parting words

Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.
- Frost

All good things

I'll be honest- I think this is the end of this blog, for now. I can't explain all my reasons immediately, however someday I will. At the very least consider this a sabbatical. Well it's not so bad, we had a good run, yes?

So, for now, farewell.

KH

Saturday- SF Lovefest

Ever hear of the Love Parade in Berlin ? Well a similar madness is going to descend in SF tomorrow, i.e. the 2007 SF Lovefest. Basic formula: DJs from all over the world + a parade with floats + freaks from all over the world = fun and amusing sights to be documented. I've decided that I need 2 cameras i.e. a DSLR (which, yes, I have yet to pick up, note to self: get on it) and I need a regular thin pocket digital camera. So tomorrow I'll pick up the regular digital cam, and head over to Lovefest. More than the freaks, I'm looking forward to the music: most of these DJs I haven't heard since...well the late 90s. Wow. I am getting old.

I am human

Been a bit 'meh'. What's on my mind ? Everything and nothing in particular. Maybe The Smiths can help explain:



Pure genius. Exactly what I had imagined in my mind's eye for this song, one that I love.

Smallville Premiere

So the wait is over. The Smallville premiere, sort of hit all the predictable 'highs' i.e. it was very...obvious. It didn't really kick major ass- even the opening sequence- which can be counted on for some action- was really gay. Rather than introduce any new plot elements, the episode was tightly focused on tying up 'loose' ends rather too neatly in my estimation. The recurring theme was 'Look I'm dead...No I'm not !". Which, about 4 times, isn't much of a surprise at all. So the quick strokes are simple- here's what happened (what I still have to say 'Spoiler Alert' ?):

• There are new opening credits- they rock ! And they hint at a new character...SUPERGIRL
• Clark defeats Bizarro Clark- realizes that Bizarro Clark is his exact opposite i.e. gets stronger with Kryptonite, weaker from the sun. However at the end Bizarro seems to be 'rescued' by ? after Clark uppercuts him into the atmosphere (literally)
  
• Lex is dead- but no he's alive!- is saved by this shimmering image of girl who looks like an angel- he takes this to be a revelation and 'turns over a new leaf' or become Born Again essentially- very lame
• Chloe is dead- but no she's alive ! So yes Chloe lives (the gift of life is her meteor freak ability)
  
• Lana is dead- but no she's alive ! So yes Lana lives...in China (I'm not kidding)
• Bizarro pinched Lois' ass- she obviously mistook him for Clark- and later made Clark apologize...possibly starting the Lois Lane + Clark Kent affair ?
  

At the end we see, who I imagine, Supergirl- she's so NOT hot, all I can say is that she has a little porky nose. All in all, it was a solid if somewhat unspectacular beginning to the new season. I really hope they pick things up- the series really needs to take it up a notch, and really grow up.

well with a name like that...

So the goalkeeper for the US women's soccer team is Hope Solo. With a name like that, if she has a son, don't you feel that she is obligated to name him Han ? She has to, there's no way out of it. It's perfect.

A random memory- I was in Chicago for some random business trip, staying in this really fancy hotel. I was on the 15th floor, going to the lobby...minding my own business...thinking how mundane life is...just minding my own business...whistling a tune in my head...when the elevator stops, the door opens, and a FEMALE BODYBUILDER walks in. I was like whaaaaaat the fuuuuuuuck. She had one of those level 5 tans, she was like hot dog brown. Oh and she was RIPPED, I'm talking like vein bulging biceps big, like her tits were like frozen burger patties. She was wearing a bikini top, and when she turned around, what did I see? Serious back acne. It was glistening and about as hideous as you can imagine. To verify she indeed was on roids, I had to strike up a conversation:

K: "Pretty humid here in Chicago"

FBB (female body builder) in a voice that can only be described as a cross between James Earl Jones and Joan Crawford: "YEAH BUT I'M GOING TO TAN"

K: "... ! "

- elevator ding ! -

K: " See ya..."

FBB: "HAVE A GOOD DAY NOW..."

K: "Give it to me baby"*

FBB: "Oh yeah !"


*This did not happen. She was really really scary. Ugh.

The Sundays

You should love this song:

photobooth

I was messing around with a friend's new macbook @ Stanford this weekend. This picture was taken with the camera that's built into the laptop using a neat software called photobooth, (although my left eye looks bruised- it's not). I was quite surprised at the quality (good). Anyways it's black and white, which I typically find ridiculously pretentious (it's so 1997), but I think works in this situation. I am quite tempted to buy a macbook pro.

E300 Sport

It's love at first sight. I think I'm going to buy the new Mercedes E300. It's beautiful. It may seem that I fill this inherent void in my life with objects of desire, and maybe to small degree that's true, however to my credit I have to indulge in the following:

• Nikon D80
• macbook pro,
• Titanium Omega Seamaster
• ipod (yes I resisted the siren call to date)

So will I splurge on the new Benz?? Well I'd be lying if I said I didn't want to...I really do. Well maybe I'll sleep on it. Here she is:

It's Over

So. I'm back. For the last three months, I cannot begin to explain how intense things have been at work. This morning at 830 am we had a client presentation- a presentation we built for the six days non-stop. That means I was getting home from work at about midnight...every night.

