The Eleventh Little Indian Boy

Thursday, February 05, 2004:

I've decided to take some time off and concentrate on more tangible things.

Didn't want to take the beaten path by just ceasing to post altogether and leaving people out to hang.

Time for LIB to shake things up a bit.

I wanna be a cowboy baby.


"A true leader has the confidence to stand alone, the courage to make tough decisions, and the compassion to listen to the needs of others. He does not set out to be a leader, but becomes one by the equality of his actions and the integrity of his intent. "

-Douglas McArthur


*This blog will self destruct in due time....=P



LIB // 11:48 PM

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Wednesday, February 04, 2004:

Went to Costco last night for a quick dinner of polish sausage and soda. $1.50 has never been able to go as far anywhere else....=P.

While there I ran into a very bitter and vile old man. The Donut and myself were in line when I felt an icy jab right into the back of my arm. Upon turning around there was this little old Chinese man glaring back at me. He promptly raised two fingers into my face and demanded that we move forward (you see we were at the head of the line but stood a little bit further from the edge of the painted marker on the floor which indicated where to wait). Truthfully....I was pretty steamed....=P.

So the Donut moves on and I step up to the front of the pack in anticipation of finally getting my hands on some food. Suddenly, something brushes to my left and I quickly realize that the old man had deftly positioned himself right next to me at the head of the line. What the heck!!!? We were literally arm in arm! For the next few minutes he complains loudly about how bad the service was and menacingly waves his cane at the customer service reps zipping about behind the counter.

Eventually a register opens up and I felt great relief in finally getting away from this pest and rekindling the prospect of a nice cheap dinner. It wasn't more than two steps into my ascension when we locked horns again as he also moved forward towards the counter to order. This time I was pissed. I looked down at him and plainly asked him what he was doing. He responded in a very sarcastic and determined tone, "Oh, so I guess you're going to order first then?"

I just smiled and said, "Nah, you can go ahead."

As mad as I was it made no sense for me to quarrel with this person. I kept looking at him afterwards and just hoped that in some 50 odd years I wouldn't morph into the same type of disagreeable personality. It sparked a thought in my mind though. A concept of how different the times were for many of today's elderly generation during the primes of their lives. Adapting to the frenetic pace of present day America must be difficult for them. Especially the ones that immigrated over from a distant land (Ain't that right CHKLHG?). I'm also glad that Chinese tradition has taught me a certain type of respect for those that are considered elders. Too many times have I volunteered at various retirement homes and witnessed first hand how Western society traditionally deals with family as they get older. I'm not saying that this is wrong, but it makes me happy that we as Asians seem to place a greater amount of emphasis in taking care of our parents and relatives as the years go by.

I guess I still don't understand what that guy's problem was.....but in a wierd way.....I kinda do.


On a lighter note: Old couples that have been together for many years and still do all kinds of things in tandem totally rock.

WooHoo!!! I'm eating Japanese with the Capital tonight!! Sake Nigiri here I come!!!






LIB // 6:20 AM

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Sunday, February 01, 2004:

Three unique tales of cars getting towed:

Story One: A little over a year ago Donut, J*NYCE, and myself decided to catch a matinee out at AMC 1000 in SF. The exact title that we went to view escapes me now, but the aftermath of the outing haunts me to this very day. While walking back to my car I notice that all of the cars had been cleared out from both sides of the street we were on. Donut gets a funny look in his eye and changes his stride into a full on run. By the time we get to a point one block away, we could clearly see a tow truck lifting my car up on it hind tires and begin to pull away. The three of us ran up to it as it was catching a turn and started to yell various things. The driver half smirked at us and simply replied...."Sorry".

