Yesterday, Erin and I went to see a NY Mets baseball game with my cousin Johnny and his fiancé. Johnny's a big Mets fan while I like both the Mets and the Yanks. Anyway, as those of you who have Asian female (not Asian-American females mind you) acquaintances should have probably noticed by now, they tend to avoid sunlight like vampiresses in training. Very few things are as disconcerting in Asia as is seeing an entire street of open umbrellas on what most Americans would label an absolutely gorgeous, sunny day. One of the first things I told Erin when we came to the US was, "If we go out on a sunny day and you open an umbrella, I don't know you." Luckily that was one of the few things she actually chose to listen to me on but that hasn't stopped her from complaining about it every time we go out on a sunny day. =p The weather yesterday was absolutely perfect for baseball though. Not too hot unless the clouds moved away and a very nice breeze every now and then. Both women had the requisite long slacks, light jacket, and hat/cap of course. Snack and beverage prices were a gigantic ripoff as usual but overall it was a very good time and a great game with about 39,000 people on-hand. Man, stadiums do make great targets for terrorist attacks. Anyway, the Mets led 2-0 until the later innings when Philadelphia battled back to tie the game. But the Mets went on to win it in the very last inning by a solo home run off of one of the relievers that they had just traded to the Phillies the day before. So it was a pretty good game for people who have never been to a baseball game before since it had 3 homers and a decent amount of scoring and drama in it to keep things interesting.

Watching baseball is also quite a different experience compared to the hockey game I had gone to earlier in the year. There's more noise at baseball games. The hockey game was eerily silent at times because I was so used to having those sports commentators constantly babbling along on tv that it felt very odd to suddenly not hear them anymore. Granted you don't hear those commentators when watching a baseball game either but at least you get the announcers speaking when the batter comes to the plate and they have all these little contests and events that take place between innings. Like when they started lobbing Pepsi t-shirts into the crowd through the use of these compressed air cannons. If you don't know what I'm talking about, think potato gun. That was pretty darn cool. Given the right trajectory they were even able to get some up to the upper levels of the stadium. So you're much more involved as a spectator in a baseball game than you are in a hockey game. Very fun.

And it wasn't till I got home that I discovered that I had gotten sunburned.... on my kneecaps. And _only_ on my kneecaps. I had gotten a nice tan on my arms but my knees looked like they had some serious rugburn. ;-p What's up with that?

It has recently been brought to my attention that it's been quite awhile since I've last updated this page. Granted I've been my usual lazyass self but still, I somewhat envy the bloggers who can put up weekly (and even daily) updates of their respective action-packed and witty lives. Either I'm just too busy with everyday matters or I lead one heck of a boring existence. =p

Here's to the Night by Eve 6 has got to be the best graduation song I've ever heard since Forever Young by Alphaville. Not that I've graduated from anything recently but still, good tune. Although I don't remember my graduating class being quite as attractive as the folk you'll see in the song's video. ;-p

Had a rather bizarre telephone conversation with some guy named Andrew from Buymats.com half an hour ago when I had called them to pay for my yoga mat purchase via credit card. Had given him my telephone # and he recognized the area code as one in Jersey. Turns out the guy's from Livingston which is basically the next town over from where I grew up during my teenage years. He even remembered my town's high school mascot (Hornets). The hell's up with all these people from Livingston that I meet while NOT in that area? So here I am trying to complete a business transaction mind you and the guy's asking me which sports I played in high school (track & tennis) and telling me that he feels old at 35. He goes on to say that he moved out to Cali 8 years ago and just loves it. And finally, he asks if I think that meeting women here is difficult. Cause apparently he feels that the people on the East Coast tend to be more insular, interacting with an established group of friends and acquaintances for basically the rest of their lives. While in Cali, on the other hand, he's meeting new people every day. This wasn't the first time that I've heard of this comparison before but, y'know, I just wanted to buy some yoga mats? Not that I was upset with him or anything, he seemed like a pretty nice guy when all was said and done but it definitely wasn't what I was expecting when I called to give them my credit card number. So now I have my 2 yoga mats and a dinner engagement for the next time the guy comes back to the East Coast. I'm just kidding about that last part but I wouldn't have been surprised if had gotten to that point. =p

I've come to really enjoy reading the Oddly Enough news by Reuters. Elicits a wide range of emotions; from annoyance at man's innate stupidity (Family Sues Coke Over Son's Death) to just pleasant amusement (Ducklings in Trouble, Mother Calls the Police). I look forward to this section of the news more than any others.

MacWorld Expo begins tomorrow. Most likely new iMacs and PowerMacs will be announced. Which is just way bad considering I just got a new credit card (I'm replacing all my old ones with ones that carry the "smart chip" in them. Not like there's currently any practical and widespread use for the smart chip but I've always been ahead of my time. ;-p) and my gadget craving just kicked into high gear. I just might have to break my New Years vow about not buying a computer for another 4 years. I mean, half a year already passed since that resolution. That should be a long enough period of time right? ;-p Maybe I should amend it to "not buying a computer to replace an older computer for another 4 years" or "not buying a Powerbook for another 4 years." =)

Last but not least, congratulations to Roy Sato on the completion of one of my most anticipated movie events of the year, Final Fantasy, The Spirits Within. Four years in the making, it's a graphical marvel. Roy worked on Aki, the main female lead voiced by Ming Na and he's one heck of a talented guy. I vow to actually see this movie this week. And that's one vow I know I can keep. ;-)

Is it strange that I enjoy Sex and the City as much as I do?

Anyway, while going through the recent pictures I had downloaded from my digital camera before Erin took off with it, I found this one:

For some reason, I really like it. It was taken at the river-side park that we had discovered a month or so ago that's just a block away from our apartment complex. Absolutely gorgeous day then. Very much like today was actually. And there was just this guy there doing his thing, and the two ducks. He kinda reminds me of the advice neighbor whom you never got to see the face of on the old Home Improvement show.

Y'know..... I think I watch too much television.

Ugh, with US public sentiment towards Chinese folk not exactly in tip-top condition these days, what with all the spying, the plane, and the buying of influence allegations, etc. I guess it shouldn't come as much of a surprise to see something like this as well:

Over Three Million Chinese Drink Their Own Urine

*sigh*