We came, we sort of surfed, we drank and ate...

The truck was loaded (one set of poker chips, two board wax, three surfboards, four wetsuits, five surf trunks, and tons of sunblock)







Not enough room within the room to hold the boards. As with all surf trips, we made due. Note, the other boards were stashed in various other rooms.







Walking down the trail to check the surf. It didn't look promising. Earlier in the week, a massive swell was pumping over head conditions. That was earlier in the week. A quote from Endless Summer kept going through my head, "you should of been here yesterday."




Further up the coast, and still not looking good. Looks like it will be a great surf weekend for the rookies.

Man injuried, now it's officially a bachelor party! Herman dislocated his shoulder while surfing. He was more concerned w/ the pain he will get from his wife, instead of the pain from the injury.






The heated pool and jacuzzi definitely came in handy after a few hours of surfing. Pool side grilling (Andy; Grill-Master), consumption of wine/beers, and a heated game of Texas Hold'em for that night's dinner and bragging rights. Yea baby, I won a free dinner and more importantly...bragging rights. We're guys, our ego was on the line. hehe..







Man of the hour. Xavier, aka X, X-man, Javier, etc, etc.










Walking down Gas Lamp district in downtown San Diego, we found "his" restaurant!






And when you "own" a fabulous bar/restaurant in prime location in the Gas Lamp District in downtown San Diego, the ladies, like moths to the flame, are drawn to the pimp of the group.







Yes. The betties, they all come to have their photo w/ da pimp!

Quote of the night; "smooth like an Asian."

Note to self: Get bar/restaurant in prime location and name it after self.



The rest of the night was...private. hehe...

Surfing, here I come...

Almost packed and ready for a weekend of surfing, surfing, BBQ, some Texas Hold'em poker, surfing, drinking w/ BBQ, surfing and maybe some sleep. Considering I have not been in the water since last year (studies, work, caring for my father, and life) I hope I won't embarrass myself. Since most of the other guys are from northern cali and they're non-surfers, it might not be too embarrassing. Of course I'll be bringing some of my extra surfboards for those boys. Good thing I have been working out for the last month.

Note to self; 1) bring lots of wine 2) poker chips 3) sunblock 4) camera for pictures.

Socializing for your career...

As it turns out, all the times I have been out w/ my friends have been practicing for B-schools and my career. I suppose I'm still studying for my future B-school and careers. Go figure. Here's the article by Business week; The Art of the schmooze.

BTW, that's not me in the picture. Just one of my many episodes of practicing for my future B-school and Career.

Minor goal achieved....(non-MBA)

I continuously ran (no walking) one mile. This may read rather pathetic, but it is a small accomplishments for me.

Four years ago, I used to run three to four miles, then hit the free weights for a hour, Monday through Thursday. Then Friday through Sunday is surfing. Like clock work, that was my routine, my life. Since I took over partial responsibility of raising my god-son (his mother passed), my pilot license, surfing, working out was placed on the back burner. My fathers' fight with lung cancer and his eventual passing two months ago, did not help. So I was getting fatter and wider. And yes, getting older too.

Now I've moved back home with my mother, god-son, and two nieces. My life does not belong to me. My strength, my presence belongs to them. They need it more then I.

Giving up my bachelorhood, my freedom has its altruistic benefits and drawbacks. So running and working out (at home) is my time, my sanity. Surfing is next on the check list. I'll be down in San Diego for my good friends bachelor, surfing weekend party, this weekend. Yeah, that's what you get for surfers bachelor party. No strippers, just waves and surfing. Of course booze is included. Note to self; buy lots of wine for consumption. Beer has too much calories.

B-school Deans and Professors video interviews...

On Business Week's online site, video interviews of business school deans and some professors. The link is to the right, but for you lazy peoples out there, click here for your viewing pleasure; www.businessweek.com/mediacenter/video/bschools Most deans talk about their schools. What a surprise. Where as professors discuss their fields of expertise. Some interviews provide useful instight to what direction the school is leading to and what some professors will be like. Definitely benefitual to those readers who are under certain about which school to limit to in their applications. With most applications fees in the $100 to $200 range, that will save some $$.

Consulting is making a come back...

I received this article (Consulting is Back) from the MBA Tour. "What's the MBA Tour?" you ask. "Is is a MBA program that visits various cities and gives out MBA?" Not quiet. Check out the link and sign up. It is very very beneficial to us prospective MBA candidates. Group of international MBA recruiters go to various international cities and make their sales pitch. What their program is about. Why they are great. Why you should consider an international MBA and apply for them. All normal sales pitch. But the real beneficial aspect is that these MBA representatives are also on the acceptance committee and you can meet them in person and engage in person communication. In the words of the not soo smart philosopher, Paris Hilton, "That's Hot."

