The Journal - March 28 - April 3, 1999

Memoirs of a BaddGrrl

4-3-99 Saturday   

Hey, I found a great new Internet company. They PAY you to surf the web. They even pay you when your friends are surfing the Web. 

Sign up (less than a minute - NO SURVEY) and then go tell your friends.

Click on the image to start earning money as you surf the web:

If you spend as much time on the Web as I do, it's really worth your time. Why not get paid while you're online anyway?

4-2-99 Friday   

 

Happy Easter Everyone!!

Ever wonder where easter eggs come from?

Hee hee!  Thanks Fredlet, for sending me the image!

4-1-99 Thursday   April Fool's Day - Who you callin' a fool?

 

Finally Ian updated his journal.  Man, for the last two days every time I would check it I'd get this obnoxious 403 Forbidden Error, you do not have permission, yada yada yada. What the hell is that?! I felt so rejected. Kinda like when you go up to take a shot in basketball and someone comes up and swats the crap out of you. DENIED!!   Thanks Ian.   Thanks a lot.

But it was worth the wait.  Ian's pretty funny.  For an old dude. Hehe.

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I got this in an email at work today. I thought they were pretty funny so I thought I'd share them.  Fredlet said #7 is so me.  I think #22 is very Fredlet. I kinda like #10.  Enjoy...

Useful phrases for work

1) Thank you. We're all refreshed and challenged by your unique point of view.

2) The fact that no one understands you doesn't mean you're an artist.

3) I don't know what your problem is, but I'll bet it's hard to pronounce.

4) Any connection between your reality and mine is purely coincidental.

5) I have plenty of talent and vision. I just don't give a damn.

6) I like you. You remind me of when I was young and stupid.

7) What am I? Flypaper for freaks!?

8) I'm not being rude. You're just insignificant.

9) I'm already visualizing the duct tape over your mouth.

10) Ahhh...I see the fuck-up fairy has visited us again...

11) I will always cherish the initial misconceptions I had about you.

12) It's a thankless job, but I've got a lot of Karma to burn off.

13) Yes, I am an agent of Satan, but my duties are largely ceremonial.

14) No, my powers can only be used for good.

15) How about never? Is never good for you?

16) I'm really easy to get along with once you people learn to worship me.

17) You sound reasonable...Time to up my medication.

18) I'll try being nicer if you'll try being smarter.

19) I'm out of my mind, but feel free to leave a message...

20) I don't work here. I'm a consultant.

21) Who me? I just wander from room to room.

22) My toys! My toys! I can't do this job without my toys!

23) It might look like I'm doing nothing, but at the cellular level I'm really quite busy.

24) At least I have a positive attitude about my destructive habits.

25) You are validating my inherent mistrust of strangers.

26) I see you've set aside this special time to humiliate yourself in public.

27) Someday, we'll look back on this, laugh nervously and change the subject.

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Ok, both Josh and Ian seem to think that I think men should be all emotional and cry at long distance phone commercials and bad made for TV movies.   No no no.   I think what I said is that a guy shouldn't feel like he has to hide his emotions.   I don't want a man that's like bawling in front of me.   I admit, I have lost respect for a guy that cries in front of me.   Yes, it did make me feel that he was weak.   The only time my man is allowed to cry is:

1.  At a funeral
2.  Out of sheer joy because his team just came from behind and scored for an amazing last minute victory.
3.  When I'm breaking up with him.  And even then it should only be a few sniffles as I'm walking out the door.   Go for the tissue AFTER I'm gone.

 

3-31-99 Wednesday

Ugh.  I have a cold and it went into full force today.   As I was sniffling sneezing and hacking away in my cubicle, Fredlet would call over to me, "Mmmm, sounding very healthy today."   Why thank you. Thank you very much.   Hack hack.  Sniffle sniffle.

Earlier in the day, Fredlet said I had that sexy, raspy voice thing goin on.  I thought maybe I'd call up some male friends on the phone tonight and work the sexy, raspy Demi Moore voice thing just for the heck of it.  Then later on in the day I got all congested and sniffley and the sexiness went right out the door.    Did I mention...ugh?

I had been planning to work out again but I felt really tired so I thought I'd lie down for a little rest and next thing I knew, three hours had gone by.

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Wow, I' ve been reading Josh's journal like every day now.  I find myself checking it a few times a day to see if he's updated it.   I'm hooked.   Forget my journal, let's just go read what Josh has to say today...

