Over the weekend, I volunteered for the San Francisco International Asian American Film Festival. I have been meaning to get involved with the festival for years, but their shift hours never quite matched up with my availability until now. Hooray for work/life [+ volunteering] balance!

I picked up two shifts, earning myself two tickets to the festival. One started off with taking tickets for an afternoon talk with Aasif Mandvi [The Daily Show, Today's Special, The Proposal] and finished off with passing out around two hundred boxes of popcorn with Toyota’s logo on the box. They’re a sponsor of the festival and were giving out free popcorn for select screenings. The second shift involved a giveway for the Asian Art Museum. I would have picked up more shifts, but with the timing, I wouldn’t have been able to actually SEE any of the films. A little disorganized in some areas, but considering the event is fueled by volunteers [volunteer:staff ratio is quite high], it was a good experience overall. I’d do it again if it fit into my schedule.

Update: The sister who has been working closely with the film festival for years also found the volunteering experience to be disorganized, so it wasn’t just me. Also, during one of her shifts [Youtube Panel], a group of high school girls tried sneaking in. When they were out of tickets, the girls were unruly and swearing at everyone in sight. LOL – glad I wasn’t working that particular shift, although telling off a bunch of tweens might have been hilarious.

So tonight, I’ll be checking out Dear Lemon Lima! From the film festival guide:

“Today I read the ‘un’ section of the dictionary and learned a lot about myself: I am: unpopular, unwanted, and unlovable,” scrawls 13-year-old misfit Vanessa into her dear diary, studded with rainbow hearts and cupcakes, and works her fortune-telling device (covered with unicorns, of course) until it gives her the answer it wants: that Philip, class dreamboat and first-class narcissist, loves her. Half Yup’ik Eskimo, Vanessa is the token minority at a prestigious private high school in suburban Alaska (Philip’s family helped her get a scholarship), ignored by most other students and only accepted by a motley crew of fellow outsiders, slackers and geeks. When Philip finally dumps her, Vanessa hits upon an odd idea to win him back: to lead a team in the “Snowstorm Survivor Challenge,” a high-school contest that “incorporates” (or appropriates) Native Alaskan survival techniques, and hopefully impress him with her skills. An assured comedy about gawky adolescence that doesn’t, despite its cuteness, sugarcoat the legacy of bigotry against Native Alaskans or the toxic overprotectiveness of modern parents, DEAR LEMON LIMA, features winning performances by part-Yup’ik (and first-time actor) Savanah Wiltfong and veteran Beth Grant (reprising her role from DONNIE DARKO) as an overenthusiastic school booster.

The San Francisco portion of the festival runs until Thursday, and then it heads down to San Jose for a few days. There’s usually some great films you wouldn’t get/think to see otherwise, so check it out if you can!

Update: This movie was excellent! It’s on Netflix if you want to check it out.

Early Sunday, we drove up to Sonoma for a day of barrel tasting. For $20, we each got a glass [RV got a mug for being DD], a bracelet, and basically tastings at each of the wineries we visited + food if they were serving bites. It was a great time, and I’m thoroughly impressed by the wineries and how “at home” they really make you feel. While I like drinking wine, I don’t really know all that much in terms of the process or the differences between geography/grapes and everything else that makes a wine unique, so I was expecting to feel intimidated, but there was really none of that. Everyone was out to have a good time!

Keane and I took a bunch of pictures [I think Keane might have taken more. Most photos I have of him are with a camera in front of his face.], so I decided to compile some in a video. It was my first time doing this, so it took quite some time, but I think it turned out quite nice. With a little practice, I’ll streamline the process and not stay up till 2:30am working on it. It was also my first upload to Vimeo – let me know what you think!

Russian River Wine Road Barrel Tasting 2010 from suki on Vimeo.

The purpose of the event is so that people can sample from the barrel and then buy futures. I did just that, and while my wallet is hurting, I don’t regret it at all. We visited wineries in the Dry Creek Valley – Fritz Underground Winery, Dutcher Crossing Winery, David Coffaro Estate Vineyard, Sbragia Family Vineyards, and Michel-Schlumberger Wine Estate. They weren’t too far from each other, so more time was spent at the wineries tasting than in the car transporting. We were pretty lucky with the weather too, considering it’s been fairly unpredictable lately. It’s somewhat schizophrenic, raining for fifteen minutes in an entire day or just suddenly hailing out of the blue.

I’m very excited about the wines that I bought [Surprisingly, a zinfandel included - I normally am not a fan], and it really would be an excuse to drive up to Sonoma again. In fact, I’m already eying an event in November that pairs wine and food at select wineries for $40/day or $60/weekend. You get a cookbook along with your ticket! I can only imagine this being more fun when my job is stable, and I’m no longer spending every cent on major appliances!

