hey all, sorry i've been mia (chen) for a little while. i was in montreal and toronto last week for work leading training sessions every day. they'd go something like this:
so this is the application and how you should be using it...
i-many sucks, it's too slow.
it's actually your local network that's causing the poor performance.
nuh-uh.
yuh-huh.
in montreal i was leading classroom style sessions. in toronto, classroom and webex. personally, i think these training sessions can all be done over webex with good results but i'm not going to complain. first two nights in montreal got to go to good steak houses in old montreal. charming area, would love to come back during the summer. in toronto i went to this benihana style joint in the hotel. it was actually the first time i've ever been to one of these show and cook type places. as he was flipping around his mammoth salt and pepper shakers i was thinking "if i get any pepper in my eye this tea cup is heading straight for your forehead". luckily he was careful and the food was above average - i went with the black tiger shrimp and scallops as beef was starting to come out of my ass. i'd go back, maybe next time with a rowdy group i'll throw some ice cubes on the grill. i never made it to the tim horton's in montreal but got to visit one at the toronto airport wednesday night. there was a long line but no one else seemed interested in the chocolate covered/caramel filled donuts besides me. the verdict? not bad. maybe they'd be spectacular fresh off the line?
i'm writing this on notepad towards the end of the flight from los angeles to auckland, new zealand. that's right, they've sent me out here for two weeks to train more users. and get this, both weeks are 4 day work weeks because of good friday and easter! so this week i work mon-thu and next week tue-fri. the good thing is i get to do some exploring of the area fri-mon but i read that the city basically shuts down on good friday and easter. fodor's guide also said that the annual waiheke jazz festival happens around easter on waiheke island, just off of auckland.
while i was in the airport people watching i was reminded of some things. do you remember when you were first dating someone, the first time you took them to the airport as he/she went away on a trip? that was a big deal. for the two of you that last hug and kiss always seemed too short and voyeurs thankfully thought it would never end. of course greeting them upon return was an event as well. hey honey, how was your trip? i missed you so much! let's bop.
i grabbed a light dinner yesterday in terminal e of bush intercontinental airport in houston. typically airport vendors would charge you $3 for a drink and another $7-9 for food, right? well, my single beef fajita taco with refried beans and rice cost me $5.94 at pappasitos. pretty reasonable and totally tasty. when i sat down to eat it i found out why. the table tent said that terminal e vendors should not be charging more than you'd expect to pay at the mall and if they did there was a number you could call to bitch. about damn time! guess which vendor had the longest line? that's right, that purveyor of authentic chinese cuisine - panda express. i'm slightly offended for two reasons: one, general tsao's chicken and broccoli and beef have come to define chinese cuisine for most of the western world; two, the line was too flipping long and this twinky couldn't get any! i miss that hot pink dipping sauce, just like mom used to synthesize.
ok, on to the reason why you're even here: american idol. i missed last week's performance and elimination shows so wasn't able to comment on any of it. mandisa was booted but i can see how country might not be her forte, you just don't don't hear a lot of country songs being belted at the top of your lungs. i'm not sure when/if ai is on in new zealand but bucky and ace are getting stale. anyone figure out how the fantasy idol points are awarded?
this is unrelated but i woke up from my nap on the flight with these lyrics in my head: "all gold, in california, is in a bank in the middle of beverly hills, in somebody else's name, so if you're dreaming, of california..." the gatlin brothers if i'm not mistaken. you probably didn't know this but when i first moved to houston my dad would always listen to casey kasem's top 40 country countdown on sunday mornings. for years, i'd sing along to all of the top country songs, i knew all the lyrics but didn't have an idea what they were singing about. keep in mind i was probably in elementary school at the time and the stereo was dad's domain. as far as i was aware there was only one station on the radio and it played country music. but in art class we'd listen to the radio as well but something happened that was eye opening: the teacher changed the channel. wait, there's more than just country music? first thing i did when i got home that day was turn on the radio and seeked out any and all stations other than country. goodbye cheating hearts, hello vegemite sangwich.
i went home for lunch yesterday and mom really hooked it up. steamed fish, sauteed eggplant, stewed pork with salty preserved mustard greens, and a few other dishes i didn't even get around to. here's how mom said to make the fish:
place 2-4 filets in a deep pan
pour in some soy sauce, cooking wine, salt, and sugar
top with thinly sliced garlic, ginger, green onions, bacon, shitake mushrooms, hot peppers, and whole salty black beans
steam or cover and bake for 30 minutes
at the end of lunch my dad asks if i noticed mom's new hairdo. she's had what i'd consider the typical old mom haircut, her head looks like a puffy q-tip or head of broccoli. nancy, you know what i'm talkin bout, your mom is rockin one right now. but in the back she's got these wisps of hair that extend down and away from her neck. that's right, she's got the beginnings of a mullet! i wanted to ask pops to take a picture of it and email it to me but i didn't have the heart to blow moms up like that. dad, please cut that tail off when she's asleep.
i've been thinking of the sport of the future: three dimensional football played floating in the air. how would this be possible? you ever see how people practice skydiving without actually jumping from a plane at high altitude? they're inside a tall grain silo with a powerful fan at the bottom blowing air upwards. basically the air current is strong enough to keep them floating in mid-air and they maneuver around and hover by controlling their arm and leg movements. currently football is really played on a two dimensional plane with players moving left, right, forwards, or backwards. a first down and touchdown is made when the ball crosses a plane, which is limited by how high an athlete can jump. the field goal and extra point is the only real three dimensional score, where it counts if it crosses between the uprights and as high up as the imaginary lines extend. what i envision is a field full of these upward pointing fans and the action occurs in the air. they don't have to line up in a straight line, they can be lined up anywhere as long as they're all behind the plane of scrimmage. imagine a quarterback floating in space and a sack coming from above or below! the blockers have to watch defenders in literally all directions. safeties have to watch for wide receivers above and below. the only thing i haven't figured out is what kind of ball to use since a light one will get blown around. maybe a heavier ball that gets shot out of an air cannon? hmm, the cups might have to made of titanium and kevlar.