Annie

picture dedication time

2004-02-16T12:33:02Z

In honor of Vday, even though it just past, I'd like to post up pics of the people I love in the whole wide world - MY FAMILY!!!

my mom and dad...aww they can still look like two "young" lovebirds! haha...

I've got love for my sistas! miss them very much...

oh here's a glimpse of Vday w/ new friends =)
yummy cake!

chill'n at Maggie's new pad (the lovely lady in the magenta shirt)

at the bar later that night

laucarmen @ 2004-02-16T19:15:00

2004-02-16T11:18:54Z

Up in Shenzhen right now...feeling drained as usual. Something about sitting on your ass all day in front of a computer really sucks the life outa you...can't even think right now...

I need to recharge myself. Must go dancing this weekend! Aghgh, it's funny how it can be so easy to just think about how to party so that you don't have to think about the stuff that makes you scratch your head =P. Did you catch that? run-on, yes i know =P.

MmKay, too braindead to write anything intellectually stimulating!

To see how i spent my Valentine's day, just click on the link below!

http://www.snapfish.com/share/p=445161076931513323/l=23760366

cheers to my friends' finding their happiness

2004-02-13T03:47:55Z

Aghghghghhhhhhhh they're too cute for words!

I recently got pics from Aiko and Crystal, and just couldn't resist showing off their men, b/c they're so incredibly happy, which makes me all smiles =D.

Aiko and Noah...OoH lala
Time for her man to bake some "bagels" for us! hahaha..sorry couldnt' resist!

Daaayyaaamm! Yup...bigger than any "heads" that i've ever seen! muuahhhhahaha
sososo sweet aren't they??

Ooh and cheers to another happy couple, Willa and Andrew! Too bad I dont' have a pic to post up, but everyone knows just how in love they are! WoOoHOOO!

drained

2004-02-09T12:47:31Z

Blah blah blah. Here I am! Haha, I love checking my friends journals, but I usually have no energy to write in mine. I guess it's more interesting to read about your friends' thoughts than typing mine out. I always get writers-block when i'm sitting in front of my livejournal. I guess it's like, here's a blank page, write something! Then i'm like, ughhhhh...i dunno! =\

Like I have tons of time now to just think, think, think. I used to never have so much free time to think, but i guess public transportation and walking leaves you nothing else to do but to think. I think when i'm taking the bus, the mtr, when i'm working out, or when i'm walking to the gym(like a 20 min walk). So yeah, thoughts run through my mind, but I never get to write them out when i'm in front of this damn journal!

I also keep a written journal, and that seems a whole lot easier to write in for some reason.

As I come in contact w/ more and more people, I've come to see that your happiness is all about what you value. For example, looking at the family friend that I live w/, i just call her my aunt for simplicity's sake, I look at how she lives her life, and I can't help but feel sad for her and her kid tammy. Well for one thing, her husband(my dad's childhood best friend) committed suicide a few years ago, leaving her and tammy on their own. I know before that happened, they lived a pretty comfortable life. And they still do. She doesn't work, and i wonder where her money to support her shopping habits and her kid comes from...She is one that values beauty and indulgence, so she spends all this money on makeup, perfume, clothes, shoes. But she wont spend the money to take her kid to go out and play, like an amusement park, or take her out to have nice dinners once in a while. so i see that she values her own beauty more than trying to give her kid a fun childhood. I see tammy, and she's got so much energy and expression, but i feel her childhood is being surpressed and forced to grow up. I mean, her mom already todl her she's not like other children, she has to grow up a lil faster than other kids b/c her dad isnt' there anymore. But I just think it's sad and a pity to have your childhood given up or taken away in this case. But i guess what makes my aunt happy is her own beauty, and she'd rather have that than really live her life and have her daughter live hers too.
She's basically a control freak, and her daughter is her life, and I feel that since she may think her life is out of her control, she needs to control her daughter's that much more...oh man, how sorry am i going to be for any future guy that wants to date Tammy!
Anyway, that thought has been swimming in my head for a while.

laucarmen @ 2004-01-30T15:10:00

2004-01-30T07:19:28Z

I need to start walking with a purpose...But WHERE i want to be walking is big conundrum!

Aghghgh, i miss my friends! Sirena and Aiko sent me pics of their awesome weekend in Tahoe!

Aiko and Kip! Where are my buddies at?!

