Week 35 update

Starting to go to the doctor every week from now until the baby comes. Last time, the OB was thinking the baby may have turned head down, but said we should wait til this time to be for sure. This week, the OB says she thinks the baby is still breech. This past week, there have been many times where my belly looks like a square or a heart - two bumps sticking out on either side of my belly button. I told the doctor this, and after checking the heartbeat, she said the baby is probably transverse, with the head still up - given where the heartbeat was heard the loudest. She said that we'll keep checking weekly and that at some point, they will do an ultrasound to be sure. And if I go to the hospital in labor that we can let them know that the baby's position has been breech & they will check again at the hospital. She did say that she's know babies who have turned in the last week, so a c-section is not for certain just yet.

Merry Christmas!

We had a quiet Christmas this year. No tree or decorations, since we figured we've got enough to do with getting ready for the baby. And if the baby were to come early, we'd be in danger or getting in trouble with our homeowners association for not taking down our decorations in time. Wei Yan's family came up for dim sum at lunch, then we went with them to the chinese grocery store after lunch. His dad, aunt, grandmother and brother went back to greenville and we headed back to our house. My sister-in-law and mother-in-law stayed the night before they flew out to Hong Kong on the 26th. We had hot pot for dinner and even got a chance to take a quick nap before dinner.

washer scare

So on Christmas Eve we had a bit of a scare. I was running a load of baby clothes - onesies, tiny socks, blankets, etc. Our washer which is usually pretty loud, made some bad clunking noises and then stopped. We got a F02 error code and things were not looking good. No water was draining and the washer was not happy. We did some searching on the internet and got some buckets out. We took out all of the wet clothes, got as much water out of the drum as possible and then took off the front. The drain plug produced quite a bit more water and some of this did end up on the floor, but we did an ok job of getting most of this up. After poking around, found a bra extender (early pregnancy must) stuck in the filter/impeller. Basically, there is a small area in the front of our washer were any small baby socks or small items can get sucked down our drain. After letting everything dry out, the washer is back to working order and we'll have to remember to put all baby socks, baby mittens and other small items in a bag before throwing them in the washer from now on. But no service call at least!

Head down?

Well, the doctor says she thinks that the baby is turned head down. I think I must be measuring a little big, because she said something to the effect of "he doesn't seem like he's too big" when she was trying to feel my belly & see if he's turned down or not. It was a bit alarming, because I'm pretty careful with my belly these days, and she was just pressing in with her fingers to try to feel the baby in there and it was farther than I've ever pressed on my belly. When you are lying on your back (which I haven't done in ages!), I guess all the muscles relax. When I'm standing, sitting or lying on my side, gravity or something makes it so the belly is a lot more solid and not so squishy.

So by meeting the only female doctor in the practice, I've now met all the doctors who could possibly deliver the baby. This starts my once per week visits. And she said that she thinks he's head down, but by next week it will be more obvious. The heart rate was good and the baby was busy moving around in there even though I couldn't feel it, so I guess he does have a bit of room to move around.

Cord Blood Banking

So one of the decisions that we want to figure out before the big day comes is where to bank the baby's cord blood. Seems like there are 2 big private banks: Cord Blood Registry and Viacord. And there are also many public cord blood banks as well. Neither one of us has a history of diseases that are typically thought of for cord blood treatment, but since dna matters, they say that people of mixed ethnic origin should consider that matches are harder to find. I'm not sure if half japanese and half chinese counts, but either way seems like a finding a match is going to be hard enough as it is.

The cost of a private blood bank is a good chunk of change. The public cord blood banks run the risk of someone else having a match, the cells being used for research or maybe issues with access if it has not been used yet. I think right now we're leaning toward the public bank. If I died tomorrow and someone needed my heart, I don't think I'd want my family to deny that person a chance to live on the off chance that someone in my family might need it in the future. What are the real chances of us needing them? But then would I feel differently if it were my own child?

Shower thanks!

Thanks to my sister-in-law for throwing us a wonderful baby shower, and to all of our friends who helped us celebrate!

9 weeks to go!

So last week, the baby's movements have become MUCH stronger. I guess it must be getting more cramped in there, because I can feel wiggles and movements - plus the kicks and jabs are getting to be a bit uncomfortable at times. I've actually had a few kicks that made me stop mid sentence and have to collect myself before continuing to talk!

At my 5 min OB appointment today, the doctor (that I've been warned is really a good guy, just a little crazy) said that even though the baby was breech in the 3D ultrasound, that by next week we should know the baby's position. Felt a little dumb, because it didn't even occur to me that he was in the "breech" position during the ultrasound. Most babies don't start turning til next week anyway, so no need to worry. Next appointment is with the only female doctor in the practice. The zany doctor that everyone warned me about was cool though - went to UNC, and I guess I just figure he can't be any worse than the old HSLL program folks that lived in my dorm, so it doesn't faze me.

So yeah, 9 more weeks to go! The baby is supposed to be gaining about a half a pound a week - so maybe he's over 4 lbs now??? Kinda crazy! Not sure where it's all gonna go!

3d Ultrasound pics

and the 4D video:

YAY!

College basketball season has finally started. While some folks are sad that college football season is coming to an end, I'm definitely not! The Heels didn't make a great start, but at least they won their first game and I got to watch the 2nd half (prenatal exercise class this week).

Getting healthy during pregnancy

So the Friday after our baby shower in California, I came down with a cold. It's now been a month and I have finally gotten over it. Granted for the last few weeks, I've just been coughing, but still, I never imagined it would take that long to get over a cold. Went ahead and got the flu shot, because I really don't want to find out how long it would take me to get over that! But it definitely has made me try to take it easy and rest a lot. Course, now that we are into the 3rd trimester, we really have a lot of stuff to do around the house to get ready for the baby - so I'm sure we won't be feeling so relaxed about things in the coming weeks.

California baby shower

 

Thanks to all of our friends and family who helped us celebrate our little one more than a month ago!

More outsourcing to India

Now I know that reading through pregnancy magazines that there are a fair amount of "crazes" or "trends" that really aren't much of a widespread phenomenon - just some hyped up way to sell magazines, but this article was is pretty interesting.

Week 21 update

 

We took my sister-in-law out for her birthday last night. For all those loved ones in Cali or far away, just thought ya'll would get a kick out of me looking pretty pregnant. I have shared with some folks that I guess I am looking more pregnant, since a few weeks ago people would ask very cautiously if I was pregnant. Then last week people started just blurting out "wow! are you pregnant????" Today a co-worker said, "well, you are looking not as skinny as you were before" with the eyebrows. I busted up laughing. Got to be about the worst way to congratulate someone on being pregnant.

i'm on utube

One of my high school friends sent me this link tonight. For all of you who didn't believe the story about my high school reunion, definitely check it out. And I'm the one who told her that she looks "really different" from high school. We sat with some of the band geeks who quietly ate with her and was polite.

It was kinda funny at the end with the haters who got all mad & confrontational about it not being her, but it was also really lame. But hey, it wouldn't have been high school without those folks. It's too bad that they got all pissy over it....they could have just hung back and laughed. It's too bad that they didn't show all the people who were really drunk and went crazy when the stripper part happened, cuz they TOTALLY thought it was her and were taking pictures and freaking out. Songwriterlee and I were laughing hysterically watching all of them.

Oh, and I have to admit that I liked the video cuz I was skinny in that video. Having the baby bump is kinda cool sometimes, but don't think I don't want my old body back as soon as possible! That dress wouldn't fit months ago!

It's a boy!

This ultrasound picture was taken last week at 20 weeks. It was the best one of the bunch. It's shows the head on the left with a fist in front of baby's face. The body is along the bottom, and the legs up to the knees kind of wrapped around. I'll spare future embarrassment to our child and not post the one that show it's a boy - plus it's not a real easy picture to see anything unless you are a trained ultrasound technician. I did ask if they were for sure, and they said they were & then explained to us like 3 times how we could see the boy parts on the ultrasound screen. Lucky for us carolina blue works no matter what the sex is.

Kickin' it!

Today, while sitting at my desk, I felt a couple thumps in my belly. "Definitely not lunch!" was my first thought. I was able to put my hand on my bare stomach, and sure enough, a couple more kicks! I think I have felt the baby before now, but really, it was nothing definitive. Today, was the first time I can say that I definitely felt the baby move and it wasn't some fleeting weird feeling that I may or may not have ever felt before. Very cool!

