fumofu

Oct 04

The deed is done.

Posted by Wendy on Sunday Oct 4, 2009 Under Personal

Woohoo!

Current Mood: (relieved)

relieved

Tags : Albie, Rabu Rabu, Wedding | add comments

Oct 19

Happy Birthday!

Posted by Wendy on Sunday Oct 19, 2008 Under Personal

Yatta!!

It was nice spending the entire day at home, cooking meals, relaxing, not being cranky after waking up from a nap. :) I look forward to living together with you again.

Current Mood: (loved)

loved

Tags : Albie, Birthday, Rabu Rabu | add comments

Oct 09

Comfortable

Posted by Wendy on Thursday Oct 9, 2008 Under Personal

You know that song “Comfortable” by John Mayer? I really like that song, because that’s how I feel like with Albie. Except he’s not sleeping with that new girl. He’s still sleeping with me. :D

Current Mood: (grateful)

grateful

Current Music: "Comfortable" by John Mayer

Tags : Albie, Rabu Rabu, Relationship | add comments

Sep 30

Poor predictable me

Posted by Wendy on Tuesday Sep 30, 2008 Under Personal

Is being predictable bad? Maybe, maybe not. But sometimes the things we say are still quite amusing. :o) Like, “throwing an Indian” (WTF? I have no idea…).
I just realized there are people in the interweb that read this blog. The previous blog theme had some glitch that did not allow commenting, and one reader asked where to comment. I thought, “Ehh?!?! People actually read what I write?” Perhaps I should screen myself. Nah…that would make it hard to write.

I wonder if my mom is annoyed that I’m more into Japanese music/dramas than Cantonese/Chinese ones. Maybe I’m not looking hard enough, but I can’t seem to find Chinese mp3′s. As for Cantonese dramas…they just don’t have the same appeal as Japanese ones. Maybe it’s because I can actually understand what the actors are saying, and dialogue in Asian languages just sound so lame and embarrassing. Like, “I love you” in English sounds cute and endearing, while “Ngo ngoi lei” in Cantonese is just plain gross. I get grossed out before I can get into the plot.

I’m thinking of taking Japanese and/or Cantonese classes once I’m finally done with school. It’s really hard speaking Cantonese to my family these days. It takes me a long time to think of the simple words I want to say. It’s also impossible to tell them what exactly my research entails. Patricia always asks jokingly, “Do you play with chicken eggs and try to make it into a little human baby?” or “Have you discovered why Spiderman has his abilities?” I laugh it off, and when she asks, “So what exaclty do you do?” I have no idea how to tell her. I fail. :-/

Current Mood: (mellow)

mellow

Tags : Albie, Family, JDrama, Miscellaneous, Rabu Rabu | 4 comments

Aug 28

Of receding gums and being antisocial

Posted by Wendy on Thursday Aug 28, 2008 Under Personal

In May I went to see Reina to get my teeth cleaned as she is a dental hygiene student at Riverside Community College. She said my teeth is pretty clean in terms of little plaque and bacterial build-up, but that I need to buy a dental guard because I clench/grind my teeth at night. She told her professor that I’m a PhD student at UC Riverside, and coincidentally the professor knew my adviser. Anyways, the prof said something like this, “And I thought you were one of the most laid-back grad students I’ve met. But one look at your teeth, and I can tell where you take your stress on!” I’m a horrible nocturnal teeth grinder; more like I bite down hard. These days, I’m so stressed about finishing up, I catch myself biting down during the day. Most mornings, I wake up with a sore jaw. It’s so bad. I did buy a dental guard, but it’s not very comfortable. I wake up with either the guard somewhere by my pillow or still inside my mouth out of position.