He asks the most interesting questions.  I hadn't really read much of his journal before I met him last weekend but everyone else was saying how great some of the questions he asked were.   Now today I had a chance to read some of them.   

Question 1 for the day: How much cuddling is enough after sex?
Question 2 for the day: Is it ok to have the television on while having sex?

I was going to answer them here in my journal but I thought that would be way too incriminating.   I'll just email Josh my answers.   Answers?  What answers?   I thought you had joined a convent, Lorraine.   Yeah yeah yeah.

If you haven't been there, Josh's Swank Condo is the place to be.  I find myself thinking more and more highly of this young man every day.  I hope that doesn't sound patronizing.    There's really something to this guy.  Not just your average cookie cutter type guy.  We need more Josh's in the world.
And a little more fiber in my diet.

3-30-99 Tuesday Afternoon

You know how there are some guys that are "chick-magnets"? Somehow, these guys get all the babes. Well, I have come to the conclusion that I am an asshole magnet. Don't ask me why but they tend to flock to me, seek me out even. Maybe it's some kind of an aura I give off. Or maybe it's that I seek them out. Could that be it? The truth is, I like nice guys. Yeah, especially with a little barbecue sauce and a dash of pepper. No, but seriously, I do like nice guys. Guys with good hearts. But, and here's the big "but"… they need to have an edge to them. Something that makes them a little more than just a doorstop, ya know what I mean? Nice but with an edge. The problem is, most of the guys I'm attracted to have too much of an edge to them. So that after a few weeks, I'm looking at them like, "You know, you're just about due for a good ass-kickin right about now..."

The last guy I went out with had a little too much of an edge and lacked any kind of a heart. I affectionately like to refer to him as "The Asshole Formerly Known as My Boyfriend". Ok, I don't say it out loud or anything but I think it. Does that count?!  No, this is not meant to be a major dissfest.  I blame myself for my lapse in judgement.   I thought we were supposed to get wiser as we got older?

Ya live and learn...

I think I need more fiber in my diet.

3-30-99 Tuesday

I was talking to Fredlet and our new co-worker Stephanie today about our shopping experiences.   They both started saying how much they hate those store "greeters".  You know, those people who stand at the entrance of the store and say "Hi! How are you?" when you walk in.  Fred says she just mumbles something and walks away but I said, "No way, I love those guys."   When one of them says, "Hi! How are you?" to me, I start walking towards them and say, "I'm GREAT!! How are YOU?!?!" with this big ole grin on my face, staring them right in the eye.   This always freaks them out and they mumble something and they scurry off to pretend to straighten something that's already straightened.  HA! Teach those little greeter-type people to be nice to me.

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So a couple of weeks ago, I went to a bookstore near my house.   I was carrying literally an armload of computer books and walking towards the cash register.  As I was walking down the aisle, I saw in the next aisle over walking in my direction was my ex-boyfriend.   Then I spotted next to him, his wife.  For a split second I considered stopping and saying hi but I decided against it because his wife is definitely NOT a BaddGrrl fan.   So I kept walking down my aisle staring straight ahead pretending I didn't see them.   Then just as I passed, my ex must have seen me and I don't know if it was panic or what but all of sudden he ducked and disappeared!   It was amazing.  It was like in those cartoons where you see the character walking along and they fall into a manhole and "whoosh" they're gone.   Now you see him, now you don't.  What made this doubly funny is that the guy is like 6'1".   Pretty tall for a Chinese guy.  Now if he had been alone, I'm sure both of us would have stopped, hugged and chatted to catch up on what was going on with us.  But with the wifey in tow, I guess he freaked out and hence the "whoosh" effect.  Anyway, I went to the register, bought my books and left.   But as I drove home, I had to chuckle.  It just seemed so funny.  A grown man, ducking behind a bookshelf.   Ha, ha.   Am I that scary?!

 

3-29-99 Monday Afternoon

Check out the cool t-shirt that Mare gave me the other day!  How appropriate, "dream" and I work on the Dreamweaver team.   I'm assuming that is the Chinese character for the word "dream" in the center of the balloon.  Mare got this shirt from the Celebrasian website.  They have a lot of cool shirts there.

I'm wearing the shirt today on the camera.  

 

Thanks & hugs mare!!

Hmm, I just noticed that I have some serious protruding collarbone action goin on there.   

 

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I went out to lunch with Mikey today.  That's Mike "Lorraine, you-never-call-me-anymore" Wong.   Ok, ok.  But I really hate the telephone.   I kept nagging him to get a computer.  I'll email you!   Get a computer already!

