coldploy

Activities

2011-04-20T02:38:00.000-04:00

Pasu’s done several surprising things. For example, he would like to play with water, especially, watering plants with the host. He would put his little index finger at the end of the host to make water splash and pretend that he waters his plants. He would walk to the door and try to put the key into the hole to unlock the key. He even selects the key to see if it fits the hole. If it’s not, he chose the next key in the keychain until it’s the right one. Surprising, wasn’t it?

One night I was working on something so late. Regularly, I checked to see if he slept alright so that he wouldn’t fall down the bed. I was typing and turning my back against the bed. I did not hear him rolling. All of the sudden while my concentration was at the screen, I heard, “mom, mom.” I was turning my back to see that my son was on top of the pillow and looking at me. He made me feel that I was working too hard. Bedtime should be his time, actually. I felt sorry. I went straight to bed to cuddle him.

I promise I won’t work late again. : )

The Following Nights….

2011-03-14T03:46:00.001-04:00

Pasu has been doing well. He has learned something valuable from his mean mother. LOL….

Now he doesn’t look for my breast. Sometimes the bottle of milk did help soothing him during the night. One night after the regular rolling, I found him sleeping around my legs, almost at the end of the bed. He looked calm and peaceful. Hopefully, he had a nice dream.

One more task for mother has been done. Now I will be focusing on his nutrition and meals. I tell you, it’s not an easy job being a mother. However, I will fight for it.

Third Night

2011-03-11T04:28:00.002-05:00

Here came the third night. It went pretty good. He just moved around the bed when he woke up and looked at his unmoved mother. He didn’t bother me much this night, just rolling cross me for a couple of times and stopped in the middle of my legs. Perhaps, he found that spot cozy and comfy so he decided to close his eyes there.

Half night passed. He opened his eye and, again, saw his unmoved mother. He just sat upright and handed the bottle of milk to me. I opened the cap. He drank it slowly like a sleepy boy. And then he went back to sleep peacefully.

What can I say? I just smile to myself.

Second Night

2011-03-09T21:49:00.001-05:00

Pasu has been fighting for his peaceful night without his mother’s breast. The second night went alright. The first time he woke up, he was crying more and longer than the first night. I gave him the bottle. He rejected it. However, after a while he went back to sleep peacefully.

Oh, well. The second time he woke up, I immediately gave him the bottle. He drank it little by little until it was all gone. He started to make an upset sound and rolled over me again. But this time he was staying by my side, calmed down and, surprisingly, went to sleep.

That was how the second night ends. Beautiful, isn’t it.

First Night

2011-03-08T22:58:00.001-05:00

I’ve been making an effort to stop giving my breast to my son during the night. Some babies addict to their mother’s breast as long as they are satisfied. Pasu is one of them. He is almost 14 months now and still wakes up in the middle of the night to find his comfort from his mother. However, last night will be his first night of not having the breast. He didn’t even know it.

He woke up around midnight, sitting up right and crying. I was lying in bed, pretending that I was asleep but my eye was half open. He looked at me, put his little index finger into my nose and then cried. His cry, at first, was just soft and then it was getting louder and louder and also with his small tears. I could see his frustration like drug addict want his medication. He moved back and forth, rolled on top of me, and then rolled over me. He just did everything he could to wake his mother up. But, his mother was lying still, like a death mother. Haha. After a while he decided to shut his mouth and stay in peace. Good boy.

The second time he woke up, I gave him a bottle of milk. He had just little and threw the bottle away. Believe it or not, he did the same rolling thing. My heart just dropped. I was debating whether or not to open my shirt and give him my breast. I tried not to look at him and even turned my back to him. I could feel his crawling. He rolled across me. Our eyes met. I smiled. I closed my eyes and so did he. Second time went okay, I told myself.

Third time was the charm. He took his bottled milk I gave him and drank it all. Then a little bit of weeping and rolling to let his dissatisfaction go, I believe. Finally, he went back to sleep.

Pasu, your first night went right. Second night awaits you. Be prepared. haha.

Shorty, huh?

2011-02-24T04:15:00.004-05:00

Well, good mother needs to take her baby to see the doctor regularly in order to have the baby vaccinated. We, again, good mothers, need to see our own child’s tears and listen to our own child’s cries. I wish I could be a bad mother instead.

This time is Pasu’s turn. He is already 13 and a half months. I do not even remember the name of the vaccination because there are too many to remember. Good mother I am, indeed. After his routine of measuring the height and weight, I met one mother with a daughter. We smiled and had a little chat. I asked her how old of her little daughter. One year and one month old was her reply. Oh, same age as Pasu, I thought to myself. I told her that Pasu hasn’t gotten any weight since last month. She looked panic and asked if that was below the average percentage line. I told her that I never keep track of that line. Now I got a crazy look from her. Should I be worried? She just made me feel guilty, like I am a bad mother who never pays attention to all details of her own child.

Doctor greeted Pasu nicely and asked me what he can do. I told her that he can say simple words like mother, eat and he can also walk. Doctor talked with her smile, “He probably walks a lot, according to the progression of his weight.” I smiled back and said, “Oh, yes. The only times he doesn’t walk are when he poops and sleeps.”

Apparently, that percentage line came back to haunt me. According to it, Pasu is a little bit small, or you can call him Shorty. This has to do with nature and nurture. He eats his meal and drinks his milk less because now he discovers new ways of learning and playing. Walking and climbing are his favorite activities. He’s been in this world long enough to know what he likes and dislikes. He knows how to say NO by shaking his head. Well, at least baby knows what he/she wants. The secret of this problem is more milk, more appealing and yummy meals and early sleep. Growth hormone works well at night.

Each baby has his/her own pace of growing and every baby is different. I’d love to see my son happily develops his ability. No pushing, however, a little bit of the discipline wouldn’t hurt him. Is that right, my son?

I Know What You Said

2011-02-19T00:04:00.001-05:00

I never know what a 13-month-old baby is capable of until I learn that from my own son. A couple of day ago we fell down on the bathroom floor because I was careless and everything happened so fast, just the blink of your eyes.

The following day, my mother, along with the nanny, were giving him his breakfast as usual. They were talking about things in general and also feeding him. My mother was asking him unintentionally if he was hurt himself at his head yesterday. On one expected to receive his answer especially a word. What he did was he pointed to his head right after my mother finished her question. My mother and nanny were laughing out loud.

One night, I told him to open the door to let the dog come inside the house. I told him twice or perhaps three times. He looked at me, looked at the door, and then looked at me again. His brain must have processed something we never knew. He climbed down the sofa and walked to the door. Of course, he opened to the door as told to do so. However, I didn’t tell him to close the door so he stayed put as he wanted to play outside.

I said, “It’s already dark, my son. Please come inside. You already did a good job and I am thank you for that” and then gave him a big kiss.

Our First Date

2011-02-15T03:59:00.003-05:00

Today I had a date with my son, Pasu. I put him in the car seat and took him out for a little ride to visit my co-worker’s little baby. It was just a short ride, about half an hour. This was the first time we went out together. Normally, I always take our nanny with us because I don’t want to let Pasu to be alone at the back of the care while I was driving. And this time was the test to see how he was behaving when he had to be all alone. And I had to say he was doing just fine.

On the way back, we stopped at the bank and then McDonald’s. Pasu walked all over the place and looked at many things. He walked to another table and smiled to a boy who was a little bit older than him. Then they became friend. Pasu looked at violet balloon one girl was holding and then this little boy tried to give Pasu his blue balloon. But his mother stopped this little boy and told him to get a new balloon for Pasu. Thanks to his generosity, Pasu got his first red balloon. He was very happy with his balloon in his hand.

It was time to go home. I, again, put Pasu in his car seat and also left his red hat with him. Unbelievably, he played with his hat. What he did was he put his face inside the hat and did the peek-a-boo to himself. He laughed. I laughed. We both laughed. After that, he asked for the French fries. He made some sounds showing off his joy when he received the fries.

I gotta admit, our date went so well.

Tru—the true giver

2008-06-04T07:50:00.003-04:00

Have you ever learned from other people’s lives? I bet you have. Have you ever learned from other living animals? Oh well, I have. Tru is the dog who teaches me how to give love unconditionally. She walks quietly and beautifully like a gorgeous grownup. Her gestures are stunning. She kisses you gently. She tells the owner nicely when she’s hungry. She wonders when she sees the owner carrying a big bag like he is going away for a long time. I remember patting her while we were watching sunset at the beach. I learn how to love and be loved from her.

The amazing thing she has done is that she milks the puppies who are her grandbabies because the mother of these puppies has not fully done her own job. Tru tirelessly milks every puppy that comes to her. On the other hand, the mother selects the puppies she’d like to milk and sometimes walks away from her own flesh and blood. I respect Tru’s mind and how she uses it to tell her body to create milk for the puppies.

I never thought that when I said goodbye to her, it would be our last hug. May you rest in peace, Tru.

Cerro Negro

2008-06-01T23:39:00.000-04:00

Managua, Nicaragua

2008-04-14T12:38:00.000-04:00

Parque Nacional Volcán Masaya

2008-04-10T21:10:00.003-04:00

Motorbike ride to Masaya
It’s simply me and you
All the way up to volcano
The sun is shining through

Beautiful scenery is in front
Bluish clouds in the sky
White smoke and hot air
No more tears to dry

Open your eyes open your heart
Listening to the nature
It’s calling out your name
To gently become its lover

A touch of happiness
I tell you, it’s everywhere
Just reach out for it
And you will be there

Granada

2008-03-25T00:44:00.006-04:00

Hola!
After been staying home for 3 days, my friend and his girlfriend finally arrived and took me out to this colonial town, about one-hour drive from Managua, called Granada. It was Sunday afternoon; we arrived Parque Central, the center of the city, around 4 pm. It was crowded considering it was the Easter weekend. Sitting at the kiosk on one of the four corners, we ordered ice-cold fruit juices and a Granada specialty, vigoron, made of yucca topped with fried pork skin and slaw. Its appearance reminded me of Papaya Salad (som-tom); however, its taste wasn’t quite like it.

We walked along the road near the plaza taking some pleasant photos and at the same time looking for a place to stay. We were going to celebrate my friend’s birthday here. Therefore we let him pick the place. Been open only 3 months, this lodging is called Asian Latino ran by Nicaraguan guy who grew up in America and has been back to his home country for 3 years. They claimed that it’s an Asian atmosphere that has a touch of Latino. The room price was around $60 plus tax with the room with king-size bed that fits three of us easily.

Satisfied with the room, we drove to Las Isletas, just offshore from Granada, to take the quick look and check the price of the boat for tomorrow morning. There were small stores and restaurants along the main road. Crowded with Nicaraguan, the lakefront was slightly dirty with garbage like plastic bags and bottles. Nevertheless people were happy as they enjoyed their holidays.

We had dinner at our hotel. Thai food, as they claimed, wasn’t a bit close to what we really eat or cook in real life. Oh well! What can we expect? We, mostly, enjoyed our best-selected wine and, I’d have to say, the perfect weather, not too cold or not too hot. After emptied the bottle of Shiraz, he hopped to several restaurant, as the birthday boy wanted, for beers, Pina Coladas and nachos. The night ended with Hookah on the cozy sofa, which was the hotel complimentary.

The next morning we woke up pretty early because I just couldn’t sleep in the air-conditioned room any longer. Cool breeze outside was much better. Continental breakfast the manager told us about was literally mixed fruits, bread and fruit drink. Unfortunately, my friend doesn’t eat fruit. After two girls finished healthy breakfast, we walked to neighbor hotel to get him a croissant and coffee.

We checked ourselves out and drove to Las Isletas, a group of 365 diminutive islands scattered along the edges of the Peninsula de Asese. Formed 10,000 years ago by erupting Volcán Mombacho, the islands are well worth visiting and can be easily reached by motorboat, according to the guidebook. We rented the boat from the restaurant, which cost us about $5 plus tips. The kid who operated the boat gave us some Nicaraguan historical knowledge from time to time. Many houses were built by Americans or filthy rich Nicaraguan. One is being renovated to be a hotel and restaurant. The retirement home would be a good idea!

Late lunch was at the Chinese restaurant in Managua. My friends acclaimed that it was one of the best Chinese restaurants in town. I totally agreed. It was simple, delicious but expensive. We went back home and sat in front of the computer because my friends had to work a little bit. That was when I had a chance to write my blog. Late evening I was riding a motorcycle rode by my friend. We went out for grocery shopping for dinner. Simple Thai food and Rosa wine were a good combination. We were hanging out a little bit more after that and then we spit.

The beginning trip for a third wheel like me couldn’t be more fun even though I am getting use to it. I wish I could speak Spanish just enough for communicating. Thanks to my friend’s girlfriend’s fluent Spanish and her generosity, I was able to understand lots of things and had a fantastic trip to Granada.

Tucson Day 5

2008-02-15T00:04:00.004-05:00

This became a routine: I woke up around 6:50; my boss picked me up at 7:30; we got our breakfast which was a bagel and a hazelnut regular coffee for me; we set up the booth and were ready for the show to start at 10:00. Sounds fascinating, wasn't it?

Today was Friday. The weather was nice, cold breeze; people would rather spend time outside. I, too, was sitting under the sun having a quick lunch. Nothing was exciting for me. I had a chance to walk around. However, I didn't buy or purchase anything because of my lack of knowledge. If my co-worker had come with me, I would definitely have bought something nice and inexpensive.

