Hooked on Phonics...works for me?

English was not my first language. In fact, in first grade, I was almost placed in ESL (English as a Second Language). Now, I can hardly have an elementary conversation in Chinese. So why is it that my English seems to still suck? Case in point - I use the word 'suck' because I cannot think of a better, more profound-sounding word.

A 600 on the verbal section of the SATs. Six hundred. Tell me that is not pathetic. Why would one use a 9 letter word, when a 5 letter word works just as well? Why should I know the antonym of 'obfuscate?' Why are there silent letters in words? What is the point?

Some people find company in misery. I enjoy the company of those who speak my language. Five-letter, easy-to-pronounce-words language. I like it when...

...I know I can butcher the pronounciation of a word and still have the other person know exactly what word I am saying.

...I can make up a word and use it as my own without any questions asked. (And you thought Webster knew it all...)

...I can use a word incorrectly and completely out of context but still get my point across. (To this day, I refuse to revert to the real meaning of 'temperamental.')

...I am at a complete loss for words and yet the person still understands the silence or murmur of 'ums.'

I have accepted the fact that I will never be able to impress an Oxford graduate with magna cum laude. Though I do appreciate a good read, I prefer it come along with an abridged or audio version, along with Cliff Notes to help with interpretation. How is one to enjoy a good read if he or she cannot even get past the first few sentences?

With all that being said, please do not take me as an ignorant fool with no desire to learn. Because many of you know that I am somewhat of a nerd at heart.

March Madness - Day 4.

It is Sweet Sixteen time! I have got 10 out of 16 still in it - not too bad.


Texas did not make it to the next round. I had them going to the Four but, to be honest, that pick alone going so far made for a risky East Region. Too bad I did not get to watch any of the games yesterday because of work. Maybe next year I will save up my vacation time and use it in March.

March Madness - Day 3.

Holy cow - a day filled with close games! Games going down to the final seconds of regulation. Other games going to double overtime. After the third day...


Ohio State barely getting by. A loss there would have ruined everyone's bracket, including mine. Thank goodness they prevailed. Seems, I may have underestimated UNC. Though the game against Michigan State was somewhat close, Hansbrough dominated. Hopefully he burned all his fuel in today's game and will have nothing left for the rest of the tournament.

March Madness - Day 2.

Damn you, Villanova!!! After the first round, it looks like Tommy is in the lead - he picked the most accurate upsets. I was holding my own for the most part...until Villanova lost to Kentucky! Damn you, Villanova. You were supposed to take care of Kansas for me...


Only a round has been completed, and I am already feeling the agony. If you do not get into March Madness, you will never understand the feelings behind it all. The Nevada/Creighton overtime game. Wisconsin only scoring 19 points in the half, only to come back to beat 15th seeded Texas A&M Corpus Christi 77 to 71. Tennessee scoring 121 points. Winthrop pulling the upset over Notre Dame.

Oh, the madness!

March Madness - Day 1.

It is March Madness time - one of my favorite times of the year. In fact, when asked what my favorite holiday is, I sometimes reply "March Madness." 64 NCAA teams given bids to play their heart out in this prestigious tournament. Millions of people trying to predict the outcomes of each of the games. This year, I have myself in 3 different pools, basically playing one bracket. After day 1 of the tournament, my bracket looks like this:


With tip-off times of 11 am to 8 pm, thank goodness for ESPN.com - I compulsively check on scores every 3-5 minutes at work.

Breakdown of day 1...

I gave Bob Knight way too much credit - what was I thinking?

Stanford over Louisville was probably my worst upset pick. They played in Kentucky - I have nothing to justify my pick.

Old Dominion almost stole one. It was a good game, and I do not regret my pick.

Prior to the tournament, I had no idea what VCU stood for. Yet it was still one of my confident picks. Poor Duke.

After listening to the radio, I should have changed my pick to Michigan State.

That damn Xavier. I thought I had one in BYU.

9 for 16 is not bad. Must do better tomorrow!

goodbye, coach.

