I'd point out that it's been a long time since I last wrote but I suppose that's a bit obvious. Not that anyone reads this, therefore it doesn't actually matter.
Anyway, we're still doing fine. However, I think I've finally come across the reason why so many couples split up after living together. When you are apart, you have some time to miss each other. Even if you see each other every day, you aren't waking up together which makes you miss them more. You might not see them every night which makes it so much sweeter when you see them. Once you live together and see the other person day and night, every single day, the novelty starts to fade.
I think this is the time when it's really important for both people to try to keep the relationship alive. For Gary and me, this means trying to do more together and to have a date night - a night where it's just the 2 of us going out. Because sure, we make dinner together and we go grocery shopping and watch TV but there's no magic in those tasks. Dinner can be fun but most of the time, we're too tired and hungry to make an extravagant dinner or to really appreciate the small moments with each other.
We're working through it though and the good times far outweigh the bad.
Thursday, August 27, 2009
Tuesday, August 11, 2009
Organize your speech
I'm giving my second Toastmaster's speech in 40 minutes and I'm getting so nervous.
--------------------
Speech #2: Organize Your Speech
Title: The Ultimate Sport
Objectives:
Select an appropriate outline which allows listeners to easily follow and understand your speech.
Make your message clear with supporting material directly contributing to that message.
Use appropriate transitions when moving from one idea to another.
Create a strong opening and conclusion.
Time: 5 to 7 min
“Does it hurt?” Madame Toastmaster, Fellow Toastmasters.
This is the question that I am asked whenever I invite other people to go play paintball.
“Does it hurt?” They want to know. I am never sure how to answer them – if I tell them it does, they most likely will never come play with me. If I tell them it doesn’t, then I’d be lying. But what most people don’t realize is that while it might hurt, it is one of the most exhilarating sports that you can play.
So if you were to take up my offer and come play paintball, what would your day consist of? Well, your morning typically starts off at 7am. You wake up and most likely immediately regret agreeing to wake up at such an early hour on a Saturday. After dragging yourself out of bed, you toss on a pair of baggy pants and some t-shirt you don’t mind getting dirty. You then make a trip to the grocery store to pick up ice, gatarade and water to put in a cooler in order to have cold drinks for the day. Only then will you set out to the field, most likely either SC Village in Corona or Jungle Island in Lake Elsinore.
After the 30 or 40 minute drive, you pull into a dirt parking lot that is full of cars and people already preparing for the day. If you don’t have your own equipment, you go to the front to rent a gun and a mask and buy a box of paintballs. If you have your own equipment, you immediately start cleaning it and loading your gun with paintballs. At some point, you go to the front to pay $25 and register for the day. The first game starts at 9am.
The voice comes over the loudspeaker: “Walk Ons, 5 minute call, top of the field!” Walk Ons refers to anyone who did not come with a private group of 20 or more people. You make your way slowly over to the walk on group, carrying your paintball gun with extra ammo around your waist and your mask in hand. After waiting a few more minutes to make sure everyone is there, you pull your mask down to cover your face and walk onto the fields. Depending which field you are playing on, the walk could be 30 seconds to 5 minutes.
The fields consist of obstacles which are called “bunkers”. These could be anything from tires to pieces of wood to an old school bus. There are fields with broken helicopters and jeeps. There are fields set up to look like trenches or a castle setting where one side defends the castle and other attacks. There are fields that are set up to look like shacks in Vietnam and fields that are set on the side of a big hill.
Once you are on the field, the referee splits the group up – one side puts “bands” on which are pieces of colored tape and the other side is “no bands”. You walk with your team to your side of the field and get ready. The referee stands in the middle, counts down from 3 and you’re off. The brave run as fast as they can to the middle of the field. The scared, new and the young tend to stay in the back. You make it to somewhere in the middle of your side, and crouch behind a barrel of some sort.
