October 26, 2011
Rihanna's We Found Love music video reminds me of...
Cee Lo Green's No One's Gonna Love You (which is a cover from Band of Horses). Just a tad. Now, aren't you glad you're single!? Enjoy!
October 24, 2011
Lessons from a stranger
What goes around comes around Hey girl, is he everything you wanted in a man, something something hand. I wonder if he knew about this song? And he's right. It's similar to the treat others as you would want to be treated. If you get mad when someone cuts you off, you shouldn't be doing that to others. Believe in karma.
The answer "no" makes me want it more Okay, this does not pertain to abuse or any forced sexual encounter. But I told him about how difficult it was to get a part time job. For him, when someone tells him no, it drives him further to get that yes. He tells me of when he had to do cold calls everyday to advertise his business, and out of the twenty calls, only one or two people said yes. It didn't matter how many people rejected him. The few that accepted him made it all worth it.
Finish what you started That's what she said! I just ruined that joke, didn't I? When he said this, he was referring to relationships, specifically for men. For example, if you buy flowers for your girl every week, or call to say good night before bed, you can't stop doing that. Yes, you did all this to lure her in your special web, but you have to keep going even after you've got the girl. Finish what you started. Once you stop, she will notice and assume something is wrong. So advice for ya'll would be to not even start.
Men are dogs, women are cats Dogs chase cats, cats do not chase dogs. For some reason, women love the chase, and they love a man who will fight for them.
Make it happen but do it legally. If you want something, you have to make that happen.
When you have children, you have to give them the best even if that means giving it up for adoption because you don't have the means to take care of the child. In the end, you'll be happy and that child will be happy if he/she is raised in the right household. You can reconnect later, and if he/she does not want to connect with you, it is fine. No matter what, when you have a child, you have to reassure that they will be taken care of in every aspect. Be sure that you are ready to have kids because it is the biggest responsibility you'll ever have.
Don't be intimidated by anyone, we are all human This was geared towards men being intimidated by strong powerful women. Who cares if she is a doctor, or president of a country, she is still a woman and she has needs and wants a man. Her career, or anyone's career/education/financial status should not be a main focus in picking a mate. If I connect with you, that is all that matters. In the end, we are all equal, all human beings with similar needs.
You have to make yourself happy because your partner can never do that for you. They can add more happiness to your life, but they can not make you happy. And if they do make you happy, it will only be temporary. If this is the case, you need to get out of the relationship until you are happy with yourself. Don't expect someone else to fulfill that.
If you want to make money, focus on senior citizens (baby boomers) or generation y because the U.S. population is getting older and kids like us will always want the latest technology (this includes social media)
Don't stress over what you cannot control There is no need. You are wasting your energy over something that is out of your hands. No matter how much you stress, it will or will not happen. If are in a control of a situation, make sure you prepare and do what you can for the best results. If you have no control, let it go. What will happen will happen. Stop worrying.
The answer "no" makes me want it more Okay, this does not pertain to abuse or any forced sexual encounter. But I told him about how difficult it was to get a part time job. For him, when someone tells him no, it drives him further to get that yes. He tells me of when he had to do cold calls everyday to advertise his business, and out of the twenty calls, only one or two people said yes. It didn't matter how many people rejected him. The few that accepted him made it all worth it.
Finish what you started That's what she said! I just ruined that joke, didn't I? When he said this, he was referring to relationships, specifically for men. For example, if you buy flowers for your girl every week, or call to say good night before bed, you can't stop doing that. Yes, you did all this to lure her in your special web, but you have to keep going even after you've got the girl. Finish what you started. Once you stop, she will notice and assume something is wrong. So advice for ya'll would be to not even start.
Men are dogs, women are cats Dogs chase cats, cats do not chase dogs. For some reason, women love the chase, and they love a man who will fight for them.
Make it happen but do it legally. If you want something, you have to make that happen.
When you have children, you have to give them the best even if that means giving it up for adoption because you don't have the means to take care of the child. In the end, you'll be happy and that child will be happy if he/she is raised in the right household. You can reconnect later, and if he/she does not want to connect with you, it is fine. No matter what, when you have a child, you have to reassure that they will be taken care of in every aspect. Be sure that you are ready to have kids because it is the biggest responsibility you'll ever have.
