When was the last time you...

1. ...sent a handwritten letter? I've written little notes to people everytime I send a card. Handwritten letter?? HHHmmmm... It's been awhile. Email is easier.

2. ...baked something from scratch or made something by hand? Last time I made something was a few months ago when I made some creme brulee.

3. ...camped in a tent? NEVER

4. ...volunteered your time to church, school, or community? I used to be a regular volunteer for a non-profit called Asia Society. Also volunteered when I was in a sorority.

5. ...helped a stranger? I didn't have a pocket so I asked Neil to hold my money for me. A priest approached Neil asking for a donation. Neil thought he had a dollary but only had a $20 bill. He ended up giving my money!

Weekend....Neil and I rode our bikes this weekend - from Manhattan Beach to Redondo Beach twice! Once we got to Redondo, we ate crabs at the pier then went back to Manhattan to burn off all the crab fat we ate. I'm not sure about the distance but halfway back, I was tired! What else did I do this weekend? Hhhmmmm....We went to see a movie, "About a boy" by Hugh Grant. It was a good movie. Hugh Grant and the kid was great. Good storyline, characters had depth, and comedic timing was just right.

Lil' Bro Raphy....My lil' bro Raphy just emailed me that he just got straight A's again to his surprise. His GPA is now 3.93. He said he has to study harder next semester to increase his GPA. He's currently in the Dean's List. Now, I have to treat him for dinner for getting such good grades. Maybe shabu-shabu.

Cousin Len....My cousin and I just started conversing via email. (She's in the Philippines right now. She used to live in LA). I think she's coming back again next year.

Friday Five
1. Do you live in a house, an apartment or a condo? I live in a loft in Downtown LA.
2. Do you rent or own?Rent.
3. Does anyone else live with you?I currently live with my fiancee, Neil.
4. How many times have you moved in your life? 7 times
5. What are your plans for this weekend?Work, have lunch with my parents, go to the movies and bike riding.

	You are Fozzie! Wokka Wokka! You love to make lame jokes. Your sense of humor might be a bit off, but you're a great friend and can always be counted on..
Take the What Muppet Are You? Quiz!

Neil got an advanced birthday present for his birthday. He said it was one of the best presents he ever received. He got a Specialized Stumpjumper M4. I don't know too much about bikes but he's been wanting a good bike for a long time.

Anniversary....
June 15th....Saturday was our 5-year anniversary. Neil and I woke up early and got our bikes ready. We rode our bikes from Santa Monica to Venice and back. We got there about 10 AM, it was already crowded. We then went to Supergo to get a tube top for my bike, bar ends and a lock. We wanted to eat breakfast at Venice but we didn't have a lock. We ended up having lunch at Blue Marlin in Sawtelle. Neil had a grilled chilean sea bass with uni risotto that's to die for! I just had salmon with veggies. It was a pretty relaxing day. Work has been hecting for the past three weeks.

Lakers....
I'm glad the Lakers won. The Lakers vs Nets was not as exciting as when they played the Kings.....

Father's Day....
It was a hectic Sunday. We had a nice lunch with my fiancee's parents and family at BJ's. Neil's dad loves sports so it was perfect place for lunch. He was able to eat and watch TV at the same time. We then went to my parent's house. Since it was getting late, we didn't stay too long.

Lakers Game 3
The third game was actually pretty good. The Nets were actually up a few points for a few minutes. I was rooting for the Nets on this game because I felt really bad for them. No matter how hard they tried, the Lakers just kept coming back. Their confidence is now shot because they're down (3) games. Definitely a sweep.

Trek 4300 Mountain Bike
I bought a mountain bike as a present to myself. Neil, his brother and friends regularly go bike riding. We sometimes go rollerblading. Anyways, I can't really borrow other people's bike because the frame is too big for me. The one I got was the perfect size for me. I actually got a good deal. The listed price on the website of Jax Bicycles a little higher than the one noted inside the store. I found another bike shop, Two Wheels One Planet, that's selling it for a lot lower price. The manager price matched the bike so I saved about $50.00. With the money I saved, I bought a helmet. I'll post the photo later. You can also see the bike with this Treks's website under Trek 4300.