The sound of paintballs goes flying by. The people around you start yelling commands: “move up!” “cover me!” “They’re pushing on the right” Your heart starts beating faster than you ever thought possible. You peek around corners and shoot at the opposition. You cover others and try to push forward.
If you are lucky, your team completely overpowers the other and you cheer when the last player of t he other team has been hit. If you are unlucky, everyone around you slowly starts being hit. In paintball, one shot means you are out. They start raising their guns, signifying to the other team that they are out, and not to shoot as they make their way off the field.
Next thing you know, you are the last one left. Your hands start sweating as you dash behind another bunker hoping that the other team won’t see you. As you peek around the bunker, maybe you are able to shoot someone and hope swells within you.
However, if the other team has completely overpowered your team, there is a high chance that you are shot. You feel the familiar sting of a paintball hitting you and you put your hand over spot of impact. As your hand comes off with paint on it, you groan, raise your gun and quickly run off the field. You’re out.
Once one side wins, you switch sides and it starts all over again. After these 2 games, you make your way back to the parking lot to refill on paint and to clean your mask and gun. 10 minutes later, it’s time for the next game.
The day continues like this with an hour break at 12pm for lunch and the last game ending at 4:00. Afterwards, you go out with your friends to dinner someplace where people don’t mind you being smelly and dirty, as after a day on the paintball fields, you will be.
Dinner is guaranteed to be filled with exhilarating stories of the day and only afterwards will you finally drag yourself home to shower. The next day, you will be extremely sore from the physical exertion and you will most likely have some bruises. However, you will also have the most exciting stories to tell people, as there is no such thing as a dull day on the paintball fields.
--------------------
Speech #2: Organize Your Speech
Title: The Ultimate Sport
Objectives:
Select an appropriate outline which allows listeners to easily follow and understand your speech.
Make your message clear with supporting material directly contributing to that message.
Use appropriate transitions when moving from one idea to another.
Create a strong opening and conclusion.
Time: 5 to 7 min
“Does it hurt?” Madame Toastmaster, Fellow Toastmasters.
This is the question that I am asked whenever I invite other people to go play paintball.
“Does it hurt?” They want to know. I am never sure how to answer them – if I tell them it does, they most likely will never come play with me. If I tell them it doesn’t, then I’d be lying. But what most people don’t realize is that while it might hurt, it is one of the most exhilarating sports that you can play.
So if you were to take up my offer and come play paintball, what would your day consist of? Well, your morning typically starts off at 7am. You wake up and most likely immediately regret agreeing to wake up at such an early hour on a Saturday. After dragging yourself out of bed, you toss on a pair of baggy pants and some t-shirt you don’t mind getting dirty. You then make a trip to the grocery store to pick up ice, gatarade and water to put in a cooler in order to have cold drinks for the day. Only then will you set out to the field, most likely either SC Village in Corona or Jungle Island in Lake Elsinore.
After the 30 or 40 minute drive, you pull into a dirt parking lot that is full of cars and people already preparing for the day. If you don’t have your own equipment, you go to the front to rent a gun and a mask and buy a box of paintballs. If you have your own equipment, you immediately start cleaning it and loading your gun with paintballs. At some point, you go to the front to pay $25 and register for the day. The first game starts at 9am.
The voice comes over the loudspeaker: “Walk Ons, 5 minute call, top of the field!” Walk Ons refers to anyone who did not come with a private group of 20 or more people. You make your way slowly over to the walk on group, carrying your paintball gun with extra ammo around your waist and your mask in hand. After waiting a few more minutes to make sure everyone is there, you pull your mask down to cover your face and walk onto the fields. Depending which field you are playing on, the walk could be 30 seconds to 5 minutes.
The fields consist of obstacles which are called “bunkers”. These could be anything from tires to pieces of wood to an old school bus. There are fields with broken helicopters and jeeps. There are fields set up to look like trenches or a castle setting where one side defends the castle and other attacks. There are fields that are set up to look like shacks in Vietnam and fields that are set on the side of a big hill.