Haha, Sirena trying out her snowman suit

Look at all the beautiful girls

laucarmen @ 2004-01-09T12:54:00

2004-01-09T05:04:17Z

I had one last hurrah with my friends Janeille, Cathy, and Chau on Janeille's bday! Oh man, how i miss hanging out w/ my female friends. Being around my female friends really rejuvenates me. Just hanging out, laughing, and dancing with my good friends, these things are priceless to me. After hanging out w/ simon for so long, I almost forgot how wonderful it is to connect with my female counterparts.
OK, i'm going to try and see if my pictures will work! We took some pictures of our night out in the city!
I'll post them soon. I can't seem to get ofoto working at the moment.

laucarmen @ 2004-01-08T15:22:00

2004-01-08T07:31:54Z

Crystal visited me last week!
Here are some pics to recap our day in Hong Kong:

At the Peninsula Hotel

At Times Square in Causeway Bay

On the Star Ferry to Central

AT Ripley's Believe it Or Not, at Victoria Peak

Took them to the hot spot in HK

View of Hong Kong at The Peak

Happy 2004!

Crystal, I hope you had a good time in Hong Kong! Come back and visit!

laucarmen @ 2003-12-23T20:58:00

2003-12-23T13:04:04Z

Yup, i admit it, i'm horrible at this lj updating. But hey, at least i do update, even if it is once in a blue moon =P.

SooOo, what's new in annie's life...ummmmmmmm same shit! I'm up in Shenzen working right now, but i'm going back down to HK tomorrow afternoon. I'll be having a fatty christmas eve dinner w/ a 14 lb turkey! woohOooo!!! sounds like my kind of party! Oh man, i didn't even have turkey on thanksgiving day =(. So it's time to make up for it!
As for other things that are going on...pretty much work and hanging out w/ simon. Speaking of work, i just can't wait until we can finalize our designs on the body jewelry and start manufacturing the samples! Then i can finally start trying to market and sell this stuff. I've got ideas of where and who to market the jewelry to, but how to, is another matter...help!
I want to go hoommeee next month for my bday! Need to see if i can leave a lil early to go back to the states...
hmm, sometimes i wonder if i really do play games...

laucarmen @ 2003-12-03T16:31:00

2003-12-03T08:33:17Z

It f'ckn stinks like shit when i walk outside the factory grounds. peeeee-yewwwww! I want to go back to sanity and cleanliness(well more than here) now! but i've got to wait til later tonight...arghhghhghhghghghhhhhhhh

laucarmen @ 2003-11-27T16:21:00

2003-11-27T08:18:11Z

When I went to Stanley and Repulse Bay. Enjoy!
(i hope the pictures turn out!)

laucarmen @ 2003-11-27T14:49:00

2003-11-27T06:45:29Z

Ughghghghh, i'm so full right now. Just had an enormous lunch w/ the other office people. But it was sOoOooOooo gooood! I love eating =).

Okay, first off i'm in happier spirits now! More or less. I dunno, the past couple weeks were hard, but i'm adjusting and I've got people looking out for me at work.

SOoO, Ken, Jon, and Jennifer, you guys peeping at my journal aye?! Special special me =). My cousins DO care! hahahahha.
Okay, so yeah, get ready to have fun! I'll find the hip happening spots here, don'tcha worry. Get ready!!!

laucarmen @ 2003-11-21T17:29:00

2003-11-21T09:31:35Z

........

laucarmen @ 2003-11-11T15:35:00

2003-11-11T07:42:06Z

I find myself not wanting to be home when my aunt and her daughter is...it's just been tough adjusting and getting accustomed to their lifestyle at home. I feel so restricted and stressed out! My aunt is very meticulous about where everything goes (OCD!), and is very very very patronizing, even to me! WEll of course she doesn't yell at me like she doesn her daughter, but just to hear it streses me out. I mean i know she has good intentions w/ everything, but dude, I'm just not used to it. So I try not to be home for too long when I'm there. So now I'm at the Hong Kong Central library (which is pretty damn big and nice), catching up on emails and looking for some books.
*sigh*, things have been kinda slowing down now, i need to pick up the pace and stop dwadling =\.

laucarmen @ 2003-11-09T23:04:00

2003-11-09T15:07:41Z

I am in Hong Kong!!
My feelings since i've been here:
lonely
frustrated
nostalgic
unsure
confused
depressed
irritated
just sad
worried

yet...
excited
pensive
optimistic
hopeful

hmm more negative than positive...hopefully that will change soon

laucarmen @ 2003-11-01T19:13:00

2003-11-02T03:30:20Z

Aghghhghghgh! I'm really leaving now! I'll be on the plane by noon tomorrow! Craazzzyyyyy. I'm finally going back to what I longed for when I first came back to the states 6 months ago. But now, I'm finding it hard to leave! I guess I'll be getting used to going and leaving...I mean I'm attracted to the kind of lifestyle where i get to experience different countries, environments, people. I find it really fascinating and fun. I can't stand monotony. I like things upbeat, going, dynamic.

laucarmen @ 2003-11-01T00:42:00

2003-11-01T08:53:34Z

Some recent pics. . .

