Always Remember

Bullet Journal: Pros and Cons(?)

noreply@blogger.com (smplgrl) — Fri, 01 Aug 2014 00:31:00 +0000

So many entries ago, I mentioned my discovery of the Bullet Journal method. For those of you who don't know this method, the Bullet Journal method is where you create daily entries with tasks, ideas, and/or events. Tasks are usually written at the beginning of your day, while ideas and events can be recorded at any time depending if you like to write it down. After each month, a new monthly calendar page is created along with planned events. Then that month's daily entries begin again.

That entry was posted last year in August, when I was a senior in college. I can say that was one of the busiest times of my life. I had no energy to write in my journal but I really wanted to record my events for those days. The Bullet Journal was a dream come true! Well, now I have graduated and am working several part-time jobs to cover my loans. My days aren't as busy as before. To be specific, I'm still busy with work, but my current work doesn't require too much planning. Many of them are spontaneous or have too many variables to make future plans. That leaves my planner almost completely blank.

Right now, I'm looking back to consider the Bullet Journal since I was eager to use it back then. However, when I went back to review the concept, I came across some things I never thought of before. Maybe it's because of my new life style or my journal objective changed. I don't see how I would love the Bullet Journal. So let me break down my opinion for you to understand what I'm seeing.

PROS

- Daily "Bullets": This is definitely the best part of the concept. Each daily entry, there are tasks, events, and ideas marked with bullets. This allow easy tracking, recording, and planning on a busy schedule. Also, by writing this up at the beginning of the day, it helps with prioritizing certain tasks and keeping up with productivity.

- Flexibility: The Bullet Journal is very flexible. Each entry can be customized to one's liking. There is no limit to how many bullets can be under each entry (however, having so many doesn't really mean being productive since there are only so much hours each day). Also if there is a special list or entry needed, it can start right on the next blank page. There's no pre-made designated area for each entry. It's all up to the user.

- Reviewing: It is very easy to review over past tasks and events to see if anything needs to be transferred or improved. The user can look over unfinished tasks and rethink if the tasks are still needed. Some can be dropped while others are moved to the next entry. The user can also look over finished tasks and plan if improvements are needed. He/she is subconsciously reviewing over his/her productivity.

CONS

- Time wasting at certain points: Unless the user bought a journal with printed page numbers, numbering pages will take up a good chunk of time. This goes the same for writing new points in the index and reviewing old monthly entries for the next monthly calendar. The Bullet Journal was meant to save time, and indexing everything (although convenient in the long run) creates the problem many users are trying to solve.

- It's NOT that personal: This is what hits me the most. After reviewing the concept, I realized that the Bullet Journal is more like a fancy planning technique. Almost everything in the journal is task oriented. There's nothing really personal about it other than the tasks, ideas, and events are related to the user. Everything feels almost mechanical. And assuming that the user has enough tasks to fill each page or entry, will there be time to decorate ("personalize") the journal itself?

OVERALL:
The Bullet Journal is definitely something to consider. Users with packed schedules can benefit from the concept. Also since the Bullet Journal is just a technique, users can save lots of money buying cheaper plain notebooks. They are not forced to buy a fancy planner. However, for users who don't plan too much or who love writing journal entries, this is definitely not the ultimate journal technique. They will have time to personalize the Bullet Journal, but writing long entries will definitely defeat it's original concept. Fortunately, I did some research and there are many awesome creative journal writers who adapted the Bullet Journal to their own style. They kept the basic technique and added in their own flair by either adding stickers or colors. Some just added the technique as its own section into their own original journals. Either way, the technique is wonderful. I just need to find a way to adapt it to my own liking since I am already comfortable with my own planning techniques.

Destined to be bitter-er?

noreply@blogger.com (smplgrl) — Tue, 27 May 2014 08:09:00 +0000

One of the points my mom loved about me when I was a child was that I dislike candy. Well, I wouldn't say I dislike all candies. There were a few exceptions but my decisions weren't easily swayed by candy. No adult can bribe me into anything with candy. Proud? I can't say I was proud. My mom was definitely proud. Then at some point, she called me a weird child for not loving candy because by then, she realized I was also picky on other foods. Candies I dislike include gummy worms, starbursts, jolly ranchers... there are so many. However, there is always one exception: chocolate. Not just any chocolate, I only love a few chocolate. Hershey's, kit kat, malteser's,... I think that's it. I may have forgotten a few. Anyways, once I started drinking coffee, I found out I love a bit of bitterness in things I drink and eat. I don't mind bitter melon. I can even withstand drinking horribly bitter herbal teas (then again, I had no choice when I do drink them).

So it seems I thought I figured out what I love to eat and drink. I understand that tastes preference can change with age. I used to hate onions. Now I love them. I hate eggplants. Now I think they're not bad. I still dislike peas, carrots, and celery though. However, I didn't expect one thing to change so much: my love for chocolate. I love eating Hershey's plain milk chocolate... or at least I did back then. I purchased a huge bag of Hershey's milk chocolate kisses for my tutoring sessions, hoping the kisses will be the prize for my students' improvement. It worked well. Sadly, I overestimated my need for the chocolate for my students. One can't keep giving out prizes. It must be earned but children don't improve as quickly as one expected. So now I'm stuck with a huge bag of kisses. But wait! I wasn't silly when I bought the chocolate. I had a plan! If I didn't get to give as much chocolate as I want, I can always eat them by myself. Delicious Hershey's kisses all to myself! Seeing how I didn't even get to eat one since I bought it, I decided to just eat one. One kiss shouldn't be too bad. There were plenty left for my students if I needed rewards. After one bite... bleh! It was too sweet for me. I clearly lost my appetite for milk chocolate after so many years. So after that day, I chose only to eat dark chocolate. I was even able to eat the dark chocolate mini bottles with alcohol in them. My appetite has gone from moderately sweet to bitterness. Not that I'm complaining. It was just a shock that my taste changed faster than I remembered. Oh well, that's something small to think about.

Now, how am I suppose to get rid of the huge bag of Hershey's kisses???

WTF Moment #1: Getting a girl

noreply@blogger.com (smplgrl) — Mon, 28 Apr 2014 03:16:00 +0000

There will always be moments where you can't help but go "what the f***?!" Life is spontaneous that way. Sometimes it likes to throw curve balls at you just to see how you can deal with the situation. Whether it is a serious moment or just a brief moment of awe, retelling the story is sometimes a good conversation starter. Now just to be fair, my stories may not make you go "wtf" like I did but maybe it will stimulate your memories of your "wtf" moments.

Children are adorable little things. They see the world through innocent eyes. Always expecting the good, never the bad. Sadly those moments are very short. Once they hit middle school, drama will start pouring in and it's easy to tell that they aren't as innocent as before.

I was hanging out with my cousins during a family barbecue. If you have previously hung out with children that are at least 8 years younger than you, then you would know that at some point, they will always ask for advice in literally anything. I always saw my cousins as children or at least I don't believe they are capable of thinking as adults until high school (of course, that is a matter of opinion and I can be awfully wrong). So the youngest of the two was already in middle school and in the middle of our conversation, he stated he liked a girl. Of course I was happy. Someone I care about is crushing on someone else (so adorable!). I didn't want to butt into his business too much so I asked very general questions about the crush. "Did you meet her in class?" "Are you friends?" "How long have you had these feelings? ;)" After asking a few questions, I decided to let the topic go. I don't want to embarrass the boy. I do know that he was expecting something. No person just states he or she likes someone without an objective. He then stated that the girl already has a boyfriend. Oh?! So now I'm just plain curious. He stated he has a crush on this girl and she happened to be already taken. Was he hinting on seeking advice to get over her? Nope. He asked, "how do I get her to like me instead?" Woooooow! You did not read that wrong. He was asking me for advice to get a girl to break up with her current boyfriend and date him instead.

