Cingular Sucks Part II

My grief and anger with Cingular continued over this past weekend. I decided to get a holster for the new phone that my company issued me so I headed over to the Cingular store across the street from the Cerritos mall. There were a quite a few people browsing around, looking at new phones. I actually wanted to go up to them and tell them of Cingular's sucky service and coverage area but I refrained and probably saved my self from paying any bail money.

I found the holster I was looking for and proceeded to go to the cashier. As I was approaching the desk area, the girl working there gets up and leaves while making eye contact with me. I thought that she would come back and help make my purchase since she saw me head right over to where she was. Nope, that wasn't the case. Instead I was left standing there like a dufus for over 5 minutes with no one to assist me. The other store associates were around but none offered any assistance or asked if I needed any help.

As more customers stream into the store, I'm seeing less employees on the floor...to the point where there is only two store associates. Of course they are already busy with other customers.

What is with that? This makes me even more angry with Cingular. They provide a big fat ZERO in customer service in my book. In person or on the phone, Cingular is a service I would avoid. Poor coverage area, poor customer service. I spent over 20 minutes to buy a holster for a cell phone. That totally bites! I'm so ready to leave Cingular. When I go to a Sprint store, I have always received good customer service with attentive associates willing to help. I always got good service on the phone. With Cingular, this is not the case.

Anyone thinking of switching to Cingular, don't make that mistake. Cingular sucks! The will raise the bar alright...your anger bar.

Cingular Wireless Sucks

I received a new cell phone from my company due to problems I encountered while at home. My previous phone was a Cingular Nokia 2260 phone using CDMA and it had poor signal strength while I was at home and thus would not get calls or if a call did go through, it would drop out. I figured maybe using a GSM phone would be better so I asked the company if they could get one. They got me a Cingular Motorola VT150 GSM phone.

Well, I called Cingular's number to start up my new phone and I was put on hold for over 30 minutes. I got tired of hearing the recorded message, "You are a valued customer and want to provide you with our best service". Well, that was a crock of bull turd. If I was such a valued customer I wouldn't have to be put on hold for over 30 minutes. In those 30 minutes, I could have gone wild in the kitchen like the Iron Chef and made my breakfast and eat it all in 30 minutes. Of course I had better things to do so I hung up.

Finally, I was able to get my phone set up the next day after a brief wait. Come to find out that this new phone has bad signal strength also. I keep getting dropped calls! So I called their technical support to see if they could help me. I could have gotten better help from a blind man operating a hammer and saw. Tech support told me that I'm located in an area that is on the fringe of 5 towers and that I should be able to get a good signal if I'm out on the street. I told them, "Hello, I don't live out on the street. Customers or my company can't get in touch with me with the poor signal. Maybe you guys should actually raise the bar so we can all get good signals in your coverage area? My Sprint phone has strong signal in my home, why can't you guys do the same?" Well, I get the standard boloney saying that my phone needs to update the software from the signal towers so I can get good signal strength. I hate it when these tech support guys think you are a moron or something by giving out such bull. I told them how could my phone get the software update if the signal is so weak that I can barely get a one bar signal? What a dufus! Of course it has been 2 days with the phone and I still have weak signal and dropped calls. So much for the software update.

With all of this, my conclusion is Cingular sucks. Don't get Cingular because their service sucks and their coverage sucks. I'm ready to make my Cingular phones into fishing lead and let them sink to the bottom of the ocean. Cingular can raise their bar right up their you know what.

Battling a Cold

As you noticed, I haven't blogged in a while and I appologize for it. I have been battling a cold these past few days and I haven't been up to par to blog. After working late and visiting the fiance, I just didn't have any energy to blog. Having a stuffed up head really sucks. You can't hear, can't taste nor smell.

I have been taking stuff that my chiropractor gave to me and it worked really well. The supplement contains various herbs and has always been great to provide a boost to my immune system. As you can tell from the time my blog was published, I am doing much better. Unfortunately, it seems that I may have passed on this cold to my fiance and her family. I feel bad about this. So I gave some of my supplements to my fiance and I hope she recovers soon.

