
It seems that there are quite a few people who receive iphone 4’s as gifts, with no box and occasionally bad serial numbers. Odd…didn’t know that was a hot gift item this time of year.
It also seems that at least 10 people in the Sac area have been buying smartphones for their significant others the week before they break-up. I wonder if there’s ever been a study done on that…is there a correlation between buying your girlfriend an iphone and them dumping you soon thereafter? Very interesting indeed.
There are also people offering to add you to their family plan at a discounted rate…this strikes me as a little dumb…because if they have a phone on your account…can’t they just rack-up the bill every month and you’d be saddled with the cost? Why on earth would you offer such a thing…
So I decided to steer away from this place for a while…maybe on ebay it’ll be better. So I decide to do a few searches on ebay. Some of these listings look pretty legit, with sealed brand new phones and all, but some of these are downright shady as well. Some of these guys are offering ones that are listed as ones with bad ESNs (read: reported stolen). Of course ebay is perfectly fine with these sales - no red flags popping up in their system – very comforting.
At this point, pretty much any buy on craigslist or ebay is going to land me in hot water…maybe falling off the grid for the next few months will do me some good.
Monday, August 20, 2012
Thursday, August 9, 2012
the ideal pet.
Aside from dating and future spouse commitment, I think this is the single largest relationship commitment a guy at my age can make (I could be wrong). With such a large commitment, I need to carefully consider the qualities I look for in a pet. Since I have my four rules for dating a girl, I also should have an idea of what my ideal pet will be. I know, I know…there no such thing as the perfect animal. They all have their flaws. They’ll drool on you when you’re sleeping, or poop where they’re not supposed to, or even bark in the middle of the night, or dig through dry wall and chew up your furniture. But they will also have their awesome times. They’ll keep you company when you’re lonely, or entertain you when you’re bored, and will be your friend when you need one. But since we’re still talking hypotheticals, I have my perfect pet in mind.
It’d be cool to have a pet that is decent sized. None of that miniature, fit in your backpack/murse/totebag crap. It’d be cool if the ideal pet was rideable (in case I got tired of walking I’d be able to ride said perfect pet). The perfect pet would, of course, have to be cute. Furriness is optional. Perfect pet would also poop in pellets, or even better, not at all. It’d be cool to have a pet that ate anything and everything, and whatever it didn’t digest, it’d just spit right out (preferably dry) or pooped in a pellet. It’d be nice for the ideal pet to fly, though that is optional. Firebreathing is optional too.
Basically, my perfect pet would look like this:
Well…there’s no such thing as a perfect pet, but this guy sure comes close. I dunno…maybe this is too optimistic. We’ll see if anything else comes close...
Tuesday, August 7, 2012
traveling oddities
If you know me fairly well, you'd know that I talk a lot about things that I'm passionate about. If you follow this blog regularly, you'd know that i like listing miscellaneous thoughts from time to time, and on occasion, I will embark on a rant. This is a mix of both I suppose:
Apparently I have an aversion to busses. As a matter of fact, if there is a subway station that will require a bit of walking, or a bus that will take me straight to the doorstep of my destination, I will opt for the subway.
It's become shockingly apparent that the one child rule was an epic failure. After recent conversations with some ppl in the older generations, I've come to realize that the one child rule in china has bred a generation of children so spoiled that parents don't even trust their children anymore.
I hate kids. Well, let me clarify: in certain circumstances, I hate kids. They're cute when they're nice to me and smile and are polite. They tolerable when they're not polite but aren't annoying me too much. However, when I'm on a 10 hour flight that is 85% kids from a Chinese school field trip to the US, and they're sitting all around me, and a foodfight erupts, I hate kids.
China becomes less appealing to me each time I go back. I'm not sure why. There was a time when I thought I'd be perfectly content working and living in Shanghai. Now the place just gets on my nerves.
Singapore's mascot is the Merlion. Apparently the Merlion is a mythical creature. If you show up at the Singapore zoo and ask where the Merlion is kept, they will laugh at you.
The xiaolongbao's in Shanghai's YuYuan has garnered such a reputation for long lines that people are now readily willing to pay the extra $$ to go upstairs and dine in. Apparently nobody wants to wait the reputed 2+hours to get some xiaolongbao's to-go, which means the wait time has gotten surprisingly shorter. How short? I only had to wait 11 min...
The food pricing scheme in Singapore confuses me at times. I love that I can get a bowl of laksa or fish-ball noodles for $3, but a bowl of ramen set me back roughly $20.
Humid weather and I do not get along. Never have, never will. Don't get me wrong, Shanghai has been fun, and I love Singapore, but I never thought I'd long for Sacramento weather so much.
