Tag: Creative Writing

A Glimpse into the Future

Published on by Yinglan3 Comments

unsplash-bonusOh my gosh, you’re kidding, right? There she was, standing by the door, checking her watch, impatiently waiting. That’s just so me, have all the patience in the world when it comes to puzzles but have zero patience when it comes to waiting for people.

I approached her. She looked me up and down with a raised eyebrow. “Is this a joke? You look exactly like me, well except for the long hair.”

I chuckled. “Well, these last 10 years has not exactly been easy for me, for you, for us, I mean.”

Her brows furrowed. “What do you mean? What happened?”

I went to the nearest table. “Let’s sit down.” She shrugged. The weather was gorgeous. Well, it’s Southern California, the weather’s gorgeous everyday. I sighed.

“I see my fashion taste hasn’t change.” She said. “Still so outdated.”

“Well, what do you expect when you barely have a job and still living with your mother?”

“I did go to college, right? Please tell me I did.” I nodded. She breathed, relieved. “Then what happened?”

“I couldn’t really find a job and mom seemed reluctant when I talked about moving out of state like she doesn’t want me to go. Plus I was working three or four jobs until recently.”

“Three or four jobs? Really? Wow, what were they?”

“Well, I was working in a private school teaching Chinese and Brazilian kids English. I didn’t like it though. No one listened to me, no matter how hard I tried.

The following year, when a family came to Utah from China to do business, they didn’t know English and needed someone to interpret for them. Of course, mom boasted to them about me and that got me two additional jobs. I was enrolled in only one class then but still it was tough running around. I quit all of those jobs eventually though and that left me with only one job, doing translation at home.” I smiled.

“Whew, that spells rough road ahead. Wait, you didn’t talk about Tiger, what happened to him?” I sighed and looked away. “Mom divorced him, didn’t she?”

“Yes, she did.” I sighed. “After we moved to Texas, things got really bad. Honestly, I can’t remember there been a day when they didn’t fight. That was a rough time for us. I constantly thought if they went on like this, one of them was going to kill the other and I do not want that to happen.”

“What happen after she divorced him?”

“Mom and I moved to Utah.”

“Your life sounds so bum. Is there anything for me to look forward to?”

“Of course. You get to attend three high schools in four years. You get to learn DSCF9542to play the piano and a little bit of the guitar. You’ll learn to sing and you will have friends not to mention you’ll have three maybe four graduations. Life is full of ups and downs. Look forward to the ups instead of the downs.” She nodded slightly.

I stood up and was about to walk away. “Oh, a little advice. Go to University of Utah. No matter what mom’s friend says, choose Accounting for your major and you must start practicing Chinese again. It’ll come in useful for that translation job.”

Daily Prompt – From You to You

Memories of the 21st Century

Published on by YinglanLeave a comment

Dear Buyer of the 23rd Century,

Great, you found my 21st century hard drive! This little disk was extremely valuable to me back in the days. I even refused to get rid of it. I don’t know how my friend actually convinced me to get rid of it though. Anyway, on this little guy are precious memories like pictures and stories I never got to finish. Oh, and all everything I learned from college are on here.

You will find plenty of cloud drives on there. Yes, they were popular back then and you can often tell a person’s insecurity by just how many cloud drives they have on their computers. Obviously, I am very insecure about my files.

Let me tell you a story. I wasn’t always like that. I used to only have one cloud drive. That was before my cousins came to visit me in 2012. They didn’t bring a computer of their own and my mother insisted that they use mine and not hers. So I let them.

I didn’t monitor their usage and who knows what they had used it for because about a week after we got back from Los Angeles, a part of my computer suddenly died. I was nervous, anxious and my hands shook for days before I had to do a big cleanup, place everything on flash drives or my portable hard drive. Then I did a big reset, wipe the drive clean and start over.

The transferring of the files back on my computer was a pain. It took me days, weeks, and even months to get my computer the way it was again. Then, I decided, I am never saving anything on the hard drive ever again. Everything will be on a cloud drive so I can go online and retrieve my files anytime and not have to fear of losing anything ever again. Oh, did I mention my portable hard drive failed once and I had to replace it? Yeah, I lost plenty of things there.

Good Luck,

Yinglan

Second-hand Struggles

Published on by Yinglan6 Comments

There are no better stories than when someone tells about their struggles, at least that’s the best second-hand story I heard to-date. The best one I’ve heard so far was from my mother. During special dinners, she often tells snippet of her adventures in America. She still tells it but often, it remains vague and incomplete because conversations topics often get switch around and she never had a chance to tell the complete version of the story.

