Saturday, September 21, 2002

Racists Are Bad, White Racists Are Worst
An appendum to my entry earlier today. After we finished eating, Ronald pulls his Accord out and we turn to hit the stop sign in the parking lot so we could eventually exit. There were a bunch of people outsisde and they are all walking diagonally across the lot and before Ronald hits the intersection, he has to stop so they could walk across the path of his car. This one guy who kind of strayed behind looks at Ronald and Ted and I in the car and he says "Hey Nippers!". Nobody heard except me and I turned and said, "What the fuck!?" but at that point Ronald already drove on. I wouldn't have done anything if he had stopped but it was very upsetting. First of all, the correct racial term is nip and that refers to a Japanese person. It is not nipper. Maybe the redneck was trying to apply the -er suffix the same way he would to the racial term for blacks. Sorry, that does not work. He probably thinks chinker is valid as well. Second, Ted and Ronald are Chinese American and I am Vietnamese American. That does not equal Japanese, sorry. It would have been more appropriate if he said Ch*nk or VC or Charlie.

In all fairness, it must be challenging and perhaps unfair for white racists. When he insults an Asian, he has to distinguish among so many different nations. That must prove difficult for a student of a country where most students cannot name all the states and state capitals. He could mistaken an Indian for a Saudi and call him Sand Ni**er. Or a Thai person for a Chinese and call him Ch*nk. Luckily, in America, dumb whites are rednecks, wiggers, whatever...no matter where you go. We might have some problems if we mistaken an Irishman for French and called him Smelly, but luckily I don't plan on moving to Europe anytime soon.

Moral of today's lesson: Don't be racist. And if you choose to be, don't further embarass your race doing so.

posted by sygyzy at 9/21/2002 11:43:06 PM (0 comments)

Friday, San Diego Style
It was the last day of my trip to San Diego. We went to UCSD so Ted could get his carpool parking sticker on his permit. Then we went to the bookstore so he could buy his books. There were about two or three really cute girls and I pointed them out to Ted to which he explained they all miraculously disappear when school starts. They only come out during summer and spring break he said. LOL. Before the bookstore, we went to the little foodcourt area. He had a meatball sub at Subway and I had a two taco combo (fish and steak) at Rubios. I ordered a little too much since I couldn't finish. Next, we went to Office Depot to check out a hard drive for Ted and then Chevron to get gas.

Next, back to the house where we waited til traffic to clear up. Then we drove on the 15 to Riverside to visit Ronald at his Grand Marc (aka CASTLE) apartment. My god, it was so nice. It's like living in a hotel (complete with key cards), but on a 9 month stay. He showed us around briefly then took us to the theatre so we could watch Ballistic: Ecks vs. Sever. We had a nice discussion about the movie during the drive to TGI Friday's. It was half past midnight at this point and right smack in the middle of Happy Hour. Drunken hot chicks and their male companions everywhere. We got cheap appetizers (about $4 each). I paid $8 for mine since I ordered one of the two that were excluded from the Happy Hour deals. DOH! We left near closing and then came back and slept. Then today, we drove back to LA. That's probably going to be it for my detailed day to day adventures. I'll go back to normal posting mode now.

posted by sygyzy at 9/21/2002 06:28:06 PM (0 comments)

 Friday, September 20, 2002

Things to do with your dad


Take me out to the ball game!.

posted by Know Not at 9/20/2002 08:16:03 AM (0 comments)

 Thursday, September 19, 2002

San Diego, Third Time's a Charm
This is the third day I spent in SD. We got a late start and didn't start eating lunch until about two. First we went to Washington Mutual then walked across the parking lot to eat at Chipotle. I didn't think it was possible to spend $11 bucks on fast mexican food but I proved otherwise today. It was good though. Then we went to Balboa Park so we could go to the Museum of Man and see the special Inquisition Exhibit. It was kind of pricey at $8.00 with no student discounts. We finished it in less than an hour. It was just a small room but boy was it interesting. It was all about instruments of torture during the Inquisition. After we finished, we walked around a bit and then went to the Gaslamp District in Downtown San Diego so we could go check out the Here is New York photography exhibit. My god, the pictures were phenomenal. I would have taken pictures of the exhibit but they would not allow it. The best part is it was FREE! We left in 38 minutes after I wrote some words in the book and gave a small donation. Ted decided that he would take me to Coronado Island which is really a penninsula. We went to the beach and Ted showed me this historic hotel called Hotel Del Coronado. It was not that exciting. Then we went back. Good times! For dinner we went with Ryan and another housemate to Tofu House. They all got soup and I got pan friend tofu. The girl gave me the order with veggies even though I ordered it the regular one. It turned out all good because she didn't charge me extra. Whew. Then we walked a few stores down and into Tapioca Express where I got a Almond Ice Tee Snow Bubble. It was the nicest boba place I have ever seen. Very hip and trendy looking with a heavy dash of FOB. Next was Albertsons to get alcohol, then back to Ted's house to play drunken Trivial Pursuit: Millenium Edition. Ted and his partner won. Ryan and I were very sad. The End!

