Tweet Tweet

I finally broke down and signed up for a Twitter account yesterday. I had plenty of reasons to not like Twitter.

1. Facebook status updates are better. I know it stole the idea from Twitter, but Facebook is just a cleaner interface with more features.
2. There are too many fake accounts posing as celebrities and sports stars.
3. Twitter has a very niche (geeky, trendy) way of communicating with each other.
4. Twitter servers are unreliable and sometimes down or slow.
5. No, I don't care what you ate for breakfast.
6. Twitter encouraged people to be emo.

So why did I finally give in and get an account? As a huge Patriots fan, most of the sports writers that I follow post live updates on Twitter. Instead of constantly revisiting websites in hopes that they would have updates from the latest practices, I could periodically visit my Twitter feeds and get a quick update from only the authors who I follow.

I feel like an old man desperately trying to still stay young and relevant. The whole Twitter universe is still foreign to me. I still don't understand why so many tweets are about Justin Bieber. Seriously, the dude is rocking a bowl haircut! Is everyone else blind? How come no one makes fun of him for that? If you look past the front swipe, it's still a bowl shape! I still remember the teasing in elementary school after my mom placed that pho bowl on my head (okay, maybe I made that last part up).

Back in my time, AIM was the cool thing. Everyone loved IM'ing each other. Then there was Myspace which was quickly replaced by Facebook. AIM became obsolete. No one IM's each other anymore. Everyone owns cell phones now so it's just easier to text each other.

Technology changes so fast. Hopefully I can still keep up. If not, well at least I know our little Daniel will be able to explain it to me one day.

First Day of Daycare

Today was Daniel's first day at daycare. As I walked through the door to the nursery, an adorable baby girl crawled over to see Daniel. Aww, he's already made a new friend. A pair of babies were playing on a mat to my left. Another was playing in her crib while lying on her stomach. The pair of teachers watched on.

Daniel was still asleep from the car ride over so I quietly took him out of the car seat and placed him in the crib they set aside for him. I spent a few moments giving some last minute instructions. Maybe it was a subconscious stall tactic. It was finally time for me to go.

It was one of the hardest things for me to leave him there. I know deep down inside that he's ready for this. He is used to different people holding him and taking care of him. I just wasn't sure if I was ready to let him go.

I can't believe that Daniel's now almost 3 months old. Our little boy isn't quite so little anymore. He's talking a lot more as you can see from this video.



His umbilical hernia is almost completely healed. He likes trying to stand up. I know he won't stay a baby forever so I'm just enjoying this time in his development. As much as I want to hold him, protect him, and baby him, I know that part of being a dad is knowing when to let go. I'm just glad that I get to still watch on.

Happy 29th Birthday

Today was my 29th birthday and it was easily the best birthday I have ever had!

On Sunday night, my friends and family took me out to dinner at Longhorn's. There were 17 people including myself. Our group made it quite challenging for the staff so a few orders got crossed up. The food was good, the conversations were comical, and the company unmatched.

After dinner, we went to a friend's house where everyone surprised me with a birthday cake from Dessert Works. That was the same place that made our wedding cake. I held Daniel as I blew out the candles. It was great to see everyone there.

Following her own family's tradition on birthdays, a friend asked me "Do you feel older and do you feel wiser?" I replied, "I certainly feel older...though I don't know if I feel any wiser." In hindsight, I guess I do feel a little wiser. I know who I am now and I am comfortable in my skin. I definitely can appreciate the small joys in life.

After work today, I came home to my son using some crayons to make me a birthday card (with the help of his Mommy of course). It was the best birthday present I have ever received! It definitely brought happy tears to my eyes.

I am truly blessed to have such wonderful friends and family. I'd like to thank Rathana, Ammara, Paul and Lyna, Lack, Sai and Nikki, my brother James and Jonell, Thoeun, Sam and Jacqui, Sayan and Judy, Joseph, my son Daniel, and last but certainly not least, my wife Tary for organizing everything. Also, a special thanks to Ammara for driving all of the way to Norwood to pick up the birthday cakes and getting me some very thoughtful gifts. I love you guys!

