One more month before Asia trip!

YouTUBE fan: I haven't posted for over 2 months now and I am trying to pay my dues. Recently I have been on the youTUBE craze. I have fallen in love with Ben Sharkey. Yes that's his name. :) He reminds me of Enrique Igelasias. He tries to immitate Frank Sinatra, Michael Buble and Jamie Cullum. Hence, I would categorize him as a Jazz singer more than anything else. The other youTUBE-r that I am also following is Lisa Lavie. She is probably the new rockstar, the closest match to her is probably Alicia Keys. I am supporting all these new and upcoming solo artistes! If you search them on MySpace, you would probably find them as they have tons of hits. I even bookmarked their names so that I can listen to them everyday! It's my HAPPY musicka....

Asia trip: It's coming up!! In 6 weeks, I am heading to Hong Kong and then off to Malaysia. I am so not ready for that vacation. Of course it's a LONG awaited vacation as I haven't taken any time off for 2007. It's long overdue. Nowonder I am so stressed out at work.

iPhone SUCKS: So because I got it as a present, I am hanging on to it. October marks my THIRD iPhone replacement. The first one had a speaker malfunction, second one had a connection problem, and finally I am onto iPhone #3 which is so far working quite decently. Bare in mind that I got my iPhones replaced within a 45 minute window whilst sitting at the so-called GENIUS bar.

Seriously these Mac geniuses should go through better customer service program to learn how to improve on their customers service skills and not going to lunch in the middle of helping me out. I was in the Burlingame Apple store and with my appointment made 4 days prior, I was able to get the Geniuses attention 15 minutes into my original appointment slot. Then in the middle of helping me out, he decides to take a lunch break and doesn't return till 1 hour later, but still didn't attend to me upon return. I went through 3 Geniuses to help troubleshoot my problem (which was simple), hardware issue (me the non-computer geek) could identify that. Anyway, Mac has some great software and hardware but their technicians or IT personnel needs to be aware that BOTH soft skills and technical skills are VERY important. Currently I feel that their technology is churning out much faster than these techies can fix the machine.

On top of that, my iPhone was purchased before that price adjustment, hence I was entitled for the $100 instore credit. Apple has changed their policy for the 3rd time now that you have to go to the store to get this credit. So I was sitting in the Portland Apple store waiting to get some tutorial and getting my rebate, no one knew how to help me. So I get back home to SF, and tried to go online to enter my serial number so that the rebate could be issued, again it failed. Then I went to Burlingame, as my iPhone was acting up again and they couldn't figure out what was wrong and told me to call the 1800goapple number. So I SAT THERE calling the number and they told me that the rebate should be done at the store. Yes the trouble I have to go through. Finally a sales associate (NOT AN ARROGANT GENIUS) at the APPLE store approached me and helped me after I was talking real loud at the Apple store trying to create a scene. Someone decided to calm me down and finally 'help' me. :)

Oh well, let me reconsider going back to Toshiba now. I am sure there are other people out there who can agree.

Spa and salon: Recently I seem to be on this quest around San Francisco, trying to find the best massage parlors. There are some really nice facilities out in the city but I feel the spa is trying to make up for the lack of massage expertise. After 100's of dollars later, I found this small spa called Fruition Day Spa. The lady I have been going to has amazing hands and just deep long strokes. I also walk out a happy camper after my 80 minute session!

Weddings: #1 There seems to be so many weddings this year. My good friend who has been with her boyfriend of 7 years finally tied the knot. The details of her wedding was incredible but I couldn't be there because it was in Vancouver! Congratulations to Sandy and Bruce!

#2 Then another couple, who I hardly knew, but helped out on the day of the wedding. I was responsible for making the bride's bouquet and the corsages for 30 guests. Bare in mind I have never done this before. But the results I thought was favorable. Although anyone hardly complimented on the flowers, oh well, I posted them so that I could share my creations with the public. The bride was pre-occupied with the biggest night of her life and her bridesmaids were 'looking' busy. The seating arrangements were all screwed up and to make matters worse, family was dispersed all over the place. I think the planning was poor and I am sure at every wedding, pressure builds up but still, the bridesmaids have no entitlement to be rude to me. Long story short, I thought the bridesmaids or her closest girlfriends could have helped out a little more. I walked in with a HUGE vase filled with water, rocks and roses, but no one volunteered to help me carry the items into the restaurant. I felt like I was a free slave from a third world country. They were too busy sitting on their asses or was afraid that they would lose their precious seat. Oh well, I'll take a mental note and recruit the best and the brightest wedding planners of all time! My experienced friends, everyday people who think outside a box AND works well under pressure. :)




Happy Columbus weekend everyone!

Vegas baby!

I have to say that 4 days in Vegas was the max that I anticipated that my body could take. 4 hours of drinking per day and hardly any sleep. As age creeps up on me, I think the ol' alcoholic consumption has also deteriorated. Recently I have been indulging in dessert wines. Muscat or Muscato as some regions would like to call it. I thought Robert Mondavi was my ultimate pick but then I discovered Doony Boon at Daniel Bouloud. Of course I paid $12 for a small glass, come to realize that the entire bottle cost the same.

My 5 day/4 night mini vacation-conference was at Wynn Las Vegas. I upgraded from the resort rooms to the Tower Suites. Definitely impressed with the room decor and the outstanding service. I had the view of the golf course and the pool. The suites and the 'regular rooms' have separate entrances. I guess Mr. Wynn wanted to make it exclusive. Even the pools are segregated. Access to the top two pools are for the Tower Suites guests and the bottom 4 pools are for the Resort guests. The green fess are a mere $500 which includes caddy, gold cart, rented Callaway clubs, drinks and some kind girl dressed in her skimpy Vegas attire? The entire 5 days I was there I SAW no one playing golf. ABSOLUTELY NADA. The temperature was 103F to begin with. I saw a lot of Italian men sunbathing at the pool side and they turned bright pink. Literally they looked like some BBQ pork ready to be eaten. So juicy and pink. I saw the same guy 3 days in a row by the pool and he was back for more sun. He looked overcooked and terribly burnt. No SPF could help him now.

The room was gorgeous. The bathroom and room was a total of 550sq ft. That's a NY studio for you right there. Amazing room and impeccable service. They turndown service actually encompasses filling up your ice-bucket, placing a little map by your bed so that you can wipe the crumbs and dirt off your feet before you enter into bed.



The housekeeping lady who attended to my room each morning, knew what I liked, she placed all my makeup on a towel, gave me a little spa pillow for the tub and extra chocolates. :) 2 nights in a row, I was eating at Daniel Boulud. The food was a cross between French and Calfornian. The presentation was beautiful and the taste was so refined. Nothing could have completed my stay without the pairing of great food.


I have to say that life is pretty good from sitting just right here...