I need a new blog

I look back at my ramblings and think I should create a new blog.....
time to think and process!

First taste of an Asian Kollaboration

So what's this Kollaboration event that I went to yesterday? It's a hugely sponsored event in LA that encourages Americans of Asian etnicity to show off their showbiz skills such as singing, dancing, magic, comedy, acting, anything that just brings out the inner self. Held in the Shrine Auditorium, it sold out all 6000 something odd seats. I didn't realize it was the home to Emmy's, People's Choice, SAG and Academy awards! It looks beautiful inside.


K9 did a little red carpet event, but that wasn't very well lighted and I couldn't get any good photos of the competitors or judges. I'd really like to see how it is for a big event!

There was a portion that featured contestants that were competing for a grand prize of $3000, second prize of $2000 and most of the contestants were already experienced and famous in their own right, having experience either in other competitions or events, or being youtube sensations such as David Choi and Paul Dateh. Others such as Jane Lui were already weathered performers having toured many countries; Kenichi Ebina who performs worldwide for tv shows and events; or Norman Ng who has competed in many magic competitions.

The above mentioned were my favorites for the night, with Kenichi performing at an above par level compared to many of the performers, thus cinching the 1st prize. He had many moves that I found amazing and surprizing, and his energy and creativeness was so unique and captivating. Following suit in 2nd place was Jane Lui as she engulfed the audience with her piano and singing. I found her to have a pleasant voice that filled the room, with an immense ability to evoke feeling ~ compared to the other singers, her confidence and ability to work the microphone to her advantage showed.

Some honorable mentions for me was David Choi's performance, singing a silly song about youtube (of course with his guitar), and with the calm and confident demeanour he usually portrays in his home videos, he brings it on stage too. I liked how he brought his mac along, not abandoning the roots of how he made it this far. As well, Norman Ng was not just a great magician, he really made me laugh and made me think of how sometimes, childhood dreams can really come true. Finally, the creative Paul Dateh reminds me that most Asians who are forced into doing a fine art that we may not appreciate when we are young, do have the option of 'making it ourselves', as his violin playing is creative and current with positively directed energies.

In between the competition were various special guests which were really the highlights for me. Fanny Pak rocked, and I only have watched a single episode of America's Best Dance Crew, but I think I got to see live, what it is when a crew has crazy dancing skills and compatibility. Boa is someone I've heard of over the years, but not really someone I've followed, but I enjoyed her confidence and dancing skills on stage. Finally Jo Koy was my fave as he made me laugh til tears came out of my eyes.

Last but not least, to add cohesiveness and meaningful messages throughout the show was host PK or Paul Kim who had great jokes given his comedic background, but most importantly really showed me the power of leadership as he helped send vibes of empowerment to the asian community. I started to rethink of how I'm super passive and haven't really done a lot of things to fulfill my dreams or break out of stereotypical barriers. I'm glad that people 'now' can break out of that shell and do things I only dared to dream. A good example is a couple of the freestyle competitions during intermission for freestyle dance and singing,... randomly in the audience were already a handful of talented people, performing with no preparation, with great talent. Kudos to those courageous individuals!

This sort of leads on to the dorky passive ASIAN me... as James Kyson Lee, better known as Ando from Heroes was a judge for the show and came right towards me; now with a camera poised for me to go leap towards him, I only saw myself doing it in my head and was too scared/shocked to approach him. Ugh, what was I waiting for, an invitation?! :( He even stopped to wait for me seeing the camera. Now there are only regrets. Can someone who's a teen fanny bopper like Bev or Nic kill me now? Well I have a blurry photo of him at least...









and memories of seeing him in person :P Anyways, great job on this event to all who worked on it and participated, and I only wish there was something so great in Vancouver. Of course, the show goes to Toronto??! All we have in Vancouver is S.U.C.C.E.S.S galas which are typically of Hong Kong Asian influence and in chinese.

Oh yea, last note is the fact that Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, Mayors and other councilmembers gave some encouragement to the Asian community in their printed booklets. I am happy to see this positive support for our minority in LA! I hope this can one day extend to my home town of YVR!

A flu? Thank God!

I thought I'd be able to blog at least once every 5 days this new year but turns out that a deathly flu, which everyone says is going around the 'world', yes the 'world'! brought me down down down. Thank goodness I've been well for a week now, but it turns out that I've forgotten about my blog... ah the luxury of having too many things to choose from as a pasttime!

I always thought that stress and illness went hand in hand, which is definitely true, but this little flu made me realize how much healthier I've been since I've not been working like a factory worker any more. Being extremely driven brings much reward at work, but it will also hit your system hard - no exceptions. Ironically, during those stressful times, I never really caught the flu, but I may have had some tiresome Sundays - in other words, it was not clearly evident as to whether anything was bad at all. I even thought, wow, my body must be strong because whilst everyone was getting sick around me, I managed to avoid it. However, now that things are slowed in life, I've found it interesting that my body has time to catch the random flu.

