Android, you disgust me sometimes.

Thanks for reading, and Happy Holidays. I say it generically to not start a war with all the non-religious people, so there's that.

WARNING: This is going to be a bunch of geek talk that I will not stop and explain, much unlike my previous blog post about FB Messenger. If you don't know what I'm talking about, Google is your friend. If you STILL don't know what I'm talking about, please steer away from this blog.

Anyway, I STILL don't get what the big deal with rooting is. People pay top dollars for phones, either getting stuck in a 2-year contract or paying $500+ for a hunk of metal, plastic, silicone and glass that lets you do all sorts of things... Except unlock your phone's true capabilities? Isn't blocking root going against the whole purpose of Linux, which is founded as an open-source operating system? Isn't that what Linus Torvalds wanted?

Also for the sake of example (I have none of these things, I swear... OK, minus having Linux and a VM of Mac once), if I can put a Corvette engine and solder a dragon's head onto my BMW 3-Series, put a fake dead hooker on my lawn and paint an [insert offensive organization's name] symbol on the side of my house, put Macintosh or (wait for it) Linux on my laptop and have the glowing HP logo superimposed to look like the Bat-Signal, why is it that the most I'm able to customize my most frequently used device is the wallpaper and perhaps a limited array of cheapy decorative shells from the mall?

Here's another example: Why is it that I can have an alarm, immobilizer and BMW Assist recovery tracking on my car that's hardwired into the car's computer system, ADT at my house that's hardwired into the household wiring and either have cops swarming the house or you'd have to pull some pretty hardcore ninja stuff to bypass the alarm, have a hidden theft recovery tracker AND have Intel Anti-Theft embedded into BIOS on my laptop... BUT NOT have a security solution that'll survive a factory reset? NOTE: I have no clue if there are any solutions without root, but I've been using Avast Anti-Theft, and Android Device Manager failed me the last time.

Why do I say this? I still have a Motorola DROID RAZR Maxx HD. Yes, it's from October 2012, 2 years and 2 months old as of Dec 26 or simply... Old as hell in Android terms since they seem to rapidly evolve (just for scale, my previous laptop was still able to keep up despite for 4 years, but I hope phone evolution stabilizes after I get the newer phones); I get it. I got it as an emergency, but the DROID Maxx was announced the very. Next. Month.

Even worse? I can't upgrade this thing since it's amazing that Verizon is willing to give me a loyalty bonus of doubling my data plan, but they can't just give me an early upgrade, meaning I have to wait until June 27, 2015 (2nd year to the day) to upgrade... And since I had an identity theft issue, I'm sure that further screwed up the credit that I was desperately trying to repair... And possibly any chances of upgrading via EDGE or early MORE plan. So I'm stuck unless I'm willing to drop $599.99 on a new phone.

Anyway, back to the main point. Why do I want root? It's simple... There's more enhanced battery managers (Greenify), I can get rid of the bloatware instead of simply disabling it, and most importantly since I got my tablet stolen from a [so-called] friend's car (he even showed me the police report and busted lock so it's legit)... He's being a weasel about replacing it and it's severely putting a hamper in my business since it comes in REALLY handy, and there are times where losing $2,000 of revenue is a very modest estimate, or GREATLY simplifying another task I had at hand... But anyway, that VERY important function is retaining anti-theft tracking after factory reset. Since the anti-theft is written into /system, it'll be harder for Mr. Thief to get away with stealing my stuff forever. I understand that someone can simply re-image my tablet, but will the average crook know this? Not too likely.

Also, why was it not until 4.2 (November 2012) that Android thought of multi-user on tablets? Because when I let my so-called friend, I forgot that I was lending a tablet that only came with 4.1.2 borrow it, and he happens to be the most paranoid person I've ever met. He's the same person that inspired me to write my previous FB Messenger debunkment blog post, and also a person that not only turns off all track requests for his phone (no GPS, no triangulation), but also has a sticker over the front-facing camera, and knowing his paranoia, probably disabled everything that makes theft recovery worthwhile on my tablet, and the Motorola Xyboard didn't have root options at all. Before you can say iPhone/iOS... Wait. It's ALMOST worth considering... ALMOST. Now their phones aren't as tiny and cutesy, plus their features are pretty much on the same league as Android. But not quite enough, sorry.

