canceled flight
I was supposed to leave Washington-Dulles at 12 PM, but it was delayed till 2 PM.  So J picked me up and we went out to eat some breakfast at IHOP, when I decided to check the flight status on my iPhone.  WTF? Canceled?

I freaked.  I don't think I handle unexpected situations like these and shouted "sh!t" in the restaurant.  Why? I don't know; I just pictured that United would be unreasonable, and wouldn't have a flight for me until tomorrow morning. 

However, I have to compliment United, at least the helpful lady Ivonne who was able to find me a flight on Delta that was leaving in two hours, as well as transfer my luggage.  The flight was nice, and even though it was an hour long, we had drinks and a snack. The plane was empty too -- no one next to me and no one really behind me either.

I always feel bad about reclining my seat, just out of respect for the person behind me.

atlanta
Well, I'm in ATL for an adobe flex conference.  For you non-geeks (that's probably 99.99% of you reading this), it's a development framework where I can make Flash-based web pages. 

I finally believe that travelling alone is no fun.  Maybe when I'm older and more comfortable w/myself, but not right now.  It's a little lonely in my hotel room and there's not a lot of healthy restaurants around here.  I'm not a sub person, unless it's authentic Italian style and I don't like burgers and fries except like once every 4-5 months.

Eh, it could be worse. 

I guess most people here either don't visit Xanga that often, and/or don't receive Xanga subscriptions through email, which I find really convenient.
Anyway, I just wanted to repost something that I made protected: http://www.xanga.com/KENSHIR0/629532512/maui.html (<-- check out photos of Maui!)

Joanne and I got engaged back in November, and I got my black belt in tae kwon do.
Also, I passed JLPT level 4, which is the Japanese Language Proficiency Test.  (Level 1's the highest).

Is there such a thing as a groom-zilla?

According to my Google search results, I guess there is.  I wouldn't say I'm a groom-zilla, but I might be close to it.  J wouldn't let me just sit back and have her do all the planning.  I think mainly because: 1) she's not from here, and 2) since this is an American wedding, she's not quite sure what she really wants.  But also, it's just not in her blood for me to sit back and watch.

So yeah, I'm quite involved.  I think it's kind of rare.  All of my coworkers just let their wives do all the work, which is why they can't really offer any good advice.  They just say "here's a spreadsheet my wife made" or "I have no idea how much that costs; my wife did all the planning."

Great.

J has a small budget, which I won't disclose here.  I actually care more about the cake than she does.  Now, mind you, I really don't like the typical American cake, with 5 inches of cream, that tastes like you're eating a whole bag of sugar.  No, I've always liked Chinese style birthday cakes, that are light and fluffy, and usually have lots of fresh fruits (strawberries, kiwi, etc.).   So I found my dream cake when we went to a bridal show, where they had cake samples.  I fully expected the worse, but the baker was an Asian woman, who struck the right balance between American and Asian cakes.  The tasting appointment is next week and it's all I can think about.

#$!@%.... I am a groom-zilla.

check PP, please.

Finally, a picture of Street Fighter IV has been unveiled!  It's in 3D, but plays like 2D.

Check it out here: Street Fighter IV first screenshot  

Too bad arcades basically don't exist in the US anymore. 

Also, if you have a Wii, and you keep up with videogames almost 16/7 (I said that instead of 24/7 -- hey, you've gotta sleep sometime, right?), then you've no doubt heard about "No More Heroes."  The Japanese version has already been released, and it's sure to be a hit when the US version comes out next February.

You can get a free mini beam katana (like a lightsaber) when you get the Japanese version.  Should I ask for the game, or two martial arts books for Christmas?

I did 1/2 of my black belt test in tae kwon do last night.  Why half?  Basically, I won't be around when the test is normally scheduled, next Saturday, since I'll be in Hawaii.  So my instructor decided to test me ahead of time.

So, at approximately 3:15 PM this Saturday, I will have completed the remainder of my black belt test. 

Last night was a normal sparring class.  Normal for everyone else that is -- I had to:

• Perform all kicks from white belt level to red belt
• In between that, I had to do 30 pushups at a time, for a total of 7 sets (210 pushups).
• After that, I sparred for about 15-20 minutes, non-stop and sometimes against multiple attackers.

The sparring was not easy since I was ready to throw up and the right side of my stomach was cramping up.  Eating the free lunch at work (Quiznos) did not help.  I got kicked several times by the lower belts, while I was just fighting to stay in it.  I did manage to get a few head kicks in, and pull off double and triple roundhouse kick combos.

It was not what I expected, since I really thought I'd spar like I did normally and the instructor would watch me, but he had me work harder than anyone else in the class, so there were NO shortcuts.
Not that I was looking for any.

The supposed "hardest" part is now out of the way; all I have left is poomse (forms), one-step sparring (self-defense), and board breaking (5 targets). 

protected post.

I think it's weird how a majority of us have stopped blogging, all around the same time.
So I'll post some things on my mind.

Traffic.  How bad is it where you live?  No matter what, I'm sure you think "Oh, my area has it the worst!"  I live in the D.C. area, and it was rated #2 for worst in the country, based on a news report I saw a few nights ago.  It can get pretty bad here, but I always thought LA and San Francisco had it much, much worse than here. 
If I get on the road before 6:00 AM, I can get to work in about 25-30 minutes.  However, if I leave any later than that, my commute almost doubles (45 minutes to 1hr+). 

That brings me to my second point.  What time do you have to wake up in the morning?  Could you wake up earlier, to make your commute easier, or do you just think "F*** that, I am not waking up at the crack of dawn" and suffer with thousands of other commuters?  Does traffic have any influence on the time you wake up?  Or is mass transit so convenient that you don't have to worry about it?  (That is NOT the case here in the DC area; although it may be useful, it's only useful if you work in the city.)

Finally, please visit invinciblesword's blog (aka Tiffany Reyes).  I don't know her personally, but I've been a subscriber for a while.  She is going to the 9th World Wushu Championships, which serves as a qualifier for the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games!  She's holding a fundraiser to help defray some of the costs of travel + accomodations, and you can get a free t-shirt out of it. 

The Wii is the #1 wedding registry gift on Amazon.com:
http://www.nintendowiifanboy.com/2007/10/08/wii-wins-the-amazon-wedding-registry-war/

Pretty crazy.  I suppose it's on most people's list because it's hard to find, rather than the price of the item.  Still, I find it strange that the bride (or bride to-be) would even consider such a gift!

J & I went to the Brad Paisley concert Saturday night.  It was pretty good, but I didn't know any of the songs. We left a little early to avoid traffic, but had I known Brad Paisley sings "Whiskey Lullaby", I might've stayed a little longer.  And no, I did not always like country; only after I met J did I start liking it. 
I still think it's strange how a city girl like her can like country.

pspfanboy.com was giving away their limited edition, PSP God of War demo discs.  In recent years, I've had pretty good luck with regards to videogame swag.  From siliconera, I've won: an XBOX 360 E3 swag pack, a Disgaea DVD, and Lost Planet for XBOX 360.  And last night, I checked my email to find that I had won the God of War demo disc!