There was another routine at 6 o'clock: putting everything backs to the safe. We did this pretty quickly since everyone wanted to leave. Around 6:30 we were done. Tonight dinner was Mexican. The restaurant was near our hotel so we walked there. Food was okay, nothing spectacular. However the company was great. I could tell that everyone was having fun after a couple of drinks were consumed. If I was right, I had around 5 Margaritas. We moved the dining area to the bar because they were closing up. More people, who just finished dinner from another restaurant, joined us. I finally made a new friend.

I will definitely have a terrible headache tomorrow. Fortunately, we have no work because of Jewish holidays.

Tucson Day 4

2008-02-10T21:28:00.001-05:00

I had 15 minutes more this morning. Actually, not really. We left the hotel around 7:30 to get a bagel and coffee at the same shop. We set up the booth pretty quickly. We slightly rearranged the display. One of the special lights we used was not working .so I had to go to another exhibition to get a new one. There was another Gem show across the street. The display and atmosphere was very different; much more laid-back and less expensive stuff were to be sold. I saw a couple of exhibitor from Bangkok, Thailand but they were not Thai people; they were Indian I believe.

The light bulb that my boss thought broken was working just fine. So I had to come back empty handed. On the way back to the booth, I took photos of Arizona police officers who were wearing shorts. After seeing two bicycles parked on the sidewalk, I was asking, “Are you really a police? Or are you just a bicyclist who’s wearing a police uniform? They were laughing and said that they were asked the same question all day long.

Tonight, after everything locked up, we went directly to a party organized by ICA-International Colored Stones Association—at Arizona Inn. Surrounded by people from this business, I felt completely like a stranger. It raises the serious question: what am I doing here? Is it really what I want to do? David and I sneaked out in the middle of the party because we were starving. My other boss was already at the steakhouse with a good friend of his whose booth is next to us. A piece of medium-rare filet mignon and two glasses of Cabinet was a perfect combination. I had a piece of Tucson toilet art showing here too.

Tucson Day 3

2008-02-07T00:38:00.003-05:00

David called me when I was getting dress. He asked if I would want to have breakfast at the hotel or a bagel and a coffee from the same place. You know what my answer was! He picked me up at 7:30 am. I had breakfast in the car. One of the guys still got sick and had not been able to work. Oh great! We were short-staffed. They wouldn’t consider me useful because I know nothing about colored stones. However I would be a good labor helping them setting up the booth.

The show officially started at 10:00. Dealers, buyers kept coming in. Some stopped by asking for the price, looking at stones and buying them. I was introduced to more people. Great! More faces to match names. Some customers came with light on their head, looked very seriously. Some customers could be mobile booths themselves, considering how many pieces of jewelry they wore. This was interesting: an Aussie girl kept saying, “This stone doesn’t call out my name.” wondering if I had jeweler’s eyes, would a piece of stone be calling my name?

It was not easy finding food here. It’s either junk or is expensive. I walked out of the hall and found a medium-sized van in which Thai food was sold. But the line was incredibly long. So I walked back inside and got tuna sandwich instead. It was cost $7. I ate half of it because I knew I’d have a second hit later.

My boss who got sick came almost at the end of the day helping us putting everything back to the safe. Tonight’s dinner was at Thai restaurant. I was introduced to an old friend of my boss’s. Food was okay, I wouldn’t say it was that good. It was more like Americanized, or perhaps it was not Thai at all. I hadn’t had Thai food in two days so I couldn’t compliant much. The company, on the other hand, was extraordinary. Really loved it.

Second day of the show should be much easier. We’ll see.

Tucson Day 2

2008-02-06T01:51:00.001-05:00

Day started around 8:30 when I woke up. Breakfast at the hotel was not as good as I expected. Drinking coffee was like drinking tea. Oh well this is not a five-star hotel. Moreover, I was still stuffed from last night’s dinner. David stopped by to get a freshly brew coffee and bagel. Therefore, my stomach was happy.

We went to the storage to get material used in the exhibition. I have never been an exhibitor before. This is the whole new experience. Basically setting up the booth was what we did today, all day long. One of my bosses got sick of stomach viruses, so it was only three of us working today. Hard work indeed, I was standing up most of the time. By the end of the day my feet were tired I could barely walk. I also tried to work actively since there was no chance to go exercising. At the convention I saw many familiar faces from New York and new faces who are dealers from other states. It is also nice to be able to match faces with voices.

Dinner took place at Cucina Italiana, owned by my boss’s friend, with a couple of people from Nairobi and the Director of AGTA who can amazingly speak Thai. It went well; food was great, definitely better than last night. I ate too much I could hardly walk. Funny, isn’t it? It’s either I work too much or eat too much I couldn’t walk.

Bad news is I have to be ready at 7:30 tomorrow morning. Oh boy!

Tucson Day 1

2008-02-05T20:51:00.000-05:00

I woke up pretty early this morning to get ready for my flight. Car service was ready when I walked out of my house. It was 8 o’clock in the morning. The traffic wasn’t that bad. It took me around 20 minutes to go to LaGuardia Airport and to find out that my flight had been delayed for one hour and a half. New York hasn’t been able to find the way to handle this snow situation yet.

Surely, all passengers were upset. I sat next to an Indian guy who happened to travel to the same destination. While we waited for the plane to take off, I was reading Sky Mall magazine and found some fascinating items; the biggest crossword which would take a whole year to resolve, the travel mug which has an USB port to connect to your laptop to keep your drink warm. Who would have thought of this stuff?

I was reading Ancient Futures, the book I got as my birthday present, to bide my time instead of talking to the Indian guy sitting next to me. Some Ladakhi girls married to two guys inevitably because it is one of their customs. I imagined if I would be able to do the same thing. Nowadays, snack is sold for $3 in the airplane. A flight attendant was serving me a cold coffee. It was a delayed flight; I understood and didn’t say anything. I just returned the coffee politely. However, she replaced a new cup of coffee.

We were literally running out of the plane when it arrived Dallas. Our connecting flight was only 15 minutes apart. When we got to the gate, the crewmember in front of the gate pronounced that the plane to Tucson was delayed. So we had time to grab something to eat. I was starving and ordering this big chicken sandwiched from Chili’s. According to the change, we had to move to a different gate. This long walk made me even more hungry and frustrated. One delayed flight wasn’t enough, was it?

Finally, the plane to Tucson was on board. I was in line to get into the plane. In front of me was the lovely family; young couple with blonde daughter, Eliza. This little kid just made my day. She was smiling and mumbling innocently. Gradually I calmed down and lost my anxiety. It was nothing you could do. Really! Plus I should be happy that my Indian neighbor had been upgraded to first class.

Unbelievably, I was seated next to Eliza’s father. As a good citizen would do, I gave up my seat to this family so they could sit together. Today wasn’t the good to fly; another long wait before we take off. It was just because some inconsiderate passenger threw away a diaper in the toilet, which caused clogging and leaking. I slept most of the time, tired of this trip already.

After my boss picked me up at the airport, he checked me in to Randolph Park Hotel & Suites. The size of the bed would fit three people. I got to stay in this room by myself. God protects me. BJ introduced me to one of his best friend/supplier from Nairobi. We went to have dinner at this Asian fusion restaurant. Unfortunately, the restaurant has changed. Now it’s French, which wasn’t as good as it used to be. Even though it was an opening night, we were a bit disappointed. However. The night went well with good jokes, great wine and sweet waitress. I was laughing so hard I could almost choke when BJ’s friend had a doubt that the chef was really French. Everything on the table wasn’t considered as French at all, according to his experiences on food.

Time difference is two hours. Three glasses of red wine just took in. It’s time to bed. Hard work awaits tomorrow.

Happy Birthday

2008-01-24T10:05:00.000-05:00

Thirty one years have passed. It’s faster than ones blink their eyes. It’s been a solitary year for me. I wouldn’t come this far if it wasn’t for my family and friends’ support.
Thanks for those soft shoulders to cry on.
Thanks for warm hugs that keep my cold night away.
Thanks for the shade when it’s hot.
Thanks for sweet talks when I feel down.
Thanks for a punch when I am lost.
Thanks for the hands when I need the help.
Thanks for every single thing you have done for me.

Mom and Dad, I love you the most.

it's half yours

2008-01-07T10:56:00.000-05:00

been drinkin' dry wines
traveling along river lines

and thinkin' about you
you in my head, I kept review

seven days have pass
lonely among the mass

time is relative, i have no clue
relativity of time is strange, and I thought I knew

you told me you missed me more than you expected
I told you I missed you and we are not disconnected

i wonder how that would have happened
I know well, box of passion has been opened

you barely know who i am
you know girl, this ain’t an exam

not so much time we together spent
but everywhere I go, you are omnipresent

mate, everything happens for a reason
right, just like in easter we eat cross bun

you never know
but I think it shows

hope this will be the last time
And I am running out of rhyme

i wanted to be you.........
that’s an honour, merci beaucoup

Silent film: The Lost Girl

2007-12-25T19:09:00.000-05:00

Background tune: Cannonball by Damien Rice
Four-color scenes:

Scene 1: At the bus terminal, gate 15
The clock hung from the ceiling says 11:30 am. Waiting in line, short-haired girl in a white t-shirt, light brown khaki, black jacket is chatting with her friend, passenger stops by talking to them, her friend nods and points out at the end of the line. The clock says 11:50 am. The girl waves to her friend, gives the ticket to the agent at the gate, the line moves slowly, passengers enter the bus.

Scene 2: Inside the bus
The girl sits next to the window, the bus leaving the terminal, the girl searching for her cell phone in her bag, she making a quick phone call, smiling. The bus leaving the city, the girl looking outside the window, big lake, bridges, fall scenery, dry, red-orange-yellow trees. The bus drove past the graveyard in the green lawn, and there is one big red maple tree in the middle. Camera zooms in to her face, tears coming out of the girl’s right eye. Fade out.

===================================
Background tune: What If by Coldplay
Black-and-white scenes:

Scene 1: At her office,
The same girl but with shoulder-length hair style, slightly chubby, sitting at her desk at the corner with her headphone, reading a pile of paper in front of her, quietly sobbing, one female colleague approaches her, gently pats her back, she nods. Fade out.

Scene 2: At her tiny apartment
The girl sitting on her bed holds a glass of red wine, desperately crying, two girls sitting next to her hug her, talking to her, she nods but still crying.

Scene 3: At the gym
The girl running on the treadmill, the screen shows 3 miles, 33 minutes, camera captures her toned body, strong shoulder and triceps, and then zooms out to see her running.

Scene 4: At the bar
The girl sitting comfortably surrounded by a group of people, crowded, dance floor in the middle, a guy stands up and takes a bow, and she accepts his hand and dances with him beautifully. Camera’s lens zooms at them with dancing crowd at the background. A well-built guy in black sweater, dark denim is standing in the dark staring at her. The girl’s eyes meet his eyes. Suddenly, she stops dancing and walks toward him. She whispers to him, he says something, she smiles, he smiles. She holds his hand, exchangeable conversation, he smiles, she smiles. She walks back to her table, writes a note and gives it to him. She goes back and dances with her friends. He keeps staring at her. Party-goers keeps coming in, it’s getting crowded. People are dancing and having fun. The girl and her friends are running out of the bar and getting in the car parked in front of the bar. Inside the bar, the guy is walking and looking around, panicking. He hurriedly runs out of the bar. The car isn’t there. Looking at the piece of paper, he dials his cell phone, anxious. Camera shows a glimpse of his worried face. He hangs up his phone, pacing back and forth, and then enters the bar.

Scene 5: At night in the city
The girl walks on the street with the guy, whom she met at the bar prior night, calling a cab.

Scene 6: At the park
Sunny afternoon, the girl sits on the bench with the guy who has curl hair and big nose, reading.

Scene 7: At the corner of the bar
The girl kisses a guy in the dark, his face is unrecognized.

Scene 8: At her apartment
She sits on her couch looking at her cell phone on her coffee table. She deeply sighs, staring at the cell phone. The camera freezes at her sad face, tears coming out of her right eye. Fade out.

==========================================
Background tune: Maybe Tomorrow by Stereophonics
Four-color scenes:

Scene 1: At the destination bus terminal
The girl gets up, gets her bag and walks out of the bus. She’s waiting in front of the terminal. The car pulls over. She enters the car, smiling. The driver is an old guy, white hair, small lips, wearing black sweater. The old guy points to the scenery as he is driving. The girl nods, smiling and talking to the old guy. The camera shows the scenery of countryside, color-changing trees, big river, hills, and old houses.

Scene 2: At the old guy’s cabin
The car pulls over in front of the cabin. Sitting at the porch, the teenage boy is waving. The girl and the old guy get out of the car walking toward the boy, a little chit chat. The old guy shows the girl around, his yard, and small garden. They walk further into the woods behind the cabin. The old guy shows her the gigantic rock, hills, mountain. The girl is laughing. They both are walking back to the cabin. The old guy enters the cabin; the girl sits at the porch by herself. The camera pans to the oak tree in front of the cabin. Fade out.

The scene of an airplane in the sky, spring color, green-branch trees, sunshine, breeze, happiness, kids running in front of the modern house, the girl watering plants, her parents playing with kids, laughing. Fade out.

The scene of the same oak tree in front of the cabin, the girl sits at the porch by herself, a flash of her smile. Fade out.

THE END.