Once you are on the field, the referee splits the group up – one side puts “bands” on which are pieces of colored tape and the other side is “no bands”. You walk with your team to your side of the field and get ready. The referee stands in the middle, counts down from 3 and you’re off. The brave run as fast as they can to the middle of the field. The scared, new and the young tend to stay in the back. You make it to somewhere in the middle of your side, and crouch behind a barrel of some sort.
The sound of paintballs goes flying by. The people around you start yelling commands: “move up!” “cover me!” “They’re pushing on the right” Your heart starts beating faster than you ever thought possible. You peek around corners and shoot at the opposition. You cover others and try to push forward.
If you are lucky, your team completely overpowers the other and you cheer when the last player of t he other team has been hit. If you are unlucky, everyone around you slowly starts being hit. In paintball, one shot means you are out. They start raising their guns, signifying to the other team that they are out, and not to shoot as they make their way off the field.
Next thing you know, you are the last one left. Your hands start sweating as you dash behind another bunker hoping that the other team won’t see you. As you peek around the bunker, maybe you are able to shoot someone and hope swells within you.
However, if the other team has completely overpowered your team, there is a high chance that you are shot. You feel the familiar sting of a paintball hitting you and you put your hand over spot of impact. As your hand comes off with paint on it, you groan, raise your gun and quickly run off the field. You’re out.
Once one side wins, you switch sides and it starts all over again. After these 2 games, you make your way back to the parking lot to refill on paint and to clean your mask and gun. 10 minutes later, it’s time for the next game.
The day continues like this with an hour break at 12pm for lunch and the last game ending at 4:00. Afterwards, you go out with your friends to dinner someplace where people don’t mind you being smelly and dirty, as after a day on the paintball fields, you will be.
Dinner is guaranteed to be filled with exhilarating stories of the day and only afterwards will you finally drag yourself home to shower. The next day, you will be extremely sore from the physical exertion and you will most likely have some bruises. However, you will also have the most exciting stories to tell people, as there is no such thing as a dull day on the paintball fields.
Friday, August 7, 2009
Domesticity
Things are starting to smooth out - we haven't had a little fight for awhile so it's much better. We've started cooking now and having home cooked dinners are wonderful. We got our couches but they brought the wrong dining table set so we're still waiting on that. It should be coming tomorrow and we're going to get bookshelves from my parents so hopefully tomorrow night, all of our furniture will be in place. Very excited for that.
I'm definitely excited for all the storage space our bookshelves will give us. It's not like we've filled up our cabinets right now but unless I want to put my extra notebooks, pens and papers in the guest bathroom or the kitchen, I'm kind of at a lack of cabinets. I'm also excited to eat dinner on a real table. We've been eating on TV trays which is nice because we can watch TV but, well, we can always watch TV from our dining table haha. Tables are nice too because then we can play board games without sitting on the floor :D We still need to get a coffee table and end tables though. Maybe we'll head over to Ikea on Sunday or something.
I need to post some pictures - I took one of our first home cooked meal together. I feel so domestic.
I'm definitely excited for all the storage space our bookshelves will give us. It's not like we've filled up our cabinets right now but unless I want to put my extra notebooks, pens and papers in the guest bathroom or the kitchen, I'm kind of at a lack of cabinets. I'm also excited to eat dinner on a real table. We've been eating on TV trays which is nice because we can watch TV but, well, we can always watch TV from our dining table haha. Tables are nice too because then we can play board games without sitting on the floor :D We still need to get a coffee table and end tables though. Maybe we'll head over to Ikea on Sunday or something.
I need to post some pictures - I took one of our first home cooked meal together. I feel so domestic.