I’ve always wanted to know the complete story. How did my mom and step-dad meet? What made them want to get married? But I never bothered to ask for the full story because the story of her struggles often leaves me feeling guilty. So I guess I’ll have to live with only having the snippets.

Note: each paragraph is just another snippet I collected from dinner. No embellishment whatsoever.

I came to the United States with $1000 dollars in my pocket. After the tour, all I have left was $800 and I didn’t want to go home. So when everyone got on a plane that would take them from Los Angeles to China, I stayed at the airport. 

I didn’t know English. I couldn’t even understand when the operator on the pay-phone told me to dial one first before dialing number with different area code until a stranger explained to me. 

Within a few months, I passed my TOEFL and changed my travel visa to a student visa. My money supply was dwindling. I had to go get a job even though it wasn’t legal. 

I got a job as a live-in housekeeper for a single mom with two kids. She treated me awfully and so did her boys. Her boys often get in trouble school and she ended up to have to fix those problems. After a few months, I quit. 

At school, I met a nice lady and she told me her husband’s bakery was hiring. I got the job. It was far and I had to take an hour bus to get there. It was the best job so far. He often gave me left-over to take home. After a few months, he had to let me go because he could no longer afford a hand. 

I met Jim in my darkest time. I was working in a restaurant and going to school full-time. I met him in an elevator. He gave me his sandwich when I forgot dinner. He provided me with transportation when I needed. 

A Crazy Night

Published on by Yinglan8 Comments

I remember there was this one night, I was watching television when all of a sudden, everything went ridiculous dark. The power’s gone out. I jumped, not out of fear but because it happened suddenly. I could feel my heart beating out of my chest because first of all, I couldn’t see anything and there were stairs very nearby.

“What’s going on?” A voice from upstairs asked.

“Power’s out.” I was like duh. Did she think I turn off everything? For some reason, my mom rather sit in the dark to browse the internet than turn on the bedroom light.

Talk about messy. You can't find anything in there!
There’s the flashlight.

I slowly made my way up the three steps from the living room to the kitchen-dining combination to search for the flashlight in the dark in our oh so messy drawer. I feel around the drawer and couldn’t find the flashlight. I began to panic and perhaps a teeny tiny bit of tears did squeeze from my eyes. A million thoughts ran through my mind at the same time.

Where’s the damn flashlight? Why can’t we be more prepared in these situations? Why can’t she just invest some money in some flashlights? We don’t use it often doesn’t mean we won’t need it.

“Did you find the flashlight?”

“NO!” I said, frustrated.

She clicked her tongue and came down the stairs. She pushed me aside and went on a rampage in the drawers to search for the flashlight. At last, after making a large mess, she found the flashlight. By then about 10 minutes has passed. “Is it just us?” She asked and shined her way to the basement to check the fuses while I went to the living room window.

The street outside was crazy dark and none of the houses had any lights. “It’s everyone.” I replied.

“Call the power company.”

I made my way up the stairs to my room and search for my cell which was easy guided by the bright light coming from the computer screen. I dialed the number to the power company but it informed me that the power can be out from an hour to 8 hours which is very bad for three reasons:

  1. The night is warm and I cannot sleep without a fan
  2. A refrigerator full of food and milk that can go bad
  3. No light and hot water to shower

Just as I began to panic some more, I heard a beep and something lit up downstairs. The power had been restored and now I need to reset everything. Great, Excellent, Perfect. 

The Fun Route to College

Published on by Yinglan8 Comments

eDLHCtzRR0yfFtU0BQar_sylwiabartyzel_themapBefore I begin today’s daily prompt, I just like to say that where I live, there aren’t much detour that I know of. Although detours do exist here, they aren’t fun and they tend to get you to the destination in almost the same amount of time as the regular route, sometimes, faster. So enjoy the following dialogue where I tell a stranger (may be my smart-mouth cousin) about the fun route to the only community college in town.

“Good morning, Stranger.” I say. 

“Good morning, do you know the way to the community college?” 

Hmm, the way to the community college, should I give him the fastest route? Then again, the fastest route might involve traffic and that would become the slowest route. Nah, I’ll give the scenic detour. 

“Take I-15 and exit Legacy. Be careful on the Legacy. It’s 55 mph and cops are always hiding beneath the bridges catching people doing 60 or 65. Then take the 4700 S. exit.”

“But ma’am, I don’t have a car. I live down the block and I just walked here. I was hoping you’d give me direction that would involve public transit.”

Public transit, huh. “Alright, you go across the road to the mall and take the 640 bus to the train station. Then take the train to the central station where you will then hop on the trax train to 4500 S. and then take bus route 47 to the college where you will then walk 15 minutes to the heart of the campus where the buildings will be.” 