Atonement

2007-12-20T15:43:00.000-05:00

As we briskly walked under the rain to the movie theatre, my friend asked me if I knew the meaning of the word ‘atonement’. I said I didn’t know exactly what it meant. “It is something about false accusations.” I replied. “You would know after watching this movie, I guess.”

The movie is about a 13-year-old disturbing girl (Briony Tallis) accuses her older sister (Cecilia Tallis)’s lover (Robbie Turner) of a crime he did not commit. The casting of this young girl is perfect. Her short hair, round big eyes, and the use of her gestures indicated that she is nothing except trouble. She is such a small little monster who helplessly has a crush on her own sister’s lover. After all she is just a kid who did commit an innocent crime that she would regret for the rest of her life.

I don’t have fond memories of Keira Knightley’s performing. On top of my head she is associated with Pirates of the Caribbean epics. But in this movie she has shown her talent brilliantly. Her little green dress in an early scene reminds me of Gwyneth Paltrow in Great Expectation. Another great actor who has bright future is James McAvoy who plays a wrongly-accused guy. I could feel his strong love behind that straight face coming out of the screen.

Besides these fantastic casting, I gave five stars for cinematography. Everything was just great. I can’t even find a word to describe it. We agreed that every single scene was shot thoughtfully, beautifully and artistically. We were talking about the following scenes afterwards:

- At the fountain when Robbie touched the water where Cecilia just came out of.
- The 4.5 minute long shot through the Dunkirk beach scenes.
- The beach scene where Cecilia sits and thinks of her lover.
- The scene in the reading room where Cecilia confronts Robbie.
- The scene in the café.

Last scene needs to be elaborated. It took place in the café where Cecilia met Robbie. When she put her left hand on his right hand and asked him, ‘come back to me’, his left hand which is holding the coffee spoon dropped down immediately, showing that he was so ready to return to her. He, instead, moved his right hand off of hers and told her that he couldn’t do what she asked for because of his military duty. A picture certainly says a thousand words.

I will return. Find you, love you, marry you and live without shame.

Happy Holidays!

2007-12-18T11:08:00.000-05:00

Norwegian Wood

2007-12-13T14:55:00.000-05:00

"You remind me of the girl from Murakami’s book.” This guy told me when we first met. Never heard of this author before, I asked, “Which book?” He replied, “Any book, those girls are pretty much the same. They share some trait.”

Certainly, I read the book. I picked the well-known one, Norwegian Wood. When I opened the first page and started reading the book, I couldn’t stop. All I wanted to do was to keep reading it. Sometimes I slowed my reading speed because I didn’t want it to end even though I wanted to know how it ended. I read the book when I was on the train, when I had lunch, and before I went to bed. That explains how much I like this book.

This book is such a page turner, developing story as you read along. Every character has strong personalities—deep, depressing and unhappy in a way. A good friend of mine said to me once, “You would want to kill yourself after you finished the book.” I found the advantage of reading translated manuscript which is you can learn a different culture, lifestyle and importantly the way of thinking which I found from this book very fascinating.

Here is the quote: “I hate waiting at home all day for a call. When I spend the day alone, I feel as if my flesh is rotting little by little—rotting and melting until there’s nothing left but a green puddle that gets sucked down into the earth. And all that stays behind are my clothes. That’s how it feels to me, waiting indoors all day.”

One time I was favorably reading this book on the train. The stranger sitting next to me asked, “Is this the author who wrote the vanishing elephant? I didn’t know the answer on top of my head; however, I said yes to her. When I got off the train, I looked at the title page. The book is called The Elephant Vanishes which I think it will be my next book to read.

To that dude: I can see myself share the common trait with these girls in the book. So do you! Anyway, wherever you are, thanks for introducing me to this great piece of work.

Songpracharoen

2007-12-04T12:39:00.000-05:00

Songpracharoen in Thai means Long Live the King. His birthday is in December 5th and that is also a father's day. There will be a big celebration in Thailand, fireworks, lighting everywhere like Christmas, but this is even more spectacular because we unconditionally love our King.

This year he will turn 80. There is a group of designers, art professors, artists and private sectors created this Songpracharoen event which encourage people who are interested in designing logo to celebrate the King's birthday. All submitted works will be displayed at Siam Discovery Center between December 14 to 17.

Above is the logo designed by my creative friend, TK. He wanted to have a not-an-ordinary Long Live The King. I was totally in awe with the design; however, I strangely like it. Nice job, TK.

Unbelievably, it's also my mom birthday. HAPPY BIRTHDAY, MOM. Thank you for being a cool mom. I might not be an ideal daughter, might walk the wrong path, might jump off the cliff. But everything I do, you are always there for me.

I LOVE YOU, MOM.

The Reader

2007-12-03T12:01:00.000-05:00

I bought The Reader in 2001, but never finish the book. As I recall, I only read half of it and then put it aside. It could be because my ability of reading English literature was low. Like other Thai students who study English in school, I wanted to understand every single word in the book. But that was just impossible. When I did no longer understand the story, I stopped reading.

Many years have gone, in other words, I am getting old. I have seen, learned and read a lot. I won’t give up good books. I would keep reading it if I didn’t entirely understand the story. Eventually I would get it.

The Reader is the book about the love of a young boy who falls for a much older woman. It takes place in postwar Germany. War and love never go together so you get the gist of what the book is going to be. The first part of the book is about the young boy’s relationship. It is very touching. I was hooked right away. The later part was more about the old lady’s trial, and how the boy deals with his new-found knowledge.

Don’t be afraid of the book that once you put aside. The feeling when you finished that book was incredibly amazing.

Punch Drunk Love

2007-11-20T13:24:00.000-05:00

Once, she walked into his life
Literally, he was standing in her way
She looked at his face
There was nothing else to say

Finally, they walked along the same path
He kindly gave her his hand and his kiss
That was everything she longed to have
And it was everything that she missed

Now she doesn’t know what to say
She doesn’t know what to think
She doesn’t even know what to do
She thinks she is getting sick

That big oak tree is standing still
But this little girl has been wondering
How long it is going to take
To at least understand his meaning

Counting a single breath of her
No doubt, it is not easy
She tries and tries and tries
Unfortunately, she never gets lucky

She says, no one dies because of heat
But some die because of coldness
She also says, no one dies because of love
But some die because of loneliness

However, the girl doesn’t want to give up
Her hope has been floating somewhere
In the middle of those white lights
Sadly, no one seems to care

Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close

2007-11-16T16:38:00.000-05:00

Dear Oskar Schell,

My last name isn’t Black; however, it doesn’t really matter who I am. I just finished reading your book and thought that I would write you a letter. I understand how depressed and traumatized a nine-year-old boy like you has been through. Losing someone you love with all your heart is an extremely difficult task to deal with, just like you said that there was a hole in the middle of you that every happy thing fell into. I wouldn’t know what to do either. Probably your mission of finding a lock to the key your dad left might be helpful. It gave you a good chance to do new things you have never done and to go to places you have never been to. I have to admit that you are incredibly brave.

I truly admire your inventions and really would like you to keep inventing, only for creative things because they help you soothe your sadness. I, sometimes, turn my sorrow into an energy that created something beautiful. You never know one day they might come true.

All I want to say is that you can’t turn back time. No matter how deep you keep your answering machine in the box in your closet or how much you want to forget those messages from your dad, the worst day happened. But it’s already over. Now you know who love you the most and I think it’s time for you to return your love to them.

Love,

Your friend

Into the Wild

2007-11-12T14:10:00.000-05:00

This is my rule: I would never watch movie at a theatre twice because I don’t see the point of spending my money on the same movie. But I guess rule is made to be broken and importantly I had a very good reason to do so.

So I took this beau to see Into the Wild. I can’t really say much about the movie because it might contain some spoilers. So you have to go see it yourself. I highly recommend it. All I can say is that it’s a movie about a young guy who just graduated from college and refused to take the scholarship so that he could go into the wild, and that he is the fruit of the dysfunctional American family.

The feeling after seeing this movie for the second time within a month might be slightly different from the first time. However we had the same feeling after the long hour of watching it, that it was the kind of movie we need to talk and discuss after it ends, or maybe we just simply wanted to talk to each other.

We agreed that the lead actor wasn’t that good; there was something about him that wasn’t very convincing, as a character in this movie. Nevertheless, overall casting is fantastic especially the old guy who is a loner and never explore the world. His tears were just coming down at the right time and the right moment. That was so perfect. Go see the movie and then you will know what I am talking about.

There are so many quotes that are very interesting and I would love to talk about. My favorite one is “What if I were smiling and running into your arms? Would you see then what I see now?”

Touchable Silence

2007-11-06T12:24:00.000-05:00

As they quickly walked down the stairs, the guy asked if the girl brought her subway card. She shook her head shyly and apologized for her forgetfulness. Gently patting her back, he told her not to be worried because she could use his. She nodded and smiled back at him.

At the entrance, he swiped the Metrocard and let her in first. Passengers hurriedly entered the platform as they heard the train arriving. She was waiting for him at the end of the line. The train slowly stopped at the platform at the same time he joined her. His soft touch on her shoulder was the signal for her to wait until the crowd entirely got into the train. They both entered the train last and then were leaning against the door facing each other. Tonight the temperature had dropped down to below fifty degrees, and it was even colder inside the train. She put her hands in her pockets to keep them warm for at least a few minutes. He did exactly the same thing. She longed to approach him and ask him for his warmth. But something stopped her from doing this. Even though he was standing in front of her, she still could feel the distance and remoteness.

“You know what I just realized?” she asked with sadness in her eyes.

“That this is the first time we’ve ridden the subway together?” he replied almost instantly.

She nodded slightly and was satisfied with his answer. This was not the first time he had correctly answered her question. There were also a couple of times when he had completed her sentence. She might have believed in this coincidence if she spent a lot of time with him, but she hardly saw him in person. Mostly he would phone her to checking up on her.

The train reached their destination. They exited the station and were walking along Broadway. There were fewer crowds than she would have expected on a Saturday night. Perhaps it was because of the cold fall weather. Along the way he told her a couple more stories, as he loved to do.

“Have you ever been to this place before?” she asked when they walked past a restaurant housed in one of the oldest buildings in the city.

He checked out the menu placed at the front door.

“I came here for brunch. The food was good,” she said, enthusiastically confirming her willingness to spend the rest of the night with him here.

“This place is fine,” he finally agreed.

They were seated at the small table next to two girls who were talking and laughing quietly. After a long day of work without anything to eat, she already knew what she wanted to order. The waitress finished taking their orders and brought them two glasses of water. In the meanwhile he continued telling her great stories—the movies that took five years to produce and the band that had only one popular song. She loved listening to his powerful low-tone voice. Sometimes she closed her eyes and just listened.

As she enjoyed her meal in front of her, he asked, “Are you going to get mad at me if I ask you something?”

She carefully looked into his eyes and said, “Yes, I will.” Without further question, she continued having her dinner.

He was amused by her reaction. “How could you possibly answer the question you don’t even know?”

“I know what your question is,” she said like she knew that he was the love of her life. “But I am not going to say it. You have to tell me!”

He knew that this sentence completion would end like it always did. Reluctantly, he said, “Okay. Here’s my question. Are you going to get mad at me if I don’t want you stay over and if I want you to go home?”

“Yes, I will.”

Goodbye My Lover

2007-10-09T16:15:00.000-04:00

My lover is equal the Yankees. My ex-boyfriend introduced them to me in 2005 and they have been my concern since then. I know of half of the team members some of whom I could tell from the number on their backs. I always dedicate my love to them. My participation would be, for example, I went to their game couple of times annually. If I didn’t find a chance to go, I would watch the game at home. If I couldn’t watch the game at home, I would go online and check the score. If I was outside and was not in front of the computer, I would call and pester my friend for the score. Would you call me a Yankees fan?

This season had been tough for them. At one point they were behind the Boston Red Sox for 14 games. They fought back and were down to 1.5 games and then were number one in wild card. Unfortunately, they lost the American League division series to the Cleveland Indians in Game 4. It seemed to me that their offensive game was a little bit stiff. Last night Cleveland Indians’s starter was fantastic. So were Yankees fans. Everybody was standing up and screaming crazily when the player got a hit. I, on the other hand, was sitting on my couch and ducking my head behind my pillow. However, I was screaming and cheering my ass off! Apparently, solo home runs weren’t enough to win this game because the Yankees already gave too much runs.

Sometimes hard working was not really paid off. I guess you have to learn to accept your flaw(s) and failure(s). I, personally, don’t think that Joe Torre should be blamed for this loss. But who knows. We’ll see what happens to them next year.

Let’s go Yankees!

Once

2007-09-21T13:00:00.000-04:00

When was your last visit to the movie theatre? What was the last movie you saw? If you can’t answer these questions, I think you are getting old and that is not because you can’t remember things clearly. It’s generally because you don’t go see movie at the theatre anymore. Or perhaps you have a choice to consume the beauty of the film by waiting for the DVDs, like I do. It’s very hard for me to find a decent movie to spend my time (and of course, money) and traditionally sit in a tiny seat surrounded by strangers most of who have annoying behaviors. Oh boy. I AM old!

So I had this weekday off and didn’t want to stay in my shack all day long. My friend and I browsed through the now-showing list and unbelievably couldn’t find a movie we wanted to see. I told her I was not interested in seeing Hollywood-type big budget movie. I’d rather spend my money on a low-budget film. According to her friends, she strongly recommended the independent film called Once.