Friday, July 31, 2009
Small issues
So Gary and I have been having a lot of small fights lately. Nothing big but as we call it, "biting each others' heads off". I guess it really is true; you need a lot of patience to live with someone. We're working through it though - this is nothing unexpected or huge yet. For example, we got annoyed at each other when we were measuring for bookshelves. Why? I'm not sure. I guess we felt the other one wasn't listening to us.
In other news, they always say that there are only certain things you can learn about the other person by living together. So far, the only thing I learned that I didn't know before is Gary doesn't seem to mind when his shorts fall down below his butt. And amazingly, he can actually walk around like that. Not that this bothers me, it's just something I never knew before. Other than this...so far, I've pretty much already knew everything. I guess that's what comes out of being with each other for 6 years and spending most weekends and each others' place.
Side note: After writing this post, I had to look up the rule about "each others" to make sure I was putting the apostrophe in the right place. Apparently, it's a bit subjective depending if you in Europe or the USA. Since I'm in the USA, I'll just say I'm right. Why? Because, well, I'm an American. Har har.
In other news, they always say that there are only certain things you can learn about the other person by living together. So far, the only thing I learned that I didn't know before is Gary doesn't seem to mind when his shorts fall down below his butt. And amazingly, he can actually walk around like that. Not that this bothers me, it's just something I never knew before. Other than this...so far, I've pretty much already knew everything. I guess that's what comes out of being with each other for 6 years and spending most weekends and each others' place.
Side note: After writing this post, I had to look up the rule about "each others" to make sure I was putting the apostrophe in the right place. Apparently, it's a bit subjective depending if you in Europe or the USA. Since I'm in the USA, I'll just say I'm right. Why? Because, well, I'm an American. Har har.
Tuesday, July 28, 2009
Unrealistic Expectations
A couple weeks before moving in together...
"So when do you think we should have our house warming party?" I asked.
"Hmm...How about the end of July?" He replied.
I stared at him incredulously.
"But...but...our moving date is July 15th. You think we're actually going to be done unpacking and have gotten furniture by July 31st?" I asked, aghast.
"Well, yeah. I don't want to be unpacking for too long," he told me with a surprised look on his face.
I didn't know how to tell him that moving takes a long time. Unpacking cannot be finished in two weeks, especially with both people working full time jobs. At least not with our massive amounts of stuff. Not to mention we had no living or dining room furniture. We needed that to be purchased and delivered which would definitely take more than two weeks. How could I tell him without making it sound like he just doesn't understand because he hasn't moved for awhile?
***
Today.
Still unpacking. Friday is the 31st and we won't be done unpacking by then. Perhaps we will be close. Maybe we will be finished. However, I don't expect our furniture to be delivered by then. Earliest will be this weekend and even that is being optimistic. On the bright side, we might be able to have our house warming party at the end of August.
"So when do you think we should have our house warming party?" I asked.
"Hmm...How about the end of July?" He replied.
I stared at him incredulously.
"But...but...our moving date is July 15th. You think we're actually going to be done unpacking and have gotten furniture by July 31st?" I asked, aghast.
"Well, yeah. I don't want to be unpacking for too long," he told me with a surprised look on his face.
I didn't know how to tell him that moving takes a long time. Unpacking cannot be finished in two weeks, especially with both people working full time jobs. At least not with our massive amounts of stuff. Not to mention we had no living or dining room furniture. We needed that to be purchased and delivered which would definitely take more than two weeks. How could I tell him without making it sound like he just doesn't understand because he hasn't moved for awhile?
***
Today.
Still unpacking. Friday is the 31st and we won't be done unpacking by then. Perhaps we will be close. Maybe we will be finished. However, I don't expect our furniture to be delivered by then. Earliest will be this weekend and even that is being optimistic. On the bright side, we might be able to have our house warming party at the end of August.
Monday, July 27, 2009
Furniture Time
I wish I could have written about all my furniture shopping woes in real time but now, it's too late. So here is a rundown of the furniture buying process:
Monday-Friday: Ask co-workers, family and friends for recommendations of furniture places.