Willa, Tamiko, and I at the Element party last saturday

Priscilla and I taking a break from dancing =).

Colin, Sherry, and I at lunch on thursday. I met them at the AAJA conference in August. They're super fly ;), they are future journalists of america =).

Well tonight was Halloween! I spent it w/ my family seeing that i'm leaving so soon, I wanted to devote more time to them. Jess and I spent some quality time watching Indiana Jones:the raiders of the lost ark =). I love Indie films!! There is something wildly appealing and enrapturing about adventure/fantasy films! Watching films like Indiana Jones bring back memories of my childhood days of watching classics like Superman and Mcgiver(sp?) (sorry no star wars!). I think our dad had a lot to do w/ sparking out interest in them. He's a fan of these movies/shows, so he would have us watch them w/ him.
Anyway, i have one more full day left in the good ol U.S. of A. Aghghghgk! I get so easily nostalgic =P. I'm already homesick! But i'm also very excited to see what's ahead in my life. So can't waste time being frustrated and anxious. Carpe Diem baby!

laucarmen @ 2003-10-29T22:12:00

2003-10-30T06:27:57Z

Oops, I forgot to mention that I also got to see my sweet friend Marissa this past Saturday =)! She's definitely one of the warmest, most generous, and caring person I know. I didn't get a chance to see her when I was down in socal, but she came up this past weekend, so we got to hang out for a little bit in cozy, quaint Palo Alto.
And today was my second to last day at the tv station. I think I'm really going to miss it! I'm starting to get to know the other staff at the station, and they're pretty cool. But I guess life goes on and I won't ever forget my experiences there. I'll take what I learned from there and apply to my future experiences. I never thought I'd work at a tv station in a million years, it seemed so far-fetched to be working in one. Even though it isn't a big network like NBC or something, I think working at KMVT has given me so much more than a big network could have. And meeting and getting to know people like my producer, Wendy, really gives me hope that being optimistic, passionate, and believing in all that's good in the world, that things you fight for w/ conviction will happen some day. She has given me some life lessons that I will carry w/ me down whatever paths I take. One lesson she recently expelled to me is to fight for creativity in life. Try to find a job that won't consume your life even outside of work hours. That way you will have room to explore your creativity, which I think is good for the soul...

laucarmen @ 2003-10-28T19:43:00

2003-10-29T03:55:33Z

Just woke up from a 2 hour nap! Oh man, haven't had one of those in a long ass time. I'm all groggy now =\, bleh.
Hmm, so I have...like 4 and a half days left before I'm outa here! It's so unreal...I'm going about my days like how I usually do, so it doesn't feel like I'm really really going yet. Well tonight i plan to start packing a little...maybe it'll really start to kick in. I mean I've been saying goodbye to people and telling people at work I'm leaving soon, but it still doesn't feel like I am. I had a really good weekend, got to do all the things I love to do! Which is dance and eat =). Thursday I partied with Mike, Diana, Rosanna, Susan, and my cousins. I especially felt the love from Rosanna, b/c her foot was in a brace from her surgery. And she still came out! She knew I was leaving and wanted to party w/ me =)! Woweee!
Then Friday I went out to dinner w/ the fatphuck crew(my group of friends that shared the love of eating! It includes Amy, April, Priscilla, and Mike). We went out to North Beath in the City and ate at The House, this asian-fusion restaurant. It was pretty good, but the portions are kinda dinky.
Then comes Saturday, I partied it up at an Element party at Whisper Lounge in SF. Fun times fun times...friends, drinking, dancing, what else can i ask for???
And now, it's Tuesday night...and I started packing! I almost filled up my first suitcase, mostly w/ my jackets, jeans/pants, and long-sleeve shirts. I'm going to be more smart about packing this time around. I know i won't have to pack like 5 tubes of Colgate toothpaste! I thought it was expensive in hk, or so i heard =P.
HmmMMmM, and as for the Simon thing, it's been kinda eh. I don't really even know how it's going to be when i first see him. He's picking me up...I know i'll be happy, but just how happy i dunno. I'm really doubting this guy. As in if he's the right guy for me. I think our values clash, and our mentality on things aren't always in sync. That can pose a major problem in the long run i think. But I dunno, I guess it'll be like a wait and see period when I get to HK. Dum dum dum...!