Well, first of all, it was advertised as a love movie. As you all know, an Indies film’s director always has an interesting way of showing and directing love story; it’s more realistic with ordinary characters you could find in your life. The Guy who repairs vacuum cleaners during the day and turns himself to be a street musician at night simply meets the Girl on the street. The conversation of music knowledge leads to singing together and then recording the Guy’s song in the studio. The relationship develops through the beautiful melody. Neither of them, Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova, is an actor; actually they both are real musicians. However, the combination of storylines and music is just perfect. Went back home with love in the air, I was moved and touched by their performance.

This movie essentially answers the question: How often do you find the right person?

US Open 2007

2007-09-05T15:13:00.000-04:00

It’s been a long and tiring week. US Open fans were staying up late watching their favorite tennis player showing off the spectacular shot-makings. You would see great defensive/offensive games that almost made your heart stop pumping. I was literally hiding behind my pillow watching these kinds of games. Also, you would see lots of players got lost during the game or sometimes got upset when they were making enforced errors.

One match worth mentioning is James Blake’s second-round match against Fabrice Santoro. According to the report, it was a long-awaited accomplishment for this Yonkers player to finally winning a five-set match. Blake mentioned that there used to be a monkey on his back, and now it’s gone because he got rid of the five-setter. Here’s the very good quote from his interview:

“I actually honestly said to myself at the beginning of that fifth set, I'm just not going to lose this match; I'm going to win this,” he later added. “Up until now, the whole five-set jinx, whatever, it had never really entered into my head. When I got in a fifth set, I was just focused on winning and doing what I had to do to get there, but this time I just said to myself, I'm not going let it happen this time.”

Been watching the match almost every night, in my opinion, besides beating your competitor, one-man sport—like golf or tennis—is the game of defeating yourself. No matter how great your competitor is, or how bad your nerve wrecked, all you could do is to staying calm, finding the way to overcome yourself by fighting your ass off. Regardless of the outcome, you already win the match and importantly you should be proud of yourself.

Sunset at the Park

2007-08-26T16:16:00.000-04:00

People come from everywhere
To watch sunset at the Park
Big green lawn in the middle
Surrounded by tall concrete buildings
The beauty of the calmness is right there
If you watch sunset at the Park

A guy’s reading his big book
A guy’s sketching and drawing
A guy’s walking around the lawn
A black plastic bag he is carrying

No one knows what this guy thinks
Why he’s starring at this pretty lady
No one cares what’s been going
As long as they enjoy and happy

Shakespeare in the Park: A Midsummer Night's Dream

2007-08-20T16:49:00.001-04:00

I have been living in New York since 2001, meaning five summers have passed. My desire of seeing Shakespeare in the Park has been decreased every year due to the difficulty of getting tickets. However, this dream has been fulfilled. Thanks to my friend, she and her friend were patiently waiting in line for these free tickets. We missed the Romeo and Juliet last time; therefore, my friend swore that this time she wouldn’t miss the second show—A Midsummer Night’s Dream.

Looking at the pouring rain outside my windows, I was wondering if my friend would like to cancel and call it a night. I called her up. She insisted on going to see the show. Three of them were already waiting in front of the Delacorte Theatre. I was just the follower following their order. It was drizzling when I entered Central Park. Briskly walking, I stopped to catch my breath under the bridge. There was a man running behind me and stopped next to me. I could see water spot on his blue shirt. He must have walked in the rain for somewhat several minutes. I thought, “What the heck does he think? Walking out of the office without an umbrella when you wholeheartedly knew it was going to be raining.” Playing a nice girl, I was asking him with no knowledge of where he headed. “Would you like to go together?” I said. He was looking at me surprisingly and then replied with a smile on his face. “Oh, thank you very much. I am heading to the theater. Are you going that way too?” I, again, thought to myself, “Nah, that isn’t my destination. I just happen to love walking in the park when it rains. GDI. Of course, I am going to the theater too.” Well. I replied, “Yes. I am.”

We had small talk. I told him that I was very upset and mad at my friends. If it wasn’t for my friend’s sake, I would go home and stay in my cozy blanket. He also told me that his friends already there and waiting for him. Neither of us knew the direction to the theater. Therefore, we had to stop and looked for the sign. He was kind of following my lead even though he was the one who carried the umbrella. He worriedly asked, “Are you getting wet?” as it was his fault to force me to share the umbrella with him. I replied, “Don’t worry, I am already wet.”

We half walked half ran. At one point he was asking for my name. I thought he tried to be polite. I told him my name, on the other hand, I didn’t ask for his name since I didn’t see the point of knowing it. We were just pedestrian and I am too nice to let poor guy getting wet. Finally we reached our destination. I dropped him off where his friends were standing. I didn’t even recall if he thanked me or not. Honestly, I didn’t care. I hurriedly looked for my friends. They were on the other side of the theatre.

Starring at pouring rain, we were patiently waiting. They let us in around 8:30 and the show started around 8:45. I was impressed by the crowd. The seated were almost filled up even though it was heavily raining couple hours before the show started. The light and sound were great considering it was an outdoor play. Luckily, I read the story’s synopsis. Otherwise I would get lost in between the show. My English had become terrible that night. My friend’s boyfriend wasn’t pleased by the acting. His reason was that he has seen the different version which made him cry. People could interpret Shakespeare’s masterpiece into thousands different ways. No one is right or wrong. This production is very funny especially at the end when lower-class laborers performed a crude play in front of Theseus’ wedding. I was laughing very hard and momentarily forgot that I was shivering because of the cold weather.

Sorry people, taking photo are strictly prohibited.
Seriously, I think I could return home now. I have done almost everything here…

Seven Days in New York

2007-08-14T11:19:00.000-04:00

Bottles of wine and the city of time
Lovely smile and a moment of prime.
Living a life of uncertainty
Seeing the world of foreign
Cigarette pack for share

I admire you for what you are
Distance and time are relative
So short the time we get to meet.
I am carefree and proud
Don’t you know me, don’t you know me by now.

composed by Dao

Mad World

2007-08-08T15:33:00.001-04:00

Surely, New Yorkers are faced with the mess of the subway train one way or another, especially today when it was pouring in the early morning. I knew the commuting would be a disaster. However, after you read my story, you might find yourself amusingly smiling.

Normally, I go to work by taking the 7 train and then transfer to the F train at Roosevelt Avenue station. But today there was no F train running from Queens to Manhattan. Therefore, my plan was to take the 7 train to the opposite direction and transfer to the N train. I couldn’t get into the first 7 train when it arrived at the platform because it was so crazily packed. I waited until the next train came. I finally managed to get into the train. However, my skirt was stuck between the doors. This Chinese lady was kind enough to continually pull my skirt out of the doors. My back was leaning against the doors. I was standing next to an old guy. In front of me was a guy wearing a hospital gown, so I guess he might be a doctor or work in the hospital. Anyway, it was mucky and muddy. I was sweating and so were people in the train. You get the picture how nasty it was, right?

The local train was running slowly. It was jam-packed. No one got in or out. Millions of people were waiting at the small platform looking at passengers in the train. I bet they would like to scream at us because we were so lucky finding the spot in this overcrowded train. The train stopped, there was one guy getting out of the train. Unfortunately, I was blocking his way. So I stepped out of the train to let him out. I was going to get back inside the train. But the doors were instantly closed in front of me. “Damn,” I said. People at the platform were sympathetically smiling, some were laughing. I could sense that they felt sorry for me. On the other hand, they felt good to have one more person joining their could-not-get-into-the-train club. It certainly was that stupid guy’s fault. It was not my day at all.

Oh well. I couldn’t believe what I saw when I was looking at the passengers. They were shocked and upset, especially that Chinese lady. She was like, “Oh no! You better let her back in. She is one of us. She belongs to be with us in the train, not standing outside.” That old guy was like the same, looking at me like, “Hey, you don’t deserve this. You shouldn’t be left outside like that.” Other passengers who saw this incident had this-world-is-unfair look!

I took a deep breath, optimistically thinking that there was always the next train right behind this one. Suddenly, God has ears, the train doors were partially open. Unluckily, I couldn’t get in. But you’ve got to see all these passengers’ face. They were like, “Come on, girl. You have to get back in.” They were being supportive. The doors were opened again. And this time I was able to get in by the help of the passenger. They were literally grabbed my arm, dragged me in and made sure that I was inside the train completely. It was not that easy. My bag was stuck in between the doors. The conductor was announcing, “Get your (fucking) bag inside the train right now! Otherwise the train has to stop running.” I was like, “So, open your (fucking) doors!” The doors were opened once again. With the help of the old guy standing next to me, I got my bag in. The passengers were giving me the winning smiles and perhaps if they had spoken to me, the conversation would have been like, “Alright girl. You made it. Welcome back!” I also could hear the sound of an applaud as the background. I felt like I was a movie star when she fought and did win a difficult task.

Come on, people. Isn’t it a lovely story happened in a chaotic moment? I could see you smile.

Hudson River Whitewater Rafting

2007-07-24T12:32:00.000-04:00

This would be probably my first and last trip. This summer we went rafting again. It was for the advance level, meaning you got to have a licensed guide with you. We chose to raft with Hudson River Whitewater Rafting located at Gore Mountain, North Creek, New York. The Hudson River Gorge runs through the “forever wild” Adirondack State Park. According to the site, the trip length was about 17 miles and took about 4 hours.

We, 14 people, got there around 9:00 am. We registered and waited for them to load the rafts up to the roof of the equipment buses. School buses took us to the base of operations which is the Inn at Gore Mountain. Unavoidably, drunken rafters were riding the bus with us. They were annoying as hell, yapping all the way to the starting point. I kind of wish they were death by drowning!!!
We were spit into 2 groups, 7 each. We were the first raft to go. Crazily yelling at us, our guide was very cruel at the beginning. He thought we were all Chinese and couldn’t speak English. I, as the oldest person in the raft, had to be his translator. He would hit me with his paddle if I didn’t translate a single word he said. I understood that he was responsible for our lives if something bad happens. However, it’s not necessary to be nasty like that. After a while when he was sure that he could control the raft, he, finally, seemed to calm down and be nice. Mostly, I opted to enjoy the rapids, scenery, sunshine and fresh air. Sometimes you have to let things go and enjoy what makes your life happy as much as possible. Otherwise, your life will be miserable.

We did the barbecue for dinner. The Weber grill was in the backyard of the house. Beautiful weather, nice conversation, decent alcohol and good food were just the perfect combination of the exquisite evening. Thanks to our personal chef, we had a chance, again, to be overwhelmed by grilled beef, juicy fish, chicken, mushroom, burger, to name a few.

The next day we stopped by Lake George to take some photos and, for some people, to buy souvenir. Certainly, it was crowded with weekenders. No wonder why the city has been empty lately.

I came back with a body of an elephant; however, my mind was filled with happiness. Thanks goes to my friend who make this trip possible.

Rafters:
Standing on top: Den, Num, Tong
Sitting in the middle: Bee, Koi, Tong, Aue; Standing in the middle: Mick, Chang
Sitting in front: Pui, Ginggal, Koi's cousin, Ploy, Tee

TRAVIS

2007-07-15T21:03:00.000-04:00

My dream has come true. All Travis five albums have been sitting on my CD racks for several years. DVDs of their shows have been also a great comfort. I, finally, have a chance to see their live performance at Irving Plaza.

Waiting for me at Union Square Park, I rushed to meet my new concert-buddy. The time was 6:30. I thought it would be a good idea to check and see if there was a long line to get in. On our way to Irving Plaza, unbelievably we saw Dougie, the bassist, on his matching golden suit and sunglasses. Undoubtedly, I said hi to him. He was walking with another guy whom I think was the guard. Dougie also said hi back to us with a little bit of the feminine voice and gesture. We were like “Oh wow, this is amazing.”

We got in around 7:15 and waited until 8:00 pm when the opening band, John Paul White, started. There were two guys in this band. One song they played was from the TV show OC which I’ve never seen. However, they sounded great. They finished around 8:30. We waited again. This girl next to us was getting drunk, started dancing for no reason and making a scene. Inconsiderate fan was everywhere. We kind of hoped that she would behave when the show began.

Around 9 o’clock more or less, the light in the hall went dark, couple spotlights went on and also the theme songs were played. Audiences’ eyes followed the spotlights to see what was going on, how the band members would enter the stage. We looked around the standing area and here they were. They were walking toward where my friend and I stood. We were speechless. However, we were crazily screaming. Walking slowly, I had a chance to shake Fran’s and Dougie’s hand and touched Andy’s and Neil’s shoulder. They all were walking pass our face. I thought I was going to faint with the overwhelming feeling. It was just too much in one night. Click to see the clip. If you carefully look at this clip, you could see us.

According to the song list I got, here are the songs played in sequence:

Selfish Jean
Eyes Wide Open
Writing to Reach You
Love Will Com Thru
As You Are
My Eyes
Big Chair
Side
Driftwood
Good Feeling
Closer
Sing
Battleships
All I Want to Do is Rock
Turn

We were standing not too far from the stage. Our eyes met Dougie’s eyes periodically. We smiles back and forth. My friend seemed to like him and his dancing moves very much. Three were two grandmothers upstairs wearing Travis t-shirt and singing along almost every song. Right next to them, we saw Zach Braff and his girlfriend also having a good time. Fran introduced the new touring pianist, Claus Bjorklund, who was solo on the track “Good Feeling.”

