You say you wander your own land
But when I think about it
I don’t see how you can
You’re aching, you’re breaking
And I can see the pain in your eyes
Says everybody’s changing
And I don’t know why

So little time
Try to understand that I’m
Trying to make a move to stay in the game
I try to stay awake and remember my name
But everybody’s changing
And I don’t feel the same

You’re gone from here
And soon you will disappear
Cause everybody’s changing
And I don’t feel right

So little time
Try to understand that I’m
Trying to make a move to stay in the game
I try to stay awake and remember my name
But everybody’s changing
And I don’t feel the same

So little time
Try to understand that I’m
Trying to make a move to stay in the game
I try to stay awake and remember my name
But everybody’s changing
And I don’t feel the same

In geek news, I decided to purchase the iPhone 4. I am a slave to Apple. I’m not proud of it. When they first announced the new design, I was in love. I however was not qualified for the $299 upgrade so I’d have to fork over $499 if I wanted an “early” upgrade. To my luck, my good friend was willing to purchase my 3GS for $195 (friend discount). With this money, my early upgrade would be essentially the same price as the regular upgrade price. I decided that I would try to get the phone on June 29th at my local AT&T store. I confirmed with an employee that they would be selling the iPhone 4 on Tuesday starting at 7am. This employee warned me that people would be sleeping over night to wait for the phone. I set my alarm the night before for 4:30am. I ended up waking up by myself at 4am (maybe it was my excitement). I left the apartment around 4:45am to check out how long the line would be. I guess there wasn’t much marketing about the AT&T launch because I was #9 in line. Not bad! I also seemed to be an amateur with waiting in line at 5am. Most people in line had brought chairs, food, blankets, etc. All I had was my purse. I guess next time I wait for an iPhone I’ll be more prepared? The store opened a few minutes after 7am. By this time, there were at least 50 people behind me. They let us in groups. I was in the first group.

My sales person was an older man and I automatically assumed he would take a long time to ring me up. I was the last one to leave in my “group”. That’s okay because he was very polite even though he was slow. He tried to sell me accessories and the only thing I was interested in was the Speck Candyshell. I love this case because it’s both hard and soft. Because of this, it protects the phone very well from accidental drops. My sales person said they did not have them in stock, but he could order it for me. They only had two colors: black or purple. I picked purple since it would stand out more in my bag. He told me that they would ship it to my apartment. By Tuesday afternoon, I received and e-mail from AT&T letting me know it had shipped out via UPS 2nd Day Air. Wow, not bad for free shipping! I also got suckered into buying a mirrored screen protector. For all you iPhone owners, do NOT waste your money with the mirrored screen protector. When it’s really sunny outside, I can barely see my screen. Also, it’s pretty difficult to take pictures of things when all you see is your reflection. All in all, the iPhone 4 purchase went pretty smoothly. I have no complaints. I guess it’s good I wasn’t interested in the secretive white iPhone 4. I asked the AT&T employees when this phone would come out and one answered, “Is there even a white iPhone?” Haha.

Anyway, this was an early birthday gift to myself. I won’t be “shopping” until next week since I received all these birthday coupons from Banana Republic, DSW, Loehmann’s, Filene’s Basement, etc. So much temptation! I can’t resist a good deal.

My boyfriend, Jeff, will be returning from his deployment to Afghanistan in less than a week. I can’t believe it’s already been two months. I can’t wait to celebrate my birthday with him!

It seems a bit ironic that I just went through a pretty huge medical scare. During one of my regular medical checkups and tests, my doctors found a nodule on my thyroid. My doctor had me do a thyroid blood test and a urine test to see if I had any thyroid problems. I didn’t have any “antibodies” so I thought I was in the clear. My doctor then referred me to an endocrinologist in his practice. She looked at my test results and suggested that I get a thyroid biopsy since the nodule was 1.4 cm, which I guess is not too small. She told me that she was about 85% sure that the growth wasn’t cancerous, but she’d rather be 100% sure. She had me schedule a biopsy with NYU Medical. I found out that they only perform this procedure on Mondays and Tuesdays from 1-2pm. The next opening was in a month. I booked it and confirmed with my endocrinologist that it was okay for my biopsy to be a month away.

