Tag: Story

Second-hand Struggles

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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. 

Don’t Do That!!!

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Today’s Daily Prompt says, “It’s Halloween, and you just ran out of candy. If the neighborhood kids (or anyone else, really) were to truly scare you, what trick would they have to subject you to?”

Two days ago, while I was waiting for the instructor to come open the door to the classroom, I was thinking about the plot for the story I’m writing at the moment. My mind quickly left the building and flew to fantasy-land. I was about to have a breakthrough in the plot when something or someone collided into me and snapped me back to reality. I was sure I was going to fall but I steadied my footing. 

My friend, Yoon, laughed. “You scared me!” I whined. 

“You didn’t see me coming?” 

I shook my head, “I was thinking about something else.” My chest was pounding so hard at that moment like it was going to pop out of my chest.

Her friend appeared from around the corner. “What are you doing scaring people?” Her friend said. 

“It’s Halloween.” Yoon replied.

“Na uh, in two days.” I said and Yoon just rolled her eyes and then the instructor arrived and opened the door. 

I get scared easily, just catch me at a moment of absentmindedness and jump out at me, that’ll do. Don’t do one of those elaborate tricks, those will just give me nightmares for a long time as well as ruin Halloween for me or I’ll remember that moment and hate you forever. So for that, DON’T SCARE ME!

Happy Halloween, everyone!

Basic Hygiene and Etiquette

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This is the second maybe third post I’ve done on manners and etiquette. The reason I am writing this post because first of all, my observation around my home in the last couple of weeks has prompted me and it’s been something I’ve been trying to enforce. Continue reading “Basic Hygiene and Etiquette” →

A Crazy Night

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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. 

Tipped and Unbalanced

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It feels so great to be back. I’ve missing from the world of blogging for the past couple of days because I was on a deadline but all this is passed. I’ve finished my homework and now just have study for an exam which is in two days.

Anyway, yesterday early morning, after just barely 6 hours of sleep, I saw the daily prompt. I was going to write it but I just couldn’t bring myself to do it. I was like, eh, I’ll just do it later and I never did. The reasons for that are I am tired and my brain was foggy and the other reason, I don’t believe and know anything about astrological signs. Research wasn’t my strong suit so I decided to abandon the blog for one more day.

Today though, I found the prompt finally to be interesting, it said, “Yesterday you invented a new astrological sign. Today, write your own horoscope — for the past month (in other words, as if you’d written it October 1st).”

I am not going to try and invent a new astrological sign. So I’ll use my own. I am a libra and the symbol for that is the scale. It’s supposed to remain balance but this month, if anything, it feels like it’s tipped.

 

Okay, now, I’m curious. I am opening up another tab to check this out. Wow, it’s strangely and insanely accurate. How did they do that? So why do I need to write my own? Oh well, whatever, here goes:

October will be a challenging month. There will be communication chaos and this will cause frustration to relationships. You want to get your thoughts out, but it’s possible the other person will not be receptive to them, or they won’t understand what you’re trying to convey. You may have to just let this one go.

October has been a roller-coaster month full of family drama, exams, and homework. I am really looking forward to the end of this month and on to the next. It can only get better and I know it.

Casual and Simple

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Today’s Daily Prompt says, “We’re less than a week away from Halloween! If you had to design a costume that channeled your true, innermost self, what would that costume look like? Would you dare to wear it?”

I don’t celebrate Halloween. I haven’t celebrated Halloween ever since I was 12. What happened? Long story, there was a school dance and I wore a lame costume and everyone laughed. So that’s the end of Halloween.

If I have to design a costume that channels my true innermost self, it wouldn’t have any design whatsoever. It will probably be the most casual costume on the planet. It will probably just sweat pants and shirt. I’m into comfort and simplicity, p.s. that’s why I call my blog, My Simple Life. I am not into any elaborate things, that’s not me.

As a child, I wasn’t really into dress-up, okay maybe a little. Now, if you ask me to dress-up, NO WAY. And this is probably all thanks to a dress that I wore for a professional photo-shoot when I was five (I had to wear a white halter-top dress that made me look like a ribbon tree) and my Halloween costume when I was 11 (I was Cinderella). Hard to imagine me in those now. Anyway, they were both itchy and tight. I could barely breathe and I kept feeling like if I did, somewhere would rip.

