diary of a man w/out his wallet

It is gone, it has finally hit me; my Hugo Boss wallet is no more. After conceding to this fact, I cancelled all my credit cards, check cards, atm cards, etc. Out of all those cards (actually only 4) only Discover voluntarily asked if I would like my replacement sent over-night. I assume if you asked, all credit card companies would provide the over-night service but I have to give a big thumbs up to Discover for actually spending the extra few dollars to get me my new card so quickly (instead of the conventional 7-10 business days). Thank you Mr. Discover.

And to celebrate Discover's great service I wanted to break in my new card with my own personal discoveries; to discover more about the grandeur of our lives, to discover the beauty of our lands. So, I ordered the original BCC series Planet Earth (yes, the original BCC series, not the Discover Channel version; I hear the Discover version which sells for more $$$, has 10-minute cut per episode, and is narrated by Sigourney Weaver instead of the OG British narrator David Attenborough). The series has been receiving pretty awesome reviews from viewers and it looks really good; Good Discovery.

i hate this month

When I was in Corning, NY my co-workers often talked about the latest TV shows and were very surprised and often mocked me for not watching TV. Even though I had 'free' cable at the time, I rarely used it and rarely watched any TV. My schedule consisted of going to work, coming home, going for a bike ride/run, cooking dinner, reading, and taking my girl on the phone. Now that I'm back in Diamond Bar, once again my co-workers laugh at me for living in the stone ages; we don't have cable TV at home, or satellite, TiVo or any of those nifty 21st century inventions. My usual response is, 'I have better things to do than watch TV'; but the truth is, this is the month that I hate living in the stone ages. I wish I had cable, I wish I had TNT, ESPN, etc. This is the month of the NBA FINALS!!! I missed the Lakers game last night, I'm sure if I was watching, they would have done much better. There are three great games on tonight that I wish I could watch; but alas, I'll be sitting in my room dreaming, wondering what it feels like to have cable. This month sucks. What a sad life I lead, I guess I'll go shoot some hoops and act out my own road to the finals drama.

Congratulations Brandon and Vivian

Good job Brandon. You are the first out of all our HS friends to bite the bullet. You have something very special and I wish you both the best from here on out. Some pictures from this memorable night.




PS: I lost my wallet...

Why do your own taxes???

I don't think I will ever do my own taxes ever again. I was stressing out and trying to use TurboTax but it was just too confusing (note, in the past year, I've purchased a rental property as well as had income in two separate states). I finished my federal relatively easily but had trouble filing my two state taxes. I called a tax consultant (the same one that did my taxes last year) and she was kind enough to review my taxes last night at 9pm. It took her 15-minutes to do what took me hours to do and she found $300+ more dollars for me as well as ~$500 of state refunds (totaling around ~$3400-3500 in returns this year). She said she wouldn't charge me but even if she billed me $150, it would have been well worth it; next year I won't even bother looking at any forms, there are professionals out there that can do my taxes more effectively and thoroughly then I can ever imagine. Just like I wouldn't give myself a root canal or take apart my car's engine, there is definitely no need to do my own taxes; keep it with the professionals. Enjoy tax day.

Unlucky

Today is Friday the 13th and on this very lovely day I have on my own pair of "Unlucky"'s; these would probably run you $200+ dollars if you can even find them. Luckily on my travels through Asia, I happened to come across these and many more like these in Shanghai. And at a very reduced cost of only $10, I got a pair for myself. Shanghai is a great place for great deals.

On a very similar shoe note; this year is the year of the Golden Fire Pig; what better way if you are a "PIG" than to pick up these special edition Nike Dunk-Hi SB's. They look pretty hot, but if you do a quick search, you'll find out that unless you are in Asia, you will be paying $200+ for these as well.

Ohana means Family...