After “Turn” was played and the band went to backstage, we wholeheartedly shouted wanting them to come back. Fran came out with his acoustic guitar and stated that everybody would sing “Flowers” in an unplugged version. Of course, it was lovely and fantastic. They cover this song very well. The next songs were “Indefinitely” and “Selfish Jean.” They intentionally played Selfish Jean twice; however, on the second time they had this guy from YouTube’s clip performed some dancing as Fran sang the song. It was my first time watching this and it was quite creatively funny. The party was almost over. “Rain” was played lastly. Fran said that he would like everybody in the hall sing this song together. We were jumping and singing, “why does it always rain on me? Is it because I lied when I was seventeen…” it was amazing seeing everyone jumped and sang this well-known song.

I might not need great sex for a while after experiences this astounding and overwhelming performance they put on the stage.

Friday Night at Coney Island

2007-07-07T19:30:00.000-04:00

I barely remember last time I went to Coney Island. However, I still remember last year my former coworker told me to go see the fireworks at Coney Island on Friday night. Who would imagine? One year has already gone. So off I go.

Who would have known? Cyclone Rollercoaster have been operated by Astroland Park since 1927. This year they celebrate 80th anniversary. Its tiny seat can’t even fit typical Americans these days. The amazing thing is its steel track, which is on almost entirely wood structure. That first loop almost made me sick!

Wonder Wheel is not just an ordinary wheel. There are 2 types of passenger cars: one is stationary and another one is swinging. Of course, as brave as I am, I got in the swinging one. I have to say this; it was pretty scary because the car rolled along tracks within the wheel’s structure at 150 foot high. And it rolled back and forth…back and forth…like it would never stop. I forgot to enjoy a panoramic view of the Atlantic Ocean, the Jersey Shore and the NYC Skyline. Damn it.

And the highlight of the evening—the fireworks. We sat on the beach next to the area the fireworks were ignited. It was so close. I felt like the fireworks would come down to me. I liked the big one which when it was up in the sky, they would have small fireworks moving around. The screamers were pretty remarkable too. I really enjoyed watching it, better than fireworks on forth of July.

Spectacular!!!

The End

2007-07-05T16:35:00.000-04:00

There's no next chapter
The story you and I wrote
It's almost over
That love song you composed

No doubt how it ends
No questions asked
Life is so short
I'd like to play it hard

Happiness is on the way
It's used to be my enemy
This time I'll let it in
No more dark sky,
my life isn't cloudy

First Short Story

2007-07-03T11:26:00.000-04:00

POW POW!!! He heard the pounding at the door. BAM BAM BAM!!! He looked at his antique clock on the wall, which said 11:15. He wasn’t expecting anyone this late, especially on a rainy night like this. Actually, he wasn’t expecting anyone at all since he’d been busy with his new job—not to mention three new records he and his band had been painstakingly working on. He had no time to socialize. However, he didn’t care as long as he was doing something he was passionate about. He got up from his computer desk, walked quickly past his kitchen and opened the door. It was Maurine, the girl he’d been seeing for a couple of months. Soaking wet like a little puppy, she pushed herself all the way into his apartment. He was surprised by her appearance and didn’t have a chance to greet her or anything. Apparently, she’d been crying hysterically. He could tell from the black line of mascara on her lovely face. Her eyes were swollen and red. So was her nose. He had no idea how long she’d been weeping. There was no point in asking.

Standing in the middle of his living room in her black coat, she shouted loudly, “Why didn’t you call me? Do you have any idea how long I’ve been waiting for your call? I so desperately wanted to hear your voice, just your voice.” She paused and then continued. “What the hell are you doing? Where the hell are you? Why can’t you make just one phone call? I thought we really had a good time for a couple of weeks. We have so much in common. No one understands me like you do. On the other hand, no one treats me like you do.” She looked at him like he was a murderer. “Yes! You are a murderer. You emotionally murder me!” She was screaming at him. Not only was she vulnerable, she was also a psychic, reading his mind. He kept his words to himself thinking that silence might be the best way to deal with a crazy girl like her. And that was his way of dealing with problems.

She walked into his bedroom, grabbed his towel and dried her long hair. He was going to help her but she moved away from him. “What do you know?” she started. “Meeting and knowing you is the best thing that ever happened to me. I don’t care how many girls you have met or you’ve hung out with. I like you the way you are. I like you because you are you. You remember when we first met?” He could see a flash of her smile. “I feel like you own me. My mind and body were covered by your unexplained magic. Suddenly, I am yours!” He, of course, remembered the first night, the night he would never forget. His friend thought Maurine was a crazy girl and told him to stay away from her. There were several girls at the party approaching him and trying to get his attention. But he couldn’t keep his eyes off of her. Something inside his head told him that this girl belonged to him.

“You think it’s easy for me to start a new relationship?” She was sitting on his sofa in the living room and sobbing. “I was in a gloomy world until I met you. I know we are living in different worlds. Your world is always bright and beautiful. You could choose anyone you want. Why would you want to be in my world—the world of darkness? Somehow, I hoped that you would change my world. You would make me feel human again. I am so sorry to say this. But you just killed me.”

She got up and walked to the kitchen. She knew where he kept his facial tissue. She wiped her face, blew her nose and then adjusted her coat. “Ok. I have said what I wanted to say to you. Thank you for everything. Thank you for the good times that we’ve had together. Thank you for your warm and comforting touches.” She hugged him and left. It was as fast as when she showed up in front of his door. The elevator had already taken her downstairs when he whispered to himself, “Hi, Maurine. How’re you doing? I just got home and was about to call you.”

Green Ideas

2007-06-29T15:06:00.000-04:00

Becoming a nine-to-five working machine again, I was browsing through channels to see what was on last night. After been watching the reruns of Law & Order, Friends, Will & Grace, it’s time for something new! I stopped at Sundance channel at midnight.

Big Ideas for a Small Planet was the title of the show. It’s a documentary series presenting the products of a new green world. Last night episode was about Sports. I discovered these high-performance bikes made from bamboo. Yes! Bamboo. I wanted to get one but the price is expensive though. It’s around $2,300. I also found the skateboards made from new materials which if I remember correctly was the combination of soy products and something I couldn’t remember. The last idea was about this lady skier who was selected to be the host of Clif Bar Save Our Snow Winter road trip. She’s been educating young skiers and snowboarders how to help and save the environment by using green products, consuming organic food and generating recycling habits.

This interesting program got me thinking; perhaps I’d like to have a green house which is built by all green material, solar power, home-made fertilizer, organic furniture and even people who stay in my house have to eat organic food. Brilliant ideas, isn’t it?

Keane

2007-06-06T01:00:00.000-04:00

My second outdoor concert in my life—KEANE—happened in Central Park. First was my love, Coldplay, at Jones Beach. If I remember correctly, it was four years ago and also my first concert ever!

Rushing there around 5 o’clock, I thought the line to get in would be long. But it wasn’t that bad considering that the tickets were sold out. All my friends were already there. We got into the Rumsey Playfield around 6 pm and waited for an hour until the opening band performed. Screaming loudly as they played, couples of my friends were sleeping while Rocco DeLuca performed. It’s a shame but we enthusiastically want to see Keane. No one else matters. Some audiences still sat on the ground and totally ignored them. Some were talking to each other; some were drinking beers and wine and paying no attention to the opening band. I felt bad for them but all we wanted to see was Keane!!!

It was 8 o’clock when Tim Rice-Oxley (piano), Richard Hughes (drums) and Tom Chaplin (vocals) entered the stage. I’ve been listening to their albums but I have no idea that there is no guitar played in the band, only the piano and the drums. Exceptionally, their melody and rhythms are just perfect—not to mention their live performance. According to one of my friends who was helping me compile all these songs, the reason she was be able to remember the names was that Tom—the lead singer—was briefly talking about how he came up with each song. I think that was a brilliant idea because not only we will remember the name of the song but also we will clearly understand the meaning of the lyric. As you know, how vague artist write their songs and we, as the listeners, have to interpret them based on our own experience. Well, I think that is how good songs are composed.
Here is the list of the songs they played that night—not in sequence though.

Bend and Break
Everybody’s Changing
This Is The Last Time
Nothing in My Way
Humburg Song—Tom asked us to light up the light.
He told us that this song—Try Again—was written when they all encountered the difficulty.
Is It Any Wonder
Leaving So Soon?
Somewhere Only We Know
We Might As Well
A Bad Dream
==encore==
Crystal Ball
Bedshaped

Someone told me that if I were lucky enough I would have gone to this concert and had a great time. Oh well, all I know was that I really had a great time watching their live performance and that I was so sorry for those who couldn’t make it out there!

I found this photo gallery on flickr webpage.

An Evening with Damien Rice

2007-05-27T12:32:00.000-04:00

I hate to say this. Damien Rice is my new beau now. I totally blame this on Coldplay! Since they haven't released new album in 2 years. I can't help but have to find a new shelter.

First row of mezzanine level, I sat there with a little bit of buzz on. People still were hanging out at the hallway, some buying drinks, some taking photos. This is my first time at Radio City Music Hall. Undoubtedly, the interior is magnificent, like classic opera house with decorated ceiling and circle stairs lead you to the mezzanine level.

Who would have thought that Damien would not have an opening band? At 8:40, the lead singer wearing dark brown blazer and washed jeans started with “9Crimes”, beautifully played his piano which placed in the middle of the stage, surrounded by candle lights. Don't ask me what songs he played. I never remember the names or the sequence of the songs; definitely Delicate and Accidental Child--no wonder how I remember these two songs; they are my favorites.

One thing you can't find from listening to the songs from your CD player--unless your have powerful speakers--is the upbeat sounds that Damien added to his songs. We all are familiar with his acoustic guitar and heartbreaking voice. Of course, in his performance, light and sounds would be added to make live show more amusing and audience would be more involved. He turned his depressing songs into sort-of-a-rock songs. I really enjoyed that kind of transformation. And you can always go back to his CD if you want to hear his original somber songs.

We all thought that he would end his show with "I remember" because the way he sang it was so dreary like his heart would really be broken. He was standing with his acoustic guitar by himself and then the light went dark. Surprisingly, the show was not over yet! He sang "Cannon Ball" without the microphone or any other musical instruments. I have to admit I've never heard such a powerful voice like his before--so deep and, ahem, dominant. Right after he finished the song, everybody was standing up and uproariously clapping their hands admiring his great performance.

Traditionally, audience encored. Yes, they did for a while. I was standing up screaming like crazy. Finally, he entered the stage. He told us briefly about his next song--"Unplayed Piano"--which he wrote for Aung San Suu Kyi, the leader of Burma. Her short movie clip was shown as a backdrop while Damien sang the song. Helplessly, I cried thinking that this girl is amazing. She sacrifices her own life in order to helping her people.

"Blower's Daughter" was sang next. I, personally, don't like this song as much as Delicate. I guess everyone knows him because of this song from movie The Closer. Again, we all stood up after he finished this song. The light went dark. We were all clapping. However, he still told a story about how a guy met a girl in a rainy night. They went to the bar, having couple drinks and then the girl had to rush home because her boyfriend was waiting for him. That led to his last song which was “Cheer Darlin.” He was drinking red wine; yes I am talking about real wine, while he sang the song. The combination of his acting and his incredible voice just made “Cheer Darlin’ sound more dejected. He was running up to the balcony singing it distressingly.

WOW! What a breathtaking performance. My evening would never be better that this!

Locks of Love

2007-05-25T23:03:00.000-04:00

It's been a year and a half since I had my last hair cut which was in October 2005 when I was in Thailand! WOW! That long! Well, I have limited choice. One is, as you all know, the cost of haircut here is ridiculously expensive. Perhaps, I am being too pessimistic because there are several salons that offers reasonable rate and service.

Got off work early today, it was damn hot in New York. The weather was around 90 degree today. My hair, and myself, looked horrible as usual. I walked directly to the salon closes to my building. I found out that the haircut price was not too bad. And that was it! The new Ploy!

Another reason I have waited for a year and a half is that I would like to donate my hair to Locks of Love which is a public non-profit organization that provides hairpieces to financially disadvantaged children under age 18 suffering from long-term medical hair loss from any diagnosis. The hairpiece has to be at least 10 inch long.

My former colleagues compliment me on my new look. One says I look sophisticated. One says I look sleek. My roommate has a very interesting comment; she says I look like my mom! Well, I wish I was smart like her too. Personally, I think I look more like a boy! It doesn't matter anyway. Ploy always be Ploy.

Great Graduate!

2007-05-07T22:26:00.000-04:00

I’d like to dedicate this time to thank everyone who is behind my success.

First of all, I’d like to thank my friends and family in Thailand. I might have been neglected them since it’s such a long distance. However, they all have been in my heart.

I also would like to thank my New York friends; Ann, Tai, Tong, Boom, Aue, M, P'Coco, TK, Pa'Ben, P'Jimmy -- to name a few -- for their support, relaxing trips and all-night-long parties.

My former co-workers at Fairchild Internet and Conde Nast: Steve, Kathy, Suzanne, Brian, Rachel and Matthew. They were all asked by my school-related questions.

Friends at Facts on File: Kerry, Erik, Jamaal and other people, especially Alice who proofread my thesis. Thanks Lina and James for letting me rehearse my thesis presentation. That was a very big help with all the questions and comments. I really appreciate it.

