Paj Ann

Mirror, Mirror on the Wall

2014-03-19T15:23:00.004-05:00

I’ve been wanting a mirrored picture frame since 2009 but nothing has been affordable until I saw one at Target a few months ago. Well, I’ve been waiting and waiting for it to go on sale and yesterday I finally made the decision to just buy it at full price. So, you can imagine my happiness when I walked to the picture frame aisle and saw a squeal-inducing red tag for 25% ($9) off! I immediately snatched up the mirrored picture frame, but instead of saving the difference, I obviously found something else to buy with that money (that darn Target!). Anyway, it probably defeated the purpose of waiting for it to go on sale since I didn't walk away with any real savings.

Bar Cart

2014-03-18T09:25:00.001-05:00

It’s not the sturdiest or prettiest but at $52, you can’t go wrong with this bar cart. I’m ready to have a Mad Men party!

How I'm using my masters degree

2014-03-17T11:53:00.000-05:00

Anticipating my boredom after graduate school, I started looking for things to do in my spare time (Spare time?! OMG!). You would think I would be updating my resume or putting my shiny new degree to good use, but nope, I signed up for burlesque class instead. I had no idea what I was signing up for except that I would learn some fun moves, wear beautiful costumes and meet new people. I didn't ask any of my friends to join the class with me because I wanted this to be my thing, my escape. (I missed one class and I was super crabby that week - it really was "me" time when I went to burlesque class.)

Anyway, I'm so glad I didn't ask my friends to join burlesque with me because I ended having to do a group number at a club in front of hundreds of people that ended with our bras on the ground for two very long seconds! I'm not comfortable enough for my friends to see my goodies and vice versa, even though we have on pasties (I made mine super big)! I got butterflies in my stomach whenever I thought about my act but I reluctantly invited my sisters, nieces and hubby to the show; this was after I carefully placed myself very strategically behind another girl during the bra-off part. Well, the show was this past weekend and after our group number, my legs were wobbly but I felt soooooo liberated and free. Look ma and dad; look how I'm using my masters degree!

Homemade pasties (carpet tape does the trick)

Chinoiserie Chic

2014-03-13T10:27:00.000-05:00

The hub and I decided to pop into a furniture store to “look” around and we ended up leaving with a sea foam-colored sofa set. I’m so proud I veered away from my typical beige! Since we have an open concept living/dining room; I decided that we needed a new dining table set to match our new sofa and loveseat. It helps that my dining table is wobbly and the upholstered chairs are “down” holstered, otherwise the hub would have never agreed!

After ten years of beige Zen, I was drawn to the vibrant and whimsical look of Chinoiserie! Slowly but surely, my items are starting to arrive at my front door as the snow begins to melt. My favorite thing is definitely the navy Jonathan Adler crescent chair – I got four of them at 75% off! Next, I’m going to add gold tassel trim to my white silk panels; I’ve been coveting Carrie’s gold tassel-trimmed drapes from her and Big’s apartment in the SATC movie. Now, do I dare “make” a gold sunburst mirror?

I hate it when I’m wrong

2014-02-24T09:56:00.000-06:00

Sadie usually gets home around 4:30pm so when Kong asked at 4:35pm if she was home yet, I was so annoyed with him and snapped back, “No!!!”

I continued on working and when I looked at the time on my computer, it read 4:55pm. It hit me that Sadie still wasn’t home. I coolly called the school hoping that someone was still there. After what seemed like a gazillion rings, someone finally answered the phone. I explained that my daughter wasn’t home yet and she simply told me to call the bus company. Really?! I was in action mode but made a note to myself to come back to her at a later time.

I called the bus company and explained the situation. I could hear the rep talking to someone who seemed to be Sadie’s bus driver who replied, “I already made that stop at 4:30pm.” I gasped, “What?!” Kong ran over to me and asked, “What?” In my head, I saw police sirens. I snapped back at the rep, “Well, she’s not home!” He asked, “Can I call you back?” Then, Kani looked out the window and said, “She’s right outside.” I snapped again at the rep, “Well, the bus just dropped her off right now!” Then, I hung up.

I ran to the door to greet her but when I saw her rosy cheeks, I knew she had been outside for far too long to be just getting off the bus. I asked her, “Where have you been?” She waved good bye to her friend and answered, “Playing over there with my friend.” She pointed to a big snow hill that had a smooth path where the butts of their snow pants had been sliding down. Oh boy! I gave her a good talking to and told her that I was just about to call the police (I implied that it was to arrest her for not coming home and not to report her missing)!