Now, what prompted me to post this, you ask? Well, it's pretty hard to mask the disappointment when your phone WAS rooted and survived a minor upgrade that closed the loophole that enabled root. Following bad advice, not knowing that this particular phone is no longer able to be rooted from scratch, I tried resetting the phone to install Lollipop since if Android and Motorola can't decide on whether or not to put Lollipop on this thing (or even 4.4.4 to at least fix the battery drain and Heartbleed issue), since I REALLY wanted to at least have ART on it since Dalvik was hanging a lot (my main hangup with keeping this phone, otherwise I'd use it into the next year, really), but ART almost made it worse (hence another reason I reset the phone)... Plus the enhanced security, multiple user/guest mode, Project Volta battery management, updated Material Design look-and-feel... In that order, but all stuff I want.

Anyway, hope some Google and/or Motorola exec sees this post and at least has a butterfly effect that'll say... Please don't bogart our right to root. Don't let Apple win the entire war with iCloud.

More on the Unnecessary Paranoia over Facebook Messenger

Seriously... If I had a dollar for every post I've seen bashing Facebook Messenger, or for every post telling people "I won't be able to check my messages because of FBM's policies, I have deleted it" and the supposed FBI/NSA/CIA/BLT involvement (which minus a BLT, I'm sure that they'd have other ways of accessing your information and already doing so... But that's another story), I wouldn't need any other source of income.

Facebook and Facebook Messenger
Permissions side-by-side

Comparison of FB, FBM, Hangouts, BBM and WeChat

First, Facebook's official app needs even more permissions, but I don't see anyone complaining about that. Other popular messengers including BBM, WeChat and Google Hangouts need about the same amount of permissions, and I don't see anybody complaining about that. I haven't included other major messengers/social networking services (e.g. Twitter, Instagram, WhatsApp, LINE, etc.), but I'm sure it needs about the same amount of permissions.

Facebook has also been advertising Facebook Messenger for a long time to have enhanced features that supersedes just having the app alone, but only recently made it mandatory... Not to mention lots of other services have made their apps and messengers separate, like, China's Tencent has Qzone, similar to Facebook, QQ -AND- WeChat, BOTH messengers made by the same company... Doesn't make a lick of sense to me, but is anyone complaining en masse to Tencent or catching flights to China to protest this matter? Foursquare just spun off Swarm, but I don't see anybody making conspiracy theories, Google+ and Hangouts are separate (although let's face it, the user base isn't the same).

So folks, please put away the tinfoil hats. What if it was your own sibling/child/SO/BFF stuck somewhere with no cell service and only Wi-Fi, or your ghetto friend who doesn't believe in paying for cell service and your paranoia is so deeply encompassing that you don't get an important message until you turn your computer on (which for me is every 2 days)? What if that same message was his/her last words and your arrogance let him/her die in vain? Now THAT is the right kind of paranoia instead of worrying about something that FB has been doing and using all along!

Keep in mind a few things:

1. I am not playing devil's advocate; this is a neutral standpoint. I am writing this on my own observations and free will, not paid, endorsed or coerced by any company to do so.

2. The screenshots are UNMODIFIED from my own phone (Motorola XT926, 4.4.2, unrooted/unmodified OS. The ONLY PSing I did was stitch the screenshots together, change the contrast since there was a gradient effect and erased useless data such as total space occupied, clear cache button, etc.), using latest versions of each app available at time of writing (Aug 31, 2014 7:25 PDT). NO permissions have been added or removed.

3. All trademarks, logos and copyrights mentioned and implied are copyrights of their respective holders, and used for educational purposes. All rights reserved. Please don't sue me.

Please pass the word along if you're so inclined.

Now I'm officially convinced my girlfriend is an idiot!

So... Earlier in the week, my girlfriend's coworker decided that since I knew my way around guns, I owned a gun before, and have took at least 8 people to the shooting range, he decides that the shooting range would be a cool place to do his photography class project.

Keep in mind that my girlfriend and most of her coworkers only speak Mandarin and little to no English, and the dialog below with her and coworkers are either translated or the closest possible translation to English that captures the essence and meaning, but not exactly was said.

The "fun" begins as soon as she's getting ready, which she almost seemingly wanted to be defiant that day... I tell everybody, including her, to wear something comfortable that they don't mind dirtying, and with them working in logistics/warehousing, I thought that'd be easy.

