Lion King

08.23.04 (12:25 am)

Just went to see the musical in San Fran. It was definitely one of my favorites. The costumes were just amazing and the dancing was exceptional. However, the singing was not up to standard of highest Broadway musicals. It could have been better. That did not take away from the incredible experience that the show is. I highly recommend the show to those who have not seen it yet. Although there were some new songs/music/dialogs, it mostly follows the movie version, which is definitely one of my favorite movies. Knowing the songs/music/dialogs did not detract me from enjoying the show as a whole. - eben

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Small hope

08.17.04 (11:33 pm)

Well, it's been a while since my last blog. I finally have some good news on job front, I think. I got an interview scheduled on Thursday at my past manager's company. It probably will pay less than I want but it's a paying job. I really need one at this time. I also went to a company I consulted for just stock and talked to the CEO. I told him I will come back for pay this time plus stock and he said he will think about it. I would say 50/50 chance but it's better than zero at this moment. Rest of my life have been pretty boring. I watched a lot of movies lately thanks to Netflix.com. Nothing really special that I can remember. I am a movie junkie as you probably found out. I will watch anything including some bad "B" movies to foreign films to indies. I did do see Collateral the other day. I really like the movie, I thought Jamie Foxx was just brilliant in his role. I am not much of Tom Cruise fan but I thought he did a good job in the movie as a villian. He should do more of those roles. I would give 9/10. I am about to give up my hope to be a professional poker player. I have been playing on and off online just to learn the game. I did fairly well but not good enough I don't think. These are small time, $10-30 buy in tournaments. I have played single table no limit hold'em tournaments and did ok. Won a couple of them, came in second a couple of times and just out of money, ie 4th place a bunch of times. On big multiple table tournaments, I have came in as high as 21st out of 200. The money spot started out at 20th so I just missed it. So, it seems I am better than average player but I don't think I can make a living at it. I probably give up or play when I am bored. This weekend is "Lion King". I am a fanatic about Broadway musical and I am looking forward to this one. I have seen most of the classic musicals and many of the modern ones. I really enjoy the show at any level, from professional to college production. I have seen over 200 shows in the past and saved all the programs from shows I have seen since high school days. I have them in a scrap book. It's sad that I won't be able to see any more shows due to financial issues. I hope to get a job so I can see more shows in the future. Well, it's late and I have to get up early. I am going to San Fran to a show. It's a Seybold, graphics conference. It should be pretty good. I enjoy doing graphic arts for fun on the side. I have done few things for friends and have thought about doing it for living at one point but I don't have the artistic talents to make it. I will post some of the work I have done in the past. - eben

3 Comments

I give up

08.11.04 (6:11 pm)

Well, I think I just about give up on women and dating in general. i don't know what the deal is but I just can't seem to meet the right woman. I met a woman at a party the other night, the BBQ I posted earlier. We hit off very well. I mean when a woman smiles at you when you look at her, isn't that a good clue that she is interested in? She flirted with me the whole night. I thought things were going well. She gave me her email address. I waited a couple of days and sent her an email asking her if she wants to meet for lunch or something. She sent an email back saying that she's not interested in anything more than just friendship. Not only that, she said she hooked up with someone at the party and going to start dating him. I mean how unlucky do I have to be? I mean, I haven't had a chance to meet someone new for a while and finally I get a chance and things turn out like this. I feel frustrated. If she is turning me down because she is interested in just dating one person, good luck to her. The guy she is interested in is the guy that I posted about before, the one who flirted with someone else while dating someone and got mad at me for mentioning that he was dating someone. When does bad karma kick in here? Oh well, I give up. - eben

3 Comments

Love of songs

08.08.04 (12:14 am)

Well, I went to my friend's BBQ tonight and had a blast. I went with my sister and the pretence was that I was to introduce her to my friend John. Well, bottomline is that I don't think thing went well. I think he like my sister but I don't think my sister like him. Oh well, I tried. Anyways, we ate tons of food and then we did karaoke. I ended singing a bunch of songs really let myself lose. I haven't done that in a while. I just had FUN... I also met someone there. I thought she was terrific. I got her email address and I think I will give send her something in a couple of day. On the job front, I actually got a phone call from a real live recruiter. I was in shock. I am not sure if I match the job perfectly but I did my best to sell myself to that job. I mean, this is the first bite I had in a long time. I will see where it leads to. Well, it's late and I am tire. Maybe when I am awake more, I can be more clever. - eben

2 Comments

What would you do?