Since I'm considering Management and Strategy as my post MBA career, this article is good news to me. Here's the article;

The MBA Tour has surveyed our client schools about the 2006 consulting market and all are reporting increased hiring activity from consulting firms. Schools considered traditional avenues for consulting continue to experience strong consulting recruiting. Wharton is reporting that at least 26 percent of the class of 2006 will choose consulting over a low of 19 percent in 2002. London Business School (LBS) reported a 40 percent increase in 2005 over 2004 with hiring activity on par with 2005 in 2006. At some of the top schools, consultancies no longer have to be "pursued" by placement directors. All a good sign that next year's graduating class at the top schools could find consulting companies arriving earlier on campus if the economies remains strong in North America and Europe.

Also interesting is that consultancies are increasing their recruiting presence elsewhere. While McKinsey has recruited at schools like NYU and Cornell for example, they are elevating schools like Cornell to priority recruiting schools. The Judge Business School at Cambridge reported 35 percent of its MBA class going into consulting with twice the number of consulting firms recruiting on campus since 2004. Georgetown also saw a similar increase in firms recruiting on campus of 50 percent.

This is all good news for applicants looking to finance their MBAs with a career in consulting. While the traditional consulting schools are reporting heavier recruiting activity, consulting firms are looking elsewhere to attract top notch students. So long as the demand for consulting remains, schools will see the same or higher level of activity next Fall. If campus recruiting happens earlier, that is the first indication of another strong season.

.............Salaries are also increasing

Salaries are also on the rise especially for the top schools where recruiting for the best students is very competitive. While they have not reached the pre-2001 year-over-year increases during the Internet bubble, some schools have reported sign on bonuses and guaranteed year-end bonuses that can increase the base salary by as much as 50 percent.

Wharton reports a modest increase over 2005's median salary of $110,000. With sign on bonuses and guaranteed year-end bonuses, starting compensation in consulting can increase to nearly $150,000 at a top-notch firm. In reviewing salaries of graduating MBAs, most schools are reporting the same or slightly higher salaries as last year. However a slight increase may indicate a possible cooling of the market. In fact, first year class sentiment at one top school indicates fear of just that as many of them rushed to secure summer internships, the best strategy for securing a full time position upon graduation.

Trying to MBA blog...

Haven't blogged much because I'm trying to orienting it towards MBA related topics. Since I'm on holiday from any form of studying (i.e. GMAT), I can comment that I think about the aspects of an international MBA several times daily. It's the only thing that's giving me inspiration in my life. Even planning a trip to Asia this Nov. w/ my buddy Jeff, is not giving me as much drive. It's only an international MBA and nothing but an international MBA.

On a lighter side, I'm happy w/ the progress of my workout regime; walk/run (mostly running now) the first mile, jumped rope for five to ten minutes, core for 15-20 minutes and finally 5-10 minutes of jumping rope again. Feels great to produce lots of sweat. I don't feel it's a productive workout unless my T-shirt is dripping from sweat. The ultimate goal of running (continuous run) two - three miles is on track. Pun intended. My next issue is to lower my beer consumption when hanging out w/ friends. Maybe switch to wine instead of beer? Interesting idea. Aside from the gay-ness factor of drinking wine w/ guys instead of beer. I'll have to push the health benefits to justify and defend the guaranteed teasing I will get. Note to self; Look up the calories for wine vs. beer.

Note; Went to Men's Health Website to look up the damage of beer and wine consumption. Ouch... Water please and make it a cold one for me please.

Can't keep still...

When I was a kid, my dad used to always chide me for constantly fidgetting my legs. Picture sitting w/ foot pushing front protion of leg up and down, at a fast pace and constantly up and down, up and down. I've out grown this tic but I'm still fidgetting in my life.

Since all UCI extension courses are done and completed two certificates, I now have my precious free time back. I've started back into my work out regime (I biked ten miles last night and helped my friend move), but there's still free time. I don't have TV in my room and I'm starting to like it. I will now start to read. It's better and cheaper then going out drinking every night w/ the boys. I'll save going out w/ da boys for weekends. Proof; I turned down going to the local club these past two nights. I am having dinner w/ two femail friends tonight (it's Friday so its ok) and most likely will be dragged to Shark Club (Friday is Asian night, promoters pics) because it's new wave music night. These girls love new wave. Oh well...

