I'm so sleep deprived it's not even funny. Since returning from Japan, I can't say I have made myself stick to the local time. Hence, I've been sleeping at past 4am, as late / early as 6am... then waking up at 9am in the midst of bright sunshine. That always gets to me since other then the summer season, I enjoy waking up at no later then 5am in the dark and starting my day while the rest of the neighborhood is asleep. I like it that way. So to wake up with the screaming sun sorts of pisses me off. I don't know why, it just does.
I suppose part of the reason why it hasn't been a priority to get back to local time is 'coz we're leaving for Thailand tomorrow. By the time I get there, I'm sure I'd be so confused I won't be able to figure out what to do. But... with the excitement of seeing little Emma, who cares about sleep :) EKT is fifteen months old now and she's walking. Her uncle Bruce will be meeting her for the first time so he's really excited as well. He's really sweet to her, buying her special presents just from him. Of course, he buys all the presents she gets from me also lol but that's different :D
I took a nap this afternoon from 5 - 7pm before dinner... I should be good to go till mid morning and definitely gonna sleep well on the flight over there. Too bad the flights are completely full and our upgrade requests to business class are denied. But as tired as I am, a couple of games of sudoko on my DS and I'd be good to go. I won't even need to watch my Korean dramas on the plane :)
Monday, July 17, 2006
Tuesday, July 11, 2006
Delayed Osaka Curse
So we got through our Osaka without much of a hitch (minus the hotel situation lol). But since we got home, my poor husband has been so sick with high fever and stomach problems. The poor guy. All day yesterday, he was either in bed watching tv in a foetal position or dead to the world, trying to sleep it out to fight the returning high fever.
Last night, he finally had a bite to eat. Melted provolone in crispy pita. I don't know about you, but back home we believe dairy isn't a good thing for diahrea. Everyone here seems to believe differently though. So cheese it was. It didn't help that while we watched the World Series of Pop Culture on VH1, they played the bloody Taco Bell ad for their new spicy chicken crunch wrap forty five times which tortured my poor husband lol. The image of melted cheese can kill a man who hasn't eaten all day hahaha!
I'm hoping he'd be alright and will be able to at least get out of bed today and have a decent meal.
Sometimes it's a little scary when you're responsible for someone else's health. I mean, when I was younger, there was always someone I could go to and whine and tell them how sick I was and I'd be taken care of. I had my mom at home and when I left home at 17, I had a nice young couple who were my friends who would take care of me. It was miserable being alone in Arizona when I was really sick with the flu and worst now that I am supposed to be the caretaker. I'm no doctor and all the home remedies I know are from the 17 years I stayed at home and gotten from mom... It's times like that that makes me even MORE glad I don't have a kid. I would so panic if I had to try and take care of a sick child when he or she can't even tell me what the hell is wrong lol.
Oh well, such is the mood this morning... sleepy (my time difference is still messed up so I'm just hanging out and staying out of the heat - air-conditioning is SO nice to have and be around lol) and hoping the husband feels better. He took some po chai pills last night so I think the stomach should ease up a little... as long as he eats, I'm happy.
Last night, he finally had a bite to eat. Melted provolone in crispy pita. I don't know about you, but back home we believe dairy isn't a good thing for diahrea. Everyone here seems to believe differently though. So cheese it was. It didn't help that while we watched the World Series of Pop Culture on VH1, they played the bloody Taco Bell ad for their new spicy chicken crunch wrap forty five times which tortured my poor husband lol. The image of melted cheese can kill a man who hasn't eaten all day hahaha!
I'm hoping he'd be alright and will be able to at least get out of bed today and have a decent meal.
Sometimes it's a little scary when you're responsible for someone else's health. I mean, when I was younger, there was always someone I could go to and whine and tell them how sick I was and I'd be taken care of. I had my mom at home and when I left home at 17, I had a nice young couple who were my friends who would take care of me. It was miserable being alone in Arizona when I was really sick with the flu and worst now that I am supposed to be the caretaker. I'm no doctor and all the home remedies I know are from the 17 years I stayed at home and gotten from mom... It's times like that that makes me even MORE glad I don't have a kid. I would so panic if I had to try and take care of a sick child when he or she can't even tell me what the hell is wrong lol.
Oh well, such is the mood this morning... sleepy (my time difference is still messed up so I'm just hanging out and staying out of the heat - air-conditioning is SO nice to have and be around lol) and hoping the husband feels better. He took some po chai pills last night so I think the stomach should ease up a little... as long as he eats, I'm happy.
Monday, July 10, 2006
A Blog-Worthy Trip
We just returned from our second trip to Japan this summer and I must say, it's been very interesting and more fun then ever. Not just 'coz we had made lots more crazy fun Japanese friends, had horse meat or almost killed ourselves eating yakiniku lol... it's just crazy times in Japan all over again :D
We flew into Kansei International Airport for the first time and took the Shinkansen (bullet-train) to Tokyo immediately. Needless to say, upon arriving in Tokyo and being in some form of transportation for many more than 24 hours, the first night was pretty uneventful. The next few days we hung out with our friend Julie, had the best ramen in between shopping and hanging out, saw the Kohnos' and went to a beer garden atop Keio Shopping Mall and just had a really nice relaxing time.
Day four, we took the shinkansen to Nagoya where we met up with Jun (our ex-sushi chef at Rainbow Roll in Tokyo) who'd gotten married about a year ago and moved away. We saw him one night in Tokyo but it's just been different not being able to see him every trip. Our meal in Nagoya was interesting, to say the least. Not so much the food though is was very good - we had unagi on rice with green onions known as hitsumabushi. The real even for Julie and I was more about meeting Jun's wife. I mean, he's been putting up with a lot of crap from this psycho woman (yes, it's only his side of the story, true... but he's our friend... :D). So we're expecting a hot young babe and a little spoilt brat... in walked oba-san ie, old lady HAHAHA! (sorry no picture lol). Okay, so she isn't old; but we're sure she isn't in her 30s. The part that got us sick is that she's 10 weeks pregnant and is still anorexicly thin. Anywayz, she was nice enough... well other than that part about spilling my cup of tea on me hahaha but that's just an accident - or so we believe lol. We hung out a good half of the afternoon and then got on our merry way back onto the train to Osaka.
Osaka's been an interesting place for both Bruce and I. His first trip there, he fell deathly ill. His second trip there and my first with him, supposedly with my brother and his wife, the four of us got deathly ill in Tokyo the day before we were supposed to train it to Osaka. At the end of the day, they shortened their trip and went home while Bruce and I actually stomached the 3 hour train ride into the city, walked a good 20 mins around the blinding neon lights, turned right around and headed back to Tokyo. Fun... NOT! That was a good two years ago since we even mentioned Osaka again. We've sort of been avoiding the Osaka curse for a bit. This time, since we'd already been to Tokyo for Bruce's birthday in June, we figured we'd check out Osaka. Our friend Julie whom we missed in Tokyo on our last trip thought it would be fun to hang out with us in Osaka and vice versa... and so, the trip to Osaka was concrete.
To say the least, the start of our Osaka trip was less then ideal. We arrived, got to the hotel only to realize both Julie and us had made reservations at different hotels with the same name lol. Neither hotels had our reservations and Julie had actually made a mistake on her reservations lol. She was a little hard on herself since she is by profession, a quart-time travel agent... we headed to our hotel and found the room not abled with internet connection. We moved to hotel number three into our little cubicle and headed straight out to the restaurant that Julie's friend Junko had been waiting for us since 7pm. It was now past 9pm, crazy storming / typhooning and just insanely hot. This was the night we met Junko and restaurant owner Joe (yes, he's Japanese).
Day five, day two in Osaka, Joe took us to a fancy tempura place... and then we met Julie's friend Takashi. This was the night we had horse meat. Not just plain horse meat but RAW horse meat. Yup, horse sashimi hahaha! Honestly it was quite tasty... but I don't think I'd volunteerily order that. I mean, it's horse. YUK! We also had raw cow liver (this was not so tasty 'coz it just tastes way too livery for my liking) and just weird food. Most of them were tasty though... we went on to another bar where we met Hideki. Cool crazy quiet (well quiet to us 'coz he doesn't speak that much English lol) drank with us and then took us to a transexual bar hahaha! Yes, we went and yup, we had fun :D
Day (six) three, Bruce and I did the Osaka style eat-till-you-drop lunch at a what-seemed-like theme food court. It was very nice. We had some okonomiyaki, some tako yaki and honestly, we were so full we couldn't go on :) Night three, we hung out with Hideki for a couple of hours at a bar and sushi restaurant before meeting Junko for a crazy too-hot Korean/Japanese yakiniku. Ok, this was the moment Bruce thought about killing me. I'd been dreaming of grilled beef since our last trip in Tokyo when John took us to this awesome place and had the best beef... so when I mentioned it to Junko and all the transexuals that I love niku, they all said I have to go to this place. BIG MISTAKE lol! It's not fancy, nor was the meat lol... not air-conditioned so you know how HOT it was in this tight little space called a restaurant... no chairs so we had to kneel or pressed our asses on non-existent flat cushions... it was just hilariously not so funny hahaha. The husband was giving me I'm-gonna-kill-you looks and I was in so much pain I couldn't help but laugh and drink myself to a stupor lol. All in all, we had fun. Of course, after dinner, we had to close up the evening with more drinks at another bar :D
There is just too much to talk about to put them in black and white. Like the relationship pyramid that all these Japanese we met on this trip... who is sleeping with who, who's bf is actually married with a kid, who's paying a 7k alimony a month or who is impotent and who is about to get married but not dumping the lover lol. It's a trip! The watermelon so square it doesn't look real... People from Osaka are awesome and fun and crazy! Can't wait to get back there... but only if I get to check into a bigger hotel!!! :D
We flew into Kansei International Airport for the first time and took the Shinkansen (bullet-train) to Tokyo immediately. Needless to say, upon arriving in Tokyo and being in some form of transportation for many more than 24 hours, the first night was pretty uneventful. The next few days we hung out with our friend Julie, had the best ramen in between shopping and hanging out, saw the Kohnos' and went to a beer garden atop Keio Shopping Mall and just had a really nice relaxing time.
Day four, we took the shinkansen to Nagoya where we met up with Jun (our ex-sushi chef at Rainbow Roll in Tokyo) who'd gotten married about a year ago and moved away. We saw him one night in Tokyo but it's just been different not being able to see him every trip. Our meal in Nagoya was interesting, to say the least. Not so much the food though is was very good - we had unagi on rice with green onions known as hitsumabushi. The real even for Julie and I was more about meeting Jun's wife. I mean, he's been putting up with a lot of crap from this psycho woman (yes, it's only his side of the story, true... but he's our friend... :D). So we're expecting a hot young babe and a little spoilt brat... in walked oba-san ie, old lady HAHAHA! (sorry no picture lol). Okay, so she isn't old; but we're sure she isn't in her 30s. The part that got us sick is that she's 10 weeks pregnant and is still anorexicly thin. Anywayz, she was nice enough... well other than that part about spilling my cup of tea on me hahaha but that's just an accident - or so we believe lol. We hung out a good half of the afternoon and then got on our merry way back onto the train to Osaka.
Osaka's been an interesting place for both Bruce and I. His first trip there, he fell deathly ill. His second trip there and my first with him, supposedly with my brother and his wife, the four of us got deathly ill in Tokyo the day before we were supposed to train it to Osaka. At the end of the day, they shortened their trip and went home while Bruce and I actually stomached the 3 hour train ride into the city, walked a good 20 mins around the blinding neon lights, turned right around and headed back to Tokyo. Fun... NOT! That was a good two years ago since we even mentioned Osaka again. We've sort of been avoiding the Osaka curse for a bit. This time, since we'd already been to Tokyo for Bruce's birthday in June, we figured we'd check out Osaka. Our friend Julie whom we missed in Tokyo on our last trip thought it would be fun to hang out with us in Osaka and vice versa... and so, the trip to Osaka was concrete.
To say the least, the start of our Osaka trip was less then ideal. We arrived, got to the hotel only to realize both Julie and us had made reservations at different hotels with the same name lol. Neither hotels had our reservations and Julie had actually made a mistake on her reservations lol. She was a little hard on herself since she is by profession, a quart-time travel agent... we headed to our hotel and found the room not abled with internet connection. We moved to hotel number three into our little cubicle and headed straight out to the restaurant that Julie's friend Junko had been waiting for us since 7pm. It was now past 9pm, crazy storming / typhooning and just insanely hot. This was the night we met Junko and restaurant owner Joe (yes, he's Japanese).