Stingray's pretty tasty.
The maglev train has gotten slower. I guess the HSR accident scared officials, and so now the train goes at a top-speed of 301km/hr (it used to go 470km/hr). Sad to see that instead of learning from accidents and implementing safety improvements, they just curb technological achievements and leave it at that. At this rate, the maglev will be doomed to the same fate as the Concorde.
I love the fact that Singapore's a city and a country at the same time. I made the mistake of asking if I was in the international terminal. Apparently when there's only one airport, it's kinda hard to have domestic flights.
Well, with a 2 year multi-visit visa, I could totally see myself going again...
Apparently I have an aversion to busses. As a matter of fact, if there is a subway station that will require a bit of walking, or a bus that will take me straight to the doorstep of my destination, I will opt for the subway.
It's become shockingly apparent that the one child rule was an epic failure. After recent conversations with some ppl in the older generations, I've come to realize that the one child rule in china has bred a generation of children so spoiled that parents don't even trust their children anymore.
I hate kids. Well, let me clarify: in certain circumstances, I hate kids. They're cute when they're nice to me and smile and are polite. They tolerable when they're not polite but aren't annoying me too much. However, when I'm on a 10 hour flight that is 85% kids from a Chinese school field trip to the US, and they're sitting all around me, and a foodfight erupts, I hate kids.
China becomes less appealing to me each time I go back. I'm not sure why. There was a time when I thought I'd be perfectly content working and living in Shanghai. Now the place just gets on my nerves.
Singapore's mascot is the Merlion. Apparently the Merlion is a mythical creature. If you show up at the Singapore zoo and ask where the Merlion is kept, they will laugh at you.
The xiaolongbao's in Shanghai's YuYuan has garnered such a reputation for long lines that people are now readily willing to pay the extra $$ to go upstairs and dine in. Apparently nobody wants to wait the reputed 2+hours to get some xiaolongbao's to-go, which means the wait time has gotten surprisingly shorter. How short? I only had to wait 11 min...
The food pricing scheme in Singapore confuses me at times. I love that I can get a bowl of laksa or fish-ball noodles for $3, but a bowl of ramen set me back roughly $20.
Humid weather and I do not get along. Never have, never will. Don't get me wrong, Shanghai has been fun, and I love Singapore, but I never thought I'd long for Sacramento weather so much.
Stingray's pretty tasty.
The maglev train has gotten slower. I guess the HSR accident scared officials, and so now the train goes at a top-speed of 301km/hr (it used to go 470km/hr). Sad to see that instead of learning from accidents and implementing safety improvements, they just curb technological achievements and leave it at that. At this rate, the maglev will be doomed to the same fate as the Concorde.
I love the fact that Singapore's a city and a country at the same time. I made the mistake of asking if I was in the international terminal. Apparently when there's only one airport, it's kinda hard to have domestic flights.
Well, with a 2 year multi-visit visa, I could totally see myself going again...
Tuesday, July 24, 2012
zoinks
 |
| What on earth would possess someone to create a shirt like this?? |
I'm off to China! So I suppose that means a week of no facebook (banned), possibly no blogger (maybe banned?), and potentially no internet (depending on the generosity of the local starbucks). If by some miracle I update this blog in the next week, well, that'd be cool I suppose. Otherwise, I'll try to update this in a week or so.
Friday, July 13, 2012
sad time for television
As a child, I was a big fan of TV Land and nick@nite, and enjoyed watching some of the old time tv shows. I remember viewing reruns of classics like I Love Lucy, Mork and Mindy, McHale's Navy, and The Andy Griffith Show. Though these shows were made during a much less politically correct era, yet there was something timeless about some of these black/white classics. This past week, I was saddened to learn of the passing of not just one, but two classic tv icons, Ernest Borgnine and Andy Griffith.
I'm saddened to hear of the passing of both of these men. They were both incredibly likeable and disarming and they'll definitely be missed for their comedy.
Wednesday, July 11, 2012
bathroom faux-pas
**disclaimer: this is about bathrooms…do not read on if you don’t like people’s interactions with bathrooms**
The bathroom is a sacred place. It’s a place of solitude, a place of peace, where you can think and be alone with your thoughts. Well today, I may have taken it a bit too far. So I was in the 3rd stall today on the 10th floor men’s room, doing my thing, minding my own business. For the record, I like to zone out a bit when I’m in there. In a world of cubicles and open offices/conference rooms, it’s pretty much the only place you can go to be alone with your thoughts.