With much respect for how much women's sports has grown, I know that a large part is due to the organizations and the staff, in addition to the athletes themselves. Jody Conradt has been a staple for Texas Women's basketball. After collecting her 900th victory and coaching 31 years at Texas, we say goodbye to one of the greatest coaches of all time...

Thank you for all that you brought to the women's athletic program. Hook 'em!

dos pulgares arriba.

Minus the Spanish dialogue and English subtitles, I give Pan's Labyrinth two thumbs up. I do not watch movies often, so it is always refreshing when I see a good one.

Beautiful and exhilarating, a fairy tale for grown-ups. - Roger Ebert

Beautiful, it was. Definitely deserved the award for Best Cinematography. It was also beautiful in the sense that it captures bravery, sacrifice, love, and loss all through an eleven-year-old girl. Somewhat dark and gothic, the movie does leave you with your head down, but only because you feel for the little girl and all that she endured.


Exhilarating. Lee-Ting can attest to that - just ask her how many times she jumped during the movie. Though the jumping may have been more fear induced, the movie did keep you entertained. Between the plot and the character designs, the movie had my undivided attention. How could one not give into the likes of a character like this...


Beautiful and exhilarating, indeed. One can only dream up a character like that.

what are their relations?

One of my co-workers calls it a fad or a trend. Though I by no means agree that coming out is a temporary notion or manner of conduct, I do recognize that it is becoming quite popular. But do the numbers lead to it being more socially accepted?

I encounter all types of people every day - the fat and the skinny, the mentally challenged and the gifted, the rude and the complacent, the old and the young, the ill and the healthy, the heterosexuals and the homosexuals.

Yesterday I happened to ask "What is the relation between customer A and customer B?" They both pick up each other's medications, yet never seem to come together so I have never seen the two interact. Both are caucasion females, one 64 years of age and the other 44 years of age. The 64 year old always has two Chinese girls with her.

Answer: The two women are partners who adopted babies from China.

Why do I find this worthy of writing about? It is not because they are lesbians; I am open to everyone's sexual orientation. I think what got me thinking is that there are so many uncharacteristic variables in the equation. Two caucasion women, twenty-years apart (one in her early sixties) adopting and raising two Chinese girls. I believe that a home with these two women is better than no home at all, but I am curious to see how the little girls' lifestyles will differ from the rest of us.

script count: 385.

With Courtney gone, floaters will be regulars in our store the next few weeks...or however long it takes to hire a new assistant pharmacist. As a closer, this impacts me the most because I am forced to spend the latter part of my shift alone with someone unfamiliar with our store. More times than not, it turns out okay but there is always that fear that the evening will be a nightmare.

Tonight was one of the smoothest evenings I have ever experienced. Was it slow? No. It was an average Tuesday with an ending script count of 385. The last few hours consisted of one clerk (until 8 pm), one technician, and one pharmacist. It was perfect - everyone knew their role. I could not have asked for a more organized night, which is an extreme rarity at our store.

I never thought I would admit this, but there are actual times I do enjoy my job. It is almost as if there is a sense of accomplishment at the end of the night. Shh, do not let Dawn know.

satisfied craving.

Back in college, a good 80% of my monthly spendings were on food and alcohol. Now that I do not go out every day of the week and limit my tabs to less than $100, the bulk of my expenses has gone to Starbucks and food. Luckily for me, there is no tab kept open at Starbucks and though I frequent it two to three times a day, I only average $2.40 a coffee.

So that leaves me with food. I love food; it makes me happy. The thought of french fries light up my eyes. With the love for food comes cravings. It seems I am constantly craving something, and I cannot function without satisfying that craving. I crave everything from hamachi to beignets and will go to great lengths to make sure I get my yellowtail and sugar powdered pastries.

It is like an illness with symptoms resembling that of ADHD. I get restless, cannot concentrate, and eventually I get rowdy and rude. Onset is unpredictable and uncontrollable. The only cure - satisfying the craving.

Not many people can relate. After a full blown outbreak of symptoms, which usually takes place if the craving is not satisfied within days, many people will either ask if I am pregant or call me a beast. Recently, Grace sufferred the same weakness and fortunately was able to satisfy her craving...