1st prenatal massage

So after a hectic day on Saturday, and the mother of all cramps in my left calf, I treated myself to a mother-to-be massage on Sunday. Actually, one of my girlfriends and I were planning to go in a few weeks, but had to reschedule for a little earlier - and it worked out. My left calf is actually still sore from that cramp I got on Friday night, so I think I'm going to have to look into some prenatal yoga/pilates classes to get back into stretching. Went to Umstead spa to use the gift certificate hubby gave me for my birthday, but wasn't able to use, cuz I got pregnant right afterwards (massages in the 1st trimester aren't recommended). It was really relaxing. I came home and fell into a deep sleep for an hour before Wei Yan woke me up for dinner. The spa is on the small side, but very luxurious and the therapist was good. I'll definitely be going again for another massage!

5K for the March of Dimes

So for the last few years, I've helped out with the 5K Run for Healthier Babies. It's going to be tomorrow, and I'm looking at quite an early start tomorrow (6am). Good thing I'm already tired & ready to head to bed. Overall, it's been really great this year. I'm coordinating volunteers, and this year there will be ~100 of them. But after a week of meetings and all the last minute stuff (spent 4 hours on email wrapping stuff up), it's been pretty tiring. Anyway, wish me luck getting some sleep tonight & getting up earlier than gotten up since last year's race. Preparation for what's coming, right?

beef, it's what's for dinner

For some reason, I can always eat hamburger or ground beef. Chicken used to be my staple, but with this pregnancy, beef is the meat of choice these days. Perhaps it is the fact that I made tri-tip early in the pregnancy & then only ate the well done pieces (since everything is supposed to be well cooked through) that I haven't eaten a steak since becoming pregnant. Well done beef tri-tip of steak is just not my thing.
For some reason, I just have no desire to eat a steak. I don't know that it revolts me, but even if I had a steak put down in front of me, I just couldn't stomach it. Before I was pregnant, I could eat red meat maybe a few times a week - and a nice medium rare ribeye was a treat. If I had beef for lunch, I probably wouldn't feel like having beef for dinner, but today it is patty melt for lunch & hamburger helper for dinner. I'm eating even when I don't feel hungry - partially because I know if I wait until I "feel hungry" it will come on with such intensity that I might pass out trying to figure out what to eat (or kill anyone perceived as getting in my way). And also, cuz work has been pretty stressful these days, and when I'm stressed I don't feel hungry. I've only gained 5-6 lbs to date (after gaining back the 5 lbs I lost in the first trimester), but the doctor assured me that if I only gain 20, given my height & frame, it would be fine.

No More Meetings!

So for the last 3 days at work, I've been called into these all day meetings. The first one was the Friday before Labor day. Even after being out of the office all this morning to meet my new OB, this afternoon was just excruciatingly painful by 2:30pm. And maybe the prospect of being a new mom had made me less cynical, but I seriously was not in the mood to hear a gripe fest on how impossible our task was (or how dumb our higher ups were for asking to do the task) or maybe I just don't see how it helps me get stuff done. This is why I never want to go into system engineering. The joke is that those who can't work with other go onto become system engineers...so you can imagine some of the heated discussions we've had thus far. And some of us have only known each other for a few days. The fighting really wasn't too bad, I just don't see how the marathon sessions can really be called productivity.

Oh, but I liked the new OB office. Great first impression and very friendly staff and doctor. Even though I keep hearing the heartbeat each week and this week's growth is definitely some stretching on my belly skin, it just doesn't seem all that real to me yet. Today, I may be feeling the baby move, or maybe I'm just imagining it cuz today I've had about 3 people ask me if I've felt it yet. I'll let y'all know when I decide. ;-)

Week 19 update

So I realize that it's been a while since I've posted any pregnancy updates. Today makes it 19 weeks! Amost half way through! I went to my old OB for the last time at 17 weeks and heard the heartbeat for the 2nd time. As expected, the heartbeat had slowed down a bit (now in the 140s). I still haven't gained much weight, and I asked the doctor about it, and she wasn't worried about it at all. She said that she actually preferred it if I don't gain a lot of weight. Even still, I am conscious of how much I eat & try to eat when & what I can.

This week, I go to the new Ob. Once I've gone to see the new OB and they've gotten a full history & initial visit, they will schedule the 20 week ultrasound (hopefully next week). So, hopefully the next update will be a more eventful one.

94 Good Years

Last week, I was saddened to hear of the passing of my great aunt. She was my paternal grandfather's sister. I know most folks these days don't seem to know much of their extended family, but when I grew up in L.A., our whole family was there and the Munesatos all saw each other a lot. My second cousins were always around to play & fight with, and we'd often mistake our granfathers for each other's (my grandfather & all his brothers all looked a like more & more as they got older). We had big family gatherings with all of my grandfather's brothers and sisters and all of their families. They still get together on Super Bowl Sunday for brunch (west coast, fellas) but I haven't made of these in years. Auntie Yae was a sweet old lady who always had a smile on her face when she saw you. When I got married almost 3 years ago, she sent me my birth announcement with the sweetest card. I'll miss her. God Bless and rest in peace, Auntie Yae.

Some things look easier than they really are

OK, some of the early ones....like how hard can they be.



Props to Bert for posting this on his site. So am I proud to be Japanese or just am I just explaining to everyone that my relatives branched in the evolutionary tree when they moved to America?

so you think you can dance

so i know that there isn't much to watch on TV, but we started watching So You Think You Can Dance a few seasons ago. this past season, this guy made it totally worth it instead of just a way to waste some time:

Superbad

Went to see Superbad on Saturday. I haven't laughed that hard in a long time. I can't even remember much about specific jokes, but I can't remember a time when I've laughed that hard at the movies. I think this is probably one of the crudest movies around, but at the same time actually had some pretty honest, real moments. Do not see this movie if you are easily offended and definitely heed the R rated-ness (not child safe). Hilarious.

My new phone

Last week, I got a call from Sprint saying that since Wei Yan ported his number to AT&T, that I no longer was on a plan and was being charged per minute. They offered to put me on a plan only to then inform me that getting on one of them would commit me to a 2 year contract. I was done talking to them & told them I would have to call them back later. Wei Yan tried to log in, only to find that he no longer can log in - so no access to our bill for that period. He called them & found out it was 50 cents per minute, but that luckily I hadn't used my phone much in that time. He also put me on a month-to-month plan, that only gave me 200 minutes ~ which at least is more like $0.20/minute.

But a decision had to be made, so got a refurbished Treo 680. It will tide me over until I find a phone that has everything I want (need the stylus, good batter life, 3G, etc). We did figure out that pretty much all customer service folks are created equal...we spent more time on the phone with the AT&T CS as Sprint, but only cuz we cared more about getting things right. Finally got my number ported after talking to several different people - which I admit wouldn't have been that bad, except that I work on the number portability software and I know it doesn't take that long! So, the number is the same, and I will actually be answering my phone now. :-)

New Ob

So the last few days or week I've been kind of stressing over changing obstetricians. I first found out that my current OB shares call with another practice, so if I deliver on the 2 weekends of the month that the other practice covers, than a doctor who I've never had an opportunity to meet with would be taking care of me. I also realized that the classes we take before the due date will be with folks from Durham and probably not Raleigh. It will probably be harder to hear about resources for folks living in Raleigh - for day cares, doctors, etc.
I heard a few weeks ago from a friend's mom (who works as a nurse at durham regional) that she wouldn't recommend delivering at the hospital that my Ob delivers at. Then last week, I met a lady who works as a pharmacist there, and she said she also wouldn't go there as a patient. So for the past week or so, I've been asking around for referrals. I've gotten some really good recommendations - for about 3-4 practices that deliver at Rex. I wasn't sure how I would decide. My friend who is a nurse at Rex recommended hands down a place called Atrium ObGyn (she also mentioned some other great practices, but said this was her 1st pick). After hearing a glowing review from another friend who actually went to Atrium as a patient and said a bunch of the things that really appealed to me, I called them this morning. I'll have to go through another intro with the nurse going over the medical history, but there are 4-5 doctors in the office (the most senior no longer does ob care/call) and a nurse practitioner - and they don't share call. I'm feeling much more at peace about the whole thing, and we might even be able to get a 3D ultrasound later in the pregnancy for not a crazy outrageous fee.
So anyway, that worry has been alleviated in a huge way for me. It's definitely hard to make a decision that you've already made and then decided wasn't the right decision in the first place, but at the same time we are definitely fortunate to be living in RTP with so many good hospitals and good medical schools around here - I don't think I could have made a bad decision with the few practices that were recommended to me.