April double fisting it "Amy style"

What are you picking out MIke?!

laucarmen @ 2003-10-22T16:30:00

2003-10-22T23:33:23Z

HOlay, so i'm back at home now. About a week and a half before i go! oh man! I haven't been as super productive as I wanted to be...due to late night phone distractions, therefore waking up way late =\. I even missed my dentist appointment this morning at 11am! I set my alarm at 9:15 so that i can go running before, but i didn't even hear my alarm, which is really rare. Bleh. Anyway, I have to say that one of the highlights of my week in socal, was clubbing at Highlands!! I had super super fun =). I think it was the mixture of good music, fun people, some alcohol (of course), and just the whole club atmosphere! Okay, so I stole some pics from my friend James's xanga site =P.

My ladies (Sha, Vanessa, Wendy, Sirena)! Whoop whoop!

Wendy, James, and Sha all smiles! Cuz we're having a fantabulous time!

James, Drew, Richie, and Sha! They're so fun! I love 'em!

HeyyYyYyy Wendy, over here!

Dancing away =)

Why does Drew look constipated? James looks a little too happy!

laucarmen @ 2003-10-19T18:26:00

2003-10-20T01:45:45Z

My week of relaxation and indulgence in socal is coming to a close. i got to spend a lot of time with my sister, and met up with my friends. I really can't believe I'll be leaving in 2 weeks! November 2nd is the day! I have SO much to do before I take off. Right now, 2 weeks still seem like a while away, but I know it's just going to creep up on me. Here is a list of things i've got to get done, not necessarily in order of importance:

- finish up my projects for my internship
- tell KmvT staff (wendy,lindsey, and jill) that i'll be leaving =(
- touch up my resume
- email my resume w/ photo to my host in hong kong (she'll help me pass it around, it's all about networking!)
- search for jobs in HK and apply, and hopefully i'll get a response from them by the time I get to HK
- pack pack pack!
- spend time with family and friends!
- and probably a lot more other stuff i can't think of right now...but it'll come to me

Homesickness is already setting in! And I haven't even left yet! But one encouraging statement that my friend Bakie said was, "Take the time to be homesick, b/c it will make you stronger to go through it again." So, it's really not going to be so bad right?? I hope not! I think that if I left for Hong Kong like a month after I got back in May, i wouldn't have a problem to get up and go back. But I've been home for about 6 months now (wow it seems shorter than that), and the comforts of home and friends are getting hard to let go again. I'm going to miss my family and friends TREMENDOUSLY (if you know me, the people in my lives are the world to me), but I have a good feeling about this trip...and I'm going to make the most of it and discover my path to happiness and meaning. With that said, I've got to start taking control of my life, now!

laucarmen @ 2003-09-28T14:55:00

2003-09-28T21:56:06Z

One thing I love about Sundays is that it's the one day out of the week that you can do absolutely nothing and not feel guilty. It is a day I can lounge around at home all day long in my pjs and do whatever I want. Yup, it's my lazy day! Right now, I feel so blah, and am just fine in the comforts of my home, all alone. My dad and Jess are in SF for her soccer tournament, Grace is back down in Irvine, and my mom took a well deserved vacation to Canada w/ her friend. So here I am, taking a lil break from my reading (current book - Rape of Nanking), and waiting for my laundry to dry. Oh and waiting for my new furniture to arrive from Ikea =D. I'm going to replace all my old furniture in my room (it's like 10 years old)with a spank'n new set, thanks to my cousin Ken's fatty student employee discount. Which reminds me, i gotta take that boy out to thank him. So tonight I'll be putting together the piecies of one of my new furniture. WoOHoo! I like doing handy work for some reason. I like sticking, hammering, screwing the pieces together and admiring the finished product. It's fun stuff man! Ohoh! AND, i'll be wating the season premier of Alias (it's 3rd season!)!!!! I'm so EXCITED! So no one dare to disturb me! I won't be answering any calls(even bootycalls ;)), nothing. hehe. Okay, my laundry is done!

ugh!