Day five, day two in Osaka, Joe took us to a fancy tempura place... and then we met Julie's friend Takashi. This was the night we had horse meat. Not just plain horse meat but RAW horse meat. Yup, horse sashimi hahaha! Honestly it was quite tasty... but I don't think I'd volunteerily order that. I mean, it's horse. YUK! We also had raw cow liver (this was not so tasty 'coz it just tastes way too livery for my liking) and just weird food. Most of them were tasty though... we went on to another bar where we met Hideki. Cool crazy quiet (well quiet to us 'coz he doesn't speak that much English lol) drank with us and then took us to a transexual bar hahaha! Yes, we went and yup, we had fun :D
Day (six) three, Bruce and I did the Osaka style eat-till-you-drop lunch at a what-seemed-like theme food court. It was very nice. We had some okonomiyaki, some tako yaki and honestly, we were so full we couldn't go on :) Night three, we hung out with Hideki for a couple of hours at a bar and sushi restaurant before meeting Junko for a crazy too-hot Korean/Japanese yakiniku. Ok, this was the moment Bruce thought about killing me. I'd been dreaming of grilled beef since our last trip in Tokyo when John took us to this awesome place and had the best beef... so when I mentioned it to Junko and all the transexuals that I love niku, they all said I have to go to this place. BIG MISTAKE lol! It's not fancy, nor was the meat lol... not air-conditioned so you know how HOT it was in this tight little space called a restaurant... no chairs so we had to kneel or pressed our asses on non-existent flat cushions... it was just hilariously not so funny hahaha. The husband was giving me I'm-gonna-kill-you looks and I was in so much pain I couldn't help but laugh and drink myself to a stupor lol. All in all, we had fun. Of course, after dinner, we had to close up the evening with more drinks at another bar :D
There is just too much to talk about to put them in black and white. Like the relationship pyramid that all these Japanese we met on this trip... who is sleeping with who, who's bf is actually married with a kid, who's paying a 7k alimony a month or who is impotent and who is about to get married but not dumping the lover lol. It's a trip! The watermelon so square it doesn't look real... People from Osaka are awesome and fun and crazy! Can't wait to get back there... but only if I get to check into a bigger hotel!!! :D
Friday, June 30, 2006
Where Have I Been?
It's been more than a month since I last blogged and while it's not like my life's been totally uninteresting, the more interesting things that is worthy of blogging - the husband has banned me from doing so lol. Lose a friend, gain an enemy - what's the bloody saying. Either way, I can't talk about it, thus I've been sulking :D Not that much but fine if you want me to admit my life isn't all that exciting, I'd do so here.
So what have I been up to if I haven't been updating my blog, cooking or been all that busy? NOTHING! It's the summer and it's my vacation also - as a housewife. Hey, a housewife needs some time off too you know!? I still have to do laundry but that's fun and enjoyable for me. I've been watching my Korean drama; one after another. I am up to the third more than 100 episodes series and am loving it. Okay, once in awhile I get upset with the characters and the too-many looking-back-at-time and crying-over-spilt-milk scenes but that's what the fast forward button is for :D
Of course, if you're reading this, then you know me and if you know me, you know not one month goes by without travelling. Since summer vacation started, we've been to Tokyo once. We came home for a couple of days and headed out to Boston. Ahhh Boston - my future home :D Tomorrow, we head back out to Osaka. Am trying to gain Platinum Executive (100,000 miles) before Fall (I'm more than halfway there, so you know I'm trying my darnest to get to places by AA. American Airlines, the only airline to fly in the US. Screw NWA, Delta - eeiky old planes and their seats are made for skinny dwarfs. I am only 50% of it and I ain't skinny :( ...mid July, we head to Thailand to see Emma again. I can't wait. She's taking swimming lessons now and finally willing to walk a few steps on her own; so it'll be all brand new experiances with her again. It's Bruce's first time meeting her next month - I think it'll be a blast! Speaking of the laogong, he has moved his blog here trying some new software.
Damn, Germany beat Argentina! ...and they say there is a gawd. Blah!
Right not much to blog about today unless you're interested in my morning errands of returning stuff to Eddie Bauer and TJ Maxx, going to the post office and getting my manicure and pedicure done lol.
So what have I been up to if I haven't been updating my blog, cooking or been all that busy? NOTHING! It's the summer and it's my vacation also - as a housewife. Hey, a housewife needs some time off too you know!? I still have to do laundry but that's fun and enjoyable for me. I've been watching my Korean drama; one after another. I am up to the third more than 100 episodes series and am loving it. Okay, once in awhile I get upset with the characters and the too-many looking-back-at-time and crying-over-spilt-milk scenes but that's what the fast forward button is for :D
Of course, if you're reading this, then you know me and if you know me, you know not one month goes by without travelling. Since summer vacation started, we've been to Tokyo once. We came home for a couple of days and headed out to Boston. Ahhh Boston - my future home :D Tomorrow, we head back out to Osaka. Am trying to gain Platinum Executive (100,000 miles) before Fall (I'm more than halfway there, so you know I'm trying my darnest to get to places by AA. American Airlines, the only airline to fly in the US. Screw NWA, Delta - eeiky old planes and their seats are made for skinny dwarfs. I am only 50% of it and I ain't skinny :( ...mid July, we head to Thailand to see Emma again. I can't wait. She's taking swimming lessons now and finally willing to walk a few steps on her own; so it'll be all brand new experiances with her again. It's Bruce's first time meeting her next month - I think it'll be a blast! Speaking of the laogong, he has moved his blog here trying some new software.
Damn, Germany beat Argentina! ...and they say there is a gawd. Blah!
Right not much to blog about today unless you're interested in my morning errands of returning stuff to Eddie Bauer and TJ Maxx, going to the post office and getting my manicure and pedicure done lol.
Wednesday, May 24, 2006
"Open Your Mouth...
gold won't fall out of your teeth". Okay, I don't have gold filling or teeth (just to clarify that). My mother used to say that to me practically every morning (right till I left home at 17 and also when I eventually moved back later on) whenever I saw her in the morning and not greet her. I used to wonder why I had to greet her. I mean, 'good morning ma' or simply 'ma'... why would that make her day better? It was a pain and the last thing I wanted to deal with was her chirpy self since she'd been up for hours. I usually managed a short and grumpy grunt and she'd start with that very saying in Chinese. I'd sigh and roll my eyes and she'd laugh or if she's already in a bad mood, there goes my morning lol.
Well, that saying has stuck with me all this time and ROMT knows the saying well! I've learnt throughout my years away from home how important speaking up is and yes, greeting people when you see them is an important thing to being social too. I suppose I understand now :)
But my lesson today is about 'opening my mouth'. Okay, so I didn't actually have to do so. I let my fingers do the talking by sending a complain letter to Sears yesterday when the dishwasher we'd purchased two weeks ago failed to be delivered and installed this past Monday. To cut the long story short, I got a call awhile ago and because I 'spoke up', we are expecting the dishwasher at our house in a couple of weeks for FREE! Yes, a free Bosch SHE66C06 How's that for 'opening my mouth' lol! ;p
Well, that saying has stuck with me all this time and ROMT knows the saying well! I've learnt throughout my years away from home how important speaking up is and yes, greeting people when you see them is an important thing to being social too. I suppose I understand now :)
But my lesson today is about 'opening my mouth'. Okay, so I didn't actually have to do so. I let my fingers do the talking by sending a complain letter to Sears yesterday when the dishwasher we'd purchased two weeks ago failed to be delivered and installed this past Monday. To cut the long story short, I got a call awhile ago and because I 'spoke up', we are expecting the dishwasher at our house in a couple of weeks for FREE! Yes, a free Bosch SHE66C06 How's that for 'opening my mouth' lol! ;p
Monday, May 22, 2006
Excuse Me What Is Your NRIC Number?
In Singapore, that's a common question when filling up forms, going to the bank etc etc. Our NRIC numbers which is the same as our passport numbers, much like the US Social Security number here (that defers from the US passport number system) represents who we are, where we live, what we do, how much in taxes we claim, pay, have in medisave and... and if you're registered in the Singapore Idol official website!
I swear! Yes, of course it's free. But for the price of your NRIC number, you get to register here at your own risk! But besides that, please tell me why in the world would these fools need our NRIC numbers to register in a website like that!? Now I totally know how those bloggers got arrested in Singapore! Let's see who else needs our confidential numbers to be registered with them. Wow I'm surprised AsiaOne doesn't need it - they'd need your cell number (lol) but that's easy to make up or (lol) give someone else's. I guess Singapore Press Holdings (SPH) doesn't care since all the idiots who believe in their propaganda writings subscribe to Straits Times and Business Times and of course (DUH!) you'd need to devulge your NRIC number to them and if you're not 'local', your passport number will suffice. Insane! Can you imagine what Americans would say if they needed to throw in their social security numbers to read the newspapers online... or gawd forbid, find out more about American Idol lol!!!
I swear! Yes, of course it's free. But for the price of your NRIC number, you get to register here at your own risk! But besides that, please tell me why in the world would these fools need our NRIC numbers to register in a website like that!? Now I totally know how those bloggers got arrested in Singapore! Let's see who else needs our confidential numbers to be registered with them. Wow I'm surprised AsiaOne doesn't need it - they'd need your cell number (lol) but that's easy to make up or (lol) give someone else's. I guess Singapore Press Holdings (SPH) doesn't care since all the idiots who believe in their propaganda writings subscribe to Straits Times and Business Times and of course (DUH!) you'd need to devulge your NRIC number to them and if you're not 'local', your passport number will suffice. Insane! Can you imagine what Americans would say if they needed to throw in their social security numbers to read the newspapers online... or gawd forbid, find out more about American Idol lol!!!
Sunday, May 21, 2006
Unloading
Well, Friday was a weird day for me. I had to deal with a bunch of crying people - which I do not like to deal with as much as I do not like to hug or be hugged. Now that doesn't mean I won't hug or be hugged and that I'd get upset when it happens like Cindy's husband gets when men hug his wife lol. Truly. He claims it's a conformity to the American culture. I say he's just an insecured jealous bastard; and if hugging/conforming is bad then go back to bloody Singapore, you Chinaman - why do you insist on staying and waiting on that Green Card?!
Friday was D-day for Rosa and Cher's move to Philly so we met up for brunch and then I got them to the airport. Wow, when I left home at an tender age of almost 17, I didn't even cry - my mom did a little but that's a mom thing. But I couldn't understand why these people were crying SO hard! It just seemed funny to me especially since they were still gonna' be in this country; and it was their choice to leave Memphis and their friends. Weird. I'm not being heartless. I just don't understand people's pysche I guess. So I had to deal with all of that at the airport... the crying and having to form a circle and pray with the rest of the friends who'd come to say good bye to the family. OMG that freaked me out lol. I always used to stare at people who did that and thought it lame. Now, I KNOW it's lame lol. I'd feel sorry for those people who are put in that situation like I was but my goodness, do Christians just assume that 'coz I'm a friend of a Christian I, like them, pray for safety and a good future and stuff like that? I honestly don't know how that would make me feel better. In fact, I think I'd feel more at risk on a flight lol. But anywayz, yes, I'd miss Rosa, Cher and the kids. But they're only an email, a phone call and a plane ride away. No biggie! Plus I'm sure new friends will come along. Yes, the inevitable: life goes on.
That same afternoon, in the midst of our afternoon nap, I was abruptly woken up by the telephone ring. It was Cindy. Either she had read my blog about her (don't remember if I'd mentioned my blog to her but oh well...) or I must have really sounded upset on the phone (both in NYC when I'd last spoken to her and at that moment answering the phone reacting to her voice). Cindy (see prvious post on her) called, in tears, asking for forgiveness and not to be mad at her. She asked me to forget about all the bad pictures she'd painted about her husband 'coz they're not true at all. She told me that something had happened and she can't tell me why. She told me that I won't understand her (damn straight!) and that she would love to do more for me (no thank you I'm quite happy the way my own life is going!) but she doesn't drive and that's why she can't (excuses!). She told me she wasn't trying to take advantage of me and wasn't expecting me to go pick her up at the hotel in NYC. She told me that she really treasures my friendship (friends don't treat friends that way). She asked if I had a good trip in NYC. DUH I went to see my friend Gen and of course we had a ball. Did she think I was gonna' get upset with her and spoil my own trip? Piece of work!