I understand. He likes this girl. He wants her to be his instead. He wants her to love him. I get it... but to find a way to make her break up with her boyfriend? Isn't that thought messed up? What can I say? Of course I told him he should not be thinking about stealing her and instead care for her happiness. Whether she stays or break up with her boyfriend, it is her business. If he truly loves her, he should only care if she's ever happy even if she ends up staying with her boyfriend. Wouldn't it be arrogant to think that he (my cousin) would be the better choice even if she may end up unhappy? No. Love doesn't work that way. It's not always about the material gain or being the best in everything (but those are attention grabbers). It's always about compatibility between personalities and compromises. I was so tempted to just yell at my cousin "No!" but that wouldn't be the appropriate way to teach him. I pray I am never asked this question again.

2014 Resolution Update

noreply@blogger.com (smplgrl) — Mon, 14 Apr 2014 00:25:00 +0000

4 months have passed since anyone has made his or her New Year's resolution. What better way to spend my free time than to look back and review my progress.

So one of my resolutions was keeping contact with my friends. Well, I wouldn't say I'm doing great on that but I did spend one or two meals with a friend. It was nice to see where we are all going in life. There were many events that forcibly change our goals. Financial issues or a change of interest. Life will always be a mystery and it is nice to know that I'm not the only one lost (but I'm probably the only one without an actual life plan yet).

Getting motivation and bringing my creativity up was harder than I thought. After sacrificing my hobby times for studying times in college, it's really hard to find my artistic self again. Maybe it was the 4-year studious schedule that got me into a somewhat boring habits. Or maybe I'm just not the same old me back from high school. Back when I don't really care too much about my grades and how my life will go (because I thought college was the answer to everything). Oh well. I just have to leave that and see how it goes.

Nail biting! That went well...for 3 months and now I got back to the habit again. In a way, I got to see how my nails look when they were long. So what did I do? I decided to wear fake nails. I can't deny it. This really helps as long as the plastic stays on. How long will it take to break the habit entirely? I'm not sure. I still don't know why I have this habit to begin with but hopefully it will go away.

Last, keeping this blog alive. Uhh... it's alive I guess, depending on how you see it. Honestly, I still haven't touch my dA page (lack of creativity and lack of a scanner). For instagram, I originally wanted to just post up other creations I made such has my cooking or some 3D art projects. Sadly I don't have time for that. I didn't even write any stories when I said I would. Even now, I don't think I would. The synopsis for my story was a demon king was granted vacation time on present-day Earth after working for who knows how long. He is now in this world with no cultural knowledge of this current generation. Each chapter was suppose to be presented like an episode of a TV show, with the king learning something new each time. Examples include learning about technology, living style, what humans are attracted from the opposite genders, etc. Basically it's like learning a whole new culture. There was a short written storyboard extending up to 10 chapters (I think). However, as much as I want to write it, I can never find an ending to the story. That's why I gave up on it. Maybe I will get back to it one day but for now, I find it cliche and boring.

Well, that's my progress on my New Year's revolution. Can't say I'm doing so well. Besides that, I did end up with 2 part time jobs. Hopefully I don't lose either of them, and get a better full-time in the future. Good luck to everyone who is still working on their resolution.

Childhood #6: Tutoring

noreply@blogger.com (smplgrl) — Wed, 12 Mar 2014 07:04:00 +0000

Wow! Time flies fast when one is seriously busy. Sorry for the lack of entries. I was more focused on financial issues but hopefully it will work out now.

So tutoring is not exactly a pleasant topic for me. I don't know if it is a common feeling among Asians but many times when I hear that I need tutoring, I feel like a failure as if I wasn't good enough. I was pathetic and stupid. Now I'm not saying people who take tutoring are stupid. I was a bit stubborn and would like it if I was already good enough for many things. I was a teen who was tired of homework and tests. When I heard I needed to take prep courses, I just felt that I am not good enough for my parents' standards. The concept of my parents' wanting to insure I get into college never occurred to me. All I thought about was how I wasn't smart as I thought I was.

The prep courses I took was for the SAT. It wasn't exactly a pleasant place. The tutors were nice and considerate. They knew the students wanted to get through the session as quick as possible and then leave immediately. They tried to keep us entertained and took the time to explain the lesson thoroughly. Sadly, that was the only positive thing I found in my prep courses. Besides the tutors, the counselors were really strict. Every time I meet them, it felt as though they were demanding me to improve (which doesn't really help with that attitude). Also the tutoring site consist of two classrooms - one with no windows, the other had its windows covered with some sort of black coating. If I had claustrophobia, I wouldn't have survived. Fortunately I didn't but I still felt uncomfortable with the sealed windows and small spacing. So the curriculum consist of sample tests and reviewing wrong answers. Every sample test scores were recorded and tracked by the counselors. It was a horrible weekly session.

What I got out of it? Well, I improved my score by 400 points which is not too bad. Sadly I never hit 2000 points. Oh well...

So I thought of tutoring because I currently am working as a tutor. Thinking back about my personal tutoring experience, I don't want to be a cold tutor towards my students. To be a bit strict is fine but to be cold is not too good with progress. I am hoping I can follow what my whole family said before: "A good teacher is a person the student fears on academics but he is also the first person the student will request any kind of help from."

Friends #2: Laziness is not an excuse

noreply@blogger.com (smplgrl) — Thu, 16 Jan 2014 20:00:00 +0000

So two years ago, I typed an entry about losing friends and getting new ones. It makes sense that we constantly change friends, whether it's due to living area or life events. No matter what we will face that problem. However, just a few weeks ago, I heard from my sis that her friend understands that idea as well (she doesn't read my blogs though) and that friend ended up not caring about her own friends anymore. She just assumes that she'll get new ones whom she will care for a while and then give up on them because she thinks they'll unfriend her. Now I understand that friends do come and go, and it's inevitable. However, should we just give up on friends that easily?

Friends are people we are fond of hanging out with. We share happy and sad moments. We encourage or discourage each others' acts (depending on the situation). At some times, we seek each other's advice. Friends are people whom we are happy to be with and the only price for friendship is time. If I had to make a scale to display price and the type of relationship it follows, I say material prices such as money, gifts, and deeds, are prices for business partners. As for regular friendship, it will be time because we don't expect too much from friends other than their support and companionship. Now if we do expect gifts and materials from friends, I think we need to get our priorities straight. We are getting off topic here so let's return to the initial question.

Friends come and go, so should we just give up on having friends? It depends on what you desire. If you desire gifts and deeds, then yes, you should give up since you obviously can find other people to do that for you for a temporary amount of time. In other words, you are a sugar baby regardless if that person funding you is your boy/girl friend or just a friend. However, if you desire actual long lasting friendships and support without caring for the gifts that follows, then you shouldn't be giving up so easily. First of all, we know any type of relationship - business, friends, or sexual - takes time to build. How can you keep calling people you hang around as your friends if you keep giving up on the idea of friends?

In my sis's friend's situation, she wants friends. She claims that she is lonely and she doesn't have that much friends. However, when a person asked her to hang out, she will only go out if she is "in the mood." Of course, that makes sense. All of us would only hang out if we have the mood for it. However, should we follow that rule all the time? What if your friend just lost a family member and need someone to talk to, should we put ourselves above your friend's needs? This is where our priorities come into play. It's okay to refuse a talk or hang out but do remember that this shows your friends that you placed your priorities somewhere else. And if your excuse is just your mood and nothing else, it can be really upsetting to your friend, knowing that you placed your comfort over your friend's needs. So exactly what is the problem here? This friend only talks or hang out when she is in the mood. She stated, "if online (instant messenger or Facebook) and I am away or busy, it means I am in no mood to talk." So my sis asked "why not just put it on offline?" That makes sense. We are not always in the mood for attention so what is the reason to notify people you are online but you are in no mood to talk? Why REFUSE the offline option? In the beginning, my sis and I were not exactly sure why she did that and we disregard it as a preference. However, once my sis had a serious personal issue (no, not about gossiping how someone mistreated her. We are talking about SERIOUS issue) and she need a friend to talk, that friend repeated her statement how she is in no mood to talk. And she wonders why she can't get long time friends...

Now tell me. Did I misunderstood something? Friends remain friends because we sacrifice (at least) a small amount of time for them. Does this girl really have an issue? or am I having priority issues? I would love to type more detail about my sis's conversation with her friend. However, not everyone wants a full detail of the story unless interested. So, FRIENDS, what do they mean to you?