I have everybody meet at our apartment, but she took her time getting ready, emerging with an elegant pink and white dress. I ask her, "are you watching or are you shooting?" she says she wants to shoot. "Mind if that gets dirty?" she hesitates and says, "Yeah, I do". "Then go change it!" "No, I want to look pretty for the pictures!" and proceeds to spend another 5 minutes putting on makeup, perfecting her hair, and even asking me what earrings to wear, then I respond: "You DO know that you're wearing ugly goggles and earmuffs, right? Let's go!" She ignores me and puts on a dangly set.

Then, in front of 5 coworkers, she puts on a set of heels with a thin stem (any thinner and it might as well be a 20d nail), and everybody is rolling their eyes, on top of saying the same thing I tried to tell her.

A coworker that never touched a gun in his life even said "a gun's recoil can knock you on your ass, can't you wear flats or tennis shoes?" I proceed to fetch a set of tennis shoes that actually are white and pink... "They're dirty!" "Are you serious? You're shooting a gun, not entering a beauty pageant, even my wife and Dolly (another female coworker that is going) look like vagrants!". She tosses it in a corner saying "Ai, everybody waited enough, let's go!" and at this point I am thoroughly disappointed and embarrassed, but try to make the best of it anyway.

So, we get there, and she's the only one in the ENTIRE range dressed to the 9s. I should be proud... If she was only a spectator. When I was checking her in, 2 clerks gave me the "you have got to be kidding me" look.

We're signing waivers and picking guns; I get the HK USP .45 since that was my last gun before I sold it, the clerk and I agree on the Beretta 92FS 9mm as a beginner (my first time ever was a slightly beefier .357 revolver), and although I could be mean and let her shoot my USP, a Casull, rifle, or shotgun to humble her, I got a weak .22 revolver (I didn't even bother to remember what it was).

Before the clerk can fetch an instructor, I was already going over the basic instructions with 2 people, even asking for snap caps (or "dummy bullets"). Since I was even demonstrating things they don't even teach beginners (e.g. clearing a stovepipe or how to tell if you have a squib load), the clerk was impressed enough to ask about my background: I've been shooting since I was 14 from black powder to a SCAR 17, and even my very first time was there at LA Gun Club while working for a security guard training company my dad worked for (and me too had he not mouthed off a coworker and got canned); I even pointed out another clerk that I recognized, so he takes down my phone number and offers me a job since they have lots of Asian tourists but nobody that can speak Mandarin to go over safety training.

Now the heat is on; the manager is not just ensuring I'm doing it right, but now as a potential employee, my reputation is on the line. So I gather everybody, tell them that he's planning on hiring me, so I wanted the best of out everybody. So I start with the important stuff, such as the 4 Rules, holding, aiming, and so on.

What is she doing? Staring at her phone and checking out the pictures she took so far (despite the fact that the photography student was taking pics too). I stop halfway through Rule 2 and sternly say, "This is important. Will you get off the phone?"... "I'm listening". So, before I got into the visual part, she's sending a message to someone... At this time I've lost all patience, so I snatch the phone from her and almost growl, "HEY, IDIOT! We have LIVE ammunition (picks up the box of ammo on the counter and shakes it in front of her face), with the same REAL guns (I pull up my USP and aim it at the ceiling) that can kill people, not toys! You can talk with your friends later, but if you want to die, don't do it here; we're either going to get kicked out, I'm out of a job before I'm even hired!"

Then instead of learning her lesson, she starts causing a scene and digging her phone out of my pocket, much to the chagrin of anyone watching. "just fucking listen, I'll be done in 2 minutes!", but she snatches it back and continues to focus on her phone. Believe me, I was so tempted to just load one up and let her feel the wind of flying bullets. So, I finish up my course, but at this point nobody has any confidence in my girl, and one of her coworkers is even scared enough to want to go home because of her negligence as it is...

But what happens next? Everybody else is applying the rules while striking poses, but not her; instead of at the ceiling or wall, she points the gun at the lobby. Me and a few clerks are shouting at her with their hands on their holsters, and a few people in the lobby were even ducking and screaming, then she says "what's everybody scared of?" *SIGH*. What's Rule 1? "I don't know". I repeat "this is why I wanted you to pay attention! Treat every gun like it's loaded, even when empty".