Back to my fidgetting and free time. I will restart my work out regime (goal; run 4 miles and 1 hour weights), restart surfing (reason; it's surfing baby), and restart reading (reason; I like to learn stuff). After seeing the movie Da Vinci Code, (I give a B/B+) with my god son Henry, I was going to read the book. Yes reading the book after watching the subpar movie. I'm cool like that. But after seeing the movie trailer for The Namesake I will definitely read this book instead.

Kal Penn (Van Wilder, Harold n Kumar, Superman Returns) stars in it and has a blog during the filming. Coolio, another bloger. I'll definitely read the book before watching the movie this time. How weird is that?! Another immigration, coming home book I throughly recommend is Catfish and Mandala.

MBA Note: Found this blog on Oxford MBA; Vaniah's MBA Diaries I'm surprise there aren't many oxford, cambridge bloggers. Will have to search for more



I'm going to enjoy and be productive w/ my precious free time. I only have it till' end of July, afterwards, it's back to studying for GMAT and applications.

MBA related posting...

OK...This posting will be on MBA rather then my various life adventures (cuz my life is an adventure).

So the blogs I read are not updating, I did a search for HEC MBA on blogsearch. Included within the search was this interesting article "Going Global for an MBA" on a increased trend for MBA students applying for B-schools in Europe. It's a nice article and since I've already decided on an international MBA program, this article is preaching to the choir, but I think my single anonymous reader would be interested. Read up and satisfy your thirst for knowledge. Yeah...bad poetry, but at least I'm trying to be philosophical.

Memorial day w/ dad

Monday (5/29) was spent visiting my dad's grave. It's been a weekly activity. This was my mom's first time to visit it. She took it pretty well.



The tombstone still has not arrived yet.


Note to myself; gotta get a better camera phone (i.e. Nokia N90) or a small point-n-shoot camera w/ me.




So it was Memorial day (US holiday for war veterans) that day and there were soo many miniature flags through out the cemetery. As I walked to visit my sister-n-law's grave I was able to take a few snap shots from my camera phone. I don't support war and I know the soldiers were following their orders and they lost their lives to so that we may live ours. Rest in Peace. You will not be forgotten.





Photo 1- Visitors










Photo 2- Sacrifice









photo 3- Sacrifice and Memorial Flags











Photo 3- Please let there be peace

Lessons learned...

So it is Tuesday and I am happy to accomplish my goal of celebrating through Sunday and even extending it into Monday. Glad to have that item checked off my list of goals. I don't think I would want to do that again. Well at least on weeknights where I have to be in the office the next day at 8am.

Lesson learned 1; Drinking was fun, but not when you have to be in the office the next day at 8 am.
Lesson learned 2; Not many other people can celebrate with you.
Lesson learned 3; When inviting friends out on a week night. Get the 1 st round of beverages.
Lesson learned 4; Most places in OC closes after 1 am at the beginning of the week.
Lesson learned 5; Have a good time but always be within ability to drive safely.
Lesson learned 6; I still can have a fabulous time with friends, without the need of alcohol.

Having learned these various lessons, I now can say I no longer want to go out drinking for this long duration on a work week. Vacations/Holidays are still permitted. I'm not working, so I'm having fun damn it.

3 night down and 3 more to continue

So my short term goal of drinking every night through this three day weekend is ontrack. Three nights down (Tues,Wed,Thurs) and three (Fri, Sat, Sun) remaining. I am starting to feel tired and worn, but must push through the pain.
Recap;

Tuesday @ Kitsch's Bar in Costa Mesa, tried to got to Chat Noir and La Cave for live Jazz, but they were closed after 1 am. I guess OC shuts down early. Still wound up getting home at 3 am.

Wednesday @ Blue in Huntington Beach. Vietnamese bar, and it was Karoke night. I wasn't drunk enough to handle the horrible singing. But after two Greygoose n Tonic, and 3 beers helped out. Bumped into a friend I haven't seen in awhile. She and I used to eat at Shin Sen Gumi on a weekly basis. I guess we'll be starting that back up again. Home at 3 am

These are pictures taken at Blue. They were taken w/ my phone camera, so its very low quality;



Photo 1



Photo 2










Photo 3










Photo 4

Thursday @ All Stars. Vietnamese bar...ok really REALLY FOB bar. Had trouble getting hold of ppl to come drink w/ me. Was getting concerned due to no response from friends (Jeff n Phil), the drinking streak was in jeopardy. But by 11:00 pm. I was out the door, picked up Jeff and w/ a few side detours, meet up w/ Phil at All Stars at 11:45. And the drinking began. One tequila shot and four beers later, I was able to handle the FOB customers. Which reminds me, I've decided to post phone Europe excursion for Vietnam trip instead. Jeff and I will be heading to Vietnam sometime in Nov. Looking forward to it. Then I guess heading to FOB filled All Star bar can be considered as training for experience in Vietnam.