Flashforward a month (5/4/10), I go to my appointment with my very supportive scientist cousin. I’ve been to the radiology floor a few times, so I am quite familiar with how things work there. I filled out my paperwork and submitted without a problem. My appointment was for 1:30pm and at around 2pm, I began to get nervous. I was worried that they’d have me come back another time since they only perform this procedure from 1-2pm! I checked with an office person and he told me that they were actually running an hour behind. Around 2:30, I was called into yet another waiting room. Finally, after what felt like an eternity, cousin and I were brought to the “operating” room.

My over eager pathologist explained to me what exactly she’ll be doing. She showed me the needles she’d be using to collect the cells from the nodule. Both cousin and I said that I really did not need to see the needles. She even showed me the motion of in and out she’d be doing with the needles. It made me feel even more nervous. My radiologist came in and he made some friendly small chat about where my parents are from. He mentioned that he had just returned from a trip to Taiwan. It was nice to just talk about something OTHER than the procedure. He used the sonogram to look for my nodule on my thyroid. He directed the pathologist to where it was located. He then noticed that there was a vein on the nodule. At that moment, I thought my worst nightmare was coming true. I’m going to bleed out on the bed! The nervous pathologist asked the radiologist what she should do. “Should I go through the side?” The pathologist said she’d hit it anyway, so no. He recommended she use a smaller needle. He applied pressure to my neck and she did the procedure. Two needles later, she went to look at the smears on her microscope. She had told me prior to the procedure that she would be able to tell me if my nodule was cancerous or benign in just a matter of minutes. I was surprised because I thought I’d have to wait for the dreaded call from my doctor. She came back after a few minutes and announced happily that my nodule is in fact benign! She put on a large bandaid on my neck and sent me on my merry way. She did mention that I could possible get a bruise on my neck because of the vein. I told her it was fine with me!

What a relief. My friend recently went through the same scare, but her nodule was in fact cancer and had to get her thyroid removed. It just seems so crazy how I’m hearing more and more about thyroid cancer. In fact one of my college friends who is now a resident at Cornell Weill mentioned that if she had to pick a cancer to have, she’s pick thyroid cancer since it’s so easily treated. I’d rather not have cancer at all! I am so happy that I don’t have to go to anymore doctors or take anymore sick days for tests. At the same time, I am happy that my doctors discovered this nodule now and had it taken care of now. Oh the best part? I only paid $250 (my deductible) for all the thousands of dollars I cost United Healthcare. I guess health insurance is good for something. I’m glad I always opt for the more “expensive” plans at work.

I don’t remember how old I was when I last climbed up the steps of Lady Liberty. I think I was definitely in elementary school. My boyfriend mentioned a few times that he’s never been to the Statue of Liberty and that he’d like to when the weather nice. Early last week, I decided that since the weather was being predicted as “nice” for the weekend, we would venture to one of the biggest tourist traps in NYC. I was interested to see the Statue of Liberty and perhaps even climb her. I did my research online and found out that in order to climb up to the crown, I would need to book those tickets like 1.5 months in advance. I was disappointed, but I was able to book tickets to the pedestal (which was free). I then did further research and the Statue of Liberty website recommended to spend about 4.5 hours to do both the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island.

On Friday, Jeff and I went down to the Financial District and had a leisurely early lunch at Tajin. We both had huge yummy burritos. We then walked down to Battery Park. The weather was indeed beautiful. To my shock, I saw a HUGE line wrapping around the park. I got in line assuming it would be for the ferry. I checked with the tourists ahead of me and they confirmed it was for the ferry and that it’d be about 1.5 hours before we boarded. I let Jeff roam around the park and take photos while I waited. I didn’t really mind since the weather was so nice. About 45 min later, we got on board for the ferry. The ride was really nice. We saw some amazing views of the NYC skyline as well as the Statue of Liberty. We arrived at Liberty Island just in time for our 2pm reservation to climb up the steps. I put my bag in a very high tech locker (they asked for my fingerprint) and we rushed to climb the 156 steps. First, we walked through an informative display of the history of Lady Liberty. It was pretty interesting. I got to sit on a model of her foot. It’s huge! Haha.

After taking our last ferry back to NYC, we headed to Jeff’s favorite pizza place, Lombardi’s. It was pretty early for dinner so there was no line. We ordered a large pizza for two. We’re probably the only couple who dares to order a large. I only eat about 2-3 slices and I think Jeff eats 3 too. We took the rest to go so Jeff could feast on the leftovers later. After our lovely dinner, we headed towards the Kips Bay movie theater to watch Shutter Island. We were still early so we stopped by Red Mango for a nice light dessert. Strawberries and blackberries are delicious!