Yesterday morning someone called me at 6:00am. I didn't pick up the first time because the caller id displayed 'blocked' and I thought it was some East Coast idiot trying to sell me something. 30 minutes later I get another call; I hate being disturbed during my slumber so this time I picked up the phone ready to give this unsolicited solicitor a piece of my mind. Before I could start shouting, it was my Aunt from Taiwan telling me that I had to pick up my dad from LAX in the evening. Half asleep I didn't even remember what time she told me (I later checked my dad's work for the correct flight). At first, I was brooding over this; why is it always me that has to pick and/drop off dad from the airport? Maybe I was just cranky from being woken up so early but throughout the day the annoyance dissipated. How can I be irritated when my dad has taken me to the airport and picked me up more times than I can remember? My dad has never uttered a word of complaint (when picking me up from the airport; he actually complains a lot about other things)? Regardless, Ohana means family, and family means 'nobody gets left behind'. I don't vocalize it enough, but my immediate family is the most important thing to me; that includes my dad, my brother, my sister-in-law, my nephew, my future wife and her immediate family (ok, PiRo too... but she still smells). To my family: I love you and you can always count on me to be there, even after I win the lottery.

(Here are some pictures of Lee's newest family member; taken from my brother's blog):

My Bad...

I was invited to be in one of my HS friend's bridal parties this past week; the wedding is two weeks away. My hair was getting a little shaggy so I thought, PERFECT, get a haircut now and it will be just right for the wedding. Before I go on, let me just clarify that it doesn't take much to cut my hair, 1 on the sides, fade-up, 1/2" off the top; easy peasy. Plus, I don't have a designated hair stylist, so I go to the closest 'super cuts' and where there is the least amount of wait time. Back to the story, on Saturday morning I go to the plaza down the hill from where I live, there were 6 or 9 people in line so I decided to go to this 'barber shop' a few minutes away. I step through the door and literally everyone stares at me; I don't care much for racial barriers so I ask how long the wait would be, the barber says '30 minutes'. There were 3 other men waiting in front of me. If you haven't guessed from the picture, everyone in this 'barber shop' including the barber was African American; black as can be. I sat down and thought, wow; imagine one of these black guys walking into one of the hair salon's in Rowland Heights... yes, use your imagination. Ironically 'White Men Can't Jump' was on the TV so I sat there watching it, for an hour! There were some interesting conversations during the wait but to finish off this story, when it was my turn I told the barber "1 on the sides, fade-up, 1/2" off the top"; at the end of the day, 'MY BAD' for going into that barber shop. I don't much care what my hair looks like because I don't have anyone to impress, but truthfully, this was the worst haircut I have had since I can remember. Note to self: you are not black, stay away from black institutions. [for any African American readers, I am not trying to be racist, but you can cut the fro, but you got no skills when it comes to a Taiwan Man's hair]

The Assembly

It has been years in the making but the time has finally arrived. Since college I had a goal of joining a Men's Basketball league. I promised myself that one day I would lead a team into battle. 3+ years in Taiwan and 1 year in New York has delayed this goal, but 2007 is the year for all out war. I have assembled and gathered a group of 10 warriors ready for battle. The identities of these 10 men are still highly protected as well as this team's name; in due time it will be divulged. To prepare for battle, a fellow teammate and I joined in some local pick-up yesterday. Obviously we were both a little rusty; missing shots that should have been made, throwing away passes that should not have been thrown. But the truth was, no one on the court was fast enough to guard me, no one on the court was strong enough to guard my teammate. The road to war has begun. For glory, for victory.

Doggy Breath v. Morning Breath

So which is worst? I know PiRo has some bad breath, especially while she is eating. But it is funny, I recently noticed when I feed PiRo in the mornings (before I brush my teeth) and blow air at her, she has the funniest reactions. She will actually shake her head vigorously and or jump backwards and get into her 'fighting' stance. And if I body slam her on her back and force feed her my bad morning breath, she will turn the other way and put her paws over her nose, or swipe with her paws at my face (this is the funniest thing in the world, I wish I could take a picture). Since I think PiRo has bad breath, and I can't really smell my own breath in the mornings, I will need a 3rd person to conduct the smell test and judge which is worst. I plan on winning this competition and will even go a night without brushing my teeth to win. K, you will be the judge but I will train hard for this victory because I have a destiny to fulfill.