FREEZEPOP FOREVER

last nite i went to see freezepop. when i lived in boston, i saw them a few times and i always have fun. my friends weren't into them, but i like them because their fans are nice and no one cares about being a hipster. it was nice to be with just real people who wanna bop around. i mean how many guys and girls can we see every day wearing black eyeliner and miss sixty jeans?

i met my friend shannon for drinks before heading over to the show. freezepop has not been to philly since i have been here, so i was quite giddy to see them. they are a cute electro synth pop band that writes songs about pop music, crushes, science, etc. my outer and inner geekdom is always satisfied by them.

we missed the first opening band. prolly because we were out and i insisted on ordering a grilled cheese and bacon samwich. what can i say, i graze. i eat like every 4 hours. so if you see me out and about, don't be surprised if i have food on me or in my mouth.

we caught the second opening band, boy in static. . this band is also from boston. it was two dudes, one white guy and one asian guy. there was a drum machine and then the asian guy whips out an electric viola! my jaw dropped and i was excited to see an electric viola! i mean come on. that is like super asian. i was all eager to talk to him after the show about it since i play and i was listening to his pick up on his viola, etc.

turns out the asian guy, alex chen is also a member of freezepop. he goes by the stage name french ghost. there were peeps there who were chatting with me and told me this info. they were convinced they had seen me in pittsburgh the night before. i told them it was my clone.

anyhow, after the show had ended and it was a fun one. freezepop is good at getting the crowd clapping and reminds of what happens to ravers and the big pants crowd. they come here to get their dose of techno/electro. freezepop is friendly and funny and honestly just down to earth. i think i stood in the first row with a big ass grin.

as the show ended with their pop cover of journey's "don't stop believing" and then closing out with a favorite, foreigner's "final countdown" i made sure to find the asian viola player. i totally scoped him out so i could chat him up about string instruments. i know. geeky.

he is a nice guy and when i told him i play violin/fiddle and that my electric violin looks like something prince would play. seriously, it is hot pink and modern looking. anyhow, he laughed and he told me he uses the pick ups for his viola for live shows, not for recording. then he was checking his iphone and both he and my bff, jonathan, were talking about their iphones. i responded that i was not giving into this iphone epidemic because i would look super asian with an iphone. alex laughed. i told them i was happy with my tank/sidekick3.

after the tech/shop talk, i asked alex if i could take my pic with him. (gosh, who is acting all asian now?!) and he said yes. ok, so i took about 3 pics. i threw down my gang signs and put on headphones to make it even more asianlike kitch. after the photo op, alex asked me if i had a flickr account. i said i was going to post it on my blog. he laughed. i dont know if it was from amusement or sympathy or due to the late hour, who knows. dude, it's a blog party. get with it!

i think i should email him the pic. but perhaps that is way too creepy?

oh also, the other guy in the band, i think his last name is diamond. i wanted to tell him that if we got married, my name would be "pearl diamond." hot. omg, another prince reference. whoa.

oh yeah, my renewed pet peeve. why is it the tallest people and i am talking about like amazon tall peeps gather together and stand right in front of me? one guy stood in front of me and i sighed loudly and then i said in a soft voice, "can you not stand there please?" but he could not hear me from the bottoms of the bar floor. he was up in the clouds. grrr. do i have to wear high heels out now?! seriously, cut this little mushroom a break!

harder done than said

i always mixing up my metaphors. i think being raised in a bilingual household prolly did this to me. people who know me. my friends who love me call these sayings, "pearlisms." i believe i wrote about this in an earlier blog.

today was my parents' chinese new year dinner for friends and family. they had postponed it from last week. dumplings. shrimp rockets. spring rolls. summer rolls. rice noodles. the list of food goes on. i have been eating all day, like it was my job. i actually fall asleep on the sofa as people held a ping pong tournament. wow, i just realized how "asian" that sounds. "hey guys, anybody up for some full contact ping pong?"


i don't know what we all were talking about, but like my usual self, i was trying to make a point. my response to the conversation was "harder done than said."

the chatter went silenced.

then the question marks popped up over their heads. i continued to chatter.

then i got corrected.

i still think my saying is fine just the way it is.

