Bulletpoint updates...

Here are some quick updates on what is or has been going on...

• I bought a keychain from Disneyland, stuffed it in a random envelope that I found on a table, and sent the keychain to my friend in Boston as a souvenir. She replied "I received the key ring in the mail, thank you. But what is the enclosed photo for? Should i cut it out to fit in the keyring?" She mailed the photo back to me. As it turns out, in my haste, I had inadvertantly sent her a wallet-sized wedding photo of Chris and Albert.
• Our house is very very close to "completed". I put "completed" in quotation marks because how you define "completed" might be different than how I define it. Suffice it to say that we will be ready for our Christmas party/parties. I can't wait!
• In similar news, my home office is finally done. I think I can actually accept visitors now (except that I don't have chairs for them just yet.) I will post some pictures of my studio soon (read: as soon as I find where I packed my digital camera.)
• Expect some exciting changes from Morning Star Videography. I can't reveal what it is just yet, but it will be kind of a big deal. Stay tuned.
• Today I turn 33. That's the age Jesus was when he was crucified. (But it's also the age that Jesus was when he rose from the grave, triumphant over death!)

Disneyland Anniversary Trip (Part 2)

Disneyland is hyping their "Year of a Million Dreams" promo this season and I think the programs they've come up with are pretty cool.

Here you see some pictures of the Jedi Academy where volunteers from the crowd get to take part in a little scenerio where they learn some light saber moves and then get a chance to fight either Darth Maul or Darth Vader. It's kind of cool.



We also saw some parade floats where winners of the Million Dreams promo get to be honorary parade marshalls. It's a pretty clever idea to allow visitors and fans to have more interaction and participation.



One of the best, most interactive rides at Disneyland is the Buzz Lightyear Astro Blaster ride. Last time we were here, I scored 120k. This time I scored some 130k or so. Not that much of an improvement.



After we left the Astro Blaster ride, I started hypothesizing about what I would do if I were a big famous rich guy... like John Lasseter. I thought that if I were him, I'd arrange to have a private evening for the rich and famous (and their children). I'd close the park, charge $6000 a head, have minimal staff, and open the park for other celebrities who don't want paparazzi following them everywhere they go.

"This way," I said to Annie, "People like... I dunno... Noah Wiley and his kids could enjoy Disneyland too." I assumed, of course, that people like that just avoid theme parks because they don't want to be pestered. But while Annie stood in line to order food and I stayed with the kids/reserving a table, lo and behold! There was Noah Wiley in all his derby-lidded glory. True story. Strange coincidence.

Annie said, "Try thinking of another celebrity and see if they appear!"
Here are some pictures I decided not to sell to TMZ.

Here are some more random pictures. Autopia.

Disneyland Anniversary Trip (Part 1)

Every year, Annie and I usually go on an overnighter to celebrate our anniversary. Sometimes we get on a plane, sometimes a long drive, and sometimes a short one. Over the last 8 years, we've gone to Seattle, Monterey, Jack London Square, Los Angeles, Napa Wine Country, Santa Rosa, and other fun places.

This year, because of our busy schedules, we weren't able to go somewhere too far for too long. We ended up going to Ruth's Chris Steakhouse in Walnut Creek.

The food was a 3.5 stars out of 5. Not terrific, but not bad. The prices were a little steep for the quality of food, but the ambience and service made up for it. Personally, I think a good ol' Texas Roadhouse ribeye steak beats the fancy Ruth's Chris version. But I digress.



After we celebrated our anniversary, we realized that we still had two tickets for Disneyland that were set to expire by the end of the year. One thing led to another and we decided to make a weekend trip to Anaheim with the kids and call that our anniversary trip.



The first ride we got in line for was the brand new Finding Nemo ride. Disney has revived the old submarine ride and gave it a modern twist. Much like the movie this ride is based upon, it's much ado about nothing.

The lines were long (although, our 60-minute wait was nothing compared to Annie's cousin, Peter's reported 150-minute wait) and the ride was hardly worth it. I was expecting some sort of new animatronics technology that would allow cute and cuddley clown fish to swim up to your porthole and interact with you.

But no, it's pretty much the same, pseudo-3D, reflected screen technology that's been around since 1976's "Sea Wolf" arcade game by Midway. (Think ballroom dancing ghosts at Disney's Haunted Mansion.)

At least the park managers thought enough about madenningly long lines to give people activity worksheets with which to occupy themselves during the wait.



Honestly, we couldn't complain too much. Amusement parks are partially amusing because we are amused by the length of each line. It's part of the self-depricating fun.





Here's us enjoying our time in line:





And here is us in the submarine:



Stay tuned for my next post where I reveal which famous television actor was also at Disneyland!

Marley and Mei

Here is a picture of Hannah and her class pet, Marley.

The "Star of the Week" gets to bring Marley home and write about the experience of taking him places.

This picture was taken the weekend of November 3.

Barracuda Spam Filter Working Overtime

Anyone else get this? Over 400 threatening spam-rejection emails from Hemming?

I guess Ray's work email REALLY hates spam.

Catching up on House Updates

I've been slow to update my blog and even slower to provide house updates. (My friend, pictured below at his birthday/daughter's Red Egg party, was the one who said he had been eagerly awaiting more house updates.)

So, Kerman, here are the latest updates.

Let's get to the pictures:

These were taken 10/09

Granite counters going in.

Cutting marble for the master bath.

Installing marble tile in the master bath.

