Numero Once (Eleven)

Case at Hand: My friend Hilary recently had botox done on her "number eleven" for strictly preventative measures. In the pic to the right, she was trying her hardest to squeeze her eyebrows together to form the 11. (Her visual that the botox is actual working).

Theory: Hilary believes that by having botox done in areas where she most likely will have lines in the future, she will be able to prevent them all together.

My question to Hilary: What difference does it make if she gets botox now or 10-15 years from now? If the lines are not already there, wouldn't it make sense to just get the botox when she begins to see the wrinkles? I guess I'm thinking that she could save money and wait till it actually becomes an issue since she will have to continue having botox done a few times a year.

Side effects: With botox still being considered a fairly new treatment, it seems too early to tell what the possible long term side effects may be.

Other: If you ever run into Hilary, ask to see her number eleven. She will proudly show you how her skin does not move or wrinkle. :)

Self Defense

Last week we had a little girls night slash happy hour in Sacramento at Club Mix, a new hot spot in Sac. Two interesting things happened while we were there:

1) The Governator was sitting literally 20 feet away from us at an outdoor table around a fire pit. It looked like he was with a bunch of lobbyists or something. Consensus? He is fairly short and I wish I had asked to take a pic with him since the place was pretty empty. Missed my shot!

2) My friend Rhianna showed up with a knife in her pocket. Her husband gave her the knife to protect herself since he wouldn't be there to protect her! Man, oh man!

Knowing Rhianna, if anything did happen to her, the knife would probably get turned against her. Not sure if this is the brightest idea, but it was pretty funny when she showed up and revealed her secret. She could probably get arrested for concealing a weapon.

All in all, the girls night ended up being a very interesting night.

The Bachelor - Week 8: Women Tell All

Ok, to be quite honest, I'm not a big fan of the Women Tell All episode. I never have been and doubt that I ever will. It's mainly a recap of the whole season, a few bloopers and a few girls gabbing it up and getting upset with the Bachelor. I'm not going to use the same format as normal or do a complete recap of the episode because it was, how can I put it lightly, BORING.

Bloopers or funny moments included:
** During the golf date with Molly, Jason had to give his pants to Molly since she lost. Didn't exactly turn out how he initially thought.
** During the date with Molly at his house (the camping date), Jason created a little rap for her
** Naomi smells her arm pits a lot
** Melissa runs away from the camera after a bee gets close to her face
** AND Jason fell off of a horse

Funny quote: Jason revealed that,“We get ten to eleven hours to enjoy each other [during fantasy suite time]." Uh huh.

** America's favorite couple, Trista and Ryan, made a brief cameo to update all of their fans. They are still married, have an 18 month old son and are expecting a baby girl in a few months! :)

** This episode also spent about 15 minutes going over how a group of girls from the Bachelor met with the DeAnna's boys and went on a trip to Colorado. They coupled off and the twosomes are: Holly and Jesse, Graham and Amanda, Noelle and Fred. Interesting...

** Jillian was pulled to the couch for a little Q&A where claims that she actually fell in love with Jason and that he broke her heart. Chris asks Jillian if she would be willing to do the bachelorette and she says she would. Ugh. Not sure if I would watch that season. I can only do so much with the Canadian-isms.

** The last ten minutes consist of a recap of Melissa and Molly. In the end, Jason claims that he is, “very happy right now.”

Spoiler Alert: Aside from not being a fan of the Women Tell All episode, last week Jenny posted on her blog a HUGE spoiler alert. I am now a little upset and waiting for the final episode. If the rumor is true, I am NOT fan of Jason or the show anymore. Read at your own risk.

Side note: ABC is looking for the next bachelor… I’m thinking of nominating my brother. Muahaha.

Dancing Machine

Watching the below video of Ely Kim dancing during 100 days, to 100 songs, in 100 locations, of 100 dances is a great way to wake up in the morning. I personally love his cat shirt in #15. Can't wait till this gets picked up more. Utterly AMAZING.


BOOMBOX from Ely Kim on Vimeo.

More Words of Wisdom from Lola

An occupational physical therapist (PT) stopped by today to check on Lola. When she first walked in, I informed her that Lola has not been doing all of the necessary exercises. She has a tendency to say she's too tired and that she doesn't have to play with the silly putty. The PT said it would be fine, but had to grab something out of her car and would be back.

While she was out, Lola peeked around the corner to the front door to make sure the PT was gone. She looked at me, pointed to the silly putty, and said, "Don't tell her about that [silly putty]." I blew it and let her know I already did. She shook her head in anger and screamed, "What did I tell you about lying!?!?!?"