Note to self; Don't mind the bathroom with busted water pipes, smell of piss everywhere, broken stalls and puke on stalls that do work. Vietnam clubs will be worse. Just deal w/ it.

Today - Friday plans is to meet up w/ the boys (Thien, Mike, Phil, Kalvin and maybe Henry) afterwork at Dave & Buster at "The Block" in Orange. Drink happy hour priced beer, get stupid, and maybe catch the new movie "X-Men; The Last Stand"

NOTE: FOB = Fresh Off Boat. Slang referring to waves of Vietnamese Boat refugees. Now commonly used to call any Asian person that came from their Asian country and still have not fully adapted to American style. Speaks w/ very thick accent.

NOTE: I still think and constantly talk my plans for going to MBA in Europe. Of course in between the beers and cocktails

Everyone's gotta have Goals...

So last night was my final class for UCI extension. Thus I have finished my odyssey to complete 1 certificate and wound up completing two (IT Management and Business Analyst). As I stated in my previous post, I will give myself a few months off from studying before hitting the books again, but this time it's for something I really want, GMAT for B-schools. I'll probably start studying again in Aug and begin essays also. This time, I don't mind the work. As long as it leads to getting my ass to a foreign country, then it's all good.

So my immediate goal is to drink every day w/ friends for the remainder of this week. Although this is a three day weekend, so I'll have to drink through Sunday and maybe Monday afternoon. Everyone's gotta have goals in life.

Homestretch and can't wait to get back to real studies..

Tomorrow will be my last class for the Business Analyst certificate. Only have to finish up this take home final and power point presentation. Hence the reason I'm procrasting by blogging. Once this is done, only have to resume my GMAT studies, application process for the B-schools (top choices; European schools, fallback choices; European/Australian schools). I heard that some admissions personale read blogs, so I am keeping it descreet, but it's fairly obvious which schools I'm interested in.

When I 1st started into UCI extension, it was because UCI had a pilot program for their employees to take advantage for extension, career education and advancement and have it be covered. What a novel idea!! With one quarter interuption for my Vietnam trip w/ my dad (milestone trip for me) I finished the IT Management certificate. For the Business Analyst cert, I only needed four additional classes. Only four more classes, I thought. No sweat I thought. hehe...Well partially true. So now I'm only one take home final and presentation away from my second certificate. Looks great on my resume. Hopefully it will impress the B-school admin people.

Yes. It's very obvious. I really, REALLY want my MBA, but it has to be from Europe or Australia. I want that international exposure. I think about it constantly. I read as much international MBA blogs constantly, to get a feel of their experience, their pain (turns out to be A LOT), but also their rewards of (turns out to be A LOT). It is a very large world and I want to experience as many as possible.

I want to have my (passed) father proud of me, I want to have my mother pround of me, I want to blaze a trail for my nieces & nephews (lots of them) to graduate degree. That backpacking through a foreign country is scary, crazy, and the best thing they can do in their lives. Yes, I am sacraficing 2 years out of my life, delaying and possiblity killing any possibility of marriage and family, and the last remaining years of my mother life, but the rewards are endless. I've lost passion in my life and I want to feel alive once more.

After this last class, I'm going to give myself a few months off studying so I can get back into the gym (drop the 25 lbs I regained), surfing (get back my tan & sanity), enjoy my limited time w/ mother and family (I won't be around after I'm in Europe for B-school).

Back to the final and presentation.

Notes to Self...

Just a few quick notes;



1) Still moving to my mom's. Now it's mostly clothes so hopefully I'll have it done sometime next week

2) Finished painting Huong/Hanh, Henry, and Mom's room.

3) Shipping the Fiat from Texas to Cali this. yeah...YEAH.

4) Need to work on my final and presentation for class this weekend.