2003-09-26T19:37:43Z

I felt so dissed last night b/c I got rejected at this club from this powertrip yolked-out bouncer >=I!!!! I am still using my temporary paper drivers license(I got my purse stolen and lost my ID) and my HK ID b/c it has my picture and birthdate on it. Anyway, I've used it everywhere, in SF and SD, and it's ALWAYS worked!Okay, the ONLY time that i got rejected besides this one was at some ghetto bar in downtown SJ, but whatevers. IT's so ghetto how I get rejected at whatever places >=I! I wish I stood up to that mean bouncer, and not act like he can walk all over me. I should have tried harder to explain my situation, but he was so brusque and mean! And when Diana said to the bouncer how it's unfair and that i look of age, the bouncer was like "we dont' accept Taiwan ids, korean ids, nothing that's not massproduced in the US. This is not the middle east." I was thinking WTF?!!?! ITs' not like they're some swanky upscale club, AND that means they're discriminating against people from other countries! I just hate how those meatheads can have so much power when deciding who gets into their clubs. Anywho, it's not worth begging and pleading to get into some damn club. Gosh! So then MIke, diana, and I just left to go to F&A's, this other bar/club. And dayam, can i just say that all the guys there were sOOooooOOOo SHORT! Sheesshhh, so sad. I felt tall there! But I got a pretty good buzz from a couple of drinks, and I got to dance dance dance!! =D At least I got that from the night. Anyway, all them meathead bouncers can all drop dead!

getting on the ball

2003-09-25T02:31:54Z

OK, so two days ago I started to get my ass up and do something productive! I went to the bookstore to check out some books that could be of some help in guiding me towards how I should approach the big question mark looming over my head. It was Simon who suggested I go to the bookstore, b/c he's reading this self-help book called Create Your Own Future that he thinks may be of some help to me. The bookstore(Borders at Santana Row) didn't have it, but I did come across a couple books that sparked my interest. My eyes landed on these self-help books for women. This one book was titled "Play like a Man, Win like a Woman" by Gail Evans. So I browsed through it, and I realized that the author of this book was one of the panelists of a seminar I went to at the Asian American Journalist Association Convention! Anyway, the book sparked my interest b/c it had a lot of good insights and suggestions on how to be more empowered to take control of your life and make it go the way you want it to. Which i need right now!
Then I went to the library yesterday to find the books that I was interested in, and when i was in the China nonfiction section, I came acroess The Rape Of Nanking. I remember Aiko was reading it and she told me she was going through self-conflict(kinda funny kinda not), cuz she's half Japanese and half Chinese. Anyway, I picked it up and started reading it, as I was browsing through it, i coudldn't believe teh atrocities and horror of this tragic war. I also picked up two other books, "Wild Swans" depicting the lives of three generations of the women in the family(the author, her mother, and her grandmother) in China. i saw it as a recommended book at Borders, so I picked it up. I guess I've always had this interest in reading books dealing w/ Chinese Americans or stuff relating to China. So we'll see how these books are...now i'll be educating AND empowering myself! It's a start right?

who am i?

2003-09-19T08:55:29Z

What Wendy called me today:

"Amazon Princess" (with her funny evil voice)

From Aiko's Friendster testimonial:

ms.Inga = strong wild independent amazonian woman who can stand on her OWN, w/o leaning on any kind of sausage. I miss annie! we're going to travel the world one day :)

Kip on aim:

chocol8KIP: youre annie
chocol8KIP: i think you forgot who you arre
chocol8KIP: are
chocol8KIP: i will remind you
chocol8KIP: youre annie
chocol8KIP: you stand up to dicks
chocol8KIP: youre independent
chocol8KIP: you dont need no man
chocol8KIP: you ake the guy prove himself to you
chocol8KIP: youre always in control
chocol8KIP: ring a bell annie?
chocol8KIP: night

HHhhmMmmM...my friends know me don't they.
It's easy to forget who you are and what you stand for when your judgements are clouded.

where have i gone?

2003-09-02T07:19:34Z

Yeah, so i offially suck at this upkeep of my journal! But I only know a handful of people that may actually read it anyway ( the friends of my lj! whoop whooop!) Instead of going through the gruelling details of the past few months, I'm just going to start w/ yesterday =P. I went to the Moon Festival at Memorial Park with the family (minus Grace, she's down in Irvine). I got to see this 12 year-old boy from HOng Kong who is a prodigy in doing the Changing Face performance. For those of you who do not know what that it is, it is an Chinese ancient form of performing magic by having the performer change his mask with a swish of his robes across his face...ehhh i dunno if that helps. Anyway I was so impressed by what this boy could do! Everyone was in awe. Not anyone can do this ancient art of Changing FAce. It's actually a national secret of China, and the knowledge is passed down from son to son, so it all stays w/in the family. But here are some pics from the performancE!

mayor of Cupertino!

impersonated an old man

impersonated a young lady