Childhood #5: teaching younger relatives

noreply@blogger.com (smplgrl) — Tue, 14 Jan 2014 00:48:00 +0000

I don't know if you know [assumed] this. I am the oldest grandchild on one side of my family. As expected, if one is the oldest "child," the adults expected one to be the role model for the younger ones. In some cases, they even expect the oldest child to teach the younger ones. However, let's be realistic. Unless the oldest grandchild is at least 10 years older than the younger one or miraculously gifted in teaching, how does one expects that child to know how to teach? The answer: we shouldn't expect that grandchild knows how to teach (at least not properly the first time). Like any skills, teaching requires experience, whether be it through trial and error, or actual teaching courses.

Well, many years ago, my sis and I moved to the US (as you know). Our family had to live with my relatives because our newly-bought home was still in the making. So when you have two grandchildren (my sis and I) living with two younger grandchildren (my younger cousins), we were expected to teach them or at least be role models (and pray they follow). In one family dinner event, the whole family decided to eat at a restaurant and at the entrance was a small fish tank. There was a clear sign on the glass stating "don't tap the glass." One of my cousins keeps tapping the glass. As the oldest, I instructed him to stop the tapping. However, I was only 13 years old (I think?) and my cousin was 3-4 years old. He obviously won't listen to me since I am not an adult no matter how serious my tone was. So my sister, being 11 years old (assuming I was 13), she told the most ridiculous white lie I have ever heard. She told my cousin, "if you keep tapping the glass, the glass will break and the fishes will come out and eat you." That really scared the little boy. He immediately stopped and through the dinner, he occasionally glanced back at the fish tank. I asked my sis if that was okay to lie to a child like that. Obviously it was a ridiculous lie since the fishes in the tank were 2-in gold fishes. As of today, I wonder if my cousin still remembers that lie.

This memory didn't really hit me until my sis told me about her friend's lie to his younger brother about child birth. Now, his story really scares me. My sis's friend wanted to teach his young brother about the birds and the bees, and prevent him from causing teen pregnancy. His story was that when a woman is pregnant, obviously her belly will be enlarged. When it is time for labor, the baby will burst out of the woman's belly. I actually skipped a lot of details. To summarize the details, let's just say the story sounded like it came from a horror alien movie. I heard this when I was around 18, and even I got scared. I'm pretty sure for a young boy, after hearing that story, he won't be getting any girls pregnant for a good while (or at least until temptation gets the best of him).

As you can see, sometimes people make up the weirdest lies to teach young children lessons. I am a full adult now and I still wonder if that is a good way to teach them. Sadly I don't know the answer but restating these memories is quite amusing. I can't help but giggle at the stories behind those lessons. So think about it. How would you teach a very young child about a certain lesson or prevent them from having certain behaviors?

2014 New Years Resolution

noreply@blogger.com (smplgrl) — Sun, 05 Jan 2014 08:08:00 +0000

For those of you who read my previous entry, I'm sorry. Rereading the entry, I found it like a rant than an actual formal entry. Also my blog was meant to help remember happy times. We should not focus too much on angry times (as you can tell, it still enrages me). So I'm sorry if my entry brought up any of your unpleasant memories. That's not what I wanted. We should always keep looking forward and only occasionally remember the past for our sanity's sake. That said and now being a new year, it's time to make another New Years resolution. So here are my 2014 News Years resolution.

#1. Bring back my creativity and motivation.

~I realized that during my college years, motivation and creativity had diminished greatly. With many classes involving studying with facts, it was hard to fantasize anything without pushing physics and biology into them. All research done must have credible resources and support. This had a great impact on my creativity. I used to draw and sketch every month. Plus I had a DeviantArt page. I knew many friends who had an dA page but already gave up on them. I still am proud to keep mine but it was neglected for quite some time already. I want to take on that hobby again. Plus I hope this hobby will also bring my motivation and daily mood up.

#2. Maintain relationship with my current friends.

~Another school over. That means there is no real need to meet up with my friends besides the plain desire to hang out. I want to keep my friends and my mistake from high school had hurt me. Now I'm making sure to put some effort because friendship does have a price (even if it's just a little).

#3. Grow out my nails.

~I will admit it. When I was young, I bite my nails regularly. Even if the habit stop, I'm still used to very short nails. My family isn't very happy about my habit. My sis even decided to glue fake nails on my nails just so I could get used to them (and keep a habit of having them longer). Having long nails isn't really a bad thing. It is not killing me. However, right now, they are really inconvenient (even typing this entry took longer than it should). Oh well, it looks more tidy to have longer nails, just maybe not as long as these fake nails I'm wearing. I'll just have to figure out a manageable length. Besides, nail polishes are always cute.

#4. Keeping this blog.

~This is probably the most lenient resolution. I would really like to keep this blog going. However, it will depend greatly on my workload. I already want to revive my dA page. I also want to have a try in writing stories and having Instagram. Plus I don't know how my employment will go. That is a lot of stuff to keep in check. Still it's nice to find ways to keep myself busy. Hopefully I will find a way to manage all of them.

I am not a real fan of resolutions since one must need a lot of motivation to keep up with it. However, my sis gave me a tough line: "There is no such thing as having no time. You make the time." Now sadly, she was commenting on my exercising habits but that advice can actual go with anything. And it makes complete sense. Everything takes [at least some] effort. So don't sacrifice any of your resolutions. Always try your best and make time for it... unless you are working several jobs and making anymore time means sacrificing sleep. No one should ever sacrifice sleep.

Apartment mate #3: The final blow!

noreply@blogger.com (smplgrl) — Wed, 01 Jan 2014 20:00:00 +0000

It has been a while since I typed up an entry about my apartment mate. The reason: she moved out of our apartment. However, the story that led to that event was interesting. I think interesting enough to at least get an entry. So I hope you enjoy the epic conclusion/summary to my apartment life horror.

The last entry was at October 2012. However the event in that entry occurred in the summer of that year. From September to December 2012, there was quite a few drama. In the beginning of summer, there were three girls in the building: me, Blondie (my sis), and Wavy. There were drama during the summer but there were similar to my previous entries, so we will skip them. By September, a new mate moves in because our building holds four people maximum and it was the beginning of a new academic year. I call this new mate Red. From my perspective, Red is a unique mate. She was majoring in international studies and actually took an interest in the Japanese culture. Now I don't want to name her nationality, but to give a good picture, her nationality and my nationality are very different. Although our cultures have similarities, due to a language barrier, our nationalities [usually] don't get along. So the fact that Red actually majors in international studies, specifically in an Asian culture, I have to give her some credit.

Now Red and Wavy actually are the same nationality, so it was normal that Wavy wanted to bond with her. Blondie and Red also had a good relationship so this new mate is quite a keeper. Now I'll be honest, I'm not close to Red. I probably was the least close to her but we never had any trouble with each other so we were on good terms. A few months into the new academic year, I became distant to my apartment mates because I have more school activities that require attending. However, both Blondie and Red told me there were some issues in the apartment. I don't know when I became the leader/go-to person for this situation. Maybe it was because I was the oldest one (college senior). So a small meeting was made between the three of us and apparently there were issues with Wavy. The main issue was the dirty kitchen. I don't really want to blame Wavy too much for that. Among all of us, I am the only one who actually previously lived in the apartment. Everyone else was new to the independent lifestyle. Because of that, I excused Wavy many times on hygiene. It takes time to learn to do chores as a habit, without force. Besides the cleanliness, (I don't know how we end up like this) there were awkward moments between Wavy and everyone else, especially me. I often disregard it because if the issue was only between Wavy and I, then I should just suck it up and keep the peace in this household. However, now that Red and Blondie confessed to me, I really thought there was an issue. So I tried setting several roommate meetings to address the issue but Wavy's schedule doesn't seem to work out with ours. I just let the situation go. Sadly that didn't help. Tension was building up and I don't know what exactly is the main problem. Is cleanliness really the big deal??