Note to myself: If meeting up w/ Phil, Jeff and friends for drinks in middle of week. It'll probably follow up kickin' it at Jeff's house afterwards. To save some $$, don't drink too much at the bar (or drink only beers), cuz we're very certainly going to drink a whole lot more at Jeff's house afterwards.

Note to self 2: When drinking at Jeff's place, after bar, enjoy oneself, but leave at reasonable hour (3am), not 4 am like last night.

Note to self 3: Always awesome to meet other fellow travels. Terry (gf) and Tim (bf) had great stories about their travels. Gotta get back on the traveling road again as soon as responsibilities/time permits!!

Mother's day w/ dad

It was interesting spending mothers day last Sunday. Since mom was in Texas and Mississippi for the next few weeks (to get her out of the house after dad's passing), the remaining family got together and visited dad at the cemetery. It was really crowded, lines of cars queued up to go into the cemetery and lots and lots of beautiful flowers. My niece says that mother's day is always crowded, but not that much for fathers day. Moms are really do get more love, all those years of changing diapers do pay off...hehe...

Saw several families w/ tables and food. They were having a picnic there. What a great idea! Once mom gets back, we all agreed to have a picnic w/ dad. I'm presuming no on site cooking. Only prepared food allowed. Makes sense.

pulled back....

Don't know what happened but woke up w/ a bad back. Hate it when that happens. I really really really have to drop the 30 lbs and get back to below 170. My back can't handle it. After I finished moving, then I'll join the gym again. I'm sitting at the office in excrusiating pain, and to add more funness, I think I'm coming down w/ something. yeah... more fun. Evertime I cough, it pulls my back. I'm not looking forward to next few hours.

And for you readers please leave a comment. I'm starting to feel lonely.

early signs of addiction...

It's 1:13 am now and I should be a sleep now. At least I'm not my parents house (still prefer to call it parents house instead of moms' house) and mom telling me it's pass my bed time. I 've had a full day of 9 hours work and 3 hours of class. The smart thing to do would have been to clean up, break down my last bookshelf to move tomorrow and go to bed early. Good thing I'm smarter then that. Yeah...I wound up reading more blogs...all are of various international MBA students. Found Oli's MBA blog. Wow...this guy's travels and MBA is really inspirational. Maybe I can do something similiar?...Probably not. Netherless, still amazing.

Reading these experiences helps keep my spirits up and inspires me to continue w/ my delayed MBA process. I'll just have to
1) Finish this last class to complete my second certificate (Business Analyst) from UCI. First one was IT Management
2) Move back to parents house to watch over mom, 2 nieces, and 1 nephew
3) Re-enroll back to Kaplan's study center for GMAT (good thing they OK'd me stopping my studies back in March, when I decided to delay MBA for 07). Still aiming for very high GMAT score.
4) Help my good friend (Dai aka "Tim") w/ his wedding (End of July) errands while he's away on business.
5) Attend three wedding, two (possiblity three) bachelor parties
6) Plan/Save for trip to Europe to check out B-school I'm interested in (smart move) or Plan/Save trip back to Vietnam (sentimental move)
7) Sign back up w/ gym membership to drop the 20 lbs I've regained this last year. I want my six pack back.

After listing all these to do items, I am now ready for bed. Good night...

A Doctor, Lawyer, and Bartender...

I don't know how the weekend passed by, but I'm currently still in bed and it's Monday afternoon. I took some pictures, but will have to post them when I can get them transferred from my phone. Note; next phone must have a USB connection onto my laptop.

Saturday; Woke up relatively early, but stayed in bed, reading and blogging. Eventually I did box up a few items, broke down a bookshelf, transferred it to my SUV (when I bought back in 02 as a 03', it was to intended to carry surf boards/snowboards for road trips...now it the road trips I have are to move to a different house every few months), dropped off to my parents house, clean up my once past room will become new room and to my sisters' house to watch game 7 of Lakers v Sun. All of this while communicating w/ my friends working out the logistics to clubbing for Judge Jules tonight.

