Christmas Cheers and Fears--Wait, What?

Yes, fears! Or just chills.

So here's what happened: some 23 hours and 15 minutes ago, or midnight on Christmas day, I took the time to wish a merry Christmas to my loved and close ones via texting.

One of my close friends was one whom I met at San Jose State University two years ago for my homestay pre-departure orientation. Remembering that he had given me his number at that time, I figured it wouldn't hurt to spread the cheer around, right? So with my iPhone I happily, smile broad across the face, tapped out "Merry Christmas from California" with my two thumbs.

I gleam across the room into open living room, and continue with the festivities with my cousins. A few minutes later, I receive a response.

It read:
Who's this?

Understanding that it's been a while since I ever got in touch with him using that number (though I frequently do with him via Facebook), I let out a chuckle and two ha ha's come out instantly from my mouth. With a grin on my face, I innocently joke back with him (or so I thought), and send the following:
Guess, who else lives in California whom you met in San Jose?

His response:
Idk... lol I don't remember

Okay, by now I'm thinking I have the wrong number. Just as a precaution, I politely send out:
lol just making sure that im not messaging the wrong number and this is [name] right?

I patiently wait, and guess what comes back?
Hell

Wow, good riddance. Have some decency, it's Christmas morning. No question mark, so are you declaring 'hell?' Or are you stupid enough to leave out every grammatical mark and word that aid in comprehension? I assume the latter for "What the hell?" Dirty and insulting words are flying inside my head at this guy, but I apologize anyway for any trouble I might've caused and for the lost time.

So I'm assuming this is [the] wrong number; sorry for any inconvenience!
But merry christmas anyway haha


Expecting no response from the person or maybe one accepting my apology, I was wrong. I'll let you read the response, taken as a screenshot, AS IS from my inbox.


Um, yeah. Like I'm dumb enough to respond to this kid or creep...


OH NOES HOLD 'EM UP! On second thought, I could have some fun playing as a persona of a girl.

Girls, just watch out after yourselves and stay away from guys like this, okay? And for the rest of you all, have a happy WONDERFUL Christmas. (:
I later found out my friend changed numbers.

San Jose Bike Party

Loads of fun! I blew out my tire going to school earlier this day, got it fixed and my friend blew his out on the night ride. Luckily we were prepared and patched it up within 10-20 minutes. This ride was the best I've attended, it's getting better every time thanks to the creative planners and organizers of this event. Downtown has become a bustling financial district from what was a deserted ghost town, even at 12:30 o'clock midnight (aside: it was the latest I've stayed!). The name "San Jose Bike Party" sounds pretty corny, I must admit, but it definitely beats San Francisco's high-risk Critical Mass. Give it a shot and you'll know what I mean.

I made a video to top it off. (:
Covers downtown (including Christmas in the Park), Willow Glen and Campbell. I couldn't get the neighborhoods whose entire blocks had lighted houses because it was too dark for my camera, sorry!

Now do me a favor and just enjoy the video.

Frying Pans

My neck hurts. It's stiff from all the laughter in the past hour.

Aya and I were poking fun of Japanese English for about two hours now. Now for those who don't know, Aya is my language study mate on Skype; I help her in English and she helps me with my Japanese. One of the discussions was regarding the word bread in Japanese, which is pan. Pan happens to be a borrowed word from Portuguese and Spanish, so the word for bread is--well--pan.

Unfortunately, some Japanese speakers think pan is an English word since it's written in katakana (one of the alphabet systems used to write foreign borrowed words), and when they want to purchase or buy bread in the United States, they end up requesting, "Pan, please." To their surprise, they find a frying pan sitting in front of them on their dining table, and can offer nothing back but a puzzled look.

"Kuenai!" Aya jokingly adds. (I can't eat this!)


Oh, boy. I would love to see this personally.

Two as One

Take her by the hand and
show her the entire world.

That's the first step to our journey in finding happiness.

Ask

Most of the time around this period, people begin to realize there's something they haven't discovered yet.

Holiday Atmosphere

And so it begins, marked by the annual tree lighting ceremony on Saturday...