Then I turn around to apologize to the clerk as she's trying to make absentminded excuses. After all that, she points the gun at the wall, but this time at the coworker with the camera, incorrectly clasping her hands on the grip. Bitch, what did I just say A FEW SECONDS AGO? At this point the clerk was laughing, but I still didn't want to look like an idiot in front of the very person that is recommending a Safety Instructor job position. Not cashier, not the guy that rakes spent casings, SAFETY INSTRUCTOR!!!

As you can see above, I am NOT bluffing when I say that I was offered a job, with money for my license fees and all.

So by the time I get over there, she's in the next pose and pointing the gun at her head with her finger on the trigger. At this point, I was livid and had enough; I HAD to yank the gun out of her hand, drag her outside and yell, "HEY!!!!! if you were fucking listening, you won't be repeatedly violating 3 out of 4 safety rules at once! I tried to tell you, but you refuse to fucking listen, especially since you're scaring the shit out of people, this is VERY fucking serious!!!!! *getting in her face and yelling* DO YOU UNDERSTAND?!?!?" The whole lobby got silent for a few seconds and EVERYBODY is staring at us, and another clerk came out and said "if that lady slips up one more time I'm going to ask her to leave.", which I then say to her "You hear that? You are this close (gestures hand) to getting kicked out!" which at this point, she finally understands the seriousness of the situation and nods, but not before one last slip-up... Once our stalls were cleared, she waltzes in without her earmuffs, and at this point someone in stall #10 (We have #11-13) is firing off a larger caliber bolt-action rifle, and she is freaking out and complaining about her ears ringing; shit, even my ears were hurting every time he shot a round. Umm... Did you hear ANYTHING in my instructions AT ALL?

Then comes the ultimate test: I finish blasting my rounds and now it's her turn. Everybody else is going along just fine; the worst problem I've encountered was someone forgetting to turn the safety off. For her? Now she's beginning to realize she should've paid attention; she's scared as hell and wants to watch me fire off the first few rounds, so I did. Almost no recoil whatsoever = yawn to me. She then reluctantly handles it and how is it held? STILL Clasping her hands despite giving her yet another crash course and pointing it towards the door! At this point, I exasperatedly train her again and she's giving me shit about yelling (we're in the range, genius), then she fires off about 4-5 shots and cowers back against the rear wall (with the gun pointed at me and her finger curled on the trigger no less and at least 2 rounds left, no less), so I ended the day with a silly deuce-deuce and I was doing my best not to invoke my right to self-defense, but too bad I already spent every round of ammo for the USP.

Still had a good time, but I'm still getting silent treatment even 2 days later saying that I embarrassed her in front of her coworkers and they were calling her on her shit at work. Umm... For one, you looked like an idiot on more than 1 occasion, so it's you who embarrassed yourself. Second, it's heat of the moment when you chose not to listen several times and almost got us kicked out, so calling you out is justified, and even though I can be the bigger man and apologize, this is one thing I'm not sorry for, and people who know their way around guns will agree. Third, what does the sign with second-largest font in the lobby say?

Ladies and gentlemen of the jury, I rest my case.

Worst. Interview. Ever.

OK, I know it's taboo to badmouth a prospective employer, especially if I haven't been hired or rejected, but at this point I don't even care anymore. So, like I said in the previous post, my girlfriend drained my bank account just for a frickin' purse, so I have no backup funds as it is.

I should've listened to my instances of Murphy's Law that was starting to unravel and not waste my time with them. On Sunday, I took my trusty debit card to get gas... The pump won't work, and further attempts were getting declined since I later learned the issuer decided to put an authorization hold on the card in $100 chunks... Using the wrong ZIP code which was also making said declines pointless. So, I just roughed it through the day with a little over 1/4 tank (about 110mi) of gas. If you know Deutschwagens, E means 0 since the screen says "Fuel reserve!" at around 50 miles, not "OK, the needle is on E but you have about 30 miles."

Then, after struggling to go to sleep, I get out of bed at 3:30 AM for this ripoff telemarketing job selling low quality toners that most customers complain about at an extreme high price (the shift starts at 6 AM to catch East Coast business owners at 9 AM)... But act as if they're getting the deal of the century for Rolls Royce quality. Anyway,  I had lunch packed but forgot to bring it, forgot my TAP pass with a month's worth of bus fare on it, had zero money for lunch, then just when I thought I was making good time, I realized I forgot to shave when I was putting on my tie in the parking lot.