Anyways, I was in there doing some thinking (don’t judge), when I started thinking about music, specifically Meaghan Smith’s It Snowed (love that song). Playing music in my head is a nice way to pass the time, but yea, tragically it didn’t end there. By the time I realized what I was doing, I was whistling the chorus of the song. That’s when it occurred to me: I’m not the only one in the bathroom.
Ohhhh nooooo…
As a matter of fact, in the afternoon, the bathroom gets a decent amount of traffic. Great. Now what do I do?? Of course I cut off the song mid-verse (just when I got to the good part too!!) and waited…and waited…and waited. There was a chuckle by the sink, but the guy left right after. At this point, I try to use my ears to take inventory of who else is left in the bathroom. Aside from the guy at the sink, there seemed to be three other people in the bathroom. I need to wait for them to clear out, then make my daring escape.
Four minutes go by, two guys leave, talking about work on the way out. One left. Ok, since this guy’s occupied in the next stall, I surmise that it’s time to channel my inner Steve McQueen and make a great escape (sans the germans, electric fences, and a motorcycle chase…). The second I hear toilet-paper unraveling next door, I quickly flush and fly out of the stall. So stealthy and nimble was I that I had washed, dried, and departed the bathroom before the stall door closed. Ohh yea, bathroom escape ninja-turtle style. As I get back to my desk, I think of the close call from just seconds ago. *sigh* crisis averted.
The bathroom is a sacred place. It’s a place of solitude, a place of peace, where you can think and be alone with your thoughts. Well today, I may have taken it a bit too far. So I was in the 3rd stall today on the 10th floor men’s room, doing my thing, minding my own business. For the record, I like to zone out a bit when I’m in there. In a world of cubicles and open offices/conference rooms, it’s pretty much the only place you can go to be alone with your thoughts.
Anyways, I was in there doing some thinking (don’t judge), when I started thinking about music, specifically Meaghan Smith’s It Snowed (love that song). Playing music in my head is a nice way to pass the time, but yea, tragically it didn’t end there. By the time I realized what I was doing, I was whistling the chorus of the song. That’s when it occurred to me: I’m not the only one in the bathroom.
Ohhhh nooooo…
As a matter of fact, in the afternoon, the bathroom gets a decent amount of traffic. Great. Now what do I do?? Of course I cut off the song mid-verse (just when I got to the good part too!!) and waited…and waited…and waited. There was a chuckle by the sink, but the guy left right after. At this point, I try to use my ears to take inventory of who else is left in the bathroom. Aside from the guy at the sink, there seemed to be three other people in the bathroom. I need to wait for them to clear out, then make my daring escape.
Four minutes go by, two guys leave, talking about work on the way out. One left. Ok, since this guy’s occupied in the next stall, I surmise that it’s time to channel my inner Steve McQueen and make a great escape (sans the germans, electric fences, and a motorcycle chase…). The second I hear toilet-paper unraveling next door, I quickly flush and fly out of the stall. So stealthy and nimble was I that I had washed, dried, and departed the bathroom before the stall door closed. Ohh yea, bathroom escape ninja-turtle style. As I get back to my desk, I think of the close call from just seconds ago. *sigh* crisis averted.
Friday, July 6, 2012
SF defies logic once again.
Strap yourself in…we’re going on a rant.
This morning I had to head into san francisco to submit a visa application. I get up this morning and Sunnyvale is a nice sunny 65 degrees. Ahh…the weather was perfect, I thought as I don my flipflops and tshirt and head out bright and early to SF, giving myself a little bit of a cushion in case there’s traffic. Of course the minute I hit SF city limits the cloud appears out of nowhere and the temperature drops 15 degrees. Didn’t know overcast weather adhered to city borders.
Anyways, the consulate opens at 9am, and I arrived in town at 8:15 (yes…I like to be punctual). Perfect! I’ll just swing by Blue Bottle for a little Kyoto iced coffee to jumpstart my day. I pull into the meager (3 spaces and two are handicap only) parking lot. No open spaces. Ok…I’ll just find street parking. I pull out into the street and there was a row of open spaces…great! I pull into one…yellow (loading only). Ok, I’ll move ahead to another space…white (who knows what that means)...grrr. So I move up a few more spaces to no paint on the sidewalk and a free meter. Awesome! I get out to feed the meter when I see a that the meter had a friendly tip printed on it: Check for restrictions before feeding this meter. Oh that’s nice of them, so I look up:
No Parking from 2am-6am
No Stopping from 2pm-7pm
Passenger Loading only from 7pm-2am
No Parking on Thursdays from 4am-9am for street cleaning
Wow, if this is a space with no paint, I’d hate to see the restrictions on the ones with paint. I needed a calendar, a watch, and a magic 8-ball just to figure out the sliver of time in which I could park there. Oh and did I mention I needed $3.50 in quarters for 1 hour? After searching every crevice of my car for spare change, I was finally ready to get some coffee. I pick up the heavenly coffee in a to-go cup and think to myself…hey this day is turning out to be alright.
