Photos


Mr. W and I went on a photographic outing today to Disneyland and Disney’s California Adventure. It’s mostly so I can try out my new camera that he got me for Christmas. I’ll post some of the pictures later, but I found this to be funny…
There’s a building called “Innovations” where it’s all advanced science stuff, virtual reality, futuristic…stuff. So anyway, when we were in there we saw a section of computers that take your facial photo and ages it based on some questions you’d answer first, i.e. your gender, whether you’re over 10 years old, your race, and whether you’re a smoker. Mr. W’s aging showed his eyebrows gradually sinking and getting whiter, his face got wrinklier, his eyelids drooped a little bit, his lips got thinner, and he got a double chin. When it was my turn, my photo came up and we kept hitting the part of the screen that says “older” and it didn’t seem to be doing anything. And then Mr. W hit the button that said “younger” and it gradually restored me to my original photo. Oops, I guess it WAS displaying the “aged” version of me. Here’s the “younger” and then the “older” photos:

If you didn’t see much of a difference either, then you know why we laughed. “Can you handle that?” I asked him, implying he’d have to deal with me looking like that when I’m old. He laughed and said, “Yes, I think I can handle that.” By the way, I am a non-smoker. If I smoked my face would be more aged because of the toxins from sucking in smoke and chemicals. Aside from having slightly drooper cheeks and a double chin, I don’t look that different. “It’s cuz I’m Asian, and Asians don’t really age,” I joked.

Me: how’s this for my xmas cards?

Josh: haha. I’m sure your mom would love it!
Me: who mails their mom an xmas card? I see her every weekend.
Josh: oh ok. what’s the title for the card?
Me: “xmas tree with moon”?
Josh: yeah but if it was a moon, then you need to drop your pants.
Me: “hidden moon and xmas tree”?
Josh: oh ok better

I am in materialism heaven.

Mr. W wanted to celebrate Christmas early this year due to varying schedules, so tonight was that night. We (Mr. W’s two teens and us) had salad with bleu cheese vinaigrette dressing, lasagne, garlic bread, sherbet punch (mine and Mr. W’s spiked with vodka), and then we each decorated our own giant gingerbread man with frosting and candy.

As we waited for our frosting to harden, we gathered in the living room and opened presents, each of us with a wineglass of sparkling pomegranate juice. Mr. W orchestrated the opening ceremoniously so we could all bask in each other’s joy as we opened our loot, and he could take pictures. He’d hand one to one person, the person would read the clue on the label and try to guess what was inside, and then open it to see if they’re right. And then play would move to the left. I got Mr. W a membership to 24 Hour Fitness, first 3 years prepaid, which he’s been using since November since I gave it to him early. I’ve created a gym rat who wants to go twice a day and try out all the different clubs! Tonight I handed him his other present, a replica of the DaVinci Code cryptex complete with the rosewood box. The code was the same as in Dan Brown’s novel: apple.

Here’s the list of what he got me, in the order handed to me and opened.
Clue: “To keep the little piggies hidden from the big bad wolf!”
Present: a 3-pack of super-soft slipper socks

Clue: “So shoot me.” (I first thought he bought me a DVD season of “Just Shoot Me” cuz the size of the box is right, and then I thought he bought me a gun, but it was too light.)
Present: an Ultra Compact 5x Zoom All-Weather 7.1 Megapixel Olympus Stylus 740 digital camera with 5x Digital Image Stabilization!!! Holy crap!!! The guilt was instant. The camera was also asymmetric, which he pointed out right away, which was the winning factor in his selection of this camera when it was down to 2 models, that and a Canon. He knows me; I love asymmetry!

Clue: “Beware the windstorm!”
Present: (I knew this one, he’d accidentally given it away last week without realizing it, but I’d really wanted it. I’ve even blogged about it in the past.) A little stuffed hamster (life size!) inside a hamster wheel that plugs into your USB port, so that the faster you type, the faster the hamster runs on the wheel! I’m a pretty swift typist, hence the clue.

Clue: “Some ‘juice’ to call me!”
Present: cell phone charger, because my phone has been dying every few days lately. “Why don’t you charge it?” he would ask. “Because my charger’s at home!” I would declare.

Clue: “You are It is music to my your ears!”
Present: a tiny little flat white iPod Shuffle! I’ve never even heard of this model. It’s the size of a large postage stamp, and the back is just a clip that clamps it to your shirt. It came with a printed card that read “Merry Christmas Cindy! I love you, always, [Mr. W]”. And then I looked closer at the tiny little 1 gig player. In tiny print toward the upper edge is engraved “[Mr. W] loves Cindy.” I started laughing. It’s so cute, it should be carved on an apple tree or something! He must’ve had it specially ordered. “Listen to it, I’ve already pre-loaded a song on it!” he said, pulling the included earbuds out of the plastic wrapper. I put on the earbuds and pushed the playback button. Beyonce’s “Irreplaceable” played in stereo sound. I started laughing again. As I type this I’m smiling and laughing, feeling silly as Mr. W lays behind me. “I’m reliving it,” I explained to him.