Later on during the session, Lola started digging into the PT's personal life asking if she had kids, how old they were and if they were married. After telling us that she has a 24 year old son who is married to an older woman, Lola was silent for about 30 seconds before saying, "It's OK. As long as she can reproduce, it's OK."

Did I mention she was hysterical last night after telling me that I looked like a maharajah with a towel on my head? The woman could not stop laughing. The things she gets away with never fail to shock me.

The Bachelor - Week 7

A few curve balls were thrown for the previews of the upcoming few weeks, but last night’s episode was easily predicted. Onward to the summary…

Recap: The last three ladies have overnight dates with Jason in beautiful New Zealand.

The first lucky lady is Jillian, who Jason says he wants the passion to step up between the two of them. “Romance was in the air” when Jillian and Jason go on a helicopter ride over New Zealand. The chopper lands on a picturesque ledge overlooking a ravine and lake. Jillian reveals to Jason that she’s looking for someone who is her best friend, but Jason tells producers that they may be exactly that and not much more. They both emphasize “friends” a lot during the beginning of their date. A few metaphors are used to describe their date such as comparing their relationship to being on “the edge of a cliff.” They proceed to have a romantic dinner at a winery where she completely opens up and tells him that she’s falling for him. He gives her the invite to spend the night and of course she accepts. While at the suite, Jason reveals to producers that his family would love Jillian more than anybody. On a side note, what was with the steamy music while they were in the hot tub??!!? The whole scene in the hot tub made it a little awkward to watch with my grandma as she kept saying “Allah!”

The second date was with Molly and he takes her to see the “best view of New Zealand” which consists of a bridge where they bungee jump. After the jump, Molly asks him a list of questions so that she feels comfortable accepting a proposal and knowing all the little details about him. I thought this part was pretty cute and necessary to get to know each other. She leaves the last question for later… Once again, Jason tells the camera that he can picture Molly as a wife, but he needs her to open up to him. After the list of questions, Jason calls her and her family out about not being so touchy feely or close during her hometown visit. Blah, blah, blah. While at dinner, of course she tells him that she’s falling in love with and hands him the last question which is an invite for him to spend the night with her in her hotel room. It was a cute little twist since she already spent the night at his place. He finally felt “loved.” Ooooh man. Curve ball. Really wanted to let her know how much he appreciated her opening up so they go into the hot tub?

The last, but not least, date was with Melissa . In the beginning of the episode, Jason explains how he is falling for Melissa, but she reminds him of DeAnna and his ex. Wut Woah! I noticed that he even runs up to her the same way he runs to Ty. The date starts off with a little trip on Winston Churchill’s boat for a cruise then off to hot pools, OF COURSE. While tubing, they bring up her parents and the difficulty it’s causing on their relationship. Melissa covers it up by saying she wanted them to see how happy he makes her. After tubing it, they went to a classy dinner of just the two of them (and a bunch of camera guys). And drum roll please, she tells him that she’s in love with him which is received with a big kiss from Jason. Any doubts that he had about her are gone.

The teaser into the rose ceremony is Chris explaining that it would be the, “most dramatic departure of the season.” NOT QUITE. I definitely saw this one coming. Can you guess who gets the boot?

Rose Ceremony: Before the rose ceremony, each girl made a personal video for Jason where Molly and Melissa repeat that they love him. While he’s debating in the deliberation room, Jason breaks down into tears. During the rose ceremony he tells them he’s falling for all three of them, but will be breaking one of their hearts tonight.
#1. Melissa
#2. Molly

Jason walks Jillian out and tells her that he thinks their lives are a little bit different than he first thought. For the exact reason he was explaining earlier, he saw them going down the path of friendship, not husband and wife. Goodbye mustard and ketchup, hello Dallas Cowboy cheerleader!

Next few episodes teaser: Highlights of the “most dramatic finale of bachelor history” with the return of DeAnna. However, next week’s episode is the reunion episode and after the finale we also have the after the rose ceremony. Producers have built it up to be some secret that has affected the lives of those involved. Hmm…

SPOILER ALERT? I did a quick search online and it looks like, yes, Jason proposes to Melissa in the end. The twist? She breaks up with him and goes back to her ex-boyfriend. Could it be? Is Jason so unlucky in love that not even ABC could find him a perfect match?