I rush home in Baldwin Park to shave, then my heart jumps out of my chest when my GPS tells me I am 10 minutes behind. Not good, but glad I called the hiring agency, despite the fact that once I hopped on the 5 it shaved 12 minutes off my ETA and would've been pointless. Anyway, the lady calls me back as I am only about 5 miles out to Irvine saying the owner had an emergency and had to go to Alhambra.

At this point, I already was thinking that I wasted all this time and gas money going 80 miles round trip out of my way, but whatever. I was so sick of waking up at 3:30 AM to rip off businesses for minimum wage that I decided to roll with it. So, again, I'm rounding the corner at 3 miles, and *RINNNG*. AppleOne again? Glad to know that she's asking about my arrival. Nope, like a game of Gingerbread Man, now the fool wants to meet in El Monte. Had I lived anywhere else I'd say bugger off, but he lived en route to home so I give this guy one last chance.

This time instead of relying on directions, I call the dude, and interestingly enough, HE asks ME how to get there. Now I figure this gingerbread man routine was probably some sort of test and I'll be rewarded with a $50 gas card and a pat on the shoulder telling me I'm hired, right? Nope, the dude genuinely sounded confused. So, after finally arriving in El Monte, he asks me to wait in the car as he's wrapping something up and "it'll only be 5 minutes". So I'm sitting there for half an hour, and then asks me what's nearby, so I rattle off a series of decent restaurants, but he settles on Del Taco. Oh-kay... Del Taco it is.

So, most of the "interview" is him staring at his computer and asking me questions, and everything he is asking me to do is mundane and a piece of cake. Sure, I haven't worked in the travel industry since 2007, but I'm very good at Excel, which was a strong prerequisite. Then he stares at his computer some more, and asks about Word and all that. I'm thinking: If you read my resume, I'm an IT Tech. I've even used OpenOffice, MS Works and ClarisWorks. So, he asks me about travel arrangements, and I've even mentioned since I have friends that don't speak English or are computer illiterate, I do this kind of thing all the time and have earned a Silver membership with Expedia; just 2 weeks prior I helped a friend book a flight to Denver, CO and last month I reserved a hotel in Vegas using reward miles!

For this one I was just about to flip my lid: "Do you personally know any tour guides?" I'm thinking, OK. I can do it myself; it's just telling a driver to go to tourist destinations, probably say 1 or 2 blurbs about it, and figure out some entertainment on a long ride. Of course, the last time I worked in the travel industry was 2007 and I've lost contact with a lot of people when my GMail got hacked and wiped out my contacts 4 years ago, and working at a wholesaler that relied on local guides or contracted from other companies, I never had their contact information, so I say no and explain it.

This is the hilarious part... "Well, I'll be honest, I need someone with more recent experience." REALLY?? I just used Excel, I just booked flights and hotels, who cares about my job experience? If you wanted someone who just quit, got fired or even searching for work from a current travel company, please don't waste my time from the get go!

Should I stay or should I go?

Dear Readers:
As you may have noticed, I mostly tend to blog when there are big decisions troubling me... There were a few posts I've made during significant events, as well as some that I honestly This time is no exception.

So far, I am faced with a tough decision: To stay with the one I'm with, or to find someone more compatible. For other life events, I will brief you in once I get the chance, but so far...

Not too long after the incident with "Jill", a family friend introduced me to someone that seemed compatible with me on many levels and I even left another girl that seemed very nice to be with her, but now I am starting to realize some of the levels are a bit too compatible or similar, and there are some levels that I am slowly losing patience for despite having some of these traits myself, which I guess serves as a hard lesson for me to change my act.

"Like it always happens", the first couple of months is when both people are on their best behavior, and you're seeing each other with rose-colored glasses, and "like it always happens" again, you can think you know someone until you move in together. So, we met towards the end of September, then we decided to become official on October 19. At the time, I was just happy to not be single anymore, especially since I had a lot of personal demons after my dad's death. Now, I am seeing a paradigm shift.

Despite the fact that I am usually reluctant to believe fortune tellers, they have revealed some truths with a certain degree of accuracy, like one approaching me and informing me that "someone very close to me may die next month"... Even though it took until 6 months when my dad passed, it was still very bizarre. With that, even though another psychic told me my future significant other may have no Asian genes, be blond-haired and blue-eyed (this will come in as a key later), and have a rough past in terms of relationships that will share lots in common. That has yet to be seen, but them Haoles seem cuter and more relatable by the minute.