I was under the impression that Shutter Island would be really scary. It wasn’t as scary as I expected. Also, I really enjoyed it. It was a bit confusing to follow, but I think I understood what happened at the end. It helped that Jeff already read the book so he could clarify some details after the movie. We of course shared a medium popcorn which just made the movie even better for me. All in all, it was a long and wonderful Friday. I was so lucky to spend it with my baby!

Jeff will be in this weekend and it’s going to be so great. I know it won’t be as nice as it in Tampa, but it’ll be nice to be able to walk outside in a light jacket and no umbrella. We will be doing lots of things outside. Perhaps we’ll have time to even walk across the Brooklyn Bridge. Who knows!

I went to their website and was definitely interested. I asked my friend who is also obsessed with spinning to go with me. We both reserved our bikes online and paid $30 (yeah it’s a bit EXPENSIVE) for our ride. I rented bike shoes because I heard that it’s just THAT much better. Wow, the bikes were like no other. Our instructor, Nicky, had to help me get clipped into the bike since the whole bike moves. I was under the impression that only the handle bars move, boy was I wrong! My first ride was a bit petrifying. I was glad I got bike shoes because at least I wouldn’t fall out off the bike. It was really difficult to stand and ride because you have to balance your entire body. Also, I had trouble doing the “turns”. The rest of the students seemed to be professional riders and they were pedaling so fast. I had a feeling they had almost no resistance on their bikes. There’s no way they could be spinning so quickly without sweating!

I went back to the studio once more because I thought that it was only $15 if you do a walk-in. To my disappointment, this only applies to classes before 7:30am and after 4:30pm. I had a different instructor who did more hill work (my forte) and I did get better with balancing on the bike. Soon after, I purchased a pair of Pearl Izumis for less than $40 on Sierra Post. I even found a special coupon so I could save even more. When my shoes finally arrived, I literally ran to the bike shop around the corner (right before they closed) so they could install the clips. I must agree, spinning with cycling shoes makes a big difference. It seems that I can pedal faster than when I wore regular sneakers. I heard that by wearing these shoes, you work more muscles. Who knows, at least I feel cool in my class since the majority of the spinners wear regular sneakers.

Less than 12 hours before my next spinning class. Hurrah! I need to find people who will go spinning with me at Ride The Zone. It’s just much more fun that way. I just don’t know how many of my friends are willing to pay $30 for a 45 min class. I guess we can go to an evening class to save 50%.

In other news, it’s officially March. I have survived two “snow storms” within a couple of weeks. I was disappointed both times that our office was still open while many of my friends’ offices were closed. Also, since the majority of my team lives in NJ, they all would be working from home. I felt that since I live in Manhattan and the subways were still running, I’d go into work. At least I was rewarded with tasty pizza from Angelo’s Pizza. I had a lovely February now that I think about it. I finally went to Tampa to visit the wonderful boyfriend for Valentine’s Day, President’s Day and Lunar New Year. It was a bit chilly (50s), but at least it was sunny for the most part. Lately, we’ve been cooking at least one meal from Cooking Light and even though it seems like a big mess while we’re cooking, our meals have turned out really good. I really enjoy cooking in a full-sized kitchen with plenty of counter space and regular sized appliances. It’s truly amazing how much more you appreciate things once you don’t have them anymore. For example, I love visiting the huge supermarkets in the suburbs now. There’s SO much variety and aisle space. These days you can buy anything at Publix/Stop & Shop. We found the Sriracha in the ethnic aisle. I even bought some low sodium Zatarain’s Jambalaya mix so I could use it when I’m in NYC. Of course no trip to Tampa is complete without a trip to Chick-fil-A and Target. It was definitely a relaxing weekend. Not to mention that I lost my iPhone at JFK and my wonderful and threatening boyfriend kept calling the guy who found my phone and told him to return it immediately (after he finally picked up) to TSA. Without him, some stranger would be trying to hack my iPhone and using it!

