30 Things Every Woman Should Have and Should Know by the Time She’s 30: A friend posted this on Facebook and I thought it was interesting … at least I have a little more than 2 years to get the last few things done:

By 30, you should have …

11. A set of screwdrivers, a cordless drill, and a black lace bra.
14. A skin-care regimen, an exercise routine, and a plan for dealing with those few other facets of life that don’t get better after 30.

By 30, you should know …

3. How to quit a job, break up with a man, and confront a friend without ruining the friendship.
6. The names of the secretary of state, your great-grandmothers, and the best tailor in town.
7. How to live alone, even if you don’t like to.
13. Who you can trust, who you can’t, and why you shouldn’t take it personally.
15. Why they say life begins at 30.

So, I need to update. How do you get back into blogging? I used to post everyday or so in high school & college, but now I’m lucky if I get in 5 posts a year.

Anyway, here’s what’s been happening this year (nothing super amazing):

• I started allergy shots — would rather get stuck 100 times and be done than buying medicine for the rest of my life.
• We got a new 55″ LCD TV (upgrade from a 32″) and TV stand and it’s awesome.
• I got my ears pierced for my wedding and can finally wear dangly earrings. I know I’m like the last person in the world to do this
• I went on a Craigslist spree and got a bookcase, headboard for the guest bedroom, bedroom set for the master bedroom, and 2 console tables.
• Mike’s brother got married.
• We got a new kitchen faucet.
• I joined MyFitnessPal in an attempt to be healthier. If you’re a member, feel free to add me!

That’s about it for now. Time to finish laundry/cleaning and playing The Sims 3!

On December 7, 2007 I sat down to write a big update post, but never got around to finishing it lol. What I did manage to write is below, ’cause frankly I’ve forgotten anything else I was going to say, and I think the Gmail fiasco is at least worth mentioning:

My Gmail and eBay accounts got hacked.
Yep, that’s right, the worst nightmare for millions of Gmail users happened to me. I still don’t know why or how the hacker figured out my not-so-easy-to-guess password, but early last month I woke up one morning and couldn’t log in. I could still access Reader and Groups and whatever other services I was automatically signed in to, but not from another computer. I filled out numerous Gmail help forms, and as the days went by, only received automated replies.

To expand on the above paragraph … I also foolishly used the same password for both my Gmail and eBay accounts. The hacker obviously knew this too and decided to link them together and scam people by selling fake PS3s. In the end, it took about a week for me to get my Gmail account back (practically torture since it contained all my email) … but eBay was amazing and restored my access in literally 5 minutes. I’ve since changed my passwords and started using Thunderbird so I don’t have to funnel everything into Gmail, among other things. Here’s a screenshot I took of my account immediately after regaining access:

And “Tengjiao Ji” can die

I got a flu shot 2 weeks ago, and my upper right arm still hurts from it. The pain subsided for awhile but didn’t disappear completely, and now it seems to be back in full force. Is this normal? This is the 2nd flu shot I’ve ever gotten (voluntarily ’cause it seemed like a good idea … no one said I needed one), and last year everything was fine.

Some background, thanks to the now-dead Tunnel Vision:

1. Go to http://www.careercruising.com.
2. Log in with username: nycareers / password: landmark
3. Click on “Matchmaker” at the top.

I wasn’t sure if 39 questions about what I like and dislike in the job world would produce anything meaningful, but since there have been moments when I’ve questioned if design is right for me, I decided to give it a go. Luckily, the results below provide a bit of reassurance! Bold = what I do now and italics = something I’d like to do:

Interest Rank:

1. Multimedia Developer
2. Website Designer
3. Desktop Publisher
4. Cartoonist / Comic Illustrator
5. Fashion Designer
6. Computer Programmer
7. Animator
8. Video Game Developer
9. Computer Animator
10. Graphic Designer
11. Artist
12. Business Systems Analyst
13. Database Developer
14. Medical Illustrator
15. Web Developer
16. Industrial Designer
17. Computer Support Person
18. Interior Designer
19. Sign Maker
20. Film Editor

So, I turned 23 six days ago. Over the weekend I was in Manhattan with my grandpa (and dad and brother) to celebrate, and it was awesome: 3rd row center seats for Rent (at first we were like, are you sure these are our seats?), visiting MoMA and its design store, the Apple store on 5th Avenue, dinner at a nice Italian restaurant, and the American Museum of Natural History! I took tons of pictures too. So yeah, it was pretty sweet.

I also got the following:

Grandma and Bob:
- Sheetz gift card

Mike:
- Treasure Planet DVD
- trip to Harrisonburg (sort of)

Aunt Ann and Ed:
- money

Grandpa and Mary:
- magnet from Turkey
- purse from Turkey
- Monty Python and the Holy Grail DVD
- Gap gift card
- digital picture frame

Dad:
- money

Wow. Just heard about the Virginia Tech shootings like 5 minutes ago from Brad, and now I get an email from the Hanson street team, of all things, asking if everyone’s okay. At least 21 people are dead (22 including the gunman, who opened fire in a dorm and classroom this morning) in the “deadliest campus massacre in U.S. history.” Again, wow … read the article for more info. I hope the people I know there are okay!

Edit: The death toll is now at 29.