Friday, August 22, 2008

Annoying Edison radio spot

There is a radio spot that comes on every day during my morning commute. It's been driving me crazy. I used to change the station as soon as I heard it, but it's still there, won't go away. So now I am on the offensive. I am going to break it down, put it out there, and see if anyone else finds it as annoying as I do.

Here is what it says:
Support for KPCC comes from Southern California Edison. Electricity is different from other things we use. It can’t be stored and it must be used wisely, but we can’t do without it completely. Electricity is a special form of energy that brings us light, comfort, and progress.

I find it extremely annoying for these reasons:
  1. It's read by one of those annoyingly bright and wholesome girl-next-door voices.
  2. The grammar is annoying. Why is it "BUT we can't do without it completely" instead of "and"? There is nothing in that third clause that contradicts the first part of the sentence.
  3. "Light, comfort, and progress" is an annoying sequence of words.
  4. Come to think of it, it's as if someone just took a list of things they wanted to say about electricity, and just strung it all together in an atrociously written paragraph. ie. Things to Convey about Electricity in the KPCC radio spot: a) different, b) storage issues, c) responsibility, d) necessary, e) light, f) comfort, g) progress.
  5. Seriously, try listening to it - in your head - using the annoying voice I mentioned before. Every morning between 8:30 and 9. You'll be annoyed too.
* I forgot one last reason. In order to do this blog entry, I've had to stalk the ad in recent days and jot down pieces of it to get the whole thing right. I tried looking on the Internet for a transcript of it, but apparently no one has seen fit to commit it to print. Until now. Just sharing the joy.

Tuesday, August 19, 2008

Mom's amazing bento boxes

My mom is the best mom for a lot of reasons. The latest reason is the delicious and very inventive bento boxes she packs for my dad and me to eat for lunch at the office. The meals used to be just as tasty, but more predictable (A typical one would be soy sauce-simmered chicken, stir-fried green veggies, and a fried egg over rice).

Nowadays, she seems to have gotten into lunch-making with extra gusto:

Today's bento box:

Steamed rice
Salt-and-pepper pork chop
Calamari with Chinese chives
Stir-fried bell peppers from mom's garden
Soy sauce-simmered tofu and carrots

Sunday, August 17, 2008

I don't blog enough

My reasons:

1) The stuff on my mind lately is not appropriate to blog about. Like personnel issues at our company. Especially on a blog with my name on it.

2) Blogging is a creative activity. And I don't do anything creative on a regular basis anymore. That includes reading. Not that reading is especially creative, unless you consider as creative the act of having new thoughts and feelings. The only things I do regularly now are go to work, make breakfasts and dinners, clean my apartment, and groom the cat.

Nevertheless, a short blog entry follows:

Yoga and beach volleyball yesterday have left me tired and sore today. But I feel good and happy to be alive.

Lulu is back at home after 2 weeks at the vet. She is recovering from leg surgery. My dad calls her the "iron dog" because she now has metal in her leg and pelvic joint. I'm going home this afternoon to see the dog and submit to the weekly family BBQ.

Friday, August 01, 2008

A difficult week ... for my mom


Tuesday
- 5.4 Chino Hills earthquake

Wednesday
- Mom's college friend is in town from Taiwan, but her visit is gloomy due to family problems
- Lulu, who is more Mom's dog than anyone's, escapes from the backyard. Takes off down the street in search of avocados fallen from our neighbors' trees, and is hit and dragged by a driver who leaves the scene.

Thursday
- Vet is unsure whether Lulu can be saved; extent of nerve damage in her legs unknown

Friday
- Mom gets a flat tire on freeway on-ramp
- Still no decision from the vet; but Lulu wags her tail during Mom's visit