The stranger’s eyes bulges wide open and his jaw drops. He shakes his head. “I hope that was clear direction, sir.” I say. 

“Yes, ma’am, that was clear. Thank you.” He walks away.

“Have a good day!” I grin and close the door. 

Good Morning: A Mini-Flashback

Published on by Yinglan2 Comments

Today’s daily prompt says, “What’s your earliest memory involving another person? Recreate the scene — from the other person’s perspective.”

To be honest, I don’t remember much about my childhood except for those big moments. I have tons of pictures stuffed in thick photo albums in the basement newly-constructed storage closet but when I look at it, I cannot remember doing any of those thing as a child.

So for this prompt, instead of writing about my earliest memory involving another person, I will just write about a single memory involving another person in the other person’s point of view, which is my mother. This was something I saw when I woke up one morning, so I’ll just imagine the rest and since my mother does not like to think quietly, I practically know her every thought. Well, not every one of them but most of them.

December 22, 2001, about 7:30 am

I sit in front of the desktop. “Loading…” the screen reads. The screen is green and simple. I got this computer 2 years ago and it feels like it’s getting slower and slower.  

I sigh and look over at her, still sleeping. She must be exhausted from the flight. I know I am but I cannot sleep with the time difference. On the other hand, I need to confirm our route. We need to leave for Texas in few hours. As the page loads, I see my husband, Jim, comes into the room, the camera in his hand. “Shh,” I say but he isn’t listening. 

He puts the camera to his eyes and squints. Snap! I feel the camera flashes behind me. Snap! Snap! He takes more pictures of my daughter sprawling all over the bed. It’s how she sleeps ever since she’s little. I glare at my husband, “You’re going to waste the film.” I hiss. 

“But she’s adorable.” I roll my eyes as the screen finally loads. I type in the addresses as quietly as I can while Jim places the camera on the computer desk. 

“Mommy, what’s going on?” She asks, her eyes squinting at the light. 

“Good morning.” I greet. “How did you sleep?” 

“Hmm,” she responds.

“No time difference?” She shakes her head and closes her eyes again.

I didn’t know my step-dad was taking pictures of me sleeping until my mom and I went to develop the rolls of film after we came back to California. I kept those pictures of course. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have come up with this memory. How do I know it was taken then? There’s date and time stamped at the bottom corner of the picture.

Look it Up!

Published on by YinglanLeave a comment

Today’s Daily Prompt states: “Time to confess: tell us about a time when you used a word whose meaning you didn’t actually know (or were very wrong about, in retrospect).”

Okay, I guess it is time to confess. I watch a lot of television, read quite a few books but when it comes to writing, my vocabulary range is still so so. So when I am writing each post, I usually have to look up some of the words in the dictionary to make sure I am using it correctly.

I can remember, many times, I misunderstood the definition of a word while trying to write just an ordinary post or even a story. The last time I used a wrong word in a post was actually a few days ago and the word was “oblige”. The definition for “oblige” from dictionary.com is:

verb (used with object)
1.to require or constrain, as by law, command, conscience, or force of necessity.
2. to bind morally or legally, as by a promise or contract.
3. to place under a debt of gratitude for some benefit, favor, or service:
4. to put (one) in a debt of gratitude, as by a favor or accommodation:
5. to make (an action, policy, etc.) necessary or obligatory:

I don’t remember what I wanted to do the word for but the meaning was completely opposite of what I was trying to say. I’m glad I looked up the word and checked before I posted it though, or else who knows what will happen, probably you readers will get confused. In the least to say, using the wrong word can lead to confusion and sometimes, it can even be offensive to people. So if there are doubts about the meaning of a word, look it up before using it. 

Back in Time

Published on by Yinglan6 Comments

tEREUy1vSfuSu8LzTop3_IMG_2538Last night, I have finally finish all my work and have a moment to breathe. Actually, it’s a few hours to breathe before I have to jump back to work or worse, prepare for my upcoming test.

To fulfill my fun today, I decide to take a whack at the Daily Prompt, which is interesting, it says, “Congrats! You’re the owner of a new time machine. The catch? It comes in two models, each traveling one way only: the past OR the future. Which do you choose, and why?”

If I have a new time machine, I would choose to go to the past. That being said, I assume I won’t get stuck in time (I can come back to the present) or anything catastrophic (like out of fuel or that the fuel is something ridiculous like Plutonium) that happens in movies like Back to the Future. I am most likely to go back in time to learn about American History.

You’re such a geek! Why do you need to go back in time to learn about history when this is what history books are for?!