Don't be intimidated by anyone, we are all human This was geared towards men being intimidated by strong powerful women. Who cares if she is a doctor, or president of a country, she is still a woman and she has needs and wants a man. Her career, or anyone's career/education/financial status should not be a main focus in picking a mate. If I connect with you, that is all that matters. In the end, we are all equal, all human beings with similar needs.
You have to make yourself happy because your partner can never do that for you. They can add more happiness to your life, but they can not make you happy. And if they do make you happy, it will only be temporary. If this is the case, you need to get out of the relationship until you are happy with yourself. Don't expect someone else to fulfill that.
If you want to make money, focus on senior citizens (baby boomers) or generation y because the U.S. population is getting older and kids like us will always want the latest technology (this includes social media)
Don't stress over what you cannot control There is no need. You are wasting your energy over something that is out of your hands. No matter how much you stress, it will or will not happen. If are in a control of a situation, make sure you prepare and do what you can for the best results. If you have no control, let it go. What will happen will happen. Stop worrying.
October 23, 2011
Andy needed a photo for his Linkedin account
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| Tie time |
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| Can you sit there and look cool? |
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| Normal Andy |
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| Nice shorts |
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| Andy and his weapon |
October 16, 2011
October 15, 2011
I blame Steve Jobs
In his commencement speech at Stanford University, the man said:
"Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life. Don’t be trapped by dogma — which is living with the results of other people’s thinking. Don’t let the noise of others’ opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary."
Though I've always seen life in this light (special thanks to the American media) Steve Jobs gave it a stamp of approval. The man indeed put a ding in the universe and he's certainly inspired me to venture off, to stay hungry, to stay foolish. And foolish I am to be flying off to New York for an internship that pays significantly less my current one during this economic situation.
I am exchanging stability for uncertainty, income for experience, cars for subways, cardigans for coats, and LA for NYC.
I know. I've already written an invitation to myself: Welcome to the I'm-going-to-NYC-to-follow-my-dreams club. And it's not really following my dreams, it's more creating myself and figuring out what I'm made of. I really don't know exactly what I want to do, but I only have an idea. Remember my rant about me being super spoiled? Well, this will break that mold. My vague plan is to have the internship, work part time during the evenings and Fridays/Saturdays and explore New York Sundays. See, I've got it covered. I've got 3-5 months to make something out of nothing.
As for my parents, they don't understand it, but they're letting me go. My brother recorded it all so I got to be Kim Kardashian for twenty minutes. I really wanted to type out how the conversation went, but it's on film, and yes, I'm lazy again. However, after the confrontation, I wrote this draft on my blog:
Guilt. Nonchalant, Almost careless. Go and try. It's such an American thing. My father doesn't know, and I know he will only worry about the housing crisis. I, too, worry. It's selfish of me, but by me staying, what will that do? Progress is not made.
going to new york in two weeks.
lonely. sad. letting go. money situation.
mother supportive. not yelling.
moved on to car problems.
cardboard dividing the room.
mom mad she threw it down.
my own reality show.
don't wear heels.
my brother recording it all.
"why leave for a lesser income?"
major counts.
3 months will go by so quickly.
bring cats over.
she already bought a plane ticket.
her boyfriend lives there.
why leave when things are so good?
let her do it for 3 months she'll come back.
my mom silly, playing and patting his face.
how much is it?
enough. it's enough.
experience over money.
why?
caught on tape.
sound silly but let's see how it is.
sadness. a new chapter. prove them wrong. i'm so hopeful and i know it won't be so good.
Yeah, if you understood half of that, I congratulate you. Overall, it turned out to be one of the best conversations I've had with my parents. Instead of yelling at me when I proclaimed my plans, my father said in a calm voice, "But that's so far. I'll be sad."
"Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life. Don’t be trapped by dogma — which is living with the results of other people’s thinking. Don’t let the noise of others’ opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary."
Though I've always seen life in this light (special thanks to the American media) Steve Jobs gave it a stamp of approval. The man indeed put a ding in the universe and he's certainly inspired me to venture off, to stay hungry, to stay foolish. And foolish I am to be flying off to New York for an internship that pays significantly less my current one during this economic situation.
I am exchanging stability for uncertainty, income for experience, cars for subways, cardigans for coats, and LA for NYC.