The weather did not help in fighting a cold. The rain finally stopped on Wednesday. I found out that so far this year is the third wettest recorded with over 34 inches of rain in the LA basin. The local mountains recently got over eight inches of snow during the past week. It's a good thing I live down by the coast because my island blood cannot handle extreme cold. It is dangerous living in arctic cold conditions. Things may shrivel up and fall off...can't let that happen.

Anyways, I want to appologize to my regular readers for not putting anything new up for the past few days. I definitely missed blogging.

Sucky Weather

We've been experiencing a lot of rain in LA. It totally sucks! I heard on the news that this has been the 5th wettest year in LA and that the rainfall total for this year is almost 3 times greater than Seattle. I'm just tired of this rain. Everything getting damp, wet and cold.

It seems that Angelinos get really stupid when it comes to rain. For instance, driving on the freeways can be extrememly hazardous to ones health. It almost feels that it is safer being a convinience store clerk working the midnight shift is safer than driving on LA's freeways when it is raining. There are so many jerks that don't know how to drive in the rain. The California Highway Patrol reported over 250 accidents on the freeways due to the rain. I keep seeing idiots going over 70 MPH when it is pouring rain. I also see a lot of tailgaters out there. It angers me that these idiots don't have a regard for other people's lives or property. They drive recklessly on rain slickened roads and act as if nothing could happen to them. It makes me glad when I see a CHP officer pull someone over for driving like an idiot when it is raining.

Well, this weather is not helping me fight off this cold. Because of my work, I have to drive all over Southern California and thus I get to be exposed to the rain whenever I have to unload my work van. On top of that, it doesn't help that the clinics and hospitals don't know about a thing called heat. It gets awfully cold at times when I have to work on hospital equipment. So far, I have been keeping my cold at bay with lots of water and echinacea. I'm glad it is just a head cold and no fever...yet. I hope it doesn't happen. I can live with a head cold somewhat but once a fever sets in, my world becomes rather crappy.

There have been a bunch of landslides destroying numerous homes in the LA/OC area. I kind of feel sorry for them but at the same time didn't they think that living on a side of a hill or on top of a hill would pose a risk? Hello! Hmmm....lots of rain, dirt on a hill...landslide? I guess some people really don't think about such things. Too bad for them. I bet they do now.

Yeah, I guess I am rambling on this blog. Well, it helps me to clear up my head literally. I mean my head is so stuffed up and my ears are all plugged up. Is this how a pressure cooker feels? It kind of helps when I get to sneeze since the chuncks coming out helps me to breath. Hehe, don't get an image! Well, time to get ready for work. I got to go to the airport and pick up a part for work. Gee, I get to drive on the freeway again in this rain with all them idiots out there. Wish me luck!

Cartoon Fan

Mucha Lucha

The other day, my fiance was humored that I still enjoy watching cartoons at my age. I can't help it. I enjoy watching it. Besides, afternoon cartoons are better than watching Oprah or some other estrogen enhancing shows. Yeah, simple pleasures for simple minds. Whenever I am at home in the afternoons, I like to watch Mucha Lucha and Yu-Gi-Oh.

It seems that the story line at least for Yu-Gi-Oh is pretty good and it talks about good versus evil. Yeah, all in all it is a simple cartoon show. I guess I'm always going to be a kid at heart. Hey, at least I'm not into soap operas.

It is funny that whenever I go over to my fiance's cousin's place, the Cartoon Network is on and I end up watching cartoons with my fiance's niece. Her dad is into Yu-Gi-Oh so I don't feel too bad. Now they are starting to get me hooked on Teen Titans! Yikes!

