I really don’t update my Xanga as often as before. Been too lazy to write in English. Nowadays I primarily write my Chinese blogs.

So what is up with me? Well, I’ve been very busy. In order to make extra money, I’ve been working overtime everyday since April trying to make that 1.5 x OT pay. Working 10 hours a day can really be tiring. My manager just recently asked me if I want to work Saturdays as well to help out with some special office projects. I said, “As long there are OT pay, and since I’m not doing much on weekends anyway, why not?” I’m young and healthy right now and I need money. Why not take this opportunity to make more money?

Career wise, more opportunities seem to sprung up all of a sudden. One manager told me about two new positions open up within our department. They’re both senior positions but dealing with English materials. She encouraged me to apply for both. I hesitated for a bit because I have only been working with Chinese materials and I’m good at my work. I also have a good working relationship with all of the East Asian librarians. Giving all of these up for something unfamiliar and new seems a bit scary at first. However, after I really think about it, I can learn something new and challenging. It’s also a promoting opportunity and good position to put on my resume. Why don’t I give it a try? So I decided I will talk to that supervisor today and see what she thinks.

On top of that, school is starting this week. This is my last year in grad school. I can’t wait to finish this degree next year. I was just looking at the syllabus for my classes this semester. 3 essays, 1 group project and 1 individual project for one class. The other class also has 5 assignment.  Urr~ I can imagine how busy this semester will be for me.

Other than work and school, I had a pretty busy summer as well. Went to San Diego twice this summer. Got to hang out with other friends more. I’m learning how to live happily by myself and cherish life as it continues on.

This year has been quite a bit ups and downs for me. Life isn’t always smooth sailing. But now I’m determined to make my life better and happier. Life won’t stop there. It will only get better as time goes on!

Ganbade! Add oil! 加油加油加油!

This weekend, other than the Valentine celebration, was quite a busy weekend for me.  Saturday I had a farewell lunch for a friend who’s moving back to Taiwan for work. We met up at Santa Monica’s Il Fornaio Italian restaurant. We managed to have a 3 hour lunch because everyone was late. But I think everyone still had a lot of fun hanging out together. I really wish our friend the best of luck and all the success in the world~~

Then Sunday was another friend’s Birthday dinner. We ate at Beverly Hill’s McCormick & Schmick. For some reasons I remembered the time wrong. So I was late for almost 1 hour. I feel terribly sorry. After dinner, we all went to her apartment for cake. She had a cute tiny rabbit there. Everyone was playing with him. He was so little but has very long nails. When I was holding him, he tends to scratch my hands.

After college graduation, it’s so hard to keep in touch with good friends. I’m glad I still keep in touch with so many great friends and get to meet with them often. I really hope everyone will stay around LA area so we can see each other often!

Only 4 more days then I’m going back to Taiwan for 9 days vacation! Yay~~ can’t wait!!

For last couple of months, so many companies called my cell and asked for either “Thomas Hall” or “Paul Hall”. This morning I got another weird call like that. It’s really frustrating that I have to repeatedly explain to them that there’s no such person and they got the wrong number. I think these guys either give out fake numbers on purpose or they forgot to tell people they changed their numbers. I’m guessing they must be under a lot of debts that’s why they didn’t want people to know their real numbers. Before it was Albertson calling me every single day, now it’s another company calling me every other day! Ohhh !! I wish there are some ways to find out who those guys are and tell them to stop giving out my cell phone number.

Oh yeah, I got my license plates last week! But I couldn’t figure out howto put on the front plate! There’s only a blank board in the size of a license plate in front of my car. No holes or anything to put in screws. I tried using double sided tapes to tape the license plate onto the board but it just wouldn’t work! Can anyone help me figure out this problem?

Argghhh….after 2 days of fire, the entire LA city is covered with smoke. The sky appears to be dark and grey, the sun can hardly pierce through the dark clouds. Walking on the street I can smell smokes filled in the air. This weekend I went to a small hill close to my apartment and looked down at the West LA area, the entire city is covered with smog. I could barely see any streets and buildings down there. It’s scary to think we are actually living inside this heavily polluted place. Hopefully the fire will soon cease and no more homes to be destroyed.

Today I came upon a book about this author’s family history in Tzu-tong, Yun-lin Hsien in Taiwan. Tzu-tong is actually right next to my mom’s hometown Hsi-luo (西螺). This author put many old photos of his family in the book and talked about his ancestors and family backgrounds. He mentioned his grandmother was from a family named Liao (廖) from Hsi-luo. My heart jumped when I read this part. My great-grandmother (my mom’s grandma) is actually from the Liao family in Hsi-luo. So this could mean that I’m somewhat related to this author and his family. I double checked with my mom tonight. Even though she could not remember those people because there are so many Liao people in Hsi-luo. But in Taiwan’s countryside, most people are related to each other if they share the same last name and live in the same village. I bet there are some connection between me and this writer. I’m very excited about this discovery. It proves the six degrees theory is relatively correct and that everyone is connected to each other in some ways. This is really a small world!

OK I have to go back to writing English again cuz I might have friends who can’t read Chinese.

Xanga is really addicting. I check and update at least 3 times a day! Well I just have way too much time~haa~=P

Well only 5 more days to the exam. Not really feeling much pressure here. Maybe I would start feeling the pressure on the exam day! I’m very worried about the essay part. I really don’t know what kind of topics they will test on and how will I be able to write a flawless essay. A lot of times I found myself understanding the material but not necessarily knowing how to explain them. It’s much easier with the answers right in front of you in multiple choices. I really hope the entire test is made up of multiple choices. That will give me a better chance of passing!

This weekend I decided not to go to Rowland Heights because I feel I concentrate better in my apartment. However, it has turned out to be very unproductive for me. Yesterday I spend the whole day watching Friends videos, not feeling like studying. Maybe because I feel I needed a break from all those books. Man..it’s less than 3 wees ’till the exam and why am I not nervous at all? Good thing is I’m still on top of my study schedule. I do study for at least 4-6hours everyday. Next week I should be able to finish reviewing all the chapters and homework. Then I will have one more week for final review. But if I have more time, I really should’ve read more so those materials stick with me better. There really is a lot of materials. Sometimes I feel like I understand them, but after awhile when I go back, I can’t remember a thing. Anyway, it’s too late to say things like that now. I can only do my best and hope I could pass at least 2part this time!