Why?!

Why do bad things always happen to good people?

Damn, damn, damn.

I found out today that a friend of mine was killed in a car accident this past weekend. She was killed instantly. In a situation like that, is it OK to be thankful that it was quick?

This week has been crazy busy with work, already putting in three 12-hour days and it's only Tuesday. So here I sit at my computer, bawling every few minutes. It's hard to be productive when you can't see cleary because the tears keep flowing. With the work stress alone, I was ready for a nervous breakdown.

She was looking forward to coming to my wedding in Hawaii, and I was looking forward to catching up with her and what was going on in her life and with her family. Living in separate states, I hadn't seen her in a good year and a half -- since I moved to San Francisco.

She had the kindest soul. The string of e-mails that have brought the news just shows how many people's lives she touched.

Even though she died in a freak accident, some may say it was her time to go. Well, I say, Screw that! I'm too damn selfish and feel selfish for her family who need her and will miss her terribly.

I miss her already.

My heart goes out to her family.

Feeding time

My friend Ji-In sent me a link to this video to add to my collection of weird animal stories ...

"Octopus Eats Shark" (viewable in Internet Explorer browser)

Keepers at the Seattle Aquarium kept finding shark carcasses at the bottom of the tank. For weeks the 3- to 4-foot sharks kept vanishing. Turns out the culprit was an octopus they had moved into the large tank.

Heartbreaking

The following is an AP story about two 3-month-old cheetah cubs in an Ethiopian village ...

"U.S. Troops Find Abused Cheetah Cubs"

"I don't see why I should hand them over," Hudle told The Associated Press on Wednesday. 'When I was younger I looked after goats and camels, so I know what animals need.

His sons, 4 and 2, pulled the cubs' tails and dragged them around by ropes tied tightly to their necks. Other children followed, poking and teasing the frightened animals.

He knows "what animals need." I'd like to see the owner dragged around by a rope around his neck.

What's cookin'?

In San Francisco? Not much, I'm afraid.

I've come to the conclusion that many residents of San Francisco do not cook. This is based on some of my experiences since I've moved to the city.

For example, this evening I was shopping in the bakery aisle of my local grocery store, looking for baking cups -- you know, for muffins and cupcakes.

Thanksgiving is coming up, and corn bread muffins have been in my head for weeks now. Since I won't be traveling home to the Midwest and my mom's Thanksgiving dinner this year (to save some money for the wedding), I thought I'd make some because Thanksgiving to me is just not Thanksgiving without corn bread muffins. Now, I realize I do not need baking cups for muffins, but my mom always makes them with the paper cups and they just look so darn cute with the pastel wrappers.

So there I am in the grocery aisle, picking out baking cups. At first I was a bit disappointed when I thought only white ones were available, but to my relief the pastel ones were just hidden below.

As I turn to put the cups in my cart, a young woman in the aisle sees me with my cups and approaches me. She's about mid-20s, I'd say, professionally dressed. She asks if I'm making cupcakes. A bit surprised, I blurt out that I'm making muffins.

She then asks me if there are special mixes for making cupcakes. A second passed as her question repeated in my head and I thought to myself, "Are you kidding me??"

Noticing that she has a disposable cupcake tin in her hands, I take pity on her and explain that she just needs a cake mix to make cupcakes.

Curious to see what the woman would pick out for her cupcakes, I pretend to browse the section of cake mixes myself -- ready to offer any other valuable cooking advice if needed.

I see her eying the higher shelves of brownies and think to myself, "No, no, no! Cake mixes! Cake mixes!" After a little while, she finally selects a moist chocolate cake mix, and I sigh.

Talk about a case for "Food 911" or "How to Boil Water." Tyler Florence, you're needed in San Francisco!

Are you talkin' to me?!

My god, this could have been addressed to me ...

"Why Do You Have So Much Junk?"

Maybe there's hope for me yet. I have almost four months to clean out my hoard of clutter before my new married life begins. Besides, gotta make room for all my, err I mean our, lovely wedding gifts.

Let's see, where can I fit this gravy boat ... hmmm.

Royal mistake

The other day on a news Web site, I saw a link for a story from a local TV station:

"Prince, Dutchess visit Washington"

Come on, people! I guess with TV reporting it doesn't matter if it's "duchess" or "dutchess."

Note for all you royal watchers ...

Prince Charles and Camilla, the Duchess of Cornwall, will be in my 'hood on Monday evening for a dinner hosted by San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom and the British consul general at the newly opened M. H. de Young Memorial Museum in Golden Gate Park.

Oh, and in other nonroyalty, but celebrity news ...

Yesterday, Warren Beatty left me -- yes, ME -- a message on my answering machine. Granted, it was a recorded message, and it was about voting "no" on upcoming California propositions in the election, but it surprised the heck out of me. I have yet to delete it. My mom would probably get a kick out of hearing it.

Now, where is Governor "It's NOT a toooma" Ahhhhnold?

Where does the time go?

112 days to go.

I haven't had much time lately to post to this blog. An interesting, weird, kimchi-related or just plain stupid news story will remind me to post, but I do it more for my own reference library, I guess. "Where is that bizarre animal story again?"

This time of year marks the beginning of the insanely busy period at work, so between copyediting useless information to the average person and wedding planning, I've been slacking off on the blogging. (Actually, I've been procrastinating on the wedding planning, but I've given myself a kick in the rear.)

OK, to be honest, the new TV season has sucked me back into my couch potato ways. Just when I think I'll have more free time since some of my favorite shows have ended, I stupidly watch the pilots of new shows, thinking I may miss the next big hit show (advertisers must love viewers like me).

This year's returning shows that still have me tuning in religiously every week are "Lost" (even if the writing goes to pot, I'll still watch for the Korean couple), "Medium," "Desperate Housewives" and "Joey" (out of "Friends" loyalty, I'm hoping it gets better this season). I also try to catch "Monk," "CSI," "Cold Case" and "Law & Order: SVU" when I can.

New shows that have consumed more of my time include HBO's "Rome," "Commander in Chief" (it's about damn time we had a female president, even if it's only on television -- 2008, ladies? oh, and just saw Russell Wong on tonight's episode), "Grey's Anatomy" (which is more interesting these days than the desperate housewives, and I'll tune in for Sandra Oh anytime), "How I Met Your Mother," "Surface," "Invasion" and -- now don't judge me -- "America's Next Top Model." Sigh, yes, it's true.

I really need a TiVo, preferably the 300-hour one at the low, low price of $550. Can I register for that?