I realize now that although I managed to avoid flus back then, my body did take some serious hits and it began to wear a path towards even bigger illnesses - big siren for yoeshi as I know better than to let myself get that sick. I'm glad I've slowed down and have taken a chance to heal. Given recent health issues of big-time corporation players like Steve Jobs, I see how the IT industry can really hurt our health.

I encourage everyone who is just working too hard to ask for a few extra helping hands, or, maybe just to take a vacay. Otherwise, it will be unlikely that we IT folk can sustain in this industry until retirement. Sorry for the bleak blog, but ta ta til next time,
yoeshi

PS look forward to my backblog on Vday soon

Economical Blooms

So I'm kind of old fashioned and I love Valentine's day because it's all pink hearts, flowers, balloons and chocolates. Even the neighbourhood Safeway (or they call it Jon's over where I am) is nicely decorated and festive. The only problem is the price... I'm sure most boyfriends/husbands/partners who may usually buy the flowers, wish this day was not invented due to their inflicted pocketbooks.

Luckily there is a great economical neighbourhood in LA called the LA Flower District which is a huge and booming flower wholesaler district due to its variety of imports, advances in preservation and air travel, along with vast research in foreign lands. It is the larger than the districts in San Francisco or New York and I believe it is the only wholesaler that allows retail selling to customers like us, in the entire West coast!

I wish there could have been something like this in beautiful British Columbia, because I'd sprout a rose to each of my beloveds: girls and guys, moms, dads, relatives! 2 dozen long stem roses go anywhere from 25-30 dollars depending on the length, and colored roses were 10-15 for 2 dozen depending on the quality and length. I received 4 dozen roses at a quarter of the price of 1 dozen long stem roses in Vancouver.
Not only do you get to get stuff at a great price, you also get to see a wide variety of flowers, different exotic blooms as well as colored roses, so it's a worthwhile visit since botanical gardens usually have pricy admissions. Get in for 1$ each on Saturdays and I believe it's 2$ during regular times. Just remember to get there early, it opens at 6am to the public. There was still a great selection at 7am on Valentine's day.

As I'm a girl that loves flowers, I'm also a girl that loves a deal, so this gift was the best ever.

First day of Chinese New Year

I remember the days when the first day of Chinese New Year was a big deal in terms of what I wore, ate, said and did. I had to remember to wish everyone a happy new year and recite many happy wishes for the coming year. Also, superstition brought about the concept of wearing new clothes, red preferably, all the way down to my undies. I remember some aunties told me that it was bad to wash my hair or even to sweep the floors. I recall how I cowered in shame as my freshly shampooed hair gave away the fact that I could not stand to be dirty, bad luck or not.

This year, I barely remembered all those things that made it a Chinese new year's day one for me when I was a child...but no worries, there's another 14 days of it to go until the full moon, which is the ever-romantic Chinese Valentines! Too bad I don't get any red pockets out here in this new land.

The past was definitely curious and with the vast amount of information on the internet, I just found out that the first day of CNY has nothing to do with new clothes or dirty hair, but it has to do with "the welcoming of the gods of the heavens and earth". Go figure!

Chinese New Year's Eve

Hello everyone, I'm back and it's a perfect time to start bloggin' again as today is Chinese New Year's eve. The regular calendar's new year seemed to pass in a flash, even for someone who's investing most of her time in fine cooking and self enhancement. Still, it seems, I'll get another chance to think of some good wishes for all.



I wish you all Kung Hei Fat Choy in this rapidly downturning economy, as well as Good Health in this deteriorating environment. It's not all bleak, because I also wish everyone Happiness, which I'm sure you'll all find somewhere, if not buried under your favorite rock. Hope to bring better blogs and funner things in the days to come! Let me bury a virtual red pocket in my blog for all too. Happy year of the Ox!




yoeshi

My new house?

I am so poor, how about this house everyone?
Something I can afford

Yumm-mee

Sushi rocked! Some new varieties and the freshest Natto I ever had in my life. Next to me two kind people treated me to some interesting sushi from their plates as well as much effort to acquaint me with the food and with the language. Too bad I only successfully completed up to lesson3 which mainly taught " I don't speak Japanese well, do you speak English? "

Being in Vancouver however really helps with the food lingo. Toro? Natto? Saba? Sake? :D

I didn't end up having a boring or lonely night as originally expected. Later I got acquainted with their own little dry cleaner store, very quaint. Then using SMS, they were able to understand my English... time to learn more Japanese so that I can philosophize with my new friends.
May 24

we are we are we are we are

Interrupting my japan fest updates and now faded memories, work has been a total drag!
Luckily, Mantor has set me laughing with this new joke that will hopefully cheer me up all month; Only special select friends will understand this post. lol