hear me roar!

i must be cursed - i am constantly “forced” to send out these mean emails (though this one has yet been sent). if you guys ever need one, let me know because i save all of them as “templates.”

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Dear ___:

After further consideration, I believe that any future communication between us will be detrimental to my sanity, as emails and calls from you have proved to be exasperating. Moreover, I have been hoping that the numerous times where I failed to respond would be an indication of non-interest - those attempts seem to have been futile. Thus I strongly suggest that you immediately cease contacting me in any form.

I would appreciate your understanding and cooperation in this matter.

Very truly yours…

i just found out that not one, but two litigators in my group have the same bday as me. what are the odds of that? it’s pretty cool!

i told both CT and BL that they gotta get together and do the majority of the work for the dinner on sat. i feel like such an ungracious host, but the thought of having to cook is so unappealing to me. in fact, i told BL that he needs to block out the entire sat afternoon so he can help CT. hehe, that leaves me free to do other things other than being stuck in the kitchen.

I think i will go shopping during that time for wine and wine glasses.

speaking of cooking - when i moved out to my first apt at ucla, MS got me a cookbook that is full of quick and easy recipes. i guess my lack of cooking skills is rather well known.

i have been going to bed near 1 am the last few nights and waking up around 6:15 to go to work early. surprisingly i am not all that tired. in fact, i wake up easier than i do when i sleep 7 or 8 hours. this is a good sign. maybe i don’t need that much sleep after all.

i was looking forward to going home early for once - especially considering we had games 1 and 2 starting at 7 pm. afterwards some of us went out to get pearl tea - i thought i could stay for an hour or so. we all ended up chatting until nearly 11:30. the security guard even came around , apparently we looked like a group of young delinquents.

i was pretty tired on the way home, especially knowing that i had to wake up early this morning.

but it was totally worthwhile - i felt really good getting rid of some baggage that i have been carrying. it’s generally not like me to not talk to close friends about the events in my life. i hope they were not offended that i didn’t clue them in earlier. but i do feel much much better now that i have. it’s so helpful to have some different perspectives - suddenly everything seems much more clear.

i don’t know what i was thinking when i decided to keep it all to myself.

i often wonder about people who claim to be really busy at work all the time. i think i have gone through my shares of busy times -it’s unpleasant and often i had to sacrifice a lot of personal time, but it was not unmanageable.

in some exceptional cases, people might be truly overloaded at work, all the time. in the majority of cases, it’s simply a matter of managing time better and becoming more efficient. the number of hours spent working doesn’t indicate how much is getting done. i am afraid that some people don’t yet understand that concept.

i saw it last night - it was pretty cool. and the guy who played batman sort of reminds me of a young tom cruise.
and it was fun catching with with HJ - it’s our biannual hanging out time.

on the way home tonight, i was talking to CT about the concepts of recovery, moving forward and relapse. i told her that the road to recover is directly proportional to the length and extent of involvement, and that moving forward does not necessarily mean there can be no relapses, especially if each relapse is more brief and less intense than the previous.

i perhaps hold those ideas close to my heart as a way to justify my own relapses.

what had been projected as a potentially stressful day turned out to be so much fun.

i had planned on attending the oyster fest, as well as a bridal shower 70 miles away. other than the distance, the two events nearly completely overlapped in time. i couldn’t think of a good way to make it to both, and by 10 am, i had decided to sacrifice the oyster eating part to allow myself a leisurely day and just attend the bridal shower.

around 12:30, i was chatting with YKB, who informed me that he had been planning on going to the oyster fest. he commented on how it would be worth it just to do that drive up. at the spur of the moment, we decided to go.

it took a while to get there - but once we did, it was well worth it. fresh oysters were still on the grill and JS was nice enough to continuously shuck them for us. we even bought some to take home.

by the time we were leaving, i had completely missed the bridal shower. but i did call ahead about my change of plans and said i would still come by later to drop off the present. since i was not in as much of a hurry to head back, we stopped off at stinson beach to walk around a bit, and then drove up mt. tam and hiked up to the top.

the view at the top was amazing. we were above the thick fog layer so it was sunny and clear. we saw the fog engulfing half of the bay area and moving quickly, yet dissipating into thin layers right before our eyes. the ocean was completely invisible, as the water and fog blended into one entity. sitting on top of a giant rock gave me a real sense of serenity. i was grateful to be away from the hustle and bustle of city life. even though we could see the bay, freeway, bridges and all else that encompass our daily lives, it felt like we were worlds away.

at the end of the day, i was able to catch IC to drop her present off. i am glad that she wasn’t mad at my flaki-ness. since we haven’t talked in a while, it was nice to catch up a bit.

it was a great day - i guess a little spontaneity didn’t hurt!

here is a letter that i drafted after my dental appointment this morning:

June 24, 2005
Dear Dr. Tsuei:

Today was my first visit to your office and the entire experience fell far short of my expectations.

My cleaning procedure (at 11 a.m.) was done in less than 10 minutes by Dr. Nguyen- by far the least comprehensive regular cleaning procedure I have ever had. In fact, it took less time than taking my x-rays prior to cleaning. During the short procedure, Dr. Nguyen and/or her assistant could not even control the water flow and it constantly splashed on to my face and shirt. That, in itself, was obviously only a collateral concern. It is, however, suggestive of the lack of training and practice on the part of your associate and/or staff.

Dr. Nguyen then offered a few words of advice and concluded my appointment. I went to the reception area and Bonnie informed me that all the procedures done were included under my insurance but for the “perio exam.� I asked her what constituted a “perio exam� and she answered “checking deep pockets.� I have had periodontal exams done before – during which the dentist diligently performed periodontal probing while explaining her findings to me. No such procedure took place today. I then responded that for any procedure that would incur an additional cost, I must be informed in advance.

We were able to resolve this issue on the spot. However, the troubling part remains that the service offered did not even meet the minimum standards that I would expect from a board-licensed dentist. I have been to enough dentists to easily distinguish those who perform good dental procedures versus those who are sub-par. It is utterly clear which category your associate falls under.

Very Truly Yours,