After my last posting on her, it's helped me a ton to get stuff off my chest. And by then, she was already history to me and I have since gone on; of course! So when she called and kept saying 'please don't be mad at me', it just brought all the raw feelings back. I got perturbed but I kept my cool and between her sobs for 25 minutes, I unloaded big time. I figured she needs to know. I told her to have a backbone and if she wasn't happy here, go home (same for idiot husband), I told her that whether or not she means to take advantage of me, things don't work that way long term 'coz people catch on to things and I don't need her in my life 'coz she brings absolutely nothing on her plate - not even a damn good joke lol; I told her that if she's gonna' not help herself in her life, she won't meet many people who'd give her a second chance in life (and I certainly won't be the first). I told her she shouldn't let her husband control how her life goes and if she's not happy, speak the hell up 'coz she's responsible for that much; I told her how I can't understand what kind of a man her husband is to keep her at home like an abused pet and she actually stays and accepts it; I told her I wasn't the only one who was getting annoyed with her complaining about the Americans and Mexicans (and the racism her husband claims he's facing at work) and then talk about how great Christianity has been to them; I told her to chill the hell up and stop crying but she couldn't. It was annoying me and oddly enough, I felt nothing except wonder what is wrong with her (even more then before). I did ask if she was ok ('coz of the uncontrollable crying) and at first she didn't answer me. I asked if she needed help, still no answer. She eventually mastered a quiet 'yes'. But maybe she was crying out for help and again, I stress, no one can help her if she won't help herself. I told her I've lived away from home for so long and I've always understood how important friends are. Nobody had to teach me that. It all comes in the path of being away from the people you love and loves you unconditionally. I told her she may still be ignorant about that sort of thing but it is no excuse that her husband is in the dark with that having been in the US for more than seven years. I asked her why they have no knowledge of common courtesy. How two grown people in their 30s not know common social mores?! That when people invite them to their house over and over and over again, they need to take the cue and initiative to plan something as well. It's not a calculative thing. It's just common courtesy. That Rosa and Cher just stopped inviting them over altogether 'coz there was simply no reciprocation. It's not that we need them to buy us a meal... but there was never even talk from them about getting together - ever. She asked if Rosa was mad at her. Of course not - and I told her. Rosa has two kids and the last thing on her mind is 'What is Cindy up to?'. But at this point I was thinking, 'what is wrong with her? So what if we're all mad at her'. Who the hell cares!? I sure wouldn't! My first thought when she couldn't stop crying was that her husband is hitting her. I don't know why. But I'm pretty creative when I let my mind wander. Or she'd been raped and that's why this fear of being out in public alone. While it may be these things or not, I can't do anything else for her. I have been the only person here in Memphis to do anything for her - certainly a lot more than the man who is supposed to love and care for her most (NOT!) and from what I see, there are no plans from him to make her life easier or better. I say if I don't see her again for another 6 months, nothing will change in her life. She'd still be a bad cook, she'd still be friendless, she'd still be miserable. She MIGHT have her driver's license but she'd be too chicken shit to drive on her own - or he wouldn't let her have the car while he's at work. But, her stay here this time is also temporary and she's returning to Singapore in a couple of weeks. She claims she might be back towards the end of the year but I doubt it and uh-huh, I don't care.
Please, no more crybabies for the month of May.
Friday was D-day for Rosa and Cher's move to Philly so we met up for brunch and then I got them to the airport. Wow, when I left home at an tender age of almost 17, I didn't even cry - my mom did a little but that's a mom thing. But I couldn't understand why these people were crying SO hard! It just seemed funny to me especially since they were still gonna' be in this country; and it was their choice to leave Memphis and their friends. Weird. I'm not being heartless. I just don't understand people's pysche I guess. So I had to deal with all of that at the airport... the crying and having to form a circle and pray with the rest of the friends who'd come to say good bye to the family. OMG that freaked me out lol. I always used to stare at people who did that and thought it lame. Now, I KNOW it's lame lol. I'd feel sorry for those people who are put in that situation like I was but my goodness, do Christians just assume that 'coz I'm a friend of a Christian I, like them, pray for safety and a good future and stuff like that? I honestly don't know how that would make me feel better. In fact, I think I'd feel more at risk on a flight lol. But anywayz, yes, I'd miss Rosa, Cher and the kids. But they're only an email, a phone call and a plane ride away. No biggie! Plus I'm sure new friends will come along. Yes, the inevitable: life goes on.
That same afternoon, in the midst of our afternoon nap, I was abruptly woken up by the telephone ring. It was Cindy. Either she had read my blog about her (don't remember if I'd mentioned my blog to her but oh well...) or I must have really sounded upset on the phone (both in NYC when I'd last spoken to her and at that moment answering the phone reacting to her voice). Cindy (see prvious post on her) called, in tears, asking for forgiveness and not to be mad at her. She asked me to forget about all the bad pictures she'd painted about her husband 'coz they're not true at all. She told me that something had happened and she can't tell me why. She told me that I won't understand her (damn straight!) and that she would love to do more for me (no thank you I'm quite happy the way my own life is going!) but she doesn't drive and that's why she can't (excuses!). She told me she wasn't trying to take advantage of me and wasn't expecting me to go pick her up at the hotel in NYC. She told me that she really treasures my friendship (friends don't treat friends that way). She asked if I had a good trip in NYC. DUH I went to see my friend Gen and of course we had a ball. Did she think I was gonna' get upset with her and spoil my own trip? Piece of work!
After my last posting on her, it's helped me a ton to get stuff off my chest. And by then, she was already history to me and I have since gone on; of course! So when she called and kept saying 'please don't be mad at me', it just brought all the raw feelings back. I got perturbed but I kept my cool and between her sobs for 25 minutes, I unloaded big time. I figured she needs to know. I told her to have a backbone and if she wasn't happy here, go home (same for idiot husband), I told her that whether or not she means to take advantage of me, things don't work that way long term 'coz people catch on to things and I don't need her in my life 'coz she brings absolutely nothing on her plate - not even a damn good joke lol; I told her that if she's gonna' not help herself in her life, she won't meet many people who'd give her a second chance in life (and I certainly won't be the first). I told her she shouldn't let her husband control how her life goes and if she's not happy, speak the hell up 'coz she's responsible for that much; I told her how I can't understand what kind of a man her husband is to keep her at home like an abused pet and she actually stays and accepts it; I told her I wasn't the only one who was getting annoyed with her complaining about the Americans and Mexicans (and the racism her husband claims he's facing at work) and then talk about how great Christianity has been to them; I told her to chill the hell up and stop crying but she couldn't. It was annoying me and oddly enough, I felt nothing except wonder what is wrong with her (even more then before). I did ask if she was ok ('coz of the uncontrollable crying) and at first she didn't answer me. I asked if she needed help, still no answer. She eventually mastered a quiet 'yes'. But maybe she was crying out for help and again, I stress, no one can help her if she won't help herself. I told her I've lived away from home for so long and I've always understood how important friends are. Nobody had to teach me that. It all comes in the path of being away from the people you love and loves you unconditionally. I told her she may still be ignorant about that sort of thing but it is no excuse that her husband is in the dark with that having been in the US for more than seven years. I asked her why they have no knowledge of common courtesy. How two grown people in their 30s not know common social mores?! That when people invite them to their house over and over and over again, they need to take the cue and initiative to plan something as well. It's not a calculative thing. It's just common courtesy. That Rosa and Cher just stopped inviting them over altogether 'coz there was simply no reciprocation. It's not that we need them to buy us a meal... but there was never even talk from them about getting together - ever. She asked if Rosa was mad at her. Of course not - and I told her. Rosa has two kids and the last thing on her mind is 'What is Cindy up to?'. But at this point I was thinking, 'what is wrong with her? So what if we're all mad at her'. Who the hell cares!? I sure wouldn't! My first thought when she couldn't stop crying was that her husband is hitting her. I don't know why. But I'm pretty creative when I let my mind wander. Or she'd been raped and that's why this fear of being out in public alone. While it may be these things or not, I can't do anything else for her. I have been the only person here in Memphis to do anything for her - certainly a lot more than the man who is supposed to love and care for her most (NOT!) and from what I see, there are no plans from him to make her life easier or better. I say if I don't see her again for another 6 months, nothing will change in her life. She'd still be a bad cook, she'd still be friendless, she'd still be miserable. She MIGHT have her driver's license but she'd be too chicken shit to drive on her own - or he wouldn't let her have the car while he's at work. But, her stay here this time is also temporary and she's returning to Singapore in a couple of weeks. She claims she might be back towards the end of the year but I doubt it and uh-huh, I don't care.
Please, no more crybabies for the month of May.
Monday, May 15, 2006
Do You Let Your Husband Rule Your Life?
While I can safely say, "I don't!" 'coz not only have I got a nice and understanding husband who won't do so, hello, it's the 21st century and that's not what we have husbands for!
Well, I recently met someone who does. She might be the first female I've met who not only lets her husband rule her life, she thinks it's fine and normal to just absorb everything her husband says on face value and then tell people what she thinks. For example, she is petrified of a certain race. Why!? "My husband says so". IDIOT! ...I'd like to know why her family paid thousands of dollars to educate her right through university and still think like a neantherthal? Dumbass! I just don't understand it. I always thought it was a generation thing (not that the women in my mom's generation even let their husbands do so but it's not uncommon and certainly almost normal for the women in my grandmother's generation - my gramma being one of them). But this person is 30, somewhat newly married (five years), not unattractive (but not a hot mama nor can she charm anyone's socks off), educated (gives NUS a bad name) and yes, since she's from Singapore, she's bilingual in English and Mandarin. So what is her problem? It's a long list... narrow minded, stupid, air-headed, dependent, lack of opinion... I can go on for days!
It's a long story and just way too many instances to call on her stupidity. But one of them being: not doing laundry on her own. Now this person comes to Memphis to visit her husband (also another idiot from Singapore) who works here at Fedex. He's been with Fedex with five years and that's how long they have been married. Yet, she lives permanently in Singapore because she doesn't like it here in Memphis. Don't ask me, I'm just reporting the facts. She hates Memphis 'coz, her-words-not-mine, 'SO BORING!'. Ok, so Memphis isn't New York City or San Francisco. But I honestly think it's all an excuse. Shit, if all I did was sit in a one bedroom apartment all day and night waiting for the husband to get home to have some form of conversation, I'd be bored and hate Memphis too! ...so she's back after a one a half year break from Memphis (yes, they live apart constantly and I guess it seems normal) 'coz he suddenly needs her support. Don't ask me how two idiots are gonna' support one another but that's the reason she cited for being back in Memphis for these few months. Apparently he's been racially discriminated at work and needs her here. Like I said, he's no Einstein. She arrived a couple of months ago in March. She doesn't drive nor have a driver's license. She doesn't do laundry 'coz her husband wouldn't let her. Yes, LET! Why wouldn't he let her? His reason - Mexicans. Need I still try and convince you what an idiot he is? There are a lot of things her husband wouldn't LET her do. For example, take a nice 10 min walk to the grocery store from the apartment. Before I came along, she knew nothing outside the confines of sorry ass Walmart. The cheap bastard took her nowhere but Walmart to buy the necessities. He has, from day one, cautioned her against the Mexicans. Why the Mexicans, I have no idea. But yes, she is petrified of them, that's for sure. So I was a little confused as to why she doesn't do laundry while her husband's at work instead of waiting till the weekend and having her husband do it on a Saturday when they have to fight for machines (her words not mine) and waste four hours of the weekend instead of taking it slow on Saturday mornings. Why was I confused!? Well, first off, she doesn't work and does absolutely nothing but watches tv and plays on the computer. Wouldn't she have a ton of time to do at least the laundry(?) ...or wash her freakin' hair (that's a whole other story for another time lol). Why was I confused?! Well, not only was I confused I almost pulled my hair out when I realized the laundry room is directly downstairs from her two-storey, second floor apartment. Uhhh... so why doesn't she do it?! "OH(!) Clarence said cannot. He says I don't know how to operate the machines and there are Mexicans in this compound". Just recapitulating the conversations makes my blood boil.
I cannot continue typing 'coz if Ido so, my head will burst into flames.
24 hours later...
So there are a gazillion of these stories ever since I met Cindy. There is the one where her husband wouldn't let her hug men. Like when he introduces his American friends to her and they give her a friendly hug. He gets upset. The husband was tempted to give her a big ass hug when he first met her hahaha! But over and over again, I give her the benefit of the doubt or just overlook it by telling myself, not everyone's as lucky as I am... not everyone is normal and has common sense (which obviously isn't that common) nor knows how to speak up for herself.
