Deer Fried Rice & Bear Chow Mein

Sorry Blogger, I've been cheating on you with Myspace

2006-05-31T00:32:00.000-07:00

I very casually joined Myspace a few weeks ago, because an old college friend had joined. At that time, I didn't know what I was getting into... finding old friends, viewing picts of people that I haven't seen in years, messaging people, adding comments and cute images to friends' pages... it is all very entertaining! That is why I have been neglecting you, Blogger.... Oh, I have to go, I have to approve a friend request...

Life with Jonas' Family

2006-05-17T18:38:00.000-07:00

This is a typical evening with Jonas’ family from my perspective…

Jonas mom: blah blah blah blah blah blah … blah blah … hui sic… blah blah… blah blah…

Me thinking: (Ok, she is talking about going to eat somewhere)

Jonas: blah blah blah blah … blah blah … blah blah…

Me thinking: (No idea what he is talking about.)

Jonas mom: blah bah … blah blah… yum cha… blah blah

Me thinking: (Drink tea? What? Oh, wait, I think she is talking about dim sum. Double meaning. Cantonese is sooooooo confusing.)

Jonas: (Trying help translate) My mom is saying that she went with her friend to eat…

Me: Dim sum, right?

Jonas: How do you know!?

Me: You told me that yum cha also means dim sum … since your mom was talking about going somewhere to eat, I figured it was dim sum.

Jonas: Ohhhh… very good!

Jonas mom: blah blah … blah blah … blah blah blah

Jonas: blah blah blah … bean doh … blah blah… blah blah…

Me thinking: (I think that means where.)

Jonas dad: blah blah … blah blah … blah blah

(This is where I usually start to tune out. I start thinking about if I am ever going to be able to completely understand Cantonese. I wonder if I will be able to pick up the language more easily because I hear it every day. I feel somewhat thankful for the language barrier, because it kind of takes the pressure off of me to keep up with the conversation, so I can be introverted around his parents, without them thinking that I am not friendly… I think that I should try to listen, because it will help me to learn the language. Then I can spy on people… heeheehee… And I could probably get a job more easily if I knew Cantonese… Hmmmm, I wonder if there are any new job openings in Alameda county… Oh, Jonas mom is speaking English! That’s my cue.)

Jonas mom: Mey-la-nie …tomorrow… you want eat at Sweet… Um…

Me: Sweet Tomato?

Jonas mom: Yeah, Sweet Tomato.

Me: Yes. I like Sweet Tomato.

Jonas mom: You like it?

Jonas: blah blah blah …. Mel-la-nie … blah blah choi … blah blah

Me thinking: (I guess he is telling her that I like vegetables?)

Jonas dad: You should eat more meat. It is not healthy to just eat vegetables … not a balanced diet.

Me: Ok… (Thinking: My daily reminder from Jonas’ parents that I need to eat more meat… just smile and nod.)

Jonas dad: blah blah blah … blah blah … blah blah

Jonas mom: blah blah blah … blah blah … blah blah

Dammit, I need to learn more Cantonese...

Another List

2006-05-08T00:23:00.000-07:00

What I like about living in CA:

Being with Jonas.

The food (variety and quality).

Two words: Tapioca Express!!!!

Public transportation.

Entertainment, culture, things to do, places to go, etc.

The scenery, especially the mountains.

The easy going, optimistic attitude of a population of people who seem to be unfamiliar with the term "seasonal depression".

What I do not like about living in CA:

Gaining weight from all of the good food and bubble tea.

The traffic on the expressways.

The ant and spider infestations in the house.

The cheapest gas around being $3.29 per gallon.

People making fun of my rusty car.

Missing my family and friends who are not here.

Trip to Denver

2006-05-05T13:19:00.000-07:00

Jonas had to go to Denver for work this week, so I tagged along and we made a mini-vacation out of it. Jonas is the type of person who wants to make the most out of visiting a new city, so he always has a huge agenda of visiting museums, shopping centers, restaurants, and everything in between. I am the type of person who wants to relax during a vacation and who is happy sitting at the beach or by the pool the entire time. So when Jonas was not working, we went out and explored. And when he was working, I sunbathed outside by the pool until I looked like a tomato.

Jonas and I stopped in Denver when I moved from MI to CA, but of course there was a long list of things that Jonas still wanted to do during our recent trip. We went to the Museum of Contemporary Art, the Denver Art Museum, the Downtown Aquarium, Cherry Creek Shopping Center, the 16th Street Mall, the Denver State Capitol, and of course a bunch of restaurants. The aquarium was my favorite. :)

Here are some pictures of the aquarium.

Jonas making a new friend.

I love marine life.

This is me doing my best Vanna impression at the Denver MCA.

This is charcoal, but it looks like a photograph in person.