These were taken 10/16

Faux exterior shutters go in.

Our door arrives.

Porcelain "goods" get delivered (toilets, sinks, what-have-you.)

Banister is stained.

Wolf range top / stove fan hood whatever you call it installed.

Mantle is stained.

These were taken 10/19

Each water outlet (sink, toilet, showerhead, etc) has it's own water source and is controlled by this panel in the garage. You can shut off each individual unit independently of the others which is good for troubleshooting or maintenance.

Kitchen appliances go in.

These were taken 10/25

View from upstairs loft window.

Exterior landscaping and masonry is installed.

Ornate powder room sink and fixtures installed.

Toilets and sinks throughout the house are installed (but not yet working! Go use the outhouse or hold it in!)

Tile flooring installed at 45 degrees finally completed.

More to come!...

My San Diego Trip Debrief

Some of you know that I went on a one-day San Diego trip two weeks ago. It was my cousin Jay's wedding and I flew in and out for a day trip-slash-mini family reunion. It was fun. Here's the debrief:

6:42 AM
I depart from San Ramon to drive to SFO (that's San Francisco International Airport, for those of you unfamiliar with the acronym. Please don't ask what the "O" stands for. No one knows. Let's say it stands for "October", the month in which I made this trip.)

The Moon and Venus shine brightly in the early morning sky. Today, October 6th, is the day before Venus shines brightest for Earthlings. (You have to click for the enlarged version so you can see Venus. My camera phone doesn't do it justice.)



7:38 AM
It only took me about 30 minutes to get to SFO and another 20 or so to park and stroll through security. I didn't bring a single piece of luggage because I wasn't spending the night. All I brought were my boarding passes and a card for Jay and Jenny. I had enough time to get my scuffy shoes "spit" shined. I don't know what the difference between "shoe shine" - $5, and "spit shine" - $7, but this guy did a good enough job, I guess. My shoes looked pretty much like new.

This was my first shoe shine ever.



9:30-ish AM
I arrive in San Diego with little fanfare.

But a lot of shuttle fare.

I was initially going to get a ride from my brother who was already in San Diego, but the timing of my arrival at the airport and his drive to the wedding was just off enough to warrant a taxi or shuttle ride to the Bali Hai Restaurant where the wedding and reception were to take place. First I asked a taxi driver how much it would be to make the 3-mile drive from San Diego Airport (let's call it SD"O", for short since I don't know the actual FAA acronym) to Bali Hai and I got a ridiculous quote of $14. In the grand scheme of things that doesn't sound like much, but really? More than $4 per mile? I can go like 25 miles with $4 of gas. (Yes, I have a lead foot.) So, instead, I ask a shuttle driver how much he would want for the job.

He said $13.

10-ish AM
The wedding was charming and quaint.

The Chinese aunties and uncles were also "charming" and "quaint." Especially when a half dozen of them crowded the aisle to snap away with their Cybershots, preventing the paid professional from being able to do his job. Way dropped the ring box. The officiant forgot to tell people to sit. (And then forgot to ask the bride and groom to exchange rings.) But it was still very pleasant and winsome.

Below are some pictures from the reception:

Dave looking ravishing in his mom's sunglasses.


Chris and Chiaty

Dave and Andrey


Jay's dad gave a very nice and moving toast. He teared up and cried while reminiscing about Jay's inhuman Taco Bell ingesting skills. It's true. He did. Too bad there wasn't a professional wedding videographer around to document it! :-

Way, Jay's brother and best man, also gave a nice toast. Oh wait! There WAS a professional videographer in the house! ME! Good thing I had my trusty Cingular 8525 on hand. You can see the toast below.



After the ceremony and reception, all the Huang side of the family (that's my mom's side, fyi) went over to Auntie Debbie's house for dinner and hanging out. But before that, I tagged along with my brother to the Apple Store so he could get the iPod Nano that Annie and I bought for my mom's birthday. My brother works at the Apple Store in Los Gatos - the closest store to what some Mac Evangelists call Mecca, a.k.a. Apple Headquarters, Cupertino. He says that Steve Jobs stops in sometimes so the staff there is always on pins and needles.

Anyway, while at Auntie Debbie's house we had a good time just talking and remembering old times. We also made an effort to take the famous Cousins Photo that we always take when we're there. The last time we took it, it was in the 80's. When I track down the old photo, I'll post it side by side with this one so you can see how dorky we are/were.

My brother sacrificed some cousin-bonding time to chauffeur me back to SDO. It was a good thing he dropped me off with plenty of time to spare because when I stepped out of the car, the curb was the shore to a sea of frustrated, delayed air-travellers. There was a siren sounding and flashing lights in the airport and everyone had been evacuated.





"Cool!", I thought to myself. Perhaps no I can be an integral part of a terror plot overthrow! Maybe I can tackle an escaping hijacker or trip an unknowing hostage taker. No such luck. There were firemen on hand and they ran into the Southwest terminal, hose in hand, but I couldn't figure out what was going on.



Shortly after the firemen went in, they came back out and besides the reassuring "no one will miss their flights" announcement over the PA, there wasn't a peep about what was going on. I made it back home only about an hour late coming home if even that late. It was a fun trip and my only regret was that we couldn't shrug pragmatics aside and bring the whole family for a multi-day trip.
------------------------
A few more pictures:

Jay and his lovely bride, Jenny.

Way

Chris and Lainey


Say "Cheeze"!