This past weekend, I was in NYC. Coincidentally, stupid Clarence had to go to NYC for work and Cindy was to tag along since she'd never been to New York before and she's also afraid to stay in the apartment by herself. Idiot! She was ecstatic when she heard I would be in the city. I could take her around (or more so my friend, Gen, who lives there could take the both of us around) and she wouldn't have to sit in the room to wait for Clarence to return from work. Again, her words, not mine. We made arrangements to meet. I called her friday morning (a day after I'd arrived) and asked if she wanted to eat meepok tah (it's a kind of noodle we eat back home). She didn't sound too thrilled but asked where the place was. I'm like "would you know where it is if I told you?". I was annoyed but remained calm. She asked, "take MRT there ah?". Ok, MRT is the abbreviated name for our subway system in Singapore; Mass Rapid Transit. Don't ask me why I was sooooooo peeved (the husband had to calm me down that same night on the phone when I was bitching to him about the entire scenario... though telling me that I'd over-reacted from that statement didn't help AT ALL). Anyway, when I heard her say MRT, I corrected her and changed topic. I mean, WTF are you doing in NYC calling the subway MRT!?! Like Gen said, we'd love to see the eyes of the consierge if she'd asked 'how do I get to the MRT station from here?!' Idiot! Anywayz, her hotel was no more then a short walk to Grand Central Station like mine, nor was it far to cab-it over to me. Hey, I was doing her the favor. She comes to me! I asked her to meet us at the Grand Central Station. She started hesitating. "Uhh... hmmm... ummm...". Gen quickly decided that it was probably better for her to hop onto a cab to our hotel. That way, she wouldn't be lost or get pregnant on her way there by a Mexican lol. She hesitated even more. It suddenly dawned on me and asked if it was 'coz Clarence wouldn't let her out of the room on her own. Her answer, more ummms and ahhhs and uhhhs. Then she decides a "it's not that convenient". WHAT?!?! Convenient for what!? Phuck it. I said "ok, then I'd talk to you later." That was the final straw. What is wrong with this person!?! If you think all she did in NYC was sit in the hotel room and waited for her husband to come back from his meetings to take her out, you're absolutely right! OMG... can you believe it!? I'm still steamed about this entire deal. I cannot believe how a woman at her age can be SO stupid and have no bloody brain of her own. Even if it's the husband's controlling manner, surely she knows it's not normal and it's about damn time the bloody idiot gets told off. What a dumbass!! I guess it's good they're together. They deserve one another. I know it's not a Chinese / Singaporean thing 'coz my brother isn't like that. My dad... no, my mom's got more of a brain then to just be lead around by a leash.
Can't believe I managed to finish this piece (tho' I have a dozen more stories about her to tell) without literally combusting or have a brain aneurysm. Glad it's over and done with. I'm getting my DVD's back from her and she's history. She can jolly well go back to shopping at Walmart with her cheapass husband 'coz guess who's no more driving her around lol.
Well, I recently met someone who does. She might be the first female I've met who not only lets her husband rule her life, she thinks it's fine and normal to just absorb everything her husband says on face value and then tell people what she thinks. For example, she is petrified of a certain race. Why!? "My husband says so". IDIOT! ...I'd like to know why her family paid thousands of dollars to educate her right through university and still think like a neantherthal? Dumbass! I just don't understand it. I always thought it was a generation thing (not that the women in my mom's generation even let their husbands do so but it's not uncommon and certainly almost normal for the women in my grandmother's generation - my gramma being one of them). But this person is 30, somewhat newly married (five years), not unattractive (but not a hot mama nor can she charm anyone's socks off), educated (gives NUS a bad name) and yes, since she's from Singapore, she's bilingual in English and Mandarin. So what is her problem? It's a long list... narrow minded, stupid, air-headed, dependent, lack of opinion... I can go on for days!
It's a long story and just way too many instances to call on her stupidity. But one of them being: not doing laundry on her own. Now this person comes to Memphis to visit her husband (also another idiot from Singapore) who works here at Fedex. He's been with Fedex with five years and that's how long they have been married. Yet, she lives permanently in Singapore because she doesn't like it here in Memphis. Don't ask me, I'm just reporting the facts. She hates Memphis 'coz, her-words-not-mine, 'SO BORING!'. Ok, so Memphis isn't New York City or San Francisco. But I honestly think it's all an excuse. Shit, if all I did was sit in a one bedroom apartment all day and night waiting for the husband to get home to have some form of conversation, I'd be bored and hate Memphis too! ...so she's back after a one a half year break from Memphis (yes, they live apart constantly and I guess it seems normal) 'coz he suddenly needs her support. Don't ask me how two idiots are gonna' support one another but that's the reason she cited for being back in Memphis for these few months. Apparently he's been racially discriminated at work and needs her here. Like I said, he's no Einstein. She arrived a couple of months ago in March. She doesn't drive nor have a driver's license. She doesn't do laundry 'coz her husband wouldn't let her. Yes, LET! Why wouldn't he let her? His reason - Mexicans. Need I still try and convince you what an idiot he is? There are a lot of things her husband wouldn't LET her do. For example, take a nice 10 min walk to the grocery store from the apartment. Before I came along, she knew nothing outside the confines of sorry ass Walmart. The cheap bastard took her nowhere but Walmart to buy the necessities. He has, from day one, cautioned her against the Mexicans. Why the Mexicans, I have no idea. But yes, she is petrified of them, that's for sure. So I was a little confused as to why she doesn't do laundry while her husband's at work instead of waiting till the weekend and having her husband do it on a Saturday when they have to fight for machines (her words not mine) and waste four hours of the weekend instead of taking it slow on Saturday mornings. Why was I confused!? Well, first off, she doesn't work and does absolutely nothing but watches tv and plays on the computer. Wouldn't she have a ton of time to do at least the laundry(?) ...or wash her freakin' hair (that's a whole other story for another time lol). Why was I confused?! Well, not only was I confused I almost pulled my hair out when I realized the laundry room is directly downstairs from her two-storey, second floor apartment. Uhhh... so why doesn't she do it?! "OH(!) Clarence said cannot. He says I don't know how to operate the machines and there are Mexicans in this compound".
24 hours later...
So there are a gazillion of these stories ever since I met Cindy. There is the one where her husband wouldn't let her hug men. Like when he introduces his American friends to her and they give her a friendly hug. He gets upset. The husband was tempted to give her a big ass hug when he first met her hahaha! But over and over again, I give her the benefit of the doubt or just overlook it by telling myself, not everyone's as lucky as I am... not everyone is normal and has common sense (which obviously isn't that common) nor knows how to speak up for herself.
This past weekend, I was in NYC. Coincidentally, stupid Clarence had to go to NYC for work and Cindy was to tag along since she'd never been to New York before and she's also afraid to stay in the apartment by herself. Idiot! She was ecstatic when she heard I would be in the city. I could take her around (or more so my friend, Gen, who lives there could take the both of us around) and she wouldn't have to sit in the room to wait for Clarence to return from work. Again, her words, not mine. We made arrangements to meet. I called her friday morning (a day after I'd arrived) and asked if she wanted to eat meepok tah (it's a kind of noodle we eat back home). She didn't sound too thrilled but asked where the place was. I'm like "would you know where it is if I told you?". I was annoyed but remained calm. She asked, "take MRT there ah?". Ok, MRT is the abbreviated name for our subway system in Singapore; Mass Rapid Transit. Don't ask me why I was sooooooo peeved (the husband had to calm me down that same night on the phone when I was bitching to him about the entire scenario... though telling me that I'd over-reacted from that statement didn't help AT ALL). Anyway, when I heard her say MRT, I corrected her and changed topic. I mean, WTF are you doing in NYC calling the subway MRT!?! Like Gen said, we'd love to see the eyes of the consierge if she'd asked 'how do I get to the MRT station from here?!' Idiot! Anywayz, her hotel was no more then a short walk to Grand Central Station like mine, nor was it far to cab-it over to me. Hey, I was doing her the favor. She comes to me! I asked her to meet us at the Grand Central Station. She started hesitating. "Uhh... hmmm... ummm...". Gen quickly decided that it was probably better for her to hop onto a cab to our hotel. That way, she wouldn't be lost or get pregnant on her way there by a Mexican lol. She hesitated even more. It suddenly dawned on me and asked if it was 'coz Clarence wouldn't let her out of the room on her own. Her answer, more ummms and ahhhs and uhhhs. Then she decides a "it's not that convenient". WHAT?!?! Convenient for what!? Phuck it. I said "ok, then I'd talk to you later." That was the final straw. What is wrong with this person!?! If you think all she did in NYC was sit in the hotel room and waited for her husband to come back from his meetings to take her out, you're absolutely right! OMG... can you believe it!? I'm still steamed about this entire deal. I cannot believe how a woman at her age can be SO stupid and have no bloody brain of her own. Even if it's the husband's controlling manner, surely she knows it's not normal and it's about damn time the bloody idiot gets told off. What a dumbass!! I guess it's good they're together. They deserve one another. I know it's not a Chinese / Singaporean thing 'coz my brother isn't like that. My dad... no, my mom's got more of a brain then to just be lead around by a leash.
Can't believe I managed to finish this piece (tho' I have a dozen more stories about her to tell) without literally combusting or have a brain aneurysm. Glad it's over and done with. I'm getting my DVD's back from her and she's history. She can jolly well go back to shopping at Walmart with her cheapass husband 'coz guess who's no more driving her around lol.
Monday, May 08, 2006
Cheap Sleazy Tactics
Somehow, someway, the opposition party is stopped from leaving the country. Before you know it, he'd be put behind bars, made a bankrupt, and lose everything he's worked for all his life. These are intelligent men who have opinions. But in Singapore, when you have an opinion that deviates from that of the People's Action Party, Tag You're It!
This is why the PAP gets less respect every year from the younger generation. They are the reason why I hate the country and can't imagine ever living there long term again. Democracy? Yeah, behind an iron curtain! It makes me so mad when I read articles like that.
SINGAPORE, May 8 (Reuters) - A Singapore opposition politician who stood in the general election at the weekend said on Monday he had been barred from leaving the country.
James Gomez, a Workers' Party candidate, was stopped by immigration officials at Changi airport on Sunday and told he could not leave the country. He was then detained at a police station for seven hours of questioning.
"The police are investigating me for a case of criminal intimidation," Gomez told Reuters on Monday.
"My passport has been impounded and the police have told me that I have to stay in Singapore as long as investigations are ongoing."
Gomez, 40, was on his way back to Sweden on Sunday, where he works for a political think-tank.
Police said on Sunday that the Elections Department had filed a complaint against Gomez.
Gomez came under attack from the ruling People's Action Party (PAP) after he wrongly claimed that the Elections Department, which comes under the Prime Minister's Office, had lost one of his polling forms.
Gomez apologised and said he had been "distracted" during the busy campaigning period.
PAP leaders repeatedly condemned him as a "liar" during the campaign and accused him of trying to discredit the election office.
The PAP, led by Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, won 66.6 percent of the votes cast and 82 out of 84 seats in parliament.
As with the previous polls, Saturday's election was also overshadowed by defamation lawsuits -- a timeworn PAP tactic that has bankrupted some opposition leaders, thus disqualifying them for parliament.
This is why the PAP gets less respect every year from the younger generation. They are the reason why I hate the country and can't imagine ever living there long term again. Democracy? Yeah, behind an iron curtain! It makes me so mad when I read articles like that.
SINGAPORE, May 8 (Reuters) - A Singapore opposition politician who stood in the general election at the weekend said on Monday he had been barred from leaving the country.
James Gomez, a Workers' Party candidate, was stopped by immigration officials at Changi airport on Sunday and told he could not leave the country. He was then detained at a police station for seven hours of questioning.
"The police are investigating me for a case of criminal intimidation," Gomez told Reuters on Monday.
"My passport has been impounded and the police have told me that I have to stay in Singapore as long as investigations are ongoing."
Gomez, 40, was on his way back to Sweden on Sunday, where he works for a political think-tank.
Police said on Sunday that the Elections Department had filed a complaint against Gomez.
Gomez came under attack from the ruling People's Action Party (PAP) after he wrongly claimed that the Elections Department, which comes under the Prime Minister's Office, had lost one of his polling forms.
Gomez apologised and said he had been "distracted" during the busy campaigning period.
PAP leaders repeatedly condemned him as a "liar" during the campaign and accused him of trying to discredit the election office.
The PAP, led by Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, won 66.6 percent of the votes cast and 82 out of 84 seats in parliament.
As with the previous polls, Saturday's election was also overshadowed by defamation lawsuits -- a timeworn PAP tactic that has bankrupted some opposition leaders, thus disqualifying them for parliament.
A Very Special Card
Yup, Special-Ed!!!
I turn 36 today. Feels alright. Can't complain. Loving my life; no kids screaming in the background, no kids to yell at to get ready for school... just a regular quiet peaceful Monday morning with the laogong hanging out at his computer and me at mine.
I suppose I've always enjoyed my birthdays since I was a kid. After all, who doesn't like getting presents. Moreso now when I get to tell the husband what I want... and yup, I get what I want... usually, if not immediately, then soon after. Of course, some would say I have a birthday every week. Can't say they're wrong. But it's my real birthday today and I'm glad I don't feel any older. OK, I'm not the drama-queen type who cries at every birthday 'coz I'm getting older (my good friend went 'insane' when she turned 24, true!). I was never the type (like some of my friends) who'd like about my age... and though 36 is far too close to 40, I guess 40 isn't that bad either. Getting old isn't worth worrying. I mean, it's gonna' happen. I just hang out with people much older then me - that way I can never catch up with them lol. Besides, it's nice to grow old with my husband and he's eight years older then me and I think he still looks pretty darn good, so I shouldn't have to worry too much for awhile.