I don't remember the artist, but I liked this paiting.

Denver wasn't exactly the tropical vacation that I have been waiting for, but it was pretty nice.

Curry Cardboard

2006-04-26T23:52:00.000-07:00

Jonas made a delicious pot of curry and vegetables tonight for dinner.

However when we were experimenting with all of the different food items that might be good dipped in curry, I made the mistake of saying, "This curry is so good, I would eat it on a piece of cardboard." Of course, a split second later, Jonas had a piece of cardboard in his hand.

Don't worry, I may have eaten cow's stomach out of love for Jonas, but I will never eat cardboard. :)

National Dance Week

2006-04-24T23:07:00.000-07:00

When I discovered that this week was Bay Area National Dance Week, I was of course, totally excited. Events include a conga line through downtown SF, dance classes, open rehearsals and performances, and dance parties. But the best part of all is that all of the events are FREE.

Although we missed the conga line, Jonas and I were able to attend two open rehearsals this Saturday.

We watched the San Francisco Ballet practice technique in an open rehearsal. When I was in college, I took dance class and/or had practice almost every day, so it was interesting to see a professional ballet technique class. The rehearsal was actually quite similar to the ballet classes that I have taken. Cameras and recording devices were not allowed, but Jonas snuck a few shots at the end of the rehearsal.

We also watched Company C Contemporary Ballet practice some of their works for future performances. I found out that Jonas enjoys classical ballet, but is not a fan of modern dance. (Yeah, the Paul Taylor piece was a little strange, but you can't stop thinking about it, can you Jonas?)

Anyway, this is the sneaky picture from the end of the SF Ballet practice. (The actual practice was much more eventful.)

And here is a picture of Company C dancing their tushes off.

Oh, how I wish I could go back in time, start taking dance at an early age, grow five extra inches, and become a real dancer....

Hell has frozen over

2006-04-19T22:19:00.000-07:00

I cooked AGAIN today... mostly out of guilt because Jonas and his dad both work so hard. Not that I am not busy with cleaning, jobsearching, shopping, etc., but I do have just a little more free time than they do. :)

Tonight, I cooked Mushroom Meatloaf AND Creamy Tomato Basil Soup. I mean, I actually cooked them. And I even touched the raw meat, and minced, sauteed, baked, and everything. Even more surprisingly, they both turned out to be very good.

I made a few substitutions to make both of the recipes a little healthier. For example, I used fat free half and half instead of heavy whipping cream for the soup. (I don't want to kill anyone.) Oh, and I used canned diced tomatoes for the soup instead of fresh tomatoes, because I am still a little lazy.

Here are some picts of the final results:

Also, here is a picture of a casserole I made last week.

I am still not a gourmet chef, but it is a step up from frozen dinners.

Seriously Scared

2006-04-17T18:11:00.000-07:00

This is all I have been hearing on the news, all day:
Study: Bay Area Quake Would Be Staggering

Apparently, tomorrow is the 100th anniversary of a big earthquake that happened in the Bay Area in 1906.
The Great 1906 San Francisco Earthquake

Now I just have to remember to keep bugging Jonas about getting his parents' rickety old house bolted down.

Can't Sleep

2006-04-13T03:00:00.000-07:00

I can't sleep, because Jonas is out of town.....

It is a little weird to sleep at his place when he is not here.

I'm watching the early morning news, but I haven't gone to bed yet. God, I wonder how early those news people have to get up.

Getting LOST

2006-04-12T20:21:00.000-07:00

Even though ABC's LOST is becoming more obscure with each episode, it is still one of my favorite TV shows. Sadly, I have not been able to watch it lately, because I have been busy moving, unpacking, cleaning out Jonas' room, etc...

But, guess what??!!! There is good news for those of us who cannot afford TiVo (or a VCR). You can download episodes of LOST and other popular TV shows via iTunes!!!! (I know, most of my friends already know about this kind of dorky stuff).

Anyway, today I downloaded the LOST episodes I missed, and I was SO HAPPY! :) What a wonderful way to spend a rainy day! But be warned, it takes over an hour to download each episode, and I am not even using dial-up anymore. But it is totally worth the $1.99 and the hour wait.

Daughter-in-law Duties

2006-04-11T23:09:00.000-07:00

Don't worry... Jonas and I didn't secretly elope or get engaged. However, since I moved in with Jonas and his family, I think I am on the fast track to becoming a devoted daughter-in-law.

For example, I helped clean the house last weekend and I am even doing dishes. And since Jonas is traveling for work and Jonas' mom is overseas visiting family, I actually made dinner tonight for myself and Jonas' dad.