Well, the latter proved itself very true... Her ex-husband was a performer known for being an extreme flop on national TV, a momma's boy and a 2-pump-chump in the sack, and her first boyfriend was always high on ecstasy and wasn't able to satisfy her, so that sounded bad enough for me... Anyway, at first, she was very affectionate and we seemed to have a lot in common, and I have learned a lot from her, including what has become my favorite way to fall asleep ;-), cooks, and even got me some income when I needed it the most. However, that is where the positives have ended so far.

The bad and first on my list? She is EXTREMELY lazy. I have thought I've met lazy (AKA me and my family), she takes the cake. Today, for example: We came home and slept at 11:30 PM, both woke up around 9:30 AM. She went out and got groceries, but then instead of following the GPS coordinates I punched in for Ralphs, she headed towards the 99 Cents Store; thank God she didn't buy food there... She went to Smart & Final instead. Reason? "It was closer". OK, like a quarter mile. So, I'm expecting an almost monstrous amount of groceries, with S&F being a smaller version of Costco after all... Nope, a box of Cup Noodles, corn oil (which most corn is GMO, which I'm an organic-if-possible person), a loaf of Texas Toast (or thicker-sliced bread), and jelly (the squeeze bottle to top it all off).

So, we ate, but then she didn't want to do the dishes, and since I was busy, neither could I. I had an important errand and had to leave in half an hour, then was prepared to come home, but not before she made me stop at the store for a few accouterments, so then I came home about 8:00 PM... After vegging out for a couple of hours, where I also learned that she took a nap for a while as well. After all that sleep, she should have enough power to move mountains right? Wrong. What's for dinner? Leftovers that I eventually had to throw in the microwave for the both of us. Any dishes done? Nope, so I had to take care of 70% of the dishes we had. Then, she was still hungry and wanted Cup Noodles. After cooking it, guess what? She fell asleep PROMPTLY and is snoring next to me as I am typing this. Funny, I had a reputation of being lazy, but if I can be up since 9:30 AM and only feel mildly tired at 11:00 PM, what does that make her?

Speaking of cooking, it was cool at first but now I can't stand it... She loves spicy foods. Don't get me wrong, my family is from Hunan, China and I therefore may have a gene that predisposes me towards spicy foods, but this takes the cake... Despite that, I eat fairly mild compared to that. In fact, I have had the same bottle of Sriracha since April, and a small jar of Lao Gan Ma lasted me 5 months before she devoured the last 1/4 jar in ONE WEEK, which would've served me until now (almost a year). In other words, I eat hot for the taste, not trying to win some competition... For the few things she knows how to cook, every meal she makes is 3 peppers away from becoming a challenge at a restaurant (e.g. the Orochon or Buffalo Blazin' Wings), and I don't remember when was the last time I ate a meal with her unadorned with a crapload of hot sauce. That, and she ONLY eats Chinese food; the most foreign food I've seen her eat was McDonald's and some salmon I've made (but you've guessed it, with 2 tablespoons of hot sauce).

Also, she is about as romantic as a bag of rocks. Not some red, lacey bag of polished stones. Just a dirt-covered plastic bag filed with jagged rocks. How so? She constantly jokes about having an affair or having me find someone else, but NYE came the ultimate test of patience: I had a bit of a financial miscalculation that only knocked me off course by $200, and then she tells me that she wants to sell her body to the streets. At first, I figured it was a lame joke and played along, but then it stopped being funny 8 minutes in and with the preceding in mind, I thought "holy crap, you can't be serious"... So then, she nonchalantly lets it escalate for another 15 minutes, or until I am absolutely convinced that she will be leaving for Las Vegas next week, livid and threw a mug on the floor yelling "IF YOU BECOME A BITCH, DON'T EVER SEE ME AGAIN FOR THE REST OF YOUR LIFE OR I WILL SLAP YOU LIKE A PIMP, UNDERSTAND?", then we argue for about 15 minutes, then I'm sitting on the couch after downing an entire (small, portable sized, not the 750ml) bottle of wine in 20 seconds and furiously puffing on an e-cig that I only touch when I'm extremely stressed out (and keep in mind I haven't touched it since August) before she reveals that it was a joke.