Long story short....we had to run multiple blocks UPHILL to Shorty's house and borrow her car to bail mine out. When I think about it now the signs that the city posted were so close together (and spray painted) that it was easy to miss certain details in between the lines. No excuses though I guess....total cost including ticket: $250....=P

Story Two: A few weeks ago I got a late night call from JetSou as I was reading and getting ready for bed. It seemed that she mistakenly parked in a restricted zone and the DPT systematically towed her car upon discovery. Totally sucks right? We ended up driving down to Bryant street to pay the fines and spring her car from the impound lot. Luckily I was familiar with the procedure (hahahaha!) and it was almost no hassle at all for her to straighten things out. Both of us were in agreement that DPT was an evil empire and we were totally wondering how it was possible that people could be so cold hearted in indiscriminately doling out citations and other such annoyances. They don't even leave you any notice once your car is removed. As frustrating as such situations can be, DPT officers do have every right to issue punishments for most traffic violations....but why do they have to be so mean about it? Total cost including ticket: $250....=P

Story Three: Fast forward to this past Saturday evening. I was on duty as a volunteer for the Chinese Chamber of Commerce during Chinese New Years festivities. While driving a gigantic full sized van (to pick up a HK superstar that I had never heard of before), I came back to my reserved parking spot and found that some person had moved the reservation pylons on to the curb and taken the empty space. Pretty gutsy considering that the entire block was a white zone (filled with cars belonging to the Chamber) and those reservation markers were dotted everywhere.

Upon hearing of the events, a bevy of San Francisco's finest came rushing out of the event center to inspect the premises. In a very short time they decided to ticket the driver. Within 30 minutes his truck was off to the pound and I was safely nuzzling the whale back into its space. The one thing that was disturbing to me was that the cops seemed to have no problem living a little bit above the law, evidenced by alot of conversation which centered around how much of an &*$#(&*% the owner of the car was and what they were going to do to him.
Funny and concerning in the same breath. Total cost including ticket: probably $250....=P

It is really funny to me how I have experienced all facets (aside from the issuing) of the towing experience....personal....secondary....and accompanying. The bottom line remains that DPT sucks and I can't believe that they towed my car!!!! Right JetSou? Hahahaha.

A funny note on how my day unveiled itself. The weather was horridly cold and wet today. I went through atleast 6 or 7 independent stages of being wet and dry. How many times can a person get rained on in one day? Sigh.....I just hope that I don't catch a cold.

LIB // 9:36 PM

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Monday, January 26, 2004:

The best kind of friends are the ones that you don't keep regular contact with, but things totally pick up where they left off when you do get the chance. Like no time or distance has altered the relationship:

LIB: Guess what?
Muel: ?
LIB: I don't drink the juice any more
Muel: Da juice?
LIB: Yup, quit cold turkey
Muel: Juice being alcohol?
LIB: Juice meaning soup from PHO
Muel: lol, Thats what i thought
Muel: Thats a crying shame....
Muel: NorCal has changed you man
Muel: East Coast aint gonna do that to me
LIB: I know...I'm soft now
Muel: I dont think i know you anymore
LIB: Losing my witty sense of humor these days
Muel: Haha....i know the feeling
LIB: You're soft now too?
Muel: Yup....its killing me living in VA
LIB: Guys are softies and too sensitive?
Muel: Yup
LIB: You piss some people off?
Muel: People in sd had a lot harder shells
Muel: Of course
Muel: There's this one white guy at church that I kinda know
Muel: But i may have offended on numerous occasions
LIB: What did you do?
Muel: The joking may have been much for these folks
LIB: Subject matter?
Muel: He was talking like a brotha at one point
Muel: Dead silence.....
Muel: And I merely suggested he never do that agian....
Muel: Ever....little things like that
LIB: Hahahahaa....and he just stopped talking right?
Muel: Yup....people here get so shocked
LIB: Hahaha...I know how you feel man
Muel: More awkward silence and the everyone busted out
LIB: Laughing at him?
Muel: Yup
LIB: Man
LIB: You're cold
Muel: Haha....not you too!
LIB: But I think it's funny
Muel: Ahh, the LIB of old
LIB: Hail to the King baby!
Muel: Hail indeed....hahahaha!