Lakers Game 2
Today is game 2 of the NBA Finals at the Staples Center. I'm still here at work, traffic is really bad right now. Instead of sitting through traffic, I'm just working away. Hope today will be a better game.

Lakers
I left work early last night to watch the Laker's game. I should've stayed later at work. How can you be leading 23 points then fall behind and reach crunch time with just a 3 point lead? It's so frustrating to watch the Lakers. They always wait until the second half to actually "play ball." I'm hoping that tomorrow's game will be better. It's amazing to watch Jason Kidd. He is all over the place!

News
I always read or watch the news every single day. I know you can't possibly believe everything you see or hear but I find it interesting to know what's going around me.

1. Missing 7-year old boy found in pool: How could the police and volunteers possibly miss the little boy? They searched all day then neglect to check the pool? The ruling is accidental death. I find it hard to believe that the little boy was at the bottom of the pool then just suddenly float up. Highly suspicious. It shows how competent some of the members of our law enforcement.


2. Palestine vs Israel: I don't know too much about the history between these two countries. I do know that a lot of innocent people are dying. Both side must reach a compromise at some point.


3. Winona Ryder: Was she bored she had to shoplift? If she actually stole the items from Sak, why? She clearly could pay for those items easily. This is a case of stupidity.

Work
Work has been hectic. I've been coming home late, from 7:00 am - 6:30 pm. Aside from my 10 hour work day, I have a 45 minute drive to work and 1 hour and 30 minutes on the way back. Neil came home late from work. He was so tired. He's eating the combo dinner I bought at JoyMart.

Friends
I had dinner with my friend, Ed, tonight at J-town (Little Tokyo). We tried this new all you can eat Shabu-Shabu place. The name of the place is Maguro-tei. It would probably the first and last I'm going there. The ponzu sauce tasted like vinegar and soy sauce, not ponzu. The sesame sauce was watered down. The veggies are not green. They didn't even take the stem out of the shiitake mushroom. I bought a combo special at JoyMart after for Neil. JoyMart's food was 100% better. I should've eaten at JoyMart of Zakuro instead. Anyways, I'm glad that Ed likes his new job (I used to work with him.) He totally hated my job now.

Go, Lakers
The Los Angeles Lakers won against the Sacramento Kings last night. It was a 112-106 overtime victory in game 7 of the Western Conference finals. It's probably one of the better playoff series I've seen. Although I like the Lakers, you have to give credit to the Kings. Their offense and defense were better. I felt really bad for Mike Bibby who played so hard. Credit also goes to Shaq.
Both of these men looked really tired by the end of the game.

Candy's Blog

I finally signed up to have my own blog. I usually just read Manny's blog. To anyone reading my blog, I'll probably refer to certain people regularly especially my fiancee' Neil.

I just turned thirty last month. The big 3-0! I tried to think about what I've accomplished now that I'm 30. In a nutshell, it seemed that I haven't accomplished much. I think about all the mistakes that I've done. Obviously, I did say to myself that if I had another chance to do it again then I would do certain things differently. What are they? Well, I couldn't name all of them but here are a few:

1. College


2. Clubbing


3. Friends


4. Relationship(s)

For my birthday, we went up to Santa Barbara and attended a Cinco de Mayo celebration. We also went to Solvang and Santa Maria. We stayed at Holiday Inn for the night in Santa Maria because it was quieter (the rates are cheaper too!) We had dinner at a local dining spot called Jocko's. The city is actually Nipomo, CA. They had the best and most tender filet mignon I've ever tasted! I'll probably go back there again. I saw the article below about how much certain people make working for the hotel industry. The figures are quite interesting.

What Do They Pay You To Do That?

Average base hourly wages of US hotel employees:

$5.75 Bellhop

$6.00 Bartender

$6.22 Breakfast attendant

$6.92 Housekeeper

$7.00 Laundry worker

$9.00 Security guard


Source:American Hotel & Lodging Association's
2000 Hospitality Compensation and Benefits Survey