scanner problems

I have been trying to scan my aunt's pictures but it only scans it at a 75% size when I want the size to be 100% size, so when I make the picture bigger, the faces on the picture would look fuzzy. I tried editing the photo for resolution and resizing but it is not working. I will just need to go to another scanner.

obituary

The San Jose Mercury news should run the obituary of my aunt, Mama Nene aka Vivina. I spent today looking at photo albums of my Mama Nene so we can put together a collage and pictures with frames.

I have more errands to do:
* need bottled waters for the evening rosary prayers at my house
* buy several copies of the SJ Mercury newspaper
* bring my aunt's burial clothes in the morning
* pick up burial reception buffet menu
* need to scan the photos

I was so tired yesterday because I did not get that much sleep the night before. I have a hard time falling asleep.

too many errands

I was running around yesterday and the day before to prepare for the burial and viewing of my aunt, Mama Nene's body.

Two days before:
* I cried so much when I saw my aunt at the operating table connected to the tubes, it just hit me so hard when I saw her, especially when I walk around the house ... so many things remind me of her, even when I touched her clothes and shoes, I felt like crying
* when my dad and I viewed her body, I looked over across the doorway, and the doctors were still working on another patient during surgery

The day before yesterday:
* went to work but I could not stand it, I had to leave
* picked up Mama Nene's clothes at the hospital
* talked to anethesialigist about what happened during the operating table, I didn't realize that my aunt had so many complications, anneroisms in her arm, infected arm with two big bulging bumps and it was bleeding, coronary heart disease, (detected a year ago but considered minor), they had to litigate her arm, then litigate her chest, and then ligitage her arm, my aunt was loosing lots of blood, so they did blood transfusion which might of increased her potassium level, her potassium level before the surgery was 5.2, when the doctor was done repairing my aunt's lower left arm, they started loosing her, they tried CPR for an hour to try to revive her, they said that they revived her once and then lost her again, we thought it was routine arm surgery, since she had two arm surgeries in the past, the doctor put a priority (Dr. Syderac was worried that she might bleeed death, the medical term might be called exanguanation) on my aunt's surgery that the hosptial delayed two scheduled surgeries
* my dad and I went to the mortuary to pick out coffin and to discuss viewing and burial options

Yesterday:
* made so many phone calls regarding church, pictures, flowers, clothing, agenda, rosary, obituary, reception
** I am so happy that a lot of people have special parts in organizing and planning the viewing and burial
* my cousin Mary and I picked out my aunt's burial dress at a bridal shop and all the rest of her clothing, we had a hard time finding the blue sash to tie around her waist to symbolize Virgin Mary, since my family is so Catholic
* Manang Mary and I made selection of the flowers
* my cousin Kito will be preparing prayers to follow "Pray for us"
* my cousin Boni wrote the obituary
* my cousin Mary is doing the program/agenda (memorial folder) and rosary flyer, she was so efficient in deciding the clothes and flowers
* my cousin Lindsay is arranging the burial reception
* my cousins and I will gather photos to scan and print to frame and do a collage
* my dad and I went back to the mortuary so that my dad can sign the release form to transfer my aunt's body from the hospital to the morge, we picked St. Theresa for prayer card because my aunt will like the cross, we picked the catholic book for guests to sign in
* my auntie Lilia organizing the choir and priest for the rosary at night
* I was so relieved to hear that by law in the bay area if a person dies at an operating table, the coronary will investigate with in 15 hours, since we didn't hear from the coronary, we will assume that there was no wrong doing for the surgery, the doctor of anethesia said that they tried their best, she said it was a heroic effort

