it's a grey day in VA today... cloudy and thunderstormy. and my mood is equally dim. part of it is because today is the last day for my former project-mates who were laid off, and reading their farewell emails makes me sad. another reason is because i recently found out that one of my friends is pregnant, and she's no longer with the guy (they broke up before she found out). she lives far away and by herself, and i'm worried about her. i don't how to help her, but i feel for her because she has a difficult road ahead of her, no matter her ultimate decision. :( sigh.

i learned today that i'll be moving to another project. my current project's client did not approve me to join the team because i don't have any FFS (federal financial systems) experience. they've been getting really picky about new team members, maybe because there has been a lot of turnover in the past year. in fact, they didn't approve the last two members at first, but then relented. in my case, they said i could join the project if i were unbillable for 3 months, which means i'd have to bill my hours to overhead. so ridiculous! anyway, i'm joining the IRS project, which means i have to commute to the client site in bethesda, MD. luckily it's metro-accessible, but my commute will take about an hour. :( on the upside, there's a neiman marcus and a cheesecake factory within walking distance of the client site. hahaha.

i know i don't reveal too much about myself on this site -- i don't even have a bio section (although i keep telling myself i'll put one up), and hardly any pictures. so when i saw the 50 questions thing that winnie started, i picked a few questions to answer here. i'm not quite ready to divulge my responses to all 50, but for the time being, hope the following will give you more insight to what i'm like:

1. What's one thing you wish you could do but can't?
sing. or have a photographic memory.

11. What's the one language you want to learn?
japanese, so i can read japanese magazines and watch japanese tv, and also because i plan to visit japan someday. i also think the language is quite mellifluous. :)

12. How do you eat an apple?
peeled, sliced, and cored, and sometimes with brown sugar/cream cheese dip.

21. What kind of watch(es) do you wear?
gucci (like gg!) and kenneth cole. although currently both of them have dead batteries i'm too lazy to get changed. so my nokia 8860 tells me the time.

22. Most frivolous purchase?
prada leather tote on ebay. oh, and maybe aforementioned nokia...

23. Do you consider yourself materialistic?
i can be at times.

24. What do you cook the best?
anything with a recipe. and desserts, especially chocolate swirl cheesecake and chocolate chip cookies.

25. Favorite writing instrument?
uniball signo, extra fine. i cannot live without this pen. (i didn't know winnie used this too. or maybe we had an email convo about it once. see, this is where a photographic memory would come in handy. anyhow, back to the pen. i will not write with anything else. well, occasionally the sakura gelly roll. but i always come back to the signo.)

26. Do you prefer to stand out or blend in?
blend in.

35. What's one thing you're a sore loser at?
scrabble! actually, i'm a sore loser at everything. :)

36. If you don't like a person, how do you show it?
i reply in flat-toned monosyllables. i'm not good at hiding distaste or boredom, unfortunately.

40. Do you cry in front of friends?
yes. but i try not to. i also cry at movies. and books. and commercials. and when i'm happy. hehe.

41. What kind of first impression do you think you give to people?
reserved, intimidating/aloof (not on purpose), tall.

48. What is one thing you don't leave home without?
my keys. although i forgot once. and usually, my purse, which contains at the minimum: wallet, makeup bag, pen (uniball signo). for work, add bright yellow organizer (gift from mom) and diary (morning glory, of course).

so do you still like me? :)

starlitflashes@yahoo.com