Happy Holidays!

It seems Christmas, at least for me, approached quite quickly this year. I blame this on working in the real world. Because of work, I don't really pay attention to the date, and then the holidays just come and slap me in the face. I didn't start shopping until Dec. 19th. While at school, finals finished up early to mid December, I'd fly home and have nothing to do but wait until Christmas came. I'm not complaining though. Christmas is my favorite holiday. Why? It's basically the one time every year my family gets together and spends quality time with one another. I love it.

On a side note, whenever I've lived away from home, such as Wake/Mexico/Hong Kong, I never got home sick. I only got home sick while I was at home. Once on a plane and departing, I didn't feel anything. It was back to business. But now that I'm living at home...I don't get home sick too much :)

For new years, I'll be in DC. This will basically be the first time for me not to be spending it in Austin. I'm quite excited to see all my friends. It'll be a grand time.

Beer Pong Champ

That is a title I never would have imagined owning, but now I am one...! The company I worked for has an annual beer pong tourney, and the intern that sits next to me and I could not pass up on the opportunity to enter. Originally we were going to be the Xmas Ninja, he being green and I red, however we had a shorter time span than we thought to prepare. Instead we decided on "Raindeer," I hope you get the shooting reference, but somehow we became Acid Raindeer.

The first game we were up against 2 experienced directors. I made my first 3 shots in a row and definitely earned the respect that was due. My partner closed out the game and that was pretty much it. I was pretty excited because I went in thinking we were going to lose. The next day we played our second game against another 2 directors. Again, we were supposed to lose because apparently "these guys were good." Yes, they were talented. My partner actually made the majority of the shots, and it came down to one cup each for each team. After a drought, the opposing team made their cup. I pretty much thought we were doomed. I had never made a last cup in college so my self confidence was pretty low. Buuuut I made it! Sent it into over time, where I closed out the match. Too exciting. Next day we defeated another team, following day beat the fratty boy team easily and advanced to the finals.

The championship game rules were best 2 of 3, so even though we already defeated the team we played once (it was a double elimination set up) we still had to beat them twice, and they only had to beat us twice as well. We lost the first game, but it didn't really matter because we won the match. My partner and I complemented each other very well. When I made the majority of the cups, he closed. When he made the majority, I closed. Perfect team work. Also, those of you who know me know I don't like to drink beer, especially chug. Luckily my partner liked beer so if it came down to it, he's drink 4, I'd take 2.

There were also bets going on the whole time. For some reason, people kept betting on us to win, so there was a little added pressure. I guess since we are interns, we're automatically the underdogs...but that isn't necessarily a bad thing. We won it all. We get respect and supposedly a free lunch.

I finished out the day with the company's holiday party at Salt Lick (delicious bbq btw, just a tad too south in regards to distance, and I got to drag Drew along where he was kind enough to color coordinate) where I won the Female Athelete of the Year award. This category was voted on by the entire company. It could be something to brag about if the company had more than 6 girls.

Best work week/day there.
I'm also a big dork for blogging about this event, but hey, I don't think it'll ever happen again.

Damage done

Ok serious time.

Have you ever been in a situation where you didn't do anything wrong, things just sorta happened, but you have to tell someone something that you know will hurt him/her?
Sucks, right?

So the question is, do you just accept the repercussions? This could range from being yelled/cussed at, losing a friend, dealing wtih rumors, etc., or do you actually fight/argue back? I'm at a fork in the road, but I think I'm choosing just to let things be. I told someone something that I knew would hurt and upset him/her (the individual also acknowledges I didn't do anything wrong), and now I just have to accept the consequences. Who knows what he/she thinks of me now.

To commemorate this event, I have decided to take some of my fav quotes that have been said about me from the past month or so. Enjoy.

"You look sick."

"I actually have a hard time imagining you sick. i just feel like you would tell the sickness to just leave you alone ... stare it down and make it feel bad about itself."

"You should get frat boy of the year award."

"You're gorgeous."

"You have the ability to piss people off easily."

"Things with buttons and joysticks are meant for your hands."

"Leslie Hsu stop being a heartbreak."

"Austin was the first time I actually saw you laughing and being human."

"What's with guys constantly giving you food?!"

"Asshole."

"When i think leslie, i think diamond laced sweatsuits and prada bags."

"I reeeaaalllly like you."

"I don't know if it's how proud I am to just know you and be your friend or what exactly, but I have the utmost respect for you."

"I BAD MOUTH YOU EVERYDAY. I say Leslie Hsu smells like poo. EVERYDAY. I say it outloud, at LEAST twice."

Snow, already?

So...sometime last week it "snowed" in Austin. By snow I mean snow flakes were actually falling. I had been hanging out at a friend's watching a UT bball game on the tele, and when it was time to leave it was snowing! I think it was the first time for me to drive in snow in Austin, more specifically the first time driving on a high way with snow. It was a little hilarious because the majority of the cars were driving below the speed limit, some driving around 45 mph. I was driving the speed limit and felt somewhat like a jerk. It was beautiful though. I felt like I was in a snowglobe. Instead of watching the road, I was watching the snow fall. Sure that doesn't sound safe, but I'm a multi-tasker. I can do it. Unfortunately, the snow wasn't really sticking to the ground, but it was still a pretty site to see:Ok, this pic was actually shot at Wake, but you get the idea.
Snow in December in Austin is a pretty big deal for those of you who don't live in Texas!