Friday night: Discuss with S.O. about where to go furniture shopping
Saturday morning: Map a course of the day
Saturday night: Complain about how tired you are and then discuss the few pieces you liked
Sunday morning: Map another course for the day
Sunday night: Pass out from exhaustion
Somewhere in there, spend an exorbitant amount of money.
As for the specifics, on Saturday, we went to a street in Culver City which we had seen furniture stores on. We fell in love with some 50% off recliners at Ashley Furniture on Saturday but decided to put them on hold for a bit and shop around a bit more. We went down to Fountain Valley and looked around there as well as some other random shops we drove by. We tried to stop by Cort Furniture but they closed really early, 6pm on a Saturday.
Sunday, we ran other errands then went to New Home Furnishings in El Monte. We found some furniture we really loved but wanted to discuss it a bit more so we went to a store in San Gabriel. Nothing good was there so we headed back to El Monte to try to make a deal. We were able to get $2000 worth of furniture for $1500, including delivery, which we were happy about. So we ended up buying a sofa, loveseat, and an expandable dining table with 6 chairs. And I am seriously in LOVE with this furniture. Delivery is supposed to take about 10 days but hopefully it will come sooner.
We did end up going back to Ashley and bought the 2 recliners we really loved. At $200 each, they were practically a steal. Unfortunately, once we got them home, we realized that we might have overestimated the space in our living room. Once we get our furniture, we'll be able to see whether or not it will fit. If it doesn't fit, we'll just have to rearrange it a bit. I'm sure it'll be fine in the end though. Pictures will be posted as soon as we are done unpacking and the furniture arrives.
Yes, we are not done unpacking yet. I was hoping to get a lot done on Friday, and while I feel I did, it hardly seems to have made a dent. I did manage to do a few loads of laundry though. I still can't emphasize how wonderful it is to have a washer and dryer in our apartment. After living in a place where it cost $3.75 to do one load of laundry ($2 for wash and $1.75 for drying), it is seriously heaven.
Monday-Friday: Ask co-workers, family and friends for recommendations of furniture places.
Friday night: Discuss with S.O. about where to go furniture shopping
Saturday morning: Map a course of the day
Saturday night: Complain about how tired you are and then discuss the few pieces you liked
Sunday morning: Map another course for the day
Sunday night: Pass out from exhaustion
Somewhere in there, spend an exorbitant amount of money.
As for the specifics, on Saturday, we went to a street in Culver City which we had seen furniture stores on. We fell in love with some 50% off recliners at Ashley Furniture on Saturday but decided to put them on hold for a bit and shop around a bit more. We went down to Fountain Valley and looked around there as well as some other random shops we drove by. We tried to stop by Cort Furniture but they closed really early, 6pm on a Saturday.
Sunday, we ran other errands then went to New Home Furnishings in El Monte. We found some furniture we really loved but wanted to discuss it a bit more so we went to a store in San Gabriel. Nothing good was there so we headed back to El Monte to try to make a deal. We were able to get $2000 worth of furniture for $1500, including delivery, which we were happy about. So we ended up buying a sofa, loveseat, and an expandable dining table with 6 chairs. And I am seriously in LOVE with this furniture. Delivery is supposed to take about 10 days but hopefully it will come sooner.
We did end up going back to Ashley and bought the 2 recliners we really loved. At $200 each, they were practically a steal. Unfortunately, once we got them home, we realized that we might have overestimated the space in our living room. Once we get our furniture, we'll be able to see whether or not it will fit. If it doesn't fit, we'll just have to rearrange it a bit. I'm sure it'll be fine in the end though. Pictures will be posted as soon as we are done unpacking and the furniture arrives.