This is a big deal to me, because I really hate taking any longer to prepare food than it takes to eat it. I have lived on my own for over seven years, and I have been happy eating frozen fake meat products, vegetables, yogurt, cereal, pasta, frozen dinners, fruit, chocolate, and dining out. I have rarely taken more than twenty minutes to cook myself a meal. Seriously. But tonight I spent at least 45 minutes, making pasta, vegetables, and a casserole. I even used the oven to make the casserole. And then I cleaned everything up, without using a dishwasher.

I am not sure if I am ready to be this domestic, but I guess for now it is my ticket to free room and board.

We've Arrived!

2006-03-30T15:59:00.000-08:00

Jonas and I finally made it safely back to the bay area Wednesday evening. I cannot believe we drove my rusty old car all the way from MI to CA. I am also a little overwhelmed by the fact that I actually live in the bay area now.

I began the road trip by driving to Ann Arbor and Grand Rapids to say goodbye to as many people as I could in the short amount of time I had before I left. Then I met up with my dad and we drove through MI, IN, IL, IA, NE, and CO. I met up with Jonas in Denver and my dad flew back to MI. After spending some time in Denver, Jonas and I planned on taking the northern route to the bay area. However, high winds, snowy weather, and closed roads, made going above the rockies or through them less than desirable. So, we ended up going south through NM and AZ to CA. The detour made our trip a little longer, but the scenery itself made it worth the extra mileage.

Below are a few pictures from the trip. The midwestern leg of the trip was a little boring in terms of scenery, but CO, NM, AZ, and CA were pretty breathtaking.

This is a large book outside of Denver Public Library. Of course we visited the library!

Red Rocks park and amphitheater in Denver. People actually run here as a way to exercise, but Jonas and I were about to pass out just climbing a few stairs.

Leaving Denver and heading south...

Jonas celebrated his b-day in Albuquerque, NM. He was a good sport about driving all day on his b-day.

Riding the tramway to Sandia Peak in NM.

We were a little out of breath at the top, but the view was totally worth it.

More driving...

Jonas taking care of my car.

This is in Flagstaff, AZ. Which way do we go???

Still driving through AZ...

Driving through smelly cow pastures in CA.

Near Sequioa National Park in CA.

One last stop to enjoy the scenery before we made it home.

I hope you don't feel like you just watched a boring vacation slideshow. :)

Finally Moving

2006-03-16T20:58:00.000-08:00

I only moved once or twice when I was young, but I have moved 13 times since I was 17. Now my 14th move is a big one, because I am finally moving to CA.

I am very excited, but also scared. California is like a whole new world to me, with so many foreign concepts, like carpool lanes, fresh food, traffic school, earthquakes, smog checks, etc. And I have so many questions, like Do babies count as an extra passenger in the carpool lane?

I will be driving there, and loading my car with most of my stuff and shipping a few things too.

If anyone has ANY suggestions/advice about driving to SF and/or moving cross-country, PLEASE let me know. Because I have moved a lot, but never this far.

Flurry Festival

2006-03-11T20:49:00.000-08:00

What do people in Northern Michigan do near the end of a long, cold, icy, snowy winter?

They celebrate by freezing their asses off in creative ways during the annual Flurry Festival.

There were three events during the Flurry Festival today. There was the cardboard sled race (where people race sleds downhill, made of cardboard and duct tape), the polar bear dip (where a hole is cut in the ice and stupid people jump in the lake through the hole), and the outhouse race (where people build outhouses on skis and race them down the street. Very classy.)

My parents and I took some pictures of the first two events, but we were too cold to watch people race outhouses. Maybe next year. :)

This is the cardboard sled race.
Look at them go!

Another pict of sled race.

Two guys about to jump in the water.

They looked a little chilly coming out.

This guy looks like he is drowning, but he is not.
He actually jumped through a hole in the ice *on purpose*!

Long Distance

2006-03-09T21:42:00.000-08:00

I realized recently that the last time I shared the same zip code with Jonas was in the end of April 2005. So we have been in a long (very long) distance relationship for 10 months now. And on top of that, we haven't even seen eachother in over two months. For me (and probably for many others in similar situations), it is a miracle that we are still in a happy relationship.

I attempted long distance relationships in the past with three other people. (With the first guy, I relocated for undergrad; with the second guy, he relocated for grad school; and with the third guy, I relocated for grad school. Of course, none of these relationships worked out, because in relationships, flaws and compatibility problems are only magnified with distance.

But I am happy to say that Jonas and I are doing well. My internal clock is permanently on pacific time... but I have always been kind of nocturnal anyway.

I was trying to be optimistic, and I thought of two good things about being in a long distance relationships.

You can save money on razors (and other personal care products), because there is no need to shave your legs (or primp) AND you can build a super strong friendship with your s.o., through long phone conversations and letters.

I just wished I remembered what Jonas looked like. ;)

Snow, Snow, Everywhere!