The thing is, I think history textbook is kind of bland, it’s all about the important figures. What about the help? There’s never anything about them. So I want to go back in time to learn some of the real stories about the unimportant people instead of reading one of those made-up fiction, although I am not saying they are all made-up but I’d like to confirm.

Oh, and not to mention all those TV shows and movies about the conspiracy theories surrounding the Founding Fathers. I like to know if it’s true. The only thing to find that out, go back in time to the 17th and 18th Century.

After I learn about that, I’d then like to travel to early 20th century. A lot to learn there too. I know this sounds like a waste of time for some of you but I’ve been fascinated with American History ever since I began learning it in 7th grade. There are a lot of things that happened in the past 200 or 300 hundred years and I like to know more and why not get the knowledge the fun and adventurous way. I get to learn about the mechanics of a time machine and get to travel back in time! Woohoo!

By the way, what’s up with the daily post page?

Train Rides

Published on by Yinglan1 Comment

Sorry for the late post. Well, I guess it’s not that late. It’s not even noon yet but it will be by the time I post this. I’ve been studying and taking an exam all morning. Not the same one as the one on Saturday, it’s a different exam and I feel so much better now that I’m done with my exams for now. Man, I can really use a break but then again, I have class at the moment so I will just be quick.

It’s been a while since I’ve ridden a train. I have ridden plenty of trains especially since I’ve moved to Utah. For the five years during my undergraduate career, I rode the train to school every single day. Then I also rode the transit tracks train to the hospital ever since I’ve got braces. The longest train journey was the 15 hours train ride from Salt Lake City to Sacramento, California.

During that long slow train ride, I can remember cramp hallway and some very creepy travelers. I remember people piling their stuff in the aisles and I have to step over them again and again as I make my way to the observation car. I also remember brushing teeth in a tiny bathroom while getting jostled around as the wheels of the train galloped over the tracks. In a simple word, although it was fun visiting all the quaint little towns along the way, let’s just say it is quite unlikely I will travel by train to California anytime soon.

However, that doesn’t mean I’ve spent a lot of time in a train station. There are no train stations here, there’s only train platform and rarely does something happen there. So the only station I’ve ever been in was the Sacramento Train Station and I don’t even know the name of that. Therefore, the only stories that’s left to tell are those happened on the train. I think I will tell those another day. For today though, I think I will just settle with that short one above about my train ride to California. I may post something else later after lunch and homework.

Exam Day

Published on by Yinglan10 Comments

I am a mess at the moment. In fact, I feel like I am about to blow. With the endless pile of homework and exams, I don’t have a spare moment to relax. Continue reading “Exam Day” →

If I have a vial of truth serum…

Published on by Yinglan8 Comments

Today’s daily prompt states: You’ve come into possession of one vial of truth serum. Who would you give it to (with the person’s consent, of course) — and what questions would you ask?

Hmm, which poor soul would I use the truth serum on?

You know, I am a curious person yet I seldom ask questions. I believe that is because sometimes asking too much questions drive a person crazy and I hate making people feel bad. Hmm, is that why I let my smart-mouth cousin say things about over and over? Is that why I cannot get him to shut up?

Anyway, if I have a vial of truth serum, I probably would keep it and never use it. But let’s say hypothetically that I do use it. I can interrogate anyone I want, three people come to mind but the question is what do I ask them?

Assuming my curiosity have driven me insane and I finally decide to use my secret weapon, truth serum, the two people I would use it on would be my grandparents. By then, I probably won’t even ask for their consent before injecting them both with half of dose of the truth serum. I don’t want to be cruel but I’m afraid if I use the truth serum on them, I am more than desperate. Either way, I will get the answer that’s been bugging me for most of my life.

If I don’t use the truth serum on my grandparents to get some deserving answers, I would otherwise use it for curiosity and the person I would use it on is my first crush. The story is we sort of fell in like with each other in freshman high school but he never told me he likes me. However, right before I moved to Texas, his sister told me that he likes me but if he did like me, wouldn’t he tell me that himself? So it makes me feel suspicious about the truth.

Of course, I would ask him for consent because he isn’t my grandparents and I have a feeling he would consent because he is a little shy and is probably afraid to tell the truth without truth serum. So the questions I would ask him are:

  • Did you have a crush on me in high school, before I moved to Texas?
  • Why did you have your sister tell me instead of telling me yourself?

Unless, someone else is keeping something from me, these are the three individuals I would ever use the truth serum on.

Too Much Too Little

Published on by Yinglan1 Comment

ednaferber382367Today’s Daily Prompt reads: “Perhaps too much of everything is as bad as too little.” – Edna Ferber Do you agree with this statement on excess?