So anywayz, for my birthday, I've gotten a free meal at Abuelos 'coz they send you a coupon when you sign up for emails or something, lots of email wishes from friends and a couple of cards (more from vendors who give me a small gift certificates so I can go spend more money at their store SUCKER(!)). But one card stood out from everyone else's. It's from Mimi... Bruce's dad's wife. Not my mil and I don't count her as my step-mil. She's just Mimi. She's 'famous' for many things and one of them is for making her own original cards. We get one every holiday, annivasary and birthday. This year's card to me is a little odd. Maybe in the midst of their big move from huge house to huge apartment, she's lost her mind (more). I think she's decided I'm a sista' from the 'hood who gossips with her constantly. I mean, look at this card for crying out loud. The husband got a big (BIG!) laugh from it. I was just stunned and of course, rolled my eyes and said "scan it!" lol. Ok, the fact that she remembers is nice. But shit, who can't today with four gazillion reminders you can set up. Ok, not me 'coz I don't give a damn lol but sometimes I wonder what this woman who called me HUGE in my face thinks of me. Look at the front of this
And then there is the 'content' lol. Check it out:
By the way, the card was addressed to MRS Bruce Ryan...
NEED I SAY MORE!?
I turn 36 today. Feels alright. Can't complain. Loving my life; no kids screaming in the background, no kids to yell at to get ready for school... just a regular quiet peaceful Monday morning with the laogong hanging out at his computer and me at mine.
I suppose I've always enjoyed my birthdays since I was a kid. After all, who doesn't like getting presents. Moreso now when I get to tell the husband what I want... and yup, I get what I want... usually, if not immediately, then soon after. Of course, some would say I have a birthday every week. Can't say they're wrong. But it's my real birthday today and I'm glad I don't feel any older. OK, I'm not the drama-queen type who cries at every birthday 'coz I'm getting older (my good friend went 'insane' when she turned 24, true!). I was never the type (like some of my friends) who'd like about my age... and though 36 is far too close to 40, I guess 40 isn't that bad either. Getting old isn't worth worrying. I mean, it's gonna' happen. I just hang out with people much older then me - that way I can never catch up with them lol. Besides, it's nice to grow old with my husband and he's eight years older then me and I think he still looks pretty darn good, so I shouldn't have to worry too much for awhile.
So anywayz, for my birthday, I've gotten a free meal at Abuelos 'coz they send you a coupon when you sign up for emails or something, lots of email wishes from friends and a couple of cards (more from vendors who give me a small gift certificates so I can go spend more money at their store SUCKER(!)). But one card stood out from everyone else's. It's from Mimi... Bruce's dad's wife. Not my mil and I don't count her as my step-mil. She's just Mimi. She's 'famous' for many things and one of them is for making her own original cards. We get one every holiday, annivasary and birthday. This year's card to me is a little odd. Maybe in the midst of their big move from huge house to huge apartment, she's lost her mind (more). I think she's decided I'm a sista' from the 'hood who gossips with her constantly. I mean, look at this card for crying out loud. The husband got a big (BIG!) laugh from it. I was just stunned and of course, rolled my eyes and said "scan it!" lol. Ok, the fact that she remembers is nice. But shit, who can't today with four gazillion reminders you can set up. Ok, not me 'coz I don't give a damn lol but sometimes I wonder what this woman who called me HUGE in my face thinks of me. Look at the front of this
And then there is the 'content' lol. Check it out:
By the way, the card was addressed to MRS Bruce Ryan...
NEED I SAY MORE!?
Saturday, April 22, 2006
Need To Leave!!!
It's been six whole days since we got back from Miami and there is absolutely no travelling plans on my calender for the rest of the year. WHAT?! Yes, really!! Can you believe it? I can't! I'm itching to fly... ok, I'd admit it: I'm trying to make platinum executive this year and dammit, if it means having to fly to Australia twice or going to Shanghai for a couple of days, I shall!
Yes, summer is fast approaching (yukky weather already!) and we'd fly a lot more together. But plans aren't concrete until the e-ticket has been printed and I hate planning and talking and no action. We want to go to SO many places but I know in reality, we'd be lucky if we go to a fraction of the places we want to go and see people we want to visit. I don't know why. It happens every summer. It's annoying. I guess we just get lazy - it's the damn heat of course! It always is the heat. Right now, plans are Japan (DUH!), Hong Kong (free hotel so it's a MUST go), Australia (c'mon before we have to pay for hotel!), China (mega miles), Boston (clam chowder, lobsters and shopping), maybe Seattle...
I've offered to take ROMT somewhere next weekend lol. Yes, I'm getting desperate. Coincidentally, April 28 is the last day in school for the senior boys and ROMT had decided earlier he will not partake in the ridiculous behaviours that day in school nor babysit them. He has taken the day off; which means we can go somewhere Thursday evening or Friday morning. Awesome! Unfortunately, it's already Saturday morning now which means it's less then a week before travel time and the trip will cost me my kidney! AIYOH! Pain in the ass.
Right now, our options are San Franciso - 800 bucks each, Seattle, $950 each, Toronto 490 each, Caribbean or Mexico (I told you I was desperate!) about 1K each... I could see a couple of friends in Toronto but they aren't very exciting. In SF, many friends whom I might not see but we would definitely see Dave and Arturo (see last posting), in Seattle we would hang out with the Shultze's and Julie (if she's around) and anywhere else, we'd just have to wing it and hang out and enjoy new things and people... but where?! ROMT is upstairs (as usual) working on his own thang and I'm being ignored on a too-bright Saturday morning. Maybe weekends aren't my favorite time of the week arrgh!
Need to decide NOW before the price goes up any more. Fine, I'd break the silence.
Yes, summer is fast approaching (yukky weather already!) and we'd fly a lot more together. But plans aren't concrete until the e-ticket has been printed and I hate planning and talking and no action. We want to go to SO many places but I know in reality, we'd be lucky if we go to a fraction of the places we want to go and see people we want to visit. I don't know why. It happens every summer. It's annoying. I guess we just get lazy - it's the damn heat of course! It always is the heat. Right now, plans are Japan (DUH!), Hong Kong (free hotel so it's a MUST go), Australia (c'mon before we have to pay for hotel!), China (mega miles), Boston (clam chowder, lobsters and shopping), maybe Seattle...
I've offered to take ROMT somewhere next weekend lol. Yes, I'm getting desperate. Coincidentally, April 28 is the last day in school for the senior boys and ROMT had decided earlier he will not partake in the ridiculous behaviours that day in school nor babysit them. He has taken the day off; which means we can go somewhere Thursday evening or Friday morning. Awesome! Unfortunately, it's already Saturday morning now which means it's less then a week before travel time and the trip will cost me my kidney! AIYOH! Pain in the ass.
Right now, our options are San Franciso - 800 bucks each, Seattle, $950 each, Toronto 490 each, Caribbean or Mexico (I told you I was desperate!) about 1K each... I could see a couple of friends in Toronto but they aren't very exciting. In SF, many friends whom I might not see but we would definitely see Dave and Arturo (see last posting), in Seattle we would hang out with the Shultze's and Julie (if she's around) and anywhere else, we'd just have to wing it and hang out and enjoy new things and people... but where?! ROMT is upstairs (as usual) working on his own thang and I'm being ignored on a too-bright Saturday morning. Maybe weekends aren't my favorite time of the week arrgh!
Need to decide NOW before the price goes up any more. Fine, I'd break the silence.
Monday, April 17, 2006
I'm Married To A Celebrity
No doubt only a mere Memphis celebrity for a day. Beats not being a celebrity at all I suppose lol.
This morning, on a slow news day (his words, not mine), an article in the local newspaper, The Commercial Appeal, was posted about ROMT. Yup, the husband!!
The article is as follows (in case the link above doesn't work) but let me prep you... there is nothing in it about me even tho' I was bloody interviewed HAHAHAHA! Well at least it mentioned my name lol. I suppose everything I said just all ended up on the editing room floor hahaha. It also did not print our neice's name (the one in Singapore of course!) or my brother would owe Bruce some loot... but in his defense, Emma's name was mentioned. I was there when he said her name :) At least he tried...
MUS alum's talent was Microsoft's loss
Photo Mike Brown
Special to The Commercial Appeal
Bruce Ryan is in his fifth year teaching eighth-grade algebra at Memphis University School, where he graduated in 1980. He left a lucrative position at Microsoft to return to the classroom.
April 17, 2006
The e-mail came from an old mentor at Memphis University School, Bruce Ryan's yearbook adviser to be exact, and it contained a familiar entreaty.
"Bruce, are you still alive?" wrote Ellis Haguewood, now the MUS headmaster.
"If yes, go to question #2. If no, skip down to the end.
"Is there life after Microsoft? If yes, where is it?
"You know that we could use a good-looking guy like you at MUS for a few years or a few months or even a few days."
During his 10 years at Microsoft, Bruce Ryan heard various versions of that pitch from Haguewood, but he was usually too busy working for one of the world's most powerful and important companies to even contemplate moving back to Memphis, much less consider working for his old high school.
He had graduated from MUS in 1980 and gone to Harvard, then to Stanford for business school and law school. He got to Microsoft in 1989, when there were 3,000 employees and six buildings.
When he left Microsoft in 1999, there more than 30,000 employees and more than 100 buildings.
Inside the Microsoft culture, where products are created with an almost evangelical zeal, shaping young minds sounds like a noble enough calling.
But Microsoft was trying to change the world, after all.
Go back to MUS? "That always seemed like a very fantastical thing that would never happen," Ryan remembers.
And yet, not long after getting the e-mail, Ryan found himself sitting in Haguewood's office, talking about a role as the school's chief of technology. Then the phone rang, and it was Major Wright, a math teacher and football assistant, informing Haguewood he was leaving for White Station.
"We'll find another eighth-grade algebra teacher," Ryan heard Haguewood say.
When Haguewood put down the phone, Ryan asked: "Mr. Haguewood, can I teach eighth-grade algebra?"
"He looked at me kind of funny," Ryan remembers, "and I don't know to this day if he was wondering whether I could do it or why on earth would I want to do it."
'Microsoft was a good preparation'
On a recent Monday in Mr. Ryan's classroom at MUS, the topics for the day are scrawled on a giant whiteboard.
Review Irrational Numbers
Introduce Radical Numbers
Standing before a classroom of eighth-graders, Ryan looks so comfortable in his fifth year at MUS that he could have been shipped from central casting.
"Indefatigable" is how Haguewood remembers Ryan as a student, and it isn't far off now as he takes students through the tricky fundamentals of converting fractions to decimals and delving into the complex world of square roots.
"Loving it, loving it, loving it," he cackles when the students find the midpoint between two fractions.
His class is a mix of formal and informal, casual and serious.
Kind of like Microsoft.
"Microsoft was a good preparation for teaching at MUS," Ryan says.
"We had a lot of smart folks at Microsoft, but they were not always the most mature people in the world."
At MUS, among 'boyhood heroes'
When he started teaching, Ryan says, he was nervous, more so because of the company he was keeping than the students he would teach.
Many of the teachers he found at MUS when he moved from Boston as a 15-year-old remain on the faculty.
"To me," he says, "it's like growing up with your boyhood heroes being the New York Yankees and then actually getting to play with them."
This, mind you, from a man who has stood on stage with Bill Gates in New York and given presentations. This from a guy who took one year away from Microsoft to work as a producer on the old show "American Gladiators."
"But that's another story," Ryan will say, and it is true that so many of his tales veer away from the main path.
There's the time he spent moonlighting as part-owner of Schulzy's Sausage in Seattle.
There's the long courtship with his wife, Karen, who is from Singapore and met him when a co-worker suggested she e-mail him for advice on a software glitch. They got engaged two days after 9/11 and married two weeks after that, on the MUS steps.
And there is the story of his good friend John Nielson, who like Ryan had joined Microsoft in the late '80s.
Nielson died shortly before Ryan left Microsoft, and Ryan can still remember his funeral, at Bill Gates' house, and hearing letters Nielson had written to his young children.
"It was," Ryan says, "the first time when I actually sensed that, despite my youth, time was a limited and precious commodity even for the young."
That led to Ryan re-evaluating his life, to thinking more about things like family. His mother, sister and two nieces live here, his father in Hot Springs, Ark.
"I would fly in for 24 hours on a holiday break, say hello, drop off some Christmas gifts and fly off to my next destination, wherever that might be," Ryan says.
With stock options, a nice salary and promotions over the years, he had done well. He is not a "billionaire," though some of his students have told him he must be.