Saturday night; Lakers lost....they didn't even show up for the game. Kenn (nephew) lost the $20 bet to Liem (nephew). They wound up plucking the hair on Kenns' fingers to ease the pain of the Lakers lost. Did I mention he'll have to shave his legs and arm hairs also? Soo smooth.... So off we went to meet up but having to pick up money, meeting more people, and pick misc items, we didn't get to the club til 12am. Got a huge surprise!! All through the week, my old buddies (John, Derek, Vince, and Phil) were not planning on going, and they were calling me all that Saturday calling to play Texas Hold'em. Just setting me up...
Here's the play by play;
Got into da club w/ da gang after 12 am.
Got phone call from Vince, ask'n me if I'm at the club yet; Me -"yeah in da club now. What a blow by blow account when Judge Jules is spinning?" Vince - "Go up to second floor, my buddy is there and needs some company. He's got a few girls w/ him." Me - "Sure. I'll help the boy out." That's now nice of a guy I am
Got up stairs, trying to find this guy I met a couple of times before. And I see...Tina, Sydney, Lynnie, and Julie....the wives of my buddies. Few seconds later...I am mobbed by all four boys. OK. They got me good. Yeah...I'm not much for surprise (mostly because surprises for me are bad news), but this one of the BEST! It had been a long and tiring month (my dad's passing, birthday passing, new class starting, moving back home, and prospect of a very long dry spell in my social life). They're all married, (one w/ a new born baby) and they came to surprise me for my belated birthday. One of da bestest surprise I've had in my life. Thanks guys and girls...It meant a lot to me.
Sunday; We left around 3:45 am before the club closed, not by our choosing. Security kicked us out cuz one of our buddy was "smoking" inside the club. hehe...insider joke here...
Woke up, went to cemetry to visit dad's grave, took my nephew/nieces (9 ppl) to lunch (hurt my wallet), cleaned the room, and took a long needed nap. Woke up late, got call from Phil to head out to bar. It's sunday night...sure. It's still the weekend. Off to another adventure.

Three occupations to have as friends; Doctor, Lawyer, Bartender. Gotta have a doctor as a friend (obivous reasons). Lawyer to get your ass out of trouble. Bartender, so you get into closed bar, late on a Sunday night, and have drinks, smokes, food w/ some friends. All to ourselves.

I was playing w/ Jeff (works for LA Times part of photo division) new toy...a $3,500 digital SLR camera. That baby cost more then my 1st two cars...combined. Damn it shoots a great photo, once I figured how to focus it. I'll try to post the ones I took, once I get it from him. Can't be sure they look good, because I was already pretty buzzed at that point. By the time I did leave the bar well after 4am, a few had already passed out, but the rest remained there drinking and playing Texas Hold'em.

Having a buddy that's a bartender definitely has its' benefits. The other two just covers your ass.

Day after....

Whoa...what was an unusual Cinco De Mayo experience. Got out of the office a little late but was asured that I will at least have company to go to Shen Sen Gumi. My accomplences will be Tai (2nd nephew), Thanh (his older brother) and Eric (Nephew in Law). Tai introduced me to this restaurant and it has quickly become one of my favorite places to eat (ok...to drink also). I think last year, Tai, couple of other friends and I ate there once or twice a week. Yeah...I didn't save much money last year.

Once at home, grabbed a quick beer to wash the week's work stress out of my system. Note to myself; gotta get back to surfing to get rid of stress instead of drinking. Tai came by to pick me up and the adventures began at 6pm. Freeway traffic was 98% empty...deducted that everyone was in a bar for Cinco De Mayo. Once at Shin Sen Gumi, saw and greeted the regular employees. They recongized us, it's be almost 6 or 9 months ago we last went there, but considering that we used to go there once or twice a week last year, they should remember us...and miss our wallets.

Dinner was fabulous as usual. Yakitori, red snapper carpaccio, tomatoe-avocado-salmon...all yummy. Of course we also consumed 6-7 large beer bottles and 2-3 large sakes. Not sure if I enjoy the food or the alcoholic beverages....I'll figure it out sometime. 2-3 hours later, off to pick up additional alcoholic beverages. Tai (he's the six figure man) covered the bill. Thanks Tai!!! I think it was 12 pack of beers, 1 bottle of wine, 1 bottle of whiskey, 1 bottle of vodka (Grey Goose), two bags of chips and 1 bag of carrots. I don't know how the carrots got in there.

So it was back to Tais' place in Irvine and picked up two more buddies for night of Texas
Hold'em. Don't know how it happend but I lost $60 bucks. Damn...I'm normally better then that. I guess planning with new people throws my game off. Gotta learn to not go all in on just pocket pair of 4's, got slammed w/ his flush (A's high..talk about rubbing salt to wound). Can't remember much afterwards. Thanh had to an early flight next day, so we all left...around 4-5 am. I've been in bed all this morning...suppose to pack my stuff and move, but feeling lazy and read some new MBA bloggers from IESE (Noelle and George) for a change of pace of reading LBS bloggers. It seems the IESE mba candidates are dying in their academics but able to party. Both bloggers are very funny. Might have to reconsider IESE.

