Summer 2008

It is the end of July and summer has been passing me by.  I have only gone strawberry picking once this year and I have yet to go pick blueberries.  The best ones are probably gone by now...sigh.  I didn't even go to the beach yet.  Even though I don't particularly like laying out on the beach, I think I should go at least once right? 

Work has gotten a lot better since Susan came back.  Perry Page with WPI called me today to pester me...I was so happy to pass him off to Susan, ha!  I was asked to be a model again so a lot of pictures were taken today.  I need to do it again in another setting tomorrow.  These are going to be cover shots so you know what that means?  That's right, I will officially be a cover girl.  I always like to see them using my picture.  I think it's really funny actually.  It's just so ironic because I was never considered the pretty one. 

My 25th birthday is coming up.  I always get into this mood where I need to evaluate what my accomplishments were in the past year for my birthday.  A lot has changed and I am so much happier now.  Even though I didn't get into school this year, I feel that I have grown and learned so much more about how the world works.  I have matured so much personally and I have gotten a lot braver.  I just don't feel like I am the the same person I was a year ago.  I have set a lot of goals, I didn't attain all of them, but I did attain the most important and life changing ones. 

My brother and his wife is expecting their second child this Jan/Feb.  I hope it is another boy so they can have a third child.  They make cute babies :)

Grandma's health has declined.  She has arthritis in her knee and she hasn't been able to walk.  She is in pain everyday and she refuses to get the fluid taken out of her knee until Yau has the baby.   Sigh.  I fear for that one inevitable day.  I get teary eyed even just thinking about it....

People just don't understand

Mother's Day Weekend

I went home to NJ for Mother's day weekend and it was a nice and chill weekend. 

I finally showed the pearls I told my grandmother about.  She really really liked them.  She kept passing them around, showing people, telling them the story of how I was "eating" oysters and got a pink pearl in one and a pair of black pearls from another.  Then, she put them in her pocket....theif!  Haha, she is too cute.  Her name is "po chu" after all.  She is going to make earring and a pendant out of them.

Types of Beverages

It is funny how your tastes changes with time.  Case in point: wines and chai.

I have tried Chai when it first became popular and I was not a fan.  I guess I just didn't like the taste of the spices and so forth.  Tea to me should be either black tea with milk and sugar, or loose tea leaves with water.  However, since it is rainy cats and dogs today and I actually was cold in the office, I decided to be brave and make a cup of chai.  I was surprisingly delighted as I want another cup now. 

The other one is wine.  I have also associated wine with a certain level of pretentiouness.  Alcoholics who want to think they are classy drink wine.  My wine experiences have not always been the best.  The first time I tried in was in a college dorm room with wine from a box..yes, it goes back to people trying to be classy and pretentious.  However, ~ two years ago when the company I worked for then took us out to dinner, my coworker was a wine enthusiast, got drunk and ordered large amounts of expensive alcohol for the table.  Crystal didn't impress me, maybe champagne is another thing that I will like with time.  However, the $50/glass, 200 year old armenac was AMAZING.  That is one I won't forget.  The other was this German icewine that pairs really well with oysters.  That was another great one. 

Still after that, I didn't really drink wine, to me, they are sour...until I have this very nice experience on a picnic.  I guess I really didn't have an option, it was either a red wine or a white wine.  I didn't care which one we had, so we opted for the red.  I drank it, it was sour...but as I paired it with meats and especially blue cheese, the taste was completely different.  I guess food tastes better with wine. 

Also, since I am technically in the professional world, it may be beneficial to know a think or two about wines.  I'm not much of a drink anyway, but I think it is still important to know about it.  So, this year, I am going to learn more about wines. 

Temecula is know for wine tastings, I may just have to check that out the next time I visit. 

21 Critical Life Lessons You Didn’t Learn in School

I came across this article today and thought it was inspiring.

Love and Relationships

1. Choosing a Mate: Your ability to select a suitable spouse will greatly influence your financial and emotional wellbeing, yet parents and teachers seldom mention it. A few common sense guidelines: pick someone who’s a joy to be around and who makes you happy; know the person well; ensure compatibility beyond the physical because beauty and youth are fleeting, while the mind and heart endure. To be worked on, in the future, when I am done living for me.

2. Evaluating Relationships: Given the tremendous importance of relationships, it’s surprising we receive so little instruction on how to evaluate, prune, and nurture them.  Start by asking yourself whether each of your relationships drags you down or lifts you up. Surrounding yourself with positive relationships is half the battle.   Pruning shears have been sharpened and used when needed in the past.

3. Conversation: Successful relationships require solid communication: use body language, appropriate tone of voice, and eye contact; be friendly and considerate of alternative viewpoints; persuade gently; listen, listen, listen.  Hmm, gotta listen. Okay.  I probably have to speak better as well. 