Maybe if he hadn't cashed all those stock options in the early years ...
"I used to know people who sold none of their stock and so now they live in giant mansions and have streets named after them. I was not one of those people. I made enough money so that I can both teach here and make charitable donations to organizations that mean a lot to me."
In that e-mail from six years ago, Haguewood had said, "Actually the pay could be seven figures per year, if two of them follow the decimal point."
Ryan knows his math too well to fall for that one, but he also knows there are different ways to measure value.
"I wasn't sure how long I would do it when I came in. I get so much joy out of coming to work here every day. It is really exciting."
From MUS to Microsoft and back -- it may sound radical and even a little irrational, but Bruce Ryan is loving it.
--Zack McMillin: 529-2564
This morning, on a slow news day (his words, not mine), an article in the local newspaper, The Commercial Appeal, was posted about ROMT. Yup, the husband!!
The article is as follows (in case the link above doesn't work) but let me prep you... there is nothing in it about me even tho' I was bloody interviewed HAHAHAHA! Well at least it mentioned my name lol. I suppose everything I said just all ended up on the editing room floor hahaha. It also did not print our neice's name (the one in Singapore of course!) or my brother would owe Bruce some loot... but in his defense, Emma's name was mentioned. I was there when he said her name :) At least he tried...
MUS alum's talent was Microsoft's loss
Photo Mike Brown
Special to The Commercial Appeal
Bruce Ryan is in his fifth year teaching eighth-grade algebra at Memphis University School, where he graduated in 1980. He left a lucrative position at Microsoft to return to the classroom.
April 17, 2006
The e-mail came from an old mentor at Memphis University School, Bruce Ryan's yearbook adviser to be exact, and it contained a familiar entreaty.
"Bruce, are you still alive?" wrote Ellis Haguewood, now the MUS headmaster.
"If yes, go to question #2. If no, skip down to the end.
"Is there life after Microsoft? If yes, where is it?
"You know that we could use a good-looking guy like you at MUS for a few years or a few months or even a few days."
During his 10 years at Microsoft, Bruce Ryan heard various versions of that pitch from Haguewood, but he was usually too busy working for one of the world's most powerful and important companies to even contemplate moving back to Memphis, much less consider working for his old high school.
He had graduated from MUS in 1980 and gone to Harvard, then to Stanford for business school and law school. He got to Microsoft in 1989, when there were 3,000 employees and six buildings.
When he left Microsoft in 1999, there more than 30,000 employees and more than 100 buildings.
Inside the Microsoft culture, where products are created with an almost evangelical zeal, shaping young minds sounds like a noble enough calling.
But Microsoft was trying to change the world, after all.
Go back to MUS? "That always seemed like a very fantastical thing that would never happen," Ryan remembers.
And yet, not long after getting the e-mail, Ryan found himself sitting in Haguewood's office, talking about a role as the school's chief of technology. Then the phone rang, and it was Major Wright, a math teacher and football assistant, informing Haguewood he was leaving for White Station.
"We'll find another eighth-grade algebra teacher," Ryan heard Haguewood say.
When Haguewood put down the phone, Ryan asked: "Mr. Haguewood, can I teach eighth-grade algebra?"
"He looked at me kind of funny," Ryan remembers, "and I don't know to this day if he was wondering whether I could do it or why on earth would I want to do it."
'Microsoft was a good preparation'
On a recent Monday in Mr. Ryan's classroom at MUS, the topics for the day are scrawled on a giant whiteboard.
Review Irrational Numbers
Introduce Radical Numbers
Standing before a classroom of eighth-graders, Ryan looks so comfortable in his fifth year at MUS that he could have been shipped from central casting.
"Indefatigable" is how Haguewood remembers Ryan as a student, and it isn't far off now as he takes students through the tricky fundamentals of converting fractions to decimals and delving into the complex world of square roots.
"Loving it, loving it, loving it," he cackles when the students find the midpoint between two fractions.
His class is a mix of formal and informal, casual and serious.
Kind of like Microsoft.
"Microsoft was a good preparation for teaching at MUS," Ryan says.
"We had a lot of smart folks at Microsoft, but they were not always the most mature people in the world."
At MUS, among 'boyhood heroes'
When he started teaching, Ryan says, he was nervous, more so because of the company he was keeping than the students he would teach.
Many of the teachers he found at MUS when he moved from Boston as a 15-year-old remain on the faculty.
"To me," he says, "it's like growing up with your boyhood heroes being the New York Yankees and then actually getting to play with them."
This, mind you, from a man who has stood on stage with Bill Gates in New York and given presentations. This from a guy who took one year away from Microsoft to work as a producer on the old show "American Gladiators."
"But that's another story," Ryan will say, and it is true that so many of his tales veer away from the main path.
There's the time he spent moonlighting as part-owner of Schulzy's Sausage in Seattle.
There's the long courtship with his wife, Karen, who is from Singapore and met him when a co-worker suggested she e-mail him for advice on a software glitch. They got engaged two days after 9/11 and married two weeks after that, on the MUS steps.
And there is the story of his good friend John Nielson, who like Ryan had joined Microsoft in the late '80s.
Nielson died shortly before Ryan left Microsoft, and Ryan can still remember his funeral, at Bill Gates' house, and hearing letters Nielson had written to his young children.
"It was," Ryan says, "the first time when I actually sensed that, despite my youth, time was a limited and precious commodity even for the young."
That led to Ryan re-evaluating his life, to thinking more about things like family. His mother, sister and two nieces live here, his father in Hot Springs, Ark.
"I would fly in for 24 hours on a holiday break, say hello, drop off some Christmas gifts and fly off to my next destination, wherever that might be," Ryan says.
With stock options, a nice salary and promotions over the years, he had done well. He is not a "billionaire," though some of his students have told him he must be.
Maybe if he hadn't cashed all those stock options in the early years ...
"I used to know people who sold none of their stock and so now they live in giant mansions and have streets named after them. I was not one of those people. I made enough money so that I can both teach here and make charitable donations to organizations that mean a lot to me."
In that e-mail from six years ago, Haguewood had said, "Actually the pay could be seven figures per year, if two of them follow the decimal point."
Ryan knows his math too well to fall for that one, but he also knows there are different ways to measure value.
"I wasn't sure how long I would do it when I came in. I get so much joy out of coming to work here every day. It is really exciting."
From MUS to Microsoft and back -- it may sound radical and even a little irrational, but Bruce Ryan is loving it.
--Zack McMillin: 529-2564
Back From Miami
South Beach is so not our scene! Hot ass weather (we have that here, no need go go all the way to bloody Florida!), non-English speaking people (got that in TN too!) skinny ass people all clad in the least clothing possible (thank goodness we haven't got too many of those here) and too many topless pompous Europeans on the beach making the American boys go ga-ga. Yet, I cannot tell you how much fun ROMT and I enjoyed ourselves the last three days in Miami!
My favorite buddy, Mathi or Guru (as I like to call him - his last name is Gurusamy thus Guru), was getting married. I met Guru (also a Singaporean, except he is of Indian descent) in high school in Toronto about 20 years ago. He has remained a really good friend since. He was also the one whom both the husband and I visited up in Szombathy, Hungary a couple of years back; and he'd met us up in Bangkok last year on a fake business trip lol. Now he lives in Xiamen, China working for a Dutch company.
Where do I begin telling you how our Easter weekend began. I guess I have to start with that first awesome lunch Bruce took me to at Joe's Stone Crab. Need I say more?! Mathi, Helena and her 13 yr old niece, Christina, joined us mid way and the partying started there. A bottle of white wine... then we transported ourselves to Lario's on the beach. There, we drank... and drank... and drank... non stop and fast. Couldn't help it! The heat, the excitement to hang out with Mathi again... not to mention, he brings out the lush in me lol. Before I knew it, we were sitting there with married couple Dave and Arturo. Dave was Mathi's room mate in college and Arturo is Dave's husband of 2 over years and they live in San Francisco. They are SO fun. SO bitchy... I love it! Hopefully I can see then as planned in a couple of weeks out in SF just to hang out... tho' the husband is a little nervous about them wanting to 'teach' me some things to make Bruce an even happier man LOL! That night, The Ryans missed the big party. Why!? 'Coz we bloody partied 6 hours way earlier then everyone else I was smashed, sloshed, dead to the world. I was so out of it I skipped dinner. Now how drunk can you imagine I was lol. The wedding was on day 2 so Bruce and I simply hung out on our own... hung out by the rooftop pool, got some sun, some breakfast and just chilled. We got to walk around South Beach for a little but it wasn't that impressive considering the heat... so after another good lunch at Puerto Sagua, we decided to tough out the weather and headed for the beach. Yikes! 30 mins later, we were on our way back to the room for a nice nap before getting ready for the wedding.
The smallish outdoor wedding of 40 at the Ritz Carlton was beautiful. Even the loud house music at the hotel/beach next to the 'alter' didn't change anything. It was a nice simple ceremony. Helena looked gorgeous and Guru was shittin' in his pants nervous as hell HAHAHAHA! It was all perfectly awesome! He's always been mister cool so to see him in that state was quite hilarious :D He just couldn't wait to get married and start the party going lol. The party, as it turns out, continued way past after the bride and groom left to begin their honeymoon in their suite. We stayed even after Dave and Arturo left. At the end of it all, there was Jason the Best Man, Mathi's buddy from Central Michigan and Helena's niece and her bf, Chris. We sat and tried to solve Jason's loveless life without Rose - the girl he met in Jamaica three months ago FOR A DAY! Needless to say, the wedding got to Jason a little... but fun was had by all of us making fun of him... me most of all. Hey, somebody had to take Mathi's place :D
Sunday, we met up with Bruce's buddy, Wayne and his girlfriend(?) and joined Mathi and Helena for lunch at Bongo's. Yummy cuban food! It was nice see Wayne again since I haven't seen him since our last trip to Tokyo... and it certainly was exciting to finally meet Sherry after all I'd heard about her. She's very nice... they look cute together(!) so hopefully we'd get to go to another wedding in Florida again soon lol. "No pressure Wayne!" :D
So Helena is now Mrs Gurusamy... she's glowing even more than that 1.7 carat platinum diamond ring on her finger. They should still be driving themselves back to her house in Tampa with Mathi's two sisters and nephews who flew all the way from Singapore.
It seemed like just yesterday I was sitting at Mathi's house in Singapore being served food by his mom... it certainly seems like yesterday when we were at his apartment in Indiana laughing at his room-mate (another Singaporean guy) turning a quarter of a century years old and making fun of his 'old age' and telling him he was dying. We were merely a pair of very cruel 19 yr olds... who have turned into cruel 30-somethings lol. Where have all the time gone?! Now, we're a pair of 35 yr olds... thank goodness we only call older people then us, friends lol.
My favorite buddy, Mathi or Guru (as I like to call him - his last name is Gurusamy thus Guru), was getting married. I met Guru (also a Singaporean, except he is of Indian descent) in high school in Toronto about 20 years ago. He has remained a really good friend since. He was also the one whom both the husband and I visited up in Szombathy, Hungary a couple of years back; and he'd met us up in Bangkok last year on a fake business trip lol. Now he lives in Xiamen, China working for a Dutch company.
Where do I begin telling you how our Easter weekend began. I guess I have to start with that first awesome lunch Bruce took me to at Joe's Stone Crab.
The smallish outdoor wedding of 40 at the Ritz Carlton was beautiful. Even the loud house music at the hotel/beach next to the 'alter' didn't change anything. It was a nice simple ceremony. Helena looked gorgeous and Guru was shittin' in his pants nervous as hell HAHAHAHA! It was all perfectly awesome! He's always been mister cool so to see him in that state was quite hilarious :D He just couldn't wait to get married and start the party going lol. The party, as it turns out, continued way past after the bride and groom left to begin their honeymoon in their suite. We stayed even after Dave and Arturo left. At the end of it all, there was Jason the Best Man, Mathi's buddy from Central Michigan and Helena's niece and her bf, Chris. We sat and tried to solve Jason's loveless life without Rose - the girl he met in Jamaica three months ago FOR A DAY! Needless to say, the wedding got to Jason a little... but fun was had by all of us making fun of him... me most of all. Hey, somebody had to take Mathi's place :D
Sunday, we met up with Bruce's buddy, Wayne and his girlfriend(?) and joined Mathi and Helena for lunch at Bongo's. Yummy cuban food! It was nice see Wayne again since I haven't seen him since our last trip to Tokyo... and it certainly was exciting to finally meet Sherry after all I'd heard about her. She's very nice... they look cute together(!) so hopefully we'd get to go to another wedding in Florida again soon lol. "No pressure Wayne!" :D
So Helena is now Mrs Gurusamy... she's glowing even more than that 1.7 carat platinum diamond ring on her finger. They should still be driving themselves back to her house in Tampa with Mathi's two sisters and nephews who flew all the way from Singapore.