Samsung Captivate

This past Tuesday, my wife and I went to the AT&T store to replace my iPhone 3G to pick up their latest Android phone, the Samsung Captivate. The phone had been out for a few days but I did not want to buy it on the first day. This was the first serious Android phone on the AT&T network and I wanted to wait to read the reviews from real users' experiences. After reading countless positive reviews, I was finally ready to take the leap.

The next day, I was showing my phone to some of the guys and demoed some of the features. They were impressed with the beautiful display, the overall speed of the phone, and the apps that I installed.

It wasn't long before an Apple fanboy with a stereotypical superiority complex came. He pulled out his iPhone 4 and started playing with it within earshot of us. He held up his phone to show off an app called Yelp which displays markers for nearby restaurants. He approaches me and smugly asks, "Could your phone do this?"

Calmly, I verbally backhanded him with, "Of course. There is an app...called Yelp...for Android phones."

See? This arrogance from Apple and their fanboys is what ticks me off. My beef isn't with the iPhone. I'm sure the iPhone 4 is a pretty good device...when you're not making a phone call while holding it in your left hand. I liked my iPhone 3G before it became an iBrick. But this "Me and my Apple products are better than you" attitude is why I hate Apple and their minions of brainwashed iSheep so much. They love pointing out problems of competitors' products but are completely dismissive of the limitations and problems of their own brand of products.

Apple fanboys are so quick to point out that their iPhones are great for making calls, playing music, watching videos, and surfing the web. They iRecite phrases like, "There's an app for that."

It's time to face reality, fanboys; My Android phone can do that too! In fact, it's debatable that my Android phone could do more than your iPhone. My phone has a faster browser, supports desktop widgets, allows more personalization, supports PC connectivity without bloated iTunes, and much more!

I would go on but I feel like a kid in elementary school. "I'm faster than you!" "I bet you can't do this!" I'm too mature to continue with these childish debates...

Besides, my phone's screen is bigger than yours!

World Cup 2010

This past Sunday, Spain beat the Netherlands 1-0 to win the World Cup 2010. I didn't watch any of it. Throughout the month-long tournament, people have asked me if I watched any of the matches. Nope. Soccer and by extension the World Cup just doesn't interest me. It doesn't appeal to my American sensibilities. In other words, I don't care about soccer. Here are my reasons why:

1. Soccer is really boring. There is just isn't enough scoring to keep Americans interested during games. Fans want to see touchdowns, homeruns, and goals scored. Watching paint dry is more exciting than watching a 1-0 game or a scoreless tie. Let me summarize 99% of all soccer matches. A guy gets the ball. A defender gets within 10 feet of him. The guy passes backwards to a teammate. Repeat for 90 minutes +/- some random number of minutes.

2. Speaking of random time, whoever invented "stoppage time" must have been smoking some whacky-tobacky because it just makes no sense. You never know when the game will end. We like to know exactly how many seconds are left at the end of games; it creates an air of suspense. In soccer however, the game just appears to randomly end. How do we know whoever is controlling that clock is unbiased? Why do they refuse to show the time left for stoppage time?

3. For a sport that has sooooo little scoring, it makes no sense why they have a rule that discourages scoring. If an offensive player wants to cherry-pick and roam behind the defense, he should be allowed to. Of course that also means that if the defense can steal the ball, they would have an advantage when they try to score for themselves. This is the same concept as in basketball. You can try to cherry-pick there, but your defense might pay the price.

4. Soccer games can end in ties. Ties are stupid. They are un-American! Someone needs to win and someone needs to lose. Herm Edwards said it best, "You play to win the game!" I'm sure he wasn't quoted as saying, "You play to not lose the game!"

5. We like athletes who are big, strong, and tough. We expect them to play through pain and be manly men. But in soccer, there is way too much flopping going on. The players run around and randomly fall to the ground clutching their knee or ankle like a bunch of pansies. They'll often collapse without anyone even touching them. Maybe they'd score more goals if they kicked the ball instead of pretending to be hurt all of the time!

