Posted 4:33 PM by Blah blah

HTML Crazy (Web page design)

Ooh! Look at how I just changed my MixerMixer profile page! It's pure HTML. No graphics! Guess how I did it? Haha!

RAYMOND for Dummies

Hi, I'm Raymond!

My grandparents are from Fujian province in China.

I'm originally Chinese from the Philippines,

but I grew up in New England and Silicon Valley.

Speak Taiwanese. Would love to make new friends.

Am outgoing, articulate, curious, funny, and creative.

Look for the same.

I like perceptive people:

N

(This is NOT graphics, folks! It's a letter but in "webdings" font!)

Posted 8:25 AM by Blah blah

Party Animal

Any of you are welcome to join me at any of these events. Sign up!

Thursday:

Stephanie invited me to my first meeting of the Pearl Tea Time group at Ryze.com. I'm going to their dinner and tea tomorrow! This is my reentry into the Ryze social network.

Friday:

Pjammer's birthday dinner and ComedySportz show. Interesting group of folks are coming. Lisa's birthday is also around this time. She will try to make the comedy show at 10:30 pm. I'll be meeting this very friendly, volleyball-playing girl Jacqueline for the first time.

Saturday:

Saturday night I'm going to Patrick and Ladda's birthday event for Ladda's friend. Dinner at Thai Chili and dancing at Molly McGee's later. Thai food and Molly McGee's event.

Also Saturday---
Ryze's For the Love of Sushi Network is putting on this sushi-making party in Sunnyvale, 5-9:30 pm, sponsored by Mason and Eric. I may go to the beginning of it. Learn how to make it!

Sunday:

Big Ryze volleyball event, in San Francisco Marina District. 1-5 pm. Sponsored by Sanford. Followed by group dinner. Contact me for details. Not sure if I'll go.

Posted 7:19 AM by Blah blah

Dr. Love?

All these people have been asking me for love advice recently. One after the other, I swear. Yeah me, like I know anything. I need to set up a stand like Lucy's in Peanuts: "The psychiatrist is IN. (5 cents)"

Or maybe I should shave my head, grow a moustache, bring on that Southern twang, carve a dimple in my chin, and talk like this: "When you're dating someone, if you make a quick judgment, you can miss some really nice guys. Women need to let first impressions accumulate. You should also get a first impression when you're alone together, a first impression when he's under stress, a first impression when he's sick, a first impression when there's conflict... This chemistry thing is way overrated. If you think marriage is like a long date, it ain't! And the guy that's the most fun on a date is not necessarily the best mate."

That's Dr. Phil.

Who's gonna be MY adviser? I'd like someone who preferably speaks in rhymes so my poor grey cells can remember. Like a rapper. A rapping love adviser.

Yeah.

Wheel me in your latest load of troubles, guys. I'm one big set of floppy ears. But before that, please remember:

Dr. Love needs his own set of ears to talk to.

Posted 3:51 PM by Blah blah

"Good Talk is Pure Gold" (Relationships)

Interview with Garrison Keillor, one of my favorite modern authors. (Salon.com) He used to be the relationship advice columnist for Salon:

"A good relationship comes down to conversation and sex and good manners, I suppose. And if you can continue your conversation and your bawdiness and your good manners for more than 10 years, then you're doing awfully well. Conversation is the truest barometer in a relationship and when you're not moved to open your heart to your lover, something's wrong that needs fixing. We all know that. And yet it's a fabulous gift, true conversation. The world is so full of cant and rote and reflexive chatter, that good talk is pure gold, and it's what lovers need from each other."

Posted 11:45 AM by Blah blah

Emotionally Insecure (Relationships)

A Note To My Girlfriend Who Thinks All Men Are Jerks (Craigslist):

"He finally calls thinking they can just hook up. Her attitude towards him is hot and cold and totally unpredictable. She’s totally sweet one minute and a bitch the next because she’s torn between wanting to be with him, but hating the fact that he isn’t up her ass. Of course, this whole time they’ve been seeing each other, his intentions has never changed. He is still the same guy as when they first met. So after all the emotional episodes she exudes, it starts to wear on him. He doesn’t want to deal anymore and starts distancing himself or moves on to some other girl. She senses his distance and becomes desperate so makes herself available for him. So now the few and far in between times that he does call to hook up, she accomodates.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m not building a case for the 'men are jerks' notion, just trying to get you to see the pattern you have created for yourself. Every time you act out on your insecurities, you become someone who’s unbalanced and emotionally draining to others around you. I can guarantee, that is not the kind of girls most guys want to date. The kind of girls that most guys fall in love with are girls who are their friends. Girls who are rational, stable, and fun to be around. A girl who knows the difference between physical and emotional connections, who understands and appreciates the physiological needs while separating that from the emotional needs."

Posted 8:05 AM by Blah blah

Yesterday: engagement, Spanish food, improv comedy

My housemates' Vietnamese engagement party yesterday. I will post pics.

Last night: met Pjammer, Loni, and Clint. Tried a Spanish restaurant for the first time, called Picasso's. It was absolutely delicious and I highly recommend it to all of ya! They had a great variety of selections. We mainly tried the tapas (appetizers). It was my first time and I LOVED them!

Clint and Loni were also very cool. Both are originally Canadians. Clint is a marketing guy and plays in an ice hockey league. Pic of Clint. I may introduce him to Patrick. Loni is a software engineer.

Picasso's Restaurant

62 W. Santa Clara St.
San Jose, CA
(408) 298-4400

Then we went to see ComedySportz, which is competitive, team, improvisational comedy. It's in a room on the second floor of the Bella Mia Restaurant in downtown San Jose. Restaurant and atmosphere looked delightful too, though I don't like Italian food as much.

We sat in the front row. In ComedySportz or TheatreSportz, they DON'T heckle you in the audience. They must treat you with courtesy. The comedians asked Loni, who was giggling away, up on stage for one of their games. Then they gave her a pair of flyswatters and made her the only judge for the night! Haha.

Pjammer, who finished coursework at San Francisco Comedy College, has done standup comedy himself. He was his usual hyper fast-talking self. *Wink*

In improv team comedy, two teams of people lightheartedly compete with each other to get your approval. They play several games, like "object switch." As usual, the comedians were very funny.

However, they weren't as brilliantly funny as the folks at Seattle TheatreSports, where I went about a month ago with Patrick. TheatreSports has a slightly different setup from ComedySportz. In Seattle, they had more challenging games to improvise. In that one night, the comedians improvised a five minute musical (based on the stupid idea "weeding a garden"), a five minute opera, and a skit spoken completely in Shakespearean language. They actually made up songs for the opera and musical and sang them. For the musical, their songs actually RHYMED. Their performance also seemed longer than that of ComedySportz.

Whatever. If you've never seen improv, go check it out! It's more risky and needs an incredibly quick wit. Different from individual standup comedy.

But I want to check out TheatreSports more now! I like their style and system better.

They have these licensed TheatreSports leagues around the world, including Europe, Australia, and Asia (where some of you guys are). The closest group to me is the Stanford Improvisors, but they look like their performances are mainly by Stanford students at the end of each school quarter.

For regular performances and a more professional group, I must go to San Francisco, which has the BATS Improv. Fratelli Bologna, also a TheatreSports group, does what they call "business theater." They touch on corporate issues for a business audience. Fascinating.

Today: morning tennis, then rollerblading, as usual, with Patrick. Possible afternoon BBQ with Pjammer again. I may go visit Lisa (British chick) tonight.