Then, I realized that I had been so mean to all the people who had been helping me…blaming them for Sadie not being home. I bet they knew it wasn’t their faults that my naughty-ass daughter wasn’t home. They probably get these types of calls every day knowing full well that our kids are goofing off at the snow hill at the end of the street. God, I hate it when I’m wrong!

Social Media and Wedding Anniversaries

2014-02-04T14:28:00.000-06:00

K and I recently celebrated our 15-year wedding anniversary. We went to one of the best restaurants in town and enjoyed food that was so fancy-fied that you’re not be able to tell what animal it originated from.

Anyway, I made a collage from the photos of our fabulous food and was about to share our anniversary celebration on Facebook but I had to pause and find out, “Do you plan to cheat on me or divorce me any time soon?”

K threw me a puzzled look.

I edged on, “Well, I’m about to post these photos of our 15-year anniversary dinner and if we plan to divorce soon, I’d rather not. It’d be too embarrassing because I’ve seen people declare their love for each other on Facebook and then mere weeks later break up.” (Ugh, the judgment!)

So, we decided that we didn’t plan to divorce any time soon and I was able to post my photos on Facebook and keep my relationship status the same - married.

Moms can read minds

2014-02-03T14:14:00.002-06:00

Me: Sadie, as your mom, I always know what you’re thinking.

Sadie: Okay, tell me what I’m thinking right now.

Me: You’re thinking, “How does my mom know what I’m thinking?”

Sadie: Wow, you do know what I’m thinking.

Re-imagining the Workspace

2013-12-03T09:33:00.001-06:00

I had to submit a photo of my workspace for a project for “Imagining the Workspace” and thought I’d share where I park everyday from 8am to 5pm. Windows, anyone?

Insomnia

2013-11-03T21:11:00.004-06:00

It is dawn on Saturday and I’m wide awake. The darkness and silence do not bring the slumber that causes me to hit the snooze button over and over during the work week. Instead, I lie here next to my sleeping husband who is catching up on the five hours of sleep he gets every night between Monday and Friday. He starts to snore and I don’t mind because it’s the only thing keeping me company in this darkness.

Mason jar wine glass

2013-08-12T13:00:00.002-05:00

Candle holder ($1) + mason jar ($0.75) + glue (already have) = mason jar wine glass ($1.75)

Happy Fourth of July

2013-07-08T09:31:00.001-05:00

It was a feet-up kind of celebration - just how I like it!

A (1)6-year-old at a One Direction Concert

2013-06-17T23:02:00.001-05:00

One Direction is coming to town and I’m thinking about taking my 13-year-old to their concert. When my six-year-old heard this, she demanded that she get to go too. I told her that she’s too young to go to their concert. Her response, “Well, just dress me up older then!!”

Good Asian Girl

2013-06-14T13:48:00.000-05:00

I’m not confrontational so when sensing a conflict, I would rather back down than engage. Most of the time, I’m not even aware that I do this. Can you remind me to voice my opinion by asking “why” I did something instead of just going on and on in hopes that I will jump in and actually defend myself. That would help me a lot.

The Extreme Minds of Kids: Civil War & Dinosaurs

2013-06-12T14:10:00.002-05:00

Sadie: When did the Civil War occur? Was it when I was a baby?

Me: Longer.

Sadie: When you were a baby?

Me: Longer.

Sadie: When dinosaurs were around??!!

Talk about going to the extreme…. Shiz, unless she thinks I’m so old that dinosaurs is the only next logical answer in terms of age progression.

Image Source: bolagnaandcheese.blogspot.com

social media has killed my wardrobe

2013-06-03T10:32:00.004-05:00

How am I to ever wear this dress again that has been posted in over 20 different photos?

p.s. Can't believe my dress costs only $14!

What my daughter thinks of me

2013-06-03T09:32:00.004-05:00

50s Housewife Party

2013-05-28T08:55:00.003-05:00

I had a lot of fun putting this party together for my older sister's birthday. The awesome thing about this party was that I had a lot of the decor already and basically spent money on only the fabric backdrop and tablecloth.

Housewife fail! The birthday girl missed her hubby by a mile.

We had a good chuckle over the True or False game because all the statements were true.

Housewives in training.

Funny Finds Today

2013-05-09T12:44:00.002-05:00

Carpet sandals?

STFU!