6. And Americans love superstars. We love watching them run faster, jump higher, and hit harder than everyone else. We love watching them do superhuman things. In football, even the casual fan could tell that players like Peyton Manning, Adrian Peterson, and Reggie Wayne are great. But in soccer, it's hard to tell who's good and who's great. Even if a player was great and performed an amazing move to get past his defender, there would be at least a half-dozen other players who would knock the ball away before he could score. It's hard to look like superstars when both teams struggle to even score.

7. Vevuzelas.

8. Soccer has the craziest fans. These fans probably become hooligans because they are so bored from the [lack of] action that they have nothing better to do in the stands than to yell at each other, start fights, and incite riots. When something is great, it would be great on its own merits. If soccer were so great, it wouldn't need people tirelessly defending/promoting it.

9. The officiating in soccer is horrible. There is way too much subjectivity and bias in the sport. And since the games are so low-scoring, a ref with an agenda could easily make a bogus call which could rob/cost a team a goal and directly affect the outcome.

10. My last and final reason that soccer doesn't interest me is there are better things to watch in America! Why would I watch a soccer match when I could be watching football, basketball, or Rambo 3?

Happy Anniversary

This past weekend, Tary and I celebrated our first anniversary as a married couple. It was relatively quiet compared to previous weekends but it was nice for the two of us to just enjoy being together.

Saturday's highlight was a late-night dinner at the Capital Grille in Burlington, MA. It's a very expensive restaurant that Tary and I would normally never go to but we received a gift card last year as a wedding gift. As we pulled up, I was reminded of how out of place these establishments made me feel. The restaurant had complimentary valet parking which immediately triggered a barrage of questions in my head:

1. Where am I supposed to drive?
2. Will the valet come to me or do I have to get closer to the restaurant?
3. What is an appropriate tip when he returns my car?

Ahhh! The restaurant actually shared the same parking lot as Borders. I would have preferred to just park the car myself. There's a lot less thinking involved.

I had made reservations for 8:45 PM but they weren't ready for us so we had to wait in the bar/lounge area. It was cramped and noisy. There was a lot of activity around the bar. As we looked around, this restaurant would have been a perfect place for a self-proclaimed "yuppie" like me except that we were surrounded by old people. Definitely not my scene.

After a while, we were led to a small circular table tucked away in the back corner of a room. It wasn't very romantic being in such a tight little space. Even though we were out of our element, I was just happy being with my wife.

We started off with some pan-fried calamari with hot cherry peppers. I was surprised that it had some kick to it. However, I think the calamari at Longhorn tastes better.

For our entrees, I ordered the seared tenderloin with butter poached lobster with a side of fresh asparagus and hollandaise sauce. My tenderloin was simply seasoned and perfectly cooked but pretty small. Also, my dish only came with a few scant pieces of lobster. The asparagus was sloppily prepared and still had the tough, fibrous ends still on them.

Tary ordered the double-cut lamb rib chops with a side of lobster mac 'n' cheese. The lamb was a little gamey but the accompanying wine reduction sauce was delicious. I was a little skeptical of the lobster mac 'n' cheese but that was also delicious. However, I was envious that her mac 'n' cheese had more lobster in it than my main dish!

For dessert, we shared a flourless chocolate espresso cake and it was amazing. I also finished with a cappuccino with frothed milk, a dusting of cinnamon, and a rock candy stir. I think I am getting old but I now look forward to coffee after meals.

As for the service, our waitress must have had something else on her mind. She initially forgot to bring a 2nd napkin for me. She then forgot to give us knives with our meals. When she tried serving the calamari on our plates, she kept dropping food and utensils around Tary. After the meal, she reached to clear our plates but she was still holding a knife in her hand which came dangerously close to my jugular.

Let's be honest; the Capital Grille just isn't our kind of place. A rib joint like the Smokey Bones is more our style. Even though the service was terrible, our table was tiny, the meal was expensive, and the food was just okay, I still had a great time with Tary. I love just being with Tary.