Wedded Bliss - Eric and Susana

On February 7th I attended the first of many weddings to come in 2009. Eric (my cousin) and Susana were married at City Hall on Friday, February 6, and had a beautiful get together in Oakland with family on Saturday.

Congratulations to the happy couple!

Guadalajara

This Wednesday, I have an interview for a teaching credential program in Guadalajara. I think it sounds like an amazing opportunity I'm just a little hesitant about my Spanish-speaking level since I would be taking classes at the University in Spanish. I would be living in Guadalajara from June to December, attending classes and actually student teaching in an elementary class from October to December!

This has built up in my head to the point where I actually had a somewhat nightmare about the interview last weekend. I had a dream that I walked into the interview and it was entirely in Spanish. The only two words I knew in the grammar section of the interview were "hola" and "gracias." I woke up extremely frustrated and disappointed that I freaked out during my "interview."

Well, hopefully Wednesday will be a much different story. Just in case, for the next two days I'm going to be listening to Spanish courses online. Wish me luck!

End of an Era

If you're a San Francisco resident, does the above scene look familiar? You may recognize the street or the church in the background, but this probably looks like any other race/marathon in SF.

Look closely and you'll notice a few costumes, balloons and even naked people. Known as one of the most famous events of San Francisco, Bay to Breakers is a race for runners and people looking to dress up, have fun and possibly throw back a few beers here and there.

For the past 98 years, San Francisco has been the home to the annual Bay to Breakers which is notorious for the crazy costumes, large themed floats and even public nudity and urination. Yes, sounds a little gross, but it's an amazing event that every person should experience at one point or another.


Earlier today, ING announced that they would be enforcing new safety measures and an alcohol policy to the annual Bay to Breakers in San Francisco including:
Zero tolerance policy on alcohol. Anyone openly drinking alcohol or displaying public drunkenness will be subject to fines and prosecution.
All wheeled objects and floats are prohibited. Inappropriate equipment on the streets is dangerous and can prevent runners and walkers from completing the race in a timely manner.
Leave no footprint. Additional dumpsters will be placed along the course for trash.


Will banning alcohol and floats really keep all of the liberal free-spirited San Franciscans away? How would the police actually regulate thousands of people in the street? Yes, public urination and trash is absurd and needs to be controlled, but it feels like these new regulations take out a lot of the fun involved with B2B. With a lot of the chaos being alcohol induced, you would not experience SF in its entirety without a 70 year old naked man running past a couple of policemen or a line up of Elvis impersonators urinating on a fence. Are the new rules going to stick? Is this the end of an era?

I checked out the official ING Bay to Breakers Facebook page where most people seemed to be outraged by the new policies. Here are two of my favorite wall posts:

Jon Schwartz wrote at 3:47pm Hey ING! Great call. Way to ruin the number one greatest day of the year. You just gave me huge motivation to boycott everything related to your irrelevant company. Fix this mistake or plan to pay the consequences of a wrath so fierce, so strong, so unbounded. A cold future lies ahead for you my friend, a cold cold future. SO very cold!

Berkeley Kauffman (Santa Cruz, CA) wrote at 1:54pm PPS- And may I point out that "you" are not 98 years old. Bay to Breakers died in some board room at some point after it's 97th birthday.

***

Sign the petition and join the fight against the new rules and regulations here.

Or join the boycott group on Facebook.

Life in Sactown III - Pick up Lines

While out with a couple of girlfriends last weekend, a guy approached my friend Marina and handed her a napkin:

Soon after, a different guy came up and yanked the napkin from her, tossing it to the ground. Marina asked if she knew him and he replied, "No, but you will in five minutes."

Sacramento guys are so classy. Whatever happened to chivalry?

Here's a pic of the guy who originally handed Marina the napkin.

We made fun of him for his acid washed tapered jeans and Letterman sweater. Of course he ended up being originally from LA.

Bday Shouts 021009

Today marks my half birthday! I am officially 25.5 years old today and have been eating cake during each meal to celebrate. For this momentous occassion, I decided to post a half photo of my face with Obama reaching past my head to shake someone's hand. This pic was taken before he announced he would be running for President at Ruby Skye in SF.


Now to work. February seems to be a big month for my close friends as far as birthdays. Here's a big w00t to Aiko, Chris, Caitlin and Paps! Happy birthday, friends!

And a very special bday shout to my cousin, Cristiano. He's turning 14 later this week. w00h00!

