weapons of small destruction

I went to a shooting range yesterday with some friends because it was ladies night at Wade Shooting Range. This is the first time I have ever been to one and it was a very interesting experience. The paperwork was actually extremely easy, you just fill out a form with your address and what nots and give them a driver license to keep for the gun. There were 2 guys and 4 girls in our group and the guys knew what they were doing. So they picked the guns. The guys, being extremely enthusiastic, picked a Glock 45, a Springfield 1911 and a Beretta 22LR (for us girls ). Then we had to pick out our targets. The guys very sensibly picked some round targets with points on them while we picked Osama Bin Laden because we thought it was hilarious.

After we picked the guns, we put on the earmuffs and safety glasses and went in. NOw I was already warned about how loud it was going to be, but I was still totally surprised at the noise guns generated. For the first 10 minutes, everytime a gun went off, I literally jumped. It was actually really scary. I don't think the earmuffs were very sufficient either cause my ears are still ringing right now. First, I Tried the Beretta 22LR, the guys picked this one because it has the least recoil, it is practically an air gun and it felt like it too. It was very light and I can mostly hit where I want to hit. When you are shooting that gun, it doesnt' quite impress on you the power a handgun possess.

But when I switched to the Glock 45 it was a totally different story. The glock 45 is a much heavier gun. I think it is a popular police weapon. The recoil was soo bad that I can't fire more than 3 shots before my hand start hurting. and I absolutely had no aim because everytime I fire, my hand shoots upwards toward the ceiling and I have no idea where the bullet went lol. FOrtunately I didn't seem to hit anything inappropriate. When I was firing, the bang was so loud that earmuffs was virtually useless. I don't understand how people do it without earmuffs on the outside. There is so much power in this gun that it really really made me feel that this is indeed something that can tear through flesh and kill a person. It was awe inspiring.


I then tried the Springfield 1911, this is a really old gun. It looked like something out of the movies. My friend said that it was old and reliable. It is kind of in between the 22 and the Glock in term of recoil. Actually I think I liked this one the best, it still felt really powerful but not so much that it feels out of control. When I was shooting, I had this urge to just empty the clip really quickly because it felt so good. I refrained tho because I can't quite trust my arm to hold me through all the recoils lol.


All in all, it was quite an experience handling weapons of small destruction. Throughout the entire time I had kind of an unpleasant feeling knowing that any of these guns are build for one purpose and that is to kill another person and to do it so easily, just gently squeeze the trigger and it is done. It kind of makes me want to hide. Not sure I will go back again.

AI top 10

Motown this week, seems to be alot of overdone themes..

1. Matt= I really liked Matt's performance, I thought it had alot of soul and passion. Very good singing too

2. Kris Allen = cute boy but really, voice is just not quite there.. he tried to make it up by being all flirty and cute on stage, but really, just compare it to Matt, and his song seems lifeless..

3. Scott = poor scott, he sounded really unsure like he doesn't know what he is doing. The first part of this song is too hurried and fast when it should have been tender and wistful, and when he got to the fast part, it then was too slow and he didn't have a beat. I am guessing maybe motown just isn't his thing. I can see his inability to smile and connect with the audience is really going to be a problem. Not everybody can groove like Ray Charles...

4. Megan = omg, my ears are bleeding... I know she is trying to imitate the style of "rehab" girl but her voice is so shaky and crackling... and she doens't have a beat either lol.. you gotta have some soul sistah!

5. ANoop: lovely, beautiful, fantastic singing... I Love it! he actually reminds me of a less dorky Clay. He was so natural singing this song, like he really meant it..

6. Michael : meh meh... did i mention i have this hate for people that tap their microphones to keep a beat? How the heck did he gets on the top 12? I haven't see his prefinal performances but I am not impressed.. He can barely finish his phrases in one breath.

7. Lil: OMG!!! can she REALLY not have found another song? thsi is like the perennial idol diva song... and they always use the exact same flaming background.. -_-!! and I am telling you, Lil is not even close ot the best performance of this (if there is even such a thing). She is practically off-key for the whole song.. For better performance, please see the other 10 versions of this song...

Jennifer Hudson: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F_vBK1AJWxY
Vonzell Solomon: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2qBDlzZr8VE&feature=related
Group song: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8XJeslCwAuA (go clay! go clay!)

8. Adam: @_@, crazy slick hair man... ok i have to admit, this dude is pretty talented.. it was beautiful... I wouldn't be surprised if he won..

9. Danny; Oh danny, danny is adorable! he even dressed appropriately this week. He had alot of energy, stage presence, and some cute sexiness. He is what Michael wishes to be haha.

