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linders1025

To those of you just surfing onto this site, this is Mission 100 & it's basically a task of 100 things to do in 1000 days. It's just a project I created in order to learn more about myself & to experience life. If you would like to join me on any of these tasks or help me (like send me a postcard from wherever you are from, help me break a world record, or help me fold paper cranes) please do (: Anyhow, enjoy! If you're not interested, no worries, my daily tabs are below this entry so just scroll down (:

*note, I unstickied the original Mission 100 entry & just copied & pasted the Mission 100 tasks so that people don't have to read through the quotes part constantly*

The Mission: 100 things in 1000 days

Starting: June 6, 2005
Ending: March 3, 2008

The 100 Tasks (in no specific order):

1. Go abroad-Europe/Asia/Australia/Africa for an excursion Went to ASIA: Bangkok, Macau, Hong Kong, Beijing, Manila, Taipei, & Tokyo! (Summer 2006)
2. Watch every movie in the Harry Potter series in 1 sitting MISSION COMPLETED!, 11/17-11/18-and spend a good 2 hrs in a movie theater awaiting the midnight showing of GoF w/ my bestests and played charades! Can't get much better than that, can it?
3. Try out for a reality TV show MISSION COMPLETED--thank you Real World
4. See a show... on BROADWAY MISSION COMPLETED! 1/20/07 WICKED!!!
5. Road trip around Rhode Island-Visit EVERY city in 1 day (MISSION COMPLETED 5/26/07 w/ Albert & Duncan)
6. Surf @ at least 5 beaches (MISSION COMPLETED: Surfed Wrightsville @ Public Access #4, 6/13/2005, Surfed Wilmington Beach, 6/14/2005, Surfed Narragansett, RI 9/24/2005, Big Wave Bay, Hong Kong 6/30/2006, San Francisco! 1/26/08)
7. Complete a triathlon (MISSION COMPLETED: Goog Challenge 10/08)
8. Finish LindaKTong.com
9. Go dancing in the rain (MISSION COMPLETED: 10/4/2006-dancing in the rain w/ Travis imitating THIS video)
10. Make a wedding cake
11. Build a bar
12. Send a message in a bottle
13. Sell something on eBay for more than $10 (MISSION COMPLETED: concert tickets for Sia
14. Use only public transportation for a month (MISSION COMPLETED: Thailand/Hong Kong/Asia Summer--May 25th-July4th, until Aug 22nd)
15. Run across the TD courtyard, barefoot (MISSION COMPLETED 5/1/2007-TDDDTD DAY!)
16. Have a waterballoon fight (MISSION COMPLETELD 5/1/2007 - TDDDTD DAY!)
17. Memorize every state & its capital in the US (MISSION COMPLETED 5/29/2007)
18. Go skydiving & bungee jumping (Bungee jumping in Canada 8/13/2005 @ Great Canadian Bungee--HIGHEST jump in North America; sky diving w/ caleb/dan/ryan 7/19/08)
19. Go scuba diving/snorkeling (6/28/2008)
20. Make a wish in 30 different fountains (Southpoint Mall Fountain, 6/17/2005, DC, Georgetown Mall, Cleveland, Crabtree valley mall--all over the summer, will post the pics of each one soon + stuff in 2006: Spring Break--Dallas malls, Summer in Bangkok, Hong Kong, Cali, Rhode Island Fountain (RI Mall)-5/26/07)--a couple in Boracay)
21. Go camping (MISSION COMPLETED Aug 3-8, 2005 in Moab, Utah--Canyonlands National Park & Arches National Park)
22. Collect every state quarter that's been released (I'm working on my collection now... I have all but 1 of the quarters currently released... still awaiting, I believe they'll all be out in 2008)