I do have a balanced view of TV. I enjoy watching documentaries, news, sports, cooking, home improvement, and cartoons. I guess by watching cartoons is just a way of mindless entertainment. I remember when I was a kid I was hooked on weekday afternoon and Saturday morning cartoons. I still think that the old Looney Tunes cartoons are the best. Good old Bugs Bunny and Daffy Duck. I did not care for Tweety or the RoadRunner. I really wished that Sylvester ate Tweety and Wiley E. Coyote caught the RoadRunner. I really felt sad for Mr. Coyote. He sure did advertise a lot for ACME Co. though.

Well, I got to run off now and catch Yu-Gi-Oh. Let the inner child in you run free this weekend!

A Long Day

Yesterday was totally insane for me and an extremely long one at that. I had to fly up to Sacramento to pick up my work van. I got my work van from a co-worker who previously used it and got a new work van.

The security screening at the airport was such a drag. I hate it when they scrutinize you when you have a one way ticket. That is one thing I don't understand. They do the extra screening because of 9/11 but you would figure that if someone were to try it again, they would buy a roundtrip ticket since one way ticketers always get screened closely. Anyways, the plane took off at almost 1:15PM...the scheduled time was 12:45PM...you know how those airlines are. Arrived in Sacramento half an hour late! All in all, I finally got my van at 3PM and was headed to LA with an estimated time of 6 hours to get there.

Of course, I didn't think of the rain and gridlock. It was a downpour in Northern California. My windshield wipers barely kept up. There were traffic accidents everywhere and thus my 6 hour plan became almost 8 hours. 8 hours behind the wheel. It was insane. It also did wonders to me already aching back! The drive down was rather interesting at one point. A car rapidly approached me and flashed his lights while tailgating me. I had to speed up to 80 in order to pass the trucks in the right lane and find an opening between them. The car then took off at a high rate of speed. I thought that the guy was stupid and crazy to be speeding in a downpour and I wished that the highway patrol would nab a-holes like them.

Not 5 minutes later, another car rapidly approached mine while I was traveling at 75 MPH at a posted speed of 70 MPH. I figured that it was my luck that the car was the highway patrol and they're going to pull me over for speeding and not the guy that just passed me. Well, it was the highway patrol but he wasn't going after me. He was after someone else...yeah, the Honda that passed me earlier. Sure enough, about 5 minutes after the patrol car passed me, I saw the patrol car with the Honda on the side of the road. That really made my day. I was laughing so hard and was glad to see my tax dollars at work. I hope that cop threw the book at the Honda driver!

Anyways, the van I got is a 2002 Toyota Sienna and it is fully loaded. It has 101,000 miles but it is in pretty good operating condition. I am not surprised that a Toyota with that many miles still runs good. It would have been a miracle if an American van did that but not with a Japanese vehicle. I love that the van has controls on the steering wheel for the radio/CD player. The van even has climate controls. I guess the plan is for me to drive it for another 50,000 miles before the company issues me a new van. It's ok because I like this van.

Now my personal car can rest for a bit and not put down so many miles on it. I guess I'll use my car on weekends. Eventually, that car will be driven by my fiance after we are married. I love my personal car. It has comfort and power. I'm hoping it will last like my last car with over 200,000 miles on it with no major mechanical issues. Of course, the car is Japanese. I could never buy American again after the problems I had with two Chevys. They were both garage queens. I'm sure that American car makers have improved their quality and reliability but I don't think they can top Japanese manufacturers.

Valentine's Gift was Good

I want to thank Darlene and Stacey for their Valentine's gift suggestions for my fiance. Well, I got her a practical gift and a romantic practical gift. I knew that she wanted to get a portable mouse for her laptop. She kept eyeing my mouse with the retractable cord. So, for the practical gift I got that for her. For the more romantic gift, I got her perfume made by Marc Jacobs. That gift kind of benefits me since I really like it when she wears that. It has a hint of jasmine and tuberose and it reminds me of Hawaii and it smells wonderful on her.

As I had guessed earlier, she got me a bottle of Johnny Walker Black, 12 year old Scotch. I love it! She told me it is for the whiskey flask she got for me last year. I love this woman! I love scotch and only drink it on occassion. It is meant to be savored and not to be gulped down. I haven't opened it yet since I normally don't drink during weekdays. I will probably have a little this coming weekend.