More on Kobe-gate

The other night I stayed up WAY too late to watch the Kobe interview on Jimmy Kimmel's show. I think this article pretty much summed it all up. It was worth staying up for, even if I only got a laugh, but no reassurances. *sigh* I think the article said it all.

Oh, and Kobe mentioned some soccer player (as his sports idol), but I couldn't make out the name. Kobe went all italian on us and said the way you are supposed to, but I have no idea who it was. Anyone know? I'll have to check out all his soccer tricks on uTube.

Bourne Ultimatum

Every time I go to a new sequel this summer, seems like I can't for the life of me remember what happened in the last movie. Maybe it's pregnancy brain, or just that I pretty much go to movies to shut my brain off. You will not hear me complaining that Transformers wasn't "real enough" or the acting was bad. Really, it's 1) enter theater, 2) shut brain off.

We went to go see Bourne Ultimatum last night and I think if your brain was half on, you would still enjoy it. I do remember laughing during some fight scene and thinking, "Am I supposed to be laughing here?", but yup, it was definitely entertaining. I think the biggest chuckle was the Norton anti-virus scan...hilarious. I wonder how much that cost!?!? Everyone has told us to go to the movies now, since after the baby gets here, we won't be watching many. Luckily this summer has kept us busy.

When procrastination is a good thing

So with all the Michael Vick stuff happening and the Boston College Men's basketball woes last year, it never ceases to amaze me that athletes can't just put off smoking weed or other illegal activities for a few years! If your football career just won't be that long, or maybe you just need to make it 3 years to get into the NBA, can you just not do stupid stuff at that time? It's not like you won't have tons of time after your career is over & you are sitting on a huge pile of cash. I just don't understand.

This guy has got to take the prize. Maybe he should have also given up pot for a few years.

New Edition

Today is 14 weeks - only 26 more to go. I guess the counting has already begun! Due date is end of January and it will be another month and half before we can find out the sex of the baby. Please pray for a healthy pregnancy and a healthy baby!

harry potter movie

so we went to go see the new harry potter movie. it was good as usual, but it's definitely not going to be my favorite harry potter movie. my memory must be just as bad as it's aways been, because I can't remember what happened in the last one, or what happened in which previous movie. 2 more movies to go before i can start reading the books...i hate watching movies after the reading the book. i'm always disappointed. but everyone i know is addicted to reading the books.

A sad day in the ACC

I was saddened to hear about the passing of Wake Forest Coach Skip Prosser yesterday. The ACC has it's share of quality coaches - good people who are real class acts and Skip was no exception. He will surely be missed.

Spudtastic!

Everyone please welcome the newest edition to our Mr. Potato Head family. I saw a spiderman spud, but wasn't too impressed. Optimash Prime rocks!

1st WSOP winnings purchase

Wei Yan bought an iphone today. Before he left for Vegas, he said that he was going to buy an iphone if he cashed. I know that he was going to buy one either way.

So I'm by myself still on Sprint. I had my eyes on the Treo 750 - but have read some really bad reviews on battery life and bugs. So I'm still undecided. I guess when I get my first bill from Sprint, I'll get motivated to make a decision, but if anyone's got a suggestion, I'm taking them. I still have my 1st pda - microsoft gave it to me when I worked for them in college. I haven't even considered moving away from the Windows platform - all the Treos I've considered ran windows mobile. darn it, they've got their claws into me!

Drive-through ATM

My bank has a drive through ATM. The other day, I noticed that all the buttons have Braille on them. I thought it a bit odd. Today I had to go into the bank and decided to use the ATM inside of the bank. It has a touch screen as well as numerical button (for your PIN number I suppose) - but none of the buttons had Braille on them. Nice.

Main Event Wrap up

Sam busted out last night in 142 place. He was crippled by one hand where he had AsKs suited and the board came A A 7 4 with 3 clubs. The other guy had AxQc so Sam was favored 68%. The river came the Jc.

Congrats Sam! We were all rooting for you. Awesome tournament.

Day 4 Update - 2nd Break

Sam's got 800K. About 210 players left.

Couple updates on pokernews.com - you can specify Sam to see what's up with him.
Wei Yan says that there are 220 players left now.

Sam also had an interview with ESPN Online, so they may post it some time tonight.

Day 4 update from Sam

Sam just doubled up to 600K. He was hurting a little before then, but looks better now! Sam's made it to some of the update logs on pokernews.com - so look him up!

A bit of good news and a break from Poker

Derek Fisher will be returning to the Lakers. A break from the drama that is the Lakers these day, no spoiled tantrums or whining or excuses. Here's a Laker who clearly loves the game. And who couldn't use more of that these days?

Main Event Day 4

Sam will be starting again at noon today. Here is his table:

56 1 Pat Atehison 189,000
56 2 Ken Lawrence 119,000
56 3 Avi Cohen 390,000
56 4 Rami Boukai 203,000
56 5 Bob Slezak 130,000
56 6 Adam Weiss 446,000
56 7 David G. Conway 248,000
56 8 Steven Jacobs 1,127,000
56 9 Samuel Padgett 467,000

Re: The Main Event!

Well, I am out in 504th for a cash of $25K.  Sam is still going strong at 460K chips.  Day 3 has just ended.  They are in the middle of the 15th level, 3K/6K blinds with at 1K ante.  The average chip stack is right around 360K and there are around 339 players left.  The payout level is at $39K now and will jump to $45K once they reach 288 players.  Play resumes tomorrow at noon pacific time.

 

My day just started out really bad.  I had 139K to begin the day.  My new table draw was not too favorable with several really good agressive players around me.  There were a few really tight players, but every single pot was a raised pot preflop.  I played a couple pocket pairs early for raises and got reraised off them, so right off the bat I was down to ~110K.  After that, I tightened up some and just couldn't get any cards at all.  I won a total of 2 hands that first level and was down to ~60K.  I was able to pick off a late position raiser by shoving with 99 in the BB and that got me back to 75K.  This is when hand for hand started with about 635 players remaining.  It took about 14 hands to burst the money bubble and by then I was down to ~55K. 

 

So finally, we get to playing again.  Third hand into it, I'm in the BB.  The same late position raiser comes in for another standard raise.  I look down at ATo and decide to make my stand and shoved my last 55K in.  He instacalls with JJ.  Guy to my left says he folded an A... great.  I say "dealer, give me two tens".  Sure enough, flop comes TT6 and I double up.  I go to dinner break with 97K.

 

After dinner, blinds go to 2.5K/5K with a 500 ante.  I'm looking to double up some how.  Bout third hand into it, I find AJo in middle position and bring it in for a standard raise of 15K.  It's folded around to the BB who is the big stack at the table with 700K in chips.  He calls.  Flop comes J84 with 2 clubs.  He says the flop hits him, I'm thinking that's good and bet.  He calls.  Turn is an offsuit 3, I bet, he calls.  River is K of clubs.  He goes all in.  I have 35K left at this point and the pot is ~165K.  For some reason, I didn't put him on the flush draw and decided to call off the rest of my chips.  He flips A9 of spades for the nuts.  Doh.  At first I thought he had ace high and was ready to rake the pot.  I don't think there is any way I get away from this hand and the big stack is not folding either, so I think I get stacked here no matter how I play it. 

 

I guess I'll just have to wait for next year. :-(  Thanks for all the support!  We still got Sam to cheer on and he's got chips to play with!

 

Wei Yan Chan

Day 3 Dinner Break update

Dinner break. The guys both doubled last level!

Sam: 350K
Wei Yan: 97K

They have also reached the $25,000 payouts.

Day 3 Update - We're in the money!

8:35pm - Wei Yan has called to say that the last 1-1.5 hours has been excruciatingly slow! Hand for hand for so long. Players were busting as we speak & I hear the announcement that they've moneyed and the cheers in the background!

Sam & Wei Yan have officially made it past the bubble and have made the 1st payout of $20K.

