One of the great things I’ve found out about having my aunt and cousin here is that they can take some of the pressure off of my shoulder. Continue reading “A Break from Criticism”
Tag: China
Just Say It!
What a long day! I just got home from a long day of shopping for clothes and food. Continue reading “Just Say It!”
If I meet my extended family…
In the past week, I’ve managed to learn something new about my extended family. It turns out I have a bunch more of family in China, more than I’ve ever known (grandparents, aunts, uncles).
Anyway, for as long as I could remember, I’ve always been the second oldest among my cousins that is until mom told me a couple days ago about an older cousin whom I’ve never known about in China. Now, I maybe third eldest or the forth or the fifth… Whoever knows.
I had to asked, “How much more family do I have?”
She chuckled, “More than you know.”
“Well, then the next time I go back, remind me to have them sit in one room and everyone will introduce themselves.”
If I am to meet all of them, my entire clan, for the first time today and I assume today means the present, some time in the 21st century and not some time in the 1900’s, that is exactly what I am going to do. I am going to sit them all in a giant circle, the eldest shall sit directly across from me while from there on, the circle shall go in a counter-clockwise direction with age like the second eldest would sit to the left of the eldest and it goes on. Then we’ll go around the circle introducing each other.
I am sure that is the strangest way they have ever encountered to introduce themselves, after all, why would they need to? They know each other. Unfortunately I don’t know them, so we’ll do it my way. Wait, would I be known as the family’s weirdo after that? I bet I will but I am sure some of my many cousins will have my back. So I’ll probably have a posse. 🙂
Information and Common Sense
Today’s Daily Prompt asks whether I agree with this statement: “Everybody gets so much information all day long that they lose their common sense.” — Gertrude Stein Continue reading “Information and Common Sense”
Royal Descendant
Up until now, I don’t really know that much about my roots. Even with an extensive search on the internet, the closest thing I got was what mom told me. She told me once that her mother was a descendant of a princess when China still had empire, empress, etc. So you can say, I am a descendant of a royal. 😛
I am not sure how the story of the princess went. I’ve never did a search on that but from what mom told me, she ended up marrying a commoner and then she was royal no more. To be honest, I am kind of glad that there’s no such thing as “royals” in China anymore because if the princess did not marry a commoner, I would still be royal. And that’s bad? You ask. How?
I probably wouldn’t be able to stand the isolation and publicity. Sure, I would be living in a palace but I would be isolated within the walls. Also, nosy people and photographers would be lined outside eager to get the details of my life.
So if you ask me if I rather be the heir of the throne or off-the-hook sibling, I would choose neither. Yeah, it’s great and all, getting all this public attention but I would not be able to be myself. Everything I say and do would be judged. Plus, I would have a much hectic life than what I have now and I am not cut out for hectic. So thanks but no thanks. I would rather be an ordinary nobody.
No Mirror?
I woke up this morning, back still sore from running around yesterday but at least I am feeling better than yesterday. Mom wants to drag me to look at new cars with her but I am like no way in hell. Besides, it’s not for me, it’s for her sister. Why should I care?
Also, what’s wrong with buying a less expensive used car? But no, they don’t like used cars. They want everything to be brand new. Is this a new thing for Chinese people or is it just my family? I have no clue. For all I know, everything has to be new for them. No used or secondhand.
The cruel thing is that mom wanted to use my name to purchase the car. She wanted me to get the loan so I could build credit. It’s a big responsibility to bear. Work an unstable job plus school, I don’t think I can afford it. At the moment, I can’t even afford the down payment. I told her, “You can buy whatever you want, just don’t drag me down with you.”
So now, she’s gone to browse and I can finally blog. I gave the daily prompt a gander earlier today and I found it interesting and I can relate. Ever since I got my braces, I found myself staring into the mirror more often than before I got braces. It’s mainly to check my teeth to make sure that it’s all well. I don’t want my teeth to look like the picture my orthodontist showed me that day after I got braces.
“Brush often.” He told me and handed me a brochure. I flipped it to the back and there was a picture of perfect teeth and then there’s one that looked like my step-dad’s teeth, black, rotten, and yucky. I winced. Ever since then, I’ve been brushing regularly and checking my teeth in the mirror to make sure my teeth didn’t end up like that nasty picture (I don’t want to show you, fear it might cause some nightmares).
I don’t use the mirror just to look at my teeth, I use the mirror to see my face. Otherwise, how am I supposed to know where to put my acne medication? Other than that, I don’t really like to look at mirror especially of late because a zit by my right eye has become infected and I look like someone with a giant mole.