Before:


After:


The crowd that waited through the rain. Oh man, getting there by bike wasn't fun.

My jeans, shirt and jacket had turned into a full swimsuit by the time the clouds cleared. Call me nuts, or whatever you want, but I had a personal reason to brave the shower.

Let's just keep it simple and say it was a promise. (:

Thanksgiving

The

streets

were
empty.

That's an understatement.
The entire metropolitan area was empty.


I had the whole city to myself. Thanks for giving?
At least it's great to see everyone's (supposedly) spending time with their family.

Jimmy's Law

Math is universal.

Suppose f(t) is a function represented by f(t) = ♥ at any point in time, t, in life. Because ♥ is known as a function of thrill that oscillates back and forth,


There's no limit to love. (:

Racing By

I think I might have accidentally pushed the fast forward button.


Whoosh.

Every Moment

I'm human:
I may screw up, may stumble and fall;
I might carelessly forget, might tremble and hesitate at times,
but there's one thing,
a given opportunity every single day and second,
I know as a person I'm perfect at,
and that's living a life.

"Feelings change--memories don't."

Joel Alexander

A Second Look

"The stupid neither forgive nor forget;
the naïve forgive and forget;

the wise forgive but do not forget."

Thomas Szasz

I feel mighty awful for pushing her back with silence, even if I had every right to.

One, Two, Three

Viewing Life

"The world looks mighty small when you look down...



...look up!"

Love's Ultimate Test

What better test in love is trust itself?
It is one's choice to place doubt that plagues the mind
clouded by irrational assumptions. Or rather,
it is one's choice to place faith that eases the mind
upheld by truthful affection.

Jealousy to satisfy one's happiness is not love, but
jealousy that one can't satisfy another's is.

Answers

I'm confused.
What is it that I'm searching for? );

Barbie Girl

Me (23:41:04): we had lots of gay moments
Me (23:41:09): as cousins in elementary school
Me (23:41:10): LOTS.
Me (23:41:30): singing the barbie girl song all squished together in cathy's car
Me (23:41:32): etc.
Me (23:41:36): cathy's dad's car*
B (23:42:25): LOL THATS LEGIT
Me (23:42:37): http://www.imeem.com/cewebatakz/music/WqRrDtSo/aqua-barbie-girl/
Me (23:42:39): OH YEAH.
Me (23:42:43): BRING BACK THE 90s
B (23:42:46): Hahahahaha!

I sure do get nostalgic at times.

Even as a small child in the 90s, I found things lame. Take Rick Astley's big sunglasses in his "Never Gonna Give You Up" music video for example. But then again, I wore them also. :D

What Matters Most

That's what they've been saying all along.

As always.


(Source: CNN Poll 10/22 19:38)

Californian Tours

Today, I walked through a metal detector when a federal officer spotted a high-density object in my backpack on his X-ray computer screen. I'm at the State Capitol in Sacramento, California--you know, where Arnie is--and am at their security screening area.

Officer: Is there anything in your backpack that's hard?
Me: Um, my bicycle tools? This is my bicycle bag. I can get it for you?
Officer (after another peek): No, not that; there's something hard in there.

By now he and some other female officer start fumbling around with my backpack, expecting something like a pipebomb or a gun. And guess what they pulled out?

Female Officer: What's he got in there?
Male Officer: Err, some tools and... a [road/pavement] reflector.

LOL.
OH, MAN. That was from my trip up in Mt. Hamilton in San Jose and I took that as a souvenir because it wasn't glued to the road with tar. I ended up explaining why it was in my possession and we resolve the problem with hearty laughter.

I had a chance to see Arnold Schwarzenegger's office too! I really wanted to pound the door and say hello, but without facing misdemeanor charges that was out of the question.


We also found ourselves lost in downtown while finding the Capitol.
Way too many one-way streets.



As for why I was in Sacramento in the first place, I was actually attending a campus tour of UC Davis. The campus is ridiculously huge, occupying some space nearly a fourth of the city of Davis. Without a bicycle, you'll be into some serious walking. It's even got its own fire department.



