Sunday, October 18, 2009

although we've come... to the end... of the road...

today is the last day of my experiment. it is the end of my week-long blogging.

you might be asking: why did you embark upon such an experiment?

well, back in august, i watched the movie "julie and julia," and i really related to the character julie. we were both aspiring writers who worked at jobs where we were unappreciated and unsatisfied, and felt like we could do far more in life. at the end of her year long blogging/cooking experiment, amazing things had happened to her. (and this is based on a true story!)

while i never expected huge miracles to happen after this week, i did expect to see/discover something.

so here are some things i learned in this week:

1. i have a newfound respect for writers who write columns, or anything that's pretty daily. it was hard to find new and interesting stuff to write about each night. and some days, there were moments where i'd be like, oh crap, it's getting late and i still have no idea what to write about. it would've been nice to give up and just go to sleep, but i pressed on. man, if it were my job, i'd feel a lot of pressure on a pretty daily basis, and i do not want that for myself whatsoever!

2. i was happy to find out that i hadn't completely atrophied all of my writing/creative styles as i thought i had. there was still some juice in these fingers, and writing came back pretty naturally.

3. the more often you write, the less people comment. (if this is not true of the rest of the world, i'm just gonna be sad. hahaha.) i was anticipating to develop a kind of relationship with my readers, in which we could all be discussing and commenting back and forth on topics that were written about. but it never happened. it made me wonder if ppl just started to read my blog like i was cnn or something. something to check - but not to engage in. ppl - if u have any insights, please enlighten me!

4. i actually DO have time to blog everyday. all this time, i always said i didn't have time to write entries. but when it came down to it, i could always make time, and after i did write, i always felt a sense of satisfaction that i had not only fulfilled my duty, but that i had beaten my own odds. however, i will say, on some days, i just desperately wanted to knock out and go to bed without writing. even yesterday, i had to drag myself out of my nap at 2am to go write an entry. hahaha.

well... anyway, i've thought about whether i will continue this writing streak. i think i'm gonna try to blog more frequently than i did before, but i'm not going to force myself to write everyday. too much unnecessary pressure to give myself. but this experiment has whetted my passion to write creative stuff again, and hopefully, time-willing, i will be able to dabble in it from time to time. it's good to know that while i can become rusty, i will never forget how to ride this bike. =)

hope u guys had fun during this week with me! and i hope u guys got to see what the inside of my brain is like! =)

mia vs food?

there's a tv show called "Man vs Food" that i really love. i recently discovered that i'm not the only person who loves this show. (haha. honestly, i thought i was the only one who had found this amazingly awesome show, and that the rest of the world was clueless to this gem of a show. but alas, i was wrong. turns out, a lot of ppl i know also love this show!)

anyhoo, in case you don't know the premise of this show, there's this guy named adam who goes around across the U.S. and goes to all the best places to eat in each city he goes to. at the end of the show, he goes to some restaurant that has a famous food-eating contest and tries to tackle it. (ex: eating like 12 lb omelets, or 7 gallons of ice cream in a sundae, or eating pounds of burger and pound of fries in an hour.)

whenever i watch this show, i can't help but feel like, man, adam's job is awesome!! all he does is get to eat the best food, travel and see the country, and get cheered by random strangers. how awesome does that sound?? but i do worry about adam a lot. every episode i watch, he seems to be chubbier than the last. i know for sure, he is not the same size as when he first started this show. also, he's not married. so i can't help but wonder if it's hard for him to meet women b/c of his job. he's probably never in one location long enough to woo a woman enough for her to want to be in a long distance relationship with him.

so... i thought about it more, and i wondered... would i ever be able to do adam's job? (let's just imagine that i did have the stomach prowess of adam to even be able to do the food contests he attempts.) would i be able to sacrifice my health for the sake of a job? would i be able to sacrifice my personal life for the sake of my job? i'm not sure! adam's job does not sound so appealing anymore. i can't help but feel like he's shortening his own life expectancy, and that can't be a good thing. part of the reason i quit being a teacher was b/c it had taken such a toll on my physical health, and i felt like i had lost all of my social life, and i was just a working/teaching machine.