Anyway, back to the prompt, if I woke up one day to a world without mirror, it would definitely have some effects on me. Like, I have no idea whether my shirt is on correctly, I don’t want to be walking around with one end of the shirt handing down my shoulder. On the other hand, when I brush my teeth, I won’t have any idea if something is stuck in my teeth. Worst of all, the only perspective of myself I’m going to get is through other people’s eyes and not my own.
Ah, now I get to do some stuff of my own. 🙂
First Days
As a kid, I dreaded going to school on the first day. Even now, that dread is still there. Continue reading “First Days”
Top favorite drinks but not signature
I have three favorite drinks but I don’t have a signature drink. I tried to replicate my favorite drinks a few times to tweak it to make it my own but it was never successful. I guess I don’t have a gift for making drinks. Either that or you can only make it using professional grade blender and not my cheap $20 blender.
I should probably tell about my favorite drinks and why I can’t replicate them. My ultimate top of the list drink is the Boba milk tea. I’ve only had it twice, once in China and once in Oakland, California. I tell you, it is the best thing I have ever drunk. I will never forget it. I have never seen the process in making this delicious drink but my mom has when she worked in a restaurant. She told me it involves a lot of hard work to get that tapioca just right and you need special machine to do it. Also the calories for this drink happens to be horrendous, so I don’t want to drink too much.
My next favorite drink is milkshake. I think everybody knows what is in a milkshake, ice cream and milk blended together in creamy goodness. I first fell in love with this drink when my step-grandmother bought it for me at Burger King. It instantly became my favorite drink, that is before I rediscovered the deliciousness of Boba. Then every Sunday, right after church when my step-grandparents, step-dad, and I go to Burger King to get our usual Sunday meal (me, fish sandwich), I would also order a milkshake.
The hazard of milkshake, though, is the calories. After I learned the enormous calories and my eyes popped open at the number, I quit drinking it but it remained as one of my favorite drinks. I tried to make it a few times but it was a big failure because it turns out, it doesn’t work if there are nuts in the ice cream and that is the only kind my mom buys.
Last but not least, fruit smoothie. I consider this drink to be the healthy alternative to the milkshake. It’s got fruit. It’s got yogurt. It’s got juice. My favorite place to get smoothie is Ben and Jerry. Yes, the ice cream shop but their signature smoothies are out of this world. I made it myself a couple times but it was so watery and everything tasted wrong. Don’t get me started about mom’s smoothie. She doesn’t like cold drinks so she uses room temperature water instead of juice. Room temperature water, yuck. Plus she puts all kinds of weird things in there that I can’t even mention on here.
Although I am regularly on some kind of diet, I still do like to enjoy some of my favorite drinks once in a while.
The Familiar Stranger
Have you ever look back at a photo and go, hmm, I know that person. But in fact, you don’t really know that person at all other than the person’s name. As I sit here at my desk, eating yogurt at 8 in the morning and browsing through my pictures, I came across this photo.
It was shot two years ago in Las Vegas, the last time I went on a road trip. You see the kid in the black and white jacket behind me? That’s my cousin, not the one that’s coming next month but the cousin I was living with before I immigrated to the U.S.
I call him Sam and he’s 18. That was the first time I saw him since my visit to China in 2005 and probably, it’ll be the last time for a while unless I decide to go back to get my teeth fixed. He will be starting college this year.
I don’t really know that much about him. His favorite food, color, etc. I never asked him about it when he was little. So other than his name, age, and that he’s my cousin and soccer and phone addict, he’s just another relative I have absolutely no knowledge. This practically makes him a stranger, acquaintance tops.
He came along with his parents to visit two summers ago. When he walked out of the airport, I didn’t recognize him at all and I didn’t until I looked closer at his facial feature that I saw the resemblance from the little boy I grew up with.
It was like looking at a complete stranger. I guess I was just hoping he was the same little boy that enjoyed playing chess and poking fun at his older cousin but I kept forgetting that not everyone is like me, forever the same. That’s the problem with living on two different continents, I missed so much of my family growing up.
A Curious Tale For a Saturday
It is very hard to sleep in sometime even when I’m given the chance. This morning, I woke up to loud laughs and shouts downstairs. Continue reading “A Curious Tale For a Saturday”
Throwback Thursday: Marbles and Chopsticks
When I was young, I remember my aunt used to keep bags of marbles lying around. My cousin and I love playing with them but the marbles in the bags would gradually become less and less and then it’ll be completely gone. Continue reading “Throwback Thursday: Marbles and Chopsticks”
Throwback Thursday: Cloudy with a chance of Reconciliation and Cash?