So, anything comfortable and breathable, that’s my costume and I will be dared enough to wear it. 😀

Have to get ready, big test today. Ugh, I hate taking tests on Saturdays. 😦

I just want this to end!!!

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Today’s Daily Prompt States: “We all seem to insist on how busy, busy, busy we constantly are. Let’s put things in perspective: tell us about the craziest, busiest, most hectic day you’ve had in the past decade.” Continue reading “I just want this to end!!!” →

A Little Life Update: So So Busy

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Do you know a horrible way to cook hot dogs? I didn’t realize it until this morning when my cousin did it. Microwaving it without water. The whole house smelled like exploding hot dogs. I can even smell it now in class! It’s horrible! Continue reading “A Little Life Update: So So Busy” →

Imaginary Friends

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Today’s Daily Prompt says, “Many of us had imaginary friends as young children. If your imaginary friend grew up alongside you, what would his/her/its life be like today? (Didn’t have one? write about a non-imaginary friend you haven’t seen since childhood.)”

Ah, imaginary friends. I cannot remember if I ever had one. Oh wait, yes, I did, when I was in elementary school when kids and even teachers used to pick on me because they thought everything about me was below average. I don’t remember her name though but based on my judgement, it’s most likely my imaginary friend was nameless. I never bothered to give it a name.

I was lonely when I was in elementary school in China. I was often by myself, no one talked to me and I hardly have any social skills. Even after I was made English group leader (which was a big deal), I was a nobody. So it’s no surprise I have an imaginary friend.

Even though, I was the one who talked most of the time (obviously), it was great to have someone to talk to, to tell about the things that are troubling me. I don’t remember what she looked like though, because my imagination is always changing and so did my imaginary friends, but I think it was my imaginary friends that kept me company through the years between after my mom came to the U.S. and before I joined her in the U.S. Otherwise, I would’ve gone depressed and crazy what with the judgmental people at school picking on me as well as those summers that I had to spend it with my grandparents.

Life

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Today’s Daily Prompt asks, “At what age did you realize you were not immortal? How did you react to that discovery?” Continue reading “Life” →

The Fun Route to College

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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

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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.

Unequal Opportunity Employer

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Today’s Daily Prompt says: “Did you know today is Blog Action Day? Join bloggers from around the world and write a post about what inequality means to you. Have you ever encountered it in your daily life?”

No, I did not know today is Blog Action Day. Inequality is an important issue for me. I used to often complain about it because I often feel like I am being treated fairly because of my size and other things that may be wrong with me. In short, inequality, to me, is not being treated on the same level or fairly just because there is an uncontrollable defect like height or genetic disorder.

Just because a person is short, fat, have small hands or whatever defect, it doesn’t mean that person cannot do the same job like all the others. I’ve encountered plenty of those situations in my daily life from job interviews to work.

You know that small print on the job application form that says something like everyone’s equal or we’re an equal opportunity employer? For me and maybe some people, that seems like it’s only true before the interview process. Before the employer gets a look at you to see whether you’ll be fit for the position.

The reason I’m still in school now is that I couldn’t get a job after graduating from my undergraduate degree and the reason for that is I couldn’t get an internship. Most employers look for recent graduates with internship experience. During my Sophomore, Junior, and Senior years in college, I applied for a dozen internship. Whenever I saw a bulletin for hiring interns, I jumped at it.

I even got interviewed a few times but no luck, no one hired me. Each interview lasted about 15 minutes with the employer asking me a bunch of questions and I answered them to the best of my ability. Then they’d tell me they’d contact me in a week or so, never did and then two months later, I’d get an email saying although my qualifications are impressive, they had already hired someone else. 

I often wondered if they were actually thinking about hiring me after get a peek at what I look like. I wonder, if during the interview, questions would pop into their minds about whether I am capable of doing the job, whether I’d able to lift a specific number of weight. Of course! What kind of employer who doesn’t ask this kind of questions? And I know the answer, they don’t think I can do it because of my size. How is that fair that I am not given a chance even if I was given a chance to be interviewed? Unfortunately, that’s life and it’s not fair.