Even though I crossed this one off the list, I think it still counts towards it:

066 – Go wine tasting in the Bay Area.

It’s good to be eating again. RV and I grabbed a quick dinner at Banana Island before heading back to the house. We’d been there before, but both of the dishes we ordered were not what we remembered, so sort of a surprise for the palate.

Just showing off the pictures that the new camera is taking. It’s probably not too much different from the iPhone pictures I used in previous entries since I have them at such small sizes. The larger photos are noticeably better. It arrived much earlier than expected, and I’m loving it so far! My other point-and-shoot was about a handful of years old, so it was time to replace it.

I can’t wait to take it up to Sonoma tomorrow! A bunch of us are heading up for Russian River Wine Road’s 32nd Annual Barrel Tasting. Poor RV has been dubbed the DD though, so he won’t be tasting the wines. From looking at tweets about the barrel tasting, DDs aren’t left out at all – some wineries provide lemonade and snacks! It should still be a lot of fun for everyone.

I love wandering into a random [somewhat, as I'd searched online for reviews first] place and finding something that just triggers happy feelings. Ian and RV were meeting up for their monthly [every-so-often, but should be more often than that] drinks. I tagged along after suggesting the place and fell in like. It’s not love yet because I haven’t seen it at other hours, but for a Sunday afternoon, it was nice.

My friend, Kara, recently started a blog called “I Love It, SF.” In it, she explores the great things about San Francisco and documents with brilliant photos and of course, writing. I’d really like to get back into that as well, capturing the moments that truly make life fantastic [superduperly so]. I recently replaced my point-and-shoot camera with the assistance of some friends on which one to pick out. This Canon SD780 IS is on its way to me now, so I’ll have photos to go along with stories!

Yes, it’s RED!

I feel as if I have tricked my orthodontist. I went in on Friday with the saddest face ever and complained about not having any real food for eight weeks [aka FOREVER]. To my surprise, he bought it, and the bands didn’t come back on once they were removed. I’m hoping it isn’t a fluke. I am seeing the oral surgeon this week, so hopefully he is okay with all of this.

In the meantime, I’m showing off that I can open up my mouth about an inch. Parts of the inside of my mouth are still numb, so I can’t really tell where the food is when it’s in my mouth. I put the food in, move my jaw up and down in chomping motions, and then swallow. So far, it has worked!

Here’s what I’ve eaten since the bands came off:

- unblended rice porridge
- unblended taro tapioca dessert
- really soft carrots, but the curry they were cooked in didn’t sit well with my stomach
- “water egg” [a common Chinese dish at our dinner table made of steamed water and eggs]
- grapefruit
- Garlic Fish and Spicy Eggplant over rice [take-out from local Chinese place]
- chocolate/banana/peanut milk smoothie
- thick cut [therefore, starchy] french fries with their jagged ends ripped off
- two small pieces of sushi [Salmon/Avocado and Spicy Tuna]

This is so great. I am SO happy to be off liquids. Keeping my fingers crossed that the oral surgeon doesn’t throw the bands back on when I see him this week!

On top of finally being able to eat, I love being able to talk again. Who knew I had so many words in me? I didn’t really notice until I couldn’t speak.

The latest internet craze is purchasing in groups. There are quite a few websites out there that offer location-based deals in bulk. To name a few, Joffer, Groupon, TownHog, LivingSocial. I could go on since they seem to be popping up everywhere.

Anyway, the latest offer I “took advantage” of was with LivingSocial. $10 for $20 of desserts at Creations, a Hong Kong-style dessert place. Unfortunately, the fine print is that the entire value must be used in one visit. While the desserts at Creations tend to be on the pricier side, they are not $20 pricey. To fully take advantage of this deal, I need to sit there and eat four or five desserts.

*grumble*

Considering that I’ve been on a liquid diet for so long, perhaps I could actually sit there and consume all those in one sitting. But to be realistic, I can invite also invite a few friends and have a night out to enjoy desserts.

Lesson learned – Read the fine print.

So who’s in for dessert night?

Not too long ago, a friend sent out this article on luck. It’s a pretty awesome read. Basically, it says that luck can be learned. Dr. Richard Wiseman’s research reveals that lucky people generate good fortune via four basic principles:

* Creating and noticing chance opportunities.
* Making lucky decisions by listening to intuition.
* Creating self-fulfilling prophesies via positive expectations.
* Adopting a resilient attitude that transforms bad luck into good.

I totally agree. It’s a matter of perspective. Rather than playing the victim when something happens, one should take things into their own hands. LIVE, rather than let life happen to you. His research is actually pretty interesting, so read the article! But in case you don’t, it ends with three techniques that can help to maximize one’s fortune:

* Unlucky people often fail to follow their intuition when making a choice, whereas lucky people tend to respect hunches. Lucky people are interested in how they both think and feel about the various options, rather than simply looking at the rational side of the situation.

