A Great (Election Night) Party!

Watching last night's election results for the U.S. Senate race between Jim Webb (www.webbforsenate.com) and George Allen at the Sheraton Premiere at Tysons Corner in Vienna was kinda like watching paint dry.  After Webb had a brief lead of a few thousand votes, Allen was ahead by at least 20,000 votes only to see the Democratic challenger regain control.  This went on for hours.  As time passed, I was thinking of getting a beer but that wouldn't have done much except to get plastered and become totally oblivious (including any announcement of an outright Webb win).

Anyhow, besides being 'interviewed' by a newspaper reporter from an English-language newspaper in Montreal (believe it or not - or Je ne peux pas le croire! in French - , they actually speak English!), my picture was in today's (Washington) Post Style section (which I couldn't find on washingtonpost.com), nytimes.com, reuters.com and Richmond Times-Dispatch (click the link that says 'Photos: Election Night' and then scroll down [photo] '9' where it says 'jump to.'  For some reason, I can't figure out how to cut and paste.  Anyone know how?) 

The guy standing in front of and next to me in each photo - i.e. the same dude - sorta knows how to 'mug' for the camera (more like a 'camera hog') but if you're a photographer and want to take a picture of someone why one of a short, stocky, balding guy?  Studies have proven that a person like that is less preferable than one who's telegenic and/or photogenic.  But I digress ...

Could there be a political future for me?  Haha; maybe not immediately but please no dirt on my enjoyment of karaokeing and eating 'decent quantities' of food! 

(from reuters.com; I'm standing behind the aforementioned short, stocky, balding guy.)

nytimes.com

For those of you who've never been to Japan (note: be prepared to bring lotsa $$$ with you), it's everything you've seen and/or heard about the country on TV, the Internet and newspapers.  Besides being the "Land of the Rising Sun", it's also the 'land of high living costs' (e.g. Tokyo, Osaka were tied last year for being the most expensive cities worldwide to live in according to CNNMoney.com), a blend of the old and new (i.e. Kyoto - Japan's previous capital before it was moved to Tokyo - does a great job of maintaining its charmed past and modernity) and $100 gift melons - no joke!

However, I didn't realize that eating sushi was such an elaborate ritual which isn't surprising given that Japan is a nation full of traditions, rules, protocols, etc.  Or is it?   Here's a funny spoof on all this (courtesy of Go - a Japanese friend from GW): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pIb6ZSqal64.  Any thoughts?  Anyhow, I think you'll laugh and like watching this - enjoy! 

Currently Reading The Summons By John Grisham see related

Good News and Look Alikes!

After several months of looking for full-time, part-time and temp jobs, I finally got one - thank God!  It's w/a consulting firm in Rockville called MultiLingual Solutions (www.mlsolutions.com) which specializes in providing various foreign language services, such as translation and interpretation (two things I won't be doing), to government clients and other clients.  My first day is on Monday but, once classes resume at Georgetown (www.georgetown.edu) on Aug. 31, it'll be interesting to see how I handle working full-time and going to school at night.

On a different note, I've been lately getting a lot of good-natured ribbing about how I look like C-3PO from Star Wars.  Apparently, that's because of my height and eyeglasses which resemble his.  You make the call ...

 

 

Road to the World Cup ...

Some of you might be wondering where I've been on 'xanga-land' lately.  The answer (and, no, I'm not referring to Mr. 'Practice', Allen Iverson)?  Unfortunately, not much.  The year's almost half over yet I'm still searching for a full-time job.  What gives?  If you know the answer, you're either a smarter or better person than me.  Regardless, please pray that I find a good, decent job; your prayers would definitely help a lot.

The real reason for this post is in time for Korea's match on Tues. morning (local time) against Togo (whose coach quit just before the World Cup started over salary issues - I think).  An article from the Chosun Ilbo newspaper talks about female Korean celebrities who haven't undergone any plastic surgery.  To prove this point, you'll notice several 'before' and 'after' photos.  For some reason, two of my favorite actresses - Jeon Do-yeon and Lee Yo-won - weren't featured but you can tell (or at least I can) that their looks seem natural.  Good to know that Korea can produce other things besides counterfeit handbags, fake DVDs and surgically-enhanced celebrities.

Any thoughts? 

Check the Price!

When you buy a burger combo from Burger King, McDonald's, Five Guys, Fuddruckers or any other hamburger place, make sure that you're charged the correct amount.  If this person can be accidentally charged an incorrect total, it can happen to you too.   

Better hope that you don't have any home or car payments!