posted by sygyzy at 9/19/2002 07:40:33 PM (2 comments)

 Wednesday, September 18, 2002

San Diego: Part Deux
I woke up at 9 AM because I slept on the futon in the living room and Ted's housemates all wake up early to go to work. So I stayed up and read Maxim and did various activities until Ted woke up. First thing we did was go to the hanger port near Salk Institute. We parked in the dirt near the port. Then we went as far as they would let us and I took many pictures of people trying to take off, land, and fly around with their hangers. They were obviously beginners or inexperienced because they were not that fun to watch. Next, we walked to the Salk Institute and had lunch. Ted tells me that they were the ones that found the Polio vaccine. Wow. We both had pepper steak with potatos and bread. We talked about our careers for a while and when everyone was leaving, we left too. We went out to the courtyard and I took more pictures of it. Very nice. Next, we went to this plaza where Bank of America and BJ's is. Ted went to the bank and while he was in line I read the Wall Street Journal. Next was the Post Office hidden behind the plaza. Ted needed to mail out a Dell rebate but he had neither a stamp or an envelope. Stamps were available at the machine but he still had to stand in the very long line for the envelope. So being the nice guy I am, I went to Kinko's and bought him an envelope. 5 minutes later we were off. Wow, what an exciting day so far huh? I am going to put a paragraph break so people want to keep reading. Here goes!

We then decided to go to the Scripps Oceanography Institute. Ted didn't want to pay $6 for parking so we parked in the student parking lots which is free for the next week or so due to a grace period. We made the hike up the hill and paid the $6.00 (6.50 for me because I am not a UCSD student). We went through the aquarium as well as the museum. Scripps must really love seahorses because half of the museum was about seahorses. Everything you could ever want to learn about seahorses was there. Next, we went to La Jolla Cove(s?). We went there to see the fat and lazy seals on the beach. As we were walking toward the cliffs, Ted exclaimed, "Quick take a picture of the squirrel! He is sucking cock." He really was just playing with his tail but I took a picture anyways and now it's on Ted's desktop. We left and took the scenic route through Pacific Beach. There was nothing too scenic about it except the hot hot girls. We went to Mission Beach. It reminded me alot of Pismo Beach and I guess Pacific Beach too. We checked out a tattoo place and then left. Ted tried to take me across some famous bridge to an island where they have a resort and station warships but he couldn't find it. We went through the Gaslamp District in SD, then through Hillcrest. Ted tells me that is his favorite town because of all the flaming people that live there. Then we were hungry so we went to University Town Center to get some cheese fries. We both got Surf City smoothies too. Boy they are so good. Really really good! After some yummy cheese fries it was back to Ted's place. Dinner is next.

We went to watch Junkyard Wars because it was an episode where the teams had to build paintball tanks. Groovy baby! Ted's housemates made pasta and baked salmon. It was good. Very nice of them to share. We ate then finished the last 10 minutes of Junkyard Wars. That's it for today. Chat and sleep then tomorrow is a new day!

posted by sygyzy at 9/18/2002 07:13:43 PM (2 comments)