* Unlucky people tend to be creatures of routine. They tend to take the same route to and from work and talk to the same types of people at parties. In contrast, many lucky people try to introduce variety into their lives. For example, one person described how he thought of a color before arriving at a party and then introduced himself to people wearing that color. This kind of behavior boosts the likelihood of chance opportunities by introducing variety.

* Lucky people tend to see the positive side of their ill fortune. They imagine how things could have been worse.

The splint is out! What a relief. That piece of plastic was getting pretty gnarly from seven weeks of just sitting in my mouth. Yuck and definitely TMI! So now I’m splint-free, but sadly still on the liquid diet. I’m in a much better mood though now that the surgeon has had the chance to see me. It was just not knowing how everything was healing up that was bothering me and adding to my overall impatience.

PLUS, I can talk again!

On Friday night, we went to the Chabot Space Center to see Festizio [@festizioband] perform in the planetarium. YES, IN the planetarium. How cool is that? The sound was fine from where I was standing, but I think the dome didn’t help carry the sound properly to the rest of the space. No matter – it was still a great time! AND for the first time in a long time, I could actually introduce myself to people and roam around without keeping RV or Keane or the sister by my side. Those three were my interpreters for the longest time – poor things!

It was a good show overall. They played some new songs, one of which I am a huge fan of. I found myself humming along to the recording Keane did for me the next morning. Listen to it here!

In July 2008, I wrote the following:

True love is an idea. A dynamic idea that changes over time and as one’s perception is influenced by those one encounters.

And I think that once one’s accepted this, falling in love or meeting someone doesn’t seem as impossible or as distant. I meet a person. I don’t seek perfection. It’s more of finding someone I can trust, want to trust, and want to be trusted by. It’s someone I want loyal to me and I want to be loyal to. It’s a mutual understanding that hey, we’re not perfect, but we get along, and we want to live and grow old together. Mutual tolerance of flaws and differences, while at the same time, learning and growing together, one not allowing the other to remain stagnant.

I still believe it to be true.

And while we did not specifically celebrate Valentine’s Day with a romantically planned evening [we laid floor tile and had Chinese New Year dinner with my family], I think my sentiment on the day is the same that I have for Thanksgiving: It doesn’t matter what the designated day is; you should express love and good thoughts to family, friends, and lovers as often as you’re comfortable with.

When it comes to purchasing a major appliance, I had no idea. Most people are on that very same page until they make their first purchase.

Even still, major appliances are supposed to last long enough, such that in your lifetime, you really only have to buy a few, if any at all. So noone ever really becomes an expert in buying these appliances. Fortunately, we have the internet. We can browse ahead of time, look up how to find the suitable appliance with a given price range. RV and I like walking into the store too, so that we can see AND feel the appliance. Whether we end up buying it in-store or just making a purchase online, we’re as informed as we can be. There are no surprises on the surface. Everything else, you can’t prevent. Ultimately, the appliance we end up getting may or may not be PERFECT, but we’ve come as far as we can.

Here are some tips that’ll help get you end up with a pretty good deal [with examples from our washing machine shopping experience last night]:

1) Competitive pricing – Keep your web-enabled phones handy. Even though the washer that we were eyeing was no longer in stock [let me rephrase - THANK GOODNESS it was not in stock], we ended up with a pretty good deal on a better washer because a competitor had the same one at a significantly lower price. Combined with rebates and no delivery fee, SCORE.

2) Free delivery – Some stores charge an arm and a leg to deliver major appliances. If you’ve got the lowest competitive price, pick the store with the free delivery! No matter how strong you think you and your friends are, you’d rather have the store do all the grunt work. For anyone who has ever moved before, if carrying a couch or mattress is a pain in the rear end, imagine that very heavy stove or fridge! Yeah, no thanks. If you have a broken appliance that you’re replacing, some places will even haul them away for free. SCORE.

3) Rebates – Energy efficient appliances are pulling in the $ for us too. The washer we were originally looking at did not qualify for the rebate. Thankfully, the salesperson told us. SCORE.

4) Warranties – In terms of determining which appliance is worth a look at, check the amount of warranties that comes with the appliance. Usually, a longer warranty included in the price indicates that the company is willing to back up its product. Good sign. The washer we originally wanted only had a one year warranty. The washer we ended up with had a much longer one. PLUS, our sales person threw in an extra few years because we were an “easy sale.” SCORE.

With all those working out for us [taxes/rebates included], we ended up spending $50 less than what we would have paid for the SMALLER basic washer we were originally looking at. Online, the lowest price listed is ~$628. After everything, it will be less than $450.

With the extra savings, I ended up splurging on the sink of my choice. *happy dance*