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piggydc
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Name: Derek
Gender: Male
Interests: hanging out with friends, movies, blogging, being a "shrink", US military, exercise, community service, swing dancing
Expertise: Being your friend!
Occupation: Quality
Industry: Medical Manufacturing
Message: message meEmail: email me
Website: visit my website
AIM:  KARHOE
Member Since:
1/2/2003
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| a big kid at heart
I called him Uncle Andy. He wasn't a relative but, rather, a close friend of my dad's. They go way back to the Hong Kong days. His widow, Aunt Amy, is also a good friend of my mom's; they go hiking on the Stanford Dish, talking about anything & everything.
Many wonderful things were said about Uncle Andy at his funeral this past weekend. So I wouldn't do him justice by repeating them here. But here are a few random, fond memories I have of him....
- He was a very active guy. Even more so than me. A few years ago, Uncle Andy dragged me and my dad up Mission Peak. I almost made it to the top; my dad did. And of course, Uncle Andy got up there. He conquered that hill (more like a mountain) as if it were nothing! In the subsequent years, he also ventured up Half Dome.
And last year, the three of us went skiing along with one of his girls, Becky. First off, it was great of Uncle Andy to drive all the way there and back for that 1-day trip. He was totally cool with it. Secondly, I remember him saying that we should go ski some double black diamonds.  Double blacks. I thought he was kinda nuts, saying that single blacks were good enough. But he saw those as for babies. Again, he was quite the active one.
- Several years ago, he & Aunt Amy came over for a bbq. As much as he loved his daughters, he also complained about them, albeit in a fatherly-affectionate way. I remember standing around in our backyard with Uncle Andy telling me about his girls downloading not just gigabytes, but hard drives of MP3s off the web (this was before iTunes made them legal). He recalled warning them, "If the police ever comes by, I'm going to say I didn't know anything!" Of course, he said all this in his usual half-jokingly way.
- As everyone who knew him says, Uncle Andy was very much into electronics. With all due respect to his daughters, his home surround system really was his baby. He nurtured that thing. Every now and then, he invited my dad over to show him. One time, I tagged along. I think it was during that visit -- and other times talking to him -- something wouldn't exactly work right or what-not. So Uncle Andy would shake his head and exclaim, "Shit! I just installed this thing yesterday and it's already screwing up! What the hell, man?!" That'd just make you laugh inside. Both my dad and I can still hear him saying that now. He really was a big kid at heart, playing with his "toys" and all.
Finally, the last time I saw him was last Thanksgiving -- he was cutting up those birds pretty good.
I'm going to miss him. My family misses him, especially my folks. Thinking about Uncle Andy makes me want to become a better person.
When one of us passes onto the next world, the first thing we'll ask is, "Where's Andy?" And someone already in Heaven will say, "Oh, he took off on a hike right after he arrived. Hasn't come back yet."
I'm sure he's doing that now.
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| the CPA
"Our clients are our only assets, so we kill ourselves for them."
-- The Firm, by John Grisham
I haven't read many legal thrillers, so The Firm sticks out to me. And if the representation it gives regarding the lives of tax lawyers is at all accurate, then its a good thing I'm not in that line of business b/c I wouldn't be able to handle it.
For starters, I even didn't do well in accounting courses. Yeah, the math's simple enough: +, -, x, and รท. There aren't any complex formulas, integrals, or derivatives (at least none that I remember). But what made is so damn confusing to me was all the regulations out there. These regulations would dictate how you handle the numbers, and that in itself got quite confusing to me. So it's much more than just # crunching. But accounting is necessary since every company, large & small, needs to keep track of their greens.
And if that's what accounting is like -- complicated and necessary -- then I'm sure being a CPA/tax lawyer is just as much, if not more so.
First, there's the schooling.
And then going through the bar exam, which I heard lasts for a grueling four days.
If you pass and get to a tax firm, you're expected to work 30-40 hours a week (or at least 18 hr days) for the first six months as an associate attorney.
And then 50 hours a week...
If you want to make partner, then 60 is the requirement. And those are just the work hours.
As your part of your job, your clients can be wealthy high-rollers who expect to pay to little or no taxes. They keep their finger on every dime. Legally avoiding taxes can be done, but I'm sure the pressure is immense. Some clients just breathe down your neck and may dish out all sorts of legal threats if they're not pleased.
Grace recounted similar experiences to the above since she was working at a CPA/tax firm. I don't know how she did it because I wouldn't have that much patience in being professionally courteous while dealing with such people. I'd be frustrated (and nervous) as hell.
Then I think about other CPAs-in-training -- ie. Jess and Leona -- signing up for a job that seems to be anything but easy. They're probably just that good at it.
So to those who are in this line of work or who have done it, all the more props to ya.