Maybe snow in Austin will bring me one step closer to seeing this little guy:
Too cute.

Race for the Cure

Today I ran the Race for the Cure 5k. I'll be honest, I did not look forward to rising at 5:45 am to be downtown by 7:30 to pickup my packet and then run. I am not a morning runner. Luckily, we moved back an hour so it was at least bearable. My friend Mike came to pick me up, but arrived 15 minutes late. I was a bit afraid we were running behind schedule. However, I did not anticipate he'd be speeding like a mofo, so we made good time to Drew's house. Entering Drew's room, I immediately notice we're wearing matching outfits. A black t-shirt and white Nike mesh shorts. Way to go. Although, I chose to run in athletic socks whereas Drew ran in...business socks. They weren't even a matching pair. Drew lives near downtown, so after parking in a paid parking lot which we did not pay, we trotted down to the race area.

25,000 people! I didn't expect that many people to participate. For some reason I ingrained in my mind, 'no way can this be bigger than the Nike Human Race.' But it was! The Human Race in Austin only had around 13,000, but it was a 10k. The big different between that and this 5k was that the majority of the participants in the 10k actually ran. The majority of the Race for the Cure were walkers/people who didn't want to be timed. So really, less competitive.

We barely made it to the starting line for the timed runners before it started. Drew and Mike run faster than me so naturally I couldn't run with them. I just ran casually enjoying my time. The only other race I've ran was the Human Race and there were multiple hills incorporated. Not even small hills. This race, however, had tiny hills. Very small. Very few. All in all, it was an easy race. I didn't notice any mile markers until the last one, therefore I started my kick with .1 miles to go. Not good. My official time was 23 min 59 sec. I placed 15th out of 181 girls in my age group. My goal for the race was to finish under 25. I did it! Now if only I had started my kick sooner/ran competitively, I'm sure I could have knocked the time down to 22 or less. The next 5k I do, I want to try to run competitively.
Blurry, I know, but I don't feel like messing with another screen shot. If you can't figure it out, my line is the burnt orange one.

Before the race, Drew, Mike, and I had decided at a place to meet once we finished the run. When I was done, I grabbed a bottle of water and meandered over the the spot. Couldn't find them, although I swore I heard people calling my name followed by snickering. Feeling like a fool, I decided to not stand there, but to wander around the tents. I ran into other members from our team, pah jee bpuh suh (don't ask me, I have no idea what it means), and ventured around with them. Basically we walked around and picked up free stuff. After, I decided to go back to the 'spot,' and sure enough, Mike and Drew were there sitting on the ground. Apparently they had been there the whole time and were in disbelief as I approached them with a big smile on my face and a huge bag of free goodies. Since they were empty handed, I made another round with them to pick up even more free stuff. I think I got around 20 protein bars, some apples and oranges, shampoo, 2 hats, a fanny pack, 5 Sweet Leaf teas, candy, a fan, a nail filer...yeah, got my money's worth. Did I mention I had a huge bag?

That basically concludes the race day. I'm just waiting for my picture. Hopefully it turns out better than my Human Race one . My mom laughed a lot a it for some reason.

Puerto Rican Delight

A good friend of mine flew in from Germany this past week. I haven't seen her in years so I was uber excited to catch up. Her parent's house was near Hula Hut, so after I got off work I met her for drinks there. After drinks I was invited to join in a family dinner. The party consisted of me, her, the boyfriend, and her parents. I was in for a Puerto Rican Delight.

Her mom had cooked up some flank steak dish, rice, beans, and tostones (delicious friend bananas - kinda tasted like french fries, but better). All of those dishes were amazing, but what made the meal complete was the homemade pumpkin pie. I've never had pumpkin pie that fabulous, and I'm not even a huge fan! Usually I can handle one or two bites, but her mom's pumpkin pie, I was ready to devour slices. Even though the pie wasn't Puerto Rican, I think I really like Puerto Rican food. I hope to try more in the future.

While the dinner was fantastic, what occurred during dinner was a bit awkward for me. I haven't participated in a formal dinner in years. There was a seating arrangement (Each parent at the head of a table, my friend and her boyfriend on one side of the table, and me on the opposite), classical music playing in the background, proply set up silverware, wine, and the 'rules for food.' The guest is supposed to serve herself first, and then pass the dish clockwise? or was it counterclockwise? and seniority was considered as well. Anyways, basically they had to instruct me to where to pass/put the dishes. Also, there was constant conversation. I felt like I had to impress the parents because they asked what I was doing now, talked about jobs and my qualifications, and I think I did well. My favorite line came when I was talking about my Hong Kong experience and her dad asked, "Hong Kong was given back to China recently, isn't that correct?" My friend and I looked at each other and laughed and said it was over 10 years ago so no, and he simply replied "11 years ago is recently to me" and the boyfriend replied "11 years ago is half our lives!" Amusing.