It seemed like just yesterday I was sitting at Mathi's house in Singapore being served food by his mom... it certainly seems like yesterday when we were at his apartment in Indiana laughing at his room-mate (another Singaporean guy) turning a quarter of a century years old and making fun of his 'old age' and telling him he was dying. We were merely a pair of very cruel 19 yr olds... who have turned into cruel 30-somethings lol. Where have all the time gone?! Now, we're a pair of 35 yr olds... thank goodness we only call older people then us, friends lol.
Friday, April 07, 2006
When School Is Not Cancelled
Shelby County where we live has been going on severe weather warning since this morning at about 8am till tonight at 8pm. Ever since last weekend's tornado tragedy in Dyersburg County (how the storm was formed so quickly and killed numerous people there), both the local authorities as well as the national weather authority has announced that this is a DANGEROUS SITUATION today. For the last two hours, not only have Shelby County schools been let out as early as 11am, even the Memphis City Schools are cancelled by noon - including private schools such as Lausanne Collegiate School and St. Mary's Episcopal School. Yet, this stupid article on the unofficial site of the MUS blog 'We Are Staying In School' just proves how stupid and idiotic Americans can be. Yes, there are bigger idiots out there who have gotten into car accidents. Yes there are bigger idiots out there who cannot drive! But while the weather is calm now, LEAVE!! It's as if they're trying to fight the weather... come on!! More than half the phucking kids and teachers live close-by! I cannot believe my husband practically hung up the phone on me 'coz I wanted him to come home early. Sure, 40% of it is for selfish reasons 'coz I don't want to be home alone during this traumatic time (he obviously doesn't care nor realize (yet) how scary it can be not having grown up in a country where this kind of crappy shitty natural calamities NEVER occur). But the rest of the reason is 'coz I want him to be home safe and not have to take care of bunch of babies in school! Gawd, I am so phucking pissed! You'd think I was sending him out to chase after the phucking Twister!
They say the next storm coming will be in the form of hail. Some counties in Mississippi have seen as large as softball size hail. I wonder what teachers might say when their cars are badly damaged later?!
The MUS 'article' says if you want to come pick your son up, you can. But that means the boys will be missing the rest of the official school day - which means the teachers are to stay and teach! The stupid ass people who head the school should be responsible if anything happens to anyone who stays. IDIOTS!
They say the next storm coming will be in the form of hail. Some counties in Mississippi have seen as large as softball size hail. I wonder what teachers might say when their cars are badly damaged later?!
The MUS 'article' says if you want to come pick your son up, you can. But that means the boys will be missing the rest of the official school day - which means the teachers are to stay and teach! The stupid ass people who head the school should be responsible if anything happens to anyone who stays. IDIOTS!
Thursday, April 06, 2006
Adventures @ The INS
Since my past postings about the INS, see: INS Makes Me Have Road Rage and INS Part II, it's been awhile since we have had to deal with the INS (Immigration & Naturalization Service). I would hardly call their work there 'service'. But that's another story for yet another day.
I got my stamp for my permanent green card today!!! Does that mean I'm more legal then I was yesterday? MAYBE! I'm supposed to get my Green Card within month. We'd see.
The interview process this morning was a joke and a half! We went in with Tim, our 20-something year old lawyer who is volunteering to represent us costing us absolutely nothing 'coz he's not a slimeball like Barry Frager (Tim btw, used to work for Barry) which made me feel a little better since he was there at our first interview as well. He knew the interviewer and they started small talk and lead us to the lady's office. We sat down, had normal conversations like we would at a cocktail party, she looked at some of our pictures from our past travels, looked at some bills and asked for my passport. Huh!? That's it? The entire ordeal took 5 minutes! I'm serious! Why do they need to do this to people like us when it's so darn obvious that we're legitimately married and give people Green Cards without an interview to people like Tim's other client, a divorced Nigerian man who was just locked up last year for assult or something. No interview! I'm glad this went smoothly or I would bust another blood vessel from rage lol.
But it's over for now. Thank goodness!!
I got my stamp for my permanent green card today!!! Does that mean I'm more legal then I was yesterday? MAYBE! I'm supposed to get my Green Card within month. We'd see.
The interview process this morning was a joke and a half! We went in with Tim, our 20-something year old lawyer who is volunteering to represent us costing us absolutely nothing 'coz he's not a slimeball like Barry Frager (Tim btw, used to work for Barry) which made me feel a little better since he was there at our first interview as well. He knew the interviewer and they started small talk and lead us to the lady's office. We sat down, had normal conversations like we would at a cocktail party, she looked at some of our pictures from our past travels, looked at some bills and asked for my passport. Huh!? That's it? The entire ordeal took 5 minutes! I'm serious! Why do they need to do this to people like us when it's so darn obvious that we're legitimately married and give people Green Cards without an interview to people like Tim's other client, a divorced Nigerian man who was just locked up last year for assult or something. No interview! I'm glad this went smoothly or I would bust another blood vessel from rage lol.
But it's over for now. Thank goodness!!
Wednesday, March 29, 2006
Luncheon With The Ladies
I just came home from having lunch with the ladies at Adventures of Daytime Dining.
Today is the last Wednesday of the month and if you're part of the New Neighbors here in Memphis (and look at the calender in the newsletter), you'd know it's just another day to go have a nice lunch with other ladies who have also signed up to meet others alike. The group is called Adventure's in Daytime Dining. ...or something like that. I don't know. I signed up for the food. So it's a bunch of ladies who don't work, and all (but me) have waaaayyy too much too much on their schedule even for a simple lunch, and get together at a nice restaurant with good food and hang out to talk. Okay, a bone to pick: I don't know why we need to pick a nice (or different) restaurant each month if all these women are gonna' eat is a phucking head of lettuce! This is not even a hearty salad hahaha. Today, their little sorry salad looked like a side salad of lettuce, maybe spinach, thin slices of tomatoes with two sorry ass pieces of fresh mozzerella in it. So that's how they keep their skinny figures in place. Shit! Let me be fat... and happy!!! I had the villa pasta or something like that. Seafood (scallops, shrimps and mussels) with angelhair pasta in a homemade white wine sauce. YUM! Garlicky, buttery and just delicious :D I was full and very happy indeed. I looked over at their salad. How can they call that lunch?! It's rabbit food and shit, my rabbit would eat a helluva' lot more than those two pieces of romaine lettuce!
There were only six of us today. A very small group compared to the big group of at least 10-12 women we're used to. The conversation was dull. Today, everyone (but me again) talked about their kids... how awesome they are, how bright they are, how fast they are, how clever they are, how perfect they are and how they loved them all lol. Okay, maybe not like that but pretty damn close to my virgin ears. I was bored stiff. It was either kids or their diet. Where are the normal women?! Don't people talk about shallow stuff like shopping, shoes and clothing anymore?! ...or food! Why can't they be like Singaporeans and have an in-depth conversation about food, glorious food... while eating lol.
No matter. I should be used to this by now. I now realize why I don't have THAT many friends lol. Okay, so I'm the odd one. The one who can't stand bright sunny days at seventy degrees, the one who can't stand gorgonzola of any form, the one who doesn't think all babies are cute, the one who doesn't care what people say about her, the one who enjoys doing laundry, the one who deals with long neverending flight just cause, the one who loves cloudy and/or rainy days, the one who is just different from everyone else. Hey... at least I'm happy.
Today is the last Wednesday of the month and if you're part of the New Neighbors here in Memphis (and look at the calender in the newsletter), you'd know it's just another day to go have a nice lunch with other ladies who have also signed up to meet others alike. The group is called Adventure's in Daytime Dining. ...or something like that. I don't know. I signed up for the food. So it's a bunch of ladies who don't work, and all (but me) have waaaayyy too much too much on their schedule even for a simple lunch, and get together at a nice restaurant with good food and hang out to talk. Okay, a bone to pick: I don't know why we need to pick a nice (or different) restaurant each month if all these women are gonna' eat is a phucking head of lettuce! This is not even a hearty salad hahaha. Today, their little sorry salad looked like a side salad of lettuce, maybe spinach, thin slices of tomatoes with two sorry ass pieces of fresh mozzerella in it. So that's how they keep their skinny figures in place. Shit! Let me be fat... and happy!!! I had the villa pasta or something like that. Seafood (scallops, shrimps and mussels) with angelhair pasta in a homemade white wine sauce. YUM! Garlicky, buttery and just delicious :D I was full and very happy indeed. I looked over at their salad. How can they call that lunch?! It's rabbit food and shit, my rabbit would eat a helluva' lot more than those two pieces of romaine lettuce!
There were only six of us today. A very small group compared to the big group of at least 10-12 women we're used to. The conversation was dull. Today, everyone (but me again) talked about their kids... how awesome they are, how bright they are, how fast they are, how clever they are, how perfect they are and how they loved them all lol. Okay, maybe not like that but pretty damn close to my virgin ears. I was bored stiff. It was either kids or their diet
No matter. I should be used to this by now. I now realize why I don't have THAT many friends lol. Okay, so I'm the odd one. The one who can't stand bright sunny days at seventy degrees, the one who can't stand gorgonzola of any form, the one who doesn't think all babies are cute, the one who doesn't care what people say about her, the one who enjoys doing laundry, the one who deals with long neverending flight just cause, the one who loves cloudy and/or rainy days, the one who is just different from everyone else. Hey... at least I'm happy.
Friday, March 24, 2006
Permissive(?!?) RACISM?
I was telling the husband over sushi dinner last night that the radio station/show I listen to a lot (especially in the mornings), V101.1 - The Tom Joyner Morning Show - has been rather careless in their comments regarding 'the-other-race'. As a non-white, non-American, their conversations not only annoyed me, it disgusts even me. I wonder what do the (probably very small percentage of) white people feel if/when they listen to that.
This is along the line of what I heard them say:
DJ1: ...so this zookeeper stuck his hand into the tiger's cage at night while drunk
DJ2: It's a white guy right?! It's a white guy right?! (eagerly)
DJ1 keeps on reading the artile
DJ2: It's gotta' be a white guy. Only a white guy would do something like that!
Sure, we've all said stuff like that within our circle of friends about other groups of people. About white people, black people, Asians, you name it. But they are a radio station (who by the way speaks broken English a lot) and I feel, have a responsibility to the people listening in. Turn the tables around and imagine what might happen. Oooh... ugly!
Then yesterday, I turned them on and they were commenting on the new reality tv show, 'Black. White.'. They were talking about how the white woman when made-up as a black woman, didn't look like a 'sista' 'coz she had no 'JUICE'. Whatever that means, it didn't sound good to me. ...and of course, the sista' on the show had way too much 'juice' to look White. COME ON!!! The things they say on this radio station makes me cringe. I'm positive that if any white people say that about the black women, there will be a bloody riot.
So the husband brings up slavery and what their people went through. Oh boo hoo... there is their damn baggage again. Bah! The Japanese and Chinese have been slaves too... what about the internment and railroad experiances? Hey, I watch PBS once in awhile lol. Have you EVER heard an Asian-American ever bring that up!? Ever!? I may be less sympathetic but I feel that the 'bitter' Black people of America just can't have it every way they want! On one hand, sensitive to every damn thing a White person says (practically read into every single word spoken, chew up every sentence that's put out there) then say worst crap about the white people in reverse. Why are they still so bloody angry?!?
Personally, this is history. It's ridiculous baggage for anyone that's still alive. It isn't any of our problem today. You get no sympathy from me!
This is along the line of what I heard them say:
DJ1: ...so this zookeeper stuck his hand into the tiger's cage at night while drunk
DJ2: It's a white guy right?! It's a white guy right?! (eagerly)
DJ1 keeps on reading the artile
DJ2: It's gotta' be a white guy. Only a white guy would do something like that!
Sure, we've all said stuff like that within our circle of friends about other groups of people. About white people, black people, Asians, you name it. But they are a radio station (who by the way speaks broken English a lot) and I feel, have a responsibility to the people listening in. Turn the tables around and imagine what might happen. Oooh... ugly!
Then yesterday, I turned them on and they were commenting on the new reality tv show, 'Black. White.'. They were talking about how the white woman when made-up as a black woman, didn't look like a 'sista' 'coz she had no 'JUICE'. Whatever that means, it didn't sound good to me. ...and of course, the sista' on the show had way too much 'juice' to look White. COME ON!!! The things they say on this radio station makes me cringe. I'm positive that if any white people say that about the black women, there will be a bloody riot.
