Burbling Brain Juice

Babies Dogs and Red Eggs

2009-11-01T23:45:00.000-08:00

Had a nice sleep thanks to daylight savings time and started Sunday afternoon with a brave trip to San Francisco, via the San Mateo Bridge. Travel time wasn't bad at all, a few snags here and there but all in all I made it there in the same time if not faster than taking the Bay Bridge.

Finally got to meet my coworker's baby after waiting 9.5 months at his red egg and ginger party. Donovan is as cute as can be.

The pups in the house. One's named Pom Pom and the other is either Love or Peace. Nobody knows for sure...

The red eggs. My hand is still stained.

And finally a photo that will tug at your heartstrings. A boy and his dog.

1:47am Ramblings

2009-10-31T01:44:00.001-07:00

I'm looking at my calendar and realizing November is fast approaching. Actually, it's 24 hours away. I'm filled with anxiety, hope, excitement, and some stress, but I am trying not stress too much since it's bad for my newly filled molars. Still gotta get that crown done. I'm slowly learning how to manage all the things on my mental checklist: the move, new opportunities, finance, the future...
Growing up is hard! But 26 is a good time to start, better late than never.

Hannibal Jack

2009-10-17T01:09:00.000-07:00

Poor guy. 4 and a half years of turtle and I find him dead last night...
I guess that answers the question: shall I take him to the condo or give him away?

Jack about a year ago...

RIP Jack.

Ladybugs 2009.

2009-10-09T01:20:00.001-07:00

Ahh, Ladybugs. We had ONE win this season, but 2010 will be a new season of revamping and reorganizing.
Of course we couldn't end the season without the requisite team photo. Here we are:

Top Row, From L to R: Ladybug, Jean, Fil, Erik, Sesie, and Barrett
Middle Row, From L to R: Nicole, Stacey, Alycia, Clynt, and John
Bottom Row, From L to R: Kenny, Joe, Jeana, and Me
Front Row: Amy, Ike, and Ben

Missing: Thanh, Kim, Melanie (who just had her beautiful baby boy).

Here's us goofing off:

Jacob is TWO. (Again)

2009-10-07T21:40:00.000-07:00

So we had JD's birthday dinner last Sunday at some Chinese restaurant in Fremont. Food was EH, but it was nice getting the folks together.

Loungin'
>

Sister giving a hand...

Living On Your Own 101

2009-10-05T22:20:00.000-07:00

Ike and I were going solo again. This weekend taught me: if you can handle East Oakland, you can live anywhere!
Some highlights of my weekend:
- water heater out for the whole weekend. cold showers, galore!
- domestic violence complete with rattling walls and sumo shoving match.
- paper thin floorboards and an inconsiderate neighbor who loves running the washer dryer from 11pm-2am and talks really loudly at 3am.
- dogs behind fences who are mangy annoying foaming-at-the-mouth motherfuckers and UNFENCED dogs who come out of the woodworks to make your dog walk miserable.

On the other hand, I survived the weekend and took some lovely pics of famous Ike.

Twooo

2009-10-01T06:55:00.000-07:00

Last year on this day I reported JD was ONE, had no hair or teeth but had a charming personality.
One year later, he's two, has a full head of fuzzy hair, more teeth, and can answer three questions on cue:
...What is your name? Jeh-kub!
...How old are you? Twooo.
...What is your favorite color? Boo!

Here's the big boy's official portrait:

Attempts at a model shoot...

2009-09-25T23:41:00.001-07:00

Using Katie as a guinea pig/model, I spent a few weekdays of QT with Katie, catching up, capturing the right light, the right angle, and of course, the right moment.

Black & White study.

Toying with the sunset.

The end.

Spider.

2009-09-17T01:23:00.001-07:00

Sherry Lam i was just raped by a large, large brown spider. i feel so violated...

Katie Soo Cover your crotch, you're attracting the BIG ones. You're laughing next to me, cover your mouth too!!

Sherry Lam Next time i will come over with a diaper and closed toe shoes.

Katie Soo Bring a BIG diaper, with extra lining. That shit was intense.

Sherry Lam i'm about to shit on myself from laughing so damn hard...

Katie Soo Don't fucking on do it on my bed...get off!!!

Sherry Lam That hairy fucker knew how to swim the butterfly. I'm scared! As much bug spray as you put in the toilet before you screamed...

Katie Soo Dude, I was scared. And technically, I saved your crotch. Someone should be thanking me.