Besides worrying about finishing up my degree, I’ve been wondering when Albie and I will get married. I’d say that back in January/February, I’ve been trying to steer our conversations to that topic without trying to sound too obvious. Then during April when Nancy and Isaac got married, I asked Joy and Richard about their wedding planning, in which I am genuinely interested, but my good friends were helping me guide the conversation towards Albert. In July, Risako (who’s getting married in November) said, “I look forward to hearing good news from you soon!” (I lerve my girlfriends, they’re smart, smart people.) These days, I’m just fed up with innuendos; I just straight up ask him. I’m sure most girls dream of having an extravagant wedding, custom fit to their own liking. And while I’d like to plan a wedding to my own liking, extravagance is not on my mind. It’s more like, the more stripped down it is the better (No, Vegas is the last thing on my mind). Call me antisocial, but what I do with the man I love is private matter. Why would I want my relatives to stare at me when I say “I do”? It would be nice, but not necessary, if my closest friends were there to share my happiness with me. It’s about me and him, and just the two of us is all it’s needed. But no, the mother-in-law already said we have to “do something.” So I’m not off the hook. My parents are just as antisocial as I am: The less we do the better. Let’s hope we’ll come to a compromise somehow.

The truth is, yes I want to get married. But not because I can’t wait to wear a wedding dress and be a princess for a day. These days, my biological clock is telling me I need to have babies. Before, babies annoy me: They scream; they cry; they poop. It’s 24/7 surveillance on someone who can’t tell you exactly what s/he wants and it’s a guessing game. I do not like ambiguity. When my high school teacher’s wife had twin girls, my classmates all said, “Oh, how cute!” and wanted to hold the newborns. But I just didn’t want any part of it. Nowadays though, it would be nice to hold a baby, don’t you think? But please, NO BABY TALK. You don’t need to stand on a pedestal and lower your intelligence so the baby can understand you. It’s insulting. Babies are smart, or at least our babies will be.

Albert’s roommate has a completely different lifestyle as we do. He likes to get together with the guys and schmooze at the hot tub at an adjacent apartment complex. Apparently the hot tub is party sized; it can fit 30 people. That sounds both impressive and disgusting at the same time. Anyways, Albert calls it Ry Ry-kun’s ogling sessions (the sessions I mean, I call him Ry Ry-kun behind his back). This guy picks up women as easily as picking vegetables at a grocery store. And if he’s not interested at the moment, he gets their numbers and saves them for a rainy day. Albert asked him how he does it, and apparently it’s proprietor’s secret. The other day, I was thinking what the two of us would be like if we didn’t end up together, and how it would be like if we were at our present state but single. Albert would probably be like his brother, Fej (working and single), or he would’ve found a engineering girlfriend, or some really hot chick – basically anything goes. As for me, I probably would either be hopelessly single or with a FOBby boyfriend. Hmm, no, not a FOB. I don’t know what. Anyways, the dating pool at UCR was horrible. I made friends with some great guys there, but they’re not boyfriend material. And dating college boys just make me seem like a cougar – although there was a student of mine who had a crush on me (it was cute at first, then got creepy – it’s an entire blog entry on its own) and some TA evaluations had nothing to do with my teaching abilities…

The point is, dating is hard. I would not know what to say or do if I need to give a good first impression. When Albert flew back from his high school friend’s wedding in Ohio, I told him I’d wear something nice. And I got all excited like a teenager. But the morning of, I had no idea what to wear! especially since my wardrobe for the last 5 years consisted of the crappiest jeans and t-shirts to wear to lab. I changed at least 4 times and I was late picking him up. Well, at least he liked my outfit. So, I empathize with people in the dating game. Because it’s hard. How do you make a good impression that you’re interested in the person yet not to be too insistent (i.e. slutty)? How do you turn something down? When do you start calling the other person your boyfriend? Ahh, I’m so glad I don’t have to worry about that anymore. And thinking back, I was so stupidly ignorant, I don’t think I realized that I was going through those steps in a relationship. And besides, dating back then was just to find someone to eat or practice kissing with. Now, I’d date to find a potential husband. If the guy isn’t up to par with my already-low standards (well, they’re low in my mind: just a PhD – muahaha…), then I wouldn’t even bat an eyelash at him.