I gave up. I was inexperienced with this and so I emailed my apartment adviser (college student placed in charge of students in certain apartments). I explained the severity of the tension in the household. Thanks to the adviser, she was able to contact each one of us and set up a personal meeting before a general meeting. In Blondie and my personal meeting (we went together), I only mentioned cleanliness and Wavy's slight insecurities. From what I observed, Wavy's dialect often sounds soft and sympathetic. At the same time, she often looks sad, almost victimized (I don't know a better word for it). I just assumed she's sensitive. Wavy and Red each had their own private personal meetings. So the general meeting came. The adviser specifically said she was nothing more than a proctor looking over the meeting. She was not going to speak for any of us and we each need to speak up everything we feel important. So each of us spoke our perspective to the problem. I confessed about the cleanliness and Wavy's sensitivity. Because this event took place one year ago, I can't remember what Blondie and Red said. For Wavy, she said she felt like she was attacked from all three of us. She felt as though the three of us are leaving her out in many events. So we all discussed about this issue. I apologized to Wavy about leaving her but it can't be helped. For me, I had club events and night classes that left my returning to the apartment by 10 pm for majority of the weekdays. So not only was I neglecting Wavy, I'm also neglecting my other mates and I understand that is a problem. The meeting was going smoothly until Wavy stated something I never thought I heard. Wavy stated that she was actually clean and was purposely leaving the kitchen dirty as a retaliation. Yes, you read it correctly. She was PURPOSELY leaving the kitchen dirty. So what was she retaliating? She felt ignored by Blondie and I during the summer. She thought we hated her. When Red arrived, Wavy felt Blondie and I were purposely impressing Red to like us and not Wavy.

WHAT THE F***?!?!?!? Never in my life did I have someone angered me so much. Now I understand what you are thinking. That can't be right. You were exaggerating. You were probably hearing what you wanted to hear for an excuse to hate her. I wish that was true. However, I have three other witnesses in that meeting and trust me, when Wavy made that statement, everyone's eyes were on her... some wide opened. I had so much anger boiling in me, I could have split the table all five of us were sitting at into two... and that is just the first blow of anger. I would MINCE the table into splinters just to rid the rest of the anger. I was actually giving her excuses for her actions. I was supporting her when Red and Blondie confronted me. I was trying to make her look like a good person in front of the other two and now I realized that she was that LOW. Even now, just restating the memory is boiling my heart... But we can't do that... we are all gentle ladies in a very important meeting. We must be in our best behavior (while clenching our fists and hearts and displaying a fake smile). So being a "gentle" lady, I asked Wavy how I made her feel neglected. Wavy stated how when she first moved in, I rarely came out of my room. I barely do any activities with her. She wanted to have dinners together with everyone and always have time to chat...everyday... She wanted me to say hi to her everyday. And if I don't see her and her door is closed, I was to knock and say hi anyways. Because I don't "hang out" with her, she thinks I automatically hate her and that goes the same with Blondie. When Red arrives, Wavy thinks Blondie and I gossip to her so she wouldn't hang out with Wavy.

Man... this girl really has issues. Be aware that this insecurities started in the summer without Red. Well, I didn't say any of the following stuff but now I wish I did. First of all, she automatically thinks I hate her just because I don't hang out with her during the summer. We just moved in together. We barely know each other for a month (2 months if you count the whole summer) and she expects me to hang out with her regularly? Also she comes up to my room and Blondie's room (separate rooms on the third floor, one above hers). It was as though she never noticed both our rooms' doors are closed. Blondie and I rarely hang out together. Only time we hang out was dinner (not lunch!). And every time she opens my door for somethings, she would see me working. With all these incidents, she actually never considered me busy or an introvert? As for eating together, I usually have Blondie cook my dinner because I'm just that lazy (I admit it). However, I'm not picky since beggars can't be choosers. Plus I usually pay for those groceries. Wavy doesn't like eating Blondie's cooking style. As for us, Blondie and I are okay with Wavy's cooking but we don't prefer just that kind of meal everyday (another nationality barrier I guess). And since I didn't pay for Wavy's groceries, it is impolite to constantly eat her food supply. Once or twice is fine but regularly? No. When Red came along, she was very diverse. She was okay with both Blondie's and Wavy's style of cooking. So she actually can eat with either of us... yet Wavy considered it as a way for Blondie and I to take Red away from her?

So here's my concluding opinion: Wavy is a self-centered crying woman. There were other incidents I didn't talk about that support my opinion. Overall, I realized never once did she ever thought about me or my life style. She thinks everyone automatically are friends when living under roof. If a person isn't hanging out with her, probably that person hates her even if there's no reason behind it yet. She thinks that having a person hate her is a good reason to act rudely to that person, even if she didn't find support that the person hates her to begin with. She thinks leaving the kitchen is a good retaliation. The word "introvert" is nonexistent in her vocabulary. And if she cries, she's automatically the victim and should be correct in any manner (by the way, she cried during the whole general meeting).

In the end, the adviser and my mates couldn't find a way to kick her out of the apartment. Instead our pipes started making sounds, disrupting Wavy's sleep. In the winter, the pipes make weird sounds due to their expanding from the hot water running in them. After one winter break (and Wavy's complaint to the adviser about the pipes), the plumbers tried breaking down the walls and replacing the pipe in her room. They completed their jobs and left. However, the sounds were still there (and even louder in my room for odd reasons). So Wavy had enough of it. She complained to the adviser and so the adviser searched for her a new apartment. She moved out at her own will. Let me restate that: she moved out at HER OWN WILL. And thus, peace was brought back (I never knew it left) to the household after March.

And if you think Wavy isn't bad, let me tell you a side story that happen afterwards. Blondie and Red both saw Wavy on campus several times. Suppose those three had a good relationship compare to mine (because apparently Wavy has problems with extreme introverts) yet when Blondie and Red waved hi, (according to those two) Wavy gave a dirty look and ignored them... Yeah... this woman. I don't give props to this woman but I do give props to her boyfriend. He must be really awesome to have to deal with this issue.

So cheers to a new life! Glad that's off my chest!

Ending 2013

noreply@blogger.com (smplgrl) — Wed, 01 Jan 2014 03:51:00 +0000

Can't believe it's the end of the year already. I know for sure I created this account before the starting of 2013 but right now, I feel as though it's a one year anniversary for this blog. I didn't really take this blogging seriously until the very beginning of January. Even now, considering the frequency of my entries, I think I still don't take it as seriously as I thought I would but that is okay. I'm still learning how to blog and hope that I will improve this new year. Right now, I like to review back my progress of my 2013.

2013 is (and will always be) one of my life changing years. It is the year I graduated out of college and began my adulthood. It is the year when I started this blog. It is the year I learn about my faults and my strengths. It is definitely a time when I learn I am an individual who can't live under my parents anymore. [Warning: summary of many previous entries ahead]

In the beginning of the year, I thought I would graduate out of college and begin my pharmacy school (or any grad school) application. Not wanting to lose many friends similar to my high school graduation, I tried planning ways to stay in contact with my college friends. I thought everything was planned out beautifully. However, I learned many of my limits. My GPA was not exactly beautiful. As for meeting up with friends, a two-hour drive to meet them was not a very good idea, especially when I am jobless and wish to not spend too much money. I still keep in contact with them via Facebook and texting. Still one can't just wander in life and free load off one's parents. A plan needs to be made. My parents took advantage of my "free time" by taking me to visit my old relatives outside the US. It was an interesting experience to learn about your relatives from an adult's perspective, compared to my previous experience as just a student. Now I returned to my home. I began taking online classes for another license exam. I even started signing up for volunteer hours. And to my luck, my job application was still under reviewing after two weeks (better than having a rejection notice). Through out all that personal drama, I was trying out blogging, forcing myself to think of other stuff besides my current worries. With that said, this is how my 2013 will be ending.

It was a tough year personally. I am pretty sure there are people out there who might think I was useless or I could have done better planning. Honestly, I agree with them. My poor planning has led me to this result and I am still a little upset with it. However, no matter who we are or what troubles we have, we all have to keep moving forward. Why keep crying over spilled milk? I am thankful that I have parents that are willing to support me even though I am an adult physically and still mentally dependent. They are always slowly teaching me many life lessons. I am thankful I have this blog to force me to think of previous work and remind me to not give up. I am thankful of my friends who supported me even when I changed my career path. I am really a lucky girl.

Is there anything I currently wish for? Well, besides the obvious (getting employed and actually finding a good career), I do wish I can tell the next generation many things.

