rest in peace, MJ

I hope he finds peace at last. A troubled, brilliant artist whom we'll never completely understand and certainly never forget.

insert clever title here

Well, another weekend has come and gone. How they manage to do that so quickly...I'll never know. lol.

Good news! I was able to get my two bridesmaids together at one place at one time and we shopped for dresses. After trying on a bunch, we quickly decided on a style that flattered them both and in the color palette I'm going for (burgundy and chocolate and no it's not the color of the photo), ordered dresses, paid for dresses, dresses will be delivered to their doorsteps within about a month. hooray. Check another thing off the wedding to-do list. Unfortunately, that list just seems to get longer as more things that I ought to be doing crop up. le sigh.

DF and I finally got back to Target to use the little zapper thingy and choose stuff for a registry. It was kind of weird to be going around picking stuff we would like people to buy for us, but after a while it become kind of fun. We tried to keep it reasonable and practical and not extravagant. And s'rsly, it's TARGET, not frackin' Crate and Barrel or anything. lol.


I'm trying to read this book at the moment. Picked it up at the library because I had enjoyed some of the previous entries in this series. But now I'm wondering if my memory played a trick on me. There's lots of mental lusting and "oh I should not be attracted to this lower class dude" (on the heroine's part) and "oh I am so beneath this upper-class chick" (on the bow street runner hero's part) that I am fast becoming weary. But every night I pick it up and read a few chapters before bed. I have a hard time giving up on books.

I did enjoy Lover Ahvenged although it contained far too little of the central romance plot for my taste. Not that I wasn't expecting it though. I am totally skeeved out by the villain. Just ick. Really. I skipped his bits (har) whenever possible. John Matthew is making me a little annoyed but I'll cut him some slack for the moment. It's like his emo teen years. He best not keep carrying on with the poor-me stuff for much longer tho. As for the rest of the gang, I only wish that we got to see a bit more of the internal stuff between couples featured previously. Like the focus on Wrath and Beth and their relationship...that was nice. Can we have more of that but with RHAGE next time? k'thx.

And with that, I think it is time for me to find DF and start our evening stroll around the neighborhood. Weather is nice (finally no rain) and time's a wasting. Then it's homework time!

whew...life!

o hai! I feel kinda embarrassed about the state of my blog. Or more correctly, about the non-state of it. Sure, I was in Taiwan for almost two weeks and then in LA and then home and going to weddings, catching up on homework and office work, and planning my own wedding (that is coming up in 3 months, omg!) and and and....

Anyways, long story short, I've been a wee bit busy. And the longer I put off updating my blog, the more guilty I feel and the more guilty I feel the more I put off updating. What a viscous cycle. lol.

So here's the updates:

The Taiwan trip went well. Not only in terms of getting some good contacts and making professional visits that should be beneficial in the long term for my work but also because I was with a friend and colleague and hosted at her family's home with warmth and hospitality. Highlights included hitting the night markets and shopping, going to the most AMAZING sushi restaurant where it was all you can eat for only $12 USD (unbelievable!), a backstage visit with a traditional Chinese opera and watching a rehearsal, and seeing the tallest building in the world, Taipei 101.

My 12 hour flight back to LA went as quickly as can be expected. Once I finally got through customs (that airport is SUCH a hole) I checked into my uber-trendy funky hotel and had a busy three days trying to overcome jetlag, attend a huge professional conference, network with colleagues, and hang out with old Peace Corps friends. Oh and I got to see the dumpy little place they call Hollywood.

The flight home arrived somewhere around midnight. It was great to see DF after our long time apart. And the next morning it was up and off to my cousin's wedding. It went well if a little more casual than I see my wedding being. Still, it fit her and her husband and everyone had a nice time. Since then it has been hardcore homework, work and wedding planning. I've put off things long enough, so now DF and I are hitting it hard. We went shopping for crafty stuff and made our own invitations. Now we're working on tracking down a sheep or goat to roast for the reception (it's an african thing, don't ask), pricing chairs and tables, checking out pawn shops for wedding bands...lots of stuff. I'm starting to realize what a big undertaking a wedding is, even a do-it-yourself cheap-ass one. But we'll make it work. :)

And finally, in READING related news, I just got the new JR Ward book from my library (after waiting for about a month). I'm scarfing it down and am just getting to the part where everything seems to be going down. Initial impressions are that it's better than the last one, i still hate lessers (and skip their parts), love Rhage (and miss Mary), enjoy seeing more of Wrath and Beth, wish the central romance was more central, and enjoy being back in the BDB world. Oh and I'm digging Xhex and JM as a couple, but I never had any hangups with her in the first place. And now, I think I may go finish the book.

To anyone who made it all the way through this self-indulgent post (and who bothered to check my sad little blog), I thank you and salute you. :)