The Adaptation and Imitation of New Styles

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unsplash-kitsune-4Today’s Daily Prompt asks, “From your musical tastes to your political views, were you ever way ahead of the rest of us, adopting the new and the emerging before everyone else?”

Okay, first of all, my work, incredibly tedious. I just sit at my two computers and turn my head back and forth at the screens to make sure each of the article on the website is properly updated and translated from English to Chinese. Of course, sometimes, it requires utter concentration when there’s a long paragraph that is needed to be translated but most of the time, I just need to update the images and proofread to make sure it’s not missing any periods, colons, or comma or misused words.

Why am I telling you this?

Because often, when it’s just me and mom working, I’d get bored listening to mom smacking the keys on the keyboard. I’d put my ear-buds into my ear and listen to my iPod but then I can’t hear whenever mom has a question about the translation. So listening to iPod is out unless I am alone.

So I turned to Pandora, an online radio where I get to choose what I like to listen to. The thing I like about Pandora is its variety. If you choose the stations right and then press shuffle, it’s great. I like to listen to a mix of new and old songs and best of all, it doesn’t just play the most popular songs like the local radio stations does, it plays world music. As long as it’s in English, it’ll play.

As I listen to it, often times, my ears would tune into the styling of the song. Sometimes I would click on a song I like and will be surprised to learn that it’s been released for 2 or 3 years and most of these kind of songs are from UK and Australia.

This leaves me wonder, does it take this long to reach North America? Because sure enough, a few months later, that same exact song is introduced on the local top hits radio as new music and I’ll be like the styling’s current but the song is 2 or 3 years late.

Have you noticed that the music styles from UK and/or Australia have been two or three years ahead of North America and the artist in North America just listen to those styles and mimic, and adapt to new styles? 

That’s just my opinion because the styles from the pop artists here are very similar and I have basically given up listening to top 40 radio and instead, I turn to station filled with old tunes.

Clutter not Messy

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I started writing the daily prompt yesterday but didn’t know what to write after the chaos that happened this past weekend. Honestly though, an extra hour a day, to me won’t feel any difference these days because I’ve been so darn busy during the weekend. Continue reading “Clutter not Messy” →

The Gift that Introduced Reading

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zEk8RJdmQrqja2XwbjgJ_DSC_2368Today’s Daily Prompt states: “What’s the longest you’ve ever gone without reading a book (since learning how to read, of course)? Which book was it that helped break the dry spell?”

It wasn’t which book that helped me to break the dry spell, it was what. A kindle, that is what got me to start reading again. Before that, I barely even picked up a book, let alone read it. It was late 2011, I think, when mom asked me to go online and help her to use the points on her Marriott hotel reward card. I went online and nothing really looked good until when I saw the kindle.

It cost over 10,000 points, I believe, and mom had just enough. Around two months later, it came and I remember the first book I read on the kindle was The Prince and the Pauper. I’ve seen many versions of the book come to life on the screen whether is cartoon (Mickey Mouse) or the real-life version, I’ve always wanted to read this book to find out the real story. It is a great and funny story to read and essentially then, I began reading and soon writing.

Ever since I got my tablet early last year though, I handed the kindle to mom for her to use in her free time and I began reading from the app on my tablet instead. The longest streak I’ve gone without reading a book since then is I believe two or three weeks because I have school and work that I didn’t have time to sit down to read.

Now, I read just a little bit during lunch and that’s it so I don’t waste time to read instead of work and do my homework. So my book consumption have slowed quite a bit recently. It took me two months just to read the whole Divergent series. I enjoyed it though. Now I have to move on to other books.

One, Two, or Three?

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unsplash-bonusToday’s Daily Prompt states:  “A lively group discussion, an intimate tête-à-tête, an inner monologue — in your view, when it comes to a good conversation, what’s the ideal number of people?”

It all depends on the conversation but I’d say two or three is the ideal number of people. In some conversations, three’s a crowd while in some conversations, even two’s considered a crowd. Well, those conversations you just have to have it to yourself then.

Sorry, my brain’s a bit fuzzy this morning trying to come up with a situation.

