this quiz is fun.  check it out.  hehehe....

this is how i scored:

You fail. Stay out of the bedroom. Not to mention the nursery.

aw.

marrie and i went up to san francisco this past weekend to redecorate thao's new office.  it was difficult because we only had one and a half days to do it.  and to make things worse, we'd only seen the office in photos.  here are some before pictures:

as you can see, the office was dark and windowless.  we faced some other design challenges as well: 1. we weren't able to paint or redo the walls and 2. we couldn't remove the desk or bookcase.  here's what we did:

1.  we cleaned up all of the clutter on her desk and bookcases, throwing away anything she didn't use.  a lot of crap was left by the previous occupant.  we removed all the papers from her walls as well.  this alone made the office look twice as good.

2.  we chose a warm color palette with a hint of color to make the office appear welcome and inviting, while at the same time maintaining a casual, comfortable space.  we chose different shades of brown, black and white, and our accent color was green. 

3.  the main piece chosen for the room was a brown and white photo of trees (found at ikea).  we then chose a bamboo rug to complement the earth tones, as well as a seagrass bulletin board and a floral arrangement consisting of branches and white petals.  inexpensive green chairs were chosen for their color, and a green vase, green decorative glass spheres, small green floral prints, and a green orchid added a touch of green throughout the room.

4.  we tilted the bookcase a bit and added some finishing touches.  these ranged from one-of-a kind pieces found in decorating shops, like a pyramidal wood lamp, a leather ottoman, bronze coat hooks, and a colorful framed floral print to items we found in thao's house that she was no longer using, such as a standing paper lamp, candles, an hourglass, and a glass sphere.  lastly, the blinds were removed and a sheer black and white modern print curtain was hung in its place.

here are the "after" pics:

thao took us to an amazing sushi restaurant named ame at the st. regis hotel.  not only was the sushi yummy, the desserts were delectable... my favorite was the rhubarb pie.  mmm...  this is definitely a trip i'll never forget. 

working in a professional setting is disastrous when you're trying to watch what you eat.  there is literally free food everywhere.  i had to be at work by 7 this morning and i got up extra early so i could have breakfast at home.  by 7:30, i was invited to have free breakfast in the lounge, which included muffins, donuts, bagels, fruit, drinks....

i left that site and arrived at my next place of work by 9.  when i arrived, i was invited to a pot-luck where people brought asian noodles, spaghetti and meatballs, homemade egg rolls, chocolate cake... the works.  after that, i noticed some yummy trader joe's chocolate chip cookies at the reception area.  i couldn't resist.

at 11, marrie and i went to starbucks where they were giving out free muffins, cookies, and coffee.  we left with three coffees and blueberry muffin bites without paying a dime. 

all that before noon.  and this happens everyday.  there's always a birthday party, baby shower, going away party, welcome back party, staff appreciation day, etc....  now i'm at my third work site for the day where they always try to stuff me full of food.  argh!  everyone is trying to sabotage my plan to eat healthy and exercise.  i wish i had more self-control.  i'll definitely have to hit the treadmill tonight.

ATTN:  a hot booty = wasted gas

the u.s. department of energy's national renewable energy laboratory says that 522 million gallons of gasoline could be saved each year if every passenger vehicle on u.s. roads had ventilated seats.  they argue that if drivers' asses were kept cool by these seats, then they wouldn't use air conditioning, thus saving gas.  (source: edmunds inside line)

work has been extra annoying this week.  two court appearances, being torn between two supervisors with different opinions, and working with people who have no idea what they're doing is making me one grumpy boy.  i've been using beer, cookies, sex and the city, and runs on the treadmill to maintain my sanity.

current addictions include youtube and guitar hero.  i found old episodes of the smurfs and thundercats, as well as old tv performances by beyonce, madonna, janet, etc...  so great.  and guitar hero for ps2 is awesome.  it makes me feel like a rock star.