Sherry Lam I feel so violated. Before we flushed him we should've asked him:
WHERE THE FUCK DID YOU COME FROM, and...
WHAT THE HELL WERE YOU DOING ON MY CROTCH?!?!

Katie Soo Spider: Shut up, you broke my leg bitch. Ima take something from you too!!

Sherry Lam As I sit here next to you, I wonder...
will another one crawl right up your butt? ::Looking::
Don't make me bring the flip flop up here.

Katie Soo Holy shit mothers and sons. I have to sleep here alone tonight. Fuck. Sherry..............................................

Sherry Lam um, I think this is my cue to go home now.

Katie Soo Thanks, lots of sisterly love. Goodnight spider crotch. Don't forget to put on your diaper tonight.....

Sherry Lam I think tonight's the night to wear all the fucking clothes you own.

Questionnaire

2009-09-09T09:11:00.000-07:00

One of my pals posted a list of questions on Facebook and I found them to be quite thought challenging:

I'm curious, actually. Started thinking about cultural differences and how much I don't know about people I know only online, or even those I think I know well. You know I like the listies. Thought I'd come up with one to explore folks a bit. feel free to send me a private message if you care to share that way. No pressure to answer every question. I'm just interested in learning what you care to share. I'll add a reply with my answers below.

Questions I'd likely eventually ask if I saw you every day:

1) How did you get your name? Does it mean something special? Are you named for a relative? Who named you-mom, grandfather, the nurse?

My parents are immigrants and know absolutely nothing about English names. My sister gave many suggestions but ultimately they chose Sherry because my dad loved to drink. Guess you know how I got here.

2) What feature did you inherit from one of your parents that you especially like? Do you have your father's nose?

My family says I look most like my dad but I'm fair-skinned like my mother. I am glad I inherited my dad's athleticism!

3) What feature did you inherit from one of your parents that you especially dislike?

My dad's bad teeth...

4) Tell me about your relationship with your hair. Do you love it, hate it, fight it, alter it significantly, identify by it, associate it with something other than appearance?

I have no emotional attachment to my hair, but funny enough everyone else does. I'm not afraid to experiment. I'll have short hair one minute and long the next.

5) What is your favorite celebration? Do you call them "holidays"? How do most people celebrate it, and do you have your own way?

I enjoy holidays with my mother's side of the family. They're all I've got and they're who I most enjoy being with.

6) Comfort food: what's yours? What do you eat when you are angry? Tired? Celebrating? Honoring your past?

I have something called mood food: mashed potatoes, collard greens, tacos, nachos... I usually eat one or all of the above one week a month.

7) Pick a culture that you associate with. What is one thing this culture is known for that you are proud of? One thing that you distance yourself from? One thing that you think is a negative cliche? One thing you really want to see improve about the 'outside' perspective of your culture?

I'm Chinese. I've always been trapped between two cultures. It's been a lifelong struggle to define. Stereotypes means nothing to me because I'm completely outside the box on stereotypes. I'm bad at math, I can drive...

8) What is something you'd actually, with full emotion, fight for?

I'm fighting for my ability to love someone, regardless of race or income. It has been hell for the past year dealing with my family.

9) What motivates you to do good?

I've always challenged myself to excel in everything I do.

10) When were you last a member of a group that felt like family, though not made up of relatives?

There are two people in my life who, for the past 9 years, have encouraged me, comforted me, and rejoiced with me in every stage of my life without judgment or criticism. Without them I could not have gone as far as I have. They know who they are.... Read More

11) What culture, aside from one you identify with, do you admire? (Choose one, doesn't have to be the only one.)

None. I'm proud of who I am. I look no further.

12) Do you ever listen to/read/ watch news from sources that report news from a perspective you disagree with? How much effort do you regularly give to understanding the concerns of people on the opposite end of the political spectrum?

News is supposed to be unbiased but it never fully is. I like to examine things from all angles. I never have an opinion until I have sought all perspectives...

13) Are you known for a special recipe? Is it something you'd share? Did you learn it from family, a friend, a book, experimentation?

I don't cook even though I come from a family of chefs. But I'm slowly trying, and it's not too bad!

14) What was the most significant gift you ever received?

I don't think my parents intended this to be a gift but they bought me a piano when I was 6 and it has been an important mainstay in my life.

15) What was the most thought you've ever given to a gift you were giving someone else?