I'm not sure how proper American family dinners are, but I have to wonder if there is less conversation. In Latin America, dinner is used as a platform to converse for a long period of time, and that's exactly what we did at the Puerto Rican dinner. It was a nice change for me, considering at home, if it's not a special holiday, I eat dinner alone and infront of a television.

Arcade Etiquette

This past weekend I was able to finally make it out to Arcade UFO to try out the new Street Fighter 4. If any of you are Street Fighter fans, what are you waiting for?! Oh that’s right, maybe you’re not as lucky enough as Austin to have a machine. Last time I checked there were around 10 machines in the U.S. and Austin had 2. Go ATX. I really enjoy how each machine is fit for 1 player, and 1 player only. That way, you don’t have to worry about arm space when you do your crazy moves. Some people get intense. Anyways, the set up is really 2 machines next to each other, or across from one another (Asian style) and each has it’s own flat panel HD screen. At this arcade there were 4 machines set up to form a square, so sometimes you would see a person peeking through the cracks to see who they were dealing with, kinda weird, but whateves. On with the story…

It takes a dollar to play, and I didn’t have ones on me. But luckily a friend of mine is a valet parker and has enough ones to hit up about 12 strip clubs in a night. I then proceeded to get dollar coins to actually insert it into the machine. Another thing I liked about this arcade game is that not only was there the normal arcade mode, but also a beginner mode. In this mode you got to go 3 rounds before anyone else could challenge you. That way you could familiarize yourself with controls and moves before someone annihilated you while you blew your dollar. I, of course, picked Ryu. He’s my go-to. When I was younger I would always pick Chun Li since she was the only girl. I finished my 3 rounds easily, and someone challenges me and also picks Ryu. What a jerk. I defeat him the first round, and almost had him the 2^nd round. He beat me, but barely. He clearly knew what he was doing. Imagine a stereotypical gamer nerd and you've got his looks down. I let my friend play.

I try Ryu again on beginner mode again because there are some moves I don’t understand. I didn’t play Street Fighter 3 much, so I wasn’t used to the charging up move. There’s also a counter move… I tried to get a grasp of those attacks to actually use. I thought I improved a lot and actually played a round after my 3 free rounds before someone challenged me. It was a peeping tom sitting either across or diagonal from me. He picked Ken. Fitting. I’m not sure if he knew I was a beginner, but he basically let me beat him up the first round. But the 2^nd and 3^rd rounds, he brought the big guns out. The second round I did okay, but the 3^rd round, I think I lasted 30 sec. Embarrassing. This same patterned happened with my friend too.

So I began to wonder...

I asked my brother if there was such a thing called arcade etiquette and he basically said no. Perhaps I should go to arcades more and conduct research…

Really though, if there is a Street Fighter 4 Arcade in your town, go check it out.

Rain, rain, go away...

Today I was supposed to participant in games of kickball and flag football, but due to the massive down pour all day, they both were canceled. The kickball team is with my company and our team name is "Totally Beatable." Is this an intimidation tactic? I wish. Working at an internet company, I've discovered that as athletes, the employees are not. There must be some valid correlation that shows the more tech savvy the company, the less athletic they are. As of now, our record is 2-3, with 3 more games to go. We believe we can actually have a winning record, and that would be a company first...the company started in 2003. That's 5 years of losing records in a plethora of sports. In fact, our current softball team is around 1-4. They even lost to a special needs team.
Anyways, not to toot my own horn, I def. rank in the top 10 most athletic there. I think there's around 40 employees. I'm the most athletic girl, but that doesn't say much because there's only 8, another perk of working at an internet company. My "buddy" at the company (very nice, fratty UVA boy) says he's very athletic and competitive, but all I've seen him do is slip and fall and dislocate his shoulder when running to first base in a game of softball. Yes, I made sure to point out it was pathetic. I've already proven myself, I carried my sand vball team to 1st in the company tournament. See?

A neat fact about the company is, I would say half of the employees are ACC alum. Duke, UNC, UVA, Wake, Clemson, Miami, and Florida State are all represented, and to be clear, I'm not the only Wake alum! As long as Wake stays on top in football, I am a happy camper, because let's face it, who wouldn't take a chance to poke fun at a school that loses to Duke 3-31.

The flag football team I play on is with IM at UT. Obviously I'm not a student there and I'm not an Adrian Peterson, so it's okay to find ways to let me play. I'd never played on the IM fields before. They are 500x better than Wake's. Our football team is decent, we need to win the next game in order to have a chance at playoffs, then they base it on points. The majority of the team are 5th year seniors in the PPA program, and without a doubt, they are more athletic than the company I am interning for, but in general less competitive than friends I usually play sports with. Around this time last year, I was competing for my 2nd IM shirt in volleyball.I miss it. What a fantastic team. Who am I gonna play bball with this year?!

At least I have dodge ball to look forward to...