Matt, thank you very much for everything; proofreading all my papers and helping me with the presentation. I couldn’t thank you more. You were with me all these two years. I still remember when I first called you and told you that I was accepted into the program. Even when I really had a tough time writing my paper; you were there. Thank you so much.

Of course, my mom and my dad. They have been on my side emotionally and financially for 30 years. I wouldn’t have gone this far without their love and support. Profoundly, I’ve grown up to be, at least I would think, a decent woman. I love both of them. They are my heroes.

Bodies the Exhibition

2007-05-06T21:51:00.000-04:00

I know I haven’t blogged for quite some time. I just posted short poem so that I do feel like I blog about something. But this was really nothing at all. Shame on me! I hate to say this, however, I’ve been busy working my ass off for 31 days straight. Therefore, I thought I would claim my right to take a rest from the screen for couple of days.

Actually, the main reason is I can’t find an interesting thing to blog. All of the sudden, my life has been boring and dull; until my mom is here. I welcomed her by taking her to see Bodies the Exhibition at South Street Seaport.

Here is the brief explanation of the process I found from the website:

This exhibition uses real human bodies that have been preserved so they do not decay.

A human specimen is first preserved according to standard mortuary science.

The specimen is then dissected to show whatever it is that someone wants to display. When they say this meaning they cut the specimen vertically and/or horizontally. I found one body was dissected vertically into 4 pieces.

Once dissected, the specimen is immersed in acetone, which eliminates all body water.

The specimen is then placed in a large bath of silicone, or polymer, and sealed in a vacuum chamber.

Under vacuum, acetone leaves the body in the form of gas and the polymer replaces it, entering each cell and body tissue.

A catalyst is then applied to the specimen, hardening it and completing the process.

Oh wow! At the beginning I think it’s kind of scary and spooky to see human bodies like this. But after seeing couple of them, I was truly amazed by how body parts, nerves, muscles, veins and arteries work together. So much of guy bodies were shown here; the highlight of what I saw was several veins of guy’s male organ. Pretty remarkable, isn’t it? There were only two female bodies; one is to show the overweight specimen and another one is the sample of the difference between male and female body. Fetus is very fascinating as well.

After watching that black, ugly lung dissected from someone who’s been smoking, I decided not to touch the cigarettes again.

If you have time, please learn more about Bodies the Exhibition.

And this is the article from Seattle Post Intelligencer.

Happy Early Mother's Day !

2007-05-01T17:28:00.000-04:00

Daughter says, “I don’t wanna be pretty.
Mommy, I wanna be smart.
Actually, you are my hero.
I love you with all my heart.”

Mother smiles, kisses the girl on her cheek.
“You don’t have to be like me, baby.
You could be anything you want.
You already are smart and pretty.”

“The world is cruel,” continues mother
“Evil and demon await you, my dear.
Please be prepare and be strong.
Only you could overcome your own fear.”

“I gave you my good heart.
You just follow it.
Don’t listen to anybody.
No one can destroy it.”

“Remember this, honey.
Love is all around you.
Carefully choose your own choice.
And finally your love will come true.”

Lunch Poem

2007-04-30T13:21:00.000-04:00

you call to say hello
you call to say hi
do you have any idea
how many days have gone by

you just lit my fire
yeah, you lit it once again
yesterday I forgot about you
but today you are my pain

I hate myself
I hate you
you never understand
because you are you

we are back in the game
you give me the second chance
I close my eyes and say
forget about it! you'll never see me dance!

Poem-ism!

2007-04-18T00:09:00.000-04:00

Believe it or not, this is the email I wrote to my mom:

The VDO is small and not clear; however, it's fun.
P'Bom looks chubby, on the other hand, Lung Somchok looks skinny.
Nong Bim has long hair.
Por is still fat and dresses funny.

Oh boy! I miss my family!

Sounds like another poem, doesn't it?

A Poem Again?

2007-04-16T16:10:00.000-04:00

Oh well. I wrote this poem when I was chatting with my good old friend. I must be in a mood of being a poet; not in a mood for love.

miss p with her long hair
old, tired and despair
miss p is no longer fun
all she wants to do is run!

Goodbye Poem!

2007-04-12T20:59:00.000-04:00

I am not good of saying it
But this is how I say it

First thank goes to big boss TJ
Along with new daddy Tony
Plus wonderful Wendy and Julie
For giving me this great opportunities

Second thank goes to my favorite prod rep
Alice, Sean, John, Lisa and Bobby
For teaching me so many things
Everyday keeping me super busy

Couple thanks also go around the room
Design team—Takeshi, Erika, Annie
Sal with his jokes and nice smiles
Joo Young and James are truly friendly

Lina, Erik, thanks for warm shoulders
Alana, Jamaal, your moves are amazing
Fresh, cool tunes come from Dave and Ben
Gym buddy, Kerry, is so stimulating

Trust me, it’s been a blast working here
I really appreciate your company
I certainly miss all of you
Wish me finding a great journey

Gym Scam!

2007-04-09T20:33:00.000-04:00

Question: have you ever seen some girls carrying their gym bags around while they are working out?

Here is the reason why:
I've been going to the gym for couple months now. Sometimes after work, sometimes on Weekends--depends on my schedule. This past Saturday I only had half an hour of working out--after spending all morning and early afternoon having fun. I got there, changed and put my gym bag in the locker and left. After running for about 20 minutes, I went back to women’s locker room and found out that I forgot to lock my locker. Opening the door, I was about to pass out. Unsurprisingly, my gym bag was gone. There were only my pants and shirt hanging in there. My head was hot. My heart was exploded. My ears were burned and couldn’t hear any sounds. I feel like I was strongly hit by my own stupidity. What are inside that gym bag were my iPod, my cell phone, my wallet, my house’s keys and my life!

I talked to the manager and couple people who worked there. With some helps from lovely friends, I managed to calm down and arranged to deal with this disaster. I went back to the locker room and was looking around. All of the sudden, my eyes caught at this familiar lock. I looked at the back of the lock and said oh shit this IS my lock. Undoubtedly, I put my combination, opened the door and there you go! My gym bag! I was looking thorough my own stuff and realized that all the inner bags and pockets were opened and only my wallet was gone. Fortunately, I’ve never been carrying lot of money since I have no money :) However, I still have to cancel my credit and debit cards.

Unbelievably, this tragedy happened with other two girls at the same period of time. However, these two girls had their lock on. This SOB must have unlocked it and taken everything from the lockers. Poor them. It doesn't matter if you have your lock on. Your stuff would be stolen anyway.

What would the gym do to prevent this catastrophe? Having eye-scanned locker?

AIR: Pocket Symphony

2007-04-05T22:05:00.000-04:00

I walked into Virgin Mega Store and accidentally saw my favorite band’s—AIR—new album, Pocket Symphony. Oh wow it was on sale. I smiled to myself, grabbed the CD, literally ran to the cashier and bought it. I rushed home to listen to it. And since then this CD has been playing in my Bose box!

These Parisian duo introduce me to instrumental music—song that doesn’t have to have lyrics or stories to tell. I was sick of pop music back then and was looking for something new. I first listened to 10,000 Hz Legend and murmured what the heck is this music. I’ve never heard of electronic sound like this before—smoky and cloudy. It’s very beautifully written and composed. After that I turn my back to cheesy pop music!

This new album has more instrumentals and less song some of which sound like Alone In Kyoto (from album Talkie Walkie)—improvised with some kind of an Asian instrument, I am not sure. According to their website, I am right. They spent a year learning far eastern (kinda wish that they chose some Thai instruments) classical instruments—the Koto and Shamisen—which were wonderfully blended into their western tunes. However, if I close my eyes and listen to “Somewhere Between Waking and Sleeping”, I think that it might be the song from Zero 7. Perhaps it’s because of the lead vocal. If you’d like to hear anything like 10,000 Hz Legend, you might be very disappointed. On the other hand, if you are a big fan, GO GET THIS ALBUM!

Next time will be the story of their live performance! Yes, I’ll go to their concert, again. This time might be a ripped-off ticket, but wtf! I love their muusik (French accent)

Another Evening Poem

2007-03-29T23:07:00.000-04:00

At the corner there is she
A little girl with sad brown eyes
Yesterday she looked so happy
Today she's here with no smiles

I approach, ask her what's wrong
Something bad happened or someone hurt her
She says she doesn't know
Everything is all blur

Her world's been dark and doom
Captured in the moment of holplessness
No one can help her, she screams
She'd rather die with her somberness

You know, it's been gloomy,
shadowy, dimly lighted
She doesn't feel love or beloved
Her eyes temporarily have lost sights

She's reached out for a solution
And been crying miserably
Everyday is cloudy blue
She's sick and tired terribly

I pat her back and finally say
Seriously, I have been there before
When I wouldn't want to wake up
I couldn't ask for more

Take a very deep breath
And open your eyes
You see the world outside?
The color of the sky

Some questions don't have answers
Why do you waste your time?
Don't overlook what you have
Fortunately, you are always mine

Things regularly have two sides
Good or bad, black or white
It's your choice to take a look
To make wrong things right

We hug, cuddle and then kiss
Suddenly, she's yelling at my face
Don't you even know, huh?
You put me into this wreck!

Wednesday Evening Poem

2007-03-28T15:06:00.000-04:00

When it’s cold, she’s sad
It’s warm out, she’s still sad
For her, the world is mad
I assure, life isn’t that bad

She nods but says, “sometimes it’s hard”
She adds, her life is tough
Things aren’t getting easy
Her long road is rough

She sobs,”I am deeply hurt
I can’t forget my past
Wonder when it all ends
How long it will last”

“Step back a bit”, say I
See how far you’ve gone through
See tasks you’ve accomplished
Many people aren’t strong as you

Again she nods
this time she agrees
She puts on her smiling face
And turn her sadness to joyful tears

Matter!

2007-03-20T23:10:00.000-04:00

This is it. This card is especially for you
I didn't have a second thought
Because I know you'd like it too

Unbelievably, another good year went by
Lots of things have changed
But you are always in my mind

Happy Birthday to my beloved baby
Wish you a prosperous year
To the guy who never thinks of the future
I bet it will be a tremendous cheer!

Love,
Ploy
March 20, 2007

Zodiac

2007-03-13T12:52:00.000-04:00

Friday night is no longer Ploy’s night. I’ve moved on. Oh well, it’s more like I have to move on.

There are two reasons I am willing to spend my $10.25on a movie ticket: firstly it’s got 6 stars (out of 6) from Time Out New York and secondly I need to get rid of Jake Gyllenhaal’s gay character from Brokeback Mountain. Actually, I would include the third reason which happens to be the director’s name I saw from imdb website. It’s David Fincher who also directed Panic Room (2002), Fight Club (1999), The Game (1997) and one of my favorite movies Se7en (1995).

Zodiac’s plot takes place in the San Francisco Bay Area almost 40 years ago. This serial-killer case officially remains unresolved. Written by cartoonist Robert Graysmith, the book is about his effort to solve the case and was turned into a movie. I really like the set of the scene especially in the San Francisco Chronicle newsroom. The scene closely resembles the real time when this case happened. There are no computers; only nice and antique typewriters. (How one could solve a crime without the help of computer and eletronic devices?) It reminds me of my grandfather’s old typewriter from which I started my typing skill. Everybody dresses, lives and drives in their late 1960s. Sitting there wondering what the movie is all about, I was suddenly thrilled by the opening and was kept thinking as a police who tried to solve this crime. For those of you who are a big fan of all Law and Order, you’ve got to see this suspense thriller. Like Se7en, the movie offers more and more evidence but doesn’t reveal the killer. That just made me goes crazy about finding the truth about the perpetrator.

Mark Ruffalo and Robert Downey Jr. have done an excellent job of imitating a dedicated detective and a reporter respectively. Unfortunately, I do not quite like Jake’s acting. His role is to show that there’s more than one way to lose your life to a killer—like the movie’s tagline says. His acting isn't that convicing. Anyway, I’ll give him a break since he has done a very good job in Brokeback Mountain and plus he is Coldplay fan!

The following quote came from the review on imdb.com;
Here's the best way I can convey how good it is. I'm seven and a half months pregnant. I did not go to the bathroom once, in the nearly three hours of running time.

Career Wisdom

2007-03-05T19:04:00.000-05:00

I am despair verging on the job hunting. It's been 2 months now and I got nothing. I've had couple interviews but they are all turned me down. What did I do wrong?

For those of you who also face this problem, job hunting could take forever. I know of couple friends who took four or up to six months to get a job. Therefore, I shouldn't be giving up my hope yet and keep looking--like Johnny Walker keeps walking ;)

For those of you who think what the hack I am doing here. Am I wasting my time and talent on this stuff when I could be doing things that are so much more important? This Career Wisdom book have answered these questions.

NO, you are not wasting your time. Starting at the bottom has a purpose: to prepare you for the middle and, eventually, the top. This lead another question for me; is this what I want to do?

There are two inspiring quotes I got from the book;
Knowing others is wisdom; knowing yourself is enlightenment.

You can't possibly know what career is best for you if you do not first figure out what you want, what you are good at, what is important to you, and what makes you tick.

And a quote from my favorite poet, Friedrich Neitzsche;
That which does not kill us makes us stronger.