Wei Yan reports that he now only has 57K and Sam has $160(someone confirm?). Blinds are 2K-4K, so Wei Yan can officially push-or-fold to his hearts content. On the bubble, he folded pocket 8s on the button with 2 big stacks still to act after a small stack pushed. Good luck guys!

Here is how the guys started as far as official chip counts.

Here is also a list of the payout structure. Last report was that they were down to 553, so they are already getting ready to jump a level.

End of Day 2

END OF DAY 2. They both SURVIVED.

Wei Yan: 139,000
Sam: 208,800

Varying reports from different sites, but ~800 survived day 2A. 621 get paid. Sam says 800, some site say 808, others say just under 800.

Play starts Thursday at noon and players should be in the money in the first couple levels on Thursday. They'll be starting the day at Level 11 (37 min left). Blinds will be $1,200/$2,400 with $300 antes.

Day 2 - Last Break of the day

HUGE level for Wei Yan. End of level 10. 1 hour 20 minutes of play left today.

Wei Yan: 130K
Sam: 185K

Check out CardPlayer update log. Story about John Murphy titled "Commanding Respect" - Sam is seat 3, but gets revenge in this level by taking John Murphy out.

I finally get a call in the middle of the night that wakes me from my sleep that is welcomed. It's Wei Yan telling me he feels like he's in good shape & not to worry (Not some customer service support person from work telling me they've screwed something up & need help to fix things).

Day 2 - Dinner Break

The guys have both made it through. Only 3 more hours of play left!

Sam: 160K
Wei Yan: 68K

Sam now has Chip Jett & John Murphy at his table (latest chip counts say they have a combined 400K in chips).

Next Blind level is 1K/2K with $300 antes.
Play resumes at 8:30pm PST and ends right after midnight. 100K avg stack.
72 tables still in action, with 639-648 players still in. That puts the total remaining field to right under 1,000 - so only ~350 more players need to go out til the guys get to the money.

Day 2B - 2nd break

The guys are almost 1/2 way through the day now and both still in. On their 2nd break - at the end of level 8.

Sam: 115K
Wei Yan: 41K

Chip Jett sat down directly to Sam's left with 300K. Wei Yan is sweatin' - knowing he needs to accumulate some chips soon. He's got ~25x the big blind, so he's not totally short stacked yet, but they've announced that they've gone < 800 players before the break, so he's got to survive several more hours. Yesterday ended at 12:04am when they hit 350 players, so tonight they will play until 12:04 as well. They guys will need to survive tonight & make it through part of the day tomorrow before they make it to the money. Get some cards & some flops, turns & rivers, guys!

Fwd: DAY 2

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Samuel Padgett
Date: Jul 11, 2007 5:09 PM
Subject: Re: DAY 2

End of level 7.

Sam: 100K
Wei Yan: 43K

Sam
--
Sent from my iPhone

Main Event: Day 2

Day 2 for Wei Yan & Sam will start at noon Pacific time (3pm EST) today. After 2 days to rest up and not play any poker, hopefully they will be rested & ready to play. It looks like they should play until about midnight. At the end of the day, there should be less than 1000 players left. A little over 600 get paid. (Last night at 8pm there were ~500 from the 1st day 2 field from the 1,000 players that started). Sam & Wei Yan's day 2 should start with ~1300 players.

Sam start the day with 71,500 chips. Wei Yan has 51,900. Wei Yan calculated that it will cost us about 100,000 in blinds and antes to play Day 2, so we definitely can't sit back. We'll have to pick our spots and sometimes move some chips.

Interesting article on CBS (one of the only sites I can get to from work) about how the pros are dealing with their fame & everyone knowing how they play.

A long time WSOP dealer had this to say

The player who ends up winning is generally, in my opinion, the player who gets most lost in the crowd," Bowen said. "It's the players who don't flamboyantly make dramatic entrances into the pot that are going to be there at the end.

So, I think Wei Yan and Sam will have their tight images at the table, but for the most part won't be drawing too much attention. They will have to be careful about the 1 play that players might remember, but they definitely won't be all out there.

Main Event Day 1 results

Just to clarify, out of the 6,358 players that entered the main event it looks like 2,395 players are left after day 1. Wei Yan and Sam's chip count rankings are just out of the 680 players left on the day that they played. One more day of rest before the grind starts again. The estimates are that they will need to make it to day 3 before the money, but that of course depends on how fast folks are going out.

From the CardPlayer.com Main Event updates:

Mon Jul 09 19:10:00 PDT 2007
Players on Dinner Break
Official Numbers

The tournament details have just been announced. 6,358 players entered this year's main event, creating a $59,784,954 prize pool. This tournament will pay 621 places, with 621st place taking home $20,320 and 1st place place pocketing $8,250,000. The full prize pool will be updated shortly.

I am 154th from Day 1C. Wei Yan is 272nd.

http://www.cardplayer.com/tournaments/results/7278?day=11407&page=8
http://www.cardplayer.com/tournaments/results/7278?day=11407&page=14

I've already started looking at yachts and am considering buying a villa in Italy.

- Sam

Day 1C Recap: AC-TI-ON

We played poker almost 16 hours yesterday. We started at noon and weren't done bagging and tagging our chips until 3:45am. Grueling day.

It's been a curious tournament for me so far. My stack has fluctuated wildly, up and down, up and down. Up to 35K, down to 15K, up to 70K, down to 45K, until I finally finished the day at 72,500, 154th for Day 1C according to Card Player.

So I folded KK preflop. Third hand. I was taking my first sip from my first cup of coffee and settling in for a long day of poker. Blinds 50/100, stacks 20K. UTG folds, UTG+1, a young guy with a shaved head in PokerStars gear and black wraparound sunglasses, makes it 425. Folded to me in the small blind. I squeeze my cards. Black Kings. I take back my blind and throw out three purple chips, announcing, "1500." The other blind folds.

UTG+1 stares me down. He hems and haws. He riffles his chips and thinks. A minute passes. "1500, huh?" he says. More riffling. Finally he says, "6000."

Uh oh. I get a sick feeling. I routinely play 200 blinds deep on Absolute, and I hate hate HATE sticking it all in with Kings preflop. You only get action from one hand. I think. 6K to go, and we only have 20K chips. Not enough to play for a set. Too few chips to consider folding the flop if I call here. He raised in early position. I reraised out of the blinds. He has to put me on a monster. And he reraises, after making a show of it.

Isn't there some rule about folding Kings preflop? I don't care. I muck.

After a few orbits, I start to get a feel for the table. I got a relatively tough table draw. A lot of aggressive players who like to move chips. Two of them are from Spain, and they talk to each other in Spanish between hands. Who knows what they are saying. Sketchy.

One of the Spaniards is crazy aggressive, borderline maniacal. He doesn't speak any English. He only knows "I check, I raise!" and "AC-TI-ON! AC-TI-ON!" which he chanted repeatedly midway through level 4. And he moves chips. He will bet if checked to. He will check-raise with draws, air. He doesn't like to fold, but can make laydowns. This guy caught cards and built a huge stack midway through the day. He was two to my right. We played a lot of hands.

One hand I misplayed -- maybe badly -- one of the ones that took me back to 15K chips after the start of level 3:

Blinds 200/400. I have in the neighborhood of 25K chips. Crazy dude covers. He limps first in. I am dealt AQs in late middle position. I make it 1600. Folded back to the limper who calls.

Flop is JJ4 rainbow. He checks. I consider betting, but I don't think he'll fold. It's a scary flop that isn't likely to have hit me. He might checkraise. He likes to make plays. I think he'll bet the turn if I check. I check to induce the turn bluff or to try to check it down, a play I make in cash games sometimes.

Turn comes a 6. He bets as expected, but it's a big bet. 3500. Hm. I stick to the plan and call. I put him on two cards, and I think he'll probably bet the river no matter what.

River is an 8. He leads for 3500 -- again. Ugh. Looks like a blocking bet. I'm getting 4:1. How did I get in this spot? Hm. I call. Maybe it's a mistake.

He flips over 77. I nod and muck, and the other players at the table look confused. It was probably a bad play, maybe my worst hand from Day 1. Having gotten to the river that way, the right thing to do was to SHOVE. I don't think he calls without a Jack.