We went to Armadillo Willey's, known for their barbeque.  After lunch, I kept telling Fredlet all afternoon that I smelled like barbeque.   But every time I told her to come over and sniff me, she declined.  Go figure.  She did say, "I'll bet people out there would PAY for that."   Pay to sniff?   What a concept! Pay-Per-Sniff.  Smell-O-Vision!  The wave of the future!

Speaking of sniffing, I got the most bizarre email last week.  I wanted to post snippets in my journal but I was afraid people would associate me with that kind of freakiness.   But it's just too good not to share, so here are a few highlights from an email I received titled "My Panty Swap Club"

"My name is Justine Smith, I live in Wellington, New Zealand with my male partner Michael and my woman partner Kerry, so I'm lucky enough to have the best of both worlds. I'm 33 at the moment but soon to turn 34.
I first got into panties when I found out I was BI-sexual at high school, I think I was about 14 or 15, I found that I was watching the other girls getting changed for PE or swimming and it was making me very aroused...
(She goes on to talk about how she got into this bizarre fetish and why she started this club)

(The best part is the FAQ)

Who is the club for
The club is for women of all ages, from all over the world, who enjoy the thought of another woman appreciating their scent on a pair of panties, and enjoy other women's panties as well.

What sort of panties should I send
The type, color, and style are entirely up to you, its what ever type you find sexy to wear that are the best. Chances are other members will find them sexy to. I like to send lacy cotton briefs because they are more aborsbant and hold my scent better

How should I prepare them
Once again this is entirely up to you, wear them for as long as you want and do what ever you want while you are wearing them, think about what you would like another woman to do for you and that should give you some ideas. I wear a pair for three days..."

 

Ok, let's just stop right there, shall we?   Now do you see the fun of being me? I get the most interesting emails from people.  Please don't email me asking how to contact the President of the Panty Swap Club.  I don't want to be known as a "panty pusher".

 

3-29-99 Monday

Ok, now I've heard that there are rumors circulating on the Net that I am like nice or something.  Let me just state for the record that rumors of my niceness have been greatly exaggerated.  And should I find the person spreading this rumor, I will surely rip his arm out of it's socket and beat him with the bloody stump.  Are we clear?!?!

Having said that...   
 Josh, it was nice meeting you too. Talk about nice and sweet. Sheesh. How would you like it if I started calling you Nice-and-Sweet Guy? See how many chicks you get THEN!!

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Woohoo!!  I finally bit the bullet and dragged my VCR into my room and hooked it up to my PC.   I have a video capture card in my computer but never tried setting it up to convert video to digital format.  I've been wanting to digitize the BBC, ZDTV and ABC segment but thought it would be a real hassle.  Well, actually it was.  

Last year when setting up my HomeCam, I had problems getting the QuickCam to work.  I eventually figured out that there was a conflict between the Connectix video driver and my ATI video driver.   I ended up uninstalling the ATI driver and was able to get the QuickCam to work.   However, now that I needed to get the video capture card working, I needed the driver back.   Unfortunately, I had packed the CD with the drivers, the cables and all manuals in a box, labeled it "Computer Stuff" and stored it away.    Gee, can you guess how many boxes labeled "Computer Stuff" I have?   Needless to say, searching for that would have taken me quite a while so I decided to go to the ATI site and see if I could find the drivers.  I lucked out and was able to download what I thought I needed.   Next I needed the appropriate cables to hook the VCR to the PC.   I ran out to the Good Guys and hunted for the right cables.  Man, do you know how many types of cables there are out there? Anyway, I finallly found the right kind and to make a long story just a little bit longer, I was able to get the feed from the VCR into my PC and capture the video.

First I captured it as AVI files and then converted to RealVideo but I saw the the quality of both audio and video were degraded from the conversion.   I then decided to take the feed directly from the VCR and convert directly into RealVideo format, skipping the AVI.   Although, converting to AVI would have made it easier for me to make several versions, 28.8K, 56K and T1.   For each version, I needed to convert the segment into a new clip but I felt it was worth it to be able to offer different versions to accommodate different connection speeds.   Obviously the T1 clips are better quality but not everyone is lucky enough to have a T1 line.

Now that you are bored to death and your head is spinning, aren't you dying to see the newly created RealVideo clips of my news segments?