#1. No matter what we plan for our future, there will always be some failures. That is okay. We learn from them and change accordingly. I believe people become successful not from accomplishing every planned milestone but from adapting one's plan to any situation and obstacle. As we all know, some of the most successful people were college drop-outs.

#2. Understand your priorities. I meant this personally, not priorities thrust upon by seniors (aka parents, teachers, etc.). One always have certain priorities and might need time to learn them. One might think it is a hobby, a certain person, or even a career. How do you know if they really are your priorities? Best way I can think of to answer that is to ask oneself comparison questions. Would you go to a big party with friends or to a family reunion? Would you prefer working longer hours for more money or having more personal time and learning to save? Would you rather work for long hours for only 5 days a week or work for shorter hours for 7 days? Everyone has different priorities, none better than others. Knowing them will help greatly in planning for one's future.

#3. Take a task that ends with learning a new personal skill. (I thank my dad's colleague for this advice) When taking upon a task, it is best to gain a personal skill from it. Whether we like the task or not (ex. an education class when studying to be a doctor, or working in a fast food place when wanting to work in an office), there are always skills to be learned. Some are nice to put on a resume but at the end of the day, those skills are what helps in finishing any jobs.

Okay. I think I said [typed?] enough. That's one long essay to read. Thank you very much if you managed to read all that. Now it is the time to take out a drink (coffee, hot chocolate, beer, wine, soda, etc) and cheers to a new year.

Here is to 2014! Happy New Year!

Holiday #6: No Christmas?

noreply@blogger.com (smplgrl) — Wed, 25 Dec 2013 02:18:00 +0000

It seems awkward to think of a family who doesn't celebrate Christmas. On the other hand, it shouldn't be awkward since my family don't celebrate other holidays like Easter or July 4th so in a way, I have no right to call anyone who doesn't celebrate Christmas awkward. Either way, my family often celebrates Christmas (to a certain extent). However, due to multiple members' catching the flu, my family had to set out on Christmas this year. No Christmas tree. No decorations. No family dinner. Everyone is too sick to get out of bed. Still, how can one forget Christmas if there are reminders everywhere? Stuck indoors with cough medicine beside, I imagine what I will be missing this Christmas.

As a child, I always look forward to Christmas. There was the long winter break, the festive decorations, the festive music, and, last but not least, the presents. When I was a kid, Christmas time was the only time when I can get anything I want (besides birthdays but that always occurs on either STAR testing days or AP testing days :( ). My parents would spoil me, allowing me to get any one gift within budget. Usually the gifts were toys but soon it transformed into video games (because toys are a hassle to clean up). Those were fun times. As a grew older, Christmas time reminds me more of family gatherings - the awful times when one meets with other relatives and they ask constant questions regarding school grades, boyfriends, and (just recently) employment. Who doesn't love family gatherings? I was not looking forward to such gatherings this year. However, now that I [miraculously] avoided it, I tend to miss it. Without the decorations, music, and events, Christmas end up like... any other boring day.

Christmas is a special event whether it is a day for religious people to celebrate their religion or a time for people to spoil themselves with not rational excuse. It is a holiday to cheer people up. And if one does not celebrate Christmas for reasons mentioned above, at least it is a time for breaking boring daily routines, exhilarating one's life [momentarily], and counting one's earnings for the year. A wonderful holiday even for Mr. Scrooge.

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year everybody!

Trapped Souls...

noreply@blogger.com (smplgrl) — Wed, 27 Nov 2013 01:59:00 +0000

Once upon a time, a young gamer graduated out of college and was searching for a job. Being jobless for a very long time, he was getting bored with his life very much. The job market was being harsh and his patience was decreasing along with his self-esteem. Barely anyone wants to hire him, regardless if he was a college graduate. It almost felt like the world did not want him. That his life was meaningless and losing his life will not stop the world from spinning.

One day, a dear friend of his introduced the young gamer to a new game. The dear friend claimed that it was no ordinary game and it will change his life forever. That he will never forget this special piece of artwork. So the gamer decided to try it out. Why not? He thought. There was nothing to lose and his boredom and unemployment were digging into his ego. He might as well detach from reality just for a short moment to relieve some stress. So he downloaded the game and started his small adventure.

On his little adventure, he met a woman by the name Felicia. Although the gamer never met her personally, he felt connected to her due to their roles in the game. However, while playing the game, the gamer realized a terrible truth. Felicia, a mere NPC, was suffering in the game. She was forced to experience her death countless times when many other players play the game. No matter if she loves or dislikes her role, she was forced to follow the game's plan to die countless times in front of the players and forget any memory of her previous deaths. The young gamer could not accept her fate. He could not accept knowing an innocent soul had to go through such tragedies just because she was "designed" that way. He wanted to set her soul free, giving her free will and allowing her to live with no pain. So, the gamer set on a quest to figure out how to set her free. He tried many options and at some point, even talked to Felicia herself. Felicia was very pleased to know the gamer cares for her and tries to save her life. However, after many tries, the gamer confessed to Felicia that he was failing quite miserably for he could not figure a solution. Felicia appreciated his effort. She told the gamer it was okay and she understood her fate. She was happy enough that the gamer acknowledged her existence. With no other choice, the gamer bid farewell to the damsel in distress and saw her died once more. The gamer left the game alone after that. Although she remained trapped in the game, at least she was pain free.

The gamer returned to his regular life again, searching for employment while finding other things to rid his boredom, but he would never forget Felicia and hope one day another player can set her free.

http://paperdino.com/games/save-the-date/

MIND BLOWN! PEEEUUWWWW!!!!!

When the hour glass finishes...

noreply@blogger.com (smplgrl) — Thu, 21 Nov 2013 07:50:00 +0000

At some point in one's life, another person's life finishes. It is an unavoidable event and usually unexpected. For a person as old as I am, I have to say I am very fortunate not to have any one close to me pass away. However, that doesn't mean I am blessed to not have to suffer the loss. As stated, it is unavoidable and so my time of loss will come soon. Still the topic got me thinking. It isn't the first time I thought of this topic (and I don't expect it to be my last).

The first time I thought of this was when a friend of my sibling suffered cardiac arrest. It was really unexpected for the friend was very healthy not too long before the incident. Many teachers and friends were very shocked. The next few deaths I heard were of suicides of acquaintances. These deaths will always remain a mystery and coming to closure were hard. During those times, I didn't understand. I didn't know how to respond to those news for the people weren't involved in my life.

Recently I had a few distant relatives passed away. I didn't really feel upset but that is caused by my lack of bonding time with those relatives. Besides these relatives, the father of a friend of mine also just recently passed away. So I couldn't help but think: how would I react if someone close to me passes away? Will I cry loudly? Or would I remain quiet? How long will it take for me to recover? These questions can't be answered until I experience the event... On the other hand, do I want these questions answered? It's hard to say. However, in my opinion, it's never too late to be prepared. Now, I'm not saying to go buy a gravestone and coffin right now. That is very depressing. No, I'm talking about having a mind set to help oneself move on when the time comes. So here's what I think will help me for that future.

First, it's necessary to remind oneself that the world continues to spin. Time might feel like it stopped but sadly that is not true. There's no pause button so everyone has to pick him/herself up as soon as possible. A vacation from work might be a good idea but at some point, one needs to return to work. How can we get used to living without the deceased if we are not continuing living our normal life?

Second, it will help a lot to be prepared for paying the burial cost. It is understandable that deaths are unexpected and to think of such topic is almost taboo. However, I would feel totally ashamed if I can't afford to give my loved one a proper burial. So that means I need to leave a small share of savings for such event. Knowing that my loved one can have a decent burial comforts at least maybe 1% of the heart. Sometimes having faith in a religion helps.

Third, never forget the happy moments. Is it weird that we usually think of happy moments when the person is gone and not when he or she is present? There's always a regret. From wishing to say "thank you" to "I'm sorry," there are many things we wish we could do before the person left. Sadly, we don't know the state of our loved ones' hour glasses. Sometimes we think we have all the time in the world and procrastinate in showing our love. This advice might also help in regular life. Always think positively about everyone. It is hard but possible. Once we think of the person in a positive manner, we will compliment and thank them more often automatically. Also each moment with them is another beautiful memory. So when the time comes, there's less regrets and more wishes for a happy afterlife.