My brother in law and sister have two kids and are extremely hard working. I have none. Although I work two jobs, I take some time to babysit so they can go out on dates once in awhile to maintain their loving relationship and sanity. My sister gave up her teen years unwillingly to be my guardian, I knew from the time the kids were born I would reciprocate the same if not better.

16) If you could instantly change one thing about your appearance, what would it be?

One thing will correct everything: losing weight. ...

17) If you could guarantee one basic human right to all people, what would it be?

It would be the right to love who you want.

18) When was the last time you realized that you had said or done something inadvertantly offensive to someone? How did you handle it?

I'm always offensive because I speak my mind and I''m an equal opportunity racist. I talk shit about all races and religions because every "great" thing has an antithesis and sometimes people are just too narrow minded to accept the other perspectives.

19) What does prayer mean to you?

I'm agnostic. Religion was forced upon me at a young age. I'm still struggling to define what it means to me.

20) How do you know where home is?

Home is a place where I can be one with myself and be at peace. There are only two places that exist in my life: Mountain View Cemetery and Leona Heights.

Calysta!

2009-09-04T09:34:00.001-07:00

Last Saturday Calysta Lynne turned ONE! My how time flies.

Her at 2 days old:

And 362 days later...

Ike.

2009-08-31T11:56:00.000-07:00

Spend this weekend house/dogsitting. Ike is the biggest sweetheart as well as the biggest lapdog you can ever imagine.

I slobber.

Sleeping baby pose.

...what do you want...?

Kindergarten!

2009-08-18T21:46:00.000-07:00

AAAAAH! Alexa is going to KINDERGARTEN tomorrow! This day came by fast! I can't help but remember the brand spanking new red baby with the major conehead I held on March 29, 2004...

Here she is on her first day of school- August 19, 2009.

26

2009-08-13T00:38:00.000-07:00

Happy birthday to me...
This year is going to be a year full of many changes. All I know is that this is the year I begin to live my own life the way it was intended.

It touched me to know how many people, who were or weren't blood related to me, remembered this day. It wasn't about the fancy gifts- it was the fact that they took significant time and effort to do something special for me. I hold these gifts dearest, with thanks to Alexa, Cecil, Xochitl, Leila & Al, and Washington.

On the other hand it was quite dismaying to know that my own parents forgot my birthday. 26 years ago my mother crapped me out at Kaiser Oakland. She remembers every detail, down to the route and room number she was in... Even the fact that my queasy Dad was present, traumatized by the atrocities of the birthing process.

I'm conflicted. I feel like I'm old enough and should be a bigger person to not take offense over something like this, but at the same time, I feel insulted that my own parents forgot. To add insult to injury, the next morning, my mother blamed ME for making her forget: I'm never home, I never spend time with them...etc. So it's MY fault they forgot my birthday.

So moving out is going to be a welcome change. I need some insight on how to grow up and be my own person before I can try again with my parents. All I know is I won't be forgetting any birthdays. Ever.

Dog Wanted.

2009-08-05T16:43:00.000-07:00

So, I've been wanting a dog my whole life. Now that I'm moving out, I'm starting to get back into searching again. I've narrowed it down to three:

A Shetland Sheepdog, just like Buddy:

A cream Shiba Inu dog:

and A Golden Retriever:

So, with these choices narrowed down, we shall see...

Chris & Marie, Marie & Chris

2009-08-03T00:10:00.001-07:00

August started out wondefully with my only guy cousin tying the knot. 2nd wedding in 9 years for the Gee grandchildren.

Twenty Days

2009-07-23T09:16:00.000-07:00

I MADE IT! I finished the 20 days of Marcia Benjamin's patented Lap Swimming class. I am proud to say I feel a lot better, I got my waistline back, have better endurance, and have gotten a bit faster. Here are the rest of the Facebook updates from day 11 on:

Day 11 of 20: Sprinting the devil out of me. Old Asian man wandered into women's locker room looking for toilet. HELLO, see all those naked women!?! OBVIOUSLY this is not the men's bathroom!!!

Day 12 of 20: Time trials, 100m Freestyle. Fastest: 1 minute, 31 seconds. Slowest: 1 minute, 41 seconds. VERY sore legs.

Day 13 of 20: after a 10 year hiatus, did the butterfly and felt my shoulders creaking and groaning. A little bit of WD40 will do the trick.

Day 14 of 20: More butterflying and paddling. Shoulders screaming...