On Sunday, after church we had our usual lunch at my parents' house. We left Daniel there while Tary and I continued our anniversary weekend together.

We went to catch the 1:30 PM showing of The Twilight Saga: Eclipse. Overall, the movie was enjoyable when Bella wasn't always trying to kill herself. The love triangle between Bella, Edward, and Jacob became increasingly uncomfortable for me. The action and special effects were pretty good. I guess that's where the movie's entire budget was spent because they apparently ran out when it came to Jacob's wardrobe. Just because the guy got a haircut, did a few pushups, and drank protein shakes, that didn't justify flaunting him throughout the movie like some big-nosed Abercrombie model. Besides, his skin doesn't sparkle.

In another blow to my manhood, I thought it was "romantic" how Edward proposed to Bella. I guess I can somewhat relate to Edward's character in that I have that same, "I would do anything for you" feeling for Tary. How fitting on our first anniversary.

Tary, even though I'm not fast or strong like these movie characters, I'd still do anything for you. And as far as I know, Edward and Jacob can't write a mean Python script like I can. It's been a wonderful first year together with so many memorable moments. We have each other and now our little Daniel has become a part of our family. I can't wait to see what next year brings our way. I love you so much! Happy anniversary!

Daniel's 2-Month Checkup

This morning we brought Daniel to the pediatrician's office for his 2-month checkup. We removed all his clothes save his diaper and weighed and measured him. 13 lbs 10 oz, 23 inches long, 38 1/2 cm head circumference. He's in the 50th percentile in height and around the 90th percentile in weight. Our little guy isn't quite so little anymore.

The pediatrician, Dr. Felch came and performed a brief physical examination. He mentioned that developmentally, Daniel was a champ. News like that sure fuels an already proud dad's ego. Dr. Felch also mentioned that Daniel's umbilical hernia should correct itself by his first year. That's a relief. I always feel bad/guilty about it. I know it doesn't hurt Daniel but I don't want him to grow up and feel self-conscious about it either.

After Dr. Felch was done, the nurse returned to give Daniel his vaccinations. His first dose was given by mouth and he didn't really seem to mind. He then received a shot deep in his left thigh. He didn't even flinch. The nurse warned that the next shot causes most babies to cry and unfortunately, Daniel was no exception. My heart wrenched watching him wail. The last shot was given in his right thigh.

The nurse gave us the go-ahead so I quickly stepped in and picked him up and held him close. A few short moments later, he settled down and stopped crying. Whew...crisis averted. I'm not sure who is affected more by the shots, Daniel or his parents. Even though it was really hard to watch Daniel get his shots, it felt good to know that he felt comforted in my arms. I hope he always feels that way.

I Hate to Admit This But...

Last night, I did something I'm not very proud of. I'm so ashamed. I don't even want to write about it. I sat down and watched Twilight on DVD with my wife and her 16-year-old cousin!

I can't believe I just watched a movie that was geared specifically toward teenage girls. I suppose I can kind of justify it because I was just trying to spend some time with my family. But isn't watching sports highlights considered quality time?

In either case, I didn't know anything about the movie or the whole Twilight series. I don't care whose "team" I'm on. Why is so important whose side I'm on? I don't even know who Edward or Jacob is. Why do I have to choose?

Well, now that the movie is over and I can begin to pick up the pieces of my manhood, here were some observations:

1. Bella's skin was really pale. So was Edward's. I guess pale skin means you're an important character in the movie.

2. Edward is one creepy stalker vampire. He's always staring at Bella from a distance. He watches her as she sleeps. He's completely infatuated by her scent. He wants to drink her blood. I rest my case.

3. Edward's skin really does sparkle in the sunlight!

4. Did anyone else notice that Edward runs like the Road Runner? *Meep meep*

5. There is way too much sexual tension between Bella and Edward. Uncomfortably so.

6. Bella reminds me of Kim Bauer from 24. She's always looking for trouble. I swear she purposely does the opposite of what common sense would dictate. From what I hear, she gets stupider in the following movies...