I know. I've already written an invitation to myself: Welcome to the I'm-going-to-NYC-to-follow-my-dreams club. And it's not really following my dreams, it's more creating myself and figuring out what I'm made of. I really don't know exactly what I want to do, but I only have an idea. Remember my rant about me being super spoiled? Well, this will break that mold. My vague plan is to have the internship, work part time during the evenings and Fridays/Saturdays and explore New York Sundays. See, I've got it covered. I've got 3-5 months to make something out of nothing.
As for my parents, they don't understand it, but they're letting me go. My brother recorded it all so I got to be Kim Kardashian for twenty minutes. I really wanted to type out how the conversation went, but it's on film, and yes, I'm lazy again. However, after the confrontation, I wrote this draft on my blog:
Guilt. Nonchalant, Almost careless. Go and try. It's such an American thing. My father doesn't know, and I know he will only worry about the housing crisis. I, too, worry. It's selfish of me, but by me staying, what will that do? Progress is not made.
going to new york in two weeks.
lonely. sad. letting go. money situation.
mother supportive. not yelling.
moved on to car problems.
cardboard dividing the room.
mom mad she threw it down.
my own reality show.
don't wear heels.
my brother recording it all.
"why leave for a lesser income?"
major counts.
3 months will go by so quickly.
bring cats over.
she already bought a plane ticket.
her boyfriend lives there.
why leave when things are so good?
let her do it for 3 months she'll come back.
my mom silly, playing and patting his face.
how much is it?
enough. it's enough.
experience over money.
why?
caught on tape.
sound silly but let's see how it is.
sadness. a new chapter. prove them wrong. i'm so hopeful and i know it won't be so good.
Yeah, if you understood half of that, I congratulate you. Overall, it turned out to be one of the best conversations I've had with my parents. Instead of yelling at me when I proclaimed my plans, my father said in a calm voice, "But that's so far. I'll be sad."
October 12, 2011
I'm spoiled and it is rotten
My tolerant mother has taken care of me for twenty two years and never received an income or even a promotion for her magnanimous efforts of raising a poor Vietnamese speaking mercurial daughter. With great admittance, I am a spoiled brat.
After I turned 18 and went off to college, I really thought I was a true adult. But I found myself going home on weekends shamefully so my mother could do my laundry. I wake up past noon and next to my bed will be a plate of perfectly cut up gauva accompanied by the greatest concoction ever: salt, pepper, and cayenne pepper. It's truly a Vietnamese thing (the dip and the motherly behaviors). I figured this type of behavior would diminish by the time I turn 21, the age where I can legally drink, rent a car, buy a car without a co-signer, buy a house without a co-signer, and gamble. How come when I turned 21, all I did was drink until I couldn't anymore? I should have gone and rented a car!
The realization that I've yet to seriously grow up occurred one morning before I went off to work. My morning routine is trite and amazingly lazy: wake up at 6:35, drag myself to the restroom, pee, brush my teeth, wash my face, attempt to comb my hair, give up and tie it in a ponytail, change, and go to the kitchen. All of that takes an impressive ten minutes. I'm independent during those 10 minutes. On this particular morning, I slipped on a black dress because I didn't feel like using my muscles trying to squeeze into my fitted pants. As I walked into the kitchen, I stood by the cabinet, waiting for my mother. "Chờ đợi một phút" she says as she places bags of fruits and a napkin in my black lunch pail. "đồ ăn nóng" she says as she hands it to me. She basically told me to wait a minute and that the food is hot. I grabbed the handle, thanked her, grabbed my car keys, put on my black flats, and walked out the door. My mother loves to watch me as I leave, and I always wondered if I'll do that when I become a mother.
She runs back in the house and comes out with a strip of stickers, the same one she uses to clean up the cat hair on the floor. Though my brother and I bought her a lint/pet fur roller, she prefers the stickers because she has more control and it's more effective, she claims. And there I was, standing in the walkway with my arms stretched out like scarecrow as she patted the stickers all over my dress as if I was going through security. "Mèo lông" she says. It means "cat fur" a word she's been using since my brother brought home Blue and Willow a year ago. My black dress was covered in tiny orange cat fur. In that moment, I imaged a helicopter aiming it's spotlight at me standing there with my mom on her knees intricately patting the stickers all over my dress, reporting to the news anchor "breaking news, a 22 year old woman is delayed from going to work because of apparent cat fur on her dress. Her mother is quickly ridding of the contamination."