Life in Sactown II UPDATE

All of the squirrels have been captured and I can now sleep in my bedroom at home in peace. Here's a quick and slightly blurry video I took of the last squirrel. At one point the little bugger startled me and made me chuckle after realizing there was no way he was going to attack.

The Bachelor - Week 6

This is the episode where he “sees himself spending the rest of his life” with each girl. Questions and doubts with Naomi – get rid of her!

Recap: Jason visits Jillian in Canada where she takes him to a winery in a volcano and reveals that her mom was diagnosed with depression. Jason then meets her family where her mom reads a poem she wrote (yes, I got a little choked up. I hate being such a sap). Her mom proceeds to ask Jason a few questions and good ol Granny showed up and gave Jason a pair of boxers with the Canadian red leaf. Overall, pleasant welcoming family and they seemed to all get along fairly well.

Molly meets Jason at the country club in Grand Rapids, Michigan where they take in a little golfing and then off to meet the parents. The mom was a little goof ball and had him put on a silly hat and draw a picture of Molly of his favorite moment from the whole experience. She kind of reminded me of my mom in a way.

The next hometown visit was with Naomi where her mom explains to Jason to, “be one with the hula hoop.” Naomi’s mom is of course trippy and very hippie. She decides to bag up a dove she hit with her car and asks Jason to give the eulogy for “Rosie” the dove. Jason explains to the camera, "Today I learned that Hector [Naomi's dad] loves Jesus.” Bahahaha. To be completely honest, I wasn’t really paying attention to this family visit since I don’t really care that much about Naomi.

The last visit was with Melissa in Texas where she gave Jason a gift for his son, a tooth fairy box. She reveals to Jason that her family does not want to meet him in such a public setting and will be meeting her best friends. After seeing Melissa interact with her friends' kids, he explains to the camera that it is, “a gift for somebody to be that comfortable with kids.” Her closest friends don’t know anything about her parents which puts up a flag for Jason. Afterwards, they went back to her place for a glass of wine and he tried digging for info. about her family. She claims that she is, "110% in love with Jason."

Rose Ceremony: As always, this rose ceremony is the "toughest decision" for Jason yet…
#1 – Molly
#2 - Jillian
#3 – Melissa

Jason's rationalization for giving Naomi the boot is that he thinks they are in different places. Oh man, talk about an experience of a horrible rejection.. national television. Although I have watched the Bachelor time and time again, it just now hit me how embarrassing it would be to cry on national TV. Knowing me, I would be bawling.

Next episode: Romantic overnight dates in New Zealand. It also looks a little juicy in about two weeks when DeAnna pops back up. I don’t think that she asks for him to choose her, but why the heck does she need to get in the middle?

Best cheesy line from last night: “The winery is beautiful, but not nearly as beautiful as Jill.”

Bday Shout 020409

Happy 5th bday, Facebook! Five years ago the addiction was created for a few colleges. I can proudly say that I was a member almost from the get thanks to my friend, Lisa. We were studying for finals and she told me about this site that was ten times better than MySpace. The only catch was that not every single college was available yet. I think my first friends were from UCLA and Michigan. This little social networking site has now expanded to one of the largest internationally!

I'm still looking for a pic of me five years ago to put up as my profile pic for the day. Back in 04 they didn't have albums set up so my archive doesn't go back that far.

Mashable also posted a quick blurb about the bday and FB offering free virtual gifts to users today to celebrate. Check out the blurb and info. here.

Lie for Your Life

As mentioned before, my grandma Lola is quite a crack up. She has a lot of classic one liners and we just have to laugh it off because she's old. Unfortunately, she became quite ill prior to Thanksgiving and is now living with my parents. I lucked out [sarcasm] because I am now the temporary primary caregiver for her on weekdays and back to my apartment in SF on the weekends.

A few classic quotes since I started taking care of her:

Lola to me: "Where did you get your freckles from?"
Me: "I've had them since I was little from being in the sun too much."
Lola: "Oh... I don't like. You should wear cover up to hide them. They're not very pretty."

Lola to me: "You look more like your dad. [pause] Except you're not white."

Lola to a doctor at Kaiser: "This is my angel granddaughter. She's 25, graduated from UCLA and single." wink, wink

Another classic Lola story occurred during dinner last night. We were talking about how she lied to some people in her Couples for Christ group who wanted to visit at 8 a.m. earlier that day. She told me that she told them they could not come so early because I would be getting her ready for the day and busy cleaning/making breakfast. Although this is accurate, my mom revealed the truth since she was sitting next to Lola during the phone conversation. Lola had actually told them that nurses and a physical therapist were coming by and that she would be busy all day! The underlying truth is she’s very worried about how she looks and does not want anyone to see her unless it’s family.