7. We were briefly introduced to Jacob, a boy from some Native-American tribe that could change into werewolves. Well, they never explicitly mentioned their abilities but the movie had plenty of references to that. After having seen him, who would ever be on "Team Jacob"? He's even creepier than Edward. And he's so uggggggg-ly! He is so not pulling off the long hair look. He may workout and supposedly has a nice body but he is such a butter-face. I thought I had a big nose but his nose is huge! If someone asked him where the gym was, his nose would point "over there".

8. I finally know who "Black guy who almost kills Bella" is! I am so on his team!!!

I hate to admit this but I kind of enjoyed the movie. Maybe I just like movies in general. Tary obviously liked it enough to make me drive us to Target that night to pick up the next DVD in the series. Argh, now I have to go watch the rest of the series. My only excuse is that now I'm "vested". I have to find out what happens to Bella, Edward, and Jacob!

But honestly, sometimes I may be hesitant to do certain things because they're really really really girlie or crazy (e.g., horseback riding in Aruba) but I end up doing them anyway with Tary because I like seeing her happy. And most of the time, the experiences we share and the conversations we have afterward make it worthwhile. Bring on New Moon! *Meep meep*

July 4th Weekend Recap

Friday
Friday was a short but productive workday. There was a customer issue from one of our largest customers and I scrambled to find a solution. It would have horrible if this issue lingered over me the entire weekend. Thankfully, my coworkers and I identified the problem and recommended some changes to their settings.

Later that night, Tary and I dropped off Daniel with my parents and we met up with a friend at Longhorn's for dinner. I had a craving for their strawberry salad which contains mixed greens, candied pecans, feta cheese, sliced strawberries, grapes, and red onions, and drizzled with a light raspberry vinaigrette. I like how the saltiness of the cheese is balanced by the freshness of the fruits and the sweetness of the pecans. I also ordered a full rack of ribs as my entree.

After dinner, we picked up Daniel and headed home. Tary was tired so she stayed at home with Daniel while my friend and I headed to another friend's house to play some Munchkin. We didn't have enough players so we just hung out and watched some TV. It was relaxing and reminded me of how we used to hang out when we were in high school.

Saturday
We got off to a late start and it was looking to be another one of those lazy days. Tary was exhausted so I tried to take care of Daniel to let her sleep in as long as she wanted.

After Tary finally got up later in the afternoon, we packed up Daniel and went shopping. We stopped by Lowe's to pick up a shovel and a grass repair kit. I pulled some weeds earlier in the week and I needed to fill the bare areas with new grass. I also wanted to dig up and remove some shrubs in our backyard.

We then went to the mall to pick up some baby clothes for Daniel. He's growing so fast that we're running out of clothes that fit him. He's easily wearing 3-6 months clothes now. We picked out some new outfits and hopefully he can match his Daddy when we're out in public.

Sunday
We were late again to church but not as late as last week. It's a delicate balancing act with sleep, trying to take care of Daniel during the night, getting ready, and taking caring of him in the morning so he doesn't cry during the church service. Pastor Ron LaFlam and his family joined us this week from South Carolina. Ron brought the message about how our salvation in Jesus Christ gives us freedom from sin. It was an energetic sermon and I don't think the congregation minded it running a little long.

At around 1:30 PM, we picked up a friend and headed to Tary's parents' house for a family BBQ. We were the first people to arrive so we helped set up. Surprisingly, my brother and his fiancée arrived only an hour late. Normally they're the last people to arrive for these family gatherings. My parents were really late this time. We filled ourselves with various citrus-marinated meat salads and grilled steak tips, sausages, and chicken wings. It was good seeing our respective families enjoy spending time together.

Afterward we went to another friend's BBQ. I didn't really eat much here because of how full I was. After most of us ate, a group of us started playing Munchkin in the dining room. However, there was an unfortunate incident and a player had to be removed from the game. I think this may be a case of altered perception.

Monday
Monday was also another lazy day. I really enjoyed the extra time with my wife and son. Later that evening, some friends came over and we chatted about random stuff. It was a nice change of pace to just stay at home and not have to do anything. Too bad the weekend is already gone...