I know. They all sound cheesy and how would a girl who barely experienced such loss give such an advice?! Well, I don't know what to say. This is my thoughts, my view when someone I know lost someone. I don't know if these advice will help pick someone back on their feet. However, I think this is just a good reminder. Maybe it doesn't work on others and this will end up being a note to myself to help me get back on my own feet. Either way, may the Lord (or the diety of your religion) bless the deceased and bring them to the afterlife in peace.

Finding Your Past in Your Present

noreply@blogger.com (smplgrl) — Wed, 13 Nov 2013 05:31:00 +0000

It is redundant. I said it before and I will say it again. Always remember where you came from. It makes us who we are. Well, instead of remembering, I decided to revisit where I came from.

So cloudy!

This is the city where I was raised. Honestly, I didn't go back because I want to relive my memories. I went back [against my will] to visit my relatives. Being a college graduate, my parents thought it would be nice to visit them in case I get a job that doesn't allow much vacation days. Plus I'm growing old and my grandparents are growing old. Better to visit them before it's too late (knock on wood).

The trip was quite interesting. Almost everyday, I was visiting a relative or a family friend. If I'm free, my parents would be forcing me to go shopping, thinking I need to renew my wardrobe. It was really busy. Besides having lots of family reunions, I got to revisit many places from my childhood, from shopping malls to restaurants. However, there is something I didn't expect from my trip. I experienced culture shock... from the city where I grew up! It was very stressful when I experienced culture shock from moving to the United States. Now experiencing it again but from where I came from, I realized how much I grew and adapted to the western culture. Everything is new again. I found out my tiny primary school has moved to a bigger building. My old apartment has finished renovation. There's now a Disneyland there too!... but I didn't get to go there. Taxi drivers are aggressive and MTRs can get seriously packed. I'm learning many new things again.

Many relatives and family friends asked me the same question: "If necessary, will you be able to live here again?" I automatically answered yes. I believe I can adapt to living there again. Sadly, I don't know if I want to. If I live there, I have to give up my coffee and milk tea addiction since coffee and milk tea taste a lot stronger. I also have to give up driving due to horrific traffic. Although I know I can deal with the hustle of a busy city life, I don't think I want to return there for a living... Maybe for vacations only.

Time is a harsh spirit

noreply@blogger.com (smplgrl) — Mon, 14 Oct 2013 22:32:00 +0000

I feel like such a failure right now. Making a New Year's resolution about typing an entry every week to keep this blog going and here I am typing almost every other month. It doesn't mean I lost interest in blogging. I just don't know what else to type. Let me explain.

Originally, I wanted this blog to force me to remember the good times in my childhood. The wonderful nostalgic feeling really hits the heart and at that moment, I would think "My life is beautiful." It didn't matter what stressing moment I was in. Every time I think of my childhood, there's a feeling in my chest that just makes me tear up and become thankful for what I am today. Sadly my life is changing at a serious exponential rate. I transformed from a student to an adult in just a few months and the stress is seriously piling up. When I was still in school studying, I always thought "there is time." There was always time in my future. To get a boyfriend or a husband. To start a family. To play video games for many hours. To get into painting again. To travel around the world. I always thought there was time for everything. However, once I actually become an adult, graduating out of school and entering reality, I realized there isn't as much time as I wanted. Forget the video games, traveling, and hobbies. Those activities can be done in any age group. I'm talking about family. I have many wants in my life and quite a few involve my family. I wanted to get my mom the car of her dreams. I wanted to afford a good surround sound system and television for my dad. I wanted to be able to buy anything for my younger sister so my parents can keep their money to spend on themselves. I also wanted to buy gifts for my young cousins to return the love their parents (my uncle and aunt) gave me when I was a child. There are so many things I want to buy and give. Sadly, time is a harsh spirit. I just graduated and barely began my career. I'm still unemployed and the people I love are growing old. There is not much time left. The clock is ticking. Soon my parents' old age will catch up too and they will need medical attention. I will have to care for them. Did I put too much expectations on myself? Was I able to change any of this? Or is this just a cruel inevitable fate?

With this set in mind, I started thinking about my own future. For love, I thought I can get a boyfriend anytime. "Love has no boundaries," I told myself. I still think this is true. However, my retired father brought up a different concern I never really thought about. A boyfriend can come anytime but if I add children in this equation, that's a different story. With the required education level increasing, my future children might be required to graduate with a master's degree. Is that possible? Maybe, but only if I'm young enough. I like my future children to not worry about finance, to focus only on education and social life. Sadly that is hard. People always bring up savings and loans. Of course, the child must also be somewhat smart to begin with. This is not easy. I don't want to be already retired once my children graduate. I want to remain working when they get a chance to begin their careers. I don't want to burden them to taking care of me. So is that possible? I can't be optimistic of my future health. That is mostly unpredictable. There are times I want to tell myself, "you are too young to think of these things." As a recent college graduate, I would love that saying to be true. However, my own clock is ticking too. Preparations for the future need to be made.

So that is why my blog hasn't been updated in quite a while. The theme I gave my blog was memories of childhood but how can I remember my past if I'm too concern with my future now? As an adult, I must remember that there are people in my life that will be depending on me. I have to remember, no matter how many good memories I have, time is moving - whether I'm dead or not. I guess I realized while I love to reminisce, time is still driving me forward and it doesn't care where it is taking me so I have to be the one to make sure I don't crash into anything.

I discovered the Bullet Journal

noreply@blogger.com (smplgrl) — Fri, 23 Aug 2013 08:31:00 +0000

Scrapbooks, journals, diaries, home videos, blogs. What do they all have in common? They record events! No matter if they are themed events or daily events, these media help document for memory. However, not everyone can have enough free time to create these things but that doesn't mean he or she don't want to. Just today, I discovered a website that introduced a method that's close to journal-ing. It's quite interesting.

The method is called Bullet Journal. It is like a To-Do list and journal in one. Each entry, the person list out the tasks they need to do and what events occurred in bullet form. It's fast and simple. If the person wants to personalize, he or she can do that at her own time. It's harder to explain in words so I recommend checking out the website.

www.bulletjournal.com/#myModal

Childhood #4: Children on the plane

noreply@blogger.com (smplgrl) — Mon, 29 Jul 2013 05:50:00 +0000

I always wonder if I was ever one of those annoying children during a flight. When I was young, still living outside of the US, my family and I would always take our vacations in California because that's where my grandparents lived. So every summer vacation, we would take the long flight across the Pacific. As children, the flight is a long boring trip and staying in one's seat for 12+ hours is torture. To cure my boredom, I would usually have a small carry-on bag filled with candy, snacks, pencils, papers, and reading materials. Once the seat belt light is off, my sister and I immediately open our bags and do what ever we like. Most of the time, I would be drawing. Other times, my mom would make sure I read (the homework my parents gave me for every summer). And sometimes, I would grab the magazines in the seat pocket and read it. Thinking about it now, I wonder how I manage to stay so still in my seat (besides going to the bathroom). I would like to say it's due to my parents' discipline but both my parents said I was an obedient girl (that they probably took too much pride on). When my sister and I get bored, we would always talk... a lot. About what? Honestly, I don't know and don't remember. The chat is probably about cartoons or toys or movies. So this train of thought led me to this one question: was I ever an annoying child on the plane? I would love to think just as what my parents told me but knowing myself, I probably got a few adults angry during the long flights. If not the passengers, then probably the flight attendants since I get air sick every time.

As an adult now, flights are quite interesting to me. Many times I would go through magazines to read about different cultures. Occasionally I would try to listen to music in other languages. Sadly my air sickness was never cured and at every plane trip, at least 8 hours were occupied by sleep. I hope everyone else has a better flight experience than I do.

Holiday #5: The Father I Couldn't Repay In A Lifetime

noreply@blogger.com (smplgrl) — Mon, 17 Jun 2013 06:40:00 +0000

I don't want to sound as though I'm bragging. However, I believe I'm one of the few lucky people to have an awesome father. He has a strong heart and is very considerate. He encourages me during my ups and comforts me during my downs. In a way, I'm a spoiled child because of him. I can never thank him enough for what he has done for me.