10. Allison: Ok, this performance is pretty fierce. I liked her attitude alot. Wish she could have mumbled a little less.. oh ye of cursed red hair, i think putting her last guaranteed she is not gonna be in last place.

so far I think the best singers are Adam, ANoop, Danny and Matt.

bottom 3 prediction:
Michael - for sure, I think he is doomed to be eliminated
Lil ROund= omg.. no more heatwave please
I cna't quite decide between Megan and Scott for the third one... they both got crap from the judges. Lets say Megan, cause she really sucked...

lovely dinner

Last night a bunch of us went to Zoe's for the Seattle 30/30 dining festival where you go to participating restaurant and get a three course meal for 30 dollars. Zoe is located in downtown Seattle in the Beltown area. The place is really contemporary and sparse with high ceilings and abstract art on the walls. It is relatively large for a Beltown restaurant, containing probably 20 tables as well as a bar area for drinks. The service was really nice, friendly, attentive but not pushy. The 4 of us all ordered different dishes so we can try everything on the menu. We started by ordering one of the famous appetizers that was not on the set menu. The veal sweetbread, which as the waiter explained, is neither sweet nor bread. This is the first time I even heard of this so I was very eager to try it. It was well made and very tasty. The texture is actually indescribable, it felt like a cross between very soft cheese and chewy rubber. now I can say I have tried sweetbread!

I started with a rather boring lettuce salad. I chose it because the other two choices are potatoe soup and the Ricotta Gnudi (cheese!!). But I tried one of the Gnudis and it was really delicious,. it tasted like a semi sweet cheesecake. Gnudi are basically cream puffs but filled with cheese instead of cream. I think I could have handled it. But then, it is always good to eat veggies first. The entree I picked is the pork loins because it was recommended as the house special. The pork was cooked medium and accompanied by polenta and pieces of cooked apple. It was pretty good because the skin was well salted and savory. But I think my favorite dish is definitely the beef short rib. It was amazingly soft and tender and the meat just melts in your mouth. I am definitely getting that next time! For dessert, I got the pineapple upside down cake. I know, it is shocking that I didn't went for the brownie sundae considering my love affair with chocolate. But variety is the key here. The upside down cake turned to be warm and sweet. I don't understand why it is named so since the pineapple was on top and I couldn't tell the up side from the downside. But it sure was tasty. The brownie sundae was definitely a favorite as well. I even had the courage to try some of the cheese plate. The cheese is actually really good considering it is, after all, cheese. If you eat it with crackers and apricot marmalade you can almost pretend it is not there. I enjoyed it but definitely not one of my favorite :)

To see pictures of aforementioned dishes, see my facebook :)

AI result

bottom 3: Michael, Allison and Alexis,
Eliminated: Alexis

Man, I almost got it right, I think I overestimated Alexis' hotness. Man I need a male judge on this to be more accurate haha.

AI is back!

ok, I have been grossly negligent on this blog. The last one was from when I started Japanese class and 8 weeks later..this week I finished Japanese I and I can safely say "where is the bathroom now" :) I thought this would be the perfect place to start posting again. I missed last week's because I totally forgot but I still got 11 weeks to go :)

So I was even more absentminded than usual and I completely missed the pre finalist shows so these opinions are made in a vacuum haha.

Michael: He is a great performer, great stage presence. I can't quite tell whether he can really sing or not.

Allison: She is doomed already because of her red hair. There is a curse on it haha, I think the last 3 red haired girl got eliminited before they get into top 10. I thought the performance was just ok. I guess maybe country really isn't her thing.

Kris Allen: He looks like one of those famous movie stars. So definitely got the cute factor. Voice is kind of weak I think, the song was really boring too. I guess we will have to see if the teenage girl vote comes through. Oh yeah, and his twitchy leg was really annoying me.

LIl Rounds: her name reminds me of Indiana Jones movies. Kung says she is the one that has alot of press right now. I am actually surprised that there is only one diva in this year's bunch. Her voice is rather weak compared to all the previous divas of the past and her performance was a little pitchy.

Adam: this is the emo guy that Kung was telling me about. I am not sure what to make of him. He is certainly unique in this competition and creepy emo is definitely hot right now (think Twilight). But I feel like he should be in like punk/heavy metal idol or something. AI is almost too mainstream for him. I guess it will depend on whether the mainstream audience want him or not.

Scott: wow, I didn't know he is blind. THat is pretty cool for him to make it. I still wasn't impressed with the vocals though. very pitchy! If he had the voices of Andrea Bocelli, I am voting for him hands down.