yeah... i don't think i could do adam's job. no "Mia vs Food" show is going to happen. thanks adam for doing the dirty work for us. it's been a joy to watch this show, but i'm happy to just be drooling on my couch, and not having to deal with the heartburn myself. =)

Saturday, October 17, 2009

cell phones - can't live with 'em, can't live without 'em

sorry guys, but i almost forgot to blog tonight. but no worries, i'm here now. =)

tonight, at large group, as part of the ice breaker, they posed the question: if there was a fire, what 3 things would you grab? cell phone was a pretty common answer i heard.

do u remember back in the day when no one had cell phones? man, i remember all the times when my sister and i would yell at each other at the top of our lungs fighting over the phone. when anyone tried to call in for me while she was on the phone, she ignored that beep. i bet kids these days don't fight about THAT anymore. they can just talk on their cell phones in their own rooms b/c no one is tying up the phone line.

it's weird how cell phones have changed our lives. i remember back in 2004, when i got hit by a car, i didn't have a cell phone, and someone in the street had to lend me their phone so i could call my family. luckily, i had my sister's work number memorized. but man, if i were to get hit by a car today, i'd have a pretty hard time remembering what my parents' cell phone number was. we've become a society that is so dependent on our phones that it's scary to think about what we'd be like if we didn't have them.

remember in the past, if u didn't carry a camera around, u missed opportunities to capture things on film. but now, just whip out your phone, and take a picture.

remember doing the whole collect-call trick where you yell at your mom to pick u up before they actually charge u? now we have hundreds of minutes on our plans to not have to worry about those kinds of fees.

but then again, isn't it scary how kids these days can text faster than they can type on a full size keyboard?

and isn't it scary how 1 cell phone hack can ruin a person's life?

it's so weird... the more i think about it, the more i feel like cell phones are kind of like those scary theories about how robots/machines will one day turn against us and enslave us all. while on the one hand, cell phones are so useful and make our lives easier, on the other hand, it changes society in crazy ways. man, what a trip...


sorry... just in a weird thought cloud tonight... goodnight!

Friday, October 16, 2009

to shower or not to shower

tonight, i fell asleep on my bed as i was surfing facebook. but then, an hour later, i woke up - i woke up to the anxious knot in my stomach b/c my body was saying, "stop sleeping mia. you have unfinished business. now get up and shower before you sleep!"

ah, the age old debate - what's better? to shower at night or in the morning? my whole life, i was a morning showerer. i felt like it wasn't morning unless i showered. i couldn't truly wake up unless i showered. i thought, ah, nice and clean for a new day.

but then, when i was a teacher, my mom asked me why i showered in the morning. she said that i could get more sleep in the morning if i showered at night b/c then all i'd have to do in the morning was just wake up, do my morning routine, and go to work. no need to shower, dry off, etc - and add a good 20-30min of glorious sleep.

after i tested it out, i discovered that showering at night had a lot of benefits!
1. i really did get extra sleep in the morning.
2. i woke up with awesomely voluminous hair! (ooh la la, hair model!)
3. i felt like i had washed the day's germs off me, and now my bed was a clean sanctuary to sleep in.

u know, i had never realized how gross it was to not shower at night - and what it meant for your bed. i think most ppl are like me, and like to lean their heads on the subway walls if you're sitting down. and if u really think about it, when u lean your head on the wall, a good dozen other people have probably done the same thing. what if they all didn't shower? then all their dirty hair germs are now on MY head!! what if the guy who sneezed next to me got some tiny water droplets on my arm? if i don't shower, then i'm just bringing his sneeze into my bed!!

the more i thought about it, the more horrified i got. therefore, i've now become a big proponent of night showering. i think it just makes good sense to wash the day off you, and to enter into a bed that has only been occupied by your clean body night after night.

but, i will say this - night showering is annoying. sometimes, man, all u want to do is just crawl into bed. i had such a long, draining day today, and i wanted nothing more than to just snuggle up in my blanket and sleep away the fatigue. but like i said at the start of this entry, my body knew that it was just gross for me to sleep like this, and nagged me into awakeness. stupid body of mine - just let me sleep!!

oh well. at least the shower woke me up enough to write this blog entry. =)

Wednesday, October 14, 2009

sporty spice?