anyhow, eating all this food made me sleepy. i took a nap. ok, naps. after waking up from my naps. i was dreaming of food. pathethic huh? i just ate a full meal and then i dreamt of food. the photo to the left is how i protect myself from "pho." pho is the traditional vietnamese beef noodle dish. it can be made with chicken (which i prefer) as well. anyhow, pho takes time to make, but it smells the entire house up. seriously. it seeps int your clothes, the drapes, the sofa. it is like the nothingness from the neverending story.

i always just pull my collar or turtleneck in and use it as my "pho mask" so to speak. i guess bryan was right to put only 1/2 my face in those TRKFLD ads. i sport the 1/2 look more often than i realized.

while napping, food and playing drawn to life on my ds will tucker a girl out. i woke and was talking to my sister, gesturing with my hands in an animated manner and i poke my finger in my left eye. how the heck?! first, off i am extremely clumsy. i just am and my mom lied to me when she told me i would outgrow this. i also realized my mom lied to me when she told me drinking milk would make me taller. i drank milk and more milk and i never grew any taller than 5'1''. hmpf. but that is ok. i have accepted being pocket sized.

so i poked my left eye. which i find remarkable. i must have amazing aim. seriously. i mean my slanty eyes, the width of a dental floss and i managed to land my finger in my eye between blinks?! i am like a sharp shooter. a sniper.

my left is red. hence the photo is shot black and white. did you all really wanna see me all pinky? prolly not. it would be too japanese horror movie and that would give me and everyone nightmares.

now i am lying in bed. i have a compress over my left eye. my ds is sleeping. i was going to begin reading to terra part 2, but find it difficult to read with one eye.

not much has changed since i was little. the clumsy things i have done now or the mixed up things i say now, all have their roots.

THEN:

i slept in a bed with guard rails on the side placed by my dad because i would often roll off my bed and hit my face on my night stand. why we didn't move the night stand is beyond me.

NOW:

i knocked myself out while doing a weight machine. one of those weights that you pull down on a pulley. i clonked myself in the head with a 20 lb. weight. it was the clonk heard around the gym. i saw bright light and awoke to find my friends laughing at me. big bump on head. thank goodness for bangs. and i was told by the staff that perhaps i should work out wearing a helmet.


THEN:

i would spend hours playing nintendo with my dad and my sister. zelda. mario. duckhunt.

NOW:

i spend hours playing nintendo with my dad and my sister. zelda. mario. duckhunt.

THEN:

when i worked as a cashier for a store, my vest (our ugly uniform) got stuck in the cash register drawer. i was new so i didnt know how to open the drawer and an angry line formed. i basically looked like i was making out with the cash drawer.

NOW:

i got my desk drawer stuck at work. all my drawers wouldn't open. my work called a locksmith and it took him 3 hours to open my desk. he took a hammer out and started banging the desk, then he looked up and asked, "you don't have anything fragile in here do ya?"

i got stuck in a revolving door. this has happened twice.

my last work place got clear doors for their entry way. i had been out for the last 2 weeks in ny for them. i got off the elevator and waved the receptionist and then ran face first into the prestine clear doors. she told me i looked like a hurt little bird. maintenance was upset because i left a smudge mark of my face on the doors. i did this about 3 times.

now i am gonna hide my face again.

1984 in 2008

today i went to get my usual cup of coffee at dunkin. you know you drink too much coffee when the dunkin dude makes your order ahead of time. they threw in a free muffin for me. i think they felt sorry for me since all these women in line had tacky flowers and bad foiled chocolates. so they gave me a stale raisin muffin. fair trade? sure, why not.

i entered work, cold and cheeks flushed from the wind. i always look like chinadoll on cold days. today i was in a foggy mood. my slanty eyes were half moons due to lack of sleep. my mittens clutched my cup of joe and i walked into work and said morning to all. i set my coffee down on my desk and threw down my bag. i turned on my computer. which is slower than a commodore 64. i swear it is like running on DOS. ok, it isnt, but you get my drift. there is an email in my inbox stating we need to change our id and password to swtich to a "faster" server. i follow the instructions and realize that my work is now tracking our internet use. my name. the webpages. the length of time. WHA?! soo 1984. i mean now the whole place gets into paranoia state of mind. who the heck is really surfing for porn at work? or gambling? now, certain websites are blocked. so is the word. i didnt blog at work and i apologize for not being on pownce, but i did check my personal email.

