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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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| 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. | | |
| old school photography
Nowadays, I've come across quite a few photographers, whether they'd be professional or recreational. And it's an expensive activity either way. In particular, I think of wedding photographers who always have to invest in not only the latest equipment, but also keeping their creative/artistic skills fresh & unique. Otherwise, you won't stay competitive in that industry. Regarding their equipment, I'm sure it's all done with computers and programs. And their work results are impressive. But that brings me to imagine trying to do their jobs the ol' fashioned way. ===== One of the high school classes that stays with me most was photography. Not because of the people, but because of the class itself. Back then (late '90s), you still had to do & finish your own work by hand. Nothing was automatic, much less digital, unlike nowadays. If you literally didn't have a good steady hand or touch, then you probably wouldn't like old school photography much. From what I remember, it was a long -- and at times, frustrating -- process. Taking the picture: My camera was older than the other students'. It belonged to my maternal grandpa, who long passed away. I couldn't find a good pic of it on the web, but his cam somewhat looked like this (at least the gears on top do):  ( Source ) When you took a shot, you couldn't preview it right there and then to see how it turned out. It might've been good, bad, or merely mediocre. And none of the settings would adjust themselves; they were all done by you. You had to manually set the shutter speed and aperture light settings on the camera, with all its knobs & dials. And both the speed and aperture depended on one another: generally, the brighter the light, the quicker the shutter speed. Conversely, the darker it is, the slower the speed. Otherwise, the pic may come out as too bright or dark. And the aperture setting was configured by using a separate light meter device (also not automatic). And finally, there's focusing the camera with a rotation ring. Keep in mind that ALL of this was estimation... After taking the picture, you had to advance to the next frame of the film roll by turning back a lever. You wouldn't figure out how well or bad your pic came out until you got to the darkroom. Developing the picture: 
( Source ) I spent a lot of time in the darkroom. A lot. First, there was unloading the film roll from the camera. This was done in pitch darkness; an ounce of light could ruin the whole film. And since it was all by touch; sometimes I spent as long as 20-30 minutes in there. Then you had to mix the film roll in some chemicals. And then place the film negatives through a special projector, which shined a faint light through the negatives onto photographic paper. That's the VERY FIRST TIME you'll actually see your pictures and determine whether or not you did a good job taking them. It was with that projector where you had to use more focus/lighting settings so you could influence the outcome of the pic as much as possible. Then there was a whole line of trays with various chemicals in which you had to mix the photographic paper. At the end of the line, if you did everything right, your picture was done. And your hands just REEKED. Nevertheless, I'm glad I took that class. It was frustratingly fun. ===== One of MY (literally, mine) favorite taken pictures of all time is one of Dame, Jess, and JJ. I guess getting them in a shot was two-fold: one, for my photography class; and two, having another pic of relatives is always nice. I remember inviting them over to my house one weekend afternoon, and having them dress nice & to sit on a couch in the living room. I had to do all the steps explained above before even clicking the camera.... and I did it several times because, again, you never know if the previous shot was a good one or not. So it was a long set-up, and my cousins were very cooperative and patient. Even JJ (although being the lil' daredevil he was back then, he required some supervision from his older siblings). Here was the final product.... it came out so well that my aunt has one in her home to this day. It's the only hard copy that I know of. 
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| social life
Haven't written one of these for a while... maybe it's because I'm trying to keep my mind off the parting with XP. So here it goes...
Before I left for Oahu, I treated Ted & Jyh-Shiuan out to dinner. The former hitched me a ride all the way to SFO on a VERY EARLY flight the next Sat morning, while the latter stopped by a few times to check on Casey-the-feline during the week I was gone. And on my flight back home, Deb was kind enough to pick me up and drive me back even though it was a complete round trip for her. Friends like them who help you out at a whim makes me strive to become a better person.
At Paradise, I was able to meet up with Joe Y. twice -- once in Waikiki, the other time when he came over to my parents' timeshare. The first time was just us going to Ala Moana Shopping Center, walking around, having dinner at the food court, and just chatting. His intention was to move to Hawaii, but unfortunately they started putting chloramine in their water supply just like they do in the mainland. Which doesn't help him at all. Poor guy, his luck just can't catch a break. And it didn't help that when he came over to my parents' timeshare for dinner, he had some steak leftovers that wasn't good for him. I humbly ask for his forgiveness. Anyways, we chatted a lot till midnite. That was fun.
While on Oahu, it just happened to be that a former co-worker whom I haven't seen in 6 years was there too. Debi sat next to me at my very first post-college job; she was my "work mom" since her son is around my age. So she "took care" of me back then. Anyways, Debi dropped by for some drinks and it was nice catching up with her after all these years. From her, I learned a lot of what was going on back at corporate Gap. Back then, I was the FNG (military slang for "F***ng New Guy") not to just Gap, but to the whole working world. Now, I am -- as some would put it -- more jaded. Seasoned. Experienced. And hopefully more mature. In any case, it was great to see Debi again.
Last weekend, I dragged John H. over to an indoor range in Milpitas. We only shot one handgun, but he gave me a good tip or two on how to improve my shooting skills. I'd go there more, but like all other hobbies, that can get awful pricey.
Then there was that really late Japanese dinner/dessert with Eric + Annie. It seemed that ever since the former got a new job, his large appetite has returned. And whomever thought a fried banana with ice cream would taste so good? Anyways, for those who don't like it when restaurants close up early here in the Bay, there's a Japanese restaurant in Redwood City that shuts doors at 11:30pm on Saturdays. I believe it's called Little MadFish.
During the week, I met up with a former college roommate who was up in the Bay for business. I haven't seen Hong for a few years, and we just reminisced about the ol' UCI days. Especially the time when he almost set our pad on fire, but *shrugs* all sorts of crap happened back in college. It's funny in hindsight.
This weekend was pretty low-key. On Sun, Deb and I went to Pluto's in downtown Palo for dinner. I haven't been there in ages; the quality of their food remains top-notch. And on Sat nite, I met up with Pat whom I haven't seen in several months. And we're both in the same freakin' city!!
And then there's Grace. It's funny -- even 10 years after high school, I still meet a new face from Gunn here & there. But it was fun -- we talked about high school/UCI/swapped life stories/etc over pancakes & omelettes. And it's great knowing that there's another Anteater Alumni in the local area. *Zot zot*
Finally, it was nice having the place to myself. After kicking the parentals out (ie. they went to their weekend home), I was able to hog up the TV whenever I pleased. On Fri night especially, after a long week at work, I fell asleep watching old sitcom re-runs... next to me on the couch, Casey & Bailey also snoozed away. Them fuzzies are lazy just like me.
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