Early morning:
* I need to make more phone calls regarding church, cemetary, pictures, obituary, reception food, and miscellaneous calls

so sad

I am so sad. My aunt, Mama Nene passed away last night. She had been living with my family for more than 10 years. I am so shocked!!! She went to the emergency early this morning because her arm was bleeding, it is the same arm that the doctors use for her dialysis three times a week. My aunt was blind and had diabetes. Her mind was very strong. Dr. Snider suggested arm surgery so that the infection does not lead to her heart. She had arm surgery in the evening, and she died of cardiac arrest. She had two arm surgeries in the past. We assumed that this arm surgery would be a success like the previous surgeries. I am still in shock. I can't believe it that she is gone. The doctor said that they tried to revive her but she did not come through. After she passed on, I went to see her at the San Mateo hospital, it was so difficult to see her, to believe that she died. She was so young, only 66 and exactly 3 months. Her birthday was April 26, 1939 and she died July 26, 2005. I thought she would live a long time. I still can't believe it. My foundest memory of her was when she made rice krispy treats when I was a kid. Why did she die so young? Was it her destiny to die? I will so miss her. I didn't say goodbye.

last day of kickboxing class

I don't want kickboxing class to end but today is the last day. The class cannot continue because the instructor has a conflict with another class that she will be teaching. By the way, I went to Tapioca Express for lunch, I had the barley bubble tea and crispy pepper chicken with basil.

the island

Last night, I watched the movie, the Island. It was an okay film. I was a bit hesitant to watch the film because some of the reviews were mixed, some liked and some did not like it. Non stop action after the first 20-30 minutes of the film.

sore

I feel sore today. I don't know why my legs feel sore. I did not do any exercise for the weekend, just lazed around the house. After work, I am going to an Indian restaurant that newly opened in downtown Mountain View. I so like the idea of dipping the naan with the curries.

home

I have to stay home today because I have to babysit my aunt and my uncle since my dad went to Stockton. I had delicious home made French bread for breakfast. Thanks Xine!

symphony concert

I went to Bucca di Peppo for dinner. After dinner, I went to the symphony concert at Cubberly Community Center, some of the music was from various movie soundtrack. Then I had a milkshake at Palo Alto Creamery Downtown.

Hahn's Hibachi

I am going to Hahn's Hibachi, Korean food in downtown Palo Alto for lunch. I watched all of season 1 episodes of Wonderfalls.

wonderfalls

Last night, I watched Wonderfalls, the tv series about a Brown University graduate student with a philosophy degree working retail in a tourist shop close to Niagra Falls where the animal figurines talk to her to do good stuff. Too bad, they cancelled the show after the 1st year on the air. I was so addicted that I watched 8 episodes last night. I wanted to watch all of the 1st season episodes but I was so sleepy. I have 4 more episodes to go.

I went to dim sum again this week for lunch at the usual place, Golden Wok in downtown Mountain View. I can only think of two dim sum places close to my house and work, and the other is Ming's which is more expensive, but nice to have special occasions like birthdays, graduation, and weddings.

chef chu

Last night after kickboxing, I went to Chef Chu for dinner, the food is sort of Americanize Chinese food. When you walk into the restaurant, the restaurant has pictures on the wall of famous people and the chef. I like eating the crab rangoon (fried cheezy crab).

Today during lunch, I am going to a colon cancer awareness and prevention presentation.

bubble tea

Last night, I had mango pearl milk tea at Tapioca Express. It was so sweet. I also ordered the pepper crisy chicken, mild flavoring, even though I asked for mild, my mouth was burning. I would eat one chicken, and sip the bubble tea drink to cool down the burning sensation.

Yesterday for lunch, I went to Tibco's cafeteria (a company close to work). They have such a nice peaceful atmosphere than my work cafeteria area. The cafeteria at my work is so small and food selection is minimal.

Tonight, I have kickboxing class. I don't want the class to end at the end of this month.

stanford dish trail

Yesterday, I went to the Stanford dish trail on Junipero Serra Blvd. and Stanford Ave. I saw a snake, lizard, squirrels, rabbit, and deer. Before the trail began, there was a warning for mountain lions which I did not see. The trail was about 3.5 miles long and it took me an hour and a half to walk. The two satellites have fence around it, so I can't get close.

dim sum

Today, I am going to meet up with my middle school friend for dim sum. I have not seen her in a while, so we have a lot to catch up on.

