Hellooooo out there!

*crickets*

Yeah, it's been a while. Everyone who used to read my blog probably died. Oh well.

I randomly had an urge to write in this thing. Let's see, it's been just about forever since I've last written, so here's a brief, brief, BRIEF synopsis of the past six months of my life:

- I am now working at Genentech in South San Francisco. I have very snazzy business cards, but I'm really a very entry-level researcher. That just shows how awesome Genentech is: even the lowest of the low can get free business cards! By the way, business cards are great for entering those free lunch drawings at random restaurants. And for making it seem like I'm highly qualified to tutor your children.

- As stated slightly above, I am highly qualified to tutor your children!

- My Monday-Thursday schedule involves either waking up at an ungodly hour to catch the 6:36 am BART or waking up at a slightly less ungodly time to carpool to work at 7:00 am. Then I work and work and work and pretend I know biology and then get off work to commute home for another hour to 1.5 hours and get home around 7:00 pm. Then I tutor at 7:30 pm for an hour or two. Then I might go to the gym, but most likely, I'll go home and sit on my ass for another hour or two and then go to sleep. Then I show that I have horrible writing skills by starting 4/5 of the sentences in this bulletpoint with "Then I."

- Amanda came home for winter break and brought home her gray hyper-cat, Ashland. I wanted to name him "Deen Mao" (or Deen for short), which is Cantonese for "Crazy Cat," but Amanda didn't take to that suggestion very well.

- I went to the Hotel Cafe concert at The Great American Music Hall with Alex and started liking Aqualung and Cary Brothers more. Also, I developed an unhealthy obsession with Butch Walker. He's super awesomeness cubed.

- Just saw Guster again at a concert at the Fillmore on Sunday: uber band awesomeness times infinity! I am such a geek.

- Became a Browncoat. If you don't know what that is, please don't try to find out. It will increase my geekiness in your mind to unbelievable levels.

- Okay, forget it. A good Browncoat cannot leave without saying, "Please go watch Serenity or 'Firefly' if you haven't!"

- Read Philip Pullman's "His Dark Materials" trilogy. Soooo epic and thought-provoking and absorbing! Many thanks to Jen for recommending and lending her precious books to me (I kept them in Ziploc bags!). And thanks to Di for recommending it to her! I went out and bought my own boxed set afterward =X

- I had a wonderfully fun-filled birthday at Dragon Bar with fellow March birthdayers Debra, Diana, and Alisa. Thanks to everyone who came out and forced alcohol on me! And thanks to Bea for watching out and taking away my last drink ;) And thanks to Alex for drinking it, I GUESS. And nothing caps off a birthday party more perfectly than the Meatlover's Skillet at Denny's. Mmmm.

So maybe this didn't end up very brief, but if you consider that I was supposed to summarize six months, it wasn't too poor of a job, right?

Don't worry, there are a few pictures that I stole from others to follow. You illiterates.

* * *
"Keep It Together" -Guster

when we all
finally washed ashore
it was clear there was no one else around
we declared a national holiday
a chance to build it from the ground

so far away from everyone
and everything starts today

let's keep it together
can we keep it together?
we're singing a new song now
and everything starts today

can we rise?
can we get along all right?
can we miss the storm that sucked the whole world in?
and the boats went out at night
and the choppers in the sky
they searched but they could find no trace of us

so far away from everyone
and everything starts today

let's keep it together
can we keep it together?
we're singing a new song now
and everything starts today

the thunderstruck the clouds appear
our fearless crew was not prepared
and pretty soon the boats came for us
half a million strong
we gathered arms and fired shells
we built a wall around ourselves
pretty soon the spirit was a lot like what it used to be
back home

so far away from everyone
and everything starts today

let's keep it together
can we keep it together?
we're singing a new song now
and everything starts today.