AzNGUrI: I DID IT!!!
AzNGUrI: hahaha
AzNGUrI: i stole a piece of cake
AzNGUrI: my craving is fulfilled :-D i am whole now

That feeling of being "whole" again is more than satisfying...it is relieving. At least until the next mention of fries.

one day - we will be friends again.

So, when we're both through...can we be friends again?

Aw, I miss my MOB. Despite going months without seeing each other, we can still have crazy conversations like we used to. Yes, Mark, give me through the summer and we will be friends again. You take care of your shit, and I will take care of mine. We can then take a ride on your bike and hope we do not get pulled over or die. Thank you for understanding and not giving me crap about being a bad friend. I miss you.

By the way, you looked very "yummy" tonight.

a good season ended in tears.

Not many things make me cry. Tonight I added something to that short list of tear jerkers. The sight of guys crying after losing a hard fought game was unbearable. I could not help but wipe my eyes as I walked my way through the bleachers.

60-65. The Plano Varsity Basketball team lost to Berkner in the Regional Quarterfinal Playoff game this evening. After a terrific season and winning the State Championship last year, the boys were out to seek another championship this year. I went to more games this season than I did the two years I was a student, and I thoroughly enjoyed every second of it.

My passion for the game and respect for the players has grown over the years. It is amazing to see all the heart that goes into the game - the players are playing because they love the sport and they want to win. As it is widely noted, the professional leagues are flooded with money hungry players. At times, it seems they lose sight of why they throw/shoot/catch the ball day in and day out. But high school and college sports...those are filled with passion and inspiration.

If you were to make a comparison of Roberson to Jordan, then Skinner is Roberson’s Pippen.

Read that statement above one more time, and you will see two high school seniors who played their hearts out for Plano (Roberson and Skinner) being compared to two future NBA Hall of Famers (Jordan and Pippen). How amazing is that? Amazing enough for me to keep up with Tech basketball next year because that is where Roberson will be making his mark.

*Sniff* Good season, you guys.

Dx: Whooping Cough

As you all know, I have been sick for almost all of 2007. I am grateful to say that I am on the road to recovery. All I have to do now is kick this damn sinus problem. During the course of being ill, I was diagnosed with a cold, the flu, bronchitis, a sinus infection, and...whooping cough.


My latest trip to the doctor's resulted in three prescriptions: a Xopenex inhaler to help me breathe, Levaquin to kill the bacteria, and Prednisone (pictured above) to suppress my Whooping Cough. Do I really have Whooping Cough? Of course not - though I have been known to have some deadly sounding coughs. Marissa decided to play doctor by ad libbing to my directions when typing them up. It was the smiley face that made me feel all better.

And now do you see why I do not fill at my own pharmacy?

i'd rather be angry than dead.

As if taking an "Anger Management" class on a day in which love is celebrated was not bad enough...

Because we service the public, my co-workers and I, along with others, were required to take an Anger Management Training Course. Although the title of the class leads you to believe that I may have anger issues and have been advised to resolve them, the goal of the class was designed to help us to better manage the angry public. Now, I say the goal of the class...was the goal achieved? Hardly.

Turns out the class ended up being more of a how-do-you-see-yourself/behavior corrections class. You see, the instructor's main job outside of the training course is to counsel probationers with anger issues. Unfortunately, he forgot to check those reponsibilities at the door before presenting his knowledge to us. Basically, he treated the class as if we were his unlawful citizens who are required to take his class in hopes that it will correct their angry behavior.

By the end of the class, I had walked out extremely agitated. I did not agree with his teaching methods, nor did I agree with how he proposed we resolve an issue. Case in point:

Situation:

You are walking curbside, and a car drives by and splashes mud and water all over you. What do you do? The car pulls to a 7-11 a block away to fill up gas. What do you do?

My Answer:

Yell and curse profusely. Then, go home and change.

Instructor's Answer:

Walk over to 7-11 and confront the driver. The driver has a right to know what he/she did to you. It is your responsibility to manage the situation and any anger that you may have.

