annoying calls

okay. i am one of the lucky few who managed to leave college with no student loans. however, we've been receiving about 5 calls a day with solicitations to consolidate/better-finance/whatever my supposed student loans. it drives me crazy that they ask for me by my first name, like they're someone i know or someone i'm expecting a call from. we've added our phone number to the do-not-call registrar, but unfortunately, it takes about 6 months for the our number to be officially added to the list. what i don't understand is how do these people obtain my information, even if it's incorrect, anyway? it's frustrating that we've taken to screening calls which i've always found annoying when people do it (it's one thing if i'm not available to take ANY calls at all and another to answer one and not another; i find it rude and disrespectful to the other party). i hate telemarketers. i hope i never have to be so desperate for work as to be one of these participants of life's irritants.

proposed health care tax break

in his state of the union address, bush proposed a tax break that supposedly aids health insurance coverage for more people: families would receive a tax break of up to $15000/yr and individuals would receive up to $7500/yr for their expenditures towards acquiring health insurance. what i don't understand is that if you already have health insurance, you probably work on a job that pays well, or at least decent, enough to include a benefits package, or you make enough to be able to afford it on your own. most people who are uninsured don't work on these jobs though. they work on much lower paying jobs where the employer, most likely small businesses, doesn't feel they can afford health insurance coverage for their workers. and of course, the employees themselves don't make enough to afford it either. health insurance is expensive in this country. so how does this help increase health care coverage in this country? shouldn't "extending health care coverage" be focused on getting those who aren't already covered to be included, not benefiting those who are already covered?

people who fall in this income bracket (who themselves cannot afford health insurance and do not work for an employer who provide it) will not use a portion of their already-low income to buy health insurance even though they can get that money back the following april, assuming that there aren't any changes to the legislation. they're already struggling to pay rent, food, other basic necessities, focused on making ends meet on a day-to-day basis. $15000 is 50% of the total income for some families. this feeble attempt to improve health care coverage is so preposterous that it's an insult to the severity of the problem. the money that has been wasted by this administration probably could've created a universal health care system, at least start one if not establish. what is amazing is that despite being one of the wealthiest countries in the world, the u.s. is one of the very few 1st world countries that doesn't have a universal health care system. how are we supposed to be protected by the government of our unalienable rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness when we don't have health care? without health and the guaranteed aid to maintain health for all, we have no protection of these rights or any rights for that matter. well, those who can afford it have the rights. i guess all being created equal doesn't mean that all will be treated equally.

golden globes

maybe this is a sign that i'm getting old and jaded: i don't really care to watch award shows anymore. the golden globes was on last night, and i found myself unable to listen to anyone complete their acceptance speech. maybe it's the plethora of awards for this industry that has diluted the significance of any of them. maybe it's knowing how much politics play into the decision of the the winners. maybe it's the self-congratulatory factor that annoys the hell out of me.

here are the films i really liked this year:

children of men
the departed
little miss sunshine
pan's labyrinth (favorite)
science of sleep
stranger than fiction
thank you for smoking
volver

to be fair, i haven't seen EVERYTHING, but with the exception of the departed, there wasn't much recognition for them. i think i have pretty decent taste for movies (right?). i would actually say the departed might be my least favorite on this list - i thought it was great and was actually better than the original hong kong version from which it was remade. (i only liked the original hk version okay.) it just wasn't as creative and rich, however, as the rest of the films. maybe fantastical elements play too large of a role in my preference for a film. maybe i was really annoyed with some of the characters - they were caricatures. the characters could've remained strong without being so obvious and going over the top.

i do have to admit the fashion aspect of these awards shows is fun. nothing was really memorable last night, but the best (or worst) will probably appear at the oscars. and having ellen degeneres as host could be more entertaining as well. if not, let's hope there'll be something else on that evening that i could watch and flip to the oscars only during the commercial breaks.

pan's labyrinth

it will be pretty hard for any movie in 2007 to beat guillermo del toro's "pan's labyrinth". i was actually kind of exhausted when we went to see it last night, but i was kept on the edge of my seat throughout the film. the performances were superb. the effects were incredible. i'm not sure if it's cgi or not, but great effects only work when there's a great source of creativity and an incredible story involved. the two story lines were intertwined so beautifully together, and i loved the pace of the film. it drew me in slowly as the little girl revealed more and more of the fantasy, and despite the foreshadowing, it kept my utmost interest at all times. even though it comes across as a children's story, it's tremendously sophisticated and extremely tragic. the film is a testiment to del toro's genius. it's definitely one that i will invest money for a dvd.

sea change holiday

north carolina turned out to be a great trip. it was so nice to go to a place that felt clean and fresh, but we also felt like we were cut off from civilization. my sister and i were without internet until the end of the week. my mom's house has no internet since she doesn't use computers. our easiest option is a nearby coffeehouse. we just didn't get a chance to go until the end of the trip. we also went on a hunt for the new york times. there didn't seem to be any place in town that carried the paper. it was like traveling back in time to pre-21st-century.

however, we reencountered civilization at the north carolina aquarium in pine knoll shores. it was kind of a funny trip. when we travel by car now as a family, my sister or i would drive and our parents would sit in the back of the car. my sister drove on the way to the aquarium, and our parents kept asking "are we there yet?" the entire way. we had visited the aquarium a long time ago, but it was recently renovated. it has vastly improved: a much larger space with a lot more exhibits and animals than we remembered. our parents were delighted with the fish, commenting on which ones would be tasty. luckily, they spoke in cantonese so no one around us knew what they said. they were impressed with the large sharks but especially loved the moon jellies which appeared as ghostly, floating, glow-in-the-dark round shapes with trailing strands. i loved the sea turtles. they looked kind of clumsy as their flippers flapped awkwardly, propelling and navigating them through the water. they were so cute! on our way home, i drove. our parents zonked out in the back, their eyes closed and heads nodding rhythmically with the car ride. there have been countless times when my sister and i have taken over making household decisions and acted as the adults for the family, regardless of our age at the time. maybe my sister and i are actual adults now, and we are all older. it has also been a long time since all four of us had spent so much time together. but this car ride, looking at the two of them in the rearview mirror, sleeping in the back of the car like exhausted children after a day of fun, made me feel different. without a doubt, i felt like an adult. there have been moments when i feel old, jaded, exhausted, but this was different.

we all played mah-jong one evening. i felt rusty. it's a game i never thought i would feel rusty playing it. my mom and my sister won. i lost, but my dad also lost. he wasn't even trying to let us win. he had always been the best player among us. he would wait for a bigger hand just so the rest of us would have more time to get our tiles together. it's kind of strange that at a certain point, we can grow old and young simultaneously as we age. but regardless of my parents becoming older or younger, i'm definitely growing older and learning to understand what exactly it means to be an adult. i think i've finally caught a real glimpse of adulthood. no wonder grown-ups tell kids to cherish their youth. not that youth is better, but it's definitely different and it'll be a while before they get a chance to recapture it.

best wishes to all in 2007.