Well, I can put off the pressure of trying to figure out what to give for my fiance until Christmas and then the pressure is on again. Like I said earlier, I'm gift giving challenged. I guess in the meantime, I will look around here and there...for now.

I Must Be Insane...Another Day at the Mall

Yes, you read it correctly...I went to the mall again. I think I need to see a shrink! I had to go to the mall to get a more romantic gift for my fiance. I usually give practical gifts but I figured that since I blew it last year, I need to give two gifts and something that is a bit on the romantic side. Of course I will not disclose what I got her since she reads my blogs everyday.

I had time today to go to the mall since I did not get any customers calling for service. I really could not believe that I actually went back to the mall after going to the mall yesterday. I hate malls. I would rather stick toothpicks under my fingernails! But, I figure that this was a mission that had to be accomplished. I actually had the theme song of Mission Impossible in my head as I entered the mall. I went to three different stores and finally found what I wanted to give to my fiance. Three stores is a record for me! After reading this, she's going to try and guess what I got for her.

I kind of find it a bit humorous that I cannot stand the mall but can spend hours at a Home Depot or a guitar store. I guess Home Depot is kind of like a shopping mall for guys. I love going through every isle and looking at all the neat stuff. Being in a guitar store for me is like a kid in a candy store. I love checking out all the acoustic guitars and electric basses. The one problem with going to a guitar store is that I want to buy something when I leave. I could never have enough guitars or basses like how my fiance could never have enough shoes!

I feel a little bad that I guessed what she got for me for Valentines. I do appreciate what she got...good old Johnny Walker Black! What a gal! It is funny that she is such a lousy liar. I knew that she was trying to decide on trying to lie or not when I guessed what she got for me. When she asks me what I got for her, I just tell her that even if she guesses correctly I'm just going to say no. I know it sounds a bit mean but I don't want to spoil her surprise.

Day Turned Out Pretty Good

Yeah, this morning was a disaster. Right after finishing my previous post, I started to clean my bathroom. Got the vacuum cleaner going, got the swifter out, shook out the bath rug...I looked at the time and I was late for my appointment with a customer. I didn't have any time to scrub the sink or the counter...and then I totally forgot about cleaning my toothbrush until I had it in my mouth. Yuck! The taste of dry wall dust and toothpaste is not a good combination. Talk about serious gag reflexes. I had to thoroughly rinse out my mouth and clean my toothbrush and then start the process of brusing my teeth again. Of course, making me more late to go to a customer site to repair their equipment. Luckily, another service engineer was already there starting the job. But, I just hate to be late to go to customer sites.

Well, things went smoothly and the customer needed the equipment back in a hurry so we put the system back together. I was fearing there would be another customer call or some scheduled maintenance that needed to be done tonight but I was lucky that no calls came in. So, I decided to get some personal things done and to go shopping for a Valentine's Day gift. Yeah, I went shopping. It's no wonder that there's rain in the forcast for tonight. It was difficult going to all places...the dreaded, evil shopping mall. I stayed for 30 minutes and could not handle it today so I left and went to get my car some much needed service. Feeling guilty that I didn't buy a gift at the mall for my fiance, I then went shopping again for her gift and finally got something. Yup, I went shopping twice today and did not have to resort in performing a self induced frontal lobotomy.

Now I'm waiting at her parent's house for my fiance to come home so we can go to her cousin's place to do some wedding planning. Hmm...with the shopping and now wedding planning, I don't know if this day is turning out to be pretty good...(since my fiance reads this...It is a joke, honey...really).

Hoping This Day Things Will Be Ok

This morning did not start well. I was told earlier in the week that plumbers will need to come into my apartment to do repair work for the bathroom for the unit above me. Aparently, they have been having a leaky drain pipe right above my bath tub. Luckily, it did not reach me since there is a lot of insulation between the units.