One more hand from later in the level, one I might have played OK: Same villain. I have about 20K. I look down at 9s9c and make it 1200 from UTG+1. Folded to villain who calls.

Flop 654, two spades. He checks. I bet 2500. He raises to 7000.

A checkraise with these stacks in this spot is generally bad news. I only have Nines, but I'd seen villain checkraise a draw in a similar spot and also check top set three times in earlier hands. He would slowplay a set. As an early position raiser, it's not likely I have a draw. I decide he's probably got a flush draw or maybe a straight draw or some weak gutshot/pair hand. I push. He calls, and flips over 53o. He has a pair and is open ended. We're flipping coins.

Turn is the As. River 8s. My hand is good.

Day 2 is Wednesday. Gogogo!

- Sam

Day 1C is done!

Day 2 day 2 day 2

We survived the last level. It ended about 3:30am this morning. We're eating breakfast now at Paris talking about hands.

Wei Yan doubled the first hand in the final level and ended the day with 52K. I finished with 72,500. Average stack is about 50K, so we're well positioned for day 2, which is Wednesday.

Ok time to go to bed

Sam

Talked to Wei Yan this morning as well. They finished at 3:30am and had to bag up chips - so they did not get out of there to well into the morning. That is one heck of a long day of poker! Congrats on making it to Day 2! Rest up for Wednesday, guys!

Day 1C - Last break of the day

Email from Sam:

End of level 5. Huge level for me! Up to 65K chips. One more level
today until we get to sleep...

Wei Yan had a rough 2 hours, unfortunately. He's back down to 22K
after losing a large pot with JJ.

Today has been grueling.

Sam

Day 1C - 11pm break

End of level 4. Tournament started 11 hours ago. Sam has 40K chips. Wei
Yan is down to 29K. Average stack is about 30K.

Next level: 300/600 ante 50

Main Event Day 1C - Dinner break update

Dinner break and both Sam & Wei Yan are still in it!
Wei Yan has 39K. Sam has 29K.
The word on the street is that it will probably go til 3am in the morning.

Day 1B started with 1,545 players and 610 players survived. So that puts it at 1055 players from 1A & 1B advancing to day 2. Today (1C) started with 1706. There have been a total of 4,498 players so far - tomorrow will let us know what the final numbers will be.

I'm headed to bed soon, but maybe Sam will give us an update for all of us East Coasters to wake up to.

Good luck, guys!

Day 1C - 2nd break update

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Samuel Padgett
Date: Jul 8, 2007 7:42 PM
Subject: Re: The Main Event!
To: Samuel Padgett

End of 2nd level. I have 28K. Wei Yan has 33K.

Sam
--
Sent from my iPhone

Day 1C - 1st break

Wei Yan sat down and the dealer pointed out to him that his registration card said Saturday July 7th. After talking with the floor and hoping not to have to play on the last start day, there was a seat available on table 33 - so the day began there.

1st break at 2pm - Sam has 17K, Wei Yan has 22K.

Sam laid down KK preflop on the 3rd hand. Wei Yan flopped top 2 pair with J-10 and had to lay it down the the turn & river being 9, Q - that was a big pot that he lost a few thousand on. Had won big pots with pocket aces and flopping a set of 3s with pocket 3s and was up to around 25K before the J-10 hand.

The Main Event has begun

Wei Yan is at table 68. I'm at 67. Sam has promised to try to send updates, but they're strict about cell phone use.

Andrew went out 26 in the Venetian deep stacks tourney. Out of the money, but Wei Yan and Sam are going to try to convince him to play a satellite.

Main Event

Wei Yan, Sam & Andrew headed off to Vegas Friday evening. Wei Yan went without crutches since his gout has subsided enough to allow him to walk somewhat slowly.

Wei Yan and Sam registered for the WSOP Main Event - start day #3 - Sunday at noon. Since the event is so large there are 4 starting days. The 1st day (Friday - day 1A) started with 1,287 players and only 445 survived the 1st day. Saturday's 1B started with 1515. Over 5K have registered and they are expecting about 7,000 players.

Andrew's Venetian deep stacks tourney started at noon today with 130 entants. As of 8pm Eastern time, he was still in - on dinner break with 37 players left & 18 getting paid. He has 31K - which is slightly below average. Good luck, Andrew. We are all ready to have 3 representatives of our Friday night game in the Main Event!

Wei Yan and Sam have reportedly spent the day at Bally's playing 2-4.

Best of luck, guys! Represent!

Last day of Spring

Some old friends came through town today. We missed out on dinner with a bunch of folks at Jason's Deli, but after a night spent on porch on a cool spring evening out on a farm - I'm kind of glad we missed the gathering and made the extra effort. I've been complaining so much about how our cold winter lasted a little too long this year and then went straight to the balmy hot as heck summer, but I spoke too soon. Tonight was gorgeous, and we had a great time hanging out and listening to stories. I guess that's why I'm not in much of a hurry to build a deck on our house. It just won't have that same feel - not in our neighborhood with the houses so close & no trees. But I did learn when it is appropriate to argue with a person pointing a gun at you. Dangerous, but sometimes necessary.

Happy Father's Day

 

The Happiest Place on Earth

 

So at the end of our family trip to Disneyland, we started out with 11 people in line to see Nemo's submarine ride. After 20 minutes and a chat with a security guard, we were down my uncle. After about an hour, one little one was passed out and so, we were down 2 more. Hit another line switch and we are down another. Then grandma is looking thoroughly bored and totally ready to go home, so then she's outta there and my brother goes with her. After almost 2 hours, we are in the submarine and one cousin apologizes and is outta there - claustrophobia. And then there were 4. Can't say it was fully worth the wait, but I do wonder how they projected images through water onto screens and it's probably worth a 30 min wait once the lines die down.

Familiarity

 

So when we went to California - we got to visit my old college roommate & her husband (who is also an old college friend). We met their new baby. And, I'm not really ga-ga over peoples babies, but I've come to realize that my comfort level is based on how close I feel to the parents. I see other people walk up to complete strangers and touch their baby. I guess I don't feel a real desire to do this, but I still think it's pretty weird. If I were the parents, I wouldn't want some stranger just intruding into my grocery shopping trip and invading my personal space (er, I guess the baby's personal space). But, I usually have a "I'm getting things done now" attitude when I'm out doing errands anyway - chatting with strangers is not my thing for the most part. Not being shy or unfriendly (but I am still the nerd who is fine sitting in my cube all day) - maybe just more private. But anyway, yeah, I guess I never really feel all that comfortable with a baby unless I am really comfortable with the parents. So Wei Yan and I had a fun time playing with the new 3 month old. And our friends even said it was nice to get a little break from entertaining her.

Golden Nugget - the pool to lounge at

 

The Golden Nugget recently renovated their pool. If you are ever down on Fremont street - take the kiddies or just lounge out down here when you need a break from the tables. We went at night and it was one of the only places in Vegas where I've seen folks hanging out outside and looking really relaxed. Yes folks, those are REAL sharks in that tank - and, yup, you can slide right through that tank! (OK, it's not open at night, but still very cool)

WSOP

Saturday, Wei Yan survives the day in Event 15. I stay until Wei Yan makes the money and then around 12:30am head off to catch the shuttle from Rio to Bally's before is shuts down for the night. Wei Yan has to play until 2am before he can sleep. Knowing his in the money, I get some sleep.

Sunday, I get up at 10am and head over to the Rio. Some scary looking women walking around - as in it's hard to tell that they actually are women. I grab some cha sha bao's from the Chinese place and eat while I wait. Noon and I find my table. Luckily they all look like women. At my first table, I'm playing aggressively, but making some descent lay downs. No running into Kings with AK at this first table for me.

The table is real quite. Someone jokes that no one wants to be the first one out. And it's true, once the first one goes, the mood lightens up. This table is definitley a bit quieter than last year (i.e., the women don't suck as bad - bummer) Tables start breaking after about an hour & a half. Kathy Leibert sits down at our table. And yup, we're all quite again. We're all eyeing her sizeable chip stack. Not much happens there. I raise a few times and hold my breath as she folds...the story that could have been. Then we break and I'm moved to a table in the 2nd row. Just a few hands in, it folds around to the small blind who raises to 300 (we're at 50-100). I look down at Queens - I know she's got at least a strong Ace, since she's small stacked & hasn't done anything but fold up til now. I raise to 1K. She pushes for another 750. I'm getting almost 4 to 1 (yeah, I know, not quite) and know I need to get lucky at some point. I'll have 2,500 left if I call - and I know I'm beat but I gotta do it. She has Aces of course and no luck in the cards to come.