So then, we somehow make up, but she leaves to go to a church for NYE, forfeiting another event I wanted to attend with her. So, instead of drinks and dancing, I finally pull up when I've sobered up and cleaned up at 11:30 PM, but it was a boring PowerPoint about what their church did over the past year, a few hymns and showing videos of countdowns around the world... Then they have the count down at 12:04 AM. WTF??? Also, with the fact that I've even hinted at it while visiting her at work where I told a factoid of kissing strangers not being illegal on NYE (not sure if it's true or not, just heard it somewhere), me having a short discussion the moment I arrived and even trying to "bribe" her $20 to forget about any conservative notions, I've always wanted to experience a new year's kiss. So, I'm trying to hold her at 11:59:40 PM, and she's squirming. Then I plead with her and lean in closer, then at the stroke of midnight, she's screaming as if I'm about to fucking rape her, and didn't even get a child's peck, and I've even pointed at the TV, which happens to show a couple making out on NBfuckingC TV.

Then of course, the superstition about not getting kissed kicks in... So not only does she not try to straighten it out, she still nonchalantly suggested I go kiss someone else. I got SO livid I just left... Then my friend takes me somewhere and completely runs out of gas... In a PRIUS!! For the average person, a blinking fuel light means "give me some gas, NOW!!", but for him, he has a bad habit of keeping his car barely above fumes every time. With that, we had to call for AAA. TWICE. First time, after waiting 45 minutes, the tow truck allegedly added 2 gallons, but the manual stated it needed 1.6 gallons to start, and the driver left before we can tell him we needed more. Since he left, we were told to make another request. Another half an hour by the side of the road before the hybrid system enabled the starter and the car finally started, and that's where I finally make it home at 4:30 AM.

Then, I realize after finally making it home that I lost my house keys, whereby I ironically took them off my chain with the intent of making a copy in case I lost them. Great. I had to climb up the side of the house and in through the patio since she didn't answer the door. After being drunk, stressed and even a little fearful of my life = MEGA fucking tired, she INSISTS on talking about the issue until 6:30 in the morning and every time we had spare time for the next 3 days, centered around breaking up.

Also, bad in bed (specifics withheld), hates kisses (only gives childish pecks on the cheek, pecks on the lip are rare and Frenching? Fuhgeddaboudit! Only once in a blue moon and even then it sucks!), REFUSES to take English-learning seriously and has ZERO initiative to learn, and like all Mainland Chinese in my opinion, a gold-digger.

So, since she has been obsessed with breaking up but not wanting to leave, this is almost becoming a self-fulfilling prophecy. At first, even though I was THIS close to breaking up with her on the spot at the church and even went as far as changing my FB pic and felt lonely as she went about her day on 1/1, now her constant talks and now jokes about splitting up has got me thinking...

I'm serious that after what seems like a lifetime of desiring an Asian woman, I suddenly woke up wanting to date an American-Born Chinese or even White girl. Either way, I'm very torn right now, since what my girlfriend is doing now may set the tone for the future... If she is laying in bed and wanting me to do everything now, what will happen when we have kids?

Oh God... I can picture it now (EDIT: I even had a very similar nightmare 2 weeks later, but ends with dying of exhaustion and her attending my funeral via Skype since she can't be bothered to get out of bed). After eating the same frickin' things for 6 years in a row, I am exhausted from trying to keep our kids in check and getting them ready in the morning, while their mom, of course, became a housewife that does nothing and is still asleep despite my daughter having a tantrum and wanting mommy to do her hair, but mommy moans it off and my daughter starts screaming, and my son doing everything except get ready and she is still not willing to tag-team. So, I do the best I can, but still looks like a bird's nest, and looking at the time, I'm running late! So, I drop them off, scramble off to my grind and come home to her taking a nap. Dinner time comes around with her barely waking up to serve a bowl of noodles with half a ton of hot sauce for us, and bread and jelly for them since they can't take hot foods, while I'm on the verge of collapsing from a peptic ulcer from eating too much hot foods and 4 hours of sleep per night since the mom doesn't want to do anything and I'm left cleaning up after 3 people.

Even more? My ideal was to find a woman who can become a running mate of sorts, where I can have her co-manage a business. The business needs someone diligent and good at English, not someone who doesn't understand the word "text" when I say "我明天text給他" ("I'll text him tomorrow"), I have a personal preference towards speaking English and dislike translating stuff in general, and well... I've proven the lazy point many times. I love kissing, she hates kissing. I appreciate all foods, she likes Chinese only. I like rock music, she doesn't. However, she's my first true love and it still hurts to leave.

Your thoughts?