23. Write a song & perform at an open mic night MISSION COMPLETED: Performed at Vanila 8/19/2006, Performed "CDO's: what are those?"
24. Road trip to a White Castle MISSION COMPLETED: w/ Samarth & Joel in WISCONSIN! 6/3/2007 pic is in THIS post
25. Get a postcard from every state in the United States (Utah-Brian Hill, 6/17/2005 & California-MikeyMike, 6/18/2005, Idaho-Brian Hill, 7/18/2005, Washington-Bert, 7/23/2005, Illinois-Julie, 7/24/2005, Arizona, Colorado, Kansas, Missouri, Tennessee 8/2/2005-8/9/2005 (during Utah Roadtrip), New Hampshire-8/15/2005, Louisiana-11/16/2005-from Catherine!! Hawaii-11/24/2005-from Bert!!!, Nevada/Las Vegas-11/29/2005--from Catherine!! Washington, New Jersey, Kentucky, Ohio, New York, Colorado--Will, North Carolina-Craig, and although these aren't US States, I still want to thank: Caroline (carecare)for her BEAUT postcard, Joel for the postcard from Spain, and Laura for the 3 postcards from various places during her summer travels in Belize!) Thanks to Catherine for a beaut. postcard from Oklahoma--1/13/2007!, got postcards from Pennsylvania, Ohio, & Washington D.C. during winter break while flying to interviews!) and I have a bunch at home I never updated on--oops--will do that soon... here's the official list
26. Walk a mile backwards (MISSION COMPLETED: Thailand trip--1/23/2008)
27. Break a world record/Create a world record MISSION COMPLETED (but still going to keep going... yeah IN know)--Part of the largest simultaneous READ for JumpStart)
28. Knit a scarf (MISSION COMPLETED Started 11/21/2005, Finished 12/23/2005)
29. Learn the lyrics to REM's It's the End of the World as we Know it.. & be able to sing along
30. Go clubbing in NYC (so much cooler in HK) MISSION COMPLETED! HK summer of 06, NYC fall of 06 w/ Novantas peeps--in Bar
31. Carry groceries for an old lady (MISSION COMPLETED: 1/17/2008--she bought me a soda haha
32. Learn how to golf & go 18 holes
33. Throw a party & bartend MISSION COMPLETED 10/27/2007--Birthday/Housewarming/Halloween FANTASTIC--we also featured Peppermint Patty shots, Apple Pie shots, & body shots... along with fantastic drinks courtesy of yours truly
34. Get a pen pal in another country & write him/her (MISSIONCOMPLETED 10/14/2006--Michelle in Malaysia is my pen pal!!!)
35. Donate hair to Locks of Love MISSION COMPLETED 6/20/2007 my new short do? check it out in my Asia photos soon to be put up
36. Go running along the beach (MISSION COMPLETED-Wilmington Beach 6/16/2005)
37. Do graffiti art somewhere (legal)
38. Play mission impossible in a Walmart
39. Make a pizza & spin the dough on my hand like a pizza dude
40. Do something nice for 3 people & tell them to pass it on--Pay if Forward (MISSION COMPLETED Took care of stranger's baby on airplane flight-2.5 hrs!!! 8/15/2005, Paid for a strangers tank of gas 8/15/2005, Paid for a stranger--Red Ford Focus--$2.00 toll on Garden State pkwy on the drive up to Yale, 11/25/2005)
41. Go stargazing & find 10 different constellations (MISSION COMPLETED: Costanoa 8/28/08)
42. Build a 3D puzzle