Overall, neat campus. There weren't as many cows as I expected there to be, though. :0

Here was the wonderful sunset to end the day--on a state scenic highway. (:

Getting Around

A (22:00:02): so i take the muni lightrail
Me (22:00:07): Im scared of MUNI
Me (22:00:10): too many crashes recently lol
A (22:00:16): i'm still alive
A (22:00:18): so it's ok
A (22:00:23): have faith in GOD!

HAHA. Being alive is all that matters--what a philosophy. :)

Braving the Brunt

I danced bare in the rain for the first time today. (:

Didn't know what I was thinking, but with a lot of stress on my shoulders, I found it rather soothing--dancing in the middle of a typhoon with winds at hurricane level. No, I'm not crazy or anything. The PE teachers insisted that we swim in this crummy weather, so I took the best and made the most out of it.


Though the rain was a blessing, it doesn't mean mother nature will play nice.
Aside: Just a few moments ago, a 3.8 earthquake shook up the entire Bay Area. :(

Set Me Ablaze

Your lips are a hot flame, baby,
and our chemistry is kerosene.

Never Let Go

Even if it means we'll
go our separate ways.

(Photo by Abby Bennethum)

Lost

I feel so proud of myself.

Earlier today, I had to stand on the bus because there were no seats left, but a kind woman scooted a bit to make room for me. I thanked her and dozed off on the way home until I was awakened by her 10 minutes after. She'd asked me if this is a downtown-bound bus, and I told her the regrettable news. Yikes. She would have to transfer at Great Mall for another bus or take a Santa Teresa light rail train to downtown, but her English was limited at best. I could hardly understand her. All I knew was that she wanted to get to the Martin Luther King Jr. Library.

So I took some paper, wrote down what bus number to take at Great Mall (since it's faster than taking the train from there) and where she had to deboard. Most of my friends know I visit downtown every month too often, and that I know the city all too well. Knowing downtown SJ and all its points of interests, districts, high-rise buildings, and streets by heart, I proceeded to draw for her a quick map from where she had to get off and walk to find the library.

It was the first time I'd ever given directions to anyone like that. (:
All from a seventeen year old.

Over the River, Through the Woods

I've traveled north, I've traveled south, and I've traveled west. Only the east remains.
That's where the mountains are, and up I went. I'm typically an urban cyclist but decided to give the California scenery a try, because I practically know the whole entire south bay by heart. I needed something to scare me--something daunting that lies to be challenged, and this was it. Going out of the city means no urban services such as police or medical services, no convenience stores to buy drinks, or any of the luxury I've been enjoying all along. My body needed conditioning as well, because I managed to reduce my mile running time (by foot) to 6 minutes after not having to run for 3 years, where my best time was 8 minutes way back long ago. It was a real ego boost. (:




The first destination was Alum Rock Park. There were park rangers rolling around here and there patrolling the park, I guess. I couldn't go all the way because the rest of the trail was unpaved. Boo-hoo. ):

That's how far I got up. So what next? Mt. Hamilton of course! It would be a long ascent, 2,000 feet up, but it isn't that steep. Okay! It's decided. Down I coasted from Alum Rock Park, then south in the city to McKee and I began my adventure.


Wonderful view of McKee Road from the state highway 130 at 1,000 feet. It's a long straight road headed straight to downtown San Jose. Freeway 680 lies left of it.

By this point, I'm not really tired, but rather I'm concerned about my inadequate supply of water. So I take breaks to minimize my need for water. A lady pulled up beside me in her car just to make sure I was all right. A nod and a cordial smile reassured her that I was.

Looks like our descent will be fun later!

By now, it's about 2,000 feet up from sea level, It's cold and chilly 50 degrees, and the wind's blowing quite moderately. Basically, I can feel how high I've gone up.

There's the Lick observatory. That white spec on the mountaintop, that is.
But crap, I'm running out of water. I flag down another oncoming cyclist and ask him how far I was from the Joseph D. Grant county park. 5 miles. He wishes me luck and I keep pushing on, but I'm going considerably slower. After the next 20 minutes or so, I ask this time an oncoming car for some water. They have none, so I ask the same thing I asked earlier to the cyclist.