Here they are:

The ZDTV Segment In Realvideo
Aired throughout the weekend of
February 19-21, 1999.
Runtime: 2 minutes 6 seconds

T1 Connection (Recommended)
56K Connection
28.8K Connection

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The ABC Segment in RealVideo
Aired on March 23, 1999 on KGO News.
Runtime: 2 minutes 52 seconds

T1 Connection (Recommended)
28.8 Connection

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The BBC Segment in RealVideo
Aired on February 6, 1999
 Runtime: 10 minutes 32 seconds


28.8K Connection

 

If you do not have RealPlayer installed, download it here:

 

 

3-28-99 Sunday

Wow, the article in the San Francisco Examiner came out today.   It's on the front page.   Strange, the online version at the Examiner.com site has a section called "Narcissus Cams" with links to several cams.   But the article in the actual newspaper doesn't have any links or URLs.   Well, at least the online article has a link to my site and a tiny picture of me.

NARCISSUS CAMS


BADDGRRL'S DOMAIN: See Lorraine, a software quality assurance engineer in San Francisco, at work and play. "Some people have their 15 minutes of fame,"she says. "These are my
15 Megabytes of fame."

 

They did mention me extensively in the Examiner article:

"More than 3,000 people a day visit "Baddgrrl's Domain" ("Two D's, two
R's and a whole lot of Attitude"), the Web site of Lorraine Chew, a Bay
Area quality assurance engineer. Chew has had two Webcams in her office
continually and one at home sporadically for the past year.

She acquired them out of fascination with the new technology, but didn't
anticipate the response that would blast her into cyber-celebrity and
beyond. She's been featured on television segments and mentioned in
magazines.

Her regulars check in daily with greetings and register her every movement.  She can't figure out why people would want to watch her day after day while she sits and types, eats lunch or puts on her coat to leave.

"Now I don't even notice (the camera)," she said. "In the beginning I would turn it off when I had to eat. Now I just eat in front of the camera and make stupid faces. Yesterday I got an e-mail from someone who said, 'Bless you, you've just sneezed.' ... Late at night someone will say, 'Go home. You look tired.' They say it's like having a co-worker or a friend."

Freaky fans

Not all the attention has been pleasant. An undeniably attractive brunette,
Chew has had her share of "freaky" fans who expected strip tease instead
of the commentary on life she offers in a diary on the Web site. Mostly she ignores them, but the worst offenders are reported to their Web servers for possible loss of Internet privileges.

She advises viewers on the site not to waste time sending her messages "to show anything." "The best you'll get is a finger. Guess which one?" she writes, with a flash of Attitude."

To see the entire article online, go to:

The Examiner article
Webcam: Sites for the Voyeur

 

To see the list of Narcissus Cams, go to:
NARCISSUS CAMS

 

I must admit, I am again disappointed in the media.   I don't understand how any reporter/newscaster can mention a website without mentioning the URL. It just doesn't make sense to me.  I guess I should just be happy they spelled my name right.

Last year, the New York Daily News did an article and...
1. Did not mention my URL
2. Spelled my name wrong

KRON-NBC also did a segment on me and did not mention my URL,

What's the deal guys?

I just added all my recent media clips, segments and articles to my MEDIA page.  If you've missed some of them, go check it out!

 

BaddGrrl in the Media

(Yes, my site has been mentioned on ABC, NBC, CBS, BBC, ZDTV and CNN)

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Hey I scanned the Rolling Stone article and put it up online:

Rolling Stone Article:
The ME Show


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The big event this weekend?   The meeting of the Asian Webmasters (plus Fredlet).   She's not Asian but she's my twinnie so that qualifies her as one of us.   The occasion?   To celebrate, I mean, to acknowledge the departure of the infamous Ian Chin of IGut fame.    Ian will be moving to South America to seek fortune and fame.   Not to mention hot Latin women.   In attendance at this monumentous, ground-breaking event?

Lorraine, aka BaddGrrl (that would be me)
Fredlet, aka Twinnie, aka Angry Little Redneck Girl
Bonnie, aka that chick sucking down the Long Island Ice Teas
Mare of the Mareciless Universe
"R" Bill's GF , very nice girl. What the heck was she doing with the likes of us?
Bill the Pow-guy
Ian, aka The Eurasian Internet Midget
Dave, aka DKSF
Rob, aka Robocam, aka The Ghetto Toisan
Josh of Josh's Swank Condo

It was really great meeting Ian, Josh, Bill and "R" for the first time. I must admit, it was a little strange that everyone knew so much about everyone else just from reading each other's websites and journals.   We all felt like we knew each other even though a lot of us had never met "in real life" before.