What the hell kind of answer is that?! It is the 21st century - you have lost your mind if you think it is safe to go up to a stranger and point out something he/she did wrong. People carry guns around with them nowadays. Why confront someone when you can just go home, change, and get on with your day while staying alive?

I think I best continue managing angry people the way I know how until shown a better way.

Zyrtec-D(on't take before sleeping).

Common side effects may include: Dry Mouth, Fatigue, Insomnia, Sleepiness.

For the first time in a long time, I seem to have fallen under the category of common people experiencing common side effects. It has been a long time since my body actually reacted to an unknown substance. But here I am at four o'clock in the morning - wide awake.

Four hours ago, at 10pm, a Zyrtec-D was taken. Shortly after, I tried going to bed because it had been a long day for me. Little did I know the damn tablet was going to keep me up all night.

Starbucks, my Savior of Grace.

You wanna go where everyone knows your name. Associate it with the old sitcom, Cheers, if you will. But for me, the catchy tune is referencing Starbucks. That is right - I have become one of those. A Starbucks junkie - someone who pays an inflated price for a green and black crowned mermaid-looking logo. For good reason though...

Today was one of those mornings where everything just does not go your way and is enroute to being a No Good Very Bad Day. Fortunately for me, all the mayhem happened before my Cup 'O Joe. All was right as soon as I pulled into the Starbucks parking lot. I walked through the doors and was greeted by the morning staff. Diana started on my drink, and by the time I walked up to the register it was ready for me at the bar. Megan rang me up for it, less the Vanilla, as she usually does. And just like that my day was better.

Though I may not be able to justify going to Starbucks two to three times a day as I sometimes do, I can say that I do prefer the taste of the Starbucks Americano over other coffees such as Seattle's Best, which gave me diarrhea, and McDonald's, voted cheapest and best by Consumer Reports. I willingly pay $2.40 for my Grande Vanilla Americano simply because I believe it to be the best tasting triple espresso coffee, and because it helps me get through the first few hours of each day.

today is a 7.

Every day at work, I try to read the Quick. It helps me keep up with the worldly news. The death of Anna Nicole Smith. The Maverick's victory over the Rockets. The crazy astronaut's arrest. Sometimes, if I have time, I will attempt the crossword and sudoku and then amuse myself with the horoscopes. Today's horoscope read...

The trouble with your schedule for work is that it's interfering, again, with your schedule for play. Postpone an outing until after the job's done.

Is it saying I work too much?

with a -ph and -ie.

It is a long name, I know. But is it really that hard to spell? Apparently the people at Wingstop think so...


Yet another reason I should just go by my last name.

18 and up.

Last night, I had somewhat of a flashback of freshman year of college. I found myself at an 18+ club.

This was the young crowd. The young Asian Mafia, if you will. Half of the crowd had Xs on their hands. And the other half probably used fake IDs to avoid being marked underage. I think those boys go to my sister's school.


Apparently Uggs are acceptable footwear at a nightclub. Between that and the Abercrombie sweatshirt some boy was wearing, I do not know why I even bothered brushing my hair before going out.


And this, my friend, was my NINE DOLLAR shot. Courvoisier, you say? No. It was a Jagerbomb. I ordered two - one for me and one for David. "That'll be 18 dollars." Good lord. If I did not have a tab open I probably would have told the bartender to take the shots because I was not going to.

The good thing about going to an 18+ club is that there is not a crowd at the bar. The average wait time to be serviced was less than 3 minutes, as compared to 30 minutes at other places. But waiting 3 seconds, let alone 3 minutes, for a nine dollar shot of Jager and Red Bull is outrageous.

cold weather sucks.

There has been more snow/sleet/hail the past few weeks than I have ever witnessed here in Texas. What is going on? It is beginning to be a royal pain in my ass. At least one day out of the week (usually Tuesdays) I go to work at 6 am. I do not mind working that early - in fact, I like it. But when you throw in 20 degree weather and ice, then I hate it!


I have to wake up 10-15 minutes earlier just to defrost my car. It sucks. I would give anything to have a garage to park my car in. Or I could just wait a few more weeks when the Texas heat starts to kick in.