i remember thinking 1984 was the scariest book ever. police monitoring your thoughts. here, i know monitoring web use is not the same, but i felt a bit insulted. we all work hard and most of the time, the internet is my lunch buddy. i work and work. just like a good asian. :)

i thought they wanted to boost morale. now everyone is running around like crazy chickens.

so my valentines has started with big brother watching my every move.

i am checking for cameras now!

on a happier note, there has been interest in my lonely zombie dolls. i may make some and first come, first serve basis. i only will let lonely zombie into loving homes. i also make them so he walks with a gimp, so to speak. they all have scars. and the original zombie doll, i stiched by hand so it looks very zombie esque franksteinesque~ also, i out a red heart on him. my chibby guy has a soul. with zombies, i consider myself a chubby chaser!

i have been in my office, scared to type in my computer. it freaks me out that the man is watching. overseeing. a czar looking down on his diligent proleteriat subjects. shudder.

i doodled a zombie friend to keep me company. he is on a yellow post it. i stuck the post it on my computer. he will have to be my lunch buddy since my computer has betrayed me.

this aint no law and order sh*t

if you are keepin up with me, you know i work in a field that is pretty much alpha male dominated. so seeing me in my nicely put together skirts and ties (hommage to annie hall) and wing tip heels can throw any opponent off i am sure.

today i had a pre trial conference at city hall. our city hall is amazing. it looks like gotham. especially today with the rain pouring down and the grey clouds above good old ben.

i had to take 2 interns with me. both are tall dudes in navy suits. basically, i looked like i had 2 bodyguards with me walking into the courtroom.

as we sat there in front of the judge in his chambers with opposing counsel and co defendant counsel. my interns mind you were happy to just get out of the office. even despite getting soaked by the rain.

as we sat there, i explained the case, the facts, the legal questions, as the judge called us to order so to speak, opposing counsel, who is a tall gangly dude was seated next to me.

he put his arm on the back of my chair, i moved forward.

then he poked me on my arm to ask me a question. i squinted my slanty eyes and gave him a quizzical look.

he told me he bought his suit at armani and proceeded to show me the label, i quipped, "it looks like it says ARMANIA. like a bad knock off."

he turns sour. calls me a smart ass.

yes, a grown ass man. then he proceeds to show me his cufflinks. all this in front of the judge.

as i sat there in a room surrounded by men, i moved/leaned back into my seat. i feel something. on the chair. under my leg/bottom.

my mind flashes.

"IS THAT YOUR HAND?!"

the hand that was there, suddenly was gone.

who does that? put their hand on your chair knowing full well you will sit on it.

apparently, i was hanging out with a third grader.

how would my opponents feel if women put their hands on them in court?

nevermind. they might enjoy it. hell, they all prolly need it!

long raining day. nothing to do but to eat some pizza.

notice the pic. taken by my bff jonathan. this was after i passed out from seeing blue cheer (if you are a music snob, you know who they are) and i needed to refuel and put my power pellets back to full. hence, me devouring the pizza.

what can i say i can eat! and i can litigate. not at the same time tho.

score today:

dude's hand: 1
my butt : 0
fouls : a lot

snowing

it's been snowing and icing all morning. being that i normally dress like an eskimo or a villager from mongolia, i dig this weather. i do afterall look good in furry hats and i prefer wearing boots instead of heels.

the windows in my office have been all coated white from frost. delicate, lacey snow flakes have blanketed my view. it is so pretty and as i sit and gaze out my window, i find myself just watching the snow fall. totally not being productive.

i remember when my cousins immigrated here from 'nam. they were young. probably around 2 years old or so. i remember being all excited to meet them as we drove to the airport to pick them up. being in america was all shiny and new to them. they quickly adjusted, but some things remained completely foreign to them.

their first winter here was one of my favorite memories.

it was december and it was the first snowfall. we all woke up to a sheet of pure white covering the yard, cars, the trees had icicles, the windows opaque with condensation. there were some footprints from dogs walking by, passerbys.