2006-02-18T10:11:00.000-08:00

Well, I finally unburied my car earlier this week, when the roads were in good enough condition to drive my non-four-wheel-drive car.

And now, once again, my car has turned into a mound of snow, with a hint of blue metal on each side of the mound.

I thought I would share a couple snow pictures, because there is not much else to do up here, except take snow pictures. Oh, and Jonas loves snow pictures too.

This is my parents' house.

This is through the side window.

It has snowed even more since I took these pictures, but right now I am too cold (and lazy) to go out and take more.

Unemployment

2006-02-12T23:18:00.000-08:00

Well, I am still unemployed, since I am waiting for Jonas to settle down in a permanent job, before I make my big move. I will most likely move to CA, but I am in a holding pattern for a little while longer.

So, I thought I would make a list of things you can do while you are unemployed, with no one to take care of, in a small town, in the middle of the winter.

And of course, these all are things that I have done in the past month…

1. Spend time with family and friends.

2. Organize thousands of e-mail messages by folders/tags and delete the no longer relevant messages. (I LOVE organizing!)

3. Listen to hundreds of songs on iTunes and assign ratings to them. (At least I don’t have as much music as some people… and by some people, I mean Jonas.)

4. Go through old print/digital documents and shred/delete the irrelevant ones.

5. Scan old non-digital photos and organize the new digital files by date and event. (Yes, I know, I was born to be a librarian.)

6. Rip your friends and family’s music.

7. Burn awesome mix CD’s. (For a future road trip, when I have time and money.)

8. Check credit report and fix errors. (From when my idiot ex-fiancé went on a shopping spree in my name and decided not to pay.) BTW, the official free credit report website, as cited by the FTC is www.annualcreditreport.com.

9. Apply for a Passport. (It is sad…I have not yet traveled out of the North America, but I have BIG plans for the future.)

10. When in doubt, do crafts! (With my mom’s "crafty" and patient help, I have made jewelry to match specific outfits, a cute little camera case/purse, and a photo collage for the cover of my 2006 planner. Yes, I have A LOT of time on my hands.)
These are all of the things that I have made so far...

11. Exercise. (My skinny jeans from when I was 20 are getting slightly less painful to wear, yay!)
12. Eat dark chocolate.

13. Exercise again…

14. Teach my mom how to organize her e-mail into folders.

15. Teach my mom how to more efficiently organize files on her computer. (I am thinking that if I do this enough, I can put it on my resume under "library instruction".)

16. Get your hair done. (Making appointments is a breeze when you don’t have a job.)

17. Daydream… (about future jobs, where I am going to live, marriage, kids… oops, I probably just scared Jonas.)

18. Reflect. (Self-reflection is much cheaper than therapy.)

19. Watch TV (My favs: Lost, Project Runway, Grey’s Anatomy. I think I am starting to like this TV thing.)

20. Read. (O.k. I don’t do this as much as my other librarian friends do, but I am trying.)

21. Go to auctions. (My mom loves auctions and now I can see why. It is about exciting as our town gets.)

22. Make lists.

23. Take pictures of the snow for Jonas. (This is a NEVER-ENDING task, because he is obsessed with snow.)
Snow blowing is also a never ending task...

24. Sleep. (I am still catching up on my (lack of) sleep from grad school. Boring, but wonderful for me.)

25. Oh yeah, search and apply for jobs.

Red Envelopes

2006-02-07T21:35:00.000-08:00

Guess what I got in the mail today from Jonas' family!!!!??

And they had cash money in them too!

Additional holidays is another delightful benefit of dating someone from a different cultural background. Oh, I am so happy...

New Traditions

2006-01-31T20:58:00.000-08:00

A few years ago, I barely knew anything about Chinese New Year. Big surprise, right?

However, with the help of Jonas and other Chinese friends, I have been learning about this complicated and interesting holiday.

This Chinese New Year, I did not go out to eat at a Chinese restaurant (only because the two Chinese restaurants in my small town get way too many unwelcome visits from the Health Department)

However, I did wear bright colors all day and I even refrained from washing my hair.

I also talked to Jonas' mom and dad and said "gung hay fat choy" to the best of my "gwuy muy" ability. I am sometimes scared to speak Chinese with my white girl accent, but Jonas' parents seemed very happy, especially since it is so important to get in touch with friends and family and send them warm and hopeful wishes during Chinese New Year. (See Jonas, I am learning.)

Learning and practicing new cultural traditions is truly an exciting part of being in a cross-cultural relationship.

I am doing my best to practice the traditions of Chinese New Year, but I am left wondering... Where are my (cash, money) red envelopes???

Still in Michigan...

2006-01-18T16:11:00.000-08:00

I know, I’ve been neglecting our blog again…

Since I left my corporate library job in mid-December, I have been traveling around Michigan, doing what my sister refers to as "couch surfing."