Last night, the hike at Mission Peak was so hard. The trail to go up to the peak was mostly up hill. I had to stop a lot to rest. I was feeling so tired, but I kept thinking that I am so close to the peak. Towards the end of the trail, it is rocky, I fell twice but I fell on my hands to stop myself from falling on my butt. We started hiking around 7:30pm. It was probably 8:30 - 9:00pm when we reached the peak, by then it was gettting dark. At the peak, there is a poll where it has pipe scopes to look at all over the bay area to San Francisco, East Bay, and South Bay. When I looked at the bay area at night, it reminded me when I am on the airplane arriving in San Francisco at night. The trail going back to the car was easy because it was all down hill, and bad for my knees. I hiked down hill in the dark. It was 10:30pm when I went back to the parking lot, the hike took three hours.

mission peak

I plan to hike mission peak in Fremont this evening. I have to take my cousin to the Oakland airport before that. I have to drop off my mom at work. I feel like a chauffeur/taxi driver.

wedding crashers

Today, I saw the movie Wedding Crashers. The movie was okay, it seemed like the funny parts of the movie were shown at the preview. I watched so many movies this week. I finished watching the TV show CSI Las Vegas season 1. I walked to the entrance at the Stanford dish (satellite) trail but they close the gate at 7:30pm, I was so bummed that we didn't see the satellite, oh well, at least I got some exercise walking from my work to the trail entrance.

Yesterday, I went walking at Shoreline.

peking duck

I had lunch at Peking Duck restaurant (Chinese food), close to my work. From the outside, it looks like a dive, but it looks much nicer from the inside. The service was quick. The food was not so bad. I had the beef with bok choy.

march of the penguins

Last night, I watched the movie March of the Penguins at Cine Arts, an independent film, Morgan Freeman was the narrator. I liked it. The penguins looked so cute when they would slide on their bellies when they get tired of marching. They would march for 70 miles going back and forth to the baby nest area. The movie was about the emperor penguins struggling to keep the baby penguins alive in Anartica.

finally cut my amazon hair

I went to Artistic in Cupertino to get my hair cut. My hair is naturally frizzy and thick. It is so hard to manage. I just get tired of holding up the hair dryer. The hair stylist chopped off about 3 inches, so now my hair is above my shoulder and layered. My hair feels so much lighter because he thinned it. Maybe for my next hair cut I will get a bob.

For lunch, I went to Mollie Stone (grocery market with organic products and a deli) . I got the sushi, and I was surprised that it taste good. Since at Mollie Stone, the outside eating tables were occupied, most of the tables were occupied by one person while the table could accomodate 4 people, I went to Barron Park which is close to my work building to eat the sushi.

fantastic 4, kickboxing class

Last night, I saw the movie fantastic 4. I liked it. I have not read the comic books.

During kick boxing, we do a lot of jumping with our guards up (hands protecting our chest) called the boxer. I feel silly just jumping around. We march to warm up. We do jumping jacks, jabs, upper cut, locks, and blocks, a repetition of 4 each. We do front, back diagonal, and side kicks. The instructor says that we need to lift our knee first and then see the our heel in the mirror to do a proper kick. We do combinations like diagonal front kick (right), then front kick with the same leg (right), then another front kick with opposite leg (left), and jab with the left arm. It is difficult to explain it. We would crouch low and then do a side kick. We do combinations with the lock and upper cut, and sometimes the instructor would say double time, so we would have to do it so fast that I would lose track and be out of sync with the instructor. We do not pair up to fight each other, we just face the front of the room and follow the instructor, similar to aerobics. Before class ends, we do 10 minute stretches which feels so good afterwards. I have two more classes to go.

After work, I am going to Shoreline area again to walk about 3 miles.

my friend cooked dinner

After work, I went again to my friend's house to eat dinner. She sure can cook yummy food. I had veggies with oyster sauce and pepper drumstick chicken.

Tonight I have my kickboxing class.

Bewitched

Yesterday, I saw the movie Bewitched. I liked it. After the movie, I went over my friend's house to eat dinner.

rancho san antonio

On Friday night, I went to Fanny & Alexander again. I have been going a lot because my cousin Boni is here for the summer. I usually go to Fanny & Alexander when he is around.