The Real Me

2013-05-02T11:31:00.002-05:00

The real me is polite. So, if your jokes aren’t funny but I’m still laughing, I’m not being fake, I’m just being me – polite.

T Day

2013-04-15T08:38:00.001-05:00

And I'm proud to be an American, where atleast I know I'm "freeeeeee."

Fine, I'll pay for my rights on the stamps...but I'm waiting until the very last second.

Happy Tax Day!

Total Charity Fail

2013-03-18T20:35:00.001-05:00

I was checking out at Target and there were only two cashiers handling the growing lines of impatient people. In front of me was a boy about 8 or 9 years old. His mom chastised him in front of everyone and told him that if he wanted his toy, he needed to buy it himself since it was not a necessity. Then, she whizzed away in her electronic wheelchair. Determined, the boy stuck to his guns and clutched onto his toy not budging one bit. "Great, he was still an obstacle between me and the cashier," I fumed inside. Soon, another cashier opened her register and everyone flocked over there. His mom told him to go to the other line too since he had only one item. Well, he ended up way in the back of the line behind people who were originally behind him in our line. The boy looked defeated and his mom looked even more frustrated. I felt so bad for him. Well, we ended up checking out at the same time in different lines. I asked my cashier to tap the boy on the shoulder and ask him if I could buy his toy for him. He looked at his mom and then looked at me and said, “No.”

Really? My charity was rejected!

Self(ish) denial

2013-02-13T09:11:00.003-06:00

For Lent, my self denial for the next 40 days is rice…but it is part selfishly motivated because this denial it will also help me lose weight. Killing two birds with one stone or mocking the good Lord?

One opportunity, one encounter

2013-02-07T14:01:00.001-06:00

"We only have one opportunity to experience each encounter in our lives. We will never have the same experience twice, so cherish each encounter and embrace them fully!"

To Japan and back in two short weeks (loooooong post - this is actually my final write up for class)...

For my initial Japan quest, I was interested in finding out whether my American traits or Asian traits would dominate in a country where for the first time in my life I will not be a minority based on my looks. Now, I find my question so irrelevant because I was too narrow-minded in my inquisition. I had unfairly pitted the two cultures against one another and went to Japan with the intent to examine and judge. This reflection does not answer my initial quest but instead focuses on how our agenda little by little opened up my narrowed mind with each experience. Earlier in the trip, I focused on our differences; however, this shifted to our similarities toward the end.

We started with a visit to the U.S. Consulate for President Obama’s inauguration. Being fresh arrivals from the U.S., it was easy to be prideful of America and wonder why other countries weren’t like America as well. The biggest takeaway was that America has a “peaceful transition of power.” Why had not realized this before? I thought about last year’s revolutions in Tunisia and Egypt and how I’ve taken for granted this systematic, celebrated and nonviolent shift of leadership in democratic societies like America.

Next, we visited the Sumitomo Power Plant where I noted how the presenters were so intent on providing evidence for their answers and clearing their conscience of lying by correcting their answer – even after we’d long forgotten the question. I thought, “How many times have I answered based on the available facts but find out that I had been wrong in my answer after learning new facts but I never bothered to correct my original answer?” The answer is plenty. What would America be like if we had that kind of conscious system?

Then, we visited the Women’s Working Network and Human Rights Osaka. I learned a lot about the oppression of women and other groups such as GLBT group and even criminals. I was still on the “us against them” train at this point and wanted to enlighten all of Japan about equal rights.

We ended the week with an impromptu tea ceremony kindly hosted by the head of the Women’s Working Network. This was the turning point for me in Japan. We started the ceremony with a theme: One opportunity, one encounter. A Japanese teacher turned to me and said, “That means we will never have this same exact encounter ever again.” There was a hush that came over the whole group.

After that day, I stopped pushing and anticipating and started observing and appreciating. Why was I trying to instill my American values onto the Japanese? Who is to say that I am right and they are wrong? I could respect why they did things differently and understand the outcomes. I could parallel some of those things to America…to me.

At the Entrepreneurs Group, I recognized the struggles of professional women, especially when one of the women said that she had a funky family because she is the bread winner. We have those same judgments in America when the wife earns the money and the husband is a stay-at-home dad. Also, another woman quit her job, went back to school to get her degree and then started her own business afterward. Ding! Ding! That could have been anyone of us in the St. Kate’s group!