Built my stack back up to 4,500 - then did some stupid chasing cuz I was in the small blind and I was back down to 2K before I know it. Folded around to me in the cutoff & I look down at KQ suited & push. Button calls (doesn't push) with AQ and even though the flop came A-8 of hearts, no more hearts and I'm done. 3rd round.

But Wei Yan is still in. While I'm still bummed, it's a few more hours of watching poker. He ends up coming in 89th and wins a little money, so he's 2 for 2 in WSOP events. Can't beat that!

Caesar's tourney

 

Yesterday everyone arrived in Vegas. Ate at TAO (Venetian) - it was ok, but I've had better. I mean, we did just get back from HK. Today, we all (mostly) enter the Caesar's $200 tourney. By 7pm, I'm the only one of our crew left and it's down to the final 2 tables. I bust 10th - missing the final table, but now have a good chunk of my ladies event buy in. Mentally exhasted though!

Yup, it's happening

So, CNN posted an article about "Wiitis"" but I like "Wiinjury" better. At least is sounds less wimpy.

count down to Vegas begins

In just a little over 48 hours from now we'll be on a plane to Vegas. The whole crew + a few new additions will be joining us this year. Decided to go ahead and buy into the ladies event. so that's sunday at 11am. no partying on sat night for me. :-)

kobe

So the questions is, "What the heck is going on with Kobe?"

Yesterday, listening to Kobe's interview was funny. Halfway through it, Smith told everyone that it was early in LA, so Kobe sounded dumb (my interpretation) cuz he was sleepy. Kobe gave props to Shaq for backing him up then told everyone how the Laker organization was calling Shaq a rip off and fat and not worth renewing a contract with. Not sure Shaq wants a hug from Kobe. He said, he said drama with the Lakers....so lame. Everyone knows that everyone is unhappy with Lakers basketball. Playing out the drama on the national newswire is not the way to fix things. Grow up! Take your $136 Million & play some ball! You think that's what Phil told him?

The Big 3-O

 

Here's shwee dishing with the ladies on his take on grey's anatomy.

 

And the guys later that night after the poker had begun. Thanks to everyone who helped me celebrate!

Bad day

We went to lunch yesterday at Akashi which is on Hwy 54 between Hwy 55 & Alston (Right next to China Express). When we came back to the car after lunch, this is what we found. The front door was closed, but the window looked like this! Guess they saw a bag I was using as a gym bag on the floor in the back (the windows are tinted and they still saw it). They found work out clothes and nothing else, so they didn't take anything else as far as we can tell, but the window still is going to cost $535 to replace. Good thing we have a glass policy with our auto insurance, so the deductible is lower than our comprehensive deductible.

This really stinks, cuz I normally make sure I don't leave anything on the seats (too easy to smash & grab out of convenience) and I would not leave anything tempting around. But I guess my free lancome tote does look like a "purse" to a dumb guy criminal. On Monday, I left a dirty tuperware container in that bag. It stunk after being in a warm car all day - so too bad I had already taken that home, or else the punk would have had a great surprise.

So, I had to take the rest of the day off. Took a lunch that was already on the longer side, then had to wait for 30 min for the cops to get there, probably another 30 min to write the report and then go to Honda to get the estimate before it started raining. Then another hour talking with insurance. The Durham officer who did the report was really nice, so it helped get me not so mad about it. Still not mad, just bummed at all the hassle.

Taking a Look Around

So the day before yesterday, I met up with some girlfriends from our work softball team. We went to go walk through my pilates partner's townhouse (still under construction) and then we went to Frankie's to get some batting practice before our softball season starts. We got there and they said the batting cages were closed because the machines were wet (guess it really did rain quite a bit on Wednesday) - so on the way to the Ale House, we stopped by my house since neither of them had seen it (or at least all of it).

I gave them a quick tour around - I'm not much of a tourperson, but they were there to see our house. Downstairs was a bit messy, with Wei Yan just getting back from Vegas - but the upstairs is crazy messy. The office & bonus room are probably the worst. So much paper everywhere. Junk mail, craft stuff, catalogs, receipts - it's just everywhere. Well, we are going to make an effort to get some stuff together for the community garage sale in 2 weeks - so perhaps this will motivate us to purge a bit! I guess I just avoid some of the rooms upstairs - or just don't have a reason to go into them that often. But, I was just telling something yesterday, that when our duplex got ransacked & robbed in that year I took off of college, I was the last to know since my room was pretty cluttered. My roommates cries had to make me go back to my room & re-examine where I had left things before I figured it out! Perhaps it's time to clean up a bit. ;-)

Smart guy in the news

I read an article about this Dr. Collins in the Carolina Review, and then today there is an article on CNN. The article in the Carolina Review was very interesting, because he is a really smart guy, but he also seems like a very stand-up guy as well. In the article, he described the whole competition with a private firm - his guys would sequence a new part of the humane genome & then publish it right away, so the private sector company couldn't sequence the next part & apply for a patent. Publishing the genes also allowed scientist to start using the data right away. He also mentioned that his first look into the human genome was to find the gene for Cystic Fibrosis - took 10 years and tons of money. Thus his interest in mapping the human genome began.

I was at Borders to see my friend Dan perform there - forgot the guy's name so I couldn't find the book he recently wrote. I'd buy the book on amazon, but I'm working on 3 months of Real Simple & Cooking Light magazines that have piled up with all the traveling we've been doing.

the ladies just couldn't do it for me last night

It was late. 4 players left. I'm in the big blind (1,000 - 2,000 blinds, $200 antes) - folds around to the small blind who asks me how much I have (~$26K) and then pushes. Sam is big stack and has me covered. I look down at pocket queens and call immediately. Sam has Q-10. I'm 87% to win. flop gives same an open ended. turn gives him the straight. would have been big stack and dead tired (had survived an all in on the button with 9-7 off, a put me out of my misery so i can sleep push). would have probably helped me (363) overtake sam (375) & peter (404) in the points, but last night was not my night. went out 4th.

Surprise!

Surprise!, originally uploaded by ...sam....

Wei Yan's 30th birthday was on Thursday, and we did the usual brazilian restaurant on that day. Then Saturday, with some help from CC and Ted, we got him good! This was right after the surprise when he realized that there weren't 30 people in the house there to just scream at him when he opened the door - they were all there for him.

Thank you to everyone who was able to make it. Wei Yan has never had a surprise party or a big birthday party, so this one was extra special. :-)

ACC Quarterfinals 2007

 
This video is one of my favorite memories of the tournament so far. In keeping with some of the terrible officiating that we've seen today, the officials give this one to BC, but it's worth a replay or two.

Roy's boys 

Supporting Hansborough in his return after the broken nose! 

Miami's fan section - yup that's it 
Congrats to State on their 2 upsets so far. Keep it going! 

ACC Tourney - Day 1

Day one, we take off from RDU at 6:30am. Southwest is oversold, but luckily a few folks take the deal & we get on after a few tense moments. Day 1 is eventful. Games 1-3 are all close, upset city and Game 3 (Duke - NC State) goes into overtime. NC State pulls away in overtime, but up until then it was a close game.
Georgia Tech & Wake kick it off a bit late because of the previous overtime. About 5 min from half time, the officials are calling fouls left and right and the ball is getting turned over - I think we're lucky if we get 20 seconds of action before the game is stopped for 1 reason or another. Half time hits, Wei Yan's contacts are feeling it and even though it's close, Georgia Teck is looking pretty good. We decide to head home, since the game looks to be heading past midnight and we've been up since 4:45am (and that is after heading to bed late after finishing packing). We get back to the hotel just to find out the game is not on TV. Mental lapse. We keep checking the scores and by the 2nd overtime, we just can't hang on & we're asleep before the the game is decided.
 
After realizing Wednesday night that maybe I should have opted out of the red highlights - in case we get in a game with Maryland or State, I realize that now my hair is Florida State colors! Some one remind me Carolina blue next time! 