08.06.04 (12:15 am)

I am kind of lost at words right now. Someone that I know, not really a friend but an acquantance, approached me today with a shocking news about my bahavior. I don't really know how to take it. He feels that I have a big mouth, basically. What he said was that when he told me some stuff, although he didn't say it was in confidence, I told someone else and it came back to him. This sounds like a high school stuff but he was serious. Once he started to date this woman and told me everything was going great. Next he and others got together with me, I told others that he started to dating someone. He showed up late and when he did, he started to flirt with one of the girls. I kind of not thinking asked him how his girlfriend was. I just thought it was a public knowledge. He brought this up with one other example and said few people thinks that I have a big mouth and should not have told anyone about this. I felt kind of weird after hearing that. My personal philosophy is that unless someone tells me it's in confidence, I will talk about it in a group. I figure if it's not in confidence, it's a fair game when talking to a group of people. If you don't want others to know, you say please do not say anything to others. When told in confidence, I always keep it to myself. Was I wrong to assume that when people tell you things about their relationships, it's public information? Was I that wrong in assuming that? - eben

3 Comments

Movies

08.03.04 (9:11 pm)

First of all, now I know for sure why I love DVDs and my big screen TV. I went to a movie today and some of the teenagers in the back were so annoying and loud, I almost left the theater. It ruined my enjoyment. I would rather watch them at home if I have a choice, althought the I can't see them right after they are released. Did I tell you I love movies? I have a subscriptions to Netflix.com and it's god sent. Since I am not working now, I am watching between 5-10 movies per week. I have a queue of 100 movies almost all the time and watch anything that intrigues me. I do tend to lean toward Sci-fi, Suspence, Foreign and Indie films. I have probably watched over 1200 movies in last 10 years. Back to the movie, it was the Villiage. Although some critics panned it, I enjoyed it. I thought the suspence was there and the twist to the plot left me saying "huh, never suspected that." I won't spoil the ending but it's worth seeing for the ending alone. I would give it a 8/10. - eben

5 Comments

Another chapter

08.03.04 (9:03 pm)

Well, it's been a few days since I posted my last blog. Not that I was lazy but just been busy with a few things. Not having a job can do that for you. It can drive you insane or just give you clear mind to do things. The job situation is getting critical. My unemployment is about to run out in a month. I have enough reserves to last me until end of August. I don't know what I am going to do after that. I guess I can re-finance my house and get some cash out to survive more but I really have to find something very soon. I have been sending out a steady stream of resumes, about 3-5 per day, but I haven't heard a thing so far. I am getting a bit desperate out here. I am finding out that once I am in panic, I do some strange things that I never thought I would do. First of these is that serious consideration of change of career. One of thing I thought about was professional poker player. I mean I saw the World Series of Poker on TV. First time amateurs were winning the big pot. So, instead of writing blogs, I went on the internet to play poker tournaments against other players. The results were mixed. I managed to win a few tournaments, mostly $5-$20 entry fees, but lost a lot more. After losing a few hundred dollars in a couple of weeks, I gave up that idea. Then next thing that came to my mind was to write a book. I always wanted to write a book about something that I know. So, I started the book, wrote the first paragraph and got the writer's block. It's been a couple of days and I haven't gone back to it yet. I will do that soon. I still think the book is worth writing but it won't pay me in next month. So, back to sending out resumes. There is a local job fair tomorrow starting at noon. I have a bunch of resumes printed out and with an optimism, I will hit the floor and hope to get an interview. We will see. I had a lunch with my ex and she is also looking as well. She's in HR so it may take a bit for her to find a job since recovery takes a while for HR to pick up. She is finishing her master's so she will be done in September. I am so proud of her. Another thought is to go for my PhD rather than go back to work. That would mean I need to cut down my life style to student life again, which I don't mind. However, it's a bit difficult living on student budget when I have a big mortgage to pay (welcome to California). My last option is to just chuck everything and go on the road. Sell my house, all my stuff inside, store what is left, get myself a backpack and a laptop. Just travel the US for next 6 month, year or whatever to just see the country. I think I can last about a year traveling if I did that with proceeds from my house. However, the pratical side of me says no. I mean, I am 42 now, after I come back from the trip, what am I going to do? How would I afford to retire later? That is a huge problem I am not sure if I want to face at that time. So, at this time, I have no clue of what I want to do. I guess find a job then contemplate what I want to do. I will keep you posted. - eben

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