After a minute, I told her it looks good and that I couldn't see the cat fur anymore. I thanked her, and casually walked towards my car. I place the lunch pail in the passenger seat, put on my seatbelt, turn on the engine, and drive off with NPR on the radio encouraging me to donate money for their Fall drive.
After I turned 18 and went off to college, I really thought I was a true adult. But I found myself going home on weekends shamefully so my mother could do my laundry. I wake up past noon and next to my bed will be a plate of perfectly cut up gauva accompanied by the greatest concoction ever: salt, pepper, and cayenne pepper. It's truly a Vietnamese thing (the dip and the motherly behaviors). I figured this type of behavior would diminish by the time I turn 21, the age where I can legally drink, rent a car, buy a car without a co-signer, buy a house without a co-signer, and gamble. How come when I turned 21, all I did was drink until I couldn't anymore? I should have gone and rented a car!
The realization that I've yet to seriously grow up occurred one morning before I went off to work. My morning routine is trite and amazingly lazy: wake up at 6:35, drag myself to the restroom, pee, brush my teeth, wash my face, attempt to comb my hair, give up and tie it in a ponytail, change, and go to the kitchen. All of that takes an impressive ten minutes. I'm independent during those 10 minutes. On this particular morning, I slipped on a black dress because I didn't feel like using my muscles trying to squeeze into my fitted pants. As I walked into the kitchen, I stood by the cabinet, waiting for my mother. "Chờ đợi một phút" she says as she places bags of fruits and a napkin in my black lunch pail. "đồ ăn nóng" she says as she hands it to me. She basically told me to wait a minute and that the food is hot. I grabbed the handle, thanked her, grabbed my car keys, put on my black flats, and walked out the door. My mother loves to watch me as I leave, and I always wondered if I'll do that when I become a mother.
She runs back in the house and comes out with a strip of stickers, the same one she uses to clean up the cat hair on the floor. Though my brother and I bought her a lint/pet fur roller, she prefers the stickers because she has more control and it's more effective, she claims. And there I was, standing in the walkway with my arms stretched out like scarecrow as she patted the stickers all over my dress as if I was going through security. "Mèo lông" she says. It means "cat fur" a word she's been using since my brother brought home Blue and Willow a year ago. My black dress was covered in tiny orange cat fur. In that moment, I imaged a helicopter aiming it's spotlight at me standing there with my mom on her knees intricately patting the stickers all over my dress, reporting to the news anchor "breaking news, a 22 year old woman is delayed from going to work because of apparent cat fur on her dress. Her mother is quickly ridding of the contamination."
After a minute, I told her it looks good and that I couldn't see the cat fur anymore. I thanked her, and casually walked towards my car. I place the lunch pail in the passenger seat, put on my seatbelt, turn on the engine, and drive off with NPR on the radio encouraging me to donate money for their Fall drive.
October 11, 2011
This will be my last meal
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| BLAT |
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| Fresh cut fries |
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| Homemade Bun Bo Hue |
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| AYCE KBBQ: Pork Belly |
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| Rocky Road and Butter Pecan Thrifty ice cream |
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| Homemade salsa (with tortilla chips) |
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| Fresh oysters |
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| Homemade Banh Xeo |
The best hot dogs I've ever had was at Hot Doug's in Chicago
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| The Dog: Chicago Style with all the trimmings |
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| Foie Gras and Sauternes Duck Sausage with truffle aioli, foie gras mousse and fleur de sel |
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| Fresh cut fries fried in duck fat |
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| The Sal Tessio: Italian Sausage |
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| Sharing is for lovers |
My mother says the darnest things
Since my mom was in the room with me when I typed the previous post, I realized I couldn't keep this joyous video to myself! She was already annoyed that I was still at the computer, when I should have been dropping off some goodies for a friend. However, she complied and watched it with me. Here's what happened before, during, and after the viewing of this video.
Me (pretend it's in Vietnamese and words in caps are in English)
Mom, do you want to watch a PROPOSAL?
Mom
What?
I open a new tab and typed google translator. I typed in the word proposal and show it to her.