After her secret was revealed, below is the convo between Lola and my mom:

Lola: "You call tell a lie to protect yourself. When you are accused by the government that you killed someone, you can lie."
Mom: "But what if you killed somebody?"
Lola: "That’s it. You lie. You lie to protect yourself. "

Slightly skewed on what’s right and wrong, but you can’t blame the old woman.

The Bachelor - Week 5

I had a dream Saturday night that I was on the Bachelor and Jason chose me! Also, Melissa was super mean to me so I'm thinking it's a sign that she's getting the boot in tonight's episode. We shall see...

UPDATE 10:30 p.m.:
Recap: The five remaining girls fly out to Seattle for two one on one dates and one group date with Jason. Melissa receives the first note for a one on one date called, “Let’s hit the town in style.” As Jason’s getting ready for his romantic evening with Melissa, Ty throws a little fit and doesn’t want Jason to leave for the night. (BTW, Ty he has a cool blue car bed). Jason calls Melissa to see if it’s OK if she just comes over and hangs out with him and Ty. She goes over to his house and talks to him about her family and how she’s the outgoing “black sheep.”

Stephanie, Jillian and Molly get the group date called, “Open your heart because love is on the air.” They take a ferry tour around Seattle. Jason leads Stephanie up to the captain so that she can steer the boat and for a little personall time. They discuss a comparison of their kids and how they could easily mesh the two families together. I think her super tight face and squeaky voice bother me the most. However, my mom thinks that he’s going to choose Stephanie because she’s the mom of the group and knows what he’s going through.

After the ferry ride, Jason takes the three ladies to a radio show where he is interviewed while the ladies are stuck in a soundproof room. A quick Q&A reveals: His most amazing date = with Stephanie for her daughter’s birthday and the best kisser is Molly. The DJ's test him with a blindfolded kissing game where of course he guesses everyone right. After the radio show, they go back to the hotel for dinner and drinks. He ends up taking Jillian aside to ask what’s up and Molly aside for a walk outside.

And Naomi, my second least favorite girl, gets the second one on one date called, “Don’t look down you might fall… in love.” They end up taking a private plane ride across Seattle. Of course she feels like she’s on cloud nine. All of the girls always feel like they’re on cloud nine and that they’re the one going to marry Jason. Then they go to a sporting goods store for a little rock climbing. After a little kissy face and talking about their aspirations and where they see themselves in ten years, blah blah...

Rose Ceremony: Jason pulls Naomi aside to ask if she’s really ready for his lifestyle. Of course she claims she's ready.

#1 – Jillian
#2 – Melissa
#3 – Molly
#4 - After a long pause, he chooses Naomi.

This tearful ceremony has everyone crying with Jason explaining to Stephanie, “You are the most amazing person I’ve ever met… You are a beautiful person outside and in. I’m so glad to have met you.” He walks her out and claims that the spark wasn’t there for the two of them.

A Few Takeaways:
His shirt is off in every episode
Chris Harrison always says that it’s the most emotional/best rose ceremony ever
He’s very touchy feely with “Mel”
He brushes hair out of the girls’ faces quite often

Synopsis of my final four (SPOILER ALERT): Two of my four, Melissa and Jillian, are still solid and in the running to win Jason’s heart. My detective self did a quick sweep online tonight trying to figure out who the final girl would be. A lot of the blogs are surprisingly pointing to Melissa based on a pinky ring! Check it out.

Top Ten Privacy Settings for FB Users

If you're like me, a Facebook addict or "avid user", you probably already figured how to change all of the privacy settings on your profile. Starting an account in college has made it slightly difficult to include both colleagues and clients as FB friends, but there are settings you can change to make things easier (i.e. Limited Profile and blocking photos, etc.) Today, AllFacebook posted step-by-step privacy instructions every user (especially professional) should use.

1. Use Your Friend Lists
2. Remove Yourself From Facebook Search Results
3. Remove Yourself From Google
4. Avoid the Infamous Photo/Video Tag Mistake
5. Protect Your Albums
6. Prevent Stories From Showing up in Your Friends' News Feeds
7. Protect Against Published Application Stories
8. Make Your Contact Information Private
9. Avoid Embarrassing Wall Posts
10. Keep Your Friendships Private

Check out the complete post on AllFacebook: The Unofficial Facebook Blog