You ever hear someone say, “you took the risk and it paid off”? Continue reading “Throwback Thursday: Cloudy with a chance of Reconciliation and Cash?”
Weird Chinese Dinner Table Rules
Everyone has probably been to a Chinese restaurant or got a glimpse of how Chinese people eat through watching movie, TV shows, etc., right? Continue reading “Weird Chinese Dinner Table Rules”
Hiding behind the curtain
My aunt and uncle were TV maniacs. I remembered Continue reading “Hiding behind the curtain”
Grand Visions, Epic Preparations, and Sheer Disappointments
I remember as a student in China, when the teacher told us that some important person was coming to the school, I would first feel this strange tingle. Continue reading “Grand Visions, Epic Preparations, and Sheer Disappointments”
In 90 days…
In 90 days comes the day I dread. September 16 will be the end of the two-some life, just me and my mom because we are adding two more members to the family. Well, maybe four but I’m hoping not. Continue reading “In 90 days…”
Morally Degrading Teens and Internet Addicts
For over a decade I’ve lived in the United States, I spoke English, read English, did everything that normal American teens and young adults did. Up until I took the job to be an English-as-a-second-language (ESL) tutor at a private school two years ago, I had no idea just how different Chinese teens were. Continue reading “Morally Degrading Teens and Internet Addicts”
Flashback Thursday: An Unforgettable Incident and Broken Promise
Ever had a traumatic incident that just changes your life? Create new fears like knives, bikes or cars? How about never trusting when someone say “I’ll get you an ice cream. I promise.” and then nothing, not even a good job or you’re so courageous? Continue reading “Flashback Thursday: An Unforgettable Incident and Broken Promise”
Liebster Award: First Nomination!
First of all, I just want to say thank you Artfullyadelie for nominating me for the Liebster Award. Aww, I have to blush a little. It is currently the second achievement I’ve gotten since I started blogging. At this point, I should probably put up an achievement page. Last year, I was nominated for the Sunshine Award. I am extremely honored. It’s not everyday you get nominated. Of course, I was going to write the post yesterday but excuses, excuses, excuses!
I had a large weight loss shake yesterday, then a large bowl of grapes, and finally, a large bowl of Ramen noodles for lunch. Of course, Ramen noodles are no good without the soup base which by the way is full of MSG. Not soon after I finished, I was exhausted. I stumbled through work, thank god I work at home 🙂 and I wasn’t completely awake again until a few hours ago, after I had dinner, a shower, and begin fiddling with some of my old short stories (I’ve posted them too! Click here to check it out!).
Now, it’s 11:30, planes had stopped rumbling outside (long story), my computer’s off and I can’t sleep. Great!!! Oh well, at least I have my tablet handy, might as well take the time to get this started and finish it in the morning. So, according to Adelie, I’m supposed to:
- Write 11 facts about myself
- Answer 11 questions
- Ask 11 questions
- Nominate 11 other fellow bloggers.
So first things first, 11 facts about me:
- I do NOT know how to write a happy ending! If you’ve read my flash fictions and short stories on my other blogs (Click here), you’d know that none of them has a happy ending. I don’t know, maybe a sad ending just tricks people into thinking there might be sequel?
- Two of the most annoying sounds in my ears is a baby’s cry and a child crying. It just make me want to scream and throw things. So if you don’t want me to go insane, control your child! OR keep your child away from me! 😦
- I am the most awkward person at parties and gatherings. 😮 I don’t know what to do there. Everybody’s talking to each other at the same time and everywhere’s crowded and full of plastic cups. Maybe I just need to be go to more parties and get used to the atmosphere.
- I can either be the loudest, most social person you’ve ever met OR I can be the quietest, most invisible person you’ve ever met. It all depends on the place, occasion, and the familiarity of people and topic.
- I have a very severe case of stage fright. Even now, after I’ve joined Toastmaster for almost 3 years, my heart would pound and I would forget everything the moment I hit that podium.
- I love to cook and travel but I don’t have the money or the time right now. Maybe someday.
- I used to play the piano and a little guitar but without practice for 7 years, I forgot it all. 😛
- I used to want to be a singer, a director, and an actress. But I don’t have the look, the voice, and the emotion. So oh well, I
A Maglite still pretend the maglite is a microphone and sing to my stereo for fun though.