Yes, actually, I do agree with this statement. Some things are just perfect in the middle. Take baking, for example. If you have a cake with either too much salt or sugar, the cake won’t taste right.

It’s similar to my situation now. Late last night, mom has decided to 100% transfer the car to my aunt who is going to pay it off completely. Today, there’s a guy coming to look at my old car, less than two days after I post an ad to sell it for $2000. If the guy decides to buy my car, I will truly be car-less and you have no idea how horrible it feels because that means I can’t go anywhere. I live in a town where everything is spread out. There’s an enormous need for a car because without a car, I can’t go anywhere.

Anyway, back to the prompt. Mom told me I need to get a car for myself. Even though a used car is just in my price range, it’s out of the question because they won’t let me. It has to be a new car. Here’s where the statement on excess comes in. Mom wants me to buy an All-wheel drive so I’ll be safer on snow and icy roads but those come with a large price tag.

Well, I’m just driving to school and back, 30 miles round trip max daily. Do I really need to get such a pricey car? It’s not like I’m going to go up the mountain or somewhere with high elevation. On the other hand, I did some research on low-price car ($12000- 13000) and well those cars have other worries, wind. I pass through the mouth of a canyon everyday on my way to school and it’s often the windiest spot of the whole drive.

I have driven my mom’s car and it swayed uncontrollably like a piece of paper. That’s what I’m worried about with those cars. I guess I should probably go for the middle price, not the ridiculous price on the new car mom bought yesterday yet not as low as the tiny hatchbacks that might get me scared of the wind. Maybe I should just settle in the $15000 to $19000 price range because too large of a price will cause me a headache and too small of a price will make me run away from driving. 

Some Truthful Answers Please

Published on by Yinglan7 Comments

Example of handwriting with gold penI am so nervous about today. Since my car can no longer drive, I’ll have to take the bus home while mom, aunt, and cousin go search for new car for me. It’s a 90-minutes bus ride plus a 20-minute walk home but I am thankful for that because that means I won’t be involved in car-shopping. Trust me, it won’t be pretty if I’m involved because I do not like to shop for anything. I always tell my mom, either tell me what to buy or just tell me when it’s ready to pay.

Anyway, today’s prompt asks, You’ve been given the opportunity to send one message to one person you wouldn’t normally have access to. Who’s the person you choose, and what’s the message?

Hmm, that’s a tricky topic. Who will I write to? (drumming fingers on desk)

Does God count as one of those person? Because I have an important question I want to ask him that I know he might be the only one that has the answer for me and the prompt did say to write to one person I won’t normally have access to. God seems to fit the criteria.

My message is:

I’ve always been in the dark about my father’s death. When he died, I was four and everyone just assumed that by keeping me in the dark, it would prevent me from grief. My mom didn’t cry. Her face remained stone hard. 

It was a few weeks later that she told me my dad was gone. I asked how and she just told me heart attack. I believed her then but as I got older, I grew suspicious because I found out it was my grandparents who told my mother about the cause of death. When I was around 7 or 8, I asked my grandparents about it but they gave me a stern talking to about never saying the words “die” or “death” under their roof. So I gave up. 

So I need some truthful answers because all I have is that he collapsed at a restaurant. Also, the only ones who would most likely to have the answers are my grandparents and frankly, I don’t think they are going to tell me anytime soon. So I am asking you, God, to please tell me exactly how my father died because I think after this long, I deserve the truth. 

Thanks for your time

Published on by Yinglan9 Comments

In several occasions during the past few years, I have been placed in a room full of strangers, mostly students I don’t know. Most of the times, they would ask me about my story but none of the times, they would give me the full allotted time to do. I mean, at least give me 2 minutes. I would’ve been grateful for four but come on, they would had lost their attention by then. After all, they are teenagers, they have a shorter attention span during adults.

In those occasions when I am placed in a classroom full of bratty hormonal teenagers who think life is all about shopping for brand-names like my cousin. He won’t wear anything that’s not a famous brand-name like Nike or Calvin Klein. That’s why we had to go to the Outlet Mall on Saturday, to get some brand-name clothing for him. Same with the ones I used to deal with at a time when people barely classified me as an adult.

Anyway, I am usually only given about 30 seconds to a minute to introduce myself before those people realize they don’t need to take me seriously. I can never figure out why until I looked myself in the mirror and realized I wasn’t intimidating enough. Clearly, you need to have an intimidating face to be a teacher and if you don’t, well, let’s just say you will come home screaming everyday crying out “Why!”

Anyway, at the start of the class, I would say something like, “I am Yinglan and you will be learning ESL from me.”