If I had enough money saved, I would travel around the U.S. or maybe even the world. However, traveling around MI and visiting friends and family has been rewarding all by itself.

During the holidays, I traveled up north and stayed with my family. Then, right after X-Mas, I went back downstate and stayed with my old roommate for a week in Macomb, and then I stayed in A2 for a week. Near the end of my week in A2, I met Jonas at DTW.

I was, of course, thrilled to see Jonas for a few days, because I had not seen him since Thanksgiving. While he was in MI, we drove to St. Joe and Grand Rapids. After a much too short stay in GR, I dropped Jonas off at the airport, and I drove back up north during a short window of time when the driving conditions were reasonable.

Now I am back up north with my family, using… brace yourself… Dial-Up.

Although, I will be the first to admit that I am beginning to like the slow pace of life up here. I am even getting into crafting. Phase 1 of my unemployment has been going well so far…

Michigan Re-visited

2006-01-13T00:44:00.000-08:00

So I spent a few days going back to the good old MI. Much to my surprise, I did not see much snow. I probably have acclimated to the CA weather already so it was a bit cold for me, although the temperature was above freezing. I had a great time at MI as I was able to spend a few days with Melanie, especially since I was getting a bit depressed having to spend New Years all by myself.

We did some traveling in MI, starting from Ann Arbor to revisit some good old SI folks like Jude, Serene (honorary SI student), Iris and Olivier; to Saint Joseph to see the vast Lake Michigan; and up to Grand Rapids to visit the city which Mel spent 4 years in.

Picture below shows the quaint little town of Saint Joseph and on right, Lake Michigan.

We had our fun while we were together, too bad it was only a few days. I eagerly look forward to the day that Melanie moves to live with me!

I miss you Melanie!

How to date white women for Asian men

2006-01-05T12:09:00.000-08:00

Someone bought to my attention a book that is currently available at Amazon: "How to Date a White Woman: A Practical Guide for Asian Men".

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0919637264/qid=1136483269/sr=8-1/ref=pd_bbs_1/104-6375362-8011962?n=507846&s=books&v=glance

Though applicable, I don't think I need to read this book. Afterall, I conquered the daunting challenge of approaching a white woman and making meaningful conversations in a very smooth fashion. I even dated one and even did the unthinkable - getting a white girlfriend (gasp!) . (Actually she flirted with me in the DIAD - but that is another story, haha)

Maybe I should consider writing a book - "How to get white girls to flirt with you: a practical guide for asian men".

I Decided Not to Stay

2005-12-12T22:26:00.000-08:00

So I realized that Jonas and I haven’t updated our blog lately. It is probably because Jonas has been very busy with work, and because there have been some major changes in my life in the past few weeks.

I am not staying at my draining corporate research job (my last day was 12/09), I am moving out of my current apartment (which is pretty sad because I am living with one of my long time best friends), and eventually, I will be moving to California to start a new chapter of my life with my Mr. Right (yes, I mean Jonas). I am excited and scared to make such a major change, but I am pretty sure that the risk will be worth it. I am just hoping I can find my dream public library job before I run out of money.

As most of my friends know, I am a planner. So I have developed a plan for this transition. The preliminary plan has five phases:

Phase 1: Move back up north with my parents. This will be interesting since I haven’t lived with them since I was 17. But I am looking forward to living rent free and catching up on some quality family time before I move across the country.

Phase 2: Move to California with Jonas and his family. This should be interesting since his mom and I struggle to communicate, but maybe it will help me improve my extremely limited Cantonese and help her improve her somewhat limited English.

Phase 3: Find a job. Fast. I hope to get a public library job, but I could do the corporate thing for a year or two if I have to.

Phase 4: Move into my own apartment. I just hope I can find something affordable.

Phase 5: Live happily ever after with Jonas.

Wish me luck. :)

Non-traditional TG dinner

2005-12-01T22:13:00.000-08:00

Melanie did a good job describing the wonderful Thanksgiving holiday that we had. The eating and shopping was certainly exciting. One interesting thing Melanie didnt mention in the previous post was that she had a very non-traditional American TG dinner. For dinner, there were roasted turkey, honey baked ham, tossed salad, and fruit salad, which were all typical TG food. And then there were the chicken chow mein, steamed chinese vegetables, home made sushi and the stewed pork and tofu.

This is the type of meal that is usually served during TG at home. So to me, well, it was just another TG dinner. But to Melanie it was an eye opener. She kept asking me, "Where is the stuffings? And the mashed potatoes? You have to have mashed potatoes for thanksgiving." Well, sorry Melanie, no mashed potatoes or stuffings when it is dinner at Kong's.