4. Handling Difficult People: An essential life skill, handling difficult people can be taught, but seldom is. I’ve written about this before, and there are several good books on the subject, including Robert Bramson’s Coping with Difficult People.  I've have a good amount of practice with this one, though, it still needs improvement. 

5. Networking: Ask for business cards, maintain a Rolodex (electronic or otherwise), and stay in touch with people who respect you.  Association breeds opportunity, personally and professionally.  Ask for business cards.

6. Compassion: We are born egocentric, but by the time we graduate high school, we should be capable of understanding, appreciating, and sympathizing with others. Compassion helps us understand our place in the world and ensures we are emotionally well rounded.  Done!  Haha.

7. Teamwork: Work environments have gravitated toward small teams. Sports, team projects, and group goals are great ways to learn teamwork, but are seldom adequate.  Evaluate interpersonal skills regularly; correct as needed.  Done!

8. Giving: As a child, I always thought the expression “it’s better to give than to receive” was trite and silly. As an adult, I recognize the expression’s value. Having the capacity to give means you possess; having the will to give means you want to make a difference; having the desire to give means you care.  Hmm, gotta give more time, effort, talent, $, and compassion. 

Money Management

9. The Material Myth: Pursuing happiness by acquiring material things (granite countertops, plasma televisions, designer clothing) is like jogging to the grocery store on your treadmill: it’s not going to happen.   Agreed.  We learned this early on. 

10. Saving: Keep 3 to 6 months salary in an emergency fund, in case you lose your job; use online calculators to determine the proper amount to save for retirement; keep money on hand for unexpected expenses, such as car and home repair.  Haha, I'm Asian, we don't need to be told this one. 

11. Debt: Financial gurus suggest that total debt, excluding first mortgage, should not exceed 20% of take-home pay. This includes car payments, home equity loans, second mortgages, credit card debt, and so forth. Upper income consumers may be able to handle higher debt loads due to greater expendable income, while lower income consumers may be wise to carry less. And my number one rule of debt: credit cards should never be used as supplemental income.  This is a good one since so many people are in trouble with their finances.  I think I have done a good job at managing debt. 

12. Frugality: Live below your means. Look for bargains. Shop at discount stores. Clearly delineate needs (transportation) from wants (a big SUV). Feel free to indulge occasionally, but mind the consequences.  It must be in the blood or something, I think I'm set here.

13. Debtor Responsibility: I believe every person who borrows money has a social, moral, and ethical responsibility to make payments on time and in the correct amount for the duration of the contract. Generally speaking, the credit bureaus agree.  I agree as well.  Never live beyond your means, especially if you can only only attain things by getting into debt and have no way of every paying back. 

Career

14. Passion: School sharpens skills, but seldom taps into your most powerful reserve of all: Passion. If you want to be happy at the top of Maslow’s pyramid, find a job you love.  Everyday I think to myself how I am so lucky to find a job and a boss that I love.  Not everyone is as lucky as I am in this department. 

15. Practicality: While you’re chasing self-actualization, paying bills remains important. Independent research using the Occupational Outlook Handbook or other resources can help you figure out how to make a living in whatever industry inspires you.  I think I'm good, for now at least.

16. Politics of Advancement: Advancement in the working world often depends as much upon interpersonal skills as it does upon job skills.  Persuasion, argument, and expectation setting are crucial.  To be worked on. 

17. Entrepreneurial: Unless you’re related to business owners or have learned about business ownership on your own, there’s a good chance that owning a business seems puzzling, daunting, and overwhelming. The fact that young people in a capitalistic society aren’t given the basic tools of ownership is unfortunate.  Find a mentor.  Attend a workshop.  Read.  Mmm, I don't know about this one.

Personal Success

18. Positive Thinking: Attitude determines altitude. If you believe you can do it, most of the time, you really can. I 100% agree with this one, I think that is how I landed my job.  Maybe I should keep this one in mind when I go "running," bleh.

19. Personal Accountability: Most success boils down to perseverance, determination, tenacity, and other products of personal accountability.  Done!

20. Setting and Achieving Goals: Goal setting, research, planing, commitment, and hard work are all required to reach any big, life-altering objective. In other words, all the schooling in the world won’t help you reach your dreams if you don’t take time to determine what you want and how to obtain it. This is my one of my top belifes in life.  Only dead fish swim with the current.

21. Health: Throughout my life, I’ve noticed that no single thing does as much to improve my outlook as getting healthy. Eat nutritious meals in proper portions. Drink plenty of water. Try to get 30 minutes of aerobic exercise daily (or at least every other day). Get plenty of sleep. High school health classes teach these concepts, but seldom make the connection between health and the rest of life; the connection is real. And it’s huge.  Okay.  I can always be better.