OK it's 1:25 now and I've been in bed all morning. Gotta clean up, try to pack for move, catch the Lakers games (don't drop the ball!!), head to mom's house to clean somere, and most importantly....Judge Jules at Spundae!!! Lets see what adventure awaits for me tonight...

Happy..."Excuse to drink" Cinco de Mayo

OK, It's Cinco de Mayo today. Since I live in So. Cali, we have a strong Mexican influence here, so we're all celebrating Cinco de Mayo (small out number Mexican Army defeated French Army in 18??)...blah..blah...Ok real reason is for us to drink (similiar to St. Patricks Day). On that day, I'm Irish also.

I should be drinking Margaritas and doing shots of tequila, but I feel like Japanese today. I haven't eaten at Shin Sen Gumi in a few months and the staff probably misses me. I'm trying to gather some friends to come w/ me but no call backs yet. Hopefully someone will respond back soon, so I can look forward to it. I'm a social animal...don't like to go eat dinner at restaurants by myself. If I have to eat by myself, then I'll just cook it at home.

Vicarious travels

I turned in my midterm for yesterday's class and was trying to keep on top of the Lakers vs. Suns score via my work cell phone. I rarely use it to surf the web, so I don't feel bad about this one time. It was a good game, but we lost. I guess/hope we'll have to close the series on Thursday (today) and advance to round two...versus the Clippers??! Guess where I'll be tonight? hehe... Three years ago, if you said that it would be Lakers v. Clippers in second round...AND the Clippers had the better record...you'd get your ass laughed out the door. Amazing what can happen in three years. Key reason...two key reasons, was that the clippers picked up two veterans (Sam Cassell and Cuttino Mobley) ok, three reasons...Elton Brand had an amazing year.

Any how, I discover this really cool new travel-log website, www.vcarious.com It's a pretty good site. You can upload unlimited # of photos at its' original size and create a travel journal also. Pretty cool. In addition to it's coolness, you can download the pics at it's original size too. How cooler then cool is that?? I've added it onto my list of cool links. I've uploaded some of my Vietnam photos here but still trying to figure out how to use it more extensively. Wish me luck.

Once again, I'm moving (3x in on year), to watch over my mom, two nieces, one nephew (my godson). It was my dad's last wish for me to watch over my mom. Kiss my social life out the door. I have the feeling that I'm heading into a dry spell for dates....sucks to be a responsible adult.

compromise our heart?

We compromise at home
We compromise at play
We compromise at work
We compromise lives
I shall not compromise my heart...

Why do some people settle for the safe choice in matters of the heart?
Stand steady,
Hold fast,
I will not compromise my love...

Time will reveal options,
Options will allow for choices,
Choices made lead to experiences
Good choices make for joy,
Bad choices (if learn) make for wisdom
Experiences is what life is made of...
Life experiences lead to wisdom
Time is the utilmate judge,
Time will prove who is right, what is correct...

Moving...again

It's been over a week since my dad's funeral. The family was able to talk mom into taking a couple weeks to Mississippi-Texas for a few weeks to be w/ the other siblings and grandkids. Good...now I have a few weeks to clean up the house and move back home. Yeah...Dad's last wish for me was to watch over mom. Yeah...kiss social life good bye...kiss freedom good bye. I get the feel'n I'm heading into a dry period in my social life.

It was tough getting back into the swing of work after two weeks to deal my dads' funernal.
I'm soo behind on my projects. Gotta remember to thank my work group for handling the work load while I was gone.

Side Note: All the siblings pitched in to cover the funeral cost. Even w/ my dad already purchased a plot in the cemetery a few years ago, the expenses were crazy. **pardon the pun** they make a killing in the death business.

Reading for class...tried to at least

It's been an extremely busy day. After one week off to handle my dads' passing, funeral proceedings, mass, prayers and spending time w/ mom and family, I returned to work today and tomorrow, then off for rest of the week for more prayer, viewing, and funeral at 6 am Saturday. Tomorrow isn't going to be easier. Work 8a - 5 pm, then class 6:00 pm to 9:30 pm. It's tough, but have to remain strong for the family and mom. All of my siblings have been home for the entire week. It's really rare to have all of us home. But we're all here to help mom handle dad's passing. Need to take a picture of all the siblings with mom.

These last few days, I've only gotten a few hours of sleep each night. I'm trying to read two chapters for tomorrow's class. I wound up reading Le MBA's blog instead. I did scan through a few pages of the book. Ok now back to the book....seriously..