I was told that the plumbers would come in at 8 AM. Yikes! Since I worked until 10:30 PM and didn't get home until 11 and didn't go to sleep until 1 AM, I knew I would be in a world of hurt this morning. Well, the plumbers got here early at 7:45 AM and were knocking on my door. I couldn't believe it! My thought is 8 AM is 8 AM and no sooner or later. So I get up and let them in to do their work. Meanwhile, I have to go pee like there is no tomorrow. Of course they are occupying the bathroom so I have to hold it. I figured that I should think of other things instead of using the bathroom so I turn on the TV. Of course the local TV show had to feature a river and a waterfall...this did not help at all. The pressure was starting to build and I was in a world of hurt! Now I know how the Hoover Dam feels holding the Colorado River! What a way to start the day. I had to hold it for about an hour and I'm starting to tear up. Finally, the plumbers were done and of course I had to pee like the Niagra Falls.

I then noticed that the plumbers left my bathroom a mess! There was dust everywhere! They had to cut out the ceiling to get to the plumbing and therefore created a dust storm in my bathroom. I spent the next 30 minutes trying to clean the place up. Now I will have to scrub my tub and shower. Ugh, this is not a way to start the morning! Upon close inspection of my bathroom sink, there is dust all over my toothbrush. Dang it, my toothbrush was a new one that I just started using yesterday! And of course, that was my last one in the house. Looks like I need to clean it well and soak it in some alcohol or something. Hmm, too bad I don't have any whiskey in the house...that would be good to soak it in. Nah, I don't like the idea of that. Anyways, so I need to scrub the sink, wipe the counter, clean my grooming products and toothbrush. On top of that, there is a gaping hole in my ceiling. I guess someone is suppossed to come in and do the ceiling work. Of course that means I will have to clean my bathtub again. This is so not right to start the day.

I'm really trying to stay positive today and try not to let it get the best of me. I'm hoping that there will be a ray of light behind the cloudy skies of this morning. Huh, with my luck, it will be a lighting bolt zapping me! I don't know why but that thought just made me laugh! I must be going insane. Muahahahahaha, gasp, hahahahaha

I Want My Plate Lunch!

While I was cooking up Spam and eggs for breakfast, visions of a nice plate lunch came to mind. For those of you who are not familiar with plate lunches, it is a Hawaiian version of take out fast food. Plate lunches usually comes with an entree, two scoops of rice, and macaroni salad. The prices are reasonable...around five to seven bucks.

One of my old favorites, and I say old because I now do the low carb thing is a loco moco. It is two fried eggs and hamburger patty on a bed of rice all covered with brown gravy. Mmmm...gravy. This meal is a great way to start the day. Other favorites are beef stew and beef curry stew. Yeah, I like saucey stuff. It goes great with rice and with the macaroni salad.

One thing that I noticed when I first came to the mainland from Hawaii is that the macaroni salad out here is sweetened. Yuck! Hawaiian style macaroni is totally different. We do not sweeten the salad or put in relish. Relish is reserved for hot dogs! Hawaiian macaroni salad is usually made with macaroni, mayonaise (and not miracle whip which makes me gag), finely chopped onions, salt, pepper, shredded carrots, and in some cases, a little bit of canned tuna.

Man, I'm torturing myself writing this! I miss eating a nice plate lunch. It doesn't help that there are quite a few places where they sell plate lunches in LA. It is so tempting to go in and grind away on a plate lunch but I exert self control...more like denial of comfort food...oh well. At least when I do go to a Hawaiian restaurant, I do make good eating choices that are filling and low carb. I guess losing 53 pounds is motivation for me to stick to the diet. I would like to lose more so I guess I'm sticking to this low carb lifestyle.

Well, lunch time and I guess I'll cook up some low carb Hawaiian food!

So Many Cell Phone Choices

After complaining about the poor cell phone coverage on where I live, my employer is setting me up with a Cingular GSM plan with a choice of phones for me to pick. The problem is that there are so many choices. I don't want to go with the expensive phones since I want to look like an expensive employee but I don't want to go with the free ones since you usually get what you pay for. These phones have so many features, it's incredibly confusing. I'm so out of touch with the latest cell phones and features. You can say that I'm a bit cell phone challenged.