I do believe that Southrons like myself have a
natural sense of wit that many people are not
completely understanding of. It's cool though....one
of the things that I've learned since being out here
is how to greater understand people and respect what
they are or are not comfortable with. Part of being an
encouraging brother. But still....some things just
totally make me laugh....I just do it on the inside
now.....=P
LIB // 8:17 AM

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Sunday, January 25, 2004:

What a day! After a most turbulent week, having a Saturday like this one was as rare a blessing as it was comforting. Here are some key moments that were really enjoyable:

Waking Up in a Funny Manner: Little moments in my life always make me laugh when I think about the insignificance involved with their manner of occurrence. I was dead tired and sleeping on my TSQ (Texas sized queen) when my face felt like it needed a change. You know when it gets warm and you just wanna flip over to the cooler side of the pillow? In deep slumber and not hesitatant at all I switched sides and was immediately awakened by a cold and clammy sensation seeping up through the fabric of the pillow case. Apparently I was so comfortable in sleep that my mouth was open and I had drooled a pool of saliva large enough to soak up the entire unused portion of the pillow. Hahaha....man, I was TIRED....cool though....after it dried up I flipped the pillow over and slept on the other side....=P


Roscoe Style Birthday Brunch: This was more for CHKLHG than for me (I already pseudo celebrated on the 9th with my poker buddies) and it turned out far better than any of us could have imagined. There were so many people there helping out. The food was awesome (big ups to Mr. and Mrs. POC for letting us use their waffle iron....Milbrae....you better be making your wife waffles son). The company was diverse and extremely talkative. Generally, people were just having a comfortable time socializing and chowing down. It's times like these that I think I am most happy as a socialite. Walking around making sure people are cool and happy....yeah....so satisfying as a host. The pancake birthday cakes that the Capital made for us turned out to be especially good.....pancake topped with banana slices, blue berries, whipped cream, vanilla ice cream, and syrup. Dude, when the melted ice cream mixes up with the syrup....use your imagination folks....OH MAN!!!!

Getting my New Computer Up and Running: Awhile back I purchased a very modern desk top configuration from Dell for quite a chunk of change. It was an adequate system highlighted by a SUPER nice large LCD flat screen monitor that made it so sweet. As you all know, the Lord works in such powerfully subtle ways. In my heart it just did not feel right to buy such a muscle computer, but gosh that monitor was gonna look so nice on my desk! Thanks to the handful of you techies out there who chewed me out and helped pick out a more cost efficient alternative. I finally got all the pieces in and am now happily typing away. Just a few more upgrades and the system will be perfect. Bigger permanent monitor, Speakers, Wireless mouse and keyboard....for the right price, and maybe some more RAM. Just thankful that I don't have to use Mac OSX anymore....=P

A View From the Top: I recommend this movie to anyone out there who likes romantic comedies and isn't cheesed out with themes of self empowerment and encouragement. Gwyneth Paltrow plays the main character....=)!!!! Good soundtrack, boy meets girl and learns to find fulfillment through rational compromise, funny out takes, lots of witty lines and references, a solid rental in my opinion. I watched this movie with a few other folks. HanSome laughed quite a bit and seemed to enjoy the experience. Murry chuckled lightly and walked away liking but not loving it. The Capital was visibly disappointed and walked out before the outtakes were over. He probably thought it was ok....but I agree....it most definitely was not his type of film. I liked it....go rent it if you can.

Dinner at Asqew for CHKLHG: Nice call from SnoopDogg for picking out a cool venue. Basically the menu was a wide variety of kabobs on top of side dishes. Example....I picked out a lemon chicken flavor that laid out on a bed of polenta and sauce. Mmmmm....polenta!!! Anyways, the highlight for me was seeing CHKLHG just chilling and being his social self. Many times our lives seem to grip and rob us of various comforts, but you can just tell when someone is having a blast and loving life. It could have been the single glass of white wine though that turned him into a lobster and loosened him up. There was a funny exchange between the birthday boy and the Capital....but dang it....I completely forgot the meat of the conversation. Trust me though....it was funny and I was rolling.