I continued to see even more similarities between the people we met in Japan and Americans. At the Dawn Center, the types of books available in the library were not too different from those available in America libraries, especially the ones on how to be a successful woman.

Then, we visited the U.S. Consulate once again and got a firsthand account of life in Japan from an actual American-the consulate himself. The biggest takeaway for me at that meeting was that Japan is more ready for GLBT than it thinks. That is such progression from the conservative stereotype I arrived in Japan with.

A visit to Deloitte changed the attention from social injustices to working relations between Japan and the U.S. It summed up our trip nicely by talking about how people can work together within the two different cultures. I was most intrigued by their definition of leadership though. They defined it as a motivating and honored symbol surrounded by people who actually do the work. It wasn’t clear how one becomes a symbol though.

After going from an attitude of “us against them” to “we are not so different,” our visit to the World Peace Museum on our last official day cinched my whole experience in Japan. There, I saw how focusing on differences can lead to war and that no matter how different we are, we still have compassion for human life. I can almost conclude that I stopped focusing on both differences and similarities at the end of the trip and instead focused on how to be a good human being overall.

Aside from the formal learning, I gained from my classmates. Our situations had different kinds of leaders emerging within our group, especially when it came to navigating the train system. In addition, our casual conversations in our apartments, during our meals and on the trains were rich and personal. We all shared with each other our real-time impressions. I was operating as my true self away from the pressure of a structured classroom on a university campus and out of sight from our professor.

I highly recommend this study abroad program to all graduate students. My experience was invaluable. I would have never experienced these opportunities had I just been a tourist in Japan. These opportunities led to deeper levels of engagement such as invitations to people’s homes or impromptu gifts from restaurant owners. I came with the mindset that the Japanese are not welcoming to foreigners. With an open mind, what I found was the complete opposite and with that I have grown as a person and a leader. This was definitely one opportunity, one encounter that I will carry with me all my life.

A shrine in the middle of the city

Plastic food everywhere!!!

Sweet treat and powder tea at a tea ceremony

Alleyways, streets, sidewalks...call it what you want - just know that you have to share it with pedestrians, bikers and drivers

Osaka Castle

Golden Pavillion

Prepared gifts to giveaway to our hosts

p.s. Will follow up with bath house experience and many more fun stories from Japan!

Getting Over the Flu

2013-01-11T17:39:00.001-06:00

It's been two weeks and we're finally getting over infecting each other with the flu. Happy freakin' new year!!!

What a second generation immigrant thinks of the term "American"

2013-01-04T21:35:00.002-06:00

Here's to another class assignment; this one asks for reflection on my personal use of the term "American."

I am a second generation immigrant. My parents fled Laos during the Vietnam War and arrived in America as war refugees in 1976. I was born in Memphis, TN and automatically became an American citizen unlike my parents who had to take the naturalization test. However, it wasn’t until I was in my adulthood that I considered myself an American. Up until then, being American only meant two things to me.

First, it meant the American dream. This dream went beyond the white picket fence. Instead, it was an aspiration to be anything American-like that I saw on TV, which is mostly how I learned about American culture when I was younger. My version of the American dream meant matching bed sheets and furniture just like the set of Growing Pains or frozen microwave dinners just like those advertised on the commercials during the Saturday morning cartoons. It meant working parents who didn’t live off the system like so many other non-English speaking immigrants I knew and going to church and forgoing the traditional practice of Shamanism. Then, as my parents and I achieved these ideals, I realized that I had confused being American with social class.

Second, being American meant I had to be a light-haired, fair-skinned, blue-eyed Caucasian, because that was the look of those who teased me for looking different from them. My parents, striving for the American dream, moved out of the projects and raised us in suburbs and enrolled us in private Christian schools. Because of the lack of diversity, my looks were often the subject of much questioning and teasing and I developed a stance of me against “them.” I couldn’t define myself as American if it meant being ignorant.

Well, I grew up and moved to a big city with diversity, made friends of different ethnic backgrounds and got the white picket fence dream. I realized that not all Caucasians are racists. Those ignorant jerks make up just a small population of America. I also recognized that “looking” like an American with the 2-car garage home and rice-less dinners does not make me American.

Instead, being American means coming together to mourn the tragic events of 9/11 or the Sandy Hook Elementary School shootings. It means having the freedom to choose a minority president. It means going to the funeral of one of my Asian relatives who died serving America, HIS country…and my country. Being American means putting aside differences regardless of backgrounds, beliefs or current situations and looking to the future together.