By doing research on the internet and opinions from my fiance, I finally choose a Motorola V551 phone. I figure that is a pretty good deal since the company will get a mail in rebate when they buy the phone for me. It has voice dialing which is good for me since I'm on the road a lot and it would be safer when I have to make and receive calls. You have to be safe especially on the Southern California freeways! I already got into an accident trying to make a phone call while driving in the past. Yeah, I felt pretty lame on that one. Right when I was talking to a customer, they heard crash and a "Oh s*@t!" Don't want a repeat of that again. The phone offers Bluetooth so I could go with a wireless headset. I guess the best bet is not to be so into my conversations on the phone whi!le driving

Don't Know What is Wrong With Me Lately

Lately I really haven't been myself but instead I've been in a sort of angry mood. I've been in a weird mood and I'm not so thrilled about it. The past couple of days I've been pissy towards my fiance and a bit snappy at work. Could it be premarital jitters? Am I flipping out? I don't know. All I know is that I don't like it. I've been trying to pinpoint what the cause of this funkiness is and have yet to find it. As you can tell from the time of my posts, I have been having trouble sleeping. Since I know that my fiance reads my blogs daily, I need to say this to her...I'm sorry, I was wrong, will you forgive me?

I think part of the problem is that I really haven't had time to decompress from work and daily stuff. I'm so used to vegging out after work for 30 minutes of alone time or sleeping in and doing nothing on Saturdays but watch cartoons and cooking shows. Maybe it's stress of getting ready for the wedding or the life changes of being a husband. I really don't know. All I know is that I want to get back into being my old self. Maybe it's the diet cokes I've been drinking. They say that aspartame does stuff to your brain. I guess I better stop drinking that stuff and go back to drinking lots of water and ice tea. Now that I think about it, it seems the two kind of coincides. I know in the past that it did cause some memory problems for me. I have no scientific evidence but it seems that my current problems started while consuming diet cokes. I didn't start drinking diet drinks until a few weeks ago and now I got this going on. Maybe it is a coincidence. Who knows. It's not that I'm trying to put the blame on my attitude on something else. I know that I'm responsible for my own actions. Thus my appologies to those that I have offended.

I think I just need to mellow out. I really don't know what's going on with me. I know that things will get better and not worse since I'm praying about it and dealing with it. I really feel bad the way I've acted towards my fiance. She's such a wonderful woman that I truly love and cherish. Man, I feel like a heel! I'm normally a pretty easy going guy with a few quirks but lately I've just been moody. This is killing me! Picked a wrong time to quit sniffing glue!

Beautiful Kaua'i

I was visiting some web sites for the island of Kaua'i recently to mentally plan for our honeymoon. It seems that little has changed since I visited that island as a child. I remember visiting the places where these photos were taken. I just wanted to share with you the beauty of Kaua'i with her tropical lush green forests. Kaua'i is a very romantic island and a perfect places for a honeymoon.

Oh how I miss Hawai'i. I consider Hawai'i to be home. Yeah, I live in California and will be living here with my fiance once we are married in April. But, I will always consider Hawai'i to be home. There is something that always draws me back to be there. I know it is not just because I'm from there or my family is there. It seems as if the land calls out to me and when I'm there I feel at peace. It is hard to explain.

Just by looking at the pictures of Kaua'i, it makes me a bit homesick though I am not from Kaua'i. I was raised on the island of O'ahu. For those that don't know much about Hawai'i, O'ahu is where Honolulu, the state capitol, is and the famous Waikiki beach. For those that are familiar with the old TV program, Hawai'i Five-O, that the island where all the action was. I really miss the casual lifestyle and rich diversity there. So why am I living in LA you might ask? All about having a job. The employment situation is not very good in Hawai'i. Unless you are working in the tourist industry or medicine, it is very difficult to find a great paying job. On top of that, there is the high cost of living. I wanted to work in the technical field and it is very tough finding employment there. So, here I am on the mainland.