But my kissing partner turns out to be the real deal. The two of us are so comfortable with each other, it’s just funny. Albert would make jingles or songs to any words or phrases in our conversations. Sometimes, I just let him do his thing and stay silent, waiting for him to catch himself in the act. Sometimes, I ask him, “Do you do this when you’re alone or just when we’re together?” (He says he doesn’t know.) Or we’d be lying on the bed watching TV, and he’d say, “I need to poot,” as in telling me to stay away from him. I think before, he’d at least get off the bed himself and fart elsewhere. But now he just tells me. I think it’s because he already knows that I’m OK with it, but I’ll still reply to confirm, “OK, you do that.” Most recently, he doesn’t even tell me. He just farts next to me, or better yet, on me. I’m sure to the rest of the world, I sound even more disgusting than him, letting someone fart on me. But that’s how we are to each other – no more pretenses or making nice impressions; and I wouldn’t have it any other way.

In the end, we’re all selfish people and want the best for ourselves. But it annoys me a little that when Albert and I are next to each other, my hands naturally start massaging his shoulders. I don’t even notice it at first, only when my thumbs start to get sore. Couple weekends ago, my brother-in-law, Eric, caught me massaging Albert at their house in Clayton (by Walnut Creek). It was embarrassing, usually I’d only do it when Albert and I are alone. But my sister doesn’t like massages (I think she just hasn’t seen the light, that poor girl). Oh well – as long as Albie massages my sore thumbs afterwards, I’d gladly massage him when I see him. Even if I hate to exercise, at least I have really buff thumb muscles…

Current Mood: (grateful)

grateful

Tags : Albie, Life, Rabu Rabu, Relationship | 2 comments

Jan 21

Moved to tears :’)

Posted by Wendy on Sunday Jan 21, 2007 Under Personal

I had the perfect birthday weekend ever. This one definitely tops them all, thanks to Albie’s wonderful planning. :) We started off with Saturday breakfast at Simple Simon’s (think Intermezzo on Telegraph, but breakfast food). Then we headed over to Huntington Library in San Marino. I had talked about going there for a while, and Albert included it in his plans. At first he wanted to surprise me, but I mentioned Huntington again earlier in the week. It was my fault for ruining my own surprise. :(

As always, we took lots of photos – about one picture every few paces. You can take a look here. I have had a peculiar fascination for Japanese gardens ever since I wrote a paper on the Japanese Tea Garden in Golden Gate Park for my landscape architecture course at Cal. The one at Huntington Library is not as extensive as the one in GGP, but it holds its own. My favorite photo is one that Albert took of the koi pond (look how big those suckers are!!) with the reflection of the moon bridge. Supercool. I was surprised that the Library has the original paintings of Pinkie by Sarah Barrett Moulton and Blue Boy by Thomas Gainsborough. At my elementary school there were half sized replicas of these two paintings hung side-by-side along the grand stair case that I walked up and down for 6 years but only learned of them later in high school. It’s always exciting to see the original artwork.

After the Huntington, I knew we were going to some sort of hotel because Albert told me to pack clothes for an overnight stay. I was thinking really hard but couldn’t think of any hotels in the area. Then it suddenly hit me, a block away, that we were headed to the Ritz-Carlton in Pasadena. Oh my God. Never in my dreams have I dreamt of spending the night at such a luxurious hotel. We handed my ’99 Corolla to the valet (they probably hid the car in the very back behind the BMW’s and Benz’s) and checked in. My heart was still palpitating from this grandiose surprise when Albert told me I have to get ready for a Swedish massage at the Spa. This was when I broke down in tears. All the bad things I’ve said to him or thoughts I’ve had – I felt really guilty for all of it. I feel like I didn’t deserve all the nice things he’s showering me with (considering the birthday gift I gave him several months ago – see last entry).