It was really the perfect storm of fuckage: One project that wasn't supposed to pose any demands ended up having two ad-hoc deliverables back to back, the consultant on my project went on vacation for a week, and I couldn't get additional help, so the squeeze play on i.e. I got crushed with work, ergo working till midnight. The good news: everything got done. The bad news: I barely slept and ate, and generally ran myself into the ground.

What did I do today? Well we presented to the executive team of a $250 million organization- who absolutely loved our work. Mostly I learned a lot. I saw my 'boss', Arrow, answer tough questions. I understood what it takes to build credibility. I had a brief glimpse of my future- as a trusted adviser (except in my diabolical case, I'd be a Svengali ! ) Mostly I learned that success is built one day at a time, and that, I, have much to learn.

BFF

Ron Burgundy

I know some people may find this humor ridiculous, but Anchorman was funny:

Ron Burgundy: I don't know how to put this but I'm kind of a big deal
Veronica: Really
Ron Burgundy: People know me
Veronica: Well, I'm very happy for you
Ron Burgundy: I'm very important. I have many leather-bound books and my apartment smells of rich mahogany

You stay classy San Diego :)

Needed...

So in the past two weeks here's what's happened to some friends:

- One friend had a breakdown and is essentially headed for a mental asylum
- Another friend got divorced
- And yet another friend has decided to file for divorce
- And finally a certain friend is rewriting a year of thesis work in a month

Here

Friends (fans)

I'm here. Just sinking slowly to the bottom. Buried under a pile of work. I had an ad-hoc deliverable that came up for one of my projects- long story but basically involved us saving the day for a client, I've been really swamped, yet I have to make time for such bs. What else have I been doing? Working 80 hours a week, acting as a tour guide, working late, getting to work early etc. I got to work today to find out I was staffed on ANOTHER project. I was shocked. The next two weeks are going to be hell. Other than that I had a fever yesterday. Oh I took a quiz: Which Sesame Street character are you? I turned out to be...Oscar the Grouch.

Hahaha! How true? I hope I'm not that bad. Probably some truth to it.

I hate my life right now.

:) Oscar

Afghan

A picture and a story that epitomizes a nation

Sorry

I've been really busy with work. Haven't had a chance to write. Cool news from today? I went across the Golden Gate Bridge for the first time. My first impression? Well it's a lot smaller than I imagined. In my estimation the Verrazano Bridge is far more grandiose.

Maria in New York

Sharapova has her moments when she looks quite striking. Other times she looks like just another colorless blonde. Nothing that a red dress in New York won't fix ! I like this picture, however I would've moved her over to block out that concrete pillar (buttress?), or just photoshop it. Either way, nice picture given that's she's 6'1 and wearing a red dress on an overcast day. Cool.

El Bulli

Someday I'd like to dine @ El Bulli. Just for the experience of enjoying a 3 Michelin star restaurant, that would be interesting, no? Apparently Ferran Adria, the chef, is a genius:

Santi Santamaria will offer on his menu rack of lamb, and the dish you will receive will quite possibly turn out to be the best of its kind you'll ever taste. At El Bulli you won't eat rack of lamb - or anything recognisable as such. What you will eat is something like the 30-dish package I consumed the one time I went there in 1998. I had, among other things, pistachios and ice-cream and consommé and raviolis. That was how the menu described them, but when they arrived - each a little painted sculpture - it turned out that the pistachios came in the form of a sherbet lolly; the ice-cream was parmesan, sandwiched in parmesan wafers; the consommé consisted of three parts: transparent but richly tasty tomato water, bright red watermelon cubes and little green balls of basil foam; the raviolis looked like raviolis but were made not with pasta but with calamari meat and when you bit into them a warm gel of coconut, mint and ginger oozed onto your tongue, around the inner lining of your cheeks and down your throat.

Excerpt from a great article in the Guardian.

Remy's Bath

No folks there will no embarrassing wee-wee pix. I don't know why parents insist upon taking baby pix in such uncompromising positions- it's not like babies have any clue what's going on; they are just a source of endless embarrassment later on in life. I, luckily, avoided that fate, as I spent the first year of my life living with my grandmother.

Anyways, Remy's still very squishy looking, but then again he's only a week old ! I think he felt really sleepy after the bath. Can't wait to see him in October :)

One Hundred Years of Solitude

So today I was reading about One Hundred Years of Solitude (my way of cheating to see if I'll like the book- I know, lame)

Anyways, it seemed a bit much for my feeble little brain, at least for the time being. As it 'crosses genres, combining elements of history, magical realism, and pure fiction.' Yikes. Also one peek at the family tree and I was like, whoa. It was quite 'A Suitable Boy'esque.

Right now my mind is getting completely bent by Neuromancer. Which may be the greatest sci-fi novel ever. It's good, but I must admit there are times when I have no clue what's going. Typically I find that frustrating, but I've managed to work my way through it. As for 100 Years, well maybe I'll start it when I go to New York next month.

Hidalgo

I like watching random movies on tv. Right now I'm watching Hidalgo. Oh how the mighty have fallen. Omar Sharif is really really god awful in it. He's playing the cliche Arab sheikh. Ouch.