- I am extremely old-schooled. I didn’t start listening to music, using a computer, and watching Tv until 2002 when I was 11. I’m still using a flip phone when everyone’s got a smartphone and tapping away. I dislike texting too!
- I wanted to be a website/graphic designer but my mom’s friend wanted me to be a civil engineer. Naturally, she listened to her friend and pulled me along with it.
- I went to three different high schools in 4 years after moving from California to Texas to Utah. The moves were adventurous but meeting new people is hard.
Now, 11 questions from Adelie:
- What is one thing you have been meaning to do but haven’t seem to find the time? I’ve been meaning to finish the two 1000-piece Ancient Chinese painting jigsaw puzzles my mom’s family brought with them when they visited two summers ago. Wow, two summers? Has it really been that long? Anyway, my mom bought these for me when I was 6 and I do not like to leave things unfinished. I said I was going to do them two winters ago, then last Summer, then last Winter. Well, someday, I’ll get it done.
Are you motivated by fear or hope? Of course, I’m motivated by hope, if a person’s motivated by fear, how are they going to get things done? I believe that everything has a start and an end, you just need to get over that hurdle to the finish line.- If you could invent an ice cream flavor, what would it be? I’m not very creative but if I could invent an ice cream flavor, if would probably have all the things I like and probably all the things my mom hates. Yes! We are completely opposite when it comes to ice cream. It might be plain vanilla with mint, fruit (probably strawberry maybe peach), plus marshmallow swirls. NO nuts though.
- What is the one word you love for people to describe you? It all depends on the situation. I had people describe me as lovable, tolerable, stubborn, and even lazy. Obviously, lazy is a horrible word to describe people. I do like it when people describe me as stubborn though because it shows I’m persistent. It shows that I’m not the kind of person that give up easily. However, I would love to be described as fun and cool because I’ve never been those things. So being described as fun and cool will definitely make my day.
- Who do you most look up to and why? Well, there hasn’t been a lot of people in my life because I don’t really stay long enough to get to know them. Like my dad and step-dad, my dad passed away before I could properly register his voice in my head and my step-dad, well we talk but most of the time, it was about him teaching me stuff or we’re just having fun. So the person I look up to would probably be my mom because she’s hard working and cunning. She wants me to be like her everyday and I try very hard at it too.
- If you could master one dance style, what would it be? Ha Ha 😀 If I can master one dance style, it would be ANY since I do NoT know how to dance! I’m the most awkward and clumsy dancer you’ll ever see. So don’t expect me to dance at parties.
- If you were a superhero, what would your name be? Hmm, I’ll have to think about that.
- What is the one thing you’ll never regret doing? Coming to the U.S.! That is the one thing I’ll never regret doing. If I am still in China, I would’ve never gotten my diagnosis and been a goner at 33! Besides, I would have never discovered the joy in blogging and be blogging in my bed at 4 AM in the morning! Can’t Sleep! Darn you, fluctuating temperatures! 🙂
- What’s one word you always second-guess yourself when spelling it out? Lately, that list seemed to be growing! I used to be a whiz at spelling. Maybe I’m getting old. 😀
- What’s the nicest thing anyone’s has ever said to you? Hmm, I don’t know. I love you, you’re adorable? We express our feelings very differently in Chinese.
- Fill in the blank: In a perfect world, love and peace would be everywhere.
Now, for my 11 questions:
- If you won a free airplane ticket to travel to anywhere in the world, where would it be?
- What is the one word you dislike when people are using to describe you?
- If you can change the name of a food, what would it be?
- If a stranger hands you a hundred dollar (pound, euro, whatever your currency), what would you spend it on?
- If you’re a reincarnation of a famous person, who would you want it to be?
- If you can have any job in the world, what would it be?
- If you were a pop icon living a double life, what would your pop icon name be?
- If you can have an ice cream flavor named after you, what would be?
- What is the one word you like people to describe you?
- If you can time travel to any destination in time, what year would it be?
- If you can wake up to any sound, what would it be?
Now, for the hard part, nominating 11 fellow bloggers. It’s going to be very difficult, real difficult. Also I cannot guarantee that any of these bloggers hasn’t been nominated.
So here it is:
- Brainstorm
- From Pickles to Paris
- bluchickenninja
- Wake Up Your Luck
- Osomann
- P.s Meganelizabeth
- VintageDahl
- Release the Mind
- Older Than Young
- Gwenism
- Fortiesgirl
Well, there you have it, my total of 11 facts, 11 answers, 11 questions, and 11 nominees! Looking forward to hearing for you! 🙂
This is Another Story 