In Motion

I've never understood the older generation's obsession with physical attributes. If you're Asian, you probably remember growing up surrounded by relatives who commented on your body shape/appearance. That was also the case for me. I am short, and also happen to have large hips and a large butt. To add to my ever-growing list of physical shortcomings, I also had acne-prone skin as a teen which led to huge pores and tiny scars on my face, which I still bear up to this very day. And year after year, at every family gathering, someone was bound to make a comment about one or all of those features. It wasn't just at every family gathering either. My own mother also constantly bewailed my huge hips and blamed my short genes on my grandmother on my dad's side. Even as a child, I saw through the absurdity of it all. It made no sense to me to comment on something I could not change by sheer will or effort, and was absolutely amoral. If I had been failing at school and ...

Getting paid for work done feels GOOD. All things considered, I mentally assent that I'm not a liability. I run the household, I provide companionship, I basically improve the quality of JW's life. But when I'm just draining monetary resources without putting anything back into the money pot, it's hard not to feel like I have to scrimp ALL the time so that I'm LESS of a liability than I already am. So after I got my first big pay, I felt really happy. Since I recently got a new phone, it also didn't hurt that I could cover the cost without dipping into our savings. It's so freeing to have your own money! Well, as long as you can think of it as YOUR own money. My very active guilt complex forces me to see it as OUR money and that I'm just doing my due diligence by contributing to household expenses. Bummer. Also, when you spend a week working just for $100, you tend appreciate every dollar you make to the fullest and spending becomes a little m...

So, smartphones. My HuaWei Honor 3C started acting up a few days ago, and now I can't use the camera or play videos on my phone. The apps crash all the time, too. Doing a factory reset didn't help, so I guess we'll have to conclude that it's a hardware issue. Which means getting a new phone, of course. My phones have always had a history of being durable (aka lasting way more than 3 years), so I was disappointed that my HuaWei only lasted a little more than 2 years. Great timing too, because that's just long enough for the warranty to be invalid. Not that I could claim it anyhow, being several continents away. I guess I'm also peeved because it was a purchase made after careful research and consideration of specs, and I had expected it to last me at least 5 years (by which the tech and specs would probably be outdated and then I could switch it out for a better phone in good conscience =P). Granted, like JW said, if you pack excellent specs and high per...

I recently got a job being a content writer for a web developer. It's an on-going project and I'm on my 9865589799th iteration right now, so I thought I'd take a break to clear my head before going back out there. As much as I love writing, I have to admit that it's very time-consuming. I steered clear of my blog for days because I just couldn't write anymore after spending hours writing every day. (In case you were wondering, the only reason I'm here now is because it's that in-between, awkward phase of time before dinner/JW comes back home and I need to time my cooking perfectly so that the food isn't cold by the time it's served. So I'm killing ten minutes before I start cooking.) Content-writing is so different from planning lesson plans. With lesson plans, I can stop at "good enough" because I know that things are bound to change and there's no possible way I can plan out every single second of the lesson. With content-w...

I can't work legally in the States because of my visa status. A few months ago, though, I decided to try my hand at online freelancing, and I managed to get myself a few odd jobs here and there. Honestly, they don't pay much for the amount of time I put in, but it's a nice feeling to be contributing to a real project that is worth money to a client. It makes me feel like my skills are actually marketable, yannoe? By the way, I'm talking about copy-editing and proofreading jobs. Back when I was a student, I used to proofread assignments pro bono for my friends. =P And I really enjoyed it. I wonder why I never considered making a career out of this "hobby" of mine. Perhaps it was because I didn't know there was such a career option, given that it doesn't fall under the regular categories of 'doctor/lawyer/engineer/teacher'. I know, I grew up really sheltered. =P Getting steady paychecks was also a huge consideration in my career selection, so...

Ok, so not many of you know that I like Pokemon. That's fine, considering that I usually stay away from video games of all types, mainly because I don't like getting addicted committed to things. It's no biggie, just another facet of my control issues. =P However, I really like Pokemon and this started way back when I was a kid and Pokemon was showing on TV right after piano lessons. I recently started playing Pokemon FireRed because everyone was playing Pokemon GO and it made me miss Pokemon battling. Yesterday, I managed to beat the Elite Four and Gary on my first try without even - in JW's words - "training seriously", so I have to conclude that I just have an eye for for picking a great attacking team. I guess I have innate talent when it comes to Pokemon training, if nothing else. =P And yes, I go for fast, overpowered, kill-in-one-strike kind of Pokemon. Defensive moves aren't for me, because oftentimes whoever strikes first makes or breaks the ba...

Those of you who've read my blog long enough know that one of the things that send me straight into my happy zone is getting a great bargain. Those of you who live with me (this means you, Jia Wern) know that I can talk about it for hours afterwards and shamelessly ask for compliments on what a savvy buyer I am.  Good thing not many of you live with me. =P It's not so much the money saved that makes me happy - it's more the thought that I've successfully optimized my resources and traded minimum input for maximum output. So I still diligently answer Kroger feedback surveys because the reward points add up to a few dollars in fuel discounts. It's not like answering the survey takes more than 5 minutes anyway, and guess who has a lot of free time? =P The trouble is, when we still get hit by unexpected expenditures after all that effort to coupon, research for best value items and buy mostly stuff on sale, I tend to feel hopeless. Basically, I feel like, why...