Day 15 of 20: Shoulder is broken... No more butterflying for me! Yet Marcia swears if I ice my shoulder down I should be good as new for tomorrow's 15 minute free swim... >_<

Day 16 of 20: Shoulder no longer an issue. Feeling great! Clocked in 32 laps for the 15 minute free swim. Happy and sad there are only 4 more classes left...

Day 17 of 20: Just when I thought things couldn't be any harder... We did IMs today. Plus I jammed my middle finger horribly on the lane lines. D'oh!

Day 18 of 20: Abs are aching, more IMs- version 2.0. Plus a kickboard tug of war match.

Day 19 of 20: More IM's, version 3.0. Sprinting and diving became a tragic disaster when I performed the belly flop heard 'round the world. Never, ever, ever again.

Day 20 of 20: I MADE IT!!! 20 days of Marcia Benjamin's patented workouts. I am happy to say I feel better, stronger, and faster. Shaved off 5 seconds for the 100m time trials to make it 1:25, and 1:27 respectively. Pictures to follow from this morning's workout.

Also got pictures from today's last workout.
Our lane. Lane 7 at 5:45am.

Oh, Luis...

Melissa!

Judy and Leslie, my favorites who saw me through all 20 days.

Hi Maurice!

Marcia!!!

Nia flying. So much more graceful than my version.

The cool Dutch bike.

My lil 20 day locker.

GYPED!

2009-07-18T00:12:00.001-07:00

Ebay got me TWICE in ten years! First the North Face coat, and now a pair of Current Elliott jeans! Maybe this is a sign I should totally stop shopping for fashions.

Lately I've been into Current Elliott's boyfriend jeans. I have one pair already and LOVE them to pieces. So I decided, what the hey. Another pair shall do.

I bid on a pair, Current/Elliott Love Destroyed Boyfriend Jeans Size 27 , this one to be exact, and won it. Great, right?

It took hella long to get here. UPS decided to reschedule the shipping for God knows why (maybe God knew they were sketchy). I finally got them tonight and Jesus, Allah, Buddha, help me, I nearly had an aneurysm.

I unfolded the jeans and saw the sanded hole on the left thigh had been busted through, like someone accidentally stuck their toe through it. Not that big a problem I said. Then I saw the legs were incredibly skinny. I tried putting them on and discovered these were sausage casing SKINNY jeans, NOT relaxed BOYFRIEND jeans. THEN... (drum roll please) I decided to unroll the hems and to my horror, saw they were cut down with a pair of scissors. The hems were crooked, frayed, and the side seam had split up an inch. To top it off, I found a crumpled dollar in the right front pocket. NEW MY ASS! These jeans were CLEARLY not new. I can't even sell these to the consignment shop if I wanted to! I was horrified.

Here are some photos of the massacre. Fashionistas, please be warned these photos are extremely graphic and may break your heart and cause fainting.

The damaged hole. Looks like SWAT tried to kick down the door.

Botched, amateurishly cut hem

Ugly raw, splitting seam and fraying.

The crumpled dollar found in right front pocket.

Even though the seller claims he doesn't issue refunds, it was a gross misrepresentation of the jeans. Hopefully my paypal claim will suffice. More updates to come...

UPDATE: 07/20/09
Called Current Elliott Jeans headquarters in NY and got confirmation that the jeans I got were from a sample sale. Official confirmation these jeans are CLEARLY MISREPRESENTED in the auction. Now... waiting for paypal...

UPDATE: 07/21/09
Either I wore her down or she figured out she was stuck by the mounting pile of evidence I had against her- she relented and will give me my money back. Still giving me hell by saying she needs to inspect the jeans to make sure that I didn't screw them up, but whatever. Still have a paypal claim if she decides she still wants to act a foo.

UPDATE: 07/30/09
Paypal has awarded me my $91 back. YEE-HAH!

Fish

2009-07-17T13:30:00.000-07:00

As y'all know both my fish croaked last week at work. Okay, I may have slacked in the water changing department, but the random weather patterns didn't help the water temperature either.

I went on ebay to get my new set of fish, this time there was no shipping snafu. They arrived right before 12pm and acclimated for an hour before I set them free. Here's what they look like, this is from the ebay seller's archive.
This guy is a metallic green/blue guy with a fanciful tail. I named him Kermit.

The other fish is yellow with black-rimmed scales and an aqua blue rimmed tail. I named him Oski.