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| my "pension"
Normally, when I don the blues as a Coast Guard Auxiliarist, there's respect on the other end. Whether it'd be gracious or authoritative. But not all people are like that. I guess there's a first time for everything.
Yours truly was taking part of a safety boating patrol in the SF Bay. We were near a harbor and had to more or less keep order out there. Particularly, if incoming/outgoing power boats were going too fast, we had to remind them to slow down. Most boaters listened and didn't give a fuss. But not all of them.
It was a small personal watercraft (PWC) that was coming in fast, and three POB (persons on board). I got on the loudspeaker and told them that they had to slow down. They did.... for a few seconds. It was only long enough for the guy at the helm to yell, "I PAY FOR YOUR PENSION, I CAN DO WHATEVER I WANT!"
And a guy next to him made this gesture of rubbing his fingers together (implying $$) to drive home the point. Then they took off, at the same fast speed.
I could've said that I'm a Coast Guard Auxiliarist, and that I don't get paid as a volunteer. But that'd just confuse them since we wear identical CG uniforms. That guy's probably dissing the USCG right now for all I know.
I could've said that slowing down was for their own safety, and for the safety of other boaters. But in such a situation out on the water, it's not ideal to get into a debate.
So I didn't say anything and we just let them go. Even my skipper remarked, "@$$hole." After all, Auxiliarists aren't law enforcement. The USCG is, but we can only advise and recommend. If that PWC were to get into any accidents after flipping us off, the fault wouldn't be with me and my crew.
I get that there are people out there who don't like governments, public services, taxes, etc. But that guy's reaction would be akin to being pulled over by a police officer for speeding and then responding, "My taxes pay for your pension! I can go as fast as I want on the road!" Okay....
Anyways, that's the first time I've received a reception like this. Granted, it's nothing major like being spat upon. But I hope others I know whom have worn the uniform haven't had a similar experience.
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| random eye candy
Jessey Meng had a small role in The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor, but she was in it enough to catch my eye when she played some antagonistic General. She had a bigger part in Richard Gere's Red Corner.
Not sure how recent this pic of the Taiwanese actress is -- could be '07.
Here's a different pic of her where she looks more bad-@$$:
Anyways.... I like.
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| feline concerns
So this is what it must be like to be a parent..... sort of. When you're concerned about someone under your care.
I'm more and more aware that my cat's getting older. It's constantly in the back of my mind. She can be more lethargic nowadays. Her fur is not as dark as it used to be. Her hind legs are more bent... On occasion, she'd have an intermittent "seizure" --I'm not even sure to call it that, but she's cramp up for a minute or two. Fortunately, I haven't seen that happen since Feb.
And now and then, she pukes. It could be because of accidentally eating something she shouldn't have, coughing up a hairball, or worse, something could be wrong with her digestive system.
Even though it was a few years ago, I remember telling Deb: "I'm going to bawl like a girl when Casey is gone."
Deb told me not think about that. And I try not to. But Casey is an old gal -- 14 or 15 years. Even for an indoor house cat, that's really up there.
I'm glad she's indoors. I would worry sick if she were outdoor. Who knows what dangers and unhealthy stuff she'd run into out there.
Anyways, a few Fridays ago, she puked like almost 10 times. Each time, I'd have to clean up after her. Sure, it's a lot of work, but I'll do it.... however, that just got me more concerned about her health. Whenever she'd eat a little, she'd puke it right out.
I stayed up late playing video games, sitting next to her as she slept on my bean bag. I just wanted to keep an eye on her and playing games was the best way to keep me up. All was fine until around 1am she woke up and puked again.
The next day, she slept through most of it. She wasn't very energetic. That Sat, she "only" puked twice.
On Sun, I took her to the vet. $400+ spent on blood tests and such. Oh well, Casey's worth it. The doc said that her kidneys and liver seem to be fine, but some bacteria was found in her urine sample. Ugh. So I've been trying to give her antibiotic meds with some success.... Casey just HATES medicine. Almost as much as she hates being put in the cage for transport.
A week later: She's eating again. Hasn't puked so far. I still keep a close eye on her. I've always done that, but now even more so.
You know, I don't want to sound pessimistic or jinx myself. But I have looked up info about the equivalent of a vet ER in Palo Alto -- fortunately, it's not far at all. And worse, I actually did a quick research on local pet cemeteries/cremation. Of course, I want Casey to live as long as possible. But you never know when life is interrupted by death. And I've already decided that I want her cremated. Whether it'd be public or private, I'm not sure.
Hopefully, I won't have to decide that for a long time.
Thanks to all who've expressed concern for Casey. She's my precious.
PS: despite her age and physical condition, Casey can still be quite agile, leaping on beds & and across counters, and such. | | |
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