Last but definitely not least…
Clue: “To put on your toast? …” (I joked, “You got me butter? And had it laying out all this time?”)
Present: 5 years’ worth supply of Body Butter. I’d just run out of the tub he got me last year, and was sad about that! He remembered! This time it’s a tub each of coconut, olive, white chocolate, mango and raspberry n’ black currant scents.

The photos on here are taken with my new camera. 😀

I’m so spoiled sick. SICK!

I bet you guys didn’t know that Jordan and I are so close that we do tons of stuff together. See this photographic proof. Rest mouse pointer over photos for captions! (You HAVE to do this, at least on this post.) Jordan’s been working hard at the gym to get into shape, and it really shows! Don’t quote me on this, but I *think* she may be taking steroids to get into such good shape so quickly. See if you can spot the photos in which she may have accidentally overdosed on her steroid treatment.

Cindy, hula dancer woman, and Jordan at a banquet in Oahu, November 2006:

Jordan, Cindy, Flat Coke & Flies, and Bat in Vegas this past weekend:

Jordan, Diana and Cindy in a San Jose night club, June 2006:

Jordan with Cindy’s coworkers and friends at Oktoberfest in October, 2005. This is actually 4 months before I officially meet her on the cruise.

Jordan, after I convinced her to stop her steroid treatment, decided to work on her tan instead on our flight out to Hawaii:

Jordan with my jujitsu dojo in Oahu at a clinic in October, 2006:

Jordan hanging out with me in my living room:

To Jordan — The good Lord sayeth: “Ask, and ye shall receive.” (I’d cite the Bible reference, but I haven’t finished reading the Bible, yet.)
Oh, and special thanks to James.

(Jordan started it! See here and here.)

Oh, for heaven’s sake, people, he’s RIGHT THERE!
This is the 1st time I've ever edited and posted a photo.

Now look again at the original photos, you’ll be able to spot him in the other one, too.

Here are photos of what I was doing this past long weekend. Rest the mouse pointer over the photos for captions.

This is what I looked like in Mr. W’s first 50 photos of Thanksgiving Thursday, no matter if I was in the foreground, midground or background:

We went for a stroll at an upscale outdoors mall, and saw these nice decorations.

Here are the Red Rocks shots.

The unveiling of Mr. W:

I just checked my email, and it turns out that Wilco had lightened up and fixed my bed photos and emailed them back to me, along with a note that says he hates to see photos go to waste. That’s so nice! And maybe this version will be less creepy for Jordan’s taste.

me (with partial eyebrow missing) next to da bed

See original bed post (har har) here.

I fell in love with this bed at the Getty. It was taken from Paris in the 1700s. The embroidery is beautiful on this robin’s egg blue silk fabric, and the detailing is amazing. The tassels were neat and different, the top corners of the canopy had plumes of real ostrich feathers. I’m bummed the photos didn’t come out (no flash allowed in museums).

THE bed...MY bed

I wish the detail could've come out on this picture the way I saw it in person. :(

My mother, ever the muse for my runaway imagination, said, “Maybe you like that bed so much because in the past, in another lifetime, that was your bed.” Well, in that case, I think it’s really messed up that I used to run from across the room and leap onto the bed, and it was my bed, and now, just because it’s a few lifetimes later and I’m in another body, I’m not allowed to even touch my own bed anymore. Hmmph.


Today Mr. W and I took my parents to the Getty Museum. My mom had been wanting to go, which my supersleuth powers picked up through her barely perceptable hints, as follows:

Mom: Have you ever gone to the Getty Museum?
Me: Yeah, I have, with my friend Lily.
Mom: Oh. I really want to go. I’ve been wanting to go.
Me: I see.

It was a beautiful day in L.A., uncharacteristically clear, after the 3rd day of a long weekend.

Mr. W stopped to take a picture of a pretty yellow flower in the lawn. A chicken stopped by to admire the flower, too.

I can pose for a sculptor, too.

In the gift shop, I found this really cool paper camera with a scalloped lens!

It makes me look like this.

Ha! Stupid kids.
crybabies getting stepped on by some Greek god

Fun with Mom & Dad!
family portrait

Afterwards, we all went to Beverly Hills for some garlic lunch at The Stinking Rose. It was a very nice day.

All photos courtesy of Mr. W (except for the one of the kids crying, which I took on his camera). Roll mouse pointer over photos for captions.

In no particular order except the order in which my eye spotted them on the thumbnail lineup…rest mouse over photos for captions…

« Previous PageNext Page »