A Thing or Two About Communicating
I think it's funny how the more tools we are given to communicate with one another, the less we use them. I am not really referring to business related communications, like people talking on their cell phones or faxing memos because they have to, but voluntary ones. The ones among friends. It's very interesting, I think, that many people are too busy to ever write, call, or even IM others. Actions are a result of choices and circumstances. Chris Rock joked that the Senator(?) that was criticizing Clinton during his Monica-gate scandal should shut up because nobody was offering to give him oral sex. It's easy to say, "I would never do that!" when you are never in that position. As such, it seems that once people gain new friends or other avenues of entertainment, they just ignore the old. Out with the old, in with the new. Is that how the saying goes? The problem with this is many-fold. First, some argue that they don't ever initiate a conversation or talk with anyone. They are just online doing research or checking email they say. Oh really? Then why is AIM running? You don't need it to check email or do research. Second, how long do you think your new friends will last you? Longer than your old ones will? Possibly. But as wise Ted said, "Two [groups] are better than one." Word. Maybe you shouldn't be limiting your resources. Who knows, the one person who might be able to provide you with something you need can't because you just shut him/her out of your life. Next, it's the people who only IM you when they need you that annoys me. They come after silence for months and they want to know how to fix something? Or where to buy something? Or my opinion on something? Please.

So what is the solution you ask? Well the solution is those people will never change. So, you and I have to. Always be the one to keep in touch. Always be the one to keep the lines of communication open. That is the nice and PC approach but absolute bull. Saying "hi" or "how have you been" seems to be viewed as a bother or nuisance rather than appreciated as a genuine effort at preserving the ties of friendship. The flipside is to say "f*ck it" and that is the right answer. The question is how strong of a person are you? It takes a special character, a strong person that does not give a damn, to be able to not even bother.

I think I will end this by saying that I am always surprised when some people that I talk to the least actually come out of the shadows and IM me. I am always taken aback (is that term right?) and I sit and smile a bit before I reply. Normally I'd leave with some nice quotes but I couldn't just choose one. So here are a few:

"You and I were long friends: you are not my enemy, and I am Yours" � Benjamin Franklin

"Everyone hears what you say. Friends listen to what you say. Best friends listen to what you don't say"

Peace. I'm out.

posted by sygyzy at 9/18/2002 10:16:37 AM (2 comments)

 Tuesday, September 17, 2002

First Day in San Diego
So I take this week off from work. I don't have class until next week. I took the train to SD. First of all, I should have listened to my mom. There was so much traffic going to LA. I got on the train at the last minute and went to SD. The scenery sucked until the last half hour. I got to the Solana Beach station and waited outside for like 10 minutes then Melissa came. Then we went to her house. Oh boy, it's so big and nice. The backyard sucked though since there was no landscaping, just rocks and dirt. Then we went to Pacific Beach and ate at Da Kine's. It is like Shakas. Very much like it. Then we went to like one or two shops and then went to Ted's place. Ted lives in a mansion on top of a hill. Unfortunately, we could not appreciate it until a long time afterward since he gave us such bad directions. I mean bad like crap is bad compared to sex with a beautiful girl on a field of daisies with a bottle of really fine wine. Anyways, Melissa and I got the grand tour and we watched most of Monsters Inc. Then she left and everyone went to the archery range at UCSD's campus. That was fun. Then Fry's to get a super expensive printer for Ted's housemate. Then some Japanase restaurant where I got crappy Philly Rolls but good baked spicy California Rolls. Tomrorow - another adventure!

posted by sygyzy at 9/17/2002 10:34:43 PM (0 comments)

 Monday, September 16, 2002

Dumb Hispanic Taco Bell Workers
Emphasis on the "dumb." So I went to the Taco Bell drive thru and I order a Baja Steak Chalupa and a Nacho Supreme with no beans. Oh and a cinnamon twist. Not the hardest order in the world. Took the dumb fast food drone 5 minutes to understand it. When I got there he was pissed because I seemed irritable. I was. Total was $4.41 I said, so I handed him the money and said here is "4.51." He closes the window and goes to get my order. An older hispanic man handed me the food and I said you guys owe me 10 cents. So he calls the first guy back (young kid) and he says "You handed me 4.51." and I said "That's right, the total was 4.41" To which he replies "What? You want 10 cents?!?!" I said "well.." and he hurridly (sp?) hands me the change. I was going to say "Why don't you go ahead and keep it and maybe you can buy yourself some simple math lessons you dumb fuck." Then I thought about why I don't insult losers: They have nothing to lose (except deportation?) so they wouldn't mind killing me. Shame. BTW, if the person was an elderly polish woman I would have titled this post "Dumb Polish Senior Citizen Taco Bell Workers." In this case it was a dumb Hispanic, go figure. Actually, I think it was a dumb Mexican, but I have to be PC and all. :)

posted by sygyzy at 9/16/2002 07:49:45 PM (2 comments)