At least here in LA, there are enough people from Hawai'i that there is a Hawaiian community here. I can buy food stuffs from Hawai'i and go to Hawaiian restaurants. I even used to be a musician in a hula group. So the longing to be in Hawai'i is a bit alleviated living in LA. Still, I do wish to return to her shores and live there again one day. I think once you visit Hawai'i and experience it for what she really is, you too will feel as if the land is calling to you to return.

Homelife Security

I found this clip in a health blog I usually read and thought it was rather funny. Some may not find this clip humorous since there are women that suffer from PMS. I found it amusing because I had problems in the past with girlfriends that had severe PMS. For those that are suffering from PMS, changes in lifestyle such as switching to a low carb diet, exercise, supplements, and counseling can help relieve PMS or eliminate them. I know of a few women that just went to a low carb diet and no longer suffer from it.

Well, if I offended anyone with the clip I have posted, I sincerely appologize. I did find the clip rather funny because of my own experiences being around those that had it. One incident that I vividly remember was when a girlfriend totally freaked out while we were watching TV. First, she wanted me to hold her so I did. Next minute, she told me to get away. I was so confused. Next thing she started sobbing and then started yelling at me for no reason. For a brief moment the movie, Exorcist, came to mind. Hmmm...I think I'll eat some pea soup for lunch!

Valentine's Day is Coming Up and I'm in Deep Kaka

I just noticed a moment ago that I have 7 days to get my fiance a Valentine's Day gift. I'm in such deep kaka since I have no clue on what to get for her. Of course this time frame caught me off guard. I guess I've been in bachelor mode for so long that I used to blow off Valentine's Day like it was the plague. Well, I did send my mom a card and stuff but it was never the mushy kind of Hallmark Valentine's Day card. Instead, I always got cards that were humorous. I guess it was the manly thing to do. You know, got to keep the testosterone flowing strong.

Now, I guess I have to switch modes and remember about Valentine's Day. I'll still keep my family jewels intact while celebrating it though. I know I better not blow it this time since last year I did not get a gift for my fiance. Well, I did take her out to dinner to Bennihana's since she never ate there and has always wanted to check it out.

Last year my fiance gave me a flask. I thought that was so cool. I had mentioned to her when we first got engaged that I would probably be a little nervous during the wedding and would not mind to have a little spirits prior to the wedding. Well, she got me a flask to use. All I need now is some Johnny Walker Black to add to the flask! Mmmm...scotch....ok, back to reality.

I always have been gift giving impaired. No, it's not that I don't like to give gifts to friends and family. I just don't have a clue what to give to people. I've always given cards with cash because I figure that they could use cash to buy what they wanted. But in this case with my fiance, that would be rather impersonal.

I have no idea what to give her. She has told me that she doesn't want flowers since she does flower arranging as a side job. I can't really afford jewelry at this time since I'm trying to save money for the wedding and stuff. I guess I just have to come up with something that she can use and would remind her of me when she uses it..yeah, that's it a practical gift. I know it doesn't sound romantic but she knows that I'm not usually a mushy kind of guy and she likes practical gifts. If any of you have a suggestion, I am all ears. I hope to get some input because I feel like I'm in some deep kimchee right now.

So Far Behind in Blogging

I can't believe it has been almost a week since I published a blog! I am going through some major blog withdrawls but I can't help it. I know I should write more but things have been going crazy for me lately.

My work has been picking up with a lot of customers requesting that work be done to repair their equipment during the evening hours. It is very understandable that they do this since they have a lot of patients to treat during the day and the evening is the only time they can afford major downtime to repair their equipment. I am not complaining though...I'm greatful to have a job and very greatful that the company I am working for has given me a chance to work for them.