Then someone would raise their hand, “What is ESL?”

“English-as-a-Second-Language.”

“Anyway, I will be teaching you the basis of English starting with grammar and vocabulary.” Then I’d pass out the disclosure statement, all the teachers does it, that states my rules. I’d read each rule aloud, then have them sign it. Just like that, strict town and anxiety was over. They began talking and not listening to me.

They must have sensed something about me that I couldn’t sense myself. They have decided to not take me seriously. That’s why I like blogging by the way, people here don’t know who I am, they don’t know what I sound like. I am just another normal-ish person. If I was given a chance to be in a room full of stranger that would give me 4 minutes of their undivided attention, I would be able to tell from life story and by that, I mean, the slightly extended version of “About me“.

If I meet my extended family…

Published on by Yinglan1 Comment

extended circlesIn 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. 🙂

Life’s Tiny Rambles

Published on by Yinglan4 Comments

Okay, I guess you know by now that I like to talk about me. Well, who doesn’t? Talking about ourselves is the best subject we know. Well, today, I can because the daily prompt is to just write for 10 minutes.

Anyway, yesterday was a weird day. I went to school and while in class, the wire in my braces shifted and popped out, forcing me to have to waste $1.99 to call my orthodontist. Thank god, his receptionist picked up and I was able to fix it yesterday.

I had to hurried home right after class and made a bowl of ramen noodle. Mom wasn’t home and either was my aunt and cousin, mom took them to register for classes at the community learning center and shopping for food. They bought a lot especially my cousin.

So I left for the orthodontist just as they decided to take a nap to adjust to the time difference. When I came back 2 hours later, they are still asleep! Mom urged me to wake them up. Why do I have to do everything around here? So I did.

Last night, they were so awake. I wonder if they slept at all last night. Well today is their entrance exam to see which level of ESL class they should be placed in. I have to take them there in about 30 minutes.

Well, 10 minutes is almost up and I am in danger of one of them busting through my door any second to wake me up. So I guess that’s all I am going to say today. Have a great day! 🙂

Meddling with Other’s Happiness

Published on by Yinglan4 Comments

I'm sure some of you've seen this picture.
I’m sure some of you’ve seen this picture.

This morning feels kind of weird to me because despite only sleeping for 7 hours, I feel weirdly awake. That’s right, my aunt and cousin have arrived and their first test, adjusting time zone difference.

Anyway, at least today’s daily prompt is so much better than yesterday and the day before. It asks: Are you a good judge of other people’s happiness? Tell us about a time you were spot on despite external hints to the contrary (or, alternatively, about a time you were dead wrong).

No, I am not a good judge of other people’s happiness. That’s why I typically stay out of people’s way because first of all, I am a doubtful person, I have doubts after each decision that was made. Also I don’t try to meddle in other people’s business because if it doesn’t work out, I will definitely be the person to blame and I don’t want that.

The last time I meddle in other people’s happiness was with my mom and it’s just a few months ago. I remember writing about this in a series of posts a few months ago too. I meddled in my mom’s happiness by persuading her to purchase that plot of land. She kept awing on how nice the view was. So I told her just buy it, whatever makes her happy.

But then, she was having second thoughts because the view was partially blocked by the house in front. In the end, she refused the offer because she lost the $4000 custom design bonus as well as the partially obstructed view.

Also last week, she started feeling thankful she didn’t purchase the land because yesterday she got fired. Yeah, I know, horrible, at least that’s what a normal person would react but she was happy. Apparently, she wanted to leave for a long time but didn’t want to resign because then she wouldn’t get unemployment benefits. So she’s just waiting for the right moment.

Anyway, after that land fiasco that I went through this past summer, I am never ever convincing mom to do anything ever again because it will probably and always end up my fault.

Eye of the Beholder

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You know, I have to agree with Martha here. These do you agree/disagree prompts are kind of uninspiring. They don’t really inspire me to write anything. This morning after my aunt called me at 5:52 am to tell me she got onto the flight at Seoul and asks me to check whether it will arrive at LAX on time this afternoon. Anyway, after I checked, I took a look at the Daily Prompt, a minute after it went live at 6 am sharp.

I was like what? Again with the agree/disagree questions? What are they trying to do, make me write a one-sentence answer? So I went back to bed and let the prompt brew in my head like a steaming cup of coffee. So now, 2.5 hours later, I’m awake and here we go.

Today’s daily prompt asks: We’ve all heard that beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Do you agree? is all beauty contingent on a subjective point of view?