Short week

We are heading off to Tampa, FL tomorrow morning to go to the ACC Tournament. We have yet to sell our 2nd set of tickets, guess we'll have to do that in Tampa. Guess we'll be taking a huge loss on them, but nothing we can really do about that. Darn supply & demand! Hurts to be on the wrong end of that one.

I'm pooped. Even though it was just a few days at work, there have been some changes at work with the charity committee - and that ended up taking a lot out of me emotionally. The money we had control over is now in someone else's hands and we'll just be making recommendations. Trying to figure out what our role is in our growing company and will all the powers that be pulling, pushing & not really considering us. No one will tell us what our role is, and so we'll just have to figure it out and I'm feeling the burden to care not just about what event will have our logo & name all over it, but in using our resources as a group of people to help others who are less fortunate than us. We may have the greatest morale - but I think it is always important to help others and be grateful for what we have no matter how little or how much.

And a big project is coming up, and seems that it will require a lot of leadership skills and responsibilities. So much for taking it easy. Ah, well, all is good - 3 hours in the salon tonight - I think I may end up just forgetting about the color - I'll wait til I'm gray to do that whole deal. Thanks, Car for reading my blog.

Pizza Hut pan pizzas

Does anyone eat Pizza Hut regularly? I can't remember the last time I actually at a Pizza Hut pizza. When we were in Hong Kong, we saw a Pizza Hut delivery scooter and we were talking about the whole Pizza Hut thing. Then I remembered the reading program where we read books & then earned little individual pizzas. I think that was really the only time I've really eaten at Pizza Hut. There was a recent article saying how the Book It program is still going, but now under fire because of the whole childhood obesity thing. I can't remember if this was the same thing as the little green worm - where each book was another little round body part that you added to your worm. Does anyone one else remember this? Was the worm thing something else.

Happy Feet winning an Oscar???

I saw Cars and I saw Happy Feet. I did not see Monster House, but Happy Feet did not deserve an Oscar. It was terrible. Yes, the plot was bad. The animation was OK, but I think that Cars had it's own great animation and had a much better story. I've heard that people thought Cars was boring - Happy Feet was plain just 2 preachy stories rolled into 1 movie. Watch March of the Penguin if you want to see a good story about penguins. The music is Happy Feet was just ok. If you want music - watch Dreamgirls. I could not disagree more with Happy Feet winning an Oscar. Maybe I'll watch Monster House just to confirm, I doubt it's necessary to change my mind. Lame, academy.

Carolina vs. State

Wei Yan and I were talking the other day about if I'm competative or not. My conclusion is that I'm not really competative, maybe vengeful, but not so competative. So, fittingly, we happened upong some tickets to the State game and it was quite satisfying. My friend, Bert is the lone guy in State Red! Top Left! On the Jumbo Tron, I can say that he definitely took his licks (hit by at least one t-shirt) and taunting. Much props for school spirit. Good thing Carolina won - otherwise Bert would have been pretty lonely. Apparently the other girl in pink is not a State fan, just a girl wearing a Carolina Girls shirt.

Go Heels!

Feb 20 - Back in NC

After a long plane ride home, we made it back safely!

 
This is us at the airport with all of our luggage at RDU. We only used 1 of the extra bags we brought, so not too bad (especially since we had to lug our stuff through customs)

Day 9 - Last full day in Hong Kon

We head to meet a family friend at Sogo. The other cousins have decided to just do something quick, since everyone is running behind. We meet Joanne and search for a place to eat. A lot of stuff is closed, so we eat sandwhiches & coffee at a cofee place. It's a quick meet up, and then we are off to meet some of Wei Yan's family. After meeting another one of Wei Yan's cousins, we get Japanese red bean pastries (the ones they make in the hot molds) and I try one filled with creme, which I've never had before. We decide on heading to Tsim Sha Tsui to shop a little and then to Temple street for more deals.

After shopping, we hop in a taxi & run into a little traffic. We end up getting to Dave's uncle's place at about 7:40pm. Fireworks start at 8pm. The light rain today & cloudy weather is an issue. Some of the fireworks are basekd by the clouds and you can only see the bottoms of the bursts. Dave and Eunice think that it looks better on TV, which it does, but we just enjoy the live view & take pictures/video. Afterwards, we go to Central station, but the restaurant ("tastey" congee) is too full. We head over to Times Square by taxi - and get a good shot of the IFC - it's a bit spookey with clouds covering the top. We eat at a restaurant instead that has lots of Northern chinese food. We see the guys behind a glass hand stretching noodles or making dumplings & putting them directly into the steamers. The food is good here, and again, I'm stuffed. We then head back to start packing.

I don't think any of us is looking forward to the 16 hours of flying, but I think all of us are ready to head home.

HK3

Day 8 - Kung Hey Fat Choy

Happy Lunar New Year!
We get a slow start, but need to be out to visit Wei Yan's grandmother by 2pm. We grab a quick roast pork bun & then arrive 15 min late. She is up & awake today. We wish her a Happy New Year and visit for a while. It's a bit hard to understand her because of the stroke, but she is able to smile on both sides of her face, more on one than the other, but enough that you can tell the left side has regained some mobility. Her eyes light up & she smiles when she recognized Wei Yand or when she sees me smiling at her. I'm pretty sure she doesn't know who I am or can't remember, but it's ok. We find out she is 95.

After the visit, we head back to Causeway Bay. We eat a mini cheesecake (which is more like a cheesecake flavored sponge cake) and check out Lai Chi Kok Park at the Mei Foo MTR station. There are some funny signs of what you can't do at the park, but we do see some Filipina maids playing cards in the park.

We decide on Japanese curry for dinner. Service is the most terrible of the whole trip. The curry gives me a bit of tummy ache, but after Dave finds me some antacid at a store, we end up heading out to check out an arcade. It's in the building right next to the Excelsior. It's pretty cheap - maybe $5 HK dollars at the most for a game. After that, we stop at the same place we got take out dessert before & we get some watermelon & strawberry slushy stuff with mini tapioca balls in it. Sam & Wei Yan head back to the bar at Excelsior for a beer, and I head back to the Apt with Dave. Not a very eventful day, the streets are eearily quite today - most folks are visiting family.

Day 7 - Saturday Feb 17th

We wake up and Wei Yan heads out to eat & pick up our laundry, and I opt to stay in and blog a little. I make a little instant coffee that I brought with me and a granola bar that we also brought with us to eat on the plane. Wei Yan returns with Eunice, Sam and no laundry, but has some spicy lo bo gao and squid jook. Both are pretty good minus a few shrimp shells in the lo bo gao and some weird white gelatinous stuff in the jook. I try to ask Wei Yan to look at the white stuff & remember what it was, but not tell me til after I'm done, but he immediately declares that he has no idea what is is. Before I'm done eating, Dave gets back with 2 bags of laundry. Seems that the lady at the laundry was afraid she lost a bag and lied saying that it wasn't there yet, when she was just trying to figure out what she had lost. Finally, she figures out that it's all there, and gave him the laundry.

We head out to the Big Buddha. We have to take a few trains and make a few connections. A bunch of people get out on the Disney stop - it is definitely a far way out there and Dave tell us the ticket price is high. Doesn't take a genius to figure out why it's not that popular. We finally get out at the end of the line & hop on the tram. It's all enclosed except for these vents that create a huge breeze - although I can appreciate how it would help in the winter, it's just cold. I'm glad Wei Yan reminded me that I would need a jacket since it's 5F degrees colder up here. It's a big foggy, but after we get funnelled through a store at the top of the tram, we can see the Buddha. We walk through a small street with a bunch of stores & restaurants. Feels a little like Disneyland and very un-mimimalistic. Dave eats some healthy jelly made from tortise shell - which we get Sam to taste. He declares that it's not that bad, but the rest of us just watch Dave eat the black jelly that he is eating for health reasons instead of taste. We walk over to the bottom on the Buddha. We decide to head up the stairs first. Everyone is a little winded and definitely feels the stairmaster burn. Once at the top we take a bunch of pictures, enjoy the view of the monastary and look around. Wei Yan gets about 4 calls while we are up there so I take off to take some pictures and look around. The inside underneath the Buddha is a round room where there are what look like names written all over with a few peoples' pictures. A few pictures of Buddha and basic stories. I head outside & wait at the top of the stairs for the guys. A lady makes it to the top & her friend asked her in a Southern accent if she felt 70 yet! The lady takes the 70 year olds picture at the top - reward for all that work and then she asks the 2 other ladies if they want their picture taken and they reply something to the effect of them not taking pictures.