43. Make a Build-a-Bear (MISSION COMPLETED--in Canada @ the Tremblant Ski Trip 2006 w/ the Yale Ski Team. I made a moose called: Oozing Sores & he has a pink star inside him!--completed 1/7/2006)
44. Learn the names of all 206 bones in the human body
45. Play croquet (@ Michael Mina dinner)
46. Make a pinata & bust it open w/ friends (going away party @ work )
47. Go to a costume party MISSION COMPLETED 10/26//2007 & 10/31/2007---holllla Redwood City & GoooG
48. Read DaVinci Code MISSION COMPLETED 7/5/2005
49. Throw a football the length of the Timothy Dwight courtyard (MISSION COMPLETED 5/22/07 w/ Sherm/James/Charlie)
50. Go to the Frick museam (MISSION COMPLETED: 4/21/2007; post JPM trip)
51. Read every Calvin & Hobbes book (Went through: Lazy Sunday Book, Calvin & Hobbes, & There's Treasure Everywhere on 6/13/2005 Revenge of the Babysat 7/25/2005, The Authoritative Calvin & Hobbes 12/23/2005)
52. Build a tower of playing cards
53. Learn how to play the drums I've begun--thank you Rock Band
54. Go to a dealership & (pretend to be interested in buying cars) & test drive cars (MISSION COMPLETED: although, I wasn't pretending to be interested... considering: civic hybrid, prius, escape hybrid, or just a mazda 3)
55. Go to Vegas & beat the dealer (MISSION COMPLETED 2/22/08-2/24/08 won @ Poker, Pai Gow, Black Jack, and CRAPS!!!)
56. Have a sleepover... like when I was little (MISSION COMPLETED 3/30/2007 w/ Alison & Illana)
57. Go to a wine tasting (MISSION COMPLETED 2/16/08-2/17/08--went to Napa w/ Nate & Family & Friends--LOVED the Malvasia @ sterling & EVERYTHING @ Hanna!)
58. Make 30 free throws in a row (made 21 in a row, 6/7/05, MISSION COMPLETED 6/10/05)
59. Play a game of monopoly all the way through following all the rules (Did this over Thanksgiving w/ Bert, Kenny, & Jenny--who killed all of us with a Red monopoly on Indiana, Illinois, & Kentucky, MISSION COMPLETED 11/23/2005)
60. Watch the sunrise & sunset in 1 day (MISSION COMPLETED 8/4/2005, 8/5/2005, 8/6/2005, & 8/7/2005 & 8/8/2005-in Moab, Utah, Vail, CO, & St. Louis, MO)
61. Attempt every song on DDR (dance dance revolution on PS2) (MISSION COMPLETED 12/27/2008--although I failed @ most--this is from DDR2)
62. Build a snowman (MISSION COMPLETED 2/12/2006, Timothy Dwight Courtyard--picture in 2/13/2006 posting)
63. See every Adam Sandler movie (watched Billy Madison, 6/8/05, 50 First Dates, 6/13/05, The Longest Yard, 6/17/2005, Big Daddy, 6/19/2005, Spanglish, 6/20/2005, Happy Gilmore 6/21/2005, Punch Drunk Love 7/12/2005, Waterboy 7/12/2005 Airheads 7/25/2005 Little Nicky 10/23/2005 Mr. Deeds 12/3/2005--Yeah TBS for playing this movie 3 times in a row! Anger Management 12/24/2005) - watching as they come out. 
64. Make a music video MISSION COMPLETED 12/8/2006: Label by Travis Nelson
65. Help build a house with Habitat for Humanity (MISSION COMPLETED--3/24/07-3/25/07 New Haven chapter)
66. Have a caricature done of myself
67. Carve my initials in a treeMISSION COMPLETED 12/17/2006 at East Rock--the picture will be uploaded ASAP!! PROMISE
68. Get a hot dog from Gray's Papaya in NYC MISSION COMPLETED 2/10/2006 @ the Grays on 8th & 36th
69. Find a waterfall & shower beneath it MISSION COMPLETED 7/3/2005- @ Hanging Rock in NC
70. Ride every rollercoaster in an amusement park MISSION COMPLETED 3/9-17/2007 in Orlando (Island of Adventure, Magic Kingdom, & MGM)