First Family Meeting

Last Friday, I went to pick up some soda for the family and come back to an impromptu family meeting. In fact it was the 1st one in our entire history I can remember of. We discussed about getting the older brothers to get a long. There's always been issues between all of them. About every time there's a family get together, at least one gets mad another. This meeting was to prevent any that probably will happen. So far so good. It's the end of Sunday now, so there's no argument so far. Three days of no argument too optimistic? Hopefully not...

Difficulties of sleeping

It's now12:44 am Thursday, 4/13/06. I haven't sleep very well these last few days. I think the earliest time was 4:00 am. I've been busy getting music for my nephew. He's in charge of putting together the slide show for my dad's viewing for next week. Since this weekend (4/15-4/16) is Easter weekend, the church does not allow any funeral. So the funeral is scheduled for next Saturday (4/22). We've had prayers and mass every day since his death. Tomorrow...I mean today, I'm taking my older brother and his son (my godson) to go shopping. I've been soo busy w/ caring for my dad in the hospital and dealing w/ his death, that I forgot about taxes. Gotta get that done this week.

Next week will be the heaviest schedule. Prayers Mon-Wed, the viewing is 10 am-8 pm Thurs and Friday. The funeral mass is scheduled for 6:20 am Saturday, then burial, and eating at my parents place. Sorry...moms' house. I'm still having difficulties w/ calling addressing parents to mom. Singular now...

not able to sleep

It's 5:24 am Monday morning I haven't been able to sleep. I've keep busy this sleepless night w/ poems to my dad...

Outside, I am sturdy
Outside, I am strong
Inside, I am hurt
Inside, I am empty
Inside, my heart aches for my father

Must not think
Must keep busy
Must not let my heart ache
Must keep strong for my mother
Must not think of our lost
Must not let my mothers’ heart ache

I wrap my arms around my nieces
I wrap my arms around my nephews
I wrap my arms around my sisters
I wrap my arms around my brothers
I wrap my arms around my mom
I wrap my heart around my dad

I love you dad…

Don’t tremble
Don’t close my eyes
Don’t let my tears run
Don’t seal my trembling lips
Don’t let my aching heart start
Don’t forget my dad.

RIP

My father passed...Friday April 7, 2006 9:43 pm

I love you dad...

Preparing for the eventual...

I've been steel'n myself for this eventual time. It's almost here. All of my siblings have arrived. Their various offsprings are arriving this weekend. My father is wants to go home from the hospital. It will only be a few days before he will pass once he goes home.

I'm selecting some pictures I have of my dad for the slideshow to for the display. I've realized that most pictures I have are from the Vietnam trip we took together in May 2004. Now that was a trip tracing the footsteps of my family









While I did get some pictures from my nephews. Some of them are definintely cool. Just like this one of him kicking our asses at Texas Hold'em last mont. Poker is my dad's favorite game. I remember as a kid staying up all night for Vietnamese New Year playing 5 card Ace draw. It's a variation to poker. Yeah...that's my dad

But this one is really signficant. All four generations of the Vu family. First son of the first son, of the first son...Bearing the name of the Vu. Maybe one day I'll have one of my family line.

Pictures capture the event and help us relive the the memories. We are the a cummulation of our memories.

Learning new tricks and Two houses

I've been learning and experiementing on editing the side links. So far so good. I'll try to keep them relavent to my interests and what I think is good on the net and in SoCal.

It's been two weeks now since my dad was placed in back in the hospital. He wants me to move back home and watch over mom, two nieces and nephew. I've just settled into the Tustin house two months ago, now I have to move again. Well there's a compromise. My mother is fine with me living with the parents during the weekday and I live back at the Tustin home on weekends. I
need that time away during the weekends for rest and eventually get back to studying for the GMAT. This is going to kill me on gas expenses.

Another one bites the dust..

David and Mary's wedding...

Two weeks ago (3/4) was my nephew's wedding to his high school sweetheart. It was a multicultural wedding and reception. Since Mary (Hispanic) was doing the wedding planning (yea...it's always the girls, and mercy on the guy that tries to give input), the reception was done via western style. It's probably only me, but since it did not have 8 courses served, it didn't feel like a reception. I'm soo used to Chinese/Vietnamese receptions. It's probably only me.


My dad was checked out of the hospital the week before the wedding, so he was able to attend. It was good to see him make the ceremony and reception. Hopefully he can last longer.