i recently was chatting with a friend about how he wanted to have a gf who was sporty. in my head, i couldn't help but think -- eugh, typical. but in reality, i think i only feel that way b/c i'm so athletically challenged. i can't help but feel a twinge of jealousy when i see other girls who can hold their own in a game of whiffle ball or flag football. but u know, i wasn't always this way.

when i was in elementary school, i was the fastest girl in the 2nd grade! i could out-run all the girls, and i even almost beat the fastest boy in the 2nd grade! from 3rd - 5th grades, i was in gymnastics and performed in the annual gymnastics show. i did roundoffs, back bends, floor routines, everything! i was pretty darn good!

but then, something happened once i hit puberty. it's like adolescence replaced my pseudo-athleticism with jello for arms and stumps for legs. my god, to this day, when i think about that stupid yearly rope-climb. *shudder* that was the bane of my existence!! who can climb a rope with nothing but your arms to get you up there?? that's just mean! >=(

and so, i learned to replace my lack of sports ability with what i COULD do well - be a nerd and sing.

i often ask myself a lot now - would i rather have a child who was a musical prodigy or a superstar athlete? personally, i choose musical prodigy. i think it's such a useful talent to have. you're not limited to seasons/weather; you can entertain large crowds; you can use it to woo a love interest; and u generally don't need a whole team to make you shine amidst them. it's just more efficient! haha.

but, i will say, i still wish i was a little more athletic AND still sing. i'd love to be able to not be picked last for a team. i'd like to be the one to shoot the winning basket, score a touchdown, bowl a strike! oh well, i guess i'll just have to settle for singing the anthem. hahaha. =)

so readers - would you rather be a superstar athlete or a musical prodigy?

Hannukah - what an ingenious idea!

so a couple of weeks ago, walter found me this great deal on slickdeals to buy 10 victoria's secret panties for only $25! that is a huge deal compared to the usual 5 for $25 crap they try to feed us. but anyway, as i browsed the site and put things into my shopping cart, i discovered that some of the panties i ordered were backordered and wouldn't be shipped until later.

at first, i was kinda bummed out. i wanted to get all 10 panties at once and not piece-meal. but in the end, i decided it was better to have 10 panties i really like at a slower rate, rather than 10 mediocre panties at a fast rate.

but i must say - it has changed my perspective! every few days now, i receive a new package from victoria's secret holding 1 or 2 panties in each bag! and honestly, it feels like hannukah! (granted, i've never celebrated hannukah, but this is how i imagine it would be!) what an ingenius idea! RECEIVING PRESENTS -- ELONGATED!!! who doesn't love receiving presents? and if u can get them every few days? isn't that soooo much fun?? =D

now, every time i see that beautiful email so eloquently titled "shipment confirmation" light up in my inbox, i get filled with joy! it means another package is coming! another goodie full of happiness is "confirmed" to "ship" to my attention! how amazing!!

u know, my love language is gift giving, and personally, i like receiving gifts too. sadly tho, growing up in a poor family, i rarely received presents. (christmas, birthdays, graduations - nada) so i never really got to enjoy my own love language. but u know, buying these panties, and receiving them one by one in the mail, has been such a huge joy and blessing for me. it gives me something to look forward to, and hope of knowing that another joy is on its way. what an awesome way to perceive life, no?

i received 2 more today. i only have 3 more panties left to be shipped. thank goodness walter bought me a random gift and i have that to look forward to as well. haha. this reminds of me of how my roommates think i'm crazy for getting so many catalogs in the mail. honestly - i like receiving mail! why? it makes me feel special! hey - a girl's gotta do what a girl's gotta do to bring a little fun into her life.

so, in conclusion, i really encourage you guys to not lump all of your joy into one big bundle. it's so much more fun and literally life-changing when you enjoy small gifts in your daily life. it truly feels like christmas every day! =D

Monday, October 12, 2009

nap time

man, i almost failed my own experiment.

after walter and i stuffed ourselves silly with homemade kalbi (made by my mom, but perfectly fried by me! haha, i need to give myself SOME credit!) i started feeling super drowsy. walter started watching monday night football, and i began to fall asleep all snuggly in my blanket on the couch.

man... i forgot how much i love naps. i'm a pretty disciplined girl, and i don't allow myself to nap b/c it throws off my sleep schedule, but tonight, as i napped quietly and unplanned, i remembered the gloriousness of letting fatigue and relaxation take over.