71. Spend a night in a 5 star hotel MISSION COMPLETED--Shangri-La (I actually went to the SL in Bangkok, Hong Kong, Beijing, & Manila!)
72. Throw a mystery party (like clue)
73. Go on a blind date It was a disaster... not happening again. 
74. Find a 4 leaf clover MISSION COMPLETED! 7/11/2007 in Temple of Heaven, Beijing see here
75. Ride a mechanical bull MISSION COMPLETED 4/26/2006 @ Yale--Silliman Day--See 4/27 post for pictures!
76. Buy a lottery ticket & choose numbers by the first 6 people I see MISSION COMPLETED 6/7/2007 in OHIO--yyyeah lotttto tix
77. REALLY celebrate a holiday (i.e. go to New Orleans for Mardi Gras, Pamplona for Fiesta de San Fermin-running of the bulls, Ireland for St. Patty's Day)
78. Go to Hooters--FOR THE WINGS MISSON COMPLETED 3/11/2007 in Orlando!!
79. Fly a kite (MISSION COMPLETED: 9/22/07-@ Fort Mason right off the water yeah SF!)
80. Eat every food on the BBC's top 50 things to eat before you die-http://www.bbc.co.uk/food/tv_and_radio/50eats_index.shtml (MISSION NEARLY COMPLETED! Ate everything except Haggis)
81. Go white water rafting (MISSION COMLPETED 8/5/2005 on the Colorado River w/ Tag-A-Long-class 3-5 rapids!)
82. Get my belly button pierced or get a tattoo... (MISSION COMPLETED 1/28/2006, at: The Edge Tattoo & Piercing parlor in New Haven, CT!!!!)
83. Go windsurfing/wakeboarding (Tahoe)
84. Go to one of those human fly places & stick to the wall in a velcro suit MISSION COMPLETED 4/26/2006 @ Yale-Silliman Day!! See 4/27 posting for pictures!!!
85. Build a time capsule, fill it & bury it
86. Make 1,000 paper cranes (362 of 1000---NOW IT'S 847 of 1000!!--Done!! as of 3/5/08)
87. Buy a meal for a homeless person (MISSION COMPLETED flower lady @ABP 5/24/07)
88. Photocopy my bum
89. Go on a cruise MISSION COMPLETED 6/24/2005--Henrietta on Cape Fear River w/ Pico vs. Island Trees (:
90. Make a sand castle (MISSION COMPLETED--Myrtle Beach! 5/16/07)
91. Sleep on the beach (6/15/2005-6/16/2005) MISSION COMPLETED @ Wrightsville Beach, NC
92. Kiss a crush under the moonlight MISSION COMPLETED 8/17/2006... can't give these details out... but yeah (:
93. Laugh so hard I cry (MISSION COMPLETED 3/30/07 w/ Alison & Illana)
94. Taste every item on the menu @ a restuarant (MISSION COMPLETED--although it was easy, thanks to In-N-Out!)
95. Jump into a body of water fully clothed (MISSION COMPLETED 8/5/2005 in the Colorado River)
96. Write & Illustrate a children's book (MISSION COMPLETED 12/1/2005, wrote a book for "Make a Book, Teach a Kid"--for Cambodian children. It's a book called A Penguin's Tale. It's about a penguin, Brian, that travels all over the world--it should be available online to download and we'll be binding it and sending it to Cambodia to help children learn to read!)
97. Learn Java
98. Make a snow angel (MISSION COMPLETED! 12/4/2005, in the middle of some strange field after the first snow of 2005 in New Haven, CT... pic soon)
99. Befriend a stranger (Tallullah (: Thanks for helping me out! MISSION COMPLETED 7/1/2005)
100. Go an entire day simply being happy (MISSION COMPLETED: sooo many times! I've realized I'm a rather happy person and I'd love to complete this one over & over again )