The Ladybugs

2009-07-09T22:18:00.000-07:00

Another season comes to a close, my fifth one. Next season is a season of new beginnings. Old Man Kenny will be coaching, and I'll be assisting. Tonight was our last game, and amongst the cacophony and craziness, we love being a team and are going to continue on to carry the Ladybug name and do it proudly. For Leah, and for Ladybug.

The Ladybugs:
Top row: Ladybug, Nicole, Sesie, Erik and Barrett
Middle row: Clynt, Alycia, Jeana, John and Julie
Bottom row: Kenny, Sherry, Stacey, Fil and Jean
missing: Thanh and Melanie

Half Way There!!!

2009-07-08T08:58:00.000-07:00

Today is day 11 of 20 in Marcia Benjamin's patented lap swimming torture class. I can actually see ab definition, and I have my waist back! My arms are more toned and I feel like I have more endurance. Let's take a walk down memory lane and troll down my list of Facebook updates from Day 1:

first day of swimming: pwned! however, I am ready for another.

day 2 of swimming: PWNED x2.

day 3 of swimming: neck muscles, armpits, and abs aching.

day 4: starting to feel better, maybe because i'm off work and can now lapse into a vegetative state...

Day 5/30: PWNED! Abs and thighs burning. Stupid foot cramping.
oh yeah. day 5/30. Today, we learned how to do the ROBOT!

Day 6/30: Legs jellied, killed large brown ugly spider in women's shower room, busted/bruised hand somehow.

Day 7/30: Muscles burning, did more drowning/snorting in of chlorinated water than swimming...

Day 8 of 30: thighs are burning, legs jellied and wobbly.

oops. swimming only has 20 days, not 30.

Day 9 of 20: did some paddling. Not the kind you're thinking.

Day 10 of 20: Made it half way! Feeling better, stronger, but still not liking the early wake up time.

Day 11 of 20: Sprinting the devil out of me. Old Asian man wandered into women's locker room looking for toilet. HELLO, see all those naked women!?! OBVIOUSLY this is not the men's bathroom!!!

Flying Time

2009-06-27T00:11:00.000-07:00

Where in the world has time gone?
Once I cradled a newborn baby in my arms,
Bounced her on my lap.
Walked across the house with her,
hands curled around my thumbs
pattering away in a blur.
Heard the first words, listened carefully,
as time connected them into sentences.
That little girl,
On her own, her two little feet,
adorned with ruby red mary janes
walking across the stage
grasping the first diploma,
the first of many.
I watch the future, with time
unfolding before my eyes.

Class of 2009

Doin her thang on stage.

She said, "When I grow up, I want to be a piano player." Just like me.

The diploma, her first of many.

The proud Schmelzingers with their graduate!

Alexa and her best friend Ashley

Alexa and her pal Haylene romping around.

Aww... Jeanne and JD.

Um... it WAS supposed to be a tender moment when she was holding Daddy's hand a second ago...

Father's Day Feast

2009-06-21T21:05:00.000-07:00

Finally got around to loading photos from Father's Day. Been running a tight ship with my crazy ass schedule of working 2 jobs 7 days a week, swimming at 5:45am, and playing badminton and softball. So here goes!

Dave with his monkeys.

Hyuk! Clowning around with GooGoo. I'm actually in a picture for once!

Hamfin and FiFi

Alexa anticipating the food...

Open wide!

Yum. We did more or less the same rendition of the menu from Mother's Day. Delicious.

They're kissing!!! Photographic evidence!

Three generations.

Drumroll please... Ladies and Gentleman, the fabled swanky bathroom. This is for you, Jer.

Har Har... My mother was NOT amused.

In 7...

2009-06-17T11:34:00.000-07:00

My life is changing and in 7 months, there will be a fresh start. So I have mandated a few goals:

a) I would like to learn how to budget and save money
b) I would like to learn how to cook for myself
c) I would like to learn how to compromise
d) I would like to learn how to build up my self- esteem
e) I would like to learn how to live my own life
f) I would like to learn how to keep my place clean

most of all...

g) I would like to learn how to have a good relationship with my mother

Monkey Time

2009-05-31T00:12:00.000-07:00

babysat the monkeys Saturday afternoon/evening so the parents could have a nice night out as grown-ups.
snapped some great photos of the two. Alexa is now 5 and JD is 19 nearly 20 months old. Time flies...

No nose-picking this time.

My beautiful Hamfin and her green/brown eyes...

Hellooo?

Already texting at 19 months old.

Can you believe it? He can unlock an iPhone at 19 months old. Kids these days...