http://kolinateng.com

Play ball

kolinateng — Sat, 28 Aug 2010 02:41:35 +0000

I’m not a huge baseball fan but even I can appreciate the nice waterfront view at AT&T Park and Gilroy Garlic Fries.

Thanks Lockheed Martin!

Floral Imperial Star Destroyer

kolinateng — Sat, 21 Aug 2010 05:57:30 +0000

Worst tablecloth ever for this puzzle.

And the firstborn shall be named “Yokolina”.

kolinateng — Mon, 16 Aug 2010 03:51:35 +0000

I consider myself overbearingly sentimental and probably emotionally volatile to a fault. Because I’m self-conscious of this (and, subsequently, self-conscious of being self-conscious), I’ve tried, unsuccessfully, in the past to stifle that part of myself. Instead, defense mechanisms kicked in and as a habit, I now approach emotionally-charged situations with the polar opposite reactions—sarcasm, general avoidance, and inappropriate laughter. This typically does not bode well for, say, a marriage proposal.

But, I am happy to report that I was neither sarcastic nor did I avoid Reid’s proposal last Saturday, August 7th. I did, however, giggle uncontrollably. What can I say? I’m the queen of awkward.

Reid and I had discussed our future extensively for awhile, so I can’t say I was too surprised when it happened. I even suspected that it would happen on that particular day, which made me incredibly anxious all morning while Reid was unfazed and out happily biking with friends. He had made an early dinner reservation for us at Alexander’s Steakhouse, which was the major tip-off that he would propose—Reid likes to announce special news over good food and wine—but I had no idea when he would actually pop the question.

Well, it didn’t happen during dinner. Our host asked if we were celebrating a special occasion; “No, just having a nice dinner out,” Reid answered.

…Uh, what.

It didn’t happen after dinner either. He even insisted on ordering tea after dinner (he never orders tea), and then insisted on stopping at Yogurtland (he never wants yogurt that much)—certainly he didn’t plan on proposing at Yogurtland? Nope, he played on his phone per the norm while I felt silly working myself up for an entire day.

When dusk finally fell and Reid had prolonged my agony as long as he possibly could, he drove me back to my place. By this point, I was ready to shower, change into some pajamas, and inhale my stash of dark chocolate as consolation.

However, when I reached the front door, the walkway and porch were lined with flowers and candles, and my favorite John Mayer song* was playing softly. That’s where I stopped, uttered “Oh, my God”, and then preceded to giggle through the next couple hours. There was no long speech accompanying the proposal for me to transcribe here, but he simply asked me to marry him, and I very simply said yes—to which he responded, “You haven’t even seen the ring!”

Well, fine. I SUPPOSE I’ll accept this incredibly nice ring that is worth more than all my worldly possessions combined.

Inside, the hall to the living room was glowing softly by candle and stringed lights. THAT definitely was not Reid’s doing, but I had a good suspicion who was behind it all. I rounded the corner to the living room, and my closest friends were waiting: Linda, of course, Eric, and Kent, and Nancy.

And surprise Number Two, Kim flew in from L.A. to be a part of it!

Flowers, candle pillars, floating votive candles, bread, crackers, cheese, and chocolate-dipped strawberries covered the dining room table, and we opened a bottle of 2006 Cakebread Chardonnay reserve that we had been saving for a special occasion. And then my friends, knowing my habit of changing into pajamas whenever I’m at home regardless of company, announced, “Pajama time!” I pishposhed at such an idea during this occasion, until I found out that everyone had brought pajamas.

Never have I been presented with so much love and fondness (and such an extravagant gift!) from any man and any friends as I did that night.

This is where things get mushy and I have trouble blogging about them. This blog post is Reid’s impassive response to my indignant “You proposed to me but you blogged about BIKING?!”, so if he’s not going to get all mushy, I’m not either :P

Okay, just a little bit. I love you, Reid! I promise to love you, forgive you, ignore your weird manly habits, and direct Internet traffic to your sites.

Alive, I promise.

kolinateng — Mon, 02 Aug 2010 05:03:33 +0000

Wow, where have I been? I’ve just completed my first month in my position at work where overtime seem to be the norm on my team, and particularly for myself as I get up to speed in my new function and role. I’ve had little time to myself even at home; I must have 3000+ items in Google Reader to read and I’ve probably missed every viral video in the past month.

And I, you, Internet.

Team Jacob

kolinateng — Wed, 30 Jun 2010 18:13:35 +0000

Earlier this week, Linda roped me into watching a pre-screening of The Twilight Saga: Eclipse, courtesy of MOViN 99.7 because St. John is so fierce. In case you missed it, Jezebel is liveblogging the movie–it’s like I’m there in real time! And in case you’re unfamiliar with Twilight, The Oatmeal has a pretty good summary.

I felt a little dirty just looking at Taylor Lautner, who was wearing a shirt for all of maybe only 3 minutes during the whole movie. Isn’t he like, 15 years old?

Edit: Jezebel has the best commenters. This one takes the gold:

Dodai I really wish you had been able to plan ahead not just to have booze and snacks, but also to try to smuggle in a vuvuzela.

I rarely use binder clips for their intended purpose

kolinateng — Wed, 16 Jun 2010 18:28:12 +0000

I like brewing tea with loose leaves but it’s a hassle trying to avoid the floating leaves in my cup whenever I take a sip. Solution? Makeshift tea steeper with a coffee filter and some binder clips!

Planet Granite

kolinateng — Tue, 08 Jun 2010 01:03:30 +0000

I’ve tried it a few times in the past and kept telling myself I would give it a real shot. After no action on my part for a few years, I finally signed up for a one-month beginner’s course today. I start on Wednesday, June 16 if anyone else is interested in joining me!

This picture of my new recreational sport will give my parents new heartburn.

quarter-century

kolinateng — Sun, 06 Jun 2010 05:25:57 +0000

I’m now a quarter-century old! Remember when in high school, popularity was measured by the number of balloons received on your birthday? Yeah, I wasn’t me. BUT LOOK AT MY BALLOON NOW. Take THAT, you popular girls.

In celebration, Linda gifted me with the most obnoxious balloon she could get her hands on–at work, no less. I spent a good 30 seconds trapped in the security turnstiles with it when leaving work, and then spent another two minutes or more wrestling this behemoth of a balloon into my car on a really windy afternoon.

Balloons aside, everyone knows that Facebook wall posts is now the true measure of one’s popularity, and I am now 230% more popular than I was last year*. So, that’s an improvement! I’m sure the fact that Facebook has blown up like crazy in the past year has nothing to do with it.

*Yes, I counted. Again. What can I say? I’m an analyst and I’m driven by metrics.

Kindergarten crafts

kolinateng — Sat, 22 May 2010 04:13:37 +0000

Is it weird to ask my readership to save their toilet paper rolls (the paper core) for me? I’m up-cyling trash into wall decor!

Thanks, Tony Horton

kolinateng — Wed, 05 May 2010 08:31:12 +0000

I can consistently do one pull-up a day–the fruit of my labor of 5 weeks of P90X.