linders1025

Read this article: http://rap.about.com/b/2008/11/14/trick-trick-says-his-album-is-not-for-homosexuals.htm

Trick Trick said: "I don't want your faggot money any g**damn way. I don’t like it. Carry that sh*t somewhere else."

Way to be a bigot, Trick Trick. Also, what kind of idiot has a name like Trick Trick? I mean, really? 

People like this really annoy me... it feels like we just took 10 steps backwards. 

linders1025

Arrived in Dublin & I'm loving it so far. 

While in the airport, I waited for my luggage at the carousel & a bunch of people kept staring at me. Then some took pictures of me. It was at that point I realized, wow... I'm the only Asian person here!

We went out to a bar with Laura's friends & I'm usually not a fan of bars because they're small, smelly, and have a small selection. This car was what I would call a proper bar. It was great and it was super festive! Ornaments & white lights everywhere Loved it! Once again, stares. Surprise surprise, only Asian there as well  

Oh well, I was in heaven - I <3 an Irish accent. 

linders1025

I'm against prop 8/hate, and I'm completely for overturning it. I know that the people in CA who voted to pass it obviously have differeing views than I on this issue, but in the end, that's what it is, a differing view. 

It makes me sad because in the end, of course I feel like my view is the 'right' view or that it's the 'humane' view, but for someone who voted for prop 8, I know to them that they believe that they are 'right.' 

I don't hate those people by any means. I'm sad that in cases like this money plays such a large part and donations make the world of a difference, but creating blacklists to hate on people that donated that money? I think that is taking it a step too far. Have we not learned from witch hunts & communist scares that lists are no good? 

Come on people... I hate prop 8, but there's no need to take that hate & focus it on the people that voted for it, they were doing what they believed to be right in their minds. 

linders1025

Went running around London tonight. I figure, it's be over half of my trip and I'm still not able to sleep before 3am... might as well make the most of every waking hour. 

So, to Hyde Park I went... and Notting Hill. 

I love the crisp air and strangely enough, the wet ground. There's something so 'Nike Commerical'-ish about it. Tonights soundtrack starting with some Kate Nash, Ben Folds, Foo Fighters (In Your Honor 2nd disc), & what not. The finale for the run? The Mirror's Edge song. It's quite amazing, I can't stop listening to it. 

Ok, time to shower!

linders1025

So... the day has come!

People have made fun of me for this for who knows how long. People comment on my overuse of it. They don't get my multiple different tones & inflections associated with it. But now is the time for them to stop criticizing. It is official. 

'Meh' is in the dictionary!

linders1025

View Larger Map

  I took a nice long walk around London on Sunday - zoom in to see my path. I went towards the East and then made my way back to the hotel via the Thames River (it's a beautiful walk). 

I popped in my headphones and walked through the city, admiring the architecture, meeting the people, & of course, enjoying the crisp air that I have missed of a land that actually has seasons (gasp!). 

One thing I tend to do when I'm by myself is soundtrack my life. My favorite parts of movies are when you see people walking, riding in trains, running down a hall, anything... but there's no sound, no dialogue, nothing, you just have this song playing & the music is so well chosen. It throws your emotions into high gear and everything just means so much more. When I'm alone, I flip through my ipod and try to recreate those moments and bring some sort of meaning to those events in my life, no matter are stupid & simple they may be. My walk along the Thames was perfectly stored into my mind by Snow Patrol:

Being in another country really forces you to think about where you're going and what you want to do. A good friend of mine recently decided to up and leave the comfy world of Google because he wasn't getting enough out of it. He wasn't happy and he didn't feel fulfilled by any means. He sought adventure but in the days of a 9-5 you really find little adventure and we all justify it as 'safe' and 'comfortable' but when you're young and comfortable isn't nearly as important, adventure is what motivates. He's off living by the seat of his pants and I can't help but admire. I like the idea of freedom, being able to uproot and go anywhere, answer to no one, and live & breathe every moment because you can. Sure, you will have to give up some creature comforts, but are they really worth it? 

I think part of me is praying that the rest of me gets the guts to uproot and seek out my dreams, throwing safety to the wind because in the end, the worst thing to do is ask, what if... right? If I could be more like my friend... to have the confidence he has in himself to know that he would be ok no matter what he did, to know that he is strong enough to handle what may come his way, and to be able to live without a plan in a world that tends to hurt the unprepared... that's guts. 

linders1025

7 days of London, 30 hours of sleep. 