ALexis: that girl sure is pretty. She kind of remind me of Reba Macintyre. voice is weak though. This is a beef I have most pretty girl singers these days, none of them have any breathing support.

Danny: This dude has his act together. He looks pretty chic too. The song was a little weak in certain places but he sounded pretty good.

Anoop: woot! Indian guy from Duke, I am going to be totally biased and vote for him haha. Anyway, he sounded really good. Very beautiful voice and good control. Can't wait to see more of him. Also it wouldn't hurt to get a slightly more cooler haircut. Image does count alot in voting.

edit: apparently he is from UNC, not Duke, now he must die!

Megan: Man, the judges totally gave her a pass today. It doesn't matter how she did, they weren't gonna say anything bad. There were other idol contestants who were sick before, and I don't remember them making a big deal about it. They must really want to keep her. She does look very pretty, will have to hear her nonsick voice next week.

Matt: Wow, singer/pianist who has a very commercial voice. He already sound like the people on the radio. I don't know if he is likeable enough tho. I remember last season, some very good guy singers got cut cause they were not edgy.

I think Kung was right, none of the people stands out this round yet. But it is still early. Going with that hot girls don't get eliminated and weird people wills tay around too. Here are my bottom 3 prediction:

Allison: oh ye of red hair
Michael: it sucks to be first.
Danny: there are so many guys they are crowding the field. some gotta go...

Fun filled weekend

I had a very fun weekend. It all started with first day of Japanese class on Saturday morning. It starts at 9 am which is a great challenge for me. But I am proud to say I made it before the bell! My good friend Kirason is taking the class with me which make this even more fun. We learned how to say greeting and introduce each other in class and most of the Hiragana alphabet. Our teacher had this system of teaching Hiragana that included a picture that represents the character, and a silly story that goes with it. For example, "Ku is the bill of the coocoo" along with the accompanying coocoo bird picture. Se is for "saying I love you sitting on your boyfriend's lap". OF course my favorite is "Ta is for looking like the letter T a" -_-!! There is also a guy in our class whose name is just "wolf"(seriously, no last name). We were all highly impressed and everybody remembered his name during introduction activity haha.

After the highly entertaining Japanese class, I ran to Karaoke with the new friends I made at backstage of Chinese New Year show last weekend. That was also very fun. We sang lots and lots of really old songs.

After singing my throat hoarse, it is time for Video Game Live!. It is the first time they came to Seattle in 3 years. I learned at the concert that 3 years ago at Seattle was their very first stop on the tour. I was there for it and I didn't even know! I was a part of history! :D The show started off with this hilarious music video.



They then made wonderful music, including a special appearance by the Video Game Pianist who was absolutely brilliant. I wish I had his hands :O

The show also played Metal Gear Solid (complete with terrorists with exclaimation mark and a box), Halo, the Nintendo suites and many many other fan favorites. I really loved being there because you are surrounded by people that shares in the same knowledge as you so it feels kind alike a secret club meeting hehe.

Then, finally on Sunday, it is Chinese New Years! I had some friends over for the traditional dumpling making and tried to watch the Gala show "春晚”，which I say was ok, not too bad, not too good either. :)

This weekend as been wonderful, and of course, I ended up being sick today haha. I guess i had too much fun!

slumdogs can win too!

I went to see Slumdog Millionaire this week with a couple of friends. I have wanted to see it ever since I heard about it a couple of weeks ago. It started with not really much buzz as it is a independent film, I thought it was just some tribute Bollywood movie made by a white guy. I just wanted to see it cause I like Bollywood movies. But then, it won Best picture, Best Soundtrack, Best director AND best screenplay at the GOlden Globes. basically out of nowhere. So I had to go see it even more. and I have to report that it was extremely awesome.

Without giving away spoilers, the movie is about these 2 brothers who grew up in the slums and how their lives changes as they try to survive the undercities of Mumbai and how one of them ultimately ended up at the Who Wants To Be A Millionaire tv show Indian edition. It is really an amazing story and I love how the plot twists just keeps on coming. The story is actually try to follow a Bollywood style except it is much grittier than the usual fast sportscar and glamorous woman fare. It is extremely well filmed with good soundtrack, good cinematography and good acting. I highly recommend everyone to go check it out. Probably will be the only movie at the oscars that is not depressing and hopeless.

American Idol

woohoo!! AI starts again today. Although I probalby won't really pay attention until they get past the city phase. I am looking forward to passing harsh judgement on all the contestants hehe. This willl get me back into blogging again I hope. Although to be honest, remarkably little has happened since Vegas :)