It took a Lord of the Rings adventure (I was Frodo and Albie’s Sam Gangee, or the other way around…) to find where the Spa is. I was told I would be given a Swedish therapeutic massage. 5 minutes into the massage, I realized this was a deep-tissue massage. I mean, I thought I had a pretty high tolerance for pain, but my eyes teared up when the masseuse keep kneading me with uber-force. In hindsight, it might’ve been nice to have told him to ease off a bit. But I knew I had to suck it up because I really need my knots untied. No pain, no gain, right?! Plus, it was worth it because now my knots are gone…almost.

After the massage, Albert and I took a bath in a tub that is inferior to our Roman-sized (read: bigger) tub at our apartment. So we switched to the shower, which was also inferior to our duo-showerhead setup in our apartment. Yes, it’s a five-diamond hotel, but there really is no place like home. The night concluded with a fantastic dinner at the Dining Room, where we bumped into Jason, Hanie and her family. Albert pointed to the man sitting behind me and said, “Doesn’t that guy look like Jason Wang?” I turned around and saw a profile that looks just like Jason’s, and said, “That is Jason Wang.” So I said, “Jason!” with volume that was loud enough for the guy to hear, but soft enough so that if it wasn’t Jason I wouldn’t look like a complete idiot yelling out a random name to a stranger (at least that was my assessment…). Jason looked at us with the same stunned look as ours. We exchanged a few words and enjoyed the rest of our respective dinners. Afterwards, Albert and I took a night stroll and headed to the mini Japanese garden (two in one day!) on the hotel grounds. It was such a wonderful day I thought I had died and gone to heaven. Just lovely.

This Sunday morning, we enjoyed room serviced breakfast. Those people at the Ritz definitely do their jobs completely. I ordered Norwegian salmon and expected two flimsy pieces of fish. When I lifted the metal cover half the plate was covered with salmon. I love this stuff. We lazily packed our bag and checked out.

The really weird thing is, Joy (whose mom I think we saw at Huntington) lives about 3 blocks down from the Ritz. And 5 blocks away from the hotel is Alhambra, which is a Chinatown area we regularly frequent. For about 20 hours at the Ritz we felt like we were swept away to a far-off place, only to be jolted back into reality within 3 minutes.

When we got home, we sprawled on our comfortable bed (the best $300 I’ve ever spent, I seriously think the salesman put the wrong price tag) and enjoyed a spa-quality shower.

Now my only headache is what to plan for Valentine’s Day/Anniversary (it’s only been 7 years).

Tags : Albie, Birthday, Rabu Rabu, Vacation | add comments

Jan 15

Another year, another birthday…

Posted by Wendy on Monday Jan 15, 2007 Under Personal

Happy Birthday to me. Yay! Today doesn’t feel any different than a typical Monday. Then again, there is no school today in observance of Martin Luther King, Jr. So, what better way to celebrate my birthday than to go to lab… Going to lab on the weekend is actually not so bad now because I get to be alone (most of the time) and I can hog all the equipment. Our lab is growing every year, to the point where we need to wait our turn to use equipment like the PCR machine. Gone are the days when I can hog both machines all day. Anyways, it’s nice when no one else is in lab so that I can think quietly and work at my own pace without interruption.

Albie surprised me with chocolate cupcakes. He’s so sweet! The fact that he’s not a dessert person and he knows I love it makes the cupcakes even more special. Yay!

This past Saturday we went to the Edwards at Irvine Spectrum to see a live showing of Tan Dun’s The First Emperor at the New York Metropolitan Opera. Because the afternoon matinee is on EST, we had to drive to the theater at 10:30am PST. Not so fun, considering Albert flew back from Portland at 1am or so. The opera was not very impressive, as expected from reading a mediocre review on the New York Times. But it’s nice to immerse ourselves into music and culture. Maybe next time we’ll actually go see an opera in LA.

Albie promised me there will be more celebratory events next weekend. I can’t wait.

Tags : Albie, Birthday, Rabu Rabu | add comments

The deed is done.

Happy Birthday!

Comfortable

Poor predictable me

Of receding gums and being antisocial

Moved to tears :’)

Another year, another birthday…

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