VoxSentia

Dolce restaurant

My friend Mi-Ryung who I used to know back in college came in to town (she lives in Las Vegas) so we went to Dolce for dessert and coffee. Dolce is a swanky restaurant owned by Ashton Kutcher and some other "That 70's Show" actors located on Melrose.

A lot of celebrities frequent this place. The inside decor is very modern and minimalist (it was all black). The coolest part of the restaurant is the bar section which had this fire thing going on behind the rows of alcohol. The fire and the alcohol is separated by a thick glass, but I still thought it was ballsy to have alcohol and fire so close together. The heat from the fire still emanates from behind the glass because it felt like we were sitting in front of a fireplace where we were (on the bar seats). The dessert there was absolutely divine. Of course it was pretty expensive, standard to all upscale and trendy establishment; but it was worth it for the experience. At least now I can say I've been to Dolce. Ha!

Our bar tender was very nice. We were there early Sunday night so there weren't that many people, so he gave us a free shot of this drink that tasted like chocolate. My friend kept commenting how cute he was (he was an actor just like all of Hollywood so it's no surprise). I was afraid she was going to do or say something totally embarrassing; because she has no shame. She made a funny comment how he's descent looking but not a knock-out, but behind the bar, in front of the fire and with the ambience of the restaurant; he was a total hotty--basically anyone could be made to look sexy in that environment. It's a good point.

Afterwards, we went to pick up my car by Walt Disney Concert Hall and went into Patina for a second round of dessert. This place was even more expensive than Dolce. We ordered this dessert that looked good but wasn't tasty at all. I was not that impressed with the restaurant (including the decor).  Maybe food would not have been bad, but we only ate dessert there.

I am crazy because I am at work

It's midnight and I'm here at work. I knew I would have trouble sleeping again tonight, thanks to my insomnia. So I decided to come into work instead and work with the Russian developers (who are in Moscow) who start at midnight. When and if I get sleepy I'll sleep on the giant bean bags until people start getting in at 8AM.

I hate my sleep troubles.

Remote access and Skype: the best thing on earth

I worked from home today because last night I had to work with the developers from Russia. They start at 10AM which is 11:00PM my time. We worked until 4AM my time so I got to stay home and work today. Technology allows for such convenience. We used Remote access for me to view the Russian co-worker's presentation on his laptop. We can share control over sessions; it's great. And we used Skype to talk for free. I didn't have any problems talking onto the computer's microphone; no interruptions or breaks. It was fabulous. Skype has so many cool features other than just being able to talk. It's aesthetically pleasing in it's colors and tones and it's user friendly. You can do a conference call (up to 9 people), send files, video cam, use the phone button feature to enter passwords or menu options, call forwarding, chatting on IM while talking, etc. And I love the Skype ringtone. Everything about it is so awesome. And the best part is, it's all free.

I used to have a VOIP phone at home and was able to call anywhere around the world for free. Well, I had to pay the $200 fee for the phone, but it still is cool if you need to make a lot of business calls.When I used to have a home office, it was worth it to have a VOIP phone so that I dont' run up my cell phone bills. But Skype is even better because it's completely free. You can call anywhere around the world for free. Well, yes you can only call when your computer is on, but still it's good.

I have a Moto Q for a cell phone with data package so that I can be plugged in to the internet anywhere there is an access point. Basically you plug in the phone to your laptop to get internet access. Totally awesome, but I don't love the Moto Q. It's a good introduction to a pocket pc or blackberry without having to pay a lot of money (it's $99 dollars after rebate), but the features in it are not that great to call it a good substitute. I'm really picky about technology.

Today I had a conference call and I had to dial in for the Scrum process demo. There are so many free tools out there to be able to do remote work, it's wonderful. I love technology.

Fire in San Diego and Malibu

OMG! It's out of control! I can't believe how long the fires have been going. My friend Don who visited a couple of weeks ago almost had to evacuate last night because the fire was less than a mile away from his house in San Diego. The traffic is aweful too because the PCH is closed near Malibu and everyone is taking the 101 and 405 to get to work. It takes me way longer to get to work, but thankfully I got to work from home today.

I feel sorry for all those people who lost their homes and were displaced. I also feel bad for the fire fighters; it must be tough when resources are short. I hope the fires die down soon.

Equinox Corporate membership

Equinox is an upscale gym which costs about $170 a month in membership and an initial fee of $500. Ridiculous isn't it?

Well, our company decided to subsidize the cost so that we don't have to pay any initiation fee and our monthly membership costs will be down to $55. I'm totally excited. Equinox has state of the art equipment and facilities. They even have a full service spa service.

The one in Santa Monica which is where my membership is doesn't have a pool, but it does have a eucalyptus steam room which I love and a full service spa which inclues, all kinds of facials, waxing, massages, tanning, manicures, pedicures, body wraps--you name it. It's a bit costly, but no more than your standard nice spa establishment.

I am definitely excited about the gym membership as I will use it primarily for Yoga/steam room/elliptical machine. My doctor is always telling me I need to exercise more and do yoga; and now's my chance! It'll help with my depression and anxiety. I'm hoping my insomnia would go away after using the gym for a while.

 

Wii is awesome

I really enjoyed playing on the Wii, especially Wii Sports. I also want to get Guitar Hero on Wii. I think it would be a fantastic idea to bring Wii to work so that we can project it in the conference room and have Wii Sports Olympics. Hmmm...

Cal spirit

This past weekend when I went to visit my alma mater Berkeley, I bought a couple of items. I bought this bright yellow T-shirt and this awesome Cal bear. He's so cute and cuddly. I left out the least cute of all in this picture (my face). I look yucky after a long day of work.

TGIF! Bring your dog to work day

Today one of the coworker's girlfriend brought us some caramel apples. She wrapped them individually in cellophane. Here's a picture of me holding their dog.   

My birthday lunch

Today we went to Yankee Doodles for my birthday lunch at work. I got this gigantic burger that feeds 4 people. It's simply amazing. Here's me trying to stab it.

A friend visiting from San Diego

I had a friend visiting from San Deigo couple of weekends ago because he had to appear in court. He got me these nice flowers as a thank you gesture for my hospitality. Isn't it nice?

We hung out at 3rd street promenade, and I showed him my office and played a game of ping pong.

There are always lots of dogs on 3rd Street. This is a picture of a wolf-like dog. She was huge.

Here I am having some cotton Candy at the boardwalk in Santa Monica.

After dinner, we went to this Hollywood cafe called Bourgeois Pig. We had some tea.

I like this chaise lounge and red is my favorite color, so I took a picture of it.