Besides the food, we also had our TG dinner at around 7pm, which was the usual time that we had dinner, so no big deal. But last week I found out from Melanie that in fact most Americans have their TG dinner early in the afternoon like around 2pm. I was very surprised when I first learned about that. Oh well, I guess as long as my mom is cooking, dinner will always be served at the evening :)

Well, here are the pictures of the amount of food that we had for TG dinner. There were only 7 people for dinner that night. I guess my mom wanted to make sure that we have enough food to eat for the rest of the week.

Melanie really liked this one Chinese vegetarian restaurant that I took her in SF. In particular, she loves this one lemon chicken dish, which of course, was not really chicken meat. Made from compressed soy bean, the vegetarian "chicken" has the same consistence as real chicken meat and it looks very similar to the real thing too. I think that Melanie ptobably loves this dish more than me :P

I had a great time spending time with my Melanie. The only bad part is seeing her leaving :( Hopefully she'll be moving here soon so we can start a new chapter of our lives.

Thanksgiving with Jonas

2005-11-30T17:58:00.000-08:00

I am back in MI now, after spending a spectacular five days with Jonas, his family, and our CA friends.

As usual, Jonas was determined to squeeze in as much tourist activity as possible, so each day was packed with eating, shopping, and visiting people and places.

I had more "real" food in CA than I have had in the past few months. (My usual meals tend to be easy snacks, like cereal, vegetarian chicken nuggets, string cheese, yogurt, etc.) But in CA, I was treated to balanced meals of real homemade Chinese food (yum). And we also went out for Chinese, Japanese, and Italian food. Oh, and of course Thanksgiving dinner was a huge feast. (Jonas told his mom that she could have fed the entire neighborhood with her dinner, and he was not exaggerating.)

We also met up with Jonas' friends and some of our friends from grad school who now live in CA. It is comforting to know that when I do move to CA, I will already have some very nice friends who live close by.

And of course, Jonas took me sightseeing and shopping everywhere, including SF Chinatown, Japantown, Berkeley, the Great Mall, and even San Francisco Public Library!

But the best part of the entire trip was spending time with Jonas.

Traveling to and from CA was pretty rough. The roads were glare ice on the way to the airport in MI and the plane had to be de-iced before takeoff. The trip back was worse. There were storms in the south that led to two very bumpy plane rides and long delays. On the way back to MI, I left Jonas' house at 6AM PAC and did not get to my apartment until 9:30PM EST.

When I got home, I asked myself, was all of that traveling worth the few days I was able to spend with Jonas?

The answer is yes. Just barely... but yes. :-)

Dinner with a Chinese family

2005-11-19T00:16:00.000-08:00

I am so very excited because I get to see Jonas in less than a week, for my first Chinese Thanksgiving!

I was a little surprised to find out that there will be no mashed potatoes or stuffing for Thanksgiving, but I decided, who cares? Because Jonas' mom's cooking kicks ass. Seriously.

To celebrate my first Chinese Thanksgiving a little early, I thought I would share the most surprising new things I discovered when eating meals with Jonas' (very Chinese) family.

I was definitely surprised:

1. The first time I saw an entire cooked chicken served with it's head still on. I felt too sad to eat it because it was staring at me during dinner, secretly judging me. (Jonas told his mom this and she thought it was funny)

2. Same as #1, except replace chicken with fish. (And even more surprised when I found out that some Chinese people eat the fish's cheeks and its eyeballs!!)

3. When I watched Jonas and his entire family spit out chicken bones everywhere, during a normal family meal.

4. When I realized that Jonas' family does not drink beverages with dinner at home, but ALWAYS drinks a bowl of soup before dinner. (Yum tong!)

5. When I found out that there were so many rules about pouring tea.

6. Basically EVERYTHING about dim sum...

So if a sheltered white American ever has dinner with a Chinese family, please remember these pointers.
Don't be scared of cooked animal heads, feel free to spit out chicken bones like it's no big deal, and avoid pouring the tea. Trust me on these things. :)

Melanie's Transformation

2005-11-14T23:18:00.000-08:00

I was catching up with a friend whom I havent seen for years. During our conversation, I mentioned to him that I'm currently dating a white girl from Michigan. To that he immediately asked, "is she a hippie?" After I disclosed to him about Melanie's prior misconception of chopsticks (see her previous post), he commented, "She is as white as it can be!"

But come to think of it, Melanie has come a long way since her "hippie" days. At first she didn't know how to use a chopstick. But after taking my chopstick lessons along with her talent, she is now a chopsticks master who can decapitate an enemy with one chop. Furthermore, she has picked up quite a few Cantonese terms and phrases that she could order beer in Hong Kong and calling herself a white chick in Cantonese.

I couldnt be prouder of my protege.