Yes, we are not done unpacking yet. I was hoping to get a lot done on Friday, and while I feel I did, it hardly seems to have made a dent. I did manage to do a few loads of laundry though. I still can't emphasize how wonderful it is to have a washer and dryer in our apartment. After living in a place where it cost $3.75 to do one load of laundry ($2 for wash and $1.75 for drying), it is seriously heaven.
Thursday, July 23, 2009
The Internet
This week has been full of unpacking misery. I took Tuesday off from work so I could sit at home and wait for the DirecTV guy to come and install our cable. Turned out that the owner before us had DirecTV so it was pretty lucky that a wire was already there from the satellite dish on the roof. Otherwise, we may not have been able to get it. However, the internet was not as lucky.
First, I thought Verizon was sending someone out to install it. That is, until I saw the self-install kit.
"Shit," I thought. "I don't know how to install DSL. I didn't even know Verizon WAS DSL. I thought they used cable!" Daunted, I looked at the filters and decided that as a computer science student and now with a career in the field, I would be able to do it.
Sadly, we had lost the self-install manual in one of our many boxes.
"Ok, first things first," I thought to myself. "Where is my cable modem..."
It was then I realized that my CABLE modem was not going to work for DSL. So off I went to go buy a new DSL modem. Of which there was only one in the whole story, reminding me why I do not like Best Buy. But as I had to make it back home for the DirecTV guy, I figured it was good enough. After all, it was Motorola and they have an okay reputation.
I plugged it in. I installed the filters. I turned on my computer and held my breath.
Nothing. Internet light was red, which is obviously not a good color.
I called Verizon thinking they needed to renew my ip address. They told me to call Motorola. I called Motorola. They told me to call Verizon and get certain information. I did. Called Motorola back who took me through a couple steps and then determined that it was a problem on Verizon's end. I called Verizon back who reset my password and told me that the configuration was all correct and I should have been able to get on-line.
"Really?" I said as sarcastically as possible.
Hours passed. I took breaks from trying to continue unpacking. I offered the DirecTV guy water. I called my dad beseeching him for help. I broke down and cried. Ok, not really, but on the inside I did.
Around 7pm that night, Gary came home. Off I went to hug him and welcome him home and complain about my trials and tribulations with installing what appeared to be a faulty internet. He magically pulled a DSL modem out of his bag and proceeded to install it in less than 10 minutes.
It was the modem all along.
First, I thought Verizon was sending someone out to install it. That is, until I saw the self-install kit.
"Shit," I thought. "I don't know how to install DSL. I didn't even know Verizon WAS DSL. I thought they used cable!" Daunted, I looked at the filters and decided that as a computer science student and now with a career in the field, I would be able to do it.
Sadly, we had lost the self-install manual in one of our many boxes.
"Ok, first things first," I thought to myself. "Where is my cable modem..."
It was then I realized that my CABLE modem was not going to work for DSL. So off I went to go buy a new DSL modem. Of which there was only one in the whole story, reminding me why I do not like Best Buy. But as I had to make it back home for the DirecTV guy, I figured it was good enough. After all, it was Motorola and they have an okay reputation.
I plugged it in. I installed the filters. I turned on my computer and held my breath.
Nothing. Internet light was red, which is obviously not a good color.
I called Verizon thinking they needed to renew my ip address. They told me to call Motorola. I called Motorola. They told me to call Verizon and get certain information. I did. Called Motorola back who took me through a couple steps and then determined that it was a problem on Verizon's end. I called Verizon back who reset my password and told me that the configuration was all correct and I should have been able to get on-line.
"Really?" I said as sarcastically as possible.
Hours passed. I took breaks from trying to continue unpacking. I offered the DirecTV guy water. I called my dad beseeching him for help. I broke down and cried. Ok, not really, but on the inside I did.
Around 7pm that night, Gary came home. Off I went to hug him and welcome him home and complain about my trials and tribulations with installing what appeared to be a faulty internet. He magically pulled a DSL modem out of his bag and proceeded to install it in less than 10 minutes.
It was the modem all along.
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