my parents were downstairs making hot jasmine tea with kumquats. i remember waking up to the sweet smell and then retracting my feet back into my warm blanket as i touched the cold floor to get up.

i put on my slippers and i was going to go wake my little cousins. but i could hear them. they were not yelling. no high pitch screams that toddlers can be prone to doing. instead as i walked downstairs and entered the living room, our front door was wide open. the cold air gust blowing into our little house. i was about to yell and ask what was going on. my thought was cut short. i see my two little cousins in their pajamas in the doorway. they are looking outside at the snow. their dark almond eyes wide with amazement. i was confused. were they pointing at something? a fox? a mormon soliciting door to door? cujo? what?

slowly, i approached my two cousins. both still pointing and their eyes wide, the brows furrowed in deep thought.

they hear my footsteps and look at me and whisper, "chi, in america. sugar falls."

i laughed.

my cousins jump up and down and yelp, "sugar! look at the sugar!"

my little cousins were so precious. they couldn't believe that in america, sugar falls from the skies.

then they ran out to eat some.

their barefeet cold.

their eyes wide from surprise as they picked up the cold "sugar."

not sugar, but one of the "sweetest" memories of winter that i have.

lonely zombie: my valentine to all

i drew this comic, "lonely zombie" and it depicts a chubby zombie that wears a 1/2 shirt that says hi.  he is lonely because he can't find a mate because when he does go on a date, instead of leaning in for a kiss, my zombie leans in for a BITE....of your brains.

i always thought that zombies would have a difficult time dating. and a chubby zombie would just have a horrid time dating. hell, dating for anyone is hard.

i think you can zoom in on the comic above. i had to scan it into 2 pieces since i had inked it on a big piece of white board.

basically, we all are lonely zombies. allegory of life. we wander the earth, like that kung fu dude. 

my lonely zombie is my valentine to you all. nobody likes to play checkers by themselves. eat those frozen solo dinners all the time. or teeter totter by themselves.

i made lonely zombie dolls. they all have the scar and the potbelly 1/2 shirt as well.

if i could make lonely zombie cookies, i would. i would make them all chubby and have bites taken out of them, courtesy of me.

chomp chomp.

rambo and the racist

today i was excited to see rambo. i figure i could make it up to my parents after the cloverfield disaster.

we decided to see rambo over at this big theater since it was playing in two hours and we all had just finished eating our new years' meal.

now, if you are not a fan of rambo, what is wrong with you?! ok ok ok. come on, like the other rambo movies, this movie proves to be action packed, quite violent, and filled with some great one liners. stallone co-wrote this movie and directed it. i dont know if that will attract or detract people from seeing it, but it worked for me!

basically, rambo sees a pretty blond missionary and falls prey into taking a bunch of missionaries to burma, yup, burma. the country that is under a civil war/genocide. these people are armed with the word of the lord and rambo is armed with fury and a crossbow. nice.

anyhow, as we all sat watching this blockbuster, i notice that the theater has toddlers running about. scared and crying from the decapitations and blood from the war scenes. hello?! dude, hire a babysitter. why are you taking your babies to witness this violence? i know this movie is rated R and kids can come to watch if accompanied by an adult, but seriously. besides having toddlers and babies crying throughout this movie, right at the end, some ignorant dude in front of my parents screams, "F*CKING KILL THE GOOKS!" the theater was silent. what did he just scream?! my parents were ignoring him, but i could tell apalled. my ears were burning and i turned to look at the dumb jerk. other people in the theater were confused. there were no "gooks" in the movie. the movie took place in BURMA and part of it was in THAILAND.

when we confronted him after the movie to let him know he shouldnt shout out racial slurs. he told us to "F*CK OFF." he prolly thought we were chinese. all asians are chinese right? well, it doesnt make it right.

this dude was wearing a rocky balboa shirt and was with his mom. yes, a grown ass man with his ma.

there was no point in talking to this dude and putting sense into him. i felt sorry for him. he is a 50 year old dude living with his mom and he went to the movies with her and then shouted racial slurs.

clearly, he has no friends.

but he left thinking, "why did those chinese people yell at me?!"

the world makes me laugh and it makes me cry. much like stallone movies.