Current fav album: 周傑倫 - 十一月的蕭邦 (Jay Chou - November's Chopin)

Jello San Francisco

2005-11-11T13:34:00.000-08:00

Our friend Iris shared with us some very interesting photos of San Francisco, created with Jello. The Victorian houses and the Golden Gate bridge looks very structurally unsound. But I think in a major earthquake, the buildings in SF would probably behave like Jello too.

Should I Stay or Should I Go??

2005-11-10T23:14:00.000-08:00

I wish I could talk about my job more openly, especially since I do some pretty interesting research. However, all of the research I do is confidential, so I have to keep my lips sealed, or be extremely careful about what I say.

But I do have a job dilemma that I can talk about, which has been on my mind quite often lately.

As most of my friends know, my employment contract ends in the middle of December, but I have been asked to stay with my company longer...

Staying longer is practical for many reasons. I like my company, I like the people I work with, and I would have a chance to save up more money, before I make the next big step in my life. Staying longer would also help to enhance my resume and to build up more job experience before I try to find another job.

I don't stay, I will spend some time up north with my family and then move to California to be with Jonas and work in a public library. However, being jobless and trying to drive to California in the middle of the winter leaves something to be desired.

On the other hand, I feel like I have this great life waiting for me in California with Jonas. I have always lived in Michigan and I am so ready to live somewhere completely different. And I am not sure how long I can do the long distance relationship thing while keeping my sanity.

I feel like I have this exciting life in a new place with my perfect boyfriend, but that life is thousands of miles away. I also feel like I have spent the last 10 years or so (high school + college + grad school) preparing for my future and I am just once again putting my future on hold.

But then again, my life is not that bad now. It is much better than being unemployed and unstable all over again...

I am not sure if I should be logical or emotional in this situation...

Well, if this is the biggest thing I have to worry about, then my life is really not bad at all, right?

Photos of Arizona

2005-11-08T22:35:00.000-08:00

Well, I won't say much about Arizona, because it has been over a week since the trip, and Jonas already gave a very nice description of what a wonderful time we had.

However, I thought I would share a few pictures of the trip ...and I am hoping that Jonas does not mind. :)

A trip to paradise

2005-10-30T23:17:00.000-08:00

After staying in a resort that has 9 heated swimming pools, a 27 hole golf course, a huge spa and massage center, and 10 restaurants, Mel and I had a taste of living as the rich and wealthy. Good thing Mel's company is paying for all the expenses, since a bottle of Evian alone costed $3.50 and a breakfast buffet is charged for $23 per person. Take a look at the place yourself: www.thephoenician.com

We went on a a jeep tour to the Sonora Desert, where we saw nothing but cacti. We did learn that, contrary to common belief, cactus is not a good source for water in desert since it has much higher concentration of salt than in sea water. So what they showed in the old John Wayne movies were completely misleading.

Besides seeing the desert, Mel and I got a Swedish massage performed by masseuse of the same sex. Needless to say, I got a man's hands rubbed all over my body (good thing he stayed off the important areas). I certainly felt violated. I later found out that you could choose whether you want a male or female masseuse. Mel had to choose the same sex masseuse. Otherwise it would have been a much more pleasant experience for me ;)

I cant believe how fast time passed. I really wanted to stay with Mel at the resort forever, certainly sponsered by Mel's generous company. A wishful thinking.

I hate parting with Mel, but I do eagerly look forward to our next meeting.

Current fav album: Supernature by Goldfrapp

The day has come!

2005-10-28T00:55:00.000-07:00

Oh my god! In several hours, I will see Melanie and her coworkers. I am definitely excited to see Mel since it has been 55 days and 5 hrs since I've last seen her. I get to spend time with Melanie in a nice warm sunny resort, with 8 swimming pools, spa treatment, desert Jeep tour and free meals - all covered by Melanie's company. That's why I tell her to stay as a corporate librarian - bling bling!

Besides Mel, I will have to meet her co-workers, which is going to be an interesting experience. You see, Mel always mentions me to her coworkers and has told everyone everything about me. So of course these people are very eager to meet the so called "Mr. Right". I cant help but feel that I have to put up my best in front of them. That's why I tried to pimp out by getting a $12 hair trim from the local chinese hair salon. Gotta represent since I'm probably the only Asian in this company trip, haha. Hopefully they wont be disappointed ;)

Sunny Skies + Jonas = True Happiness for me

2005-10-27T19:33:00.000-07:00

For the past few days, all I have been able to think about is this weekend. I not only get to go to Arizona (which will be the perfect escape from Michigan's grey skies and chilly weather). I also get to see Jonas!

Jonas and I are both lucky enough to be going on an all expenses paid trip to Arizona, courtesy of my company.