Honestly, I didn't grow up with my father. My father works outside of the U.S. while I was studying in junior high, high school, and half my college. Every year, he would work hard to save up vacation days just to visit my mom, sister, and me. It was heartbreaking every time my family sees his leaving. In a long distance relationship, my parents experienced ups and downs - dealing with trusts and doubts. No matter what the obstacle was, my parents pulled through and now we're all living together. Because of this, I have respect towards my father for his endurance.

What makes me love my father? Well there are plenty of small reasons. However, not too long ago, I just graduated from college. It was a tough time for me. While all my friends were submitting applications for their desired grad schools, I was worrying over my student loans and my GPA. Let's be honest. I'm not one bit smart. I'm the most average of the average. I didn't receive any honors nor did I join any sororities or big clubs, so when I went to my graduation ceremony, I was only wearing my gown and the common sash my college was selling. So through out my senior year, I wasn't one bit looking forward to my graduation. My low GPA would not get me anywhere and I was really down knowing I still need to get a job to keep my student loans off my parents' shoulders. Well, just three days before my graduation, my father decided to have a talk with me. I don't know if he noticed I was down or not but the first thing he said to me was "don't worry." My father told me to keep my career options open and I should just try to get a small job. As for the student loans, I should not worry about them. Then he said something I never knew my parents would think about. He said I should just get a small job and enjoy my life a little as an adult. He worries that I'm spending so much time studying, I didn't get time to hang out with friends. In the beginning, I didn't really understand what he meant. In today's culture, it's normal for students to aim for college and beyond (if possible). That's what I thought but he explained how he was with my mom when she was 22. My parents were already working and traveling around the world for fun. Basically they were enjoying their young lives and now my father is worried that I may miss that life. Coming from an Asian father, this means a lot. I grew up thinking I need to satisfy their desires and because my father spoiled me, I feel even more pressured to repay him. Now knowing my father really cares about my happiness and tries to lighten my burden, I couldn't thank any divine spirit enough for my father. I couldn't thank my father enough for his love. He is one of the best gifts in my life and I wouldn't want him in any other way.

Happy Father's Day

Holiday #4: The Woman that gave us life

noreply@blogger.com (smplgrl) — Mon, 13 May 2013 01:19:00 +0000

Whether you have your biological mother, stepmother, foster mother, mother-in-law, god mother or even a mother by spirit, you can never truly hate her. She gave up some of her time to raise you and teach you about life. Not all of us are blessed for having a loving/living mother. Because of this, we should all be thankful for having our mothers and give up a small time to thank her once in a while. True there are times when she scold you. She might even lecture you over things that you find unnecessary or are not responsible over. Either way, her message and lecturing are meant to teach you what is important and what should be done if you were in those situations. She is teaching us how to build character and value. And most of the time, we don't truly appreciate them until they are out of our daily lives. Let's not wait till they are gone for us to appreciate them. Let's keep telling them "I love you" and thank them. So when the day they truly leave our lives, we have no regrets.

~Happy Mother's Day~

Advice #2: Hanging out with people you dislike

noreply@blogger.com (smplgrl) — Wed, 24 Apr 2013 06:24:00 +0000

No matter how many times you pray or try to be nice, there will always be people in this world that will dislike you or vice versa. It's true and unavoidable. The best solution is, of course, don't hang around them. Why be with people that makes you sad, correct? Well, yes, that solution works most of the time. However, not all of us have that choice. What happens if this person is a friend of your friend? and this person tends to "cling" onto your buddy all the time? Or worse, what happens if you are related to this person? (I'm pretty sure there are some people who dislike their relatives.)

First of all, realize that this person you dislike is also a dynamic person, like you. This person has feelings, memories, and experiences just like you, only different ones. When I say a dynamic person, I meant he or she can change (both positively and negatively). He/she is not static but that doesn't mean he/she won't seem static. However, don't expect that person to change for you. (He/she would have changed in the first place and you wouldn't be in this situation then.) Overall, this person is still a living, breathing human being like you and obviously there are people that might misunderstand and dislike you. If someone dislikes you and you have a reason for your actions, the person you dislike should also be given the right to reason.

When you finally understand that person has a life with goals (and feelings!), you should realize that he/she has a good and a bad side. Everyone does. (If you can only see this person as an object, I think the person with the problem is you and not him/her.) When we meet someone new, we always ask what are the good traits of that person. "What's his/her favorite music?" "Is he/she clean?" No matter how many questions we ask, we always expect good answers, hoping to create a new friendship. This is the perspective we want when we see the person we dislike. By always assuming you are meeting someone new, you will always ask questions and expect positive answers.

Well, that sounds easy enough but what if we can't forget the bad side of this particular person? In that case, try forcing yourself to name positive traits about that person (other than intelligence and beauty). Back in my high school, every class had to sign a "social contract." I have no idea who came up with the idea but it was a way for teachers to teach students to be respectful. In the contract, one promises when a person feels insulted by one's comment, that one person must give a compliment to the insulted one. And to make it harder, my teacher disregards simple comments like "you are smart," "you are nice," and "you are beautiful." This makes my classmates and me feel pressured into thinking good compliments. This social contract is not a too bad of an idea. It forces oneself to look at a person positively, which is really hard if one already hates that person.

But how does looking at a person positively help with our dislikes for him/her? Actually it reminds us that the person we dislike is not all too bad. He/she is not a punishment sent from the heavens. Our distaste in that person can usually cloud our perception of how the person might really be. Also, knowing that the person is not all too bad, you will likely give more chances to see more positive traits. And for sure, if you see enough positive traits, you might end up liking that person... or at least tolerate his/her presence.

I actually wish many people would think this way instead of sending hates towards each other. However, my method doesn't solve every problem. I myself still have people I dislike, and I avoid them as much as possible. This method just helps my tolerance. Also this method is not a reason to put trust in other people that easily. Trust is a different issue. I just want to help some people so their hang outs will not be a "living hell." So good luck to you all!

Rain, Rain... Go Away... Come Again Another Day

noreply@blogger.com (smplgrl) — Tue, 02 Apr 2013 04:47:00 +0000

It is finally April. What does it means? April showers, of course! Depending on what type of person you are, you may either enjoy the rain or you fully hate it. Either way, it is the time of year where mother nature takes her course and water her land to bring in new life.

I have a love-hate relationship with rain. In Hong Kong, rain is very common. It rains in the spring. It rains in the summer. It rains in the fall and winter too. It is a full year of rain in Hong Kong (either that or harsh humidity). No matter what season, Hong Kong can bring in rain. In worst cases, a typhoon can come instead of rain. For those of you who never experience such storm, typhoon is like the sky decided to not sprinkle water on you, instead gives you a whole bucket all at once. If the typhoon last long enough, it may even flood in Hong Kong. This is not the reason why I dislike the rain. My main reason is that because it rains so often in Hong Kong, I rarely get to see the sun and clear sky. Also I feel rain is not necessarily counted as clean water. Call me a freak if you like but I feel dirty if I'm wet from the rain.

The rain is not always bad. If it was raining outside and I was indoors, I feel very comfortable and cozy with a cup of hot tea and a movie to watch. Raining weather became relaxing time (with the exception of finishing papers and studies). Also after moving to California, seeing a full rain storm is close to never. So sometimes when I do see rain, I feel both love and hatred for it. I know rain is an uncommon sight now so I still treasure the scenery. Mother nature has a way to toy with my feelings.

Riddle #2

noreply@blogger.com (smplgrl) — Sat, 16 Mar 2013 01:10:00 +0000

My goodness, I love riddles too much sometimes. Here's another one I heard from someone.

You want to know when 45 minutes had past. There are no clocks, sundials, hourglass,etc. All you have are two ropes and a lighter. The ropes are different in length, type, and burning rate. However, you know that it takes a total of 1 hour to completely burn each rope. Also both ropes don't have consistent thickness so it might take longer for certain parts of the rope to burn (example: it might take 55 minutes to burn one small section but only 5 minutes to burn the rest, leading to 1 hour total.). How do you find out when 45 minutes has passed?