Anyway, find the guys and head back down the stairs. The guys then eat some jerky & other snacks that Eunice brought with her (she stayed at the bottom of the stairs). I take a picture of the guys eating their jerky, and then a picture near the entance to the monastary that says "vegetarian food only" - there was no sign in the common central area, but I still find it ironic. Seems more commercial than religious, although I see a few people bowing & praying to the Buddha. We check out the monastary - the temple here is definitely the most ornate. We find out that the monastary is trying to build a new temple about 4 times the size of the existing one - and you can donate for certain things - 1,000 for a brick, 500,000 for a dragon pilar. Then we opt not to eat & head back down.

We grab a bite to eat at the bottom - it's like a Moe's burrito place but with different types of rice instead of tortillas. Pretty good. We head on the MTR back to Causeway Bay for Won Ton Noodle soup. It's a chain that they have in Ontario too - and Dave says that the Ontario branch is better. I try the noodles with vinegar and chili sauce like Dave & Eunice and it's much better than I think it's going to be. Then we stop at a shop to buy dried sea cucumbers. They look like turds in a jar, but at least they have no heads or eyes. There are some dried scallops too - but again, no heads or eyes. Sam & I discuss this fact. It's taking some time, so I check out the back of the store despite the smell. There are some type of lizard dried up & some sea horses that Wei Yan points out, so I report to Sam that we were wrong - they do have stuff with eyes & heads, so it really is that bad. We purchase few more things and then head back.

Then it's off to see Wei Yan's grandmother & meet his uncle's family. It's a long commute. Wei Yan's grandma is sleeping so she ends up not making it to dinner. We go to see her afterwards and the place is really crappy as EVERYONE warns us. We're glad for the warning, but it still is bad. It takes his grandmother about 5 minutes to wake up. When she finally does she does smile quite big when recognizing Wei Yan, but she is pretty out of it still. We leave her after getting Wei Yan's mom on the phone to talk to her and make arrangements to come back tomorrow. After getting back, we head to the Excelsior & meet up with Sam. We opt for the bar downstairs since the streets are packed for the New Year's fair. After some beers (Irish coffee for me) and some appetizers (onion rings & wings) - Wei Yan & I head to check out the fair. It's now 2:30am - and Dave says that it usually dies down by 2am. We finally make it into the fair, and then we are stuck. It's one way down a row of vendors - and you can barely move in any direction. Wei Yan calls Dave & we head sideways and then back despite the one way. We finally meet him at a Coke-a-cola tent & decide to just leave.

We're tired and despite the smoke from the bar, we just sleep. It's probably 4AM now and the streets are still full.

Day 6 - Returing to Hong Kong

We wake up a bit late - miss our free breakfast. When we catch up with the others, they report that we haven't missed much. Although Wei Yan is disappointed to have missed bacon. We head out to some square. Here we have double steamed milk pudding - delicious, hot & a little sweet. We have a sandwich that is made of a crispy bread (like a french roll) and a grilled pork cutlet - pretty yummy. We split a coconut bun and then are off to find something else for Wei Yan to eat. There is a street market that leads up to what remains of a church - it's just the face of the church since Eunice says that the rest burned in a fire. Wei Yan finds fried dumplings and I have a tea boiled egg. Then we are accosted by street vendors wanting us to try their almond cookies & jerky. Wei Yan of course obliges them. We decide not to buy anything just yet, since we'll have to carry everything around & our boat is reserved for midnight.

By the end of the road, before we get to the church, we've broken down & buy a bunch of stuff at Pastelaria Koi Kei. After the 4th jerky purchase, Eunice tells Wei Yan that he can't bring unlabelled meat to the US. If it doesn't state that it doesn't have beef with an official "Ingredients" section, then he won't be able to bring it in. So he stops and makes his purchase. The jerky is in individual bags that get sealed up after you make your pick, so he can't really put it back. We get some cookies and then take some pictures in front of the church. We also see a guy making something that seems like a crepe, until I realize that he is putting a slip of nori (seaweed) on it & some powdery cream-colored stuff & wrapping it up. Wei Yan buys 3 - and before I get to the middle of it, he tells me the powder stuff is meat. Odd, but not bad. I think it's probably an acquired taste, but it's actually not too bad. I get some fresh squeezed orange juice which is good because it's not too sweet.

Then we head back to our hotel to drop of our purchases. Then we head to this fisherman's wharf thing that is across the street. There is a huge fake volcano that Wei Yan & I can see from our hotel room. There is also some shops. I buy a coffee and we look at some of the shops. We see some girls dressed in some ethnic clothing & showing folks how to spin some toy - Wei Yan tried to take a picture, and we head off to a shop selling fake hello kitty stuffed animals. Wei Yan joins us and reports that he almost got run over by a cart that was carrying a tour group - some guy started talking to him and that's when he realized that they were stopped right next to him, honking at him while he was trying to get his picture.

We pass by some food, and Wei Yan spots some crispy skin pork. Eunice, Catherine & I are totally stuffed, so we're not sure how he can eat any more. He gets a container of crispy skin pork & roast pork and eventually we all give in & eat a little. We hear a guy talking in English on a cell phone and I decides that he is probably the most stereotypical gay sounding guy I've ever heard in person - not on TV or in a movie - but almost that stereotypical. We've seen a lot of feminine women and masculine men in Hong Kong, but this one is definitely the most out there. No purse though (we've seen a lot of guys carrying their woman's purse, but then also some that have their own). We head over to the Sands. Wei Yan & I head down to the non-smoking section & check out the Caribbean poker. He hits a good streak - even with the dealer informing him that he can surrender/fold. In the end he is up after last night's blackjack. He give the dealer a $50 HK tip - and we conclude that it was probably a bit much considering how surprised the dealer was. Then we find Dave & try our hand at Baccarat. We end up just following him. I guess there is a lot of superstition involved, because we can't really tell why this is interesting or exciting. You bet on either the dealer or the players hand. No decisions after that. We're up a little and before we meet everyone at 6:30, we decide to try the Caribbean poker again. We end up about even, up a few hundred and when I'm cashing out, I think I have $1,150 HK (about $125 US) - and the cashier gives me $1,050 - when I ask her, then end up counting everything in the drawer. After about 10 min, they conclude that no, they were right. Next time I won't ask. Finally we meet up with everyone else.

We hop in a taxi and head over to find some dinner. We end up walking down another alley of shops to a Portuguese/Macanese restaurant. We order some food - ribs, clams, curry chicken, fried chicken (like a fried, breadless rotisserie chicken), and garlic toast. I'm not really impressed with much - I think I only liked the African chicken - the rest of the food I can just not bother with next time. We head back to the hotel & grab out stuff. Now we have so many packages, we head to the docks and we're off on the 1st boat - we get on standby & forget about waiting until midnight.

Once back in the Apt, we put down all of our stuff & head out to find dessert, since I didn't eat much. It's super crowded since a lot of folks are at a fair at the park next to the Apt. Streets are already closed down, which makes it easier to navigate with all the people. We finally find the dessert place - and can't understand anything one the menu. We do see one has an English translation for Bird's nest (which is actually swallow spit) - so we look for something safe & after a bit are able to order. Wei Yan gets some curry fish balls & shu mai & we head back. It's pretty late now, since all of people made it difficult to navigate. When we return to the Apt, Dave is beat and head off to bed. Eunice stays & talks a while. The dessert is some mango & watermelon puree with slices of fruit & tiny mochis. Pretty good & a nice light way to end the evening. When Wei Yan gets to his shu mai, he's mystified - then Eunice tells him that the street vendors put a lot of flour in them dumplings. Wei Yan can't even tell there is any shrimp - it looks like a white dough with a slightly pink coloring! He finishes a few & then dumps the rest.

I spend a while blogging & trying to write down some of the stuff we've done in the last 2 days. Wei Yan is snoring within 5 minutes. He is so knocked out that me squeezing his cheeks does nothing but variate his snoring sounds. I'm done at around 2:30am and we sleep. The bed at the hotel in Macau was like sleeping on a board, so our bed at the Apt, though small is feeling like a cloud.