Yesterday, I went to Rancho San Antonio to hike the PG&E trail for about 4 miles. The trail has a nice view of the Bay Area. After hiking, I went to Dynasty on Wolfe Rd. for dim sum. I was so tired from the hike that I went to sleep early. I was suppose to hang out with my friend last night but she cancelled on me. Oh well, next week, I will meet up with her.

mango cafe

I had Cajun and Caribbean food for lunch at Mango Cafe in downtown Palo Alto. The smoothies are good. I liked the roti. It was funny, I saw two of my aunts and my uncle pass by the restaurant, they looked surprised to see me.

My cubemate moved out last week. I have the whole cube to myself. It feels kind of weird because I was so used to sitting next to him.

Habana Cuba

Tonight, I am going to eat at Habana Cuba on Race St. in San Jose with my cousins. The restaurant has great authentic food. The sangria and mohito are good.

I am hesitating to get the colonoscopy because colon cancer usually occurs to 93% of the people who are over 50 years old. I don't even feel the pain. My mom has been forcing me to eat more vegetables.

I had a Vietnamese sandwich for lunch. I have not had that in a while. I got it from Golden Phoenix in the market. The only other Vietnamese sandwich places I know about are in Milpitas and San Jose.

shoreline

I am going to walk around the Shoreline area after work. It is refreshing to smell the bay and feel the breeze. Yesterday, I went to kick boxing class and we are doing way more combinations. When I do the grapevine, my hands are so uncoordinated, I try to move my hands and legs at the same time, but I move it in the wrong direction.

Mexico City

Below is a list of what I have visited in Mexico City.

Day 01: Friday July 1st
* Arrival in Mexico City (ask hotel for reservation for tours with ESTUR – Teotihuacan pyramids and city tour)
* need a voucher before taking the taxi

Day 02: Saturday July 2nd
* Basiclica de Guadalupe, church is sinking because Mexico City was a river, the soil is very soft, architectures around the world tried to solve the sinking issue, church is sinking on the front left hand side
* on the 45 minute drive to Teotihuacan, we passed houses that were plain white grayish looking where the poor and middle class people live, they don’t paint their house because there is a charge if you paint the house
* education at Mexico City for college is practically free, except for a small fee
* Quetzalcoatl Temple and the fortresses (Feathered Serpent Temple) @ Teotihuacan
* North of Mexico City, to the Teotihuacán Pyramids, Sun and the Moon Pyramids, climbed both pyramids; and moon pyramid has the best view, the sun is taller than the moon pyramid, but when you look at the sun and moon pyramid it looks like the same height because the moon pyramid is on elevated ground, good thing the pyramids have hand rails because the stairs are so steep
* Madero, main street for coffee shop and internet café
* Belle Arts Palacio (fine arts palace), trying to copy France architecture
* Alameda Central park for cheap food
* celebration at Zocalo for 5th year presidential election

Day 03: Sunday July 3rd
* Angel statue signifies independence on paseo de reforma
* Diana goddess statue on paseo de reforma
* Museum of Anthropology at Chapultepec park, museum one of the world’s 10 best museums, I visited the Aztec and Mayan hall, the Egyptian exhibit had a very long line to get in because the Egyptian exhibit will only be there for July, Chapultepec park is the 2nd largest park in the world after Central Park in New York City
* Buena Vista market – biggest store in Latin America
* visit historical center, main square (Zocalo), performances of the Huacan (spelling?) culture
* national palace, famous murals of Diego Rivera, he did not finish painting all the walls on the 2nd floor, his favorite mural was his last mural (Spanish conquest)
* cathedral – can’t read the description of the art in the chapels because it is in Spanish
* templo mayor, templo mayor museum, can’t take bottled water inside, this place is free for Mexican residents on Sunday but visitors had to pay
* Castillo de chapultepec, rode metro and it cost only 20 cents, can’t read the description on the paintings because it is in Spanish


Day 04: Monday July 4th
* Zocalo square, protestors, lots of pick up trips parked on the square, Zocalo means the base of the column because the square is empty except for the Mexican flag