Let's Redefine "Romantic"

With Valentine's Day just around the corner, many people are scrambling for last-minute plans and gifts. Images fed through media have brainwashed us with capitalism's idea of "romance." With Yelp invading my inbox today with it's own version of romance in this week's newsletter (chocolate, dim lighting, patio seating, overlooking beach, zzz), I decided to go to the press with a couple of my offbeat ideas of expressing your appreciation for one another.

Traditional gift: Flower Arrangements/Bouquets
Price: $50+
What it says: I'm unoriginal, quite possibly broke after the money I spent, and want to represent our love with a gift that has a fixed life span
Replace with: A potted plant, flower or spice
Price: $2-10
Not only does it live longer than a week, it continually gives a return.
Suggestions:
-peace lily, known to clean indoor air of contaminants ("I care about you.")
-jalapeños ("I'm hot for your lovin'.")

Traditional dinner: Prix Fixe at the City's Hot Spot
Price: $100+
What it says: I may be trendy, but I'm definitely broke after dinner
Replace with: Karaoke night
Price: $40
Rent a private room at the local karaoke bar, order some finger foods and booze (for the inhibited), and serenade each other with songs that remind you of one another.
My suggestions:
-Divinyls, I Touch Myself
-'N Sync, God Must Have Spent A Little More Time On You
-Madonna, Like A Virgin

Obviously, no two couples are alike; what works for some may not work for others. What is certain is that thinking outside the box creates a much more memorable experience. Saving money, which is something we all can appreciate, is just an added bonus.

Hot Watch Alert: Tokyoflash Japan

Admit it. You love being in the know. You dig the fact that you single-handedly possess a secret that no one else knows, and you relish the attention while people beg for you to reveal. Well, have I got the watch for you. Enter: Tokyoflash Japan.

Each Tokyoflash watch design has a unique way of telling time, some simple to figure out, some requiring nothing short of a rocket science degree. However, do not fear; instructions on use come with each purchase. This concept watch Space Face, fresh off their new blog, tells the hour on the top half and the minutes on the bottom.

Although that particular watch is not available for purchase yet, there is a variety of stylish options in the $50-250 range that can satisfy any geek. They accept plastic, ship internationally and have customer service reps that speak English, assuming you know how to call Japan.

I was first introduced to Tokyoflash via Gizmodo.com. Being an uber geek myself, I was quickly enamored by the unconventional design. Unfortunately, the collection is geared more towards men so I did the next best thing and bought a watch (pictured right) for the boyfriend (not pictured right). The watch itself is well-constructed--as if you would ever doubt the Japanese--and the battery is still running two years later. Telling time takes some getting used to since your brain has to be reprogrammed, but it's not like we were born with the ability to read conventional clocks/watches. The bf loves it not only because it's unique and versatile, but because it gives him instant credibility in his JDM-lover circle.

Ongoing Fight Against Proposition 8

My Open Letter to the LGBT Community and its Allies

Let me preface the following by first stating that I am not sold on the institution of marriage.

With that said, if it is determined that citizens have the right to marry, then that right should be unalienable. How would opponents of same-sex marriage feel if they were denied their right to choose a life partner and get married? Because that's what it's essentially about--CHOICE. These opponents have that choice, and they don't know how it feels to be told by the class bully what to do.

But I'm not here to speak to opponents. No matter how many debates we engage in, how much statistical and scientific evidence I present, I will be unable to sway their stance. They won't listen to me because to them, Proposition 8 is a piece of legislation, essentially, paperwork. In order to change their outlook, us supporters need to humanize Prop 8 by taking the advice of Harvey Milk, the first openly gay man to be elected to public office in California, who famously iterated in "The Hope Speech":

Unless you have dialogue, unless you open the walls of dialogue, you can never reach to change people's opinion... Once you have dialogue starting, you know you can break down prejudice.

How do we get the dialogue started? Let's use the story of Jerry Sanders, the Republican mayor of San Diego, as inspiration. The former gay marriage opponent went through a defining moment in his personal and political career when his daughter confided that she was a lesbian in a committed relationship. After publicly changing his stance on the subject, he lost support within his party, but worked hard to get re-elected for another term.

Point being, for the LGBT community, there is no better way to start the dialogue than to be true to yourself with your family and friends. Make your voices heard, your stories told, your struggles public. As straight allies, we can protect you from the bully, but he'll still pounce on you when we're not around. The only solution is for you yourself to stand up to the bully in front of the class and proclaim that you will no longer accept being treated as anything less than equal.

Every generation wages its own battles as its gift to the next, fighting for the rights of women and minorities. If this is the battle that defines our generation in history, then for the sake of our future, let us put up a good fight and make sure we emerge victorious.

PS As far as we know, Lindsay Lohan is the child of a heterosexual marriage. Case closed.

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For play-by-play comprehensive trial updates, follow @NCLRights. For the cliff notes version, the Huffington Los Angeles feed has excellent coverage.

7 Habits of Highly Healthy People

It's the time of the year where everyone's gung ho about self-improvement, and because we live in a superficial world, that generally means people are trying to lose some weight. Don't lie. You're not dropping poundage to benefit society by decreasing the pressure on our health care industry.

Speaking as someone who has had an ongoing war with this "weight" character, losing the Battle of 2008 with a BMI of 23.8, then winning the Battle of 2009 having slimmed down to a healthy 19.1, I am here to offer my words of wisdom.

Disclaimer: I do not have a science degree (bio, chem), nor I am not employed in the any field relating to nutrition.