All That I Will Ever Be

2007-02-24T11:38:00.000-05:00

I am a big fan of Alan Ball's depressing scripts that trouble contemporary relationships, especially in Six Feet Under. I watched every single episode and have turned couple of people into this show. When I saw the interview in Time Out New York, I said to myself I'd got to see this play--All That I Will Ever Be. With my student ID, I'd be able to buy a $20 ticket (regular price is $60) at New York Theatre Workshop on Tuesday night. The tickets were almost sold out. I saw a few empty seats. Looking around, I realized that most of audiences were seniors, including me. I was sitting next to an old guy with white hair. I can tell that he didn't feel comfortable watching this show. Why? Because he moved and sighed every 15 minutes. When you are caught up with something you really pay attention to, you almost forget to move or breathe. Or maybe I am wrong. Perhaps he's too old to be kept in a small seat like that. Or he might not like the show since it's about gay hustler who always lies and falls for white guy. There are couple scenes of him wearing only underwear and them smoking (real) pot in the theatre. How cool is that?

You can read some reviews here:
Review by Theartermania.com; the article is more about actors, actress and crews.

Review by The New York Times; this article also talks about the story and playwright.

I totally agree with these two articles about Omar--main character. I don't think the actor did a very good job. He's a complicated gay hustler--with deep personalities--lying about his identity in order to forget about his past. There is something about this actor that I don't buy. However, the scene that got my tears is the one about this old (70-year-old) gay guy. He is Omar's client; talking about his homosexual life before he came out of the closet; how hard it is for him to be gay and live with his wife and kid.

Great acting!!! He says to Omar "Sweetheart, people don't pay your kind for sex. They pay you to leave."

Friday Night Drinks

2007-02-23T10:26:00.000-05:00

My colleage wrote a nice poem here:

Where have we been; where are we going?
I don't care, as long as it's where the beer is flowing!
So, why go home? You have nothing to lose,
Except missing out on the sweet taste of booze!
So, let¹s come together, and let¹s all be merry---
Alice, Lina, James, Sal, Bobby, Erik, Sean, Ploy, Jooyoung, Jamaal, Kwesi
and......Kerry!

Quote !

2007-02-21T13:54:00.000-05:00

Been watching Queer As Folk for couple weeks, I decided to give some thoughts about it. This isn't about the sexuality or sex scenes on the television! It's about how well the script is written. I still clearly recall these two quotes.

The first one is from season 3 finale when they celebrate the victory of new Mayor.

Debbie:

Secondly:

Justin:

Brian:

Justin:

Brian:

Justin:

Brian:

Justin:

Brian:

Justin:

Brian:

The Long Tail

2007-02-11T11:21:00.000-05:00

The subheadline of the book reads "Why the Future of Buiness Is Selling Less of More" Yeah, I want to know why!

The author, Chris Anderson, is editor in chief of Wired magazine which I used to be a subscriber several years ago. The magazine is full of well-written articles some of which are too difficult for my brain to digest the information. Anyway, this brilliant guy has led the magazine to five National Magazine Award nominations. It might be time for me to dust the pile of magazines off and start to read it.

Anyway, this book is about the differencce between yesterday's limited choice and today's abundance. According to the book, unlimited selection, such as iTune's songs and Netflix's DVDs, reveals new truths about what consumers want and how they want to get it. The Long Tail happens when everything in the world becomes available to everyone. In the world of marketing, things that are likely to sell in the necessary numbers get carried; things that aren't, don't. In our hit-driven culture, marketers are focusing obsessively on the left side of the curve and trying to guess what will make it there. The top 200 albums in Wal-Mart's inventory account for more than 90 percent of the sales.

Now no one is focusing on the hits anymore. Let's zoom in and look past the top sellers. On the right side of the curve shows the existence of the niches. The 25,000th to the 100,000th (and so on) tracks are still being downloaded. And because there are so many of these non-hits, their sales quickly add up. Again, if you combine enough of the non-hits, you've actually established a market that rivals the hits. Additionally, the fastest-growing part of unlimited-shelf-space businesses--even purely digital services--is sales of products that aren't available in traditional, physical retail stores at all.

Chris gives a clear picture with an intelligible explanation of the emergence of The Long Tail--especially before the industrial revolution. I have learned a lot about American's hit culture. He also gives the nine rules for operatings in a Long Tail economy which are as follows;

1. Move inventory way in ... or way out.
2. Let customers do the work.
3. One distribution method doesn't fit all.
4. One product doesn't fit all
5. Once price doesn't fit all.
6. Share information.
7. Think "and," not "or."
8. Trust the market to do your job.
9. Understand the power of free.

Interested in The Long Tail? Go to the original article written by Chris Anderson in Wired magazine.

new news

2007-02-05T12:49:00.000-05:00

Headline: Many Super Bowl Marketers Drop the Ball on Search
Source: Advertising Age
Date: February 05, 2007

As most of you known, there was Super bowl on Sunday. Many companies such as Doritos and General Motors Corp. built up buzz before the big game with consumer-generated-ad contests. apparently, they forgot to one of the most important sales fundamentals which is the follow-thorough. Neither of them bought search ads around their Super Bowl creative. This led to the very disappointing situation--if searchers went to Google to search for Doritos and/or GM super bowl ad after the game, there were no sponsored search results for that terms. Instead, paid search results from CBS Sportline and YouTube showed up at the top of the page. Unsurprisingly,the overall number of marketers buying keywords around their brand name during this year's Super Bowl was up from last year.

In the cyber world, giving what searchers ask for is very important. If they are looking for your service/product by typing in the specific search terms and wouldn't be able to find you and finally they decided to visit your competitors, I think you fail the marketing campaign. Everything is happening in one click, just one click.

Here is the list of ads shown in Super Bowl XLI

Sirius

2007-02-03T21:28:00.000-05:00

Do you know that Sirius was the only police dog killed in the terrorist attacks at the World Trade Center? His job is to keep the World Trade Center in New York City safe by searching hundreds of vehicles for explosives. If a bag or suitcase were left unattended, Sirius would sniff it to determine if it contained a bomb.

On September 11, 2001, Port Authority Police Officer David Lim was in his office in the basement of the WTC south tower. His Labrador retriever, Sirius, was next to him. They heard a massive explosion and rushed to see what happened. His two free hands would be needed to rescue victims, Officer Lim secured Sirius in his cage while he set off to help other. "Stay
right there," he told his K-9 partner,. "I'll be back for you."

As being told, Sirius waited for his partner. Firefighters wouldn't let Officer Lim pass the unstable remains of the building because they were just too dangerous. Sirius and other victims would never have a chance to escape from the building.

There also are many stories about these distinguised dogs that try to help their owners. One that I remember is a dog fighting with an allegator when a disabled owner fainted. One that is trained to press button which will be connected to 911 or an outside help when an owner gets sick. To me, these dogs are my hero. They royally love their owners and do what they are told.

Learn more about Sirius, click here

new news!

2007-01-29T12:17:00.000-05:00

Headline: One Paper Hopes Fans of Politics Will Pay Up
Date: Monday January 29, 2007
Source: NY Times

Another business model that is very interesting. The Sacramento Bee was introducing a new Web site focused on California government and state politics. The subscription fee for Capitol Alert is $499 a year which will be attracted to niche audience who mostly are lobbyists or politiccal insiders. Subscribers will have an access to exclusive blogs, expanded columns, e-mail updates as well as an early access to some articles scheduled to appear in the next day's paper. According to Joyce Terhaar, The Bee's managing editor, this news judgment model will have three diffrent publishing platforms: 1) content that would not be "of broad interet" will be provided to the main Web site's readers. 2) the content that would not necessarily make it into the paper. 3) content that is niche and content that should go into the paper.

In conclusion, I see this is the (creative) way to generate more online revenue as opposed to the decline in print subscribers. Surely, many traditional newpaper will follow this path and even come up with more attracking features. Undoubtedly, consumers will benefit from this offer; more access to very-up-to-date and invaluable content. One thing behind paid-regstration walls is that how much money readers would like to pay up. And when they do willing to pay that amount, how the company make it's worth their dollars and keep them to visit the site regularly.

Happy Birthday !

2007-01-25T13:47:00.000-05:00

Here is the birthday poem I got;

For your birthday, I wrote you this rhyme,
As a way to celebrate this joyous time!
You've reached Thirty, although you look more like Twenty-Two.
That should make anyone happy--even YOU!

So, on your birthday, remember to laugh,
And act really goofy--like a monkey or giraffe!
And NEVER let the bad times get you blue,
For, one day, all your dreams will come true!

So, Have a Happy, Happy Birthday, my dear Ploy!
This day is surely One Of Great Joy!

And Buddhist saying;

The quest for Buddhist enlightenment has been likened to searching everywhere for your nose. Once you find it you can't believe that it was in front of your face the whole time. Look under your feet and you will not only find a great place to stand, but heaven itself.

Also, Happy Birthday to Kerry's mother, Bobby's mother, and Ben's brother.

Kristi Yamaguchi

2007-01-23T21:58:00.000-05:00

Oh, I love checking galley. The following excerpt comes from the book about Kristi Yamaguchi, an Asian-American ice figure skater.

Two-time United States Olympic gold medalist and figure skating commentator Dick button once said, "Falling down is not the sign of a poor skater, but the sign of a skater who never stops trying to improve."

Her story is greatly touching, especially the story of her young life. She's very determined, working hard and really putting her mind into what she loves which is skating. She hdd to wake up very early in the morning, like 4 am, to use the rink, practiced and then went to school. She first skated when she was 4 and received her national award when she was 20. I am amazed by her passion for skating.

Asian-Americans rock !!!

Doug Aitken: sleepwalkers

2007-01-21T18:29:00.000-05:00

Nighttime installations "Sleepwalkers" comprises 8 large-scale moving images projected on the facades around The Museum of Modern Art. It's about the journeys of 5 city inhabitants who are a bicycle messenger (Ryan Donowho), an electrician (Seu Jorge), a postal worker (Chan Marshall), a businessman (Donal Sutherland), and an office worker (Tilda Swinton). The reason they all are "sleepwalkers" is because of their late-hour jobs. Across multiple screens, these 13-mintue films show the moment of movement continuously, juxtaposing the charecters differently in every performance.

Click here for the article in Yahoo! news

This show was magnificent. We were watching it while there was a slighly snow. It was so freaking cold. However, it was worth standing in the horrible weather and enjoying the spectacular show. One good thing of this installation is that passersby can stop to watch this performance for FREE because it's open to public at no charge. I'd like to see this kind of art more often. I'd be very regretful if I have to pay $20 for an admission fee and get to see three basketballs in the fish tank. Right? Excaliburssoul

Modern World Nations: Thailand

2007-01-18T23:24:00.000-05:00

I can't help finding the following paragraph written in a book annoying:

Sawadee! Welcome to Thailand! Sawadee is an all-purpose greeting that can mean good morning, good afternoon, good evening, or good night. By putting your palms gently together under your chin with your head tilted slightly forward, you have greeted your hosts with the wai (form of greeting) that is used in Thailand. If you want to be even more appropriate, use the wai and say "Sawadee krup" to greet a man or "Sawadee ka" to greet a woman.

Does anybody know what's wrong?

First of all, we pronounce 'all-purpose greeting' Sawasdee or Sawaddee, not Sawadee.
Secondly, you use the wai and say "Sawaddee krup" if you ARE a man, not to greet a man. Same scenario, you say "Sawadde ka" if you are a woman.

motto: you can't believe what's written in a book. (I could be very pessimistic when it comes to something I have a deep knowledge.)

Isamu Noguchi

2007-01-16T20:07:00.000-05:00

I have no knowledge that the common art I have seen which are the large bronze panel, called NEWS, placed over the main entrance of Rockefeller Center and Red Cube located in the financial district of Manhattan are both the works of Isamu Noguchi.

Visiting to his museum long time ago, I was introduced to his invaluable sculpture. New to the world of art, Ploy was impressed and admired his popularity. How one Asian artist could possibly have his own exhibition--yet own museum--in the United States? After that day, Ploy have experienced more and more of Isamu's industrial designs.

Reading the book about him today, Ploy has learned more about his interesting life. Abandoned by his own father after he was born, Isamu had to travel across the continent to live with his father in Japan and later found out that his father also had another family in Japan. He, again, was sent back to America to study in college, being alone without his mother, studying abroad in Europe, traveling to Asia. He's been to almost all over the world, exploring the world of art.

He was scheduled to give a public lecture to young Japanese artists and architects. His main advice was to resist being too influenced by Western culture. "To be authentic," he told them, "is to be modern."

proverbs

2007-01-13T11:06:00.001-05:00

While checking a proverb book, I came across some interesting proverbs that I think it's worth taking your time thinking about it:

There's reason in all things.
The course of true love never did run smooth.
It's best to be off with the old love before you are on with the new.

And the last one, Loose lips sink ships.

Euphemisms

2007-01-09T15:28:00.000-05:00

I've got the permission to post these euphemisms from one of my funny co-workers. Here it is:

Perhaps baseball is my favorite sport because of all the euphemisms. Being gay is "batting lefty" or "pitching underhand" and being bisexual is "switch-hitting." Being on top is "pitching" and being on bottom is "catching." It makes it really easy to concoct ideas about the players.

This girl is brilliant, isn't she?

new news!

