Harry Potter

Good morning! I'm Harry Potter today! So, for the past two days I started wearing my eyeglasses because I was worrying that my eyes were "dimpling" again. I normally wear my frame-less Giorgio Armani glasses for that "sophisticated" look, but I had some bad luck this morning...

I was up until midnight doing laundry at the Pink House, so I decided to sleep over too. Besides, it was starting to get a bit lonely at the studio... I kinda missed the bitchy company and the dirty sink full of dishes... not to mention the fact that my precious "Secret Garden" was starting to turn yellow and brown from lack of watering and from my oh-so tender care. I felt being nice, so I fed my plants plant food yesternight.

So, I woke up this morning and finger brushed my teeth... just like last night. I didn't have a toothbrush at the Pink House; only toothpaste. After fingering my mouth, I started wiping my GA glasses with my over sized AIDS walk t-shirt... that's when my glasses snapped in half. :( Rs15,000 ("rupees" aka "Rs")... gone! I freaked out because I knew I didn't have a spare pair of contacts at the PH. I checked my old contact lens case for a possibly bacteria infested pair (thanks Bausch & Lomb), but none was in it. Magically next to the contact lens case was my pair of old Harry Potter glasses!!

I cleaned off the lens... put them on... everything seemed a bit fuzzy, but magically I could see again! Wearing my Harry Potter glasses I started looking for "mystical occurrences". I even drifted into one of my two G-rated fantasy worlds as I tried to nap on the N train with MC+FC (aka C*(M+F) - precalculus - read as "C times parenthesis M plus F close parenthesis"). In my fantasy world I fought a long haired demon, only he wasn't a demon, but a male witch. I blasted him with several "electric pulses" from my hand... I didn't have a wand like Harry. :( It was a low budget 15 minute fantasy.

Anyway... these HP glasses ARE magical. As I exited the Rector Street train station with FC-MC (read FC minus MC), I was handed a free gift bag. Guess what was in the free gift bag. :)

In the free gift bag was a travel size tube of Colgate toothpaste and a Colgate toothbrush! LOL...!!! Either my Harry Potter glasses are REALLY magical or someone was trying to tell me something about fingering my mouth! Oh... I even got a coupon to see a dentist for a free exam, which I was also talking about doing on the train with MC+FC before I drifted into my fantasy world...

Hmmm... with these glasses, maybe I can try picking up a guy on the train tonight... nah... I would have to drift into my NC-17 rated, okay fine, X-rated fantasy world for that. Hmmm... maybe I'll have a "wand" this time around that can send electrifying pulses through me too.

Time Bomb

I just received news today that NYSE just planted another time bomb for the Horrorscope company that I work for. The bomb is set to go off in about three months time where my fellow web admin group's heads will roll. We lost another bid against two other vendor companies. The bids were submitted back in February and now the winning contract will go to an Indian company, who's employees are mostly offshore. They have been competing fiercely with us for the past few years.

I don't think we lost our bid due to our abilities, but more on cost alone. The company that I work for has been with NYSE for over 15+ years. Our company set up NYSE's email infrastructure, Intranet, Electronic Filing Platform among other high business enablement applications.

According to our last company dinner meeting in July, our company's income from NYSE went from 80%, to 67%, to 65%, and by the end of year to about 60%. NYSE is apparently trying to shed us off their vendor list. Now that NYSE is a public company, their focus is to generate profit and that means to reduce cost... sometimes not in the most logical or appropriate ways... like... no cups for water or simply no water. Screw the coffee machine... that was long gone. Office supplies? I bring my own. BTW... cafeteria discounts are for employees only... a discount of 20% I might add...

Oh well... what does that mean to me? Well... I am the last of the Domino Web developers... I guess they can always replace me with 10 Indians... since I do the work of 10 Indians. I even worked this past weekend to ensure that the new company, FINRA (Financial Industry Regulatory Authority), that NYSE spinned off was a success. The cutover was a success.

What troubles me most is the fact that the top official at NYSE that oversaw the spinoff congratulated the project managers (4 people) and didn't even bother to congratulate the worker bees who ACTUALLY DID THE FUCK'N WORK. AND what pisses me off is the fact that I even sent HER, the she-bitch, an email update to the process of the cutoff for the applications that I was overseeing. I didn't even get a reply! I even set up a standard rollout format for the other developers to follow that made the whole process easier for the web admins.