So the husband brings up slavery and what their people went through. Oh boo hoo... there is their damn baggage again. Bah! The Japanese and Chinese have been slaves too... what about the internment and railroad experiances? Hey, I watch PBS once in awhile lol. Have you EVER heard an Asian-American ever bring that up!? Ever!? I may be less sympathetic but I feel that the 'bitter' Black people of America just can't have it every way they want! On one hand, sensitive to every damn thing a White person says (practically read into every single word spoken, chew up every sentence that's put out there) then say worst crap about the white people in reverse. Why are they still so bloody angry?!?
Personally, this is history. It's ridiculous baggage for anyone that's still alive. It isn't any of our problem today. You get no sympathy from me!
Sunday, March 19, 2006
JIA
'Jia' is the name of the new upscale boutique hotel in Hong Kong (the first in Asia designed by fancy schmancy Philippe Stark). It's also where I am now... no, not Hong Kong. I'm at home! It's good to be home even tho' I was heavy-hearted leaving Tokyo after a week of blissful (early) Spring break with the laogong. For a change, we had a pretty slow-paced vacation. No serious heavy-drinking, not overly-indulging ourselves (I'm not saying none 'coz I had my share of uni-licious uni hee hee but I didn't buy the crazy bag with the matching wallet and watch I really liked at Takashimaya lol) ...and in a long time, we didn't even go practice crazy karaoke'ing :) Despite all that, it was still a wonderful trip. It's hard not to have a good time in fast-paced Tokyo (especially if you live in Memphis lol).
It was unseasonably cold - it freakin' snowed TWICE in two days lol... but fear not, with all the walking, after almost being frost bitten and getting head colds (ok, maybe a slight exaggeration here) walking those miles all over Tokyo helped a great deal to build heat and burn some calories that needed to go away anyway lol. And the food... oh the food! We went back to see my toothless ramen boyfriend at his restaurant lol - it's been awhile since we hit the streets of Kabuki-cho at three in the morning lining up for yummy ramen together with all the businessmen and their hostesses... but it's so worth the wait... and of course, we followed our tradition of dropping by Sushi Cho for some serious awesome sushi in the little alley in Ropongi on our first night, had sushi breakfast at Tsukiji Fish Market - you might think it's such a touristy thing to do but hey, it can't get any better getting a full sushi and sashimi meal at eight in the morning with the most delicious clam miso soup and beer rubbing shoulders, knees and thighs next to the fishermen and fish auctioneer who's finishing off their day's work :D ...and of course, as usual, we met up with Bruce's ex colleagues, now good friends and our friend Julie who flew in from Seattle via Honolulu to hang out with us for a couple of meals :D So it was nice... we tried more different insane restaurants and laughed at all the crazy things we did, saw and experianced.
It's even nicer to be home because the day after arriving from Tokyo via Dallas, we took the three hour drive up to Nashville for 24 hours (for a Math competition) and back. Please(!), IF there is a 'gawd', DO NOT make us ever go back there again! So it's the Capital of Tennessee. Big phucking hairy deal. Capital of idiots more like it. I don't like it, and I don't want to go back. I don't want go into detail why or it'll become ugly and feelings will be hurt. Hahaha, okay, no I really don't care whose feelings get hurt... but it's almost 2am now and I'm in no mood to rev up my emotions at this hour. All I can say is, it makes me appreciate the Black people in Memphis or simply appreciate Memphis in general lol.
Right, time to get some Z's and enjoy the comforts of my clean crisp bed (Nashville Holiday Inn YUKS(!)). I envy the husband. He's been in deep slumber for hours.
It was unseasonably cold - it freakin' snowed TWICE in two days lol... but fear not, with all the walking, after almost being frost bitten and getting head colds (ok, maybe a slight exaggeration here) walking those miles all over Tokyo helped a great deal to build heat and burn some calories that needed to go away anyway lol. And the food... oh the food! We went back to see my toothless ramen boyfriend at his restaurant lol - it's been awhile since we hit the streets of Kabuki-cho at three in the morning lining up for yummy ramen together with all the businessmen and their hostesses... but it's so worth the wait... and of course, we followed our tradition of dropping by Sushi Cho for some serious awesome sushi in the little alley in Ropongi on our first night, had sushi breakfast at Tsukiji Fish Market - you might think it's such a touristy thing to do but hey, it can't get any better getting a full sushi and sashimi meal at eight in the morning with the most delicious clam miso soup and beer rubbing shoulders, knees and thighs next to the fishermen and fish auctioneer who's finishing off their day's work :D ...and of course, as usual, we met up with Bruce's ex colleagues, now good friends and our friend Julie who flew in from Seattle via Honolulu to hang out with us for a couple of meals :D So it was nice... we tried more different insane restaurants and laughed at all the crazy things we did, saw and experianced.
It's even nicer to be home because the day after arriving from Tokyo via Dallas, we took the three hour drive up to Nashville
Right, time to get some Z's and enjoy the comforts of my clean crisp bed (Nashville Holiday Inn YUKS(!)
Saturday, March 04, 2006
Video Girl
Ya'll(!), the videos of Emma are up! Ok, for those who are like me (once upon a time) who couldn't stand people showing pics of babies in their family (I didn't care if they were the kids, the grand kids or the neices and nephews of these people... ok, I'd admit it, I still don't want to see them lol!), you can ignore this post. But for the others who simply love babies and want to see the cutest Chinese little baby in this world, this is it! Bruce and I think our favourite niece EKT is the cutest, most adorable and certainly smartest of them all. The videos of her are up! They are at our website under pictures or you can click here to go direct.
DISCLAIMER: If our niece seems a little grumpy in some of these videos, it's 'coz she wasn't in the best mood. She was sick on this trip. That's why not so many insane screaming and laughing from her. But still lots from me :D
ENJOY!!!
DISCLAIMER: If our niece seems a little grumpy in some of these videos, it's 'coz she wasn't in the best mood. She was sick on this trip. That's why not so many insane screaming and laughing from her. But still lots from me :D
ENJOY!!!
Wednesday, March 01, 2006
Adventures At The IRS
...so a few weeks ago we got a letter from the IRS. One letter to me (to make sure the husband got it), one to the ROMT saying blah blah blah, call us, make an appointment 'coz you're gonna be audited. Obviously, it was a little scary for me having watched American tv time and again seeing people led away in handcuffs for fraud or whatever, who knows(?!); read about how the husband's step-brother, MM - lawyer of the crooked-gay-naked-Survivor lose his case last month for tax-evasion. My stomach was in a knot almost immediately. I can well imagine why my always very cautious husband who gets quite easily stressed on a normal day has been pretty highly strung for the last couple of weeks since he made the appointment for today, March 1.
It was agreed that it was a good thing I would be away for a week in Thailand while the husband would be undisturbed and be able to organize his paperwork to deal with this upsetting meeting. I did feel bad that he had to do it himself but I also knew I was of no help to him. ...so I came home from a great vacation to a more then ever stressed out husband, a study full of paper - more than usual - files, binders and more paper... and oddly, a not very hungry husband lol. As timing would have it, I fell sick the day after I returned. That meant leaving the husband all weekend to himself to catch up on more unfinished work, matching the sale and purchase of stocks. Fun! NOT! It's insane how much time and work he's put into this... a rough estimate... hmmm... a full 9 - 5 work week I'd say. No exaggeration!
Being the supportive wife that I am (and very kaypoh also lah), I was quite pleased that I was not only invited to this meeting, but the husband actually wanted me there with him for moral support. So at 11am, I went on my merry way to pick him up for a 12:30pm appointment. Okay, a little kiasu considering downtown is about 30 mins drive away... but we wanted to be safe and early. We got there an hour early lol. He had part of his usual pack lunch/snack in the car before we proceeded into the building into a small cold (not as in temperature but as in non-persona) room with five chairs, a small reception window and cheap office carpet. I felt like we were back at MLGW!!! We sat there while I tried to ease the husband's temperament. The box full of binders from 1998 to 2004 at his feet, it was a little hard to distract the poor man. I think he wanted to be distracted. His laughs were louder then usual, his face hot from nerves... his mood... almost too good lol. No doubt he'd done his homework... oh believe me, he did his bloody work. But like being at the INS (immigration people lor), you never know what kind of an officer you'd get, what they'd ask and nightmare of all times, what you forgot to bring that you were supposed to.
12:30pm came and went and a good five minutes later, a black woman came into the room, introduced herself as Ms Brown (I don't know about you but I thought you never introduce yourself as ms or mister right?). We went into the room, romt took his binders and computer out of the box, set it up and there was a little look from Ms Brown and then she began 'oh... you brought your own computer...'. Yes she was impressed. But that was only the beginning. For the next 35 mins, she asked the husband about random stocks he traded. She asked, he provided details, calculations and answers to match her numbers. She had originally picked 40 random stocks from the list of 250 trades he made. But after the 4th one, she said "let's just skip to the last page". I could hear the screaming sigh of relief inside my husband's head. "There is a god!!" ...ok, we wouldn't go that far. Never mind the mistakes he found that the IRS actually owes him some money in return. Never mind about how much work on AT&T trade alone he had worked on the night before since it split and changed name and split and changed back it's name... all he wanted to do was get outta' that room. We managed to do just that all within the hour... with a letter to boot to say we owe nothing, we're clean and we're honest! WOW!
We were in the car within minutes, the husband was breathing regular again (first time in weeks), and I can't even tell you how many times he sighed and told me he's happy again - this is just on the drive home mind you. He was actually gonna' go back to school for the stupid ass faculty meeting, can you believe it?! I gave him my you've-got-to-be-phucking-kiddin'-me look and he made the right decision by calling school to say he was on his way home hee hee.
We came home, I made a huge batch of popcorn, he had a beer (now THAT is relief!) and he fell into deeeeep slumber within seconds :D
It was agreed that it was a good thing I would be away for a week in Thailand while the husband would be undisturbed and be able to organize his paperwork to deal with this upsetting meeting. I did feel bad that he had to do it himself but I also knew I was of no help to him. ...so I came home from a great vacation to a more then ever stressed out husband, a study full of paper - more than usual - files, binders and more paper... and oddly, a not very hungry husband lol. As timing would have it, I fell sick the day after I returned. That meant leaving the husband all weekend to himself to catch up on more unfinished work, matching the sale and purchase of stocks. Fun! NOT! It's insane how much time and work he's put into this... a rough estimate... hmmm... a full 9 - 5 work week I'd say. No exaggeration!
Being the supportive wife that I am (and very kaypoh also lah), I was quite pleased that I was not only invited to this meeting, but the husband actually wanted me there with him for moral support. So at 11am, I went on my merry way to pick him up for a 12:30pm appointment. Okay, a little kiasu considering downtown is about 30 mins drive away... but we wanted to be safe and early. We got there an hour early lol. He had part of his usual pack lunch/snack in the car before we proceeded into the building into a small cold (not as in temperature but as in non-persona) room with five chairs, a small reception window and cheap office carpet. I felt like we were back at MLGW!!! We sat there while I tried to ease the husband's temperament. The box full of binders from 1998 to 2004 at his feet, it was a little hard to distract the poor man. I think he wanted to be distracted. His laughs were louder then usual, his face hot from nerves... his mood... almost too good lol. No doubt he'd done his homework... oh believe me, he did his bloody work. But like being at the INS (immigration people lor), you never know what kind of an officer you'd get, what they'd ask and nightmare of all times, what you forgot to bring that you were supposed to.
12:30pm came and went and a good five minutes later, a black woman came into the room, introduced herself as Ms Brown (I don't know about you but I thought you never introduce yourself as ms or mister right?). We went into the room, romt took his binders and computer out of the box, set it up and there was a little look from Ms Brown and then she began 'oh... you brought your own computer...'. Yes she was impressed. But that was only the beginning. For the next 35 mins, she asked the husband about random stocks he traded. She asked, he provided details, calculations and answers to match her numbers. She had originally picked 40 random stocks from the list of 250 trades he made. But after the 4th one, she said "let's just skip to the last page". I could hear the screaming sigh of relief inside my husband's head. "There is a god!!" ...ok, we wouldn't go that far. Never mind the mistakes he found that the IRS actually owes him some money in return. Never mind about how much work on AT&T trade alone he had worked on the night before since it split and changed name and split and changed back it's name... all he wanted to do was get outta' that room. We managed to do just that all within the hour... with a letter to boot to say we owe nothing, we're clean and we're honest! WOW!
We were in the car within minutes, the husband was breathing regular again (first time in weeks), and I can't even tell you how many times he sighed and told me he's happy again - this is just on the drive home mind you. He was actually gonna' go back to school for the stupid ass faculty meeting, can you believe it?! I gave him my you've-got-to-be-phucking-kiddin'-me look and he made the right decision by calling school to say he was on his way home hee hee.
We came home, I made a huge batch of popcorn, he had a beer (now THAT is relief!) and he fell into deeeeep slumber within seconds :D
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