Too soon. Wayyy too soon.
I decide to take a brisk walk over to the consulate (it was on Market street a few blocks down). As I pass by a nice looking parking garage, I decide to glance at the rates, hoping it’d make me feel better about saving so much $$ by parking on the street. $2.75/hr. How the heck is garage cheaper than street parking?? *sigh* oh well, just keep walking.
I get to the consulate, which is in a high-rise (kinda weird, but meh…whatever works), and I check in at the ground floor. I take the elevator, which apparently makes you type in the floor you want to go to, and if you mess up, sorry, you’re going to that floor (sucks). Anyways, I get to the front door of the consulate on 24th floor, and the guard makes me sign in again, and does a body search, just in case I’m there to hurt the three admins and security guard. And that’s when they broke the news: the coffee needs to go in the trash.
WHAT???
Yep. I asked if I could just set it aside for later…nope. Can I leave it outside the door? Nope. They watched as I slowly lowered it into the garbage can. After an appropriate time of mourning, rending my garments and donning sackcloth and ashes, I was ready to submit my application. 15 minutes later, it was over. Come back in 5 business days and get your passport, only in the afternoon though.
Great, I get to see what the other end of SF rush-hour looks like. Yippee.
This morning I had to head into san francisco to submit a visa application. I get up this morning and Sunnyvale is a nice sunny 65 degrees. Ahh…the weather was perfect, I thought as I don my flipflops and tshirt and head out bright and early to SF, giving myself a little bit of a cushion in case there’s traffic. Of course the minute I hit SF city limits the cloud appears out of nowhere and the temperature drops 15 degrees. Didn’t know overcast weather adhered to city borders.
Anyways, the consulate opens at 9am, and I arrived in town at 8:15 (yes…I like to be punctual). Perfect! I’ll just swing by Blue Bottle for a little Kyoto iced coffee to jumpstart my day. I pull into the meager (3 spaces and two are handicap only) parking lot. No open spaces. Ok…I’ll just find street parking. I pull out into the street and there was a row of open spaces…great! I pull into one…yellow (loading only). Ok, I’ll move ahead to another space…white (who knows what that means)...grrr. So I move up a few more spaces to no paint on the sidewalk and a free meter. Awesome! I get out to feed the meter when I see a that the meter had a friendly tip printed on it: Check for restrictions before feeding this meter. Oh that’s nice of them, so I look up:
No Parking from 2am-6am
No Stopping from 2pm-7pm
Passenger Loading only from 7pm-2am
No Parking on Thursdays from 4am-9am for street cleaning
Wow, if this is a space with no paint, I’d hate to see the restrictions on the ones with paint. I needed a calendar, a watch, and a magic 8-ball just to figure out the sliver of time in which I could park there. Oh and did I mention I needed $3.50 in quarters for 1 hour? After searching every crevice of my car for spare change, I was finally ready to get some coffee. I pick up the heavenly coffee in a to-go cup and think to myself…hey this day is turning out to be alright.
Too soon. Wayyy too soon.
I decide to take a brisk walk over to the consulate (it was on Market street a few blocks down). As I pass by a nice looking parking garage, I decide to glance at the rates, hoping it’d make me feel better about saving so much $$ by parking on the street. $2.75/hr. How the heck is garage cheaper than street parking?? *sigh* oh well, just keep walking.
I get to the consulate, which is in a high-rise (kinda weird, but meh…whatever works), and I check in at the ground floor. I take the elevator, which apparently makes you type in the floor you want to go to, and if you mess up, sorry, you’re going to that floor (sucks). Anyways, I get to the front door of the consulate on 24th floor, and the guard makes me sign in again, and does a body search, just in case I’m there to hurt the three admins and security guard. And that’s when they broke the news: the coffee needs to go in the trash.
WHAT???
Yep. I asked if I could just set it aside for later…nope. Can I leave it outside the door? Nope. They watched as I slowly lowered it into the garbage can. After an appropriate time of mourning, rending my garments and donning sackcloth and ashes, I was ready to submit my application. 15 minutes later, it was over. Come back in 5 business days and get your passport, only in the afternoon though.
Great, I get to see what the other end of SF rush-hour looks like. Yippee.
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