Me
Didn't Dad do this for you?
Mom
No. Why would he have to ask me?
We already know we were getting married.
In Vietnam, you don't date around.
We already know we were getting married.
In Vietnam, you don't date around.
Me
Okay, well, in America they do this and usually
the girl doesn't know when to expect the proposal.
the girl doesn't know when to expect the proposal.
I press play on the YouTube page.
Me
So that's her in the red. She doesn't know what's going on.
Mom
She doesn't know that this will be on YouTube?
Me
Yes. And she doesn't know that he's proposing.
Mom
What? She doesn't know she's marrying him?
Why would he not tell her beforehand?
Doesn't she need time to think about it before she decides?
Why would he not tell her beforehand?
Doesn't she need time to think about it before she decides?
Random people begin to dance.
Mom
Are they exercising?
I'm irritated.
Me
No, they're dancing. Do you hear the music?
Mom
It's nice music.
Now more people are joining the dancing routine.
Mom
Dancing is good exercise.
Exercise is very similar to dancing.
Exercise is very similar to dancing.
Me
Mom just watch.
Mom
How come you don't like to dance?
You should dance like that. It's good for you.
You should dance like that. It's good for you.
Me
Okay just watch.
Mom
Vietnamese people love dancing.
Exercising is very similar. Good for them.
Exercising is very similar. Good for them.
Me
Look, the boyfriend is dancing too.
Mom
Why isn't she dancing?
Does she not like to exercise?
She probably can't dance.
Does she not like to exercise?
She probably can't dance.
The dancing finally stops and the proposal speech begins. The girl is giggling.
Mom
Her teeth looks like yours before you had braces.
I can see them. Very crooked.
I can see them. Very crooked.
I ignore her and proceed to translate the speech... poorly.
Me
He's saying he loves her and stuff like that.
My mom leaves the room.
Me
Wait keep watching.
Mom
It's not done yet?
In the video he asks "Will you marry me?" She responds "duhhh" with a self conscious laugh.
Me
Wasn't that fun?
Mom
Ahhh that is fun. They're oohing and ahhing because they
want you to go and give your friend his desserts already.
want you to go and give your friend his desserts already.
End Scene.
I'm glad I don't have to do the proposing
I used to think being a girl sucked. It's calamitous. I bleed monthly, I'm easily agitated, I have to be extremely careful with my mating habits, and I'm in charge of popping a 6-10 pound baby out of my thinger (just imagine pooping out a full turkey). Besides undergoing the natural processes, everything else is easy. I'm talking about relationships in the narrowest form. Politics aside, boys have a more difficult time than girls (with homosexual relationships I'm not so sure).We, in a fairy tale world, don't do the chasing. We give out numbers, sometimes fake numbers. We have the power to make or break someone's heart. Boys have the tough job - they have to put up with our hormonal moods and compete with Ryan Gosling and Johnny Depp and whoever the male protagonist is in all the Nicolas Sparks' idyllic love novels (I pick the cutie in A Walk To Remember who said "love is the like the wind, you can't see it but you can feel it" marry me now please).
Girls expect a lot from their partners and they have every right to. We all want the best. We do not want to settle with just any guy (please don't ever settle even if he's a millionaire or he has your child). Girls predict everything and anything. We (or maybe just me) have an imagination that's bigger than any romantic movie/ Korean drama. We know what we want. So can you imagine how tough it is for your partner to come up with the most original, creative, memorable proposal!? I'm having a headache even thinking about it! Poor boys. What sucks more is that certain proposals gain more attention than others because they're the best ones (and they're not from a movie!) and thanks to youtube, you and your partner are able to join in on the event. Doesn't that just suck? You're both watching it, your girl is crying, one because it's so romantic and two because this idea has already been done and she wasn't a part of it, meaning you have large shoes to fill even though you don't even know this guy who did this stunt but you loath him so much for setting the bar so high.
Below are two proposal videos that I thought were heart warming (I usually end up watching every single related video I can find but this one satisfied me). Well, the first one made me cry. The second one (recommended to me by a friend) I wasn't too thrilled about. I would go on and on about the reasons why I loved the first one so much, but..I'll go on forever and we both will not have any sleep. Watch and weep! If you have a significant other and foresee a future with them, be nice.
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