Monday, January 17, 2005

Racism and prejudice

It's Martin Luther King Jr. Day and we had Ms. Ruby Nell Bridges as the keynote speaker in this years luncheon. She's the little girl in 1960 who became the first black pupil in an integrated school in Mississippi.

Nice speech and stories about her first year in school. She actually spent the whole first year as the only student in the classroom. All white students were taken out of school by their parents. I felt very sad that there's so much fear (not hatred) in these white people.

It's been so much better since then but we still see great gaps between different races. Black, white, Latinos are still in different neighborhoods and we still need to argue for AA. Where there's difference, there's prejudice. It's just how you take it.

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Friday, January 14, 2005

Santa Monica Nissan

I finished work early today. Since I'm not far from the dealer and the small car is due for an oil change soon, I decided to get an oil change at Santa Monica Nissan.

The service department is not that busy, so they get mine started right away even without an appointment. Sam, the "service representative", told me that according to the mileage, I'm also due for a minor service for $75 instead of the $25 oil change. I think the tires need to be rotated anyway so I agreed.

20 minutes later, Sam called me:" based on your mileage, you need to balance the tire ($40) and do a $175 fuel injection flush." What? When I asked him what's included in the $74 minor service, he now told me that it's only the oil change, top off the fluids, check the brakes, rotate the tire, and basic lubrication. I just couldn't believe that they rotate the tire without balance it? And "according to mileage", why didn't he tell me in the first place? And since they are paid to rotate the tires, how come still charging $40 (w/ coupon) to balance it?

I shouldn't have agreed to even do the $75 minor service. What kind of oil change is it if they don't even check other part of the car? That's the least I would expect from a dealer. The take home lesson is that never go back to there again, and don't buy a Nissan.

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YOU ARE 43 % GEEK !

I AM 43% GEEK!
43% GEEK
You probably work in computers, or a history deptartment at a college. You never really fit in with the "normal" crowd. But you have friends, and this is a good thing.




Thursday, January 06, 2005

Tears in heaven

I've been paged at 10:30PM Tuesday night to go to work. Anyway, I've got a deadline to meet on Wednesday, so I just stayed.

It's not that bad during the day since I managed to meet the deadline. The worse part of the day is that my best friend D told me that his father passed away. I felt very sorry for him. I met his father only once or twice when we were roommates in collage. His parents were visiting them last month but his father was doing very well. They saw that coming but didn't realized it would be so soon. I told him that I think the most important thing is that they spent some quality time together in the last month of his father's life, and it's important to him and his fater. I was very sad.


Eric Clapton - Tears In Heaven


Would you know my name
If I saw you in heaven
Will it be the same
If I saw you in heaven
I must be strong, and carry on
Cause I know I don't belong
Here in heaven

Would you hold my hand
If I saw you in heaven
Would you help me stand
If I saw you in heaven
I'll find my way, through night and day
Cause I know I just can't stay
Here in heaven

Time can bring you down
Time can bend your knee
Time can break your heart
Have you begging please
Begging please

Beyond the door
There's peace I'm sure.
And I know there'll be no more...
Tears in heaven

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Wednesday, January 05, 2005

Can't Hold Us Down

Okay, not us, it's them, the women.
They don't have any problem to have them heard, at least not in my neck of woods.
When there's difference, there's discrimination, given it race, sex, or money. It's not that simple some times to draw the lines. I do think the Americans are the most open to these differences than many other places I've been and heard.

Disclaimer: Yes, my boss is a beautiful blonde. No, my complains have nothing to do with the fact she's a woman.


Christina Aguilera - Can't Hold Us Down
So what am I not supposed to have an opinion

Should I be quiet just because I'm a woman
Call me a bitch cos I speak what's on my mind
Guess it's easier for you to swallow if I sat and smiled

When a female fires back
Suddenly the target don't know how to act
So he does what any little boy will do
Making up a few false rumors or two

That for sure is not a man to me
Slanderin' names for popularity
It's sad you only get your fame through controversy
But now it's time for me to come and give you more to say

This is for my girls all around the world
Who've come across a man who don't respect your worth
Thinking all women should be seen, not heard
So what do we do girls?
Shout louder!
Letting them know we're gonna stand our ground
Lift your hands high and wave them proud
Take a deep breath and say it loud
Never can, never will, can't hold us down

Nobody can hold us down
Nobody can hold us down
Nobody can hold us down
Never can, never will

So what am I not supposed to say what I'm saying
Are you offended by the message I'm bringing
Call me whatever cos your words don't mean a thing
Guess you ain't even a man enough to handle what I sing

If you look back in history
It's a common double standard of society
The guy gets all the glory the more he can score
While the girl can do the same and yet you call her a whore

I don't understand why it's okay
The guy can get away with it & the girl gets named
All my ladies come together and make a change
Start a new beginning for us everybody sing

This is for my girls all around the world
Who've come across a man who don't respect your worth
Thinking all women should be seen, not heard
What do we do girls?
Shout louder!
Letting them know we're gonna stand our ground
Lift your hands high and wave 'em proud
Take a deep breath and say it loud
Never can, never will, can't hold us down

Lil' Kim:
Check it - Here's something I just can't understand
If the guy have three girls then he's the man
He can either give us some head, sex her off
If the girl do the same, then she's a whore
But the table's about to turn
I'll bet my fame on it
Cats take my ideas and put their name on it
It's aiight though, you can't hold me down
I got to keep on movin'
To all my girls with a man who be tryin to mack
Do it right back to him and let that be that
You need to let him know that his game is whack
And Lil' Kim and Aguilera Christina got your back

But you're just a little boy
Think you're so cute, so coy
You must talk so big
To make up for small lil' things
So you're just a little boy
All you'll do is annoy
You must talk so big
To make up for small lil' things

This is for my girls...
This is for my girls all around the world
Who've come across a man who don't respect your worth
Thinking all women should be seen, not heard
So what do we do girls?
Shout louder!
Letting them know we're gonna stand our ground
Lift your hands high and wave 'em proud
Take a deep breath and say it loud
Never can, never will, can't hold us down

This is for my girls all around the world
Who've come across a man who don't respect your worth
Thinking all women should be seen, not heard
So what do we do girls?
Shout louder!
Letting them know we're gonna stand our ground
Lift your hands high and wave 'em proud
Take a deep breath and say it loud
Never can, never will, can't hold us down
Spread the word, can't hold us down

Monday, January 03, 2005

I always thought I was Windows XP

Which OS are You?



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Saturday, January 01, 2005

Rose parade

While waiting for the ball to drop at Time Square last night (sorry, it's taped for the west coast), the channel 11 News (Fox) showed hundreds of people hanging out on Colorado ave at Pasadena just for Saturday's morning's Rose Parade. Okay, it's LA and it stopped rainning in the afternoon, I still couldn't help wondering why those people have so much energy for that? Not to mention one woman said her family were there every year! The only thing I can say is that everybody has their own purpose in life and waiting 24 hours on the street for Rose Parade is just not my thing.

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