Ah, yes, there is no more awkward conversation than when you’re saying horrible things about someone and they are just thirty feet away from you. This happens so often in my home, especially now. I would be sitting right next to mom and in the middle of our conversation, she would start babbling on about how my aunt and cousin did this and how they did that while they are just downstairs within our earshot. I think those are the conversation that should be done alone and no one’s listening.

A conversation that should be done with two or three people is as states in the prompt, a lively group discussion. One of my classes at the moment have something we do almost every other week called “Small group assignment” where the instructor gives us a worksheet and we have to do it on our own in class. When the entire class is finished, we get into groups. The instructor would often asks, “How many makes a group?”

The class will then answer, “Three.”

I agree, three makes a group and it is needed when it comes to discussion assignments and other assignments, three is the ideal number because an extra opinion will be needed to confirm the correct answer or the correct method to get the answer. Four or five, at least for me, is a bit excessive, that is, if you want to start an argument.

Now is your turn, what is the ideal number of people to have a conversation?

Look it Up!

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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. 

Dissatisfaction of a service

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I am very angry and upset at the moment and I feel like I need to let off some steam. Continue reading “Dissatisfaction of a service” →

Dear Cousin…

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It has been almost a month since you’ve been in the U.S. Therefore, I thought I would spend 10 minutes to tell you how I am enjoying your visit so far. Continue reading “Dear Cousin…” →

Back in Time

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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

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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.

Welcome to Boring Suburbia Life

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Aside from the mall across the road, this is basically where everything is

I live in a suburban town about 30 minutes or 25 miles from the outskirts of Salt Lake City. I wouldn’t call it a town, really. It’s got 60,000 people and it’s busy and noisy as heck and the traffic can drive a person crazy especially on the weekend and everyone’s trying to get into the mall and we’re trying to get on the freeway. Yup, that’s right, we live right across the street from the mall.

We don’t go there though, at least my mom and I don’t. The clothes there are expensive and the sizes doesn’t really fit us. So on weekends, if we need to get onto the freeway, we take the longer route instead of waiting 20 minutes in traffic to get from our home to the freeway which is about 1.5 miles.

We used to live in Salt Lake County. I don’t say Salt Lake City because a lot of my Californian friends used to get confuse when I tell them I live in Holladay. Wait, I thought you live in Salt Lake City as I would often get in response.

No, I’d tell them, Salt Lake City is actually very small.

A lot of people visiting Utah for the first time, even my relatives, thought Salt Lake City is a large city but if you’ve lived here long enough, you will know that the city itself is quite small and it’s the county that’s large.

The train that used to get me part-way to school and home

Well, by my standards, anyway. The county is actually small compare to the other 28 counties in the state but it is surely the highest populated county in the state, about 1/2 of the state population is gathered there. Anyway, I don’t live in Salt Lake County, I used to, but I live in Davis County which is even smaller than Salt Lake County.

When I did my undergraduate at the University of Utah, whenever people asked me where I live, I’d tell them, Layton. They would be like, huh, where’s that? I was a little confused myself of why people don’t know where Layton was. So after a while, I started telling people I live about 30 minutes from the school but by train and bus, it’s about 1 hour. They were like, wow, you must be getting up early to get here everyday. I’d nod and say, yup.

I live in Utah for about 7 years now and I never really discover any strange quirks up until about 2 months ago when mom mention that she noticed the people here don’t pronounce the “t” sound except when they say “Utah”. I never noticed that and now I hear it everywhere. For example, I hear people call the city I live in “Lay on” when it’s supposed to pronounce “Layton” with the “t” sound. And when you need braces, people say you need to “straigh en” your teeth. Weird, right?

It’s okay, I guess, living here in the suburbs, though I find life a bit boring and annoying sometimes. There’s hardly anywhere to go and the only place I seem to know to shop is Hill Air Force Base. Now, with my ID card cut off, age restriction, I can no longer have access to the base and without a car, life has just become 100% times more boring. It’s almost like constantly being grounded. I can’t even go with mom to buy groceries now because I have to watch my cousin at home.

F.Y.I, mom nor I want to take my cousin to the market because he has a reputation, even at 17, to throw a tantrum if we don’t get him what he wants and frankly, I am terrified.