remember when naps used to be a part of life? haha. i remember in college, naps were just scheduled into my daily itinerary. wake up at 10am to go to class. go to class, eat lunch with friends, come back to my dorm to take a little nap, wake up, get some dinner, go to practice, study at the library, do more hw/hang out with friends til 3am, then go to bed. without those naps, i'd never be able to stay up late to write papers and have girltalk to all hours of the night. ahh, i miss those days.

u know, in kindergarten, i was never able to fall asleep during naptime. i would just lay there on my mat jealously listening to the sleep sounds of all the other kids. finally, just when i'd start to get a little drowsy, nap time would be over, and i'd have to fold up my mat and get back to regular time. man, we had it good back then. then again, isn't that what europe does? universal siesta time?

haha. i dunno, i think i'm just too tired to write a coherent blog tonight. i almost just went to bed without blogging, but i forced myself to write at least something. sorry if you were terribly bored. =) i guess i learned a little bit about myself tonight through my unexpected nap. i never let myself get loose, or rather, i rarely let myself not be put together. and honestly, it's exhausting! but tonight, when i let go of my self-control, i felt the freedom of sleep, and the light yolk of not bearing my "perfect" self on my shoulders. it felt good - relief - to unbutton the stuffy collar shirt of life, and wear the loose, comfy t-shirt of indulgence.

goodnight world! it's time for bed for this little one!
=)

Sunday, October 11, 2009

a new experiment

just for this week, i am going to try out an experiment. i would like to see if i can write an entry every single day of this week. why? i'm not sure why... just felt compelled to. i haven't flexed my blog writing muscles in a while, and i'm hoping they haven't atrophied. despite my busy schedule, and how i'm always pooped, i'm gonna try to see what happens if i do blog everyday. will it be life changing? maybe. will i have fun? quite possibly. will i fail? hopefully not. but still, i'm gonna try. =) i hope you guys stick it through with me too! (and maybe root for me while you're at it?)

so anyhoo, today, after church, i had to go home to nj to celebrate my brother-in-law's birthday. for some reason, my dad was in a really lecture-y mood and couldn't stop telling everyone how to improve their lives.

my lecture was about how i don't eat enough fruit. now, i grew up eating fruit everyday. every night, at like 10pm, my parents would call me down to the living room to eat some fruit with them, and then i'd either go back to what i was doing, or go to bed. but once i started living on my own, i stopped eating fruit everyday. it was weird to not have fruit served to me on a daily basis - just ready to eat on a plate. if my mom or someone else didn't do it, then i would not eat any fruit!

i'm ashamed to admit why... but here goes: I CAN'T CUT FRUIT. (i.e. apples, peaches, cantaloupe, etc.- all non-pop-it-in-your-mouth fruit)

i'm terrible with a knife. i'm just terrified of accidentally cutting off my thumb, or sliding across the skin of the fruit and serrating my top layer of skin, or even getting my own blood on the fruit.

i've tried to practice getting better at this. but sadly, all my apples turn brown (from time), warm (from my hands AND time), and salty (from my hands). hahaha. sorry if i just made u vomit.

but yeah, i don't really eat fruit anymore b/c it's so much labor and time to actually cut up the fruit, and i'm allergic to most fruit skins, so i have to cut it off - which i don't have the patience to do. thus - no fruit for mia.

i truly fear the day when i am engaged or married, and my mother-in-law is going to scrutinize my fruit cutting techniques, or worse, think i'm a terrible wife b/c i won't be able to cut my husband beautifully shaped fruit. ahhh! what to do?

my dad made me promise to eat more fruit from now on. i guess i'll try again, and i'll try to work on my fruit cutting skills. but man, i have to tell u, it really makes me sad when boys are better at cutting fruit than i am. it just puts me to shame.

check out these apples walter once cut for me in the shape of rabbits. man... that is talent.




Question to my audience:
ladies! how did you learn to cut fruit? please help a poor, pathetic girl out!
guys! do you really care if your woman can cut fruit nicely?
everyone! how do you get yourself to eat more fruit on a daily basis?

oyy, i bought 3 fuji apples like 3 weeks ago. i hope to try to eat them all this week. i'll keep you updated! =D