First and foremost, one will never be able to lose the weight without recognizing that a lifestyle change is needed. People are tipping the scale because they have developed bad habits due to lack of time and energy, greed or sheer laziness; therefore, in order to re-tip the scale in the right direction, bad habits need to be minimized.

In its place, here are my suggestions for good habits (what has worked for me) in order of difficulty:

1. Eliminate sodas
If you need the extra kick of energy, try green tea. In addition to being tasty and versatile (iced or hot), some have argued that it has amazing health benefits, such as the potential to fight cancer and heart disease. Luckily my mother (who did major in nutrition science) brainwashed me at an early age to avoid sugary drinks, and I never developed a soda habit.

2. Drink more water
Sigmund Freud theorized that our oral stage of development occurs during the first 21 months of life, where an infant's pleasure centers are in the mouth. Anything that goes wrong during that stage can trigger a lifetime of oral fixation that can manifest itself as overeating. To satisfy said fixation in a healthier manner, consider drinking water, which is thirst-quenching, and who knows, just might be able to trick your stomach into thinking it's full. Whatever activity I'm engaged in (working, eating, exercising), I make sure to have a handy supply readily available.

3. Purge home/work of snacks
Fitting that this is point number 3, as there are 3 basic "C" enemies: candies, cookies and chips. High in sugar and grease, low in nutritional value. If you preemptively strike these enemies by eliminating their access to your body, then you're already halfway to winning the war. Instead, keep a variety of fruits and nuts to snack on when the urge comes.

4. Check scale daily
So many people I know are trying to lose weight and don't know their actual weight out of utter fear. Don't fear it! Embrace it. Use it as motivation. The positive stimulus that you'll receive from the decreasing number on your scale will condition you to keep up your efforts. Guarantee there will be days when the number increases, but don't panic. That's instant feedback to help you evaluate what you did that caused the weight gain, and come up with solutions to avoid it in the future.

5. Eat more fiber
My unqualified (see: disclaimer above) theory is that the faster you can dispel waste, the less unnecessary "crap" your body soaks in. To aid that process, add fiber to your daily diet. For those that absolutely refuse to eat naturally fibrous food such as celery, broccoli or grains, there's always the option to take fiber supplements. Personally, I eat a serving of oatmeal with brown sugar in the morning, and then follow with regular servings of fruits and vegetables throughout the day.

6. Stay active
I never could stay motivated to go to the gym or workout, so I had to brainstorm different ideas. I realized I spent roughly 2-4 days a week watching Laker games at home, so if I just spent part of that time doing physical activity (e.g., sit ups, push ups, jump rope, etc), I can better utilize my time, especially since most of the time, I'm jumping up and down screaming at the TV anyway. Couple that with occasional weekend social activities such as biking, badminton or hiking and I found myself a regimen that I enjoyed. Point being, everyone has different interests, so figure out something that works for you.

7. Keep dinner simple
It's end of the day, time to relax and enjoy, which for many means overindulging with dinner. Consciously control dinner portions and not only will it help with losing weight, it will keep you from feeling lethargic the rest of the night.

As an extra tip, if money is a motivator, Time.com recently highlighted a few websites that pay people to slim down without any financial obligation from you (article here). The websites make money from advertising and sponsorships from corporations looking to minimize their health care costs. You lose weight, companies save money and you make money: WIN WIN WIN. Safe to say, Michael Scott would approve.

Staying focused on a path of continued self-improvement is not easy, but a healthier you makes it easier to achieve your other goals. Of course, the compliments never hurt. Good luck!

Allow Me to Reintroduce Myself

Whether you have known me for ages or not, in real life or virtual, below is a sampling of tidbits that most people don't know about me so we can all start from scratch:

My biggest impulse purchase was a Sergio Rossi pump, although I'm pretty sure absolutely no one is surprised that it was shoe-related.

When I am home alone and feelin' it, I sing and sometimes dance. And when I say sing, I mean really wail. Some days I sound like Mariah Carey, some days I sound like Ashlee Simpson, but most days I'm somewhere in between.

Despite believing in the fluidity of sexuality (which may be a later post), I've only recently experienced my first girl-on-girl kiss against my will and was too inebriated to recall any of it. Thank goodness for pictures.

I prefer salty snacks over sweets. While chocolate is delish, I rarely ever crave it.

I had corrective surgery to make my face more symmetrical. One eye had a double eyelid and the other didn't, and putting on makeup was getting to be a nuisance. They operated before the anesthesia set in, and it was quite possibly the most physical pain I have ever experienced.

I like the taste of blood. Sometimes I bite my cuticles until they bleed.

I've never had a crush on an authority figure (e.g. teachers) which is bizarre seeing as though I have fantasies about control. My theory is that it stems from missing a constant father figure in my life.

I was incredibly spoiled as a little girl--first class flights, private schools and designer clothes. That all stopped when I immigrated from Taiwan to America with my mother.

I have seen every single episode of the Amazing Race for all 15 seasons, and counting. If I could, that's how I would choose to live life.

In my first internship in the states, I anchored the news show "Focus on our Town" (affectionately shortened to FOOT) for a community cable channel. Reading from a teleprompter is surprisingly fun.

Even though I've lived in a house with a pool for what seems like forever, I have never had sex in one.

I have a typing speed of 102 wpm, with 98% accuracy.

There is nothing that I've haven't cheated on--tests, games and boyfriends--but that period is distantly behind me.

Although my cartilage piercing swells sometimes when it's infected, I refuse to take it out because I think it somehow embodies my youth.

My biggest fear used to be failure, but been there, done that so many times that now I'm unfazed. I guess I can be reclassified as fearless. Except spiders. They give me the heebie-jeebies.