I am neutral on this one. This means, I agree and disagree. It all depends. Everyone’s beauty is different. Some are on the outside and some are on the inside. Like the prompt says, beauty is in the eye of the beholder. If everyone sees beauty the same way, everyone would be in love with each other. 

However, some beauty are contingent on a subjective point of view. Ah, I can’t think of an example here but some are. And that’s all I can say about this topic. Please come up with some creative prompts. I don’t really like to analyze things and I can’t write any sort of story with these prompts or is it just me. 

Anyway, I ran into a little snag just 5 minutes ago. Mom forgot to give me back my parking permit. I have to leave early to get cash to park in the pay lot today. That means I am going to have to miss my Beta Alpha Psi meeting today. Darn my forgetful brain. Please let there be parking in that pay lot.

A Life-changing Accident

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Sometimes, when life’s going too great, there ought to be a curve ball or two coming your way. Continue reading “A Life-changing Accident” →

5 things I wish to change about me

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No such thing as perfectThere are always a million things we want to change about our lives. So to list five is a difficult choice. But will crossing out those five things make our lives easier? Slightly more enjoyable? It depends, everyone is different. The five things I want to change in my life are:

1. I wish I was fast at doing things. I used to be called a slow-poke but to be honest, I’ve seen some people who are even slower than me which it’s annoying and those people are all guys.

Like the international student who came to stay with us for a month or so, we didn’t have a bathroom in the basement then, so I had to share my bathroom with him. It takes him forever to shower and it takes him even longer to get ready. It annoyed the crap out of mom and it’s even worse with me. It’s like he does things in slow-motion. This is one of the things I want to change. I try to do thing fast but sometimes in a rush, my workmanship become sloppy.

2. I wish I was more social. I am trying to accomplish this exact thing at the moment but I always back down the last minute thinking I will have another opportunity to take to this person. Guess what, I don’t.

I want to be able approach one of the Beta Alpha Psi member or even the person who sits next to me in class and be able to strike a conversation. I like being a loner but sometimes being a loner is not the good way to live life.

3. I wish I had perfect skin and not what I have now, blackhead filled and acne everywhere. I am tired of having to use different stuff and scrub the crap out of my skin every night. Also, if I have perfect skin, I won’t have to photoshop every one of my photos. 🙂

4. I wish I wasn’t born with this ridiculously rare genetic disorder that barely any doctor knows about. I want to grow, have bigger hands and feet, and I want to be taller and thin. Most of all, I want to be what it’s considered to be a normal person. I don’t want people look at me funny and I don’t want salesmen to knock on my door and ask if my parents are home because they think I am still in my teens.

5. Lastly, I wish I wasn’t raised in a setting where money is all that matters. It made me stingy and cheap. You can say it made me a hoarder, have money but never want to spend it. I don’t want to be that. I want to get what I want and be satisfied instead of racking up money and never getting the things I want.

If I cross these five things from my list of changes I want in my life, would it make my life perfect? I am not sure. It might make my life a little more enjoyable but to make life perfect would take a lot more than making changes. After all, there’s no such thing as perfect.

Everything has Feelings!

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To me, everything has feelings and a mind of their own. I know what’s like to be used. To notice you when you’re needed and neglected when you’re not. All my life, I am taught to be careful with objects, that I have to treat it gently to prolong use. So since then, I have treated every object as if it’s a person. Sometimes, I even feel sad for those objects.

Like the couch, I feel sad for it especially when guests come. I remember when my mom’s friend from San Francisco came visit, her son would occupy the leather recliner couch in the family room. I watched as he reclined the seat all the way and then lay his head on the reclining side. The reclining side is the vulnerable part of the recliner couch. The metal won’t hold a lot of weight. That’s the part that’s supposed to hold the feet, not the upper part of the body.

I felt awful for the couch, for having to endure all of that but I was afraid to tell the boy to not lay like that but his mom was there and I was equally afraid of his mom as mine.

Computers, on the other hand, have a much more sophisticate mind of my own. Though it doesn’t have feelings, it has a mind of its own. So I guess the most human machine I own would be my two laptops and the external hard-drive.

A voice in my head

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(Yawn) I am so tired today. At least I get to skip my second class at mom’s request. 🙂 She doesn’t want to wait at the airport. So I am rushing over right after my first class to pick her up. Yay me! Anyway, today’s daily prompt is a good one. It read:

Your blog is about to be recorded into an audiobook. If you could choose anyone — from your grandma to Samuel L. Jackson — to narrate your posts, who would it be?

Every post I’ve written, when I was writing, I listened to this narrative voice in my head. It’s almost like it’s talking to me, telling me what to write. It doesn’t sound like me either. I mean, it is me but a much more mature and normal voice than my own. Trust me, if you ever hear my voice on the phone or whatever, you would think it’s a child speaking.