There, my friend, is the food chain that I am part of... I'm too good for this.

BTW... our development efforts were actually doubled of what was alloted... due to the she-bitch didn't get her facts straight early enough. FINRA was originally called "SIRA" (Securities Industry Regulatory Authority), and apparently, "SIRA", "is the Arabic term used for the various traditional Muslim biographies of Muhammad, from which most historical information about his life and the early period of Islam is derived."

Us, being a white man's country can NEVER have such a name for a company that governs the world's precious New York Stock Exchange. In short, we all coded "SIRA" then had to change it to "FINRA" all over our apps. Some would say "use a global variable"... these are legacy apps that in some cases didn't take into account a company name change, less the IPO'ing of the exchange.

Anyway... the dilemma... leave now or leave later? Okay... I should at least work on my resume just in case NYSE had found the 10 Indians to replace me.

Curry anyone? About 80% of our floor are Indians waiting for their Green cards from their sponsor company. I sit with what's left of the white people, the other side of the floor is called "Little India" and our local kitchenette's microwave is called the "curriwave". Our two QA Labs are "Indian Clubs". Source of the Indians? The competing company who won the contract.

I don't hate Indians or their likes... I just can't earn a lower salary than I currently slave for.... I really can't...

Medium?

My GAWD... this was a "medium". Ooohh... the sugar rush... time to peeeee... it's almost 4:45pm... otherwise I would have to hold it in until I get home!!

uh... yeah... I wasn't working and was actually checking my gmail... got caught on camera.

Update: Oooh... with the amount I pee peed... I could've flushed the toilet... 1 minute long??

The Rose's End

I killed my rose bushes a few weeks ago by accident when I sprayed them with weed killer. I planted them for picking. The first rose that blossomed from the bush was hand picked for someone special in my life. Now, I will never pick from the bush again.

"... When the night has been too lonely
and the road has been too long
and you think that love is only
for the lucky and the strong
Just remember in the winter far beneath the bitter snows
lies the seed
that with the sun's love
in the spring
becomes the rose ..."

-- The Rose, Bette Midler


The Rose's End

Bulbs lay dormant 'til spring is around.
With the sun's love it breaks ground.
Blossoming buds fragrant the air,
With not much time left to spare.

Time and time again...
Gentle winds be my friend.
Nourish me, my sun.
Dancing in the rain,
Joyful and fun.

Standing tall and proud.
Butterflies huddle around.
Gentle petals wither and fall.
Why in time must this be all?

Silent darkness, a storm's roar.
Lightening strikes, down it pours.
Once my friend, splitting stems.
Drowning roots, hear the hymn.

Rose petals pave the ground.
Not at a wedding.
Dressed in a shroud.
Why did I love at all?

Time and time again...
Nothing is left.
The Rose's end.

Let the young buds blossom
and wither on their own.
Don't claim them before they've sown.

Time and time again...
Seeds are sown.
Love is showered.
Nothing is left,
With summer's end.
Now it's fall,
-- Why did I love at all?

- Sparkyx, 07-16-2007, 1:58pm

Grade School Reunion

It was weird yesterday... I bumped into a grade school classmate of mine at work, in the bathroom, on my floor, at the New York Stock Exchange... he was cleaning a sink. I recognized him right away because I see him around the Pink House as well. I don't know if he recognizes me, but we did have an encounter about 12 years ago where he said he doesn't remember me from 6th grade and told me that he failed out of John Dewey HS during his senior year; I was 17. So, ever since, I only see him as an "everyday neighborhood familiar face"... ya know... people that you "know" on the daily train commute. That reminds me... I haven't seen the "pouty lipped couple" lately after the woman gave birth three months ago.

Anyway, it was a weird moment because I see his dad and mom occasionally on Sundays when I had my mandarin classes. His dad and mom owns the corner bakery a block from the Pink House. His parents used to own and probably still own the local convenience store two avenues away as well. He looks just like his dad. His parents also speak Spanish and are probably transplants from Vietnam. They're not Vietnamese by blood, but actually Chinese. I do know a lot about this guy, uh? Also, he was known as the "Seven Star Boy" at PS 97 when we were kids. His grandpa called him the "Seven Star Boy" because his mother only carried him for seven months before going into labor. He has an older sister... I believe.