Natural Beauty: I didn't go all mountain explorer, get bitten by a radio active spider, have plastic surgery, or anything....but I was able to see the beauty in many things that my eyes have been unable to detect for some time now. How perfectly intricate the design of some naturally occuring things can be. Moments that would be so great if frozen. Personal goals attained. People having fun. Just sweet.

Time for bed. Texas sized queen....Hahahaha!!!


LIB // 12:40 AM

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Tuesday, January 20, 2004:

President Bush gave his State of the Union address tonight. I was fortunate in getting back in time to catch almost all of it in entirety. A large portion of his agenda seemed aimed towards reinforcing the bulk of legislation and action that his administration has taken in the last 3 years. Hahaha....very obvious that this is indeed an election year. When I think about our current president it is very easy to get caught up in all of the pros and cons being tossed out by detractors and supporters.

NEGATIVES: passive domestic agenda, pro big business, environmental pirate, religious fantatic, father of twin alcoholic media darlings, selfish and uncompromising, etc.

POSITIVES: very religious, patriotic, symbol of strength in time of weak national esteem, grass roots programming, NO NEW TAXES.....=P, strong initiative for education and enrichening of children's lives, Laura Bush, etc.

To the average citizen being president seems to be among the easiest jobs in the world. Sit around, sign documents, make appearances, and fatten the pockets of your friends. Absolute cake. To me though it is one of the most difficult positions to maintain and upkeep. It says in Romans that no man/woman can be perfect, but in this democratic age we seem to expect nothing but perfection (in the realm of political agenda) from our elected officials every day. I'll have to do more research on what platform each candidate will stand on as election day draws near. As of now though I am content in standing behind and praying for our imperfect president. He continues to give his all and should be respected as someone who does nothing less. When it comes down to it....he may be the president....but there is a higher power that governs even him.

And his name is not Dick Cheney...=p

On a lighter note....I just spent 30 bucks on birthday cards and postage. Yup....I do believe January has rolled around yet again.


LIB // 7:43 PM

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Wednesday, January 14, 2004:

I came home last night and caught the tail end of a documentary on the fur trapping industry. The imagery provided was so horrible. There were animals of all types being sentanced to various forms of unavoidable death. Strangulation....massive cranial trauma....close range gunshots....front leg traps....and the most ridiculous explanation for execution of them all....carbon dioxide narcosis....basically the animal is trapped and then held under water until it drowns.

Here are some random tidbits that I remember:

- The federal department of Wildlife Services, responsible for the control of predatory animals, used to fly under the banner of Animal Damage Control.

- It would be infinitely more affordable to reimburse ranchers and farmers for their losses in livestock each year than to continue funding contractors to exterminate the pests that threaten them.

- The "lower leg" trap....a clandestine iron jaw contraption....you get the picture....is indiscriminate and inhumane.

- Most of the trappers interviewed were rednecks or Canadians (no offense to the Mountie...=P...)

- For every target that is intentionally caught, there are 3 which are injured innocently. These include dogs, cats, eagles, and other small mammals.

- A red fox huddled in the corner of a small cage. Before they shot him.

Growing up in the south I can honestly say that I have killed only two animals in my entire life as a recreational shooter. On my very first expedition I shot a water moccasin and a giant bull frog. The experience was unnerving because those poor animals had no idea what was going on and in the snake's case it even wriggled closer to the search light that we spotted it with. After that weekend I've only targeted cans, bottles, and other inanimate objects whenever we go. It makes no sense to kill for sport.

Borrowing from a very old PETA phrase....I'd rather go naked than wear fur....Shut up POB....I already know what you're going to say....=P....hahaha.
LIB // 5:12 PM

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