If my blog is ever going to be recorded into an audiobook, I would choose one of those people who does the narratives for the documentaries about deceased authors. What? You ask. I know, you’re confused but that is somewhat what the voice in my head sounds like, the people that does the narratives on those shows. Like a few weeks ago, I watched American Masters on PBS, it was doing a documentary on that author that wrote “Gone with the Wind”, oh, I can’t bring up her name at the moment.

Anyway, there’s a female narrator that I assume sounded like the author, read snips of the book. It sounded like an emotional robot sometimes but at the same time, it had this sad sound to it that makes it feel like it’s reading the book like a diary. That is kind of what my blog is, a diary. So if my posts is ever going to be recorded, that’s the kind of voice I want.

Oh gosh, late for school, later! 🙂

Meaningful Hand-me-downs

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I am no stranger to hand-me-downs but then again who is, unless you’re incredibly rich but even then, you will have something that is sort of a hand-me-down. Mom and I almost escaped to Salt Lake City from Austin with just the things that can fit into her small car (long story, will/might tell later). So we didn’t have a lot when we came here but not to the point that we had to start over.

We moved into an one-bedroom apartment a few weeks after we arrived. We had no furniture. For the first few days, we sat on a towel on the carpet while eating from some spare bowls lend to us by mom’s nosy friend who lived several blocks away.

That first weekend, when her nosy friend’s husband was off, he helped move  all the furniture that’s been occupying his garage into our apartment. They were eager to get rid of it even though some of it were still pretty much brand new. It belonged to Mrs. Nosy’s uncle who decided to leave Utah and move back to San Francisco.

The apartment was soon furnished with second-hand furniture. An out-of-date flowery pattern love seat in the living room while a really weird texture Laz-Boy sofa-bed in the bedroom where mom and I will sleep for the next two years. Then a folded table and very heavy chairs for dining, a rectangular broken-legged mirror-glass coffee table as well as a square table for the hand-me-down TV and some shelves. Even the silverware were hand-me-downs.

The Laz-boy sofa bed and the square coffee table that used to hold the TV. See what I mean about the mirror-glass?
The Laz-boy sofa bed and the square coffee table that used to hold the TV. See what I mean about the mirror-glass?
The love-seat. Don't be fool by the length, there are only two cushions.
The love-seat. Don’t be fool by the length, there are only two cushions.

But I was thankful because we were struggling back then. Mom’s new job as a school teacher hadn’t begin so we didn’t have any income and I was only 16. Anyway, 100% of the things in that apartment were hand-me-downs.

A block away from the apartment was a thrift shop and that was where we would shop until we moved to our current home 30 miles away. Mrs. Nosy loved this thrift shop because a lot of wealthy old people lived nearby and their homes are full of beautiful antiquities. As well as that, a lot of the clothes that were donated were pretty clean and new. I didn’t like shopping in that store at first because I thought second-hand clothes were yucky. But I adjusted after a while and knew where to look.

We got quite a deal in that store, most of the clothes we bought were $1 and some of them were free. Anyway, when we moved into our current home, again, we were nearly furniture-less because when you move from a 500 square-foot apartment to a 2000 square-house, it will make a difference. We had no beds. So for the first week or so, we slept on the sofa bed which now resides in the family room. Then the love seat now resides in the living room. We rarely shop at the thrift shop now because we often find better deals at the Exchange in the air force base.

Out of all the hand-me-downs I had in my life and I have had a lot, there three items I think it’s the most meaningful.

  1. The television-set that was giving to us by my step-grandparents when we moved to Austin. We were just about broke back then with my step-dad spending every dime my mom made from her two jobs on alcohol and cigarettes. This television-set provided entertainment and comfort for me because at least for a short time, I can forget I live in tiny apartment with constant fighting parents.
  2. The sofa-bed that was handed down by Mrs. Nosy’s uncle. It provided me with a place to sleep. Not comfortable but it’s better than sleeping on the ground.
  3. The television also handed-down by Mrs. Nosy’s uncle. It provided mom and me hours of entertainment while we spent many late-nights during that first year staying up grading paper.

I know my definition of “meaningful” is different than everyone else’s but these three things got me through some tough times. Isn’t that’s what the term “meaningful” is about? Getting through memorable hard times? Anyway, when I listen to this song, it kind of remind me of those times.

Just writing this post makes me feel older already. Today is my lunar birthday. I may be turning 23 in a few weeks but I bet my aunt will send me a card today saying happy 24th because some people in China go by the lunar birthdays and count the 9 months in the mother’s belly.