2007-01-08T13:46:00.000-05:00

Headline:'Time' Marches On to New Web Strategy
Date: January 08, 2007
Source: Advertising Age

New year has come, new design has arrived. Time.com launch a redesigned website aimed at being a better place in the digital-news media. With this new design, the reader will have the feeling of reading a daily news magazine by clcking through the top-left rotation box with the big images. The latest headlines on the right column are constantly updated. Even though there is lots of white space on the right column, I still think that the site, compared to top news websie, is well-designed easy-to-navigate. Don't forget to check out blogs and podcast. Of course, these functions are neccessary for recent websites.

Red color really does the trick.

Happy New Year 2007

2007-01-01T17:49:00.000-05:00

For more pictures, please go to www.tommypost.com/2007/index.htm

Thanks to TK for all memorable pictures.

Vermont Trip

2006-12-30T12:22:00.000-05:00

What: Last trip with Boom
Where: Stratton, Vermont
When: December 23-25, 2006
Who: Boom, Tai, M, Nut, Ploy, P'Mie, Koi, Mick, Gal, Pui

Time Out New York

2006-12-27T14:05:00.000-05:00

Sorry people. You don't have a chance to read 'New News' this week because Monday was Christmas Day. ColdPloy went back from snowboard trip with pain all over her body.
Anyway, she would like to dedicate her time writing about her memory when she was interning at Time Out New York. Online Department is awesome. They are all nice, polite, and generous. I don't know anything about other department though because I didn't communicate with them much. TONY Kids has the free bin stuffed with toys, children books, clothes, and sometimes food. I got couple things for Runn and Aiden. Last time I saw an interesting toys. Unfortunately they are too big to carry in the subway.

It seems that ladies here do not do their personal business frequently. Mostly I used their toilet alone and hardly see other girls. It's strange. Usually, the restroom are the most busy area in the corporate world. One thing I like very much is that they prepare lunch and eat together. Lunch could be something that can be prepared easily like salad with mixed green and avocado, or I saw they were having smoke salmon sandwiches one day. One person prepares lunch for 4, and willingly they take turn to do that.

Good cheap lunch and good conversation create unity. Why don't other company think of things like this.

new news

2006-12-18T16:27:00.000-05:00

Headline:'The L Word' Spins Off Its Chart
Date: December 18, 2006
Source: New York Times

Nothing wouldn't be more interesting than social networking website for lesbian. OurChart.com is created accordingly by the hit lesbian show called 'The L Word'. I've never seen this show before since it is on Showtime Networks which i am not a subscriber. Hilary Rosen, a founding partner and the site’s president, said “Every lesbian has their own L world. We thought it would be really interesting to let go of the show in this environment and bring other people’s L worlds into the mix and let them share with each other.” ;-O

Being a straight girl, I am afraid of signing up to the site. I might do that sometimes to see what they are talking about in real world. But I might change my mind later. Who knows. I bet that in the near future you will see many other shows starting the same idea about user-generated content. So much more involvement.

Joke of the Day

2006-12-15T17:12:00.000-05:00

Lina: Hey, Ploy. What are you doing this Friday?
Ploy: This Friday? I have a make-up class. Why?
Lina: Oh really? What are you learning this week? How to apply the eyeshadow or a foundation?
Ploy: ?!!!???!!

new news!

2006-12-11T13:24:00.000-05:00

Headline: In Web Traffic Tallies, Intruders Can Say You Visited Them
Date: December 11, 2006
Source: New York Times

Another online fraud. Nielsen/NetRating, a leading company in measuring Internet traffic, sharply cut its previously reported statistics for the financial Web site Entrepreneur.com to 2 million unique visitors in April, from 7.6 million. Oh wow. That is almost 6 million unique visitors there. The reason is when users visit other sites, new browsers windows pop up containing articles from Entrepreneur.com. The unusual thing is that these pop-ups contain news content, like articles on how to start a small business, making the readers hard to distinguish from an intentional visit to the site itself.
Publishers may use every technique they found to gain readers’ eyeballs in order to generate more money. Moreover, push traffic is very common now. You can push your ad pop-up, pop-down, pop-under, pop-left, pop-right .. blah blah blah. However, these ads should be factored out clearly and left alone the true unique visitors.

Joke of the day

2006-12-10T20:05:00.000-05:00

m: good morning, miss p.
miss p: good morning, m.
m: how're things?
miss p: same old shit.
m: different flies?
miss p: ??!!??!!

Casino Royale

2006-12-05T18:46:00.000-05:00

My friends and I have repeatedly heard that the new James Bond movie, Casino Royale, is awesome! It's a must see movie. OK. I risked my $11 and have to say that it's worth $10.25 of my money. Classic action at the beginning of the movie; bad guy tries to escape by running away vertically, meaning he runs high up to the sky. Strange but that scene is very exciting. Of course, there is a scene of Bond fighting his opponent in the fast-running car; Bond with his gadgets. I couldn't remember last time I went to see the movie and my eyes were covered with my hands. This movie really made me do that. I've hardly seen an action movie lately because I am sick of over computer-generated scenes. Not mention the fact that I am getting old and have on interest in an action movie anymore. However, Casino Royale is surprisingly good!

Lots of quotes from the movie. My favorite one is here:

Vesper Lynd: How was your lamb?
James Bond: Skewered. One sympathizes.

Now I fall in love with Eva Green.

new news!

2006-12-04T14:49:00.000-05:00

Headline: As Ad Costs Rise, a Move to Challenge Pay-Per-Click

Advertisers on the new shopping sites such as Jellyfish.com, TheFind.com and MyTriggers.com typically pay only when someone actually buys something or when users view an ad. The cost-per-action advertising approach should yield a better user experience, since shoppers were shown products most relevant to them—not simply the items from the highest-paying advertisers. Existing shopping sites like Shopping.com, Shopzilla and PriceGrabber are not daunted by this new competitions. They reported that the company will improve the website and recently began testing a service in which customers can pay for their purchases on the site without clicking away to the retailer.

Brooklyn Museum

2006-12-03T23:45:00.000-05:00

Second time to Brooklyn Museum. This time I enthusiastically wanted to see Annie Leibovitz: A Photographer’s Life, 1990-2005. I know her from P’O, one of my friend’s friends, who works for her several years ago. Let me remind you, her acclaim work is the portrait of pregnant Demi Moore (the real photos is awesome.) The exhibition room seems to look too small to fit her valuable works of more than 200 photographs. Not mention people who flock to the 5th floor to see her works. I have seen her several published books and been admiring portraits of celebrities and public figures. She says, “I don’t have two lives. This is one life, and the personal pictures and the assignment work are all part of it.” Going to this exhibition is like looking through all her works in one place, plus her personal life photos I haven’t seen before. Read review from Time Out New York.

Ploy says, “I don’t have two lives either. So I’d say RECOMMENDED!!!”

Ron Mueck’s exhibition is great as well. He is the sculptor from Australia. His work either smaller than life-size or monumental (like pictured here, you can see real human compared to the sculpture.) are so lifelike—with veins, wrinkles, sagging skin and body hair. Oh well, I wouldn’t be surprised if these sculptures actually breathe and blink their eyes. There are the videos showing the procedure of how he does his works which is pretty cool too. They said there are eleven works shown here in the museum. I am trying to think what I have seen there; (1) a giant infant, (2) Dead Dad, (3) Mask II (self portrait), (4) Wild Man (a nearly nine-foot-tall sculpture of a naked, bearded man, (5) a guy in a boat, (6) a fat guy sitting at the corner, (7) a sleeping couple, (8) a guy on the wall, (9) a face of an African-American girl, (10) In Bed (pictured here), (11) two old ladies. Oh wow, I had all 11.

Fast Company

2006-12-01T13:20:00.000-05:00

Jayson A. Goldberg and Peter Cowles from Fast Company were the guest speakers the other day. They both are awesome, intelligent, knowledgable, smart and know what they do. They presented an amazing facts which is 84% of adults whoeare are 18 years old and older read magazines. This number comes from Magazine Publishers of America. Can you believe that? I wonder though. How many actully subscribe to the magazines?

Here are what in my scribbled notes:
• 20 years from now print still being around; the readers have to the power over the medium. If they like the magazine, they’ll subscriber forever.
• Think about where you read the magazine and think about the e-magazine and its device.
• Teens engage in magazines more than in TV.
• 19% of Fast Company’s subscriber both read the magazine and surf the site.
• How does print play a role in the new integrated media mix?
• Sale preparation is very important. How'd your sale rep answer the question "how your magazine stand out?"
• Know your product and your competition. Also know your market and identify the right oportunities.
• Newsstand sale = Editorial
• Revenues = active business + businees in the past + business in the future
• You need to play to WIN, not to compete

Joke of the day!

2006-11-28T15:50:00.000-05:00

Alice: When is your Graduation Ceremony?
Ploy: In May.
Alice: Is your Mom coming?
Ploy: Of course, she is.
Alice: What about your Dad? Is he coming too?
Ploy: Nah, he is not. I've been convincing him to come to the States but he's afraid of flying and, hmm, Americans!
Alice: I am afraid of Americans too
Ploy: !!!!!!

new news!

2006-11-27T14:11:00.000-05:00

I've decided to post interesting news every Monday. Starting this week, the article is from NY Times posted on Monday November 27, 2006

Headline: Seeking Executive to Tame the Digital Future

The article reported that there’s been a stampede of change involving the top Internet executives at big media company. For example, AOL, Time Warner, Rupert Murdock of News Corporation and CBS. I guess the changing is somewhat related to the ever-growing of the Internet. Looking at job description, I was wondering who have the ability to take all the stuff one company produce for other formats, like TV, print, or film, and figure out how to shovel it onto the Internet in a way that makes money. Chief Digital Office (CDO), if there is one, really needs to have an enormous vision in a way that no one has before. Putting content up into the website is super easy; I can do it. But making money (revenues--I am sick of this word) out of them is a different story and yet more difficult. Multiplatform is a big concern in most, I’d say all, companies now. Of course, users expect to get more when they consume the product; Oh hey look! I subscribe to the magazine and I get free access to the site (in order to get more content than other people), be able to download some content to my iPod and listen to it while I am in the bathroom. More content, more power ;-)

Digital media just make your life easy, really?

Enduring Love

2006-11-25T17:08:00.000-05:00

Second movie this weekend! The advantage of watching a movie in free channel is that you get a chance to watch an old movie or movies you've never heard about them before. Because you don't have to spend your money, you are not expecting that the movies have to be good. You can turn it off anytime you'd like.

Being captured in the lovely romance moment, this Enduring Love was picked right after De-Lovely. The plot is about a young professor witnesses a tragedy of a guy who dies from helping a kid escaping from the falling hot air balloon. Living in the world of guilt, the professor keeps blaming himself of not be able to save this poor guy's life. And here's come the stalker who even makes his life more miserable. Watch it for yourself. Surprisingly, I didn't turn the TV off.

Witnessing the tragedy is terrible. However, you need to let it go after you witnessed it. The innocent people who are not involved in the tragedy might get hurt if you are not learning to move on with your life. They love you and care about you. So don't be selfish and learn to let go.

De-Lovely

2006-11-25T12:42:00.000-05:00

My life after the business plan is wonderful; went out with FOF girls, went to Uncle Sanit's B-day party, Brian's going away party at Snafu, pre-Thanksgiving party at Jersey house and Thanksgiving party at Barbuto. Thanksgiving party might be a littble crazy, however, it was great to be invited in this American cultural thing.

Last night I was watching the movie called De-Lovely. It's about the life of American composer Cole Porter. I don't understand how and why a straight girl can fall in love with a gay guy and being very supportive to him after breaking her heart. All the songs are well-written and sung by lots of musical performers; Diana Krall, Robbie Williams, Elvis Costello, Alanis Morissette, Sheryl Crow... didn't know this untill looking at the credit at the end of movie. Natalie Cole sang "Ev'ry Time We Say Goodbye"

Everytime we say goodbye I die a little
Everytim we say goodbye I wonder why a little
Why the gods above me who must be in the know
Think so little of me, they allow you to go

And when you're near there's such an air of spring about it
I can hear a lark somewhere begin to sing about it
There's no love song finer but how strange the change from major to minor
Everytime we say goodbye

It's De-Lovely isn't it?

cookable.com

2006-11-21T14:18:00.000-05:00

"Good evening ladies and gentlemen. My name is Ploy Srisuro. Tonight I'd like to present a project that I hope would make my mother proud...."

I just finished presenting my thesis last Tuesday. After had been in hell for couple weeks, now I am back and can feel life again. I am not sure what I’ve learned from writing my paper. However it might be a good idea if I listed some of my questions asked by panel. For example, how big is the market that I wanted to share, how does my organizational structure work, how did I come up with $1M, how’d I know if the users submit a ‘fake’ recipe, importantly, how’d I advertise my site and get traffic. They were all practical questions. I don’t know what the right answers are; however, I did answer them all.

Surely, writing a business plan is more like a pain. You have to think of everything associated with your idea; your staff, your office, rent, equipment, depreciation expenses, revenues, expenses, oh not to mention calculating the financial statements. No wonder why I felt like I was in hell. As your business grows (supposedly), you still have to think of what need to be added, deducted and maintain. I don’t think that I’ll be an entrepreneur in this life. However, Linda, one of my classmates, came to me and said 'Ploy, your mom'd be proud of you!'

Hello World!

2005-12-09T22:39:00.000-05:00

It's time for me to do something else. I have heard about the blog quite a while and dicided to have my own blog. Hope everything went well. Welcome to my world!