Wedding plans are going ahead as scheduled...well, most of it is. I guess I'm the one lagging behind on the to do list. I gotta keep reminding myself about getting the hotel room after the wedding. Well, I guess the best way is that no room = no hubba hubba that night since my parents are staying at my place starting a week before the wedding. No hubba hubba can be a drag. At least I got the stuff for the honeymoon all arranged and paid for. Hehe, I know that when my fiance reads this part of the blog, she will be blushing with embarrasement.

I'm so glad that my fiance has been a great organizer and planner of the wedding. She has everything on a spreadsheet and day planner. Me, I just been using scrap pieces of paper and my memory...of course my memory is somewhat shot. Too many late night partying while in my early 20's did that...where was I...oh yeah, I'm very greatful for her organizational skills.

I'm hoping that I will be able to post at least three blogs a week. I guess I just need to plan my time better. Well, I guess I can start multitasking during certain parts of the day while I'm waiting for customer calls. Hmmm, yup, I can probably do some blogging while watching YuGiOh or Pokemon cartoons in the afternoon or while watching the Jane Pauly Show in the mornings...Nah, the perfect program for blogging would be while watching Jerry Springer!

Done With Premarital Counseling

Well, this past Monday night was the last of a four part session of premarital counseling. My fiance and I had to go through this as requirement to be married in our church. At first, I sarcastically thought, "Oh great! A wonderful counseling session to bring out the crap in our lives." But it actually turned out to be great.

I won't go in any details since it is rather personal...no, it didn't reveal any deviant behaviors or any psychotic tendencies...but the sessions made us more aware of why we think the way we do and to better communicate to one another. It also made us plan our future spending budget.

I remember joking to my fiance just prior to our first session that we didn't need premarital counseling. She just had to do what I say and that I'm the boss. Of course I was joking...really. She knows that I am all about equality and that marriage is about two people and not just one person.

One thing I hope not to go through is marriage counseling when times are bad. If it gets to the point where we need to see a counselor, I feel it is pretty much done with or like how Tom Leykis would say, "Last exit before toll." Yeah, I am a listener of the Tom Leykis show. I agree with most of the things he says but there are things that I do not agree with him. Well, I might write something about the whole Tom Leykis thing in a later blog.

Anyways, we can now scratch premarital counseling from our list of things to do. Man, so much more work ahead of us. Next big step will be to clean my apartment. Yeah, it is pretty bad. My fiance has helped me clean my place up so it is no longer in the hazmat level but it still needs work. My office space is the worst place...it is like the set for the old Sanford and Son show. So much junk and empty boxes...I'm glad the fire marshal does not inspect my place. Well, we're planning to clean it up this month. I really have to give my fiance a lot of credit for not being disgusted with my housekeeping skills. Well, if she is, she's not showing it. I really do appreciate it when she comes over to help me clean. Why is it that I am so lazy to clean by myself? Oh well, I guess it is no use to dwell on it. I just got to do it!

Cingular Wireless...Are They Really Raising the Bar?

While traveling around the LA basin during work, I keep noticing all of these billboards for Cingular Wireless and how they are raising the bar using the signal strength indicators to symoblize it. Well, this makes me a little mad at them because apparently they are not raising any signal strength where I live and thus not raising the bar on my cell phone that my employer has provided.

Monday morning started out bad with my boss and co-workers contacting me on my home phone. Apparently, they were trying to reach me via cell phone for a couple of hours. However, my cellphone did not ring at all. Nor did I get any indication that I had voicemail messages. Only after I left my home did I get a message that there were 5 voicemail messages. I am so disappointed with this phone. I never had any problems with Sprint or Verizon.

With my personal Sprint cellphone, I get maximum signal while my Cingular/AT&T phone will only get one bar if I'm lucky and the weather is perfectly clear and it is warm outside. I would have better luck at winning the Lotto than to get a strong signal with my work cellphone. This totally sucks. I would not recommend anyone getting a Cingular/AT&T phone. Even their voicemail system sucks since it does not tell you what time or day when the person left you a voicemail. I am hoping that Cingular will improve things but I am doubtful of this.

Cingular, you guys suck until you make things right. Raising the bar? No way, more like raising the hype.