No, I don't stalk him or his family... just noticed these things over the years when I was in class with him and etc. (Yum... I just came back from the kitchenette and stuffed my face silly with Italian cookies... so good... wondering now if I should go back for thirds... uh seconds...)

Anyway, being sidetracked here due to sugary temptations 20 feet away. (Okay... just came back with Tostitos... white corn chips... no dippings.) Okay. It was weird because we made eye contact and I didn't know whether I should say "Hi" or not. We both looked away. I pee peed. He scrubbed the sink. I washed my hands with soap. He scrubbed the sink. I dried my hands. He scrubbed. I left.

I know he was in school about 2 years ago because I saw him with textbooks and all... but, I wonder what happened now?

I dunno... he used to be this happy kid that smiled ALL the time. He was a slightly chubby kid back then and my mom playfully called him the "Fot Shui Mean Bao" one time. He was so happy and cheerful and good hearted too. Ever since I bumped into him 12 years ago, I've came to know him as a very unhappy person. He was cursing out the teachers who failed him and had this grumpy look on his face. The grumpy look never went away since. How sad.

I'm sure last night's encounter won't be my last, now that he is our new janitor. I guess I should pee half an hour earlier before I leave work or just hold it in until I get home. hmmm... It's 4pm now. I gotta pee in another 45 minutes... which means one more cup of water for today... a small cup... don't ask.

Buying Happiness

I've been through a few ups and downs for the past few days and just can't seem to shake it off... maybe a few people said a few harsh things or perhaps it's just me being my sensitive self. I guess I bruise easily or maybe I'm just an easy target.

It's quite hot outside, but I still decided to take a walk to the local Borders during a brief lunch break. I strolled through my usual discounted books section and quickly picked up a copy of "The Authoritative Calvin and Hobbes". Flipping through a few pages, looking at the colorful comic strips, and reading a comic or two was how the time went. I found myself grinning and smirking at one, so I bought the book.

For $5.99 plus tax, $6.49, I attempted to buy happiness.

Glimpse of Fatherhood

Yesterday I had a sampling of fatherhood. After driving around for about 20 minutes looking for that elusive "Tuesday" parking spot I finally settled for a "Thursday" parking spot 15 minutes away from my parent's home.

My sister from Florida was here for the past week with my nephew and brother-in-law to visit for the July 4th holiday. I ended up having to move the car last night since the car was parked on the "Monday" side of the street. After parking the car, only did I noticed that the baby car seat was in the back along with the baby stroller.

"Great. Now I have to tow all this stuff back. Or... I can open the stroller and push the car seat in it... hmmm... HELL NO."

Well, long story short, after walking and carrying the two very heavy items in both arms for half a block, I started to fidget with the stroller to get it to open... a minute later, I finally found the latch to unfold it. Placing the car seat in the stroller, I started pushing it merrily along the way until strangers started to stare at me from a distance and kept on staring at me until we passed each other.

Was it so weird to see a 30 year old Asian male in a white wife beater, army shorts, and sandals pushing a baby stroller?? I think so. It was okay for me passing other mommies and daddies with strollers, but I found myself flexing and putting on a tough guy look as I passed other dudes and gals around my age. I even made sure I leaned a little forward on the stroller handles to make my biceps flex more. I even walked the black rapper walk with big strides bobbing left and right a little. OH MY GAWD... that was ridiculous. Well, I did it anyway...

Finally after 15 minutes of walking back to my parent's place, I had to re-fold the stroller. "MOM... SIS... How do you close this THING!" LOL...

So... there. My 15 minutes of a glimpse of fatherhood.

The lesson? I still want to be a daddy to 3 kids. I will still have to push a stroller while flexing, although I would have to leave out the black rapper walk. The walk just doesn't go well for a short Asian dude. I think I can still pull off the pissed off tough guy look, but being a short Asian dude, it probably isn't too convincing either. One thing for sure, I ain't the bitch... at least not in public. :)