Hint: you don't need to manipulate the rope in anyway. No cutting, folding, tying, or etc required.

By lighting both ends of a rope, regardless of length, material, or thickness, it will take 30 minutes (half the time) to burn the rope. So burn two ends of rope #1 and one end of rope #2 at the same time. Once rope #1 burns out, quickly start burning the other end of rope #2. By now 30 minutes has passed. The remaining portion of rope #2 should take 30 minutes to burn up. By lighting the other end at this point, it should take only half the time to burn the last portion: 15 minutes. Once that rope finish burning, 45 minutes has passed.

Advice #1: getting over sad feelings...

noreply@blogger.com (smplgrl) — Wed, 13 Mar 2013 05:33:00 +0000

I never thought about giving advice. Initially, I was planning to bring up positive (and maybe a few negative) memories in my blog to help any one to enjoy his or her life... at least make it more tolerable. However, there are times where bringing up memories don't help. Instead it might do the opposite. It might bring up unsolved feelings because whatever happened was never solved to begin with. It was only pushed aside thanks to work or other daily needs. After talking to a few friends, I came to realize that some people don't know how to handle these stressful situations and might need a little help to get the thinking gears working. Because of this, I decided to type up a small advice column this time.

So what are "sad feelings"? Well, to be specific, I'm actually talking about any feelings of stress. This includes frustration, anger, sadness, and even jealousy. Basically, if you are not happy or in any positive emotions, I count that as you are sad. Remember though, feeling depress or stress is not a bad thing. It keeps us cautious and help us learn for our future. A good stressing moment here and there helps us to work hard. However, sometimes we get so caught up with our emotions, we forget to work and move on. Moving on is not hard actually. It is the working part that is hard. If we can't work out the problem, how can we move on?

Now you have identified that you are sad (if you are happy, you may continue to read to teach someone else). Why are you still in the depression gutter? Our sad emotions are usually caused by our lack of knowledge to a solution. In other words, we are usually sad because we don't know what to do to solve our problems. And because we don't know what to do and we constantly think of the problem, we tend to feed our sadness even more. It is a vicious cycle of depression. If you think about it, it is somewhat true. If you know how to solve your problem, you wouldn't be sad to begin with, right? The reason for you to remain sad after finding a solution is because you need encouragement and reinforcement that your solution WILL solve the problem. So you don't know how to solve your problem under your sadness. What do you do? The best advice I can give is: write it out. You first write out how you feel. This helps you identify and accept your current emotion. Then write out what the problem is. Why are you stress? What happen? If possible, write a whole story. Writing involves putting thoughts in a linear form. It forces you to organize your ideas, picking out important events while deleting what you think is unnecessary. Last write out a plan to solve your problem. "Are you serious? You bluntly want me to write out a solution after making write a whole chapter of my depression?" Yes, I'm serious. Writing helps relieve a bit of stress. Now you should be able to think a little more clearly. If you can't think of a solution, do research. Go see a counselor if you have problems with classes. Go find a professional that can teach you a skill that you think you need to solve the problem. Whatever it may be, just try to find a solution.

You got your solution plan. Now you can either get someone to revise it or follow your solution right away. I recommend finding someone to revise your solution. Don't find a close friend who would ALWAYS agree with whatever you say. No, we don't want that. We want smart friends who think from many sides of a story. These friends can sometimes bring up extra problems you might encounter. Sometimes they might offer a different solution you might never thought of. Sometimes you might even argue with them, but you might be convinced that their solution or your own solution is better. Having a friend to revise your problem keeps your mind open. You will understand your problem a little better and you might find alternative solutions in case your first one didn't succeed. Now follow that solution plan you finalized!

The main goal is to stay open minded and writing out the stress. Not all situations are easy to solve and some may not even have a solution. However, writing out the problem can help relieve stress and organize one's thoughts. So start a blog or a journal. Maybe start painting if you prefer another medium. Try figuring out a solution to a problem. If the problem involves a person, try to think of the situation in his or her point of view. Life is unfair but the world is not full of jerks. After this exercise, I'm pretty sure you would be [at least partially] stress free. However, don't take my blog too seriously. If you already have your own method, by all means, keep going! I'm just offering one kind of method. If you think this method is not working for you, find another method or see a counselor, a psychologist, or an adviser. You can't always be happy but that doesn't mean you should stay sad. Good luck to you and stay positive.

Regrets...

noreply@blogger.com (smplgrl) — Wed, 06 Mar 2013 08:07:00 +0000

Regretting is such a depressing topic. "Did you ever regret something in your life?" I hate this question. I never wanted to ever hear or think about it.The answer to it is very obvious. Everyone regrets something in his or her life time. "I wish I had done this." "I should have done that." "I should have said something." It is a major bother to almost everyone who thinks about it. The idea that one could have change an event for the better can really stress the mind. Once we get the idea, we start comparing our current situation to what could possibly happen. Sometimes we compare them so much, we get depress by them.

A simple example will be my college application. I applied to very few schools because I wasn't too confident in my application and I had no desire to move so far from my home. Because of my desires, I applied to a certain school without knowing how I was going to study for my career. Sadly, by the second year, I realized that another college, where most of my high school friends applied, has a program that would have helped me in my career. I didn't bother to apply to that school because I thought I was not smart enough or wasn't good enough. To this day, I still have one question in my head. "If I applied, would I have been accepted?" It is one hell of a question since I'm not doing as well as I expected in my current college, mostly because I'm studying another major towards the same career. However, different majors have different standards, as we all know. So... "would I have done better if I went to the other college studying in that program instead?" I will never know.

Let's not be so negative. I never like thinking about regrets (who does?) because I don't like seeing them as regrets at all. Through my college life, I learned many things about myself and life in general. True, regret hurts but what is done is done. We should learn from them instead. I learned to actually research about colleges thoroughly before applying. (First generation college student here. Please don't blame me.) This knowledge I can pass it on to my other family members who will be going to college. We live and we learn. For regrets over crushes, we learn to identify our feelings and take courage in making our final decisions (whether to confess or not). There are many positive experiences from our decisions. Outside of learning, I also am glad I made wonderful friends in college. I learn how to take care of myself and schedule my time wisely. All our decisions and regrets teach us how to deal with our future. So for anyone who is burden by his or her regret, cheer up. I'm pretty sure everything will turn out all right. As long as we all work hard, our future is bright.

Now what about "always remember" our memories? It is true I say that but we should only see them as where we came from. Our past should not pull us back from what we can gain in our future. "We learn from our past. We live in the present. We work for our future." I don't know who said these words but we can learn a lot from it.

Before emails became a trend...

noreply@blogger.com (smplgrl) — Tue, 26 Feb 2013 06:06:00 +0000

I know what you are thinking. "Emails? Who uses email these days? We IM and text now." Well if you were born in the late 1990s or the early 2000s, you probably don't even understand why people use emails other than signing up for different online accounts. Emails were really convenient since it saves postage payment when sending letters. However, I'm not talking about emails right now. I want to focus on what comes before emails: letters.

This is a funny story for me. I had an email account when I was in elementary school. However, my friends and I would still mail each other instead. We would write out stories, personalize the letter here and there, and make sure our penmanship is readable so the postman can read the address. Sometimes we had Hello Kitty themed papers. Other times we have it plain but decorated by ourselves. So much effort was put into writing each letter, it seems each one received is like a treasure. Just waiting for the mail to see if one is meant for you was an exciting moment.

Postcards and letters are very cute but it means little to a child who sees her friends everyday in school. How does receiving letters end up so emotional? There was a time when my family stayed in the United States for a long period (about 3 months). I was away from my friends in what seems like forever. One day, I received a letter I never expected. It was from my best friend! I left her my address in case she wanted to contact and she actually mailed me a letter. Now picture a eight-year-old girl's receiving a long letter from her best friend whom she didn't meet for a long time. I was filled with so much joy (and probably jumping all over the place) that I wrote a reply letter and convinced my mom to mail it. I don't really remember what was written on that letter. However, to this day, I still remember every emotion I went through when receiving it. It seems worth more than any email (or even text) I had ever gotten in my entire life. Because emails and texts are so common these days, I treasure letters even more. Sadly, it is easier these days to just email than to write a letter.