"You made it, bro! Keep on going!" the dude nudges me on. I'm already in the park but the information kiosk is a mile and a half away.

I need water! I'm going to DIE out here going back without any. Stupid of me to carry a small water bottle. Panting and cold, I happened to see a house on the side of the road where family members were conversing outside.

"Excuse me, sir!" I shout with my arms flailing hoping the man would see behind the person he was talking to. Two more tries and he finally sees me. I tell him my situation and he is happy to give me another water bottle. I thank him and we begin a quick 3 minute discussion from where I had started McKee and where I was headed to. With some words of encouragement, he sends me off again, informing me that I was half a mile away from where I was headed.

And I made it! The park resembled a rest stop than anything else, nothing but some public facilities, parking space and a kiosk with a lonely park ranger reading her book. I took a half an hour break, refilled my three empty water bottles (there were empty ones in my backpack) and stretched before I returned on a 15-20 minute long descent.

Here's a zoomed out version.

I was literally in the middle of nowhere. Notice the lack of cellular service. The thought of something happening and no one to call is frightening. I wanted that feeling and I did it, though.
I can now go to college away from where I was born knowing that I've enjoyed everything that my city can possibly offer.

Oh, yes. Now the reward. A 15-20 minute descent at 30 mph. I felt the wind warming up as I came down, and had a chance to see the city from way up high.

My adventure is complete. (:

Let's Become Wonderful

"...To the person I love most."

Finish Line

It's time.
So we begin.

Silly Child

I accidentally walked into the ladies' restroom today. Dirt coated my fingers so I needed to find a place to wash my hands as soon as possible, before I obliviously wipe my eyes with them. Quickly scanning the room, I find a room with its door slightly open. I stick my head in and peek in. As soon as my head concluded that it was a restroom, I barged in and gleefully performed the three basic steps of hand washing. Fortunately, no females were in there.

THEN DON WALKS IN AND JOINS.
Two guys in a restroom for one. La la la, rub-a-dub-dub. It's a small restroom and we are standing within 4 inches next to each other. Abby finishes talking on her phone and stands outside waiting.

"Hey, Abby, look! Two guys in one restroom!" I snicker to her from inside.

She says nothing and stares for a split second.

"Not just two guys in a restroom, two guys in a women's restroom," she humbly adds.

I poke my head outside and peek around again. Sure enough, a feminine figure with capital letters "WOMEN" are inscribed on a round, blue sign. Oops. Two men in a teeny MALE restroom is disturbing enough, but a ladies' restroom? I'm seventeen and should know better. For the record, the last time I walked into the ladies' restroom was in kindergarten 12 years ago. Only that time, a yard duty lady called out "Is anyone in there?" and I squealed out in my 5 year old voice "Yes!"

Don't you just love it when your inner childish heart comes out? You could do anything you want and could care less about the world but your own instantaneous joy that passes on to others. No matter what people say, everyone would always remain a child at heart--my grandpa in Japan armpits farts for the hell of it.

Later in downtown, we happened to see these officers who, while patrolling this intersection, were chattering as if at a high school reunion. Men in uniform! And later when one of them gets fatigued from standing on the job, he doesn't just take a break and rest, but finds a chair and props it open right in the middle of the intersection. Two birds with one stone. He knows he's getting paid at the same time. It's easy to see why San Jose is one of the safest biggest cities in this country when police officers still have their eyes out in the middle of their breaks. Cops have their fun, too.
In America, men in blue with handguns are not always the best people to approach. But these guys--we need more people like them.

It doesn't stop there: A rather buff 30 year-old African American man on the light rail was karaoke-ing in his falsetto, the high opera-type of voice, to some songs on his cell phone and was practically dancing in his seat. His girlfriend slapped his arm twice to stop him from continuing. Darn, an ending to a good show too soon.

If only everyday we all could set aside our adult etiquette away...
Great post-sunset glow to conclude the day.
And here I am back home in the bucolic suburbs.