Another great thing about February is that I get my bonus during this time. It always feels like an eternity, but then when I do finally get my bonus, I think, “Wow, I can’t believe another year has passed.” It’s just ridiculous to know that I’ve been working in the real world for almost 6 years! Where did the time go? I still feel just as unaccomplished as I did when I graduated college. I’ve been working with my very knowledgeable mentor on my career plan. It scares me that I’ll be 30 very soon and where will I be in my career? Will I still be working a no experience non-managerial position? Some people are VPs by the time they’re 30! I’m worried that with all my indecisiveness, I’ll still be at the bottom of this very tall corporate ladder. Why can’t I just win the lotto and retire at the age of 30? That would be a great plan!

Anyway, I’m off to ponder about my future and whether I will be successful. Good night my few readers!

Work has been a bit busy in the past month. Our company has just reached technology independence so we are no longer out sourcing our development work, so it’s been a learning experience without depending on our consultants. We have maintenance releases that go out every few weeks. Lately, it’s been a bit difficult since everyone is new to the process and it has been frustrating. I hope that in 2010, our department will become more cohesive and organized! It’s something to definitely look forward to.

Oh, for Christmas, I ventured to Mosinee, Wisconsin to hang out with Jeff’s family. It was a really great trip. I got to look at all of Jeff’s baby pictures. So cute! Plus, I had a great time spending time with Jeff’s other love, Bailey (yellow lab). His parents were so generous and the food was delicious. I never ate so much cheese in such a short time span. Also, Jeff’s mom is a wonderful baker and had stacks and stacks of cookies waiting for me and Jeff when we arrived. I experienced my first bonfire in the snow. We went to real outdoors stores where there are aisles and aisles of hunting and fishing equipment. It really blew my mind. I really would love to go back to Wisconsin when the weather is better and it’s not a high of 20 degrees everyday.

I was lucky enough to see Jeff three weekends in a row. He finally agreed to being dragged to Flushing with me to experience his first shabu shabu. It was a little scary at first, but I think the dipping sauce won him over. He loved that he could create his own sauce. Naturally, he made his super spicy. He also liked my mom’s Kimchee broth better than his, so now we know what he’ll order next time we go. In this night of firsts, he also had his first shaved ice and liked it more than I like it! We also took him to Hong Kong Supermarket to wander the never ending aisles. It was such a lovely family event.

I wanted to wish both of my sisters a Happy Birthday! Diana’s birthday is actually today and Jessica’s is on Wednesday (1/27). I remember when I was little and I kept wishing I was born in January so I could celebrate my birthday the same time my sisters did. I was a bit jealous. I hated that whenever I tried to have a birthday party in July, none of my friends would be available since they would be away at summer camp or on vacation. I also could never bring munchkins to school celebrate my birthday. I do remember forcing my mom to buy munchkins so I could celebrate a month early in school. It still was never the same! Now, I’m more okay with my birthday. At least the weather is warm and we can go to the beach on my birthday. Can you winter babies do that? Haha!

I entered a Twitter contest to see JM in a private show at the Ed Sullivan Theatre. I did not expect myself to be selected, but the management company sent me a direct message on Twitter letting me know I won. Woohoo. I’m actually going to be heading there in an hour or so. So excited! I have been listening to the album non-stop and it’s taken some time for me to really enjoy it. I think my favorite songs off the album are:

Perfectly Lonely
Assassin
Heartbreak Warfare

The songs are pretty sad, I guess he’s writing about his heartbreak with all his girlfriends. If he plays “Not Myself” or even “Stop This Train” at tonight’s concert, I will be so happy.

To top off this amazing day, my wonderful boyfriend will be coming in from Florida tonight! We plan on having all his favorite foods in NYC during his weekend here. I plan on seeing “Precious” and crying my eyes out. I’m so excited for the weekend. Oh yes, he will be installing my NEW printer since I had two falling outs with both Staples and Kinkos/Fedex just last weekend. I won’t go into too much detail, but I recommend just going into Staples or Kinkos to do your own copying. Both times I did the print online option and when I arrived, neither vendor knew about my “order”. They actually did it while I was there. Originally in my order for Kinko’s I requested it to be stapled, but of course it wasn’t. I asked for a stapler and did it myself. To top it off, the employee asked me for my credit card. I told her I already paid online, but she said it didn’t go through. I reluctantly gave her my credit card and watched her charge me. After this debacle, I went to work and checked my bank account (Chase) and I saw two charges from Fedex. I called their customer service and totally yelled at an innocent guy. At least he credited me for the $7.90. Right? So this is why I’m getting my own printer thanks to my baby!! <3

Then next week I’m off to London for the first time in my life. YAY!