I may have dreamed of being an academic librarian since high school (and then a public librarian in grad school), but I have been a researcher at a corporate library since May, and I have to admit that it has its perks. Everyone at my office (and their s.o.'s) are spending Fri, Sat, and Sun in Arizona for a "team weekend." Oh, how I love teamwork. :)

Jonas is flying to AZ from CA and is meeting us at the airport. I haven't seen him since September 1st, so when I see him I am going to FREAK OUT! (You know, in a very respectable, reserved, in-front-of-my-coworkers way... I hope.)

I am feeling so excited about the trip and I can't wait to see my hot boyfriend. Jonas and I will probably post some details of the trip when we return...

Myths about Chinese culture from the once naive white girl

2005-10-24T17:48:00.000-07:00

I grew up in a very small town in the Midwest, where the population at the time was around 15,000 people. And sadly, it was the largest city for hundreds of miles. I attended a high school were everyone was white or native american, and where many of the teachers had lived in my hometown for their entire lives. During my undergrad, I went to a small college where the vast majority of the students were white. Needless to say, I never learned about Chinese culture until I met Jonas.

As you read the following Chinese culture myths, please keep in mind that they are based on ignorance and not stupidity.

These myths are things that I actually thought were true about Chinese culture. They are all things that Jonas taught me were untrue, as he tried not to laugh too hard. :) (Although this situation is often reversed, when Jonas asks me questions about American slang, which is pretty funny also).

If you are Chinese, you will probably find this very amusing. If you are a caucasian, sheltered, midwesterner, maybe you will learn something new. Ok, here they are:

Myth #1: Chinese cuisine includes General Tso's Chicken, Sweet and Sour Pork, and Crab Cheese Wontons. Yum! The truth: There is MUCH more to Chinese food than what I ate at my favorite Chinese restaurant in college. (Jonas, maybe you can name a few real dishes sometime). My favorite discovery was the amount of tofu dishes in real Chinese cooking. Double Yum!

Myth #2: Chopsticks are only used in rural parts of China and perhaps during traditional/special occasion meals. (I am horribly embarrassed to say that I once thought this was true.) The truth: Even people in the most modernized and Westernized Chinese cities use chopsticks when eating.

Myth #3: All Chinese people speak one language- Chinese of course! The truth: There are a variety of different Chinese dialects. I believe the two main dialects are Cantonese and Mandarin, while Chinese characters have the same meaning for all of the dialects.

Myth #4: All Chinese people are well-mannered, soft spoken, and extremely polite. The truth: Just like any other culture, there are polite people and there are rude people, there are quiet people and there are loud people. I do still believe that the Chinese people I know are slightly less obnoxious than many of the White American people I know. (Like, for example, the white guy at the bar this weekend who actually yelled at me for refusing to dance with him.) But maybe this has more to do with the company I keep and the places that I am meeting people, especially since I met all of my Chinese friends in graduate school (as opposed to the bar). There are subtle cultural difference in terms of manners, but it is pretty complex and too difficult to generalize.

Well, I think those are all of the myths that I can think of right now. But I might do a "Chinese Myths Revealed- Part 2", if I can think of more myths that I once really thought were true. :)

Congratulations! It's a blog!

2005-10-21T13:10:00.000-07:00

Jonas and I have been together for a while now (the exact amount of time probably depends on which one of us you ask).

We have conquered some tough relationship trials (from making it through graduate school together to struggling for parental acceptance of our cross cultural relationship). And we were basically inseparable during our time in grad school.

But now we are facing a temporary a long distance relationship, and I want to be able to share something with Jonas, even though we are over 2,000 miles apart. Since we are too far apart to share a plant or a pet (or I guess anything tangible that is not practical to split in half), I thought we could share this blog.

And there is the added benefit of keeping in touch with friends, while sharing our stories of cultural ignorance, shock, and acceptance.

Me blogging!? Hell no!

2005-10-20T22:09:00.000-07:00

I remember awhile ago one of my friends urged me to start a blog. I always thought that you should be funny, witty, and insightful in order to write an interesting blog. To be honest, I dont think I'm that funny, witty, or insightful. Along with the fact that I don't have much to say, and worse of all, i kant wite. So I said "To hell with blogging, it's for losers!" [Except for bloggers like Jude, Serene, Stan, Stan and Jeff - you guys are winners. Well, maybe not Stan...haha]

At any rate, here I am writing my first entry in a blog - all because of Melanie. She told me that it would be nice to have our own little blog where we can share to everyone about things that are occuring in our lives, how we are coping with this whole long D thing and how we find amusement in our cultural differences. I guess this is gonna be our little project, our creation.

So why havent I wrote anything about our relationship or things that are happening in our exciting lives? Well, everything needs a proper introduction and I'm giving it one now. I'll save the stories about my trip to Boston til next time...

(Since music and I are inseparable, for every entry I'll post my favorite song/album at the time of writing )

Current fav album: Catching Tales by Jamie Cullum