So the one thing that has returned from long ago... I have this issue lately with insomnia. I just can't sleep anymore... it's been a problem since Chrome. Sometime around May when the launch started really picking up, I couldn't sleep before 2am (either because of work or from restlessness). I love working out, but it's gotten to a point that if I don't work out, I can't fall asleep & I just toss around in bed with all this excess energy and end up in this strange restless frsutration. I usually have to get up and do jumping jacks & run in circles in my room to just get my body out of spastic mode. I'm not entirely sure what's up with me... once I joined the Android team, my sleep patterns got a little worse... I started traveling a little bit and time changes never help.There was the weekend before the Android announcement... I got maybe 3 hours of sleep that weekend, worked Monday through Wednesday and finally got sleep Wednesday night. 3 hours of sleep across 5 days and my team couldn't help but think I was nuts. I looked like shit but I was on my game. I was in some sort of manic phase and my mind was in overdrive. It's like when you're starving yourself and you eventually get to that point where you're not hungry at all... I was so tired that I finally got to the point where I was energized.

After that launch, I thought I'd get more sleep. Then with daylight savings & an altered work out routine, I started getting ~4 hours of sleep a night... mostly because I just can't close my eyes for very long. I can't shut off my mind and I spend the day in this strange tired but fully awake haze. My body is tired but my mind is sharp & I can feel that disconnect every minute of the day and it drives me nuts.

Now that I'm in London, my sleep pattern has gotten even worse. I've been unable to sleep before 3am London time (7pm PST). I'm assuming it's my inability to switch over from PST but I still wake up at 8am GMT which means I'm waking up at midnight PST. I have been working out around midnight till 2am every night because I just have so much energy and I use my shower to just slow me down. Last night I tried to crawl into bed around 2am but just couldn't... instead I took a walk around London by the Thames for another hour or so... finally went back to my room & read until I was able to fall asleep.

Last time I was in London I had the same issue. It's actually how I met Cody - we both couldn't sleep and spent our nights in the hallway just talking because neither of us could seem to pass out and I used the 3-4 soccer games/day to slow me down enough just to get 3-4 hours of sleep.

This is absurd, I can feel the effect on my body and I know at some point my mind is going to snap. I'm awake for more hours than I was when I was iBanking but I'm not even productive because I'm trying so hard to sleep. I've been going in and out of these manic phases where I'm productive or incredibly unproductive (just sitting there going through every article on Digg). I feel like I'm losing control which is perhaps my worst fear... Control is one of the few things I have and now it's slipping out of my hands. Part of me can't wait to get back to the states to *hopefully* get back on some regulated sleep schedule.

And as a side note - I have looked into drugs, the thing is, I just can't handle them... for some reason my body reacts to any small amount of drugs & the effects are magnified - Advil works like Vicodin, Tylenol PM shuts me down for 14 hours, etc. I also just don't like taking anything... so big no to Ambien/etc...

Ok... off to wander the city & hopefully burn some energy. Maybe tonight I'll come back sleepy (mind & body).

linders1025

Lyrics:

All I know is that you're so nice,
You're the nicest thing I've seen.
I wish that we could give it a go,
See if we could be something.

I wish I was your favourite girl,
I wish you thought I was the reason you are in the world.
I wish my smile was your favourite kind of smile,
I wish the way that I dressed was your favourite kind of style.

I wish you couldn't figure me out,
But you always wanna know what I was about.
I wish you'd hold my hand when I was upset,
I wish you'd never forget the look on my face when we first met.

I wish you had a favourite beauty spot that you loved secretly,
'Cos it was on a hidden bit that nobody else could see.
Basically, I wish that you loved me,
I wish that you needed me,
I wish that you knew when I said two sugars, actually I meant three.

I wish that without me your heart would break,
Yea, I wish that without me you'd be spending the rest of your nights awake.
I wish that without me you couldn't eat,
Yea, I wish I was the last thing on your mind before you went to sleep.

Look,
All i know is that you're the nicest thing I've ever seen
And I wish we could see if we could be something
Yea, I wish we could see if we could be something